Which is it?
Thanks to Rarity’s lullaby, Scootaloo quickly fell into a deep slumber. Even so Rarity remained in the room long after it was clear that the orange filly was temporarily at peace. As she watched Scootaloo sleep, she recalled the last time she had stood in this very room watching a different little filly sleep soundly.
It had been a few years ago and Sweetie Belle was staying over for the first time since she had moved out of her parents house. Their parents had gone on a cruise and Sweetie Belle was overly excited about spending an entire week with her favorite big sister. Naturally, as soon as she unpacked she came down with a terrible case of colic. It was fairly manageable during the day, but the persistent cough and chest ache had left Sweetie Belle unable to sleep for more than a few hours at a time.
Sweetie had done her best to put on a brave face, but Rarity winced emphatically every time Sweetie was overcome by another coughing fit that left her writhing in pain. Eventually after many applications of vapor rub and honey sweetened tea, Sweetie Belle had drifted off to sleep but Rarity had spent that entire night watching over her sister in a sort of vigil, as though her presence could ward off further suffering.
And here she was again, standing guard under the delusion that her mere presence meant something to an unconscious filly. Eventually she realized that the only thing that was accomplished by her standing at the foot of Scootaloo’s bed was that she would be tired tomorrow, so she pulled a blanket up over the filly’s shoulders and went to her own room to try and salvage what little sleep she could.
The next morning Rarity poured herself an extra large cup of coffee with a double shot of espresso, but even that wasn’t enough to completely nullify the effect of her restless night. As she haphazardly prepared some cereal, she took note of Scootaloo coming down the stairs.
The orange filly looked fine, as far as she could tell, and for better or worse she didn’t mention anything about last night’s episode. She did however opt to greet Rarity with a very quiet “Hi” as she reached for her bowl of cereal.
Breakfast was quiet again and Rarity was beginning to think that mealtimes with Scootaloo were unlikely to ever produce the connection she was hoping for, but Scootaloo didn’t seem troubled. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Rarity could swear that the little filly seemed slightly more at home.
Sweetie Belle again came to walk with Scootaloo to school, and after doing the dishes, Rarity was relieved to find herself alone in her dress shop as though it was just another day as Ponyville’s resident fashionista.
She spent the morning working on the preliminary designs for her new winter line. It was early in the fall which was normally a quiet time for her business. The galas and events of Hearths Warming and New Years were too far away for most ponies to think about, and most couples planning on getting married had done so already. There were the occasional back-to-school dresses or Running of the Leaves accessories that some ponies ordered, but for the most part, her revenue came from her off the rack selection, which she needed customers physically in her store in order to sell.
So when she heard the bell above the front entrance chime, she put on a big smile and bounded into the showroom. “Welcome to the Carousel Boutique where- oh, hello Autumn what can I do for you?”
Instead of a mare looking to buy a dress, or perhaps some stallion looking for a gift, in the middle of her showroom stood Scootaloo’s case officer, and from the expression on his face Rarity was willing to bet that he wasn’t here to do any shopping.
Autumn offered a smile and a friendly nod as he saw Rarity. “Remember how I said there’d be home inspections? Well, this is one of them. Is this where Scootaloo will be staying while she’s under your care?”
“It is,” Rarity was about to complain about the lack of forewarning, but it occurred to her that the surprise nature of the visit was most likely intentional. “This is my boutique; through that hallway is the kitchen and dining room. Upstairs is Scootaloo’s bedroom and bathroom, I trust you have no need to violate my privacy by rifling through my bedroom.”
Autumn shook his head, “No, that won’t be necessary.” He began to leave the showroom and begin his inspection, but stopped when he realized Rarity wasn’t following him.
“Don’t you want to monitor my inspection? Most ponies like to look over my shoulder.”
“I have nothing to hide and a lot of work to do. You strike me as a gentlecolt, can I assume you won’t make a mess?”
“Everything will be exactly as you left it.” Autumn went into the kitchen and Rarity continued sewing her sequins on the gown she was working on. Only a few minutes passed before Autumn walked back into the showroom.
Rarity lowered the needle and set the dress back on its mannequin. She looked up with a look of both surprise and concern that the inspection was over so quickly. “You found a problem already?”
