The falling snow brought a smile to the little orange filly as she stood in the doorway of the school. Around the yard, her classmates ran and played among the falling snow, laughter filling the air. It made her smile in anticipation of playing with her friends in the snow, taking part in snowball fights, or building a snowmare.
“Do ya think we can get a snowball fightin’ cutie mark?” asked a yellow earth pony that stood beside Scootaloo.
“I’ve never seen one, Applebloom. Still, wouldn’t it be odd for an earth pony to have a weather cutie mark?” Scootaloo replied.
“What’s that supposed ta mean?” Applebloom asked.
“Only pegasi have weather cutie marks,” Scootaloo looked back out to the yard, just as Snips appeared above a snowbank and met three snowballs, promptly falling back out of sight, “besides, if it were possible, we’d have got them last year, right?”
“Anyway,” a white unicorn smiled as she begun to speak, “wouldn’t a snowball fighting cutie mark be restrictive? I mean, it only snows in winter.”
“I don't know, Sweetie Belle… Maybe you could make a snowball with magic?” Applebloom theorized.
“What for?” she stopped.
Scootaloo threw a snowball at her. “For that!”
Never missing an opportunity to try to earn a cutie mark, they fought fiercely and passionately for a few minutes. Much to their dismay, it didn’t result in one for any of them.
Defeated for the moment, the Cutie Mark Crusaders begun to walk to Ponyville. Scootaloo pushed her scooter through the snow, with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle standing to one side. As they walked, Scootaloo saw all the decorations ponies had put up ready for Hearth’s Warming Eve. Some homes had lights draped across the front, which twinkled like falling snow, while others had settled for a small tree in the window, surrounded by green tinsel with red orbs and plastic green holly leaves.
“Ah know it didn’t go so well last time, but maybe we can try cookin’ again. Maybe this time it’ll work.” Applebloom suggested as they passed Sugarcube Corner.
Pinkie Pie, who had been standing outside putting up a decoration, had clearly heard that suggestion. At the mention of Applebloom’s cooking, she jumped into the air and gasped loudly at a memory of a previous incident. In a moment, all that remained were hoofprints where she had been standing, and a closed front door of Sugarcube corner.
“I don’t think Pinkie Pie is up for that so soon, Applebloom.” Sweetie Belle said flatly.
“It wasn’t our fault the e-” Scootaloo begun.
“We agreed to never talk of it again.” Applebloom spoke over her.
“But…”
“Never. Again.” Applebloom punctuated her words by tapping her hoof on Scootaloo's chest.
“Fine. Oh, I know! Maybe we can try kayaking!”
“What’s kayaking?” Applebloom asked.
“No idea, but it sounds radical. We can ask Rainbow Dash some other time. This is where I have to go to get home.” Scootaloo answered.
“Ok Scootaloo. Ah, got to go to the farm now anyway. See you both after Hearth’s Warming Eve!” Applebloom said.
With her scooter nearby, Scootaloo watched as her friends Applebloom and Sweetie Belle went their separate ways, returning to their respective homes. She turned around and begun walking up a nearby street, the one she always walked to when she knew her friends could still turn around and look. Once in the street, she begun walking towards the edge of the town, folding her scooter and carefully placing it across her back. She took a deep breath of the chilly air, and begun the walk home. It had never occurred to any of her classmates to ask where she lived, or how she was able to get to the school just in time for the first bell, but had they asked, Scootaloo would have admitted she didn’t live far away.
The wintry silence extended all around her as ponies kept indoors, away from the biting cold and falling snow. The only colour in the scene was the orange and purple of Scootaloo, as she trotted happily among the snow. Soon, she arrived at the gates of her home, and looked at the building.
It was a modest size building, made from brown bricks, with normally grey slate roof. The windows were framed by oak wood, but were clearly rotting in places, and the glass had cracked in some. Despite this, the snow covering the roof, porch and window sills made the orphanage look far better than it usually did. From some of the windows the distinctive glow of lights could be seen, with silhouettes of ponies walking around.
Scootaloo grinned from ear to ear. Sure, her home was an orphanage, but it was her home. She trotted through the snow and to the porch, knocking any snow off her hooves before she knocked the door. A minute later, an elderly white unicorn opened the door and smiled excitedly, letting Scootaloo in.
“Welcome back Scootaloo, how was school today?” the unicorn asked.
“It was the same as always miss Amethyst. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon tried to make fun of me and my friends for being ‘blank flanks’ and asked how we can bear the shame of not having our cutie marks. And the lesson was just about safety in winter.” Scootaloo answered, walking over to a cupboard, and carefully placing her scooter inside.
“Oh I see, dear, you shouldn’t let those bullies get to you. They’re probably just upset that they don’t have the freedom to find what makes them special anymore. Now, come with me, I have something to show you.” Amethyst stated. Complying, Scootaloo followed the orphanage’s caretaker down the corridor and through the double doors that stood beyond the staircase.
Amethyst paused before the doors, first making sure Scootaloo wasn’t trying to sneek a peak. Amethyst peeked around a door then looked back at Scootaloo with a smile. The doors were thrown open with over enthusiasm on the part of Amethyst.
“Surprise!” Amethyst and the voices of four other ponies called out together.
The room behind the door was filled with a dozen circular tables, each with six stools tucked underneath, both tables and chairs were in various states of disrepair, but were still useable for their intended function. Standing around the room were the other ponies that currently lived there, in all, there were five others besides Scootaloo.
The first was another filly, too old to now be in school. Like miss Amethyst, she had a white, but a pegasus. Her mane and tail were a very light blue, almost white themselves as well, and her eyes were a bright green which stood out more due to her white coat. Her name was Snowdrops, and the only other filly at the orphanage.
Beside her were two earth pony colts, currently one had the other in a headlock as though moments before they had been fighting, both a deep brown colour, and black manes and tails. Their cutie marks were the only thing that helped tell them apart, Oca had an ocarina as his cutie mark, while his brother, Treble, had three notes as his.
The final pair of ponies in the room were a blue pegasus with a matching light blue mane and tail, and swirling clouds for a cutie mark by the name of Skydance, who landed from having been above a window where he had hung a decoration. Finally, a yellow unicorn, with an orange mane and tail and a star tipped wand for a cutie mark by the name of Showstopper, who had only stopped to shout surprise with the others, before continuing to place a star on the top of the tree.
The room was now decorated with Hearth’s Warming Eve decorations, and all five ponies stood among the boxes that had stored them.
In the furthest part of the room stood a tree, scattered around the base were pine needles that had dropped off since it had been put there. It stood tall, covered with tinsel and baubles in a wide range of colours, from red to gold.
While it should have looked good, however, there were very few pine needles on the tree anymore, exposing the trunk and branches which showed signs of having been on fire. The baubles had cracks and the tinsel was more string now.
Around the tops of the windows hung more tinsel, twirled in red and green colours. They were eye catching, as they suited the dark brown wood of the window frames. While on the sills of the windows stood gold candle holders with lit white candles in them.
But much like the tinsel on the tree, most of the tinsel around the windows was just string, the colourful strands of foil having long since torn or fallen off. And the candles and candle holders were just those that normally were in the room placed elsewhere.
The lights, it clearly had been decided, would be hung above the door and on the wall opposite the windows. They glowed brightly in a pattern, in their festive shades of reds, greens, orange and blues.
And as Scootaloo watched the lights, each time they dimmed and went off, two lights somewhere in the chain failed to turn back on with the rest. It wasn’t long before there was a buzzing of electricity and the pop of the lights short circuiting, and Scootaloo watched as Snowdrops hurried out of sight behind the open door with a fire extinguisher.
