What You Mean To Me

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 1

I never did like the idea of having foals.

The entire song and dance always seemed like such a burden. Foals are noisy. Needy. Expensive. Able to siphon away your entire life savings just by providing them the essentials. Estimates of six figure costs over the course of their lives locking you into a lifetime of wage slavery that never directly benefits you.

How anypony could willingly accept to shoulder such a burden has always been beyond me. I’m certainly not a pony with anything resembling outlandish ambition, but even I can’t shake the feeling that a foal would severely cut into my free time, and hamper what meager productive activities I attempt to cultivate. Being a regular at Sugarcube Corner, I’ve been blessed with crystal clear perspective on just what these little bundles of joy do to a pony that actually tries to do something worthwhile with their lives. I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for poor Mr. and Mrs. Cake every time I walked through their doors for my morning cup of joe. You could watch as the vitality was sapped from them in real time as they sacrificed all that they once were in order to give their children the best they had to offer, the added strain of bearing the weight of two more lives eerily apparent on their faces. Even in the short time I'd been in Ponyville, they just seemed to be so much more worn than when we first met, as if the years had finally caught up with them. The sleepless nights and stressful days marring their complexion with fine wrinkles and permanent bags under their eyes; battle scars of a conflict yet to bear fruit, the twins just as needy as ever.

Their lives were over now. No longer were they true individuals, but merely vessels attempting to usher forth a better generation. Their lives for their spawn. It was lucky for them that they had started their business when they did, and had Pinkie to keep it afloat in light of their current obligations, and that Bon Bon seemed to have no interest in encroaching on their pastry niche. Their dream would have crumbled otherwise.

I could never burden myself like that.

Foals are a hassle. A handful. A ball and chain around your hind leg. The end of a stallion's freedom.

Not for me.

And yet, here she is, curled up next to me, completely and utterly spent, a satisfied smirk on her face as she silently slumbers. Her head nuzzled perfectly into the crook of my neck, a foreleg draped gently around my shoulders, hind legs curled around my torso in a delicate unconscious embrace. Her soft breathing caressing my coat, the occasional shifting in her sleep causing her short magenta mane to tickle the tip of my muzzle and forcing me stifle a sneeze, lest I wake her. I run my hoof up and down the back of her neck in a slow massage, sending shudders through my body as I ingest the sweet soft sensation of stroking her unkempt orange coat.

I look down at her: She is the definition of innocence. The expression on her face a gateway into the unfettered condition of her soul. The very ideal of youth.

Complete tranquility.

What were we to each other now? Was she my daughter? My little sister? My conspicuously young roommate? None of those definitions ever really seemed to fit, and they certainly didn't anymore.

A smile greets my face as I pull my hoof away from her neck, careful not to wake her. She shifts for a moment, trying to find the sensation again and return it to her body before quickly giving up, exhaling deeply and falling back into a still sleep.
"How did all of this even happen?"

_________________________

The first thing I noticed about Ponyville was the silence.

Stepping out of the carriage, tipping the driver as generously as my meager finances would allow, and levitating my few worldly possessions out of the back seat, I noticed that my thoughts were oddly focused, uninhibited by the expected dull drone of society I had become so used to in Trottingham. The only sounds that permeated Ponyville's atmosphere were the soft chirping of the birds and the buzzing of the summer cicadas, punctuated by the occasional mirthful laugh, evidence of heartfelt conversation. I looked over the inviting picture of rural living sprawled out before me and couldn't help but smile.

"I could get used to this."

I took a minute to enjoy the crisp summer breeze running through my deep grey coat as I meandered my way towards Ponyville’s town hall. The air here was indescribably more pleasant than that of Trottingham. Each breath seemed more pure, but in a way that a city native like myself couldn’t really put into words due to lack of familiarity. The denizens of Ponyville all welcomed me with a smile and a jolly hello, each seemingly familiar enough with each other to realize I was a new face. Everything about Ponyville seemed to ooze with genuine warmth, and I picked up my pace from a casual trot to light canter, giddy like a schoolcolt, eager to meet the with the Mayor, get settled, and begin my new life in such a pleasantly alien atmosphere.

I believe it was around this point that we first ran into each other, quite literally I might add.

I was taking in the sights (and smells, as I believe I was passing by Sugarcube Corner for the first time), when a tiny blur of orange and blue creeped into my peripheral vision. Making the mistake to pay the small object no real mind, a few seconds later it collided with me, sweeping my forehooves out from under me and sending me into freefall, the impact of my face hitting the ground breaking my concentration and loosening my telekinetic hold of my luggage, acquainting it with the ground as well.

I felt the sensation of something else falling and instinctually reached out with my magic, stopping it mid-flight. A dull groan from in front of me returned my attention to the scene at hoof, and I finally got a look at the source of my current predicament: a small filly, collapsed in a heap from the crash, still attempted to pull herself together after taking the brunt of the impact. Lucky for her she had the sense to wear a helmet.

She shook her head and blinked a few times, wiping away the remaining mental fog, then suddenly seemed to panic, frantically looking around for something before noticing the aura of my magic and looking up, a muted gasp escaping her lips as she seemingly found what she sought: a tiny blue scooter hovering inches away from her face, held firmly in my telekinetic grasp.

She looked over to me with an expression of wonder, as if the simple feat of levitation was somehow the most incredible thing she’d ever seen. Our gazes stayed locked for a few more seconds before I started to get up, bringing us both back to reality. I slowly set the little filly’s scooter down next to her as she too got up and began dusting off her bright orange coat. She started to brush her foreleg off and winced a bit. Apparently she didn’t escape the fall without a bit of battle damage. She quickly got over it and instead turned her attention to her scooter, looking over the thing meticulously, running her hooves over the handlebars and grips, cocking her head to check the limbs from all angles for warping. I continued watching her with a most peculiar sense of fascination. Her enthusiasm over the toy was oddly infectious, and I suddenly found myself worried too over its condition via proxy. I walked over to the other side of the scooter, sitting back down on my haunches and leaning over a bit to get a better view as she looked the vehicle over.

“So, what’s the diagnosis?”

She responded without looking up from her work, “Well...the front truck seems to have loosened up a bit from the impact, gonna need to tighten that back up when I get the chance...” She paused for a moment to run her hoof along each wheel, letting them spin for a few seconds while bringing her head closer to get a better listen. She stopped at the third wheel as an expression of annoyance crept over her face, “...and this bearing is probably gonna have to be replaced, but that’s just normal wear and tear, nothing to do with the crash.” She took an even closer look at the bottom of the scooter, “Still, no cracks in the deck means the board itself is fine. Which is good, not like I have the bits to buy a new one anyways...”

This little filly knew her stuff.

She continued her inspection in silence, but then stopped suddenly and looked over at me again, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “Oh crap...I totally just blew off apologizing to you, didn’t I?”

I simply smiled in response.

“Ugh...talk about uncool.”

I chuckled at her single mindedness, and she seemed to relax a bit. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you and your scooter are OK, leg notwithstanding.”

She looked down at the foreleg in question. “Ehh, I’ve had worse bruises. And worse crashes. I’ll live.”

The filly turned her attention back to her scooter. “This baby, on the other hand, takes to crashing a lot worse than I do. The way you snatched it outta the air with your magic right before it landed was totally awesome! The deck would’ve split for sure if you hadn’t been there.”

I laughed again. “Well, if I hadn’t been there, you probably wouldn’t have crashed in the first place.”

And with that she joined in, her soft giggles contrasting against the summer ambiance.

We both stood there for a moment, smiling, ignoring the fact that a few onlookers were staring at the grown stallion laughing like an idiot with a filly half his age, his worldly belongings still sprawled across the street. I had to admit, it was nice bumping into someone as genuinely happy at this little filly. Nice enough to leave my dignity on the ground with the rest of my possessions.

“So kid...you got a name?”

She smirked. “Yeah, but if you want it, you gotta gimme yours first.”

A fair enough request. I could appreciate a kid with a bit of backbone; not afraid to stand up to their elders when the situation called for it.

“Of course. Where are my manners? I’m River Rhyme.”

“Scootaloo.”

I glanced from her to her scooter. How fitting...

“Well Scootaloo...think you could point me in the direction of the Mayor’s office? I’m actually new in town, and was supposed to meet up with her to discuss my living arrangements here in Ponyville.”

She lifted a forehoof and motioned towards a large building in the distance. “Sure. It’s the big building with the pointed roof. Can see it from here, actually. Three streets down, take a right, then your second left. Quickest way there. If she’s not in her office she’s usually at the park. Wouldn’t recommend tracking her down there, though. She goes there to get away from work stuff.”

The fact that a random filly knew the general habits of the town mayor surprised me. This place must be a lot closer knit than I thought.

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. I should probably be going though. Don’t wanna keep the Mayor waiting.”

“Later. It was nice bumping into you.” Scootaloo smiled, “Literally.”

We shared another quick laugh as I gathered my luggage back together and began heading down the street. I turned back and noticed that Scootaloo had hopped back on her scooter, but was lingering, watching me depart, seemingly entranced by my coat. She suddenly gasped as an idea seemed to strike her, and she zoomed off in the opposite direction, leaving me very confused and oddly...flattered? It was kinda nice making such a positive connection with the first pony I got to know in my new hometown, even if she was just a kid. I decided to take the encounter as a good omen, and continued towards Town Hall, eager to see where the rest of the day would take me.

___________________________

"...it seems bigger on the inside..."

The tiny house that I had been able to secure in Ponyville prior to my arrival was hardly what one would consider high class living. It barely contained all the modern amenities: one bedroom, one bath, single floor. It was as spartan a living space one could still consider tolerable. And yet, with my meager possessions, combined with the home's scarce furnishing, it still managed to feel empty. I flopped down on my disappointingly hard mattress with a cold cider —a welcoming gift from the Mayor— and a worn notebook, levitating a quill and ink bottle over from the tiny desk in the far corner of my bedroom, too small to be comfortable for a pony of my stature.

I pondered for a few moments to collect my thoughts before slowly bringing the quill to paper, the first few marks hesitant, as if testing the parchment’s worthiness of bearing the impending information. The subtle texture of the paper resonated up the quill as it began to sail across the page, reverberating the sensation through my magical grasp and causing me to feel the soft friction in the nerve endings of my horn. The familiar feeling of the paper returned my challenge, making sure its body wasn't about to be wasted on an idea only partially realized.

A few lines in and pen and paper began to bond, no longer at odds with each other but working together, combining their abilities to bring forth something greater than themselves. The bedroom was filled with a cyan glow and a muted hum as my horn worked overtime keeping the quill up with my thoughts. The hum intensified as I grabbed a few more quills off the desk and began levitating them next to me along with the ink bottle, pre-dipping them so I could cycle from one to the next without having to lose the rhythm I had quickly established.

The sudden knocking on the door couldn't have come at a more inconvenient time.

The ambient noise of magical exertion ended abruptly, replaced by a sharp exhale framing my frustration as I dropped my notebook onto the desk, giving less care to the ink and quills, letting them simply fall out of my grasp and impact against the mattress. Ink splattered on some of the bedsheets, but I could muster little chagrin given the situation. I could already feel the words I’d plotted out beginning to slip away.

Ehh...I'd probably be buying new furnishing soon anyways.

I did my best to stifle my sudden sour mood as I made my way to the door, the bottle of cider following me as I raised it to my lips and took a rather large swig. The knocking entering its third rapid burst by the time I got to the living room, the front door connected to the far wall. I called out to affirm my approach to my guest, less as a courtesy at this point and more to prevent a migraine setting in on top of everything else.

I opened the door and was surprised to see two little fillies staring up at me. Their contrasting aesthetics made them an interesting pair. One was the definition of utility, an Earth Pony with a soft cream coat and a simple cherry colored mane, her large pink bow the only inkling of appearance done for the sake of style alone.

The other seemed almost oxymoronic. She was a unicorn, her mane a blend of light pink and purple, and done up in a rather extravagant sequence of curls, framing her face masterfully, highlighted further still by the subtle elegance of her snow white coat, shimmering in the sunset in a way that could only come from a constant application of designer product. And yet, her green eyes showed no sign of a filly of high class taste. The blissful indifference of youth was written all over her face and emanated from her body language. Clearly her fashion sense came from somepony else.

I tilted my head to the side, unable to hide a dubious expression as I attempted to wager a guess as to why a pair of random fillies would be seeking me out so late in the day. Realizing my current company, I quickly placed the bottle on the floor out of sight, quietly hoping that the smell of the drink wasn't too strong on my breath.

"Can I... help you?"

My confusion was apparently contagious, as the two fillies seemed to lose a bit of their momentum at my less than enthusiastic greeting. The cream colored one spoke up first after clearing her throat.

“Umm...hi there! Mah name’s Apple Bloom, and this here is mah friend Sweetie Belle!”

She paused for a moment, waiting for Sweetie Belle to say something. When nothing came, Sweetie Belle caught a swift elbow to the shoulder from Apple Bloom.

“Oh...umm....hi!” Her voice cracked a bit at the end as she introduced herself a few decibels louder than was necessary. Yep,definitely not a filly fascinated by high society.

Apple Bloom looked over to her friend with an annoyed expression followed by a quick roll of her eyes, seemingly used to this behavior.

“As ah was sayin...reason we’ve come all the ways out here t’see ya is cuz we’re the founding members of a special club here in Ponyville.”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle chimed in, “A secret society!”

The comment earned Sweetie another deadpan look from Apple Bloom, “Yeah...secret all right...so secret only the entire town knows about it.”

Sweetie Belle stopped, needing a moment to think before responding, “Yeah well...Ponyville is just a small town so, statistically speaking, barely anypony knows about our club!”

This time Apple Bloom paused. “...statistiwhut now?”

I strongly considered grabbing my cider and downing the rest in one go.

“Girls...I uhh...appreciate your enthusiasm, and your willingness to come to visit at such an hour. However, I was kind of settling in for the evening. It’s been quite the long day, moving in and everything. So, if there was something you wanted to say...”

“We want you to join our club!” Sweetie Belle blurted out.

“Your...club?”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom continued, “The Cutie Mark Crusaders! We go on adventures and try out new things all the time!”

“Like skydiving!” Sweetie Belle piped up again, “ and scuba diving! And bowling!”

“We do everything we can think of, “ Apple Bloom said, taking the reigns again, “so we can one day earn our cutie marks!”

With that the two girls struck an obviously rehearsed pose, showing that they indeed were blank flanks.

“And we thought we’d extend an invitation to you since we noticed that you’re a blank flank too!”

My eyes went wide as a lump formed in my throat, my drink once again begging for some attention. I turned my head to look at my flank, which was indeed devoid of any sort of mark. The same as it has always been. My cider finally got what it wanted as I grabbed it in my forehoof and took a nice long swig.

“Uhh...mister...you all right?”

I let the liquid down my throat slowly as I felt the beginnings of a buzz take hold, already doing it’s job of making the situation a bit less awkward feeling. “Look, girls, I appreciate the offer, but don’t you think I’m a little old to be playing 'Crusader' with you?”

“Being old is even more reason why you should join us!” Sweetie Belle yelled.

That was apparently strike three in Apple Bloom’s book, as she sighed and pushed the little filly off my porch. Sweetie Belle let loose a slight yelp as she stumbled through the bushes flanking the porch and collapsed into a heap on the lawn.

“What Sweetie Belle is tryin tah say is that we know how hard it is gettin our cutie marks tahgether. We don’t wanna haf’ta see you try and do it alone...”

Another sip of cider helped repress a familiar ache in my chest.

“Thanks but...this is something I need to figure out on my own...”

Apple Bloom slumped over a bit, apparently disappointed in my decision. Sweetie Belle just gave me a curious look, still familiarizing herself with my lawn. They were about to leave me to the rest of my cider when a familiar voice piped up from the edge of my yard.

“Hey! What gives?! You guys were supposed to wait for me to get here before you asked him! It was my idea, after all!”

There she was again. The little orange filly from before, Scootaloo. She hopped off her scooter and tossed her helmet to the ground in one continuous motion, making her way towards her two friends.

With the helmet off I could get a better look at her mane. It was shorter than I expected, but just as unkempt, little tufts of magenta hair sticking up in random places, cut haphazardly to keep it out of her face as opposed to make any kind of fashion statement, slick with sweat from being under her helmet.

She made her way to my patio next to Apple Bloom, panting heavilty. “...sorry...I’m late....what’d I miss?”

“Not much. He said no.”

Scootaloo looked up at me, her lack of oxygen forgotten. If Apple Bloom was disappointed at my decision, the orange filly seemed downright devastated, her eyes large with defeat. “...Oh...”

That one word, so devoid of feeling, felt like a dagger piercing my heart. My first “friend” in Ponyville, my self-proclaimed good omen, and here I am, spitting in the face of her kindness, not even twelve hours later.

“All right well...thanks anyways Mister Rhyme. Sorry tah bother ya. Have a good evenin’.”

The trio turned and began to take off, Sweetie Belle finally collecting herself, and Scootaloo shuffling away with Apple Bloom.

“Sorry about that girls. He seemed really nice when we talked earlier. I thought he might be interested.”

Her words gave the dagger a sharp twist.

“That’s OK, Scootaloo. You had no way of knowin’ what he’d say. It was worth a shot.”

I suddenly found myself feeling like the worst pony in the history of Equestria.

Why do you care so much? She doesn’t change anything.

Scootaloo headed back to retrieve her helmet with significantly less hop in her trot. She picked her scooter up from the side of the road where she had casually discarded it.

Her scooter.

She had made such a big deal out of it earlier. Like it was her prized possession. Yet here she was throwing it in the middle of the street because she was more excited about seeing me again.

She’s just a little kid. They have one track minds. Her especially, if your conversation earlier was any indication.

They paused for a moment to talk amongst themselves as Scootaloo strapped her helmet back on and picked up her scooter, too far away for their conversation to be audible anymore.

You don’t have time to entertain the ego of a group of fillies. You have your own issues to work through. That’s why you came here in the first place, remember?

They started to leave.

“Wait!”

The three turned and looks back at the source of the voice. It took a moment for me to realize that the protest came from me.
“I uhh...maybe...maybe I should...you know...check out this club of yours before I make my decision. Never a good idea to be too hasty, right?”

What in the name of Tartarus are you doing?!

The girls seemed to perk up. Sweetie Belle grinned. Apple Bloom let out a small whoop.

Scootaloo adjusted her helmet a bit, pushing her mane out of the way of her face. She looked right at me, straight in the eyes, and smiled.

Chapter 2

“Ugh...you need to stop fidgeting so much or I’ll never be able to get this done properly!”

Rarity huffed in annoyance as I struggled against her increasingly rough touch, desperately trying to take my measurements, much to my discomfort. Rarity was nothing if not intoxicatingly beautiful. Her royal violet mane and alabaster coat were painstaking coaxed into a state of shimmering sensation, her figure rigorously regulated to be nothing less than the picturesque portrait of perfection, and her articulation of thought masterfully punctuated. The only clue to her humble Ponyville roots were the minute hints of error in her faux accent, evidence of a mare inheriting her inflection from viewing too many high class plays and participating in Canterlot garden parties, as opposed to growing up with it and committing the speech pattern to memory subconsciously. Nevertheless, Rarity had a presence that commanded a certain kind of attention, and this was hardly an accident. Being this close to her after making her acquaintance only minutes earlier felt very uncomfortable, even if it was just her magic making contact with me.

Her azure aura brought the measuring tape to the side of my barrel again, and again I winced in discomfort, ruining her attempts at discerning any useful information from the act. She sighed and lowered the measuring tape, looking at me softly from behind her bright red, thickly rimmed glasses. Her understanding expression gave me some respite, as I must not be the first to pass through her Boutique with such illogical reservations.

"You really must calm yourself, darling. Am I honestly that intimidating?"

I looked over the unicorn quickly without making it too obvious. Intimidating isn't the word I would choose...

My voice wavered as I failed to hide my discontent. "No...its just that in Trottingham, custom tailored clothing is...quite the luxury. It isn't a service I ever really expected to be privy to, especially free of charge..."

The unicorn let out a refined laugh, stifling the majority of her outburst behind a rehearsed raising of her hoof. Her voice seemed to take on a softer tone, recognizing my unease. "Is that all, dear? Well, an outfit tailored to oneself alone certainly is a luxury, but that should not be something to be disconcerted with. After all, that is the point, is it not? To make one feel special? Feel like they're worth something?"

If she was buttering me up in order to relax me a bit, I had to admit it was working.

"And yet, city life recluses such wonders to only the most fortunate, and that is quite the shame. Everypony deserves to look and feel their best at least once in their lives, do they not? That was my belief at least."

She turned away from me to look around her boutique, delightfully lost in her own grandiose vision.

"And that's why I opened the Carousel Boutique, you see. A dressmaking shop in little old Ponyville? How uncouth, they would say!” She seemed to spit out that last line, implying that it may be less something they would say, but more something they do say. Rarity took a deep breath before raising her voice significantly, her tone filled with passion. “But that's exactly the point! High class fashion coupled with small town charm! Fashion that could fit into everypony's lifestyle, and anypony's budget! A true revolution that would equalize the Art of Elegance, bringing true beauty to all who are privy to its call! Soon, everypony will come to understand the magic of a truly quality dress or a stunning suit, and they'll owe it all to the name Rarity the Uni-"

A cough came from across the room. "Umm...sis?"

Rarity suddenly froze in the center of the boutique, a small collection of fabrics and mannequins floating in her telekinetic grasp, caught up in her grasp to accent her diatribe. She turned around to once again view myself and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, her face flush as the image of a refined, collected mare broke ever so slightly, her image faltering for the first time since I had entered her shop.

"M-my apologizes. How dreadfully embarrassing. I do tend to get a bit long winded about such things. Please, forgive me..."

She returned the items floating about to their proper place as she slowly made her way back over to us, nursing her bruised ego. The girls seemed unfazed by Rarity's behavior, but didn't waste the opportunity to have a few laughs at her expense, especially Sweetie Belle. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle myself.

"No need to apologize. I must admit I'm impressed by the depths of your passion. It's rather moving."

"Yes well, a lady should be able to reign in her passion, lest she lose her dignity."

I was tempted to argue the point of passion being undignified, but the look on Rarity's face seemed to be begging for a segue into a different topic.

"So uhh...about those measurements?"

Her face lit up at the prospect of returning to her work. "Ahh yes! It may be just a simple cloak, but I would be remiss if I didn't give even a simple task my all!"

The unicorn gleefully returned to work. Her sister however, was suddenly less enthused. Sweetie Belle’s face had taken on an expression of distress at Rarity’s comment. An expression her sister noticed immediately.

“Oh no! Sweetie Belle, I didn’t mean it like that! It is simple for me only because I have done such a thing so many times! Do not think I meant to imply anything about you!”

The cloak was mandatory, they had said. If I was going to join The Cutie Mark Crusaders, I had to be in uniform for “all official club meetings and events.” What that entailed specifically I was not yet aware, but what I had learned in the past few hours was that, while Sweetie Belle was able to make a crude cloak for her friends and Apple Bloom’s cousin with little issue, adjusting her pattern for a pony of my stature was apparently beyond her scope, as simply doubling the pattern size had comical results. Hence the short trek back from the CMC clubhouse to Carousel Boutique which, after some impressive begging skills from Sweetie Belle, led us to Rarity’s “inspiration room” to make me a Crusader’s Cloak all my own.

Rarity picked up a quill and jotted down some numbers on a loose piece of parchment as she continued to take measurements, moving the tape to and fro with practiced precision, her expertise at her craft apparent.

She suddenly stopped as sense of realization seemed to wash over her. “Sweetie Belle dear, do you think you could do me a quick favor?”

She looked over at the trio as she lay the paper down and draped a large piece of fabric over my back. She levitated some bobby pins over from a small container of the far side of the room, all the while keeping eye contact with Sweetie Belle, familiar enough with the layout of the room to no longer require line of sight with any of the items she desired.

“It’s nearly noon and I’m absolutely famished, and I have had no time this morning to make myself a proper breakfast." Her voice had a slightly whiny undertone to accent her plight, which she quickly removed from her next statement. "Could you be a dear and run over to the cafe and grab me my usual? I’ll give you some extra bits to grab you and your friends a little something from Sugarcube Corner as well, of course.”

Sweetie Belle smiled. “Sure! C’mon girls! I’m totally fami...fami...hungry too!”

The girls headed for the exit. Scootaloo hesitated for a moment as the other girls headed down the stairs, looking over to Rarity and myself.

“We’ll be back soon!”

And with that she left with the others, the sound of their conversation echoing up the staircase.
Rarity smiled before returning her attention to me, pinning the fabric draped over my back in various places, “That little filly...all it takes is the prospect of sweets to brighten my sister’s spirits...”

She placed a few more pins, nodded to herself, then removed the fabric and started digging through one of the many shelving areas in her workspace on the other side of the room. “Of course, what I’m really interested about at this moment is you.”

A small lump formed in my throat at that statement. I prepared myself for the worst, but the conversation seemed to pause there. Rarity grabbed two bolts of fabric, one a thick maroon that looked to be some kind of velvet, the other a thin golden silk that shimmered in the light, and laid them out on a table. She cut the pieces to size based on the measurements she had taken, only once looking to her parchment for reference. Satisfied, she moved the fabric carefully with her magic over to a table at the right of where I was standing, and began sewing them together to make the two-toned design that the girls’ cloaks already had. Now that she was facing me again, I could see that the conversation had come to a standstill due to her struggling to come up with words, indecisiveness painted all over her face.

Her words came slowly. They were no less refined than her norm, but it was evident she was having difficulty articulating her point effectively whilst phrasing it with the proper grace befitting her image. “So...pardon my bluntness, but this has been eating at me ever since my sister first mentioned you to me. What exactly possessed you to join my sister’s little group? Surely you must recognize how silly the sight of a grown stallion frollicking around with a group of fillies must seem?”

I chuckled as I recalled the last week and change, the beginning of my new life in Ponyville. Despite initially planning to spend the bulk of my time alone, my week had quickly been dominated by being in the company of three young fillies, showing me around town, introducing me to their friends and family, and revealing to me the "secret route" to the Crusader Clubhouse.

“Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. When I came to Ponyville, I was expecting to spend the majority of my time with my thoughts and a strong cider. However, your sister and her friends can be quite...convincing when they want to be.”

Rarity laughed, more heartily this time, again letting the mask of sophistication wane a bit and give me a glimpse of the true mare beneath it. “Yes, I am far too aware of that skill of theirs. The lengths Sweetie Belle went when trying to convince me to take her camping naught a few months ago...I swear, that child is far too good at placating to one's conscience...almost as good as I am...”

Rarity finished sewing the two pieces of square fabric together and folded it into quarters, taking an extra moment to make sure the dimensions were exact, then began rounding the edges by cutting the corners of the fabric into soft curves. When she was satisfied, she turned back to me with a look of genuine concern.

“Do not be afraid to put your hoof down around them though, darling. Sweetie Belle alone has the tendency to be rather...demanding. Put the three of them together though, and Celestia give you strength. Just say the word and I’ll let them know that you need your space to get settled. I can only assume that you’ve still yet to completely ground yourself here in our humble town.”

Strangely enough, I felt I could relate very little to what Rarity was saying. “It’s really no trouble at all, Miss Rarity. While it’s true that I was initially a bit hesitant to take the girls up on their offer, and certainly didn’t expect them to follow through as strongly as they have, I’d be lying if I said I regretted the decision. The girls’ company, as well as everypony else’s immense kindness, has made the transition to Ponyville life far easier than I had expected. Maybe its due to my childhood being rather...regulated, and my soul is simply yearning to make up for lost time, but I’m actually relishing the opportunity to let my mane down a bit and act “silly” as you called it. After the hustle and bustle of Trottingham, it’s quite the refreshing change of pace. Whatever the reason though, your sister and her friends, while energetic, have yet to truly rub me the wrong way,” I flashed Rarity a quick smile, “a few occasions of empty bickering aside.”

She smiled and let out a soft ‘hmm’ in agreement, too focused on her handiwork to deliver a complete response. The conversation took another brief respite as Rarity continued to work on the cloak. I decided to stretch my hooves a bit and took a walk around the room, taking in the organized chaos that was Rarity’s studio space. Odds and ends littered the room, and dozens of half finished garments were haphazardly strewn about both on mannequins and shelf space alike. Rarity was clearly a compulsive multitasker, a skill that I thought I would have envied. Seeing the results of such a mindset though, I was beginning to find some new respect for my unitask tendencies.

"Do try not to touch too much. Despite appearances there really is a method to the madness in here, even if I am the only one who can see it."

I looked back over to Rarity, who had stopped working on the cloak, seemingly a bit nervous at my prying. I decided to push my luck a bit, dramatically raising a hoof and almost jostling about the contents of a small shelf, before quickly pulling it back."I wouldn't dream of it. Far be it from me to second guess the inner workings of the artistic mind..."

She simply deadpanned at me in response.

I grinned at her and she seemed to lighten up a bit. She went back to her work, satisfied that her space was safe, but soon decided to continue the conversation.

"I do appreciate it, you know."

"It's really not a big deal."

Rarity laughed. "Oh no, I mean you being with girls. They have an impeccable record for getting into trouble. The fact that they're willingly acquiescing to what essentially amounts to adult supervision does take a load off of my mind. As does my parents, and the rest of the girls' family as well. We do worry about them so..."

I tilted my head in surprise. "Oh?"

The alabaster mare sighed as her shoulders slumped a bit."Yes well, they are getting older now...and they are still so adamant about their cutie marks... And yet, they seem to be going about it in all the wrong ways. We're all starting to get worried that this obsession of theirs might be doing more harm than good." She realized she was losing focus on the task at hoof and picked up her pace a bit as she continued. "They have become so close and spend all their time together going off on crazy adventures, but at the expense of investing any time into themselves. A cutie mark will only appear when you come to understand who you really are on the inside, not by rock climbing or scuba diving. I fear that they may lose sight of who they are as individuals, even as their bond with each other grows..."

I would be lying if I said I was completely comfortable the direction this conversation seemed to be taking.

Rarity seemed too lost in her concern for her sister to notice my nervous fidgiting as the topic started moving a bit too close to home. "They're going to be entering middle school next year for Celestia's sake! A child halfway done with their schooling without their cutie mark? Can you imagine?"

I winced at her words as they lashed out at long dormant scars ingrained on my heart, bringing forth a familiar ache. I should have simply stayed quiet, but my response left my mouth before I could consider otherwise, laced with more venom than its recipient deserved.

"Yes. Far better than you know."

The tension in the room became palpable as Rarity froze with a sharp gasp, realizing what she had done. "Oh my stars... Mr. Rhyme you have my sincerest apologies! It's simply that i am not yet used to being around another pony that doesn't have...oh Celestia I'm just making it worse! To think I would make such an obvious faux pas! Can you ever forgive me?!"

The mask of sophistication had completely vanished now. The would-be fashionista of the Canterlot Elite eroded away in front of my eyes, replaced by a humble mare with a kind soul, desperate to make the situation right. Despite her genuine concern, I still couldn't bring myself to make eye contact with her just yet, instead taking note of the subtle but elaborate patterning on the floor.

Rarity left the cloak on the table and made her way over to me, approaching slowly, coming to a stop a few paces away and resting on her haunches, leaning in so I could see her face.

"D-do you want to talk about it, darling? I certainly would not mind lending an ear."

There it was again. Rarity's words had the best of intentions, and I certainly didn't fault her or hold any ill will over her efforts, but, still, there it was again. Just beneath the surface of concern and compassion.

Pity.

I raised my head slowly, making sure my face showed none of the weakness that was in my heart. I made eye contact with the fashionista for the first time since the comment was made and responded in a detached monotone.

"No. I don't want to talk about it."

She winced at the retort and I felt another pang of guilt as I shot down her act of selflessness. The cold delivery had been more for my sake than for hers, lest I break down in the middle of her boutique.

She simply nodded and returned to her sewing table and continued working. I stayed put for a few more minutes before getting up and resumed pacing. The studio filled with an awkward tension.

Said tension was finally broken by the muted sound of Carousel Boutique's entrance chime from the floor below, followed by the sound of giggles and a trio of hoof steps, signaling the CMC's return. They quickly made their way back into the studio with the fruits of their journey. The girls each had a rather offensively large piece of junk food in tow, Scootaloo going so far as dual wielding a pair of pastries. Apple Bloom had a massive milkshake that was nearly as tall as she was, and Sweetie Belle delicately balanced an ice cream cone in a hoof, juggling between it with a brown bag held in her mouth that assumedly contained Rarity's lunch, nursing the cone whenever it threatened to melt all over her coat from the warm summer heat.

Sweetie Belle uttered a disjointed 'Here you go, sis!' as best she could with her mouth full of brown bag, and Rarity relieved her of the obstruction, levitating her prize over to the table she was working on. Free of her burden, Sweetie Belle wasted no time tending to her ice cream, making up for lost time as she attacked the dribbling spots before taking on the treat proper.
Rarity removed her glasses and sat up as she carefully removed the contents of the bag. Given her seemingly high class taste, I was surprised to see a grilled daffodil and cheese sandwich and a large portion of hayfries being "her usual". My surprise must have been palpable, as Rarity looked at me with a slight chuckle. "I must admit, I have a bit of a weakness for a pinch of junk food every now and then. Blame our parents for practically raising us on the stuff. Is that not right, Sweetie Belle?"

She lifted her muzzle from the ice cream, already having made quite a mess in her aggressive ingestion. "Every Friday is take out night!" She recited in a sing-song fashion, before quickly returning to the cone. Rarity let out an amused sigh as she subtly levitated a loose handkerchief over to her sister, knowing she would need it in a few minutes.

I was entranced by the sight of family and friends enjoying a humble meal together when a sensation on my foreleg caught my attention. I brought my gaze downward and saw that Scootaloo was poking my leg with a hoof.

"What's up, kiddo?"

Her demeanor surprised me. The usual bold and brash filly was uncharacteristically reserved. She had one of her pastries hanging out of her mouth, chewing on it nervously. She then extended her hoof towards me, offering up the other pastry. She made a muffled noise through the pastry as she extended her hoof to me a bit further, making the offer clear.

"For me?"

She looked down at the ground, avoiding my eyes, nodding furiously.

Apple Bloom stopped working on her shake and spoke up. "Yah shoulda seen it, Rhyme! Pinkie Pie somehow had all of our favorites ready when we got ta Sugarcube Corner, includin' Scootaloo's! But she turned it down and got two of dem things instead so we could get you a lil' sumthin too!"

Scootaloo blushed and hurriedly gulped down the rest of her pastry. “It wasn’t a big deal, guys. Just...seemed like the right thing to do. Everypony else was gonna have something...”

I graciously accepted the pastry from the filly with my magic, Scootaloo shuddering a bit as my aura made contact with her hoof. I often forgot that the sensation of unicorn magic always took non-unicorns by surprise. Getting a closer look at the pastry, it seemed to be a chocolate filled croissant; hardly the fanciest of Sugarcube Corner’s offerings, and most likely paltry in comparison to Scootaloo’s normal choice. The last week had proven to me without question that the girl could put food away in a manner that defied her stature, most likely due to her constant athleticism. Still, it was the thought that counted, and the little filly’s heart was certainly in the right place.

I took a small bite of the pastry as the orange pegasus looked up at me with baited breath, awaiting my judgement. “...do you like it?”

I swallowed my first mouthful and immediately went for a second, unsurprised that even their simplest offerings still retained that signature Sugarcube Corner quality. “It’s excellent. Thanks Scootaloo.”

She smirked, “It better be. I don’t give up Pinkie Pie’s Triple Layer Super Fudge Sponge Cake for just anypony.”

Her phrasing struck me as a bit odd. It seemed that Scootaloo noticed it as well, as her eyes widened as soon as the words escaped her mouth, as if she had spoken out of turn. I decided to pay it no mind and avoid embarrassing her any further in light of her kind gift, and simply express my gratitude.

