Learning to be a Family

by Kevinltk

Dark, Stormy Night

Pitch black. Ponies would use these words to describe the complete absence of light. However, that was nothing compared to the room Spike and Scootaloo were in.

Throughout the day, Spike, Scootaloo, and Twilight were watching Dash and the weather team build a thick, dark blanket across the then sunny sky. Even though Scootaloo expressed her desire to give helping hoof here and there, Dash had no choice but to decline it. She knew full well that the experienced members of the weather team, even with all the precautions they took, might somehow get hurt one way or the other. Regardless of Scootaloo promising Dash she would be super careful, Dash had no intention of seeing her newly-adopted daughter get hurt, or worse, end up in the hospital.

As time passed and the thick cloud blanket was properly knitted across the especially bright day, the young family headed back to the Castle of Friendship.

However, they would not be able to spend the rest of the day together.

After Scootaloo permanently moved into the Friendship Castle, the Cutie Map would sometimes send the Elements to the outskirts of Equestria to fix friendship problems.

And once again, the Cutie Map called all the Elements on a quest, something that had only happened a couple of times. There was usually at least a pony or two left behind that would check up upon Spike, Scootaloo, Owlowiscious, and Tank here and there.

Being left to themselves and their own devices, Scootaloo and Spike decided that the best way to spend their time was to explore the vast castle. Neither would dare to compare the castle to Canterlot's, but neither would deny they spent far too many hours, or even days, exploring the crystal structure. And their exploration wouldn't be limited only to the ground level, but to the few underground caves they found in the basement.

As soon as the ponies departed, the two looked at each other and nodded; they both wanted to continue with their exploration. Even though they had gotten lost before, they would not make the same mistake again and would mark their way this time.

"After you, sister," Spike said with a bow.

"Heh." Even though everything was black-on-white, and Scootaloo was officially adopted quite a while ago, Scootaloo still found being called "sister" was odd to say the least.

Regardless, they continued with their careless venture into the unknown.

As they progressed down to the basement, Scootaloo stopped and perked her ears when she heard a distant growl. "W-what was that?"

"You forgot about the storm? It's scheduled for… uh..." Spike looked at the watch he brought. "They're late. By like 20 minutes."

"Oh-oh yeah. I forgot about that."

Spike smirked. "You forgot you wanted to help out?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "I guess so. Come on!"

Without hesitation, Spike started to courageously march ahead, leaving Scootaloo a few steps behind. And with time, the distance grew bigger, making him stop and turn around. "Hey, sis?"

"Yeah?"

"Something wrong?"

"No, of course not. I just—"

Craaaack!

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed and her body stiffened.

Spike smirked. "Don't tell me that you're scared of a little thunder."

"N-no. Of-of course not. It's just—"

Craaaack!

Scootaloo's tail tucked between her legs and she jumped up. "Aaaahhhh!"

"Scoot? W-what's wrong?"

"I-I—"

"It's just a storm, Scoot. You know, a little thunder and things are over?"

“…”

"Scoot?"

"I-I'm scared, Spike."

"Yeah, I can see that. But why now? There had been storms before, you know. And you—"

"Were hiding."

"Yeah, right," Spike replied with a determined tone, and a moment later, he fell silent. He was digging through his memory, trying to remember when he saw Scootaloo during a raging storm, and to his surprise, he could remember not even one instance of them being together during the storm. "Oh," he finally said.

"It's just a little thunder and lightning, Scoot. Nothing really to worry about. Electrostatic discharge far away from us."

"I know what it is!" Scootaloo almost screamed. "I-I still don't like it, okay?" She bit her lip. "Please don't tell Rainbow."

Another flash of bright light saturated the interior of the crystal room, bathing both of them in a mixture of colors.

"Whoa! That was freaking cool! Hey, Scoot?" Spike swiftly looked around the crystal room, but Scootaloo was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, Scootaloo?" No answer. "Sis?" The distancing sound of galloping made him turn his head, just in time to catch a glimpse of the frightened filly.

