//------------------------------// // Arc 4: Scootaloo's Story // Story: The Seven Tribes // by Scootaloo-009 //------------------------------// The Seven Tribes by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1 My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc. Arc 4: Family Time Chapter 11 "Growing up in the orphanage was awful. The food was the cheapest slop they could find, the beds were hard and always dirty. The whole place was dirty. Some dirty old building that was built as part of the church. And they expected us to be grateful for it. "There were no toys, no playing, no fun. They woke us up every morning for prayers. Then they gave us a bowl of something for breakfast. The older kids would head off to school, while the rest of us were left to work for the church. Cleaning the pews, washing the priests clothes and stuff like that. "When we weren't working, we were outside, but the foals in town would beat us up sometimes. Who could we go to? The ponies at the orphanage would beat us up too. "I was always hungry and sore. Every day I thought about just jumping off of Cloudsdale and escaping. I knew my wings wouldn't support my weight; that's why I wanted to jump. They would have caught me though, so it wasn't worth trying. You'd think the orphans would be nice to each other because we were all in there together, but we weren't. It was everypony for themselves. "I knew I had to get out of there somehow, but I didn't know how. They were always watching us, and I couldn't outrun them, even if I was in good shape. It would have to be at night. But if they caught me, I would be beaten severely. I needed a way to fight back. "One day I saw a nail sticking out of one of the pews. It wasn't much, but it wasn't flush with the wood like the others. I had to be careful. If they caught me, I would really get it. So every day when I cleaned the pews, I would pick at it a bit more until I could pull it out. The day I got it out, was the day I escaped." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A filly lay awake, her coat like that of uncooked bread dough. Everypony was asleep. She didn't want them to hear her. Cautiously, she felt around in her tail for the metal object. Locating it, she liberated it from the knot she had tied it in and held it before her. She couldn't see it in the dark, but felt its cold presence in her hoof, running its three inch shaft across one hoof. Slowly she lowered it to her own neck. She wasn't sure where to stab it, but enough tries, and she was sure to hit something important. This wouldn't be like the last time that got her banned from the kitchens. She had tried to stab herself with one of the knives, but ended up just nicking a rib before the caretakers got it away from her. This time she would do it. Here came freedom. Here came escape. Here came a way out from these three years of torture, of pain and starvation. It would all end, right here and now. Why kill yourself? The thought flashed in her mind. Because death means escape. She argued back silently. You really want to die a blank flank? You could just escape. There's nopony awake now. Just run. Slowly she pulled the nail away. She could run away. Quietly, she began to work. She tore the sheet on her bed apart using the nail, and tied pieces to her hooves to muffle the noise, then slipped off the bed and crept across the large open room full of sleeping foals. She couldn't go out the front door; it would squeak and wake everypony up, but she could make a detour through the church. The was only one door between here and there, and it didn't open into the room she was in. Every second she expected somepony to spot her moving through the dark, but if they did, they didn't speak out. She trotted into the church's main area and stopped. Three priests were still awake! One was near the podium, the other two talking in the back of the room. They hadn't seen her yet, so she kept to the shadows and made her way to the pews. If she could get to them, she could crawl under them and avoid detection until the last second. Silently, she padded over, her hoof made socks making no noise on the hardcloud floor. Getting in between two pews, she cautiously looked out to make sure nopony had seen her. The priest at the altar was turning her way, so she quickly pulled back. *Thunk* Pain shot through her head as bone met wood. She didn't cry out. Blows had long ago ceased to cause a reaction, but the noise was audible. Had somepony heard? "Who's there?" one priest shouted. The others began stirring. She was caught! But she was so close! She wouldn't let this chance slip by. She shrugged off the socks. They would only hurt her running now. The single priest reached where she was hiding, and saw her. "Hey, what are you doing out of bed, March?" he said, reaching a hoof at her. Without thinking, she raised her