Chapter one: a great idea

It was one of those days where nothing, absolutely nothing, was going on.

Not that it was bad day, far from it. It was a gorgeous, hot summer day—a Saturday. Everypony in Ponyville was enjoying his free time in his own way. Some went for a hike with the family; some went to Sugar Cube Corner for a tasty treat; some practiced their favorite hobby, crafting, writing, or painting things; some were seeking refreshment at the lake; and some just lay down and watched the sky, secretly wishing for a small, refreshing shower of rain. Indeed, nothing extraordinary happened; it was a totally normal day for the Ponyville citizens.

For most Ponyville citizens.

On the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acre’s apple orchard, hidden between the apple trees, the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse was basking in the sunlight. The bright and cheerful colors, painted with skilled hooves on every plank of wood, looked even more lively in the sunlight. But inside the clubhouse, there were three ponies who were actually very disappointed with the weather, for it hindered their mission.

“Ah! You gotta be kidding me!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “We can’t do anything with this horrible weather.” She was lying on her back on the ground, frowning at the window and the gleaming sunrays that shone through it.

Sweetie Belle sat on a chair, waving a small fan in an attempt to cool herself down, which didn’t help much. “Just keep calm, Scootaloo. It’s much too hot to jump into a tantrum right now.”

Scootaloo was just about to say something back to Sweetie Belle, but then she stopped, as she realized that her friend was right. It was much too hot to be arguing. It was much too hot to do anything, and least of all wasting energy on shouting or throwing angry glares at Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah, but she’s right,” Apple Bloom said, turning away from the window and looking at both her friends. “It is very hot, but we gotta do some crusading, despite the weather. How else are we gonna get our cutie marks if we are so soft that the weather can stop us?”

“Oh please, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo said. “Please don’t ask questions—it’s much too hot to think.”

Apple Bloom let out a sigh. “Don’t be such a foal, Scootaloo. The weather couldn’t be better, it’s beautiful outside. The apples are shining in the sunlight, the leaves of the trees are nice and green, the bark looks healthy, the grass looks juicy. I say we go and have some adventures.” Apple Bloom looked with determined eyes at her friends, but didn’t get the reactions she waited for. Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo let out a long sigh at exactly the same time.

Apple Bloom knew that her friends had a point. Despite her steadfast words, she too felt beads of sweat drip down her forelock and onto her muzzle. She couldn’t deny that today was exceptionally hot, but she also wanted to do something with her friends. With a small, “Hmm…” Apple Bloom walked over to the cutie wall of ideas and let her gaze wander over it. She saw posters of events they’d been to, or workshops they’d done. There were drawings of things they had tried in order to gain that which they wanted most: their cutie marks. Countless sports they had tried to master, and when they had run out of sports, they had invented new ones. But all sports had all been for nothing, for it hadn’t given them anything but bruises or scrapes, especially with the dangerous sports. There was a picture of a hang glider and a rugby ball, which conjured painful memories in Apple Bloom’s head.

Right in the middle was a big map of Ponyville, with all the prominent locations on it. Apple Bloom looked at it with a feeling of nostalgia; it had been their first attempt at trying to get their cutie marks by trying all sorts of things. But unfortunately, it hadn’t worked, or else she wouldn’t be pondering over the big question now: how to get a cutie mark?

At the bottom of the wall of ideas were many different pictures or drawings of some of the Ponyville citizens. It had been an idea of Sweetie Belle to make images of the ponies they thought had extraordinary jobs. Of course Twilight Sparkle and her friends were there, right at the front. Next came Miss Cheerilee, the Crusader’s teacher. Then there were Bon Bon, Maud Pie, Bulk Biceps, Dr. Whooves, and Mayor Mare, all next to each other.

Sweetie Belle’s idea was to ask everypony on the wall whether the Crusaders could tag along with them for a day or two, to see whether they could teach them something and reveal their special talent. Twilight and her friends had taught them a lot, some things which appealed to them, some things that they didn’t like, and some things that only one of them liked. Miss Cheerilee taught them how to teach, which they found quite boring, so they hadn’t spent many days with her, and had politely withdrawn. Bulk Biceps had been eager to repay them for helping him, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders soon found out that helping the weightlifter pegasus was hard work. Bon Bon’s work in one of the many Ponyville sweet stores had been too normal, Maud Pie’s rock farm had been too dreary, Dr. Whooves had been much too busy with some new invention, and Mayor Mare’s job involved way too much paperwork.

No. So far, the wall hadn’t helped them much. Apple Bloom looked at the red circles around the photographs. Red meant: tried to get a cutie mark, failed to get a cutie mark. All of the Ponyville residents that the Crusaders could think off were lined in red. The wall of ideas didn’t reveal anything to Apple Bloom today. Even the wall of ideas was out of ideas. With a small sigh, Apple Bloom turned to her friends again. Scootaloo had rolled underneath a table in order to find some shadow, and Sweetie Belle was still waving her fan.

“Come on, everypony,” Apple Bloom said. “There must be something we could do. Just think of something.”

But that was much easier said than done. Beads of sweat bumped over their frowns as they thought of something, anything. Then, Sweetie Belle said, “We could be Cutie Mark Crusaders ice cream fillies.”

Scootaloo snorted. “Then I hope you’re thinking about eating ice cream, because I’m not going to pull a wagon full of ice cream while you two are going to sell it.”

Sweetie Belle flattened her ears and bit her lip, because that was exactly what she was thinking.

“No way,” Scootaloo said. “I don’t even feel like riding my scooter underneath that summer sun, and that’s saying something.”

Sweetie Belle said nothing and Apple Bloom slowly nodded her head. That was saying something. But Apple Bloom wasn’t about to give up that easily. It was time for another strategy. “Alright, let’s try that again. You all get ten seconds to think, and then say the first thing that comes to mind. It doesn’t matter how ridiculous it is, because at least we’ll have something, right?”

Her friends nodded and wiped some sweat off their foreheads. It wasn’t yet hot enough to think, despite what Scootaloo had said.

“Alright, Crusaders,” Apple Bloom announced, straightening her back like she was about to give the start signal for a race. “Cutie Mark Crusaders brainstorm session begins in three…”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged a glance.

“Two…”

Then they looked at Apple Bloom, who had a smile on her face.

“One…”

Could they get a cutie mark for brainstorming?

“Go!”

Scootaloo rolled from underneath the puny shade of the table and onto the floor, where she stopped and lay down on her back. Then she slowly got up, walked to the window, and gazed outside at the sky. That’s how she loved to think and dream and imagine, by looking at the sky. Stark blue heavens spread far and wide, with only the rare, occasional wisp of clouds hovering in them. Scootaloo could watch clouds in the sky for hours, guessing their shapes and imagining herself soaring through them. But she had never fallen asleep. Never. The stream of her thoughts always imitated the clouds in the air, drifting slowly through her mind, easily distinguishable and clear against the blue.

So what was she thinking about? About her dreams. Scootaloo thought about flying like Rainbow Dash through the skies, cutting shapes in the clouds and reaching enormous speeds and doing daring tricks and being the awesome pegasus she wanted to be. A real pegasus who could fly. She wanted to fly, to move, to feel free. She wanted to ride her scooter, gallop about, move through Equestria to explore the wonderful world and to test her strength against it.

If only it wouldn’t be so hot, Scootaloo thought.

What was more? There was still something Scootaloo wanted; something that even her friends didn’t know anything about. Something that would help her to make peace with memories which were dark and sad. Of course she could tell them, but Scootaloo knew that her friends couldn’t possibly help her with this thing. And she was much too ashamed to tell it to anypony else. Why bother somepony with her sad story when there were many more things to do? Cheerful things like getting her cutie mark, or at least conjure up a nice idea which she could try out with her friends. She kept gazing at the sky and wondering, but her mind was devoid of ideas as the sky was devoid of clouds.

Apple Bloom was pacing around and around, going in circles as if she were chasing her own tail. Despite her being the one who prompted the idea of a Cutie Mark Crusaders brainstorming session, she had to admit that she found it hard to come up with something too. In her mind, Apple Bloom was always with her loving family at Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith; she loved them and enjoyed working with them on the apple farm. Many different activities and chores popped up in her thoughts; there was always something to do at Sweet Apple Acres. They could give the chicken pens a fresh coat of paint; they could fix Granny Smith’s old rocking chair; they could irrigate the celery stalks, which would probably need some extra water with the hot weather. But those were all things which required physical labor. Apple Bloom looked at her friends. Sweetie Belle had stopped waving her fan, and she could count the number of sweat drops on her forehead. Leaning on the windowsill, Scootaloo received the full glare of the sun, and she squinted her eyes to look at the sky. No, Applejack thought. They might fall to the ground with the first brushstroke.

But what should they do then? Sweetie Belle pondered over that question in the ten seconds that Apple Bloom had given her. She glanced around the CMC clubhouse, chasing inspiration with her eyes. She still sat on the chair, and opposite that was the drawing table. “Hmm…” Sweetie Belle said, as she looked at the paper, the crayons, and the pencils that were scattered about. Drawing doesn’t require much effort…

In a flash of memories, Sweetie Belle recalled the time where they wanted to be Cutie Mark Crusaders artists. All of them had made a drawing; Apple Bloom drew a landscape, Scootaloo the Wonderbolts in the sky, and sweetie Belle herself had made a portrait of her sister Rarity while she worked on her newest fashion garments. Of course they had taken their artwork towards a gallery. Only when their paintings would be hanging on the gallery’s walls, admired by hundreds of ponies offering hundreds of bits for their work, would the Crusaders be artists. But that didn’t happen, and when Sweetie Belle wondered why, she had taken a look at her friends’ drawings, and then everything became clear to her. The drawings were awful, and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had given some criticism on her own drawing as well. Sweetie Belle reluctantly agreed that drawing wouldn’t be their special talent. But that didn’t mean that they should give up art altogether…

“Time’s up, everypony!” Apple Bloom announced. Whether she wanted it or not, the time was really up—and so were her ideas.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders gathered on the purple carpet in the middle of the clubhouse. The carpet marked the exact center of the house, looking like the equivalent of Arthur’s round table. They stood and looked at each other, the knights of the round carpet, eager to go crusading, with or without inspiration.

“I… got nothing. Sorry, guys,” Scootaloo said. “The only things I can think of are things that are way too hard to do in this weather. I mean, I would love to go skydiving with Rainbow Dash…”

To that, Scootaloo got a few strange stares, especially from Sweetie Belle.

“What? That was the first thing I could think of,” Scootaloo said.

Apple Bloom shuffled on her hooves. “Well, it ain’t exactly better than my ideas.”

“Don’t worry, Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle said. “You said it yourself, it doesn’t matter how ridiculous it is.”

“Well… It’s not exactly ridiculous, it’s just not very doable.”

Scootaloo jumped up. “What is it then?”

With a sigh, Apple Bloom told them her unoriginal idea. “I was thinking of doing some chores around Sweet Apple Acres.”

“What?! In this weather?” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Then we might as well take a siesta right now, because those chores are gonna be as tough as Rainbow Dash’s flying tricks.”

To the thought of spending the afternoon sweating and laboring beneath the radiant sun, getting all muddy and dusty and dirty, Sweetie Belle jolted. “Eh… I guess we can’t have a cutie mark for napping, I presume,” she said with a slightly quavering voice. “I have surely never heard of a pony with a siesta cutie mark, have you guys? No? Then that idea is out of the question. There’s no doubt about it.” And Sweetie Belle ended her speech with a forced smile.

Apple Bloom hung her head. “Yeah… you’re right.” But then her head jerked up, and she looked at Sweetie Belle with hopeful eyes. “But we haven’t heard your ideas yet, Sweetie Belle. What do you think?”

“Yeah! What’s the first thing that came up in your mind?” Scootaloo added.

“I… eh…” Sweetie Belle didn’t really have an idea yet. Those ten seconds flew by, and she had used most of the time to conjure up her awkward memory of the CMC artist attempt. Still, that thought left a trail behind, so when Sweetie Belle saw her friends’ gazes upon her, and when she took a deep breath, she said the first thing that came to mind. “Art.”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “Again? You know what happened the last time, right?”

Throwing a glance at the drawing table and back at Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo said, “I don’t think our drawing or painting skills have improved very much. We haven’t practiced that often, except for a few raw sketches and small portraits. Your plan sounds about as doable as Apple Bloom’s.”

“No I don’t mean drawing,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Then what do you mean?”

“I mean… eh… art as in… The first thing that comes in your mind… The first thing that comes in your mind… Sweetie Belle’s eyes darted through the room, and then ended their strained search at her book. It lay in a corner of the clubhouse, right on top of a pile of books they’d borrowed from Twilight Sparkle. Books about anything and everything, so they had the most chance of stumbling across a subject which would interest them. But in Sweetie Belle’s book, there were many things that had to do with just one subject: music. Countless pages of sheet music, song lyrics, and notes on musical theory were inside. Sweetie Belle always returned to music whenever the Crusaders were not on a mission. Sweetie always considered music her own little hobby. Something she could do and have fun with until she would have found her special talent and destiny, complete with her cutie mark. That’s why a smile curled on her lips, as she said, “Music.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both realized that they should have seen that one coming, so their reaction was not one of surprise. “Music?” Apple Bloom said, pondering over the word. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Sweetie Belle? I mean, making music requires an awful lot of skills. Isn’t music very hard?”

Sweetie Belle gazed at her friend. “Hard? Of course not! It just requires a lot of practice, and we have the time, haven’t we?”

“Yes… I guess so…”

“Wouldn’t you think it’s too hot to do something like that?” Scootaloo said. “You gotta move around if you wanna make music, and as much as I like moving, I don’t wanna get a sunstroke.”

“Oh, come on, guys.” Sweetie Belle threw her gaze to her friends. She knew that Scootaloo was right, but she also found that the weather shouldn’t stop her doing what she loved to do. “Making music is amazing, I’m sure you will love it. You can be so creative when making music and making your own sounds. Isn’t there an instrument you always wanted to play?”

“Well…” Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom took a moment to think, but actually Scootaloo didn’t need to think. “An electric guitar,” she said. “I wanna play the electric guitar and learn to shred some epic rock solos.”

“That sounds… nice,” Sweetie Belle said, although she herself was not a fan of rock music at all. “And what about you, Apple Bloom?”

After a minute, Apple Bloom said, “A fiddle.”

“A fiddle?” Sweetie Belle didn’t expect Apple Bloom to be interested in playing classical violin sonatas. Honestly, she thought Apple Bloom to be more of a banjo person, or perhaps an harmonica.

“Yeah.” Apple Bloom made a small jump. “I wanna play some cheerful country tunes, so everypony can dance on my music. I’ll be the fastest fiddler in all of Equestria, just like my cousin Fiddlesticks.”

“Ah, of course.” Sweetie Belle should have known.

“And what do you wanna do, Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked her. “Oh, let me guess. You want to sing? We all know how good of a singer you are.”

A blush marked Sweetie Belle’s white cheeks. “Yes, I guess… But now I want to do something different. I can always practice singing by myself, so now I want to play… the piano. That way, I can sing and play the piano at the same time, and write my own songs. I will be just like Rara!”

The enthusiasm sparked off Sweetie Belle’s words, and ignited a new spirit in the hearts of her friends. Their gazes were no longer full of doubt, their heads no longer full of worry. They were ready to do this. There was just one little thing…

“But how are we gonna do all of this?” Apple Bloom said. “We don’t have a piano or a fiddle or a guitar here. The next Apple family reunion is still a couple of months away, so I won’t be able to get a hold of Fiddlesticks’ fiddle yet.”

Sweetie Belle thought for a moment about this. Getting hold of so many instruments would indeed be a problem. There was no music store in Ponyville; they would have to go to Canterlot for that. And even if they could find a music store, the instruments would still cost them quite a lot of bits.

“Yeah, and how are we going to learn how to play them?” Scootaloo said. “I mean, we can’t teach ourselves. I know nothing about music, let alone guitars—only that they’re totally awesome.”

Yes, they needed a teacher as well. However good a singer Sweetie Belle was, even she didn’t know everything there is to know about music and music theory. She had never laid a hoof on a guitar or picked up a bow. And although she did know something about playing the piano, she was far from experienced. Sweetie Belle frowned in thought. For a moment, it looked as if their ambitious and fun plan would fall to pieces and fail before it had even begun.

A teacher…

Miss Cheerilee taught them all at school, but as far as Sweetie Belle knew, she didn’t teach music. They had never gotten a single music lesson, for it wasn’t a part of the Ponyville education program. If you wanted to become a master musician, you would have to go to Canterlot to a university of music.