“Well then, that means all the more to me.”

I had expected the comment to disarm her a bit, but instead she seemed to get even more nervous, quickly averting her gaze and returning back to her friends. My thoughts on the situation were quickly interrupted by the sensation of soft fabric being draped over my back, and a broach being clasped around my neck with a familiar azure aura.

“Done! And in record time, I might add!”

Rarity took a step back to admire her handiwork. "My my, Mr. Rhyme, you certainly have a striking silhouette! He makes it work rather well, wouldn't you agree, girls?"

The trio nodded in blind agreement, none of them completely understanding what Rarity meant.

I gave the cloak my own quick once over, and was impressed with the craftsmareship Rarity was capable of. In under an hour she had fabricated an item that seemed to be every bit as professional as any garment I had come across in my time. At least that’s how it appeared to my novice understanding of the craft. I suppose that’s why things like these are in such high demand back in Trottingham...

“So...what do you think, darling? Come take a look!” Rarity beckoned me over to a large mirror by the door. I took a moment to look over my image, while maroon with gold trim may not have been my first choice for personal attire, I’d be lying if Rarity’s handiwork didn't fit my frame masterfully.

“It’s incredible, Rarity. To have done such a fine job so quickly...truly stunning.” I turned to face her directly and looked her straight in the eyes. "Thank you."

She seemed to understand that I was referring to more that just the cloak. She smiled back at me, leaving her response at that.

“Good! Now that that’s outta th’way we can finally get some Crusadin’ done!”

Apple Bloom instantly took charge, both figuratively and literally, as she dashed for the door, motioning for the rest of us to follow. The girls instantly took off, yelling for me to follow. I looked back over to Rarity again, and it seemed like we had both gotten over the small snag from earlier. She smiled at me. “Do try to keep them out of trouble.”

“I’ll try, but knowing them, I make no promises.”

We both laughed as I made my way down the stairs to catch up with the Crusaders, waiting patiently by the door. “C’mon Rhyme! It’s almost 2PM and we haven’t done a single bit o’ Crusadin’! We could’ve had our cutie marks by now!”

Sweetie Belle seemed to get excited over the concept "Exactly! Let’s get going! ...uhhh...what exactly are we doing today?”

“Yeah, you didn’t tell us anything back at the clubhouse!” Scootaloo chimed in.

“Well...” Apple Bloom began.

I braced myself. Something told me this was going to be a doozy.

“We’re gonna go spelunking!”

Scootaloo was drawing a blank “What now?”

“Cave exploring.” Sweetie Belle responded without missing a beat.

I could barely contain my facehoof. Here we go again...

With our goal in mind we exited Carousel Boutique, making our way to the outskirts of Ponyville to wherever Apple Bloom had been inspired to think up this insane idea of hers. I trailed behind the girls a few paces, as they were still far more familiar with the edges of town, my expertise still only extending a few blocks around my house.

After a few minutes of walking, Scootaloo slowed her trot a bit and allowed herself to fall in step beside me. I couldn’t help but notice her poor attempt at nonchalance and looked down at her. She smiled warmly up at me, no longer attempting to hide her desire to keep me company. I smiled back as we both ventured out into Ponyville, once again to embark on a day of questionable productivity.

Author's Note

Big thanks to Idylia, Pegasus Rescue Brigade, and Digibrony for taking a look at this and showing me where I sucked xD

Chapter 3

"Ugh...hayseed...What in Celestia's golden sun is that racket?"

Sleep quickly began its far too hasty retreat as my senses slowly returned to me, brought forth by an inane, relentless tapping coming from my bedroom window. I let out a rather obnoxious groan as I stretched, attempting to resist the warm embrace of my bed, the thick comforter extending quite the cordial invitation to return to my slumber. My eyelids were heavy, and protested loudly at my half-hearted coercion as I cautiously pried them open, not yet ready to face Celestia's morning sunrays.

The rest of my body joined in with my eyelids in attempting to stave off consciousness, my entire being sore with the sensation of an unfulfilling sleep. I had been awake rather late the night prior getting acquainted with some of Sweet Apple Acres finest, and the unmistakable sensation of a hangover was doing nothing to help alleviate my desire to ignore the unknown disturbance. Another series of tapping entered my ears violently, enhancing the dull rhythmic throbbing of my booze-induced headache, the sharp pain finally returning me to reality. With a heavy sigh I tossed my covers aside, the minds' curiosity trumping the body's base reservations, and I slothfully made my way to my bedroom window.

Unsurprisingly, the source of the noise was a particular orange filly, who was rather energetically beating the crap out of my window with a forehoof. She would appear in the window for a few moments, buzzing her tiny wings rapidly in an attempt to generate lift, getting off a few knocks before gravity once again claimed her, pulling her back to the ground below. I stood there with an amused grin as she continued the process a few times with her eyes clenched in frustration, before she finally peered inside again and made eye contact with me. I laughed as her face took on an annoyed expression, made even more humorous as she slowly sank back out of sight again. I shook my head and cleared my throat as I slowly opened the window, peering my head out and did my best to act presentable in my state of half-sleep.

"Having fun?"

She panted in between her words, the maneuver clearly having taken a bit out of her. "What...the hay...is wrong with you?"

"I enjoy my rest."

"And I enjoy not looking like an idiot."

I smirked. "I guess neither of us are getting what we want this morning then."

She glared at me with the most adorable expression of hatred, her eyes narrow and brow furrowed as she stared me down unblinking in a display of pseudo-antagonism. Unsurprisingly, Scootaloo never was able to intimidate me, despite her many attempts. I couldn't help but let out another laugh. Her expression deepened. "Its not funny!" She snapped.

"It kinda is."

Scootaloo just hung her head in response, taking the comment a bit harder than I anticipated. Being able to determine where her boundaries are has always been rather difficult. The line seems to shift with her mood. I sighed."Aww...c'mon...you know I didn't mean anything by that!”

She just sat on her haunches, ignoring me, seemingly distraught. Though, experience told me she was playing the moment up a bit to try and make me feel bad.

I wasn’t falling for it. Not this time.

“You know, it really wasn’t all that stupid looking...” I began in a sing song voice.

She looked up at me again with disgust, knowing where I was going with this, and her eyes narrowed with rekindled rage. “Oh...you better not...”

I ignored her, putting a hoof to my chin in an act of faux contemplation. “Hmm...it was kinda more like...what’s the word...?”

“I’m warning you...”

The stupidest grin ever spread uncontrollably across my face. “...cute.”

She hated it when I said that.

Scootaloo’s cheeks flushed and her face somehow managed to contort into an even deeper scowl. She broke eye contact with me, instead looking at the grass while crossing her forehooves in disapproval. “Shut. Up.”

I laughed again and decided to lay off for now, fully satisfied in my vengeance for my less than ideal wake up call. “So...what exactly brings you to my humble backyard at such an ungodly hour?”

"It's 10AM." Scootaloo deadpanned

"Exactly. Ungodly hour."

The filly sighed, not interested in my light banter. "I've been trying to get your sorry flank up!"

I looked at the filly, then casually glanced behind be at the front entrance of my home, then returned back to Scootaloo. "I...have a front door you know."

"Yeah I do know. We know each other real well now. I tried that for 10 minutes before I came back here!"

Oh...

"Yeah...sorry about that, Scoots. I was up real late last night."

She took personal offense to that. "What?! Why?! You promised you'd be ready to go to Sweet Apple Acres when I got here!"

Sweet Apple Acres? Why would we b-
Oh...

I facehoofed. "The Sisterhooves Social..."

If I didn’t know better, I’d say Scootaloo was beginning to take pleasure in pointing out my idiocy. "Oh now you remember! Well hurry up! We gotta go meet up with Rainbow Dash!"

"All right, all right! Lemme unlock the door for you. Not gonna make you sit outside while I get ready..."

"Hurry!"

I slowly turned my attention towards the front door and, with a quick thought, my horn burst to life, a cool blue aura undoing the bolt on the door. A sharp pain in my forehead reminded me that I was, in fact, still hung over, and that using magic does nothing to alleviate said condition. I stumbled my way to my small bathroom to freshen up a bit as the sound of tiny hoofsteps entered my living room. They came to a stop and were followed by a muted thump, most likely Scootaloo taking a seat on my couch. A few minutes passed in silence as I quickly began to take a shower. I was in the middle of working the shampoo in my mane into a fine lather when Scootaloo piped up again.

"It stinks in here."

I called out over the showerhead in reply. "That, my girl, is the smell of alcohol. Give it a few years and I'm sure you'll come to appreciate it."

The wait before her response was just long enough to be unnerving. "Ooh...is that what this bottle is? I wanna try some!"

I nearly tripped over my own forehooves as I instinctually bolted out of the shower, shampoo mane and all. "No! No! Classic Equestrian Brown Ale does not mix well with fillies!"

I spilled into the living room, soaking wet, to see Scootaloo sitting on the couch, in the company of not a beer but instead a devious smirk. I stood there in stunned silence as her smirk grew bigger and bigger. Words finally found me again.

"You lying little sack of horsefeathers..."

Scootaloo recoiled in fake horror and covered her ears. "Whoa! Language! Innocent ears over here!"

I scoffed. "Please...I've heard you say worse on your good days..."

Her smirk returned. "Innocent ears. Not tongue."

I rolled my eyes as I made my way back to my shower. Scootaloo was too caught up in a giggling fit on the couch to throw any parting remarks my way. I shut the door to the bathroom a bit louder than I intended to, stopping Scootaloo's laughing fit. Taking the door slam as a challenge, the last thing I heard from her before drowning out the world under a warm cascade of water was a muffled:
"That'll teach you to call me cute!"

I let the water run down through my mane and extradite both the lathered shampoo what was left of my grogginess, letting out another heavy sigh.

Kids...
_________________

"You shower like a girl."

Scootaloo had apparently not yet reached her quota for insults this morning, continuing to tease me even as we made our way through downtown Ponyville, making our way to Sweet Apple Acres. She tooled around on her scooter, doing some simple tricks and riding in circles around me as I casually trotted along in no particular hurry. Despite Scootaloo's wake up call because of my unplanned tardiness, we still had a good half hour before the social began, so I saw no reason to rush. Scootaloo however, did not agree.

"Ugh...can you go any slower?!"

I slowed my trot to half my original speed.

"You suuuuuuuck..."

I laughed. "Relax, we have plenty of time."

Scootaloo still wasn’t convinced. "If you walk as quickly as you shower we'll never get there!"

Bringing up my showering habits again reminded me of her first comment. "Showering like a girl. Isn't that like...insulting to yourself?"

She scoffed, her voice taking on a lecturing tone. "I am a girl, so I have an excuse. Even still, I don't take TWENTY minutes to wash my mane."

"Well, in my defense, my mane is longer than yours.”

Valid points did not sit well with the filly this morning, and she eyed me with disdain. I continued unabated. “Regardless though, I decided that I deserved the solace of a nice, relaxing shower after being awoken with such provocation."

"Only cuz you're too dumb to get up when you're supposed to."

"I was up late last night enjoying the tranquility of a most beautiful evening in the company of a quality local beverage. Princess Luna would be proud."

"I doubt Luna would like you breaking your promise."

"Oh, and you know what Her Highness would think about the situation, huh?"

"Better than you. I've met Princess Luna."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. In my dream."

"...your dream?"

"Yep. Luna can visit you in your dreams."

Scootaloo's normal joking demeanor disappeared and instead became completely serious during this exposition, giving her account an eerie amount of credibility.

"...S-she can really do that?"

Scootaloo shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess so."

"...huh..."

We continued in silence for a few seconds as I pondered her words. Scootaloo's gaze drifted down the road and excitement quickly filled her face again."C'mon...we're getting close! You have to meet Rainbow Dash!"

I had been in Ponyville for almost a year now, and I don't think a single day had gone by that I had been with Scootaloo when she didn't mention the cyan Pegasus in some way. Of course, even if she hadn't had such a blatant idolization of the mare, her name would still be familiar. Recalling her idol, I suddenly connected the dots between her last two statements.

“So...you know the Princess of the Night...and a Wonderbolt?”

She stood up a bit straighter in response. “Yep! Pretty impressive, huh?”

I nodded. It was certainly surprising, to say the least. In all honesty, when Scootaloo first mentioned that she knew Rainbow, I had a hard time believing her. But after finding out that basically the entire town knew waaaay too much embarrassing history concerning the Wonderbolt’s humble beginnings, I had to concede to the truth.

“I still can’t believe the biggest new name in extreme stunt flying has an obsession with a book series like Daring Do, and was writing a blatant self-insert fiction...”

Scootaloo grinded to a halt in a panic, stopping me dead in my tracks too. “SHH!”

She looked around to make sure that Rainbow Dash hadn’t somehow materialized next to us in the last thirty seconds before walking over to me and continuing in a hushed whisper. “You’re not supposed to know that! Nopony is supposed to know that! If you mention that around her she’ll KILL you.”

One would initially think that this was an overreaction from a self-proclaimed zealous fangirl, but then again, stories of Rainbow Dash demolishing a barn single hoofededly by essentially crashing into it made me err on the side of caution.

“...Noted.”

The rest of the journey to Sweet Apple Acres was relatively quiet, with Scootaloo riding ahead of me, showing off with the occasional scooter trick, followed by a quick look back at me to gauge my reaction, her gaze prompting a warm smile and the occasional short compliment on my part. Each affirmation from me lit up her face, and she took off again, determined to make her next trick even more impressive than the last.

After about 15 minutes of stunts, the dull murmur of a crowd began to encroach upon us as we approached Sweet Apple Acres. Half of Ponyville was gathered for the annual event, which, if I was understanding correctly, has continued to grow in complexity each year. Our impending arrival spurred Scootaloo on, and with a loud buzzing of her wings she took off at full speed, forcing me into a light canter just to keep up with her. We cut our way through the bulk of the crowd gathered at the entrance to the farm and made our way to the main event area. Scootaloo jumped off her scooter and began frantically looking around, trying to spot Rainbow Dash. I stood by the sidelines and observed her enthusiasm with a grin. Her excitement rubbed off on me a bit as I found myself also eager to meet the famed pegasus athlete. One would think that a bright cyan coat, a spectrum streaked mane, and an insurmountable ego would be easy to spot in a crowd, yet the Wonderbolt continued to elude our gaze, Dash apparently doing a good job staying out of sight. Scootaloo continued her search unhindered however, ignoring the calls off Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle as they made their way over to us from the main barn. They gave both of us a friendly wave, of which only one of us returned. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and made her way towards Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle continued over to me.

"She’s looking for Rainbow Dash?"

"That obvious, huh?"

Sweetie smirked as she matched my gaze, both of us watching as Apple Bloom chased Scootaloo around the farm, desperately trying to calm down "Well, who else does she get this excited over?"

This statement elicited an interesting response from me. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. I just felt rather uncomfortable all of a sudden, prompting a left field question. "You've obviously met her before. Is she worth all the fanfare?"

Sweetie Belle pondered for a moment. "Well...yeah! She's pretty cool I guess. She likes all the same stuff as Scootaloo does, so we all get why she gets all hyper like this.” Sweetie’s voice became a bit more somber. “Scootaloo has always been a bit jealous of us for having our sisters, so she looks to Rainbow Dash for same kind of bond. And while they do what they can, Rainbow Dash is gone a lot now. It must be tough for both of them...”

I nodded, not exactly sure what to say in response, electing to continue watching as Apple Bloom attempted to reign in Scootaloo's hype. The scene eventually caught the attention of Applejack, who was busy helping her brother and grandmother getting the final preparations for the event set up. The large field directly behind the central structures of Sweet Apple Acres had been cleared out of its usual myriad of tools and farming equipment, and an elaborate obstacle course full of all sorts of relays and challenges had been haphazardly erected in their stead, aligned to a winding path etched out in the soil. Applejack and Big Macintosh were busy setting up the starting line post, their Granny Smith in a rocking chair barking orders through a megaphone not too far away. To an athletic little filly like Scootaloo, the setup must’ve looked like heaven. To a more...sedentary pony like myself, I was getting exhausted just looking at it. The obstacle course was flanked with an assortment of other games, rides, food stands, and an assortment of tables and hay bales for ponies to sit down and take a load off. While the event was called the Sisterhooves Social, the gathering had stuff going on for everypony in the family.

" Well Howdy there, River Rhyme! I’m surprised you made it!"

Scootaloo stopped talking with Apple Bloom and interjected before I got a chance to respond. "You and me both! I was barely able to get him out of bed!"

The comment earned me an odd look from Applejack.

I chuckled nervously. "She was knocking on my window for the better part of 15 minutes trying to wake me up."

Applejack laughed. “ Oh is that all? Well, ah can’t say ahm surprised. When you said ya wanted some of th’ strongest stuff we brewed last night, I didn’t think y’all would actually have th’ chops t’ handle it! So..how did the ‘Ghastly Apple Gorge’ treat ya?”

My head chose that moment to deliver a swift blow to my temple, as if to accentuate my next statement. “Kicked my flank all kinds of bad. Calling that stuff 'cider' is insulting." Thinking about my hangover brought the pain back to the forefront of my mind, figuratively and literally, and i nursed my temples with a forehoof. Applejack let out a chuckle at my expense. I did my best to ignore both the pain and her commentary. "Still, It was just what I was looking for. I’ll probably be grabbing some more before I leave today, if that’s alright with you.”

Applejack huffed. “More already? Well...ah won’t say no to honest business, but you best be careful with how quickly you put that stuff away, Sugarcube. We both know as much as you may like yer beer, you aint no Apple.”

I gave a slight groan at her chastising. Applejack and her brother were the closest thing I had in Ponyville to a “drinking buddy”, but the difference in our levels of tolerance was staggering. I had thought only a year ago that I was exceptionally skilled in my ability to handle alcohol, but the Apples were quick to prove just how comparatively plebeian my abilities actually were, the siblings able to down beer, cider, and hard liquor in a fashion I wouldn’t have thought possible had I not been a witness to it in the flesh multiple times. I decided to chalk it up to the fact that the Apple Family grew up around beer, and had years to temper their tolerance, enjoying the act of drinking as an act of recreation, whereas I had taken to the habit relatively recently as a form of escapism.

“Don’t worry about me. I can still hold my own when not compared to such freaks of nature.”

Applejack shot me a discontent look at the surprise verbal salvo. Not wanting to get on her bad side this early in the morning, nor continue talking about our drinking habits in front of the filles (though at this point I’m sure Apple Bloom was more than familiar with drinking culture than most parents would deem proper, given her siblings), I decided to switch gears and inquire as to the original matter that brought us here.

“So...where is Rainbow Dash? I’d be lying if I said I’m not a little interested in meeting the mare behind the flightsuit.”
Scootaloo’s wings started buzzing again. “Yeah! Where is Rainbow Dash already?!”

Applejack sighed. “She said she’d be back before the event started, but knowin her, she’s probably stallin’ on purpose so she can made some kinda ‘grand entrance’. That girl has always been a showoff, an’ bein worshipped by half of Equestria ain’t done nothin’ to mellow out her ego.”

Scootaloo wasn’t pleased. “She’s still not here yet?!”

Applejack chuckled, “Don’t you worry none, Scootaloo. She’ll be here. And when she shows up, we’ll all know about it, believe you me.”

Scootaloo seemed a bit disappointed, but the promise of Rainbow Dash sated her for now. Apple Bloom rounded up her fellow pint-sized Crusaders, ushering them into the barn. “C’mon girls! We gotta get ready for the competition!”

Sweetie Belle bounced off after Apple Bloom with a wide grin on her face, just happy to be spending some quality time with Rarity. I had to admit that the opportunity to see the refined fashionista participating in such....base activity was going to be quite the sight, almost as intriguing as meeting a celebrity like Rainbow Dash. Speaking of Dash, Scootaloo trailed behind Sweetie, visibly less excited due to her idol’s absence, but not entirely deflated of enthusiasm just yet. She was about to enter the barn when I decided to call out to her. “Hey!”

She looked back at me with an inquisitive expression. I simply smiled at her, giving her a tiny wave. “Good luck out there, kiddo.”

She perked up a bit and flashed me that trademark Scootaloo smirk. “If you knew Rainbow Dash, you’d know we don’t need it.”

And with that she turned around and joined her friends.

Applejack laughed as the three filles took off. “Looks like somepony is pretty confident...”

“I guess you and Apple Bloom have your work cut out for you.”

Applejack put a forehoof to her chin. “Hmm...well Rainbow may be the fastest flyer in Equestria, but th’ ground and yer four hooves is where Earth ponies are at home. She's been doin an awful lot o’ flyin up there in Cloudsdale, but I doubt she been doin’ a whole lotta runnin’. Or herdin’. Or apple buckin’.”

I smirked. “Do I detect a hint of friendly rivalry, Ms. Apple?”

She smirked back and gave the ground a firm stomp with her foreleg in approval, holding her head up high. “Yer darn tootin.”

Her confidence got a chuckle out of me. "Well then, I guess this may get a bit more interesting than I was expecting."

Our conversation came to a close there when Big Macintosh walked over and gave his sister a tap on the shoulder. She turned and shared a few words with the humble, hulking stallion, his voice too low for me to make out what was being said. After a minute of muted back and forth, he turned around and left again to rejoin Granny Smith, who was gathering up the tools they had been working with. Applejack turned back to face me, sensing my confusion.

“Looks like eve’thin is ready to go for the event. Ah think ah’ll make sure all our contestants are ready n’ rearin’ to go while Mac and Granny get the course finished up. Feel free to take a seat and get cozy. We should be startin real soon.”

I nodded with a smile and made my way over to the makeshift bleachers that had been set up by the sidelines. I was almost out of earshot when a heard a call from Applejack.

“Oh...an’ Rhyme?”

I turned.

“We’ll be havin’ some refreshments out by th’ bleachers before the event starts. Help yerself to as much water as you want." She gave me a wink. "Celestia knows a lightweight like you’ll need it.”

She laughed at her own jab as she trotted off to join her family, leaving me to simmer in my embarrassment. For some reason, part of me still didn’t take too kindly to being so utterly outclassed by a seemingly simple farm girl like Applejack.

Another particularly strong sensation struck my temples, reminding me that Applejack’s chastising, while slightly humiliating, was no less well founded, and I sighed in defeat as I began making my way over to the base of the bleachers, eager to grab the biggest pitcher I could find and alleviate my headache, as well as perhaps treat myself to a quality Sweet Apple Acres lunch.
____________________

This is a bit longer than 'a few minutes' AJ...

I was in the middle of downing my fourth mug of water, and had already helped myself to one of the heartiest meals I had eaten since...well, since the last time I had been treated to Granny Smiths cooking, but even a satisfied belly and an abating headache couldn't stave the fact that the apparent delay was starting to get a bit concerning. The Sisterhooves Social had been set to begin almost 45 minutes ago. The bleachers were packed with mothers, brothers, and fathers itching to see their family compete in the big race, but their excitement was only reinforcing their increasing boredom, the crowd beginning to get fidgety.

I cast my gaze towards the barn to our left, where Applejack has disappeared earlier to join the CMC and the other ponies participating in the event. From the murmur of the crowd around me, I had been able to gather that, apparently, Granny Smith usually appears on stage and makes some sort of opening speech and gets the event started as the contestants all take their place at the starting line. However, as of right now, nopony was even on the field.

I was considering perhaps making my way over to the barn and finding out what was going on, when the doors finally opened and the participants began filing in. The crowd cheered and whooped as over a dozen pairs of sisters made their way to the starting line at the far end of the obstacle course. Granny Smith and Big Macintosh made their way to the central podium, and began the opening ceremonies.

I tuned in and out of the elder Apple's...less than coherent speech, and cast my gaze across the ponies who were competing. I recognized a few of them that vaguely, having seen them around town: Berry Punch and her sister Piña Colada, Ditzy and Dinky Doo, Golden Harvest and...Noi, if I recall correctly.

And of course, there was Rarity, looking just about as enthused as one would expect. Her head was hung low and she seemed rather distraught being out of her Boutique and just moments away from a close encounter with some dirt. I looked to her side and saw Sweetie Belle, looking very...upset as well?

She was ecstatic just a little while ago. What happened?

A cursory glance over to AJ and Apple Bloom revealed a similarly somber mood. I scanned the group looking for Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash when everything started to fall into place.

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash aren't here...

I looked around in more of a panic then I really had any reason to be. A fact which was a little bit surprising. In looking around for Scoots, I inadvertently made eye contact with Applejack. We stared for a few seconds before she gave a quick nod and motioned back to the barn. I understood immediately and jumped off the bleachers. Just as I did, Granny Smith gave the signal to start the race and the sisters took off, and I made a beeline for the barn.

Something was wrong.

____________

"Scootaloo? ...hey Scoots! Where are you kiddo?"

I'm not exactly sure what I had expected to find in the small barn, but I at least thought I'd stumble across a small orange filly. Instead, the barn was devoid of anypony, my only company some worn farm equipment and an excessive amount of hay bales. I gave the barn another once over to make sure Scootaloo wasn't hiding anywhere creative before I left.

Back outside the crowd was beginning to get rowdy as the majority of the sisters had made it to the pie eating leg of the race. Rarity was going at a comically slow pace, though Sweetie Belle seemed too distracted to really care that they were quickly losing ground. Likewise AJ and Apple Bloom seemed similarly distant. It looked like neither pair was going to be setting any records today.

Taking a quick breather after inhaling nearly an entire apple pie in one go, Appplejack once again met my gaze. Too far away to have a proper conversation, she gave a look as if to ask what was going on. I replied with an exaggerated shrug while mouthing "She's gone." I turned my head and motioned towards the main entrance to Sweet Apple Acres that led back to Ponyville with a forehoof. "I'm gonna go look for her!"

Applejack swallowed the last of her pie and raised a forehoof, motioning for me to wait. She turned back towards Big Macintosh by the podium and exchanged a few words. She then went back to her pie, and Big Mac left his post by Granny Smith and cantered over to me. I greeted him as cordially as I could, despite every muscle in my body screaming to get out of here and find Scootaloo.

"Hey Mac. You have any idea what's going on?"

"AJ didn't go into any specifics. Just told me that Scootaloo was upset and t' help you find her."

I wasn't liking the sound of this.

"I was gonna go back to town to see if she was back there. Her scooter is missing so..."

Mac nodded. "Good idea. Ah'll take a look round the farm. Know the place like th' back o' mah hoof. Includin' all the good hidin' spots. If she's still here, ah'll find her."

"OK. If I haven't had any luck in an hour I'll come back. If you find her before then, could you have somepony come get me?"

"Eeyup."

With that I took off, eager to get track down a little filly who had her heart set on a fun filled day.

________________

The task of looking for Scootaloo was becoming an unexpectedly odd exercise in frustration.

On the one hoof, I had the overwhelming urge to make a mad dash through Ponyville as fast as I could (which, granted, wasn't that fast), in an attempt to locate the filly as quickly as possible. However, the more sensible part of my increasingly flustered mind tried to rationalize a slow, deliberate search, lest I move to quickly and blow right by her. The two contrasting methods were battling it out in my mind, and I found myself meandering slightly outside of Sweet Apple Acres, not sure what to do just yet.

Of course, my struggling and hesitation both suggested an underlying motivation that I found even more unexpected.

I was worried sick about the poor girl.

Sure, Scootaloo and myself had grown rather comfortable around each other over the past year, but I was well on my way towards finding my own niche here in Ponyville. As a result, I had not only grown comfortable around Scootaloo, but also the other Crusaders, their siblings, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, Caramel and Sassaflash, the list went on and on. I had made more than my fair share of friends in the small town, and, naturally, would be concerned if any of them had been troubled.

This was different though.

If I had been alone, nursing a drink, parchment and quill in hoof, I probably would have thought on this emotion a bit, picking it apart, trying to get to the root of what was causing my increased sense of care, if for no other reason than it allowed me an excuse to not be making any progress writing. However, there were more pressing matters, so I merely chalked it up to the filly being just that, and focused instead on Scootaloo herself, considering her inclinations. Where would she go if she were upset, and her friends weren't available to help?

The thought experiment didn't take too long to bear fruit. Scootaloo was not one for elaborate planning or carefully crafted actions. She played things pretty straight. As a result, I highly doubted she would go out of her way to carefully stow away in a place she couldn't be found. On the contrary; despite her rough and tumble attitude, when things bothered her, Scootaloo was the type who preferred to bounce her problems off somepony else, putting a lot of weight into the considerations of her peers. However, the filly was too prideful to ask for a pep talk directly, instead dropping not-so-subtle hints until the pony in question decides to initiate the conversation themselves, with Scootaloo initially feigning resistance before opening up. Combine this with the fact that she wasn't able to actually talk with anypony, and would instead be calling for attention in a non-verbal fashion, and her location was narrowed down to only two probable locations: The Crusader clubhouse, or the Park.

If she was at the Clubhouse, Big Mac would have in all likelihood found her already, and was on his way to come let me know. That left the park, which, in my meandering, I was already halfway there. I took off and made my way towards Ponyville's quaint secluded parklands. If Scootaloo had ended up here, I think I already had a pretty good guess on where exactly she'd be...

Ponyville's parkland was beautiful. A dense, healthy green grass punctuated by large, lush oak trees, and small bushes patches flanking the many meandering park trails. Small groups of flowers tastefully accented the larger patches of green, providing an atmosphere pleasant for all of the senses.

It was midday, and the majority of Ponyville was gathered at Sweet Apple Acres for the festivities, but Ponyville Park wasn't completely deserted. A few ponies were enjoying the tranquility of a summer's day in the warmth of Celestia's golden rays, while others were happily walking the paths with their significant others. I made my way through the park at a clip halfway between a casual trot and a light canter, weaving my way down the winding trails as quickly as possible without attracting too much attention, or broadcasting my worry, which was increasing exponentially the closer I got to my destination. I did my best to reassure myself.

She’ll be there. She has to be there. Where else would she go?

At last I made it to the largest oak tree in the center of the park, it's presence somehow ominous given the present situation, a far cry from its usual ambience when I would meet up with the other Crusaders here, marking the beginning some sort of ridiculous escapade that we'd all be regretting by the end of the day. Said ominous sensation became worse when Scootaloo was nowhere in sight.

It's OK. She's just sitting on the other side of the tree. No big deal. Just go to her.
Slowly, I made my way towards the massive tree trunk and circles around to the other side.

"Scootaloo...??"

Nopony was there.

I cursed vehemently under my breath. Where else could she be?! I thought...I knew she would be here! How could she not be here!

I began pacing to help vent my frustration. What should i do now? Should I go back to Sweet Apple Acres and check in with Mac? Do I keep looking around Ponyville? If she's not here, Scootaloo could be anywhere, and I had no idea where to start.

I kicked the ground with a forehoof. "Hayseed!"

I exhaled sharply. This wasn’t helping. Pointless aggression wasn't going to do me any favors, and it certainly wasn't going to bring any comfort to the filly I had come looking for in the first place. I took a familiar seat under the shielding shade of the oak tree, letting it cool me off both literally and metaphorically as I struggled to get control of my increasing paranoia and figure out the next best course of action.

I was prioritizing a mental checklist of places to search when my thoughts were interrupted by a small movement in the corner of my eye catching my attention. A small speck of orange against a sea of green, lightly propelled through the air by the soothing summer breeze. I reached out with my magic and grabbed it out of the air, bringing it close and looking it over.
A tiny feather.

She’s still here...

I jumped up onto my hooves.

She didn’t stay in this particular spot, but she at least stopped around here recently. She could still be close by...
I took off at a full gallop, no longer caring about attracting attention to myself. While there was no way to be sure where the feather had come from (or if it was even actually Scootaloo’s, there was indeed a fair bit of assumption going on here), I had noticed it coming from my right, so I headed down the closest path in that direction. It wasn’t much to go on, but it was the best that I had at the moment.

I made my way down a few different trails branching off from the initial one, none of which had any trace of the filly I was looking for. I had nearly reached the end of my wits and the main path, when I noticed a patch of orange against a tree.

Scootaloo.

I made my way over to her, standing there for a few moments in silence. She was collapsed in a heap, keeled over on the side of the trail. Her scooter was flipped around in front of her, and her coat was covered in dirt, suggesting she had hit something and fallen off of it. Her left hind leg had a scrape on it, and her fur was matted and bloody around the wound. Her disheveled mane was draped over her eyes and falling atop her helmet, which she had grasped in her forehooves in a desperate attempt for some comfort. Her injured hind leg was touching the far wheel of her scooter, and she would give it a slight kick every few seconds and send it spinning, letting it come to a stop for a few moments before repeating the motion, wincing a bit as pain shot up her leg from the wound, seemingly indifferent.

If she had noticed my approach, she wasn't acknowledging it.

Seeing her in such a state, hurt, and devoid of her usual enthusiasm, was as jarring as it was heartwrenching. I made my way next to her and flopped down on my haunches, making sure she couldn't miss it. I looked over at her again.

"Hey, kiddo."

She took a moment before responding, inhaling deeply a few times and attempted to stifle her sniffling. She finally looked up at me, her nose runny and raw from rubbing at it, eyes bloodshot and the fur on her face matted from tears. Still, she did her best to feign contentment, even coercing a smile onto her face. "...hey."

Her voice was quiet, faltering a bit. She was holding back the tears as best she could, but it was a losing battle. I ask a question with a rather obvious answer.

"How are you doing?"

She tried to smile at me again. This time she wasn't as successful. "I'm...fine...just great. Why wouldn't I be?" She stopped for a moment to fight more tears, inhaling sharply. "R-Rainbow Dash will be here any minute to make her 'grand entrance'...right?"

I looked down at her with a blank expression. I didn't want to lie to her, but to be honest, I had no idea if Rainbow had any intention of showing up. I had never met her, after all. For all I knew she really could be planning her grand entrance as we speak.

I was so caught up in my thoughts, I almost didn't notice the small orange forehooves wrapping themselves around my neck. I let out a small gasp as Scootaloo buried her face into my chest, fresh warm tears staining my coat. She cried. She bawled her eyes out, using my fur to muffle her sobbing lest anyone hear her, squeezing my neck even tighter each time she surfaced for a breath. I sat there for a full minute in stunned silence as I watched her overflow with emotion. Never had I seen the rambunctious filly let her guard down like this before. She was breathing hard now, on the verge of hyperventilating. She fought to get control of herself again, looking up at me with wide, tear streaked eyes, exposing her soul, her words barely above a whisper.

"Why didn't she come for me, Rhyme? ...why?"

I felt tears forming in my eyes now, too. I didn’t have a good answer for her. None that didn’t involve throwing a complex combination of expletives at her idol, at least. There was nothing I could say to comfort her.

"I...I don’t know..."

She let loose another torrent of tears before continuing. “She promised! she promised she'd be here! She was supposed to take me under her wing! She promised! She promised to be there for me and then she just...leaves! She’s up in Cloudsdale and I can’t even follow!" She flaps her tiny wings to accent the statement. "Would she even want me to follow if I could?!"

She paused and took a few deep breaths, before continuing in an even more solemn tone. "She's not my sister... As much as I want her to be...she's not."

The admission felt like a punch in the gut to me. I couldn't imagine what it felt like to her. "Hey...Scootaloo..."

“But I just wanted to pretend! Thats all! Was that so wrong! She was all I had!" Her tears flowed freely again as she tugged on my coat.

"She was all I had..."

I was struggling to keep my own tears at bay at this point. Scootaloo was broken. Her tiny frame curled up and shivering, struggling with her emotions. I had never met Rainbow Dash in my life, true, but she had hurt this filly, badly. And as a result, for the time being at least, I did not like her. Not one bit.

She sniffled a bit and looked up at me. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

Her eyes met the ground, too nervous to ask the question straight. "Promise me...you won’t leave too..."

Without thinking, I wrapped a forehoof around her back and pulled her into a tight embrace, resting my muzzle on the top of her forehead. She was still shivering, her voice shaky as she tried to force herself to stop crying, the occasional soft whimper still escaping her. I found myself rocking her back and forth in an attempt to calm her down. I did my best to keep my own voice steady as a tear loosed itself from my eye as well.