hoof and brought the nail down into his foreleg. "Arrrgghhh" he roared. She pulled the nail out, and ducked under him. The other two priests saw her coming. One moved to block the door while the other charged her. Being so small, she ran right under the first one, and caught the inside of his thigh with the nail, then spun around and jabbed it into the outside of the same leg. The priest crumpled to the floor, clutching the leg. "Don't cause pain if you can't take it!" she snarled, breaking her silence. "Get her!" the first priest shouted, and the three piled on. March flailed around, wildly kicking and stabbing and slashing. Finally the priests relented, but March wasn't sure if it was by choice, or if they were too injured to continue. Not stopping to see why, she dashed out the door, soaking wet and into the night. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “So wait, they called you March?" Rainbow Dash asked, interrupting the story. "Well they weren't very creative with names, so it was either when or where they found me and I didn't respond to City Hall," Scootaloo explained, "so March Ninth it was." “And you weren't orange? What happened there?" "I'm getting to it," Scootaloo replied, continuing. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The dough colored filly galloped through the streets, the air beginning to fill with the beating of wings. She needed somewhere to hide or to get away!  March quickly navigated the few cloud bridges in the city, and jumped where she had to, not sure where she was going, but felt she was going the right way, wherever her instincts were leading her. Finally she found herself in front of City Hall. She paused, realizing where she was and stared. Stared at the spot on the actual stone steps where this nightmare began for her. Then she looked around wildly. Close by she heard voices. Quickly she looked around for somewhere to hide. Spotting a flying carriage, she dove under it. The voices got louder as the ponies neared. It was cramped under the carriage, and got even worse as one of the ponies stepped onto it, nearly crushing March beneath it. Then the carriage began moving. Panicking, March Ninth grabbed onto the wheel well, and held on as the carriage lifted off the street. Soon they were flying through the sky with the foal holding on for her life. Just let go. They can't find you now. her mind taunted her. No. She was out of the orphanage. Whatever awaited her on the ground couldn't be any worse. She had not come this far to end it now. Her legs ached from holding on for so long, and her grip began failing, but thankfully the carriage touched down, and the ponies walked off into a nearby house. Finally, March unhooked her hooves and fell to the ground. What an odd material underneath her hooves. It felt like dust, but thicker. And everywhere there were dark shapes. She wasn't out of the storm yet. There were still pegasi in the sky looking for her. She could see them as they blocked her view of the stars as they passed. She emerged from under the carriage, and began running again. She wasn't sure what the large shapes were; they were much too small to be houses, and too oddly shaped to be pillars. Moving between them, she came upon a low stone wall. She climbed over and found herself in an open area full of stone slabs sticking out of the ground. "A rock farm?" she wondered. She had heard such things existed on the ground. Then she froze. She heard wing beats coming toward her. The moon was up, and she was sure to be spotted! She was exhausted from running and holding on to the carriage, but she managed one last burst of energy. She galloped across the open area and leaped behind one of the stone slabs, concealing herself in the shadows. Please hide me, she silently begged the inanimate rock. March held her breath as a pegasus guard flew over. She shrank back, reaching for her nail, but found she had lost it at some point. She relaxed as the guard flew off without even slowing down. The filly was safe. March slumped down against the stone. Soon the late hour, physical exertion, and poor health became too much, and she fell asleep. