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When Scootaloo showed up at the skatepark, scooter in hand, it was already late in the afternoon. She sighed, dropping her backpack by the bench and digging around for her helmet and knee pads.
“Hey, Scoot!”
Scootaloo looked up, her face lighting up when she saw Rainbow Dash walking towards her. Her brightly colored hair was tied up in a ponytail, shorter pieces falling out from the elastic near her face, and she was dressed simply in jeans and T-shirt. Her skateboard was tucked under her arm, and Scootaloo noticed it was sporting new art spray-painted on the bottom.
“Hey, Dash!” Scootaloo called back, waving excitedly. “Love the new paint job!”
Rainbow sat down next to her on the bench, flipping the board over so she could see better. “Thanks, Sunset did it for me! She was doing Pinkie’s drums, and I asked if she would do my board too,” she explained. “So, how was school, kid? You’re later than usual today.”
Scootaloo shrugged, strapping on her knee pads and bending her leg experimentally. “It was fine. Some chick was picking on Sweetie Belle again though.”
“What’d you do?” Rainbow asked, smiling like she already knew the answer.
Scootaloo squared her shoulders proudly. “Kicked her ass.”
Rainbow laughed, mussing up her hair. “That’s my girl.”
“That’s also why I was late though,” Scootaloo continued. “Apparently I needed a ‘ good firm talking to’ from the principal. I don’t know why it had to be after school. I had a whole study hall of doing nothing!”
Rainbow nodded in sympathy, standing up off the bench. Scootaloo got up too, clipping her helmet on and walking towards the obstacles. The park was mostly empty except for a few skaters, most having already gone home. A girl on rollerskates was tearing up and down the half-pipe, so fast Scootaloo couldn’t even recognize her face. A group of teenage boys were sitting on a railing, comparing the brands of their sneakers and dangling vape sticks from their lips.
Scootaloo headed for the center railings, electing to stay out of the way of the other parties as much as possible. She didn’t want to get run over. Or creepily asked on a date. Not that Rainbow would let either of those things happen, but better safe than sorry.
“You know, I was just like you when I was your age,” Rainbow commented. “I was always getting sent to the office for stuff. It was always ‘Ms. Dash, you need to sit still’ or ‘Ms. Dash, shut your trap’ or ‘Ms. Dash, just because that young man called you a name doesn’t mean you can knock him on his ass.’ Really you should have seen that kid though, he deserved what he got.”
Scootaloo giggled. “You’re still like that now.”
Rainbow shrugged. She couldn’t argue with that. “Well, yeah, but I think teachers just gave up after I got to high school. And they couldn’t complain about my grades any more, after I picked them up for sports anyway.” She set her board on the concrete, rolling it back and forth experimentally. “Ready to hit the track?”
“Always,” Scootaloo replied, hopping on her scooter and zooming forward into the park. This was by far Scootaloo’s favorite part of the day. As much as she loved hanging out with her friends, she was not a fan of school. Especially eighth grade. She heard that was the worst year of middle school, and that certainly was turning out to be the case. Between strict teachers, Diamond Tiara ruling the school, and the soccer team having an awful season, Scootaloo was not having a good time.
Once that bell rang though, she could finally come down to the concrete walls of the skatepark and feel the wind in her hair. It was the best feeling in the world. And even better, Rainbow Dash was here every day after school too, and always happy to chat. At first when Rainbow had come up to her and complimented her scooter moves, Scootaloo had been shocked. Why would a super cool high-schooler want to talk to her? Not only that, but the kid with a scooter at a skatepark? Usually that would mean being at least looked at judgmentally, if not straight up kicked out. But from what Scootaloo could tell, Rainbow practically ran this place, and after that day everyone kept their passive-aggressive scooter comments to themselves.
It had become sort of a routine for them. Rainbow was always there first, because her school let out twenty minutes earlier, and then Scootaloo would show up. They would chat some, but mostly just try out new tricks. They always left covered in bruises and scrapes from fall after fall, or at least Scootaloo did, but she loved every second of it.
After what must have been at least an hour, Scootaloo jogged back over to her backpack, pulling out her phone. As the lock screen flickered on, she let out a groan. “What’s up?” Rainbow asked, pulling up next to her and practically shot-gunning half her water bottle.
