//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Two Wings of a Feather // by Blueninetails //------------------------------// "You don't recognize me?" he asked with raised brow. "Uh, no." Scootaloo replied as she shook her head "Come on, I'm sure I didn't change that much. It's me, Featherweight." "Featherweight...?"She repeated before her eyes shot open. "Yeah! Do you recognize me now?" "'Recognize you...'?" she repeated, "Recognize you...?! No! I don't recognize you! How am I suppose to recognize a pony who disappears for 8 years? You don't say a word, you don't send letters, you don't even leave a message where you went off to." she stated she glared at the pegasus stallion. Featherweight had a confused and surprised look on his face before he noticed her expression was completely serious and dully returned the glare, "Well excuse me, I wasn't aware I was leaving a wife behind." "A wife...? You mean me?! In your dreams pal." The two continued their glaring-stare contest for a couple of moments, eventually though, both were able to notice the pony they were staring at seemingly fighting off laughter. They both quickly lost as both exploded into laughter. "It's good to see you again Featherweight." Scootaloo stated and gave her old friend a quick punch at his shoulder. "Good to see you too Scootaloo. I see you haven't quite changed since I last saw you." He stated, "Well, personality-wise anyway." "Seriously though... No, I didn't recognize you." she replied as she wiped her eye with a hoof, "How do you expect anypony to recognize you? Last I saw you, you were only a little taller than me, and you were so...so lanky. Now though....you don't look that way anymore, you're almost a full head taller than me, and you actually look like you got a little meat your bones this time." "Yeah, well... a lot can change in 8 years." he stated as he scratched the back of his head. "You have no idea." she stated with a smirk, "So where in Equestria have you been?" "My folks decided to move to Manehatten. I wanted to tell you and the others, but we were in kind of a rush. After that, I got an apprenticeship in photography, so...yeah, just finished it after so long." "Well, that's cool. Glad to see you've been doing well." "I'm actually here to take pictures of Sweetie Belle and Sapphire Shores's duet together tonight. You see, I'm working for Canterlot Papers right now, and I was-" "You were asked to take the pictures?" Scootaloo finished for him. "Good guess." he replied with a nod, "What about you? What are you doing here?" "I came up here to be support for Sweetie. She's a little nervous." "I can understand that." "Applebloom was busy, so I'm kinda standing in her place as well. The Cutie Mark Crusaders always watches out for it's members...err....former members." At that moment, they both heard the intro to the first song start. "Sounds like they're getting started. I think we better get seated." "Yeah, good idea." The two took their respective seats, granted that Featherweight had reserved a seat closer to the stage to take the best pictures possible, just as Sapphire Shores appeared on stage to start. The first song was solely Sapphire Shores, as she sung her newest song. After finishing, Sapphire took a bow, and thanked the crowd, before giving a rather energetic introduction to Sweetie Belle, who timidly trotted onto the stage. After some quick words of reassurance, Sweetie Belle reluctantly gave a smile and took her position next to Sapphire. The song started soft and slow, as Sapphire started the song, quickly followed by Sweetie Belle as she shakily sung alone. Sapphire briefly stopping before proceeding along side Sweetie Belle for the rest of the song. Eventually the song started to become more upbeat and louder, more similar to the usual beat of the songs that has become familiar to the Pony of Pop. Along with the increase in beat, so did Sweetie's confidence as the young unicorn mare started showing where all that tutoring went, and solidifying her talent. The whole time, Scootaloo kinda moved her head in small bobs and side-to-side in-tune with the song as a proud smile went across her face, feeling anything more energetic might get her kicked out. At least for the time being. A third song followed that was just as impressive, and just as flashy, before the duo gave a bow to the audience, which was a mass of loud cheers and clapping of hooves, as well as a sea of flashing cameras, before the two left the stage. After the show, the duo remained backstage as those with a backstage pass, one being Scootaloo after Sapphire sent one of the production managers out to get her, was allowed backstage. Scootaloo saw Sweetie Belle and Sapphire give each other a quick hug, before continuing a conversation the two apparently were having before the start of the show. "Remember, Sweetums, you still