If it had been up to Rarity, she would have simply told Scootaloo of her wishes, Scootaloo would of course be elated, and the two could begin the difficult but rewarding adjustment process of becoming a family. But, like so many other things involved with Scootaloo’s living situation, Rarity found herself at the mercy of bureaucracy and protocol.

And in this case, protocol was that Autumn would talk with Lilly and Treble after their second visit with Scootaloo, scheduled for later that afternoon. If they still wanted to move forward after that, then Autumn would tell Scootaloo and ask for her input. The insistence that Autumn talk to Scootaloo without Rarity or Lilly present was done to ensure Scootaloo could make a decision without added pressure, as well as encourage her to be open and honest about her feelings.

So Rarity was sent home with explicit instructions not to talk to Scootaloo until she heard from Autumn. On the one hoof, she was sure that if she did inform Scootaloo of her intentions, Foal Services wouldn’t do something so rash as deny her application. But on the other hoof, breaking the rules for something so important felt wrong; so Scootaloo came and went from school and over during their conversations they talked about Sweetie Belle and dancing and poker and not one word about adoption was uttered.

There was one moment when Rarity was tucking Scootaloo in, and she looked at the orange filly snuggled under the covers and for a brief moment everything felt...perfect. And in that moment, not telling Scootaloo that she could stop searching for a home was one of the hardest things she ever had to do. But since she couldn’t, she settled for a “Goodnight, dear,” as she performed one last check to make sure that Scootaloo’s blanket was indeed secure.

The next day, Scootaloo was off at school, and Rarity was trying to focus on her upcoming winter line, albeit without much success. She was in the middle of trying to determine whether the raspberry ribbon would provide more contrast than the periwinkle ribbon in her left hoof when she heard a rapping sound from the other room.

That there was a knock on the door was the first sign that this wasn’t a standard customer visit. Customers just walked right in, invited by the “open” sign Rarity hung on her door. Curious as to who would bother knocking, Rarity trotted past her mannequins and opened the door only to be bewildered by the pair of ponies she saw standing there. It took her a few moments to place them as the ponies she watched Scootaloo play chutes and ladders with a few weeks ago.

“Can we talk?” Lilly asked from the doorway, her husband standing silently off to her right.

“Of course. Would you like some tea?” was the only response Rarity could think of.

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as Rarity focused intently on getting cups and saucers out of her cabinet and rifling through her pantry for some appropriate brunch tea. Eventually the water boiled, the tea had steeped and everypony had run out of excuses to avoid talking.

“So, what can I do for you? Can I assume you don’t wish to buy a dress?” Rarity asked sliding two cups of freshly brewed tea over to her “guests”.

“Yes, it’s well...it’s about Scootaloo,” Lilly said cautiously.

“I assumed as much. I must say I am surprised to see you here. Autumn led me to believe that we wouldn’t be having any contact.”

“Yes, but we thought that maybe we could save each other a lot of time and headaches if we just talked pony to pony.”

“After all, we all just want what’s best for Scootaloo,” Treble added.

Rarity found herself bristling at Treble’s addendum and she wasn’t sure why. She didn’t know much about them, but they had to be decent enough ponies to have made it this far past Autumn’s screening process. So the idea that they also cared about Scootaloo shouldn’t bother her, but it did. Not because of anything involving their intentions, but rather because it suggested that they shared the same level of concern for a filly they just met as she did for that same filly who had been living with her for the better part of a month.

“We were told that you were her temporary foster mother and that you were taking care of her until a permanent home could be found,” Lilly said, continuing to let her tea cool.

“Yes, well strictly speaking that is still true; I just think her permanent home should be here,” Rarity said taking a sip of her own tea, perhaps as a small rebuke.

“I see. We’d like you to reconsider.”

Rarity almost spit out her drink, instead forcing it down with a large swallow. “Excuse me? You came here to ask me not to adopt Scootaloo? Just who do you think you are?” she exclaimed, her anger growing like a red hot ember inside her. The reaction was fueled more by the idea that two ponies whom she had never actually met had the gall to tell her what to do than it was at the idea that she shouldn’t be the one to adopt Scootaloo, but both aspects fueled her rage.

“We’re not saying you’ve done a bad job, but she seems very unhappy,” Treble offered cautiously.

“Of course she’s unhappy! She’s been in five different homes in eight years! You really think that her mood is somehow my fault?”

