Seek and found.
Nopony stepped in for the next hours. Gentle had left the door ajar just in case of course, but either did hear hooves, or did Scootaloo appear in the door of the kitchen. Honestly he had too much to do with the other foals in the kitchen, to worry about an additional one. Whereupon this would be unfair for the foal's.
Lily hadn't done anything bad, in contrary she just whispered with Slight or told, what she liked most as a pizza topping. Apart from that she answered in monosyllables and spoke just as she was asked point-blank. She enjoyed the time with the other foals, she smiled and tried to help everpony by their homework, as they needed help, but when it came to actually hold a conversation she was totally helpless and rather twisted her pigtails, than to start a talk.
Quite different to the other fillies.
Sweetie Belle spoke quite much. She was pestering Slight for answers while the colt did his best to dodge them. The filly was sensitive enough not to insist on answer the colt clearly didn't want to give.
Apple Bloom on the other hoof was chatty too, but focused on her own story, rather to ask many questions about Slight. She told quite so much about her family.
These talks were full of laughter and way too loud. Gentle didn't intervene to stop them, just calmed the foals down from time to time. He was way too happy to stop the happy foals and the damping spell he had put on the room had prevented, that Shining was disturbed by the loud foals. The stallion had welcomed the fillies, but had walked into his room shortly after that and had closed his door. Gentle knew, that three almost strange fillies were way to much to handle for him. So he had looked at him apologetic, but the other stallion just shrugged it of and smiled.
Gentle watched from time to time out of the kitchen window and saw Scootaloo on the alley. She started to approach the veranda with a trembling step, frowned in a matter of seconds and stopped, while she was drawing circles on the ground with her hoof. She pondered and rolled her head from one side to another. Then she scurried around like she was trying to take another steps forwards, but simply couldn't just do it. She rolled her eyes very bugged and turned around finally. She shrank away and drooped her head. She turned around immediately and looked entreating to the door, as she would plead for somepony to step out and met her halfway to bring her in.
Gentle didn't want to be that pony, he wouldn't dare to make a decision for her. This was something she had to do on her own, just she herself had to make this decision. No matter how sorry he felt for her, as she saw her pacing around, muttering to herself and finally standing still directly in front of the veranda. He sighed again, like every time she couldn't get herself to take the last step and turned around quickly instead. As she tried it for the last time, she was able to put her trembling hoof down on the first wooden stair. But before she took the next step, she spotted Gentle in the window and pouted. She turned around again and ran off.
As the smell of fresh baked pizza filled the neighbourhood, Scootaloo hadn't appeared after a short time of waiting at the door and wasn't visible in the alley at all, Gentle gave in and closed the door with a sigh. He returned to the kitchen and smiled.
“So, who wants pizza?”
The rest of the day passed by very quickly. The foals made their homework after lunch, talked a little bit and then it was time to go home already. Slight wanted to walk home all three of them, but Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle just shook their heads and ran off in two different directions. Lily on the other hoof was thankful for the company and spoke more on the way home, as she had in the hours before. She suggested among other things to pick Slight up from home, so he didn't get lost again. Gentle listened attentively and gave Slight an encouraging nod, so that he told the whole story. The stallion smiled finally and shook his head.
“You should pay more attention to where you're going, Slight.
I think it would be best, when you pick him up, Lily.
And if you want to, you can walk him home and stay with us anytime. “
Slight tried to reply something, but his friend just nodded, hugged him for a quick goodbye and closed the door quickly. A low squeak and another sound behind the door let the colt blush deeply. Gentle smiled and nuzzled him encouraging.
“You know, I do like Lily too.
She is a very nice filly.”
Slight looked down on his hooves and blushed even more. He skulked voiceless beside the smiling stallion back home.
