//------------------------------// // Simple Comforts // Story: I'll Always be Here for You // by The Abyss //------------------------------// Scootaloo stirred awake, the harsh silence of the room a welcome contrast to her parents’ constant fighting and yelling. Sincerely grateful for the quiet, Scootaloo rolled over onto her other side and started to smile when she noticed something rather important. Rainbow’s quilt was missing. “What the…” she whispered as she sat up. Scootaloo felt around the bed and looked over both sides. When she saw nothing, she leaned over each side and waved her hoof about, trying to find the missing quilt. “Humph… nothing…” As the frigid air quickly sapped away any heat she had left, she started shivering, her wings and hooves feeling so cold that they felt like they were going to fall off. She had no idea why, but Twilight’s bedroom was absolutely freezing, just like last night. Her head constantly on a swivel, she finally found the quilt crumpled up in a heap at the other end of the bed. With a roll of her eyes, Scootaloo snatched the sheets and yanked them back up, tugging them up around her shoulders. She wrapped the rather large quilt as tightly as she could around her and rubbed her hooves together, trying to warm herself up. Still feeling a bit like an ice cube, Scootaloo knew she had to do something else; this just wasn’t cutting it. She tossed the quilt off of her and stood up, wincing slightly as the cold bit into her coat once more. She spread the quilt out flat and then laid down directly in the center, leaving her neck and head exposed. Using her teeth, Scootaloo grabbed the left side of the quilt and tossed it over her. She pulled it tight against her back, then she used her rear hooves to pull the excess length closer, forming a tight seal between her hooves and the cold. As the sheets finally started to warm her, she fluffed her pillow and rolled over. With a sigh, Scootaloo closed her eyes and lay still for a couple minutes, trying to fall back to sleep. Just as she found a comfortable position, she felt a small nagging urge to drink something, anything. She tried to ignore it, but the longer she lay there, the worse it got. After a few minutes, Scootaloo groaned and gave up. Now, both her throat and mouth were dry, cursed by the cold air. She rolled over and sat up, keeping the blanket pulled tight around her shoulders. She looked around the room, barely registering that Twilight’s bed had not one, but two lumps under the covers. In her sleepy state, Scootaloo thought nothing of it and let the quilt fall away as she quietly hopped out of the bed. Thankfully, the bathroom was only a few hoofsteps away, so Scootaloo quietly trotted inside, being extra careful to not wake Twilight. Determined to not wake Twilight up, Scootaloo placed her hoof on the bathroom door and gave it a gentle push, wincing as the latch clicked shut loudly. Scootaloo held her breath and waited a few moments, listening as hard as she could. Thankfully, she heard nothing signalling that she’d woken Twilight up, and she gave a sigh of relief. Scootaloo turned around and looked up. Much to her dismay, the sink was much too high for her to reach on her own. Scootaloo groaned, wincing as her dry throat begged for water. Seeing no obvious way to reach the sink, she sat down and rubbed her chin as she thought of ways to sate her thirst. Looking around in the dark, she finally took note of the small stool sitting in the corner. She walked over to it, grabbed it in her mouth, and placed it down in front of the sink. Scootaloo hopped on it and stuck her muzzle underneath the faucet. She fumbled with the knob and smiled when she finally turned it on. Once she’d sated her thirst, she turned the water off and gingerly opened the bathroom door, opening it just enough for her to slip through. Creeping back towards her bed, she took one last glance at Twilight, smiling as she thought of everything she’d done for her the past few days. Just as she was about to hop back up on her own bed, the moon broke through the cloud cover for just a brief second, lighting up a tuft of a familiar rainbow-colored mane. Wait… Rainbow went home after the party. That’s not her… is it? Her interest piqued, Scootaloo walked over to Twilight’s bed and clambered on, trying to not disturb the two ponies. Wanting to be sure, she waited for the moon to break through the clouds again; it was much too dark without its light to be sure of anything. Several moments passed in silence as she waited breathlessly, her wings quietly buzzing in excitement. Suddenly, the room brightened just enough to reveal the familiar face of Rainbow Dash snuggling with Twilight. It is her! Scootaloo thought as her face lit up with glee. A blast of cold air suddenly washed over her, making her quickly fold her wings against her side to try and stay warm. Biting her lower lip, she started wondering how nice it would be if she could sleep snuggled in between Dash and Twilight. She fidgeted in place, caught between the desire to sleep all snuggled up against her idol again and the fear of awakening and angering her. Deciding against the former, she settled down near Dash’s hind legs and grabbed the other end of the blanket, tossing what little she could over her. She kept tugging at it, trying to get as much of the blanket as she could, which really didn’t turn out to be that much. With a small ‘humph,’ Scootaloo curled up and laid her head down next to the end of her tail. She pulled it tight against her flank and held onto it with her forelegs, silently wishing she’d brought her pillow from her bed. Her foreleg would just have to do in the meantime. Still shivering a little