Latch-Key Kid
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle could hardly believe their luck when they found another pony in their class that they had something in common with: Namely the fact that said pony lacked a cutie mark. Upon learning that the pony was a bow wearing earth pony filly named Apple Bloom, it hadn't taken much for Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to introduce themselves to her and become friends. And they had soon agreed to form their own club of sorts: The Cutie Mark Crusaders.
On a day not long after establishing their club, the three founding members met up after school to chat. In particular, there was something that Apple Bloom really wanted to do. "Now that we're friends and everythin', I reckon it's about time we all had a sleepover together." She proposed as she and her fellow Crusaders rested together under the shade of a tree.
Sweetie Belle was quick to agree to the proposal. "That sounds delightful! Scootaloo and I had a sleepover soon after we became friends, and it was a lot of fun."
Scootaloo nodded her head and added her sentiments. "Yeah, it was great! We should definitely have one now that we're all friends and go crusading together," Yet she then pondered aloud. "But where should we have it? Whose house are we gonna sleep over at?"
Sweetie Belle immediately ruled herself out. "It can't be me. My parents are out of town, again," It was possible to detect the faintest hint of resentment and regret in her voice. "And Rarity's really busy, too busy to foalsit us at her place."
"Okay, so how about Apple Bloom's house?" Scootaloo suggested. "It seems like it'd be big enough for all three of us. Plus, I've never really been on a farm before."
But Apple Bloom hesitated. "I don't know, Scootaloo. There really ain't much for us to do around the farm without gettin' in the way of my family," And then she turned to the pegasus filly. "Besides, I don't think I've ever been to your place before or seen your folks at all. I know I've seen Sweetie Belle's parents around town once or twice. Didn't Sweetie Belle say you used to live in Cloudsdale?"
"Well, yeah, but..." The tomboyish pegasus trailed off, apparently struggling to think of a good counter argument.
Sweetie smiled. "I think a sleepover at your place is a great idea, Scootaloo! Your parents are nice, and I think Apple Bloom would like them too. I don't see what's wrong with you hosting the sleepover this time."
Scootaloo swallowed hard. "Well, there's just one problem. My parents aren't going to be home. Sometimes, because of their jobs, they have to travel all over Equestria to help study strange plants and wildlife."
The farm filly shot Scootaloo a puzzled look. "So? Don't you have somepony who comes over and watches you when that happens? I mean, Sweetie Belle always has Rarity to watch over her when their parents aren't home."
Scootaloo shook her head from side to side. "I don't have any siblings, I'm an only child."
"But there must be somepony your parents trust to look after you," Sweetie commented, and then put a hoof to her chin as she struggled to recall something she thought she'd overheard once. "Didn't you say you had family besides your parents? Something about aunts?"
The tomboyish filly reluctantly confessed. "Yeah, there's Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty. Aunt Holiday's actually my dad's older sister, and Auntie Lofty is her special somepony."
"Oh." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle remarked in realization at the same time, but said nothing more on the subject.
"Yeah, it was kind of a surprise to our family when we found out. But we got used to it," Scootaloo replied. "And they're pretty nice, most of the time. I just... don't know if I wanna introduce you two to them right now," A blush formed on her cheeks as her face turned a shade of pink. "Sometimes, they can be a little bit embarrassing. Even more so than my parents. I know they don't mean to, but it seems like they just can't help themselves."
Apple Bloom then protested. "So? You think we'll make fun of you for it? We're friends now, Scootaloo. We ain't like Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."
And Sweetie chimed in. "Besides, Scootaloo, my parents do embarrassing things all the time and you've never teased me for it," A bright smile formed on her face. "Your aunts sound like they're nice ponies. You have told them about us, right?"
"No, actually," Scootaloo reluctantly responded. "I haven't had a chance to yet. They live kind of far away from Ponyville, you have to take a train out to go see them," Then a sigh escaped her lips as she could sense where this conversation was heading. "I guess if you two really wanna meet them, we can have the sleepover at my place. I'm pretty sure they won't mind. And you girls are gonna love Auntie Lofty's cooking, it's truly the best!"
"Looks like it's settled, then," The farm filly firmly insisted. "Guess Sweetie Belle and I will be seein' you at your place tomorrow for our official Cutie Mark Crusaders sleepover." And so the arrangements were made.
Next day came, and the time flew by until at last the sleepover was slated to begin. When the time drew near, Scootaloo met up with her fellow Crusaders and somewhat hesitantly took the lead in ushering them along (even though Sweetie Belle at least already knew the way). It wasn't long before the three fillies approached a house defined by its Cloudsdale-like columns in the front.
