One Bolt, Spreading Harmony

by Boltsinger

Meet the Parents

The castle doors swung wide open, revealing a pair of travelers laden with heavy bags that trundle in. The larger of them took a deep breath, letting out his traditional bellow. "WE HAVE RETURNED!!!" As the saddlebags fell to the floor, Boltsinger let his legs go limp, falling to his side with Spike next to him.

Before they could hit the floor, though, they vanished in a magenta poof.

"Welcome home, boys!" Twilight and Scootaloo exclaimed as they appeared in the library. The pair of them rushed to the flopped stallion, ensuring he was met with a tight embrace.

"You guys tired from your trip?" Twilight asked, settling onto the floor with her husband and a book.

Boltsinger smirked. "Is it that obvious? We were up all night working on a so--"

"Hey!" Spike interjected, sitting up and glaring. "Don't tell her yet! I want it to be a surprise!"

"Alright, fine." the stallion acquiesced, lifting his head to look around. "So where's my little prince?"

"Over here!" came the accented call of a mare. Boltsinger followed the voice, finding Nova with a pair of mares he'd not seen in a while. One was a yellow Earth Pony with a slightly heavy build. She had scarlet eyes that matched her long and bushy two-tone mane and tail of a reddish orange. She wore a blue scarf with flower earrings of the same color, sporting a sailboat Cutie Mark on her flank. The other was a Pegasus of a more slight build with opal eyes and short hair of blue and cyan. Her Cutie Mark featured a needle and a spool of blue thread, accentuated by the purple sweater she wore. They were on either side of the colt, who was wrapped in a less than familiar quilt. The orange-maned mare waved a greeting hoof, smiling wide. "Nice to see you again, Boltsinger."

The mare's smile was mirrored on the stallion, who worked his way onto his belly and waved in kind. "Good to see you too, Holiday." He turned to the other guest with a greeting nod. "So, Lofty, haven't seen that quilt before. You make it?"

The taller mare nodded, putting a hoof on Nova's mane. "Got the idea last time we came over. He's little now, but he won't be forever." She tousled the hair a little before pulling back. "He'll need something to grow into."

"I tested it myself!" Scootaloo declared, picking up the corner of the blanket. "It's super comfy and won't tear for anything!" She looked up to her aunt with a smile. "Just like the one I use every night."

Lofty pulled the filly into a hug. "Well I couldn't let you show off to your little brother, could I?"

"I guess not." the filly admitted as she hugged right back. "Are you gonna stay long enough to see Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle? They should be here any minute!"

Lofty chuckled, letting her niece free of the embrace. "Now how could we come all this way and not see your friends?" She looked to her partner with a smile. "Isn't that right?"

"Of course." Holiday affirmed. "We weren't planning on going anywhere for a few days anyway."

Scootaloo jumped into the air, keeping herself aloft easily with a buzzing of her wings. "Awesome!" She touched down almost instantly. "They're gonna be so happy to see you." Right on cue, a knock came to the castle doors, widening the Crusader's smile. "That must be them!" Her wings buzzed to life once more, lifting her from the floor. "I'll be right back!" And with that, she was off, a petit streak of orange racing down the hall.

With a strenuous groan, the other orange Pegasus worked his way up. "I think I'll join her." he stated, looking down at his wife. "It's been a whole since I saw them, too. It'd be good to say hi." He rubbed the back of his neck with a wing. "Care to help a tired pony out, honey?"

The Alicorn gave off a giggle, lighting up her horn. "Of course."

Boltsinger smiled weakly, raising a hoof. "Thank--" He disappeared in a flash of magenta, reappearing in the foyer. "-- you." He laughed to himself, the thought of how much he'd missed her coming to mind. He turned his attention toward the door, stepping forward. "Hey, Scoot, how… are…" His eyes went wide, jaw slack at the sight before him.

Scootaloo stood stiff in the doorway, her expression not unlike her adoptive father's in the embrace of a brown-coated Earth Pony stallion. He had a dark raspberry-colored and bushy mane and tail, with orange eyes and a Cutie Mark of a camera next to a map, and wore a white button-up shirt with a dark booney hat threatening to slide off of his head. Behind him stood a bright tangelo-coated Pegasus mare in an explorer's jacket. Her mane was two shades of bright gold, pulled back into a ponytail so as to be out of her way, with eyes of a familiar purple and a compass on a breeze popping off of her flank. The mare's smile already told Boltsinger a great deal, as it reminded him of the look on Twilight's face when she saw Nova. More importantly, the look on Scootaloo's face sent a chill down his spine and a furrow to his brow.

"Scootaloo, are you alright?" He asked, taking a soft step forward.

"Thank Celestia you're here, Scootaloo!" The accented stallion exclaimed, squeezing the filly just a little tighter. "We heard some nonsense about you bein' adopted and we just had to see for ourselves!"

The Earth Pony's comment sent a furrow to Boltsinger's brow, something in his mind snapping into place as his next step turned into a stomp. "I see…" He took a deep breath, clearing his throat at a volume so loud it shook the ground beneath them for a moment. The other stallion's eyes turned upward to see him, joined soon after by the mare. "You two are late."

"Late?" the mare repeated, cocking her eyebrow. "How can we be late if we never sent word we were coming?"

"Oh, but you did." Boltsinger stressed, taking another step forward as hoofsteps began to echo from deeper inside. "Don't you remember the letter you sent last winter?"

Finally, the Earth Pony released Scootaloo from his embrace, standing at his full height with a bewildered look on his face. "I'm not sure I follow. Maybe an introduction's in order? My name's--"

"Snap Shutter, Holiday's younger brother and Scootaloo's paternal genetic donor. I know." Boltsinger stepped forward again, trying his best to keep his teeth from clenching. "I've heard about you from Holiday. Very flattering pictures." He glanced over to the mare. "Which makes you Mane Allgood. It's a pleasure to meet you both. But I can't help but wonder why you're so late."

The hallway hoofsteps came to a stop, Twilight, Holiday, and Lofty appearing wide-eyed in the foyer. "Those… aren't Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle…" the princess noted, a crease forming on her forehead. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, everything's fine." He replied, smiling back at her behind an unusually tense jaw. "Your timing is perfect, actually!" He gestured to the ponies at the door. "I was just wondering how to explain just how late these two are in getting here."

"Ah." Twilight smiled, her royal composure coming into play. "It has been quite some time. Let's see if I've got this right…" She pulled out a pocket watch, looking back and forth between it and her unmoving daughter. "By my calculations, it's been eight months, three weeks, four days, eight hours, and twenty-seven minutes." She checked the watch one more time. "Make that twenty-eight minutes."

Boltsinger nodded politely. "Thank you, honey." Turning back to the sudden guests, he came forward once more. "So you understand why it comes as a surprise that you suddenly show up after that long. Care to tell us why you're here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Snap Shutter started, putting a hoof around Scootaloo. "We came to get our daughter."

The filly's head shook free of her trance, looking up at the stallion next to her. "Wait, you came to get me?"

"Of course!" The Earth Pony confirmed, attempting to pull her close. "After that business with magic being sucked away, we were thinkin' about havin' you a little closer. Then a few days ago we got a letter from Daring spoutin' something about how she'd met you and that, get this, you'd been adopted! Isn't that crazy?"

"Because of course you know Daring..." Boltsinger muttered to himself. He took a deep breath, taking what composure he could find. "So you came to see for yourselves. I get it." He stewed for a moment, focusing on the confused eyes of his favorite filly.

"Why don't you all come in?" Twilight suggested, waving a beckoning hoof. "Perhaps we can discuss this over tea?"

"Well, if ya really don't mind, sure." Snap Shutter affirmed, removing his foreleg from the filly and walking further inside.

"Excellent." the princess turned to the friends behind her. "Holiday, Lofty, would you mind showing them to the dining room? I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on."

"Sounds like a wonderful idea." Holiday said with a nod, turning to the other Earth Pony. "Follow us, then."

As the first guests started down the hallway, the mare in the doorway stepped up to Scootaloo. "It's good to see you again, Scootaloo. I'm happy to know you have so much support here." She gave the Crusader a brief hug, quickly catching up to her husband with a flutter of her wings.

When the sound of hooves disappeared, Boltsinger's pupils shrank. "They're here." He told himself, the corners of his mouth turning up in an almost jagged, stiff smile. His rump hit the floor as he brought his wings forward, clutching his head as tightly as he could with a sudden fit of nervous laughter. "They're here! They're here, they're here, they're here they're here-- WHY ARE THEY HERE?" His breathing staggered for a moment, stopping short before he blinked. "Scoot." His gaze shot over to the pony in question. "Scoot!" He rushed to her side, wrapping her in another hug before looking her in the eye. "Are you alright?"

Purple eyes met purple for an instant before she looked at the floor. "I think so. I'm just… confused."

