“That-a-girl!” Fluttershy answered, rubbing her hand lovingly up and down her daughter’s back. It wasn’t every day that a child like Scootaloo showed this much affection, it felt like a true breakthrough moment for her; as if she really helped her child solve something.
She back out of the hug and admired her daughter for a minute, gazing up and down at the child’s adorable outfit. It made her squee on the inside; her daughter looked absolutely amazing in the thing.
“D-do I at least look cute?” Scootaloo questioned, anxiously rubbing her arm up and down a little. She was never one to want to look ‘cute’, but with the footie pajamas, it felt appropriate to ask. She anxiously looked for her mom’s approval.
“Of course you do sweetie.” Fluttershy cooed, leaning in to peck her daughter on the forehead. She stood up and put her hands on her hips, “Listen sweetie. I’m going to start lunch if you’d like. I’ll be back real soon to talk with you.”
Scootaloo puckered her eyebrows, “B-but whadda I do while you’re gone?” She really didn’t have much to do, she’d been through so much she just wanted to sit down and cry; let alone play with some cheaply colored plastic.
She looked up desperately at her mommy, she didn’t want her to go; Not again, not ever again. Something inside her made her feel so tense, like a Tardis exploding and collapsing on itself all in one. Her heart stopped, she looked up at her mom with tears in her eyes and began crying again
“No-no-no…” Fluttershy cooed, grabbing her child from under her arms and hoisting her back into an embrace. Her hands graced the back of the child’s head and softly pressed it against her own chest. She closed her eyes and began stroking her daughter’s hair, “Shh… that’s it girl, let it all out.”
She remained standing with her child in what felt like a trapped reality, as long as Scootaloo in distress, she could never leave the child. A light bulb popped into her head, she could always try giving her daughter a little present.
Being sure not to disrupt the child’s gentle sobbing, she paced briskfully over to the room’s crib and grabbed something she’d set inside it from over a month ago. She popped it in her mouth for a few seconds to clean it. She snapped her fingers to grab the attention of her daughter, “Scoots, open your mouth big for mommy. I know you might have outgrown these, but mommy needs you to calm down a little.” She said with the warmest smile she could conjure.
The child didn’t second guess anything Fluttershy told her, something about how considerate she’d been today made every sincere word she preach sound truthful. She smiled, opening her mouth a bit. Her tongue touched the amber nipple of an orange pacifier and she instinctively sucked it in. She smiled a bit, suckling on her new time waster. She looked up happily at her mother; her mother looked down at her happily.
“I’ll be right back.” The mother smiled, setting her child unto the ground before departing from the bedroom. She made her way down stairs.
Scootaloo listened to her mom’s footsteps as they became more distant. Still suckling on her pacifier, she toddled over to the changing table and grabbed a colorful ring that had caught her eye. She took the pacifier out of her mouth and gave the toy an experimental bite. The plastic went down for a second before slowly reflating.
“Mmm…” she moaned, biting down on the toy again and again. Each time she bit down, the item’s durability got the best of her. She bit down again as hard as she could. Her teeth sank into the rubber deeply, but still not enough to make a dent in the dumb toy.
Frustrated, she became infuriated with her inability to dent the toy. She grabbed it from her mouth and chucked it as hard as she could against her wooden door. Distraught, she laid on her back and groaned.
“Scootaloo, is something wrong baby?” Fluttershy meekly asked, carrying in a cut sandwich and a sippy cup. She set the tray on the ground next to her daughter and helped her back on her backside, “Is everything alright Scoots, you seem a bit agitated.”
Looking up at her mommy, Scootaloo frowned as she pointed towards the toy she just threw, “I got angry and threw my toy. I tried chewing on it, but I couldn’t affect the dumb thing!” she pouted, crossing her arms.
Fluttershy giggled, handing her child the cup of apple cider, “Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s a teething ring, it’d be broken if you could dent it. Now drink up, it’s getting around lunch time.
“A sippy cup?” She asked, cautionaly wrapping her lips around it. She took a curious jab at the spout with her tongue before looking up at her mom. “I don’t need a sippy cup, I won’t spill my drink. I promise!”
“No baby…” Fluttershy bantered, walking over to the changing table. She grabbed a few of the baby diapers and aligned them straight before putting them back into one of their wooden side compartments. She took a deep breath and smiled, “I think it’d be best if you just use the sippy cup. I just don’t want any more accidents.”
“I’m not gonna pee myself though!” Scootaloo said, setting down the sippy cup and picking up her sandwich; it was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Indignantly, she took a bit of the end of the sandwich and gave it a big chomp.
Her face started to feel hot as she looked up nervously at her mommy. She couldn’t believe she just back talked her, as if she had any room to speak. She was the one who had a problem with screwing things up, but she knew she could drink from a cup. Silently, she looked at the ground in shame.