have a couple of months singin' duets with me, so no need to get a gushy with me just yet." "I know...it's just that...do I have to go up against you someday?" Sapphire gave a light chuckle at the question, "You don't have to, but when you become popular enough, ponies will expect you to do that. Comparing which of us does what song better over the other. All us musical artists have to sooner or later." "..." "Now, don't you start with that look. Rather than think of it as a fight who sings better, think of it as a way to show my mentoring to you was well spent." she stated as she patted Sweetie's shoulder. Sweetie gave a modest smile at that, though still a tad unsure how she could ever out-do the Pony of Pop herself. "Keep your chin up, Sweetums, you have a lot of potential. I wouldn't have picked you as my student if I hadn't seen it." she stated as she started walking away, "Now, it looks like your friend wants to talk to you, so I'll just take my leave. I have particular camerapony to talk to. Oh, and if you will, please do tell your sister to contact me. I'd lu-uve a chance to talk to her about outfits again!" she added with a grin before turning to the stage. "See, it wasn't that bad, was it Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo stated as a matter-of-fact. "I don't know. I...I still don't like it." "Don't worry Sweetie Belle, you were fantastic! You're singing was amazing, just like it always has." "Thanks...,but I'm still gonna worry." "What in Equestria could you be worried about?" "Mind if I cut in?" they heard a voice ask beside them. Both looked to see Featherweight. "This!" Sweetie stated pointing at Featherweight, "I'm never going to get used to ponies taking my picture!" "I'm guessing this is a bad time...?" he asked "Sweetie Belle, don't you recognize him?" Scootaloo asked with an amused smirk. Sweetie shook her head. "Did I really change that much?" He asked. "Sweetie, it's Featherweight. You know, from Ponyville...We grew up with him." "Featherweight...?" Sweetie asked as she squinted her eyes, looking at him, "Wait! Really...?! That's Featherweight?" "The one and only." He replied, "Listen, we can chat later, but I'm kind of short on time. Mind if I get in a few shots for the Canterlot newspaper?" Sweetie gave a nod, feeling a little more calm about the photographer being a familiar face. Featherweight explained to them that he had been allowed backstage to take exclusive pictures on permission by Sapphire Shores. Appears that's how he differs from the usual paparazzi, he actually gets permission. Getting quality pictures as a result, and in effect, also avoiding injury and broken equipment by doing so. He does still have a few moments where he does take pictures like other paparazzi ponies, but for quality pictures like this, he asks permission. "Yeah, I'll admit, since I'm just a new photographer, I'm not paid a lot; but, I do get by with what I am paid." He stated, as the three of them left the music hall. "Hey, where's all the fans?" Scootaloo asked outloud, "Sweetie sang fantastically, there should be fans out here waiting for her autograph." "They're probably with Sapphire Shores. Remember she's the superstar singer." Featherweight replied. "Yeah," Sweetie Belle agreed, "remember, I'm the new singer, and that's fine by me. I don't want any fans yet." "Oh, come on Sweetie Belle, how do expect to live up to your cutie mark, if you don't hit it big?" "..." Featherweight cleared his throat, "Well, why don't you worry about that once you're there Sweetie Belle. For now though...I think I better get going, I have to deliver these pictures to the Canterlot paper before they have my head for being late." Sweetie Belle gave a nod, "Yeah, and I think I better see Sapphire. She might want to talk to me about our next show tomorrow. Are you heading home, Scootaloo?" "Actually, I was thinking about sticking around for a while. You know...take in the sights while I'm here in town." She replied with a nervous grin. In reality, she didn't have anything better to do in Canterlot, but she knew the flight back would be tiring and didn't want to fly back just yet. Sweetie gave a curious look, but shrugged and decided not to think too much about it. "Well, while you're in Canterlot, maybe you can visit some of the popular areas. I know the new Wonderbolts attraction at the museum is open, and one of Rarity's favorite cafes here is having a unique special today." "Yeah, that sounds like a plan." Scootaloo stated, sounding a little more half-hearted than she wanted. Sweetie and Featherweight gave a curious look, before an amused grin formed on Featherweight's face, "Let me guess, you don't know where the more popular areas of the city are do you?" Scootaloo opened her mouth to object, but then closed it again. "Well, I can give you a quick tour if you want. The cafe Sweetie Belle