Scootaloo and Vinyl had gotten up early and replaced the camping gear Vinyl kept in store. The pair had remained mostly silent throughout the morning. The eccentric mare would simply continue to smile whenever Scootaloo caught sight of her, over the previous night she had shared a few bits of information about herself, they had taken the time to learn the less personal bits of each other's lives. Turns out Vinyl was in a similar position to Scootaloo in the forest, neither had a real destination in mind, simply traveling where they pleased. It was a liberating feeling for the filly. The two continued down the road in silence for a short while, they had been walking for longer than the filly had noticed before and Scootaloo was beginning to feel the effects of long distance movement.
"So umm, where now?" she finally broke the silence, Vinyl turned to her, grinning more.
"Ah, so now you can talk huh? Sweet." She went to the side of the path and took a seat, Scootaloo followed. "Well alright then, let's check it out; we can stay on this road here and move on to who knows what for a while, pull a left up there and hit Manehatten in about 2 hours or head right and circle back around Ponyville. What sounds good?"
"Wait? You want me to pick? But I don't know anything about this."
"You've made it this far haven't you?" Scootaloo nodded, "So lead the way captain. Just go with it, we'll get somewhere eventually." Before Scootaloo had time to consider the options more her stomach began to growl, deciding for them.
"I'm getting kinda hungry... Where can we get some food?"
"Manehatten it is! Good choice." She stood and made her way once again down the road with the filly close in tow. She waited until they were a short way farther; Vinyl noticed Scootaloo's continued distracted behavior and watched her for a moment. "You know, talking about it'll make you feel better."
Scootaloo let out a sigh, Vinyl was right. She needed to tell somepony eventually and it wasn't right to keep following her around with no explanation.
So she began recapping the past few weeks, hopefully conveying the story clearly to the DJ who listened intently, nodding occasionally. Including bits about the powder she had been drinking to grow her wings out, her idol and the dreams she had always held onto including Dash. She finished the story with Rainbow's denial and her plan to leave town. As she thought about it more, it was a bad plan to begin with but it looked to be working so far, the farther she got from her formal "hero" the better.
"So that's it then? Wow, tough break."
"Yeah... What did I expect? She was going to be famous." The filly's head dropped.
"You thought what everypony does, no pony deserves to be thrown away because
somepony else gets more popular." she paused for a moment. "So where were your folks for all this?" she could hear Scootaloo's steps halt for a second as the words hit and wondered if she struck a raw nerve.
"They're... They died. Both of them." she lied. But was afraid to admit how terrible her parents had been outside of Ponyville. Being heavy party ponies, they had Scootaloo accidentally, never wanting her she was forced to care for herself from an early age, this usually left her hungry and alone in the world while her parents slept off hangovers. They never beat her, maybe because she was too young, but she didn't stick around long enough to actually find out.
After they left one night she grabbed her satchel and headed for Ponyville, already knowing Sweetie Belle she was able to hide herself from anypony who might come looking, which they never did.
"Died, that's all? Alright then, so this Rainbow Dash, she was more than just a hero then wasn't she? A real role model?" Vinyl knew if the young pegasus was lying than something much worse happened, something she wouldn't want to make Scootaloo uncomfortable about.
"Not anymore" she replied coldly, the wounds still fresh.
"Don't worry Scoots, I'll keep an eye on ya. Sound good?"
"Thanks Vinyl. That means a lot." she grinned at her friend. Maybe things would turn out ok.
"You've got guts kid, you remind me a lot of myself at your age." She turned her head to meet the orange pegasus' gaze from behind her sunglasses. "Well, except from the obvious being a unicorn that is. My mom kicked it early off, I was still pretty young, but dad took it rough."
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didnt mean to-" She was cut off.
"No no no, it's cool kid. Let's just say he wasn't the same stallion after her, I took off not long after that. Not as easy making it in a city though..." her words faded as she reminisced her own past experience. She hadn't found anypony to help her when she was on her own, it's a hard life and she would spare Scootaloo of it. Both continued in silence for a while, happy with the moment they had shared briefly.
* * * * *
"Do ya see anythin'?" the yellow earth pony called up out to her friend at the edge of the woods. Sweetie Belle had climbed into a tree for a better view over the trees but was met by a thick layer of branches. Both fitted in their traditional Cutie Mark crusader capes they were searching the woods high and low.
"No, it's too thick, we're gonna have to hoof it in." she slipped down the trunk and back to Applebloom.
"Well how in tarnation are we supposed ta know where she went?"
"Oh, well if we were Scootaloo where would we go?" the unicorn suggested.
"But we aren't Scootaloo."
"Well duh, but if we were, would you go in?"
"Hmm, ah guess so. Better hurry though, we're gonna lose her." she galloped down the path and into the forest with her friend close behind. Making their way down the path to find the lost pegasus crusader.
"Do you think she's still in here?"
"Only one way to find out. Now come on, hurry up!"
A short run later they found themselves coming to a bend in the path, rounding the corner they caught sight of another traveller going in the opposite direction. A blue pegasus walking casually down the road while observing the scenery absentmindedly. The two filly crusaders saw a new opportunity for clue and stopped before him.
