Scootaloo’s Hearth’s Warming Eve
Hearth’s Warming was supposed to be a time of joy, decorations everywhere, ponies singing traditional carols, and Pinkie Pie leading spontaneous parades for no apparent reason more often than usual. And yet the small cloud on which Rainbow Dash lie was darker than any snow cloud had the right to be.
With the land sleeping beneath a blanket of snow there was little wonder that a small, largely agricultural community like Ponyville had nothing better to do then partake in the festivities of the session. Festivities meant to be shared with friends and family close enough to have earned the title of loved ones.
All of which only reminded Rainbow that this was going to be her first winter with a pet. At least until the rude realization that tortoises hibernated through the winter deprived her of those daydreams. Of course once she’d stopped focusing so much on Tank she’d realized that this was also her first winter with an honorary-little-sister. In hindsight she’d definitely overreacted to Tank’s hibernation as in the end all of those daydreams had come true with Scootaloo at her side instead.
The irony of it all being that a day like Hearth’s Warming all but assured that Scootaloo would be with her own family that day. Sure, she’d probably see the rambunctious filly at the pageant that evening but in the end she would be going home to an empty house.
“Just like last year…” Dash whispered to herself, steeling her heart to take the edge off of that thought.
A single cold laugh came from Rainbow Dash. How ironic, she was the spirit of loyalty and yet she was the only spirit of harmony who was ever accustom to having no one to count on at the end of the day.
“No!” Dash declared, as she stood up, stomping a hoof down on the cloud. “It’s not Hearth’s Warming yet! And I don’t have to be alone during the day!” With that she spread her wings and left her cloud of a perch behind.
The town below was alive with activity. From the newest princess readying her castle to host the pageant and the party afterwards, to her trusted assistant plastering festive posters all over town informing everypony that both events were open to the public, everyone seemed to have something to get ready for the coming holiday.
Though as she glided down, Rainbow Dash couldn’t spot any orange and purple blurs that might be Scootaloo. Nor could she spot the filly doing anything slower for that matter. Of course if she wasn’t outside playing with her friends then she had to be indoors resting and warming up so they could head out again. But that begged the question where?
Given the location of the cutie mark crusaders’ clubhouse, Sweet Apple Acres was a safe bet. But a quick check showed no hoofprints in the snow leading to said clubhouse. However the snow did tell the tale of a filly and mare leaving the farm and going into town. Too bad that the story of the hoofprints got lost in town where there were just too many to tell which belonged to who.
Then the sight of two white unicorns caught Dash’s eye. One a mare with a long purple mane, and the other a filly with a curly pink and purple mane. Rarity and Sweetie Belle, and they seemed to be heading for Sugar Cube Corner.
Oh? Had the crusaders not spent the morning playing together? Not that it mattered, if Sweetie Belle wanted to be at Sugar Cube Corner then there was a good chance that Scootaloo could be found there too. And with a quick twist of her wings, Rainbow Dash angled herself toward there as well.
With a flare of her wings Dash landed mere moments after Rarity and her littler sister had entered the bakery. Rainbow herself made it inside just in time to see Sweetie Belle scamper off to a small table in the corner where she joined her two best friends.
Seeing Rainbow Dash enter the bakery, Pinkie Pie immediately called the ace flyer over to the counter where she, Rarity, and Applejack were gathered.
Even as she walked across the room, Dash couldn’t help but look to the three fillies in the corner. Namely their cutie marks. All three of them had a tri-colored shield, each mark only differing from the others by the personal crest within the shield. Apple Bloom’s had a heart inside of an apple, Sweetie Belle’s had a music note inside a star, and Scootaloo’s had a lightning bolt inside of a wing.
As Rainbow Dash sat down, Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder and said, “Still getting used to seeing em with their marks, huh?”
Rainbow nodded. “A little, I guess. I mean I got used to seeing it after the first week. But from what Cheerilee said about all the wild magic when they earned them and what the crusaders said about what triggered it, something special happened when they chose a unified destiny like that.”
To have their bonds of friendship and loyalty acknowledged by their very cutie marks was something that Rainbow Dash could certainly admire. And maybe be a little bit jealous of. Oh, who was she kidding? How could she be jealous of Scoots knowing that the squirt had extended the vary same bonds to her, if not stronger ones.
