Fluttershy opened the door and stepped into Scootaloo's bedroom, noticing the lump in the middle of the blue sheets. Presuming that was her daughter and not a raccoon that had somehow snuck in the room, she laid on the bed and, using her teeth, pulled the blanket down. Scootaloo groaned and snuggled deeper into the sheets. "I don't wanna get up."
"Are you sick?" Fluttershy pressed a hoof to Scootaloo's forehead. "You don't have a fever."
Scootaloo slunk lower beneath the sheets, hiding from Fluttershy. Fluttershy sighed and batted the sheets away. "Don't you want the yummy pancakes Mama made?"
She shook her head and pulled the sheets back up. Fluttershy pulled them back down, Scootaloo pulled them back up only for Fluttershy to pull them back up. Scootaloo reached for them again only for Fluttershy to give her hoof the lightest, gentlest tap in Equestrian history. She then teared up and grabbed Scootaloo in a hug much to the filly's vocal protest. "Mama's so sorry she had to do that, but Mama's so worried about you!" She held Scootaloo tightly in her wings. "Please just tell Mama what's wrong , okay?"
Scootaloo squirmed, trying to break out of the loving embrace. "I'm fine! I just don't wanna get up!" She gave up and gave into the fluffy assault of aggressive kindness.
Fluttershy idly started to preen the younger Pegasus's wings. "Well, why don't you want to get up?"
Scootaloo's eyes grew heavy, visibly relaxing as Fluttershy brushed her feathers. "Cause I don't wanna."
"Well, you're gonna." She took her by the scruff of her neck and effortlessly pulled her off the bed while Scootaloo squirmed and strugged, fruitlessly flapping her little wings. Fluttershy let her down as they reached the kitchen and Scootaloo bolted back towards her bedroom, Fluttershy watching her go.
Big Mac glanced at her. "Uh..."
"She doesn't want to get up today. Think she's sick?"
"Eenope."
"Think she's doing this because there's something she doesn't want to do today?"
"Eeyep."
"Think it has something to do with her spelling test?"
"Eeyep."
Fluttershy walked towards the stove and collected two white plates from the cabinets, placing them on the counter. Picking up a spatula, she scooped out two pancakes for Big Mac and two for herself, cutting them up with a knife and fork before pouring syrup on them. Then, she laid the two plates on the table and sat down. Big Mac slowly munched on the meal. "She needs her breakfast."
"Eeyep."
Big Mac smirked. "She'll be coming in here when she's hungry enough."
"I hope so. I'll pack her an extra large lunch." Fluttershy gulped down a bite of her pancake.
"Y'know, I think she's got the grumps."
"The grumps? What's that?"
Big Mac leaned back in his chair, sipped from a glass of milk. "You never had the grumps as a filly?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, no. Not that I remember."
"Bet ya did. There's an old Apple family cure for it." He patted his lap.
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "You mean a spanking? But she hasn't done anything naughty."
Big Mac raised an eyebrow. "She wasn't listening to you was she?"
"W-well, no, but I'm certain she just needs a firm talking-to."
Big Mac reached over and patted her hoof. "It ain't like a real spankin'."
"It's not?"
"Eenope. It'll hurt her tushy a little bit, but after she'll feel better. It'll get the grumps out."
Fluttershy lingered in the touch of his hoof against hers. She trusted the gentle giant and had never questioned his disciplinary decisions which were always fair and completely devoid of harshness. "I don't know. Let's give her another chance. After that..."
"Alright."
They returned to eating their pancakes and finished just as Scootaloo slunk back inside. Fluttershy smiled at her and got her some pancakes which Scootaloo wolfed down, washing it down with a glass of milk. She slinked down in her chair. Fluttershy and Big Mac shared a look. Finally, Scootaloo looked up. "Do I gotta go to school today? I can help with the animals or the farm."
Fluttershy patted her shoulder. "Well, you could. But don't you want to see your friends today?"
Scootaloo shrugged. "I can see'em after school."
Big Mac cleared his throat. "Scootaloo, you gotta go to school so you can learn and make somethin' of yourself."
"But I don't wanna!"
Big Mac stood and walked over to where Scootaloo sat. "There's a lot of things in life we gotta do even though we might not like it."
Scootaloo crossed her arms, lips protruding in a pout that indicated she'd regressed about five years. "I don't wanna."
"You gotta."
"I don't wanna!" She pounded the table and the glass of milk crashed onto the ground. She stopped, blushed her ears folding back. "Um, whoops."
"Clean that up. Your mama or me will sweep up the glass."
Scootaloo sniffled, her ears still low. Big Mac retrieved a blue cloth from the counter and mouthed it to Scootaloo who cleaned up the spilled drink. While she did that, Fluttershy swept the glass. When Scootaloo was done, Big Mac picked her up by her tail. Scootaloo, who had a good idea of where this was going, squirmed and struggled. "Come on, it was just a glass of milk, I didn't mean to!"
