Apple Family Values

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Treehouse Blues
Chapter 2 - Scraping Out the Bruises
Chapter 3 - New Family, Old Problems
Chapter 4 - Family History
Chapter 5 - Albums
Chapter 6 - Cider Season
Chapter 7 - All We Need to Strive to Be

Chapter 1 - Treehouse Blues

~~~~~The Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse~~~~~

“Bye Applebloom! Bye Sweetie Belle! Seeya tomorrow!”

Scootaloo waved, feeling a warmth in her chest as her two best friends in the whole world trotted off into the distance, feeling the smile on her face fade only a little as they ran out of sight. Ran toward their homes, their sisters, and all the luxuries therein. Sometimes, Scootaloo felt a little jealous of them - but only sometimes. Rainbow Dash had told her that jealousy was a lame thing to feel, and that cool fillies were thankful for the things they had.

To be honest, Scootaloo was actually pretty darned thankful for the things she had nowadays. The clubhouse was almost as good as an actual house in Ponyville, complete with a little stove to keep the place warm in the winter and to cook the occasional snack. Throw in a goodly supply of thick pillows and blankets brought in by the Crusaders after any number of other adventurers, and building a warm bed in even the toughest weather was foal’s play.

There was a swift and clean river not more than a ten minute walk away from the clubhouse to get clean water, and even a flightless filly like Scootaloo could get herself dry after bathing by blazing down the road on her scooter. She never lacked for things to do with her friends, and Rainbow Dash was working with her almost every other day to get her wing strength up. In comparison to what she’d been stuck doing before she met the Crusaders, life was well and truly good.

Okay, sure she had to go and filch food from the various vendors and farmers around town. And yeah, it kinda sucked around Hearth’s Warming Eve when everypony else was getting gifts from their families and staying tucked up inside their homes with their hot cocoas and stuff… but Scootaloo had been living with those things for as long as she could remember, and there was no point whining about stuff she couldn’t change. She sure as Tartarus wasn’t going back to that stupid orphanage with their stupid whiny little foals, drafty home or no drafty home.

But it wasn’t winter. It was the height of summer. As Celestia’s Sun began to dip low toward the horizon, it was time for her to go out and find her dinner for the night. Scootaloo carefully tucked her scooter over her shoulder and scrambled down the ladder that lead up to the clubhouse. Once ground bound, she pulled on her helmet and pulled her little goody bag out from its hiding place at the base of the tree.

Within the bag were what few tools she wielded in her eternal quest for eats. A thin coil of rope with a makeshift grapnel hook, little wooden containers with screw tops to hold liquid foods, and a set of lockpicks left to her by her mother. They, a single hoof-made pillow, and the tiny copper locket containing the only picture she’d ever had of her parent was all that remained of that which Mom had left her with some five years ago. The rest was still locked up in the stupid orphanage, and she still hadn’t figured out how to break it free yet. Though after losing Mom, she hadn't exactly been focused on holding on to material goods.

Scootaloo had only been eight years old at the time - just barely old enough to read and write, not even close to old enough to understand what ‘death’ meant. But Mom had been sick with something pretty bad, and there was nopony else who could take Scootaloo in. Professional thieves didn’t normally have a lot of ponies they could leave their kids with. So to the orphanage she had gone... and gone right back out again, in a style she was sure Mom would have been proud of. Scootaloo kissed the little locket which she kept hidden beneath her fur for good luck and buzzed up her wings to speed off into the night.

The food wasn’t going to wait for her to stop acting like a silly filly.

~~~~~~

Scootaloo’s first stop was always Sugarcube Corner - and not because she enjoyed stealing from the Cakes, but because Pinkie Pie was the only pony in town who knew Scootaloo’s story and was inclined to share the day-olds with Scootaloo rather than just eat them all herself. Sure enough, the Pink Party Pony was waiting by the back door with a neatly taped up white box and a big smile on her face.

Scootaloo might often express a lot of exasperation at Pinkie’s antics - heck, everypony in town did at some point - but they understood each other. Scoots didn’t expect Pinkie to be super-happy all the time, and Pinkie knew not to tell anyone about Scootaloo’s situation. They could hang out, talk a little, and both of them could decompress from another day hiding their inner selves from everypony else.

Pinkie waved at her lazily. “Heyla, Scooter-Roo,” Pinkie said with a soft little giggle as Scootaloo pulled to a stop in front of her. “Got some cinnamon spice muffins and a slightly stale loaf of banana nut bread.” Pinkie winked at her, plopping down to sit by the door and producing from seemingly nowhere a pair of glistening vanilla cupcakes with bright yellow frosting. “Annnnd a little treat to share with my bestest buddy.”

Scootaloo grinned and accepted the sugary snack - hopping off her scooter to sit next to her. “Thanks Pinkie. Long day today?” Scootaloo’s tongue darted out to savor the deep sweetness of the Cake’s signature frosting, delicately nibbling at the velvety cupcake. Pinkie didn’t often bring out the real moneymakers of the bakery, but when she did it was like a little holiday for them both.

Pinkie nodded, having long since inhaled her own cupcake - she was used to such treats, but knew Scootaloo always took her time with them. “Yeah, I’m absolutely Pinkie pooped out.” She sighed heavily, leaning against the back wall of the bakery and closing her eyes. “Ever since Twi got her wings, its been as crazy as an Everfree fruitbasket! I’ll actually be kinda happy when things die down again.” A slight smile split her face then, and Scootaloo had to chuckle. Tired or not, Pinkie was never happier when she had plenty of parties to plan.

Scootaloo lapped at her lips as she realized her cupcake was already gone - only the faint taste of vanilla and sugar as a sweet memory. Still, she couldn’t help but be a little worried for her friend. “You gonna be okay, Pinkie?” Scoots said with a quiet concern, giving Pinkie’s shoulder a friendly little punch with her hoof. “You’re not gonna fall apart on me again, are ya?”

Pinkie gave off a soft giggle and shook her head. “Nah, but I really oughta get some sleepy time if I don’t want to be too tired to take care of the twins tomorrow.” She reached out a pink limb and gave Scoots a rough little hug around the shoulder then stood up. “Be safe out there tonight, Scoots. I’ve been getting flicky ears lately.” Pinkie frowned a little, peering out into the growing shadows of the evening. “That always means something big is gonna happen.”

Scootaloo shook her head ruefully and mounted her scooter, smiling a little at her weird friend. No one smart dismissed the Pinkie Sense, but big events? Those just didn’t happen to her. “I will be, Pinkie. Thanks for the treats!” She waved and buzzed up her wings - the market would be wrapping up soon, and that was the very best time to score some easy eats.

“Bye Scoots!” Pinkie called after her as she began to pick up speed. “Remember! Flicky ears!” came a much louder call, and Scootaloo snorted a little in laughter. Oh well. No matter what big things happened in Equestria, Pinkie Pie was always gonna be Pinkie Pie.

~~~~~

Even late in the evening, the Ponyville market was bustling with business. The local shop keepers and industrial workers who ran the wood mill, along with other local artisans just quitting for the day, plied the evening market for groceries, last minute additions to dinner, or a special treat to celebrate a good day. Even if the produce wasn’t exactly as lush and perfect as it was during the day market, the night market also offered a wide array of other exotic and specialty goods that were otherwise unavailable during the day. Someponies had weird ideas as to what was, and what wasn't, appropriate for foals to see being sold.

For Scootaloo, this meant that the night market was a prime target for her special brand of snatch and grab. The ponies here were almost always more tired than the ones during the day, and the vendors more inclined to not be watching their goods quite as sharply. Grabbing a few things, especially those at the forgotten ends of the stall was a cinch for someone of her size and speed.

A cup of oats from the Quaker’s stall, a little bundle of baby carrots from Golden Harvest, a peck of mushrooms from that spooky batpony that had moved into town last month, and - much to Scoot’s surprise - a one hundred percent legit half-bottle of milk donated by Milky Way. She hadn’t wanted it to go to waste, and Scoots had promised to use it immediately. That meant tomorrow morning would be an occasion to use a little of her carefully horded supply of salt and sugar to make up a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.

The thought of her oaty treat brought a smile to her face as she banked a turn through the marketplace while staying focused on her task. She had a good dinner in the carrots and mushrooms, and breakfast and lunch covered too. But you could never tell when opportunity would strike. Especially for stuff that would store okay for a couple of days like cheese and bread, or dried beans and root veggies.

The thought of root veggies conjured up the sight of some good looking potatoes just hanging out on an empty stall - and Scootaloo grinned brightly as she turned up the speed. She’d do a driveby on this one, given that the rest of the market was closing up and she didn’t want to stick around much longer than was necessary. Little fillies found wandering around town after full dark got the attention of the town guard, and that would lead to questions Scoots really didn’t want to answer… or waste time with.

So she did one of her favorite moves - a full speed drive by, her hoof scooping the dozen or so thick spuds into her half-open goody bag, and then she was gone. She lost a couple spuds in the act, but most of them tumbled into her bag with a satisfying thump of weight as she sped off out of the market with a triumphant giggle. It was moments like these that she didn’t so much mind her thieving ways - when she had a terrific, profitable day that would keep her in tasty food for a good few days to come.

Of course, life was never ever that easy for Scootaloo.

She took her eyes off the road for just a few short seconds to check the side alleys for less-than-reputable ponies who might try to give her a problem. And in that moment, she felt her front wheel impact with something solid that really shouldn’t have been in the middle of the road - a cart. By the time she realized exactly what had happened, she was laying in the middle of the road with her groceries scattered all over the place and a feeling of ache in every bone of her body. She looked up blearily at the golden yellow sky before sunset and proclaimed quietly, “Ow.”

“Tarnation! Are you alright, Scootaloo?!” the unmistakable voice of Applejack sang into her ringing ears, causing her to wince as those big green eyes and thatch of unruly blonde mane swam into view. “Oh, ponyfeathers! I didn’t even see ya comin’ down the street.” A hoof took her shoulder and gave her a little shake, causing Scootaloo to let out a little moan of recognition as she tried to organize her scrambled thoughts. Fortunately, nothing felt badly hurt - but she had taken quite a tumble and…

“My milk!” she exclaimed, her eyes shooting open wide and her body reflexively trying to sit up. Sadly, her body was not prepared for such exertion this close to her battering, and every nerve screamed out in pain for a moment as she reflexively sat up. Scootaloo bit down the urge to cry, forcing the tears and screams back down her throat with pure willpower before letting out a gasp of air. Her eyes darted across the road and latched onto the glass bottle… miraculously, still intact.

Applejack’s hoof pressed into her shoulder. “Hold yer horses, sugarcube - your foodstuffs’re jes’ fine. You took quite the fall there - you sure you’re okay?” Applejack’s gaze was gentle and soft, and her voice thick with real concern. Scootaloo winced a little and rotated her wings, then all four limbs. She was bruised up - probably - and she’d ache really badly tomorrow, but nothing was sprained or pulled. Her helmet was gonna need some repairs though. The metal of the helmet was all dented where she’d impacted the ground, and once again she was thankful for the safety precaution.

But Applejack was still looming there, all motherly and sisterly and stuff and Scootaloo shook her head. “Yeah, thanks Applejack. I’m fine. Just gotta hurry home before dark.” She hopped up to her hooves and quickly collected her things - all of which were none the worse for wear after her tumble. Her scooter was a little dinged up and the handle was loose, but she could fix that back at the treehouse. She winced again as she hopped onto the thing, giving her wings a slower buzz to make sure they were really okay, then smiled tentatively at the elder Apple sister.

Applejack nodded. “Well alright. You git on home now, and stay safe.” There was - as there had often been - a note of disbelief in Applejack’s voice whenever Scootaloo talked about having to hurry home. But she never pursued it, so Scootaloo was content to let her think whatever she wanted to think. She waved again, and quickly took off down the road - banking down a side alley so Applejack wouldn’t see that Scootaloo’s route took her straight toward Sweet Apple Acres.

~~~~~

The world had dipped into darkness by the time Scootaloo reached the treehouse and got her things back up inside. Luna’s Moon was big, bright, and beautiful tonight - and so Scootaloo munched contentedly on one of the carrots while she watched it slowly soar into the sky. Better than anypony, she knew that Luna watched over the dreams of all the ponies in Equestria and often wondered if she kept the secrets that she might have learned in those dreams.

If asked, Scootaloo would have frankly told just about anypony how things weren’t all sweetness and light in the world. No matter what the hoity-toity unicorns of Canterlot or the oblivious farmers of Ponyville might think, she wasn’t the only foal out here on the streets making her way. Truthfully, there were only two or three others in Ponyville like her - fillies and colts who had left behind the orphanage to strike out on their own. It was a really small town, so wayward kids didn’t go unnoticed for long. Just those who had the skills to stay out of Valiant Struggle’s eyesight and away from the busybody flower sisters.

She grabbed another carrot and munched on it happily, content with her place in the world. She wouldn’t be a young filly forever, and as soon as she could get into the sky and start really flying, she could start working on her pegasus skills. Her goal, of course, was the Wonderbolts - just like Rainbow Dash was going to be pretty dang soon. But Scootaloo, after everything that had happened in her life, was practical enough to know not to give herself too many dreams.

It wouldn’t take very long after getting airborne that she could find a real job and support herself with real bits. Probably working for the weather team doing rainstorm wrangling, since there were never enough ponies willing to do the miserable and wet job. Or, if she so fancied and her skills proved to be good enough, she might just pick up where Mom had left off and become a professional thief. She had certainly learned a lot about how to be sneaky and plan a caper during her time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

But that was at least a couple of years away. For now, she would enjoy being a little filly as much as somepony in her place could. The carrot-sticks soon ran out, and the mushrooms were nothing more than a hearty memory shortly after. Even gently sweet as the carrots had been, Scootaloo needed something much sweeter to make up for the fact that tomorrow morning was gonna be totally miserable after her crash. Then a thought hit her, and she smiled slowly. Applejack’s cart had caused that crash - at least, in her mind it had - and what better way to get repayment than to go filch a couple of fresh apples from the trees?

A quick plan in her mind, Scootaloo rolled up to her feet and once again clambered down the ladder to the ground - trying to repress the winces at her bruised body moving in ways it probably shouldn’t have been moving. She didn’t need her scooter for this - Sweet Apple Acres was a very short walk. And even at night when dark creatures roamed the lands out of the Everfree forest, not one of them dared trespass in Apple Family lands. Not after the last group of creatures that had - that pack of Timberwolves a while back - gotten thoroughly stomped by Twilight and her friends.

Trotting through the trees in the dark should have been a scary and unnerving experience, but for Scootaloo, this was her home, and she wasn’t about to get all scared of her home being a little spooky after dark. Besides, Luna’s moon gave off more than enough light to make traversing the trees of Sweet Apple Acres a much more manageable prospect. She did a little hop over a particularly big route as she made her way to the outermost tress of the western orchards.

Here, she could see the dull shine of the bright red fruits of the farm already ripening to perfection. Best of all, out here on the edge of the orchard, a few missing fruits were considered expected rather than suspicious. Bears, bunnies, and even the occasional raccoon had been known to sneak onto the farm to filch one of the famous fruits. Scootaloo paused and had to grin at the alliteration in her head. Filching famous fruits from the farm, for fun and feeding. Heh.

She shook the laughter out of her head and eyeballed a nearby tree - her personal favorite for grabbing fruit, due to the way the bark had formed into surprisingly superb hoof holds. Climbing up the thing, even in her bruised and pained form, was as easy as drinking water out of a stream. Within moments, she’d selected a pair of large and excellent looking apples, tucked them into her goody bag, and proceeded back down to the ground with a jaunty little hum.

Which was, of course, the exact moment when the disaster happened.

A rustling sound came out of the stand of trees further in, and Scootaloo felt a thrill of fear and worry race up her spine. “Who’s out thar?” came an indistinct voice from the same direction, and the sound of hooves hitting the soft ground was enough to set her to scrambling out of the orchards and back towards the treehouse. One of the Apple Clan must’ve been out patrolling the orchards tonight! Just her bucking luck they’d be out in the western orchards at this bloody hour!

Scootaloo knew without any doubt that if she was caught by the Apple Clan, that would be that for her cozy and comfortable way of life. They’d ship her flank back to the orphanage lickity split, where all of her comfortable things and personal property would be instantly confiscated to be held until she ‘grew up’ which for all she knew meant never. They’d keep her on lockdown outside of school hours and feed her pease porridge for every bucking meal, with fresh produce only whenever somepony remembered to give a donation to help keep the place running.

Scoots had put up with that life for exactly three months before she’d run away from it - pausing only to break out a few of the hidden items she could from the orphanage’s storage rooms. She wasn’t going back there if she had anything to say about it, even if she had to do something desperate. So she ran with all the fury and strength in her body, glad for the goody bag to hold the precious apples. Hopefully - with her small size and scampering retreat - whoever was out there wouldn’t think twice about the shadow running away from them.

