Start of February, 1005 A.D. (After Discord)
In the midst of winter and an almost monotone of weather duties which consisted of making sure there was cloud cover for the next few days with enough power for more snow, Rainbow Dash was relaxing in her cloud home above Ponyville, enjoying the lessened amount of work expected of her.
As she rested in her living room on the first floor, a knock at her door rang through the silence. Dash sat up with a raised brow from her sofa, knowing that it could only be pegasi (unless Twilight broke out that cloud walking spell again) and briefly wondered who it was before leaning back once more, assuming they would leave if they got no response.
Another knock sounded through the house, causing Dash to get up with a light groan, having hoped to not be bothered for the day.
“Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!” With a swift tug, the cyan mare jerked open the door to find Derpy Hooves waiting for her with a smile.
“Hello Rainbow Dash! I've got an express letter for you! Is it the good news?” Rainbow smirked at the joyful hope in golden-yellow eyes and tore open the envelope.
“Well, let's see... Miss Rainbow Dash, due to the form you've submitted not being completed properly... blah blah blah... You're application has been denied?!” Derpy's face fell at these words while Dash's filled with anger, taking to the sky with a single flap of her wings.
“Rainbow Dash, if you want I can-”
“I'll be back later, see ya!”
“-help...” The blue-gray pegasus tried to focus her eyes that had started to invert due to worry as she closed the door that the impatient pegasus hadn't bothered with. With a weary sigh, the mailmare returned back to town, her day seemingly less hopeful than before.
Rainbow didn't pause a moment as she flew through the chilly winter air, not feeling the cold due to pegasi's enhanced endurance and her own personal training. In seconds, her target appeared, a snow covered cottage that seemed quieter in the winter time since most of it's occupants hibernated during the cold season.
Dropping down with little effort, the brash pegasus proceeded to loudly knock on her best friend's door.
“Fluttershy! Fluttershy! That dumb lawyer messed up, open up would you?!” The canary pegasus, who had been reading to pass the time, tentatively opened the red-brown door, anxious at the annoyance in Dash's voice.
“Wha-what's wrong?” Dash stepped inside the warm cottage, brushing off some freshly fallen snow from her coat along the way. Waiting right outside the door and knocking so soundly had caused some of the fresh power to fall onto her.
“That dumb lawyer gave us the wrong dumb papers or, or something!” Rainbow angrily flung the letter to the ground in between the two friends while Fluttershy flinched as though it had been thrown directly at her.
Timidly, the quieter mare picked up the letter and found the form had been returned as well, reading through the paperwork as Dash fumed.
“What am I gonna tell the kid? It was hard just getting her to talk about and agree to it..” Fluttershy glanced up from her quick scan of the letter, surprised to hear that Dash was worried about such a thing and wanting to try and help anyway she could.
“Uhm, Rainbow? They gave back the papers and-”
“I know they did!” Fluttershy flinched at the sharp tone but continued on anyways.
“-and, uhm, they, they highlighted the parts you would need to finish. We could just find the needed information and send it back in...” Dash plopped down as she ran a hoof over her head, her stress and unease at having failing fading at the quiet words as she sighed her resignation to the task.
“What do I have to do then?” The cream-yellow mare sat up at the neutral tones and showed the needed parts as she sat next to the speedster.
“We just need place of birth, birth date, previous family relations, making sure her health is in good condition...” Fluttershy trailed off at the deadpan from the other pegasus as the list kept growing, hiding behind her mane due to the gaze. After a moment of silence, she tapped her fore-hooves together while she peeked at her friend from behind her pink bangs.
“You... you did look and fill out the whole thing, right?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and waved a hoof to the form that had been set to the ground once more.
“Well yeah, the important stuff; that she's staying here and I'll check on her.” The animal care-taker sighed and shook her head softly, having guessed that was how Rainbow saw it.
“There's more than that when it comes to caring for someone else...” The brash pegasus rubbed the back of her head sheepishly as she gave a short smirk to the mare next to her.
“Well, I mean, I know there's more, just not how much more...” Fluttershy shook her head again with a small smile as she went to the shelves and found scrap paper and a pencil, sitting back across form the cyan flier.
Dash watched curiously as the cream-yellow mare checked the form and then wrote on the very quickly growing list. Once she was finished, Fluttershy gave it one last check before nodding securely and firmly gazing at the brash mare once more.
“You'll need to go to where Scootaloo was born and find all the information on this list. They would probably be in the city or town hall.” Fluttershy emphasized her point by tapping the list with a hoof, trying not to be swayed by Dash's downtrodden gaze and tipped back ears.
“This list is huge! It'll take forever to find out! I don't even know where she was born...!” Rainbow sat back on her haunches as she threw back her head to bemoan of the latest task she had to do; something that was a common sight to the old friend and which didn't sway her mind.
“Scootaloo is a pegasus, and most pegasi are born in Cloudsdale; you should try there first.” Dash rubbed at her face in frustration at the already day long errand before remembering the canary mare's previous offer.
“Alright, I'll go and get all this stuff but, ah, could you help with all this egghead stuff? All this legal blah blah blah isn't easy to understand, not that I don't get it, but I'm, uh, too cool for it.” Fluttershy wore a light blush at the request but smiled all the same with a demur nod.
“Alright... Rainbow, why did you come to me for help? Twilight knows a lot of things, I'm sure she could have helped with the legal paperwork... Oh! Not that I mind helping, I want to help; I was just wondering, that is, if you don't mind...” As Fluttershy drew into herself, suddenly concerned that she might have pushed too far, Dash reeled back in surprise with a blush that she tried to dispel with a cough while holding up a hoof.
“Oh, uh, well, you were the one to go with me to the trial so I figured you'd-you'd know something at least.... Besides who I go to for help, uh, not that I'd need it normally, is my business.” The two friends sat facing one another in silence after that statement, a light dusting of red on their muzzles when Dash remembered how she now had a large task to complete that day.