Applejack gave a nod of her own. “Ah don’t doubt that those three will do amazing things together.” With a slight smirk she lowered her voice and added, “An just between us, Ah hear that while we were throwing their party, Mayor Mare was throwing a party of her own, if ya catch ma drift. Anyway Pinkie Pie and Ah were hoping to tell y’all something…”
While the adults chatted away, another conversation was taking place at the fillies’ table.
“So what’s the plan?” Scootaloo asked, before taking a sip from her mug of hot chocolate. A few flakes of snow lingered on her tail, and small puddles of water by her hooves showed that she had indeed been playing outside recently. “And why did you want to meet here instead of the clubhouse?”
“Ma big sis made some special plans.” Apple Bloom snuck a peek over her shoulder. “Looks like she’s telling her friends now, so I guess it’s okay for me to tell y’all. Pinkie Pie got her family to invite the Apple Family to celebrate Hearth’s Warming out at the Pie Family’s rock farm! Oh I’m just so excited to see how Pinkie Pie’s family celebrates it!”
Even as Apple Bloom bounced slightly she saw the mixed reactions from her friends. Reactions best described as relief from Sweetie and a forced smile from Scootaloo.
While Sweetie’s reaction was a mystery to her it wasn’t hard to guess why Scootaloo gave the reaction she did.
“I know, y’all were hoping to spend the holiday together. But we can still exchange gifts and stuff, it’ll just be a couple of days later is all. And winter ain’t going nowhere anytime soon, so we’ll still have all the time in the world for anything else we would do.”
A more genuine smile appeared of Scootaloo as she responded, “You’re right, it’s just a day. But I guess that means it’s just going to be you and me, Sweetie Belle.”
Sweetie grimaced and said, “Actually… Rarity is taking mom, dad, and me up to Canterlot to celebrate at her boutique there.”
“Great…. Now who am I suppose to hang out with on Hearth’s Warming?” Scootaloo moaned.
“Ya could try Diamond Tiara.”
“Oh yeah, we are friends now, huh?”
“No she can’t,” Sweetie interrupted.
“Huh? Why not?”
Sweetie Belle gave a small sigh. “Don’t you remember the last time we saw her? She said that her dad always goes to one of those fancy high-society parties in Canterlot, and she invited us but we turned her down. Oh yeah! Now that I’m going to be in Canterlot anyway I should totally see if I can hang out with her too!” Suddenly tapping a hoof to her chin she added, “But what kind of gift do you get for a filly who already lives in a mansion?”
“I really am going to be alone on Hearth’s Warming…” Scootaloo’s words came out as barely a whisper. Not that she’d meant for them to escape her own mind at all.
“Not if I have anything to do about it!”
The crusaders’ eyes all turned to the sky-blue mare who’s presence at their table they’d only now noticed.
“Rainbow Dash! Oh… you heard all of that, huh?” Scootaloo asked, a slight blush forming just below the fur of her cheeks.
“Just the last part really. But after AJ and Rarity told me their plans I kinda figured you’d be running short of friends to hang out with. And lucky for you I don’t have any special plans for Hearth’s Warming.”
“You don’t?”
“Oh you just the normal stuff, probably go see the pageant with you, Fluttershy, and Twilight, and hang out a little for the party afterwards. You know the stuff everypony does. But if you really don’t have anypony to spend Hearth’s Warming with, you can totally hang out with me for the day. We could even have a sleepover if you want, and I could show you some of the traditions more unique to Cloudsdale.”
In a heartbeat Scootaloo had leapt across the table and wrapped Rainbow Dash in a hug. “Yes! Yes! Yes! You’re the best big sister ever!”
Suddenly the filly loosened her grasp slightly and pulled her head back a little. “Oh uh, my dad can come too, right?” Scootaloo asked with slight blush on her cheeks.
“Sure thing, squirt. The more the merrier, or something. Besides I really should get to know your dad better.” Or at all, Dash added in her mind.
“Awesome! I’ll go ask him now!”
And with that Scootaloo vanished in a burst of speed so great that most were lucky if they saw the orange and purple blur at all.
Returning to the counter Rainbow Dash asked, “Hey Pinkie, is there any chance your pinkie sense helps you pick out presents?”
“Nopesy dopesy. Why?”
“Scoots I got covered. But I haven’t got a clue what to get her dad, and basically the only thing I know about him is that he’s Scootaloo’s dad.”
“Sorry Dashie, you’re on your own there.”