“Quite the opposite in fact. I’ve seen all I need to.” Rarity nodded cautiously and waited for him to render his verdict. “I spoke to Scootaloo this morning and she said nothing but good things, or at least she didn’t say anything bad. Furthermore, you appeared quite willing to give me free reign of the house, suggesting that you are, in fact, not hiding anything. Lastly, your kitchen appears spotless.”
“Thank you?” Rarity said, not quite sure what to make of the last bit of praise.
Autumn smiled at the confusion. “I’ve been doing this awhile, bad parents usually have dirty kitchens. Not always, and there are plenty of wonderful parents who just don’t like doing the dishes. But your kitchen looks like it’s out of a catalogue and your fridge appears well stocked. That combined with Scootaloo’s testimony tells me I probably don’t have to worry about you.”
“So you’ll name me her guardian and she can stay in Ponyville?”
“I’ll start the process and as long as you’re okay with her living under your roof I’ll continue to look for a family in town as a permanent option.”
Rarity felt a small measure of relief wash over her, one minor obstacle down, multiple larger ones still to go.“Wonderful, what happens now?”
“What do you mean?”
“I spoke with Scootaloo last night about how sometimes she meets with ponies who might want to adopt her and sometimes she doesn’t. I was hoping you might clarify further.”
“Ideally we try and find a good match for any foal looking to be adopted; scheduled play time helps us do that. But when a family decides it’s not going to work out we feel it’s best to remove the foal from the home as quickly as possible, less lingering negative emotions that way.”
“So when she moved to Mrs. Hoofington’s?”
“The family she was with decided that she just wasn’t going to be happy there. Mrs. Hoofington takes in a lot of troubled foals. It seemed like a good idea.”
Rarity considered what she just learned and added it to everything she already knew. There were more than a few things that she couldn’t quite makes sense of. “If I may be so bold,” Rarity paused for a moment before deciding that there was no polite way to ask her next question. “You certainly don’t seem unsympathetic, and Scootaloo may be a bit closed off, but she’s not a bad filly. Why haven’t you been able to find a home for her?”
If Autumn was offended by Rarity’s candor he didn’t show it. “I let any prospective parent know that Scootaloo has some emotional trouble, it’s fairly common in fillies her age who are up for adoption. One of the reasons for the observational visits is so I can gauge how they handle that. I think ponies are expecting her to be a little “closed off” at first, what causes them to reconsider is that six months later she’s still closed off.”
“Well then they should be more patient!” Rarity barked, unintentionally raising both the volume and pitch of her voice.
Autumn shook his head. “You misunderstand me. I don’t think they give her up because they're frustrated with her. I think they genuinely want her to be happy, and since it seems clear that she won’t be happy in their home they decide it would be best for her to try somewhere else, painful as that may be for everyone.”
Rarity was forced to admit she could empathize with that point of view, she had only lived with Scootaloo for a day and already she found herself hoping the familiar mantra of “it gets better” was true. After six months if it wasn’t getting better would she really be able to continue?
And would it be fair to Scootaloo to keep trying? Despite the filly’s pessimistic worldview, Rarity refused to believe that happiness was some sort of pipe dream for her. And that meant that somewhere in Equestria existed a warm loving home where Scootaloo could find some measure of peace and belonging. But those were questions for another time, right now the present seemed more important than a distant hypothetical future.“Have you spoken with Scootaloo about all this?”
“I’ve tried to. I think, after everything she’s been through, she has a hard time believing that anypony could care about her, so when her foster parents ask if she wants to try somewhere else she interprets that as them wanting to get rid of her.”
“Poor thing,” Rarity whispered softly.
“Yeah,” Autumn replied using a similar cadence. The two ponies just stood there, neither one of them sure what to say next. “I have other visits I need to make today. I’ll check in with you two later, and well, I guess you know where my office is if you need anything,” Autumn offered by way of trying to move the conversation forward.
