Spellbound Fireflies (16 page)

The mare stared at her blankly, her expression unreadable.

“…I…I’m sorry for what I said earlier.  I didn’t mea—”

Mrs. Taker cut her off, her tone as flat as her features.  “You can finish today’s chores tomorrow.  Dinner at the normal time.”  She shut the door with a click.

Scootaloo sat on her haunches in the hall, staring at the floor for a good, long while.  Eventually, she mustered enough strength to go into her room, perform her nightly stretches, and collapse onto her pillow.  Her face hot and sticky, she fell into a dreamless sleep; her tears for the day had been long since shed.

As the rays of dawn streamed through her window, Scootaloo rolled out of bed and stretched out her back.  She glanced around her bare room and sighed, dreading what might await her downstairs.  She quietly opened the door and skittered down the hall to get ready for the day.  Toothbrush in her mouth, she patted her mane into unruly perfection in the mirror.  Her eyes scanned down and she turned to her side, standing on her hindlegs and extending her wings.

Rough and tumble to begin with, she had never had much extra weight on her frame, but after several solid weeks of intense physical training, she was starting to notice some definite changes to her physique.  Ropy bands of muscle stood out across her back and twisted down her shoulders and hips to her legs.  She smiled around the frothy brush.  She thought she looked pretty damn good.  Spitting into the sink, she checked her reflection one more time and flexed a foreleg.  She smirked at herself and carefully left the bathroom, slinking down the stairs.

Mrs. Taker sat motionless on the couch.  Scootaloo paused halfway down the stairs, watching her foster parent.  After a minute of silence, she tentatively descended into the living room, carefully watching for any sign of movement.  She stopped again, directly behind the couch, eyes trained on the back of Mrs. Taker’s head.

“I’m, uh…I’m goin’ to school now.”

Mrs. Taker didn’t indicate she even heard Scootaloo, staring forward at the wall blankly.  Scootaloo bit her lip and inched her way towards the door.  Once outside, she slowly swung the door shut, still regarding Mrs. Taker through the gradually shrinking crack.  When it latched with a click, the mare still hadn’t moved.  Scootaloo closed her eyes and hung her head, letting her forehead press up against the wood.  After a moment, she resignedly turned and climbed onto her scooter, heading out to the street.

Cruising down the block, she perked up a little straighter on her ride and veered off away from the direct path to the schoolhouse, a small smile growing on her lips.  She skidded to a stop in front of Sweetie Belle’s house just as her friend was closing the front door.

Sweetie Belle beamed brightly, bouncing over to Scootaloo.  “Heya, Scoots!”

“Hey, Sweetie.”  Scootaloo grinned at the unicorn, her painful evening and tense morning evaporating from her mind.  “Want a ride?”

“Sure!”  She climbed up behind Scootaloo, wrapping her forelegs around the filly’s chest.  Scootaloo sucked in a breath sharply, admonishing her racing heart.  She cleared her throat and began to kick off when Sweetie Belle stopped her.  “Oh…Did you ask about magic lessons?”

Scootaloo craned her neck back to flash Sweetie a bright smile.  “Oh, yeah!  Twilight said she’d be happy for you to come!”  Sweetie squeaked with joy, hugging Scootaloo tighter.  Feeling heat rush to her cheeks, Scootaloo looked forward and bit down on her lip.  Clearing her throat, she said, “I got a tutoring lesson after school today.  Can ya come to that?”

Sweetie Belle hopped off the back of the scooter.  “Lemme ask first.  Mom and Dad said Twilight could teach me if she said yes, but I should let ‘em know it’s starting today.”  She hurried inside, leaving Scootaloo to get her blush under control.

“C’mon, Scootaloo,” she muttered to herself, “Play it cool like Rainbow Dash said.  Figure out what’s goin’ on in your head, ‘n then just
ask her.
”  She scowled at herself.  “You’re too cool to be all blushy, got it?”  Unsure if her body was in agreement with her or not, she sighed and watched the door to her friend’s house.

After a few minutes Sweetie bounded back out, nodding happily.  Scootaloo pumped a hoof in victory and stood still as Sweetie Belle climbed back up behind her.  Her face behaved as the filly’s hooves grabbed back around her and she gripped the handles, preparing to kick off.

A distant clatter of hooves on cobblestones grew closer.  “Sweetie Belle!  Scootaloo!”  They turned to see Apple Bloom galloping all out down the road, an ecstatic grin lighting up her face.  She skidded to a stop next to them as they climbed off the scooter, panting heavily.  “I got it!  I finally got it!”

“Got what?” they asked together.

