Twilight didn’t get a moment to rest, as the very next day, Scootaloo had come over for some reading together. Which meant it was time for Twilight to get some answers. The perfect moment would be during dinner. She knows it might be heartbreaking, or she might need to pry it from her. She was just too worried and wouldn’t let it rest. She’ll need to tread lightly. There is no telling how Scootaloo would react.
“She wants to know about my parents? Why isn’t she just asking me?” Scootaloo inquired, to Spike after he had spilled the beans.
Spike answered, “Because she’s Twilight. She’s one hundred percent overthinking it.”
This got a giggle out of Scootaloo, much to Twilight’s dismay. She couldn’t believe Spike would sell her out like that! She’ll need to punish him for this later, maybe take away a comic of his.
“I am not,” Twilight defended herself, “I simply don’t want to upset Scootaloo.”
“I don’t mind, really. I get asked about them all the time,” Scootaloo assured.
Twilight recomposed herself, “Thank you Scootaloo, I’ll try not to pry too much.”
“She will,” Spike said, with a roll of his eyes, as he left the room to clean the dishes, “I’ll be doing the dishes.”
“It’s alright Twilight, I trust you.” Scootaloo gave a grin, waiting for Twilight to ask her something.
“Well, I’ll get right to the thick of it then. Where are your parents?” Twilight asked squeamishly.
“I don’t know,” Scootaloo said, raising her hooves into a shrug.
Twilight only gave her a flat look, “What do you mean, you don’t know? Do you have parents?”
“Of course, everypony has to have parents. You can't come from nothing. You’re supposed to be the teacher here,” Scootaloo teased.
“Uuuuugh, okay, can you tell me a bit about them? Maybe why they aren’t here nor taking care of you?” Twilight inquired.
Scootaloo responded in a weirdly cheerful tone.
“Oh, that’s easy. My parents are Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood. They are super cool and awesome! They travel the world doing amazing adventuring work. They study new exotic plants and animals to help advance science and medicine.”
“Travel the world? Scootaloo, how often are they here for you?”
“Well, I’m not sure. They visit when they can, but that can be a long time. Hay, they haven’t even visited since you moved here,” Scootaloo said, without a hint of envy or malice in her words.
Twilight had to ponder this new information for just a second. Everything seemed to be falling into place. Very few consistent parental figures in her life and her obsession with flying led her to idolize and obsess over Rainbow Dash, the best flier in town while fitting her definition of cool. Maybe her uncomfortable shuffle from a while ago was from some subconscious insecurity. She seemed very open and loving towards them on the surface, at least. Still, to never be around, how could they just up and leave this filly? They basically abandoned her to be raised by whoever was free.
“Are you okay, Scootaloo?” Twilight asked, cautious of an outburst.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, parents shouldn’t leave their children like that. I was just worried you might be feeling unloved or neglected.”
This made Scootaloo ponder for a second. Her face shifted to a frown, but she quickly dismissed it.
“No, I’m sure they care. Why would you say they don’t? Am I a bad daughter?” Scootaloo asked, confused and downtrodden.
“No, no. You’re an amazing filly Scoot, and I’m sure they are very proud of you. You’ve done nothing wrong,” Twilight assured, moving to her side and pulling her in for a hug.
“I’m sorry for even suggesting that. Do you wanna read some Daring and spend the night?” Twilight suggested, trying to cheer her up.
Scootaloo just gave a small nod still brewing over the question Twilight presented her.
They moved to the couch as Twilight got some blankets for them.
Partway through the reading, Spike came out, and she excused herself to go and let Scootaloo’s aunts know she was staying the night. By now they had gotten used to her asking and weren’t worried. Twilight stated she would also be by sometime soon for some tea. She needed to know more about Scootaloo’s parents after tonight. For now, she had a filly to care for.
When she returned to the library, she was surprised to see Spike and Scootaloo soundly asleep and lying next to each other on the couch. They must have passed out while reading. Spike is very good with her. Maybe he’s taking an older brother role for her, that’s adorable. Not wanting to leave them there, she levitated them onto her back and to the guest room.
After setting them down on the bed, she turned to leave only to feel something tug at her tail. Scootaloo was clutching her tail and seemed to be having a nightmare. Not wanting to leave her to the nightmare alone she got onto the bed and wrapped them both in a wing hug. They both snuggled in closer to the newfound presence. Scootaloo settled down with a smile on her face as Twilight drifted to sleep.