On the Solstice
The door to the clubhouse slammed open. Several large trunks and bags slid through the door, operated by three fillies. A few heaves later, the baggage occupied the center of the treehouse and the fillies collapsed to the ground.
“Sheesh, I didn’t think we’d have THIS much stuff to donate,” Scootaloo said, kicking the door shut, cutting off the cold, winter air.
Applebloom stood and shed her coat then moved to pull the top trunk off the pile, “Well most of this is Sweetie Belle’s stuff.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault my sister buys everything she sees that looks even slightly pretty,” Sweetie Belle shot back, “Besides, it’s going to a good cause!”
Scootaloo heaved out another exasperated sigh and jumped onto her feet, shedding her coat, “Better get started. It’s going to take forever to go through all this!”
“The donation drive ends tomorrow. We don’t wanna let Miss Cheerilee down, do we?” Applebloom asked, opening the trunk she’d pulled from the pile, “This looks lahk yer stuff, Sweetie Belle.”
Sweetie Belle hopped up and helped the other two fillies dig the piles of garments and sheets and stuffed animals out of the storage chest.
“Why doesn’t it surprise that you have a ton of these stuffed animals?” Scootaloo laughed, pulling a pile of stuffed bunnies and ponies and bears from the bottom of the chest.
Sweetie’s face reddened, “Well, why do you think I’m packing all of them up?”
Applebloom nudged Scootaloo, “Yeah, I bet this is only half of them, too.”
“Sh-Shut up!” Sweetie Belle squeaked as Applebloom and Scootaloo laughed.
They pushed the pile from the trunk to the side to move on to the next one. The trunk was just over half full of neatly folded dresses and winter clothing and a few beaten and weathered quilts on one side. The fillies quickly dumped the folded garments in another corner of the clubhouse and moved to the bottom chest—which was filled with more of Sweetie’s flashy clothing and stuffed animals.
“Dear Celestia, Sweetie Belle!” Applebloom exclaimed, no longer joking, “How many stuffed animals ye got?!”
“I had trouble sleeping when I was younger, okay!?” Sweetie Belle slammed the trunk shut, nearly closing Scootaloo’s hoof in it. She quickly pushed the trunk to the corner where the already heaping pile of garments lay and dumped the contents.
Five plastic and paper bags lay behind the empty trunks, so the fillies turned their attention to them. Sweetie Belle quickly grabbed the three plastic bags and threw them in her corner.
“Ye only managed two bags, Scoots?” Applebloom asked.
“I told you earlier, Applebloom,” Scootaloo replied, “I really don’t buy much.”
Scootaloo grabbed the two paper bags in her teeth and dragged them to an empty corner of the clubhouse before dumping the contents. The first bag held several fancy dresses that she had worn as a filly to special occasions: the black skirt she wore to her grandmother’s funeral, the pink flowing dress she wore to her aunt’s wedding, the purple dressed that matched her hair that her mother had always made her wear when she had to go to her stupid business parties…..
She pushed the pile aside and dumped the final bag. Several blankets and winter jackets and boots fell out, and a small, beaten up, plush pegasus with one eye fell on top of the pile like a cherry on top of a sundae. Scootaloo stared at the little plushie a few moments before picking it up and examining it closer.
“Oh, give ME a hard time for having stuffed pals,” Sweetie Belle said sarcastically and playfully.
“Shut up,” Scootaloo said lazily, her attention obviously elsewhere.
Applebloom gave a quick glance and Sweetie Belle, who shrugged, “Y’okay there Scoots?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo sat down and stared at the plush, “I’m okay…”
Applebloom glanced at Sweetie Belle once again, and again she shrugged but glanced worriedly at her friend. Applebloom opened the largest empty chest, “Well, ev’rypony put th’ stuff ye wanna donate in this trunk.”
“Yeah, okay,” Scootaloo said distractedly.
Her friends gave her one last worried look, but they would know by now that Scootaloo would not open up easily if at all. They went to their piles of old stuff and started sorting through it, all while giving a worried glance here and there at Scootaloo.
Scootaloo sighed, rubbing the area where the left eye would have been on the stuffed pegasus. It’s been over a year now since she’d seen this little guy. She examined the beaten purple fabric.
