The Promise Kept
Once Cheerilee had guided the missing students to the rest of their patiently waiting group,she began to calm the worried fillies and colts. Big Mac was a bit apprehensive about his sister's running off without letting him know where she would be. He wasn't too upset when he noticed Babs was around, and that made him feel better. Cheerilee had invited Babs to spend the day with the class and would then see her off to her house before the group headed home.
Babs was grateful for the opportunity to spend time with her cousin and friends. She had enjoyed her time running around Manehattan, still being able to spend time with the group in an organized fashion had its own appeal.
Dinky had ran towards Twist and gave her a big hug. She was worried about her friend the entire time, and seeing her safe made the little unicorn filly smile bright. She wanted to share one of the muffins that her mother had given her with Twist.
Twist was already full from lunch, but decided to eat it anyways. There was nothing wrong with making a friend happy, and rejecting a gift was unnecessary at this moment. She had realized that Dinky herself must have felt like she did when Applebloom was first starting off being a Cutie Mark Crusader. She silently made a note to herself to invite Dinky to hang out with her and Applebloom when they decide to hang out together.
Most of the students that have met Diamond Tiara before this trip couldn't believe the sudden change in her demeanor. She wasn't being snarky, rude, or incorrigible in the slightest. It seemed she had been changed and, for some reason, very into staying close to Scootaloo. They felt as if they had entered another dimension, or that maybe Diamond Tiara was a changeling. Since she was being nice, they didn't care what happened as long as she stayed that way.
Though as strange as it was to see Diamond Tiara being civil, it was equally confounding to see Silver Spoon not around her and being just as civil. They wondered what had caused this new change, but they didn't dwell on it too much with their short attention spans and their eagerness to continue on with the day. After some soft moments of hugs and greetings, the group was ready to move on with their day and get back into the tasks at hoof.
The tardiness of the missing fillies had caused the group to have a more rushed tour through the museum. While most students didn't mind since museums were boring, the other students were interested in some of the exhibits that they didn't get to see. Still, most of the day had went off with barely a hitch, the ex enemies turned friends had been keeping their new found peace and were not making a fuss about their pairings.
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At the gift shop in the museum there was this cool looking pair of glasses. Scootaloo had her eye on them but the cost was too much for her. She was ready to walk away and keep her composure, regardless of how bad she wanted it since they seemed similar to Rainbow Dash's shades. While she was walking away, Diamond Tiara had witnessed the filly walking away with a false smile, she decided she would help her out by purchasing the shades as a thanks for her earlier bravery.
"No way you actually bought me these?" Scootaloo asked, overjoyed. "This is so awesome," she said before putting them on and posing. "How do I look?" She had a brilliant smile on her face.
Diamond Tiara was giggling inside, it felt nice to her, and yet still felt odd. "I think you look great in them Scootaloo," she said in an honest tone. She was smiling at the joy she brought her friend. She didn't expect a hug so soon and was almost embarrassed, but she didn't resist. She was going to have to get used to affection if she wanted to have friends.
Silver Spoon and Sweetie Belle were just off in their own world, they had no interest in knick knacks or disputing possibly being left behind by searching for something to purchase. They had stuck with the core group of classmates, not wanting to be lost again.
Babs,Twist, and Applebloom stayed in a group of three since it would have been awkward to try and separate with no other students to be in a group with. They managed to get along well, even when there was an argument about what an artifact represented when they went past it.
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When the day was drawing to a close, the students went with Cheerilee and Big Mac to see Babs Seed home. Big Mac and Applebloom took a minute to say their farewell to their cousin. It was a sad moment for Babs, but she had a lot of fun prior, so overall it was still a good day for her. She just wished she didn't have to live so far away from family and friends.
With Babs safely at home, the rest of the group headed to the train station to get back to Ponyville. Cheerilee noticed how happy some of the students were to see their families and how apprehensive some were of returning back to their normal lives. She was glad that her silly little plan worked and that the youngsters were able to get rid of their animosity. It was something she didn't expect to fully work, but she had to try something. The negative disposition between some students was often causing dramatic and nearly dangerous encounters at random intervals.
The students eagerly boarded the train and Cheerilee made sure to not have any missing colts or fillies from her checklist. Once they were all inside, she and Big Mac entered while sharing a small smile of victory. They had barely any time to chat during the entire trip but had made a plan to spend a bit more time together once they both had enough time.
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The train ride home was maddening for a certain group of fillies. The assigned pairing was over and they all could go back to hanging out with their usual friends. Though most fillies and colts were glad to be able to socialize with their normal buddies, the six fillies who just spent the day bonding were in an awkward position.
"So what does this mean for us?" Asked Sweetie Belle. The group of friends were trying to figure out what they will be doing since they no longer were assigned to their partners.
"Well we can just stay hanging out with each other unless anypony objects?" Silver Spoon questioned.
Scootaloo placed her wing over Diamond Tiara again and held her close. "I am not going to just let some silly assignment ending stop me from hanging out with my new friend." She had her chest puffed out and her sunglasses on to hide her emotions. She didn't want to show how distraught she was about somehow losing her new friend. It wasn't just a promise to Scootaloo, it was something she wanted in her life. A new friend meant new opportunities, Scootaloo wasn't willing to allow things to return to the old ways.
