A Little Girls Love

by darkmage1997

Chapter 13: Flashbacks

In the end, Mavis waited about a week and a half before plucking up enough courage to ask Cadence to adopt her. The only problem? Mavis was unsure on how to ask the princess on the subject, "I don't want it to be too straightforward, but I don't want to take up too much of her time," Mavis said, as she paced around her room, "Oh, this is harder than I thought it would be."

"Mavis, you can always just go up and ask her," Togepi suggested.

"Non, non, non! I want to ask her, but I need to know HOW to ask her. I don't want to come off as some needy.... spoiled..... brat," Mavis said, her tone starting to become more broken and fearful, as flashes of her old home came to her mind.

---

Flashback: Mavis: 3 years old (before her arm got cut off)

"Now Mavis, you've been a very good girl like always, so you have earned yourself a little treat. Go and pick whatever you want, pumpkin," Mavis' father urged, as he and his wife continued looking for food.

"Oui, Papa," Mavis replied, as she looked around the snack isle of a grocery store, while still staying in eyeshot of her parents. As Mavis looked around, she heard some commotion coming further down the store.

"But Mommy! I want candy!" a boy's voice yelled in anger.

"Keep acting up, and you won't get any!" the mother warned. The boy didn't listen, and just went on breaking jars, stomping around, and yelling about wanting candy, and how he never gets what he wants. What Mavis saw next quickly extinguished her nerve for getting a treat: the mother took her son, placed her over her knee, and starting paddling him. The boy screamed louder because of this. Mavis clenched her heart, which was beating faster and faster out of fear, and she stumbled back, tripping over a pickle jar, that, strangely, wasn't shattered when the boy was throwing his tantrum.

"Mavis, mon enfant, are you ok?" Mavis mother asked. Mavis looked semi-fearfully at her parents, who looked genuinely concerned for their only child.

"Oui," Mavis quietly replied, her voice shaky.

"Well, why don't you ride up in the cart. If you see something you like, just point it out," Mavis' father urged, as he placed Mavis in the seat of the cart. Mavis, after seeing what that mother did to her child, clenched her eyes shut, trying not to look for any treats. Eventually, the family arrived at the checkout, and the parents were worried about their daughter, as she never spoke up., "Sweetie? Did you see anything you wanted?" the father asked.

"N-non," Mavis responded, sounding like she was about to burst into tears any second. The parents knew the reason behind this, but didn't push it, as Mavis was already on edge.

---

Reality,

Mavis was shaking at the memory, as it brought her to her knees, feeling like something was caught in her throat, "Mavis? Are you ok?" Mareep asked, snapping Mavis out of her fear induced trance.

"Huh? Oh. oui, Mareep. Just, thinking about something," Mavis replied, still shaken by her memory.

"You don't have to THINK about asking the princess. Just do it! She, her husband, and her kids love you already!" Swablu stated.

"All except for Skyla," Mavis quietly countered.

"Well, yeah, but you can win her over in time," Swablu countered back.

"If you're still insistent on thinking it over, just try to analyze the pros of being adopted by royalty," Furfrou suggested.

"Like what?" Mavis asked.

"Well, for starters, you can get tons of presents for you're birthday and whatever Equestria's equivalent to Christmas is...." Furfrou began listing off the pros, but Mavis wasn't listening, as she had another memory flash.

---

Flashback: Christmas Season: Mavis Age: 3 years, 2 months old (still before her arm)

Mavis was in a stroller, as her parents pushed her through the bustling mall. Being so young, Mavis was easily fascinated by the many decorations and bright colors, "I had a feeling you'd like seeing the Christmas decorations," Mavis' mother said to her daughter.

"We should try to find you some presents for Christmas. Just lets us know if you see anything you like. You've been one of the nicest little girls we've seen this year," Mavis' Father instructed.

"Oui Maman, Papa," Mavis replied, as the walked into a toy store. Looking around at the toys, she saw all manner of the hottest toys of the season. She was about to point out a playset, when she heard some kids whining and screaming to their parents about wanting a bunch of toys.

"I WANT ALL OF THOSE!" a girl screeched to her father, who quickly grabbed the toys that his daughter wanted.

"I NEED TO HAVE THIS ONE! AND THIS ONE TOO!" a boy screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Pathetic. Parents should learn to discipline their kids more thoroughly," a rich looking man said, as he bought a large princess castle playset, "Oh, could you wrap this up in that pink wrapping paper?" he asked the clerk, who obliged, and started wrapping it. Mavis thought about what he had said, and saw all the kids around her throwing tantrums, screaming at the top of their lungs, and dragging their tired looking parents into the toy store. Needless to say, Mavis was feeling rather uncomfortable by these scenes.

"Mavis, princess, do you see anything you like?" her mother asked, snapping Mavis out of her trance.

"Huh? Oh... uh.... well.... I.... uh," Mavis stammered, looking around desperately for something. But all the toys she eyed were the same toys that the other bratty kids were throwing tantrums about. Mavis was worried that she would be seen as a brat, "Non," Mavis replied, looking down, clenching her eyes. Her parents looked concerned for her daughter, and looked around at the spoiled children, as their parents cleared out the shelves.

"Mavis, precious, you needn't concern yourself with how those other kids are acting. You've been raised properly. You can ask for anything you want," her mother reassured. But Mavis was too scared to ask for anything.

"Uh... well.... if you insist, maybe just Un ours en peluche?" Mavis asked.

