“Um Scootaloo, you’re on in five.” Said the shaky stage stallion from behind a half opened door.
“Alright thanks.” replied Scootaloo from behind a purple dressing curtain. The stagehand shut the door and Scootaloo walked out from behind the curtain wearing a black suit and tie, her wings poking out of holes in the suit. She walked to the dressing mirror with a show ready stride and sat down on the stool. She grinned and giggled spinning around on the stool. “I look so cool!” She continued to spin in the stool not noticing the two mares standing in the center of the room.
“Boy Scootaloo I haven’t seen you this excited since you got your cutie mark.”
Scootaloo came to a sudden stop flying off her stool flapping her wings wildly. She hit the floor and immediately bounced back to her hoofs, wobbling back and forth.
“You ok?” asked a different voice. Scootaloo jumped and turned to see Applebloom and Sweetiebell standing behind her. “Oh” she said surprised “It’s you two, how’d you get in?”
Applebloom rolled her eyes “Though the door.” Scootaloo regained her composure and sat back down on the stool and turned towards the mirror.
“You sure look nice in that suit.” said Sweetiebell with a smile.
“Thanks Sweetie, so what are the two of you here for anyway?”
Applebloom stepped forward with a answer. “We wanted to come and see our best friend before her big performance to night."
Scootaloo smiled and turned towards them both hugging them. They each returned the hug laughing and giggling. When they were finished the room was filled with an awkward silence that was amplified by the wall clock’s ticking. Applebloom cleared her throat preparing herself to break the uncomfortable silence. “You know it’s kinda’ hard to believe just how perfectly it came together. I mean who woulda’ thought you’d get your cutie mark in country singing after taking guitar lessons from Big Macintosh and that your first gig would be in front of a big time record producer who’d offer you a record deal right off the bat.”
Scootaloo raised her eyebrow at Applebloom. “Was there a reason for why you just went over all that?”
Applebloom shrugged, “I don’t know it just sorta’ came to me.”
Sweetiebell smiled and spun Scootaloos stool causing her to spin with it. “Don’t mind Applebloom I think her job’s just starting to get to her head." Sweetiebell gave the stool another spin and Scootaloo felt her balance start to slip. In an attempt to keep it she spread her wings and slapped both Applebloom and Sweetiebell in the face with them. “Ouch!” shouted Applebloom as she took a step back tripping over a box of props and falling on to a loose floor board. The floor board came up on the opposite end and catapulted a white feathery scarf towards the now still Scootaloo.
The scarf hit her in the face, the momentum of it causing the ends to wrap loosely around her head. Sweetiebell calmly walked over and helped Applebloom back onto all fours saying, “Guess you two are still as accident prone as I remember.” she looked at Applebloom who wore a large grin on her face. Sweetiebell turned to see what it was that had Applebloom on the verge of laughing and saw that the scarf was wrapped around Scootaloo’s face. The only thing she could see was her eyes, her wings, and the black suit.
“I don’t get it.” said Sweetiebell “What’s funny?” Applebloom lowered her head as small giggles leaked through the grin.
“I think I’d like to know too.” said Scootaloo as she started to pull the scarf off. Applebloom took a deep breath and wiped a tear from her eye.
“Don’t you remember Scootaloo?” Applebloom paused to giggle some more, “That one time in the everfree forest, when we were looking for Fluttershy’s chicken?” Realizing what she was referring to Scootaloo closed her eyes and promptly brought her hoof to her face.
Sweetiebell looked at the two of them clueless of the reference and finely demanded. “Tell me! I don’t want to be left out!”
Applebloom took a few more breaths trying to regain control of herself. She then cleared her throat and put a hoof next to her mouth screaming. “ Scootaloo! Oh Scoot-Scoot-Scootaloo!” As she finished she burst into a fit of laughter and Scootaloo put her head down on the table in front of the mirror, her face red with humiliation. Then it clicked in Sweetiebells mind, an old memory she had forgotten.
“Oh now I remember!” she smiled and looked over to Applebloom who was nearly in tears laughing. “I also remember it not being that funny.” Applebloom began to breathe deeply in another attempt to control her laughter.
“It’s funny, because.” she paused fighting back more laughs allowing only small giggles to escape. “B-because now she’s the chicken in black!” Applebloom continued her laughter and Scootaloo covered her head with her hoofs, her face now a blaze with embarrassment.
“Oh!” proclaimed Sweetiebell suddenly realizing the joke. “Like her song: Mare in Black. Oh that is clever of you Applebloom!” Sweetiebell joined Applebloom laughing next to her at Scootaloo’s expense.
The laughing died down and Scootaloo raised her head, her face still beet red. “You guys suck.” said the upset Scootaloo crossing her hoofs in front of her.
Applebloom walked over to Scootaloo and put her fore hoof around her. “Oh lighten up buddy you know we’re only foolin’. Don’t tell me you’re so big and famous that you can’t take a joke.”
Scootaloo sighed and looked at Applebloom. “No I just hadn’t been around actual friends for a while.”
Sweetiebell raised an eyebrow, “What about all those celebrities you hang out with?”
Scootaloo averted her eyes from Sweetiebell. “I um pay them to.”
Applebloom took a step back in surprise, “Pay them?” she asked.
“Yeah, I pay them to be around me. My agent says it’s a good way to get noticed. I don’t like any of them really.” The other two looked each other in the eye than back at Scootaloo who smiled trying to hide her embarrassment.
“That’s ridicules!” blurted out Sweetiebell. “Those stuck up celebs should be paying you. I mean we haven’t seen one of our best friends in years and these people are getting paid to! That’s just ridicules.”
Both Scootaloo and Applebloom stared at Sweetiebell surprised at her outburst. “Sorry.” said Sweetiebell smiling, “Just had to get that out of my system.” The two of them stayed silent for a few moments and then Scootaloo realized she had forgotten to ask them if they were staying for the show.
“Hey.” she said cautiously scared of a negative answer. “Are you two staying for the show?” The two of them exchanged glances than smiled.
“Oh course!” they said simultaneously. Scootaloo smiled and Applebloom gave her a slight bump saying, “Did you really think I’d travel all the way here and not watch you? Equstria can wait for a few hours.” A knock was heard at the door and the same stage stallion from before spoke through it.
“You’re on Miss. Scootaloo.” Scootaloo smiled and her acoustic guitar levitated to her, the strap gently falling around her neck. Sweetiebell smiled as the glow of her horn faded. “Go break a leg.”
Scootaloo walked onto the dimly lit stage. A spotlight followed her as she made her way to the microphone at the front of the stage. She looked out across the black field of ponies and closed her eyes leaning towards the microphone. “Hello there I’m Scootaloo.” The crowd cheered wildly as they began to jump and stomp with excitement. Scootaloo balanced herself on her hind legs and used her fore hoofs to play her guitar. She brought her mouth back to the microphone and began to sing. “Well my papa left home when I was three and he didn’t leave much for mama and me but a worn out picture and an empty bottle of cider.”
Author's Note
Got the idea while listening to the Johnny Cash song Chicken in Black