A Full Cabin is Better than an Empty Castle
Twilight gently pushed the door to the guest room open. “Hello Scootaloo. Spike said you were ready to talk?”
Scootaloo hadn’t moved from her spot on the edge of the bed, facing the far wall. She glanced over her shoulder but didn’t turn around. “I only said that ‘cause he’s always been nice to me. I know you’re just going to send me away.”
“Maybe I don’t have to.” Scootaloo didn’t say anything, but a spark of interest flashed across her face. Twilight continued her pitch. “I want to help you, and maybe that means you staying in Ponyville, but the only way I’ll know is if you talk to me.”
Scootaloo turned around and looked up with glistening eyes. “If I answer your questions you won’t send me back to Manehattan?”.
Because she didn’t know exactly what Scootaloo meant, Twilight shook her head. “I can’t promise that, but if you don’t tell me whats going on I will have to call Foal Services.”
Scootaloo scowled, the stubborn, go-it-alone determination returning with a vengeance. “I don’t have to tell you anything, you can’t keep me here!”
Twilight sighed inwardly. Scootaloo was right; keeping her confined was not a sustainable solution. “I just want to help.”
“That’s what Spike said, but you can’t help me!”
Twilight took a deep breath. “Scootaloo, I’ve traveled all over Equestria helping ponies. Most of them think their situations are hopeless too. But I’ve found that if ponies talk things out and think about their problems, there’s always a solution.”
“This isn’t a friendship problem,” Scootaloo fired back.
“You’re right, it’s not.” Agreeing with ponies was always a good way to calm them down. “Can we please try my way anyway?” Scootaloo nodded skeptically, but a nod was a nod. Twilight moved on to the next item on her agenda. “How long have you lived in Ponyville?”
“A couple years.”
“A couple—” Twilight swallowed her shock. Hysterics were guaranteed to bring more emotion to a situation that already had too much. “Where did you live before that?”
“Manehattan.”
“Where in Manehattan?”
“The orphanage.”
If Twilight could find out any details about Scootaloo’s family, maybe she could find some relatives willing to take her. The one- and two-word answers were frustrating, but Twilight pressed on. “Scootaloo, I know this isn’t easy, but I need you to talk to me. Do you remember where you lived before that?”
“No, I don’t remember living anywhere before that.” Annoyance was beginning to creep into Scootaloo’s voice. Twilight chose to ignore it.
“OK, why you’d leave the orphanage in Manehattan?”
“I didn’t like it there. There were too many rules. Make your bed, go to bed at nine, eat your vegetables. And if you didn’t you’d get an ‘X’ next to your name and if you got too many ‘X’s you wouldn’t get to play during playtime.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Maybe for you,” Scootaloo said with a snort.
Twilight wasn’t looking for an argument about the merits of progressive discipline in childcare, she moved on. “So you just ran away?”
“Kinda. One day they told me that I was moving to an older foals’ home in Trotson. So when they took me to the train station I snuck off and got on the train to Ponyville instead.”
Questions came pouring out despite Twilight’s best efforts to remain calm. “I can’t belive no one ever found you! How did you get enrolled in school? What about Family Appreciation Day?”
“I don’t know, Twilight. I just showed up at school and I fake my parents’ signatures on things. It’s worked so far.” There was a pause as Twilight considered which of her many questions to ask next. Scootaloo beat her to the punch. “So now what?”
Twilight made a mental note to talk to Cheerilee about Scootaloo’s records as well as look into the state of Equestria's orphanges. “What do you mean?”
“Are you going to keep me here forever? Because I’m not going back to that orphanage, or any other one.” Scootaloo didn’t yell, but underneath the statement was an unmistakeable challenge.
“I’m not going to make you to stay here Scootaloo. I’m sorry I used a force field in the first place, I really am. But I can’t let you stay homeless.”
