The morning after.
Slight listened to the sound of his own breathing and snuffled on the pillow, as his dad had left the room finally. It smelled fresh washed and there was a light hint of smell from daddy Gentle as well. He sighed eased, nuzzled the covers with his nose and sniffed again. He turned to the door and looked to it.
“Why had she slept in my bed after all?”
He mumbled with a low voice and yawned. He glanced to the door and snuggled closer into the covers. He fell asleep finally and dreamed.
Shining laid alone in the huge bed and tossed and turned around from one side to another. He tried to feel around for the pillow from Gentle, wanted to catch the odour of the younger stallion, but the pillow wasn't quite as cuddly, as a warm body would be. He snorted and tuned around again.
“I thought, we had passed this, Gentle Light.
I mean, Slight don't have any more nightmares and slept in his own bed.”
He sighed again and drew the blanket over his head with a glim of his horn. It took a few minutes of tossing and turning, but he fell asleep too. He clutched deeply into the pillow of his coltfriend and nuzzled it over and over.
Gentle didn't be as lucky as the sleeping stallion. He laid aside a steady breathing filly, who didn't let him go and nuzzled him, as he was a warm extra huge stuffed animal. The stallion gazed at the filly,cocked his head and smiled at her attempts to cuddle closer at him, but appeared to be worried at the same time. The filly grappled his embracing hoof so hard and pressed it so closely at herself to make sure, that he couldn't lay a hoof on her, while she was sleeping.
Then she pulled it away and approached closely to the stallion and tried to clutch herself firmer into his embrace. She did both without waking up and her trembling self seemed to need protection in her dreams for somebody, or something. Gentle tried to look her over to see if she had new bruises or other injuries, beside the one he already knew, but he couldn't spot any new ones. He couldn't lean over her otherwise, because she ducked herself closer under him, as she felt his warm breath on the coat. He stopped and sighed finally. This should wait till morning, when the filly would wake up.
The night passed by for the four ponies in a different way.
Shining's night was over very quickly as the alarm rang and woke him up.
Slights waking call was way gentler. A hoof fondled away the last dream and Dad Stars voice woke him.
“Slight, please wake up.
You should get up.”
They were trying to check on the ponies in the living room, but Scootaloo slept still and Gentle shook his head slowly, so Shining closed the door again. He cast a damping spell ion the door and prepared the breakfast for Slight. They were leaving the house after breakfast and Shining accompanied the fillies on the way to school.
Gentle didn't wake up, but startled out of his thoughts, as Scootaloo woke up. The filly snapped her eyes open and raised her head quickly, as she woke up. She felt the hoof around her shoulders and scooted away from Gentle with a surprised yelp. She looked at him with wide eyes. The filly raised a trembling hoof and rubbed away the sleep in her eyes, one after the other. She didn't let slip the the open eye from Gentle. The stallion smiled hesitantly and laid still on place.
Scootaloo looked around and spotted finally the trail with the food. She looked very famished to it and her stomach growled, but she didn't move forward. She just stared at the sandwiches with a watered mouth. Gentle smiled and levitated the apple to her, but she shied away from the hovering fruit and tried to jump on her hooves.
“It won't bite you, you know.”
Gentle laid the apple slowly on the couch and cocked his head. Scootaloo needed a little while to leave the corner of the couch. She examined the lying apple very carefully, but finally her hunger took over her and she grabbed it. She raved it down with seeds and stem in a matter of seconds and Gentle cocked his head further with a gentle smile on it. The filly leaned over to the sandwiches and tried to pull one off the plate with her mouth, but she couldn't reach one. She wanted to stand up, but Gentle levitated one in front of her. This time she grabbed it quickly and raved it even faster than the apple.
“If you want to I can make you a few new sandwiches.
They're laying here since yesterday. Surely they are....”
Scootaloo shook her head and said something throughout her munching mouth.
“No, they're enough for me.
Really.
They're great.”
As she swallowed the last bit of it, she looked to the plate again and trembled a little bit. Gentle sighed and levitated another one, but Scootaloo didn't take it. She crawled closer to the stallion and looked to the glass and the juice on the trail. She licked her lips and the stallion nodded. First he wanted to pour in a sip, but he waited for something.
“May I get some juice, please.”
She whispered and drew circles on the sofa with one hoof. Gentle nodded and poured one glass for himself too. Both drank a sip and breathed relived out in unison. A muted sound from the door woke both ponies from this moment of peace and Scootaloo jumped onto her hooves. She mumbled a few words and avoided Gentle's eyes as she did.
“I...I should go home right now...”
Gentle raised a hoof and laid it gently on Scootaloo's shoulder. The filly shut her eyes close and trembled, but crawled back on the couch.
“We shall talk before you leave, as you have promised, don't you think?”
Gentle's words had an unwanted effect on the filly. She sobbed quickly and ducked her head. The stallion cleared his throat and hugged her with one hoof. He leaned his head forward and nuzzled her once. She froze in place first and cringed then. She struggled under his hoof and banged her head against his nose finally. She broke free and jumped quickly back on the hooves. Gentle drew back and squealed upset. Scootaloo jumped from the sofa, and ran towards the door where she was greeted by somepony stepping into her way. A tall stallion stormed into the room calling out loudly.
