Later that night, Royal woke up to a familiar sound; a sound he had heard earlier along with Apple Bloom and the others. He got up and gently opened the door to his room, where he'd put Scootaloo to bed. He could hear it clearly now; she was crying. He turned on the light, which seemed to startle the poor girl.
"Where...am I?" she asked. Her eyes adjusted to see Royal standing at the foot of the bed.
"Royal?"
"Hey Scootaloo." He walked over to the head of the bed.
“Is this your house?” Scootaloo sleepily asked.
“Yep. You’re staying with me tonight.” Royal could tell she needed some company.
“Can’t sleep?” She nodded her head. Royal smiled warmly.
"Okay. Come on, kid." He walked out of the room, turning the light off after Scootaloo exited with him. He climbed onto his sofa, where he had planned to sleep for the night. Scootaloo followed his example.
"So, what do you want to do? We could listen to some music, or play a game, or...you know what, that's pretty much it. Sorry, I'm kinda boring like that." Scootaloo didn't respond.
"That's okay, Scoot. Take your time." He walked over to the pan of apple muffins. There were two left.
"I always like to keep my favorite snack handy!" Royal spoke in a raspy and boisterous tone. This startled Scootaloo. She looked over at him. Royal grinned, sheepishly.
"Sorry. That was my Macho Equine impression. You want a muffin?"
"Yeah, sure," she said. Royal smiled. At least he knew that the poor girl wasn’t too shell-shocked to eat. He returned to his spot and gave her one of the muffins.
“I think you’ll like it. Pinkie Pie and Derpy made these for me. And then Derpy ate half of them before they left. That was a hoot!” Scootaloo took a bite and swallowed.
“This is good!” she said. She smiled for the first time since she had woken up.
“Considering who made them, how could they be anything but?” Royal leaned back. He looked out the window to see the stars and a full moon.
“It’s such a beautiful night, now that the storm’s over.” Scootaloo looked in the same direction.
“Wow…I’m usually not up so late. I don’t get to see this. This is awesome!” The pair stared out the window for a good amount of time. Scootaloo suddenly noticed the sound of an acoustic guitar. She turned around. Royal was strumming away, playing a song she had never heard before.
“You know, Scootaloo, a night like this calls for a little music.” He launched into a soft song.
Now it’s time to say goodnight. Good night, sleep tight.
Now the sun turns out her light, good night, sleep tight.
Dream sweet dreams for me. Dream sweet dreams for you.
Scootaloo could feel her eyes beginning to close. She had edged closer to her host. She was fairly close to falling asleep on his legs. Royal adjusted himself accordingly, making sure that if she did fall asleep, he would be able to move without disturbing her.
Close your eyes, and I’ll close mine. Good night, sleep tight.
Now the moon begins to shine. Good night, sleep tight.
Dream sweet dreams for me. Dream sweet dreams for you.
Royal was about to enter the last verse, but he felt his own eyes beginning to close, so he kept strumming away softly. He felt something touch him. Scootaloo had fallen asleep curled up next to him. She had fallen asleep with a smile on her face.
Well now, that wasn’t too hard. Sweet dreams, kid.
“Good night, Scootaloo.” He whispered, trying not to wake her, but hoping she could hear him at the same time. Royal put his guitar off to the side quietly, and then fell asleep. He provided his cape as a blanket for the filly.
The next morning, Royal woke up to find Scootaloo missing. Before he had a chance to panic, he found a letter on the table right in front of him.
Dear Royal,
You were still asleep when I came by and I didn’t want to disturb you. I took Scootaloo out for a flying lesson. She said to tell you thanks for cheering her up last night. I didn’t know you were such a good songwriter! Say, aren’t you a pegasus, too? You should come out with us some time. Well, I’ve got to go. Keep it cool, music man!
Rainbow Dash (as if you had to ask).
Royal smiled as he finished reading the letter.
“That’s nice. Scoots gets to spend time with her hero. The way she models herself after Rainbow is pretty cute.” He was startled by a knock on the door. He got up from the sofa, grabbed the muffin wrappers from the night before and disposed of them. He opened the door to see a pony he hadn’t met yet. She was purple, like Twilight, but a different shade of the color.
