> Dominant Ideal
>  by Isseus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> On A Hot Summer Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you don't approve of any of the following:
-BDSM
-Foal on foal
-Psychology
-Twilight Sparkle
-Muffins
Then GTFO. This story is not for you.





"SCHOOL'S! OUT! YAY!" 

The collective horde of fillies and colts burst out of the confines of Ponyville School. The air was filled with fantasies of the coming summer exploits, of holiday plans, and a single voice shouting something very important about summer homework, which was immediately drowned in the cacophony of the filly-disharmonic orchestra performing their ode to summer vacations. There would be no lessons, no arduous arithmetics, appalling alphabetics, or staring aghast at algebra for two whole months. 





"School's out... " Sweetie Belle murmured with her jaw barely rising from the floorboards. 

" ...Yay?" the groggy Scootaloo answered from her perch in the newly-installed hammock.

They both fell into a retrospective silence. The only sounds that filtered into the Clubhouse were the cries of the few crickets that had yet to suffer a heatstroke, and the lonely croons of a jackdaw, trying desperately to find a date.

"I mean... " started the unicorn filly, "How's it even possible for us to have nothing to do when we don't have anything to do?" 

"Dunno. But I think I know why Rainbow Dash likes napping on clouds so much," came the distant voice from somewhere above Sweetie's head. 

She rolled over to her back, paying little heed to the half a dozen crayons and the few pages of priceless art she now used as a mattress. She looked up to the her friend, reclining above. Apparently the pegasus had lost her nonexistant battle with the invading forces of the Feather Isles, and was now firmly enrolled in their vast legions of slumberers. The net of the hammock was pushed against the pegasus' coat, making it look like it was made out of dozens of small tufts of orange fur. Her tail was hanging limply over the side, along with one of her hindlegs.

"This is SOOOOO boring," Sweetie moaned. After there was no response from above, she decided to experiment on the effects of kinetic energy causing collisions between two hard materials, in this case, the floor and the back of her head. The experiment was short-lived, though, as the second phase of her testing proved, once again, that smashing two objects together was a bad idea if you happened to be one of them. Especially if there was an extra complication that you were not aware of beforehand.

"OWWWWwwww!" came the inevitable yelp, as the unicorn bounced up. As the few sheets of paper that had clung to her coat cascaded down in a small rain, she finally noticed what she'd found as an exception in her scientific pursuits. The extra wheel from Scootaloo's namesake mode of transport was trying to look innocuous and just lay gently in its side. She moved in to give it a good kick, which was always a go-to solution for inanimate objects causing bodily harm to her. Too bad her rote backfired, as in addition to kicking the wheel, she also managed to hit her fetlock on the nearby table and her head on a low shelf that held a potted plant (which Apple Bloom had said would liven up the place) and finally landing on her rump next to the wall, after a small mishap with a football getting tangled in her two still functioning appendages.

"No fair," she pouted. There was no use in crying about it, because there were no grown-ups around to leech sympathy from. "I think we hafta clean up in here. Someone could get hurt." She gave the thought a moment to filter through her mind, and with a zen-like clearness understood that if the place needed to be cleaned, then that would mean that cleaning would actually be something to aspire for, and henceforth would mean that her parents' constant complaints about the state of her bedroom would thereby be valid, which was an absolutely ludicrous idea.

She was snapped out of her trance-like meditation on the purpose of cleanliness in the life of a young filly, when she heard a quartet of legs approaching rapidly, and climbing up the stairs to CMC HQ. The door would have slammed open dramatically to announce the arrival of the third Crusader, had the clutter on the floor not stopped it after barely moving three inches.

"Quick! Ya hafta open up right now! Ya gotta hide me!" she moaned while forcibly trying to squeeze herself inside through the narrow crack. 

Roused by the sudden commotion, the napping pegasus awoke from her cloud nap and, this being her first time sleeping anywhere higher than two feet, came plummeting down face first. Sweetie had barely managed to pull her legs from underneath the rapidly descending filly, and was now checking if she was still in one piece.

"Uhh... You okay there Scootaloo?"

"Yeah I'm fine," the pegasus got up and gave her ruffled miniature wings a flutter, "Just remind me to learn how to wake up from a cloud before trying it again. So what's up?"