“What do you think, Scootaloo? The other ponies know how much you like this time of year and wanted to surprise you by decorating before you got home.” Amethyst asked Scootaloo, not looking her in the eye.
Scootaloo didn’t answer right away. She stared at miss Amethyst for a minute, then her line of sight fell to each pony gathered in the room, who were equally smiling. It didn’t take a genius to work out what she really saw in their faces. Despite their best intentions, they were poorly hiding the fact that really, they were disappointed in the state of the decorations.
“It’s really kind of you all to go ahead and do this,” Scootaloo smiled. Around her, the others breathed a sigh of relief, “but miss Amethyst, not to sound like I don’t appreciate this, why can’t we afford new decorations?” she asked.
“I was worried you might notice the decorations are a little… worse for wear,” Amethyst tried to make it sound like the decorations were in a better state than they actually were, a fact she clearly had failed to do by the look Scootaloo now gave her, “but, with the money we have for the winter, its either make sure you all have somewhere warm to stay and food to eat, or new decorations. It simply isn’t possible to afford new ones this year.”
“Cheer up Scootaloo, maybe next year Oca and I will be big stars, touring Equestria. And when we are,” Treble had begun to brag and boast to the point where he failed to hear the other ponies all say ‘if’, “we won’t forget that you need new decorations for Hearth’s Warming Eve here, and will be sure to buy some and bring them personally.”
“Thanks Treble, that means a lot.” Scootaloo replied, rolling her eyes.
--
Scootaloo couldn’t sleep that night. Through the window of the girls room, she watched as the moon, glowing as white as the snow on the ground, rose into the sky. Behind her, Snowdrops had begun her nightly ritual of talking in her sleep. Pausing to listen, Scootaloo held her breath and looked towards the white pegasus.
“No… no seriously, I’m sure about this, you can’t cook pizza in a dishwasher…” Snowdrops mumbled.
Scootaloo begun to breath again, looking in confusion at Snowdrops. Cooking however, she thought, may be a good idea to bring up at the next Cutie Mark Crusader meeting. How hard could it be anyway? Sweetie Belle often mentioned how she had made breakfast for her parents and how much they enjoyed the meals. Sweetie Belle too often said it couldn’t be that hard for them all to try cooking together.
She returned her line of sight to the moon through the window and sighed. The other ponies had all tried their best to look happy when she had returned home, but she had seen it in all their faces. The intention was clear, they had only wanted to make her, the youngest pony there, happy. For the most part, it had worked, she was happy and greatful they had decided to decorate without her, but, the disappointment in their faces behind the smiles had hurt.
“How can I make them all smile this year, and not hide their real feelings behind it?” she wondered.
Outside of the window, Scootaloo could see fresh snow beginning to fall, as clouds rolled in. Quietly, she climbed out of her bed and up to the window, reaching up to it with her front hooves. In the distance, sitting among the blanket of white snow was the rest of Ponyville, and even as she watched, she saw the lights on the houses turn off, as the occupants begun to prepare for a night of rest.
Suddenly, her eyes went wide and a big grin crept across her face, as an idea came to mind.
“That’s it! If miss Amethyst says she cant afford new decorations, what’s to stop me getting the money myself? I can go to Ponyville and do odd jobs, and raise the bits without having to answer awkward questions,” she turned back to look at Snowdrops, who seemed to respond by turning on her side and complaining of exploding green creatures, “and I can see them all smile and mean it! It’ll be great!”
--
Scootaloo walked around the quiet streets of Ponyville early the next morning. Some ponies were up and about their business, passing greetings by a simple nod as she walked past. Ahead of her stood Applejack, saddlebags strapped around her middle.
“Howdy there Scootaloo, what brings ya out this early?” Applejack asked.
“Oh I have something I really want to do today!” Scootaloo answered, her grin from the night before reappeared on her face.
“Ya don’t say, may ah ask what that is?”
“Oh, uh,” Scootaloo paused. It wouldn’t hurt to tell Applejack, but how to tell of her plan without mentioning that she was an orphan, “well, uh, see, there’s an orphanage near to where I live, just outside Ponyville. I looked in a window heading home last night, and well, their hearth’s warming eve decorations are wreaked. I was up all night and decided to get them new ones somehow.” She replied, staring at the ground and turning her right front hoof in small circles.
Above her, Applejack narrowed her right eye and stared at Scootaloo. If she had picked up on the fact the orange filly was hiding something, she didn’t press the issue, and let it slide.
“Well that’s mighty kind of ya Scootaloo. Maybe when ah get these here things for Granny Smith back to the farm, ah’ll stop by the orphanage and give ‘em some of our old stuff. They’re like new and in good condition.” Applejack smiled.
“I think they’d like that. You wouldn’t happen to have anything I could do to earn a few bits would you?” Scootaloo asked, looking up hopefully at Applejack.
“Sorry Scootaloo, since its winter, there’s not much ta do at the farm, and its pointless shoveling snow till Winter Wrap Up day. Maybe you can go help Twilight. Good luck.” Applejack chuckled slightly as she turned and left.
“Thanks Applejack, bye!” Scootaloo called out after her.
Scootaloo turned her attention in the direction of the library, where Twilight Sparkle made her home since she arrived to Ponyville. She sighed, libraries weren’t really her thing, but if she wanted to earn some bits for new decorations, there weren’t many options at this time of the day. Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo begun the trek to the Ponyville library.
Even as she approached the library, Scootaloo could hear its residents causing some commotion within. A loud, heavy scrapping noise made it sound like one of the bookshelves was being moved. With caution, Scootaloo held a hoof to the door and waited for a gap in the noise. When it came, she knocked the door.
“I’ll get it Spike, stay there.” Twilight said from within the library.
“Like I have much of a choice.” Spike grumbled.
The door to the library swung inward, and Scootaloo looked up at Twilight. Currently, Twilight’s horn glowed as above her head, a feather duster and a dustpan spun around.
“Oh, good morning Scootaloo. How can I help you?” Twilight asked, a welcoming smile on her face.
“I need to talk to you about something.” Scootaloo replied.
“I see, well, come on in.” Twilight stated, standing aside to let Scootaloo in.
Walking into the main floor of the library, Scootaloo’s eyes went wide at the sight. The bookshelves, which were normally against the walls, had been moved a short distance from where they had been. And currently hanging on the light in the middle of the room, looking down at her with a blank expression, was Spike.
“Uh…” Scootaloo tried to say something.
“Trust me,” Spike butted in, “you don’t want to know, you really don’t.”
“So, Scootaloo, what was it you wanted to talk about?” Twilight asked, as she lifted Spike off the light and to the top of a bookshelf, handing him the feather duster.
“Well, you see, on my way home, there’s an orphanage,” Scootaloo had turned her gaze to the floor, “and last night, as I looked in, I saw they had ruined decorations for Hearth’s Warming Eve.”
“Oh my, I didn’t know there was an orphanage here in Ponyville. That sounds so sad.” Twilight said, her attention focused on Spike more than Scootaloo.
“Yeah, anyway, I couldn’t sleep last night. Seeing them all smiling despite the fact they were clearly sad, it made me think. What if I could raise the bits to buy them new decorations?” Scootaloo smiled, and hopped on the spot.
“Wow, Scootaloo, I didn’t take you for the kind of pony who’d think of others. By the way, how many orphans are there in this orphanage?” Twilight questioned, looking at Scootaloo.