“My cutie mark!”  Apple Bloom spun to the side, revealing her flank.  A red apple, cut into five wedges, was arranged in the shape of a pentagon with the pips facing out.  She bounced in excitement, still heaving in large gulps of air.

“Oh my gosh!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both shouted, tackling their friend to the ground in a crushing hug.  They rolled across Sweetie Belle’s yard in a giggling dogpile, transported mentally back a few years to when they were completely inseparable, the recent barriers of burgeoning romance stripped away.  They roughhoused and cackled, pinning each other and being pinned in a whirling ball of foalhood.

Scootaloo’s intense training paid off when she arrived victorious on top of a heap of squirming hooves and torsos.  “Hah!”

“You ain’t playin’ fair, usin’ your wings like that!” Apple Bloom scoffed through her giggles.  “I’d beat ya blindfolded in a hoof-wrestle.”

“Oh yeah?”  She smirked at the struggling filly, playful teasing lilting her voice.  “Like how your sister beat Rainbow Dash at hoof-wrestling in the Iron Pony competition?”  Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue in response.

“Guys,” Sweetie Belle groaned from underneath the two, “Can’t...
breathe
.”  Chuckling, they climbed off the squashed unicorn and pulled her to her hooves.  She took several deep breaths.  “So what happened, AB?  How’d you find your special talent?”

Her face lighting up again, Apple Bloom began talking a mile a minute.  “It was so cool!  I got home kinda early yesterday an’ AJ was prunin’ trees.  She asked if I could help get rid of the dead branches, but y’all know how heavy Mac’s cart is, right?”

The two nodded, not willing to try and interrupt as Apple Bloom plowed on.

“So I had ta carry all them buckets ah branches myself, one at a time to the kindlin’ pile!  Well, one of the trips, I got this idea!  See, there was this scrap of wall from the ol’ barn that we replaced last reunion that’s just been sittin’ around in the yard.  It was plenty sturdy and pretty square, so nopony wanted to chuck it or break it down for fire wood.  Followin’?”

They nodded mutely.

“It was like I got struck by lightnin’ or somethin’!  I ran as fast as I could back to where we smashed up that rickshaw, remember that?  I grabbed the wheels n’ some other stuff, raced back home, took some tools, and started puttin’ everything together as fast as I could.  When I was done, I’d turned that piece ah barn into a pallet carrier!  Since it’s so wide an’ low to the ground, I could move it like it didn’t weigh a feather!  AJ was mighty cross it took so long for me ta get back from that one trip, but when I loaded up the carrier with all them other buckets an’ hauled ‘em all away, I tell ya I ain’t never seen her look so proud!”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a happy grin, watching their friend’s face practically shine in the reminiscence.

“An’ just like that as I was carryin’ the buckets away, there was a flash on my flanks, an’ this baby was there!”  She showed off her cutie mark again.  “It looks like that ‘cause my special talent is makin’ stuff; takin’ stuff apart and puttin’ it back together into somethin’ new!”

Bouncing on her hooves, Apple Bloom leapt forward and hugged Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle around their necks.  “I’m so excited!”

Sweetie Belle embraced Apple Bloom with one hoof, her other wrapping around Scootaloo’s back to hold them both.  “I’m so happy for you, AB!”

“So’m I!”  Scootaloo hugged both her friends, lifting them both off the ground an inch in her enthusiasm.  She blinked and set them both down, grinning sheepishly.

Apple Bloom grew quiet in their group hug, shifting her gaze to the side.  “…I…I’m sorry I haven’t been spendin’ time with you girls recently.  I ran out last night ta tell ya both when it happened, but I couldn’t find ya.  Got me thinkin’ about how I didn’t really know what y’all were doin’ anymore.  I’m sorry.”

Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo with relief in her eyes.  Scootaloo smirked good naturedly, nodding her head.  The pegasus patted Apple Bloom on the back and assured her, “S’alright, AB.  You started seein’ Rumble, and it was exciting!  I get it.”

Nodding glumly, Apple Bloom squeezed them both.  “Y’all are my best friends an’ I don’t wanna lose either of ya.  Just ‘cause I got my cutie mark don’t mean anything.  We’re crusaders through n’ through, right?”

A wide, pleased grin on her face, Sweetie Belle chimed, “Yep!”

Apple Bloom straightened, her eyes wide and hopeful.  “Why don’t we all go do somethin’ after school today?  Just like old times?”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a glance and sighed.  Shaking her head in disappointment, Scootaloo said, “I’ve got tutoring with Twilight and Sweetie Belle’s starting up magic training with her today, too.”

