Chapter Six
“Twilight, uh… I just realized I don’t know where the squirt lives…” Dash admitted, feeling ashamed.
Twilight narrowed her eyes, then her featured softened. “Then go check with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. They should know.”
“Got it!” Rainbow dashed off, leaving Twilight some time to search through some files, thankfully Spike had reorganized them.
“Let’s see… Scootaloo, here we go.” She levitated up a file, then opened it and frowned. This isn’t right…
Rainbow came back ten minutes later. “Neither of her friends know where she lives.”
“I couldn’t find anything on her current residence either, just her old address in Cloudsdale.” Twilight showed her the papers she had found. “Take this and go check Cloudsdale Library. They should have more information. At the very least, the post office there might still have a forwarding address for mail.”
“Right, okay, I’ll be back soon!”
Twilight had considered checking out a few places herself, but without an address or general area, she knew finding the filly might be a tad awkward. She felt a bit selfish trying to keep their secret hidden from others, but calling attention to this situation to the whole town would raise a few brows. Rumors could fly off the handle in a small town, they often did here. She didn’t mind her secret getting out, it was Rainbow she was mostly worried about. So she waited for the mare to return, constantly looking out the window.
“Twi, could you please go read a book or something?” her assistant and adopted son kept repeating to her. It was a rare moment, a time when Twilight did not want to read.
Twilight broke her gaze from the window and sighed. “I’m sorry, Spike. I’m just a bit stressed…”
He rolled his eyes and joined her on their couch. “So Scootaloo saw something weird. I don’t think it’s weird,” he declared, crossing his arms. She had explained to him what happened.
She smiled at him and brought the drake in for a hug. “Me either,” she declared firmly. “But she might not understand what’s going on. Remember, you and I and Rainbow had time to ease into this. I really doubt you would have enjoyed very much if I had just sprung on you some baby treatment.”
He blushed and looked around the library, feeling a bit foolish for even doing so. “T-Twilight, shh! What if Rarity’s around?!”
She giggled. “Spike~, who do you think made those outfits? And your you know what?”
Spike blinked a few times, ignoring Twilight while she patted his back. Then he promptly smacked his face. “Of course they came from her…” He frowned deeply.
“Don’t worry, I never said who they were for.”
Spike perked up immediately. “Really?! You're the best, Twi!”
“I would never do that to you, but either way she would still see you as that kind and caring little dragon.”
He blushed again and nodded. For a few moments, he felt contented to simply enjoy Twilight presence, and she felt happy to rub his back a little.
The door slammed open, causing the two to jump a little. There was the mare that Twilight had been waiting all day for. It had been hours and Rainbow looked quite exhausted. “Twi, we need to talk.”
“Yes, we do. You need to learn the right way to open a door!” Spike yelled at her.
Dash sighed. “Sorry, buddy, but this is kind of urgent…” She rubbed the back of her head, trying to avoid his glare.
“Okay… just don’t let it happen again!” He snapped at her and then suddenly left the room, heading towards the kitchen.
“Twilight… uh…”
“Did you find anything out?”
Dash looked over towards the kitchen, making sure Spike wasn’t walking back. “Yeah, her mom’s dead, Twilight.” The unicorns eyes widened in horror. Rainbow took out an envelope from her saddlebag and let Twilight see. “Happened a few years back…”
Twilight took a single minute to read the letter and then look at Dash and then back to the letter. Her brain was restarting, trying to comprehend what she had heard and read. Finally she grabbed her temples and began to slowly roll them in circles. “Okay, how… did we not notice this?”
Rainbow scowled, looking to the floor. “How do you think I feel?”
Twilight stood up and walked over towards the mare, then plopped down. She started rubbing her back. Back rubs really did help almost anything. “Okay, okay… well, wait. What about her father? I… have to admit I don’t know if he ever lived with them.”
Rainbow shook her head. “Not that I ever remember. I tried asking, but nopony seemed to know. I think he’s unknown and unlisted. Only Scoot’s mom would know and… yeah.”
“So we have a homeless filly out there by herself… Where would she go?” Twilight’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh my Celestia, where is she even living?!”
