Scootaloo’s Mother
Fanfic by Englishwitch
Chapter 4
Scootaloo sighed as she stared down at the street. Manehattan, it seemed, really was the city that didn’t sleep. Down in the street, ponies were walking around, taxi carriages were rushing up and down the street. In school they’d learned Princess Luna had gotten all jealous and crazy because nopony appreciated her night, seemed like the Manehattan ponies liked it well enough.
Hoofsteps behind her drew the filly’s attention from the window. Applejack walked as quietly as she could. She barely glanced at Scootaloo on her way to the kitchen. A second later she did a double-take and stared at the pegasus.
“What are you doin’ awake at this hour sugar cube?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.” The she gave Applejack a sideways glance. “What are you doing up?”
AJ laughed lightly and stepped into the kitchen. After a second of hesitation Scootaloo hopped down from her chair and trotted after her. Applejack was moving around the kitchen like an expert. She seemed to know where everything was. She was making breakfast and coffee, the percolator was already starting to heat on a hot plate. “I’mma farm pony.” Applejack said casually. “Up with the roosters, even if there ain’t no rooster aroun’ to crow.” She put a frying pan on the stove and cracked open a couple of eggs and lay down several strips of hay bacon and hash browns. “Applebloom won’t be far behind.”
Scootaloo jumped onto a chair to sit at the table. She hadn’t thought that she would have ever have an appetite again but now the smell of cooking was entering the air she was starting to notice just how empty her belly was. Her stomach gave a loud growl to confirm the fact.
“Sounds like somepony’s gonna want a double helpin’.” Applejack laughed and opened more eggs and hay bacon.
“I guess.” Scootaloo sighed, smiling weakly. “Applejack-” She faltered and fell silent again. AJ gave a knowing look and sat down at the table.
“It’s gonna be okay sugar cube.” She placed her hoof on top of the filly’s own. “We’re gonna go down to that home and we’re gonna find all that you need to track down your real momma.”
“I-” Scootaloo faltered again. She was so nervous she could feel her wings twitching. “What if-” She couldn’t finish any sentence. She just didn’t have the words to express what she was feeling.
Applejack however, seemed to know what was on the pony’s mind without it being said. “Don’t worry darlin’. Everythin’ has a way of workin itself out for the best.” She suddenly jumped from the seat and rushed back to the stove before the hay bacon and eggs started to burn.
“Mornin’ sis. Moonin Scoots.” Applebloom appeared at the table. Her hair was messed and her bow askew but she didn’t seem to notice. “Smells good.”
Applejack nodded as she carefully served the breakfast to tree plates. You had to be careful when you handled hot pans as an earth pony, the last thing you needed was blisters and burns on your hooves or mouth. “T’ain’t as fresh as we get on the farm, but shouldn’t be too bad.” She passed two of the plates to Applebloom and Scootaloo then turned back to start making herself coffee.
“You okay Scootaloo? Y’all look a little pale?” Applebloom said, with her mouth stuffed of eggs and hash browns.
Scootaloo nibbled at her breakfast. Her empty stomach was demanding for her to eat but she was too nervous to chew properly. She felt like she was going to choke on each bite.
...***...
The cab pulled up outside a large grey stone building. Five floors high with long rows of twelve windows on each floor, except the ground floor, there was a gap for the huge double doors. Above the door, painted in big black letters, was the legend:
Queen Galaxia Memorial Home for Foundling Foals
“We’s here.” Babs cried excitedly. She jumped from the taxi the second the wheels stopped rolling. Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Bell were close behind. Applejack paused just long enough to pay the driver some bits out of her saddlebag.
“Cutie Mark Crusader Parent Finders. YAY!” Cried out three of the fillies, except Scootaloo. They all charged up the steps toward the door.
Appplejack yelled after them. “Whoa there critters!” They skidded to a halt, Applebloom’s hoof had been reaching for the door handle. They looked at AJ with confused expressions. Applejack adjusted her hat and walked up the steps calmly. “Now, we’s here for a serious meetin’ for a serious matter’.” She gave Scootaloo a glance. “We’s all gonna be on our best behaviour. That means no runnin’, bein’ quiet, and doin’ what yur told. Or y’all can get back in a cab and head back to Aunt Dumpling’s place. Kay?”