"Me too, Scoot." the fretting father affirmed. His breathing began to calm, head wings coming forward to once more redden his cheeks in their usual way. "He said something about a letter from Daring?"

Twilight nodded. "Well, they are world-class explorers, so it makes sense they'd know her."

Boltsinger shrugged. "That makes sense, but how would she know about the adoption? We hadn't done it yet last time I saw her."

A faint blush adorned the Alicorn's cheeks as she averted her eyes. "Well… she might have heard something about it at Tank's birthday party last weekend…"

"Tank's birthday what now?" Boltsinger's eyes darted between the girls with a look of disbelief. They simultaneously nodded, looking at anything but him. "And I wanted to take the train home…" he huffed.

Twilight let out a laugh, putting a wing around him. "Next time I'll tell you. I promise." She looked to their daughter, beckoning her over. "But right now we have something more important to deal with. Isn't that right, Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo slowly nodded, joining at their side with her head slightly hung. "Yeah… We should probably join them, huh?"

A soft breath escaped the stallion, finding his posture matching hers. "Eeyup…" He sent the Crusader a weak smile. "Things will be okay. I'm sure of it."

---

"I don't believe you." Snap Shutter deadpanned over the table at his sister. "With wings like those? No way she's managed it."

"I swear, she's really flying now!" Holiday assured, hooves on the table as she leaned toward him. "It's the most amazing thing! And she's been practicing almost every day with Rainbow Dash!" She sat back down with a swoon. "And the look in her eyes when she soars… I've never seen her so happy!"

"Sounds like something we'd love to see." Mane stated, smiling at her partner. "Right Snap?"

The stallion rested his head on his hoof. "Yeah, it'd be great to see something like that." He looked back at her with a grin. "We'll be seein' it every day from here on out, though." He turned back to his sister with a raised eyebrow. "If it even happens at all."

"If what happens?" a baritone repeated from behind. The eyes of the room focused on the entrance, Boltsinger standing confused with Twilight and Scootaloo behind him. "Something gonna happen?"

Lofty gave them a soft grin, pointing a feather at the seated siblings. "They were just talking about how Scootaloo can fly now. Snap here says he can't imagine it happening." Her grin widened as a laugh started to come out, joined almost immediately by the orange stallion.

"Can't imagine it, huh?" He wondered, stepping toward his fellow father. "Well, I guess it's a good thing you won't have to." With a click of his hooves, he turned about face to the smallest wings in the room. "Scootaloo! Maneuver seventeen!"

A look of determination covered Scootaloo's face, a smile and a salute presented to her former flight coach as her wings spread wide. "Yes sir!" was all she said before she became an orange streak, zipping forward to fly around each of the room's many hanging decorations. The jewels changed together like a set of wind chimes, twisting with the momentum before she finally flew to the center of the room, high above her audience. With an explosive motion, she flared her extremities out in all of the directions she could, sending a Shockwave through the air that caused the chime to ring louder than before. Her eyes closed, she fell toward the table, making a single flap to stop herself before gently touching down in the middle.

And Snap Shutter's jaw dropped. He sat back in his chair, blinking repeatedly as if to record all he'd just seen. "I… well… I mean…"

"Can you imagine it now?" Scootaloo inquired, a sly smirk creasing her face.

Before the explorer could respond, another pair of forehooves hit the table. "That. Was. AWESOME!!!" Boltsinger shouted, shaking the room a little. "Rainbow told me you were getting it down quickly but sweet Celestia, she wasn't just boasting!" The grim on his face was wider than he'd shown in a long time, eyes seeming to shine as he looked upon this little filly.

It was a shine Snap had to admit he knew very well. Something he was hoping he wouldn't see when he'd come. All surprise fell from his face as his thoughts settled on one thing. "You really did it, didn't you?" He asked, rising from his seat. "You really adopted my daughter."

The smile quickly faded from Boltsinger's face, accompanied by a soft inhale. "I was hoping we could avoid this topic a while longer, but…" He looked the larger stallion squarely in the eye. "Yes. Yes we did."

The photographer's eyes narrowed substantially, a loud step taken between them. "Why?" he cocked an eyebrow at the Pegasi before him, his features filled with expectation. "You knew she had a family, didn't you?"

"You'd be surprised how much I know about Scootaloo." He answered, closing his eyes as he readied himself. "I know that Holiday and Lofty would come by as often as they could for her, but weren't always able to." His eyes opened to look at the Crusader in question. "I know that she was on a rotating schedule of caregivers, largely within our own inner circle. I even opted to join once I found out. Even if I didn't get to do it much." His attention snapped back to Snap. "I know she was unaccustomed to parental support for the longest time, both through her own admission and what I've seen and heard. Her amazing best friends and Rainbow Dash have been her biggest support system for longer than I've known her. And I know that she was excited beyond words about finally having her 'parents' in town last Hearth's Warming." The performer stepped forward at last, wings instinctively flared. "And I know that on that train platform, the day you were supposed to arrive, I had to watch the greatest filly in the world sit there alone and ask why those so-called 'parents' didn't want her." His brow furrowed, making up for the height difference with a single flap that sent him into a hover. "So yeah, I knew."

Their eyes met for but a moment, though that moment felt like an eternity to the stallions involved, a spark seeming to pass between them with a rising intensity before the Earth Pony turned his attention elsewhere. His eyes fell upon Scootaloo, whose smile had faded as she took a tentative step back. "And you just let this happen? There's been lots of times we haven't been able to make it when we say. You know that better than anypony!"

"Well, I… I-I mean…" she stammered, looking between the pairs of parents one pony at a time. "I just--"

Before the filly could finish, an orange hoof came around her. "It's okay, Scoot. You haven't done anything wrong."

She looked up at her adoptive father's smiling face. It was a reassuring sight, to be sure, but it wasn't long before confusion set in. She wanted desperately to hug this pony next to her, but at the same time, there was a longing to run over to the Earth Pony across from them. She wanted to tell him and his partner all about what they'd missed, spending the day together, laughing, forgetting about… "I… I need to go!" She announced, pulling away and galloping down the hall.

Snap Shutter reached forward at the sight. "Scootaloo, wait!" He attempted to go further, but found his hooves held in place. He looked around for the reason, finding it to be a magenta-glowing horn on the Alicorn next to his wife.

"Let her go." Twilight advised, releasing her magical grip. "This is a big deal for her. She needs to process all of it her own way."

"And, quite frankly, so do I." Boltsinger added, letting out a snort before shooting out of the room. Seconds later, a booming yell rang through the castle from the outside, reverberating into Ponyville proper.

---

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle skidded to a stop on the road, covering their ears as a viciously loud noise passed over them. After a few seconds, the ivory Crusader managed to open her eyes. "Was that… Boltsinger?"

Apple Bloom steadily followed suit, returning her hooves to the ground. "Sounds like it. I guess he's home." She looked to the castle ahead with a raised eyebrow. "I wonder what happened ta get 'im so riled up…"

Sweetie Belle shrugged, hopping to her hooves and starting back down the road. "I'm not sure, but we can always ask Scootaloo when we--" an orange streak sped by in a flash, blowing the fillies' manes back with its turbulence. "... get… there…?" The two of them looked back in expressions of mirrored confusion. "Was that…?"

"Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom guessed.

"I thought so." Sweetie Belle affirmed.

"Clubhouse?" Apple Bloom suggested.

"Clubhouse." Sweetie Belle answered.

With that, the pair turned around, breaking into a gallop toward Sweet Apple Acres.

---

The clubhouse door slowly opened with a creak, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle poking their heads inside. There, in the far corner, sat the pair's favorite Pegasus, eyes shut tight with rapid, panicked breaths. She was visibly shaking with her wings flared out, otherwise curled up with her forelegs around her knees. The wingless Crusaders were wordless in their approach, stepping softly and looking back to each other with concern.

After what felt like an eternity crossing the room, Apple Bloom reached forward, placing a hoof on the cowering filly's shoulder. "Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo's eyes almost instantly opened, her body twisting around at the sound of her friend's voice to catch them in an embrace. Her breathing sped up considerably, with tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Girls! I… They're here… and Bolt, and I dunno and I just… I just…" She pulled away, her back hitting the corner of the walls before she slumped back onto her rump. "I just don't know what to do!!!"

Apple Bloom's first response was a soft smile, putting her hooves on her frightened friend's shoulders. "I hear ya, Scootaloo, but ya gotta calm down. Deep breaths…" She closed her eyes in concentration, taking a slow and deliberate inhale. "Breathe with me, now. In through yer nose…"

Scootaloo fixed her gaze on the farm filly, the words ringing in her mind. "In through my nose…" she repeated, starting an inhale of her own.

"Good. Now out through the mouth." She instructed, letting all the air out of her lungs at once. Scootaloo repeated the action, a little shorter than her would-be instructor, but still enough to widen Apple Bloom's smile. "That's it. You've got it. Now gimme some more."