And instruments…

Where in Equestria were they going to find a violin, a grand piano, and an electric guitar? Sweetie Belle knew that Pinkie Pie had instruments, but she highly doubted that the pink pony would have a grand piano in her room at Sugarcube Corner, or that she would be able to teach her some classical pieces. Sweetie Belle knew that her friends counted on her. She was the one who had proposed the idea, after all. But when she had blurted out ‘music,’ she hadn’t thought much about the practical bits that came with the plan. Her mind raced for answers to the questions. Teacher… instruments… Sweetie Belle summoned pictures of her favorite musicians before her mind’s eye, as if they would help her figuring this out. There was Countess Coloratura, Rara, Sapphire Shores… But the problem was that they were all famous and would be impossible to approach with the Crusaders’ cutie mark mission. Plus, they were all on tour. It had to be somepony else. Which ponies from Ponyville were skilled in music and would be able to teach them?

And then the answer came to her, delivered to her mind like a package by airmail: Octavia Melody.

Once, Octavia had visited Carrousel Boutique to get a graceful gown from Sweetie Belle’s sister Rarity. Sweetie Belle just so happened to be at her sister’s place that day, and had looked in awe at the classical musician. When Rarity said that Sweetie Belle did some singing herself, Octavia had been very curious to hear her. At first Sweetie Belle didn’t want to sing, for she thought that it would sound bad to the ears of such a talented musician. But she had done it anyway, and Octavia loved it. Sweetie Belle still remembered her words. “Practice and practice, my sweet filly, and you will be outstanding in the blink of an eye.” Never had Sweetie Belle heard more encouraging words from somepony. Now that she thought of it, she was sure that Octavia would love to see her again, and would perhaps like to teach her and her friends as well, seeing how enthusiastic they were.

“Octavia Melody,” Sweetie Belle said, her eyes gleaming.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other and let out a collective, “Huh?”

“You don’t know her?” Sweetie Belle said, more than a bit amazed. “She’s the most talented classical musician known to Equestria—or to Ponyville at least. She has dozens of instruments at home, and I’m sure she can play them all. Her main instrument is the cello. I’ve seen her playing many times at concerts; Rarity and I are big fans of her. Are you sure you’ve never heard of her?”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Nope, sorry.”

“Wait a minute…” Scootaloo’s face looked as if she’d found something. “Isn’t she Vinyl Scratch’s friend?”

“Vinyl who?” Sweetie Belle said.

“Aw come on! You’ve never heard of the most awesome DJ in Ponyville? She’s the bomb! Her tunes are pure epicness pouring from the speakers. Her raves are legendary!”

“Raves?” Sweetie Belle raised her eyebrows; she knew how wild rave parties could get, and she didn’t believe that Scootaloo had much experience with those. “Don’t you need to be a lot older to go to a rave party?”

“I… Well…” Scootaloo made a tough face. “It’s easy to sneak in when you’re a small filly…”

Apple Bloom couldn’t hold herself and let out a small chuckle, even though she had no idea who Vinyl Scratch was. By the description Scootaloo had given, she sounded pretty cool.

“Her stage name is DJ PON-3,” Scootaloo continued. “She is a master of synthesizers, mixers, turntables, samplers, and I bet she has got an electric guitar as well. Hay, I bet Vinyl Scratch has every electronic instrument that has ever been invented.” Scootaloo paused for a second. “And it would be awesome to meet her in person too. Just imagine: me together with the coolest musician in Ponyville, now that’s a story worthy of a good boast. I’ll have enough stuff to boast with for the rest of my life!”

Sweetie Belle looked at her friends, and noticed the change that had befallen them all. Now they were no longer exhausted and overheated fillies, but enthusiastic adventurers, eager to try something new. To Sweetie Belle, her idea was already a success. Scootaloo was jumping up and down in joy, not caring about the heat anymore, while Apple Bloom just kept smiling and thinking about the amazing fiddling skills she would learn. Sweetie Belle smiled along.

“Oh! I can’t wait! I can’t wait!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “When are we going? Are they at home now? Should we go?”

Applejack chuckled. “Well, there’s only one way to find out whether they’re at home right now...” She looked at Sweetie Belle. “Do you know where it is?”

“Yes I do,” Sweetie Belle said. “Rarity once asked me to deliver a few dresses and accessories she made. It’s on the Eastern outskirts of Ponyville; I think we can reach it in half an hour.”

Scootaloo stopped jumping. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” And before any of her friends could say something back, Scootaloo was already standing outside, impatiently looking at the clubhouse door.

“Well, I guess that settles it,” Apple Bloom said. She walked out the door and descended the ladder leading from the clubhouse to the grassy clearing below.

Sweetie Belle followed, but while she stood on the threshold, she remembered something. Quickly she trotted over to the pile of books, grabbed her music book with her teeth, and walked outside. “Hey! Wait for me!”

Chapter two: an unusual surprise

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And so the Cutie Mark Crusaders went on their way, walking together along the outskirts of Ponyville. The cheerful little houses and stores of Ponyville flanked them on the right, while empty fields and grasslands accompanied them on the left. Most of the stores were closed, and their owners doing something leisurely. The farmlands were deserted as well. Sometimes the farmer ponies hadn’t even taken the effort to clear away their tools properly, so plows and hoes were scattered on the soil.

But the Cutie Mark Crusaders had little interest in all of this, for they were lost in thought and excitement.

At first Scootaloo didn’t stop talking and emphasizing just how cool Vinyl Scratch was. She talked and talked, but in the end, Sweetie Belle found a very clever way of silencing her.

“You’re sounding as if DJ PON-3 is even cooler than Rainbow Dash,” Sweetie said, accompanying her words with a sly smile.

Scootaloo wanted to say something back, but that question caught her off guard. “She is… eh… well. Now Rainbow Dash, she is… also…”

“Yes?” Sweetie Belle said, stressing the ‘e’ as long as she could. Apple Bloom suppressed a chuckle.

“They are both… eh…” And then Scootaloo thought she’d found a compromise. “They’re impossible to compare, because they are doing two entirely different awesome things. That’s why their awesomeness levels are… eh… incomparable.” A confident smile ended her speech, but she didn’t say much more during their walk.

A gentle, flowing stream made a cheerful sound as the Cutie Mark Crusaders crossed a bridge. For a moment, Scootaloo considered jumping in, dipping her head, or at least take a small sip, but then she thought that she would look like an idiot. Furthermore, she knew that Sweetie Belle would probably find it inappropriate.

Or perhaps Scootaloo could get a nice cold glass of lemonade, for the Crusaders had reached their destination. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, who had never seen the musician’s house before, let out a small gasp, as the house came into view. It was a piece of pure expression on its own—or actually two pieces of pure expression on their own. It looked as if the builders had made two houses, couldn’t decide which one was the most beautiful, and so cut them both in half and glued them together. The left side of the house had a classy appearance, with lots of warm oak wood dotted by neat, square windows. The right side, obviously Vinyl Scratch’s side, was totally different. Bright purple stones and long, stretched-out windows indicated that whoever lived in that part of the house liked her music as loud and as experimental as possible.

They stood and watched the house for a while, wondering how it would look like from the inside, for even Sweetie Belle hadn’t been inside. The house was surrounded by neat bushes, cut and groomed like musical notes—obviously Octavia’s work.

Scootaloo wondered where the music was. In her mind, there would be lights flashing and smoke floating and disco balls turning—and above all—music pouring out of every open window the house had. But there was nothing. Complete silence.

Sweetie Belle, in turn, had expected soothing cello notes floating around the house, enveloping it in a cloak of pure class and grace. Or perhaps there would be rapid piano arpeggios resounding, making even the birds stop their singing and listen attentively to the beautiful sound. But there was nothing. Complete silence.

Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle wondered whether the two musicians were at home at all. That would be quite a disappointment, for they knew that they would have to come up with something else to do. Then it would be back to the drawing table for them. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were just about to voice their doubts to Apple Bloom when they noticed that she was gone. A quick glance around revealed that she was already at the house, but not at the front door. Apple Bloom was jumping up and down beneath one of the high windows. It was just a few inches too high to peek through, which was exactly what Apple Bloom intended to do.

“What in Equestria are you doing?” Sweetie Belle said, making sure to keep her voice to a whisper.

Apple Bloom didn’t take her eyes off the window. “Give me a lift so I can see something.”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said, but Sweetie Belle stepped in her way. “No! We can’t do that!”

“Why not?” Apple Bloom said.

“Because then we are be spying, and spying is very rude.” Sweetie Belle said, shaking her head. “What would Octavia think of us when she sees us like that? She holds etiquette very high. We have to behave!”

Apple Bloom stopped jumping and looked at her friends. “Okay, you’re right. The way you told me about Octavia, I guess she might be a little like Rarity. You know, why don’t you take the word when we meet her?”

“Good idea,” Sweetie Belle said.

But now Scootaloo looked up at the window, wishing that she could fly to take a peek—just a tiny one. “Yeah, but how are we going to find out if they’re at home or not?”

“By knocking on the door softly and politely waiting until they open,” Sweetie Belle said, casting a lecturing glance towards Scootaloo.

The three fillies were just about to walk to the path towards the front door again, when they heard sounds coming from the musician’s house. It wasn’t music, however; it was voices.

“Oh my, Vinyl,” said a high mare’s voice. “Why in Equestria do you need to be so heavy?”

“Hey, listen, guys,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s Octavia, I think.”

Scootaloo trotted next to Apple Bloom, leaning against the wood of the house. In her mind, Sweetie Belle weighed her morals. Was eavesdropping rude as well? Of course it was, but curiosity won Sweetie’s struggle, so she joined her friends underneath the open window as well. Sweetie Belle took a listen, and recognized the smooth, soprano voice of Octavia Melody. She was obviously doing something very hard, because her voice was deformed into heavy moans.

“Hey, you agreed to play along,” another voice, one much lower, said.

Sweetie Belle exchanged a glance with Apple Bloom. “Oh my! They are working on a new song… together?” Her statement ended in a question, because she knew that only rarely happened; the two had entirely different musical tastes.

“Yes, but normally you just jump up yourself. Why do I have to help you now?” Octavia said.

“Because… I want that?”

Sweetie Belle’s face grew worried. “Oh no! They are arguing. I think now would be a bad time to pay them a visit, I think.”

“Aw!” Scootaloo said. “But then we’ll still be bored as hay today.”

“Yes, but—“

“Come on, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo said, glancing intently at her friend with big, pleading eyes. “Can’t we at least just say hello quickly? Maybe they’ll forget all about it once they’re busy teaching us some music. Maybe they need the distraction right now, so they can both cool down. Come on, Sweetie Belle, please, please, please?”

Now Apple Bloom put on her puppy dog glare as well, the one she had used to convince Twilight Sparkle to stay and have lunch with the Apple family, back when she first met her. Nopony could say no to such a face, and Sweetie Belle was no exception.

“Alright, alright,” she said. “Just a quick hello, but if they really don’t have time for us, we go and come back another day. Satisfied?”

A quick nod followed by a cloud of dust was the answer Sweetie Belle got, as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo rushed back towards the path. Sweetie Belle had just enough time to catch up with them before they reached the door.

Even the door was painted two different colors: electric purple and rustic brown. But that wasn’t the most remarkable about it. What was most remarkable, was that the door was open.

“There. Done. Are you a happy filly now?” Octavia’s voice said, flowing through the slit of the open door.

“Yes,” Vinyl Scratch said.

Before Sweetie Belle could say ‘no,’ it was already too late. Scootaloo opened the door. It opened with a small, almost musical creak. The next instant, the two musicians came into view, frozen in place just like the Cutie Mark Crusaders, because they were doing something that neither of the CMC’s had expected them to be doing—and it had nothing to do with music. Nothing at all.

No turntable, but a changing table. No instruments, but baby accessories. No pile of records, but a cradle.

And there she was, Vinyl Scratch, of whom Scootaloo thought a close second to Rainbow Dash in awesomeness, dressed up as a foal. She was lying on top of the changing table, wearing nothing but a little pink mutch, a cute dress, and a pink diaper wrapped around her flank.

DJ Foal-3.

The atmosphere was like a cake with a silent base, an awkward layer of cream, and topped with an unbelievable cherry. Everypony was silent, looking, staring in amazement to one another. None of them knew what to think. Except maybe Vinyl Scratch, who would wish that she had checked the door—and on second thought, the window as well, just to be sure.

But now she could do nothing, because she couldn’t turn back time. She wished she could. The shock had paralyzed all ponies.

The shock was as big as a thunderbolt for Scootaloo. Here she was, her favorite musician, as awesome as a musician can be, in foal clothes and diapered. Scootaloo’s imagination ran wild with whatever she had just heard beneath the window. But actually, it was all too clear what Octavia had been doing to Vinyl Scratch. The picture didn’t lie. Scootaloo tried her best to whisk the thought away, to forget what she was seeing, but it was in vain, as her eyes were fixed on the scene. Like mannequins in a display for foal clothing they stood. Scootaloo figured that she would never again look with the same eyes to a performance of DJ PON-3 again.

Suddenly, Vinyl Scratch sprang into action—literally. With one impossibly agile jump, she moved from the changing table to Octavia, and hid behind her. Of course it didn’t really matter, because both Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle could still see her standing. They couldn’t really guess what Vinyl Scratch wanted to accomplish with the move, but it quickly became clear. As Vinyl saw that she was just making a fool of herself, she turned around. The last thing the Crusaders saw of her was a blue tail disappearing upstairs, waving frantically until the DJ reached the second floor. The last thing they heard of her was a door closing, and the sound of a lock carefully handled.

Octavia Melody hadn’t even followed her friend with her eyes, but kept staring at the three little fillies in the doorway, guessing if they guessed what they had just been doing together.

The CMC’s weren’t quite sure what to do. The whole idea of becoming musicians seemed to have bumped against a barrier of awkwardness. A barrier which would take forever to pass, even if they would leave. At last, Scootaloo diverted her eyes from Octavia, and looked at her friends, who still shared a similar blank expression on their faces. Very carefully, as if her words would only increase the uncomfortable atmosphere, Scootaloo said, “Shall we… eh…”

Octavia unfroze like a snowpony in summertime. Her mouth started to form words, but she couldn’t say a thing yet.

Now Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom also turned their gazes to one another. Scootaloo nudged with her head towards the door. ‘Let’s get the hay out of here’ was what the nudge said. Before she turned around, Scootaloo looked one more time at Octavia. “We… eh… We’re really sorry to bother you, Miss Octavia. We… eh…”

“Yes,” Sweetie Belle said, and forced a smile. “We were just leaving, and—”

“And we see that this is not a good time to visit,” Apple Bloom added. “So I guess we’ll just come back later.” Although they all knew for certain that they probably wouldn’t.

But before they could turn around and head through the door, Octavia was there, blocking the way with her forelegs outstretched. “No, don’t go!”

The Crusaders said nothing but just gave her an odd stare.

“I mean… eh…” Octavia dropped to all fours again, trying not to look like a savage. “I mean, please stay. Then I can… well… explain things.”

As much as the Cutie Mark Crusaders wanted to know what had just happened, a big part of them also wanted to get out of this strange situation.

Octavia didn’t wait for an answer. In one motion, she scooped up all three fillies, planted them on an antique couch on her side of the house, and closed the door.

The Crusaders were too startled by all these things happening so fast, that they sat dazed for a moment. “Eh… Miss Octavia,” Sweetie Belle said, “can we perhaps—“

“Get something to drink? Of course,” Octavia said, although that was not at all what Sweetie Belle wanted to say. She rushed to the kitchen, and came back with three glasses of lemonade and a glass of red wine for herself; she really needed it. Then she grabbed a large armchair and shoved it closer to the couch. Octavia sat down. She allowed herself a few breaths of air and a sip of wine, just to calm down. She had no idea how this conversation would start, how it would end, or how in Equestria she was going to explain Vinyl’s outfit. Octavia breathed in, breathed out, closed her eyes, and gathered her wits to organize her thoughts. Just in time.

“Eh… What the hay did we just see?” Scootaloo said, whereupon she got an elbow from Sweetie Belle and a hissed, “Mind your language.”

Octavia motioned with her hooves to calm down. “No. Your friend is right… Sweetie Belle, wasn’t it?”

“It is,” Sweetie Belle said. “And these are my friends Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, and together we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Had the circumstances been different, they would have shouted those last three words, undoubtedly followed by a ‘yay.’ Now, however, Sweetie Belle found that the situation was inappropriate at best. There was no need of any more fuss.

“A pleasure to meet you,” Octavia said, trying her best to sound as normal as possible, as if she were introducing herself to any other random pony who hadn’t just seen her changing Vinyl Scratch. “What I wanted to say is that you are quite right, Scootaloo. You deserve a proper explanation of my and Vinyl’s actions.”

“You were changing her, right?” Apple Bloom blurted out without much subtlety.

Octavia lowered her gaze to the carpet, as red as her wine and her blush. “I was.”

More awkwardness radiated through the little house. The Crusader’s weren’t sure where the source of it was; at the changing table or at Octavia herself.

Scootaloo proved to be best steeled against the awkwardness. “Why would you do that? And why was she dressed up like a foal?”

