“I can’t wait to get our nature cutie marks!” Scootaloo cried out as she and the rest of the Crusaders trotted along after Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash toward the woods outside of Ponyville. "I could be a park ranger!" she finished.
Apple Bloom joined her and exclaimed, “I could be a herbalist and make potions like Zecora!”
“And I could be an animal wrangler!” added Sweetie Belle last. Her fellow crusaders and Fluttershy looked back with doubtful smiles, Rainbow Dash stifled a chuckle. “What? It could happen,” Sweetie Belle blushed.
Fluttershy shook her head and resumed her role as guide, “Now girls, it's important to pay attention and learn from this trip.”
The crusaders exchanged mutual looks of disinterest. Rainbow Dash nudged her fellow chaperone.
“Oh and have fun of course,” Fluttershy added with a sheepish smile, regaining the fillies’ enthusiasm.
The quintet of ponies wandered deeper into the lush forest in the midst of a perfect summer's day. The sky was clear blue and uninterrupted by any cloud. The ground beneath their hooves was soft and verdant, with every flower and tree in full bloom.
“What are we gonna do first Fluttershy?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Well that depends. There’s so much to see in a forest like this,” she said while admiring her surroundings. “Is there anything you're all hoping for?"
Apple Bloom replied first, “I wouldn’t mind learning a little more about plants and flowers. Zecora just teaches me what goes together to make somethin’ but I got no idea how any of it works.”
“We can do that. I know a little about herbs myself,” said Fluttershy as she continued to lead the fillies. “Anypony else?”
“I wanna see baby animals!” yipped Sweetie Belle.
Fluttershy giggled, “Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of those,” she paused, “What about you Scootaloo?” she peered her head back to face the orange filly behind her.
“Oh, uhm, I’m not sure. What can we do?” she replied.
Fluttershy grew excited, “Oh there’s lots to do in the forest. We can have a picnic, go birdwatching, and if we stay late we can build a campfire and do some stargazing after.”
“I brought the marshmallows!” added Rainbow Dash, holding up the bag of treats.
“Those all sound good,” Said Scootaloo.
“Oh, I hope so since that’s most of what I had planned,” giggled Fluttershy nervously with Rainbow Dash shaking her head at the meek display.
The fillies followed their guides further into the thick woods. They looked up and marvelled at how the trees grew taller and taller as they made their way deeper in. Their trail was well worn enough to leave a modest opening in the canopy above them letting in plenty of the glowing summer light.
“I live on an apple farm and I never seen trees this big before,” said a slightly bewildered Apple Bloom.
Rainbow Dash spun round in her hover, “This is untamed wilderness kiddo. Not quite the Everfree forest but these trees have been growing for hundreds of years.”
“Which means that very few ponies ever come through here, so it’s a real treat to see all this completely untouched nature,” added Fluttershy.
The ponies continued on their trek, during which Apple Bloom took liberal opportunity to ask about every distinctive plant she saw along their path. The green filly charged past the group once she spotted another unfamiliar flower.
“Oh Apple Bloom, please stay close will you?” pleaded Fluttershy to no avail. Rainbow Dash went after to help ease her friend's worries.
“What’s this one?! What’s this one?!” Apple Bloom cried.
Rainbow Dash caught up with the filly and wondered too, “Yeah what is this thing Flutters? It’s like a purple flower with some prickly silver leaves,” she stuck her nose down and sniffed, “Whew!” she waved her hoof in front of her nose, “And it’s fragrant.”
Fluttershy and the other Crusaders caught up and she briefly examined the flower, “Oh I actually know quite a lot about this one,” she smiled; “It’s catswort. Some cats find it very stimulating and relaxing. I use it all the time when I groom Opal,” she looked at Sweetie Belle. “you probably know why Sweetie Belle,” she giggled. Sweetie Belle looked up at her mane which had been destroyed by that cat more than once.
“Neat,” replied Apple Bloom who had already lost interest and was ready to learn something new, so the fillies and their guides carried on with their journey through the woods.