“What happened to you?” Scootaloo whispered.
“Ugh, where is that dang doctor?” Scootaloo’s mother tapped her hoof while she stared at the clock, “I have to be at the office in half an hour!”
Scootaloo stood beside her mother and studied her tapping hoof. She started tapping her hoof too, trying to match the rhythm, but missing a beat ever other second.
“Scootaloo, cut that out,” Her mother reprimanded. She steadied her hoof and sat down, not wanting to anger her mother. She picked up Chief and combed his mane over to the side, “Scootaloo, didn’t I tell you to leave that stupid toy at home?”
A few moments later, the pediatrician knocked on the door and stepped in. The middle age unicorn smiled at Scootaloo before sitting down in his swivel seat and setting his clipboard on the desk, “Well, Ma’am… I have some good news and some bad news, as cliché as that sounds.”
Scootaloo’s mother huffed annoyed, “Well?”
The doctor quickly looked back to the clipboard and lifted a pair of glasses to his face, “The good news is Scootaloo is growing quite well for a filly her age. She’s stronger physically and her immune system is much stronger than most.”
Scootaloo smiled brightly. Maybe her mother would finally take some pride in her. She looked up at her mother, but her face was still stone, “Okay, the bad news, please. I am in a hurry.”
“Uh…” The doctor flipped through the clipboard and stopped at one page, turning it to show Scootaloo and her mother. The image was an x-ray of Scootaloo’s wings, “As you can see here, Scootaloo’s wings are an unnatural size—much smaller than other fillies her age. This happens to one in every couple hundred pegasi. Their wings just don’t grow fast enough and… well, while the rest of her body is beyond average, her wing muscles and bones will… well, they’ll never be strong enough for her to fly.”
“So you’re telling me that Scootaloo won’t ever fly?” Her mother said, her expression never changing
“Well, later in age, she may be able to hover, but she will never be able to fly like a typical pegasus.”
“So she’s basically a pathetic earth pony with for-show wings.”
“I…” The doctor looked astonished and looked at Scootaloo, “I wouldn’t say pathetic. I mean… Well, she’s got so much strength in every other sense.”
“But she’s not a real pegasus,” Her mother said.
The doctor’s mouth stayed open, but he couldn’t seem to form any other words. He looked at Scootaloo again. She sat quietly, clutching her stuffed pegasus to her chest, taking everything in.
Her mother let out a quick, sarcastic sigh and left the room. The doctor stood and followed the mare out of the room, “Ma’am, please, your daughter—“
“What daughter?”
Scootaloo clutched the plushie tighter.
“I’m not pathetic…” she whispered to the stuffed doll, “Am I Chief?”
The teacher dropped the graded test on Scootaloo’s desk. D-. As usual. The teacher finished passing back the tests and went back up to the front of the room, “Okay, everypony. Have a safe trip home and enjoy your Hearth’s Warming break!”
On cue, the school bell rang out. Scootaloo grabbed her bag and helmet and started towards the door, but her path was blocked by the teacher, “Scootaloo, can I see you for a moment before you head home?”
Scootaloo watched the rest of the fillies and colts leave the classroom in coats and scarves, but she sighed and said, “Sure, I guess.”
The teacher sat down on her chair and patted a chair near her desk, where Scootaloo sat down, “I hate to bring this up, Scootaloo, but your grades are fairly low. I know you’re a smart filly and you are definitely not lazy… is everything okay?”
“Same as it’s always been,” Scootaloo replied, thinking about the new tricks she could try on her scooter with the snow coming in.
“Everything at home okay?” The teacher pressed.
Scootaloo nodded, her patience thinning, “Everything’s hunky-dory, Teach.”
The teacher let out a sigh, “Do you have any friends outside of class that can--”
“No, I don’t need any friends,” The teacher was definitely on her nerves now, “I’ve never needed any friends. I’m fine. Can I go now?”
After a moment, the teacher opened her desk drawer and levitated an envelope out, “Here. I need you to give this to your mother or father.”
Scootaloo grabbed the letter and stuffed it into her saddlebag next to Chief. She clipped it closed again before the teacher could see him, “She won’t read it, but I’ll give it to her.”