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Dawn broke over a lone filly. Slowly she stirred. The foal opened her violet eyes, but immediately shut them to shield them from the sun. She turned over, and opened them again. Her whole body crackled as she moved. Crackled? What was this strange green stuff everywhere? It was very wet. Where was she? Then the memories from the previous night hit her. She had attacked three priests and escaped. But now what? She glanced at the stone slab that had shielded her the previous night. Scootaloo Germain 902 A.B. - 987 A.B May her spirit live on in a new generation March Ninth read the stone, having lots of practice learning scripture. She was in a graveyard. She had slept on a grave. She shivered at the thought. She looked down at her hooves. They were stained red. Her whole body was covered in dried blood in fact. Desperate to be free of the foul substance, she began rolling around in the green wet stuff, but something was wrong. The blood was coming off, but her fur wasn't pale anymore. Frantic now, she looked herself over. Her whole body had turned from its familiar pale yellowish brown, to a deep orange, somewhere between her old color and the blood. It was very unnerving. She reached up and grabbed a few strands of her messy mane. They too had darkened a bit but not as dramatically. Before she could begin freaking out, somepony called out. "Hello there!" came an elderly voice. March spun around, and saw an elderly white mare, with a mane that seemed to once hold many colors, but had now faded with age, slowly trotting over. As she neared March could see the mare's eyes were very misty. "What's a little foal like you doing in a graveyard at this hour?" "Uh..." March stammered. "Visiting a relative?" the mare supplied. March nodded, not sure if the mare saw. "Well you don't need to say any more. Are you parents around?" "No," March grumbled. "Have you had breakfast yet?" "No," March repeated. She hadn't eaten since the previous morning. "Well why don't you join me," the mare said, walking off. March was too hungry to refuse and trotted after. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The mare led March through the graveyard and to a small house that seemed to be part of the wall. The mare then led her inside to a small but very clean kitchen. "Who are you?" March asked, looking around. Nothing was white here. Everything had color! The change was pleasant. Some things were familiar, but most of it was foreign to the young pegasus. "I'm Daffidazey, the caretaker here," the mare explained. She placed two red objects on the table. The mare then picked one up and began eating, but March just looked at it. "Haven't you ever seen an apple before?" the mare asked. "I never saw anything like this in Cloudsdale," March said, shaking her head. She picked it up and bit into it. Her eyes grew wide at the sweetness. March Ninth wished the apple could last forever, but in just a few mouthfuls it was gone and her hunger roared louder than ever. Then there came a knock on the door. March stood stock still as the mare went to answer it. "Hello?" the mare asked, opening the door. March was out of view from the door, but was close enough to hear the conversation. "Can I help you gentlecolts?" "We're looking for a lost filly by the name of March Ninth," a gruff pony informed the mare. "She's described as a pale brown colored pegasus with a light purple mane. Have you seen anypony matching that description?" an equally gruff voice went on. "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen any lost fillies," the mare replied. "If you do, please contact the Cloudsdale authorities," the first voice said. "I will. Good day, gentlecolts," the mare said closing the door. She trotted softly to the kitchen to find the orange filly quivering. The filly's mind was racing. They were still looking for her and knew her name. If her color had changed enough, maybe they wouldn't recognize her, but she needed a new name. Plus, she hated March. It reminded her of the orphanage, and anything she could do to rid her mind of those memories was a good thing in her opinion. Her orphanage free memories consisted of one morning so far, but she would make sure the rest of her life would be devoid of orphanages and priests. "Seems some poor filly got herself lost," the mare commented. "Too bad I'm colorblind. Not that it matters much, I can hardly see my own nose anymore anyway." "That's a... shame," March said quietly. "What did you say your name was?" the mare asked. March's mind raced. She blurted out the first thing that popped into it.   "Scootaloo.” "Ah, you must have been visiting your grandmother," the mare commented. "I knew her back when I was young. Would you like to see an old picture of us?" "Uh, sure," March replied. It would be a while before the guards were gone. Might as well learn more about the mare she would be impersonating while she waited. The mare walked off and spent several minutes going through the house looking for it. Finally she returned to the kitchen, and showed March the old picture, yellowed a bit with age. "Here's me," the mare said, pointing to one pony. "And this was your grandmother." March didn't need the help. She spotted the pony right away. Her new coat and mane nearly exactly matched the pony in the picture, though March lacked the orange highlights of the real Scootaloo. Huh, a butterfly cutie mark, that's so.... girly. After some more awkward conversation, March left the house and wandered into the nearby town. