The devastation at, what is now being called, “The Battle of Manehattan” was quickly being taken care of. For the past three days, relief workers, Royal Guards, and many others had come flooding in from different parts of Equestria, each one helping to rebuild the damaged city. All in all it could’ve been worse, at least that’s what some were saying. Three days had passed since the battle between the alicorn mare known as “Shazam” and the alicorn stallion who the journalists called “Black Adam”.
Opinion on Shazam was divided amongst the ponies of Equestria and mostly in Manehattan, some praised her for coming to the rescue of the Elements of Harmony and defeating Black Adam. Others claimed that she was menace, a renegade alicorn who seemed to have no affiliation to the crown, which meant she was a rogue element, somepony with power greater than the rulers of Equestria, a potential threat to the peace of the land, and quite possibly the world.
For now though, those thoughts took a backseat to the rebuilding of the city. And speaking of the heroine in question, Scootaloo, along with Twilight, Babs, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle, were currently at a shelter that the other Elements and the Two Sisters were brought to after the battle. All were still busy recovering, Luna and Celestia had used up quite a bit of their magical power and needed time to recharge it before making any speeches or aiding in the recovery. Shining Armor and Cadance were doing a good job of coordinating rescue and recovery efforts in the Princesses absence, it was the least they could do considering that they couldn’t enter the fight. Although, seeing the kind of thrashing that Twilight and her friends took, on top of the Princesses, they pretty much figured that their presence wouldn’t have made a difference.
Scootaloo had been sleeping for a day and half, thoroughly exhausted from fighting such a grueling and emotionally draining battle. Luck was on her side however, none of her friends overheard what Black Adam and Scootaloo said about their pasts, all three of them more concerned about keeping safe during the fire fight, and Twilight was still too dazed and hurt to make much sense of it either. But that still didn’t mean that they had forgotten that Scootaloo was Shazam, and, after giving her some time to get settled after she had woken up, they pretty much grilled her with questions. So, like she promised, Scootaloo spilled the beans.
“And that’s it…” Scootaloo finished.
“Wow…So, wait, if we were with you that day, we could’ve gotten sucked into that other dimension too?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“I don’t think so, at least I’m not sure. The way the Wizard and Murmur told me was that only somepony chosen by the Living Lightning could’ve entered, most likely it would’ve taken just one of us.”
“Ah can’t believe you were the one who saved us…Ah mean, you kinda freaked us out when you showed up like ya did back then. Why didn’t ya say it was you?” Apple Bloom asked.
Scootaloo turned away from her friends, staring the blanket. “Because…during that fight with the Chimera I…I…killed it.”
All three fillies’ eyes widened just a tad at hearing that.
“I didn’t mean to kill it…I just wanted to beat it, to make it go away and leave you guys alone…When I saw what I did I was so scared of my power…I didn’t know what I had become, and I didn’t want to risk hurting you guys until I figured it out…which was why I kept it secret.”
Babs turned to Twilight, who was occupying the adjacent bed. “Is that when Scootaloo came to you Princess?”
“Yes Babs, although, I called for Scootaloo to come my castle so we could talk about something else unrelated. It was a complete accident that I found out. But since then, I’ve been trying to help her to control her powers little by little. Trips into the Rock of Eternity have helped too.”
“So that’s how you were able to get all the way from Ponyville to Manehattan so fast, you transformed and flew here lightning quick,” said Babs.
Scootaloo nodded.
“So, what happens now?” Sweetie asked.
“As far as I’ve been able to tell, nopony seems to have caught wind of who ‘Shazam’ really is. For now, it’s just us four. So for Scootaloo’s sake, please keep her identity a secret. There are too many things happening right now, too many ponies who are both grateful for her saving Manehattan and just as many blaming her for it.”
“That’s a load of manure! Scoots saved all of us! Why are they saying that?! She’s a gosh darn hero!” Apple Bloom argued.
“I know that, and you three know that, but other ponies are scared right now, and fear can make rational ponies think crazy things sometimes.”
Apple Bloom scoffed. “Still ain’t right.”
