The Sparkle Dash Family
Prompt # 354: Scaping the bottom of the barrell
Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
It was official, hospitals sucked. There was absolutely nothing to do. She was confined to bed rest for an entire week. It hadn’t even been a full day, and she was already bored beyond belief. How could anypony stand sitting still for so long?
Scootaloo heaved a sigh, and then winced in pain as the motion of her body caused a twinge of pain to run up her legs. This was just so unfair! Why did she have to be stuck here?! Still, she supposed it was better than the alternative.
If only just, it was really boring.
Thankfully, the silence and boredom was broken as the door to her room was flung open. Two blurs rushed into the room, one yellow, one white. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were at her side before the door even hit the wall, tears in their eyes and each speaking in such a rush that it was impossible to tell what they were saying. Scootaloo tried to hide a wince as Sweetie Belle leaned a little too close to one of her hurt legs.
“Ah’msosorryScootsweshouldn’teverhavedonethatandnowyou’reallbustedupand-” Applebloom wailed. Her mane was a mess, the red bow that normally held it in place had been shredded earlier in the accident. Luckily that was all that had been shredded.
“ThatwassostupidofusandyoualmostdiedandIcan’tbelievewemadeitbackplease-” Sweetie Belle’s words were just a intelligible as Applebloom’s. She had a bruise on her rear left leg, but that was it. Heck, it could’ve been a lot worse.
Two more mares entered the room behind the crying crusaders, and Scootaloo felt her heart stop. She’d never seen Rainbow Dash look angry at her. Annoyed sure, but angry? Never. Yet here she was, Scootaloo’s idol, and she looked absolutely livid. Next to her stood Ponyville’s residential librarian and magical expert, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight’s face was a sharp contrast to Rainbow Dash’s. Where Dash looked angry, Twilight looked worried. Yet beyond the worry, there was a question working behind her eyes.
Scootaloo swallowed nervously. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had stopped their stream of words, sensing the mood in the room as the two mares walked in.
“Uhhh... we’ll just be outside while you guys talk, kay Scoots?” Applebloom said.
Scootaloo didn’t say anything, only nodded. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged a look, and then walked back out into the hallway, being sure to give Rainbow Dash a wide berth to avoid drawing her ire.
“Uh...Hey Rainb-” Scootaloo began.
“WHAT THE HAY WERE YOU THINKING?!” Rainbow Dash yelled. She was breathing heavily, and her face was flushed with anger. “Cutie Mark Crusaders Manticore Trainers?! Even Fluttershy doesn’t go looking for manticores!”
Scootaloo wilted into herself. It had been a stupid idea, she realized that now. It was just... she and the other crusaders had been so frustrated. They’d tried everything! Everything and they still hadn’t gotten their cutie marks! It had been her suggestion. Maybe they needed to try something a little more extreme, she had thought. After all, they were practically out of ideas, starting to reuse some of their first “crusades” hoping that maybe this time they would work.
Rainbow began pacing around the room, snorting angrily at each turn. “And then, not only do you find a manticore, but then you do something stupid like jump in front of it when it starts chasing you!”
Scootaloo sat upright, pain flaring in her wings and legs as she did so. “I had to! It was going straight for Sweetie Belle, and she wasn’t moving!”
Rainbow Dash whirled around, and Scootaloo almost regretted speaking up. The pain and anger in her idol’s eyes hit her almost as hard as the manticore had earlier.
The two pegasi stared into each other’s eyes, Dash’s hard and angry, Scootaloo’s beginning to water. “You could have died Scootaloo.” Rainbow Dash said, her voice starting to level out.
Scootaloo looked away, tears finally spilling from her eyes. “It’s not like anypony would’ve cared if I had.”
Rainbow Dash flinched as though she’d been slapped. “Squirt...”
“Scootaloo,” Twilight interrupted, looking around the room, “Where are your parents?” She asked. There was a dreadful realization working in the back of her mind, and Scootaloo’s words had pretty much confirmed it.
“They... they’re probably just at work.” Scootaloo said lamely. Her wings were drooping even in the bandages, and she was sniffling as she tried fruitlessly to stop the tears.
“Scoots... I’d care.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo looked up and almost gasped. Tears were falling from Rainbow Dash’s eyes. With a blur of color, Dash was at Scootaloo’s bedside, her forelegs gently wrapped around the filly, trying not to aggravate her injuries. “I was so worried squirt... I thought you’d... that you were...”
Scootaloo couldn’t hold it back anymore. The caring embrace of her idol broke the dam, and Scootaloo began bawling into Rainbow Dash’s chest. She knew she was babbling, just saying sorry over and over again, saying how scared she had been.
Rainbow Dash held the filly tighter, stroking her mane and whispering into her ear that everything was going to be alright. Twilight looked on at the scene, and felt something well up in her heart, even as her eyes grew a bit watery. Something was obviously going on, Scootaloo’s parents should be here, comforting their daughter after what had happened. Instead however, it was Rainbow Dash that Scootaloo was clinging to, and it looked... right.
Twilight tapped her marefriend on the shoulder and whispered that she’d be right back. She left the room, intending to find a doctor and get to the bottom of this mess. She’d find out what was going on with Scootaloo, and then she’d work with Rainbow Dash to make it right. Rainbow Dash was the most important thing in the world to her, and Scootaloo was important to Rainbow Dash. That meant that there was nothing in all of Equestria that would stop Twilight from keeping the orange filly safe.
Inside the hospital room, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash continued to cry, holding each other tightly. In her mind, Rainbow Dash swore that she would do everything she could to protect this little filly.
And in Scootaloo’s mind, for one shining moment, she wondered if this was what having a mom felt like.