.
.
.
"You'll sure you'll be—"
"I'll be fine!" Scootaloo chuckled. She's not a small filly anymore, after all. Sure, being eleven doesn't exactly mean she's technically not even a teenager yet, but she's about to be! That's gotta count somehow, right? Plus, she even has a Cutie Mark now! A little later than most, of course, but that's besides the point! Nevertheless, she would always be a 'little sister' to Rainbow Dash, and if there's one good thing to come out from that, it was certainly the constant eye candy that is Rainbow's protective side. "You don't have to look out for me all the time, you know?"
"Right, yeah." Rainbow Dash laughed nervously, hoof running down her mane before tugging lightly at her scarf. "Well, it's just I, uh, kinda promised your aunt that I'll make sure you get there, so..."
"Don't worry, Rainbow! I'll get there, I promise!" She couldn't help but snicker. "Plus, I'm pretty sure I know where the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse is."
Rainbow shot her a smirk. "Pretty sure?"
"Positively, absolutely, hundred and ten percent sure! Anyways, don't you have a show to catch?"
"Eh, they'll wait for me. I'm the best flyer of the team, after all."
Giggling at her idol's playful boast, Scootaloo tensed up suddenly, only to sink back to the ground with a bemused sigh when she realized Rainbow Dash had yanked her into a quick goodbye hug. With a whip of snow off the ground, Rainbow took off, leaving her once again to watch her spiral into the clouds. Not that she minded; she even appreciated it, in fact. It was a gesture to her, egging her to catch up, to reach for the skies. It was a challenge, from one flyer to another, and Scootaloo, of course, wouldn't want anything more than that from the fastest flyer in Ponyville— heck, in all of Equestria!
She'll be there one day, she was sure of it.
Right now, frustrating as it may be, Scootaloo have to stick with trotting across town, decorated in the brilliant spirit of Hearth's Warming. She would've ridden her scooter, though with how heavy was last night's snowfall, large piles of which still remained about the streets, some of which already were fashioned into snowmares, she figured it would be faster to walk instead. Having Rainbow Dash come along for the ride, however brief it may be, was... awesome, there really is no other way to describe it. Just awesome. Sure, she could've have herself dropped off by the clubhouse, but she's not a small filly anymore! As worried as the adults around her were, she knew very well that she could handle things herself.
Plus, it's always nice to have a quiet stroll through the snowy forest.
Wrapping another layer of her oversized violet scarf dangling from her neck, Scootaloo trudged off the dirt path and into the undergrowth. As far as forests go, she knew very well the ins and outs of those surrounding Ponyville, with the exception of the Everfree, of course. She frequented them when she was younger, back before the Cutie Mark Crusaders were a thing. It always was a nice place to get away from the eruption of noise back home. She could still remember skittering here back in the day just to lay bare all her frustrations and vexations into the cracks in the barks of the trees. She still does that sometimes, albeit not as frequently and certainly not as distraught as she used to be.
Companionship certainly has it's perks.
There was a shortcut Scootaloo would sometimes take that leads straight to the clubhouse through this neck of the woods. She remembered distinctly the little-known route, even with everything draped underneath a thick sheet of snow. Cantering slowly between the trees, her eyes wandered around the winter scenery: barren branches grooved with icicles, bushes laced in shimmering frost, swirls of snowflakes carried by the wandering wind and, of course, the muted sun, peeking out from between frothy clumps of gray. It certainly wasn't as pleasant as she would've liked — Scootaloo preferred it's autumn facade — but the air of serenity still runs strong, even if it does get a little crisp at times. With the chill nipping at her lungs, she hastened her journey, already eager to spend the rest of the day with her friends to make more wonderful memories of their—
"Happy Hearth's Warming."
Scootaloo immediately stopped in her tracks.
She had came upon a clearing in the woods where, in the center, rested a snow-capped log which had served as one of the markers that would guide her across the forest ever since... well, the beginning of time, if she had to be the judge. Sitting on top of it, however, was a grayish pony with a frosty white mane and some sort of ladle for a Cutie Mark, dressed not too resplendently in a blue, woolen coat and a red nightcap. On his back was a satchel far too large for someone of his stature to carry, yet he carried it with ease nevertheless. His emerald eyes — the only green spared within this sleeping forest — sparkled alongside the first wave of snowflakes descending from the sky when it rose from the ground to meet her gaze, prompting from her a reply.
"H-Happy Hearth's Warming to you too."
His stare seemed to harden, before his lips curved. "You seem a little lost, filly."
"I... not exactly. I was just... heading somewhere..." Scootaloo stuttered, retracing her breathing. "What about you? Never saw you around before, mister."
