Chapter 4
Scootaloo told her everything. Under the light of the moon and the stars, on the thin lonely trail, she poured out her story. All the times she’d been laughed at, the times her class mates made fun of her and bullied her. All the times her father struck her. Every memory and every detail came pouring out and she couldn’t stop if she wanted to. It wasn’t long before she was crying. At first, Sweetie Belle just stood with her, disbelief visible on her face. As her tale continued Sweetie’s eyes began to look watery and soon she was crying almost as much as Scootaloo.
She told her about the events the day before they met, and about the kindly carriage driver, Storm Chaser. “And after that I found you, pushing that rock.” She finished. Sweetie Belle threw her forelegs around her friend’s neck and held her in a tight embrace which Scootaloo immediately returned, and the two friends sat there, faces soaked with tears, holding each other. Neither of them could measure the time it took, but eventually their sobs became less intense and Sweetie Belle let her go so she could look at her eyes. “Am I really the first pony you’ve told all this?” she asked. The little Pegasus sniffled and nodded her head. The unicorn hugged her friend, with less intensity this time and whispered “Thank you.” before pulling away again. “For what?” the other asked, confused. “For telling me,” she said. “For trusting me.” Scootaloo stood there and stared into her friends green eyes, now rimmed with red. It felt good to tell her, better than crying. She was glad it was her too. She loved Apple Bloom and planned on telling her soon as well, but Sweetie Belle was the first filly she ever met that had no problem hanging out with her. Heck she enjoyed hanging out with her. She was her first friend.
“Scootaloo, will you be okay? I know it must have been hard to tell somepony that. Do you want to sleep over at my house tonight? My parents won’t mind.” Scootaloo would have loved to go but there was something else she had to do. She told her friend such and Sweetie Belle simply nodded.
The two friends continued their walk and Sweetie Belle looked over at Scootaloo. Despite the relief of telling Sweetie, thinking of her father still held a particular sting. So Sweetie did the only natural thing. She sang. The song had no words just notes slowly flowing and creating a happy tune. As her song progressed, a soft wind rustled the leaves in the trees and whistled through the reeds of the creek. Crickets and other nightly insects joined their calls to the chorus. The lonely trail was suddenly alive with music. The pegasus was dumbfounded. She’d never heard anything more beautiful. Although Scootaloo didn’t have much musical talent to speak of, she could definitely appreciate it. So, on they walked and Scootaloo knew even if the moon and stars went out and the world was covered in black, she had nothing to fear as long as Sweetie Belle was with her.
Why did I agree to this? Scootaloo thought as she pushed the rock with the white filly. She wasn’t really mad though. She had finally made it off of the clouds. She was on the ground, and her father was far away. Not to mention she still had a jar full of bits. Why should she be mad? There was a rather steep and grassy incline at the top of which was the trail. If they could get the rock up onto the streets, it would go a lot easier. She still had no idea why Sweetie Belle wanted to give this rock to her sister. In fact the entire time they pushed she hadn’t said a word. They continued to labour in silence, aside from the huffs of their heavy breathing. Eventually they got the rock onto the trail. They took a moment to rest their hooves. The strange white filly looked to her and muttered “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Scootaloo said between breaths. The break from work had left them in a very long and awkward silence and she couldn’t take it much more. “So why does your sister want a rock?”
“Oh,” Sweetie Belle blushed “well it’s not actually FOR my sister I just need to give it to her.”
The unicorn quieted down clearly believing this needed no explanation. “But why?” she asked again
“Oh, well, my sister’s a unicorn too,” she pointed to her horn “and she knows this spell that lets her see gemstones in the ground or in rocks and stuff.” She put on a large smile. Scootaloo felt about ready to yell. “So we’ve been pushing this rock for the past ten minutes, so we can bring it to your sister, on the off chance there might be diamonds inside?”
“Yep!” the white filly beamed.
Scootaloo groaned with frustration. What a waste of time. She could have been looking for an inn or some food but instead she decided to help some senile unicorn push a boulder! “Okay well you seem like you can take it from here.” The pegasus said walking away. Sweetie Belle’s smile disappeared.
