//------------------------------// // Scootaloo's Tale // Story: Fly Like You // by Jinzou //------------------------------// "Rainbow Dash?" A small voice called out. Rainbow Dash let out a soft groan as she woke up. She felt a warm presence pressed against her breast and head, and seeking more warmth, snuggled up tighter to her pillow. To her surprise, the pillow snuggled back. Wait, what? Rainbow cracked one eye open and stared blearily in front of her, wondering why her pillow had apparently grown legs and sentience. To her surprise, she found her vision enveloped in a world of lavender fur. Memories from the past day came flooding back to Rainbow Dash. The farm, bringing Scootaloo back, and hearing Twilight trying to suppress her tears. The two had fallen asleep cuddling. Which, while kind of weird, Rainbow Dash enjoyed a bit more than she'd ever willingly admit. At the moment, it seemed that Twilight had flipped over during the night, and Rainbow Dash had her face firmly pressed into Twilight's neck. They were still in a tight embrace, and Rainbow could feel Twilight's tail running over her haunches. Snapping herself out of a daze, Rainbow remembered what woke her up. She pushed her upper body up and searched for whoever had called her name. Standing in the doorway was an orange filly with an unruly purple mane, an eager grin on her face, and wings buzzing up a storm. "Scoot? What time is it?" Rainbow asked languidly. Scootaloo responded by bouncing up and down, her smile growing wider each second. "Were you two cuddling? Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry I interrupted you. But I was so worried and nobody would tell me anything and the doctor said I couldn't see you and then Applejack yelled at me and then-" Rainbow held up a hoof to silence the filly. “Woah woah slugger, I just woke up, slow down.” Scootaloo stopped bouncing and her smile disappeared. “Well it’s just that… Um… Can I uh…” Rainbow blinked as she saw Scootaloo’s gaze flicker between her face and the bed.  “Oh,” Rainbow replied. “Yeah sure, come on up. How are you feeling, Scoot?” Scootaloo zipped over to the bed, carefully positioning herself between Rainbow Dash and Twilight. Twilight, whose hooves had fallen off Rainbow Dash when she had pushed herself up, found a new warm body in front of her and pulled Scootaloo into a hug, clutching her close to her chest and giving off a little smile. Rainbow Dash felt herself smiling too, and lay back down, pulling Twilight and Scootaloo closer to her with a wing before gently draping it over Twilight’s barrel. She slid down on the bed until she was face to face with Scootaloo. Scootaloo gave off a happy hum. “I was so worried! All I saw was you falling, and then Applejack tried running away with me, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle…” Scootaloo’s smile was replaced with a frown. “And then we all stayed with Big Mac and Granny but I got really worried so I tried to escape but Applebloom stopped me and I hit her and I feel really bad and then Big Mac started choking me and Sweetie Belle rescued me and I started crying and then-” “Woah woah woah, hold up.” Rainbow replied sternly. “Big Mac choked you? Oh I’m gonna go have some words with that assh-” Scootaloo cut her off. “No! I mean he did, but it wasn’t like he was trying to knock me out. He was trying to hold me down and was a bit too strong and at the time even though I knew it was him I couldn’t help but think of my dad holding me down and then…” Scootaloo stopped rambling, blinking back tears. She grabbed Rainbow’s head and pulled it into her embrace, her body starting to shake. “I couldn’t breathe and my vision started going black but Sweetie Belle started yelling at him… And then Applejack came back and said you were alive but at the hospital a-and then…” Scootaloo’s body let out an especially hard shudder. “And then we waited for Rarity to be cleared to visit and I kept asking where you were and if I could see you but nobody said anything other than you were being seen. And then we saw Rarity and they still wouldn’t let me see you and Applejack started yelling at me.” Rainbow Dash felt her cheeks grow damp as Scootaloo dried her tears on Rainbow’s fur. “A-and I g-got really really scared and s-started doing that thing w-where I got stuck inside my own head a-and started seeing my dad standing over me that week before you found me, and h-he broke my wings, and I felt him hitting me again, a-and holding me down against the c-cold kitchen floor. A-and then I remember feeling somebody’s hooves around me and I tried to fight back but w-whoever it was didn’t let up. And then I realized I wasn’t still there. I was in a hospital. But I still kept seeing his face every time I blinked. After getting her nose looked at Applebloom carried me back to her house since they still wouldn’t let me see you and I couldn’t… “But I was still too weak and I just hid the entire night because I was weak and after all you’ve done for me I couldn’t even help you.” Scootaloo let out a wet sniffle and released Rainbow Dash’s head, wiping her eyes and staring back into Rainbow’s face.  “What… happened? All anybody would tell me is that everyone ended up being okay. What happened with…” Rainbow Dash bit her lip but didn’t respond. How do I handle this? I can’t just tell an already emotionally unstable 12 year old that Twilight killed her dad, can I? There’s no doubt he deserved it, but… Damn it, why couldn’t Twilight handle this question? She’d know how to break it to Scoot. I could always tell her he’s just in jail again, but… If Applejack were here she’d say “a terrible truth is always better than a well intentioned lie.” Damn it. Damn it all to Tartarus. “He’s gone, Scoot.” Scootaloo cocked her head to the left. “He’s back in jail?” Damn it. “No Scoot, I mean gone gone. Like, forever gone.” Scootaloo’s eyes opened wide and her pupils shrank to pinpricks. She pushed herself out of Twilight’s embrace and backed away from the mares, her tail tucked between her legs. “He’s dead?” “I uh… well you see… It’s kinda like…” Rainbow stammered. “Woo, I  am thirsty. How about we go get a drink before continuing this conversation? That sounds like a great idea, right?” “Rainbow Dash.”  