Fluttershy's Project

Chapters

Prelude (from start of rewrite)
Chapter 1 (original)
Chapter 2 (original)
Chapter 3 (original)
Loose Scenes
Scattered Notes (not very organised or readable)

Prelude (from start of rewrite)

A loud rumbling sound came from Scootaloo's stomach. She sighed. Yet another day without anything to eat, aside from an apple that Apple Bloom had offered her from her own lunch. Her friends were starting to question why she was forgetting lunch so often.

Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything about it, really. She didn't have anything to bring for lunch, or bits to buy it with. And she couldn't ask anypony for food. They'd want to know why she needed it, and then she'd have to go back there. And she couldn't go back.

She was desperate enough to swipe something to eat from the market right now. The trouble was, she'd been that desperate for a while. And while nopony had caught her yet, they knew a thief was around, and were watching carefully.

What's worse, Applejack had Winona out patrolling Sweet Apple Acres now. It would be really embarrassing to be cornered by Winona stealing apples, and then confronted by Applejack. She might give her some slack as one of Apple Blooms friends, but she didn't think much of thieves. She felt stealing wasn't honest. And it wasn't, really.

Also, Applejack was an adult, and adults were trouble. They always had been. She'd never let anypony close to her without problems, and adults were the worst. Though she was hungry enough that she may need to break that.

She stifled a yawn. She had slept really badly recently, and her hunger was probably the main thing keeping her awake right now. She had been sleeping in the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. Nopony ever bothered her there. But with Sweet Apple Acres being patrolled at night, she'd get discovered.

Finding other places to sleep that wouldn't be noticed was difficult. She'd thought rooftops was a great idea until being interrupted several times by passing pegasi. And spending most of the time she should be sleeping trying to get something to eat didn't help, either.

And that looked like how tonight would go as well. Pinkie Pie was off visiting her parents, so there weren't any parties she could slip into and grab something to eat. She kinda thought Pinkie was on to her anyways. She was never surprised to see her there, and always gave her more food than any of the other guests.

She supposed she could spend more time grazing on grass. After a few hours, it would stop the hunger pains. It also tasted horrible, left her feeling all bloated, and she'd feel like she hadn't eaten anything the next day. And she'd have green stains on her teeth and fur. She shuddered. She'd rather eat trash.

She wished that had been an exaggeration. Fishing around trash cans was about what was left to her, though, and it was starting to get late enough for her to do it without attracting notice. It wouldn't be the first time she'd done it. It was somewhat of a return to her origins, really.

It was times like this that she really envied her friends. They had never had to pull food out of the trash, and hope it was still good enough to eat, or look for somewhere to sleep without being hassled.

Apple Bloom may not have parents, but she always had Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Granny Smith looking out for her. And the bond between her and Applejack made her really jealous at times. Scootaloo was sure she never had to worry about her next meal, or where to sleep.

And Sweetie Belle's parents may leave town all the time and leave her with Rarity, but at least she had Rarity. They may not get along all the time, but they were sisters. What she wouldn't give for a sister that would take care of her like that. When she'd heard about Sweetie Belle declaring Rarity no longer her sister, and trying to be Applejack's instead, she'd almost offered to be Rarity's sister in Sweetie Belles place.

It was already over by then, though. Knowing that her friends were going to be occupied that week, she'd ended up just cutting class for a few days and going off by herself to mope. Rainbow Dash had rejected her flat out when she'd asked her if she would participate in the Sisterhooves Social with her. And nopony had even noticed she had been gone when she came back. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did apologise for ignoring her, at least.

She knew that she'd always be alone, and no one would ever want her, though. It had always been like that, even from the first thing she remembered.

She wasn't sure how old she had been. Fairly young. She remembered she had woken up due to the old newspaper on top of her being moved. She had been at the top of a garbage can, laying on mouldy turnips and orange peels. A grim-looking stallion had levitated her out, looked at her in disgust, and kept her floating at a distance, crying.

He had dropped her off at a police station and walked off. They hadn't been able to find anypony who recognised her or wanted her there, so she ended up left with the orphanage. And she'd still be there if she hadn't gotten fed up with how they treated her a few years later.

She had no idea who her parents were or how she had ended up in that trash can, and she doubted she ever would. She just assumed, like everypony else, they hadn't wanted her.

Well, time to go back to her origins. She headed down the alleyway behind Sugarcube Corner, and scrounged through the trash, looking for anything that might be edible. Which didn't look like much, today. Everything had gotten drenched in something that smelled awful. She reluctantly backed away.

She continued checking trash cans in various alleys with no success. Now her coat had gotten really grungy, and she felt about tired enough to drop right there. She started walking down a street that would eventually get to a stream, so she could at least clean up before finding someplace to sleep when she saw it.

Near the center of the street was an old stump, and sitting on top of it was a single, delicious looking apple. She didn't think it'd been there before, but at this point, she didn't care. She trotted over to it, and gulped it down quickly, looking cautiously in all directions to make sure nopony was going to lay claim to it.

As she finished the apple, somepony cleared their throat behind her. She froze, aware of her condition and how late it was. There was no way to talk her way out of this, and she was too tired to try to speed away on her scooter. She resigned herself to whatever was going to come next.

Chapter 1 (original)

Fluttershy's Project

Chapter 1

Everypony had different things that made them feel fulfilled in life, and for Fluttershy, nothing was more fulfilling than helping out her animal friends. In a way, she could relate closely to Pinkie Pie, as what she did for animals wasn't that far off from what Pinkie did for ponies.

However, the two of them had a different focus. Pinkie focus was on happiness and laughter, using parties and pranks to make people laugh. Fluttershy was more worried that they were safe, healthy, well-fed, and had a good place to sleep. Happiness came as more of a side effect.

Most of the animals around Ponyville knew her, and asked for her help when they needed it. Sometimes one was new to the area, stubborn, or too full of pride to be willing to accept it, though. If they needed help despite this, she'd turn them into one of her special projects. It took a lot of patience, perseverance, and a bit of kindness, but they'd eventually come around.

Today's special project was out of the ordinary, even for her, but she couldn't not help those in need. However, she needed to take care of all the animals that normally depended on her before starting. It wouldn't do to neglect them because of her project.

At the moment, it was feeding time. She had Angel show in the usual collection of hungry bunnies. Fortunately, Angel wasn't in one of his moods, or it could have taken all day. She scattered bunny food in a few bowls from the boxes she had stashed away.

"There you go, friends. Eat to your hearts content." Fluttershy watched as her bunny friends ate happily, rubbing up against and nuzzling one or two that seemed particularly down today.

Then she went to each of the bird feeders she kept in her cottage, checking on their bird seed levels. Once that was done, Fluttershy got her saddlebags ready, making sure she had everything she'd need. Every day she had animals depending on her for food and many other things, and she couldn't let them down.

As the bunnies left, she proceeded out of the cottage herself, after straightening it up a bit. She entered the chicken coops, greeting the chickens, and making sure they were all accounted for. All of them seemed to be in good health. She scattered some fresh hay and bird seed on the ground for them.

Leaving the coops, she flew around from bird feeder to bird feeder outside, refilling them as necessary. Fortunately, there weren't any motherless baby birds at the moment, so she didn't have to dig up worms and feed them. She didn't like the taste they left in her mouth.

Traveling to the nearby trees, she made sure the squirrels were awake. None of them seemed to need any help at the moment, but she dropped off a few acorns, and made sure they were all accounted for. She did the same for the raccoons, badgers, and mice in the area.

Then she continued to the pond. The otter family and beavers were glad to see her, and she socialized with them for a while. She visited with the ducks and their little ducklings, and spent some time with the frogs as well. At that point, it was starting to get dark, which meant it was time for her project.

She had gone on similar projects with creatures that didn't want to be helped several times in that past. This one was a bit out of her experience, though, as this time it was a young pony in trouble.

A few days ago, Fluttershy had noticed the filly wasn't eating much, and had noticed her grazing on grass when she thought no one else was looking, which was never a good sign. A bit of grass was not enough to sustain a growing pegasus, but it was tempting if you couldn't find anything else to eat.