mentioned is actually along the way for me." he explained, then looked at Sweetie, "It is the cafe that Fancy Pants recently opened right? The one where a yellow earth-pony mare likes to play once in a while?" "Yep." Sweetie replied with a nod, "Same cafe." "I suppose it couldn't hurt. Are you sure?" Scootaloo asked the other pegasus. "Like, I said, it's on the way, so I might as well if we're headed in the same direction." "Alright. I'll catch you around Sweetie Belle." Sweetie simply gave a nod, as the Scootaloo and Featherweight started on their way. "Don't you dare forget to write." Scootaloo shouted back to her friend, "Just because you're only up here half the time, doesn't mean you're allowed to not message me or Applebloom." "I won't!" She shouted back as she giggled. The two pegasi simply trotted on their way, much to Scootaloo's dismay, but she didn't complain seeing that she still needed to rest her wings a little longer. During this time, Scootaloo decided to explain what had changed in the last couple of years, including how Spike and Applebloom now own their own place and lived together, which was much to the stallion's surprise. Featherweight for the most part, tried to explain much of the interesting sights along the way, including the cafe that Sweetie Belle had suggested; but, the two only stayed for a short time as Scootaloo only took interest in having a quick peak inside, and at a poster that told when and where the Wonderbolts were proforming. Unfortunately though, it seemed that only three members were performing at those times, and none had Rainbow Dash performing in them. Featherweight had thought that the cafe was where they'd part, but since Scootaloo showed no interest whatsoever in the cafe, she continued to follow him. Seeing that was the case, Featherweight tried to continue his explaining of some of the notable landmarks. Eventually though, he fell quiet as the two entered the business center of Canterlot. "Well, here we are. The central building for the local newspaper." Featherweight announced before he started walking in. Scootaloo stalled for a brief moment to look up at the building, slightly taken back by the structure. It was rather surprising to see such a tall tower for just something like a newspaper to her. Quickly shaking that feeling off, she ran in after Featherweight. Featherweight was giving the camera to a young mare at the front desk when Scootaloo caught up. "Okay, that should be it Mr. Featherweight. Come back in two days to reclaim the camera and receive your payment for the photos." she stated Featherweight simply gave a nod in response. "Again, we extend our hoof in thanks, and hope for your continued service to us." she added with a smile, almost sounding a little practiced as she said it. Again, Featherweight nodded, before turning to leave. "Wait...that's it? That's all you needed to do?" Scootaloo asked as she followed him out. "Well, I still have to come back in a day or two to retrieve my camera and my pay for the pictures; but, yes, that's what I needed to do." he replied with a light shrug, "So,um...are you still going to follow me, or are you going to head back now?" "Depends, if you're gonna go somewhere more interesting than here. I'll be head back to Ponyville closer to sunset, it's a long flight back so I'm gonna make the most of my visit." "Well, I was thinking about a walk in the park. Helps me calm down before I have to get back to my motel ro-." Featherweight quickly stopped talking as he put a hoof over his own mouth. "A motel room? So, you don't actually live up here in Canterlot?" "Yeah...I don't." "So where do you live now? Manehatten?" Featherweight shook his head in response. "Cloudsdale?" He shook his head Scootaloo thought which was the next closest town she knew, "Baltimare?" Once again, he shook his head. "So where do you live?" Featherweight remained silent for a moment, then started walking toward the nearest park in the area he knew about. "Hey! I'm talking to you." Scootaloo shouted out and jumped into the air and promptly landed in front of Featherweight, forcing him to stop, "Come on Feathers, it's a simple question." "..." "Come on Feathers, what's the big secret. It's not like I'm gonna break-in and steal your stuff." He eventually gave a sigh, "Look, I'll tell you, but first you have to promise that you won't tell anypony else about it." Scootaloo gave a nod, though even more curious now. "I'm currently a vagabond." He replied as he pushed past her and pressed on. "A what-a-now?" she asked as she got back into the air and hovered beside him "I don't live anywhere Scootaloo, I'm a traveler, a drifter. I pretty much live in whatever motel, or hotel, room I could afford in the cities my work has taken me to." "What?! But, but that...that's-" "I know, it's not good. It's probably even worse that my 'work' has