"Happy Birthday, Scootaloo!"
Scootaloo rose from her bed and checked off the day on her calendar. A smile crept across the filly's face when she saw the date. It was her birthday.
As would be the case, she was going to have a terrific birthday at Sugarcube Corner later that day. All her classmates would be there, and so would everypony else she cared about.
Almost everypony. A faint sigh of longing escaped the pegasus' lips as she remembered that her parents would probably not be showing up for the party. They would be too busy with work.
Yes, yes, work was important, Scootaloo knew that. But just once she wished her parents could actually be there for an important moment in her life. They'd barely managed to make it home for their daughter's cute-ceañera, and by that point the celebration was just about over. And how many birthday parties and celebrations had they missed because of work? The list was too long for the filly to recall off the top of her head.
Still, a birthday party was a birthday party regardless of who showed up. Scootaloo would just have to do her best not to dwell too much on the absence of her parents. "Maybe this time their gift will be there for the actual party, instead of arriving the next day or next week." She thought to herself, as she made her way downstairs for breakfast.
Aunt Holiday was already in the kitchen, laboring away over a hot stove. And Auntie Lofty was sitting at the kitchen table, patiently awaiting breakfast from her special somepony. She was the first one to greet Scootaloo when she entered the kitchen. "Hey there, Scootaloo. Happy birthday!"
Scootaloo blushed as she received a big hug from Lofty. That was just what Scootaloo liked about the sturdy pegasus, she always loved to shower her niece in affection. The most she tended to get from Aunt Holiday, was a goodnight kiss. "Thanks, Auntie Lofty." She smiled, before sitting down at the kitchen table.
Breakfast passed largely uneventfully, as Scootaloo enjoyed eggs and toast. But Aunt Holiday noticed that between bites of her food, something was nagging at Scootaloo's mind. Normally Holiday was not one to pry, she preferred to wait and let Scootaloo tell her on her own time, but today was different. Nopony should be sad on their birthday. "Scootaloo, is something the matter?" The earth pony mare inquired.
Scootaloo shook her head. "It's nothing."
"Come on, slugger, you can tell us," Lofty sweetly insisted. "You know we always find out sooner or later."
"I said it's nothing, you don't have to constantly get on my case!" Scootaloo protested, a bit too loudly. Now it was obvious she was trying to hide something.
"Scootaloo, sweetheart, we can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong," Holiday sweetly replied. "Please. Your Auntie Lofty and I don't want to see our favorite niece all down in the dumps on her birthday."
Reluctantly, Scootaloo put down her fork, swallowed the egg she'd just eaten, and confessed. "It's just... I miss Mom and Dad. I really wish they could be here today."
Holiday was quick to reply. "Now, Scootaloo, you know your mom and dad love you very much. But they have to go to work to provide for you and make sure you have a roof over your head."
"I know, I know," Scootaloo retorted. "But just once I'd like it if they could take a day off. They're always working so hard, but it seems like they never have time for me anymore. I don't think they've even been to any of my birthday parties since I was four."
"Well, we'd be more than happy to have a talk with your parents the next time they come home," Lofty offered. "I'm sure they're not doing this intentionally."
Scootaloo nodded her head. "I know that too. I know it's stupid of me to even complain about it," She then pushed her mostly empty plate forward and hopped down from the table, opting to change the subject. "I'm done with breakfast. Now I need to get going or I'll be late for school. See you at the party?"
"Of course. Now get going." Lofty encouraged.
Scootaloo needed no further encouragement. She rushed outside to where her scooter was parked, and zipped away in a cloud of dust!
But what the filly had said just moments earlier still dwelled in the minds of her aunts. Holiday especially was quite concerned, she always hated to see her niece so down in the dumps. "There must be a way we can cheer Scootaloo up." She commented to Lofty, looking across to her wife.
"Yes, but what can we do?" Lofty wondered aloud. "Holiday, I love you very much, but even I know we're not miracle workers. We can't do the impossible."
Holiday was not deterred. "Whoever said we had to do the impossible? I've got a plan. It's a long shot, but if it works, Scootaloo will have a birthday party she'll never forget." She whispered it into her wife's ear.