His smile quavered, before returning to form. "I get that a lot, don't I now?" he retorted, chuckling. "Well, I am pretty far from home. Really far, when you consider everything. Yeppity-doo, home's a long, long way from here, that I know. Yes, that I know."
"Uh... o-okay."
"Oh, but no worries! I must wait! Patience, yes! Patience is the... key to... um... the key to... the key to the kingdom, yes, very much that, yes! I must be patient! I must wait! When I do, I'll get there eventually. Patience, yes, that's what I need now. Aum~! With me now! Aummm~!!" he hummed, suddenly adopting a meditative pose. "This helps a lot, you know? Improves circulation, which you really need on cold days such as this!"
Scootaloo's blank stare said everything that has to be said, though just to be sure...
"I don't get it."
"Oh, it's fine. Meditation isn't for everyone, that I know."
"No, I mean, what are you waiting for?"
"Oh, that, that, hah, yes!" A loud burst of laughter, embossed in a deep, resonant timbre, ruptured through the forest. "What I'm waiting for, filly? Well, I'm waiting for... for..."
"For—"
"Home! Haha~! Home sweet home!"
"Uh... huh..."
He's lost it.
That was the first thought that ran through Scootaloo's head, and though it popped up with enough of a convincing reason, she immediately censured herself for it. Her gaze traipsed across the graying skies, the branches above their heads creaking in the breeze, before she turned back to the pony on the log, his ears perking up as if he had been waiting for her to speak.
"Mind if I join you?"
With that question, the pony's smile softened. "Not at all."
Gingerly, Scootaloo made her way to the log and settled herself down, the pony shimmying to the side, the contents of his overstuffed satchel clanking and clattering as he did so. Exchanging with him awkward nods and even awkwarder smiles, she once again glanced about the forest, her body swaying to the Hearth's Warming carol running in her head against the frigid wind. She sneaked a peek towards him, for he had become abruptly quiet in her company, absentmindedly drawing circles in the snow with the tip of his hoof. That is, until the moment she cleared her throat.
"So, uh... what's your name?"
"Uhm me? Name? M-My... well... it's not really that flattering, you see..."
Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "But you have a name, don't you?"
"R-Right, of course, um— but you have to promise me you won't laugh, alright? It's not nice to laugh."
Despite being the elder pony of the two, he sure acts like a foal. Scootaloo snickered to herself, before censuring herself for her thoughts once again. "Look, you can tell me, okay?" she assured, cocking her head. "I won't laugh, I promise."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Okay. Okay! Sure! Why not!"
A new light sparked in his irises. With a few hefty huffs and fumbling hooves, he trembled in anticipation, even more so than her for some reason. Scootaloo softly chuckled at that, before she leaned in, preparing herself for the worst as he sat himself upright and tentatively opened his mouth:
"My name is Spoon Licker."
Silence, tranquil and taut.
Silence blanketed the forest, stretching longer than any god would allow it.
Silence, before it was quickly snapped with a muffled grunt.
"You laughed!"
Scootaloo choked out a gasp at his accusation. "I did not!"
"That was a laugh!"
"No it wasn't! I just... coughed! Air's pretty dry here! Yep, I coughed! That's it!"
The pony — Spoon Licker, as he was unfortunately known as — narrowed his gaze. "Really now?" he questioned.
"Really, I promise!" Scootaloo exclaimed, hooves raised defensively. "Um, okay, uh, since you've told me your name, I guess it's only fair that I do the same, right? Fair's fair, right?" A wisp of cold air fluttered from her lips as she chuckled. "Plus, you're not the only one here with a weird name, mister."
"Oh, nothing could be weirder than Spoon Licker, filly! Nothing, I do declare!"
"You'd be surprised."
"Surprise me then!"
"Okay... okay..." She paused to readjust her scarf. "Scootaloo. That's my name. It's Scootaloo."
Silence.
"Oh, come on!" Spoon Licker exclaimed with hooves tossed up, sounding almost disappointed, if not insulted. "That's not so bad of a name for a filly!"
"But it's a little weird! Admit it, you think it's weird too!"
"W-Well, it certainly is... atypical—"
"I knew it!"
"—but it's not so bad! Your name's just fine, Scootaloo, I'll have you know that!" He crossed his hooves adamantly. "At least you can't make fun of it as it is. Spoon Licker? Oh, you can't imagine life with Spoon Licker as your name, Scootaloo, you just can't! The horror, the tragedy, the sheer misery of it!" He teetered at the edge of the log, his thin knees wobbling as he looked almost ready to fall over, before he plopped back down with a sigh. "But that's the way things are, in the end. There's just something you can never change, nope, nope you can't! And we have to be happy with it, or at least, be content."