Slowly all the crusaders nodded their heads. “We’ll behave.” Applebloom said. Babs and Sweetie voiced their agreements.
“Good.” AJ nodded. “Now, fall in behind me and let’s go.”
The inside of the building was a little dark but it was warm and seemed cosy enough. The entrance hall was empty but they could all hear the echoes of children coming from far away in the depths of the home, from the upper floors.
The entrance hall was sparse, at the far end was a large staircase. To one side was a large archway which led to a huge dining room, long tables which still bore dirt and stains from breakfast.
To one side was a line of chairs by a door and in the middle of the hall sat a table, decorated with a large vase of fake flowers. In front of the vase was a small hotel style bell.
“Kay, you girls sit in them chairs. Scoot’s your with me.”
Applebloom frowned, “But Apple-”
“Nope little missy. You’ll sit there and wait, jus’ like ah told ya.” Applejack pointed to the chair and, with some reluctance, the crusaders took their places.
Applejack tapped the bell with her hoof. From behind the door came noises of movement and the muffled sounds of someone grumbling.
The door opened and a middle-aged unicorn mare stepped out into the hall. She had a faded sand coloured coat and a mane that used to be orange but now had more grey than anything else. She looked annoyed until she saw Applejack standing by the table, then the look turned to confusion. “Yes, can I help you?” She glanced down at Scootaloo, then to the other fillies sitting by her door.
Applejack took her hat off out of respect, something she did very rarely. But there was something about this mare, she was like a stern teacher who would tell her off for wearing a hat indoors, AJ was compelled to remove her Stetson. “I’m hopin’ you can ma’am. My name is Applejack and we is here-
“we are here.” the mare corrected.
Applejack felt her teeth go on edge, she didn’t like to be corrected like that. Just because her grammar wasn’t perfect didn’t mean she was dumb. Twilight had found that out the hard way. She took a breath and tried to calm down, for Scootaloo’s sake.
“We are here.” She said slowly, enunciating each syllable to the point of sarcasm. “Because of this little filly, Scootaloo. We have some questions to ask, if you would be so kind.”
The sarcasm seemed to have been lost on the mare. She looked at Scootaloo, then to Applejack and nodded. “Do come in.” She stepped aside and pointed a hoof to her office.
The office interior gave Applejack uncomfortable memories of being sent to the teachers office back in her school days. Not that she’d been sent to the office all that often, but when somepony picked on her brother for being so shy and quiet, or even that stuck up pony, Filthy Rich, made fun of her for being a dumb farm pony and a blank flank to boot, well then of course she was going to show them her bucking skills. By bucking them in their flanks until they apologised.
The name plate on the desk read Matron- Bambi Foster.
Miss Foster took a seat behind the desk and looked expectantly at the two ponies. “Well then, how can I help you?”
Applejack looked to Scootaloo, wondering if the filly wanted to take the lead and speak. But Scootaloo was uncharacteristically quiet. Scootaloo looked pleadingly at AJ. Appleack nodded and pulled a piece of paper from her saddlebag.
Matron Foster took the paper and glanced at it. It was very familiar, the letterhead in particular.
]Queen Galaxia Memorial Home for Foundling Foals
c/o Equestrian National Adoption Agency
Manehatten
Case No. LF03G4MLP
The Undersigned Petitions to Adopt: Scootaloo
Matron Foster looked up from the page to the orange pegasus. “Where did you get this?”
“In my mom’s basement.” Scootaloo replied shyly. “I mean, my foster mom’s basement.”
“Ya see Miss,” Applejack cut in, diverting the harsh glare of the matron away from Scootaloo and toward herself. “Scootaloo here is just curious ‘bout her roots. She wants ta try an’ track down her birth mom.”
The matron’s annoyed expression actually amused Applejack, who had known her farm-pony accent was annoying to the Manehattan her. With a small sigh the matron stepped out from behind her desk. “If you would just wait here a moment while I look through our archives for this case.” She strode out of the room leaving AJ and Scootaloo alone.