“Six,” Scootaloo answered quickly. As Twilight blinked and took the information in, Scootaloo cringed a little, now fearful she had made a mistake that would give her away as one of these six orphans, “I… I think anyway. It was cold, I couldn’t stay long to count how many I could see.”
Scootaloo looked up at Twilight with a nervous look, as Twilight looked at her confused. This went on for ten seconds, and Scootaloo begun to shift, uncomfortable with the silence in the room. Even Spike had stopped walking around and dusting the top of the bookshelf to look down at her.
“I see… well, how do you want to raise the bits? Did you have anything in mind?” Twilight questioned, turning her attention back to Spike, who begun to dust once more.
“I figured the best way would be to do little jobs here and there and see how much I raise. As boring as that would be, it’d be better than sitting in the cold with a piece of paper and a box and wait for handouts.” Scootaloo answered honestly.
“Well, I’ll be happy to give you three bits and a bag to keep any you raise today if you help Spike dust behind the bookshelves.” Twilight stated, smiling.
“Twilight, why do we have to do this now, wouldn’t it be better to wait for Winter Wrap Up to dust behind the bookshelves?” Spike moaned.
“Nonsense Spike. I’m amazed that the amount of dust behind the bookshelves hasn’t grown a new kind of species yet.” Twilight brushed him off.
“Oh come on Twilight, I swear something shouted ‘shut the door’ when we moved the first bookshelf!” Spike protested.
“You were half asleep Spike, your argument is invalid.” Twilight replied, using her magic to hand Scootaloo a second feather duster.
“Now, try to have fun you two, I’m going to check the basement and see if it needs dusting.”
With the feather duster clamped between her teeth, Scootaloo looked up at Spike. Spike in turn looked down at Scootaloo unimpressed. Choosing to ignore him, since Spike was clearly in a bad mood at being woken up early, Scootaloo walked behind one of the moved bookshelves.
The floor behind the bookshelf, where it had stood before it was moved, was pitch black under the thick layer of dust that had built up. Clearly, the library hadn’t been cleaned behind the shelves since long before Twilight had arrived. Why Twilight was only now getting to it confused Scootaloo, but she thought better than to ask.
--
Twilight was currently in the library basement, checking through piles of old books. The titles on them had long faded, and as such, she had to check inside each book to find its title to sort it into alphabetical order. They weren’t books typically of interest to anypony, most were simply old records of number of ponies in the town, births and deaths.
She was glad Scootaloo had come along and offered help. While it had been unusual, and the quick answer to the number of orphans she had seen still puzzled her, Twilight was happy she could just work on sorting the books in the library basement. She planned to later cast a spell and put the titles back on the books.
A loud crash from above startled her, and she dropped her magic and the current book fell to the floor. Looking at the ceiling, Twilight trotted quickly back into the library.
“Why are you yelling at me for?” Scootaloo shouted from the floor above.
“Because you made this mess! Twilight’s gonna kill me.” Spike shouted back.
“Kill you? What for-” Twilight spoke up as she trotted up the stairs, and froze.
For a moment, Twilight wondered if it was snowing inside the library. Turning her attention to the white objects falling, she quickly noted that it was not snow falling inside, but rather pages. As many as a hundred book pages floated gently around the library, and scattered around the floor, mostly covered by fallen pages, were the empty covers of the books the pages had come from. In among the mess stood Spike and Scootaloo, their heads turned towards the other, but their eyes focused on Twilight.
“Spike… Scootaloo…. what happened?” Twilight asked.
“She did it! It’s her fault!” Spike backed away from Scootaloo and pointed at her.
“Are you kidding me? Twilight, some dust got up my nose, I sneezed and Spike freaked, knocking the bookshelf and causing the books to fall.” Scootaloo stated.
“I wouldn’t have moved if you hadn’t made such a strange noise!” Spike shouted.
“Enough Spike,” Twilight climbed up to where her bed and dresser stood, removing a cloth from a drawer. Returning, she used her magic to put the cloth over Scootaloo’s mouth and nose so she wouldn't sneeze again, “now, Spike you pick up the books, set the torn pages aside for now, I’ll fix them later, Scootaloo, you can finish dusting.”
Spike and Scootaloo glared at each other, before getting on with their tasks.
--
Two hours had passed quickly for anypony other than Scootaloo and Spike, and the sun was slowly rising on the horizon. As Scootaloo left the library, a small bag holding three bits in her mouth, the wind made her shiver slightly. It hadn’t been easy doing what Twilight asked, and eventually Scootaloo had to leave because Spike simply wouldn’t drop mentioning how much trouble she caused by sneezing. She didn’t quite understand how it scared him, but she pushed it to the back of her mind as she walked around Ponyville.
She soon came to a stop in front of Carousel Boutique. The idea of helping Rarity was as appealing as eating insects as a dare, but it couldn’t hurt to try, and maybe it wouldn’t be modelling a new design as the unicorn worked on it. She sighed, and set the small bag in front of her on the ground.
Scootaloo knocked at the door, which was opened by Rarity. As usual, the white unicorn had make up on around her eyes, and her mane and tail were as well kept as they always were.
“Sweetie Belle isn’t here, Scootaloo, she’s with mother and father for the holidays.” Rarity said, preparing to close the door.
“I know, I came here about something else.” Scootaloo stated. The door came to a halt, almost closed by Rarity’s magic. It opened again, and Rarity looked down at Scootaloo confused.
“What did you come here for then?” Rarity asked.
“I’m raising money to buy the orphanage new decorations. So I came to see if there’s anything you needed help with,” to put emphasis on the point, Scootaloo picked back up the small bag with the bits inside, “I already helped Twilight dust the library.”
Rarity thought for a moment. Twenty seconds later, an idea came to her mind, and her eyes sparkled.
“IDEEEEEAAAA! Come on inside, would you like something to drink?” Rarity asked as she trotted back inside her shop.
Scootaloo looked nervously through the door, suddenly getting a bad feeling. She shook her head and walked in, after all, maybe Rarity would just ask her to fetch her drinks and food for a while as she worked.
--
Scootaloo tried to sit down, but was told off right away by Rarity. She sighed. Her hopes on something interesting to do had gone after the glass of water. Currently, Rarity was using her for a new design for young fillies, but standing around was boring.
“Now darling, you said you were raising money for the orphanage? How do you know they need new decorations for Hearth’s Warming Eve?” Rarity asked, using her magic to place a red ribbon on the cloth currently around Scootaloo’s body.
“Um, yeah,” Scootaloo shifted slightly, “I… I saw through a window last night, and the ones they have are badly damaged. I couldn’t sleep until I decided to get the bits to buy new ones for them.”
“Oh how thoughtful of you Scootaloo. Do your parents know of your plan?” Rarity asked again, focusing more on a ruby and sapphire in front of her, trying to decide which would work with the design.
Scootaloo bit her lip. She hadn’t actually expected anypony to ask what her parents thought, but now the question had been asked, she mentally kicked herself for not having a quick answer ready.
“They didn’t see any problem with it.” Scootaloo lied.
For a brief moment, Rarity looked at Scootaloo, having clearly noticed it had taken a while for her answer to arrive, and also how uncomfortable at having been asked was. Returning to the gems, Rarity set the sapphire aside and placed the ruby on.
“I see. And these orphans, how many are there and what were they wearing?” Rarity questioned, standing some distance back to see the dress in full.
“I think there were six,” Scootaloo lied convincingly, having been asked how many there were earlier by Twilight had prepared her to be asked again. The second part of the question was more like Rarity however, “and they didn’t wear anything, we’re ponies, we don’t wear clothes often.”