“What's happening here?
Why are you screaming, Gentle.
Whoa, just hold your horseshoes, short stuff.”
Scootaloo tried to gallop through his legs, but Shining was way to fast for her. He crossed his front legs and blocked her way out. First she tried to break through, tried to push past on the sides, finally she had to give up, panted heavily and shied away from the stallion. Gentle stood up slowly and looked to the both ponies on the door. He rubbed his nose, saw that he bled, the hit was so strong? He levitated a tissue and placed it on the nose. Finally he approached the door.
“What's just happening here, Gentle?”
Shining's voice sounded so harsh, that the smaller stallion dropped his head and his ears went flat. The effect on Scootaloo was way worse, she ducked down, raised both front hooves and tried to protect her face with them. Gentle sighed and lifted the trembling filly with his magic. He levitated the scared little filly back to the couch, in fact he was so gentle, that she didn't even notice it, until she was lay down again. She looked around very confused and sought for the smaller stallion. Both were standing at the door and the Gentle whispered to Shining.
“I think, I have frightened her.
I'm sorry, Shining, but...”
“Are you serious, Gentle?
You have no reason to ask for my forgiveness.
The filly...”
Again Shining wasn't aware, how much his angry tone would hurt and frightened Scootaloo, but his friend knew and stopped him with one hoof. He turned around and faced Scootaloo, who ducked down behind her hooftipps and trembled again.
“This isn't helping, Shining.”
The other stallion snorted and took a deep breath. He stamped his hoof on the ground and glanced firmly at the filly. She shied away more and sighed.
“We put her in, let her sleep here and you were even here for her the whole damn night.
So...”
“Thanks...”
The voice sounded low and Shining's face softened instantly. He smiled to the filly on the couch, who had raised her head and looked to them with wide eyes. He spotted a few tears in the corners of her eyes, nodded finally and turned halfway around.
“There we go.
I will go and won't disturb you any more.
Cheerilee has told me, where your...foster...”
Scootaloo sighed again and dropped her head slowly. She sobbed again and rubbed her eyes with one hoof. The stallions looked at each other for a few seconds and Shining cleared his throat.
“I don't want to embarrass you, short stuff.
But we have to tell them, where you are and that you're okay, you know?”
“They don't care!”
This cry echoed through the house and startled the birds outside, it was so loud. Gentle looked to Scootaloo, who was chewing on her lips and then to Shining, who just shrugged his shoulders and turned around totally.
“Anyhow, I will tell them and you two...do, whatever you had planned, Gentle.”
Gentle sighed and closed the door, as his coltfriend had left. He returned slowly to the couch and looked directly into Scootaloo's frowning face, who turned her head away and shut her eyes closed, as he stood directly in front of the couch. He laid down on the couch as far as possible and poured more juice in his glass. The sound of this woke Scootaloo again and she looked to the glass.
“Could I please...”
Scootaloo's low voice sounded friendlier and more vulnerable than before. So he levitated the glass to Scootaloo and she caught it with both hooves, but she didn't drink. Instead she looked to the stallion's nose and sighed.
“I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you.
But...”
She turned the glass in her hooves, examined the juice for a while and seemed to be lost in her thoughts.
“Are you alright, Scootaloo?”
This question brought her back and she just shook her head. Again tears were gathering in her eyes and the first fell down into her juice.
“No.”
She shivered and sobbed. Gentle crawled closer and raised a hoof. He laid it around the shoulder of the sobbing filly and pulled her gently closer. She leaned her head on his side and squeaked.
“I...I just want...”
“Somepony, who looks out for you and cares about you?”
The filly nodded and took a deep breath. She clenched her teeth, but spoke along and snuggled reserved against the stallion.
“They offer a place where I can stay.
They leave something to eat for me and even buy everything I need,
but... when I need them they are never around.
They... don't care when I don't get home at night.
They have never given me a hug.”
Her lament went lower and painfuller, as longer she complained and as she came to the last sentence, she pressed her sobbing head firmly into the stallion's coat. Gentle took a deep breath, pulled the filly closer with both hooves and hugged her. The filly sighed relieved and lifted her own trembling hooves, to return the hug.
“Maybe they are afraid to hurt you.”
His explanation was interrupted by another sob and the filly even wailed. As she did, she rubbed her face on Gentle's chest and it looked like she shook her head.
“They...they don't ask me once in whole time, how I feel.
They don't care!”
Gentle held her for while and stroke her mane gently. He looked her over and tried to estimate, what she had encountered, to be that hurt, bt it was confusing at best.
“Why do you need foster parents in the first place?”
He whispered the question, but Scootaloo raised her head in shock and stared at him red eyed. She opened her mouth and rubbed more gathering tears away. She chewed on her lips, as it would help to avoid the answer. Gentle looked directly in her eyes and stayed that way, as long, as she waited. Finally Scootaloo sobbed and gave up. She shut her eyes close and answered.
“Father was...a dickhead.”