Finding Your Family

Scootaloo had joined the others in unloading the cart while Spike was making dinner. It kept her busy, providing some distraction from her discomfort. She even went to Smolder's new apartment to drop off her stuff before returning home to have dinner with her family.

It had been a long two days, travelling from the dragon lands to Ponyville, and after dinner, Spike put the kids to bed while Scootaloo took care of the dishes. When she was done, she went to the master bedroom and slipped under the covers just as Spike walked in.

"Hey," he smiled. "How are you holding up?"

"I'll manage," sighed Scootaloo. "I never used to feel this way. Back when I was bouncing from place to place in Ponyville, I never had an inkling that the different houses I was staying in were quite as foreign to me. If I was sleeping somewhere I'd never been before, it was just Thursday night. Now... I guess I've had a taste of stability, and this shifting from one place to another is a harder pill to swallow."

Spike nodded and lay down next to her. "Yeah, that's understandable." He placed a claw on her shoulder. "If you're still feeling regret about leaving the dragon lands, we can talk to Twilight tomorrow."

Scootaloo shook her head. "It's just nerves, I'm sure. If I'm still feeling it in a week, I'll ask Twilight about it, but right now, I think I just need to settle in a bit." She took a deep breath, and a few moments later, a tear rolled down her cheek.

Spike wrapped his claws around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "It's going to be okay. I promise you, I'm going to make it okay."

Scootaloo sniffled, just breathing for a few minutes. She was here; she was in Ponyville. She had resolved to come back, and she had followed through. She had displayed her bravery by fighting back her fears. And yet, they were still roiling about in her mind.

"Go to sleep," urged Spike, holding her to his chest. "Rest, and all of this will subside. You're going to be fine."

Scootaloo nodded, pressing her forehead against his clavicle. She knew he was right, and she had nothing to worry about. Perhaps she'd feel better when she woke up.

After a long and troubled sleep, Scootaloo awoke to a loud chime that rang twice. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

"I'll go," yawned Spike, rolling out of bed. "Probably the mail, or something..."

Scootaloo nodded and sat up. At the mention of mail, the memory clicked into place. She knew what it was now. She rolled out of bed and checked the time; about a quarter past eight. It was time to wake up, anyway.

She stepped out into the hallway, where Cudgel was peering out of his room. "What was that?!" he shout-whispered.

"Nothing to worry about," assured Scootaloo. "Just a doorbell. It means somepony's come to see us."

Barb's door popped open next. "Like who?"

"We'll have to go downstairs and find out," answered Scootaloo.

As she walked up to Rainbow Slash's door, she noted that it was already open, and Slash wasn't in her room. Immediately, she was stricken with worry, and she rushed downstairs.

"See? There she is," answered Spike. "Come on in."

Scootaloo looked up and saw her aunts coming in. As much as she wanted to stay and chat, she had a priority to tend to. "Have you seen Slash?" she asked.

Spike pointed into the dining room, where Slash was hiding behind the table, her cereal sitting up above her. She'd woken up first and gone downstairs to eat, before the bell had shocked her.

After bringing down the other kids, Scootaloo hugged her aunts, careful to avoid using her claws. "Good to see you both again."

"I'd have made waffles, if you'd asked," said Lofty, hugging back.

"Don't worry about her," smiled Aunt Holiday. "I spent the last week doing that. We'd have been here yesterday if we'd been in town."

"What kept you?"

Lofty pulled her head to the side and brought her hoof up to her shoulder. "Found a dark spot, had to have it checked out. I'm no spring chicken anymore."

Scootaloo shrank down.

"Oh, don't worry, dear," assured Holiday. "It's benign. Totally harmless. Doctor said so himself."

"My GP didn't have the right equipment to check it here," explained Lofty. "We spent yesterday and last night in Canterlot." She looked Scootaloo up and down. "You've grown quite a bit since we last saw you."

"Well, I've sent pictures..." started Scootaloo.

"Pictures, schmictures," interrupted Lofty. "From those images, we could clearly see that you were maybe seven centimetres tall. You know we weren't able to travel as easily through the dragon lands."

"I know, aunty..."

"You'll be happy to hear this, too," smiled aunt Holiday. "Your auntie and I both have come to an agreement; we're big fans of Spike, now."

"We made a few memories in building this place," nodded Lofty. "He's not so bad once you've spent some time with him. I've already apologized for the hurtful things I said to him at the beginning."

The doorbell rang again, and the kids all jumped before being calmed by Scootaloo's claw. She stood up and went to the door, where she was met by Smolder. "Already moved in?"

Smolder nodded. "I had several hours. Just sent Garble home. Thought I'd take a tour of the city, was wondering if you or the kids wanted to join me."

Scootaloo looked back into the dining room. "We're having breakfast right now, but after that, sure, sounds like a great idea."

"If I might make a suggestion," interjected Lofty, "a large group of dragons would draw a lot of attention here in town. Smolder is a common enough sight, but three young dragons wandering around together might be a bit much. Might I suggest that we separate into groups of two and make it a more personalized experience?"

Scootaloo looked around. She was looking forward to spending some time talking to her aunts, as well as some alone time with just Spike, but she also wanted to keep a close eye on her kids after this morning's scare.

After a short pause, she nodded. "Barb, this is my aunt Holiday, aunt Holiday, Barb. That's the first group. Auny Lofty, Rainbow Slash; Rainbow Slash, aunty Lofty. Then Smolder can take Cudgel."

"That just leaves us," noted Spike.

"Indeed it does," smiled Scootaloo.