“Not at all, but we just feel that she might be happier in a, well a more complete home.”

Rarity’s eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth. “You actually mean to judge me because I’m not married.”

Lilly shook her head. “No, how you choose to live your life is your own business. But this isn’t just about you. Children grow up better adjusted in houses with both a mother and a father, and we can give her that whereas you can’t.”

“Children grow up better in houses where their parents understand them!” Rarity fired back. “In any case I think Scootaloo should be allowed a say in where she lives.”

“And we feel that it would be best if she didn’t have to make that choice. Children are ill equipped to handle this type of decision,” Lilly said, obviously fighting to keep her voice level.

“So you expect me to just sit here quietly while you decide what’s best for her,” Rarity said, being sure to place a particular emphasis on the word “you”.

“Quite frankly yes.”

“I see. Well, since I won’t be doing that is there anything else I can help you with?”

“I guess not,” Lilly said, standing up to leave, Treble silently following her. Her and her husband promptly left the boutique, leaving Rarity with a fresh set of doubts.

While Rarity was busy defending her choice to adopt, Scootaloo was sitting through another day at school. Scootaloo always had an uneasy relationship with school. She didn’t particularly enjoy it, but it was a refuge from her home life and it was an easy way to spend time with her friends.

“Hey, Scootaloo, isn’t that your friend?” Apple Bloom called out, pointing toward the crowd of parents waiting for their children.

Scootaloo noticed Autumn standing outside the school gates with some of the parents, and her heart leapt in her throat. Autumn never showed up at school unless he wanted to talk to her without any adults around. And he only did that when he was delivering bad news, not that he ever really had good news to deliver.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo mumbled. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle knew that Autumn wasn’t really Scootaloo’s friend per se, but out of respect for their fellow crusader they made sure to never breath a word of Scootaloo’s living situation within earshot of any pony who might possibly tell Diamond Tiara. “I’ll see you girls later,” Scootaloo called over her shoulder as she quickly trotted over to Autumn.

Autumn knew enough not to say anything until they were out of earshot of Scootaloo’s classmates, so the two trotted wordlessly until they reached his office in the Foal Services building. Autumn always made it a point not to sit behind his desk when he spoke to Scootaloo, making sure to always sit next to her on the small couch in his office. He wasn’t sure if Scootaloo noticed or cared, but he did it anyway.

“How are you doing, Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Fine,” she said, and she meant it. Up until she had been summoned she was as happy as she could really remember being, which was to say that she wasn’t actively unhappy.

Over their years together Autumn had liked to think he had developed something of a rapport with Scootaloo. She wasn’t one for small talk and meandering conversation, she preferred her news delivered short and to the point, so Autumn did his best to oblige. “Lilly and Treble have expressed an interest in adopting you.”

“Okay?” Scootaloo asked with a tilt of her head. It was a sad fact that for many ponies what was a once in a lifetime moment, was something of a routine for Scootaloo. Scootaloo had been through this particular dance several times, and this wasn’t how these things were supposed to go. For starters, the new parents always broke the news themselves. Sometimes they’d give her an envelope with the freshly signed adoption papers, other times they’d simply ask if she was “ready to join the family” or some other euphemistically phrased question. But it was always her “new parents” that told her, so she couldn’t figure out why was Autumn breaking the news.

Autumn continued his thought before Scootaloo could ask her question. “But, Rarity wants to adopt you too.”

If Scootaloo was mildly confused before, now she was genuinely shocked. Rarity had been very upfront about the fact that her stay at the boutique was going to be temporary. In Scootaloo’s opinion, that’s what made her stay work because it meant she didn’t have to worry about trying to make Rarity like her. Rarity wants to… Scootaloo mouthed silently.

“They can’t both adopt you and I have to choose, I’d like your input. This affects you more than it affects me.”

Scootaloo sat frozen on the couch, her mind rapidly trying to reconcile what was happening with her preconceived notions. “Choose what?”

“Who you want to live with.”

“Choose? I - I can't... I don’t know,” Scootaloo stammered.

“If you’d like I can choose for you. They’d never have to know you were given a choice,” Autumn offered, his own way of trying to help.

Scootaloo couldn’t deny that there was something very appealing about that offer. That way when she had to move again, Scootaloo could tell herself it would have worked out differently if only Autumn had chosen better. Despite recent events, Scootaloo couldn’t help but think “what would Rainbow Dash do,” and the answer to that was easy. Rainbow Dash didn’t let other ponies choose her destiny, she controlled her own fate. “No. I mean, I guess I should decide.” There was another pause as Autumn patiently waited for an answer.

