//------------------------------// // Part One // Story: The Best Day // by Doccular42 //------------------------------// The Best Day Part One of Two Scootaloo happily buzzed down Ponyville’s main street, a joyful smile on her face. Her wings flapped playfully alongside the wind that blew her tail in every direction as she savored the joy of riding her scooter as she went to see her friends. “What a great day it is!” she sang out. She may not have been the best singer in Equestria, but nopony had ever told her that she had to be good at something in order to love it. “Everything is gonna go my way! Never seen a better day than this, because today is my…” Her song was interrupted as she jumped off her scooter and trotted off to Sugarcube Corner where she knew Sweetie Belle and Applebloom would be waiting for her. She pulled her helmet off her head, but even having the straps tangled in her unwashed mane wasn’t enough to dampen her spirits. “Today is the best day eveeeeer!” Her final high note felt quite triumphant to her as she entered the bakery and headed to the Cutie Mark Crusader’s usual table. But as she rounded the bend, she could tell something was off. Her best friends weren’t in their usual spot. “Huh.” Scootallo looked at her wrist, but upon remembering that she had broken her watch a few months ago, she glanced at the clock. “Ten past ten? Wow, they must be even later than I am!” Scootaloo shrugged off the growing sense of… something… that was growing in her stomach. “Guess I’ll just wait a bit!” She jumped into the booth and hummed her little melody. Not even three seconds after she sat down, Pinkie Pie hopped over to her. “Heya Scoots! How’s one of my favorite little fillies doing today?” Scootaloo cracked a smile at the mare in front of her. “Hey Pinkie! I’m doing awesome today, just super-duper!” She tried to ignore the bubbling hunger in her stomach as she smell from the kitchen wafted to her nose. “Well, that’s just great! I love it when ponies are happy! Because if they aren’t happy, that means that they’re sad, or angry, or scared, or really need to use the bathroom and forgot to use it at the station before the train left, and any time that they feel like that it’s up to Pinkie Pie to cheer them up! But if they’re already cheered up and are Happy McJoyful pantses, then we can just have a good time. Oh, also, do you want anything to eat? Mr. Cake is glaring at me a little bit, because he says I shouldn’t talk so much while waitressing! But I think that’s silly! Who doesn’t want to have lots of fun talking before they get their omm-noms? Oh, now Mrs. Cake is glaring too. What would you like?” She grinned sheepishly. Scootaloo was about to ask for some hayfries and a milkshake, but then she remembered… “Oh, no thanks Pinkie, I think I’ll just wait for my friends. But could I get a water please?” Pinkie nodded and bounced happily off to the kitchen. A few moments later, Scootaloo was sipping her water and waiting for the greatest friends in the world to arrive. About five minutes later, Pinkie refilled her water. Ten minutes after that, Scootaloo had to use the little filly’s room. After she had been waiting half an hour more, she stopped humming. At about eleven o’clock, Scootaloo left Sugarcube Corner and put her helmet back on. “Well, maybe they forgot that we were meeting here today and went to the clubhouse! Yeah, actually, I bet that that’s where we had planned on meeting and I totally forgot!” Her joy returned, and she hopped onto her scooter and darted her way back to the clubhouse. By the time she was halfway there, she was humming again. She arrived at the CMC’s main hangout in record time and leapt off her scooter to not-quite fly up to the door. “Hey girls, sorry I’m la-” Scootaloo cut herself off when she saw the empty tree house. She hung her head and dropped her beaten up helmet onto the floor. She sighed and plopped herself onto the floor. “Well…” Scootaloo felt the bubbling continue to grow in her stomach, but it wasn’t just hunger. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she cut them off quickly. “No, today is going to be a great day! Maybe they just decided to go to the farm instead! I’m sure that’s all. They wouldn’t ignore me today… I won’t have to be alone.” Once more, Scootaloo pulled on her helmet and hopped onto her dinged up scooter. She didn’t hum at all as she rode off to the farm. As she approached Sweet Apple Acres, she tried to be happy. It was hard, especially today, and especially when she was so busy just trying to convince herself that her friends weren’t purposefully staying away from her. As she passed under the archway before the barn she put on the biggest smile she could muster. It wasn’t much. Granny Smith sat outside on her rocking chair as the young filly rode up the dirt path. “Why, hello little Sweetie Bell! Ah, think Appleboom is out in the orchard helpin’ her sis with the harvest! You should go say hello.” Scootaloo nodded at the zany old mare. “Thanks Granny! It’s Scootaloo, by the way.” She was already zipping toward the trees before she even heard the reply. After just a few minutes, she had located the sisters amidst the towering fruit trees. Applejack was busy bucking tree after tree and Applebloom was