“I have to go home,” Scootaloo explained, sitting down to take off her knee pads again. “I need to leave by five so I can get home before dark. Walking along the main road doesn’t go very well when the cars can’t see me.”
Rainbow put the water bottle down, eyebrows going up in alarm. “You walk home? I thought your parents come and get you.”
Scootaloo shook her head. Of course Rainbow wouldn’t know because she would usually be gone by this time, off to soccer practice. Or maybe it was cross-country? Whatever sport was on Tuesdays. “No,” she replied. “My parents are traveling again. They won’t be back for a while, and obviously I can’t drive so… yeah. It’s really not a big deal though, they’re gone most of the time. They left for France back in August I think.”
When Scootaloo looked back at Rainbow, she was surprised to see that she had an uncharacteristically worried look on her face. “Scoot, you are not walking all the way home by yourself at sunset,” she said firmly.
“Dash, I said it’s fine,” Scootaloo repeated, squinting in confusion. “I only live like an hour’s walk from here.”
“Yeah, down the highway ,” Rainbow pointed out, still with that same look on her face. It was starting to freak Scootaloo out a bit. She sighed, throwing her own bag over her shoulder. “Look, kid, AJ’s picking me up to drive me home in a few minutes, we can drop you on the way. Sound good?”
“Uh, sure, I guess,” Scootaloo agreed, shoving her helmet into her already full backpack and pulling it on. They walked out to the curb, standing by the edge of the main road. The rush hour traffic was mostly over, now just a few cars passing every so often. They sat in silence, Scootaloo’s mind still stuck on Rainbow’s reaction earlier. Lots of kids stayed home alone, especially at Scootaloo’s age. She was thirteen, not three! But something was still itching at her. Applebloom had made a similar face when she’d requested that the group stop at the grocery store so she could pick up food for dinner during one of their hangouts. Was there something she was missing?
Scootaloo turned to Rainbow Dash to ask, but she had her phone up to her ear, plugging the other one to drown out the sound of the cars speeding by. It sounded like she was talking to Applejack, probably letting her know that they’d be dropping off Scootaloo too. She did feel a little bad about tagging along, especially if it meant intruding on the little time the girls had together amongst all Rainbow’s other activities that Scootaloo knew sucked up her time like a vacuum. But she did appreciate the ride home, especially with the weather starting to cool off in the evenings. It was still September, but as Scootaloo sat on the curb, she could feel the goosebumps on her skin as the breeze kicked up.
Eventually, Rainbow hung up the phone, walking back over to Scootaloo and plopping down next to her. “AJ’s on her way, she’s just running a little late. Flat tire, I guess,” she explained, laying out the update.
“Oh, that’s fine,” Scootaloo answered. “I’ll still be getting home way earlier than usual!”
Rainbow pulled her hair down from its ponytail, shaking out the choppy layers as they fell over her shoulders. “Yeah, about that, Scoot—” Before she could say anything though, a blue pick-up truck pulled up in front of them, and the passenger side window rolled down. Applejack waved, gesturing for them to get in. Rainbow hopped up, helping Scootaloo lift her scooter into the truck bed before sliding into the front seat. Scootaloo got in the back, buckling her seat belt as Applejack put the truck in drive.
“Howdy, Scootaloo,” Applejack greeted. “Heard we got one extra stop tonight, huh?”
“Yeah, thanks a lot for doing this, Applejack,” Scootaloo said, rubbing the back of her neck. “It’s nice to get home a little faster.”
“Don’t I get a hello?” Rainbow joked, winking at Scootaloo in the rearview mirror. “No special treatment for the super awesome girlfriend you love very much?”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Your ‘special girlfriend treatment’ is that I drive you around, your royal highness. ”
Rainbow snickered, at Scootaloo looked between them. “Wait, why don’t you drive, Dash? I know you have a license.”
Rainbow opened her mouth, but Applejack beat her to it. “She does have a license, but she’s plum crazy behind the wheel. I don’t know how she even passed to be honest, sugarcube. I drive so she don’t end up in a ditch. Or putting someone else in one, for that matter.”
“I’m an awesome driver,” Rainbow protested. “You just don’t like my speed.”
“Neither do them police officers, hon,” Applejack said flatly, but Scootaloo could see the fond smile tugging at her lips. Scootaloo kind of wanted to make a show of gagging, but she figured that would be kind of rude when she was being very kindly given a ride. Besides, even she had to admit they were kind of sweet. It was funny seeing The Rainbow Dash actually blush, like, for anyone.
