//------------------------------// // 56 - 24 - Part Four // Story: Letters From a Little Princess Monster // by Georg //------------------------------// Letters From a Little Princess Monster 24 - Part Four It had been an invigorating afternoon of digging in the soil for Rarity, but the end result was well worth it, after a quick bath, of course. The library flower beds had been tragically ignored over the last few months since Widow Dewey had departed for a retirement stable in Mexicolt and the new librarian had moved in. Now a long line of fresh gardenias adorned the thick dark soil, turned over to a respectable depth in order to hold the infernal record which she had made certain was deep underground. Applejack had provided the flowers a little boost of earth pony magic while Rainbow Dash had watered the results, although in the end Rarity had yielded on her quest of cultural purity enough to permit Rainbow to ‘borrow’ Trixie’s collection of distasteful rock and roll records. She even used her library card and filled out a lending form with Spike. After all, it made the resulting work much easier, as only one record with nasty pirate music needed to be condemned to Davy Pone’s Locker or whatever pirates would call being buried under a flowerbed. Her burst of civic improvement had even triggered several other of the town’s inhabitants to chip in their own labor at sprucing up the library, from replacing the rather ragged rosebushes around it to a cautious pruning of some of the upper limbs of the huge oak tree. Bumblesweet had dropped by and harvested a few honeycombs from the beehive for Trixie’s tragically bare pantry while many of Trixie’s rather generous purchases of modern appliances for the public building were being installed. Rarity had never really realized how shabby and old the inside of the library looked until recently, and a few carefully-aimed comments at the ponies passing by gave Spike a number of assistants in the afternoon to help reshelve all of the books as well as dust and polish the old wooden bookshelves. Even Cheerilee brought the head of the Ponyville Library Board, Spoiled Milk, by to examine the number of empty shelves after they were all done cleaning and reshelving, and after a brief discussion with Rarity, Miss Milk promised she would bring up the topic of purchasing new titles at the next library board meeting. Although Spoiled seemed to imply Trixie had probably been selling the older stock out of the back door in order to raise funds. As the afternoon sun approached the horizon, Rarity stood in the library doorway with the wonderful scents of fresh wax and cleaning drifting past the open door. There were so many other things that needed to be done to the old tree, like repainting the peeling door or rebuilding the book deposit box, but it felt strangely domestic to hear the sounds of Spike working in the kitchen while standing at the door, waiting on a little pony to come home. While growing up, she had always pictured herself in a castle, waiting for her prince to return from a vigorous day of dragonslaying. Having said dragon working in the kitchen preparing little tidbits to tempt her taste buds with at every opportunity was a little strange, but she could get used to it. She shook away the scene of imaginary domestic tranquility before her mind could start coming up with what the foals of a dragon and pony would look like, turning instead to the procession of tired little ponies and their adult chaperone as they returned from their afternoon trip. “Good evening, girls. And Featherweight.” Rarity kept her welcoming smile as Diamond Tiara plodded into the library with the Crusader’s wagon dragging behind her, which was a little bit odd as she had never seen Filthy Rich’s daughter do anything more strenuous than raising her voice. The rest of the dusty little ponies seemed similarly tired, dragging themselves into the library and dropping their saddlebags in a heap as if they weighed a ton, although the little alicorn at the back looked unusually chipper, even cheerful for a change. It looks like a long nature hike with Fluttershy was just the bonding experience they needed. “Hi, Rarity,” said Fluttershy, stopping just long enough to carefully place her saddlebag next to the library shelves and give it a pat before turning for the door. “Sorry I can’t stay, girls. I need to get back to my animals before dark, and Angel Bunny gets so frightened if I’m not there