* * * * * * *
Scootaloo’s father agreed and plans were made. When the appointed day came the two honorary sisters spent the day as sisters should, sledding, playing hockey, using their wings to invent the fine art of uphill sled racing, and those sorts of things. When evening came, they watched the play telling the tale of the nation’s founding. Though they only attended the after-party briefly, just long enough for Rainbow Dash to hang out with Twilight and Fluttershy for a bit. It was only as the two were leaving the party that Rainbow and Scootaloo parted ways, if only for a short time.
And now that Scootaloo stood mere feet from Rainbow Dash’s front door she felt her hooves trembling on clouds below her.
“Dad, please try to get along with her, okay?”
“Come now, I’ve already read her file. And if even a tenth of what you’ve told me about her is true I’m sure well get along fine.”
Standing beside his daughter it was clear that he shared the same orange coat as Scootaloo. Unlike her, his mane and tail were both a mix of red and yellow, and his cutie mark was white flames.
“Shall we?” he asked, motioning to the door of the only cloud house in Ponyville.
Scootaloo steadied her legs, straightened her saddlebags and nodded. “Let’s do this.” Operation get my dad to like Rainbow Dash is a go! She added in the back of her mind. And yet her hoofsteps were still unsteady as she approached the door. What if he didn’t like her? Would he forbid her from hanging out with Rainbow Dash? If he told Dash to stay away from his daughter, would she? Wait, why was she worrying? Rainbow Dash was the most awesome pony alive, why wouldn’t he like her?
The sound of a hoof striking Rainbow Dash’s door snapped Scootaloo’s mind back to reality just in time to realize that she was the one knocking. Then the door opened.
“Hey squirt! And umm… sir, come in,” Rainbow greeted them with a nervous smile almost mirroring the one on Scootaloo perfectly. Seeing the saddlebags of her guests she added, “Make yourselves at home, put your stuff anywhere.”
Knowing that her saddlebags contained everything they were going to need to make their holiday meal, Scootaloo quickly scampered off to the kitchen. If nothing else not being in the same room helped calm her. And yet her every movement was whisper quiet, allowing her to listen in on the first real conversation between the two most important adults in her life.
“Miss Rainbow Dash. This meeting has been a long time coming, hasn’t it?”
“Well, we did meet before. But yeah, it’s nice to finally have a chance to get to know you.”
“Oh I wonder about that. With all that Scootaloo has told me about you I’m not sure there’s anything left for me to learn. Though I wonder, what has she told you about me?”
“Not much really. You work for the royal guard, and you work your tail off to provide for her. And… Nope that’s all I got. I don’t even know your name.”
Scootaloo nervously peeked out from the kitchen, and somewhere in the back of her mind she was trying to remember when Rainbow Dash had learned that much. It was true that Scootaloo remembered that the only time her father had been the topic of conversation that she told her hero that her dad worked a lot, but when did she mention the royal guard part? While that part might not have mattered, she couldn’t help but ask herself if she’d ever mentioned something else that she couldn’t recall sharing that she hadn’t intended to? Maybe something that had slipped Rainbow’s mind too?
Her father smiled ever so slightly.
“Ah yes, my name being a secret is a small inside joke we play.”
Dash blinked for a moment. “Okay, I know inside jokes need inside knowledge to be funny and all, but how is keeping your name secret a joke?”
“Because it’s not really secret at all. And anypony can learn my name, if they’re wise enough to not waste their breath asking for it.”
“Brash is the opposite of wise, right?”
“Close to it.”
Brushing a hoof lightly across the back of her head and with a blush on her face, Dash said, “Yeah… no pony has ever accused me of being wise. Awesome, yes. Wise, not so much.”
“Scootaloo has,” he laughed. “Speaking of her, she should be done unpacking everything for dinner by now.”
Scootaloo’s head vanished from the kitchen doorway in an instant, followed by several quick clinks and clangs.
As the two adults entered the kitchen they found Scootaloo sitting still and doing her best to look as if she’d been waiting patiently. However, despite her best efforts to hide it, she was breathing as if she’d just finished a 100-yard sprint.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, sport,” dad said, although the tone of his voice made it clear he was just playing along with his daughter’s act. Looking around the room he found everything he would need to make dinner. “Looks like everything’s in order here. I bet you’re hungry aren’t you?” he asked, his words dripping with playful poison.
Knowing she couldn’t speak without sounding winded, Scootaloo managed a nod and a pleasant ‘mm hmm,’ without opening her lips.
