Than that of a Warm Hearth
Applejack tipped her hat. “Sorry Scootaloo, Apple Bloom’s got chores today. Harvest season’s ridin’ up on us.”
“Oh, do you need any help?” Scootaloo tried to play it cool. A day working at the apple farm meant lunch, dinner, a few bits and some time with one of her best friends.
“Mighty kind of ya, but we got things covered today. Tell ya what though, when we’re finished I’ll see her your way.”
Scootaloo forced a smile despite having been denied a chance for some free food and a paycheck. “Thanks, Applejack. Maybe I’ll go see if Sweetie can come play. It’s not like she has any farm chores.”
“She sure don’t,” Applejack said with a chuckle as Scootaloo sped away on her scooter.
That's a no from everypony I've asked today—zero out of five, she thought glumly. A quick check of her coin purse confirmed what she already knew; she could afford to buy lunch or dinner, but not both. Her stomach groaned in protest. If I eat now I don’t know when I’m going to get another chance. A cold wind across her muzzle provided the perfect distraction.
If I can’t work, maybe I can fix that stupid heater! A flutter of her wings and a firm kick off the ground and she was on her way to library.
The Ponyville library was like no other library in Equestria. It lived in a giant crystal tree, and its head librarian was also a princess who was determined to make her it a repository of all the knowledge in Equestria—second only to the Canterlot Archive. Celestia had rebuffed a request to house sections of the historical archive in Ponyville, the rest of the library was on par with the famed Canterlot University branch in every way.
Still, the home maintenance and electrical engineering sections were well stocked, and finding them was easy. Scootaloo had been there before, for her and her friends’ lessons with the princess—what they called their Twilight Time. The hard part was finding a book that could actually help her. After a few hours she knew that space heaters worked by converting electrical energy to heat via electrical resistance, and they tended to stop working because circuits overloaded. She also learned that parts for some of the larger units—small ones like hers were apparently meant to be thrown away if they broke—cost over ten bits, plus more for a soldering iron.
Scootaloo groaned and smacked her borrowed copy of Getting Gadgets Going shut, then drooped her ears and mouthed a quick “sorry” to a nearby stallion. He chuffed in annoyance, but went back to his book, and Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief. Helpful or not, the library was warm. She found herself not wanting to leave, not even to ease her hunger or find her sleeping spot.
She was tired though, and the oversized lounge chairs tucked away in a corner of the reading room looked so inviting. Princess Twilight wouldn’t have put them out if she didn’t want ponies to use them, right? She wheeled her scooter over, and settled into the chair farthest from the door; it was even more comfortable than it looked, soft and plush and nothing at all like stacked cardboard. It was all Scootaloo could do to not fall asleep instantly. She tucked her legs under her, curled her tail around her barrel, and closed her eyes. I'm just gonna rest for a moment, she resolved.
“She’s pretty out of it, Twi.”
“I know Spike, but we need to wake her up.”
Spike gently jogged the sleeping filly’s elbow. “Scootaloo,” he whispered. When that didn’t work he tried again, louder. Scootaloo fluttered her eyes, then bolted upright as soon as she realized where she was.
“Oh my gosh, I didn’t mean to fall asleep, I was just resting, honest,” she said, glancing furtively in every direction.
Spike brushed away the apology with a breezy wave of his claw. “It’s cool. We didn’t even know you were here.”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said softly. The clock on the wall told her it was six in the evening, way later then she meant to stay. “I need to be getting home anyway.” Scootaloo grabbed her saddlebag and her scooter and trudged to the front door, Spike and Twilight following closely behind her.
As soon as Scootaloo opened the door she was hit with an icy blast of wind and snow to the muzzle. Twilight ushered her back inside while Spike wrestled the door shut. “Whoa!” he grunted. “The weather team really didn’t hold back on this one.”
Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Leave it to Rainbow Dash to ignore the wind speed and temperature guidelines.”
Scootaloo winced. “Is it okay if I leave my scooter here? I can’t ride it in this wind and I don’t want to carry it.”
“I’ve got a better idea: a sleepover! Scootaloo can stay for the night, right Twilight? I mean, you wouldn’t want her to walk home in this, would you?” Spike waved a claw at the swirling tempest outside.