As the two of them set to their breathing, Sweetie Belle found herself looking around the room. "It feels like she needs something comfortable… let's see…" She walked around the clubhouse in a crude circle, sifting through everything she could find in the hopes of something-- "Perfect!" She lifted a trio of maroon capes from a box under the podium, each one bearing a blue shield with a yellow image of a pony inside on the bottom corners and a glistening golden silk lining the inner layer. She hurried back to her friends, sitting down quietly and shuffling closer to Scootaloo. "I think this might help." She declared, draping the capes over her one after another.

The familiar silk laying against her brought Scootaloo a new sense of calm, the deep breathing driving away the clouds in her mind like the mightiest of gales. She put a hoof on each of her best friends, pulling them into a new embrace as the budding tears fell for a moment. "Thank you…"

"Aww, shucks, it wasn't any problem." Apple Bloom dismissed, adding her forelegs to the squeeze. "You'd do the same fer us, after all."

Sweetie Belle quickly reciprocated, nuzzling Scootaloo's cheek. "Exactly. We'd do anything for you."

The trio remained still for several minutes, enjoying each other's company and reinforcing their support at the same time. Eventually, Apple Bloom raised her head. "So… What was it that freaked ya out so much, anyway?"

Scootaloo leaned back into the corner, breathing a sigh as she rested her head. "They're back…"

"Who's back? Bolt and Spike?" Sweetie Belle guessed, an inquisitive hoof to her chin. "We certainly heard him yelling earlier."

"Well, them too. But that's not it." the orange filly corrected, eyes drifting upward. "It's… my parents. Like, not Bolt and Twilight, but…"

"Them…" Apple Bloom finished. "I get it. Don't have to say any more."

Scootaloo softened a bit, smiling back at her friends. "Thanks." She slumped onto the floor, resting on her fetlocks. "I just don't know what I should be thinking, you know? I thought today was just gonna be flying and going to check on Goldenrod, but now…"

Sweetie Belle scooted over to her fellow Crusader, just enough to make contact. "It's no problem. We can just reschedule! I'm sure everypony will understand."

"Are you sure?" The flying filly wondered, taking her turn to show some concern. "Goldenrod was saying she was really excited about her research progress! And Rainbow was saying something about number twenty-five! I don't wanna let them down…"

The Earth Pony joined on the other side of the purple-eyed foal, nudging her in the side. "Now, Scootaloo, do you honestly believe Rainbow Dash wouldn't understand sumthin' like this?"

"Not really…"

"Yeah! I bet she'd be the first one on the scene once she found out what's happening!" the Unicorn affirmed.

"And I'm sure Goldenrod'll understand that yer not feelin' well. You can get back to the daily life when you're--" Apple Bloom's eyes went wide for a moment, her body forcefully rising up with a bright smile. "That's it!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared up at their friend, each tilting their curious heads in opposite directions. "I know just how we can help!"

---

Meanwhile, further across town, the sound of a screaming Boltsinger quickly reached the field over which Rainbow Dash flew. She had been warming up for a few minutes, and made a beeline for a nearby cloud as the sudden decibels assaulted her eardrums. She grabbed her head, covering her ears as best she could before spinning out into the very cloud she was aiming for. She fell out of the cloud in a daze, forced free of it by her impact with the ground.

"What the…?" She worked her way to her hooves, dusting herself off and looking at the source of the noise. "Was that… Bolt?" Before her thoughts could catch up with her, her wings flapped. She took off in a near-instant, becoming little more than a rainbow streak in the sky until she reached the top of the mountain above the Friendship School.

There, as expected, was Boltsinger. His pupils were pinpricks, and his teeth were uncharacteristically clenched, accentuated by the rapid panting that was his breath. "I can't believe they had the nerve to show up after all this time!" He began, his tail flailing behind him.

"Uh, Bolt?"

"Calling the whole adoption 'nonsense' after all the planning and feeling that went into that…" He continued, moving to pace around the mountaintop with a furious shake of the head. "'Your services are no longer required!'" a powerful snort followed his mock, stopping the stallion to drag a hoof on the ground.

"What, what about the adoption?"

"Flat-out refusing to believe that Scoot can fly now, too!" He noted, raising his hoof. "How can any dad worth his salt not be proud of her for that!"

"Helloooo?" Rainbow crossed her forelegs with a small scowl. "Can you even hear me?"

For the first time in Rainbow's recollection, the stallion's ears seemed to be closed off, as evidenced by his continued fuming. "And now they just wanna 'come get her' outta the blue? Some 'parents' they are! Especially after breaking their promise in the first place!"

"Breaking their…" Her hoof shot forward, covering Boltsinger's mouth as his eyes finally fell upon her. "Are you telling me that those two are here and you haven't kicked them out yet?!"

Boltsinger moved away from the hoof. "Oh! Sorry, Rainbow. Didn't see you there." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Yeah. They're here. Twilight, Holiday, and Lofty are treating them to tea, Scootaloo ran off to what I assume is the clubhouse. I don't know what to think let alone how to react to all of this."

"You get mad, of course!" She argued, landing with a stomp. "These are the ponies who made Scoot feel like she was all alone in Equestria even when they promised they'd be there! You were there! You saw the look on her face!" She glared down at the castle, grinding her hoof into the rock. "I can't believe they'd even show their faces after that… that…"

"Debacle?" He suggested. "Catastrophe? Disaster? Heart-wrenching moment that probably broke most of us when it happened?" He came to stand next to her, taking a glance at the castle only to look away. "I've got a lot more where those came from." His gaze drifted toward Sweet Apple Acres, features softening along the way. "I just hope Scootaloo is alright…"

Rainbow put an assuring hoof on her friend's shoulder. "If she's with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, she'll be fine." Her face went stern once more, the idea of meeting their guests coming to mind again. "We have concerns of our own right now."

---

Standing in the dining room, all were quiet. Twilight had never heard her husband so angry before, but at the same time, his sudden shout failed to surprise her. This was a day she'd been dreading for some time, and the tension was palpable even despite her best efforts. She looked over at her latest guests, raising a hoof and opening her mouth to speak only to find no words coming out. Somberly, she got up from her seat, stepping closer with a hoof on the table.

Snap Shutter was the first to break the silence, stomping his foreleg hard enough to crack the floor. "If ya need me, I'll be at my house." He turned to Twilight with a glare. "Ya know, the one my family lives in?"

Twilight winced at the words, backing away before giving him a nod. "I'm sorry…"

With a sharp inhale, he paused, letting out a hard snort and walking away. "Oh now she's sorry… Whatever happened to us being 'late?'" His grumbling continued as he made his exit, leaving the room in a new veil of quiet.

"I'm sorry about my husband." Mane said, keeping her volume low. "He can get bull-headed when things don't go his way, and… Well, you can see the result."

"I don't blame him." the princess stated, her gaze lingering on the doorway. "I can't say I'd be too happy if it felt like someone was taking Nova from me."

Mane let out a sigh, stepping closer to Twilight. "I admit, it does feel a little off-putting. I was hoping that we'd find Scootaloo and she'd show us that adorable smile, tell us about all she's been up to, and have some kind of list of things she wants to do together etched on a big poster in crayon."

A small giggle sounded from the Alicorn, forcing her to smile. "She actually had one of those. I don't think I'd ever seen her more excited, even when she was flying with Rainbow Dash."

The Pegasus mare's eyes closed like a great weight had just been placed upon her. "I knew it… I just wish we could have lived up to it." She looked the royal in the eye, letting the softest of smiles onto her face. "But at the same time, I'm happy for her." She placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "She has a bigger support system than I'd ever dreamed. And she can fly, to boot! How did that even happen, anyway?"

Twilight put her hoof on Mane's, guiding her toward the exit. "That's because of Bolt."

The Pegasus laughed out loud, following with a roll of her eyes. "A pony like that? Kind of hard to believe." Twilight looked back at her with a slight smirk. "I mean, I saw him fly and he's not bad, but he can't be the only reason she was able to get airborne!"

Twilight shrugged. "Well, I guess you're technically right. He had help." They turned into the hallway, drawing Mane's attention to the myriad doors around them. "But the idea and techniques? That was my husband."

Hoofsteps came up on either side of the mares as Holiday and Lofty trotted up. "Ooh, I just love this story!" Lofty noted, her eyes alight with nostalgia.

"So do I." Holiday confirmed, scooting a little closer to her sister-in-law. "Normally we hear it from Scootaloo. This should be good!"

"Alright, so, the way Bolt tells it, it came almost out of nowhere." she began, following a now-familiar route. "He'd known Scootaloo for a little while, but he hadn't gotten to know her yet. We were still trying to figure out some of the quirks behind Bolt's Cutie Mark..."

"So you went to the best Cutie Mark experts in Ponyville!" Holiday announced, raising a triumphant hoof.

