The Everfree Ranger

Scootaloo walked quickly after Oak Leaf. She had thought he walked quickly in the forest, but out on the open road, he practically flew. They walked through the open plains on the outskirts of Ponyville. Scootaloo hadn't even known that any pony lived out here.

After a while, a small house came into sight. It was a moderately sized log cabin, surrounded by tall trees. A large barn sat in the back, next to a small garden where vegetables were growing. The whole place had a homely feel to it.

"SCKREE!"

Scootaloo looked up at the sound. Circling in the air was a small hawk, flying around their heads. As she looked, the bird flew down and began flying around her head. She flinched away, covering her face, expecting it to attack. Oak Leaf gave a sharp whistle. As soon as he did, the  bird flew straight to him and landed on his shoulder. Looking over, it cocked it's head to study Scootaloo. She lifted her hooves to peek at it.

"This is Cooper," explained Oak Leaf. "He's my partner, I guess you could say. He seems to quite like you." To prove this, Cooper flew over and landed on Scootaloo's shoulder. She reached up and scratched under his chin. Giving what sounded like a purr, Cooper looked over at Oak Leaf, as if to say "Why don't you do this?"

"Don't get used to that, you overgrown hen," said Oak Leaf, scolding the bird. "She'll get sick you just like I have pretty soon." With an indignant look, Cooper leaned closer to Scootaloo.

"Where was he when I first met you?" Asked Scootaloo. "I didn't see him anywhere around there."

"We have a bit of an on off relationship," explained Oak Leaf. "Cooper helps me out when he feels like it, and I give him a place to stay. It's not unheard of for a ranger to bond with an animal. Who knows, maybe you'll even get a companion one day."

Scootaloo thought about it. "I don't think so," she said. "I'm not too good with animals." Oak Leaf nodded in understanding.

"Moving on," he said, "time to check out the property." To begin, they went to the barn. The large building doubled as a storage area. Spare bow's, arrows, quivers and a variety of other weapons lined the walls. Barrels of food were stacked up in the corner. In the middle of the room stood a small clump of archery targets, right by a training dummy. Hay was scattered all around, providing a natural carpet.

"This is where most of your training will take place," said Oak Leaf. "It's not anything amazing, but it serves it's purpose." Scootaloo stared around with awe.

"Am I going to learn how to use all of those?" She asked, pointing at the weapons. Oak Leaf regarded her quizzically.

"Of course not," he said. "Those are purely for decoration. Most of them have never seen the outside of this building." As Scootaloo sat down, disappointed, he laughed. "I'm kidding. You'll learn how to use them. Now, if you're done gawking over them, we'll go look at the main house were you'll be living."

As they walked out, Scootaloo pointed at the vegetable garden. "Will we have to maintain that?"

"WE won't have to do anything." Said Oak Leaf. "YOU, on the other hand, will be in charge of keeping it in good condition. We receive shipments of food regularly, but it never hurts to have a small supply."

They walked into the large house. It had a cozy feel to it. A small kitchen sat next to a living area with a few chairs in it. A small stove sat to heat the whole building. Scootaloo was led down a hallway to a small room. Inside was a bed with a small chest at it's foot, and a night table at it's head. "Is this all mine?" Asked Scootaloo.

"Indeed it is," said Oak Leaf. "This is where the apprentice sleeps." Scootaloo drank the sight in. She had never had her own room at the orphanage. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. "Now, for the first order of business." Scootaloo snapped her attention back to Oak Leaf.

"What are we doing first?" She asked eagerly. "Archery? Tracking?" Oak Leaf shook his head with a grin.

"Nope," he said. "Cooking. I don't suppose you know how?" Scootaloo shook her head. "Well, no time to learn like the present. Now, cooking will be one of the chores you'll have to do, along with gathering fire wood, maintaining the garden, and anything else that needs to be done." Scootaloo stared at him with her mouth open wide. "Don't look at me like that," he said. "Every apprentice has to do this. You'll make your own apprentice do this some day. Now, let's show you how to cook some carrot soup."

...

Scootaloo wiped her brow. The stove was hot, but she had to keep stirring the soup. She didn't want her dinner to be burned. As she worked, she heard Oak Leaf come up behind her. Turning around, she saw that he was carrying a small box.

"Here's a little house warming gift," he said. Opening the chest, Scootaloo was disappointed to see a large pile of dusty old books.

"What are these?" She asked, confused.

"There's a tradition that every apprentice keeps a small journal of all their experiences. This is all of them. And this," Oak Leaf said, opening a blank book, "Is yours. Write whatever you want in it, and feel free to read the other ones." He sniffed the air. "But first, you might want to check on your soup. I think it's burning."

After a slightly burned dinner, Scootaloo sat down to examine the journals. They were filled with random notes and observations. Some of them had tips on how to do the numerous chores, some were records of memorable events, and some were just random anecdotes. After a moments thought, Scootaloo picked up the book Oak Leaf had handed her and began writing.

"My name is Scootaloo, and I'm a young pegasus filly..."