Autumn left and as Rarity closed the door behind him she was again hit with the oppressive weight of the undertaking she had agreed to. A very large part of her told her to grab the nearest carton of chocolate ice cream and hide under her down duvet for the rest of the day; and she would have done so if not for the fact that her appointment book told her that she had a fitting at two o’clock. She spent the next few hours working on a few dresses and selling the occasional off the rack item, but Scootaloo's situation was always in the back of her mind. She was about to drag herself out of the door, when she remembered that she had a house guest; so she wrote Scootaloo a brief note, placed it on the table in her foyer, and then dragged herself to a house call.
Rarity seldom second guessed her choice of profession. She adored fashion and her work generally garnered praise. But if there was one aspect of her job that she wished she could delegate to another pony it was fitting sessions. As a creative pony who had to conform her idea’s to her clients wishes she was used to taking direction, even when that direction was so obviously a terrible idea. There were polite ways of gently letting a client know that despite how much they loved mauve it simply did not go with turquoise and no amount of flowers was going to change that.
But despite all her best smiles and euphemisms she simply hadn’t found a tactful way of letting a client know that they had not dropped the four dress sizes they were planning on. Rarity wasn’t superficial, she believed that every pony was beautiful, and in her own protest against the superficial nature of the fashion industry her dresses were always modeled by normal looking ponies, not waif thin runway models. But when a client demanded that she make a size four dress despite their clearly being a size six, that’s when she ran into problems.
Her fitting was with a golden coated mare named Honey Pie (no relation to Pinkie). And most of the time Rarity had a perfectly wonderful relationship with her. She was sweet, as her name suggested, and always paid her bill on time; but she was always trying the latest fad diet, swearing this one was going to be the one that stuck.
And that meant that every time she ordered a custom dress Rarity would take her measurements and Honey would insist that Rarity take a few inches off everywhere so that when the dress was ready in a couple months it would fit the new Honey Pie perfectly. Then a couple months would roll around and Honey Pie would either find a dress that was too small for her or she would yell at Rarity for not following her instructions.
Rarity had considered lying, telling her that the size eight dress she was wearing really was a size four, but being dishonest with a customer was exactly the kind of word of mouth Rarity didn’t need for her Boutique. Her prices were already high enough that customers figured they were paying extra for the service.
So after another fitting session of Honey politely seething that Rarity’s measurements must be wrong because there was simply no way she was the same size she was last time, Rarity returned home ready to reconsider if maybe her time as a weather pony really wasn’t all that bad.
She opened her door and headed straight for her kitchen only to find cupcake wrappers strewn about, and a half empty box of cupcakes sitting on her kitchen table. The telltale sounds of hooves on tile coming from upstairs told Rarity that Scootaloo was most likely upstairs.
“Would you like to explain to me why there are cupcake wrappers all over my kitchen Scootaloo?” Rarity asked as she confronted the orange filly, unable to mask her annoyance.
“I didn’t know where you were and I wanted a cupcake. Pinkie said I could have the whole box.”
“Remind me to thank her,” Rarity muttered under her breath. “I left you a note in the foyer,” she said louder and directed toward Scootaloo.
“I didn’t know that’s where you left notes. Most ponies put them on the fridge,” Scootaloo said with a shrug.
Rarity couldn’t quite argue with that logic, but it did raise an important point; Scootaloo was clearly going to have to get settled in, and that meant that things like where Rarity left notes and other details would need to be ironed out. “I think now would be a good time to discuss the particulars of your living here,” Rarity said flatly.
“I don’t want to do chores around the shop,” Scootaloo quickly responded.
“Yes, you seem quite insistent about that particular point,” Rarity said, her annoyance at hearing the same thing three times creeping into her voice. She took a breath and reminded herself that Scootaloo was not the pony who had spent the past hour and half disparaging her measuring skills. “The Boutique is my shop, you don’t have to have anything to do with it if you don’t want to. If you would like to learn more about fashion I’d be delighted to teach you.” Scootaloo scrunched her nose and shook her head and Rarity just smiled at the reaction, the unintended humor causing her to regain a little more control. “Very well then. The Boutique is a working business however, when I have clients over I expect you to conduct yourself in a civil manner, and I expect you to stay out of my parlor room when I’m not home, there’s nothing in there but fabric and sketches anyway. Does that sound agreeable to you?”
Scootaloo shrugged, “Fine with me. And now you’re going to tell me that I need to do the dishes and keep my room clean or you’ll send me away, right?”
