The Last Crusade
It was another beautiful day in Ponyville and all was peaceful in the town as Iron and Grand went out on patrol. But as Grand walked down the main road, he heard a voice calling out, "Cutie Mark Crusaders! Cutie Mark Crusaders! Cutie Mark Crusaders! Cutie Mark Crusaders!" He turned to see a colt named Skedaddle running down the road, a look of excitement was on his face.
"You looking for Scootaloo and her friends?" He asked, the colt skidding to a halt before turning to nod at him. "Go look at the castle. I think the girls were there." The colt smiled and began rushing for the castle of friendship, his voice filling the air as he did so.
As he approached, Spike happened to be flying out of the castle and he ran inside. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" The voice echoed throughout the castle, catching the attention of everyone in the building. A few moments later, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom walked into the main entrance. "I got my cutie mark!"
"You did?" Sweetie asked as the colt turned to show them the cutie mark of a rope in a knot. "That's great, Skedaddle!"
"What's it for?" Scootaloo asked.
"Knot-tying! And I never would've gotten it without all of you!"
The CMC all frowned, as Starlight and Twilight walked into the entryway. "Did we suggest knot-tying?" Apple Bloom asked, only for Skedaddle to point at Sweetie Belle.
"First, I tried sailing, like you said." She pointed to Scootaloo, "Next, I tried fishing, like you said." He pointed to Apple Bloom. "Then, I tried rowing, like you said. But my oar broke. So, I used my fishing line to tie it back together, AND I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!" He let out an excited squeal. "I can't wait to tell everypony!" He shot out of the door and the CMC moved over to the exit, smiling as they watched another satisfied customer.
They then turned to one another and began to cheer and high five, "ALRIGHT!"
Twilight and Starlight both giggled at this, "Well done girls," Twilight patted Scootaloo on the head. "You should be proud."
"Thanks," Scootaloo replied, "But I'm not sure we can take credit for this one."
"Of course you can," Starlight added, "You encouraged that colt to try new things, and because you all believed in him, he succeeded." The three smiled at this, "It's too bad we didn't have ponies like you around when I was little." Starlight blushed at this, "My thoughts on cutie marks might have been better if somepony was there to help me realize what they're supposed to be."
"Well now Equestria has us," Apple Bloom cheered, "And we're gonna keep helping as many ponies discover what their special talents are as we can."
"YEAH!" The other two excalimed, high-fiving as somepony suddenly landed beside the still open castle door. They turned to see it was Derpy, who was on her mail run and currently digging through her bag before pulling out a single letter. She gave it to Scootaloo and the filly smiled, "Thanks." She took it, seeing it was addressed to both her and her brother. "FLASH!" Her voice echoed through the castle, the older ponies needing to cover their ears with how loud she was.
A few moments later, Flash stepped into the entryway. "What's all the yelling about?"
"We got a letter from mom and dad."
Flash raised an eyebrow at this before taking the letter, Scootaloo jumping up and down around him while trying to read it, "Looks like they're coming for a visit."
Scootaloo gasped at this and cheered, hugging her brother. They hadn't been able to visit for a long time, not since after the friendship festival that had been ruined by the Storm King. They had been put on a special project by the museum, and haven't been able to even see the School of Friendship, which they wanted to see.
"We'd better get a guest room cleaned out," Twilight commented as the adults headed upstairs and Scootaloo danced around in enjoyment as the CMC all walked outside.
"Somepony's clearly excited," Sweetie giggled at seeing her friend's enjoyment.
"Of course I'm excited," Scootaloo replied, "Mom and dad are coming for a visit! It's been so long I'm worried they might have forgotten what I look like."
"Don't be silly," Apple Bloom laughed, "There's no way they'd forget what their daughter looks like. Besides, they must have a bunch of photos of you at their home in Manehatten."
"They do," Scootaloo nodded, "But they probably haven't spent a lot of time there. When they get super into a project, they tend to spend every waking minute they have on it. They've probably been sleeping at the museum and haven't been back at their apartment in ages."
She kept skipping around at this, the two giggling at the sight. They knew how much Scootaloo enjoyed her parents being around. Spending most of her childhood in an orphanage, with no knowledge of who she was and why she was left there had not been easier on her. Apple Bloom knew what it meant to miss parents you had never met, but she at least had the rest of her family to help her understand them. Scootaloo had had nopony until she and Flash found one another. Hopefully, Trail Blazer and Misty Vail's visit would be a long one they could spend with their children. They had a lot of missed time to make up for.
Several Days Later...
The bell rang as Cheerilee's school to signify the end of the school day. Scootaloo was the first out the door, running to where her scooter was located as she placed her helmet on her head. She had spent the entire school day being antsy, wanting time to speed up so she could go home and see her parents.
"Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom called out, "Wait for us!" Scootaloo quickly attached her cart to the back of her scooter as the other two jumped into it. They barely managed to get their helmets on before Scootaloo beat her wings, shooting for Ponyville.
She was moving so fast, she almost ran over a few ponies that barely managed to get out of the way in time. "Scootaloo!" Sweetie cried, "Don't you think you should slow down before you get yourself...or somepony else, hurt?!"
"It'll be fine," she responded, "I drive at these speeds all the time and I've never had an accident."
"Just because something hasn't happened before doesn't mean it won't happen!" Apple Bloom covered her eyes, not wanting to see the thing that they crashed into.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes and turned into the main street, only to find herself coming face to face with Mr. Cake pulling his delivery cart. "LOOK OUT!" She tried to stop, but there was no way she was gonna slow down in time.
She closed her eyes, expecting to crash head first into the cart...but nothing happened. She opened her eyes at this, only to see her scooter floating in the air, inches from slamming into the delivery cart. "Huh?" A cough made the girls turn to see Lightning, leaning against a nearby wall with a frown as he dropped them back to the ground. "Um...thanks."
