It certainly looked like a party, but it sure didn’t feel like one.
The cake Pinkie had baked for the occasion was strawberry frosted, exactly how Scootaloo liked it. Balloons and streamers littered the yard, bringing new color and life to Sweet Apple Acres. Everypony she cared about was there for her: her dad, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Rainbow Dash, and even a few classmates. Yet despite all of that, she still found herself rooted to that one spot, wordlessly willing the “celebration” to come to a close early.
Scootaloo heaved a sigh.
…She had a sinking feeling that the party itself wasn’t at fault here.
Could she really be blamed, though? After all, when had a going away party ever been known to be happy? Never, at least as far as she could recall.
A frown wormed its way across Scootaloo’s face once more. After a moment, she kicked at the ground, sending dust flying up into the air. She forced a squint, and the dust soon began to resettle atop the hard-packed dirt. Lazily, she watched a few of the more rebellious particles drift away into the distance, lost somewhere to the wind.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle reappeared within the crowd of blurred faces, something large and colorful balanced atop the former’s head. Scootaloo inhaled deeply, basking in the last few moments of blissful silence. Her two friends hadn’t left her side all night, save for just then. She couldn’t really blame them—were she in their place, she wouldn’t have left her friend’s side either—but the fact didn’t make it any easier to stomach.
Sweetie Belle smiled. “Sorry it took so long! Uh, wrapping stuff is a lot harder than we expected…”
The three glanced down at the present Apple Bloom had just placed on the ground before Scootaloo. A second ticked by, then another, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie shared a nervous look. Scootaloo’s mouth threatened to betray her, a cheeky half-grin pulling at the right side of her lip. For a moment, she let it play across her features.
The wrapping paper—if it could even still be called that—was mangled, wrinkled, and torn. At least a roll and a half of masking tape had been used in an attempt to right everything that had been wronged. If she looked closely enough, she could even see a few hairs from Sweetie’s mane caught in the tape. And atop it all sat a bright pink bow, garish and gaudy, adding that extra bit of flair. There were no two ways around it; this had the Cutie Mark Crusaders written all over it.
She almost wished she had been there to witness the trainwreck in action. Almost.
“Well, go on,” Apple Bloom said. “Open it!”
Scootaloo’s smirk fell away, and she did as she was told. Trepidatiously, she tugged at the bow, unravelling it. Next, she tore open the wrapping paper, swiftly opening up the tattered cardboard box contained within it.
She pulled out the box’s contents and cocked an eyebrow. “…Your capes? But… why?”
“We didn’t want you to feel left out while you were gone,” Sweetie explained. “This is our way of promising we won’t do any crusading without you!”
Scootaloo looked down at the capes. It wasn’t fair that they put off looking for their cutie marks for a whole entire summer; what were the Cutie Mark Crusaders without crusading? She knew she should give them back, but…
Hey, everypony was allowed to be selfish every once in a while, right?
“Thanks, you guys,” Scoots said finally, clutching the capes closely to her chest.
“No problem! Here’s to hoping the summer passes really super duper quickly,” Apple Bloom said. Then she blinked twice. “Huh. Never thought I’d ever say those words and mean it.”
Sweetie Belle giggled, and the lofty, uneasy feeling churning around deep in Scootaloo’s gut began to settle. Even if she couldn’t be with her friends all summer long, at least she had them right here and now—and that was more than enough. But come the next day…
From then on, the rest of the party passed by rather quickly. One by one, the guests slowly peeled off from the group, wishing Scootaloo the best on her trip. She always responded in kind, politely and curtly thanking them for their attendance. Before long, the sun had sunk beneath the horizon, and just a few ponies remained at Sweet Apple Acres.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom argued about something or other, just as usual. Scootaloo gazed off somewhere beyond them, lost in her own thoughts. The sound of a heavy sigh took hold of the air; she was only vaguely aware it was hers.
Boy, was she going to miss this.
Before she could get too lost in her own thoughts, a gentle tap on her shoulder dragged her back down to reality.
“Hey, Kiddo.”
Scootaloo whipped around, smile stretching from ear to ear before she even saw who it was. “Rainbow!”
Rainbow Dash smiled. “So, you excited for tomorrow or what?”
