Chapter 6
Scootaloo slowed to a fast trot as she reached the bottom of the hill. Her head throbbed in pain, causing the filly to wince; the thoughts were running around her head so fast it hurt. She was angry at Diamond Tiara, angry at her classmates, angry with herself. And she felt guilty, guilty for yelling at her dad, guilty for losing the race, guilty for—
Her train of thought was broken as she felt herself hoisted into the air by her tail. Yelping in surprise, she looked up into her dad’s face, her tail firmly held between his teeth. It was hard to tell how angry he was by her angle, but she assumed it was slightly more than a little.
“Let me go!” Scootaloo yelled, swinging and kicking uselessly at her father. “Put me down!” She flailed wildly at her father, and as she swung in his grasp, she managed to land a few blows that were little more than grazes. Cypress ignored her; eventually she gave up trying to hit him and subjected to being carried through town like a shopping bag.
At least it’s not the most embarrassing thing to happen to me today, she thought to herself in an attempt to raise her spirits but the giggling of onlookers foiled her effort. Her ears and face burned. I can’t believe dad’s doing this to me, she thought as she covered her ears to block out the laughter. This is the worst day ever.
It was hard to tell where Cypress was taking her while looking at the world upside down, but she thought they were headed for the center of town. Sure enough, a few minutes later, he was carrying her up the steps to the gazebo in the town square. He was careful to raise her high enough so her head wouldn’t hit the steps, but she still pulled her head in to be sure.
After he set her gently down on the bench, Scootaloo immediately sat up and turned away from him, folding her arms in defiance. She cringed in surprise as he spoke right into her ear, not loud enough to hurt, but loud enough to get her attention.
“Don’t move from this spot, Scootaloo. Understand?” She didn’t answer, just scooted farther away from him. That was enough for Cypress apparently; she heard him turn and walk away, the clunk of hooves on wood changing to the soft swishing of grass that faded away. She was finally alone with her thoughts.
I can’t believe he did that to me, especially after I told him to leave me alone, she thought. This whole thing is his fault anyways.
Is it his fault though? She argued with herself. He was trying to help you stand up for yourself. Just because you weren’t strong enough to do so doesn’t mean he was wrong.
Well, maybe, she admitted. But he still should have left me alone.
Why? Dad saw you were in trouble and he tried his best to help. Instead of accepting it, you yelled at him.
Yeah, well, I was angry, she maintained stubbornly, not ready to admit defeat just yet. All I wanted was some time alone, and he wouldn’t even give me that.
Well, you’re alone now. Feel better?
…No.
Scootaloo sighed, burying her head in her hooves. She felt like crying again; all the anger was gone, overwhelming guilt filling its place.
She didn’t know how long she sat like that, but when someone nudged her slightly, she jumped. Startled, she looked up at her dad; her emotions must have been written in her face, because he smiled at her sympathetically.
“It’s okay to cry, you know,” he said, holding out an ice cream bar for her. Scootaloo just stared at it.
Wait, I tell dad I hate him, and I get an ice cream? She must have hesitated too long, because Cypress shrugged and pulled the bar away. Scootaloo quickly reached out and took it before he could move it out of her reach. “I’m not crying,” she said as she slowly opened the treat.
“I know, Scoot; I know,” he replied, sitting down on the bench as far from her as he could. He didn’t have a bar of his own he just sat there looking at nothing. Scootaloo took a small bite and grimaced at the taste. The strawberry tasted sour, and the chocolate was bitter. She made a small noise of disgust, and Cypress turned to look at her. He must have seen the look on her face. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
“It doesn’t taste right,” she replied, holding the bar out for him to have a taste. He took a small bite and let it set a moment before shrugging.
“Things don’t really taste as good when you’re sad,” he said. Scootaloo took another bite of the bar before offering him another bite. He took it, and then she took another one herself. Then she moved ever so slightly closer to him, and he did the same towards her.