Actually, the answer was quite simple. Octavia had a very good reason to do so. She just needed to find the words with which to explain it all without amplifying the awkwardness again. At that moment Octavia wished she were a writer, so she could say exactly why, with the right words at the right time. Or perhaps she would rather be a character in the book of the writer, so she could blush, close the book, and forget about that one strange scene after a day or two. Taking a sip of wine and letting out a sigh, she started to just tell what she wanted them to know, in her own words.

“You see… No, let me start again. Vinyl, she… No, wrong again.” Octavia’s eyes darted about, even though the carpet was just a monotonous red, and there was nothing to see there.

“Why don’t you tell us the name of your game, Miss Melody?” Sweetie Belle said.

Octavia stopped staring at the carpet and looked instead at Sweetie Belle. “It’s… it’s not a game, my dear Sweetie. It’s… it’s like a play. Yes! A theater play.”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders let out a collective sigh. It was just repetition for a theater play. Apparently, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia had become members of the Ponyville Theater Group and were just rehearsing. They had found a new hobby beside music. They wanted to try out something else. There was nothing to worry about; it wasn’t real at all.

Octavia could have just let it lie like that, as she guessed their thoughts. But she reckoned that to be unfair, and she hated lying. That’s why she shattered their easy and oh so comfortable excuse. “I’m really sorry, everypony, but it’s not what you think it is. It’s not a literal theater play, but role-play. Foal play is what it’s called, and it’s actually much more normal than you all think.”

Hearing these words, the CMC’s were once again listening attentively and waiting for a proper explanation. If it wasn’t a rehearsal for a theater play, then what was it?

“Foal play?” Sweetie Belle repeated, trying out the new word.

“Indeed.” Octavia nodded gravely. “Sometimes Vinyl Scratch and I pretend that we are a family. She is the foal, I am the mother, and sometimes Bon Bo—“ but then she stopped short, realizing her mistake.

Apple Bloom knew Bon Bon quite well, having delivered countless crates of caramel apples to her store. “Wait… Bon Bon also joins in?”

Octavia Melody let out a moan and slapped her hoof to her forehead. Another sigh and a sip of wine later, Octavia continued. “Yes she does. Just don’t tell her I told you about that. That will be our little secret. In fact, don’t mention Vinyl and I as well, agreed?”

“Why not?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well… Some ponies find it quite odd what we’re doing sometimes. You saw it yourself, it’s quite an unexpected surprise, isn’t it?” And Octavia actually managed to smile a bit.

“Yes, it was quite a surprise,” Scootaloo said. And then something extraordinary happened: they laughed together. Instead of music, the whole house got enveloped in a burst of cheerful, light-hearted laughter. That was good, and Octavia knew that. It meant that the whole idea of foal playing was now no longer shocking, but just awkward and silly and funny. But it was a different kind of awkward. The kind of awkward you can laugh about, rather than turning red of shame and walking out the room. Their burst of laughter eased the atmosphere, and reduced the awkwardness levels to almost zero.

When the laughter dissipated and only soft chuckles remained, Apple Bloom spoke up. “So actually you’re all one big family. That actually sounds kinda… nice.”

“It is,” Octavia said. Then she suddenly looked at the floor again, but not out of shame. “Sometimes Vinyl Scratch needs it.”

“Why?” Apple Bloom said.

“Because… Vinyl never had a real family.”

A grave silence, almost as heavy as the awkwardness upon the discovery of Vinyl and Octavia’s foal play, hung in the air. The Cutie Mark Crusaders knew that something very sensitive was about to be told. They were respectfully silent and waited until Octavia continued speaking.

“Vinyl Scratch had been orphaned when she was still very young. She had never met her real parents, although sometimes she dreams about them. She never had a real family. Of course there were her friends who she trusted and with whom she did all kinds of crazy things, but the love of a real family has left a big gap in Vinyl’s heart.” Octavia paused to take a sip of wine. “That’s why she also likes to go to those wild ‘raves’ of her. Her childhood in the foster home was so dreary and boring, that she now longs for crazy parties. I don’t think she is traumatized or anything like that. After all, her youth helped her to become what she is now: a DJ. But the gap in her heart still stayed there, and sometimes the pain is very severe. That’s when we foal play, to make her feel like she has a family. To make her redo her childhood. To mend the gap in her heart.”

Octavia let a pause fall, in which the Cutie Mark Crusaders took in her words. Not even Scootaloo, who went to some of her raves and knew Vinyl Scratch best, could have guessed that this sad story accompanied the DJ wherever she went. Of course, she had only seen DJ PON-3, and not the pony behind the shades. Suddenly, Scootaloo felt strange. She wanted to jump up, bolt through the door or out the window—it didn’t matter. She wanted to get out of here. Something in Octavia’s story about Vinyl Scratch made her feel very weird—the bad kind of weird. She shook a little. One of her wings dropped a small feather. Luckily, nopony noticed.

“Wow. That’s actually really sweet of you,” Apple Bloom said. “Now I understand everything. Foal play isn’t weird, it’s just a kind of… healing.”

“On a spiritual level,” Sweetie Belle added.

“Yes! Yes, that’s right.” Octavia’s voice revealed the delight she felt at the CMC’s understanding. She had told nothing but the truth. “And it’s not only changing her, but we also do many other things. We go out for walks sometimes—making sure to take the back roads, of course—or we play games foals play, or Bon Bon and I feed her, or tuck her in when it’s bedtime…”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders could visualize exactly what Octavia told them, although it took Scootaloo some effort to see her awesome DJ in a crib, covered under soft pink blankets by mama Octavia and mama Bon Bon.

“So you’re taking care of her,” Apple Bloom said.

“Indeed I do.” Octavia smiled. “And we’re all having so much fun doing it. When you have so much fun and you can see that it helps somepony else, you quickly forget just how strange the things that you’re doing really are.”

“Strange for others, but not for us,” Apple Bloom said, her voice resolute. “Right, Sweetie Belle?”

“Indeed,” Sweetie said. “It might be strange at first, but as long as it helps Vinyl Scratch, who cares what you do?”

Octavia sighed once again, but this time it was not a heavy sigh. “Thank you all so much for your understanding. I know it must have been quite a shock when you saw us like that. Why did you come here in the first place, if I may ask? Do you need help with your singing, Sweetie Belle?”

“Actually we were wondering whether you could give us music lessons together with Vinyl Scratch,” Sweetie Belle said. “But we totally understand if that’s not possible at the moment…”

Octavia cast a quick glance in the direction of the staircase, and then looked back at Sweetie Belle. “I’m so sorry, Sweetie, but that will have to be another time. First I will have a good, long talk with Vinyl Scratch; that would probably be the best thing to do right now. Perhaps we can schedule some lessons next week, or the week after. I would be delighted to teach you all the joys of making music.”

Sweetie Belle jumped up. “Oh! Thank you so much, Miss Melody.”

Octavia Melody waved her hoof. “You can call me Octavia, Sweetie Belle. We are all friends now, aren’t we? Friends with a secret.”

“Yup. Friends with a secret,” Apple Bloom repeated.

“Splendid.” Octavia stood up from her seat. “Would you all like to have some more lemonade?” But then she looked at their glasses, which were all still full. Only her own glass was empty.

“No thank you, Miss Mel—eh, Octavia,” Sweetie Belle said. “We’re on a mission!”

“Aw, the spirit of the young,” Octavia said, and walked with them to the door.

Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo said goodbye, but Scootaloo didn’t immediately trot off the path and in the direction of their clubhouse. She lingered in the doorway, trying to meet the gaze of Octavia.

“What is it, little Scootaloo?” Octavia asked, a bit taken aback by the Scootaloo’s serious gaze.

Scootaloo looked ahead. The rest of her friends were already far away, out of earshot. She waited a few seconds more, and then said, “Octavia, can I see Vinyl Scratch for a moment? Just for a few minutes?”

Octavia considered Scootaloo’s request in her mind, but made a decision. “I’m sorry, Scootaloo, but I really think that Vinyl Scratch needs to be alone. She will need some time to get comfortable again with what we do, perhaps. But you can always speak to me if you want, or you can see her at your music lesson.”

A small nod came from Scootaloo. “I understand.”

Octavia said goodbye once more before she closed the door, and only when the click of the handle could be heard, did Scootaloo walk in the same direction her friends had taken. Her head hung low and her step was slow and uneven. Thoughts swirled through her head, thoughts of her own. The gloom didn’t leave her until she caught up with her friends. They seemed to be jumping cheerfully again for some reason, and didn’t even ask why Scootaloo had delayed. Scootaloo would find out why soon enough.

* *

Once the door closed and the house became once again silent, Octavia heard a faint shuffling coming from the stairway.

“Are… are they gone?” Vinyl Scratch said, as her head peeked from above.

Octavia smiled. “Yes they are, Scratchy. Come down, then I will tell you all that happened.”

Vinyl Scratch didn’t move and let out a loud yawn.

“Uh-oh. It looks like somepony needs to do a little nap, doesn’t it?” Octavia said.

Vinyl nodded slowly. “Would you… Would you like to play me a lullaby?”

Once again, Octavia smiled a warm smile; a mother’s smile. “Of course sweetheart,” She said, and walked towards her cello case.

Chapter three: another great idea

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Together they walked back over the paths along the edge of Ponyville. Once again, they had little eye for the scenery, and were discussing their unexpected experience with the musician ponies.

“It’s so nice that Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and Bon Bon are a family together, isn’t it?” Apple Bloom said.

Sweetie Belle nodded. “It sure is. But remember: don’t say a word to anypony.”

“Of course we won’t,” Scootaloo said. “We have to swear it.”

“Alright.” They stopped, and Applebloom stuck out her hoof. When Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo put their hooves on top of Apple Bloom’s they called, “Cutie Mark Crusaders super-duper secret!”

Yes, Scootaloo was quite determined to keep it a secret. She could totally understand the fear of Octavia and Vinyl Scratch if somepony would find out about their foal play. Despite Octavia’s story, Scootaloo still tried her best to forget about what she had seen. Perhaps she would go and sneak into a club tonight to see Vinyl play. In her mind, she was already summing up all the clubs she knew.

“And now it’s our turn, isn’t it, Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom said.

Those words pulled Scootaloo right out of her thoughts and into the here and now. “Wait, what do you mean?”

“Well, we still have a whole afternoon to go crusading, and music is not going to work today,” Apple Bloom said. “So why not try to do some foal play ourselves?”

“What?!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said at the same time, casting their most unbelieving glare to Apple Bloom.

“Don’t give me such strange stares,” Apple Bloom said. “You look just like when we saw Octavia and Vinyl foal playing. Octavia said it herself, it’s actually quite normal. I say we just try it ourselves. I mean, it looked like Octavia and Vinyl had good fun. Why don’t we try to have some fun foal playing too?”

For a minute, Sweetie Belle didn’t know what to say. “Eh… I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Apple Bloom. Besides, why would we do that?”

“First, it looks like fun,” Apple Bloom repeated. “And secondly, we might just get our cutie marks that way.”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. “Like how?” Scootaloo said. “I’ve never seen a cutie mark for foal playing yet. And I don’t think I really want one.”

“It’s not just about foal playing,” Apple Bloom said. “Think about what Octavia said, it’s about being a family. I don’t think there is a more beautiful cutie mark than one of a family. I mean, look at my family. We all have cutie marks which have something to do with apples, not only because we all like them and like working with them, but also because we’re a family together. Maybe we can get a symbol of a family as a cutie mark as well, if we try to be a one.”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle weighed up Apple Bloom’s words. Suddenly, Scootaloo felt that strange, cold feeling again. She felt as if she breathed in very cold air, even though the weather was hot, and the breeze was mild. She found her step slowing down, and soon fell behind the others. They didn’t notice, for Apple Bloom took the word once more.

“That actually sounds very noble, doesn’t it?” Apple Bloom said with a smile. “I think it’s worth a try. You know, now that I think of it, there are even more cutie marks we could gain from doing foal play. What about Cutie Mark Crusaders nurses, or Cutie Mark Crusaders caretakers, or Cutie Mark Crusaders foalsitters?” She jumped up in the air. “We can be a Cutie Mark Crusaders family! The cutie family!”

But Sweetie Belle found that her own spirit was still quite reluctant with Apple Bloom’s plan. Nevertheless, she smiled and agreed, for she didn’t want to ruin the fun. If she herself wanted to do something else, she had to come up with a plan. Therefore, her mind started racing with ideas and options.

Scootaloo only heard the words ‘cutie family,’ but she was too deeply buried in thoughts to take in the words or to think about them. The word ‘family’ conjured that strange feeling, Scootaloo realized. It was best if she would be walking behind until they reached the clubhouse.

No matter how hard she tried, Sweetie Belle couldn’t come up with something else to do for the day instead of foal playing. She decided to give Apple Bloom a barrage of questions instead. “But how are we going to do that? You saw all the things Octavia and Vinyl had: baby accessories, a changing table, a cradle, clothes, diapers, pacifiers, bottles of milk; how are we going to get our hooves on all of those things?”

Apple Bloom thought for a moment about that. She could ask her sister to construct a changing table and a cradle, or she could make them herself. But that would cost her a lot of time, and the afternoon was already quite ripe. Apple Bloom felt that a day without crusading was a wasted day; surely her friends would think the same. No, there had to be another way. And the baby things? Of course they could buy everything… “Hey Sweetie Belle, how many bits do we have in the Cutie Mark Crusaders money-box?”

“Eh… Apple Bloom, we don’t have a Cutie Mark Crusaders money-box,” Sweetie Belle answered.

“Right… hmm…” Apple Bloom cleared her throat. “I knew that.” She didn’t, of course, but plunged back into her thoughts again to find the answers to the problem. Who had loads of baby stuff which they could borrow? Suddenly, Apple Bloom stopped and slapped her forehead. “Of course!”

“Of course what?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Pinkie Pie!”

“Pinkie Pie is not a foal,” Sweetie Belle said, but then she frowned. “Or does she do foal play as well?”

“No, no,” Apple Bloom said. “But Mr. and Mrs. Cake have twin babies. Surely they’ve got loads of baby stuff which we can borrow.”

But Sweetie Belle wasn’t convinced yet. “Are you sure that they would just lend us all of those things? Wouldn’t they need those for themselves?”

Apple Bloom started moving again. She could always think better when she was walking around. However much she thought, she couldn’t find a suitable argument to dispel Sweetie’s objection. “Yeah…” she said with a sigh. “Maybe you’re right. But… but I would still like to try, just as we tried to go to Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, even though we knew they would probably be fighting. I mean, this day has already been full of surprises, right? Maybe we’re just having a lucky day.”

“Or an unlucky day,” Sweetie Belle said.

Apple Bloom snorted. “No, lucky. We were at the right place at the right time, otherwise we would never have known about foal play, and I would never have prompted the idea of trying it for ourselves.”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes grew in surprise at these words from Apple Bloom. Upon seeing how determined and enthusiastic she was, Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but give in. They could at least try. “Alright, let’s go to Sugarcube Corner,” Sweetie Belle said. “Even if we don’t get our hooves on those baby accessories, we can still have a good sorbet or a milkshake.”

Apple Bloom smiled. “That’s the spirit! Off we go!” And they turned right at the next crossroads.

All the way towards Sugarcube Corner, the three fillies were thinking their own thoughts. Apple Bloom was beaming with enthusiasm, Sweetie Belle was unsure what to think, and Scootaloo kept to herself, trotting still a few paces behind her friends. They passed Town Square with its beautiful fountain. It was market day, and there were still a few stalls which were open and selling many different things, mostly food. Of course there was not a single stall which sold baby clothing, but Apple Bloom hadn’t expected that anyway. Some vendors were already wrapping up their stalls and clearing the tables. Apple Bloom bit her lip. She knew that it was late, and that the shops of Ponyville would be closing. Silently she hoped Sugar Cube Corner would still be open; she quickened her pace.

Like a candy house out of your sweetest dreams did Sugarcube Corner rise up before the CMC’s eyes. While the walls were made of normal wood and stone, colored a creamy white and a chocolate brown, the roof of the sweets store looked to be made out of chocolate, rimmed with a layer of whipped cream. A cupcake-shaped tower crowned Sugarcube Corner, on which three candles cheerfully burned, making sure that everypony knew where to get their tasty treats. The store was still open.

Apple Bloom rushed inside, followed a second later by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

“Hello there, brave Crusaders,” Pinkie’s squeaky voice greeted them, immediately followed by, “Care for a cupcake? Then you gotta be quick, because it’s almost closing time.”

The store was completely empty; not even Mr. or Mrs. Cake were to be found. Rows and rows of sweets in every size and color were neatly stacked on shelves, ready to be bought, eaten, or wrapped up nicely as a gift. Pinkie Pie stood behind a glass counter with three huge cakes in it, but made a funny jump to land exactly in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Well, actually we would love to have some ice—“ Sweetie Belle began, but Apple Bloom cut her off.

