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Description
The final pair, following Sweetie Belle and Tender Taps, we have Scootaloo and Barley Grind!

~~~

Upon the very sudden deaths of both of Scootaloo’s aunts—the couple who had been her primary caregivers while her parents were busy, well, pretending they weren’t parents—when she was nineteen, the pegasus was essentially left without any family. Her friends did their best to comfort her, as did most of Ponyville. The Apple-Dash family in particular extended the fullest hospitality to her, Applejack knowing too well how it felt to lose one’s parents unexpectedly. But Scootaloo refused conversation—everything was too overwhelming to deal with. Company was awkward, but being alone was too. Even Ponyville itself felt wrong; so Scootaloo left. She didn’t run away without a word (in fact she made a big show of excitedly informing all of her friends that she’d be spending a summer on her own, tramping around some big city she hadn’t decided on yet, to learn about herself because she was young or whatever, gap year or something, all that good stuff), but she did pack up and get out as fast as she could. Some, like Rainbow Dash, were encouraging; others, like the Apples, were skeptical of her real motives. But everyone agreed to let her be.

And so Scootaloo spent the summer as she had said she would. She hitchhiked to Manehatten where she skated every day, making new friends, keeping herself fed with what pocket money she could earn at odd jobs, and keeping a roof over her head through couch-surfing (there were her new friends, Babs Seed was happy to take her in for weeks at a time, Babs’s parents were kind enough to keep her on more than a few occasions—and if she spent a few nights on a park bench, than it was all a part of the adventure). It didn’t take long for the pegasus with the scooter to catch the attention of local skaters, including one eighteen-year-old colt named Barley Grind—a scruffy, hyperactive and driven, if perhaps goofy earth pony, whom Scootaloo introduced herself to when she helped him peel his muzzle off of the concrete after a nasty crash. The pair eagerly got to talking, which lead to racing, which lead to forgetting their bikes in favor of making out under a tree—which eventually lead back to talking. Barley admitted that he was in a similar living situation to Scootaloo, though he’d been kicked out of his parents’ apartment for having no future. He wanted to follow his passions of being a professional skater, and he was going to do it no matter what they thought! Scootaloo thought the earth pony’s passion was admirable, eagerly telling him so, and that she knew she was going to do the same thing. Their budding friendship/more-than-friendship grew as they began spending whole days in each other’s company, and then nights. By the time the summer was over, the pair were spending every waking moment talking, skating, and being wholly wrapped up in each other. But even as they discussed every matter of their lives (something about this new environment and new pony let Scootaloo open up about her aunts and her grief, the way she hadn’t wanted to before) and grew close, even celebrating their respective twentieth and nineteenth birthdays together, the ponies assured each other that their relationship was only temporary: a summer fling, companionship while they figured out the next steps in their otherwise separate lives. But soon the summer was over, and Scootaloo had no intentions of returning to Ponyville—and Barley had no intentions of asking her to.

As can happen when you’re young, dumb, and in love, some mistakes occurred. As the leaves yellowed and the days grew short, the pegasus found that her stomach grew larger and her mornings grew more full of vomit. The couple managed to deny it to themselves for a time, but eventually a well-meaning old unicorn asked their due-date, and they realize that yeah, yeah they couldn’t deny it anymore. After a good deal of panic, they came to the question at hand: where would they go from here?

A good few weeks followed where they didn’t know. Neither of them had been particularly intent on having a baby before, least of all when they were barely adults. They didn’t have permanent homes, their income wasn’t steady, and living in Manehatten they didn’t have any family to help them. That was all well and good for two youngsters sewing their wild oats, but not for parents of a young foal. They weren’t even a real couple, they weren’t dating, this wasn’t supposed to be that, Scootaloo found herself yelling at Barley Grind during a particularly rough argument. They both went silent, as a new question hung in the air. Hadn’t it become that? They hadn’t said it much, but it had become pretty clear to both of them that they were in love, with no plans to leave each other. The fight spiraled into surprised, giggly discussion—they were in love, they were committed to each other, obviously that didn’t mean a baby was the logical next step, but it was where they were, meant to be maybe?, oh gosh were they saying they were keeping it?, in love and having a baby wow, hey don’t ponies who are in love and have babies get married? ...well did they want to get married?

Following a mix of shocked silence, hysterical laughter, and lots and lots of hugs, Scootaloo and Barley Grind threw on the nicest clothes they had on hand, including the single skirt that Scootaloo owned (leant to her by Sweetie Belle who’d insisted that the summers get too hot in Manehatten to not take a darn skirt), and ran with hearts pounding to the nearest courthouse. Rings and a bouquet were bought on the way, once inside a great deal of papers were signed, and a few words were eagerly said, before sealing the deal with a kiss. Maybe they were young and dumb, maybe they were choosing the worst decision they could have picked, and maybe they didn’t have any idea what they were going to do next, but they were going to do it together.

Scootaloo and Barley Grind are the parents of Carpe Diem

~~~

...So so so sorry about the melodrama in this one But I keep this nextgen universe pretty damn happy, I think I’m allowed oooone melodrama!

Also cuz I would be remiss if I left out an explanation for the deaths of her aunts—both were particularly old by this point, Aunt Lofty even more so, and Aunt Holiday simply got sick. As old couples are wont to do, Lofty simply went a few months after her wife without much cause

And sorry about how stupidly long this was But I hope you enjoyed reading it anyway, cause I enjoyed writing it As I’ve written about before, the newly weds will soon head back to Ponyville, and their story will continue!

(The very specific stock I needed for reference XD )

More weddings!

