The remainder of the day was, outside of the Apple Compound, uneventful and rather predictable, Rarity got her work done in time and of course,  “pushed herself to excellence”, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were unable to get their directing cutie marks, but they did managed to rack up an IOU with a camera vendor,  piss off a few passerbys as Scootaloo swished by them at dangerous speeds on her scooter, and Sweetie Belle had grown irritated with Scootaloo's opaque attempts to derail her from dressmaking, regardless, they all now were en route to Sugar Cube corner to have a pleasant evening.

Rarity was first of the family to arrive, automatically stirring conversation as soon as she eyed Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy; Pinkie was bustling and blabbering in the kitchen.

“Oh Rarity! We were just talking about you!” Twilight clapped her hooves excitedly, “So, your order is complete I would assume?”

Rarity sat down with the girls and took a sip of coffee that was waiting for her, “Ah yes, yes I did, call me cliché but I really think I've outdone myself with this line, no matter what the season, regardless of the setting it looks simply stunning!”

“I saw it, it's very beautiful Rarity” said Fluttershy humbly.  

“Why thank you Shy I appreciate it, here's to hoping the client appreciates it as well, NDA so I can't quite tell who it is—but I can tell you, very top notch Canterlot types,”  She was beaming now, obviously proud of herself.

“That's great Rarity!” Twilight said with genuine excitement for her friend, “As for me its been the usual, Spike has been off to Canterlot for a few days so it's been just me studying away.” She laughed some, more at herself than anything.

“Yeah well you know--” Rainbow began, posturing in a relaxed, chill manner, “keepin' the skies clear around here isn't a foal's job, kinda light though so I've had time to sleep.”

“Huh, I am jealous Rainbow, sleep is something I could really go for” Rarity sighed, “But I did promise to the girls that they would be treated for good behavior so—Here I am.”

“Oh, how are they by the way?” Twilight asked,

“The girls?” Rarity asked.

“Yes, it's been...what two weeks now since you've had Scootaloo?”

“Ah, I think a month now actually, it has gone quickly though-- It's been a rough start but we're beginning to adjust to each other, she's actually a very, very sweet filly once she opens up, her tomcolt attitude gives way to this gentle, loving little filly, Sweetie Belle has certainly grown close to her, we've learned a lot about her, good things of course.”

“Wow, really? I never figured,” Twilight was intrigued somewhat, she had, as the other girls had, seen Scoots as a 24/7 daredevil stunt junkie who wanted nothing less the speed, style, and awesomeness.

“Neither did I, it actually came about in a rather rude way, she had a terrible nightmare the night before and Sweetie Belle had gotten up to care for her, she'd been doing this for quite some time, I finally decided it was time that Scootaloo learned to trust somepony else, might as well be me all things considered. It went well.”

“Ooh, poor thing,” Fluttershy cooed, “hat was the nightmare about?”

“Actually--” Rarity turned to Rainbow Dash who looked up from her cupcake, “It was about you.”

Rainbow snorted, the idea of Scootaloo having a negative thought about her was certainly new, but welcome, while she hadn't seen the “kiddo” in some time, she really didn't want her be her starfish again. “Strange, what did I do?”

“Well--” she glanced around making sure he subject wasn't there, she may had been okay talking to Rarity but even that took some work, she would be mortified if she found out her idol knew anything about it, “you attacked her, beat her up and sent her plummeting to her death into the Everfree”

“Yikes, kinda morbid don't ya think? Rainbow was somewhat shocked by the fillys vivid and dark imagination.

“It's like stress induced, they've been getting curious about Applebloom, they were talking about her this morning—any word from Apple Jack?”

“I'm afraid not,” Twilight said after a slight pause, she had been actively listening up until now, “Now that you mention it I've been getting a little worried myself, I was this close to heading down with Spike and checking on them last night, I figured I shouldn't—It isn't my place.”

“Darling, I understand but it has been nearly a month! I get that they are upset but you can only hide like that for so long before something is very wrong.” Rarity flinched some as she noticed a white unicorn filly and an orange pegasus filly were looking up at her, their faces didn't show they quite understood or contextualized what she said, so she quickly derailed, “Oh well hello girls, so--” She noticed their flat expressions, “No cutie mark?”

“Nope.” Scootaloo grumbled as she hopped into the booth next to Rarity, Sweetie Belle squeezing in between, “I just couldn't land any jumps, of all the days for my scooter to suck, this was it.”