“We’re on a mission, Pinkie Pie. We were wondering if we could borrow some of your baby stuff for a day or two.”

Pinkie frowned. “Baby stuff? I don’t have any baby stuff, silly filly. I’m much too old for that. Alright, I may have worn a diaper just once, but that was a silly accident.” She shook her head with a smile. “But anyway, why would you want that? Do you have a baby as well?”

“We’re gonna foal play,” Apple Bloom said, before Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo could stop her.

Pinkie Pie let out an, “Oh!” Then she said, “That sounds exciting. But what is foal play? Is it a game? It sounds like a game. Probably because it has the word ‘play’ in it. I love playing games. What are the rules?”

“Yeah… It’s… kind of a game,” Apple Bloom said, whereupon she explained exactly what it was they intended to do in the tiniest, most awkward details. Of course, she left out both Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and Bon Bon, remembering the promise she and the Crusaders had made.

When Apple Bloom ended her explanation, Pinkie Pie gasped and bounced in the air. Oh, no! Sweetie Belle thought, we just made a fool of ourselves.

But Sweetie Belle forgot whom it was they were speaking to; there was no need to worry. “Wow! That sounds super-duper fun!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Of course you can borrow whatever you want. You know, you can even use the baby beds here, and stay here for the night. That way you don’t have to drag all of that stuff to your little clubhouse. I promise I won’t disrupt your little game, unless you want me to play along, of course.”

“That’s great!” Apple Bloom said, her eyes twinkling in delight.

But Sweetie Belle, who thought ahead, could see exactly what was going to happen. Pinkie Pie might not care about the strangeness of it all, but surely her godparents would. “Eh… Pinkie Pie, where are Mr. and Mrs. Cake? Are they at home?”

“Nopie dopie,” Pinkie said. “They’re off to Canterlot for a baking contest for a few days, together with Pumpkin and Pound. ‘It will be good for them, to see something of Canterlot instead of only Ponyville,’ that’s what they said.” Pinkie frowned for a second. “Or… they don’t want me to foalsit them all by myself, which I can understand. I mean, they know what happened the last time…” Pinkie Pie closed her eyes for a minute, lost in thought. But as a happy memory floated by, she let out a giggle and opened her eyes again. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Now you have all the baby stuff you want for your little foal play game. You can go right up right now. I’ll close the shop and be with you in a few seconds, ok?”

A large grandfather clock, striking six times, signaled closing time for Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie started closing display cases and cupboards. She moved around quicker than the eye could follow, sweeping the floor, clearing the counter, storing away the cakes someplace cool and dry.

Meanwhile, the Cutie Mark Crusaders sat down and looked at each other. “Well, that was easy,” Apple Bloom said. “We sure are lucky today.”

“Yes…” Sweetie Belle said, her voice sounding strained. “But there is just one thing we forgot.”

“Like what?”

“Well…” Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. “Who’s going to be the foal, and who the parents?”

To that they all fell silent once again. They all knew what it would mean if one of them would be the foal; they had seen what Octavia and Vinyl were doing. For the foal, there would be the complete treatment: diapers, bottles of milk, napping times, playing silly games; in other words: awkwardness. Even though the Cutie Mark Crusaders were convinced by Octavia’s words, about how normal foal play was for them, they still knew that being treated like a foal would be awkward and uncomfortable. They could muster all the understanding for Vinyl and Octavia’s situation; it was necessary to help Vinyl Scratch. But for themselves? A hunt for a cutie mark, which was a goal no less noble for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. But was it very necessary? Did their goal justify the means to reach it? Maybe.

They looked each other in the eye, not daring to speak. A threatening atmosphere hung in the air, as if the first pony to speak would be the first one to get diapered. The CMC’s sat motionless like poker players. Finally, Pinkie Pie noticed them. “Hey, what’s up? Why the gloomy-doomy faces?”

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, thought for a second, and decided to say something else. “Pinkie Pie, can you give us three cupcakes?”

“Oki doki loki,” Pinkie said, but before she could dash to the counter and back, Apple Bloom said, “Wait, Pinkie. Can you put something hard in one of the cupcakes? A drop maybe? Oh, and make sure that we don’t know which one has the candy in it.”

To such a strange request, Pinkie only nodded. She had had stranger orders. Discord once wanted to order every pie Pinkie had in store, but decided to cancel the order at the last possible second. Anyway, Pinkie set to work. A minute later, three minty green cupcakes stood on the table before the CMC’s, all three identical to each other.

“Bon appétit,” Pinkie said, and went back to work.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders eyed their cupcakes with suspicion. Apple Bloom didn’t need to explain the rules of this ‘cupcake-roulette’ to her friends; all of them knew what would happen to the filly who would find the candy in her cupcake. None of them made any attempt to eat it, although they knew they had to. This cupcake was the most important one they had ever eaten. This cupcake they would remember forever. Tasty as they all looked, the Crusaders didn’t care about them; they cared about the filling. How would they start their little game of roulette? They had no idea.

“Let’s… let’s eat them all at the same time,” Sweetie Belle said, with a slight quavering in her voice.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom nodded. The three fillies picked up their cupcakes all at the same time. They turned them around in their hooves without looking at them. Nopony took a bite yet.

“Shall we count down?” Scootaloo said.

Without answering, Apple Bloom began.

“Three.”

They all briefly considered eating the whole thing in one bite, swallowing the candy as well.

“Two.”

But they also knew that wouldn’t be fair play.

“One.”

They were the ones who agreed to do this. No words, but deeds.

“Go!”

The three little fillies took a bite off their cupcakes. Pinkie Pie had stopped doing what she was doing upon the sound of Apple Bloom’s countdown, and watched them all with great interest. The only sound filling Sugarcube Corner was the sound of chomping and eating.

Carefully, the Cutie Mark Crusaders chewed their treats. One of them had the candy in her mouth. They looked at each other. Their gazes were serious and desperate.

Chew.

CRUNCH.

“Yay! You’re the winner!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, and lifted Scootaloo in the air.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle swallowed their cupcakes. A feeling of relief washed over them. But when they saw Scootaloo’s unhappy face, swaying through the air as Pinkie Pie did a funny dance with her, they felt a bit sorry for her too. “Don’t worry, Scootaloo, it’s not bad, right? It’s fun!” Apple Bloom said, and she meant it.

Pinkie stopped dancing. “Bad? Winning is never bad, right?”

To that, nopony said anything back.

Chapter four: it's a filly!

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“Tadaa!” Pinkie called as the door to the baby bedroom swung open.

Pinkie’s theatrical cry was immediately followed by an “Ah!” from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. The room did look gorgeous.

Because the room was made for both a filly and a colt, the walls and the floor were painted different colors. The floor was sky-blue, and changed to a soft pink hue as it reached the wall, bordered by a rim of clouds. It recalled sunsets and sunrises in Apple Bloom’s memories. The bedroom was well equipped to handle every situation. A large toy box stood in the corner, right next to a big changing table. In her mind, Sweetie Belle made some small comparisons, and reckoned the table to be big enough for Scootaloo as well. Opposite of the changing table were two bedsteads; one in blue, and the other in pink, which were decorated with some finely carved wooden figures. To the far right was a large wardrobe, also made out of the nice, ornate wood.

The whole chamber breathed an air of safety, comfort, and care; exactly what any baby needed. For a moment, just a tiny moment, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom felt as if they were foals again, just by standing in the bedroom. To Apple Bloom, the room looked practical, useful, and beautiful at the same time. To Sweetie Belle, it was a work of art. To Scootaloo, a torture chamber.

“Well, here it is,” Pinkie Pie said. “Looks pretty nice, doesn’t it?”

“It’s beautiful,” Sweetie Belle said with sparkling eyes.

“And just what we need,” Apple Bloom added.

Pinkie Pie jumped up. “Oh! Speaking of necessities, I think I have something else which you can use. Follow me!”

Pinkie Pie jumped towards the staircase and up the stairs, followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. When they saw that Scootaloo was left behind, Sweetie Belle turned around. “Hey Scootaloo, are you coming?”

But Scootaloo still stood in the doorway, still making out whether what had just happened was only a dream, and what was going to happen only a nightmare. Yet there was still more to come, and Scootaloo knew that. Only after another two calls did she managed to rip her gaze off the baby room, and follow her friends and Pinkie up the stairs, not at all ready for a new surprise.

As they reached Pinkie’s bedroom, small but full of surprisingly many party supplies, they saw her standing before her own wardrobe. “No, no, no,” Pinkie said, as she flung away pieces of clothing, saddles, shoes, hats, and many more things (some of them not even related to clothing), until she suddenly stopped. “Take a look at this, Crusaders,” she said, stepping aside so they could all peek inside the closet.

On the back racks hung many tiny clothes hangers, each of them bearing dresses in every size, but not in every color. All of them were cute and pink, as cute as cute went and as pink as pink went. Little saddles, skirts, ribbons, puff sleeves, funny hats; everything that Scootaloo would never wear in her entire life hung there inside the closet. Scootaloo did a few steps back, feeling a bit nauseated. Her stomach felt really funny at the sight of those cute little dresses—or was it the cupcake?

“I knew you would like them!” Pinkie Pie said with a smile. “Look, Scootaloo is taken aback. Yes, I know they’re beautiful.”

“Are those your dresses?” Sweetie Belle guessed.

Pinkie nodded. “Yuppedie yup. Once I came to live here in Ponyville, Mr. and Mrs. Cake bought me these. Oh, I could wear them for days and days.” Pinkie closed her eyes in delight, then opened them and looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “But now they’re too small for me, obviously, and I thought you would like them for Scootaloo, since Pumpkin and Pound Cake’s clothes are much too small for her.”

“Thank you so much, Pinkie Pie,” Apple Bloom said. “We’ll take all of them.”

Pinkie Pie clopped her hooves together. “Alrighty. Let’s get them into the baby’s room, then.”

And before the Cutie Mark Crusaders could offer to help, Pinkie was already in motion. The Crusaders saw a pink blur shoot up and down the stairs several times, faster than they could follow with their startled eyes. Zip, zip, zip, and it was done.

“Thank you for all your help,” Apple Bloom said again, when Pinkie came to a standstill before the Crusaders.

“Don’t thank me, you silly fillies,” Pinkie said. “The game hasn’t begun yet, right? I say less talking, more playing.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other and nodded. Then they threw a glance at Scootaloo, who still stood at a distance with a strange look in her eyes. “Come on, Scootaloo, let’s begin,” Apple Bloom said.

There was nothing Scootaloo could have done. Her fate was sealed. While her friends trotted cheerfully down the steps, she only walked with a slow, reluctant pace. Pinkie followed last, and stopped once they reached the baby bedroom again. “I’ll go clean up some more things in the shop,” she said. “But if you need anything, just give a shout, or a yell, or a call, it doesn’t matter. Hay, you can blow a trumpet like an elephant if you want—if you can find one, of course. Or else you can—“

Scootaloo didn’t mind Pinkie Pie blabbering on and on, postponing her ordeal as long as possible. But Apple Bloom was clearly looking forward to the game, and interrupted Pinkie Pie. “We’ll be fine, Pinkie, really. We’ll give a shout if we need anything.”

“Alright, have fun!” Pinkie said, and skipped down the stairs. Apple Bloom closed the door.

Apple Bloom was ready to begin. Sweetie Belle was ready to begin. They had everything they needed. Only Scootaloo wasn’t ready—and would never be.

“Alright, let’s just—“ Apple Bloom said, taking a step forward, but stopped short when Scootaloo did a step back.

“Guys…” Scootaloo said, her voice small and uncertain. “I… I’m not sure if I feel comfortable doing this.”

“But… what about our plan?” Sweetie Belle said. “You want to get a cutie mark too, don’t you?”

“Yes…” Scootaloo looked at the ground. “Just not this way.”

Maybe Apple Bloom expected this to happen, but she was determined. They couldn’t back out now. They had a mission, and every mission requires sacrifices. It wasn’t that Apple Bloom was selfish, thinking like that; it was just that she thought Scootaloo was exaggerating. Octavia had said herself that it was quite normal, and nothing to be ashamed of. Yet why had Octavia asked her and the rest of the Crusaders to keep it a secret? No. They had to do this. Apple Bloom decided to try something else.

“Don’t worry, Scootaloo, we won’t tell anypony else. It’s just our funny little game, nothing more. It will be fun!”

Apple Bloom did another step forward; Scootaloo did one back. “Yes… eh…”

Sweetie Belle decided to back Apple Bloom up. “It’s just for fun and experimentation, Scootaloo. You have to trust us. We have to try everything to get a cutie mark. We’ll try it, and if it doesn’t work, then we’ll just cross it off the list and try something else. Hey, you know what? You can pick the next thing we will try, as a compensation. How does that sound?”

There was that strange feeling again. Scootaloo was only listening to half of her friends’ words, as she was lost in thought and considered her options. Of course she didn’t want to do it, but backing out? Her friends would be very disappointed if she would cancel their mission. Maybe they wouldn’t even be able to stay friends any longer. Then a strange thought popped up in Scootaloo’s mind. If she backed out, her friends would probably think her a wuss. Only by being a foal would she prove that she was willing to do anything for a cutie mark too. She would prove that she was committed to their mission. Not because it is fun, not because she was curious, maybe not even for a cutie mark, but for her friends. For her friends and them alone would Scootaloo go through the fire and the flames—or, in this case, through the milk and the baby powder.

Slowly, Scootaloo nodded. But when the silence continued to linger, she said, “Okay. Let’s get this over with.”

“Yay!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle yelled, jumping up in delight. “We are the cutie family!”

Scootaloo winched at the sudden yell. She couldn’t find herself to join in. When she saw that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did a little ring dance of joy, she stepped forward. “Let’s get this over with before I regret my decision,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. Her friends stopped dancing and watched Scootaloo intently. Scootaloo met their cheerful gazes with her own, which was not so cheerful. “Alright, what’s first?”

Sweetie Belle thought for a second, but Apple Bloom had made a mental list of all the steps already. “First, you’ll get dressed,” she said. “Let’s pick one of the dresses Pinkie Pie gave us.”

“Alright!” Sweetie Belle called. “I saw one that will look great on you! Just trust me, Scootaloo, I’ve got the same sense of fashion as my big sister. Let’s see where it is.” And with that, she jumped over to the closet and started browsing through the wall of pink. Apple Bloom watched her with fascination; Scootaloo with aversion. Then, Sweetie Belle picked one out. “Here it is!”

She held out a short skirt with little pink ribbons, complete with puff sleeves and little pink booties. It almost looked like a miniature princess dress, or perhaps a ballerina dress would be a better description. “This will look absolutely adorable,” Sweetie Belle said. Those words pained Scootaloo’s ears. She didn’t want to be adorable; she wanted to be awesome and tough and cool. But she wouldn’t look either of these things for the next few days.

“Come on, what are you waiting for?” Apple Bloom said. “Pull it on!”

Sweetie Belle handed the dress over to Scootaloo, who looked at it with complete disdain. Was she really going to dress up like that for who knows how many days? They hadn’t even agreed on how long they would be foal playing. With a shiver, Scootaloo hoped that it would not be until they would get their cutie marks, or else she hoped that they would gain them very quickly during this endeavor.

Upon seeing that Scootaloo did nothing but stare at the pile of clothing, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged a doubtful look. They had to continue. Suddenly, Apple Bloom jumped up. “Of course!”

Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at her with questioning glares. “Of course what?”

“Of course she can’t dress like that,” Apple Bloom said.

Did she mean that?! Scootaloo let out a small sigh. They were not going to foal play after all. Surely Apple Bloom must have realized that this whole idea was silly and strange, and they should stop here and then, before things would run out of hoof. They would just put back the dress where they found it—clear them all away if they must—and then say goodbye to Pinkie Pie. Then they would just go back to the clubhouse and brood on another plan—a better plan.

“She can’t put on the dress,” Apple Bloom continued, “because she’s just a foal.”

Scootaloo’s heart skipped a beat. The tension crawled right back into her body.

“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Well… We gotta dress her. Foals can’t dress themselves, right?”

Now Sweetie Belle understood. “Ah, of course.”

Slowly, Apple Bloom picked up the dress from the floor. “Let’s get on with it.” She did a few steps closer to Scootaloo, followed by Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo felt like cornered prey. She felt as if her friends had transformed into hungry wolves, ready to pounce upon their prey and eat them up. In a moment of reflection, Scootaloo wasn’t sure which option would be worse. She did a step back. She wanted to run, fly, do something. But she had already agreed—there was no choice anymore.

It was over before she knew it. The skilled hooves of Sweetie Belle, who had seen her sister dress up countless mannequins in her fashion boutique, quickly and nimbly put the dress on Scootaloo. Forelegs, hind legs, head, tail. In less than a minute, Scootaloo was almost unrecognizable in her new outfit. The Cutie Mark Crusaders (except Scootaloo) were once again lucky; the dress and the shoes fitted perfectly. Even though the pink color contrasted sharply with Scootaloo’s orange hide, the result of this little dress up was undeniably cute.