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't confiscate that scooter until Flash decides what to do with you." Scootaloo flinched at this, only to quickly give him the puppy dog eyes, Lightning raising an eyebrow. "That might work on your soft-hearted brother, but not me."
Scootaloo grabbed the other two crusaders, the two instantly going into puppy dog mode as well. Lightning stared at them, trying his best to keep his heart stone, only to growl and glance away, "Fine! But don't make me regret this. One more incident and I'll be suggesting a speed limit sign on any ground-based modes of transport." Scootaloo grinned and as Mr. Cake moved out of the way, she shot back down the road for the castle. Luckily, there weren't any more incidents and they reached the place in no time at all.
"YEAH!" She cheered as they reached the building and flew her scooter inside, only to park just as Flash and Twilight appeared.
"Scootaloo!" Twilight yelled, "What have I told you about riding your scooter inside?!"
Scootaloo either didn't hear her or wasn't listening, instead taking off her helmet and turning to her brother. "Are they here yet?"
Flash sighed and shook his head, "No, they're not here yet. Their train doesn't get in for another hour."
"Oh," Scootaloo pouted, only for a shadow to appear behind her.
"Good thing we managed to catch an earlier train then." Scootaloo spun around and her eyes went wide, now seeing Trail Blazer and Misty Vail, her parents smiling as she screamed for joy and leapt at them for a hug.
"MOM, DAD!" She squeezed them tightly, the pair laughing as they hugged her as well.
"Hey squirt," Trail chuckled.
"We missed you," Misty added before they looked up at Flash, who moved over to hug them as well. "Both of you." Flash smiled as the four held one another tightly before pulling away to let Trail and Misty greet the others. They hugged Twilight and greeted Scootaloo's friends before they all made their way to the dining room. Twilight had set up a tea set and they all sat around the table, Trail and Misty asking their children about their latest adventures. Flash told them all about several of his trips, including the Friendship Mission he took with Spike that led to them going on a treasure hunt.
The CMC told them about their own friendship mission to help Terramar the Hippogriff find his place, with Flash then talking about her little Washout incident that she did while he was away on an assignment. To say her parents were shocked by this was an understatement, Scootaloo quickly changing the subject to the School of Friendship.
"And Twilight said we're such good friendship tutors, she might even let us teach a class!"
"Really?" Misty asked, turning to Twilight who giggled into her cup.
"I don't see why they can't. They've proved they've got the skill."
"Yeah," Flash nodded, "They might even be better teachers than me."
Everypony laughed at this as Scootaloo turned back to her parents, "I can give you a tour of the school if you want. I mean, if you're staying for a while this time."
Trail smirked at this, "Oh, we plan on staying a very good while. Honestly, the hustle and bustle of Manehatten's gotten kind of exhausting. I could use a little time in a quiet little town like this."
That made Scootaloo grin like a hyena, Twilight smiling as well. "Well. feel free to stay as long as you want. Our home is your home."
Flash nodded and his parents smiled as Scootaloo leapt off her seat. "Hey, why don't I show you some photos we took of our time in Griffonstone and Seaquestria. You'll love how I look in my sea pony form." She laughed before running out of the room, Sweetie and Apple Bloom racing off after her.
Misty shook her head as she watched her daughter disappear, sighing. "It's good to see Scootaloo looking so happy. I just wish she didn't have to go through so much hardships to get to this point." They all knew what she was talking about. Leaving Scootaloo at the orphanage hadn't been easy for any of them. But it was something that needed to happen so she could meet Flash when she did.
"We don't blame you for leaving us," Flash slowly said, "It might have been hard at first, but that was just the first few years of our lives. Now we've got the whole rest of our lives to be surrounded by those we care about."
Misty nodded, "You're right. And it's not like she was alone. She had Ms. Blossom to look after her, along with all her friends, Rainbow and then you." She sighed, "I'm so glad we brought her to Ponyville. It's such an amazing place to grow up." But as she said that, Trail noticed a frown appearing on Flash and Twilight's faces.
"Is something wrong?"
Twilight sighed, glancing at Flash as he stared at the table before replying, "There's something we haven't told Scootaloo yet."
The filly in question carried a photo wallet with her friends, the trio returning the the dining room. But as they did this, they heard Misty yell out, "You're taking Scootaloo to live in Canterlot?!" This made the three stop, the fillies hearing those words going wide-eyed. They shared a glance at this before opening the door slightly, now listening in.
"Why?" Trail asked, "Scootaloo loves it in Ponyville."
"I know that," Flash nodded, "But when Twilight eventually takes over as ruler of Equestria, she's going to move to Canterlot. I've gotta go with her because not only are we in a relationship, I'm also her Royal Knight protector. Wherever she goes, I go."
"Oh. I see. Since you're also Scootaloo's guardian, she has to move to Canterlot with you." The two nodded as the pair sighed, "Are you sure there's no other way?"
"I don't see how. I can't exactly just leave Scootaloo here on her own."
"But won't Starlight be staying behind to run the school?" Trail pointed out.
"Yes, but I can't ask Starlight to look after Scootaloo while also getting used to a new job. Trust me, I've tried to think of how Scootaloo could stay here, but everything I come up with involves me dumping her on somepony else to look after. I can't do that to anypony else, which means only one thing."
"Scootaloo has to move to Canterlot with us," Twilight finished. It was then that they heard a flickering sound coming from the doorway, making them turn to see a bunch of photos fall to the ground. Twilight magically opened the door and revealed a now teary eyed Scootaloo standing there with her friends.
"Scoots..." Flash flinched.
"You're taking me away?!" Scootaloo cried, "And you weren't even going to tell me?!"
