The old door of their home creaked open with their arrival, and Holiday and Lofty entered with wide and contented smiles upon their faces. Holiday entered the house further while Lofty closed the door behind them both, and after giving herself a quick stretch, she chuckled before giving her lover a quick kiss on the cheek. Holiday giggled, giving Lofty a playful punch in the foreleg, and the two shared a laugh together as they made their way to the kitchen. Nopony said anything, but when you'd lived together as long as these two had, no words were even needed. Before long, the kettle was screaming as it usually did, and Holiday soon whipped up a pot of tea. Lofty, for her part, broke out a plate of biscuits, the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon tea, and took it into the adjacent living room. Holiday remained in the kitchen, making sure the two tea cups were filled first, but she didn't take too long before joining Lofty in the other room. As she set the tea-tray onto the table between their two chairs, Lofty took hers, taking a sip and releasing a contented sigh.

"Ah! There's no better way of ending a day than this!"

Holiday giggled.

"You'll get no argument from me on that one, Lofty."

She too began to drink her tea, but her thoughts were not on the drink itself, but on the events of the day. Her smile widened, very much reflecting the warmth she felt as the memories of that sweet little filly she loved so much.

"She really is something, isn't she?"

Lofty, needing no explanation at all about who her lover was talking about, smiled right back.

"Yeah. I know every parent says this about their kids, but our little Scoot really is a cut above."

Holiday looked over to her.

"All three of them are. Hard to imagine they've done so much in such a short time."

Lofty looked to the side, staring out of the window, where there was a good view of Sweet Apple Acres, where she knew her niece's clubhouse was.

"You and me never did even half of the stuff that kid and her friends did when we were her age. And when I think of doing all that stuff now?"

Holiday nodded in agreement.

"I know, I feel tired just thinking about it!"

Again, the two shared a laugh, and Holiday soon reached over, offering an open hoof to the other mare. Lofty saw it, smiling lovingly to her, before reaching out and taking said hoof. For a moment, the two older mares simply enjoyed this moment, with their comfy chairs, their delicious tea, and most importantly, each other. But a time did indeed come when the subject of their niece made itself to the forefront of their thoughts.

"...Do you ever worry about her?" Holiday asked.

Lofty sighed, her smile fading a little before giving a short nod.

"I do. Ponyville's not exactly a disaster area, but when I think of all the things that's happened here recently..."

Holiday looked away, taking another sip of her tea before continuing to speak.

"I can't exactly blame my brother for feeling the way that he did. So many dangerous things have happened around here lately, and Scootaloo and her friends are so close to so much of it."

Lofty looked to her, again with a smile.

"Hey, it all turns out well in the end, right?"

Holiday's eyes met hers, though she seemed to be a touch more concerned about the matter.

"So far, yes. And I have no doubt Scootaloo's a brave and capable filly."

She smirked briefly.

"I mean, just look who her parents are."

The two chucked together, though the mood soon turned more serious again shortly afterwards.

"I suppose it's just in me to worry. I've known Scootaloo her whole life now. Thinking of her anywhere near danger, it...it..."

She couldn't finish, but her attention was soon diverted when she felt Lofty gently place a hoof upon her shoulder. She looked to her partner, seeing her smiling back to her.

"You know, you are allowed to say it, Holiday."

Though hesitant, Holiday gave Lofty an appreciative smile.

"I've never wanted a child of my own, and nor have you, but...all the time we've looked out for Scootaloo...she feels like one of my own at this point."

Lofty's smile widened.

"Yeah, I know how you feel. She's the closest thing to a kid we've ever had, and...well...she's been a pretty great one."

Holiday, wiping a joy-induced tear from her eye, took a moment to catch her breath a little before speaking up again.

"Maybe that's what it is. I've sort of seen her that way for a while, so...I guess I just feel a little overprotective."

Lofty chuckled.

"Well, no offense, but given that your brother has a habit of wrestling cragodiles, would she have been any safer living with him?"

Holiday frowned to her, prompting Lofty to raise both hooves, chortling nervously.

"I kid! I kid!"

Holiday, relaxing from that brief moment of annoyance, soon sighed, regaining her smile before relaxing further into her soft chair.

"A role of helping others...and having done so all across Equestria."

She closed her eyes, allowing her feelings of pride towards her niece to wash over her.

"She's done so much for so many. She and Sweetie and Apple Bloom...helping is part of who she is."

Lofty, looking to her, did her best to hide just how much her own feeling of pride towards Scootaloo were getting to her.

"It is. Even a cynical old mare like me can feel just a bit more optimistic about the world when I remember there's a sweet little filly like her in it."

Opening her eyes again, holiday looked to her partner once more.

"How far do you think she'll go? How many others will be helped by her? She's been good enough to even turn ponies who used to hate her and her friends into another friend. That's a talent few have. It means big things for her, I'm sure."

Lofty considered that, releasing a dry laugh briefly before shaking her head somewhat.

"Who can say? She's done so much so far, its hard to imagine she and her friends can reach even further."

She paused, thinking on her own words.

"But...maybe she can. Maybe those three little troublemakers really can go further and better than we can imagine."

She shrugged.

"Guess we'll wait and see, right?"

Then, to her surprise, Lofty began to hear a sniffing sound, and she tuned to see that Holiday was wiping away some tear from her eyes with a handkerchief. After a moment of looking to her like this, Lofty sat in silence as the other mare began to speak.

"I'm sorry, it's just...I remember the day she was born. My brother had just sent word so I rushed there as fast as I could. I got to the ward, and..."

She blew her nose before continuing.

"...and there she was. My little niece. Just born. My brother handed her over to me, and I held her in my hooves, and...and... and she's just grown into such a wonderful little filly!"

And there went the floodgates, as tears began pouring down Holiday's face now, her nostalgia and overwhelming feelings of love finally having torn down whatever walls she's pent them up with. Lofty, having heard all that, now allowed herself to break down too, and within moments, the two mares embraced one another.

"I love her so much, Lofty!" Holiday declared.

"I love her too!" Lofty replied.

The two cried together, sheer love having made them into fountains of raw emotion right now. But, though much liquid pride had been shed, the two eventually managed to get themselves under control. Through heavy breathing, they wiped away the last of their tears, and for a moment just stared at each other. Then, without even discussing it, they knew exactly what they needed to do, and leapt out of their chairs.

"I'm going to cook her the best dinner she's ever had in her life when she gets home!" Holiday announced.

Lofty gave a firm nod.

"I'll get the oven on!"

This whole episode was just the textbook definition of heartwarming