Moments later, she was at the Clubhouse and quickly scrambled up the ladder - rolling it back up and securing it before ducking inside and half slamming the door behind her. Her breathing came in swift and hard, burning her lungs with the effort required to keep the breathing as quiet as she could.

But when no one burst into the clubhouse after a few tense minutes, she exhaled deeply and sank down to the floor next to the door, clutching her limbs around her torso closely. That had been far, far too close. She would need to stay carefully mewed up in here for a couple of days and only go out and come in when she could do so unnoticed. The apples themselves were quickly retrieved from her goody bag, and she bit into them with great enthusiasm.

The explosion of sweet juice and firm flesh in her mouth was one of the few true pleasures Scootaloo regularly indulged in. The taste of them reminded her of the few fuzzy years she could remember with Mom - of the baked apples and cinnamon Mom would make for her birthday, since more refined sweets had been well outside of their income. Even now she could still faintly taste the treats, somewhere in the back of her mind.

Scootaloo tried really, really hard not to cry in public. In fact, she tried hard not to show any emotion other than brash overconfidence and a fierce love for her friends in public. But in the middle of the night, when nopony else was watching or could hear her sobs, she let herself shed a few tears for her Mom. She let herself feel all the anger and sadness when she saw other ponies - especially Applebloom and Sweetie Belle and all the rest of them - doing things with their parents or attending the Sisterhooves Social.

They weren’t good emotions, and she knew it. But she couldn’t bottle them up forever, and this was the best time to just let them out. Through the tears, she washed her face in the cool water of a little wooden basin she kept around for this sort of thing and carefully fluffed out her young feathers to make sure nothing was out of place. Through the emptiness of the night, she carefully piled up the sitting cushions and untangled a light sheet from a pile of them to cover herself up.

Carefully, she locked the clubhouse door with a well placed wooden bar across it and curled up into her little nest in the corner - well hidden from any casual glance through the windows - and drifted off slowly into sleep, clutching a small hoof-stitched pillow as close to her as she could manage. It still smelled like soft flowers and spicy cinnamon, just like Mom had, and just like always, the smell made it much easier for the tears to subside and sleep to whisk her away to Luna’s realms.

~~~~~~~

Sunlight shone through the little windows of the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse, and before long was shining a warm and bright light upon the curled up filly in the corner. Scootaloo felt herself dragged from the land of vague dreams and worlds of softness and light and back into the hard world of the living for another glorious day in Equestria.

But unlike every morning before this one, where she’d awoken in the empty clubhouse and carefully ensured no trace of her stay the night before remained, this morning had one very big difference to it. Sitting on a cushion and watching her with sad and deeply concerned eyes, Applejack awaited her in the middle of the room. The apple cores of her previous night’s snack were laying nearby, browned from their exposure to the air.

Scootaloo might have panicked, if she thought that panic would have done her any good. Instead, she just swallowed deeply and slowly pulled herself up from the pillows. She didn’t know what to say - or even how to react to this. The thoughts in her mind were running far too quickly along the lines of how Applejack had gotten into the clubhouse… and worse still, how she had managed to catch Scootaloo here.

But amidst all those running thoughts, Applejack’s quiet voice cut through them like a hot knife through cold butter. “I think ya’d better tell me why you’ve been livin’ in this treehouse for the past coupla’ moons, Scootaloo.”

Author's Note

Updates will come every day until complete.

Chapter 2 - Scraping Out the Bruises

~~~~~Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse~~~~~

Scootaloo sat miserably in front of Applejack, knowing that fleeing for her life at this point would only result in her having even less than she'd had when she started out. Lying to Applejack was one of those things that was just plain impossible, and she knew it. The elder Apple sister had some kind of supernatural sense for when ponies lied to her, or at least when they lied outright. And trying to hide things from her frequently didn't end well for anypony involved. So... she'd told her the truth. Well. Most of it. Nopony needed to know about her mom or the things she'd done to keep them fed and alive.

She'd told her about how Mom had gotten sick, and there'd been nopony to take care of her. No other family, Dad.... heck, Scootaloo didn't even know who her dad was, let alone where he'd gotten off to. How she'd hated things in the orphanage, how she'd broken out and lived on the streets for a while until she'd met up with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle a few years back. How she'd been living in the clubhouse since they built it, and how she got by. Applejack's frown had gotten really deep at the mention of her filching food, but she really didn't much care. She needed to eat, she had no money, so stealing it had to be. No one was going to give her charity without asking why she wasn't in the orphanage, and she was one hundred per-cent not going back there.

With her story told, Applejack had fallen into silence for a few minutes - which brought her to where she was now. Hungry and scared, worried that the sweet doss she'd put together here was about to be taken away from her because of one stupid night. Oh, she was certain she could evade Applejack and get back into a routine of sleeping here eventually, but that would take time, and Scootaloo really didn't want to have to come up with somewhere new to sleep while Applejack's memories of this faded away like they did with everypony else. No one liked to think of the tragedies of an orphan in Equestria, and as soon as they could ignore those tragedies, they did so.

But Applejack was being surprisingly quiet right now. So quiet that Scootaloo was beginning to worry that she was going to try to ship her back off to the Orphanage anyway, and that would mean abandoning her best friends, at least for a while. She had expected a lecture from Applejack about honesty and stealing, or maybe a stern talking to about stealing from her specifically... but not this odd, quiet reserve. In fact, Applejack looked like she was wrestling with some internal argument, with Scootaloo as the prime subject. For several long minutes, there was quiet and then...

Applejack's head came up and she nodded firmly - as though finally coming to a decision. "Right. C'mon, Scootaloo - I got some ponies I need t' talk to first, but..." Her frown turned up into the faintest of smiles. "I won't send ya back t' the poor house if ya really can't stand bein' there. Somethin's gotta change though." Scootaloo couldn't help it - she stared in astonishment at Applejack for a moment, then felt her heart flush with just a little happiness. Twilight and all of her friends really were good ponies. She'd probably have to do some chores on the farm to pay for the apples... and Scootaloo was pretty okay with that. She'd keep her new home, her friends, and she could figure out new plans for getting apples. Maybe she could work out a deal with Big Macintosh or somethin'....

Whatever the plan would be, she followed Applejack with an aching body down to the ground, wincing as she stretched out sore muscles. The next few days were going to be a giant pain, but she'd work through it. It wasn't as though she hadn't had worse crashes. At least this time she hadn't broken anything. Applejack shot her a concerned look again, and she waved it off. "Consequences of being awesome, Applejack," Scoots quipped to her with a roguish grin. Applejack actually gave off a soft laugh at her near-perfect parody of one of Rainbow Dash's more famous last words. "Seriously though, I've had worse. Not gonna bellyache over a little crash like that." Scootaloo kept her voice stout and confident, because the last thing she needed was somepony's pity.

Applejack shook her head again, that blonde ponytail swaying as she did so. "Well, allright. If'n ya say so, Scootaloo." And they were off through the apple orchards, with Scootaloo rather painfully aware that she had missed breakfast. She had hopes that her little supply of milk would be okay by the time she got back, but she wasn't going to hold her breath on that one. The long walk wasn't going to help that much given how much she was aching but.... well, the best way to work off an ache was to do just that, work it off. So she kept on walking, keeping her wincing to a minimum and trying to plot how best to deal with the need for food, since Applejack undoubtedly was going to try to put a stop to it. Maybe she could start shoplifting at Barnyard Bargains....

~~~~~~

The Apple Family House was, like many farmhouses, both large and extremely functional. But unlike many other farmhouses, the place also held a deep warmth and love that suffused the very walls. Every flat surface held a photograph or painted picture of the former and current occupants. Every corner of the rooms was packed with country hoof made furniture or other farm tools needed to do day to day work. The smell of cinnamon was baked into the walls, and other decor was strewn about with no regard for conventional rules of home-furnishing.

It was, in short, the most homey place in the entire known world as far as Scootaloo was concerned. No guest ever left without a nip of Apple Family liquor or a bite to eat straight from Granny Smith's hooves. That meant that Scootaloo found herself sitting in front of a bowl of thick oatmeal with a drizzle of maple syrup and a cold glass of apple juice to wash it down. "Now tuck int'a that youngin'. Yer gonna be coolin' yer hooves for a while," Granny Smith said with a twinkle of mischief in her eye. "An’ if yer good, I might see my way t' sneaking you a slice of pie," she commented before whisking off to some other chore.

Scootaloo eyeballed the warm, rich food... and shrugged her shoulders with a smile before carefully picking up the spoon and digging into it. As with all of Granny Smith's cooking, it tasted absolutely divine, and Scootaloo had to admit that she made a way better bowl of oatmeal than she herself did. So she savored every bite, but didn't linger too long over it - she didn't want it going cold on her, after all.

Halfway through the bowl, the front door opened, and she could hear the clatter of hooves and voices. "Applejack, what's going on that you needed to talk to me so urgently?" came the voice of Twilight Sparkle. There were more than just one pony's worth of hooves though, and...

"Yeah, AJ, what's the big deal? I've got cloud-wrangling to do today, and I wanna get it done before lunch..." grumbled the unmistakable voice of Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo damn near forgot about her sweet and oaty treat. The very last pony in all the world she wanted to know about her situation was about to find out all of the gory details, and it would undoubtedly not end well for their budding relationship. Only the alluring sweetness of the maple syrup tempted Scootaloo into finishing it, and the knowledge that she didn't often get a chance at such a warm and filling meal.

When the oatmeal was nothing more than a sweet memory, Scootaloo tried not to let misery overtake her. Once Dash and Twilight knew, it was inevitable that the entire town would soon know. That would mean a whole lot of kind, but utterly unwelcome attention on her and her life. Even if somehow they kept her out of the orphanage... which, come to think of it, might be why Twilight Sparkle was here, since being a princess meant you could get away with a lot of rule breaking. Even then, the town’s ponies would never treat her the same again. And undoubtedly, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara would make her life at school an utter nightmare after they found out she didn't have any parents.

She stretched out her ears, trying desperately to catch a hint of the conversation - snatches of words echoing down the halls as she kept herself really quiet. "... Don't think there's a legal issue, but I'd have to ask Princess Celestia..." That was Twilight, and the words were utterly incomprehensible to Scoots. Legal issues? "... Didn't tell me anything, AJ. I swear. I'd always wondered why she wouldn't talk about her folks... " That was Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo felt her cheeks flush with a little shame.

But any hope of hearing further words was shattered by the door bouncing open and another clatter of hooves coming in, followed by two sets of them entering the kitchen... Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. They both wore mirrored looks of sympathy and sadness upon their faces as more voices moved into the living room. "Darling, what is all this ruckus that Big Macintosh is going on about?" That was Rarity, of course. Her voice was as unmistakable as anypony's in town.

But Scootaloo's focus was on her fellow Crusaders, both of whom trotted up to the breakfast table and hopped up onto other chairs. Applebloom spoke first, with Sweetie looking like she wasn't sure what to say. "Why didn't ya tell us, Scoots? Ya know we can keep a secret." Applebloom's question was quiet and pleading, but she also sounded like she already knew the answer.

Scootaloo looked away and sighed softly. "I didn't want you two to think of me any differently. It's not a big deal really, everypony gets through life differently." But even as she said it, she wished she could have found the courage to tell them earlier. They were more than her best friends - they were the closest thing she'd had to a family after Mom had died.

Then a hoof smacked her upside the head, followed by the unmistakable sweet lemon scent of Sweetie Belle hugging her around the neck roughly and muttering softly. "You're such an idiot, Scootaloo." The words were harsh, but there was no anger in them. "We wouldn't ever treat you weird because you were different, and you shoulda known that. Stupid." Sweetie smacked her again and went back to hugging her tightly.

Applebloom joined in the hug a moment later, the sweet smell of fresh apples joining in the show of love and caring. "Yeah, Scoots. We're yer friends, and we'll never leave ya hangin' no matter what. Cutie Mark Crusaders stick together!" Her voice piped up to its higher registers, and the sound of her boundless enthusiasm made Scootaloo give off one of her best gross-out faces... just to keep her hoof in, though. So she smiled a moment later to try and make up for it.

Scoots reached her hooves around and pulled her best friends in close and closed her eyes, soaking up the affection. "Sorry, girls. I guess I just wasn't thinking," she murmured quietly, and tried her best to return the hug. Someponies might think she'd been given a raw deal in life. With Sweetie Belle and Applebloom though, Scootaloo knew better.

A few moments later, the hug broke up and the three of them all gave off a little giggle together. Scootaloo didn't know what the adults were discussing, but with the company of her best friends, Scootaloo simply decided that the best thing she could do was just wait and see what would happen next. Twilight left and returned with Spike shortly after she'd finished breakfast and locked herself up with the other adults in the living room. The three fillies made the time pass by plotting their next adventures to get their cutie marks - this time centered around trying to help Scoots improve her life. The girls wanted to rig up some kind of water system for the Clubhouse and maybe build her a proper bed to sleep in - for plumbers and furniture makers, of course. Just the thought of that made Scootaloo blush horribly and mutter something about not wanting to cause trouble.

Thankfully, such planning came to a halt around lunchtime as Granny Smith put together some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and Rarity stopped in to the kitchen - probably to check up on Sweetie Belle. But... well, something odd was definitely going on. Rarity had always been pretty short with Scootaloo given that Scoots was a very physically active filly, and she liked to keep her shop organized and under her complete control. But today...

Rarity swept regally into the kitchen and paused only to accept a neat triangle of sandwich from an amused Granny Smith before primly taking her seat at the table. "How are you girls holding up in here? I know we've been awfully close-mouthed, but Twilight has insisted." She gave a disdainful little sniff and bent her wickedly sharp gaze on Scootaloo. Scoots was certain she was going to get a talking-to for interrupting Rarity's busy day as she so often had before, but instead... "Darling... I know it is none of my business, but truly. Why did you not come speak to one of us about this? Surely you know by now that we all care for you, even if you can be a little... over-enthusiastic sometimes," Rarity said, her voice gentle with a tone she almost never took with Scootaloo, and one that quite shocked her with it's obvious sincerity. "But even if nopony else could, I would have taken you in in a heartbeat! Anything but you having to live outside in that dreadful little tree house." Rarity sniffed again - and this time it was not from disdain, but having to hide tears. "I cannot even imagine what it must have been like to go through this all alone as you were!"

Scootaloo knew that Rarity was one more dramatic proclamation from breaking down into sobs and unstoppable tears, and that if she didn't act quickly the fashionista might do something dramatic to redress the wrongs she believed had been committed to Scootaloo. "I didn't want anypony to pity me, Rarity," she assured her, trying to reach out and take one of those absurdly well manicured hooves and pat it soothingly. "I knew how to take care of myself and didn't want to bother anypony about it. Besides, by the time I really got to know all of you, I was pretty well set up for myself." Rarity was still sniffling, but there were far fewer signs that she was going to implode with emotion anytime soon, for which Scoots was quite thankful.

Rarity shook her head, her much coiffed mane shimmering as she did so and a tremulous smile on her face. "Yes, I suppose I can understand the need to take care of oneself. Not to mention the need for independence and not wishing to be a burden upon anypony. Perhaps I have long misjudged you, Scootaloo." She wiped daintily at her eyes and gave a little harumph. "Rather more mature than I'd given you credit for being, I think. Still..." And then - to Scootaloo's total, utter shock - Rarity leaned down and gave her a little peck on the cheek, and a soft hug. "Whatever may happen Darling, there will always be a bed for you at the Boutique. All you need to do is ask." And with the same kiss and hug for Sweetie Belle, she swept out of the kitchen as regally as she'd entered it.

It took Scootaloo a few brain-frizzled moments to realize what Rarity had just told her, and another minute before she spotted the tray full of tasty sandwiches and potato crisps on the table, along with the freshly pulled glass of juice. Sweetie Belle was looking oddly pleased and Applebloom was giggling very softly. "What'n the hay just happened?" Scootaloo felt compelled to ask, absentmindedly grabbing a wedge of PB&J and giving it a firm bite - not wanting to pass up yet another rare treat for her.

Honestly, this was half the reason she didn't want anypony else finding out. Sure it was kinda flattering and really heartwarming too, but it was also sappy as all Tartarus and Scootaloo didn't do sappy. Well. She didn't do sappy most of the time. "Well I think my big sis just invited you to come live with us, Scoots," Sweetie Belle chimed in cheerfully, polishing off her first wedge of sandwich and quickly moving to the second. Scootaloo darn near dropped her sandwich at that one, and Sweetie giggled naughtily at her fumble. Rarity? Inviting her to live with her? That was Discord levels of crazy! "Aw, I think you'd like it more than you think," Sweetie teased her, and Scootaloo paused to ponder that wild thought.

Okay, so Rarity was still kinda too frou frou for Scoots' tastes, but nopony could accuse her of not being good to Sweetie Belle. Rarity had even lightened up a bit in the past year or so, ever since that Sisterhooves Social fight they'd had. And yeah, even Scoots could admit when nopony else was listening that Rarity had a lot to admire about her. She was just as determined and stubbornly dedicated to her goals as Rainbow Dash was, and when the going got tough, Rarity didn't faint and go all gooey. She got her act together and kicked some flank.

Still, she wasn't sure... "Hey Scootaloo," said Applejack, her voice cutting through Scootaloo's thought processes quite handily. Scoots blinked, registering that Twilight and Applejack were now standing in front of her in the kitchen. Twilight's saddlebags were stuffed with parchment scrolls and she looked really, really happy with herself. Applejack just looked tolerantly amused, but gone was the sadness and pity she'd been displaying earlier. Her voice was bright and cheerful as she spoke, and her eyes practically sparkled. "C'mon. We're gonna go git yer things from the clubhouse. We've figured out a fix fer your problem."