“Why not? I was doing fine!” Scootaloo shouted indignantly
In her study of conflict resolution, Twilight had learned was to avoid accusations, so she didn’t disagree but rather she turned the focus on herself. “It’d be irresponsible of me. I wouldn’t be much of a princess if I did. But I also wouldn’t be a very good princess, or a good friend, if I just shipped you off to a strange city. So do you want to stay in Ponyville?”
For the first time Twilight detected a note of hope in the young filly’s voice. “Yeah, I mean my friends are here. But I don’t want anyone to know I’m homeless. Especially not Rainbow Dash!”
Finally Scootaloo issued a demand Twilight could agree to. “Rainbow is away for the month for Wonderbolts training, that won’t be a problem. And I’m hoping by the time she gets back we’ll have this all worked out. I’m going to take the forcefield down now. If you want to run away I won’t stop you, but I will write to Foal Services.”
“So I either do what you say or you’ll report me?” It wasn’t so much a question as an accusation.
“You can either accept my help or not, but I can’t pretend I don’t know what’s going on. For what it’s worth, I think you’re a lot better off with me.” Twilight flared her horn and a purple light flashed around the room. Scootaloo immediately ran to the door and pushed it open. A look of surprise registered on her face as her hoof made contact with the wood. She stepped just beyond the doorframe and turned to look at Twilight, who made no effort to move. “If you want to leave, you can,” Twilight said.
Scootaloo took another step forward and Twilight still didn’t move. Scootaloo turned around and walked back into the bedroom. “I’ll stay. For now,” she quickly added.
Twilight returned downstairs to find Spike making enough pancakes to feed a small crowd. “I don’t know what to do Spike,” she moaned.
Spike flipped a pancake, without a spatula, and turned the flame off before setting down the pan. “About Scootaloo? Is she going to let you help her?”
Twilight sighed and poured herself a glass of juice. “There isn’t any foster care in Ponyville, it’s too small a town for that. I could ask if anypony would be willing to take care of her, but she seems adamant about taking care of herself.”
“Maybe she could stay here?”
“She can’t stay here, Spike.”
“Why not? We have the space.” Spike transferred his mound of pancakes to a serving plate.
“It’s not about that. She needs a family, ponies who can take care of her. I’m not ready to be a mother.”
“She’s not a baby, Twilight. She’s done a pretty okay job taking care of herself.”
“She sleeps in an abandoned basement!”
“Yeah and she’s doing pretty well. Neither of us would’ve guessed she was homeless. Imagine how great she could be if she had a warm bed and dinner every night. We could give her that.”
“We’re not talking about looking after her for a weekend, Spike.” Twilight sighed. “Besides she doesn’t seem to want anything to do with me right now.”
“She talked to you, that seems like a start.”
Twilight smiled, but her brow remained furrowed. “I guess it is.”
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Those of you worried about chapter length will be gratified to know they've more or less stabilized around 1,300 words.
Well at least she is giving Twilight a chance. Hopefully her stubborn pride will not get her in more trouble.
Spike puts forth a good argument, I think.
Wait. How did I miss this? Ye gods. At least I have more stuff to read now.
8187494 Those of us worried, on the other hoof, about chapter shortness will be somewhat less gratified.
But hey, bit by bit!
Yeah, I'm still unsure of whether or not I'm going to fave this yet.
But I AM looking forward to where it's going.
8187540
8187494 I addressed this already. Chapter lengths will be what they are. Anyone who has a problem with that.....well thanks for reading, hope to see you at the next one.
8187555 Not a promise, merely an observation
Twilight says she's not ready to be a mother and that Scootaloo needs someponies that can take care of her.
...Uh, Twilight? Did you forget that that you helped raise a dragon? The one you are talking to at that very moment? The one you helped raise even back when you were a foal and before you became a princess with near-unlimited resources and a close group of friends to act as a support group when they eventually learn of the situation? Back when said dragon was a mere hatchling with no survival skills and had special challenges that came with being the only dragon ever raised by ponies, unlike Scootaloo, who's just a regular pony?
What's even more unusual is that Spike himself apparently doesn't think to mention this.
Retrospect, people! Ret-ro-spect!
Cheerilee is worst teacher.