Lofty was quite surprised at what her special somepony was suggesting, the sturdy pegasus mare had to take a step back upon hearing the details. "You sure you can do all that, Holiday? Sounds like a tall order."
Holiday just winked at Lofty. "You forget who you're talking to, Holiday? This is the mare who built her travel agency from the ground up with just her bare hooves, before she even met her darling wife. So, are you gonna help me, or do you wanna sleep on the couch again all week?"
"Oh, I hate it when you do that, Holiday!" Lofty playfully teased, ribbing Holiday a bit. "But what do you want me to do? There's no way you're gonna have all that ready by the time the kid gets out from school."
"Well, you know that 'thing' we were talking about a few weeks back?" Holiday suggested to her special somepony.
"What do you mea-oh!" Lofty realized, her eyes almost widening. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Holiday? I mean, Scootaloo's a growing filly, but is she really ready for... you know?"
Holiday simply smiled at the sturdy pegasus. "You'll be there to watch her, right? And it's certainly nowhere near as risky compared to Scootaloo's love of bungee jumping. It won't even have to be for a long time, even just ten minutes should be enough time to keep her occupied while I get her 'surprise' ready."
Scootaloo's aunts weren't the only ones to take notice of the filly's less than stellar mood. On her way to Wonderbolts headquarters this very day, Rainbow Dash also happened to spot Scootaloo, and take notice of how the tomboyish filly was sulking to herself a bit.
Not one to just leave her little sister when she was down in the dumps, Rainbow landed besides the filly. "Hey, Scootaloo. Why the long face?" She innocently inquired.
"Nothing. Why would I be upset on today of all days? It's my birthday." Scootaloo replied rather defensively.
Rainbow was not convinced for a second. "Come on, kid, you know I don't like it when you lie to me. I know something's bothering you."
"It's none of your business, it's stupid and pointless." Scootaloo retorted. Normally this kind of attention from Rainbow Dash was nice, but right now the orange coated filly would much prefer her big sister to leave her alone. Why did everypony have to make such a big deal out of her being upset on her birthday?
"I'll be the judge of that," Rainbow firmly declared, looking Scootaloo in the eyes. "If it's something personal, that's fine, I won't tell anypony."
Scootaloo sighed. "I'm just a little upset that my parents have to work today, even though it's my birthday. But it's been like this for years now, I've more or less gotten used to it. I'm sure I'll be fine if I stop thinking about it."
Rainbow wasn't as optimistic. In the years since taking Scootaloo under her wing and becoming her big sister, the cyan coated mare had come to learn the signs that indicated when Scootaloo was upset. She always put on a brave face, but as somepony who was used to do such a thing often, it wasn't hard for Rainbow to see through the act. "Do you wanna talk about it for a bit?" She offered. "Just a chat between sisters?"
Scootaloo shook her head. "I'll be okay, I promise!" She retorted and turned her head. "Everypony else is gonna be at the party, so who cares if my parents don't show up? You'll be there, and so will your parents. Between you three and my aunts, that's all the family I could ever need."
"Scootaloo..." Rainbow sighed.
"Look, I'm gonna be late for class! I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I don't need anypony's concern or pity," Scootaloo commented. "Just leave me alone, I'll probably forget all about by the time of the party."
As much as she might have liked to pry further, Rainbow decided against it. She never liked getting into arguments with Scootaloo, it always made her feel guilty. "O...kay," She spoke after a brief moment of pausing. "Well, see you at the party then. Trust me, I've got something beyond amazing for your present!"
Scootaloo's eyes lit up with anticipation! Her big sister always got her the most awesome gifts for birthdays, surprise parties, and Hearth's Warming. "Really, what is it?!"
"Well, it's..." Rainbow began. Before she realized what she was about to do and quickly corrected herself with a laugh. "Nice try, squirt. You're just gonna have to wait until the party. Trust me, it'll be well worth the wait."
"With a pony as awesome as you, I know it will be!" Scootaloo happily smiled, and then took off down the road towards the school house.
Rainbow smiled. "Hopefully my awesome present will be just what Scootaloo needs to forget about her absentee parents." The Wonderbolt thought. And then she resumed her journey to headquarters, least she be late and give Spitfire a reason to chew her out.