“When do I need to decide?”

“You can take as much time as you need. And if you need a place to stay while you think we can get you a room at the hospital.”

“The hospital! But I’m not sick? Am I?” Scootaloo asked, suddenly looking very nervous.

“No, but Ponyville is a small town, there isn’t a whole lot of emergency housing available. I can understand if you might not want to stay with Rarity while you think about this, but you still need a safe place to stay and a hospital room is the best I can do.”

Scootaloo shuddered. The last time she stayed at the hospital was when her second set of parents abandoned her. Her memories of the details of her stay were hazy, but her memories of her emotions at the time were not. To this day, she still took the long way around Ponyville General unless she had a really good reason not to.

“No, that’s okay. I can still stay with Rarity,” Scootaloo said reflecting on all the times Rarity had given her space during the last few weeks. It felt foreign to have extended a significant measure of trust to anypony, but the alternative was a staying inside a hospital and that was even more unpalatable.

Scootaloo could never remember having a place she rightfully considered home, but there was one place in Equestria that came close. The Crusaders Clubhouse was a haven from the outside world. Any turmoil that may have been going on outside didn’t matter within the simple wooden walls, because once a crusader was inside the clubhouse, they could always count on their fellow crusaders to help them.

This time however, Scootaloo was thankful she was the only one here. She didn’t call for an official crusaders meeting, she just wanted a place she could be alone, and the clubhouse was a better alternative than the cave she had picked last time. Alone, and curled up in the corner she reflected on the choice she had to make. The fact that she even had a choice being in and of itself confusing to her.

She had never been given a choice before. Sometime one of her parents would ask her if she thought she might be happier somewhere else, but that was always code for “I’d be happier if you lived anywhere but here.” A small part of her rebelled inwardly. It wasn’t fair that she should have to choose who she lived with. Other ponies didn’t have to make this choice, they got families automatically. She was busy alternating between trying to make a decision and being angry that she even had to,when she spotted Sweetie Belle in the doorway.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. The question wasn’t really accusatory, as a crusader, Sweetie had the same all access pass to the clubhouse as she did.

“Rarity said you hadn’t come home yet and so I thought you might be here,” Sweetie replied stepping into the room proper, taking care to close the door behind her.

There probably wasn’t any sense in lying to Sweetie Belle, and crusaders always told each other the truth anyway. “Rarity wants to adopt me,” Scootaloo said looking up from the corner.

But whereas Scootaloo was scared, Sweetie was ecstatic. “That’s great! We’d be sisters!” she exclaimed happily. Sweetie paused and looked toward the sometimes leaky roof of the clubhouse. After a second her face lit up again, “Well actually I guess Rarity would be kinda like your mom, and I’m her sister so that would make me your aunt! You could call me auntie Sweetie Belle!”

“I am not calling you auntie Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo snapped with a very honest glare.

Sweetie forced her smile down from its 1000 watt level of excitement to something more comforting. “You don’t have to call me auntie Sweetie if you don’t want to,” she said softly. “You don’t even need to think of me as your aunt, we could be sisters, or cousins. We wouldn’t have to be anything really, we’d just be family.” There was another long pause and Sweetie rushed to fill the silence before it became oppressive. “Umm, I know we’re not like the Apples or anything, but please give us a chance Scoots, it’d mean a lot to me.”

Scootaloo just sat there, rapidly blinking as she listened. There was something strangely familiar about Sweetie’s words. After a few moments of staring with wide eyes it hit her, Sweetie’s pleas sounded just like her pleas to Rainbow Dash, full of fear that she was somehow intrinsically flawed. “Wait, you’re worried that I might not want you?” she squeaked.

Sweetie tilted her head, genuinely surprised that her worry would be confusing, because well what else could be the problem. “Well sure,” she said with a shrug. “I mean we already know you’re great and I know that we’re not perfect, but if you let us I promise we’ll all try really hard to be a good family.”

Scootaloo was both touched and humbled by Sweetie’s promise until she remembered that there was no way Sweetie could possibly realize what she was saying. Scootaloo had long ago resigned herself to her unhappy fate, and she wasn’t about to foster it on her best friend. “But they’re your family, Sweetie. I know what it’s like not to have a family, I don’t want to take yours away from you.” she said shaking her head.