Turning to Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo’s father said, “I believe you promised to show Scootaloo how they celebrate Hearth’s Warming in the clouds. Why don’t you two get started on that while I prepare dinner?”
“Of course! Come on, squirt!”
And with that Dash headed back out to the living room. Scootaloo followed and although the smile on her face was genuine, as she truly wanted to learn what pegasus ponies did differently than everypony else on this holiday, on the inside she was frowning. How were Rainbow Dash and her dad suppose to get to like each other if they weren’t even in the same room?
That was a question that didn’t seem to have an immediate answer. Dinner, maybe? Ponies talked around the dinner table, right? Not that she would know, she and her dad rarely ate dinner at the same time these days.
Conceding that now was not the time to play the part of the princess of friendship, Scootaloo let her mind come to the holiday activities.
“So, Rainbow Dash, what are we going to do?”
“As I’m sure you know most ponies make little dolls to hang on the hearth.”
“Yep, Dad and I made ours earlier this week!”
“Good. Truth is, I’m not much for making a new one every year, so I just use the same one every year. Besides when you in live in the clouds you have something more important to make every year.”
“You do?”
Rainbow Dash motioned to the living room around them. “See something missing, squirt?”
Looking around the room Scootaloo saw the table that her father’s saddlebags were sitting on, some small pillars with statues on them, some decorative shields mounted on the walls. Truthfully she wasn’t even sure what she was suppose to be looking for. It probably didn’t help that she’d been in Rainbow Dash’s house enough times after flight lessons, or between playing in the snow for hot chocolate breaks to feel comfortable in her hero’s house. Finally she shook her head.
Dash smiled, pulled Scoots into a hug with her wing, forcing the filly to face a particular way, then she pointed a hoof at a particularly empty section of wall.
“Well, squirt, when your home is made of water vapor there isn’t much point in having a fireplace. So the first thing we need to make for Hearth’s Warming is a hearth! Can’t hang our dolls on the hearth without one now can we?”
Scootaloo’s eyes lit up as the glaring omission of a fireplace registered in her mind.
“But, how are we supposed to make a whole hearth before bedtime?!” the filly asked breathlessly at the seeming enormity of the task.
With a slight chuckle Dash used her rainbow tail to gently whip one of Scootaloo’s wings.
“Did you forget that we’re pegasi? Like this!” Rainbow Dash said as she plunged her front hooves into the floor. A second later and she yanked them back, pulling up a slab of cloud with them. Throwing it against the wall she added the three-foot thick slab to it. Then she flew up to the top of the slab and pushed it down a little until the bottom touched the floor.
Landing next to Scootaloo, Rainbow looked over the fluffy block of clouds and said, “That looks like enough to work with, but we’re going to have to shape it and smooth it out and stuff. Think you’re up to the challenge, squirt?”
The younger pegasus’ mouth hung open, her eyes shimmering in pure awe as she realized that a pegasus living in the clouds was truly the crafter of their own little world. As Dash’s words reached Scootaloo’s mind she suddenly swallowed and nervousness entered her voice as she answered, “If-if you show me how. Sure, I can help.”
With her signature confident grin, Rainbow Dash said, “It’s easy. Just think of the clouds as snow and your making a snowpony. Just pack it down and smooth it out until you have a nice firm, flat surface, easy peasy.”
Once she’s spoken her lesson, Dash demonstrated by approaching one of the corners of the soon-to-be hearth, sat down and used her front hooves to smooth out the surface, even pushing in the side until the corner had a perfect ninety-degree angle.
Scootaloo went up to the other, still fluffy, corner and did her best to mimic her mentor. At first she was leaving clear hoof-like smudges in the surfaces she worked on, but after a few minutes she was leaving the clouds as smooth as Rainbow’s section.
With Scootaloo working on the face of the hearth, Rainbow Dash moved on to digging out the actual fireplace part of it. And once those were done, she put Scootaloo on her back and talked her through crafting the mantle of the hearth.
“…And the last thing you need to do is add the hooks for our dolls to the mantle.”
“Okay, how do I do that?”
“Push down with some force and curl your hoof toward you. That should give you a strand of firm cloud work with, If it’s not already in the shape of a hook then you can just bend it a little until it is. Just be careful not to snap it off of the rest of the mantle.”
Once she was finished, Scootaloo hopped down from her mentor’s back and puffing up her chest she proudly smiled at her work.