Dad Star waited there with the supper. His daddies wanted to hear every little detail about him getting lost, about Rainbow Dash in particular, about Lily's rescue. As he told about his apology in front of the whole class and Cheerilee, they were smiling and nuzzling him, so he would forget this embarrassing event soon. He finished his story with Scootaloos arrival and yawned, as the filly in his memory was yawing too.
Dad Star fondled over mane, put him on his back and carried him in his room, as he had brushed his teeth.
“Who wants a bedtime story?”
Slight made a stretched out yawn and snuggled against his daddy's neck. The stallion took another step closer to the bed, but stopped quickly. Slight looked to his bed too and cocked his head confused. There was a bulge in the covers.
“What's that...”
Shining lightened up his horn and lifted the blanket with magic.
Gentle stayed back in the kitchen and waved his tail in an unheard rhythm. He was wearing headphones and listened to his favourite music, as he did the dishes. He loved Shinings singing and swayed in the rhythm of his music a soft smile on his face. He watched over the dishes with one eye, but wanted to abandon himself totally into the music... A hoof touched his shoulders and he turned his head to it very quickly. His coltfriend said something, but the smaller stallion couldn't understand anything and smiled clearly in love. Shining shook his head and took of the headphones with his own magic. He took a deep breath. Gentle spotted a strange expression on his face, as he started to speak. Confused and almost a little bit scared.
“You should follow me quickly, Gentle.
We've got a huge problem.”
Slight stood in his room and stared at the bed. Dad Star had said, that he should look out. That he should look out for her. He had sneaked away then and ran, as he had left the room. He had left him in his room alone with her. He fought back a yawn and stretched himself. This small sound let the small orange filly-ears tremble and Slight put both hooves over his mouth to cover every remaining sound. The filly on his bed smacked silently, snuggled herself closer into the pillow and nuzzled it with her nose. She nuzzled his pillow with her nose! In his bed! The colt thought about that for a while and pouted finally. He approached the bed and lifted a hoof. He wanted to touch her, wanted to push her away.
Away from his pillow.
He yawned again and rubbed his eyes. Instead of using the hoof to touch her, he used it to climb on the bed. Or so he tried it at least. Orange light were catching him, before he was able to snuggle against the filly and he was lay down on someponys back. Dad Star turned his head and frowned at him.
“This is my bed, Dad Star, so why?”
A hoof fondled gently over his mane and Daddy Gentle whispered.
“You're right, Slight.
But how would you feel, if you wake up and somepony else...”
The filly in the bed frowned and her ears flapped once. She grabbed the pillow, to Slights growing irritation and covered her ears with it so she wouldn't have to hear any more words She sniffed under the pillow and it seemed, that she noticed the different smell just right now. Her back legs twitched and she brushed the pillow away. Her right eye opened slowly, but her left eye stayed closed and she looked around slowly. She made a long lasting yawn and raised her head away from the pillow. She stared to Shining, rubbed her eyes and looked then to Gentle. her eyes stayed at him for a while, as she needed a moment to understand where she was and what the other stallions did in her assumed bedroom. She stared confused into the stallions face. Gentle smiled slowly and cocked his head then. Shining next to him licked his lips and had to bit them in an effort to silence any bad word.
“Hello there, Scootaloo.”
Gentle couldn't say much more, as the filly leaped up, poked around and noticed, that it had became night already. She tried to jump of the bed and do a runner, but Gentle shook his head slowly. He blocked her path out of the room and spoke up a little bit.
“Don't run away!”
He stopped her with a gentle hoof on her shoulder. The filly froze indeed and trembled a little bit, but stood submissively still in front of the stallion. She drooped her ears and looked down on her circle drawing hooves.
“I...I...I..”
Much more didn't come over her lips. She dropped her head too and closed her eyes.
“What are you doing here, by Celestia ?”
Shining's loud voice let the filly squint her eyes and she ducked her head even more. Gentle sighed and turned to his coltfriend. The stallion stared to the filly and stamped demanding with his right hoof on the ground. This thud opened the fillys eyes again and she flinched away.