A giggle couldn't help but escape the princess. "That's right. We decided to ask the Cutie Mark Crusaders for help. Bolt decided to go since he was insisting that I take it easy because of my pregnancy with Nova. And then when he got home, he started whispering with Soarin." She looked up to the ceiling, finding a welcome reflection in its facets. "He only gets like that when he has an idea." Her pace moved to a trot. "So as part of our experiment for that day, those two gave Scootaloo a test of their own, seeing how much she can do with her wings as they were, and how her body could handle higher speed. Lo and behold, the Wonderbolt and my lover-Bolt were unanimous about her potential and decided to officially coach her!" She hopped to a halt next to a door, opening it to reveal the throne room. She took to the air and entered, waiting for her guests to come in before fluttering up to the chandelier. "From there, Bolt was tireless in coming up with ideas for how to help her based on how he learned to fly. And the first was this!" She put her hoof on a nearby ornament, prompting a curious flap from the other mother. She peered into the decoration, finding a picture of an open field with an almost perfectly circular patch of fog in the middle. Boltsinger and what she could only imagine was the aforementioned Wonderbolt stood on either side of a very familiar filly with her wings spread as wide as they could go. "By building up her overall wing power, they were able to get results quickly. It only took a few months before she had all she needed!" Twilight moved to another ornament, beckoning the Pegasus over. "It was time for Scootaloo to take off for real, and they knew they had to get Rainbow Dash in on it even despite her being a little mad at Bolt at the time. And once she got involved…" She moved the ornament into place, showing an image of Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Boltsinger in the air above the field with Scootaloo's cheering friends below. "Eventually, she started getting so good that Bolt didn't have much left to teach her. But that didn't stop him from giving one final graduation test!" She highlighted one more ornament, holding it up with a smile. "When the two of them flew together to Canterlot, there was an unexpected storm cloud in their way, and Scootaloo flew right in. As she was falling, something amazing happened! Bolt went into a dive so fast that he did what only one pony has done before!" Her eyes and forelegs went wide, taking a deep breath to prepare.

"A SONIC RAINBOOM!" cried the aunts below, bursting into cheers.

A mild blush adorned Twilight's cheeks, her attention turning back to the Crystal she held. "Yes. That. Anyway, they were both unconscious when they arrived in Canterlot, but once Bolt woke up he was adamant about making sure she was okay." She brought the ornament forward, showing a simple image of Boltsinger and Scootaloo in a tight embrace, smiling Crusaders and Wonderbolts on either side of the room. "I'd suspected it for a while, but that was when I knew for sure their bond was something special."

Mane pulled away from the ornament with a weak smile. "And that's when you started talking about…" a lump formed in her throat at the next word, forcing her to look away and cross her forelegs.

"That didn't come until later, actually." the purple pony corrected, coming up beside the mare with a supportive smile. "What do you say we go check on her?"

The blonde mare's head reeled back a bit, showing the princess a confused expression. "Didn't you say that she needs to process by herself, though?"

"I did." she admitted, lowering herself to the floor. "But that doesn't mean we can't let her know we're there for her when she's ready, does it?"

After a pondering moment, Mane followed suit. "No, I don't suppose it does."

"Besides, Nova is going to wake up from his nap soon." the Alicorn added, returning into the hall again. "And I'm willing to bet he'd help her feel a lot better."

The idea of a smiling Scootaloo sent a similar expression to her own muzzle. Soon after, a stream of thoughts flowed through her mind, imagining what kind of life she had here in Ponyville, the ponies she'd helped, the friends she'd made… "So, in her letters, Scootaloo mentioned her friends Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle almost constantly."

"Oh, the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Twilight guessed. "They're her best friends! I bet she went to see them right away when she headed out."

"I thought as much." She fluttered forward to walk next to the Alicorn. "What kind of ponies are they?"

Another giggle sounded off as Twilight beamed. "Well, it all started when…"

---

"So you really think that's a good idea?" Scootaloo wondered, looking at a classic Crusader planning chart between the three of them.

"Of course!" Apple Bloom assured, putting a hoof on either side of the parchment. "How can bringin' everypony closer not work?"

"You didn't see either of... well… my dads… when they were talking about me." The Pegasus breathed deep, tugging on her cloak for comfort. "And honestly… I'm not sure how I feel about them anyway." She looked up at the Crusaders around her, uncertainty lining her every feature. "There's a part of me that's really excited to see them! Like all those nights I spent in that house… nopony there but me… None of it matters anymore because they're here for once!" Her head hung low once more, ears folded back as she fought back a sniffle. "But then I remember that night on the platform, and how it felt when they weren't there." She pulled the cloak harder. "And then they just show up out of nowhere, and Bolt and… him… they start arguing, and he says that they came to 'get me' and then they argue even more and…" She found herself cut short by the familiar warmth surrounding her again, her vision almost completely obscured by yellow and white.

"I know it's confusing right now." Sweetie Belle started, stroking her distressed friend's mane. "But we're here with you. You'll get through this with a happy ending, I promise."

Apple Bloom pulled away, pumping her hoof with a determined smirk. "And if anypony tries ta get in the way…" she hopped into the air, punching and kicking like a martial arts master before making a stumbling landing. "They gotta go through me first!"

It was that exact moment that there was a knock at the door, sending the farmer filly skyward in shock. As she landed, she found a sudden increase in smug expressions from the friends around her. "Well, now's your chance to prove it." Sweetie Belle teased, motioning to the door.

A fit of nervous laughter erupted from the yellow pony as she scooted closer to Scootaloo. "Uh, yeah, I think I got a better chance of protectin' 'er from over here!"

The Unicorn rolled her eyes, moving to the door with a shrug. "Fine then. I guess I'll get it." She opened the door a crack, finding a shade of lilac not often seen at the clubhouse. She turned back to her friends for a moment. "It's Twilight. Should I open it?"

Scootaloo retreated into herself, shaking her head. "Not right now…"

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Okay. I've got this." She turned back to the door, opening it just enough to poke her head out with the most stoic face she could manage. "Hello Twilight and…" she looked past the Princess, finding another softly-smiling mare in her company. "And… company. The Crusader you are trying to reach is unavailable at this time. Please come back and try again later.

Twilight's hoof made its way over her mouth for a second, hiding a hint of laughter from the foal. "Alright, Sweetie Belle. We appreciate you looking out for Scootaloo. Can you at least deliver a message from us?"

Sweetie's stoicism swiftly succumbed to a smile. "Sure! What do you wanna say?"

The Pegasus with the princess took the opportunity to step forward, putting her hoof over her heart. "Can you tell her that her mom… Both of her moms… We want her to know that we're here to talk whenever she's ready."

The ivory Crusader's smile softened considerably over the course of Mane's message, her own hoof coming to rest over her heart. "Aww! Of course I can!" She started to back away, covering the doorknob in her magic.

"Oh! And give her a hug from us!" Twilight added.

The filly's smile widened once more. "Okay!" was all she said as the door closed. She made quick work of the distance from her friends, throwing her forelegs around Scootaloo with as much strength as she could muster. "That was from your mom...s. Both of them! They said that--"

"I heard!" Scootaloo replied, pulling back to show a hopeful smile. "So they came here together?" Sweetie Belle nodded, prompting a strong flap from the Pegasus filly. "That's awesome!" She hovered in place, the cloaks falling away as she smiled down at Apple Bloom. "Maybe your idea can work after all!" She came to a landing by the door, opening it wide to see a pair of mares heading down the ramp, which sent a notable wag to her tail.

At the sound of the door, Twilight stopped, steadying the baby on her back as she looked toward the clubhouse. "Scootaloo?"

The little pony made a mad gallop down the ramp, leaping over them and twisting in the air to face them as she landed. "I can't believe you came together!" She wrapped a foreleg around each of them, squeezing as much as her strength would let her. "Thank you so much!"

The mares responded in kind, each putting a free hoof around her before pulling back. "We may have our disagreements, but we still love you." Twilight stated with a smile. She held a wing out a ways, letting Nova amble onto it and get a look at his big sister. "And we're not the only ones who came to see you."

"Aww! C'mere squirt!" she cried, diving at the colt and holding him tight. He let out a loud laugh, nuzzling up to her as they landed. As soon as she got her bearings again, Scootaloo sent a curious look up to the mothers. "So since it's just you two, I take it…"

"Bolt hasn't come home yet." the princess replied, looking back at the castle in the distance. "He said he needed to process, and… Well, you heard his process."

"And Snap went back to the house." Mane added, turning her gaze groundward. "He hasn't been taking this development very well."

"Oh… yeah…" Like her birth mother, Scootaloo suddenly found the ground to be the most interesting place to look. They settled into silence for a moment until the filly's head raised up again. "So… How are you taking all of this?"

