Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony; Friendship Is Magic

Title: Through The Shadow's Of Boredom The Past Can Emerge

Summary: During their late teens, the Cutie Mark Crusaders fled from Ponyville in the middle of the night to escape their problems. Now adults, the trio rebuilt their lives in a deadbeat town, juggling work, their social lives (or lack thereof) and raising a young filly. The past, however, has a way of creeping back in ways someone least expects it to.

Warnings: Pony cursing?

Chapter Title: Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and Unicorns.

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supersexyghotmew95- Well, here you go! =) Thanks!

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Dawn, despite what her name implied, took after her father in color and sported a midnight black coat. Her mane came from her mothers side of the family, naturally bright and curly, leaving her a strange mishmash of light and dark that drew the odd stare from the candy-colored ponies that resided in Equestria.

Ponies always said that her coat reminded them of black licorice. Dawn hated black licorice.

Even still, her dark fur did have its upsides. She was always toasty in the winter, sunlight drawn to her darker colors and keeping her a few degrees warmer than her more colorful counterparts.

But that also meant that when it was warm, she was toasted.

They'd been on three heavily packed trains with wide-open sunroofs. It was the tail end of summer, when the sun gave its last go at setting ponies on fire before cooling off for the coming snow.

Heat plus packed train plus lot's of fur plus lots of body heat plus black fur equaled hot.

Shade. She needed shade. Now.

Sweetie Belle, catching on to her dilemma by the way she was panting like a dog, nudged Scootaloo. "Hey, let her under your wing for a bit."

Scootaloo's wings were just small enough to provide shade but not big or dark enough to attract a lot of heat. They could also work as lightweight blankets, if need be.

The perfect hiding place.

"Huh? Sure." Scootaloo shrugged and lifted her right wing. Dawn was under it in an instant, curling it around her shoulders like a non-flexible blanket. Scootaloo attempt to flap her other wing backwards to cool her off, but only managed a light breeze.

"Gee, Scoots, yer like an all-natural air conditioner!"

"A what?"

"Dunno." Applebloom shrugged. "It was somethin' Pinkie Pie said once. I thought it fit."

"Oh. Alrighty then." Never one to question the party-makers antics, Scootaloo shrugged in turn. "I guess I am pretty good at keeping fillies cool."

"Aunt's Scoots wings are the best." Dawn grunted, rolling over to curl closer to her side.

"You hear that?"

"Yeah, Ah guess she's gotta point. If you can stand the feathers, chicken wings ain't that bad as blankets."

Scootaloo ignored her and hoof-pumped. "Pegasi really are the best breed of ponies!"

"Yeah, right." Applebloom snorted.

It was dark out when they got off the train to rest for the night. Dawn, too tired to hoof it and just young enough to still hitch rides, climbed onto Applebloom's strong back and nuzzled into her thick fur.

"Well, whattaya know. I guess you could make a good mattress, if you didn't move so much."

"She don't seem to mind none." Applebloom leaned over to talk into her ear, grinning ear to ear. "Earth ponies rule!"

"Yeah, the farm." Scootaloo snorted. "But Pegasi control the skies."

"The one Ah'm lookin' at don't." She nudged her side. "'Sides, lots a' Earth Ponies live in cloud cities and help in the weather factories. Ah'm just not one to tempt fate."

"You wouldn't be tempting fate." Sweetie broke in as they went walked into the lobby. "Not if you have a unicorn with you. Which you do."

"Yeah, a unicorn who has the habit of setting things ablaze."

"Hey, I grew out of that!"

"But the memories still linger." Scootaloo chuckled. "I still get antsy when you're around a stove, even if you are the best cook out of us."

"You burn the kitchen down one time-"

"Five times. Ah counted."

"Mom?" Dawn called from her Aunt's back. "You were a pyro?"

"What!? No! Do you girls see what you're doing; putting bad thoughts into her head!?"

"No we're not, we're just telling her some of your more embarrassing childhood quirks. Like how Scoots used to idolize Rainbow Dash."

Scootaloo blanched. "Bloom! Don't drag me into this!"

Dawn's eyes grew large. "You know Rainbow Dash of the Wonderbolts?"

"Uh, sorta." Applebloom shrugged, scratching the back of her head. "Its been awhile since we've seen 'er, though. But, the sun above, ya'll should've seen Scoots' room when she was a filly, covered in posters and autographs. It was darn near unhealthy."

"Kinda like how you used to be about Apple Family Values?"

Applebloom colored. "Hey now!"

"Girls!"

Both mares deflated immediately. "Sorry, Sweets."

"You should be. Now, let's go get checked in."