Diamond Tiara blushed a bit at the assertiveness of Scootaloo. She was glad that the pegasus filly had such a commitment to being friends with her. She couldn't pinpoint the exact reason she became flustered as her face was turning a shade of red. "I agree with Scootaloo, I think we can make this all work. I know for now I just want to spend more time with Scootaloo, if that is alright with everypony?" She asked hesitantly.
Applebloom threw her thoughts into the fray. "Well I'm alright with all this, I mean it's not like we ain't gonna crusade anymore, we're jus’ taking time off ta spend with new friends." Applebloom had a soft smile on her face and it had helped ease the nerves of all the fillies that were huddled together.
They came to an agreement that they would all spend time with their new friends and gain more of an understanding of one another. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had split up again, but this time it was with a purpose. They would have many adventures waiting for them at home, for now they had new explorations in the field of friendship. Each crusader was getting to know somepony they either had no chance with before that day or didn't want to prior to it.
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The train ride was relatively silent, each filly and colt were tired from the active day they spent in Manehattan. The stopping train had alerted each little pony of their arrival to their home town of Ponyville. Cheerilee and Big Mac helped all the fillies and colts gather their packs and get off the train.
At the train station the parents and other relatives of the students were waiting with joy to receive their children back. Most of the fillies and colts had rushed off to embrace their family. One filly in particular had not seen her guardians and felt as if she was abandoned.
"So I guess my foster parents decided not to show..." Scootaloo said to her approaching honorary sister who was there in their stead. "I don't get it, why don't they want me anymore?" She asked with tears falling down her eyes, visible from where the shades ended.
Rainbow Dash pulled the filly into a hug and smiled softly. "Scoots, your foster parents weren't meant to permanently keep you. It's why they’re foster parents. I knew you needed a real family, so I thought it over..." she said while making sure Scootaloo could see her face. "I had fun being your sister, it's nice and you are a fun squirt to spend time with, but I really think being a mother would be even more awesome."
Scootaloo thought she heard her honorary sister wrong and had to double check. "What are you saying?"
Rainbow Dash chuckled. "I am saying squirt that I adopted you, though there is one minor setback," she said uneasily while looking around for her marefriend. "You see, Fluttershy was deemed more suited to adopt you, so I had to lie and say me and Shy were life partners. So while I did initially try to adopt you solo, it was with Fluttershy's help that I could actually have you as my daughter. Well, our daughter, but you still get the drift."
"So where will I stay?" Scootaloo asked, confused. She was happy to be adopted, but it seemed as if there was something else going on she wasn't sure of.
Fluttershy had picked this moment to make herself known and, with a soft voice, she relayed the information. "You will be staying with us. You see, while you were gone, me and Rainbow Dash were getting things settled and moving your stuff into the spare room I have."
Scootaloo was beaming and was ready to cry in joy until she heard the us part. "Wait... us? You mean you and Rainbow Dash live together?" She wasn't aware that her honorary sister had moved in with Fluttershy.
"Well Scoots, me and Shy talked it over and we decided that, even though we aren't married according to Equestrian law, we were married in our hearts long ago. I wouldn't dream of any other mare to spend my life with and I wouldn’t be happy if any other mare had you in their life if I was unable to adopt you Scootaloo." Rainbow Dash got nuzzled by her marefriend for her sweet words which made her blush and try to keep her cool image.
"I just... I can't believe this." She was sure this was too good to be true. The other pegasi weren't sure if they somehow made the wrong move, misunderstanding the filly's reaction. "I mean first I make a friend outta Diamond Tiara, now I am going to be living with my two favorite ponies in the world, I just..." Scootaloo's own emotional wall broke down and she finally let her happiness flow from her eyes as she spilled tears of joy.
They all shared a group hug and shared a heartfelt and blissful moment as a new family. They weren't going to be as comfortable with the new transition right away, but they would slowly work at it. The new family was ready to head out of the train station, but Scootaloo reminded herself to do something just before she went to her new home.
She ran off towards the area where Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich were standing, she needed to end the day with reassuring her new friend of the promise she was going to keep. “Hey Diamond,” she excitedly called out.
Diamond Tiara wasn’t sure if she was hearing things, but she could have sworn Scootaloo was calling her name and running towards her and her father. “Scootaloo?” She asked out confusion. Her father wasn’t sure what was going on either but didn’t make any moves to react.
Scootaloo got close and wrapped her wing around Diamond Tiara, just like she did so many times during the day. “I’m going to walk you home,” she stated before looking to her father. ”If you don’t mind Mr.Rich.”
“Well I don’t mind, I just didn’t know you and my daughter were friends.” He was happy to know Diamond had a new friend, but confused as to why the pegasus filly was using her wing to embrace his daughter so intimately.
“Well I didn’t know me and her were friends either, but I am glad I found out,” she said while slowly walking off with Diamond Tiara at her side. When they were far enough from anypony to eavesdrop, they had shared some soft whispers and jokes until Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara had reached their destination.
Diamond, now dreading going home, had turned to face Scootaloo. “When will we hang out again Scootaloo?” She asked sadly, ready to hear some bad news about being too busy or having to go crusading.
“Anytime you want Diamond… anytime you want.”