Fluttershy had been observing her since then, and had confirmed that she was half-starved, sleep-deprived, and out at times that no reasonable parent would ever allow. Ultimately, she wanted to get her in a better situation, whether it meant just making sure she had food to eat, finding her somewhere to stay, or simply taking care of her herself.

For the moment, Fluttershy felt getting her fed and somewhere where she could better help her was the top priority. What she really needed to do was coax her into coming home for a nice large meal. If she was as hungry as she seemed, Fluttershy thought she knew how to go about it.

From the previous few nights, she knew the most likely areas to spot her, so she headed to one of them. And sure enough, she was there, walking slowly, and looking bedraggled, hungry, and thoroughly miserable.

Knowing the filly's route, Fluttershy went ahead, out of sight. There was a convenient tree stump in the clearing she was headed to, so Fluttershy placed an apple on top of it. Then she ducked into an area behind and to the side of the stump and waited.

A familiar orange pegasus filly walked slowly into the clearing. Spotting the apple, she hurried towards it, and snatched it up. She looked around furtively, afraid someone might lay claim to the apple, and started hurriedly eating it as if it could disappear at any moment. Fluttershy had to wonder how Scootaloo had come to this, and how long it had been going on.

All right, Fluttershy, you can do this. Just treat her as a particularly skittish animal, and you'll be fine. She took a deep breath, and moved quietly out of her hiding place. Then she approached the filly carefully, keeping behind her and to her side. She kept a good deal of distance between them, so as not to frighten her off. She cleared her throat softly, just enough to attract attention, and the filly froze.

"Er, um … I was about to have a lovely dinner in my cottage, and it's very lonely there." She said, trying not to make any sudden moves to frighten her off. "If anyone were to join me, no questions asked, it would make me very happy. That is, if you don't mind, of course..."

Fluttershy walked slowly past her, turning pathetic, adorable pleading eyes on her while passing that she had perfected through much practice. If what she suspected was true, she was sure the filly knew all about making such eyes, but it should still be effective.

She started heading home slowly, and after a few moments, heard the soft padding of hooves behind her. Glancing back, she could see she was being followed. She smiled. She had a guest for dinner.

Getting home, she left the door open behind her. The orange pegasus entered hesitantly after parking her scooter, acting as if somepony was going to spring out at her. Maybe she has reason to. Fluttershy decided to leave the door open for a while, until she had settled down.

"I'm going over here to, um, make some dinner. You can either stay over by the couch and wait for me, or you could help if you want." Fluttershy called out. "If you help, it'll go so much faster, and it's possible you could get a cutie mark. You never know."

A head poked over by her at the mention of earning a cutie mark. She'd thought that'd get Scootaloo's attention. Fluttershy started getting out everything she needed for making a good vegetable stew. Some carrots, celery, and potatoes, cans of a few type of beans, stewed tomatoes, some garlic, oregano, basil.

She didn't really have a set recipe, actually. She just used whatever was on hand that worked well together, and it usually worked out. If the results were particularly good, that was when she wrote it down.

She set Scootaloo up with an appropriate knife at the cutting board, and went through an impromptu lesson with her on how to slice vegetables without cutting yourself, and how large the pieces should be. After a false start or two, Scootaloo seemed to take to it pretty easily.

While she continued with the vegetables, Fluttershy got some water boiling. She set a tea kettle boiling at the same time. She gradually added in the various ingredients, pretending to ignore Scootaloo's occasional sampling of them along the way. Good cooks always sampled their meals while making them, anyways.

The dinner shaped up fairly quickly with Scootaloo's help. Fluttershy got her to set the table, and she filled a few bowls of stew. She brought them to the table with some bread and cups of chamomile tea. Then she shut the door, as the young filly no longer seemed nearly as nervous.

The two of them ate an enjoyable meal in silence. While eating, she took the opportunity to get a closer look at her young companion. While Scootaloo seemed to like the meal, she still was eyeing it as she ate, as though she was expecting it to vanish at any point. Her mane and coat seemed rather dirty and scruffy, and to Fluttershy's eye, she looked undernourished.

Her condition could really be a result of two things. She could have negligent or abusive parents that weren't properly taking care of her, and making it where she'd rather be out late at night. Or it could simply be that she didn't have a home to go to. In either case, she felt guilty, as she knew Scootaloo, and had even had her over before, but had never suspected anything was wrong.

This might partially be because of the tough front she normally put up. This was one reason she'd tried to be as non-confrontational as possible when dealing with her. Not that she'd ever had problems doing that, of course. She suspected Scootaloo was just too tired and hungry to argue much at this point, though.

Fluttershy suspected she'd have more trouble getting her to stay the night. She doubted Scootaloo was ready to admit that she didn't have anywhere else to go. Tired, with a full stomach, and some soothing tea in her, though, Fluttershy thought she might be able to persuade her to stay.

Seeing that Scootaloo had finished and was getting up, Fluttershy realised she'd been lost in thought. She quickly finished what was in front of her, and got up as well.

"Did you want more? There's enough left over for a few meals, so seconds would be no problem at all." Fluttershy asked the filly.

Scootaloo shook her head. She was fidgeting, and glancing at the door, as if contemplating leaving. Well, she could delay that for a moment, in any case.

"All right, in that case, why don't we clear the table?" Fluttershy grabbed her bowl and cup, and between the two of them, they got all the dishes in the sink and rinsed them off.

Then Scootaloo looked at Fluttershy a bit awkwardly. "Thanks for dinner, Fluttershy. I'd really-" She yawned. "I'd better get going."

Alright, this is it, Fluttershy. You can do it, she lectured herself.

"Scootaloo, you're tired, and it's really too late for you to be out. Why don't you sleep over here tonight?" Fluttershy replied.

"I- I can't. I really should- My parents-" Scootaloo flushed, stammering. Fluttershy wasn't sure if Scootaloo actually had parents to go home to, but went with it.

"Your parents should understand. I'll write you a note to take home with you in the morning explaining where you were, and that I insisted you stay over." Fluttershy said firmly, tone brooking no arguments.

"All right." Hearing the the tone in her voice, and not wanting to be subject to the stare, Scootaloo deflated. "You'll write a note?"

"Yes. I'll write it tonight and leave it on the table, just in case." Fluttershy said, indulging Scootaloo a bit. "If you don't mind, I'll also be asking them when you can come over again. I've enjoyed having you over tonight."

"I- I'd like that." Scootaloo seemed to be lost in thought. Or possibly just half asleep. It could be hard to tell.

"In the meantime, why don't you get a bath, and head on to bed?" Fluttershy said gently, nudging her towards the bathroom. "You remember where my guest room was from the last time you were here, don't you?"

Scootaloo looked like she wanted to argue, but then yawned again, and headed off to the bathroom to get cleaned up. While Scootaloo cleaned up, Fluttershy started the letter. She smiled while writing, wondering if her target audience was Scootaloo's parents, or Scootaloo herself.

To Scootaloo's Parents,

Last night, Scootaloo had dinner over at my cottage, and by the time we were finished, I'm afraid it was too late for a foal to be out. As such, I insisted she stay the night. As you may remember, I have had her over for a sleepover before, so it was no problem at all.

She behaved herself perfectly last night, and even helped me with making dinner. I enjoyed having having her over. I'd like to have her over more frequently, possibly even tomorrow night, if you don't mind, that is.

Please send Scootaloo with your reply.

Fluttershy

She folded up the note, and placed it in a prominent position on the table. Then she placed a banana nut muffin on top of the note. She hoped Scootaloo would still be there in the morning, but if she wasn't, at least she'd have breakfast.

The bathroom had been empty for a while, so Fluttershy crept upstairs to check on Scootaloo. Looking in the guest room, she found her laying sideways on top of the covers on the bed, fast asleep. Fluttershy carefully moved her to the center of the bed, putting her head on a pillow, and then pulled the butterfly covered comforter over her.

