Scootaloo felt the pressure leave her shoulders. Both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon backed behind her, standing next to each other. She could hear them stammer out excuses to Rainbow Dash.

"We... uh..."

"Just, umm..."

"Nothing, we were... nothing..."

"Playing! Playing... umm... house!"

"Yeah, umm... house! Right!"

The rest of the words were lost to Scootaloo. She rolled onto the floor and ran. With desperate, tiny hooves, she clung onto her big sister. "They hurt me," was all she could say before the tears took over. Two strong hooves embraced her. She felt Rainbow Dash's warm chest press against her wet cheek.

"Shh. I've got you now, Scoots. I'm here."

Scootaloo could hear the sound of two fillies running past her and felt Rainbow Dash twitch as if to move. She gasped and hung on even tighter, afraid that if she let go, her saviour would vanish, that she'd turn out to be just a dream. The strong hooves never left her.

"It's okay, Squirt. Just let it all out."

Scootaloo did. She bawled out tears that she didn't think she had left, having just cried all them out under Diamond Tiara's switching. "I'm sorry," she repeated over and over again, not knowing why herself.

"Shh. It's okay. Just breathe, okay? Can you do that for me?"

She tried. It took everything she had. With all her concentration, she took a big gulp of air. Then another. And another. Finally, she could feel her tears slowing down and her heart stop ricocheting inside her ribcage. "I'm sorry."

"Why do you say that, Scoots? What happened?"

"I... I broke a window at school by accident and Tiara took the blame and then they said that now I had to do what they told me and they made me do weird things and I had to eat stuff that she spit on and lick her hooves and then... then they told me they'd spank me and I said no but they told me they'd tell Dad and I was so scared that I said yes and they got a switch and... and—"

"Hay, Scoots, that's... that's really bad," Rainbow Dash said. "Really bad. I'll go grab them before they get too far. Just wait here for a moment."

"NO!" Scootaloo shouted, pushing her big sister up to a hoof's length. "I... I took my punishment! It's over now!"

"Scoots—"

"They won't tell anypony. It's over. Just... please don't do anything! I don't want to get into any more trouble! They might tell Dad!" The rest of her words were silenced when she was once again pulled in a tight hug.

"Scoots, listen. What those fillies did was wrong. Like, crazy wrong. You might have messed up at school, but there is no excuse for what those two did. None. They might have made you think like they did, but that's not how it works."

"But... but..." Scootaloo sniffled, not know what else to say.

"Scoots, I know how bullies work. I know how they think. Trust me, what they did was totally wrong."

"It... was?"

"Abso-bucking-lutely." A gentle hoof ruffled her mane. "Now, will you trust your big sis' to fix things up?"

"O-okay."

"Now, wait here. I'm going to go catch those two creeps. They shouldn't have gone too far." Rainbow Dash walked outside onto the balcony, and opened her wings, preparing to jump into the air.

"Umm, Dash?" Scootaloo asked in a quiet voice.

It still stopped Rainbow Dash from taking off. She closed her wings and turned around. "What is it, Squirt?"

"P-promise me I won't get into trouble, okay? I mean... I... I..."

"Say no more, kiddo." The same, gentle hoof once again patted her on the head. "I got this."

For the first time that whole day, Scootaloo felt the ends of her mouth curl upwards. She swiped a hoof over her eyes. "T-thanks!"

"Now just gimme a sec." Rainbow Dash jumped into the air, and the wind from her takeoff made the leaves in the trees around the clubhouse rustle. She rose above the treetops and made a large circle before vanishing from Scootaloo's sight.

Scootaloo sat down and immediately jumped back up with a yelp. Just the touch of the coarse boards of the balcony had made the burning return. She tried to touch her bottom, but even her lightest touch felt like another smack. All she could feel was the heat flowing from her skin. She tried to catch a glimpse of the damage, but all she could see were the few dark-red stripes that ran along her flanks, caused by the few hits that missed their target. The thought of how bad it might look made her shiver.

"But she's all... oh my Celestia. That's—" she recalled. Even Silver Spoon had been horrified.

Her musings were cut short as she heard Rainbow Dash return. Or rather Diamond Tiara's complaining carrying over the treetops.

"Let me go this instant! I'll tell my daddy all about this and he'll make sure you regret it! He'll inform the Guard! He'll sic his lawyers on you! I'll own your house after he's done! You better apologize right now and I might let you stay out of jail!"

Scootaloo had to back away to make room for Rainbow Dash because of her struggling and kicking load. At least on one side. Silver Spoon looked sour, but stayed quiet.

She landed down onto the balcony with a bully under each foreleg. They were deposited onto their stomachs from a few feet before Rainbow Dash landed herself. Diamond Tiara got the wind knocked out from her for long enough to let the Pegasus speak.

"Now you two creeps go inside and pick a corner to stand in. I'll come in after I talk with Scootaloo and then I'm going to take the same switch you used onto your butts."

"You can't do this! I have rights—" Diamond Tiara started.

Rainbow Dash turned to look straight at her. "You'll be first."

Diamond Tiara suddenly found a large lump inside her throat that removed the rest of her objections, even after she swallowed it down.

Silver Spoon walked next to her and tapped her on the shoulder, motioning for the door. They both walked inside with lowered heads. Diamond Tiara still shot a hateful glance over her shoulder at Scootaloo.

After the door closed, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and flew to the window. "Looks like they did what I told them to."

"Y-you're gonna spank them?"

"Definitely. I think they should get far worse for what they did, but at least you get to watch."

"What? Me?"

"Yeah, of course. Hay, if you want, I'll let you give them one as well."

"N-no, it's okay. That'd be... umm... are you sure I won't get into trouble for this?"

"I told you I got this, right?"

"Yeah, right, you did. Sorry."

Rainbow Dash laughed a bit. "No worries, kiddo. Now, wanna show me your butt?"

"Huh? What? Why?" Scootaloo asked in confusion, hiding her backside behind her tail and backing off a few steps. She touched the railing with her rump and jumped forward with a yelp. "Oww!"

"That's why. I wanna see how bad it is."

"Umm, promise not to laugh?" Scootaloo asked, her voice quivering slightly.

"Laugh? Nah, that'd be so un-cool. Come on."

Scootaloo's head drooped a bit, but she soon lifted it up with determination. She walked up to Rainbow Dash, turned around and put her chest down while she lifted her tail up as high as she could, presenting everything underneath it.

Rainbow Dash whistled quietly. "They sure did a number on your butt, Squirt."