"Ah'm DOOMED's what's up!" The yellow pony had finally managed to squeeze her head through the crack, and with the aid of the two confused fillies managed to get the door open enough to fit the rest in. "Remember the toolbox that mah Sis has and that ah'm not supposed ta touch under any circumstance and which I borrowed last week and maybe kinda lost in the Everfree Forest? Well sis just found out and ah've gotta hide until the storm blows over."

"Then why'd you come here? Isn't this the first place Applejack's gonna be looking for you?" asked the incredulous unicorn. 

"Wait... she'd never—"

"APPLE BLLLOOOOM!"

"Aww, shoot..."

"Ah knows you're in there so getchore hindquarters outside, pronto!"

"Well... it was nice knowing you guys. When ah get out from being grounded ah'm gonna be as old as Granny Smith." 
Apple Bloom started to make her way slowly out the door, but had barely enough time to whinny before her sister grabbed her mane in her mouth and dragged the protesting filly outside and pushed her toward the farmhouse proper. 

"You're in so much trouble lil' missy, running off like that. Now ah'm half a mind to go get a switch an' tannin' your behind right now."

"But Siiiis! Ya told me ya'd never give me a switchin'!"

"Well let's just say ah'm a reconciderin' it right now. Now move your caboose!"

"Sis! No! Pleaaase!" The scolds and complaints were lost to the woods as the pair faded from view. 

The two Crusaders had witnessed the scene from their vantage point in the window. They both had to gulp down hard before they were able to even look at each other.

"You think Apple Bloom's really gonna get it?" asked Scootaloo with a trembling voice.

"Well you heard her big sis. She's bound to."

"That... sucks." The orange filly moved next to the back wall of the clubhouse and slowly slid down until she was sitting with her back to it. 

"Yeah." Sweetie had just turned around and now sat on the  table near the window. 

After contemplating the situation for a moment, Scootaloo finally asked "You think we're in trouble too?"

"Well we didn't take anything without permission or anything. And we all ran when we saw that Ursa Major in the woods. That's when she lost the toolbox."

"It was an old tree with moss on it—"

"We all THOUGHT it was an Ursa. And you ran away too."

"Well yeah, cos you two ran away. It's not like I was scared or anything."

"Me neither."

"Were too."

"Was not!"

"Were too""

"Was not!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

They gave each other a glare that might have caused some minor nausea and discomfort to anyone who happened to wander between them. Sweetie soon found she didn't have her heart in it and let her head and shoulders slump.

"I'm still worried about Apple Bloom."

"Yeah. Me too."

"I mean... I've never gotten the... " she had to gulp again "... the switch. Or the hoof for that matter."

"Me neither. I bet it hurts, like, a ton."

"Yeah. So you've never..?"

"Nope. My folks hardly do anything to me if I do something bad."

"Really? Don't they ground you or something?"

"Nah. They don't really care. I mean they'll tell me off or send me to my room but that's kinda it. And remember the time when we got into a fight with Tiara and Spoon at school and I hit  Spoon and broke her glasses and you pulled Tiara's hair and Apple Bloom bucked her so hard she had to go to the nurse's office?"

"Yeah don't remind me. My folks grounded me for two weeks for that. And Rarity kept on going on about what a brute I was and how 'such antics were not suitable for a young lady'," she finished with air-quotations.

"Well dad was in town so he picked me up from school and he actually laughed and told me I was 'a handful' and 'rambunctious little tomcolt', and bought me ice cream," Scootaloo answered with her own air-quotes.

"He WHAT?" the white filly squealed, her voice breaking. "You have the best parents EVER, you know? I can't believe it. I get grounded and you get Ice cream? Really?" She couldn't help but shake her hooves furiously at the injustice.

"Yeah. Dad's kinda great." Scootaloo said, and continued in a quieter tone, "When he's around."

They both sat there in silence, letting their thoughts wander. Sweetie was consumed by the thought of getting ice cream for punching Diamond Tiara, and Scootaloo was trying to remember when her father would be in town the next time. There was one other thing she was also wondering about.

"So Sweetie... "

"Yeah?" The unicorn perked up. Something about her friend's voice was different from usual. It was quieter somehow. If she didn't know better, she could've sworn Scootaloo sounded... shy?

"Umm... so neither of us has ever gotten... it, right?"

"You mean like... the switch?"

"Ever wonder what it feels like?"

"Well, duh. It hurts."

"Yeah but... how bad is it?"

"I dunno. Bad? I bet you'd cry."

"Nah. I could take it without crying."