“And why wouldn’t she read it?”
“Nevermind, bye now,” She headed towards the exit.
“Scootaloo...”
She turned around with an agitated sigh, “Yeah?”
The teacher stared for a moment, wanting to say something, but she shook her head, “Have a good Hearth’s Warming vacation.”
“You too, Teach.”
Scootaloo’s wings buzzed like a hummingbird as she sped down the street on her scooter. Soon, though, her small wings grew tired and she slowed to a trotting speed—enough to take in the scenery. The snow had been shoveled off of the roads, but still left a soft white film of snow that the plows couldn’t push away. Grown mares and stallions as well as fillies and colts jumped around and played about in the ever-growing sheets of snow.
When Scootaloo drifted to a stop, she hopped off her scooter, collapsing it to hook it to her saddlebag. As she tightened the clip, a large poster alongside the Quills & Sofas shop caught her eye.
“Hearth’s Warming Eve Pageant This Saturday! Don’t miss out!”
Scootaloo scoffed at the poster, receiving a number of glares from ponies nearby, one exclaiming, “It’s a classic, kid. Show some respect!”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes and walked off towards home. Her hooves were getting numb, and she most definitely didn’t want to stay out here too much longer with these foolish ponies.
“Did you hear?” An older colt asked another, “Rainbow Dash is going to play Commander Hurricane in the Hearth’s Warming Pageant tomorrow night.”
This caught Scootaloo’s attention. The colt’s friend replied, “Oh, yeah. She’s too cool to play as a background character again this year.”
“Oh, totally!”
Scootaloo walked faster towards home, her hooves now completely numb from the snow. The two colts were out of hearing range by now, but their words stuck with Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash as a leading role? She’d been in the pageant four Hearth’s Warming Eves in a row, but she always got a silly background role or a windigo. Scootaloo wondered exactly what Rainbow Dash did this year to earn such a large role. Maybe it was her promotion to weather manager. Yeah, that had to be it.
Maybe, Scootaloo thought, Maybe it is worth a shot going to the pageant for once. I mean, it is Rainbow Dash, after all.
Scootaloo trotted up the walkway to her house and pushed the door open. Her mother immediately yelled for her to close the door, and that the fireplace was going. She stepped inside and kicked the door loudly shut. Her mother went right back to her paperwork.
Scootaloo pulled the envelope the teacher had given her and set it up on her mother’s desk, “Hey, Teach wanted me to give this to you.”
“Okay, Scootaloo,” Her mother said, never taking her gaze away from her paperwork.
“It’s because I’m almost failing,” Scootaloo challenged, wondering if she’d finally get a reaction.
“That’s nice,” Her mother said.
“You must be stupid or deaf,” Scootaloo challenged.
“I’m very busy right now, Scootaloo, go away!”
Scootaloo stood still a few moments longer staring at her mother, waiting to see if she’d read the letter in the envelope. After several minutes, she walked towards the stairs that led to her room. When she reached them, she took a glance at her mother again. Her mother had picked up the envelope she set on her desk and was looking it over. She flipped it around to see no text on the other side, flipped it back to read the “To the parent/legal guardian of Scootaloo” before dropping the letter into the waste bin.
Scootaloo shook her head and continued on her way up the stairs. Once in her room, she started up the miniature space heater and sat down with her hooves in front of it. The feeling of warmth hitting her near-frozen appendages made Scootaloo’s eyes roll back, “Ahh, that’s nice…”
A few moments later, she stretched herself out in front of the heater and pulled her coat off. She opened her saddlebag that she had dropped at the bedroom door and pulled Chief out, sprawling him out next to her, “Feels nice, doesn’t it, Chief?”
The stuffed pegasus said nothing. Scootaloo smiled and pulled the plushie into a hug, “Thanks for keeping me company at school. Sorry you had to listen to all that boring garbage, though…”
The stuffed pegasus said nothing. He lay next to Scootaloo in front of the heater, seeming to enjoy the heat after the long, cold hours curled up in Scootaloo’s saddlebag. After several minutes, Scootaloo could finally feel her hooves again. Pins and needles ran through them, so she wiggled them about to try to get it to stop.