Rarity shook her head, before turning to her stash of cloths. From the pile she removed another light blue role and begun cutting it into the shape of a hat.
“Ponyville is a bit of an exception there. In bigger cities like Canterlot, they wear clothes,” she paused, “how old roughly would you say these six orphans were?”
“Oh, um,” another tricky question that Scootaloo hadn’t been expecting, it was as if everypony knew she was an orphan and were simply playing along to her game of hiding the fact, “well, I think one was my age, she was a filly too and a pegasus, then there was another filly pegasus that looked a few years older, the rest were older colts.” Scootaloo closed her eyes, hoping that Rarity would take it as her recalling what she saw, instead of trying to avoid eye contact after telling a lie as the newly made hat was placed on her head.
“I see,” Rarity paused thoughtfully, as she looked over the hat, “well, I think I’ll surprise them with some clothing, it wouldn’t take long to make. Now, I don’t need you to wear the hat for me to work on it, let me take those off, and I’ll go get some bits for you.”
With the clothing off, Scootaloo held her breath as Rarity walked out of the room, stopping to look at Scootaloo in the doorway. When the unicorn was out of sight, Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Rarity hadn’t worked out the truth.
As she walked back into Ponyville main square, she counted the bits mentally, the cold wind actually helping her think. She did make some progress, at least she could afford a new tree. It was a start. She smiled to herself. She just needed to work a bit more.
Some cakes and a lot of trouble
It was now mid-afternoon, the sun lowering on the horizon. Scootaloo found herself looking at Sugarcube corner, wondering if it was a good idea to mention to the Cakes or Pinkie Pie about her plan. Pinkie Pie would be easy to convince, she was always too happy to really see anything bad about life. It wasn’t a bad way to live life sometimes.
But the Cakes were a different matter, Scootaloo knew that they would talk to somepony about what she said, and all it would take is for one of these ponies to decide to follow her home after she had the decorations, and find the truth.
With a sigh, Scootaloo made her mind up, and approached the door of Sugarcube corner. As she neared it, it was promptly slammed shut in her face.
“Hey! What gives?” she called out.
“You’re not coming in here! You, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle have to go find some other kitchen to set on fire today!” Pinkie Pie called back through the door.
“Pinkie-”
“I’m gonna be paying Mr. and Mrs. Cake back for your damage for months!” Pinkie Pie had entered ramble mode.
“Pinkie!”
“And the worst part? You three burnt my secret stash of Nightmare Night candy! Four years worth of candy, burnt to ash! It’s going to take me forever to gain that much candy again for a midnight snack, and I know what your thinking,” Pinkie Pie took a breath.
“Pinkie!”
“You’re thinking ‘she lives in a cake and candy shop! She can just ask for them for free!’, but its not the same! Nightmare Night candy is special, it makes you able to see strange creatures watching us all the time that NONE of you can see.”
“P-” Scootaloo paused in her efforts to get the pink pony to stop rambling. See strange creatures? Her mouth was agape as she tried to make sense of these words. She shook her head, focusing back into the present. It's Pinkie Pie.
“Will you please listen for a minute?” Scootaloo called out.
Silence fell behind the door. Ten seconds later, Scootaloo could see Pinkie’s eyes through the window, staring at her accusingly.
“Applebloom and Sweetie Belle aren’t with me, I came alone,” Scootaloo said.
“Are they hiding around the corner? Or are you the distraction?” Pinkie Pie asked in a suspecting tone.
“Neither, I’m all alone today. I wanted to ask if I could do anything for you and get paid some money for it.”
Pinkie Pie disappeared out of sight. A muffled voice somewhere behind the door suggested that Pinkie was doing her usual thinking out loud, and when she fell silent, the latch on the door clicked and it opened slowly. Pinkie stuck her head out, and looked around the front of Sugarcube corner, before looking down at Scootaloo.
“What are you up to?” she asked, pushing her face against the little pegasus’.
“Well you see,” Scootaloo prepared to hide the truth once more, “heading home yesterday, I saw that the orphanage had bad Hearth’s Warming Eve decorations. So I figured that maybe I could raise some bits and buy them new ones.”
Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened into a smile. “Aw…” She ushered the orange pegasus into the shop, leaving the door slightly open. With Scootaloo now following her Pinkie Pie led her into the kitchen. Despite the fact the Cutie Mark Crusaders had damaged it fairly badly, the new redecorated kitchen looked exactly the same, mostly green and the usual appliances.
Pinkie herself begun hopping around, doing several tasks at once. She broke an egg into a bowl and mixed the contents around, lifting some up and checking how it fell from the spoon. Satisfied when it slowly ran off the spoon and back in, she placed it to one side and hopped to the oven, turning it off and removing a freshly cooked batch of muffins. These she turned up out of the cooking tray and onto a cooling rack.
Scootaloo watched dutifully waiting for orders as Pinkie Pie hopped around, washing the used cooking utensils, putting icing on the muffins and then onto a serving tray, poured the new mix into a clean cooking tray and placed those into the oven to cook. It went on for five minutes, according to the clock on the wall, and Scootaloo begun to think that Pinkie Pie had simply forgotten she was there to help and be paid for it.
“Um, Pinkie?” Scootaloo asked.
Pinkie Pie stopped humming a new song she was working on, and looked at Scootaloo.
“Oh! Take those muffins out to the front of the shop for display.” Pinkie Pie idly said, and continued on with her work.
Scootaloo looked at the tray of muffins, then at the doorway. It was an easy task to do, nothing could possibly go wrong.
--
“I’m sorry Pinkie…” Scootaloo looked at the floor.
“No, no, its fine. This happens to me all the time. But,” Pinkie Pie looked at the ceiling, “usually, when I trip, it falls to the floor…”
The muffin try laid at Scootaloo’s hooves. The muffins sat in the rafters of the cake and candy shop, either perfectly upright or on their sides. Pinkie was somewhat proud of Scootaloo’s law of physics defying trip, even if she knew how this would upset her employers.
“But you wont be able to sell them now.” Scootaloo said, her gaze fixed on a nail in the floor that held the wood in place.
“Don’t be so gloomy silly,” Scootaloo looked up, and her jaw dropped. Where Pinkie had found a ladder without leaving the room? Scootaloo shook her head and watched Pinkie, “all I have to do is just get them down and fixed them up a bit, then they'll be muffintastic. Could you go look in the kitchen and make sure the muffins in the oven don’t burn?”
“Ok, how do I know if they’re ready?” Scootaloo asked.
“Oh, you’ll know,” she waved her hoof dismissively.
--
Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie were staring at the fresh muffins, currently cooling on the cooling rack. When Scootaloo had entered the kitchen, with Pinkie’s reply in mind that she’d know when they’d be ready to take out of the oven, she was pretty much certain that something would go horribly wrong.
But nothing had. The muffins sitting before them were perfect, and ready for icing and decorating when they had cooled enough. It was rather anti climatic. Turning her gaze to the clock, Scootaloo noted she had only been helping Pinkie now for half an hour, and she probably had an hour and a half to get the decorations and return to the orphanage.
“You know,” Pinkie Pie spoke up, ending the silence in the room, “if these orphans don’t have good decorations, they probably can’t afford to have a good Hearth’s Warming Eve party.”
Scootaloo felt a pang of sadness, as Pinkie’s words registered quickly in her head. It was probably true, and something Scootaloo hadn’t thought of. Pinkie Pie meanwhile had clearly begun to think.
“I would feel terrible and sad if I didn’t have a good party to look forward to,” she gasped, “oh! Why don’t I throw them a party? It’ll be super-duper-awesome! And then they can smile and be happy!” she finished speaking bouncing on the spot.