“Good job, squirt. With a little practice maybe your cloud crafting skills will be as awesome as mine,” Rainbow Dash said, as she ruffled the filly’s mane. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the elder pegasus pondered if her cloud-work had ever been that bad when she was a filly.
Regardless they had a hearth with three useable hooks now. Turning her attention to the rest of the room, Dash whipped up a couch not far from the new hearth, and rather than removing the saddlebags from her usual table, she quickly crafted a new one large enough to accommodate three ponies. Once she’d made three chairs to join the new table she looked over her work with a content smile.
Looking to Scootaloo, Dash said, “I’m going to get a table cloth for the dinning table. Can you fetch the dishes for me?”
Having only seen her mentor fetch dishes once or twice before, the filly had to search the kitchen to find them again. The third time was the charm as she opened a cupboard and found the plates.
As soon as Rainbow had placed the tablecloth on the new table, she and Scootaloo set the plates in their places. But as soon as the plates were placed Scootaloo held a hoof to her mouth, signaling for silence and then with a nod of her head motioned for her honorary big sister to follow her.
She led her mentor-hero to the other table, where her father’s saddlebags were. As quietly as she could she opened the flap of the saddlebags, revealing wrapped presents inside. Without a sound the younger pegasus pointed at the tags on the presents. Two were clearly marked as for Scootaloo, one had Rainbow’s name on it, but one had the name Firestorm.
A sly smile appeared, as Dash realized what the stallion had meant by ‘not wasting your breath.’ He was giving her a clue, hinting that written text didn’t respond to spoken questions.
Seeing the revelation in her hero’s eyes, Scootaloo closed the saddlebags as quietly as she could and then headed back for the kitchen to find the silverware and finish setting the table. And before long her father had recruited her to man the toaster.
Soon three ponies were gathered around the dinner table. Their plates sporting a seemingly simple meal consisting of hardboiled eggs, cut into small chunks and mixed into a white sauce, poured over the toast and with the crumbled yolks sprinkled generously on top.
Scootaloo dug in with all due gusto, confident that her favorite holiday meal would get the two adults at the table talking.
Once she’d taken a bite, Rainbow Dash said, “This is really good. What is it?”
“Goldenrod eggs,” the stallion answered.
“Don’t suppose you can share the recipe?”
Scootaloo’s father looked at the food and shrugged. “It’s as simple as it looks. But I guess I could write it down, if you want.”
Even though she was already smiling, thanks to the simple yet blissful taste of her family’s holiday meal, on the inside Scootaloo smiled even more now that her dad and Rainbow Dash were talking to each other. At least until she finished her first serving and realized that neither adult had said anything more since those first few lines.
The filly ate her second serving much slower than the first, pondering if there was anything she could do or say to get the adults talking again. At first she contemplated asking Rainbow Dash to share one of her awesome stories. But as she searched her mind, she couldn’t think of any that she hadn’t already told her father herself. Dang, why did she have to be such a fan-girl… oh right, she was the president of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club, that might have something to do with it.
Perhaps the other way around was the right approach? After all her dad had plenty of cool stories that might impress Rainbow Dash. But the more she thought about that, the more she realized that she didn’t know any stories from her dad that weren’t considered top secret, or classified, or some other fancy term adults used to say ‘secret stuff.’
…And now she’d run out of food on her plate again.
With her father and hero already on seconds themselves, Scootaloo looked to the last of the goldenrod eggs and judged that was enough left for maybe two more pieces of toast. Taking one piece the filly allowed her heart the vain hope that maybe the adults would start talking over who got the last piece, although even she didn’t have much hope that the words spoken would lead to any meaningful chatter.
When Rainbow Dash had cleaned her plate for the second time she noticed the lone serving remaining, and looked to the stallion with the obvious question written on her face. Scootaloo’s father nodded and Dash took the last serving.
Great, they’d even managed to do that without a word said.
Eating slowly, Scootaloo searched her mind for any topic she could use to get the two adults talking. But everything she could think of seemed too lame to spark a meaningful conversation or too much of a dead giveaway of what she was trying to do.
And then she ran out of food again. Even as she pushed the last of her toast into her mouth she gave a slight sigh. Consigning herself to defeat the little pegasus consoled herself with creamy goodness by licking up the last traces of the sauce from her plate.
That got a laugh out of Rainbow Dash.