"Heya mister, you wouldn't have seen our friend back there have ya?" Applebloom asked, he stopped and looked down on the two ponies blankly.
"Hmmm, maybe." he replied looking back down the path behind him and then back. The pair waited for further explanation, which he was not giving.
"Well?" the earth pony tried again. "She's a pegasus like yerself, you had to have seen her."
"Oh yes, I do remember somepony like that." again the stranger failed to give what the crusaders would consider a helpful answer.
"Uhh, can you tell us where she went?"
He thought for a moment, bringing a hoof to his chin. "Sure, met up with some unicorn, said something..." he trailed off.
"Oh come on!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, frustrated with the vague answers. "Do you know where they're goin?"
"Is that Ponyville up ahead?" he asked neither in particular, snapping back when he realized they had questioned him again. "I forget, but she met up with somepony new, went that way." he indicated the path behind him.
"Thanks, I think." Applebloom replied shortly before grabbing her friend and pulling her down the path. A safe distance away they returned to a gallop and sped down the path with the new lead, shaky at best it was something.
"You really think we can trust him?" Sweetie Belle asked her friend.
"We ain't got a choice, Scootaloo could be in trouble. Who knows who this other pony is." They followed the winding road expertly, taking shortcuts through underbrush that to any full grown pony was easily stepped over, but to the small ponies was more difficult to leap over. On one such bush as Applebloom was leaping an overgrown root, her cape tugged at her and she tore it away without thought, there were more important things to worry about in her young mind.
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Vinyl and Scootaloo reached Manehatten in the afternoon; the city was unlike anything the filly had ever seen, her eyes lit up at the scene around her. The buildings were taller than anything in ponyville, there were ponies everywhere going from place to place and the roads were wide and full of carts. It was almost magical, her mood improved greatly at the sight, as well as her hunger. The smells of the city were of delicious shops and restaurants that seemed to pull her in. Vinyl was watching the filly's excitement grow as the new sights hit her.
"C'mon kid, let's grab some food before you pass out."
Scootaloo smiled up, and it vanished as a new realization settled. "Oh, but I don't have any bits." she let her head fall a little lower as she questioned her plan again, going into the woods with no money was something she should have noticed.
"No prob, I didn't expect you to, it's on me."
"Are you sure?"
"Duh, now c'mon I'm starving." she turned and made her way down one of the many streets, swaying and bobbing her head gently. Scootaloo happily joined her.
'Wow, no pony has ever been this nice before. Rainbow Dash would never do this. I can't believe I didn't see it before' she took pace beside the unicorn who was smiling once again as they walked. Soon coming up to a small restaurant and stepping inside, not unlike those in ponyville there were a few tables scattered about with city ponies eating quietly. The pair took a spot in the corner and settled in. Scootaloo lifted the menu and froze. She had never heard of any of the food choices on it. Assortments of soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts filled the page. She froze for a moment and looked at Vinyl who was holding back from laughing at her lost expression.
After navigating the menu with the unicorn explaining the various items she decided to just get a sub sandwich she was fairly certain she recognized. After a short while in silence the food was presented, she ate hers with more excitement than she had meant. The pegasus hadn't realized how hungry she was before, it was fulfilling to eat quality food, her last meal had been a less than ideal meal by Sweetie Belle and a few apples she had collected. That was nearly a full day ago at this point. A full day since she left her life behind, her friends, her school, everything she had finally grown used to. She looked away; her eyes were burning as she thought about abandoning everypony. The DJ looked curiously at her, not wanting to interrupt what looked to be a sensitive moment. Behind her shades she felt her own eyes squint, the mare knew exactly what Scootaloo was thinking now, she had felt the same way years ago. The orange filly needed a friend right now and she would be there.
Scootaloo hadn't realized before that she had not only left her formal idol behind, but what had become her family in time she lived there. None of them knew much about her personal life, none of them knew about her lack of parents or a proper home, even so they tried to care about her. She contemplated going back, but to what? What if they didn't miss her? Or even noticed she had gone missing. Vinyl had only known her a day and was already closer than any of them had really tried to be. 'Was I really that simple to them?' she asked herself as she sat. After a moment she noticed that Vinyl had stopped eating as well, watching her through the dark glasses. Scootaloo pushed her thoughts from her mind and focused back to the white mare.
"Hey, why do you wear those all the time?" she indicated the glasses with a small hoof.
"Oh these," the DJ lifted her own hoof to feel the glasses. "I dunno, just had them forever. It's what makes me well, me. Y'know?"
"I guess that makes sense. Where'd you get them?"
Vinyl considered the question for a moment, she debated telling the filly the truth of their origin or simply shrugging it off, choosing the latter would break what she was working towards. "C'mon, I'll tell you in a bit." she laid some money on the table and the two walked out of the restaurant and down one of the busy streets. The sun was still high in the sky, and with it new hope of a better life for the young pegasus, the remaining memories of Rainbow Dash's denial pushed her to live a better life here than before.