Chapter 1
Chapter One
“Scootaloo! Diamond Tiara! To the principal’s office! NOW!”
Scootaloo shoved her opponent into the row of lockers one last time, letting go of her opponent’s jacket. A satisfying clang accompanied the action as Diamond Tiara’s head hit the locker. Her namesake slipped off of her head, only to be caught by her hand before it could complete its journey to freedom.
“I said move!”
Scootaloo folded her wings, glaring at the prissy earth pony as she straightened out her jacket. Diamond Tiara turned her nose up and walked toward the teacher, who motioned both of them to follow her. Scootaloo glanced at her friends, who had wisely decided to stay out of it. “Sorry, Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle. I guess I’ll see you guys later.”
“Cya, Scoots.”
“Catch you later.”
Scootaloo took up the rear as they made their way to the principal’s office. It seemed like she spent more of her time there than she did in class. She wanted nothing more than to punch the back of that light purple mane as hard as she could. Her wings twitched in frustration. Her fist was still clenched by the time the party had reached their destination.
The teacher knocked on the door, to which a gruff “Enter” was heard. She shoved the two students inside and said, “I found these two fighting. Again.”
The office was decorated with shelves on two of the walls, filled with books and junk, and a few pictures and plaques on the other available wallspace. A large wooden desk sat in the center of the room with an equally large chair behind it, and two smaller chairs in front. A unicorn stallion sat behind the desk, wearing a suit and tie. His white coat contrasted with his black suit, and his orange tie complimented his blue mane. He looked up and sighed when he saw who it was.
“Fighting? Why am I not surprised?” He asked, standing up. “Thank you, Stern Lecture, I can take it from here.”
The teacher left, and Scootaloo heard the door close behind her. She took a seat in one of the other chairs before being asked; she knew the routine by now. She propped her head on her fist, resting her elbow on the arm of the chair. Diamond Tiara sat in her prissy way in the other.
“Scootaloo. Diamond Tiara.” The principal, Midnight Charm, had been staring at the wall in thought, his hands clasped behind his back. He turned around to address the young mares. “What is this, the third time this week?”
“Uh huh.”
“Sounds about right.”
“And the ninth time this semester?”
“Somethin’ like that.”
“Yeah.”
Midnight sighed again. “As I’m sure you are both aware, the next time you are caught fighting, you will be expelled. As it stands now, I’m not even going to bother suspending either of you.”
This made Scootaloo look up in surprise from where she had been playing with her jacket. The principal kept going, pacing back and forth. “With the way both of your grades are going right now, suspension would make you both flunk out of school. So, instead, I’m giving you both detention until you are passing all of your classes. Is that clear?”
Both students started to complain, but Midnight simply put up his hand, stopping the uproar immediately. “You will stay here every day until five, and I will let all of your teachers know.”
It all started to sink in, and Scootaloo realized that she wouldn’t be seeing much of Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom for a long while. “Your detention will start tomorrow. Scootaloo?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Please wait outside.”
“Yes, sir.”
Scootaloo heaved herself out of her seat and made her way to the door, glaring at the earth pony on her way. She opened the door and sat in a row of chairs against the wall. As Midnight got Tiara’s side of the story, Scootaloo became lost in her thoughts. The fight had started like they all did. Diamond Tiara, sometimes with Silver Spoon as backup, went out of her way to find Scootaloo and harass her over her cutie mark. Or lack of. She sighed and pulled up her jacket sleeve, staring wistfully at her bare forearm. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had both gotten theirs years ago; Sweetie had a mark for music, and Bloom had a mark for tinkering with parts and machines. Scootaloo had been happy for them, but as time went by and hers never appeared, she felt worse and worse. Technically, since she still didn’t have her cutie mark, they could still be the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but they hadn’t had a real crusade in years. Growing up sucks. Even after her mentor and idol, Rainbow Dash, had molded her into the strong flier she was now, she still had no cutie mark.
The door to Midnight’s office opened, and Diamond Tiara walked out, a confident smile on her face. “Good luck, loser. You’ll need it.”
Scootaloo growled at her as she left the front office. She made her way back into Midnight’s office and made herself comfortable on a chair.
“Still nothing, huh Scootaloo?” Midnight asked, a weary, sympathetic smile on his face.
“Nope.”
“I tried, Scootaloo. I really did. I tried to make sure you would never have to cross her path this year, yet somehow this keeps happening.”
“It’s like she makes it her day’s work to come out of her way to provoke me into a fight!” Scootaloo complained, crossing her arms.