“No baby, I know you’re not going to have an ‘accident’. I’m just being cautious.” The mother said, walking away towards the door. Smiling, she nodded at her baby, “I’m going to be back real soon, I just gotta get my protein shake from my room.
Opening her baby’s bedroom door, she stepped out and closed it behind her. She walked down her cranky wooden staircase and to the kitchen where her bottles of protein were. She walked across the blank and white checkered floor and to her old monochrome fridge where she got a plastic bottle from.
She shook it in her hand for a quick minute and then broke a laminated plastic seal. She shut the fridge door and walked out of the retro looking room. She took a quick glance at the place, its modern appliances clashed so bad with the rest of her house’s rustic wooden over theme. Ignoring her eyesore of a cooking room, she walked back to her stairwell and came back up the stairs.
“I’m back b-“ was all the sad little child heard before a painful silence broke her desperate urge to sob. She looked at her mommy, ignoring the cold wet stain that coated her chest and the crotch of her footie pajamas. “I-I-I..” she muttered, being a wave of freezing cold air travel up her spine.
Her facial expression became jaded. The tears running down her face stopped. Her eye contact turned towards a distant space as she struggled to gather herself. ‘Not again! Stupid, stupid, stupid…’ she thought to herself as she hit her temple with the palm of her balled up fist. She knew she was in for it now.
“Oh dear…” Fluttershy walked over to her daughter and lifted her up with both arms. She held her daughter a small distance from her body as she carried her to the changing table. Setting the small girl unto the white padded surface, she asked, “H-how did you pee that fast?”
“I-It’s not pee!” Scootaloo cried, blushing indigently as her mother undid the footie pajamas, “It’s juice. I spilled it all over myself.”
“Oh sweetie, I’m sorry I must not have tightened the top enough.” She said, lifting her child up a bit as she struggled to get every bit of the purple PJ’s off her skinny body. She blushed a bit, as she slowly pulled the footie pajamas off her daughter’s slightly shaky legs.
Tossing the pajamas to the side, she walked back over to the dresser and grabbed the first thing that she had seen. She giggled a bit at the combination she had found, she was sure Scootaloo wouldn’t mind.
Walking back to her daughter, she hooked the elastic of her baby’s panties with her fingers and slowly lifted them off from her raised legs. Reaching into the cabinet below her, Fluttershy grabbed the first thing her hand came in contact with.
Using both hands, she unfolded the dark blue garment in her hands. She stretched the side elastic with her hands and laced her daughter’s legs through it’s open holes, “Raise your bottom dear.” she asked warmly.
The daughter waited a moment as she felt a plush softness coat her backside in a snugly warm hug. She panicked for a moment, her heart stopped. Peeking her head up, she asked curiously, “M-mommy. W-why am I in diapers?”
Smiling a bit, Fluttershy lifted the elastic of the leg hole up and poured a good bit of powder inside. “They're technically ‘diaper jeans’. Don't worry; they're pull-ups just like the ones you wear at night. These just-I just had some left over from a gift I got from Rarity a while back ago. She thought they looked really cute and so do I.”
Scootaloo blushed, “Oh-Do I have to use them?” she asked. Her heart beated fasted than she’d ever felt it beat before. Fluttershy was being so nice, she had nothing to complain about. It’s not like she’d be mocked or teased, her mommy probably wouldn’t even punish her. She was willing to do whatever Fluttershy wanted, for her sake.
Fluttershy smiled warmly again, pulling up a pink plaid onesie that she left on the open cubby. She signaled for her daughter to raise her arms. As she did, she guided them through the opened bottom of the shirt and through the holes.
“Yes, I think I might be putting too much pressure on you. If you really have to go potty, tell mommy and she’ll bring out the training toilet.” Fluttershy said, buttoning the crouch of the onesie.
She was shaking a bit on the inside, but after so many breakdowns her daughter had proven herself ‘irresponsible’. She really wasn’t mad at Scootaloo, but it was time she got a chance to unwind a bit. In less than a week her daughters world had changed so much, she shouldn’t have to worry about things; it seemed too cruel to her to expect a child like her to act so independently.
The child’s face went beat read, “B-but I don’t have accidents.”
“That’s the thing…” Fluttershy said, pulling up a denim romper. She lifted her daughter’s legs and began helping her into it, “From now on your ‘accidents’ will be just like going to the bathroom; even at night. I know you could get up and go to the bathroom, but you don’t have to worry about that now. Everything is mommy’s fault now, got that?” she said, hooking the straps over her baby’s shoulders.
Scootaloo breathed deeply but felt tempted to smile. She looked up cautiously at her caretaker with a small grin on her face, “W-what about school?”
