//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Headlights // Story: Holding Onto You // by AlliePastel //------------------------------// There she sat, using the main street’s sidewalk and it’s florescent lighting as refuge from the overpowering storm- again. Leaning back against the brick exterior of some red-brick diner, she waited for her ride to get here. It’d been about thirty minutes since she’d ditched her house for the rainy street corner. What was once a light drizzle soon turned into an unfathomable rain that soaked the entirety of her bag and outfit. “This was a mistake” She thought to herself, as she took off the quickly dampening leather jacket that her mentor gave to her and tucked it into her bookbag. Looking up at one of the light post, she couldn’t help but look in awe as the rain masked the entirety of everything illuminated with a static like effect. From the corner of her eye came a near blinding light, white and concentrated like an archway into something greater. To be specific, it was the headlights to a silver Telsa. “Oh Scootaloo.” Fluttershy muttered to herself as she parked the car. She hopped into the puddle of that consumed the street’s pavement. Taking off her suffari jacket, she ran across the soaking wet asphalt street and draped it over the child’s shoulders, “We need to get you inside!” “I know, I know.” Scootaloo said with a melancholy tone as she was escorted into the passenger side of the car. Sitting down on the leather interior of the seat, she felt kind of bad. Not only was her tank top soaking wet, but so were her shorts and shoes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here quicker-“ Fluttershy uttered. “It’s alright.” Scootaloo cut her off, the women off as she leaned forward to shift through the contents of her bag. Peaking inside, she paid quick attention to make sure everything was there. “I know, it’s just…” “Fluttershy, it’s alright.” She said, closing her eyes and leaning her back against the interior of the car. Taking a deep breath, she tried not to move too much. Thankyfully Fluttershy’s jacket was warm enough to keep her feeling warm, despite how cold and wet she felt. “I know.” Fluttershy frowned, still feeling mildly bad about the incident. She knew it wasn’t her fault that it was raining, let alone that Scootaloo was in the predicament she was in, but she still felt bad. Scootaloo kept her body leaned back in the seat, watching as the car continued accelerating through the pouring rain. She couldn’t help but feel comfortably dazed by the cold A/C blowing on her face. It made her bangs frothy and her eyes dry; so she decided to close them. Fluttershy continued smirking, unsure of the girl’s circumstances as she continued pulling off the road and unto the interstate. “You’re not hurt are you?” Smirking in kind, the child shook her head. “Nothing that shows.” She said, grinning at her own wit. Fluttershy wanted to comment about the rather brazen attitude of the girl; Scootaloo was definitely not this calm when she called, sobbing on the phone. But as long as Scootaloo wasn’t in the way of any immediate danger, everything could be dealt with in due time. “Well- I think I might need to talk with your Mom about this Scootaloo. This definitely not how a mother is supposed to treat her child.” She commented, adjusting into the far left lane. Looking ahead of her, there was nothing to be seen short of the highway’s road lanes, and even through you could only be seen with whatever the car’s headlights would show. “It’s not my mom’s fault, Fluttershy.” She replied with a little scorn, “I just- I wanted to talk about something person and she freaked out saying that I ‘crossed the line’.” Fluttershy looked to her left at the girl for just a brief second, noticing Scootaloo’s rather dirty hair and her still wet legs poking out from under the trench coat. Smiling sympathetically, she asked, “Well, that’s bupkis Scootaloo. You mother didn’t have an excuse to kick you out, you know? ” Almost instantly, the child blushed. Swallowing hard, she peaked at her bag and then looked to her side. “I-It’s just- it’s something strange alright?” “Well, I’m sure it’s not as strange as you think Scootaloo. Besides, I am a doctor after all. It’s not like I don’t see a lot of strange stuff in my day.” Fluttershy boasted politely. “I know, but this this isn’t like a medical thing, necessarily… I’ll tell you when we get to your house, alright?” She said, resting her hands on her lap like she was a guilty quire girl. Smiling, Fluttershy nodded. “Alright. You don’t have to tell me if you’re uncomfortable with it. I’m just curious is all; you know you can always trust me.” “Yeah-yeah.” Scootaloo replied, loosening up her composter. She shifted around in her the jacket, attempting to get in a more comfortable position. Smiling, she looked over at Fluttershy, “Hehe, thought I might ask. Do you happen to have a proper towel or something?” “Sure.” Fluttershy smiled, using her free hand to point to the back, “There should actually be a nice fleece blanket back there, feel free to use it.” Reaching behind her seat, Fluttershy