"Of course I promise."

We stayed like that for awhile. For a solid twenty minutes I held her as she continued to vent, her tears slowly beginning to subside. After that we continued sitting there for another ten. There were no words, no eye contact, no interaction at all. We just....existed, lost in a melancholy trance.

Suddenly Scootaloo let out an awkward laugh. “I am totally lying on top of you right now, aren’t I?”

I looked down at the filly curled up on my lap. “Seems like it.”

"Sorry about that."

I smiled at her. "You have nothing to apologize for."

“I should get up, huh?”

I shrugged. “Only if you want to.”

She hesitated for a few moments, lifting her head up, then lowering it again, electing to stay where she was. She smiled and exhaled softly, making herself comfortable again while giving me another small squeeze. She closed her eyes and chuckled a bit. "That was pretty lame of me...wasn't it?"

"Hey..."

I gently brought my forehoof to rest atop her head, running it through her mane. The sensation caused her to open her eyes with a start, and I looked straight into them. "It's OK to let things out when you're hurting. Better that than keeping it all bottled up."

She smiled, but did her best to avert my gaze, locking her eyes on the ground. I decided it better to change the subject. I let out a loud groan as I stretched, leaning us both back a bit as I came to a rest against the tree and looked out across the parklands.“You know, I’m surprised I found you all the way out here, and not by our usual meeting spot.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded. “Figured you’d stick around there or go to the Clubhouse.”

“I went there at first...but it felt wrong. We’re usually all there together...”

I put a hoof on her shoulder. "That tree has been the start of a whole lot of crazy adventures the last few months, hasn't it?"
Scootaloo just hummed in agreement.

I laughed. "Remember that one time that Sweetie Belle thought it would be a good idea to get our cutie marks as landscapers, and told us that she had gotten permission to plant a bunch of new trees here?"

Scootaloo did her best to stifle a giggle, fighting to keep a smile off her face.

I continued, determined to get a better reaction out of her. “And...and how we were awake digging holes all over the park the entire night, planting apple seeds that Apple Bloom had brought from the farm?”

I got an audible giggle this time.

“And how we ended up digging too many holes then we had seeds for? So we ended up just leaving a bunch of empty holes, figuring we’d finish the next morning?”

Scootaloo was opening laughing now, as was I.

“What...what was...what was it that Mr. Greenhooves said to us the next day? When he found the park like that?”

Scootaloo struggled to stop laughing as she put a hoof to her muzzle in thought. “Wasn’t it like...’If I wanted the park to look like the moon, I would’ve gotten Princess Luna to help!’”

I completely lost it at that point. Scootaloo’s impression of Greenhooves was as hilarious as it was inaccurate.

The funniest thing about that night though had probably been the fact that I had even agreed to help in the first place. Digging up random holes in a public park seems like an obvious mistake, but the Crusaders had shown up at my doorstep rather late that night, eager to get things started. At that point, I may have just been the tiniest bit drunk, and relatively open to suggestion.

Our shared laughter lasted a few more minutes, Scootaloo rolling around on the ground, making a mess of her coat, her eyes leaking with a different kind of tears.

Mission accomplished.

I stretched a bit and got up on my hooves, giving my coast a quick brush off before turning around and extending a forehoof to Scootaloo. “Milkshakes?”

She grabbed my forehoof as I helped her up. “Definitely.”

_________________

The scents emanating from Sugarcube Corner were entrancing at this hour. Of course, one would be hard pressed to think of a time when Sugarcube Corner didn't carry an aroma as delectable as the sweets contained within. Even after closing and well into the night, the smell of the pastry shop's choice confections still lingered well into the morning.

Right now though, it was the afternoon, so Mr. And Mrs. Cake were in full swing. As Scootaloo and myself made our way inside the baker shop, we could see the duo in the back room, slaving away over their sizable oven and a multitude of pans containing brownies, pastries, donuts, candies, and, of course, cakes by the dozens in varying degrees of preparedness. Being that it was the middle of summer, cool treats like ice creams, freeze pops, and snow cones were in particularly high demand. And preparation of the frozen delectables, as well as manning the storefront, was being handled by Pinkie Pie. She gave us both an energetic hello as we entered, taking our place at the back of the small line Pinkie was serving.

We both waited in line in relative silence, only giving each other small smiles the few times we made eye contact, instead electing to pass the time taking in the sight and smells of Sugarcube Corner. Neither of us were ready to talk just yet. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, we finally made it to the head of the line. Pinkie Pie was moving in an almost unnatural fashion as she juggled stocking the glass display cases by the registers with fresh pastries, as well as making frozen treats for ponies coming up to the counter. Despite the ridiculous pace she was moving at, Pinkie was, as usual, beaming from ear to ear, happy to be making everpony’s day just a little bit sweeter. She gave us another warm welcome as we approached the counter.

"Hi Scootaloo! River Rhyme! How are the pint sized and not-so-pint sized Crusaders doing today?!"

We both glared at Pinkie.

"Sheesh. Tough crowd..."

I gave Pinkie a sympathetic smile. "Sorry Pinkie, we've just had a bit of a rough afternoon..."

Pinkie gasped. "A rough afternoon?! Well that doesn't sound like fun. Not fun at all! That sounds like nuf!"

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "Uhh...'nuf'?"

"THE OPPOSITE OF FUN!" Pinkie screamed, getting the attention of some of the patrons eating at the front of the shop. Pinkie however, continued unabated. "If you're having a 'nuf' day, than something bad has happened, and if something bad is happened then you need something good to happen to make you feel better, and you came here for something good to happen then you must want one of..." Pinkie Pie reached behind her with a forehoof, causing the sound of various objects being shuffled around to permeate the immediate area. Which was weird, because her hoof was nowhere near the shelving space on the far wall, and as far as I could tell she wasn't wearing a saddlebag. Nevertheless, a few sounds later she retrieved an object from...somewhere, and presented it to Scootaloo. "...these!"

Balanced in Pinkie Pie's hoof was Scootaloo's personal favorite treat at Sugarcube Corner; a large chocolate milkshake. This one though, was even bigger than the usual, complete with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and a bright cherry on top. Scootaloo gasped. "Oooooh..."

"See, you're feeling less 'nuf' already!"

Pinkie handed the treat down to Scootaloo, who had to balance it with both a forehoof and her muzzle to keep massive malt from falling, her muzzle getting stained a bit by the whipped cream. I looked over at her with a laugh as she struggled to keep her balance. "Why don't you find us a table kiddo, and I'll square up with Pinkie."

Scootaloo carefully nodded and took off uncharacteristically slow, treating her cargo with care. I turned back towards Pinkie. "Thanks for that. Poor girl needed a little something after her day today." I raised an eyebrow and smirked a bit. "No idea how you did it, though."
Pinkie closed her eyes and gave me one of her trademark smiles, tilting her head a bit. "That’s OK. I dunno how I did it, either!"

Sometimes I forgot how weird Pinkie Pie could be.

"So...did you want anything, Rhyme?"

I paused for a moment, perusing the menu just for the sake of formality. If I was going to get something, I already knew exactly what it would be.

"Maybe...what's the damage on that milkshake?"

"Hmm...seven bits!"

"That's not too bad, just gimme a sec to-"

I reached back to dig through my saddlebag for my wallet, before realizing that, in my haste, I had left the bag at Sweet Apples Acres.
"Uhh...Pinkie Pie...is it OK if I take a raincheck on that shake for an hour or two? I seem to have left my wallet with Applejack.

"That's OK! Take that one on the house! Least I can do when somepony's hero doesn't show up."

"B-Wh-how did you...??"

Pinkie smiled yet again. "Just a hunch! Now get out there and start de-’nuf’ing! "

I did my best to ignore Pinkie’s custom vocabulary and thanked her again for looking the other way concerning my shortsightedness, said my goodbyes, and looked around for Scootaloo. Unsurprisingly, she had elected to take a seat outside as opposed to one of the booths inside the shop. Being a Pegasus, Scootaloo wasn't apt to stay indoors for longer than was necessary. Not to mention she liked keeping an eye on her scooter whenever possible. She plopped down on on the deck of her scooter resting on her haunches, nursing the massive dairy treat that probably contained a week’s worth of calories. She had a smile on her face though, and that’s all that mattered. Not to mention that, unlike me, she’d probably work all those calories off by the end of the day.

I took a seat next to her as she continued to attack the drink, blissfully unaware of my presence.

I let her enjoy her treat in peace as I soaked up the moment. Scootaloo was smiling again, which in turn made me happy again. It was a beautiful afternoon, the just warm without being overbearing, with a cool breeze running through my coat to keep the humidity from being oppressive.

“Thanks...”

I left my daydreaming and looked over at Scootaloo, who was fidgeting with her forehooves, looking down at her milkshake.
“It’s no big deal. Just a milkshake. It was my pleasure.”

“No...I mean...thanks...for everything. You didn’t have to come look for me.”

“Hey, what are friends for?” I gave her a quick pat on the back. “What is family for?”

She blushed, stopping mid sip, then looked away from me. “S-shut up. You’re not allowed to be that cool...”

“Me? Cool? I gotta remember to mark this down on my calendar...”

She laughed. “Don’t get me wrong...it’s not like you’re...well...Rainbow Dash. I mean, you don’t fly really fast, or are super athletic or anything.” She gave me a devious smirk. “In fact, you’re getting a little chubby, if I’m being honest. Might wanna work on that.”

My face flushed as a felt a slight pinch of anger. “What?! What do you mean by th-”

I look downward at my gut, and realized for the first time that I had indeed developed a bit of a beer belly. Nothing horrific mind you, but Sweet Apples Acres had apparently started to take its toll on me. Perhaps I should rethink the second helping of Ghastly Apple Gorge. I sighed.

“...go on...”

Scootaloo looked away again, fiddling at her scooter with her hind legs. “But like...I dunno. You’re cool in a different way. With Rainbow Dash its like...I gotta try and be better. Be like her. But with you, its different. I don’t really have to try to impress you or anything.”
She looked at me. “It’s like...you already like me for who I am or something...”

I had no idea what to say in response to that. Today had been a very emotive day for Scootaloo, and it was a side of her I had no preparation for. Teasing I understood, trading jabs I had come to expect, but this? I didn’t think the filly had it in her.

“Well...yeah, of course. You don’t have to prove anything to me.”

We just sat there in silence again. Neither really knowing what to say.

“Where’s your drink?”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you want to get a shake too?”

I laughed. “Oh yeah. Well apparently I left my wallet at Sweet Apples Acres. Don’t worry though, Pinkie let you have that one on the house, so you’re good. Enjoy it.”

She looked down at the drink, then back at me.“Here.” She rotated the straw around to face me and held the mug out. “Try some. It’s good.”

“Aww, its OK. Far be it from me to deprive you of your favorite drink. Thanks though.”

She continued to hold the mug out.

“No really. It’s OK.”

She huffed, pushing the drink further in my face for added emphasis. I wasn’t gonna win this one. I sighed, leaning over a bit to get a better angle, and took a slight sip from the straw.

It was indeed pretty good.

We sat outside of Sugarcube Corner for awhile longer, Scootaloo working on her milkshake, making sure to shove it back in my face every few sips. I decided not to bother putting up a fight at any subsequent offerings. We were nearly done with that massive dessert when she paused for a moment after a particularly long sip.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did.”

She deadpanned me and gave me a small kick to the shins.

“All right, all right...shoot.”

“It might sound kinda stupid.”

“Well you’ve come this far, you’re committed now.”

She took another sip, then passed the shake back to me before continuing.

“When you call me cute...do you really mean it?”

I spat out the majority of my helping of milkshake mid sip, gagging a bit as the rest went down my windpipe. “What?!”

“Do you mean it? Or, are you just making fun of me?”

I felt a rather large lump beginning to form in my throat as Scootaloo continued to stare me down with bated breath. This was nothing if not a loaded question. No response on my part was going to end well. Even saying nothing would end badly.

“It’s OK if you are. I don’t mind. Really...”

I could barely contain my eyeroll. Wow...tell a more obvious lie, why don’t you...

I sighed again. I had to say something. “Well, to be hones-”

“Hey there squirt!”

A voice from the heavens delivered unto me salvation, immediately drawing Scootaloo’s attention and saving me from stabbing myself in the hoof with an awkward answer. A glance down the street showed the Apple Family, Rarity and Sweeite Belle, and, hovering a few feet above them, a certain cyan pegasus with a spectrum streaked mane.

“RAINBOW DASH!”

Scootaloo bolted from her seat, wings buzzing as she galloped down the street at full speed, Rainbow diving downward and meeting the little filly in a warm embrace. Scootaloo started crying again, this time tears of joy, and Rainbow Dash gave her a quick noogie and messed up her mane even more than usual. Scoots just giggled.

“Where have you been?!”

Rainbow sighed. “Sorry about that, kiddo. I tried ducking outta practice early, but Spitfire wasn’t having it. I just got finished twenty minutes ago.”

“You flew all the way from Cloudsdale to Ponyville in twenty minutes?”

Rainbow scoffed. “Please. Remember who you’re dealing with, here.”

Scootaloo just beamed.

I watched the scene play out, the group of friends taking time to catch up with the Wonderbolt who they had barely seen for almost a year. Pinkie Pie even managed to spare a few minutes outside Sugarcube Corner and literally tackle Rainbow Dash. All the while, Scootaloo didn’t budge from her idol’s side. It was great, really. She had finally gotten what she had wanted to do all day. I was happy for her.

And yet, at the same time, I felt a sensation I wasn’t really expecting.

Jealousy.

Author's Note

I have been dreading this chapter ever since I finished my notes for it last month. Now thats its finally complete, my fears weren't unfounded. Honestly, this is probably gonna end up as my least favorite chapter of this story, if for no other reason than the ones that come after it interset me a lot more.

Regardless, hope there was a few things here you liked, and that it was at least worth the wait.

Also...is it just me, or does the Google Docs importer suck...hard...

Chapter 4

It’s an interesting thing
Having a pulse
A constant internal ticking
that connects us
to the rhythm of the universe
Binding us to its unyielding law:
An expiration date.

We struggle to define our time
With purpose.
With focus.
Brought forth in a culmination
A declaration
On our side.
That tells the world we did it.

And yet, despite such clarity
We squander our time
With things that serve no purpose.
We know who we are
What we are
And then promptly ignore it
For things that do not matter.

And yet,
Despite my criticism
I partake in such shortcomings
And lack such focus.

I simplified all I knew
To avoid this flaw
Yet here I am
Perpetrating regardless.

And the peculiar thing is
She’s starting to make me wonder
“Is that such a bad thing?”

The magical aura around my quill intensified a bit as I launched it across the room in a sudden swell of anger, following it up with a sharp growl in frustration, crumpling the offending parchment levitating in front of me and quickly depositing it in the trash, joining with at least fifteen older siblings. My quill, no longer influenced by my magic, had halted its swift retreat from my person and was slowly wafting down towards the ground, coming to rest on my carpet a scant few inches from where it began. I eyed the utensil with unblinking disdain. It, unsurprisingly, remained motionless under my gaze. A small drop of ink remaining on the quill’s tip slowly loosened itself, answering the call of gravity, impacting against my carpet, leaving both a stain as well as an unnerving impression of the quill bleeding. The quill, the parchment, the ink, they were all tools, and doing their jobs flawlessly. The only thing in the room currently failing at it’s self-prescribed function was a certain onyx-coated unicorn.

I closed my notebook with a rather heavy hoof, a sharp thud echoing through the small bedroom as parchment met parchment, punctuating the end of tonight's creative endeavors, leaving the remainder of the evening open to once again test the limits of my liver. I picked up the quill more gently than was necessary, as if to apologize for my earlier outburst, and with a practiced flick of my neck and a subtle application of magic, nestled it back in the container on my desk with its brothers, my notebook quickly following suit. I made my way out of my bedroom without giving the stain on the carpet a second glance. I was never one to put aesthetics on much of a high pedestal, especially interior design. A home was for living in, a servant of utility, not art. Small imperfections like that only reinforced the fact that the house was serving its purpose. They added character.

Besides, it was far from the first ink stain marring that carpet.

Moving away from my bedroom into the kitchen, I began pondering which of the, at this point almost embarrassingly large selection of drinks at my disposal, I should start the evening off with, when my tantalizing thought process was interrupted by a uneven barrage of knocking on my front door. I let out a heavy sigh as I replaced the four different beverages I had narrowed down my choices to back into my fridge and made my way to greet my guest. A quick trot and a small spark of magic opened the door.

"River Rhyme! Buddy! How ya doin, man?!"

I wasted no time slamming the door shut again. My guest anticipated the move however, and prevented the door from closing with a foreleg. Luckily for my company I had closed the door with a hoof instead of magic, otherwise he would probably be in an incredible amount of pain right now. I sighed in defeat and opened the door again. The golden earth pony in my doorway was pouting, looking at me with mock sadness as he nursed his hoof regardless of the menial impact. I braced myself for what was coming.

"What do you want, Caramel?"

"What do I want?! Well first I want an explanation for why you would slam the door in the face of your best friend!"

"Because it’s late, and whenever you show up unannounced after 5 o'clock it's because of one of two things; either A) You want something, or B) You screwed up and need my help." I paused for a moment and put a hoof to my chin in thought. "Which, come to think of it, still counts as wanting something."

Caramel continued throwing overly dramatic expressions of hurt my way. "Oh come on Rhyme! I show up unannounced for plenty of other reasons besides that!"

I raised an eyebrow, deciding to test the theory. "So why are you here, then?"

Caramel smirked, happy to have been granted an opening. "Think, man! You should already know exactly why I showed up today specifically!"

I stared at him blankly, and his enthusiasm waned a bit, his ears drooping ever so slightly. "You really don't know?! C'mon...think! What day is it today?"

I glanced back at my calendar purely for the sake of theatrics. "Uhh...Tuesday?"

"Right! And what's marked on your calendar to be going on specifically this Tuesday?"

I turned again and squinted to get a better look at the calendar on the far wall. When that failed, I pulled it off the wall and levitated it over, not really caring where the tack holding it up fell. I glanced down at today's date.

"Oh yeah, the Solar Eclipse."

I looked up at Caramel, his face brimming with boyish excitement. I didn't share his sentiment. "Your point being...?"

"C'mon man! We gotta go check it out! The whole town is gathering to appreciate the Princesses' handiwork."

This time it was my turn to smirk. "So you do want something, then?"

Caramel sputtered, taking a moment to come up with a response. "J-Just your company! We both know that doesn't count!"

"Sounds like a technicality to me."

Caramel scoffed. "Oh come off it, dude! Lets go hang out, it'll be fun!"

"Why do you even want me there? Aren't you already meeting up with Sassaflash?"

"What? I can't hang out with my best friend and my marefriend?"

"When the event is being billed as a family/couples thing, kind of."

My comments once again stopped Caramel in his tracks. He knew just as well as I did that, while the Gathering of the Eclipse was being billed as an event for everypony to come and witness the splendor of the Ruling Sister's abilities, the nature of the phenomena on display and the metaphor behind it was attracting mostly tightly knit families and young couples. I also knew that Caramel has made it his personal mission to find me a marefriend, so it wasn't all that difficult to put two and two together and figure out the real reason he was so hellbent on getting me out if the house tonight.

Caramel seemed to have shaken off my verbal salvo and had readied a retort, a devious grin forming on his face. "C'mon man. Just come hang out with us. I guarantee it'll be a good time."

"I was already having a good time here." I lied.

"They'll have free drinks there..."

"I have better drinks here."

Caramel found his opening and changed tactics. "Maybe, but you know who will show up if the event has free drinks, don't you?"

I sighed, Caramel was as predictable as he was dense. "How many times have I told you that I'm not interested in Berry Punch?"

"But you guys are perfect for each other! You have so much in common!"

I shot Caramel a deadpan expression. "Oh really? Enlighten me."

"Well, you guys both like to drink! And uh...and you both..."

"Oh gee, thanks. Three years of kinship, and my primary characterization in your mind is that I remind you of the town drunk?"

"Well you do! And Berry Punch is not just the town drunk! She works a steady job and takes care of her sister! She's a great pony who you obviously need to get to know better."

I'll give Caramel that one, he turned that point on me pretty well. But I wasn't going to fall into his trap, uncharacteristically well laid as it was.

"Look, I'm sure Berry is nice. But I'm just not interested! I enjoy a quiet evening, partaking in the sophisticated art of alcoholic indulgence, something I was just about to entertain myself with before somepony came around and messed that up. Conversely, Berry seems to enjoy making a game out of how long she can go in public without puking all over herself."

Caramel did his best to stifle a giggle, probably remembering last years Hearth's Warming party. I continued to make my point. "Believe it or not, my interests and personality extends beyond the consumption of alcohol. Just because somepony drinks as much as me, doesn't mean I'll instantly fall head over hoof for them! Otherwise I'd have fallen for Applejack a long time ago."

Caramel squeed. "Wait! You have a crush on Applejack!?"

I was stunned. Caramel was in rare form tonight. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

"You're saying a lot of stuff, but all I'm hearing is a soul desperate for companionship crying out for help!"

This was my best friend speaking.

Sometimes, I seriously questioned my choice of companions.

"Caramel, I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. Instead, I'm going to close this door, get very drunk, and try to forget the ridiculous level this conversation has devolved into."

I went to shut the door completely when Caramel's face lit up again. He again shoved his forehoof in my doorway, again preventing me from escaping his babbling, and again made me wonder why I considered this stallion my friend. In light of that last point, I decided to slam the door with fervor anyways. Caramel let out a very feminine scream, and I'm ashamed to admit his pain elicited a stronger sensation of satisfaction than it had any right to. Miraculously, he found a way to continue talking regardless.

"WHAT ABOUT THE GIRLS?! OW SWEET CELESTIA MY HOOF!"

There were times when I hung out with Caramel that I wondered why I had not yet earned my cutie mark in patience. Now was one of those times.

"Caramel. What part of 'not interested' requires further defining?"

The stubborn stallion began nursing his hoof for real this time, then finally wised up enough to limp through the again open doorway, preventing me from shutting him out a third time. "Not a girl. The girls. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo are all gonna be there tonight. They'll want you to be there too!"

"Apple Bloom will be with her family, Sweetie Belle will be with hers, and Scootaloo will be clinging to Rainbow Dash the entire evening. None of them will miss me."

"Horsefeathers and you know it!" Caramel spat back. "We both know those girls love you! Not to mention Apple Bloom's cousin is visiting from Manehatten! You really think the girls are gonna let an opportunity for a full reunion of the Cutie Mark Crusaders pass them by?"

The mention of the Crusaders brought a slight blush to my cheeks. While the girls still hadn't gotten their Cutie Marks yet, they had since taken on a much more, shall we say, subtle approach to cutie mark acquisition. Mainly in light of the fact that they were getting older. As a result, it had been awhile since I'd heard the trio (and by extension myself as well) referred to by that name. It brought up some embarrassing but nostalgic memories. Caramel was right though, of course. If Babs was going to be there, the girls would surely prefer it if I was there as well.

But still...

"I'd prefer to not be present at a gathering like this, Caramel. I'm not really comfortab-"

"Aww, now don't gimme and of that can't do attitude! We'll have a great time!"

"Caramel. Just...drop it, OK?"

"But the girls miss you..."

"Please. Drop it. Caramel."

"I'm telling you it'll be fun! Sass totally loses it when she's even a little buzzed! I bet-"

"CARAMEL! DROP IT!"

Caramel shrank back into the corner against my doorframe, trembling under the force of my verbal assault. Small objects sitting near the door launched themselves into the air as my magic reached out of its own accord, visually punctuating my rage. An empty beer bottle sitting on the banister near the doorway shattered under the pressure of my magical grip. Caramel yelped and sank further into the corner, retreating to his haunches. The slender Earth Pony looked up at me for a moment, and, when seeing the anger painted over my face, immediately averted his gaze again. His expression cut through my contempt and appealed to my higher emotions. My anger immediately dissipated. As annoying as Caramel could be, he wasn't the true source of my discomfort. He was, illogically enough, my friend, and he didn't deserve this.

I slowed my breathing, inhaling and exhaling with purposeful precision, attempting to stop the pounding in my temples and calm my racing pulse. With each breath I began getting a better hold over my magic, and placed the items in my grip back in their proper spots. With careful, quiet hoofsteps, I slowly made my way over to Caramel, meeting him halfway as I sat down as well. A gentle hoof met his shoulder, and I did my best to put on a more approachable expression.

"Please, Caramel...I'm asking you as a friend. Let it go, OK?"

He got back up on his hooves slowly, still a bit shaken. Unsurprisingly, Caramel wasn't one who took anger directed his way very well. He was a very happy-go-lucky stallion, and when he wasn't being so needy, his positive attitude was a pleasure to be around. Unfortunately, the flip side of this was that he couldn't process anger or antagonism, it being so foreign to him.

The fact that I knew this made my outburst all the more inexcusable.

He simply nodded in response to my request, and slowly turned towards the door. He was on his way out when he turned around again, doing his best to give me a heartfelt smile. It wasn’t very convincing.

"Sorry, Rhyme...I was just trying to be friendly. Have fun, OK?"

He disappeared before I could respond, each word impacting with the force of a blow to the gut, leaving me to mull over my actions and fester in my swiftly expanding sensation of guilt.

I took a moment to consider my situation. Caramel wasn't just spouting horsefeathers to get me out of the house. If Babs indeed was in Ponyville, it was only a matter of time before both her and the rest of the girls showed up at my doorstep, wanting to hang out for old times sake. If that happened (and it will), being horrifically intoxicated to the point of incoherence was probably less than the ideal state to be greeting them in, especially considering they'd most likely end up dragging me to the Gathering anyways, me being too inebriated to ignore their suggestion. Apple Bloom especially would have no problems taking advantage of my less-than-ideal state of mind, as she had done so rather frequently to Applejack and Big Mac during our long nights of social drinking together.

The shimmering of broken glass of the shattered beer bottle caught my attention, and suddenly a second, even worse scenario presented itself to me. If the girls showed up and tried to get me to go to the Gathering like Caramel did, I could easily end up snapping at them the same way I had just snapped at him. Perhaps even worse if I was drunk.

The only way to make sure I didn't either end up at the Gathering against my better judgement, or unassumingly assault my most longstanding friends, was to deny myself the main attraction of evening. And if I was sober when the girls show up, all Sweetie Belle would need to do is turn on her practiced persuasion techniques and I'd be putty in her hooves. And Scootaloo, well, all she'd probably have to do at this point is ask.

I picked up the remnants of the crushed beer bottle and deposited them in the trash as I got back up and checked myself in the mirror, making sure I looked presentable. Not noticing anything horribly offensive, I sighed, deeper than was necessary, simply to punctuate my own admission of defeat. There was no way out.

This was not going to be good.

________________________

Despite being a quarter after seven, Ponyville was still being bathed in a bright golden light as Celestia's sun hung low but powerfully in the sky, awaiting its part to play in tonight's spectacle. I took a few casual sips of a bottle of Celestial Gold held tightly in my magical aura like a security blanket as I made my way towards the Gathering. The drink was hardly what one would first consider for a light, family friendly outing, but I could already tell I'd need a bit of a buzz if I was to make it through this evening with my sanity intact.

And I'll be damned if I don't get to enjoy at least one decent drink tonight.

As I continued my deliberate meandering towards the Park, my mind wandered, and busied itself with contemplating the significance of tonight's event. A Solar Eclipse was a new phenomenon, to modern Equestria at least. During the more turbulent times of Equestria's past, the Princesses used the phenomenon as a last resort to confuse their enemies in the midst of battle, and give the Crown's forces the upper hoof they needed to secure the day. Of course, in such a long standing era of peace, there wasn't a pony left alive who had been witness to the event that hadn't played a part in bringing it about.

After tonight, that would all change.

Gossip had chalked up the idea to Princess Luna. She had been making an active effort as of late to reconnect with the citizens of Equestria, finally gathering the confidence to leave the Castle at dusk and mingle with her subjects in a more personal manner. Most of the ponies had gotten used to the idea of Luna being back in the limelight with her sister at this point, and have been able to mentally disconnect the true persona of the younger Princess with her past self as Nightmare Moon. Wanting a way to prevent the story of her misgivings from again fading into the realm of mythology, the Princess of the Night had concocted a new way to use the Solar Eclipse as a ceremonial token: to blot out the Sun for the evening once every 1000 days, as a reminder both to herself and all the citizens of Equestria the truth of the tale of Nightmare Moon, as well as immortalizing the lessons she had learned as a result of her banishment.

A bit melodramatic, really.

Still, the concept oozed with romanticism, and as a result the return of a celestial event not seen in over a millennia drew the attention of nearly everypony with a pulse.

My thought process was pierced by a obnoxious, yet familiar voice. Despite still being a few dozen yards away from the clearing outside Ponyville Park where the majority of the town had gathered to watch, Caramel was yelling something to Sassaflash. Despite her sitting not even six inches away from him, he was projecting his voice with such fervor that it was still clearly audible, even from this distance. I would be embarrassed for him if I wasn't relieved that he seemed to have perked back up after my earlier outburst. I looked over the spectacle in front of me: Nearly half of the town’s denizens had gathered in the large field outside of Ponyville Park. Princess Twilight had made very deliberate plans to have those in the town interested in viewing the event converge in this specific location. Apparently it was one of her favorite spots for stargazing, so it gave a very nice view of the sky. The landscape was dotted with dozens of families and couples passing the time with food and drink, the air buzzing with a cacophony of casual conversation.

Of course, it had to be my friend acting out of turn, his enthusiastic ramblings attracting more than a few awkward stares from his immediate neighbors. I couldn't contain an exaggerated eye roll as I took a rather large swig of Celestial Gold, and made my way over to Caramel. He was so preoccupied with finishing whatever ridiculous story he was in the middle of that he didn't notice my approach. Sassaflash seemed to be about as engaged as I would've expected her to be. Her eyes were glazed over at this point, and she was only half paying attention, nodding and mumbling subtle "mhmm"s whenever Caramel took a moment to breathe. Her demeanor seemed to improve a bit though when she noticed me slowly creeping up behind her coltfriend, shooting me a subtle smirk without tipping him off. His banter came to a complete stop as he posited a question to Sass, who purposely hesitated in answering, allowing me an opening to make my presence known.

"For Celestia's sake, Caramel, will you dial it back a few decibels? I can hear you all the way from my house."

Caramel turned around and, when he realized who it was, did pretty much exactly the opposite as he crushed me in a bear hug. "RHYME! YOU SHOWED UP!"

A witty retort escaped me, as my mind was preoccupied with dealing with the newly settled ringing in my ears, forcing me to make do with something more pedestrian. "Yeah well, someone had to come shut you up. The entire town can hear you, and not just because most of them are within regular earshot.”

With that, Caramel went to break the embrace, but I kept him there for an extra second, leaning closer and muttering a quick “Sorry about that.” He responded by giving me another tight squeeze.

“Think nothing of it buddy! Water under the bridge! Come on and take a seat! I’d offer you a drink, but it looks like you already have one! You hungry? Sass made some awesome salad that’s to die for!”

I chuckled and went to join Caramel and Sass on the blanket they had laid out, but the latter put out a forehoof, stopping me in my tracks. “Ahh ahh ahh! Caramel may be giving you a free pass, but in my book, anypony who hassles my coltfriend unjustified has to pay a toll to come sit with us!”

I sighed as I eyed Sassaflash with mocking disapproval, “And what pray tell would you have in mind?”

She smirked. “Is that Celestial Gold?”

“Oh...you wouldn’t dare.”

“You hurt my Caramel. I dare.”

My mock disapproval quickly became very real as I levitated my still nearly full bottle of Celestial Gold over to Sassaflash, who all-too-eagerly took it in a forehoof, downing over double what I had managed to get through in one gulp. She made a point to exhale in an exaggerated display of satisfaction when her lips left the bottle, all the while eyeing me eyeing the used-to-be-mine drink. “Thanks, Rhyme. You’re a real friend.” She gloated, punctuating the last phrase by patting the blanket with a hoof, inviting me to sit.

I huffed as a took a seat opposite Sass. "Yeah whatever. Gimme some salad..."

She laughed and passed the serving bowl over, Caramel grabbing another helping himself as I fumbled around for a plate. I made sure to help myself to as generous a serving as possible to make up for my lost bottle of booze. The delightful concoction of veggies, fruit, and vinaigrette did much to arrest my unease as it stimulated my palette, Sassaflash’s meals never failing to be fantastic. She gave me a grin full of snark superiority, observing the satisfaction plainly visible on my face. I merely grunted in response, my mouth too full of food to throw a clever quip her way.

“Don’t look now! Somepony’s future wife just showed up!”

Why I bothered following Caramel’s gaze I’ll never know, as I already knew exactly who he was referring to. Berry Punch was making her way across the street with Minuette, Pina Colada hovering around them both, desperately attempting to get some sort of attention. Her efforts yielded little results however, and the trio made their way over to one of the larger groups, beckoned over by Golden Harvest. Berry said her hellos and then immediately grabbed a drink.

I turned my nose up at her choice of beverage like the beer snob the Apple Family had quickly turned me into.

Polsky Blue Ribbon...pfft...some ponies...

My head shook in an unconscious display of disapproval as I inwardly wept for beer connoisseurs everywhere. Caramel took the opportunity to once again expertly whittle away at my patience, wrapping me in a foreleg.

"C'mon, buddy! No need to be nervous! Just go over and say hi! I'm tellin ya she'll love you!"

"Don't start this again, Caramel."

The stallion pouted. "You could at least try!"

I sighed. I didn't want to have to go here, but the guy's persistence left me little alternative. I gave Caramel a strong pat on the back as a flashed him a friendly grin. "I'll tell you what: I'll go over there right now and try and put the moves on Berry Punch, if you finally give in and give Big Macintosh a shot."

Sassaflash burst out laughing, rolling on her back and kicking her hind legs as Caramel turned beet red. "Sh-shut up about that, dude! I have a marefriend!"

"Oh come now, Caramel old buddy. You could at least try!"

Caramel was uncharacteristically silent.

"C'mon, I'll call Big Mac over right now!"

"NO!"

It was my turn to laugh as Caramel squirmed. There was a bit of history behind this. Caramel was, obviously, quite the affectionate stallion, wearing his emotions on his sleeve and not one to display his feelings with any attempt at subtlety. As such, it was an easy enough mistake to confuse simple platonic friendship as attempts at making a more...passionate...connection. Big Macintosh had made such an assumption.

And had been more that willing to return such feelings in kind.

Needless to say the fallout had been more than a little awkward for Caramel, and while Mac was long over the misinterpretation, Caramel still felt awkward having put Mac in such a position without realizing it.

Being the good friend that I was, I made sure that he would never be able to live the incident down.

"I dunno. Maybe I should invite Big Mac over. I did have some questions about an order I wanted to place next week, and when am I gonna see him again without breaking his back over keeping the farm going..."

"Pfft...well maybe I should call over Berry! We got a few drinks we could spare after all! And I'm sure she wouldn't mind a few extra drinking buddies!"

"Yeah...like she'd even acknowledge a pony with an ugly mug like yours..."

"Oh, now you're calling me ugly?! Well I got both Sass and Big Mac interested in me, apparently!"

Sass suddenly piped up. "Don't you go dragging me into this!"

Her protests escaped both of us as I continued my bickering unhindered. "All the more reason to invite Mac over! I'm sure he'd love to hear you say that himself!"

"Umm...boys...as much as I hate interrupting such high quality entertainment, I think your entire argument has just been rendered moot."

Sassaflash raised a hoof in the direction where Berry Punch was sitting. Both our gazes followed and we were greeted with the mare in question sitting very comfortably with Minuette. To the point where it was less "with" Minuette and more "on top of". The moment was punctuated as Minuette leaned in and placed a quick yet passionate peck on Berry's lips, eliciting an exaggerated "Ewww!" from Piña Colada.

