The wind rustled the tall oaks standing proudly outside of a little cottage. Chicken waddled about and pecked at the ground, hardened with the oncoming fright of winter. The sky's gray look laid a depressing blanket over the dying land. The air had a chill to it, a chill that only came with the colder part of the year, a time some ponies enjoyed and some shunned.
One little filly, on the other hoof, trotted determinedly up the frigid path, a large scarf concealing her face. Little wings poked out from underneath her thin coat, a short magenta tail whipping about in the wind behind her. The birds venturing over the ground scattered with loud cries of alarm as the filly passed them, muttering about the freezing weather. Her ears laid flat against her head, she made her way over to the front door of the cottage, not even bothering to knock as she pushed it open.
The filly's eyes drooped with relief as she passed into the warm, cozy home that she apparently knew well. Quickly shutting the door behind her with strong hindquarters, she tossed her threadbare coat onto a plush couch and peered up the stairs moodily, ignoring the animals twittering about around her hooves.
"Hey, I'm paying you a visit!" the orange pegasus shouted up the stairs. "Can you at least give me a welcome?" Her wings twitched with annoyance, her purple eyes hardened like the frozen ground outside.
"...Scoot...Scootaloo?" Came the hesitant reply from up the stairs, a pair of bright cyan eyes blinking into existence in the darkness. "Is that you?"
"Who else?" the filly, called Scootaloo, replied with a snort. "Who else would care enough to visit here?"
A scared expression passed across the eyes of the hidden pony upstairs, but the sound of hooves announced that she was leaving her hiding place. She tentatively began down the stairs, blinking her long eyes as she did. Her coat, a moderate yellow color, shone against the dark brown colors of the cottage. Her bright pink mane, contrasting with the dim colors, stood out like a droplet of blood against the snow. Only one thing showed a resemblance between the two ponies: a pair of wings perched on both one's shoulders.
"Hello, Fluttershy," Scootaloo growled slightly. "Nice of you to greet me." The older pegasus, having reached the bottom of the stairs, blinked nervously.
"I-I didn't expect you would come here," she murmured, scuffling her hooves against the floor. "I mean, no one ever does."
The filly's tail flicked with annoyance. "I can see that! It looks like you've been alone here except for your precious animals!" She gestured wildly over the ground, where bunches of forest critters explored the nooks and crannies of the cottage.
Fluttershy watched the little pony with gentle eyes. "They provide comfort for me, when other ponies don't. I'm very good with them, as you know."
"Of course I know!" Scootaloo snapped, turning back to the pegasus she had a connection to with enraged purple eyes. "Everypony I know has a special talent-in the form of a cutie mark! All of my classmates have them, you have one, the ponies around Ponyville have them-at least in Cloudsdale there were other foals who didn't have their cutie marks!"
A rare look flashed across Fluttershy's eyes: anger. "You and I both know that going back to Cloudsdale would be a very bad idea. I don't need to explain why, now do I?"
Scootaloo paused in her fury, memories flashing back to her of bullies, not only annoying Fluttershy, but also herself. "I remember," she grumbled, glancing at the ground.
But that's not the only reason, she thought silently. Mom and Dad left us there.
Each pegasus watched each other with calculating eyes, a pair of uneasy ones, and a pair of eyes that have gone back to being angered.
"Scoots-" Fluttershy suddenly began.
"Don't call me that," the little pegasus snarled, viciously flapping her puny wings uselessly. "You know Mom and Dad called me that."
A flash of hurt passed Fluttershy's eyes, but she said nothing, her wings drooping toward the floor, until, "I'm just trying to be the parent you hardly knew."
A wave of fury rose up in little Scootaloo. She leaped aggressively at Fluttershy, though she was too tiny to knock over the bigger mare. "I knew our parents! I remember them! Quit trying to act like them, because you'll never be anything like them!"
The older sister gently pushed the fuming pony away. "I know I won't. But please, Scootaloo. You've been this angry and unpleasant ever since...they left. I want to be there for you, but you just push me away."
"Don't pretend they're not dead, Fluttershy!" Scootaloo shrieked, her eyes alight with rage. Fluttershy nervously flinched at the word 'dead', though she knew just as much as the filly that their parents were, truly, dead. But Scootaloo's next words hurt her sister even more. "You wanna know why I don't want to live with you? You wanna know why I ignore you the majority of the time, why I prefer to live in an old, abandoned warehouse over this mess of a cottage? Do you want to know, Fluttershy? DO you?"
