The following day, Octavia rose with the sun, much as she did every morning. The gentle shafts of light streaming through the window next to the bed danced playfully across her face as the sun peeked slowly over the horizon, casting aside the somber blackness of night and welcoming back the day. The earth pony smiled to herself as she lay in bed, keeping her eyes closed as she relished the simple bliss of a peaceful, nearly silent morning, only occasionally punctuated by the tentative singing of the birds who had joined the sun in this early confluence of natural ecstasy and beauty.

SNNRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKK

Octavia's eyes snapped open and then immediately slid closed again in an exasperated grimace as a rasping snore shattered the tenuous majesty of the morning and brought her careening back to real life. The earth pony sighed as she listened to the unicorn beside her breathe, her deep slumber occasionally eliciting another alarmingly loud snore that made any illusions Octavia may have been nursing about attempting to fall back asleep laughably impossible. Instead, the silver mare tossed aside the bedclothes and got up, stretching, yawning, and then slowly stumbling into the bathroom for a shower. A few minutes later, she reappeared, a towel still wrapped around her mane and her spirits considerably buoyed. She even chuckled softly to herself as Vinyl snored again, making little grunting sounds as she exhaled, her legs kicking slightly as she dreamed. The earth pony trotted over to the bed and kissed her lover's cheek, which brought a broad, comical grin to the sleeping unicorn's muzzle.

Octavia giggled. "Vinyl, you are a silly, silly filly. What would my old friends think if they found out who I settled down with?" She shook her head, smiling, and left the ivory mare to sleep, tangled in the bedsheets with her electric blue mane strewn wildly about her head.

Walking out into the kitchen for breakfast, Octavia was shocked to see Scootaloo already sitting in the dining room, her shock of magenta hair spiking out in all directions and her chin resting on the table. Much to her concern, she saw the filly was frowning slightly, worry creasing her brow. As soon as she noticed Octavia's arrival, though, the little pegasus sat up and smiled at her. "Morning."

"Good morning, sweetheart," Octavia said, smiling back. "You're up awfully early."

She shrugged. "I don't really have an alarm clock in the clubhouse. I just go to bed when the sun goes down and wake up when it comes back up."

"That's a good habit to get into," Octavia said, trotting over to the icebox and pulling it open. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes, please," Scootaloo said, her voice strangely tight and polite.

Octavia took note of the change in tone, but didn't mention it. "What are you interested in? Some oatmeal, perhaps? Eggs, toast, fruit?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter to me. I'll eat whatever you want to make."

Octavia sighed lightly, smiling. "Scootaloo, you are a guest in my home. Surely you don't mind if I cater to your wants just a little, do you?"

"I guess not," she said, tapping her hooves together, unsure.

"Good. Now, what are you hungry for this morning?"

"Um...you wouldn't happen to have..." Scootaloo blushed and lowered her voice, "I mean, you couldn't make...waffles, could you?"

Octavia smiled brightly. "Of course I can, sweetie." Suddenly, an idea struck her. "In fact, why don't you help me out? That way you can make sure I'm doing it right."

"Okay," the little pegasus said, grinning and hopping down off of her chair.

"Wonderful. First, I'm going to need you to look down there and grab the waffle iron for me," Octavia said. "Don't worry about the scorch marks; it used to belong to Vinyl before we moved in together."

Scootaloo pulled out the blackened utensil and brought it over to her. "Are you and Vinyl married?" she asked.

Octavia blushed and laughed nervously. "Ahem, ah...no. No, we're not. We're just partners. Marefriends."

"Oh," the filly said. "Are you going to get married?"

The blush deepened. "Well...maybe. I mean...we've talked about it a little, but never very seriously." She plugged in the iron and began to collect the ingredients on the counter, lining them up in front of her while it heated up.

"That's too bad," Scootaloo said matter-of-factly.

"Really," Octavia said, pulling a stool up to the counter and gesturing for the pegasus to climb up on top of it. "Why do you say that?"

"Well," she said, clambering up on top of the stool, "everypony should have someone they love, who loves them back, and they should get married, so they can be together forever."

"I see," the earth pony giggled, filling measuring cups and sliding them over for Scootaloo to pour into a mixing bowl. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much about that. We've been together for a while; I don't think we're going to part ways any time soon."

"That's good," Scootaloo grinned briefly, but the smile quickly faded and her face fell into the same nervous expression she'd had when Octavia had first walked in.

This time, the earth pony decided to say something. "Scootaloo...is something wrong?"

"No," the filly responded too quickly, and she pulled a brave facade back onto her face.