Scootaloo’s grin faltered, but she regained her composure in the blink of an eye. “Y-yeah! Totally! I’ve been looking forward to flight school for, like, years now!”
Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. Scootaloo smiled sheepishly in response.
Her ears splayed. “Heh…”
“Yeah, that’s just about the least convincing lie anypony’s ever told in the history of ponies everywhere. Hay, you’re almost worse than AJ, and that’s saying something,” Rainbow snickered. “What’s got you down, Squirt?”
Scootaloo’s heart stopped. “I, well…”
“Nerves? Don’t worry about that at all. Nobody there’ll even know who you are.”
“That’s kinda the problem.” Scootaloo’s wings unfurled, flitting at her sides. She glanced back at them, lips pursed ever so slightly.
Rainbow’s face lit up in realization. “Oh! Uh…”
“I... I couldn’t even go to camp with all the other pegasi my age,” she said suddenly. “They made me hold off a year because ’I wasn’t ready.‘ They even wanted to hold me back again this year, but there was no way my dad was letting that happen…”
“Hey, don’t look at it like that,” Rainbow said. “I got my cutie mark while I was at flight school!”
“Yeah, but you also already knew how to fly,” Scootaloo retorted, her voice laced with a tinge of acidity.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Nobody knows how to fly well when they first get to flight school. That’s what flight school is for, after all. And besides, Fluttershy got her cutie mark at flight school too, and she's never been a great flier. I’m sure you've the story by now.”
Scootaloo shifted her weight from side to side, eyes never daring to meet Rainbow’s. “But what if I’m the only one there without a cutie mark? What if nobody talks to me?”
There was a pause. “…Okay, I think I see what this is all about now. Scoots, nopony there is going to know anypony else—the counsellors make sure all the foals from the same town are split up into different cabins. Everybody’s going to have to make new friends.”
“But…” She turned around, looking back at her two friends still bickering over something or other. Her brows furrowed.
Rainbow followed Scootaloo’s line of sight, eyes stopping on the two fillies. She frowned. “They’re not going to suddenly forget about you overnight, Scootaloo. I know a whole summer seems like a really long time to be away from home, but it’s really not. It’ll be over before you know it.”
“But—” her voice caught in her throat. She cleared it and tried again. “But… but what if they get their cutie marks while I’m gone? What if they make new friends who have cutie marks like they do and don’t want to be my friends anymore? What if I never ever get my cutie mark and I’m a stupid blank flank forever? What if I—”
“Whoa there, Kiddo. Slow down,” Rainbow said with a short laugh. “That’s not how friendship works, and you know it.”
Scootaloo’s ears splayed once more. “It could happen…” she grumbled under her breath.
Rainbow let out a longer, fuller laugh. “Yeah, I guess it could happen, but it won’t. Trust me. And besides, you’re assuming you won’t get your cutie mark at flight school. I’ll bet you anything that you will.”
“Really?”
“Well, duh. Nobody would ever reach their full potential if they stayed in their comfort zone for their whole entire life. Being away from your friends in a new place’ll do you a lot of good. I mean, change is always scary at first, but you’ll come out stronger for it. Hay, that’s why I always try all those crazy new tricks—it helps me get better at flying. Flight school will do the same thing for you.”
Scootaloo smiled a little bit. “Thanks, Rainbow.”
“You’re still not convinced,” she stated plainly. Then: “Here, gimme a sec.”
Rainbow sat back and unfurled a wing. She reached out and clenched her teeth around one of her primaries and, without a moment of hesitation, yanked it out. A grimace briefly flashed across her face, but she hid it so quickly that Scootaloo almost missed it.
“Here,” she said, passing Scootaloo the feather. “It’s good luck.”
Scootaloo sat there and stared slack-jawed at the feather . “But you shouldn’t… I mean, you didn’t—”
“Don’t mention it,” Rainbow said. “Consider it a parting gift before you head off to flight school.”
Scootaloo ran up and threw her hooves around Rainbow’s neck. Rainbow smiled, wrapping her wings around Scootaloo and nuzzling her in return. After a moment, she put her back down on the ground, still smiling bashfully.
“Alright, that’s enough sappiness for one day,” Rainbow said with a laugh. “Take care of that feather, Scoots. It’ll be worth millions one day.”