Sweetie took another step toward her friend, this time getting close enough to gently touch her shoulder. “A family isn’t like a basket of hay fries Scoots. If I give you some of my family, it’s not like there’s less of them for me. It’s like I give you some hay fires and you give me some hay fries and now everypony has more hay fries.”

“Wait, are we the hay fries? Or is Rarity? And is there any ketchup?”

“Rarity’s the hay fries, but so are we?” Sweetie asked with a scrunched face as she tried to work through the mechanics of her clumsy food metaphor, eventually giving up. “I’m not sure. The point is, you wouldn’t be taking any of my family away, you’d be adding to it.”

Scootaloo flashed back to a day about five years ago on a kindergarten playground. She had been sitting all alone, just playing in the sand when a little white unicorn walked up to her.

“Would you like to use my shovel?” the unicorn asked.

Scootaloo hadn’t said anything. It seemed weird that this total stranger was offering her the use of a shovel. She didn’t need one; her hole in the ground was coming along just fine. Maybe this new pony was there to mock her. I have a shovel and you don’t. She was about to tell white unicorn exactly what she could do with her stupid shovel but before she could the unicorn sat down next to her and started to dig in her carefully constructed hole.

“Hey! What are you doing?” she had yelled at the time.

“I’m sorry,” the white unicorn squeaked. “I’m not very good at digging holes and yours seems really nice and I just thought maybe I could help you and I’ll leave you alone now,” The white unicorn stuttered before quickly getting up to scurry away. But in her haste to leave she had left the little blue shovel that started this mess behind. Scootaloo didn’t really care where her new acquaintance went, but she did know that it was wrong to keep things that weren’t yours. “Wait,” she called out. “You forgot your shovel.” The stranger turned around and slowly walked back over. Scootaloo stared at the ground, and the hole she had been digging. The shovel did seem to be a better tool than just her hooves. “You can stay if you want to.” The unicorn smiled the biggest smile Scootaloo could remember and sat down; resuming her digging in what was now their hole in the ground. “Thanks, my name is Sweetie Belle.”

And the rest, as they say, was history.

Scootaloo snapped out of her daze to see that same white unicorn sitting in front of her, again offering her something that she didn’t think she needed with the same hopeful expression on her face.

Scootaloo looked down and sighed. Sweetie did care about her, she doubted a lot of things but never that, but there was still no way her friend realized what she was signing up for.

“Scoots?” Sweetie said, poking Scootaloo gently with her muzzle.

“I just... I don't want to come between you two. I couldn’t do that to you.”

“Why in Equestria do you think that you’d come between us?” Sweetie asked, settling in next to her orange friend.

“I take up so much of Rarity's time already, and that’s just as a house guest! How can you think she'll have enough time for you if she's stuck taking care of me?”

“She's not stuck with you - she wants to take care you. She cares so much about you, we both do! We're practically family already!”

“Yeah, but what about you? Are you gonna be okay if Rarity can’t play with you cause she has to take dumb ol’ Scoots to a dance recital.”

“If Rarity is taking you to a dance recital, I’m probably going too. Rarity always has stuff to do and she still makes time for me. Why would that change? Just because she loves you doesn't mean she'd love me any less.”

“How do you know?” Scootaloo challenged. In her experience, actual genuine love was far too rare a commodity to be doled out so freely.

Sweetie’s next three words were devoid of any uncertainty. “Because we're family,” she said simply. “My parents didn't abandon Rarity when I was born, and Apple Bloom doesn’t love Applejack more than she does Big Mac or Granny Smith. That's part of what being a family means.”

“But you’re always complaining about her,” Scootaloo pointed out.

“I don’t always complain about her. Besides, that’s the other thing about family, even when you’re mad at each other you still love them.”

Scootaloo found herself at a loss for words. “I... uhh... but…”

“But what?”

Scootaloo couldn’t think of any more objections for Sweetie, but that didn’t mean that she was entirely convinced that she finally found a place where she was wanted. “I think maybe I need to talk to Rarity.”

Author's Notes:

If you've been a follower of mine you'll note that I often thank HMXTaylor Lee for his assistance, well he's back for at least the time being and he helped with this chapter.

It's been a pretty eventfully two weeks for the show, I won't spoil anything but I do offer a reminder to anyone wondering why *spoiler or *other spoiler, that all this takes place between seasons four and five.