“Thanks Bloom, but it’s alright. As long you guys know I’m the good guy, I don’t care what they think.”
Apple Bloom blushed from the compliment, a reaction that caught Babs’ eye, but she just shrugged it off, she had the same reaction when she told Apple Bloom she was cuter when she smiled.
“Why don’t you guys go and see if the others are awake yet, I’m pretty sure they’d like to see you.” Twilight prompted.
With a small bit of reluctance, the three fillies went off to go see their older family members who busy recouping from their battle as well, leaving Scootaloo and Twilight alone in the same room.
“So…are you alright Scootaloo?”
“Of course I am. I beat Black Adam and saved Manehattan, and everypony I care about, why wouldn’t I?”
Twilight thought carefully on how to say what she meant. “Well…it just seemed that the battle took a lot out of you, more than physical strain I mean. You looked tired beyond belief, like you had to face something, an old wound that was reopened. I just want to make sure that you’re alright Scootaloo.”
The pegasus filly sighed heavily. “I know what you mean Twilight…During the fight, Black Adam showed me his past and what happened to make him how he was. He was actually Adamant Resolve, he killed his little sister, Alchemy, right before they transformed, allowing him to take on the full power of the Living Lightning…”
Twilight had a shocked expression upon her face. She never imagined such a thing was the cause for his change, and she could never imagine a sibling being so cruel to their younger sibling like that, it hit a little closer to home considering the close relationship that she and Shining Armor shared. For a moment she let herself imagine being betrayed in the same way…it almost broke her heart and made her bawl right then and there.
“I’m sorry you saw that…”
“Not your fault, he made me see it. I had no choice. But, in a way, it’s because of all that that I learned about who I really am and what I want to do from here on out…”
Twilight shook away the sadness and looked to Scootaloo with intrigued. “Oh really? What?”
“I want to continue being Shazam, I know everypony is scared of me, and that’s fine, I’ll still continue to fight. Because whatever threatens Equestria, threatens my friends – my family. That’s why I got this.”
Scootaloo pushed the blankets off her till they slid past her flank, giving Twilight and unobstructed view of the mark that now adorned it. A golden lightning bolt, similar to that of the insignia on her chest plate, had appeared there. Twilight looked to the filly who was smiling happily, and Twilight couldn’t help but mimic that smile, seeing the young filly that had been through so much finally achieve that which she and her friends strived for numerous times before.
“My destiny, my special talent, is being a hero, being Shazam, Equestria’s Mightiest Mare. But I’m going to need help until I have it all figured out, if you don’t mind, I still want you to be my mentor, Twilight…?”
Twilight nodded to Scootaloo with a smile splitting her face. “Of course you can, I promise to help you in any way I can Scootaloo you have my word.”
Scootaloo looked away for a moment as a face began to turn red. “Um…in that case, can I ask you favor?”
“Go ahead.”
“Uh…c-can I rest with you for a while?”
Twilight giggled, she knew Scootaloo was quite the tomcolt, so asking such a thing was embarrassing for her to do. Twilight opened the blankets and bayed her to come over. Scootaloo happily got out of her bed and jumped into Twilight’s, slipping between her forelegs and resting her head on the pillow. Twilight closed the blankets and even draped her wing over the young filly for added comfort. Scootaloo nuzzled up against Twilight’s chest, enjoying the warmth and comfort she brought her.
“I can’t wait to see Miss Cheerilee…
“I know she’ll be happy to see you again,” said Twilight.
“Do you think she’ll still want me, even after I ran away?”
“I know she will.”
“Thanks…” Scootaloo looked up at Twilight, an impish grin forming on her lips as she did. “…You’re going to make a great second mom, Twilight.”
“Thanks Scootaloo…………Wait ‘second mom’?!”
“When you marry Miss Cheerilee.”
“MARRY?!” Twilight squeaked as her face burned bright red.
