“Permanent Vacation”
Welcome To The Family
Man, last night was a blast. After getting Twilight some more appropriate clothes for partying in, the three of us hit the town like there was no tomorrow. It’s bad enough that I don’t even remember when we got back to the castle. But on the plus side, Twilight really let herself go. Although hesitant at first, she slowly lost herself to the night. Probably didn’t help that we started her off with some strong drinks to ease her into mood.
Whatever the case may be, we got back to castle whenever. Though Twilight’s night may have ended then, mine was still in full swing thanks to my mind meetings with Luna. But even that had to come to an end. The morning after, and nursing a terrible hangover, was when I was swiftly reminded of Scootaloo’s upcoming birthday party in two days. As if I didn’t have enough on my plate right now.
After a few words in private with Celestia, the girls and I headed to the train station for our trip back to Ponyville. While Canterlot was nice, it’s nothing compared to the place I call home now.
The first day back in town wasn’t very hectic, nor was it eventful. At most, it was a pretty quiet day for the town. As for my activities that day, it consisted mostly of buying general food supplies, exploring more of the town, and relaxing at home. Tomorrow, however, is when things will get really exciting in town. But it will be all the better for it in the long run.
On the day of Scootaloo’s birthday, I purposely wait until after the party has started for a bit before making my arrival, what with me having to pick up some things and move them to my place. However, before I actually get to Sugercube Corner for the festivities, I stand a good distance away from it with Vinyl and Spitfire with the rest of the Wonderbolts hiding in the clouds above. “Vinyl, you got the sound system hooked up?”
Vinyl flashes a grin. “Taken care of. I got speakers set up everywhere around here to cover every square inch.”
I nod my head. “Thanks. Spitfire, you all set for the routine?”
Spitfire pulls her flight goggles down over her eyes. “Ready whenever you give the signal.”
I smirk. “Perfect. Alright, let’s make this a birthday party no one will forget! Positions everyone, it’s showtime!” Spitfire flies up into the clouds while Vinyl makes her way to her portable turntables hidden out of sight. I make my way to the front door of Sugercube Corner. I take a deep breath and idly finger the scroll stuffed in my back pocket. This is going to be the first steps into my new life, something I can’t take back or walk away from.
“You ain’t alone in this one. What we do now will benefit all parties involved. No matter what, I got your back.”
I smirk. “Thanks, Agent. I’ll be sure to include you on the Christmas card list this year.”
I calmly push open the door and throw my hands out. “So, where’s the birthday girl at?!” Ponies already at the party smile and wave to me as music plays from the jukebox. Decorations such as confetti and balloons hang around, along with a giant banner proclaiming, “Happy Birthday, Scootaloo!” A table in the corner is stacked high with wrapped gifts of every shape and size. And the amount of food?! Almost makes my mouth water. Almost.
“Blake!” Scootaloo runs up and wraps her arms around my waist.
I chuckle and rub her head. “Happy birthday, Scoots. So, how old are you turning?”
She steps back and looks up at me. “I’m—”
I wave my hands in front of me. “No, wait, let me guess.” I rub my chin and pretend to be deep in thought. “You’re turning twenty-one! Great! Someone break out the Jager Bombs for this girl!”
She playfully punches my leg. “Come on, I ain’t that old yet! I’m only turning twelve!”
I clap my hands. “Ah, double digits! A massive step in the aging process!”
At this point, Rainbow comes over and pats me on the back. “What took you so long?! You missed half the party!”
I motion for Scootaloo to go back to whatever she’s doing while Dash leads me to the girls. Pinkie hands me a piece of cake, which I accept without hesitation. After a couple of bites of the decadent chocolate cake, I shrug my shoulders. “Had to take care of a few things. After all, can’t show up to a birthday party without a gift, am I right?”
Pinkie nods her head. “Well, duh! Gifts are important and all, but you should have been here when we yelled surprise since it would have been much louder and Scootaloo would have been more surprised and you could of—”
“What Pinkie is trying ta say is that ya should of planned better… Ah think.” Pinkie nods her head.
I smirk. “Oh, Applejack, I planned this out perfectly.”
Twilight tilts her head. “But you showed up to the party late, which clearly shows a lack of time management on your part. Everypony knew about this party in advance, so you should have no reason to be late.”
“Well, that doesn’t matter. As long as Blake showed up and Scootaloo is happy, that’s all that matters. Right, girls?” Wow, thanks for helping me out, Fluttershy.
The girls all agree while I glance over my shoulder at the Crusaders and some of the other children playing some party games. A small smile crosses my face. “She’ll be even happier when I give her her gift.”