Caramel's jaw dropped in the most fantastic fashion, enough to nearly salvage the evening in and of itself. I finally averted my gaze as Berry returned the kiss with a bit more passion than was prudent given the social setting. Caramel continued to stare, but it seemed as if he was lost in his own mind, his scheme for the evening shattered. I couldn't help but grin as Caramel tried to come to grips with what he just witnessed.

"I'm hoping we can drop this now?"

"B...wh...when did that happen?!"

"Not soon enough, if you ask me. Looks like tonight had some merit after all."

Sassaflash went over to Caramel and broke him out of his trance with a quick kiss of her own, stopping him from what looked like ogling over the newest couple in Ponyville. He returned the kiss in kind. "Ugh...now I need a drink. Can you grab me one, Hun?"

Sass laughed and stretched out a wing to grab the picnic basket without leaving Caramel's side, cheeks tinged a bit pink at his casual use of a pet name in public. I suddenly felt a bit out of place being in such proximity to an intimate moment, opting to speak up lest the two get more mushy.

"A drink sounds fantastic, actually. What did you guys bring?"

I got my answer as Sassaflash passed Caramel a can of Polsky Blue Ribbon.

I groaned, letting gravity claim me as my face impacted against the blanket, burying my muzzle in a fruitless attempt to hide my disappointment. "I gave up Celestial Gold for this?"

Sass huffed in mock annoyance as she cracked open a can for herself. "The Apples really have ruined you, haven't they?"

"You have no idea..."

"So...are you gonna pass, or...??"

I stretched out a hoof in Sass's general direction, not bothering to lift my head from the blanket. "It's OK...just...gimme it..."

She placed the can in my hoof and I coaxed myself back into a presentable position, eyeing the drink with hesitation. It's not that PBR is bad, per se. It's just that, once you've been exposed to what's going on in the local brewing community, you can never go back to big box stuff. I cracked the can regardless, and, after taking a cautious sniff, downed a sizable amount in a single gulp. Disappointment permeated my being as the drink failed to provide any of the complexity I had come to expect from my booze. Sass and Caramel just watched with amused grins on their faces, Sass snorting a bit when an unpleasant shiver went up my spine as the aftertaste hit.

"You gonna live?"

I took a moment to collect myself before responding. "The better question is are you going to live? You're the one following up a bottle of Celestial Gold with PBR."

Sass just shrugged. "Ehh. Beer is beer."

I struggled with a second swig of the budget brew to make sure my next statement carried accurate inflection. "...blasphemy..."

Sass looked like she was going to respond, but a squeaky voice interrupted her.

"Hey look! River Rhyme's here!"

Sweetie Belle was as enthusiastic as ever, her voice cracking a bit in her greeting as she ran over to us. Apple Bloom was right behind her.

"Hey there Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom."

"It's about time you showed up! We were worried you didn't plan on coming at all!”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom chimed in, "We were thinkin' of headin on over to yer place if you had kept on dawdlin!"

That elicited a not-so-subtle "Hah!" from Caramel, which I elected to ignore. Sweetie Belle's confused gaze passed from him back to me. "Did...we say something weird?"

I glanced back over at Caramel with a smirk, who was now comfortably cuddled up with Sass. "Ignore him. He's mentally deficient."

Sassaflash laughed, Caramel pouted, and the girls didn't seem any less confused as to what we were talking about.

"Says the guy who gave up live in Trottingham to move out here to the boondocks!"

Babs Seed made her way over from where the rest of the Apples had settled, and we traded a hearty hoof bump. This was only the third time we'd met, but she had felt a bit of kinship with me as soon as we'd first become acquainted. Since we were both city ponies at heart, I was the only one in the town really able to relate to the pleasures and pains of city life.

I shot the Manehattenite an eye roll. "Good to see you again too, Babs. How long has it been?"

"Hmm...haven't been to see my cuz in at least a year." She flashed me a grin. "How ya holdin' up out here in the sticks, Rhyme? Miss the hustle n' bustle of the city yet?"

I chuckled. "I have my moments..."

Apple Bloom scoffed. "Rhyme may have been born in the city, but ah' reckon he's just as at home in Ponyville as the rest of us."

"Well I can sure drink like a country pony now. Your sister has made sure of that."

I half expected some sort of wise ass quip concerning me being a drunk to be thrown my way. When none came, I finally realized that the impromptu CMC reunion was missing a member.

"Where's Scootaloo?"

The girls all suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable. Babs was the first to speak up. "Well...she's uhh..."

Bloom and Sweetie glanced back across the clearing and pointed. There was Scootaloo, taking her time to make her way over to us, and once she got closer it was rather easy to figure out why. The pint sized Pegasus was pretty banged up. Her regular swift gait had been reduced to a hobble, her bandaged left rear leg proving to be the primary culprit, breaking the rhythm of her stride whenever her weight landed on it. Likewise, her right foreleg was similarly bandaged, but didn't seem to be causing her nearly as much distress. There were a mess of other untreated smaller cuts and scrapes scattered all over her body, marring her otherwise impressive athletic build. Despite her distressing appearance, Scootaloo still did her best to break into a light trot when she saw her friends all gathered.

“What the heck guys?! I thought I told you to wai-”

Scootaloo stopped as she noticed me, my face painted with concern as I continued looking her over. She quickly straightened her posture and attempted to mask her limp, putting on an expression of casual indifference. “Uhh...hey there, Rhyme,” she let out a nervous chuckle, “how ya doin? Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

I looked her over again, then to the other girls. When I was met with expressions as confused as my own, I looked back to Scootaloo. “OK...what happened?”

Her eyes met the ground as she gave the grass a meek kick with her good forehoof, uninterested in providing an answer.

I looked over to Bloom, shooting her an expression of puzzlement. "Umm...??"

Bloom just shrugged in response. Sweetie Belle sighed as she looked over at her friend with concern. "We don’t know anything either! She just showed up at the clubhouse like this. We all tried to figure out what had happened, but she won't say anything!"

"It’s no big deal, OK! I told you guys I just don't wanna talk about it..."

I looked over to Caramel and Sass. They just gave me matching blank stares, unsure what to do either.

"Umm...OK, kiddo. Hope you're alright..."

An uncomfortable silence fell over our group as we all pondered what to do next. I reflexively took another sip of my drink, and broke the silence with an unconscious groan. Apple Bloom looked over and, doing a double take as she peered at the can I was holding, let out a laugh.

“Rhyme, are y’all drinkin Blue Ribbon?”

I scowled as I looked over at Bloom, “Don't even think about lecturing me, Apple Bloom! It’s not my fault my present company is so uncultured!”

“You’re right, its your fault for being so darn picky!” Caramel shot back.

Apple Bloom kept laughing. “Nah, he’s right. Compared to realbeer, that stuff is terrible.”

I’m pretty sure we all eyed Apple Bloom inquisitively at that statement. She shrugged.

“What? Ah help Applejack and Mac with cider season every year. Y’all seriously think I ain’t never tried any of the stuff before?”

I reflected on the character’s of Bloom’s siblings for all but a few miliseconds before responding. “Touché.”

Apple Bloom grinned. “Y’know Rhyme, we did bring a bit of the good stuff with us. Ah’m sure if y’ask real nice like, I could convince Applejack t’spare ya a bottle.”

My expression immediately changed to one of unquestionable sincerity.

“Child, the Equestrian language does not contain words potent enough to accurately express my gratitude if you could do that for me.”

Bloom laughed. “Not what ah was expectin’, but effective nonetheless. Ah’ll see what ah can do.”

She turned to leave, and Babs decided to follow.

“Oh...this I gotta see.”

Sweetie Belle got up as well. "I guess I'll go check up on Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. As soon as we noticed you were here, we just kind of left them high and dry."

I gave her a nod as she began to leave. It still boggled my mind that the girls were not only on good terms with Diamond and Silver now, but were actually starting to become friends. They had been ruthless to the trio the first couple years I'd been in Ponyville, but as of late, the once bullies seemed to have finally grown up and mellowed out a bit. Despite some understandable initial hesitation, the girls had been quick to forgive the two and extend the olive branch, and just like that, the group of three became a group of five.

Sweetie Belle turned around and looked over to Scootaloo. "You coming?"

"Umm..."

The battered Pegasus was resting comfortably on the blanket a few feet from me. At some point Sass must have offered her a bit of her salad, as she was nibbling on a small serving of it. Scootaloo was doing her best to project her usual confidence and energy, but fatigue had clearly claimed her. She had elected to lie down on the blanket as opposed to sitting, not the usual choice for the little filly always ready and rearing to go at a moment’s notice. Whatever had happened had exhausted Scootaloo, and the last thing her body seemed to want was for her to get back on her hooves again. She looked down at her food before responding to Sweetie.

"Think I'm gonna finish this up first. I'll catch up with you guys later."

The statement lacked all of the normal bravado inherent in the pegasus' speech. Something was clearly eating at her. Sweetie looked torn, not knowing whether to join up with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, or stay here and help Scoots. She looked at me and I gave her a nod, motioning for her to go. She nodded back at me wordlessly. "OK, Scootaloo. See you in a bit."

And with that she took off, leaving just the four of us. Caramel and Sass were busy enjoying each others company in a way only lovers could, blissfully indifferent to everypony around them, the world beginning and ending with each other, so I was essentially alone with Scootaloo at this point. l attempted to sneak a peek at her again whilst she ate. Her frightful condition, combined with her unwillingness to speak about what had caused it, was doing little to alleviate my concern. She stopped her slow munching on her salad when she caught me examining her again.

"What?"

"Nothing, I guess."

Her cheeks burned red, and she raised a wing to cover herself. It was at that point when I noticed her right wing was unmoving, tied up and bound in a sling.

"Well, stop looking at me then."

Silence reigned for the following few minutes. I nursed my pitiful drink while Scootaloo played with her food, only occasionally taking a bite or two.

"You not like the salad?"

"No, it's good. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. It’s just, I don't think I've ever seen you take so long to eat before, even when its something you hate, you usually just power through it."

She seemed insulted. "What, you think I'm a pig or something?!"

"Huh? No! I'm just saying I thought you didn't like the salad is all!"

Scootaloo broke eye contact, sighing. "I'm just not that hungry..."

Okay. Now I knew something was wrong. Scootaloo is never ‘just not that hungry.’

Putting my drink aside, I lay down on the blanket next to Scootaloo, making it easier to look her in the eyes.

"Talk to me, kiddo. Are you alright?"

She huffed. "Do I look alright to you?

I’d look her over again, but that wasn’t necessary at this point. "No. No you don’t. And that's exactly my point. I'm worried about you."

"Well don't be! I'm fine!"

"You just said you weren't though."

She never did like when I made valid points. Today was no exception. "Well...I'm fine with being not fine, okay?! Sheesh!"

I sighed. "...well I'm not."

That comment got her a bit flustered again, the ground suddenly more interesting than keeping eye contact. She looked contemplative, as if she wanted to speak, but was unsure of what to say. I gave her a supportive smile, but she didn't return it, fiddling with her hooves as her eyes shifted back and forth. She looked like she was about to speak when she winced suddenly, and began attempting to scratch her bound wing with a hind leg.

"Ugh! So itchy...stupid cast..."

The comment sparked an idea.

“Hey. Turn around for a second.”

“Huh?”

“Or better yet, stay there. You’re hurt. I’ll move.”

“Hmph! I can move, I’m not a cripple!” She turned quickly so that her side with the cast wing was facing me, plopping back down with a huff, followed by a painful groan as her hindleg punished her for placing her weight on it so suddenly. She did her best to ignore it.

“Happy?”

I grinned. “Very. Now...just gimme a second.”

Gently, I placed a forehoof on the cast. Scootaloo shuddered in surprise, but kept her gaze locked on my hoof, curious to see what I was up to.

“Where is it itchy? Here?”

“A...a little lower...” she responded meekly, her face flushed.

I moved my hoof just over an inch south. “Here?”

“Yeah.”

My horn lit up, and I slowly moved my hoof away, replacing it's touch with magic. The energy passed through the cast and made contact the bare wing underneath. Scootaloo squeaked in surprise, followed by a soft coo as I scratched her wing with a gentle application of tactile magic, careful not to use too much pressure and upset her injury. After a few seconds the glow subsided.

“Better?”

She averted her eyes. “Yeah...thanks...”

I smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

Scootaloo seemed to be a little less grumpy, fiddling with her hooves and slowly finishing up her salad.

"It's not as bad as it looks, you know."

I looked back over at her. “Hmm?”

“The cuts and stuff. It looks worse than it actually is.”

I couldn’t help but prod at her a bit. “I hope so. It looks pretty bad.”

“Gee...thanks.” she deadpanned.

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah I guess...”

“Any chance you can clue me in on what happened?”

Silence was my only response.

“You didn’t get into a fight with some rowdy colt or something, did you?”

“What?! No!”

“You’re sure?”

She sighed. “I’m pretty sure I’d remember someone punching me in the face.”

I grinned as I made an obvious effort to examine her face. "Oh? Who said anything about being punched in the face?"

"Ugh! I did NOT get into a fight! Honest!"

“Alright, good. Just making sure there isn’t some punk out there that I have to go beat some sense into.”

She laughed. “Yeah right. You wouldn’t do that...”

I dropped all pretenses of playing around "Hey...yes I would."

“S-shut up...”

"I’m serious! If someone raised a hoof to my favorite Pegasus, you bet your flank I’d beat them all the way into next Tuesday!”

She blushed. “I...I’m your favorite Pegasus?”

I cocked my head, surprised. “You...didn’t already know that?”

She broke eye contact as she fumbled with her hooves.

I leaned in close, whispering obnoxiously into her ear, making sure Caramel and Sass could still hear me. “Keep it on the dl though. If Sass finds out, she might not give me free beer anymore.”

Sass snorted.

I picked up my can of PBR and looked straight at her. “Though with such poor taste in the stuff to begin with, that wouldn’t be much of a loss.”

"Ah'll say! Fer th' love o' Celestia, Rhyme! Put that can down, y'all are embarassin' me!"

Apple Bloom, the pint sized deliverer of all that was good in the world, practically knocked the can of lukewarm PBR out of my hoof, replacing it with a perfectly chilled bottle of Sweet Apple Select Original, an Apple Family classic. Without hesitation I pried off the cap with a quick spark of magic and took a swig, relishing the complex, full-bodied taste with that signature Zap Apple kick. The comparative quality nearly brought a tear to my eye.

"OK. I stand corrected. PBR totally has its place. It makes a real drink all the more satisfying."

Apple Bloom beamed with pride.

My intense interest in the drink apparently caught Scootaloo's attention. She eyed the bottle with wide-eyed intrigue. "I...is it really that good?"

Apple Bloom laughed. "Scoots, yer way too intah sweet stuff t'ppreciate a good cider."

Scootaloo eyes narrowed. A challenge had been leveled. "Oh really? We'll see about that! Gimme that, Rhyme!"

She went to grab the bottle, which I immediately levitated out of her reach.

"Hey! What gives?!"

I shook my head. "Sorry Scoots, this stuff is off limits for fillies."

"But Apple Bloom has had some before!"

"Yeah, but from Applejack, not from me. If Bloom asked me for a drink I'd say no to her too."

Scootaloo wasn't ready to give up. She turned over to where AJ and Mac were sitting. "Hey Applejack! Gimme some cider!"

AJ didn't even bother looking over at her, responding in a detached monotone. "No."

Scootaloo gently sat on her haunches, pouting. "Horsefeathers."

Apple Bloom giggled. "Trust me, Scootaloo. It's not like soda or punch. Y'all wouldn't like it."

"Easy to say that..." She mumbled.

I lowered the bottle back over to Scootaloo. "Smell. No sips. Got it?"

She nodded and slowly moved her muzzle over the bottle, hesitating for a few moments before taking a deep sniff.

Scootaloo’s eyes suddenly widened in a fashion that rivaled Caramel's earlier jaw drop in raw comedic effect. She sharply shrank away from the drink out of reflex.

"T-that's terrible! How can you drink that?!"

I couldn't help but grin, and Apple Bloom doubled over in a fit of laughter. Even Caramel and Sassaflash surfaced from their private world for a quick laugh. Scootaloo's cheeks flushed a deep red, ashamed to have brought this on herself. I put a hoof around her, careful to avoid her bad wing and smiled. "Relax, it's an acquired taste, one that I'm happy you have no experience with yet."

The comment seemed to improve her demeanor.

The clearing was suddenly silenced by the obnoxious sound of somepony poorly mimicking the Royal Procession, attempting to replicate a bugle with mouth noises.

“Behold! Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria! Behold!”

The crowd turned to get a look at their newest Princess, who, despite the awkward fanfare, was not embodying one’s usual concept of royalty this evening. Forgoing the traditional regalia fit for her position, Princess Twilight instead wore a frazzled, unkept mane and heavy bags under her eyes, carrying with her a small stack of books and a plethora of notes in twin magical auras, and a baby dragon on her back. To her left was a rowdy Pegasus, laughing her flank off.

“Seriously, Rainbow Dash? Aren’t we done with the Princess jokes by now?”

The Wonderbolt gasped in a display of mock insult, “Is her Highness not pleased with her introduction?” She proceeded to laugh again, amused by her own joke. The Princess however, seemed too exhausted to appreciate what little merit there was in Rainbow’s prodding. Spike, on the other hand, was quite amused, and he struggled to stifle his own giggling fit, grinning at Rainbow Dash.

Looking over the crowd, the Princess noted with dismay that many of the ponies gathered had bowed their heads in response to Dash’s emphatic declaration. The Princess glared daggers at the Wonderbolt, who simply chuckled nervously in response. The Alicorn sighed and addressed the crowd.

“Oh come on! We all know Rainbow wasn’t serious! Most of you have known me for how many years now?! Enough with the royal treatment! I’m here to watch with you as a spectator, as a friend. Can we just ignore the title for one evening, please?”

Rainbow darted in front of her. "Yeah! Seriously guys! She might be a princess and everything, but, deep down, she's still the awkward egghead we all know and love!"

Twilight nodded. "Exactly. ...hey!"

Rainbow Dash collapsed into another fit of laughter, and Spike rolled off Twilight's back, joining Rainbow on the ground. The Princess muttered something that seemed to contain a few obscenities under her breath. Regardless though, Dash's display did its job and got the crowd to relax around their old friend and former neighbor, and the Princess and the Wonderbolt were slowly surrounded by a sea of friends old and new, intent on getting caught up with Ponyville's biggest celebrities.

Sassaflash gave Caramel a quick kiss before getting up and going over to try and get in a few words with Rainbow Dash, interested in catching up with her old Weather Team buddy. I looked over to Scootaloo, half-expecting her to be gone and already over with Rainbow Dash. Instead, I was greeted with essentially the opposite. The filly was curled up, trying to make herself as small and inconspicuous as possible, hiding behind my larger figure.

"Okay, now I know something is up."

"W-what so you mean?"

"Look, it's not that I'm trying to get rid of you, but, you did notice who's over there with the Princess, right? Why are you still over here, and not invading Dash's personal bubble with your usual blissful indifference?"

Scootaloo once again took a keen interest in the grass. "I'm just tired, that's all..."

I was barely able to contain the exasperated huff that came from such an obvious lie. "Scoots, I've seen the way your face lights up when you talk about Rainbow Dash. There is nothing, certainly not fatigue, that would keep you from her side if you wanted to be there."

I leaned down a bit lower to get a better look at her eyes, still transfixed on the ground. "Problem is, you don't want to be there." My hoof slowly found its way atop Scootaloo's.

"What's the matter?"

The filly sighed in frustration, turning her head away from me again. "I just suck, okay?"

"Scootaloo, you do not su-"

"Yes I do! Look at me!" She flexed her one good wing and stretched out her limbs to accentuate her point. "Two months, Rhyme! I've known Rainbow Dash was gonna be here for two. Months. Who knows when she'll be back from Cloudsdale again!"

She sat back up, but still looked the other way, not ready to make eye contact. "So I practiced. I practiced every day for as long as I could. I knew I had to fly before she came back again."

The filly kicked the ground with a forehoof, getting frustrated. "Rainbow Dash pulled off a Sonic Rainboom when she was half my age! But what can I do?!"

She sunk back down on the blanket, staring off into the distance. "Nothing...I can't even get off the ground. I'm not good enough to be hanging out with a Wonderbolt..."

She finally looked up at me, tears in her eyes. "I'm not good enough to be her friend at all..."

"Shut up, Scootaloo."

Her eyes went wide at my blunt statement. "What?"

I remained resolute. "Shut. Up."

I looked down at her, her face a mix of confusion and fear. "I don't ever want to hear you saying such obvious horsefeathers like that again."

I softened my gaze a bit, giving her a warm smile. "You're an amazing filly. You've got a great heart, the determination of five normal ponies, nerves of steel, and an innate sense of sarcasm that is as endearing as it can be annoying."

She giggled a bit through her tears at that last one.

"But most importantly, you have amazing friends that truly care about you. Rainbow Dash included."

I grabbed the tip of her good wing in my magic. "We like you...she likes you, not for what you can do with these..."

I let go of her wing and placed a hoof over her heart. "...but what you do with this."

I smiled at her again as I picked up my bottle of Sweet Apple Select. "Now go over there and say hi to your friend. After all, who knows when she'll be back from Cloudsdale again."

Scootaloo smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "That was the cheesiest speech I've ever heard."

"I'd have to agree!" Caramel piped up suddenly.

I scowled at both of them as I took another drink. "I'm a bit buzzed. Leave me alone."

Scoots got up and gave me a quick hug. "Thanks."

She took off, making her way over to Rainbow Dash, leaving me alone with Caramel. He stared at me for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

"Dude that was so lame."

I rolled my eyes. "Like you're one to talk. Besides, cheesiness is often a side effect of sincerity."

"Yeah, and sometimes its a side effect of cheesiness."

I sighed. "Caramel. Shut up."

"What? Do you not 'ever want to hear horsefeathers like that again' from me either?"

He started laughing. A quick spark of my magic though, and his empty PBR can suddenly sprang to life and smacked him in the face.

Caramel was silent after that.

With Caramel’s antics subdued for the moment, I turned my attention back towards Scootaloo. Most of the ponies that had swarmed the Princess and Rainbow Dash had returned to their seats at this point, with only their closest friends still gathered with them. Pinkie was as animated as usual, explaining something to the others with boundless enthusiasm, jumping back and forth between each of them, the rest of the girls only partially paying attention. Rarity was in some isolated argument with Applejack, the two never seeming to spend any time together without some sort of heated, yet pointless, debate. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had at some point rejoined their sisters, both grinning and rolling their eyes at their senior’s antics. The Princess, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Sassaflash were all conversing with each other, Dash seeming to be dominating the conversation, punctuating her points with overly dramatic body language.

Scootaloo finally worked up the nerve to approach Dash who, along with the others, seemed as put off at her appearance as the rest of us were. An awkward giggle and a minute of protesting from Apple Bloom later, the Elements seemed to put her appearance behind them, Dash ruffling up Scootaloo’s mane with a forehoof and offering a seat beside her. From there the Wonderbolt continued whatever tale she was in the middle of, and from that moment on Scootaloo didn’t take her eyes of Dash for a second, entranced by every movement she made, and every syllable she spoke. Her eyes lit up with awe each time the Wonderbolt made an exaggerated motion, her back arching and tail spasming in excitement as Dash delivered the climax of her tale with exaggerated bravado. Scootaloo lost it, heaping boundless praise on the cyan pegasus, her good wing convulsing with glee, her face frozen in an expression of pure, undiluted bliss.

Something about the scene was off, though.

For all of the attention Scootaloo was giving Rainbow, she seemed to be getting little of it in return. Much like the earlier display with Berry and Piña Colada, Scootaloo's efforts to get some attention seemed to be yielding poor results. Dash would occasionally nod or give Scootaloo a one word response, but that was about it. Never giving up anything with any real depth, any real meaning. She seemed content to give the filly just enough attention to keep her sated, whilst focusing her true interest on her fellow Elements. I didn't know much about Scootaloo's relationship with Rainbow Dash other that what she had told me over the years, but I had assumed that there had been something to it other than one-way blind idolization. In light of this interaction though, my earlier words suddenly left a foul taste in my mouth. Did Rainbow even like Scootaloo? Did she see the amazing filly for who she really was, and appreciate how much she truly loved her? Or had her fame jaded her, and now, she saw Scoots merely as another fan to appease with hollow indifference?

As I continued to observe I silently begged, pleaded, for Rainbow to return Scoots' affections. All I wanted was her to give her a hug, or a hoof bump, or a sincere smile, anything. Yet nothing ever came, the interaction remaining criminally one-sided, and that realization made Scootaloo's ignorant enthusiasm all the more painful to watch.

If she ever looked at me like that, I'd give her so much more.

"Talk about eye candy, eh?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Caramel spoke up, suddenly right next to me, his statement turning my eyes to pinholes. "Caramel! She's 13 years old!"

Caramel looked at me, confused. "Uhh...I was talking about the Wonderbolt? Or, if that doesn't float your boat, how about the ex-model? Or the fashionista?"

I laughed. "Oh...I was just thinking about Scootaloo. I guess I’m still a bit worried about her. So...yeah. You confused me there for a second.” I paused for a moment, Caramel still looking over the Elements a bit too intently. “Do you really think you should be drooling over the girls like that when your marefriend is literally right next to them? Seems like bad form,” I chuckled, “even for you."

Caramel stared at me with a devious grin, deciding to focus on the first part of my statement as opposed to the latter. "Scootaloo, huh? Well then, at least now I know why you weren't interested in Berry."

It was a good thing I wasn't taking a sip of my cider when he said that, spitting it out all over the ground would have been such a waste. "What?!"

He got a kick out of my discomfort. "This is great! I finally have something to come back at you with when you bring out Big Mac! What did you say earlier? 'Tonight isn't completely without merit'? Indeed it is not my friend! Score one for the Earth Pony!"

My cheeks burned red, partially because of what Caramel had said, and partially because of how he was acting, as he started whooping like an idiot in a display of menial victory. Of course, I didn't take what he said seriously. He obviously didn't mean it. Caramel always did have a way of saying utterly ridiculous things...

Realizing that the sanity of everypony at the gathering was in jeopardy at the hands of her coltfriend, Sassaflash excused herself from the conversation and bolted over to Caramel, slapping a hoof over his mouth with no attempts at either subtly or restraint.

"Dear, do us all a favor and be quiet."

Caramel simply nodded. Sassaflash hesitated for a few moments before removing her hoof, eyeing her coltfriend to make sure he got the message. As soon as she moved away, Caramel decided to keep talking anyways.

"I did it! You owe me 20 bits! I got proof that our buddy Rhyme here isn't gay!"

My jaw dropped. Caramel was really intent on running with this, wasn't he?

Perhaps it was my sudden sense of vulnerability, but Sass seemed more interested than she should be. "Oh really? Well then, lets hear it."

Caramel was about to start when I decided that now would be the best time to jump in, lest Sass, and anypony else within earshot, get the wrong idea about what Caramel would undoubtedly project loud enough for the entire town to hear.

"Yes Caramel, do tell. Then after that, let's clue Sass in on the Wonderbolt, the ex-model, and the fashionista, eh?"

Caramel suddenly lost all his previous momentum, falling silent. Sass eyed him incredulously. "Well?"

"Uhh...actually...to speak of such things would be a blatant disregard for the guy code...so I'm gonna have to pass of this one..."

We both gave Caramel dumbfounded stares. Sassaflash huffed. "Well, if you can't fess up, don't expect me to pay up."

"Wait...you guys are actually taking bets?!"

Caramel laughed. "You do play those kinds of things pretty close to the chest, dude. It's anyone's guess which way you go."

A sudden realization hit me as I turned my attention to Sass. "You think I'm gay?!"

She shrugged. "It would explain a lot..."

I groaned in a most pathetic fashion. Considering the circumstances though, I reasoned it was excusable. I proceeded to chug the rest of the bottle of Sweet Apple Select. Then, without a word, marched over to Big Mac, grabbed another bottle out of his icebox, and proceeded to return to Sass and Caramel. Settling back on my haunches without so much as a glance to the couple, I popped the cap off the new bottle and began downing it with a vengeance as well. Both Caramel and Sass looked over at me.

“Rhyme? ...buddy? Are you okay?”

I took a quick break for the already half gone bottle, and stared back at the two with an exaggerated expression of depression. “You’ve hurt me. You’ve hurt me and now beer is my only friend.”

I went back to the drink and Sassaflash gave me an awkward stare, while Caramel just started laughing.

“Umm...excuse me, everypony!”

Princess Twilight got up and made her way to the front of the crowd, the murmur of conversation began to die down.

“I just wanted to let everypony know that the first Solar Eclipse of modern Equestrian history is set to begin in just under 20 minutes, so I recommend that you get a good seat now.”

She paused for a moment as the crowd began to return to their families and significant others. Caramel cuddled up with Sassaflash again. AJ, Babs, and Bloom left Dash to be with Mac and Granny Smith. Rarity and Sweetie settled in together, Pinkie got up and went and snuggled up with the Cakes, somehow enveloping all of them at once in a big hug, and Scootaloo stayed with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

I had a sudden strong desire for another drink.

After a few more minutes of letting the crowd get settled, the Princess continued. “Excellent! First of all, on behalf of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, I’d like to personally thank everypony who gathered here today to witness this event. As this is the first time an eclipse has occurred in over a thousand years, I figured some research was in order! As such, there are a few precautions I’d like to advise before the event begins! As you all are probably aware, a pony shouldn’t look directly into the sun. This is still true during...”

It was at that point that myself, and most of the ponies around us, began tuning the Princess out. She had the best intentions, but other than the included history lesson on Solar Eclipses, it’d be safe to assume that the majority of those gathered were already well aware of what she was saying.

The sound of soft kisses from behind me clued me in that Caramel and Sass were enjoying each other’s company again. I slowly scooted away to the opposite side of the blanket, giving the two as much space as I could without being obvious. A quick glance around me revealed similar situations, with families getting close and couples getting even closer. I levitated another can of PBR out of Sass’s picnic basket as subtly as I could, cracking as slowly as possible. The pedestrian taste hitting my tongue seemingly going to be my only companion for the rest of the evening.

This is why I wanted to stay home...

“Get ready, everypony! It’s about to begin! Remember, don’t look directly at the event until the moon completely eclipses the sun!”

The crowd began to gasp and ooh in wonder as the moon began it’s advance, slowly becoming visible and overlapping the sun hanging low in the summer sky. Not being able to start directly at it, observing the effect on the surrounding landscape proved to be the next best choice, as it gave the effects of sunset happening at an exponentially faster speed, shadows growing and extending their length rapidly as the world as a whole began to dim.

I was so transfixed on the visual effect of the Eclipse that I didn’t notice the small body making it’s way towards me until it settled down at my side.

“Hey Rhyme.”

“Scootaloo?”

She seemed a bit hesitant. “Mind if I sit with you?”

“No...no not at all.” I patted the blanket with a hoof. “Take a load off.”

She smiled and shuffled a little bit closer, moving off the grass and onto the blanket next to me. For moment we both just sat there, saying nothing.

“So uhh...what happened with Rainbow Dash?”

It may have been because of the orange glow being cast by the continually diminishing sunlight, but Scoots cheeks seemed to blush. “Well...let’s just say she was getting a bit too friendly with Fluttershy for my taste...”

I cocked my head in surprise as I turned. The Wonderbolt and the meek animal caretaker were indeed nuzzling in a rather blatant display of affection. My cheeks suddenly matched Scootaloo’s as I averted my gaze.

“Oh...”

Scoots let out an awkward laugh. “Yeah, kinda gross...”

“Not into mushy stuff, huh?”

She scoffed. “What?! No way! You gotta be tough! Like Rainb-” She stopped as she realized what she was saying. “Well...usually like Rainbow Dash...”

We sat together in a tranquil silence and continued to observe the dimming landscape, shadow continuing to claim the world at a rate not seen in a millennia. Soon, Ponyville, and all of Equestria, was blanketed in an almost completely pitch black shadow, the moon nearing the end of its journey.

“Alright, everypony, it’s safe to observe the event directly now!”

The crowd simultaneously had it’s breath taken away. The sun was gone. Reduced to nothing more than a soft, radiating golden halo around a jet black orb, it’s light all but extinguished. I looked upon the spectacle with similar wonder, unable to hold back a comment.

“It’s...beautiful. In a haunting, almost melancholy sort of way...don’t you think? Almost makes it seem like Princess Luna may have been onto something all those years ago.”

Scootaloo seemed much less enthused. “Ehh, I guess so.”

The moon finally settled into position in front of the sun, blotting out all but the faintest of light, the world barely able to be perceived except for a faint warm glow, desperately trying to make its presence known in the all encompassing void, casting the world in an eerie muted monochrome. Silence reigned as all of Equestria seemed to come to a unified halt, the majesty of the moment sinking in.

I still let out a slight gasp when it happened.

Scootaloo suddenly shifted her body, erasing the distance between us and coming to rest against my side, her face leaning softly against my shoulder. Her good wing extended, gently wrapping around my back, and subtly pulled us even closer, nestling me in a warm blanket of orange primary and down.

Scootaloo slowly, timidly, placed a forehoof on top of my own. She nuzzled my neck a few times before deciding on a position and staying there. Cheeks flush, heart pounding, and thoroughly confused, I chanced a gander down at the filly. Her eyes were shut, resting against me, apparently having found something more interesting than the eclipse. Scootaloo let out a contented sigh.

“You know...maybe...maybe mushy isn’t so bad sometimes...”

Where the motivation came from for what I ended up doing next, I’m not sure. Maybe it was the alcohol at work. Maybe I was feeling sentimental. Or maybe, for some physiologically disturbing reason, I just simply enjoyed giving Caramel more ammunition against me.

Whatever the reason, I looked down at the small filly, her figure barely visible save for desperate subtle rays of light that had escaped the moon’s blockade and danced over her delicate frame. I leaned over and, without hesitation, placed my lips on the top of her mane, giving it a soft kiss. She tensed up for a moment, surprised, before quickly relaxing again, returning her head to to rest on my shoulder.

I felt her wing give me an extra squeeze.

Chapter 5

"I hate this."

Ponyville was under siege from millions of tiny snowflakes, the entire town slowly being enveloped by an unyielding torrent of cold at the command of the thick cloud cover put into place by its own weather team. The world was cast in a dull grey as Celestia's sun barely penetrated the storm clouds, the town's vivid cornucopia of color hidden under a blanket of fresh snow, giving Ponyville the impression of a blank canvas, just waiting to again be given life by a distant spring's warmth.

Fillies and colts peppered the streets and surrounding landscapes, the air filled with laughter as they ran, played, built snowmares, and enjoyed a day full of archetypal winter activities, blissfully free from Cheerilee's lesson plan. You couldn't envision a better example of a picturesque winter day.

I spat in the snow, smirking at my menial victory as it melted.

A chill bit at my coat, and a quick application of magic brought my scarf closer around my neck, the warm glow of my horn providing a criminally brief respite from the winter wind. Snow upset me, and winter reminded me of home, bringing back memories to the surface that I had worked hard to stow away. Thoughts of a time I'd tried very hard to put behind me, yet could never truly forget.

The thought of the past, coupled with another burst of winter wind caused a chill to run up my spine and I instinctually shivered violently, causing a small, until then unnoticed buildup of snow on my back to come flying off, the menial remainder that stuck to my coat quickly falling prey to my body heat and melting, soaking it thoroughly. The sensation was about as pleasant as one would expect.

I did my best to curb any verbal articulation of my disdain, lest any nearby children hear me. My first instinct was to go home and waste the rest of the day in a booze induced stupor, but it was still too early for a drink; Even I had some semblance of standards. My gaze drifted for a moment, before settling on the vague silhouette of Sugarcube Corner in the distance.

"Well, I did say I could go for some coffee..."