“The worst part is, it works every time…” Midnight mused. “Look, Scootaloo. There is a reason I’ve been trying so hard for you, and let me be frank. Diamond Tiara is a stuck up bitch.” Scootaloo looked up with a surprised smile growing on her face. “But you’re kind of a bitch too. Both of you have done things that were unheard of back in my day. That’s why you’re still being punished. Don’t get me wrong though, Scootaloo. I’m sympathetic for you. Do you know why?” Scootaloo shook her head. “I was the last in my class to get his cutie mark too. Mind you, that was still in elementary school, but I know how you must feel.”
Yeah, right. You’re not the only one in the entire high school to not have a cutie mark.
“That’s why I’m only giving you detention for a week.”
“What?” Scootaloo almost jumped out of her seat.
Midnight Charm smiled. “Yes. Your grades are not nearly as bad as Diamond Tiara’s, but I was serious about you needing to work on them. Take this next week as an opportunity to jump start on that, rather than a punishment. Besides, isn’t getting your homework done in peace better than getting into a fight with Diamond Tiara?”
Scootaloo’s grin threatened to tear her face in half. “Yeah. I guess it is. Thanks, Mr. Charm.”
“Oh, and Scootaloo, before you leave. Don’t let Diamond Tiara know about this, ok?”
“Of course, Mr. Charm. Thanks! See you later!” Scootaloo made her way out the door, forcing down her grin. Sure enough, Diamond Tiara was waiting just outside the office to pick on her.
“I can’t believe you got me detention, clean sleeve. I-”
“Fuck off, Tiara. I don’t want to get in any more trouble.” Scootaloo kept on her way, and her oppressor followed.
“Language, clean sleeve. I should think that you owe me for getting me in trouble.”
Scootaloo sighed. That insult had haunted her since her childhood. Clean sleeve. Why can’t I have my cutie mark already? She glanced at Tiara’s covered forearm, and a pang of envy came at the thought of what was underneath. “You and I both know that you start every single fucking fight. So get off my back and let me go home in peace.”
The school grounds were fenced off, and so they both had to make it to the front gate before Scootaloo could split from the earth pony. She couldn’t even fly away, because the damn rules forbade flying on school grounds. A certain section of the wall outside made the pegasus remember something. She knew from experience that this area had no direct camera feed. A malicious grin found its way onto her face.
“Hey, are you even listening to me? And what are you smiling for?”
“This!” Scootaloo jumped up, and with the help of her wings, connected a powerful roundhouse kick into Diamond Tiara’s face. Scootaloo might not have had earth pony legs, but her kicks were not far behind Apple Bloom’s. The earth pony fell to the ground. Scootaloo smirked, feeling satisfaction in her throbbing heel. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to do that.”
Scootaloo continued on her way home, satisfied and unmolested. The feeling started to fade, being replaced by anxiousness as she thought about confronting her housemate. As she flew up to the cloud house that she shared with Rainbow Dash, she spotted the blue mare landing on the porch herself.
“Hey Squirt,” her sisterly figure straightened. “Why are you back so late?”
"Oh, you know, just hanging out with the crusaders!" Not entirely a lie. She had been before Diamond Tiara had come looking for trouble.
"Scootaloo, you're an awful liar. It was that rich punk again, wasn't it?" Rainbow Dash put her hand on her hip, shifting her weight onto one side.
Scootaloo hung her head, looking at her sneakers. That gave Dash all the answer she needed.
"How bad?"
"Detention for a week," Scootaloo mumbled.
"That's not too bad. I'm glad you don't have a black eye like you did last time. Did you at least give her something to remember?"
"Yeah, I did. Might've given her a concussion," Scootaloo flashed Dash a smile. "Hopefully she'll leave me alone now."
"Do you honestly believe she's going to leave you in peace? From what you've told me, she'll want to get revenge," Dash warned, turning to open the door. Scootaloo followed her idol inside, dropping her bag by the grandiose cloud staircase on her way to the living room, ready to rest on the couch before dinner.
"Need any help with dinner, Dash?" Scootaloo asked, already knowing the answer.
"Nah, I got it. Start on your homework, Squirt."
It was a ritual they practiced every day, and Scootaloo wouldn't have it any other way. Realizing she forgot her books, she heaved herself off of the comfortable prison, heading back the way she came. Having retrieved the materials she needed, she spread them out on the coffee table and got to work. A good half-hour had passed when her sister called from the kitchen.
The first few minutes of dinner were comfortably silent, other than the various sounds of eating. Scootaloo eventually asked a question.
"So why do you never punish me when I get in trouble at school?"