only been in Manehatten and Canterlot." Scootaloo opened her mouth but chose to close it again as thought about the matter. "During my apprenticeship, I stayed with my teacher. He kinda lives the traveler lifestyle too actually. Granted of course that he is very well known from what I hear." he added, "After that, I took a job up here for a small photography agency, and a part-time position for the papers, and been trying to scratch up a living on my own." "What about you're folks? Couldn't they, you know..." "I didn't want to bother them actually." he admitted, "Maybe as my last resort, I will. So...what about you? Where do you live?" "Well, duh, Ponyville of course. Where else would I live?" Scootaloo replied with a slight smirk. "Oh, I dunno. Seeing you didn't seem to change much, I thought you would've gone to Cloudsdale or something." "Well...okay, I guess I could've done that." she replied, just before they both heard a shout as a young, yellow-coated, earth pony colt with a black helmet landed in front of them. A small skateboard rolling past him only a second later. "Whoa! Kid you okay there?" Scootaloo asked as she quickly helped the young colt back onto his hooves "Yeah, I'm alright." he replied, then gave a light sigh, "Thanks for the help. I better get back now." "To where?" "The skate park. Didn't you know there was one here?" He asked, giving Scootaloo a look as if surprised to hear she didn't know. He then jumped onto his skateboard and started propelling himself back where he came from, a bit slow, as he noticed that Scootaloo and Featherweight started following him to see this skate park themselves. Upon arriving, the two were in for quite a sight, as they laid theirs eyes upon a considerably well sized skate park. Scootaloo was more in awe as she had never quite seen that much land dedicated to the sport of skating, while Featherweight was more amazed by how such a thing could even be set-up in a city such as Canterlot. The skate park was primarily inside a large bowl, though one side was shallower than the other for easy ways to enter and leave the area, and had much of what you'd expect to see in a skate park, pools, rails, quarter and half-pipes, and a concrete pyramid in the center of it. Around them were young fillies and colts of varying ages skating or skateboarding, making good use of the available structures and features of the park. "This is so cool!" Scootaloo enthusiastically stated, "I don't remember them having one up here before. When did they build it?" she asked the young colt. "I dunno, but I do know I started coming here regularly last year." he replied, "I come here every day so I could practice." "Would you mind we if stayed and watched? I'd love to see how you fillies and colts ride." The young colt just gave a shrug and proceeded back into the bowl. "Why 'we'?" Featherweight asked, "You know I don't take as much interest in this stuff as you do." "Oh come on, it'll be fun. Watching them will be cool. Besides, it might convince you to like it." "I think you'll have a better chance of convincing me to quit my job." As an hour passes, the older pegasi simply watched the fillies and colts skate around and perform tricks in silence. Despite his earlier opinion about watching them perform, it was easy to see that Featherweight was greatly impressed by the tricks the younger ponies were doing. In comparison, Scootaloo, who was fairly excited at first, was now looking extremely annoyed. This was something that Featherweight quickly took notice to. "What's wrong Scootaloo?" She gave a groan, "Their skating, that's what's wrong. I mean...ugh...look at that unicorn there, she could've been able to completely pull off that trick and still keep her momentum if she had leaned her left, front hoof just a little more forward; and, that pegasus colt over there, he could've made his 360 turn much easier if he had started a fraction of a second after his front wheels left that ramp." "They're just foals Scootaloo, you can't expect them to be that precise with their skills." "I know, I know...it's just...It just bothers me that they could make mistakes that could've easily been avoided." "Hey, watch what you say, old mare." they heard a voice call out. They both looked to see a two colts looking at them, both pegasus ponies. One had a sky-blue coat with a yellow mane, who was potentially the oldest among all the colts and fillies in the entire skate park. The other was a dark-grey color, with a lighter shade of grey for his mane. The one speaking was the sky-blue pegasus colt. "Mind saying that again for me kid?" Scootaloo asked. "I said, 'watch what you say, old mare'." he repeated, putting a stronger emphasis on 'old mare'. "Old mare? I'm what...? Only ten years older than you kid. And, I'll say what I want, especially when I can tell that a few of you are making