when the sun goes down.” “I better get home too and check out the jacuzzi,” said Diamond Tiara with a long stretch that sounded of popping, overstressed joints. “See you tomorrow, Twilight.” “Yeah, see you tomorrow!” echoed the rest of the little ponies as they scurried out the door, leaving Sweetie Belle and Twilight on the main floor of the library with Rarity. “Hey, welcome back,” called Spike from the doorway of the library kitchenette. “The salad is tossed and I was just putting the corn casserole into the oven. If you want to stay for dinner, I’ll set some extra plates.” “I’m sorry, Spike,” said Rarity with a smile. “I need to get Sweetie Belle back home and cleaned up for bed tonigh—” “Can’t we stay?” asked Sweetie Belle in a rush, sticking her bottom lip out and pouting in the way that Rarity knew only came with the most sincere of begging. “I’ve got some questions I wanted to ask Spike and Twilight has a bunch of new books to look over for the swappy counterspell. We could stay for dinner and help research some before bedtime.” “Certainly not,” said Rarity, trying her best to put her hoof down despite the sad-eyed expressions on all three of the others. “I scarcely have enough time to get you properly cleaned up before bedtime, and your trek through the forest has left you dreadfully dirty.” “They could use the library bathroom,” pointed out Spike. “Trotter’s Tubs and Wubs delivered the new stereo phonograph and bathtub today. It’s all installed and everything. I was going to take a bubble bath tonight to break it in, but the girls could get cleaned up while you help me in the…” Spike faded out with a glassy stare and vacant grin. “Ehh…” Rarity looked between her little sister, who had the most plaintive look she had ever seen, then at Spike, who was still staring off into space. Last, she looked at Twilight, who seemed positively starved from the way her ribs stuck out and the thick coat of road dust across her pale coat. If Rarity went home with Sweetie, most likely the young alicorn would wind up skipping a meal again, and a growing little pony needed to eat. “Of course we can stay,” said Rarity, giving her little sister a push toward the library bathroom. “You and Twilight get cleaned up and we’ll have dinner ready for you in just a few minutes. Isn’t that right, Spike?” “Kitchen,” said Spike somewhat indistinctly as he wobbled back and forth. “Dinner. Cook. Yes.” ~ ~ ✶ ~ ~ Sweetie Belle was stunned at the expensive bathtub in the library bathroom. It had knobs and dials and shiny twisty valves all over, and it took both her and Twilight a few minutes to figure out just how to turn the water on, and then a little longer to wriggle the right levers to make it warm. They added a little of Trixie’s bubble bath, enough to make a few bubbles across the surface, but just when she was ready to step into the tub, she stopped. “Twilight. I have to ask you something. It’s really important.” Sweetie Belle got out one of the new towels that had been delivered with the tub and made a little nest on the floor of the bathroom. She dithered for a short time, curling the fluffy towel up into a protective barrier with a small dent in the middle, then carefully pulled the bit pouch out of her mane and put the little dragon egg into the nest. “Did I do something wrong?” Twilight looked at the dull grey egg for several minutes while Sweetie Belle fidgeted. The little alicorn seemed nervous, but held a foreleg across her chest as she breathed in and out. After a time, she sat all four hooves on the bathroom floor and lit up her horn to gently lift the slate-grey egg out of its nest, turned it around several times, then carefully placed it back on the towel/nest. “Dragon,” she finally said with a dry swallow. “Pygmy tree dragon?” “I think so,” said Sweetie Belle. “It came from that broken nest Snips and Snails found. I didn’t see any others, and its mother is dead, so I thought…” “Test?” asked Twilight in a voice that made it seem less of a question than Sweetie Belle would have preferred. “Yeah. I know you had a dragon egg to hatch when you took your test for Celestia’s school and I thought if I had a little egg to practice with, I wouldn’t mess it up like I do everytime I try to cook or clean or whatever.” Sweetie Belle plopped down on the floor and nudged the egg with her nose. “It sounded like a good idea at the time. But I got to thinking when we were coming home. What if I goof it up and hurt the little