Pinkie gasps. “Speaking of gifts,” Faster than one can blink, she’s standing behind the counter ringing a bell. “It’s time for the birthday girl to get her gifts!”
Everyone makes their way over to the gifts table. Scootaloo takes her place at the head of the table where everyone can see her. One by one, she opens something from everyone gathered. Some of the gifts are common fare, like clothes, others are practical, like a new helmet or books (Gee, wonder who those are from?), and others still are… unique (Gee, I wonder who gave her that signed picture of Rainbow Dash?).
Finally, my turn arrives. All eyes turn to me. I take a deep breath to calm my jostled nerves. It’s now or never. I reach into my back pocket and pull out a scroll. Rainbow rolls her eyes. “That?! That’s what took you so long to get here? A scroll?!”
Applejack slaps the back of Rainbow’s head. Thanks, Applejack. I slide the scroll across the table towards Scootaloo. She slowly picks it up and rubs the back of her head. “Uh, thanks?”
I chuckle. “You gotta read it first.” As she goes to unroll it, I hold my hand out. “Read it to yourself only, and only the top part of it. The rest is just confusing words that even I had and still have trouble understanding.”
With an eyebrow raised, she unfurls the scroll. Her eyes slowly widen, and I see her mouthing the words. Tears form in the corner of her eyes as she slowly lowers to scroll the look at me. Out of the corners of my eyes, I notice everyone glancing back and forth from Scootaloo to me. “Is… Is this real? Did…Did you really do this?” Scootaloo chokes out.
“Blake, what did you do?” Twilight asks.
“I gave her what she wanted.” I hold my arms out. “Welcome to the family, Scootaloo Quinter.”
Faster than I thought possible, she vaults the table and wraps her arms around my neck with tears rushing down her face. I can barely understand what she’s saying, so I resort to just holding her close till she calms down. Once she’s calm enough, she leans back and looks at me. “How did you know?”
I smirk. “I followed you out of curiosity one day.”
“Can somepony please explain what in the hay is going on?!” Scootaloo and I turn to look at Applejack.
I hoist Scootaloo up so she can sit on my shoulder. “Say hello to my daughter.”
“Daughter?!” Practically everyone in the building says.
“But how can she be your daughter when she has her own family?” Oh, Sweetie Belle is the first to recover. Kinda shocked it was her and not Twilight.
Scootaloo hangs her head, so I answer for her. “Kinda hard to have a family when you don’t know them.”
Apple Bloom scratches her head. “Huh?”
Twilight’s eyes widen. “Scootaloo… You’re an orphan?” Wow, thanks for being so blunt, Twilight.
Scootaloo nods her head. “Yeah, I’ve been one for as long as I can remember.”
Rainbow shakes her head. “Hold on, squirt. Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
I hold my hand out. “That doesn’t matter. I understand why she never said anything, but we shouldn’t dwell on it. What matters is that I made my girl happy.”
Fluttershy claps her hands together. “Oh, that is so kind of you, Blake.” Slowly, everyone in the building starts clapping.
I smile and look up at Scootaloo, who is looking down at me with a smile on her face. “Well, everybody needs somebody to look up to.”
Quick as a flash, Pinkie grabs Scootaloo off my shoulder and wraps her in a hug of her own. “Oh, this is the best birthday ever for you! I can’t believe that we never knew about all this, cause then I would have tried harder to turn that frown upside down but I can’t do that if I didn’t know and if I—”
I tap Pinkie on the shoulder. “She does need air to breathe though.”
Pinkie giggles and promptly releases Scootaloo. “Oopsie! Sorry about that!”
Scootaloo takes a few deep breaths. “It’s fine, Pinkie.” Her eyes widen as her wings start buzzing. “Oh man, now I gotta get my stuff and move it to your place!”
I chuckle. “Already taken care of. Why do you think I was late in the first place?”
“Is this why you have that Wonderbolts bed at your place?”
I smirk. “Yes, Rainbow, this is why. I’ve had this thing planned out since I first found out.”
If at all possible, Scootaloo’s wings buzz even faster. “Oh man, this is really turning out to be the best birthday ever!”
“Well, if you don’t want what else I have…”
Scootaloo shakes her head. “I never said that!” This causes everybody in the building to laugh.
I turn to head outside. “Well, if everybody would please follow me. Oh, and Rainbow,” I point at Rainbow as I pass by her, “If you somehow ruin this moment, I will personally make your life a living hell.”
“Pfft, like I would do anything?”
“I’m just saying.”
Once outside, everything looks normal for a day in Ponyville, except for the couple of low hanging clouds hanging around outside. I hear Rainbow groan. “I told them the weather was supposed to be clear today! Can’t anypony do their job?!”
