Scootaloo yawned, opening her eyes slowly. "Another perfect day ahead of us..." She whispered to the far wall, smiling a little and turning over in the hooves of a Pink Mare that snuggled her close while she slept. Pinkie Pie and her were sharing the guest room of Fluttershy's cottage, and had both stayed up late to talk to one another and catch up on what all they had missed.
Pinkie was overjoyed to hear that Sugar Cube Corner, by today, would be safe to enter, although not fully finished. Scootaloo started to slip gently out of Pinkie's arms when suddenly she was pulled right into them, receiving a tight hug. Pinkie yawned and giggled a little, whispering
"And where do you think YOU'RE going?"
Scootaloo giggled, resting her head under Pinkie's chin and muttering
"I was going to make you breakfast mom, Fluttershy's already out and about in the yard, tending to the animals. You're the only one asleep silly filly." Pinkie Pie sighed contently and gave her a little squeeze with her hug before letting her go, muttering
"Five more minutes dear...I'll be up I promise." Scootaloo rolled her eyes playfully and slipped out of bed, turning to her mother and exclaiming
"You BETTER be! We're going to Sugar Cube Corner remember? We have to be there when the workers get there so they can give us the all clear to go in." Pinkie merely waved a hoof at Scootaloo playfully, muttering
"Yeah yeah...I'll be up...sure..." She fell back asleep as Scootaloo watched her, a loving smile on her face. She finally pushed through the door, heading downstairs and into the kitchen. She found Fluttershy already there, dragging a large bag out of a closet labeled with the picture of a bird.
Scootaloo held up a hoof and shouted with glee
"Morning Fluttershy!!!" Fluttershy, who hadn't heard Scootaloo come in, jumped up in fright and squealed, landing on her back with her hooves pointed straight up in the air. Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously "Heh...sorry Fluttershy...you ok?" Fluttershy let out a content sigh and smiled a little, getting over her sudden paralysis and rolling over on her belly, speaking in her usual quiet voice
"Oh...yes, you gave me a bit of a scare there Scootaloo, but that's...you know...ok.............I'm not mad or anything." Scootaloo nodded, smiling a little at how timid and cute her friend was being. She looked towards the bag and asked
"You going to feed the birds?" The subject, now on animals, got Fluttershy to be no longer shy, actually jumping up on her hooves and nodding excitedly, saying
"Oh, yes! But, not the birds outside. I'm going to feed the good chickens over at Sweet Apple Acres!" Scootaloo raised an eyebrow in confusion, asking
"Why are you feeding their chickens...doesn't Applejack and Big Macintosh already have feed for them?" At the mention of Big Macintosh's name Fluttershy blushed a little, looking away and gently pawing at the ground with her hoof. She muttered
"Oh...well...they ran out of feed just yesterday and...um...they haven't had a chance to go get more....so.......I was....going to go feed them....for him...THEM! For them....um, I'm running late, you can use...use the oven Scootaloo." Fluttershy was blushing madly, dragging the bag of feed out with her quickly and out the front door.
Scootaloo scratched her head for a moment, confused. Fluttershy was being more timid then she usually was...but maybe it just came in phases. She nodded at her own theory, and headed for the front door. Scootaloo had informed Ditzy Doo that hers and Pinkie Pie's mail would need to be delivered to Fluttershy's cottage until repairs were completed. Waltzing up to the mailbox and humming, she gently opened up the metal tube and peered inside. She screamed when something latched onto her face and she fell backwards, flailing about. She put two hooves on whatever it was holding her and ripped it from her face, panting. She gasped and yelled
"HORSEFEATHERS GUMMY! You scared the hay out of me!!!" Gummy the alligator merely stared, not responding or moving. Scootaloo sighed and put him down, pointing a hoof at him and saying "Now you behave, Fluttershy has a lot of critters around here and she'll be SUPER MAD if she finds out you ate any! And if Fluttershy's mad..." Scootaloo, suddenly a little nervous, leaned down and whispered very quietly "If Fluttershy's mad....Pinkie Pie will get mad...and we don't want that now do we?" Gummy just stared, rolling over on his back and leaving Scootaloo to only sigh.
