With a clatter, Rainbow Dash stacked the few plates together and carried them over to the sink. Dropping them in, she turned to look at the disk rack. It was almost full, which meant that she wouldn't need to do these dishes until tomorrow. Well, that was one less thing to think about today.
“Did you enjoy dinner, Scoots?” she asked, turning around to face the orange filly sitting at the table.
“Uh... yeah, it was okay...” Scootaloo shrugged, taking a gulp of milk. “I like your cooking, Sis! I do, and it ain't poison like Sweetie Belle says, but I... I wasn't really hungry, I guess.”
“I kinda felt the same way, not gonna lie,” Rainbow sighed, flinching as her stomach squirmed uneasily. “Anyways, it's time, Scoots.”
Scootaloo looked up anxiously. “Already? But... can't I stay down here, Sis?”
Rainbow Dash breathed in deeply, an untraceable tingling in her extremities. “Sorry, Scoots... you're going to your room for the night.”
Scootaloo looked like she wanted to argue, but with a grimace, she pushed her chair away from the table and fell to her hooves, sighing. Rainbow walked out of the kitchen with her, moving down the hallway and beginning their slow climb up the stairs. Their steps were methodical, in synchronization with each other.
“Pretty lame day, wasn't it?” Rainbow asked the younger pegasus as they reached the upstairs hallway and turned left.
“Yeah...” the orange filly replied, reaching her bedroom door and frowning at the floor.
Dash placed a hoof against it and gave it a light push. As the door swung open, she could see that Scootaloo had been keeping her room tidy, just like her big sister asked. A smile creased Dash's face in spite of the day's events as a pride bubbled in her stomach, though it was quickly replaced with the same uneasy feeling that she couldn't quite place her hoof on. Moving into the room, she rose to her hind legs and leaned against the door, allowing Scootaloo to pass her.
“Alright. Go sit on the bed, Scoots,” Rainbow Dash said, doing her best to make her voice sound stern. She jabbed a hoof at the twin sized bed in the far corner of the room and waited until her charge marched across the rose-coloured carpet and climbed on top of the dark blue bedspread. “Keep your butt there, kiddo...”
As her ears drooped, Scootaloo put her head down. Dash felt a small twinge of regret for being firm with her. After all, she could empathize with how Scootaloo must be feeling. How often did she find herself confined to her bedroom as punishment when she was a filly?
“Do I gotta stay here all night?” Scootaloo asked, lifting her head to stare hopefully at the blue pegasus.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, nodding while her sorrow increased. “Yep... no leaving that bed or this bedroom unless ya gotta use, alright? If you want, I'll come tuck you in at bedtime, since I haven't done that in awhile.” She dropped down on all fours and prepared to leave the room, pausing briefly to look back at Scootaloo sadly.
Scoot didn't notice her. She had given a tremendous sigh and laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, obviously resigned to a night of boredom. “Alright, I'm... I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash...”
Dash had to fight down the urge to rush back over and hug her. She had stayed quiet all through dinner, emulating Scootaloo's own example in not mentioning the day's events. Dash failed to talk to her about what happened then, so she had to make up for it by being strict now. Yeah, that makes sense, Dash reasoned with herself. Applejack told her to be strict.
'Okay, she's sent to her room, everything's cool now... I went and be'd strictish, so that's that! Well, that certainly sounded dumber than I thought it would, but whatever, I did what AJ said... Of course, Applejack also said to remember back to when... but... naw. I don't need to take it that far!' Dash thought, closing the door quietly on the guilty party and starting down the hallway. 'I've already got this way under control, open and shut! I'm Rainbow Dash, for pony's sake.' She wondered vaguely if these thoughts could ease that guilty feeling? 'After all, I didn't even need to yell at Scootaloo! Well... I did when she first told me, but...' Or, she thought with a sigh, they could increase her guilt. Pushing her squirming stomach from her mind, she walked to her own bedroom door.
Dash bumped it open casually with her forehead, revealing a positively chaotic scene. Unlike her adopted sister, Rainbow Dash was not as successful at keeping her room clean. Magazines and wrappers littered the floor as Rainbow cautiously stepped over plates and record player cords. Upon reaching her untidy bed, she frowned at the rumpled shirt sitting on it.
“I still can't believe I've gotta wear a shirt at that stupid job...” Rainbow sighed to herself, picking it up and staring at it. “I'll wear a dress to a party or something, but I hate uniforms.”
She wheeled around and threw the offending article of clothing into the little purple hamper on the floor, just inside of her closet door. Sadly, having to wear such an ugly thing was a necessary evil. How else was she going to afford this new house? She needed that second job. She collapsed onto her bed and shut her eyes briefly, breathing in the early evening air wafting in through the open window.
“So, whatcha think, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked the unicorn, gazing at the fillies playing on the floor of her cloud home.
“Well, you've got enough here for a down payment on a house, I think, but that's... more or less gonna be it, Rainbow Dash... I'm sorry,” Twilight Sparkle explained, magicking several stacks of bits back into a large leather bag. “I don't think you'll have enough left to get by without our help.”
“Y'all remember that factory we all went to when ya had that Best Young Fliers competition?” Applejack spoke up, causing Pinkie Pie to cringe.
“Oh, no! That's the one with the super spicy raunchy rampaging ragin' Coltcajin rainbows!” she shuttered heavily. “That was awful!”
“Yeah, that's the one!” Dash smirked, reaching across the table for the sack of bits. “So, what about it, AJ?”
“Can't ya get a second job workin' there? At least until ya get back on yer hooves. I mean, it won't be easy leavin' your cloud house and moving to the ground and suddenly actually havin' ta pay bills. Y'know, like a normal pony!”
“That certainly sounds like a fantastic way to earn some extra bits!” Twilight said happily, clapping her hooves together. “How about it, Rainbow? You can work at the factory part-time while you do your weather duties in Ponyville full-time.”
Dash frowned. The prospect of working two jobs was a terrible one to contemplate for a pony who loved her naps. However, as she gazed over at Scootaloo playing with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, she realized how important getting an additional source of income would be. After all, she had another mouth to feed.
“That's what I'll do, then! I'll apply there tomorrow.”
Returning from the memories of that very wonderful day, she thought a nice, uneventful evening would be just what the doctor ordered! That would definitely make her feel better. Maybe she'd even feel as good as she did on that wonderful, wonderful day when she changed Scootaloo's life forever. No, Dash corrected herself. 'She changed my life.'
Opening her eyes again, she twisted her head to stare at her alarm clock on the bedside table. The hour was approaching 7:00 PM. What in Equestria was she going to do until she went to bed? Her original plans for the evening involved hanging out with Rarity and Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres while the fillies had a sleepover, but that clearly wasn't happening tonight, given the day's events.
'I don't wanna write in the J-man,' Dash mused in her head, thinking about her diary, which she named Joey. 'I don't wanna watch something, I don't wanna read anything...' She stared at the ceiling. Maybe she did want to read? She did have that new Daring Do novel sitting on the coffee table in the living room, after all.
Rainbow Dash sat up quickly and stretched her hooves, flexing her wings. As she prepared to spring off her bed and head downstairs, she paused to stare happily at a poster she had hung up on the wall over the bed, illuminated by her lamp. It was a poster detailing the Wonderbolt, First Officer Soarin. He had signed one of the posters for sale at the Best Young Fliers competition and given it to her as a gift for saving their lives.
“'To Rainbow 'Sonic Rainboom' Dashie,'” Dash read aloud to herself, beaming up at it, “'keep being an inspiration to pegasai everywhere!'” She squinted at the signature, focusing very clearly on the small heart she had scrawled there herself.
”Is that... a heart?!” Scootaloo asked with a disgusted groan as Dash scribbled against the poster with a small pink crayon. “I want that back, by the way!”
“Alright, new rule: No coming into my room!” Rainbow Dash grinned back at Scootaloo, moving back to admire the effect.
“This isn't your room yet!” Scoot protested. “There's not even a bed in here...”
“The big room is mine!” Dash laughed, tossing the crayon for Scootaloo to catch in her mouth. “I put aaall my spare funds into the down payment for this place! I get the bigger room.”
“Yeah, okay, sure!” Scootaloo replied sarcastically, dropping the crayon into one of her hooves. “We'll see about that once those moving ponies get your stuff from your old place! Would be such a shame if I accidentally told them to put your bed in the smaller room, huh?”
“Keep that up, and Dashie's takin' the bathroom, too!” Dash warned jokingly, strolling out of the room.
“WE SHARE THAT, YA BIG BLUE DUMMY!” Scoot yelled after her in exasperation.
“Sweet Celestia!” Rainbow groaned to herself, turning away from the poster. That was the second time she had just vanished into the abyss of her own memories. She'd need to focus. “Gotta go downstairs, read that book...”
She walked across her room and back into the hallway. As she approached the stairs, she looked over at Scootaloo's closed door. That familiar feeling crept back into her. The truth was, she had never had to do something like this before. Aside from giving her what was more or less a pretend grounding for almost drowning on that camping trip to Winsome Falls, that was. Otherwise, she had never done anything when it came to punishing Scootaloo. It had been three full weeks since she adopted her, three full weeks since she had decided to rescue the filly from that orphanage, but she really didn't have a clue of what to do in this situation.
Was that why her stomach hurt so much? That feeling of uncertainty? Or, Dash rebutted to herself, maybe feeling guilty was the reason for the pain. Yeah, that's it! She was so guilty over having yelled at her earlier and she had told Scootaloo before they got home that she'd be sending the filly to her room for the night. Was that why she couldn't bring herself to discuss it further when they had sat down for dinner, because she felt guilty?
'Well, too late for that now...' Dash thought sadly, still staring at the door. 'Maybe I should just let her out? I think I botched this punishment thing. I know I had to be strict, but “raaah, no leaving this room, raaah” is a pretty garbage way to go about it! I didn't even talk to Scoots about it. I could go in and do that now, but... I've screwed this up enough as it is.'
She didn't like the concept of having to inconvenience her new sister with time-outs, corner time, or room lock-down. That was high level cruelty! She knew the fillies had crossed a line today, this was true, but all the same... Scootaloo's in her room now, no need to deal with this any more. The matter felt closed. It wasn't a perfect resolution, but Rainbow Dash was afraid of making things worse. She shut her eyes firmly and turned away from the direction of Scootaloo's door with her nose in the air, walking straight into the post at the end of the stair banister.
There was a loud, rattling bang. As she staggered away from it, clutching her snout and swearing under her breath, Scootaloo's door flung open and the younger pegasus walked into the hallway.
