A Haunted Mind
It was a dark and damp night, the moon barely providing enough light to see by. An orange pegasus filly trotted through the streets, using the pale moonlight as a guide. Scootaloo knew where she was going, she had been there several times. The soft sounds of a waterfall caught her attention, letting her know she was headed in the right direction. Scootaloo slowed to a walk, looking up into the sky. A large shadow loomed overhead, the sound of cascading liquids echoed downwards. A small mailbox stood to her right, just to the side of the cloud overhead. With a sigh of relief, Scootaloo sat down next to the mailbox, happy to have finally reached her destination: Rainbow Dash's house.
The young filly, still unable to fly, knew she had no chances of reaching her idols home alone. Luckily, a doorbell sat next to the mailbox so Rainbow Dash could be reached by ponies other than pegasi. Scootaloo pushed the button once, waiting a while before pushing it again. From camping with Rainbow Dash and sharing a tent with her, Scootaloo knew she was a fairly heavy sleeper. Just as Scootaloo was about to ring the doorbell again, Rainbow Dash came lofting down from her cloud home. The cyan pegasus had her mane in a complete disarray, rainbow colored strands of hair sticking out every which way. Her eyelids were drooping, heavy from sleep.
"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Rainbow Dash asked coldly, upset that she had been awakened from her sleep.
"Can I come in?" Scootaloo asked gently, avoiding the older mares question.
"Scootaloo, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Rainbow Dash asked again, this time much more insistently.
"Just let me come in and I'll explain," The young filly pleaded, looking up at her hero with wide eyes, her desperation evident.
With a soft sigh, Rainbow Dash spread out her wings, letting Scootaloo climb up onto her back. Flying up about fifty feet, Rainbow Dash leveled out with the large cloud that held her home up. No one ever asked when that particular cloud never drifted away, like many others would, and Rainbow Dash liked it that way. She didn't care to waste her time on questions about architecture. Landing softly on the could, Rainbow Dash bent down, allowing Scootaloo to jump down onto the cloud below. As the orange filly landed on the cloud, she felt fatigue tug at her body. It had been such a long time since she had last touched a cloud. They were softer and more comforting than she remembered.
"Come on Scoot," Rainbow Dash said softly, seeing the young filly was clearly exhausted, though she wasn't exactly sure why.
Scootaloo nodded, reluctantly pulling herself into Rainbow Dash's large home, each step a large effort. Rainbow Dash, knowing Scootaloo had never actually been inside her home before, led the filly into the kitchen. It was pretty chilly out tonight, so Rainbow Dash put a pot of decaf coffee on the stove for herself. Figuring Scootaloo wouldn't like coffee much, the cyan pegasus mixed up a hot chocolate for her young admirer. Pouring out a mug of coffee and handing the hot chocolate to Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash sat down at her kitchen table. Taking her place across from Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo looked down at the table, not wanting to say anything.
"I let you come in, it's your turn to explain why your here," Rainbow Dash said softly, taking a sip of her coffee.
"It's really a long story..." Scootaloo mumbled, starting to have second thoughts about coming to talk to Rainbow Dash.
"Considering it's the middle of the night, I've got nothing but time," Rainbow Dash replied flatly.
Scootaloo took a deep breath, her eyes half lidded. She looked up from the table to Rainbiw Dash. The cyan mare flicked her tail impatiently, waiting for the story to begin. Scootaloo laid one arm on the table and rested her head down on it.
"Memories are the worst. You can cut me, break me, or make me fall, but the memories will always be worse," Scootaloo begun, each word slow and thoughtful. "My parents didn't want me. I was just an accident, a product of their reckless love. After I was born, all they did was fight. My room was small and dusty with nothing in it but an old mattress, spotted with blood. I took their abuse for years, never fighting back, never running away. I stayed there and took it. Each day was exactly the same. I woke up alone, my parents out at bars through the night and into the morning. I went to school and everyone stared at the pegasus filly, covered in blood and bruises. I got home to a long beating before going up to my bed to cry until I fell asleep. I lived like that for years Rainbow Dash. For years, but I put up with it." Scootaloo paused, tears streaking down her face.
"Why didn't you just leave?" Rainbow Dash asked softly, not wanting to bombard the filly with sympathy all at once.
"I thought they loved me!" Scootaloo shouted, pounding a hoof down on table. "Deep down, I still clung on to the hope that they loved me," Scootaloo added in a hushed tone, slowly pulling her hoof off the table. "I honestly thought they still loved me. Somewhere in their cold hearts, I thought there might have been just a little love. I held on to that thought for years, taking their beatings day after day, week after week, month after month, until one day. I just couldn't do it any more. After that one day, I knew any love they had left was gone. It was a cold, snowy night. I laid up in bed crying, just like any other day. My mom came up into my tiny, little room and sat down next to me on my bed. I thought this was finally going to be the moment she realized how much she actually loved me. I lifted my head up, looking into her big, magenta eyes and she looked down at me. 'Scootaloo, your father and I have decided that you have been nothing but a disgrace and you are harming our reputation,' she told me. Her words stung more than anything I'd ever heard. Next thing I knew, my dad had picked me up and literally thrown me out into the icy streets. I knew then I never wanted to see them again. I stood up and ran as far as I could as fast as I could get there. After running all through the night, my hooves were cut up and bleeding from all the jagged bits of ice. My mane and tail were full of frost. My eyelashes had collected snow over them. My wings had frozen shut to my body. My body couldn't take any more of the running, any more of the cold. I walked into the edge of Ponyville, leaving bloody tracks in the freshly fallen snow. I ducked into an ally and collapsed."
