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// Epilogue 
// Story: Scootaloo's Feelings 
// by abdlpony 
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	What Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom felt was very foreign. Very rarely had their clubhouse been a place that sapped joy and filled their minds with despair and worry. After a long night of searching and more questions than answers, everything finally clicked together. Sweetie Belle nervously watched her friend, concentrating on nothing but a single hole in their clubhouse. Inside were a few odd ends that clearly belonged to Scootaloo. It was the shocked look that Apple Bloom had that scared Sweetie more than anything. That, and the fact that she had not moved in several minutes.

“Apple…” She stopped when the filly whirled around. “…Bloom. Are you okay?”

Again, Apple Bloom was still. It was starting to get creepy. Then, without warning, the filly fell onto her side, tears streaming out. “I…” she choked, unable to get out even two words. Sweetie gently leaned near her and started to rub her back.

“What is it?”

She took a few minutes to calm down, breathing in and out over and over, and then sighed. “Ah got angry with her a while ago when ah found that she had taken a few apples from our farm. She got angry at me back and looked like she wanted to say why she did it. But she just stormed off…”

“Oh… Well, it’s not like we knew about all of this. She didn’t tell us and—”

“But she was trying to!” Apple Bloom suddenly screamed and then promptly started banging her head on the wood, albeit gently. Before she could bang her head for the tenth time, she felt Sweetie’s hoof gently raise her head.

“Stop hurting yourself. Okay, she was trying to tell you, and… maybe we could have seen the signs. Like how she’s late to class a lot and why she ‘forgets’ her lunch.”

That proceeded to only lower the filly’s mood even more.

“But we’re all still friends and we can make it right, okay?”

Apple Bloom snorted. “How the hay do we make this right?” She tilted her head and placed her right hoof to rest on. “We’re just two stupid fillies. Twilight and Rainbow are probably all she needs.”

Sweetie lightly slapped Apple Bloom. It was light enough to cause no harm but harsh enough to grab her full attention. “Don’t call us stupid! We are not stupid, we are her friends! If we just think this through, we can make it right. We can make her feel like we love her, okay?”

There was another moment of silence before Apple Bloom cracked a smile. “Yeah, ah get the feeling she knows that already…” Apple Bloom quickly started making kissing noises.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “I was just worried and then really happy that we found her!” Her voice cracked and her protest did nothing but make the other filly laugh harder. “Yeah, laugh it up…” She giggled a bit herself and soon the two were laying on their backs, staring up at the ceiling.

“Hey, Bloom?”

“Hmm?”

“You don’t think Scootaloo stole other things… do you?”

The very thought filled Sweetie with dread, she knew stealing was wrong. “Hmm, no. She has a job. I’ve seen her doing a paper route… just another thing that makes more sense now.”

Sweetie’s shaking stopped and she sighed in relief, feeling better that her friend did not have to stoop to such low levels, often. “Okay, got any ideas?”

Apple Bloom rolled onto her side, facing the filly. “About what?”

The unicorn rolled her eyes. “On how to make Scootaloo feel like we love her!”

“Oh…” She scrunched up her muzzle in concentration. “Hey, ah know! How about a card?”

Sweetie shuddered at the thought, remembering the massive card they had made just for Miss Cheerilee and how much work it took. “I think we’ve had enough cards for now, besides we can do better than a lousy card!”

“Okay, a hug?”

Sweetie slapped her face with a hoof. “We already did that! C’mon, think, you're the smart one!”

Apple Bloom blinked a few times and simply stared at her. “You’re the one who reads the dang Dictionary!”

“That doesn’t make me smart…”

Apple Bloom groaned. “Ah wish Applejack was here… wait, we can just ask my sis!”

“Oh yeah!” They both grinned and bumped their hooves together.





“Y’all want to do what exactly?”

“We want to show Scootaloo that she’s part of my family—”

“And ours!” Apple Bloom interrupted, referring to the Apple family.

“Right,” Sweetie said. “So do you have any ideas?”

The mare tilted her head and started scratching just under the base of her hat. Then she straightened her hat out and gave the two fillies a single smirk. “Well, ah think that’s a grand idea. That little filly needs some family and it might as well be all of us!”

“All of us?” The farm filly raised a brow.

“Of course, us three,” she started to clarify, “and Twilight and Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and Rarity. And all of their and our families too.”

“That’s a lot of family…” Apple Bloom muttered.

She chuckled. “Good enough friends can become family.”

“But how do we let her know this? I wanted to do something special for her…” Sweetie Belle’s voice dipped low, she knew there was something on the tip of her tongue that they could do. But she couldn’t quite think of it.

“No better way than the truth. We simply tell her, c’mon!”

Sweetie Belle, in that single moment, felt slower than Snips and Snails. She nodded, rolled her eyes at the obvious answer and galloped after them.





“Is everypony ready?” Rarity whispered. It hadn’t taken long, somehow it never took very long to gather their friends together.