I picked up the pace, breaking into a light canter as Sugarcube Corner came closer and closer, the thoughts of a warm, perfectly prepared Pinkie Pie brew spurring me onwards.

The rattling chime of the greeting bell punctuated my arrival as I threw open the door with more force than was necessary, shutting it behind me with similar speed as I entered, sighing in relief to have escaped the sharp chill of winter behind four walls. I took a moment to shake off the last vestiges of cold clinging to my coat and loosened my scarf, draping it over a coat rack by the entrance to dry off. I didn't even bother turning around before beginning my order.

"I'm gonna need the biggest, meanest Prench Vanilla you can throw at me, Pinkie. It's absolutely frigid out there."

"Well, I'm not exactly Pinkie Pie, but I think I can manage to get you a large coffee just the same."

I spun around, cheeks flushed from more than just the cold weather. "My apologies, Mrs. Cake! I just assumed that Pinkie would be at the counter."

The plump Earth Pony gave me a smile that was nearly warm enough to undo the effects the chilling weather. "A safe assumption to make, nine times outta ten. Pinkie does love working up front. She's currently indisposed at the moment however."

"Is she sick?"

"Pinkie? Sick? I'm not sure if that's even possible. No it's just the opposite. She's out playing with Pound and Pumpkin. Seemed like she was more excited about the snow day than they were."

I chuckled. Knowing Pinkie, that hardly surprised me.

"So how about you, Rhyme? Enjoying the winter wonderland?"

I scoffed. "You'd be hard pressed to get me to have fun in the cold. Never was one for the winter time. The sooner it’s warm again, the better, in my book."

Mrs. Cake nodded. "Well, I'd have to agree with you there. One of the reasons I like staying open on days like this.” She let the coffeemaker do its thing, and walked over to the oven, opening it slightly with a soft smile. “These tend to keep the house nice and toasty."

She closed the oven and made her way back over to the counter, preparing the drink with expert craft, and emptied a sizable amount out of the brew and into a massive coffee mug before starting to add some toppings.

"So what brings you out on a day like today? Errands?"

My smile waned a bit as I recalled my earlier trip. "Just...checking up on a friend."

Mrs. Cake got the message, suddenly becoming more somber. "Oh...how is she?"

I sighed. "Not too well."

Mrs. Cake seemed to pick up on my lack of enthusiasm on the topic and decided to drop it, instead finishing up the preparations on the drink in silence.

"Anything else I can get for you, dear?"

I paused for a moment, considering if I should bring her back a little something in an attempt to brighten her spirits. After a few seconds, I decided against it.

"No, that'll be all."

She presented a perfectly prepared, positively massive Prench Vanilla, topped with whipped cream and chocolate bits.

"I hope you don't mind, dear. I'm not as liberal with the whipped cream as Pinkie Pie."

I couldn't help but immediately take a sip. The warmth of the drink traveled down my throat and emanated through my entire being, curbing the majority of my winter induced discomfort almost instantly. I let out a contented sigh. Four years in Ponyville, and it still hadn't yet spoiled me to the confectionary perfection that was Sugarcube Corner.

I took another sip and smirked. "Don't let Pinkie hear this, but I think curbing the whipped cream might just be a plus in my book, Mrs. Cake."

The older mare stifled a laugh as I took a third, larger sip of the best non-alcoholic beverage to grace my palate in a long time. I grabbed my scarf and it began to rise from its resting place, enveloped in a blue aura, then quickly descended back to where began. The thought of having to face the cold again so soon didn’t bode well, and spurred a sudden change in plans. I decided to instead take a load off and enjoy my drink in the comfort of Sugarcube Corner. Mrs. Cake noticed my hesitation and let out a small giggle before returning her attention to a batch of pastries in the oven. Unable to contain an eye roll, I continued to work on my coffee. Mrs. Cake hummed a happy tune as she went back and forth from glazing some otherwise finished pastries to checking the ones baking in the oven, stopping only when the random customer wandered in; usually kids clamoring for hot chocolate.

After a few minutes, a timer went off and Mrs. Cake jumped, quickly dropping what she was doing by the counter and reached into the oven, taking out the finished delectables with nothing but a thin square of heat resistant fabric protecting her mouth from the intense heat. The pan was swiftly deposited on a baking shelf behind her and she refocused on the customer who was put on hold, working the register with a forehoof while finishing the order with her muzzle. A quick flick of her neck and the drink was delivered, perfectly balanced on the tip of her nose, and she waved goodbye to her latest patron as he made for the door.

Sometimes I had to wonder how Earth Ponies managed.

Mrs. Cake looked up from her work and caught me playing spectator. "Do you need something else, dear?"

I smiled. "Not at all. Just admiring your dexterity. Sometimes I take my horn for granted."

"Ooh...you flatter me. Years of practice is all..."

A thought seemed to strike the baker as her eyes suddenly lit up. "Speaking of flattering...I had a customer come in earlier today who was looking for you! I dunno how I could have forgotten. I had let him know I'd tell you right away if I saw you, too."

I sighed, already knowing where this was going. "Ugh...I already told Caramel yesterday that it would have to be this cold in Tartarus before I waste my afternoon in a snowball fight with him. And from the sound of it, Sass sounded equally as interested." I huffed. "Really, that stallion can be such a child sometimes..."

Mrs. Cake raised a hoof to her chin. "I don't think it was Caramel. In fact, I don't think I've seen him around here before."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Mrs. Cake nodded. "He was quite the handsome fellow, very well spoken, and terribly polite. Doled out compliments just like you just did, that's what reminded me. He looked like he was wealthy, wore a very expensive looking suit, you don't see stallions dressed up like that around here all that often."

My breathing became more labored as she continued.

"Come to think of it, he looked a lot like you too! Similar coat color, a bit lighter though, and a very similarly colored mane. Though he wore his a lot better. No offense dear, but you should seriously think about doing something with that mane of yours..."

My heart pounded in my chest as the blood in my veins began to match the temperature outside.

“Mrs. Cake...you’re certain that this stallion looked like me? Did he mention his name?”

“He didn’t stay very long after getting his coffee so I didn’t catch his name, but yes, his resemblance was very striking."

“I just have one more question: Did he have a Trottingham accent?”

She nodded, and I rose from my seat in a flash, startling the confectionist.

"I'm sorry. I have to go now, Mrs. Cake."

My scarf flew around my neck and I stormed out of the door, racing towards my house as fast as my hooves could carry me. Mrs. Cake called after me about my forgotten coffee, but I couldn't muster the care to return and retrieve it.

I ran, my direction the opposite of the cold winter current, a maelstrom of snow enveloping my coat, instantly undoing the relaxing warmth granted from Sugarcube Corner. I didn't notice, the cold of the day suddenly meaningless in the wake of what might be waiting for me. My whole body was shivering, not just from the cold but from a deeply rooted fear I had hoped I'd been able to leave behind. Something very bad might be about to happen.

Oh sweet Celestia please let me be wrong...

I rounded the corner, and froze.

On my porch was a sharply dressed unicorn stallion, nearly my height, and sharing a nearly identical mane and coat color. His horn was aglow to keep a small barrier sustained around him, lest the weather ruin his high class attire. He noticed my approach, and a warm smile greeted his face.

"Hello there, brother. Beautiful day, isn't it?"
___________________

“I hate this.”

Rainbow’s comment punctuated my own thoughts perfectly. One would hardly consider hospitals the most comfortable of locations, but I had always been particularly unnerved by them; a grim reminder of just how fragile we all really are. Taking into account that Ponyville is primarily an Earth Pony community, and thus lacked the advanced treatment options allowed by unicorn magic that I had become accustomed to in Trottingham, instead relying on more...rudimentary care taking, and the sensation of unease increased tenfold. My eyes sealed shut to shield the disconcerting sight from me, if only for a moment, my mind doing it's best to loose the disturbing train of thought. A sharp breath exited my lungs as i refocused on the reason we were here. There were currently far more important things to worry about than personal discomfort.

A quick glance up at Rainbow Dash revealed she seemed to be similarly at odds with our current situation. Her confident smirk and bold body language had evaporated the instant we entered this place, but the news had caused the glow in her eyes to extinguish even further. Looking at her now, sullen and emotionless, she almost seemed like a completely different mare; hardly the visage of a seasoned Wonderbolt. Dash averted my gaze and began fiddling with her mane in a forehoof.

"What are we gonna do?"

A halfhearted canned response lodged itself in my throat, and I merely responded with silence, unable to muster anything more pertinent. The truth of the matter was, despite my seemingly calm demeanor, I was just as demoralized as Dash.

"We can't just keep standing around out here, Rhyme. Sooner or later we're gonna have to go in there."

A melancholy groan affirmed I had heard her. Rainbow continued to echo my thoughts out loud. Still though...

My head rolled back against the wall with more force than I anticipated. "I'm not ready yet."

Rainbow finally collapsed to her haunches next to me. "Yeah...me either..."

Dash began fidgeting as her body quickly reached its stillness quota, her hooves tapping on the floor in an erratic, patternless fashion as her gaze meandered around the ceiling. The noise derailed my current thought process, neither of us desiring to continue our conversation for fear of where it would inevitably lead. My mind began to wander again, attempting to determine the best course of action, despite the best choice, the only choice, being painfully obvious.

I took a deep breath and instantly regretted it. Hospitals never failed to smell awful, and Ponyville's humble example was no exception. A bizarre sensation of artificial sterility that still somehow managed to elicit an impression of dirt and grime. Each subsequent breath increased my desire to simply get out of there and take a long, hot shower.

"Maybe we should have just let the doctor tell her."

Dash brought me back from my mental tangent and reminded me of the task at hoof, fear entering the pit of my stomach as I thought about what was going to happen, most likely within the next few minutes. Having the doctor tell her would have been a lot easier.

"We both agreed that would have been cruel. She needs to hear this from somepony close to her."

Her shoulders sank at my response. “It was just a sprain, Rhyme. I've had the same thing dozens of times training with the 'Bolts. I told her it was just a sprain." Her voice wavered. "I told her it would be okay."

She glanced down at her hoof, still fiddling with spectrum streaked hair. "This is all my fault..."

In that instant, I wanted nothing more than to bluntly agree with her. To yell at her again. Scream at the top of my lungs such that Celestia herself would descend from Canterlot just to figure out what the hay was going on. Every fiber of my being demanded I throw all the blame at her hooves, to go on a second tirade and attempt to make her understand the true weight of her poor choice of actions these last four years. About all the times she hadn't been there for her. All the tears I'd seen her shed in her name while she was away in Cloudsdale. All the times she had done her best to play the pain off nonchalantly like it was no big deal, despite it so blatantly twisting her soul. About how a simple flying lesson from a Wonderbolt was hardly an apology for years of ignored reverence.

But that would be wrong. Because as much as I may hate her, that had nothing to do with what we were faced with right now.

"This isn’t your fault, Dash. Or any of us. It's no one's fault."

Her response was dripping with self-loathing, and to my disdain I found myself relishing in it. "But it is my fault. She wanted it so much because of me. And I flaunted it. Oh Celestia did I flaunt it in front of her. I flaunted it in front of everypony of course, but especially her. Because I knew she wanted it so badly. I wanted to inspire her to go that extra mile, just like I did. If I had known I was digging her grave like that..."

Dash’s eyes met mine. "I don't know if I can ever face her again."

Rainbow's current pain mixed in my mind with her previous actions, resulting in a feeling of numb indifference as I watched her begin to tear up. I elected to simply observe as she came to terms with what was about to happen, my expression remaining stoic and betraying nothing in terms of sympathy.

"That's why it has to be me that does it though, doesn't it?"

I gave her a simple, neutral nod.

The Wonderbolt sighed, and got on her hooves uncharacteristically slowly. I followed suite, the tightness in my chest returning as we made our way out of the waiting room and down the hallway towards where she was staying.

It was happening. We were about to do this to her.

"It just isn't fair, Rhyme, y'know?"

I did my best to project some semblance of calm in my response. I failed miserably.

"Yeah..."

_____________________

The snow was coming down faster now.

The filles and colts had all retreated, abandoning their winter activities and fleeing back inside their homes in light of the weather’s increased fervor, the previously mellow downpour of snowflakes quickly becoming more temperamental. Large bunches of snow whipped around in increasing more violent winds, my coat quickly becoming caked with a brutal mixture of snow and ice as winds tore through my body, numbing my skin to the point of burning. The cold continued its assault, my teeth chattering and limbs shivering as I unconsciously fought the frigid temperatures with what menial natural defenses my body had to offer.

None of that registered on a conscious level. The outside world was forgotten, the entirety of my existence shrank down to nothing more than the singular figure standing before me; all other sensations forgotten. The unquestionable reality of the situation was becoming painfully apparent. He was here. All that I had sought to escape from was literally on my doorstep, crushing my blissful four year dream under the hoof of an inescapable truth.

The world was brought back into focus when the subconscious sensation of cold was suddenly cut off from my body as the unicorn's horn glowed brighter, its fuchsia aura increasing in intensity as a companion barrier appeared around myself as well. The torrent of snow impacted inches away from my face against the transparent tourniquet and melted instantly, the resulting water cascading down the shield. The figure smiled.

"You look absolutely miserable."

I struggled to compose myself, finding my voice lost somewhere amid my thoughts. “Y-you know I don’t like the cold...”

The figure's smile only grew, and he approached me, raising a foreleg to take me into an embrace, but my body reacted on its own, hooves scurrying my frame backwards and out of his reach. He froze, and I felt a lump forming in my throat. Words attempted to escape my mouth again.

"Coda...what are you doing here?"

My brother appeared puzzled. "Looking for you, of course.” He smiled again, eyeing me intrepidly. “I've missed you so much. I was beginning to think I'd never see you again."

He lunged at me once more, the barriers he cast seamlessly melding into one as he came closer. This time, his advance was too quick for me to avoid, and I found myself pulled me into an enthusiastic embrace. It was a warm hug. Loving. Genuine. A brother elated to have finally found his kin. My forehoof slowly began wrapping itself around his neck as I cautiously returned his affection, my head coming to rest just above his shoulder.

"I've missed you, too."

Coda hesitated for a moment, then broke the embrace and began shivering, letting out an unpleasant grunt. "Come! Let us get out of this dreadful weather! I'm beginning to get a bit lightheaded sustaining this barrier for the both of us, and I will not have this suit ruined by some poorly timed Pegasus planning."

Coda gave a glance towards my front door. "Do you mind?"

I shook my head wordlessly.

"Excellent!" He grinned and threw the door open, rushing inside and canceling out the spell, the cold once again attacking my frame. A foreleg appeared through the doorway, motioning me to follow.

My hooves came to rest only a few steps inside my house. I hesitated to venture forth any further, my footing compromised by the sheer suddenness of it all. My mind was in a haze, unable to shake the feeling that everything I was experiencing was some sort of dream. My home suddenly felt foreign, its atmosphere in light of my surprise guest not unlike the first day I moved to Ponyville: cold and unfamiliar. Coda seemed either ignorant or unfazed by my shock, and he proceeded to tour himself around my humble abode with casual indifference.

"Not too bad, big brother. A little cramped here and there, sparsely furnished, and, unsurprisingly, a mite unkempt, but it certainly is cozy, and has a quaint rustic charm to its simplicity." The young stallion looked at me and grinned. "Still got nothing on Pops' place though, you gotta admit."

I chuckled nervously. "Dad...does make a fair bit more than me..."

"He doesn't have to you know..." Coda prodded.

I sighed, uninterested in continuing that conversation. The question, however, left my lips before I had a chance to reconsider. "How is Mom and Dad?"

Coda stopped fumbling through my stuff, electing to look straight at me, his gaze heavy. His mouth opened to speak, but the words never came. Instead, he meandered his way over to my couch, flopping down on it harshly, all pretense of high class society banished from his body language. He motioned for me to join him, and I made my way over from the doorway, despite my better judgement, and collapsed down next to him with a similar mindlessness. Coda waited for me to get situated before he continued.

"Physically, they're okay. They still got the business, so how bad could they be, right? Dad loves what he does, and Mom loves Dad."

He looked up at me. "But they essentially lost their first born son, Rhyme. Without even a goodbye or an explanation."

Coda’s gaze drifted from my eyes, slowly wafting downward until it met the ground. "I'd be lying if I said they weren't hurt by that. They haven't really been the same since you left. They miss you."

He pulled his focus back over towards me. "I miss you..."

My limbs felt weak as my heart twitched and wretched in my chest, each word from my brother's mouth adding another weight to the pile of guilt that had burst forth from my carefully erected emotional dam that had cracked upon his arrival, now utterly eradicated, sending forth a torrent of sensations long locked away.

Coda decided it better to let that blow fester a bit and move on to a more menial topic, getting up from the couch again with a stretch. "So Rhyme, what have you been doing for work all this time, huh?"

I did my best to keep my voice from wavering, my thoughts still with his previous statement. "There's a small place downtown called 'Sofas and Quills'. I do some stocking and inventory there. Moving furniture is a simpler task with magic, and in an Earth Pony town it’s hardly a skill to squander. I don't have much use for sofas, but I burn through a lot of quills, so the discount there doesn't hurt, either."

"Hmm..." Coda had returned to examining my room, digging through the contents of a bookshelf as he casually kept up conversation. “Any friends?”

“A few...”

I could practically hear the grin in his voice. “Meet any ladies?”

The question elicited a confusing sensation of butterflies. "No..."

Coda sighed as he placed a photo frame back on its shelf. "That's a shame. You need a good mare in your life, Rhyme. Keep your head on straight."

I gave my brother a sharp huff.

Coda sighed and made his way back over to the couch, his face becoming more solemn, which worried me. He sat down again, this time with his practiced, high class grace, barely a ruffle in his expensive suit. He looked me straight in the eyes, the previous warmth in his gaze masked behind the practiced poker face requisite of a pony of his position.

"I'm assuming no progress in that regard, either?"

He lifted a forehoof in my direction. I needn't look down at it to figure out where he was pointing.

"...no..."

He sighed. "I figured as much."

Coda's gaze meandered around my small home again, silently judging the sum total of what I had accomplished during my time spent away from Trottingham. His eyes returned to mine, and he sighed sharply before reciting an expertly delivered lie. "Look Rhyme...despite what a lot of ponies have probably been thinking, if not saying, it's not something you need to feel ashamed of."

He reclined a bit in my sofa, getting more comfortable in a vain attempt to ease the tension in the room. "You're confused. That's okay. Not everypony figures this stuff out right from the get go. I appreciate what you've been trying to do out here. I think it's pretty admirable. The fact that you have a roof over your head, a steady job, and some friends is nothing to scoff at."

His gaze became at once both disarming and disconcerting. "But lets face facts, Rhyme, you're atrophying out here. It's time you stopped deluding yourself with a false sense of progress and had the courage to admit that to yourself."

He took one of my forehooves in his.

"It's time to come home."

_____________________

You would have thought that I would have gotten used to the sight of the filly in bandages at this point. After all, Scootaloo was hardly one to exercise caution, and her physical condition more often than not reflected this lack of consideration. However, there was something about seeing her there, lying in a hospital bed, even with just the usual bound wing and bruised body, that conjured up thoughts of far more dire scenarios. Situations that instilled fear into the very core of my soul. Situations I hoped to never have to experience in reality.

What we were about to do to her was heart-wrenching enough as it is.

Scootaloo remained oblivious to us as we approached the doorway, her gaze transfixed on the sight of the setting sun visible through the window next to her bed, the dimming light reflecting off a fresh, undisturbed layer of powdery snow. A yawn escaped her lips as she stretched under the thin hospital bed sheets. Rolling over to get into a more comfortable position, her eyes finally turned towards us, both of us still struggling to muster the courage to move through the doorway. She perked up instantly.

"Oh...hey guys! How long have you been standing there?"

Dash and I both traded nervous glances. She gulped.

"We just got here, kiddo. How you holdin up?"

Scoots giggled and scratched the back of her mane. "Is it weird if I say I'm kinda getting used to wing injuries?"

"Yes."

"Nah."

Rainbow and I both responded simultaneously. I glanced at both of my feathered compatriots and raised an eyebrow before Dash and Scootaloo both burst into laughter, the filly's reaction a fair bit more hearty. I sighed. "Pegasi..."

Scootaloo flashed us both a confident smirk as she sat up. "You should've seen it, Rainbow Dash! Nurse Redheart came in here looking all worried when she put the bandages on. Like I had been mangled up real bad or something. Pfft! As if!" She puffed out her chest with pride. "I kept telling the doctor I didn't even need all these bandages, that you told me I was fine and not to bother." Her grin got even bigger. Rainbow’s shrank. "None of this even hurts! No big deal."

She flexed her forehooves and pivoted her barrel, demonstrating her full, pain-free range of motion. She went to stretch her wings when she let out a quick peep as she winced, her left wing twitching slightly as it disobeyed her. Scootaloo looked back over at us with a goofy, blissful smile on her face, doing her best to play off her discomfort.

"Heh heh... Looks like the flying lessons might have to wait a few weeks, huh?"

The comment snapped both of us back to reality, the smiles instantly leaving our faces as we remembered why we were so hesitant to force ourselves in here in the first place.

The sound of rustling feathers told me without even looking that Rainbow Dash was trembling, knowing that the moment was upon us, upon her. Her breathing became heavy as she fought back tears. She raised a hoof to move towards the bed, but stayed put, the raised limb shaking. Scootaloo's excitement waned as she noted the discomfort painfully apparent on her hero's face. Rainbow froze, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks as she locked up under the gaze of the filly who thought the world of her, the burden of the news she bore weighing heavily on her soul. The proud Wonderbolt averted her eyes, unable to keep eye contact with the filly, still ignorant of what we both knew too well. Rainbow began taking note of the floor as she fidgeted back and forth, any semblance of her trademark bravado abandoned as a cocktail of sorrow, guilt, and pity overtook her. She forced herself to look at the younger pegasus again, and inhaled.

"Scootaloo...you-"

The filly cocked her head and raised an eyebrow, hanging on Dash's indecisiveness. What little life that was left in Dash’s eyes suddenly extinguished completely. Her ears went flat against the back of her head and her gaze again wavered. Her wings were twitching uncontrollably now, and a sudden flap sent a powerful gust through the room. When they returned to her side, Rainbow’s wings were still, and her expression bare. Without another word, she turned towards the door. Scootaloo's expression was one of both confusion and fear, not used to seeing Dash acting so atypical.

"Rainbow Dash? What's wrong?"

I glared daggers at the Wonderbolt, making it clear I didn't approve. She ignored me however, keeping her eyes locked on the ground as she slowly shuffled away from Scootaloo, muttering to herself.

"I can't do this...can't be here...all my fault..."

As she approached the doorway, Scootaloo called out to her, desperation in her voice.

"Where are you going?!"

Rainbow Dash stopped, halfway through the door. She lifted her head up, yet couldn't manage to make eye contact with the younger pegasus. My forehoof met her shoulder in an attempt to steady her nerves, but she quickly shrugged it off as her gaze fell back towards the floor. She sniffled as words meekly left her muzzle.

"I'm sorry kiddo. I just...I'm sorry for everything...Please...don't hate me..."

She took off, her hoofsteps echoing down the hallway, pausing for a brief instant before picking up again with fervor. I started after her out of reflex before finer logic prevailed, realizing that doing so would leave Scootaloo alone. A not-so-subdued grunt escaped my lungs as Rainbow vanished, leaving behind a heartbroken filly and an enraged stallion. I kept my back to Scootaloo for a moment and did my best to hide the expression of undiluted rage painted all over my face, quickly replaced with agonizing sorrow as I heard the familiar sound of the pegasus' breathing begin to become audible, foreshadowing an all-to-familiar emotional breakdown, her idol once again the trigger. She struggled to steady her emotions, to look strong for me, if not for herself, yet despite the effort her eyes betrayed her, tears beginning to stream down her face.

I slowly made my way over to her, placing a hoof on her shoulder, attempting to calm her down, tears beginning to fall more frequently, her body shivering as she attempting to keep her feelings bottled up.

“It’s all right Scoots. Let it out if you need to...”

“Pfft...let it out? C’mon Rhyme. W-what do you think I am? A baby? Rainbow Dash is a Wonderbolt. S-she’s got more important things to do than hang out with m...”

Knowing it was coming didn’t make hearing it any easier. A soft whimper slowly escalated into a heartwrenching moan. "...what the hay’s going on? Why did she leave? Is she mad that I messed up the flying lesson? I promise it was a one time thing! I won't screw up again!"

Her words tore at my heart strings. “It has nothing to do with that.”

Her speech was filled with stutters as she continued to resist crying outright. “I can’t do this without her. I need her help...”

Damn it all. She doesn’t deserve this. She doesn’t deserve this...

She sniffled as her whimpering subsided for a moment, replaced with a timid curiosity. "...What’s the matter then? What did I do?"

I suddenly empathized with Dash as I realized I would have to be the one who told her. My face paled and my mouth became dry, the words simultaneously desperate to escape and clinging on to my throat for dear life, and I found myself similarly in limbo, unable to do what had to be done.

Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she looked me over, her voice wavering. "Rhyme...you're scaring me..."

An unexpected sensation met my cheek, and I reached up with a forehoof, brushing away tears I hadn't even realized I'd started shedding, and the filly gripped on to my coat even tighter. I sank onto my haunches to be at eye level with Scootaloo, her eyes shimmering as she tried to stop herself from crying. I took her forehooves in mine, an act that was supposed to comfort her, instead engraving the terror on her face even further. She knew something big was coming. It was obvious just from my expression. With all the effort I could muster, I forced myself to look directly at her, unwilling to deliver this halfheartedly.

"Scootaloo. There's...something we need to talk about..."

“W-what is it?”

I said it.

She screamed, and my heart broke.

__________

My eyes widened as the weight of what he was suggesting sank in. “Come...home?”

Coda seemed far less shocked. “Of course. You didn’t think we would shun you or anything, did you?” He gave me another warm smile. “You’re family River Rhyme. And family looks out for each other. Even when they might make rash, bone-headed decisions.”

Something about his tone struck me the wrong way. “I don’t think leaving was wrong, Coda.”

He simply shrugged. “Of course you don’t. You’re here, living it, you aren’t seeing the full picture.”

I looked over my brother again, adjusting his suit, muttering something about the weather damaging it. If it was anything like ones Dad wore, it probably cost a few hundred bits. Chump change for them, of course. He propped a leg up, sinking into the couch nonchalantly, shifting his weight a bit to get comfortable. Despite the conversation happening in the moment, his eyes were distant, pondering a dozen other things simultaneously, his mind never truly there with you completely.

Seeing him like this, so far removed from himself, prompted another long buried question leaves my lips.

“What happened to you, brother?”

He stopped his shifting and raised an eyebrow, my statement catching him off guard. “Hmm?”

Having to go down this path made me hesitate, and I found myself choosing my words slowly, treading with caution. “Well...its just that...seeing you now, the way you’re dressed, the way you speak, they way you think, it’s like talking with a complete stranger. You’ve changed so much since then. I barely recognize you anymore...”

Coda sighed. “Yes Rhyme, I did. It’s called growing up.”

I did my best to keep from retching. “You mean giving up.”

The comment caused his tone to shift considerably. “What was that?”

I inhaled deeply. I wasn’t looking for a fight, but at this point I was committed to finishing this conversation. My eyes met his. “The stallion before me isn’t the brother I grew up with. This wasn’t his goal. This wasn’t his dream. This isn’t who he wanted to be. He’s living a lie and too far gone to see it.”

Coda shook his head. “Oh come off it, Rhyme. Are you still caught up on that day?”

The way he so easily dismissed his past continued to rub me the wrong way, and I felt a spark in my chest begin to ignite surrounding kindling. “How could I not?! That was-”

Coda apparently didn’t care about hearing my thoughts on the matter, interrupting me with a practiced, authoritative tone. “Do you know what your problem is, Rhyme?”

He paused just long enough for me to consider his question, but continued before I had a chance to formulate a response. “Your problem is that I recognize exactly who this stallion is before me. I may be different, true, but that’s only because you have completely stagnated. You’re still a little colt chasing a coltish dream! And even then, you haven’t even made any progress!”

Coda stopped for a moment, suddenly realizing how loud his voice had risen. His eyes closed as he inhaled slowly, purposefully, attempting to reign in his anger. He opened them again as he exhaled, the rage leaving his face, replaced with his practiced smile as he looked over to me again.

“I love you, Rhyme. I really do. I wouldn’t have come out here if I didn’t. I want what’s best for you, I want to see you thrive the way I know you can. That we all know you can. It’s not like Dad’s lessons didn’t take on you. You have the skills if you’d only apply them! We don’t want to take you away from all of this, but let’s be honest, this isn’t you living up to your potential. You can do so much more than this.” He again motioned towards my bare flank. “You’re meant for so much more than this.”

I wanted to be angry. I wanted to dramatically throw my brother out after reading him the riot act for having the gall to show up after four years and immediately begin telling me how I’m supposed to live my life. Despite my best efforts though, I couldn’t stave the fact that some of what he said was making an eerie amount of sense. A companion fire began to rage, one not aimed at my brother, but at myself. One that consumed my soul for being swayed so easily. I let out a huff of exasperation as I left the sofa and removed myself from the room, unable to formulate a more competent response, and made my way to my kitchen, Coda eyeing me with disdain but holding back any further verbal chiding.

The situation called for a drink.

I threw open the doors on my hide-away bar as my horn sprang to life, shuffling through half a dozen bottles at a time, suspending them in the air around me, as I desperately searched for the bottle of Applosean Sour Green Ale I knew I had hanging around somewhere. Hoofsteps approaching from behind clued me in to my company having joined me. A long sigh told me he wasn't pleased, and that my brief respite from his judgments was over.

"Look at this. A self-erected monument to your own despair. Still hiding your guilt at the bottom of a bottle, I see. Even more so than when you were at home, if this collection is any indication."

I huffed without making eye contact as I found the bottle I was looking for, ripping it open and taking an aggressive swig before bothering to respond. "Hardly. The locals have just expanded my palate is all."

Coda rolled his eyes. "Of course they did. Earth Ponies have heartier livers than us. Something to keep in mind."

I continued to chug the bottle, to spite him if nothing else. If I struck a nerve with my brother, he didn't let on.

"It's funny. Considering your stance on working in the family business, I half-expected you to have kicked the habit to the curb by now."

"Just because I enjoy a good drink doesn't mean I get any sense of satisfaction from getting involved in the politics of big business brewing. Besides, I can't stand wearing a suit and tie."

He looked at me like I had sprouted a fifth hoof, apparently having difficultly understanding the concepts weren’t mutually exclusive.

My next statement seemingly came out of left field, the ale apparently already kicking in. Either that, or I was just looking for an excuse to start digging for answers to questions four years in the making. "Does it really make you happy, Coda? Living on the other side? Foregoing creativity for number crunching and board meetings?"

He shrugged with his usual nonchalance, betraying the weight I had put on the question. "It's on my flank, isn't it?"

"Well...yes, of course it is. But is it in your heart?”

My brother seemed puzzled for the second time that evening. “What does that mean?”

I mirrored his confusion and then some. “What does that mean? It means everything! You’re waltzing around like you’ve been itching to be at Dad’s side ever since you were a colt, but that’s not how it was back then!” I made a point to bring attention to his flank for a change. “Up until the day that Celestia-damned mark appeared, you were just as opposed as I was!"

He flashed me that stupid warm smile again. "That's what this is about, isn't it? That's why you left. You're afraid."

Afraid...

The dam suddenly burst, and everything started spilling out. No filter, no hesitation, no stopping.

"Yes, actually, I am afraid! Afraid of becoming like you! Abandoning my sense of self and what I want to do, and instead doing what I was told to do! I dunno what Mom and Dad said to you that so thoroughly stripped you of your soul, but...”

I pointed at his suit. “This.”
My hoof moved to his stupid high class styled mane. “Isn't.”
I brought our attention to his mark again. “You!”

Some deep breaths on my part attempted to calm myself like my brother did only moments earlier. I had far less luck. “You're a musician, Coda! Not a business pony! What happened to us writing songs together?! What happened to dreaming of moving to Canterlot and someday performing for the Princess?! My brother would never put business transactions above self-expression!”

I chanced a look directly at him, to see if I could spot any sign of my old brother in this stranger’s eyes. “We didn't calculate things, we felt things!"

His gaze remained cold.

My thoughts meandered back to the day he showed me that he got his mark. The day he decided to follow in Dad’s footsteps and someday take the reigns and inherit the company. The day that, somehow, managing beer became my brother’s destiny, despite all logic saying otherwise.

"I couldn't let it happen to me, Coda. I couldn't let my dreams, my soul, die like that. It wasn't just what I wanted to do, it was who I was. Who I still am. That dream defines me. Like yours did you."

I broke my gaze from my brother as I truly began to realize just how distant and different we had become. "I had to run...I had to run away from my own brother, for fear of becoming just like him..."

You would think that, after a confession like that, one would be agitated, angry even. That was how my brother would react. His emotions fueled him, simultaneously his greatest strength and biggest weakness, the source of his inspiration and his folly. It wasn’t perfect, but it was undeniably who he was.

The stallion standing before me instead put on another sympathetic smile, my words barely reaching him. "So that's it, huh? You think I'm brainwashed? That Mom and Dad somehow indoctrinated me against my will and forced me to get a mark that isn't mine to my everlasting chagrin?"

He placed a hoof to his forehead and chuckled. "Tell me something Rhyme. Do you really think I'm suffering? Do I look like I'm suffering to you?"

“But you-”

He cut me off again. “Don’t look at who you think I am. Look at who is actually standing before you. What do you see?”

My eyes scanned over my brother's form a few times, for no other reason than to simply stall for time, unable to come up with a response that worked in my favor. He may be a different pony than who I remembered, but if he was as miserable as I would have expected him to be, he was doing a good job of hiding it. My gaze wavered and fell to the floor. Coda seemed to take that as an answer and continued.

"Maybe this isn't the ‘me’ that you are so fond of, but that’s the thing. Kids grow up. Their goals change. That’s what happened to me." He chuckled. "The fact that your dreams never changed is the exception, Rhyme, not the rule.”

"It's funny though, because for all your talk of holding on to your dream, you don't seem all that happy. Nor that fulfilled. You seem lost."

I let out a muted gasp as his words registered, the discomfort in my chest swelling into a sensation of outright fear. My brother seemed to have drudged up a part of my soul even I had not been privy to.

Coda grabbed another one of the bottles out of my hide away bar, along with a glass, apparently deciding that I wasn’t going to be the only one drinking so early. The glass was filled nearly to the brim, and Coda went to take a sip as he floated the bottle back to its resting place. As soon as the liquor hit his lips he stopped and smirked, “Huh...well maybe your drinking habit isn’t entirely motivated by despair...” He elected to instead take the bottle with him, keeping it in his grasp and returning to my living room, motioning me to again follow him.

He took another quick sip of his drink before reclining again on my couch, placing the bottle on the coffee table in front of him. This time, I did not join him. He kept his drink afloat and nursed it as he spoke. "I didn't just up and find you yesterday, River Rhyme. Not when our entire family hadn't a single clue to go on. No...we've been looking for you with varying degrees of diligence ever since you left. Four years. That’s how long I've tried to find you.”

“And where have I been looking? I combed through Canterlot, Fillydelphia, Manehatten, Las Pegaus, all of the biggest patron cities of the arts, trying to find my brother who ran away to go chase his dreams."

He emptied his glass and began pouring another. "Imagine my surprise when, by chance, I find you in a backwater town, not even following your so-called dream, but stocking shelves at a ma and pa shop, ending your evenings not in the comfort of a mare or a stallion but a bottle, and hanging around with a group of children."

He downed another glass quickly before scowling at me. "I'm sorry, but do not lecture me on the right way to live. Clearly you don't have any ground to stand on."

I didn’t let the sting of his words wear off before I responded, and the pain mediated my statement. "Tell me this then: When was the last time you picked up an instrument?"

