//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Celebrate Cute Times (2/2) // Story: Visiting Hours // by Bud Grazer //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle was quietly enjoying the party, munching on cookies and cupcakes while Scootaloo received the attention of everypony. All in all, a perfectly normal cuteceañara. It was even much more enjoyable than Diamond Tiara’s one, thanks to the noticeably lower quantity of Diamond Tiara... “Isn’t it a great party?” Sweetie heard some mare say, not far from her. “Oh yeah,” an unidentified stallion answered. “It’s the best! I just hope nothing comes to ruin it…” “Why would you say that?” “I don’t know… Maybe it’s–” *Slam!* Everypony in Sugarcube Corner (even Pinkie Pie) suddenly became silent as the front door flew open, the silhouette of a pony appearing in shadows as thunder boomed outside. When the lightning stopped, everypony (especially Pinkie Pie) gasped in horror, the battered and bruised body of Princess Celestia herself falling to the ground with a thud. “Celestia!” Twilight Sparkle rushed to her mentor’s side and helped her up. “Are you alright?” “Thank you Twilight,” Celestia said with a weak voice. “You’re just the pony I was looking for.” “What happened?” Sweetie asked, rushing through the crowd to see princesses. “Times are dire, my little ponies,” the princess of the Sun began. “The worst threat that Equestria has ever faced is upon us. Canterlot is already under our enemies’ control…” Everypony gasped. Again. Scootaloo jumped up and down. “Ooh! Ooh! Is it aliens?” she asked. “Is it robots?” Apple Bloom piped in. “It is much worse than that, fillies” Celestia said somberly. “It is… alien robots!” Everypony gasped a third time for good measure. A few (who had unfortunately forgotten to breathe out between gasps) fainted there and then. Princess Celestia straightened herself and stared at her former-student-turned-princess. “Twilight,” she boomed. “once more, we need you to protect Equestria. As usual, only the combined powers of the Elements of Harmony can defeat this evil!” “Are you sure, Celestia?” “Absolutely sure, Twilight. The six of you are our last chance!” “Did you hear that, girls?” Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity all nodded. Twilight smiled. “Perfect. Then, there is only one thing left to do...” Without warning, Twilight Sparkle turned around and lit her horn. Instantly, Princess Celestia was hit by a bolt of electricity that somehow made her skeleton apparent for a few seconds. Twilight and her five friends cackled evilly. “Foolish ponies!” Applejack said, her drawl replaced by a metallic-sounding voice. “We stole the Elements of Harmony long before we launched our invasion.” Rarity-bot stepped forward. “And the only ponies who could use them are prisoners on our space-ship! Mwuhahahahahaaaaa!” “You can’t win!” Scootaloo yelled. “Rainbow Dash will break out with her awesomeness and kick your alien-robots tails!” “Impossible,” Rainbot answered. “Our prison is awesome-proofed. Even if it wasn’t, Rainbow Dash cannot defeat me. I was designed to be precisely 21.79% cooler than her.” “What do you alien-robot-ponies want?” Sweetie asked. Twibot smirked and raised a hoof to demand everypony’s attention. “Since you have absolutely no chance of beating us, I shall explain our plan. First, we will replace critical ponies with our robotized copies in every city. Then, when your puny pony defences will be undermined, we will conquer all of Equestria and steal all your stallions!” She concluded her exposition by a synthetic copy of Twilight’s laugh. “Any questions?” she asked, “Yes, you, in the back?” A blue unicorn stallion cleared his throat. “Uhm… Why do you want to steal stallions?” “Why wouldn’t we?” Flutterbot asked back. “What will you do with them?” somepony asked in the crowd The six alien robots exchanged confused stares. “Why are we doing this again?” Raribot asked in a low voice. “Do we use stallions as food?” Pinkie Bot thought aloud. “We’re robots,” Applebot answered. “We don’t need to eat.” “You got this wrong, girls,” Rainbot said smugly. “We need the stallions to make foals.” Twibot Sparkle sighed. “We can build foals, Rainbot.” “Then why are we doing this again?” Raribot asked. “I can’t find anything about this in my databanks…” Flutterbot gave the room a wary glance before huddling again with her alien robot kin. “Uhm… Girls? Everypony is staring at us.” “Relax,” Twibot said. “I’ll take care of the fleshbags.” She produced a loud imitation of a pony clearing his throat and addressed the crowd. “Your inferior, chemically-powered brains are too primitive to understand our motivations. Now, please submit to your new overlords in a calm and orderly fashion. Mares and fillies go on this side of the room, stallions and colts over there. Thank you.” The crowd whispered for a moment, but eventually shrugged and rolled with it, separating into two halves. Nopony resisted. Nopony… except one brave little filly. “That’s enough, you worthless piles of junk!” Sweetie walked in front of Twibot and stood proudly. “Give us the Elements back and leave this planet at once.” The alien lavender robot unicorn chuckled. “Or what, little filly?” Sweetie narrowed her eyes. “Or I’ll fry your butt,” she said slowly, earning another round of gasps from the crowd. “Ah! I’d like to see you try!” Twibot taunted. “As you wish,” Sweetie Belle answered with a smirk. She focused her magic in her horn and, before the grin had time to vanish from the robot’s face, hit it with a blindingly bright green beam of energy. Twibot, now charred and emitting sparks out of its synthetic fur, twitched a few times before it collapsed to the floor in a heap. The five remaining robots activated their internal fans to gasp. Sweetie gave them a cold glare... All six ponies stood, unmoving, unblinking and undaunted, until a flicker of light appeared from the trashed remains of Twibot. Sweetie prepared herself to zap it once more, but was relieved to see a blurry image form in the air. A small, bluish picture of Twilight appeared. “Sweetie Belle!” Tiny Twilight said. “Oh thank goodness I managed to contact somepony.” “Twilight? Is that really you?” the filly asked. “Yes, I hacked my way into the alien robots’ maneframe. I’ve been trying to gain control of my double, but it only just went through.” Sweetie Belle nodded. “Oh, that must have been when I blasted it with my magic.” “You did?” Twilight asked. “That’s perfect!” “Sure… Uh… Why are you wearing some kinda robe, by the way?” “It’s really cold on this ship,” Twilight answered. “Now focus, this is important. These alien robots have an almost perfect resistance to magic, so you are probably the only pony who can destroy them. I need you to protect Equestria, Sweetie Belle. Please help us, you’re our only hope!” “When did you style your mane like that?