pulled out what looked to be a tye-dyed microfiber throw blanket. She slipped out of the now damp safari coat and smiled, wrapping herself in its fuzzy confines. “T-thanks, Fluttershy.” “You’re welcome.” Fluttershy replied, taking a quick glance at the girl. To her surprise, Scootaloo appeared to be falling asleep. In a very coy gesture, Fluttershy reached her hand over and turned the radio on very low volume setting. For the rest of the trip, the god-mother simply ease back in her car seat, lazed along the interstate and eventually into the forest backroad where her cottage rested. After some very careful parking, the mother set out of the car and went to go attend to the girl. She opened the door and laid a hand on Scootaloo’s bare shoulder, “Scootaloo.” She whispered, trying to wake the child; there was no response. Sighing, the women slang the sagging backpack over her shoulder and undid the child’s seat belt. Fluttershy leaned over and lifted Scootaloo into a cradle hold with a subtle grunt. “Ooh, Scootaloo. You’re getting too old for this.” She said, stepping backwards and kicking the door shut behind her. After a daunting trek up to and into the house, Fluttershy was able to reuse the same door-kicking gimmick as earlier to close her front door. Pacing every step as to not rock the child, Fluttershy took her sweet time carrying her across the rickety wooden panels of her living room and over to her spare guest room. “Hmm?” Scootaloo questioned, fluttering her eyes open for a quick second. “Shhh…” Fluttershy shushed the child, walking the girl into the room and setting her on a lavishly colorful bed. She sat the girl in the right up position and grabbed onto the white tank top that covered her chest. “Don’t mind me. I’m just trying to keep you from getting a cold or something.” Dumbfounded, Scootaloo stared up blankly at her godmother as her tank top was stripped right before her eyes; her athletic shorts untouched though. “Oh, don’t give me that look Scootaloo.” Fluttershy commented, helping the child comfortably lay down in her bed, “You know that I’m a Doctor. Anything you have to hide I’ve already seen.” The child sighed, finding her way into the cartoon coloured comforter that covered the bed. Half awake, she simply nodded with the statement’s Fluttershy made. Very gently, Fluttershy smiled as she got back up on her feet. “If you need anything, just tell me Scoots. I’ll be in the next room right over.” Scootaloo rested her head deeper into the cloud like comfort of the pillow. The intelligible response she’d imagined in her head was lost to her sicee, and instead she let out an incomprehensible whine. “Awe, poor thing. We can talk in the morning.” She said, closing the door to the crèche room. *** “Oooh.” Scootaloo rubbed her temple, feeling like she just woke up from a fever dream. She peeked her eyes from the underneath the comforter, taking in the entirety of what the room entailed. Sitting up straight, she made mental notes of everything around the room. The walls were coloured a boisterous blue and caked with stickers, colorful information charts, learning tools, and an aesthetic rainbow alphabet trim. The Floor was a white shag carpet that coated the entire floor of the room. And most notably, the furniture in the room all seemed ten years too young to be something she’d use. There was a little white baby swing, an playpen clearly designed to hold more than a couple kids at once, a half dozen wardrobes and cubbies- some colourful, some note. And most notably what caught her attention, there was a white wooden crib and changing table that looked big enough to fit her. Blushing a bright red, she hugged her stomach and looked down at the very slow to ground bed she was on- it was a child’s race car bed. Creeping up from her relaxed state, her adrenaline kicked in as she walked over to the changing table to examine its contents. If she were much younger, the thought of seeing baby diapers wouldn’t have excited her, but she nowadays she felt strangely drawn to the site. Even though she knew they’d never fit her, there was this tingly fascination in her mind that made her want to clutch unto and admire the white padding as if she’d be sporting one for prom or something. She crouched down on her knees and pulled open one of the changing table’s various drawer’s, exposing a whole plethora of nappies ranging from 1-14kg ones up to 35+kg. Exhilarated by her discovery, she searched the next drawer down only to discover diapers that were tailored towards even older kids. Very quietly, she lifted a pink package of diapers targeted towards teens out of the cubby and started eyeballing the product details. “Scootaloo?” Fluttershy questioned, peaking her head into the room. “I thought I heard footsteps from downstairs. Are you- uh, looking at diapers?” She asked, pacing her way into the room. Her lagging thoughts not entirely caught up with reality yet, the child threw the pack of diapers into the air the second she noticed Fluttershy. “Ah-what?” “Hehe! I was asking why you were looking the uh- diapers?” Fluttershy commented, walking up to the girl and picking