The weather in the sleepy town of Ponyville had been rather restless as of late; howling winds, off-and-on bouts of heavy rain, mixed with indecisive hail. Needless to say, curses and lament towards the pegasi of Cloudsdale became a daily occurrence. It was justified as the transition from Autumn to Winter, something about a cycle of climate change that occurs in different regions of Equestria over a centennial.
Sweetie Belle couldn't care less. It was dark, the wind a ruckus, with sideways rain relentlessly pelting her face as she marched from Carousel Boutique, to a familiar destination. The trip in itself wasn't new; she had been doing this for nearly a month now. What was unusual, was the pesky weather that made an already stressful, unsanctioned journey even more of a burden. To compound her stress, Rarity had become suspicious of her when the elder sister discovered a cache of food, juice boxes, and blankets stashed in the guest room which Sweetie called her own when staying there.
Regardless, she made a promise that she would do this; she wasn't about to break that promise over aroused suspicion and inconvenient weather. Driven by this, and the fact she was over half way to her destination, she trudged on, her horn illuminated with its minty shade of green helping her make sense of her surroundings amidst the chaos from the sky. Finally, she arrived.
It had occurred to her along with the issue of sneaking out late at night, that she was indeed trespassing as well. The Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse wasn't exactly on sovereign ground; it was an enclave of the Apple family farm, and thus, by coming here without invitation or permission, she technically, was risking even more trouble than this should be worth. This thought was startled out of her as she creaking of the ramp broke the odd calm of the weathers' commotion. Finally, pushing the door to the treehouse open, and shutting it behind her.
"Alright Scoots," she breathed, "I'm here."
The unicorn filly watched as a mound of tattered blankets and assorted litter shifted scattered, and shook as an orange-feathered, magenta-maned pegasus filly emerged from her slumber. With a commanding yawn and a outstretch of her forehooves, she had a look that stated she had been asleep for some time.
"Awesome. Thanks, Belle." Scootaloo mumbled as a small smile crept about her face. She appreciated her friend doing this; keeping all of this a secret as well. So far as anypony else knew, Scootaloo's home life was as ambiguous as the will of the Everfree Forest. Nopony but them knew that she in fact, was homeless. She had lived in many places prior to the clubhouse, which has been her de jure home since she first laid eyes on it; yet it seemed that this one was the best. It was private, relatively secluded, and, she had a friend who removed the burden of having to proxy food and other needs her way.
"It's no problem Scootaloo." Sweetie Belle smiled, "It's what friends do after all."
The two sat in pseudo-silence as Scootaloo began to consume some of the food Sweetie had brought, an apple and a sandwich in this case. The ambiance of a strong gust of wind seemed to prompt the unicorn to speak.
"Though, I've been thinking about this Scoots…" Sweetie Belle was unsure how to present this, she knew how volatile Scootaloo could be about this subject. "You see, my sister has a guest room in the boutique-i stay there when our parents go out of town; and, I think you would like it-I mean, you could finally have a place you could call 'home'."
With the last syllable, she shrunk back some, expecting a fierce retort, which was par for the course when she broached the idea of being adopted by anyone other than Scootaloo's idol; life-long admiration, Rainbow Dash. Nopony else was suited for her in her mind; nopony else 'got' her. Any other option most certainly would result in the decimation of her ego, personality, and passion; and Sweetie knew her friends' aversion towards her older sister-she was a melodramatic, materialistic bother who was the very antithesis of who Scootaloo was and wanted to be.
Fortunate for her, Scootaloo seemed a little too tired for any kind of physical indication of her displeasure with the idea, instead, she was greeted with a monotone response.
"No."
"But Scootaloo-"
"Not happening Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo growled.
"Do you seriously enjoy doing this? Sneaking into the clubhouse and living like this? Why won't you let me help you?" For whatever reason, Sweetie Belle was compelled beyond the usual to get this resolved. Normally, her friends' rejection was followed with acknowledgment and her departure. Not this time. Be it the encumbrance of tonight's storm, the general dismay of seeing her closest friend impoverished and needlessly nomadic; she wasn't letting down this time.