Again the silence descended in The Clubhouse, only this time it wasn't the carefree silence of two fillies getting lost in their thoughts. They both eyed each other, but when their eyes met, they quickly looked away. Scootaloo felt her little heart pounding in her ears as she got up and walked to her friend seated on the table. 

"Scoots what are you doing?"

The orange filly leaned on the table, bending forward until her stomach was resting on the table's smooth surface. She then propped her hindlegs straight up, lifting her behind a few inches above the edge of the table.

"Scoots... What are you—"

"Please do it now before I change my mind," came the nervous reply. Scootaloo couldn't even look at Sweetie because she knew she'd lose her willpower if she did so.

"But... are you asking me to... "

"Yeah. Sweetie... will you... umm... spank me?"

Sweetie Belle had to take a big lungful of air. 

"This is so weird, Scoots. You really want me to hit you?"

"I wanna know how it feels."

"Yeah but... are you sure?"

"Y-yeah."

Sweetie just sat there, while next to her the purple tail swished nervously from side to side as the pegasus shifted her weight from one of her hindlegs to another. 

"Okay. But you gotta promise to me you won't cry."

"I won't. I can take it."

"So umm... should I go get a switch or something?"

"Let's... start off with hoof."

"Okay."

Sweetie got up from the table and circled Scootaloo's upraised rear. The pegasus was lying on just the edge of the table, and her flanks were starting to sweat slightly. Sweetie stood up onto her hind legs and rested her left forehoof on her friends back, right next to where her tail started. The unicorn immediately felt how the pegasus winced from the touch, even when she hadn't even hit her.

"I think... you gotta lift your tail up or it's gonna get in the way."

Without saying anything, Scootaloo complied, lifting her tail high. The white filly could only stare at her friend's exposed backside. The pegasus was clearly anticipating the first hit, her buttocks clenching instinctively. Sweetie swallowed another huge piece from her throat and gently patted the orange rear in front of her with the side of her right forehoof. Scootaloo's hindlegs immediately shot straight and pushed the table forward a few inches, making Sweetie almost fall over. 

"Sorry! I'm kinda... youknow."

"You really really sure you want me to do this, Scootaloo?"

"Yeah."

"You ready?"

The pegasus didn't reply. She only pushed her head down and took a deep breath.
Sweetie raised her forehoof high above her head and with a quick swish landed it in on Scootaloo's left buttock. The pegasus whinnied a bit, but stayed put. 

"So... does it hurt?"

"Uh-huh," came the muffled response.

"Want me to keep going?"

"Yeah. And... and don't stop. I'll say when to stop."

"You sure?"

"Sweetie! Stop asking me if I'm sure. Just... "

"Sorry! I mean I... Okay. Here it comes."

Again Sweetie lifted her forehoof up, and let it make a resounding smack as it hit Scootaloo's bottom. Instead of waiting, she immediately repeated the smack on the other cheek. She kept on going, landing hit after hit on the orange filly's rump. After a few hits she felt the pegasus starting to move around, trying to move her buttocks away from the hits. Sweetie pushed her left forehoof down to make sure Scootaloo wouldn't get away or fall off the edge of the table and kept smacking. The small clubhouse was again filled with the sounds of her hoof slamming down on her friend's behind. Sweetie could see some slight pink colour appearing where she had struck, and decided to try and aim her hits on a larger area. She went from the top of the pegasus' buttocks all the way down to her thighs, making sure not to leave any place alone. Scootaloo kept whinnying, first quietly, and then in a louder voice. 

Sweetie smacked her friend's right flank, where her cutie mark would be, and made her rump twist left, and then she continued with a slap to the upper thigh on the right side, making her victim's whole backside go around in almost a circle. She could hardly believe that she was starting to like the whole thing. It had started as something exciting, but now she was feeling something even more. She kept on landing a smack after another, all around her friends behind, and enjoyed the twists and turns she was causing Scootaloo to do. Sweetie couldn't even believe herself when she actually decided to start hitting harder to see if Scootaloo really wouldn't start crying like she promised. She felt powerful, and the little pegasus in front of her was completely under her control. Scootaloo tried to cover her rump with her tail, but Sweetie angrily bent it away with her hoof, going so far as to biting at the purple tail and pulling it up even higher, making the pegasus stand on tip-toe. 