“I don’t know Spike,I’ll bet her parents are getting awfully worried.”
“They’re not home!” Scootaloo said, a little too quickly. Seeing the concern on Twilight’s face she kept working the lie. “They’re in Manehattan. They’re not coming back until tomorrow anyway.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow but Spike’s wide eyes and the urgency in Scootaloo’s voice overruled her skepticism. “Fine,” she said indulgently. “Just promise me you two won’t be up all night reading Power Ponies comics.”
“Sorry Twi, no can do. C’mon Scootaloo, we can drop your stuff off in my room!” Spike said, grabbing Scootaloo by the hoof and leading her upstairs.
“Spike, Scootaloo, dinner’s ready! I made macaroni and cheese!” Twilight called. The two friends came bounding down the stairs to find a large cast iron pot in the middle of three table settings, steam wisping from under the lid.
“Don’t worry Scootaloo, it’s safe,” Spike said with a grin.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Very funny Spike.”
“You’re good at lots of stuff, Twilight, just not cooking,” Spike fired back. “Seriously though, Scoots, she makes a pretty tasty mac and cheese.”
“I’m sure it’ll be great,” Scootaloo said, still wrestling with the idea that she was about to enjoy her first hot meal in a very long time. The three sat around the table and Twilight portioned them each out a heaping mound.
“Wow, Scoot you must be hungry,” Spike said as he watched Scootaloo wolf down the food in front of her.
“Uh yeah I kinda skipped lunch, thanks to that nap.” And breakfast, thanks to not having any.
“Well eat up, we’ve got lots more,” Spike said, helping himself to another spoonful.
“That must be nice,” Scootaloo said under her breath.
Twilight’s ears perked. “What was that?”
“Oh, I said it was nice of you to make dinner, thank you,” Scootaloo said aloud.
“You're very welcome. So, what are your parents doing in Manehattan?”
Despite her best efforts Scootaloo fumbled with her words. “Umm business stuff. Mom’s an architect and Dad works for a bank and she’s working on some building and money’s involved and—”
“Okay, okay, it’s a business thing, we get it,” Spike said before Scootaloo ran out of breath.
Twilight shot a scolding glance at the young dragon for interrupting. “Do they leave you alone a lot?” she said seriously.
“Sometimes,” Scootaloo said, intently studying her no longer appetizing dinner. “They’re really busy.”
Twilight laid a gentle hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “That must be hard.”
Scootaloo dropped her fork, flinching at the touch. “It’s not bad. It leaves me lots time with my friends, like Spike,” she said, hoping her smile would end Twilight’s current line of inquiry.
Fortunately for Scootaloo, Spike butted in again. “Well, if you ever want to stay here when your parents are out of town I’m sure Twilight wouldn’t mind. Would you Twilight?”
“Of course not,” Twilight answered. But the princess’s face looked just like it did when she was puzzling through a hard book. It was unnerving being studied like that, and Scootaloo could only hope that Twilight would get distracted by something else.
“You’ve got to read this one next Scootaloo. Fili-Second travels back in time but she messes up the future so when she comes back everything is all crazy.”
“Awesome!” Scootaloo replied. But before she could learn what the exact consequences of time travel were, Twilight knocked on the door.
She poked her head around the door frame with an amused smile. “Okay you two. It’s midnight and time for bed.”
Spike started to protest, but a look from Twilight told him his pleas would fall on deaf ears. A yawn sealed his fate. “Maybe you’re right, Twi.” He glanced over at Scootaloo to see if she was willing to take up the cause, but she nodded in agreement instead.
“You want the bed?” Spike asked after Twilight left.
“It’s your bed, Spike, I’ll be OK on the floor.”
“I’d be a pretty terrible host if I let you sleep on the floor. I’m totally comfortable down there. Dragon scales, remember?” he said tapping some of the harder scales on his back for emphasis.
Scootaloo was about to insist, but Spike had already grabbed a pillow and begun settling into the carpet. Left with no recourse Scootaloo crawled under Spike’s purple comforter. Like the cushion in the library and the warm, plentiful dinner, Scootaloo had a hard time imagining what it must be like to sleep in a bed like this every night, completely free of the worries that plagued her daily.