“Answer me...”
“Shining, that enough, don't you think?”
Gentle interrupted his friend with a really low whisper, as he saw the expression in Scootaloo's face. The filly stared at him, suppliant and with tears in the corner of her weary eyes. Gentle took a deep breath and turned his head around to the stallion.
“Maybe you should bring Slight in our bed, since...”
Scootaloo made a sudden yelp and pranced aside. She looked to the colt, who had snuggled deeply into the neck of Shining and had almost fallen asleep. She tried to whisper an apology.
“I didn't want to...”
Shining snorted, but Gentle shook simply his head. He pointed at the door behind him.
“We could go in the living room, if you promise me, not to run away, until we have spoken, do you promise me that?”
Shining snorted again and the filly shied away a step more. Gentle glanced at his friend and the older stallion sighed. He took a deep breath and put on a fake smile. Scootaloo avoided his glance and shied back against the bed.
She stammered something.
“I just wanted to...wanted to..”
The filly yawned and she rubbed her eyes again. She nodded slowly and staggered to the door. She walked as far away from Shining as possible and stared firmly at her unstable hooves. Gentle nodded too and led the filly slowly out of the room.
“Just put Slight to bed and...uhm...”
He couldn't speak more words, since now a little filly cuddled up to him. Scootaloo laid her trembling head on his side. Gentle shared a quick puzzled glance with Shining, who looked back with a more irritated expression. Finally he nodded and winked encouraging to the younger stallion. Gentle entered the living room hesitantly, a trembling filly snuggled deeply into him and with thousand thoughts in his mind.
Why does she cuddle up to him? Why has she hide herself in Slight's bed?
Why...why...
He shook away the thoughts and led the filly to the chair. As they finally arrived he pushed her gently on it and sat down on the couch in the opposite of it. The filly sighed and laid her head on her folded front legs. She looked over her hooftips to the stallion and opened her mouth. Before she was able to speak, her stomach growled and she blushed.
“Well, you should eat first, then we will talk.”
Scootaloo nodded and Gentle stood up. He left the room and opened the kitchen door. Before he went in, he turned his head around and locked the front door with his magic. Gentle sighed, as he levitated the key out of the lock and took it with him into the kitchen. Just in case.
He prepared a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, levitated an apple from the basket of Granny Smith and took finally a package of juice out of the fridge. As he did the sandwiches, he tried to mumble around the right questions, but every one seemed to become harsher and harsher, so he shook his head finally.
“Why are you...what did you want to...have you any idea how dif...”
The stallion sighed and levitated two glasses on the tray. He took another deep breath and returned to the living room with the food .
Scootaloo stood in front of the window, with a raised hoof and froze in motion, or had she been standing there the whole time since he had left? She didn't made the impression of having been caught doing something wrong, but rather of being uncertain about what she should do. As she saw Gentle, she turned her head away from him and snuffled. One of her hooves rubbed over her eyes,took something with it and a sob escaped her throat finally.
“I just don't know, why I came back here.
I...I've been...”
Gentle put the tray on the table and laid down beside the couch. He looked to the filly, cocked his head and smiled gently.
“I mean...I...you...This...”
Gentle's look stayed on the stammering filly. The stallion didn't say anything, but laid his head down on his hooves. The filly paced around in the room, approached, flinched away again. She sought out some safety in the corners of the room, approached, flinched away again. Mumbled inaudible words, approached, flinched away again. She trembled on the way closer, sobbed as she flinched away, like she couldn't figure out what she wanted to do right now. She rubbed away tears from her eyes time and again and seemed lost herself in the conflicting emotions, as she pranced back and fourth.
“I...c...c...can't...”
Gentle sighed, as her voice died off finally. He looked away, turned his head and laid it down on his neck, he even closed his eyes. Now he just could hear the pacing of the filly in front of him. She mumbled and her sobs became louder and louder. She argued with herself.
“That's just silly.
