I don't have much to offer in life, but for my little sister, I'll give everything. For Scootaloo, I promise that.
I won't lie and pretend that we're cut out for the job; my Dad and me probably wouldn't be the first choices to look after a young filly. But this is something that we will do our best at. I won't pretend that this is the best idea in the world but in this place of unfamiliar people and things, Scootaloo is going to need a family until we can get her back to where she belongs. Or maybe we just stay a family. Who knows, maybe we can actually do this...
It’s been a couple of years now since things changed in my life. And no I don’t mean joining the herd either, that was just the start of it.
I’ll be honest though even after I starting joining internet fandoms and the like I was never a very sociable guy; I didn’t not want friends exactly, I was just always uncomfortable in groups so the friends I did make weren’t many but we were always really close knit so it didn’t matter to us.
Anyways, when this whole thing started up I was in a pretty bad place; I’d lost my Mum about a year ago and I was not the kind of guy who was able to deal with that stuff in a hurry. Neither was my Dad, and it was driving a hell of a wedge right between us.
I tried not to let it bother me though and just powered on, because really what else can you do in life? Shit happens and there’s nothing we can do about it except not let it drag us down. But even though I knew that I was really hoping for something to give me something to work at or something to be happy about, because school had always been a bit of a dead end, I’m not thick or anything I just can’t manage exams too well.
Well I got something to change things up alright but let me tell you, when I started wanted for it what actually happened was the last thing on my mind.
It had gone dark by the time this happened; it’s not that uncommon round by where I live to hear groups of guys out on the streets being loud and obnoxious but they’re harmless enough, just a bit rowdy. Then again when you live down the road from a pub what do you expect?
So when I heard a thump in the backgarden I just thought that one of them was trying to take a short cut back home. Probably wouldn’t have thought twice about it but it only took a second for me to realise that there was constant bumping and rustling coming from back there.
I just rolled my eyes and figured one of them had either gotten so drunk he couldn’t figure out his way back over the fence or that somebodies cat had decided to wreak havoc on the bushes, which is always annoying for me because when that happens my own cat goes psychotic for the rest of the day.
At first it honestly looked like it was normal but just underneath a bush that leaned against our fence I could just about see a bundle thrashing about. I just went to carefully unwrap it, a cat had fallen in some rubbish obviously, but even before I reached out to it I could see the orange feathered wings flapping as they tried to untangle themselves.
Naturally, that got my attention. I’m not bird watcher but I’ve never heard of any bird with orange wings just showing up in some nowhere village. Escaped pet maybe?
Yeah, I was pretty much trying to force myself not to see the truth at this point, just trying to convince myself I hadn’t gone completely mad.
But yeah, no lying to yourself when you’re holding something that can’t exist.
By the time I held the little filly in my arms I was convinced that I was just having a lucid dream or something; I knew this setup, I’d read My Little Dashie (and cried) just like everyone else, I knew the way this started. Still, I was going to enjoy it.
I took the little filly back to the living room, it wasn’t the warmest of nights and she was already shivering in my arms but she’d at least stopped struggling when I got her out of the blanket, I didn’t want to find out what a hoof to the face felt like even from such a little pony.
I set her down on the couch as gentle as I could then thought about putting the blanket around her again but I thought against it, she hadn’t seemed to like it too much before. But as soon as I put it down she was hugging it to herself so maybe that was what it was for rather than wrapping her up; I’d never had one but I knew about the idea of a security blanket, so I just let her do with it as she pleased.
I honestly thought she had drifted off to sleep she went so still. I decided that if I was indeed dreaming I could try to have some fun with it.
Cue me trying to make a TARDIS appear.
Three guesses whether it worked.
By this point I have to be honest I was kind of panicking. It looked like this really wasn’t a dream and it was certainly real enough for me to have physically held the filly and comforted her, what the hell was I supposed to do about this? Luck must have a sense of humour because right when this was going through my head I heard my Dad pulling up in the car.
Any hopes I of hiding the filly where pretty much shattered when she heard the car pulling up and jumped up on the couch, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever the weird sound was.
