That’s when things started changing. Scooter trusted me closer than anyone ever had. She even came to me first instead of Dashie when she asked about something wrong with her anus. “Have you been eating the Kale and the other rufige I give you other than apples?” I asked. She smiled guiltily, “Ugh, you’ve been crapping bricks haven’t you?” I asked.

“How did you know?” She asked.

“You have a hemorrhoid, not a big one a little cream and FIBER will get rid of it, but none the less all that constipation and pushing inflamed one of your blood vessels. I give you a lot of vegetables to balance out all the red meat, try to remember that.” She ate all the Kale I gave her after that. This also led to the wing pins which she said were okay no matter what, but it still killed me. I stuck the twelfth and final pin into her left anterior upside joint with a muffled scream of pain from Scooter.

“Okay, so this’ll help them grow back you said?” She asked desperately for the millionth time.

“Yes Scooter,” I said covering my face.

“Okay come on let’s go to bed,” she said stifling her sobs. I laid down with her breaking at the seams. It was apparently Dashie’s turn to be angry with me.

At first for a strange moment I thought she might have been jealous too, but then I heard her mutter, ‘stabbing my girl in the back, fucking literally.’ She was mad for the same reason I felt miserable. Every night and morning stretch Scooter gradually got better with the pins, but it was a slow process. I still had to take them out every day.

A week had passed when we were in bed that night and I got out and went to the kitchen. I found the bottle of Bacardi 151 and drank straight from it. The liquid hell slid into my stomach with an unhealthy grunt and I got tipsy within the hour.

“What are you doing?” An annoyed, but slightly worried voice said. I turned to find Dashie staring at me in her plain white tank top and shorts. Her expression softened when she saw my face, “Michael what’s wrong?” She asked.

“I can’t-” I sniffed swallowing a sob, “I can’t do it, I can’t keep hurting her,” I whimpered. It was really taking it’s toll. I know the bonding that Scooter and I did was necessary, but becoming that close to her and then having to hurt her all the time was frying my conscience.

“Why do you do it then, would you stab Flutters with those things?” She asked angrily.

“Of course, but she would barely feel it let alone cause any pain,” I said.

“You’re so full of shit,” she said taking my liquor away and taking a few large gulps.

“Jeez what is this?” She asked.

“The faster the better,” I said as she read the label.

I got up and left, “Wait Michael I’m sorry I’m just confused. I don’t understand all this wing science crap I slept right through that class. Just sober up and explain it to me okay,” she begged.

“Fine meet me in my room for morning stretch and bring Sparks and Flutters,” I said. “Alright.” I left and made it back to Scooter who had finally fallen asleep. I climbed in with her, but the door opened and in came Dashie. “Hey,” I started before she shushed me. She got naked and climbed in on the other side of Scooter.

“You don’t have to do this alone, I already told the others to meet us here at 7,” she said. I took her hand and we placed them on Scooter’s hip.

The next morning

“Alright have any of you three ever actually used wing pins before?” I asked. Sparks, Flutters and Dashie all looked at their feet. “Well I’m here to show you what they’re typically used for,” I said pulling the twelve out of Scooter’s wings.

“Ahh, thank god,” Scooter groaned falling on the bed.

“Sparks,” I prompted. She hesitated, “If a thirteen year old can handle it,” I started.

“Oh fine,” she said turning around. She removed her shirt already braless and the other two did the same.

“Whoa Flutters nice rack!” Scooter chimed. I smiled and held my hand open behind my back and she noiselessly grazed her palm against it.

Flutters smiled twirling her hair her face beet red, “Anyway, I’ll put two pins in each of your primary centers,” I said.

I slid the pins in, “Ah it itches,” Sparks complained.

“Itches!?” Scooter asked appalled.

“Well they itch a lot,” Sparks said.

“Someone like Sparks who is so new to flying that she barely uses flight will cause some discomfort in the pins, but no pain,” I said yanking them back out. I scratched her points and motioned for Flutters to come over after drenching the pins in alcohol. I couldn’t really help checking her out, but I got to business pushing in the pins.

“Someone like Flutters who was born with flight and flew as a baby will be more resilient to the pins, but since she had a flight block as a child and uses her wings less than the average pegasus they’ll still cause strain. How do you feel?” I asked.

“They do itch a tiny bit, it’s like they’re being held in by rubber bands. I could still fly with this many, but I don’t know if I’d be able to fly at all with twelve of them,” she said. I took hers out and moved on to Dashie. She turned and I made a point of stabbing it into her joint.

“Well are you going to do it or what?” Dashie asked.

“What?” Scooter asked in disbelief. I faced Dashie to a mirror and held a smaller one behind her.

“Someone like Dashie who flies more than she walks won’t even feel the pins, hold on,” I said. I grabbed the other ten pins and set them in place.

“Still nothing,” she said.

“Try extending and flapping your wings,” I said. She did so and strained her muscles a little.

“It is a little harder, but I could probably still fly, not for as long but they wouldn’t stop me,” she said.

“Dang really?” Scooter said falling back on the bed. I took her pins out and set them back in alcohol to sanitize them. “Sooo?” Scooter asked.

I sighed, “Scooter never had a chance to fly at all, the pins are made to enhance muscle, cartilage, and bone mass in the wings by gently injuring them so they can both desensitize the mind and condition the body. Leaving them in conditions your nerves and taking them out allows the body to heal and grow around the injury. These muscles are only ever really exercised during flight so the pins sort of force them into exercise. Scooter’s nerves are so exposed from bone and muscle loss that even the a few pins causes pain. I’m trying to condition her so her nerves desensitize, her bone mass increases and her muscles build up. Eventually they’ll itch and then nothing at all. At that point she should be able to start flying lessons,” I said.