On impulse, she gently kissed Scootaloo on the forehead. Then, turning out the lights, she left to find her own bed for the night.

Chapter 2 (original)

Fluttershy's Project

Chapter 2

Starting to wake up, Scootaloo tried to remember where she had gone to sleep last night. She didn't hear anyone or anything moving nearby, so she thought she was alright for the moment. She'd had times before where she'd had to get out of the area quickly, or act like she hadn't been sleeping, depending on where she was.

She felt comfortable, actually, which was rather unusual. She certainly didn't feel the floorboards of the clubhouse on her back, or the bushes she'd slept under a few times.

She also abruptly realised that the hunger pangs she'd been living with for quite a while were gone. She was hungry, yes, but it was more of a "it's time for breakfast" hunger then the "it's time to pass out on the spot" type of hunger she'd been dealing with. She must have gotten something to eat last night.

She opened one eye experimentally, and started panicking when she realised she was in somepony's bedroom. Had someone caught her out alone last night? Was she going to be sent back to the orphanage?

While looking around frantically for exits, she realised that this bedroom looked familiar. Looking at the butterfly decorations on the blanket covering her, she placed where she was. Fluttershy. She was in Fluttershy's cottage.

Now she was starting to remember. She'd been wandering around Ponyville last night, looking for something to eat when suddenly Fluttershy had appeared and offered her dinner. Had she really taken Fluttershy up on her offer? Usually she tried to avoid offers like that because they'd want to know why she was out late and hungry, and that could lead to being sent back to the orphanage.

She had been really hungry, though. She didn't think she could have gone much longer without food without someone discovering her situation. And it was Fluttershy, at least.

And Fluttershy hadn't asked any questions, like why Scootaloo was so hungry, or what she was doing out after dark. She had just taken her home, and had given her dinner and a place to sleep. At that, Scootaloo remembered helping make the dinner last night, which had been enjoyable. It almost made her feel like she belonged somewhere, for once.

Still, she had to remain sensible about this. Fluttershy is an adult. Adults could never be trusted. Any adult she had ever let get too close to her had either betrayed her, or left her, which was in it's own way a form of betrayal. She'd trusted that teacher in Manehattan, and look where that had gotten her. And her parents... well, she'd prefer not to think about that right now.

But this was Fluttershy, though. Kind gentle Fluttershy, who was afraid of her own shadow. She took care of most of the animals in Ponyville with a heart twice as big as any other pony she'd met. And she'd told Scootaloo she was lonely last night.

On top of that, she was trusting. In a panic last night, she'd blurted out something about her parents expecting her home. Given the time, she doubted it would have made a difference if she had had parents, but Fluttershy had simply accepted her at her word.

In fact, Fluttershy had written her parents a note to take home explaining where she had been last night. And she'd said she wanted Scootaloo to come over again. It shouldn't take too much work to fake a reply from her parents. She did it all the time for school.

Then she could come back and stay another night, or maybe even come over every few nights. At least, until she had another regular source of food worked out. She couldn't go on the way she had been. If Fluttershy hadn't come along, she might have ended up passing out from hunger when other ponies there, and then she would have to leave town.

Usually she had errands that she ran for various ponies around town for extra bits. Delivering packages on her scooter, cutting the grass, and such. But lately, no one had needed her help, and that was one of her few sources of money. She'd ended up swiping produce and bits at the market once too often due to lack of funds.

She hadn't quite been caught, but all the vendors knew there was a thief around, and were on high alert. It wouldn't be safe for her to try to steal anything from that area for a while. And she was hardly going to steal from her friends.

Applejack would let her snag an apple or two when she was with Applebloom, but that could only go so far. And Pinkie Pies recent vacation had ruled out just showing up at one of her parties and grabbing something to eat. Pinkie already thought Scootaloo was an avid party goer anyways, given how many times she'd done just that.

She'd found out the hard way that a pony wasn't meant to live on grass alone. Chewing on it a bit help took the edge of her hunger, but it'd take spending the whole day to come close to filling her up, and it still wasn't really a substitute for a proper meal. And that one time I mowed the lawn, and ate all the lawn clippings afterwards. Bleah! I felt green all day.

So coming and visiting Flutterfly every couple nights seemed like a good plan. And she had liked feeling like part of a family last night, though she knew it could never happen. Still, maybe she could just pretend for a while?

So, she needed to invent some parents. Kind, considerate parents. Do those even exist? Parents who would have no problem with her staying over at Fluttershy's place a few times a week, anyways. She supposed she could improvise. She did have names and an address already worked out for school.

School. Right. It's a school day!

Scootaloo got out of bed real quick, thinking about that. Ponyfeathers! I'm late often enough already. Cheerilee will kill me!

With that thought, she ran on downstairs, back in a panic. There, she found Fluttershy calmly setting the table for breakfast.

"Scootaloo!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "I was about to go upstairs and check on you."

"Fluttershy! What time is it? I've got to get going and get to sch-" Scootaloo blurted out, worried. Cheerilee was about ready to try to contact her parents about her tardiness, which could really cause issues.

"Calm down." Fluttershy said, nudging her over to the table. "Sit down and have some breakfast. You should be able to get to school afterwards with plenty of time."

"But I can't be late-" Scootaloo continued.

"I'll come along with you to school, and if you're late, I'll explain what happened to Cheerilee." Fluttershy told her.

Fluttershy would cover for her at school, too? She supposed she wouldn't get in trouble if she had Fluttershy there to explain why she was late. And if she thought they had enough time, Scootaloo supposed she probably did.

"Oh, all right." Scootaloo said, relaxing.

She settled down and started in on breakfast, figuring she'd better get a meal while she could. Pretty soon, she'd gone through a muffin, most of her orange juice, and was working her way through a fruit salad rapidly.

"Thank you Fluttershy," she said, mouth half full of fruit. "This is really good."

"Um... It was nothing." Fluttershy blushed. "The muffin and orange juice are from Sugarcube Corner, and fruit salad is really easy to made."

"Really?" Scootaloo said, interest perking up.

"You already have most of what you'd need for it down from last night." Fluttershy replied. "Maybe I can show you how to make it some time."

"That'd be awe-. I mean, sure, if you want to, Fluttershy." Scootaloo said. She wondered if coming over and learning how to cook things would become a common occurrence. She hoped so. Cooking under Fluttershy's supervision had been fun.

Finishing up breakfast, she started looking around the cottage. She found her saddlebags sitting in a corner where she'd flung them on the way in last night. She slung them over her back, and turned to face Fluttershy.

"Time to head to school?" she asked.

Fluttershy glanced at a clock nearby, and finished up her own breakfast.

"Looks like if we leave now, we should be able to get there in plenty of time." Fluttershy said. "There's a clock upstairs, too, by the way."

"There was?" Scootaloo said, embarrassed. How had she missed that?

"It's right above the fireplace." Fluttershy said, amused.

She ducked in the kitchen area for a moment, and retrieved a brown paper bag. Fluttershy handed it to Scootaloo with a note.

"Here's the note I promised you for your parents. And I packed you some lunch for today." Fluttershy said.

"Lunch?" Scootaloo said, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"Yes. Um... Since we won't have time to stop by your parents home before school, I didn't want you to miss eating your lunch, so I just made something quickly." Fluttershy said.

Scootaloo tucked the note and bag into her saddlebags. The two of them headed outside. Scootaloo went over to the chicken coop, and grabbed her scooter, which she'd parked next to it.

"We've got plenty of time, so let's just walk to the school." Fluttershy said. "I doubt I could keep up with your scooter."

"Really? Rainbow Dash is able to fly way faster than I can go on it." Scootaloo said, starting to walk her scooter along the path.

"And Rainbow Dash is able to fly way faster than me. But then, she's had a lot of practice. You've seen the Cake's foals?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah. Only a couple months old, and Pound Cake can already fly. I still can't manage it." Scootaloo frowned.