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Those buns look funny.” “We don’t have time for that, Sweetie! I don’t know why the other robots waited while we were talking, but they might attack you now.” “Don’t worry, Twilight.” Sweetie turned to the snarling (but patiently waiting) robots and gave her a terrorizing frown. “Nopony steals our studs,” she said darkly. “...and lives.” Rainbot Dash was the first to attack, dashing through the air on her razor-sharp wings. She was also the first to catch an energy beam right between the eyes and crash to the ground, stopping a few centimeters away from the unfazed Sweetie Belle. “Too slow,” the filly whispered to the failing pegasus robot. “Does… not… compute…” The rainbow robot shut down, its uncomprehending eyes staying wide open as the power drained out of its cells. Meanwhile, Flutterbot and Applebot gave each other a nod and rushed forward, trying to take Sweetie in a pincer maneuver. They clearly didn’t count on the filly’s acrobatic skills, as she jumped out of the way at the last second, doing a double backflip in the air. The two robots, stunned by her move, failed to stop in time and crashed into each other. While they were stunned, she quickly zapped them both. Unfortunately, that gave Pinkie Bot all the time she needed to grab Sweetie from behind. The filly screamed in surprise, her lungs slowly getting crushed into the mechanical, vise-like legs. “Gotcha now, you little monster!” the robot said laughingly. “Whatcha gonna do now, huh?” “Take a guess,” Sweetie wheezed out as she angled her neck to point her horn under the robot’s chin. “Wha–” “Party’s over, Pinkie Bot!” The following blast went right through the alien robot’s skull. Immediately, its legs lost all strength and Sweetie slipped out of its grasp. She took a few seconds to get her breath back, then whirled to face the final robot. Raribot winced and smiled weakly. “Sweetie Belle, dear… You wouldn’t hurt me, would you?” “I think I would…” “I’m your big sister,” the Rarity look-alike said with a nervous chuckle. “We’re family. We’re friends!” “If you really are my big sister,” Sweetie said smugly, “then prove it…” “How?” “What’s the proper way to fix a hemline on a silk, sleeveless robe?” Sweetie grinned as beads of coolant pearled on the robot’s brow. “Uh… It’s… Errr…” She swallowed the simulated lump in her throat. “Arc welding?” “Nice try,” was the last thing the robot’s auditory sensors received. With the last of the alien robots down, Twilight and all of her friends appeared in a flash of light. “Congratulations, Sweetie Belle!” Princess Celestia said. She was struggling to get back on her hooves, but the smile on her face was brighter than ever. “You’ve just saved all of Equestria.” “It was nothing,” the filly said, a blush appearing on her cheeks. Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. “On the contrary, my little pony. You did what nopony else could…” “Exactly,” Celestia continued. “Your actions today were worthy of a princess’s.” She and Twilight Sparkle exchanged a look, then nodded. They both knelt down. “Congratulations, Princess Sweetie Belle!” “Princess?” Sweetie repeated, as every pony in the room bowed down to her. “Neat! Do I get wings?” “Of course, you get wings!” Princess Celestia said merrily. “And a cutie mark for robot-zapping,” she added. Sweetie Belle whooped in delight. “Oh. Just one last thing,” she said. “Diamond Tiara?” “Yes, Princess Sweetie?” the detestable filly said, bowing down so low she was almost crawling. “Eat magic!” the newest princess shouted as a beam of energy crashed into Diamond Tiara. Everypony gasped at the unexpected assault, then gasped once more when the alien and robotic form of Diamond Tiara twitched and sparked a few times. A wailing, metallic voice came out of its mouth. “JOB04358 $HASP165 DIAMBOT1 ENDED AT DDDE7658 - ABENDED SB37 U0000 CN(INTERNAL)” were its last words. The non-alien and biological Rarity stared at her little sister with her jaw hanging low. “How did you know she was a robot?” she finally asked. “I didn’t know,” Sweetie answered before breaking into laughter. The whole room soon followed, as the populace of Ponyville celebrated its freedom... .... “Sweetie Belle?” a familiar voice called from someplace far, far away. “Sweetie Belle!” “Huh? Wha– Huh?” the filly looked around her, suddenly yanked back into reality. She saw Twilight Sparkle looking down at her. “Twilight?” “Are you alright, Sweetie? You were staring off in the distance…” “Oh… Uh, I was just daydreaming, sorry…” Twilight chuckled. “It must have been a nice dream. You were giggling.” “Hum. Yeah…” Sweetie blushed and rubbed the back of her neck while discreetly looking around for an excuse to avoid talking about it. The nearby punch bowl appeared like a beacon in a storm. She leaned forward and was about to grab the scoop in the bowl with her mouth when an idea hit her. Sweetie Belle concentrated… Her horn sparked a few times. Her tongue sticking out, she focused all of her magic on the scoop. She huffed, she groaned… A faint green haze flickered around the handle. It twitched and shook just a little and then… Nothing. Sweetie sighed and slumped. So much for Equestria-saving magic powers… “You’re making progress,” Twilight said cheerily. “Have you been practicing with your magic?” “A little,” Sweetie answered, glaring at the scoop. “But it’s no use. I can hardly make that stupid spoon twitch..” “But you couldn’t even do that much a few months ago,” Twilight continued. She placed a soft wing gently on