Rarity was too haggard to be diplomatic, and in a way it helped her connect with the filly in front of her. Scootaloo had a habit of speaking without any internal filter, and with her own filter temporarily disabled the two ponies could communicate on the same level. “No. I promised you a place to stay until you find a more permanent option and I am a mare of my word. Why are you so adamant about not doing chores?”
Rarity’s words struck a nerve because as soon as she heard them, Scootaloo flared her wings out and arched her back. “I don’t mind doing chores! I mind ponies only keeping me around so that I’ll do the dishes for them!” Scootaloo yelled, unaware that her heightened emotional state brought about an increase in her volume.
“Scootaloo, nopony cares if you do the dishes! What they want is for you to make some sort of an effort!” Rarity shrieked back at her.
Scootaloo fixed Rarity with a stare and it was clear that this was a watershed moment for the filly. “So which is it? You either want me to do the dishes or you don’t care?” Scootaloo asked through gritted teeth, the tension in the room making it clear that there was a right answer to the question, from Scootaloo’s perspective anyway.
Rarity took a deep breath, she wasn’t much calmer afterwards, but her voice was more even. “Which answer would you like me to give?” She said in a clipped cadence that even an emotional Scootaloo recognized as being touched with anger just waiting to erupt. Scootaloo just kept her stare unforgivingly locked on her, the pause giving Rarity time to push down the more volatile aspects of her temper. When she spoke again her voice was still firm, but it lacked the hostility of the previous statement “I suspect if I tell you I expect you to do the dishes you will take that as proof that I am only letting you stay here so that can I reap some sort of imaginary benefit. Of course if I tell you that you’re welcome here regardless of your attitude you’ll use that as an excuse to see just how far you can push me because it couldn’t possibly be true. So, to borrow a phrase from poker, I refuse to draw against a made hoof.”
Scootaloo wasn’t really sure what that last phrase meant, but one thing Rarity said did jump out at her. “You play cards?”
Scootaloo’s surprising question had the effect of momentarily disarming Rarity’s irritation. “Of course dear, there is much business to be had in exclusive card games in Manehattan.” Rarity chuckled softly and faux dramatically placed her back hoof on her forehead. . “And most stallions are only too willing to invite the poor little mare from Ponyville who clearly doesn’t realize what she’s getting into,” Rarity finished with a wry grin.
Scootaloo giggled “That’s actually kind of cool,” Scootaloo said before she burst out laughing at the idea of smug Stall Street stallions watching in horror as Rarity politely collected her winnings.
Scootaloo’s laugh, filled with childish joy, was infectious and Rarity couldn’t help but to join in. “If you’re interested I could teach you,” Rarity said after the laughter had died down, the previous tension having all but dissipated.
“Maybe that’d be okay.” Scootaloo looked down at the floor. “And maybe I could sort of do some dishes occasionally.”
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Rarity may be making progress... a little progress.
Still going to need to talk to Rainbow Dash.
Aww!! :D Yay Rarity and Scoots!
I really like Rarity's part of the conversation with Scoots. Ah, the frustration of dealing with an obstinate child, while trying to avoid throttling them. I can relate.
5608977 That can wait. What's important right now is that Rarity devotes as much developing a bond with Scootaloo as she possibly can.
Glad to see an update! I really like how you're writing these characters. It's easy in stories like this to make characters like Autumn and Mrs. Hoofington into very unlikable individuals if not straight-up villains. But you've captured them well as ponies trying to do their best, but a bit worn out from it all, overworked, underpaid. Keeps the focus properly on Rarity and Scootaloo and their growing relationship.
This is also one of the best written stories I've come across here from a "technical" perspective. I didn't notice any spelling or grammatical errors, and it flows nicely. Kudos!
Love it.
This. Tons of love for this.
I definitely like the overwhelming majority of the interactions you've got between Rarity and Scootaloo. About the only real criticism I can give at the moment is that when Scootaloo said that if she could fly then Dash would take her in that Rarity didn't even think about telling her the truth that Dash didn't think she could do right by her. (I doubt it'd be the right option, but the fact that she didn't even consider it doesn't seem right).
