The sun rose on Equestria to start the new day; another weekend for young Scootaloo who opened her eyes shortly after the bright sun began to beam in her eyes. She rolled out of her bed and found herself staring at a picture of her and Rainbow Dash on her wall from when they went camping several weeks beforehand.
“Another exciting weekend ahead of us right?” She asked with a disconcerting voice, lowering her head.
Her room wasn’t like the bedrooms all of her friends had, nor was her home anything like the homes her friends lived in. Her home was a tube with a wide open entrance inviting any creature in who stumbled upon it, the walls made of concrete which leaked all kinds of liquid waste, a wide open hole towards the back of her room which she had to cover with a large screen to keep herself from falling into oblivion; nothing more or less than a sewer located underneath the bridge leading to Fluttershy’s home. A dark desolate home which became unbearably hot in the summer, and insanely cold during the long winter nights; a home Scootaloo knew for as long as she could remember.
“Don’t worry,” Scootaloo said putting her right hoof over Rainbow Dash’s picture “We’ll be moving out soon!”
A sentence she said to the picture every morning “moving out soon.” It was what kept her sane, what kept her from telling her friends where she really went at the end of the day. If she could move out of the sewer and find a real home then she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone finding out, and keep the dark secret to herself forever.
“Come on Fluttershy,” Scootaloo heard Rarity’s voice call “We’re going to be late.”
“Oh, well, we sure don’t want to be late.” Fluttershy responded.
The two ponies trotted across the bridge, the coast was clear. Scootaloo ran from under the bridge through an open window of Fluttershy’s house; a daily ritual for the young filly during the warm spring days just to take a warm shower to clean her body from the garbage that accumulated on her throughout the course of the night. During the winter she settled for jumping into the river bordering the Everfree Forest. She resorted to stealing bars of soap and shampoo from passing delivery wagons as she walked home from school since Fluttershy normally kept her windows closed to keep the house warm. She quickly ran upstairs into the bathroom and showered herself as quickly as she could and was out of the house just and fast as she ran in.
“Scoot,” she heard Applebloom call “Me and Sweetie Belle found a way to get our cutie marks!”
Scootaloo smiled and took off behind her friends.
Twilight and Pinkie Pie were walking through Ponyville heading for Sugar Cube corner to get something to eat, greeted by every pony that walked past them.
“Howdy!” Pinkie Pie said gleefully to Lyra and Bon-Bon as they walked in the other direction.
“Heads up!” Twilight heard a voice call.
A few seconds later a giant bouncing ball smacked Twilight in the face causing her to collapse. When she regained her vision she saw Scootaloo kick the ball to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle who were standing a few yards away.
“Sorry Twilight.” Scootaloo said.
Twilight rubbed her head with her hoof to get rid of the pain caused by the ball.
“It’s alright Scoot,” Twilight said and then looked at the other two fillies “What are you doing anyway?”
She looked over at Applebloom who climbed on top of the ball and began running on top of it, trying to balance herself. The ball took flight once again as Applebloom fell from it; the ball taking out a sign hanging above the doorway of a shop.
“We’re going to get circus cutie marks!” Scootaloo cheered and then smiled.
Twilight and Pinkie Pie looked at each other and shrugged.
“Don’t you think maybe that scooter of yours is your hidden talent?” Twilight asked.
Scootaloo laughed and shook her head.
“That’s not talent that’s just how I get around,” Scootaloo said and then looked at the other two fillies who were calling her “Gotta run!”
Scootaloo shot off to her friends who were retrieving the ball and being yelled at by the shop owner whose sign was destroyed. Rarity and Fluttershy sprinted to Twilight and nearly screeched to a halt a few inches in front of them.
“Twilight, Pinkie,” Rarity said trying to catch her breath “You won’t believe what we just found.”
“What’s wrong Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie asked noticing the stream of tears running down Fluttershy’s face, unable to speak for herself.
“Trust me you have to see this, but you have to come quick!” Rarity said.
Night fell upon Ponyville as it regularly does on any other day. Princess Luna was never late when it was her turn to be in charge of Equestria for twelve hours. Scootaloo walked Sweetie Belle back to her home where they parted for the night.
“I really thought that would work.” Scootaloo said, referring to the bouncing ball plot.
“Maybe tomorrow we can help Rarity on her big project! Maybe we’ll be fashion designers like her!” Sweetie Belle said cheerfully and smiled.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hoof bumped before they parted for the night. Scootaloo’s smile turned to a frown, her joyful attitude turned to misery at the thought of returning to her subterranean home beneath the bridge. She walked through Ponyville without seeing much of any pony, most of which who were already inside for the night. A few ponies roamed the town, but none of which were close to her at the time. As she walked past the fountain Derpy came out from the other side in front of her, and noticed Scootaloo’s sad face.
