As Scootaloo traversed the streets of Ponyville, she found herself doubling through the marketplace again. Making her way towards the array of restaurants, she passed by the Golden Oaks library once more. The glowing lights inside indicated that the mare was still awake, and Scootaloo's thoughts drifted to how she might have been spending her evening. Scootaloo remembered that the princess had gone upstairs to write a letter to Cheerilee. Scootaloo rounded a corner, the library passing out of sight behind her, and she couldn't help but wonder if Twilight had avoided mentioning her plight in her correspondance like she promised. The pegasus shook her head, the rushing blood bringing with it another stinging throb. Twilight had better things to do, she mused, then to spend an evening waxing her woes, especially with her teacher.
"I had actually just come from her residence before stopping here," Cheerilee explained.
"You just came from there? You didn't see Scootaloo on your way over?" Twilight asked curiously.
"No..." Cheerilee said slowly, trying to discern what Twilight was implying. "Why would I have?"
"Scootaloo spent the rest of the day with me after dropping the letter off here." Twilight told her. "She only just left about ten minutes before you arrived. I'm surprised you didn't cross paths. Why did you go to see her?"
"It wasn't for her, necessarily. I mean, I wanted to make sure she was alright, of course, but I mainly wanted to speak with her parents."
"And?"
"And the usual. Apple Spice and Sweet Blossoms are still just names on a letter." Cheerilee couldn't hide her disappointment.
"Oh... well, I can assure you that Scootaloo was safe and sound here. What did you uh," Twilight pried. "What did you need speak to her parents about?"
"A number of things, actually. Obviously, there's the matter of her behavior today." She pointed at the letter. "But there's more than that. Scootaloo's academic performance has been suffering, and her demeanor on the whole has been... distressing, to say the least."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, take this holiday project. I don't know if you're aware, but she hadn't completed an ounce of work on it when she came to school today."
"I was, actually." Twilight piped up. "She's going to be working on it this weekend with me. Already picked a holiday for it, in fact."
"Did she now?" The Earth pony rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Well, that's certainly a step in the right direction. It seems that after the flag waving trials, she has completely neglected her studies. She seems content to avoid class participation when she used to be such a lively contributor, and I've had to wake her up on several occasions during class. I can't help but wonder if maybe Rainbow Dash and her... feelings about education are rubbing off on her."
"I very much doubt that Rainbow Dash would express that, especially to Scootaloo. " Twilight told her hastily. "But, I'll speak to her about it tomorrow,"
"This is the next point I was getting to - you shouldn't need to do that!"
"I don't think I understand."
"You're a princess, your highness." Cheerilee stated simply. "It should not take royal intervention to convince a filly to do her schoolwork. It's like we made mention of with Diamond Tiara... that's what her parents should be doing."
"Oh."
"I - I didn't mean to offend, of course. I'm just saying..."
"No, I understand." The Alicorn nodded. "But I think that exceptions need to be granted at times. It might be strange for a princess to help somepony with schoolwork, but isn't it equally strange for a teacher to wait in a hospital with one of her students for four hours?"
"...five hours." Cheerilee grinned sheepishly.
"Exactly." Twilight did her best to avoid sounding smug. "I'll ask her about how things are going for her at school tomorrow, alright?"
"Do you think she'd really open up about it, though?" Cheerilee expressed with doubt. "She insisted that everything was perfectly normal when I asked her a few weeks ago."
"I think she might be more receptive. Scootaloo and I had a long talk today, and she really - wait!"
"What?"
"I... promised her that I wouldn't talk about it with... anypony else," Twilight said. She didn't mention that it was specifically Cheerilee that Scootaloo had asked for Twilight's silence with.
"Not even with me?" The concern in her voice was mixed with a hopeful tinge.
"Sorry..."
"Ah... well... if you're going to see her tomorrow, could you give something to her for me?" Cheerilee asked, rising from her seat and walking towards the saddlebag she left by the door. Her purple hoof lifted the buckle, and from the satchel she withdrew a small envelope.
"Another letter?" Twilight noted.