“What was that bang, Sis? Are you okay?” Scootaloo asked her with concern in her soft voice, raising one of her eyebrows. “Waaait, did you walk into the post?”
“The bang was nothin', Scoots! Now, flank on that mattress, young lady!” Dash said firmly, trying to hide her embarrassment with more strict words. For some reason, saying those things were causing her to feel very awkward, but Dash ignored these feelings. “And get that smirk off your face!”
“Yes, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said, still smiling slyly as she vanished behind her door again.
Dash felt her nose gingerly; she could already tell that this was not destined to be a fun evening. As she ventured downstairs and into the hallway, she twisted at the doorway into the living room, strolling in and fluttering down on top of her couch. Rolling up in a discarded blanket and reaching over for her newest book, she read the title with relish! Daring Do and the Tomb Raider of Gymkhana.
“Awesome...” Dash said happily, throwing her back hooves over the arm of the couch and crossing her legs, anxious to delve into this at last. “'Daring Do and the Tomb Raider of Gymkhana.' Chapter 1, 'The... Fire Temple of the Rocky Wastes'.” Dash paused for a moment, closing her eyes tight as an uncomfortable memory from earlier that very day flooded her mind.
The tips of the trees rippled as the rainbow-maned pegasus rocketed high above, wings beating furiously and the dry air of an unseasonably warm day tearing at her eyes. She could already see the smoke rising from the clearing. Derpy Hooves was right; that had to be the clubhouse. Whirling around, she studied the sky above her for any untapped rainclouds. Spotting one over the Everfree Forest, she pointing it out to Derpy.
“Go grab that cloud, quickly! I've gotta get 'em out!” Dash spoke clearly, fighting the panic in her stomach like bile. What if she didn't reach them in time? What if she busted through the wall of the clubhouse and found them—
“No. No. Don't think about it, Dash... Book. Read.” Shaking herself mentally, Rainbow Dash opened the eyes again and put them resolutely back on the page of her book. She moved on, starting the chapter. “Daring Do stood bravely atop the mountain of iron cages, a blaze in her chest as the rising heat of the burning pit below distorted her vision and—”
Her hooves were shaking as the book fell from them, hitting the floor with a small pat. She sat up straight on the couch and took a very deep breath, placing her head into her hooves and shaking it back and forth.
She circled around the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. The fire was contained within the building, the cries of the screaming fillies billowing up with the smoke like a volcano ready to erupt. Diving low, Rainbow tucked her wings into her body and smashed into the door with an almighty crash and a blur of colours. Smoke filled her nostrils and lungs. She scanned her eyes across the room. The round table and stools blazed on one side of the room. On the other, there they were. The fillies were stranded in the corner, blocked from fleeing to the door or the window due to lines of flame burning along the floor. Apple Bloom had her eyes closed, curled on the floor and whimpering. Sweetie Belle was crying with her hooves around Scootaloo, who looked more frightened than Rainbow Dash had ever seen her.
No time to feel relieved when she saw them alive, though! If she didn't act fast, their condition wouldn't last. She climbed over the door she had knocked to the floor. With a great flap of wings, she parted the flames enough to jump through them. Landing next to the Crusaders, she wrapped them in her wings to shield them from the heat and the smoke. Now what, she wondered?
The ceiling was blackened and hazy. It was nothing short of a miracle that the fire did not spread to the corner they were hiding in, as it had already covered the other three walls and most of the floor. Unfortunately, it had also intensified by all of the exits, helped by the fact that Rainbow had to fan the flames with her wings in order to jump through them. Due to this, the fires had spread.
Praying she wasn't about to bring the entire building down, she placed her front hooves on the ground, made sure her wings were still shielding the fillies, and bent back her hind legs. She could still see the fear blazing on Scootaloo's face, but her eyes were filled with awe and wonder, even as they continued to spill tears. Giving Scoot a quick, reassuring smile, Rainbow bucked the wall as hard as she could. With another flap, she straighten out her wings, stiff as boards, like a protective canopy over the fillies. She couldn't risk the ceiling caving in on top of them.
A large chunk of the wall had been smashed away and salvation lay just beyond the splintered wood separating the outside from the inferno. Shepherding the fillies in front of her, she wrapped them tight to her body with her arms. Covering them once more with her wings, she jumped backwards. Clean air filled her chest and was immediately knocked out again. Crashing to the ground, she lost her hold over the girls. Three distinctive groaning voices reached her ears.
Wasting no time, she sprang to her hooves and leapt back into the air, spreading her wings to catch herself. She looked down quickly to double check, to make sure, make absolutely sure, that the fillies were all moving. Scootaloo was crying softly, staring up at her big sister. Apple Bloom was looking in horror as the clubhouse continued to blaze. Sweetie Belle was just shaking her head, eyes closed. They were all soot blackened, coughing from smoke inhalation, and shaking, but they didn't look like they had suffered any burns.
Looking skyward, she saw Derpy dragging the cloud along. Rushing up to meet her, Dash seized it and zoomed back into the clubhouse with it. Pulling the entire cloud inside, she beat the water out of it with furious punches and bucks, dousing every inch of the walls, floor, and ceiling with fresh rainwater. In an instant, the inside fell dark as the last of the flames were extinguished. With no more moisture to sustain it, the cloud quickly evaporated into mist.
Once back outside, she saw Derpy Hooves standing with the Crusaders. She jumped down from the softly smouldering clubhouse and pulled the grey pegasus into a hug.
“Derpy, if you weren't passing by... I don't know what... but it's because of you that I could save them!” Rainbow panted graciously, squeezing Derpy as hard as she could. Looking over Derpy's shoulder, she saw the familiar golden hair with the brown stetson perched atop it speeding over. “Go find Rarity, alright?”
“Okay, I will find her!” Derpy said, pausing a brief moment, appearing to work out what she had to do before flying into the sky.
“No, no, NO!” Applejack had tears in her eyes as galloped forward, looking with horror at the smokey remains of the once-burning building. “N-not Bloom, too! Oh, please, not my baby sister!”
“AJ, it's fine! I got them out, they're on the grass over here!” Dash called over to her. “They're okay!”
“Oh, thank Celestia!” Applejack moaned softly, her voice breaking with relief as she raced over, dropping down on the grass to pull her little sister into her hooves.
Rainbow sat down on the grass with them, wrapping a wing around Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to sweep them over to her. Examining them minutely, she confirmed her earlier observation that they had, indeed, avoided sustaining any burns. They both clung to Rainbow in gratitude as Apple Bloom clutched at her sister's fur, all three of them now crying softly.
“What coulda caused the fire, Rainbow?” Applejack asked, gazing sadly at the clubhouse. “It's dry out, but it ain't warm enough today to cause any sort of fire that could spread to the clubhouse. The surroundin' trees are fine, so it had to start there. Girls, what happened?”
“I'm sure they can tell us once they've calmed down. Anyways, no idea what caused it, myself. Derpy saw the smoke and came to get me. Broke down the door and busted out through the back wall with them, surprised I didn't bring the whole clubhouse down,” Dash explained, stroking the two sobbing fillies with her as her own relief continued to wash over her. “Derpy brought me a raincloud and I doused the flames, but... yeah, the clubhouse is in bad shape.”
“I owe ya my sister's life, Dash...” Applejack said with a watery smile.
“Ya owe me nothin', AJ!” Rainbow said firmly. “Derpy's the one who came to get me, and besides, I did what I had to do! Now...” Dash turned her attention back to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, “Scoots, Sweets, ssh, it's alright! You're all safe, don't worry. Don't cry, Scootaloo... Dashie's got you... and Derpy's gone to get your sister, Sweetie, so she'll be here with you soon!”
“Oh, no...” Sweetie Belle sniffled, sitting up and burying her face into her hooves. “Applejack, Rainbow Dash, please don't tell her what we did! Uh, she worries about me! Don't tell her, I don't want her to get upset!”
“What... happened?” Applejack asked the girls in a level voice. “What caused the fire, Sweetie? 'cause it sounds mightily like yer tryin' ta avoid a tanned hide, beggin' us not to tell your sister like that. Don't be so foolish, y'all coulda died! Accidents happen, sugarcube. Rarity understands that.”
“Sis, I'm sorry!” Apple Bloom sniffled into Applejack's chest. “'m so sorry, was my fault we were in the clubhouse to begin with!”
“What...” Applejack's voice was hollow with shock. “What... in tarnation did you three do? Why are y'all makin' it sound like this wasn't an accident?”
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, staring at the sweating hooves an inch from her face. She was now starting to appreciate how close this day had come to being on par with the worst day in her life: the day her mother passed away. She leaned back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. Scootaloo's bedroom was directly above the living room. She almost lost her.
Three weeks since the day she strolled into the Ponyville Orphanage after three completely sleepless nights of pouring every essence of her mind into thought. This all came to a head that night she spoke to Scoot in the middle of the wilderness after saving the filly from going over a waterfall. She could have lost her that night, too.
Rainbow turned cold as she thought of what would have happened if she had not woken up from that weird dream in time to save Scoot's life. Weird dream, indeed, with herself strolling alone through the forest before seeing Princess Luna standing on top of a rock. As soon as they had caught a glimpse of one another, the alicorn had fired a beam of white light from her horn. It was this apparent attack that caused Dash to wake up in the first place to see Scootaloo missing from the cave. Leaping out of her sleeping bag, she had dashed off, leaving the others sleeping.
Scootaloo always had an impressive knack for getting herself into trouble of all sorts. To this day, Dash had no idea how she managed to get high enough to even fall into that river. Thankfully, Dash had caught her just as she sailed over the edge. It was only when Scootaloo tearfully confessed how much she wanted to impress Rainbow Dash by acting brave, and how she wanted Rainbow to be like a sister to her, that Dash herself realized the feelings were mutual. She loved showing off in front of Scootaloo to see the joy in the orphan's eyes and she had known the girl long enough to kind of want her as a little sister.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes again, unable to stop herself from slipping into yet another vivid memory. She was happy to experience this particular recollection, of course. Entire days of constant debate and the aforementioned sleepless nights following the camping trip were what lead her to strolling through those doors.
”Uh, hey.” Rainbow said awkwardly, approaching the sand-coated, silver-maned unicorn as she looked up from a book she was reading. “I was by yesterday and scheduled an appointment for today. I've gotta meet a mare named 'Sunny Dawn', the matron of this orphanage. Would that be you?”
“Yes, I am Sunny Dawn,” the mare responded, inclining her head and standing up, placing the book on the chair she had been seated at. “You must be Rainbow Dash, then?”
“Yep!” Rainbow said, smirking. “So, how does this whole procedure work, exactly?”
“Well, would you like to first come see the children? They're out in the yard around the back of the building,” Sunny suggested.
