We are not your Mares

Scootaloo was quiet on the flight back home. Rainbow Dash made occasional glances over her shoulder to make sure she was still there, but otherwise let her be. Scootaloo settled into Dash's mane, her eyes unfocused and looking toward the ground rushing below them. It was easy to just get lost in the racing shapes and images.

The first time she had met Rainbow Dash, it was in the middle of both their heats. "Hey Dash," she said, nudging her. "Was this stuff on your mind when we first met? Back when Boomie was rutting us both like he was?" She didn't want to say 'taken care of', her usual euphemism was wavering in her mind now. "Just, you seemed to have a one track mind then."

"So did you," Rainbow Dash reminded her. "I was pretty much just riding the wave. I like sex. Lots of ponies do. And Boomie's not bad. That's the thing about new colts. They may not know how to do an amazing job, but the fact that you can almost be in control a little makes them safe. But it was always on my mind. I was fine because I knew what I wanted and all, but I was kind of worried about you. I just didn't know how to say it."

The lights were all out at home when Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash arrived back home. "Get back in bed, quick as you can," said Rainbow Dash, "and no one's the wiser." Scootaloo nodded and dismounted, and they carefully opened the door and tiptoed inside.

"Scootie?"

Scootaloo tensed up until she registered it was Boomie's voice. She couldn't see anything in the darkness, but she thought it was sweet that he'd stayed up for her.

"I'm back," she told him, hoping it would put his mind at ease.

"About damn time," said a thicker gruffer voice that was definitely not Rainboomer.

The lights flicked on, and all three stallions of the Rainbow family stared back at them. Raincloud was sitting in his armchair, his walking cane at his side and a dark saddlebag in his lap and his two children flanked him on either side. Blaze looked like he was barely able to restrain his panic and anger. Raincloud had a dangerous calm about it. And Boomie looked like a anxious and tired puppy. Scootaloo was only able to lock eyes with him for a moment before he turned away, shame turning his face a pale red.

"Where. The hell. Have you been," said Rainstorm, Boomie's father.

Scootaloo was paralyzed, unable to think of how to answer the question. But Rainbow Dash reacted quickly. "It's not her fault!" Dash blurted. "She caught me sneaking out and I took her with me so she wouldn't tell. Please don't be mad at her!"

"What? Dash, no!" cried Scootaloo. Now that she understood why Dash had snuck out, she couldn't let her take the fall. But she couldn't bring herself to dispute the claim either.

Raincloud sighed. "Blaze, can you handle her for me? I want to have a little talk with Scootaloo." His eldest son nodded and advanced on Dash, grabbing her around the next and pulling her away. Dash panicked and tried to latch onto Scootaloo's leg, but her grip slipped. She struggled as Blaze dragged her into his bedroom. Raincloud fixed his eyes on Scootaloo, who without Dash's protection suddenly felt very small.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad at you," he said. "Tremendously disappointed in both of you, but not mad. Because you don't know any better. But you need to learn how to behave. And you," he swiveled in his chair and pointed his cane at Boomie, "need to learn to discipline your mares so they don't act out. We want her to be a good mare, don't we? And that means she doesn't go filling her head with any foolish notions. And if she does, we need to correct it. Don't you agree that she needs to be punished, Rainboomer?"

At this point, Boomie's posture had shrunken him so much that he was barely visible. He whimpered something in response.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, Boomie," said Raincloud. "I'm not blaming you either. Everyone makes mistakes with their first mare. And your mistake is being too soft. I know, you want to love them. But you need to discipline them too. Otherwise they walk all over you."

He reached into the saddlebag, and from it now he drew a riding crop. Scootaloo's breath caught in her throat and she stepped back, and Raincloud shook his head. "I'm not going to punish you, Scootaloo. It's not my place, and you're not my mare." He dropped the crop on the floor in front of Boomie. "Rainboomer, discipline your mare."

Boomie stared at the crop, like it was a snake that would hurt him if it got too close. "You want me to..." he started, hoping that he was somehow misunderstanding what he was to do with this.

"Do I need to demonstrate how it works?" Raincloud asked. "I'm sure you've seen one of these before. It's a simple tool for disciplining mares who misbehave."

"Come on, Dad," said Boomie. "I'm sure she's learned her lesson. Can't we just move on?"

"And that attitude," Raincloud very nearly screamed, punctuating each word, "is going to cost you the loyalty and respect of every mare you ever own. First Scootaloo goes Celestia-knows-where, maybe next Fireball fools around with another stallion! Zipperwhill steals your bits while your back is turned! Is that what you want?"

