No Good Deed...

Rainbow Dash had woken up a few times during the night when the filly next to her fidgeted in her sleep. Dash had gotten so used to sleeping alone that the slightest noise or movement would always get her to flinch up slightly. It wasn't a bad feeling as such, she'd have to admit, and she always fell asleep again soon after. Once she'd just lain there for a while, looking at the ball of purple and orange curled up under one of her blue nap blankets. A tiny smile dance on Scootaloo's lips once in a while. She was clearly dreaming of something nice. Without realizing it, she stroked Scootaloo's mane a few times and tucked her better under the covers before her own eyes slowly drooped shut once more.

Not a bad feeling at all.

The loud thump still took her by surprise. She opened up her eyes to see Scootaloo frantically climbing to her feet on the floor next to the bed. When the filly saw Rainbow Dash had woken up, her eyes shot open in panic.

"Ohmygosh, Rainbow Dash! I didn't mean to wake you up! I'm sorry!" she bellowed out.

"You okay, Squirt?"

"Y-yeah! I'm okay! It's just that, umm..."

"Yes?"

"It's a... it's a Yellow Emergency!" Scootaloo said. She was dancing in place in clear discomfort.

"Oh," Rainbow Dash said, before the words sunk in. "Oh! Just go to the bathroom and take the side door."

Scootaloo nodded vigorously and dashed out, slamming the door to the bathroom shut behind her.

Rainbow Dash yawned and rolled over to take a look at the alarm clock on her bedside table. It was clearly morning, and quite a bit later than she'd thought. It was about an hour before she'd promised to drop Scootaloo back home. She sat up and stretched her hooves with another humongous yawn, before letting them fall limp against her sides.

There were no two ways about it. She'd beaten two kids severely because they'd bullied Scoots. She'd taken Scootaloo to her home and... had sex. Sex with a filly barely ten years old. It was a jail sentence for sure, probably exile. Adults touching kids was totally wrong and she knew it. She'd known the night before too, of course, but something had pushed her over that dangerous line. Sure, Rainbow Dash had made the filly promise she'd never tell a soul, even going so far as to make her "Sister Secret" swear on it.

There was also no denying it that it had been one of the best days of her life. Those two evil little bitches had had it coming for a long time, and if their folks didn't do their job, she would. With great enjoyment and glee, she had to admit. Seeing those two striped rumps and snot-covered faces on those two little fillies who tried to put on airs and act all high and mighty. There were limits to what you could do, and they'd hit that limit at full gallop and never slowed down. At least that Diamond Tiara. Seeing how Silver Spoon had acted, there might be hope for her.

And the part with Scootaloo? Well... they were honorary sisters now and stuff like that probably happened between sisters. Sometimes. Maybe? She looked at the ceiling and sighed once more. That was the problem, wasn't it? Sisters. Scootaloo'd kept calling her 'Sister' and 'Big Sis' all day long. For a moment there, she'd actually believed it, imagining herself to be the older sibling of the most awesome kid in the world. It had felt great to talk about all the girl stuff with her, the things Rainbow Dash had hoped for years for somepony to explain her. Not being confused and afraid of what your own body was doing, worrying if you were sick or just crazy. And when Scootaloo had asked Rainbow Dash to stay when she wanted to masturbate for the first time, her huge, pleading eyes full of uncertainty, Rainbow Dash'd given in. She'd done far more than just stayed to encourage the filly. Hay, she'd given her a full show-and-tell. That would probably been okay, right? No touching involved and Scootaloo had been the one to ask. How else was the kid going to learn if not from example, right? Just a big sis teaching her kid sis about her own body. It was almost like Sex Ed in school, right? But the thing after? She had to admit it was more complicated.

Bottom line was, she knew it was wrong. Absolutely undeniably wrong. It had also made Rainbow Dash hornier than a buffalo stampede. Scootaloo's soft, tiny butt, still probably hurting a lot from the switching she'd gotten from the bullies, presented to Rainbow Dash like a gift. The kid was sporty as hay, but there was still a good amount of childish plumpness to her rear. The shivers running down the filly's back when Rainbow Dash had touched her sweet little cunny for the first time. The taste on her tongue when she'd slipped it inside Scootaloo's slit, savouring every drop. And the noises Scootaloo made! She'd been screaming Rainbow Dash's name at the top of her tiny lungs as she was licked to her first orgasm. Scootaloo had fallen asleep soon after, completely spent, her legs still spread wide apart with her moist, glistening slit still in full view. Rainbow Dash had clopped to the sight again before falling asleep as well.