For the first time in this conversation, I saw his expression waver, and he downed the rest of his drink in a single gulp. “I won’t lie to you, brother. It’s been a long time. Longer than I would have liked. But when you have responsibilities, recreation has to wait. That’s also a part of growing up.”

He shot me a smug grin. "But comparatively, you have little in terms of responsibility. So you tell me: When was the last time you finished a poem?"

The statement caught me in the gut and my eyes widened, their gaze unconsciously shifting towards my room, where a wastebasket full of half-finished projects lay abandoned, a testament to the accuracy of his words. A dozen more collections just like were rotting away in a landfill somewhere after years of failed attempts to make any significant progress. A dream delayed. A dream that was beginning to look more and more like a delusion.

I fell to my haunches as my hooves reached for my bottle of Ale, destitute at the fact that it was empty. With no drink to offer me any courage, my words were weak. "It's...it's not the same. I've at least been trying. It's just...every time I put pen to parchment...I'm flooded with guilt. The pain of all of this comes flooding back. You've poisoned my passion by association..."

"Do you hear yourself brother? Guilt. Doesn't that tell you something?"

Silence was the only response I could muster.

Coda looked down at me, his eyes again filled with tempting warmth. "Come home with me, Rhyme. Enough of this wild goose chase. Lets get you well."

Come home.

The words began reverberating through my brain, their presence hauntingly void of the pure vitriol they had incited only twenty minutes earlier. I had made my way to Ponyville to simplify my life. Strip out the old baggage and reclaim my consciousness, pure of distraction. To find out who I really was.

And yet, with all this time invested, I had nothing to show for it but a probable damaged liver. Still no closer to getting a cutie mark. Still no closer to finding out who I really was. Still using booze to escape my problems instead of facing them.

Still a child.

Perhaps my brother has been right all along. Perhaps I really have just been afraid this whole time. Afraid of change. Afraid not of losing myself, but finding myself...

My mind began running in every direction simultaneously as the words left my mouth, not knowing if I should be proud or hate myself for considering the notion.

"M...maybe...maybe you're right..."

"I am right. Trust me, you will not regret this."

Coda made his way over and offered a forehoof to me. "Come, pack your essentials. I'll arrange a chariot for us. We'll be back in Trottingham by tomorrow."

__________

The front door held fast under my swift barrage of knocks, the resulting noise echoing across the snow covered front yard. The brisk winter air numbing what little sensation was left in my hooves. The snow had stopped for the moment, but was scheduled to start up again in just under an hour, hence why I decided, albeit on a whim, to attempt this now. If the noise had reached the filly inside, there were no signs of it. A few minutes passed and I waited, occasionally rubbing a forehoof against a leg in a vain attempt to stave off the cold.

“Scoots! Can you let me in? It’s freezing out here!”

The first time I found myself on Scootaloo’s doorstop, I was flabbergasted at the comparatively large scope of her home. Sure, it was nothing when put up against the massive buildings back in Trottingham, but a three-story house stood out like a sore thumb in a pedestrian town like Ponyville. At first I thought perhaps it was because most Pegasi like, (or, in Scootaloo’s case, need) their space, but that begged the follow-up question of why they didn’t opt for a cloud home like Rainbow Dash, Blossomforth, and pretty much all the other Pegasi in Ponyville settled on. Of course, once Apple Bloom clued me in to the fact that both of Scootaloo’s parents were Earth Ponies, it made a whole lot more sense.

The cold was beginning to get to me, and the fact that Scootaloo wasn’t responding was doing little to alleviate my concern, I knew she was in there. My hoof met the door as I again attempted to rouse her attention, calling out her name. By chance, my hoof happened to reflexively grasp onto the doorknob after my third round of knocking, and to my surprise the door swung open, it apparently not being locked.

It was difficult to tell when buried under almost two feet of snow, but Scootaloo’s home, in addition to being quite large, was all exquisitely well kept. The lawn was always a crisp green, punctuated with various flowers grown for both food and aesthetics, as well as a healthy garden to the house’s left. The building itself was also kept in sharp condition, it’s occupants repainting it every year.

Opening the door however, painted quite the different story.

If I wanted to be respectful, I could say that Scootaloo’s parents, if one were to judge based on the condition of their home, were avid collectors with a bountiful taste, taking a liking to that of anything and everything that seemed to strike their fancy. Of course, most wouldn’t be that respectful, and call them for what they blatantly were: hoarders. The house was packed to the brim with random assortments of trinkets, all with varying levels of usefulness. With collections spanning the likes of old magazines going back the last twenty years, tools, clothing, and books, things that, if on their own, wouldn’t seem all that jarring. But then there were the absolutely puzzling acquisitions, like five suitcases full of nothing but dozens of seemingly identical pairs of foldable eyeglasses. Empty coffee cans were scattered throughout the first floor, shoved into random shelves and alcoves, filled to the brim with bizarre, seemingly aimless array of objects. One was full of nails, another full of batteries, another a collection of multi-colored sporks. These, and countless other collections just like it, filled all the storage space in obvious sight and then some, spilling out into nearly every corner of the living area. Entering the house was like stepping into a life sized junk drawer, the hodgepodge of items encroaching upon your personal space. Taking this unfortunate proclivity into consideration, one can begin to understand the necessity for such a large home.

I called out for Scootaloo again, still standing in her doorway, not completely comfortable just waltzing in without permission. In addition to simply being put off by the condition of the home itself, despite knowing the filly quite well, I couldn’t say the same about her parents. Having been in their presence for perhaps all of five minutes, and spoken to them even less, her house still felt alien, making my present excursion a tad unnerving without being properly given her family’s blessing.

When my voice was again acknowledged only by silence, I found my hooves moving of their own accord, spurred on by impatience, and I chanced entering her home entirely, silently closing the door behind me.

Scootaloo's parents were absent, as per the norm, and the first floor appeared to be deserted. Judging from the dirty plates full of half finished meals, cheap beer bottles, and discarded food wrappers strewn about what would usually constitute a living room, it had been that way for some time now. The living area was instead filled with a random assortment of haphazardly collected items, the sheer volume of its contents betraying the eclectic sense of hierarchy to its organization.

Ascending the staircase proved to be an eerie experience. The silence of Scootaloo’s home made every hoofstep, every creak of the floorboards, and every slowly drawn breath painfully audible, creating the perfect ambiance for a horror film. The ambiance was increased even further by the lack of interior lighting, the house illuminated solely by the weak winter sunlight leaking through half drawn blinds, this fact also doing its part to make a simple staircase into a frustrating obstacle course as I carefully dodged random stacks of magazines, books, and the occasional collection of records casually dumped against the railings of the staircase, grabbing the few that I’d accidentally knock aside with my magic to prevent them from causing an even bigger mess than there already was.

I couldn’t recall a time prior when it was ever necessary to venture up to the second floor, the filly usually descending down herself in a blur of orange almost instantly upon the arrival of myself or the rest of the Crusaders, expertly dodging and weaving through the obstacles I was now stumbling over, making a habit of leaping once she hit the fifth to last step, sailing over the rest of the books and buzzing her wings to slow her descent, landing gracefully with a smug smile on her face, eager to begin that day’s adventure. The thought of her back then caused my lips to curl into a frown.

Something told me she would not be in such spirits today.

My eyes widened as I made my way into Scootaloo’s room. The rest of the house may have been cluttered, but her room was absolutely trashed. Signed posters of the Wonderbolts were ripped and scattered all over the floor in bits and pieces, some of their corners still sticking to the walls where they had originally been crudely taped. A wall mounted shelf was knocked over, hanging at an angle, its contents everywhere but where they should be located, many of the toys falling victim to various forms of amputation, their stuffing sticking out of them haphazardly. A familiar rainbow-colored wig was discarded in the corner, the remnants of a photo of Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo shattered on top of it, the glass of the frame broken and the underlying photo battered and crinkled.

Most disturbingly though, was the extreme amount of feathers strewn about the room, all of them a familiar orange hue, and far too many stained with blood. In the center of it all was the filly in question, her wings unsurprisingly looking a bit thinner than normal, curled up in a ball on her mattress, facing away from the door. The bed frame itself had been tossed against the wall and was now propped up at a 90 degree angle. Her body was shaking, doing its best to mask her sobbing and dealing with the chill seeping in through the open window, more of the room’s content having been tossed out of it in what could conservatively be called a momentary lapse of judgement. The word left my lips in light of nothing else pertinent coming to mind.

“Whoa...”

She stiffened up suddenly when she realized I was there, and sniffled a few times, attempting to get control of herself, though she continued to face opposite me. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and full of vitriol. “Get out, Rhyme.”

About thirty seconds of silence passed.

“You’re still there, aren’t you?”

“ ‘Fraid so.”

Her anger waned slightly, Scootaloo’s words quavering under the strain of her sorrow, tears beginning to fall. “Just go away! Leave me alone!”

I did exactly the opposite and took a few steps closer to her, treading carefully to not cause any more damage to her stuff. “If I thought you were in a state where I could trust you to be alone, maybe I’d consider it." My gaze wandered around her room again. "However, half your feathers are on the floor and there’s blood caked on your coat. I should probably be dragging you back to Nurse Redheart for another few days.”

She curled up tighter, giving her wing a dismissive flap as a few more feathers fell out. “Who cares. Feathering things are useless. Good riddance I say.”

“You don’t mean that.”

"Why wouldn’t I?! Look at me! I’m a joke! Looks like all the ‘chicken’ crap was right on the money this whole time!”

Scootaloo huffed and rearranged some pillows on her bed before curling up again, still refusing to face me. “Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be at work or something?”

“It’s gonna be snowing all day today. Everything is closed. Besides, I wanted to check up on you. Haven’t seen you since...you know...”

“Oh gee! I’m sorry! Excuse me for not being out and about with a feathering smile on my face! Just gimme a second and I’ll totally get over the fact that I can’t...I can’t...”

The statement died in her throat as the room was filled with a dejected moan followed by abject sobbing, the statement too painful to be said out loud.

“...I’m so sorry, Scootaloo.”

The room became deathly silent, save for her subtle whimpering, determined to fight the tears back. She finally turned towards me, torment engraved on her face, the weight of the week’s events leaving her hollow. Tears began streaming down her face as she finally lost that fight. “Sorry? Sorry?! What does sorry fix?! I’m defective, Rhyme!"

Her words were barely audible, struggling to escape between agonizing wails. "What is it that Pegasi do?! You Unicorns have your magic! Earth Ponies are connected with nature! And Pegasi...f...fly!”

Saying the word took the wind out of her, and she slumped back onto her bed, the rest of her words delivered with far less force. “But no...not me. My wing muscles never developed properly. They’re too weak to keep me in the air.”

“Scootaloo, You aren’t defective.”

“Save it.” She snapped. “I don’t want your pity.”

I found myself instinctually taking a few steps back. I wasn’t used to Scootaloo being so aggressive, but under the circumstances I could hardly blame her. Still, I wasn't really sure how to handle her like this. The house once again became silent save for her aggravated breathing as I struggled to find a way to respond. When nothing came, she continued on anyways.

“My parents are Earth Ponies, Rhyme. How they ended up with a Pegasus for a kid is anypony’s guess, and not all the guesses are very nice." For a brief moment Scootaloo's eyes betrayed her as they filled with a sense of shame. "But because of that, flying is something they couldn't help me with, which is probably why it has always been the one thing I’ve wanted. My wings have always stood out to me because it’s what made me different than them.”

She rolled onto her back and stared aimlessly at the ceiling. “I still remember that day when I hung out with Rainbow Dash, the day she took me flying. Hugging her back, seeing the world in a whole new way, it felt so natural, so right. In that moment, I knew that my destiny was in the sky. I didn’t just idolize Rainbow Dash for who she was, but what she was.” She looked out the window and raised a forehoof to the sky. “Freedom.”

A dreamy expression met her face as she continued. “Up there, limits don’t exist. Your hooves aren’t glued to the ground, trapping you in one single way of moving. You can go anywhere you want, any way you want. You wanna go somewhere, you go there. Nothing can stop you. Your only limitation your ambition. It’s the single coolest thing in the whole world.”

The filly gave her battered wings a meager flap, sending a few straggling feathers wafting towards the ground. “And I’ll never know what its really like.”

Her expression grew heavy, ears falling flat as the weight of her previous statement caught up to her. The tears started flowing faster again. “What the hay am I supposed to do now Rhyme?! That was all I had left! Rainbow Dash is back in Cloudsdale again, she couldn’t even look at me straight after the hospital visit, and I lost my ‘sister’. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle got their cutie marks, not to mention each other, and I lost my best friends! And my parents-!” She paused. “Well, I never even had my parents...”

She broke eye contact with me and flopped back onto her back, staring at the ceiling. “But at least I had my wings, I thought. I didn’t have parents to teach me how to fly, but a few lessons from a Wonderbolt and I’d be good to go. Then I can figure out who I am, get my cutie mark, and from there, anything I wanted. Now...that’s gone too.”

She turned away from me again, her voice barely carrying over to me. “I have nothing left...”

I made my way over to her bed, sidestepping the mess on her floor, my tears concerning her plight kept at bay by the genuine warmth that emanated from my response. “That’s not true...”

My hoof met her battered wing. “You have me.”

For a moment she seemed receptive, but a quick flick of her wing batted my hoof away and she grunted again. “You aren’t the same...”

Her words cut deeper than I expected, each syllable feeling like a swift blow to the gut, leaving my heart empty and my response weak. “Oh... I see... My apologies...”

I knew I should have stayed, that Scootaloo shouldn’t be alone right now, even if she thought she wanted to be, but something about her words left me too hollow and uncomfortable to stick around, and I found myself desperate to get as far away as possible. The discomfort must have leaked onto my face, hard as I may have tried to mask it, for a moment after the words escaped her mouth she turned to face me and we briefly made eye contact. She subtly raised a forehoof, as if to protest her statement, yet her expression suddenly soured again and she dropped it, rolling back over and shutting herself off from the world again. Dejected, I make my way out of her room.

“Well...if you need to talk, you know where to find me...”

As I made my way out the door, I heard her tears begin to return with fervor. Guilt welled up in my chest, and a part of my was screaming to go back and comfort her again, but I had no idea what to say.

My scarf was drawn tighter around my neck as I made my way outside again, the snowfall starting to return, a bit earlier than scheduled. I did my best to put the block out the cold as I began to make my way home.

“I could use a drink...”

________

Neither of us seemed to notice the door opening, but when the meek voice announced itself I felt terrible for not realizing sooner.

“Rhyme...”

Scootaloo was standing in my doorway, ears tucked under a hat, neck wrapped in a long scarf, cheeks red with possible frostbite, and covered in snow. She gave her damaged wings a quick flutter and loosened some of the snow covering her coat, and I noticed that they were crudely bandaged. Her eyes were filled with emotion, locked on to my own unwavering. From the looks of her she had been standing there for awhile, long enough to hear the bulk of what we had been discussing. I silently motioned her inside with a hoof and she complied, slowly stumbling her way in on shivering legs. I instantly sprang up off the floor and quickly made my way over to meet her halfway, my brother simply watching the scene play out with casual curiosity.

I brought a hoof to her face as I wiped the snow and unkempt mane out of her eyes. “Scootaloo, is everything okay? What are you doing he-”

A loud crack echoed through the room as her forehoof impacted with my face. I stared at her, dumbfounded, too stunned to feel the pain.

“You feathering idiot!”

I tasted a trickle of blood running down my lip, and for a moment Scootaloo’s expression softened, before quickly reigniting after staring at me, as if my face reminded her of why she was here. Her eyes narrowed as she continued her tirade.

“When you left I felt like a total piece of crap! I come here to apologize and what do I see? You spouting a bunch of nonsense and acting like a complete moron!”

“W-What are y-”

“You promised! Don’t you remember?! You promised that you’d never leave me! No matter what!”

Her words brought me back to that day three years ago under the tree, and any counterargument I could have mustered sputtered out. My gaze fell to the floor, and I made no further protest as she continued.

“You said to come here if I needed you! Well guess what? I need you, Rhyme! And I’ll need you again!” Her voice suddenly became quiet. “Like you said yourself, you’re all I got left...”

Scootaloo shoved her face into mine, the anger alight in her eyes betrayed by the tears welling up. “So what am I supposed to to if you go back to Trottingham, huh?! Who will I have then?!” Her hoof struck my chest as the first tear fell. “Tell me!”

“I... “

“And if nothing else, do your dreams mean so little to you?! So what if they’re hard! So what if they’re unreasonable! That’s no reason to give up!”

She grabbed my muzzle in her forehoof, locking my gaze onto hers. She winced as she slowly, painfully, extended her wings full mast, tearing away at the bandages, gaping holes from missing feathers making the sight unsettlingly eerie. Her face took on a more somber expression as her voice lost a bit of it’s edge. Her eyes lidded slightly as she coerced a smile on her face for me, difficult, but genuine.

“At least your dreams are still within your grasp...”

I felt tears welling up as I raised a foreleg to embrace her, but before I could she spun around and faced my brother, who still reclining on my sofa with his wine, observing with his usual calm demeanor.

“And you!”

Coda raised an eyebrow as Scootaloo redirected her rage in his direction, topping off his glass before settling back in his seat, the filly eliciting little more than a passing curiosity from my brother. “Yes?”

“Where the hoof do you come off tearing down somepony’s dreams like that?! Who do you think you are?!”

Coda smirked as he took another drink. "I'm his brother."

"Could've fooled me." She spat.

My brother remained calm, levitating the glass off to the side and crossed a hind leg as he sank a bit further into my couch. "Young lady, I'm assuming you're a member of my bother's...rather peculiar social circle. Do not misinterpret my words, I am quite grateful for you caring enough about my brother to stick your neck out like this." His eyes narrowed. "However, this is a family matter. Your presence is not necessary."

Scootaloo smirked, undeterred. "Pfft...perhaps you haven't been paying attention, but Rhyme has been in Ponyville for awhile, now." She looked back over her shoulder at me. "You aren't his only family anymore."

"Listen, miss-"

"No. I think you've done enough talking. You listen."

She took a few steps forward towards Coda, who shot me an amused look before he resumed nursing his drink. Scootaloo took a second to compose herself before she continued.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe Rhyme has been wasting his time here, not being able to find a cutie mark. If so, then I’m just as wrong as he is. After all, my flank is bare too, and up until a few months ago, so was our best friends. None of us really know the first thing about getting a cutie mark. That’s kind of the problem.” She looked back at me briefly. “Being pressured about working some super flashy job, making more bits than he knows what to do with, and using his skills is just extra problems for Rhyme that I know even less about. I'm not about to say I understand anything about that stuff.”

“But I've been with him, this entire time, and you know what, I think, I know, he's happy here. If you cared about him, like real family should, isn't that enough? Even while we searched for our marks, as much as we were hoping for the future, we never ignored the present. Each other.”

She turned back to face me again, and her face lit up, the Scootaloo I knew surfacing for the first time since the hospital. "Rhyme, I love... the time we’ve spent together. This guy is wrong, okay? It wasn't a waste. We may not have our cutie marks, but we have our friendship.”

She motioned towards her flank. "We're the only Crusaders left. And we never stop the journey, right? Even when it gets hard."

She made her way back over to me, my brother completely forgotten, her words aimed at me alone. "If you can stand there and tell me that, despite the wings, this bare flank, and these broken dreams, that I'm not defective, then listen to me, River Rhyme."

"Neither are you."

I sat there, staring into her eyes as she looked down at me, unblinking. Scootaloo’s entire world had just been shattered. Everything that she had set her heart on and worked her whole life to achieve was taken away from her, by no fault of her own. Just a few short hours ago she was broken, by her own admission.

And yet, here she was, fighting for me, filled with renewed passion. Seeing the filly, no, the young mare, that I had grown so close to during my four years in Ponyville, reminded me of everything I had experienced, and it instantly cleared away all the cobwebs. The friends that I had made, the good times that I’d had. The bonds that I had forged.

It was small. Insignificant in the grand scheme of things. And it certainly wasn’t doing all that much to bring me any closer to accomplishing the goals I had initially set out to achieve by coming to Ponyville in the first place.

But it was mine. And that meant everything to me.

She meant everything to me.

I could never abandon that.

A soft smile formed as I gave Scootaloo a subtle nod. "Coda. I think it's time for you to go, now."

The smug grin left his face and Coda nearly dropped his wine glass, barely grasping it again with his magic before it impacted against the ground. "Brother...you can't be serious."

I looked over at Scootaloo again, her smile giving me strength. I looked back at my brother and gave him a solemn nod. "I am."

"But...you already decided. You had made up your mind! And then this little mare just waltzed in here and changes your mind?! Just like that?! You were about to fix things! Come home!"

I looked around my house, the memories of the last four years flooding back, and my tone became more resolute. "This is my home too, Coda. And right now, its where I belong. I have ponies who need me here. I want to be here."

“What about your first home?” He countered. “What about the ponies who need you there? Mom and Dad? What about me?”

Coda’s words lingered in the air as I considered them, once again giving me pause. I was suddenly caught between two families, two homes, two schools of thought. There were affections on both sides, both at the forefront of my mind as they vied for my attention.

However, only one of those homes had driven me out.

“You guys had your chance, brother. I’ll...I’ll always love you but...I’m just not comfortable at home anymore. Not like I am here.”

A concoction of desperation and rage filled my brothers eyes as his pleas became more raw, getting off the couch and standing up to face me. "Please, don't do this to me, Rhyme! If you make me walk out that door, and you aren't with me, I can't come back! I can not... will not... try and save you a second time! Forget the family, forget the business! Forget us! This place will be all that you ever have! Just your backwater friends, a bottle, and a bare flank! Is that really what you want?!"

Coda's eyes began to shimmer. "Please, Rhyme... Don't do this. I just found you again..."

My eyes wandered back and forth from my blood to my dearest friend, my mind racked with uncertainty, guilt building with each moment, knowing there was no way to appease everypony. Tears begin welling up again as I sink back on to my haunches. My gaze fell to the ground as I made my decision, the words delivered in a wavering, muted monotone.

"Goodbye, brother. It was nice seeing you again."

Everything in the room seemed to stop. Scootaloo and my brother both not making a sound, and I couldn't bring myself to take my eyes off the floor. For a few agonizing seconds there was nothing, followed by a quiet klink of a wine glass hitting the floor, followed by slow, heavy hoof steps making their way to the front of the house. The slow creak of the door seemed to echo thought the entire room as it was opened slowly, and the torrent of the storm outside once again becoming audible. I felt a gaze upon me and, against my better judgement, chanced a look up at my brother. My eyes met his, his expression filled with disappointment. He kept his gaze locked on me unblinking for a moment longer before his ears drooped, and he let out a long sigh.

"Goodbye, Rhyme. Enjoy your life."

The door slammed shut, and he was gone.

The cold of from the outside had quickly subsided after he closed the door, but I found myself unable to refrain from shivering. A second sound of softer hoofsteps approached as Scootaloo finally broke what felt like an eternity of silence as she slowly made her way over to me.

"Rhyme?"

A pathetic, pained cry left my throat as all my reserves broke away, and I wept, crying my eyes out like a little colt, years of anguish no longer able to be kept at bay, the bridge connecting me to my family, hanging on by a thread after all these years, finally engulfed in an inferno of emotion, my own tongue the catalyst. A soft orange hoof began caressing my cheek, wiping the tears away.

“I’m so sorry Rhyme. I didn’t mean t-” Her voice grew weak. “I just messed stuff up pretty bad, huh?”

A soft chuckle interjected my sobbing at her self-chastising. “What are you talking about? You saved me, Scoots. I almost gave up my dream, my life here...” I finally lifted my gaze off the floor and looked at her. “You.”

Her cheeks flushed a bit as a small smile crept back on her face.

“As for my family...” I felt a nagging sensation in the pit of my stomach. “Well...there’s nothing either of us can do about that now...”

Another whimper escaped, and the tears started again, despite my best efforts to keep them at bay. Scootaloo’s hoof made its way across my face again, a bit slower this time, going past my and down my jawline. “I’m sorry about me, too.”

I did my best to halt the waterworks as I looked up at Scootaloo, the confusion in my eyes the only response I could formulate.

“I lashed out at you earlier at home. I...I know you were just trying to help.”

I did my best to compose myself and flash her a quick smile and casually wave a hoof, dismissing the incident in its entirety. She grabbed my forehoof and held it close.

“I wasn’t lying though. You aren’t the same as the others.” She squeezed a bit tighter as her voice began wavering with emotion as well. “You’re better, Rhyme. Better than Bloom, better than Sweetie...”

She brought my hoof to her chest, and looked straight at me. “... better than Rainbow Dash.”

Hanging around Scootaloo, I knew just how much weight a statement like that carried, and I felt my cheeks flush as my heart skipped a beat. As she looked at me, her eyes full of concern and compassion, I realized that she had come a long way from the rambunctious filly I had bumped into years ago. Scootaloo still had her share of issues, but there was something in those eyes, something new, that I hadn’t noticed before. A sense of understanding and sharpness that comes from growing up, of facing challenges and overcoming obstacles. She was a young mare now, and as I saw her for the first time all over again, it really struck me just how beautiful she was. Not in a cute kid kind of way, but, legitimately beautiful.

It was a simultaneously stunning and terrifying revelation.

“Scootaloo, I-”

“It's just...you’ve done so much for me, you know? You’ve always been there. Believed in me. When I saw you like that, I just...that isn’t the River Rhyme I know! The confident stallion who has all the answers! Who always knows what to do! I know that you’re better than that and if you ever left I wouldn’t be able to take it and...I just...snapped...”

Her forehooves wrapped around my neck and my head came to rest against hers, my sobbing beginning to come under control. She mumbled something into my coat, unheard above my tears. I sniffed a few times and attempted to get control of my voice again.

“What was that, Scoots?”

She coughed, stuttering a bit. “N-nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Part of me wanted to press for details, but I decided to pass, returning to her embrace, not wanting to risk ruining the moment. She gave my neck a quick nuzzle, sighing softly as her voice took on a calm, almost soothing tone. “You remember all those years ago in the park, right? When you promised you’d never leave?”

I chuckled, and gave her the warmest embrace I could summon, being careful to avoid her wings. “Of course I do. That’s what you were referring to earlier, right?”

She let out a contented chuckle, leaning more of her weight against me. “Yeah, it was.” She returned my embrace, her forlegs wrapping around me. She giggled under her breath, and spread her wings again, enveloping me with them as well. It was still the warmest embrace I had ever received. Her head left my neck as she looked up at me, eyes filled with sincerity.

“I will never, ever, leave you either.”

I let out a laugh. A genuine, happy laugh, it silencing my sobbing and putting the tears to rest, their pain at last surrendering to some positive emotions, all centered around the young mare in my hooves. I gave Scootaloo an quick extra squeeze and she gave an even bigger one back, and for awhile we just sat in silence, wrapped in each other’s arms in the middle of my living room, letting each other’s presence mend the wounds in our hearts. Fate decided that we had wallowed enough however, as a loud, long rumbling emanated from Scootaloo’s stomach.

I looked down at her and smirked. “Dinner?”

She smiled as her cheeks tinged pink. “Dinner.”

It was a modest meal, to be sure. I was hardly what one would call a competent cook, and Scootaloo was only marginally better, so, after a few botched attempts at anything classy, we settled on a spread of instant noodles and sandwiches, a bachelor buffet if there ever was one. If it bothered her though, she didn’t show it, instead making small talk in between bites as we enjoyed a humble dinner together.

The storm was still going at full force outside once dinner was finished, and neither of us really wanted to see the other go, so instead I got the fireplace going with a spark of magic, grabbed us some drinks (non-alcoholic, of course, I hadn’t realized how slim such pickings were in my home till now), and we cuddled up together on the sofa, bathed in the fire’s heat, and simply continued talking. The conversation went all over the place: School, work, friends, goings on in town, the latest movies we’d seen, anything we could think of but ourselves. Neither of our lives we’re in good enough shape to match the upbeat vibes of our conversation.

Eventually the Sun began to dip in the sky, the bleak winter day growing even darker as Luna brought forth her night. The storm had settled down hours ago, as had our conversation, Scootaloo and I contenting ourselves to merely soaking up the fire’s warmth, the crackling of the flames all that was audible. The peace was suddenly broken as a languid yawn escaped Scootaloo, causing her to sit up and stretch with a groggy groan. She looked over at me with half-lidded eyes, the warm fire seeming to have lulled her into as much of a state of sloth as it had myself. “It’s getting late Rhyme. Guess I should probably head out...”

She went to get on her hooves when I reached out and grabbed her forehoof without even thinking. The action took Scootaloo by surprise and she jumped a bit before looking back at me, her face painted with confusion.

“Umm...sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow, Scoots.”

The confusion on her face gave way to concern. “Rhyme, are you okay?”

“What? Yeah, of course I’m fi-” My dismissal of her worry deflated when I realized that I still hadn’t let go of her hoof. “No...no I guess I’m not.”

“You idiot.” She mocked as she gave my hoof a small squeeze as she hopped back on the couch. “If you don’t want me to leave yet, you can just say so.”

I looked at her again, putting my other forehoof on top of hers. “Don’t leave yet...”

She blushed, and scooted over a bit closer to me. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

For another hour, or perhaps longer, we sat in silence again, enjoying the warmth of the fire and each other as time began to dissolve. Scootaloo would move a bit closer, then myself, and eventually we both were in each other’s hooves again, occasionally caressing each other’s coats, or letting out a soft sigh as we shifted positions a bit, ending the shuffle in an even tighter embrace.

Dusk soon became night, and we continued to embrace each other, words still yielding to simpler sensation. The fire had all but died, nothing but tiny embers clinging onto life, the room cast in complete darkness, the only sound coming from ourselves as our breathing tickled each other’s coats. At some point, one of us drifted off, surrendering to the call of the night, and the other didn’t bother to wake them, instead yielding to sleep themselves.

It was the best sleep I had gotten in a long time.

Author's Note

Curious about Dash's behavior in this chapter? All is explained in What Have I Done?, a side story that explores Dash's perspective in the aftermath of this chapter!

Chapter 6

NOTE: This is the edited version of Chapter 6, without any of the... ahem... sensual bits. If you wanna read the Chapter in its complete form, hop on over here!
_______

"Real Talk for a second, Rhyme. Who's got better curves: Me or Sweetie Belle?"

A metallic clang filled the kitchen as the spatula impacted against the pan it was perched above, my telekinetic grip failing me as my mind double checked that I had processed Scootaloo's statement properly.

It had been nearly three months since my falling out with Coda, and in that time Scootaloo and I had been nearly inseparable, constantly finding excuses to be at each other's side. With me trying to get my mind off the past and refocus on the present, and Scootaloo still trying to acclimate to life without focusing on flying, we had both come to lean on each other a lot when things got difficult.

We had also fallen into an odd habit of staying up into the wee hours of the morning, talking about all sorts of things, before Celestia’s sunrise finally coerced us to sleep. Both of our sleep cycles were completely shot, Scootaloo having ended up spending quite a few nights over at my place, and I found myself sleeping on the couch more often than in my room, the young mare having taken the liberty of commandeering my bed from me, only to rouse me from my desperate slumber in the living room only a few hours later to make sure I made it to work on time, then guilt tripping me into making her breakfast. Today was one such morning, hence her presence as she made her way into my kitchen as I did my best to prepare some eggs.

As for her particular line of questioning this morning, I had no explanation.

“I mean, yeah, technically she’s curvier, sure. But c’mon...” Scootaloo shifted her weight to accentuate her athletic flanks just a little bit too sensually for my comfort. “There’s something to be said about being toned, am I right?”

I peeled my eyes away from her, the task taking a few seconds longer then I would have liked, and picked up the spatula again, determined not to burn the eggs as badly as I usually did. "I don't think I'm comfortable with where this line of questioning is going, Scoots..."

"Aww, c'mon. You're a guy, you totally have an opinion on this, don't even try and deny it."

I made sure to stare at the eggs in case she decided to start posing again. "Why do you even wanna know, anyways?"

The sound of the chair scraping against the floor let me know that she had sat down and that it was most likely safe to make eye contact again. She smirked as soon as my eyes met hers, her chin perched on folded forehooves. "I'm bored. Humor me."

A quick flip of my spatula sent the eggs into the air as I tried to save my dying omelette. "So you want me to share my thoughts on our mutual friend, who is in a relationship with our other mutual friend, as compared to you, my best friend and now pseudo-roommate?"

"Pretty much."

"I think I'd feel safer navigating a minefield."

Her hooves met the table as she sighed in frustration. "Fine. Let's just talk general archetypes: Curves or Toned?"

Some shredded mozzarella made its way into my pathetic attempt at an omelette as a devious smirk crept on my face, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to poke fun at my houseguest, making sure to wait until she took a sip of the orange juice I left on the table before making my move. "Archetype? Wow, that's like… three whole syllables. When did your vocabulary expand above a second grade level?"

The predicted spit take occurred as Scootaloo’s eyes widened, glaring at me. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“It means you only use small words.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

I chuckled as I went back to rescuing our breakfast as she grumbled, fiddling with her now empty glass. "So maybe I've been poking around your bookshelf a little bit. Big deal..."

A faux gasp left my lungs as I placed the almost-omelette on a plate and made my way over to the table. "Scootaloo? Our Scootaloo? Reading?!"

She snatched the plate out of my magical grasp and began wolfing it down. "If it's cool enough for Rainbow Dash, then it's cool enough for me."

I took a bite of the eggs and winced. Another failure. "This coming from the pony who was adamant on never reading a book that didn't have pictures or panels in it."

"That was a long time ago!"

"That was last month."

The mare let out a huff, bits of egg leaking out of her mouth. "Yeah well, you're just dodging the question."

"And doing so quite masterfully, I might add."

"Whatever. I'm still waiting for an answer."

I let out pained sigh of defeat as I leaned back in my chair, taking another bite of egg and spinning the fork around in the air absentmindedly with some magic. "I dunno. I'm one of those weirdos who likes a pony for their personality, you know? Looks won't make or break it for me."

"So that means you like Sweetie Belle better."

I nearly fell backward in my chair. "What?! How did you get that from that? And what happened to archetypes?!"

She grinned. "We both know I was just saying that to get an answer out of you. And not being straight up means you're trying not to hurt my feelings."

Words failed me. Almost. "When did you become such a girl?"

She shot me a dirty look. "Uhh, I dunno, when I was born?"

I let out another heavy sigh as Scootaloo continued eyeing me with disdain. I fiddled with the remainder of my omelette, quickly having lost my appetite. "Look. I'm like an artist, okay? I can respect a mare with proper proportions. This means that there isn't a particular body type I enjoy, but instead, I can find appreciation in all kinds of forms."

She shot me another blank look as I again denied her a clear cut answer. I collected our dishes in my magical aura as I got up from the table, making my way over to the sink and dumping them in the dirty side to forget about for the next few days. I took a slight breath before my next statement. "However, if one were to twist my hoof over it..."

I glanced back and met Scootaloo's gaze with a warm smile. "I never did see the allure in voluptuous curves."

She got up and met me by the sink, cheeks tinged over the indirect compliment. "A wise choice."

She rubbed herself against my coat and gave my neck a quick nuzzle before taking off for the living room, leaving my cheeks even more flushed than hers were. She'd been doing little things like that a lot lately, questionably suggestive, and unquestionably adorable.

The scary thing was I hadn't yet made any attempt to stop her.

The clanging of pans and dishes filled the air of the kitchen as I hurriedly cleaned up the breakfast mess as much as I could, given the time allotted. It was getting late, and the bills sadly would not pay themselves. I was halfway out of the room when a thought struck me, and my horn sprang to life, grabbing a pair of sodas from the icebox, tucking one into my saddlebag, while passing the second to Scoots, who grabbed it in her forehoof with a cute little grin.

"I gotta head out. Feel free to stick around as long as you want. Grab a shower if you need to, you know where all the necessities are." My scarf made its way over from the hanger by the banister and settled around my neck as I made my way to the front door. "Oh! And if you run into Bloom, let her know I was hoping to place an order of Sweet Apple Select. It's a little late, but they usually got some excess stock kickin around. Tell her she or AJ can swing by later today."