PONYVILLE, TWO DAYS LATER…
After the turmoil that had occurred at Manehattan, the six Elements of Harmony, and the CMC, minus one Babs Seed, were back in their home town. Many were glad to see that Scootaloo was alright, some of the foals from Wayward House and Mrs. Milano were there to greet Scootaloo back home. Among them, of course, was a very happy and very tearful Cheerilee, who held the young filly close her. Scootaloo’s heart grew heavy, she didn’t like seeing Cheerilee sad, and knowing that she was the cause of it only made her heart grow heavier with guilt.
Once all the commotion was over, Twilight, Mrs. Milano, and Cheerilee headed to Castle Concordia. It was in one of the private meeting rooms where the three older mares discussed what had happened, both Scootaloo and Twilight came up with as decent a convincing story as possible to satiate the curious nature of how Scootaloo had gotten all the way to Manehattan from Ponyville. Luckily, there was in fact a train heading to the city at around the time she “supposedly” ran away.
Scootaloo went on to say that she stowed away on the train and departed when the train stopped. She said she really didn’t know where the train was going and that it was a complete fluke that she ended up in Manehattan. From there she told Cheerilee and Mrs. Milano how she found out where Apple Bloom’s cousin lived and went to stay with them. From there Twilight took over, stating that she used a more complex and powerful locator spell to find Scootaloo, and since Rainbow Dash was in Manehattan at the time, she sent a letter via Spike’s dragon fire to the mare in question so that she could locate and keep her safe. And that’s when all the craziness happened.
“Well we’re just glad that you’re alright Scootaloo,” said Cheerilee.
“But sweetie, tell us, why did you run away, you really scared us?” Mrs. Milano asked.
Now came the hard part, she didn’t want to reveal too much, but there was no point in letting this fester too long.
“I…I was afraid…”
All three mares looked at each other with worry.
“Afraid of what Scootaloo?” Cheerilee asked.
“When Mrs. Milano told me that somepony was coming to adopt me, I was happy, but I…I got scared that it might’ve been somepony else…somepony that…” Scootaloo took a deep breath, focusing on keeping her composure. “Somepony that hurt me a long time ago…”
The three mares’ eyes grew wide with shock.
“Scootaloo…” Twilight gasped.
“It was before I came to Ponyville, somepony I loved and trusted…they…did things to me…things I really don’t want to remember or talk about, but…let’s just say that they’re things that fillies shouldn’t know about till their about your guys’ ages…”
The shock and disbelief was plain on everypony’s faces. A mixture and sympathy for the young filly, and a boiling anger rose up in all of them at the thought that anypony could abuse the trust of a young foal and do such cruel things to her.
“I didn’t want to tell you, any of you, because I didn’t want you to look at me differently…that, and I thought nopony would want to adopt me if they knew what happened to me…I know I should’ve said something to you sooner, especially all three of you, but I just couldn’t.” Scootaloo was starting to tremble as tears began to well up in her eyes. “I wanted to forget all those things, to focus on my life in Ponyville, with the friends I’ve made and everypony here who’s acted like a parent to me…Ponyville is my home, and the ponies who live here my family! That’s why I ran away, I thought that the pony who did those things to me was coming back to take me away, I didn’t want to go back and…and…”
Cheerilee rose up from her cushion and quickly enveloped the pegasus filly in the most comforting hug she could muster. Scootaloo buried her face into Cheerilee’s shoulder, letting the tears flow as she held the maroon mare tight, while Cheerilee stroked her mane and made soft shushing sounds.
“Scootaloo, I know this doesn’t mean much, but I’m so sorry that you went through such awful things. And I want you to know, that this doesn’t affect the way any of us see you honey. You’re such a strong little filly, courageous, sometimes a little too reckless for some our tastes. But that’s who you are, none of what happened to you defines the way we see you, that will never change.”
Scootaloo gently wrested herself from Cheerilee’s shoulder, looking over it to Twilight and Mrs. Milano were on the verge of tears themselves, but nodded firmly in their conformation with Cheerilee.
“So does this mean I can’t get adopted…?” Scootaloo asked with dread.
Cheerilee and Twilight looked to Mrs. Milano, for she had the final word in such things. The manila colored mare seemed to be pondering the question hard as she looked between all three before her.
