Close Bonds: Chapter Twenty-Five

After attempting a few curious peeks from outside the door, Scootaloo gives you an inquisitive look. “What’s going on?”

You take a glance back at the disheveled mares sitting on your couch. “I really don’t know, and honestly, I don’t think I want to find out.” You sigh, turning back to the filly and kneeling down to her level. “Looks like I’m gonna have to kick you out for awhile, alright?”

“Alright.”

“I would say come back if you get hungry or thirsty or something, but seeing as how we don’t really know what’s safe to consume here…” You reach into your pocket, producing a small brown bag that jingles as you hold it out to her. “There should be maybe twenty, twenty-five bits in there. Bring me back whatever’s leftover, okay?”

She takes the bag, tucking the small sack of bits under her wing. “‘Kay.”

“Alright. See you back here before dark.”

You step all the way inside the house, giving a last parting smile as you close the door behind you.

“So, I see you’ve patched things up with Scootaloo?”

You turn around and see Cream. She smiles, the slightly upturned shape of her lips a deep contrast with the rest of her face. Low, dark bags hang under her bloodshot eyes, indicating to you either a pattern of sleeplessness or crying; or, both. Her mane, normally kept just the way she likes it, is all frazzled and messy, and even her coat seems to have some knots in places.

This is the same pony who used to pull stacks of containers of makeup from the receptionists’ drawers and begin applying it during work hours.

You suddenly realize that Cream asked you a question. You shake your head, trying to come out of your thoughts. “Scootaloo? I guess. I mean, we did adopt her.”

She nods. “Yeah, Rainbow told me.” Sighing, she adds, “I guess that means you’ll be pretty tied up for awhile, huh?”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Rainbow assures her, giving her another hug, “we’re here for you, Cream. If you ever need anything, just knock, alright?”

“So, uh…” You scratch the back of your head, looking awkwardly to the side. “What’s going on?”

Again, all heads turn to you. The unicorn sighs, lightly pushing Rainbow Dash off of her.

“I should have listened to you. You were right.”

You’re not sure whether to be annoyed by her vagueness, or concerned by how downtrodden she seems about it. “Right about what?”

She shakes her head, taking a moment before continuing. “You remember that little ‘party’ we had in Rainbow’s room, right before you guys left?”

It isn’t difficult to recall. “Yeah, I remember… You and Rainbow ate all the damn donuts. How couldn’t I?”

You get somewhat of a glare from Rainbow Dash, but Cream picks up on your joke, chuckling lightly. “Yeah, well… That’s the least of our problems. You really don’t remember what you said, do you?”

“I said a lot of things that night. It was kind of a crazy-”

“You told me not to bring alcohol into the hospital. You said it might get me fired.”

It takes just a moment to remember saying those words, and another to figure out what it means.

“Fuck, Cream. Just… damn.”

She averts her eyes, staring off at something out the window, anything to avoid looking at you.

Perfect time to adopt a filly, wasn’t it?

If they know about Cream, they probably know about you.

Worst-case scenario, you were fired you while you were away. In that case, you no longer have a means to pay for your house, or even feed its three inhabitants. You may not even get a severance check, considering you violated work policy…

If that happened, you’re screwed. If word gets out, the only employer you can think of that would take you would be Applejack. What she payed you was about a third of the chicken scratch you receive now; not nearly enough to--

“Are you okay, Ivan?”

You snap out of your thoughts, looking up to see both mares staring at you with concerned looks.

You pinch the bridge of your nose, clamping your eyes shut. You force down a sick, nauseous feeling in your stomach, shaking your head. “I really don’t know, Cream.”

“Ivan?” you hear Rainbow call out. When you open your eyes, you see her patting the spot beside her on the couch. As there seems to be no better option, you oblige to sit down.

As you let yourself sink into the cushions, your thoughts turn to the blue mare snuggling up to you. You drape an arm around her, softly scratching behind her ear, causing it to flicker for a second.

Would she be able to support herself if you couldn’t? She hasn’t been able to find a job the whole time she’s been with you…

...although, you’ve suspected for awhile now that it may not be quite as out of her control as she attempts to make you believe.

“They don’t know about you.” Two heads turn to the pink pony. Calmly, she says, “I didn’t tell them about you. No one even has a clue.”

You frown, the gears in your head turning aimlessly as you try to make sense of this. “Wait a minute… How could they have possibly known about the party, and not know that I was involved?”

