Scootaloo awoke to the smell of fresh omelettes and hay bacon, rolled in on a cart by a portly unicorn.
He set the cart near the awakening alicorns, bowed, and then left the room.
Sweetie Belle levitated aside the dome lids from the serving tray and the trio started to eat. Between bites they reminisced about their wonderful night with Luna and how great an idea it was to spend the latter part of "take a filly to work day" with her.
Mere seconds after they finished, the unicorn returned for the cart. His horn glowed as he produced, and then read the contents of a dark blue sheet of paper. "It appears you are to be escorted to a waiting chariot on the east dock of the castle: If you would follow me."
He pushed aside the cart and left the room. The alicorns followed, casually glancing at the tapestries and other pieces of artwork that they passed as they chatted amongst each other.
The chariot was a fairly gaudy affair emblazoned with the emblem of the sun and pulled by two pegasi in guard armor. The alicorns boarded and watched as Canterlot shrunk into the distance below them.
Scootaloo shifted and pondered if it would have been faster if they had flown home themselves.
Sweetie Belle was thinking the same thing, preferring the feel of the air through her feathers, but knew a certain decorum probably needed to be maintained.
Apple Bloom was happy enough just watching the fields below as they passed over them.
Ponyville came into sight in the distance. As they descended, they could note the shapes of three ponies waiting for them.
Applejack seemed angry, while Rarity looked concerned, and Twilight was for the most part unreadable. The crusaders glanced at each other as their jubilance turned to apprehension.
The sky carriage came in for a landing in front of Twilight's library and the alicorn fillies dismounted. They thanked the pegasi and watched as the vehicle departed.
Rarity trotted up to Sweetie Belle and drew her into a big hug.
Apple Bloom approached Applejack and tried to give a guilty smile under her chilling glare.
"Now I know Princess Luna has taken a shine to you, but it just isn't right imposing on her like that," started Applejack. "What would you have done if she were too busy to interrupt her night for you? Or if it took several hours to see her and then you had to come home in the middle of the night? Or were you planning to rent out a hotel room?"
"You had us worried," added Rarity. "I do not just up and leave Ponyville without letting my friends know ahead of time, not after the fact."
Twilight floated a small black book in front of her. "We will be expecting you to come to the library and sign this travel log before leaving Ponyville in the future. I am also going to cast a spell that will let me know if you leave the Ponyville area. It only lasts a month and we will talk about if it needs to be recast at the end of its duration."
Scootaloo took a deep breath and approached Twilight. "Rainbow Dash is often in Cloudsdale, and it really isn't far away, and if we are helping with the weather we would need to go there."
Twilight paused for an uncomfortable amount of time before sighing. "Fine, I can have the spell cover Cloudsdale as well, but if you are going there for an extended period without supervision I still want you to sign the travel log. I guess this also opens up the eastern part of the White Tail Woods as well."
"And I sometimes see Zecora, can it be extended to her hut?" asked Apple Bloom.
"I am sorry but no, we want to know if you are going into the Everfree even if it is on the outskirts," replied Twilight.
"What if we gathered a cloud hanging over the edge of the Everfree for our cloud house?" asked Apple Bloom.
"It would trigger the spell, but only for the duration you were over there," replied Twilight. "In that case it would be fine so long as it was only for a short duration.” She shook her head slowly. “I think you are taking this the wrong way girls. The spell isn't meant to be a straitjacket, it is a safety measure. It is a big world out there and we don't want you getting hurt. One final point, it won't trigger so long as you are in the proximity of one of the elements, so if you were to go to Froggy Bottom Bog with Fluttershy, you need not worry about it going off."
Twilight pointed at the spot in front of her with her forehoof and the crusaders gathered where she pointed. Twilight's horn glowed lightly and one tickling feeling later, the spell was complete.
"Well since you all managed to miss school today, I see some apple bucking in your future," said Applejack to Apple Bloom as she nudged her towards Sweet Apple Acres.
Apple Bloom shot a pained look back at Scootaloo as she walked off.
Rarity mumbled something about needing some spa time and trotted in that direction with Sweetie Belle in tow.
Scootaloo tunelessly whistled then launched herself into the sky before she could get roped into anything.
She purposefully failed to hear what Twilight said at that moment and did not look back down until passing the cloud deck. The whole of Ponyville stretched out beneath her, ponies going about their daily business only visible as small moving dots of various colors. She cast about for her quarry, a multicolored lump of pegasus soundlessly sleeping on a nearby cumulus.
She edged in closer and poked one of Dash's hind hooves with her magic. The cloud disintegrated as Rainbow Dash sprang vertically into the sky. She shook her head and snorted in midair.
Just before she would have taken off for another cloud, Scootaloo pouted, "it just isn't fair."
Rainbow Dash slowly turned and approached Scootaloo.
"We were given this huge lecture about bothering Luna and going places without signing a book thing and then Twilight cast a spell on us to tell her when we left the Ponyville area," said Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash frowned. "Has Princess Luna ever let you down?"
"No," answered Scootaloo.
"Did she complain that you showed up?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"She was happy to see us and we did things until late in the night," replied Scootaloo.