her back. “If you keep training, you’ll get the hang of it.” “Do you really think so?” “Of course,” Twilight answered with a smile. “There’s no trick to magic. All you have to do is study and practice a lot.” The scoop was enveloped in Twilight’s usual purple haze of magic, along with two cups. “In fact, if you want to learn, I could give you some lessons...” Sweetie watched with both jealousy and awe as Twilight filled the cups while speaking and without even looking at them. “Really?” Sweetie asked. “I could do magic like you?” One of the cups floated in front of Sweetie Belle. “Well, it took me several years to master advanced spellcasting, but I’m sure simple spells wouldn’t be any trouble for you… Why don’t you come visit me at the library tomorrow? I’ll be sure to plan some ‘Twilight Time’ for you.” “Wow! Thanks, Twilight!” Sweetie grabbed the cup in her mouth. “I’ll be there!” The little filly turned around and hurried to find her two best friends in the middle of the ongoing party. She weaved her way between grown-ups chatting together, dodged foals bouncing and dancing (while only bouncing once or twice herself), narrowly avoided a blindfolded filly before she ended up with an extra tail pinned to her, ducked under a table when the forest of pony legs became too dense to cross and finally spotted a familiar pink bow bobbing in the crowd. Sweetie smiled and zeroed in on the tip of iceberg-Bloom. “... and then I zoomed in down the hill and went even faster! I broke all my old speed records!” Scootaloo said to Fluttershy, who was smiling gently as she usually did. “And when I stopped, my cutie mark was there!” “Congratulations, Scootaloo. That was a very nice story,” the kind mare said. “Do you mean it was an awesome story?” Scootaloo asked, her eyes wide and her wings buzzing. “Oh. Hum… Yes, it was awesome.” Fluttershy smiled again as she saw the excitement on Scootaloo’s face, then excused herself and went back to find her friends. Sweetie closed the last of the distance between her and her friends. “Girls, I have great news,” Sweetie said as well as she could around the cup in her mouth. Judging by the look on her friends’ faces, it only came out as a garbled mess. “Hang on…” She leaned her head back and drank the punch in one long swig. “Hmm. Raspberries,” she said after dropping the empty cup in her hoof. “So, as I was saying–” Sweetie Belle was interrupted by the most irritating voice she could imagine. Naturally, it came along with the most irritating pony she knew. “Well, well,” Diamond Tiara said, trotting towards the Crusaders with her nose high in the air. “If it isn’t the filly of the hour…” Scootaloo stared at her through her narrowing eyes. “What do you want, Diamond Tiara?” “Is she even supposed to be here?” Sweetie whispered to Apple Bloom. “Why would she be invited?” “Well, she invited us to her cuteceañara…” Diamond Tiara took an offended look. “Why, I’m here to congratulate you, of course. You finally found your cutie mark!” “Congratulations!” Silver Spoon added. “Err… Thank you?” Scootaloo said, raising an eyebrow. “That’s it? You’re not going to make fun of us?” “Of course not,” Diamond answered. “You’ve got your cutie mark now.” Silver Spoon nodded. “Having a cutie mark is so much cooler than, like, not having one,” she said. “Exactly!” Diamond continued. “We used to make fun of you because you were just a bunch of fillies with no special talent. But now that you all have your cutie marks…” “Well… Except for Sweetie Belle,” Silver pointed out. “Oh yeah, except Sweetie Belle,” Diamond said with a roll of her eyes. “I guess she really has no talent…” “Hey!” Scootaloo shouted. “You leave her alone!” “What? I’m just telling the truth,” Diamond said. “She’s the only one in class without her cutie mark, now.” “It must be so embarrassing,” Silver Spoon said, her voice taking a distinctively fake tone of pity. “Can you imagine? Beint the only pony without a cutie mark…” She gasped. “Oh my gosh! What if you never find it?” “Don’t be silly,” Apple Bloom said, poking Silver in the chest with a hoof. “Everypony gets a cutie mark eventually.” “What if she’s the first one to never get a cutie mark?” Diamond asked. “You can’t know that.” “Well, neither can you,” Scootaloo said. “Whatever,” the annoying filly said. “Let’s get out of here, Silver. Let them waste their time with the lame blank flank.” “Why would they do that?” Silver Spoon asked, as the two bullies turned around and disappeared in the crowd, laughing together between remarks about blank flanks. Apple Bloom huffed. “What a bunch of jerks,” she said between clenched teeth. “Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “What crawled up their tails and died? Forget about them, Sweetie Belle…” “Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom gently prodded her with a hoof. “You okay, there?” “Y–Yeah, of course,” the unicorn filly answered. She put on her best smile. “I know better than to listen to these two. Even if I really am the only pony in our class without a cutie mark. And even if some foals three years younger than me already have theirs…” “Don’t worry,” Scootaloo told her, “you’ll find yours. We’ll help you!” “That’s right,” Apple Bloom added, “we’ll always be the Cutie Mark Crusaders, no matter what!” “Thanks, guys.” Sweetie’s smile became a little more natural. “I’ll just have to be patient. I guess I’m used to that now…” “We just need to get your mind off of this,” Apple Bloom said. “Wanna play ‘pin the tail on the pony’?” “Not really…” “Let’s dance!” Scootaloo said. “Maybe we can get mom to show us her awesome moves!” “Awesome?” Apple Bloom asked. “Looked kinda silly to me…” “Are you kidding? That was so cool!” “Cool? Are ya sure we saw the same thing?” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “I don’t feel like dancing anyway. I’ll just go and get something to eat.” “If you say so...” Apple Bloom said, sounding uncertain. “We can still find somethin’ else to do.” “No, that’s fine,” Sweetie answered. “You guys go have fun, I’ll catch up with you later…” She didn’t wait for an answer, heading straight towards one of the many tables loaded with treats. She heard her friends calling up to her, but ignored them for the time being. They did not insist… A minute later, Sweetie had gathered a pile of food that was almost as big as her. Like an ant bringing back an insect ten times its size to its colony, she carried her stash to a quiet and isolated corner of Sugarcube Corner, under the stair leading to the upper floor. Unlike an ant, though, she was planning to eat it all by herself… An innocent blueberry cupcake was the first victim, gobbled down mercilessly while Sweetie’s eyes scanned over the party-goers. *Nom* There was Thunderlane, the dark-coated pegasus with the wild mane, showing off around the mares. Why wouldn’t he show off? He was a big and strong stallion. With a cool-looking cutie mark of a lightning cloud... *Nom* A pinkish mare with a light purple mane was standing near the punch bowl. She looked like she was having fun. Of course, she had her cutie mark: a pair of blue dolphins forming a circle on her flank. A pretty nice mark, which must have come from a pretty nice talent. She must have been an expert swimmer, or maybe a marine biologist. And she was a unicorn, too, no doubt with impressive magical abilities... *Nom* Another unicorn, a stallion this time, with a blue coat and a lighter; frizzy mane. He had a cutie mark that was a safety pin… What special talent did he have? Poking things? Sweetie Belle could poke things too, even with her magic-less horn... *Nom* A couple of earth ponies danced near the record player. A brown stallion and a pale yellow mare, one of Apple Bloom’s many cousins. He had a guitar for a cutie mark, she had an apple fritter. A talent for music, a talent for pastries. It certainly wasn’t about eating them, though, or Sweetie would have had her cutie mark already... *Nom* Come to think of it, Apple Fritter had apple fritters for her cutie mark… Mrs Cup Cake had cupcakes. Mr Carrot Cake had carrot cakes. All around the room, plenty of ponies had a cutie mark that was just an illustration of their name… Why did Sweetie Belle have to be ‘Sweetie Belle’? Why wasn’t she called something simple like ‘Junebug’? She’d already have a bug cutie mark by then... *Nom* “If you keep eating like that, you’re gonna get sick…” “Hwumph?” Sweetie jumped in place and looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice. Sitting on the ground, she saw a mare, her dark coat barely visible in the shadows of the stairs, but her fiery mane and tail almost shining in contrast. “Oh, you’re misses Scootaloo’s mom,” Sweetie said, spewing a few crumbs on her. “You can call me Matchstick, you know…” The mare nodded at the pile of baked treats next to Sweetie. “Why are you making yourself a hoard? Are you secretly a dragon?” Sweetie chuckled. “No, I don’t think so… Although that would explain a few things.” “Really?” “Well,” the filly said sourly. “Dragons don’t get cutie marks, do they?” Matchstick shrugged. “I don’t think so. I don’t know much about dragons, though…” “Maybe I’m not really a pony. Maybe that’s why I’m the only filly my age without a cutie mark.” “Is that why you’re here, stuffing your face like a pig?” Matchstick asked. “Because you don’t have your mark?” “Yeah,” Sweetie said, her eyes looking down at her frosting-covered hooves. “Are you going to scold me?” “Well, that depends… Can I have some of those?” “Sure, I guess…” Sweetie hoofed a random cupcake to her. Matchstick thanked her and took a bite. “Cinnamon. Nice.” The poor, defenseless pastry didn’t stand a chance... Only a few seconds later, the voracious predator that had devoured it was licking the last creamy remains off of her hooves while letting out a pleasured hum. “So, is that why you’re not out there having fun? Because you don’t have your mark?” “Well, yeah… What about you, misses Matchstick?” “Me? I’m just taking a break. I’m not used to big crowds… Also,” she said while trying futilely to hold back a big yawn, “I’m not used to be up at this time of day. You really shouldn’t sulk on your own, though...” The dark mare sighed and tousled Sweetie’s mane. “I know it’s a drag to be a blank-flank at a cuteceañara… Believe it or not, my little sister got her mark before me.” “Really?” “I’m not kidding. She’s a year younger than me. At the time I thought it was just… humiliating, you know?” “So, what did you do?” Sweetie asked. “I was a real bit– Er… I was a pest to her. I even made a big scene at her party. It wasn’t pretty...” Matchstick lowered her head and shook it sadly. “If I could go back in time, I’d just slap myself… Anyway, what I’m saying is, you should try to enjoy the party. You wouldn’t want to get a cutie mark for being grumpy.” Sweetie Belle harrumphed. “At least I would have a cutie mark,” she said. “I don’t even care what it is, I’m just tired of being a blank flank!” Matchstick grabbed a cookie from the pile and bit on it. Sweetie heard the loud crunch even over the party noises. “You shouldn’t say that,” the mare said, her eyes looking into the distance. “You never know. What if you actually get a crummy mark?” Sweetie stared at Matchstick, blinking a few times. “Is that even possible?” she wondered. Matchstick turned her eyes back to Sweetie Belle, making the filly recoil a bit at her intense look. “Can you keep a secret?” the mare asked. Sweetie nodded yes. “Okay, then,” Matchstick continued. “You keep this to yourself. When I got my cutie mark, I… Well, I hated it. Plain and simple…” “You did? Why?” “Do you know what these are?” Sweetie Belle watched the cutie mark that Matchstick was pointing at. “These look like… horseshoes?” “Close,” the mare said. “They’re called brass hooves. They’re kinda like hoof boots, except they’re made of heavy metal.” “That doesn’t sound very comfortable…” “That’s not the point,” Matchstick said. “They’re made to be very hard and very heavy. That way, when you punch somepony, you can hurt them a lot more…” “W–What?” Sweetie would have paled at that, had her fur not been white already. “That’s terrible!” Matchstick chuckled bitterly. “Isn’t it? I thought so too… I guess I had always been fighting, but I didn’t want that to be my special talent. I was furious when I saw my mark. It wasn’t supposed to go like that…” She sighed. “As soon as I could, I painted my flanks black. Nopony knew I