“Here’s a mirror, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said, and opened the closet to reveal a mirror on the inside of the doors.

But Scootaloo didn’t want to see herself. No way.

“Aw, come on, Scootaloo. You gotta see this,” Apple Bloom said. Then, she pushed poor Scootaloo with her head so quickly that Scootaloo couldn’t brace herself. She stopped before the mirror, and Scootaloo was unable to resist the horrible temptation. But it is always better not to know…

In the mirror stood a little filly, a foal, not much older than a few years. She stared back through the mirror with big, wavering eyes. The big, purple eyes looked as if tears might stream down from them any second. Eyes that had seen both joyful and sad things. But at that moment the joyful things were gone, and only the sadness remained, bubbling up to the surface, like a beast that slumbers but wakes up at the worst moment possible. All of the toughness was gone. There was only a small and breakable foal, as breakable as a ceramic figure.

But that was just her reflection. On the Equestrian side of the mirror, Scootaloo quickly averted her gaze, looked down, and made her orange cheeks obtain a more reddish hue, as she blushed.

And then, Scootaloo’s worst fears became realized. Apple Bloom, whose voice sounded quite weird when she had pushed her in front of the mirror, couldn’t hold herself any longer, and burst out in a wave of laughter. She had never, ever, ever imagined Scootaloo like this. Apple Bloom just knew her as the rough and tough scooter-stunting filly she seemed to be. Often Apple Bloom could picture Scootaloo next to Rainbow Dash, flying through the sky while Dash taught her some awesome flying skills, transferring her awesomeness to her young protégé.

Now, however, Scootafoal stood before her, all her awesomeness replaced by cuteness. The sight was hilarious.

Scootaloo had all the right to become angry or call Apple Bloom names, but strangely enough, nothing came to her. Scootaloo just continued blushing, and averted her gaze from her friends.

Rescue came from Sweetie Belle, who suddenly jumped up, and marched towards Apple Bloom. “Hush now, Apple Bloom. Mind your manners! This isn’t funny—it’s a serious Cutie Mark Crusader mission. We have to make sure that Scootaloo is comfortable, not ashamed. Now quit your laughing!”

Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom didn’t expect such a sudden outburst. Apple Bloom swallowed the last of her laughter, and looked back at Sweetie Belle. She realized that she was right; it was her idea, after all, and the least they could do was to make this as painless for Scootaloo as they could. Now Apple Bloom was the one who looked at the ground. “I’m sorry Scootaloo.”

“No, it’s… it’s alright,” Scootaloo said, her voice a far cry from the excited, energetic filly she normally was. “I guess I do look weird.” She looked up at her friends, and actually managed a small smile. She had to show them that she was made of tougher stuff, and that she could take a good joke, even though she didn’t feel like she was made of tougher stuff anymore. She felt like she was made out of sugar.

“Of course you don’t look weird, little Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said, walking back towards her and patting her on the head. “You look just the way you should look.”

Sweetie Belle’s voice was soft and gentle. And strangely enough, Scootaloo felt better by what she said. The voice stirred something in her heart. Old memories? Something or somepony familiar?

There was a moment of silence. Apple Bloom already knew what would be the next step in her plan, but didn’t really know how to bring it. This would be the hardest part. Apple Bloom decided not to tell her, but to show her. She walked over to the changing table, opened a drawer, didn’t find what she was looking for, and started opening more drawers.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle watched her. Scootaloo was the first to realize just what exactly Apple Bloom was looking for. “No…” she whispered.

“Bingo!” With a triumphant smile, Apple Bloom got out a fresh, white diaper.

“No…” Scootaloo said softly.

Apple Bloom began walking towards Scootaloo. Scootaloo could swear there were some traces of a smile on her lips. “No!” she called. “No, no, no!”

But Apple Bloom didn’t stop. “Come on, Scootaloo. This might be the most important garment a foal has. You gotta do this.”

“B-b-but… eh… It won’t fit, probably,” Scootaloo said, while beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, passing her frightened eyes. “It will be much too small.”

“Of course not.” Apple Bloom stopped for a second, examining the diaper and moving it around in her hooves. “It’s very stretchy, it will fit for sure. Don’t you worry, Scootaloo.”

There was nowhere to go. Scootaloo’s back bumped against the wall of the bedroom. Apple Bloom advanced.

“Stop!” Sweetie Belle called.

Once again, hope flared up inside of Scootaloo. Surely Sweetie Belle must see the ridiculousness of it too. She would think that Apple Bloom was pushing it too far this time. Of course she wouldn’t let Scootaloo wear a diaper.

That, however, was not at all what Sweetie Belle meant. “We can’t put her in a diaper like that. We have to do it the right way. Let’s get her on the changing table.”

Scootaloo’s hopes crashed down like a pegasus’s flying trick gone wrong. She looked from Sweetie Belle to Apple Bloom and back, as they advanced. Apple Bloom grabbed her forelegs; Sweetie Belle her hind legs. Together they carried her over to the changing table and put her down. Scootaloo’s first instinct was to struggle free, but she knew that would be futile. She could postpone her change as long as she could, but if she would really participate in their foal play Cutie Mark mission, she had to cooperate. She would only make it harder for herself.

Once again, Sweetie Belle proved to be very adept at handling a foal. First she used some baby powder, and then, in one fluent motion, she slid the diaper over Scootaloo’s hind legs, up, up, up, until it fitted snugly around her flank. Apple Bloom proved to be right; it was quite stretchy, and the diaper looked as if it were made for Scootaloo, which it obviously wasn’t.

Scootaloo felt the strange, silky soft fabric against her flank, but didn’t look down. This time, she chose not to look at her ridiculousness.

“Alright, now the tail,” Sweetie Belle said in a singsong voice. She grabbed Scootaloo’s purple tail and stuck it through the hole. “There, done. Now that didn’t hurt, did it?”

It hurt Scootaloo’s pride, which was crumbling block by block in her head. Other than that, she was fine. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hoisted her off the changing table and laid her down on the ground. Immediately, Scootaloo stood up, and looked Apple Bloom into the eyes. She had to make sure that she wasn’t laughing yet again.

But Apple Bloom managed to contain her laughter this time. Sweetie Belle trotted next to her, and together they watched Scootaloo. They looked at her as a painter would look at his own painting: from a distance, making sure that no details were forgotten. No, they both thought, the transformation is complete.

Scootaloo stared back at them. She was no longer sure what to think. There she stood, in her cute filly’s dress, with the soft diaper on her bottom. In her head, she did her best to salvage her pride, saying encouraging things to herself. Come on, Scootaloo, it’s not so bad. You’re still awesome. Just a day, maybe two, and then you can go back to your awesome self. But her own words inside her head couldn’t convince Scootaloo. Her head became heavy, and she felt her ears droop down. The ground came into view. She felt somber, but did her best to hide it. The only way to salvage her pride, Scootaloo figured, was to pretend not to care. Be indifferent. That was her strategy. She raised her head, which took her a surprising amount of effort, and looked at her friends once more. “Alright, I guess the worst part is over. What’s next on the foal list?” Scootaloo let out a snort. “Oh, let me guess, it’s play time, now, isn’t it?“

“Yes it is!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, not at all taken aback by Scootaloo’s mocking tone. “Time to bring out the toys.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked towards the big, purple toy box and opened it. Sweetie Belle was about to jump in and pick some nice things out, but Apple Bloom unceremoniously trotted behind the box, put her back against it, and tipped it over. Countless toys bounced, rolled, slid, and fell on the floor. There were balls, blocks, rattles, whistles, picture books, and many, many soft, cuddly animal toys. When the avalanche came to an end right at Scootaloo’s hooves, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom examined its contents.

“Hmm… What do you think, Sweetie Belle?”

“Maybe we should try… or, wait, maybe…”

“Yes, the turtle looks very cute, but the monkey also looks funny.”

Scootaloo had no idea where this was going, but she knew that she was not going to play with stuffed animals. She stepped forward, bent down, and grabbed some blocks out of the pile. “Let’s start with these,” Scootaloo said. The blocks seemed to her to be the least foolish of all the toys.

“Alright,” Apple Bloom said. “I’m glad you’re so enthusiastic.”

After some digging, Scootaloo sat down on the floor with the blocks strewn around her. Each of the little colorful cubes had some letters on it, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ minds raced with ideas they could try out.

“Spell out your name, little Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said. “Can you do that?”

Of course she could do that, but Scootaloo didn’t want to. How in Equestria was she going to look tough, spelling out her name with baby blocks? Scootaloo looked at them, biting her lip. But then, something came to her. Examining the different letters on the blocks, Scootaloo started to gather them up, turning them over, and arranging them so that she could spell something out. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle noticed that Scootaloo didn’t grab the blocks she needed, and only when Scootaloo had finished, did they see why. On the ground lay only one word: ‘ridiculous.’

Apple Bloom let out a sigh. “Come on, Scootaloo, you have to play along. I don’t think a foal would know how to spell the word ‘ridiculous,’ let alone the meaning of it.”

Scootaloo frowned and gave her a stare.

“Now, let’s try spelling out our names, little Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said. “Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, that’s not very hard now, is it? I’m sure you can do that.”

Sweetie Belle really sounded as if she were talking to a foal, and that annoyed Scootaloo even more. She would show them something. Once again, she grabbed the blocks and arranged them in a row. This time, it looked as if she was on the right track, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at the busy little foal with content smiles on their faces. Nice. She’s finally playing along, they both thought. The blocks formed four words, which could have been ‘Apple Bloom’ and ‘Sweetie Belle.’ Of course they weren’t.

“Get... me… outta… here?” Sweetie Belle spelled out. Then they both let out a heavy sigh. Scootaloo just grinned.

“Let’s try something else,” Apple Bloom said. “This time, I get to choose.” Plunging into the pile of toys, Apple Bloom didn’t need long before she found what she was looking for. She emerged holding a brightly colored ball in her hooves. “When I was a little foal, Applejack and me could play catch for hours. Of course I couldn’t throw the ball very far yet, so we often just rolled it from one pony to the other.” She jumped out of the pile and moved a few hoofsteps away from Scootaloo. “I’ll sit here, and you over there, Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom pointed to the right, so they would form a triangle.

Everypony took their places and sat down on the floor. Apple Bloom went first. “Here it comes, Sweetie Belle,” she said, and rolled the ball towards her. Taking the ball in her hooves, Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo. She decided to let it roll even more softly and slowly, so that Scootafoal wouldn’t hurt herself. There it went.

Are you serious? Scootaloo thought, when she saw the ball crawl towards her. She took it with both hooves, and paused for a while.

“Come on, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said, “it’s my turn again.”

Scootaloo frowned. That was not going to happen. Briefly recalling Apple Bloom’s burst of laughter moments ago, Scootaloo made up her mind. Suddenly, she stood up, swung her hoof, and threw the ball with all her strength towards Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo’s dodgeball skills were still sharp. The ball sailed through the air, landing right in the face of Apple Bloom. The shock of the impact made her roll backwards, until she came to a standstill on her back. Apple Bloom was lucky the ball was soft, and although her muzzle felt as if it were flattened, the shock of surprise was much greater than any real injury.

Sweetie Belle flinched. “Ouch…”

Apple Bloom rubbed her sore muzzle and got up. “Scootaloo, naughty filly. Don’t do that again, or mommy will get very angry.” Of course she wasn’t that angry, because Apple Bloom also realized that Scootaloo’s retaliation was kind of justified. And besides, fighting was something they had tried before, and it hadn’t given them any cutie marks.

Crossing her hooves in front of her chest, Scootaloo closed her eyes and snorted.

“Eh… maybe it’s time to go to go to bed?” Sweetie Belle proposed. “Because it’s already pretty—“

“No way,” Apple Bloom said, interrupting Sweetie Belle. “One more game. We have to try everything. Let’s do something that’s not as… dangerous as this.” And with those last words, Apple Bloom threw an angry stare at Scootaloo.

Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pondered over that for a moment, thinking about what to do next. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle sprang up. “I’ve got an idea,” she said, walking over to the toy box. “This is a game from when was a foal. Ready?”

“No,” Scootaloo said.

But Sweetie Belle ignored her, and started her game. “Where… is… Sweetie Belle?” She said from behind the toy box in her singsong voice. Then suddenly, she closed the lid of the box and appeared behind it. “Here she is!”

Apple Bloom grinned. Scootaloo said nothing.

Sweetie wasn’t going to give up that easily; she closed the lid again. “Where… is… Sweetie Belle? Here she is!”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

“Where… is… Sweetie Belle? Here she is!”

Just a blank, bored stare.

Now Sweetie Belle was going to give it everything she had. She sung her sentence. “Where… is… Sweetie Belle?” Then she slammed the lid shut and jumped right on top of it. “Here she is!”

Not even the sound of the toy box made Scootaloo blink. She decided to give Sweetie Belle her most empty gaze possible, when a loud yawn interrupted her attempt. Scootaloo closed her eyes and opened her mouth wide in the biggest yawn she had ever had. Closing her eyes, Scootaloo lost her balance. She toppled over and fell on her back, making her look even cuter, and surprisingly much like a foal.

“Oh, wow, look at that,” Apple Bloom said, and pointed ahead. She wasn’t pointing at Scootaloo, however, but at the window. Outside, the moon was already high in the sky, accompanied by cheerful, twinkling stars. “I didn’t realize it was already this late. I guess time flies when you’re having fun.”

Whether those last words bore a hint of sarcasm, Scootaloo couldn’t guess. She scrambled up again, and looked out the window as well. The night did look beautiful and serene, but Scootaloo didn’t care. The only thing she cared about was what lay in store for her next.

“Bedtime!” Sweetie Belle called, completely giving up on her game, so they could try something else. “It’s bedtime, little Scootaloo. Foals need to sleep very early, and you are no exception. Let’s get you to bed.”

Scootaloo wanted to object, wanted to say that she wasn’t tired at all, but another yawn interrupted her attempt to speak. In reality, she was tired. Dead tired. All of the new and strange experiences she had encountered today now lay like a heavy toy box on her mind. She also felt confusion spread in her mind; she had to process everything that she’d seen today and organize her thoughts. Suddenly, she felt tiredness envelop her like a warm and comfortable blanket. Her busy mind was ready to rest. She started swaying back and forth on her hooves. Her eyes became heavy. At last she lost her balance once more, and fell on her side to the ground.

“Aww, look at that,” Sweetie Belle said. “She’s so tired, she can’t even walk to her own little cot.”

Apple Bloom grinned. “Yup. I guess we gotta carry her once again. You get the back?”

And so they hoisted Scootaloo up once more. She didn’t even wake up, but started snoring instead. No matter how hard she snored, Scootaloo couldn’t snore away her cuteness. “Aww! Doesn’t she look cute when she’s sleeping?” Apple Bloom cooed.

Sweetie Belle nodded. “All foals look cute when they’re sleeping, and Scootaloo is no exception.” Then she looked over her shoulder at the two cots. “Which one shall we take?”

“Duh, the pink one,” Apple Bloom said.

“Alright.” They walked towards the cot, and laid Scootaloo down gently. They kept watching her for a while, looking at her rolling from side to side, finding the ideal sleeping posture. At last Scootaloo found it, and lay still. Her soft breathing was the only sound filling the baby room, adding to the peaceful atmosphere. Although Scootaloo had looked tense and reluctant at first, now she seemed completely at peace with her fate, although they knew that wasn’t at all the case.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other. “You know,” Sweetie Belle said, “I kind of feel like a real mother now. Maybe this idea wasn’t as weird as I thought.”

“Of course it isn’t weird,” Apple Bloom said. “There is no sweeter bond than that of family. You know, whether Scootaloo likes being treated as a foal or not, I think we’ll be even better friends after this adventure.”

“Yes, better friends. And maybe we’ll get our cutie marks as well”

The moment those words left Sweetie’s mouth, she and Apple Bloom both turned their heads and looked at their flanks. There was nothing.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom said. “It will come later, I’m sure of that. I can feel it. And besides, we haven’t done that much foal play yet, have we? Tomorrow we’ll do way more things with little Scootaloo, so our chances of getting a cutie mark will only increase. We’ll do everything we can do; everything that might just give us a cutie mark.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle said, although she couldn’t deny that she was a bit disappointed. “I guess we just have to try everything tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’ll really get into it, try twice as hard, and then Scootaloo will really be our little foal.” Suddenly, Sweetie Belle let out a yawn as well. She blinked her eyes and looked at Apple Bloom, who also stared back with tired eyes. “Well, I guess it’s bedtime for us as well,” Sweetie Belle said. “Shall we ask Pinkie for some blankets? Then we can sleep right here.”

“Good idea,” Apple Bloom said. “Do you think she’s still up?”

“Of course she is. Pinkie Pie is an all-nighter.”

