Feelings, Meanings and Definitions
by The Princess Rarity
A light chill was in the air, and the breeze that blew by was the shivering sort of type, but it was also the kind to spread a smile. Multicolored leaves in the shades of each and every soft, warm cozy color were decorating the walkways of the roads, and the trees that had lost them swayed side to side in a peaceful yet playful sort of way.
It was indeed a perfect Autumn day.
With her tie-dye scarf tied firmly around her neck and whipping behind her as she ran, Scootaloo filed into the schoolhouse with the rest of her classmates, all of them anticipating to escape the cold weather and get back inside, where it was much more reasonable.
"Alright, everypony, settle down," Cheerilee called out to all of them, in her sweet, caring tone of voice. "Now, as you all know, the holiday season is coming up." As expected, those few simple words caused a bit of commotion among the fillies and colts once more. "Can anypony tell me what holiday is the first?"
Hooves shot up all across the classroom, but despite that, nearly all of the class shouted out their answer - which seemed to be the same one.
"Thanksgiving?"
The teacher laughed, and gave a nod. "Yes, yes, you're all correct," she assured. "Thanksgiving is a very special holiday, but why?" She pointed to a hoof raised in the back. "Yes, Sweetie Belle?"
"To show us what we're thankful for," the little unicorn filly in the back row piped up. "It was originally meant to honor the fact that Equestria had finally formed, right? Because the first ponies of the land were so thankful for a good home to live in, so they made a holiday of it?"
"Exactly!" Cheerilee replied. "So, what I want all of you to do is realize what the true meaning of this holiday is. What are you all most thankful for?"
"I thought that this holiday was about food..." Snips remarked.
Of course, this sly and slightly dimwitted comment got a few chuckles from the rest of the class, and the teacher simply rolled her eyes.
"You could be thankful for that," she pointed out. "But maybe there's something else. Who has an example?"
"Yer family?" Apple Bloom pointed out.
"Money?" Diamond Tiara called.
"A house?" Pipsqueak said.
"Those are all wonderful answers!" Cheerilee praised. "Your assignment this week is to write an essay about what you're thankful for this holiday."
A moment of silence passed, only before the class all realized the due date of the assignment and groaned in unison.
"You mean, we have to, like, work over the holiday?" Silver Spoon muttered. "I thought the whole reason we got a day off was because we could, like, celebrate."
Cheerilee let out a sigh, and shook her head. "This is mandatory to do, but you don't have to do it over the holiday - if you don't want to," she assured. "But so long as you capture the concept of Thanksgiving in your essay, then that's all that really matters. I want all of the essays in by Monday, so you have a whole week to work on them."
The class gave a series of mixed emotions, but nonetheless remained quiet as they all sat back, continuing to listen to their teacher as she taught them the story of the first Thanksgiving - in which Equestria was finally formed, and the first colonies of ponies were thankful for a safe nation ruled by the former King Solaris and Queen Galactica. They had founded Equestria for peace and prosperity, with help from the other equine species - the zebras, who taught them how to thrive in the wilderness, and the horses, who taught them the ways of building, thus allowing the ponies to have lives of happiness, healthiness and the ability to thrive.
Finally, as the lesson concluded, they were all dismissed - for the rest of the week, straight into the weekend for their holiday break.
Each little filly and colt filed out for freedom, chattering amongst themselves with the main topic being their plans for the celebration.
"So, what are you guys going to do?" Scootaloo beamed as she bounded out of the schoolhouse with her two best friends in tow.
"Rarity's taking me to Canterlot the day before Thanksgiving!" Sweetie Belle said excitedly, bouncing up and down on her hooves happily at the knowing she would finally get some time with her older sister. "We're going to go shopping and hang out at the cafes and all of the other fancy places! It's going to be so much fun - I can't wait!"
Apple Bloom gave a small smirk and chuckled lightly. "Jus' say yer prayers that she doesn't leave ya there like th' last time you two went there," she teased.