Scootaloo was filled with dread. If Pinkie Pie went to the orphanage to throw a party while she was there, then she’d know the truth, and would tell EVERYPONY. She thought fast on how to allow Pinkie to carry out her plan, and keep the truth hidden.
“Wouldn’t it be best to check first? I mean, what if they couldn’t afford better decorations, but have enough for a good party?” Scootaloo asked.
“Hm,” Pinkie sat down, and put her chin against a hoof, “well, I don’t know anypony who doesn’t like one of my parties. And if they have enough, then they can invite ponies! That’d be great for them, as then guests would know they need a good place and ponies to call home and family!” Pinkie answered, a grin on her face.
Scootaloo’s eyes grew small. That hadn’t worked, Pinkie was still determined to throw a party. As she tried to think of something else, Scootaloo noted Pinkie was now pushing her to the door.
“I need to get to work on a party for them! Here’s some bits, go buy them better decorations! See you later Scootaloo!” Pinkie Pie blurted out, and for a moment after the door closed, the bits spun in the air where the pink hoof holding them had been.
Scootaloo gazed in horror at the door, before carefully picking the bits off the floor and placing them into the bag. She thought of hoping to get Pinkie to promise to keep the truth secret, and hoped she didn’t invite a lot of ponies to an unplanned party at the orphanage.
--
Around Ponyville, shops were beginning to close. Ponies were heading towards their homes, as snow begun to fall once more from the sky. Standing under an awning, Scootaloo sighed. Beside her was a bag, holding two boxes of lights, a few lengths of tinsel and a few candles. The shop owner had promised to stop by shortly with a new tree from the back with the decorations for it.
Standing up, Scootaloo begun the walk back to the orphanage, the bag held by her teeth. She begun to worry about Pinkie Pie’s plans, hoping that the pink party pony didn’t have enough time to invite guests. She was deep into her thoughts, and didn’t notice the two earth pony fillies, one grey and one pink, walking towards her.
“Hello, blank flank!” Diamond Tiara opened, earning a fake laugh from Silver Spoon.
“What do you two want?” Scootaloo snapped after placing the bag in front of her.
“We came to see what you’re doing.” Silver Spoon replied.
“Its none of your buisness. Now get lost.” Scootaloo snapped again, and went to pick the bag back up.
Diamond Tiara moved fast, reaching the bag first and running a short distance away.
“Hey! Give that back!” Scootaloo shouted.
“Decorations? Why do you need decorations?” Diamond Tiara asked, guarding the bag as Silver Spoon looked into it.
“They aren’t for me. I saw the local orphanage had bad decorations, and I spent all day to raise the money to get them new ones on my way home.” Scootaloo answered.
“The orphanage huh? Probably a bunch of blank flanks with no money and parents. Know what I think Silver Spoon?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“What?” Silver Spoon said rethorically, a grin suggesting she knew what was coming next.
“Why should the poor have good things? If they don’t have the decency to have their own place, then they don’t deserve these!”
Scootaloo reacted too slowly as once more Diamond Tiara grabbed the bag, and with Silver Spoon, ran away. Groaning, Scootaloo gave chase, but couldn’t catch up. Diamond Tiara ran along several streets, before heading out of town. The cold wind and endless running slowed her down, and gave Scootaloo ground.Scootaloo ignored the pain her legs were in from running, too focused and determined to rescue the decorations before Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon did anything to damage them.
The chase had now led the three fillies to a lake, the ice had broken in several places, and the water was black and uninviting.
“Give me those back!” Scootaloo yelled.
“You want them so much? Here!” Diamond Tiara replied with the bag still in her mouth.
With one swift movement, Diamond Tiara threw the bag towards the lake. Scootaloo watched in horror as the bag hit the water and sank beneath the surface. Without a second thought or hesitation, Scootaloo dived in after the bag. As she swam, she heard one of the fillies above say something.
“She’s nuts! She seriously didn’t just do that, she’ll die!”
It didn’t matter to Scootaloo, as the cold stole the heat of her body faster than she could swim after the rapidly sinking bag. The water stung at her eyes, and in seconds, the bag vanished into the darkness of the lake. She wasn’t about to give up, and kept swimming through the painfully cold water as hard as she could, despite the pain in her legs from running.
It felt like she had been swimming for hours, but the static darkness around her didn’t change. The bag was lost, taking with it the hopes Scootaloo had held when she had left the orphanage that morning.
She turned around in the water, every inch of her body in pain. Where was the surface? She couldn’t see where the surface was anymore. All she could see was water. What if she had been swimming in loops? The surface could be above or below her.
Scootaloo blinked, her eyes slowly closing. As she closed her eyes, a simple white shape was heading towards her. Feeling happy and relaxed, the breath she had held in was released.
--
The sound of distant waves lapping at the shore reached Scootaloo’s ears first. She stirred, her eyes fluttering open. Groaning and wishing to return to sleeping, Scootaloo sat up, her eyes unblurred and gave her the first look of the landscape that now surrounded her.
It was an island about the size of the main room in the orphanage, with an endless ocean all around it. Behind her stood one palm tree, which swayed gently in the breeze. Around it was grass, dotted with colourful flowers, at the edge of which begun the white sand that made the small island’s beach.
Across the sky there were few clouds, but on the horizon, swirling in a large circle were dark clouds, thunder illuminating them from within and below. The island was peaceful, but the circle of storm clouds in the distance confused Scootaloo. It was as if the storm clouds were keeping their distance from her and her island.
“Why are the storm cloud staying away?” she asked aloud. It was silly, she thought, to ask a question when clearly she was the only living thing within sight.
As expected, no answer. Sighing, Scootaloo stared at the distant storm clouds. A long time seemed to pass by, she begun to think that she was seeing pictures in the clouds. Narrowing her eyes, she caught for a moment, the image of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, standing against the backdrop of the clubhouse.
She blinked. Looking back, the picture of her friends in the storm clouds had disappeared. It made no sense for a moment, as she set her mind to work on what they meant. As she thought, her last memory came to mind. The white figure, and her finally losing the ability to hold her breath.
“I’m dead... arent I?” she asked the air sadly.
As she begun to cry, realising that the island was both a paradise from her short life, and a prison. She didn’t notice as a set of hoofprints appeared in the white sand, walked beside her, and stopped. Scootaloo only ceased crying when she felt an invisible wing wrap around her.
“Who’s there?” she asked, her voice cracked.
You know deep down in your heart who this is.
“Mom?” Scootaloo asked.
Those clouds, the voice begun, not answering her question, represent life. As you give in, the storm of life retreats from you.
“So, they’re far away because I’ve almost given up on life?” Scootaloo asked again, hoping for an answer.
Yes. They only linger because someone wills you to live.
“It wouldn’t be Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They’re the reason I’m here in the first place.” Scootaloo spoke through gritted teeth.
Tell me, will you send those clouds away, and be happy with seeing memories around your paradise? Or will you call them back and return? the voice asked solemnly.
Scootaloo froze. On the wind, a new voice could be heard, ever so faintly. She strained to hear it, closing her eyes.
“Don’t give up on me Scootaloo! Please! Start breathing!”
“I can’t hear that voice.” Scootaloo stated.
Allow the clouds to come nearer. The voice replied.
Scootaloo stared back at the clouds, wondering how she would even do that. As she looked on, the clouds begun to inch closer to the island, and the distant rumble of the thunder could now be heard. Along with it, the new voice could be heard among it.
“Please Scootaloo! Don’t die! Not like this.”
