Chapter 9
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.
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5578972 ask and ye shall receive.
That was clever of you. Good ending.
Took a little while to arrive, but a nice ending all around. Fit the rest of the piece well, and had a nice extra for a happy ending.
A very nice ending, and it looks like Scootaloo will finally get the one thing she wanted more than anything else.
Interesting ending, I like the Princess' solution. Of course now that the house is a listed historical monument Dizzy won't be able to make any additions to the place. Actually she couldn't anyway as she no longer owns it. Course that's no big deal, if she really wants a place of her own she could easily buy one now. Which she might want to do, being an historical monument means her house could be opened to tours, that could get annoying...
"And on your left you'll see Dizzy Twister, Mother of former Princess Scootaloo, taking a bath. Now if you follow me we'll head to the next room."
Me gusto mucho, por favor escribe un epilogo.
5585659 Gracias, pero no tengo nada más que decir. La historia ha terminado.
A positive story without any needless bashing of other characters. You sir, have created a nice story to end the day with just a bit more happiness.
One tiny issue... Throughout the entire story it's been repeated that Luna and Celestia are the only princesses in Equestria, and given that discord appeared in the first chapter I assumed this was because it took place during season 3 with the reasoning that cadence is now the princess of the crystal empire and (in this fanon universe) no longer a princess of Equestria.
And then you mention Princess Twilight in the last chapter.
So... what?
Great ending, absolutely amazing!
are you making a part 2 of this story?
5585867 No. This story is complete, there is no more story left to tell here.
5585840
5585733
5585327
5585472
5585502 Thank you
5585783 Much like Twilight was complaining that she didn't really do anything in the season 4 finally, in this universe Twilight is a princess but isn't a part of the day to day ruling of Equestria so ponies just say there are two princesses.
You've done my favorite little pony justice.
Love it, now to reread it's just that good.
What a simple yet endearing little series this was. Shame to see it end but its point had been made and there was no more that needed to be said.
Hope with the extra money Dizzy and Scootaloo can have a lovely life together.
An adorable little story. Well done.
This was a story well done and I really enjoyed reading it.
Although I have to admit the ending left me somewhat surprised. You spent half of the story explaining the burdens of fair ruling to Scootaloo, showing how selfish decisions mostly aren't a good idea and fair ruling for everypony is something hard to achieve. Then Luna tries and convinces Scootaloo that her life with her mother isn't all that bad. Scootaloo seems rather happy at the end.
Also, it was mentioned that there IS a social problem in Equestria that many parents have the same problems like Scootaloo's family.
What I would have expected as the moral of this story was that social equality is sometimes hard to achieve, even if you are willing. Instead, however, you show no sign of Celestia/Luna trying to tackle that problem. But rather Scootaloo is overcompensated, while the rest of Equestria and other fillies and colts in this situation are (seemingly) left in the dust. Somehow this goes directly against everything previously taught to Scootaloo .
Given, I would have expected Celestia to help a little. But basically blasting Scoot a huge amount off cash to last for ages plus a monthly stipend really seems like overkill, especially since this kind of money, if shared, could easily help a few more families to spend less time at work and more together.
Do you get what I mean by my rambling? Not saying it was all bad, but it really made me raise an eye brow.
Fun little story. I do recommend going back over this chapter in particular, a lot of the dialogue is missing commas.
5586310 perhaps (and this is just an idea) Celestia thinks that Scootaloo with her new knowledge and experience will use that money to help others with similar problems. I admit it's a long shot but hey she was a princess
That was a lovely ending! I think Scootaloo has learned a lot about being a princess, and just about being a pony and being an adult, from her experience. Her bonding with Celestia and Luna was sweet, but it will improve her relationship with her mother even more.
Fantastic story! And bravo, Celestia - You are a Master of your craft.
I ship ScootaLuna. Hmm... I need to make a possible father oc for scootaloo!
thank you!you are welcome Scootaloo. Luna, I told you, it's daytime. VIOLATIONS!!!
A good ending to a fun story. I do have a few grammar tweaks I'd like to point out. I'll do my part to make this ending even better.