Thanks in no small part to her incredible scootering skills, Scootaloo easily made up for lost time. She made it to the school house with a good ten minutes to spare. Plenty of time to hoof out invitations to her friends and fellow classmates.
And she did just that once she had parked her scooter. In contrast to how she usually distributed invitations, this time the tomboyish pegasus waited until she'd gotten to everypony else before she gave the remaining two to her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"There a reason why you gave everypony else invitations before us?" Apple Bloom inquired. "Usually, we're the first ones to get 'em."
"I know you girls will say yes, ever since we became the Cutie Mark Crusaders, we've done just about everything together." Scootaloo commented.
Sweetie Belle just smiled. "Well that's because we Cutie Mark Crusaders stick together, no matter what," Then she added. "It seems like the entire school is gonna be there. Are you gonna by any chance invite Rumble too? Don't think Apple Bloom and I didn't notice that one time you were looking at him funny while you two were alone."
"I just fell, and Rumble was helping me up. That's all there was to it," Scootaloo defensively replied. "We're just friends. Besides, it's kind of hard to send an invitation to him when he lives in Cloudsdale, and I live in Ponyville."
"Doesn't stop you with Rainbow Dash's parents." Apple Bloom thought to herself, but didn't dare to say it out loud.
Fortunately, at that very moment, Cheerilee came trotting in. "Okay, everypony, let's all settle down," She instructed as she trotted to her desk. "I know we're all very excited for Scootaloo's birthday party later today, but for right now let's get our minds into a learning state."
Everypony in the classroom groaned, as they reluctantly made their way to their assigned desks.
"Come on now, everypony, don't give me those looks," Cheerilee lightly scolded. "Learning can be just as fun as a party. Now open those textbooks and let's begin the history lesson."
The colts and fillies found it hard to stay focused on learning that day, and they were quite glad when lunch time rolled around and they were dismissed for lunch recess.
Scootaloo expected an uneventful fair, with maybe a few colts and fillies asking her for more details about the party or even double checking to be sure it would be at Sugarcube Corner at the designated time.
It seemed like fate had other plans in mind, however. Because at that very moment, a loud "Whoosh!" caught everypony's attention! They looked up, and one by one their eyes beheld the spectacle of the Wonderbolts zooming past overhead, including Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane, the two newest members.
Even more surprising than the Wonderbolts flying past, however, was when Rainbow briefly split off from them and swooped low to fly directly over the students. She even managed to wave to Scootaloo in spite of how fast she was going. "Hope that at least cheered her up a little." The speedster thought.
This "stunt" didn't go unnoticed by the other Wonderbolts, and Spitfire was already in lecture mode by the time Rainbow rejoined the elite flyers. "I thought I made it clear you're not to just break off and show off like that." She sternly scolded.
"Sorry, Spitfire, ma'am," Rainbow apologized. "I just thought I'd say hi to Scootaloo really quick. It's her birthday after all."
"Well you can do that on your own time, rookie," Spitfire corrected. "You show off enough as it is in our shows, there's no need to make everything a public spectacle. I'll let it slide this time, seeing as it was for a special occasion, but don't do it again. Do you understand?"
Rainbow nodded, and Spitfire took that as a sign that her message had gotten across. "Good. Now if there are no more 'interruptions' let's double time it back to HQ! Surprise says she's got something very important to share with us!"
"Knowing Surprise, it's probably a party of some kind. Wouldn't surprise me if we're being called to perform at Scootaloo's birthday party. I know the kid's a big Wonderbolts fan." Rainbow thought to herself.
The rest of the school day was a blur as far as the students were concerned, Scootaloo included. It wasn't that Cheerilee's lessons were boring, but when everypony's mind was already on an exciting birthday party it was hard to really pay attention to anything else.
"Remember, everypony!" Scootaloo called out, as her classmates all rushed out the front door. "Six o'clock on the dot at Sugarcube Corner, don't be late!"
"We won't!" Everypony echoed back all at once, then each departed one by one to do whatever it was they planned to do to kill time before the party.
Scootaloo was going to do the same (most likely just hanging out at the clubhouse and hopefully tending to a client or two), when Auntie Lofty showed up. And was it the tomboy's imagination, or did the sturdy pegasus have an even brighter than usual smile?