Just thinking about the little filly all splayed out for her to take was too much for her. Rainbow Dash's hoof shot to her own Happy Valley. She was rubbing furiously against her own privates, when the sound of the bathroom door creaking open jolted her back into reality. She casually moved her hoof from her slippery wet crotch, pretending nothing had been going on. "You all done there, Squirt?"

"Yes! I mean, no, I mean... I did use the toilet! I didn't do anything else!" Scootaloo explained. She was distinctly looking away from Rainbow Dash, her cheeks glowing red.

Rainbow Dash immediately caught on. She rolled onto her stomach to hide her own previous occupations, bringing her only a few inches from the filly on the floor. Her nose confirmed what she'd already been suspecting. "Really? You were in there for quite a while."

"I, uhh, yeah. All good! Just, you know, umm, thinking! Yeah! I was thinking on how plumbing works in cloud houses!" Scootaloo beamed at the nice save she'd thought up.

"Uh-huh," Rainbow Dash said, letting her prey feel safe before going in for the kill. "And you weren't just sitting on the can and wiping after a lot more than you needed to?"

Scootaloo's eyes shot wide from surprise. "How'd you know?", she asked. She then brought both of her forehooves to her mouth to try and grab the confession, even though it was too late.

"Gotcha." Rainbow Dash gave the filly a victorious grin. "Seems like a certain naughty filly was playing with herself just now." Her grin soon faded as Scootaloo's head slumped forward.

"I'm sorry."

Rainbow Dash reached under Scootaloo's chin and brought it up again. "Hey, Squirt, didn't I tell you it's okay? Your body, your rules, right?"

Scootaloo did keep her chin up, but she was still looking down. "But you said I was naughty."

"I..." Rainbow Dash started, but wasn't sure on how to continue. "I... didn't mean it as a bad thing. You just looked so guilty when you came out, that's all."

"Really?"

"Yeah, real—" Rainbow Dash was caught off guard as two orange hooves grabbed ahold of her neck in a tight hug. She felt Scootaloo's soft, warm cheek pressing against her own. After a short hesitation, she returned the gesture. Grabbing hold of the filly, she rolled over onto the bed, bringing her precious cargo with her.

The two self-adopted sisters lay on the bed, holding each other close, Scootaloo burying her head against Rainbow Dash's chest. It was a feeling like nothing Rainbow Dash had ever experienced. The sheer innocence and trust that was flowing from Scootaloo was overwhelming. It didn't last long, and Scootaloo soon rolled away and stood up on the bed.

"So what are we going to do?"

"Well..." Rainbow Dash said. She sat up on the bed as well. "Why don't you turn around and let me look at your butt?"

Scootaloo smirked and turned around, pushing her chest to the mattress, lifting her tail up, and spreading her legs. "Like this?"

"Yeah, I want to..." Rainbow Dash started, but couldn't continue. She was afforded a full view of Scootaloo's privates, from the still-damp slit to the tiny puckered hole right below her tail. Rainbow Dash remembered very distinctly she'd been interrupted just a short while ago, but pushed it aside the best she could. "...uh, check how bad the damage was from the switch. You can put your tail down.

"O... oh," Scootaloo muttered. Her tail dropping down lazily.

"It's not too bad really," Rainbow Dash said. She followed a few of the darker red welts with her hoof, making Scootaloo flinch slightly. "Still hurts I bet."

"Yeah. A bit," came the sullen answer.

"I really wish I'd had your coat when I was younger. You can't believe how long a spanking shows from a blue butt like mine." Rainbow Dash laughed at the memory. Scootaloo joined in half-heartedly.

Rainbow Dash turned Scootaloo around to face her. "Scoots, what's wrong?"

Scootalo looked away once more. "N-nothing. Really. It's just..."

After waiting for a moment for the filly to go on, Rainbow Dash said "Just what?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "I just thought we were going to do the thing we did last night."

"It felt that good, huh?" Rainbow Dash smiled. She pulled Scootaloo against her with a wing. "Scoots, yesterday was special, okay. It was about... well... teaching you stuff. Grown-ups really can't do stuff like that with kids."

"B-but why?" Scootaloo mumbled. "It wasn't a bad thing! You said it wasn't!"

"It's complicated," Rainbow Dash said. "You see... doing it once, just once was okay... but if we did it again, it'd be bad." She had to swallow, mostly to ease her nerves. "Real bad."

"But... but..." Scootaloo said.

Rainbow Dash could feel her sniffle a bit. She pulled the filly in tighter. "I know it sucks, but you really just gotta trust me on this."