~~~~~~

It only took an hour - under the careful supervision of Twilight and Applejack - to retrieve the various caches of things she'd secreted about the clubhouse and the surrounding area. It was actually kinda surprising how many potatoes, onions, and garlic heads she'd managed to acquire, and it was very surprising to find that cache of salt she'd completely forgotten about until she went over her mental list of supply drops. Fortunately, Applejack didn't want her carrying all of the various foodstuffs with her. Something about looking like a particularly tiny hobo. Whatever a hobo was.

Instead, she focused on the few personal effects she simply couldn't do without. Her sugar and salt shakers, her mom's pillow, her scooter and repair kit, and a few other knick-knacks that she'd gathered over her many crusades. All of which were tied up in her Cutie Mark Crusader cloak and slung as a bindle over her shoulder. Scootaloo was now almost completely positive she'd be staying with Twilight, and... that kinda made sense. Twilight had enough power with the high muckity-mucks to bypass all those nasty adoption laws and just take her in directly until she grew up. No need to bother with official paperwork and such when you were a Princess. Plus, Spike was pretty cool, and even if a library wasn't where Scootaloo would usually want to spend her days, it was warm, Twilight knew how to cook, and Dash would be there almost every other day.

That was good enough for Scootaloo.

So she shouldered the heavy package and followed the two grown ponies with as much cheer as she could muster. Evening was falling once again on Equestria, and it was gonna have one beautiful sunset to go with it. Scoots smiled and enjoyed the sight of the colors shifting gorgeously on the clouds in the sky, not really paying attention to matters on the ground for now. Twilight and Applejack were talking to one another in very quiet voices, not really looking at Scootaloo. That was okay. She kinda preferred it this way for now until she could sit down all the other ponies and make it really, really clear that she didn't want this changing anything. She was still the same pony she was yesterday, screwed up life story or no screwed up life story.

Before long, they were winding their way down the path through the orchards towards the Apple house, and for a moment, Scootaloo felt a touch of wistfulness. She'd actually really come to like her little cottage in the trees, and had already resolved to build her own place in a tree when she got old enough. There was something nice about it. Not quite a cloud home... which would bring back too many bad memories. But not quite a ground-bound earth pony home. Somewhere between them, just like she usually was. Twilight's voice cut through her thoughts, surprising Scootaloo with how quickly they reached the front door. "Well... Good luck, Applejack," Twilight said with a hesitant smile. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Scootaloo was instantly confused until Applejack spoke herself - her hoof coming up to cockily adjust her hat. "Course I do, Twilight. Ain't nothin an Apple understands better'n family." There was a twinkle in her emerald-green eye, and her smile broadened into a grin. "Even better'n apples sometimes!" And that got a giggle out of both Twilight and Applejack. Twilight smiled faintly at Scootaloo and gave her a little head ruffle before trotting off down the road. Sheesh. She still isn't using those wings. I gotta get Dash on that, came Scootaloo's reflexive thought... before the reality of the situation started to settle in on her.

Before she knew what was happening, Applejack had her hoof in her own and was leading her towards the doorway. "We all had a long talk about things, Scootaloo. Tried to figger out how to do right by ya," Applejack began slowly, not wanting to rush the walk to the door apparently. "Dash wanted t' take you in, but she don't have the space or the bits to take care of a youngin' an she knows it. S'why she didn't come talk t'you today. she was feelin’ powerful ashamed that she couldn't help ya." At that, Scootaloo felt her heart contract in her chest - both with pain and with a burning happiness. Dash had wanted her around as more than just a friend.... but she couldn't do it. Scoots didn't know what to precisely think about that, but she knew she'd have to talk to Dash later about it.

But Applejack wasn't close to finished yet, either. "Twilight's busy with her princessin' duties, an' Fluttershy's got her animals. Pinkie's already got the cake twins t' worry about too. So me n' Rarity had a little palaver about things, and well... we decided it might be best if I gave this a try first." Applejack cocked an eyebrow at her, and Scootaloo stared back at her feeling awfully blank and uncertain inside. What was going on here? Wasn't she just going to bunk with one of them? Applejack was talking like....

The front door of the Apple house swung open, and gorgeous warm yellow light poured out from dozens of lit candles. Applebloom was standing in the doorway with a grin on her face fit to split it in two. She cupped her hooves around her mouth and bellowed in the happiest voice Scoots had ever heard her use, "Welcome home, big sis! Welcome home, little sis!"

Moments later, Granny Smith and Big Macintosh appeared by the doorway with broad and beaming smiles of their own. Granny Smith had a sly grin on her face as she spoke in a surprisingly strong voice. "Well dont'cha jus' stand out there, youngin's. Th' pie's gonna get cold on ya if you don't hurry yer flanks, an we can't properly celebrate a new family member with cold pie." Granny winked cheekily and hobbled off towards the kitchen, even as Scootaloo felt the dumbfounded shock slowly giving way to something else... something she couldn't quite put her hoof on.

"Eeyup," said Big Mac in his own laconic way and with a gentle and welcoming smile for Scootaloo before following in Granny's wake. Scootaloo swallowed a lump in her throat once. Twice. Three times before she could squeak out a sound, her hoof reflexively gripping onto Applejack's. Her bindle had fallen with a clatter to the stoop, and her breathing was coming rapidly enough to make her worry a little. She was having a hard, hard time trying to process what was going on but... if they hadn't just been using friendly language, that would mean...

"C'mon, then. Granny's pie ain't one to be missin’," Applejack said softly, tugging on her hoof. Her smile was more than kind... it was understanding. She reached down and shouldered Scootaloo's bindle and winked at her. Her next words like a rusted old door, swinging open to a place Scootaloo had been sure she'd never see again...

"Welcome home, Scootaloo Apple."

Chapter 3 - New Family, Old Problems

~~~~Ponyville Schoolhouse~~~~

Scootaloo was having a very hard time believing that today had been anything but a very nice dream that was just bound to end any minute. She had woken up next to Apple Bloom, but that was nothing new or unique. What had been new and unique was the morning that had followed. Big Mac had decided to call her ‘Scoots’ while Applejack and Applebloom were still calling her ‘Sis’, a word that caused her to repeatedly try to clean out her ears - certain she’d misheard them.

Breakfast had been yet more marvelous. Granny Smith’s oatmeal and clean spring water followed by the sight of Granny fixing up not one lunch box…. but two. Where Granny had found a tin Wonderbolts lunchbox on such short notice, Scootaloo did not know. But she had packed it with carrot sticks and celery, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich - crusts on, just like Scootaloo liked them. A juice box and a fresh red apple had finished stuffing the thing, and Granny had presented it to her with the kind of smile that put a grip firmly around the pegasus filly’s heart. Sweetie Belle had met them outside, and it had been off to school as though this morning was no different than the rest.

But it was so very, very different.

The comforting weight of lunch in her backpack was one she hadn’t felt in a long time - having preferred to nick her lunch on the fly at recess instead of trying to pack something. There was a solid sense of something that Scootaloo just couldn’t put her hoof on as she sped down the road on her scooter alongside Applebloom. A warmth that hadn’t been there yesterday and that confused Scoots for quite some minutes as she tried to chase down the feeling but found herself stymied.

So she shook it off and focused on the day ahead. There was no way in heck that Twilight hadn’t already been to see Ms. Cheerilee, which meant that there was no way that half the town didn’t also already know about her situation. But it doesn’t matter how rough it might make things… You’ve got a home to go back to, now. A safe place to hide that nopony can take away from you, no matter what the stupids might say. And even better, she had a backup too in case things got too hot at the Apple household. Nopony in town - not even Diamond Tiara - messed with Rarity on her own turf.

Still, it wasn’t going to be easy. There was going to be a lot of heads in need of smacking and a lot of bullies with fresh new crap to throw at her. Get your head out of the clouds, Scootaloo, she thought with one final headshake as the schoolhouse finally came into view. As always, Cheerilee met each student as they came into class. And as always, the Crusaders were amongst the first to arrive thanks to how close the Apple farm was to the schoolhouse. Unfortunately, that meant… “Scootaloo, could I have a word?” That was Ms. Cheerilee, and the emotions she was feeling couldn’t have been plainer if she’d have been holding a sign. Her eyes were teary, and she was clutching a piece of parchment to her chest like it was a winning Cloudsdale Lotto ticket.

Scootaloo sighed and nodded to her friends before hopping off the scooter and trotting it over to her teacher. And here we go… Scootaloo thought somewhat glumly as she watched Sweetie and Applebloom trot inside with sympathetic looks. “Scootaloo… I… Twilight came to see me last night and I…” It wasn’t like Ms. Cheerilee to trip over her words like that, but she was obviously pretty emotional. Like, worse than the love poison emotional. Urk.

There was only one solution to this - she had to play up the poor-me-but-i’m-tough part. An old jibe for somepony like her, but always a favorite. So she scrunched up her eyes and put on her best brave-face smile, trying to focus on the warmth and emotion that had been flooding into her life for the past day. “S’okay, Miss Cheerilee. I didn’t want anypony to know, so don’t beat yourself up over it.” The last thing she needed was Miss Cheerilee getting into a tizzy because she hadn’t caught on to things.

Cheerilee gave a little sniffle and produced as broad and proud a smile as Scootaloo had ever seen on her face. “Well, I’m afraid word’s already gotten around but… if there is anything I can do for you, Scootaloo…” she said softly, gently tousling the pegasus’ mane. “With anything about school, you let me know. I know you’re not terribly fond of learning in a classroom.” And at that, Miss Cheerilee gave off a wry grin. “Which makes a whole lot more sense now, actually. But I promise you I will work extra hard to keep things interesting and work with you to get past those issues if you’re willing to put in a little more effort.”

That was… one of the strangest things Miss Cheerilee had ever said, but Scootaloo caught on pretty fast. Cheerilee was sure Scootaloo didn’t value her education because she didn’t see it being worth her time, given her background. That wasn’t terribly far from the truth if Scoots was being honest with herself, but she really did try to pay attention. Sometimes. Still, she felt a need to try to keep things peaceful and fair between them… especially now that there might be a consequence or two to having lousy grades. “I’ll try, Miss Cheerilee,” Scootaloo said softly, and was relieved to see Miss Cheerilee’s usual chipper mood return.

Her teacher beamed at her for a moment before her features softened. “I know you’re not the kind of pony who likes others fussing over you, Scootaloo. Just… know we’re doing it because we care.” Cheerilee gently touched her shoulder for a moment before trotting into the classroom ahead of her. Scootaloo shook her head slowly and carefully parked her scooter in the shed next to the door. She’d deal with the implications of what Miss Cheerilee had said later. Right now, she had bigger problems to deal with.

Namely, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

By the time she was in her seat, Scootaloo was already formulating a plan for the day. It was Friday, which meant that there would be no school tomorrow. That would give her two whole days to come up with a strategy on how to deal with the entire town treating her like a sob story, but more importantly, it would give her time to figure out how to deal with the school bullies and whatever new insults, put downs, and abuses they might try to level at her. Whatever they had in mind, she wasn’t about to give them any satisfaction. Not today, anyway.

Sure enough, the prissy pair waltzed in mere moments before class was supposed to start and got in on their usual routine of holding everything up. As usual, Cheerilee sort of just let it all slide past - word had it that the one time she’d tried to convince their parents of their misbehavior, it had been about as effective as trying to tell Pinkie Pie to lay off the sugar. So instead, Miss Cheerilee just worked the delay into her usual morning routine by taking that time to do a quick headcount.

Scootaloo silently sighed and tried her best not to look too bored, dragging out her much-overused notebook and idly scribbling in it until Miss Cheerilee came to her name. She raised her hoof dutifully and went back to ignoring the universe spinning around her, silently counting down the seconds before they inevitably…

“Heya,” came the attempt at a conspiratorial whisper from Diamond Tiara. She was terrible at it. Scoots knew what a real secret whisper sounded like. This wasn’t going to be good. “Heard you moved in with those loony country ponies. Not sure if I’d take poor as dirt over… ha, well, poor as dirt. Even if I were you, which I’m glad I’m not.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes a little at that one as Cheerilee barely missed a beat in her morning routine while moving right on to her topic for the day: math. Money hadn’t ever really been important to her in the first place, but… Why is that line irritating me? she thought, somewhat confused. Money taunts were usually the easiest to shrug off, given how little she cared about it. But today, something was different. Applebloom shot her a worried look, and she subtly waved it off. If money was all Diamond Tiara had under her prissy hair-do today, this was gonna be easier than she thought. Of course, jerk number two had yet to chime in.

“I don’t know Diamond,” Silver Spoon added, though the sneer in her voice made it quite clear she was not talking to her friend. “At least the orphan fillies get greul. I bet she has to eat mashed up apples all the time now.” The two of them snickered, putting hooves up to their mouths as if they were trying to hide it.

Scootaloo felt her hoof twitch for a moment, and took in a deep and silent breath. That was a common tactic for them, setting it up with something lame and kicking it hard with something sharper, and she never could get used to it. But… No. I’m not going to give them the satisfaction. Cheerilee wasn’t obviously watching her, but Scootaloo was nopony’s fool. Miss Cheerilee heard and saw everything that went on in her class, no matter what someponies thought. She doesn’t just think you’re some slacker anymore, Scoots. As Rainbow Dash would say - you gotta step it up.

So she closed her eyes for a moment, tuning out the easy-peasy times tables to try to focus on the memories still fresh from last night. After a few more silent moments, she mentally braced for the next one as now that the preliminaries were over, they’d really dig into her.

“Oooooh,” Diamond drew out the weak exclamation, and Scootaloo raced through her mind to find what about her was about to come under borish comments next. “So you like living on a mud-filled, yucky farm with stupid earth ponies. If all pegasi loved the ground as much as you do, their wings would fall off. You’re worse than Fluttershy. Not good enough to live with pegasi, and can’t fly.”

“Embarrassing,” Silver Spoon chimed in. Scootaloo bit her lip for a moment to keep from making her habitual snappy comeback in spite of every instinct that screamed at her to do so. No. Not in front of… And then it hit her: why this was hurting more than it usually did. They were digging at her family. Not just her friends, both of whom could defend themselves and knew how to do so. But her family. Worse still, they were hitting one of the softest targets in town, Fluttershy, like it was some kind of tough filly thing to do. Dash wouldn’t have stood for that.

But Dash wasn’t here, and Cheerilee had discarded her usual subtlety and was watching her with enough concern to make Applebloom look positively disinterested. Any other day, she probably would have gone off on those two by now, but… Applejack doesn’t let anypony get under her skin, ever. She had a big sister now, and if she’d learned anything from hanging with the Crusaders, that meant she had a standard to live up to.

So she decided that if she couldn’t get mad at them, she’d get even. She pointedly ignored them, turning to Applebloom with a half smile. “Least I got a pair of the best sisters a filly could ask for,” she said, almost too softly to be heard, and was rewarded with a brilliant smile from Applebloom and a sly grin from Sweetie Belle. Even Miss Cheerilee seemed to like that one, segueing back into her lesson without a further glance backwards, apparently satisfied that Scootaloo could handle herself.

“Yeah? You think you’ve got great sisters?” Diamond snapped at her, the usual veneer gone. “Huh, I guess I can see why you think you’d fit in. None of you have any damn parents, so you can all mope in front of some stupid fire together.” Scootaloo’s head whipped around at that, and the sound of chalk clattering to the floor emphasized the sudden dead silence.

“Did your parents kick the bucket too?” Diamond blazed on, seemingly unaffected by the shell-shocked classroom around her. Even Silver Spoon was now edging away from her. “Probably were sick to their stomachs having to deal with a flightless pegasus. I bet they did it themselves they were so ashamed. ‘Course, that’s almost too perfect since those ass-hole Apples probably hung themselves on their own trees - ”

Scootaloo was moving before she knew what her body was doing. Training with Rainbow Dash had taught her a lot about muscle memory and instinct and how you were never faster than when you were doing something without thinking about it. She grabbed her school chair, even as she vaguely heard Miss Cheerilee saying something in the background, but she was far beyond thought now.

Her hooves braced into the ground as she threw the chair with an impossible strength, barely missing Diamond Tiara’s head as the earth pony ducked under the blow instinctually… but the chair did catch her stupid tiara, smashing it against the wall behind her along with the chair. Scootaloo herself kept moving, her peripheral vision catching the sight of Sweetie Belle tackling an enraged Applebloom to the ground as she vaulted Diamond Tiara’s desk with an agility born of years of scooter tricks and stunts.

Diamond Tiara swung clumsily up at her, the blow not strong enough to even slow Scootaloo down as it smacked upside her shoulder. Diamond Tiara was a soft homebody. Scootaloo was an athlete, even if only a young one. There was quite literally no contest when it came to comparative strength, earth pony and pegasus or not.

Her hindhooves hit Diamond Tiara square in the chest and sent her, and her chair, crashing into the ground with Scootaloo atop her. What came next was nothing but a blur of red hazed vision and raw anger. She rained long dreamed of blows down upon her tormentor, utterly incapable of restraint in that moment. All she could think of were the visions of her mother in the hospital bed as she faded away. Of the night before, when a pony who didn’t have a single damn reason in the entire world to do so took her in and gave her a home. If she wouldn’t stand up for that home... If she wouldn’t defend it with all of her strength, then what right did she have to live as part of it?

Scootaloo didn’t know how long it went on. It was only the merest chance, and perhaps desperation, that saw Diamond Tiara overturning her superior position and tumbling Scootaloo to the floor that put a stop to it. She rolled to her hooves, only to see her foe fleeing out of the door at a stumbling top speed. More voices were yelling at her. Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Cheerilee. But none of them registered with her as she bolted towards the door in pursuit.

She had just cleared the threshold of the door when massive red limbs caught her up, bodily lifting her off of the ground and shocking her momentarily out of her rage. Her vision cleared enough to see the soft gaze of Big Macintosh looking down on her as her limbs flailed and struggled against him for a few moments before finally giving up.

The pure adrenalin of the moment drained away, and her body felt aching and exhausted all at once. “It’s okay, li’l sis,” Big Macintosh rumbled softly, and a moment later blackness closed in around her, robbing her of consciousness and tumbling her down into a world of warmth and silence.