"Hey, slugger," Lofty cheerfully greeted. "How's my favorite niece in the whole wide world doing?"
"I was doing just fine, Auntie Lofty. I just thought I'd kill some time before the party," Scootaloo replied. "I assume Aunt Holiday's busy working with Pinkie Pie to get everything set up?"
Lofty nodded. "Bingo! But I figured this year, instead of assisting her, I'd do something a little different."
"Whatever do you mean? This wouldn't by any chance be because of my outburst earlier in the day, would it?" Scootaloo pondered aloud, raising an eyebrow at her Auntie Lofty.
Fortunately, Lofty was quite experienced with being put on the spot by her niece. She expertly replied with a straight face. "Of course not, I just wanted to spend a little one on one time with you and give you your present."
"Wait? My present? But don't you and Aunt Holiday usually wait until the party to give me your presents?" Scootaloo asked, buzzing her wings a bit.
Lofty smiled. "Usually that is the case, but this year I thought we'd do things a bit differently. Besides, my present isn't exactly something you can just wrap up in a neat little box. You'll understand when you see it." She delivered that last line with a wink, which Scootaloo found most odd.
The sturdy pegasus than led her niece around back, while covering her eyes with a hoof. She then removed them, allowing the filly to see her surprise with her own two eyes! It was a small cloud.
"Is that my very own cloud?!" Scootaloo eagerly exclaimed.
Lofty nodded. "Yup, I figured it wouldn't hurt to let you have it. Give you own your little slice of Cloudsdale. You can zoom around on it, and it doubles as a nice pillow if you wanna take a nap, Rainbow Dash will attest to that."
"But I thought Aunt Holiday didn't want me riding around on clouds before I could even fly, especially since my wings can't really do much besides lift me off the ground for a few seconds." Scootaloo commented, buzzing her wings to emphasize her point.
"I think you'll find that a cloud works not unlike your scooter, Scootaloo. You don't need to fly to use it," Lofty explained, as she led the orange coated filly over to it and helped her climb aboard. "Aunt Holiday said it was okay so long as I gave you lessons. And since you're not high off the ground, you can just jump down whenever you're done using it. Just make sure to keep it tied to something, or it'll fly off," She then added. "But that's only part of my birthday present to you, slugger. You in the mood for a cloud ride?!"
Scootaloo's eyes went wide! "A cloud ride?! Are you kidding?! I've been itching to go on one for years!"
Lofty smiled, as she retrieved a rope and carefully tied it around the cloud. "And now you're finally gonna get one, Scootaloo! It's my birthday present to you!" She proceeded to instruct. "Now, keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times, and hang on tight!"
While Lofty kept Scootaloo "occupied" with a cloud ride, Holiday was at Sugarcube Corner helping Pinkie Pie to put the finishing touches on the birthday party.
Everything was proceeding as planned. The cake was almost ready, all the streamers were hung up, the balloons had been inflated, and there were more than enough party hats and plates for the guests. Even the party games were coming along nicely, including staples like pin the tail on the pony and pinata.
"Thanks again for the help, Holiday!" Pinkie cheerfully spoke to the earth pony mare, as the pink party pony used her party cannon to finish decorating the last of the tables. "I probably could've done it alone, but an extra pair of hooves never hurts, especially for a party as big as this one!"
Holiday smiled. "Scootaloo deserves only the best for her birthday, especially when you consider all the friends she's made over the years."
"Well, it looks like we're all set," Pinkie commented as she observed the entire bakery of Sugarcube Corner. All the tables on the ground floor had been redecorated, and a huge banner hung from the ceiling, leaving no doubt as to whom the party was for. "Ooh, I almost forgot!" Pinkie added. "Since all the usual tables are taken, we'll use the countertop for the presents table. You might wanna add your present now, once the guests get here the presents are gonna pile up real fast!"
But Holiday flashed a massive grin at the party pony. "Actually, my present's going to be something a little bit different this year. It's gonna be much bigger, for one thing. And I'm gonna need your help to get it all set up and ready for the party."
"Ooh, a surprise present! I love surprises!" Pinkie beamed, bouncing over to Holiday. "Whaddya have in mind?!"
