Scootaloo raced through Ponyville, wearing her sky-blue helmet and riding on her matching blue scooter. Her wings buzzed excitedly, propelling her even faster as she weaved around other ponies and obstacles in her path. She was in a good mood, smiling broadly and waving to everyone she passed. It was Saturday, and she was off to Carousel Boutique to pick up Sweetie Belle before heading over to Sweet Apple Acres. She had no idea what Applebloom had planned for them today, but whatever it was, she was sure it would be awesome.
Scootaloo skidded to a halt outside the cylindrical store, just barely managing to stop herself from crashing through the solid oak door. She reached up and knocked on the wood with her free hoof.
"Sweetie Belle!" she yelled, defeating the purpose of her knock. "We gotta hurry! Applebloom is waiting for us!"
A few moments passed before the door swung open to reveal the little white unicorn filly.
"Uh, h-hey, Scootaloo." Scootaloo could tell right away that something was up. Sweetie didn't seem too excited to see her friend there, and she shifted nervously on her hooves.
"What's with you?" Scootaloo asked in her usual blunt fashion.
"Well, um, you see, I kiiiiiinda won't be able to go to the club meeting today."
"What?!" Scootaloo nearly shouted. "Why not?"
"My sister just got a huge order today to make a ton of dresses," Sweetie Belle explained, "so she needs my help to get the order done on time!" Sweetie couldn't help but smile at that last part. She always wanted to help Rarity, but the older sibling usually just brushed off her offers. "I'm really sorry, Scootaloo. You're not upset, are you?"
In truth, Scootaloo was a little hurt that Sweetie Belle wanted to spend her Saturday with her sister instead of her friends, but she wasn't about to say as much.
"What? Of course not!" she said instead, waving her hoof nonchalantly. "Me and Applebloom got this meeting covered. You just worry about helping Rarity finish that order."
"Thanks, Scootaloo!" Sweetie squeaked as she rushed forward to embrace her in a friendly hug. "You're the best!"
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity called from somewhere inside the boutique. "I need your help, dear!"
"Coming Rarity!" Sweetie replied. "Bye, Scootaloo!" she called over her shoulder as she rushed back inside.
"Good--" was all she could say before the door magically slammed in her face. "--bye..."
Her spirits were somewhat dampened by Sweetie Belle's change of plans, but they lifted slightly as she began making her way towards the Apple farm. At least Applebloom would be excited to see her.
~ ~ ~
"What do you mean you can't play today?!"
Scootaloo had found Applebloom out in the orchard, mending an old wooden fence that marked the orchard's borders. Scootaloo leaned on the fence as she held Applebloom in an accusing glare, having just been told that neither of her friends had time to spend with her.
"Ah'm sorry, Scootaloo, but mah sister really needs mah help today," she said apologetically. "Our wagon just up an' broke, so Ah gotta do her chores while she an' Mac try an' fix it."
Scootaloo gave an exasperated sigh as she smacked her forehead against the fence post, all her hopes and dreams for the day completely shot.
"Hey, since me an' Sweetie are spendin' the day helpin' our sisters, why don't you see what Rainbow Dash is doin'?" Applebloom suggested. "Ah'm sure she'd like ta hang out with ya."
Scootaloo perked up at that. "Hey, yeah! She's usually happy to take me flying with her!" She hopped onto her scooter as she put her helmet back on her head. "Thanks Applebloom!" she said before zipping off back towards town.
"Don't mention it!" she shouted at her receding figure before picking up her hammer and getting back to work.
~ ~ ~
Scootaloo rolled through town slowly as she scanned the sky, looking for the rainbow streak that was the signature of her idol, Rainbow Dash. She had been searching for ten minutes already and her neck was beginning to hurt. Where was she?
Just when Scootaloo was about to give up hope, there it was. The rainbow appeared directly above her, but was quickly moving towards the horizon. She immediately chased after it, pushing her scooter as fast as it would go, beating her wings furiously to propel her even faster. "Rainbow Dash!" she called out, desperately trying to get her attention.