“I've actually already got somepony in mind...” Rainbow Dash explained, feeling an excitement in her chest.
“You're... here for Scootaloo, aren't you?” the matron asked, fixing her with an almost knowing stare.
“Hmm, what makes you say that?” Dash asked curiously.
“Well, Miss Dash, you're something of a celebrity amongst the fillies and colts of Ponyville. Here at the orphanage, in particular,” the matron explained, leading Rainbow Dash down a hallway to her office. “You have a circle of fans here, you could say. To call Scootaloo the ring leader would be accurate. I'm aware that she's something of a close friend to you, too, if her stories are to be believed. I think she also has a 'Rainbow Dash Fan club' that meet outside of the orphanage.”
“I know all about it!” Rainbow admitted, sitting down at a chair in front of Sunny's desk. “And you guessed right. I am here for Scootaloo! I wanna adopt her.”
Sunny gave her a very warm smile. “I'm very happy to hear it. We've never had anypony express interest in Scootaloo in the three years or so she's been here. It's very difficult for a pegasus who can't fly. Pegasai want to adopt fliers and most folks choose an earth pony over a grounded pegasus.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Rainbow nodded, taking a deep breath. “But it's not something that ever bothered me. I've known Scoot for ages now, since she's best friends with the sisters of two of my own friends. It was never really my intention to adopt this early in my life, I admit...”
“It was always your intention to adopt, Miss Dash?” Sunny asked, rummaging her in desk for some paperwork.
“It was. You see, when I was five years old, I almost lost a pretty bad fight with pneumonia. Long-story short, the illness coupled with side effects of the medicine due to an allergy to one of the herbs used in it stunted some organ growth. I've had a poor liver up until about five years ago and I had an undersized bladder most of my childhood, but the most damage was done to...” Rainbow took a deep breath, sighing. “Basically, I grew up knowing that I probably wouldn't ever be with foal. The whole system barely works, I'm basically infertile.”
Sunny Dawn nodded, giving Rainbow an understanding smile. “Well, this is certainly the best alternative. You mentioned you never wanted to adopt 'this early', however. What did you mean?”
“Well, I'm twenty-two right now. I work as a weatherpony here in Ponyville and I'm able to do a full day's work in a few hours, so I put most of my spare time into training myself to join the Wonderbolts in a few years, once I finish additional courses at the Wonderbolt Academy. It was my plan to wait until I'm in my mid-to-late thirties, when my career as a performer was over, before I focus on raising a family. However, Scoot's seven right now. I don't want her to grow up without having a fun childhood. I know she and her friends get up to some ridiculous schemes, I'm sure you've heard of their cutie mark crusading, and that's gotta be fun, but...” Dash paused here a moment, looking straight into Sunny's face.
“Please, continue,” the matron urged her, standing up and walking around the desk to put a comforting hoof on Rainbow's shoulder.
“Let's just say that I was familiar with Scoot's mom before that mare disappeared. Old friend of my mom and dad. I don't think Scootaloo has known real love, or at least, love she can remember. And she has memories of her mother... I, just... I mean, I want to give that to her. I wanna show her that she can be loved. And not as an unofficial 'big sis' looking out for her from the sidelines... she needs a parent to care for her, and I may be the only one who can help, and I'll do it as a big sister if I gotta.”
Rainbow Dash found herself standing up, pacing around her living room, her emotions stirred and her mind racing. 'She needs a parent to care for her.' These were her own words. Did she really know how to truly care for a child? Okay, she can feed Scootaloo and stuff, but Scootaloo's a filly, not a pet. Maybe Applejack was right?
”I... I still can't believe it,” Applejack said, blowing her nose with one of the kerchiefs on the table. “Rainbow Dash, I'm so, so proud of ya.”
“Stop that, you're making me blush!” Dash laughed, allowing Applejack to pull her into yet another hug. “And get that snotty snout away from my hair, dude!”
“So, have you decided how you're going to handle the flight handicap?” Twilight asked her gently, looking over into the living room where Scootaloo was playing with her best friends, both of them overjoyed to hear the news of her adoption.
“Yeah, definitely. I obviously can't have Scootaloo living in this cloud house. The only way anypony can walk on the floor here without being a pegasus is with your magic, Twilight. And it's not safe, or fair, to have a house high in the clouds that Scootaloo can't reach or move around completely on her own. Nope, I'm moving outta here.”
“You could use this old house as a hideout! You could be a super hero!” Pinkie suggested earnestly.
“That actually sounds awesome, Pinkie!” Dash laughed. “I don't wanna sell it, I've lived here since I moved to Ponyville when I was sixteen. Of course, if I gotta for Scoots' sake, I will, but... yeah.”
“Gotta admit... I wasn't sure at first if you'd really be able to raise a filly, Dash.” Applejack said, seemingly deciding to take her time over her words.
“What do you mean, exactly?” Dash asked, a little defensively.
“You've grown up a heck of a lot in the last couple years, I've noticed. Like when ya wanted to quit the Wonderbolt Academy because you thought it rewarded recklessness, which was one of your own attributes a few years back! I'm jes' tryin' to say I'm proud of ya, 'n' when ya first said you wanted to adopt way back when, I doubted if you'd be able to pull it off. Now? I believe you definitely can. And one of the Crusaders, to boot! That's filly raisin' on hard mode.”
“I never had problems with the girls whenever they've had sleepovers or I've had to foalsit for them before!” Fluttershy said, as though this settled the matter. “I think you're going to be a wonderful guardian, Rainbow Dash. I don't think raising Scootaloo will be hard.”
“You'll have all of us there for support when you need us, Rainbow. Especially if you're moving down to the ground!” Rarity said, beaming at her. “I wish you the absolute best of luck, darling. But, tell me... will Scootaloo be calling you her sister... or her mother?”
“Well...” Dash said in a measured voice, thinking back to the matron leading Scootaloo inside to 'meet the mare who was thinking about adopting her', “when Scoots found out about the adoption, she cried for like twenty minutes and would not let go of me. I've never seen her so happy. She said she was afraid nopony would ever want her, because she was 'broken'. When she said that, I almost burst into tears myself. When the matron went to file the paperwork, I told Scootaloo that I'd be her big sister for real, but... if she wanted to, she could call me 'Mommy'.”
“And what did she say?” Rarity asked with lively interest, the rest of their friends listening intently as well.
“Nothin'! She started crying again and sorta... jumped into my arms. Like, girls, it was the sweetest thing... Anyways, I think she was just touched at the offer, but she still calls me 'Sis'. I think the idea of having a mom again might be painful to her, so I can't really see her calling me 'Mom'. At least, not for awhile... In the meantime, I'm happy to be her sister! We were always kinda like sisters.” Dash said, knowing that there was probably a big goofy grin on her face. She couldn't help it; this was the best day of her life. “I'm gonna just call myself 'Dashie' when I'm talking to her. I've already said it to her a few times, and it sounds like a good replacement for 'Mommy', so...”
“What would you prefer to be called, Dash?” Applejack asked her. “When you think about all of this and where your life is going now, what would you call yourself?”
Rainbow frowned, deliberating the question. This was going to tie her together with Scootaloo for the rest of her life. She was going to be there for the rest of Scootaloo's childhood. She'd get to watch her grow up and find her special talent and cutie mark, be it as a dancer, a stunt artist, somepony working with choreography, or whatever it ended up being. The Crusaders weren't going to be blind to their obvious natural talents forever, after all. What other amazing things could Scootaloo grow up to do?
Rainbow would be there for everything. She wanted to help Scootaloo train her underdeveloped wings and knew the filly had the best chances of success at singles' flight with Equestria's greatest flier by her side. She was going to be the loving parent that helped Scootaloo achieve everything she could.
“What would I call myself, AJ? That's easy enough,” Dash said, glancing over at the fillies. “I'll call myself the one who's gonna raise Scootaloo like a daughter with every bit of love and tenderness she deserves! Call me Scootamom!”
Applejack slapped a hoof over her face.
“Y'all had a very precious speech goin', there. Why'd ya go and ruin it? Jes'... go get your savings so we can count up how much you can dump on a house...”
Rainbow sat back on the couch, tapping her left hoof against her forehead. Why couldn't she make sense of all of this? She stared up at the ceiling again. Alright, she was going to start from the beginning: Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle caused that fire. Dash pulled them from the burning clubhouse and Applejack got there and Rarity later. So far so good. Rarity took Sweetie Belle home. Applejack took Apple Bloom home. Rainbow Dash took Scootaloo home. They ate dinner and she sent the filly to her room for the night.
“... why isn't this adding up? Why do I still feel like there's something horrible closing in on me?” Dash asked herself, twisting around and punching one of the couch cushions as hard as she could. “I mean, I did exactly what AJ and Rarity did! Or...” Dash sighed, falling face first against the arm of the couch. “No. I didn't do exactly what they did. And it's been at the back of my mind the whole night.”
Rainbow Dash stood up again and, for the third time, looked up at the ceiling. This time, she was able to make sense of something additional: The Cutie Mark Crusaders put their lives in danger. They started a fire in the clubhouse armed with nothing but watering cans to achieve firefighter cutie marks. The fire had barricaded them into that corner, and if it had spread any more, they would have died. Applejack and Rarity took their sisters home to be punished...
'... and I sent Scoots to her room. When the Crusaders finally explained what happened, I yelled at Scootaloo, but I didn't even talk to her about it at dinner, made no effort to see how this might have affected her.'
Rainbow Dash was right; she did feel guilty. How could she call herself a caring parent when her actions could arguably be labelled as indifferent? She nodded to herself as an idea struck her. She'll go up, see how Scootaloo is doing, and be a good big sister. She'll probably let Scootaloo out of the room and maybe they could curl up and watch a movie, or something?
She frowned to herself. Why did she feel like that wasn't a solution? She had to talk to Scootaloo about this. Every part of her agreed with that. And she was strict, so the punishment was correct, right? No, she told herself. Why, she asked herself? What was it Applejack had said?
The three fillies were sitting in the grass quietly. Derpy had just departed after Rarity and Applejack both expressed their gratitude. Dash motioned for the fillies to approach them, doing her best to keep her anger in check.
“Well, Sweetie Belle?” Applejack said sternly, frowning at the unicorn filly. “Tell yer sister what happened.”
Rarity looked at Applejack quizzically and then back to her younger sister. Rainbow Dash was glaring a hole straight into Scootaloo. The filly looked up at her and sunk low to the grass, her ears bent back and eyes averted.
“Rarity...” Sweetie sighed, apparently realizing she never had a choice. “We caused the fire.”