"A Teddy Bear is all you want?" her father asked incredulously.

"Je suis désolé! I don't need one!" Mavis flinched, covering her head with her arms.

"Maybe taking her to a Toy Store at this time of the season was a bad idea," her mother commented, as they left. Mavis was still saying how sorry she was.

---

Reality,

"Mavis? Yoo-hoo!" Mavis was snapped out of her trance once again by Altaria, "Are you sure you're ok?" Altaria asked.

"Oui," Mavis solemnly replied.

"Are you sure? You've been spacing out during this whole discussion," Swablu commented.

"I'm fine guys. Really," Mavis replied. Her Pokémon all looked unsure about this.

"So, I don't know if you heard me before, but the other pros to living in the lap of luxury is that you can request to have the best tasting snacks around," Furfrou began to explain. But once again, Mavis began having another flashback.

---

Flashback: Mavis Age: 3 years, 11 months, 4 days after her arm surgery

"Now then, Mavis, you just sit here and relax for a bit, while your father and I take care of that one hallway light," her mother said, changing the tv channels to Rugrats.

"And here are some snacks for you to munch on," her father said, handing Mavis a sandwich bag filled with cookies.

"Merci Maman, Papa," Mavis said, as she went to watch the cartoon. It was the episode where Chucky was about to run away from home, when his guardian angel came to show him what life would be like if he did leave. Mavis was shocked, appalled, and frightened by the scenes that followed. Complete, and utter chaos reigned in the town. Chucky's father became a nervous wreck, talking to a sock puppet, Phil and Lil were more rambunxious than normal, causing their parents to become equally nervous wrecks. The scene that Mavis nearly loose her lunch was when they got to Tommy's house. Inside, she saw that Tommy's parents were being overworked to near exhaustion. Their only driving force was a bratty girl yelling at them for more treats. She then became horrified at what came next. There was Angelica, the size of a house, scarfing down cookies, and chocolate sauce. Mavis couldn't watch anymore, as she changed the channel to a particular show about three boys trying to make some money. While she found this program hilarious, she couldn't help but still feel disgusted by the previous cartoon she was watching. She then placed the bag of cookies on the coffee table in front of her, feeling too nauseous to eat any.

---

Reality,

"Mavis? C'mon, snap out of it!" Swablu said, brushing his wings against the young girl's face, snapping her out, once more.

"Oh, sorry about that," Mavis quickly stated.

"Ok, you're clearly NOT alright. That's the third time you've spaced out," Furfrou commented.

"Y-You're right. Je suis désolé," Mavis apologized.

"We should probably ask the princess to get you some therapy. Each time you space out, you have this really scared look on your face," Mareep suggested.

"But, I already got therapy when one of the humans was here previously," Mavis replied.

"Hmm, well, then could you at least tell us why you've been spacing out?" Shuppet asked. Mavis knew there was not dancing around it, so with a heavy sigh, she began telling them about the flashbacks she's been having. The Pokémon all had understanding looks on their faces.

"Well, like that Brian fella said, you're free to NOT be a princess. You can also request not to have any of those benefits that I told you about," Furfrou stated.

"And besides, you're much more good mannered than those bratty kids. You know better than them," Altaria said, nuzzling the young girl.

"Oui, but that doesn't make this any less stressful for moi. I mean, the princess has done so much for the Crystal Empire from what Nathan has told me. He said that she has absolute authority over the empire. How can I ever talk to someone like that so casually, let alone asking her to adopt me?" Mavis questioned. She then noticed Furfrou, Mareep, Togepi, Shuppet, and Swablu all looking behind her. Then, it hit her, "She's standing right behind me, isn't she?" Mavis felt like she didn't even need to bother asking that question, as she felt the presence of royal aura behind her.

"Having a little chat with your Pokémon?" Cadence asked. Mavis squeaked, and slid under her bed, trying in vain to hide from the princess.

"How much of that did you hear?" Altaria asked.

"Plenty. And I don't know why she thought I would be mad at her for asking me to adopt her. She could've just come out and said something," Cadence commented.

"She was trying to find a way to ask you, without feeling like a brat," Togepi replied.

"It took her this past week just to pluck up enough courage to try and ask you. But she never thought about HOW she wanted to ask you," Mareep added. Cadence had an understanding look on her face, and turned to Mavis' "hiding spot".

"Mavis, precious. I know you feel intimidated by all this thought of living like royalty, but I can assure you, you don't need to worry about that part. Just focus on living your life the way YOU want to live it," Cadence said in a kind voice. Mavis then crawled out from under her bed.

"So, you won't be angry if I ask you to be mon maman?" Mavis asked.

"Not in the slightest. I would love to have someone like you around," Cadence said.

"Ok, but mon next question is 'will I have to pay rent'?" Mavis asked. Cadence looked aghast by this.

"What?! No. Why would you think that?" Cadence asked. Mavis then showed her the magazine from the library, "Oh Mavis, you silly goose. All this talk about paying rent is for grown ups, not children," Cadence clarified. Mavis felt incredibly silly for thinking that way, "Now then, I don't think it needs to be asked, but do you want me to adopt you?" Cadence asked.

"Oui," Mavis said, giving the Crystal Princess a small hug, which was happily returned.

"Don't worry Mavis. Everything will work out in the end," Cadence said to her new daughter. Outside the door, Nathan was sitting in the hall, like an anime tough guy, as he peered in at the scene.

"Looks like our world is gettin' a whole lot bigger," he commented.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

Nice work!