"No, b-but..." Boomie was a mess now, swallowing hard to keep from crying.

"Then you will prove to me you know how to discipline your mares."

Shaking, Boomie picked up the riding crop. Scootaloo began to heave. "Boomie..."

"I'm sorry, Scootaloo," he said. He drew back the crop and brought it to bare square on Scootaloo's muzzle. She screamed and shielded her face with her hooves, quivering and exposing her rump.

"Again."

"I'm sorry, Scootaloo."

When they finally finished, Raincloud stood over Scootaloo's bruised body, frowning. "I had high hopes for you," he said. "But it turns out you're a scoundrel. Just like your mother."

Over the course of her punishment, Scootaloo had retreated to someplace deep inside herself, where the blows of the riding crop couldn't reach her. But this drew her out again. "Don't talk about my mother," she said, her eyes fixing on him with hatred for the first time. "My mother was a hero."

He laughed. "How would you know? You never even met her!"

"She loved me!"

"Then where is she now, huh?" Raincloud pinned her beneath him, his body pressing lewdly against hers, his mouth near her ears. Where was Boomie? she thought faintly. "If she loved you so much, why did she abandon you? Your mother's a murderer, Scootaloo. She's in prison. And if you don't learn some fucking respect, you're going to end up just like her." He chuckled. "When her father named her Free Spirit... I wonder if they had a fucking clue what she would become."

He laid on her for a little bit longer, but he finally sighed and rolled off. Free to move, Scootaloo looked up and saw Boomie in the corner, still holding the riding crop, watching in terror.

"Clean her up and get her to bed," said Raincloud. "I hope this was a good lesson for both of you."

She followed Boomie into their bedroom, where Fireball and Zipperwhorl had somehow managed to sleep through this entire turn of events. That was a relief, at least. She didn't think she could handle talking to them right now. But through her exhaustion, it took her a couple seconds to notice that Boomie wasn't in bed, he was crawling under it.

He emerged, holding her book in his hooves. "What are you doing?" asked Scootaloo. Seeing his hooves on it unsettled her now, even though it hadn't before.

"I'm not getting in any more trouble." Something had changed in his voice. "I'm telling Dad that I found the book, and we're going to sell it, just like he suggested."

Scootaloo rushed forward and tried to grab the book from him. But he resisted and held on tight.
"Let go of it," she told him. She didn't have the energy to explain herself right now. She just needed him to let go. She'd never seen this sort of strength and stubbornness before. But then again, he'd never seen her like this either. "Give it to me! It's mine!"

Without warning, Boomie shoved the book into Scootaloo's muzzle, rubbing it against the cuts from the riding crop. Scootaloo squealed and released her grip as she dropped to the floor and held her nose.

"You're my mare, so it's my book," he told her. They both knew that was the law. "Don't worry, Scootaloo. I'll use the money to buy something nice for you. Maybe a dildo or something."

"I don't want a dildo, you asshole," she muttered under her breath.

But he still heard her. "You should really be more grateful," he said. "I'm trying my best to keep you satisfied." And then he vanished from her view, and Scootaloo couldn't find the strength to lift her head and see where he went.

After several minutes, he finally returned. "Get up and let's go to bed," he told her. He sounded tired too.

Scootaloo whimpered and curled up into a ball. Boomie sighed and sniffled, and Scootaloo realized he was crying.

"I'm sorry, Scootie," he said. He knelt down and hugged her, making her flinch. "I didn't want to hurt you. Why did you make me do this?" asked Boomie, tears staining his cheeks. "I didn't want to do this! Why couldn't you have just been a good mare?"

"Boomie..." Scootaloo could barely see.

"I stuck out my neck for you! I hid the book because you asked me to! I thought we trusted each other! I thought you loved me!"

Scootaloo said nothing.

"Forget it. Let's go to bed now." He helped pick her up and move her into the bed. But his touch felt like ice. And for the first time, she refused his embrace in bed, and he didn't push the issue. Fireball opened one eye before groaning and turning her back to her and quickly falling back to sleep. But Scootaloo couldn't sleep. Raincloud's words continued to echo in her head: "You're a scoundrel, just like your mother." And Scootaloo found the strength to smile. She wondered if her mother was proud of her, and wherever she was right now, she knew that she loved her. For the first time that night, she didn't feel lonely at all.