up the pack. Smirking a bit, Fluttershy asked, “You don’t like- have a bed wetting problem do you? Because I haven’t been able to contact your mom all morning-“ she looked down at the girl, noticing her somewhat humiliated expression, “A-are you alright?” Scootaloo looked up at Fluttershy. Every nerve synapse in her mind that would typically give her a spark for a creative response seemed to shut down and she was left befuddled by her situation. “Oh my.” Fluttershy commented, getting onto her knees. She reached and hand out and placed on the girl’s shoulder and gave the girl an empathetic look, “Is everything alright sweetie? I’m sorry if I said anything to offend you, I’m just trying to help.” She said, looking the girl right in the eyes. All of a sudden, Scootaloo’s shot mind seemed to come back on in full gear and every sensory detail around her magnified itself by 200%. Her nose seemed to drain out completely and her breaths became heavy and more free flowing than usual. ‘I was just screwing around, I just got bored and the diapers that fit me- I mean the first diapers I pulled out- I mean-‘ Scootaloo thought to herself as she stared up at her mother. “I-I’m just- uh I’m I was looking through the drawers because-“ “Hey- shh. Easy there sweetie.” Fluttershy cut the girl off and offered her the pack of diapers. “I get it. You were just curious.” Her hands shaking uncontrollably like a piston, the child looked up Fluttershy with a worried frown on her face and instinctively grabbed the pack. “Good-“ Fluttershy said, patting the girl’s shoulder. “Now there’s definitely no pressure. What was it that you wanted to do with those diapers?” The teenage girl closed her eyes for about two seconds then opened them again. Putting a false bravado she answered, “I-I just got curious and took a peak around the room. Y-you know how my mom gets when I’m nosey.” “Oh.” Fluttershy replied, fairly confident that Scootaloo was telling the truth. “I know Margret has been a bit ‘high strung’ since your father’s uh- passing. But I promise you, I’m not going to lash out at you.” Scootaloo curiously hugged the pack of diapers against her chest and asked, “Y-you think Mom is lashing at me?” “She’s lashing out at everyone. But that’s something for your aunty Fluttershy to handle.” The women confessed, helping Scootaloo back onto her feet. Scootaloo dropped the diapers into the drawer and closed it with a foot. “You know, I’m not a baby anymore Fluttershy. I can handle knowing about family drama.” Sighing, Fluttershy nodded as she walked over to the door. “I know you’re growing up, Scootaloo. Sometimes I just don’t recognize it I guess. I-I’m afraid Margret might have ditched town after what happened between you two last night.” She confessed. Blinking, Scootaloo shook her head as if to deny her Godmother’s claims. “She couldn’t have done that- Dad specifically made Mom promise never to give up on the family if anything ever happened to him.” She said, with a painfully naïve tone to her voice. There was a part of Fluttershy that wanted to call Margret out for the emotional loose cannon the women was. But she knew Scootaloo had an unfathomable admiration for her Mom; one that was only topped by her love for Rainbow Dash. Wanting to keep the dialog about the matter quite, Fluttershy simply lied, “After last night’s fiasco, your Mom made it very clear to me that it’d be best if you spent some time with me.” “S-so you know about my Mom and I’s fight?” Scootaloo asked, nervously letting the bangs on fall flat on her face. Fluttershy cringed on the inside, but decided it is best remain vague. “No… Your mother just told me that it’d be best if you spend the summer with me instead. It might be fun anyhow. We just need to figure out how to make this nurser-I mean room, a bit more comfortable for you.” Scootaloo looked around at the room, “W-wait, you’re saying that this room is mine for the summer?” “Well, yeah…” Fluttershy nodded, taking a quick glance at the. “It’s pretty much my only spare-guest room and if you can get over all the baby stuff, it’s at least pretty clean. Besides, you’re only fourteen, you’re practically a baby.” She teased. “Hehe. Thanks Fluttershy” Scootaloo giggled, as a quite buzz of excitement continued to ring in the back of her head. “C-can I get a moment to myself? I need to find something to wear.” “Oh yeah, haha.” Fluttershy chuckled, stepping slowly out of the room’s door frame, “I’d almost forgotten about your laundry- I guess I’ll go handle that in a minute. Feel free to sort around the wardrobes before breakfast. There’s bound to be some kid’s clothing that fits you.” Smiling, Scootaloo nodded. “W-will do.” She anxiously spurted out. Watching as her Godmother close the bedroom door, she sat back down on the little race car bed and smiled; this was going to be interesting. *** “Oh my.” Fluttershy giggled, watching Scootaloo walk into the kitchen sporting her black running shorts and pink graphic-t two sizes too small for her to wear casually. “Haha, I know.” Scootaloo giggled, taking a seat in a rather lavishly carved wooden chair. “It looked the most like