collecting the fallen apples and placing them into buckets. Scootaloo’s face broke out in a grin as she saw one of her best friends. “Hey Applebloom!” she called out with a shout. The yellow filly turned away from the apples for a moment and replied with her own shout, “Hey Scootaloo! Come on over here!” Scootaloo closed the ground between them as quickly as she could. “I looked everywhere for you! I checked Sugarcube Corner and the clubhouse and… well, I checked Sugarcube Corner and the clubhouse, but you weren’t there! Well, obviously you weren’t there, because you’re here! Wanna hang out?” Appleblooms smile faded as Scootaloo spoke. “Ah’m sorry Scoots, but mah sis needs help today, and Big Mac is sick. We’ve got a whole lotta trees to buck, and only a little while before a big order is due. But hey, maybe we could hang out tomorrow? Big Mac should be better by then.” Scootaloo couldn’t say anything for a moment. She didn’t open her mouth, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold back the tears if she did. After taking a moment to compose herself, she put her massive fake smile back on. “Oh, that’s okay. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do, I guess. So, I’ll see you tomorrow then…” Applebloom replied, “Yeah, we’ll have all day, and I’m sure it’ll be the best day ever!” Scootaloo almost broke out in tears right then. “Yeah, see you later then.” As she drove off on her scooter, her stomach continued in its agonized state. She didn’t even feel the hunger any more. She just felt an inexplicably terrible sense of… something. It was something she had felt many times in the past, but she had never put a name to it. “Well hey, there’s still always Sweetie Bell. Or Scootaloo, as Granny Smith would probably call her.” She chuckled as she rode off, but it was an empty laugh. She made her way silently to Rarity’s boutique and tried to convince herself that everything was going to be alright. She pushed the feeling in her stomach to the back of her mind. “What a great day it is… Everything is gonna go my way… Never seen a better day than this, because today is my…” She tried to sing her song, but the words felt so empty. She left her scooter leaning against the wall of Carousal Boutique and walked inside. Rarity was behind the counter finishing up with a customer. “And if you have any issues whatsoever, do not hesitate to return so that I may rectify the problem. That is Rarity’s guarantee! Au revoir, and come back soon!” The fancy looking mare with the shopping bags walked out the door without a word as Scootaloo made her way toward Rarity. “Well, some ponies just do not understand the power of a polite word or two. But where are my manners, how may I help you today Scootaloo?” The white mare smiled kindly behind her red glasses as she pulled the measuring tape off her neck using her magic. “Hey Ms. Rarity, I was just stopping by to see if Sweetie Belle was here. Do you think she could come out and play with me?” Rarity smiled sadly at Scootaloo. “I’m sorry my dear, but little Sweetie is grounded today. She became a little bit too enthusiastic with some of her paste in my workroom, and now is not allowed to leave the house for either a day, or until it is all cleaned up. Whichever takes longer.” The unicorn gave a grin at this last part. “I will be sure to tell her that you stopped by; perhaps that shall motivate her to have it done by the end of the day!” Scootaloo put her false smile back on. “Oh, okay. I… I guess I’ll stop by tomorrow then..” “Very well then. Enjoy yourself today Scootaloo! It is a beautiful day, and a filly like you should be outside enjoying the glorious sunny day! My, today does seem quite nice. Perhaps Fluttershy would be free to take a trip to the spa…” By then, Rarity wasn’t even talking to Scootaloo, but Scootaloo didn’t mind. She wasn’t listening either. Scootaloo walked numbly out of the Boutique and once more donned her helmet and boarded her scooter. She rode back to her clubhouse without singing, speaking, or even thinking. Upon entering the clubhouse, she walked to one of the corners and leaned over. Pulling back a loose board, she retrieved a small cardboard box. Inside was a small collection of items. There were three blankets in varying states of decay, a grimy pillow, two bits, a very small trophy, and an even smaller picture. She placed the rattiest blanket upon the clubhouse floor and spread the pillow and other two blankets around her. She very carefully left the bits and the trophy inside the box, but pulled out the picture. As she lay upon the blanket, she gazed longingly at the mare, stallion, and baby filly in the picture. She closed her eyes, and a single tear ran down her cheek. There it was again. That feeling. That horrid, boiling, gnashing emptiness inside of her. But as she looked at the picture, she finally realized the name of the burning inside of her. Loneliness. “What a great day it is…” She sang out. “Everything is gonna go my way…” She tried to fight the emptiness. “Never seen a better day than this…” She was barely keeping back the tears. “Because today is my birthday.” Finally, the tears overcame her. She only managed three more words before she cried herself to sleep. “Happy birthday, Scootaloo.”