I'm also hoping that Honey Pie will have some relevance later because otherwise you spent a fair bit of time unnecessarily on something that wasn't interesting. IF it's relevant later then kudos! But otherwise, you could've summed that up in a fraction of the word-space.
5609268
I like to imagine my editors chortling as they read this.
5609490 I'm going to stand by that. The two possible true answers to Scoots statement were some version of either Rainbow Dash isn't as great as you think she is or Rainbow Dash doesn't have room for you in her life. Neither one would have been in anyway helpful given the circumstance, I can see why Rarity didn't even consider telling Scootaloo this.
Thumbs up so far!
Excellent chapter, as always
Maybe Rarity needs to take a oblique approach here... I can safely assume that most 'homes' wouldn't offer to teach the young how to play poker and the like, but Rarity could make the most of it, if it gets Scootaloo to open up and be more receptive to direction at the least.
5609611
... um, Dash herself, in this fic, when Rarity proposed the idea, basically said that she'd make a horrible mother. It's a true statement to say "Dash didn't think she could do as good of a job as you deserve."
I'm not saying she should've said that! It would've flown over like a brick. But it's something I would have seen her consider.
5609604 Ha! Well my compliments to your editors too!
For all the incarnations of Rarity I've seen on this site, this has to be one of the best. She still has the dramatic flair and temperament, but also knows how to be diplomatic to even the most troubled of souls. Honestly hoping Scootaloo comes to realise she's not like those who came before her for foster parents.
I love your characterization of Rarity; I think it's perfectly executed.
Un huh, spotless. What was you expecting rainbow cupcakes?
loveing it, you get a nose boop
i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr289/axlthehedgehog_2008/responses/boop.gif
stayclassy
Move down a line.
__________
Cap.
_________
I can totally see Rarity being a card shark, and cleaning out wealthy business ponies of their bits. After all a good part of Rarity's job is attention to details, and reading others.
I'm glad Rarity and Scootaloo are growing closer, hopefully they can bond more. I do think it would be interesting if Scootaloo made an offhand comment about a dress design that sparks a new line for Rarity.
I want to say that I really like the day to day stuff you add in about Rarity's work, like her seasonal planning schedule and her periodic issues with Honey Pie. Even if they aren't directly relevant to the main plot, they make the story feel grounded and realistic, Rarity doesn't just sit at home waiting for Scootaloo to come back from school so the plot can resume.
knowing rarity, her pokeface must be flawless.
5617966 Thank you! I try to do some world building in between scenes.
5614651 Fixed, thanks
5611386 Thanks. Know of any groups I should add this to?
5609445
5611229 Thanks
5611947 I hug my friends all the time, ain't nothing gay about it, and even if there was that's totally cool. (Tolerance is good), also thanks for the praise.
5610332 I'm gonna continue my defense, mainly because I like a good friendly debate. The answer "Dash doesn't think she'd do a good job as you deserve" is a complicated one. It would be impossible for Scootaloo to hear that and not immediately think "But Dash is awesome and everything she does is awesome"..therefore "she must not care about me enough". Which means Rarity would be back to explaining "Dash isn't as awesome as you think she is,". So I still stand by my decision not to illuminate Rarity's thought process.
Actually, I find that pretty amusing too.
*jumps up and down*
THAT'S WHAT CHORES ARE!!!
My grandfather had this saying that the only reason they had kids is because they take your place in chores. Also, this little Scoota-brat needs to learn some, god damn respect. I'm just hoping for that one chapter where she is just... I can't even think of the word, but dammit she needs to learn some respect.
5637871 I like to think people don't have kids just to get out of taking out the garbage. But yeah Scoots has some issues. One of my big issues with a lot of Scootadopts is there they can often be boiled down to:
And I didn't want to do that. So, I figured that if Scootaloo was still looking for a home there's a reason for that, and in this case its that her expieriences have made her a bit jaded and closed off. It's a tough line to toe I'll admit.
5638913 well, what i meant by learn respect. I mean like I'm wishing for the chapter where Scootaloo kinda owns up to the fact that she's being a total (pardon my French) bitch.