“Sweetie, darling! How can you not guess that I already knew that? Who else could have?” Rarity said, bending low and stroking her sister's face softly. “Accidents can happen sometimes, and nopony can help that. How could you possibly expect me, your sister, who loves you, to be belligerent with you?”
Sweetie Belle stared at the grass, closing her eyes. “... Uh. Probably because we... kinda... sorta did it on purpose.”
“Wait, you mean to say,” Rarity began in a hoarse voice, removing the hoof from Sweetie's face and standing tall again, “that you girls caused a fire? ON PURPOSE?!”
Rainbow tapped Rarity on flank and pointed to three melted plastic watering cans lying in the grass at the foot of the tree supporting the clubhouse.
“I pulled those out of the clubhouse while we were waiting for you to show up. Went to see if anything could be salvaged, and found those,” Dash said in a bitter voice, throwing up her arms sarcastically. “'Cutie Mark Crusader Firefighters! Yaaay!' Watering cans! We don't even know how they started the fire, but it doesn't even matter, because it must have been just as stupid as their plan!”
“But, Sis...” Scootaloo mumbled from her position low on the grass. “Water can put out fires, and...”
“Seriously, Scootaloo?!” Rainbow Dash said in a fierce voice. “DID YOU FILLIES REALLY THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?”
“I cannot believe my own sister could act so foolish!” Rarity snarled, grabbing Sweetie Belle by the ear and glaring down at her. “Just wait until I get you home, young lady! How could you be so irresponsible? Sweetie Belle, I thought you had faaar more sense than this! You could have lost your life! You all could have! You never stopped to think about that, did you? Sweetie, imagine if I had to tell Mom and Dad that their little angel had died? Do you have any idea what that would do to them? DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU DYING WOULD HAVE DONE TO ME?!”
“But-but...” Apple Bloom spoke up, trying to defend Sweetie Belle. “We thought we had it all planned out, honest! 'n' it wasn't all Sweetie's fault, either! She said she thought it might be dangerous...”
“Who's idea was it?” Rainbow snarled at the three of them.
Scoot looked sadly into Dash's angry eyes. “It w-was... me...”
Rainbow Dash couldn't even remember the words she had yelled to that filly. Scootaloo was in tears again by the time she had finished. It was enough to snuff out her own anger, but...
Rainbow Dash started whack herself in the forehead with her hoof again. What if she had done mental damage to Scootaloo by not speaking calmly with her about the fire afterwards? She could not piece together the internal arguments necessary to dissect such a stupid lapse of judgement. Scoot was probably sitting on her bed right now, worried sick that Rainbow Dash hated her. And it was her fault.
Furious with herself, she allowed herself to drift back to her thoughts of that afternoon.
”We're going home, Sweetie. I am very disappointed in you!” Rarity said briskly, snatching her sister with levitation magic and carrying her away from the other two fillies, depositing her on the grass and dispelling the magic. “Get moving, missy!”
Sweetie Belle sighed heavily and threw a sad look back at her friends. Facing forward, she started to walk away with her head hung low near the ground. Rarity marched close behind her, looking back at Applejack and Dash herself and shaking her head in total exasperation.
“We're goin', too, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said. “The sleepover ain't happenin' tonight, I can tell ya that!”
“But—”
“'Buts' are for tannin'. Now, go sit on the grass over there with Scootaloo for a sec.” Applejack commanded.
Apple Bloom flinched and walked away from them, sitting where she was told. Rainbow gave Scoot a curt nod and the pegasus filly followed, ears still drooped.
“Can't believe 'em... jes' can't believe them Crusaders!” Applejack sighed, sweeping off her hat and sitting on the grass.
“Tell me about it!” Dash said, sitting down with her. “Wasn't happy I yelled at Scoots, but...” she shrugged. “Didn't really know what else to do. I still feel like I'm in shock, AJ!”
“I wouldn't be surprised, hun. You're the one who had to save them. What if you found 'em... like...” Applejack stopped speaking, holding a hoof to her eye. “I-I'm sorry. It's jes'... I thought, for a moment, that my baby sister went to Heaven with Ma and Pa. I... shucks,” Applejack said, slapping the stetson back on her head and wiping her eyes. “Dash, I love her so much...”
Rainbow had a cold feeling wash over her at Applejack's words. Once Applejack had finished, Rainbow spoke up. “I know, Applejack, I know... I dunno what I'd do if I lost Scoots... we haven't even been family for a month, but it feels like she's been my own blood since the beginning!”
Applejack continued to wipe her eyes. “Family is important, Dash... Sorry for almost breakin' down, there. Pa told me, before they left home for the last time... to take good care of Apple Bloom while they were away. When I got here and saw the clubhouse charred black 'n' smoulderin', I thought I had failed them...”
“It wouldn't be your fault. Not that that would make it any worse... augh, that was a stupid thing to say! Sorry, AJ...” Rainbow Dash said, brushing a few strands of crimson from her face.
“It's okay, hun!” Applejack said, smiling weakly. “Ya said nothin' wrong. So, how're you gonna deal with Scootaloo?”
“Uh...? I dunno yet!” Dash shrugged. “I still feel bad for yelling at her!”
“Y'all gotta be strict 'n' firm with 'em! Just think about what the three of them did today? They can't be puttin' themselves in danger like this!” Applejack explained, getting to her hooves.
“Yeah, but... what do I do?” Rainbow asked her, unsure where to go from here.
“That's not my place to tell ya, sugarcube. I can only give ya some advice. Know what I do? I punish Apple Bloom the same way my Pa woulda punished me at that age if the roles were reversed. I advise ya to do the same... punish Scootaloo the same way you would have been punished by your father,” Applejack said simply, turning to look back at the clubhouse. “If my pa was alive right now 'n' it was me who burned that clubhouse... he woulda told me what was comin' as soon as he got me home. After dinner, he woulda taken me out behind the barn, dragged by my ear if I was protestin', 'n' given me a switchin' over a cider barrel.”
“Yikes...” Rainbow Dash mumbled, frowning up at her.
“I know that's what Pa woulda done,” Applejack said, blinking away more tears, “'cause that's exactly what Pa did the last time that clubhouse caught fire.”
“... what?!” Rainbow gasped, looking quickly between the clubhouse and Applejack again. “That place caught fire twice? And it's still standing?! That is one mean clubhouse!”
“That clubhouse used to be mine. I was playin' with matches one day, and... yeah... So, that's what I'm gonna do when I take Apple Bloom home. I'll tell her what's comin' before dinner to give her time to face it. Lemme tell ya, I don't wanna, but it's gotta be done for her own good,” Applejack continued, closing her eyes and bowing her head.
Rainbow wanted to say something, but she knew Applejack wasn't done speaking. She gave her friend the time she needed to resist breaking down.
“W-when Apple Bloom was born, Pa planted a new apple tree in the orchard... said he c-couldn't wait for the day when he could sit under it with Bloom in his lap and help her read her first book... I'm g-gonna... I'm gonna get her to pull the switch from that tree. It's the only one she can r-reach and it's her f-favourite... I don't wanna hurt my baby sister, Rainbow Dash, but I don't want her to ever put herself in danger again... I only hope one day she'll thank me for it... she always a-asks me about her daddy...”
Rainbow looked sadly in Apple Bloom's direction. “I'm sure she'll understand. Good luck, AJ...”
Applejack swallowed hard, seeming to pull herself together. “Yep. Same to you, Rainbow. And... thank you again for my sister's life!” Applejack said, giving Dash a brief one-armed hug around the neck. “She's the most precious thing in my life. I'll do what I hafta in order to make sure she understands that the things they do for those silly cutie marks aren't worth the risk of losin' their lives.”
Rainbow Dash watched her walk over to the fillies on the grass. Applejack wrapped her hooves around Apple Bloom and hugged her for a moment before taking the filly by the hoof and walking her home. Scootaloo stood up and walked back over to Dash's side, head low.
“Alright, kiddo. Let's head home. You hungry, Scoots?” Dash asked, bending low on her hooves to allow Scootaloo to climb up on her back.
Scootaloo shrugged and obediently clambered on to Rainbow's back, moving just above her wings and wrapping her limbs around Rainbow's neck. Rainbow Dash threw out her wings and waited for the noisy, excited buzz of Scootaloo's wings, which she heard every single time she prepared to lift off with Scoot, but she didn't hear them this time. Scootaloo must still be scared from the fire, that's all, she thought.
“Listen... after dinner, Scoots, I'm sending you to your room, alright?” Rainbow said, fluttering into the air.
“Alright...” Scootaloo sighed from behind her head.
Rainbow was pacing back and forth again, staring at the floor. She knew, now, that she was on the right track. Instead of not knowing what to do, Rainbow Dash had one question burning in her mind: could she bring herself to do it? As she dwelled on this, another question sprang to mind: would it be justified?
“Punish Scootaloo the same way you would have been punished by your father.”
'Easier said than done, Applejack!' She knew exactly what her father would have done in this situation. Did she ever blame or hate her father for it? Of course not. She wasn't stupid, she knew why he had to do what he did. She was thankful for it. For all of it. However, would Scootaloo react the same way? Scootaloo wasn't stupid, either, but would she know why Rainbow Dash did it? Would she understand? Dash didn't know.
She shot her eyes ceiling-ward again, her mind buzzing. This was going to be hard. Very hard. Was this all part of being a parent, overcoming situations like this? What if she did the wrong thing? Rainbow walked out of the living room and into the hallway, stopping by the mirror near the kitchen to look at her own reflection.
Her hair was very dishevelled. Had she been running her hooves through it absentmindedly whenever she was lost in her thoughts and recollections? Her reflection lacked her trademark, confident smirk. Her mouth was almost straight, but the corners were bent down in a bit of a frown. She gave a tremendous sigh and looked into her own cerise eyes.
In her dejection, she bumped into the small table below the mirror. As she looked down at it, her eyes caught a single object and apprehension gurgled in her stomach. She reached down and picked it up, running her hooves along it as though she were inspecting it for imperfections on its surface. It was her hairbrush, and brushing out her frizzly mane was the last thing on her mind at that moment. Slipping her hoof through the little strap at the end, attached for easier hoof gripping, Dash stared down at it sadly, turning it over and studying the flat back of it.
“I must be out of my mind,” Dash said firmly, slipping her hoof out and dropping the brush back on the table.
She walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. Pausing at the fridge, she opened it and took out a carton of milk. Walking over to the sink, she picked a clean glass off of the dish rack, filled it up, and downed it in one. The cold milk felt wonderful on her throat, which had gone dry ever since she had stopped by the mirror. She returned the milk to the fridge and walked back to the sink, gazing out of the window.
