Rising Above

by Quick Fix

Chapter 3 - Ponyville by Dusk

Ponyville
October 2nd

---

Scootaloo stretched as she got off her seat, the train ride home nearly over. The rest of the night had been a few rounds of autograph signing both at the stadium and the hotel, followed by a good nights rest trying not to dream about, sensitive topics. She'd caught a late train home to Ponyville and the sun was starting to set as it finally pulled into the station. She took her time fetching her carry crate, waiting for most of the crowd coming home from the crystal faire to disembark before following them out, able to take a look round at her hometown again. While it retained the country atmosphere of her youth, Ponyville had seen considerable expansion in the peaceful years following Starlight Glimmer's defeat. She didn't mind it though, as Pinkie would put it, that just meant more friends to see.

She set off for home at a slow trot, finding the walk relaxing when she didn't have anypony to talk to. Trixie was staying in the crystal empire for a few more days to have some 'tourist time' and Rainbow Dash was back at the Wonderbolts base in Cloudsdale. There was more than enough going on in town to keep her attention though, especially at this time of day when the marketplace was preparing to shut up shop. Ponies of all kinds were heading their own ways around her, a few greeting her happily, she made sure to give each of them a wave and reply.

"Scootaloo, could I talk to you for a second?" She could barely hear the voice over the crowd but she saw who it was coming from, a bronze coloured pegasus nearby with amber eyes, silver mane and a flying bird for a cutie mark. She recognised him quickly, Silent Breeze, a quiet, somewhat scatter-brained but determined stallion who gained notice around town after he started dating Fluttershy. Well, dating was a bit of an understatement now, the pair had been married for eight years.

'I wonder why only one of the Elements settled down after all this time.' Scootaloo thought to herself as she trotted over to him. "What's up, Breeze? Is Fluttershy okay?"

"Fluttershy's alright, I hope. She's started worrying that Mayor Tiara is thinking about taxing nature related businesses and you know...Well, we don't exactly have a lot of spare bits with her current condition. C-could you visit town hall sometime please? I know the mayor listens to your opinion."

"Of course, the last thing you two need right now is stress like that. I'll talk to her as soon as I can." Scootaloo smiled reassuringly, managing to coax a small smile out of Silent Breeze.

"Thank you so much. I won't keep you any longer, I promised I'd get some apples for my yellow angel. Oh I hope they're still open." He fretted to himself as he trotted away. Scootaloo watched him go before finally giggling to herself, she just couldn't stop herself cracking up every time she heard someone referring to Diamond Tiara by her official title. It had been a few months since the former school bully had scored a shock election victory over Mayor Caramel and now, to be fair things around town didn't actually look any worse with her in charge.

For now she resumed walking, taking the time to think about how the rest of her friends were doing. Sweetie Belle, she couldn't really speak to at the moment, since she hadn't taken the train to Manehatten. Rarity was still running her ever expanding fashion line out of Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle still maintained an open door policy if anyone came to her with a friendship problem. Applejack had taken full responsibilities for the running of Sweet apple acres and finally, Pinkie Pie was...Still the same old Pinkie Pie.

There was one other pony she wanted to see before she went home. Scootaloo turned and headed toward the north end of town, hoping they would still at the shop when she got there.

---

ABC Woodworking was a one pony business venture that produced and sold furniture to the local area. Right now it was empty save for it's owner, who wasn't in sight when Scootaloo entered the shop. She took a minute to look round the items on display, silently marvelling at how professional it all looked.

"Sorry, but I can't take any new orders today," A voice called from a backroom before it's owner came into view. A light yellow earth pony with a vibrant red mane and saw cutie mark. "Ah'll be happy to hear any...Scootaloo!"

"Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo replied in kind, trotting over and hugging her old friend. The former Cutie Mark Crusaders had all remained close even after getting their cutie marks. Sweetie Belle had been the first to get hers after she realised just how good of a singer she was. Apple Bloom had been next, her attempts at being a 'Cutie Mark Crusader bridge builder' had led to her discovering her affinity for carpentry, even if the bridge was out of commission for weeks afterwards. Scootaloo had taken a little longer but once she realised she could perform stunts like the pros, she had her cutie mark at long last.

"I heard somepony talking about you as they went past the shop, sounds like you were a star yesterday," Apple Bloom said cheerfully, making Scootaloo smile a little more. "And the good news just keeps coming. Ah've managed to find some fillies and colts who want to form a new CMC!"

"Wow, that's awesome of you, Apple Bloom! Who's in?"

"Well me, teaching them what I can. Mah nephew, Akane wanted in, so did the little unicorn girl, Stellar Nova. Rain Runner an Bumblebee said they'd think about it."

"Look at you go, AB. Cutie Mark Crusader carpenter AND Cutie Mark Crusader mentor."

"Heh, thanks. You've no idea how good it feels seeing us all doing so well. Sweetie sent me a postcard the other day, you able to meet up and read through it sometime?"

"Well my tour is just about done for the year. Name the date."

Apple Bloom grinned and went to get a quill and paper to do just that. Scootaloo sat down and watched her, taking the time to acknowledge just how well AB was doing. The earth pony was making use of all her talents and seeing just how far she could go with them. Meanwhile, as a pegasus she was...Scootaloo had told herself to stop thinking about that, yet ever since her talk with Trixie the night before she hadn't been able to shake it from her mind.

"Okay, all done. I'll see you soon, yeah?" Apple Bloom finished writing her note out and handled it over to Scootaloo, derailing the pegasi's train of thought for now.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss this for anything." Scootaloo gave the date on the note a check and nodded before heading for the door, waving goodbye as she headed for home. Apple Bloom watched her go before sighing softly, finally getting a chance to shut up shop for the day.

---

Scootaloo's house was in the northeast corner of town, a decent area to live even if having Vinyl and Octavia for neighbours meant there was rarely any quiet. By the time Scootaloo got home, Luna's night had started to fill the sky and she was glad to get inside. A few days worth of mail had gathered on the doormat, she picked them up and sat down in her kitchen to read through them. Privately, she was pleased to see all of them were addressed to her this time, the mail service had really improved lately.

"Lets see...Fan mail, mail order catalogue, fan mail, invoice, request from Cheerilee. Huh," She opened the letter and took her time reading though it, from the looks of things, Cheerilee wanted her to give a talk at the school in a few weeks. "Okay, gonna have to speak to the mayor about that as well." Scootaloo said to herself before getting up and heading for the fridge, it had been a long day and she could get to reading and answering fan mail after some dinner.

Comments

[Deep Note]

Always love seeing people's interpretation of the future and what CMC may have been like with different Cutie Marks. Good work ^^

[Comickook]

Intriguing view of the future. I like all your bits and pieces of info on this.