Scootaloo remained silent for a moment, but then she nodded. "Okay."

"And you can't tell anypony about this. Nopony. Not even Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle."

Another short silence. "Okay."

"That's my little sis," Rainbow Dash said, ruffling Scootaloo's mane.

Those two magic words did the trick again, and Scootaloo soon turned around with a wide smile on her face, this time nodding more heartily. "I won't tell anypony, because we made the Sister Swear!"

Rainbow Dash smiled as well. "Right!" She gave a meaningful look at the clock on her bedside table. "Now get your butt into shower. I promised your dad to drop you off in half an hour."

Those magic words, on the other hoof, seemed to freeze Scootaloo in horror. "D-d-d-dad... What if he notices that I've gotten in trouble again? What if he... if he... finds out about the glass at school? I'll... I'll get the—"

Rainbow Dash held Scootaloo from both sides of the filly's face. "Listen here, Scoots. There's no way I'm going to let you get into trouble. I'll drop you home, maybe distract your dad a bit and that's it. You just hide in your room for today and those marks will probably be gone by tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"Promise," Rainbow Dash said, once again ruffling the filly's mane. "For now, there's a totally awesome cloud shower waiting for..."

Before she could even finish, the orange blur vanished through the door with a squee.

Rainbow Dash landed on the front lawn of Scootaloo's house. The filly hopped down, immediately turning her rump away in case her father was in the window for some reason.

It wasn't going to be an easy sell, Rainbow Dash had to admit. Hopefully the old man would be taking a nap or on the can or something and she and Scoots could just waltz on in. And if not, she had a lot of experience in fooling even the sharpest of dads. And she wasn't even drunk this time. Without another thought, she walked to the front door and pushed it open.

And froze. The door opened into the house's living room. Its centerpiece was a humongous arm chair, the kind where a smaller pony would sink into and need an airlift to get out. Unfortunately, it wasn't occupied by anything short of the giant stallion that was Ship Shape, the burly and muscular Pegasus that ran Ponyville's heavy transit company. He'd been reading a newspaper, but lowered it down to his lap. "Well good morning to the two of you." He glanced at the grandfather clock stood against the wall. "Cutting it a little close there, fillies," he said in a gruff morning voice.

Rainbow Dash buffed her chest and walked right at Ship Shape. "There's no way I'd be late for anything, Pops. Fastest flier in all of Equestria, right?" As she swaggered closer, he could smell the faint remnants of cheap cologne and traces of cider from the night before. He'd been out the night before and probably slept in judging by his rough voice. He seemed to have skipped shaving for a day or two, showing a dark brown stubble on his massive jaw.

"Pops, is it now?" he asked. He folded the newspaper very deliberately and leaned forward to look Rainbow Dash straight in the eyes. "You are standing in my house, so wouldn't 'Sir' be more appropriate?"

Despite her bravado, Rainbow Dash had to swallow under that unflinching glare. "S-sorry, Sir."

Ship Shape's eyes grew wide for a second before he burst out laughing. "Unbelievable. Rainbow Dash, the brashest filly in town acting all proper. Never thought I'd see the day." He continued to chuckle, a hearty, deep rumble.

Rainbow Dash could feel the relief wash over her. It didn't help her burning cheeks, though.

Without sparing her another moment, Ship Shaped turned to Scootaloo, who'd been trying to creep past them and up the stairs. "Hey, kiddo! Aren't you gonna give your 'Pops' a hug?"

Scootaloo jumped at least a foot in the air. She turned her rump out of view once again and backed into a wall. The touch on her sore bottom made her wince, but she covered it expertly into a confident grim. With only some hesitation she walked over to her father, who promptly grabbed her in a humongous bearhug.

There were some muffled sounds from underneath the massive hooves which enveloped the little filly. Finally Scootaloo's head popped out from underneath them with a sour expression, only to be rubbed against the unshaved cheek of her father.

Scootaloo tried to push him away with both forehooves. "Dad! You're embarrassing me!"

"As if I'd care," Ship Shape said and gave her another nuzzle.

"Daaaaaaad!" Scootaloo cried out. She was released shortly after and ended up sitting on her father's huge hindlegs.

"So how was training? Did you get off the ground?" he asked.

Scootaloo, her cheeks burning from embarrassment yet and all her chutzpah gone, looked over to Rainbow Dash hopefully.

"She'll get there!" Rainbow Dash said. She couldn't help but ruffle the little filly's already frazzled mane.