“Ignore it for the time being, Rainbow. Now,” I draw a line in the ground with my foot, “Everyone horizontally line up behind this line.” Everyone does as I say as I walk away from them.
“Okay, now what?” Applejack asks.
I turn around and spread my arms out, a huge smile on my face. “Sit back and enjoy the show!” From the multiple speakers mounted around the area, the song Can’t Hold Us starts playing. “Mares and gentecolts! May I present to you, as a gift for my daughter, Scootaloo, the one, the only!” I throw my hands up, “The Wonderbolts!”
The cheer from the crowd is overwhelming as the Wonderbolts burst out of their hiding places, performing aerial tricks in time with the music. Though the performance is amazing, I’m more focused on Scootaloo’s reaction. Suffice to say, she’s enjoying every moment of it if her face is any indication. I feel a slight wetness in the corners of my eyes. I can’t believe I’m going through with this. I mean, I never raised a daughter before!
“Don’t worry about it. You got the entire town for support if need be, and you got your head on straight. You’re already doing a great job.”
I can’t help smirking. “So, does this make me the father, and you the mother?”
“Oh, fuck off!”
I shake my head as the performance ending draws my attention back to reality. The cheering from the crowd is tremendous as the Wonderbolts land on the ground in front of us and take a bow. As the cheering dies down, Spitfire yells out, “Blake, get up here with the birthday filly!”
With an eyebrow raised, I make my way forward with Scoots, whose eyes are wide in awe. This wasn’t part of the plan, so I have no idea from here on out what the hell is gonna happen. Spitfire nods her head at me before bending down the Scoots level. “So, you’re the birthday filly Blake set this all up for?”
Scootaloo nods her head. “Y-Yeah.”
“So, what’s your name?”
“Sc-Sc-Scootaloo.”
Spitfire smiles. “Well, Scootaloo, it just so happens,” Spitfire snaps her fingers and a stallion I can only assume is Soarin hands her a present, “That I have a gift for a filly named Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo’s wings buzz. “Really?!”
Spitfire chuckles. “Unless you know of another filly named Scootaloo around here.”
Scootaloo snatches the present out of Spitfire’s hands. “Thank you, Spitfire!”
Spitfire stands back up. “Don’t mention it, kid.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You know you didn’t have to do this.”
Spitfire smirks. “What better way to inspire the younger generation than with a personal gift from the Wonderbolts?”
I smile. “And I thank you for it, as I’m sure my daughter does as well.”
“No way!” I turn to Scootaloo to see her holding a miniature version of the Wonderbolts flight suit. “This is awesome! My very own flightsuit!”
I raise an eyebrow. “How the hell did you get her measurements?”
I hear a cough from someone in the crowd. “That would actually be due to me, darling.”
I don’t even need to turn around. “Rarity, I would be very upset with you for not informing me of this ahead of time, but I’ll overlook it because Scoots is happy.”
Spitfire chuckles. “Glad we could do something for her. Hey,” She holds her hand out, “Hit us up if you’re ever in Canterlot again. I heard you got into some wicked stuff with Princess Luna.”
I gladly shake her hand. “Spitfire, you got yourself a deal.” With that, she snaps her fingers before taking off, with the rest of the Wonderbolts close behind.
“Can I go try on the suit?! Please?!”
I smile and jerk my head towards Sugarcube Corner. “Go on then, but make it quick. We got a party to get through.”
Scootaloo’s wings buzz. “Thanks, Blake! This really is the best birthday ever!” She races inside, with the children right behind her.
I chuckle as I watch her go. Ah, this day just keeps getting better and better. Welp, best to deal with Rainbow before I move on. “Alright, Rainbow, let it all out. Come on now, don’t keep me waiting.” Nothing, not even a hint of chromatic hair barreling towards me. “Rainbow?”
Applejack snickers and steps to the side. “She may have ah little trouble speaking right now.” Rainbow just stands there, mouth open and eyes wide.
I walk over as everyone, save for the girls and Spike, head back inside. I wave my hand in front of her face. “Uh, Rainbow? You still with us?”
“I could probably snap her out of it,” Spike says, hinting at his plan with a little breath of flame.
I shake my head. “Nah, that’s the last resort.”
A tiny bolt of lightning strikes Rainbow in the ass, leaving behind a small scorch mark on her pants. “Yeouch! Hey, who’s the wise pony who did that?!”
Pinkie, Applejack, me, and even Rarity start laughing as Twilight whistles to herself and rocks on her heels, refusing to look directly at Rainbow. “I never pegged you the type to do that, Twilight! Nice one!”
