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                      Picture Perfect                      
                   -by PRlNCESS CADENCE-                   
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               Chapter 1: Scootaloo's Dream                
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Chapter 1: Scootaloo's Dream
To the girl who didn’t think she could do it…
…to the girl who didn’t think she was pretty enough…
…this one’s for you…
“Hurry, Scootaloo!” the filly’s mother called out.
Scootaloo and her mother were out in the market on a brisk Saturday afternoon. The purple-maned pegasus foal loved Saturdays. She was still too young to be going to school at the time; she just loved them because they were one of the few times a week when she would actually be able to spend time with her mother. Scootaloo was raised by a single mom who worked two jobs just to pay for them to live and hardly got to spend any time bonding with her mommy.
The filly’s attention had been locked onto a beautiful young mare on the cover of the local newspaper. She wore an elegant ruby red dress as she posed powerfully for the photographer. The mare’s brown mane fell down her back with long, beautiful curls. The foal had never seen anything like it before, and she just couldn’t take her eyes off of it.
“Mommy! Mommy! Come look at this picture!”
The purple-maned mother walked over to her daughter to see what she was looking at. “You mean this picture?”
“She’s so pretty, mommy!”
“Of course. She’s a model.”
The filly tilted her head in confusion. “What’s a model?”
“A model is beautiful pony who takes pictures for cameras.” Scootaloo continued to gaze at the picture of the striking young model, completely lost in the new experience. The filly’s mother smiled at her young daughter and patted her on the back. “Let’s go now, honey. The sooner we get our things, the sooner we can go home.”
Scootaloo then followed next to her mother as they walked away, taking one last look back to lock the image of the picture into her memory.
The sun was beginning to set as they returned home with their groceries. Without a word, Scootaloo went up to her room. Night time was “mommy’s time,” meaning that the filly had to stay upstairs so she didn’t have to see her mother getting drunk. She didn’t feel bad about going up to her room, though; she had snuck out of her room a few times just to be adventurous, but each time, the incident that followed ended up haunting her. Her most traumatic experience was when she saw a stallion come over and touch her mother in places she was told were very private areas. In the mare’s moans of pleasure, Scootaloo thought her mother was screaming in agony and returned to her bedroom crying. That was the last time she’d ever come out of her bedroom at night.
This evening, however, Scootaloo was almost excited to run upstairs to the confines of her room. She immediately pulled out some crayons and a blank piece of paper from an area in her bedroom that she called “the artist’s corner” and began to draw. Lines and squiggles began to take form of a filly with a beautiful dress. Scootaloo drew the filly with a long, purple mane that went down to her flank. Trying her best to stay inside the lines, she colored the filly’s coat a bold orange. Scootaloo held up the picture that she had just drawn and smiled excitedly. She couldn’t wait until morning.
As soon as the sun rose, Scootaloo jumped out of bed, grabbed her picture in her mouth and ran downstairs. “Mommy! Mommy!” she shouted as she entered into the kitchen where her mother was preparing breakfast.
“Inside voices, Scootaloo,” her mother replied, wincing at the sudden noise. “You know mommy has headaches in the morning. What is it?”
“Look at what I drew!” The purple-maned mare peered down at her daughter to see the picture of elaborate scribbles. “Oh, honey, that’s beautiful! Now, wash up. I’ll have breakfast ready in a few minutes.”
“I’m going to be a model when I grow up!”
“O-oh! Really?” Scootaloo nodded her head frantically as she smiled at her mother. The mare looked around awkwardly, trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t break the filly’s heart. “Scootaloo…” She knelt down to her daughter’s level, trying her best to make eye contact. “Listen, honey… Not everypony can be a model.”
“I can do it!” The filly’s naïve grin was making the situation even harder for her mother to explain.
“What I mean is… if it was easy, then everypony would do it. To be a model, though, you have to be one of the prettiest, girliest ponies in Equestria.”
“But…” Scootaloo began as her heart started to collapse, “I thought you thought that I was pretty.”
“Of course you’re pretty, Scootaloo! It’s just… Maybe you should look somewhere else to find your special talent. Maybe you’ll be just as good at something else.”
“But I wanna be a model!” she exclaimed with tears in her eyes.
“Scootaloo…” The filly’s mother leaned her hoof towards her, but Scootaloo, filled with rage and sadness, ran back upstairs to her bedroom crying, leaving her drawing behind. The mare grimaced at the sight and sound of her daughter’s tears. Looking down, she picked up the picture that had been drawn by the young foal. “Oh, Scootaloo… I wish there were something I could do.” The mare then went into the pantry and pulled out a shot glass. She could tell that this day was going to be long already.
Later that night, Scootaloo’s mother did not drink. She had already taken a nap and had plenty of water to flush out whatever alcohol was in her system from that morning. She needed to think straight tonight to at least try to make up for what happened earlier.
“Scootaloo,” the mare said knocking on her daughter’s door. The filly’s mother entered to see Scootaloo playing with two of her favorite dolls. Scootaloo looked up bewildered and shocked to see her mother talking to her after the sun went down. “Honey, can I talk to you for a minute? Here, sit down with me.” The two ponies took a seat on top of Scootaloo’s bed. “Listen… I know how much being a model means to you right now. I just… didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Why would I get hurt, mommy?” she replied confusedly.
“Because a lot of fillies dream of growing up to be models and only a hoof full actually get to live that dream. I wouldn’t be able to take it if you tried so hard at something just to be told you couldn’t do it. I just…” She collapsed her arms around her daughter in a warm hug. “I love you so much. I just never want something like that to happen to you.”
Scootaloo closed her eyes and returned the loving embrace. “I love you too, mommy.” The two then remained there in each other’s arms for what seemed like several minutes. Scootaloo missed her mom and didn’t want to do anything that might make her go downstairs… but she had something on her mind that she needed to ask. “Mom?”
“Yes, honey?”
“Why can’t everypony be a model?”
“Because photographers only need a couple of models, and there are more ponies trying to be models than the photographers need.”
“Why don’t they take pictures of all the ponies?”
“Because they have to pay them money. That’s how models can buy groceries and things they need to live.”
“I don’t want it for the money, though. Can I do it for free?”
“If you can stand wearing dresses all the time,” the mare replied with a giggle. “After a while you begin to hate being so girly. I actually wore dresses lots of times when I was a teenager, and I’m glad that I stopped.”
“But don’t you feel happy and pretty when you wear dresses?”
“You make me happy, Scootaloo.” The mother bent down and kissed the filly on her forehead. “More than any dress ever could.” With that, Scootaloo’s mother finally let go of her daughter and began to get up. “Now, hop into bed. It’s about time for you to go to sleep.”
Just as the mare was about to leave the room, Scootaloo said quietly, “Mommy?” The mare turned her head to see the foal holding one of her picture books in front of her. “Can you read me a bedtime story?”