Gathered around the library door were Twilight’s friends and the two fillies. Pinkie Pie was grinning but had promised to keep quiet so she simply nodded despite the excitement bursting through her body.

“Good. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, you're on.” Rarity shoved them forward, and the mares quietly hid around the corner of the tree.

The two shrugged and loudly knocked on the door a few times. It didn’t take long for the door to swing open to a sight sillier than anything they could remember seeing. Their friend, Scootaloo, had a giant plush dragon perched on her back. Behind her was Rainbow Dash wearing a very poofy looking diaper. That site alone made Apple Bloom blush and Sweetie Belle giggle. Had they seen the state Spike was in, they, no doubt, would have lost it.

“Uh,” Scootaloo said, glancing to the plush dragon that was on her back and blushing, “hey, girls. What’s up?”

“A dragon?”

“Yeah…” The pegasus rolled her eyes.

“Anyway… we were wondering if you wanted to come with us to Sugarcube Corner?”

Scootaloo seemed almost suspicious at this, but a smile quickly gave them their answer. Behind them, Rainbow was looking at Twilight in concern.

“Oh, and they can come too! But uh… I’d take that off.”

Dash rolled her eyes and was quick to oblige.

“I guess so,” Scootaloo turned around to face Twilight, “C’mon! Uh… Mom?”

Had Scootaloo said the word ‘mom’ casually, or maybe in a more excited manner, then it would have made Twilight’s heart swell in pride. The way she did say it was more unsure. These things would take time, Twilight figured, so she walked up, smiling. “I think that’s a good idea, we can all go. My treat.” The fillies, Spike and even Rainbow cheered. Only Sweetie Belle heard four mares dash away from the tree as they walked out together.





The girls swiftly walked into the shop. Twilight half-expected Pinkie Pie to throw them some kind of party to cheer Scootaloo up. It would make sense except it wasn’t a dark room they were walking into. Almost everything was in order except nopony was currently working the cash register. Probably in the back, Twilight thought. However, the second they all sat down, she heard it.

Four mares sprang up from behind the counter, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack. All of them smiling, waiting for the pink mare to make her inevitable announcement.

“Hi!” Pinkie waved, grinning to them as she always did. The three other mares looked at her in shock for a moment. Pinkie blinked and then giggled. “I mean, surprise!”

As far as surprises went, Scootaloo had to admit this was kind of a lame one. It wasn’t unwelcome or anything, but she knew Pinkie could do better. “Uh, surprise?” Scootaloo said back, unable to think of anything else.

Pinkie’s face molded into that of confusion, blinking a few times. “No, silly! It’s a surprise for you! Oh dear… My party senses must be on the fritz… I’ll be right back!” She zoomed out, leaving a trail of dust behind her. Then, just as quickly, she came back. “And don’t you all move!” She commanded sternly and vanished without a trace.

Awkwardly, they all waited. As they began to wonder just why they were doing so, the mare returned. “Okay, everything should be in order!”

Applejack snorted and sighed. “Pinkie… you were supposed to say something after the surprise, remember?”

Pinkie blinked a few times and then rolled her eyes and threw her hooves in the air. “Seriously? Again? I’ll be right—” Applejack stopped her, turned her around and gently plopped her back on her rump. Then she looked to her sister, who nodded.

“Uh, Scootaloo we wanted to do somethin’ special for ya. It was basically Sweetie’s idea, but the rest pitched in. We just…” Apple Bloom frowned, feeling like she was on the spot, but Sweetie stepped forward.

“We just wanted to let you know that you do have a family with all of us. No matter what!”

Scootaloo smiled, maybe this surprise was better than she thought. A few moments later, a rather large cake seemed to come out of nowhere. It was swiftly put down on their table, in front of her by the pink mare. Okay, that’s what I’m talking about!

She looked down and gasped. The cake was a work of art. She never knew much about the party pony, then again nopony did, but she never assumed she was a baker and an artist. Her friends, the six mares and Spike were drawn neatly on the cake. Scootaloo was in the middle. Large letters were also neatly printed on top. ‘Welcome to our Family, Scootaloo.’

Her smile couldn’t get any wider, her happiness couldn't possibly be any higher. This was all she wanted, a family. A mom, she looked over to Twilight who gave her a quick smile. A big sister. She looked to Rainbow, picturing her with the diaper still on. Close enough… Spike was simply a bonus, a brother. To top it all off, she had the rest of her family. They didn’t need to be blood related, they just needed to be there for her. Everything was finally perfect. She hopped off her stool and quite literally tackled her friends down to the ground, hugging them and just feeling right.

“Well?” Pinkie’s voice sliced through the air, waking the filly out of her thoughts. “Are you gonna eat it or what? I didn’t slave over this cake all morning to have it sit there ya know!”

The three fillies, along with Spike, looked at each other and then grinned. Mrs. Cake had been watching from the sidelines, leaning on the store mop and smiling in pride. Then the children started walking towards the cake, a hungry look in their eyes. The table never had a chance.

The End