“Hello. You must be Royal Blue.”
“Yes, that would be me. Who are you?”
“Cheerilee. I’m a teacher.”
“A teacher, huh?”
“Yes. I’m here to talk about Scootaloo.” Royal smiled.
“She’s a great kid, isn’t she?” Cheerilee’s expression changed.
“Yes, well, there’s something you should know.”
“What’s that?”
She’s an orphan.” Royal went into shock at that moment…and then regained his composure just as soon as he had lost it.
“I…I had no clue. Come in, Miss Cheerilee. I think we both need to sit down for this one.” She followed him inside and joined him on the sofa. Cheerilee resumed her story.
“There was an accident last night. Certainly you were aware of that awful storm.”
"Aware of it? I was out in it!" Royal replied. Cheerilee was shocked.
"What were you doing? You could have been killed!"
"Searching for Scootaloo." They both fell silent.
"So, what were you saying?" Royal resumed the conversation.
"A bolt of lightning struck Scootaloo's house. It caught on fire. That, combined with the wind, oh it's just so awful..." Cheerilee stopped speaking. She was clearly trying to hold back the waterworks. Royal knew where this was going.
"I'll take care of her, if she wants me to." Cheerilee looked up, a smile returning to her face.
"That's a very sweet gesture, but do you really think you're up for it?"
"I live on my own, Miss Cheerliee. It gets awfully lonely around here sometimes. If somepony else doesn’t take her in, I’d be glad to."
"You’re very sweet." As soon as she finished speaking, they both heard the door open. Standing there were Scootaloo and Rainbow. They both looked as if they'd been crying. Royal and Cheerilee looked at them with compassionate eyes.
Oh no! Royal’s heart sank.
"We saw it...it was awful!" Rainbow said.
"Everything...everything is gone." Scootaloo said, a look of complete and utter loss present on her face.
A little while later, Rainbow had regained her composure, which is more than could be said for Scootaloo. She was being consoled in a tight group hug by her fellow crusaders, who had come over to check on her as promised. No words were needed. Just the sight of Scootaloo looking so broken was enough. Royal was determined to get to the bottom of this. He already knew what they had seen; now he wanted more information.
"Rainbow, can you tell us a little bit more about what happened?" Royal asked. Rainbow, who was seated near her young fan, nodded.
"We were trying to find a good place where I could teach the squirt some awesome flying techniques. She told me about how she had stayed here last night, so she had to go back home and get something." Rainbow paused, breathing heavily. Scootaloo began talking.
"I...I had a big fight with my mom and dad last night. They grounded me, so I ran away from home. I...I said some terrible things...and...now..." she lost control again. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle continued to comfort her.
"It's all right, Scootaloo." Apple Bloom said. Royal stared at them, smiling.
She's fortunate to have such great friends at such a time.
"What am I gonna do? What's going to happen to me?" Scootaloo said. Royal stood up and walked over to the group.
“Don’t you worry, Scoot. Every pony in this room is ready to open their home to you. You just need to make a choice.”
Royal then walked away and resumed his position on the sofa.
The young pony had a decision to make. She weighed over every possible decision in her head. Of all the places she could live, she was able to narrow it down to four: Sweet Apple Acres, the Carousel Boutique, Rainbow Dash’s house in Cloudsdale, and here. From there, she tried to make a choice.
“Apple Bloom, it would be really fun to live with you and Applejack, but I can’t. Your home is crowded enough already.” She turned to Sweetie Belle.
“Sweetie Belle, I appreciate the offer, but we both know Rarity has her hooves full with her fashion business and you when you visit her.” Sweetie Belle was slightly offended by the remark, but now was hardly the time to show it. Scootaloo moved on to Rainbow. Before she could say anything, the pony with the Technicolor mane spoke up.
“I know what you’re gonna ask, kid. I’d love to have you, but I think you can make a better decision.” Scootaloo was taken aback by this response.
“What do you mean?” Rainbow gestured toward Royal.