“Well, I gotta dash. I'll, I'll see you later.” Fluttershy managed to let out a soft 'bye' with accompanying wave before the speedster rocketed out of the cottage, leaving her typical rainbow trail as evidence she had in fact been there.
Soft pats on her hoof drew teal eyes down towards the ground to find the white bunny with a proud smile.
“Yes, she came to me for help but like she said, it may just be because I was with her at the trial...” Angel Bunny slapped a paw over his face while his owner merely walked back to her couch to continue reading; or at least appear to be doing so as she thought about how closely they had sat and how the brash pegasus had came to her for help this time.
Further in town, paths had been made for ponies to travel the deep snow that built up as the winter wore on; one such well used path led to the school building on the edge of town, where classes ran longer in the off-season, with a long morning session then an hour and a half break in the middle and another long session of class in the afternoon. Having been cooped up for the majority of the time, the kids often took full advantage of the mostly full snow covered yard during the recess with full fledged snow wars.
What had started that day as a large fight versus many two or three grouped foals eventually turned into everyone against the Cutie Mark Crusaders (through Diamond Tiara's great urging). Try as they might, the trio of friends couldn't overcome the sheer numbers and soon succumbed to the piles of snowballs.
The trio fought valiantly, but they felt as though everyone was against them, not being able to see that this wasn't the case as there were a few foals who were on the side lines making snowponies among other things. If they did take a moment to look, they would have seen one of the newest town residents was firmly trying to ignore the fight, blue-gray ears tipping back as shouts rang sharply in her ears.
Towards the end, after it turned into everyone against the Crusaders, the unicorn filly watched the trio's teamwork, impressed by how long they lasted against the determined opposition while trying to make a decision about how to approach them with her latest idea.
As everyone returned to class, soaked and exhausted, it was hard for any of them to focus on the lesson which was why Cheerilee always tried to have fun projects for the afternoon session. The class had divided into groups of four, with the Cutie Mark Crusaders resigned to getting a partner who would either ignore them or constantly tease them when it was to their great surprise that Dinky stepped forward and shyly asked to join them.
“H-hello... Can I be in your group? I'll-I'll do my part, honest.” The trio shared a glance before nodding in tandem to the request; with a small grin at the acceptance, Dinky stepped forward, revealing a shocked Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon standing nearby.
“You actually want to work with those losers?” Diamond Tiara asked with wide eyes, pointing with a hoof towards the trio.
Before any of the fillies could retort, Dinky spoke loud enough to be heard but not over top of the general hubbub of the class.
“Why wouldn't I? It's my choice, if you don't want to that's fine.” The pink filly wasn't used to others trying to stand up to her and turned away fuming.
The blue-gray unicorn seemed unconcerned as she went to sit at the four desks pressed together just in time for the dark-cerise teacher to give them the supplies they would need. They were to use their materials to recreate the water cycle they had learned about in the morning session a few days prior; the group could also earn a bonus if they could say how water has been used throughout the years.
The four girls stared at one another blankly before Apple Bloom decided to break the awkward air.
“Do ya know how tah build anythin' Dinky?” Dinky's ears tipped back in embarrassment as she stared at the earth pony.
“N-no, is that something a lot of ponies can do around here?” The trio shook their heads as they wondered why the unicorn wouldn't know something like that.
“Do you know anything about the water cycle or the past?” Sweetie Belle inquired as the others watched, unsure of how helpful the new filly would be. Dinky placed a hoof to her muzzle as she thought briefly.
“I know the cycle but I'm really good at history.” The tiro lightened, pleased to find they wouldn't have to do everything themselves.
“Good; then you write about the use of the water cycle in the past and we'll make it.” Scootaloo said with a firm nod before pulling the supplies over while hoofing over the writing materials.
The four fillies worked in mostly silence, with whispered instructions from Apple Bloom about how to use the tools available breaking it briefly. After a minute of peeking towards the orange pegasus, Dinky flinched as Scoot finally had enough of the staring and lashed out quietly.
“What? Did you want to say something?” The rest of the group stopped at the sharp tone, looking back and forth between the two.
“I-I was wondering if, if you know Derpy Hooves?” The trio blinked before Scootaloo took on a guarded edge.
“Yeah...? And?” The other Crusaders watched the third in unease, not sure where the sudden tension came from.
“I, well, she's my mom and she's been worrying about-”
“Girls, are you focusing on your work?” The four girls gave small starts of surprise, not having heard or noticed their teacher walk to check on their work. As Cheerilee looked over what they had done, soft giggling came from behind her as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon pointed with mirth at their misfortune.
“You only have another ten minutes girls, please get back to work.” Four heads nodded silently before returning to their tasks with a fever.
Once the older pony walked away, Dinky hissed her request to the trio.
“Can you meet me after school? We can talk more then.” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom glanced towards the pegasus since it seemed to concern her the most.
Scootaloo stared deeply into golden-yellow eyes trying to find any deceit and finding only pleading sincerity. With a slight nod to indicate she was willing to talk, the four continued their work, being the only ones to give a lengthy and detailed bonus answer that Cheerilee was very impressed with, earning an extra five points on their overall score.
After the last group presented their work, the kids were released and rushed out to play in the snow once more. The Crusaders and Dinky were slower to leave, tension of the unknown weighing their hooves.
Choosing a tree that wasn't too close to the new snow fight in the school yard, the four fillies sat in a rough circle with Dinky and Scootaloo facing one another. Scoot was the first to break the silence that had settled between them with a short question.
“So what's going on?” Dinky took a deep breath before opening her eyes to stare at the pegsus across the way.
“My mom has been worried about you and the other Crusaders for a while now.” The trio frowned at the statement, though Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom allowed Scootaloo to ask the questions.