Add either a period or semicolon between "Sky" and "I". Also, since the verb "waved" has nothing to do with speaking, the comma after "Scootaloo" should be a period.
There should be a comma after "Mom" and a period after "Sky" (and, of course, the next letter should then be capitalized, but you know that already.)
"Titled" should be "tilted". There should also be commas after "Scootaloo" and "Accordingly".
The comma after "house" should be a period.
There should be a comma after "Well" and another after "much. The comma after "castle" should be a semicolon.
Comma after "course".
The comma after "card" should be a period, as should the one after "have". There should be a comma between "me" and "I".
There should not be a comma after "so", and the sentence should end with a question mark.
There should be an apostrophe in "castles" and you forgot a period at the end of this statement.
That's not all of them, but it's the ones I'm most sure of. I'm excellent at grammar, but I don't know absolutely everything.
The next day....
DT is walking with the road with silver spood, today was such a good day. As she walks down the street a young colt walks by "Hey Plothead!" he says before trotting off...
DT looks totally affended by the words but before she can counter with her own a much older mare walks by "Oh Plothead! Please tell your father that I will be by later this afternoon. Thanks Ta ta!" before trotting off once more...
"WHAT?!" DT Screached! "IS GOING ON HERE!~"
5587097 Fixed, thanks. (You interested in maybe editing a future work? That was some impressive grammaring.)
5587047 Fixed, good catch.
5586582 Yep, that's for your imaginations.
Absolutely lovely story. Just made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
5586462
5586310 Oh man, the guy who wrote Guardians of many hues read my story!
What your saying made sense and I did think about it. Here's my defense.
1.) Vanilla wasn't lying when she said the monthly stipend wasn't a lot. (It's the real world equivalent of like $100 a month) it's not meant to be a full time job/set Dizzy up for life.
2.) The value of the house in ponyville is also not astronomical, though it does change Dizzy's life it's meant to allow her to work a normal job. Remember she doesn't own the house anymore so compensating her for it's value is only fair, she might decide to buy a new house.
3.) To paraphrase religion "the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair". Some people are lucky. The lesson that Scootaloo taught Celestia via the scooters and the guard is that it's okay to use your power every once in a while unfairly to help someone. Scootaloo proved herself to be a kind and generous princess, why shouldn't she get a reward? The money could have helped a few ponies a fair amount, or maybe a lot of ponies a little bit, but no matter what there was still going to be unfairness. Scootaloo still learned her lessons but she gets a happy ending where she gets to spend more time with her mom now. I'm okay with this.
5587203 somepony ANYPONY WRITE A SHORT STORY
THAT PLEASE!
it...hurts...to....laugh!
5587555
LOL. I didn't think my presence was such an honour.
Just so you know, I have read all of your stories, and I'm keeping close tabs on "Three Gems and a Scooter". Good Scoot related stories are a Rarity this season (pun intended 
).
I'm actually pretty content with your answer. Maybe it's even worth going back into the chapter and leaving a hint here and there. You have my upvote in any case
This was a very sweet little story and though I'm somewhat sad that it has come to an end I am happy at the same time.
Although, I have to agree with some of the comments here, that there certainly are a few things that can be controversial I don't want to focus on them as I think them to be secondary.
I liked the way you told the story. You gave Scootaloo a character depth, that I have rarely seen. Same goes for your other Story 'Three Gems and a Scooter'.
You pacing was a slow one. But that isn't bad here. It was exactly the right tempo. You could put yourself in Scoot's (horse)shoes and it made sense for her to be given time to grasp what she was taught.
I'm someone who loves slice of life and your story had just these slice-of-live vibes and it felt round. It had a starting point, a parable and an satisfying end. Short: I think this story is an example of what a good story should be, at least from a narrative point.
Thank you
5587596 wow that is some high praise.
Thank you.
Very good. I'm a sucker for a non-sad Scootaloo story but this is a good story.
5587203 I would not mind of someone took this and wrote a short oneshot of it. Even this auther considering it was his story that inspired this little tidbit. So long as they send me the link after its posted I'd like to read the longer and better verson...
