Appleloosa was generally a quiet sort of town. It would get busy from time to time, sure enough, but for the most part it could be considered relaxed and laid back. Scootaloo was thankful for this as she took one last look around, then snuck, cat-like, into the entrance to the Adventurer's Guild. Once inside, she breathed a sigh of relief; Flim was the only other pony in the room with her.
"Back in record time," Flim called from behind the counter. He leaned forward and set down the glass he had been cleaning. "I don't suppose this means you've brought us good news today?"
Scootaloo struggled momentarily to remove a pack from off her back, then dropped it onto the ground. She looked up at Flim briefly, blushed, then found herself staring down at the floor.
Flim sighed through his nostrils and came out from behind the counter to stand over Scootaloo. He looked down at her, then to the pack she had been wearing. He prodded it with a hoof, then, finding the pack empty, withdrew his leg and stared down at Scootaloo again.
"I'll try again tomorrow," Scootaloo mumbled. She could feel her cheeks getting warmer as she tried to avoid making eye contact with Flim.
The former salespony gently helped Scootaloo to her hooves. "Of course," he said quietly. He looked her over and frowned slightly, then gestured toward the back room. Scootaloo followed and they were joined by Flam, who was busy studying contracts.
"Ah, our youngest adventurer," Flam said, looking up from the papers spread out on his desk. He read the mood of the others and shook his head. "No luck today, I take it?"
Scootaloo jumped up onto a table and sat down. "I just need better gear," she said. She allowed Flim to examine a hoof before continuing. "I'll complete the contract tomorrow, I know it!" She winced and pulled her hoof away suddenly.
"You're bleeding," Flim observed. He took out a cotton ball and waited for Scootaloo to hold out her hoof again, then swabbed a small cut above her knee. "You really should wait for an easier contract to come up."
"I-it's nothing," Scootaloo said. She shrugged, trying to play it off. "Just a part of the experience, right? No big deal." She looked up at Flim and grinned.
The Flim Flam brothers exchanged looks. Flam left the room and went into the front lounge area of the guild hall. A little while later he returned with a steaming bowl of oats and a glass of apple juice. Flim had just finished patching Scootaloo up when the food arrived.
Scootaloo looked from the food to the bandage on her hoof. "You don't have to keep doing this, you know."
"We don't," Flim agreed.
"I can take care of myself."
"You can."
The room was silent while Scootaloo tried to think of something else to say. Unable to find her voice, she settled down and ate her meal, thankful that nopony else would know about her latest failure.
..o0o..
The contract had not gone well.
Her failure weighed heavily on her mind as she hopped off the Friendship Express and made her way into the heart of Ponyville. Try as she might, Scootaloo just couldn't seem to figure out an easy way to get a picnic basket away from a grizzly bear cub. Not without Fluttershy's help, anyway.
But Fluttershy couldn't be allowed to know that Scootaloo was an adventurer, because then word would spread and Rainbow Dash would find out. There was no way Scootaloo was going to let Rainbow Dash know that until she was capable of completing a contract without the Flim Flam brothers having to patch her up. She could never allow Rainbow to see her like that!
It was for that reason the Flim Flam brothers had allowed her to take on a contract without the knowledge of Lyra Heartstrings.
"We'll consider it a practice run," Flim had said. "We can't charge for practice now, can we?"
Scootaloo sighed. She didn't want their charity, but she had to admit that she needed it. She had precious little experience in completing real adventures, and she wasn't exactly properly equipped to handle any of the decent contracts, anyway. The brothers had nearly forbidden her from even taking on her current contract, but she had persisted, and they had relented on the condition that they were not responsible for any injuries that occurred.
And yet they still patched her up every time.
"Hey, Scoota-goo," somepony cat-called, breaking her from her thoughts. She looked up and saw one of her classmates heading her way. For some reason, the filly had some kind of dishware in her saddlebags.
"What do you want, Diamond Tiara?" Scootaloo huffed.
Diamond grinned. "Oh, it's not what I want, it's what somepony else wants." She walked a circle around Scootaloo as if sizing her up. "Though why anypony would need you to help them is a complete mystery!"
Scootaloo frowned. Her day had been bad enough without Diamond Tiara going out of her prissy little way to make things more difficult.
"What are you talking about?" Scootaloo demanded. "I have better things to do than be seen talking with you."
Diamond narrowed her eyes and smiled. "You mean like adventuring?"
Scootaloo's eyes widened and she laid back her ears. "Hey, be quiet!" she whispered harshly. "We have a deal, remember?"
"Had a deal," Diamond announced. "Sorry, but you've been outbid." She patted her saddlebags and ignored the intense glare that Scootaloo gave her. She shrugged. "Oh, don't be such a little foal about it. I only told one pony your little secret." She saw Scootaloo advancing on her and quickly said, "Look, here she comes now!"
Scootaloo, sensing a trick, looked behind her anyway. She blinked her eyes, looked again, then felt her heart sink. Coming toward her was one of the last ponies she wanted to know about her adventuring.
"Hi, Scootaloo!" Lyra Heartstrings called out with a smile as she approached.
Scootaloo gulped. Her boss had found out her secret.