Big Mac sat down, plopped the filly over her lap, keeping one hoof on her back. He rubbed the place between her wings. "Looks like you got the grumps so Papa's gonna spank'em out."
Scootaloo squirmed even more, trying to protect her bottom from its fate, but Big Mac lifted his hoof and landed it on her bottom. She gasped, more in confusion than pain. The spank had a bit of a sting to it, but was very light. Big Mac kept his hoof on her rear. "Scoots, why are you acting like this? You know how worried me and your Mama are about ya?" Three more mini-spanks tapped her behind. "Hmm?"
"I don't know!" Scootaloo went back to squirming.
"I think ya do know and ya just don't wanna tell me." Each word was followed by a firm smack to her tushy, eliciting squeaks. One firm spank left her tushy jiggling, though her rump still wasn't pink. Big Mac wasn't even using a fraction of the power in his muscles. The spanks fell down in an easy rhythm, still containing only the lightest sting. Scootaloo squeaked and kicked her legs, but the spanks didn't stop. She started to whine as the spanks, light as they were, started to make an uncomfortable heat in her rump.
Big Mac kept to the regular pace of spanks, smacking his hoof against her butt just hard enough to leave a mild sting, noted her starting to whine. "You gonna tell us, Scootaloo? We just wanna help you."
Scootaloo whined and cried and kicked, but Big Mac continued tapping her tushy, her bottom finally starting to turn a slightly pink shade. "Cause I don't wanna go ta school when I'm dumb and just gonna fail my test and I can't even fly!"
Big Mac stopped, his eyes widening. Then he sharply smacked her rump. "Don't ever talk that way about my daughter!"
Scootaloo yelped. That spank had been a real one, leaving her bottom jiggling. "It's true."
Another spank landed on her tushy. "No, it ain't." He picked her up and held her tight. She sobbed into his chest while he caressed her back. "That ain't true what you said."
"Y-yes it is." She held onto him, crying into his chest.
He cradled her in his strong arms. Fluttershy walked over and laid a wing over Scootaloo's back. "You are not dumb, Scootaloo. You just learn more slowly."
Scootaloo sniffled. "I failed my last two tests. And I still can't fly."
Big Mac patted her back. "You've been studying with that tutor, ain't ya?"
Scootaloo wiped away a tear. "Y-yeah."
"We've been helpin' ya." He patted out a rhythm on her back and the last bit of tension melted out of her. "You've gotten better."
Fluttershy nuzzled her. "I was a late bloomer too, Scootaloo. I couldn't fly until I was twelve."
Big Mac wiped away her last few tears. "You're gonna do great on that test and even if ya don't, ya just gotta pick yerself up and try again."
Scootaloo smiled for the first time that morning. "A-alright, Papa." She fluttered down and used her tail to fan her bottom. Big Mac tousled her mane. "You feel better?"
"Um..." Scootaloo thought about that. "Yeah."
"Wanna go to school?"
"No."
They both sighed, but then Scootaloo jumped up and down. "Still gonna though."
Fluttershy and Big Mac chuckled and kissed her cheek while Scootaloo collected her saddlebags. After Fluttershy packed her her lunch, the family was off, Scootaloo bouncing out the door.
...
Big Mac and Fluttershy strolled up to the schoolhouse, Fluttershy nervously prancing. "I hope Scootaloo did well. She tries so hard."
He patted her withers."I think you're more nervous about it than she is."
"Well, she was so sad about messing up. If she does poorly we can take her out for ice cream."
"And if she does well, we can buy her a new toy. That Soarin doll I know she's had her eye on. We do need to give her some kind of incentive."
At that moment, Scootaloo zoomed out of the schoolhouse, taking the steps in a single bound, almost but not quite flying down. Fluttershy and Big Mac ran up to her and Scootaloo bounced in a circle, a test paper held in her mouth. Unfortunately, she was bouncing around so fast, they couldn't see the score. (Part of Big Mac wondered if that was the point.) Finally, she barreled into them and both instinctively hugged her.
"I got an A! I got an A!"
They hugged her a little tighter. "We are so proud of you!" Fluttershy cried.
Big Mac patted her head. "We knew you could do it. How'd you like a new toy? Like say, that Soarin doll?"
Scootaloo squealed in delight, then she stopped and nervously pawed at the ground. "Um...I'm sorry I was...y'know, this morning..."
Both nuzzled her, a gesture she returned. Fluttershy smiled. "Don't worry about that."
Scootaloo paused and hugged Big Mac's neck. "Thanks for um..."
"Eeyep."
Seeing she was understood, Scootaloo trailed off and bounded ahead, Big Mac and Fluttershy following her.