dragon inside? What if I’m so bad at magic that I can’t even hatch a little egg. What if I hurt myself?” Twilight flopped down on the floor next to her and nudged the egg with her nose too. “No. You’re good. If you try, you will. Don’t know why. Just know.” “I know you say so, but I’m so worried about it now.” Sweetie Belle nudged the egg with her nose again, leaving a little dirty smudge. “No. Dragon egg. Tough. Like Spike.” Twilight touched the egg with the tip of one hoof and held her pose for a long moment before nodding decisively. “Yes.” “Thanks, Twilight.” Sweetie Belle put a leg over her friend and gave her a little squeeze, which made a few dry leaves fall out of each other’s manes. “What do we do?” “We take a bath,” said Twilight, getting up and walking up the short built-in stepstool at the side of the tub. “Then we eat. Then we learn about dragons. Sleep. New day. Ask Trixie. She raised Spike. She must know a lot about dragons.” “That sounds good,” said Sweetie Belle with a deep breath that seemed to shed a ton of guilt off her back. “Thank you, Twilight. You’re a real superhero.” “Not hero.” Twilight tested the water in the tub with one hoof and remained standing on top of the stepstool while looking down into the water. Sweetie Belle climbed up the steps too and looked down into the huge bathtub, which looked a little more like a small swimming pool to her. She nudged Twilight with her shoulder and asked, “Is it too cold?” “No. Looking for bitey-fish. Habit.” Twilight leaned forward over the tub, her eyes still scanning from side to side until Sweetie Belle bumped her solidly from behind. With a loud splash, Twilight landed in the middle of a pile of pink suds while Sweetie Belle stood at the edge of the tub, holding the back brush raised high in her magic. “Ha!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle as she applied soap to the brush. “I’ve trapped you in my Tub of Doom, Minion. Now prepared to be Sudserized, unless you tell me where Dark Feather’s lair is!” “He’s at his home?” offered Twilight in a questioning voice. “No, that’s not the way you’re supposed to play,” said Sweetie. “You’re supposed to say, ‘Never! Do your worst, Radiance! I’ll never betray my dark master!’ And then I scrub you up.” “Sweetie Belle,” caroled Rarity’s voice through the bathroom door. “You’re not making a mess, are you?” “No, sis!” she called back, still holding the dripping brush over the tub. “Now, where were—” She gave a short squeak of surprise as Twilight’s magic gave her a little push into the tub, and when she surfaced, Twilight was also holding a second scrubby brush in her magic. “I have you now?” asked the questioning Minion. “That’ll work,” confirmed Sweetie Belle as she raised her own dripping brush. “Have at thee, villain! Take that! And that!” ~ ~ ✶ ~ ~ Sweet Apple Acres stretched out in front of Apple Bloom in a spray of brilliant colors under the setting sun. Trees hung heavy with apples on all sides during her walk down the lane, with the familiar thumping noises of apple harvesting in the distance. Dinner was probably waiting on her with Granny Smith keeping the stove warm until Big Mac and Applejack came dragging in after the sun went down. It was a good thing Applejack was not a unicorn like Sweetie Belle, or she would use her horn to make light all the way through the night and not even take a break to sleep. Getting away from the farm to visit Fillydelphia with Scootaloo and spending the day with Twilight today made Apple Bloom a whole heap of chores behind, but Big Mac had promised to help out. He was a pretty doggone good big brother, which probably explained why Princess Luna seemed to like him so much too. She cocked an ear at the distant sounds of applebucking, counting the thuds of hooves against trees and frowning a little at what she heard. “Sounds like Applejack and Big Mac had to hire somepony else to help with the harvest this year,” she grumbled, feeling a little more useless around the farm than usual. “A big ‘un too, from the sound of him. Too bad I’m so little and can’t help. I’m useless again.” She trudged into the barn to check on the supply of woven baskets, which had originally been one of her chores. It turned out to be a wasted effort, as most of the barn was already filled with stacks of filled baskets, and the ones remaining all looked neat and tidy. Still, she puttered around with the baskets, getting them pulled out and ready for the next trip out into the orchard that Big Mac and Applejack would start tomorrow morning before the first rays of sunlight, but once she had them all ready for tomorrow, she plunked her rump down on a bale of hay in the shadows. And some unseen dam of emotion in her heart ruptured. “I’m gonna lose Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle,” she sobbed. “We ain’t even got our cutie marks yet, and ah’m losing my two best friends.