Twilight needs to learn to stop worrying and love the Scoot.
Spike is the smartest character in this story.
8187621 It's hard to objectively acknowledge a situation that has been a part of your reality for years and years on end. Plus, the relationship between Twilight and Spike is a weird mix of parental, sibling, close friends, and employer/employee, so trying to compare it to a full on fostering job is probably nebulous at best.
8187621
I'm really hoping part of the story is dealing with this, because I think 8187650 is at least partially right: after having this situation for so long, Twilight doesn't double guess her relationship with Spike like she is doing with Scootaloo.
But I also think that family is the thing Twilight and Spike's relationship probably should be, even if it's not defined as mother or sibling or whatnot. So I'm hoping that, if Scootaloo starts looking like she enters Twilight's family, that it brings more realization with what her relationship with Spike is.
8187621 damn it, thats a legit point
8187539 I don't do a lot of advertising....
i still feel twilight is morally questionable at best right now, yes scootaloo ran away from an orphanage and her reasons where weak and likely lies. but twilight couldn't even own the fact that she basically held scootaloo in her house without her consent by means of magic and so far she hasn't owned her mistake, she comes close but then she uses 'but'. this needs to be handled i feel. she is also notably using a form of blackmail to get what she wants.
8187861
She did that to help Scootaloo. If Scootaloo thought Twilight was going to turn her in, and bolted out the window the first time and actually managed to survive the fall (Twilight seemed to believe it'd injure her) then what? In her mind, in order to prevent going back to the orphanage she'd have to skip town to avoid the long arm of Twilight-do-gooder. Go to a new village or city, start over again. Even if Twilight tried to summon help from local authorities Scootaloo still would have gotten out before Twilight could even contact them, and disappeared out from everyone's noses. Then a scared, lost, angry, stubborn little girl would be out trying to escape the town before people trying to help her found her because she's adamant that they're out to get her and not out to make sure she has all the things a growing child needs.
So yes, a temporary breach of consent is more than logical, understandable, and acceptable. If anything, I'd be raging if she'd just let Scootaloo vanish. A tracking spell or a restraint or anything would still be violating her consent and you'd still be complaining about it. And without measures like these where is Scootaloo? Trying to leave town while injured - either from the burn, or the fall. In this case, it really is 'Twilight knows best'. Scootaloo is not an adult of her own agency (as presented in the story), she is a child to be protected, and at that time leaving her to her own devices would have been gross negligence on the line of abusive. Definitely not protection.
Let us also not continue to make the assumption that every Equestrian world in an author's story is running on human ideals, and human laws, and human understandings, as all these things are based in our biology and history. Twilight is a Princess, we would have been able to assume she is one of the highest authorities in the land, as her authority was stated to be equal to Celestia's - who ruled the land for a thousand years. Except that whole bit with Mayor Mare established that Princess seems to be more just a functionary position that can call for others to do things if someone tells them they're allowed to, effectively neutering the Crown and what it means. With that idea, until proven wrong, we can see that Twilight could not just wave her hoof and make all of this okay. She would actually have to follow procedure and sic Foal Services on Scootaloo's trail since Scoots would no longer be under her roof to protect and find alternatives for.
Or, for one night, she could give Scootaloo food, safety, a healthy shower and more, and prevent her from harming herself by fleeing while Twilight figured out what she could do for Scootaloo in the interim. Which was the right choice and right thing to do. Respect her wish to run away, or protect her from herself and keep her safe, on the mend, fed, and only temporarily contained?
8187871 any ruler who can justify taking away a subjects essential freedom on a whim needs to be checked. scootaloo is not twilight's ward or her foal, and i'm pretty sure if twilight wants to install a policy about allowing adult ponies to detain foals on the suspicion (yes suspicion twilight had not definite proof until she was told), pretty sure celestia and luna well have a trouble with that. 'the end justifies the means' is the first step on a slippery slide downwards, your right we can't put this on human laws and morals that's precisely twilight needs to be called out. what twilight did was wrong, morally reprehensible if twilight hides behind her crown to justify it then she really is a hypocrite to her stance on chrysalis who only invaded canterlot to help her children. you say twilight should be exempt because of her crown and that she 'knows better' but those are the reasons she shouldn't be allowed to simply get away with it, she is supposed to be a symbol, held to a certian standard, instead she acted in a poorly thought out and morally bad fashion. now she may have created emotional and mental barricades that would mean scootaloo trusting her is a matter of months rather then weeks, and there is no defense for the blackmail, there never is.