“Well, Rainbow Dash... this sucks,” she told herself, throwing the window open and allowing the cool night breeze to breath through her hair.
She couldn't really say that she never thought a day like this would come along. She was sure the thought had occurred to her on the second or third day as Scoot's big sister. Heck, she knew it had crossed her mind when she rescued Scootaloo from going over the waterfall. But still.
'I don't think I'm the right pony to do it, even if I could bring myself to. I've already proved to myself that I'm not an expert at this.' Rainbow Dash told herself, drumming her hooves on the counter. 'What else have I screwed up as a mother? Oh, who am I kidding... I'm no mother. I can act like a big sister because I can get along well with Scootaloo and play with her and stuff, but I don't know how to be a mom. I feel like I'm too childish to even try to raise a child. Scootaloo's idea to start the fire, and what's my plan? Screaming at her in a rage and then putting her in her bedroom. I screwed this up...'
Rainbow buried her face in her hooves, leaning heavily against the counter with her elbows. Was she being too hard on herself? Maybe, but she couldn't deny that she made some mistakes today. And if following through with what was going through her mind was a mistake as well, she's going to risk spoiling her relationship with Scootaloo.
Yes, she could justify it. Scootaloo could have died. That was all the justification in the world, right there. But she would have to make sure the filly understood it. She would need to explain it properly. How was she going to teach her a lesson if Scoot didn't know why?
The original question swam hazily on the forefront of her brain. “Can I bring myself to do it?' That was not so easily answered. The fact of the matter was, she did not want to be the one to cause Scootaloo pain. She cared so much about that little girl, how could she possibly do anything to hurt her? And despite this train of thought, she was able to think about Applejack and Apple Bloom.
The orange mare's love for the yellow filly was so sincere, so powerful, so natural. She did not hold anything against her friend for whatever she had surely put poor Apple Bloom through by now. It would have been justified and done properly, completely out of love and necessity. A connection to their father that would be shared with his youngest daughter, all through love. A love she envied greatly.
Rainbow Dash glanced up at the clock over the stove when she heard it chime. Was it already 9 o'clock at night? She felt a nervous chill drip down her spine; Scootaloo's bedtime was in a half an hour. Had she been able to realize what she had to do earlier, she could have spared the poor filly a night of boredom. That was, of course, assuming she could have brought herself to do it. Even now, she wasn't sure she could.
“Y'know, for somepony who always told Fluttershy to be assertive, you're really passive, man...” Rainbow told herself, shaking her head. “But... ya gotta do it. You're all she's got, Dash. If you can't make the hard decisions, what's the good of ya?”
Well, she would have to try. It was as simple as that. She needed to talk to Scootaloo to see how she was doing anyway. She just had to grit her teeth and do it. It had been a horrible day, it was going to get a lot worse, but it was going to be a necessary evil. What if Scootaloo didn't learn from this? What if the fillies got themselves into danger again? Who's to say that Rainbow Dash would be able to save them next time? Scootaloo did something terrible and she would have to pay the pied piper, even if it destroyed Rainbow Dash to do it.
Author's Note
Big props to Isseus and ShootingStar159 for pre-reading and editing.
She slammed the window over the sink shut with a snap. Falling back on all fours, she walked across the tiled kitchen floor and opened the fridge, taking out a juice box and clicking off the kitchen light. Moving into the hallway, she paused at the table, staring down at the hairbrush again. She picked it up, looked into the mirror, and ran it through her mane a few times. She was glad that she was able to give herself a confident grin.
“You can do this!” she told her reflection, tossing the brush into the air and catching it again. “And thiiis... is not coming with me!”
She laid the brush once more upon the table. She doubted she would need it and she certainly was not going to use for the very first one.
“Alright, if you're gonna do this,” she said, staring at your reflection, “then she has to understand why. Just think about how Dad used to do it.”
Placing the juice box between her teeth for safe keeping, Rainbow Dash moved through the house quickly. Slipping into the living room, she folded up the blanket on the couch and turned out all of the lights. She didn't bother proceeding down into the basement and into the makeshift gym where she had started wing training with Scootaloo, as she hadn't been down there all day. Turning off the hallway light, she walked toward the porch, rounded the corner, and started up the steps.
Once in the upstairs corridor, Rainbow Dash turned to face Scootaloo's bedroom door. It was now or never. She approached the door, took the juice box from her mouth, and prepared to twist the doorknob. Pausing for a brief moment, she imitated Fluttershy's faint, squeaky voice. Mumbling something about being brave and assertive, she gave a soft snort of laughter and took a deep breath. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
She found Scootaloo sitting down on her bed, ears drooping again as she stroked the mane of her favourite pony doll, which bore Rainbow Dash's likeness. Scootaloo had told her that one of the orphan's that she had been friendly with was a unicorn with a knack for sewing. No doubt another future seamstress, the filly had made Scootaloo a Rainbow Dash doll. Dash smiled at the cavalcade of colours currently on the filly's bed, from Scootaloo herself, to the rainbow-maned doll, to the purple pajamas Scootaloo was wearing. That surprised Rainbow, since it seemed to be too warm a night for pajamas or night gowns. She was impressed that Scootaloo was accepting her fate of being confined to the room until her bedtime, however.
The room was dimly lit by a small red lamp on Scootaloo's bedside table where the filly liked to do her homework and write in her diary. Scootaloo had not yet noticed Dash come into the room, and only looked up when she closed the door. As their eyes met, Rainbow Dash thought the eyes looked distinctly glazed, like polished glass. If Scootaloo had been recently crying, it was only going to make this harder to do.
“Here, Scoots,” Dash said, walking over to her and holding out the juice box. “In case you were thirsty.”
Scootaloo accepted it with a small thanks and tore off the straw glued to the side, unfolding it and sticking it into the top of the box. As Scootaloo sipped her apple juice, Rainbow Dash sat down on the edge of her bed, already feeling ice cascading down into her stomach. Once Scootaloo finished, the filly placed the juice box on her table and picked up her doll again.
“Scootaloo?” Dash said, frowning at her. “You okay, kiddo?”
“Rainbow Dash...” Scootaloo said, laying the plush on the pillow and crawling over to Dash with an imploring look on her face. “I'm sorry about today!' Scootaloo blurted out suddenly, blinking back tears. “I was really dumb and I've been really happy since you adopted me and I don't want to make you mad but I made you mad so I'm s-s-cared that you're so m-mad that you're gonna ch-chuck me out and I don't want you to b-b-because I'm really glad your my b-big sister and—”
As Scootaloo talked, her voice was becoming shriller and harder to understand. She had tears dripping down her cheeks and she was holding her hooves together, as though begging. Rainbow Dash felt fear gripping at her insides as she watched the filly shaking with misery. She should not have yelled at her, or at least, explained that she was no longer mad. She should have spoken to Scootaloo about the fire at dinner.
“Scoots, that's enough!” Dash said sternly, causing the filly to fall silent at once, looking fearful. “Don't say stuff like that! Who said I was gonna ditch ya? C'mere,” Dash told her, twisting her body and reaching out for her sister.
Scootaloo scrambled over on her front hooves and knees and fell into Rainbow's arms. Immediately, her sobbing renewed and Dash felt her squeezing tightly. Turning back to her centre, she buried Scootaloo's face into her shoulder and rubbed Scootaloo's back through her pajama shirt, just between the wing joints.
“You thought I was going to throw ya out?” Dash asked her gently, focusing on Scootaloo's expanding chest as she took deep breaths. She could feel the filly nodding into her shoulder. “Were you crying earlier? Y'know, because of that?” Nod, nod. “Is that why you're dressed in your pajamas, sweetheart? Felt cold because you were worried?” Nod, nod. Three out of three wasn't bad, Dash thought.
She took a steadying breath, trying to calm herself. She hadn't even done anything yet and she already felt like she had really hurt the filly. Blinking away the wetness in her eyes, Dash cleared her throat. She had to delay this, she couldn't face it yet.
“Sorry I kept ya up here all night...” Rainbow said, squeezing the filly tight.
“Do you want me in bed?” Scootaloo replied, her voice muffled as she spoke into Rainbow's shoulder.
“Not yet... but I'll tuck ya in when it's time...” Dash offered.
“Okay,” Scootaloo said. “Sucks about the clubhouse, though...”
“Yeah, that sucks! Nopony's denyin' that. Don't worry, it's still standing, after all! Applejack can fix that up, I bet! “ Rainbow said reassuringly. “Apple Bloom's really good at that sort of thing, too, isn't she?”
“Yep, she is!” Scootaloo nodded. “She can build stuff, too! She doesn't get a lot of time, though, 'cause we're always looking for our cutie marks. It's a shame, 'cause she's really good at it!”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, unable to believe how silly the girls could be. Their talents were so obvious, but Dash and her friends had long decided that it was up to the fillies to figure them out on their own. Not that she didn't often help, of course. “Oooh, I'm sure you lot'll find them soon enough. I mean, if Apple Bloom is amazing at fixing or building stuff, just think about how good she'll be at her super special talent, huh?”
“I know! Oh well, we'll find our talents soon... I hope.” Scootaloo sighed.
They both fell silent. As the seconds ticked on, Rainbow Dash started to feel worse. She wasn't doing herself or Scootaloo any favours by sitting here like a stubborn foal and refusing the deal with this. She thought about the fire once again and wanted to punch herself. Her refusal to face an uncomfortable discussion had already done terrible damage. It's possible the entire fire situation could have been avoided in the first place! She had to deal with this now. Little by little, she eased the conversation back to where it needed to be.
“You brush your teeth, Scoots?” Rainbow Dash asked, expecting the filly to deny it. After all, she had told her not to leave this room.
“Yeah. You said I was allowed to go to the bathroom, so I did it then,” Scootaloo explained, still not moving from Rainbow's shoulder.
“That's my girl...” Dash said, patting Scootaloo's back.
“I like when we cuddle like this, even if it's kinda girly... I'm sorry I made you mad, Sis...” Scootaloo apologized.
“Listen, Scoots... First off, I ain't mad with ya right now. Losers stay mad! You and me, we ain't losers, are we?” Dash asked her, stroking her mane.
“I am...” Scootaloo said sadly.
“Stop that, Scoots!” Rainbow said sharply, causing the filly to flinch. “You acted very, VERY foolish today and I yelled at you for it. That doesn't mean I think you're a loser!” Dash said in a very clear voice. “I'm sorry I did yell at you, but I couldn't control my anger earlier. Listen, I care so much about you. Did you know that?”
“Yeah... I mean... you're my sister. Of course you c-care about me...” Scootaloo said softly, sniffing.