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she curled up into a ball and cried her heart out. She didn’t dare cry at home or with her friends, because they would be all understanding and compassionate when all she wanted to do was be abjectly miserable by herself. Even if Diamond Tiara went off to her hoity-toity school in Canterlot, that would only make things worse, because she was just starting to be kinda likable, and she’d be all scrunched together with a bunch of other spoiled rich brats there. Tears were supposed to make you feel better, but all they did for Apple Bloom was run down her face and make the jagged pain in her chest throb with her heartbeat. She remained curled up on the hay while the world outside got darker to match the feeling in her heart. Soon, it would be night, and her siblings would find her in this state. She had to quit crying, but she could not. Everytime she managed to get a little of the pain and sorrow out of her tiny body, more flooded in. She was just a helpless little foal, unable to change the world, without even a cutie mark, and her uselessness overwhelmed her. Until she felt the touch of an immense white wing, which swept up around her body and held Apple Bloom warm in its feathery embrace. “Shh, shhh,” cooed Princess Celestia, kneeling down in the dusty barn hay as if she had been part of Sweet Apple Acres since the day it was created. “Go on. Cry it out.” “I’m sorry, Princess,” she blubbered. “Don’t tell my sister.” “I won’t.” Celestia, Sol Invicta, Ruler of Equestria and Princess of the Sun, gently nuzzled the little earth pony and loaned her cheek to the task of soaking up the tears. She did not say another word as the two of them huddled together on the hay-strewn floor of the Apple family barn, but just held the little pony until her tears finally ran dry. “I thought you were going to tell me not to cry,” said Apple Bloom with a long sniff, although she made no effort to escape the embrace of the huge white wing she currently was wrapped up in. “Sometimes, even princesses have to cry or they would burst.” Celestia touched her nose to Apple Bloom’s face, and to the sudden shock of the little pony, there were a few sympathetic tears trickling down the princess’ face also. “I’ve found that sharing what makes you sad helps.” “Really?” asked Apple Bloom, looking up into Celestia’s eyes through the remains of her tears. “Absolutely.” Celestia kissed the little pony on top of the head and continued. “When I was forced to banish my sister to the moon, I cried for what felt like days. Luna had been by my side for nearly my entire life, and I did not know if I would ever see her again, face to face. I was so lonely.” She kissed Apple Bloom on the top of the head again and lifted the little pony’s downcast chin. “But do you know what happened? I shared my pain with those closest to me, and after awhile, I could go on. I could still feel it, and every night when I raised the moon, I wondered if I could endure it until she returned, but I kept going. And then you girls and Twilight brought my little sister back to me, and all that pain and loneliness was worth it.” The story of Apple Bloom’s worries burst out in long sentences punctuated by gasps for air as the little pony told Celestia about Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, and even Diamond Tiara. She talked and talked until her throat was dry and the words would not come out any more, leaving her entire little body so exhausted she could barely hold her head up. When she finally ran out of words, Apple Bloom pressed up against Celestia’s warm chest, finally noticing how dark it had gotten in the barn, and that somehow the Princess of the Sun had managed to carry out her nightly task of lowering the sun during the tearful confession without Apple Bloom even noticing. Celestia brushed one bare hoof along Apple Bloom’s damp cheek as she thought, finally responding to the heartfelt words of the little pony with a single sentence. “Are you wanting your friends to stay in