"Of course we were gonna tell you," Flash replied as he hopped off his chair and moved over to her, "But I was just waiting for the right time. I was actually gonna tell you a few days ago, but then mom and dad's letter arrived and I didn't want to make you upset during their visit." Scootaloo looked down at the floor at this as he continued, "I'm sorry Scootaloo. You realize why this has to happen. I have to travel to Canterlot with Twilight and I can't leave you here."
"But...my friends are in Ponyville," Scootaloo whimpered out.
"We know," Twilight moved over to her. "And the last thing we want to do is take you away from them. But they can come visit and you can visit them. You'll just be one Rune Gate away."
Scootaloo just stared at the floor at this, only for Apple Bloom and Sweetie to run into the room. "But Scootaloo can't leave!" Apple Bloom pulled the pegasus in for a hug, Sweetie doing the same.
"We've been together our whole lives!"
Flash and Twilight frowned at this, the princess responding, "I know it seems hard, but this doesn't have to be a bad thing. Just because you won't see each other every day doesn't mean you'll stop being friends. And you can make a bunch of new ones in Canterlot. It'll be a big change for everypony, but it can be a good change if you let it."
"Besides," Flash added, "It's not like we're leaving next week or anything. You'll have plenty of time to spend with your friends before we have to move away." He placed a hoof on her shoulder, "Give it time. You'll see."
"The only thing I see...is the end of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" She burst into tears and pulled herself out of her brother's grasp, running out of room.
"Scootaloo!" Flash yelled, only for Apple Bloom and Sweetie to sprint after her.
The defender sighed at this, only for Twilight to walk up and place a hoof on his shoulder, "Just give her time. You knew this was gonna be her reaction."
Flash nodded back, "I know...but I should have told her straight away."
"Maybe...or maybe not."
As this happened, Trail and Misty stared at the sight of their children's upset state. "I'm sure Scootaloo will learn to love Canterlot," Misty whispered to her husband, "Like Twilight said, she'll be able to make new friends and come visit her old friends whenever she wants."
"Maybe," Trail sighed, "But a big busy city like Canterlot doesn't seem like her kind of scene. Besides, she has her destiny to worry about. It's clear the CMC are meant to be together, but they can't be if she moves to another city. Even if she tried to help blank flanks in Canterlot find their cutie marks, I don't think she'd be able to do it on her own. Those three together are an unstoppable machine. But take one piece away from the other..."
"And the whole thing stops working," Misty finished.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie tried to get to Scootaloo before she jumped on her scooter and shot off into town. And as she did this, they soon found that not only could they not catch up, but the filly soon disappeared. They searched all her favorite places until they realized there was only one place she would want to go after hearing the CMC were breaking up: Their clubhouse. And sure enough, when they arrived, they could hear sobbing coming from the place.
Looking inside, they spotted Scootaloo curled up in the middle. "Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked, "Are you okay?" Scootaloo didn't reply and just sniffed, "It'll be okay. Like Twilight said, we won't stop being friends just because we don't get to see each other everyday." She heard a tiny sniffle in response, making her add, "We can come visit on weekends and...we'll send letters to each other all the time. We can make this work, right Sweetie Belle?" She turned to her, "Sweetie Belle?"
She now saw Sweetie was crying, the filly bursting into a waterfall of tears that began to fill the room. This pushed Apple Bloom over the edge and she burst out crying as well, making Scootaloo cry even harder as the trio thought about what life without each other would be like. "It's not fair!" Sweetie screamed, "The Cutie Mark Crusaders belong together!"
Scootaloo wiped her eyes, "You can't let the blank flanks down just 'cause I'm gone! You got to keep being CMCs without me!"
Sweetie sniffled "How?! There's only two of us!"
Scootaloo fought through her sobs "M-m-maybe you can find a replacement for me."
"NO, WE CAN'T!" Sweetie screamed, "You're the only...you!"
"Nothin's gonna be the same!" Apple Bloom sobbed, "Who's gonna ride their scooter ahead of us everywhere we go?"
"Or...Or put on plays with us?" Sweetie continued, "Or go camping with us? Or just hang out with us?!"
"Well, it's worse for me!" Scootaloo cried, "I have to say goodbye to both of you!" She leapt at them and hugged their hooves, only for the door to fly open as Rainbow Dash shot inside.
"Guess who just got three front-row tickets to the Wonderbolts show next week!" She cheered, the trio seeing the tickets in hoof, only to remember what just happened, Scootaloo soon not able to do stuff like that with them. This resulted in them bursting into tears again, making Rainbow flinch, "Uh...that is not the reaction I was expecting."
Scootaloo sniffled as she tried to stop her crying. "Thanks for the tickets, Rainbow Dash. We're not upset about that."
"So what's up?" Rainbow asked, "You know you can tell me anything. That's what big sisters are for."
Scootaloo took a deep breath at this, "Flash and Twilight are gonna make me move away." Rainbow's eyes went wide, shock on her face as she heard this. "When Twilight takes over as ruler of Equestria, they're gonna move back to Canterlot and take me back with them."
"Oh...oh." Rainbow barely replied, "Uh...ouch." She saw the CMC all looking upset, tears still going down their faces, "Well um...can't you just stay here?"
Scootaloo shook her head, "Flash is my guardian. So wherever he goes, I go. Unless he, as he put it, dumps me on somepony else, I have to go with him."
"Nopony's dumping you on anypony," Rainbow instantly responded, "I'm sure anypony in Ponyville would be ecstatic to let you live with them here in Ponyville. I mean, this place is your home. It's the only home you've ever known."
"Actually," Scootaloo pointed out, "My first home was the orphanage, then the Golden Oaks Library, and now it's the castle."
"Yeah," Rainbow chuckled, "But all of those places were in Ponyville. This is the town you belong in, not Canterlot." She nodded as she gave Scootaloo the tickets. "Just watch, I'm gonna get Flash to let you stay!" She flew out of the clubhouse, leaving the three fillies to watch in shock as she vanished.
"Rainbow's gonna find a way to convince Flash?" Sweetie asked, "How?"