“Miss Derpy doesn't have a daughter.” The blue-gray filly flinched at this, a shadow of pain crossing her eyes before she took another calming breath.
“Yes, but Miss Derpy adopted me when my parents died. I lived somewhere far away and moved here to stay with my new mom.” While the other Crusaders were accepting of this explanation, Scootaloo remained on guard; causing her friends to be worried, not about the topic, but why Scootaloo was acting like that.
“Oh, so Miss Derpy is worried about us, so what?” Dinky blinked, not expecting such a cold response.
“Well, I was hoping you could, come by and talk with her?” The tense air thickened and Sweetie Belle felt her heart lurch at the sight of the highly suspicious filly.
Brisk wind blew some of the powdery snow into the air, causing the fillies to shiver briefly though Scootaloo seemed to not notice the cold. Another silent moment went by, with Dinky slowly crouching in worry when Scootaloo released a large breath and quietly consented.
“Alright, are we going now?” The yellow-maned unicorn sighed in relief and gently shook her head.
“Sorry but my mom won't be back until really late tonight. Can you come by tomorrow? Everyone can come, we're making muffins!” The Crusaders gave tense smiles at the other filly's joy and agreed to be there.
The sounds of battle rang through the suddenly clear air, bringing their attention to it once more. With a side glance to the edgy pegasus, Apple Bloom turned to Dinky with a small smile.
“Do ya want tah come an' join us in the snowball fight? Ah'm sure with four sets of hooves, we'll win for sure!” Dinky whirled to face Apple Bloom with fear flashing briefly in her eyes.
“No! Fighting is bad! Why do ponies always want to fight?” The distressed unicorn quickly ran off, not allowing anyone to respond to her exclamation. The three friends shared surprised looks before shrugging.
“Ah wonder what was up with her... Ya want tah get out catapult an' we show 'em what ah real snow war is like Scoot?” The earth pony tried to bring the pegasus back from where her anxious mind took her, only to have the orange filly shake her head with weary eyes watching the retreating unicorn.
“No, I-I have something I have to go do...” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle wilted in place before the gray-white unicorn perked up with a suggestion.
“What about later? Will you be at your hideout in the train depot?” Scootaloo shook her head once more without looking to her friends who grew wide-eyed at what it may mean.
“Nah, I'm going to rotate with some of my more remote ones this time.” Sweetie Belle's heart clenched in fear, and attempted to keep her voice from shaking as she tried to reason with the cautious filly.
“But! But the orphanage is closed right? Why would you need more than one hideout?!”
“Just because, ok? You never know when you need one.” Scootaloo finally looked towards her friends only to find anxious and concerned faces in return while the light-gray filly started to shiver in place.
“But what if you get sick? It's really cold and hideouts don't have heat all the time.” Apple Bloom stepped forward, trying to exude a calming air as she saw a spring of tension coil in purple eyes as they shrank in some unnamed emotion.
“Yeah, why don't ya stay with one of us for most of the winter? Or at least stay in the clubhouse, we got lots of heatin' an' blankets an' things in there.” Scootaloo flinched before shouting at her friends, apprehension of the meeting the next day causing her to lash out.
“I'll be fine, I am fine! I don't need everypony worrying about me! So just leave me alone!” After the last shout, Scoot ran towards town, leaving the two other Crusaders stunned underneath the tree.
As what had just happened sunk in, the unicorn felt a hole open in her chest and crouched towards the ground while tears began to roll down her cheeks. Apple Bloom, on the other hoof, felt dread fill her center, the mental promise she made already having been broken as she failed to help her friends and protect them from pain. She watched in shock at Sweetie Belle crying until she jolted back to her senses, getting the unicorn to stand once more and leading her home.
"Sorry that this happened Sweetie Belle, but don’t ya worry none. Ah'm gonnah fix this somehow... Mah sister might know what tah do to, Ah'll see if she has any suggestions.” Sweetie Belle's tears slowed at her friend's assurances and she nodded to the latest plan with a few sniffles, allowing Apple Bloom to keep her upright as they walked through town.
Once the distressed unicorn was back home, in bed to warm up and calm down, Apple Bloom set out to find her sister to try and find some kind of solution. The other farmer listened with growing worry as the olive-yellow filly described what happened.
After Applejack got the fully story, she thanked her sister for telling her and set out to find Rainbow Dash, since this sort of thing fell under 'trouble with Scootaloo'.
Meanwhile, the young earth pony started to make plans of her own to force what was going on out of the nervous pegasus, not wanting to be left in the dark about her friend's problems.
In a two storied house further in town, Sweetie Belle tossed and turned in place on her bed, unable to get more than fitful rest as images of Scootaloo drastically sick while covered in snow circled her mind. The sight of orange fur matted in dirty clumps with weak attempts at standing that only turned into hacking coughs leaving the pegasus with little strength and causing her to fall back into snow that continued to pile higher by the second, made Sweetie Belle often jerk awake with fresh tears in her eyes before settling down to try and get back asleep.
What only added to the filly's confusion was the sense of crushing dread and fear at the thought of such a thing happening, making it a long and stressful night for the unicorn. The only bright spot was the hope of seeing Scootaloo perfectly fine in the morning.
“Howdy Fluttershy, sorry tah bother ya but Ah can't find Rainbow Dash; Ah'm guessin' she's up in the clouds.” The two mares stood in the doorway to the grass and snow covered cottage as Applejack looked to the sky towards the end of her sentence; though she looked back as she continued.
“Do ya think you can get her or give her ah message?” Fluttershy peered curiously at the farmer, noticing how she seemed on edge and tried to figure out why.
“Is something the matter? Is there something I could do?” Applejack sighed but decided that it wouldn't hurt to say what the topic was about.
“Somethin' happened with Scootaloo an' Dash said I should go tah her if there was trouble.” The canary mare gasped softly before leaning forward with flipped back ears, all other worries disappearing in an instant as new ones about the young pegasus filled her mind.