Octavia frowned. "Sweetie, please tell me what's the matter. I promise I just want to help, but I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong." Scootaloo didn't respond. "Please?" Octavia prompted.

Scootaloo glanced up at her. "I...I heard you and Vinyl talking. Last night." Tears suddenly filled her eyes, and she looked away, sniffing and brushing them away with her hooves.

"Oh," Octavia said, her stomach suddenly tightening. "Well..."

"I don't want to go back to the orphanage," Scootaloo said quietly, still not looking at Octavia. "But if you don't want me to stay, I can go back to the clubhouse." She tapped her hooves together, frowning down at the counter. "If you don't mind too much...I'd like to come visit sometimes, but I don't want to--"

Scootaloo was suddenly interrupted as Octavia threw her arms around the filly's shoulders, pulling her into a fierce hug. "Oh, Scootaloo, it's not that! I want you to stay." She held Scootaloo at arm's length and smiled through eyes shimmering with frustrated tears. "I want you to stay very much, it's just...I know this is hard for you to understand, but...well, Vinyl is sweet, but she doesn't always think things all the way through." The explanation sounded feeble even to her, and Octavia struggled to come up with a firmer one.

Scootaloo didn't give her the opportunity. "It's okay. I understand. I mean," the filly sat back on the stool, her shoulders hunching dejectedly, "I didn't really expect to stay more than a night, anyway." She forced a faint smile. "It was nice, though, staying here with you and Vinyl. It really felt..." she blushed as her voice trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Octavia put a hoof under her chin and forced the filly to look at her. "Felt...?" she prompted.

A tear slid down each of Scootaloo's cheeks as she looked into Octavia's eyes. "It felt like having a home."

Octavia sighed, letting tears run down her cheeks as well. "Alright, Scootaloo, alright. You win. You can stay."

Scootaloo's eyes suddenly lit up, and her little wings buzzed furiously with joy. "You mean it?" she shrieked. "You really mean I can stay?" Octavia nodded, smiling weakly. The little pegasus suddenly leaped into her arms, wrapping her hooves around the silver mare's neck and hugging her tightly, her flailing wings making it difficult for Octavia to return the embrace.

The earth pony laughed. "Yeah, I mean it, Scootaloo. You're a sweet filly, and I can't bear the thought of you having to spend another night on the street, and if you really don't want to go back to the orphanage, I'm not going to force you to." She grinned. "Plus, it'll be nice for Vinyl to have someone her own maturity level to play with."

Scootaloo giggled even as Octavia felt tears soaking into the fur of her neck. She smiled to herself and hugged the filly tightly, relishing the warmth and pure unbridled euphoria Scootaloo was emanating. It reminded her of the first time she had agreed to go on a date with Vinyl, some years previous. That same bright-eyed excitement, the unabashed joy...that had worked out pretty well, she remarked to herself. Why couldn't this?

"So, you have your lunch, right?" Octavia asked, glancing up at the bright red schoolhouse just coming into view down the road.

"Yes."

"And you know to wait here for Vinyl this afternoon, right?"

"Yes, Octavia," Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes with her voice. Once again, Octavia recognized the tone; it was one that Vinyl was very fond of.

She chuckled softly to herself, letting it slide. "Alright, then." They paused outside the schoolhouse, and Octavia smiled down at the filly. "Have a good day, Scootaloo. Pay attention, work hard, listen to your teacher."

"I know, I know," Scootaloo said, this time actually rolling her eyes. The gesture lost much of its impact when she grinned up at the Octavia afterwards. "Thanks for walking with me. The clubhouse is a lot closer to school than your house is."

"You're quite welcome, sweetheart."

Scootaloo flinched very lightly at the endearment, glancing around to make sure no other fillies had heard. Once she had determined they were more or less alone in the front yard of the schoolhouse, she suddenly dove forward to give Octavia a quick hug. The silver mare didn't even have a chance to reciprocate before the little pegasus took off into the school, giving her a smile and a wave before she disappeared into the building.

Octavia stood in the yard for a few moments, deliberating over whether she should go through with her original plan or not, but before she could make a decision, it was made for her, as the pink-maned magenta school teacher came out of the schoolhouse and walked over to her, smiling. "Good morning! Can I help you?"

Octavia shook her head. "Oh, no, thank you. I was just dropping Scootaloo off."

"Scootaloo?" the teacher said, her eyes lighting up. "Are you her mother?"

The earth pony laughed nervously. "Ah, no. No, I'm just taking care of her."

"I see." A flash of disappointment crossed the other mare's face, but only momentarily. She quickly recovered her cheerful smile. "Well, thank you for bringing her. I don't believe we've met. My name is Cheerilee." She held out a welcoming hoof.