Flash and Twilight had decided to show his parents around the school since it was clear Scootaloo wouldn't be in the mood to play tour guide. "This place is amazing," Misty whispered as they reached Flash's classroom. When they stepped inside, they found it was in its blank state. Trail tapped the crystal, amazed as the room around them shifted between a volcanic, oceanic and many other terrains.
"This place is great!" he laughed. "What I wouldn't have given to have had a school like this to go to when I was young."
"Indeed," Misty giggled, "It looks like a fun place to spend your days." She frowned before turning to Twilight, "But you won't be able to teach here once you've taken over as ruler of Equestria."
"Yup," Twilight sighed, "We're still looking into ponies that can replace us. Starlight's gonna be taking over as headmare and can probably teach the magic classes, but she's not a big a history buff like me, and we have no idea who could take over Flash's class."
The two parents nodded, only for the doors of the classroom to fly open. "There you are!" Rainbow yelled as she appeared, flying up to Flash and giving him a death glare. "What's the big idea, taking Scootaloo away from everything and everypony she's ever known?! You know she won't be happy in Canterlot!"
"Ah..." Flash slightly leaned back, "I see you had a talk with my sister."
"Yeah, and she was bawling her eyes out! What's the deal?!"
"Rainbow," Twilight chimed in, "You know I have to move to Canterlot when I take over for Celestia and Luna. Flash is coming with me because he's my protector and boyfriend. And Flash is Scootaloo's guardian. There's no way we can leave her here."
"Why not?!" Rainbow asked, "She can live with me!"
"I'm not putting my responsibilities as her caregiver over to you," Flash replied, "I know you and Scootaloo are close, but she's my sister, and I have to be the one to take care of her." Rainbow glared back at him, only for the stallion to glare right back, "Besides, what would you do if I let Scootaloo live with you? For one thing, you live in a cloud house with no way for non-flying ponies to get up to it. Scootaloo can't fly."
"I'd make her an elevator or something!"
"And what about when you're off on a Wonderbolt show in another city or on tour with them? You're really gonna leave Scootaloo at home, alone?" Rainbow bit her lip at this, only for Flash to add, "You can't just leave her with somepony else. With how often you go out on shows and other stuff, you'd need to find somepony to look after her every other week. Scootaloo needs a single, stable place to call her home."
"AAARRRGGGGHHH!" Rainbow growled, "This is insane! Why do you need to leave anyway?! Can't Twilight just run Equestria from here?!"
"Of course I can't," Twilight responded, "Canterlot is the center of all commerce, government and information in Equestria. The entire city was created to be the brain of the kingdom, and if I stayed in Ponyville, it would disrupt that brain's lines of communications and bring the kingdom into chaos."
Rainbow groaned at this, only to shake her head, "I get it...I do. But it's not fair to her. Scootaloo's never gotten to have a choice in her life. She's been pushed in so many different directions because of somepony else." The others frowned at this, only for her to add, "First, she gets left at an orphanage because of something her mom sees in a vision. She's forced to grow up without knowing her parents or that she had a brother." Misty and Trail flinched at this, "Then she finds out she has a brother and moves in with him, but that brother's constantly going out on missions and adventures, leaving her at home waiting and worrying!"
Flash opened his mouth to counter her, only to close it. She was right. He knew his role as a Royal Knight meant he would always have to go out on dangerous missions. And he knew that meant his loved ones would be worried he might not return. It wasn't something he liked, but it was something he had to do.
"She spent so long trying to find her special talent and that when she finally found it, she was ecstatic that it involved her best friends. But now she has to lose everything she's ever loved because somepony else made a decision for her!"
Flash stared at her for a second before sighing, "Well, what do you want me to do?" Rainbow crossed her hooves at this as he added, "Twilight has to move to Canterlot in order to take over. I have to go with her, and I can't leave Scootaloo behind. It kills me to have to take Scootaloo away from her friends, but I don't have a choice. That's just the way the world works. Kids follow grown-ups, even if that means going somewhere they don't wanna go."
"That's kind of harsh," Twilight pointed out.
"I'm not being mean, but it's just a fact. The second the two of us became adults, we were able to do anything we wanted. But before then, your parents had us on a very tight leash."
"That's not true," Twilight responded, only to remember all the late nights her parents came into her room and made her go to bed halfway through a book. The pair were never allowed out after sundown unless Celestia or Grand was with them and weren't allowed to leave the city limits unless, once again, Celestia or Grand needed them to.
Flash sighed again at this, "Look, when Scootaloo's older she can live wherever she wants and move back to Ponyville. But until then, I decide where she lives and she's coming to Canterlot with me."
"But that's not fair!" They all turned to see Scootaloo standing at the classroom doorway. "You're making me pick between my family and my friends! Just because I'm younger, I don't get to decide how my life turns out?! How would you have liked it if Grand had made you move away from Twilight when you were younger?" Flash didn't answer at this, "I bet there were tons of places he could have sent you to try and get stronger than you did in Canterlot. But he didn't cuz he knew you wouldn't want to leave Twilight!"
"That's different. I don't have a choice."
"Yes you do!" Scootaloo cried, marching up to him.
"You think this is easy on me?" Flash asked, moving closer as the pair glared at one another. "I have friends in Ponyville too. Friends I don't wanna say goodbye too either. But I'm still going to Canterlot with Twilight because I know they'll still be my friends, even if we're far apart."
"But I don't want to be apart from my friends!" Scootaloo argued.
"Well, maybe you should," Flash instantly replied, making everypony go wide-eyed, "I didn't want to see Springer leave when he did, but someone then told me a bond can become a shackle if you become too dependant on it." Sweetie and Apple Bloom leaned back at this as Flash turned to them. "You three have spent so long together that it's like you can't exist without being near each other."
"We can live apart from one another," Sweetie responded, "We just don't want to."