Smiling, the mare replied, “Alright, but it’s lights out right after that, OK?” The foal jumped into her bed happily, filled with the excitement that spending time with her mother brought. Soon, though, the story would be over, she would drift asleep and normal life would continue again.
Years have passed since that day when she was first told that she couldn’t be a model. Scootaloo, though, would always try to ignore it like it was all just some lie to her. However, throughout all her attempts, there was always a little bit of it that sunk in, and every time she was told she couldn’t do it, she believed it more and more.
After a few years, she could no longer stand hearing the words “pretty” or “girly.” Anything that had to do with either word disgusted her. Even having a long mane began to seem too feminine for her. What once was beautiful, long streaks of deep purple were now short bangs, slightly longer than what the boys had. All the romance stories, playing house and smelling flowers no longer matched the idea of a day filled with action and excitement.
Throughout all the transformations that she went through, though, she still knew that deep down inside her, she was missing something. If there was anything she did know, it was that she didn’t know what made her special. Looking down at her flank once again, she saw a blank coat of orange and sighed defeatedly.
“Is something up, Scootaloo?” her unicorn friend asked.
“What?” Scootaloo interjected, realizing that the other cutie mark crusaders could see her. The three crusaders were sitting on a bench outside the schoolhouse, brainstorming ways of how they could find their special talents. “Naw, it’s nothing. Just trying to think of new ways we could try to get our cutie marks.”
“We kin trah line-dancing!” Applebloom exclaimed with a smile on her face.
Scootaloo scoffed at the idea. “Dancing? You can count me out.”
“Aww, come on, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said, trying to encourage her apathetic friend. “Won’t you at least give it a shot?”
“Can’t we try out something more awesome? Like what about being cutie mark crusader dare devils?”
The other two crusaders grimaced at the idea of risking their lives (again) to try and get their cutie marks. “I dunno, Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said with a frown. “I still have bruises from trying to get a cutie mark in ice-skating.”
Suddenly, the sound of a ringing bell filled the courtyard. “Time for everypony to come inside!” a blissful lavender pony said, poking her head out of the schoolhouse.
“We’ll come up with something fer sure,” Applebloom said as they walked back into the classroom. “Be thinkin of ideas fer after school, and we’ll have our cutie marks bah the end of the day.” The other two ponies nodded in agreement and took their seats.
“OK, class,” Ms. Cheerilee said as class begun. “Now before we get started with our art projects, I need a helper. Twist! How about you!” Twist blissfully got up, grabbed the stack of blank pieces of paper on Ms. Cheerilee’s desk and began handing them out. “Today we’re going to be working on something extra exciting! You’re all going to draw what you want to be when you grow up!”
“But Ms. Cheerilee,” Diamond Tiara chimed in, “some ponies don’t know what they’re good at yet.” She shot a stuck up smirk at the crusaders subtly.
“Then maybe this would be an excellent opportunity for them to explore their creativity and find new ideas.”
Applebloom smiled widely at Sweetie Belle. “This is perfect!” she whispered. “We kin come up with all kindsa ideas for this afternoon!” They both then smiled at Scootaloo, who returned the gesture, but sadly, she couldn’t return their enthusiasm. She already had an idea of what she wanted to draw, and despite how much she wanted to, they wouldn’t be trying it out after school.
The foals all had a variety of crayons on their desks, which created rainbows of artistic designs and making their boring blank papers suddenly filled with exciting images. Applebloom’s picture was very elaborately done, depicting herself attempting to surf. Sweetie Belle’s was of herself gardening a variety of beautiful flowers. Scootaloo, on the other hand, was trying to make sure that nopony could see what she was drawing. It was a striking picture of a mare with a long purple mane and a ruby red dress, the kind of image that she always had in her dreams. Scootaloo couldn’t help but beam at the drawing, picturing in her mind that that beautiful mare on that paper was really her, posing for photographers.
As Silver Spoon walked by to turn her paper in, she saw the orange filly in deep thought as she looked down at her drawing. The gray foal couldn’t help but stick her nose into this one. “What are you gawking at?”
Scootaloo, snapping back to reality, covered her picture with her hooves frantically, hoping that Silver Spoon hadn’t seen, but the gray filly’s high-pitched giggling was saying otherwise. “It’s nothing!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“Did you… Did you draw yourself in a dress?”
“No! I didn’t!”
“Then let’s see it.”
“I… I…” Scootaloo began, but words weren’t coming to her. She couldn’t come up with any excuses, and before she knew it, Silver Spoon had snatched the paper away from her.
The gray filly looked it over and scoffed. “You want to be a model? Dream on, Scoota-loser.” Giggling loudly, she threw the drawing on the ground and walked off with her head held high. The orange fillied leaned over to pick up her beautiful picture. Upon looking it over, she remembered the messages that she had been told throughout her life and began to cry silently in her seat.
On the other side of the room however, there was a small white colt who was smirking at the situation. In his mind, he was coming up with a plan, and it was going to be epic.
“What was Silver Spoon saying to you earlier?” Sweetie Belle asked as they walked out of school.
“Oh, nothing really,” Scootaloo replied without making eye contact. “She was just being Silver Spoon. You know.”
“Did ya come up with anythin we could trah out?” Applebloom asked exuberantly.
“Actually… you know what, girls?” Sweetie and Applebloom paused as Scootaloo stopped walking. “I don’t think I’m ready for any more crusading today. I think I’m just going to head home.”
“Scootaloo…” Applebloom started, putting her hoof around the orange filly. “We know somethin’s up. Won’t ya please tell us?”
“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle added, also putting her hoof around Scootaloo. “We’re your friends, and we love you. You know you can tell us anything.”
Scootaloo just stood there motionless. She had so much that she wanted to say, but she knew she couldn’t say any of it. She wanted to scream out to the world, telling everypony about her dreams and ambitions, but deep down inside, she knew they wouldn’t understand. The last thing she needed right now was somepony trying to help her be realistic, so she stood there without saying a word.
“I…” Scootaloo started, finally breaking the silence. “I just don’t feel like crusading today.” She broke off the embrace from her two loving friends and began walking away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As the other two fillies watched their friend walk away, their hearts sunk for their friend. They knew something was wrong, but not knowing what they should do or how they should react, they regretfully gave up. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Scoots,” Sweetie Belle said, waving to the filly. Scootaloo didn’t look back. She just walked to her home slowly, paying no mind to anything but the ground she walked on.
The orange filly’s mind was swirling with confusion. She was always told to never give up at anything; it was one of the many reasons she admired Rainbow Dash. She was always loyal to her goals and always kept her focus on the prize. What if there was no prize, though? She would just end up getting hurt, which was exactly what her friends were trying to keep from happening.
“Why does life have to be so hard?!” the pegasus shouted into the open area.
“Scootaloo?”
The orange filly jerked her head back, completely caught off guard. To her knowledge, she was completely alone, but suddenly, standing behind her was a white pegasus around her age. He had a brown mane and a sly, bucktoothed smile.