“Don’t be sad my little filly. Tomorrow is a new day!” She said happily just before tripping over herself.
Scootaloo smiled for a split second, but turned it into a frown as she walked past Derpy once again.
“That’s the spirit, smile!” Derpy said as she got back up and walked again.
Scootaloo didn’t encounter anyone else on her walk back to the bridge. She looked around before heading beneath the bridge to make sure no one was watching. As she walked into the tunnel she heard Fluttershy giggling in the yard. Scootaloo turned around and saw Fluttershy playing with a few of her animal friends near the chicken coup, but Fluttershy suddenly sat down and began to cry. Her animal friends moved close to her to help her feel better. Scootaloo has seen this hundreds of times before; Fluttershy has a bad day and spends a good deal of time at night crying, but Scootaloo herself couldn’t just walk into the yard and help Fluttershy feel better. She might ask questions of how she showed up, where she came from, why she was there. She knew that she wasn’t going to be able to walk up to Fluttershy without her secret being known, a quality of her life which she hated immensely.
“Fluttershy,” Scootaloo said with tears in her eyes “What’s wrong Fluttershy? Who hurt you? Don’t worry; she’s just a mean pony. You’re better than her.”
Scootaloo had these conversations with herself often. Short fantasies of what she wanted to say to certain ponies, most of which she had about Rainbow Dash while she stared at the picture on the wall.
“Rainbow I know you’re mad at me for not helping her tonight,” Scootaloo said as she turned to face the picture “I really wish I could, she’s so nice to me all the time.”
She froze as she heard some pony walking across the bridge, which to her surprise was Rarity heading into Fluttershy’s yard. Scootaloo continued her monologue.
“I tried to get a circus cutie mark today you know, but it didn’t work out. I hit Twilight in the face with a giant bouncy ball,” She chuckled “Sweetie Belle wants to try helping Rarity and making us famous designers but I don’t think that’s what I want to do. You know what I really want,” Scootaloo said with tears in her eyes as she touched Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark in the picture “I really want to fly and be just like you, but I can’t even get off the ground without crashing,” she collapsed to the ground and cried “I’m a failure!”
She heard a sound and turned to see Angel standing at the end of the tunnel, staring directly at her. Scootaloo panicked and took refuge at the very back on the tunnel.
“No Angel, bad bunny!” She said.
The bunny began hoping into the tunnel.
“No stop, stop! Get out of here!” Scootaloo said quietly.
“Where did he go?” She heard Twilight ask.
“Down there, hurry!” Rarity said.
Twilight? What was Twilight doing with them? Doesn’t she have a spell to study? Some kind of spooky voodoo or whatever she does all day in that house? Scootaloo ran a few of those questions rapidly through her head while trying to get Angel to leave. She was done for; the three ponies are going to find her; all running through Scootaloo’s head.
“Shh! be quiet!” Rarity said quietly.
The three ponies were just outside of the tunnel. A fourth pony’s voice came in from the other side, and Scootaloo was terrified by who it was.
“You sure about this?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Scootaloo’s heart sank into her stomach. A beam of white light shined through the tunnel and hit the side of the tunnel’s wall. Angel continued to move closer to Scootaloo; the light getting narrower as it got closer to the opening of the tube.
“Please Celestia make them go away.” Scootaloo begged.
The four ponies appeared at the opening of the tunnel and began walking in; the light moving back and forth between the walls. Scootaloo cowered in the back and covered her face in shame. The beam of light covered Scootaloo and froze.
“Is…is that?” Rainbow Dash asked in horror.
Fluttershy collapsed to the floor and began crying again. Twilight walked up to Scootaloo and nudged her.
“Scoot?”
Scootaloo freaked out and dashed for the exit of the sewer, immediately stopped by Rarity who grabbed her.
“Scootaloo stop! Wait!” Rarity said as she fought for control over Scootaloo’s squirming body.
“Let me go!” Scootaloo cried.
Twilight’s horn glowed which created a bright pinkish glow around Scootaloo. The filly was lifted into the air and set to the ground in middle of the four ponies, and knowing she was already found out, she didn’t try to run away. She instead sat with her head lowered with tears in her eyes. Rainbow Dash’s eyes were widened and her jaw fully opened, unable to process what she was seeing.
“I…” Scootaloo said as she looked up.
All four ponies now had tears in their eyes; Fluttershy still crying on the ground. Twilight managed to cough out a question.