"That's... actually really nice," Scootaloo remarked. "I think your name's just fine, Spoon Licker. It's a little funny, but it's a nice name."
"Thank you very muc— ooh, I should give it a name! To be content with whatever comes tomorrow! The Spoon Licker Way!" his hoof slid across the sky as he said that. "Well, what do you think? Has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree?"
A chuckle from her once more. "You're quite funny, you know that?"
"Huh. Am I now? I find it funny that you'd say that." The two of them snickered at his little quip. "To be honest, usually ponies find me a bit eccentric, which technically means weird, so yes, they think I'm really weird. Really, really, really weird."
"I think you're weird too, but in a good way."
"That's good to know, that. Good to know."
Scootaloo nodded with a hum of agreement, and with it came another bout of silence. Her gaze strayed in this brief moment, losing itself in the tranquility of the forest. The distant jollity of Hearth's Warming in town was cradled in the wind, washing itself away in the crevasses between the branches as it waltzed into their ears. She smiled at the mirth and merriment, welcoming it into this solitude. As for Spoon Licker, he was smiling as well, though his smile was tinged with a sight she never thought she'd see.
Yearning.
"So, what's your home like?"
"Home? Ah, not much to say, really. Just like any other home, I would imagine. Maybe like yours!"
"Oh, mine?" Scootaloo stifled a guffaw. "Parents split when I was young, so I'm staying with my aunts now. Not much really happens in our house on Hearth's Warming with just the three of us, to be honest. We just spend time chatting with each other, I guess."
"That's how most homes are during Hearth's Warming, I would think so!" Spoon Licker paused to ponder. "Oh, on second thought, I'd say my home's a bit... rowdier. Yes, yes, rowdy, crowded, ever so noisy. That's what happens when you have twelve brothers, after all."
"Wait, you have twelve brothers?"
"I know, right? Ach, you must think that Mamma and Pappi really having their work cut out for them. Thirteen of us jolly ponies, doing whatever our heart desires, and oh, there's a lot! Probably except making fun of each others' names, cause they have funny names as well!" A cheerful chortle slithered from his throat. "Ooh, but we're all busy busy busy~! Yes we are, no doubt about that! So much to be done, so little time. Which reminds me..." Whistling an unfamiliar song, Spoon Licker hauled his gigantic satchel from his back and set it down before his hooves. "There are some things needing a bit of sorting out here before I forget."
Scootaloo watched as he untied the thread that sealed his satchel, before dipping his hoof in to rummage through its contents, the dissonant rhapsody of clanking, clunking and clattering filling their ears. "What do you have in there anyway?" she asked.
"Ooh, many things, yeppity-doo. Pots, pans, potatoes, the like. Ooh, but the great thing about it is the spoons! Haha, yes, spoons!" he cheered harmoniously, before sighing as he set his gaze to the clouds. "Ah, but they don't make them like they used to be anymore now, do they? I miss the old spoons sometimes, yep, I do. Oh, but I've still got a few of those in here just to look at. You know, for old times' sake."
"Okay... what do you need all those things for?"
"Good question, yep. What do I need them for? Who knows?" he chirruped with a shrug. "Well, who knows anymore, at least."
There it was again.
The mellow luster of yearning in his eyes.
"If you have it, then I guess you need it, right?" Scootaloo surmised. "Maybe it has something to do with you getting home somehow?"
"Maybe, maybe..." he muttered, before shaking his head. "No, no, not really? I can't be too sure, to be honest. All I know is that home is really far away, that is all. A step and a journey away, to be exact."
"A step and a journey, huh?"
"Yeppity-doo. It's a bit silly, I know, but it's simple, really." He cleared his throat. "The step comes first. Not the first step of the journey, mind you. The first step is more like you wanting to go home. It only happens when you know you have to go and when you know, deep down, that you want to go, because if you don't want to go home, then why bother doing so? That's the step, of course, and once you take that step, then comes the actual journey. Could be long, could be short, could be in the middle, doesn't matter. When that journey is over, poof, you're home! Ahh, home sweet home indeed!"
"Ah, I get it," Scootaloo nodded, fascinated in the revelation, before she furrowed her brows. "So what are you waiting for? You want to go home, don't you?"
"Oh yes, that, very much I do. I want to go home, yep. But before that, there's something I need to do, you see. Once I do that something, then I can maybe start thinking about going home. Yes, that's how it goes!"
"Alright then! So what do you need to do?"
"Oh, not much. Just need to say goodbye to someone, that's all."
"Okay, that's easy," she said. "Who do you need to say goodbye to?"