Scootaloo’s wings fluttered in excitement. She could hardly believe it. After the sleepless night and all the worrying was it really going to be this easy? She grinning brightly and looked to Applejack, who’s own smile gave her more confidence. “This is it?” she said in an odd tone that made it sound, somehow, like a statement and a question at the same time.
AJ nodded. “I think it is sugar cube.”
The door opened again and Matron Foster returned, carrying a brown folder in a golden magical aura.
AJ was impressed. “That was fast.”
Matron placed the folder onto the desk. “I’m quite good at finding things. Be it paperwork, or parents for a foal.” She opened the folder and read through the paperwork within. “Scootaloo. Mother,” Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “Bonbon Drops. Second Mother, Lyra Heartstrings. Current address, Ponyville. ” Scootaloo could have facehoofed in frustration after her hopes had been raised like that. Matron Foster glanced up from her paperwork and took another look a the pegasus. “I think I might remember your case. Same gender parents adopting foals were less common than they are today. Your adoption may have been one of our first.” She fell silent again and continued reading, occasionally muttering something, but no useful information.
Then she suddenly closed the folder. “I’m sorry, but I can’t release that information.”
Scootaloo’s jaw dropped so fast it almost broke the sound barrier. She made noises, like she was choking on the words she was trying to get out.
Applejack, however, seemed to find the same words that were stuck in Scootaloo’s throat. “What do ya mean you can’t tell us nothin’?”
Matron sighed. “I can’t tell you anything, because that information is confidential.”
“But... it’s my information.” Scootaloo cried, jumping to her hooves. Her wings fluttered angrily, lifting her an inch off the ground for a second. “It’s about me. How can you keep the stuff about me a secret?”
Matron Foster had dealt with many difficult foals over the years, so she was neither surprised or impressed by Scootaloo’s outburst. She stared at the filly, unblinking, and waited for her to calm down. It took a little longer than usual, but Scootaloo finally sat down again.
“You see Scootaloo, when your biological mother agreed to have you adopted she signed a confidentiality form. She doesn't wish for her details to be made available to anypony without either her permission, or a court order.”
Scootaloo could have collapsed if she hadn’t already bee sitting down. She was so close. The name was in a folder just two feet in front of her, but now she was here she wasn’t allowed to see it? It wasn’t fair. “But...it’s my mother.” She spoke in a weak, stunned, voice. “Mine. I’m not just some stranger, I’m her daughter.”
“I’m sorry Scootaloo.” Matron replied, although her tone didn’t match her words. “If you wish, we can fill out the necessary paperwork today. The request will be sent to your biological parent and, should she consent, the information can be made available to you. However this will take time.”
Applejack asked the question but knew she wasn’t going to like the answer. “How long should that take?”
When Matron Foster gave her answer Scootaloo felt like her head had been hit with a boulder. “Several weeks, at the very least. Perhaps a few months.”
Scootaloo tuned out, falling into a stunned silence. She barely heard Applejack agree. Didn’t notice the passage of time as AJ filled out the forms. She moved like a zombie when it was their time to leave the office. The excited inquiries of her friends was just background noise in her ears she didn’t respond to. When Applejack told them what happened inside the office, Scootaloo didn’t make a protest when her best friends gave her comforting hugs.
In silence she left the home. Quietly she climbed aboard a cab. Without making a peep she arrived back at the arrived back at the apartment building where Babs lived.
She didn’t respond to anything until Applebloom asked a question which cut through her trance. “So, what now?”
Scootaloo blinked and glanced at her friends.
Applejack sighed and shook her head. “Nothin’ more we can do. We jus’ gotta wait for all the paperwork to go through. We’ll spend the night here and get the mornin’ train’ back to Ponyville.”
After everything they had failed, all because of stupid paperwork. It had been there, right in front of her, in her grasp and it had all been taken away from her at the last second. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair.
Not caring about her image. Not caring of how she would look in her friends, or strangers. Scootaloo burst into tears.