“Yeah, I care about ya, but not just because I'm your sister, Scootaloo. I care about you because you're special to me, Scoots. 'cause you're important to me. Why do you think I adopted you?” Scootaloo didn't say anything, so Dash kept speaking. “I yelled at you because I was upset. Not just mad, but scared, Scootaloo.”
“B-but... you don't get scared,” Scootaloo said, pushing herself away from Dash's shoulder and crawling across her lap to sit down on Dash's right side. She ran a hoof over her nose noisily.
“I told you once before that I can get scared too, kiddo! When Derpy came to find me and told me that she thought your clubhouse was on fire... I couldn't breath, Scootaloo. I thought I was having a heart attack! Losing my new little sister was too horrible to even think about... I was so scared, Scootaloo. And not only me, but Applejack and Rarity as well. You three were so foolish to do something so dangerous. Imagine if Applejack had to bury her sister? You know they already lost their parents...”
“It woulda been all my fault...” Scootaloo agreed, bowing her head and placing it in her hooves.
“Your friends were just as guilty as you, Scoots. This wasn't all your fault. Please, don't think that...” Rainbow said, wrapping the filly up in her wing. “You were all pretty dumb today...”
“Yeah... you're right, Sis...” Scootaloo nodded.
“Can you tell me why, though?”
“Huh?”
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, knowing that she was moving the conversation where it needed to go, but where she feared to tread. “Scootaloo, can you tell me why it was dumb? Your cutie mark idea.”
“Uh...” Scootaloo looked confused, staring up into Dash's face. “But you already know... why do I need to say it?”
“Say what, Scootaloo?” Dash probed her, dropping backwards so that she was lying on her back.
“Say why it was dumb...” Scootaloo mumbled, lying down herself and cuddling into Dash's side.
“Because, Scoots... I wanna know if you even know why you're in trouble,” Rainbow said softly, twisting around so that she was cuddling into the filly, wrapping them both up in her wings.
“I'm in trouble?!” Scoot asked in a shocked voice. “B-but I'm in my room! Oh, no... am I grounded, Sis?”
“Not grounded... no,” Dash sighed. “Please, Scoots, Dashie wants to hear you say why you think... it was dumb.”
Scootaloo hesitated. “A-alright... well...” She caught herself. “But it's embarrassing, Sis! Makes me feel like a dummy...”
“Scootaloo...” Rainbow said in a stern voice, frowning at her and fixing her with an expectant stare.
“Fine!” Scoot said, averting her eyes and rubbing a hoof against one of her wings. “It was dumb... because fire burns wood and we were in a wooden clubhouse! Which anypony but us woulda realized!”
“Well, you're on the right track...” Rainbow said, folding her wings and sitting up on the edge of the bed again. “It wasn't just dumb because you were in a wooden clubhouse, Scootaloo.” She patted the spot next to her, trying to get Scoot to sit up with her again.
“It wasn't...?” Scootaloo asked, shuffling over to her big sister again.
“It was dumb because you could have lost your life, Scoots.”
“Oh... right...” Scootaloo said awkwardly. “And Apple Bloom, too... and Sweetie Belle.”
“Like I said, that's why I was so scared when Derpy told me, Scoots. I was able to save your life today... and that's not the first time, either. Remember when we went camping? I caught you falling over the waterfall...” Dash explained, turning cold once more at the thought of what would have happened if she wasn't there.
“Yeah... you save me a lot! Thanks, Sis, I never realized how much I owe you...” Scootaloo said graciously, wrapping her arms around Rainbow's stomach.
“I'm glad I could, Scoots! But the thing is, who's to say I'm gonna be able to be there the third time? There shouldn't have been a second time. There absolutely can't be a third.” Rainbow Dash said, taking a deep breath and steeling herself.
“But, there won't be a third...” Scootaloo reasoned, letting go of the hug and staring up at Rainbow. “I'll make sure!”
“Scootaloo... how do I know I can trust you not to make another mistake like this?” Rainbow asked her, frowning down at her sister.
''cause I'll make sure!”
“That's what I mean, Scoots. How can I trust you to make sure that you're going to be more careful, kiddo?” Her voice was hoarse as her throat dried again. “You broke my trust when you put yourself in danger...”
Scootaloo was looking heartbroken. “I d-didn’t mean to break your trust... I'm sorry!”
“This all made so much worse because some of this is my fault, Scootaloo!” Dash groaned, shaking her head.
“What are you talking about?”
“I allowed you to put yourself into harm again, Scootaloo. I never sat you down and talked to you about running away from the cave when we were camping. Instead of making sure you understood what kind of danger you put yourself in or doing anything to make sure it never happened again, I just ignored it in hopes it never would. I failed as your big sister the very first day I told you I would take you under my wing, Scoot... I learned that lesson the hard way, when I was flying toward the clubhouse with everything I had, thinking that I had lost you. That pain was terrifying...” Rainbow finished, placing a hoof to her eyes.
“Sis... are you... crying?” Scootaloo asked with concern. “I'm sorry I upset you, Rainbow Dash...”
Dash lowered the hoof, shaking her head. “Not crying, no... I am upset, though. At myself. I'm not upset with you anymore, but I still have...” she trailed off, inwardly cursing herself. 'Power through it, Rainbow Dash. Do it for her...'
Scootaloo looked her confusion. “I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about, Sis...”
Rainbow Dash turned and looked Scootaloo full in the face. Quietly, she studied her sisters' features. Scootaloo's eyes were still glazed somewhat, but they didn't look red. Her nose looked sore and her mouth was creased into an uncertain frown. Dash closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply.
“Sis?”
“Scootaloo, I'm sorry if I've confused you. Dashie's still... new to this whole sister thing. I'm figuring stuff out as I go, but I'm trying to make sure that I also do what's best for you... I care about you, Scootaloo. I really do. I just never realized that being a big sister was ever going to be hard. Not everything is going to be fun...” Dash began, opening her eyes again and stroking the filly's mane.
“Uh...”
“I didn't come up here just to talk to you about putting your life in danger, Scoots. I wanted to see how you were doing, and...”
Scootaloo stayed silent, raising one of her eyebrows.
“Scoots, I can't have you doing something like this ever again. It's not worth the risk to your life, sweetheart. I would never forgive myself if I failed to help you realize this...” Dash said quickly, flinching as pain shot through her stomach.
“Okay... I won't be dumb like that again, I'll be careful. I promise...” Scootaloo sighed.
“It's not about not getting to do dangerous stuff, Scoots... I want to be able to trust you again,” Dash said tenderly, placing her hoof under Scootaloo's chin and so she could look into her dull, greyish purple eyes.
“I told you, I'll make—”
“I have to make sure, Scootaloo... I can't screw up as your big sister anymore, I've gotta take responsibility for you... I've gotta do what's right, even if I never want to have to do it...”
“What are you saying, Rainbow Dash? I thought you were a great big sis!” Scootaloo said in a reassuring voice.
“There are things a big sister has to do, Scoots... especially if she's your parent, too...” Rainbow Dash swallowed hard, feeling her knees shaking. “Scootaloo, do you know what... a spanking is?”
Scootaloo inhaled sharpy, her eyes growing wide and her wings perking up with a sudden fear. “R-Rainbow Dash?”
Dash's heart threw itself against her chest as she saw the fright appear on the filly's face. “D-do you know what it is, Scoot?”
“Y-yeah, I d-do...” Scootaloo answered, her eyes starting to grow wet. “Rainbow Dash... Sis... p-please... I've never h-had one and i don't w-want one!”
Rainbow watched as fresh tears started to fall from Scoot's eyes, but she could not allow herself to lose the strength to continue now. If she lost steam, she wasn't going to do it. Before she could speak again, the filly was already backing up across the bed. She hit the headboard with a soft thump and stared with horror at the older pegasus.
“Scoots, I'm... gonna spank you. I c-can't lose you and I want to know I can t-trust my little sister.” Dash paused here, trying her best to steady her own shaking. Scootaloo was silently shaking her head, looking imploringly at Rainbow Dash. “When you ever find yourself in a situation where you might risk doing yourself harm, I want the memory of tonight to cross your mind.
“No! No, please, Rainbow Dash! Don't s-spank me!”
“Scoots, I'm sorry! Yelling at you was the wrong thing to do. Just putting you in your room all night was never going to help you!” Dash explained, hating every moment of this. Her stomach was still squirming painfully, but it felt different now. It wasn't out of uncertainty, but out of apprehension. “Crawl your butt over here, Scoot...”
Rainbow Dash pat the bed on her left side, silently intimating to Scootaloo that she wanted the filly to crawl over her lap. Scootaloo didn't budge an inch, still looking terrified.
“No! Rainbow D-Dash, I'm sorry! I'm scared! I d-don't wanna know what it's like, please don't hurt me!” Scootaloo begged her.
Dash felt her heart stop. How was she going to explain to the filly that she wasn't trying to hurt her? The pain was going to be unavoidable, but Rainbow Dash wasn't really sure how to convince Scootaloo that it was the right thing to do.
“Please, Scootaloo...” Dash said, still not sure how she was going to pull this off. “Don't make me pull you over my lap myself...” Rainbow Dash reached over and snatched a hold over the orange pony's ear, causing Scootaloo to wince in pain and fear. It would have been easy to reach over to the cornered child and drag her over, but she didn't want to do this by force. She didn't want to do this at all! “Come over here, Scoots! It won't take long, I promise! The sooner I warm your bottom, the sooner we can put this day behind us!” She practically bellowed the last line.
The moment that line had left her mouth did she realize that she had heard it before. Her father had once said that very thing to her, word for word. And with that memory came an idea. It was the only thing that would make this easy.
“L-let go! Please, it h-hurts...” Scootaloo whined, breathing deeply as the tears continued to flood from her eyes. “I'll c-come over...”
She hadn't realized how hard she had been pulling on her ear. She felt mortified as she let go of it, staring apologetically into the anguished eyes of the filly she had been so happy she had met. Under Rainbow's gaze, Scootaloo slowly shuffled forward. But no, this was not how Rainbow Dash wanted it to be. As Scootaloo slowly scrambled on to her lap, Rainbow Dash put her left hoof under Scootaloo and lifted her up, sitting the filly firmly on her lap.
“W-...what?” Scootaloo sniffed, looking confused again.
“Scootaloo, I wanted you to accept this spanking like a big girl. Not because I was pulling so hard on your ear that I hurt you. I'm sorry...”
“B-but you're gonna hurt me anyway...” Scootaloo sniffled, wiping her eyes.
