"Hey, Scoot, you might was to slow down a bit," Vinyl giggled as she watched the filly ravenously attack her sandwich. "You don't want to make yourself sick, do you?"
Scootaloo paused for an instant, then continued her rampage unabated. Vinyl shook her head and smiled, returning to her own dinner. It was at least as hard for her to resist stuffing the entire giant mushroom cap in her mouth; Octavia's skill set was broad and varied, and thankfully included cooking, something the ivory unicorn had given up attempting many years ago. The thick mushroom dripped with a light cream sauce that enhanced its own natural flavors, and Vinyl found herself closing her eyes blissfully as she chewed.
The meal had thus far been rather subdued, as after the immediate shock registered on Scootaloo's face faded enough for her to actually fit her mouth around the giant sandwich Octavia had created for her, the trio had sat at the dinner table in relative silence, each enjoying their meal with varying enthusiasm. As a result, it came as no surprise that the filly was the first to complete her main course, and flowed seamlessly into devouring the side dish.
Octavia chose this moment to start conversing with the little pegasus. "So, Scootaloo," she said, daintily carving a reasonably-sized bite of the mushroom on her plate, "I'd ask if you enjoyed your meal, but I think I can figure that much out for myself." She smiled warmly at the filly, who grinned sheepishly and nodded.
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you very much."
Octavia shook her head with mild exasperation. "Scootaloo, I thought I told you to call me Octavia. You make me feel old when you say 'ma'am' like that."
"Sorry," Scootaloo said, blushing faintly.
Vinyl snickered. "You could just call her Mama Tavi, you know."
"Vinyl!" the earth pony hissed at her mate from across the room, futilely attempting to cuff her shoulder from the other side of the table.
Scootaloo just laughed. "I can't call you that! You're not my mama." The little filly smiled. "I'll call you Octavia, though." She looked over at Vinyl. "Is it alright if I keep calling you Vinyl?"
The unicorn grinned. "That's my name, kid."
"Scootaloo," Octavia said, "Vinyl tells me she...met you behind the nightclub she was performing at tonight." The pegasus nodded. "That's an awful long way from Sweet Apple Acres. What were you doing all the way out there?"
"Oh," Scootaloo muttered, her face turning bright red and her ears flattening against her head as she poked awkwardly at a carrot. "Well, I didn't really mean to go so far out of town, but...see, I was actually hanging around near Sugar Cube Corner, because I...I hadn't eaten in a couple days, and Pinkie Pie sometimes gives me cupcakes or muffins or other stuff that's gone stale, and even when she doesn't give it to me, they're throwing stuff out all the time." Vinyl and Octavia exchanged a pained look. Scootaloo didn't appear to notice, focused on abusing the carrot on her plate. "The Cakes don't really like me that much, though, because...well, I think it's because Pinkie's always trying to give me free food, and she's not really supposed to. They've gotten a lot worse since the foals were born, and last night...I guess Mr. Cake just got tired of me, because he came chasing after me with a broom, yelling that he was tired of me hanging around and that he was going to talk to my parents about it. I got scared, 'cause I didn't want him to find out I was living in the orchard, so I jumped into a cart that was going by and hid. When I finally looked out again, I was miles away and the sun was starting to go down." She tapped her hooves together, her voice thickening slightly as she struggled not to tear up. "I asked a couple ponies for help, but no one really stopped or said anything to me. One stallion even kicked me in the side and told me to get away from him." She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing tears to slide out of the corners and down her cheeks. "After that, I didn't really want to ask anypony else, and I was starting to get really tired, so I just went into the alley to find somewhere to sleep. Then I saw somepony come out of the club and throw a bunch of food, in the trash. I don't really like digging in the trash, because that usually makes me sick...but I thought it might be safe because it looked fresh enough." She took a couple deep breaths as she finished her story, and when she spoke again, her voice had returned to normal. "Anyway, that's when Vinyl found me." She smiled at the ivory unicorn. "And I'm really glad she did."
Vinyl smiled, her chest swelling with joy. "Me too, Scoot. I'm glad to hear you weren't out there for too long."
Scootaloo nodded. "I don't like that part of town...it's scary, and the ponies aren't very nice."
Octavia shook her head, scowling sideways at Vinyl. "No, they aren't. I don't like that part of town either." The unicorn withered under her mate's glare, but Octavia didn't maintain it for long. Instead, she smiled at Scootaloo, reaching out and placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Well, I'm glad she found you too. I'd hate to think of you having to spend a night starving in the cold like that."
"Yeah...the clubhouse isn't a great home, but it's got a roof, and no one ever bothers me out there."
"How long have you been living in the clubhouse, Scootaloo?" Vinyl asked.