“Schools on break Sweetie. There’s no way a country town like Ponyville is gonna plow the road ways for a next days. This Saturday is the start of your winter break anyway. You just relax and let mommy take care of you, it’s what I’m best at!” she cooed, helping her daughter back unto her seat.
Scootaloo chirped at her mommy, “Okay!” she opened her arms wide to be picked up, “what do we do now?”
“Same stuff we’d usually do!” Fluttershy said, opening an arm to the nursery and swinging it as if to display every nook and cranny, “But now the whole nursery is at your command dear. Nothing is too young for you baby. We have some many things we could try!” she said pacing slowly across the room’s softly carpeted floor.
She let her daughter’s wrap her legs around her own tummy. Using a hand to cradle underneath her baby’s bottom, she smiled making contact with her daughter’s soft magenta eyes, “You’re my baby now honey and from now on I’m calling the shots.”
Forming a wider grin, Scootaloo clung to her mom’s chest, “I-I wanna be with you! I always wanna be with you.” She admitted, her eyes getting watery as she irrationally spouted every word from her subconscious, “I-I want more hugs and kisses too!” she meekly whimpered, blushing from her phrasing.
Fluttershy watched as her baby’s face turned rosey again. ‘She was truly okay with this right?’ she thought to herself. On the inside, Fluttershy knew a bit too much about what Scootaloo was going through. She’d known her daughter for whole life and she was only now starting to realize all the mixed messages of false confidence and absent mindedness that’d she’d never noticed before.
It was clear to her that Scootaloo suffered from a disorder and that was alright with her. Of all the things her daughter could be, introverted wasn’t the worst thing that could be. Smiling, she walked her daughter over to the wooden rocking chair in the corner of the room.
In all actuality, she never thought she’d use the chair ever again. A relic from her mother’s side of the family, she hardly ever paid notice to it. After all, the chair itself was more for the benefit of rocking rather than comfort.
She sat on its padding. A light bit of padded white cotton on what was nothing other than a rickety wooden frame. Smiling, she held her baby close to her chest as she rocked back in forth, her feet planted loosely on the ground.
Scootaloo adjusted herself so that her legs came across her mommy’s legs. She leaned over, hugging her caretaker around the waist as she rested the side of her tired her on her mommy’s chest. She could feel the heat radiating from her mother. She could smell the light fusion of dragon fruit and berries that diffused from her mother’s clothes. She loved the plush feeling of fat that seemed beat softly as she sank her had further into it.
She cracked her tired eyes open, lifting her shaky hand into the air. It’d been so long since she broke her habit, it’d been so long since she’d grown out of it. She hated to look childish, but she knew her mother wasn’t going to judge, she understood her too well to ever judge.
Making a small ‘thumbs up’ sign with her small pail hand, she slowly moved it to her lips; opening them slightly. She pushed the rest of the thumb into her mouth, making a seal with her mouth. She peaked her eyes up only to meet her mother’s familiar reassuring expression as she suckled lightly.
“Awe, such a sweetie …” Fluttershy cooed, brushing her fingers though her her baby’s hair. She watched in a prideful admiration as her daughter’s eyes slowly shuttered shut.
It wasn’t every day that she’d seen something so naturally beautiful. The way Scootaloo bawled her fingers in weakly bawled fist, the way Scootaloo’s posture went oddly limp, the feeling of holding the person she cared for most in the world made her blush on the inside. She felt the warm clinginess from her daughter-it was time the girl got some rest.
She stood up with her daughter fast by her side and made her way over to her daughter’s railed bed. Something didn’t feel right about leaving her daughter all alone in such a high place all by herself, what if she were to wake up and trip? Scootaloo was such a dare devil, she’d probably jump off the thing just to prove something…
***
Back in the study, the young mother found herself pulling a new stationary note. Her pen on the paper, she started moving her writing utensil across the fine pink lines of her paper.
“Dear Rainbow Dash,
I’m sorry if it’s been a while since I’ve last sent my message. It’s been a rough day and the postage service wouldn’t appreciate a message to deliver right now; it’s snowing pretty bad. Anyway, I just wanted to talk to you about your daughter. I’m still not happy with the way you just left her, but I couldn’t be happier now that I’m really starting to enjoy being a mommy. Little Scootaloo had so many problems, more so than I could ever understand.
I decided I’d give her a little bit of time for her to be herself and I’m so glad I dd. She really likes the baby stuff from what I can tell. By that, I mean I’m letting her play with my old baby sitting stuff. I noticed her problem with talk, her problem with communicating, her problem with setting her emotions straight. At first I thought the way she was acting was just some anxiety about the move, but now I’m starting to realize that she’s a brilliantly hurt little girl.