Ponyville because you want what is best for them, or what makes you happy?” “Because…” Apple Bloom stopped with a sniff and thought before responding. “Well, Scootaloo does miss her parents. Ah don’t want to keep her away from them on account of I know what it’s like not to have parents. And Sweetie Belle is a little dangerous with her magic, but only when she’s cooking or trying to cast a spell or something. I… don’t know. I know you could use your princess powers to make ‘em stay, but I might be hurting them if I don’t let them live up to their po-ten-chul, like Miss Cheerilee says.” She turned her watery eyes up to Princess Celestia, who had her horn lit up with just barely enough light to illuminate their tiny spot in the dark barn. “What do you think I should do?” “You know what you have to do, Apple Bloom,” said Celestia. “All I can do is give you the same advice I used to give my student. Trust—” “—in Harmony,” finished Apple Bloom with a bitter grimace. “Trixie says it’s just because you’re lazy and don’t want to do nuthin’ about her problems, but she says that a lot when she’s frustrated. I guess since you’re a princess and all that, you deal with all the big things so much that you would just kinda squash the little things if you tried to fix them too.” “Sometimes,” admitted Celestia, although she tightened up her wing in a brief squeeze. “I’ve found paying attention to the little things in life make the big things seem smaller.” “Like when we was runnin’ our lemonade stand, an’ we made sure we had all the little things taken care of so we wouldn’t have no big problems.” Apple Bloom frowned with her bottom lip stuck out and took a long look at Celestia, from the patches of dried perspiration across her back to the twigs stuck in her flowing mane. “You run one heck of a big lemonade stand, Princess, an’ I’m just one little pony. How’d you wind up being here at our farm this evening?” “Back issues,” said Celestia a little too quickly. “I’m getting back in shape. Too much sitting and not enough apple bucking makes a flabby princess, but it’s getting late and I should be returning to Canterlot now.” She gently unwrapped her wing from around Apple Bloom and used it to sweep a few loose pieces of hay out of her disheveled mane. “Do you feel better? If you need me to stay, I will.” “I…” Apple Bloom took a deep breath. “I want to be a big pony, and big ponies take responsibility, even Trixie. I’ll just have to grow up and face this like I should.” “On the contrary, my little pony,” said Celestia, brushing a wing down Apple Bloom’s mane. “You are only a little pony once. Even Trixie has grown up from the little pony she once was, and at times I think she looks back at the age you are now and gets a little jealous.” A hesitation flickered across Celestia’s smile and she leaned down to whisper in Apple Bloom’s ear, “Don’t tell Twilight. I think she might find a way to age Trixie back to her foalhood again, and that was a very trying time for us older ponies.” Despite herself and even through the leftover sniffles, Apple Bloom giggled at the mental image of Trixie being in the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Thank you, Princess,” she murmured, nuzzling into Celestia’s warm neck. “Thank you for bein’ here for me. I needed this.” “You’re quite welcome, Apple Bloom.” She nuzzled back, using her magic to tidy up Apple Bloom’s rumpled bow and wipe away the rest of her tears until they both could stand up. “You and your friends will always be held fondly in our hearts. We owe you more than words can say, and if at any time you feel the need to talk, send word and I or Luna will be here as swiftly as possible.” The supportive warmth of Celestia stayed with Apple Bloom as she trotted off to the house, where a delayed dinner was waiting for her, and a warm bath and soft bed afterwards. She did not even look back to see the Princess of the Sun watching her path from the concealment of the barn, or she might have caught the large and somewhat familiar shadow that slid out of the shadows to watch at her side. “She’s a wonderful little filly,” said Celestia in a whisper. “Eeyup.” As streaked with dried sweat and apple tree leaves as he was, Big Mac smiled as he watched Apple Bloom take the front steps of the house two at a time and vanish inside. “She’s an Apple, all right.” “I won’t take up any more of your time this evening, Big Mac,” said Celestia, turning to look at him with eyes that seemed