Chapter six: the cutie family
They walked in complete silence. It was an uncomfortable, oppressing silence. Scootaloo still lay inside the stroller on her side, avoiding the gazes of her friends. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle no longer smiled, but looked at their friend with puzzled gazes. They did realize that it would be really awkward for Scootaloo now that somepony found out, but she didn’t even want to look at them, and why was there still the occasional twinkle of tears?
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had only a vague idea about what Scootaloo was truly feeling. For Scootaloo herself, it all came back. The feeling of anxiety and total worthlessness were strangely familiar, and they haunted her. She didn’t want to look at anything anymore. She just wanted to go home and lock herself up. She just wanted to spend time on her own.
The forest disappeared, and they came again close to Ponyville. Open fields accompanied them to the right, and the town came closer and closer. Nevertheless, Scootaloo didn’t sit up or check whether there was somepony walking towards the stroller. She just didn’t care anymore.
It pained Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to see their friend this way, and they wondered what they could do to help her. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle made a small jump, and her eyes twinkled. She cast her glance into the little baby bed, looking for Scootaloo’s eyes. Scootaloo didn’t want to meet her gaze. “Hey, Scootaloo.”
No reaction.
“Scootaloo, I think I have an idea.”
Slowly, Scootaloo turned around and looked back, wiping away some of her tears.
“I know you’re afraid that ponies will start to gossip about us,” Sweetie Belle said, taking a guess at the reason why Scootaloo was so disheveled. “Maybe we should go to the Castle of Friendship, to Twilight.”
Was she serious? Scootaloo couldn’t imagine anything there but more humiliation.
But Sweetie had something else in mind. “If we go to Twilight, we can explain exactly what we are doing, just as Octavia explained herself to us. Remember how we were so flabbergasted at first but then understood it all when Octavia explained everything? Maybe we can do the same. You know, if we’re fast, we might just meet Rainbow Dash there too.”
“Hey, that’s a good idea,” Apple Bloom said. “And in case of emergency we can let them swear not to tell anything.”
It did sound like a good idea to Scootaloo, but she also realized that telling them about their foal play would be very difficult. She would probably be the one who would have to do all the talking, since she was the one who played the foal. It was a solution which wasn’t really a solution at all, but it was the best they could come up with—it was everything they could do. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom still looked at Scootaloo, as she pondered over the option. Slowly, she nodded her head. “Alright. That would probably for the best.” But her voice was still soft and meek.
Apple Bloom dared to smile. “Nice! On towards the Castle of Friendship!”
Taking the next turn, and avoiding the marketplace, the CMC’s walked towards the Castle of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle’s home and the place from where she and her friends went on missions to solve friendship problems wherever the Cutie Map sent them. Now they all walked. Scootaloo had got rid of her dress and her diaper, and was trotting next to her friends. They all realized that their little foal play game was over. Of course they had looked at their flanks with some hope, but there had been nothing to see there; they were still blank flanks. The mission had failed.
The castle came into view. It looked like an enormous, blue tree made out of crystal, bearing a shiny castle with beautiful golden spires and balconies that gleamed in the midday sun. It truly was a castle worthy of a princess. On top shone a bright, crystal star, which resembled Twilight’s cutie mark: a sparkle of magic. There was nopony to be seen, and the Crusaders hoped that Twilight was actually in her castle. If not, they would have to search for Rainbow Dash, and that would be a daunting task; she could be anywhere.
Walking into the shadow of the enormous palace, the CMC’s approached the large golden doors. To their relief, the doors were open. Twilight must be home.
“Twilight?” Apple Bloom called. “We are here! The Cutie mark fami—eh, Crusaders!”
“Coming!” said a voice from a staircase to their right. And soon enough, Twilight Sparkle appeared at the bottom of it. Her look was joyful, but the CMC’s saw that there was something hiding behind it. They realized that Rainbow Dash had already informed her.
“We’ve been expecting you all,” Twilight said, and then they knew for certain. “Follow me everypony.”