Can you hear them now? They are calling for you, Scootaloo. The one whose will was strong enough to keep the clouds on the horizon.
Scootaloo listened, searching her now scattered memory. She groaned. She had remembered Applebloom and Sweetie Belle so easily, but it was frustrating how she couldn’t place who the voice belonged to.
“Why are my memories all messed up?” she asked the voice.
Because they, those very clouds, were so far away for too long. Allow them nearer the island little one, allow them to bring back order to your memories.
Scootaloo glared angrily at the clouds, standing up and raising her tiny wings as she did so. In response, the storm clouds drew nearer, the thunder was now clear, along with it, the other voice.
“Come on Scootaloo, I’ve worked too hard to just let you go now. Breath, for the love of Celestia, breath!”
The storm clouds now darkened the sky over the island, and rain begun to fall. Scootaloo looked up at the clouds, and saw among them a single image, that of a pegasi, pure white in colour, who appeared to be looking back at her.
“That’s it Scootaloo! I saw your eyes open just then. Come on, breath and wake up! You can do it!”
“…Snowdrops… she’s who willed me to stay alive?” Scootaloo asked.
She chose to try to save you. And now the choice is yours. Will you send the clouds to beyond the horizon of your life, or keep them here and live?
Scootaloo didn’t bother to look for the source of the disembodied voice. As the rain ran down her face and body, she smiled.
“I really wanted to improve these decorations... but that’s not a reason to leave my life behind me.”
Then you know what you must do. I need say no more.
Scootaloo grinned, as slowly, she faded away. In the sky, the storm clouds remained overhead, raining on the island. The hoofprints that had stood still during the conversation turned, and walked into the ocean.
--
Scootaloo’s body shook in the cold as she begun to breath again, coughing as she did so. Her eyes opened slowly, taking in the black sky and the snow falling towards her, as something warm wrapped around her.
“You're alive, thank the princesses. I was worried.” Snowdrops said softly, tears rolling down her face.
“Snowdrops? What… happened?” Scootaloo asked, unable to recall recent events that second.
“I was following you when these two fillies took a bag from you. They threw it into the lake and you went after it. Those fillies got scared of getting in trouble and ran off.”
Scootaloo took in the information as warmth crept back into her body. Between memories of chasing after Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the scene of a lone island in a vast ocean flicked in.
“Figures they’d leave me to die and not tell anyone.” Scootaloo finally replied when the memory of the events had returned.
“There wasn’t time to get help, so I dived in after you. I found you half way down, struggling to swim and sinking fast. You seemed to let go of your breath as I got near, and I rushed you back up as fast as I could. Getting back to the surface helped too, I didn’t stay too long to get as cold as you did.”
Snowdrops finally let go of Scootaloo when she had stopped shivering, and looked Scootaloo in the eyes.
“Scootaloo, what was in that bag that you thought was more important than your life?” Snowdrops asked.
“It… it was decorations. I’ve been helping around Ponyville all day to get us new ones. When I saw that bag hit the water, all I could think of is going after it, so everypony could be able to smile at the decorations, and not be hiding how disappointed they were with them.” Scootaloo explained faintly, reminding herself how she was back to square one.
“I think we’d rather have bad decorations and you alive, than good decorations and a funeral to organize.” Snowdrops stated quite bluntly.
“I know that now,” Scootaloo turned and looked at the nearby lake, “even though I worked so hard to buy them, and its upsetting they’re down there, I’m glad I’m alive. You saved me Snowdrops, thank you.”
Scootaloo stood up beside Snowdrops, and the pair looked at the falling snow. As Snowdrops smiled at the scene, Scootaloo begun to make a snowball, just for the sake of it.
“Come on Scootaloo, time we head back home. We’re probably late for dinner.” Snowdrops said.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take the blame. After what I just did, you shouldn’t get into trouble.” Scootaloo replied.
Beside her, Snowdrops looked at the snowball, and grinned, an idea forming in her head. She flapped her wings and lifted herself off the ground by a foot.
“Scootaloo, pick up the snowball, we’re going flying!” Snowdrops said excitedly.
Scootaloo looked between Snowdrops and the snowball, and smiled. She had no idea what Snowdrops had planned exactly that involved her and a snowball, but it involved flying, which made it exciting enough to her.
--
Snowdrops flew through the air, her front legs wrapped tightly around the chest and belly of Scootaloo. Hanging below her, Scootaloo was smiling and laughing, looking down on the scene of Ponyville blanketed by fresh snow.
Snowdrops flew down low, catching a few ponies off guard, who simply fell backwards into the snow. Ahead of them was the Ponyville Library, which Scootaloo noted had all its lights out. She thought nothing of it, as Twilight often went to a party thrown by Pinkie Pie, and as she hoped, Pinkie may have already arranged a party that she had forgotten earlier.
Leaving the library behind them, Snowdrops flew into the area of Ponyville with larger houses. Far ahead, a pink and grey dot could be seen among the snow. Scootaloo strained her eyes to see what they were, and as they got closer, the dots soon became the figures of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walking home.
“Snowdrops, there they are! Those are the fillies who left me to drown!” Scootaloo said above the wind.
“Good, you still have the snowball?” Snowdrops asked.
“Well yeah, but I don’t get why you-” Scootaloo stopped, and her eyes reflected her sudden realisation, “NO WAY! Really?” Scootaloo asked.
“Let it go and call them.” Snowdrops replied, her grin as wide as the one she had before taking flight.
“Hey Diamond Tiara, up here!” Scootaloo yelled, letting the snowball go.
Down below, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had stopped, their eyes wide. Looking around them, they seemed scared. Scootaloo could hear their conversation as she and Snowdrops flew overhead.
“Oh no, you don’t… that was her ghost, come to haunt us!” Silver Spoon shrieked.
“Then why did she say look up?” Diamond Tiara replied, looking up.
The snowball landed perfectly, making a satisfying splat sound as it broke up right in the middle of Diamond Tiara’s face. Scootaloo begun to laugh hard, as she and Snowdrops flew away to the sound of Diamond Tiara’s angry yells.
“That was brilliant! I wish I could tell Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo said.
“Why can’t you? They should know.” Snowdrops replied, twisting in the air and over White Tail Wood.
“They don’t know I’m an orphan… I… I can’t tell them. They’ll think differently of me and won’t be my friends anymore.” Scootaloo answered.
Snowdrops went down low, and Scootaloo could see that a river in White Tail Wood hadn’t frozen. The slow flowing water reflected the sky above it, and in turn, the image of Scootaloo being held by Snowdrops as they flew.
“Look at yourself Scootaloo. There isn’t anything to be ashamed of. Like all of us, your making do with what life has given you. If your friends don’t want to know you for something that was beyond your control, then they were never real friends in the first place.” Snowdrops spoke calmly.
Scootaloo stared at her reflection in the water, her purple eyes staring into the same purple eyes in the mirror like water. As she looked herself in the eye, she remembered the time Applebloom had used something from Zecora to gain a fake cutie mark, and how, despite how angry she had felt at first at the truth of what her friend had done, she had forgiven Applebloom and understood how she felt.
“I guess I could tell them. What could possibly happen?”
Snowdrops soared once more over the forest and back over Ponyville, heading towards the orphanage. After five minutes, she came in and hovered over the ground by the front door, putting Scootaloo down safely, before landing herself.
“Snowdrops?” Scootaloo asked.
“Yes, what is it Scootaloo?”
“Why do you always look out for me? I mean, this isn’t the first time, like the time you tried to tell me not to listen to Showstopper and his advice on what to do for the talent show.” Scootaloo asked again.