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "So that's it?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "You just picked some name off a gravestone?" "At the time, I figured it was the least I could do after sleeping on her and stealing her looks," Scootaloo replied. "It kinda grew on me." "So when I'm mad at you, I get to call you March Ninth?" Rainbow Dash teased. "You'd better not!" Scootaloo cried. "I'm Scootaloo. I may have not been named it, but it's my name now." "And how did your coat change colors? I can buy the blood staining, but that wouldn't last forever, even if you never bathed again." "I'm not sure how that happened, but I'm glad it did. It's what's kept me hidden all this time," Scootaloo said simply. "So how did you get your scooter?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Oh that? I got it in the second town I came to, about a month after I left Cloudsdale. I only stayed there a couple weeks. The bigger foals thought I was a street rat, a foal whose parents couldn't afford to feed them. I was just walking along one day, when one of them rides by on a scooter and it breaks. She blamed me just because I was there and threw it at me." "She threw it at you!" Rainbow Dash shouted angrily. "Just a wheel, and she missed. I don't know what her problem was. The wheel had just fallen off. So when she left, I took the scooter, fixed it up and skipped town. I've had it ever since. I got the wagon from the Cakes for working for them, and Rarity gave us the helmets. That scooter served me well. Almost a shame it can't sit on clouds," Scootaloo sighed, but she put on a smile anyway. "But we all have to move on. Nothing stays the same." "And in some ways, nothing ever changes." Rainbow Dash replied. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Later that night, Scootaloo lay awake, thinking back to when she first met her friends. She couldn't wait to show them both her cutie mark tomorrow. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Ahead of the now orange filly was a small town. She gazed over the small homes and large spaces. Hopefully this one would be friendlier than the last one. Her belly rumbled, reminding her she had things to do, so she got back on her scooter, pumped her wings and rode off. Fixing it had been easy, even without any knowledge or experience. The screw holding the wheel had gotten loose, and the whole thing had fallen off. All March had to do was put the wheel back in place and tighten the screw. If that filly hadn't thrown it at her, she would have given it back. Finders keepers she had decided. Learning to ride had been something else. First she tried doing it like the older filly had, but she just tired herself out, trying to kick herself around. It had been quite accidental, that when her wing twitched with annoyance, that she had propelled herself forward with her wings for the first time. As the houses got larger and she entered the outskirts, March decided to head for the center of town. There she would certainly find a market and with it food. She didn't have money, but if no pony was looking... well every business had shrinkage. She propelled her scooter rapidly through the town. Hopefully Scootaloo had not lived in this town, and her looks would be new, but she wasn't going to hang around and let them get a good look at her. As she passed a clothing shop, a walking marshmallow got into her path. Still new at this, March swerved to the side and crashed into a bush, but avoided hitting the marshmallow. "I'm sorry. Are you alright?" came a soft voice. March disentangled herself from the branches, and at once inspected her transportation for damage. Some scuff marks, but nothing important. "Are you okay?" the voice said again. March turned and saw the marshmallow staring at her with a look of concern. No, not a marshmallow, but a white unicorn about her size. "Uh, yeah," March finally said. "Here," the other filly said. Her horn glowed a bright red, and a twig pulled itself from March's mane. So that's magic. "Do you live here?" "My.. uh... family’s just moving around, trying to find a place to live," March lied. "Cool, I just moved here!" the unicorn replied. "My mom and dad think this is a better place to grow up, but they make me stay with my sister and she's no fun. I just moved here yesterday. I'm Sweetie Belle by the way. What's your name?" "Uh...." March stammered, "Scootaloo," she blurted out. She still wasn't totally used to the alias, even if her color was a constant reminder. "Nice to meet you. That was really cool how you were scooting around. Is it your special talent?" "No," March replied, showing her pure orange flank. "So what are you doing?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Just checking the place out," March replied. "Mind if I join you?