Together they climbed the winding staircase, each thinking their own thoughts. Scootaloo was already preparing her explanation, collecting the words in her mind that would most clearly convey her message. It was hard. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, decided to help Scootaloo wherever they could. Of course she wouldn’t be the only one talking.
They entered a large hallway, lined with crystal columns and golden doors. Suddenly, Twilight stopped next to one. The sign above it said, ‘study.’ Twilight opened the door, and they stepped inside.
The study looked just as a study was supposed to look. Lines of bookshelves stood against the wall, and a couple of comfortable chairs stood here and there. Rainbow Dash was already there, sitting in a big armchair. She didn’t look that bored at all; apparently she hadn’t been here for that long. Seeing Scootaloo once more, Rainbow Dash suppressed some laughter—barely. Even though Scootaloo wasn’t wearing her baby outfit anymore, the picture still lingered clearly in Dash’s mind.
“Have a seat,” Twilight said. “There’s some lemonade if you want.”
The CMC’s declined and sat down next to each other. Scootaloo didn’t dare to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes, staring instead at the thick red carpet. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at Twilight, wondering what would happen during this conversation. Twilight sat down.
Scootaloo had already decided that she would be the first one to speak, so that’s what she did. “You told her everything, didn’t you?” she said to Rainbow Dash.
“Of course,” Dash said with a broad smile. “I can’t just keep a joke like that to myself.” Rainbow Dash felt another burst of laughter bubble up in her belly. Her face already contorted in a funny way.
But Scootaloo didn’t laugh along, and neither did her friends. Twilight Sparkle had wanted to brush it off as just a joke. One of those jokes that is really ridiculous, but one of those jokes you could laugh about later with friends. That was not going to work, Twilight saw. She tapped Rainbow Dash on the shoulder and shook her head. At the last moment, Dash regained control of her chuckles. With a puzzled look on her face, Dash looked at Twilight, then at Scootaloo. “What? You can take a good joke, right, Scoot?”
“I don’t think it’s really a joke, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Why don’t we let the Crusaders do the talking?”
“Alright,” Dash said, turning to the CMC’s with a curious sparkle in her eyes.
Then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders told Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash everything they wanted about their mission. They told them about their idea to start foal playing themselves, and how Scootaloo had turned out to be the one who would have to play the baby. Of course they added the reason why they had done foal play in the first place; to get their cutie marks. That was a reason both Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle had guessed right away.
“But how in Equestria did you come to that idea?” Twilight asked. She didn’t sound concerned or amused at all, just curious.
That, of course, was something they couldn’t say, so the exact origins of their foal play idea remained a mystery to both Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. Now everything became clear to Twilight and Dash. They still thought that the foal play was funny and strange, but now they also saw exactly why the Crusaders had done it. The CMC’s really had a déjà vu feeling, and each of them had Vinyl and Octavia in mind.
“It still sounds weird,” Rainbow Dash said. “You must have had a terrible time, Scoot.”
“At first it was terrible,” Scootaloo said. Her voice was still soft and fragile, but she did her best to speak clearly. At last she looked at Rainbow Dash. “At first it was really humiliating, but then I realized that it’s not about being a baby, it’s about being a family. That feeling of… calmness was so nice, and it looked as if I really had a family.” Those last words didn’t leave Scootaloo’s mind alone. She repeated them. “It looked as if I really… as if I really…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. Tears appeared in her eyes again, and her head drooped down.
Her friends looked at her with worried gazes. This was the Scootaloo whose deepest desires had been broken, after Rainbow Dash had discovered her. They recognized her mood, and saw that she was tormented by the same feeling as before.
Rainbow Dash was no longer on the edge of laughter. Seeing Scootaloo’s tear-struck face, she knew that she was having a hard time, whatever it was she felt. All Dash wanted to do now was to help Scootaloo. Standing up, Rainbow Dash stepped next to her, and laid a wing on her shoulders, as if she wanted to cover up all of the sadness Scootaloo felt, blowing them away with a flap of her wings. “Hey, come on, Scootaloo, don’t be sad. I don’t think you’re a wuss. You know, I think it makes perfect sense.”
