Scootaloo is Bored

Though she had been to Fluttershy's cottage many times before, Scootaloo wasn’t certain of what adventures awaited her. This was her first time entering the place without her fellow Crusaders or Rainbow Dash, and in all honesty, she was afraid. Celestia knew that she was no animal expert, as the filly still bore scars from the time she and Rainbow had attempted to bathe Fluttershy's pet seal. Why in Equestria would such a timid mare even need a pet seal? Whatever the reason, Scootaloo was wise enough to know that there was way more to Fluttershy than met the eye.

"Right this way, Scootaloo. Don't be shy, the animals remember you very well!" Fluttershy said, ushering the filly in. By her tone of voice, it seemed as if the mare was oblivious to the fact that Scootaloo had nearly lost her life more than a few times at her cottage.

As expected, Scootaloo saw dozens of blue jays circling above her, harmonizing with the fluttering redbirds and doves located beside the window. The tidiness of the place accompanied by singing animals reminded Scootaloo of one of those Colt Wisley movies that Sweetie Belle loved so much.

"I, uh, see that you fixed the table," Scoot managed, nervously grinning at Fluttershy. "I mean, I hadn't seen it the last few times I was here, so I figured maybe it was done for, or something."

"Yes, well," Fluttershy explained, "not too long ago, Discord so graciously offered to fix it for me after he was reformed." She beamed brightly at Scootaloo. Before the filly could respond, a disgruntled head peeped from around the corner. "Oh, Angel Bunny!" Fluttershy exclaimed, flying over to scoop up her pet. "I'm so sorry for being home late, I was just cleaning up Dashie's home while she's away at Cloudsdale."

Hearing Fluttershy refer to Rainbow Dash as "Dashie" urged Scootaloo to giggle. She watched patiently as Fluttershy spoke to the rabbit, trying a bit too hard not to roll her eyes at their "conversation."

As soon as Fluttershy lowered Angel to the ground, he began to anxiously tap his fluffy foot, as if expecting of the mare. "Oh, I almost forgot. Here you go, fresh from the marketplace!" She pulled healthy bunch of carrots from her bag, as if offering her soul to a death god. Regardless of the carrots' perfection, Angel held that demonic stare of his, his foot still patting against the floor. Those beady eyes alone could have sent Scootaloo home crying.

"Please don't be like that, Angel! They're your favorite, fresh and juicy." As Fluttershy failed to persuade the bunny, Scoot's mind began to wander. Is this really how the rest of my weekend's going to be? She attempted to ignore the evil little rabbit's over dramatic gagging at Fluttershy's gift. "I wouldn't want you to go hungry," she pleaded.

What a brat, Scoot thought. Thank Luna me and my friends don't act like that. She frowned. Wait...are we like that?

"Would you like to help me make a salad?" Scootaloo had trailed off to the point where she hadn't noticed the bright yellow smile in front of her face. This clearly excited the mare more than Scootaloo herself.

Though she really, really wanted to, Scootaloo couldn't bring herself to decline to Fluttershy's request. "Uhhherrr, of course! What do I have to do?"

"Hmm," Fluttershy thought, tapping her chin. "Why don't you help me chop up some veggies?"

"Vegetable chopping?" Scootaloo groaned before her eyes widened in realization. "Vegetable chopping! I'll definitely get my vegetable chopping cutie mark in no time!"

"My, that would be something," Fluttershy offered, clapping her hooves in excitement. "Why don't we get started?"

"What do I have to do?" Scootaloo asked, grinning.

"You chop these carrots and cucumbers," Fluttershy replied, placing the fresh vegetables on the counter. "This is the chopper that I use to cut them up. Be very careful with it. When you’re finished with those, I’ll mix them in this bowl.”

"Careful," Scootaloo repeated, steadying the large utensil in her hooves. "I so got this!"

"Whenever you're ready," Fluttershy added.

Scootaloo pulled the chopper back. "Cutie mark, here I come!" The blade came down. Plop. The cucumber before her was now sliced in two. With a sudden burst of excitement, the filly craned her head toward her flank. She frowned. Nothing.

"Keep on going!" Fluttershy encouraged her.