had gotten my cutie mark for months. Not even my family…” Matchstick paused. She took her eyes off Sweetie Belle, looking in the distance at nothing in particular. “It took me a while to really get used to this.” She patted her flank again. “For a while, I just thought I was supposed to roll with it. I was a mean girl, back then. Kicked a lot of tails, punched a lot of teeth…” She sighed again. Sweetie swallowed her saliva with some difficulty. “Y–You don’t do that anymore, r–right?” A small, brittle smile appeared on Matchstick’s muzzle. “No, not anymore… I’m not the smartest pony around, so it took me a while, but I finally figured something out... My destiny isn’t to be a thug. Not if I don’t want it to be. “So, I’m supposed to be a fighter?” she said with an eerie grin. “I’ll be a fighter. But I still get to pick my fights. And here’s something I’ve learned: you can’t win every time, but some things are worth fighting for, no matter what. You just find one and you never, ever give up. Always get back up, always try again and find a way to win…” Matchstick faced Sweetie and stared in her eyes with an intense expression. “You’ll find your destiny, Sweetie Belle. Don’t worry. But always remember this: you’re not your cutie mark. Nopony is. In the end, that...” Matchstick said, pointing a hoof at her flank, “is nothing but fur.” Rainbow Dash dropped her glass on the table and wiped her muzzle with a foreleg. She had to give that much to Pinkie Pie: she knew how to make some incredibly tasty punch. As long as she didn’t let her pet alligator inside the bowl, at least. Rainbow turned around and was only a bit surprised to see Pinkie Pie’s face taking most of her field of vision. The rest of her was hard to see, since due to her very limited definition of “personal space”, the pink mare was almost touching noses with Rainbow. “Hey Dashie! Having fun?” Rainbow smiled and took a half step backwards before answering. “Of course, Pinkie! Your parties are the best!” Many of the guests had already left, since it was starting to get late in the afternoon, but the ones still there made it up with enthusiasm. “Thanks!” Pinkie answered with one of her impossibly wide smiles. “I do try my best.” “Heh heh. Well, I think Scootaloo won’t forget her cuteceañara anytime soon… I have to admit, even mine may not have been quite as cool. It was pretty close, though.” “Ooh! I wish I could have been there,” Pinkie said. “I wish I could have planned it! How great would have that been?” “Totally awesome, I bet! Hey, maybe you could have held Fluttershy’s party, too. She got her cutie mark at the same time. That party was kinda… slow.” “Oh, that’s right, she got her cutie mark when you did your sonic rainboom… And so did Rarity, Twilight, Applejack and me…” Pinkie Pie seemed to think intensely for a moment, until she made a gasp that lasted for at least three seconds. “I’ve just had the greatest idea!” she shouted. “What if we had an anniversary for our cutie marks? We could have a big party for the six of us. A cuteceañiversary!” Rainbow laughed eagerly. “I don’t know about the name, but that does sound like a cool idea.” “I got to tell the others! Now!” By the time Rainbow had finished blinking, Pinkie was already gone. How that mare could move faster than her was a mystery, but one that Dash knew was best left unexplored… Shaking her head at her friend’s antics, she looked around Sugarcube Corner, trying to decide on what to do. She had her fill of food and drink at the moment and didn’t feel like playing a game. The dance floor seemed like the best choice… but a little orange filly stopped Rainbow before she even had the chance to take one step. “Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo jumped in the air, buzzing her tiny wings like an overexcited bee. “Easy, squirt. I’m here! What do you want?” “It’s my cuteceañara! You’ve got to do me one favor, right?” “I don’t know if that’s how it works,” Rainbow answered with a chuckle, “but I guess I can do that. What do you need?” “Can you take me with you while you do a sonic rainboom? That would be the coolest thing! Ever!” “Whoah, whoah! Slow down, squirt,” Rainbow said, holding up a hoof defensively. “A sonic rainboom?” “Yes!” Scootaloo said, bouncing up and down. “Please?” “I’ve never tried a sonic rainboom while carrying somepony. I’m not sure I could make it… And a failed rainboom, for somepony who can’t fly… well, that wouldn’t end well.” Dash felt a pang of guilt when she saw the excitement vanish out of Scootaloo instantly. She put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “Come on, don’t make that face. I can still take you for a flight if you want. I know tons of other stunts!” She lowered herself. “Hop on!” Scootaloo grinned and leaped onto Rainbow’s back. The world-class athlete that she was managed to keep a straight face despite the very hard and sharp hooves scraping all over her while Scootaloo made herself comfortable... For such a little filly, she was surprisingly heavy, making Rainbow wonder how many cakes she had managed to stuff inside her tiny stomach… or if Pinkie had been experimenting with some kind of lead-based recipe. “Ready?” Dash asked. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Scootaloo nod and, with a powerful flap of her wings, raised above the ground-bound crowd. Before anyone had time to complain about her flying indoors, she aimed for an opened window and bolted out of Sugarcube Corner. Rainbow Dash started simple, with a vertical climb until they were above the few clouds littering the sky. “Hang on!” she shouted over the sound of the rushing wind. When she felt Scootaloo’s hooves tightening their grip on her, she tilted back and back and back... until she had done two full loops, ending up flying at high speed less than a meter off the ground in a narrow street. She angled up just in time to fly over a passing pony and raised high above the town. Rainbow looked around for a moment, then grinned and pumped her wings. She darted straight towards a bank of clouds, accelerating for all she was worth. The two pegasi went on a direct collision course with a large nimbus, gaining more speed with each second. Rainbow felt Scootaloo