"Girls! Breakfast!" Spike called up the stairs, polishing off his bacon sandwich. "C'mon, munchkins, up and at 'em!"
"Coming, Onii-chan!" A group of female voices yelled back in unison.
He smirked a little. When he finally moved out on his own a few months ago, he'd figured his life would slide into a fairly standard pattern. At least, a pattern that didn't involve learning he'd been picked to be a foster older brother/parent to a group of preadolescence girls. Especially girls that took to calling him that name almost from day one. It was, admittedly, pretty damn cute.
Soon the approaching stampede of feet let him know to take a step to the side and allow the crowd of nine and ten-year olds to scamper by. Watching them run past, still in their pajamas, he ticked off each in case one thought she could be sneaky and head back to bed.
Twilight Sparkle was the first one down. A book-loving half-pint that hoped to become a researcher when she got older. Beside her was Fluttershy, the timid one and animal lover of the group. In her arms was her stuffed bunny, Angel. Applejack, the oldest, was right behind them, with her little sister, Apple Bloom, riding piggy back.
Pinkie Pie soon followed. She was the borderline hyper one. She'd said it felt like a sleepover every night there, and she loved it. Then it was Rainbow Dash, the rowdiest girl Spike'd ever seen. She claimed she hated 'mushy stuff' but it was impossible not to see how close she was with her own (sort of) little sister, Scootaloo. Then Sunset Shimmer. She'd been a little hesitant around him at first, but thankfully the redhead warmed up to him before long. And last but not least, Rarity, possibly the most fashion-conscious second-grader he'd ever seen, helping her little sister, Sweetie Belle, down.
"All right, you lot. You know the drill; breakfast then get dressed for school. Starting your new school today, remember?" He was treated to a variety of responses from there.
"Really!?" Twilight perked up and almost ran to the dinner table, Sunset right behind her.
Rainbow, on the other hand, groaned. "Do we have to?"
"Yes, Rainbow. Just like I have to go to work." He heard the disgruntled sigh and decided to sweeten the deal. "Aand it's gonna be the first day for them too." He pointed to Sweetie, Scoot, and Bloom.
"We goin' too?" Bloom piped up through a mouthful of pancake.
"Yep, first day of Kindergarten. Gonna need your big sisters to help show you the ropes." He went in for the kill. "Besides, Rainbow, don't you want your lil sis cheering you on at the tryouts for the junior soccer team I heard they have?"
That did it. Next thing he knew, she was at the table with the others. Well, except for one. He crouched down in front of the almost teary-eyed girl. "What's wrong, Shy?"
She just whimpered and moved closer to him, burying her face in his shoulder.
"She's scared 'bout goin'." Applejack said.
"Ah." He turned back to Fluttershy. "Let me guess, going to a strange place and possibly getting separated from your sisters?"
"Y-you too..." She said softly, her voice muffled a little.
Spike hugged her, his heart breaking a little for the little girl. "Hey, it'll be ok." He whispered, holding her close. "Here, I got an idea. I'll be right back!" He quickly made his way up to his bedroom and started looking through the drawers. "Come on...where are you!? HA!" He grabbed something from under a sweater and headed back down.
Meanwhile, the others were watching. "What do you think he's doing?" Sunset asked.
Rainbow just shrugged.
"Ok. Fluttershy, I want you to meet Void." He held up a baseball-sized black dragon plush.
"Void?" Applejack asked with no small amount of disbelief.
Spike shrugged. "I was eight and thought the word sounded cool." He placed it in Fluttershy's hand. "When I was little, I was nervous as all get-out starting a new year, much less going to a new school. But, I snuck this lil guy around with me in my pocket and it helped. Now, Angel's probably going to be too big for you to carry around, but Void here is just small enough to keep in your supply case."
As soon as he was done, Fluttershy pounced in a hug. "Thank you, Onii-chan!" She squealed, nuzzling the little dragon plush before letting him go and scampering to the table.
The moment she wasn't looking, he quickly gestured to the other girl, then his eyes, then Fluttershy. They got the message; 'Keep an eye on her when you can'
While they finished their breakfast, he sent them all to get dressed and got to cleaning up the dishes. 'Can't really blame her. This can be a big deal for a kid her age.' He thought, scrubbing up the plates.
"Ooh, I like him already!"
"What?" He turned around at the noise. It sounded like it had come from near the stairs, and a bit like Pinkie...but there was no one there. He quickly went over and called up. "Pinkie?"
"Yeah, Niichan?" The bubbly girl's voice confirmed she was up there.
"Did you say something just now?"
"Just telling Sunny that I hope the cafeteria has chicken nuggets. Why?"
Spike paused. 'Ok...whatever that was sounded a little like Pinkie, but she's not the type to lie about something. So....what the hell...?' "N-nothing. Just my ears playing tricks on me." He went back to the the sink and started back up...
When he heard it again. Though this time, it was a soft, almost inaudible clip-clop sound, like a horse was trotting around on the wooden floors.
'Maybe I just heard wrong...' He thought, looking in the living room. Nothing was there. After all, there was a small ranch not far from the house, and sometimes the owners rode by. So, it could've been them...
Except it was on a. Wooden. Floor! He looked around the room one more time. Maybe it was nerves messing with him. After all, this was going to be the first day he and the girls would be apart since he became their foster brother/dad. So he was probably just having separation anxiety. 'Wonder if this is how biological parents feel on days like this.
Thankfully, he'd managed to put it out of his head for now by the time the girls came back down, dressed and with their new school supplies. "Ok, you all ready? Let's hit the car." He led them out and made sure they were all buckled in before getting in himself.
As they pulled out, he took one more look at the house. If he didn't know any better he could've sworn he saw something either pink, or purple, in one of the second floor windows.
And it waved at him.