"Alright," Scootaloo groaned. "Hmm..." She lifted the blade up again, bringing it down. A slice fell from the cut cucumber. "You know, this is kind of... fun," she commented, repeating the action. She sliced again. Then again. And again.

“You’re doing great!” Fluttershy encouraged. “Just a little more, and we’ll have a nutritious salad in no time. Right, Angel?” She craned her head toward the frowning little scruff ball, who grimaced in response. She returned her gaze to Scootaloo, who had begun to speed up in her work.

“Hey, I’m really good at this,” Scootaloo said, slowly beginning to smile.

"Oh, um," Fluttershy interceded, or at least she tried to. "Scootaloo, that's very, um," she could barely get a word in edgewise as the slimy green slices of cucumber began to sail past her head, quickly picking up speed.

Scootaloo just kept chopping. She could feel it. "I'm doing it... I'm doing it!!!" Her hooves were like lightning, striking down over and over, slicing and dicing like a maniac. Fluttershy thought she heard a crash, as if a bird cage had fallen over. This must have been so, as she noticed a few pigeons scurrying away.

With the first cucumber minced to death, the chopping came to a rather abrupt stop, allowing Fluttershy to collect herself. "That was, um... Very good, Scootaloo..." She wearily turned her head, noticing the squashed vegetables pasted onto the walls, the knocked over bowls and cages that once made her home so serene. "Why, um, why don't we take a break?" She sheepishly reached toward Scootaloo's cleaver.

"Wait," Scootaloo said, disabling Fluttershy from stepping any closer. "I'm not done." She wielded her saber with a demonic sort of glee, turning to Fluttershy. "I need more... More veggies! More!"

Fluttershy's eyes grew twice their regular size. "Oh my." She had created a monster.

The crazed Scootaloo forcibly raided Fluttershy's saddle bags for a few clumps of lettuce, maniacally giggling as she hacked away at the it. Shredded greens tackled Fluttershy's face, causing her to stumble backwards. The mare clumsily tripped over a tinier cage. She toppled over, taking a second to regain herself as she looked up toward Scootaloo.

"Scootaloo," she called, gaining no response. Rather, tattered leaves pelted her face. "Stop it," she tried again, with a touch of sternness. Scootaloo was beginning to break a sweat, but showed no signs of slowing down. "Stop it! I mean, please," Fluttershy got back onto her hooves, shaking the leaves out of her mane.

Fluttershy lowered her eyebrows. "Enough!" Her voice was now taken over by force and annoyance, clearly enough to snap Scootaloo out of her trance.

"Huh?" The small pegasus shook her head. "What happened?" She spun around, coming face to face with Fluttershy. "Oh, hey Flutter-" she immediately stopped, noting the damages done to the small cottage. "Uh... Oops?" She grinned awkwardly.

A picture frame fell from the wall just to the side of the counter, collapsing into hundreds of pieces. Upon impacting the floor, the surrounding animals fled to avoid any contact with the glass. "I can pay for that!" Scootaloo insisted. Fluttershy took a deep breath, exhaling her own self pity.

"I'd just like to apologize again for having you leave so soon," Fluttershy said sincerely, but graciously, as the two trotted toward Sugarcube Corner. "But you did such a great job on the salad. And besides, I'm sure it'll only take a few weeks for the repair mares to fix up the collapsed wall," Fluttershy insisted.

  "Yeah, sorry about that," Scootaloo replied, sheepishly. "I was so sure that I could get a cutie mark from extreme-vacuum-mopping."

Fluttershy winced. "Well, I'm sure you'll be a great helper for Pinkie Pie. You know how she likes to...  bend logical explanation." Scootaloo cocked her head, falling behind Fluttershy. Before she could question Fluttershy's reasoning, the yellow mare came to stop. "Here we are. Pinkie will definitely appreciate the extra help, especially from such an energetic little filly like yourself."

        “Uh, heh heh, yeah,” Scootaloo nervously replied. She wearily followed Fluttershy, ignoring the fear in the back of her mind. Maybe she was over reacting? Pinkie Pie wasn’t that bad… In fact, Scootaloo was starting to regret what she had previously thought. Yeah, the party mare was a little “loco in the coco,” but she was as sweet as the icing on a cupcake. That was a corny pun, Scootaloo thought. Before she could continue her positive thinking, she and Fluttershy were stopped just outside Sugarcube Corner.