“No I don’t got it from here! I need your help Scootaloo!” The unicorn ran up to her and stepped in front of her, not aggressively but pleadingly. “It’ll be easier now that we’re off the grass I promise. Please don’t leave Scootaloo.” She said, looking at Scootaloo with her big green eyes. There was such desperation behind them that Scootaloo simply heard herself say “Fine.” She was shocked the filly had remembered her name.
“Yay! Thank you so much!” she squealed wrapping her in a hug so fast the orange filly didn’t have a chance to refuse it. Just as quick as it was given the hug was over and for a confusing moment she wished it wasn’t. But she didn’t dwell on it and resumed working with the strange little pony, to get a huge rock to her sister’s house. But she was right; the job was much easier on the road than in the grass
As they entered the town, Scootaloo noticed they were attracting a lot of attention and she felt her face redden. Most folk just passed them by, thank Celestia but a few tossed them some quizzical looks and some even sniggered. The orange filly glanced towards her new found companion to see if she felt the same discomfort at all the attention, but if she did, then she definitely didn’t show it. On the contrary she was smiling looking quite oblivious to the world around her, and the pegasus found herself wondering what she was thinking. She probably didn’t want to know. The town was a lot from smaller than Cloudsdale, but everything was so strange. Ponies moved slowly and chatted in the streets and many said hello as they passed. Stuff like that was rare where she came from. “Hey,” Sweetie Belle said suddenly pulling her from her thoughts. “When you were walking away I noticed that you were a blank flank too.”
“A what?” she asked arching an eyebrow.
“A blank flank. You know, you don’t have a cutie mark yet, like me.”
Scootaloo didn’t quite know how to feel about somepony looking at her flank and commenting on it.
“Yeah so?”
“Haven’t you been made fun of for it?”
“No.” She said confused.
“Really? Oh right you said you were new. Well around here, school fillies make fun of ponies without cutie marks constantly. I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks but my parents still haven’t registered me for school. I’m not exited for it” She looked back at the rock. So things on the ground weren’t always peachy. “What about you where are you from?”
“Cloudsdale.” She replied simply.
“Wow really?” Sweetie said in awe “That’s so cool! What’s it like living on a cloud?”
Scootaloo felt the urge to give a mean retort, as she had nothing good to say about it, but this filly seemed nice, and it was kind of nice to have somepony her age to talk to. “Umm... it’s cool I guess.” It was the kindest thing she could think of to say.
“Oh right you’re probably used to being up in the clouds, being a pegasus pony and all.” Scootaloo remained silent. Luckily she didn’t need to say anything because soon enough they arrived. “Here we are!” Sweetie Belle called her voice squeaking.
Scootaloo peered around the rock and was astonished. “You’re sister lives here?” The building was made of stone and wood and beautifully carved. The first word that came to her mind was ‘Palace’. Bright gold and purple hues attacked her eyes. The shape was round and though there were only two stories the place rose quite high. “Yep, it’s also her store! She makes dresses and stuff. She doesn’t live with my parents anymore she’s too old, but she used to. I was actually born here but then we moved to Trottingham for a while and when Rarity made enough money she moved back here, and now mom and dad live here too so they can be close to her again. Oh Rarity is my sister’s name by the way.” Her words flew out, a mile a minute.
Wow this filly liked to talk. She always talked with such enthusiasm. Scootaloo hadn’t met anyone so happy before. “Hmm,” Sweetie Belle mumbled looking at the door “I don’t think Rarity will want us to bring this into her Boutique. Come on, we’ll go get her.” The white filly trotted happily towards the door and Scootaloo cautiously followed. She didn’t figure this Rarity character would appreciate a stranger in her house. Then again, it was a shop too so she probably gets ponies in there all the time.
So she trailed the strange filly into the Boutique. She had never been in a solid building before, and felt a pang of excitement as the door was pushed open and a bell sounded. She wasn’t disappointed. She was practically assaulted with colour upon entering the store. Dresses, articles of assorted clothing, and simple raw fabric, created a rainbow solid as everything else on the ground. Racks and mannequins contained enough dresses to last a life time. Some were plain and simple, solid colours, maybe a bit of lining on the hem. But many were designed with such an obvious passion and style; even the tomboyish filly couldn’t help admiring them. “Did your sister make ALL of these?”
“Yep, Rarity makes all the clothes she sells.” The pride for her sister took the form of a smile.