Rainbow Dash groaned. “I don’t know! And…” Her eyes closed for a moment, then they snapped open a second later. “The Clubhouse! That clubhouse of theirs, she has to be there!”
Twilight nodded. “Well, get going!”
Rainbow saluted and dashed off. Spike then walked back in, a tray of gems in his hand. “What was all the noise for?”
Twilight debated telling Spike, he was still quite young (even if she wasn’t babying him more often for fun and comfort). What am I doing? thought Twilight. Their best bet for finding Scootaloo at this point was most likely a search party. Hiding things would only hurt their efforts. “C’mon, Spike, I’ll explain on the way.”
Rainbow didn’t bother to check in with Applejack, figuring she at least had permission to be on the farm for emergencies. She landed near some trees, deciding to go on foot from there. She didn’t exactly know where their clubhouse was by heart, having only been there a few times. Which way? This would be so much easier if there weren’t so many stupid trees… Her heart raced. She knew that frantically rushing around wouldn’t help so she stopped and took a deep breath. The memory of where the clubhouse was became clearer.
After several moments, she finally found her destination. The door’s open… A foreboding feeling washed over her. It was already dark out and the clubhouse was just as dark. If Scootaloo were there, surely she would have turned on a light. Dash rushed up, flapping her wings a few times and then landed just inside. “Dammit…” There was no filly inside. Instead what she found was a bit of a mess. Various drawings littered the floor, trashed and torn.
“What the…” At first glance they looked like simple drawings any child would make. She took a few steps, then stopped when her hoof touched a drawing. She looked down and frowned. It was a crude drawing of Dash standing with Scootaloo. I think somepony threw a fit…but why the… She shook her head, realizing that she did not have enough information on Scootaloo to connect all the dots.
One last thing stood out to her. A floorboard had been wedged open. Inside, she found a single pillow but nothing else. She sighed and flew away. We may have to send out a search party… but not just yet.
Rainbow Dash was now circling the massive clock tower of the town, lost in thought. Where the hay is she?! She glanced all around and, in a desperate attempt, began to study the tower. It was the only thing still lit up. She just barely noticed an orange blur tucked away inside and figured it couldn’t hurt to investigate. She landed gently just in front of the massive clock; a balcony of sorts was perched in front. The glow of the clock was radiating warmth. She snuck over and peeked through the crack between the tower and the clock. She smirked.
Inside was the one and only Scootaloo, sleeping soundly on what looked like a rather elaborate, makeshift bed. Dash then looked at her pillow and noticed the tear stains and sighed. Ignoring the rest of the room, she decided to check all around to find a way in. She grunted when she realized she had to work her way up from the bottom. The journey was quick. Oddly enough, with all the noise her flight took the child did not wake.
Inside, she quietly studied the room. The way it looked was unnerving, like it was set up for a permanent stay. The room looked like it was designed for a filly, a filly who was obsessed with everything relating to the Wonderbolts. Posters on the side of the walls, well, the walls that did not contain a giant clock that was glowing slightly. Looking down she found class assignments, pictures and a few other things. She sighed again.
Why didn’t you ask for help, Scootaloo? This is wrong…
Working up the nerve to wake her, she took in a deep breath and nodded. She gently nudged the filly which did absolutely nothing. A more firm shake woke her. For a second Scootaloo looked confused and then she spotted the mare and scowled.
“What the buck do you want?! I was sleeping you know!” The filly then grabbed her pillow and promptly smacked it down on top of her head.
“First off, I want you to stop cursing!”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, baby!” came the muffled response.
“Heh, good one. I suppose I deserve that when the least of my worries are paying a very, very cheap bill each month. But you, your worries… Scootaloo, why didn’t you ever ask for help?”
Scootaloo yanked the pillow off and scowled even more towards her. “I don’t need help!”
“But this is wrong!”
“I don’t see a rule that says I can’t live here!”
“Alone? Minors cannot legally be left by themselves—”
“Then why don’t you go back to your mommy!” Scootaloo had nudged her in the stomach.
“Alright, how about I at least try to explain why I’m into this whole… thing.”