“More than likely, nopony, besides the three of us,” she gestures to your little circle, “even knows that our little get-together ever happened. They have no idea that I snuck beer into Rainbow’s room, or that any of their patients even ingested any alcohol. Well, at least not Rainbow.”

“What happened, then?” You’re really not sure whether to be relieved that you still have your job, or guilty, because your friend took the full heat for what was both of yours’ trip-up.

Rainbow suddenly pipes up. “Yeah, I’m kind of wondering, too… I knew you didn’t rat on Ivan, but how could they have known if they didn’t find out about the party?”

The light pink pony seems unable to meet either of your gazes. “Well… this whole thing with bringing alcohol into the hospital… i-it’s been going on a lot longer than you think.”

“Oh…” the two of you mutter simultaneously.

“You see, I don’t know how well you know them, but I know you’ve at least met the two other receptionists at the hospital: Blue Bonnet and Cherry Punch. We each switch off every eight hours to do our shifts during the week, and we all see each other pretty much every day. Well, sometimes one of us will bring something in and store it in a little drawer that nopony else seems to know about- a bottle of wine here, some tequila there- and it’s just our little secret.

“As part of our code, whatever’s in there is supposed to be shared between the three of us. I had an extra pack of beer I left in there, and Cherry decides she wants to go give some to-- guess who?”

“Uh…”

“Scootaloo’s motherfucking dad.”

“What?!” you and Rainbow both cry out in unison.

“That’s right. I mean, I’d always questioned her choice in stallions, but what the fuck?! The dumb little whorse has to go pucker up her loose-ass vagina for a criminal; which, I would give neither a feather nor fuck about, but it had to be a hospital patient.

“Long story short, he apparently wasn’t too good at hiding evidence-- or just didn’t care. The alcohol was traced back to Cherry, and not only are the three of us fired, but the part-time weekend receptionists lose their jobs as well, even though they had no idea what was going on.”

Rainbows hooves hug you just a little tighter, and her breath seems to hitch for a moment. “That’s a little harsh…”

“Yeah,” Cream sighs, leaning her head back and sitting human-style on the couch. “I genuinely feel bad for the part-timers, but…” She sighs, looking towards the two of you with sorrowful eyes. “Is it selfish of me to not really think about them? I mean, I totally just screwed myself over here…”

“Hey, Cream, come on. It can’t be that bad.” You give the unconvinced pony a reassuring smile. “You’re a young, single mare, with tons of potential. You could easily find another job somewhere else. A better job.”

It’s not like ponies would reject her for being a giant hairless monkey.

She sniffles, letting you know that there’s going to be something negative to counter your encouragement. “That’s the thing, though. You know how I finished art school like, a little while before I met you?”

“Yeah...?” You rolled your eyes when she first mentioned it, acting like a jerk and giving her shit about her life choices. You then later learned that artists were actually in high demand in Equestria, and that art students were often well-to-do later in life.

Compounded with her reminder that you never even finished high school, you felt kind of stupid afterwards.

“Well,” the now-troubled artist continues, “I didn’t tell you, because I wanted it to be a surprise, but a few weeks ago I got accepted to go work with an interior design company based in Canterlot. My starting pay would have been over a hundred fifty thousand bits annually.”

The gears in your brain lock up for a moment as they attempt to process that amount of money. One hundred fifty thousand? Starting pay?! She’d better start buying Rainbow’s full intake of apple cider pretty damn soon.

Okay, you don’t want Cream to go bankrupt. But you expect at least half to be taken care of.

“Really, Cream? That’s great! Why the hell are you so worried? You’re gonna be makin’ it rain by the time--”

“I got a letter from the company saying they’d rescinded the offer.” Her face is stone cold and stoic as she says this. “Word must’ve gotten out to them. I don’t know how, but they know.”

The room is silent, with you, once again, feeling very stupid.

“G-Guys?” A tear leaves a wet trail down her face, slipping down and past her trembling snout. “What do I do?”

What.

With every word spoken, every sentence uttered, the guilt piles up, compounding the one simple, painfully obvious fact.

You ruined somepony’s life.

Voices continue to flow out the window, but you can no longer bring yourself to listen. Ivan told you to go outside, not eavesdrop on his conversation.

You should’ve listened. You would have been perfectly happy-- maybe oblivious, but still happy-- without ever knowing just how badly you screwed Cream over.

“For the last time, Scootaloo, where did you get that?!”

The older mare refers to the beer you were caught with earlier. She paces back and forth, glaring at you intently. “Do you realize just how much trouble you’re in, young lady?!”

