Familial bonds: part two

by Darling Dearest

The sunset

Scootaloo yawned deeply, one final thrilling sensation shivering down her aching, tired body as the day began to come to a close. She couldn’t have been happier, having just spent almost the entire afternoon practicing her flying with Rainbow Dash! Receiving more support than she ever thought she deserved from her idol’s incredible parents, treating her as their own the entire time. She couldn’t have asked for more. Though now her eyes grew heavy, and the world began to spin.

“Ha, you’re lookin’ pretty tired their squirt.”

“Yeah, this day’s been awesome. Thank you, guys so much, you didn’t have to do any off this, yet you’ve stayed with me all day… It means a lot.”

“Oh Sweetie, we’ve loved every single second of today, it’s not every day you get to hang out with the most awesome filly in Equestria.” Windy replied, sweetly nuzzling her.

“Couldn’t ’a said it better myself Windy. But come now little pony, you look EXAUSTED and it’s starting to get dark out… Your, em… Parents, must be getting real worried.”

Having gotten caught up in the fun and excitement of taking care of a little filly again, Rainbow’s parents had forgotten the real reason they had come to Ponyville, to talk to Scootaloo about her own home life, they had initially intended to talk to her whilst she practiced, but the joy of seeing her succeed had overwhelmed them. Scootaloo lost eye contact with Bow and Windy, connoting that she was hiding something from them and was struggling remain dishonest. It was a subtle manoeuvre, but one they were used to.

“Oh, em, I’m sure their fine. I mean they know I’m mature, I got my cutie mark an’ all, they probably haven’t even noticed. So, don’t…”

Before Scootaloo could continue, she felt herself being briskly swept off the ground, Windy taking her in her forelegs and giving her a similar soft yet stern look that Rainbow had given her at the beginning of the day.

“Dearie, are you sure your okay, if there’s something bothering you… At home maybe, you simply must tell us. We’re here for you sweetheart, and I know a filly in distress when I see one, so don’t pretend like there’s nothing wrong! We love you and we can work things out.”

“Ugh! Seriously, I’M FINE! I’m not a baby foal anymore, so even is something were wrong I could deal with it myself. I’m practically a grown mare at this point. I don’t even need… Them. So please, just forget about it.”

“Okay, calm down Scootaloo, I was just asking.”

“Uh. I know. It’s just… Rainbow’s been asking that same question for two weeks now. An’ it’s getting’ real old, real quickly. So please… LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“Hey, don’t get angry Sport, it’s not her fault.”

“Oh, it’s okay Rainbow, all ponies say and do things they don’t mean when they’re tired.”

Tears were beginning to well up in Scootaloo’s eyes, help was so close to her, should she just tell the truth? Finally give in and tell the older ponies, who clearly cared for her, about her problems at home? No. She couldn’t. She just had to keep hiding, she was a strong mare, not a baby foal who needed somepony so much bigger than her doing everything for her and crying at her every woe. She was a grown up and she could handle this on her own! Or so she told herself.

“Oh Scootaloo.” Bow said in a soothing voice. “You really are exhausted. Its been a good day, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, thanks again you guys, its been a while since I’ve had so much fun! An’ sorry for my little pout just now… I’d never want to seem ungrateful for how much you’ve given me today.”

Windy finally realised that pressing further on the subject of Scootaloo’s parents would only go to ruin the beautiful, special, memories they had created with the young filly. Though she was now convinced that there was something very wrong with Scootaloo’s home life. She believed that the love all three of them had shown Scootaloo was to be expected from all parents, yet the filly had almost broken out into tears from the mention of her own guardians. She simply hated the idea of sending such a precious little foal back to that kind of home. But she knew that Scootaloo was too tired to properly confess to specific details that would help them offer her more support. Thus, putting the filly down, Windy gave Scootaloo a warm and welcoming smile, showing her that she at least had love in the Dash family.

“Oh darling, we’ve loved spending this time with you. And you don’t need to worry about getting angry, you’re clearly worn-out from all that hard work earlier. Rainbow was just worried about you is all. She hasn’t ever seen you with your own parents, and she loves you too much to not see that as a teensy bit strange. She told us that and we couldn’t help but feel the same way. But if you’re telling us that there’s nothing wrong, then we have no reason not to trust you.”

“Yeah, Squirt, if I’d known my constant questions were annoyin’ ya so much I wouldn’t ‘ve asked so many. Think ya can forgive me?”

“Yeah Rainbow. There’s… There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’m glad we’ve agreed on that.”

“Ha… Good. But listen, you’re so tired that you can barley keep your eyes open, so let’s get you home, I’ll have ya there in a second! My parents are gonna be here a while, so you can hang with them again later. K?”

“Oh, um… I’d hate to bother you guys again… An’ you don’t need to take me home, I know the way back from here.”

“Scootaloo, Windy and I would just hate to see you going home alone. We know you’re mature an’ all, an’ we ain’t saying you need a chaperone to walk ya home from school every day. But Rainbow’s right, you can barely keep those little eyes open, an’ the sun is almost completely gone! We just can’t bare to think what might happen to you if you can’t get home safe. So please let Rainbow take you Scootaloo, put are old minds at ease.”