"Well, the likelihood is that you were able to fly at their age as well. Most foals can. But your wings are the last part of your body to develop as you grow, so after a while, they stop being able to fly until their wings eventually catch up." Fluttershy explained.

"So the fact I can't fly is normal, then? There are other pegasus's my age that can fly." Scootaloo said, frowning.

"Well, you are a little on the late side, but within the normal age range. I was around your age when I started flying as well. Rainbow Dash was one of the lucky ones, though." Fluttershy replied.

"How so?" Scootaloo asked, curious.

"Her wings started growing early. She's told me she can't even remember a time when she couldn't fly. While it isn't unknown, that's pretty rare." Fluttershy said.

"Awesome!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"At any rate, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I have no doubt you'll learn how to fly soon enough." Fluttershy said.

"If you say so." Scootaloo replied, not really believing it.

At that point, the schoolhouse came into view. Several young fillies seemed to be waiting outside for school to start. Fluttershy recognised Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle talk to each other not too far off.

"And it looks like we are here. I can see both of your friends waiting for you." Fluttershy said, pointing at them. "Why don't you go ahead and join them? Just make sure to get me a reply to that note once your parents have a chance to read it."

"Ok. Thanks Fluttershy!" Scootaloo said, and hurried over to meet them.

Chapter 3 (original)

Fluttershy's Project

Chapter 3

Fluttershy smiled as she saw Scootaloo run over to the other Cutie Mark Crusaders and start talking animatedly. Then she turned and started looking for Cheerilee. School hadn't started yet, and she was protective enough of her students that she'd probably be willing to help Fluttershy.

Spotting her, Fluttershy walked over.

"Cheerilee, could I talk to you for a moment?" Fluttershy asked.

"Of course, Fluttershy. What can I help you with?" Cheerilee replied, turning to face her.

"First of all, can we keep this between the two of us? That is, for now, at least?" Fluttershy asked. She didn't want to risk driving off Scootaloo, after all.

Cheerilee gestured for Fluttershy to follow her into her office, and closed the door.

"I won't say a word. What's wrong, Fluttershy?" Cheerilee said, turning more serious.

"I'm concerned about Scootaloo. Have you noticed anything off about her?" Fluttershy said.

"Well, now that you mention it, I'd noticed her skipping lunch several times. She also tends to forget her homework, but you know how young fillies are." Cheerilee said, smiling faintly. "She has been late quite a number of times, though. I've been thinking about talking to her parents about that."

"That may be part of the problem. Do you have their address on file?" Fluttershy asked Cheerilee. If there was a good address on file, she could talk to them directly and find out what was going on. And if there wasn't...

"Yes, let me get it from the file." Cheerilee went over to a filing cabinet, pulled out a folder with Scootaloo's name on it, and, flipping through it, pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Fluttershy.

The address on the piece of paper seemed familiar to Fluttershy. After a few moments, she placed it and sighed.

"Is there something wrong?" Cheerilee asked.

"I recognise this address." Fluttershy said softly. "Rainbow Dash lived in this apartment complex for a few months after she moved out."

"Then you know where it is, at least?" Cheerilee said.

"Um, in a way, I do." Fluttershy said, even quieter. "It was torn down a few years ago."

"Oh." Cheerilee was silent for a moment. "Maybe they have moved, and didn't update the address?"

"I doubt it." Fluttershy sighed again. "At least I'm pretty sure I'm right. For the moment, you can contact me if a situation comes up where you need to talk to her parents. I'll get to the bottom of this and let you know what I find out."

While she was pretty sure Cheerilee knew where she lived, she wrote out her address on a sheet of paper and gave it to Cheerilee.

Cheerilee put it in the folder without looking at it. "Are you sure we shouldn't bring someone else in on this?" She said, a note of worry in her voice.

"I think at this point, it would make things worse. I should be able to get this sorted out." Fluttershy reassured Cheerilee.

"All right. Given your background, I'll trust you on this one." Cheerilee put Scootaloo's folder away.

"Good. I'll let you know what I find out. In the meantime, you should have your class coming in in a few minutes, so I'd better get going. I've made sure Scootaloo will be on time and have lunch today, at least." Fluttershy headed for the office door.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Fluttershy." Cheerilee called after her.

"No problem. Just let me know if you find out anything on your end." Fluttershy responded. She exited out of the office, and then the classroom, where fillies were starting to wait for Cheerilee.

She waved at them as she left, and a number waved back. She'd helped a lot of them out with their pets, and had also come in as a guest lecturer for Cheerilee several times to talk to them about the local wildlife.

Not to mention that she'd run into a number of them in more informal settings, such as when they were catching frogs in the pond. She smiled, remembering some of the things they'd gotten up to.

Her smile faded as she thought about the situation with Scootaloo, though. Fluttershy was pretty sure at this point that she didn't have anywhere to go home to. She was equally sure that there was a reason the filly didn't want anyone knowing about it.

She felt her best move right now would be to go to Mayor Mare, and get more information on what would happen if Scootaloo was turned in, without naming any names. She had a long history with the mayor, and was sure she would be willing to help her however she could.

As such, Fluttershy proceeded down to the town hall, which was typically where the mayor could be found this time of day. She trotted there at a good clip, breezing past the Carousel Boutique, and was there in no time.

Entering the town hall, a few ponies seemed to be milling around on one task or another. She saw Time Turner walking around inspecting the clocks, and the mayor's assistant seemed to be headed somewhere with some paperwork.

She continued up the stairs to where she knew the mayor's office to be located. It had been a while since she had visited. Fluttershy hesitated for a moment. What if the mayor was busy with something? Or just didn't want to see her?

Oh, stop being a silly filly, Fluttershy. The worst she'll do is tell you she's busy. Overcoming her hesitation, she knocked on the office door.

A voice called out from inside the office. "Come on in, Fluttershy, the door is unlocked."

Feeling a bit embarrassed for her hesitation, she opened the door, went in the office, and pulled it closed behind her. The room had hardly changed since the last time she was here. Filing cabinets to one side, a bunch of nooks with scrolls in them, and the mayor's desk sitting right in the middle. The mayor was behind her desk reviewing paperwork. She looked up as Fluttershy entered and smiled.

"Miss Mayor, I hope I'm not disturbing you..." Fluttershy began.

"Not at all, Fluttershy. And you don't need to be so formal if it's just the two of us." She answered.

Oh, right. Everyone always referred to her as Miss Mayor, or Mayor Mare, and she'd revered to a formal address by habit. In private, the mayor did prefer Fluttershy to call her by her given name, Ivory Scroll, though. It made her feel less like being the mayor was all there was to her.

"If I can ask, um, Ivory, how did you know it was me at the door?" Fluttershy said, genuinely curious.

"Well, with that delicate of a knock it can only mean one of two things. Someone is coming to me with a problem they don't really think I'll be happy with, or you are coming for a visit. I decided to hope for the latter, and here you are. Anything amiss? Is everything going well with the cottage?" Ivory Scroll said.

"Oh, yes! For taking care of the animals, it's in the perfect position. And it's nice and cosy. It's wonderful." Fluttershy said, though she'd said as much many times before. She had lived there nine or ten years, after all.

"Glad to hear it. I recall the previous occupant of that cottage. He was a bit of a loner, and never really socialized with anyone in town.Then he died without any heirs, and no one really wanted to live that close to the Everfree Forest. When you came along, with your talent with the animals, I knew it was a perfect match." The mayor said, remembering.

"It certainly was." Fluttershy said.

"But I'm sure that you didn't come here to reminisce. How can I help you today?" Ivory Scroll said.

"I actually had a few questions about the laws regarding a few things... if you aren't busy, that is." Fluttershy said hesitantly.

"No, just the same stacks of paperwork as always." The mayor remarked. "Here, pull up a chair, and let me get you some tea while we talk."

She poured a cup of Earl Gray tea from a tea kettle on a stand next to her desk, and refilled her own at the same time.

Fluttershy sat down, and took a sip of tea before continuing.

"First off, what would your normal course of action be if a homeless foal was brought to your attention officially?" Fluttershy asked.