After a soft chuckle they retreated towards the door, opened it, and then closed it carefully as not to wake up little Scootaloo, who continued sleeping like a baby in her cot.

Chapter five: foal play day

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Gently, as if she were rocking in a comfortable hammock, Scootaloo floated to the land of dreams. Emotions started to fill her up, as her mind separated from her body. In the land of dreams, a body is usually only vaguely apparent; this dream was no exception. Scootaloo saw herself flying. Flying! She soared through the soft pink skies, until a particularly fluffy and comfortable-looking cloud came into view. Just for fun, Scootaloo made one big circle, and then swooped down to land on the pink cloud; it was comfortable. Scootaloo didn’t really care where she was, or why she was there; she was just there. A feeling of inner piece glowed inside of her, like a summer breeze, refreshing and warming at the same time. This must be the most comfortable dream Scootaloo had ever had. She had the feeling that she could sleep peacefully through the night right here. Was it possible to sleep in a dream?

But no. Scootaloo didn’t want to sleep. No matter how beautiful and nice the cloud, the air, or her emotions felt, Scootaloo felt that it wasn’t right to sleep. The feeling of exploration filled her up. The desire to see what’s more. Of course, the place where she was now could be good, but perhaps, a few clouds farther, there would be even more clouds, or even more peace in her heart. That’s why Scootaloo flapped her wings, which were as big as Princess Celestia’s, and took to the sky once more.

“Whoa! What a thrust!”

Her wings were powerful. Scootaloo felt powerful. Nothing could stop her in this dream.

Gradually, the sky began to change color. Scootaloo flapped her wings, and flew right through a rainbow. The colors of that beautiful weather phenomenon stuck in her mane and spread to her tail as well. The sky changed from pink to blue, and, as Scootaloo flew through it with a smile on her face, the colors wrapped around her body and infused with her muzzle, her wings, her legs. She was Rainbow Dash. “Awesome!”

“This is how good things can get,” Scootaloo said, and she knew she was right. She had been a fan of Rainbow Dash for such a long time, going as far as founding a Rainbow Dash Fan Club. Now, she was Rainbow Dash. She was her big hero. Scootaloo closed her eyes, and felt the awesomeness stream through her veins and race through her entire body from wingtip to wingtip. The wind started to pick up, streaming past her face and making her mane and tail wave in the air. Scootaloo felt as if she could handle the whole land of Equestria by herself. Maybe I can do a Sonic Rainboom!

Scootaloo sped up. If she could pull off a Sonic Rainboom, she would prove that she was worthy of being Rainbow Dash. She flew faster, faster, faster. Despite the space of infinity, Scootaloo did have the impression of flying forward, because the surrounding space changed color. The faster Scootaloo zipped through the space of her dreams, the faster the color became dark. First it was light blue, then blue, then dark blue. Darker and darker the color became, but Scootaloo had little eye for that; she was too focused on the legendary maneuver. Only when everything around her was completely black, did she speed down. She flew slower now, until she came to a complete standstill. Everything had changed.

Blackness was all around her. It wasn’t darkness, however, because Scootaloo could still see her own hooves, as if she were a light shining in the gloom. Suddenly, a hard gust made her topple backwards. However, it wasn’t the force of the gust that made her lose her balance, but the dread that rode it. A feeling of fear exploded in her body. Scootaloo shivered from head to hoof, and found that she was no longer able to fly. It was as if the air was contaminated; flying was so difficult. Scootaloo hovered down unsteadily, until she landed on a cloud. Only it was not a cloud, but a sheet of cold, merciless metal.

“W-w-what’s going on?” Scootaloo said with a trembling voice. The fear had grown inside of her; she knew something was wrong. She knew something evil was in front of her.

Close.

So close.

She could almost touch the air, but she didn’t want to. It was vile, and carried a terrible voice. At first it was just a low growling. Then, it grew more clear with every cold breath Scootaloo took, until she could hear words, angry words.

“Scootaloo! Scootaloo, listen to me!”

Scootaloo couldn’t do anything but listen. She wanted to cover her ears, but found herself unable to. The voice was so awful to listen to.

“You’re a joke, Scootaloo. You can do nothing! You can’t even fly. You’re a disgrace to everypony. I almost regret… regret… No, I do regret…”

The voice couldn’t finish its message, but Scootaloo knew enough. She knew what it was going to say, as if she’d heard it all before. Scootaloo didn’t want to listen anymore. Fly away, fly away, were the first thoughts that came to mind, so she jumped off the cloud, and plummeted down the skies.

“I told you that you couldn’t even fly! Don’t even pretend!”

The voice was right. To her horror, Scootaloo discovered that her wings were tiny, not able to carry her at all. The black air swept through her mane as she fell. Down, down, down, until she smacked against another iron cloud.

“That’s what you deserve! What did you expect? You weren’t born for greatness but for failure, and failure will follow you for the rest of your life.”

Scootaloo scrambled up, rubbing a terrible bruise on her head with her hoof. Her hoof was orange again. Scootaloo was no longer Rainbow Dash, but had transformed back to herself.

“That’s right, Scootaloo. You can’t even pretend you’re somepony ‘cool’ or ‘awesome.’ Those words don’t belong in your dictionary.”

The insults slammed into Scootaloo’s mind. She wanted to run away. Turning around, Scootaloo saw a concrete road, as cold and grey as the cloud, leading to nowhere. She galloped for all she was worth, but the voice followed her. The presence was always right behind her.

“You cannot run from me! You will never get rid of me! I will always be there, waiting for you in the darkest corners of your mind! You will never be safe anywhere. You will never be cozy or relaxed, for I will always look over your shoulder. Never let your guard down, because you are vulnerable. You will never lose me, but you will always lose!”

Scootaloo’s gallop became slower and slower, her strides shorter and shorter, her legs tinier and tinier. She was a filly again, on the run from someone or something. She knew very well who or what it was. With a clarity uncommon in dreams, or even nightmares, Scootaloo realized.

Her beautiful dream was ruined. Scootaloo felt cold tears trickle down onto the concrete. Sadness and fear slowed her down, until her legs stopped moving. All the feeling streamed with the tears out of Scootaloo’s body. There was nothing more she could do. She was done for. The happy dream would never return.

* *

“Wakey wakey, Scootaloo! It’s time for a beautiful new day.”

Sweetie Belle’s cheerful, almost musical voice flowed through Scootaloo’s ears. It was the most beautiful alarm clock she could imagine. But it did nothing against the words of the nightmare, which still echoed vaguely in her head.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom staggered back from the cot, as Scootaloo veered up suddenly. She breathed in and out, again and again, as if she’d just run a marathon. With fearful eyes she stared around the room, at herself, and finally, her gaze came to rest at her friends. Scootaloo wanted to tell them something. Her mouth formed to make words, but they didn’t come. Her mind tried to construct sentences, but they didn’t come. The dream retreated back to Scootaloo’s subconscious as quickly as it had appeared, leaving her confused and puzzled. The room helped her to calm down a little, and when she saw what she was dressed in, she entered the here and now again.

Sweetie Belle approached Scootaloo’s cot and met her eyes, which still displayed some of the fears she had felt. “Are you okay, little Scootaloo? Did you have a nasty, nasty dream?”

The way Sweetie Belle spoke to her was as a mother would speak to her daughter, but Scootaloo didn’t care about that at all right now. She looked her friend in the eyes. Green, soft, understanding eyes. Scootaloo said nothing, but nodded slowly.

“Aww, you poor little thing.” Sweetie Belle lowered the railing of the cot, and helped Scootaloo climb out of it. “Well, you’re awake now, and nothing will happen to you here.”

“Of course there will,” Apple Bloom said from across the room. “Let’s get her here and change her!”

More humiliation; that was not at all what Scootaloo needed. Reality slapped her in the face and showed her what she had agreed to do with her friends: foal playing. Suddenly, her voice came back to her. “No! I don’t need to be changed.” Her voice quavered just as in her dream. “I didn’t use my diaper or anything. It’s not necessary.”

“Of course it is,” Sweetie Belle said. “Every foal needs a change after a nap. Now let’s go.”

Once again Sweetie’s voice was calm and comforting, even though the words weren’t calm and comforting at all. Nevertheless, Scootaloo found herself cooperating—what else could she do? Slowly, she walked hoof in hoof with Sweetie Belle to the changing table.

“Alright, there we go,” Apple Bloom said, and, together with Sweetie Belle, they lifted Scootaloo onto the table. With a fresh diaper at the ready, Sweetie Belle trotted to the end, but Apple Bloom was in the way. “No, wait! I wanna do it now,” she said, taking over the diaper from Sweetie Belle.

“Eh… are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, last time I did an excellent job, right?”

“Yes, but now I wanna try it.” Apple Bloom was resolute. “We have to kick it up a notch and try everything there is to try. So both of us have to try everything. Yesterday it was your turn, and now I it is mine.”

Sweetie Belle stepped aside. “Alright. But if you need any help—“

“Nah, I’ll be fine,” Apple Bloom said, and stood in position.

Scootaloo had nothing to say about it, so Apple Bloom got to work. She proved to be much worse at changing diapers than Sweetie Belle, however. Her hooves were rough, her motions clunky and awkward. Apple Bloom was used to hauling buckets of apples, bucking trees, building fences, and doing countless other hard and challenging chores. She wasn’t at all suitable for doing something that required precision, softness, and slow, delicate movements.

“Come on, Scootaloo, lie still,” she said, as she tried to put on the new diaper on the poor filly.

“It’s not Scootaloo’s fault,” Sweetie Belle said, rolling her eyes. “You’re putting it on the wrong way around.”

Apple Bloom let out an awkward chuckle. “Hehe, oops.”

It took her almost a quarter of an hour to change the diaper, but then she finally got it done. Once again, Scootaloo felt the soft fabric brush against her hide, and once again she felt all the awkwardness of the past days return to her.

“There. Done. Are you a happy filly now?” Apple Bloom said, stepping back and admiring her work. She said the exact same words Octavia had said, although she didn’t realize it.

Scootaloo just nodded. She turned around and looked out the window. A bright, glaring sun greeted her, and that instant, the fears she had experienced during the night seemed far away; chased away by the smiling sun.

“Well, it seems she was right,” Apple Bloom said, throwing away Scootaloo’s old diaper. “It was still dry.” But Sweetie Belle wasn’t paying attention to Apple Bloom. Extending a hoof, she helped Scootaloo off the changing table, and sat her down on the ground. “So, what’s next?”

“We can go for a walk,” Apple Bloom answered. “Some fresh air is always good for a foal, and seeing the outside world is good as well. I bet Pinkie Pie has a stroller for the baby Cakes. I just hope it will fit…”

“But you’re not gonna walk on an empty stomach, are you?” a high, squeaky voice said from behind them.

“Huh?”

“Oops, should have opened the door first.” And after those words, the door opened, revealing Pinkie Pie in the doorway. She was carrying a tray with some sandwiches and drinks and even a bottle of milk.

“Hey! Were you eavesdropping on us?” Apple Bloom said with a frown.

“Not only eavesdropping, but also spying,” Pinkie proudly admitted. “Although I should have been more careful, otherwise you would have found out.”

“Eh… Pinkie, we already found out,” Apple Bloom said.

But Pinkie Pie didn’t hear it, for she was much too busy balancing the plate on her hoof. She walked towards the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and put the plate down before their noses. “There you go. Oh my, you woke up so late; the store is almost open. I thought about making some breakfast for you all, and here it is. I even managed to make something for Scootaloo. I hope Pound Cake doesn’t mind that I borrowed his bottle…”

And to her horror, Scootaloo noticed the bottle of milk right in the middle of the tray.

“Wow, thanks, Pinkie,” Sweetie Belle said. “That’s really kind of you.”

Pinkie nodded. “Don’t mention it. I think your little foal play is so sweet. I would love to look after your little Scootaloo for a while. That way I can practice a bit when Mr. and Mrs. Cake return with the babies.” Pinkie paused for a few seconds, then looked Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle in the eye. “Oh, I’m just gonna say it. Can I feed Scootaloo? Please, please, please, please, please, please!”

“Well…” Apple Bloom was about to object, because she still reckoned that she and the rest of her friends should try as many baby stuff as possible. But Sweetie Belle gave her a poke. “Of course you can do that, Pinkie,” she said. “It’s the least we can offer you in return for all your help.”

Apple Bloom saw that Sweetie Belle was right, and said nothing more.

“Oh! Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Pinkie said, jumping up and down in joy. Before Scootaloo knew what hit her, she was lying in Pinkie’s hooves, with a bottle of milk in her mouth. Gently rocking her in her hooves, Pinkie begun a cheerful little song.

Drink, little Scootaloo, fill your belly up

The milk is so sweet; the bottle bigger than a cup

Drink, grow big and strong

To do the right thing, not the wrong

Have a little drink, Scootaloo

Drink, little Scootaloo, you’re gonna have some fun

Your cutie mark family is more than a pun

A lovely little family

They will help you feeling free

Have a little drink, Scootaloo

Drink, little Scootaloo, you know what to do

You love them; they love you, yes, they know it too

Have some fun, play your part

You will see, it’s a new start

Have a little drink, Scootaloo

Was it the warm milk, glowing inside her belly? Was it the sweet, good-hearted singing of Pinkie Pie? Was it the smiles her friends gave her as they watched her, being cradled in Pinkie’s hooves? Something stirred inside Scootaloo’s heart, but it was not the burning shame or embarrassment; it was something new. It felt as if Scootaloo were a bird, who had flown far and wide to gather enough food for its family. Then the bird returned, and knew it was home. Back in its own soft, warm nest with its wife and its children. Scootaloo felt protected. She didn’t feel like a weak little foal, but strong, ready to take on Equestria once she was grown up. Something changed inside Scootaloo, as if a railroad switch had been turned, and the train of her life ran on another track. Scootaloo closed her eyes, and gulped down the last drops of milk with pure satisfaction etched on her face.

“Alrighty-right,” Pinkie said, and put down the bottle. “That’s enough milk for you, Scootaloo. Now there is only one more thing to do.” Pinkie Pie draped Scootaloo over her shoulder, and, tapping her gently on the back, made her burp loudly.

To the sudden sound, both Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Pinkie Pie chuckled softly. Scootaloo burped way too loud for a little foal.

Twelve long bells were heard from beneath, as the clock struck. Pinkie Pie held Scootaloo before her, looking deep into her purple eyes. “Mommy’s gotta go to work, little Scoot,” she said. “But tonight I’ll have plenty of time to play, I promise.”

Scootaloo smiled and nodded. Then, after one final nuzzle, Pinkie Pie trotted off the stairs to the shop, already looking forward to the evening.

“Aw! That was so sweet!” Sweetie Belle bent over Scootaloo, who was still lying on the ground with a warm feeling in her belly.

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said. “Maybe Pinkie Pie should have a cutie mark for being a family. She’s so good at it.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “But don’t forget that Pinkie has some baby experience. She has taken care of babies before, and for us it’s the first time.”

“But now I wanna go for a walk,” Apple Bloom said. “Let’s eat and then ask for a stroller from Pinkie.”

So they did. Pinkie Pie had made hay sandwiches for them, with a cupcake for dessert. She had even managed to make Scootaloo’s food in character. For her there was a bowl of mashed vegetables and fruits, ready to eat. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom fed Scootaloo, taking turns. To Scootaloo’s surprise, the baby food didn’t even taste awful. It tasted sweet and it was full of flavor. For a moment, Scootaloo forgot that her friends were feeding her and focused instead on the flavors of the food.

When they were done, they went downstairs, taking Scootaloo by the hoof as if she still found it difficult to walk down stairs. Scootaloo was very reluctant, and didn’t want to come down at first. What if there were customers downstairs? Many ponies in Ponyville had often seen her race through town, doing some nice tricks on her scooter to make them go ‘ah.’ Scootaloo reckoned that somepony would certainly recognize her, even in the girly pink dress. “Can’t we just get the stroller upstairs and go in circles in the baby room? Or maybe we could pretend that we’re going for a walk.”

But that was out of the question. “No way,” Apple Bloom said. “We’re going for a real walk, with a real stroller, breathing real fresh air. Now come on down.”

Scootaloo went down at last, but didn’t enter the shop before she’d cast a glance around the corner. This time it was Scootaloo’s turn to be lucky; there was nopony inside.

Pinkie greeted them. “Hi there, cutie mark family,” she said with a smile. “Did you have a nice breakfast?”

As soon as the Crusaders were about to say something back, the bell rang, and a cream-colored mare with a pink and blue mane stepped inside. It was Bon Bon.

Scootaloo sprang into action. “Where’s the stroller Pinkie? Where?” she whispered, casting rapid glances over to Bon Bon and back.

“It’s in the back,” Pinkie said. Scootaloo had never been more grateful for a back door. She bolted towards the door, opened it, and sprang into the hallway. After greeting a surprised Bon Bon, her friends followed.