Tears ran in a stream down Scootaloo's face. She couldn't muster the strength to continue. Rainbow Dash stood up and walked over to Scootaloo, her own eyes misty over the story of this filly's life. The cyan mare wrapped a wing around Scootaloo, pulling her close. She gently lifted Scootaloo up off the chair and flew over to a spare bedroom. She made her way to the freshly made bed, laying the weeping filly down onto the cloud mattress and pulling a blanket over her.
"You need to sleep now, you can finish your story in the morning," Rainbow Dash whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
"B-but I can't. The memories come back," Scootaloo whispered, referring to the nightmares she had every night.
"Shh, I'll stay right here," Rainbow Dash assured, a few tears slipping from her eyes and sliding down her cheeks.
The room went quiet, only the distant sounds of a waterfall and the shaky breaths of the two pegasi could be heard. Laying on the plush bed, sleep quickly overcame Scootaloo, her exhausted mind and body quickly claiming their much needed rest. Rainbow Dash sat next to the bed, watching over the small filly, guarding her sleep from the horrible thoughts that attempted to disturb it.
* * *
The first feeble rays of daylight streaked into the room through the skylights of the cloud home. That little amount of light was enough to wake the pegasus filly. Much to her bodies protest, Scootaloo opened her eyes, rolling over to face Rainbow Dash. She smiled, having seen her idol had stayed by the bed the entire night. Scootaloo sat up, gently getting down off the bed. Rainbow Dash smiled, seeing Scootaloo was awake.
"How'd you sleep Squirt?" She asked kindly, messing up her already wild, magenta mane.
"The best I had in my entire life," Scootaloo replied, rubbing her tired eyes.
"Good, how about some breakfast then you can finish your story," Rainbow Dash suggested, showing Scootaloo out to the kitchen.
Scootaloo nodded hesitantly before following Rainbow Dash. A dreary light came in through the skylights, providing just enough of a dim glow though out the room. While Rainbow Dash began breakfast, Scootaloo sat down at the kitchen table, watching her hero. The cyan mare went for something more simple, putting a few pieces of bread in the toaster. She set a jar of zap apple jam on the table, along with a few butter knives. When the toast popped up out of the toaster, Rainbow Dash set two pieces on a plate for herself and did the same for her guest. Sitting down and sliding Scootaloo a plate of toast, Rainbow Dash opened the bottle of jam and slathered a large amount on both her pieces of toast.
"Want any?" Rainbow Dash asked, gesturing to the jam.
"I'm alright," Scootaloo replied with a shake of her head.
"Alright, now get talking, you left off after you ran away," Rainbow Dash said, taking a bite of her toast.
"I've lived on the streets ever since, scavenging off lost bits ponies drop. I never know when I'll be able to get my next meal. It's hard living like that, but I know that's all I can do," Scootaloo said, stopping to take a few bites of her toast.
"What I don't understand is why you never told anyone. You could have had a home, a family, a life worth living," Rainbow Dash stated, puzzled.
"Don't you get it?" Scootaloo questioned, a few tears sliding down her face. "Look at me now, I have friends, I go to school, I have a big sister figure. If I told other ponies, they would just look at me like a kicked puppy left out in the rain. I don't want that, I'm tired of getting stared at, getting everypony's sympathy. I just want to live a normal life."
"Living on the streets is not a normal life Sco-"
"It's a close as I can get," Scootaloo shot back at Rainbow Dash. "Look, I'm sorry for yelling, it just no one understands," Scootaloo mumbled.
"Your right. I don't understand what it's like, but all I want is to help you," Rainbow Dash said kindly, looking over at the scrawny filly.
"Really?" Scootaloo asked hopefully, wiping away her tears.
"Really. I want you to stay with me from now on," Rainbow Dash said with a smile.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Scootaloo exclaimed, jumping out of her chair and galloping over to Rainbow Dash's side.
"It's no problem kid," Rainbow Dash replied softly, picking Scootaloo up and setting the filly down beside herself.
Rainbow Dash wrapped a wing around Scootaloo, holding her close. She was determined to make sure the filly had a brighter life from now on. Scootaloo had always meant a lot to Rainbow Dash, and now she just meant that much more.
"I promise, there will be nothing but blue skies and sunny days from here on out," Rainbow Dash said with a content sigh.