"Is it... is it that bad?"

"Yeah. I mean, this must have hurt a lot."

Scootaloo looked over her shoulder and grinned a bit, feeling proud for some reason. "Yeah, it was pretty bad."

"Well, the good news is, there's no cuts, but it'll sure hurt like heck for a while."

Scootaloo felt Rainbow Dash's hooves touch her rear. She whinnied a bit, trying to move her bottom away and pushed her stomach down.

"I know it hurts, but trust me, this'll make it better. Can I?"

After thinking a moment, Scootaloo leaned her rear back once more. "O-okay. But it hurts real bad."

"I've gotten my butt smacked a few times as a filly too." After a pause, she added, "Hey, why don't you turn around and, well, kinda, hug me? It'd probably hurt a bit less that way?"

Scootaloo got up, looking at her big sister in confusion. The fact that Rainbow Dash was looking away with a weird expression on her face didn't help. "Umm, okay?"

"Right. Come here."

Rainbow Dash opened her hooves wide and Scootaloo wrapped her hooves around her neck. It actually made her feel a lot better already, but being the tough filly she was, she didn't say anything about it out loud. Scootaloo had to stay standing on her hind legs, but it seemed to be exactly what Rainbow Dash was hoping for as gentle hooves started stroking Scootaloo's aching rear. She shook from the pain, whining a bit, but didn't move away. It felt like she was being spanked again, but with maybe only a hoof this time. She clutched the sides of Rainbow Dash's neck a bit harder with her hooves and for some reason, the pain in her bottom didn't feel that bad anymore. The hooves kept going, gently massaging her all the way from her knees to the base of her tail. Scootaloo felt tears once again rising to her eyes, not sure why. What she knew was that even though she was hurting, it was okay, because her big sister was there. She nuzzled the warm chest she was leaning against and smiled.

The massage kept going for a long while, but Scootaloo didn't mind at all. The pain was ebbing away, turning into a warmth under Rainbow Dash's touch. She felt her hooves on her flanks, on her bottom, going along her legs, around the base of her tail, everywhere. She didn't mind. It was making her feel better. Occasionally the hooves went along the insides of her buttocks and lower, touching on her private parts, then moving down her legs, only to return the same way, each time sending an unfamiliar wave of pleasure up her spine. She had no idea what it was, but it was probably something Rainbow Dash was doing that was making her feel so good. She looked up and saw a pair of red eyes look back at her over a warm smile. It was the exact same smile they'd shared after the camping trip where they'd become sisters.

"Feeling better, Scoots?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Rainbow Dash!"

"Don't mention it." They remained against each other for a moment longer, before Rainbow Dash continued, "Scoots, I know it feels bad, but I want you to tell me everything that's happened today. How you broke that window and from then on."

Scootaloo looked away from Rainbow Dash, but nodded. After taking a deep breath, she started telling of the events that had led her to the clubhouse with the two bullies. She told about the window, the bribe, everything she had to do for the bullies, everything they did to her, about the corner time, the spanking, everything. She sniffled a few times, but like a big pony, she didn't cry at all this time.

"Well, that explains why your face is such a mess," Rainbow Dash said after Scootaloo finished her story.

"Hey! They used a permanent marker too! It'll be impossible to get off!"

"No it won't. Trust me, just a bit of alcohol and it'll come right off."

"What, really? I thought it was, you know, permanent?"

"Yeah, I thought that for the longest time. Turned out they just say that to sell more of them."

"So, umm, how come there are permanent markers and crayons and stuff but we have to use quills and ink to write at school?"

"I dunno. I guess it's more official. Go ask Twilight. She's the egghead."

"No way. She's weird."

"Only when you get her in lecture mode. Just don't ask her to help with your math homework, okay?"

Scootaloo giggled. "It's a deal."

Rainbow Dash snuggled her once more before getting up. "Now, ready to go inside?"

"Umm..."

"Huh? What is it?"

Scootaloo looked around, clearly embarrassed about something. She touched her forehooves together with a silent clop. "Umm, umm... It's not that I'm not grateful about you being here and all. I mean it's totally awesome you saved me! But how did you know I was here?"

It was Rainbow Dash's turn to look embarrassed. She tried to put a hoof behind her back and gave a nervous laugh. "Well, I, uhh..."

Scootaloo stared up at her, eyes wide from anticipation.

"I kinda visited your house."

"You what?!" Scootaloo shrieked and pounced against her idol, almost knocking her down. "Why'd you go there? Was my dad there? Omigosh you didn't talk to Dad, did you?!"

Rainbow Dash put both of her forehooves onto Scootaloo's shoulders to get some breathing room from the filly. "Hey, chillax, okay? Sure, I met your dad and yeah, he was a bit, err, upset for you being so late from school—"

"Omigosh! I totally forgot! He's gonna be so angry! Crap, I'm in so much trouble!" Scootaloo's jaw was already trembling.

Rainbow Dash ruffled the filly's mane once again. "Well you will be if you keep using that kind of language."

"Sorry!" Scootaloo said quickly.

"No prob. Like I said, I took care of your dad."

Scootaloo shook her head. "Wait, what? How?"

"When I went over there, I was going to ask you if you wanted to hang out. See, AJ told me that she and Apple Bloom were going to be out of town and that Sweetie Belle would be somewhere with her folks, and I thought, hey, you might be bored, so I came over."

"But... but I wasn't there! And Dad must have been—"

"He was a bit pis—angry, yeah. But I kinda, umm, told him that we'd agreed that you'd come to my place for a sleepover tonight and we'd do some flight practice tomorrow morning."

"You lied?" Scootaloo said, her mouth barely able to form the words with a slack jaw.

"I'm the Element of Loyalty, not Honesty, so I didn't want you to get into trouble because of me. So, yeah, I might have lied a bit, maybe. But if you come over, I wouldn't have been lying, right? So, uhh, wanna come?"

Scootaloo tried to make sense of the explanation, but in the end, the question was if she wanted to go have a sleepover at her idol's awesome cloud-house for the first time. What else could she say, but, "YES! That'd be so awesome!" She also once again lunged at Rainbow Dash's neck, gripping her in another huge hug of both affection and relief.

"Anyway, I had to find you fast before we both got into trouble, so I flew over to your school, but when you weren't there, I thought I'd check here."

Scootaloo let go of her and looked down. "And you saw me—"

"Yeah, and wow we’re gonna go and make some naughty fillies regret the day they decided to bully my little sister."