"So this is where you live, huh, Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom remarked as her eyes observed her surroundings. "Looks pretty nice, really."
Scootaloo nodded back quite slowly. "Yeah. It's not anything fancy like Carousel Boutique, but it's one of the nicer houses here in Ponyville. It helps that it's not too far from the Everfree Forest, so Mom and Dad can go there whenever they want to do more studying. Ponies like them, they're not afraid of anything!"
Sweetie Belle then asked. "So, did you tell your aunts about us? Did they say it was okay if we had our sleepover here?" (Rarity had taught her that it was rude to go anyplace where you were not invited.)
The tomcoltish pegasus pony again nodded slowly. "Yeah, I did. And they said it'd be fine. In fact, they're probably waiting for us right now. Just promise me that if they get super embarrassing, you girls won't laugh."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both said at once. "We won't." It was hard to tell whether they were sincere or not, though. Then again, neither of them knew yet what to expect.
More or less satisfied with the response from her fellow Crusaders, Scootaloo trotted up to the front door of her house and knocked gently on it three times.
The door was soon answered and swung open, and out trotted a rather bulky earth pony (about as plump as Mrs. Cake in fact) and a sturdy pegasus. The earth pony was wearing a light blue scarf around her neck, while the pegasus had a periwinkle colored sweater that ran from her neck down to her front hooves and across her body to just past the wings.
"Girls," Scootaloo cleared her throat. "Meet my Aunt Holiday and my Auntie Lofty. Aunt Holiday, Auntie Lofty, meet my new friends and Cutie Mark Crusaders: Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle." Gesturing to the ponies, it was soon clear to tell which was which: Holiday was the earth pony with a soft, pale amber coat. She had eyes a lovely shade of scarlet, a curly mane and tail in shades of brilliant scarlet and light orangish-red, and a cutie mark depicting a sailboat and the sun. Lofty was the pegasus with a very pale yellow coat. Her eyes were a shade of grayish-green, her two shaded bluish-green mane and tail were cut short, and her cutie mark depicted a needle and a spool of blue colored thread.
Aunt Holiday was the first to speak up, having a noticeable accent. "Well, well, so you've finally gone and made some friends, Scootaloo?" Her tone of voice sounded sweet, gentle, and most of all welcoming. "That's lovely. Kind of reminds me of Lofty and myself when we were your age, actually."
Auntie Lofty then spoke up, her voice noticeably lacking the accent. "So nice to see you getting out there and taking charge of your life, slugger." She cooed while running a hoof through her niece's mane.
Scootaloo groaned as she gently brushed Lofty's hoof aside. "Auntie Lofty, you promised you wouldn't do that in front of my friends!" She whined.
"Sorry, slugger," Auntie Lofty appeared to sincerely apologize. "Couldn't help myself. Still, I'm happy that you've made friends in such a short amount of time. A pony your age needs lots of friends."
"What was the name of that little club of yours again?" Aunt Holiday then asked Scootaloo. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders, was it?"
Apple Bloom proudly stepped forward and declared. "Yup! We've dedicated ourselves to gettin' our cutie marks, no matter what it takes! I figured that since the three of us were all blank flanks, it'd be best if we stuck together."
Holiday flashed a warm smile. "That's lovely. Reminds me of when Lofty and I were in the filly guide together. To think, that's where I'd meet the love of my life."
Lofty chuckled. "It sure was a good thing you met me when you did, Holiday. You stuck out like a sore hoof, you could barely do anything before I taught you how to do it!"
Holiday ribbed a hoof against her special somepony. "Lofty, you exaggerate. If anything, before I met you you hadn't come out of your shell."
Scootaloo coughed into a hoof, eager to break up the playful teasing before it started to become really embarrassing. "Well, we're just gonna go inside and get set up in my room now if that's okay."
Aunt Holiday nodded. "It certainly is, Scootaloo. Lofty and I will get started on dinner. You growing fillies need your nutrition after all."
And Auntie Lofty added with a wink. "And if you fillies are good at cleaning off your plates, I'll let you have my famous homemade cookies."
"Ooh!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle excitedly exclaimed! Who in their right mind would say no to cookies?
After leading her fellow fillies and Crusaders to her bedroom, Scootaloo helped both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle get their sleeping bags set up on the floor.
"Hey, remember when we had our first sleepover here, and you accidentally hit your mom with a pillow during our pillow fight?" Sweetie Belle asked Scootaloo as the memory came flooding back to her in an instant. "Feels like that was only yesterday."