“Why don’t you tell me, huh?!” Old bitch, you want to say, but decide to hold it in.

Her wrinkled head rises to its full height as she walks up and stands over you, casting a shadow across you and your chair. “You,” she says, spitting venom against your face, “will be sent off to another orphanage, made especially for delinquents like you!”

“Daisy!” Flitter shouts. Daisy, the bitchy one, whips around on her younger counterpart, staring her down as the two exchange heated glares. After a minute passes, the gray mare turns her nose up, giving a ‘hmph’ as she trots away.

“I’ll arrange things with the adolescent facility in manehatten,” she says as her voice fades out. Flitter frowns at the older mare as she disappears down the hall, shaking her head.

“I hate her too,” you say, expecting Flitter to concur. Instead, however, she shoots you the same angry glare that Daisy received.

“Scootaloo.” The way she states your name makes you cringe. Her voice, although barely above a whisper, has a force to it that makes you wish you could shrivel up into a ball and disappear.

“What have you done?” she asks, her voice unwavering and cold. You hate yourself now. You don’t know what she’s doing, but it feels like your heart is being slowly pierced, sliced open, and shoved into your throat.

“I- I-” You try to speak, but your heart seems to be blocking your vocal chords.

“This… This is serious, Scootaloo.” You’re really not sure whether she’s angry, or sad. Either way, it reminds you a lot of your mom.

“I- I know.”

Her voice suddenly rises in volume. “Why did you do it then, Scoots?! You know better than this!”

You shrink back into your chair, afraid to even move. Her eyes bore into yours, and you wait in a terrifying silence for what happens next.

Celestia, please… just kill me now!

She watches you for a few moments longer, and then turns away, shaking her head. You shake as well.

“I don’t think I can get you out of this one, Scoots.” She sighs. “Just think about that. There are no other homes for fillies your age in Ponyville. That means that you’re gonna have to start over. Again.” The face of horrible truth turns to you again. “I won’t be there to constantly be bailing you out of trouble. You’re gonna have to grow up, yourself. You probably won’t be able to see your friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, very often. If ever again, in your foalhood.

“I don’t think that there’s any punishment I could give you that would be worse than what you’ve done to yourself. I’m… disappointed, Scootaloo.” She looks the other way, her eyes becoming noticeably red and puffy.

Please… Don’t look away.

Your wish is granted. “Who gave it to you?!” she suddenly demands, turning on you. “You couldn’t have just made it appear out of thin air. Somepony, somepony, gave it to you, and I intend to see them punished!

“So, where did you get it, Scootaloo? Who gave it to you?”

You told her everything. You knew some ponies would get in trouble-- namely, you, and your dad-- but you had no idea that it would go any further than that.

Five ponies lost their jobs, all because you couldn’t keep your trap shut. You were going to be shipped off anyway, why did you say anything?

Why did Flitter have to ask? She took advantage of your trust in her, and forced it out of you… You shouldn’t have trusted her.

Why did your dad even give you beer in the first place? What kind of father does that? If he hadn’t done that, none of this would have happened in the first place.

None of this would have happened in the first place.

Your dad. He’s the reason Cream, and all those ponies lost their jobs.

He’s the reason you almost had to leave Ponyville.

He’s the reason Ivan feels like he has to take care of you. You know he feels some kind of debt for hurting your dad; he would’ve never taken you in in the first place if he didn’t.

If your fucking dad never showed up in the first place, everything would’ve been exactly the same way as it was before. The way you liked it.

Why did he have to show his fucking face?

You hate him. He’s been ruining your life since you were eight.

You hate him.

You hate him.

Your head feels hot, and you begin to experience tunnel vision as your mind is clouded with these thoughts. Anger driving you forward, you drop the sack of bits in your wing, take them back up in your mouth, and begin flying toward the hospital.

Wham!

A head pops up from the hospital bed, wide eyes looking rather surprised.

“Hey there, little missy,” he says, as if too shocked to say anything else.

“You.”

“What are you--”

“I fucking hate you, you bastard.”

His jaw drops open at the words. You’re scared for a moment, recalling the time he tried to abduct you off the street while you were playing with your friends.

And then, you see his cast. The gauze around his head, and various other spots. The hospital bed under him.

He looks so weak now. Like you could take his own bottle of beer and shove it down his throat until he drowns.

“What the hell is this?” He shouts back at you, though his voice starts to waver a bit at the end.

“I want you to get out of my life.” You squint your eyes at him. “You ruined my life. You’re a weak, weak pony, who lets things take control of him. Things like that beer you gave me.”