“Scootaloo... I'm gonna tell you a story. When I'm done, I'm gonna ask you if you want me to give you a spanking. If you refuse... I won't do it. I owe you that, I screwed up too much as your big sister...”
“I d-don't under—”
“Sssh,” Dash said softly, wrapping both of her arms around Scootaloo and holding her to her chest. “I just want you to think about everything while I tell you the story. I want you to think about having me as your big sister. I want you to think about how special you are to me... I want you to think about how you felt when the clubhouse burned around you. I want you to understand, Scootaloo. If I'm going to put you to bed with a throbbing rump, it's gonna be your decision, because I will trust you to do the right thing. And not what I think is right, but what you think is right...”
“O-okay...” Scootaloo sobbed softly, inhaling deeply.
“When I was younger, Scootaloo, older than you... I was a bad filly. Do you remember me telling you that? Do you remember all of the awful things I used to do?” Rainbow asked her gently.
“Yeah... was I a bad filly?” Dash could hear the hopefulness in her voice as she sought reassurance from her big sister.
“You aren't a bad filly, Scootaloo. You're a wonderful filly. You just made a very bad decision, one that I want you to be thinking about... Now, after my mom died, I started hating... everything and everyone. I lied to my friends and my dad all the time, I never tried very hard with my school work or my chores. I used to take things that weren't mine and break things if I thought I could get away with it. But I've told ya all this before, like how I used to bully other ponies and fight...”
She paused for a moment, waiting to see if Scootaloo would say anything. She still had the filly pressed into her chest, left arm around her stomach, right hoof caressing her mane softly. Scootaloo was apparently doing what Rainbow had asked, though, and listening while thinking. Dash placed a kiss against the side of her head and continued.
“We never did have a lot of money, but Dad always had to pay to fix or replace the stuff I ruined. I didn't care, Scootaloo! I only cared about myself and I kept doing horrible things. Used to think my dad was a wimp whenever I saw him crying...” Rainbow's voice broke for a moment and she paused to steady herself, still stroking Scootaloo's mane softly. “I was out of control and I never realized what I was doing to him. All he had was me, and despite being a filly no parent would ever want, he always told me he would be there for me the few times I was ever upset and in need of somepony. He never yelled at me, Scoots... not once. Ever.”
Scootaloo didn't respond. Clearly, she was still trying her best to think and listen at the same time.
“Anyway, one day, I got into a fight with this colt who was younger than me and I pushed him over a desk. I really, really hurt him, Scootaloo. I didn't care, even said to Dad that I didn't care, that I'll do whatever I want to anypony who tries to fight me. He told me to go to my room and I went gladly. I was proud of myself for winning the fight... but after awhile in my room, I got bored, so I went to sneak out of the house again. Last time I did that, the Cloudsdale police had to escort me home after I... caused a fire.” Rainbow Dash bit her lip, trying to keep herself calm. She had forgotten that memory entirely.
“What happened then...?” Scootaloo mumbled after a very pregnant pause, where Rainbow Dash found herself lost in her thoughts once more.
“Dad caught me sneaking out. I'll never forget the pain in his face, Scoots... Told me I was out of control, but that he still loved me. I argued, said I was fine! I tried to leave through the window but he got there first and closed it. He looked so sad... But like Dashie told ya, I didn't care. That's when he did the one thing I'll be forever grateful for...” Dash continued. “And he decided to punish me.”
She waited for Scootaloo to prompt her again, but once more, Scootaloo seemed deep in thought. She was so proud of her. Would was she thinking about right this second? Maybe Scootaloo would tell her when she gave her answer. At least, Dash hoped she would. She kept going.
“He grabbed me by the ear, Scoots, and dragged me over to the corner of my room. He told me to stay there, not to move an inch, and that he would be back soon. I had never been put in the corner before. I was ten, so I thought that only worked on babies... It was horrible. Made me stand there with my arms behind my head with my forehead pressed into the corner, against either wall. He left the room but didn't close my door. I dunno why I didn't just spread my wings, flutter to my window, and fly out like I was going to... maybe I was curious or just plain afraid, since Dad never did anything to be but send me to my room. This was so different, and I haaated it! I was too afraid to move, in case he was watching me. I didn't know what he was doing, since it was all new... I just didn't want to do anything to upset him further, because my Dad never got angry with me and I didn't want him to start... Anyways, I was stuck in the corner, my legs were hurting because they weren't used to supporting my full weight, my head and neck were hurting because I kept it bent to keep myself pressed against both walls, which meant I couldn't see anything! So I just stood there, aching all over, trying to breath properly because of all that unfamiliar while standing completely vertical. Wasn't fun, Scoots. I realized after that it was probably to give my Dad thinking time while he calmed down.”
“That sounds horrible...” Scootaloo mumbled, shivering. “Please, never put me in the corner...”
“Sometimes, I might have to, Scoots...” Dash sighed. “Whenever I'm going to punish you, Scootaloo, I'm going to do what I have to do. And if I think time in the corner first is necessary... that's that's gonna happen. Even if I don't spank you tonight, there may be other times where I need to punish you, alright? I'm just giving you the choice tonight...”
“I still don't want it...” Scootaloo mumbled. “I mean, I thought about what happened, and...”
“We'll talk about it after I finish, hun. I know you don't want it, but if you think you don't need it, then I won't.” Dash promised her. “So, Dad finally came back in, sat down on my bed, and told me to come over. That's when I realized what was coming. I had taken the time to think in the corner. Actually being punished for once made me consider the consequences for everything I ever did, because I knew my Dad had to have reached a breaking point with me. I didn't think he'd ever be able to spank me, but then he told me that the sooner I got spanked, the sooner we could put the day behind us. So when he pulled me over his lap, I didn't fight him. And he spanked me, Scootaloo. My first one... and it wasn't quick. It was hard. And I fully deserved every single smack. And, let me tell ya... when you feel guilty for it, the spanking hurts a lot more. I'm not telling you that to try and scare you away from being a big girl and taking your spanking, Scootaloo. I want you to decide with that in mind. Anyways, my first spanking was by far the worst I ever got. It certainly wasn't the only one, but it helped me. Every terrible thing I had ever done to hurt anypony crossed my mind, all of the times I had hurt my own father crossed my mind. I've never cried so hard in my life...”
“W-would you ever s-spank me like that, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked, horrified.
“No, Scoots. You'll never be as terrible a pony as I used to be. Never. He spanked me like that because he absolutely had to. Now, I dunno if I had to get it as hard as I did, but I needed it as long as it was. It gave me time to come to terms with how out of control I was. How much pain I had caused ponies. When he finished, he hugged me like he never hugged me before. He was crying again, but I didn't think he was weak anymore. I told him how very sorry I was, Scootaloo...” Dash said, biting her lip again as she tried to blink the wetness from her eyes. “I apologized for everything I could think of. I felt so bad for putting him through so much. I didn't forgive myself for a very long time, but he forgave me for absolutely everything the moment his hoof left my backside. He rocked me to sleep in his arms and I woke up feeling better and happier than I had in so long.”
Rainbow felt silent, momentarily lost in the veil of her memories again. She wondered if, had she her time back, she would have changed the way that she had behaved. It would have saved her father so much pain, but she didn't know if she would have the same relationship she had with him now if they hadn't had this terrible reality to overcome together. Her father doing what he absolutely had to do despite his own mental anguish coupled with her own acceptance of her father at long last, leading to her own personal redemption. Rainbow's breath caught in her chest, it was a powerful memory.
She redoubled her hold on the filly in her arms. She would have to finish the story and shatter this comfortable bubble she had placed herself in. She knew her own reality had its flaws and she would face them, with Scootaloo by her side. She wouldn't have it any other way.
“Everything started getting better, Scoots. Now, it took awhile to purge some of my worse traits, so more trips over his knee were inevitable, but I tried my best to make him proud from that day on. When I was fifteen, I just got home from a date he forbade me from going on with this colt who was really bad news... that was the last time I was spanked. Half-way through I told Dad I was bored and we both just started laughing! He... never lost faith in me. Never. So, I put my faith back in him, trusted him to raise me right. He pulled it off! Years later, every single letter he sends me is still full of the same love he gave me my whole life, and I write him back just the same. We've never been closer! I can't wait to hear back from him... I sent my last letter when I adopted you and told him all about how special you were!”
“Oh...”
That was all Scootaloo had said. Just that one little word. Rainbow Dash continued to stroke her hair as the filly. Dash knew it was starting to get very late, but she made no attempt hurry the filly along. She had to let Scootaloo make this decision, and that meant she had to give her time to digest everything. As the minutes passed, Rainbow was surprised when Scootaloo started to cry again. Maybe she was really tired? However, Scootaloo sat as straight on Rainbow's lap as she could, so maybe exhaustion from a long day wasn't the cause for her tears.
“Rainbow D-D-Dash...” Scootaloo said after another long pause, her voice shivering as she tried to steady herself.
“What is it, Scootaloo?” Dash asked her gently, sitting Scootaloo on the side of the bed next to her so she could wrap her wing around the child.
“I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Rainbow Dash! I did something really wrong today and I helped put my best friends in danger with me. I should have known better, I'm sorry for acting so foolish. It was so scary when it happened, but we all made it out fine so I thought it was nothing, but...”
“Keep going, sweetheart...” Rainbow said, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead.
“I felt... guilty. Like it was all my fault!” Scootaloo wailed, tears dripping off her snout again.
“I told you, it wasn't all your fault!” Dash said, surprised at this outburst.
“It was my idea, Sis! So I'm feeling really bad right now, but I'm scared and I don't wanna get a spanking, but...” Scoot trailed off, as though she were trying to find the right words.
“I'll stay here all night and talk with you if you want, Scootaloo. I know you're figuring stuff out, just like I was. That makes me very proud of you and makes me think that we can skip the spanking, but like I said, that's your call. If you think you need one, because that guilty feeling isn't very fun. If you want, I'll even tuck you into bed right now. Or... would you rather sleep in my bed tonight?”
Scootaloo didn't answer her. She just continued to cry softly. After another minute, she did speak up.
“You were talking w-with Applejack... did she tell you what was gonna happen to Apple B-Bloom? She was telling me she was afraid she was g-going to get spanked...”
“She did get spanked,” Dash confirmed in a hollow voice.
“And Sweetie Belle? I know she's b-been spanked before, just like Apple Bloom...”
“I don't know,” Dash said, leaning back with both of her front hooves against the bed. “Why, Scootaloo?”
“'cause I still feel like it's my f-fault... and if they got spanked and I didn't, I'd f-feel even worse...”
Rainbow stared at her a moment, wanting nothing more than to scoop her into her arms and never let her go. “Well, Scoots, do you feel you deserve to get a spanking, then? Just because your friends got them?”