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I won't stop you," March said. She got back on her scooter, but moved slowly so the unicorn could keep up on hoof. Together, they wandered the town taking in all the sights. March was constantly searching for secluded, but covered places she could use for a bed. It seemed whatever local school there was had let out, as the town was all at once overrun with foals. March couldn't help but notice they all had cutie marks. They reminded her of her own blank flank. It's hard to find your special talent when you spend your whole day at an orphanage. "Huh. I think we're the only two without cutie marks," March said after a while. "It seems that way," Sweetie Belle agreed. "Hey, watch it!" a filly shouted. March had nearly run into her. "Sorry. I just got this," She admitted, putting her hoof down to stop herself. The pink earth pony filly with a purple and white mane eyed her strangely, then looked at Sweetie Belle. "You must be new in town," the pink filly said. "I've never seen them before," a gray filly agreed, appearing from behind the first. "I'm Diamond Tiara and this is Silver Spoon. My dad practically owns this town," the purple filly declared. "So?" March scoffed. Diamond Tiara ignored her. "I'm having my cute-ceañera at Sugarcube Corner tomorrow. Everypony is welcome to come. Even new foals like you," Diamond Tiara said. "Why would we go to a party for you?" Sweetie Belle groaned. "Because everypony in class will be there. Only losers wouldn't show up," Silver Spoon answered. "We'll be there!" March retorted. The two earth ponies trotted off. "What's Sugarcube Corner?" "I was going to ask you," Sweetie Belle replied.  "Did you say Sugarcube Corner?" a cheerful voice asked. The two fillies turned to see a big smiling pink face. "You must be new in town." "I'm Sweetie Belle and this is Scootaloo." "Welcome to Ponyville! Come on, I'll take you to Sugarcube Corner!" the pink pony said, bouncing off. The fillies looked at each other, but followed. They were led to a building that seemed to have a gingerbread roof. "This is where I live and work, the greatest place in Ponyville, Sugarcube Corner!" the pink pony announced. "Sweetie Belle!" a dainty voice called. The unicorn filly turned. Through the crowd, a larger, slightly off white unicorn emerged and trotted over. "Hi, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle greeted. "How do you like Ponyville so far, Sweetie? I see you've already met Pinkie Pie." Rarity said to the younger unicorn. "I know you want to explore some more, but it's nearly dinner time. You can play with the local foals tomorrow. Come along now." "Okay," Sweetie Belle said sadly. "Bye, Scootaloo. See you tomorrow." "Bye, Sweetie Belle!" March said, waving the unicorn off. "Bye, Rarity!" the pink pony cheered. "I'll have to give you a proper welcome to Ponyville some other time. I'm on the clock," Pinkie Pie said to the remaining filly before going into the building. Alone once more, the pegasus beat her wings, and went off, but remembered where the pastry shop was. Once the sun had set, March Ninth crept back in the dead of night, and went around to the back of the bakery. There she found the dumpster. It had a latch to keep out animals, but she expertly undid it, even in the low light. With practiced ease, she climbed in and began to rummage around. With her teeth, she tore trash bags apart, searching for any old food. "Score!" she cheered quietly. She had found a small bag full of stale pastries. Clearly the owners didn't over bake much. Greedily she stuffed them into her mouth, enjoying the hard but still sweet treats. There wasn't many in the bag, so she ate some and saved the rest for the morning. She placed them on the scooter, and buzzed off to find a place to sleep, her belly still rumbling in hunger. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Hi," March said, entering Sugarcube Corner in the early morning. The pink pony from before was nowhere to be seen, instead a portly blue earth pony mare stood behind the counter. Behind the glass sat an array of delicious looking treats that only made the empty hole in March's tummy feel even more empty. "Hello there. How can I help you?" the mare asked. "I was wondering if you're hiring," March said. "I'm no good at cooking, but I could do cleaning or deliveries or something." "Oh, well we don't get that many orders like that. We usually handle any big catering affairs ourselves," the mare replied. March sighed. "We do have regular daily orders, but normally Pinkie handles them when she's not busy in the kitchen." "Okay," March sighed "Aren't you a little young to be looking for work?" the mare asked, looking at her closely. "My uh... parents said if I want spending money, I have to earn it," March lied. "I guess I could give you a try then. It's nice to see a filly with a work ethic. Pinkie tends to get side tracked when