Finally, the question that Mane had been longing to answer, and it was none other than Scootaloo to ask it. She cast a glance at the filly with a soft smile, rubbing a foreleg with her hoof. "Honestly? At first it hurt. Seeing my little girl so happy with ponies I'd never even heard of… I was jealous, yeah." Her eyes were drawn to the Crusader's wings, showing just a little more light behind them. "And then I saw you flying. Saw the look on your face, and just how proud Boltsinger was to see you up there." Her hoof returned to the ground as she looked back at the school. "Snap and I were talking about getting an assignment that would let us keep you safe ever since that whole debacle with Equestria's magic getting sucked away. And when we learned about the… adoption… Well, that's when Snap sort of snapped." Her rump hit the dirt as she turned back to her daughter with a new smile. "But from what I've seen, and everything Princess Twilight told me, you've got some of the best support you can get right here in Ponyville. And while it may hurt a little to not always have you around, I'm just glad that you're happy."

"Thanks…" was all Scootaloo could manage to say. She looked away in an attempt to stay cool, but nothing could wipe the smile from her face. "Actually, Apple Bloom came up with an idea that might help things go a bit smoother, if you're interested." She turned to them with an inquisitive smirk. "Wanna check it out?"

---

"So, how do you wanna do this?" Rainbow inquired, flitting around Boltsinger from one side to the other as he trudged through the castle halls. "Gonna give them a good stern talking-to?" She landed next to him on her hind legs, hopping, ducking, and weaving as she punched the air in front of her with her forelegs. "Give 'em the old one-two?" She trotted ahead of him, looking back with a mischievous smirk. "We could totally spend the day pranking them until they're too fed up to stick around! Whaddaya think?"

"I'm… honestly not sure, Rainbow." He confessed, dragging his hooves with every step. "This whole thing has me so mad I can't think straight. But that kind of anger just feels wrong, you know?" His head sank, a tired gaze fixed on its own reflection below. "I mean, what if she wants to be with them? You know the kind of ponies they are, the stuff they do. They're seriously awesome. Who wouldn't wanna call them their parents?"

A nigh-furious eyebrow raised as Rainbow stopped in her tracks. "What? This is coming from the pony who once sliced a tornado into chunks like it was a carrot?"

"With your help." He retorted.

"The same pony that turned a bunch of Timberwolves into splinters by screaming at them?"

"And I wouldn't have made it had Tempest not arrived."

"The same pony that convinced me of all ponies to put my grudges aside so that we could work together to get Scootaloo flying?" She jumped over him with a single flap, coming nearly nose-to-nose with the stallion in an intense glare. "Do you know how hard it is to do something like that? It took Gilda years to get back on my good side."

"I didn't have much choice." He said with a shrug, rump hitting the floor with a wing scratching his mane. "You know I'd do anything for Scoot." He breathed a heavy sigh, turning away and closing his eyes. "Even if it means giving her up…"

Rainbow's brow had furrowed so much it began to hurt. She reached her hoof forward, grabbing the stallion by his necklace to pull him closer. "Don't you dare think like that, Bolt!" She wiped her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I dunno if it's because you're tired from your trip, or because you hate yourself, I don't care!" She flared her wings dramatically, creating a gust that blew his mane back. "YOU. ARE. HER. DAD." With each word, Boltsinger's head turned further in her direction, finding a pool of tears waiting underneath both of her eyes. "You and Twilight worked way too hard to give up now! You waited so long, did so much of that boring legal stuff, went to all that effort and got everyone's support! Heck, you have the papers to prove it! And you saw how happy she was on Hearth's Warming, right?!" She released him from her grip, taking a step back and stomping her forehoof. "So tell me! What are you?"

"I'm… Scootaloo's dad." He replied, voice just barely louder than a whisper.

Rainbow took an aggressive step forward. "Louder!"

"I'm Scootaloo's dad." he repeated, rising to his hooves with a notable increase in volume.

"For the ponies in the back!" She commanded, pointing a hoof behind her.

A growl gurgled up in Boltsinger's throat. He raised a hoof, spreading his wings with a force that sent his friend sliding back several feet. "I'M SCOOTALOO'S DAD!!!" came the response, so loud that the windows around them began to vibrate.

Rainbow reared back with an excited flap, pumping her hoof at her friend's display. "Aww yeah! That's what I wanted to hear!" She trotted over to him, taking his foreleg and locking it with hers. "So, no giving up?"

He sent her a smirk. "No giving up." he confirmed, giving her hoof a single shake. "Thanks, Rainbow."

She pulled her hoof away with a casual shrug. "Eh, what are friends for?"

Boltsinger's answer came in the form of a telltale rumbling, eliciting a laugh from the Pegasi. "I guess all that motivation can make you hungry, huh?" He took a leap upward, hovering in front of her with a hoof extended. "Care for some dinner?"

"Only if you're cooking!" Rainbow reasoned, taking flight beside him. "Or maybe… Last one downstairs does the cooking and the dishes?" Boltsinger's eyes widened for a moment, brief, yet not… "THREETWOONEGO!!" … brief enough. Just like that, she was gone.

And just like that, the two of them found a kitchen already alive with activity. Magical auras lit up around just about every utensil, stirring and chopping and managing heat on what smelled like an incredible soup. At the stove, Twilight hummed a tune to herself, dancing in place with a sway of her hips. "~And we've got heeeeeeeeeearts!~" She belted out, turning away from the stove with her hoof raised dramatically.

"You sure are having a good time." teased the Wonderbolt, a slight upturn at one corner of her mouth.

The Alicorn jumped back a step, letting out a scream accompanied her horn fizzling out with the tools she'd been using flying at the far walls. She flailed for a second, finding her footing before looking at Rainbow with a hoof over her heart. "Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?"

"Talking some sense into that husband of yours." she replied, stepping in to take a whiff of the stove pot's contents. "And kicking his butt in a race down here. Guess he doesn't have to worry about cooking after all."

"Sense?" Twilight's head made a curious tilt. She had an idea of the topic, but still couldn't help but ask "What about?"

"You know. The usual confidence stuff." She moved to the entrance to the dining room, leaning against the doorway with her forelegs crossed. "Can't say I blame him for getting riled up, though, considering who's visiting…" With a squint in her eyes, she looked away in a huff.

Twilight let out a sigh. "So you heard about that." She returned to the stove, stirring slowly. "It's actually lucky that you're here. Apple Bloom came up with a plan for tomorrow, and we all thought it would be best for Scootaloo's entire family to be there." She looked over her shoulder at the cyan mare, giving her a grin. "Older sisters included, of course."

Rainbow released a snicker and a smirk. "Alright 'mom', I guess I can be there." She sent her royal friend a wide grin, eliciting a snorting chuckle from the purple pony. "I got a lot I wanna say to those two, anyway."

---

“I’M SCOOTALOO’S DAD!!!” echoed through Snap Shutter’s mind ever since it forced its way into his ears. Of all the ponies he’d me this visit, that Boltsinger was definitely the loudest. Definitely the one that sat most squarely upon his nerves. All night he heard those words on repeat, forcing his teeth to clench tighter and tighter. It had grown so prominent that it continued into his dreams, accompanied by images on repeat of that pony's smirk with a Scootaloo-colored streak performing stunts above him. He let out a growl as he squirmed out of bed, grumbling to himself as he came to the restroom.

"Snap, are you alright?" Mane asked, poking her head in from the bedroom. "You look like you've had a nightmare or two."

"I'm fine." Snap snapped, finishing his business and coming out in his usual attire. "Just imagining all the ways I wanna…"

"Snap, please." his wife interjected, putting her hoof on his shoulder. "You promised you'd behave and hear Scootaloo out today."

“Yeah, I know.” he turned his attention to a photograph on the nearby dresser, picturing the two of them with a baby filly with an orange coat. “We need to keep our promise this time…”

“Right.” Mane confirmed, putting her hoof around him with a smile. “No Crystalilies to get in the way this time.”

Snap returned the gesture, squeezing for a moment before the pair set out the door. They each looked around the town as they went, taking in the sights, noting the changes, and reflecting on their time away. Taking a look back at the street they’d just left, Snap stopped. “Do we… have any other pictures of us together with Scootaloo?”

Mane looked to the sky in contemplation, a brief image of her daughter in flight flashing through her mind. “I’m not sure. We’ve been away so much that I can’t remember having the chance for more.”

His head hung for a moment, trying for the life of him to recall some proof of the opposite. Searching every memory he had, every photo taken over the past several years. There was a plethora of nature pictures, photos of fellow researchers, even some rare secret shots of the two of them with Daring Do. But with Scootaloo? “I see…” Nothing came to mind. He fixed his gaze forward, smiling in newfound anticipation. “I guess we’ll have to take more of ‘em, won’t we?”

The smile continued along their trip, filled with small talk and ideas for what the future might hold. It wasn’t long before they reached the Castle of Friendship, where a number of ponies waited outside. Scootaloo hovered at the head of the group, a pair of similar-sized fillies on either side of her on the ground, while older bonies of cyan, lilac, and bright orange stood behind them. Snap rolled his eyes at some of them, all chatting up a storm like it was nothing. But when he met with the front filly’s eyes, all he could do was grin. “So, then, what’s on the agenda for today?”

