“Scootaloo! Get back here!” I hollered, tearing after the orange ball of fury, fire in my eyes and rage in my heart. “I swear Scoots, when your father gets back he’ll be lucky to find enough pieces of you to bury!” One would have to wonder why I’m chasing after a filly and threatening to kill her. Well, you’d have to know Scootaloo. She and I go back a ways, farther in fact than most ponies know. Since her father had moved to Ponyville with that little orange bundle of evil, I’ve been her foalsitter. Her dad takes off every month or so for a weekend conference meeting of some sort involving mechanical things. I don’t pretend to know what it is he talks about whenever he tries to explain it to me, I just nod my head and tell him I’ll see him in a couple days. Which means that for multiple days I have to make sure Scootaloo doesn’t hurt herself or cause extensive property damage. This is much harder than it sounds.
As I sped after the vile, winged creature, I cursed my fate for ever speaking to Tool Belt that first day he was in town. I would’ve ran as far away as I could if I’d known that this would be my future. “Scootaloo! That was my favorite hat and it might be ruined now! I swear to Celestia that if I catch you you are doomed!” The cheeky little pegasus took the time to look over her shoulder and stick her tongue out at me. Oh she was in deep trouble if I caught her.
“Yeah right Flare, good luck catching me! I can’t even fly yet and I’m still faster than you.” She laughed, ducking under a cart of carrots and blazing her way to the other side of the market. She was nimble that’s for sure, but if we got to an open area she didn’t stand a chance. Unfortunately she knew that, which was why I was chasing her through the market and not the park where we’d started.
I poured on the speed, weaving between stands and jumping carts, tossing hurried apologies over my shoulder every time I bumped into somepony or brushed a stand. She was still ahead of me but I was steadily gaining on her. She may have had me beat for agility but I could leap obstacles that she had to go around or under and that certainly cut off time. I took a dangerous second to glance away from my adversary, noting my location. We were coming up on the library it seemed. Oh, so she thinks she can get Twilight to protect her does she? Well, she might be right, depending on whether or not I could explain myself satisfactorily before the menace could bolt again. I was just going to have to catch her before then to be on the safe side.
We sped around the corner of a building, the Ponyville Library in sight. I was hot on her heels and it was nothing but a straightaway to the library. I had her now, I could almost taste victory. Until I ran face first into something grey and bubbly. “Oops. Sorry Thunder Flare. You okay?” The oblivious mare asked, one eye focused on me and the other looking to my left.
“I’m fine Derpy!” I exclaimed, my eyes searching for the foul little monster disguised as a pony. “Gotta go, chasing Scootaloo!” My gaze fell upon her, her little legs churning their way to victory as she closed in on the library. I leapt into the air and took off as fast as I could, trying to catch her before she reached sanctuary. She was inches from the door when I came crashing down upon her, with all the force of a wrathful god, wrapping her in my forelegs and wrestling her to the ground. “Scootaloo! I’m going to lock you in the closet and throw away the key!” I exclaimed, trying to keep a grip on the squirming filly.
“Let me go Thunder Flare! I didn’t mean to do anything to your stupid hat! I said lemme go!”
“Ahem.” Scootaloo and I both froze, our gaze darting up to reveal Twilight Sparkle, the resident librarian, element of harmony, and personal protege to Princess Celestia. I really hadn’t spoken much to Twilight but Scootaloo has had plenty of experience dealing with her. As such she wasn’t the least bit shy to throw one last ditch effort towards freedom.
“Twilight! Help me! He said he’s gonna lock me up and throw away the key!” I could only glare at the little villain, realizing that I would have to think and talk fast if I wanted to come out on top of this one.
“Only because you deserve to be locked up!” Uh oh, probably not the right thing to start off with, judging by the expression on Twilight’s face. Gotta think fast. “Besides, your father is trusting me with your safety while he’s away and what do you do? Lead me on a merry chase through town that’s what! You could’ve gotten yourself hurt!” Oh yes, I was winning now. Twilight was clearly on my side at this point.
“Only because you started chasing me! All I did was accidentally knock your stupid hat into the pond and you start yelling at me and chasing me! Of course I’m gonna run!” Crap. I risked a glance at Twilight and realized I had lost. I was so close too.
“I think you both should come inside while I have a talk with you.” I sighed, dreading the coming lecture I knew I was about to receive. If I was lucky at least Scoots would get one too. I let Scootaloo go and stood, brushing myself off and flapping my wings a bit to clear the dust, before despondently following my judge and the smug orange filly inside. I took a seat at the nearest table and watched Scootaloo jump up onto a seat on the other side, Twilight standing between us on the third side. “I’m very disappointed in you Thunder Flare, chasing a filly through the streets like that! You or Scootaloo could’ve gotten hurt, or you could’ve hurt other ponies! And what were you thin- Are you even listening to me?!”
With my chin propped in my hooves and my eyes half closed it probably did look like I wasn’t listening. “I heard every word you said Twilight and could probably repeat it back verbatim if you’d like.” I raised myself back up and pointed an accusatory hoof at Scootaloo, fire in my eyes. “But she’s as much to blame as I am!” Scootaloo ducked her head and peered sheepishly at Twilight, knowing I was right. “She says she knocked my hat off by accident but I know it was no accident! She’s just mad cause I made her help me with the dishes last night and she thought she’d get a little payback!” Scoots cringed, pleading at me with her eyes. Oh I was going all the way with this one, no mercy for her. “Not only that but I’ve had to put up with any number of ‘accidents’ today. This was just the apple that broke the apple cart!” I snorted, my nostrils flared and eyes glaring. “More than once she’s put herself in harm’s way today doing something dangerous and risky! Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been today Scoot?! You’ve driven me to wits end trying to keep you safe.” I calmed down, all my frustration, anger, and worry spent.
Scootaloo for her part looked surprised, which in turn surprised me. “What, you think I don’t care about you Scooty? Of course I do. You might drive me nuts a lot of the time but you’re like a little sister to me. I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt and I couldn’t protect you.” I reached across the table and wiped away the tears that had sprung from her eyes, ruffling her mane after. She jumped across the table and wrapped her legs around me, her face pressed against my chest, surprising me.
“I’m so sorry Thundy! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry and mad and I’m sorry about your hat.” I smiled down at her and ran my hoof through her mane, trying to calm her down.
“Oh don’t worry about it Scooty, it’s just a hat. It’s not important. You’re important.” She hugged me tighter and sniffled a few more times, before looking up at me, a smile on her face.
“I wish you really were my big brother Thundy.” I grinned at her and hugged her tight, a tear slipping free and dropping to the floor.
“I may not be related to you Scoots, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be your big brother.”
I heard a sniffle and looked over at Twilight, watching her unsuccessfully stem her own flow of tears, a big goofy grin on her face. “You two are a lot closer than I realized. It looks like you managed to sort things out on your own.”
I nodded and looked down at Scootaloo, the little filly drying her eyes and smiling back up at me. I set her on the floor and stood up, flaring my wings out and giving them a flap. “How’s about we fly back to the park and pick up my hat? Then I’m thinking ice cream. What do you say Scoots?” Without hesitation she leaped onto my back and grinned, her forelegs looped around my neck.
“Can we really?! You’re the best ever Thundy!” I grinned as I trotted out the door, Scootaloo clinging to my back and prepared to take off. I could hear behind me as I took off one last thing from Twilight.
“This will make a fantastic letter to Princess Celestia.”