“Night, Scootaloo,” Spike yawned out from down below.
“Yeah, night, Spike.” Scootaloo echoed back softly.
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It begins! Been looking forward to this for a while.
Proud to be a part of this.
So far it's interesting and has a good start. I loved your story of Rarity adoptes and can't wait to see how this version we'll go
Let's see how long it takes for Twilight to figure out the truth.
8036245 yep, if you need a timeline its post season 4, pre season 5
Reminds me of the forbidden fling.
8036288 what's that?
I can already tell this will be alot better then my TwiScootadop. Looking forward to reading it.
8036299 Or called Pulling a Twilight.
Pulling a Twilight - (verb)
The act of a know-it-all Egghead while being a freaked out, book-humping, possessive sadist.
I'm really looking forward to the next chapter! I dont often get excited by updates but this story will be an exception ^^
Is this going to turn into a Scootadopt story? Because I am completely okay with that.
8036575 Have you read my catalouge?
8036627 I have not, no. In fact, this is the first time I've heard of you, but I will be sure to take a look.
This seems pretty good so far. Scootaloo's daily life feels fleshed out enough that I understand it, but doesn't overstay its welcome. Twilight would naturally catch on to something like this unless she's distracted, and Spike's been charming and helpful so far.
I'm keeping an eye on this.
8036632 ah, well you'll notice i write a lot of Scootafics
Whelp *cracks my fingers* Time to delve into another Scoot-a-orphan! (as soon as I find some free time). Though I do feel as though the summary gives us too much information, even if it's the intent, it's just odd to read.
The mere fact that this isn't an RD ScootAdopt is the reason I'm not immediately favoriting this, and I readily admit that.
That was also the reason I was planning to avoid it altogether, but after rereading parts of Keeping Your Promises, this story was in the back of my mind, and I had to at least track it to see where it goes.
The one thing I'm weary of is what the ultimate reason RD won't be the one doing the adopting here.
But I'll continue to track this at least until we get to that scene.
I find that your fics are a lot better written and draw in the reader more than those other generic scootaloo adoption fics. I REALLY enjoined Three Gems, especially the physiological struggles with abandonment,doping your guard, and rejection. So far I like where this story is going, I find that the internal monologue/thoughts scoot has make her character much more realistic to the scenarios she finds herself in. Keep it up!
A "Twilight adopts Scootaloo" fanfic, and well written? I am hooked.
I have been following some fics with this theme before, but they got cancelled...
Glad to see how the story's coming along and happy to help with editing!
Ohh yes!!
Based on the quality of your previous Three Gems and A Scooter, I have already favourited.
No pressure of course
I have never read a good Twi adopt fic.
Raylan.. i loved 3 Gems and a scooter and I'm definitely reading this.... but you do realize you mispelled "Prologue" right?
8037628 The egg on my face...
8037549 Scootaloo and the Cabinet of Seers is one of the best stories I've ever read on this site. (It's not technically a Scootadopt, but it's worth reading)
Guardian Angel is also really good.
Both are unfinished unfortunately.
8036996 Thanks. I've said this before and I'm liable to say it again: I try to be a force against
8036983 There definitely needs to be more cmc emoticons.
I take it you're ignoring the episode "Flight To The Finish"? There, we see Scootaloo having her own room in her own REAL house. So she's neither homeless nor an orphan.
8037736 Yep. I'm writing a Scootaorphan fic, so I'm ignoring that particular piece of cannon.
8037739 incoming pedantry!
Cannon is a ballistic weapon.
Canon is an established body of work. While Scootaloo's room being a cannon would be 20% cooler, I doubt that's what you meant to ignore.
/pedantry
This fic shows a lot of promise! Cunning!Runaway!Scoots really is the only believable way to do homeless Scootaloo, so kudos there! I think this will be the first Twilight Scootadopt I've seen that wasn't TwiDash, so interesting there too!
And yeah, 3 Gems was f
king awesome, so just lemme grab the popcorn for this one...
Well, this is interesting. I'll keep an eye on it to see how it goes.
So, a Scootaloo the helpless orphan story by someone who doesn't like that convention? This is either gonna be great (by trying to avoid all the stuff you hate and keep the attractive stuff) or awful (if it's a cynical snide take on a sappy genre, removing what makes it attractive in the first place and replacing it with unfunny crass cynicism).