"You. Have. Been. So. Naughty. Scootaloo." she said between hits. "Now you gotta face the music!" She kept on smacking and smacking, not even listening to the sounds her friend was making anymore, just enjoying the rush of the moment and watching her victim squirm under her punishment. When her own forehoof was starting to ache from all the smacks she just switched sides and used her other hoof instead. 

"Now you're really gonna get it!" she said as the hits kept raining on. Scootaloo was now clearly trying to get away, even trying to flutter her wings, and it took all her strength to keep her put, even having to lean on top of the pegasus to keep her from squirming away. The table had finally reached the wall and for every smack that landed on the reddening rump the table made a dull thump against the woodwork. 

"Ss.... " Scootaloo tried to say something again, but Sweetie didn't listen to her. She was in control and would do what ever she wanted to the naughty little filly that was getting what was coming to her. She felt a wide grin spreading on her face as she once again started striking harder, this time aiming directly between Scootaloo's buttocks. She was getting out of breath from the exercise, but that didn't hinder her at all, instead, she poured ever last ounce of her strength into every last strike she could land on the squirming filly.

"PLEASE STOP SWEETIE!" screamed the orange pegasus. Sweetie was shocked back into reality by Scootaloo crying out her name. Then everything else came crashing back in as she fell down to sit on the floor. 

"Oh my gosh, Scootaloo! Are you okay? I'm sorry I kinda got carried away. Scootaloo? Can you hear me?" she asked in a panicked voice. There was no answer. The pegasus just laid on the table, her hindlegs bent at the knees. Her whole body was shivering and she was covered in sweat. The purple tail was hanging limply down between her legs, covering the bright red marks that ran the length of her backside.

"Scoots! Are you... crying?" asked Sweetie, in a quieter voice, slowly starting to move to Scootaloo's side. 

"No" came the thin sound from the other side of the table, clearly accompanied by sniffs and sobs.

"I'm so sorry Scoots. I didn't mean to... " the rest of the words stuck in her mouth as she finally saw Scootaloo's face. She was crying all out, her tightly closed eyes and nose running unheeded. Sweetie felt her chest grow cold as she scampered to get closer to her friend. The pegasus didn't even try to move away, instead moving towards the white filly. As Sweetie got to her side, Scootaloo managed to roll over enough so she landed on the floor, on top of the unicorn. They both immediately grabbed each other in a tight hug, Sweetie starting to tear up, while Scootaloo openly bawled like a foal against her chest. All the unicorn filly could do was embrace her friend tight and stroke her mane, not caring about staining her coat. After several minutes, Scootaloo's bawl had receded back into normal sobs, but she was still clinging onto her friend like she was never going to let go. 

"Shh it's okay Scootaloo. It's over now. I'm so sorry," were the three lines that Sweetie Belle kept repeating, over and over again as she tried to calm Scootaloo down.

"No... " the orange pegasus finally managed to say, "I'm sorry."

"But... I hit you so hard and hurt you and... "

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for all the stuff I've done and... and... I'm sorry."

"Scootaloo what are you talking about?"

"You said I have the best parents ever? Well I think they're THE WORST!" Scootaloo screeched the last words, as a new fit of sobs took her over once again. After it receded, she tried to continue, but kept being interrupted by sniffles and sobs every few words.

"Dad's never around, and when he is, we never do anything together! Mom works the evening shift so I only see her on weekends. I go home to an empty house and cook my own dinner every day. And they don't care about me. Whatever I do they just say I'm 'wild' or 'tomcoltish' or 'rambunctious' and just laugh it off. I've never gotten into trouble, whatever I did. Before I met you guys I TRIED to get into trouble, just so they'd have to notice me!" Her voice was starting to get raspy from the crying and shouting.

"Scoots... I had no idea. I always thought you were so happy and I thought you had great parents and... stuff."

"D'you know why I started doing all this Crusader stuff? So they'd notice me. But it never worked. I'd go home covered in treesap, or Miss Cheerilee would walk me home after I broke all the mirrors in the school toilet—"

"Wait, that was you?"

"Yeah. But they never punished me. They never got angry. They never CARED!" 

"I think I know what you mean. Gosh... It must've felt real lonely." 

Scootaloo couldn't even answer that comment, she only squeezed her friend tighter and sobbed quietly.

"So... you're not angry cos I spanked you so hard you cried?"

"N-no. I... wanted you to. I wanted someone to tell me I've been bad and punish me and... and... tell me it's okay and that they'd like me anyways, even though I did bad stuff."