But it wasn’t just the fact that Rainbow Dash had seen Scootaloo in baby clothes, Twilight Sparkle saw that. She bent forward, trying to meet Scootaloo’s gaze. “Scootaloo, is there something you want to tell us?” she said, her voice serious but gentle.
Rainbow Dash retracted her wings, and then used the tip feathers to wipe away Scootaloo’s tears. “We all wanna help you, Scootaloo.”
This was the moment Scootaloo had both dreaded and expected. She had to tell the whole story now. If she truly wanted to have a shot at gaining back that feeling of peace and security, she had to tell them everything. Scootaloo took a few deep breaths, started to say a word, heard how cracked her voice still sounded, and took more breaths. Then she started her tale.
“This is a story none of you know, because I hate to share it. In fact, I’ve never told it to anypony else before. It is my own dark secret.” Scootaloo paused. She forced her voice to sound natural, but only partly succeeded. Nevertheless, she continued. “I was feeling like we really were a family, because I’ve never had a family—a family in which I could grow up happily and without troubles, I mean. Of course I had a father and a mother, back when I lived in Cloudsdale. Back when I was still little. But… but…”
Rainbow Dash once more laid her wing on Scootaloo; she saw her fighting against new tears.
The tears burned in Scootaloo’s eyes, as the mental picture of her mother and father reached her mind’s eye. She blinked the tears away and gritted her teeth. She had to continue. “My father… he was a very bad pony. He did… he did… bad things. Things I won’t tell you all now, maybe later. He said mean things to me, and sometimes he… he...” Scootaloo couldn’t finish her sentence; the dark memories drove her words out of her mind. She moved on. “And my mother, she couldn’t do anything. She was always sick, and couldn’t stop my father when he would fly into a rage. One day, she couldn’t take it anymore, and she… she…”
A burst of tears interrupted Scootaloo’s story. She grabbed Rainbow Dash’s wing and buried her face in it, but her muffled sobs could clearly be heard.
“It’s okay, Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash said. “You don’t have to tell us things you don’t want us to know. As long as you can get something off your chest, you’re doing a good job.”
Scootaloo nodded. She swallowed hard, and then continued. “Things got only worse from there. My dad started to blame me for everything. Every day he would yell and fight and scream. He didn’t leave me alone, not once. He never picked me up from school, and he never let me do my homework in silence. I often went to the skate park, just to get away from him, if only for an hour or two. The skate park was the only place where I really felt at home. I had friends there, and I could have fun with them, stunting with Scooters and skateboards.” Although that last part sounded hopeful, Scootaloo had trouble recounting it. She swallowed again. “But… but in the end, my teacher at school found out about the terrible situation at home somehow. He had his suspicions. He managed to call the authorities, and they took dad away, locked him up somewhere. I didn’t really care at that time, and I think I still don’t.”
“But how did you get to Ponyville?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“The people of childcare in Cloudsdale were really nice. They got me a foster family, and they were also really friendly. They treated me well, but I still felt like I had lost something. At that time, I just wanted to be alone. All my life I had been abused, and the feeling of a warm and loving family was so foreign to me… it scared me. I had to go, I couldn’t help it. I just… had to. One day, there was a hot air balloon festival down in Ponyville, and one of the balloons, which was operated by a pegasus, stopped in Cloudsdale for a while. That was when I seized my chance. I packed up everything I needed, hopped into the air balloon, and descended down to the ground. I had left everypony behind, but I was finally alone. The few days after that were miserable. I didn’t do much, I just roamed the streets and the roads aimlessly. In the end, my foster family found me tramping on the road, and I explained everything to them. They respected my wishes, as they could see that I didn’t belong in their family. And I don’t mean this the negative way, it’s just that I was… too scarred. My foster family let me go to Ponyville, but of course they still supported me. I went to school here in Ponyville, and then I met you guys.” Scootaloo paused and looked at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, while a small smile appeared on her face. “That was the best thing that could ever happen to me.”