Scootaloo just nodded, fiddling with her hooves, her cheeks again turning a bit pink as her eyes darted around the room. I took a few moments to look her over and her eyes met mine, and she shrank back into the couch a bit. Confused, I flashed her another wary smile before I made my way to the door. "All right then. I'll cya later."

"Wait!"

I unthinkingly raised an eyebrow as I turned back towards the young mare. "What's up?"

Her cheeks were still flushed, and she was tapping her forehooves together, avoiding eye contact with me. "You uhh...you get out of work a bit early today, right?"

"Yeah. Thursdays are my short day. Should be free around oneish.” I shot her a suspicious glare. “But you already knew that..."

Surprisingly, the comment made her shrink back into the couch even further. "Heheh… yeah well… I was just wondering, if you got nothin’ else to do, if maybe… you maybe wanted to go out for… uhh..."

I felt a blush suddenly forming on my face as well as my mind took the statement in a million different directions simultaneously. "For...??"

"For uhh... crusading! Yeah that. Crusading!”

The comment somehow managed to force my raised eyebrow even higher. “Crusading?”

Scootaloo nodded a bit too enthusiastically. “Yeah! Cuz we're the only Crusaders left, and we haven't done any... crusading… in a while… you know?"

I was eyeing her rather incredulously at this point. "Sure... That's… exactly what I was thinking. Let's do that, then."

"Great! Great… sounds great!" She stammered. "Why don't we meet up at Clover Café at 1 then!"

"Yeah… oneish… I'll see you there. Later Scoots."

I slowly made my way out the door, my eyebrow once again finding itself in an upright position as I eyed Scootaloo on the couch as the door slowly closed behind me. Our eyes met for the briefest of moments before the door closed completely and Scootaloo jumped, averting her eyes almost instantly. The soft click of the doorknob catching broke my train of thought and reminded me I needed to be somewhere, so I took off towards Sofas and Quills at a light canter. My gaze drifted upwards as I took a few deeps breaths, attempting to collect myself and figure out what exactly it was that just happened...

_________

If one did their best not to think about it, they could almost call the weather pleasant.

The biting cold and blistering winds of late December had given way to a more subtle chill of mid-March. The citizens of Ponyville had already gone through the (quite literal) song and dance to shift the season; the gloomy skies were cleared, the little critters awakened, and the tiny seeds planted. Yet the remnants of the cold still lingered, and would probably outstay their welcome for the next few weeks until spring had been given time to properly settle in. Despite the crisp air though, it was hardly what most ponies would consider uncomfortable.

Unfortunately for me, I was not most ponies.

Whether it was because of some genetic disposition, environmental maladjustment, or simply because I was a wuss, winter was not yet wrapped up enough for my taste, and my disdain was rather markedly apparent as I scowled and grumbled whilst locking up the front entrance to Sofas and Quills, the weather doing nothing to help alleviate my tension. Despite having only opened a few hours beforehand, I felt mentally exhausted, my shift feeling like anything but my short day. Celestia’s sun had crept through the sky at an agonizingly slow pace, to the point where I was beginning to suspect she might have somehow picked up on my agitation, and was torturing me on purpose.

Clearly my post-employment appointment was getting to me.

Today had felt like time itself had been dialed down by a factor of ten, and my patience had waned with it. My eyes continually drifted to the clock, expecting hours to have passed, when in reality it had been merely minutes, sometimes seconds, and I suddenly felt like I was in grade school again. It wasn't so much because I disliked my job, I mean of course, there were better things I could think of doing with my time, but working inventory at Sofas and Quills was hardly what one would consider grueling, my admittedly menial duties were normally rather therapeutic, especially when one had the benefit of unicorn magic. They provided welcome distraction from fixating on my own problems, as I instead busied myself in issues of inventory and customer service, which, while presenting their own difficulties, hit far less close to home. The few customers the store welcomed each day I greeted with a smile, and usually got a pleasant conversation out of the exchange before they made a purchase. The stocking in the back, where the majority of my time is spent, always proved to be an interesting puzzle as I threw on a record and attempted to maximize spatial efficiency by squeezing as many pieces of furniture into as tight a space as possible. Kinda like a real life version of that one game with the stacking shapes. The name escapes me at the moment…

Today though, had been a different story. Customers entering the store agitated me, and were met with a glass-eyed nonchalance and monotone single word responses at best, or passive aggressiveness at worst. Their attempts at conversation utterly uninteresting. Stocking shelves in the back proved to be an exercise in frustration, the anger stemming from the annoyance of the task at hand compounding on itself, dulling my mind and causing the task to become more difficult, and me more irate, rinse and repeat. All this a side effect of being at the mercy of the painfully plodding passage of time

No, said snails passage of time was more likely a repercussion of my desire to be with my new “roommate”. My time in Ponyville certainly couldn't be described as lonesome, but after coming home to an empty house for nearly four years, suddenly knowing that, more often than not, there was going to be somepony waiting for you on the other side of your front door after a hard days work was borderline addictive. I found myself coming to take great comfort in having Scootaloo at my side, ready to throw a snarky comment at a moment's notice, or a sweet compliment and a quick nuzzle at the smallest provocation. Time spent with her was becoming more and more precious, and any time separated all the more grueling. Even a few hours apart was becoming a difficult task, my mind had been clouded with thoughts of her the entire time I was at work today. After this morning’s conversation, I couldn’t bring myself to fully commit to any of the tasks at hoof at work, my mind fixating on an image of Scootaloo slowly poking through my bookshelf, searching for a title that she could understand with a typeface large enough to stave off her intimidation, followed by timidly plopping down in my armchair and slowly making her way through perhaps ten pages or so before her fidgeting finally got the better of her.

It was an adorably out of character scenario.

My heart skipped a beat as I once again drifted off to contemplating who and what I was about to do, her smiling face clearly visible in my mind’s eye. I was feeling like a grade schooler in more ways than one.

My mind began chastising itself for even considering such a mindset. Don’t be ridiculous. We’re going crusading and that’s it, she said so herself. We’re going be exploring far too deep into the Everfree Forest, or attempting to bungee jump in Ghastly Gorge.

Actually, I hoped we didn’t end up doing that. The first time was as close a call with death as I felt like experiencing.

If anything I should be terrified for my life, not nervous like a schoolcolt nursing a crush.

Which, of course, I wasn’t doing. Because that would be ridiculous. And irresponsible. And wrong.

Right?

Hayseed. Maybe we should just go bungee jumping again.

Nature decided to cut in on my musings and rebuked my earlier criticism by kicking up a particularly aggressive breeze, and I found myself stifling a shiver as I pulled my scarf tighter around my neck, my distaste for the season guaranteed to make the short trek from work to Clover Café an exercise in middling unpleasantness at best.

Clover Café was an interesting oddity in Ponyville, a stark contrast to nearly all of the town's small business in both concept and execution. While most of the shops I had explored reveled in the small town charm that permeated Ponyville, and dialed it up to eleven in their visual presentation, Clover Café instead attempted to provide a bastion of culture amongst a swath of rustic antiquity. However, unlike a small business akin to, say, Carousel Boutique, Clover Café was only partially successful in it's endeavor, for a multitude of reasons. While the interior design of the dining establishment was a dead ringer for the classier eateries in Manehatten or Canterlot, before being bought by its current owner, the building itself apparently used to be a humble barber shop, so from the outside it looked just like any of the other country shops littered throughout town; its utilitarian architecture was a far cry from the extravagant exercises in excess that Canterlot was known for.

More damning, though was the help that Cover Café employed. High class dining is, of course paired with high class service, and while the shop owner did his best to instill some level of sophistication in his employees, his hires were all native to Ponyville, and most of the juvenile fillies and colts working as waiters either didn't have a grasp on high class culture and clumsily botched the motions, or merely didn't attempt them at all, both cases providing a rather jarring contrast as their "charmingly rustic" demeanor broke the immersion that the interior design so painstakingly attempted to set.

But the food was fantastic, so it was rather difficult to hold that against them.

Scootaloo in particular was a markedly enthusiastic fan of the place, or at least the food: the intricacies of high class culture were as lost upon on her as the next Ponyville native. As a result, she had dragged me there a couple times now when my poor attempts at cooking became too much for her to bear, so I wasn't entirely surprised when she suggested the place. One had to wonder what a restaurant had to do with getting cutie marks, though. It was pretty clear to me at least that cooking was not a skill that either of us excelled at.

Then again, this is Scootaloo we’re talking about. She’s hardly one to turn down a meal, especially if I’m the one paying the bill.

I broke into a lazy trot as Clover Café came into view. The usual hustle and bustle of the outdoor dining area was comparatively reserved this afternoon, the majority of the restaurant's patrons apparently sharing my distaste for the lingering cold. A quick survey of the establishment showed no sign of my company for the afternoon so, begrudgingly, I took a seat at one of the outdoor tables and began waiting for her to show up, fervently rubbing my forehooves together and hunching over the table in an attempt to stave off the cold. It didn't take too long for my antics to catch the attention of one of the servers, the Earth Pony mare quickly making her way over to me, laying a menu down on the table. If she had any thoughts concerning the odd display I was putting on, she thankfully made no mention of it.

“Welcome to Clover Café, sir. Is there anything I can get to start you off with today? Perhaps an appetizer or drink?”

Another chilly breeze kicked up as she finished, running through my coat and sending the freshly placed menu flying off into the distance. We traded a look of amused annoyance before I retrieved it with my magic and floated it back in her hooves, the sudden swell of cold finalizing my decision. “Yes. A table inside, if you wouldn’t mind.”

_________

A contented sigh filled the air around the table I had claimed inside Cover Café as a particularly pleasant blend of tea caressed my palette. While the restaurant walls gave my poorly insulated body sufficient respite from the chill outside, a nice warm beverage was the true cure to the kind of cold that would settle in your bones and linger. Combine that with the familiar soft ache of a hard day's work, and the warmth coursing down my throat and settling in my core couldn't be more welcome, and I reveled in its pleasant complexities.

"Sir... Is everything alright?"

A young Pegasus mare timidly made a motion towards the kettle in her grasp, her face painted with concern. "Is the tea not to your liking, or..."

I waved a dismissive hoof her way with a smile as a spark of magic returned the teacup to the table. "Not at all; it's excellent. My apologies, I’m actually waiting for somepony to join me. Apparently I'm more anxious to see them than I thought."

She seemed to jump at the opportunity to help. "Oh! Does the host upfront know? I can let them know for you!"

I once again found a smile on my face as a raised hoof calmed my server down. "No need. I let him know on my way in. Thank you for the consideration though."

She smiled, and after a customary offer concerning anything else I might need, she took off, promising to be back in a few minutes to take my order.

The small corner that nested my table lit up with a dull cyan glow as I kept the cup of tea afloat with my magic, absentmindedly taking the occasional sip as I rubbed my forehooves together to banish the last lingering sensations of cold, nothing left to do but wait for my company for the afternoon to show up. A cursory glance at the clock on the far wall showed me it was nearly twenty past one. Scootaloo was late, a disappointing if not entirely unsurprising revelation; she never had been one for punctuality. Why I continued to hold her to her word when it came to such things was anypony’s guess. A deep sigh left my lungs and I let myself sink further into my chair, slowly bringing the teacup back to my lips as my hooves tapped out a poor attempt at a rhythm, silently taking bets on when Scootaloo would finally decide to show up.

"Guess who?"

A pair of hooves with an almost comedic sense of timing covered my eyes, snapping me out of my musings and caused my body to tense up, bolting upright from the unexpected interruption, nearly spilling the piping hot tea all over my coat. If the initial question and orange blur blocking out my vision didn't clue me in to my attacker's identity, the unmistakable laughter at my minor panic attack sealed the deal. My heartbeat quickened, and was sustained both by nerves and excitement, a smile reflexively forming on my face, her very presence somehow able to flick a switch in my mind, making the entire world seem just a bit brighter.

"You know, this trick works better when your presence isn't expected."

Scootaloo granted me my vision back, letting a forehoof linger and dance along my muzzle for a few precious seconds before letting go completely, still staying out of sight. "And yet I spooked you anyways. I say the results speak for themselves. Sneak attack successful."

I sighed and slouched back into my chair as my heartbeat returned to normal. “Yeah whatever…”

My eyes went wide when I felt her forehooves drape around my neck, and her chin come to rest atop my head, deciding to mock me in a sing song voice. “Aww, is somepony being a sore loser? I'll try my best not to gloat, okay?”

I gave her a sharp huff and shifted back upwards into a more natural sitting position, forcing her to remove her hooves and chin, part of me regretting the decision. “Speaking of which, what exactly is your master plan for the triumphant return of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?” A horrifying possibility lodged itself in my mind, and the next statement just kind of fell out. “Please not bungee jumping again. We promised...”

Scootaloo let out a nervous laugh as she made her way to the seat on the other side of the table. “I think we all learned our lesson the first time.” She made her way to the chair across from me and I finally got a good look at her. “Funny thing about that though… Apple Bloom was usually the one who came up with all our crusading ideas, so I really couldn’t think of any…”

If Scootaloo had continued talking after that point, my mind tuned it out, far too flabbergasted at the sight on display before me, and I couldn’t help but squint a few times to make sure I was seeing things properly.

The mare in front of me looked like Scootaloo, sounded like Scootaloo, but there was just no way a mare this, well, put together could be the filly I’d known all these years. It took me a second to place why her face looked different, until I noticed her ears. I had no idea if they had always been pierced and she simply never bothered to mention or make use of it, or if she had merely gotten inspired during the last few hours, but regardless, the outer edge of Scootaloo’s left ear was now home to a pair of small black earrings, providing a striking contrast to the bright orange of her coat. Speaking of which, her fur was similarly entrancing for a reason that at first eluded me; Scootaloo's coat shimmering as she moved under the low lighting. My best guess was it had been treated with sort of product Scootaloo could barely pronounce, let alone afford, as its luster seemed more befit of somepony obsessed with self-image like Rarity, rather than the rough n’ tumble Pegasus. Her mane, usually frazzled and sticking out in all sorts of directions at once and casually coaxed into a single general direction with little more than a quick flick of a forehoof, actually seemed to have been given the attention of a comb for the first time in all the years I'd known her. Instead of simply falling over her face in large tufts, Scootaloo's hair had been painstakingly styled to drape down slightly to the right and frame her face, the end of the main tuft curling back up slightly to add the impression of additional volume. A few extra tufts of hair had been coaxed downwards to fall across the left side of her forehead, framing her eyes and preventing the manecut from feeling too imbalanced. Her tail had been given a similar treatment; the knots and tangles rigorously combed out of it, and her magenta accents shone with a similar brilliance as her coat.

There was one change about Scootaloo that trumped them all, though. The one thing that, for all her newfound beauty, resonated with me even deeper.

Her wings.

You would have thought Scootaloo considered herself an Earth Pony after the… "incident" a few months back. Despite our nearly continuous accompaniment, I hadn’t once caught her even stretching the things, her weak wings having been relegated to purposeless stumps strapped to her back, for in her mind that was exactly what they had become. She couldn't bring herself to bother with their upkeep now that their primary use was out of her reach. As a result, their condition was in shambles, the feathers a mangled mess, twisted and strewn about in a medley of disjointed directions.

Until now that is.

Like the rest of her, Scootaloo's wings shone with a striking exuberance, her primary feathers straight and organized, framing her athletic figure perfectly; her entire sophisticated style looking right at home against the Canterlot-inspired decor of Clover Cafe. The entire image was refined, but still somehow carried a bit of an edge to it that was inherently Scootaloo. The whole transformation seemed to perfectly compliment the Pegasus’ natural, unconscious grace, and I found myself entranced by the interplay of the two as she continued shifting her weight, explaining the details of a story I couldn't find the will to focus on. She suddenly stopped moving as she finished her story and looked over to me. Noticing the look of shock clearly plastered over my face, her cheeks lit up.

“Oh… yeah… this…” A nervous giggle left her lips. “I kinda forgot.” She suddenly seemed a fair bit less comfortable as she shrank back, looking herself over. When she looked back at me, her eyes were filled with uncertainty. “ It’s not… bad, is it?

Being as my jaw was extended as far towards the floor as my anatomy allowed, a response on my end failed to materialize. Scootaloo took my silence entirely the wrong way, wincing a bit as her posture slumped. “I knew it! I knew this was a dumb idea! I told Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon not to bother, but noooo! They just had to get their hooves involved! This is all their fault! Now I look stupid! I swear when I get my hooves on them I’m gonna-”

I stopped her shouting with a hoof on her chest. I blinked a few times and coaxed my jaw back to a normal position. My eyes met Scootaloo’s face, and I couldn’t help a blush from meeting mine. I dug deep, trying to bring forth some sort of elegant compliment befitting her image.

“You… look… amazing…”

Not exactly the greatest example of the depth of my vocabulary, but, judging from the brilliant shade of red that met her cheeks, the comment served its purpose adequately enough.

"Oh... well..." She gave me a playful punch in the shoulder. “How about you pipe up a bit sooner next time so I can spare myself a public tirade?”

I smirked as I picked up my teacup. “Sorry, my brain needed a second to process all of this. It's quite the image change."

She huffed as she looked herself over again quickly before flopping into the seat across from me. "Well don't get too attached to it. This is hardly gonna be a regular thing. This took almost two hours to pull off. I can't even imagine putting up with that every day." She leaned back in her chair, adopting a casual posture that clashed with how well put together she was. "Not to mention it was Sweetie Belle who did most of it. She tried to explain everything to me as she went, but it didn't stick. I couldn't even pronounce half the stuff her and Spoon were telling me about. Most of it was all in Prench."

I couldn't help but grin with a subtle sense of self satisfaction as I shifted back in my chair to match, happy to see her more relaxed. "Those two do know a lot about all that froofrooey stuff. Rarity must be in heaven having two liked-minded mares in her midst." I grabbed my cup of tea and levitated it over to Scootaloo. "Thirsty?"

The cup was relieved from me most eagerly. "Parched."

She took a rather aggressive gulp of tea, not realizing it was hot, and struggled to keep face as she forced it down her throat. After taking a moment to collect herself, she began taking sips in a more reserved manner. I couldn't help but eye her curiously. "So, what's the occasion for the new look?"

Scootaloo nearly choked on the tea. "Occasion?"

"Well, yeah. I can't see any crusading scenario that requires us to get all prettied up, unless you wanted to try and get our cutie marks in modeling." I chuckled a bit. "Which it doesn't sound like either of us have the patience nor the vocabulary for."

"No, no, it's nothing like that. This... wasn't for crusading or anything. I just..." Scootaloo broke eye contact and began fiddling with the teacup in her hooves. "I just wanted to look nice for a change." She took a moment before slowly brought her eyes up to meet mine. "I thought maybe you'd like it."

Her forehooves tapped together nervously as she played with the empty teacup. "Do you like it?"

I felt my jaw once again go slack. All this for me? Certainly she had to know that none of this was necessary. That she didn't have to try and impress me. She’s never had to try and impress me.

I looked over at her again, her appearance at once foreign and familiar, and my stomach did another flip flop as it dawned on me. That was the point, wasn’t it? She stepped out of her comfort zone, did something she wouldn’t have otherwise done, not because she thought she had to, but because she wanted to. She wanted to do something nice for me. To make me happy.

Words failed me.

Scootaloo leaned in closer across the table, her vulnerable expression snapping me out of my musings. She was still waiting for a response. I struggled for another moment trying to come up with the best possible response, before simply settling on the truth. I gave her a warm smile and leaned over the table to meet her, taking her forehoof in my own. "I love it."

Her cheeks once again burned red, and though she tried to hide her face, I could still notice the stupid grin on her face. Her grip remained steadfast on my hoof, and she let her touch linger, running her hoof up and down my foreleg absentmindedly. I contented myself to simply observe with a smirk as she sat entranced at at the simple sign of affection, still smiling ear to ear. She suddenly seemed to realize what she what doing and seized up, her hoof shrinking back to her lap at a breakneck pace as her eyes widened in panic. “H-How ‘bout lunch? You hungry? Let’s order something, huh?”

For a brief moment I didn’t hear her, my hoof still chasing after her touch before finer logic prevailed, and I retreated to my side of the table. "Sounds good to me."

Scootaloo spent the next few minutes desperately attempting to flag down a waiter, making sure her gaze was focused anywhere but on me. Eventually her manic eyeballing caught the attention of an overly peppy Unicorn server who gave us both a glass of water and took our orders, all too willing to clue us in on all the specials and combos on offer today. Ironically, Scoots seemed to be even more uncomfortable with our waiter's forced enthusiasm than she was with herself, as her face grimaced and contorted as she awkwardly spat out what she wanted when prompted, then proceeded to focus her attention on her drink as I figured out what I was getting, as well as ordering us an appetizer. As soon as our server trotted off an audible exhale left the Pegasus as she slumped into her seat a bit further.

"Well that was borderline creepy." She threw a glance back towards our server at the next table over to emphasize her point, already going through a similar song and dance with the family seated there.

My glass met my lips as I thought her comment over for a moment before deciding to play defense for our poor server, my present company not yet privy to the pains of working in customer service. "We all have our own ways of coping with work. For some people, it's easier to just turn your brain off and go through the motions."

She must have caught on that I was speaking about more than just our enthusiastic waitress. "Well how do you deal with it, then?"

"Me?" I pensively put hoof to chin. "Well when things get tough at work, I just think about what I can look forward to when I get home."

"A strong brew?" She teased through a smirk.

"If you had asked me a few months ago you would have right on the money. But now?" I shook my head before throwing a sincere smile back her way. "Great company."

Her eyes lit up at the compliment as an increasingly familiar tingling sensation welled up in the pit of my stomach, and I was suddenly inspired to open up to her a bit more. "I... I'm not sure if I ever properly thanked you for staying with me that first night. Or any of the ones that followed. I know its stupid but, after everything that happened it’s just... reassuring to have somepony from my new family there." She was blushing profusely now, and I could feel my cheeks tinged a bit as well, but for some reason looking into her eyes only incited me to continue even further. "A-as far as I'm concerned its just as much your home as it is mine. The place just feels empty without you now. Work is becoming harder and harder because it takes me away from you a-"

The next statement died in my throat when I finally looked over at Scootaloo again. Her fiddling with her drink had ceased, and she stared at me unblinking, hooves pressed against her muzzle, saying nothing. I suddenly felt incredibly awkward as I struggled to play defense. "Sorry... That kinda just came out of nowhere. Just forget it, okay?"

If the statement bothered her, she didn't show it. "Y... You really think about me like that?"

I averted my gaze as well as my cheeks matched hers. "Well yeah. All the time..."

She nearly hid behind her drink in embarrassment, my own muzzle buried between my hooves as a cocktail of embarrassment and giddiness permeated the atmosphere surrounding our table, my brain desperately searching for a topic to clear the air. "So uh... you were mentioning something about Crusading earlier?"

Her face shot up suddenly. "Right! Yeah! I did! Is that okay with you? I mean, you totally don't have to if you don't want to. I know it's not that exciting."

"Is what okay with me?"

The Pegasus across the table shook her head and sighed. "I just explained the whole thing. Weren't you listening?"

I let out a nervous chuckle, silently preparing myself for a verbal thrashing. "Sorry, I was a bit distracted by all of..." I waved a forehoof at her, "that."

"Oh... right." She smiled as her gaze drifted down to her immaculate coat. Apparently complimenting her appearance again was enough to get her to forgive my lack of attention span, as she let the topic lie at that. She exhaled sharply before slumping back into her seat, flicking the air with her forehoof in an attempt of nonchalance. "Well, I actually couldn't really come up with any interesting crusading ideas. Apple Bloom was always the one who came up with 'em back in the day, and she's off working the Orchard with Big Mac today so..." She paused and ran of hoof through her mane momentarily before realizing she was ruining Sweetie's horn work, quickly pulling her hoof back to her side. "Anyways, I was thinking maybe you might wanna spend the day at the park instead." Her eye contact faltered. "You know. Just the two of us."

"We don't have to give up so easily if you don't want to," I offered a bit too hastily, tripping over my words as I tried to keep the butterflies in my stomach contained. "I mean, I'm no Apple Bloom, but I'm sure if we put our heads together we could think of someth-"

"No!" she shot up, eyes wide, her protest loud enough to attract the attention of some nearby diners. "I mean, its okay. As long as I'm spending time with you, that's all I really want..."

I took another sip of tea, the now lukewarm drink provided little of its previous comfort, but giving me an excuse to look away for a moment as I mulled over her offer. It was still a little too cold for my liking to be gallivanting in the park, but considering the pony extending the invitation, there was only one possible answer to give.

"But like I said you totally don't have to! I know you were trying to get an order in with Applejack, so if you need to do that I was gonna go see if I could track down the newest Daring Do movie anyways s-"

I stopped her stammering with a forehoof to her lips. "The park sounds great. I'd love to join you."

_______

The rest of lunch proved to be comparatively uneventful, Scootaloo regretfully asking about my day at work, eyes glazing over with boredom as I described the fascinating life of a retail back of house worker, mercifully giving her the short version, followed by her filling me in on how Sweetie and Spoon were doing and what they were up to today. Conversation after that proved to be pretty light, as it was apparent that Scoots was itching to get to the park, our meals arriving just as our conversation began to wane, and we departed shortly after, our time spent at Clover Café proving to be relatively short lived.

Just long enough to make the cold unfamiliar again.

Another shiver ran through my body, coaxing a grumble out of me as I was once again exposed to the elements, inwardly weeping at the prospect of having to spend the next few hours in the waning winter chill, the thought of such an exercise unbearable if not for being with Scootaloo. The young Pegasus was marching along a few paces ahead of me, her face glowing and a noticeable spring in her step as she continued to revel in her menial victory.

"I still can't believe you convinced me to let you do that."

My comment put a hamper in said spring, and she turned to face me with a huff, annoyance all over her face. "Are you still going on about that?"

"Yes I am, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Why didn't you tell me you were going to pay for lunch?!" I sighed. "And after I ordered that obscene appetizer too..."

She continued skipping along as she rolled her eyes at me. "An appetizer that I mostly ate, anyways. I told you, don't worry about it. I wanted to do something nice for you, Goddess..."

"But I'm the one with the job..."

"And you're also the one with bills and an embarrassing alcohol addiction to fund.”

“Hey, I’ve cut back a bit! You even said my beer gut was going away!”

“Going, but not gone.”

I groaned. She was right.

She fell back a few paces, moving closer to me. “Just gimme this one thing, okay? I wanna make you happy, and your dumb guilt is ruining my moment."

I winced. "Sorry. I'm just not used to it. Still feels like I'm imposing..."

The Pegasus scoffed. "Hardly. I owe you a lot more than some free eats for all you've done for me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You make it seem as if you haven't given me anything all these years."

She shrugged, still unconvinced. "Company and the occasional kind word is hardly worth free room and board whenever I feel like it."

"Well it's all I've ever really wanted."

Another shudder ran through my body as the wind picked up again, and I pulled my scarf tighter around my neck. Doing so almost made me miss Scootaloo's cheeks once again turning pink. A quick spark of magic sent the tail off it wrapping around my neck, giving my armor another layer. Scootaloo looked on at me and couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you serious?"

"Huh?"

She raised a hoof towards my neck. "At first I thought you were just wearing the scarf to be fashionable, but that's so unlike you." Her eyes lit up with a devious gleam. "You really are still cold in this weather, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "So what? It's not that weird."

The Pegasus nearly burst out laughing. "It totally is! It's spring. Do you see anypony else still done up like its winter right now?"

A quick glance around us confirmed I was the only one accessorizing this afternoon. I picked up my pace and did my best to ignore her. "Not another word..."

She ignored my advice and started giggling. "Look at you. Its almost spring and River Rhyme still needs his widdle scarf to stay all nice and warm!" Her giggles escalating into full on howling. "You are such a baby..."

"And I'm also the one lacking a generous amount of down feathers, so before you act all high and might-"

The chill of winter was suddenly slightly abated by a warm orange body pressing itself against me, the texture of her coat rubbing against mine a pleasant sensation as the muscles in her legs under it worked overtime attempting to keep pace with my larger strides. She let out a calm whistle in a poor attempt at nonchalance. Her closeness was as unexpected as it was exhilarating.

"W-what are y-"

Scootaloo nuzzled my neck, attempting to find a comfortable spot to rest her head as she pressed against me further, letting her weight lean into me. "Keeping you company. That's all you've ever really wanted, right?" Her head finally decided on a spot and stopped moving. "Helping any?"

My eyes leveled with hers before I let my head come to rest against atop hers, its presence spoiling the styling of her mane a bit again. This time, Scootaloo put up no argument. A subtle sigh of defeat escaping my lips, glad her position allowed me to to hide my rose cheeks from her view. "Yeah..."

Our trip to Ponyville Park became rather silent after that, both of us too busy digesting to carry on a conversation, content to merely be in each others presence. Scootaloo contentedly stayed glued to my side as we slowly made our way through downtown Ponyville, our clumsy gait drawing the curious gaze from the occasional onlooker, only to snicker and carry on with their day as I acknowledged their puzzlement with a soft laugh and an exaggerated eye roll. As we made our way downtown, a sudden thought struck me.

"Hey... you know where we are right now?"

Scootaloo lazily turned her head as she raised an eyebrow, taking in our surroundings. "Uhh... Sugarcube Corner?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "Well yeah. But that's not exactly what I meant." I looked around for a moment, Scootaloo following my gaze with pensive curiosity. I pointed out a space a few feet in front of us. "Go stand over there."

"Huh?"

"Trust me, just do it."

The Pegasus shot me a look like I was crazy before acquiescing, hesitantly leaving my side and moving to the designated spot. "Here?"

"Hmm... A little to the left."

She rolled her eyes and took a half step to her left. "Now?"

"No I mean my left."

She groaned in frustration as she moved a bit to her right. "Are we done yet?"

"Perfect! Just stay right there!" I walked over to meet her. "Now I just have to be right about here aaand... Done."

"What's done? What's going on?"

I looked down at her and smiled. "This is the spot where we first met."

Scootaloo's eyes widened as she looked around again for a few seconds, putting hoof to chin. "Hey yeah, you're right..."

I fell back on my haunches to take in the scene from a similar perspective as the first time I had been here, having been knocked over by some pony's scooter. The quaint country stylings of Ponyville had been simultaneously inviting and intimidating then, that day having been the first time I had ever been so far away from my home and my family. The first time I had truly taken my life by the reigns. I had been elated by the possibilities, but terrified of the prospect of failure, my inner insecurities clashing with the welcoming atmosphere of Ponyville itself.

And now, this same perspective now filled me with an insurmountable sensation of bliss, the past insecurities and fears conquered, if not forgotten. Ponyville had welcomed me with open arms, and, despite some bumps along the way, in the end I had graciously accepted it.

I was home.

My eyes traveled over to the mare that had gotten me started down this path all those years ago in this very spot, her gaze similarly distant. The glow of childish naivety that had been so apparent in her eyes that day as she looked over her scooter had been replaced with a worldliness that came from experiencing hardship. From growing up. It was a look that scared me at times. Her world was no longer so small that I could always come to her rescue. There had been, and would continue to be, instances where I didn't have a quick and easy answer for her anymore, the best I could offer her a shoulder to cry on and the promise of things getting better.

But to have had the privilege of being able to be there, to watch her grow, to get to the point where if I did offer her my shoulder, she would take it, was more precious to me than anything else I had experienced these four years. Life may have dealt her a difficult hand, but she had risen to meet it, and the journey had tempered her into one of the greatest ponies I had ever known. I was honored to call her my friend.

She was family.

I let out a slight chuckle. "Its crazy..."

Scootaloo’s head tilted and her brow arched, inquiring details.

I raised a hoof and brought both of our gazes to my left. "See that road over there? I distinctly remember taking a moment considering going down that road instead of continuing on this one." I let my gaze rest on what could have been for a moment. "If I had, I never would have run into you that day. Sweetie and Bloom never would have come over later. I never would have met Applejack and gotten into the local brewing scene and met Carmel and Sass as a result. And I never would've met you. I wouldn't be here right now." The sound of hoofsteps toe my gaze away from the road and back to her. "In fact, without you to slap some sense back into me, I'd probably be back in Trottingham at this point."

She flashed me a smile, but the possibility festered in my mind. "Its actually rather unnerving, thinking how easily I could have missed all of this. How I could have missed you."

She smiled at me sheepishly, bridging the remaining gap between us. A grown up mare, a far cry from the little filly I had bumped into that day in that same spot all those years ago, moving with a confidence and grace that was always pleasant to behold. Her forehoof softly ran down the bottom third of my leg, her eyes tracking the motion before looking right at me as her hoof came to rest atop my own, her words barely above a whisper. "But you didn't."

The butterflies tortured me again as I gazed into her eyes again, a stupid grin spreading uncontrollably across my face. "And thank the Sisters for that..."

My free forehoof wrapped around the filly's back and pulled her into a hug, Scootaloo letting out a squeak as she nearly lost her balance. After a few seconds she started fidgeting a bit. "Uhh, Rhyme? Ponies are staring."

I gave her a quick tighter squeeze before letting go, unfazed that the action has attracted attention. This was the pony that, in all honesty, had saved my life.

That alone was worth leaving my dignity on the ground here a second time.

“C’mon ya big sap, we’re supposed to be going somewhere.”

I followed behind Scootaloo for all of a few paces before something caught my eye.

"Huh... Is that new?"

My stride abated slightly and I slowed to a stop in the middle of the road again as my attention meandered towards the sight in front of me. Scootaloo took a few extra steps before noticing I had stopped and followed suit, turning around to find out what I was on about.

"Oh yeah. A new sports shop moved in a little over a week ago."

I took a moment and let my gaze wander over the window displays, large bold advertisements for unfamiliar brands plastered over the majority of the glass. "That long ago, huh? Wow..." So much for this place being my home. "Have you been inside yet? Seems like your kind of place."

Her expression was less enthused than I would have liked. "You know I don't do that kind of stuff anymore..."

I did my best to ignore it. "Let's at least go check it out and say hi to the owner. Is he new in town?"

"I'm not really sure."

"All the more reason to go visit." I took off towards the small shop. "Come on!"

"But what about the park?!"

I replied without turning around. "We've got all day! We'll get there!"

The young mare groaned at my insistence, but the sound of hoofsteps confirmed she was right behind me as I threw open the entrance to the store, holding the door and letting Scootaloo in, not missing an opportunity to glare at me as she walked past, of which I returned with an innocent smile.

I eased the door shut once Scootaloo was inside and turned to get my first good look at the place. There were few places in Ponyville that made me feel truly out of my element, but a quick look around Mareathon Sports, and the store was almost instantly added to the short list. The walls were lined with all sorts of jerseys, specialty horseshoes, bats, and tons of other merchandise that I hadn't the first clue what it's purpose was for, my face completely blank as I made my way through the store, vaguely recognizing perhaps one out of every fifteen items that caught my eye.

Scootaloo on the other hoof seemed to be a bit more at home, moving from one display to the next with a bit more purpose. She grabbed a ball in a forehoof and gave it a few bounces, then slammed it down with a good deal more force, spinning around 360° and, with a smirk, sent the ball sailing back into the basket she got it from with a flawlessly timed smack of her tail, hitting it just as gravity started claiming it again. I gave her a small stomp of approval from across the store, causing her to blush and immediately restrain herself. "Shush, you."

I made my way across the store and joined her as we made our way through a few more aisles, Scootaloo occasionally stopping to mess around with something easily within reach. We were about to round the corner to the next row of items when something familiar caught my eye.

"Well, well! What do we have here?"

I called her attention to a particular item hanging on the wall, flanked with a plethora of printed fanfare. An advanced (I assumed), modern looking scooter. I instantly levitated it off the shelf and passed it over to the filly, a stupid grin on my face. "Check it out!"