Snowdrops for just a moment seemed to recall a sad memory, but shook her head, and smiled.
“I’ll tell you the full story some other time. All you need know right now? To me, you’re like a little sister. That’s all the reason I need to look out for you. Now, come on, Miss Amethyst is probably worried about us.”
Snowdrops knocked the door, and stood there smiling. The smile disappeared when two minutes had passed and the door remained closed. Scootaloo and Snowdrops looked around to the windows.
“There’s lights on inside, I don’t think everypony is asleep yet.” Scootaloo said.
Snowdrops knocked the door harder. From somewhere behind it, the sound of somepony hopping towards the door could be heard, and Scootaloo froze with dread and her heart begun to race.
With a click, the door swung open, and her fear was realised. Grinning at her and Snowdrops was Pinkie Pie.
“Hey there Scootaloo! Who’s this? Is this your mother? Its about time you turned up,” she gasped without losing momentum in her speech, “oh, where are my manners, hi there! I’m Pinkie Pie!” she grabbed Snowdrops forehoof and shook it, as she continued talking. “So are you two bringing those decorations? You should stay for the party. Its the best one I’ve thrown yet!”
Scootaloo and Snowdrops looked back at each other, then Pinkie Pie, as if waiting to see if she had really stopped. It became evident that she had, and Snowdrops spoke up first.
“Mother? Scootaloo, what’s going on?” Snowdrops asked.
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry Scootaloo, I didn’t know you were surprising your mo-”
Scootaloo held a hoof to Pinkie’s mouth. “She isn’t my mother, Pinkie Pie.”
“Yes, and I ask again, what’s going on?” Snowdrops was even more puzzled.
“Remember when I said I hadn’t told my friends yet?”
“Yes? What’s that got to do with this?”
“I didn’t tell anypony.” Scootaloo replied, looking at the ground.
Pinkie and Snowdrops looked at each other. The cheery look on Pinkie’s face had gone, replaced by confusion.
“Wait, what didn’t she tell anypony?” Pinkie Pie asked softly.
“I’m,” Scootaloo bit her lip, “Pinkie, I don’t live somewhere else. This is my home. I’m an orphan.”
Scootaloo, tears forming in her eyes, looked into Pinkie’s face. Pinkie Pie looked taken aback by the revelation. As if looking for another voice on what Scootaloo had just said, Pinkie looked at Snowdrops, who simply nodded.
“Oh,” Pinkie said sadly. The sad look vanished in an instant, replaced by a smile, “well, come on, you’re late for the party!”
“Wait! You mean… you’re ok with that? Pinkie, I don’t know what its like to have parents, and everypony here is the only family I’ve ever known.” Scootaloo said.
“Well, duh. Why wouldn’t I be ok with it? It’s not like it’s your fault. Besides, I’ve been away from my parents for so long I kinda know that.” Pinkie thoughtfully tapped her mouth. “Well, not really. Yeah, it’s different. Everypony’s different anyway.” She shrugged, putting her hoof back down. “Now come on, it’s a doozy of a party!” She hopped back to the doors of the main room.
Snowdrops stood aside, and gently pushed the confused Scootaloo inside from the snow, before walking in herself and locking the door. From the main room, Scootaloo could hear music and laughter, and a new worry entered her mind.
“Pinkie, how many ponies did you invite?” Scootaloo asked.
“Oh, not that many. Only the ones that were heading here anyway.” Pinkie Pie called back cheerfully, disappearing behind the doors.
Scootaloo trotted to the door, and rested her front hooves against the door, rather scared of what she’d find behind the door. With a gentle push, she opened the door, and the scene made her jaw drop.
The tree in the far end of the room looked nothing like it had the night before. Where once a pathetic looking and nearly bare tree stood, a now full looking tree stood, covered from top to bottom with lights, baubles, tinsel and ribbons. Above the windows, where near bare tinsel had been, brand new green tinsel, with red ribbons and gold bells hung. Red candles in gold plated candle holders sat lit in the windows, and even more decorations, that hadn’t been there before, now hung from the ceiling. Red foil stars spun around off the ceiling, reflecting light around.
The tables had clearly been moved around and prepared for a party, those that had been moved to the window were now covered in red tablecloth, and these had the various party foods. One table which had been moved to one wall held a music player, where the music for the party was being played with plenty of space in front of it to dance. Near the tree, a table had been covered with a white tablecloth and presents had been put on it.
Standing among all this, Oca, Treble, Showstopper, Skydance and Miss Amethyst were smiling. Genuinely smiling. And all were looking at Scootaloo. Nearer the tree, also smiling at Scootaloo, stood Applejack, Twilight and Rarity.
“Look who’s finally here!” Pinkie Pie chimed cheerfully.
“Scootaloo, weren’t you trying to get decorations for this place before going home?” Twilight asked, stepping forward.
“Uh, yeah… about those…” Scootaloo begun to reply.
“Before going home? Whatever do you mean?” Miss Amethyst asked.
“Well her parents are probably worried about her. Come on, I’ll take you home.” Twilight begun to walk towards Scootaloo.
“I think you are misunderstanding the exact situation, miss Sparkle.” Amethyst replied.
“I don’t think I am, miss Amethyst. I’m sure she’d like to stay, and I’ll see if her parents will agree for her to come back for a little while, but it would be best to take her home for now at least.” Twilight insisted, but coming to a stop.
“Listen, miss Sparkle, I’m sure it makes no difference to her parents.” Amethyst stated bluntly.
“What a horrible thing to say! I’m sure it does.” Twilight replied.
Scootaloo grabbed Twilight, trying to force her to face her. When Twilight was looking at Scootaloo, she took a deep breath.
“She’s right Twilight. My parents… I… I never had any from what I remember.” Scootaloo informed her.
Twilight quickly held a hoof over her mouth. From where they stood, Applejack and Rarity both looked shocked.
“This is my home, Twilight… I didn’t want anyone to think less of me, so I lied earlier. And the decorations I was going to buy? Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stole them and threw them into a lake, I almost died trying to get them back. That’s why we’re late miss Amethyst, please don’t punish Snowdrops.” Scootaloo pleaded.
“How could I punish either of you? Snowdrops I’m sure will explain everything to me later. But when these four turned up and brought things for the orphanage, and a party, they told me what you were doing today Scootaloo,” Amethyst had walked up to Scootaloo, and now was kneeling on the floor to bring herself to Scootaloo’s eye level, “you just wanted to make us all happy. But if you almost died to make sure that happened, then I’d rather those decorations stay lost.”
“This morning, when I woke up, all I could think of was getting new decorations to make the others all happy. But,” she paused, the smile leaving her face, “now I realise, it’s not the decorations that should make you happy and have a reason to smile at Hearth’s Warming. Sure, the decorations make everything look nice, but being there with others, sharing the day despite what life has done to bring us all to the same place, that’s what would make them smile.”
Scootaloo smiled, rubbing tears from her eyes. She walked up to Applejack and Rarity, and sighed.
“I know how much you two must want to tell Applebloom and Sweetie Belle about me being an orphan. But, could you keep it a secret so I can tell them instead?” she asked.
“Why of course sugarcube. Tha’s somethin’ they need ta hear from you, not us. Right Rarity?” she asked the unicorn beside her.
“Agreed. If you’d like, we shall go fetch them, so they may join the party, and you can explain it to them.” Rarity smiled.
Scootaloo smiled and nodded her head.
“Thanks everypony. It means a lot.” Scootaloo replied.