Looks like the first, though.
Plus for having Spike in the tag and making it clear he's part of the dynamic that will ensue. The Spike fan in me is pleased (and boy is that fan loud).
I haven't paid too much attention to Scootaorphan stories, but it seems like she is trying to be very self-sufficient, although is slightly resentful of people who have comforts.
Ima see where this goes.
8037805 Damn it! I always do that, pedantry well deserved.
8037865 Least cliched cliche!...if there's one title I want, it's that.
Yup yup, certainly looking promising! Sounds like you're trying to do a ScootaOrphan fic "right", and so far I think you're doing a good job.
Hm....
I am looking forward to seeing more of this!
Reading all these comments about generic scoota-orphan stories is making me nervous about my own story which is perhaps a generic CMC adventure story?
I wouldn't know sadly b/c no one leaves comments on it, b/c my grammar when I started was horrendous. I'd like to think I've gotten a little better since then, and I fixed many of those mistakes. No doubt, several still exists. I've also spent like 100k words building the world/characters and I'm still not at the true adventure part yet... Well I am. I just need to find the motivation to write it...
Anyways this story is looking good so far, keep it up. My favorite part of these stories is the discovery and reactions, can't really do those frivolously or else it just ruins it, for me at least, and I stop wasting my time.
8038432 i found the two I missed, I l think that's all of them
There are a couple ways to work homeless Scootaloo into the show's canon, even assuming that Equestria is as close to an utopia as it'll get.
The easiest way I can think of is her hiding it because she doesn't want to lose her only friends and if she slipped up she'd be shipped off away from Ponyville to Canterlot or some other big city; an orphanage in a small rural town like Ponyville just wouldn't make sense, after all, and maybe she doesn't want to take the chance that nopony in town would be willing or able to take her in.
Or of course you say that Equestria isn't an utopia after all, and Ponyville is just a very friendly and open town. Twilight and her friends never have a reason to 'slum it' when they travel, after all, and even then we've gotten to see that it's not all fun and sunshine, in more recent episodes in particular. Just consider the episode that showed a single restaurant critic nearly cost dozen of ponies their livelihood (I think some of them had even closed down their restaurants already by the time Rarity and Pinkie appeared).
8038487 That episode also featured a sleazy pony who was almost certainly either a drug dealer or a pimp.....
vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/d/d2/Maud_Pie_appears_in_Pouch_Pony%27s_path_S6E3.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/640?cb=20160403131112
I mean that guy, there's no way he's not into some shady shit
Oh my!
A Scootadopt fic that's well written and doesn't reduce Scootaloo to a mushy woobieblob!
It's like Hearth's Warming Morning come early!
I'll be keeping an eye on this; your pacing for these first two chapters is stellar.
Finally, someone who has Twilights castle also as the library! I mean, it only makes since, after the original got destroyed.
Never really read any orphan scootaloo fics, this will be a first, and its looking good.
I'm looking forward to the next chapters :)
8037739
You should put an AU tag on the story, then.
8038487
Don't forget: ignoring that scene of "Flight To The Finish"
8038598 No I shouldn't. The AU tag is meant for stories with major canon changes. Lunar Empire etc, this is a small tweak.
Twi seems to be able to detect Scoot's lies. I can't wait to see how this continues. I love Scootadopt especially when it's twi or rainbow.
It is a trope and I have read dozens of orphan Scootaloo stories by now. But what's one more ey? Enjoyed it so far. Well written. Nothing new really, but I'll gladly see what comes next anyway.
8038856 yeah, the dangers of Scootadopts is that there's nothing no one has done before. All i can do is something i haven't done and try to do it well.
Really hope to see more soon, many other authors have started some with Twi Scootadopt, but never finish it all the way. Some have been unicorn twilight, but not princess, which by way of adoption would put little scoots as tech a princess, xD love to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon reaction on that (unless they are nice now since it is cannon) I can imagine Twi's Family and Extended Family (Princessess) would be exited. Once it becomes public I am assuming Manehatten trying to get her back into orphanage and Princess Twilight will go all righteous flaming fury on their flanks if they try and take her back.