holding onto her even tighter. She sped up. “Rainbow!” Scootaloo yelled when they were only a couple seconds away from crashing into the cloud. Her ride only accelerated. One second and a half later, Rainbow Dash kicked her left hooves out and angled her left wing at the same time, gritting her teeth in pain when the air suddenly pulled on her side. Her right wing clipped a tiny tuft off of the cloud, but she managed to avoid it nonetheless. Her new trajectory headed straight for another cloud, though… Within the next minute, Rainbow banked, rolled, dove and climbed at a rate that was hard enough to follow for an observer on the ground and close to impossible to imitate for any other pegasus. When the last part of her improvised obstacle course was cleared, she angled herself up, aiming straight at the sun, then went back down into a spiralling dive. Rainbow allowed herself a few seconds of fun with her Super Speed Strut before finally landing, right in front of the door to Sugarcube Corner. She puffed her chest automatically before asking: “So, what did you think, squirt?” No answer came for a few seconds, prompting Dash to look over her shoulder. Scootaloo’s eyes seemed to be stuck wide, just like the big, demented-looking grin on her muzzle. “Heh. The word you’re looking for,” Rainbow said, smirking smugly, “is ‘awesome’.” “Again!” Scootaloo shouted, making Rainbow wince at the loudness. “Sorry, kiddo,” she answered with a chuckle, “but that’s it for now. There’s still a party going on.” “Aww…” “I think there are some presents for you,” Rainbow said in a totally casual “it’s-no-big-deal” tone. The effect, as expected, was immediate and Scootaloo, in a rather impressive display of speed of her own, disappeared inside the pastry shop. Rainbow Dash followed her at a more reasonable (but obviously still pretty fast) pace. Inside, Scootaloo was easy to spot in the middle of the remaining guests, considering she was bouncing and buzzing in the air like a drunk bug. “Of course you get presents, silly!” Rainbow Dash could hear Pinkie’s voice even over the music and other general loudness. “Here you go!” Out of nowhere, the pink party planner pulled out a large, paper-wrapped box, complete with little bow on top. Scootaloo instantly pounced on it. She held the gift with a completely mesmerized look for a second or two. Then, she began gnawing and tearing through the neat wrapping like a starving timberwolf. Rainbow hardly had time to get closer before the paper had been completely destroyed. Inside, a pair of brand new, dark brown saddlebags were waiting. Scootaloo pulled them out of the cardboard box slowly, letting out a little “ooh” of admiration while she watched the shiny, flawless leather, running a hoof on its smooth surface a few times. The clasps on each side were decorated, as was tradition, with replicas of the filly’s cutie mark. The tiny, metal and enamel winged wheels shined as bright as the ones on her flanks. “Check inside the bags,” Pinkie whispered to Scootaloo after a long, silent minute of staring. The filly quickly responded, undoing the buckles and opening the flaps, then pulling out… “A book,” Scootaloo said flatly. “Thank you, Twilight.” “How did you know?” Twilight Sparkle said, looking genuinely surprised. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, once again unable to decide which was more surprising: the level of her eggheadedness or the fact that she seemed completely oblivious to it. Twilight cleared her throat. “This is the most complete treatise I could find on wheeled transportation. It’s by Grace Track,” she added with a smug look. Seeing how everypony shrugged or stared blankly at the mention of that name, she groaned and muttered a disappointed “never mind.” “It’s about driving and stuff,” Rainbow told Scootaloo. “I’m sure it’s worth a look.” “Thanks again, Twilight,” the filly said, giving the princess a warm smile that was enough to stop her mumbling about how everypony should know who the greatest carriage designer of the last century was. Scootaloo reached deeper into the bags and found a small satchel. She quickly opened it and saw an assortment of wrenches, screwdrivers and other various tools. “Apple Bloom said you’d need tools for your fancy new scooter,” Applejack told her, tousling her little sister’s mane. “Ah think you should be set with those.” “Thanks!” Scootaloo chirped before digging for more. The first bag being empty, she opened the second one and pulled out a large, hard and round object… “Huh… What’s this?” she asked. “It’s a helmet,” Rainbow said. “You need something stronger than your old one to go with your new bike.” “Cool! Wait…” Scootaloo’s face scrunched up for a moment. “Does that mean I can ride my roadster again?” “You’d look kinda weird wearing the helmet alone,” her mother said with a chuckle. “So I guess that’s a yes.” “Thank you!” Scootaloo jumped and clamped on Matchstick’s neck, hugging her tight. “You’re… welcome…” she managed to wheeze out. “Thank… the others… too!” As fast as she was, Rainbow Dash was helpless to avoid the crushing hug she received. It would have been bad enough without Pinkie Pie pouncing on the pair to add her own freakish strength... Knowing full well that there was no way to get out of it, Dash simply tried her best to remain conscious. After the unwrapping and with most guests gone, the party went on in a more quiet and cozy fashion (much to the satisfaction of a certain shy pegasus), a gathering of family and close friends instead of a big celebration. It wasn’t until Princess Celestia was about to lower the sun that everypony finally agreed that it was time to leave. When Rainbow Dash headed out, she found Matchstick waiting near the door, waiting for Scootaloo who was still inside and thanking everypony one last time. “Great party, huh?” Rainbow said, trotting near the dark-coated mare. “Wha–?” Matchstick twitched and looked around her frantically, her eyes finally settling on Rainbow Dash. “Oh. Sorry, I think I fell asleep… You were saying something?” “Just saying that this party was great.” “It sure was,” Matchstick answered with a smile. “Pinkie Pie really is the best when it comes to this.” “Oh yeah!” Rainbow grinned