It came back again, the glow of yearning.
It came back with a vengeance, sparkling ever so solemnly in his stare.
It came back, and with it, an answer.
"You."
And with that, silence followed suit.
The wind stilled. The snow stopped. The distant sounds of Ponyville in high spirits tapered off. All that remained was tranquility and, underneath its thick sheet, yearning. It was strange, yearning. This sensation that had encapsulated his stare had spilled out into the material world, filling it in billowing scarves of a seldom-seen warmth and piercing her chest like tridents, so much so that her gaze quavered. As her head finally had the nerve to let his answer sink in, Scootaloo blinked, then paused, then blinked again, before she rediscovered her voice once more.
"Me?" she tried to smile. She failed, somehow. "What do you mean, me?"
"It's a long story, Scootaloo. It really is. To put it simply, this isn't the first time we've met."
"Well, sure it is, I've never seen you around—" her voice failed her suddenly, her throat convexing. The world shimmered, and for a moment, her eyes seemed to fall through him. "But now that you've said it... I... I think I..." she tried again, only for her voice to fail once more, though she persisted. "I... I... I've..."
"We've met before." Spoon Licker found the words she had been desperately clawing for. "A couple of times really."
A gulp. "W-When?"
"Last time, it was exactly a year ago, in the last Hearth's Warming. The time before that, it was the Hearth's Warming before that. So on, so forth, you know the drill, yep you do."
"But I..." Scootaloo scratched her head. "I don't remember seeing you at all... or do I? I don't know. I think I'm remembering some things, but at the same time, I... why is this happening?"
"That's because you keep forgetting. Not that your memories are getting rusty or anything, it's just... something that happens every time we meet. I say hi, you say hi back, we talk, we say goodbye, repeat! Annual routine, yeppity-doo, though it can be bit of a chore at certain points. Ooh, sure, tell me about the time that your hero Rainbow Dash saved you from falling off a waterfall again—"
"Wait, how long has this been happening?"
"Oh, quite some time. Years. Almost a decade, I would say," he hummed in reminiscence. "You've changed a lot since then, yeppity-doo. I still remember the first time we've met. It was all an accident really; I think you've been running away from something. Thinking back, you were so quiet and so scared of me, it's almost a miracle that we've talked at all! Cheered you up a bunch that night, yes I did! That was before your whole crusading fracas, of course. Now, though, you've even got your Cutie Mark too. My, my, it seems that every time I see you, you've grown a lot bigger than I expected."
"But why can't I remember them?" she cried. "You remembered it, so why not me?"
"Ah, that. It's my fault, mostly," Spoon Licker chuckled. "You see, I'm not exactly... ordinary."
"Really?" Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm something out of a fairytale, to be honest. You could say that I'm a ... eh, let's say I'm sort of a Hearth's Warming spirit, yes! Hearth's Warming spirit! That's it, that's what I am! I'm here once the snow sets, and I'll be gone once it all melts awayyyy~!" His jovial tone both unsettled and astounded her. "Ooh, same thing for my brothers. Also, my Mamma and Pappi. Oh, and let's not forget the family cat as well!"
"Then how come I've never heard of you?
"Because our tales are all but forgotten. Only a few ponies remember who we were anymore, and even they are, in a way, leaving this place as well." Spoon Licker's smile wavered, yet remained firm. "In the beginning, there were thirteen of us. We'd go around giving gifts, leaving potatoes and causing ruckuses, mostly the latter. We do what we do best, with what little time we have, and we do it well. We had to, if we are to live on. We live on only in stories, Scootaloo. We live on because those stories are passed on, from generation to generation, and we are to make sure that they've been passed on." His stare grew despondent. "But alas, ponies stopped believing. They've stopped caring altogether. They've come to view our acts and deeds as things that just happen by circumstance and nothing more. We tried harder and harder, of course, but in the end, everything has it's time. Everything must come to pass."
"So wait, when you say home—"
"You're a smart one, yeppity-doo!" he chortled, reaching out to pat her head. "Home is far, far away indeed. My brothers have been there for a while now, and I do think they seem to be enjoying it, in fact! They'd come back otherwise, I'll have you know!" His laughter was boisterous, though it quickly lapsed into a flustered cackle. "I'm pretty sure that, at this moment, they're waiting for me. They've been waiting for me for a long time now, it would seem. Just wanting me to take that little step. So diminutive yet so, so important."
"But you'd be gone, right?" Scootaloo whimpered, her eyes beginning to water. "You won't... exist anymore... won't you?"
"Don't know! That's the funny thing: you'll never know! The world's a bit iffy about these kinds of things, yep. I might be there, I might be not. Could happen today, could happen tomorrow, might've already happened! All I know is that... well... I'll be there one day. I'm sure of it."