The filly shrugged, chewing absently on a mouthful of carrots. "I dunno. I don't really pay much attention to what day it is. I just wake up, try to find something to eat, go to school, hang out with my friends, and get back to the clubhouse without anyone noticing."
"Oh, you go to school?" Octavia asked, her eyes lighting up.
Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. I didn't want to at first, but Sweetie Belle said I should come with her one day, and I did. Miss Cheerilee is really nice, and she seemed real happy to have me there, so I stayed." She smiled. "It's fun, actually. It's kind of boring, sometimes, but I like when we do math and stuff."
"I'm glad to hear that," Octavia said, smiling. "At least you spend some time every day with an adult keeping an eye on you."
Scootaloo suddenly scowled. "I don't need someone to keep an eye on me! I do just fine all on my own!"
Octavia frowned. "Scootaloo, you must understand, it's not safe for a filly your age to be--"
"I'm not a baby," Scootaloo huffed, drawing herself up in her chair. "I've been taking care of myself for a long time, and I don't need anypony's help!"
"She didn't mean it that way," Vinyl said, holding up a hoof to stem Octavia's imminent protest. "We know you can take care of yourself. It's obvious you've been doing a pretty good job so far." Scootaloo smiled proudly. "But it's good for us to know that you've been going to school, because Miss Cheerilee could make sure you weren't sick, or hurt, or lost or something."
The little pegasus settled back into her chair, huffing. "I guess...I still don't need anypony to keep an eye on me."
"Scootaloo," Octavia said diplomatically, "there's nothing wrong with needing someone to watch out for you. Take Vinyl for instance," she said, glancing sideways at the unicorn. "I can't leave her alone for more than a day or two because I know if I do, she'll just eat corn flakes and sleep in the middle of the living room floor until she suffocates in a heap of her own trash."
"Tavi," Vinyl whined, pouting, "that's mean!"
"But true," Octavia insisted, pointing an accusatory hoof in her direction. "I know, because I've come home from concerts in Canterlot before to find you passed out in the middle of the floor with magazines and corn flakes boxes all over the room."
"One time!" Vinyl said, throwing up her hooves in exasperation.
"Still." Octavia looked at Scootaloo, who was giggling at the exchange. "You see, Scootaloo, even adults need someone to keep an eye on them sometimes, even if just to make sure they're taking care of themselves properly. I'm sure you can take care of yourself better than Vinyl can, but I'd still prefer to know someone's helping you make sure."
Scootaloo nodded. "I guess that's alright."
Vinyl smirked. "Good. Now come on, you wanna go play Goldeneye? Tavi won't play with me." She grinned and muttered conspiratorially to the filly. "She's kinda really bad at it."
"I am not!" Octavia said, her cheeks flushing. "I just don't see the appeal of killing one another, that's all."
"Sure, sure!" Vinyl soothed, holding up her hooves defensively. Then she leaned over and added, "not that she's ever killed anyone in that game anyway."
Scootaloo giggled as Octavia rolled her eyes. "Alright, get out of here, you two. At least that game will keep you out of my mane while I clean up."
Vinyl hopped up out of her chair and trotted around the table, kissing Octavia on the cheek as she did. "C'mon, Scoot. Let's go."
"Okay!" Scootaloo jumped down out of her chair and followed Vinyl, pausing as she passed Octavia. "Thank you for dinner. It was really good."
Octavia smiled, vaguely surprised. "Why, you're quite welcome, sweetie. I'm glad you enjoyed it." The little filly smiled back and then cantered out into the living room where Vinyl was already getting set up, only slightly hindered by her uncanny ability to get tangled in any bit of cord or string more than a few hooves long. Octavia watched the pair chat and laugh together for a few minutes before shaking her head with amusement and turning back to her meal, now able to finish it in relative peace while she listened to the excited palaver of her mate and their new--temporary--charge.
~~~
"So just as the evil Pegleg was about to board the helpless civilian schooner, the dashing rogue stallion Picaroon burst out of the brig, swinging the sword he'd taken from the jailor!" Vinyl enthusiastically leapt up onto her chair and struck a dramatic pose.
Scootaloo sat forward in bed, her wings stuck out straight and her eyes shining. "Then what did he do?" she asked, breathless.
Vinyl smirked and shrugged. "Oh, well, he just went up to Pegleg and asked if he wouldn't mind letting the schooner go, of course. Diplomacy and whatever."
Scootaloo laughed. "That's silly! Picaroon wouldn't do that."
"Oh really?" Vinyl said, hopping down off the chair. "Well, what would he do, then?"
