//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Scootaloo: Princess for a Day // by RaylanKrios //------------------------------// Scootaloo and Luna treated the rest of the night like a sleepover between two normal fillies.  Figuring that Celestia had already given Scootaloo enough royal duties to make her aware of the burdens of the crown, Luna resolutely refused to do anything remotely official with the new princess.  Instead she and Scootaloo used the palace movie theater to watch The Power Ponies movie and its sequel, and prevailed on the kitchen to keep them supplied with endless popcorn and snowcaps. As the second movie’s credits began to roll Luna was about to suggest a third movie when she noticed that Scootaloo had fallen asleep, curled into a ball with her head resting on a pillow. Luna smiled at the innocent grin on Scootaloo’s face and gently used her magic to carry the little filly back to her room without disturbing her slumber. She tucked the little princess snuggly in to bed and allowed herself a moment to appreciate the sight before leaving the room. Scootaloo woke up without having any clue how she got where she was. The last thing she remembered she was just resting her eyes for a second while watching a movie.  But as she woke up and looked around the now slightly more familiar space she began to feel a sense of calm wash over her.  For one thing she was done being a princess.  Not that she would mind the chance to ride her scooter around the halls some more and order whatever she wanted from the kitchen, but Celestia was right, being a princess was hard.  But, somewhat surprisingly, Scootaloo found that the thing she was looking forward to the most about going back to her old life was that she would get to tell her mom all about her day yesterday.  The thought made her smile as she opened the door to find her dress, freshly cleaned and neatly pressed in a garment bag, her new scooter and a photo album. She eagerly opened the cherry red mahogany backed cover, inscribed The Chronicle of Princess Scootaloo, to find pictures spanning from when she stepped off the carriage, through her coronation, all the way up to when the Night’s Watch lifted her up on their shoulders.  Inside the front cover was a small placard with a dedication that read: Princess Scootaloo You are not special because you are wearing a crown; the crown is special because you are wearing it. Your Friends Celestia and Luna Scootaloo smiled at both the gift and the thought, and carefully packed everything away in her overnight bag. With her scooter strapped to her back and her dress on top of her bag she could still manage to carry everything without too much difficulty. She got to the throne room, expecting one last crowd to see her off but instead found the room inhabited by only Celestia and Luna standing next to their respective thrones. Scootaloo set her stuff down and went to join the two alicorns.  “No ceremony this time dear sister?” Luna asked as Scootaloo approached. “Despite its inevitability this is still a solemn occasion,” Celestia replied. “I could keep being a princess,” Scootaloo supplied hopefully. Celestia smiled warmly. “My little Scootaloo, I would be overjoyed to welcome you into the royal family. But you have your own destiny to fulfill, and we have ours.  However you should know that you are always welcome at the palace.” “And that is not an empty platitude.  Please do come back and visit,” Luna added. “I will.  And thank you for making me a princess and the dress and the gifts and being so nice to me and…I don’t know…making me feel important,” Scootaloo’s voice trailed off as she ran out of words to express her gratitude.  She stared at the ground for a minute before stumbling forward to wrap her forelegs around Celestia in a clumsy hug.  Celestia squeezed the little orange filly back before gently nudging her over to Luna so she could receive her own hug. Having hugged both princess, and gotten her emotions better under control Scootaloo took a step back. “Okay, I’m ready,” she said as confidently as she could. Celestia smiled warmly. “Any final declarations as a Princess you would like to get in?” Scootaloo thought briefly about her idea to officially name Diamond Tiara a plot head. “No, I guess not.  So what do I have to do?” Celestia levitated a small note card over and held it in front of Scootaloo so she could read it. “Just say the words on the card.” Scootaloo squinted as she read the words in her head before verbalizing them out loud. “I Scootaloo, do hereby renounce the title of Princess of Equestria along with all the powers and responsibilities contained herein. In doing so I transfer the power of the crown back to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” she said, stumbling over some of the longer words but her meaning remaining clear nevertheless. “I, Princess Celestia Sol Invictus, do hereby accept,” Celestia said, followed by a glance over at her sister. Luna rolled her eyes, “I Princess Luna do also accept,” she said quickly and without any trace of gravitas. Celestia finished the ceremony with a quick, “So it is said so it shall be.” Scootaloo looked around the throne room as though it had changed, even though the room remained exactly as it did thirty seconds ago. “So I guess that’s it.  I’m not a princess anymore,” she wondered aloud. “You are not.  Tell me Scootaloo what is that like?” Celestia asked. “Huh?” “I cannot remember what it is like not to be a princess. Is it as freeing as I imagine it to be?” Scootaloo considered the question.  True she couldn’t order whatever she wanted from the kitchens or command guards to dance for her amusement. But she also didn’t have to worry about how her actions would be interpreted by anypony either. “I guess it is,” she said with a giggle.  She had a new dress, some great stories to tell and it appeared that she made two new friends. The fact that her new friends were among the most powerful creatures in existence didn’t even matter. Celestia and Luna escorted her out from the palace to the courtyard, where the same carriage that marked her arrival was waiting to return her home.  