and looked up the sky dreamily. “I can’t wait for my birthday. I just know it’s going to be extra awesome! What about you? Do you have anything to celebrate soon?" Rainbow waited a while for an answer. When none came, she took her eyes off of the night's first stars and back to Matchstick. The mare was standing stock still, staring down one of the many streets that surrounded Sugarcube Corner. "Hey! Matchstick? Are you with me?" "What?" She looked back at Rainbow, her face looking paler than usual and her eyes wide. "Uh… Sorry. What were you saying?" "You okay?" Rainbow asked. "You look like you've just seen a ghost..." "I... Never mind," Matchstick answered, shaking her head. "I thought I saw somepony, but I was mistaken." "Somepony?" Without waiting for an answer, Dash took off and flew over the area Matchstick had been staring at. Less than ten seconds later, she landed back next to the her. "There's a stallion I've never seen before. Unicorn, dark coat... He has a big patch of white fur down his forehead. Is that the guy?" Matchstick stared at Rainbow for a long moment before she finally answered, slowly. "No. That's not who I thought it was. It's getting dark, I didn’t see clearly..." "Really?” Dash asked, raising an eyebrow. “Who did you think it was, then?" "Nopony important." Rainbow stared at her. "You looked awfully spooked for 'nopony important'." "Drop it, Dash," Matchstick said, her tone turning darker. "Hey! I'm just trying to help y–" "I don't need help," she answered sharply. “Help for what?” a familiar little pegasus’s voice asked from behind the two mares. Dash and Matchstick turned around to see Scootaloo, standing on Sugarcube Corner’s doorstep, her head tilted to one side. “Nothing, Scoots,” her mother answered. “Are you ready to go home?” “Do we really have to? It’s not that late…” Matchstick looked at the sky, where the moon was rising fast, thanks to Princess Luna. She then simply stared at her daughter, not saying a word. “Fine,” Scootaloo mumbled. She turned to Rainbow. “Goodnight, Rainbow Dash,” she said in a much chipper tone. “Thanks for coming!” “Are you kidding?” Dash laughed. “I wouldn’t have missed that for the world.” She patted the little pegasus on the back. “Now you’ve got an awesome cutie mark, you got an awesome cuteceañara… You have to make sure you keep up with the awesomeness, okay?” Scootaloo beamed. “Maybe I’ll catch up with you!” “Heh. Don’t get carried away, squirt.” Rainbow smirked. “But with that kind of goal, you’re sure to go far.” “Come on, big shot,” Matchstick said while wrapping a foreleg around Scootaloo’s shoulders. “It’s time to get some rest.” “Aww… I’m not even tired yet.” Matchstick yawned so wide that even the hoof she held in front of her mouth failed to cover it. “Well, I’m tired for the both of us,” she told her. “Goodnight, Dash,” the mare said, giving Rainbow a nod. “Goodnight,” Rainbow answered. “If you need anything–” “See ya,” Matchstick cut her off and walked away, waving a hoof. Rainbow Dash could only stand there, frowning, watching her and Scootaloo walk away in the night… Matchstick appeared to be in good spirits, listening patiently to her daughter chattering about the party, her talent and a thousand other things a minute. Before long, the two had disappeared in the darkness, leaving a silent Rainbow Dash behind, trying hard to figure out what was going on with the dark mare. A few questions ran in circles in Dash’s mind, failing to find an answer… Was Matchstick hiding something from her past? Everything Rainbow had learned until now was rather vague and most of it had come from her husband rather than her. Was she uncomfortable with it? Or was there something darker buried in there? “You’re uncharacteristically quiet, Rainbow… Is something wrong?” Dash’s head whipped about, bringing her face to face with Twilight Sparkle. The princess was watching her, a touch of concern in her expression. “Nothing much,” Dash answered with a shrug. “I was just thinking…” “Just thinking? That’s unusual for you,” Twilight said teasingly. “Hardy har, Twilight.” “I’m just kidding,” she answered in a giggle. “But more seriously, is there anything you’d like to share?” Rainbow Dash hummed in thought for a second and gave her lavender friend a look. Twilight simply sat on the ground and smiled, her wings shivering a little, apparently still not under her complete control. “Maybe,” Rainbow finally answered. “You’re the expert on friendship, right?” “I wouldn’t really say I’m an expert, but–” “So, if a friend is keeping some secret, do you think I should try to find out what it is?” “Hmm… What I’ve learned,” Twilight said with her typical lectury tone, “is that real friends don’t need to keep secrets from each other. But I wouldn’t say you should pry. Ask your friend to be open with you, instead.” “I don’t know… That might not work.” “Well,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “Do you really think it’s important? Is it worth risking your friendship over it?” Rainbow shrugged. “It feels like something’s bothering Matchstick, but she won’t talk about it… She won’t even think about letting me help her.” “That reminds me of Applejack,” Twilight said. “That applebuck season when she tried to harvest every tree in Sweet Apple Acres by herself…” Rainbow Dash cringed as she remembered the painful crash on Twilight’s balcony that had ensued. “How did you get her to come around?” she asked, rubbing her jaw where it had hit the wood on that day. “I didn’t do anything,” Twilight answered. “Eventually, she realized that she just couldn’t do it on her own. You can offer your help, but you can’t force anypony to accept it.” “So, you’re telling me to wait and do nothing?” Rainbow Dash asked, rolling her eyes. “I think I’ll figure out something else,” she said. “Good night, Twilight.” “Good night,” Twilight Sparkle said with sigh. “Please don’t do anything you’ll regret,” she added. With a half hearted “sure,” Rainbow took to the air and headed for her home, a good night’s sleep sounding like a good idea at the moment. Even then, she  kept her eyes opened, just in case she might spot a mysterious stallion wandering the streets… "... and she said Twilight Sparkle will