In which Scootaloo hangs out
“Sweetie Belle! How many of those stupid rope traps did you put out here?!”
Scootaloo fumed as she hung upside-down from a snare trap. It had all been fun and games just a few hours ago; she and her fellow crusaders had been practicing sports moves, writing new songs, and generally trying to find new ways to find their special talents. Then, Sweetie Belle had suggested that they try to make rope traps.
“That was so very brilliant!” Scootaloo moaned to herself. “I knew it was a bad idea, but nooooo, Sweetie Belle said it would all be okay! We would totally catch some animals! Well, what exactly were we going to do with them?!”
The orange girl stared at a nearby space, wishing that her friend was there so she could tell her just how awful her idea was. However, all there was in that spot was empty space.
“Yeah, I could have tried, oh, I don’t know, not doing it!” she yelled. “Who would even want to spend their whole life building rope traps?! Oh, and what if one of us gets caught in one of those things?! Who’s gonna help us then, huh?!”
Scootaloo looked up at the rope tied around her leg, hoping it would vaporize. Unfortunately, life never had any intention of giving her laser vision, so the rope remained intact. She then lifted her hand, wishing that the rope would magically untie itself. But alas, this world had no magic.
“I could have told Sweetie Belle how stupid this whole thing was! I should have! But instead, I went along with it! And guess what?! We never caught any freaking animals! And now I’m caught in this stupid trap!”
She yelled out in frustration before letting herself go limp. She felt too frustrated to do anything else at this point. Even if she could, she couldn’t reach the rope or the ground, so she was stuck. There was literally no way that her situation could get any worse.
“You know, if you talk to yourself people are going to think you’re crazy.”
Actually, no. Scootaloo’s situation had just gotten worse.
“What do you want, Flash Sentry?!”
A tall, blue-haired teenager walked into her field of view. He was wearing a leather jacket, blue jeans, and a t-shirt with a shield adorned with a bolt of lightning printed on it.
“Whaaat?” he asked teasingly. “Is that how you treat your favorite big brother?”
“You’re my only big brother,” Scootaloo said, visibly annoyed. “What are you even doing here?!”
“Well, I was just going back home from band practice,” Flash said, pointing at the guitar he was carrying. “And then, much to my surprise, I found my favorite little sister hanging from a tree!”
Scootaloo pouted, eliciting a couple giggles from her big brother.
“So, how did you get yourself in this situation?” he asked. “Was this part of your, ah, crusades?”
Flash struggled to hold back his laughter as Scootaloo growled.
“It was Sweetie Belle’s fault,” she said.
“Really?” asked Flash. “And was it your idea to go with it?”
Scootaloo blew her tongue at him, which led to even more laughs.
“So, basically, one of your friends had a dumb idea, and you followed it even though you knew it was a bad idea because they’re your friends.”
Scootaloo refused to speak. Flash frowned playfully.
“Why the long face, little sis? I thought you enjoyed hanging out!”
On the outside, Scootaloo kept her stoic face. On the inside, she was groaning at Flash’s joke.
“So, how am I going to turn that frown upside down?” said Flash. “I mean, it’s already upside down, but how do I make it a smile?”
He then looked up, away from his sister’s face. He then noticed that her coat had fallen down slightly, just enough to expose her midriff.
“You know, mom would probably get angry about you exposing yourself.”
Even though Scootaloo didn’t want to show any emotion, her cheeks were starting to turn pink.
“I mean, it’s really not a good idea,” said Flash. “I mean, people could come up and…”
He then did something unexpected: he poked his sister in the navel.
“Boop!”
For a brief moment, Scootaloo’s face twinged, and her belly shrunk back. She quickly resumed her stoic appearance, but it was too late. Flash had seen her twinge, and was now smirking.
“And, if they were so inclined, they could even do other things. Like maybe…”
He then pressed his fingers against her skin.
“TICKLES!!!”
He began to tickle her, watching how her belly convulsed she did her best to maintain her emotionless look. As he continued, however, it became evident that she was struggling; she was pressing her lips together very tightly, and her eyes were becoming wider.
“Oh, come on, Scootie,” said Flash. “Don’t leave me hanging!”
Even though it was a terrible joke, it was too much for Scootaloo. She burst out laughing, flailing her arms around trying to get Flash to stop, to no avail.
“See, Scootie? That’s why you’re supposed to think before you do these stupid things!”
He grinned as he continued to tickle his sister. After a few more seconds, however, he stopped and stepped back, giving Scootaloo space to breathe.
“Okay, I’ve had fun,” he said. “Now let’s get you back down.”
“That wasn’t funny.”
As the two siblings walked down the road, Flash continued to smile, while Scootaloo scowled at him.
“Come on, Scootie. It wasn’t that bad.”
“You could have helped me back down,” she grumbled.
“Hey, I helped you back down, didn’t I?” said Flash.
“You could have just done that!” Scootaloo said angrily. “You didn't have to tickle me like that!”
“And deprive you of a wonderful learning opportunity?”
The violet-haired girl scowled at him.
“How was that supposed to teach me anything?”
“Well, how did you end up in that situation in the first place?”
Scootaloo scrunched up her forehead as she thought.
“I got caught in one of Sweetie Belle’s rope traps?”
“They're called snare traps,” said Flash. “But yeah.”
“So, don’t use snare traps?”
Flash laughed.
“Well, that was part of the lesson. I was hoping for something else, though.”
Scootaloo considered what Flash was saying. She then thought about what she had been thinking to herself before he had found her.
“Don’t follow stupid suggestions?”
“Eh, close enough,” said Flash. “Yeah, if your friends have ideas that you know are bad, don’t be afraid to voice your objections. Real friends won’t be afraid to point out flaws in each other’s plans. Just be sure to point out why they’re stupid ideas.”
Scootaloo thought about her brother’s words. She then thought about how everything had gone wrong with Sweetie Belle’s idea, and how she had seen it coming.
“Yeah,” she said finally. “I guess it makes sense.”
Flash smiled and lightly ruffled her short violet hair.
“Hey, don’t worry. You make mistakes when you’re young. And sometimes your big brother's gonna tease you for it. But that’s okay, because that’s what big brothers do. And as long as you learn from your mistakes, you’ll be just fine.”
Scootaloo looked up and smiled at Flash. He in turn gave her a smile of his own.
“Thanks, big bro.”
“Anytime, little sis.”
They then continued to walk together home, both a tiny bit wiser than before.
Author's Note
Just some random silliness that was inspired by this pic.
Also, we need more stories about Flash and Scoots bonding as siblings.