“But, what about your foster family? Don’t they miss you very much?” Twilight asked.
“I visit them from time to time,” Scootaloo said. “But once the CMC’s and I built the clubhouse together, I stayed there at night. There I can be alone with my thoughts. That is my home. I have so much fun with my friends, trying out different things every day to get my cutie mark, and finding out who I really am. That is definitely something I could never have done with my dad.”
Scootaloo paused. Her friends looked at her as if they’d just met. All those days, and they had never even asked her about her past. Now that they thought of it, every time they had talked about family or friends, Scootaloo had changed the subject as quickly as she could. Now everything made sense. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were also flabbergasted. They had never thought that behind such an energetic, adventurous filly hid a past as terrible as this one.
Scootaloo sighed, and looked at her friends’ gazes. “Don’t worry, everypony, I’m alright, I really am.”
“But you looked so distressed when Rainbow Dash discovered you,” Apple Bloom said.
“Yes.” Scootaloo lowered her head, but then looked once more in her friends’ eyes. “We were a family, all of us together. The moment when we went outside for that walk, I experienced such a great feeling: the feeling of a warm and loving and caring family. Of course I had been treated nicely before, in my foster family, but with our foal play and all, it felt… different. It was caring and loving on a whole new level. I felt… I felt as if I redid my childhood, as if I started over again, and as if I could grow up from a foal to a filly without the screaming and yelling and abuse.” She smiled at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “With you guys.”
That was something everypony in the study could understand. Scootaloo’s story hit everypony hard, and their expressions were serious and understanding. Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She had been the one who had whisked away Scootaloo’s feeling of inner peace. She was to blame. Stepping back, Rainbow Dash looked Scootaloo right in the eyes. “I’m so sorry, Scootaloo. I’m sorry that I laughed at you all. I had no idea that this whole game of yours was so serious, and I should have behaved myself. I thought it was just a joke, that Scootaloo had lost a bet or something.”
Scootaloo looked back at her mentor, flashing a small smile. “Don’t be sorry, Rainbow Dash, it’s alright. Thanks to you I have told everypony here about my past, which I would otherwise never have done. At least something good has come out of it, I suppose.”
“So… We’re cool?”
“We’re cool, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said, bumping her hoof against Dash’s, and thanks to this small hoof bump, Scootaloo finally did feel cool again, a feeling which had been suppressed for what felt like years.
But that didn’t take away the shock everypony still felt upon hearing about Scootaloo’s terrible childhood. Apple Bloom was the one who was most impressed by Scootaloo’s tale. All her life Apple Bloom had been in a lovely, caring, hardworking family, and she couldn’t imagine living without them. The contrast was just too big for her. Apple Bloom felt some tears burning in her eyes too but blinked them away. She wanted to help Scootaloo, and not cry; she would accomplish nothing with crying. She just wished that she could do something for Scootaloo, to help her with her lost childhood. She remembered her lying in the stroller, so peaceful, so relaxed. Until Rainbow Dash had shown up, and then the spell had been broken.
The spell had been broken…
A spell…
Carried by that single word, the idea shot like Pinkie’s party cannon into her head.
“A spell!” Apple Bloom cried.
A collective, “Huh?” came from everypony.
“What do you mean, Apple Bloom?” Twilight said. Nopony had an idea what she meant.
“Do you remember your magic duel with Trixie?” Apple Bloom said. She spoke so quickly and enthusiastically that everypony had to concentrate to follow her.
“Yes,” Twilight said.
“Well, Trixie used an age spell on Snips and Snails to turn them older and younger. Maybe you could use that same spell on Scootaloo to make her younger as well. That way, she can still redo her childhood and grow up without abuse.”