8187885
Then if things had gone your way, we might not even have a Scootaloo.
Also, you put a whole lot of words in my mouth. You might want to realize you're imposing your own thoughts on what I said on the reality of what I said.
I'd like to say also, your point of view is problem-ridden for other reasons. Thinking like that has actually cost lives before that could have easily been saved. I can recall almost entirely off-hand at least two stories I've read in the last couple of years where paramedics who were not called to assist by dispatch or on-duty let persons die, one I believe by choking (dreadful way to go) despite being within a couple tens of feet and entirely aware of what was going on.
I wanted to be angry at them for allowing someone to expire they could have saved. Then I looked into their given reasoning, and found more stories. Where paramedics who HAD ignored these policies and niceties and 'consent' to save a life ended up out of a job, at least several on the street, at least one who no longer had any means to provide for his family. Saved a life and they still wound up out of a job because they believed keeping someone alive and safe was more important than the fine print in their employment agreement. But people who'd agree with you disagreed with them - one of which was a person who was saved (by one of these paramedics) and then these heroes wind up shame-faced with their lives destroyed because someone thought they were bad.
That was when I realized who I should be angry at.
8187877
By your reckoning, as a possibly adult, calm, reasoning person reading this from a detached outside view.
Not a panicking child whose idea of stability is scrounging to survive and - no matter what - not getting found out.
Uh-hu. Can you show me your hoof for a sec, please? The one with terrible burns that was just about to get infected?
Also, you're missing a period.
That's one way to put it. I prefer this way: you started a fire, Miss 'I can do well on my own'.
Seriously though, it's strange how she quickly forgot about that. Not just she was in very poor and dangerous condition, she almost burned down a place. And Spike thinks she was doing an okay job? And to those who are questioning Twilight's morality, know that if it had been somepony else Scootaloo would be under custody, either of Foals service or the Police.
Scootaloo is just being a rebellious, potentially dangerous, and unreasonable character in this story. Not that I'm complaining about that, but Twilight's precautions are entirely justified here.
8187675 Actually, it has been stated that Princess Celestia raised Spike until Twilight was old enough to take care of him (by Lauren Faust among others). I think it was in Winter Wrap Up where Twilight wakes Spike up early in the morning and he replies with "Mommy? You're not mommy!", so that seems to support the theory.
Be positive, Twilight! And listen to, Spike.
Good chapter. Keep the positivity going!
8187555 "most authors love feedback"
Unless it's about slow, short chapters amirite! All joking aside, I'm going to put this on my back burner until I see a complete tag. The story is good, the pacing is good, the writing is good, but the rate of your production actually has me going back and re-reading chapters so I can refresh myself on details because your production rate is at a snails pace. So instead of see you on the next one, I'll see you when it's done. Peace and Love.
Starlight stay at Twilight's castle and for some reason Trixie is too.
8188275 not in this story (pre season 6)
Well, at least now Scootaloo is willing to give Twilight a chance. Now, what is Twilight going to do with that chance.
8187910 this isn't the case of a paramedic getting fired for breaking the rules, it's akin to a police officer taking someone into custody and then taking them to there home, locking them in a room and forcing them to do as they want or be blackmailed with a confession they forced out of them. we're not talking about the current ramifications of twilights actions but the future ones, twilight needs scootaloo to trust her and originally scootaloo had some form of trust with her, until actions like this shattered it. we are talking about a severely jaded scared filly who believes herself to be capable of being independent and it well take longer to repair trust with her then it well take to build it, twilight is playing the short game and badly where the long game needs to be considered here, rather then making her home a safe place she has turned it into a prison which means that what twilight considers her being helpful and kind look to scootaloo like being cold and rigid, anyone that twilight might get to look after her well look like accomplices, the long term bad effects are not cancelled out by the short term benefits any chess player would call this a bad gamble, she sacrificed a knight for a pawn early in the game, not a good move.
in the end what you say doesn't matter because this is my opinion of the given situation and despite how you seem to think, i have a right to it like everyone else does.