bit, she tried to stand up and find a better position when her hoof slipped, accidently hitting one of Rainbow’s hind legs. As she began to stir awake, Scootaloo froze in place, hoping that she’d just go back to sleep. Seconds passed in a tense silence as she watched Rainbow shift under the sheets, and she gulped loudly when she saw her head begin to rise. “He– hey, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo whispered, breaking the silence in a timid voice. She sat up, letting her shoulders slump. “I’m… I’m sorry I woke you up, and–” “Shhh… C’mere squirt. It’s alright…” Rainbow whispered in a hoarse voice. She lifted her wing from around Twilight’s body and beckoned for Scootaloo to come forward with a feather. Rainbow pulled the sheets back just a little bit and slid away from Twilight, giving Scootaloo just enough room to sleep with them. With a relieved smile, Scootaloo crept around Rainbow and slid under the covers next to her. Letting loose a yawn, she was about to settle down and go back to sleep when she heard a tired groan come from behind her. Her back feeling rather cold and unsnuggled, Twilight rolled over, smiling gently as she noticed Scootaloo laying between them. “Oh… hey there…” she said softly, rubbing Scootaloo’s back with a tender hoof. “Somepony having nightmares again?” She noticed Rainbow’s look of concern and gave her a small shake of her head, wordlessly saying this wasn’t the time for questions. “N– no…” Scootaloo murmured. “It’s a little cold in my bed, and I was wondering if Rainbow could… um… winghug me…” She glanced up at Rainbow. “You know, like the other night?” Scootaloo asked nervously, silently praying that she’d say yes. “Heh, sure thing, squirt…” Rainbow said, giving a warm smile as Scootaloo nuzzled her breast in thanks. She looked up into Twilight’s eyes and blushed when she saw her gentle smile. “Oh, thank you so much, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo exclaimed. She stretched herself out and snuggled up against her idol. She felt a blissful warmth spread across her a moment later when Rainbow laid a wing over her. Smiling, Scootaloo closed her eyes and gently tugged Rainbow’s soft wing closer. Her breathing slowed down, and she was just about to say goodnight when she heard another feathery rustling. Scootaloo opened her eyes again just in time to see Twilight lay one of her own wings across not just her, but the both of them. “Rainbow, you’re the best big sister anypony could ask for…” Scootaloo murmured. “Oh… and you too, Twilight… You’re both awesome…” The warmth of the two wings was too much for her to handle, and she fell asleep a couple minutes later, a soft smile tugging at her lips. Soon, her soft snores permeated the room, eliciting a soft giggle from Twilight. “What?” Rainbow asked, tugging the blanket over their shoulders again. “Oh, it’s nothing, really,” Twilight whispered back. “It’s just… well, that was really adorable…” “What? Nah…” Rainbow blushed again, her cheeks heating up from the embarrassment. Her eyes flicked up to meet Twilight’s. “...Really?” Twilight giggled again and nodded. “So… What’s up with the… you know, the winghug thing?” “Oh, yeah, that.” Rainbow shrugged. “Well, the night I found her out in the cold, Scootaloo confessed that she had always wanted her mom to hold her like this when she was little, so… yeah.” She yawned and gave the blanket another tug. “I always loved it when my mom held me with her wings, so I thought I’d… you know…” Rainbow felt her cheeks warm up as she blushed, so she looked away from Twilight’s gaze as she asked, “Oh, and Twi? I– I wouldn’t be able to really help Scootaloo without you, so I just wanna say… thanks, for everything.” She slid up a bit, gently pulling Scootaloo into a better position. Twilight moved a little closer to Rainbow. “You know… I want to help Scootaloo as much as you, and you’re right. She does deserve better, and…” Twilight bit her lip as she contemplated whether or not to speak what was on her mind. She really wanted to say how much she admired what Rainbow had committed herself to do. Promising to take care of a filly was no small matter, and there was one thing that kept nagging at her mind. In the few hours before Pinkie’s party, she’d read up on some case studies on families that had adopted foals and how the adoptee had adapted to their new life. In those, she learned that in order for the colt or filly to grow up as normally as possible, it was imperative to provide as stable a life for them as possible. With their current situation, Scootaloo would have to live in both of their houses, moving back and forth in the middle of each week. Knowing this would make Scootaloo’s life unnecessarily tougher, Twilight had logically come to the conclusion that Scootaloo should only live at one of their houses. Since the doctor said that Scootaloo will never be able to fly, that crossed Rainbow’s house off the list. That left only one option: her house. With that fact in mind, Twilight remained silent, looking anywhere but Rainbow’s curious gaze. She had no idea why, but her heart was beating just a little bit faster than normal. The kiss that they shared was still lodged firmly in her mind, and her asking Rainbow to live at her place might make things a little awkward, to say the least. “And… what?” Rainbow asked, looking back up to meet Twilight’s gaze. She laid her head down on the pillow and pushed it into a more comfortable position. “And…” Now is not the time to talk about such things. I’ll bring it up with her later, in private… “And I think we should get some sleep. If the past few years have been any indication, Spike’s gonna wake us up really early to open presents…”