Gemstone and Songbird

Scootaloo could not hold back her anger as she arrived at school that morning. She stormed into the classroom and waited. She was going to make Diamond Tiara pay. But when class started, Diamond Tiara was conspicuously absent. She looked desperately around, but could not see hide-nor-hair of the filly.

“Class, please be seated. We have a very special guest this week.”

The class door opened and through it walked a handsome cyan pegasus with a black mane. On his flank was an open eye cutie mark.

“Class, I would like to introduce you to Mr Wren.”

“Good Morning my little ponies. My name is Mr Wren. Please be good to me.” Wren gave a small bow to the class.

“Mr Wren is training to be a teacher, and we’ve been asked to host him here for the week. So would you all join me in saying good morning?”

“Good morning, Mr Wren,” the class answered in the typical foalish sing-song voice.

Wren took a seat in the corner, and smiled to the class as Cheerilee begun the days lesson.

When recess arrived, Scootaloo made a straight bead for Silver Spoon.

“Where is she,” Scootaloo sneered, backing Silver Spoon into a corner of the yard. “Where is she?!”

“Scootaloo, what’s goin’ on?” Apple Bloom tried to pull her friend away from the cowering filly. “Yer madder than a timberwolf on Sunday!”

Scootaloo shook off Apple Bloom, it usually took at least two ponies to hold her back. She grabbed Silver Spoon by her pearl necklace.

“She too much of a coward-” Scootaloo breathed heavily “- to show her face here after what she did?”

“Scootaloo! Let Silver Spoon go. Now!”

Cheerilee stormed across the yard, followed by Mr Wren. Scootaloo did not yield. “I said,” Cheerilee loomed above the two, “let her go, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo let go of Silver Spoon. She whispered, “I know what happened, and you can tell Diamond Tiara I won’t forget!”

“Scootaloo, follow me inside now. Apple Bloom, why don’t you go play with somepony. Dinky is over there, why don’t you talk with her? Silver Spoon, run along dear.” She turned to Wren. “Mr Wren, would you mind keeping an eye on the yard while I speak with Scootaloo.”

“Of course, Miss Cheerilee. I would be happy to.” Wren smiled and started back to where he had been sitting.

Scootaloo could have sworn his cutie mark eye blinked and watched her as she followed Cheerilee to the classroom.

Cheerilee sighed as the door closed behind them.

“Scootaloo, please sit down.” She motioned for the chair Mr Wren had sat before. “Would you mind telling me why you were bullying poor Silver Spoon.”

Scootaloo sat, her forearms crossed the barrel of her chest.

“Scootaloo, I will have to talk to your father about your behaviour today.”

“Like he’d care,” Scootaloo huffed, blowing her fringe out of her eyes.

“I know you are having a hard time, what with poor Sweetie Belle’s accident-”

“Accident?” Scootaloo screamed, tears streaking her cheeks.

Cheerilee moved forward to comfort the filly. “Yes, accident.”

“It wasn’t an accident!” Scootaloo screamed into Cheerilee’s shoulder. “It was Diamond Tiara!”

“Diamond Tiara didn’t mean for it to happen.” Cheerilee stroked Scootaloo’s ruffled mane. “But it was an accident-”

“You knew? Is that why Diamond Tiara isn’t here today? Did the police ponies take her to jail?”

Cheerilee shook her head. “No, Diamond Tiara is at home today, because she is upset by what has happened.”

“So she hurts Sweetie Belle, and gets a day off school?” Scootaloo pushed her teacher away.

“Diamond Tiara is suffering-”

“No! Sweetie Belle is suffering. She’s lying in a coma!”

“Miss Cheerilee?” The door to the schoolhouse opened, and Wren stepped inside. “Sorry, there is a problem. Silver Spoon has locked herself in-”

Scootaloo took the moment of distraction to run through the open door.

“Scootaloo!” Cheerilee screamed after the fleeing student. “Come back!”

“I hate you!” Scootaloo had her scooter, and was rushing out the gate of the schoolyard towards town.

“I will go get her. You please see to Silver Spoon -” Wren winked at Cheerilee “- It’s inappropriate for me to enter the little fillies room.”

Scootaloo knew she was going to be in big trouble. She hadn’t ditched school in a long time, not since becoming friends with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. But here she was, barrelling down the road on her scooter.

She didn’t know where she was going, she just wasn’t going back there.

Her eyes stung, both from the speed and from the tears. She didn’t even notice the old pony slowly making his way across the road.

“Oof!” The old pony fell as Scootaloo crashed into him. Scootaloo got up, apologising, and helping him back to his hooves.

She picked up an old grey fedora, handing it to him. “Sorry, I think this is yours.”

“Thank you, young miss.”

Scootaloo looked around. The crash had brought her back to her senses, and she was able to see where she was. She was outside Sugarcube Corner. The older pony dusted down his coat, and re-wrapped his dislodge red scarf.

“Where were you going in such a hurry, young miss?”

Scootaloo turned to the old pony she had knocked over. “Ummm, here, I guess.”

“Is something the matter?”

“No,” Scootaloo looked at her hooves. “Sorry for crashing into you. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, it would take far more than that to hurt this old pony. But you seem upset.”

“No, I’m okay.” Scootaloo wiped the tears from her eyes. She hated being this uncool, especially in front of a stranger.

“I was going to wait here for a friend of mine.” He motioned towards Sugarcube Corner. “Perhaps you would keep an old pony company while he waits.”

