"Hi there, Scootaloo."
The little orange pegasus yelped and jumped back. She took a few deep breathes to calm her beating heart. "Oh gosh, Twilight. You really startled me. Usually Rainbow does that."
"Sorry. What are you doing all the way out here?"
"Me? Nothin'. Just doing some new tricks on my scooter. Wanna see?"
"Sure."
Scootaloo smiled brightly and was about to show Twilight her latest triple twist when the unicorn interrupted her concentration.
"Hey, do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?"
"Sure!" Scootaloo smiled sweetly, despite feeling just a tad annoyed at not being able to show off her latest trick. "What do you want to know?"
Twilight shifted nervously in her hooves, "Um... I want to know about your mother and father -- if you don't mind, that is."
At first the pegasus was silent, then she shrugged, "I don't know who my parents are. I think I have an older sister, but I'm not so sure. They never told me."
"Who never told you?" Twilight asked not really sure who she was referring to.
"They did."
"Who's 'they'?"
Scootaloo shrugged again, "I don't know. Gerosia? Gerusa? Somethin' like that. I don't know, I can't remember, I was only a foal. They said that I wasn't fit enough. So, I was sent away."
Twilight furrowed her brow, "Sent away? Why? Who is this Gerusa or whatever?"
"Beats me. I was just a little foal so I don't remember."
"Then how do you know all this?"
"Rainbow told me. She said that they were a bunch of stubborn old goats and that they wouldn't know what talent is even if it flew up and bit them on their butts." Scootaloo giggled at that. "Rainbow also said that I didn't need to go back if I didn't want to. It's their loss."
"Wait, Scootaloo. Do you mean to tell me that you were... exiled?"
The little pegasus looked at Twilight for a moment, "What's that mean?"
At that, Twilight was hesitant to answer. She should have thought a little bit before opening her mouth. "Well, it kinda means that you can't go back. Not that you'd want to, right?" Twilight laughed nervously, worried that she had hurt the filly's feelings.
"Nope! Don't want to! Besides, my best friends are here. Why would I want to go anywhere?"
"Hey!" a voice shouted from above. Twilight looked up to see Rainbow land in front of her, placing her body protectively in front of Scootaloo, "Stop it, Twilight. She doesn't understand."
"She isn't the only one. What is going on, Rainbow? Who is this... Gerosa-"
"Gerousia," Rainbow finished for Twilight.
That Twilight knew.
"That's the governing body of the pegasi... some of the greatest pegasus ponies in Equestria are members of it."
"None of the greatest pegasi are on it. They're nothing but a bunch of dim-witted, ignorant old farts."
At that, Scootaloo laughed. Despite her earlier anger, Rainbow couldn't help but chuckle at the filly's reaction to her insult. Twilight just looked at her friend, not understanding any of it. Other pegasi she had talked to seemed to always admire the Gerousia. This was the first time she had actually heard them be spoken of negatively.
"I don't understand."
Rainbow gave Twilight a level look, "Would a great pegasus exile a child?"
"No."
"Look, stop trying to dig around, Twilight. This is more than you can take in. Trust me, okay?"
This time it was Twilight's turn to get angry, "Rainbow, I'm your very best friend! Of course I trust you, but trust is a two way street! If something is wrong, and if it's something bad, then I want to know. If it's something I can help, then I want to-"
"You can't help, Twilight. If Princess Celestia can't change them, what makes you think you can?" Rainbow pouted and turned away, "Nopony can change them. They're too stupid to see any other way."
At that, the Element of Magic's anger evaporated. She was not angry at Rainbow. How could she be? It didn't take a genius to see that Rainbow was protecting little Scootaloo in her own way. A part of Twilight wanted to ignore what she was learning, to let go of her boundless curiosity only because it just seemed too painful towards her best friend.
Still, Twilight had to know, not as a census taker for Princess Celestia, but as the best friend of the Element of Loyalty.
"Then why don't you tell me about it?" Twilight offered sitting down on the grass opposite the two pegasi.
"I can't, Twilight. Look, I know that you want to help, but every time I think about-" she let out an angry roar, "I don't want to think about it! It makes me so... so..."
"Mad?"
"Yes! Thank you, Scootaloo."
"No problem, Rainbow Dash," the little filly grinned from ear to ear.
"Look, I don't care if you ask around, just don't bring in the foals. They don't understand what happened to them, and I don't want them to. Somepony's gotta watch out for them. They don't need to know. Just... if you really want to know, then ask some of the older pegasi, okay?"
"Okay, Rainbow."
With that the two walked off, all the while Rainbow listened patiently to Scootaloo describing her new scooter stunt that she had just perfected only moments before.
Twilight looked on as they continued on their way not really sure what to make of what she had just heard. Even Spike, who had been there throughout the entire ordeal, failed to come up with one of his usual anecdotes. What bothered Twilight the most was what Rainbow said about Princess Celestia being unable to help. Something that the Princess could not do seemed simply impossible for her to imagine, and yet here she was.
"Spike, who else can we talk to besides Rainbow and Fluttershy that's a pegasus?"
Spike shrugged. He pointed up towards the clouds where some of the weather pegasi were shifting some clouds, "Take your pick."