“Hi there, Bon Bon,” Pinkie Pie said. “Looking for some bon bon’s?”

Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “If I would get one Bit for every pony who made that joke, I would be Filthy Rich.” She reached the counter, and couldn’t resist taking a look over at the back door. “Hey Pinkie Pie, was that Scootaloo who jumped through that door just then?”

“Yup,” Pinkie said.

“And was she—“

“Yup,” Pinkie said again.

The stroller proved to be big enough for Scootaloo. It was a sturdy looking one, painted a cheerful purple—the combination of pink and blue, of course. It was designed to carry two foals, so there was more than enough space for one Scootaloo. They put her in the stroller and set out. “Don’t worry, little Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said. “We’ll keep to the back roads.”

The most dangerous part was the marketplace. There were quite a lot of ponies walking about, as the stalls and shops started to open. Scootaloo heard the sound of hooves trotting on the ground, and didn’t dare to look around. She grabbed the purple blanket in her mouth and tried to cover as much of herself as she could. Nopony was going to see her.

The sight of two fillies pushing a stroller wasn’t that strange at all. The passers-by looked at them and smiled. Of course they would just be two fillies playing mum. Of course there would be a lovely dressed doll inside the stroller, so that the fillies could pretend to care for it. Or perhaps they would be caring for somepony else’s foal, bearing the responsibility on their shoulders. Sometimes a pony tried to peek inside the stroller, trying to catch a glimpse of the baby. But they couldn’t see anything under the blankets. Suddenly, an old mare appeared and tried to start a conversation with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. She saw that they were playing, and didn’t stop talking about how she’d played mom so many times during her younger days. The Cutie Mark Crusaders didn’t really know what to do, so they let the mare talk. But then things got dicey.

“Now let’s have a peek at your lovely child,” the old mare said, undoubtedly planning to pinch its cheeks. She tried to lift the blanket. Scootaloo heard what she said; fear shot through her body. Scootaloo hold on to the blanket for all she was worth, playing tug-of-war with the old mare. Scootaloo clamped the blanket between her teeth, but the mare was determined to see the little child, and didn’t give up that easily.

“I’m really sorry, Madam, but we have to go,” Sweetie Belle said quite suddenly, and, not finding a politer way to end the conversation quickly, gave the stroller a big push and trotted away.

Scootaloo, not expecting the sudden force, started and let go of the blanket. It was lost. How was she going to hide now?

But maybe she wouldn’t even have to. The big dangers had passed. The Cutie Mark Crusaders entered some tranquil neighborhoods where nopony was around, but, just to be sure, they picked up the pace. Scootaloo too, knew that they were close, for she saw the thatched roofs of houses float by before her eyes. Then she looked towards Sweetie Belle, pushing the stroller. “Don’t worry, little Scootaloo,” Sweetie said, “we’re almost out of town.”

Indeed they were. The gardens around the houses became more frequent and bigger; trees became more common. The Cutie Mark Crusaders passed one more wooden gate, and then they were where they wanted to be: the outskirts of Ponyville.

The road became a bit rougher, as the pavement and the earth got replaced by rough dirt. The road snaked on ahead, rimming Ponyville, with a good twenty meters between it and the houses. Fields and hills and the occasional small patch of forest flanked it. Those were the only company the Crusaders had, for the road was deserted and empty.

But Scootaloo wanted to be absolutely certain. Grabbing the edges of the stroller, she sat up and looked around. The colors were vibrant around her. They were passing a patch of forested land, and it gleamed green and bright in the sunlight. A soft, gentle breeze was flowing, making the leaf crowns whisper amongst themselves. The green was topped by a clear blue sky, spotted with beautiful, puffy clouds. Scootaloo’s attention was immediately drawn to the sky, and her gaze went up. For a moment she forgot about the fact that she hadn’t checked every direction yet, focusing all her mind on the sky instead. Already she saw some Wonderbolts, some houses, some pegasi, and some scooters, all made of clouds, floating through the air.

“Don’t be afraid, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said, upon seeing her staring, “we’ll make sure to warn you when somepony is coming our way.”

Scootaloo nodded, and aimed her gaze at the sky once more. But then, a thick, white cloud, which had obscured the sun for just a minute, moved away. The glaring shine of the sun made Scootaloo blink, and she could feel beads of sweat drip off her forehead. Wow, it’s hot.

“Why don’t you lie down, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said. “There’s a little sunshade on the stroller, you know? Then you won’t be so hot.”

Slowly, Scootaloo rested her head on the soft, purple pillow. The shade was pulled up, and, much to Scootaloo’s satisfaction, she could still see the sky. Scootaloo had never been more comfortable watching the sky and the clouds, she admitted. The thought of somepony seeing her this way was pushed back to forgotten corners of her mind. Slowly, gradually, she felt the tension leaving her body. Without a care in Equestria, she resumed her sky-watching, letting her imagination free on the drifting clouds above.

There’s Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark…

There’s the Wonderbolts Academy…

There’s the CMC clubhouse…

“Aw! Isn’t she cute like that?” Apple Bloom said.

But those words didn’t make Scootaloo cringe this time. The endless, blue sky above, the refreshing summer breeze, the soothing warmth, and the comfortable little bed she was lying in evoked a sense of tranquility. From deep within her soul, this feeling of inner peace slowly bubbled up to the surface. Slowly, slowly. It manifested itself there, on the surface. It began to sprout a tree, and its branches reached every corner of Scootaloo’s body, delivering tranquility to all her limbs. Her head was last, and the peace placed all of her thoughts in the second place. Scootaloo felt safe. Never before had she experienced this strange, but pleasant feeling—or maybe she had, a long time ago? Scootaloo didn’t know.

She didn’t care if anyone saw her or not; the world was gone for a second. There was just Scootaloo. But that wasn’t really right at all. Scootaloo looked down, where she saw the smiles of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They weren’t laughing at her; they were happy to see her this way. They could see what Scootaloo felt, and shared her joy. The past few days had been so extremely strange, yet those days, and everything that had happened during them, all accumulated to this. Not Scootaloo in baby’s clothes in a stroller, but inner peace. This feeling, this strange, yet eerily recognizable feeling, that was what it was all about. Scootaloo realized that, and she smiled.

“Are you feeling good, little Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo nodded.

“Would you like me to sing a song for you?”

Once again, Scootaloo nodded. Somehow, that felt right.

Then, not taking her eyes off Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle began her song.

Scootaloo, Scootaloo

The sun is shining just for you

Rest in peace my little foal

You’ll get your cutie mark too

Scootaloo, we have such fun

You’re the foal and we’re the mum

This is by far the greatest day

As we go and do foal play

Don’t be mad, don’t be mad

Rest your little sleepy head

Though we know you hate it all

Stay a foal for just a tad

From all our missions big and small

This is the strangest of them all

That doesn’t matter, ‘cause we’ll get

Our cutie marks real quick, you bet

Have no fear, have no fear

‘Cause your family loves you dear

We are always by your side

And there’s nothing really weird

Our friendship’s never been so strong

It’s almost as if you belong

In the cutie family

As happy as you’ll ever be

The song was slow and soothing to the ears. Scootaloo felt herself blinking more than once, but forced herself to stay awake, curious for the next couplet. Sweetie Belle’s silky soft voice brought the words to Scootaloo’s ears, only amplifying the peaceful emotions that drifted through her head. The words were so well-chosen, it was as if Sweetie Belle had read her mind. The bliss lingered for a long time, and Scootaloo closed her eyes.

“Wow. Did you make that song yourself?” Apple Bloom asked, her voice shrunken to a whisper as she didn’t want to disturb Scootaloo’s moment of happiness.

“I did,” Sweetie Belle said. “I thought of it yesterday evening. I couldn’t sleep, and felt that I should write a song about all of this.” She nodded with her head towards Scootaloo. “It’s such a special moment, don’t you think? A special moment which deserves a special song.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “It’s beautiful.”

“Thanks. Maybe I’ll make an instrumental version as well, when we are going to get music lessons from Octavia and Vinyl.”

The names Octavia and Vinyl Scratch conjured up that peculiar memory in Scootaloo’s mind. Once again she saw her DJ hero lie down on the changing table, with Octavia by her side. The image was still marked in her mind, but now, Scootaloo felt differently about it. Now she understood just what it was Octavia and Vinyl were doing. Now she understood what Vinyl was feeling. Now she understood the ultimate goal of foal playing. Once again, Scootaloo closed her eyes. She felt as if there was nothing in Equestria which could disturb her moment. Gradually, a sound came to Scootaloo’s ears; a sound she couldn’t quite place. Was it the last notes of Sweetie Belle’s song? Was it the rustle of the wind in the bushes and trees? Was it the sound of the stroller’s wheels on the dirt road? Or was it all in Scootaloo’s head? Whatever it was, it became louder. Soon, the rustle was a distant whooshing sound, coming closer and closer. The unthinkable happened, as a voice called from above—a voice Scootaloo knew all too well. Under any other circumstance, Scootaloo would have loved to hear it, to let it fill her up with pure ecstasy. Now, however, it filled her with nothing but horror.

“Hey, there, CMC’s, what are you doing?” Rainbow Dash called from above. “Are you taking care of the baby Cakes?”

Everypony’s head shot up, but at the last moment, Scootaloo realized that she should lay low. Rainbow Dash couldn’t yet see her. The feelings of peace and tranquility were shattered, chased out of her mind by fear. Where at first her head had been empty and calm, now it was filled with only one thought, Please go away, please go away, please go away. There was nothing she could do but wish.

But it was in vain. Before anypony could do anything, Rainbow Dash landed on the ground and looked who was lying inside the stroller. “Hello little Pumpkin and Pou— WHAT?!”

Instead of two cute foals, there was Scootaloo. Her frightened look met Rainbow Dash’s, and she was flabbergasted. The CMC’s got a déjà vu feeling, as Rainbow Dash showed the exact same reaction as they themselves had done when they saw Octavia and Vinyl Scratch foal playing.

Rainbow Dash stood rooted to the ground. Nopony moved. Was this Rainbow Dash’s pupil? Was this the scooter-stunting, awesome filly who Rainbow Dash found the coolest of all the fillies she knew? But what was she doing in the stroller? Why was she dressed up like a foal? Those were questions Rainbow Dash could have asked herself, and which she could have asked to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. But instead, she laughed.

“HAHAHA! What?! That’s just… WHAT?!”

Rainbow Dash fell on her back, clutching her stomach as she let out another burst of laughter.

“I can’t believe it! Why are you… HAHAHA!” she did try to ask some questions, but soon gave up, as her chuckles kept interrupting her over and over again.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other; they had no idea what to do. Scootaloo felt her belly burning. It wasn’t a soft, gentle glow, as the one she’d felt when Pinkie had given her a bottle of milk. No, this was the savage fire of shame, burning in her body and devouring every drop of self-confidence and dignity Scootaloo possessed. It felt bad. Scootaloo wished she was a unicorn and could use a spell to make Rainbow Dash forget about what she saw. Fantasies, just fantasies.

The cold, hard reality was that Rainbow Dash had seen her like this, and was now rolling on the ground, her body cramped with laughter. Tears streamed down the corners of Dash’s eyes, as another burst of chuckles came in. She went on like that for a good ten minutes, until she finally calmed down. Standing up, she threw one more glance at the stroller, barely managing to hold back her laughter and collapse on the ground once again. Then she jumped into the air. “Wait ‘till I tell Twilight about this,” she said, more to herself than to the Crusaders. Her wings flapped, and Rainbow Dash flew away.

Silence.

The spell was broken. Scootaloo couldn’t even remember how she had felt just moments ago. She couldn’t remember her bliss and peace; it was all gone. She looked at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, who looked back at her. Nopony spoke. Suddenly, her bad dream came back to her, fueled by the negative emotions she now felt. With a surprising clarity she recalled every horrible minute she had endured that evening. There it was again, the voice.

You can’t even pretend you’re somepony ‘cool’ or ‘awesome.’ Those words don’t belong in your dictionary.

The voice was right. Scootaloo felt everything but cool and awesome, and she was sure that she would never be either of those things again. Rainbow Dash would remember her forever as Scootafoal, just as Scootaloo would remember the picture of DJ Foal-3 lying on the changing table.

You will never be safe anywhere. You will never be cozy or relaxed.

That was right too. She didn’t feel safe anymore; she felt vulnerable. Not even her friends could protect her from the humiliation which would undoubtedly spread like an ink stain through Twilight, through her friends, through the friends of her friends, and soon through all of Ponyville.

Never let your guard down, because you are vulnerable.

Her guard had been down. Despite her friends trying to keep anypony from discovering, somepony had discovered. She should never have agreed to this. The voice was right. The voice was so terribly right.

Scootaloo gazed at nothing. Slowly, a small tear dripped from the corners of her eyes. Then another one. There was no sobbing or wailing or screaming—just silent tears. Scootaloo looked down. “Let’s go home, Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Her voice was cracked and broken. “Please…”

Without another word, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle turned the stroller around. Playtime was over.

Chapter six: the cutie family

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They walked in complete silence. It was an uncomfortable, oppressing silence. Scootaloo still lay inside the stroller on her side, avoiding the gazes of her friends. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle no longer smiled, but looked at their friend with puzzled gazes. They did realize that it would be really awkward for Scootaloo now that somepony found out, but she didn’t even want to look at them, and why was there still the occasional twinkle of tears?

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had only a vague idea about what Scootaloo was truly feeling. For Scootaloo herself, it all came back. The feeling of anxiety and total worthlessness were strangely familiar, and they haunted her. She didn’t want to look at anything anymore. She just wanted to go home and lock herself up. She just wanted to spend time on her own.

The forest disappeared, and they came again close to Ponyville. Open fields accompanied them to the right, and the town came closer and closer. Nevertheless, Scootaloo didn’t sit up or check whether there was somepony walking towards the stroller. She just didn’t care anymore.

It pained Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to see their friend this way, and they wondered what they could do to help her. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle made a small jump, and her eyes twinkled. She cast her glance into the little baby bed, looking for Scootaloo’s eyes. Scootaloo didn’t want to meet her gaze. “Hey, Scootaloo.”

No reaction.

“Scootaloo, I think I have an idea.”

Slowly, Scootaloo turned around and looked back, wiping away some of her tears.

“I know you’re afraid that ponies will start to gossip about us,” Sweetie Belle said, taking a guess at the reason why Scootaloo was so disheveled. “Maybe we should go to the Castle of Friendship, to Twilight.”

Was she serious? Scootaloo couldn’t imagine anything there but more humiliation.

But Sweetie had something else in mind. “If we go to Twilight, we can explain exactly what we are doing, just as Octavia explained herself to us. Remember how we were so flabbergasted at first but then understood it all when Octavia explained everything? Maybe we can do the same. You know, if we’re fast, we might just meet Rainbow Dash there too.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea,” Apple Bloom said. “And in case of emergency we can let them swear not to tell anything.”

It did sound like a good idea to Scootaloo, but she also realized that telling them about their foal play would be very difficult. She would probably be the one who would have to do all the talking, since she was the one who played the foal. It was a solution which wasn’t really a solution at all, but it was the best they could come up with—it was everything they could do. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom still looked at Scootaloo, as she pondered over the option. Slowly, she nodded her head. “Alright. That would probably for the best.” But her voice was still soft and meek.

Apple Bloom dared to smile. “Nice! On towards the Castle of Friendship!”

Taking the next turn, and avoiding the marketplace, the CMC’s walked towards the Castle of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle’s home and the place from where she and her friends went on missions to solve friendship problems wherever the Cutie Map sent them. Now they all walked. Scootaloo had got rid of her dress and her diaper, and was trotting next to her friends. They all realized that their little foal play game was over. Of course they had looked at their flanks with some hope, but there had been nothing to see there; they were still blank flanks. The mission had failed.

The castle came into view. It looked like an enormous, blue tree made out of crystal, bearing a shiny castle with beautiful golden spires and balconies that gleamed in the midday sun. It truly was a castle worthy of a princess. On top shone a bright, crystal star, which resembled Twilight’s cutie mark: a sparkle of magic. There was nopony to be seen, and the Crusaders hoped that Twilight was actually in her castle. If not, they would have to search for Rainbow Dash, and that would be a daunting task; she could be anywhere.

Walking into the shadow of the enormous palace, the CMC’s approached the large golden doors. To their relief, the doors were open. Twilight must be home.

“Twilight?” Apple Bloom called. “We are here! The Cutie mark fami—eh, Crusaders!”

“Coming!” said a voice from a staircase to their right. And soon enough, Twilight Sparkle appeared at the bottom of it. Her look was joyful, but the CMC’s saw that there was something hiding behind it. They realized that Rainbow Dash had already informed her.

“We’ve been expecting you all,” Twilight said, and then they knew for certain. “Follow me everypony.”

Together they climbed the winding staircase, each thinking their own thoughts. Scootaloo was already preparing her explanation, collecting the words in her mind that would most clearly convey her message. It was hard. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, decided to help Scootaloo wherever they could. Of course she wouldn’t be the only one talking.