"It was an accident!" the unicorn filly argued. "I ran off, and Rarity thought I was already on the train. She didn't purposely leave me behind."
"Sure she didn't," Apple Bloom joked, only before being playfully shoved by her friend. The earth pony filly rolled her golden eyes playfully, and continued, "Ah'm jus' stayin' home fer th' holiday. Babs is comin' ov'r, Mac invited Zecora an'-"
"Our sisters are spending the holiday with each other!" Sweetie Belle pointed out. "So we're going to get to spend Thanksgiving together!"
"Yeah, but let's jus' hope that Granny doesn't have a heart attack when she finds out who AJ's been secretly datin' this whole time," Apple Bloom countered, as she tried to keep her smile from showing. She turned to Scootaloo, and lightly cocked her head to the side in question. "What about you, Scoots? Whatcha doin' on th' holiday?"
The little pegasus gave a small shrug, and a hopeful smile. "I don't really know," she mused. "I'm probably gonna keep it simple too."
"I wouldn't call dining in a castle simple," Sweetie Belle joked.
With a smile, Scootaloo shook her head. "We're just gonna stay at the library," she assured. "But we are having family over, so my Mom is kind of freaking out. She's made checklists for her checklists, even if she's not doing the cooking or actually, any of the preparations, but-" She was interrupted as she suddenly heard her name being called across the play yard. "Oh, geez, I gotta go!" She turned to her friends, and gave a smile. "Maybe I'll see you guys on Saturday?"
"Have a Happy Thanksgiving, Scoots," Apple Bloom affirmed, as she returned the grin.
"Yeah, Happy Holidays," Sweetie Belle chimed in, also bestowing a priceless smile.
"Thanks," Scootaloo replied, joining her friends in a quick group hug. "You guys too. Have fun."
And so, she dashed off, smiling wide as she headed for her family, who was waiting for her on the other side of the school property.
...She knew what she was going to write her essay about.
Now at home, by the fireplace, on Thanksgiving, it was the early afternoon of the holiday - right around the time of which festivities finally began to kick off for most homes. And so, Scootaloo was enjoying the peacefulness of the celebration, sitting in a plush seat with a pencil and a piece of paper, thinking hard about what words would be the proper ones to use.
After all, she wanted to make her essay mean something.
However, with the constant voices in the background, it was a bit hard to focus.
"Did I remember to send out the invitations?"
"Yes, Twi, you did that a month ago, remember?"
"Did I mark it on my checklist?"
"...which one?"
"All of them! Wait, is that smoke I smell? Am I burning something? Who's cooking?"
"Spike's cooking, because neither of us can cook without killing somepony. You're smelling food."
"Well, it's not my fault that I'm stressed out! I need some tea - where's a good cup of chamomile tea when you need it?!"
"You know, if we just celebrated at the Castle-"
The voices then entered the main room of the Library, and in trotted, Princess Twilight Sparkle, looking awfully stressed and on the edge of a breakdown, along with Rainbow Dash, who was her usual cool self, but nonetheless a bit concerned for the alicorn's well-being.
"Rainbow Dash, if I told you once, I'll tell you again - I've gotten along just fine for my entire life without servants, I'm not going to start using them now, when it's not necessary!" Twilight said defensively. "I can organize a holiday gathering with my family... so long as I find my checklists."
And with that, she ran out of the room, in search of her checklists, to double-triple-and-quadruple-check that everything was just right and it was all going to go just perfectly.
"Everything going ok?" Scootaloo laughed, as she looked to Rainbow Dash, who simply shrugged in complete confusion.
"Whatcha doing?" the pegasus mare asked as she sprinted over, landing right next to the little filly. "Drawing?"
"Schoolwork," Scootaloo replied, with a smile as she waved the paper.
So far, all she had was the title and her name printed down, but nonetheless, the small bit made Rainbow Dash smile.
She wrapped a foreleg around the younger pegasus and grinned proudly. "Oh, that's cool," she said simply. "What're you gonna write about?"