"I'll bet I could totally woop the both of you if we had a pillow fight tonight!" Apple Bloom boasted! "I'm a pillow fightin' champion! Ask anypony, they'll tell ya."
Scootaloo gulped. "I don't know if Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty would be okay with us having a pillow fight. They're a lot more strict about enforcing bedtime and lights out. I don't wanna get into any trouble."
Sweetie Belle blinked in surprise. "What trouble, Scootaloo? Your aunts seem pretty nice so far."
"Yeah, and I'd rather keep it that way," Scootaloo insisted. "I know for a fact that if I misbehave at all, they'll tell Mom and Dad, and they won't be happy."
"Sounds like your parents are pretty easy going, actually," Sweetie commented. "I wish my parents were around even half as much as yours, not that there's anything wrong with staying at Rarity's."
And Apple Bloom couldn't help but add. "At least you two have parents. I don't know much about my folks other than that they passed away when I was really young," Not wanting to dwell on the subject, she quickly changed it to one that she felt was suitable to ask. "So, what do your aunts do when they're not watchin' ya, Scootaloo? Do they have jobs?"
Scootaloo confirmed with a slow nod. "Yeah. I don't know much 'cause I haven't really asked. But I do know this much: Aunt Holiday runs her own travel agency, and Auntie Lofty makes her own quilts, blankets and sweaters to sell," Then she put a hoof to her chin. "You think maybe we could try doing what Auntie Lofty does and see if we get our cutie marks for that? I'm really not sure if we could get our cutie marks for running a travel agency."
"I wouldn't know the first thing about travelin' or sewin'," Apple Bloom protested. "Big Mac's the only one in the family who's at all good with a needle. He just uses it to sew up seed and feed bags if they get holes in 'em. Otherwise, the most I've seen him do is use tools to make some repairs around the farm."
But Sweetie Belle smiled. "I'll bet Rarity could give us sewing lessons if I asked her nicely! She makes it look so easy! I actually wanna be just like her when I grow up!"
"Well I wanna be more like my sister Applejack!" Apple Bloom boasted! "She's strong, good with a lasso, and she ain't afraid of anythin'!"
Scootaloo buzzed her tiny wings in excitement! "They've got nothing on Rainbow Dash! She's as cool as my parents and my aunts, and without any of the embarrassing stuff! Everything she does is awesome! I know for a fact she'll be captain of the Wonderbolts someday!"
"When she's not busy sleepin' on the job as a weatherpony." Apple Bloom teased with a snicker.
"She doesn't sleep on the job that often!" Scootaloo protested as her eyes narrowed! "You take that back!"
Apple Bloom just grinned. "It's the truth, Scootaloo. Applejack's always tellin' me about the times she catches Rainbow Dash sleepin' on a cloud or in a tree somewhere. I'm honestly surprised she ever has time for anythin' else."
Luckily, before the argument could escalate any further, Auntie Lofty called from down the hall. "Dinner's ready, my little ponies!"
And Aunt Holiday called out. "Make sure to wash up before dinner. I don't want any dirty hooves at the dinner table. That goes double for you, Scootaloo. You know what happened last time."
"Aunt Holiday!" Scootaloo whined as she heard Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle faintly laughing (even though they'd said they wouldn't).
Soon afterward, all three fillies were seated at the dinner table as Aunt Holiday took the liberty of placing plates of steaming, fresh, cut-up vegetables in front of them. "Growing fillies like you need their nutrition," She told them in a rather serious (yet still gentle) tone of voice. "This is all I'm making for the evening, so either you eat this or you go hungry."
Auntie Lofty sat down next to Holiday, adding her own sentiments. "A deal's a deal: You fillies need to eat your vegetables, or else I can't give you my cookies. My darling Holiday's just trying to make sure you don't fill up on junk food. You don't wanna end up like her." She delivered the last line with a playful smirk and ribbed the earth pony with a hoof.
Aunt Holiday just played it off. "Oh come now, Lofty. You know I do my best to watch my weight. I can't help it if your cooking's that good! Besides, you said you love me just the way I am. Or does a certain somepony wanna sleep on the couch tonight?"
Lofty seemed to playfully tease back. "You wouldn't dare!"
Holiday only vaguely replied with a wink. "Keep teasing me, and you'll find out."
"Oh, you're no fun, Holiday!" Lofty retorted. "Why do you always have to make me the bad guy, huh?"
As this little "argument" was going on, the Crusaders ate their dinner in relative silence. But in between bites, Apple Bloom couldn't help but whisper to Scootaloo. "Are your aunts always like this?"