“She must not get out much huh?” Scootaloo mumbled, but Sweetie Belle wasn’t listening. “Rarity! Hey Rarity, I’m back!”
“Sweetie Belle,” a voice whined from the top of the stairs. “You’re breaking my concentration!”
“Oops sorry sis, could you come down please?”
“Sweetie Belle I-”
“Pleeeeeaaaase!” she whined and gave a wink to Scootaloo. It didn’t take her long to realise she’d use the same tactic on her. And apparently it was effective. “Fine!” Scootaloo heard Rarity approaching and again she saw beauty that was a wonder to behold. From the bottom of the stairs the most beautiful mare she’d ever seen came towards them. She shared the same white coat as Sweetie Belle but her mane was a solid purple that came down in an elegant wave. Her long eyelashes accented the deep blue of her eyes, which carried a very frustrated look. The look quickly turned to shock however, as she noticed Scootaloo. “Oh hello,” she said with a slight accent the likes of which she’d never heard. “Who’s this Sweetie?”
“Oh this is my friend Scooter Blue!”
“Scootaloo.” She whispered, quickly noting the use of the word friend.
“Yeah Scootaloo, that’s what I said, she helped me push a rock here, thats why I wanted you.” Rarity was staring at Scootaloo with a deep concentration. Only now did the little filly realise she hadn’t had a bath in three days and she felt a heat creep into her cheeks. Rarity’s eyes widened as she noticed what her sister said “A rock?”
“Yep you said you knew a gem spell so I wanted to see if there were any gems in it.”
“Uh-huh,” she said with uncertainty
“Very well let me see this rock.” The trio walked out from the store and it was obvious that Rarity wasn’t quite expecting the size of the boulder. She let out a small screech of shock. “Sweetie Belle, what did you do? Why would you leave a rock bigger than you right outside my Boutique. Goodness this is practical customer repellent.” Suddenly her horn shimmered with a blue aura, which Scootaloo watched with awe. Rarity Stared deeply at the rock, almost as if she was looking through it. “Oh there aren’t even any gems in it.”
“Aww.” Sweetie Belle groaned
“Now I need to get this away from my shop.” She shouted franticaly The aura shimmered around her horn and the rock alike as it began to levitate. Scootaloo’s jaw dropped. She’d been on the ground for less than an hour and it was already almost too much to handle. Rarity walked away with the stone in tow. “I’ll be back soon Sweetie Belle. Don’t go in my inspiration room.” She stopped suddenly “Oh and Scootaloo.”
She closed her jaw again. “Feel free to take a shower; you look a bit... messy.” And with that she left. Sweetie Belle still looked quite disheartened. “Well thanks for the help anyway, sorry it was for nothing. Ooh maybe we can try again tomorrow!”
Scootaloo tore her eyes away from the levitating rock “Tomorrow?”
“Well yeah you know,” the filly’s gaze shifted to the ground “It’s just that you’re my first friend here in Ponyville so I just figured we could hang out some more. If you’re too busy that’s totally cool.” Sweetie Belle tossed her a hopeful look. There was that word again. Friend. She’d known this filly for less than a day and already she was calling her a friend. Scootaloo didn’t know what to think. She’d always assumed friendships took weeks of work to attain, and that being a friend required certain qualities. But there was this Sweetie Belle already calling her a friend, just because she helped her. Despite the ponies odd nature, she felt an unrecognised warmth in her. She’d made a friend.
“Um yeah sure I’d... really like to hang out some more.” She said with a slight voice quiver. Sweetie Belle gave her another big smile. “Great! We can figure out the details later, come on I’ll show you where the shower is.”
. . .
Oh Celestia, what is this? Scootaloo thought to herself as she stared at the complex machine in front of her. The showers on the ground were a lot different than in Cloudsdale. In fact in Cloudsdale bathing simply involve jumping into a cloud that was kept very warm and washing up. Showers on the ground had pipes and levers and a weird bowl at the bottom.
She called Sweetie Belle back to the bathroom to ask her how it worked. Scootaloo thought it was a perfectly fine question to be asking but her new friend was laughing so hard she was tearing up, and once again Scootaloo’s face felt warm. Once her new friend was able to breathe she simply pulled out the weird lever and twisted it to the left. Steaming water shot from the nozzle at the top and the little Pegasus jumped back in fright, prompting more laughter from Sweetie Belle. “You just twist it to the left to make it hot or the right to make it cold. Don’t twist it too far though the temperature changes really fast.” She said all this between fits of giggles. After that the unicorn left, and Scootaloo dropped her saddle bag in the corner and got into the weird bowl that seemed to collect the falling water.