"H-hey, wait up!"

However, Scootaloo was already gone, lost in the crystal corridors of the castle. There was no chance Spike could catch up with Scootaloo. But at least he knew where she was going.

~*~*~

"Scoot? You in here?" Spike asked as he slowly pushed open the door of Scootaloo's bedroom. "You just went off and I… uhhh… Scoots?"

Spike lit the nearby candle and let the light spread across the room. In the middle of it, there was a bed, with a shivering lump on top of it. "Hey, are you—" The moment Spike poked that lump, Scootaloo jumped out scared from her blanket cover, and shared a shriek like a little foal with Spike.

After they both calmed down, Spike calmly asked, "Scootaloo?"

"S-sorry. I'm just…"

"Scared of the thunder."

Scootaloo nodded.

"So? Don't see what's wrong with Dash knowing about it…"

"Are you kidding! Rainbow Dash isn't afraid of anything! She's like—"

"She had severe stage fright," Spike replied flatly. "Twilight told me when she and her friends went to watch Rainbow in the Young Fliers Competition."

Scootaloo fell silent for a moment. "But she— Rainbow Dash is—"

"Oh, but that's nothing." Spike giggled. "Twilight was scared of thunder as well. She used to hide behind Celestia's leg. Actually, I saw her hiding there quite a few times."

"Yeah, when she was a foal. Not as old as me, though. I—"

"Actually," Spike answered with a smirk, "she was even older than you. It was really funny to see her squirm on a night like this."

Scootaloo scratched her mane. "Even older?"

"Yeah. I once found her hiding under the bed once. I guess those dust bunnies needed some company as well. Anyways, Twilight told me it's no biggie if you're scared of something, and that we're all afraid of something."

"Yeah?" Scootaloo paused for a moment and scratched her mane. "What are you afraid of?"

"I— er…" Spike took a deep breath and exhaled. "Twilight."

Scootaloo tilted her head. "You're scared of Twilight? What did she do?"

Spike furiously shook his head. "No, no, no, I mean… I don't want her to get hurt, and with all of her running around doing the princess' duties… I'm afraid some day she won't come back home."

"That won't happen, Spike," Scootaloo replied after a moment of reflection of previous events. "Hey, Twilight is super-smart, and with Rainbow by her side, yeah, not gonna happen."

"I guess…"

"And—"

Again. the crystal castle lit up as the flash of lightning struck something near the castle. Scootaloo froze up.

"Way cool! This one was really close!" Spike squeed, but he fell silent the moment he remembered he was in a room with a scared Scootaloo. "Uh, sorry."

"Heh, yeah. Um, Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"I um… Er… Would you like to… keep me company? I… I don't think I'll sleep tonight with… that outside…"

"Oh. Well, sure, sis."

~*~*~

"Hey, squirt, we're back! Luckily, the Map sent us someplace close. It was a super easy job and… Uh… Scootaloo?" Dash said to the overly calm interior of the castle. "You here?

"Scootaloo?"

The only sound that could be heard throughout the castle was the sound of Spike's unmistakable snores. However, instead of coming from his room, they were coming from Scootaloo's. Curious, Dash opened Scootaloo's door, and she couldn't help herself but snicker.

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"See for yourself, Twi."

"What? Oh." Twilight snickered herself as well. Scootaloo had her forehooves wrapped around Spike while he was snoring.

"What do you think happened?" Dash whispered.

"We can ask tomorrow," Twilight whispered in reply. "But until then… We need to get some sleep as well."

Dash cleared her throat.

"Sleep, Miss Dash."

"Yes, Miss Nerd."

Twilight looked at the sleeping couple again. The worry about how Spike and Scootaloo would cope in the long run disappeared.

Without a shadow of a doubt in her mind, they've became a real family.

Comments

[OmniFox]

A shocking come-together.

[Boulder]

Dawww, my eyes are sweating.

[TwilightShipper]

I'm not crying, it's liquid pride remember.