Scootaloo's Personal Diary - Entries 323-6

Entry 323:

I asked Mom and Dad if I could invite Featherweight and Shutter Speed to our house for Hearth's Warming Day supper. They said they'd be happy to have him over. I have to think of a nice gift for him. I've been so busy thinking about Sweetie Belle's gift that I almost forgot! How embarrassing.

I met up with Featherweight and Pipsqueak at his house. Pipsqueak woke up when his dad left for market work. This is one of his dad's last two major work weeks. After this, the Hearth's Warming Day sales will have passed. Until then, he'll be working like crazy. A lot of ponies only open shops around the holidays, spending the rest of the year working on things (pillows, clothing, sculptures, etc. Stuff that takes a long time to make enough to sell at a marketplace.)

The three of us had a snowball fight. It was fun. I'm sure that Sweetie Belle would love to be here, but she still has practice. This weekend is her last dinner, the one we may all go to. They'll be doing a dress rehearsal in front of a small audience to see what everypony still needs to work on. Featherweight says he has most of the photos ready for the book, so I'm sure this afternoon I'll get to drawing up the characters for the booklet. I've already been practicing. I used pictures from the year Mom was in the Canterlot show to design the characters. I think they're looking pretty good!

We went to check on Apple Bloom, she was helping mix up some applesauce for holiday gifts. It has a nice smell of cinnamon, and it is probably delicious! After she finished with the batch, we went to the clubhouse with Featherweight's pictures and we all worked on decorating the pages. After a while, Ocean Breeze came to visit and designed the cover for us. Featherweight wanted to take a picture of us for the cover, but Ocean Breeze took his camera and said we should all be on the front. He used his magic to take the picture for us all. Featherweight told me he meant he would go get his tripod, but that that worked, too. Apple Bloom is going to keep it and wrap it for us. She's the best at wrapping gifts. She has had a lot of practice. She helps wrap gifts to go with the apples that Apple Jack and Big Mac give for Winter Warmth Day. Every year they take some apples from the last harvest and other gifts they collect from participants, and donate them to the less wealthy ponies in town.

I'm really happy with our book. I think she'll really like it. Pipsqueak, Featherweight and I went to his house and spent some time with his dad. Shutter Speed has a holiday photo gallery starting on Friday. All three of us are going to help (I don't know what Pipsqueak will do, yet, since he's shorter than where the bottom of most of the pictures hang, but we'll see.)

Entry 234:

[Page is lightly dotted with tear stains.]

I decided to spend some time at home, today. I hope Featherweight doesn't mind. I just had a kind of sad morning remembering all the fun I used to have with Mama, Papa, and Auntie Raincloud during the holidays. We would always be one of the first families at the Port Mane Performing Arts Center on Hearth's Warming Eve. Papa would always help with the actors' party after the show. We'd usually walk down to the store and get punch mix and cookies at least a couple of times. Dad would usually buy me some Jam and Jelly's Strawberry Cream Cookies while we were at the store.

On Hearth's Warming Day, we would always spend all day in the nice warm house. Mama would make homemade peppermint or orange zest cocoa, and peanut butter nutmeg cookies. Auntie Raincloud would come to visit in the afternoon, and bring me a gift. This diary was supposed to be a gift for the year I lost Mama and Papa, but when they got sick, Auntie Raincloud decided I should probably have it to write down my memories. Since then I haven't even done much of that. I don't even remember many things. I lost a good chance to remember my first parents better.

Featherweight came to the house and spent the afternoon with me, trying to cheer me up. He told me that I must still remember quite a few things if I could write so many details about Hearth's Warming Eve and Day more than a couple of years later. He said I should just write down the ideas if they come to mind. He also said he got a great idea for my Hearth's Warming Day gift, today. Great. Now he is ahead of me. What am I supposed to get the colt who never really wants anything?

I think I have an idea. I'm going to see if I can go with Dad sometime this week to Port Mane. There's a photography store there, Flashbulb's Photo Features. Maybe I can get him a gift card. It's nothing major, but it's personal to him, and I think he'd like that. I hate having to think of gifts for him. It's basically impossible.