5587557
5587749 Funny idea, but I'm done with this universe for now. So one of you, or someone else can have at it.
5587521 It depends on a lot of things. The biggest factors are length and subject matter. Length shouldn't be too much of a problem, though, since you don't seem the type of person to write 10k+ word chapters.
5587917 Cool. Well I don't have any works that need an editor right now, but if I do need something edited I'll shoot you a pm. Finding a good editor can be hard and it's good to have a Rolodex full of them.
That was awsome
Wow, great ending. Loved the story from start to finish. Keep up the good work.
Congrats on succeeding in creating a cute, funny little story!
And now of course we need a sequel where all the other Princesses are ponynapped by a villain and Scoots must train to become Super Princessaiyan 2 to rescue them!
The story will need vampires, necromancy, evil reindeer, megaspells, and a mime. The conflict and scope must then escalate to such a degree that it renders both the original story and the first half of the sequel utterly implausible in context and completely irrelevant!
You'll get THOUSANDS of likes after just the first chapter!
(I'd be laughing if it were not for the fact that it probably would...)
5589405 You're of course aware that the title of that fic would have to be Princess Scootaloo 2: Electric Boogaloo
5589411 In light of the tone set by the hilarious upcoming mockumentary and sly parody of all modern vampire movies, "What We Do In the Shadows", this story must now be written.
Let the Troll flow through you!
Luna went out in search of her next project ah?
I vote Dinky!
I loved it
The only thing I can find to complain about is that it is complete. Otherwise, it's great! I really enjoyed reading it.
Hopefully I'll be able to keep this review short and sweet. So, without any further to do, let's begin!
I like that you address the entire "Scootaloo is an orphan" very early on with the plausible excuse of the fact that her mother works a lot to pay for expenses and that is the reason you never see her. It also is a very nice way of getting the ball rolling for the story as it gives Scootaloo a perfect motivation for entering the contest without sounding too forced.
The characters are well kept in style with how they are in the series, a very important thing to do, and the story overall benefits from this. The idea of Scootaloo being a princess, even for a day, is an enjoyable idea and you exercise it well here. From the common and overly used "two women fighting over a child" scenario, though thankfully given a new and interesting twist, to Scootaloo unknowingly abusing her authority by making a guard dance for her. You did well showing the very real trouble one has to go through when they have a massive amount of authority and yet by balancing it out with allowing Luna to have a bit more fun it never becomes overbearing and needless.
But what we need to talk about here is the problem the entire story focuses around: Scootaloo wants to spend more time with her mother. A sub-par writer would just have Scootaloo make a decree that would make it so, but you immediately point out why that would be a bad and unfair idea, and a normal writer would simply have Scootaloo accept that she can't demand more time from her mother than she can give. While you do have Scootaloo accept that you go beyond it into the realm of a better writer and have Celestia very cleverly make Scootaloo's home a "historical landmark", thus giving a way for Scootaloo's mom to not have to worry about paying for her house or repairs anymore.
I say I'll rate this: "A Recommended Reading" B+
Side Note: For my head canon I like to add fan fictions that "mash together" with the already established canon of the show. "Scootaloo: Princess for a Day" fits perfectly and it is now assimilated into my head canon. Considering my OC is a history teacher I find this doubly enjoyable.
That was a great ending, and very clever. I don't mean to redundantly reiterate any previous comments, but that's probably going to happen anyway. You really captured Scootaloo as a kid here, especially how she learned. It had a soothing pace as well, at a speed you usually only find in sad stories. But it works great here. Nice job.
Now that's a clever solution to the major problem in Scootaloo's life. It's not charity, yet it sets the family up for life and gives Scootaloo and her mother more time together. I hope Scootaloo writes a thank you letter to Celestia. I can totally see Luna and Celestia dropping in to visit... and just imagine the looks on Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon's faces when they see Scootaloo and the Crusaders spending time with the Princesses
I think the best compliment I can give here is that I could easily see this being an episode of the show.