For most of the ride, Scootaloo just stared out at the window. She vaguely listened to the radio, which was playing country music she didn’t know, and listening to the girls in the front bicker about said music. Rainbow really wanted that alternative rock station. Applejack refused to put ‘that stuff’ through her speakers, apparently. It sounded like quite the debate. It wasn’t until they were most of the way there that Scootaloo remembered something.
“Hey, Applejack,” she hedged, tentatively butting into the continued debate over the radio. “Would you mind maybe stopping at a McDonald’s? Or like a gas station or something? I just realized I totally forgot to find dinner.”
“You don’t have food at home, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. Scootaloo winced, but then realized it seemed more like a concerned question than a reprimanding question.
She shook her head. “Nah, I finished all the leftovers last night. I’ll go to the grocery store later, but for tonight I’ll just do something quick.”
Applejack and Rainbow exchanged a look Scootaloo couldn’t read. Then Rainbow asked, “Leftovers your parents left you?”
“No,” she said slowly, “leftovers from when I cooked last week. I told you, my parents left a month ago. Don’t worry, they gave me their credit card, I didn’t steal it.”
Another look. This was getting old. “Actually, I have some Pizza in the back,” Applejack said. “If you wouldn’t mind us coming in for a bit, we can all share.”
Scootaloo blinked in surprise, then nodded. “Thanks, that’d be great, if you’re sure.”
“We’re sure,” Rainbow promised. The truck fell silent for a few minutes, the only sound a man talking at the speed of light on the radio, listing out a million side effects of some new weight loss medicine. Scootaloo thought it sounded kind of miserable, but apparently it worked according to Jane from the bank. Then Rainbow turned around, resting her elbows on the back of her seat to look at Scootaloo.
Whatever she was about to say, Scootaloo had a feeling she wasn’t going to like it. Honestly, Rainbow looked like she wasn’t going to like it either, judging from the way she was nervously picking at her cuticles. “So, Scootaloo,” she started. Uh oh. Full name already. “Do your parents leave you alone a lot?”
“I mean, I guess so,” Scootaloo answered. “Like I said, they travel a lot.”
“How come you don’t go with them?”
Scootaloo looked down, playing with the strings of her hoodie. “Cause education is important and all that. They don’t want me to miss school, I think. But usually they tell me when they’re going somewhere, and around when they’ll be back. I can always call them if I really need something, but I do fine on my own.”
Rainbow tilted her head. “Do they ever not tell you when they’re leaving?”
“Sometimes,” Scootaloo said. “It’s pretty obvious when they’ve gone somewhere though. I usually just get a call from them later letting me know where they are. They just get excited sometimes and forget.”
“Right.” Rainbow turned back around for a second, and Scootaloo saw Applejack’s eyes flick towards her girlfriend in the mirror. The truck didn’t feel like it had enough air in it. The ‘why do you ask?’ was stuck in Scootaloo’s throat, but something was stopping her from asking it. She was a little afraid of the answer, even though she thought maybe she knew it already. Had known it for a while even. This isn’t normal.
When Rainbow turned back around, she was smiling again, but it looked a little forced. Scootaloo didn’t comment on it. “Well, if you ever want to hang out at my place while they're away, my parents would be more than happy to have another kid around to dote on.”
“Same goes for Sweet Apple Acres,” Applejack cut in. “Applebloom loves having you and Sweetie Belle over for sleepovers, and you’re welcome on the farm anytime.”
Scootaloo could only nod. Her throat still feels tight. “Thanks, guys. I might take you up on that sometime.”
The conversation finally returned to normal after that, the strain seeming to have let up again. Scootaloo was thankful, slipping back into watching trees and buildings speed by outside the window. Before she knew it, Applejack was pulling into her driveway, and everyone was getting out of the car. Scootaloo did the same, pulling her scooter out of the truck and leaning it against the garage door. She dug around in her backpack for a second, pulling out the house keys and opening the door.