“You got caught, didn’t you?” he asks. “You were supposed to hide it. It’s your own fault you got into trouble-- hell, they even gave me shit about it. Did you know there’s a restraining order on me now? I’m not even supposed to be near you right now.”

“That’s what you’re mad about?” You grit your teeth, feeling them nearly rip out of your gums. “I probably would have never seen you again if Ivan and Rainbow didn’t adopt me!”

He’s silent for a moment. “And you-- you let that happen?” His breathing quickens, and his nostrils flare. “That fucking ape that almost killed me?! You let him adopt you?!”

“I did!” You feel like grinning triumphantly at your little victory over him. “And you know what? It’s too bad he didn’t finish off the job!”

His face twists into numerous expressions, the first and foremost seeming to be… horror.

Good...

“I brought something for you,” you say, opening up one of your wings. Onto the floor drops a half-full beer bottle.

“This is the little present you gave me. To calm me down, you said.” You smile, picking it up. The thought of bashing him in the head with it, mercilessly beating him until he dies, seems appealing to you.

And at first, you move forward to do it. But as you see his face, the face of the stallion you once called ‘dad’... Your will begins to falter.

Instead, you hatch another plan. “Take it back. I don’t want it.” You hold it out for him to take, but he doesn’t move to do so. So, you place it on the bed, by his side.

“In the end, it’ll kill you anyway. So drink it. Do this whole world a favor, and-- and drink it.”

There’s a moment of stillness that follows. He keeps looking between you and the bottle, back and forth, grimacing.

“Scootaloo!” you hear from behind you. You turn around to see a mint green unicorn behind you, and instantly recognise her as your dad’s doctor.

Though, how she knows your name, you don’t know.

“You’re not supposed to be in here!” she says, surrounding you in her green aura and dragging you out of the room. She turns back to the bed with her patient on it, and gasps.

“What the hell is this?!” she half-shouts, half-whispers as she picks up the beer bottle in her magic. She quickly looks around for a moment, as if somepony were watching, before the object disappears in a flash of light.

“I’ll spare both of you the trouble. This time.” Her gaze lingers on your father for just a little while longer, before she walks out, shuts the door, and ushers you down the hall. “Not a word will be said about this, understood?”

You say nothing at first, until the unicorn pulls you around by the ear until you face her. “I said, understood?”

You quickly nod. The pressure on your ear relieves itself, but the doctor’s horn continues to glow.

With a flash, you suddenly find yourself outside the hospital, a little bit above the ground. Before you’re able to catch yourself, you hit the ground, landing with your legs all splayed out in different directions.

You bring yourself to your hooves, dusting yourself off with a lack of satisfaction. You did what you wanted to do: you told off your dad, ending whatever was left of that relationship then and there.

You feel a little better. It felt good to release that bit of pent-up anger. Yet, you still feel somewhat… dissatisfied. As if something’s missing.

“She’s out like a lamp.”

Rainbow shakes her head. “I’m not surprised. She’s been through a lot of shit lately.”

Both of you look down at the pink unicorn. Her barrel rhythmically expands and contracts, the air flowing softly back and forth through her nostrils. Her mane is in shambles, the bags under her eyes indicating her recent lack of sleep. She looks so peaceful, temporarily gone from this world as she sleeps.

“How are we gonna take care of her?” you ask, speaking of the easily foreseeable, yet unfortunately unavoidable, future. “We have a good amount of bits right now, but with Scootaloo around, money’s gonna be tight. Can we even afford to have her--” you indicate to your new money leech-- “hanging around?”

Rainbow is silent for a moment. She seems to be contemplating something, something you’re unaware of. “Well,” she begins, looking at the floor, “I thought about that. And even though I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this…”

“What?” Is there really something you overlooked? Something that could be your salvation in this situation?

Rainbow sighs. “...I guess there’s really no other choice.”

Author's Note

It took me over a week to write the first 1700 words...

...and then I did all the rest in the space of three hours.

Thanks to Jazzaman and an Anonymous Capybara for editing and proofreading! (They also did the last chapter for me, forgot to add that!)

Also: this song came on while I was writing the Scootaloo scene. Couldn't stop laughing.

Suggestion by Anonymous Capybara (at the end of the chapter): “I shall have to show you my true talent, and debut as a lucha libre wrestler!”

Edit: Sorry for those you who got a notification and then there was no chapter! I accidentally posted this in the wrong format, and then unpublished the chapter. Chapter's up now doe :L