Scootaloo had braved going back to the clubhouse, already sick of sleeping in a tree. It was deserted by nightfall. She grumbled and stomped into the place and then slammed the door shut. She took a few moments to rest, then she gathered up her sleeping bag from the same spot as usual and laid it out. A few moments later, she was fast asleep.
After what felt like only a few seconds, the sun was up and woke the filly. She rubbed her eyes and actually smiled; for some reason, she felt great. At least as great as somepony could feel when her friends weren’t talking to her and she had to get up early to go to work and then school.
“Oh my gosh!” She scrambled to her hooves and grabbed her scooter not ten seconds later. She barely had enough time to stuff her sleeping bag back under the hidden plank. She had no clue what time it was, but judging from the sun’s position, she was probably cutting it close. “Please don’t be late, please don’t be late…”
She was so focused on getting there on time that she failed to pay attention to how fast she was going. “Oh no…” She tried stopping, but it was too late. She fell face first into the side of the building, her scooter skidding to a stop near her. “That’s gonna leave a bruise…” She sighed and stood up.
Scootaloo came up to the stallion, limping on her injured leg. “I’m here! Where are the papers?” Her desperate looking smile was enough to make the stallion feel some sympathy, but business was business.
“Sorry, but you’re fired.”
“What?! But why?!”
“Look around, everypony has their paper already. Its nine thirty. I’m sorry, but it’s over.”
Her eyes widened in horror. No… and I’m late for school! She groaned, pounded her hoof into the ground and then left the scene in a hurry. She fought back her tears. I can get a new job… yeah, she tried to reassure herself quickly, having no time to dwell on it. She was late for school and late could raise suspicions or worse yet, get a note sent home. She sped up even more, ignoring her body which was screaming in pain from her bruises.
This time, since she figured she was late anyway, she slowed to a stop in front of the school. She leaned her scooter against the building and slowly walked inside, blushing when all eyes were upon her. “Uh…” The teacher stopped what she was doing and then gasped in surprise.
“Scootaloo! What happened to you?”
Her mind blanked from her teacher’s reaction. What is she… oh. She overlooked her appearance. Dirt, sweat and even a bit of blood littered parts of her body. It didn't look too bad, but it certainly wasn’t acceptable for a schooling environment. “Heh-heh, long story…”
Cheerilee sighed. “Silver Spoon, would you mind taking over for me for the remainder of this chapter? Just read from where I left off.”
“Ugh, okay.” The filly sounded as if it was a chore but accepted her task.
Before Scootaloo knew what was happening, she was yanked away from the class and into the back room. She watched as her teacher wet a washcloth and, without warning, started cleaning her wounds. An odd, warm feeling also washed over her, reminding her of a long lost time. Scootaloo mumbled something out of instinct.
“What was that?”
“Oh, I said I’m sorry I’m late and about the mess. I kind of fell on my scooter.”
The teacher nodded and remained silent through the cleaning. When she was done, she picked Scootaloo up and placed her back on the floor. “Did you perhaps finish your homework that I assigned? The class has already passed theirs to the front.”
She blinked and then blinked again. I’m so stupid… She panicked and looked at the teacher. “I’m sorry! I—”
“Shh!” Cheerilee said harshly, not wanting to interrupt Silver Spoon. Then her tone became gentler. “It is fine, Scootaloo. Just make sure to bring it in next time, alright?”
She nodded, feeling slightly happier about her predicament.
“Now c’mon, its about time for this week’s history test.”
The filly started breathing heavily, following her teacher back into the class. I am stupid! She had forgotten to study for the test, then she realized something else. Sweetie Belle usually helps me study… Great. She took a quick glance at her ex-friend and cringed, the glares she received let her know just how they felt about her now.
Soon, the test had started. What filled her with despair was the word ‘test’. This was not a simple quiz, it counted for more points and more of her grade. Nervously, she jotted down her first answer. She had no clue who the inventor of the teleportation spell was, or why he made it. She sighed and skipped a few questions. If anything, she knew the most basic ones and hopefully would not fail. She wouldn’t notice a D or a C, it’s not like I do much better when I study… I hope. Halfway through, she started to lose confidence that this wouldn’t be an F, she had only the most basic knowledge because she had failed to repeat any of these answers in her head.