“Oh, please tell me everything! I'll tell Dashie right away!” The orange farmer resettled her hat as she took in the appearance of the worried mare, deciding that it would be faster to just pass along the message of what happened then to have Fluttershy bring the cyan mare back to her to describe what happened.
In a snowbank across from a single floored cottage, laid a pegasus who used her knowledge of the town to get there before it's occupants did. While it was near the whitetail forest, it was also near the school which meant it wasn't too long before a blue-gray unicorn slowly made her way up the street and inside the watched home; had she even tried to look about herself, Dinky wouldn't have noticed Scootaloo hiding nearby since she allowed snow to cover her mane and fur, blending her into surroundings.
The hidden filly watched with shrewd eyes as the other filly entered and how, not even half a minute later, an older pegasus entered as well. Even from across the street, Scootaloo could hear the joyful greeting and laughter, making it obvious that while Derpy was tired it was the normal tired that came with a normal day of work; certainly nothing to postpone a meeting for.
Scootaloo watched suspiciously for a while longer before starting her rotation of hiding places; taking short naps in between that were broken by any and all noises in the night, as thoughts of orphanage ponies chasing after her rushed through her mind.
Fluttershy had been waiting almost impatiently for the prismatic mare to return from her errand after Applejack stopped by. As the evening wore on, with dinner time coming closer still, the anxious pegasus hadn't started on any kind of meal (much to the residential bunny's annoyance) and was about to fly into the sky to find Rainbow Dash instead of waiting for her. Before Fluttershy could take to the air however, a blur of cyan landed next to her as she stood right outside her house.
Rainbow swept back her mane as she panted lightly from her sprinting, having sped to the various government buildings in search of copies of all of Scootaloo's records (what little there were).
“'Sup Fluttershy, I got all the boring papers; you're still going to help right?” Dash peered at her friend intently, widening one eye while half closing the other.
“O-oh, yes, that's right... Uhm, I have the form in the living room, if you want to...?” The cyan mare flashed the canary one a quick smirk before heading inside and dropping the saddle bags she wore that held all the the papers she had found.
“Uhm, Rainbow, there's something-”
“Alright, so here's everything I could get. I'm going to head out and get something to eat, I'm starving.” Fluttershy snapped out her attempt to discuss what happened earlier as she remembered how she hadn't prepared anything for herself.
“Oh my! I haven't started dinner yet...! Would, would you want to stay and have supper with me? You don't have to if you don't want to, though it wouldn't be that hard, not that cooking is hard...!” Fluttershy trailed in nervousness while Dash waved an assuring hoof.
“Sure, I'll totally make the meal awesomer by staying and having a bite.” The timid mare smiled as she went into the kitchen prepare something with the bolder pegasus following uncertainly; the brash mare wasn't used to the silence and was unsure if she should break it or not, deciding in the end to speak.
“So, uh, how was your day? 'Cause mine was really boring.” Fluttershy frowned briefly and paused for a moment as she reached for the noodles; this pause would normally have gone unnoticed save for the fact that Dash didn't find anything else to look at and leap at the possible cause.
“What? What's wrong? There somepony bothering you?” The quieter pegasus shook her head before sighing at how she had to put the meal on hold once more.
“Applejack came by to look for you -”
“What?! Wh-why would she come here? I'm not always over here!” As Dash quickly glanced about, looking for teasing hoof pointing, Fluttershy shrank back, the almost annoyed sentence that her friend didn't visit all that often (though it was slowly changing) causing her to cringe in loneliness and pain.
“She-she just couldn't find you and came to me so I could fly up and find you instead.” While Rainbow calmed down, she noticed the hurt in her friend's eyes as she continued to explain how the meeting was one of convenience and not because they expected her to be there.
The brash flier almost wanted to face-hoof as the answer arrived moments later as the almost too quiet continued to reign in the two storied cottage (Fluttershy having trailed off into muttering).
(Of course! Most of her animal friends are asleep or away, and she probably doesn't get too many visitors during the winter... I guess stopping by more often wouldn’t hurt... She cooks pretty well at least.)
As the speedster came back to the world around herself, Dash found the other pegasus had trailed off even further, remaining silent as she stared worriedly to the brasher one. Rainbow blinked a few times as she rapidly wondered how long she had zoned out before starting the conversation once more.
“Ok, yeah, so AJ was looking for me. What did she want?”
"Um, well, Scootaloo had a kind of fight with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom about... hideouts.” The last word came out almost as a squeak, the mere thought of best friends fighting causing her to shiver in unease.
“Hideous? Why would they fight about those?”
“It seems as though Scootaloo still has multiple and not very warm locations to hide in, which the others asked her about and she, she snapped at them. Apple Bloom said that Sweetie Belle took the fighting pretty hard...” Dash frowned at these words, and tried to reason out why the pegasus would still have lots of different places to hide; Fluttershy noticed this and hesitantly offered a possible reason.
“Maybe, she is still worried about the orphanage?” Dash frowned even deeper at this as her pride and confidence took a hit because since if those that depended on her word and abilities didn't trust her, then what good was she?
Fluttershy was about to lay a comforting hoof onto a blue shoulder at the frowning worry when Dash looked up with determination burning in her eyes.
“Let's get this paperwork taken care of and I'll find Scootaloo to talk with her about the hideouts.” A low growl erupted that caused Dash to blush while Fluttershy looked to the source in surprise before smiling warmly.
“Maybe, after dinner?” The starving pegasus nodded with a bashful grin before noticing how it grew even darker outside and gave a annoyed sigh.
“I may have to wait for tomorrow to talk with the squirt; it's pretty late and dark out.” The animal care-taker nodded and set about making dinner once more, shaking her head at the actions of her pet who had lain back on the counter with a small flower in paw along with a tiny sign at his head, describing his cause of death: starvation.