“Normally, I need to start an investigation into what you’ve told us Scootaloo. Child Abuse is the one thing I will not tolerate, and if somepony hurt you they need to be punished by the law. Unfortunately, there will need to be some questioning done by the Special Investigations Division of the Royal Guards, they’ll need to conduct interviews with you and will probably recommend that you stay at Wayward House for a bit longer till their investigation is done, as well as receive counseling and evaluations to determine if putting her in a new household is acceptable, there’s a laundry list of things that need to be done to insure that Scootaloo is being put in the best home for her situation.”
Twilight was very knowledgeable about the different branches of the Royal Guard, the Special Investigations Division handled mostly cases dealing with child abuse crimes and other such cases, and that an investigation, especially if it’s years old, could take just as long depending if the pony that hurt Scootaloo is still even around. That meant that the adoption would have to be delayed for a time. She also saw the look of disappointment on Scootaloo’s face and on Cheerilee’s, she knew that Scootaloo was safest and would be well cared for by Cheerilee, the mare had nothing but love for the little filly, and really, she was a teacher, nopony better to help deal with such things.
“Mrs. Milano –” Twilight began.
“However.” Mrs. Milano interrupted. “I can make exceptions, so long as Scootaloo has a strong support system and a stable home – and seeing as how Miss Cheerilee has an official recommendation from the Princess of Friendship herself – I’d be willing to allow the adoption to go through unimpeded, provided that Scootaloo feels comfortable with this.”
Scootaloo’s eyes beamed with happiness at hearing as he looked at Cheerilee, the same happiness reflected in her own eyes. The two of them hugged tighter, joyful in hearing Cheerilee could still be her guardian.
Mrs. Milano then slipped closer to Twilight and spoke in a soft tone of voice. “Princess, I know you have a lot on your plate, but I can tell that Scootaloo looks up to you as well as Miss Rainbow Dash. If it’s not too much, I would like you to be there for her as well, she’ll need to be around ponies she can count on and trust.”
Twilight nodded in affirmation. “I will, you don’t have to worry about that. But, um, should I tell Rainbow Dash about this? I know Scootaloo sees her as a big sister and Rainbow feels the same way about her, but…I don’t know how she’ll take hearing this, or if I should be the one to tell her…?”
“That’s up to Scootaloo, it took a lot of courage to tell all three of us, and I know how much she looks up to Rainbow Dash, the best I can say is that you make sure it’s as comfortable as possible for Scootaloo.”
Cheerilee separated herself from Scootaloo, smiling the whole time she did so. “I hope you don’t mind having your school teacher as your guardian.”
“No way, this means I’ll be able to know all the answers to your tests before you give them. Straight A’s here I come!”
“Nice try young filly, but you’re going to have to study just like all the others.”
“Shoot. Oh well, so when will you and Twilight get hitched?”
Cheerilee’s face turned bright red, and the same time so did Twilight’s face.
“SCOOTALOO!” Both mares cried out.
Scootaloo’s response was a smart-alecky grin and sticking out her tongue at both mares.
“Something you want to let me in on, Princess, Miss Cheerilee?” Milano asked with a knowing grin of her own.
THE NEXT DAY…
Wayward House was abuzz with excitement, Scootaloo, a longtime resident of the orphanage was at long last being adopted and about to start living with her new guardian Cheerilee. Many of the foals were wishing her luck, throwing a party to show their support for her. During the festivities, she found Aura, somewhat avoiding Scootaloo, she was able to slip away from the other partiers and catch the young filly alone.
“Hi Aura.”
“Oh, hey Scootaloo! Is something wrong?”
“Well…not really. I was just wondering why you don’t look like you’re having that much fun?” She asked.
Aura sighed. “I guess I’m just a little sad. I mean, we’ve been roomies ever since I was brought here…you were the first the pony to talk to me, and well, draw me out my shell. Now you’re leaving – but I’m happy you’re getting adopted, don’t think I’m not!”
Scootaloo shook her head as she draped a foreleg over Aura’s withers. “Hey, this isn’t goodbye Aura, it’s not like I’m leaving Ponyville. We’ll still see each other at school and around town. I even asked Mrs. Milano if it was alright for me to come and visit you guys here from time to time, and she said it was okay. So relax Aura, I could never forget any of you. You’re also my family, and I won’t turn my back my family.”