Holiday leaned close to Pinkie, whispering her plan into the pink party's pony ear. Pinkie's smile only grew wider with every detail Holiday added. "No wonder she needs my help! That's quite a tall order to fill on such short notice!" She thought to herself. But being a party pony meant respecting the wishes of the one who hired you in the first place. Besides, if there was anypony who had a way to make the seemingly impossible a reality, it was Pinkie Pie.
Almost before Scootaloo realized it, it was time for her birthday party to begin. Right at six o'clock, all the guests had already lined up outside Sugarcube Corner and were hastily filing inside as best they could. Each guest received a complimentary party hat and party favor, courtesy of Pinkie Pie herself. And each guest also deposited their intended present in the fast growing pile on the counter.
Several familiar faces were recognizable to Scootaloo as she mingled with the crowd. Her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, her (relatively) new friends Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, classmates like Pipsqueak or Snips and Snails, various grownups (including Cheerilee and Filthy Rich), and even Rainbow Dash's parents: Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles!
Scootaloo eagerly ran up to the two, giving them both big hugs! "I'm so glad you could make it!" She happily exclaimed!
"Of course we did, we wouldn't miss this party for the world!" Bow Hothoof smiled as he playfully rustled Scootaloo's mane with a hoof. "No way could we skip out on celebrating the birthday of the best filly ever!"
Windy was quick to add in support to her husband's statement. "You're practically like family to us as it is, Scootaloo. It was our pleasure to show up here," Looking around, the mare was quick to comment to the tomboyish pegasus. "I must say, this is the biggest birthday party I think I've ever seen since Dashie was five. I tell you, our darling little daughter was the life of the party."
"Mom, Dad, please don't tell the kid that stuff," A familiar voice playfully whined, trying not to call too much attention to itself. "If you're gonna embarrass me, don't be doing it where everypony can hear."
Scootaloo, Bow, and Windy, all spun around in time to see Rainbow Dash come trotting in, still dressed in her Wonderbolts flight suit. A present tucked under her right wing, which she proceeded to place into the pile that seemed to stack up to the very ceiling itself.
"Rainbow Dash!" The Wonderbolt's number one fan happily exclaimed, rushing up and embracing the cyan speedster in a hug! "Oh I'm so glad you could make it! I mean... I knew you would, but a part of me thought maybe you'd get called away on a Wonderbolts emergency at the last minute!"
"And miss this awesome party?! Not on your life, kid!" The mare told the filly.
Once the hug had ended, Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves together and called. "Alright, everypony! You know the drill! Presents first, then party games, and then it's time for cake and we all sing 'Happy Birthday'!"
But Aunt Holiday had other plans. "Actually, Pinkie," She told the party planner. "I still need a little bit more time to get my present ready."
"Besides," Rainbow added. "The rest of the Wonderbolts and I have a little something special we've prepared for this special occasion. And I'd like to do it now since everypony's gathered, that way if we get called away for any reason, we can still give our present."
"Why don't we let Scootaloo decide? She's the birthday girl after all." Auntie Lofty suggested.
For Scootaloo, it wasn't even a question. She knew what she was going to pick. "Who could possibly say no to a private Wonderbolts performance?!" The tomboyish pegasus declared. "Come on, everypony, let's all go outside so we can get a good look! Maybe we'll even Rainbow Dash do a Sonic Rainboom!"
Everypony followed the birthday filly outside. Everypony that is, except for Aunt Holiday and Pinkie Pie. It was time to put the finishing touches on Holiday's present. It was sure to be one that Scootaloo would never forget.
Just before the Wonderbolts performance got underway, one final guest showed up to the party. It was none other than Rumble. "Hope I'm not too late." He spoke to Scootaloo.
"Rumble! What a... surprise," Scootaloo commented, trying to maintain her composure. "I didn't send you an invitation."
Rumble shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, no need for one. When you've got a brother who's in the Wonderbolts, and he knows your big sister, word gets out pretty fast. I figured 'Well, why not? It's a birthday party, who in their right mind wouldn't wanna go to to that?'. So here I am."
"Ah, that makes sense. Glad you could make it," Scootaloo replied to Rumble. "Come on, the show's about to start! You don't wanna miss it!"