"Then no harm was done; I think what you did last night was very cool." Rainbow Dash almost looked wistful. "Twilight doesn't really understand pegasi, Scoots. As my mother used to say, 'Pegasi got to fly.' There's a certain wanderlust in us that is not present in the other ponies. What do you call a pegasus librarian?"
Scootaloo stared blankly.
"A unicorn with a cloudwalking spell," answered Rainbow Dash. "We tend to follow our hearts and not roost in the same place for long periods. It's a part of our nature." She puffed out her chest. "If Twilight gets too in your face, let me know and I'll straighten her out."
Dash looked up into the sky. "Just enough time to get in some speed drills before weather duty; keep up if you can." She shot off into the distance in a blaze of multicolored contrail.
Scootaloo grinned and eagerly pursued.
-----
Rarity waited until they were out of sight of Twilight then turned to her sister. "You are not in any trouble, Sweetie Belle. After how I was yesterday, I fully understand why you couldn't come to me and discuss your plans with Luna. I am just relieved that you made it home safely from your trip. I could never have forgiven myself if something had happened to you."
Sweetie Belle wanted to interrupt but there was just no break in the conversation to do it. She settled for guiltily looking into Rarity's eyes while she continued. "It is just that I have not been there enough for you, and when I have been, there has not been enough that I could do for you, and then I go and mess it all up. In a way I wonder if that is how you have felt sometimes."
"Oh, no no please, it’s all my fault," replied Sweetie Belle.
"That is nice to say but clearly I could have done a better job," continued Rarity as she gazed at Sweetie's form. "It is even hard to call you a little sister anymore. This is a good thing though, and it reminds me how grown up and competent you have become."
Rarity sighed, "At any rate, I have decided to try to look at us more as equals rather than always being the big sister. It will be hard sometimes, but it has the benefits of spending the occasional day at the spa together. Just don't be surprised if your sister ends up leaning on you occasionally."
Sweetie Belle inwardly sulked as they arrived at the Ponyville day spa.
"The works for both of us," announced Rarity to a cheerful Aloe and Lotus.
They were led into a cedar lined room that was quite a bit warmer than Sweetie Belle would find comfortable. Aloe dropped some water onto a batch of large round stones which erupted into steam, before quietly leaving and closing the door behind her.
Rarity melted into a nearby bench and Sweetie Belle sat next to her. They relaxed for a while in silence as the steam rose around them.
"You know there was a time when I snuck out to Canterlot," started Rarity. "No, really. I was just about your age and I had visions of myself with a huge dress shop in Canterlot, the most famous designer in all of history."
"I spent most of my bits on fabrics and all of my free time hunting gems. I devoted my creative energies into coming up with designs ahead of the current styles. Then I sat at the sewing machine my mother had bought me for my birthday two years earlier and turned those ideas into unique creations."
"The last of my bits went into buying a train ticket and the vendor space license to be allowed to set up a stand in the merchant's district of Canterlot. Instead of going to school, I forged my father's signature on the document, and boarded the train into Canterlot."
Vera opened the door, and Rarity trotted out into one of the spa's sitting rooms, Sweetie Belle following behind. Rarity leapt up onto one of the pallets, and Sweetie Belle nearly skewered it with her horn. Still dazed from Rarity's tale thus far, she flitted up onto the pallet next to Rarity's.
Vera grabbed a blotter and spread green mud all over Rarity's face then applied two cucumber slices over her eyes. Sweetie Belle winced slightly as the same was done to her. She heard a door close in front of her as Rarity continued.
"Commuting ponies of all sorts crowded the car and threatened to wrinkle the carefully folded dresses in my saddle bags. Once every pony was settled, I watched the world pass by in silence, lost in my thoughts of what was to come. The train ride seemed to take forever, but it eventually did arrive."
"I dodged the hooves of the other ponies as I cantered out of the train. The castle loomed ahead on the left, but my sights were set on the small table I had rented in the Merchant's District. I trotted around tons of other ponies, up and down several streets. Various kinds of foodstuffs assailed my senses as I finally came to the assigned vendor space."
"It was plain; one small, weathered wooden table among many. I heard the sounds of itinerant merchants hawking their goods. The five dresses I draped over the table hardly seemed in the same class with the wares that the other ponies were trying to sell, but I was a pony with a dream, and I was determined to make this work out."
"Ponies came and went. Some poked at my work, but none of my dresses were selling. I heard comparisons to some designer names, but they did not even address me directly. With the passing of the first hour my mood dampened considerably."
"I tried lowering my prices, but this only got my work more disdain. The first pony to speak to me asked if they were real rubies. Of course they were real. She said to her partner that it was a waste of real rubies and trotted off."
"The sun was starting to descend towards the horizon. When I was about ready to give up hope and retreat to the train station, a blue-maned white stallion in a full suit approached the stall. He lifted them up with his magic and examined them closely."
"Why these are lovely," he said.
"No pony else seems to think so," I replied.
"That is because they are looking at what the dress will do for them rather than what they will look like in the dress," he said. "What would they say if asked at a party, 'who made this dress?' It is not like it has a label, and they would be embarrassed to say it was made by a filly off a table in the merchant's section."