She flipped on the lights, walking in all the way to let Applejack and Rainbow Dash follow after her and close the door. Applejack set the Pizza on the counter, requesting permission to pull out plates and utensils before diving into the cabinets. Rainbow looked around the house with her hands in her pockets, eyes tracing over the many shelves of souvenirs and mementos from all over the world, lined up carefully in their places. There was something in her eyes. It looked like frustration, maybe? No, more like anger, Scootaloo thought. Although directed at what, she wasn’t sure.
Then Applejack came out of the kitchen, holding a stack of plates and the pizza box. Scootaloo grinned, gesturing for her to set it on the coffee table by the couch. Hot food never tasted so good. After two weeks of eating frozens and tin-foil wrapped leftovers, Scootaloo was thrilled to have still hot pizza settling in her stomach. After the food was eaten, Rainbow leaned back on the couch, kicking up her legs.
“Scoot, how do you feel about watching a movie?” she suggested, setting her cleaned plate back on the table.
“Sure!” She looked at the clock. “Although it is kinda late, you two sure you don’t need to get home? And you know, do something other than hang out with a middle schooler.”
Rainbow waved her off. “Oh, c’mon, eighth grade is basically high school anyway.”
“I thought you said ‘freshmen are basically still middle schoolers’?”
“Did I?” Rainbow paused, then shook her head dismissively. “Well I say a lot of things. So movie, then! You know the most recent Daring Do movie is finally on streaming and we should totally watch–! Ow!” She was cut off by an elbow to the ribs from Applejack, followed by a significant look. “I mean, if you want of course,” Rainbow amended. “You are the host.”
Scootaloo laughed, stacking her own plate. “Actually, yeah, that sounds great! I’ve been meaning to watch that one.”
Rainbow sat up at the speed of lightning, practically vibrating. “You have ?”
Applejack sighed. “Well now you gone and done it.”
Following a very long and very passionate rant about the similarities and differences between the Daring Do books and movies from — guess who — the screen was cued up to go. Applejack disappeared into the kitchen as the opening credits rolled, returning with a bowl of warm popcorn. Somehow in no more than an hour, the girl had figured out how to navigate every inch of Scootaloo’s kitchen. Scootaloo couldn’t even navigate every inch of Scootaloo’s kitchen!
The movie was full of action, as expected, and after it was over Applejack suggested watching another to mellow everyone out before bed. The others agreed of course, and then something much slower paced was on the screen, although even Scootaloo had to admit it was kind of relaxing. The camera work made the scenery look magic, a perfect backdrop from some small-town coming of age movie Applejack said she watched as a kid.
It didn’t take long into the second movie for Rainbow to end up with her head on Applejack’s shoulder, relaxed into her side. Scootaloo glanced over at them, and Rainbow must have noticed because she smiled, offering an arm to Scootaloo to draw her closer too. Scootaloo obliged happily, cuddling in under their blanket, leaving her own on the other side of the couch. Between the warmth around her and the softly playing movie, Scootaloo’s eyes started to feel heavy. At some point Rainbow had started rubbing her back slowly, and then it was really all over. When sleep took her, it was the safest she’d felt… well, maybe ever.
As the end credits rolled, Rainbow looked down at the kid asleep on her shoulder. She shifted carefully, sitting up just enough to look at Applejack, but not enough to jostle Scootaloo. Applejack clicked the TV off, leaving them in the dim light still coming from the kitchen. “Can’t we do something?” Rainbow whispered. “To help her?”
“We are doing something,” Applejack replied, “by being here.” Rainbow opened her mouth to cut in, but Applejack seemed to read her mind. “I know you want to do more, Rainbow. But I don’t think there’s much else we can do besides things like this.”
“I’m going to keep checking on her,” Rainbow swore. “And I’ll drag her to my house sometimes. Even if it’s just for dinner or something.” She leaned her head back against the wall, clenching her fist against the fabric of the couch. “I’m just so– God, how could they just leave her here by herself? How could they not care?”
Applejack reached down, putting her warm palm over Rainbow’s fist, making her release her grip. “I know, hon. Hell, I’m angry too. Some parents just really don’t deserve their kids.”
“I just wish she was actually my sister,” Rainbow said quietly. “Then I could just… I dunno.”
Applejack smiled softly. “She sure seems to see you like a big sister. And I’d say you see her as a little one, too. That’s pretty good, ain’t it?”
Rainbow sighed, looking back at Scootaloo’s sleeping form. She pulled the blanket up so it covered her shoulders more fully. “Yeah, it is.”