“Why the hay should I care?! Just leave!”
“No! I will not leave! Right now, I’m staring at a rude little filly! And I’m not leaving until she understands why.”
The filly crossed her forehooves, still lying in the bed, and waited.
“Right. When I was very little, I lost both of my parents. And even though this sounds hypocritical. I was living on my own, for good, long while. It’s the reason I had to drop out of flight school, but Fluttershy was more of a push to go in that direction… Anyway, the point is, I was forced to grow up and kind of lost my childhood. At least that’s what Twilight thinks is going on in my head or whatever. The baby stuff helps in that regard, but anyway… Right now I see a filly that has lost her childhood and I don’t know why. Would you share with me how this happened to you?”
Scootaloo shook her head; she said nothing in reply and waited for the mare to leave. She didn’t. All Rainbow Dash did was return the angry scowl. And then she did something that Scootaloo did not suspect, she grabbed her in for a hug. The effect was immediate, she started kicking and flailing. “Get off me, now!”
“No.”
Scootaloo responded by rearing up one of her hoofs and jamming it into Dash’s gut. It took the breath right out of her but she did not let up. The hug continued. Eventually, her flails stopped and the breathing started. With one last ditch effort, she tried to break free but it did not work. She cried. She cried out of frustration, out of anger and out of betrayal.
“Shh, it’s okay to cry you know.”
“Please, just stop. You were supposed to be my big sister and my mo… Just stop!”
Dash flinched, she knew very well what word she wanted to use and it clicked, her plans, why she felt angry. Scootaloo was grooming Dash to be her mother and it all fell apart. Not being the one for subtle approaches, she asked, “Scoots, were you trying to make me your mother?”
“Yes, okay! It wasn’t supposed to work this way. Now I lost my job and I screwed up school and now my friends hate me and I’m going to be sent to some stupid orphanage!” She sobbed but kept away from the mare. Even with the hug and embrace she still did not wish to give in.
“You have a job? Nevermind, you’re not going to some orphanage, okay?” Just then, Rainbow Dash heard Scootaloo’s stomach release an odd rumbling. The filly grasped her gut and moaned. “Scoots, when was the last time you ate?”
“I eat just fine!”
Dash sighed. “That’s not the question I asked, when was the last time you ate, and I want to know now!”
“…Breakfast.” She said and sniffled.
“Okay, no more of that—”
“You’re still a baby and you don’t get to tell me what to do!”
Rainbow Dash pondered this, she had a point. She was supposed to be the elder sibling and she had let her down in more ways than one, but then she had an idea. Rainbow stopped the hug, stood up and took a few steps back. “You’re right.”
“Yeah… Wait what?”
“I was supposed to be your big sister, and I failed you. I lied to you and betrayed your trust in the matter of this… well, this baby stuff.” Keeping it a secret was only technically a lie, but a lie nonetheless, she decided. “What’s more, before that, I ignored you a lot. You looked up to me and I failed to notice what was painfully obvious from the beginning, you just wanted a family, you just wanted to belong. It was only after that camping trip when you spilled your guts to me that I actually started to take notice. I’m sorry, Scootaloo, I’m sorry for everything.” For a moment, Scootaloo had no thoughts and no emotions. She wasn’t sure what to do or who to turn to, but she still had Dash.
“I accept your apology…”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you’re being sincere, I can tell. But… But now what?”
“Now, after you take some deep breaths. I’m going to take you down to Twilight and she will take care of y… us. I know that sounds weird, but when I came to Twilight about my past… I was a wreck, Scoots.”
“You? But you’re Rainbow Dash! You may be into this baby stuff… but c’mon!” Scootaloo was not hearing it or believing it.
“Heh, well remember when I said it was okay to cry?” She rolled her eyes but nodded.
“Twilight taught me that. I had been holding in my tears for years, kid. Years! And I’m guessing that you have held in some too. Always putting on a tough face, right? Well, regardless of what you say, it doesn’t work. It backfired on me and I cried. I cried for so long, I looked like a damn kid having a tantrum, but Twilight stayed up with me all night. Before too long I was most likely physically hurting myself from lack of water, heh… And she forced me to calm down and drink some. And when it was over, I felt better, a lot better. The last time I had remembered feeling so amazing was when we used the Elements of Harmony and before that when I was with my dad…”
“So what? You want me to cry now?”