on a delivery. It just so happens we have a delivery waiting right now. Would you like to try it out?" the mare asked. "Sure. I'm kinda new in town, so I don't know addresses yet," March admitted. "That's okay. It's just some muffins for the post office," the mare explained. "Here's the box, but do you have a way to transport them?" "I have a scooter," March replied, taking the small, plain box. The mare thought for a moment. "Pinkie, where is the spare wagon?" the mare called loudly. "Ummm....." a voice in the kitchen replied. "I think it's in the spare bedroom." "Could you go get it?" the mare asked. "Sure, just a second. Keep stirring, Apple Bloom," the voice replied. It was followed by the sound of rushing hooves going up stairs, then back down. The familiar pink pony came out carrying a red wagon in her flour caked hooves. She placed it on the floor before rushing back to the kitchen. "Where's your scooter?" the mare asked. March led her outside. There the mare took the rope leading from the wagon, and tied it to the rear axle of the scooter. "There. That should do it." "Cool!" March said, climbing on. "Remember these go to the post office. Ask somepony if you can't find it," the mare instructed. March nodded and buzzed off. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Finding the post office had been easy. She'd asked, and been directed to a building with several dents in the roof that mystified her as to the origin. Still, she parked her scooter and carried the package inside. "Delivery from Sugarcube Corner!" she announced. "Muffins!" the gray pegasus behind the counter cheered. At once she took the package, smiling broadly. "Here," she said, pulling out a gold coin and hoofed it to March. March stared for a second at the mare. Only one eye was on the package, the other was off in another direction entirely. That explained the dents. Her job done, March turned and left the post office. The priests had taught her well not to stare at other ponies. She hopped back on the scooter, but stared at the bit in her hoof. It wasn't much but it was more money then she had ever held before. She put it away, and turned to leave when something caught her eye. It was a shadow moving rapidly across the ground, faster than her eye could follow. She looked up and saw a blue streak flying through the air, followed by a rainbow contrail. Her mouth hung open in amazement. Her wings twitched, and her thoughts soared. She would give almost anything to be up there too. “Who is that?” she whispered in awe. “That’s Rainbow Dash,” a blue unicorn colt informed her. “How could you not have heard of her? She’s amazing!” “I.... just moved here,” March lied. “Well she’s the coolest pony in Ponyville,” his brown unicorn companion said. March watched for a few more minutes before heading off to the bakery. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "All done!" March announced, entering the bakery. "My, that was fast. How would you like to handle all the regular deliveries?" the mare asked. "Sure," March agreed, placing the money on the counter. "Oh you can keep that, deary. It has already been paid for," the mare said, pushing the coin back. "Oh," March said. "I'll make up a list of all the regular deliveries for you. That way you can pick them all up here and deliver them before after school." "Right... school...." March muttered. "Are there any more for today?" "I'm afraid not. It's Saturday, and we're closing early for a party later today," the mare explained. "Silly me, I don't even know your name." "They call me Scootaloo," March replied. "I'm Mrs. Cake," the mare returned. "I'll have the list for you tomorrow morning. "Okay, I'll see you then," March said. "You can keep the wagon. And here, for today's delivery," the mare said, pulling a cupcake from the display. She gave it to the filly. "Thank you," March said, smiling. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Hi, Sweetie Belle," March said. She had been headed back to her secret hiding spot when she bumped into the unicorn. "Hey, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle replied. "Are you going to that party?" "Oh right," March said, facehoofing. "I totally forgot. And why do you want to go? That Diamond Tiara was really stuck up." "Yeah, but she said everypony our age will be there. Maybe we can both make new friends!" Sweetie Belle suggested. "Good point," March agreed. She waved a hoof towards the wagon. "Hop in." Sweetie Belle did so, and soon they were traveling through the streets back to Sugarcube corner. They parked and went inside. Instinctively, March got out of the way and hid. "Why are we under a table?