~~~~~~~

Voices drifted out of the darkness, at first indistinct then slowly turning clear, like a radio being tuned to the proper station. “... gonna be alright?” That was the husky voice of Big Macintosh, sounding incredibly worried in a way Scootaloo had never heard before.

“... should be fine. Stress, overexertion can do that to young ponies.” That was a voice she didn’t immediately recognize - female, gently caring and concerned in a professional sort of way. “Ah… see? She’s coming to already. Her body just needed to process the adrenalin crash. Miss Scootaloo?” Scootaloo’s vision began to clear up, blurry at first then much more clear. Given the position of the sun in the sky, she couldn’t have been out more than a couple hours. The pony speaking to her was…

“Oh… Hi, Nurse Redheart,” Scootaloo muttered, lifting a sore limb and rubbing at her forehead as she tried to process what had just happened. For a few moments, nothing came to her. It was all too jumbled and confused, but… “Uh oh,” she half whispered as she began to remember. The details were still incredibly fuzzy, but the content was clear enough. All of her self control had been for absolutely nothing, and she’d finally snapped and gone hardcore on Diamond Tiara.

While on the one hoof, it was gratifying to have finally gotten her licks in, on the other hoof… Applejack’s gonna kill me. She’s gonna ship me back to the orphanage, and they’re gonna lock me up, and I’ll never see Sweetie or Applebloom again and... Her thoughts were quickly running out of control, and she began to curl up into a painful ball right on the spot. She might very well have burst into tears there and then, if not…

If not for those big, gentle hooves that picked her up and held her close. “Nope. Ain’t gonna let you go, li’l sis. Yer an Apple, an that’s the end of it, eeyup,” rumbled the powerful and deep voice of Big Mac. Scootaloo had never had cause to notice before, but his coat was surprisingly soft now that she was pressed up against it. She belatedly realized her thoughts had turned into words, and her cheeks burned with shame. So she did the only thing she could think of… and hid her face in Big Mac’s shoulders.

She was crying, and she hated crying. She hated anypony seeing her cry, and she really hated anypony knowing why she was crying. But there was no stopping these tears for some reason, so the best she could do was minimize the damage. Fortunately, Big Mac didn’t seem to feel the need to speak much more than he already had, and Scootaloo was one hundred percent okay with that.

She ignored any other sounds around her, waiting for the tears to dry up and stop so she could get back to class. So she could have the wonderful lunch that had been packed for her and try to pretend none of this had happened. Life wasn’t going to accommodate her of course, but the thought was nice. “There ya are, Big Mac,” came Applejack’s sweet and twangy voice from the distance, and Scootaloo did her best to burrow into Big Mac’s forehooves and try to hide. The sound of hooves approaching penetrated through the sobs, but the voice softened as it got closer. “Ah, ponyfeathers… Hey, sis.” Applejack said softly, a smaller but no less gentle hoof touching her shoulder.

Scootaloo jerked it out of the touch and tried to strangle the words in her throat, but wasn’t able to do so completely. “Go ‘way,” she muttered into Big Mac’s coat, and immediately regretted the words. The last thing she needed to do was antagonize Applejack more than she already had. Of course, what she really wanted more than anything was someplace to hide away from everyone for a while until she could get these stupid tears under control.

Unfortunately, it seemed Applejack wasn’t having it. “Scoots… It’s alright. I talked to Cheerilee. I’m not mad at’cha.” That was a shock enough to make Scootaloo look up from Big Mac’s shoulders, suddenly forgetting her own tears. Applejack had a smile on her face that seemed to be fighting between proud and worried. “Shoot, darlin. Can’t hardly get mad at you for actin’ like an Apple, even if it weren’t precisely the smartest thing t’do.”

Scootaloo couldn’t help herself. She stared dumbly at Applejack, watching her mouth twitch up into a grin before she spoke again. “Which when I think ‘bout it, is also actin’ just like an Apple anyways.” She chuckled softly, and Scootaloo couldn’t help the little smile that twitched across her face. She sniffled, trying to fight back the feeling of a stuffy nose and sore eyes, not to mention the entire rest of her that still felt like she’d been run over by the cart from her crash the other day.

Scootaloo didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even know how to process what’d happened, except… “Is Applebloom okay?” she asked quietly, wondering a moment later what had driven her to ask that question. The answer came a heartbeat after the question - because she was worried about her friend and her sister that had been forced to hear the same insult she had.

Applejack’s smile turned from wryly humorous to incredibly proud in the space of a heartbeat. She spoke in a warm voice that felt like it was seeping in through Scootaloo’s coat and easing the pain in her body, “She’s jes’ fine, Scootaloo, but y’all better go on and see her anyway. I got a lotta work to get done today, an we can talk ‘bout the rest when y’all get home.” Applejack nodded firmly, her tone making it clear she saw that as the end of it.

Scootaloo watched her trot off into the distance, with Big Macintosh gently setting her down onto the ground. She turned to the bulky stallion and tried not to sniffle too hard. "Say... what were you doin' here, Big Mac?" She asked quietly as her emotions slowly stabilized. It was hard enough keeping things on an even keel, and so she tried to focus on something other than the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Big Mac turned his head away for a moment while he muttered, "Was comin' t' see Miss Cheerilee fer lunch." Scootaloo felt a little surge of happiness at that statement, and felt her heart lighten a bit as he turned back to give her a searching look, “You gonna be alright, li’l sis?” he asked her quietly, his massive bulk a surprisingly comforting presence at that moment. Scootaloo took in a deep breath and blew it out a moment later, then nodded once. The tears had come to a stop, and she was in control of herself again. Big Mac nodded once. “Keep yer chin up Scootaloo, and things’ll turn out okay, eeyup.” He smiled briefly and followed in Applejack’s wake.

And now she stood alone in front of the schoolhouse, the murmured sounds of recess going on in the near distance. Unable to think of anything more productive to do, she took that moment to sit down in the dirt and force herself to take deep breaths. None of this made any sense. None of it was logical or fit into any of her past experiences. She had never, never gotten that mad before. She’d never lashed out like that in her entire life. Worse still, no one had said a word about Diamond Tiara or what she might’ve done to her.

But the mere memory of those hateful, despicable words was enough to set her blood to boiling again. Enough that she had to mentally stomp on the emotions, wrestle them mentally to the ground, and stuff them into a box. The very thought of anyone, anyone talking about her family like that… Scootaloo’s train of thought derailed a moment later, as one thought lead into another. Each crashing into the other with reckless abandon and causing a massive mess of emotions in her head.

Everything was already falling apart in her life - in a single day she’d gone from being the tolerated wild child to an object of both scorn and pity. Her past had been laid bare for anypony to see and everypony to judge. And yet, Scootaloo could not deny the happiness that merrily glowed away within her heart was a real thing that wasn’t going to go away. It wasn’t a dream or an illusion or some kind of trick.

In short, she felt so incredibly confused that all she really wanted to do was go hide in the clubhouse for a few days until the world started to make sense again. But a good friend didn’t run and hide when they were needed, and if Scootaloo was feeling this crappy she could only imagine what Applebloom was going through right now. So she scrubbed her eyes as clean as she could, shoved her way back up to her hooves, and went looking for her friends.

It wasn’t hard to find them - they were on the same bench they always were around lunch time. Applebloom’s eyes were red and there were signs of her having cried quite a bit, but she looked… sorta okay at least. Sweetie Belle had a fantastic looking set of bruises on her sides and a beauty of a shiner on her right eye, but she was smiling as cheerfully as ever as she held an ice pack to the eye bruise with one hoof and munched on her carrots with the other.

Scootaloo’s walk slowed considerably as she approached, and she tried desperately to think of some way to explain herself - especially given her utterly uncharacteristic behavior. But Applebloom looked up, and a massive grin sprouted onto her face. “Gotta say, Scoots… that was just about the coolest thing anypony in the family’s ever done fer me,” she proclaimed in a bright and triumphant voice.

She stared at Applebloom in astonishment as she blithely continued on, leaning down to pick up Scootaloo’s lunch box from the ground and setting it alongside her while she spoke, “Now git over here sis, an’ quit lookin’ like a stuffed hog.” Applebloom cocked her head to one side with a grin. “We oughter be celebratin’. Miss Cheerilee an’ the adults can’t ignore what Diamond Tiara gets up to anymore, an ya’ll delivered one of th’ finest rumbles Ponyville’s ever seen.”

Scootaloo sat her flank down on the bench, having not even considered today’s events in that particular light. She paused as she gave Sweetie Belle a more thorough examination, feeling her lips tug into a little frown. "You okay, Sweetie?" She asked in a quiet voice, wondering just how she'd managed to restrain an earth pony like Applebloom.

Sweetie grinned at her, nodding and giving her shiner a little rub. "Yeah, Nurse Redheart healed the worst of it. It's okay, Scootaloo. Miss Cheerilee didn't even look twice at the two of us given what an exit you had." Sweetie giggled softly and bit into her own celery stalk with a smile. "But seriously, Scoots! I didn't know you had that in you! Everypony in the school is talkin' about it!" There was a note of awe and surprise in Sweetie's voice, and no small amount of admiration.

“Course, you’ll probably end up suspended fer a week or two,” Applebloom said nonchalantly in a follow up to Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo immediately felt the temporary triumph get buried in a wince of pain at that one. “But hey! Jus’ means ya’ll will get ta’ learn how life is on th’ farm a lot sooner! An you’ll get t’ spend all day with Applejack!” Applebloom’s voice immediately dipped into jealousy at that particular ‘treat’, and she giggled softly. A sound which Sweetie Belle echoed.

She considered this bit of information very carefully, then decided in all of her considerable wisdom that the only thing she could do was make the best of it. So she giggled right along with the rest of them and popped open her lunchbox. Within, the treasure trove of food beckoned her aching body, and she bit into the sweet carrot stick with a faint feeling of relish.

She’d wrestle with the more complex emotions she was feeling later, when she could sit down with Applejack and… and talk about them. For now, she had carrots and juice and a delicious sandwich.

Everything else could wait for tomorrow.

Author's Note

Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara played here by the incredible Inky Jay - Go give him some love, guys.

Chapter 4 - Family History

~~~~~The Apple House, that evening.~~~~~

Scootaloo’s steps up to the door of the Apples’ house were weary and aching, the toll of the last two days’ ridiculousness finally registering with her body. Bluff and bravado would only work for so long, and for the next few days, Scootaloo knew she was going to pay for that bravado in spades. Fortunately, it was the weekend, which meant at least two whole days where even Applejack might understand if she needed an extra hour or two of sack time.

Applebloom was close alongside her, and while they hadn’t spoken much since leaving school, Scootaloo was beginning to think they really didn’t have to. It was just one more thing in a long line of things that connected the two of them as the closest of friends. Scootaloo had never really considered the reasons why Applebloom’s mom and dad weren’t around until today. And as sure as sunrise chased away the night time, Scootaloo’s brain forced her to see things in an entirely new light.

She coulda just as easily ended up like me, came the glum thought. If they hadn’t had Granny Smith around to take up the parental duties, all three of the Apple siblings would have probably been split up or sent to the orphanage themselves. Or worse, Scootaloo thought with a little shudder, her mind conjuring up visions of impossibly bad fates. In some ways, she was a little jealous of her friend… but then, that same friend had extended her good fortune to Scootaloo and brought her into her home, so what right did she have to complain?

The door swung open without any touch, with Granny standing inside with a wan smile. “Rough day n’ the barnyard, eh kiddo?” Her voice was rough with sympathy, and Scootaloo couldn’t help but grin a little. Granny had a truly old fashioned view of the world, but sometimes Scootaloo could seriously relate to it. “Let’s wrap you two ‘round some dinner an’ give ya a looksee, Scoots.”

With that cryptic comment, Scootaloo found herself swept back into the Apple home with the same warmth and acceptance as she had the previous evening. True to her word, Granny Smith produced a beautiful bowl of vegetable soup and a stiff loaf of country bread as soon as Scootaloo was at the table. “Now you tuck inta’ that, youngins,” Granny commanded, before turning a beady but sly look upon Scootaloo. “Ya’ll look like eight miles a’ bad road, but don’t look like nothin’s permanent. I gots’ a nice liniment that’s good fer achin muscles, if’n ya like.”

Scoots stared at her for a moment, trying to parse what she’d said before her brain finally translated for her. “Oh! Uh… Sure, I guess?” Scootaloo’s best guess was Granny had some kind of country cure for aching muscles. Given the family’s farm roots, it was probably effective even if a little weird. Scootaloo didn’t have much experience with medicine, but she’d take just about anything that would make her feel less like an overstretched sock.

Granny cackled and meandered over toward a set of cabinets in the next room, and Scoots just shrugged her shoulders and focused on her food. The soup was divine, chock full of fresh tasting veggies and deliciously chewy barley. The bread was warm and sweet, and all thought of the day’s disasters vanished from her head as she tucked herself into the warm meal. It would probably be a lifetime before she got used to this sort of thing, but Scootaloo was perfectly happy to keep regarding every good meal with a sense of awe and wonder.

It was good to keep things in perspective, after all.

Granny returned a few moments later, and Scoots eyeballed the little earthenware jar she carried with some trepidation. As much as she wanted the aching to go away, she really didn’t want to be smelling like an old mare for a week either. Granny grinned toothily at her before opening up the jar with both hooves, and the powerful smell of pure apples flooded the room and overwhelmed nearly everything else.

Granny cackled, laughing helplessly as Scootaloo felt her face scrunch in momentary confusion. “Hah! Like I’d make somethin’ that smelled like bad cheese. The nerve!” Granny scolded Scoots with a waggled hoof, before dipping said hoof into the salve and cocking an eyebrow at her. “Now where does it ache th’ worst? Don’t wanna overuse this stuff else you’ll fall asleep at the table!”

Scootaloo shook her head and silently directed Granny to the worst affected areas - mostly around her hind legs and back. The rest she could deal with. The stuff felt kinda oily at first, but after Granny worked it in the icky feeling went away pretty fast, replaced by a cold tingling that felt really weird, but sure enough her aches were already receding fast. And I’m gonna smell like I got dunked in a cider barrel for days. “Thanks, Granny,” she muttered, swinging her hind-legs back and forth as she tried to figure out what else to say.

Granny didn’t seem to expect much, though. She just smiled, closed up the jar, and puttered off to some other task. Applebloom was grinning at her over her own bowl, a twinkle of mischief in her eye. “And what’re you lookin’ at?” Scoots snapped at her half in irritation, half in embarrassment.

Applebloom just grinned at her, her voice soft and faintly teasing. “Ya’ll don’t really know how t’ take all this, do ya?” There was a little element of pity there, but… well, it wasn’t any better or worse than any other teasing they’d shared over the last few years. Besides, she was right. Scootaloo sighed and nodded her head glumly, pushing the last few bits of carrot around her bowl for a moment with the spoon before munching them down and licking the bowl clean. Applebloom shook her head and grinned. “You’ll be fine, Scoots. Jes’ go with it.”

Applebloom hopped off her chair and touched Scootaloo’s hoof before trotting upstairs, presumably to her room. Scoots watched her go in silence, wondering why the heck she still couldn’t seem to get her hooves around this thing. “Ain’t easy, is it?” Applejack said in her slow drawl, nearly startling Scoots out of her seat. Fortunately, Scootaloo’s reflexes hadn’t suffered from the day’s events, and a grip on the wooden back of the chair kept her from completely sprawling all over the floor.

Applejack chuckled softly at the sight of her half hanging off the chair and plopped down into the seat Applebloom had just vacated. “If I’d have known it’d cause so much trouble, I wouldn’ta told anypony else yer story, Scoots. An’ fer that, I’m sorry.” She sighed and doffed her hat, laying the thing on the table and regarding it with a soft gaze. “Been so long, I’d plum forgotten what it felt like t’ be there myself.”

Scootaloo swallowed a lump in her throat and slid herself back onto the chair, watching the normally jovial and energetic earth pony become almost… melancholy. “I’d heard they weren’t around anymore but… nopony ever seemed to know what happened,” Scootaloo ventured quietly, wondering if this was a good idea in one moment and becoming convinced that it was in the next. It was hard to think of Applejack as a pony whom she shared something so intimately in common with, but... well, here it was.

Applejack shook her head slowly, her blonde mane shaking back and forth with it. “That’s cuz ain’t nopony but an Apple really knows the story, an’ we don’t generally talk about it ‘less there’s a reason to.” Scootaloo winced away at that, wishing not for the first time that she was better at the whole ‘tact’ thing. Maybe I oughta go ask Rarity for lessons, she thought glumly. But, to be honest, she couldn’t blame Applejack. She wasn’t really comfortable talking about the specifics of what’d happened between her and her mom either.

So she made to push off the chair, only to find her being grabbed back by a firm hoof. “Now don’t ya’ll go runnin’ off, kiddo. Ya’ll got the right t’ know the story yerself now, after what that… little…” Applejack huffed out an angry breath, then shook her head. “Nevermind. Yer an Apple, an’ that means you need to know the family history. Was gonna wait fer ya to settle in before I toldja everythin’ but…” Applejack shrugged and smiled at her faintly. “Heh, life ain’t always fair.”

Scootaloo blinked, then felt a soft laugh bubble up from her throat. “You’re not kiddin, Applejack.” She couldn’t help it, her face splitting into a grin. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all. “Hey, lets go find someplace better to sit. If we’re going to tell stories, we might as well have someplace soft to plant our butts.” Scootaloo hopped off her chair and grinned challengingly at Applejack. It wasn’t that hard to imagine her as just a much older Applebloom when it got right down to it.

Applejack paused and grinned broadly, reseating her hat on her head. “I reckon that sounds sensible.”