Before the scared pegasus could even answer, Scootaloo answered herself, enraged. "Because you're a baby. You were always so weak when you were up against those bullies. At least I tried to stand up for myself, but no! You, you just stood there, sniveling, while they laughed at you! You did nothing for yourself! So why should I have pity on you and live with you and your stupid animals and give you everything while you did nothing for me?" She ended, quivering, glared bloody daggers at the shuddering pegasus.
"I-I..." Fluttershy nervously began. "I don't know..."
"You don't know. You don't know! Of course you don't! Fluttershy, the weak. Fluttershy, the crybaby. Fluttershy, the pony who had to hide behind her own mane. Do you have any idea what other horrible names they called you? I, at least, had a reputation. Mom and Dad were actually proud of me! You, though, they were ashamed of. They were worried you wouldn't pass flight school, you wouldn't lead a successful life, you wouldn't--"
"That's a LIE!!!" Scootaloo recoiled backwards at her sister's explosion. "Our parents cared about both of us very much. Our parents: Posie Rose and Sand Swirl. They loved me, they loved you. Equally. But after they died in the factory fire, you've become bitter, sinking deeper into the pit of self-pity. Shame on you, Scootaloo! You aren't the only pony who's been hurt by their deaths. Shame on you!"
Scootaloo stared in utter shock at the shivering Fluttershy, her cyan gaze piercing through the tense air. Both ponies were silent for what seemed like eternity.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...I'm the only one in my class who doesn't have any parents, Fluttershy. I lied when Ms. Cheerilee asked if I had any relatives who could come to Family Appreciation Day."
"...But I'm alive. I could come. Why did you lie?"
"Because you're...you're well known for being, well, shy. I don't want other ponies to think that I'm related to such an antisocial pony. I'd much rather be cool and a great flyer, like that one pegasus pony who helps clear the clouds, Rainbow Dash."
"...Rainbow Dash defended me when I was younger, in flight camp, against some bullies. She's a good pony."
"I know. You told me. But I want to be more like her."
"I can understand that."
"Rainbow Dash simply seems fearless. But me...I've been having these nightmares lately. I'm afraid Mom and Dad will come back as ghosts and punish me for being so mean to you."
"Scoots, it's all right. They would never hurt you. I understand why you don't want me to be seen with you. I just wish you were a little more proud of your kin, though."
"...I know. I wish, too. But do you really want to go on living like this? I'm too stubborn to live with you, but living in that horrible warehouse will kill me...Mentally and physically. What can I do?"
"...I've heard of a unicorn nearby. She's beautiful, and she runs a fashion shop."
"Yeah, I think I've heard of her. Rarity, right?"
"I think so. She has a little sister, too. I'm not sure what her name is, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't have a cutie mark, either. Maybe if you became friends, you could possibly stay at her house...?"
"..."
"...Scootaloo...?"
"...So I may not be the only one in the class anymore without a cutie mark?"
"...It's possible, yes. Do you want to go meet her? I can come with you if you want."
"..."
"...Oh, right. You don't want to be seen in public with me."
"...No, I want you to come. To be honest, I'm....."
"Nervous?"
"...Yeah..."
"It's okay. I'll come with."
"..."
"..."
"...Fluttershy?"
"Yes?"
No more words were spoken in that cottage, as the little orange pegasus named Scootaloo rushed into her older sister, shaking with sobs. Fluttershy simply stroked her sister's tangled magenta mane, soothing her only kin. Outside, the wind blew viciously, but the pegasi inside stayed safe and warm. They were silent except for Scootaloo's cries, but there was an unspoken message. A quiet apology. A silent begging.
And an accepting forgiveness.
Author's Note
Well, hope you enjoyed this! This is my first book on FIMFiction, as you can see, but not my first novel ever.
I know this is fairly short, but this idea has been stuck in my mind for days on end, so I hope you see the thought put into it.
Like mentioned before in the summary, Fluttershy is almost positively NOT related to Scootaloo in the real show. I was just thinking one day, and realized Scootaloo and Fluttershy are both pegasi, and both of their families have never been mentioned, and they have slightly similar color palettes...And you know the rest.
Thanks for reading!