Scootaloo beamed happily and slowed down as she saw the spectral trail turn back on itself, heading straight towards her.
Moments later, Rainbow Dash was hovering in front of her, wearing a friendly smile. "Hey, squirt. What's up?"
Scootaloo tried to hide her happiness under a calm façade. It didn't work very well. "Hi, Rainbow. Wanna go flying today? I think my wings are getting stronger!"
Dash's friendly smile was replaced by a sad frown. "Sorry, Scootaloo, but I have to help the weather team today. We've got a lot of rain scheduled for later this afternoon, and they need everypony to lend a hoof."
Scootaloo's face fell, all of her happy emotions falling and crashing into the pit of her stomach. Rainbow Dash, her last hope, the only remaining beacon of light in an otherwise dull and boring Saturday, was too busy to spend any time with her either. Celestia herself must have been working against her.
Dash saw the immediate effect that her words had on the filly. "Scootaloo? You alright? We can go flying tomorrow. Promise."
Scootaloo was still too busy holding back her tears to reply.
"Rainbow Dash," another pegasus called as she flew past them. "Are you coming? Those clouds will be arriving from Cloudsdale soon."
"Yeah, I'm coming," Rainbow replied. She gave one last worried look at Scootaloo. "I'll talk to you later, Scoots. 'k?"
Scootaloo merely nodded her head before Dash flew off with the other pegasus. She sighed, turning her scooter around and heading back the way she came with no real destination in mind. She resigned herself to the fact that her Saturday was going to be boring, lonely, and -- most of all -- dull.
~ ~ ~
Scootaloo listened to the wheels of her scooter squeak each time she pushed herself forward. She became lost in the constant rhythm of it. Push, squeak, pause, push, squeak, pause... over and over again, until it seemed as natural to her as her own heartbeat. By the time she finally noticed how bored she must be to listen to her scooter wheels squeak, she realized that she had entered a part of the town that she didn't know very well. She only knew some of the ponies that lived in the houses that lined the street, and she wasn't particularly good friends with any of them.
Mentally shrugging to herself, Scootaloo continued down the street, hoping that something new might liven up her day. She was disappointed to find that everything in this part of Ponyville looked just like everything in the rest of Ponyville. Dull.
Desperate for a change of scenery, Scootaloo turned down the next side street that she came across. It ran between two houses and lead out to a grassy meadow beyond, where the storm clouds that Rainbow Dash had mentioned could be seen gathering. The backyards of the houses were outlined by low wooden fences, much like the one Applebloom had been repairing at Sweet Apple Acres.
As she continued rolling past the houses, she heard a small noise to her right. Snip. Snip. A little snipping sound began intertwining with the constant squeaking of her wheels. Push, squeak, pause, snip, push, squeak, pause, snip. The addition of the noise to her already-established routine caught her attention.
She paused beside the fence post, looking out over the yard on the right side of the road. It didn't take her long to find the source of the snips. A young earth pony was kneeling in the garden, tending to a rosebush with a pair of cutters held in his mouth. He had a messy brown mane, light green eyes, and a coat the color of cream. She was interested to notice that he didn't have his cutie mark yet, either. He looked to be about Scootaloo's age as well, but he seemed small and frail, as though he were sick.
Scootaloo merely watched him for a while. It felt strange to silently watch the pony as he tended his garden, completely oblivious to her presence, but it would have felt stranger still to interrupt him. He seemed as serene as his surroundings as he gently cut the dead flowers away from the living, occasionally pulling up weeds when he found them. Her body became heavy as she leaned on the fence post, the bird songs and the gentle breeze causing her eyelids to droop. The pony's slow and liquid-like movements as he moved from plant to plant continued to lull her into a daze until she could no longer tell whether she was still awake or if she had entered a lucid dream.
"Um, h-hello...?"