As awkward as everything afterward was, Dad’s face was almost worth it. He doesn’t show much emotion usually, he’s just not that kind of guy, so to see him standing there, opening and shutting his mouth with his eyes looking like they’re about to pop at least got a laugh out of me and it even got a giggle out of the filly.
What followed wasn’t so fun.
I had to jump in with explanations before my Dad started asking because I figured he was more than likely going to shout the place down, he’s not the quiet type. I just explained the basics at first about how I’d found her and brought her into the house and that I didn’t know how she’d got there; all this had brought our two cats into the room, Merlin and Willow, without either of us noticing. While I was throwing out everything I knew about what had happened the two of them and the filly were examining each other, they didn’t seem to know how to react to each other.
“So anyway, I just couldn’t leave her outside so I brought her in.”
“Fine then but what the hell are we supposed to do with it-“
“Her name is Scootaloo.”
Ever have one of those times when you wish you could go back five seconds and clamp your jaw shut? My Dad just gave me a raised eyebrow and asked how I knew that.
Admitting I was a brony had been easy enough to friends who were interested in the shows fanbase; I didn’t go around declaring it or recommending the show but if people asked if I liked My Little Pony I was casual enough about admitting it. Admitting it to my Dad was a whole other story; I felt like I was pulling teeth as I explained.
As per usual I couldn’t really read my Dad’s expression, he just stood there for a few seconds before he walked to the couch and sat down on the seat next to Scootaloo.
Or at least I assumed it was Scootaloo, the mane and coat matched and she was a Pegasus but then again, magical flying pony in my living room, who the hell knew anymore?
“So, her name’s Scootaloo?”
I hadn’t expected that to be his first question but I nodded anyway.
He stroked his hand down Scootaloo’s coat a few times, a lot like he just stroking a cat. Scootaloo giggled softly and wriggled around, snuggling further into the couch cushions.
“Anything special we need for her?” My Dad was actually smiling as he looked down at her. I spluttered. Surely he couldn’t take it this well?
“Uhh, as far as I know she eats like normal horses except they eat sweets? Are you feeling alright Dad?” I was wondering now whether I’d thrown out the dream theory too fast.
My Dad just went right to the kitchen and came back with a carrot; he offered it to Scootaloo and she happily started munching on it.
“Well, looks like we have a new pet then.”
“She isn’t a pet.”
This was the first time I said something without being confused or panicked; if we were seriously going to be keeping Scootaloo until we could figure out what exactly had happened, she wasn’t going to be a pet. My Dad was giving me a weird look.
“I’m serious: she talks, feels and thinks just like people do, if she was a little older you’d see it clearly but she’s even giggling right now! You tell me, when was the last time you saw a horse giggle?” My Dad nodded and looked down again at Scootaloo, who’d dosed off by this point.
The rest of the night passed surprisingly normal, I just sat and watched my television shows and Dad was on his laptop watching all the older shows he wanted. I was a little surprised that he had taken my watching My Little Pony so well but then again I guess if someone was going to relate to a teenage Brony, it would be a middle aged Trekkie.
When I headed off to bed I decided I’d take Scootaloo with me; there wasn’t really anywhere to put her and there was no way in hell the cats were about to share their basket. So I just let her snuggle down in my bed on the pillow next to me. That didn’t last long though, I’d barely even lay down before she was doing her best to wrap her hooves around me and I think I could feel her little wings flapping on my shoulders to try and curl around me proper. I just smiled and wrapped her in my arms; she was asleep almost immediately.
As happy as I was to be lying there with Scootaloo, inside my mind was racing; I had read this exact sort of situation in My Little Dashie and countless other fan fictions that had spawned off it. Did that mean they were true? Did this honestly happen often? What the hell was I supposed to do, just copy what they did? But the biggest one wasn’t a question but a simple fact.
The ponies in those stories never stayed.
I could feel some tears threatening to escape as I thought about that; Scootaloo was just about the cutest thing I had ever seen right there in my arms and I couldn’t bear the idea that we would lose her somewhere down the line. But she needed us and she had already brightened my Dad’s day; for just a little while he had been recognisable as the Dad I knew and loved before Mum passed away and I had never felt so carefree in a long time when I was around Scootaloo. No, I wasn’t planning on losing her if I could help it, and if it was true that there was really no way around it then when she went back she would have memories of the best damn Dad and big brother that you could find.