"A homeless foal? Is this hypothetical, or..." The mayor asked, concerned.

"Lets just keep this hypothetical for the moment." Fluttershy said, not wanting to get Scootaloo in trouble.

"All right. But keep in mind that I can keep things on an unofficial basis if need be. I've done it on your behalf in the past, after all." She said warmly.

"I appreciate that, and may take you up on that later." Fluttershy said.

The mayor sighed. "The first course of action would be to place them with someone temporarily, until their situation has been sorted out. If they already were staying with someone, often we'd leave them there. Or if the foal and the person who reported them were willing, we might place them together. Failing that, we have a folder with addresses of ponies willing to take in foals temporarily."

"Do you have that folder around?" Fluttershy asked.

"Let me see. It's been years..." She got up, went to a filing cabinet, rifled around in it for a few minutes and pulled out a folder.

"Here we are." The mayor said in triumph, opening it. "Oh dear, didn't he die a while back?"

She started flipping through the addresses listed. "Dead, moved away, moved, in an old age home, in jail... well, these appear to be so out of date as to be useless. After pulling out the out of date forms, all that's left are the blank forms in here for anyone who wants to be added."

"Can I see one of those?" Fluttershy asked. The mayor nodded, and passed her a sheet. She quickly filled it out and passed it back.

"Thank you, my dear. At least we'll have one pony on the list." Ivory Scroll said. "Once we've placed them somewhere safe for the time being, we'll find out if they have living parents and what their home situation is. Then it's a matter of determining if it's safe for them to go back."

"Seems like that could be rather tricky to determine." Fluttershy said, thinking about her own parents.

"It can be. First step, though, is determining if the parents want the foal back. If they abandoned the foal, they can safely be assumed not to. Otherwise, we'll interview the parents and the foal separately, as well as anyone else involved. In a bigger town, there'd be a department that did that. Here, it's pretty much me, and one or two other ponies." Ivory Scroll said.

"Assuming that the parents don't want the foal in question, what happens then?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, first thing would be to see if their temporary guardian is willing and able to to take care of them on a more permanent basis. Next, we'd run through the list again, and see if anyone else could take care of them." The mayor lectured. "Then would come a town meeting, to see if anyone *not* on the list is able to take them in, since I believe in trying as hard as we can not to make the foal in question leave town and their friends. Failing that, though, nearest orphanage is in Trottingham, I believe, so we'd have to send them there."

"Sounds like a long... complex process." Fluttershy commented.

"Well, it's been years since we've had to do it. And as you know, there are alternatives occasionally, like emancipation, if they are self-sufficient and over 14." The mayor replied.

"Yes, I'm... aware of that one." Fluttershy said faintly.

"Sorry, Fluttershy." Ivory Scroll said. "I know it's an uncomfortable subject."

"That's all right." Fluttershy said. "So, what would I need if I was going to adopt someone?"

"Well, first off, you would need to fill out this paperwork." Ivory said, handing Fluttershy some paperwork from her desk. "You would also need a letter of reference about your character. Don't worry about that, though. I'll have one for you next time you come by."

"You'll write a letter of ref- um, you don't really have to-" Fluttershy stammered out.

"I know, but I think you'd make a good mother, and I feel I know you pretty well. Unless there's someone else you'd prefer to give you one." Ivory Scroll said.

"Well- um, that's w-, um, thank you." Fluttershy managed.

"You are quite welcome." She leaned closer. "Now, unofficially, what is this all about? I'm not listening as the mayor right now, and nothing official will come of this. And I don't really need to know specifics at the moment. I'd just like to see what I can do to help."

"Well, to be honest, it's a bit early to know what the exact situation is, but I wanted to be sure of what I could do if my suspicions were correct." Fluttershy said.

"Completely understandable. How much do you know?" Ivory asked Fluttershy.

"Well, I noticed a certain filly seemed not to be eating much, and was out at all hours of the night." Fluttershy said. "I've managed to get her something to eat and a place to sleep for the night, but she seems very defensive at the moment. She claims to have parents and a place to stay, but the evidence is pointing against it so far."

"What are your plans from this point?" Ivory Scroll asked.

"Well, I gave her a note to take to her parents asking for her to come over and stay another night, and hopefully more nights after that. Next, I'm pretty much going to need to try to get her to open up to me while she's over at the cottage." Fluttershy said.

"Hopefully the note works to get her staying over with you. As far as getting her to open up, I would simply try to establish yourself as someone who can be trusted with her." She said, mulling the situation over. "Also, you could do worse than to tell her some of your own history. Knowing about your own family life may encourage her to share hers."

"I really don't like talking about it." Fluttershy said slowly. "But I think you are right. I really appreciate the advice."

Impulsively, she got up, went over to Ivory Scroll, and gave her a quick hug. Ivory returned the hug warmly.

After releasing the hug, Fluttershy finished her cup of tea. "Thanks for the help, Ivory. I'll let you know how things go."

"The pleasure was mine. Just make sure not to take so long 'till the next visit!" She replied.

Fluttershy left the mayor's office, feeling a bit better about things. Remembering a promise she had made, she made a quick detour to Roseluck's house, and made sure all her flowers were watered. After falling off a ladder, Roseluck was in the hospital for a few days for observation, and Fluttershy had offered to take care of her plants while she was gone.

Having finished this, she headed on home. Time to feed her animals, and wait and see. Hopefully, Scootaloo would come back with a response. If not, she'd give it a few days, and then she'd have to go and seek her out.

Loose Scenes

Fluttershy's Parents Conversation:

"Fluttershy, what are your parents like?" Scootaloo said.

Fluttershy's ears went back, and wings snapped to her sides. "I- I don't have any parents."

"They've both passed on?" Scootaloo replied. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy seemed to be gaining a bit of her confidence back. "Oh no, they aren't dead. I don't think so, anyways."

Scootaloo frowned. "Then how do you not have parents? Did they abandon you or something?"

"I- It's not r-really something I like to talk about." Fluttershy said.

Scootaloo stammered out an apology, not wanting to upset Fluttershy.

"I- It's all right. I'll tell you about it. It j-just brings up bad memories." Fluttershy managed. "I was emancipated when I was 14."

"Emanc-a what?" Scootaloo said uncertainly.

"Emancipated. Basically, I signed some paperwork, then we took it to my parents, and with some help, got my parents to begrudgingly sign it, and then sent it to the right ponies to be filed." Fluttershy said. "The paperwork said that I was legally an adult, and could support myself. It also said that my parents no longer had any responsibility for me, and effectively were not my parents anymore. I haven't seen them since."

"You haven't seen your parents since you were 14? Don't you miss them?" Scootaloo said.

Fluttershy thought back to how her parents had treated her. "No, Scootaloo. I don't miss them at all. I- I'm glad they're g-gone."

A single tear came from the corner of one of Fluttershy's eyes as she said this. Scootaloo went next to her and hugged her, not knowing the whole situation, but not wanting to see her unhappy.

The hug made Fluttershy smile involuntarily, and after a few minutes, she was feeling up to continuing. "When I was a little filly, I was extremely shy and reserved."

Scootaloo shot her a questioning look.

"All right, I'm still a bit shy and reserved, but I was way worse at the time. And most of it was due to my parents." Fluttershy continued. "They constantly put me down, intimidated me, and told me I was worthless. A lot of the time I-I believed them."

Scootaloo hugged her a bit harder, unsure of what to say.

"The way they tried to teach me flying was one of the more extreme examples of how they felt about me. They just took me to a cliff and shoved me off. I'd either fly, or no longer be a burden to them. Neither happened. I still have the scars from the crash, though." She moved one of Scootaloo's arms, and Scootaloo could indeed feel a long scar under her coat. "After I recovered, they just decided to send me off to Flight Camp even though I couldn't fly yet."

"Isn't Flight Camp just for students who can already take off and land?" Scootaloo asked, still feeling a bit shocked.