"Well, first, I wanted to give you your present," Rumble told the filly, as he presented a hastily wrapped box to her. "Sorry if it's a little sloppy. It was sort of a last minute thing, the party kind of slipped my mind."
"Hey, a present's still a present," Scootaloo told the colt. "Now come on, enjoy the show! I'll add your present to the pile when it's all over."
The Wonderbolts performance went over splendidly, they performed all sorts of spectacular dives and aerial maneuvers, much to the delight of everypony in the audience!
And for the grand finale, one by one the bolts split off and letter by letter they wrote "Happy Birthday, Scootaloo!" in the sky out of clouds! To top it all off, Rainbow Dash molded a few extra clouds into the shape of a lightning bolt, beneath the message!
Everypony clapped and cheered, but Scootaloo cheered the loudest and proudest of all! She continued to cheer even as the bolts landed in order of who had written what in the message.
"That was a present from all of the Wonderbolts! Did you like it?" Rainbow asked Scootaloo, but there was no need for a reply. The still deafening cheer and applause told the cyan coated mare all she needed to know.
With the show now over it was time for presents, everypony hurriedly filed back into Sugarcube Corner.
Scootaloo placed Rumble's present amidst the massive pile of presents from everypony gathered, then Pinkie emerged with Aunt Holiday. "Okay, everypony, it's present time!" Pinkie excitedly declared! "Now, usually the lucky colt or filly gets to pick what present to open first. But this year, things are gonna be a little bit different."
"That's right, Pinkie," Aunt Holiday spoke up, as everypony's attention was drawn to a massive present wrapped in peach and bluish-green wrapping paper, topped with a purple bow, which stood behind the earth pony mare. "Since my present is quite a bit bigger compared to most, I think Scootaloo should open it up first. It's an extra special gift."
"'Extra special'?" Scootaloo parroted.
Holiday nodded. "And I think you'll understand why that is as soon as you open it. Go ahead, have at it, Scootaloo."
Scootaloo approached the gigantic present. On the side of it was a small tag that read: "To Scootaloo, Love Aunt Holiday". "What could my Aunt Holiday possibly get that would need such a huge box to store it in? Especially when Auntie Lofty already got me my own cloud to ride on." The orange coated filly thought to herself. Well, there was only one way to find out.
The tomboy grabbed some of the wrapping paper, and carefully started to tear it apart. Everypony else watched with bated breath, as they seemed to share the same nagging thought as the birthday filly. "Just what in the world could that huge present be?"
At last, the remaining bits of the wrapping paper were torn up and thrown away. In its place stood a massive, cardboard box.
Just as Scootaloo was about to turn around and ask Aunt Holiday if this was some kind of joke, the sides of the box fell to the floor! And the top folded open a second later!
Scootaloo's grayish-purple eyes took one look at the contents of the box, and they widened to the size of dinner plates! Standing before her, were two very familiar ponies! On the left was an amber coated pegasus mare about the same size and build as Aunt Holiday. She sported a pink mane and tail that were curly in style and had pale raspberry highlights, her eyes were a beautiful rose in color, and she had a cutie mark that consisted of three tornadoes. And on the right was a pegasus stallion of roughly the same height. He more closely resembled his daughter even down to the mane color, except for the fact that he had a noticeably darker orange coat, and dark purple eyes, his cutie mark was a flaming hockey puck with wings. They were her parents, Dizzy Twister and Quick Shot!
Scootaloo could hardly believe it! "Mom?! Dad?!" She exclaimed in utter shock! All of Sugarcube Corner fell silent.
"Happy birthday, Scootaloo!" Dizzy and Quick loudly and proudly exclaimed, as they trotted forward and embraced their daughter in a hug. Everyone awwed at the heartwarming scene.
"B-but... how and what are you doing here?!" The filly exclaimed, still in a state of shock. "I thought you guys had to work?"
"We thought so too, Scootaloo. But your Aunt Holiday went ahead and pulled a few strings," Quick explained. "It wasn't easy, but she was able to convince our boss to let us take today off."