“That’s a promise.”
I don’t know why I said that aloud but I gently kissed Scootaloo’s forehead and finally let myself doze off. I can never remember my dreams but if I did have any that night I can tell you what they would have been about.
By the time we actually started to run into any problems with Scoots it had been about a week; it felt a little bizarre to just go to college, suffer through lessons as normal, hang with friends then come back home to play with and feed a bright orange flying horse.
But it never mattered when I actually got to her.
Anyway, I came home one night and Scoots didn’t come running to throw herself into my arms like she always does. It didn’t really set off any alarm bells but it was a little bit disappointing, I’d grown used to the little ball of orange love that nearly knocked me over every afternoon.
But I ignored it and just dumped my bag by the door as I always did and went to get myself something to eat. We didn’t keep as much stuff just lying out in the open in the kitchen anymore in case Scoots ate something she shouldn’t. But it seemed she really wasn’t interested in the food.
Scoots had her face pressed against the glass of our backdoor; I could tell by her reflection that her eyes were locked on the sky of clouds above and full of longing. This would’ve been hard to watch anyway but from what I could tell from the show.
No, I didn’t know that. Maybe she could fly and she was just a late bloomer, or will be rather. I didn’t know for fact that she couldn’t fly and I would support her dream however a guy with no wings could.
“Scoots, you okay?”
She tore her eyes right off the sky and nodded with a wide grin and, predictably, threw herself at me for a hug which I was all too happy to give. She clearly thought I hadn’t noticed anything and I wasn’t about to embarrass her, if she ever wanted to talk to me about it she would in her own time.
She was starting to talk now in broken sentences, which probably would have surprised me but honestly I was too busy being surprised that she spoke English. It was a good thing too, the last week had shown pretty clearly that I wasn’t very good at telling what a baby wanted, and so Dad mostly handled that.
But as I sat there with her on my lap absently scratching her ears I knew that she needed something to keep her spirits high. And I couldn’t help a little grin as I thought I had just the thing.
I waited until just over two hours passed, which meant my Dad would be back any minute and wrote him a note explaining where I’d gone.
It was only a short bus ride to a retail park not too far from where we lived; one of these was a huge toy store that was part of some big chain.
I knew what I was looking for but that didn’t make finding it any easier. My Little Pony has never been too big around here so I honestly didn’t know if they’d have what I was after but it would absolutely make Scoots day so if they did it would be worth it.
In the end I got pretty lucky, they didn’t seem to have much organisation to their kids section but things stuck out in colours so it didn’t take me long to get what I was after.
I was actually a little surprised by the clerks questioning look as I made the purchase and it occurred to me that this must be how Bronies who bought the series merchandise must feel. Still, I ignored it and mumbled about it being for my sister.
By the time I got back Dad must have been back for quite a while because he and Scoots had both fallen asleep on the couch with Scoots curled up in Dads arms. I had to resist the urge to just go up and glomp both of them right there and instead decided that Scoots’ new toy would have to wait until later.
As it turned out I had to wait until the next day to actually give it to her. But not before I made my biggest mistake. Now I made myself swear that I’d tell this story as it happened and that unfortunately includes the multitude of times I screwed up. On my way home that day to give Scoots her gift I made the first one.
Up above my head I could hear a flapping like bird wings. That didn’t seem to out of place but it didn’t take long before they had gotten way too loud to be natural; in the end I looked up into the sky and saw the glinting of armour. The royal guard was unmistakable.
This made no sense to me. I actually looked all around myself, expecting to see phones and cameras pointed at the Pegasus, to see children pointing and cheering while adults were confused and possibly even afraid but no, it honestly seemed that no one had seen him, and even right there I had a weird feeling that was exactly what was happening.
He didn’t stay though; whatever he was looking for (and I think I can guess what) he mustn’t have seen it because the next second he’d flown straight up and disappeared in a flash of light that, again, it seemed that no one noticed.
I ran the rest of the way back home and practically threw myself into the house, and promptly got a face full of excited filly. As usual I was calmed by Scoots but the Pegasus was still lingering on my mind; would he find us? Did he have any clue where Scoots was? Did this mean that the Elements of Harmony or maybe even the Princesses were getting involved?
