"You're kidding. You were held hostage by a crazy cult?" Scootaloo deadpanned. "Man, why do all the cool things happen when I'm not there?"
"You think being held hostage by some crazy mare in one small room while she droned on about inane things for hours would be cool?" Twilight raised an eyebrow at the filly.
"Isn't that basically what school is?" Scootaloo shot back. "Plus, I wouldn't have to deal with math class. So that makes it an improvement."
Rainbow Dash snorted while Twilight just rolled her eyes and smiled.
"So how have you been, Scootaloo? Learning anything interesting in school?"
Scootaloo groaned. "Exponents. And we're starting to read some of Spear Shaker's works. He talks more gibberish than Princess Luna did when she visited Ponyville, and he was born after she was banished." Scootaloo giggled. "We also found out Peachie Pie has a peanut allergy. Her face swelled up so much she looked like one of Pinkie Pie's balloon animals!"
"Oh no, is she okay?" Twilight questioned as Rainbow Dash fell over in laughter.
"Oh yeah, she was fine. But we're not letting her forget it anytime soon."
"How was staying at Rarity's dad's place?" Rainbow asked. "I know Spike doesn't often come with you guys. Did he cause any problems?"
"Hondo Flanks." Spike interjected.
"What is that, some kind of cereal?" Rainbow asked.
Spike and Scootaloo laughed. "No, Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo gasped in between laughs. "That's the name of Sweetie Belle's dad. And no, nothing bad happened. They did have a bit of a bake off competition."
"Which I won!" Spike boasted.
"Well to be fair," Scootaloo interrupted. "Applebloom was the only judge because every other pony was too familiar with either yours or Hondo's cooking."
Spike shrugged and smiled. "A victory is a victory."
"And there was some disagreement between Sweetie Belle and Spike on why Spike didn't just eat the castle." Scootaloo added.
"There was no disagreement!" Spike coughed. "I admitted that yes, I can eat crystal, but it's basically empty calories! Plus this castle is all dirty and has ponies living in it. Besides, gems have different chemical compositions and mineral bases! Asking me why I don't eat crystal is basically like asking me why I don't go outside and eat rocks off the ground!"
"He got just as heated then too." Scootaloo giggled. "But then Sweetie Belle was all like 'that's not a fair comparison. Stones like granite is just a ton of small crystals stuck together! It's like comparing an ice cube to snow!' and then rest of us just waited for them to stop arguing because the argument was dumb."
"Well technically they're both correct." Twilight observed.
"Oh Twilight, I nearly forgot!" Spike pulled out two scrolls. "Your parents sent a scroll back and Rainbow Dash's parents had one dropped off here while you were gone. They both said they're basically free for the next few months and to come by whenever." One scroll unfurled and hit the floor, rolling for another ten feet before stopping and portraying the large signatures of Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles. "One in a few more words than the others..."
Twilight let out a low whistle as Rainbow Dash performed the illusive double facehoof.
"They mention wanting to meet Scootaloo fourty-three times, wanting to meet Twilight thirty-one times, and wanting to see their 'little Dashie' again seventy two times." Spike recited.
"Nice to know they went light in this letter at least." Rainbow sighed.
Twilight hummed softy. "Let's at least agree to wait until after the Running of the Leaves and the start of winter first. I don't want to miss that this year. Besides, I might beat Rainbow again this year." Twilight gently flicked her tail so it hit Rainbow in the nose and smiled at her.
"Hey yeah!" Rainbow shouted exuberantly, ignoring Twilight digging at her. "Winter is my favorite time of the year! Us four and Tank are gonna have so much fun! We're gonna do so many primo things! Scoot, you ever gone cloud skating?"
Scootaloo shook her head. "I've never even heard of that. What is it?"
Rainbow grinned from ear to ear. "A pegasus super condenses a cloud, then you fly super hard at a frozen lake, and fly to the side super hard. You land on the cloud and start spinning when it hits the ice. Then when it hits snow you have to try and fly a obstacle course while dizzy! It's super fun!"
Scootaloo grinned back. "Sounds great!"
"And Twilight!" Rainbow gasped. "If we can get another critter to play, we can make a junior circuit of Horse Hockey with Spike, Scootaloo and Tank!"
"I can invite the Crusaders as well!" Added Scootaloo. "I mean, assuming the critters are gonna be goalies. I don't think Tank is quite quick enough to be on offense."
Rainbow tapped her hoof against her chin. "Yeah, you're probably right. You think Fluttershy has any more turtles?"
"Tortoises." Twilight corrected.
"Whatever."
"Good afternoon sir. Since Blueheart retired I will be your physical therapist now." Spoke a blue unicorn. She had two toned hair consisting of white and light blue tied up into a bun. Her cutie mark was a heart next to a cartoonishly broken bone. "My name is Ice Pack. Now how are you feeling today?"
Another pony blinked at the newcomer and stretched their forelegs and back out. "Thanks to this magical treatment, much better. Pleasure to meet you, ma'am." the pony spoke in a low, gravely voice.
"Pleasure is all mine." Ice Pack smiled. "Now I have your notes, and I'm afraid Nurse Blueheart was using a rather aged treatment. There are some studies on a new method of magical treatment that might you get you up and moving around like a school-aged foal again in no time. Provided you're interested, I look forward to testing this new physical therapy method and seeing improvement in your current condition. What do you say?"
The other pony let out a dark chuckle. "I can't wait..."
This was a great chapter. I like the slight implication that The Cutie Map already happened-though I'm a little sympathetic already for Rainbow in Tanks for the Memories. Can't wait to see how meeting the parents works.
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Oh Tanks for the Memories (prob next chapter) is gonna suck for Rainbow. But this time she has a not-wife and Scootaloo to help her deal with her shit.
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True enough. I like the new cover art, by the way.
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Thanks! A buddy of mine from the FimFic Discord commissioned it for me. I thought it was super cute too.
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Cool.
This story will never fail to amaze me! The dialogue is well written and not robot-like.
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That's always my biggest concern considering how much of my stories are dialogue. Glad to hear you like it though!
You have a real talent for warm and fluffy.. Enjoying thus greatly... As for recovering pony toward the end... -staring intently- if Thunder tries again for Scoot... -growls menacingly-
Meeting the Parents. The thing all fictional ponies fear. And all readers LOVE.
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Well thank you! And that mysterious voice may or may not be him. Lets just say I have plans...
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I'm gonna make the meeting with Dash's parents excruciating for her. Everyone else will love it.
* do
Great chapter by the way. Can't wait to see more.
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Oh shoot, how did I miss that?
Thanks! Working on the next chapter right now!
Okay, I'm not saying prisoners shouldn't get medical care. But advanced regenerative therapies to repair spinal injuries for known violent, would-be murderers? Leaving aside the ethics of experimenting on prisoners, you're just putting guards' lives at risk and giving him an opportunity to escape. Especially considering that as a nearly completely paralyzed would-be murderer, he's probably in a bare-minimum security medical prison.
The difference between that and a regular old hospital?
The nurses are nicer.