"I've been wondering the same thing, actually." Boltsinger chimed, taking a step toward the filly. "Twilight just told me that there was some special plan and that I had to be patient."

"Really?" Snap started, trotting over to the airborne Crusader. "Sounds an awful lot like what Mane told me." The fathers each gave Scootaloo a curious look. "I'm guessin' that's 'cause o' you?"

“You got that right!” she exclaimed, coming to a landing in front of the ensemble. “So, yesterday, Apple Bloom was suggesting that you guys all needed a bit of… What’s the word?”

“Perspective?” Twilight suggested.

“Yeah! Perspective!” A happy little buzz came to her wings, sending her momentarily aloft. “Anyway, Apple Bloom mentioned how it would be good for everyone to have some perspective on all this, so we did some brainstorming. At first I wasn’t entirely sure about the idea, but then…" she turned to Twilight and Mane with a soft smile. "When I saw the two of you together, I thought is was worth a shot."

"So now y'all get to experience a day in the life of Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom announced, bounding into the air excitedly.

Scootaloo laughed, meeting the other Crusader’s hoof with her own in midair. “That’s pretty much the gist of it, yeah.” She hopped to the front of the gathering, gesturing to the fathers among them. “Plus, it gives you guys a chance to really talk.”

Boltsinger stepped up to the Crusader, putting a stewing hoof to his muzzle. “I think I understand. Kinda… I’m all for spending more time with you, but is there something… specific we’re supposed to be doing?”

“I have to say I’m with him on this one.” Snap added. “I don’t quite get what you’ve got in mind.”

Scootaloo’s hoof met with the back of her neck. “That… actually makes three of us.” She gently touched down, turning to face the town ahead. “To be honest, I still don’t know how to feel right now.”

Snap raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? How can you not know how to feel?”

"Well, it’s not easy after all that's happened!" She admitted with averted gaze. She turned with her attention to face the castle, raising her hoof with conviction. “But I wanna give it a shot! Maybe if we spend the day together, that’ll be enough to figure things out?”

"I can understand that, yeah." Boltsinger affirmed, putting a hoof on the filly's head. "I don't quite know the extent of my feelings, either. So why don't we all find out together?"

“Thanks, Bolt.” The Pegasi shared a quick hug, turning to the Earth Pony with a smile. “You ready to go?”

The urge to scowl at their contact was stronger than he’d expected, but Snap managed to force it back for the moment. He made a swift approach, pulling her into a hug of his own. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s do it.” With a barely audible squee, Scootaloo smiled wide, giving her birth father’s foreleg a squeeze before leaping to the front of the group. He looked to Boltsinger with a slight smirk. “So, she doesn’t call you ‘dad’?”

Boltsinger shrugged. “I never asked her to. She can call me whatever she wants.”

“As long as it’s not late for dinner, right?” came a teasing rasp from behind them. Rainbow Dash trotted ahead, looking back with a snarky grin. “First stop is with me. Try and keep up!”

---

His neck hurt.

That was all either father could think while they looked at the flight practice overhead. It was exacerbated even more as they tried to follow their movements, swift as they were. In the end, though, it was more than worth it. Up there in the sky, it looked as if Scootaloo was having the time of her life. It was worth the pain, to be sure, but Snap couldn’t help but wonder… “So, why are you down here when you could be up there with them?”

Boltsinger pondered for a moment before looking over at his fellow father. "I'd like to be, but at this point they'd have to slow down just to let me join in."

"Yeah, they're certainly movin' up there." He tilted his head, stretching his neck muscles with a strenuous groan. “Alright, better question. Why’re we just standin’ around?” He made a short hop, falling backwards to land on his back. “If we’re gonna watch, might as well be comfortable, yeah?”

The Pegasus let out a laugh, flapping his wings to send him backwards and land next to him. "An excellent point. As expected of a 'genius explorer'." The laugh was reciprocated for the first time, both stallions resting their heads on the grass.

The two sat in silence for a moment, mesmerized by the aerial dance above. Rainbow Dash would zip by in a multicolor streak, followed soon after by Scootaloo, ever eager to prove herself. From behind them, Twilight struggled to keep up, flapping her wings almost desperately to get the velocity she needed only to end up a few wingbeats behind. She was quickly joined by Mane, panting with effort with a proud smile.

"So… Mane tells me you're the reason she's up there…" Snap began anew, casting a glance to the bluenette.

"I dunno if I'm the only reason." He answered, rubbing the base of his neck with his hoof. "I mean, yeah, it was my idea. She reminded me of myself at her age."

"You couldn't fly either?"

"Nnope. Not until my brother devised a way to build up my wing power." Boltsinger let out a contented sigh, eyes fixed on his favorite filly. "The same techniques I employed for Scoot."

"I gotta admit, I've never seen 'er so happy." Snap brought his forehooves together, tentatively tapping as he looked back up. "Kinda makes the ground feel boring… Most everypony ya love just jumping up, flyin' away…"

"I know the feeling." Boltsinger affirmed, patting the explorer's shoulder. "Most members of my family can just use magic to get what they want. Normally when Twilight is trying to go fast, she's using magic. And Nova tends to teleport when he gets upset, Makes finding him a challenge unto itself."

“So, with, um… what happened… Does that make Scootaloo a…?”

“A big sister? She’s been that longer than it’s been official.”

“Not that. I was talking about…” Snap looked away for a moment, preparing himself for the word he had in mind. “Is she a… princess… now?”

This was a new question entirely. Boltsinger sat up, putting one hoof on his head and the other on his chin as the gears began to turn in his brain. “Scoot as… a princess? Never really thought about that.” He leaned back on his hooves, gazing at the flying filly with a new sense of wonder. “We didn’t put much stock into the whole royal thing when we considered the adoption. All we were concerned with was making her happy.” With a twitch of his ear, he leaned forward again. “Then again Celestia adopted Cadence as her niece… But that was more of a way to stake her royal claim on the Crystal Empire when it came back… Plus it’s not like Scoot’s been turned into an Alicorn or anything. But also I’m technically a prince despite not having a horn… Does that mean that Twilight wants to--”

“Whoa there, slow down for a sec.” Snap’s hoof came quickly forward, resting on the orange pony’s shoulder. “Keep goin’ like that and you’re likely ta stick there a while.”

The sudden contact tugged at his attention, dragging him out of his contemplative trance. “Oh! Yeah, sorry about that. Comes with living with Twilight.” He leaned back again, resting his head on his hooves. “I never thought about it much in an official capacity. But I guess you could say she’s always a ‘princess’ to me.”

“That makes two of us!” the photographer confirmed, joining his rival in paternity as they watched the daring display above.

---

Of all the places for Scootaloo to go on an average day, neither of her birth parents had expected to be in the Everfree forest. But against all odds, here they were, walking what looked to be a well-traveled path. Snap and Mane, used to danger as they were, felt relatively unfazed, but they were admittedly surprised with the level of comfort the fillies had. It brought to mind a great many questions. Who was out here? Did they come out often? And what about the creatures that lived here?

All the while, something else was on the Crusaders' minds. They walked at the head of the group, talking amongst themselves. "So, I don't mean ta brag,..." Apple Bloom began, holding a hoof over her heart with a haughty look on her upturned muzzle. "But I think my plan is workin'!"

Scootaloo looked curiously at the farmer. “Oh? Why do you say that?”

“Have you seen your dads?” Sweetie Belle asked, pointing to the rear of the group. “They’ve been talking like old friends ever since your flight practice!”

“Really?” The orange filly moved to a hover, looking back at the adults among them. To her surprise, Sweetie Belle was right. Boltsinger and Snap Shutter were frequently making quips at each other with almost genuine smiles on their faces. She did her best to hold it back, but there was no hiding the smile that crept onto her face. She dropped back down, moving to a trot in front of her friends with a joyful swishing of her tail. “I can’t believe it’s working!” She beckoned them forward, hopping ever-so-slightly in her excitement. “Come on, girls! Goldenrod’s waited long enough!”

The other Crusaders giggled amongst themselves, springing forward into a canter with their more flighty friend. They made quick work of the rest of the trip, knocking on the door and waiting with eagerly tapping hooves. After a shuffling from behind, the door opened to reveal a smiling zebra. “Welcome, Crusaders! I’m glad you’ve come by!” Zecora greeted, bowing to the trio and stepping aside. “You seem quite excited. Might I ask why?”

“Oh, no particular reason.” Scootaloo teased, trotting in and looking around. “Where’s Goldenrod?”

A small chuckle came from the mystic, who pointed out a nearby window. “That filly is an unstoppable force. Her work has taken her outside, of course.” She led them out the door, stopping to wave at the group behind the Crusaders. “I see that today you have gathered a crowd.” She sent the blue-haired stallion a knowing grin. “I do hope things haven’t gotten too loud?”