give her lessons on magic," Scootaloo said excitedly. "Isn't that awesome? Do you think she could do what Twilight does? Do you think she could teleport? Teleportation must be so cool!" Walking next to her, Matchstick chuckled a few times. "I don't know much about magic," she answered. "I haven't seen many unicorns teleporting, though... Maybe it's really difficult." "Well, Sweetie is pretty smart. I'm sure she could do it..." Matchstick simply hummed in answer, unable to talk due to a massive yawn. Scootaloo wondered why she wasn’t more excited about the idea of teleportation, since being able to just pop out anywhere at anytime had to be one the most awesomest things ever… “Hey, mom?” the little pegasus asked. “What did Rainbow Dash want to help you with?” Matchstick paused for a second. “Nothing,” she answered. “It’s not important, Scoots…” “Why do you look so upset?” Scootaloo frowned a bit. “Rainbow Dash can take care of anything. Why wouldn’t you want her help?”” The mare sighed. “I can take care of my own problems,” she said in a low voice. “But you don’t have to,” Scootaloo retorted. “That’s what friends are for, right?” Matchstick took a moment before answering. “Friends can’t always help you,” she said quietly. “Even if they want to, sometimes, they just can’t. There are some things you have to do by yourself, Scoots…” “A– Are you sure?” Scootaloo scrunched up her muzzle in thought. No matter what, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had always found a way to help. From simple homework to getting their cutie marks, they did almost everything together… “Hey. Don’t worry your little head about this,” her mother said. “Everything’s fine.” Matchstick smiled and tousled Scootaloo’s hair, then paused before quickly combing it back in place. “You look good with your mane trimmed like that.” “Thanks,” the filly answered automatically, although her mind wasn’t really paying much attention to the compliment, more focused on her mother’s previous words. Scootaloo and Matchstick walked silently through the town. A few stragglers were hurrying back home, but Ponyville was already mostly asleep. A quiet little town, already hidden by the darkness of the night. Above it, the magic city hanging on the massive peak was plainly visible. Canterlot seemed so close that Scootaloo could just reach up and touch it... And yet… Scootaloo sighed... When the two ponies reached their modest home, Matchstick unlocked the door and came in. Scootaloo followed inside the unlit room and was about to head up the stairs when her mother interrupted. “Hang on for a moment,” Matchstick said, fumbling around the darkened living room. “There’s something you should see, if I can just… Ah, there we go.” She turned around, a firefly lantern held in her mouth and walked near Scootaloo. The filly simply stared at her, wondering what to expect. Matchstick gestured for her to follow through the back door. Scootaloo entered the garden, bare as usual except for meager grass and a lone holly tree. “Over here,” Matchstick said around the lantern’s handle. Scootaloo followed her pointing hoof and saw a metallic glint in the shadows. Both ponies walked closer, the lantern’s light dancing on chromed wheels and handles and… “My roadster!” Scootaloo shouted. “It’s back!” “Of course it is,” her mother said gently. “Look closer…” Scootaloo leaned forward. The wheels looked the same as she remembered. So did the handlebars and the frame… No, there was something different there. Her eyes widened when she spotted a familiar image painted on a wide part of the bike’s metal frame. A picture of a wheel adorned by wings… “My cutie mark? But how…” “My gift for you,” Matchstick said. “I couldn’t bring it to your cuteceañara… Now that scooter is really yours.” The filly looked up at her mom, her eyes shimmering (and totally not watering up). “Thanks mom! This is… This is the greatest present I’ve had today.” “Aww… I’m glad you like it, my little baby.” Matchstick leaned down to nuzzle her daughter. “I’m not a baby anymore,” Scootaloo protested (but still nuzzling her mom back). “I’ve got my cutie mark. I’m a grown up now.” Matchstick laughed a little. “Of course, of course. You’re a big filly…” “So, can I ride it now?” Scootaloo asked with the biggest smiles and puppy eyes she could make. Sadly, her mother had years of practice at resisting her adorableness… “Not in the middle of the night, Scoots. You’ll have to wait for tomorrow.” Matchstick yawned again, so wide her jaw seemed like it was about to fall for a moment. “Let’s get some rest now.” Scootaloo yawned in return. “Alright,” she eventually said. “Then, as soon as the sun goes up...” Matchstick nodded and wrapped a foreleg around her daughter. Without warning, she hoisted Scootaloo up and placed her on her back. She carried her inside and climbed the stairs, heading for the filly’s bedroom, then all the way to her bed, where Scootaloo jumped into the inviting sheets. “Mom!” she whined when Matchstick started to bring the covers up. “You don’t have to tuck me in… I told you I’m not a baby.” “You’ll always be my little foal,” the mare said, earning an exasperated groan from Scootaloo. “Maybe I should sing you a lullaby?” “Moooom!” Matchstick giggled. “Okay, okay, no singing.” She still allowed herself to kiss her daugher on the forehead. “Don’t be in such a hurry to grow up, Scoots. Being an adult isn’t all that great, you know.” “What do you mean?” “Nothing. Just–” she paused to yawn once more. “Just thinking out loud…” Matchstick simply watched her daughter for a while, an unreadable expression on her face. “Mom?” Scootaloo asked quietly. “Are you… sad?” “Oh, I’m fine, thanks for asking.” Her mother gave her a smile and brought her head right next to hers, nuzzling her ear a little. “As long as I have you… I’m fine,” she whispered. Scootaloo yawned too and dug herself a little in her bed. “Thanks, mom...” Matchstick didn’t answer. She didn’t move either. Angling her head to the side a little, Scootaloo saw her mother’s head resting on the bed, with her eyes closed and breathing slowly. The filly gave her a little kiss on the cheek. “I love you too, mom,” she whispered before closing her eyes. “Good night.”