Terror ran through her as the hot water ran over her coat and matted her mane. She’d never gotten wet before. It never rained in Cloudsdale and the most the clouds could do was make your hooves damp and that took a long time of walking. The feeling of condensed, hot water on her back was very foreign and her first instinct was to jump out. But the warmth of the water seeped through her coat and made her relax a bit. And relaxation was something she definitely needed. She’d gone from being mugged in the sky, to being bugged by a crazy friend on the ground. But despite her strangeness, Scootaloo liked that little pony.
The water stopped feeling warm so she gently twisted the odd lever to the left and felt a fresh wave of warmth cover her. She spread out her wings and watched large droplets fall from her feathers. These ground ponies sure knew how to live. She looked up and saw the billowing steam race from out of the shower and turn into water on the mirror in the corner. Weird. Every time she got used to the temperature of the water she turned it up a bit until the lever stopped moving, and Scootaloo thought she might be sweating.
She thought she’d only been in for a few minutes but the muffled voice of Sweetie Belles sister called from behind the door. “Darling have you been in their since I left?” Rarity called.
“Umm no.” The filly lied and pushed the lever down, cutting off the water. As soon as she did, the heat seemed to get leeched out of her body, and she began to shiver. She pulled her wings back to her sides. Her wet mane covered her eyes and, as childish as it was, she began to giggle. “Oh good, can I come in?”
“Sure.” Scootaloo said stepping out of the shower. Rarity opened the door and then screeched and slammed it shut again. “I thought you said I could come in!” she shouted
“You can.” Scootaloo said confused
“But you’re... not decent.”
“Huh?” Scootaloo was a bit offended by the remark. She heard the unicorn groan.
“It is not ladylike to remain uncovered after bathing.” The door opened slightly and a neatly rolled white towel floated in. “Here dry off before you come out. Then meet me in my inspiration room, the closest door to your left.” Scootaloo pushed her wet mane out or her eyes and grabbed the towel. Wow what a prissy pony. Why was Rarity being so weird? Maybe it’s rude to let somepony see you when you’re wet? Why did it matter? Whatever, she was in her house so she would play by the rules.
“Oh and try not to make a puddle on the floor.” She called again sounding further away. The filly stared sheepishly down at the large pool of water that had collected under her.
After drying herself, and the floor off, the filly left the bathroom and found the inspiration room with little difficulty. It wasn’t all that inspiring to be honest. Rolls and cut sheets of fabric cluttered the floor and desk alike. There was a very luxurious looking bed on one side of the room, but it was covered with scissors and pin cushions. There was a circular area on the floor that remained clean. At the far side of the room Rarity stood, holding different shades of green fabric up to the sunlight, and muttering softly to herself. “Ah perfect!” she exclaimed turning “Oh hello um-”
“Scootaloo.”
“Yes Scootaloo. Thank you for coming, Sweetie Belle brought you at the perfect time. Would you mind coming in and helping me?”
Scootaloos wings unfurled slowly “I’m uh not sure how much help I’d be, I’ve never sown anything before.”
“Oh that’s quite alright, I just need you to stand there and hold still.” She pointed a hoof at the clearing on the floor.
“Okay.” She said, glad Rarity wasn’t angry about the bathroom incident. In fact the pony seemed to have completely forgot about it. Rarity began to shuffle through the various drawers on her work bench. Scootaloo carefully stepped around the fabric on the floor. After she made it through the minefield, Rarity trotted over to her gracefully holding a roll of light green fabric, some thread and a needle. Rarity magically unwound the fabric and covered Scootaloo’s midsection with it. The Pegasus looked at the needle with uncertainty.
“Oh don’t look so frightened,” she laughed. “I promise not to prick you, I am quite practiced at this.” She threaded the needle and began pulling it through the two sheets of fabric held to the filly. “Sweetie Belles birthday is coming up soon so it thought I’d make her a fabulous gown for the occasion, it’s a surprise so don’t tell her. But sadly I’ve never been commissioned for a foal sized outfit and my shipment for foal sized mannequins is late. You are just about the same size as her though, so you’re going to be my model, okay?”