"It's supposed to be, and I got teased really badly because of it. The memories still haunt me to this day." Fluttershy cringed a little, thinking about it.

"But then Rainbow Dash defended you, and you got your cutie mark, right?" Scootaloo said, remembering back.

Fluttershy smiled. "Yes, she did. I suddenly had a best friend, my cutie mark, and knew what I wanted to do in life. Rainbow Dash started teaching me to be more confident in myself, and I started spending a lot of time on the ground taking care of animals. Other ponies started showing their appreciation of what I was doing with them. The mayor came to me one day, and told me that there was an abandoned cottage near the forest, and told me that if I fixed it up, I could use it, which helped a lot."

"So everything started going a lot better for you at that point?" Scootaloo said.

"Not everything. My parents actually got a lot worse. I was standing up for myself more, being more confident, and spending as much of my time as I could away from home. They didn't like that at all." Fluttershy's words turned angry, and Scootaloo involuntarily backed away. "They wanted meek, biddable Fluttershy. Doormat Fluttershy. A Fluttershy they could trample all over!"

About then she noticed Scootaloo had backed out of the hug and was cringing a bit.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" Fluttershy apologised, and brought Scootaloo back into the hug. "I just get so angry thinking about it..."

Scootaloo relaxed marginally.

"Anyways, after a few times of finding me shaking and in tears, Rainbow Dash managed to get the whole story out of me. I've never seen her so furious. She told me that I needed to get out of there, and that that was final. At that point, I was at my wits end anyways, and agreed." Fluttershy said.

"Rainbow Dash must be a very good friend of yours." Scootaloo commented.

"Oh, she was the best. The two of us went home, I told them I was leaving, and gathered my things while Rainbow Dash stood there yelling at them. They were so shocked they didn't put up any resistance. Then I put all my belongings in the cottage. Half of them were there already." Fluttershy continued.

Scootaloo motioned for her to continue.

"At that point, I went to the Mayor to make sure that she was all right with my moving in. She told me she'd already been planning on making it mine when I was old enough." Fluttershy smiled. "She also gave me the emancipation forms, and told me that I needed to sign them and get a signature from my parents, if possible, and she'd take care of the rest."

"Getting the signature from your parents sounds like it would have been difficult." Scootaloo said.

"I would have thought so, so I just filled my part of it out. I was telling Rainbow Dash about it, though, and she just said not to worry about it. She took the forms from me, and came back later with them filled out, and a few new bruises."

"Wow. What did she do to get them filled out?" Scootaloo asked.

"I decided not to ask. I gave the forms to the Mayor, she forwarded them on to various important ponies, and I've lived in the cottage ever since." Fluttershy replied.

"And they never came back and tried to hassle you?" Scootaloo asked.

"No. Though a few weeks later, something else happened." Fluttershy responded.

"What was that?" Scootaloo said.

"Well, Rainbow Dash lived with her mother, and they came to see me." Fluttershy said. "Her mother had gotten a new job that required traveling all over Equestria, and she didn't want to disrupt Rainbow's learning by pulling her out of school every few weeks. So Rainbow Dash lived with me for the next few years, till she was ready to move out on her own."

"So Rainbow Dash lived-" Scootaloo said.

"In the guest bedroom, right where you've been staying." Fluttershy said.

"Awesome!" Scootaloo said.

Sisters?:

As the two of them entered the library, Twilight turned and greeted them.

"Fluttershy! Scootaloo! Good to see both of you. Was there anything I can help you with?" Twilight said.

"Um... Well, if it's no bother... You've heard that I've adopted Scootaloo?" Fluttershy said hesitantly.

"Yes, I had, and I'm happy for both of you. Though I'm rather surprised no one noticed Scootaloo didn't have a place to live before this." Twilight replied.

"I didn't want anyone to know." Scootaloo said, hanging her head down."I was afraid I'd get sent back to the orphanage."

"We were talking, though, and Scootaloo says her parents abandoned her. I was wondering if you had any spells that would identify them, so she at least knew who they were." Fluttershy said.

"Hmm... Let me see what I have." Twilight said, pulling out a bunch of books, and rummaging through them. "Paternity tests. No. A spell to determine the relationship between two ponies. No."

She pulled out another volume. "Ah. This spell might work. It determines the location of the nearest relative to a pony."

"So you cast it, we go to where it says, and they'll be there?" Scootaloo said, interested.

"Sort of. It will actually involve several passes with a pendulum." Twilight said, reading the spell over.

"That would be great. Let's go ahead and try it." Fluttershy said.

Twilight drew a symbol in chalk on her desk, and pulled out a pendant. She went over to Scootaloo,and before she could object, pulled a strand of her mane out. She wrapped that around the pendant, placed it on the symbol she had drawn and concentrated. Her horn and the pendant briefly glowed purple.

"That should do it. Now where is that map?" Twilight said.

Hearing her, Spike pointed Twilight to a shelf with maps. She pulled out a map of Equestria, and laid it out on the desk. A quick burst of magic connected the pendant to the map. Then she levitated one end of the pendant. The other end started moving on it's own, pointing one direction. Twilight moved it until she was able to pinpoint where on the map it was pointing. Looking at the map, she cancelled the spell.

"Ponyville." She said in surprise.

"Hmm... Scootaloo, stand over there for a moment." She said, gesturing at a spot. After Scootaloo moved over there, she drew a circle in chalk around her, and made it glow briefly with her horn. Satisfied, she picked up the location spell again, only to have it pinpoint Ponyville again.

"Well, I suppose that's convenient. Lets see where in Ponyville they are." Twilight said. She pulled out a map of Ponyville, and repeated the process, only to have it center on the library.

"All right, this is ridiculous. According to this, your closest relative is in the library right now, Scootaloo. And that circle makes sure it isn't pointing at you." Twilight said.

"Um... I did adopt her. Could it be because I'm legally her guardian?" Fluttershy said softly.

"No, it wouldn't work that way. It is based on your genetics, and can only pick up on biological relationships." Twilight said. "Well, only one way to tell for sure."

Twilight activated the spell again, this time not bothering to link it to a map. The pendant swung around and pointed straight towards Fluttershy. She walked around Fluttershy in a circle to be sure.

"Um... This doesn't make much sense. She may be my daughter now, but I know I didn't give birth to her." Fluttershy said, puzzled.

"You wouldn't have to be, just closely related. Just a moment." Twilight dived back into the pile of books she'd just been looking through and pulled one out.

"I knew I saw this spell a minute ago." Twilight said, flipping through the book. "All right, this looks simple enough."

She erased the circle around Scootaloo. "All right, I'll need both of you to stand next to each other for a minute."

Once they were in position, she put one hoof on each of them, and sent magic running through both of them. For a moment, a dark blue light glowed over both Scootaloo and Fluttershy.

"Let's see, dark blue. Well, that's surprising. It explains the location spell, though." Twilight said. "Congratulations, Fluttershy, you are Scootaloo's big sister. Same parents, as well."

Fluttershy went pale. "Scootaloo, how old are you?"

"Um... 9 or 10, I think. The orphanage wasn't exactly given my birthday or anything when I was abandoned." Scootaloo said.

"I think I can guess. You were probably born n-nine or ten months after I l-left home." Fluttershy stammered out.

"Oh! Oh." Scootaloo thought for a moment. "But you can still be my mother and my big sister as well, right?"

"Yes. I'm glad to be your big sister. It's j-just-" Fluttershy blinked away tears. "They t-tried to replace me with you, and when they weren't satisfied, threw you out as well! And they knew I would have taken you in and abandoned you instead!"

"I could have been living with you all this time-" An angry glint showed in Scootaloo's eyes. "You're right, Fluttershy. We don't have any parents."

"I'm sure I'm missing something here." Twilight cut in, confused.

"Oh, you never heard about my parents, did you?" Fluttershy blinked away her tears. "It's a long story, and I'm not really in shape to tell it right now, unfortunately."

"I suppose I can see that." Twilight said, looking at Fluttershy.