And just like that, she was gone, flying back home. Scootaloo watched her disappear into the distance, slowly growing smaller and smaller until she was no longer discernable from the golden summer sunset sky.
A moment passed. Still smiling, she spun around and trotted back over to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
“What was that all about?” Apple Bloom asked. Sweetie Belle nodded in assent.
“Oh, nothing,” Scootaloo said. “Just a little talk is all.”
Scootaloo wrapped her hooves around her dad’s neck, encompassing him in a warm embrace. He smiled and hugged her back before letting her go. The hug’s warmth lingered for a moment before fading away, and the reality of the situation washed back over her once more.
“Have an awesome summer, Scoots,” he said, ruffling her mane with his hoof. “Be sure to write back home.”
Scootaloo’s heart began thump-thump-thumping against her chest ever faster. “I will, Daddy.”
“I’ll be back for parent’s weekend in a few weeks, alright?” He leaned down and planted one last kiss on her forehead. “Love you, Sweetie.”
“Love you too,” she mumbled, her faint voice just barely audible over the gentle breeze blowing through the camp.
At that, he spun around and took off, heading back for Ponyville. Scootaloo quickly grabbed her bags, her scooter tied tightly to the outside of them, and tossed them over her shoulders, not possessing the strength of will to watch him leave. Instead, she trudged closer and closer to the door of her assigned cabin, hooves growing heavier with each and every step.
She stopped at the front door to steel herself. A second ticked by. Then another. And another. And another. With a deep breath, she finally pushed open the door and drifted inside, her hooves gliding across the floorboards. After looking at her papers one last time to triple check, she headed for her designated bunk room.
As it turned out, her bunkmate was already there. Half her belongings were neatly tucked away in her dresser and the other half were haphazardly strewn across her floating cloud bed, forgotten for the time being. She sat atop her bunk, engrossed in a small letter she held in her hooves. The letter quivered ever so slightly in her grasp. The filly’s lips were pursed tightly.
Scootaloo let her bags slide sloppily off her back, making a loud clunk noise as they hit the floor. Her bunkmate’s head shot up at the sudden noise and, upon seeing Scootaloo, she quickly hid the letter underneath her pillow.
“H-hello.”
“Hi,” Scootaloo replied.
A moment passed by before the other pegasus climbed down from her bunk, slowly trotting over to Scootaloo and closing the dead air between them. Bravely, she tried a nervous smile. “…My name is Cotton Cloudy.”
“I’m Scootaloo,” came the automatic reply, monotonous and hushed in tone.
There was a pregnant pause. The silence grew thicker and thicker with each and every second.
This was the first time Scootaloo had gotten a good look at the other filly. She was a little bit shorter than Scootaloo, which was to be expected as she was a year younger. Her coat was a snowy white, and her mane two differing shades of sky blue. Her eyes were a gentle lavender; for a brief moment, they reminded Scootaloo of her mother’s.
Her ears were half splayed back, and her legs tensed up—almost defensively. Her wings flitted at her sides and her gaze drifted around the room, never meeting Scootaloo’s. If she looked closely, it even looked as though Cotton Cloudy were trembling the tiniest bit.
…It was an oddly comforting feeling, knowing that she wasn’t the only one here scared out of her mind.
Cotton Cloudy tried smiling once more; it was a little bit steadier this time. “So…” she tried, "it looks like we’ll be rooming together this summer.”
Scootaloo attempted to emulate her courage. “Yep. Should be a lot of fun, heh…”
Silence reigned once more, returning with a vengeance. Scootaloo desperately fished for something, anything to say, but inevitably came up empty.
It was Cotton Cloudy who eventually broke the silence. Her gaze drifted down to Scootaloo’s bags, and she cocked an eyebrow. “Is that a scooter?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah. I used to ride it around town back home a lot.”
“Whoa, that’s actually pretty cool!” Cotton Cloudy smiled a genuine smile, all concerns forgotten for the time being. It was almost contagious. “Do you know any tricks?”
“Yeah, I know a bunch of ‘em.” Scootaloo paused, her heart skipping a beat. “D-do you wanna see some?”
The response came immediately and without hesitation, washing Scootaloo with relief. “Sure, I’d love to!”
For the first time that day, Scootaloo really smiled.
Who knows? Maybe Rainbow was right.