Scootaloo nodded vigorously and followed Rainbow Dash inside.

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were standing in their respective corners, in the same exact position they'd made Scootaloo take. She could see both of the fillies' hind legs shiver under the awkward angle. It made her smile.

Rainbow Dash walked to the cushions the bullies had used previously. She tossed one on the floor, a few feet from the chair. "There you go, Squirt. Best seat in the house. Which side would you like, the red butts of these two or their faces when they cry their eyes off?"

Two nervous whimpers escaped the fillies in the corners.

Scootaloo sat down on the cushion, thinking hard on how to answer Rainbow Dash. It was going to be the first time in her life she'd get to see somepony else get spanked. For it to be the two bullies that had been making her life miserable for years was something of a dream come true. On one side, it would be great to see the switch hit home and see the fillies squirm and kick. On the other, the expressions on the fillies' faces would be priceless as the sneers they always had on would be replaced by tears and pleas. Maybe she could do one with Diamond Tiara and the other with Silver Spoon?

A sudden warmth ran through her body. It was the same one she'd felt when Rainbow Dash had been hugging her and rubbed her aching rear. It was probably the soft cushion under her, she thought.

"Get over here. I told you you'd be first." Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed Diamond Tiara by the ear.

The filly turned around and slapped the hoof away. "Don't you touch me, you... you... lout! You can't do this to me! You can't just come in and give us a... spanking! There's laws and everything! I'm going to walk out from that door and you have to let me go!"

Rainbow Dash looked at the filly. She then slowly stepped aside and pointed a forehoof towards the door. "You wanna go? Feel free."

Diamond Tiara's snotty facade broke for a moment with an expression of immense relief. "I, umm, really?"

"Sure. I won't stop you. You're totally free to go." Rainbow Dash leaned against the wall, putting both of her forehooves behind her head and smiled to the filly.

"Did... did you hear that, Silvy? We're free to go. Come on!"

Silver Spoon also dropped onto all fours from the corner, her expression a mask of confusions as much as relief.

The two fillies looked at each other, then started sidling slowly for the door, not breaking eye contact with Rainbow Dash.

Diamond Tiara even seemed to be regaining her obnoxious composure, sneering at Scootaloo.

Scootaloo was probably the most confused of the three fillies. She looked to the door, to the bullies, and to her mentor, her head jerking from one direction to other. To an outside observer she must have looked like she was shaking her head from disbelief. She was about to say something, when Rainbow Dash pushed herself away from the back wall and flew over the fillies with a simple wingbeat. She landed next to the door, but not in a way that would obstruct the fillies from leaving. She lifted a forehoof up and looked underneath it casually, as if trying to find cracks on its surface. "You two fillies do understand that once you walk out from that door, I'm going to take Scootaloo here on my back and fly directly to Filthy Rich's Barnyard Bargains. I'm going to tell him everything you've done here today, including how you bribed and cheated Cheerilee, and then I'll tell him what horrid things you did to Scootaloo. Then I'm going to go to Mint's Antiques and tell the same things to Silver Spoon's parents. Then, if my wings aren't too tired, oh, I dunno, maybe I'll fly to Scootaloo's house and go to the Guard with her father and press charges against you two. After that, I'll tell everypony I know about what happened and ask them to tell it forward. How does that sound?"

The bullies stared at her in absolute shock. Neither of them could move a hoof, let alone talk. They looked at each other, then at the door, and back at Rainbow Dash.

Diamond Tiara regained her voice first. "You... but... Scootaloo would get into trouble too!"

The filly in question looked pleadingly at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash just smiled and sat down so her eyes were on the same level as the two bullies'. "Yup. She sure would. But guess who else would be in trouble? Your parents. When word got out that you used their money to bribe a teacher, along with extorting another foal, how do you think their businesses would go afterwards? And what kind of trouble do you think you two would also be getting into?"

Silver Spoon grabbed onto Diamond Tiara's hoof. "Di? We can't let her do that! Dad would be... and mom would—"

"Silvy, shut up! We could tell them she made all of it up!"

"You really think the word of two little fillies would weigh anything against a grown-up's? Or two, if I asked Cheerilee?"

"She's just bluffing! She... she has to be!"

Rainbow Dash kept on smiling. She slowly pushed the door open. "Try me."

"But... you can't... I... I'll..." Diamond Tiara stuttered, her eyes darting for the open door and the freedom behind it, and back to the calm Pegasus looking at them.

Silver Spoon, on the other hoof, lowered her head in defeat. "Tiara, she’s got us. We can't let her tell Dad. Or your dad either."

"I... but... I don't want to get spanked..."

"Let me tell you something, girls," Rainbow Dash said. "You two have done some really bad things today. Really. Bad. Both of you know it. You extorted another filly, made her into a slave, did all sorts of nasty stuff to her, and beat her up. If you two were grown-ups, you'd be going to jail right now. Now that I think about it, maybe it would be better if I actually did go to your parents—"

Silver Spoon ran to Rainbow Dash, her eyes already wet. "No! Miss Dash! Please! Don't tell my parents! Just... please give me a s-spanking! Please!"

"A spanking is a really light punishment for what you did. I dunno."

"Please! I... I promise to... to never cause bla—Scootaloo any trouble again!"

Rainbow Dash seemed to think about it for a moment, before turning to look at Diamond Tiara. "What about you?"

The filly didn't answer. She was frozen in place, her mouth forming words but nothing came out. Her legs were shaking and her eyes were running with tears. She took a big gulp of air. "I don't want to be spanked!"

"I think that's a bit late now. You're going to be punished one way or another. Now you just get to choose if it's going to be me, or your folks. Pick your poison."

"I promise I'll never bully anypony again! I'll... I'll say I'm sorry and—"

"Yes, you will. But that's after your punishment," Rainbow Dash said calmly.

Scootaloo looked at both of her bullies, the haughty duo that always seemed unfazed at anything she or the other Crusaders hurled at them, being reduced to tears with just a few words from Rainbow Dash. She wasn't sure if she should be impressed, or scared. She'd always thought of her idol as a friend, a big sister. Now was the first time she was thinking of her as a grown-up as well. The thought felt too big for her little head, and she tried to massage her temples to make it fit.

Silver Spoon walked over to her friend. "Tiara? Listen, okay? I don't want to get spanked either, but it's either that, or they tell your dad."

"I don't wanna..."

Silver Spoon put a hoof under her friend's chin. "Tiara?"

Diamond Tiara looked up and sniffled. "Y-yeah?"