"W-With your brothers..."
"With my brothers and the rest of the family, yep. Ah yes, companionship. It has it's perks, don't you think?"
"Wait, if your brothers have gone already, then why are you still here? Why didn't you leave with them?"
"Because it's not my time yet. Because I'm still tethered to this place by something. Because somewhere out there, there's this filly that I keep running into, that believes in me just a bit harder every time after we say our farewells."
Scootaloo stopped her jaw from falling to the ground. "Y-You mean..."
"Exactly what you're thinking, which is why I thought it best to make a request on this Hearth's Warming."
With a hefty sigh, Spoon Licker's smile finally vanished. His gaze hardened, his brows wrenching up. The world, perhaps even time itself, stopped in their tracks as he took in a deep breath. Within it all, Scootaloo could only look on, drenched in every conceivable emotion she could muster after being hit by revelation after revelation, only for them to all coalesce when he finally imparted to her his request.
"You have to let me go. You have to move on. You have to realize that this was inevitable, that I have to leave this place one day. You have to understand that home is waiting for me, that my parents, my brothers, my cat I guess... they're all waiting. The journey there might be long and arduous. I might never even make it there, but I'm certainly willing to try. First, however, I have to take a step, and for that, I need your help, Scootaloo. I need you to help me get me home."
"But I— but we... but I didn't... I thought we could—"
"Ah ah, don't fret too much, Scootaloo! The Spoon Licker Way, remember?" he reminded heartily.
"To be content with whatever comes tomorrow..." Scootaloo echoed his words as they played out in her head, loud and clear. "But are you really content with this, Spoon Licker? Are you content with just... dying?"
"It's not death, it's..." he stopped himself short of his protests. "Well, it sorta is death, but it's more than that. It's death, but also, it's life. It's change. It's the old making way for the new. It is the beginning, as it is the end. It's the snowflakes of time, falling and flying and, eventually, fading. It is the way it is, and we have to be happy with it, or at least, be content."
"But..." she sniffled. "But I-I don't want to forget you again..."
"You'll never really forget. You always remember, somehow."
"You s-say that, but—"
"You'll figure it out, I know you will. You do it all the time anyway!"
"O-Okay..." she rubbed her tears away. "B-But you'll be fine, right? Promise me you'll be fine."
"I can't promise you that, Scootaloo," he said, and before Scootaloo had any chance of responding, he quickly continued: "But if there's anything I can promise, it's this: I might be fine, I might be not, but at the very least, I'll be home. That I can promise."
"I'll remember you, no matter what! I promise I will this time!"
He laughed at her declaration. "Please do, but don't try too hard. I've gotta get home, remember?"
Scootaloo couldn't help it. Knowing nothing better to do, she immediately flung her hooves around him in a tight hug, earning a yelp of surprise from Spoon Licker that quickly gave away into a deep chuckle. "I'll miss you too, Scootaloo" he reciprocated quietly, prompting her to tighten her hug. For a moment, brief as it may be, they stayed like that, these two ponies seated on a log in the middle of the wintry forest, before she finally let him go at his behest from a tap on her back.
"Let's switch things up a little for this last encounter," he said as he stood up with a huff, bubbly despite knowing what's to come. "You probably don't remember any of it, but I always see you off every time we met. This time, however, I'll be taking my leave first. Think it's about time I do it anyway."
She could only giggle at his antics. "Sure thing."
Exchanging a final wave of goodbye, the pony known as Spoon Licker tied his satchel back up and hauled it up onto his back, carrying it well even despite his skeletal stature, before he finally set off on his journey, having taken his first step. Scootaloo could only look on as he left, and as sad as she was, she found herself smiling from ear to ear when she watched him slink off into the depths of the forest. It served as a neat gesture to her, encouraging her to grow up, to see the world, to reach for the skies— nay, the stars.
If anything else, that alone was the best Hearth's Warming gift she could've ever asked for.
"Scootaloo? Scootaloo~?"
"Huh? What?" she stammered, blinking profusely, before realizing she was met with the curious looks of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "Oh, um, hey girls! What's up?"
"You were spacing out a bit there, Scoots," Sweetie Belle remarked.
"You alright?" Apple Bloom asked. "You know, if there's something bothering you—"
"Yeah I was just..." she stopped for a moment, taking a meek glance around the clubhouse, before providing to her friends the brightest grin she could ever muster, despite having wore it all day.
"I'm fine, in fact," came her words, loud and clear. "Never better."
.
.
.
Author's Note
Happy Hearth's Warming, everybody!