“Heh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen somepony actualy lick their plate clean. Well somepony besides Pinkie Pie anyway.” Ruffling the filly’s mane, Dash added, “It’s good stuff I’ll give you that, but I think I’ll wash mine off in the sink.”
Scootaloo felt a sudden burning in her cheeks as she pulled her head away from her plate. Since when did Rainbow Dash care about table manners? If anything her hero would normally turn eating into a race that further encouraged messy eating. Was this because she was trying to make a good impression with her dad? That was a good sign, at least she was trying. Not that this would help. Scootaloo brushed her hoof along her muzzle and chin, checking to make sure she had abided by her dad’s ‘as long as it’s in your face and not on your face when you’re done’ rule.
Yeah, that was pretty much it, her dad didn’t care how messy a pony’s eating style was, as long as they cleaned up afterwards.
Dinner was over and Rainbow Dash not bragging about every awesome thing she’d ever done clearly meant that she was still not comfortable around her dad. What was next? Actually Scootaloo didn’t know. Dinner was the only part of the evening she and her dad had planed, the rest was up to Rainbow. If Hearth’s Warming Eves of the past were any guide, after dinner came the hanging of the dolls on the hearth and singing by the fire, but she didn’t know what Dash planed on doing differently compared to the non-Cloudsdale version she’d always see.
Sure enough, the mare with the rainbow mane left them for a moment and returned with her mini Rainbow Dash doll and a hairbrush. She set them down on the more permanent table just long enough for her guests to retrieve their dolls.
“Okay, squirt, this is how my dad told me the story. When Equestria was new and the traditions of Hearth’s Warming were first being made, pegasus cloth wasn’t exactly plentiful. On top of that, there weren’t really any unicorns that knew how to cast cloud-walking enchantments. So a lot of pegasi couldn’t afford to make a doll every year. Instead they just use one doll, often made out of normal cloth to hang on the hearth.”
“Wait normal cloth, with no cloud-walking spell? Wouldn’t they just fall through a hearth made of clouds then?”
“Exactly. And that’s why every year pegasus ponies would make a new string for their doll.”
With that, Rainbow Dash took the hairbrush and ran it through her tail. On the other end of the stroke she examined the brush and found three tail hairs had been freed from her tail, one orange, one yellow, and one blue. Freeing the hairs from the brush she then took the ends of them and threaded them through the small loop on the back of her doll. Finally she tied them into a larger loop, big enough to be hung on the hooks on the mantle.
“Just like that, kiddo,” Rainbow Dash said, as she set her doll aside and motioned for Scootaloo to take the brush.
It took a few tries, but eventually Scootaloo pulled the brush out of her tail and found a violet tail hair. And after being assured that one was enough she threaded it through the normal hook loop on her miniature Scootaloo doll.
As Scootaloo’s father completed the ritual, Rainbow Dash said, “I was told the pegasus ponies kept doing this even after Equestria was prosperous as a way to put a little bit of themselves into the dolls.”
With the last of the dolls now sporting the traditional tail-hair loop, Rainbow led the way over to the hearth and motioned for Scootaloo to climb up on her back. From her hero’s back Scootaloo had easy access to any of the hooks she desired, although out of simple convenience she took the middle one as that was the one closest to her from where she stood on Dash’s back. With that Rainbow Dash placed her doll on the right hook, and the filly’s father placed his on the remaining hook.
After she’d hopped down, Scootaloo looked to the empty fireplace and asked, “Sooo… now what? Do we sing to an empty fireplace or something?”
The mare smiled.
“Not even close. Stand back, this is the coolest part!”
Setting her front hooves on either side of fireplace cavity, Rainbow Dash’s eyes narrowed and she grit her teeth with determination. Then she pulled her front legs back and giving a small battle cry worthy of a karate move she slammed them back against the hearth. In response to the twin strike, lightning came out of the sides of the fireplace converging in its center. But rather than just flashing and going away, the lightning continued to flow into the middle of the fireplace, where a light-blue sphere of electricity was growing. Sweat began to form on Rainbow’s brow and she was occasionally twitching her front hooves as if she were tweaking invisible dials on the face of the hearth.
When she finally pulled her hooves back, the flow of lightning from the sides of the fireplace stopped, leaving only the sphere of pure energy hovering in the middle of the fireplace. Small arcs of electricity shot along the surface of sphere rather frequently.
“Wow! …What is it?”
“Ball lightning. That’s what pegasus ponies used to heat their homes before unicorn-made artifacts became common. And don’t try to touch it, squirt, or it’ll blast you good,” Dash answered as she took a step back and sat down.