That was something Twilight hadn’t expected. Her eyes went wide. “Whoa, whoa, Apple Bloom. Those spells are only for the highest level unicorns to cast.”
Sweetie Belle saw what was happening here, and backed her friend up. “But you are a highest level unicorn, right? I mean, you’re an alicorn, your magic is amazing!”
“Well, thank you, Sweetie Belle, but I don’t think—“
“Can you do it or not?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Well, I… eh...”
“Is that a yes?” Apple Bloom said. She was determined to get an answer.
Twilight felt the pressure of the rapid questions, accompanied by everypony’s hopeful gaze, weighing down on her shoulders. She sought in her head for a way out, an excuse, a way to avoid the question or the answer altogether. But nothing came to her. Twilight Sparkle was pinned down. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and said, “Yes, I can do it.”
Sweetie Belle jumped up, looking almost as excited as Apple Bloom now. “Why so sad Twilight? Isn’t that great? You can give Scootaloo what she always wanted.”
Twilight opened her eyes and looked at the CMC’s. “Yes, I understand what you want, but an age spell is so very drastic. I… I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do.”
“Of course it’s the right thing to do,” Apple Bloom said. “When you turn Scootaloo into a foal, we can take care of her. Then we can still be the cutie family.”
There was a pause, followed by a pensive silence. Twilight thought about everything that had been said. Of course she could do an age spell on Scootaloo, but the moral responsibility of such a thing made Twilight Sparkle unable to decide. What would her foster family think? What would Princess Celestia think? Princess Celestia knew the CMC’s, and Twilight couldn’t even imagine what her reaction would be.
Then Rainbow Dash broke the silence. “You know, Scootaloo, as much as I would like having you under my wing, I think you should do what you think is best. Twilight, why not let Scootaloo decide? Seems like a good idea to me.”
“Yeah, what do you say, Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom said. The next instant, all eyes were aimed at Scootaloo.
Right now, at this very moment, she could get what she always wanted. Scootaloo realized what an enormous decision she had to make; the most important decision in her entire life. Here was her chance, her chance to do everything over. A chance at being treated like a child without the fear of looking ridiculous. A chance at a loving family: her friends. And of course, a chance at getting her friends a cutie mark. Scootaloo knew that she would probably not get her cutie mark at such a young age, but she did realize that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would have a shot at getting one. There were so many good reasons to do it, to turn into a foal and live a complete life. Scootaloo looked at her friends. They wanted nothing more than to see her happy, and smiled at her.
And then, with the image of her friends in mind, Scootaloo made a decision.
“No.”
Everypony let out a long gasp. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were the loudest of them all, as their expressions changed to surprise quicker than a falling star. “What? Why not?” Apple Bloom said.
“Because… I don’t wanna lose you all. If I would turn into a foal, I wouldn’t remember you guys, or Rainbow Dash, or Twilight, or any of the others. I would never be able to do awesome scooter tricks with Rainbow Dash, or let Twilight teach me things, or go to a Wonderbolts flight show, or try all kinds of crazy things to earn a cutie mark,” Scootaloo said with a grin.
“But… what about your childhood?” Apple Bloom said. “We can always be friends again when you grow up. All of us would grant you your foalhood, we’re all prepared to give you that, right guys?”
They all nodded, even though Rainbow Dash secretly found it a shame to have to wait for Scootaloo to grow up before they could play games and do the things they loved to do together.
“It’s alright, guys, really,” Scootaloo said, and she meant it. “I know my childhood was really bad, but that’s in the past now. I know I could get something that I’d lost, but I also know that I would lose something that I’ve gained: you guys. You guys are my family now, my family and my friends. I wouldn’t want to lose you all for all the childhood years in Equestria.”
Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh of relief, but it was immediately followed by an, “Aw!”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom suddenly stood up, grabbed Scootaloo, and embraced her tightly. “If that’s what you really want, then it’s alright with me,” Apple Bloom said.
“And with me too,” Sweetie Belle added.