to sparkle in the darkness. “You probably want to get cleaned up before you go inside to spend time with her. She’s such a darling child that she makes me think about having one of my own someday soon.” Celestia kissed Big Mac on the cheek, then after seeming to consider things for a moment, gave him a smoldering kiss to the lips that shut off his brain until the Princess of the Sun had ascended far into the sky and was well on her way back home. “Um… What?” ~ ~ ✶ ~ ~ Her evening chores over, bathtime completed and a far-too-small dinner of macaroni and cheese eaten, Diamond Tiara held very still in Scootaloo’s little bed while Quick Fix was strapping the wing braces onto her stubby little orange wings. They were uncomfortable and itched, but she set her jaw and did not lower herself to chewing on the straps in the same way the flightless dodo had. After all, she had something else far more uncomfortable to deal with. The sight of the dead dragon had really shaken her, far more than the rest of Scootaloo’s friends. They had made so many trips out into the dangerous woods with Twilight, while Daddy had kept her safe and warm at home. But what if he died, like the dragon, and she was left all alone? She could not talk to Daddy about it, but Scootaloo’s aunt was right here and seemly unfazed by any of the flightless dodo’s antics, so why not? “I wanted to talk to you about something we saw on our trip today, Aunt Fix. Well, you aren’t really my aunt, so I can’t—” Quick Fix held a hoof over Diamond Tiara’s lips and winked. “I don’t mind if you call me Aunt Fix, Diamond Tiara. What I do mind is that you and your little friends kept this magical mind swap secret from me. It sounds like a lot of fun if Twilight Sparkle can make it work right. I’ve always wondered what it was like to fly.” “It’s a lot of crashing,” admitted Diamond Tiara. “It’s hard work and not everything goes the way you want it to.” She stopped and thought for a moment. “But it’s worth it.” “Like I’ve been told having foals is then, I suppose.” Quick Fix clucked her tongue while adjusting a strap. “Have you told your father yet? Your real father, that is.” “No.” Diamond Tiara winced in pain as the strap drew tight, but the pain in her chest was far worse. “He’s going to send me off to a reform school in Canterlot where they probably wear uniforms and march around all day in formation and I’ll never see him except for on weekends and he probably hates me and never wants to see me ever, ever, ever again!” Diamond remained still with her wing stuck out even though tears were trickling down her face. She was a diamond, after all, the toughest of all gemstones. She was Daddy’s diamond, the little gemstone who he valued more than anything else in the world, and she had no idea why she blurted out, “I wish I had a mommy! She’d love me and care for me and wouldn’t send me off to Canterlot to prison! She’d tell Daddy how wrong he is and how he needs to pay more attention to me and, and, and—” Even diamonds break. Diamond Tiara flung herself into Quick Fix’s shoulder and cried, punctuating her sobs with vicious jabs into the pillow with her hind legs. It did not last very long, as the discomfort from the pinching wing braces and the embarrassment of breaking down in front of Scootaloo’s aunt combined to make her sit up after a while and blow her nose into the provided tissue. “Sorry, Aunt Fix,” she muttered. “Not a problem.” Quick Fix made an awkward attempt at patting Diamond Tiara on the back before giving up the gesture as a bad idea. She floated over a second tissue and held it out for future use while shaking her head. “I wish I could be the mother you need. I can’t even be a good mother to my niece or get Rivet to notice me, so how will I ever get foals of my own?” “Rivet?” Diamond Tiara eyed her ‘aunt’ over a tissue. “That greasy stallion who works in the shop with you? He is so not your type. What about Lugnut?” “The hardware store owner? He’s older than I am. Besides,” added Quick Fix with a quick brush through Diamond Tiara’s short and unkempt mane, “if you’re the one who wants a mother, shouldn’t we be trying to set your father up with a date. Notwithme, of course,” she quickly added. “You aren't his type either,” said Diamond Tiara. “Daddy is a Very Important Pony who goes to and throws social events. You got flustrated when the soda colt at the amusement park called you ‘Young Miss.’” Diamond clucked her tongue, feeling much more