The thought of her mother dropping the teacher’s letter into the trash can filled her mind, “How long has it been since the doc’s told us about my wings, Chief?”
The pegasus plushie stared at the heater, and Scootaloo let out a whistle, “Wow, three years and she still can’t get over it?”
She stood up when the pins and needles feeling faded and walked over to the window. She could see most of the neighborhood from this tiny window. Several ponies had gathered around another large poster advertising the pageant. From their expressions and energetic demeanor, Scootaloo could tell they were all talking about tomorrow’s play, “Did you hear what those guys were saying, Chief?”
She looked over to the stuffed pegasus. It lay still, staring at the heater, “I KNOW how much I say I hate Hearth’s Warming Eve, but this is Rainbow Dash we’re talking about! She’s bound to make even the most boring pageant awesome!”
Scootaloo picked up the old plushie, “Do you think we should go?”
Chief’s head lolled back, and with a quick jerk of Scootaloo’s hooves, his head fell forward, “Aww, I knew you’d agree with me! It might actually be fun!”
Scootaloo clicked off the heater, closed the curtains, and lifted Chief onto her bed, “But it’s been a long day. I think I’m gonna call it an early night.”
She trotted off into the upstairs hallway and into the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth and hopped in the shower for a rinse. After drying her mane and tail the best she could, she trotted back into her room yawning and in her favorite winter PJs. Hopping up into her bed, she grabbed Chief and hugged him close before pulling the covers over them. The room was silent a few moments before Scootaloo broke the silence, “I love you too, Chief.”
Scootaloo stepped into the town’s theatre building and shivered off the cold and spots of snow. She followed the flow of pony traffic towards a ticket booth. Scootaloo had a miniature panic attack. She didn’t bring any bits! Perhaps if she’s real quiet, she could slip pa—wait. She spotted a sign above the ticket mare.
“Free Entrance – Donations Accepted”
Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief. A couple moments later she passed the ticket mare, who was merely there passing out pamphlets with cast and sponsor info. Scootaloo entered the concert hall where ponies wandered about looking for open seats to fit their entire party. Without a party to worry about, Scootaloo took an open seat at the edge of the second row and opened the pamphlet to try to pass the time.
Ponies wandered about the concert hall, clamoring and laughing and playing. It was actually getting quite a bit on Scootaloo’s nerves, but soon the lights dimmed and so did the clamoring. Scootaloo pulled her saddlebag into her lap and opened the flap so that Chief could watch the play too.
The lights lowered to their darkest and a colt from Scootaloo’s class stepped from behind the curtains dressed in the most ridiculous outfit, “A long time ago—long before the peaceful rule of Celestia, and before ponies discovered our beautiful land of Equestria, Ponies did not know harmony!”
A light hearted and old-sounding tune emitted in the background as the colt continued his monologue intro: “It was a strange and dark time… A time when ponies were torn apart by HATRED.”
The crowd let out a fake and obviously planned gasp, making the colt smile as he continued, “During this frightful age, each of the three tribes, the Pegasi, the unicorns, and the Earth ponies, cared not for what befell the other tribes, but only for their own welfare.”
That makes sense to me, Scootaloo thought to herself, I’ve been doing that for years.
She ignored the rest of the colt’s monologue when a new light turned on and fell upon a few pegasi, including Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo smiled and lifted the bag slightly to give Chief a better look. This play was going to be awesome!
“But I know that it couldn’t have been just me,” The blue unicorn in rags said, pulling the pegasus and the earth pony into a hug, “It came from all three of us… joined together in friendship.”
Scootaloo lolled out her tongue as if she was going to hurl—and she really felt like she was going to. Nopony paid her any mind as they were all listening to the closing remarks of the colt in the funky outfit. Scootaloo looked around in confusion a few moments later as the entire audience and cast broke out into song.
“The fire of friendship lives in our hearts
As long as it burns we cannot drift apart
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few
Laughter and singing will see us through
We are a circle of pony friends
A circle of friends we'll be to the very end”
“Happy Hearth’s Warming Eve, everypony,” The director said after the cast took their bow, “Remember to spread love and joy with your friends and family to keep the windigos away!”
