Happy Sunshine

The sun was shining. The birds were singing. And sister was probably getting out of her royal chariot in the sparse parking lot. Ponyville's parks were rather docile and serene. There were few wild brushes and veggies encroaching on the main space. It was, for the lack of a better word, uniform grass dotted with simple acer circinatum and the very rare acer saccharinum. That made it less boring than other, more streamlined park sites.

Our picnic sheet was settled atop the grass, away from the tree life. It was littered with all sorts of dishes, from dry-rubbed barbecue ribs, to spanakopita, chicken kiev and even some bitterballen. I myself brought the tiropita and some of Celestia's favorite: shredded alfalfa and julienne'd artichoke glazed with honey and figs. I knew the kitsch of my dish was embarrassing and stuck out like a sore thumb, but Chelly was Chelly. We all had our tastes and so did Scootaloo, who prefered eating all and I mean all of her food with mayonnaise and sriracha dressings.

Her first bite was into the illusory meat of tiny tiropita triangles. She'd drizzled her first piece with her signatue dressing, and it left her lips oily in countless manners. I couldn't describe the look on her face, whether it be her childish splendor, or that little glint in her eye. In all my years, I knew it as awe. But it was more than that. Awe was a feeling of overwhelming beauty. The glow in her eyes, all from crisp and flaky phyllo, was reunion. And reunion, in the lap of her adopted mother, even after turning fourteen not two weeks prior, was all the beauty in the world times ten.

I saw it in her eyes, crisp autumn nights full of gentle breeze and swaying leaves. She would sit in one, breezy meadow with Officer Doo, lavishing about with pita, tiropita and late night complaints about how annoying the other kids at school were. That, in my wild imagination, was what she saw when she took that first, longing bite.

Her mother, Ditzy Doo, kept her eyes on me and broke into a smile. It's edges were pressed upward and angled, almost like Ditzy were tearing her muscles just expressing herself.

"You sure look happy, Ms. Cosmos. Did you think of something funny?"

"O-oho, you... No, I've just daydreamed for a while. But let's enjoy our picnic. Pray tell, I noticed a many Greak dishes in this picnic. Do you favor Greak over Fancy or Roaming...?"

My question drew a single chortle from her. Officer Doo was out of uniform, but I could still see that baton on her. It's impression forever lingered in my mind. She brought it everywhere with her, but, today, it's absence puzzled me. She glanced away with her mismatched eyes and lit a smoke to start her tale.

"My mama was a Greak pony. Papa was a Roaming stallion. He worked hard to take us out of Grease when it started struggling with debts. We were lucky mama had a gyro stand and papa had a job at the local police force. Everyday, I'd come home from school beat up and cut everywhere... and mama would be there with cold gyro. She always yelled at me, but that was okay..."

I felt a tear escape my eyes and I hid it with a cough, wiping my eyes dry. Officer Doo had that tired look in her eyes. Her lids were scrunching upward and her brows dipped deeply to show pain she'd never admit she had. And beneath that smile, so wide it could brighten the sky, I heard her heart tear in two.

"Before I... got to Ponyville, I worked as a delivery girl. I rode one of mama's special flying brooms all over Sparti, Mystara and Kalamata. Since we lived in Sparta, I uh used Taygetus to train my flying and conditioned myself walking up and down, too. Everyday, I'd train for my delivery job so I could fly straight without the broom... and well, when I finally got too good, I had time to spare. So... eventually, eating gyros and pita and sometimes souvlaki, turned into wanting to cook."

Scootaloo covered her mouth. And I had no idea why. But they both silenced themselves, Officer Doo with some supple bitterballen and spanakopita. I noticed their eyes were turned away from me. So I turned around to see. It was nothing at all. Just Celestia and Discord having their own picnic in a newly-erected treehouse. I turned back and scoffed to myself. When would she ever learn to stay away from the bad boys.

"So, you said you'd come back home injured and hurt... Well, why exactly was that? I can't imagine school sports being that rough."

My question made Scootaloo choke on her mish mash amalgamation of phyllo and lamb meats. Ditzy Doo chuckled too, but all her years of stiffling laughter kept her food still. Her smile was the mischievous one. Scootaloo was a rough and tumble sort but she was... precariously naughty.

"Hmhm... It's true, I used to come home hurt and beat up. But back then, I was a different pony. We grew up poor. I... learned a lot from papa. And papa was a good thief. But I was always too clumsy. After I was diagnosed with ocular lazyitis, he made me do sports." Officer Doo shifted about and lay flat on her haunches.

She popped a piece of Shelly's favorite dish. And, to my complete and utter surprise, she was blown away by it. I met her puppy dog eyes and said 'have some more' through absent-minded grinning.

"I was no good at things like olympic discus or anything like that. But, ha, I was a good boxer. Soon enough, the kids at school were making fun of me. And... you know, I got into fights. Typical underdog story, right? Anyway, um, I grew out of street fights. But I did get better at boxing. Just ask my station mates."

It was then I rest my right cheek against my hoof... just enjoying my day off. I was blessed. Because there, in Breazy Meadow Park, I'd seen a real family again. They weren't throwing things at each other, or cursing about money and power struggles. They were just... happy to be alive. I looked back at my ex and Shelly... realizing how wrong I'd been to lash out at her everytime she wanted to visit Mother.

Mother wasn't a bad person. She wasn't even a person I could wilfully acknowledge as selfish. She was troubled and grew up in hell. Her saturdays were never picnics or pleasant family gatherings. They were all counting grams and shouting who cheated who on their last shipment. A long time ago, Equestria was a very different place. It was full of prejudice and hate.

But, most of all, it was filled... with coldness.

And, I knew right then and there, that was why Scootaloo never opened up to the others. They analyzed her and ran tests on her. But they didn't treat her like a person. Who did she have to turn to except for Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and her mother Ditzy...?

"Scootaloo." I started, writing out my prescription slip.

"Y-yeah...?" She answered startled and dropping a bitterball.

I closed my eyes and felt my lips curl skyward. I gave her the slip and answered, writing a memo in my cellular named 'family picnic.'

"Do you think we could do this next weekend...?"