comfortable with this conversational direction. “Daddy needs a social peer, who is beautiful, thoughtful… and rich would be nice.” “You seem to get along well with Miss Cheerilee,” said Aunt Fix. “She’s good with foals and seems to like your…” She trailed off at the look Diamond Tiara was giving her. “Or maybe Spoiled Milk? I’ve seen you two together before, and she holds a number of city positions on various boards.” “She’s been more of a mentor to me than mommy material,” said Diamond Tiara. “She and Daddy would clash, but she’s been a great help in my attempts to be the best pony I can be. She even helped me become editor at the school newspaper last year.” “Oh, that went well,” said Quick Fix. She hesitated, unwilling at first to put forth the question that seemed to be lurking behind her eyes, but as Diamond nodded, Aunt Fix added, “So, what happened to your birth mother?” “It doesn’t matter,” said Diamond Tiara rather more sharply than she had intended. “I’d rather not talk about it. She hurt Daddy a long time ago, because I can still see it in his eyes.” She stuck out her other wing and braced herself against the headboard. “Miss Fix, can you put on the other brace now and let me get some sleep? I need to get up early tomorrow to do Scootaloo’s paper route.” It took very little time to get the second itchy brace strapped on and get curled under the covers, but after Miss Fix left and Diamond was sure she was not going to come back, she slipped out from under the covers and stood at the open window with her eyes closed. The breeze from the town swept over her and made the little wings on her back want to stretch out and capture their dance, lifting her up above all of the mistakes and cruelty that she had inflicted and into the pure and untainted sky. Unfortunately, the nylon braces held her just as firmly to the ground as if she were still an earth pony, but even though her body was groundbound, she could still lift her voice up to the brilliant stars. ♫ If I’m a diamond, then why do I feel so rough? I’m as strong as a stone, and that’s not enough There’s something jagged in me And I’ve made such mistakes…♫ (The Pony I Want To Be - Daniel Ingram/Chantal Strand) ~ ~ ✶ ~ ~ Being rich was fun. Scootaloo had dropped by the kitchen of the Rich estate the moment she returned ‘home’ and scarfed down the meal that Randolph had kept warm for her. The servant even had set aside an extra helping of delicious green beans, lightly salted and dusted with sugar until they tasted like candy. Dinner included fresh, not frozen orange juice, and a bunch of cheesy alfalfa puffs that made her nose orange from the dust when she licked the bowl. She took a few minutes in the weight room to pump a little iron on the ignored machine, and spent a little time in the sauna to get all of the sweat going before heading for the jacuzzi and the two earth pony servants who helped out in the tub. Between the bubbles and the water jets against her sore muscles and the long brushing afterwards, she could have been poured out like water and made a puddle on the ground. Then after the bath and brushing, she was introduced to Mister Woolensworth, a tutor in Ancient Mutton who had stopped by just to check on his new student and present the thick study guides for Diamond Tiara’s next semester in the Canterlot school. It suddenly sucked to be rich. A cold chill swept over Scootaloo and her borrowed body, just like the time her friends had tried to be Cutie Mark Crusader Ice Divers, and did not warm back up even after the prim and proper ram had strolled out the mansion door for the nighttime train ride back to the school. Filthy Rich seemed similarly conflicted with an oddly firm set to his jaw and a reluctance to look in Scootaloo’s direction. “Well.” Filthy Rich coughed into a hoof. “It’s quite nearly bedtime, Diamond. Tomorrow, I’ll have some of the maids help you pick out a proper wardrobe for your trip to school. You’ll want to be on your best behavior and study very hard, because there are a lot of other little fillies with prestigious backgrounds who will be attending too. Just remember what to say if they look down on you because they inherited their money.” “At least we earned it?” asked Scootaloo. Filthy Rich nodded sharply. “That will work too. Well. Goodnight.” “Goodnight, Mister— I mean Dad.” Scootaloo watched the older pony trudge away much as if he were wading through mud before she called out, “Wait! I mean…” “Did you have