The group of explorers ambled steadily along their path until coming to a stream where the waters were flowing at a calm and gentle pace. The sound of the water trickling through the little rocks in the brook was as soothing as could be. It even seemed to settle the Crusader’s energies as they approached.
“Baby birds!” Sweetie Belle cried with a shrill squeak.
Rainbow Dash prepared herself to rush after another hyperactive filly but was surprised to see Sweetie Belle had already quieted herself and appeared to flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s okay Sweetie Belle, I don’t think they’ve flown off. After all the ducklings won’t even be able to yet," Fluttershy went forward without the others to make sure it was okay for the fillies to come over. The CMCs watched from a distance as she appeared to converse with the mother duck.
Under her breath an incredulous Rainbow Dash asked, “I still don’t get it. Does she just have a way with animals or can she actually talk to them?” The CMCs looked at each other and wondered the same thing.
Fluttershy came back over with a smile on her face, “She says it’s okay if you want to come over and see them.”
The Crusader’s faces beamed with excitement and they trotted quickly over to the family of ducks. The fillies enjoyed the fluffy yellow hatchlings and they’re adorable chirping, giving them pets and playing in the shallow water together. Sweetie Belle had gotten exactly what she came for.
In the midst of all the fun Scootaloo noticed an outlier among the baby birds, “Hey, what’s wrong with this one?” she asked, gesturing to the off-white fuzzball.
Fluttershy perked her gaze up, “Oh there’s nothing wrong with her,” she approached the fillies and picked up the odd one out in her hoof. “She’s actually a baby swan, that’s why she looks different. Mrs Duckworth was just telling me how this poor little thing lost her family. She found her all alone in the woods and took her in right away.” The little fillies and even a stalwart Rainbow Dash felt tears welling in their eyes. “Even animals know the magic of kindness you see,” she looked up from the feathery family and noticed her Rainbow's distress, “You okay Dashie?”
Rainbow Dash wiped her eyes with the speed of a sonic rainboom, “I’m fine,” she took a quick breath, “just the sun in my eyes,” she ended with a disingenuous smile. The fillies giggled together much to Rainbow Dash’s dismay. She stewed for a moment before finding away out of her embarrassment. “Isn’t it getting late? We should probably start heading back soon right?” she smiled trying to appear nonchalant.
The fillies giggles quickly turned to expressions of shock and displeasure, “I thought you said we’d get to build a campfire and stay out late!” Scootaloo complained accompanied by the agreeing nods of her friends.
“We will Scootaloo but we’ll have to do it in a clearing outside the forest so we don’t disturb any of the animals,” said Fluttershy reassuringly.
“Plus, you're not exactly gonna see much stars through all this foilage are ya squirt?” added Rainbow Dash as she nudged Scootaloo playfully.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes and looked despondent for a slight second, “I suppose you’re right Dashie.” She snickered and was joined by the giggles of her fellow fillies as well as Fluttershy.
The five fillies and their chaperones were all settled on a small hill just outside the woods. They surrounded a warm campfire and were each enjoying the treat of roasted marshmallows. All except for one orange filly.
Rainbow Dash looked at her surrogate sister. She had a smile on her face but she’d known something was off since they started their trek out of the woods. “Hmm,” she exclaimed, “Looks like the fire’s getting a little small. Why don’t me and Scootaloo go get more firewood?” she said aloud, but with her eyes let Fluttershy know what she was planning. The yellow pegasus nodded with a smile and was more than happy to let Rainbow Dash take the reins on this one. “Ya coming squirt?” she asked Scootaloo who was happy to get some time away.
The two pegasi trailed the edge of the forest looking for proper pieces for the fire. Rainbow Dash let them get into the groove of it before revealing her true intentions. “You okay Scoots? You’ve been quiet. Didn't even look like you were listening to any of my new ghost stories.”
Scootaloo’s expression drooped, “I’m fine, don’t worry. Honest.”
“You really think I’ll fall for that performance?” she jived in an attempt to lighten the tension.
“It’s nothing, you wouldn’t understand,” Scootaloo replied.