"He'd charge forward, flying over all the other pirates, and then he'd tackle Pegleg to the deck and fight him to the death, like this!" Scootaloo suddenly leaped out of bed and into Vinyl's midsection, tackling the unicorn to the floor.
"Ow, hey!" Vinyl laughed as the little pegasus sat on top of her, grabbing one of her arms and tugging it behind her back. "I give up!"
"Haha!" Scootaloo grinned triumphantly, sitting up and letting Vinyl's arm go.
Suddenly, the unicorn sat upright, grabbing the filly around the middle. "I have you now, Picaroon! Never let your guard down!" She began tickling Scootaloo mercilessly.
"Ack! No, stop!" She laughed, struggling against the older mare's grasp.
"Do you surrender?"
"Never!" Scootaloo giggled, still wriggling. She managed to get free enough to return the tickling assault on her captor, who she discovered had a crippling weakness to just such an attack.
"No, wait! Aaaah!" Vinyl shrieked as she collapsed into fits of laughter, rolling on the floor in a futile attempt to escape Scootaloo's prodding hooves.
"Do you surrender?" Scootaloo asked, grinning.
"Yes, yes!" Vinyl laughed as Scootaloo relented and sat astride her conquered foe.
"Glad to see you two are well on your way to bed." Octavia's voice suddenly drew Vinyl's attention to the door, where the earth pony was standing with a mix of exasperation and amusement on her face. This was an expression that Vinyl was all too familiar with, as she saw it almost every time Octavia looked at her when they had been apart for more than fifteen minutes at a time.
Vinyl grinned sheepishly. "I was just...ah, telling her a bedtime story."
Octavia smirked. "I gathered. Come on, Scootaloo, storytime's over." She stepped into the room and gently nudged Scootaloo off of Vinyl and back towards the bed.
"Aw..." the little filly protested, but went quietly anyway. She climbed back into the temporary bed that folded out of the sofa in the living room. Octavia pulled the covers back up over her and tucked them into the sides of the mattress as best she could.
"I know it's probably not as nice as what you get when you sleep over at some of your friends' houses, but--"
"No, no!" Scootaloo interrupted her, shaking her head fervently. "It's great! It's a lot better than the clubhouse floor."
Octavia smiled. "Well, I should hope so. Anyway, we'll just be down the hall if you need anything, so just give us a shout, okay?"
Scootaloo nodded, suddenly unable to stifle a yawn that left tears in the corners of her eyes. "Okay."
Vinyl smiled as she got up and rubbed the little filly's head with a hoof. "G'night, Scoots."
"Pleasant dreams, sweetheart," Octavia added as she left the room, turning out the lights as she closed the door behind her.
As soon as the door was closed, Octavia heaved a deep sigh. "That poor little girl...can you imagine? Living on the streets, digging in trash cans for food..."
"Yeah," Vinyl said. Then she smiled. "Good thing she won't have to do that anymore, right?" Octavia didn't say anything. The smile faded from Vinyl's face. "Right, Tavi?"
Octavia bit her lip anxiously. "I...I don't know, Vinyl. I'm not sure what we could do for her. She doesn't want to go back to the orphanage, but I don't know of any alternative."
Vinyl snorted. "Don't be silly, Tavi. Of course there's an alternative."
"What?"
"Yeah." The unicorn grinned broadly and gestured to Octavia and herself.
Her marefriend blinked, confused. Then, comprehension dawned and a horrified look spread across her face. "Oh, no. No, no, no. We are not--"
"Oh, come on, Tavi!"
"No, Vinyl! We don't have the time, we don't have the space, we don't have the money...no!" she repeated as Vinyl bobbed her head enthusiastically.
"Come on, sure we do! You work during the day, I work at night, one of us is always home..."
"Vinyl..."
"We could move into a bigger place closer to the farm..."
"Vinyl, stop it!" Octavia said, putting her hooves over her ears. "Look, even if it was an option, it's not the kind of decision we could make after one night with her, alright? Let's..." she sighed, "let's sleep on it, at least. That's not a yes!" she added, as Vinyl grinned and started bouncing happily on her hooves.
"But it's not a no!" the unicorn sang, prancing around her mate in the hallway.
Octavia shook her head, unable to resist the smile that seeing Vinyl happy always brought to her face. "I suppose not." She sighed again. "Come on, Vinyl, it's been a long night. Let's go to bed."
Vinyl stepped forward and gave her a long, passionate kiss, only pulling away when the earth pony started gasping, breathless. "Thank you, Tavi. I love you, you know that?"
Octavia smiled as she recovered. "I do. Celestia knows why, but I love you, too."
Vinyl grinned, flipping her mate on the nose with her tail as she passed. "For the stability...and the predictability."
The other mare giggled. "Yeah, that must be it."