"And us being inside the present was her idea too," Dizzy told her daughter. "You have no idea how hard it was to hold still inside that box and not make a sound. I was starting to get a wing cramp from being cooped up in there."
"I'll say," Quick commented with a chuckle. "I thought for sure you were gonna go crazy and give away our position. Not that I blame you, it was pretty stuffy inside that box. We're never doing that again, that's for sure."
"We're sorry we haven't been able to be around in your life as much these past few years, Scootaloo," Dizzy apologized. "Even while we're away at work, not a day goes by where your father and I don't think about you, and miss all the fun times we used to have together."
"But thanks to your Aunt Holiday, we've got the rest of today and all of the weekend to spend with you, Scoots." Quick happily confessed, as he stroked his daughter's mane playfully with a hoof.
"And we can't wait to celebrate your birthday with you," Dizzy added. "So, whaddya think? Is this the best birthday present you've ever gotten, or what?"
Scootaloo couldn't stop the liquid pride that welled up inside her. She just fully accepted the hug from her parents, enjoying the embrace. "My birthday was already pretty awesome to begin with," She told her parents. "But with you two now here, it's officially even more awesome! The best birthday party I've ever had, bar none!" Then she turned to Aunt Holiday (who by now had rejoined Auntie Lofty) and told the mare. "Thanks a ton, Aunt Holiday! I can't believe you were able to pull this off!"
"Anything for my number one niece." Holiday smiled back.
"But don't forget, you've got plenty of other presents to open, Scootaloo. Not to mention party games to play and cake to eat." Lofty chimed in.
"Oh, I knew we were forgetting something." Dizzy groaned, putting a wing to her face.
"Why, what do you mean?" Scootaloo inquired of her female parent.
Quick sighed and confessed. "We didn't have time to get you a present, Scootaloo. Since it was sort of a last minute thing that we even got to take the day off."
But Scootaloo only replied! "Are you kidding?! Just you two being here right now, is present enough! It's the best present you could've ever given me!" And then she told both her parents. "I love you SO much!"
"We love you too, Scootaloo!" Dizzy and Quick both said together.
Scootaloo smiled, wishing more than anything that this happy moment could last forever. Even if the rest of her birthday party promised to be a grand affair, nothing would even come close to the sheer delight of having both her parents around again for the first time in what like forever.
Author's Note
I've already covered Dizzy Twister as a headcanon Scootamom on several occasions, so you can check out my earlier works featuring her if you want more of an explanation.
As for Quick Shot, I've used him a couple of times, but not nearly as much as Dizzy so I think I'll reiterate. He's actually an earth pony stallion who appears at the end of "Tanks for the Memories", playing hockey with two other stallions. But fans noticed how similar in appearance he was to Scootaloo, and started drawing parallels between them. Since we don't know whether pegasus hockey players conceal their wings inside their uniforms (and I think they would to make it fair, as well as avoid injury from other players or the cold), I think there's a good possibility he could be a pegasus. And thus pass for Scootadad.
On the subject of Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty, for those who still don't know yet, they are from Ponyville Mysteries: Scootaloo and the Riddle of the Rusty Horseshoe. It is mentioned that Holiday is an Earth Pony and Scootaloo's dad's older sister, and Lofty is a sturdy pegasus. In the book, Holiday at one point kisses Lofty on the forehead and calls her dear, and the two are said to live with Scootaloo because her parents have been away work "lately".
That is part of what inspired the idea for this fic, though I intended to have Scootaloo's parents be away because of work even before I read the book. It is but a happy coincidence the book mentioned the parents being away on work.
Lastly, for those curious as to what Holiday and Lofty look like, this is what I currently base their appearance on: 
Now, I suppose this would be as good a time as any to bring up a recent development on my account. Matt11 transferred over one of his earlier fics "Sisters Reunited" to my account. I have deleted the old chapters and will eventually rewrite the fic from scratch, but for now I intend to focus on the sixth installment of my "What If?" series. And with both Season 8 coming soon, and research papers coming up in my classes, I anticipate I'll have less writing time compared to what I've had now. Plus, I think it's best to keep my focus confined to one fic that I was already going to do anyway.
More details will be made available as time passes, and I'll see how things are shaping up. But for now, don't expect another new fic (or fic update) until April.