Scootaloo was adopted by Rarity so that she can stay longer. Obviously she's been through some shit before and now she has this belief that no one wants her around and misinterprets,
"Hey, real sorry about the last parent meeting, wanna try again somewhere else?"
To,
"Hey kid, nobody liked your sorry ass, get the hell outta my house and test your luck in the next town over"
I just want to see some sort of maturity grow in Scootaloo. I feel like that'd add more realism to this story. But that's just me and my thoughts.
Liked, favorite and tracked.
I have high expectations for this story.
5687914 check my page. There are three Scootadoopts in my top ten. Spellbound fireflies another great one.
well, this chapter was a roller coaster of emotions. First there's nostalgia, tension, relief, full out raging and then happiness.
5638913
Actually, it was fairly common that even as much as two generations ago that you had children primarily to increase labor force. My grandfather was one of twenty four children, and they worked around the farm as they were brought into the world to do, then they grew up and left. The idea is rooted in the concept of filial piety, which is something I actually do agree with (so long as the parents aren't monstrous): The world doesn't owe you anything for being born, but you've got a debt to repay for being here.
At last a little bit of (verbal) strife
. At this point in the story, I suppose it might distract you from the story you want to tell, but I'm rather surprised we barely see so little of Sweetie Belle after Rarity talks to her. She comes over to pick up Scootaloo for school in the morning twice so far and we haven't heard a peep out of her in either case, despite visiting her sister at the same time, even if it's only for a couple of minutes.
It's pretty amazing how little conflict is to be had when you have reasonable bureaucratic figures, as Rarity is quickly finding out Autumn appears to be
(to be fair, from what I've seen of most of child protection services, most of them are compassionate people who just seem to burn out too quickly, and unfortunately they sometimes overlap with the people who just stop caring, leading to all the cases we hear in the media about overlooked cases).
5638913 I'm glad that you didn't write this story like that. Rainbow dash is my least favorite out of the mane six, and I find that the scootadash pairing is over used and boring (with a few exceptions). The story is always better when it's apairing you don't expect
Why am I reminded of Charity from Project Horizions? Hmmm....
Blackjack: "That long-dead Ministry Mare who totally wasn't even in my story shall own the Wasteland one day. All of the caps will be hers...."
Rarity: "I'd be happy to play again, Go Fish."
Blackjack: "WHY DID I GAMBLE MY BIRTH CERTIFICATE, JUST BECAUSE I HAD A STRAIGHT? LOTS OF THINGS BEAT A STRAIGHT! *EVERYTHING* BEATS A STRAIGHT!"
My impressions of the story so far:
Things do seem to be happening very quickly. Initially I thought that Rarity was adopting Scootaloo, though I quickly realized that this is not the case. Even so, agreeing to take Scootaloo in is a major decision that I wouldn't expect anypony to agree to without some time to think about it—except, perhaps, for the Element of Generosity.
As for Scootaloo opening up to Rarity, well, we've been told several times that she remained unhappy at previous houses for six months. Her opening up to Rarity on only the second day is nothing short of miraculous. In general I wouldn't have a problem with her opening up so quickly, but the story makes a big deal about how Scoots has always been incredibly unhappy in the past. Her crying at night, whimpering about her secret feelings, is just too easy for Rarity to deal with. I'm sure previous parents would have noticed this, and would have hugged her and reassured her, so It's odd that Rarity doing it has such an affect.
That said, I am enjoying this story so far. You have a well-written Rarity here, and even if I wish that they were fleshed out more, I do enjoy the scenes of Scootaloo bonding with Rarity.
5703266
If you agree with that kind of worldview, then you're admitting to agreeing to monsterous parents. By definition, you're saying that you agree that children are born for the sole purpose to be slaves until they can move out. You are half right. The world doesn't owe you anything for being born. But you're wrong about having a "dept". Because the child never chose to be born. The intent of chores is not for the sake of labor. The intent of chores is to teach children discipline and responsibility. Any parent that has a child do chores for the sake of free labor is already monstrous.
I've looked through the entire comments section of this chapter, and I'm surprised nobody mentioned this reference to Magical Mystery Cure. Was I the only one who caught that?
Colic is gastrointestinal distress, not what you are describing. It can also be life threatening in horses.