“Why?”
Scootaloo lowered her head again and cried her eyes out. The shame over powered her and caused her to collapse to the ground. Twilight began to get angry.
“Why Scootaloo, why wouldn’t you tell any pony?” She asked.
Rainbow Dash sat down and looked at the picture on the wall; a large picture of her and Scootaloo together on their camping trip. Scootaloo was at a total loss for words.
“You could’ve come to me,” Rainbow Dash said “Why would you do this?”
“What was I going to do?” Scootaloo asked.
“You could have done anything! You could’ve come to us Scootaloo! No one would have turned you away if you told us the truth,” Twilight yelled “Why would you not tell anyone!?”
Rarity pulled Twilight away.
“Yelling is not going to make anything easier for her.” She said.
Twilight walked a few feet away, sat down, and began to cry.
“I couldn’t let anyone know what I am,” Scootaloo said, choking on her words “Do you know what it’s like to grow up with nobody? Do you know how it feels to go home every day and not have anyone there to see you or tuck you in a night,” a stream of tears flowed down her face “Or how it feels to have so many great things to happen in one day only to be turned into misery at night?”
Rarity wrapped her hoof around Scootaloo.
“Any one of us could have given you that.”
“It’s not the same,” Scootaloo yelled as she pulled away “I don’t have a family! No parents, no brothers, no sisters, nothing! No pony can fill their place. It’s not the same.”
Rainbow Dash walked over and looked at Scootaloo who was once again on the ground crying.
“Look what I’ve done for you Scoot. I’ve been helping you fly, I’ve hung out with you, I went camping with you; I’ve taken you under my wing. You’re like my little sister, squirt. How can you possibly think that no one can ever love you like family? Rainbow Dash asked.
Scootaloo looked up and cried. Her own mentor resented her, so she thought.
“It doesn’t matter now; everyone hates me anyway.”
“I’ve got something to show you, come with me.” Rainbow Dash said lowering her right wing.
Scootaloo paused for a minute before climbing on Rainbow Dash’s back. The cyan Pegasus walked out of the tunnel and took flight headed for her home hovering above Ponyville. The other three exited the tunnel when Fluttershy’s hysterical episode was over. Rainbow Dash led Scootaloo into her house and stood at a round table in one of the rooms.
“I was going to wait until your birthday to give this to you, but I really think this should be done now.” Rainbow Dash said as she took a piece of paper out of a sack on the counter and set it in front of Scootaloo.
The top of the page in big bold black letters were the words Official Adoption Contract, the rest of the page had words that Scootaloo didn’t bother to read.
“What is this?” She asked.
“A paper that, when signed by me, will officially make you and me family. Sisters for life,” Rainbow Dash said happily, but then turned to a serious tone “that is unless you want to keep living in that sewer for the rest of your life.”
Scootaloo froze in both confusion and happiness. Being Rainbow Dash’s sister was the one thing she had always wanted, but it all seemed way too good to be true.
“Rainbow…” she said.
“Say no more,” Rainbow Dash said putting her hoof to Scootaloo’s mouth “This time tomorrow you’ll officially be my little sister!”
Scootaloo launched into Rainbow Dash and hugged her tight, tears of happiness streaming from her eyes. Rainbow dash wrapped her hoofs around her also with tears of happiness in her eyes.
“Thank you Rainbow Dash, thank you, thank you!” Scootaloo cheered.
Rainbow Dash pulled away and looked at the young filly.
“There’s just one thing I want you to do.” She said.
The next morning Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle were gathered in Twilight’s house around Scootaloo. They all broke down in tears as Scootaloo spilled everything; how long she lived in the sewer, how she broke into Fluttershy’s house to bathe herself, how she ransacked wagons for soap and shampoo, how she regretfully watched Fluttershy cry on her bad days without having the courage to help her, and how she snuck into the tunnel every night without being seen. All of them had the same thing to say, the typical “any pony would’ve helped you” speech but none of it mattered anymore since Rainbow Dash announced that she was officially taking her in.
“I can’t believe ya managed to survive down there sugar cube. Yer a lot tougher than I thought.” Applejack said.
“I guess there’s only one thing left to do.” Pinkie Pie said.
The other ponies looked at her in confusion.
“It’s time to party!” she said flailing her hooves in the air.
The other ponies stared at her with even more confusion.
“What? It’s happy time! Come on every pony!” Pinkie Pie cheered.
In that instant the entire room became dark with the exception of a lighted crystal ball illuminating spots on the wall, and Pinkie Pie didn’t hesitate to celebrate Scootaloo’s new home.