“Featherweight?” Scootaloo said quizzically. “What are you doing here?”
“Just passing through,” he said somewhat timidly. “Is… something the matter?”
“NO!” she blurted. With all the emotions she was dealing with—now balancing them with embarrassment—she was just doing her best not to cry at this point. Unfortunately for her, however, as Featherweight tried thinking of ways to respond, Scootaloo let out a small tear. Then, before she knew it, she had streams of tears running down the sides of her face.
“I heard what Silver Spoon said earlier,” the white pegasus said, and as soon as those words made their way into Scootaloo’s ears, she covered her face in her hooves and let out all her emotions. After a few moments of sobbing, though, she suddenly felt a pair of warm hooves on each shoulder. “It’s OK, Scootaloo.”
The filly reflexively pushed the colt off of her; she didn’t need to be babied. “How would you know? I’ve wanted to be a model since I was a little girl, but I still have no idea what I should do. I don’t even have a cutie mark to point me in the right direction! Maybe I should just give up.”
“Don’t do that!”
“Oh yeah? Why shouldn’t I?!”
“Because I think I can help you!”
Silence. No breaths escaped the filly’s lips, no beats came from her heart, and no words came to her mind. Just silence.
“…What?”
“I said I think I can help you become a model.”
“But… how?”
“You’re not the only one with dreams, Scootaloo. Becoming a photographer has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember, and I think I’m ready to do it for real now. I know an agency looking for both models and photographers, but I’ll need your help to make it happen. What do you say? Will you do it? For me?”
Scootaloo thought about it for a moment, but there were still clouds of confusion running through her mind. There was something in her mind telling her not to trust him. She didn’t want something that meant so much to her to come crashing down and making things worse… but there was a much stronger feeling telling her that if she didn’t jump on the opportunity now, she would never get this chance again.
“I’ll do it, Featherweight.” Scootaloo, through her damp eyes and wet cheeks, pulled off a smile. “Make me beautiful.” She then wrapped her hooves around the colt, and suddenly all the stress that had filled her mind throughout the day was finally gone.
The next day in school, the orange filly couldn’t pay attention to anything that was going on during class. As Cheerilee taught about multiplying numbers, Scootaloo tapped her pencil on her desk and shifted her glances between her teacher and Featherweight. Finally, though, after a long day of school, the bell rang and all the students began packing up their things.
“Ready tah go git us a cutie mark?” Applebloom asked excitedly.
“Yeah!” Scootaloo exclaimed automatically before the message sunk in. “I mean, I might be a little late crusading today, girls.”
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other with confused expressions. “Have you got something going on?” Sweetie Belle asked innocently.
“What?! No! I just uh… I wanted to go see if Rainbow Dash had any ideas on how to get a cutie mark.” Scootaloo grinned nervously, hoping that the other two wouldn’t see straight through her.
“Well, OK, then,” Applebloom said. “We’ll see ya later.” The two other fillies then walked away to begin their adventures. As soon as Scootaloo was out of earshot, though, Applebloom leaned over and whispered in Sweetie Belle’s ear, “I’m tellin ya. She’s just getting weirder and weirder.”
Scootaloo then walked away from the school to a deserted area in the park. Just because she was living her dream didn’t mean she wanted anypony to know about it. It would be a cleverly kept secret between her and the photographer until one day they’d show everypony how beautiful she could be.
Featherweight showed up with a camera around his neck and something packed tightly into his school bag. “I’ve got a surprise for you!” he said, opening his bag. He then pulled out a sparkling purple dress that matched Scootaloo’s mane. The filly’s jaw slowly dropped. She couldn’t believe that she would be the one wearing it. “Well, what do you think?”
“Featherweight!” Scootaloo exclaimed with a gasp. “How did you get something like that?”
“This used to belong to my sister. Try it on! See if it fits!”
Without hesitation, Scootaloo threw the outfit over her and slid perfectly into the sparkling dress. “It fits perfect! Featherweight, it’s beautiful!”
“Almost as beautiful as you.” Scootaloo looked away, hoping he wouldn’t notice her timid smile and rosy red cheeks. “Now what are we waiting for? Let’s take some pictures!” Scootaloo then stood up straight and smiled wide for the camera. With a flash, Featherweight’s camera ejected a perfect photo of Scootaloo smiling innocently. “You know what? This needs something… try something a little more bold.”
“Like… this?” Scootaloo asked, lifting a hoof into the air like she were holding the sun.
“Well…” Featherweight tapped his hoof to his chin until he got an idea. He walked over to Scootaloo and bent her foreleg backwards like she was running a hoof through her mane. “There! Now, tilt your head a little to the side for me and give me your sexiest wink.”
“Sexy” wasn’t exactly a word that Scootaloo was expecting to hear already, but she did as she was told, giving the camera a seductive wink. FLASH! Featherweight examined the picture that slid out of his camera. His eyes went wide as he smiled in a creepy way that Scootaloo had never seen before. He looked up and grimaced, noticing that Scootaloo was giving him a confused expression. He just hoped that the filly hadn’t seen his member grow as he looked at the more than attractive filly in the picture.
“Good!” Featherweight said with a casual cough. “Now, let’s do another one. Try turning to the side a little bit.” Scootaloo turned to where her side was facing the camera. A gentle breeze was blowing her mane back. “Now, turn your head so it’s facing the camera. Just like that! Perfect! Now give me a smile.” Scootaloo ignored the uncomfortable wind and smiled into the camera. With a flash, Featherweight stared at the photo for a few long moments and put it to the side before his mouth started to water.
“Hey, can I see either of those?” Scootaloo asked.
“What? Oh! No, not quite yet. I’d prefer to get a good collection before we start making adjustments. Here’s what I want you to do next! Play with your mane a little bit. Have fun with it.” Scootaloo then pulled her bangs over half of her face and smiled playfully.
The more pictures she took, the more confident she felt. The more confident she felt, the more playful she became with each new pose. In this one she’d blow kisses to the camera. In that one she’d stick her tongue out and give the camera a silly wink, and after a dozen photos, Featherweight’s camera finally ran out of film.
The pegasus colt couldn’t help but stare at his collection of the sexy filly’s photographs. “So… can I see them yet?” Scootaloo asked, trying to get behind Featherweight to sneak a peek.
“Not yet. I still have to make sure they’re uh… developed properly. I’m gonna do some work on them and show you as soon as I’m done, OK?”
Scootaloo groaned. “Fiiine.”
As Featherweight organized his collection of photos, he saw one picture that was out of place: the first picture of the day. There was one picture where instead of seeing a seductive young mare making sultry poses, he saw an innocent young filly smiling happily for the camera. “Actually,” he said, pulling the picture out of his collection, “you can have this one.”
“Awesome!” She snatched the picture out of Featherweight’s hooves to see a beautiful little girl in a gorgeous purple dress. Even though Scootaloo’s mouth had dropped at the breath-taking image, she couldn’t comprehend that the beautiful filly in the picture was her. “Featherweight… I’m in a dress! I’m in a dress taking pictures for a photographer! Featherweight! This girl in the picture is me!” She then wrapped her hooves around the colt’s neck. “Thanks again.”