"Well, you're gonna have to," Flash added, "If you really are the best friends I know you are, your friendship can survive a few years apart. And when Scootaloo's older, she can come back and the three of you can spend as much time as you want to together. But until then, Scootaloo's moving to Canterlot with us and that's final."
And as those words left Flash's mouth, Scootaloo screamed, "I HATE YOU!"
She ran out a second later, everypony else calling out to her to stop. But she didn't. Apple Bloom and Sweetie rushed out after her and the others just stood there, letting Scootaloo's words flow through their thoughts.
Rainbow then turned to Flash, "Don't you think you were a little harsh on her?"
"I don't want to be," Flash sighed, "But it's the truth. If those girls can't stay friends while one of them's gone, then maybe their friendship isn't as strong as we thought."
"He's not wrong. Ponies can change," Trail replied, "I've met ponies who changed a lot between times I met them. Ponies are always changing from one moment to another, becoming new individuals who can sometimes be nothing like the ponies we once knew."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow asked as Trail turned to her.
"What if Scootaloo changes when she moves to Canterlot. Living in a big city is nothing like living in a small town like Ponyville. Sure, she's been there, but she's never really lived there, has she? She's only ever lived in Ponyville and that's what shaped her into the pony she is. Same with Sweetie and Apple Bloom."
"I understand," Twilight nodded. "You're worried living in Canterlot will change Scootaloo in a way that she and her friends won't have the same bond they have now."
"Exactly," Trail nodded. "And she might not want to ever come back to Ponyville. She'll definitely make new friends in Canterlot, and when she does, she'll find herself torn between which friends she'll want to be with. She's a lot like you and loyalty is something that's very important to her. And I'm sure you've found yourself split when it's come to loyalty. Trying to decide who to remain loyal to."
Rainbow flinched at this, only for Twilight to turn to Flash, "What are we going to do? I get the feeling Scootaloo isn't going to get over this. I don't want to force her to live someplace she'll be miserable in, but what other choice do we have?"
Flash glanced away, knowing what this all meant. He truly didn't want to force Scootaloo away from her home, but the only option would be to stay in Ponyville with her while Twilight went to Canterlot on her own. If he did that, their relationship would suffer, and they would likely have to split Heart and Soul up since the pair were still studying under them.
"AAAUUGGGHHHHH!" He roared, thrashing his hooves through his hair in frustration. "WHY DOES LIFE HAVE TO BE SO COMPLICATED?!" Twilight patted him on the back, the pair heading out with Rainbow on their tails.
Misty and Trail stayed behind, staring at each other, only for something to occur in their minds. An idea, one that should have happened a long time ago. They were going to make up for everything they had put their children through and hopefully, make it so that the two didn't hate each other.
Scootaloo had run out of the school at high speed, tears still filling her eyes, She didn't know where to go and just kept running, trying to avoid everypony since they would likely try and talk to her and make her think Flash was in the right. But she refused to let that be the case. She would just keep running until she knew what to do.
But she couldn't keep running. Eventually, she ran out of breath and had to come to a stop. She panted, unable to catch her breath as her cries were also making it hard. But after a minute or so, she managed to get her breath under control, though she was still crying, the filly wiping her eyes and she thought about Flash taking her away from her home. She regretted what she had said. She didn't hate him, but her anger at him taking her away was just too strong. His words echoed through her head and she kept crying.
"Scootaloo?" Her head went up and went wide-eyed.
"Miss Blossom?" The green earth pony mare with a brown mane and tail stared at her, the filly then looking behind the mare and saw she was standing in front of the Ponyville Orphanage, which hadn't gotten very many young ponies within it. In fact, Scootaloo had been the last filly to live there and there had been no other ponies dropped off since.
Blossom tilted her head, "Is everything alright?" Scootaloo began to tear up again, the orphanage director placing a hoof around her back. "Come on, why don't we go inside and get you a hot cocoa. That always made you feel better when you were younger."
Scootaloo wanted to tell her no, but all the crying and yelling had really made her throat horse. She could use a hot drink to soothe it. They headed inside and went straight for the kitchen, Blossom beginning to boil the milk on the stove. Scootaloo sat there, letting herself calm down as Blossom prepared everything else. As soon as the milk was warm, she poured it into the chocolate mix and stirred. She then added some whipped cream, a wafer, sprinkles, more cream and a marshmallow to go on top.
"Here you go," she placed it on the table. "Just the way you like it."
Scootaloo smiled as she took the drink, quickly downing a good third of it, making her feel warm inside. Scootaloo had forgotten how good Miss Blossom was at making cocoa. She had always been a great caregiver, giving those that were under her care the same amount of attention no matter what. Scootaloo couldn't help but think back to her time under Blossom's care. The mare had been the one to raise her when her parents left her at the orphanage. She had changed her, helped her learn walk and talk and had been the one to comfort her when she learned her wings weren't likely to grow.
The filly suddenly felt a little bad for not coming to visit more often. Ever since moving in with Flash, she had barely seen her at all.
"Now," the mare smiled at her, "What seems to be the problem? You looked really upset about something."
Scootaloo sighed, "Flash is making me leave Ponyville." Blossom gasped at this, Scootaloo explaining everything a few minutes later.
"I see," she nodded. "I understand why that would be upsetting to you. Ponyville is the only home you've ever known. The place you grew up, met your friends, and became the pony you are."
"Exactly," Scootaloo whimpered, "So why can't Flash see that I don't belong in Canterlot? This is the only place I need to be."
"I don't think he would be doing this if he had a choice. He would only take you away if he didn't have to." Scootaloo had heard this before, making her frown as tears tried to form as she added, "I don't think he's taking you away just because he's your guardian. I think he doesn't want to leave you behind because you're family."
"I know that," Scootaloo grumbled.