obvious mistakes." "So you think you can do better?" he asked "I know I can do better." "No way an adult is better than a kid at skateboarding. Let's see what you got." It took a few moments, but eventually they managed to clear the area for an impromptu contest between the younger pegasus and Scootaloo. It was actually relatively impressive how quickly they were able to clear up the area given they were just a bunch of kids. The young pegasus, who they learned was called 'Lightning Wheels', prepared himself at the side bowl as he waited with a wide smirk for Scootaloo to be ready to start. Scootaloo and Featherweight felt the colt's name sounded a bit strange, but guessed it was only some nickname he probably gave himself. Scootaloo in the meanwhile was testing how well she could balance herself on a skateboard she had to borrow from one of them. The lender turned out to be the same young earth pony colt that they had seen earlier, and had chosen to side with Scootaloo in this contest. Scootaloo just had to promise one thing, she would avoid breaking his board. "Okay..., I just need to....Whoa!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she almost fell off the board. The board itself was of fairly good size, but still relatively small. It actually almost the same size as her old scooter. A few of the younger ponies laughed as Scootaloo almost fell off. "Sure you want to challenge me? Don't want ya to break a hoof now." Lightning mocked. "If I were you, I'd be more worried about what you're going to do after I beat ya." "If YOU beat me...? Not a chance, I'm the best boarder here." he remarked, "I'll go first." then pushed himself forward and into the large bowl. Lightning started considerably simple as the young pegasus performed a few simple tricks, mostly a few flips and spins, before he started showing more difficult tricks he knew. The colt quickly started buzzing his wings to gain some speed as he approached a quarter pipe. Once up and off the quarter pipe, he flew up about 15 feet (about 4.6 meters) into the air where he did a quick twirl and back-flip before landing back safely on the ground, finishing his run. The crowd cheered loudly as they whooped, hollered, and clapped their hooves onto the ground as Lightning brought himself back to where he started. "Scared yet, mare?" "Eh, not bad. You definitely know how to utilize those wings of yours to your advantage, and I'll admit that last one wasn't bad for a foal your age." Lighting grinned. "But, I still think I can do better." she added with a smirk "Oh yeah...? Well, stop talking, and start proving." he remarked Scootaloo took a deep breath before pushing forward and into the bowl. Scootaloo decided to hold back for now and copied most of the tricks that Lightning had done to show that she could also do those simple tricks too, if not better, before moving onto her own style. Scootaloo flapped her wings twice, already increasing her speed by quite a bit, before proceeding to stand on her hind legs to perform a nose manual for a few seconds followed by a quick 1800 degree spin. She then looked up toward the crowd, from the looks of things she only had a little over half interested at the moment. Oh, that won't do at all. Scootaloo quickly decided her next trick as she proceeded to flap her wings in strong strides and quickly picked up the speed she needed for the next one. Scootaloo started off by first showing off just how well her sense of balance was by riding the skateboard adjacent to some grind rails, before jumping right off and started running on the rails as she skateboard kept rolling beside her. Scootaloo kept her wings open to assist her balance, but not really moving them much to avoid giving the idea that she was flying. As soon as Scootaloo ran out of rail to run on, she jumped back onto the skateboard, almost slipping up due to the board's smaller size than she was use to, but managed to keep her balance as she sped toward the concrete pyramid in the middle of the skateboard park. She showed her ability to keep her balance as she pushed the front of the board at just the right time to remove all the wheels from ground and put herself on balancing act at the very top of the pyramid. Once again standing on her hind limbs, she once again flared her wings out and put her forelimbs out to help keep her balance. Scootaloo held the position for a good thirty seconds, the whole time extremely nervous, having only done this trick once before, which didn't go so well for her, two years ago, before finally letting the board roll back down a side and directed it back towards the others. Scootaloo let herself jump into the air as she went up the side of the bowl of the park, before grabbing the board in her teeth and landing back down where she had started. She was greeted with an even louder cheering and clapping hooves against