“No problem. I might need the dress before my sister finds out that I stole it, though.” Scootaloo never wanted to take that dress off (even though she hoped that nopony she knew would ever see her in it), but she complied and gave back the hoof-woven gown. “Don’t worry. I’ll have something even better for you tomorrow!”
“You will?!”
“I promise. Meet me back here at the same time tomorrow and we’ll start taking more photos. I’ll bring two rolls of film this time!”
“See you tomorrow, Featherweight!” Scootaloo then put the picture in her school bag and trotted off happily to join her friends in crusading. As soon as she saw them, though…
“Don’t ask,” Sweetie Belle said. Scootaloo had found them tied together in a very elaborate knot. They both were covered in mud and Applebloom had a frog on her head. “As soon as you untie us, we’re going to pretend like this never happened.”
“Like what never happened?” Scootaloo asked. She was trying to hold in her laughter, hoping that the crusaders would be too occupied with getting untied to notice.
“That’s asking!”
“We tried tah git us a rodeo cutie mark,” Applebloom began humbly, “but we didn’t have nothing tah ride on, so we tried throwin lassos around frogs, and then… this happened.”
“I hate to tell you this, crusaders,” Scootaloo said, trying her hardest to pull off some of the rope, “but I don’t think you’ll be getting a rodeo cutie mark any time soon. Did you two manage to come up with any other ideas?”
“Not yet,” Sweetie Belle chimed in, wiggling her way out of the rope. “Did you get any ideas from Rainbow Dash?”
“What? Rainbow Dash? Nope. Haven’t seen her. She’s probably out busting clouds. Yeah, that’s it. Couldn’t find her anywhere. Lots of clouds out today, and you know Rainbow Dash. She’s always hard at work somewhere.” She giggled awkwardly, trying to make things seem as casual as they could be, but the other crusaders couldn’t help but stare awkwardly at the pegasus.
“Yep, you were right, Applebloom.”
“YES!” Applebloom shouted. “You owe me a milkshake later!”
“Come on, girls,” Scootaloo chimed in. “You two can act weird later. We’ve got some crusading to do!”
The orange filly ran ahead excitedly. As soon as she was far enough, Sweetie Belle leaned in towards Applebloom and whispered, “Oh, come on. I didn’t think she’d be acting that weird.”
“Shouldn’ta made a bet on it, then,” Applebloom replied with a smirk. “Bah the way, chocolate is mah favorite.”
Sweetie Belle stomped the ground as she walked along. “I wanted chocolate.”
After a day filled with failed attempts at getting a cutie mark, Scootaloo returned to her home. It was already dark outside, and Scootaloo was just hoping that her mother hadn’t already started drinking yet. Creaking the door open, she found her mother peacefully asleep on the sofa, an empty beer bottle resting on the ground beside her. As Scootaloo walked by, she pulled a blanket on top of the sleeping mare, kissed her on the forehead and walked upstairs.
Upon getting to her room, she threw her school bags onto the floor and sifted through her things until she found the Polaroid picture of herself. She looked around, trying to find the best place to put it. On the wall? No, she didn’t have anything to stick it with. Maybe on the window? No, what if she ever wanted to open it? After thinking of a few more places, she finally settled it on the mirror on her nightstand. She’d see it every day before leaving the house, but even better, she’d be able to look up at it and see it whenever she wanted.
She gave one last look at the picture, hit the lights and went off to bed. Hopefully tomorrow would be just exciting as today.
“Scootaloo, honey!” Scootaloo’s mother called out. “Breakfast is ready!”
The orange filly rubbed her eyes as she slowly sat up in her bed. She turned her head to her mirror, realizing that the day had begun, and suddenly, Scootaloo couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. She raced down the stairs, sliding down the handrail and greeted her mother with a giant hug. “Morning, mom!” she said as she squeezed the mare.
“Well, you seem awfully excited about something,” her mother said peering down at her. “Hopefully it’s about these pancakes.”
The filly giggled as she took her seat at the table. “Sure, let’s go with that.”
The purple-maned mare grabbed the stack of pancakes on the kitchen counter and placed it in the middle of the table. It had scarcely touched the tablecloth when Scootaloo grabbed half of the stack and placed it on her plate. “Don’t eat everything all at once,” her mother giggled. “Really, though. What has got you so excited today?”
“I just know that the crusaders are gonna have some awesome ideas for how to get a cutie mark!” Scootaloo didn’t want to lie to her mother, but she was left with no other option. She had a feeling that if she told her mother what was really making her so happy, her dreams would come crashing down again, so Scootaloo continued choking down her breakfast, hoping to use a mouth full of pancake as an excuse if her mother pressed any further.
“How are Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, by the way?”
“They’re good. Speaking of which, I gotta get to the school early today and meet up with them.” She swallowed some of her juice to wash down the remaining breakfast in her throat, grabbed her scooter and helmet and dashed to the front door.
“Well, OK… I love you!”
“Love you too, mom!”
And suddenly, the door slammed, leaving the mare to her own thoughts. Just a few moments had gone by, and her daughter was already gone. As she looked at her own stack of pancakes, she realized just how little time she felt like she had spent with her daughter over the past few years. Scootaloo had grown up so quickly from when she had taken her first breaths of life, but she felt like she had missed out on half of her childhood. She almost didn’t want Scootaloo to get her cutie mark, just so she could savor some time with Scootaloo while she was still a child.
The mare then sat quietly for a few moments, trying to think of ways to make time for her daughter, but Scootaloo had been coming home late ever since she joined her little secret society. Plus there’d be no way she could quit drinking. How would she ever manage to make some time other than their brief conversations at the breakfast table?
Scootaloo’s mother then looked up at a picture of herself a few months before her daughter was born. She had her hoof wrapped around one of her dearest friends that had always been there for her whenever she needed her. “Maybe you can help me one more time, Cheerilee…”
“OK, class! Everypony take your seats!” In a mad race, the foals all scrambled to their seats as the bell rang to start the day. “I wrote some math problems on the board to see if you remember yesterday’s lesson on division. While you practice those, I’m going to hand back everypony’s art projects.”
Scootaloo squinted at the problems on the board. She tapped her pencil on the top of her desk, using as much brain power as she had when suddenly a paper fell in front of her. “This is a beautiful drawing, Scootaloo,” Ms. Cheerilee said. “I had no idea that modeling was an interest of yours.”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said chuckling. “I actually took a few pictures yesterday.”
“That sounds wonderful! You should definitely bring some of them into class some time!”
“Well… they’re still being worked on, but I’ll bring them to show you as soon as they’re ready!”
“I can’t wait to see them!” And with that, Cheerile walked away to pass out the rest of her papers. Scootaloo then glanced at Featherweight, who was immersed in the complex math problems. Hopefully he was about done developing those photos.