They paid for a two-room and climbed the metal stairs and into the door nearest to the landing.

"This'll do, Ah guess." Applebloom grunted, looking over the drab room with a critical eye.

"Oh, hush. You know we've had worse."

Dawn slipped off Applebloom's back and tiredly trotted over to the couch, climbing onto the cushions with a clumsy grip. "Traveling sucks." She grunted.

"She has a point." Scootaloo stretched out on the carpet. "I forgot how bad the train lag could be. And how bumpy they are."

"Says the mare who crafts and rides scooters for a living."

Scootaloo waved a hoof. "I reject your logic and instead substitute my own."

"That's 'reality', Scoots. Come'on, if yer so tired you can help me make coffee."

Scootaloo rolled onto her hooves with a sigh. "If I must."

"Dawn, it's time for you to go to bed."

Dawn groaned. "Can't I just sleep here?"

"Well, I thought you'd prefer the nice, comfy bed over the hard, cold sofa, but-"

Dawn was by her side in an instant. Sweetie chuckled and opened the door with her magic.

"Thanks, mom!"

"No problem. Girls, I'm going to go help Dawn settle in. I'll take a cup of coffee too." Sweetie paused in the doorway and turned around, a hoof cradling the doorknob. "Oh, and girls?"

Scootaloo and Applebloom stopped to look at her. "Yeah?"

Horn still glowing, Sweetie smirked. "Unicorns for the win."

Then she closed the door.

Retrieving their jaws from where they had taken residence on the floor, the two mares stared at the closed door in awe.

"Did she just- She totally just used pulled the mom card to win the game."

Applebloom blew a lock of her mane into the air. "Now why didn't we thinka' that?"

"'Cause it wouldn't've worked. All we've got are stupid ol' Auntie cards."

"Ah. Well, it could be worse. You coulda won."

"Hey!"

Sweetie Belle and Dawn Flyer took the bed as a matter of principle; Dawn still being a young filly and her mother having once been so weak. The other two mares could never make them sleep on the couch, even if they were more than able to sleep just as peacefully on a fold-out.

Well, Applebloom took the fold-out, at least. Scootaloo, unwilling to be knocked to the floor by a restless earth mare, took her place by the door, back pressed firmly against the locked doorway in case someone should try to break in. Not that anyone would, of course. It was a paranoid tick of hers, was all.

She was asleep for maybe an hour when a ruckus startled her awake. Also unwilling to go back to sleep only to find out that the hotel had been robbed overnight or something, Scootaloo blearily got to her hooves.

Applebloom rolled over. "Wha' 's it?"

Scootaloo shrugged, already halfway out the door. "Probably nothing."

Applebloom grunted in reply and rolled onto her back with a snore. Scootaloo wondered if the mare had even woke up, or had merely been talking in her sleep. With Bloom, anything was possible.

Quietly shutting the door behind her, Scootaloo flicked an ear, determined that the noise was coming from downstairs and trotted down the set of metal steps just outside the door.

Scootaloo glanced around. "Hello?" She froze. Bad move.

The flutter of wings was all the warning she had before she was tackled by a rainbow mare.

"Scoots?"

"Ulgh, hi, Rainbow." She groaned.

Rainbow noticed with mild surprise that Scootaloo was half-an-ear taller than her as she helped her to her hooves. Not that much, but enough to make her have to look up to meet her eye, if only just a little. "Wow. Guess I can't call ya 'Squirt' anymore, huh?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess not. I just have more of an earth pony build, is all."

"Ah see you've found 'er." Applejack trotted over and helped them to their hooves, tipping her hat in greeting. "Hiya, Scoots. Glad ta' see ya' again."

"Same here."

"Applejack, why didn't you tell me that the squirt was taller than me?"

"Huh?" Applejack raised a hoof, testing the measurements. "Huh. Didn't notice. Heck, you'd only haveta' tilt yer head and you'd be eye ta' eye with Big Mac."

"Really? Huh." In her minds eye, she pictured the towering red stallion. It was hard- no, impossible- for her imagine being eye-to-eye with him, even if she would have to stand on her tip-hooves and tilt her head a little to do it.

"Whatever are you jabbering on about?" Rarity daintily trotted out of the front lobby, caught sight of Scootaloo, and grinned. She wrapped the mare in a one-hoof hug. "Scootaloo! It has been so long, darling! How are you doing?"

"Uh, fine, thanks. Just a little sleepy."

"Good, good." She let go and looked her over with a critical eye. "You're quite right, Applejack. She is almost on par with your brother."

The hotel door burst open with a bang, a disgruntled earth mare stepping outside to shout. "What the hay is goin' on out here!?"