"What you are selling is simply too good to be bought here. No pony who would wear it would ever buy it. The reputation of the dressmaker is more important than the dress itself. It really is a shame that ponies think that way, but that is the way the world works."
He offered me a handkerchief which I accepted gladly. "Most true artists do not learn this lesson until much older, and often too late. You have a lot of talent and the time to make a name for yourself."
“He bought one of my dresses, tipped his hat, and then wandered off into the marketplace. I placed the remaining dresses back into my saddlebags, and walked back to the train station a changed mare. That was the day Rarity was born.”
"I still have the other four dresses in a chest in the attic. As for our parents, they never found out I had made the trip. They noticed that something had changed, but were never able to put a hoof as to how or why."
Sweetie Belle was stunned for the rest of the treatment. Never before had she been so close to her sister. Never before had she felt so guilty. When they parted, she trotted to the clubhouse in silence.
-----
Scootaloo waved to Rainbow Dash when she left to perform her weather duties. She took a lazy lap around Ponyville, passing the adult ponies doing their business in the town square, the schoolhouse still in session, and Apple Bloom bucking one tree after another. Scootaloo snorted out of sheer boredom and ascended towards Cloudsdale.
She came in for a landing on the upper level of the city. Well-kept government buildings dominated this side of Cloudsdale with the cloudesseum and weather factory visible far in the distance. She flew slowly down the street, making note of each structure as she passed. Her objective came into view on the other side.
The Cloudsdale library was an imposing structure flanked by carved manticores atop pillars. Scootaloo hovered with apprehension for a moment outside the building. With the thought that if any pony could make a library cool, it would be the ponies of Cloudsdale, she passed through the threshold.
Rows of books were stored in cloud shelves that ran from the floor to the ceiling. A small display with wonderbolts memorabilia was inset among the books on her left, and a few portraits of famous historical pegasi were spaced among the books on her right. She walked by row after row and approached a small desk at the center of the complex.
She caught the attention of a middle-aged turquoise unicorn mare. "Can I help you find something?"
Scootaloo gave the librarian a somewhat disappointed look. "A friend joked that pegasus librarians were all unicorns."
"Well, while they are not all that common, there have been pegasus librarians." Looking at Scootaloo's blank flank, she added, "are you interested in library science?"
Scootaloo sighed. "It isn't my talent. When we tried to help at the library it was an utter disaster. At least it didn't involve tree sap, but I did have an ink spot on my coat for weeks."
"We?" replied the librarian.
Scootaloo momentarily brightened. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders: we are on a crusade for our cutie marks. Only I am alone today."
The librarian peered into Scootaloo's eyes for a long moment before beginning. "Well, I have worked at this library for the last twenty years, and I have seen a lot of pegasi pass through those doors. I have seen a lot of fillies obtain their cutie marks."
"Many ponies know what their talent is almost from foalhood. A straightforward talent or passion is easy to find. Those ponies tend to be happy with one thing for all their lives. The more interesting talents are much harder to discern; broader talents that actually say something deeper about the pony rather than some surface ability. Thoughtful ponies with no abiding single talent get a special gift — they retain a choice."
Scootaloo blinked for the first time since she said cutie marks and replied, "choice?"
"Mhmm," said the librarian. "A pony with a broad talent is not tied to any one particular interest or career path. It can help with many."
"If you don't mind me asking, what does your cutie mark represent?" asked Scootaloo.
The librarian stared in no particular direction for a time before turning back to Scootaloo. "I am good at helping guide ponies towards finding answers to their questions. Never seems to work for myself though."
Scootaloo's eyes grew even larger. "Then why be a librarian in Cloudsdale?"
"Pegasi tend to be very sincere and a simple answer can often do them a lot of good," replied the librarian. "I like them, and I could find no better place to live than Cloudsdale."
Scootaloo tried to mentally compare this librarian to Twilight and utterly failed. She offered a hoof. "I am Scootaloo. I didn't catch your name."
"Aqua Echo," replied the librarian while completing the hoof bump.
They talked for a while longer, then Scootaloo left the library with a book on cutie marks. She grabbed an order of hay fries from a corner vendor, and glided back down towards Ponyville.
-----
Apple Bloom came in for a landing in front of her clubhouse, then looked above to the cloud dwelling that dwarfed it. She shook off some of her sweat and considered what it would take to add a working shower.
She checked the mailbox and produced a letter. It was postmarked from Fillydelphia.
Apple Bloom walked up to the entry to their clubhouse. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were just lazing about, so tied up in their own worlds that they didn't notice her approach.
She read the letter to herself, gasped, and started to bounce up and down.
She spread it out in front of the now alert ponies.
Cutie Mark Crusaders,
My mom is an astronomer and she was telling me about a new constellation. I was curious as to what it represented. What she said almost had me on the floor. I have been trying to get my cutie mark unsuccessfully for what seems like years. Can I start a branch of the CMC in Fillydelphia?
Shining Star.
They got into a huddle and together screamed out, "Cutie Mark Crusaders Fillydelphia branch — yay."