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Sorry. Force of habit," Scootaloo said. She was shocked to attention when she heard Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon talking "Blank Flank!" they said in unison. "You got a problem with blank flanks?" March called, coming out from under the table. The offending fillies turned. "I said, you got a problem with blank flanks?" "The problem is, I mean, she's like, totally not special," Silver Spoon explained. "No, it means she's full of potential," Sweetie Belle corrected. "It means she could be great at anything. The possibilities are, like, endless," March added, mocking Silver Spoon's tone. "She could be a great scientist, or an amazing artist, or a famous writer, she could even be mayor of Ponyville some day," Sweetie Belle went on. "...and she's not stuck being stuck-up like you two," March finished. "Hey, this is my party, why are you two on her side?" Diamond Tiara protested. "Because..." March began. She and Sweetie Belle both bore their flanks to the crowd. "You don't have cutie marks either? Ah thought Ah was the only one," said a yellow earth pony filly about their size. She trotted over to them. "We thought we were the only two," March replied. "I for one think you are three very lucky fillies," declared a purple unicorn. "Lucky? How can they be lucky?" Diamond Tiara pouted. "They still get to experience the thrill of discovering who they are, and what they're meant to be," the purple unicorn explained. "And they got all the time in the world tah figure it out, not just an afternoon," added an orange earth pony mare. "Wow, Apple Bloom, I wish I could be a scientist," a grey pony said, walking over to the trio. "Do you really think you could be mayor?" asked a pink pony. "Maybe I got my cutie mark too soon," another complained. "Hey, what's everypony doing? This is my party, everypony is supposed to be paying attention to me," Diamond Tiara whined. "Whatever. We still think you're losers, right Diamond Tiara? Bump, bump, sugar... lump..." Silver Spoon said, trying to do a hoofshake but her companion didn't move. "Not now, Silver Spoon," she said simply, a frown on her face. "Name's Scootaloo," Scootaloo declared finally. "Sweetie Belle." "Apple Bloom," announced the yellow filly. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "So Ah was thinking, now that we're friends... Ah mean, we are friends, right?" Apple Bloom began once the trio had managed to free themselves from the crowd and found a table to themselves. "How could we not be? We're totally alike. We don't have cutie marks, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon drive us crazy-" Scootaloo replied. "Totally crazy," Sweetie Belle interrupted. "Well, now that we're friends, what if the three of us work together to find out who we are and what we're supposed to be?" Apple Bloom suggested. "Ooh! Ooh! We could form our own secret society," Sweetie Belle agreed. "I'm liking this idea," Scootaloo declared. What was one more secret? "A secret society. Yeah. We need a name for it though," Apple Bloom said. "The Cutie Mark Three?" Scootaloo suggested. "The Cutastically Fantasics?" Sweetie Belle suggested. "How about.... " Apple Bloom thought for a moment. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders?" "It's perfect!" Scootaloo decided. "This is gonna be so great!" Sweetie Belle sang. "We're gonna be unstoppable!" Apple Bloom cheered. "What do you say we celebrate with some of these delicious cupcakes?" Scootaloo said, holding one up to take a bite but Apple Bloom put her hoof in the pegasus's face. "NOT the cupcakes. Trust me," Apple Bloom said simply. "Let's see if there are any cookies!" Sweetie Belle suggested. "Yeah! Come on!" Apple Bloom said. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “So how come I never saw you two bahfore?” Apple Bloom asked as the party was winding down. “I just moved here,” Sweetie Belle said. “Didn’t you say your parents were looking for a place to live, Scootaloo?” “Yeah,” Scootaloo replied. “Does that mean you’re not going to stay for long?” Apple Bloom asked, her ears drooping. “I... I like it here. I think I can convince them to stay,” Scootaloo said. “Yay!” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Scootaloo turned over in her sleep, the old memory was gone again. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I lifted the dialog from MLP wiki, so credit to them for the transcripts. The elderly mare is based loosely on Daffidazey, a G3 pony. I never watched G3 so I kind of picked her at random. I would like to apologize for my previous and future skater lingo. I have never even stood on a skateboard. All that I know about it comes from Rocket Power. Yeah. I'm very sorry.         If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:         My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.         Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.         Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.         Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.