“Does it taste right to you?” she asked him.
“Not really.” They both scooted closer to one another, close enough Scootaloo could grab her dad’s hoof if she wanted.
“Dad?“
“Yeah, Scoot?”
“Are…are you mad at me?” she asked. Cypress was silent, so silent Scootaloo turned to look at him from the corner of her eye. He didn’t look mad, but he stared into the distance with a blank expression that did little to help her. “Dad?”
“No, Scoot, I’m not mad. I’m just confused. What happened, why were they making fun of you?” Scootaloo shifted about, uncomfortable. Cypress turned to face her, a comforting half smile on his face. “Look, Scoot, I know I was pushing you earlier, and I am sorry for that. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want, but I’m here to help you if you want.”
Scootaloo didn’t answer; her nerves and guilt fighting against the part of her that wanted to confess everything to her dad. She felt his eyes staring at her, stretching the silence painfully until, with a sigh, he stood.
“Alright, kid, I’ll leave you be,” he said. “Make sure you’re home by dinner.”
Cypress turned to walk away, but Scootaloo reached out quickly and grabbed his leg. “Wait, Dad— I do want to tell you, I just…” She stopped, her eyes glancing around at nothing as she searched for the right words. “I just don’t want to talk about it because it’s… embarrassing? That’s not really the right word for it...”
“Shame?” Cypress asked. Scootaloo nodded, looking into her dad’s eyes for a split second before the sadness and worry she saw there forced her to look away. She heard him settle back down next to her on the bench, then the familiar weight of his hoof rested comfortingly on her head. “It’s okay, Scoot, take your time and tell me what happened.”
Scootaloo took a deep breath, turning to face Cypress without looking at him.
“So, you challenged this other filly to a race?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo replied. “Apple Bloom.”
“Right, Apple Bloom. So, what happened?” Scootaloo sat quietly, getting up the courage to continue her story. Cypress was too distracted from keeping calm to notice. That his daughter had to defend her worth from a couple of schoolyard brats made him want to kick something, and the effort to keep calm set his hooves shaking.
“It… it isn’t fair. I tried hard, really hard,” she said, her voice barely audible as it cracked with emotion. She cleared her throat, blinking rapidly. “I, uh, I ran so fast, faster than I ever have; I was winning!”
“What happened?”
“I—I tripped.” Scootaloo swallowed visibly, staring straight at the ground. “I took the final curve too fast, and I slipped on the grass. It was horrible; everypony was laughing at me, and Sweetie Belle—“ Scootaloo took a deep, shuddering breath, turning away to hide her face in case she started crying again.
“She…she looked—she hates me now.”
“She told you that?”
“No, but, she has to. I got her hopes up, I stood up for her and then I-I—“ With a strangled cry, Scootaloo turned and buried her face into Cypress chest, hugging herself to try and hold in the tears that wouldn’t stop. Cypress wrapped her up into a tight embrace as her tears ran down his chest, soaking into his fur.
“I-I’m not c-crying!” she sobbed into his chest.
“It’s okay Scoot, I know, I know,” he whispered into her ear, stroking her back and head, shushing softly to try and calm her.
The minutes ticked by, but it wasn’t long before Scootaloo’s sobs turned to sniffles and she was wiping the last of her tears from her eyes. To Cypress surprise, instead of pushing him away, she wrapped her own arms around him, returning the hug.
“Feel better?” he asked her once she had calmed down enough.
“A little,” she replied in a subdued tone that didn’t inspire much confidence. Still, she did tighten her hug slightly, and that was encouraging.
“I’m glad. So, when you said that all this was my fault…” Cypress could feel her face warm where it was buried against his chest.
“Oh, right; I’m really sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean any of those things I said.”
“So, you don’t hate me then?” he asked.