Rainbow grumbles to herself while rubbing where the bolt struck. “Stupid magic lightning bolts…”
“Well, ya were kind of distracted there, Rainbow.”
Rainbow’s eyes widen and she promptly grabs me by the shoulders. “Yeah! How in the world did you get the Wonderbolts to perform?!”
I smirk. “You don’t get popular as me without a few favors, a winning charm, and some royal help. Now,” I push Rainbow away, “I would like to enjoy this party that was so perfectly planned out. You know, the one I was late for because of my planning?” Okay, so maybe I needed to get one more dig in, but hey, can I be blamed?
I catch Twilight rolling her eyes as we all head back inside. “Yes, this party is perfect and your planning is superb.”
“Even though that’s sarcasm, I’ll take it!”
Later that night, Scootaloo and I finally head back to my… our home. During the rest of the party, Scootaloo never once took off her Wonderbolts outfit. It brings a smile to my face just to see her happy. Genuinely happy, not that front she put up for everyone. As soon as we entered our house, Sonja practically bounded around Scootaloo, eagerly lapping up the attention from us both. Before Scootaloo gets too excited about everything, I pull her into the kitchen and sit her down. “Alright, since I’m now your father and you’re living under my roof, I gotta set some ground rules.”
She groans. “Come on. Can’t that wait until tomorrow?”
I shake my head. “No, we do this now so you have time to think about them tonight.”
“Fine. Lay them on me.”
“First, swearing.”
“I know, I know. No swearing allowed till I’m older. The orphanage drilled that into us from day one.”
I smirk. “Well, how’s about we break that rule?”
She raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“I’m saying that if you happen to swear around me and when we’re not in a public place, then I’ll ignore it. Granted, I don’t want to hear every other word be a swear.”
She smiles. “Really? I’m starting to like these rules now!”
I laugh. “I figured you would. Second, I want you back each night at nine, unless you inform me you want to sleepover with Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom.”
“Same time as the orphanage, so I’m fine with that.”
“Third, you live here, so I expect for you to help maintain the house.”
She groans. “You mean like chores?” I nod my head. “Fine, I’ll do something around here.”
“That’s everything I wanted to talk about.” I stand up. “Would you like to see your room now?”
Her wings buzz. “Yeah! I’ve been waiting, like, all day for this!”
We head to her room. With a flourish, I open the spread my arms. “Welcome to thine palace, Scootaloo!”
She darts around my legs and dives onto the bed. “This is so awesome! My very own room!
I chuckle. “Only the best for my girl.” I gesture around the room. “What do you think of everything?” Granted, I couldn’t get much for her, so I opted for the basics like a dresser, desk, and a TV. I’m sure if she wants more, she’ll ask for it.
She climbs off the bed and fires up the TV. “Amazing! I can’t believe this is really happening to me of all ponies!”
I smile. “Glad you like it. Everything that was yours is in those two boxes right there.” I point to said boxes. “Go on, open up the right one.”
Doing so, she pulls out a pouch that jingles with each shake. Pulling the drawstring and looking inside, her eyes widen. “I don’t remember having this many bits!”
“Well, I can’t buy everything for you. That right there is around three hundred for you to use on whatever you want.”
“Thanks, Blake! Tomorrow after school, I’ll buy some new posters of the Wonderbolts!”
I smirk. “Oh, and consider that the first of many.”
She tilts her head at me. “Huh?”
“Well, I was taught at a young age to be mindful of what I bought when on a limited budget. As such, I’ll do the same thing with you by giving you an allowance every two weeks. And no, I won’t front you early if you run out.”
She runs over and wraps her arms around me. “Thanks for everything. I don’t know what I’d have done without ponies like you looking out for me.”
I wrap my arms around her as well. “Believe it or not, everyone has been looking out for you in their own way. I just took it one step further. And you’re welcome, kiddo.”
“So… Now what?”
I chuckle and go to leave her for the night. “This is your room now, do what you want! I’m gonna be hitting the hay soon, so do whatever you feel like until then.” I give her a half hour before she’s out like a light.
Once thirty minutes have gone by, I carefully open the door to her room and peek inside. Thanks to the moonlight streaming in from the window, I can see Scootaloo nestled underneath the covers with a serene smile on her face. With a content sigh, I go to shut the door when a whimper draws my attention to Sonja at my feet. With a jerk of my head, she heads into Scootaloo’s room and lies at the foot of the bed.
Shaking my head, I close the door just enough so that Sonja can still come and go as she pleases. As I wander down the hall towards my room, I pause at my diploma hanging on the wall. I lost so much coming here… but gained so much more, more than I ever dreamed. And things are truly alright with the world.