Octavia shook the proffered hoof warmly. "Good morning, Cheerilee, I'm Octavia. My...partner and I are fairly new in town."

"Oh, I see. Well, welcome to Ponyville!" she said, grinning widely. "How do you like it so far?"

"A lot, actually," Octavia said honestly. "Everypony is exceptionally friendly, and the whole town is beautiful, clean, and just feels very...homey."

Cheerilee nodded. "Mmhm. I've been to a couple other cities in Equestria, but nothing beats coming home to Ponyville."

"I believe it."

A moment of silence passed between the mares before Cheerilee cleared her throat and said, "So...you're Scootaloo's caretaker, are you?"

Octavia nodded. "For the time being, yes."

"How long have you been, ah...'taking care' of her?" Octavia thought she heard a hint of anger riding just underneath the cheery tone of the question, and it took her only a moment to realize why.

"One day," she responded dryly. "I know what you're thinking, but please understand we would never neglect her like that." Cheerilee didn't look particularly convinced, so Octavia pressed further. "She's an orphan, Cheerilee. Vinyl--my partner--found her digging in the trash behind the Black Stable, and brought her home. We fed her, bathed her, gave her a place to spend the night...we're hoping to find a more permanent arrangement, but for right now, she's living with us."

Cheerilee didn't immediately respond, searching Octavia's face for any sign of a bluff. Then she sighed and nodded. "I suppose I believe you. She did seem unusually cheerful this morning." She glanced over her shoulder, frowning at the schoolhouse door. "It's just that, well...like you said, she's a sweet girl. She's very smart, and has tons of potential, but she just..." She sighed, looking at the ground. "I can always tell when she's spent the night with one of her friends, because she comes to school with a completely different attitude. She's cheerful, focused, enthusiastic...but then there are all the other times when she's sluggish, moody, inattentive...she's just not the same. I don't really know where she comes from on those days, but I know she's not being taken care of properly. I kept hoping she would talk to me about it, or that I'd be able to find out for myself, but she's very proud, and I think she knows I've been keeping tabs on her, because I've never been able to follow her all the way home before."

Octavia nodded. "She told us that she's been living in a clubhouse in the Sweet Apple orchard."

"The Crusaders' clubhouse?"

"I...don't know. She didn't say what clubhouse."

"Oh, she hasn't told you about the Cutie Mark Crusaders yet." Cheerilee giggled as Octavia shook her head. "Well, she will. She and her friends are very proud of their little club. They're trying to earn their cutie marks together."

"I was unaware that you could 'try' to earn a cutie mark."

"You can't," Cheerilee smirked. "But that doesn't stop them from trying. And they do seem to have a lot of fun doing it. Anyway, without that little club, and her friends--and their extraordinarily patient sisters--I think Scootaloo would be a lot worse off than she already is."

"So you knew?"

"That she was an orphan? No," Cheerilee shook her head. "I suppose I knew it was a possibility, but she didn't look as ragged or malnourished as I would have expected an orphan to look. I always assumed she just had very inattentive parents. They never come to parent-teacher conferences, and since I didn't know where she lived, I couldn't visit them myself. She's always been evasive about her address, and she wouldn't give me a straight answer, so I just assumed she was ashamed of her family--it's not particularly uncommon."

"No, I would imagine not," Octavia said, thinking back to her own parents. She wasn't exactly ashamed of them, but she certainly never offered to introduce anyone to them if she could help it. "She is very smart," she agreed. "She's been taking relatively good care of herself, getting food from Sugar Cube Corner when she wasn't able to sleep over at one of her friends' houses, and sleeping in the clubhouse for shelter."

"I'm not surprised at all. She's very resourceful, and she has so much potential." She smiled broadly. "I'm glad to hear someone's finally managed to catch her and take her home with them. I wish I could have done it myself, but..." the smile faded slightly, "well, I've already got twenty foals to take care of during the week. I'm not sure I could give one filly the attention she deserves."

"I understand," Octavia said. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure we're quite prepared for the...unique challenge associated, but...well, sometimes you just have to take a chance, when somepony else needs you to."

Cheerilee smiled broadly. "I'm glad you feel that way. Thank you, Octavia."

"For what?"

"For giving Scootaloo a second chance. She deserves it."

Octavia smiled, remembering the previous night, listening to Scootaloo laughing and talking with Vinyl, watching her enjoying what must have been her first truly substantial meal in days, seeing the smile on her face as she helped make waffles that morning. "Believe me, Cheerilee, it is my pleasure."