When the day was over, Scootaloo raced to meet up with the other two crusaders before she had to be at the park. “Hey, crusaders! Got any ideas of how we can get our cutie marks?”
“Actually, ah gotta help out with the farm today,” Applebloom said with her head hung low.
“Yeah, and my sister wants me to help her size some of her outfits,” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “I guess the crusading will have to wait till tomorrow.”
“That’s OK,” Scootaloo said. “Just be sure to come up with some awesome ideas for tomorrow.”
“You kin count on us!” Applebloom exclaimed. “See y’all tomorrah!”
The three crusaders waved goodbye and walked their separate ways. When Scootaloo arrived at the park, the white colt was already there waiting for her. “Hey, Featherweight! You get any of those pictures finished up yet?”
“Huh?” Featherweight asked, slightly caught off guard. “Oh—No, I haven’t. You ready to take some pictures?”
“Sure!”
Featherweight looked over his shoulders to see if anypony was around. After catching a pony walking down the road, he grabbed Scootaloo by the hoof and pulled her away from the open area. “Let’s find somewhere without anypony watching. We have to make sure nopony can see us today.”
“Huh? How come?” Scootaloo just hoped that the colt heard her confusion as he searched frantically for a private location.
“Because I found a new outfit that I only want you and me to see.”
Once the two foals reached a desolate part of the park surrounded by trees and bushes, Featherweight began digging into his schoolbags. “You mean you, me and the model agency, right? You are sending these photos in, aren’t you?”
“What? Oh, yeah, sure.” Featherweight then pulled out an outfit from his bag. “Here it is!” This outfit wasn’t a dress at all, though. It was lingerie made entirely out of black leather. There were areas to slide in her hooves, but it left her stomach and the back of her flank exposed. The design went up to her neck, complimented by a black leather collar. It definitely didn’t look like anything she had ever seen any model wear before.
Scootaloo cringed at the first sight of the outfit, but tried forcing a gracious smile. “Wow, Featherweight. It’s um… it looks great, but… shouldn’t I be wearing something more… girly? Like a dress.”
“You can’t get more girly than this.” Scootaloo tried to picture a girl wearing one, but even though it was obviously meant for a female to wear, she could never see anypony feminine ever wearing one of those. “Listen, Scoots, this is just a different type of modeling. Agencies want models who are well-rounded, and if you ever want to do a lot of fashion shoots, it’d probably be a good idea to try out all its different genres.”
Even through Featherweight’s motivation, the young filly found it hard to believe that wearing an outfit like that would ever get her noticed as a pretty, girly girl. Still, though, she didn’t have any other options at the moment. “Well… OK…”
Scootaloo took the outfit out of Featherweight’s hooves and ran her legs through the sleeves. Even though she was now wearing more clothes than a second ago, she felt exposed from the lack of garment covering her fillyhood. She then buckled the collar, which caught her off guard by how much it bound her throat.
“Perfect!” Featherweight exclaimed, holding up his camera. “Now, strike a pose.”
The orange filly ran her hoof through her purple mane and smiled seductively at the camera. With a flash, a photo slid out of Featherweight’s camera. Upon looking at it, Featherweight’s expression matched the one he had the day before.
“Is it good?” Scootaloo asked.
“Really good. Now, get on your knees and run both hooves through your mane.” Scootaloo did as she was told, winking at the camera. Even though she was getting positive feedback, however, she didn’t feel very pretty. She had never seen anypony model like this before, and she was just hoping that Featherweight knew what he was doing.
The camera flashed again, giving Featherweight another sly, bucktoothed grin. “Ok,” Featherweight continued. “Now for this next one I want you to lie back and spread your hind legs.”
“What?” Scootaloo didn’t understand what was going on at all.
“Just do it.” Without another word, Scootaloo laid back and spread her legs, smiling at the camera. “Actually, for this one, I don’t want you to smile.”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Look at me like you’re curious.” The filly didn’t need to try hard to make that happen. Without even noticing that she already had a curious expression, the camera flashed in front of her. “Now, bend over, extending your hind legs and resting on your forelegs.”
“Featherweight, I’ve never seen a model do any of these things. Can’t we just go back to normal pictures?”
“Listen, Scootaloo, modeling is like acting. Only, with acting, you have a script. You can move around and talk about the story, but in photography, you only get a snapshot to tell a whole story. Your face and body language need to portray everything. Agencies want a model who can do everything in one frame that an actor can do in 20.” The orange filly looked timidly at the ground. The white colt’s monologue didn’t help her feel any more comfortable about this whole situation. “You trust me, don’t you?”
“Well… yeah…”
“Then whenever you’re ready, show me your flank.”
Scootaloo took a deep breath and bent over, lifting her plot into the air for all to see. She then looked back at the camera and gave it that same confused look. Nine pictures later, Featherweight was about out of film. “OK, Scootaloo. One more. Think you’re ready?”
“Sure,” she replied unenthusiastically.
“Lift your tail up and show us your pussy.”
Scootaloo stomped on the ground in front of Featherweight and glared into his eyes. “No!” she shouted. “I’ve done a lot of stuff for you today that I just didn’t want to do, but that is drawing the line! You want somepony to do that for you? Go find somepony else!”
“Just one more picture. What if this one picture made you a model forever?” Scootaloo’s furious expression suddenly when blank. Featherweight knew exactly what buttons he had to press to get to the young filly’s core. “Last one and I’ll put the outfit away.”
After a few long moments, Scootaloo took in a deep breath and turned around. She bent over and slowly lifted her tail, revealing her small vagina. This time, however, she did not turn around to look at the camera. “I’ve already gone this far,” Scootaloo whispered to herself. “Might as well be done with it.”
FLASH!
“OK, Scoots. You’re done.”
The filly heard what Featherweight said, but for some reason, she didn’t move. She was frozen with her fillyhood displayed to the world like a statue. Then, when she finally felt decent again, she gradually lowered her tail and took off the outfit.
“I’ll uh… I’ll meet you here same time tomorrow?” the colt asked.
“Yeah… I’ll be here.” She wanted to ask if he would make her do something like that again, but the energy just didn’t come to her.
“OK. See ya!” And just like that, he had disappeared.
It took a few moments before the filly had the motivation to move at all. She didn’t cry, but the whole situation today made her feel dirty enough to where she wanted to. “It’ll be OK, Scootaloo,” she said to herself. “From now on, you’re going to be beautiful, just like all those other ponies.” Then, lifting her head high, she began her walk home.
It seemed like it had been forever since Scootaloo had returned home so early. Normally by the time she got home, the sun was either about to go down or had already descended. Maybe her mom was home! Maybe she’d actually get to see her before she started drinking. Filled with sudden enthusiasm, she creaked open the door, hoping to surprise her mother.
“I just don’t know what to do…”
“Huh?” Scootaloo whispered to herself. Her mother’s voice came from the kitchen, and it sounded like she was talking with somepony.