~~~~~~~

Between the warm mug of apple cider fragrant with spices that provided considerable warmth between Scootaloo’s legs, and the plush softness of the sofa, Scootaloo felt awesome. Or at least as awesome as she could given how parts of her still ached pretty hardcore. Applejack was pulling down a worn looking book, covered in some much patched cloth and a bright red apple shaped patch on the cover. The thing looked really, really old, even to Scootaloo, and Applejack ran her hoof down the cover slowly, the look on her face a little distant.

“Poppa…” Applejack began, her voice hesitating for a moment while she visibly swallowed before continuing. “Poppa always said we don’t get t’ choose how long we got with each other. He always made th’ most of every day he had with me’n Mac, even when he was powerful cross with us.” A small smile crossed her face as she turned toward the couch, cradling the tome tightly against her as she walked over to it. “Ah, but I’m gettin’ ahead of myself… Better t’show ya.”

Applejack hopped up onto the couch and cracked open the book, flipping to a page as though she knew it by heart. Which, Scootaloo figured she probably did. The picture she came to was much faded, but the colors were still bright enough to be recognizable. A blonde maned, red coated mare who could have been the smaller and female version of Big Macintosh cradled a young filly Appleajck in one foreleg that was tugging at her thick braid of mane.

A burly looking stallion stood next to her with a bright green coat similar to Granny Smith’s, but with an odd flare of red up around his ears and a similar straw-blonde mane that was cut frizzily short. He had a huge grin on his face and pipe clamped firmly between his teeth, as a slightly older Big Macintosh hung around his shoulders waving cheerfully at whoever was holding the camera. Granny Smith looked much as she did at present - well, maybe a few less wrinkles - with a big smile of her own as she stood between them.

Applejack half smiled, tilting her head at Scootaloo. “That’s Momma Gala and Poppa Gravenstein when me n’ Mac were jes’ little’uns. I wasn’t more ‘n three at the time they took the shot, an Mac was closer t’ six.” She half chuckled, eyeballing the picture. “Always liked Momma’s mane. I think I chewed on that thing more’n I did anything else when I was little, least till I won my hat.” That thought made Scootaloo giggle quite hard, trying to imagine Applejack munching at somepony’s mane.

Applejack shook her head, turning the page on the album. “We grew up right proper, me ‘n Mac did. Even though I was powerful slow gettin’ my Cutie Mark, I never once thought’a livin’ anywhere but on the farm.” She sighed softly, closing her eyes and leaning back against the couch. “I was maybe yer age, maybe a year older when it happened. Poppa and Momma were taking the cider delivery ta Canterlot, like they did every single year. “

Applejack’s eyes opened, but they were staring into her memories and not at anything in the room. “Poppa didn’t believe in spendin’ money on using th’ train when he was perfectly strong enough to carry it himself. Momma would steer the cart, and they’d treat it like a little vacation. Granny said they liked to just get out on the road and be alone sometimes. Supposedly how Applebloom ended up happenin.” For a moment, Applejack’s face split into a grin and her eyes sparkled with life. “Granny chewed ‘em out fer days after Momma found out she was expectin’, but nopony was more happy than her when she was born. First Apple in two generations ta’ be born with that color of mane. That’s why she was named Applebloom - after her great granny, Apple Blossom.”

Scootaloo stared for a moment, then felt her lips tug into a huge grin. Oh great Celestia, she was going to enjoy needling Applebloom about that story. In a purely friendly way, of course! But It was still gonna be super fun! Applejack was still talking though, so she tried really hard to focus. Still. Mane color. Pffffft. “Ahem.” Applejack coughed, shaking herself out of that memory. “Anyway… Was a pretty wet autumn that year. Somethin’ ‘bout a weather manager havin’ some issues. They headed out same as they did every year, same day, same everything. I was jes’ gettn’ old enough to help load the cart.” Applejack took a deep breath and exhaled it, obviously trying to prepare herself.

Scootaloo felt her heart break a little, and reached out to take Applejack’s hoof. It wasn’t much, she knew it, but… Maybe it would help. Applejack did grip back, and a little life seeped back into her voice as she spoke. “Took a long time t’ get all the details. The route to Canterlot is usually pretty safe, even with the long trip up the mountain. But…” Applejack turned her head away, and her voice went oddly flat. “Somepony screwed up with the weather. There wasn’t s’posed to be any rain that day, but…”

Scootaloo bit her lip a little, her mind suddenly racing in a dozen different directions she wasn’t at all comfortable with. Applejack was all but saying a pegasus had killed her parents! Any other pony in the world would’ve taken that grudge to their grave! Applejack took in a deep, shuddering breath before speaking again, a little more warmth seeping into her voice. “Nopony knows why they were goin’ up the mountain in that deluge, or when they started up or what. But they figgered their cart was parked on the trail leading up an’ somethin ripped out the wheel chocks. Went clear over the edge. Docs said it was instant.”

And that was pretty clearly as far as Applejack wanted to take the story, but… Scootaloo knew there was more, somehow. It was important, too. So she shifted her seat over closer to Applejack and tried to wrap her small foreleg around her adoptive sisters back. Scootaloo really wasn’t one for sap. Really! But - but seeing somepony like that, hurt and scared and angry at the world - it was too much like she’d been not so very long ago. She couldn’t just sit there and do nothing, right?

Applejack gave off a small sniffle and turned to face Scootaloo, bright tears glittering down her cheeks and a faint smile on her face. “Sorry, Scoots. I get like this every year around this time, with Cider season not too far away. Poppa’d be talkin’ ‘bout goin’ to his favorite pub in Canterlot, an’ Momma would be tryin’ to find a foalsitter fer a week or two so Granny didn’t have to do all the work.” She reached up a hoof to rub away the tears, a half choked out laugh coming a moment later. “Ah, ponyfeathers, there I go again. Gettin’ all teary eyed over nothin’…”

Scootaloo snorted faintly, and squeezed her foreleg more firmly around Applejack. “Hey, none of that, big sis. It’s not nothin’, they meant a lot to you. I was barely old enough to even know my mom, and even I -” Scootaloo snapped her lips shut around those words and turned her own head away. Crying wasn’t a thing she did, and she wasn’t about to start now. Remember the good stuff, Scoots. The baked apples, the warm hugs, the little lullabies... It was hard, fighting down those tears, but she did it like a champ. Mom had told her to be tough for her, and she was going to be. Period.

But Applejack wasn’t having that - or at least she wasn’t having Scootaloo shut down on her. A warm foreleg came around Scootaloo’s shoulder and squeezed gently there. “Tell me ‘bout her?” Applejack asked quietly, but not insistently. She wasn’t demanding to be told, or trying to guilt her or…. anything. Just… asking.

For a few long moments, Scootaloo fiddled with nothing at all, rubbing her hooves together and wishing she had a ball or something to squeeze. Having something to futz with had always made thinking easier for her for some reason. Then she had something. A familiar looking hat, dropped gently into her hooves from above. For a few long moments, Scootaloo couldn’t do much but stare at Applejack’s much beloved hat now turning over and over again in her hooves.

Scootaloo wasn’t sure why she wanted to talk. She wasn’t sure of a lot of things now. But somehow, talking seemed like it was important, so she did. “I don’t…” she paused, and tugged at the tiny chain that lay hidden under her coat, extracting the tiny locket and flicking it open with her hooftip. “This is the only picture I’ve got,” Scootlaoo whispered, her eyes darting across the too-familiar tiny bundle of colors, elegantly made by some unknown pony so many years ago.

She was a deep sunset orange in her coat, just like Scootaloo, and her mane was a deep and fiery red that spilled down her shoulders in a tumble of curls. Her eyes were a bright amber, and she had the lean and lithe body of a dancer. “I dunno what her name was… she was always just Mom to me,” Scootaloo began, trying to keep the iron-hard clamp on her emotions as firm as she could. “We were always moving around, never really stayed in one place for very long until I turned six years old and had to start going to school. She got this little apartment in Cloudsdale,, and I was so excited to have a room of my own.” Scootaloo felt a small smile cross her lips, the hat tumbling over and over between her hooves.

Applejack was wisely keeping her mouth shut, since Scoots wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get started again if she stopped now. “She was at work a lot, but I didn’t mind. I made some friends with some of the other fillies in the complex, and she was always happy to spend her time with me when she was at home.” Scootaloo didn’t even notice the hat falling out of her hooves as she spoke, her mind ranging back to a time that seemed so much longer ago than it was. “She… she didn’t have a proper job, really.” Scootaloo hesitated over it, then decided in an instant that she couldn’t not be honest with Applejack.

Not after Applejack had gone through her own little Tartarus for Scootaloo’s sake anyway. “She was a thief, actually. I caught her coming home one night in a sneaky suit and all sorts of other tools.” Scootaloo felt her head dip, wondering why her voice was going flat and why her chest was starting to hurt. “But I didn’t care. She was all I really had in the world, and I loved her more’n anything.”

Scootaloo felt the sharp pain in her chest grow and wondered idly why her breathing was coming heavier. “I told you that… that she got sick, somehow. I still don’t know how, or what she had, or whatever. We couldn’t afford the doctors, and she just sort of got steadily weaker till… till she collapsed in the middle of the market, when we were getting food.” Scootaloo didn’t mention how she’d been stealing that food, or how that she’d been stealing every kind of medicine under the sun to try to help her mom out and nothing had been working. Applejack didn’t need to know about those things, or those emotions. They belonged to Scootaloo and were her shame to bear. The words were getting harder to say, anyway…. “They took her to Cloudsdale General, but they said there was nothing they could do. I got so angry at them, and I yelled and screamed and pounded at legs, but… but… ”

It was then Scootaloo recognized the feeling of tears on her cheeks and the sobbing breaths she was taking. But she wasn’t going to cry if she could help it, and she sucked in deep breaths and squinted the tears away, trying with all of her might to get through the important words that had to be said. “I was with her the whole time. She told me to be a tough, strong filly for her and made me promise not to stop trying to have the best life I could. Made me promise I’d never, ever give up.” Scootaloo felt the tears drying, the sobs slowly ebbing away as she fought them down, finally pushing the last few words out. “I fell asleep next to her, and when I woke up she was gone. You know the rest.” There. It was done.

With the last words out, Scootaloo clamped her hooves around her middle and squeezed as hard as she could, snapping her eyes shut and taking deep and heavy breaths to try to interrupt her body’s own sorrow-fueled convulsions. There. I said it. I don’t gotta say it again. We can all just move on from this sappy stuff and it’ll be fine, it’ll be just fine. I don’t gotta think about it anymore. I don’t. I don’t I don’t I don’t. She repeated the words in her head, over and over again.

The words made it easier, and she could feel some of the tightness in her chest slowly ebb away. With it, awareness of the world around her returned and she could feel the warm fuzz of Applejack’s coat pressed up against her side and the smell of apples and woodsmoke. A thick and surprisingly soft blonde mane was splayed over Scootaloo’s shoulders and she could feel Applejack’s cheek pressed up against the top of her head. “I’m sorry, sugarcube. I should’a known better’n to ask you bout’ that.” Applejack sounded incredibly contrite and almost… sad. “Must’a been powerful hard for you.”

Scoots nodded numbly, but didn’t respond. The emotions had to have been obvious for Applejack, since… “Not so diff’rent than any of us, then,” Applejack said with a quiet sort of smile, and Scootaloo felt a jolt go straight through her body like she had just ran full tilt into a wall. It was like getting hit over the head with a board, so obvious was the revelation. The circumstances might have been different, and the end results even moreso, but there was no difference in the pain they’d shared, or the loss.

Scootaloo exhaled softly and felt a little smile of her own cross her face. “Yeah, I suppose not.” And maybe that was the point to all of this. Maybe she needed to stop focusing on all the differences, all these unfamiliar emotions and old memories, and focus on what they shared. Maybe then, she could finally live up to the promise she’d made to Mom. “Hey, Applejack? Am… Am I in trouble for today?” Scootaloo ventured, knowing the answer, but hoping that the way it would be answered might be different than she imagined.

Once again though, Applejack surprised her. Applejack reached down and snatched her hat from the ground, settling it on her head with a grim smile on her face. “Scootaloo, yer about as far from bein’ in trouble as any Apple could hope fer.” Scootaloo didn’t even try to hide her shock, and Applejack grinned at her. “See, I don’t advocate violence as a solution t’ nothin’, but there’s precisely three things I hold as sacred above all else.”

Applejack hopped off the chair, and before Scootaloo could say a word or even move herself, she found her body hauled onto Applejack’s back. “One, ya don’t mess with somepony’s friends.” Applejack pulled off her hat and dropped it firmly onto Scootaloo’s head, her voice as no-nonsense as she’d ever heard it before. “Two, ya don’t mess with somepony’s heart.” Applejack turned and began trotting into the kitchen with Scootaloo firmly upon her back and trying to hang on. “An three…” Applejack said slowly, turning her head to regard Scootaloo with a fiercely proud look in her shimmering green eye.

“Ya don’t mess with somepony’s family.”