Rainbow Dash chuckled. "I might have raised you since you were a kid, Squirt, but I'm not your mother. I still remember all of the shit I got in trouble for in school. It's the nature of teenagers to get rough. Besides, if the school is punishing you already, why would I pile onto that?"
"Have I ever told you how much I love living with you?" Scootaloo grinned.
"Every day, Squirt. Every day."
Later that night, Scootaloo was laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling, not tired in the slightest. Her thoughts kept cycling through the events of the day, replaying the idiotic shenanigans that the crusaders got into during the day. She lived every day looking forward to seeing her friends and having fun. One of the memories came up more often than the others from today. She and Applebloom shared the same Chemistry class, sitting next to each other in the back. Every day their teacher caught them screwing around, and every day she told them the same thing. I don't remember how many strikes you two have, so I'm just going to make this one your second. She wished more of her teachers were like that.
Scootaloo eventually passed out, lost in the embrace of good memories.
Scootaloo leaned against the locker, waiting for her friends to show up. She was always early to school. She lost herself in her music, one earbud in her ear. A flick to her ear brought her back to reality.
"Ow, Sweetie Belle! What was that for?"
The white mare shrugged. "I had to get your attention somehow."
Sweetie Belle stood a few inches taller than Scootaloo. Her mane was two-toned, bouncing in natural curls. She wore denim short shorts and a simple blouse, as opposed to the pegasus's jeans and letter jacket. The unicorn's hooves were the source of Scootaloo's secret envy. Sweetie's hooves could hit harder than Scootaloo's feet could, and she didn't need to bother with shoes.
Scootaloo felt drawn in to Sweetie Belle's huge, striking emerald eyes. As she stared, her friend seemed to notice. She pulled her neckline down more, exposing more of her bountiful cleavage, and half-lidded her eyes. "Like what you see, Scoots?"
Scootaloo nodded dumbly. Sweetie Belle placed her hands on both sides of Scootaloo's head and pulled her in closer. Her hands' fur was so soft. "Then come here," The unicorn brought her lips in close. Just before the kiss would have landed, instead of the sparks Scootaloo was expecting, a series of loud beeps rang out.
Scootaloo groaned, reaching over to cease the annoying sounds. She lay in bed for a moment, lamenting the notion of getting up. Instead, she mulled over the dream she was so rudely interrupted from. It was a recurring dream, a little different every time, but somehow always ending right before Scootaloo got what she wanted. She had been told by Princess Luna, the Princess of the Night and the Princess of Dreams, that she was a lucid dreamer, that she had received the rare gift of control over her dreams, and yet she could never get the ending that she wanted. A voice calling from somewhere else in the house broke into her thoughts.
"Wake up, Scoots! Get your ass down here if you want breakfast!"
Scootaloo’s eyes widened and she leaped out of bed at the prospect of her sister's breakfast cooking. She had already taken a few steps down the stairs when she remembered that she slept topless. She ran back into her room, throwing on a bra that she barely needed and a tee shirt, scrambling downstairs and into the kitchen.
Rainbow Dash was standing before the stove, a frypan in one hand and a spatula in the other. She was wearing blue boy shorts and a loose black tee shirt, her usual sleepwear. Scootaloo stared at her rear for a second, before she realized what she was doing, and tearing her gaze away to the stack of pancakes sitting on the table.
"You make the best pancakes, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo took a seat at the table, eager to break her fast.
"You haven't had Applejack's cooking, have you? Or Pinkie's? They make mine look like crude biscuits," Dash countered.
"Not for breakfast," the young mare already had a mouthful of food to speak around. "I'd think that Pinkie's would be too sweet first thing in the morning."
Dash turned around, one eyebrow raised. "You do realize that Sugarcube Corner opens at five, right? They serve breakfast stuff there."
Scootaloo waved the argument away. "To each their own. I'd rather have yours any day."
Rainbow turned back to the stovetop, chuckling. "You don't know what you're missing, kid."
"Tomorrow's Saturday. Maybe you could get us invited to Applejack's for breakfast," Scootaloo offered.
"Didn't I teach you that inviting yourself over is rude?" Dash brought another stack of pancakes over to the table.
"Doesn't stop you from doing it, does it?"
"No, I just show up, normally. My friends don't mind. I'd probably have to ask if you'd be coming too, though."
Scootaloo finished her food and brought her plate to the sink. "Let me know tonight then. I'll be back late; my detention starts today."
Scootaloo grabbed the top pancake of her sister's stack on her way out the door, grabbing her bag and moving quickly to evade Dash’s half-hearted retaliation. She hopped out into the air, her excitement at the prospect of seeing her friends dwindled, as always, by the probability of dealing with Diamond Tiara.