Dash glanced to see what caused Fluttershy's amusement and snorted at the sight which earned an annoyed glare from the rabbit in return.
The two friends had a relaxed and almost tranquil meal that evening; Rainbow, not being used to such a peaceful time, eagerly accepted the fight Angel challenged as a repercussion to making his last meal of the day late. Fluttershy bemusedly stopped the two food fighters and soon distracted the almost restless mare with paperwork, making her call out what part was needed on the form while the calmer pegasus searched through the collected papers.
Together they made quick work of the form and Dash left quickly to mail the forms once more. The post office was open at all times in order to compete with other new technologies and magic, giving the impatient pegasus the chance to send it right away.
That night, Rainbow Dash stayed up as she went through the new paperwork on Scootaloo and was interested to find out who her parents were, details of the accident as well as other mundane things.
(Bet the kid would want to know this! I'll find her right after school... But first, better get enough sleep to make up for all this running around.)
Sweetie Belle jerked awake once more to find that the sun was starting to barely rise above the light-gray clouds. With a shaky breath, the young unicorn got up from her bed and started her morning routine of cleaning up and having breakfast. The older couple watched anxiously as their daughter was overly silent during the morning meal and wished her good luck with school that day.
She trudged through the snow, dragging her hooves along the ground as she tried to get the image of a drastically sick Scootaloo out of her mind. The distracted unicorn met with the determined earth pony at the gateway to the school and paused as Apple Bloom gave her a chipper greeting.
“Hey Sweetie Belle, Ah got ah plan for what's goin' on with Scoot.” Sweetie Belle glanced up at the firm tone and gave the other filly a shaky smile.
“O-ok...” Apple Bloom frowned at the sight of her friend tired and nervous but plastered on a smile nonetheless as they turned to head inside.
“Come on, we'll be jus' fine.” As the two friends took their seats, their classmates slowly made their way inside as well. Two pairs of sharp, nervous eyes scanned the crowd, searching for the distinct purple on orange coloring of the last Crusader.
When they did find their target, they both lurched with worry though Sweetie Belle crouched lower as she held her chest, fear striking her strongly in the center. Scootaloo tiredly made her way over with a brief smile, not noticing the two wide eyed stares she was getting due to the bags under her eyes or how she seemed to droop in place.
“Hey guys, how's it going?” Scootaloo asked as she sat beside Apple Bloom, looking past her at the same time to check on Sweetie Belle who was shivering in place before she rounded on the orange filly with a hiss.
"You said you'd be fine! You-you look awful and sick and we have to get you to a hospital or Fluttershy's or something or else you'll get worse and then-” Apple Bloom could see how the gray-white unicorn's state grew worse with each word and shushed her while placing a reassuring hoof to her shoulder.
“It'll be ok Sweetie Belle, take ah few breaths, alright? Scoot, are ya alright? Ya look pretty bad off...” The orange pegasus waved a dismissive hoof with a weak smile.
“Bah, I'm fine, just a little tired. What's up with Sweetie Belle? Why'd she freak out?” They both looked to the left and found the filly in question with her face in her hooves as she rested against the desk, shivering in place.
“She's, she's worried about ya an' so am Ah.” Apple Bloom turned her soft gaze from Sweetie Belle to Scootaloo as her eyes hardened as she posed her next question.
“What was up with ya yesterday? You were actin' mighty odd an' yelled at us for no good reason! We were worried sick about ya!” Scootaloo looked away from the hard stare and tipped back her ears apologetically.
“Yeah well, I had to check on something and... I was thinking about something. I'm fine now, right? So it's fine.” Apple Bloom raised a disbelieving brow but couldn't comment further as Cheerilee called the class to order for the day.
For the four fillies who were anxiously waiting for the afternoon, the school day passed in a blur and none took part in the snow battle that occurred during recess; something that Diamond Tiara tired to tease them about but was miffed to find that the trio of friends weren't paying her any attention and stormed off.
Once the final bell rang through the air, the Crusaders demurely followed after Dinky who led the way to her home, flicking a single ear back at the total silence of the three friends behind her. Before she could make a comment on their sudden tenseness, a draft of wind blew by and a cyan pegasus dropped down from the skies to land in front of the four girls.
“Hey squirt, check this out; did you know-” Scootaloo, who had been pleased and embarrassed to see her idol, noticed a stack of papers in her grip and her anxiety about whether the orphanage was indeed shut down or not snapped, causing her to take off quickly with no warning.
The four ponies left behind blinked for a moment before Apple Bloom ran off after her with a short growl of 'not this time!' much to Rainbow's confusion. As Sweetie Belle (who had started to shake once more) was about to go after the young pegasus as well, Dash stopped her with a single hoof and confused frown.
“Oy, what's going on?!” Dinky and Rainbow watched in worry as Sweetie Belle held back tears and tried to answer through her fearful stammers.
“Sh-she isn't doing well and didn't-didn't sleep last night... We, w-we don't know what's wrong and she won't tell us!” The unicorn shook off the hoof as the older pegasus stared on in shock and ran towards town, allowing her hooves and heart to guide her to where the orange filly would hide.
Dash stared slack-jawed at the knowledge that things had indeed gone wrong and she hadn't done anything before that point about it. With a sudden muted growl of determination and digging her hoof back into the ground, she turned to the blue-gray filly that remained and demanded to know what they had been planning to do.
“My, my mom has been worried about Scootaloo and her friends for a while now and I wanted them to talk about it... But I never wanted this to happen... I'm sorry...” The older mare sighed wearily and took a few calming breaths before continuing her interrogation.
"Who's your mom?”
"Derpy Hooves...” Rainbow tilted her head at the name but decided that it was of no consequence to her in comparison of what happened. With another shake to clear her mind, the determined pegasus gave one last comment before flying off to fix the issue.