Scootaloo opened her mouth, about to respond, only before the knocking of the front door of the Library was heard, and Twilight's panicked shriek was soon heard.
"Rainbow Dash! Could you get that? I'm not ready! Nothing's ready! Oh, goodness, how could they be here already?!"
With a playful roll of her eyes and a bit of a smirk, Rainbow Dash gave a halfhearted shrug. "Duty calls," she declared. "Looks like I'll have to tend to Her Majesty."
"I heard that!" Twilight called. "And for the last time, no royal statuses!"
Lightly chuckling to herself, Dash zoomed out of the room, leaving Scootaloo all alone once more...
...but the little filly certainly didn't feel lonely. Her mind was buzzing. She was ready to write, and work on what really mattered to her today.
What I'm Thankfull Thankful For
by Scootaloo
This year, I'm glad that i finally have something to be thankful for. I just recently got something that a lot of ponys ponies take for granted. Before, i didn't really have anything. I was alone, and holidays didn't mean anything to me. I didn't find a reason to celebrate, because i had nopony. So, this year, on Thanksgiving, i want everypony to know how happy i am to know that i finally have somepony to share this holiday with! I don't really like mentioning it, but for as long as i can remember, i didn't really have a family. I was what they call an orphan, and i lived in something called a foster home, with a lot of other foals like me. Orphans are fillies and colts who don't have a family to live with because their birth parents gave up on them. I was one of those foals. Every birthday, every heart's Hearth's Warming, every New Year, i had nopony who cared about me to celebrate it with. I always tried not to let it bother me, but when you know that your friends all have permanetpremanent real homes to go to, and you don't have one, it hurts. Every day, i would wonder if i'd be the next foal to get adopted, but instead, it was always somepony else that wasn't me (i hope that their new homes are good!). I started to think that i'd never get adopted...
Until One Day, i got the worst (and best!) surprise EVER!
You see, it was an unexpected volonteer volunteer thing for the wonderbolts, and Rainbow Dash showed up! The Rainbow Dash! (because she's a rookie now, so she had to go, of course). Sure, i loved her and everything - i wouldn't be her number one fan if i wasn't! - but i didn't want her to know that i was an orphan, with no home! I would seem so ... uncool! But it was just my luck for her to notice me. It was kind of awkward between us at first, but then a few weeks later, the good part of the surprise showed up!
It was a few days before my tenth birthday (which was back in the summertime.) and well, i was going to go celebrate with my best friends (Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, of course!), but the lady who ran the foster home didn't want me going out. I thought i was in trouble, but it was the exact opposite! When i went to the office, i saw Rainbow Dash there - with Twilight Sparkle (yup, the Princess!). I didn't know what they wanted or why they were there, but when i was given a pamfletpanphlet bunch of papers, with two ponies names signed at the bottom, i knew that it could have been only one thing!
THEY WERE ADOPTING ME!
I was going to have a family! Somepony was going to take care of me, and love me! A real roof over my head, nopony would leave me behind and i would have somepony to call 'Mom' or 'Dad'! ...well, in my case, 'Awesomom' (Rainbow Dash thought that one up) and 'Momma', but still! It was a family! I know that a lot of ponies don't like the idea of two mares raising a foal, but if they want my opinon opinion on it, i'd say i'm just fine with it!
So, now i live in the Golden Oaks library, with my Awesomom Rainbow Dash and Momma Twilight Sparkle (and Spike is kind of like my brother) and i couldn't ask for anything else! I'll admit that i don't know why my real parents left me on the front steps of the orphan house as a newborn wrapped in a newspaper - that's the story i've been told, anyway - but it doesn't matter why i was left behind anymore. I now have a home, with two amazing ponies taking care of me and loving me as if i was their own.
Life used to be dull and grey for me, but now i love every moment of it.
My moms are the best thing that ever happened to me, and i don't want anything more now. I'm perfectly happy with what i have.