"Do you? Don't you remember what life was like before the two of your found one another?" Scootaloo glanced up at her, "Do you remember how sad you used to be because you didn't have a family?"
"I wasn't sad."
"You might not have looked it, but you were sad." Blossom instantly countered, "I saw it on your face whenever you thought nopony was looking. When you saw families together, siblings and parents having fun and loving each other. I've seen it many a time, on many faces of children without families. You wished for a family. You wanted that more than you wanted your cutie mark."
"Maybe..." Scootaloo muttered as she looked away, "I always wondered why my parents left me here. I just...guess I forgot about it."
"Since that time, so much has happened. When you found out Flash was your brother, a whole new world opened up for you. A world you never thought was possible. You had a real, flesh and blood relative in your life. Remember how you felt when you learned that?"
"Really happy," Scootaloo whimpered, "But what's that got to do with Flash taking me away?"
"Remember how you felt when you were growing up here? Wishing for a family and wanting to know why you were left behind?" Scootaloo nodded, "Well, Flash went through the exact same thing for a lot longer." Scootaloo's eyes went wide at this, "He grew up without a family and for most of his life, he was living out on the street until he was taken in by Twilight's family."
"I know that."
"But he felt the way you felt for a lot longer then you did. Until he discovered you were his sister, he didn't know anything about himself. When he learned the truth, he finally had somepony he was related to. Somepony he could call his family. Until then, he only had Twilight and her family."
"So...he's taking me away because he doesn't want to give up the only blood relative he had in his life?"
"Maybe. But I think it's more than that. Flash wants to give you the life he never had growing up. A family doesn't have to be something you're born into. Flash had Twilight and her family growing up. And you have Flash, Twilight and her family, not to mention Fire Heart and Shining Soul. They're your family. The ones you live with, care for and love. If he left you behind, how would it be any different from what your parents did to you."
Scootaloo had never thought about it like that. She did see Twilight as part of her family, Spike, Heart and Soul as well. They were the best family she could ever ask for. But they weren't the only family Scootaloo had.
"But Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are like sisters to me," she replied, "So's Rainbow and so many other ponies that I feel like I could call family. Even you." Blossom smiled at this, "Ponyville's always been there for me. We stick together and no matter what, we're able to survive any challenge thrown at us. We're not just one town. We're one giant family. A family I don't wanna leave behind."
Blossom nodded back, only for there to be a knock at the door. The mare walked over to the door and returned a minute later, followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "There you are," Apple Bloom jumped onto the seat next to her. "Are you alright?"
"No," she muttered, "But...I'm feeling a lot better now." The pair nodded, slightly smiling at this, "I just wish Flash could understand how much Ponyville means to me."
"Oh, he does sweetheart." Blossom sat down, "Everypony in town knows how important it is to you. And how important you are to it." The three turned to her, "I mean, look at how many ponies you've helped. All the blank flanks you've inspired to aided in finding what they're meant to be. Many of them wouldn't have found their true callings if you hadn't helped them. Because of that, you will always be a part of their lives. I bet every time those ponies see their cutie marks, they'll remember how you helped them."
Hearing this made Scootaloo smile, only for Apple Bloom to gasp, "That's it!"
"What's it?" Sweetie asked, "Do you have an idea?"
"I do," Apple Bloom nodded. "Flash and Twilight are going to Canterlot because Twilight's taking over for Luna and Celestia. They're the ones going because they're the only ponies in Equestria that can do what they do, right?"
"Right..." Scootaloo nodded.
"Well, so are we!" She showed them her flank, "Our cutie marks prove it!"
"Yeah," Sweetie realised she was right and showed off her own butt tattoo. "Our job is to help other ponies find their purpose!" Scootaloo's eyes went wide as she realised what they were getting at.
"And nopony else can do that!" She looked back at her mark and remembered everything that had happened for her to get it, along with everything the three had done since. All the ponies they had helped. All the challenges they had faced. They had overcome them all together. "So if Flash and Twilight split us up, it'd be just as bad as them quitting their jobs!"
The CMC all jumped down off their chairs and high-hoofed, "WOO-HOO!" They laughed as they began to think. "Now," Apple Bloom asked, "How do we explain that to 'em?"
"Oh, you don't have to explain it." Blossom giggled as a thought filled her head, "It's not you Flash and Twilight need to hear it from." The three realized what she was saying and all smiled, knowing exactly how they were gonna pull this off. They would have to contact every pony they had helped while hoping they would be willing to help them.
The next day...
Flash and Twilight were in the dining room, setting things up for breakfast. They were still a little worried about Scootaloo since she hadn't come home until sunset last night and ran up to her room as soon as she got back. They feared she would remain locked up in her room for days or maybe weeks, resulting in her missing their parents' visit. The pair had left the castle before everypony got up and left a note saying they would be back later. To say Flash was upset about his family not spending time together was an understatement.
But as they put the cereal boxes and milk on the table, the door opened up and Scootaloo stepped inside. This surprised the pair. "Scootaloo?" Flash moved over to her, "Are you feeling better now?"
"A little," Scootaloo slowly whispered, "Sorry I got so upset yesterday." Flash smiled and pulled her into a hug, Scootaloo barely hugging him back. "But can you two come with me please?" The pair raised an eyebrow, as Scootaloo turned to leave. "It's important."
"Alright," Twilight nodded, "Lead the way." Scootaloo ran out of the room and the pair followed, leaving the castle and heading to the town.
When they got there, they were surprised the find the place was practically deserted. "Where is everypony?" Flash asked, as they turned a corner and found themselves in front of the town hall. And when they got there, they saw something incredible.
Almost the entire town was there, the area having been decorated with balloons, streamers and banners showing the CMC and their cutie marks. "What is all this?" Twilight asked as Rainbow flew over to them.
"It's Cutie Mark Crusader Appreciation Day!" She explained, turning to Scootaloo. "But we couldn't start without all of them here."