“No, Dad,” Scootaloo answered, blushing from shame. “I—I didn’t mean that; I was just so angry, and I took it out on you.” She pushed herself deeper into his embrace, nuzzling against his chest. “I love you Dad; I don’t think there’s anything you could do to actually make me hate you.”
“Really?” Cypress went completely still, then he gently pushed Scootaloo away from him. Confused, Scootaloo reached out, trying to maintain the hug, but the deadly serious look on her father’s normally cheerful face scared her into motionlessness. She felt his hooves on her shoulders shaking.
“What if I told you the reason you can’t fly is because of me?”
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Pony´ science can make a turtle fly, but not a crippled pegasus? BULLSHIT!
Twilight, drag your namby-pamby princess´ flank to the lab! You have SCIENCE to do.
fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/334/e/b/steampunk_tattoo_wings_by_paroozaa-d4hs24t.png
2860638 I believe this is taking place before Twilight arrived in town. I'd wager apples to oranges that she's going to play a role in Scootaloo learning to fly down the line.
images.wikia.com/dragonball/images/2/29/Atomic_Bomb.gif
Another great chapter! Glad Scoot was able to calm down enough to tell her father the truth about why she was upset. I found the bit with the ice cream bar very moving. Just silently sharing it, both realizing the taste is queer due to their own unease. Great stuff.
Really hope Scoot is able to forgive her dad. Really hoping this doesn't end up, say, explaining why Scoot's never with her family on the show.
Woo good chapter
2860638
Hell yes, so damn much.
Get off your Poor Widdle Cripple kick, writers. In a world where SNOWFLAKE can fly well enough to be a Wonderbolts cadet, this is raging, steaming BS.
Congratulations, this story has good enough grammar to be included in the Good Grammar Directory, a comprehensive list of gramatically-correct stories on Fimfiction.
2860638 2860700 is right, this takes place about a month before the start of the show.
2827645 Long time for a reply, but I didn't want anything from the next chapter spoiled; I decided not to show the race to help with the pacing. This whole ordeal is already taking up several chapters and I wanted to keep the story moving at a good pace. And with Scootaloo telling Cypress what happened, it wasn't really necessary to show the race as well.
2860649 Well, I don't think your headcanon will have to undergo any kind of massive change.
2860735
Ooooooh, now that's a good idea, all kinds of drama there. Good thing I'm not a big drama guy though, right?
Great Story cant w8 for more
2956234 Thanks. I'm finishing up a chapter for my other story, then I can get started on this next one
That was a contrived transition into a contrived cliffhanger.
3007478 Well, the cliffhanger wasn't contrived. I established that plot element in the first chapter! But I can't reall argue against the transition bit, mostly because I've never even heard of a contrived transition.
3007592
Combating a contrived entity is not as simple as introducing the element and then calling back to it. There is nothing to preface the conversation, no transition into a heavier topic, not even a hint of Cypress' thought process as he dares to bring up something so shattering. There is no sense of immensity or serious, no sense of real emotion. That is a shame, because he appears to be attempting a tender moment. If you'd like another idiom, "ham-fisted," the topic does not flow well, there is no sense of natural progression. The topic is literally brought from nothing.
This is all on top of the cliffhanger, which is drummed up, out of place drama simply for its own sake, I assume to "liven things up a bit."
The better way to go about this is to give the reader a sense of Cypress' inner turmoil, or at the very least a sense of Scootaloo's reaction. This isn't reality television, it's written word. Even if it were, it lacks the requisite tension one needs in both cases. He launches into what is potentially a major divisive in their relationship without a second thought or any hesitation. There's being blunt, then there's being unnatural.
3007740
Hmmm... not sure I agree with you 100%, but it does feel very tacked on and rushed. I'll have to give some thought on rewriting those last few paragraphs.
Thanks for your critique, and I'll keep it in mind in the future.
Congratulations ShootingStar! This story has been selected as The Equestrian Critics Society's August Fic of the Month! Enjoy your month of fame!
oh cypress, is that true?