“It would have been way more fun if I actually got to do something!” Sweetie Belle hissed, “I'm pretty sure there isn't a cutie mark for getting yelled at, sitting with a camera for three hours, or getting my tail run over.” A pouting look came about.

“Now girls, at least you're in one piece, and from what I understand the camera was able to be replaced so, you did very good, I'm very proud of you both.”

The fillies, who had once again forgotten why they were here, suddenly had a shot of glee and warmth when they remembered their treat, “YAY!” The fillies rejoiced, zipping to the counter and eying confections that made their moths water. As Rarity managed her filies, Twilight turned to Fluttershy,

“I guess Rarity is right, there comes a point where you need to talk about things—you think we should at least check on them?”

“I-I don't know Twilight,” the cream-colored pegasus said meekly, “I just think maybe just a little mote time--”

“Oh stop it!” Rainbow was practically yelling, “We've given them plenty of time, when we were in a rotten mood they sure didn't wait, what they hay makes them so special?” Twilight could be seen signaling Rainbow Dash to calm down so the fillies wouldn't hear her, Rainbow continued anyway. “When somepony kicked the bucket in Cloudsdale, yeah it was sad, we had a funeral, Rainbow ceremony, the whole bit; but you know what? Next day we were over it, done, no time for crying when there's work that needs to be done!” She slammed her hooves on the table for emphasis.  Fluttershy had practically melted under the table at this point Twilight had hear head in her hooves, a tinge of red on her cheeks as she knew that Rainbow was clearly missing her objections and was about to cause a stir. Rarity shot a dirty glare Rainbow's way as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had the misfortune of hearing every part of Dash's tirade, and were once again reminded of their absent friend.

“You think she's okay sis?” Sweetie Belle asked softly, Scootaloo kept her head low, not wanting to project vulnerability anywhere near her idol or anypony else, though a strong urge was there to run into Rarity's hooves and cry, it made her very uncomfortable and Rarity could see it.

“I know she is Sweetie—you too Scoots, she is fine, we'll talk later alright?” Her tone returned to it's positive curve, trying to cheer them up as much as she could, “in the meantime, why don't we enjoy this lovely--” She noticed the two contrasting deserts: Sweetie Belle chose a simple brownie with fudge and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whereas Scootaloo went overboard with a gargantuan brownie volcano with all sorts of condiments ranging from liquid sugar to butterscotch, a good assortment of ice cream topped this mountain of chocolate with cherry, vanilla, cookie dough, and mint, and of course, to top it all off, a peanut butter cup sat on top. Rarity was sure as hell incapable of downing such a monster, how the little speedster expected to do so was beyond her rational train of thought.

“--er Scootaloo? Don't you think this is a bit—excessive? You don't want to get sick do you?”

Somewhat frustrated with her mother's perceived lack of confidence, Scootaloo glared up at her, “what do you mean excessive? I played hard today Rarity, I think I can handle it.”  Rarity knew she wasn't backing down and didn't want to upset her to the point of reverting to thinking of Applebloom, so to save the moment she caved and simply paid Ms Cake and returned to the table, helping Scootaloo move her gargantuan feast of fun to the table.

“Oh my...” Fluttershy had seen no other pony sans Pinkie Pie attempt to consume such a feast.

Twilight lost it at the sight as Scootaloo plopped down in her spot, a look of abject determination on her face,  

“Careful now Scootaloo, Spike once thought he could eat all the ice cream he wanted and paid the price.” She snickered slightly.

“Yeah squirt,” Rainbow Dash was on the verge of a serious laughing fit just at the sight of her number one fan, who was barely bigger than the prize before her, going down in a blaze of tummy aches and vomit, “Maybe I should give you a head start,” she reached for a spoon and went for the top pile of ice cream when a little orange hoof smacked it away.

“Ugh!” A very irritated Scootaloo pouted, “I'm a big pony I can handle this by myself!” Her forehooves were crossed over her chest as she scowled at her idol.

“Alright alright, easy pipsqueak--” she had to let out a chuckle, this was priceless, “good luck.”

An hour had passed now, Sweetie Belle had long finished her ice cream, Fluttershy had left to tend to her Angel Bunny; all that remained was Twilight, Rainbow, Ratify and the girls—and Scootaloo's partially demolished chocolate monstrosity; and while she did manage to eat a good deal of it, surprising even Rainbow herself, she was at the point now where this had grown into more of a punishment than a reward.  Scootaloo's gut bloated as large as her small body would permit, it growled and rumbled, not from hunger, but from processing an ungodly amount of sweets in one go. She groaned in misery, slumping into her seat to try to set her stomach in just the right way where she wouldn't feel her new-found gut.