The lunch bell rang. Scootaloo looked up out of her daze and noticed most of the students starting to leave. She saw them pass their tests to Cheerilee. She and Snails, were the only two left. She had given up though, she had no names in her head and most of the questions required at least one location or name of a pony. She gritted her teeth and then passed her test up to the front, not bothering to look the teacher in the eye.
Scootaloo then grabbed her lunch pail and stormed out the door. There were only two picnic tables, one had the Crusaders and the other had the rest of the class. She simply slumped down near the door and ignored the odd stares. An apple and a candy bar… whoopie. The food helped her feel a little better. She made a mental note to get some more apples. She didn’t care how.
The rest of class for her felt like a nightmare. It wasn’t that she couldn’t pay attention or keep up, she just felt so down from everything that was happening. The once happy and comfortable classroom felt like a very unhappy place. Anxiety spiked through her mind, she needed to get her life back on track but had no clue how to do it. Worse yet, the teacher wouldn’t stop talking! She had already missed the last chapter because she let her mind wander too much. She tried to figure out what the mare was saying, but it just wouldn’t make sense now. My head hurts… She groaned and rubbed her temples slowly, doing her best to not call any attention to herself.
The final bell rang out, each and every ring making her head feel worse and worse. She noted her two ex-friends were the first ones out, they were gone before she could even leave. A few moments later, she found herself in the middle of the park. If anything, she wanted to know if it would help her feel better. She realized, though, that without her two friends the park was a cruddy place. Her headache wouldn’t stop either. She wanted some more food, or water or even a nice place to sleep, but at that moment she had none of that. The Crusaders were using their clubhouse, so going there was out. She didn't feel like spending any of her money on food, she had to save it. Also, she did not feel like getting on her scooter to go anywhere else, so water was out.
Something caught her attention high up in the sky, she looked up and gasped. Rainbow Dash… If anything, she could at least help her feel better, maybe clear her head. Scootaloo hopped onto her scooter and started following her; Rainbow Dash was worth making her headache worse. After a couple of minutes it became apparent that she was heading for the library. Okay… She saw Dash land and noted that she had fairly large saddlebags on. What does she have? The mare wasted no time in walking in and then closing the door.
Scootaloo was about to do the same but stopped. She lied to me the other day. Her eyes narrowed, she felt quite curious. Let’s find out why! It took her a few tries, but she managed to perch herself up on a bush. She could now see into the library perfectly. Well, she could see the downstairs at least. She could also see the stairs which, right now, had a familiar pegasus mare wearing a very unusual outfit. It took her a few moments to decipher just what it was and by then Rainbow Dash had already made it upstairs.
Is… is that a… No. She knew where she had seen an outfit like that before, from the odd store that she had stumbled into. She actually did not know the name of the outfit, but she knew who normally wore them. Babies. She could have sworn she also saw a bulge in the back. She shook her head. It just didn't make sense. She had to find out more.
Looking up, she found the library’s balcony. It didn't look too far up. I can probably climb up to it. I think. She tried to set aside her anxiety from before and the curiosity of what Dash was doing so she could simply focus on climbing. She reached out, focusing on wrapping her two front hooves on one of the balcony’s bars. She slipped but managed to grab on, thanking Celestia that she didn’t fall and was able to keep mostly silent. She grunted in pain and did her best to remain quiet as she climbed up over the other poles.
Oh… this hurts. She had never exerted herself like that before. Especially not with such a headache that only got worse. Thankfully, the two mares that she expected to find upstairs had their backs turned to the balcony. The sight she found was anything but what she expected, even after seeing the odd outfit that her hero had donned.
Is she… I… Her mind shut down entirely. Emotions simply would not flow. There, lying on her back in front of Twilight, was the mare she had always looked up to. The position she was in certainly did not scream dominant or… well, Rainbow Dash. It looked more like a foal, it was the only thought that came to mind. She had something in her mouth, a plastic item that was impossible to deny. Pacifier. Twilight was busy rubbing her stomach in soft circles and Rainbow was smiling a very, very goofy grin behind the guard of her pacifier.
Scootaloo could only stand there, no longer caring if she was hidden or not. Her eyes remained unblinking. She’s a baby… That single thought echoed in her head over and over. After a few moments, Twilight stopped and looked up for a moment. The reason for the shift was to apparently get in another position… to do whatever, but upon doing so she instantly noticed the filly on her balcony. The lavender mares eyes bulged out of her sockets, which alerted Rainbow to the third presence.