something I’d wear.” Smiling, Fluttershy nudged a bowl of cereal in front of the girl. “You’d wear a pony shirt? I thought you were supposed to be a high schooler.” She teased. Rolling her eyes, the child ignored her and started digging away the cereal. The two quietly ate at the breakfast with each other, occasionally exchanging silent but warm facial exchanges as they munched away at their food. After a couple of minutes of eating, Scootaloo stared straight up at Fluttershy with a big and somewhat goofy smile on her face. Lowering her spoon, Fluttershy questionably smirked, “Hmm? Is everything alright Scootaloo?” “Yeah.” Scootaloo replied, resting her chin on her hand as she inquisitively stared at her Godmother. “H-has anybody ever told you that you have really beautiful eyes? T-they’re so radiant; almost like blue diamonds.” “Oh- well thank you.” Fluttershy smiled, not entirely sure how to react to the comment. Scootaloo was always such a temperamental person; it was always hard to decipher her words. Smiling kindly, the women got on face level with Scootaloo and said, “You know you have your father’s eyes right? Pearly white scleras and beautifully luminescent purple irises “ Scootallo blushed slightly, as if it tugged on a heart string just mentioning her dad. She half smiled at the thought. “I’m sorry- I really shouldn’t talk about it.” Fluttershy gushed, frightful of her own words. “No-no. It’s fine.” Scootaloo said, wiping the tear with her hand. “C-could you tell me more about him actually? It’s been so long since I’ve really thought of him; my mom never let me ask about him.” Fluttershy back out of her chair and gestured with her hand as if to say ‘come on’ to the girl. She made her way over to the living room and sat her backside down on her cushy green padding of the futon. Nervously, Scootaloo followed in suite and climbed onto the couch. “No no no.” Fluttershy giggled, noticing Scootaloo eagerly pop over her shoulder as she pulled out her smart phone. Grabbing the child by her sides, she pulled the girl squarely onto her lap. “Hehe, hey! I told you I’m not a baby.” Scootaloo protested admittedly happy to be seated on her Godmother’s lap. Lovingly, Fluttershy ran her free hand down the child’s back, being sure to apply pressure in all the right places. “Here Scootaloo.” She said, pulling up a photo of herself and Scootaloo’s father from her app, “You see him?” “N-no way.” Scootaloo muttered, grabbing onto the phone and holding it right up to her face. There he was, standing a full 1.8m with his magenta crew cut, his fatigues, and his winning smile. He was solider with such a big heart-and he really was such a loving dad. “I’ll always remember the in the summer of 04’ when he said her wanted to join the MI6. Everyone in the family begged him not to join, but he was a tough man with a the same temperance as another curtain flying ace that you know and love- but your mother probably already told you about that didn’t they?” Fluttershy said, noticing a message pop up at the top of her phone. “Yeah.” Scootaloo said, keeping a rather stoic expression as she stared into digitalized photo like as if it were an endless void. It kinda nauseous just looking at it. Fluttershy continued petting the child’s back - then she noticed something pop up; Margret had messaged her. Scootaloo noticing the message from her mom raised a curious eyebrow, but then shook her head. “Do I really want to know what she’s saying?” the girl questioned quite innocently, deciding to instead read Fluttershy’s facial expression in lure of the actual text. “Not quite…” Fluttershy muttered, reading the full out essay that was sent to her in text. MARGRET: Fluttershy, I’m tired of trying to glue back together this broken home of mine. Do you know what it’s like to spend any extra money you have on Prozac, just so your daughter can get high? Well of course you don’t, because someone decided to spend their parent’s money to go to college instead of toughing it out on their own, like your brother did. And just when you think your daughter can’t get anymore f**ked up, you find that she’s not only stashing her medication, but also spent her own money on diapers of all things! I’m not going to raise so pedophile burnout Fluttershy. You are on your own. “Well, what is it?” Scootaloo asked, creeping off of her godmother’s lap and planting a seat right next to her. “N-nothing.” Fluttershy said, looking over at the child. She crossed her legs and then raised her hand to rub her temple. Putting on a false smile, she made a shewing gesture with her hand, “You’re good. Just- just go grab something else to wear while I grab my purse and use the bathroom,.” Mildly concerned, Scootaloo hopped off the couch and started walking out of the room. Grabbing the door frame of kitchen entrance, she twisted her hip to look back at Fluttershy “Okay… are we going somewhere?” Fluttershy looked over at the child and gave her a more genuine smile, “Yeah, I need to take you shopping for some new clothes and maybe a lab top or something. I don’t think teeth rings and doll houses are going to cut it for a girl your age ”