"We... deserve it. I mean, sure, it was, like, a fun idea, but... we really went too far and I feel pretty bad about it. Don't you?"

Both Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash looked at Silver Spoon in astonishment.

Diamond Tiara didn't say anything. Her head just drooped down. After a long silence, she finally nodded.

Rainbow Dash walked to the two bullies. "So, what's it gonna be? Your folks, or...?" She let the sentence hang in the air while looking pointedly at the empty chair in the middle of the room.

Silver Spoon took a deep breath, and to Scootaloo's amazement, looked Rainbow Dash straight in the eyes. "Would you please give us a spanking, Miss Dash?" she asked, with only a hint of fear in her voice.

Rainbow Dash nodded and turned to Diamond Tiara. "You too."

"Fine. Do it," the filly muttered, not looking up from the floor.

"That's not gonna cut it."

Diamond Tiara's head jerked up and she glared up at Rainbow Dash. "If you think I'm gonna ask you to do it, I won't. I won't!"

"It's either that, or I tell your folks. Up to you."

Diamond Tiara tried to keep glaring, but the stare coming at from Rainbow Dash was too much for her. She looked away, making sure she at least wouldn't let Scootaloo see her face. "S-spank me."

"You'll have to do better than that."

This time the filly didn't try to fight it any more. "Please... give me a spanking."

Scootaloo couldn't believe how the nastiest, most headstrong pony she'd ever met actually asked to be punished. She didn't know why, but another warm wave washed over her, sending goosebumps running up her back.

"Good. Now, you go back to the corner," Rainbow Dash said to Silver Spoon. "No need to stand, just sit and face the wall."

Silver Spoon nodded and did as she was told.

Rainbow Dash took hold of Diamond Tiara's ear once more. This time the filly followed her quietly to the chair. "So, Squirt, which side is it gonna be? Face or butt?"

The question made Scootaloo shiver. "B-butt."

Rainbow Dash winked at her, then tugged on Diamond Tiara's ear again, pulling her in position over the seat of the chair. Scootaloo watched in quiet awe as her idol picked up the discarded switch from the floor with a hoof and gave it a test swing. All three fillies in the room winced as one as it hit Rainbow Dash's other hoof with a loud thwack.

"Have to give it to you fillies, this is one darn good switch. Bark's been cleaned off nicely, no little nubs that would break the skin, not too heavy or too light, I'll give it five stars. This is coming from someone who's had to make several in my life. Which one of you made it?" She walked up to the chair, not really expecting to get an answer, but a quiet voice came from the corner.

"Umm, I made it," Silver Spoon said quietly.

"You gotten a switching before then?"

"N-no, Miss Dash. It, well, I just wanted to, like, make it as good as I could. I've always liked to, well, work on things."

"Huh. The more you know," Rainbow Dash said. She stood up on her hind legs, pushing one of her forehooves onto Diamond Tiara's back to pin her against the chair. With the other, she took hold of the switch and flicked it under the filly's tail. "Lift it up and keep it that way."

Diamond Tiara quietly obeyed, lifting her bushy tail high. From underneath it, her pale rear came into Scootaloo's full view, along with everything else that was usually at least partly hidden.

Scootaloo felt herself starting to sweat, a lone drop running down her back between her wings. A nervous feeling of doing something wrong or forbidden squirmed in the pit of her stomach. It didn't make sense to her, because Rainbow Dash had said that it was going to be okay. Her big sister was taking care of this. So why did it feel so naughty to look at Diamond Tiara's predicament? Was this how the bullies felt? Is this what they were after when they bullied her and her friends?

She didn't usually look at other ponies' behinds, so now that Diamond Tiara's was on show, she couldn't stop admiring just how round it was. Scootaloo had sometimes looked at her own posterior in the mirror, mostly when brushing her tail, so she knew she was far slimmer than Diamond Tiara and a bit shorter. Even out of the three Crusaders, she was by far the smallest, both in stature and girth. She just hadn't realised exactly how big the difference was. The other filly wasn't fat in any way, but there was clearly a lot more to her bottom than to Scootaloo's. The way she squirmed to make her position even remotely comfortable on the chair made her bottom jiggle from side to side. Diamond Tiara twitched as the switch lightly brushed against her rump and her hind leg kicked out involuntarily, rubbing her buttocks together.

All these thoughts vanished the moment the first strike landed and Diamond Tiara squealed. Scootaloo's eyes were absolutely glued to the rear end where Rainbow Dash's strike had hit. A dark line appeared across the lighter pink coat of the bully. Scootaloo felt her own heart skip, not only because she had been in the same situation a scant half an hour ago, but because she could now see the damage the switch could do. Rainbow Dash took her time before striking again. Diamond Tiara bucked with both of her hind legs, but she might just as well have been tied in place. Rainbow Dash's held her down effortlessly, striking her twice again in rapid succession, making the filly’s bottom dance and jiggle because of her struggling. Scootaloo felt a rush of warmth flushing over her whole body. She felt herself start to sweat all over, just watching at the display in front of her. It was something she'd always dreamed of seeing, but watching and even hearing the bully get her just desserts was so much better than she could ever have imagined.

Diamond Tiara was already sniffling loudly. “Please stop!”

Rainbow Dash actually did, just to downright laugh at her. "Seriously? I'm just getting warmed up."

A huge sob escaped the filly. The switch came down again, this time high, almost at the base of her tail. She immediately lowered it to cover her rump.

"Get that thing out of the way, or I'll start all over," Rainbow Dash said.

Diamond Tiara's tail shot up like a rocket. "Sorry! I couldn't help it!"

"That was your last warning. If you do that again, I will start over." She paused to give three rapid thwacks. "You don't want that, do you?"

"Nooooo! Please!"

The spanking continued, with the switch landing steadily all over Diamond Tiara's rear, and the filly making a lot of noise, desperately struggling to get away. Her shouts were starting to become more desperate, her pleads becoming simple shouts of 'please' and 'I'm sorry'. She filled the room with promises of becoming a better pony, of never bullying anypony again, of giving money to Rainbow Dash if she stopped, anything she could think of. They only served to spur Rainbow Dash on, hitting harder and faster, making the filly finally just cry out with no more words.