“This is not acceptable,” a high pitched voice exclaimed. “You can’t just have a party without a cake. It’s unethical!” Lo and behold, it was Pinkie Pie.

“B-but, my daughter is perfectly fine with a batch cupcakes,” said a voice belonging to a frightened brown stallion. It seemed that the Cutie Mark Crusaders weren’t the only ones in Ponyville to fear the hyperactive Pinkie Pie.

“But it’s her birthday! You can’t have a birthday without a party, and you most certainly can’t have a party without a cake. Don’t you want to give your daughter the greatest, most deliciously sugar-coated cake ever for her birthday?”

“Good afternoon, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy greeted, before taking a step back. “Oh, I’m sorry, am I intruding?”

Pinkie looked over, suddenly noticing her friend. “Not at all, Flutters! I was just trying to convince ol’ Grumpykins over here to design the greatest, most lovable cake for his filly’s birthday. And what better place in town to get a cake than Sugarcube Corner? So now, all I have to do is persuade this nice colt into to getting his daughter the biggest cake for her birthday, and I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer!” The excited mare turned back to her customer, but came face to face with the air.

“Drat… Lost him again!” she moped, drooping her head. In an instant, her face was lit up, and her eyes darted back to Fluttershy. “So, what can I do for you on this lovely day?”

“Well, actually,” Fluttershy began, before being interrupted.

“Are you here to get a cake?!” Pinkie Pie asked, gasping.

“Not exactly--”

“Ohh, this is so great. Heck, let’s throw a party right here, right now! We could invite everyone in Ponyville, even though it’s last minute and everything.”

“Uhm… Pinkie?” Fluttershy said.

Pinkie Pie began to ramble. “Of course, since it’s last minute, we’ll have to act quickly! Even if some ponies miss it, we can just extend the party time. I mean, it’s never too late for a party, right?”

“Pinkie Pie…”

“Oh! I almost forgot, we’ll need some streamers. Oooh, oooh! And balloons! I’ve always loved balloons, they’re just so round and bounceable and they come in so many different colors. It’s just impossible not to have fun with them! I tell ya, if I had to give up the job I already have, I’d take a job as a professional clown just so I could blow balloons all day. Not that I don’t enjoy making baked goods, even when they turn out as baked bads. Sometimes you just can’t control yourself in the kitchen, like this one time--”

“Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy said, just above a whisper. “I mean, um, I’m sorry for raising my voice,” she apologized, having ‘yelled’ for a second time that day. “Scootaloo and I were just having the most… Enjoyable morning together, and we were wondering if you’d consider taking her under your wing - er, hoof - for the day?”

“Ooooh!” Pinkie squealed, lunging toward Scootaloo’s face. The filly was taken aback, her eyes widening. “A new helper for the kitchen? Sounds like a lot of fun!”

“Uh… Yeah, fun,” Scootaloo dryly responded, beginning to fear for her life. “I hate to intrude though, I could just go back with Fluttershy.” As she said this, Fluttershy grimaced, pretty much telling her how she wouldn’t be spending the rest of her day.

“Intruding? No way!” Pinkie bounced in glee. “Don’t worry Fluttershy, I’ve got this under control!” She said, raising her hoof to her head in a salute. “You don’t have to think when trusting the Pink-... -ie Pie!”

“That’s good to hear! You two enjoy your day.” Fluttershy hovered away, quietly thanking Celestia.

Pinkie Pie leaned into Scootaloo’s face, closer than comfortable. “This is going to be so great! I know you’ll just love working at Sugarcube Corner.” She walked into the building, allowing Scootaloo to trot closely behind. “This reminds me of the time that Apple Bloom wanted to get a culinary Cutie Mark. Ya gotta love kids, I know I do. Like Pound and Pumpkin Cake, they’re just so adorable! Maybe you can help me take care of them later once we’re done baking, and...”

As the mare rambled, Scootaloo began to tune her out. Looking up at the sky, she realized it had only been an hour or so since school had gotten out. Nighttime was in a few hours, but she had a feeling that her day had only just begin.