She reached into the mailbox yet again and found only a tiny package for Fluttershy, nothing else. She shrugged, not really minding. The only other mail they received anyway were bills for Sugar Cube Corner's reconstruction and Order Forms for new kitchen appliances and supplies for the store as well. She was about to head inside when a clap of thunder was heard over head. She looked up, the sky beginning to darken as the beating of wings was suddenly heard. Scootaloo turned around, shaking a little out of nervousness and the sudden change of temperature. It wasn't long until the clouds parted aways to allow a single chariot to come blasting through, pulled by two dark-armored Pegasus ponies. She recognized the armor and color of the ponies, noting them to be Moon Guards, the Royal Guard of Princess Luna. And if they were here...then...
Scootaloo knelt deeply as Princess Luna jumped from her chariot and landed, her celestial mane billowing with magic. Scootaloo squeaked a little at the sudden thud of her impact, talking rapidly "Oh my gosh, Princess Luna, I didn't...we didn't expect...oh Fluttershy's not here! The house is a bit messy oh my gosh Princess I'm..." She felt a gentle hoof on her head and looked up into the smiling face of Princess Luna, who merely shook her head and sighed, speaking
"Now Scootaloo, must you be so scared and formal? Please, I do not mind a little mess, as my own room looks like dear Tia' had a drunken fit and tried doing the tango in my room with a chair...though you didn't hear that from me" Scootaloo giggled as Luna winked, looking up at Fluttershy's cottage. "Is dear Pinkie Pie home?" Scootaloo's eyes widened as she squeaked
"She's...not in trouble is she?" Luna looked down at her in surprise and quickly shook her head, exclaiming
"Oh goodness NO dear Scootaloo! I would never punish her or do anything of the sort so quickly after she returned from the moon. Tia' was the same with me, not punishing me for the little things because I was still...rather sensitive. That's why I'm here, I wanted to check up on her and see how she's doing. Would it be alright for me to see her?" Scootaloo nodded and pointed up to the second floor, saying
"Sure, she's up on the second floor, careful though, she's still sleeping...although I bet you could give her a really good wake-up call!" They both laughed as Scootaloo led the way inside, heading herself to the kitchen while Luna walked upstairs. Pinkie Pie lie peaceful, snuggling up in her blankets and smiling when she heard the door open, whispering
"Back already Scootaloo? You sure do cook breakfast fast..." Luna merely giggled and said
"Well Pinkie Pie, to be honest, I think breakfast should be the last thing on your mind." Pinkie's eyes shot open and she bolted upright in bed, squealing loudly at seeing Princess Luna standing at the foot of the bed. She quickly got up and knelt on the mattress, starting to apologize but being quickly stopped by a gentle poke of Luna's hoof. The Princess smiled, saying "Now Pinkie, come now, you and I are close enough to where formalities aren't needed. You DID help in ridding Nightmare Moon from my soul. I'm just here to check up on you...see if you're doing ok. I know the moon can have...quite the effect on ponies" They both shared a sad look of sympathy as Pinkie Pie sighed and nodded, muttering
"Actually I wanted to talk to you about that Princess...there's something that happened to me on the moon that I'm not sure what to make out of it...I had questions...but..." Luna cut her off with a swing of her hoof, smiling
"Say no more my dear, I will be glad to answer whatever question you may have for me, but for now, you have a lovely daughter preparing for you the most wonderful breakfast. Come by Canterlot within a day or two and I'll see to it you are let in. I'll give a friend of mine a call and we'll see if we can't get you sorted out." Pinkie Pie smiled and exclaimed
"Oh thank you Princess Luna! I'll be there, you can't count on that!" Luna smiled warmly herself and they both said their farewells.
Pinkie sat there in bed for a moment, holding a hoof against her head. The tiny whispering hadn't stopped...a voice near the back of her head. She couldn't make out what it had said, but either way she knew she'd need to see Luna again soon. She had hoped she could talk to Luna now...but as long as she knew she'd see her eventually that was all she needed to push through the days. She heard Scootaloo's adorable voice calling her down for breakfast and it broke her from her tiny trance. She smiled, pushing herself out of bed and heading downstairs, ready to start the day with her wonderful daughter.