“Berry, you know what you have to do if you want to spend more time with your daughter.” This second voice had a familiar ring to it. Creeping up slowly, she saw her mother at the kitchen table talking to Ms. Cheerilee.
“You know I can’t quit, Cheeri!” her mother exclaimed. “I work two jobs and I’m raising a little girl all by myself! Booze is the only thing that helps me survive!”
“But doesn’t Scootaloo help you survive day to day life at all?”
“Of course she does, but I can’t… I can’t quit.”
“What about tonight? You think you can go the whole day without going into your pantry?” Scootaloo’s mother covered her face in her hooves, dreading to answer the question. Cheerilee leaned over the table, and grabbing the purple mare’s hoof, she quietly said, “You can do this, Berry. I believe in you.”
Scootaloo’s mother smiled and embraced the other earth pony in a long hug. “Thanks, Cheeri. You’ve always been there for me.” Once the embrace ended, though, a fearful expression crept back onto Berry’s face. “But… she’s grown up so much… I don’t even know what she enjoys doing anymore.”
“Actually, I just found out yesterday that Scootaloo’s taken a liking to modeling. Maybe you could have a fashion show with her.”
“She’s still going on about that, huh?” Scootaloo’s heart sank a little as she heard her mother talking to the only pony who had ever encouraged her to be a model.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I was hoping that she’d grow out of it and try something else. You know, like something reasonable.”
“What’s not reasonable about modeling, Berry?”
“You know! Hundreds of fillies try to become models every day and only a lucky hoof full ever get chosen. I wouldn’t be able to take seeing her get hurt.”
“If you don’t want her to get hurt… then I guess you have no choice.” Scootaloo’s heart was about to break until—“You have to let her try out modeling.” Both Scootaloo and her mother lifted up their heads in astonishment. “What if she’s one of those lucky few? I can’t promise how successful she’ll be, but I can tell you that modeling is something that she wants to try. If you really want her to be happy, you need to let her. Not making the big leagues doesn’t hurt nearly as much as never getting the opportunity to try.”
“I…” Berry thought about it for a few seconds. She had never thought about it from that perspective before. “I guess you’re right.”
“YES!” Scootaloo shouted inadvertently. Suddenly, both Cheerilee and Scootaloo’s mother turned to see Scootaloo standing by the kitchen entryway. “Dang it, Sweetie Belle! Now you’ve got me doing it!”
“Scootaloo?” her mother said quizzically. “How long have you been home, honey?”
“I just walked in. I wanted to surprise you by being home early, but then I heard you and Miss Cheerilee talking.”
Berry giggled. “Well, you definitely surprised us. No crusading today?”
“No, not today. They’re both helping their families with stuff.”
“You know what? That sounds like an excellent idea!” Cheerilee said blissfully getting up out of her chair. “I should probably get back to grading papers anyway. You two have fun!” Cheerilee then whispered in Berry’s ear, “Remember, all you have to worry about is tonight.” The two friends exchanged smiles, and just like that, Cheerilee was gone, leaving the daughter and her mother alone for the first evening in years.
“You know what, Scootaloo? Let’s go down to the Cakes’ and pick up a treat.”
“Really?!” Scootaloo jumped in the air, fluttering her wings as fast as she could. “Thanks, mom!” She then ran over to her mother and gave her a big hug, the kind that Berry had been missing out on for years. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Scootaloo.” Breaking the hug, Scootaloo’s mother grabbed her by the hoof and said, “Now, let’s go get some cupcakes.”
The two girls traveled slowly to Sugarcube Corner, talking about everything that was going on in Scootaloo’s life. The filly talked about all of her silly adventures in trying to earn a cutie mark, her stories of school that she had never had the opportunity to share and her attempts at trying to impress her idol Rainbow Dash. She told her mother everything she had missed out on. Everything, that is, except Featherweight.
“Well, I haven’t seen you two in a while,” Mrs. Cake said as the two girls approached the counter. “What can I get for you?”
“Scootaloo, you look at one you’d like,” Berry said walking towards the door. “I’ll be right back.” The filly was only paying half-attention, spending the other half dazed at all the cupcakes that were displayed in front of her.
“Any that catch your eye?” Mrs. Cake asked.
“Only all of them!” the filly replied with a smile. “Maybe the strawberry frosted one? OH! Maybe the mint chocolate confetti cupcake!” Then, in her frantic decision making, she spotted a red cupcake with purple frosting. “What flavor is this one?”
“Oh, that one? Berry punch.”
“I’m here!” Scootaloo’s mother said, walking into the store holding some magazine in her hoof. “Told you I’d be right back. You made a decision yet, honey?”
“Yeah! I want this one!” She pointed to the red cupcake with the purple frosting that she had pointed out just a moment ago.
“One berry punch cupcake it is, then,” Mrs. Cake said, giggling and shifting her eyes to Scootaloo’s mother. “Anything for you?”
“Just get me the silliest one you have,” Berry replied. “It’ll remind me of my doofus daughter.” Scootaloo nudged her mother, who playfully nudged her back.
Berry then paid for the cupcakes and the girls began their trip back home. Once they got to the house, the sun was already beginning to set, and as Scootaloo had always done instinctively, she made her way up the stairs, carrying her cupcake with her.
“Scootaloo.” The orange filly turned back, slightly caught off guard to see her mother standing by the staircase and not the kitchen pantry. “Would you mind if I came upstairs with you? I know you’re a little old for bedtime stories, but…” She then held up the magazine that she purchased with a picture of a beautiful young model on the cover. “…I was hoping you could make an exception just this once.”
The young filly smiled at her mother. “Just this once. I have a reputation to keep, you know.” The giggling girls then made their way into Scootaloo’s room and onto her bed.
Nothing was better than this. Scootaloo was eating a cupcake with her mother as they looked at modeling pictures at night! This was the kind of day that both ponies needed in their lives. As the two girls pointed out which dresses they liked the most, Scootaloo finally felt totally confident about being a model for the first time, and for the first time in years, Berry Punch went a whole day without thinking about alcohol.
“Wow! Look at this one!” Scootaloo said pointing to an elegant white dress being worn by a filly not too much older than her. Looking at that dress filled her with all the excitement that she had ever had in a day of crusading. Then, however, she thought about her horrible experience from that afternoon. As she gazed upon the dress, she thought about what would happen if she were asked to do it again. Would it be worth it just to get the chance to wear that outfit? Taking one more look over the stunning clothes line, she quietly said to herself, “Totally worth it,” and went back to peering over the beautiful designs.

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             Chapter 2: When Crap Hits The Fan             
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Chapter 2: When Crap Hits The Fan
The next day, Scootaloo arrived at the park right on time. Featherweight was already there, messing with his camera. “Hey, Featherweight! You ready to take some awesome pictures?”
“Oh, yeah,” he replied, licking his lips. “Today’s going to be the best day yet.”