“Now, I do believe we should enjoy the rest of this party, and thank miss Rarity for the gifts she brought for us to open on Hearth’s Warming.” Amethyst said, smiling at Scootaloo.
“Yeah everypony! PAR-TAY!” Pinkie Pie shouted, startling Amethyst with the sudden popping of streamers that came from nowhere.
Applejack and Rarity returned half an hour later, with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, both looking tired, and a little confused as to what exactly they were being brought to. Their eyes widened at the sight of the party, and the pair ran over to Scootaloo as soon as they saw her. The trio begun to talk, with Scootaloo explaining her living situation to them.
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were surprised and a little disappointed about the secret, but, once the revelation sank in, as Scootaloo hoped, they didn’t mind the fact she had no parents. She was thankful that they hadn’t decided to drop her as a friend. Smiling, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle walked around, getting to know the other ponies that they just discovered their good friend lived with.
After some time, Scootaloo sat down and watched the party, closing her eyes. The picture of the island in the vast ocean appeared for a brief moment, and she smiled. It was going to be the best Hearth’s Warming yet.
Author's ending notes; Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this story. That's it for this christmas fic, and I'll begin resuming work on my other story, Ruining Harmony, with it's 6th chapter before the year ends. I don't know when I will begin another non-Dark story such as Hearth's Warming Eve for Scootaloo, but it has been fun to write it.
Hope you all have a happy christmas/holidays.
And six months pass like a dream (epilogue)
Six months later
Scootaloo sat on the grassy hill, the warm sunlight made her feel slightly sleepy. She shook her head and continued to focus on what she had originally came for. A few meters away, surrounded by plywood walls, acting as a barrier, was a construction site where the orphanage once stood.
From atop the hill, Scootaloo could see where the building had once stood. All that remained however, was the ground around it, as a new building was currently in construction.
She sighed, so much of her life had been lived in the orphanage, and it bothered her that it was now gone forever. Even the Hearth’s Warming Eve that had almost been disastrous for her just six months ago had been a good moment, despite how run down the building was.
From somewhere behind her, Scootaloo could hear the sound of hooves walking across the dry ground. This stopped beside her, and by natural reaction, she turned to her right and saw that Miss Amethyst had arrived, and was now sitting beside her.
“How often do you come here Scootaloo?” she asked, her own eyes looking at the construction site.
“Not all that often,” Scootaloo replied.
Miss Amethyst was now looking at her from the corner of her eyes, with a look that said quite clearly, I know the truth, I just want you to say it.
“Fine, every day.”
The two ponies sat in silence, and watched as a cart carrying bricks arrived to the construction site below them. In the distance, making its way from the road to Ponyville was another cart, possibly with more bricks on it as well.
“We never really talked about what took place six months ago,” Miss Amethyst stated, “I understand if you’re still not ready to talk about it, but I may as well discuss with you what consequences the whole situation had, unless you are already aware?”
Scootaloo shook her head side to side.
“All I know is, after he was approached by Twilight, Filthy Rich decided to buy the orphanage and the land it stood on, not to mention some of the nearby land as well. I assume its to give Diamond Tiara a stupid huge clubhouse for her and Silver Spoon.”
Miss Amethyst sighed and rolled her eyes, quite aware from previous talks with Scootaloo about how Diamond Tiara behaved.
“This isn’t for his daughter, Scootaloo,” she said flatly, “simply put, once he heard of what his daughter had almost done, Filthy Rich was furious.”
Scootaloo grinned at this, hoping to hear more about what had happened when Diamond Tiara’s father had learnt of the situation. Sadly, she was to get no more details.
“Besides grounding her, which I’m led to understand still hasn’t ended, Filthy Rich decided to come check the orphanage out when you were in school one day. To say he was displeased with how poorly treated it was is an understatement.” Miss Amethyst sighed, lowering her head.
“So what? It didn’t look like other places, so he had to buy the place and tear it down to stop being an eyesore?” Scootaloo questioned.
“No, don’t judge him too quickly. He learnt that the money given to the orphanage was barely enough for food and bills, maintenance was not even considered. So, he decided if town hall can’t maintain it on a tiny budget, then they shouldn’t even have it. He apparently walked right in to Mayor Mare’s office, handed her a large ‘donation,’ said the orphanage and its grounds belonged to him in exchange, and walked out.” Miss Amethyst stated, smiling.
“From there, it did belong to him. He came to me soon after and said we’d have to live in a hotel for a while, because he was going to tear it down,” Miss Amethyst looked at Scootaloo, who looked sad at hearing this, “of course, you know why right?”
“No, why?” Scootaloo questioned.
“When Filthy Rich examined the orphanages records, he found it was more of a place to put orphans, so as not to make the streets crowded with them and suggest the town was very poor. He said that it should be a service, to house those who have had the misfortune of losing family too young and give them a new home, not to shove them out of sight and out of mind.”
In the construction site, the second cart had arrived, and was indeed filled with more bricks. A cement mixer was now pulling up to the site as well, along with a further two carts, and more were clearly on the way.
“He decided that the best thing to do was to rebuild the orphanage, since the other was run down, and construct a new one that would be more inviting. He also plans to make it more known, so other orphans can be brought here, and families can come visit and adopt.” Miss Amethyst was now beaming with joy.
And for just a moment, so did Scootaloo. A new orphanage, on the same grounds as the old one. Not that she saw anything wrong with the old orphanage, but to see a new building when coming home would make a change.
But the joy quickly left her. Shuffling her left front hoof, Scootaloo spoke.
“And yet, all Diamond Tiara gets as punishment is several months of being grounded. Its severe and all, but it still doesn’t seem fair considering her actions six months ago almost killed me.” Scootaloo muttered, her ears laying flat.
Miss Amethyst laughed so loudly, the construction workers all stopped, and looked around wildly, trying to find the laughters source.
“Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara would feel lucky if being grounded was all the punishment she had gotten,” Miss Amethyst said through her laughter, which was now causing tears to form in the corner of her eyes, “simply put, she doesn’t have an allowance anymore.”
“Like that would matter to her, she just whines and her father buys her stuff.” Scootaloo remarked snidely.
“He said she can forget him buying her anything too. But that’s beside the point,” she turned to face Scootaloo, “the point actually, is the allowance and gifts she would have been given is to be given to the orphanage to pay for bills and food until she is old enough to live on her own.”
Scootaloo grinned.
“No way!”
“That’s the truth. She may get out of being grounded in a few months, but until she lives in her own home, the other half of her punishment will continue, and she’ll know it’ll be benefitting those less fortunate than her.” Miss Amethyst replied.
“It’s better than that, at least when I see her every day at school, I’ll known that at least her allowance won’t be going to stupid little toys only for herself; it’ll be to keep a roof over all of us.” Scootaloo was now bouncing on the ground where she had been sitting.
Miss Amethyst simply chuckled as she stood up and turned to face away. She took one more look at Scootaloo.
“Don’t forget to be back at sunset, enjoy the rest of your day Scootaloo.” she said, trotting away.
Scootaloo turned to face the construction site, still grinning.
“Yeah, I will,” she turned away from the construction site and begun trotting towards Ponyville herself, “and I can’t wait to tell Applebloom and Sweetie Belle about all of this. Best news ever!”
Author's Note
And so, even though this story was never intended to have an epilogue (because I thought it wouldnt do so well originally), here it is.
This epilogue resolves what happened as a result of the story, and answers if Diamond Tiara got punished.
It also now sets the stage for the sequel to Hearth's Warming Eve for Scootaloo. I hope to bring to you all the first chapter of Dream of Another Shore very soon.