Flash and Twilight shared a glance as Scootaloo smiled and jumped onto Rainbow's back. She flew Scootaloo over the crowd, who began to chant. "CMCs! CMCs! CMCs! CMCs! CMCs! CMCs!" When they got to the front of the hall, Rainbow let Scootaloo down and the filly climbed up on stage to be with her friends. As they did, Mayor Mare smiled as she began to speak.
"These three ponies share a rare ability to help others find their true purpose. It's a job only they can do, and only together."
Twilight smirked as she looked over at her friends, "That sounds familiar." The Mane Seven all smiled back, as the mayor carried on.
"In honor of all they have done and continue to do for the ponies of this town, I would like to present the Cutie Mark Crusaders with a three-handled Key to the City!" She held up said key, which had three loops for all the crusaders to hold as she passed it to them.
The crowd cheered as something flew over them. The Wonderbolts, who created a smoke stream in the three colours of the CMC's shield. With a few impressive manoeuvres, they formed said shield with Flash and Twilight being amazed. "A full Wonderbolt salute?" Flash asked, as Miss Blossom trotted over to them.
"I'm certain you know how important Scootaloo and her friends are," she told the pair, "But I think you still need a reminder." As she said that, Skedaddle moved up to the podium.
"The CMCs used their free time to set up a camp to help us blank flanks find our cutie marks." A bunch more young ponies walked up in front of the town hall and showed off the cutie marks the CMC had helped them get. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders see the best in everypony, even when that pony can't see it in themselves."
Flash sighed and shook her head, "I know how much good the CMC have done. That club's helped define parts of Ponyville."
Rainbow smirked at this, "Oh, it's way more than just a club. The CMCs have made a difference for everypony here." The ponies all nodded, only for two more figures to appear. One was the hippogriff known as Terramar, alongside a Griffon they all knew as Gabby.
"And not just ponies," Terramar added, "They help everycreature." He and Gabby fist bumped, Flash smiling as Blossom pointed at a bunch of young ponies.
"Whether it's encouraging others to discover their special talent..." One of them started tap dancing, showing off the cutie mark the CMC had helped him get. "...or inspiring them to do what's in their heart..." She gestured to Big Mac and Sugar Belle, who the three had helped bring together, along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who the CMC had helped turn over a new leaf. "These three offer the town something no other pony can."
Flash sighed, walking over to Scootaloo. "This is a great show everypony, and if I could, I would let Scootaloo stay." Their hearts all dropped hearing this, "But I just can't justify putting Scootaloo's care on somepony else. I know you all care about her and would happily look after her, but it's not that easy."
"It can be." They all turned to the voice, only to see Trail and Misty walking up to them, both smiling as they approached their children. "You want Scootaloo to live with her family," Misty told her son. "So why not have her live with us?"
"What?!" Flash yelped, "You want Scootaloo to move to Manehatten?! That's even further away than Canterlot!"
The parents smirked at one another before Trail replied. "No. We mean, why not let her live with us here in Ponyville."
Everypony gasped at this, Twilight asking, "You want to move to Ponyville? Are you sure?"
"More than anything in the world," Misty responded, "We saw how hard this whole moving thing was on our kids and realized we could fix everything."
"But what about your work in Manehatten?" Flash asked as his parents sighed.
"Honestly, we could use a break from that kind of work. Remember how we told you about our last project? It was so stressful I'm surprised my hair didn't fall out." They all laughed at this. "Your mother and I spent years travelling around the world, searching for hidden secrets and lost civilizations."
"And when I saw your future in my visions, we realised for it to come true, we had to give up our children. You both suffered through hardships because of us. And when it was finally over, we were able to come back into your lives."
Trail nodded as he added, "But we still chose to live in another city and do work that forced us to focus days on it. If we keep this up, we're gonna hit burn out. So when Flash told us about moving Scootaloo to Canterlot, we realized we had the chance to help. So, we've decided to leave our jobs in Manehatten behind and move here."
"Are you sure about this?" Scootaloo asked, "I don't want to force you to live somewhere you don't want to live just for me."
"Don't be silly," Misty giggled, "We want to do this. This way, we can all spend more time together, and you get to stay with your friends. And Canterlot's not far, so we'll be able to visit your brother whenever we want."
Trail turned to his son, "So what do you think? You okay leaving Scoot in our care?"
"Are you kidding?" Flash clapped his hooves, "This is great! You two can live in the castle if you want."
"That's sweet," Misty giggled, "But I think it'd be better if we found an actual house to live in. We spent all morning looking over some of the available houses, but we wanted to make sure you and Scoot liked them as well."
Flash nodded at this, "Well then, I guess that's settled. Scootaloo can stay in Ponyville." Everypony burst into cheers at this, Scootaloo leaping into his grasp as the pair hugged one another. Misty and Trail also hugged them, the family of four embracing as everything had finally worked out.
It was a busy day, celebrating the fact that Scootaloo would get to stay in Ponyville along with welcoming Misty and Trail to the town. They had visited the houses Misty and Trail were interested in buying, eventually finding one they all liked the look of. It would take a while to get everything organized, with the parents needing to go back to Manehatten to sell their current house along with moving everything across the kingdom to Ponyville. But if everything went well, Scootaloo would be living in her new home before Flash had to leave for Canterlot.
And when nighttime finally arrived, Flash, Twilight, Misty and Trail put Scootaloo to bed and headed out of her room with smiles on their faces. "Thank you for doing this," Twilight told the older ponies. "It would have broken my heart to force Scootaloo to leave Ponyville." She sighed and shook her head, "I know I'm gonna miss it and my friends when we leave."
Misty and Trail nodded, "We're happy to do this. Like we said, Manehatten and our work was starting to push us to burnout."
