Finding your Wings

Twilight sat at the head of the table. To her right sat Spike, then Scootaloo. To her left was Rainbow Dash, Then Aunt Holiday, and Aunty Lofty further down. Scootaloo had just explained everything that had happened up to the library, right after their second kiss.

"That's enough for now, dear," smiled Aunt Holiday. "Take a break from talking and eat up; I'm sure your eggs are cold by now."

"Allow me," answered Spike, blowing a small burst of fire over the eggs, reheating them without cooking them any further.

"How gentlemanly," snorted Rainbow.

"I'll take it from here," offered Twilight. "This is right before I walked in, so I have most of the details." She cleared her throat. "So, after they had sex, I ca--"

"They did WHAT?!" exclaimed Auntie Lofty.

"Didn't figure you for the type, Squirt," chuckled Rainbow. "No judgement; whatever makes you happy, I just always thought you'd end up with a mare."

Auntie Lofty shot Rainbow an angry scowl.

"So how was he in the sack?"

"Rainbow Dash!" shouted Twilight. "That's not an okay question to ask! Aside from prying into her personal matters, It's no doubt an embarrassing subject."

"The question may be divisive," ceded Rainbow, "but it also requires she be decisive." She turned to Scootaloo. "Don't answer. Just think about it. At the end of this meal, you're going to be forced to make a choice, and I want you to consider what you want."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Auntie Lofty.

"The same choice I had to make when I brought home my first sexual partner." Rainbow paused for a moment. "Okay, fine, she was my third, but that's when my parents found out, and I'm sure Scootaloo is going to have the same conflict: She can appease her aunts by saying she'll never do it again, and end up hurting Spike's feelings, or she can say that he's a good lay, which boosts his confidence, but will make you both angry."

"Well, actually--" started Aunt Holiday.

"We're already furious," finished Auntie Lofty. "How could we not be?!"

Scootaloo would have been shaking, were Spike not holding her claw under the table. She already knew what choice she would need to make. She could tell that her aunts were going to make her separate from him, and keep them from seeing each other. She didn't want to leave him behind, even though she wasn't all that impressed with the sex. Twilight and Rainbow would probably help her if she had to move out, wouldn't they?

This was something she had been terrified of facing. There had been a change in her life, what with the dragon wings, and had she stopped there, maybe it would have been okay. With the addition of the claw, she had been almost made to take this path. She had been worried that this may alienate her loved ones, but she didn't want to hurt them.

"Let me assure you, ladies, that Spike is the very picture of health," nodded Twilight. "He's clean, disease-free, and up to date on all of his preventative treatments. On top of that, He spends most of his time under my watchful eye, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" scoffed Auntie Lofty. "They already had sex under your "watchful eye!" Where were you, then?!"

Twilight sighed. "I can't be there every minute of every day. Spike is very trustworthy. I can be confident that, no matter what happens, he'll at least try to make it right."

"Trustworthy, huh?" snorted Lofty. "She may already be pregnant because he couldn't control his penis! What makes you so sure he can control it now?"

"It was my fault," interjected Scootaloo. "Don't blame him, I asked him to."

"We're both at fault," added Spike, squeezing her claw. "I accept full responsibility for it, and if she is pregnant, I vow to do everything in my power to raise the eggs properly."

"You're just a child, yourself!" growled Lofty. "What would you know about raising children?"

"He knows that no one in this room has ever been a parent," retorted Rainbow. "You're watching her, what, twenty percent of the time? That's not counting her time at school, being out with her friends, or anything! That's maybe two days out of the week! You call yourself a caretaker?!"

Lofty stood up and slammed her hoof on the table. "Her parents left her in my care! That means that her well-being is my priority! Anypony who takes the role from me is responsible for her care because if something happens to her in their care, I will make it their problem!"

"Then why don't you stay and watch her full-time?! If she had somepony to rely on every day, she might have come to talk to you about this instead of you having to come to her!"

Lofty grabbed Scootaloo by the wrist. "She is my charge, and she's coming home until she recovers!"

Suddenly, Aunt Holiday leapt up and smacked Lofty's hoof away. "That's enough, Lofty!" She turned to Rainbow. "You, too! Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves!"

"Holly, she--"

"No excuses, Lofty!" Holiday took a deep breath. "This whole time, you've been arguing about what's best for Scootaloo. You want to know what I've been doing?"

There was a pause. No one had looked to see.

"I've been watching her reactions. She's in tears! Did anypony else notice?"

Slowly, Spike lifted his claw from her shoulder. He'd been trying to comfort her, but wasn't doing a great job.

"I believe that. Just me and the young dragon rubbing her shoulders. You can both sit down and be quiet."

Lofty and Rainbow sat back down in their chairs, crossing their front hooves and scowling at each other.

"Scootaloo," said Aunt Holiday softly. "You know why your Auntie and I are upset, right?"

Scootaloo nodded.

"We're concerned for your safety. I know we can't always be around, but you have to understand that seeing you like this, and especially hearing that you're in a relationship, it frightens us. We're not angry."

"Yes we are," argued Lofty, earning her a swift smack from Holiday.

"We want what's best for you. Rainbow Dash is right that you have a decision to make."

"Told you," smirked Rainbow, earning a smack from Twilight.

"We will be back here for dinner," Holiday finished, wiping her mouth. "I want you to take that time to think about what it is you want to do moving forward. Don't worry about what I think, what Lofty thinks, Rainbow Dash, Spike, or Princess Twilight. Ask yourself what you want."