8187621
I'm not sure about Spike being parented by Twilight. IMO it's less "Twilight rise Spike" and more "Celestia rise both Twilight and Spike".
Of course, it's only my opinion, not some universal truth.
8188613
All I will say to finish this, because I am not arguing with you and I bear you no ill-will, is that labeling something an opinion - especially after you've cited it almost as fact to put down someone else's thought process - and previously stated it as though it were an objective truth, does not make it ironclad against rebuttals or comments on your words, which one always bears responsibility for.
Let us agree that we are both of different minds on the subject matter. I am incapable of agreeing with your point of view, and you are very, very attached to yours. I can respect that, if nothing else, and I honor that ideal.
8188636
At the very least, she's Equestria's version of his "legal guardian". She houses him, feeds him (even if he does the cooking), protects him, and sees to his medical needs, and education (in the somewhat confusing configuration that it implies). All while still taking on the unique challenges of Spike being a dragon. She may have had help from Celestia and her own parents when she and Spike were younger, but she was still his primary caregiver and is even more so now.
Although being a princess comes with increased responsibilities and less time, she could easily do the same for Scootaloo. She already tutors Scootaloo with "Twilight Time" to begin with, and Scootaloo doesn't appear to be failing school as it is, and as Spike pointed out, they have plenty of resources. At the least, housing Scootaloo would provide an extra layer of protection until they eventually form more familial-type bonds (which, I imagine, is the direction this story is probably going to go down eventually, so...)
But that's just my personal take on it. And yeah, Celestia really did kinda raise both of them.
...I really wish the show had more development for Velvet and Night Light, but I guess Twilight and Shining Armor's upbringing and current positive personality traits is proof enough of their parenting skills?
8189981 Don't discount the possibility of their development yet!
Then tally-ho to Act II!
Dreadnought
im liking this story. have a like fave
8233597
Okay, that makes a bit more sense. It's just wherever I've seen that word it DOES imply rudeness.
Good story, though!
Scootaloo turned around and looked up with glistening eyes. “If I answer your questions you won’t send me back to Manehattan?”.
Because she didn’t know exactly what Scootaloo meant, Twilight shook her head. “I can’t promise that, but if you don’t tell me whats going on I will have to call Foal Services.”
Scootaloo scowled, the stubborn, go-it-alone determination returning with a vengeance. “I don’t have to tell you anything, you can’t keep me here!”
See that transition from progress to square one in Scootaloo's speech? Twilight chose what she said here very poorly for this situation. For someone suffering this kind of psychological issue, you NEVER bring up law or mention any authorities like CPS to the subject. You need to gain their TRUST if you want information from them.
8235884
Typing words in all caps doesn't help your point.
8235919
Uh, I didn't intend for it to help my point, I just typed it like that.
8237814
let me rephrase, when you type in all caps you look like your emphatically pounding your metaphorical fist on a table. There's no need for the emphasis.
Haven't seen a new chapter of this great story. Hope all is going well.
Dreadnought
So like so many great stories on this website-IT DIED!!!
8264930
I've seen stories get updated after 4 years on hiatus so don't assume.
8264930
8264997
8248487
If it were dead I'd mark it as canceled, new chapter is in editing. Next time send a pm.
8265101
I wasn't saying the story is dead, I was pointing out that just because this hasn't been updated in over a month does not mean it is dead.
8265101
My humblest apologies. Copy. Wilco. Out.
8265101
Sorry dude! But if you were dead how could YOU mark it as cancelled?
8267392
His ghost?