"Wait I'm confused, I was terrible flier at flight camp. One day I needed to fly and I was able to. How come my wings didn't go soft?" Flutters asked.

"Because you flew from birth. Those first two years are crucial for Pegasi Anthros, they determine your wings capability to support your body. Have any of you ever heard the story of Milo of Croton?" I asked. They all shook their heads, "Well as a child he would lift a baby cow over his head every day until they were both adults and he could lift a full grown bull over his head every day. Obviously that's ether of myth or fabricated, but think of it like that. If Milo had never started young with something he was sure he could handle there's almost no way he'd be able to lift a full grown bull. Since Scooter's wings never supported her body as a child the idea of them supporting her now is almost impossible. At least until now." The three of them murmured in agreement.

“Yeah well my shoulders are tighter than a noose right now,” Scooter prompted.

I smiled and pulled the table out, “If you want you can stay, but I’m going to give Scooter her morning massage,” I said.

“You’re doing great, both of you,” Flutters said kissing us both on the head.

“Flutters is right, I can’t imagine how much study this must have taken. Stay strong Scooter we all believe in you,” Sparks said leaving the room with Flutters.

“I’ll stick around a bit, see what goes on,” Dashie said.

“Fine, but you gotta be naked,” I said.

“Huh?” Dashie asked looking at Scooter.

“It’s true,” Scooter said while she and I simultaneously got undressed to nothing.

“Oooookay,” Dashie said stripping down. I pulled scooter up in my arms causing her surprised giggle having long since grown accustomed to this. Dashie watched us amazed at the way we interacted. I used to a towel as a barrier laying her down and climbed on the table straddling Scooter. Dashie was shocked, but to Scooter this was every day.

“So what are you getting this time?” She asked.

“Traps as usual, I work out your pin points too. I’ll get that soreness now and the wing exercises will make the it go away before I repin your wings tonight,” I said working her trapezius. She gave me a thumbs up, so I turned on our favorite soothing music and we got in sync with each other.

When the flow started I forgot that Dashie was watching us, “How do you do that?” She asked.

“Shh, come over here Dashie sit by her head,” I said. She did so without question, “Breath with us, match your heartbeats to ours,” I said softly. She ran her fingers through Scooter’s hair and started taking deep breaths with us. Scooter had become so relaxed with me her body was always just my clay to work with. “Alright that should do it,” I said after about forty five minutes.

I leapt off and Scooter got up smiling at Dashie, “Shower?” She asked me.

“Definitely,” I said.

We walked down the hall and into the bathroom, “Wait, you shower together?” Dashie asked.

“Duh, how do you think he gets the middle of his back or how I shave the back of my thighs so well. We help each other out,” Scooter said.

“It wasn’t always that way, we used to take turns. After we found out how to help each other we just jumped in together and saved water. Everybody wins,” I said.

“You two are crazy,” Dashie said affectionately. I started the water and Scooter got in before me. I got in after and we washed separately at first. She then washed my whole back for me and I got down and shaved both of her legs with care. She asked me to shave her pubic hair once, so I indulged her, but we both agreed that waxing worked better for the sensitive spots like that. I used Pinkie’s sugar wax kit once a week to help Scooter with that because she really hated any pubic hair she got she even convinced me to do the same to myself . . . didn’t really do it for me. She tried doing it herself once, but I ended up spending half the day rubbing Bag Balm on her mutilated skin, so I just slowly taught her to wax . . . slowly. We talked idly in the shower about things we were going to do today, what meals we would have, the usual. Spending all of my time with Scooter was practically my life now.

“You know what I just thought of,” she said when she was drying off.

“Hm?” I asked brushing my teeth.

“I don’t know how I’m gonna go home and sleep without you in bed with me. I mean every time you get out I toss and turn until you get back. How will I get any sleep without you?” She asked.

I chuckled and rinsed, “You slept just fine for thirteen years without me, you’ll be okay,” I said trying to ease her.

She pouted, “If it makes you happy then when you go on vacation I’ll either come visit you or you can come here. It’ll be like old times by then,” I said.

She smiled and hugged me, “I love you no Roma,” she said.

“I love you too no Roma.” I love you no Roma means no romance as in not ‘in love’, her idea since just saying ‘I love you’ apparently felt weird to her. Honestly it felt weird for me to say no roma, it always makes me think of tomatoes.

We separated and Dashie was staring at us lovingly, “I really needed to see that,” she said smiling hard.

“I think so too, now I need to ask you a favor Dashie, for Scooter,” I said.

“Anything,” she said right away. My greatest creeper instincts told me to say, ‘get on your knees, close your eyes and open your mouth,’ but I thought better of it even though she said anything.

“You were in the Wonderbolt’s academy yes?” I asked.

“Sure, Aced them with flying colors and even got into the reserves,” she said.

“Sooooo cool,” Scooter chimed.

I smiled inwardly, “I need you to get me a dozen more wing pins. Twelve is a good number, but we’ll need about twenty four eventually. No rush, but it is important,” I said.

“Uhm, Okay sure they give those out for free up at the gym there,” Dashie responded. Actually to do everything I planned I’d need about two hundred, but I wasn’t about to freak Scooter out with a number like that not to mention it would take years to build up to that so I’d probably have to wait until she was about seventeen. I took Dashie through the rest of the day with Scooter and I’ll admit I could see what Scooter was talking about when it came to the whole ‘parents getting back together thing’. If Dashie and I ever for some reason produced a child it probably would have been Scooter’s pale blue twin. Everything went perfectly . . . or so I thought.

Author's Note

Inventing my own science behind anthro wings. Yeah a lot of these words don't even make sense, but they sounded right in my head.