Scoots nuzzled her nose against my face as I sat with my head in hands. I smiled at that and nuzzled her back; I couldn’t blame them if they were involved, who'd give up on Scoots?
Then I remembered the reason I had wanted to get home before the Pegasus guard.
“Hey Scoots, do you want a present?” I grinned as her face lit up. “Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes-“ I put a hand over her mouth.
“Whoa there crazy filly, I think I get it.” I chuckled and went upstairs to get the plushie I had bought the night before. The plushie was all too familiar to me and would surely be to Scoots when she was older.
“Hey Scoots, there’s someone for you to meet.” I held out the plushie for her to take into her hooves. “This is Rainbow Dash, the coolest, fastest most awesome Pegasus that ever lived. She’s going to be your big sister one day, like I’m your big brother. She’ll teach you to fly Scoots, oh the things you two will do.” At this point I knew I was talking more to myself, Scoots was occupied with trying to hug the life out of the Rainbow Dash plushie anyway.
“Ah Scoots, you have no idea how much you and your friends will inspire people, the things they’ll create just because they can and you guys will give them that little push to follow their dreams.” By now I was fully talking to myself but believe me it was tempting to just break right there and admit everything to Scoots right there, everything I knew would happen and everything that had come from it.
I wasn’t deluded. I knew Scoots would find out about My Little Pony eventually and no doubt that it would be a shock; it was the moment I was truly dreading, when Scoots knew that she had a home and a family she could belong to, did me and Dad honestly have even a snowballs chance in Hell of being chosen to be her family?
“To hell with it.” I muttered aloud as I picked up the plushie Scoots had just thrown accidentally and deposited it back into Scoots’ hugging hoofs. “That doesn’t matter, we’ll enjoy our time together as long as we can Scoots.”
That was my mistake. I knew about the stories, the attachments and broken promises that would inevitably result from this but I was determined that I could beat it, after only a week it already felt like Scoots had always been here and I wasn’t about to let that go, to hell with destiny and fate be damned, I was going to keep Scoots and the world was going to accept that and deal with it.
I should have let her go then, I should have tried to catch the guard or at least get his attention, maybe even writing a letter to Celestia. Though where exactly the dragon fire would have come from is anyones guess.
I should have let her go.
Because then if I had, maybe everything that came after wouldn't have hurt so much.
It had been over a year since Scoots came into our life before she started to resemble herself from the show; life had settled into a routine of caring for her before this but every day now she was becoming more longing for independence.
By now she was also starting to question things.
She wanted to know why she was the only Pegasus she ever saw and why I wouldn’t let her onto the internet. Of course I had other reasons for that.
I hadn’t been very active amongst the Brony community ever since Scoots came into our lives but while I was in school one day I had been trying to think of how best to introduce her to the whole idea, she did deserve to know. Even while I was thinking this one of my friends started singing a certain song that made me realise maybe that would be a terrible idea.
If introducing Scoots to who she really was meant introducing her to that I have to admit I did wonder if it would be better for her to just remain in the dark on where she came from; as much as I may love the fans, a lot of that stuff is not meant for little fillies.
Even months later it was still bothering me as I sat at the dining table with the paper open to job listings; I wanted Scoots to know who she was and my Dad was leaving it to me to introduce her because I actually knew who she was but, how was I supposed to do this? What, was I supposed to just turn to her and say “sorry Scoots but you aren’t supposed to be real and we aren’t your Dad and brother”? It would crush her.
Never mind my worries if she ever discovered Scootabuse…
“Hey, you’re dozing again, get your head in the game!” Scoots voice shattered my thinking.
“Alright Scoots, I’ll play.” Scoots had never exactly got into the habit of using my name, most of the time I was just “bro” or more often just “you”. I didn’t mind, it had been months since I had actually called her Scootaloo after all, she was always just Scoots by that point.
Scoots wasn’t a baby anymore, that much was clear; she still looked too young to be herself from the shows but she was speaking clearly and her mane was getting into the style that it always was. I wondered exactly how it stayed like that naturally.
She was fluttering her wings impatiently for me to play with her; we still weren’t really able to let Scoots go out on her own so we made sure we had plenty to keep her entertained whenever both Dad and I weren’t home.