Boltsinger winced, rubbing his neck as he remembered the previous day’s outburst. “I… take it you heard me yesterday?”

Twilight put a hoof on her husband’s back. “I think Princess Celestia heard you yesterday.”

Zecora chortled to herself, turning her way toward the back of the hut. Following behind her revealed a vast patch of herbs, with a yellow Pegasus filly hovering over. She had placed several small gray clouds all about the clearing, occasionally bucking one to provide the plants with life-giving water. Zecora looked to the Crusaders with a smile, finally cleari g her throat and looking up. "Oh, Goldie, my dear! You've got friends around! Perhaps now you can show them what secrets you've found?"

The green-haired filly’s buzzing finally stopped. “On my way!” She turned into a little streak as she made her approach, fluttering to a landing with an enormous smile. “Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, I have something to show you.” She put her hoof up between them, putting on a serious face. “Careful, though, it might freak you out a bit.”

The young trio tilted their heads, their curiosity piqued. “Are you talking about what I think you’re talking about?” Sweetie Belle asked, leaning forward in tandem with her friends.

“Are you saying you--” Apple Bloom began, stopped short by a flank in her face.

“Check it out!” Goldenrod commanded, beaming like it was her birthday. On the yellow flank was a single symbol, a pure white cloud with, of all things, a bonsai tree growing out of it. The young botanist could hardly hold back her giggles, especially once the Crusaders’ eyes began to widen.

“YOU GOT YOUR CUTIE MARK!!!” they simultaneously cheered, hopping up with more joy than they’d felt in a long time.

“Isn’t it awesome?” Goldenrod exclaimed, looking longingly at her flank. “A couple weeks back I was wondering if I could improve the conditions for all of Zecora’s herbs while flying around. It helps me think sometimes. Anyway, eventually I sat on a cloud, and some rain started to come out!” She pointed back at the clouds above the herbs with a smirk. “What if I used the clouds to create whatever conditions I wanted?” She sprang into the air, motioning to the clouds with her hooves. “I combined my cloud-wrangling skills with my research! What do you think?”

Smiles widened all around, with Scootaloo rising to meet her friend in midair. “This… is… AWESOME!” She rushed forward, catching her in a hug that sent both of them spinning. They landed in the dirt on the other side of the patch, covered in dust and laughing. “Your parents can’t possibly reject something like this!”

Mane stepped forward, examining the herbs and the clouds that watered them. “So this is… botanical research?” She beckoned back to her husband with a twinkle in her eye. “Snap, come check this out!”

“Oh, I am!” the stallion answered, nosing his way around the herbs. “I never even imagined there could be a method like this!” He examined the soil, bringing a bit up and taking a whiff. “Getting soil like this in Everfree is an amazing feat! Let alone havin’ anything growin’ in a place this wild!” He walked over to the young Pegasi, looking eagerly at the aspiring scientist. “Do you mind if we look at your notes?”

Dusting herself off, Goldenrod looked at the stallion before her, eyes widening dramatically. “You’re… you’re…” She shot back into the air, putting herself at eye level with him. “You’re SNAP SHUTTER!!!” She brought her hooves to her cheeks squishing them excitedly against her face. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE HERE!” She looked past him, blinking in disbelief at the mare she saw. “So… You’re Mane Allgood! You two are legends! What brings you over here?”

Snap pointed a hoof at Scootaloo. “Ask our daughter.”

Goldenrod’s gaze turned to the Crusader, her mouth making a perfect O shape at the new knowledge. “Those two… are your… parents?!”

“Um…” Scootaloo looked away, frantically scratching her neck. “Yeah, kinda… It’s, well, it’s complicated.”

“How is it complicated?” she asked, putting her hooves on her fellow flyer’s shoulders. “Who wouldn’t want to have them for parents? They’re the best explorers of all time!” She led the orange filly back to the larger group, stopping short just to stare back at the ponies she idolized. “Why, just last winter, they led a team through the frozen north to get the magical nectar of the Crystalilies!”

“Last winter, huh?” Boltsinger repeated, taking a seat beside them. Breathing deep, he looked at the budding botanist with a smile. “So, what does this Crystalily nectar do?”

“What doesn’t it do?” she corrected. "Crystalily nectar is a fascinating reagent in a bunch of medicines, remedies, and even a few spells! But it's extremely hard to find. Only the bravest are able to track them down and extract it!" She hopped into a hover in front of the explorers. "The flowers only bloom once every fifteen years, and this last winter was the second time they've gotten it!"

"Really?" The orange stallion turned his attention to Snap and Mane, both of whom slowly nodded. "That's a very noble cause. Quite frankly, it's very understandable that they would go where they were needed."

Snap's eyes went wide. "Well, uh… Thank you! Didn't think you'd--"

"Just one question for you, though." He interjected, wings flaring. "Why didn't you tell her about it?"

The Earth Pony went back a step. “Well it’s not like it’s the first time we’ve not come back when we said--”

Boltsinger stomped, narrowing his eyes as he took a step closer. “Why didn’t you tell her what you were doing?”

“She’s a tough girl! She understands that we can’t always keep our promises!” he argued, digging his hoof into the dirt.

“From what I can tell you’d be hard-pressed to keep your promises!” The Pegasus took to the air with an angry flap, moving to a hover in front of his opposite. “Last winter was the first time I’d ever seen Scoot hear from you, let alone get excited about seeing you!”

Twilight took a step forward, extending her hoof out to her husband. “Bolt--”

“No, Twilight, he needs to hear this.” he dismissed, getting a little closer. “I get that you have big important work to do. I end up randomly leaving all the time. But there’s a big difference between what happens to me and the blatant neglect you show her!”

A growl erupted from Snap’s throat, sending his hoof to swipe the air in front of him. “And what do you do that’s so important that you gotta leave like that? What makes you so different from us?”

“It doesn’t matter what I’m doing. I just do my part!” he explained with a hoof over his heart. “But every single time I leave, I come back as soon as possible! And when I’m gone for a long time, I write. EVERY. DAY. Heck, I just got back from a really long trip all over Equestria, but I still sent a letter every chance I got!”

“Not all of us have magical dragons to send our mail for us!” the photographer retorted, taking a step of his own closer. “And if we don’t do what we do, then a lot more ponies are gonna suffer than just one!”

Scootaloo watched as the yelling got more and more intense. The only time he’d ever seen Boltsinger like this before was when he held Caballeron by his shirt collar, fiercely protective and profoundly aggressive. Her pupils like pinpricks, she looked at her birth father. His face mirrored Boltsinger’s in many ways, fiery, defensive, and enraged. She shuffled her hooves, scooting back in the dirt in disbelief. “No… Please, no…”

But the shouting match continued, both sides growing louder with every step in their exchange. Looking over at Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo couldn’t help but notice her expression shifting to the dour side. Gritting her teeth, brow furrowed, and wings arched aggressively when looking at her birth father. The winged Crusader began to pant, her hooves coming to clutch her head. All the while, the stallions stepped closer to one another.

“She’s a strong filly, yes, but you have no idea how much you hurt her!” Boltsinger declared, clenching his teeth mere inches from Snap’s muzzle. “You call yourself a parent, but all you’ve managed to do is make my daughter cry!”

“She’s my daughter, ya family-stealing sod!” Snap Shutter dragged his hoof on the ground, snorting as loud as he could while raising his foreleg. “And I’ve had just about enough of this!”

Boltsinger gave a mighty flap that lifted him higher than before, forelegs raised defensively with a fierce new determination in his eyes. “Oh it’s on!”

“STOP IT!!!” Scootaloo finally cried, pulling all eyes to fall on her. She stood there with a look of tearful shock lining her features, wings flared and breaths rapid. “This isn’t what I wanted!” She closed her eyes, shaking her head as the tears began falling. “This isn’t what I wanted at all!!!” With that, her legs began to move, taking her at a gallop into the forest beyond the hut.

Boltsinger and Snap Shutter stared in disbelief, both of them falling back on all fours as the very filly they were arguing about disappeared into the trees. After a dumbfounded blink, they looked around. Everywhere they looked, they found glares. Glares that sent a chill down their spines, letting them know the gravity of their mistake.

After that quiet realization, Twilight and Mane stepped forward, the Alicorn’s wings spread with a presence and ire even Boltsinger had never seen before. She gave a single stomp, sending cracks into the ground below. “You know what you have to do, right?”

The first thing that came to mind for the purple-eyed stallion felt obvious. “Yeah. I do.”

“Then go.” the princess stressed, flaring her wings even wider. “Now.”

“Right.” Boltsinger turned to the pony he’d just nearly come to blows with, offering him a hoof. “Let’s go get our daughter.”

Looking at the offered hoof, then the stallion that owned it, Snap nodded. “Right. Let’s go.”