Now Rainbow Dash and Twilight stood up, and joined in as well. They stood like that for a while, keeping each other in the warmest, most genuine embrace. Right at that moment, Scootaloo knew she had made the right decision.
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash let go. In her opinion, the embrace had lasted long enough; any longer and it would be too sappy for her. She jumped up, flapped her wings, and hovered in the air. “Alright, Scootaloo, let’s make up for that silly foal play of yours by practicing some awesome stunts!”
Scootaloo looked up and smiled. “Sounds good!”
Swooping down, Rainbow Dash threw Scootaloo onto her back, and flew out the door. Cries of cheerful laughter echoed in the study for a few seconds, before that too, faded away, just like Scootaloo’s dark memories of years gone by.
“Well, I’m glad that everything worked out in the end,” Sweetie Belle said, when the echo was all gone.
“Me too,” Twilight said. “And if you fillies ever need any help, you can always come to me. It doesn’t matter what it is. As you can see, I have a solution to any problem, and sometimes the solution can be as simple as talking about your fears or worries.” She threw a wink at the Crusaders.
“Well, we all still have a problem,” Apple Bloom said.
Twilight’s smile disappeared. Did Apple Bloom have something serious and important to say too? Another psychological problem?
“We still don’t have a cutie mark!”
Letting out a sigh of relief, Twilight rolled her eyes. She stood up. “Come on, everypony, I might just have something that you like.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle trotted after her, eager to try something new. Of course, their minds were still with Scootaloo, but they also knew that she would be alright. Tonight they would be together again as friends—but, after these strange days, as family too.
THE END
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Heh, this story was... wierd. But overall a good read if you like the CMC.
It was supposed to be a bit weird but with a strong message. That was what I was going for. I'm glad you liked it and thank you so, so much for the comment! I might make a sequel on this featuring Vinyl and Octavia which will be even more awkward. Be prepared, hahaha!
Wow... this was wonderful!
The story had that silly-caring vibe and then it got so serious and loving in the end. I have no words to describe how good of a story this was other than as I said above, “wonderful”.
You have earned a like and favorite from me. Right when I finished reading it was the first thing I did.
Though I’m surprised I didn’t see this story sooner, as it says the first comments are back in October of 2018
I would love if you made another story with scoots saying yes to being changed to a foal for only a month or something like that
9539756
Dear JordanOlson,
Thank you so much for your kind words. You have made my day for sure!
It's true that this story is quite different (and a bit controversial) from my usual works, and I doubted for a long time whether I wanted to have it published on FIMFiction at all. The reason why you didn't see it sooner is that I only recently found the inner courage to join a couple of ABDL/pony-ageplay groups on FIMFiction, where I eventually posted this story as well. I am kind of proud but wildly ashamed of this story at the same time, yet I had to write it just to get back in the game and deal with an awkward and secret curiosity of mine, hehe. 
All in good fun, though, and I always keep these kinds of stories innocent and funny.
Once again thanks so much for reading and commenting, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
Elkia
9539889
I actually have some ideas for a short sequel where Scootaloo might or might not change her mind. The idea came to me when I saw the 'Ailicorn' MLP short, where one of Zecora's potions accidentally turns Twilight into a foal. I have a lot of other stories, planned, though, including a saga (more like a trilogy, actually) I've been working on since the beginning of my writing career, so don't expect the sequel next week or so. Nevertheless, I hope I can entertain you with my other stories, if you're interested. There are some funny ones on my profile, like 'The "Ship" in "Shipping"' and 'Zephyr's New Plan,' a story I released this very morning for April Fool's Day. I hope to see you in my next stories! 
Thanks for reading my story, Stargriefer.
Elkia
I don't know if you're aware of this, but the CMC had gotten their marks by the time this story was put up.
9546492
I usually wait at least a month after I've written the story before I start editing the first draft. Then I send the second draft to friends and incorporate their comments and ideas into the second draft to create a third draft. It's the way I write, time-consuming, I know, but it does help giving my readers the best story experience they can possibly get from me. 