Description
The final pair, following Sweetie Belle and Tender Taps, we have Scootaloo and Barley Grind!

~~~

Upon the very sudden deaths of both of Scootaloo’s aunts—the couple who had been her primary caregivers while her parents were busy, well, pretending they weren’t parents—when she was nineteen, the pegasus was essentially left without any family. Her friends did their best to comfort her, as did most of Ponyville. The Apple-Dash family in particular extended the fullest hospitality to her, Applejack knowing too well how it felt to lose one’s parents unexpectedly. But Scootaloo refused conversation—everything was too overwhelming to deal with. Company was awkward, but being alone was too. Even Ponyville itself felt wrong; so Scootaloo left. She didn’t run away without a word (in fact she made a big show of excitedly informing all of her friends that she’d be spending a summer on her own, tramping around some big city she hadn’t decided on yet, to learn about herself because she was young or whatever, gap year or something, all that good stuff), but she did pack up and get out as fast as she could. Some, like Rainbow Dash, were encouraging; others, like the Apples, were skeptical of her real motives. But everyone agreed to let her be.

And so Scootaloo spent the summer as she had said she would. She hitchhiked to Manehatten where she skated every day, making new friends, keeping herself fed with what pocket money she could earn at odd jobs, and keeping a roof over her head through couch-surfing (there were her new friends, Babs Seed was happy to take her in for weeks at a time, Babs’s parents were kind enough to keep her on more than a few occasions—and if she spent a few nights on a park bench, than it was all a part of the adventure). It didn’t take long for the pegasus with the scooter to catch the attention of local skaters, including one eighteen-year-old colt named Barley Grind—a scruffy, hyperactive and driven, if perhaps goofy earth pony, whom Scootaloo introduced herself to when she helped him peel his muzzle off of the concrete after a nasty crash. The pair eagerly got to talking, which lead to racing, which lead to forgetting their bikes in favor of making out under a tree—which eventually lead back to talking. Barley admitted that he was in a similar living situation to Scootaloo, though he’d been kicked out of his parents’ apartment for having no future. He wanted to follow his passions of being a professional skater, and he was going to do it no matter what they thought! Scootaloo thought the earth pony’s passion was admirable, eagerly telling him so, and that she knew she was going to do the same thing. Their budding friendship/more-than-friendship grew as they began spending whole days in each other’s company, and then nights. By the time the summer was over, the pair were spending every waking moment talking, skating, and being wholly wrapped up in each other. But even as they discussed every matter of their lives (something about this new environment and new pony let Scootaloo open up about her aunts and her grief, the way she hadn’t wanted to before) and grew close, even celebrating their respective twentieth and nineteenth birthdays together, the ponies assured each other that their relationship was only temporary: a summer fling, companionship while they figured out the next steps in their otherwise separate lives. But soon the summer was over, and Scootaloo had no intentions of returning to Ponyville—and Barley had no intentions of asking her to.

As can happen when you’re young, dumb, and in love, some mistakes occurred. As the leaves yellowed and the days grew short, the pegasus found that her stomach grew larger and her mornings grew more full of vomit. The couple managed to deny it to themselves for a time, but eventually a well-meaning old unicorn asked their due-date, and they realize that yeah, yeah they couldn’t deny it anymore. After a good deal of panic, they came to the question at hand: where would they go from here?

A good few weeks followed where they didn’t know. Neither of them had been particularly intent on having a baby before, least of all when they were barely adults. They didn’t have permanent homes, their income wasn’t steady, and living in Manehatten they didn’t have any family to help them. That was all well and good for two youngsters sewing their wild oats, but not for parents of a young foal. They weren’t even a real couple, they weren’t dating, this wasn’t supposed to be that, Scootaloo found herself yelling at Barley Grind during a particularly rough argument. They both went silent, as a new question hung in the air. Hadn’t it become that? They hadn’t said it much, but it had become pretty clear to both of them that they were in love, with no plans to leave each other. The fight spiraled into surprised, giggly discussion—they were in love, they were committed to each other, obviously that didn’t mean a baby was the logical next step, but it was where they were, meant to be maybe?, oh gosh were they saying they were keeping it?, in love and having a baby wow, hey don’t ponies who are in love and have babies get married? ...well did they want to get married?

Following a mix of shocked silence, hysterical laughter, and lots and lots of hugs, Scootaloo and Barley Grind threw on the nicest clothes they had on hand, including the single skirt that Scootaloo owned (leant to her by Sweetie Belle who’d insisted that the summers get too hot in Manehatten to not take a darn skirt), and ran with hearts pounding to the nearest courthouse. Rings and a bouquet were bought on the way, once inside a great deal of papers were signed, and a few words were eagerly said, before sealing the deal with a kiss. Maybe they were young and dumb, maybe they were choosing the worst decision they could have picked, and maybe they didn’t have any idea what they were going to do next, but they were going to do it together.

Scootaloo and Barley Grind are the parents of Carpe Diem

~~~

...So so so sorry about the melodrama in this one But I keep this nextgen universe pretty damn happy, I think I’m allowed oooone melodrama!

Also cuz I would be remiss if I left out an explanation for the deaths of her aunts—both were particularly old by this point, Aunt Lofty even more so, and Aunt Holiday simply got sick. As old couples are wont to do, Lofty simply went a few months after her wife without much cause

And sorry about how stupidly long this was But I hope you enjoyed reading it anyway, cause I enjoyed writing it As I’ve written about before, the newly weds will soon head back to Ponyville, and their story will continue!

(The very specific stock I needed for reference XD )

More weddings!