Chapter 5 - Albums

~~~~~Three days later~~~~~

Scootaloo was a little nervous, but that wasn’t an alien emotional state for her. She was also grimly satisfied, which actually was kind of an odd emotional state for her. Since sure enough, she’d been suspended from school for two weeks. Justified though she might have been, Scootaloo had still broken more than a few of Miss Cheerilee’s rules, and she had to get some kind of punishment for that. Luckily, Applebloom had talked Miss Cheerilee out of doing the same to Sweetie Belle for tackling her.

Scootaloo didn’t know what exactly was going on, given that she hadn’t been outside the farm since that day, but Applebloom had said the entire town was in an uproar over the incident. Apparently it had been such an uproar that the subject of her nervousness was coming to the farm to discuss it personally. She’d never had much direct contact with Filthy Rich, but he had a decent reputation around town as a no-nonsense sort of stallion who never stood on formalities and was never afraid to get his hooves dirty.

He also apparently had a long standing relationship with the Apples, courtesy of his father and the famous Zap Apple Jam that had started his father’s career. Kinda fascinating, but not really relevant to her current nervousness, most of which was based around the fact that Diamond Tiara had apparently been checked into Ponyville Hospital for a day or so before going home.

According to Applebloom, the total damage had been a broken snout bone, bruised ribs, two fabulous black eyes and a schoolyard legend that was growing by the hour. Though Miss Cheerilee had sternly forbidden discussion of the fight, that hadn’t stopped Button Mash, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Twist, Rumble, Pipsqueak, and Dinky Doo from holding a little celebration in her honor at lunchtime yesterday. Scootaloo wished she could’ve been there, but was really glad that she didn’t have to face school for a while just the same.

Though given the choice, she’d rather have been at school today than stuck here in the Apple kitchen, waiting for Mister Rich to arrive. Granny had been very insistent upon calling him Mister Rich, even though she too was more than a little peeved at his daughter’s behavior. Scootaloo didn’t have any feelings about him one way or the other, so she didn’t much mind the command to be respectful. She was pretty sure she’d have called Diamond Tiara some less than respectful things, though, if she had been coming too. Thank Celestia for small favors.

Still, nerves were nerves no matter how unusual the subject, and that meant sitting in the tall wooden chair and swinging her hind-legs back and forth while picking patterns out of the wooden floor with her eyes. Rainbow Dash called this sort of thing the twitchies, and insisted that even the best of the Wonderbolts went through them. That helped a little, but she still didn’t feel any less silly cooling her hooves in the kitchen all by her lonesome while Applejack and Big Macintosh apparently did a little private talking before Mister Rich arrived.

More than anything, Scootaloo wanted a chance to get off the farm to go see Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Both of them had been… not exactly parental, but they had been a good source of advice on how to deal with unexpected new events and the complexities of life. Besides, she was pretty sure that a cupcake right about now would do wonders for her nervousness. Or a nice hard ride through the orchards on her scooter to build up her wingpower, something she’d been neglecting the last few days.

Alas, it was not to be, as Big Macintosh trundled into the kitchen with that easygoing smile and quiet demeanour of his. She wondered how Mac had dealt with his parent’s deaths, but figured if he wanted to tell her, he would do so in his own sweet time. “C’mon, Scoots. Gonna go get some work done, an’ it’d be best if’n you was outta the house, eeyup.” Big Mac had turned out to be surprisingly talkative amongst his family, when Scootaloo simply couldn’t remember a time when he’d strung together more than a couple of words during normal conversation. Incidentally, she didn’t count the time he’d chewed them all out as being ‘normal’ conversation.

It was actually kind of a relief that she didn’t have to be present for the meeting though. So she hopped off the chair with a fair amount of gusto and grabbed up her scooter and backpack that were leaning on the entry way wall. Big Mac shoved his way through the back door and Scootaloo followed close in his wake, reveling in the feel of the sweet and gently warm summer breeze that blasted her right in the face as she exited.

Scootaloo didn’t even bother to put on her helmet, hopping on her scooter and blasting off through the barnyard, pulling a picture-perfect 90 degree turn as she reached the fence. The wind blasted through her mane and immediately turned her nervous smile into a full on grin. There was no other time she felt quite as free and alive as when she was on her scooter, it being the closest thing to flying she could manage at this point in her life.

She couldn’t go too far, but that didn’t stop her from pulling a few well known tricks and getting some of the stress out of her system. A couple of quick rail-grinds on the fence, a little jump or two over some discarded barrels, and a backflip with a perfect four-point landing was more than enough to set her at ease. All the while, Big Mac went about a couple of small chores while keeping a close eye on her and a faint smile on his face.

It wasn’t until she could hear a pair of voices drifting out from a nearby window that she realized Big Mac’s ingenious little plan. He probably thought she’d want to hear the conversation, so he made up an excuse to take her somewhere she could without getting in trouble. “...Thank ya fer comin’ Mister Rich.” That was Applejack, her voice quite distinct. “I know ya love yer daughter, but I hope ya ain’t got any notions ‘bout what I invited ya here fer.”

“No illusions whatsoever, Miss Applejack.” The second voice was distinctly male, smooth and surprisingly lacking in the smug quality that Scootaloo had come to associate with Diamond Tiara’s voice. “So let me get us off on the right hoof and personally apologize for my daughter’s abhorrent behavior the other day. Her words were utterly and completely uncalled for.” Scootaloo promptly fell off her scooter, sending the device clattering to the ground and her jaw to silently working in total shock. What came next was even more incredible. "I would like to assure you that whatever... assumptions I might have had about Diamond's behavior, they have been thoroughly dispelled. I am afraid so many eyewitnesses cannot be wrong."

There was a pause and a wheeze of laughter floated out of the window. “Glad ta’ hear ya say that, Mister Rich.” That was Granny Smith, her voice practically dripping with humor. “Now if’n ya want my advice, I say ya go home an’ tan that little filly’s hide till she learns her proper manners! An dont’cha dare replace that ridiculous thing on her head till she apologizes herself!” Granny’s harrumph was so loud it practically made the ground shake, and Big Mac’s small smile turned into a huge grin at the sound of it.

Scootaloo could hardly believe her ears - completely flabbergasted by the turn of the conversation. She’d been expecting hard words, maybe even Diamond’s father coming to her defense, but nothing even close to this! Big Macintosh winked at her as the words turned into more quiet mutters for a while before rising loud enough to hear again. “... I swear to you, Miss Applejack, I’m at my wits end. I’ve tried my best to be a good father to her, even with all of my responsibilities to the business. Society is a good hearted mare, and marvelously caring in her own way, but she simply can’t handle my little Diamond at this age.” There was a loud, gusty sigh from Mister Rich following that statement, and the sound of clinking glasses soon followed it.

Scootaloo pulled herself off the ground and hopped up onto the fence next to Big Mac, who had dropped all pretension of working to cock his ears towards the windows. “I don’t know High Society all that well, but she seemed like a nice enough mare when we met her last year,” Applejack mused as a little pop announced the opening of some kind of bottle. “Still, can’t she handle her own daughter? I ain’t never met the filly who wasn’t at least a little intimidated by their mom.”

That produced another sigh from Mister Rich, with a brief pause after. “Ah, thank you, Granny. The fact is, Miss Applejack, is Society isn’t Diamond’s mother. Her mother and I separated after she was born for a whole host of reasons.” A glass hit the wooden table with an audible thunk before the conversation continued. “I took care of Diamond all by myself when she was a foal, until I met Society at that function in Manehatten. I fell head over hooves for her, I’ll admit, and she seemed enthusiastic about helping to raise a child not her own, but…”

Another sound of the glass hitting the table, and Scootaloo cast a worried look at Big Mac, who shook his head subtly before nodding towards the window. Mister Rich’s voice sounded oddly flat coming out of the window. “Diamond just won’t give her a chance, and Society doesn’t know how to apply discipline to a little filly. The two of them go at it at the drop of a shoe. Up until recently, I’ve managed to keep the peace well enough, but Diamond has been getting more and more snotty with her.” There was one more sigh and a much heavier thump of something hitting the table. “I should have realized that behavior wasn’t just with her step-mother, and I just kept denying it, blind as a batpony.”

Scootaloo hopped off the fence and turned away, unable to take any more of that particular conversation without feeling more sick to her stomach. On the one hoof, it was good to hear that Diamond Tiara was finally going to get her just desserts from her father, and at last she might even be able to enjoy going to Miss Cheerilee’s class again. But the rest of it was just… too much.

Fortunately, Big Mac either agreed or didn’t care that much about the conversation anymore himself and was trundling right alongside her. She picked up and shouldered her scooter and kept walking, wanting to get as far away from the Apple house as she dared so that she could do...something. She wasn’t entirely sure what that would be, but she needed to clear her head a little.

Their mutually silent walk took them into one of the many apple orchards that surrounded the farm, this one dense with golden delicious trees with the fruit just getting ready to perfectly ripen. Scootaloo stared at the fruits for a moment, wondering what it might take to get up to one until Big Mac poked out with his rear hoof and gave one of the trees a good smack. Perfectly, exactly two ripe apples tumbled off of the branches and right into Big Mac’s awaiting hooves, who tossed one to Scootaloo with a faint smile. “Know that feeling, Scoots. Eeyup.”

Scootaloo caught the apple and, without more than a moment or two of hesitation, bit into the juicy and sweet fruit with no small amount of relish. “Thought things might get a bit emotional in there, figured you’d wanna be elsewhere for a while,” Big Mac explained, leaning against the tree he’d just smacked and giving his own apple a modest little nibble. “So. Apple fer yer thoughts, Scoots?”

Scootaloo licked at her lips and leaned back against the same tree, wondering how to tackle this problem without the keen insights of Pinkie or Dash. “I just… don’t really get all of this. I mean, yeah I’d do anything for Applebloom and Sweetie Belle if they were in trouble. They’re my friends, and that’s super important to me. And I know that family does a lot for one another in tough times, but why is Applejack going so far with this? I mean, I practically beat Diamond Tiara into the hospital! Why am I not grounded or locked up in a box or something?” She shook her head in confusion, trying to clear it and hoping she wasn’t ranting or coming across as kinda stupid.

Big Mac didn’t seem to think she was, anyway. “Ah… Eeyup, I can see how ya might be a bit confused there.” He tossed his applecore into the woods behind him and turned to start walking into the orchards. Scootaloo blinked, but quickly followed him, wondering what he was getting on about. “Ya know AJ’s story about how she got her cutie mark?” He cocked his head at her, and Scootaloo nodded slowly. “Well she prob’ly didn’t tell ya that she left ‘cause of Poppa and Momma passin’ on. She couldn’ handle bein’ around the farm without ‘em, so she headed off t’ Aunt n’ Uncle Orange.” He shook his head slowly, almost sadly.

Scootaloo had indeed remembered Applejack’s story, but wondered why she’d left out the part about leaving because of her parents. She could… sort of understand not wanting to talk about losing them, but why omit the detail? “Cuz she couldn’t admit how much she needed ‘em.” Big Mac said softly, coming to a stop amidst a particularly beautiful little copse of trees, with the sun streaming down between the leaves and giving the whole place a faintly ethereal air. “How much she needed havin’ Poppa an’ Momma around, so she went lookin’ fer a new Poppa an’ Momma. If’n she hadn’t seen the Rainboom, I reckon she woulda stayed there just cuz she couldn’t stand to be without ‘em.”

And that made just a little too much sense for Scootaloo, now that she sat and thought about it. Especially given how much she herself had been trying to find her own solution to that particular lack in her life. Her friends might’ve been the most awesome friends in the world, but there were just some things you couldn’t get outside of a family. Big Mac kept talking over her thoughts, and she forced herself to keep listening, knowing that what he might say could be pretty important.

Big Mac was still walking, so she scrambled a little to keep up as he spoke, “When she came home, AJ was diff’rent. Anypony who talked badly ‘bout Momma and Poppa got a taste of her temper.” Big Mac’s tone remained laconic as they reached one of the main orchard paths and he turned down it, obviously heading for the Apple Barn near the front of the farm. “An’ she had a powerful temper. Beat the stuffin’ out of colts twice her size, sometimes. Was more outta school than she was in it, no matter what Granny did or said.”

Big Macintosh sighed softly, his steps slowing for a moment. “Nopony believed her either when she said they were talkin’ bad about Poppa. They jes’ saw the fights AJ kept gettin’ into, thought she was a troublemaker. Granny eventually just pulled her outta the school and said t’ Tartarus with it.” The giant red barn loomed large in front of them, its paint still as fresh and shiny as it was on the day the Apple clan had accidentally blown it up for either the fifth or sixth time since she’d come to Ponyville, and then rebuilt it in that same day. “If’n you wanna know what I think, Scoots, I think she’s tryin’ to keep you from endin’ up like she did.”

Scootaloo half stared at Big Mac before trying to really sit down and think about that statement. Scootaloo hadn’t been in many fights, and certainly not ones of the epic scale she’d had with Diamond Tiara. But it was true she let her temper get the better of her sometimes, and even worse that sometimes that temper had led to some bad situations. Or maybe it was more about the fact that she simply didn’t care as much about potentially dangerous consequences because… well, there wasn’t anypony else around to care either.

Introspection wasn’t the kind of thing Scootaloo did on any regular basis, nor was it the sort of thing she was instantly comfortable with. The deep fears she’d been forced to face on that camping trip had been a rare moment of clarity, and Scootaloo remained convinced half the reason she’d gotten to that moment was thanks to Princess Luna. Since, of course, one tends to get really philosophical about stuff when the being who watches over one’s dreams drops by and gives you advice.

But aside from that, Scootaloo tended to shy away from self examination too much, simply because it tended to be distracting from the things she enjoyed doing. The fact that the things she enjoyed were frequently reckless, crazy, and sometimes even absurdly dangerous to the point of physical harm couldn’t have anything to do with her feelings of loss… could they? Scootaloo didn’t know much, if anything, about psychology. But she did know that she’d always felt the most… alive when she was putting everything she had on the line, and that the last few days had produced almost as many thrills in her heart as any of her stunts or tricks had.

That was something both odd and unnerving enough to make her stop and try to think, instead of just going whole hog into whatever she was currently setting her mind to. “Y’ ain’t gonna solve this in one sittin’, Scoots,” Big Mac’s voice intruded on her thoughts, startling her enough to nearly send her tumbling to the ground. “Listen, kiddo,” he rumbled, plopping himself down next to her with a soft but serious look. “It ain’t never easy dealin’ with change. Don’t matter if it’s little things like changin’ weather or big things like changin’ lives. All ya’ll really can do is jes stick to the things ya know for certain an’ work ‘round the rest as it comes.”

A big, heavy red hoof plunked down on her shoulder, and Big Macintosh smiled faintly. “Jes don’t forget, yer an Apple now. We stick together, thick or thin.” His hoof came down and gently bopped her nose, crossing her eyes trying to follow it, and a rough chuckle tumbled from his lips. “Now c’mon. Best cure fer too much thinkin’ is good work, an we’ve got plenty’a apples need haulin and stuff needs doin’, eeyup.” Big Mac patted her on the shoulder again with a grin before getting back to his hooves and trotting over toward the barn.

Scootaloo raised her hoof in protest, but paused before saying a word. Maybe he was right. Maybe she just needed to work some of this crap out of her system; and besides, she’d been pretty lazy the past few days. She wasn’t ever going to get anywhere if she didn’t keep training hard. “Yeah, okay Mac. How can I help?” she called after him trotting fast to keep up with him. Not unlike how her mind kept racing to try to keep up with all the changes that had been going on the past few days.

~~~~~~~

The Apple kitchen smelled strongly of the Apple Family brandy that Granny had broken out for the meeting, and the table was covered in various bits of detritus from the snacks that had gone along with it. Mister Rich had done away with his tie and was leaning on the table with a morose but determined look on his face. “I suppose you are both quite right. The business will keep for a time, but my daughter will not. She must see that this behavior is unacceptable from this moment forth.” Filthy Rich’s words rolled low, slightly slurred by the liquor and his own emotional turmoil.

Granny Smith nodded sagely, leaning back with a look of satisfaction on her face. “Jes’ don’t go easy on her, Mister Rich. Little filly like that can still be taught manners, but she ain’t gonna like it one bit.” A faintly toothy grin crossed her face a moment later, as she stabbed a hoof towards him. “An don’t gimmie that hogwash about yer business. I raised three foals while keepin’ this farm runnin’ fer almost ten years, so you got no excuse. Take ‘er with ya on yer trips. Show ‘er how bein’ a decent pony’s gotten yer family to where it is today. Make ‘er get her hooves dirty! Good hard work’ll kill attitude faster’n an early frost kills vegetables.”

Applejack herself smiled slowly at that one, a faint chuckle escaping her lips. “An’ don’t let her drag along that Silver Spoon. She’s gotta learn there’s consequences she cares about when she screws up.” Applejack lifted her glass and gave the business pony a decisive nod. “Far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of it. But if’n I hear she’s piling on Scootaloo or Applebloom again, I ain’t gonna sit here an’ take it.”

Filthy Rich raised his hooves in surrender, a half smile crossing his face. “Remind me never to go up against you two in a business deal. You are both very much correct, and I shall take all of your considerable advice into account.” He clapped his hooves together and exhaled. “Now, would you two be amenable to talking about something a bit more positive? I need some good news today after all of this kerfluffle.”