I just hope that the other foals out there realize that families are very important and that you can't think that they'll always be there. You have to make sure to love them back and be greatfull grateful you have them, even if it's just a mom, just a dad, a grandma, or whatever.
I just know that i'll never forget it.
THEEND
The holiday went off without a hitch, and joy was all around, as expected, along with happiness blossoming and the spirit still was ringing clearly, if not more profound than before. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year was certainly up and about.
But alas, work and school still went on.
The Thanksgiving break was now over, and while the holiday rush increased, the important things were still piling on at an almost astonishing speed.
School days were back on, and every little colt and filly desperately dashed into their schoolhouse, longing for the warmth of indoors.
"Hey, guys!" Scootaloo beamed as she finally ran into her friends. "I didn't see you earlier, but how was your holiday?"
"It was great!" Sweetie Belle nearly squealed. "I got some Hearth's Warming gifts early, and the trip to Canterlot was amazing! The city is so pretty when it's covered in snow, and me and Rarity went to a concert and I got to sing up on stage!"
Apple Bloom nodded, and smiled wide. "Yeah, an' when you came over, Ah cain't believe how much fun it was to bake cookies and go running 'round the Acres!"
"I totally beat you in that race," Sweetie Belle defended, with a bit of a shy smirk.
"That's whatcha like t' think," the earth pony filly countered. "Ah mighta let you win."
With a playful roll of her eyes, the little unicorn gave a small wave of her hoof. "That all sure was fun, but I still can't believe that-" She was interrupted just as the bell rang. "Aww, man, we're going to have talk later." A moment of silence passed, but Cheerilee still didn't start the lesson, thus allowing every little pony to continue talking amongst one another. "Anyway, it's a shame you couldn't have been there with us, Scootaloo - it just wasn't the same without you. Did you have fun by yourself, though?"
"Aw, you guys, I wasn't totally alone," Scootaloo pointed out. "I had my own family, y'know. Rainbow Dash and I played some hoofball with Spike and Shining Armor, and we beat 'em by a landslide, I found out I'm getting a cousin, we all got to go see a private Wonderbolts show, and Twilight kinda passed out by the end of the night." She let out a chuckle, and slightly smirked. "She was a little too relieved on how smooth everything went."
"Ah'm almost a bit jealous," Apple Bloom chuckled.
"Meh, don't be," Scootaloo said simply. "It was just like any other Thanksgiving, really."
And now, the entire class was suddenly shushed down, the three friends - all nodding together, making a pact to continue their conversation later, each one of them buzzing with more to talk about.
"Alright, my little ponies," Cheerilee chimed, with a smile. "I hope you all have your essays ready, because I'm going to collect them now."
Beginning to pace up and down the rows of desks, the teacher fetched copies of papers from each student, scanning over each one quickly and taking in little details, giving a bit of an expression towards each one.
Finally, she arrived at the final row, taking the last of the essays.
Diamond Tiara's caused her to raise an eyebrow, Twist's made her expression fall, Apple Bloom's summoned a small smile, and when Cheerilee was given Scootaloo's two-page essay, the only lengthy essay in the class, she stopped, actually standing still and taking a moment to read over it.
After a minute, she looked down to the little pegasus and smiled wide - a sort of irreplaceable smile, one that she didn't give to any of the other students.
...Scootaloo could only wonder what it meant.
The school day dragged along - with various lessons keeping the foals both entranced and bored, with their minds still focused somewhat on the holiday break, along with other rubbish chatter.
Still, the end came, and the bell rang, finally dismissing the class.
Fillies and colts filed out in droves, all anxious for the warmth of their homes and back to their families.
However, just as she was about to depart with her friends, Scootaloo was stopped by her teacher before she could exit the classroom. Her friends had assured that it couldn't have been anything bad, but it still didn't prevent the little filly from slightly worrying.
She was playing outside - on the swings, until she saw her two adoptive mothers approach the schoolhouse, looking to her to the teacher and back.