Rainbow Dash thought ‘Try me’ but she knew that wasn’t the correct approach. She racked her brain to find what was. “Maybe I won’t understand it exactly, but I’m just letting you know that I’m here to listen to anything you do wanna say. And-” she paused while she finished the thought, “...If you don’t want to talk to me then I just wanna remind you you have so many friends that would be willing to help just like me. So whoever you do feel comfortable talking to please just don’t be afraid to reach out,” she paused again, “and also…” she sighed, “speaking from personal experience, pretending everything’s alright doesn’t magically make it true. Believe me.” Rainbow Dash finished with a sense of relief. It was like she’d exhausted all of her critical thinking skills in one short monologue.
She let Scootaloo take her time to process though. The last thing she wanted to do was rush her.
It was a rare occasion that Scootaloo didn’t want to hear what her hero had to say. After all, for once she was the expert here, Rainbow Dash didn’t know what it was like for her. She figured if she just stayed quiet maybe Rainbow would let her off the hook.
But Rainbow Dash broke the silence, “I know it’s scary to talk about your feelings Scootaloo, especially when you’re young.”
Scootaloo didn’t even realise that she was feeling scared until Rainbow said it, “Of course it is! That's obvious. There's so much that could go bad."
"Like what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Scootaloo felt a lump in her throat, "What if I try speaking to you, or any of my friends about this and they don't understand? Because how could they? They don't know what it's like to be on their own; not like I do."
"No they don't," Rainbow replied.
"And that's just the start. Because if they don't understand, then they might think I'm making it all up. They'll get mad at me. Or even worse, think I'm crazy and laugh at me."
“Scootaloo can you really see any of your friends doing something like that?” Rainbow asked.
The filly hesitated, “No, I suppose not. That’s why it would be so bad if they did.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, "I get that kiddo, I really do. But I gotta tell you that being a friend doesn't mean always completely understanding somepony else's problems. No pony can do that. Sometimes, all you need to do is listen and remind the pony you care about that you're there for them. I don't pretend to know what it's like to be left on your own as a filly. You're so strong for getting through that by yourself but you can't keep all that in. Even the strongest hearts get worn down and they need someone to help patch them up. So please don’t be afraid to open up to somepony, even if it’s not me,” she finished, and looked down at Scootaloo.
Scootaloo sighed, “I think I’m ready to go back now.”
Rainbow Dash had added the twigs her and Scootaloo had collected and the fire was roaring once again. The ponies laid around it on the soft grass enjoying the clear night sky.
“Fluttershy?” Scootaloo spoke out.
“Yes Scootaloo?” she replied.
“What’s gonna happen to that baby swan we met?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, won’t the other birds make fun of her?”
“Why would they do that?”
“Because she’s not one of them.”
“Oh," She was taken aback, "Well, I hardly see that as any reason at all to make fun of her.”
“That doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”
“I understand that, but I just want to make sure you know that it’s wrong first.”
“Okay.”
“Now, just because she isn’t one of her own doesn’t mean that her mother loves her any less. She’s a kind hearted creature and I think she’d do anything to make sure all of her babies are happy.”
Scootaloo stayed quiet.
“And swans actually grow up to be quite a bit bigger than ducks, so she’ll be able to look out for herself when the time comes.”
“Won’t she feel lonely though?”
“I don’t think so. She has a very loving family and so many friends to keep her company.”
Apple Bloom rolled over next to Scootaloo, surprising the orange filly, “Yeah, just cause you’re from someplace else don’t mean ya don’t belong where ya are right now.”
Sweetie Belle jumped to join them, “You’ll always belong when you’re with us!”
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash came in from opposite sides forming a tight huddle on the ground with Scootaloo squashed in the middle.
“You’re right where you need to be squirt!”
“And your family will always love you.”
Scootaloo felt absolutely smothered with love then, both physically and emotionally. But despite the overwhelming affection, her heavy heart felt lighter in that moment and she smiled before begging to be released from her schmaltzy prison.