And even when I finished editing it took me a long while to find the courage to publish this strange tale on FIMFiction. It's just so awkward and weird and I know there are tales on FIMFiction which are much stranger, but still I felt a little ashamed putting this online. 
Whatever. I did it anyway. No regrets!
Yes, you're right. I actually waited a long time before I put this story on FIMFiction, and by the time I wanted to publish it, the CMC's had gotten their cutie marks.
I hope this answers your question. Have a wonderful day!
9546792
Hey, no worries. As someone who's wrote a story here myself, I know how you feel. You want the story to be as great as you can, and yeah, having to encourage yourself to put it up is a big step, since there's always the chance that people will not like it as much as you thought.
Poor Scootaloo! This was adorable, and strange, and awkward indeed! ^^ Your voice came through very clearly in this. :) I do love the dialogue and the way everyone argues and reasons things out.
I do have one suggestion for improvement: the gaps between paragraphs are a bit long, which makes it more difficult to read. One blank line between paragraphs is fine.
9548953
I don't think that's intentional. When I put my story up, I had a similar problem, and I only did a double space between paragraphs. I think it has to do with the way the site's system separates them, because I had to single-handedly backspace each break until it was back to how I wrote it.
9548336
Putting up a story is an even bigger step if you know the story is a bit... controversial, hehe. 
Your opinion as a fellow writer is always worth gold!
9548953
Indeed, I like to write dialogue very much, although it does have the habit of cluttering a story and making it longer than you figured it would be (or sometimes even longer than it should be 
), especially if you add body language and (direct) thoughts in the form of interior monologue. In fact, I like writing dialogue so much that I decided to write a story with only dialogue and onomatopoeia, which I posted on April Fool's Day this year (Zephyr's New Plan). You're right about the insane paragraph spacing. It has to do with importing Gdocs documents into FIMFiction using the button. At that time I felt it was the best way to get the text from MS Word into FIMFiction, but now I just copy-paste it directly and everything goes fine. I've learned a lot over the years, and not just about writing, but also about FIMFiction itself, haha! 
Thanks for your positive comment, Hawthorn!
Stay awesome!
Elkia
9551437
The only thing that doesn't work that way is if you use colors, but not many writers use other colors (I did once, and I had to re-color everything by hoof in FIMFiction 
). Also, I'm not sure about pictures. You probably used the import button to import text from Gdocs into FIMFiction. THAT is when you get the ridiculous paragraph spaces. Hope this helps you!
Try copy-pasting the text directly from Microsoft Word (or whatever program you use) into the area where you write in FIMFiction. It works all the time, even with cursive, bold, and underlined text.
9554600
Well, that's just it, I did just copy/paste, but that still gave me that issue.
9556636
That's strange... Maybe it has to do with your writing program or your font? I switched from Times New Roman to Calibri in Microsoft Word. Or maybe it is a quirk of FIMFiction that has been fixed? Just theorizing here. It could be anything.
9551437
There is a plan to fix paragraph spacing in under formatting button when you edit chapters
9708886
I'll definitely take note of that when I release my next story.
Ah okay good to know. Thanks!
9711120
Sorry I meant to say that there is a button in the formatting section to fix paragraphs. Also I have no idea how you expected diapers for two-year-olds to fit a 10-year-old I was kind of a stretch
9711158
Alright! Thanks for the tip! :) As for your second point, I recall Pinkie accidentally putting one on herself in the episode 'Baby Cakes,' and she's even bigger than Scootaloo, or am I wrong?
9711952
I mean it’s pinkie pie. I still don’t think it would work but whatever your story Shrug it just sounds like you would be way too tight and not nearly thick enough to do anything like wearing really tight underwear
9713489
Okay, if that's what you think then that's alright. Have a good day! ;)
awww, I’m getting even more inspired to work on my story, but I kinda have writer’s block, hell I still haven’t completed the prologue :/