As soon as the director left the stage, the lights came on and the audience shifted about, chattering loudly about the play they had just seen. In the crowded confusion, Scootaloo quickly pulled Chief out of her saddlebag and zipped him up in her coat, his head hanging out a little next to hers. Scootaloo maneuvered her way through the crowd and finally made it out the door into the subzero weather.
When she was finally away from the crowd, she looked down at Chief, “So what’d you think Chief?”
The plushie moved about with the movement of Scootaloo’s front legs, “Yeah, I thought it was pretty corny too. Windigos? That was totally just a symbol of war.”
The stuffed pegasus slid further into her coat, “Yeah, it is cold out here… So what did you think of Dash’s performance?”
Scootaloo sped up one block away from her home, “Oh Celestia, yes. She was definitely the highlight of the show!”
Scootaloo opened the door to her house and kicked off her boots that she had finally had the sense to wear. She rushed up the stairs and collapsed in her room, turning on her space heater, “Brr, it seems to be getting colder and colder…”
A few moments later, she unzipped her coat and set Chief down next to her so he could enjoy the heat with her.
“You know, the whole… friendship thing is kinda stuck in my head,” Scootaloo said to Chief. She thought back through her life, trying hard to remember any friends she might have had, “I’ve only had to take care of myself all this time. Mom pretends I’m not even here and Daddy left for deployment way too long ago…”
“Well of course he’s okay, why wouldn’t he be?” Scootaloo nudged Chief, “Daddy’s a tough one. He’ll come back to me one day, won’t he?”
She looked at Chief, his sewn face holding no answers, “Won’t he?”
Scootaloo stood up and looked outside her window. The streets were crowded with carolers and ponies on their way home from the play. A thought raced through Scootaloo’s head, “I wonder why these ponies put so much emphasis on friendship. You don’t need friendship.”
She stepped back down and sat down again with Chief. Of course you don’t need friendship. You don’t need family either! All they do is drag you down with their problems! Why would you ever need them?
Scootaloo felt a clutching in her gut. She definitely didn’t need anypony… “Chief… Do you think…? Nevermind… I said nevermind…”
Thoughts of the windigos entered her mind. What if they were real? She certainly didn’t want to freeze to death, but how do you spread love? Do you just tell other ponies you loved them?
She stood up and told Chief she’d be right back. She rode the banister down the stairs and searched for her mother. It took her a few minutes, but she finally found her at the kitchen table sipping coffee while reading the paper.
“Mom,” Scootaloo said. She felt her heart rate pick up a few, “I just wanted to say ‘I love you’.”
“That’s nice, Scootaloo,” her mother said, flipping to a new page in the newspaper.
“I just thought I’d te—“
Her mother agitatedly put the paper down, “What do you want, Scootaloo??”
Scootaloo stared at her for a moment then turned away, “Nothing…”
In a few seconds, she was back in her room with Chief. She could feel a knot in her throat, “I gotta get ready for bed. Be back in a second, Chief…”
She refused to look at her pathetic self in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, and she didn’t even bother with a shower. Within a couple minutes, she had her nightwear on and was dragging herself back to her room.
Without another word, she turned off the heater and pulled Chief up on the bed with her. She hugged the plushie against her chest.
“I love you, Chief,” Scootaloo said. She stared forward and blinked, her eyes burning, “I said ‘I love you’ Chief…”
Scootaloo blinked a couple more times, her eyes feeling heavy, but not tired, and her throat felt as if her heart had made a home there, “Don’t you love me too, Chief?”
Scootaloo clutched the plushie tighter against her chest and curled up around it, “Please tell me you love me… Please…”
The toy remained silent. It would remain silent for the rest of the night and the next day. It didn’t reply.
“Please… Tell me...”
Scootaloo stared at the worn out toy a few moments longer. Applebloom had already sorted through her donations and was now helping Sweetie Belle sort through her mountain. Scootaloo set the toy down and walked over to the pair and threw her front hooves around them from behind.
“I love you guys,” She said quietly, pulling them closer and staring at the ground, slightly embarrassed.
“We love you too, Scoots,” Sweetie Belle said immediately with a giggle.