"Yeah," Trail added, "We might wanna go back in a few years, when Scootaloo's older and can take care of herself. But for now, Ponyville's the perfect place to live a more peaceful life." He put a hoof to his chin, "Though we'll still need to find something to do while we're here. We've saved up a fair bit over the years, but not enough to completely retire."
Hearing this, a bulb went off in Flash's head, "Hey, ever thought of being a teacher?" The pair turned to him, "Dad, you can take over my courage lessons. You were watching me throughout my adventures, so I bet you could teach everything needed to become an expert on my Element."
Twilight gasped at this, nodding as well, "Yes! And Misty can teach my history classes. Your knowledge on ancient civilizations would be perfect for that."
Misty and Trail shared a glance, only to look back at the pair, "That's brilliant! Though uh...are you sure you want us taking over your classes?"
"Why not?" Twilight shrugged, "You're both qualified. And if you watch a few of them while we teach, you can see how we do things and be ready for when we leave. What do you say?" Misty and Trail shared a glance, then smiled before nodding.
"We've love to." Flash and Twilight grinned at this, happy everything had worked out. They had originally been worried about leaving Ponyville, taking Scootaloo away and not having anypony to replace them in the school. But Flash's parents had solved both problems. Now they could focus on their plans for Canterlot without needing to worry about such things.
Everything was looking great.
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I am rather surprised you manages to do this episode due to Scootaloo no longer related to her canon parents.
I know some folks wanted Scootaloo to move away but think about it, not only Canterlot is full of nobles pricks and Scootaloo wouldn't be able to enjoy living in Canterlot but Ponyville is not just a town, it's her family! The one that truly made her who she is and if you took her away from Crusaders, her talent would ends up being pointless since her talents is so tied with other Crusaders.
I like this chapter serves as a redemption for Trail and Misty since they were initially hated by everyone for abandoning Flash and Scootaloo due to Misty's future vision but their decision to move to Ponyville so Scootaloo wouldn't move away is a great way for them to redeem themselves and a nice bonus with them taking Flash and Twilight's spot for School of Friendship.
Here's highlights
Uh oh.
Whoa! Flash and Twilight are the one who are forcing Scootaloo to move to Canterlot?!
Doesn't help the fact her talent is connected with other Crusaders' talent, taking her away from them would make her talent pointless and useless.
For once, Rainbow got a good point.
Knight of Friendship, everyone! He supposed to represent Friendship and yet, he's the one who trying to forced Scootaloo move away from her friends.
Whoa! I know Flash was too harsh with Scootaloo but her saying she hate him is rather hurt, especially she was the one who was happy to learn about Flash being her brother after he told her she's his sister.
Wait a minute… are they doing the unthinkable?
Spits Take
WHAT?!?!
THEY MOVING TO PONYVILLE?!?!
It's official, folks! Scootaloo will stay in Ponyville with Trail and Misty taking care of her.
WHAT?!?! TRAIL AND MISTY AS TEACHERS?!?!
nicely adapted everything fit well
Talk about your topsy Turvey situation.
Great chapter but question What does Fire Heart and Shiny Soul feel about the move?
there were some good points about dealing with moving away and things like that
This turned out really well. I was wondering how you were going to handle this episode, since Flash mentioned previously in Evil's Uprising that Scootaloo would need to come to Canterlot with him and Twilight, and that didn't sound any less heartbreaking than the thought of her moving away in canon.
Up until now Flash and Scootaloo have had a pretty loving relationship with little to no troubles in their sibling relationship. Seeing them both struggle with this predicament offered an interesting take on that. They both made good points, such as Flash saying as Scootaloo's older brother and guardian he couldn't jump dump her on someone else, even when Rainbow volunteered to take her in since she couldn't take care of her properly, and Scootaloo feeling it is unfair for her to abandon her life and everyone she knows just because Flash had to leave. Their argument with Scootaloo shouting she hates him was especially heartbreaking. Though they were thankfully able to overcome it.
The real highlight of the chapter though were Trail Blazer and Misty Vail. I know they are a bit divisive among a few readers for their actions with their kids in the past, but I never really held it against them. I think this might still be their crowning moment in the series though, moving to Ponyville to take care of Scootaloo when Flash needs to eave with Twilight. It certainly helps make up for missing out on their kids' lives for so long. Plus, the thought of them taking over Flash and Twilight's teaching roles at the school is also pretty genius too.
I still kinda wish we got to see that for ourselves, after Lightning Dust's first appearance had such a drastic change I thought for sure we would see her next appearance too. But oh well.
I like what you did with this episode it follows the original episodes story but still fits in your canon. I can’t wait for next weeks story. Highlights below
It’s great to see Grand and Iron again
Oh that’s right, Scoots is Flash’s sister so she wouldn’t be living with her aunts.
Twilight and Scootaloo’s interactions are so cute
Nah, that sounds more like Twilight
Did you mean to write “had” twice?
You cannot resist the cuteness
Foreshadowing
Who’s speaking, Misty or Trail?
For Flash’s class I would suggest Iron. If not him than Grand or Lightning
Dang, he’s got a few good points
Wow!
I think this is the first time Flash and Scootaloo have ever fought
Ok its been a LONG time since we’ve seen her
Wow its been so long since then
I think you should replace “to” with “and” between “inspired” and “aided”
I KNEW IT!
More foreshadowing
I agree they would be great teachers
A little too great for the time being unfortunately.
Usually when chapters end too happily, that means some real problems are going to show up soon. 
11614386
Don’t forget Flash is supposed to die soon
And as on many occasions, you managed to make this chapter superior, more because of how things are with Scootaloo's parents, who are also Flash's parents.
I liked Scootaloo's feeling of not wanting to leave and with a good justification, it made me happy to see her parents move to Ponyville, since Scoots would be different if she were to live in Canterlot and for worse, like when Applejack tried to live with the Organges.
For Faust sake Flash, you sounded like Lighting or Cold, shame.