Scootaloo looked over the humble vehicle, not unlike her iconic scooter from her youth. Just seeing it in her hooves filled me with an almost illogical sense of giddiness. The sight before me simply felt right. While initially a bit underwhelmed, the longer it sat in her hooves, the more her curiosity began to get the better of her. She held the device by the neck loosely for a moment, getting a feel for the weight, tossing it back and forth between her forehooves a few times before setting it down on the ground, getting low with it, running her hoof over the metallic deck, a far cry from the splintered wood of the scooter she was used to. In a single swift, elegant motion, Scootaloo spun the scooter around 180 degrees, resting it upside down at an angle on its handlebars and the back of the deck. She spun the front wheel and leaned in close, listening to the fine noises of the bearings for a few seconds before repeating the process with the rear wheel. A quick smirk and a nod, and she flipped the scooter back over in a second display of finesse before looking at me. "Yeah. It's not too bad."

I smirked. "Try it out."

"What?!"

"You just said it was good. Give it a try."

She shook her head. "No way! This is a two wheeled scooter. I've never ridden one before. Heck, I haven't even ridden a four wheeled scooter in Celestia knows how long! I'd fall flat on my face!"

I dismissed her concerns with a smile. "I'm sure you can figure it out."

Her eyes traveled down to the scooter at her hooves, then back up to me. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Dead serious."

A smile began forming on her face. "Can we even do that?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure." I turned my attention towards a middle aged stallion manning the counter, who was already watching us with a smirk. Not exactly the kind of pony you'd expect to be running an extreme sports shop, though his cutie mark of a spoked bicycle wheel with a flame trail seemed to fit the bill well enough. "Can we take her for a spin?"

He chucked and have us both a nod. "Sure thing! That's part of the reason you can pull em off the shelves fully assembled." He made his way out from behind the counter towards the front door, winking at Scootaloo as he went by. "This I gotta see."

Scootaloo turned towards me, none too thrilled about having a second audience member.

"Oh come on," I prodded. "Would Rainbow Dash complain about performing in public?"

Her eyes narrowed and she raised a hoof to fight me on it, but any protests died in her throat, and she grumbled under her breath as she made her way to the door, dragging the scooter behind her. "I hate you right now."

I simply laughed and followed her out the door.

_________

Scootaloo took a moment to size up her opponent again, giving it another once over now that she was actually going to be riding the thing. The shopkeep turned to me, puzzled. “You sure she’s done this before?”

“Just watch.”

He simply shrugged in response, turning his attention back towards the mare in question. Scootaloo looked back over at us, then back towards the scooter. She let out a deep sigh, and at long last hopped on the scooter itself.

Her enthusiasm was subdued at first, hesitant to even try moving anywhere at the start, Scootaloo contenting herself with simply standing there, turning the handle bars, leaning into some false turns, and lifting a hind leg to try getting used to the way it felt to be balancing on two wheels instead of four, the initial sensation taking her by surprise as her eyes widened. She turned back towards us, not yet convinced.

"This is totally weird!"

The shopkeep just tilted his head in confusion, still not sure where this was going.I took a seat on my haunches as I continued watching with a goofy grin. "Keep going. I have faith."

Scootaloo placed a hind leg on the deck, taking a moment to test the grip tape before letting any weight lean against it. After finally getting some confident footing on the board, she gave the ground a soft kick and propelled herself forward. A yelp immediately left her lips as she wobbled around sporadically, desperately attempting to keep control of the scooter, the motions seemingly alien after nearly a year of dormancy. After a few intense moments gravity finally won out and Scootaloo fumbled, flying off the scooter without warning, struggling to keep her balance as the thing impacted against the ground. Her eyes were full of shame as they met mine, as if her rough start was supposed to have somehow disappointed me. Regardless, I simply stared at her with a smile on my face, urging her on with a wave of my forehoof. She rolled her eyes and huffed in annoyance, but was unable to keep the smirk off her face as she got back on the scooter and tried again.

She took the handlebars in her hooves slowly, her eyes filled with vigor as she looked over the vehicle before leaning low and kicking off again, hard, letting the increased speed help keep her balance, as she took off down the road, the wind running through her mane and mostly reverting it back to it's natural state. She gave the ground another pair of swift kicks with her free hind leg, propelling herself even faster, leaning forward, the tension leaving her body, a grin spreading across her face as she let out a whoop, her inner speed demon at last let loose on the innocent streets of Ponyville once again. The shopkeep next to me let out a whistle. "Hayseed. She's pretty good!"

I didn't even attempt to mask the pride dripping from my voice. "You haven't seen anything yet."

Scootaloo suddenly took a sharp turn, leaning low, her left forehoof leaving the handlebars and lighting dragging on the ground to help keep her balanced as she swerved, and made her way back towards us. As she got closer, I could see a fire in her eyes that I had almost thought had been permanently doused, the need for speed finally having been rekindled, the motions at last returning to her, the tool in her hooves now an extension of her body, a servant to her every whim. She began to get more bold, starting with some simple jumps and flips, effortlessly adapting her technique from her youth to the new stance requisite of balancing on two wheels. She jumped and kicked the deck of the scooter, causing it to spin around, letting a forehoof hang off the handlebars and grab the deck as it came back to its starting position and let her hind legs come to rest on the grip tape again just as they both came back to earth, effortlessly sticking the landing. She gave the ground a few more kicks, picking up more speed, making no attempts to hide the elation on her face as she looked around for a bigger challenge.

And then, it happened.

Noticing a collection of abandoned 2x4's sitting near a currently unoccupied stand, Scootaloo swerved to her left, making a beeline for makeshift ramp, placing both hind legs on the deck of the scooter,picking up speed as she leaned even further forward, her face absolutely alight over what she was about to do. She hit the beams at precisely the right moment, and both filly and scooter went airborne, catapulted into the sky above me.

And then, right at the apex of her jump, with timing not the result of training or practice, but from raw skill, from talent, she opened her wings.

Her feathers were at last free, tasting the current for the first time in months, extending to full mast, her primary feathers forming a firm boundary layer, catching the current, stifling her descent. She gave them the first sharp flap in Celestia knows how long, the force of the downstroke motion generating just enough lift to cause her to hind hooves to lose contact with the deck below her.

And just for an instant, she flew.

The moment seemed to happen in slow motion, the Pegasus closing her eyes and stretching her forelimbs, letting go of the scooter completely as it followed her trajectory below her, the crisp spring air nipping at her coat and running through her freshly preened feathers, her wordless scream of elation calling attention to herself from a few onlookers, but she neither noticed nor cared, lost in the ecstasy of claiming the fleeting sensation of her birthright, if only for a moment.

Scootaloo opened her eyes again as she began to lose altitude, grabbing on to the scooter as they both impacted against the ground, using the energy from the fall to prowl her upwards into another kick flip before taking a sharp turn and immediately stopping, her breathing heavy as her gaze sat unmoving at the now familiar device below her. The shopkeep stamped his hooves in approval, and I immediately jumped up and made my way over to her, doing my best to contain my glee. "How are you feeling?"

The filly's body was still trembling, Scootaloo still riding the adrenaline high. "Goddess..." She stopped to take another breath. “Hayseed. I've missed that, Rhyme. More than I'd realized."

My smirk somehow got even larger as I motioned to the scooter with a forehoof. "So you like it then?"

She looked down at the scooter. "Heck yeah!" It was intense!"

"Good." I turned back towards the shopkeep, making his way over to us. "We'll take it."

Scootaloo's eyes widened in a panic. "Umm, no we won't. This thing is stupid expensive. I don't even have half of what something like this would c-"

The shopkeep and I both chucked a bit as I grabbed him the money he was owed out of my saddlebag. He quickly counted the bits and after an approving nod, he looked up at me, then to Scootaloo. "Pleasure doin' business with ya both. Enjoy it, miss, it was made for you." A cordial nod and he made his way back into the store as he tossed the loose coins in a forehoof, leaving me with a very flustered filly.

"What was that?"

"I believe that was me buying you a present."

"No. No Rhyme. You are not allowed to do that!" She glanced at her new scooter. "How much was this thing?! It looks brand new! Totally top of the line!"

I shrugged. "Ehh. It was enough."

"Oh hay no. Don't you dare pull that cryptic crap on me!"

I laughed. "If you want to know so bad, just go inside and look. I'm certainly not stopping you."

Her face contorted in anger and she started storming off, but suddenly stopped. "You know what? No. If you won't tell me then it was bad. And I don't wanna feel even more guilty than I already do. "

I tapped a hoof against my chin as I pretended to ponder. "Hmm... What was that you said earlier? Something about dumb guilt ruining one's moment? I think I get what you were going on about now..."

Scootaloo shot me her trademark adorable glare, her entire body trembling with energy, about to continue the debate, but the response seemed to sputter out and die in her throat. Instead, she made her way over to me and delivered a playful punch to my shoulder. "... Why?"

"Because..." I started, about to make another lame joke, but the look in her eyes coaxed out the truth. "Because I haven't seen you smile like that in a long time. And that's worth way more to me than money."

Her cheeks flushed. Another point for me.

I grinned. "Just consider it payback for springing lunch on me."

"But... you just... you can't..."

She nearly tackled me with a hug, wrapping me in her wings and burying her face into my fur in the hopes that I wouldn't notice her tears. "You are such a bastard, you know that?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "You're welcome."

Scootaloo buried her muzzle into my coat and wiped her tears away with it as subtly as she could. "C'mon you." She wasted no time hopping back on her scooter, running a few circles around me, ending with another playful blow to my shoulder. "We still have a park to visit."

________

"Goddess this is embarrassing..."

A deep splash punctuated my frustration as a small stone sank into the pond we were both called on front of, my actions keeping a certain orange Pegasus thoroughly entertained as she confined to mock my failings. "Yep."

"The fact that I have unicorn magic on my side and I'm being outclassed by a teenager using her wings is just shameful."

Scootaloo gave her left wing a sharp flick, sending the small stone in it’s grasp skipping across the pond, getting almost six bounces before it disappeared beneath the cerulean surface. She started giggling as her hooves looked around for another stone. "Yeah, it kinda is."

I huffed. "Kids these days. No respect."

"Give me somethin' to respect and maybe we'll talk, old man."

She looked at me with a devious smirk, barely able to contain her laughter as I raised an eyebrow. A quick spark of magic and I grabbed the stone she had selected out of her forehoof. My eyes narrowed, looking out into the again tranquil waters, trying to recall the technique the filly to my right was using, not that there was much to gather from her wing technique that translated over to unicorn magic. I started spinning the flat stone in the air before I let it loose, arcing its trajectory slightly. After a few seconds in the air, the stone impacted against the pond’s surface once, and only once, immediately sinking to the depths below.

I sighed in defeat, flopping back onto the ground under a tirade of Pegasi laughter, leaning against a small tree that flanked the alcove off the park trail where we had taken a break from our walk. "Well... I think I'm done here. My ego is bruised enough for one day. Enjoy your meaningless victory."

She suddenly seemed concerned. "Are you not having fun?"

"Hey, I never said that." I smiled, waving a forehoof at her. "This 'old man' just feels like taking five."

She arched an eyebrow. "You feel like taking a break... from our break?"

"We've been walking around here for two hours! That's more physical activity than I've gotten all year! Excuse me for wanting to take a load off for a second!"

"First of all, it's only March so that's not saying much. Second of all, that's still pretty sad anyways. Third of all, I'm still raring to go."

My eyes narrowed. "Which one of us tooled around on their shiny new scooter the entire time, and which one of us walked?"

"Pretty sure it was the same one who was showing off their awesome but physically demanding moves the whole time, while the other was complaining at them to slow down."

I had nothing to come back at that with.

She sent another stone across the pond, only getting five skips this time. "Pfft, you unicorns. Never had to deal with a hard day's work."

This statement, on the other hoof. "Excuse me, missy?"

My objection didn't faze her. "It's totally true. Using your magic for everything, thinking you're all that. As soon as you gotta get your hooves dirty though, you fall apart. And even then, you can't even skip a measly stone with the stuff." She shook her head. "How embarrassing."

She looked over at me with a smug smirk, wiggling her brow as she attempted to egg me on. Instead, I merely closed my eyes and rested my head against the treetrunk. "You know what? I may suck at skipping stones, but perhaps I'll have better luck at skipping fillies."

Her eyebrow arched, puzzled. "Skipping fillies? What's that supposed to... Oh hay no Rhyme you better n-"

Her statement was interrupted by a squeal of terror as her entire body was enveloped in my magic, and I lifted her into the air, slowly levitating her flailing form over to the pond, eyeing her with absolutely evil intent as I ignored her desperate pleas for mercy.

"Rhyme! No! What are you doing?!"

I responding by repositioning myself more comfortably against the tree, making the whole task appear a lot easier than it actually was. "So you think we're lazy, huh? That we use magic as a crutch, huh?"

After floating her out about fifteen feet or so into the pond, she came to a stop, her body only about three feet above the surface. I kept her there for a few seconds with a smug sense of satisfaction. "Looks like unicorn magic has it's uses after all, eh?"

Despite the task being rather impressive as far as average unicorn magic users were concerned, Scootaloo wasn't in the best position to appreciate the fruits of my labor doing inventory at Sofas and Quills. "As Celestia as my witness Rhyme, if you even think about dropping me in here, there will be nothing and no one in all of Equestria that will be able to save you!"

I ignored her, breaking eye contact as I studied the intricacies of the bark pattern of the tree next to me. "Are you going to apologize?"

"For what?!"

"For disrespecting your elders and the majesty that is the unicorn tribe?"

"Majesty my flank! If this is your tribe's legacy I'm not impressed!"

"That's a shame." I let out a pretend yawn and stretched. "This old unicorn is starting to get tired..." I let my grip waver slightly and Scootaloo fell a few inches, her scream of abject horror echoing across the park.

"Just tell me Unicorns are superior to Pegasi and you can come back."

"Drop dead!"

I raised a hoof to my ear. "What was that about dropping?" I let her fall another foot and Scootaloo screamed again, and desperately started flapping her wings, fruitlessly doggy paddling in the air trying to get some traction and make her way back to shore.

"Okayokayokay I'm sorry!" She screamed in desperation. "You aren't that old! Unicorns are awesome! Magic is cool! Just get me out of here!"

My brow arched as I considered her words, slowly bringing her higher above the water again. "You're apology is... acceptable."

My horn's glow bathed the surrounding foliage in cyan light as I quickly brought her back next to me, softly depositing her onto dry land. I raised my chin in a faux sense of snark. "Now, what have we learned from all this?"

When no reply came, I opened an eye and peeked over at my Pegasus companion, her expression filled with vitriol, and she let out a loud snort. Panic began to settle in as I realized that these next few moments might be my last in this world.

"... I'm going to start running now."

"You have three seconds." She grinned. "Use them wisely."

The wisest course of action at that point seemed to run for dear life, and so I did just that, taking off down the park trail at a full gallop, silently saying a few prayers as I waited for the inevitable sound of hooves and the buzzing of Pegasus wings that would usher in the end of my life.

I took a brief moment to recall the look on her face when I dropped her the second time.

All things considered, it was totally worth it.

It only took Scootaloo a few seconds more than the three she had given me to catch up, my clumsy gait no match for her athletic form. Add to the fact that I had just bought her a scooter and well, the odds never were in my favor. The sound of metal impacting against the ground and a primal battlecry could be heard from behind me, and suddenly I was in freefall, orange hooves mercilessly battering my body as Scootaloo mimicked every kung fu sound effect ever put to film, a flurry of playful blows accompanied the full on tackle.

We collapsed in a heap of hooves, horn, and feathers, rolling along the ground a few times before Scootaloo ended up pinning me, the high of victory painted all over her face as she looked over her victim, leaning in close to make sure I heard every last syllable.

"What I learned, you piece of crap, is that you are damn lucky that you're so adorable, otherwise I'd feathering kill you!"

She punctuated that statement with a heavy huff, her breath tickling my muzzle, and it suddenly dawned upon me just how close we were, our faces only a few inches apart. Scootaloo seemed to realize it too, as her cheeks lit up, and she swallowed hard as her forehooves lept off my chest. "Uhh... I mean..."

Despite this realization though, neither one of us took the initiative and moved a muscle, content with merely staring at each other, lost in the other's eyes.

"Ahem!"

A voice to our right nearly gave me a heart attack, and we both jumped. An elderly Earth Pony couple eyed the two of with a mixture of confusion and shame as they slowly made their way past. "Control yourselves, would you? You're in public for Celestia's sake! Have some common courtesy!"

Neither of them gave us a chance to defend ourselves, content to simply pass their judgment and move on. The old man let out an exaggerated groan of distaste, just loud enough to make sure we both heard it. "Kids these days..."

Both Scootaloo and I watched as the couple slowly made their way out of sight before turning back to have each other, bursting out laughing at nearly the exact same time.

"Okay, so maybe you aren't that old."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh gee, thanks."

"He's right though, we probably should get up."

"Yeah, probably."

We stayed there for another five minutes, swatting at each other with our tails and giggling like idiots. It took an increase in the chilled air around us as the sun began to set to finally get us moving again.

"It's getting late Scoots, anything else you wanted to get done here before we call it?"

"Nah. Beating your sorry flank is all the accomplishment I need for one day."

Scootaloo lagged a few steps behind me as she hopped back on her scooter, me already taking off back towards the park exit. "You know, it's not too late to go take a swim in the pond. Care to join me?"

Her wings suddenly stopped buzzing. “Did I say ‘beat your sorry flank’? Cuz, what I meant to say was ‘hanging out with my best friend who would never abuse his unicorn magic’.“

I simpered without looking back at her. “That’s what I thought you said.”

Her wings started up again as she quickly caught up to me, keeping pace at my side. "So now what do you wanna do?"

"Hmm... I seem to recall somepony mentioning an interest in checking out the latest Daring Do film?"

"Yeah! It's supposed to be the best one yet!"

I chuckled. "Well then, that's settles it." I motioned back towards town with a forehoof. "Lead the way."

And with that she took off, rocketing down the trail, wings abuzz, leaving me to clumsily stumble along behind her as best I could.

_________

“Would you just shut up for five feathering minutes and enjoy the movie?!”

Scootaloo delivered the umpteenth shove to my chest, pushing me further into the cushions of my couch and sighed as I once again piped up with my similarly frequent instance of backseat directing, giving Daring Do and the Dome of Destruction no quarter in my scathing shot-by-shot literary analysis.

"Come on though! How does that even begin to make any sense?! Aliens? Really? Why are we shoehorning sci fi elements into an archetypal adventure story in the third act?"

"Uhh, I dunno, cuz aliens are cool, maybe?"

"Yeah, they are cool." I conceded. "When the genre they appear in makes sense. But we just spent the entire first hour of this movie laying down the groundwork for a fantasy world full of mysticism and ancient artifacts, and then at the last minute they're all 'Surprise! The Dome is actually a flying saucer!' I have to call foul!"

"It's just a movie!"

"I get that it's just a movie, but if they want me to take their movie seriously they should at least make some attempt at believability, least of which is adhering to the tonality that you established. Is that so much to ask?"

"It’s not the movie’s fault, though! This is just what happened!"

I paused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Daring Do is a real pony. All this stuff actually happened.”

I took a few seconds to process her statement before abjectly laughing my flank off.

“I’m serious! Rainbow Dash met her! They went on an adventure together and everything!”

I snorted. “And who told you this, Dash?”

She started to get a bit angry as my laughter only intensified. “Well yeah!”

“Do you always believe everything Rainbow Dash tells you?”

“But everything Dash said happened ended up being in the next Daring Do book. She was even on the cover!”

My laughter suddenly ceased. “Wait… what?”

"You didn't know that?"

"So you're telling me that not only is Daring Do a series of biographies, but come time for that book to be made into a movie, that Rainbow Dash is going to be both a Wonderbolt and a movie star?"

Scootaloo pondered for a second. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm honestly not sure which is more terrifying."

The sound of a death ray from the movie caused an eerie realization to dawn upon me.

“Wait… if what you’re saying is true… and all of this is real… and this movie has aliens in it…”

The room all of a sudden got very quiet as two pairs of eyes insecurely looked up towards the ceiling, considering the stars above it.

“Well…" Scootaloo chuckled nervously. "Rainbow Dash is known to exaggerate things, right?”

“Indeed she is.” My sudden cough caused her to jump a bit as she latched on to me a bit tighter. “Let’s just… go with that.”

Scootaloo let out another nervous laugh before lying back down on my lap, nuzzling one of my forehooves while I continued to run the remaining one through her mane and down her back absentmindedly, not even realizing I had been doing it until about halfway through the movie. We both sat in silence at that point, simultaneously contemplating our place in the universe as the movie started wrapping up, me doing my best to be the gentlecolt and refrain from any further snide comments as the aliens thanked Daring Do for her assistance in flawless Equestrian, before getting on their ship and taking off, in a long winded sequence of glory shots that probably accounted for nearly a quarter of the film's budget. The hum of the ship faded out as the camera panned down from the horizon, leaving the titular mare alone with the token love interest of the flick, his presence too throwaway to be able to remember his name. He made a rather predictable pass at Ms. Do, and Daring tossed a detached but cool response his way before taking him in her hooves, the film fading to black as they shared a kiss, the quiet backing track waning to a booming orchestral theme as the credits started rolling.

“And she gets the guy at the end. Gee… didn’t see that one coming,” I mused sarcastically.

Scootaloo seemed rather unenthused. “Yeah…”

I looked down at the mare in my lap, her cheeks slightly flushed. “What’s the matter?" I prodded. "Starting to realize how trite that film actually was?”

“No it’s not that, I still think your taste in movies sucks.” I scowled at her and she perked up for a second before turning away, her next sentence soft. “It’s just… this is gonna sound weird but…” She took a few more deep breaths before finally spitting it out rather loudly. “You don't... have an eye on anyone in Ponyville, do you?”

Thank Celestia the lights were off. I could feel my face going pale. “What, you mean like, am I... interested in anypony?”

Her eyes evaded me as her hoof started tapping against my leg. “I guess so, yeah.”

I swallowed loudly as my heart skipped a beat. “I dunno kiddo. I mean, you know better than most that I’m kind of a mess right now. I barely have my affairs in order. Doesn’t really seem right to be thinking about adding somepony else into the equation like that, you know?” I chuckled. "Besides, who in their right mind would wanna date a old blank flank drunkard like me anyways?"

Scootaloo let out a very audible huff as she gave me a slap.

"Oww... why do you ask?"

“Nothing. It’s that… well… I think I might like somepony…”

How that statement affected me was difficult to put into words. It hit me like a ton of bricks, my stomach twisting into a tight knot and my heart pounding in my chest for multiple overlapping, indiscernible reasons. An emotional tonic of pain, pride, joy, rage, sadness, and fear all descended upon my being and ravaged my heart and mind in a such a tight synchronization that discerning any understanding from the feeling was impossible, resulting in an emotional numbness, the response that followed uttered in a stuttering monotone. “T-That’s awesome! I’m really happy for you. Does he know yet?” I paused. “Or she! She is fine too of course!” I chuckled, still shaking a bit.

Scootaloo sat up and stretched her neck with a soft groan before continuing, giggling slightly. “I thought he knew, but suddenly I’m not so sure. I haven’t told him about it yet.” She started staring directly into my eyes, making sure to sit in such a way that she was blocking my view of the television. “What should I do?”

My breathing suddenly became more pained as nervousness and fear began to rise above the rest, Scootaloo’s lidded gaze unflinching and dominating my vision, giving me nowhere else to look. “I dunno… maybe… tell him or something?”

She's fast. She's always been fast. Now that she was using her wings again though, there are times when she stopped being a pony and turns into a Celestia-damned orange lightning bolt. This was one of those times. A quick flex of her wings and she's straddling me, forehooves wrapped around my neck, eyeing me with a raised eyebrow and a stupid grin, utterly dumbfounded.
"There is no way you're this feathering stupid."
And then she kissed me.
Barely more than a friendly peck, but that little bit more made all the difference: her sharp inhale as the gravity of her action sank in tickled my muzzle, her lips lingering on mine just long enough for me to appreciate their softness as they gently caressed my own, her tongue leaving her mouth just for an instant, tasting my lips but resisting the urge to part them.
In a moment it was over, but it felt like the act had caused time itself to freeze. Scootaloo slowly pulled herself back, sitting half on the couch, half on my lap, as the rest of the world came back into focus. She wasn't breathing, her eyes shimmering, the content of my response whether the inevitable tears would be of joy or sorrow, the side effect of baring her soul to me without care for the repercussions. When a few seconds of silence had passed, she stroked the back of my neck and leaned in close again, hiding her eyes from me, her voice barely above a whisper, dripping with emotion as her words tickle my ear.
"I love you so, so much."
She pulled me close, hooves tightening their grip and eliminating any lingering distance between us. Her touch around my neck was divine, a welcoming warmth that enraptured me and begged me to come closer, and I graciously accepted their invitation. Her touch coaxed a soft exhale out of my lungs, and my muscles went limp, my head drooping around her neck as her forehooves ran up and down my back in a soft massage. I gave her a sweet nuzzle of approval, and my nose fell into her mane, and she giggled under her breath, continuing her sensual touching. I inhaled deeply, and the overwhelming aroma of whatever angelic concoction of beauty products Sweetie subjected her to this morning filled my senses, combined with her own natural scent. I pulled her closer and dove deeper, digging my muzzle into the back of her neck as I ran my own forehooves down her back, and she cooed as her wings fluttered in approval.
Oh Goddess.

This was Scootaloo.

What was I doing?

"...I can't."

The embrace ended abruptly as I pushed her away with more force than i would have liked as my eyes shot open, a miasmic sensation of guilt beginning to permeate my whole being as what I was doing began to truly hit home. Scootaloo eyed me with renewed fear, and the prospect of hurting her redoubled the ill sensation in my gut. "What's wrong?"

I slowly pulled away from her. "Scoots I... I can't... You know I'll always be by your side..."

Her lower lip began to tremble. "No..."

"But I can't be with you like this..."

Her voice was barely a whisper. "Please Rhyme... Don't do this..."

"We just... can't..."

My hooves felt like lead as I moved away from the couch as quickly as possible. Orange hooves reached out after me halfheartedly, followed by a broken body sinking into the couch. I glanced back at her and instantly regretted it, the image of the broken filly too heartrending to continue looking at.

The door to my room closed with a rough application of magic as I desperately took solace in having a barrier between us, my mind filled with conflicting emotions. Mattress dominated my vision as I collapsed onto my bed in a heap. I suddenly felt unfathomably cold, and I practically seized up over what has just happened. What had I done? How could I have let that get as far out of hoof as it did? How could I ever face her again? How could I ever look her in those bright lavender eyes again? Did her left cheek always have that adorable dimple when she smiled? How could I have never noticed that tiny patch of brown fur lost amongst a sea of orange nestled in the crease where her muzzle met her face?

Hayseed… how could I have let myself enjoy that so much?

The sound of abject sobbing could be heard outside my door, slow to start as the proud Pegasus tried to keep herself under control, but quickly escalated as her broken heart inevitably got the better off her, continuing for a moment before being muffled, affinely by a cushion. Scootaloo was crying, and while it was hardly the first time I had been witness to her tears, it was first time I couldn't blame it on somepony else. Every scream, every tear, every wave of agony that ripped through her chest was entirely my fault, and it made each heart wrenching sound all the more agonizing, a flurry of emotional daggers reducing my hearts to a bloody pulp.

For the first time, I was the bad guy.

The noise came to a halt, replaced with an eerie silence that was somehow even worse, part of me wanting run out there and take Scootaloo in my hooves and make sure she was okay, but another part unsure of what I would be able to do after that, or if my presence would even help.

"You liked it."

Her voice cut through the silence, and i dared not say anything back, too afraid at what might leak out. I hadn't heard her open my door, so her voice took me by surprise. The inflection was filled with pain, and I couldn't bring myself to roll over and face the door. Face her. After a few seconds she continued.

"You liked the kiss. The closeness. The warmth. Just as much as I did. I know you did." A few muted hoofsteps told me she was inching through the door. "I know you like me."

I finally built the courage to face her, and the sight of her nearly killed me. Scootaloo's posture was bold, but her eyes red and her cheeks matted with tears, her lower lip wavering with questionable resolve. The words left my mouth before I knew what was happening. "Of course I like you! Hayseed Scoots... I lo-"

I was barely was able to stop myself from saying it, but the slip of the tongue was all she needed, and it filled her eyes with hope. "If you love me, why did you get up? Why am I standing over here and you're over there?! I love you! You love me! We both enjoyed that! What's left to think about?! How much longer are we going to keep lying to ourselves?! I can't feathering stand it!"

She began tearing up again as she slowly made her way further inside my room, each step punctuated with a statement. "I wanna take you out on a real date, and not have to lie about going crusading of all things to get you to show up! I wanna finally get that kiss goodbye I can see that you wanna give me before you leave for work in the morning, and be able to give you an even bigger one when you get home! I wanna be able to hold you without trying to come up with some stupid excuse to do so, and have to let go before I'm ready! I wanna love you."

"And I know you do too. Otherwise, today wouldn't have happened. We both know what today was really about, and it was amazing. Hayseed, this entire year has been amazing, and it's all been the exact same thing. Us. Together. In every way but admitting it."

She made her way to my side again, taking me in her hooves and I put up no resistance, the sensation of her hoof caressing my face euphoric. A soft sigh of approval left my lips as I let my head lean into her embrace.

"I'm done lying to myself. Lying to you... I love you." She said it again, and the swell in my chest was unparalleled, each syllable like music. Scootaloo suddenly pulled away from my side and everything instantly felt cold. "But, if you can look me straight in the eyes and tell me you don't love me back..." Her gaze wavered as her inflection filled with fear. "I'll drop this. I won't believe it for a feathering second, mind you, but I’ll get it. I'll drop it. We can go back out there, put our masks back on, and keep pretending for each other. "

She suddenly giggled, of all things. "So what's it gonna be? I love you. You stupid, lazy, beer guzzling, artsy fartsy, namby pamby, smug and utterly adorable stallion, and you mean absolutely everything to me."

Her hooves wrapped themselves around mine as she returned to my side. "So what do I mean to you?"

For the first time since she entered the room, I looked her directly into her eyes. They were filled with love, hope, and fear, completely unsure of what was about to happen, but utterly convinced of what she had said. She gave me a soft smile and she tightened her grip on my hooves. Bliss ran up my forelimbs and settled in my core and I found myself smiling back.

And suddenly my lips were pressed against hers.

The sensation, her taste, the simple feeling of her lips against mine, her sharp exhale from the sudden action caressing the tip of my muzzle, was electrifying, my stomach flip flopping in a concoction of elation and terror as what I was doing sank in: this wasn't just a simple peck or a quick touch of the lips. I was kissing her. I was making out with Scootaloo. The concept only moments ago was so taboo, so unthinkably off limits, and now, on the other side of the action, I couldn't possibly fathom going another day without experiencing it. The look in her eyes, the taste on my lips, the smell of her coat, all of it greater than I could have ever hoped to imagine. The feeling was intoxicating, infecting every last fiber of my being, my mind begging me to bring her closer, and to never let go. The young mare returning my affections with fervor as she softly moaned into our kiss. I felt a foreleg wrap around my neck and push me closer into the embrace and I followed suit, our chests pressed together as the rest of the world began to melt away.

It was over far too soon. Our lips parted as we both caught our breath, my heart threatening to burst as it pounded in my chest. For a moment, neither of us made eye contact, my floor suddenly becoming very interesting to both of us, the air filled with nothing but the heavy breathing of two ponies catching their breath and processing their actions.

I didn't even need to say it, the look in my eyes all the cue she needed. A quick flap from her wings and suddenly she was on top of me, pushing me back onto my bed. She went to kiss me again but the downward motion stayed our lips, and we both fumbled for a moment as we collapsed onto the mattress on top of one another, our cheeks flush and our breath short. A quick moment to get our bearings and our lips met again, Scootaloo taking me in an even tighter embrace before diving back in. What started as a single kiss quickly dissolved into a flurry of passionate pecks all over each other's faces and necks. It became a game, as we dodged and weaved out of each other's way, delivering quick kisses while denying the other the pleasure of returning them, the air filled with the mirthful laughter of lovers. Scootaloo quickly gained the upper hand due to being on top of me, restricting my movements, and I surrendered to the onslaught of affection as she planted kiss after kiss on nearly every square inch of my face, neck, and torso, the pure, undiluted joy threatening to burst as happy tears leaked from my eyes, and I embraced it, never wanting the feeling to end.

“Scoots...”

“Yeah?”

“I think you’re way hotter than Sweetie Belle.”

She laughed as she delivered a few more soft kisses. “Please. You don’t think I already knew that? You couldn’t hide your prying eyes if your life depended on it.” Her wings wrapped themselves around me as she pounced on me, eyes lidded. “Now how about you get over here and prove it.”

_________

Soft, peaceful breathing was the only sound that interrupted the tranquil silence that had claimed my home, an orange Pegasus wrapped around my torso, a look of elation on her face as she slumbered, utterly spent. A hoof ran through her mane as I looked down at her again, a feeling of abject bliss flooding me for the hundredth time tonight. I never did like the idea of having the responsibility of caring for a foal, yet here I was, wrapped up with a kid, in more ways than one.

Then again though, Scootaloo wasn't a kid anymore, and I suppose that was the point entirely. What had started off as merely indulging the desires of a trio of children had eventually led me to finding the one pony I ever truly confided in. She took care of me just as much as I took care of her. Scootaloo had asked what she meant to me, and I found even now a concrete answer to be difficult to put into words.

Whatever it was though, I was glad to have it.

I let my head fall into my pillow's soft embrace, and the movement caused Scootaloo to stir a bit, shifting her weight momentarily, before settling into place against me again. Her forehooves gave my barrel an extra squeeze, and she exhaled softly with a cute little sigh as she drifts off again, and it dawned on me that, while she has slept over my house plenty of times in the past, this would be the first time that we would be sleeping together in the same bed.

Tonight seemed to be hosting a plethora of firsts.

I let out a deep sigh of my own as I finally allowed my heavy lids close, letting my weight rest against her smaller frame. Bringing everything that had happened over the last four years back to the forefront of my mind, I couldn't help but wax existential for a moment, my mind never one to miss an opportunity to wallow in its own insecurities.

I still couldn't help but scoff at the idea of me having a destiny, still unable to wrap my head around the concept. Maybe I never would. Maybe my flank would always be as bare as it was the day I was born, my talent too poisoned by past regret for me to ever be able to fully embrace it again. Maybe I was completely off base, and my true talent was still a mystery to me, and my fixation on poetry was blinding me to making any progress. Maybe Coda was right all along, and I left my destiny back in Trottingham with Mum and Dad, and salvation was as simple as merely returning home after all. Maybe in the back of the mind of Ponyville and beyond, I would always be seen as the weirdo who lacked a purpose, cursed to meander the world aimlessly without direction, a somber example to all who saw me of what not to do with your life. In all honesty, I don't have a clue about any of that stuff.

What I did know is that, right now, I have a mare in my arms who, Celestia knows why, thought nearly as much of me as I did of her. I wrapped my hooves around the tranquil body, basking in her warmth, relishing her touch, silently reaffirming my devotion to her. My lips met an unknown part of her body as I gave her a kiss without opening my eyes again, their lids too heavy, sleep at last beginning to claim me, the subtle hum off the crickets lulling me into Luna’s dreamscape. Despite the fact that I closed my eyes on a life in complete shambles, wrought with uncertainty and self doubt, I know for a fact that she would still be there when I woke up tomorrow, ready to face whatever challenges awaited with me.

So maybe I didn't give a damn.

Author's Note

And thus ends my first completed longform narrative after almost a decade of attempts in various mediums! Holy CRAP does it feel good! Thank you all SO MUCH for taking the time to read this, I hope it gave you some laughs, some feels, and maybe even a little bit to think about.

Till next time...

-tO