“Cool!” She then stared at the colt, waiting for him to pull something out of his bag, but as moments passed, he just continued to adjust settings on his camera. “Uhh… do you have anything for me to wear today?”
“Not today.” Scootaloo’s jaw dropped. Surely she hadn’t been waiting all day just to not have a photo shoot, had she? “We’re going to be doing something similar to yesterday.”
“Oh…” She dropped eye contact and remembered how much she hated yesterday. “Wait… with no outfits?”
“Come with me.” The white pegasus colt then slid through some bushes to the vacant area that they were in the day before. He had to make sure they were in a place where nopony would be able to see them, because if anypony did see today’s fashion shoot, Featherweight would be in a lot of trouble.
Scootaloo nonetheless followed him, not quite sure what to expect. “So, how is this going to work?”
“Let’s start off where we finished yesterday. Bend over and show off some of your feminine beauty.”
Scootaloo cringed at Featherweight’s creepy request, but, without argument, she complied. Quietly, she repeated over and over to herself, “For the dresses. For the dresses.” She then heard the sound of a click and a photo being released from Featherweight’s camera, which she took as permission to get back up.
“Mmmmm. Now, for the next one, I want you to just lie down on your back.” The filly knew that there would be more to it than that, but she did as she was told. “Now, spread your legs.” She had a feeling that she’d hear that next, but what she didn’t expect was—“Now spread your pussy.”
The orange filly’s eyes went wide, hoping that this was some kind of joke, but as she looked at Featherweight’s serious expression, she knew what she had to do. Silently repeating “for the dresses” in her mind, she placed her hooves against her lower lips and spread them for the camera. Luckily, Featherweight wasn’t aiming the camera at her face, which was cringing as if she were in pain.
With a flash, a photo popped out, which Featherweight yanked out the first moment he could. Upon examining the new photo, Scootaloo began to notice Featherweight’s member slowly growing stiff. She knew about erections and what they meant, but she had never seen one before. She also had no idea what it meant would happen.
Licking his lips again, he said, “Now I’m going to join you for the next few.”
“You are? H-how?”
“You know what ponies really want to see?” Scootaloo, frozen in fear, did not respond. Featherweight stood up on his hind legs. “How bad do you want to be a model?”
Scootaloo gulped. “Really bad.”
“For this next picture I want you to suck my dick.” Any dignity that Scootaloo had left was now dead and buried. At this point, she just knew how far she had come, and surely it couldn’t get any more degrading than this.
The orange filly casually walked over to the white pegasus and put her mouth on top of his penis, which gradually grew in her mouth. “Mmmm,” he cooed. “Just like that. Now look up for me.” Featherweight then brought the camera to his face and flashed a picture of Scootaloo’s head bobbing back and forth on Featherweight’s cock. “Ohhhh yeah. Keep going.”
At this point, Scootaloo closed her eyes, but her expression had changed from fear into no emotion at all. If anything, it just looked more like she was in as much of the moment as Featherweight was. Her mouth slid up and down the length of his member, which continued to grow larger and stiffer between Scootaloo’s lips.
Featherweight flashed another picture of the orange filly. “Oh that’s good. OK, now get on your back again.” Scootaloo complied, not exactly sure where this was going until she saw Featherweight lean over her. “This might hurt a little, but just for a second.”
As Featherweight focused his member over Scootaloo’s vagina, the young filly closed her eyes and chanted over and over again, “For the dresses. For the dresses. For the dresses.”
Then, in one quick instant, Scootaloo’s virginity was gone.
Featherweight was now pumping his hips into the orange pegasus. Scootaloo was letting out breaths of pain, but to Featherweight they just sounded like gasps of pleasure. Leaning back, he angled the camera down and took a picture of him penetrating the filly. His penis was now going deeper and deeper inside Scootaloo, whose naturally tight walls contracted against him. As her walls squeezed his cock, vaginal fluid surrounded the sides of his member, which just made it easier for him to slide in and out.
After his entire penis was covered in Scootaloo’s feminine juices, Featherweight pulled his cock out and got his camera ready. “OK, now spread your pussy again. I wanna see how wet you are.” Scootaloo opened her eyes to see Featherweight’s sly, bucktoothed grin as he took pictures of her missing innocence. “Good. Good. Now, flip around for me. Just like the first one.”
Scootaloo complied, flipping over, raising her hind legs and lifting her tail into the air. Featherweight then grabbed her by the flank and slowly moved his way back into the filly’s orifice, continuing to take pictures. “If you want, you can help me out a little,” he said. “You know, bounce your plot against me.”
Again, the orange filly didn’t argue, helping the perverted pegasus as he went deeper inside her. His testicles slammed against Scootaloo’s lady lips, hitting her clitoris. Featherweight’s humping picked up in speed, driving his pelvis harder and harder against Scootaloo, nearly knocking her off balance.
Featherweight was now thrusting against her as quickly and as violently as he could go. “I’m gonna…” he started, but his hormones were keeping him from being able to think of the words to finish his sentence. Scootaloo suddenly started feeling a throbbing sensation inside her and she knew exactly what was going to happen next.
The white pegasus’s sperm flowed inside her like stringed bullets. His penis throbbed in pulses of his slimy seed, starting powerful and gradually getting less intense. Once all of his cum was inside Scootaloo, he pulled out his penis and got his camera ready.
“Now spread your vagina as wide as it can go. I wanna see how much of my cum I got inside you.” The orange pegasus then grabbed each side of her labia and stretched them for the photographer. His white sperm began to ooze out in long strings. She wanted to make sure that he got the best angle he could get… just so this could all be over.
Once Featherweight was all out of film, he collected all the pictures that he had and put them in his bag. Scootaloo, however, just stood there motionless with her plot still displayed in the air for the world to see.
“Well, I’m gonna go work on these photos,” the white pegasus said. He received no response. “I’ll uh… I’ll see you later.”
Once she heard the colt finally leave, she wobbled her hind legs back down to the ground. Being the tough, strong filly that Rainbow Dash had helped her become, she managed to lay there without crying. Unfortunately, though, she felt violated, and the last thing she could think about was getting up. For over an hour, she remained on the ground, completely motionless other than her vagina contracting, trying to get whatever semen out she could.
“It’s for the dresses, Scootaloo,” she said to herself quietly. “When the talent agency sees your pictures, they’ll see how good you are, and you’ll never have to do any of this again.” Then, she realized that she hadn’t seen a single photograph other than the one on her mirror. He had to have at least one picture done by now, and finally getting the motivation to stand up, she began her walk to Featherweight’s house.
Knock, Knock!
A mare creaked open the door to see a timid orange pegasus standing at her doorstep. “Hello?” Scootaloo said nervously. “I-I was just wondering if Featherweight has finished up any of those pictures.”
“Pictures?” the mare replied quizzically. “I don’t know anything about any pictures, but you’re welcome to come in and see him if you’d like.” She then led Scootaloo into her home and pointed to a door upstairs. “He should be in his room up there.”