Scootaloo was almost hypnotized by the dance of the switch and the wiggling rump of the bully. Every time the switch hit and Diamond Tiara cried out, she felt more dazzled at the display. The feeling at the pit of her stomach was now a burning ember. She put a hoof between her legs, trying to reach for it. At first, she tried to rub her belly, but it didn't help at all. She moved lower, and finally touched her slit. The jolt that ran through her was like nothing she'd felt before, making her gasp out loud. Startled, she moved her hoof away and looked around the room. Rainbow Dash was half turned away from her, and the two other fillies were in no position to look around. Scootaloo hazarded another touch, feeling the same immense pleasure shoot up her stomach and up her spine. She rubbed her burning hot slit, trying to keep her mouth shut so she wouldn't make more noise and call Rainbow Dash's attention to herself. With every movement, she shivered, her eyes drooping half-closed. To her astonishment, the feeling kept growing, becoming even more intense as she rubbed herself. It hurt, but at the same time, she couldn't have stopped if she wanted to. Her body seemed to start moving on its own, making her hips start thrusting forward. She was still sitting properly, but had to lean forward with her other forehoof to steady herself. With a passing glance she could still see the spanking going on, but she hardly cared any more. Her hoof was going back and forth along her slit, rubbing against the smooth fabric of the cushion.

You can go to Derpibooru for more art ID: 1882711

She didn't know when her mouth had opened, but she noticed a drop of drool falling onto her forehoof. It brought her back to reality. Scootaloo's eyes shot open. The room had fallen silent. Rainbow Dash was still holding Diamond Tiara down, and apparently hadn't noticed anything that Scootaloo had been doing, whatever it had been. She carefully leaned back, trying to pretend nothing had happened. The hoof she'd had against her nethers was wet from something, probably sweat, she thought. With the other, clean hoof, she wiped the sides of her mouth. To her horror, she had been drooling a lot. Her heart kept pounding madly, not out of excitement, but fear of Rainbow Dash finding out. In front of her, Diamond Tiara was lifted up from the chair, once again by her ear, and shoved towards Scootaloo. She tried to put a nonchalant look on her face, hiding her wet hoof behind her back.

"Now, do you think you have something to say to Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara?"

The filly couldn't answer her. She'd lost her tiara and her mane was a mess, but that wasn't what shocked Scootaloo. It was the face. Puffy red eyes, cheeks wet with tears and a nose running with snot. The haughty bully was completely gone, replaced by a sad, broken filly, standing in front of her with quivering hooves and a downcast expression.

"Well?" Rainbow Dash insisted.

"I'm, umm..." Diamond Tiara started, but fell silent once more. She sniffled and wiped a hoof across her face, only making the mess worse. "I'm... sorry."

"For?"

"For... bullying you."

Rainbow Dash turned Diamond Tiara around by her ear, her eyes flaring with clear anger. "Bullying? Is that what you call what you did?"

"I'm sorry, I—"

"No, you shut the... hay up, and listen. Do you know who King Sombra was?"

Scootaloo couldn't see the filly's expression, her whole view being a close-up of the most punished bottom she could ever have imagined. Red and almost black stripes ran all over the buttocks, up to her tail and down to her ankles like some foal's first try at drawing with crayons. She couldn't tell the welts apart, only that there must have been several hundred of them at least. Or a thousand. Scootaloo lifted a hoof up, just to feel the damage that had been done, but hesitated to touch the bully's rear. Was that how her own rump looked right now? Had it been that severe? She knew she'd cried and kicked, but she had no idea if it had been this bad.

Rainbow Dash's words floated to her ears, snapping her out of her ponderings. "...even after a thousand years, he was around as a mean spirit, still trying to enslave all the ponies in the Crystal Empire. He didn't care about other ponies, just used them as slaves. That's what you did today too. You took another pony's freedom and used them. We kicked his flank in the end, but it took me and Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle and the rest of us to do it, and we even had the help of a princess to boot. That's what you were doing, and like I said, you're getting off easy."

"I... I didn't think... I didn't mean to..." Diamond Tiara said with a quivering voice.

"Now, do you have something to say to Scootaloo?"

Diamond Tiara spun around to face Scootaloo. "I'm... I'm really sorry, okay? I didn't think it was gonna be that big of a deal! It was just gonna be fun and stuff. Sorry."

Scootaloo didn't know what to say. All she could muster was an "Umm, okay?"

"So, Squirt, you wanna have a go at her? Just say the word and she'll be over the chair and you can pay her back for what she did."

"Umm... no... no thanks. It's okay," Scootaloo said, looking away in embarrassement. It was true she wanted to, wanted to really bad actually, but she also knew what Diamond Tiara had gone through already and knew it would be too much. "She's gotten plenty already."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"T-thanks, bl— Scootaloo," Diamond Tiara said.

At that moment, Scootaloo knew she'd done the right thing.

Rainbow Dash reached for Diamond Tiara again. She shied away, afraid that she'd get pulled from her ear once again. Instead, a cyan hoof was put onto her back and she was led to the empty corner. "You can sit here, or stand. Just no looking, okay? Your switching is over, but you still have to wait."

"Okay."

Scootaloo knew what was coming next. So did Silver Spoon, apparently, because she slowly got up, clearly shaking, and looked over her shoulder to the other corner where her friend had just been placed. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw the red lines covering her friend's bottom.

Rainbow Dash walked over to her, and just as unceremoniously as before, grabbed her by the ear and dragged her to the chair. Silver Spoon tried to keep up, but her legs refused to move fast enough. She ended up whinnying from pain when Rainbow Dash gave her a strong tug on her ear. To the filly's relief, the hoof slipped free and she fell prone on the floor, rubbing her ear. "Oww! I... I promise I won't fight back so please, you don't have to pull my ear."

Rainbow Dash looked at her, clearly surprised. "Well get over here and climb on the chair then."

Silver Spoon obeyed, but stopped a few steps short of the chair. "Umm, Miss Dash?"

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked, already closing in to escort the filly the last few steps.

"Could I please talk to Scootaloo before you, umm, spank me?"

Rainbow Dash glared at her. "Why d'you wanna do that? You planning something?"

"No, no, it's not like that! I just... wanted to... talk to her. You know, privately?"

"And you can't do it here?"

Silver Spoon shook her head. She didn't look arrogant, but there was clear determination in her voice, despite it clearly quivering from fear.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Scoots? Up to you."

Scootaloo looked to her big sister, then to the bully standing next to her. Silver Spoon didn't look hostile, just somehow really sad. "Fine."

"Okay, you got two minutes," Rainbow Dash said. As the fillies walked for the door, she put a hoof onto Scootaloo's shoulder. "If she tries anything funny with you, you tell me. She might try to wiggle out of her punishment or something like that, so don't let her fool you."