Scootaloo whispered back after making sure her aunts weren't watching her. "Sometimes. They're just weird like that. I guess it's just something ponies do when they're in love. Mom and Dad do this sometimes too, just not as much."
"Well, they do seem nice," Sweetie Belle whispered her own sentiments. "I don't see why you didn't initially want us to have our sleepover here with them watching us. I think it's sweet that you have them to watch over you whenever your parents are away."
"It is pretty nice of them, don't get me wrong," Scootaloo insisted as she continued to speak in a hushed tone of voice. "It's just that at times like this they can be a little bit too much."
Just then, Holiday spoke up. "I hear voices, but I don't hear ponies eating. Don't tell me you fillies are done already."
"Guess I baked those fresh cookies for nothing," Lofty added. "Oh well, guess that just means my darling Holiday and i will have to eat them all ourselves."
"NO!" All three fillies shouted in protest, and quickly went back to eating as they decided it best to drop their conversation.
Watching the Crusaders eat, Holiday flashed Lofty a knowing wink as she whispered. "Works every time."
And Lofty winked and whispered back. "It sure does, dear."
When dinner was finished, Auntie Lofty was as good as her word and served all three Crusaders a plate full of freshly baked homemade cookies.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were blown away by how delicious the cookies tasted! Nothing they'd ever sampled before could compare, not even the many sweet and savory treats at Sugarcube Corner.
However, because the cookies were so good, the fillies didn't exactly practice the best table manners. By the time the last cookies had been devoured, their faces were full of crumbs.
Auntie Lofty just giggled as she retrieved a washcloth, and wiped the faces of the Crusaders clean in the blink of an eye. "Goodness, you three snared down those cookies!" She exclaimed with only slightly exaggerated shock!
"Thanks for letting us have them, Auntie Lofty," Scootaloo replied as she got up from the table and gave her fellow pegasus a hug. "Your cookies are always the best! What's your secret?"
"Yeah, tell us!" Apple Bloom eagerly encouraged! "Maybe we could try bakin' them ourselves and get our cutie marks that way."
"Oh, I don't know about that," Aunt Holiday cautioned in a noticeably more concerned tone of voice. "Letting you fillies handle a hot oven doesn't sound like a good idea. Besides, Lofty didn't get her cutie mark for baking cookies. You three shouldn't be in a rush to get your cutie marks. You're only young once, you know."
Sweetie Belle protested. "But it's so unfair when we're practically the only ponies left in our class who don't have their cutie marks yet! Do you have any idea how hard it is to deal with the stares and the comments?"
"Foals will be foals." Lofty replied.
And Holiday added. "I'm sure most of them don't mean to be rude. And even for the ones who did, you should just ignore them. Lofty and I were blank flanks when we were in the filly guide, and we turned out just fine. I'm sure you fillies will get your cutie marks someday, and when you do you'll agree it was well worth the wait."
Scootaloo let out a sigh and a groan. "Yeah, that's what everypony keeps saying. I'm sure they're probably kind of right, but they just don't understand how hard it is to just wait. Cutie marks don't come if you just sit around and do nothing."
Holiday smiled. "But fussing over them all the time isn't good either. You should want to do things because they're fun, not just because they'll get you your cutie marks," And she reassured the fillies. "Lofty and I can't stop you from being you. Just try to remember that there's more to life than cutie marks. Cutie marks are important, but they're not the only thing to fret about in life."
"I couldn't agree more, my darling Holiday," Lofty chimed in. "You three have a bond that's special, just like the one Holiday and I add when we met as blank flanks. We never knew what our cutie marks would be, but we never let that stop us. And knowing you three, I'm sure that when you do get your cutie marks, they'll suit you all just right."
Then Holiday clapped her hooves. "Alright, I think that's enough cutie mark talk for now. It is starting to get late."
"Aw, but it's not a school night!" Scootaloo whined in protest.
"You don't have to go to bed yet, slugger," Lofty pointed out. "You and your friends have at least another hour before then," And she said with a wink. "I don't suppose you'd let Holiday and I join your pillow fight?"
"You knew?!" Apple Bloom exclaimed in shock!
Holiday nodded. "We have our ways of knowing. Normally, Lofty and I wouldn't want you fillies fighting, but the occasional pillow fight at a sleepover sounds good. Lofty and I used to get into them all the time together."
"And nine times out of ten, I'd whoop your sorry flank!" Lofty teased!
"Funny, that's not how I remember them." Holiday teased back.