“I’m not an expert on any pony’s feelings, but I think that guy needs you a lot more than you need me right now.” Scootaloo thought back to when Royal had told his story at the big party. Despite his loss, he had been nothing but kind and courteous to every pony he’d met, including her.
“I’ll still be around, kiddo. You once said you’d do anything for me. This is it.” Dash flashed her trademark grin, though it was a lot warmer than usual.
“I think you two could bring a lot of sunshine to each other. So, what do you say?” Scootaloo smiled.
“You bet, Rainbow!” She rushed over to Royal.
“So, you’re going to stay here, huh?” he asked. She nodded. Royal was flattered. Had she really chosen him over her hero?
“But why me? I thought your choice was obvious.” Scootaloo jumped up on the couch and gave him a hug.
“A wise pony told me you need me. So here I am.” Royal returned the hug. He looked over at Rainbow, who winked at him.
“That’s good enough for me. Welcome home, Scootaloo.” Cheerilee quietly got up from her spot and urged Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to follow her. They left, closing the door on their way out. Rainbow stayed, mainly because she still had to take Scootaloo back to the remains of her house to try and find anything that survived the fire. Scootaloo and Royal finally ended their long hug, and the filly hopped down from the sofa and walked over to Rainbow.
“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.” Rainbow nodded, and the two prepared to head out.
Come on, Rainbow Dash. You’ve got to hold it together, for the kid’s sake! Rainbow opened the door, only to see some familiar faces. Twilight, Applejack, and Big Macintosh were standing in the doorway. Big Mac was carrying a sack on his back.
"Oh, hey everypony! Come on in!" Royal said. The trio entered his house. Applejack lifted the sack off of her older brother and brought it to the floor.
"This was all we could find, Scootaloo. I'm...I'm so sorry." Twilight said as she stepped back. Scootaloo dug into the bag. She found the Wonderbolt plush that she had received for her most recent birthday. But among the rest of the possessions in the bag, Scootaloo could not find the one that mattered most; a picture of her and her parents in a nice frame.
"The picture! It's not here!"
"What picture?" Applejack asked.
"It's a framed picture of me and my parents. I can't lose that! Not now!"
"Oh no! There's a blizzard coming tomorrow as well! That will turn our chances of finding that photo to zero!" Rainbow said.
Royal turned to Twilight.
"I'll get it. Does anybody have a flashlight?" Twilight shook her head.
"Royal, the house is in shambles. It's getting dark. You'll never find it. I wouldn't recommend rummaging around. You could get hurt." He looked over to his young charge, and then back at Twilight. He directed her attention to Scootaloo.
"Look at her, Twilight. The whole house could collapse on me and I guarantee it wouldn’t hurt that much as she is right now. I'll be back!"
Royal sped out the door and took flight, his wings spreading in the night sky. Guided by Luna's moon, he flew over Ponyville until he reached the house, or rather, what was left of it. He began digging through some of the ashes, frantically searching for the special photo. He knew what such a possession meant to Scootaloo. If he had lost his picture of his grandfather, he would have reacted the same way she did. He kept digging through the ashes, moving closer to the section of the house that remained standing. Eventually, he found the picture.
"Bingo!" He went to grab it, but he noticed it was stuck. Worse yet, it was somehow holding up some large fragments of wood. He sighed with an annoyed tone.
“Nothing’s ever easy, is it?”
Royal knew he had to be as careful as possible. He slowly worked the picture frame back and forth, inching it from its space. When it was close enough, he swiped it, removing it cleanly from the space.
"Yes! I got it! Scootaloo's gonna be so happy! I'm coming, kid!" Royal started walking out of the space, but he didn't notice the structure beginning to shake. Before he could react, he was beaned in the head by a falling structural board.
Everything turned fuzzy around him.
"What's that, doctor? Oh yeah, I'll take two and call you in the morning! Hellooooo, Nurse!" Royal collapsed. He had been knocked out cold. It all took a turn for the worse when more of the structure fell on him.
No pony was going to find him in this darkness, and with a blizzard coming, it was likely no pony was even going to try. If he had been able to stay conscious, the young stallion might have had time to regret rushing off so hastily. Now, it looked like he was in quite the jam.