She has asperger’s Rainbow Dash, it’s something I’ve been all too familiar with, but I’m sure you know all about that. I just thought it’d be good for Scoots to live a little bit more care free for a while. My plan isn’t to baby her, but to swaddle and love her. I’m going to let her make discoveries and do things by herself in a way that’s not so detrimental to her health. The benefit of me letting her take a step back in her independence is so that she doesn’t feel so guilty when she makes a mistake. I have no idea what you did with your little sister Rainbow Dash, but it’s curtain to me that she’s much better off as my little girl..."
Fluttershy said, clicking her pen shut. She glanced at her paper for a second before scooting back in her seat, staring blankly at her paper. She curled her hands as she read back the letter.
“My baby…” she said, tensing up a little bit.
5202649
I understand that the world of Equestria would translate into around 1860's-1920's in the Human world, but there are also aspects like flash cameras, packaged food, cosmetics, and other items which would suggest that the world of Equestria is at least in the Human world equivalent to the Greatest Generation on Earth; or around the 1920's-1940's. It's bizarre really. Besides, if the story wasn't from the modern age then you wouldn't be able to use cute things like baby walkers, swings, and colorful baby wear!
Is Scootaloo in a class that will help with that too? Or is Fluttershy basing this diagnosis on her babysitting jobs she's done and observations?
5218813 It's just a minor detail and it doesn't add or detract from the story.
I'm not entirely sure if I approve of Fluttershy allowing Scootaloo to be completely babied, but I can see how Fluttershy is just trying to help Scootaloo and keep her from getting too stressed out.
As a fellow asperger I can easily see how something as major as being abandoned by someone you thought loved you can cause you so much emotional stress. I've lived with it for over a decade, and it wasn't until after joining this fandom that I was even aware of the concept of being an "adult baby", but I grew up with a loving and supportive family, and a school system that was willing to provide staff to help me, so I know that I can't say for certain whether or not what Fluttershy's doing is for the best. Right now, perhaps the only thing I think she might be jumping the gun on is telling Scootaloo that she doesn't have to use the bathroom and can just go in her diapers. But as I said earlier, I didn't go through what Scootaloo is going through.
Such a nice and lovely touching story so far.
Scootaloo's lucky to have such a loving stepmommy.
Your characterization is admirable, I feel like I'm reading about Fluttershy and Scootaloo, just as it should be.
~
5218922 Probably the latter, though I do feel like she should probably consult a trusted source just to be safe. It's always good to get an expert opinion on something as tricky as child pyschology.
5219121 I hope she gets a diagnosis. It will help her in the long run, maybe get her in programs to build up.
5219135 I don't think she could just diagnose Scootaloo with asperger's syndrom without at least consulting with an expert on the subject online.
Even if you're a widely experienced babysitter, unless you've studied the human brain, you are not a doctor. You can make assumpations, but you can't say for certain what someone does or does not have.
5219151 I wasn't suggesting she herself to diagnose her. I meant that she should see a specialist to. ^^;
Even then I was referring to Scoots.
5219280 Indeed. Though, considering what she's doing, a specialist might not approve of her method of treatment. A specialist would probably have a different idea in mind to treat Scootaloo's disorder.
5219297 It would depend on the child. I mean - different methods work with different kids.
5219376 True, and I know that in no way, I could ever offer a truly expert opinion on what does or doesn't work. For all I know, being babied could be a more effective treatment for Scootaloo than anything other type of treatment that might be available.
5219414 I understand completely~I think babied might work based on certain events. She might never have had a life prior to the stay. Rainbow didn't make it easier either.
5219467 Yeah, and it's even worse when you consider how much Scootaloo looks up to Rainbow Dash. To have such a major figure in your life abandon you, that kind of tramua might never fully fade away.
5219467
5219483
I actually didn't mean to kick this up this much debate over Scootaloo's diagnosis. Usually when children go through traumatic events, trends of regression are common. Luckily or perhaps unluckily, Scootaloo is in a pretty unique situation for someone her age.
5220409 Like I said before, I have asperger's myself, but I never went through what Scootaloo went through. So I can't say for certain whether or not what Fluttershy is doing is an effective means of therapy.
5220409 Aw :( poor Scoots.
5220510 you do?! I never noticed. You write amazing stories.
Wait, I'm confused. Does Fluttershy have asperger's or has she cared for someone with it?
5220409 I have one qustion for you. How the F&#@ old is scootaloo?! Your answer well help me find out if i will continue reading.
Wow didn't see that coming about asphergers. I have that myself
I know I'm gonna more than likely sound very stupid, but may someone please explain Aspergers?
Doctor Who reference?
5218813
poor scootsy, I just wanna give her big hugs and kissy wissies!
7745242
my brother has asphergers too, well one of them