Scootaloo nodded and walked outside. Evening had fallen, and the orchard around was bathed in the last rays of the setting sun´. Silver Spoon pushed the door shut behind her.

"So, what is it?" Scootaloo asked. She knew she was supposed to be angry, but seeing Diamond Tiara's face a moment ago had really taken much of it away.

"Umm, first off, I... I wanted to say I'm sorry. I mean, really sorry, not just, like, saying it cos I don't want to get s-s-spanked, okay? I felt really bad about what we were doing even before Miss Dash came here. I... I don't know if you noticed, well, probably not, but I really tried to stop Tiara."

Scootaloo sat down, wincing slightly from the hard wooden surface of the patio, but it passed quickly. "Huh? Wait, you did? You were?"

"Yeah. I mean, it was going to be fun at first and we were going to maybe put makeup on you and stuff, but I didn't know anything about spitting on food and making you eat it or... or hitting you."

Scootaloo felt bile rising in her throat. "You didn't stop her either!"

Silver Spoon sat down and looked at the floorboards. "I know."

It took a moment for Scootaloo to answer. She tried to suppress her anger, but couldn't keep it bottled any more. "Why!? You're always picking on me and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle! Why the hay do you do it!? Why are you now suddenly sorry about it?"

"I... I know, okay," Silver Spoon said. When she looked up, her eyes were getting moist underneath her thick glasses. "I know we're bullies. I know we do bad things and... I know they're wrong."

"So why the hay do you do it then!? Don't you feel bad about it?" Scootaloo shouted, not caring if the ponies inside could hear or not.

"I do! It's just that... we've been together so long that, well, I stopped thinking about it. Calling you names and stuff was fun at first, then we just, you know, kept doing it. I thought it was okay and, well, you didn't seem to mind. You had your Crusader's thing and all."

"But what about today? What about..." Scootaloo had to stop herself from tearing up as well. "What about the Flag Carrying competition? You... about my wings..." She couldn't talk any more.

"I'm sorry. I knew that was really nasty. I... tried to tell Tiara to let it go, but she wouldn't listen."

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed. "So... you're gonna say it was all her idea now?"

Silver Spoon nodded. "I know it sounds like I'm blaming Di. I know you don't believe me. I just... wanted to tell you that... today, I wanted her to stop and she didn't." She looked down. "I was scared. S-she liked hurting you. I didn't. I'm really happy that Miss Dash came in when she did, because I really didn't want to hit you. I really didn't!"

Scootaloo felt her mouth hang open. "You didn't? But—"

"I don't know if I would have. I... it’s really hard to say no to her. She gets so angry."

Scootaloo stood up, shaking her head. "I don't get it! Why do you hang around with her then? You're scared of her! What kind of friends are afraid of each other?!"

Silver Spoon was quiet for moment before answering. "Because she doesn't have anypony else. I don't want her to be lonely."

There was nothing Scootaloo could say. It felt like the wind had been knocked out from her with those few simple words. Her whole world had suddenly turned upside down. The thought of her incessant bully for several years running could actually be... nice? Think about others?

The door swung open. "Okay, what's the deal here? I thought I said two minutes? It's been, like, five." Rainbow Dash asked. She saw Scootaloo look away, and put a hoof onto her shoulder. "Scoots? She say something nasty to you? She try something?"

Scootaloo caught a glimpse of Silver Spoon's face from behind Rainbow Dash's concerned face. "No. She just wanted to say she was sorry."

Rainbow Dash looked from one filly to another. "Huh. Well time for your spanking, Missy. Get your butt inside."

"Y-yes, Miss Dash."

Scootaloo followed the two inside and pulled the door shut behind her. The room was already pretty dark now that the sun wasn't in the sky any more. She walked over to an old oil lamp and lit it with a match, soon bringing a soft, flickering yellow light to the place. She then walked over to the cushion and stopped dead in her tracks. The middle of the cushion was completely soaked with a large wet patch. She gulped and looked at Rainbow Dash, but the mare didn't seem to have noticed. Scootaloo flipped the cushion over as covertly as possible and sat down.

"So, this your first spanking then?" Rainbow Dash asked Silver Spoon.

"Well, I've gotten the hoof once but it... it was a long time ago. So no, Miss Dash."

"Well, you're in for a real treat then." She turned to look at her little sister. "Squirt? Same deal as before? Butt, right? That's what I'd choose, anyways." Rainbow Dash grabbed Silver Spoon, this time by a forehoof, and started to drag her over the chair.

The thought of watching Silver Spoon get her rump spanked felt somehow wrong to Scootaloo, not the least because of what had happened with Diamond Tiara and her, well, private parts. "Face," she said, no louder than a whisper.

"Sorry, you say something?"

"I'd, umm, like to see her face. For the spanking. Please?"

Rainbow Dash looked at her with a raised eyebrow, then shrugged. "You're the boss." She turned the filly around and dragged her over the seat of the chair, this time facing towards Scootaloo. "You getting a good view from there?"

Despite herself, Scootaloo smiled. "Sure am." The smile started to fade as she saw Silver Spoon's face. Her lower lip was trembling, and she was rubbing her forehoof against her own shoulder nervously. It was too much for Scootaloo. "Dash?"

"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash answered, already getting ready for her task at hoof, standing up to hold the filly down.

"Could you, maybe, go a bit easy..." Scootaloo started, but to her surprise, she saw Silver Spoon shaking her head and smiling. It was the first time she'd seen her bully actually smile, not just sneer. She didn't look like the evil pony she'd thought she was at all. "...err, could you wait a second?" Scootaloo walked up to Silver Spoon, gently picked her glasses off, and set them down on a nearby table. "Cos, you know, they might fall and break and stuff," she muttered when she sat down.

Silver Spoon kept smiling and lifted her tail up without Rainbow Dash having to ask her to. Her expression completely changed when the first strike landed onto her rump, completely without warning and at full speed. Her eyes and mouth both shot open, not yet from pain, but from the sheer surprise. It took her body a few seconds to get to the 'pain' part, but by then, another thwack had already landed onto her rump. After three more, she let out her first cry of pain.

Scootaloo didn't know what to think. On one hoof, it was the bully getting a well-deserved spanking after all the time she'd made her miserable. But... what had Silver Spoon actually done to her? She'd called her names, sure, but what else? Now that she really thought about it, it had almost always been Diamond Tiara causing the problems. She'd always been the leader, the head bully or what have you. It had been Diamond Tiara who'd started the whole blankflank thing in class after Miss Cheerilee's lesson about Cutie Marks. She'd been the one to cause them grief with the school newspaper, about her wings, all of it. Silver Spoon had been there most of the time, but she'd just been repeating what Diamond Tiara said and giggling. Sure, she was a bully and deserved what was coming to her, or actually raining down on her rump at that exact moment, but still, it felt off somehow.