"You sure will," Ship Shape said. "Give it time and you'll beat me in a race any day."

Scootaloo was usually quite sore about the topic of flying, but this time she just beamed at them and nodded.

"Now off you go. You eaten lunch yet? I'll start cooking something up." He picked Scootaloo up from underneath her forelegs and dropped her gently onto the floor.

"Nope! I could eat a ton!" Scootaloo said. "Oh and thanks for flying me home, Rainbow Dash!"

"No prob. I couldn't just drop you off my porch now could I?"

Scootaloo giggled and turned without another thought to climb the stairs up to her room.

Rainbow Dash felt her heart sink as she saw Ship Shape look after Scootaloo, with an increasingly furrowed brow.

"Scootaloo," Ship Shape said. "Could you come back here for a moment?"

Scootaloo froze mid step, and immediately tried to cover her rear with her tail. It was too late, and she knew it. Slowly, like in slow-motion, she turned around, her eyes wide from horror. She took a few steps back.

"I asked you to come here, Scootaloo," Ship Shape said with a sterner voice. "Don't make me ask again."

Rainbow Dash felt her legs turn to pudding. Looking at Scootaloo lower her head and slowly walk to her father felt like someone dropped a lead weight on her heart. She wanted to say something, do something to stop the inevitable, but her mind went blank.

When Scootaloo got to the chair, Ship Shape got up and sat on the floor. Without another word, he turned the filly around and pushed her her tail to the side. Scootaloo couldn't even try to resist.

"Would either of you want to explain this to me?" Ship Shape asked in a low voice.

Scootaloo's jaw trembled as she tried to work out words. "Uhh, umm—"

"A training accident!" Rainbow Dash shouted, trying to push herself between father and daughter. "We had a..." Her explanation was cut short by the stern look she got from Ship Shape.

"Please don't treat me like an idiot. I know a switched bottom when I see one." He traced a hoof along one of the bruises on Scootaloo's rump. "Quite thoroughly it seems."

Neither of the fillies could bring themselves to say anything.

Ship Shape turned Scootaloo around to look her in the eyes. "Should I assume this has something to do with the broken window at the school yesterday?"

Scootaloo's mouth fell open in shock. "H-how'd you know about that?"

"I met Crystal Night yesterday. He told me he'd gotten an urgent call to the school because some foals had broken a window there." He turned to look at Scootaloo, who was whimpering quietly. "Was it you again?"

The question was blunt, the answer was already clear. Scootaloo nodded.

Ship Shape pulled Scootaloo closer and brushed her mane tenderly. "I'm happy you're being honest about it. I really am."

Scootaloo answered with a sniffle.

"That doesn't change the fact that I am very disappointed in you," Ship Shape's voice was low and cold. "Just last week you broke a window at the school, and now you go and do it again? Was it your scooter again as well?"

Another nod and a sniffle.

"We talked about this, Scoots. I told you it couldn't happen again. Ever. And only a week later and here we are."

"I'm sorry," came the quiet whimper from Scootaloo.

"I know you are, but that doesn't change the fact that you know what has to happen next."

Scootaloo tried to look up, but immediately lowered her head. "P-p-please, no, daddy..."

Ship Shape turned to Rainbow Dash. "Now, could you explain the switch marks on Scootaloo's bottom?"

Rainbow Dash had tried to think desperately for an excuse. She was usually really good at thinking on her hooves and adjusting to new situations, but right now, she once again, she was drawing a blank. All she could do was go with the obvious. "It was me."

"Really?" Ship Shape raised a curious eyebrow.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said. "I gave her the... the switching. She, umm, she told me she'd broken the window and was feeling really awful about it. She told me that if, err, you found out, she'd get the belt." Scootaloo let out another whimper and shivered. "I thought that, well, she did deserve it and, well, if you found out, you'd maybe not do it because she'd already gotten her punishment?" It wasn't the worst lie in the world. All in all, it was almost plausible.

"I... see," Ship Shape said, He slowly scratched his chin, the stubble making a rasping voice in the deadly quiet room. "I understand what you were trying to do, and if it was something else, I may have let it go at that. But Scootaloo promised me she'd never do it again, and she knew what would happen. I told her she would be getting my saddle belt on her bottom if she did, and I can't go back on my word."

"Wait, you can't be serious!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "She already got spanked yesterday! You can't give her another!"

Rainbow Dash knew she'd made a mistake the moment she saw his expression. "Miss Rainbow Dash, you are a guest in my house. This is a family matter, and you have no say in it. You've already done enough as is."