I c...c...can't...I...”
Her hooves ended their pacing right in front of him and the voice sounded so thready and almost broken, that he had to cock his ears to understand her.
“I..I'm afraid.
And I want you to...l...hug me!”
The filly jumped forwards into a trembling hug, she put her hooves tight around his neck and buried her face deep into his coat. She sobbed and had to sit on her back legs to stay where she was. They were hitting the ground like they had a mind on their own and were trying to flee. Gentle took a deep breath, opened his eyes and raised his head. He tried to free his hooves, but the filly was anxious to hold them down, that he simply couldn't move them.
“I...please hold me.
Don't hurt me please...”
The last sentence painfully tone let the filly tremble even more.
He laid his head on the sobbing filly and nudged her gently. His back legs stood up and he lifted the filly slowly with his magic, so his fore legs were able to stand up too. The filly didn't notice it, she was just sobbing into his chest. Gentle watched over the filly for a long time, she trembled very hard and snuggled herself almost entreating into his coat.
“Please...please...”
She sounded so desperate, that he couldn't continue to do nothing. He raised slowly and hesitantly both fore hooves and hugged the filly.
“Sch...everything is going to be fine.
I'm here.”
Now the filly sobbed even louder and snuggled closer into his chest.
“I...I don't know why I...”
She wailed much louder than before and Gentle sighed heavily. He whispered and fondled over her head.
“There is no reason why, you know.
Sometimes all what we want is somepony to look after you.”
Scootaloo raised her head and sobbed. She dried her eyes on Gentle's coat and tried to suppress more tears.
“I don't want to.
I don't want to be so weak.
That's...that's so em...”
Gentle smiled, as the filly sobbed again and wasn't able to speak more.
“I won't tell anypony, I promise.”
He pushed her head gently back on his chest and she wept against it, snuggled closer and sobbed for a few minutes. Gentle tried to brush her gently aside, as her breath calmed down, but the filly mumbled a few words and snuggled closer. She had fallen asleep again and Gentle sighed. The filly was easy to wake up again, but her state of mind wouldn't change so easily and she was surely exhausted from all of this. He took a deep breath, tried to levitate her away from his neck, but she didn't let go. So he had to lay down on the couch and just stick with her. He levitated a blanket over her and tugged her gently in. He shook his head and turned of the light. He wanted to watch over her sleep and stay awake for her, so he cast a spell to do so. Anyway she clutched herself so firmly at him that he wouldn't fall asleep so easily, but better prepared, than sorry..
Shining had tucked Slight in, had told him an extra long bedtime story, had changed the covers of his pillow and had done everything, that he would feel comfortable in his bed.
“I wouldn't mind, if she had asked me.”
Shining smiled, as he heard Slights mumbling and nodded.
“Of course, Slight.
Lovely dreams and sleep tight.”
He kissed the colt on the forehead and re-tucked his blanket again. Finally he sneaked out of the room. He sought for his friend and found him on the couch in the living room. The sleeping little filly snuggled closely to him and the older stallion sighed. He whispered so low, that only Gentle would hear him.
“Well, that's escalated quickly, Gentle Light.
You know how to leave a mark on a foal.”
He sighed again and Gentle glared at him. He sighed too and whispered an answer.
“She was seeking desperately for somepony like me, Shining.”
The other stallion snorted and cracked his tail once. This had an immediately effect on the filly, she snuggled closer into Gentle embrace and released a slightly suppressed sob.
“I...we shall talk about it tomorrow, Gentle.
I should...look out for her...uhm.
Parents I guess?”
Gentle sighed and shook his head. He examined the little filly for a long time and finally raised a hoof. He laid it gently around her shoulder and pulled her closer into his embrace.
“Nopony will care whether I stay or not.
Could it be that she meant more than just... you know... her staying yesterday?”
Both stallions fell silent and looked at the filly. She trembled shortly and cuddled closer to the stallion.