Rainbow Dash was loving this way too much, “Come on chubby wubby,” she cooed mischievously, “you're a big pony right? Well big ponies finish ALL of their ice cream,” she was now poking the filly's tummy, much to Scootaloo's irritation, “every—last—bite” she made sure to jab her stomach just a bit rougher with that last word, this was too much for Scoots, it was now down to the size of at least two of Sweetie Belle's treats combined,  good enough for the average pony, hell for her.

“I'm afraid she's right Scootaloo,” Rarity lectured, “perhaps now maybe you will realize that sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach.” She looked at the slumped, bloated, and defeated filly who lay across from her, the filly was humiliated, her idol was teasing her, she made of fool of herself, and she clearly owed Rarity an apology for being some crass earlier. She then did something she never would've conceived before now, especially in public, she slugged across the booth seat over to Rarity's lap and curled into her hooves, she wrapped her in a semi hug and started crying.

“I'm sorry Rarity” She said between sniffles, “I shoud've listened to you! I'm such an idiot!”

While Scootaloo's disposition was rather cute, with the added weight and all, the plump little orange ball was now matting her coat with tears of shame, embarrassment, and rejection.  Rarity scooped her in her hooves and pulled her close, akin to the manner she had done earlier that day, she shoosed the filly softly as she held her, slightly surprised Scootaloo was crumbling and falling apart in front of her idol, to whom anytime before this wore a thick disguise of strong will, bravery, and coolness. Rainbow Dash saw this as a perfect opportunity to attack at the remainder of the ice cream which was now melting rapidly. Sweetie Belle had fallen asleep some time ago and was leaning on Rarity's side, Rarity had to take her home to Mother and Father tonight as they had returned from their stay in Fillydelphia, she knew she couldn't be too late; she looked over at her sister, who was sleeping soundly, and at the expanded fluff of orange cradled in her hooves, now sniffling, sans any audible sobbing.

“Sweetie Belle,” Rarity whispered softly, “time to wake up sis, Mother and Father are waiting.” Sweetie awoke with a sizable yawn and stretch, and hopped down from the booth. Rarity did the same and motioned Scootaloo to climb onto her back, she did not want any whining during the trip and carrying around all that weight and guilt was not going to help any. The flubby filly managed so crawl on, wrapping her hooves softly around her neck and quickly giving into sleep.

“I had a wonderful evening girls,” Rarity turned to her friends who were readying to leave as well, she chuckled, “even if we had a bit of an unexpected incident.”

“Fine by me,” said Twilight with a smile, “You're right Rarity, she is adorable when she's like that.” She gazed, almost in envy of Ratify; sure she had her Spike who had repeated this scene several different times several different ways but it just wasn't the same.

Rainbow Dash was hovering now, looking down at her number one fan, deep in a fit of sleep, the events of the evening summoning a sort of nostalgic appreciation for her reckless days as a filly in Cloudsdale.

“Hehe, well, tell her thanks for the ice cream.“ she laughed before zipping off into the starry sky.

Luna's moon in many respects is far superior than Celstia's sun, if not for the recognition and welcoming by the tired and worn ponies of the daytime, it was very welcome for the occasional late night strolls through town. Sweetie Belle had been dropped off at home and now Rarity and her still sleeping passenger were just now entering the boutique. She carried Scootaloo to her room, slowly shifting her body as such that the filly would plop softly on her bed, she wasn't so successful so some magic was required to ease the transition, as well ass pull the blankets above her.  

She looked so peaceful, the moon shining just enough through her expansive window sitting to the right of her bed, enough to illuminate her motionless face, mouth agape only slightly, Scootaloo didn't snore so it was a peaceful sight. Rarity gently kissed her on the forehead,  

“Goodnight Scootaloo.”

She knew there would be no response, she stood just a little longer watching her adopted daughter, fast asleep, content in her mind that tomorrow would be another day and that while this would indeed be the butt of jokes for quite some time, the repercussions would be done and over.  Satisfied that her day was done and confident that it had gone much better than expected, Rarity herself retired to her own room, cleaned up her workspace some, and went to sleep. It had been a long day, with a tense start, and a calm, beautiful end. Next Chapter: Decisions Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 31 Minutes