Another round of goodbyes later and Scootaloo was sent on her way to Ponyville. Scootaloo was quiet on the carriage ride home.  She spent most of it thinking about what she had learned over the last day. About how it didn’t matter if Diamond Tiara made fun of her, and how she could get better at flying without actually being able to fly.  She also thought about what Luna had said.  She spent a lot of time being sad that her mom wasn’t around, but her mom wasn’t always gone, her fridge was always full and she never doubted that she was loved.  It occurred to her that there were a lot of ponies who would trade places with her in a heartbeat. Scootaloo walked through the door, expecting it to be empty, but instead found her mom waiting in the kitchen, unloading some groceries .“Hi baby,” she said with a wide smile. “Mom!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she leapt into her mother’s waiting forelegs. As she hugged her mom, and was hugged in return, it struck her just how much she missed her mom yesterday.  Yes, being a princess had been awesome, but without her mom there to share it it was missing something. “I missed you,” she said as she buried herself into her mother's chest. “I missed you too. Did you have a good time?” Scootaloo giggled at the question. It seemed so innocent considering the magnitude of her adventure. “I sure did. I wore a crown and I got a new dress and I got to decide things and I rode my scooter in the castle oh and Celestia and Luna gave me a photo album. Want to see it?” Dizzy nodded and in short order the two ponies were comfortably snuggled up as Scootaloo regaled her mom with the tales of her brief reign. After that the two ponies decided to play some checkers.  Scootaloo usually lost bust she was getting better and was sure that one of these days she would actually beat her mom in a fair game.  For her part Dizzy just enjoyed something she could share with her daughter. Midway through their third game there was a knock on the door.  Dizzy answered it, only to be surprised at the cream colored mare on the other side. “Mrs. Twister? I’m Vanilla Sky; I work for the Princess.  Hello Scootaloo.” Vanilla waved as she noticed the orange filly had come to the door standing tentatively behind her mother. “Vanilla?! Why are you at my house?  Mom, this is Vanilla Sky. She was my assistant when I was a princess.” “Indeed I was, of course now that you’re retired I work for Princess Celestia again.  The reason I’m here is that Princess Celestia has declared your home a historical landmark.” “What?!” Dizzy shrieked. Vanilla tilted her head at the shrill outburst before regaining her composure. “Yes, it seems that as the childhood home of Princess Scootaloo, she feels that it is important to preserve this house for Equestrian history.  Accordingly, she has exercised her right of eminent domain and purchased it from the bank.” “Are you telling me I don’t own my home anymore?” “I’m sorry, but yes. Here’s your check for the value of your house. I believe that  covers what you’ve paid on your mortgage, the interest you’ve paid the bank and the amount the house has appreciated since you bought it.” Dizzy looked at the check with wide eyes.  The number more than covered market value plus interest, with this money she could easily afford to buy a new house without needing a mortgage. “But where are we supposed to live,” she wondered out loud. She didn’t mean to complain but the idea of moving so suddenly was a shock. “Well, that’s the other reason I’m here.  The Princess would like you to be the caretaker of this historical site. She would of course offer you a monthly stipend for your troubles. It’s not much, but you can bill any upkeep cost to the castle; just remember to keep your receipts.” “So you want to buy my house from me, and then pay me to live in it while covering any future repairs?” Dizzy asked skeptically. “Uh huh, of course, you can say no.  You’ll have to protest the eminent domain ruling at court though; I can make an appointment if you’d like.” “No, I think I’m okay with all this,” Dizzy said, not wanting to risk looking a gift horse in the mouth. “Wonderful! Here’s my card. You can write to me with any questions but I think you’ll find being a caretaker is a pretty easy job,” Vanilla said with a smile. “Well that’s all I have. If you’ll excuse me, I need to meet with Princess Twilight while I'm in Ponyville, but thank you very much for understanding, and it was nice to see you again Scootaloo.” “Bye Vanilla!” Scootaloo waved as Dizzy just stood in the doorway, still in shock. Vanilla having left Dizzy turned to her daughter. “Did you have something to do with this dear?  I mean it’s very generous but I’m not sure I feel right about taking so much money from the Princesses.” “I have no idea what just happened,” Scootaloo answered honestly.   Later that night at the Castle in Canterlot. “Will you now admit that Scootaloo was a worthy choice as the winner of your contest?” Luna chided her sister. “I admit it.” Luna allowed herself a smug grin. “So Tia, I was looking over the castles budget report and I noticed our discretionary fund is lighter than usual, it seems a portion has been earmarked for 'historical preservation.'" “Indeed, it is important to remember our history, is it not?” “I agree, but I was under the impression that all of the historical landmarks have been catalogued and cared for, did we miss one?” “No, I just added another.  If you’d like you could contest my decision, we could select an arbitrator and go through mediation, though that is such a trying process. Perhaps we should add a third princess to the castles residence; it would help us solve these petty disputes.” “No, that’s quite okay,” Luna replied with a smile, before flying off to visit the dreams of other colts and fillies, in search of her next project.