Silver Spoon probably didn't think about anything else except how to make the pain stop. She squirmed, kicked, bucked, flailed, grit her teeth, wailed, squealed, cried, but to no avail. She rocked back and forth over the seat of the chair in rhythm with the switch hitting her tender bottom, her screams already coalescing into one, long whine.

Then it hit Scootaloo. Diamond Tiara had been begging, pleading and making promises that she could never keep. Silver Spoon wasn't.

Instead she yelled: "Sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I did! Please! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! Sorryyy!" With she hit her forehooves onto the legs of the chair, she tried to worm her way off from the chair, but she never stopped saying "Sorry!"

Scootaloo got up and walked to Rainbow Dash and her spankee. Without a word of explanation, she put her hooves onto Silver Spoon's shoulders and held her down. Not roughly, but to show she was there. Sure, the bully deserved every hit, but Scootaloo felt that doing this was somehow right as well. Rainbow Dash didn't say a word either, only kept going.

Silver Spoon kept crying out, her face awash with tears and her nose running, but for a sliver of a second, she looked at Scootaloo, and a smile crossed her lips. After that, she didn't yell "Sorry" any more. She just cried her heart out, finally giving up the struggle.

Rainbow Dash kept going on for a dozen more thwacks, before she stepped back down.

Silver Spoon kept bawling, out of relief as much as the pain. Scootaloo held her shoulders still, not knowing what else to do. Her fetlocks were covered in the bully's tears, but it didn't feel nasty to her. Slowly the crying subsided into sobbing, and finally into just sniffles. Only then did Scootaloo let go. She dropped onto all fours, her face only inches from Silver Spoon's.

"I'm sorry," the bully said through her tears. "I'm sorry for everything."

Scootaloo didn't hesitate. It was something she'd wanted to say ever since the spanking had started. She hadn't planned on the rest, though. Without thinking, she leaned in against the filly, still prone on the chair, and put her hooves around her neck in a small hug. "I forgive you, Silver Spoon."

The filly gasped from surprise, but gladly answered the hug. "Thank you, Scootaloo. Thank you."

Scootaloo stepped back, a smile crossing her face completely without her consent. She wasn't happy or relieved of finally making up with somepony that she'd pretty much hated for years, was she? And there was probably dust in the clubhouse, because it seemed to have gotten into her eyes. A gentle grown-up hoof stroked her mane. She turned to look up to her big sister, who was also, for some inexplicable reason, giving her the exact same weird expression she was sure she had on her own face. She decided that she didn't mind.

Rainbow Dash motioned for the door and Scootaloo quietly obeyed, walking outside into the rather cool evening. Before following her, she turned to the two fillies, one still in the corner, the other just now getting down from the chair. "You girls gather yourselves for a while. You got your punishments and are free to go whenever. I won't say anything about it again, but if you ever bully Scootaloo or anypony else, and I hear about it, there's gonna be far worse than today. We clear?"

"Yes, Miss Dash," Silver Spoon said.

There was a murmur from the corner, probably of agreement.

Rainbow Dash walked out and gave the door a light kick with a hind hoof to close it.

Scootaloo walked to the edge of the patio. Her mind was abuzz with thoughts. Not like when she tried to understand algebra. It was far worse. If she'd known how to express it, it would have been something like a huge jumble of thoughts ricocheting around her skull, skidding over her synapses and finally scoring a touchdown onto her medulla oblongata. The spanking she'd gotten had been really bad. The pain wasn't gone yet, as she gingerly noticed when sitting down, but it wasn't what was making her think. So many other things had happened in a very short time: bullying, spankings, salvation, forgiveness, her body acting all weird all the time. None of those could really stand up against her main concern.

It was the way her big sister had acted all day long. She'd thought how her big sis seemed more like a grown-up than ever before. The things she'd spoken to Diamond Tiara, about the evil King in the Crystal Empire and all... it had been pretty scary. She'd heard about the Empire at school, but Rainbow Dash had been so busy they'd never had time to talk about it. The few times she'd asked her big sis, she'd just quickly changed the subject. She looked at her idol, not sure if she should say anything, or ask her. Sure, Rainbow Dash had told her she could talk to her about anything, but would she get mad?

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, seemed to be in high spirits. She was grimacing as she rolled her forehoof around that she'd just used to administer two very lengthy switchings to two very naughty bottoms. She leaned over the railing of the patio, throwing her forehooves over it behind her back and slouching down. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the filly. "I know that look, Squirt. What's eating you?"

"N-nothing. I was just... thinking," Scootaloo said, trying to look away and think of a topic that didn't have anything to do with the recent events. "Ummm, the orchard sure smells nice!"

"Uh-huh. That bad, eh?" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings to lift herself from the railing and landed in front of Scootaloo. "Cough it up."

"W-what?"

"You want to say something, but you're scared that I'll get mad, right?"

"H-how'd you know that?!" Scootaloo said, backing away until she had her back against the clubhouse's wall.

Rainbow Dash didn't pursue her. Instead, she just sat down. "You don't have to tell me if you really don't want to. But you can talk to me about anything, remember?"

Scootaloo fidgeted with her forehooves for a moment. It was a habit she'd picked when she was younger."Umm, well, today, uhh..." she started, not knowing what she even wanted to ask in the first place. "You were a bit, umm, scary."

"Huh? Scary?"

Scootaloo swallowed the large lump in her throat. "Yeah, when you told them how you'd tell their parents and then you told Diamond Tiara about the evil King and..." She didn't know how to continue, so she just left the words hanging in the air.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "I did. I just wanted to make sure those fillies would understand what they did. And, well, you too, cos I'm not even sure you do. What they did was something really bad, Scoots. Something that ponies should never do to each other. I, well, kinda lost it."

"Was it because of the stuff in the Crystal Empire?"

Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. "It's not something that I should talk about to a kid. Just believe me, I saw some scary stuff there."

"But... you're not afraid of anypony!"

She got a tiny smile as a response. "Hey! I said it was scary, I didn't say I was scared!"

"You were almost scared then?"

Rainbow Dash had to rub her head to think of what the difference was. "Err, I guess so?"