Granny grinned broadly, cocking her head to one side. “Well yer’ gonna be pleased t’ hear this’ll be the biggest cider harvest we’ve had in a long, long time. An’ thanks t’ those Flim Flam Fools from last year, we’ve even figgered out a faster way t’ make the Cider at the same level of quality, which means we might jes see our way t’ selling you some fer yer stores.” Her eyes sparkled a bright green as she sipped at the brandy with obvious relish.

Filthy Rich’s transformation of mood was instantaneous - his eyes brightened instantly and all of the dark rings under his eyes seemed to vanish. “Oh, great day in the morning, Granny, do you really think so? I would be…” He waved his hooves in the air excitedly, practically giggling. “So, so incredibly thankful to you! My father never shut up about the years when he got a supply of the cider to sell, and that would be a perfect way to educate Diamond about how important it is to be good to everypony, because you never know who might have the next big product.” Filthy was practically bouncing in his chair, a sight which was instantly amusing to the two Apple mares.

Applejack chuckled richly, shaking her head slowly. “Simmer down, Mister Rich. Ain’t fer certain yet, but I promise we’ll do our best fer ya. Gonna be tough gettin’ all the cider produced properly, but I ain’t backed down from a challenge yet.” She lifted a hoof up to casually adjust her hat, tugging on the brim with no shortage of pride in her eye.

Granny waved her hoof airily though, a slow smile on her face. “Oh, I don’t think it’ll be that tough, youngin’. We got another set of hooves now to help, an I bet yer friends’ll be excited to come by and lend a hoof in exchange fer a few fresh mugfulls.” Appleajck turned to give Granny a surprised look, and Granny simply smiled back at her. A devious little glint had lit in her eyes and she pressed her aged hooves together. “That young Scootaloo is a pretty clever little pony, yanno. I wouldn’t be surprised if she even managed to teach me somethin’ in the process.”

Granny cackled and tossed back the last of her liquor, smacking her lips in appreciation of the fine flavored drink. “Eeyup. It’s sure to be a mighty interestin’ cider season this year, an’ I can’t wait t’ see what craziness we get up to.”

Chapter 6 - Cider Season

~~~~~Sweet Apple Acres~~~~

For Scootaloo, time had seemingly slipped by her without her ever noticing; and soon enough, the earliest hints of fall were upon them. The leaves were beginning to turn colors and the warm summer air had given way to the gentle bite of early autumn. Crusades had been waged, tricks gotten up to, and Scootaloo had begun to worm her way into life on the Apple farm. Well, sort of worm her way into it, anyway. Unlike Applebloom, who at least was still an earth pony even if a young one, Scootaloo lacked the physical strength to buck apples, not that she hadn’t tried anyway.

Still, even if she hadn’t been much of a help outside, Granny Smith had not wasted a moment putting her to work inside the house. Scootaloo, like any self respecting filly, hated chores with a burning passion. But in spite of that, she’d taken to the tasks with gusto, determined to somehow return all of the incredible generosity and love the family had rained upon her since that fateful day in the club house. She wasn’t sure how she’d manage it yet, but she would do it.

It hadn’t helped that Rainbow Dash had been conspicuously absent in the past few weeks. The excuses - and Scootaloo was sure they were excuses - had been many and varied. Wonderbolts practice, giving Twilight flying lessons, running errands for Princess Celestia, it didn’t matter. Scootaloo wasn’t sure what was bugging Dash so much, but there wasn’t a lot she could do about it, so she found other ways to occupy her time.

But now, all those thoughts would be banished by the looming demands of cider season. The Apple Family cider was more than merely famous throughout Equestria, it was the stuff of legend. And ever since Twilight had gotten her wings and a fancy title, word had been going around that Ponyville was going to be inundated by a wave of tourists and well-to-do nobles coming into town to experience the same down-home events that Twilight so beloved. Mayor Mare had even begun selling tickets for the annual Running of the Leaves, and they were already going for sacks of bits.

That meant that the demands on the cider were going to be higher than ever, and according to Granny Smith they were ready and raring for it. Shipments of empty barrels had been rolling into the farm for days, and sacks of sugar and crates of spices were stacked all over the interior of the house. Twilight and her friends were already scheduled to arrive and help with the production… All except for Rainbow Dash, who’d said Spitfire wanted her on hoof to try her wing at some specialty stunt displays - to see if she’d learned enough to be considered for full on Wonderbolts membership.

If it wasn’t for the fact that cider was involved, Scootaloo probably would have doubted her word, but she was almost one hundred percent sure that nothing short of the Wonderbolts could have kept Dash away. Fortunately, Big Mac’s advice earlier in the summer had proven to be correct. The best cure for thinking too much was to get your nose to the grindstone and work hard.

Today was the first big day for cider, thankfully. It was time to bring in all the apples specifically left unharvested to be used in the cider making process, and get them prepped for production. Applejack and Big Mac had already carried out the three dozen or so carts full of bushel baskets to be filled and were working on positioning them, which left Scootaloo alone in the main barn with Applebloom.

In honesty, if Applebloom hadn’t been there to keep Scootaloo’s spirits up, the last few months would’ve been a lot harder on her. But as a sister, Applebloom had been just as much the constant buoy to her as she had as a best friend, if not moreso. Right now, Applebloom was manipulating a wrench to tighten the bolts on a cart wheel, pausing to look up and wave at Scootaloo with a vigorous smile. “Mornin, Scoots! Gonna be a real firecracker of a day, today!”

Scootaloo couldn’t help herself and waved back with a similar grin. “Yeah. I just wish I knew what I could be doing today to help.” That had been the sticking point for Scootaloo, as she wasn’t nearly old enough to be wielding the cleaver that Granny Smith would be using to chop up the apples en-masse, and she sure wasn’t strong enough to be bucking apples.

Applebloom rubbed at her chin slowly, putting on her ‘thinking face’. “Actually…” She eyeballed the cart next to her, then eyeballed Scootaloo in return. “I might have an idea. Gimmie a coupla hours to see if I can make it work.” Applebloom’s smile grew quite wide, and her eyes sparkled at the thought of devising some kind of new plan. Scootaloo had to admit the enthusiasm was infectious, and she couldn’t stop herself from grinning back at her.

As Applebloom began to pull down all manner of ropes and other supplies from the barn shelves, Scootaloo quickly retreated. If there was one thing more dangerous to be around than Pinkie Pie on Hearts and Hooves day, it was Applebloom when she had an idea. So she carefully shut the barn door behind her and trotted off, eyeballing the apple orchards as she went. She couldn’t just stand around and do nothing while she waited for Applebloom, so…

“Heyyyyyyyyyyy, Scooter-roo!” came the sing-song voice of Pinkie Pie as she hurtled through the air, giving Scootaloo just enough time to go limp as Pinkie’s soft body impacted her in a pouncing hug, and the two of them went tumbling off across the ground. By the time they came to a halt, Pinkie was giving Scootaloo one of the fluffiest hugs she’d gotten in a long time. Sap or no sap, there wasn’t a single soul in the entire world who could resist a hug like that, so Scootaloo didn’t even try.

She snuggled right back into it with a dopey grin. “Hey, Pinkie.” The words came out softer than she’d intended, but Pinkie didn’t miss a single beat. She gave Scootaloo a quick noogie before rolling them both back to their hooves and giving Scoots a dust off as the rest of her friends walked up, laughing and smiling. “And hey, everypony! How are y’all doin?” she asked, putting on Applejack’s trademark twang for a moment and finding much to her surprise how natural it felt.

Twilight Sparkle half grinned at her, tilting her head to one side. “Doing just fine, Scootaloo. It’s good to see you’re settling in well.” She flicked her wings back in an unconscious motion, then glared at them for a moment before they settled down. “Ugh, though I wish my flying lessons were going a bit better. Who’d have thought such a mechanically simple physical action would cause so many problems!” Her wings flared out again, and Scootaloo couldn’t restrain her giggles a little.

“Here, Twilight,” Scootaloo said with a tolerant sort of grin. Even though she herself had yet to master the fine art of flying, she knew everything about taking care of her wings, just like every pegasus foal. Apparently, Dash had been skipping a few lessons. “You’ve got yourself all tensed up, and I can see it from here…” Scootaloo trotted over as Rarity and Fluttershy appeared, chatting animatedly about something girly.

Rarity’s eyes fixed on Scootaloo as she moved and immediately went from bright and clear to soft and kinda sappy. Scootaloo winced a little, deciding on the spot to have a long talk with Rarity at some future date, but for now… “Here, feel these muscles?” Scootaloo pointed out, gently prodding the offending things in Twilight’s back. Twilight nodded a little, looking instantly focused on Scootaloo. “You’re holding them in tension, like you’re getting ready to fly. You gotta relax em. Try stretching out your back, like you were trying to get rid of an ache and that’ll help let out some of it.”

Twilight nodded and immediately went into a long, slow and languorous stretch that most pegasi were familiar with, but rarely brought up in conversation. With Twilight’s wing problems set aside, she turned to the other friends and as predictably as clockwork… “Hello, darling. How are you holding up after that dreadful little situation with Diamond Tiara?” Rarity’s voice was thick with a motherly concern, and if it had been any thicker Scootaloo could have spread it on toast.

Truth be told, Diamond Tiara had vanished from Ponyville’s school mere days after Scootaloo’s return, and word had it her father was trotting her around Equestria along with his wife. “Honestly, I’m pretty much over it at this point,” Scootaloo verbally shrugged, trying her best to keep things casual on that score. Which wasn’t to say she wasn’t still mad at Diamond, she simply had stopped caring about it. “I shouldn’t have let her get under my skin like that, to be honest.” Scootaloo shook her head a little, still wondering at the strength of her reaction to those hateful words. Maybe she was less okay with how things were than she’d realized.

But Rarity wasn’t going to leave it at that. “Nonsense, dear,” she sniffed derisively, her eyes snapping with a barely concealed anger that she must have been cooking up for months. “Such a scandal, treating somepony’s tragedies in such a disrespectful light. There’s simply no excuse for that sort of behavior from anypony.” Then the anger vanished into another blanket of soft concern. So quickly that it caused Scootaloo to wonder just what made Rarity feel so close to Scootaloo’s issues. “Still, I wish you wouldn’t have hidden yourself away here, darling. We had to positively restrain Rainbow Dash before she did anything foolish after your little tussle.”

Scootaloo stared at her for a moment, her mouth working in surprise at that particular bit of news. “Oh yes. I’ve never seen Rainbow Dash so angry before,” Fluttershy gently added from the back of the crowd, half-hiding behind Rarity as she spoke. “Pinkie Pie had to sit on her for almost an hour before she calmed down.” Fluttershy trailed off into a whisper, pressing her hooves to her mouth.

Scootaloo felt her butt hit the ground, just a little bit dazed. She’d been worried that Dash had been purposefully avoiding her, but she just hadn’t been able to figure out why. Now… now it made a lot more sense. Feeling powerless sucks, was about the only thought that summed up the whole situation. “Don’t worry about Rainbow Dash, darling,” Rarity said in a soothing tone, gently squeezing Scootaloo’s shoulder. “She’s just not used to not knowing what to do. She’ll come around - she always does.”

Scootaloo nodded faintly, knowing that Rarity was right but wishing she could do something about it anyway. “Come on, girls, let’s go help Applejack get set up,” Twilight announced brightly, and Rarity nodded solemnly. She paused only to give Scootaloo a gentle peck on the cheek before trotting toward the family home. Fluttershy followed in close attendance, shooting an encouraging sort of smile at Scootaloo on the way. “Chin up, Scootaloo. I’ll have a talk with Dash when she comes back to Ponyville,” Twilight said, smiling at her before following in the wake of her other two friends.

That left Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be purposefully waiting for the rest of them to head off before turning with one of her more weary smiles. “Sorry I haven’t had a chance to come up and see you, Scooter. I had a lot of stuff that needed doing.” She opened up her forelegs and wrapped Scootaloo up in a more sedate, but no less fluffy hug. “You sure you’re Okie-dokie? You need to talk?”

Scootaloo leaned into the comfort for a moment, then sighed. “Yeah. I’m okay, Pinkie. And it’s okay, I understand.” She shook her head and prised herself out of the hug, which Pinkie gave up easily. “As for talking… I don’t think I’m ready for that quite yet.” She half smiled at her friend, holding up her hoof. “But when I am, you’ll be the first pony who knows.”

Pinkie nodded and gave her a gentle hoofbump before bouncing off after her friends, leaving Scootaloo alone in the farmyard. That was okay, as she needed a moment to get her brain organized before the next crazy thing came along and interrupted her. She was half beginning to suspect that she’d been carefully managed so she never had too much time to let her thoughts run away with her, but that was way too paranoid for her taste.

So she simply took deep breaths and tried to focus on the positives, rather than all the worries. Which of course, meant that Applebloom would choose exactly that moment to grab her by the shoulder, her voice bright and excited as she half dragged her back towards the barn. “I’m brilliant! Genius! Come on Scootaloo, yer gonna love this!”

~~~~~~~

The… contraption was a strange amalgam of an apple cart merged with a scooter. That was about the only way Scootaloo was able to comprehend the thing, given that it looked like it was held together mostly with rope and copious amounts of glue. The bed of the cart was smaller than the ones typically hauled by Big Mac and the other earth ponies and looked to be made out of less wood. In fact, it really just looked like an outsized version of her scooter strapped to their little wagon.

Applebloom was beaming like she’d just invented the self cleaning frying pan or some other miracle invention. “See! It’s perfect! The front wheel’s the perfect size so ya’ll can steer it, an’ I got all three wheels on really good bearings so they’ll roll easier.” Applebloom wiped at her hooves with a rag, cleaning them of dark looking grease with a cheesy grin plastered across her face. “And if I’ve got the weight right, you’ll be able to haul three bushels a’ apples same as if you was haulin’ the three of us an’ babs.”

Scootaloo gave the thing a little kick and was genuinely surprised when it didn’t completely fall apart in response. “Uh… you sure about that? I don’t want to sprain my wings trying to get this thing up to any kind of speed.” The whole thing looked dubious enough as it was, even if the wheels did look to be about the right type.

Applebloom shook her head and grinned at her. “Silly. This thing isn’t supposed t’ go fast, it’s supposed to carry heavier stuff easier. C’mon, just give it a try!” She bounced up and down on her hooves, practically brimming with enthusiasm and energy.

Scootaloo sighed and rolled her eyes at the histrionics. “Okay, okay,” she said in a deadpan sort of way, clambering through the mess of ropes and the like to the main platform where she figured she was supposed to stand. It took a moment or two to get a feel for the handlebars, but it wasn’t that different from her normal scooter. “Hm, okay…” She did a quick little experimental bounce on the thing, then stretched out her wings before giving them an experimental buzzing.

It was a little harder than normal getting the thing to move, but once she adjusted for its added weight, it really felt a lot like her own scooter. It took a little bit of work but she got the thing out of the barn and into the main yard, tooling it around a bit and seeing how it took corners. “Hey, this isn’t half bad, Applebloom! Come on, lets put some weight on it.” She grinned and bounced up and down on her hooves.

Applebloom trotted out and hopped up on the bed of the cart, and… there was a creaking sound and a sudden crack, followed by the sound of Applebloom tumbling down to the ground accompanied by a pile of wood. Scootaloo turned around quickly and stared at the cart behind her, where it looked like the entire bed of the thing had simply come loose and gone flying all over behind it. “Applebloom?” she asked in a soft, worried voice, wondering if she might be hurt...