"I... I..." Rainbow Dash stammered, but couldn't find any more words.

Ship Shape turned to Scootaloo. "Go to my room and stand in the corner. You know which one. I'll have a little talk with Miss Rainbow Dash here, and then I'll come upstairs and we'll take care of this."

Scootaloo didn't move. She grabbed onto her father's forehoof. "Please no! Please! Daddy! I promise it'll never happen again! I'm sorry! I'm so so so so sorry!"

"Scootaloo," Ship Shape said in a stern voice. "You will go to my room and stand in the corner, or I will take you there myself."

Scootaloo clung onto him even tighter, sobbing her apologies and begging for mercy over and over again.

Rainbow Dash could see Ship Shape's expression. His jaw was trembling too. At first she thought it was from anger, that he was going burst out into rage at any moment. But he didn't. Finally Rainbow Dash understood what it was. Sadness. Deep sadness and disappointment in Scootaloo, and probably in herself as well.

"Scootaloo, this is your last chance, Go upstairs. Now," Ship Shape said, never raising his voice. When Scootaloo didn't move, he took a deep breath, and sighed. "I'm sorry, but you leave me no other choice." His hoof went to Scootaloo's ear, and took it in a tight grasp.

"Owww! Daddy! Please no!" Scootaloo yelled as she was yanked upright from her ear.

Ship Shape looked at Rainbow Dash. "Don't go anywhere." Without another word, he got up from the floor and started walking for the stairs, pulling Scootaloo behind him by the ear.

"Pleaase! Lemme go! I'll go! I'll walk there myself! Please let me go!" Scootaloo begged amidst her tears, but it was too late. Ship Shape walked up the stairs quietly, Scootaloo clumsily hobbling after him, trying to move as fast as she could to ease the pain in her ear. A moment later a door opened upstairs, and then closed. Scootaloo's shouts became muffled.

Rainbow Dash's hooves shook. She was thinking of charging upstairs and beating the ever-living whatever out of Scootaloo's father. She knew exactly how awful Scootaloo''d been treated the day before. There was no way she could let this happen. But... yet, she couldn't bring herself to move. There was something she'd seen in Ship Shape's eyes that had been almost as painful as Scootaloo's desperate cries. He didn't want to do this, but he was stuck as well. Maybe if she could convince him not to. There was still a slim chance, wasn't there?

The door upstairs opened and closed again, and Ship Shape walked back down. Without another word, he walked to the small bar cabinet in the corner and picked out two bottles of cider. He popped them open and walked back to Rainbow Dash, handing her one of them.

Rainbow Dash looked at the bottle as if it was a weird exotic snake that had just slithered up her hoof. "What's this?"

Ship Shape sat back into his huge chair. "It's a cider. Drink up."

"No, I mean, what is this? You think I'm gonna just sit here and let you—"

"Please. Take a drink, and then tell me what really happened yesterday."

"I... what?" Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Whaddya mean? I told you what happened. Scootaloo—"

"I am really disappointed in you, Miss Rainbow Dash. When I heard that Scootaloo liked you and wanted to spend time with you, I never expected you to be such a liar. This is the third time you've tried to do it to me just today."

"But..." Rainbow Dash started, but fell silent.

"Look, I know one thing for sure. You would never hit Scootaloo. I know how she looks at you and I know how much you care about her too. So why don't you cut this bullshit and finally tell me what really happened."

"But you just took Scootaloo upstairs! She's waiting for her spanking there!"

Ship Shape shook his head. "A sore ear and a little corner time is the least Scoots deserves for lying to me. I'm tempted to wash her mouth out with soap too." He took a sip from his cider, then looked a her dead in the eyes. "Now out with it."

Rainbow Dash looked at her drink, then took a deep swing, feeling the sweet liquid roll down her throat. "I promised her I wouldn't tell. I keep my promises."

There was a short silence in the room, as they both looked at each other, neither willing to look away. Ship Shape turned away first to look at his bottle. "I respect that. That's the reason why I let Scootaloo be around you. You promised that you'd take her under your wing and take care of her, and I believe you." He took a long draw from his drink. "But you must understand, Rainbow Dash, that this is my daughter we are talking about. I need to know what is going on so I don't do a big mistake. It's easy to see that Scoots has been through a lot already, so I'm asking this as a parent: Please tell me what happened."

Rainbow Dash felt a lump grow in her throat. She really wanted to tell him, to get it off of her chest and get Scootaloo off the hook. "If I tell you, how could Scoots ever trust me after that again?"