“Thanks!” she said before making her way up the stairs. With each new step, her heart began to pump more and more. Hopefully she was about to see some of these pictures in their perfect form. She would be able to see how beautiful she was or wasn’t. Part of her wanted to turn back, just in case she’d find out that not even going back to fix them would be able to fix her if she wasn’t pretty enough, but then she thought about that picture on her mirror and had to find out now.
Scootaloo then creaked the door open into Featherweight’s room. “H-hello? Featherweight?”
Featherweight was sitting on the floor with a book in front of him. He didn’t seem to notice that Scootaloo had walked in. As soon as Scootaloo walked closer, she began to see what kind of book Featherweight had along with the sound of a loud clop, clop, clop.
The orange filly gasped, bringing her hooves to her mouth. Featherweight, completely caught off guard, turned his head quickly, dropping the book in front of him. It was a photo album of all the scandalous pictures that he had taken of Scootaloo, and she had just walked in on him masturbating to them.
“F-Featherweight? What are… Are those… HOW COULD YOU?!”
“Listen, Scootaloo,” he said, getting up frantically. “I can explain!”
“Explain WHAT?! You mean that this whole time I thought you’d be sending these pictures to a talent agency when the whole time you’ve been LYING to me and using them to MASTURBATE TO?!”
“Scootaloo, I—”
“You know, Featherweight, all I wanted was too feel beautiful. THAT’S ALL I EVER WANTED! But now do you know how I feel?” Featherweight had no idea how to answer. “I feel used up, dirty and ugly! Is that REALLY all you wanted from me? Did you even THINK I could be a model if I tried?! Maybe for YOUR sick photo shoots, but I was stupid to think I’d ever be beautiful enough to ever get the attention of a REAL agency!”
Then, as quickly as she appeared, she was gone. She sprinted out of Featherweight’s house as quickly as she could and ran back to her house, crying the whole way. Once she got up to her room, she threw herself onto her bed and sobbed. She felt the pain that no little girl should ever have to go through. Not only were her dreams crushed like her mom had warned, but she had to be violated sexually just to figure it out.
Looking up, she saw the picture that Featherweight had taken of her on that first day. She wasn’t making any immodest poses. She wasn’t wearing anything inappropriate. It was just a sweet little girl in a beautiful dress smiling at a camera. It was exactly what she wanted all of her pictures to look like, but that obviously was never going to happen.
In a fit of rage, Scootaloo opened her window and threw the picture out. “Get out of my house, and never come back!” she yelled at the picture. Then, as the whole world crumbled beneath her, she fell back onto the floor and cried. Luckily, after a few hours of sobbing, she managed to cry herself into a peaceful slumber.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                  Chapter 3: The Next Day                  
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Chapter 3: The Next Day
The next day…
It was windy that day in Ponyville. Not so much that it was a problem, but still enough to carry the leaves that had fallen to the ground. In the midst of the town was a light blue mare, on her way to an appointment. She was hardly ever alone when she walked, but today she just wanted a solemn stroll to relax.
Suddenly, a large burst of wind buffeted her, getting her mane in her face. The mare put her hoof in front of her to block whatever wind she could and causing her to look down. Then, as the wind stopped moving, she saw a Polaroid picture fall in front of her. She picked it up to examine the picture of a lovely orange filly in an exquisite purple dress. She had stunning eyes, a gorgeous purple mane and the most beautiful smile she had ever seen.
“Vut is zis?” she asked herself. In that moment, her appointment didn’t matter anymore. She had to find out who this pony was. She knew only the most important ponies in the town, but there was one pony she knew who might know who this filly was.
The mare knocked on a door of a small cottage just outside the town. The door creaked to reveal a shy yellow pegasus hiding behind it. “Hello?” she asked. “Oh, my! Photo Finish? What are you doing here?”
“Yes, Flattershy,” she said in her thick accent. “I’m here to see if you know who zis pony is.”
As she held out the picture, Fluttershy gasped to see a feminine picture of a filly she knew. “Oh, yes, I actually do know this pony.”
“Take me to her. I cannot pass up a gem like zis.”
Scootaloo and her mother were sitting at the table eating lunch. Even though Scootaloo loved Saturdays, she just didn’t feel like talking today, no matter how much her mother tried to bring up casual conversations. Then, they were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. Both girls looked up at each other.
“Were you expecting somepony, dear?” Berry asked. Scootaloo shook her head, bearing the same confused expression her mother had. The purple mare then got up and walked to the door. When she opened it, however, she was even more confused to see Fluttershy with a strangely-dressed earth pony. “Um… hello?”
“Yes, I’m wondaring if zis is where I could find somepony named Scootaloo,” the blue pony asked.
“I’m sorry,” Berry said, “but who might you be?”
“Oh, hello, Berry,” Fluttershy said. “This is an old friend of mine, Photo Finish. She’s one of the best fashion designers in Equestria. You see, we found this picture of Scootaloo, and… well… if it was alright with you, she just wanted to talk to Scootaloo for a minute.”
Berry’s jaw dropped. Without moving her gaze, she called out, “Scootaloo… it’s for you, honey.”
Scootaloo then moved towards the door to see Fluttershy with some strange pony. “H-hello?” she asked.
Photo Finish gasped in delight to see the girl from the picture in real life. “Ah, I am so glad I hev found you! I am Photo Finish, top designer in all of Ekvestria, and I must ask you, who took zis pikcha?”
“W-what? Oh, that? Nopony really.”
“Yes, zat is not important. Vut is important is ze pony behind ze outfit. You are exactly vut I’m looking for in my new fashion line.”
Scootaloo tilted her head to the side. “Wait… Huh?”
“You are ze girl in zis pikcha, correct?” Scootaloo looked at the picture she had thrown out the day before. Stuck in amazement, she nodded her head. “Zen you would be perfect to model for my new designs. Vut do you think, Scootaloo? How would you feel about a fashion career?”
Scootaloo looked frantically up at her mother, who was beaming down at her. “Well,” Berry said excitedly, “aren’t you going to answer her?”
“You mean,” Scootaloo started, “if I say yes, I’ll be… a model? And I’d be taking pictures just like this?”
“Of course, Scootaloo!” Photo Finish replied with a smile. “You vould be trying on only my best new dresses.”
“Y-your best dresses?” She then looked up at the three smiling faces surrounding her. “I’ll do it, Miss Finish! I’ll model for you!”
“Ah! Vunderbar! I’ll see you next veek to talk about your new fashion career.”
The orange filly’s heart had gone at a completely random pace. All she had been through, not only over the past week, but over the past few years had paid off. All the times when she was told to try something else, she stuck to her dreams. She never let anypony sway her from what she wanted to do. Now, she was about to live her dream.
“And Scootaloo…”
“Yes, Miss Finish?”
Photo Finish handed back the picture of Scootaloo in that gorgeous purple dress.
“You are going to look beautiful.”
The End.