Scootaloo considered the proposal for a moment. Whilst she did despise the concept of Rainbow meeting her parents, she couldn’t deny how tired she was beginning to feel, and she did owe Rainbow’s parents for giving her such an awesome day. Besides, she could just say goodbye to Rainbow before she went inside, eradicating the possibility of the introduction.

“Okay Bow, I’ll let Rainbow Dash take me home.”

“Thank you, dearie, I don’t think we could sleep tonight without knowing that you were safe at home. I’d hate to think about such a precious and adorable filly getting herself hurt!”

“Ha, stop gettin’ all sappy on my sister mom. Now come here Squirt.”

Rainbow picked up Scootaloo in her forelegs, she would usually have let the filly ride on her back, but she didn’t want to risk such an exhausted foal falling off and injuring herself. Scootaloo suddenly felt so relaxed, the ache of her worn down body suddenly fading away as her idol cradled her, whilst she wanted to hate looking so foalish, the soothing feeling simply felt too nice for her to care. She suddenly felt her eyelids forcing themselves shut, her mind switching off and her legs turning numb. She tried her hardest to resist, wanting so desperately to stop Rainbow meeting her parents, but the superb feeling ultimately overwhelmed her, forcing Scootaloo out of Equestria, and into Luna’s domain for the happy and peaceful sleep she needed.

“Oh my gosh, has she fallen asleep.”

“Ha, looks like it dad, out like a light. She was so tired! I’m surprised she didn’t just collapse onto the ground. She’s worked so hard today, I’m real proud of her.”

“Celestia! She is just too precious! I’m sorry Dashy, but I’ve always found sleeping foals irresistibly cute.” Windy said as she rubbed her hoof along Scootaloo’s chest, making the filly smile.

“Don’t worry mom, even I can’t deny how adorable this looks, an’ I hate mushy stuff! But can you two get home okay? I’ll get this little filly back to her folks, and then I’ll be right there… An’ we can discuss how we can get her to talk more about her parents.”

“We can get to your home just fine Dashy. But, why don’t you just talk to Scootaloo’s parents when you’re givin’ her back to her parents.”

“I… I can’t dad, I know how much we need to know what the little Squirt’s goin’ through, but I also know that she really doesn’t want me to talk to her parents directly, an’ I just can’t betray her trust.”

“Rainbow, I love how much you wanna make this filly happy, but you’ve gotta remember sometimes that you’re the older sister and that you’re going to know what’s best for her. I know it can be tough, but sometimes what they want isn’t what they need, and other times, what they really don’t want is what they need. So, its at times like these where, despite how much you love her, you’re gonna have to be strict with Scootaloo and go against what she wants. Dashy… You’ve go to talk to her parents, I’ve seen now, from how upset she got before, that there is something very wrong with Scootaloo’s home life. So, we just have to find out what the poor dear’s going through, so we can give her the proper help and support she needs. I know that we can’t bear to think of her going back to a home where she doesn’t get the love she deserves, and I know you can’t either Rainbow. Just know that you aren’t betraying her trust, ‘cause this really is what she needs… Take it from us, always giving a filly what she wants doesn’t always solve whatever issue she’s facing. There were too many times in your foalhood were we favoured what you wanted over what you needed, don’t make the same mistake we did.”

“Thanks dad, I can’t say that I’m completely comfortable with this. But you’re right, this is what Scootaloo needs… So, I’m just gonna face her parents and talk this out with them like mature ponies.”

“Ha, well done Rainbow, you’re exactly what that little pony needs right now.”

“Thanks dad, I couldn’t do this without you guys.”

Rainbow Dash hugged her parents one final time, before setting off to where she knew Scootaloo’s home to be. She didn’t know how long her interaction with the filly’s parents would be, but she knew that she had to meet them, weather it was what Scootaloo wanted or not. She travelled slower than she normally felt comfortable with, trying not wake the adorable sleeping filly in her forelegs, Scootaloo’s innocent face and light breathing making Rainbow let out a light chuckle. She finally reached the small home on the border of Ponyville, it had no uniquely distinguishable features, looking like a perfectly normal family home with no secrets to unravel, though Rainbow knew it was where she would finally get the answers she needed. Light radiated from the windows, indicating that the house’s residents were still awake.

Rainbow stood next to the oak door as anger quickly accumulated and began to overwhelm her. She was about to meet Scootaloo’s parents, the ponies who had denied the filly she loved more than anything in Equestria the comfort and support she deserved, who had caused somepony so small such stress, who had caused her to become so uncomfortable at the mere mention of a word that should have stood for love and acceptance. She didn’t know if she could prevent herself from unleashing her rage onto them! Thus, she took a moment to compose herself, realising that she would only diminish her relationship with Scootaloo if she couldn’t remain civil. Whilst the anger still lingered, Rainbow tried to remain calm and open minded.

“Maybe they aren’t that bad.” She thought to herself.

It felt like an eternity since Rainbow had set out to find the truth about Scootaloo’s home life, realising more and more, as she had continued, that something was amiss. Now here she was. About to have everything revealed. What was her Scootaloo going through?

Comments

[OmniFox]

My Ugly Senses are tingling.

[Fluttershyisacutegal]

8709402
Dun Dun Dun! But I agree with ya there