With Rainbow Dash on one side and her father on the other, the three ponies sang the traditional carols. Although some might have argued that the three base voices didn’t really count as singing.
Soon Scootaloo found herself lying on the floor in front of the fireplace, sipping a glass of eggnog and gazing into the ball lightning. It had taken a few minutes but the more she thought about it the more she accepted that this really was a lot like sitting by the fire like she had last year. The glow of the ball lightning was blue instead of orange. But the buzz of the electricity arcing here and there wasn’t all that different from the crackle of a fire. The thing that took the most getting used to was the smell. The sent of burning wood could be pleasant, and it changed whenever a log of a different type was added to the fire. Here, there the only smell was of ionized air. It didn’t strike her mind as good or bad, just different.
Her father was sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper of all things. Given that she knew how often her dad knew the truth that never made it into the news, she really didn’t know why he bothered pretending to care about the newspaper. Heck, given her own experience with the foal free press she couldn’t see a reason to trust anything in print herself. After all, how many times had she and her friends taken a single photograph and made up a story out of thin air to make the picture seem funny? Nothing but lies and flights of the imagination passed off as real news and yet ponies ate it up. No, if she’d ever had any faith in the news before, it was long dead now.
Having just finished serving her guests, Rainbow Dash returned from the kitchen with her own glass of eggnog and sat down beside Scootaloo.
“You seem awfully calm for a filly waiting for presents,” Dash said.
“Maybe I’ve grown up a little,” Scootaloo said, hopefully. “Or maybe it’s just because I know I won’t even be getting half my presents tomorrow,” she added more truthfully.
The mare gave a slight nod and said, “Oh, right, you’re going to have to wait for your friends to get back into town before you can exchange presents with them, huh?”
With that Dash laid down beside the filly and gently extended a wing over Scootaloo’s back, laying it over her as if it was a blanket. With a flick of her tail she wrapped it around the filly too.
With the ball lightning warming her front and Rainbow Dash chasing away the cold on the other sides, the cocoon of warmth tugged at Scootaloo. The filly’s eyelids began to sag as she gave a yawn. Finishing off her eggnog allowed her to watch the flickering ball of lightning a little longer. But eventually Scootaloo set her head down on the floor, and given that the floor made of clouds felt as soft and welcoming as a bed made of clouds to her, she quickly fell asleep.
Even after Dash had finished her own beverage she stayed lying on the floor, not wanting to disturb the filly too greatly. Every now and then she might stroke Scootaloo’s mane with her muzzle just to enjoy the small smile the appeared on the filly’s face. But eventually the filly fell deep enough asleep that even that stopped getting a response and Dash had to settle to watching the ball lightning crackle away.
The next thing to catch her attention was the sound of the filly’s father shifting on the couch. An eyebrow was raised when she noticed that her other guest wasn’t headed for the guest bedroom but the front door.
Whispering she asked, “You’re leaving?”
“We have a saying in the guard, ‘evil never takes a holiday.’ Somepony has to fly the night patrol. And I had to trade for the graveyard patrol to get the evening off. Don’t worry, I’ll be back by dawn, plenty early enough for the raising of the flag and gift exchange,” he whispered back.
He had almost made it to the door when he paused to take another look at his daughter cradled in Rainbow Dash’s soft embrace.
“You mean a lot to her,” he added.
“I know.”
“But I don’t think she understands that you don’t have to pass one of my tests of wisdom for me to consider you a friend. After all, she doesn’t need everypony in her life to be a philosopher.” Bowing his head slightly he continued, “Most of the time she just needs somepony who can actually be there for her.”
“I am an awesome somepony, but I bet she’d rather have her dad be there for her.”
“I don’t doubt that she would. But you’ll have to forgive me that I’d rather disappoint her with my absence than let her starve.”
Dash could not argue with that logic, so she gave a nod and returned her gaze to the filly sleeping calmly beneath the protection of her wing.
With his hoof on the doorknob, he too looked to his daughter one last time. Then to the dolls hung on the hearth, particularly Scootaloo’s doll in the middle.
With the slightest of smiles on his face he whispered, “Scoots really is the heart of our little family. She has chosen to bring you into it, and I see now that you are worthy of the title she gives you. So welcome to our family, Rainbow Dash.”
With that he slipped out into the night, before his daughter’s ‘big sister’ could respond.