“Not if you don’t want to, no. But I want you to promise me that if you ever feel like it, don’t hold it in; it will only hurt worse in the end.”
“Uh, I promise, Dash. So now what?”
Dash scratched the back of her head. “I honestly don’t know, I want to take you back to Twilight, but I feel I should know a few things first. That is if you will let me know…”
“What?”
“Okay, let’s start with an easy one. How long have you been living in this clock tower?”
“…Couple years, and I sometimes live in the clubhouse.”
“And you pay for your food with that job, right?”
A nod.
“Good and no pony knows about all of this?”
“No, you’re the first to just ask me like this. No point in denying it I guess.”
“So no help at all? Geez. You know, when I said I was on my own, I still had Gilda and Fluttershy and sometimes her folks who are still around. But to do all of this by yourself, you are a bigger filly than I was.”
The filly perked up. “You really mean that?”
She shrugged. “Hey, I couldn’t do it alone. I never could, in the end I always at least had Fluttershy and now my friends.”
“Wow…”
“Yeah, wow, kid. How did you live through the winter, anyway? You had to be freezing!”
“This clock tower gets pretty warm. I was fine. I just had to make sure to stay out of the clubhouse when it got like that.”
“Smart, kid… Uh, look, I’m sorry for asking this, but I know Twilight will hammer me if I don’t and she will find out anyway. But what about your mother?”
“What do you think?” she said bitterly. “I thought—”
“Yeah, we know that she is, and I’m really sorry for that. But I mean what happened? I may not have paid much attention to you a while back, but I still remember that party Pinkie threw for you two.”
Scootaloo stared at the floor for a good ten seconds. “Weather accident. She was filling in for ponies in other cities and I guess that sort of thing happens a lot. I don’t remember exactly what happened, but she always told me to stay in school and to try hard, so I kept going.”
“Once again, you got one leg up on me there, kid.” Dash winked which caused her to giggle slightly and then sigh when she remembered what they were talking about. Rainbow pulled her in for another hug and then quickly heard the rumbling of her stomach and this time Scootaloo grabbed her gut and would not let go.
“We need to get you a better diet, and no buts this time. We can come back for this stuff later, but right now, let’s get you to the library. Do you still trust me?”
“Yeah, I trust you. Ugh, I’m hungry…”
Rainbow’s stomach soon followed that with a grumble of her own. “Well, hop on!”
Scootaloo wrapped her hooves around Dash’s neck and held on tightly. Dash made sure she was secure on her back and flew down through the tower to leave. “By the way, Twilight probably made a search party at this point so don’t be surprised if your friends are…” She paused, realizing that Scootaloo’s friends were already angry at her. “…even more mad…”
“Uh, they already hate me...” she yelled over the wind as they neared the library.
“I don’t think they hate you, but they are going to be mad since you never told them you were living on your own.” They neared the tree library as Dash circled around and landed. Wasting no time, she entered without warning. Peering up, she found the lights off and nopony home. “Yeah, she’s probably out looking. If Spike were here I could just send her a message, but I guess we’ll have to wait.”
“Not for food, right?” Scootaloo asked nervously.
She chuckled. “Not for food, c’mon let’s see what she has in her kitchen.”
Rainbow quickly made them a medium sized meal complete with soup. Scootaloo wasted no time digging in, feeling better than she had in days. After the filly finished up the last bite, she burped and sighed. “Now what?”
“Well…” As if on cue, the door slammed open. In came five mares, two fillies and a very tired-looking dragon.
“We can’t find her…” Apple Bloom’s sentence trailed off. “Scootaloo!” Quicker than Rainbow could ever hope to move, two fillies tackled the purple maned filly and were hugging her and fussing over her for all of their worth. Apologies could not come any quicker. Once the two fillies had learned of the fate of their friend’s mother it all started to click. Why Scootaloo was angry at them. The filly’s blush was extreme.