Apple Bloom pouted.  “What about afterwards?”

“I, uh…I have chores I have to catch up on, ‘cause I didn’t get them done yesterday.”  Scootaloo grimaced, her banished memories resurfacing.  “Sorry, AB.”

“Tomorrow maybe?”

Scootaloo’s grimace turned to a cringe.  “I got another training day with Rainbow Dash.”  Apple Bloom gave her the most pathetic pair of sad eyes she had ever seen.  “Friday?” she quickly offered, looking hopefully to Sweetie Belle.

“Friday works for me.”

“Well, alright then!” Apple Bloom chimed, bouncing up and down in their hug.  None of the three quite wanted to let go, now that their ties, damaged by busy schedules and shifting priorities, had been reknit.  They grinned and held each other, basking in the collective presence.

A distant ringing floated on the wind from the schoolhouse, signaling the start of lessons.  They stared at each other with wide eyes.

“Ponyfeathers!” the three shouted, scrambling apart, clambering onto the scooter, and racing down the street as fast as Scootaloo’s wings could take them.

Twilight glanced up from her desk as the sound of buzzing and giggles grew louder just outside the library.  She struggled to decide between smiling and sighing, wondering if she’d actually get anywhere tutoring both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle at the same time.  She settled on a beleaguered smirk and swung the door open with her magic.

“Hi Twilight!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle chimed, trotting inside the library.

“Hi girls.  Pleasant day at school?”  Twilight shut her book and stood as they nodded.  She headed towards the kitchen.  “Can I get you two anything?  Something to drink?”

Sweetie Belle glanced hesitantly at Scootaloo, who smiled reassuringly at her, asking, “You like pineapple juice, right?”

Sweetie’s hesitation lessened and she grinned.  “Mhmm!”

Twilight headed out of the room, calling over her shoulder, “Two pineapple juices coming up.  Scootaloo, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure.”  She headed into the kitchen, casting a sideways glance at Sweetie Belle.  Her friend’s nervousness had jumped from being left alone and she glanced around the room with a small frown on her lips.  Scootaloo turned back to find Twilight frowning at her with concern.  “What’s up, Twilight?”

Twilight dropped her voice low.  “Rainbow said you got home alright last night, but is everything okay?  Any problems this morning?”

The filly tried to hide her wince and she sighed.  “Yeah, everything’s alright.  Mrs. Taker just...well, she’s letting me come over for tutoring and stuff, and she hasn’t, like, punished me or anything, but she’s been really quiet.”  Twilight’s frown deepened and she put a comforting hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder.  Scootaloo smiled weakly.  “I think...I think I really hurt her feelings and she doesn’t know what to say to me anymore.”

Twilight nodded sadly and ran her hoof across Scootaloo’s mane.  “I’m glad things are at least mostly okay...She’ll probably come around eventually.  Just know we’re here if you need us, okay?  You don’t have to face this alone.”

Biting her lip, Scootaloo hugged Twilight around the neck.  “Th-thanks, Twilight.  I’m still kinda scared, but...”  She shook her head.  “Thank you.”

For once, when Twilight hugged Scootaloo back the unicorn’s usual awkwardness wasn’t present.  The embrace was only comforting.  “Always.”  Scootaloo pulled away and smiled at Twilight.  Twilight smiled back and said, “I’ll get the juice.  Why don’t you girls head upstairs.”

Nodding, Scootaloo left the kitchen and gestured for Sweetie Belle to follow, boldly heading for the stairs with Sweetie Belle close behind.  Nervousness held tight over the little unicorn and she chewed her lip.  She dropped her voice so only Scootaloo could hear her.  “I’ve never been in Twilight’s room.  What’s it like?”

“Like a library.”  Scootaloo smirked.  “’Cept for Rainbow’s stuff; that looks like a poster shop.”  They reached the top of the stairs and headed into the lower loft of Twilight’s room.  Sweetie Belle glanced around, noting the many bookshelves built into the walls, cluttered desk, and reading area in front of the fireplace.  Craning her neck to see the upper level, she noted the Wonderbolts posters plastered all over the walls.  Scootaloo giggled, watching Sweetie’s expression.  “Told ya.”

“So, uh…”  Sweetie Belle pawed apprehensively at the floor.  “What’re these like, Scoots?  I really haven’t done a lot of magic…”

“Hey.”  Scootaloo gently bumped her shoulder into Sweetie Belle’s.  “Twilight’s nice.  Remember that she’s tutoring me ‘cause I have trouble with stuff.  She’s never gotten angry at me for not gettin’ something.  Don’t worry, ‘kay?”