The actor's dinner was really nice. Sweetie Belle did a great job! She's really nervous, now, because we found out Princess Luna is coming to see the Ponyville show. I could understand being nervous, but I know she'll do great! Pipsqueak told her she did great, and they went to Sugarcube Corner for a little extra treat to celebrate. I went to Dad's with Featherweight. We talked about the show. We both think she did a good job. He wasn't at the Canterlot show, but I personally thought that she did a lot better than Spike (since Spike kept overacting and tried to steal the show.) Featherweight said that Apple Bloom gave him Sweetie Belle's gift, and we all think that Pipsqueak should be the one to actually give it to her. It just makes the most sense.

Entry 235:

Today starts the first day of the last school week before holiday break! Lots of ponies are getting in trouble for talking while Miss Cheerilee is teaching. Everypony is really excited. Dinky and Twist are talking about going door to door to give out candy and baked treats. Snips and Snails are talking about sleeping in. Diamond Tiara is actually talking about spending time with her mom and dad. She invited Silver Spoon over for the holidays. I never thought I'd be happier to hear something from somepony I don't particularly like. That's what I like most about Hearth's Warming Eve. It really does bring everypony together, just like the story. Diamond Tiara still took her chance to pick on me when I got clobbered by snow while flying under the tree, but I just brushed it off. I didn't even feel like responding. I am so excited for the holiday!

Pipsqueak invited our little group to Port Mane for the official town lighting ceremony. His mom's ship had the lights for the year. They got delayed after a bad snowstorm in Port Salty Saddle. All shipments were delayed a couple weeks. We're all going to Port Mane tomorrow after school.

Pipsqueak took Sweetie Belle for an afternoon away from practice. He told her she deserved a break after how hard she has worked. They went to a nice sit down meal at Chef Red Grape's. Featherweight and I went to his house. Nopony was there, so we hung around for a while. I told him about Hearth's Warming Day. I totally forgot the other day after seeing Pipsqueak was at his house. I didn't want to invite him in front of somepony else, even if he is my coltfriend. He said he'd talk to his dad, and that he was excited about it. He said it'd be an interesting change from the typical time with just his dad.

Entry 236:

Miss Cheerilee decided that since everypony is so excited about the holiday, we'll probably spend the week doing more holiday related stuff. Today we wrote a list of our favorite memories from the holidays to send to our future selves. Featherweight sat next to me. He said he wanted to be able to cheer me up if I got upset. He also pulled Miss Cheerilee over to tell her about the other day. He's so sweet.

I wrote down the same things as the other day, plus some of the newer things: the Canterlot show, time with my newer friends and family, and time with Featherweight. I actually handled it pretty well. I did get a bit upset, but I felt pretty good. I did keep an eye on Diamond Tiara. She seemed a bit upset. She must remember spending holidays with Ruby Red, or something. I felt bad for her. I still think that's the strangest thing since coming to Ponyville. I feel bad for Diamond Tiara. The thing that hurt the most was hearing Miss Cheerilee whisper to Silver Spoon that she didn't seem like she was trying. I actually pulled Miss Cheerilee to the side and told her about when I went back to talk to Silver Spoon that night. She said she would talk with Silver Spoon. It's so hard to dislike somepony I know has real problems, but this just feels so weird.

When I got home, Tank was at the house. Rainbow Dash said that Fluttershy couldn't really keep Tank very well this winter. She had too many reptiles and not enough dens, so he's going to be at the house most of the winter. That's fine with me, but I have a feeling we may have to take his propellers, before he knocks over everything in the house.

Featherweight and I spent the afternoon inside. It was just too cold to go anywhere. That's the worst part about winter. Some days are just indoor days. I hate not getting to stretch my wings at all. Even though there's actually quite a bit of airspace in Dad's house, it's still not enough to get to flying quick. At Featherweight's house, I don't know what you'd do. Everywhere is pretty tiny and cramped.