“I’m fine, I’m fine…” Scootaloo’s muzzle scrunched up in a bit of disgust. “Eww, did you kiss me, Sweetie?!”
Sweetie blushed. “Uh… heh, heh, maybe?”
Scootaloo wasn’t all that bothered by the thought of seeing her friends as family, a kiss was just a kiss. It wasn’t romantic, Sweetie was simply happy to see her. “I don’t care.” Scootaloo hugged back, everything was fine, they didn’t hate her.
Rainbow was smiling at the scene, but then she met the gaze of five very distracted-looking mares and one sleeping baby dragon and gulped.
“Uh, hey, girls.”
Twilight, ignoring her sleeping charge, practically flew over wrapped the filly in for a hug. “You had us worried sick!”
“I’m sorry, I was just… I was tired of trying so much and I lost it…” Scootaloo admitted shamefully.
“It’s okay…” Twilight’s hug felt really nice, but then her friends made a cough from behind her. Twilight sighed, knowing she would have to explain the full story sooner or later so that everypony would stop being so confused. It was going to be a long night.
The fillies had soon retired, eventually falling asleep together along with Spike on the rug in the middle of the room. Twilight explained what she knew to her friends. She explained how Scootaloo had caught her and Dash doing baby stuff. The rest weren’t as surprised as they thought they would be; Pinkie had shared her feelings for this a bit back. The shock was learning that Scootaloo’s mother was no more and had not been with the living for some time.
“Did she tell you what happened to her ma?” Applejack questioned by the end of it.
They all turned to Rainbow at this, assuming she had asked at one point. The mare saw Fluttershy bite her lip, fighting to hold back tears and sighed. “Yeah, weather accident. Their quite common in bigger cities, less laws and regulations. Nasty business, really.”
Applejack rubbed her head in circles. “How in the hey does a filly take care of herself for so long?”
“It’s more common than you think,” Rainbow said without thinking. All of them, except Fluttershy looked at her as if she just insulted the princesses. She didn’t get embarrassed, she got angry. “What?! It does, okay!” she huffed. Fluttershy was quick to whisper her anger down, reassuring her that they weren’t judging. She sighed. “I’m sorry…” They gave sad smiles, thinking nothing needed to be said. “We all sort of worked together, well me and Gilda did. I really should see her again…”
“Gilda was… alone?” Twilight asked softly.
“Yeah, I guess it’s more common for Griffon guardians to leave their kid alone when they’re old enough to them. Which isn’t that old at all…”
“Um, so now what?” Fluttershy questioned to their silence.
“Well,” Applejack stood up and placed her hat firmly onto her head, “she can’t be on her own anymore, that’s for sure. But for now we need to… Oh.” She noticed the sight of her little sister sleeping peacefully. “Ah can’t, in good conscience, disturb that. Uh, heh, Twi? Do you got any sleeping bags ‘round here?”
She chuckled. “I have plenty. Do the rest of you want to spend the night?”
Rarity shrugged. “I might as well, it’ll be fun. Like a girls night out!”
They all shushed her when Scootaloo whined in her sleep and she blushed. They were all about to gather the required materials when they noticed that Pinkie hadn’t moved in a little while.
“Pinkie? Dear? Are you alright?” Rarity put a hoof on her shoulder.
“…I’m a terrible friend,” she whined silently, but they all heard her loud and clear.
“What?!”
“I threw her and her mom a party but never thought to keep her as a friend. I never talked to her mom much and…” She bit down, literally choking her tears as to not wake the three fillies and dragon.
Twilight was quick to start rubbing her back, speaking softly. “Pinkie… none of us knew this. You’re not to blame and you're not a bad friend.” She turned to her friends. “Right, girls?”
“Oh yeah, you're the best friend a pony could have!” Dash cheered as quietly as she could.
“You’d be a fool not to see that, Pinkie,” Applejack said, while laying out her bag.
Pinkie smiled a bit, looking to Fluttershy who was grinning and nodding. “Aww, thanks, girls!”
More shushing. She quietly giggled when Spike moved a bit.
The six mares eventually found the perfect placement with three bags on each side, far enough away from the fillies so they could talk without disturbing them.