“Alright kid, you go back to your mom and tell her to expect me and the squirts in a bit. Maybe make some nice relaxing tea and muffins, I dunno. I'll find them and we'll get this all sorted out.” Dinky nodded before running home, trying to hold back tears of her own at having upset the other fillies.
An alabaster filly slid around the corner of the shopping district, heading into the well-used back alley where supplies were delivered without blocking normal shoppers travel. Knowing that the hidden filly she searched for often used back ways and less traveled paths as a means to hide her trail, the searching unicorn checked behind any and all crates and boxes, tempted to call out her friend's name but didn't want to spook or cause the pegasus she searched for to run once more.
It was as she neared the end of the line of shops, by the flower shop that was closed for winter, that Sweetie heard the sounds of hyperventilation and slowly walked behind a stack of crates holding vases and baskets to find her quarry curled in a ball, shaking in place. Without a sound or comment, the unicorn sat beside her friend and nuzzled her side as tears slowly trailed down her cheeks.
Scootaloo, mind and emotion shattering under the fear and stress, hadn't noticed the searching filly until she stepped closer, giving a small start before managing to smell who it was in the bitter cold. As the scent of lilies and roses came closer (a scent that was due to the unicorn's older sister often purchasing the cleaning products for her family), the pegasus felt the momentary warmth along her side, signally that Sweetie Belle had settled next to her, before feeling as though her entire body was frozen through.
While Scootaloo would have remained silent or even tried to move away from the source of warmth, the wetness along her side gave her pause.
“Scootaloo, please, we just want to help... Can't you tell us what's wrong?” Scootaloo covered her face with her tail as much as she could while turning slightly from the ever nuzzling filly.
“Pl-please Scootaloo, it's ok to be scared... That, that's what friends are there for, to help you when you get scared...” Sweetie tried to prevent the other from hiding away, brushing the tail away to reveal wide terrified eyes that seemed to gaze into nothing.
“I-I'm not afraid...” Scootaloo flinched as she saw hooves coming towards her from the corner of her eyes only to relax slightly when they wrapped around her barrel as Sweetie Belle buried her head into the orange fur.
“...... I can't, I just can't....”
“Why can't you?”
“.... We got... hurt... if we sho-showed any emotion....” Gray-white hooves tightened as another wave of shivers flowed over the orange filly as a quiet question came from the unicorn.
“Any emotion...? Any at all...?” As more shivers crossed orange fur, Sweetie Belle could feel the nod of agreement and a fresh wave of tears burst from her eyes.
“Please, don't hide that anymore either... It's ok to show emotions and-and me and Apple Bloom will stop anyone from hurting you ever again... Please, don't do this to yourself, it's... it's not good to hold it all in...” Scootaloo could feel her frame shake more with each passing word and assurance from her best friend, culminating in tears beginning to sting at the corners of her eyes.
While this went unnoticed by the hugging unicorn, it was seen by the silent audience of Apple Bloom and Rainbow Dash who couldn't even start to form any kind of assurances of their own, immobile at the opening of the alley as they stared on. They had found the two friends quickly, but stopped at the confession, remaining silent since that moment.
Sweetie continued to hug the other filly, though she paused for a moment when Scootaloo turned suddenly and grabbed the other in a hug, burying her head into the light-gray chest as tears broke free of her restraint and orange hooves also wrapped around the other's barrel.
“... I, I am scared....” Sweetie Belle stroked the purple mane as the whispered confession came.
“... I'm-I'm on paperwork now, they can come and take me away now that they know where I am...” The unicorn tightened her hold as she glanced up, locking eyes with the olive-yellow filly who nodded firmly back.
“We won't let them...” Dash slowly stepped forward before crouching down on the other side of the younger pegasus, startling her briefly.
“Neither am I... Scootaloo, I said I would help you stay in Ponyville, and I meant it.” Scootaloo broke free of the gray-white unicorn and faced her hero with a small blush as she tried to scrape away the tear tracks that continued to be made as her emotions ran wild after having been restrained for so long.
“Ra-rainbow Dash... Uh, I-I -”
“Kid, it's ok to feel things like emotions. It's perfectly cool to show how much you like or dislike something... It's not cool to hold it all back so much that you hurt yourself and others by not saying what's the matter.” Scootaloo stared at the ground, aware of the two fillies who now stood by her back as they all sat facing towards the older pony.
Dash crouched even lower, catching purple eyes that still streamed tears as Scootaloo bit her lip to stop them from trembling.
“Scootaloo, it's alright to be upset or afraid, so long as you still keep going. Winners never quit or run away, right?” The orange pegasus nodded demurely, not completely trusting her voice to respond.
“Right?” A short smile flashed across tear stained muzzle as the purple maned filly nodded in a larger motion.
“Right?!?” A larger, though still timid, smile broke out on Scootaloo's face as she opted to try and verbally respond.
“Right...” Dash smirked at this and prompted the filly further.
“I can't hear you!” The watchers all wore smiles as Scootaloo's grew and she shouted as strong as she could, knowing what the bolder mare wanted to hear.
“RIGHT!” Dash smiled at the shout that cracked in places due to her age and the effect of tears on one's vocal ability and mussed Scootaloo's mane while giving her a quick hug.
“Right, so I hear there was a plan to go and talk with Derpy?” Scootaloo's face fell momentarily before hardening in determination to not run or make her friends worry any longer.
“Yeah... But I have to do something real quick first...” The cyan pegasus watched with a curious brow as the younger pegasus turned around in place to face her friends who were still focused on her.
“Sorry I made you worried guys... I'm, I'm not used to showing emotions, but I promise I won't just hide everything away and talk with you about it.” Both of the others' smiles grew as they all went for a group hug, after which Sweetie Belle attempted to wipe away her tears as Apple Bloom tried to show how willing they were to help.