Unfortunately for me, that had included Dad buying her a Wii.
It was always fun of course just to play a little with my sister but she seemed to be outright addicted to the thing. Didn’t help that she was always choosing the game but then again, considering the types of games that were more my thing, that was probably for the best.
“Yes! I win again, that was awesome!” Scoots jumped around as I once again failed to impress.
For as much as I loved seeing her happy it still made me a little sad to her wings fluttering as they did while she bounced around. More than a year she’d been here and we still hadn’t figured out anyway to really help her fly, we didn’t really know if Pegasi did it just by flapping or if there was more to it and it wasn’t like we could just take her to the park for practice.
After we’d played for a while I wanted to relax a bit so I put on a film for us to watch, Scoots seemed more interested in stealing my chocolate though but I let her have at it, more interested in the film anyway.
Let me tell you, considering the situation, it was hard not to look at E.T. in a whole new light.
At some point we must have dozed off because when I got up again the film was back to the menu and it was night outside. Scoots was leaning on me so I eased her into a lying position before going to close the blinds and curtains before we put the lights on.
From our upstairs windows you can just about see the treetops of a wood outside of town, it’s only a couple of miles away. Looking at those treetops I remembered Scoots desperate looks at the sky and just the outside world; I did my best to let her out when I could but we hadn’t been willing to risk any real outdoors visits, just sitting with Scoots in our back garden. It wasn’t enough and we knew that.
I don’t know whether it was Scoots’ urge to explore the outside world or my own desire to give her a proper childhood that eventually won out but right there I decided that the woods would be perfect for a trip with Scoots, not too far from home and easy to hide her if need be.
When Dad got back I talked to him about it. He was worried like I was about anything happening to Scoots but just looking at the sleeping filly, gently snoring on the couch and remembering the constant longing in her eyes whenever she saw the sky was enough.
The next day I spent most of the morning digging out everything we could need, a tent big enough for two adults, some of Scoots toys (the Rainbow Dash plushie was still her favourite even a year on), a player for an IPod and, of course, as much junk food and sweets as I could carry. Pinkie Pie would’ve been proud.
Scoots was still sleeping when I gently prodded her awake for breakfast. I still had to stop myself just dying when she gave her little yawn as she woke up, but I could still let myself chuckle every time she grumbled about it and tried to bargain for “five more minutes”.
“C’mon, I think this little filly is going to want to get up!” I teased.
“This little filly thinks her big brother wants a hoof to the face.”
“Aw, that hurts me Scoots. Well I guess we can’t go camping then.” It took a minute for the words to sink in but when they did I honestly thought she flew for the first time, the force of the hug was so much.
“REALLY? You mean it?” Her eyes were sparkling like jewels as she looked up at me.
I was probably smiling like a dope while I gently stroked her mane out of habit but I didn’t care.
“I mean it Scoots. You’ve been cooped up here too much; it’s time for us to all have some fun outside for a change.”
“Us? Dad’s coming too!” By now I’m sure she could be heard next door.
“Yep, the three of us, camping out in the woods together with all the sweets we can eat.”
Scoots didn’t reply this time but just started bouncing on my bed and listing off things she was going to do when she got there. I left her to it and finished packing up the camping equipment into my rucksack, we weren’t going far at all but I preferred having it all in one place to start with because by the time Scoots and I were done with it there would be no order or reason to it anymore.
While I was packing all our stuff the phone went off.
It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear; Dad had been seeing this Doctor for a while now because of his heart and he had apparently been told that sleeping in the Woods wouldn’t fly too well.
It was disappointing but I figured it was for the best; if skipping the camping trip meant he’d get better faster I wouldn’t mind. I just told him that we’d be in the Woods if it turned out he’d be able to join us, and he told us not to wait up.
“Don’t wait up for me, you two just go and enjoy yourselves.”
Oh Dad, why did you tell me to do that? And why did I listen?
I know it probably wouldn’t change anything but now as I tell you this story not a moment has gone by that I wish I hadn’t listened, that I’d stayed back to see him before we left for those Woods or who knows, maybe even just called it off altogether and waited for next weekend.
If I’d done that, I could’ve at least said goodbye.