"Because, Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo sighed, "Your sister and I are nothing alike; same goes for Twilight, and every other name you've suggested: They don't 'get' me."
"Oh, and Rainbow Dash has offered to take you under her wing? How long are you going to wait for her to never adopt you?" Sweetie Belle retorted, growing slightly annoyed.
Scootaloo, while internally offended and put off, was much too tired to express it. "Look, we've been over this how many times? I'm fine with this, I don't need anypony's sympathy; I already have to deal with being a cripple, and all the sad, sappy 'poor Scootaloo can't fly' cra-"
"I'm not." Sweetie Belle barked, her voice carrying an unusual tone of intent. She was becoming unnerved.
"Too bad." Sctooaloo said with a dismissive hoof, "You don't tell me what I can and can't do; you're job as a friend is to help me out, and you do. Nothing more."
"No, the job of a true friend is to make sure their friends are happy and healthy; to lo have their back no matter what; You're not happy Scootaloo. Admit it!"
It seemed finally that Scootaloo could muster a stamp of her hoof and a slight growl under he words, pronouncing the rough nature of her voice.
"I said no! Just drop this already, okay?"
"Scootaloo, pleas-"
"You can go now."
"No until you come with me." Scootaloo sat on her haunches, determined to see this through.
"Well, better get comfortable." Scootaloo snorted as a blanket was tossed to Sweetie Belle's hooves; making clear the pegasus had no intention of making a move.
The unicorn filly thought about what could possibly be done. On one hand, she had promised to keep this a secret from everypony, Scootaloo's trust was very important to her, she was her dearest friend, long before the filly sleeping soundly a short walk away entered their lives. It had been three weeks of this back and forth errand; innumerable attempts to bring Scootaloo to reason-to take advantage of those who would drop everything to help her. In her mind, Scootaloo wasn't just being defiant and stupid; she was being rude and inconsiderate.
"I'm not taking no for an answer!" Sweetie Belle barked, "I hate having to do this every weekend, I hate having to lie to everyone for you, I hate it!"
"Well, you could just not do this anymore." Scootaloo sneered, "You choose to come out here, don't you?"
Sweetie Belle had had enough, she was taking Scootaloo back to the boutique, through hell or high water, she wasn't going back alone. She approached Scootaloo and extended a hoof with one last appeal.
"Just one night, Scootaloo. Please...I'm only want what's best for you. You know that."
Her extended hoof was smacked down with no response.
Scootaloo stared at the wall before her, turned away from her stubborn friend, determined to hold her ground. Her thoughts of lament towards her friend however, were brought to a halt by a sound she could not mistake: Sweetie Belle was audibly crying.
"Fine." Sweetie Belle said with tremor, "You win. I give up. I-I'll leave you alone...sorry for bringing it up." The unicorn filly then turned around and sulked out of the clubhouse, the sound of her hooves on the ramp fading until they were nothing. The howl of the wind, the pattering of the rain on the roof and walls of the treehouse brought an uneasy ambiance.
Scootaloo felt a pang of guilt, she was never one to make Sweetie cry-not that she could ever remember doing so before, but the very fact that she did made her feel nothing short of terrible. As insistent and annoying the unicorn was, Scootaloo couldn't help but think in the back of her mind, that what she was saying was a something to consider.
"Just one night" she said to herself, restating the plea of her friend. She rose from her slump and looked at the shut door, and bags that sat nearby, full of food and juice, brought to her by a selfless friend who had always been there for her. She got a tear in her eye, not so much from sadness, more from realizing how cruel she had been to Sweetie Belle-she could've said it another way-she could have been nice.
The other thing that now paraded about her conscience was the very real fact that Sweetie had mentioned: Rainbow Dash was the only mare who had never bothered to give Scootaloo anything beyond shallow acknowledgement, if only for the purpose of instilling the filly's admiration of her. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity all showed the young filly the same compassion and care that they showed to the other crusaders; she had, in effect, been adopted into one big family by way of the kindness and generosity of the elements of harmony...or at least, four of them. Waiting for the self-centered, immature ego tripper wasn't doing her any favors. It wasn't resentment or hatred towards Rainbow, it was simply a realization…
...that she had to follow Sweetie home.