“Yeah, course we do,” Applebloom said, “But are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Scootaloo said, releasing her friends and taking a respectable few steps back, “I just felt I needed to say that, is all…”
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle gave each other a look and smiled, then pounced Scootaloo, “We love you, Scootaloo!”
“Okay, okay, you can get off me now!” Scootaloo yelled, laughing with her friends. The two fillies let her up as requested, giggling.
Scootaloo walked back over to her tiny pile with a grin still plastered on her face. She picked up Chief and walked over to the “Donate” chest. She gave Chief one last hug, “I love you, Chief.”
The stare the doll gave back seemed to say, “I love you too, Scootaloo.”
She smiled at the plushie and set him comfortably in one corner next to dozens of other stuffed animals.
His job was done. It was his time to move on to the next one.
The Crusaders pushed the two heavy trunks together through the door of the schoolhouse. When the door swung shut the Crusaders jumped back and watched Miss Cheerilee’s reaction.
“Oh wow, girls,” Miss Cheerilee remarked, “Is this all for the clothes and toy drive?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Applebloom said, all three Crusaders smiling from ear-to-ear, “If we can’t use it, somepony else should!”
Miss Cheerilee laughed and dismissed the three to their seats, “I have to say I am very proud of all of you that brought donations in throughout the week. These clothes and toys are going to make fillies and colts across Equestria very, very happy and very warm this Hearth’s Warming Eve.”
The class gave themselves a round of applause and the Crusaders gave each other high-hooves.
“Okay, boys and girls, remember when you go home with your family and friends for Hearth’s Warming Eve tonight,” Miss Cheerilee continued, “Think about all the ponies less fortunate than you and you can feel good knowing you did something to help. Now fewer ponies will go cold, hungry, or alone this Hearth’s Warming. Again, I am very proud of all of you. Have a safe holiday!”
The school bell rang and the fillies and colts scrambled about for their coats and boots. Applebloom stood with the other crusaders waiting for the mad rush to die down, “Hey, Applejack says that after the play in Canterlot we can all get t’gether at th’ farm fer a big family feast. You guys’re invited.”
“Oh I’d LOVE to go, Applebloom,” Sweetie Belle squeaked, pushing on another boot, “You comin’ Scoots?”
“Oh I am in,” Scootaloo said, but something caught her eye. Behind Sweetie Belle, a pink filly watched the crusaders with a look Scootaloo knew all too well, “Do you guys think they’d mind if we invited one more pony?”
“Ah don’t think so,” Applebloom said, “Who d’ya have in mind?”
Scootaloo slid out of her seat and walked towards the pink filly, “Hey Pinch. You got any plans for Hearth’s Warming Eve?”
Berry Pinch stared at Scootaloo confusedly, “I uh… no, just going to the play here in Ponyville and going home…”
“Why not join us?” Scootaloo asked with a smile, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom jumped in behind her adding in their two bits.
“Well… I dunno,” Berry Pinch said, “Mom might not want me to go all the way to Canterlot by myself…”
“Bring her too, it’ll be fun!” Scootaloo said, then she put her foreleg around her shoulders, “I hear they have gigantic eight-foot-tall candy canes!”
Berry Pinch smiled, “Okay, I’ll go. The play’s tomorrow, right?”
The Crusaders jumped and hollered and woo-hoo’d. Soon, they were heading out the door wishing Miss Cheerilee a happy Hearth’s Warming Eve on the way out.
Miss Cheerilee watched the fillies run off in the snow and chuckled when Sweetie Belle tripped into the snow. She looked at the mountain of clothes and toys the children had left behind for charity. She kicked the door closed and opened one of the Crusaders’ trunks. One thing in particular stood out. A small, purple plushie with one eye missing sat amongst other, better managed stuffed animals.
“Oh well aren’t you cute,” Miss Cheerilee smiled, pulling the pony out of the chest. Images of a stallion in full Royal Army attire strolled through her thoughts, “You remind me of my brother.”
She turned the toy around to see the word “Chief” sewn into the pony’s left wing, “Chief…”
Cheerilee set the stuffed stallion in her bag, “Well, Chief, I have just the tools to fix you up for some lucky filly this holiday.”