Until a muffled and slightly peeved voice piped up from the pile of wood, and a yellow hoof shot up from somewhere in the middle. “I can fix it!”

~~~~~

About a half hour later, the boards in the wagon bed were more firmly affixed thanks to a few well placed nails, and Applebloom was able to ride in the cart with a minimal amount of fuss and bother. The next problem, of course, came as soon as they put a more serious amount of weight on it. “Hang on!” Applebloom called out, hopping off the cart as Scootaloo tried to haul a couple of large bushel baskets full of rocks to no avail.

Applebloom peeked down at the wheels, and sighed heavily. “Aw, dangit. I know that axle was gonna let me down.” Scootaloo just rolled her eyes at the statement, leaning morosely on the handlebars as Applebloom shoved the bushel baskets off the cart and hauled herself under it with a bag full of what looked like wagon parts. “Hang on, Scoots! We’ll get this thing a-workin’, or my name ain’t Applebloom!”

Scootaloo couldn’t help it, she snorted and called back over her shoulder, “So long as it’s not like the apple wagon we made for that parade!” That thing had actually been pretty cool, but getting Applejack to let them keep using the engine was just not going to happen. She felt a thud as Applebloom probably removed something from the wagon, and the sound of a jack cranking up and the feel of her scooter lifting a bit on the right side, then going down again.

Scootaloo just sighed, laying her head on the handlebars and closing her eyes. She really did appreciate Applebloom trying to help, but this was just one weird concoction of ideas she had here. Several more thumps followed the first one, and a mutter not unlike a curse word floated past her ears. Briefly, Scootaloo debated on going to hide in her room for a few hours until everypony forgot she was there, then cleaning out cider barrels or something.

There was the sound of a wrench working for a minute before Applebloom yelled out, “Try it again!” Scootaloo sighed and picked up speed with her wings, feeling some heavier resistance than normal before the cart began to move slowly forward. With a little frown she picked up the speed, and the cart began moving at a reasonably quick pace, even if it wasn’t at the speed she usually liked.

Scootaloo looked over her shoulder a bit to call back, “Hey, this feels pretty good, if a bit… slow.” Her words fell away, as she saw the back of her cart suddenly loaded with ponies. Twilight and all the rest of her friends were there, as was Applejack and Big Macintosh. All of them were grinning at her as she pulled all of the ponies out onto the main path leading into the orchards. Fortunately, she snapped her head back to make sure she knew where she was going before driving the thing into a ditch.

“We’re goin’ ta’ the east orchards, Scootaloo! Get a move onnit!” That was Applejack’s voice, catcalling from the cart and a chorus of other encouragements followed. Taking it as a challenge, she buzzed up the power in her wings and the cart quickly picked up a bit of speed down the smooth dirt path. It was certainly way different than her normal scooter, especially with that big heavy weight on the back-end, but adjusting to it was easier than she’d thought it would be.

The path through the orchards was as even as a flagstone road, and twice as smooth. She took the turn heading into the eastern orchards with ease and simply enjoyed the feel of the wind in her mane as she road. The whole load of ponies in the back of her funny little cart thing couldn’t have been less than at least a bushel or two of the apples. Maybe she could really accomplish something here…

It didn’t take much more than a few minutes to get to the orchard, and bringing the cart to a stop seemed to be more about letting it coast to a halt than her usual method of braking. She’d have to bring that up with Applebloom later on. “Well now, ain’t that a hoot of a way t’ get out here,” Applejack drawled as the ponies piled out of the cart and chatted animatedly as they headed for the row upon row of empty bushels waiting for apples. “Think y’all can haul somethin’ back, too?” She cocked her head at Scootaloo, a challenging smile on her face.

Scootaloo paused and rubbed at her chin for a moment in faux thought, before nodding solemnly. “I’ll give it a shot.” Applejack nodded right back, a gleam in her eye as she took off at a gallop and performed a picture-perfect applebuck on one of the nearby trees, dropping all of it’s fruit into the awaiting bushel baskets. A few minutes later, between Big Mac and Twilight, Scootaloo found her little cart with a half-a-dozen bushels, three stacked upon three.

But now was the big test. She flared out her wings and took a deep breath before setting them to buzzing, building up speed and power behind them and ignoring the remaining ponies around her. She had to find a way to turn what she was good at into a way that could genuinely help, and no matter what Applebloom said… she was good at going fast.

The cart began to pick up a little speed, trundling toward the main path as Scootaloo poured on the power. By the time she hit the main path she had a good head of speed going, her heart racing just a little faster. Sure, it was just a simple chore, just carrying apples. It wasn’t dramatic or risky, but it was… it was something she could do here. Something that helped, that was in some small way a repayment for everything they’d given her.

If there was anything she’d learned from her time with the Crusaders, it was that one had a certain responsibility to the ponies one loved. Not some lame kind of responsibility that was about doing something because one had to, but the kind where one did something because it was the right thing to do. One did it because one cared about the ponies one loved, and on some deep fundamental level one wanted to be a part of making their lives better as much as they did the same for you.

Applejack understood that. Maybe that was why she’d taken her in, seeing a little filly not unlike herself but without any of the advantages she’d had and deciding to do something about it. Maybe that was why Rarity kept wanting to help her, seeing somepony in need and feeling that powerful generosity inside of her aching to reach out and do something about it. Maybe that was why Rainbow Dash couldn’t come and see her yet, because she felt the same as Rarity and Applejack, but didn’t have the resources to help and hated herself for it.

Come to think of it, maybe that was why she’d gotten so mad at Diamond Tiara. All of these ponies were just trying to help somepony else, and she had to tear them down. Helping ponies was a good thing, it was something she wished more of them would try to do more often. And now, for one of the first times in her life, Scootaloo could help them back for all the help they’d given her. She could make things go a little more smoothly on the farm, help do things nopony else here could do. Maybe someday, she’d even be able to help somepony else like her and pay it forward to the next generation.

Maybe that was a little sappy, when you got right down to it. But after all of the little things that had happened, after Applejack had brought her in from the cold and given her a hearth and a bed and a place she’d never have to feel alone again, Scootaloo figured she could live with a little bit of sap. She was a tough filly, just like Mom would have wanted her to be, and she could take it. So she lowered her head and smiled, just a little. There was a lot of work yet to do, but she wouldn’t be doing it alone.

And hey, there’d be cider later. Which would be awesome.

Chapter 7 - All We Need to Strive to Be

~~~~The Running of the Leaves, some time later~~~~

“Get yer cider here! Fresh Apple Family cider, right here!”

Scootaloo catcalled into the crowd, leaning up over the edge of the stall with a big, cheerful grin spread over her face. All around her, hundreds of ponies milled about the area where Ponyville’s local farmers and chefs had set up food stalls for the insane crowds that were converging upon the town for the Running of the Leaves. “We got pie, we got fritters, we’ve got gen-u-wine Zap Apple Jam, no fooling folks! Hurray, Hurray, Hurray!” Scootaloo chanted into the crowd and wondered why in the world she found this to be so dang fun.

Okay, so maybe it was just that she was able to combine Crusading, hanging out with Applebloom, and helping out the family during this busy but profitable time. It was also kind of fun to affect the Apple accent in her own unique way as she chanted to the crowd, no few of which had already indulged in the many treats baked by Granny or the limited and fast depleting supply of their cider and Zap Apple Jam, both of which had been held over from their normal selling season just for today.

Applebloom was handling the money, and Big Macintosh was doling out the goodies with his usual laconic smile and easygoing attitude. It had taken a while, but Scootaloo thought she’d finally gotten a hoof on exactly what was up with Big Mac. He too had been seriously touched by the death of his mom and poppa, but instead of getting more emotional about things, he’d chosen to regard life in a relaxed new way. There wasn’t anything he could have done to help them, so he would focus on doing everything he could to make the things he could change happen.

It was an attitude Scootaloo could definately get along with. “Heyla, mister!” she called out to a particularly well-to-do looking unicorn couple, grinning cheekily as she hopped up onto the edge of the stall and clambered up the side of the sign. “Yes, you there! You two look like you could use a pull of the famous Apple Family cider! You’re not going to get many chances to taste it straight from the barrel, so c’mon over here!” The sales pitching had turned into quite a hilarious little game for her, trying to see just how far she could push her usual cocky attitude in a way that was both funny and appealing.

In this case, the fancy unicorns shrugged at one another with tolerant smiles and dutifully trotted over to the stall. Scootaloo felt another little thrill of victory, sliding down the sign’s pole and plopping to the ground with a little bounce for good measure when… “Hey, kiddo.” The words and voice were almost too soft to hear in the din of the crowd, but that voice was completely unmistakable. Scootaloo whirled around to see a dejected looking Rainbow Dash, her head bowed and her eyes kinda soft.

For a moment, neither of them said anything, until Dash spoke a little hesitantly. “Um… Scoots? I’m…” Dash hesitated over her words, turning her head to one side and looking like she half wanted to fly away to anywhere but here. “I’m… I’m real sorry, Scoots,” she blurted out the words, and instantly some of the tension in her wings and face eased up once she had them out. “I’m sorry for… for being… Argh! Why is this so hard!?!” she burst out a moment later, stomping her forehooves into the ground in pure frustration.

Scootaloo, however, knew exactly what to do in this situation. “You’re sorry for being an idiot. I know, Dash,” she replied in her best firm and grown-up pony voice, surprising Dash so much that her jaw dropped a little. Scootaloo felt a grin tug across her face before trotting over to throw a hug around Dash’s neck. “That’s okay. I’m sorry for being an idiot, too. I shoulda talked to you about it.” They were hard words to say, but Scootaloo had been building up to them for weeks now. They were true, after all, and she owed Dash that much.

Rainbow Dash hesitated, then wrapped a bigger foreleg around Scootaloo’s shoulder and sighed, leaning her cheek into Scootaloo’s. “Heh. You’ve grown up a bit, haven’t you?” Her tone of voice was wry and cocky, much more like herself. “I said I was going to be your big sister, and here I’ve been avoiding you like a silly filly because I couldn’t actually be your big sister when you needed it.” Dash was muttering now, and Scootaloo could tell she was about to get into a bad mood again.

That meant she had to act quickly before Dash decided to run off and beat herself up over this. “Hey… It’s okay, Rainbow Dash,” she quickly soothed, patting her back as firmly as she could with her tiny hooves. “I understand how you feel, I really do. Don’t worry about it, things turned out okay.” She pulled back to give Dash her best cocky smirk, winking cheekily up at her. “Just promise you’ll make up for all the flying lessons we missed, and that you’ll show me how to do that loop-the-loop.”

Dash stared at her for a moment, and her face split into an equally cocky grin. “Ha! You’re on, kid.” She gently shoved Scootaloo’s shoulder and gave her a quick cheek nuzzle. “You stick with me, and I’ll make you the second best flier in all of Equestria! After me, of course.” Dash preened a little, and Scootaloo couldn’t help but chuckle at her. It really didn’t take much to get Dash out of her funks, and Scootaloo was glad she could get some more flying practice in.

“Well, now. ‘Bout time you ponied up,” drawled Applejack, appearing out of the crowd with a sly grin on her face and leaning over the two of them. Rainbow Dash scrambled to her hooves and away from the brief intimate contact she’d had with Scootaloo, coughing and flaring her wings in the process. Applejack snickered and tipped her hat toward Dash, her green eyes sparkling. “Aw, don’t get yer tail in a twist, Dashie. I won’t tell nopony that ya got a soft side.” The nickname came out faintly teasingly, but there was something else there… something Scootaloo couldn’t put her hoof on.

Rainbow Dash’s wings poofed out, and she half glared at Applejack from behind her multihued mane. “Yeah, you say that now. But you just wait - I’m going to smoke you in the race this year, and I won’t even need any dirty tricks this time.” Her voice was surprisingly calm, almost challenging as she tilted her head up and a little sly smile crossed her face. “Unless you think we can’t beat out Twilight this year, since we’ll be staring at each other’s flanks the whole time?”

Applejack chuckled and adjusted her hat slowly. “I reckon we oughter be able to at least manage that. C’mon, let’s go get warmed up.” She turned deliberately on the spot, nudging at Dash with her shoulder and a sly grin across her face. “Scoots, make sure Applebloom don’t end up eatin’ half the stall while we’re racin’, would ya?” Her voice was thick with a wry concern, and Scootaloo couldn’t help but outright laughing at the thought. It was easy to suspect that she might do it, if left unattended.

“Sure thing, Applejack. Have fun with the race!” She waved at her as Applejack melted into the crowd, followed by a surprisingly frisky looking Rainbow Dash who wore a thoughtful look on her face. Scootaloo turned back to the stall and trotted back to her place, a faint warmth settling into her chest. It was good to have that final bit of drama finally laid to rest, and the prospect of extra flying lessons in the near future was super exciting.

The crowd was thinning out for now, anyway, as the prospect of the opening scramble for the race drew away much of the crowd toward the stands. It would get busy shortly after that, so Scootaloo focused on giving the stall a quick wipedown and helping Big Mac clean out the used mugs. Applebloom was carefully counting on the bits nearby and marking down the numbers on a little ledger while they worked.

After a few minutes of cleaning, Big Macintosh drew off three mugs of fresh foaming cider and set them down on the stall with a grin of his own. “Ain’t no harm in havin’ a little somethin’ before th’ lunch rush,” he joked, and Scootaloo couldn’t have agreed more with him. She hefted the mug carefully and tapped hers against Applebloom’s with a soft smile of her own. The apple tang of the cider was like nothing else in the world, and it sang a message as sweet as sunshine. Home. Friendship. Family.

“Um… Scootaloo?” came a surprisingly familiar and thoroughly unwelcome voice, interrupting her cider time. She carefully lowered the mug to find a sight she hadn’t expected in the least. Rarity was standing in front of the stall with a faint smile of satisfaction on her face, and right next to her was the source of the unwelcome voice: Silver Spoon. But… there was something distinctly off about Silver Spoon. Something was different.

Rarity tossed her mane fetchingly and nudged the little filly toward the stall. “Silver Spoon has something she needs to say to you, Scootaloo,” Rarity said in a tart and arch voice, her smile as wicked as a Nightmare Night witch’s. “Don’t you, Silver?” she asked in a much more stern tone, turning her hard gaze down upon the silver-maned filly, who shivered a little in response. Scootaloo couldn’t blame her - when Rarity was ticked off about something, she was a force of nature.

Silver Spoon swallowed an obvious lump in her throat and took a hesitant step forward. She awkwardly rubbed at her foreleg, looking down and to her side. “Um… I’m…” she hesitated, tripping over her words for a moment or two before blurting out, “I’msorryaboutwhatdiamondsaidtoyou!” The words came out all at once, tumbling over one another in a rush, and her voice descending into a fearful whine. Rarity sighed and gently bopped Silver Spoon on the head, who winced a little before taking a deep breath and speaking again in a much more normal speed. “I mean… I’m sorry about what happened with Diamond Tiara. That was wrong of her to talk about, and… and I’m sorry I’ve been such a jerk to you.”

Applebloom nearly dropped her mug of cider at that, and Scootaloo wasn’t terribly far behind her. She stared in mute shock and astonishment at Silver Spoon, who had just the faintest glitter of tears in her eyes. “Capital Gains, Silver Spoon’s father, has placed her in my care to teach her about manners,” Rarity said with a sly smile on her face and looking quietly triumphant. “Since Diamond Tiara shan't be returning to Ponyville any time soon, I thought it was time for her to own up to her misbehavior toward you and your friends, Scootaloo.”

For just one moment, Scootaloo entertained the thought of launching herself over the stall and giving Rarity the biggest hug she’d ever given any pony. She didn’t do it, but she really seriously thought about it. Silver Spoon wasn’t done though, apparently now having gotten past the really hard part, she was talking a bit more normally, if a whole lot less smugly. “I’ve been such a big jerk to you and your friends, Scootaloo. I didn’t even think twice about the hard stuff you girls might have been going through, too.” Scootaloo felt a little shock, and wondered just what Silver Spoon’s story might be. It was starting to look like a whole lot of ponies she thought she’d had figured out might have been a bit more in depth than at first glance.

Silver Spoon took a deep breath and then exhaled it in a familiar, stress relieving way. “Diamond Tiara was really my only friend, and now that she’s gone… I know it’s a lot to ask, but… can we maybe, you know... start over?” Silver Spoon was clutching at her other foreleg, and there was a look of barely restrained sadness… and just a touch of hope in her eye. “I… I want to start over, and try to be a better pony.”

Scootaloo leaned against the edge of the stall, staring at the triumphant looking Rarity and the fearful and sad looking Silver Spoon. How must she have looked when Applejack showed up in the clubhouse all those weeks ago? How alone had she felt, when Mom had passed on and there had been nopony else around to help her? Sure, Silver Spoon had been a grade-A jerk for a long time now, and there was no doubt in Scootaloo’s mind that she’d probably enjoyed being a jerk.

But after everything she’d been given, after everything that had happened these past few months, she just couldn’t bring herself to hate Silver Spoon. She’d come to understand that everypony had a story, and everypony had things in their lives which were hard for them to deal with. Everypony dealt with those things differently, and sometimes they weren’t very good at dealing with them. Sometimes they needed a hoof, extended in the spirit of friendship to help pull them up from those bad places in their lives. Sometimes, there was nopony around who could do that, and they ended up in worse and worse places because nopony had tried to help.

And how could she call herself an Apple if she didn’t extend the same hoof to Silver Spoon that had been extended to her? “I think…” she began slowly, and felt herself smiling just a bit. “I think the apology was a good place to start. Let’s have a cider and see where it goes from there.”

The End?

Author's Note

This story is dedicated to my mom, who has saved my life more times than I can count when I have been truly at the bottom of the hole.
To my father, an adoptee himself, for teaching me that who we are is about the family we have, not the family we might have had.
To my sister, who's basically Applejack, except she doesn't have the accent.
To Eselle and Inky Jay, without whom this story wouldn't be nearly as good as it is.

And finally, to my readers. You guys and girls are awesome and make every bit of this writing worthwhile. I encourage you all to like and follow, as there's plenty more to come.

If any of you readers are interested in a possible sequel to this story involving a much older Scootaloo, Silver Spoon and other interesting bits, sound off in the comments.

I remain, as always, Humbly yours.
Lapis-Lazuli.