the ground, earning a huge victorious grin from her. She looked toward the two colts who had challenged her earlier, their faces in complete disbelief, as she put the board back down on the ground. "Guess I proved my point, novices." she remarked, "Oh, don't beat yourself too bad about it. I've been doing this for years. Plus, I do teach this kind of stuff to fillies and colts your age where I live, and what kind of teacher would I be if my students knew more than me?" "You're a teacher?!" the young colt who had lent Scootaloo his board, "Where?" "Ponyville." Scootaloo merely replied as he reclaimed his board, "Sorry about that small pit at the bottom of your board. Guess I got carried away with that last trick." "That's okay. That trick was really cool. I can't wait to try it myself." "Whoa! Hold on a second there. That's a very tough trick I just pulled, very advanced. You're still learning the ropes, best you hold off till you've perfected other balance tricks before doing that one." "Well..., can you teach me?" he asked with a hopefully look in his eyes. "Can you teach me too?" one of the other colt's asked "Me too?" a filly voiced in before being quickly followed by most of the other young ponies present. "Um...but I...we...I-I can't, we got to get going, right Feathers?" Scootaloo asked "I dunno, I don't have anything better to do." he replied with a shrug. Scootaloo glared at him, and almost made a sound as if growling at him, before sighing and looking over at the young crowd around her, "Alright, fine, I'll teach you fillies and colts a thing or two before I go." For the next couple of hours, Scootaloo begrudgingly taught the young group of ponies how to improve their stance and performance, as well as a few simple tricks, though as the minutes ticked on, she became more and more comfortable with the idea. Featherweight, not really having any experience or knowledge when it came to skateboarding, merely watched silently from the sidelines. The whole time Featherweight had a kind of fascination as he watched each one perform each trick. Eventually the small crowd of impromptu students started to thin out as the sun started to set in the distant hills, each one saying 'thank you' to Scootaloo before taking his or her leave, until only Scootaloo, Featherweight, and the colt who they met earlier. "Thanks for showing me how to improve my balance, Miss Scootaloo." "No problemo." Scootaloo stated before looking up toward the direction of the sun, causing a frown to form on her face as the sun was maybe 10-15 minutes from completely disappearing from the sky. "Are you going to still be here tomorrow?" "What...?" "Are you going to be here tomorrow?" he repeated, "You know, at Canterlot? You said you were from Ponyville, didn't you?" "Yeah, I'm from Ponyville; and, sorry, but no, I won't be. I was only up here visiting a friend of mine. I have to get back by tomorrow afternoon so I can teach my usual classes." she explained, earning a sad look from him, "Hey, don't start with that look. Tell you what, what's your name?" He seem to fidget before replying with, "Basil. My name's Basil." "Like the herb?" "Yeah, like the herb. My parents own a restaurant near here. So...yeah, that's where I got my name." "Well, Basil, have you ever visited Ponyville?" "Um..., I think I did once with my grandma. We went down to Ponyville one year to buy a jar of fresh zap apple jam." "Next time you're in town, why don't you ask around and find me, and I'll see about coaching you on some simple tricks, and maybe some more intermediate stuff if you can handle them." "Cool! Thanks!" he cheered, "Well, I better get going now. It's getting late and my mom hates it when I stay out till it's dark." "See ya around." She bade him a farewell as he quickly scampered out of the park. "So are you done for the day? Cause I really should get going too." Featherweight stated as he came over to where Scootaloo was, "I was actually hoping on leaving about half-an-hour ago, but I didn't want to go before saying 'good-bye', considering you seemed a bit peeved that I didn't say anything the last time I left." "Of course I was peeved, everypony we both knew didn't hear anything about you moving away till after the fact. We literally had to find out by asking Miss Cheerilee." She replied as the two started their way out of the park, "You pretty much just disappeared on us." "I guess you do have a point." He admitted in an embarrassed tone, "Anyway, I suppose you'll be heading back to Ponyville now? I think the last train headed there leaves in about 2 hours. That should be enough time to get to the station and catch the train." "Yeah, I really should, but I don't need to worry about that, I flew here from Ponyville." "You flew here?" "Yep!" "But doesn't that take-" "Yeah, it takes a while by flying, but I love being in the air and it's