"Ask R-Rainbow Dash to tell you the history between me and my parents, and she can fill you in." Fluttershy said. "You might also fill her in about what happened tonight, as I'm sure she'll want to know about this."

"All right, I'll ask Rainbow Dash to elaborate on the situation." Twilight replied. "I didn't really expect things to be this dramatic."

"T-That's not your fault, Twilight. Thanks for your help tonight. The two of us should probably head back." Fluttershy said, sniffling.

With that, Scootaloo and Fluttershy left the library, and headed back to the cottage, while Twilight hunted down Rainbow Dash for an explanation.

Deleted conversation I might work back in in a different form later:

"We've got plenty of time, so let's just walk to the school. I'm not the best flier, so I'd prefer not to try and keep up up with your scooter." Fluttershy said.

"Ok, Fluttershy." Scootaloo said. "At least you can fly. I keep asking Rainbow Dash about teaching me, but she's always busy."

"Oh my. Um, that might be for the best." Fluttershy said, as they started walking.

"You think I shouldn't learn how to fly?" Scootaloo said, feeling a bit hurt.

"Oh no! It's just that Rainbow Dash, er, probably wouldn't be the best teacher for you to learn to fly from." Fluttershy shrank a bit as she was talking.

"Rainbow Dash is an awesome flyer!" Scootaloo said, feeling a need to defend her.

"She is, and when you're ready for advanced flying tricks, she can probably teach you some great ones. But, well, she's always been a great flyer. She just took off flying one day like she'd always been flying. She wouldn't have much idea why anyone else was having trouble." Fluttershy explained.

"Oh." Scootaloo was silent for a moment. "So I should learn how to fly before getting lessons from Rainbow Dash?"

"Yes." Fluttershy said. "Preferably from someone to whom flying didn't come as easily."

"Ok." They walked along for a moment. "How did you learn to fly, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy's wings clamped to her side, her pupils dilated, and she seemed to cringe a bit. "I- it's not im-important. Look, we're just about at the school."

"Yeah, and looks like we still have time to spare." Scootaloo said. I wonder what I said wrong?

"And that looks like Apple Boom and Sweetie Belle over there." Fluttershy said. "Why don't you go ahead and join them? And remember to give my note to your parents after school, and come by my cottage with a reply, all right?" She smiled weakly.

"Ok. Thanks, Fluttershy!" Scootaloo said. At least she doesn't appear to be holding it against me. She trotted over to greet her friends.

More early attempts at scenes that I still may want to do in modified form:

Fluttershy watched as Scootaloo went over to her friends. I shouldn't have just shut down the topic like that. Remembering her parents cruel attempts at making her learn to fly still made her shudder, though. She still had a scar or two, though they weren't easily visible.

Switching gears, she went over to talk to Cheerilee before class started. She knew her to be compassionate and concerned about her students. Perhaps should could help a bit.

"Fluttershy!" Cheerilee greeted her with a smile. "How can I help you?'

Then she switched to a more serious look. "Have any of my students been giving you trouble?"

"Oh, no." Fluttershy quickly said. "I am a bit concerned, though. What can you tell me about Scootaloo?"

"Well, she's hardly the most conscientious student, but she does try. She's very good athletically, even if she doesn't turn in her homework half the time." Cheerilee said.

"I was wondering if you'd noticed anything out of the ordinary about her behavior, actually." Fluttershy said.

Cheerilee closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. "She late to school pretty often. I've noticed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tend to share their lunch with her. And not that long ago, I noticed that I seem to be missing records for her parents and home. I was going to ask her about that, actually."

"For the moment, can you hold off on that? I'm going to see what I can do for her, but it's a bit delicate. Just send anything that needs to go to her parents to me for the moment." Fluttershy asked.

Cheerilee stood for a moment in thought. "All right. I'll let you handle it. Just let me know what's going on once you've got things under control, and let me know if you need help."

"Thank you, Cheerilee." Fluttershy said sincerely.

"That's quite all right. I'd want to make sure Scootaloo's problems are taken care of anyways, and it sounds like you already have a handle on it." Cheerilee replied. "Now, I'd better rein in these fillies in and get class started."

Fluttershy left Cheerilee to it, and left the school, deep in thought. She'd need to make sure of the legal situation, assuming Scootaloo was homeless. Usually there'd be several layers of bureaucracy to deal with on that end of things, but in a small town like this, it was mainly a matter dealing with the mayor.

And with the number of animals she had visiting, and her pet adoption service, she had to be on good terms with the mayor. She decided to stop by the town hall.

Taking off at a good trot, she was there in no time. Entering, she saw several ponies wandering about, occupied by various tasks. She saw the Doctor intently examining a nearby clock with an odd metallic device in one hoof. She passed by him, vaguely wondering what exactly Time Turner had a doctorate in, anyways.

Heading down the hall, she saw Madam Mayor. Noticing her, the mayor came over to greet her.

"Fluttershy! Is it already time to renew the paperwork on your pet adoption agency? I'd thought we had a bit more time. We may as well take care of that straight away."

Obviously, this got rewritten later for chapter 3

Scattered Notes (not very organised or readable)

The Fluttershy Project - Plans and Ideas for Reworking

I'm stuck enough on this one that I think perhaps I should take it from the top, and just work in bits from the original.

I could actually have the first chapter be from Scootaloo's perspective, setting the scene for why she is out there, then switch to Fluttershy for the next chapter.

It might be good to work in hints of Fluttershy's semi-parental relationship with the Mayor, her parents abusive relationship with her, and Scootaloo's parentage earlier.

I could have having her have flashbacks more often. Scootaloo as well.

I really need to work on "show, not tell".

1: Scootaloo gets out of school, hungry and broke. Goes looking for any sort of food she can find. She ends up wandering the streets after dark, getting ready to raid trashcans and then find somewhere to curl up for the night. Then Fluttershy approaches her.

2: Skip feeding pets. Fluttershy embarks on her project and gets Scootaloo back to her place, and gives her dinner and some place to sleep.

3: Scootaloo wakes up at Fluttershy's, and the two of them go off to school.

4: Fluttershy runs around town talking to ponies about Scootaloo, then heads home.

5: Scootaloo gets off of school, forges a note, and heads back to Fluttershy's. Sleepover.

6: Fluttershy has a nightmare/flashback. Scootaloo ends up comforting her, with Angel's help.

Original notes for Ch. 4 & 5:

Chapter 4 plotting:

Scootaloo idles through school.

Cheerilee watching her more then usual, furtively.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle confront her in the clubhouse after school. They've noticed how erratic her lunches are and the whole "staying with Fluttershy the night" has their suspicions up.

Scootaloo comes clean with them, but makes them Pinkie Pie promise not to reveal anything. They are more than a little alarmed, and start thinking of ways to help her.

Scootaloo forges a note from her parents and delivers it to Fluttershy. She can stay for the weekend, and they'd like her to stay several days next week while they are out of town.

Scootaloo accompanies Fluttershy, feeding the animals. They play some games, then go to bed.

Chapter 5 notes:

Open with filly!Fluttershy being taken to a cliff and pushed off by her parents in a rather sadistic attempt to teach her to fly. She's falling, than impact- of Scootaloo trying to wake her up.

Fluttershy wakes up from her nightmare to a concerned Scootaloo.

Fluttershy's mental state still in nightmare. Three way cuddling/hug: Fluttershy/Scootaloo/Angel

Fluttershy tells Scootaloo about what happened. Leads into talking about her family, and emancipation.

Things I'm thinking of including in Fluttershy's Project (older):

Scenes: (This starts out in order, but the order will be random towards the end)

Fluttershy feeds her animals. (Done. Could expand with more dialogue, potentially)

Fluttershy stalks the wild Scootaloo. (Done, to some extent)

Scootaloo is asked out to dinner. (Done)

Scootaloo cooks (Done initially. I may want to include more of, though, as it's cute.)

Scootaloo eats dinner and is talked into staying the night. (Done. Reoccurring theme, though.)