“Yer not getting' out of that promise ever, ya hear? We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, an' we solve everythin' together.” Scootaloo nodded with a tiny smile before turning to the older mare who smiled at them once more before leading the way out of the alleyway and towards the mailmare's cottage.
Just as the four ponies arrived on the doorstep of the small house, the snow began to fall once more, giving them a light dusting as they waited briefly on the step. After the first knocks of the cyan mare, Derpy opened the door with wide worried eyes.
“He-hello! Please, come in! How are you guys doing?” While Derpy made the question a general one, her concerned gaze rested on the trio and how two sported tear tracks on their muzzles.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle knew that Derpy cared for all of them, but knew it was up to Scootaloo for what she wanted the blue-gray pegasus to know. They showed their support by pressing in on either side, even though the gray-white unicorn's heart sped up at the contact. Scootaloo returned with a lean to each before standing straight once more and looking at the pegasus who shifted in place.
“We're doing better.” Derpy smiled hesitantly as Dinky stepped up and leaned into the older mare's side with a smile of her own.
“We-I... was scared that... The orphanage was still going to come after me anyways; but they're not, right?” At the uncertain words, Scootaloo glanced towards the rainbow maned flier who smirked and mussed her mane once more.
“No way kid, not if we have anything to say about it.” The orange filly nodded to these words and looked back to the other grown pegasus who held onto her timid smile.
“...I, I'm not used to, to uh, showing emotions; but I promised my two best friends that I wouldn't hide them anymore.” Hesitant smiles grew larger all around as the still emotionally wracked pegasus continued in a firmer tone.
“So, I guess it would only be right to, uh, say thanks... Thanks for, helping me when I first got here and worrying about us when we got up to some of our more dangerous adventures...” Dash tilted her head, curious as to what they had been doing out of sight, but didn't interrupt as Scootaloo continued to speak as she slowly stepped forward.
“I'm, I'm also not used to having somepony care about what I did and... I'm sorry about snapping like I did before about it.” Derpy glanced down as she noticed that Dinky had stepped away only to feel herself being pushed forward from behind. A quick look revealed it was the blonde unicorn's work and she smiled at her adopted daughter before stepping forward on her own.
Scootaloo closed the distance between them and hugged the older pegasus around her middle.
“Thanks...” The blonde pegasus smiled tightly as happy tears stung her eyes and wrapped a hoof around the younger pegasus.
“I'm glad things are going better for you and that you guys came by to tell me.... Would you want to stay for muffins?” The trio of friends smiled as they nodded rapidly, all the stress, running around and emotional turmoil of the past half hour having sapped their strength; Rainbow Dash smirked at this and was about to leave them when Derpy pulled her into a tight hug while Dinky lead the Crusaders into the kitchen where the delicious aroma came from.
“Thank you so much Rainbow Dash...”
“Eh heh, no problem...” Dash rubbed her head sheepishly as Derpy pulled back to look at the cyan mare.
“But from the sound of it, you have little Dinky there to thank; she went to the Crusaders and set it all up.” The mailmare looked over to her daughter with a pleased smile and happiness shining in her eyes.
“Yes, my little muffin is very special to me and I'm happy that she's here... Anyways, would you like some muffins Rainbow Dash?” The speedster was about to say no when she caught sight of Scootaloo looking back with a brief wondering frown on her face making her give in with a small sigh and smirk.
“Alright, I guess one couldn't hurt.” The postal worker smiled as she lead the way to the kitchen where Dinky was telling the trio of friends how to make muffins come out properly.
As they helped to pull out the latest batch, Derpy pulled Scootaloo aside briefly, something that was a source of confusion to the younger pegasus though Derpy's reassuring smile help set her at ease.
“Scootaloo, I just wanted to make sure you didn't feel like I wasn't willing to help you by adopting you as well as Dinky, because if you want to I would adopt you as well...” The orange filly frowned briefly at what the older mare thought as she glanced at the other filly in question for a moment.
“I don't think that; I, I had a problem with how much you really did care... Not being used to it and all... But yeah, it's fine that you have Dinky instead; she really cares about you... But it probably wouldn't have worked anyways...” Derpy smiled as Scootaloo spoke, noticing the small glance towards a certain flying ace from the younger pegasus and sighed, giving Scootaloo one last hug.
“Yes, I understand. But I want you to know that I won't stop caring or worry about you three either just because I have a filly of my own now.” Scootaloo wasn't accustomed to getting so many hugs in a day and gently pushed the blue-gray mare away.
“Yeah yeah, I know.” Derpy didn't say a word as they both turned to find themselves the center of four curious sets of eyes; with another smile on her face, the mailmare gave her daughter a hug while Scootaloo returned to her friends' side.
Apple Bloom, sensing that any misunderstandings and hostilities had been set aside, tried to see if she could lighten the air with a chance at having fun and turned to the other unicorn with a shy smile.
“Ah know ya said that ya don't like fights an' all, but we could always use ah fort builder...” Dinky ducked her head a little with a small blush before being pushed forward by a blue-tinted gray wing.
“I'm sorry for having snapped like that before, I just don't like fighting...” Three sets of ears drooped at this, before perking up once more as Dinky hesitantly smiled at them and continued.
“But building could be fun... Can, can Pipsqueek come help too? He doesn't know that many foals yet and I wouldn't want to leave him out...” The trio grinned back as Apple Bloom spoke on their behalf.
“Sure, the more th' merrier!” The four kids smiled at one another with the adults looking on for a moment before Rainbow Dash decided she had to get going.
“Alright you guys, as much as I'd like to hang out, I uh, gotta go make sure the clouds are in the right place for the snow tonight. I'll see you later ok squirt?” Scootaloo nodded rapidly and they waved goodbye briefly before Sweetie Belle turned to the orange filly with laid back ears and worry in her eyes.
“Scootaloo, did, did you want to have a a sleepover?” The young pegasus could guess why the question was phrased like that and was about to answer in an unsure manner when Apple Bloom took things into her own hooves, slinging a hoof over each of the others' shoulders.