something to tell me, Diamond?” Filthy Rich did not change his pose, but just stood looking at the doorway out of the room without looking back at her. “I was thinking,” said Scootaloo, trying her best to do just that. “Could we… take a walk? It’s a nice night, and if Diamond… I mean when I go to the school, I won’t get a chance to walk with you any more for a long, long time.” “A walk?” Filthy Rich’s voice was cool to the point of being frigid, but Scootaloo could see the way his head raised up slightly and a little twitch in his tail. “Just for a while. Outside. Like we used to do,” added Scootaloo in a fit of inspiration. It certainly seemed to strike home, and after a long period of contemplation, Filthy Rich turned around and wordlessly trudged toward the door to the back garden with Scootaloo following along. She could not think of just exactly what she wanted to say while they walked along the gravel pathways in the beautiful garden that seemed made of liquid silver in the moonlight, but the sight of Luna’s moon above gave her confidence. “I don’t think I should be sent to the school in Canterlot,” said Scootaloo as they reached the section of the garden furthest from the mansion. “We both were wrong for fighting, and I know Scootaloo would agree with that. I’ll even see if she’ll talk to you and accept my apology and all that. We did wrong and deserve to be punished, but I don’t think taking her away from all of her friends is right.” “Scootaloo is going to Cloudsdale to be with her parents now that she can fly,” said Filthy Rich in a very controlled voice. “It’s nothing you did, Diamond.” “It’s everything I did!” snapped Scootaloo. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Sorry,” she added, cringing up against a forsythia bush. “I lost my temper and I apologized… well, I’m going to apologize. The two of us just clash whenever we get together but she’s not all that bad once you get to know her, and she’s even a little cool in some ways now that I’ve seen the way she lives and she’s seen a little of my life and it isn’t fair! She’s got so much of what I’ll never have and I’ve got so much of what she’ll never have that if we could just bash our thick skulls together and admit it, we might even be… friends.” Filthy Rich stood looking off into the starry sky in the darkness and did not respond right away, but when he did, his voice was rough and a little raspy with emotion. “Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?” ~ ~ ✶ ~ ~ From the Ponyville Golden Oak Public Library Postage Prepaid Dear Princess Luna Today we went into the forest to your old castle to borrow some books for a research project. Spike says they are in good condition except a little sticky and some eggs but he says we need to send you a book loan request because other wise they are stole not borrowed so i am attaching one, signed by him. School starts in a weak and I am very excited, estatic, ebuluent, and many other words from the thesarusaraurs that Spike is helping me look up. My mind is still full of memories from when i was in Canterlot but they’er not scary, just filling me up to the top until I fizz out all over like a root bear float from pinkie. Trixie is off at a spa where they make goops so she can get her old color back, which i think is silly because she looks good purple but Rarity said she wood pay for it all and left me Spike to run the library! Its great! We found Trixies record collection and tried to get cutie marks for music but it didnt go well, so were going to work on finding wher Scoots hid the dictionary in the library next. Your friend Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville Librarian trainee #574 P.S. Grumpy Bunny is Afraid is now overdue at the Ponyville Golden Oak library. Please return the book at your earliest convenience, along with 2 bits in overdue fines, which will accumulate at the rate of 4 bits per week until the book is returned. In the event the book has been lost or stolen, please contact the librarian for payment terms. Interlibrary Loan Request Source Library: Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters Destination Library: Ponyville Golden Oak Public Library Checkout Dates: Inderterminte Title(s) Requested: Misc. 21,287 titles. Condition of Book(s): Fair to Excellent, some spiderwebs. Approving Librarian: Spikavarious Dragon, Supervisory Librarian. P.S. Fines are payable in cash or bank draft only. P.P.S. Gems are considered cash.