Aura couldn’t help some tears falling from her eyes as she heard that. She nuzzled the side of Scootaloo’s cheek, apologizing for the tears as she did so.
“Thanks Scoots…”
“No problem. Hey, have you seen Alula around? I kinda wanted to apologize to her too, but haven’t seen her.” Scootaloo asked.
“She said she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest in her room. I think she’s sad too honestly. I think she has a crush on you, you know,” said Aura.
“Pfft, sure, sure, that’s what you said about Peachie Pie and Sunny Days. You read too much into that ‘shipping’ thing.”
Aura rolled her eyes playfully. “Okay, so I’m not the Princess of Love like Princess Cadance, but still, she does act weird around you. Anyway, why don’t you go and see her, I’ll run interference for you!”
Without even giving her the time to answer, Aura was already zipping through the party, getting everypony’s attention. Scootaloo sighed and shrugged, deciding that it couldn’t hurt to go see what was up with Alula. Scootaloo went up the stairs and down the hallway to where Alula’s room was. She gave a couple of knocks when she reached the door, waiting to hear a response from the filly. She heard nothing, so Scootaloo gently opened the door.
“Hello…Alula? It’s me Scootaloo, I’m coming in, hope you’re decent.”
Scootaloo opened the door a little more and slipped in, seeing Alula sitting at the window and staring out into the horizon. She glanced over to Scootaloo, but quickly turned her gaze away.
“Hey, what’s up? How come you’re not downstairs having fun?” Scootaloo asked.
“……I just…I just didn’t think you wanted a freak at your party…”
Scootaloo looked at Alula incredulously. “‘A freak’? You’re not a freak Alula.”
“You saw me that night didn’t you?! You saw my horn disappear, didn’t you?!”
Scootaloo thought back to that night, the night she ran away from Wayward House, to be honest, with everything that had happened in the past five days, Scootaloo had completely forgotten about that event.
“Oh…”
“Yeah ‘oh’.”
“Okay, so what?”
“‘So what’?! It’s not normal for a pony to have a horn and then not have one, to sprout wings and then shortly after a horn! Or sometimes none! How can you be around me…? And how come you haven’t told anypony yet?!”
Scootaloo scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. “Honestly, Alula, I completely forgot about that whole thing…I had other stuff on my mind and then there was that stuff in Manehattan…but even still, it was your secret to tell, I wasn’t going to tell anypony.”
“Thanks Scootaloo…”
“No problem.”
Scootaloo walked over to where Alula was and sat across from her, looking out through the window, seeing the street below, Ponyville, the forests further on, and of course wide blue sky.
“I can’t believe you’re really leaving us,” said Alula.
“Not really, I’m just living someplace else. I’m still going to come by and see you guys and of course I’ll see you at school and stuff.”
“I know…I just…I just wish I got to know you more…I mean, you’re a great pony Scootaloo, and I…I kind’ve admired you…a little…” Alula was blushing the entire time she was saying this.
“O-Oh, I didn’t know…” Scootaloo felt her own cheeks heat up, not knowing why, but she guessed it was from the compliment. “…Well…maybe we could spend more time together? I mean, if you want, you and Aura could join the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we’re always looking to expand y’know!”
Alula smiled at the pegasus filly. “I’d like that, a-and I know Aura would too.”
“Cool, so c’mon, let’s head downstairs, ‘cause I think Aura’s going to run out of ways to keep everypony from wondering where I’m at.”
Alula nodded and followed Scootaloo out of the room. When she closed the door behind her, Alula glanced back at the orange filly.
“Scootaloo!”
“Yeah?”
Alula seemed to hesitate, struggling with something that Scootaloo couldn’t figure out. After a moment Alula shook her head dismissively.
"It’s okay, it’s not important.” Alula assured.
Shrugging, Scootaloo and Alula headed downstairs, and the whole time, Alula looked at the pegasus filly longingly.
One day Scootaloo…one day…