Scootaloo slowly came out of her daze and she bolted. She didn’t care about getting hurt or not so she leapt from the balcony onto the bush below. Using her wings, she was able to at least glide down without any issues. The worst of the damage was a thorn stuck in her shoulder. It would come out. She went to grab her scooter when a familiar voice came out.
“Scootaloo, wait!”
She looked up to find Twilight staring down at her in concern. The filly glared but remained silent.
The mare hesitated. “We both need to talk to you. Would you please come inside?”
The filly watched the mare practically beg. She had nothing else to do and nowhere else to go so she nodded. Her headache was only getting worse by the second, but running away didn’t seem like much fun. Twilight led her back in silence. Scootaloo noted the door read ‘closed today’. A few moments later, she was seated on a couch with her hooves crossed.
“Dashi— Dash will be down in a moment!” Twilight said, the last word being louder for Rainbow’s sake.
Scootaloo simply nodded.
The filly jumped when she heard Rainbow fall – at least, that’s what it sounded like – followed by some quiet cursing.
“Are you okay?” Twilight suddenly asked Scootaloo.
Scootaloo realized she was wincing and rubbing her head. “Fine.”
“Alright…”
“H-hey, sq— Scootaloo.” Dash nervously stammered out while walking down the steps of the library. She was naked once more, missing the baby outfit.
Scootaloo raised a brow to her.
Dash immediately started to rub the back of her head. “Listen, I—”
“Why’d you lie to me?!” Scootaloo suddenly asked.
Rainbow looked confused and shared a look with Twilight who shrugged at first. Then the unicorn perked up.
“Oh! Scootaloo, she never lied to you!” Twilight happily exclaimed. The filly looked like she wanted to protest but Twilight beat her to it. “I had forgotten about Rainbow’s plans with me the other day, totally slipped my mind. Rainbow went home to grab some… things. You simply got here first.”
Scootaloo went to say something else, but then realized that maybe Rainbow didn't lie. That still did not make this situation okay in her book! Her anger never vanished. Rainbow took that as her cue.
“Right, uh, I guess you're kind of weirded out right now. I would be too… I mean I was before.” She saw that the filly’s attention was at least there. “I was curious after I found Twilight doing something odd to Spike.” Rainbow looked over to Twilight who smiled and nodded. “She was… letting him use a p-pacifier,” Rainbow said, the word sounding foreign to her tongue, “and smiling at him. I got overly curious and then after talking with Twilight about it, I started to experiment with all that baby stuff you saw.” Scootaloo could only blink and blink. “You said it made you uncomfortable the other day so I kind of took off. I’m sorry for that, I should have let you talk to me about it or something.
“So, there it is.You are free to tell your mother or whatever about all of this. I just hope she, and you, understands.” She finished with a smile, Twilight beaming up at her. Scootaloo however was in a small state of shock, but it was the mention of her parents that not only snapped her out of it but made her angry.
And she was sick of holding things in.
“My Mother… MY MOTHER?!” She growled and stepped forward, causing Dash to instinctively take one step back in surprise. “Do you have any idea what this means? My-my plans are ruined, you, you big baby!” Her words were spat out, Dash felt hurt and so did Twilight. “You’ve ruined everything! You too, Twilight! Buck you all, buck your diapers and buck everything! JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!” Her final words spat out, she darted around and left the library in a huff.
Rainbow Dash stood rooted to the spot, her eyes misty and on the verge of tears. Twilight was in shock at the profanity of the young filly but decided to trudge downstairs. She slowly walked up to Dash and wrapped her front hooves around her. “Are you okay?” Dash looked back and slowly shook her head. She then began to instantly burst into tears and jammed her head into Twilight’s chest for comfort.
“What have I done?” she choked out, causing Twilight to slowly rub her back.
“You’ve done nothing wrong! Tomorrow, you and I both will go have a talk with her mother. I think her teacher should know where she lives…”
Dash simply nodded and began to cry. “But, what if they hate me? And you?”
Twilight blinked and had to think for a while. “We will figure this out, I’m not sure what she meant by ‘plans’, but I’m assuming it had to do with you teaching her to fly and all of that. To her, it’s very important. We will have a good, long talk and everything will be alright, okay?”
Dash sniffed and nodded, she then finally returned the hug and smiled. “I love you… Mommy.”
Twilight gently kissed her on the forehead. “I love you too, my little Dashie.”