do-able." "That's probably good considering you'll have to fly back in the dark now." "Oh...right." she groaned, "Great, now I wish I did take the train; and, I don't even have any bits to pay for a one-way trip." "It shouldn't be too bad though, it's suppose to be a waxing gibbous moon tonight, so there should be some light." "Doesn't make it any less sucky though. I usually don't fly much at night, kinda have better things to do by this time." she remarked, telling half-truths. Honestly, she was just not interested in flying around under the veil of the night, not because she was afraid of the dark, she merely didn't like flying around at night, especially after that one time she accidentally crashed into a tree with fruit bats. "Well, what about staying with Sweetie Belle or her sister, Miss Rarity?" "Nah, Sweetie Belle's staying with Sapphire Shores right now, and I don't even know where Miss Rarity is staying right now." "Well..., why don't you stay with me for the night?" "With you...?! That had better not been some stupid way to hit on me." Scootaloo remarked with a smirk as she stopped in her tracks. "Oh, no! Not at all. I just thought I'd offer seeing were old friends and all." "Better be." "It is." he said in an embarrassed tone, before the two pressed on. After walking about 20 minutes, the two arrived at the motel, which like most things in Canterlot, was rather classy to say the least. "Well here we are. Home sweet home." Featherweight remarked as he unlocked the door and both walked inside. Scootaloo's eyes widened in amazement as she looked at the room. The room itself was small, understandable considering that Featherweight wouldn't need to pay for a room for more than himself usually, and it wasn't exactly the best looking place ever; but, for a motel, it was more than expected. The place was relatively clean -even though it looked fairly messy right now thanks to Featherweight's stuff, the decor was nice, and it even had a small kitchen area for those who wanted to use it. "This is a motel room?!" "Yeah, I kinda had the same reaction when I first saw it." "This more like a hotel room." "I know, but remember we're kinda in mid-town Canterlot, so this is actually sub-par than the usual." "If this is sub-par, I'd love to see the usual." she remarked before hopping onto the bed to sit down, "Ow, this bed is actually kinda hard, even by earth pony standards." she added as she noted that the mattress was kinda stiff. "It's probably just old. It is a motel bed afterall." Featherweight explained as he rummaged around one of the cupboards in the kitchen area, looking for what leftover fruit he still had. "So, how much you paying for this joint?" "About 15-30 bits depending on the season." "Ouch...Kinda high for a motel. You can get a room like this down in Ponyville for only eight bits, and it's an actual hotel." "That's why I spend some time staying at Manehatten whenever I can find available work down there. The rooms are a lot more cheaper, but are far worse in condition." he explained, "Want an apple?" "Sure, beats eating nothing." she replied as he tossed her the apple, "Like how bad is it?" "The Manehatten motels...? Well, the ones I tend to go for so I can afford to get by, I'd probably prefer to sleep outside in the trees, if it wasn't for the fact I tend to carry expensive equipment with me. Like, my personal camera, work camera, and all the proper equipment I need for the job." "Yeesh, ya shheriously need bettah accommodations if that's the case." she remarked with her mouth full "Anymore expensive and I'd have to sacrifice my dinner funds." he then took a bite out of his apple "Hm..." she then swallowed what was in her mouth, "Hey, I got an idea. Just to return the favor, why don'tcha come back to Ponyville with me tomorrow. You can stay at my place for the time till you can find a place of your own." "Are you sure about that? I mean, what about your folks, what are they gonna say?" "I moved out a couple of years ago to live on my own, my parents were cool with it; and, yeah, I'm sure about it. I got a guest room at my place right now that I'm not using other than to collect dust bunnies." "Well...it would be nice to see the others again..." "Yeah, and give them a proper explanation to why you disappeared on us." Featherweight chuckled, "You're really not gonna let that one go, are you?" "You owe at least ten of us an explanation, bub, so not a chance." After their quick dinner, Scootaloo and Featherweight decided to call it a night and get some sleep. Featherweight taking the bed, and Scootaloo taking the available couch once Featherweight and her took some of his stuff off it. Originally, Featherweight offered to let her have the bed, but the couch was far more comfortable and much more softer, so she declined and took the couch, even if it did have a bit of a smell to it.