“I-I... I dunno, Sis...” Scootaloo said, trying to stem the flow of her tears unsuccessfully. “If-f I, um... asked you to decide for me, w-what would decide?”
Dash retracted her wing and dragged Scootaloo back into a hug. “I'd tell ya, first off, I'm super duper proud of ya for really thinking about everything that happened. You've got a good understanding of why I would have spanked you tonight and you're worried about the consequences of your actions and how they've affected your friends.”
“And... the con-quences of my actions hurt my b-big sister!” Scootaloo sniffed. “I made you worried when you thought I... got hurt.”
“That's 'consequences', kiddo! But... I was more than worried, Scootaloo... You're pretty grown up for your age. I'd already consider you good and punished. You've already made me so proud of you, I can't believe nopony adopted a girl as wonderful as you before I did...” Dash praised her, squeezing her tight. “The only thing makes me think that I should spank you anyway is the fact that I don't ever wanna see you in danger, Scoot. I can't know for sure that you're going to remember to be careful when it's so, so important that you do. I know what you girls are like. Remember when you tried to tame that baby timberwolf? The dangerous stuff is exciting. I know I'll never be able to stop you from doing things like that. I only want to make sure that you have a memory of a sore rump to help persuade you against these things. It would be for your own safety, so... if you wanted me to decide, I would still spank you. Like somepony wiser than me once said, it ain't 'worth the risk' to your life.”
Scootaloo gulped. “I understand, Rainbow Dash... I should be sp-spanked, but I'm s-scared...”
“I promise it would be over quickly, Scoots. But I can't go easy on ya, either...” Dash said delicately. “A couple of firm swats to your butt isn't going to stick out in your mind. A bottom on fire will. If this were your second or third time in trouble, I would have already spanked you, resisting it or not. Tonight, though, I am not doing a thing if you're going to fight it. This has to be your call. I'm not trying to hurt you, Scoots. A spanking is going to hurt, though. I'm sorry it sounds wrong, saying I don't want to hurt you and then doing something that hurts you, but I hope you can understand what I meant when some day. So... there you go, sweetheart. If you're deciding to get it done or letting me decide, then stand up in front of me. If not, then crawl into bed. After everything that happened tonight, I trust you again.”
“But... you're still worried about my safety?” Scootaloo asked after another lengthy pause where Rainbow gave her time to think.
“I am. You've got my trust again, Scootaloo, but I'm still worried that you may not remember that I can't always be there to save you,” Rainbow spoke very clearly, knowing the moment of truth was finally at hoof.
“I still got that bad pain in my belly...” Scootaloo said, taking a deep breath and shaking.
“That's the guilt I had when I stood in that corner,” Rainbow explained.
“Did your daddy spanking you get rid of it? I c-can't remember...” Scootaloo asked, ears drooping and looking as though the world was closing in around her.
“I'll tell you after you've made your decision. If you think you need to be punished, then you already know if that pain in your belly will go away.” Dash told her firmly. “I'll sit here with you all night if you need that long to decide, I already told you that.”
Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak. It took her a full fifteen seconds to finally say something. “N-no...” she said firmly,her voice full of misery.
Rainbow Dash prepared to nod and get ready to tuck her in. However, as Scootaloo slipped off of her lap and on to the floor, Dash realized that she was saying no to staying there all night. Ears flicking, tail twitching nervously, Scootaloo stood up on her hind legs and held her arms out for balance. Rainbow Dash looked her in the eyes and for a split second, she wanted to sweep Scootaloo back into her bed, but the time had come for her to face judgement.
Heart sinking at what she was about to do, Rainbow Dash reached forward and tugged gently on the tie of the string keeping Scootaloo's pajama bottoms tight. As she continued to stare into those large, dull purple eyes, she could see the eyelids quivering, anxious to spring shut as water continued to fill the them. With a tug at the waistband, Dash felt the pajamas loosen considerably.
With a look that suggested she had made the conscious decision to ascend the gallows, Scootaloo moved forward and Rainbow took a firm hold of her, guiding the child over her lap. She could feel Scoot shaking and wanted nothing more than to change the past to erase Scootaloo's guilt, but such things were impossible. Scootaloo was lying across with her head to the left, facing the curtained window, and her tail pointing at the headboard to the right.
“O-once and for all, Scoots...” Dash said, her voice breaking. “When I start, I'm not gonna stop until I'm done, even if you start to struggle. Is this happening?” Scootaloo didn't respond. All Dash could hear here doing was sniffling softly. She steeled herself as she tugged at the waistband again. “Keep your tail out of the way, alright? Just let it hang off the side of your waist.”
After what felt like a million years, Rainbow gently tugged the pajamas down, removing Scootaloo's only line of defense from her flank. Scootaloo squirmed and her tail immediately started to twitch, swooshing across to block any blows before Rainbow even had a chance to raise her right hoof. She ran her left through Scootaloo's mane, giving her all the time in the world to reconsider accepting her punishment at last.
Scootaloo's tail fell limply to the side.
As Dash raised her hoof, preparing to bring it down for the first strike, Scootaloo started to speak softly, her words barely audible through her quivering lips. “Sis, I'm s-sorry... I'm gonna d-do my best to be the best s-sister from now on. I'll always l-listen to you, I promise. W-when you t-tell me to come over your l-lap, I w-will... You're only looking out f-for me...”
Rainbow felt her arm go limp. She knew one simple fact: if she didn't bring that hoof down now, she wouldn't be able to resist sparing the filly this punishment.
“You're... a good girl, Scootaloo... never doubt that, please... here it comes,” Rainbow Dash said in a mangled voice, bringing her hoof down sharply, hating herself but knowing she had to do it. “I'm sorry...” she whispered.
Scootaloo gave a yelp of surprise at the swat. Knowing it must have been worse than she was expecting, Rainbow Dash reluctantly brought down the second one with equal voice. The two slaps had landed on either side of Scootaloo's rump, with the third landing on the left. Scootaloo hissed as her breath passed through clenched teeth. By the fifth, she was crying in earnest again.
Dash slid her own rump back across the bed a little to give the filly more room. Repositioning her slightly, Dash draped her left arm across Scootaloo's back to keep her held safely. She could feel the little wings trying to flutter in protest. She brought down the sixth and seventh, eighth and ninth. Each and every swat was firm, with the force gradually increasing until the seventh, where Rainbow Dash felt comfortable with the strength of the spank.
“It h-h-huuurts!” Scootaloo cried, burying her face into the bedsheets she was scrunching up between her hooves.
“I k-know it does, S-Scootaloo...” Dash explained, her lip trembling. “It won't get harder, I promise! Just think about everything we've s-said to each other, alright? I know the g-guilty feeling might make it hurt more than you want it to, but you'll feel better, Scootaloo. I promise.” She had not ceased the punishment as she spoke, still bringing down a swift swat every few seconds, never in the same spot.
A pinkish ting was already visible on her rump, growing darker with every smack. Scootaloo was starting to squirm and wiggle over Rainbow's lap, moaning with misery into her bedsheets. Dash kept going, even as the icy talons expanded from her chest, freezing everything it touched. She knew Scootaloo could make it as the blows continued to fall without relent, but would she?
“S-Siiis! P-p-pleeeaaaseee!” Scootaloo bawled, her legs kicking slightly as her tail threatened to swish back over her reddening rump.
“I hope you've thought about the dangers you put yourself in today, Scoots. What if that fire had spread to the corner the three of you were hiding in? I hope you remembered how you felt about your friends being punished because of this.” Rainbow Dash spoke, keeping her voice as calm and stern as she could make it as the wetness blurred her eyes. She had given Scootaloo a swat between every few words.
“I h-haaave!” Scootaloo bawled, swishing her tail up for protection and then immediately dropping it. “I'm s-s-sorry! I'll k-keep it d-down!”
“I hope so, Scootaloo!” Dash said, smiling down at her brave little filly.
“I will, I p-promise!” Scootaloo continued to cry, burying her face into the sheets again.
“Scootaloo, you silly filly... I already stopped spanking you. It's all over.”
“I...”
Dash had let her last hoof fall before Scootaloo could betray weakness and swish her tail over. Gently standing Scootaloo up in front of her, she tugged the pajama bottoms back over the filly's flank and re-tied the string. Scootaloo just stood there with a hoof to her one of her streaming eyes and the other to what had to be a burning bum. Her mouth was slightly open as she bawled softly. Cradling the miserable filly into her arms, Dash laid down on Scootaloo's bed on her back, holding Scootaloo to her chest. Careful not to put unnecessary pressure on her rump, Dash embraced her tightly, kissing her forehead softly. She closed her eyes, feeling the tears under her eyelids. It had taken everything in her to resist breaking down like her own father did during her first spanking. Every twitch, squirm, and moan from Scootaloo was a dagger to her chest. But it was over, this horrifying day was finally over.
“You took that wonderfully, Scoot...” Dash said in a strong voice once Scootaloo had calmed down. “I forgive you for being careless and I trust you even more right now. I know you made the right decision and I know you'll continue to do the right thing. You've made me really, really proud. You made Rainbow Dash herself really proud of you, Scoots! Just like you always do...”
“S-sis...” Scootaloo whimpered, looking into Rainbow's face. “Y-you cried...” Scoot reached down and ran her right hoof across Rainbow's eyes, causing the mare to laugh.
“They barely left my eyes, you goose!” Dash giggled, wiping Scootaloo's own. “I'm sorry for spanking you, Scootaloo. How do you feel now?”
“Uh...” Scootaloo giggled, trying to stifle another sob. “W-what do you t-think? That's a d-dumb question...”
“Dashie's talking about your belly!” Dash said, rolling her eyes and reaching an arm under Scootaloo's pajama shirt, rubbing her belly softly before moving around to her back, rubbing her between the wings joints.
“Oh...” Scootaloo said, laying her head down on Rainbow's chest and closing her eyes. “My belly feels better, sis...”
“So did mine...” Dash told her, placing another kiss on her head. “I'm glad you're my sister, Scootaloo. We'll always be there for each other, won't we?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said softly, giving another shudder as another few tears leaked out from under her closed eyelids.
“I love you, Scootaloo.” Rainbow said after a few moments, no longer envious of the Apples. “You're the best pony in the world to me.”
She rolled off the bed, keeping her sister clutched tightly to her body. Throwing back the bed covers, Dash climbed back into Scootaloo's bed and pulled the covers over them both, closing her eyes as affection for her child blossomed in her chest. She had fallen asleep before she even realized she was drifting off, with five little words barely able to penetrate her brain.
“I love you, too.. Mom...”