Scootaloo sighed. She didn’t know this pony, and he could turn out to be a creep. But she was going inside anyway, and she had just knocked him over. And as long as she stayed at Sugarcube Corner, she should be okay.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome,” a certain pink mare burst out into song as Scootaloo and the old pony walked through the front door. “Ooooo! It’s Scootaloo. And someone new. Mrs Cake can I-”

“No, Pinkie. Please, serve the customers. You can welcome the new gentlecolt on your day off.”

Scootaloo made her way to one of the booths.

“Hey, now that’s a frowny-frown face,” Pinkie hopped over to Scootaloo. “What’s it going to take to turn that upside down?”

The old pony went to the counter, and spoke with Mrs Cake.

“The young miss there seems to be having a bad day. Could you make a large milkshake for her and deliver it to her table?” He pulled out a small sack of bits. “I’d also like a coffee, and two pieces of cake please.”

“Certainly sir!” Mrs Cake smiled.

The old pony took a seat across from Scootaloo, facing the door.

“Hey Scoots,” Pinkie Pie ‘whispered’ to Scootaloo, “You going to introduce me to your friend?”

“Miss Scootaloo does not know my name. I am Wan,” Wan held his hoof out to shake the pink mares. “Wan Doo. It is a pleasure to meet you, miss-”

“Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie yelled, grabbing Wan’s hoof and shaking vigorously. “And welcome to Ponyville, Juan!”

“You know I am not from Ponyville?” Wan questioned.

“Of course silly,” Pinkie Pie answered, as if it was obvious. “Else I would have already thrown you a welcome party. Oooo, are you going to be here tomorrow? I can throw you a welcome party then! Oh please please please say you will be here.”

“Here you go, dearies.” Mrs Cake delivered the coffee, the milkshake and the two pieces of cake. Wan smiled, seeing Mrs Cake had cut Scootaloo a particularly large slice of chocolate cake. “Pinkie, we have more customers. Be a dear and help me serve?”

“Okie dokie lokie. Bee arr bee!” Pinkie giggled, suddenly wearing a yellow and black striped shirt and eye patch. Scootaloo couldn’t help but giggle at Pinkie’s antics.

“It is good to see you smile. One so young should not frown as you do.” Wan took a sip of the coffee. “Mmm, it’s very good. I haven’t had coffee this good in many years. Go on, drink your milkshake.”

Scootaloo took a tentative sip of her milkshake. When the milk hit her tongue, she groaned. She remembered she had skipped breakfast to get to school early. She dove into the cake.

“Fankfs Mifter Doo.”

“Please, call me Wan. I am glad you are enjoying it.”

Wan and Scootaloo fell back into silence. Wan seemed content to sit with his eyes closed, enjoying the aroma of his coffee. Scootaloo didn’t particularly feel like talking to this stranger, but she did feel like eating this cake.

“Ahh, excuse me,” Wan removed his hat, and placed it on the table and stood. “My friend has arrived early.”

Scootaloo heard ‘Wow! You are reeeeeally bald!’ from behind her. Then the mortified screams of Mrs Cake.

“Hey, you know what ‘Tartarus Correspondence’ is?” Scootaloo’s ears piqued at the small voice in the booth behind her.

“The one where you write the name of your enemy on a letter, and put it in your mailbox at midnight, and they’ll take revenge on your behalf?”

“Yes, yes! That’s the one! I heard my friend in Canterlot had a friend who did it-”

“Scootaloo?” Scootaloo turned to the voice, and found Mr Wren standing next to Wan Doo.

“This is the filly you were looking for, Itchy?” Wan smiled. “What a coincidence. My new friend is my old friends student.”

“Scootaloo, you should finish your milkshake, then we will return to the school. Yes?”

Wren turned back to Wan, and they continued to talk, though Scootaloo could not make out what they were saying. For the second time that day, Scootaloo could have sworn she saw from the corner of her eye Mr Wren’s cutie mark blink and watch her.

“I’m ready to go back.” Dejected, she stood up from the table. Her milkshake didn’t seem as appetizing as it had before.

“It was nice meeting you Scootaloo. I hope you day gets better.” Wan waved. “See you later, Itchy.”

She stopped as she reached the door. “Itchy?”

“It’s my first name,” Mr Wren gritted his teeth.

Behind her, Wan was putting his hat back on, boisterously laughing.

The afternoon was painful for Scootaloo. Despite Mr Wren trying to talk her out of it, Cheerilee had called Scootaloo’s father into the school to discuss her behaviour. Scootaloo was mortified when he turned up drunk. This wasn’t particularly rare, but it embarrassed Scootaloo every time.

Walking home, she wondered if she would have to apply orange makeup to the fur underneath her eyes. That too, was not a rare occurrence. In the end, Scootaloo was lucky. She had only been made to go to her room two hours before sundown. Without dinner.

Scootaloo had to force herself to stay awake. She snuck into her father’s study, and pulled out a piece of parchment. With a pen in her mouth, she wrote on the paper two words.

Diamond Tiara

She folded the parchment and put it inside an envelope.

She snuck into the kitchen to see if she could find a snack to eat. Her father had long since passed out on the couch, so she could steal a bite without being reprimanded.

She sat in the small kitchen, watching the luminous hands of the clock, as they ticked slower to midnight.

One minute to midnight, she grabbed the envelope in her teeth, and counted as she walked out the front door.

Fifty five. Fifty Six.

She walked the short path to the letterbox.

Fifty Seven. Fifty eight.

She opened the top.

Fifty nine.

She let go of the letter.

Sixty.

The letter dropped into the mailbox. Scootaloo closed the lid, and looked around. Nothing moved, nothing stirred. She sighed, and opened the lid again.

The letterbox was empty.

“You have summoned me?”