"This one is for her parents." Cheerilee explained as the made her way back to the Alicorn. "It's a standard suspension notification slip. I forgot to give these to Scootaloo, Silver Spoon, and Diamond Tiara today." She set the yellow envelope on the desk. "They just need to sign it and return it to me."
"I'll make sure she gets it." Twilight told her. "Hey, Spike made some cookies today. I know it's probably against your health and nutrition teachings to make a meal out of sugary snacks... but they are soooo good. Did you want to grab a bite?"
"ORDER UP!"
Even from behind the restaurant, Scootaloo could hear the proud bellowing of her boss, and head chef of Olive's Garden, announcing that another dish had been completed. The orange pegasus hopped off of her scooter, and walked it behind one of the large green dumpsters. She leaned it carefully against the container, out of sight from most who would pass by from the street. Satisfied, she unsnapped her helmet, and proceeded through the door labeled "Employees Only".
Upon opening the door, she was greeted with the scintillating scents of various pastas and sauces. Immediately to her left, she made her way into the locker room. Finding her locker, 324, she placed her helmet on the shelf, and gently closed it. The clock on the wall indicated that she was twenty minutes early, but she wanted to speak to her boss before the shift started anyways.
Out of the locker room, she navigated the hallways of Olive's Garden towards the kitchen, following the voice demanding "More rosemary, less thyme!" The metal door had a single round window on it, with no handle to speak of - a simple push from Scootaloo revealed the kitchen to her, and the amplified sounds of hissing, clanging, stirring, and every other sound she had grown to associate with a pasta cookery.
"Where's the filling? Ponies want ravioli, not pasta pillows with a single shredded cheese feather!"
Evie Olive, or simply Olive as he preferred to be called, was taking his usual spot overseeing preparation of the various dishes. He had a slick black mane that clashed against what he referred to as his "olive pit yellow" coat. His cutie mark was that of a sauce pan, but Scootaloo couldn't get a clear glimpse of it on account of his constant bustling. On slower nights, he would opt to cook the dishes himself if the time allowed, but he seemed to thrive as a manager and teacher.
"Excuse me kid, but this is for employees only!" Barked a sharp voice from behind the filly. Scootaloo jumped and spun in the air, turning to face the annoyed countenance of a waiter glowering at her from the doorway. "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, or at least get out of the way."
"I - uh - I'm Scootaloo." the filly introduced herself, using her hoof to nervously wipe her mane down. "And I am an employ-"
"What's going on here? Trouble?" The bellowing sound of Mr. Olive was directed at the two. Scootaloo heard his shuffling hooves from behind her. "Ah! Mister Dee, I see you've met Scootaloo, our premiere dishwasher."
"Oh - yes... I was just introducing myself." The flustered waiter grumbled.
"Well, I don't pay you to speak to the staff - the customers! The customers, my dear boy!" Mr. Olive laughed jovially, waving his hoof to dismiss the stallion. The waiter slipped past the two, making his way to the line of finished dishes on the counter. The chef watched him with an exaggeratedly raised eyebrow, and then turned to look at the dumbfounded Scootaloo.
"Scootaloo! So good to see you again - goodness me, are you alright?"
"I uh... er, what?"
"Your forehead! Have you been scrapping? How's the other pony look - far worse for wear, I don't doubt!"
"Oh..." Scootaloo rubbed her temple gingerly. "No, I just er... fell."
"Well, I was quite the scrapper in my day. But that's neither here nor there - you're early!"
"I actually was hoping to speak with you, sir. About my hours." Scootaloo began nervously.
"Alright, but make it quick - we're very busy this evening. A big school project finished up, I gather, and we've got a whole bunch of families celebrating by showering their foals in spaghetti noodles and tomato sauce!" Mr. Olive cried excitedly.
"Ookay... I actually have some school work I need to do tomorrow, and I know it's short notice, but could I have the day off?" Scootaloo plead.
"You already have the day off tomorrow!"
Scootaloo shook her head. "That can't be right - I know I had a shift tomorrow,"
"Well, not here you don't." He repeated. "Maybe it's that other place you mentioned - Mr. Rich's place."
"Barnyard Bargains!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "I got the two confused. Sorry about the mixup, sir."