Scootaloo calmly glanced at her with a smile and said. "I'm having my height critiqued." Then she turned back to the three mares.

"Oh. Alrighty then." A pause. "Wait, what?" Slightly worried, Applebloom jogged down the stairs. "Yer not exactly a pipsqueak, everypony knows that, but ain't it a little late to be gawkin' at long legs?"

She reached the bottom step and had mere seconds to gain her footing before she was tackled by a blur of orange and wrangled into a hug.

"Applebloom!"

"Applejack?" She looked down at the mare giving her a death-grip hug, muzzle buried in her chest. "What're you doin' here?"

"Why, we're here to see you girls, of course." Rarity's interest in Scootaloo's height dwindled as she met the mare at the foot of the stairs. "Uh, would Sweetie Belle happen to be with you?"

"Of course she is. But she's tired; let 'er sleep."

"I understand the effects train lag must be having on all of you, but I must see her immediately, if not sooner."

She headed for the stairs. Applebloom, in all her Earth-Pony-strong glory, blocked her way.

"Let. Me. Though."

"Ah'm afraid Ah can't do that, Rarity. Sweets is really tired, and Ah'd hate for her to be woken up right after finally gettin' to sleep."

"I'm not asking for you to wake her up, Applebloom, I'm merely asking to see her. As her sister, one who hasn't caught sight of her in many years, I do believe I have every right to catch a glimpse of my once-thought-lost little sister, yes?"

"Tomorrow."

Rarity sighed and shook her head. "Fine. I'm going to have to take desperate measures, it seems." Gathering all of her breath into her lungs, she planted herself more firmly to the ground and let out a shrill yell.

"SWEETIE BELLE!"

Sweetie was out the door in an instant with the help of a short-distance teleportation spell, wildly looking around. "What in all of Celelstia's beautiful glory is going on out here!?"

"Sweetie Belle, darling!"

Had it been morning, Sweetie Belle would've perked up at the sound of her sisters voice. But it wasn't morning, and she was tired, and when she was tired she was cranky, so she merely raised an eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Oh, Sweetie Belle, it is so good to see you! Would you mind coming down?"

Sweetie muttered a muffled "Buck me," and trotted down the stairs. "Rarity, would you mind keeping it down? Some ponies are trying to sleep."

"At this point? Highly unlikely." Scootaloo muttered under her breath. Applebloom shot her a dirty look.

"I'm afraid I cannot, Sweetie Belle. Now that we've gotten the greetings out of the way, I think it's about time we moved on to our question and answer session. Sweetie Belle, why did you run away?"

Rarity was steadily backing her into the wall. Sweetie held her gaze but moved back a hoofstep every time Rarity moved a hoofstep forward.

"The way I see it, you had no reason to run. I can understand where Scootaloo and Applebloom were coming from, but I don't have the slightest idea why you went them. I can only come to the conclusion that you were keeping something important from me, and you know how I feel about keeping important secrets from family."

Sweetie winced, not so much because of the heated glaze burning into her eyeballs or the practically nose-to-nose confrontation, but because of Rarity's steadily rising voice. "Rarity, shh!"

"I will not 'shh'! Not until I get some answers."

"Rarity, please be quiet. Ya'll 're gonna wake-"

"I don't care if I wake the Princesses themselves! I-"

"Rarity, shush up!"

"Scootaloo, that is no way to speak to yer elders."

She fixed her a dry look. "Applejack, this is so not the time for an etiquette lesson."

"How dare you just run out in the middle of the night with no explanation whatsoev-"

"Mom?"

The group stopped dead. Scootaloo, Applebloom, and especially Sweetie Belle watched in mild horror as Dawn trotted into the lamplight, her dark coat having camouflaged her. She rubbed her eyes with a hoof, yawned, and fixed her gaze on the trio of mares.

"Mom, why's everypony fighting?"

Author's Note: DUN DUN DUN! =) Dawn Flyer revealed!

And, yes, they were just playing a game with the 'My species is the best!' part. It was their form of a joke. =)

First Rainbow, then Applejack. What is it with these mares and their need to tackle family members?

I personally headcanon that Scootaloo has Earth Pony in her bloodlines, and the Pegasi in her family have naturally small wings, and the the size difference is part of the reason why she can't fly (that and a birth defect or something.) (Now, watch. Sometime this coming season Hasbro'll blow my headcanon out of the water and then I'll sound like a babbling idiot) so it'd make sense that, given the right environmental factors, that she'd grow to be taller than most (Just to be clear, she's not the orange giant or anything. Just pretty tall for a pegsus mare)

No flames! Don't like don't read! Review!