Scootaloo just stood back and watched.
"Your Highness?" Cheerilee said, turning to Twilight. "I'd like to talk with you, and Rainbow Dash, if that's alright."
Twilight gave a bashful smile and a small wave of her hoof. "You don't need to call me that," she assured. "But, of course, if there's something we need to know, then please, tell us."
"Alright then," the teacher replied, as she led the Princess and the Wonderbolt into the small classroom. "It's about Scootaloo." Cheerilee took note of the confused expressions both mares had and backtracked on her words. "Oh, don't worry, it's nothing bad. In fact, it's the exact opposite. She's overcoming her dyslexia and her grades in Math and Reading are exceptional as compared to what they used to be. She's not arguing with the bullies on the playground anymore, and she's altogether a wonderful student."
Relieved, Twilight gave a proud grin. "I'm glad to know," she murmured. "You had me worried for a minute there."
"That's our Scoots, though," Rainbow Dash chuckled. "She's a fighter."
"I actually wanted to talk to you about the essay she submitted for an assignment we had over the holiday," Cheerilee explained. "It ... baffled me, to be honest."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up," the Wonderbolt interrupted. "Is it 'cause me and Twi are raising her?"
The teacher shook her head, and gave an assuring smile. "Oh-no, not at all!" she responded. "Trust me, I'm completely fine with that. Scootaloo isn't my only student with two parents of the same gender, really. I was actually astonished to the fact that it was one of the best essays in the class. It was very heartfelt, and meaningful. It really embraced what the holiday is about, and I was hoping that somepony would get it." Cheerilee smiled and slid the paper across the table.
It had a big red A plus in the top right corner.
"I would say that you two have given that little filly indescribable joy," she explained, with a priceless grin. "It's good to know that she finally found light at the end of the tunnel."
"Thank you," Twilight murmured, as she too felt a wide smile spread across her expression.
Cheerilee slipped the essay back into a manila folder and held it out to the alicorn. "That was all," she said simply. "I just figured you would want to hear that face-to-face, rather than just a comment on a paper."
"We appreciate it," the Element of Magic said as she took the folder, slipping it in her saddlebags.
Exiting the schoolhouse, both mares couldn't help but smile wide, and even hold back tears of joy, as they felt their hearts soar and lift in happiness, almost as if they were walking on sunshine.
"Come on, Scootaloo," Twilight called to her adoptive daughter. "We can go now."
Dashing over to her mothers, the little pegasus filly gave an anxious smile. "I'm not in trouble, am I?" she asked nervously.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, and wrapped one of her wings around Scootaloo, smiling down at her. "The exact opposite," she declared. "Hey, kid, did we ever tell you how awesome it is to have you for a daughter?"
With a bashful smile, the little filly nodded. "Yeah," she said sheepishly. "You both tell me everyday... and it's really awesome to have you two as moms."
"Well then," Dash chuckled. "I gotta go practice my flying at the Wonderbolts arena - wanna come watch me? Maybe afterwards, we could all go out for ice cream."
"Yeah!" Scootaloo beamed, buzzing her little wings excitedly. "I'd love to do that!"
"Alright then," the pegasus mare replied, with a chuckle as she lightly nuzzled the filly affectionately.
With that said, Scootaloo began running ahead of her parents excitedly.
...and as they watched the little filly, Twilight and Rainbow both silently thanked all of the possibilities in life - destiny, fate, miracles, whatever it was called, because not only did Scootaloo's life change a few months back, but so did theirs.
And they wouldn't dare change a thing.
~la fin~
Author's Note
Happy Thanksgiving, you guys :). Try to remember that the holiday is more than food, ok? Even if it's delicious, just promise me that you'll all remember the true meaning - to be thankful.
All inspiration goes to Little Wonders by Rob Thomas.
I hope you all enjoyed ^_^ Please like, comment, fave, upvote, recommend to your friends and all of that jazz.