“So, what are you going to do with Scootaloo?” Applejack asked, she was mainly directing the question at Rainbow but looked at Twilight as well.
“Scootaloo will stay with me… well, us,” Dash said without hesitation. Twilight looked surprised for a moment, but then broke out of her thoughts and quickly nodded.
“Are you two a couple?” Rarity’s voice pierced through their nervousness. They were their friends and they would understand.
“Not exactly. Twilight’s been kind of mothering me and taking care of me. You know, all that baby stuff we just talked about.”
“Ahh, that kind of relationship…” Rarity’s cheeks blushed.
“There’s nothing romantically intimate about it, Rarity.” Twilight’s voice didn’t sound annoyed or flustered, it sounded truthful.
“Oh… alright, forgive me for assuming. I guess that kind of relationship can work too.”
“It’s okay,” Twilight said back.
“It just helps me feel like I have a mom. I know you girls are all my family, but it helps me feel better when Twilight is there for me…” Rainbows blush was immediate.
“Aww… little Dashie!” Pinkie giggled.
Dash grumbled but said nothing else.
“That gives me an idea, it might be going a bit far though…” Twilight tapped her chin a few times and then smiled at her friends as she began to explain her plan.
“Well, ah suppose that could work. It’s a bit weird. Just make sure Scootaloo feels comfortable first before even asking.”
“Don’t worry,” Twilight paused and saw the filly in question smile in her sleep, “we will.”
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Well that resolved itself quickly. Course Scootaloo's had that dam ready to burst for awhile I guess so I could see this happening in an episode.
Aww... Honestly, this chapter felt a bit rushed at the start, and I believe in the last chapter at they end they planned to talk to cheerilee first. Other than that, it'll be interesting to see how Twilight's plans go~
In other news... It appears the padded ponies/adult foals group is now gone...
I just noticed the group is gone... *sigh* something tells me an unstable member had something to do with it
3918204
3918267 Freaked me out for a bit, but luckily was able to follow most of the writers I enjoyed. I don't quite know what the cause is really, and its really sad to know that many people won't realize unless they actually check. There's a group titled "Adult Foals and Diapered Crusaders Yay!" which I found to be the closest thing for the time being... Hoping its just a website glitch or that it can be brought back
3918204 Darn it. I guess without the founding memeber around it couldn't support itself.
3918289 3918267 I'm afraid it was unfortunately deleted. Take a look at this blog. I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with what happened there.
Yeah; it's a real pain that it was deleted, and honestly it's gonna be a pain to try find all the members to come together again.
There is an older one I'm a part of right now. 3918484
3918496 Just joined it, but the thing that is the most annoying about all of this are the stories that were archived there. It's gonna be a real pain to find most of them again...
Edit: Mass migration is such a bitch...
3918518 luckily I favorited the ones I always liked and just followed the writers :b... Although, I do kind of feel bad for turning this wonderful chapter into the "OMG WHERZ PADDED PONIES???" Thread... But, I suppose it had to be somewhere, and a popular story that just updated seems to be the right one heh.... Sorry Abdlpony
Yeah, kind of sucks. By the way, how do you like this story? 3918518
3918484 and in regards to that post... It would make sense at the group would disappear after someone called a moderator to fix a silly dispute that didn't even need to exist...
3918606 Hmm... I'm not much for criticism, but I can tell you that I really like this story. It's definitely different from your previous one; in contrast to the words of a certain idiot/troll that got temp-banned about a week ago.
3918597
Fuck! A conversation like this on a popular story will probably raise a few eyebrows from passerby...
Oh, well! I have absolutely no shame about my fetishes.
That makes me feel great, dude! Thank you!
3918617
3918633 Suddenly, you're the person who's writing this awesome story! Didn't see that
doing great with this one and eagerly awaiting more! Hopefully the next chapters will be filled with less drama and off-topic in the comments!
getting so good
Finally no more loneliness for Scoots.
Like this story very much.
And feels.
Dragon
hey, the way you placed the Steaming Bullet's number at the end causes the little fade-in window to act crazy! Scroll your cursor over it, and see! 3918267