After thinking for a moment, Scootaloo agreed. "That's still really scary!"

"It's stuff you don't really have to know anything more about. Just remember your totally awesome big sis saved the day... with a little help from her friends. That's why I'm around, right? Taking care of bullies, boogiemares, and crazy kings?" She lifted her forehooves in the air and made a spooky "Oooooo" sound for emphasis.

The filly giggled, but finally nodded again. "Okay."

They sat in silence for a moment. Some quiet hoof-falls carried from inside, but it seemed the fillies weren't quite ready yet.

It gave Scootaloo enough time to gather her courage. "A-are you angry?"

Rainbow Dash tilted her head in confusion. "At you? Of course not."

"No, I mean... are you still mad at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?"

"No, I'm..." Rainbow Dash started, but the filly's wide, innocent eyes stopped her. "Yeah. I guess I am."

"Why? Didn't you give them their punishment already? Isn't that, well, it? I thought when you got spanked it meant that the whole thing was forgiven?"

"Yeah. I know, I know," the mare said, but even Scootaloo could hear the hesitation in her voice. "That's the thing. I don't think they'll change. That's just bullies for you. They'll lie low for a while, then they'll be on your case again."

Scootaloo could feel the tear-soaked cheek of Silver Spoon pushing against her own as the filly apologized to her. "But they said they were sorry."

"Listen, Scoots. I know how bullies work. Especially creeps like Diamond Tiara. They're all proud and haughty until the moment they get put in the same position as the ponies they bully. Then they completely break down. They'll say anything to get out of trouble, lie, make promises, everything they can think of. They're like little dogs. They keep barking, but if a grown-up even looks at them, they run away scared."

"But what if they change? They might, right?" Scootaloo asked, torn between believing her idol and, to her surprise, her bully.

"Well, maybe." Rainbow Dash shrugged, but didn't sound convinced. "Just be careful about them. I just don't think bullies change, that's all."

"You know a lot about bullies, Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked.

Rainbow Dash's ears fell flat against her head. She was almost ready to deny it, but realised that there was no accusation in the filly's voice, only curiosity. "I guess I do."

"Is it... is it because you fought the bullies that were picking on Fluttershy?"

"Wha... huh?"

Scootaloo stood up, her wings fluttering gently. "When you told us how you got your Cutie Mark. It was when you were defending Fluttershy, right? So that's why you know so much about bullies? Cos you fought them?"

Rainbow Dash couldn't look the filly in the eyes. "Yeah, something like that."

"Maybe Silver Spoon is different?" Scootaloo asked, her voice filled with childish hope.

Rainbow Dash shrugged, but then nodded. "Yeah, maybe."

Scootaloo seemed to hesitate for a moment, before walking up to her and giving her a hug. "Thanks, Rainbow Dash."

The hug was happily answered. "Don't sweat it, Squirt. That's why I'm your big sis, remember? And if those two ever act again, you're going to tell me about it. It's not being a snitch or anything, understand?" She ruffled Scootaloo's mane with a hoof for emphasis, just like the time she'd made Scootaloo promise not to fall over waterfalls in the middle of the night.

Just like back then, Scootaloo looked up at her. "It's a promise."

After a moment more snuggling, Rainbow Dash talked. "So, wanna tell me what made you change your mind about Silver Spoon?"

Scootaloo didn't know what to say. In the end, she wasn't exactly sure what had happened either. "I, umm, I guess we made up?"

"Seems that way. Are you gonna hang out with her now?"

"I dunno. Maybe? I mean, I still don't like Diamond Tiara, but Silver Spoon seems, well, nicer than I thought."

Rainbow Dash fell silent for a moment. "For what it's worth, I don't think she was faking it. I guess you could give it a try. It's always better to have more friends, right?"

"Right!"

The door creaked open next to the two sisters. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had packed their things back into their boxes. They started carrying them out without a word. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash didn't say anything either. It took the fillies only two round trips to carry their gear to their cart. Scootaloo saw the cushion she'd been sitting on sticking out one of the boxes, and promptly blushed.

"That's all, I think," Silver Spoon said as she dropped the last box into the cart.

"Yeah. Well, buckle up. We can go to my place tonight. Daddy's working late so we don't have to worry about him finding out."

Silver Spoon looked at her in confusion. "I pulled it here, remember? You told me you'd take care of it on the way back."

"Yeah, but I was going to make the bla—Scootaloo do it." Diamond Tiara said. She looked over her shoulder nervously to make sure she wasn't in any more trouble.

The other filly didn't budge. "Well I brought it here, so now it's your turn."

"Nu-uh! I'm not going to pull it! It's... menial labour!"

Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses on her face. "I'm going to let that slide because you don't even know what that means."

"Whatever. I don't care. I just wanna go home now." Without another word, Diamond Tiara turned around and started walking away.

Silver Spoon was left to look after her, then back at the cart. Her expression went sour and she kicked the cart. After huffing a moment, she lowered her head in defeat and started doing up the harness.

Scootaloo walked down the clubhouse's ramp and to the filly's side. "Hey, Silver Spoon?"

Silver Spoon had already gotten a hoof tangled in the harness and shook it off with a sigh. "Yeah?" she asked in a sullen voice.

"I could, well, I have my scooter so I could pull the cart to your house?" She tried to look as nonchalant as possible, failing miserably. "I mean tomorrow, cos it's so late now. I'm used to pulling our Crusader cart with both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle inside it, so this wouldn't weight anything."

Silver Spoon looked at her in astonishment. "You would? But why would you? I mean—"

"Cos... cos I think we're friends now. And friends don't leave each other in trouble, right?"

Silver Spoon looked after Diamond Tiara, who had already vanished from sight. "That would be... really nice."

"Hey, no problem." Scootaloo said, not understanding why her face felt like it was on fire.

Silver Spoon shuffled her hooves nervously, before she walked up to Scootaloo and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. "Thank you, Scootaloo." Before the dazed filly could answer, Silver Spoon turned and galloped after her friend at full speed.

Rainbow Dash walked down the ramp. "Friends, huh."

"S-s-s-s-s..."

"Yup. Always good to make new friends."

"S-s-s-s-s..."

"I'll go turn the lamp off and we can go to my place."

Rainbow Dash walked inside and the clubhouse fell into darkness. She closed the door and put the latch on so the wind wouldn't get inside. "Ready to go?"

"She kissed me!" Scootaloo finally shouted.

Author's Note

Art relevant to the chapter on Derpibooru, ID: 1882711