Runaway

by RedScootaloo

Chapter 3: "Family"

Bash didn’t bother to knock, instead she just walked in.

“Who’s that? Get out!” A croaky, female voice shouted. It sounded broken somehow, like if the pony it belonged to had lost her hope long ago.

“It’s me, Sharon. Bash!” She answered.

“Oh, just you… Did you bring Rusty’s goods?”

An old, bony Pegasus entered the room, a lit cigarette in her mouth. She took a deep drag and puffed the smoke out. Bash and Scoots lay the bags on the ground, letting her check them for the contents. She stared at them for a second or two, then moved on to a small table and picked up a small bag. As she threw it on the floor in front of Bash’s feet, a few coins jingled in it. Bash opened it, counting the coins inside.

“That’s only 43 bits, Sharon. Ya know Rusty’d kill me if I only brought 43 bits back.”

Sharon grumbled something about her being a vulture, took seven more coins out of another little sac and rolled them over to Bash.

“There you go, filly. Leave now.”

They didn’t need to be told twice, so they quickly put the money in the bag and left. The stench in the building had made them sick, and when they finally escaped, they gasped for the fresh air.

“Well, now ya know my “family”, I guess. Bet ya wonder what’s the deal with Sharon, huh?” Scootaloo could hear a little bitterness in Bash’s voice.

“She hasn’t always been like ‘dis, ya know… She was a great lady when I first met her, full of generosity and happiness, always ready to put a smile on ya face. But the last years were hard for her. Her husband passed away, and after that she had nopony to talk to anymore. She couldn’t bring herself to talk to me or Rusty, and now she only wants to be left alone with her booze and her cigarettes, waiting for the end of her life.”

A small tear ran down her face as she talked. She wouldn’t say anymore, and Scootaloo knew it was useless to try.

Instead, she just hugged her, trying to comfort her above a level words could reach. They just stood there in silence, which only was interrupted by Bash’s sniffs every now and then.

Scootaloo didn’t know how much time passed, but she felt like she had to say something.

“You’re not alone, you know. I’ll always be there for you. You can count on me.”

She felt Bash nodding on her back.

“Thanks, Scoots… Ya don’t know how much this means to me.” She sniffed.

“Hey, don’t mention it. I’m kinda your family now, too, right?”

“Thanks… We should get going; Rusty must be waiting for us! Ya don’t wanna see him angry, believe me.”

They began to move. “You know, I really missed having someone I could talk to… You know, since I ran away, I always only had Rusty and Sharon. Rusty isn’t the kind of pony for talking, especially not about problems, even though he truly wants to help. And Sharon… Well, you met her. Before her husband died, she was helpful, and she always listened to whatever I had on my mind. She tried to help me, and she often succeeded. But when the drinking started, she became more and more angry, didn’t listen to any reasoning.”

Bash quit talking for a moment or two. “I really wish I could talk to her like that once more…”

Scootaloo was helpless. She really wanted to help her friend, but she didn’t know, how.

For a while, they just walked on in silence.

“Maybe…” Scootaloo started.

Bash shook her head, guessing her thoughts. “We can’t convince her to stop drinking. As I said, she doesn’t listen to reasoning anymore. I don’t know… I don’t really believe she’s gonna be happy, anyways. I’m pretty sure, that she won’t become who she used to be. It isn’t just the alcohol that changes her. It’s the death of her husband that still is preying on her mind.”

Scootaloo thought about it for a moment. Bash really had a point. But they couldn’t just give her up, could they?

“I will come up with something. I am not ready to give Sharon up.”

Bash shook her head. “Do as you will. Thanks, Scoots…”

They continued their walk in silence, both deep in their own thoughts, until they reached ‘The final sprint’.

„Rusty? Ya there?“ Bash’s voice echoed through the pub.

The lights were off, and since there were no windows, they couldn’t really see anything further away than their own hooves. The answer came in the form of a snore. Bash raised her left forehoof in front of her lips to symbolize Scoots to be quiet. She lit a small candle on the counter.

In the flickering shine of the candle they could see Rusty, sleeping peacefully on a chair. Bash laid the bag with the money next to him, careful, trying not to wake him up. Then, Bash silently allocated Scoots to follow her.

They sneaked through the room and Bash opened the door. It squeaked a little, and Bash looked back, worried, she might have woken Rusty up. As she saw he continued his sleep, she entered the room in front of her, the candle holder still in her mouth.

Scoots followed her, trying not to make too much noise. Bash’s movements were so silent, that she felt incredibly loud. She must have spent years learning to move that quietly. She closed the door when both of them were in, careful not to let it squeak again. Then, she activated the light switch and they could finally see. Bash blew the candle out and pointed to a cooking pot.

“That’s the soup he’d talked about. It doesn’t really taste good, but it’s very healthy. At least that's what Rusty says all the time.”

As they made eye-contact, Scootaloo's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly her stomach was filled and she felt it tickling her. She found herself having a stupid ear-to-ear grin on her face, not being able to put it down. Blushing she turned away, trying to hide her stupid face expression from the filly in front of her.

Doing so made the situation more than awkward for Bash. What was she supposed to do now?

She decided to fill their soups in two small wooden bowls, which she transported one by one over to a small table that looked like it was from the past century and sat down.

Scootaloo looked back up. She had been so deep in her thoughts – or rather blaming herself for the stupid grin – that she didn't notice Bash had moved. She sat down in front of Bash and took a sip of the soup. It did taste a little odd. Somehow like moss combined with salt and… Scootaloo couldn’t tell what it was. Something made it taste a little rotten.

“It’s… uhm… something you need to get used to. What is this?”

“I don’t really know. Rusty keeps the recipe hidden from me. When I asked he just laughed and walked away.”

By the time they’d finished their soup, Rusty still didn’t wake up, so they decided they should head outside for a while.
“Scootaloo, I did want to ask you something... You don't have a place to sleep at, right?”

Scoots shook her head as response, encouraging Bash to continue talking.

“I wanted to ask you wether you'd want to stay with us. Like, actually move in or something. What do ya think?”

Scootaloo thought about it a little. Obviously, she hadn’t really a place to sleep at. And that way she'd be able to stay with Bash all day and all night.

“I…” She paused for a second. She tried to read Bash’s face, but she hid her thoughts well.

“I would love that!” She hugged Bash. “Thank you so much!”

Author's Note:

Alright, here goes chapter 3, though it's still only half-edited due to missing time... Hope it's still bearable for you guys :)

As you might have noticed, I changed the format a little, I hope it's easier to read now ;)

EDIT: Final change, hopefully easier to read now

Comments

[temerarii pulsat]

good still cant see where this is going tho

[Naesthebrony]

I have a bad feeling about that soup...