"Well..." Ship Shape leaned back on his chair. "If it's at all possible, I'll try to keep your secret. But I can't make promises."

A long time went by before Rainbow Dash nodded. She took another long swing from her bottle, then told him everything. Everything from the moment she'd heard Scootaloo screaming from the Crusader's Clubhouse, to the moment she and Scootaloo flew to her house. Her bottle was empty by the time she was finished.

"So let me get this straight. The two bullies actually extorted my kid for breaking the window, beat her up, and then you beat them up in turn?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Pretty much yeah."

"Unbelievable," Ship Shape said and shook his head. "I mean I trust your story, but I didn't know things had gotten that bad with the bullies. I've talked to her teacher about it and I thought things were actually getting better." He sighed. "I never expected something like this."

"If it helps, I beat the two real good, and I don't think they'll bother Scoots for a long time," Rainbow Dash said with a wicked grin.

"I know they deserved a severe punishment, but I can't have Scootaloo think that beating ponies up is the right way to solve things."

The grin vanished from Rainbow Dash's face. "Uhh... yeah. I guess."

"If you hadn't taken matters into your own hooves, I could have contacted the authorities. The way things should be handled."

"But then Scootaloo would have gotten into trouble too," Rainbow Dash said.

Ship Shape shook his head again. "You mean with me? Like what's happened right now?"

"I, uhh, didn't think about it like that."

"The fact is, Scoots is a good kid, but she's really reckless. Spending time with you hasn't helped things either. But I've let it pass, because she needs someone other than me to look out for her. A 'big sister' like she keeps calling you. It's done a lot of good to her. But I need to make sure she doesn't hurt herself or get into trouble. That's why I've been really strict with her."

"I get it."

"I really thought threatening her with the belt would be enough. And now I'm stuck with her crying her eyes out upstairs, waiting for me to give her another spanking that she doesn't deserve after what happened yesterday."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Then don't?"

"It doesn't work like that. If I let this slide, she'll keep doing stupid things without thinking of the consequences. And if I don't, she'll know you convinced me not to."

"And she'd figure out I told you what happened and not trust me again."

"Yes." Ship Shape finished his own bottle as well. "And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have to go through with something that I really don't want to do. So... please show yourself out."

"I... no," Rainbow Dash said.

"I don't think you heard me right. Please show yourself out."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I heard what you're said, but no. You see I... I promised her I wouldn't let her get the belt, so I can't back away either."

Ship Shape slammed his bottle onto the table, making Rainbow Dash flinch. "You don't have any say in the matter! This is between me and my daughter! I know your heart is in the right place, but I've made my decision. Scootaloo won't like it, I don't like it, but it's what has to happen."

Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings "Hay, no!" She jumped between the stairs and Ship Shape.

He rose up from his seat and walked over to Rainbow Dash. His giant frame was silhouetted against the bright light from the window behind him. "Move out of the way."

Rainbow Dash had to take a step back. She thought of just tackling Ship Shape, but she knew that was beyond stupid, even for her. In front of that massive stallion, she once again felt like a tiny, helpless filly.

And that finally gave her probably the stupidest idea she'd had in her life. "I'll... take it."

Ship Shaped stopped halfway up the stairs. "You what?"

"I told Scoots that she wouldn't get into any more trouble, and if it means taking the punishment for her, I'll do it."

"You'd..." Ship Shake shook his head, mostly to clear the confusion. "...what?"

"You told me yourself; If I'd just taken her away and we'd gone to the authorities, everything would have turned out okay. But now we're stuck. If anyone deserves to get into trouble, it's me. So yeah, I'll do it. I'll take the spanking, the belt, anything you can throw at me!"

Ship Shape tried to catch up to Rainbow Dash's logic. "That way Scootaloo wouldn't have to know that you told me what really happened either?"

Rainbow Dash hadn't actually even thought of that, but nodded even more vigorously. "That too."

"Well that sure is an idea." Ship Shape sat down on one of the stairs. "I didn't expect something like this from you."

"So we good?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Ship Shape looked Rainbow Dash straight in the eyes, not saying a word.

She never flinched.

He gave a long sigh, probably of relief, Rainbow Dash thought, and nodded. "We'll do it."

"Yes!" Rainbow Dash shouted, pumping her forehoof in the air.

There was a glimmer of amusement in Ship Shape's eyes as he added. "I didn't think you'd be that happy to be over my lap getting the spanking of your life in a few minutes."

Rainbow Dash froze. The reality of the situation crashed in along with Ship Shape's chuckles.

Crap