Scootaloo wakes up and freaks out. (Done)

Panic over School. (Done)

Breakfast time (Done)

Fluttershy's note: Writing and giving to Scootaloo (Done)

Scootaloo's lunch (Partial. Scootaloo has it but hasn't eaten it yet. May revisit)

Talking about flight: foals and wing development. (Done)

Talking about flight: Why lessons by RD are not a good idea. (Written but discarded. Rewrite in later.)

Fluttershy gives Scootaloo flying lessons. (daawww)

Scootaloo tags along RD. RD is annoyed.Fluttershy's horrible flying lessons with her parents flashback. (Shoved off a cliff. Either she'd fly, or she'd be dead. win/win in parents eyes.)

Fluttershy and Scootaloo get into a fight.

Scootaloo writes forged notes from her parents.

Scootaloo visits every few days, then every day.

The facade wears thin.

The CMC find out Scootaloo's homeless (possible)

Scootaloo slips up and reveals that she's homeless to Fluttershy.

Scootaloo runs away into the Everfree forest.

Fluttershy stalks the wild Scootaloo: part 2

They reconcile.

Fluttershy convinces Scootaloo that she isn't going to return her to the orphanage.

She may reveal her arrangement with Madam Mayor.

Fluttershy adopts Scootaloo.

Fluttershy talks to Cheerilee.

Her address on file for Scootaloo's parents is faked.

Cheerilee convinced to just send anything that needs parents to her and not mention it to anyone for now.(Done)

Fluttershy talks to the mayor. Theoretically, she has people on file that would be willing to become temporary guardians of orphans rather than send them to an out of town orphanage (Ponyville doesn't have one). In actuality, they are all out of date. Fluttershy puts herself on the list as an extension to her adopt-a-pet operation, and gets adoption papers for later.(Done:adopt-a-pet not used)

Fluttershy talks to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, asking them about Scootaloo.

Fluttershy talks to RD, Applejack and Rarity about Scootaloo. (As the three Scootaloo is around most).

Fluttershy talks to Pinkie and Twilight about Scootaloo. (After Pinkie gets back.)

Work in backstory for Scootaloo. (I'll expand on it after the outline)

Work in backstory for Fluttershy/Rainbow Dash. (Expanded after outline)

Scootaloo discovers an old Wonderbolt poster in the guest bedroom left by RD. Cue backstory.Possible plot twist; after Fluttershy left her parents, they tried to replace her. Scootaloo is Fluttershy's sister, who they abandoned when they decided she was going the same way as Fluttershy. I'll have to check ages, and see if it's feasible. (Written, but ages probably won't work. 10 & 24; 9 & 23?; 8&23 I think will work.)

Fluttershy nearly gets mugged by two ponies in the market while getting groceries.

Scootaloo shows up at the last moment, crashes into one with her scooter, and wraps herself around his face. Worried for her, Fluttershy takes out the other one, then gives Scootaloo a lecture and a hug when the situations calmed down.

Fluttershy / Rainbow Dash backstory:

Fluttershy's parents were demanding and abusive. They constantly belittled her, put her down, and made her feel worthless and a waste of space. They left her with no self confidence, making her an easy target for bullies, and even shoved her off a cliff at one point, to "teach her flying".

Then comes flight camp. She's picked on, as usual, but Rainbow Dash sees her being picked on, runs off the bullies, and makes friends with her. The events of the cutie mark chronicles happen. RD and Fluttershy become fast friends, and RD helps her gain a bit of confidence and self esteem.

RD's background:

She was raised by a single working mother. It's a loving relationship, but her mother is gone a lot, and she's had to become self sufficient.

A few years later, RD has found out all about Fluttershy's parents, who are treating her as bad as ever. RD, Fluttershy, and her parents get into a confrontation. Fluttershy leaves her parents, and a bit later files for emancipation, which they don't contest.

She'd already been taking care of the wild animals in Ponyville, and was fairly well known to the residents, and even the mayor. Hearing what had happened, the mayor lets her move into an abandoned cottage close to the Everfree forest. No one else wanted to live there due to the forests proximity. That's perfect for Fluttershy, though.

In the meantime, RD's mother got a new job that requires her to constantly travel. She doesn't want to uproot RD, though, so RD moves in with Fluttershy. They stay living in the cottage together for a few years, till RD moves out on her own.

I'll have to check the timeline...

Scootaloo's backstory:

This is more vague.

Her parents went out of town with her, and told her to wait in a crowded market, and never came back for her. The local authorities were unable to locate her parents, and sent her to an orphanage.She wasn't treated well there, and eventually ends up leaving.

She has lived on the streets in several towns. She's had several ponies who seemed friendly turn her back in to the orphanage and has trust issues with adults to some degree.

She is *not* willing to talk about being on the street.

She does assorted jobs for a bit of money: lawnmowing, delivering things on her scooter, etc. Not enough to get by, really, though.

She's resorted to theft of goods and money when she's had to, but tries not to, and it's usually food.

She has tried eating grass, and other plants for food. Gras doesn't fill her up, and she has difficulty distinguishing between edible and non-edible food.

She does, however pay attention to when Pinkies parties are, and mooches food from there.

The CMC also usually offer her part of their lunch. They suspect something is up, but Scootaloo hasn't told them about her situation.

She'll grab apples from Sweet Apple Acres when with Applebloom.

The market knows someone is stealing food, so has been on high alert recently.

She's slept under trees before, but ponies occasionally notice when she does that. She has also slept in large bushes and trees before. These days, before Fluttershy, she usually sleeps in the CMC Clubhouse. She's been nearly discovered there by the rest of the CMC before. (In fact, she was once, but wrote it off as falling asleep there accidentally.)

Scootaloo runs into the everfree forest scene plotting:

Scootaloo accidentally reveals that she has no parents to Fluttershy.

She runs off into the forest.

Fluttershy takes off after her, enlisting help from the creatures of the forest.

She finds Scootaloo running from a pack of Timberwolves.

She makes them back off with the stare, scoops Scootaloo up, and flies home.

The two of them talk on the way home.

She convinces Scootaloo she won't turn her in.

General Speculative Timeline: (beginning at start of fic)

Fluttershy sees Scootaloo around after dark, starving for a few days.

Fluttershy starts her project, invites Scootaloo over for dinner.

Scootaloo stays the night.

Fluttershy writes a note to "Scootaloo's Parents" trying to get her to come over regularly.

She brings Scootaloo to school.

They discuss flying.

Fluttershy talks with Cheerilee.

Fluttershy makes Cheerilee swear to silence.

Tells Cheerilee she is worried about Scootaloo.

Gets parent's address.

Parents address is a building Fluttershy knows no one lives at. (Old demolished apt complex RD use to live in?)

Convinces Cheerilee that she'll get to the bottom of it, and to send her any parental notices.

Talks to Madam Mayor. Old friends going a long way back.

They talk about adoption and homeless foals. We learn that in ponyville, there is supposed to be a list of families that will take in homeless foals until a proper guardian is found for them, but the list is out of date; no one's left on it.

Fluttershy puts herself on the list. They discuss her "Adopt a pet" agency.

Might talk about their past. The mayor gave her use of her cottage, and eventually outright the deeds, helped her deal with her family and get emancipated.

Talks a bit about the adoption process.

Talks a bit to Rarity and Applejack about Scootaloo.

Goes home. Switch to Scootaloo.

Scootaloo talks with her friends.

Tells them she stayed at Fluttershys last night, but not why.

They are disappointed they didn't get to do a sleepover again.

Scootaloo is preoccupied through school. At lunch, AB & SB are glad to see she has a lunch. They'd been giving bits of theirs to her.

Obligatory Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon appearance.

AB & SB are busy after school. Scootaloo goes to the clubhouse, writes a note from her parents.

Meets RD.

They talk a bit. Partially riffing off of Fluttershys previous conversation with Scootaloo and Fluttershy & RD's history.

Drops off note with Fluttershy to come over in a few days.

Goes back to clubhouse for night.

--Fast forward a few days, probably--