They entered a large hallway, lined with crystal columns and golden doors. Suddenly, Twilight stopped next to one. The sign above it said, ‘study.’ Twilight opened the door, and they stepped inside.

The study looked just as a study was supposed to look. Lines of bookshelves stood against the wall, and a couple of comfortable chairs stood here and there. Rainbow Dash was already there, sitting in a big armchair. She didn’t look that bored at all; apparently she hadn’t been here for that long. Seeing Scootaloo once more, Rainbow Dash suppressed some laughter—barely. Even though Scootaloo wasn’t wearing her baby outfit anymore, the picture still lingered clearly in Dash’s mind.

“Have a seat,” Twilight said. “There’s some lemonade if you want.”

The CMC’s declined and sat down next to each other. Scootaloo didn’t dare to look Rainbow Dash in the eyes, staring instead at the thick red carpet. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at Twilight, wondering what would happen during this conversation. Twilight sat down.

Scootaloo had already decided that she would be the first one to speak, so that’s what she did. “You told her everything, didn’t you?” she said to Rainbow Dash.

“Of course,” Dash said with a broad smile. “I can’t just keep a joke like that to myself.” Rainbow Dash felt another burst of laughter bubble up in her belly. Her face already contorted in a funny way.

But Scootaloo didn’t laugh along, and neither did her friends. Twilight Sparkle had wanted to brush it off as just a joke. One of those jokes that is really ridiculous, but one of those jokes you could laugh about later with friends. That was not going to work, Twilight saw. She tapped Rainbow Dash on the shoulder and shook her head. At the last moment, Dash regained control of her chuckles. With a puzzled look on her face, Dash looked at Twilight, then at Scootaloo. “What? You can take a good joke, right, Scoot?”

“I don’t think it’s really a joke, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Why don’t we let the Crusaders do the talking?”

“Alright,” Dash said, turning to the CMC’s with a curious sparkle in her eyes.

Then, the Cutie Mark Crusaders told Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash everything they wanted about their mission. They told them about their idea to start foal playing themselves, and how Scootaloo had turned out to be the one who would have to play the baby. Of course they added the reason why they had done foal play in the first place; to get their cutie marks. That was a reason both Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle had guessed right away.

“But how in Equestria did you come to that idea?” Twilight asked. She didn’t sound concerned or amused at all, just curious.

That, of course, was something they couldn’t say, so the exact origins of their foal play idea remained a mystery to both Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. Now everything became clear to Twilight and Dash. They still thought that the foal play was funny and strange, but now they also saw exactly why the Crusaders had done it. The CMC’s really had a déjà vu feeling, and each of them had Vinyl and Octavia in mind.

“It still sounds weird,” Rainbow Dash said. “You must have had a terrible time, Scoot.”

“At first it was terrible,” Scootaloo said. Her voice was still soft and fragile, but she did her best to speak clearly. At last she looked at Rainbow Dash. “At first it was really humiliating, but then I realized that it’s not about being a baby, it’s about being a family. That feeling of… calmness was so nice, and it looked as if I really had a family.” Those last words didn’t leave Scootaloo’s mind alone. She repeated them. “It looked as if I really… as if I really…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. Tears appeared in her eyes again, and her head drooped down.

Her friends looked at her with worried gazes. This was the Scootaloo whose deepest desires had been broken, after Rainbow Dash had discovered her. They recognized her mood, and saw that she was tormented by the same feeling as before.

Rainbow Dash was no longer on the edge of laughter. Seeing Scootaloo’s tear-struck face, she knew that she was having a hard time, whatever it was she felt. All Dash wanted to do now was to help Scootaloo. Standing up, Rainbow Dash stepped next to her, and laid a wing on her shoulders, as if she wanted to cover up all of the sadness Scootaloo felt, blowing them away with a flap of her wings. “Hey, come on, Scootaloo, don’t be sad. I don’t think you’re a wuss. You know, I think it makes perfect sense.”

But it wasn’t just the fact that Rainbow Dash had seen Scootaloo in baby clothes, Twilight Sparkle saw that. She bent forward, trying to meet Scootaloo’s gaze. “Scootaloo, is there something you want to tell us?” she said, her voice serious but gentle.

Rainbow Dash retracted her wings, and then used the tip feathers to wipe away Scootaloo’s tears. “We all wanna help you, Scootaloo.”

This was the moment Scootaloo had both dreaded and expected. She had to tell the whole story now. If she truly wanted to have a shot at gaining back that feeling of peace and security, she had to tell them everything. Scootaloo took a few deep breaths, started to say a word, heard how cracked her voice still sounded, and took more breaths. Then she started her tale.

“This is a story none of you know, because I hate to share it. In fact, I’ve never told it to anypony else before. It is my own dark secret.” Scootaloo paused. She forced her voice to sound natural, but only partly succeeded. Nevertheless, she continued. “I was feeling like we really were a family, because I’ve never had a family—a family in which I could grow up happily and without troubles, I mean. Of course I had a father and a mother, back when I lived in Cloudsdale. Back when I was still little. But… but…”

Rainbow Dash once more laid her wing on Scootaloo; she saw her fighting against new tears.

The tears burned in Scootaloo’s eyes, as the mental picture of her mother and father reached her mind’s eye. She blinked the tears away and gritted her teeth. She had to continue. “My father… he was a very bad pony. He did… he did… bad things. Things I won’t tell you all now, maybe later. He said mean things to me, and sometimes he… he...” Scootaloo couldn’t finish her sentence; the dark memories drove her words out of her mind. She moved on. “And my mother, she couldn’t do anything. She was always sick, and couldn’t stop my father when he would fly into a rage. One day, she couldn’t take it anymore, and she… she…”

A burst of tears interrupted Scootaloo’s story. She grabbed Rainbow Dash’s wing and buried her face in it, but her muffled sobs could clearly be heard.

“It’s okay, Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash said. “You don’t have to tell us things you don’t want us to know. As long as you can get something off your chest, you’re doing a good job.”

Scootaloo nodded. She swallowed hard, and then continued. “Things got only worse from there. My dad started to blame me for everything. Every day he would yell and fight and scream. He didn’t leave me alone, not once. He never picked me up from school, and he never let me do my homework in silence. I often went to the skate park, just to get away from him, if only for an hour or two. The skate park was the only place where I really felt at home. I had friends there, and I could have fun with them, stunting with Scooters and skateboards.” Although that last part sounded hopeful, Scootaloo had trouble recounting it. She swallowed again. “But… but in the end, my teacher at school found out about the terrible situation at home somehow. He had his suspicions. He managed to call the authorities, and they took dad away, locked him up somewhere. I didn’t really care at that time, and I think I still don’t.”

“But how did you get to Ponyville?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“The people of childcare in Cloudsdale were really nice. They got me a foster family, and they were also really friendly. They treated me well, but I still felt like I had lost something. At that time, I just wanted to be alone. All my life I had been abused, and the feeling of a warm and loving family was so foreign to me… it scared me. I had to go, I couldn’t help it. I just… had to. One day, there was a hot air balloon festival down in Ponyville, and one of the balloons, which was operated by a pegasus, stopped in Cloudsdale for a while. That was when I seized my chance. I packed up everything I needed, hopped into the air balloon, and descended down to the ground. I had left everypony behind, but I was finally alone. The few days after that were miserable. I didn’t do much, I just roamed the streets and the roads aimlessly. In the end, my foster family found me tramping on the road, and I explained everything to them. They respected my wishes, as they could see that I didn’t belong in their family. And I don’t mean this the negative way, it’s just that I was… too scarred. My foster family let me go to Ponyville, but of course they still supported me. I went to school here in Ponyville, and then I met you guys.” Scootaloo paused and looked at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, while a small smile appeared on her face. “That was the best thing that could ever happen to me.”

“But, what about your foster family? Don’t they miss you very much?” Twilight asked.

“I visit them from time to time,” Scootaloo said. “But once the CMC’s and I built the clubhouse together, I stayed there at night. There I can be alone with my thoughts. That is my home. I have so much fun with my friends, trying out different things every day to get my cutie mark, and finding out who I really am. That is definitely something I could never have done with my dad.”

Scootaloo paused. Her friends looked at her as if they’d just met. All those days, and they had never even asked her about her past. Now that they thought of it, every time they had talked about family or friends, Scootaloo had changed the subject as quickly as she could. Now everything made sense. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were also flabbergasted. They had never thought that behind such an energetic, adventurous filly hid a past as terrible as this one.

Scootaloo sighed, and looked at her friends’ gazes. “Don’t worry, everypony, I’m alright, I really am.”

“But you looked so distressed when Rainbow Dash discovered you,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yes.” Scootaloo lowered her head, but then looked once more in her friends’ eyes. “We were a family, all of us together. The moment when we went outside for that walk, I experienced such a great feeling: the feeling of a warm and loving and caring family. Of course I had been treated nicely before, in my foster family, but with our foal play and all, it felt… different. It was caring and loving on a whole new level. I felt… I felt as if I redid my childhood, as if I started over again, and as if I could grow up from a foal to a filly without the screaming and yelling and abuse.” She smiled at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “With you guys.”

That was something everypony in the study could understand. Scootaloo’s story hit everypony hard, and their expressions were serious and understanding. Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She had been the one who had whisked away Scootaloo’s feeling of inner peace. She was to blame. Stepping back, Rainbow Dash looked Scootaloo right in the eyes. “I’m so sorry, Scootaloo. I’m sorry that I laughed at you all. I had no idea that this whole game of yours was so serious, and I should have behaved myself. I thought it was just a joke, that Scootaloo had lost a bet or something.”

Scootaloo looked back at her mentor, flashing a small smile. “Don’t be sorry, Rainbow Dash, it’s alright. Thanks to you I have told everypony here about my past, which I would otherwise never have done. At least something good has come out of it, I suppose.”

“So… We’re cool?”

“We’re cool, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said, bumping her hoof against Dash’s, and thanks to this small hoof bump, Scootaloo finally did feel cool again, a feeling which had been suppressed for what felt like years.

But that didn’t take away the shock everypony still felt upon hearing about Scootaloo’s terrible childhood. Apple Bloom was the one who was most impressed by Scootaloo’s tale. All her life Apple Bloom had been in a lovely, caring, hardworking family, and she couldn’t imagine living without them. The contrast was just too big for her. Apple Bloom felt some tears burning in her eyes too but blinked them away. She wanted to help Scootaloo, and not cry; she would accomplish nothing with crying. She just wished that she could do something for Scootaloo, to help her with her lost childhood. She remembered her lying in the stroller, so peaceful, so relaxed. Until Rainbow Dash had shown up, and then the spell had been broken.

The spell had been broken…

A spell…

Carried by that single word, the idea shot like Pinkie’s party cannon into her head.

“A spell!” Apple Bloom cried.

A collective, “Huh?” came from everypony.

“What do you mean, Apple Bloom?” Twilight said. Nopony had an idea what she meant.

“Do you remember your magic duel with Trixie?” Apple Bloom said. She spoke so quickly and enthusiastically that everypony had to concentrate to follow her.

“Yes,” Twilight said.

“Well, Trixie used an age spell on Snips and Snails to turn them older and younger. Maybe you could use that same spell on Scootaloo to make her younger as well. That way, she can still redo her childhood and grow up without abuse.”

That was something Twilight hadn’t expected. Her eyes went wide. “Whoa, whoa, Apple Bloom. Those spells are only for the highest level unicorns to cast.”

Sweetie Belle saw what was happening here, and backed her friend up. “But you are a highest level unicorn, right? I mean, you’re an alicorn, your magic is amazing!”

“Well, thank you, Sweetie Belle, but I don’t think—“

“Can you do it or not?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well, I… eh...”

“Is that a yes?” Apple Bloom said. She was determined to get an answer.

Twilight felt the pressure of the rapid questions, accompanied by everypony’s hopeful gaze, weighing down on her shoulders. She sought in her head for a way out, an excuse, a way to avoid the question or the answer altogether. But nothing came to her. Twilight Sparkle was pinned down. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and said, “Yes, I can do it.”

Sweetie Belle jumped up, looking almost as excited as Apple Bloom now. “Why so sad Twilight? Isn’t that great? You can give Scootaloo what she always wanted.”

Twilight opened her eyes and looked at the CMC’s. “Yes, I understand what you want, but an age spell is so very drastic. I… I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do.”

“Of course it’s the right thing to do,” Apple Bloom said. “When you turn Scootaloo into a foal, we can take care of her. Then we can still be the cutie family.”

There was a pause, followed by a pensive silence. Twilight thought about everything that had been said. Of course she could do an age spell on Scootaloo, but the moral responsibility of such a thing made Twilight Sparkle unable to decide. What would her foster family think? What would Princess Celestia think? Princess Celestia knew the CMC’s, and Twilight couldn’t even imagine what her reaction would be.

Then Rainbow Dash broke the silence. “You know, Scootaloo, as much as I would like having you under my wing, I think you should do what you think is best. Twilight, why not let Scootaloo decide? Seems like a good idea to me.”

“Yeah, what do you say, Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom said. The next instant, all eyes were aimed at Scootaloo.

Right now, at this very moment, she could get what she always wanted. Scootaloo realized what an enormous decision she had to make; the most important decision in her entire life. Here was her chance, her chance to do everything over. A chance at being treated like a child without the fear of looking ridiculous. A chance at a loving family: her friends. And of course, a chance at getting her friends a cutie mark. Scootaloo knew that she would probably not get her cutie mark at such a young age, but she did realize that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would have a shot at getting one. There were so many good reasons to do it, to turn into a foal and live a complete life. Scootaloo looked at her friends. They wanted nothing more than to see her happy, and smiled at her.

And then, with the image of her friends in mind, Scootaloo made a decision.

“No.”

Everypony let out a long gasp. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were the loudest of them all, as their expressions changed to surprise quicker than a falling star. “What? Why not?” Apple Bloom said.

“Because… I don’t wanna lose you all. If I would turn into a foal, I wouldn’t remember you guys, or Rainbow Dash, or Twilight, or any of the others. I would never be able to do awesome scooter tricks with Rainbow Dash, or let Twilight teach me things, or go to a Wonderbolts flight show, or try all kinds of crazy things to earn a cutie mark,” Scootaloo said with a grin.

“But… what about your childhood?” Apple Bloom said. “We can always be friends again when you grow up. All of us would grant you your foalhood, we’re all prepared to give you that, right guys?”

They all nodded, even though Rainbow Dash secretly found it a shame to have to wait for Scootaloo to grow up before they could play games and do the things they loved to do together.

“It’s alright, guys, really,” Scootaloo said, and she meant it. “I know my childhood was really bad, but that’s in the past now. I know I could get something that I’d lost, but I also know that I would lose something that I’ve gained: you guys. You guys are my family now, my family and my friends. I wouldn’t want to lose you all for all the childhood years in Equestria.”

Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh of relief, but it was immediately followed by an, “Aw!”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom suddenly stood up, grabbed Scootaloo, and embraced her tightly. “If that’s what you really want, then it’s alright with me,” Apple Bloom said.

“And with me too,” Sweetie Belle added.

Now Rainbow Dash and Twilight stood up, and joined in as well. They stood like that for a while, keeping each other in the warmest, most genuine embrace. Right at that moment, Scootaloo knew she had made the right decision.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash let go. In her opinion, the embrace had lasted long enough; any longer and it would be too sappy for her. She jumped up, flapped her wings, and hovered in the air. “Alright, Scootaloo, let’s make up for that silly foal play of yours by practicing some awesome stunts!”

Scootaloo looked up and smiled. “Sounds good!”

Swooping down, Rainbow Dash threw Scootaloo onto her back, and flew out the door. Cries of cheerful laughter echoed in the study for a few seconds, before that too, faded away, just like Scootaloo’s dark memories of years gone by.

“Well, I’m glad that everything worked out in the end,” Sweetie Belle said, when the echo was all gone.

“Me too,” Twilight said. “And if you fillies ever need any help, you can always come to me. It doesn’t matter what it is. As you can see, I have a solution to any problem, and sometimes the solution can be as simple as talking about your fears or worries.” She threw a wink at the Crusaders.

“Well, we all still have a problem,” Apple Bloom said.

Twilight’s smile disappeared. Did Apple Bloom have something serious and important to say too? Another psychological problem?

“We still don’t have a cutie mark!”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Twilight rolled her eyes. She stood up. “Come on, everypony, I might just have something that you like.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle trotted after her, eager to try something new. Of course, their minds were still with Scootaloo, but they also knew that she would be alright. Tonight they would be together again as friends—but, after these strange days, as family too.

THE END

The Cutie Family

by Elkia Deerling

Chapter one: a great idea

Chapter two: an unusual surprise

Chapter three: another great idea

Chapter four: it's a filly!

Chapter five: foal play day

Chapter six: the cutie family