"I'm too young to be called 'sir', if you please!" Mr. Olive laughed. "Pony your age shouldn't be worrying about jobs anyhow - you should be spending your weekend with friends, having fun, not fretting about work."
"About that..." Scootaloo chuckled nervously, her raspy voice cracking. "Do you suppose I could pick up some extra hours during the next few weeks? During the day?"
"During the day?" Mr. Olive raised his eyebrow at the filly. "What about this 'school' you need to be doing that 'work' for tomorrow?"
"It's a long story..." She sighed exasperatedly.
"Well, time is of the essence. I'll put you in for some hours, certainly, but not over 40, and not on Wednesday."
"Why not?"
"Time! I can't legally have you work more than 40 hours in a week, and we'll be closed on Wednesday for the Running of the Leaves. What good is lasagna for removing foliage? Time check!" He shouted over his shoulder. "That's stir fry, not stir deep fried!"
"Thank you very much!" Scootaloo bounced excitedly. "You have no idea how much this means to me! I - I'll just get to the sink, start washing those dishes, alright?"
"Right, right..." Mr. Olive mumbled distractedly as he trotted back to the ovens. "Why is this ravioli leaking cheese? Appearances are half the meal, everypony!"
Scootaloo grinned and made her way back out of the door. Mr. Olive was certainly a bit eccentric, but he was a very flexible and responsive manager. The filly traveled to the industrial size sink that was filled with soapy water, stood on her stool, and submerged her hooves in the warm water, ready to wash the dishes that came through until close. She stifled a yawn, grateful for the short nap she had taken at Twilight's library, but the young Pegasus was still quite exhausted. Still, her mind quieted a little knowing that she'd be constructively spending the next two weeks to help clear up her bills. It had been a long day, and she couldn't wait for it to be over.
"It's been a long day for me, Princess Twilight." Cheerilee politely declined. "Spike's cookies, delicious though I'm sure they are, would probably just serve to keep me awake. No offense to him, of course."
"None taken!" Spike shouted from the kitchen. "More for me!"
"I hadn't thought of that." Twilight admitted. "I might pass on them too, in that case." She raised her voice. "And somepony - or some...dragon else might want to consider that before they're bouncing off the walls tonight!"
"Well... in any case." Cheerilee giggled. "I'm glad we were able to touch base. Though, there's still the matter of my bullying presentation I'd like to discuss with you."
"Oh yes!" Twilight's face lit up. "I'm glad you brought that up. You have my full and wholehearted permission to go ahead with it."
"But you haven't even heard what I was going to do!"
"Because I know it's going to be great. Unless, you have concerns?"
"There are some," Cheerilee admitted."I had planned on implementing it on Monday."
"Monday? This Monday?" Why so soon?"
"I wanted to do it while this incident was still fresh in their minds. And also, while... the most affected are going to be absent. I don't want to put them on the spot, necessarily."
"Makes sense to me." Twilight agreed. "What exactly was the presentation going to consist of, if you don't mind me asking?"
Cheerilee paused for a moment to gather her words. "An overview from me, first. Explaining how poor treatment from your peers and teasing can be just as bad as fighting and hitting. And then..." She paused again, looking uncomfortable.
"Something the matter?" The Alicorn asked with concern.
"I wanted to ask the class to share their thoughts. Maybe some of our students could speak of their experiences with bullying and harassment, if they felt comfortable."
"That's a good idea, Miss Cheerilee, but..."
"I know it's going to be difficult, and I know that some of our students won't be entirely comfortable with it. I want to stress that there won't be any fear of reprisal, but I know there's going to be reluctance."
"...Yeah, that." Twilight remembered how harrowing of an experience it was for Scootaloo to speak of her treatment, and that was without the eyes of her friends and classmates watching her.
"I don't expect a lot of them to speak up, but if I can get at least get the class to think - just to think about how bullying might be affecting them and their classmates, ponies that they actually know... That's half the battle right there, right?"
Twilight nodded her head solemnly.
"In any case." Cheerilee cleared her throat. "I'll be getting out of your mane, your highness." Cheerilee wrestled her saddlebag over her flank, the buckle still undone from when she had opened it earlier. "Thank you so much for your time."
"Of course!" Twilight replied. "Feel free to stop by anytime, it's always good to speak with you outside of meetings."