Scootaloo was snapped out of her hypnotic state by the hesitant greeting of the very pony who had held her attention so strongly. He had put down his cutters and was now looking at her much as a rabbit before deciding whether it should flee or not. Embarrassment caused her face to grow uncomfortably hot as she realized she had been staring at a complete stranger in his own garden for an indefinite amount of time.
Scootaloo made the split-second decision that it was better for her to flee now before she could embarrass herself further. She kicked away from the fence and attempted to race down the street the way she came when the pony called out to her.
"Wait, don't go!"
She wanted to ignore him, but something in his voice caused Scootaloo to stop in her tracks. It was something foreign to her, but she had been spending the better part of her Saturday getting to know it better. It was loneliness.
Scootaloo backed up until the pony came into view once more. He looked genuinely happy that she had decided to stay.
"Hi," he said in his quite voice.
"Hey," Scootaloo replied hesitantly, uncertain of where this was going.
"What's your name?"
"You first." Scootaloo wasn't trying to come across as hostile or distrusting, but she really didn't want to talk to the colt that she had just been staring at dreamily for Celestia knows how long.
If he thought she was acting hostile, he certainly didn't show it, instead offering a friendly reply and a smile. "My name's Willow Wisp. Willow for short."
He seemed to be genuine in his attempts to be friendly towards her, which only made Scootaloo feel even worse for treating him poorly. The least she could do was tell him her name.
"Scootaloo," she replied with a small smile.
"Gazuntite."
Never mind. This guy was a jerk.
"I didn't sneeze!" she shouted at him angrily. "Scootaloo is my name, feather-head!"
Willow cringed from her outburst as though she had actually struck him. "I-I'm sorry! I-It's a great name! Honest!"
Scootaloo narrowed her eyes, not believing him for a second. "What do you want?" she asked bluntly, not wanting to converse with him any longer than she had too.
Her question seemed to catch Willow off guard. He opened his mouth to reply, but stopped himself. After thinking for another moment, he simply stated, "A friend."
It was Scootaloo's turn to be caught off guard. She had asked what he wanted in the hopes of ending their conversation more quickly. She never expected to receive a real and honest answer from him. And just what the hay did he expect her to do with that information, anyway?
A silence fell over the both of them, Willow waiting for her to say something and Scootaloo unsure of what to say.
"So... I, uh, like your roses." Scootaloo finally managed to find a talking point, despite the awkward delivery.
"Thanks! I like your... uh... wheel thingy!"
She grinded her teeth. He was making it extremely difficult for her to like him. "It's a scooter," she said as evenly as she could.
"Well it's really cool," Willow added. Scootaloo decided to give him some points for that remark. "Do you know any tricks?"
Her eyes lit up at the chance to show off. "A few," she said as nonchalantly as she could.
That was how it started. Scootaloo made a makeshift ramp out of some boards and boxes from the alley. Willow leaned on the fence as he watched her do flips and hops and jumps. He would always follow up a stunt with an "ooh!" or an "ah!", occasionally throwing in a compliment here or there.
After that, Willow invited her into his garden. He showed her all the plants that he grew and tended. She would never have admitted it, but Scootaloo thought some of them were the most beautiful flowers she'd ever seen. Purple ones with white star-bursts inn the center, golden ones that looked like fire made solid... He told her their names, but she didn't really pay attention. She knew she'd never remember them anyway.
They had spent nearly an hour in each other's company when the rain started to fall. They stopped the game of tag they were playing as thunder rumbled overhead.
"Uh oh. I gotta go home," Scootaloo said as she blinked the drizzle from her eyes.
"Oh, K." Disappointment was written all over Willow's face.
"Do you want to hang out tomorrow?" she suggested as she moved towards her scooter and strapped her helmet on.
Willow brightened up immediately at that. "Yeah! That sounds good!"
Scootaloo pushed her way through the gate and into the alley. "Alright. Later," she waved as she sped off down the dirt path, throwing mud into the air behind her.
"Later," Willow said quietly as he watched her go.