Scootaloo demanded. Rainbow chewed her lip, finding something interesting on the ceiling to look at. “Yo Scoot, you look hungry, why don’t I go cook you something to eat?” “RAINBOW DASH!” Scootaloo yelled, stomping her hoof.  Rainbow instantly looked over to her sleeping friend, wondering if she had been woken. Twilight's wings shuffled in her sleep, rustling the blankets, but the yell didn't wake her. Dash ran a hoof down Twilight's withers, soothing her back to a deep sleep. “Yes, Scootaloo. He’s dead.” Rainbow Dash sighed as she finally faced the filly. Scootaloo opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out, just a pathetic squeak. She looked off the side, ears flattened against her head as her knees buckled. Despite the room being warm, she only felt cold. She felt coldness seeping through her coat and chilling her very soul. “Scoots?” Rainbow Dash asked, a certain waver in her voice. “Are you okay?” “Who did it?” Scootaloo stared into Rainbow’s eyes, feeling numb to the world. Rainbow took a long sigh before answering. “Twilight did. She thought he had killed me and kinda… lost it.” Nobody said anything for a few minutes. “I...:” Scootaloo started, staring at Twilight with an unreadable expression on her face. “I know I should be happy, since he’s been nothing but a monster to me for years… But he was still the stallion who fed me and raised me before… you know. Even then he was the only reason I didn’t starve or freeze to death outside. I don’t… I feel like I lost him too at the same time. The dad I like remembering. The one I kinda… hoped we could bring back. Is that... wrong?” Rainbow Dash rubbed one of her forelegs with a hoof. “Sorry Scoot, I really don’t know what to tell you. I wish I could say some words and make everything clear, or make everything better, but I can’t. All I can say is that I don’t think feelings can be wrong.” Rainbow got up and sat next to Scootaloo, pulling her into Rainbow’s side with a wing. Scootaloo didn’t resist. “I’m sorry Scoots, I know I’ve only been at this whole mother thing for a short time, but seeing you this way and me unable to help just… hurts. I’m not really great with the whole emotional stuff, but you know I’m always close by if you want to talk.” Scootaloo didn’t acknowledge Rainbow Dash’s words, just leaned into her and stared straight ahead. She turned to face Twilight. “She killed somebody.” Scootaloo stated.  “Uhh, yeah.”  “Is mom… going to jail?” Rainbow tapped her chin. “I… don’t think so. It could probably be ruled as self-defense, but the fact that she’s a princess could either make it go much more smoothly, or make it way harder. Either way, we’re gonna get through it together. As a family.” There was a very pregnant silence for another few minutes before Scootaloo spoke up again, thankfully changing the subject. “When I came in you two were cuddling, like, really hard. What are you guys now?” Rainbow hummed softly.  “I really don’t know. Last night after I tucked you in I came back into the room and heard her crying, but trying to pretend she wasn’t and that she was asleep. So I just kinda… did that because I thought it would help. It was weird… but I did kind of enjoy it.” “She… really likes you.”  Rainbow chewed her bottom lip. “I know that now. Applejack took me to where the fight took place yesterday and… yeah. That cleared a lot of things up. I’m not even sure if she realises it yet. I know I’m supposed to be the stubborn one, but Twilight is pretty stubborn too.” There was another pause. “You’re not gonna make me go see them, are you?” “See who, Scoots?” “Applejack and Big Mac. I know neither of were purposely trying to hurt me or trigger an episode but… I don’t want to see them right now. Or ever again.” “What about Applebloom? I heard she jumped between you and AJ when AJ was yelling at you.” Scootaloo nodded. “Applebloom is still like a sister to me. Sweetie Belle too. I want to see them both again but… I don’t want to see Applejack or the farm again for as long as I live.” Rainbow sighed. “To be honest, I’m with you there. I’m angry at Applejack for the same reasons. But you know she didn’t mean you any harm. She told me she spent the entire night after you got back from the hospital trying to apologize to you, but Applebloom wouldn’t let her come near you.” “I don’t care.” Spat Scootaloo with a sudden venom. “Yesterday was the worst night of my life. As soon as my guard dropped she did that? She’s the sister of my best friend and an adult. I’m supposed to feel safe around a pony like that. I was expecting her to hit me when we were in the hospital. It was like as soon as I escaped from my dad, another abusive presence comes into life.” Rainbow Dash felt a shiver run up her spine. “And Big Mac could have killed me!" Scootaloo’s voice cracked. “If what he did was just a result of him trying to just hold me down, imagine what would have happened if he was actually trying to hurt me? I’d come out with broken bones at best. I know everybody says he wouldn’t hurt a fly... but he hurt me a lot.” Rainbow Dash pulled Scootaloo closer with her wing. “And I fully intend on messing him up because of what he did to you. But I know Applejack very well. She would give up her home, her name, and everything she owned before she attacked you. Mad as we are both at her right now, I would still trust her to watch over you if I couldn’t.” “I think I’d rather go back to living alone in the Clubhouse right now.” Scootaloo replied quietly. There came a sudden rustling as Twilight began tossing and turning over in the bed, a grimace affixed to her face. She let out some noises that sounded a mix of a moan and words. “No…” Twilight mumbled, starting to thrash around. “No!” “She’s having a nightmare.” Scootaloo realized. “Wake her up!” Rainbow Dash rushed over and picked her friend up so she was in a vertical position and started shaking her. Twilight’s eyes snapped open suddenly and instantly she pushed Rainbow off of her, gritting her teeth with a wild look in her eye. “YOU!” She screamed.  She charged up her horn.  And she pointed it at Rainbow Dash.