Scootaloo nodded, and the mare pulled the needle and thread through again. “Don’t worry I just need the basic shape, after that my workbench should suit my needs. Besides Sweetie Belles bound to return soon.”
“Why where did she go?” the filly asked.
“Oh I sent her to the store to pick up some fabrics for me, so I can begin decorating town hall for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow.” Wow, the celebration was being hosted here? She worked in silence for a little bit and Scootaloo was just beginning to get used to it when, Rarity piped up again “I’m so glad to see Sweetie Belle finally making some friends around here. She’s seemed a bit... distant since the move. How did you meet my sister?”
“”I bumped into her near the entrance to town and she asked me to help her with that rock. Sorry about that by the way.”
“Oh it’s quite alright,” Rarity said dismissively. “The town entrance you say? So you’re new here too then? I don’t think I’ve
ever seen you around town before.”
“Yeah I’m from Cloudsdale.” She didn’t see any harm in telling Rarity about where she was from, but she didn’t want to get much more specific than that. “Oh, how interesting, what’s it like to walk on clouds?”
“Um... soft.” She wasn’t quite sure how to answer, but her remark earned a chuckle from Rarity.
“Yes I would imagine. I’ve always wanted to visit Cloudsdale. Very few ponies who aren’t pegasi have even seen the place.” Scootaloo almost laughed. Rarity made it seem like such a strange and mystical place. “You’re doing quite well; I’ve never seen a filly sit so still. Oh this is fun, I don’t usually get to converse with my mannequins while I work.” Scootaloo blushed. She wasn’t used to such praise or attention, and she really liked this pony. She felt bad about thinking she was prissy and rude. “What sorts of things do you like to do dear?” Rarity asked
“Oh, uh...” she wasn’t really sure. Most of her days had involved a lot of walking and quiet thought and dreaming. She tried to think of the times she’d felt the happiest. “I like exploring I guess.” She answered thinking of all the times she’d wandered Cloudsdales forgotten places. “Oh an explorer eh? I wouldn’t have guessed, I would have thought you as a more athletic type, like that weather pony Rainbow Dash. Not really the flying type huh?”
The remark was innocent enough, and Scootaloo knew the pony couldn’t have known just how deep that comment hit her. But that was a path of conversation she didn’t want to follow. Instead she changed the subject to Rarity. “What about you? What do you like to do?”
“Why isn’t it obvious?” she chuckled, waving a hoof around the cluttered room. “Clothes making has been my passion since a very young age. It is an art form few truly understand or appreciate. Where most see a simple article of clothing, I see art, plain and simple. With fabric as my canvass and stitches as my paint I create masterpieces.” Scootaloo had never seen such a passion about anything, let alone dress making.
“Wow that’s... awesome.” She couldn’t think of a better word.
“How kind of you to say.” Rarity laughed “There! I think it’s coming along rather well don’t you?” she asked pointing at a mirror in the corner of the room. Even though this was just the bare bones of the outfit, it looked gorgeous. Although Scootaloo had to admit, green definitely wasn’t her colour. Rarity’s aura covered the dress and it slid smoothly off. She neatly folded it and placed it in a drawer. “Thank you very much for your help, Scootaloo.” She said
“It was nothing really. Standing around isn’t exactly a tough job.” Scootaloo said modestly.
“Oh trust me, if I can even get anypony to model for me they usually can’t even follow simple instructions. Tell you what; I’ll even put your name on the gift.” The filly had to sit down. The amount of kindness she’d been shown this afternoon was unbelievable. How could such a nice place exist just under such a parasprite-hole of a city? Had she really been so close to a place where friends could be made in an afternoon, and compliments were handed out so freely?
“I also have to say, your manners are very good for a pony from Cloudsdale, no offence. It is quite refreshing actually; so many foals are always running about shouting profanity and making a mess of the town. Would you like to stay for dinner Scootaloo? If your parents don’t mind of course.” The invitation was given with a smile, but Rarity’s face swiftly turned to one of confusion, after seeing the look on Scootaloo. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide.
“What have you never been invited to somepony’s house before?”
In answer, Scootaloo began to cry.