“Sure she is gonnah have one! Why, Ah forgot tah say that Applejack said y'all can stay for ah few nights in all this commotion.” Scootaloo, seeing no way to deter the stubborn earth pony and getting a feeling of why they want her to stay with them in a house, nodded with a smile. Apple Bloom relaxed in place at the movement before realizing they were in the process of making another friend and turned to Dinky with a small smile as she stood on all four once again.
“Uh, y-ya can come if ya want too Dinky; Ah'm sure mah sis' won't mind.” Dinky smiled at the offer as she leaned into her mom once more while shaking her head no.
“Thanks but that's ok, you guys have fun. Maybe next time?” The trio gave large grins to the suggestion as they nodded their agreement to the idea.
Afterwards, the four fillies enjoyed some hot chocolate and various muffin treats before setting out for Sweet Apple Acres. They went together as a group in order to keep an eye on the pegasus and luckily Applejack didn't mind the sudden sleepover that much considering the weather, stating that she would have to go and tell Sweetie Belle's parents to be sure. They were curious as to why the older earth pony wore a blush at the mention of Sweetie Belle's relatives but soon dismissed it as they went to Apple Bloom's room to have the sleepover.
That night, as they laid in bed with the orange pegasus in between her two friends, Sweetie Belle found that she couldn't fall asleep even though she knew nothing was wrong. She was, in fact, more distracted than before, feeling her side heat up as it lay next to Scootaloo's, her heart beating rapidly at all that had transpired that day and how close they were laying while her eyes seemed unable to glance away from the orange filly, soaking in how she was in good health and resting next to her.
(What's wrong with me? Why-why did I get so upset today? I probably caused Scootaloo more trouble by acting like that... But it was for her own good! She was hurting! I-we, can't let a friend be in pain like that...) The unicorn frowned in pain at the thought of friendship, drawing a deeper frown at herself being upset with terminology.
(Why am I so worried about Scootaloo? I don't worry this much about Apple Bloom, and she's my friend... Sure, Sccootaloo did get really sick before, but we've done lots of dangerous stuff before... Maybe, I just like her as a better friend than Apple Bloom, but does that make me a bad friend? That I like one more than the other? That... That I want to hug Scootaloo much more than Apple Bloom?) As she thought this action, her body drew her closer in order to fulfill it. While Scootaloo only shifted a little at the hug, Sweetie Belle almost pulled away as her body warmed even further as a blush spread across her muzzle.
(…... Is this what a friend normally feels for another friend...?)
On a cloud that had been pulled from it's brethren curled a thoughtful and dejected sky-blue mare, who's thoughts rested on a trio of fillies and what they went through that day.
“Dashie?” Rainbow sat up quickly with a mild shout of surprise before noticing the canary pegasus flying next to her cloud.
“Fluttershy? What are you doing up here?” The normally timid flier frowned at these words, searching for facial signs that there was something extra wrong with the speedster.
“Uhm, well, you are kind of floating over my home and... well, are kind of maybe a little, close to the ground.” Dash frowned at this and looked over the edge of her cloud, finding that Fluttershy's cottage was indeed not even a story below her.
“Oh, uh, well, I was just thinking, that's all. Trying to find a good nap location and uh, stuff.” A single yellow brow rose as Fluttershy stared at the flustered mare, who was trying to figure out why she had came there as well as what was causing the sudden nervous behavior.
After another moment of silence, Dash sighed gustily and slumped in place while Fluttershy merely sat down next to her.
“Alright, well, I'm just thinking about what happened and how maybe I'm not doing such a good job as I thought.”
“... What do you mean?”
“Like, Scootaloo was afraid of the orphanage still! You were right, she was so worried about it she freaked out at the sight of me with a couple of papers and ran for it! We found her and fixed everything, but what kind of job am I doing if she's still worried about it?” The canary mare leaned into her long time friend who didn't move in response (always a bad sign in the timid mare's book).
“You said you helped fix it though right?” Seeing the rainbow headed nod, Fluttershy continued on. “Then you still did a good job; now you just need to make sure that nothing else goes wrong and keep an eye on Scootaloo like you said you would.”
As Dash hunkered down on the cloud, pondering the fear and inability to show emotions the young pegasus had shown, Fluttershy continued to lean into the cyan mare and reassure her.
“It will be ok, I'm sure of it.... You've never let down a friend yet.” Rainbow frowned at these words as her heart flinched, providing to her mind's eye an image of a teenage Fluttershy saddened by the disappearance of her oldest and closest friend.
“Yes I have, but I'm not going to ever again....” The animal care-taker frowned at these words, but gave the other pegasus a nuzzle nonetheless, which earned her a blush and nudge from a cyan shoulder in return instead of the usual 'I don't do sappy' spiel, much to her incomprehension.
The two friends stayed on the cloud for a little longer before heading into the cozy cottage below as snow started to pile further around and on top of them. While Fluttershy knew Rainbow could handle being in the cold and living high in the atmosphere even in the toughest of weather, she insisted that the brash mare stay with her the night and found little resistance of her offer, much to her confusion. The canary mare didn't probe into it though, knowing how Rainbow Dash liked to act aloof from most things, and merely made sure her guest was settled properly before heading to bed herself.
The next day saw an emergence of a strong team of snowball fighters; with Dinky and Pipsqueek's help, the trio were able to focus on offense while the fort to dive for cover under stayed in top condition. They were able to not only battle their way through the entire recess, but were even causing the other team (once more almost the entire class) to start feeling the pressure of potentially losing.
They weren't able to finish the battle however, as they only had so much time to play in the snow before returning to class. Afterwards, instead of accepting the challenge of Rumble and other colts for a rematch, the five foals decided to relax and build other structures with the snow instead and having a fun time with new friends.