The two of them joined hooves, and with a charged flap of the Pegasus’ wings, they were off.

---

Running, panting, and tears.

These were all Scootaloo could register as she ran. The trees looked as if they would reach out to grab her at any time, their faces more menacing than ever before, and all sound seemed to fade away before her racing thoughts. At this point, she was running on pure instinct. Ducking, weaving, swerving, dodging, jumping. It was all natural. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but she couldn’t care less now. She was getting away from the fighting, and it didn’t matter where she was. Be it among the trees, on the ground, in the water…

In the water?

She opened her eyes, looking at the yellow-green water around her hooves. “What the? How did I get here?” She let out a forceful snort, plopping her rump down into the water. “Oh well. Doesn’t matter…” She raised a hoof, bringing it back down with some force to send a wide ripple through the water. “I just don’t care anymore… It’s not worth trying if everypony’s just gonna fight…”

A muffled growl bubbled up from under the water, sending the filly’s gaze toward the noise for a moment. Stranger still than the bubbles was the faded voice that sounded off from behind. “SCOOTALOO!” it called out. She turned toward it, wondering what it could possibly be. Upon hearing it again, she recognized it. There were two of them. They were heading toward her, and from the sounds of it, they were together.

“Dad?” she wondered, raising her hoof from the water.

The growling she’d ignored came forth once again, sending much larger ripples through the water. She looked back to the liquid, pupils shrinking once again as an enormous splash erupted in front of her. From the depths came a giant rock-covered lizard, a cragadile, lumbering after her with its maw open wide. She released a high-pitched scream, buzzing her wings in an attempt to escape, but it was too close. Her mouth hung open, forelegs coming up to defend herself, all while frantically trying to scoot away.

But the attack never came. Instead, two sets of hind legs slammed into the creature, knocking it aside. With a quick loop, the legs’ owners were airborne, one of them dropping from the top of the stunt while the one with wings made a beeline for her. “I gotcha Scoot!” Boltsinger declared, his forelegs wrapped around her and holding her close as they soared above everything. Once they’d gained some height, he turned around, looking down at the scene below. “I’ve got Scootaloo!”

Snap Shutter looked up from his newfound position on the cragadile’s back with a wide grin. “Perfect! You keep ‘er outta danger and I’ll handle this bugger!”

“Right! Be careful!” the performance pony confirmed, lowering his altitude and coming to a hover. His grip around the foal tightened, forming an impromptu hug. “Are you okay?”

“I… I think so…” the filly replied, burying her face in Boltsinger’s fur. “Thanks…”

“Thank Snap.” he suggested, stroking her mane. “He’s the one that saw the cragadile and formed the strategy.”

Down below, Snap Shutter had grabbed onto one of the more manageable rocks on the beast’s back. As it thrashed around, he held on, going in and out of the water at least five times before its body righted itself. Snap refused to waste this opportunity, climbing up the length of the cragadile until he sat at the base of its neck. He felt around, searching for precisely the right spot to strike until… There it was! He raised his foreleg, tensing it up as much as his drenched body would allow before bringing it down at the precise pressure point. With something that sounded like a growl and a roar at the same time, the rocky reptile reared back, flailing its forelegs before falling flat on its stomach, breathing softly in a blissful slumber.

“Now that was a doozy.” he commented, climbing down from its back and walking to shore, where Boltsinger came to a soft hover in front of him. “How’re ya doin’ Scoot?”

Scootaloo slowly turned in her adoptive father’s forelegs, still visibly shaking, but with a look of relief in her eyes. “I’m okay.” She squirmed just a little, working her way out of the embrace to land between them. “Thanks for coming after me, Dad.”

“You should thank Bolt.” Snap said with a shrug, pointing to the pony in question. “We wouldn’t’ve gotten here so fast if not for him.”

“I did.” she affirmed, taking hold of a hoof from each of them. “Both of you. Thanks, Dad.”

There was a mutual smile from both stallions, each leaning forward and covering their daughter in a hug. One was wet, and the other had a tingle to his touch, but Scootaloo didn’t care. They were here, and for absolute certain, she felt safe.

---

Scootaloo was certain she’d never had been hugged so much in a single afternoon. Between her friends, her aunts, her honorary sister, and both of her moms, she was just about hugged out. She lay in her bed in the castle, staring up at the ceiling in a state of both content and confusion. The day hadn’t gone how she’d hoped, but she couldn’t complain about the result. She turned onto her side, looking at the door when, with timing that very nearly blew her mind, there was a knock. “Hey Scoot, can we come in?” Boltsinger asked from the other side.

“Yeah, it’s open.” she answered, sitting up on the edge. The door swung open, allowing both of her fathers to enter.

“I know we already asked, but… how are you feeling?” Snap inquired, taking a seat on her left.

“Not just about the thing with the cragadile, of course.” Boltsinger added, following suit on her right. “All of this. Us. Everything. I mean…” He hung his head, finding himself at a loss for words.

“Honestly, I’m still not sure how I feel about all of this.” she confessed, kicking her hind legs in alternation as she looked at the floor. “But, I think I at least feel better than before. The way both of you came to my rescue really helped.”

“I’m not sure I understand why you’re confused, but I guess it’s not for me to understand anyway.” Snap stated, putting his hooves on his knees. “Mane and I… we just wanted to make sure you were safe. Even took a job that would let us be with you more often, but… We can’t stay here in Ponyville for it.”

“And I talked with Twilight about it, and we agreed… “ A deep sigh came from the older Pegasus, his knees coming up close to his barrel. “No matter what choice you make, you’ve got our support. If you want to leave with them, we’re okay with it.”

Before he could look up again, Boltsinger felt hooves on his hind legs, gradually climbing up until they reached the top. After a moment, there was a sharp slap to either side of his muzzle, sending his attention back up to find Scootaloo looking him in the eye. “Why would you ever think I’d wanna leave Ponyville?”

The Pegasus stallion’s eyes stayed wide, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. He moved his hooves to his cheeks, where he found feathers in the same places he habitually struck. “How did your wings get so big?”

“Because my dad taught me to use them.” she informed him, fluttering back to the floor. “The dad that’s been there for me ever since I met him. And the one who always gave me the chance to make my own choices.”

Snap took a long look at the orange ponies, a small tug at the corners of his mouth concealing the distance he felt from the filly. He got up from the bed, putting a hoof on her back. “You really do have a lot of support here in Ponyville, huh?” Scootaloo looked up to him with a smile, giving a solemn nod. “Well then I can’t possibly ask you to leave with us. But we still wanna be a part of your life. Can’t really get out of the move, though. House has already been sold.”

“Well then I guess you have to come visit.” Boltsinger deadpanned, his hoof joining Snap’s. “You’re welcome at the castle anytime you need.”

“Are you sure?” the explorer inquired, tentatively raising his hoof. “After all that happened these last couple days, I don’t blame you if--”

“Of course I’m sure.” the Pegasus prince affirmed. “I’d do anything for Scootaloo, and if she wants to have you over, then I’m happy to oblige.” The fathers turned their attention to their favorite filly, whose eyes had gained a hopeful shine to them. “So what do you say?”

“Of course you can come visit!” she exclaimed, tugging on both of their forelegs to give them one more hug. “Just make sure you try to get along, okay?”

The fathers simultaneously nodded, squeezing their foal just enough to add some extra warmth. “You’ve got it.” they replied in unison.

Out in the hallway, Holiday and Lofty peeked into the room. They snickered back and forth, pulling each other close. “So, should we tell them that we’re the ones that bought the house?” Lofty asked.

“Let’s wait ‘til later.” Holiday suggested, giving her partner a kiss on the cheek. “Give ‘em one surprise at a time.”

Author's Note:

This was a hard chapter to write. It's been a long time coming, and when I realized the implications of Daring Do coming to Ponyville in the last chapter, all the connections lined up in my head and then suddenly... BAM! No choice. Had to do this. Even though the episode it draws from is one that gave me no less than three panic attacks. Figuring everything out was difficult, but it came together as I kept going.
After this, though, I'm hoping that I can pick up the pace with releases. I'm in a better place than I was and things are slowly getting better. I'll be able to focus a bit more. In fact, I kinda secretly promised myself I'd get this chapter done for all of you before the year ended. I am just barely in time for that. So let's hope I can do better next time! I already have several plans for the chapters to come, so I hope you enjoy them!

Comments

[Xp45]

Better an hour before the new year than not at all! Great to see you and this story back in action!

[TasermonsPartner]

Well, it was a pretty good chapter overall, and nice to see Scootaloo's whole family supports her...except for Spike, apparently, who just seemed to disappear the moment they got back and wasn't mentioned by anypony afterwards and didn't think Scootaloo was worth supporting or making an appearance for.

[Boltsinger]

11104028
It ended up being a pretty large group. Spike kinda fell behind without my realizing it 'cause I couldn't quite figure out how to work him in further.