"Yes, well... have a good evening, princess Twilight." The bell rang above the door as it opened. "Oh, one quick question about Scootaloo before I go?"
"Certainly."
"Her holiday... which holiday did she choose?"
Twilight stifled a laugh, the nature of the conversation she shared and it's ironies not lost on her. "It was... Newborn Celebration Day."
"Really." Cheerilee stated. It was not a question, but an observation. "How curious."
"Indeed."
Cheerilee's pink and white tail vanished into the night, and the door closed behind it. Twilight uttered a long yawn, smacking her lips together several times at it's conclusion. Cheerilee was right - it had been a long day. Twilight turned to the kitchen to let Spike know that she would be heading to sleep upstairs and to ask him to keep it down. Instead, she found Spike sitting at the kitchen table, his face firmly planted in his Power Ponies comic, snoring.
"Wake up, Scootaloo!"
"I-bruh-m'wake - huh?" Scootaloo's head jerked up from the edge of the sink, and her hooves burst forth from the pale water, the soap suds all but vanished from it's surface.
"We're closing up shop. Just in time too, from the bags under your eyes," Mr. Olive announced to her, rubbing his hoof on her shoulder. "Here, let me help you with that." A bright yellow glow surrounded the dark green dishrag that Scootaloo had hung over the faucet.
"Mr. Olive! I'm sorry - I just closed my eyes for a second - I didn't mean to - here, let me finish up!" Scootaloo reached in the air, the rag lifting itself further out of reach at the whim of Mr. Olive's horn and magic.
"Scootaloo..."
"Please, I - I insist! It's my job after all, and I-"
"Scootaloo..." The Unicorn's voice was calmer and quieter than usual. "Your job now is to go home and get some sleep, alright, kiddo?"
"But I still have ten minutes left on my shift!"
"And you came in 20 minutes early. I'll close everything out, okay? It's my... restaurant, after all."
Scootaloo wanted to argue, to show her boss that in spite of her falling asleep at the tail end of her shift, she still had dignity and the work ethic enough to wash the dishes she was supposed to. But as much as she hated to admit it, she loved the thought of crawling into her warm bed as soon possible just a little bit more, and his encouragement had her stepping down from her stool with a sigh.
"When's your next shift, Scootaloo?"
"Sunday night."
"I'll have the week's hours for you by then," Mr. Olive told her. "You're... sure about the day shifts? School and everything?"
"Yeah," Scootaloo mumbled. "It' won't be a problem."
"If you say so. Now run along, catch some shut-eye. I'll see you on Sunday night."
"Thank you, sir."
"Not a problem, kiddo. Now, get moving! Don't make me use my magic to lift you out of here!"
In a purple glow, Spike's snoring, limp figure slowly lowered into his plushy bed. Twilight's magic coaxed his blue blanket over him, stopping at the shoulders, and tucking it underneath his sides. Spike didn't stir once. Her horn flaring again, Twilight heard the click of the light switches turning off, and the room was swallowed by darkness.
Her horn illuminated just enough for her to see as the checked the front door, ensuring that it was locked. Satisfied with the result, the Alicorn turned around and made her way up the stairs to go tuck in her own bed.
Scootaloo's hooves dragged on the stairs - they felt as though they were made of lead. As she reached the top, she walked down the short hallway past the closed doors - the doors that she always had closed - and pushed open the door to the room that she treasured most.
While the rest of the house was plain, not decorated or furnished, her room was a different story. Though she couldn't see them in the dark, the walls had posters aplenty lining them. On the dresser, she had pictures of her and her friends, and pictures of her and Rainbow Dash. Next to the big frame bearing the cyan Pegasus' likeness (with a signature, no less!), she had what she considered one of the most valuable investments she had ever made - an alarm clock.
From memory, she tapped the buttons to set the alarm for the usual time when she had her early morning paper route. 3:00 a.m. That was a little over two and a half hours from now, and Scootaloo made sure not to waste any time in devoting all of it to resting her tired body.
No sooner than her head had hit the Wonderbolts pillow, Scootaloo was fast asleep. Not even the worries of her uncertain future could keep her awake tonight.