"You know me and Apple Bloom like you. You're a great friend and you're really fun to hang out with. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. And... that's why it felt so good when you gave me the spanking. Cos I know you really care about me and... I knew you'd do it if I just asked. I never had the courage to. And I didn't think you'd do it like you meant it."

"So... when I said you'd been naughty and stuff... "

"Yeah. That's when I started crying. Up to that I thought I could keep it in but... I really wanted to hear those words." 

Scootaloo looked away from the unicorn. "You must think I'm crazy as Twilight right now. I mean... who'd want to get hurt on purpose. Heh."

"I don't think you're crazy. I think you're really brave and... sweet."

"Sweet?"

"Well... sorry. It kinda slipped."

"It's... okay I guess. I don't really always want to be the 'rambunctious tomcolt'."

"So... is that why you always act like that when Rainbow Dash is around?"

"Well at least she notices me... " Scootaloo was about to start sobbing again but Sweetie's shushing and stroking got her past it.

"So... you don't really like all those dangerous stunts and the stuff you do on your scooter?"

"Are you crazy? Of course I like doing stuff like that. But... I like doing other stuff as well. And with you and Apple Bloom we've done so much fun stuff. Even the... mushy stuff is kinda fu—" 

Scootaloo was interrupted as she noticed that her makeshift unicorn mattress was trembling under the weight of bouts of giggles that had overcome Sweetie Belle.

"What's so funny?"

"Sorry Scoots! It's just ... you were so cute just now!"

"WAS NOT!"

"Yeah you were."

"WAS NO... oh forget it." They both collapsed on one another, finally sharing a laugh on the floor of the clubhouse. After they got over the worst of it, it was Sweetie's turn to blush.

"Uhm... maybe we should go find you a bath?"

"Huh? Whaddya mean? I'm alright, just gotta wash my face in the stream an keep my tail down when I leave. No biggie."

"No... not that. I mean... about your little accident?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well... ummm... I guess you didn't notice that when you fell on me from the table my leg got caught between yours and... umm..."

"Huh?"

"Well you kinda wet yourself"

Scootaloo shot up from on top of the unicorn. "WHAT?! But I didn't!"

"Shh... It's okay, I promise not to tell anyone."

"But I really didn't..."

"Then... why are you all wet between your legs? I could feel it when you were on top of me and there was kinda... a lot of it."

"But... I... I... "

"Like I said: Let's go wash you up."

"LOOK! Sweetie! I didn't pee myself! If... I had to go right now I could go! I can prove it! It's not that."

"Then... why are you all wet down there?"

"You seriously don't know? Are you joking?"

Sweetie was quite taken back at that. "Don't know what?"

"You... ummm... it's kinda like... You know I don't wanna talk about it. It's not pee. Period."

"Whatever. But you still need to wash up. AND we could go swimming at the same time so let's head on over to the creek?"

"Sounds good. Maybe the cool water might help a bit with my butt too," she said with a trademark Scootaloo Smirk.

"Oh... it still hurts?"

"Yeah. It feels like my butt is still on fire."

"Sorry," answered Sweetie Belle, trying to give her innocent 'please can you buy me another cupcake please oh please big sis' look. Too bad Scootaloo already knew that one. As they left the Clubhouse for the nearby river, the orange-and-red pegasus couldn't help but ask her friend.

"So... would you mind... youknow... giving me another spanking sometime?"

"Mmmm... I'll have to think about it." she answered with a coy smirk.

"SWEETIE! I'm being serious here!"

"Well... Only if I think you've been a naughty filly... "

"Deal." They clapped forehooves together, and without warning Scootaloo dashed off into the forest. "Race you to the riverbank!"

"NO FAIR!"
> The Foals Are Playing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The weather is freezing. I've been here Celestia knows how long. I can't even remember when was the last time I could feel my hooves. I hate the mountains, and most of all, I hate snow. The blinding white stuff gets everywhere. It doesn't help that I was stranded here after my ride crashed. All I could take with me were these goggles and my trusty black turtleneck. I wish I'd had time to pick up my suitcase which was full of the gadgets that Number Pi gave me for the mission. Well, a good agent makes do. And the goggles have kept me from going blind up here. How can there even be so much snow? I'm way above the clouds already. But normal rules of nature don't work here. No pegasi come here to clean the slopes or cut down the sharp icicles that threaten to rip my shirt whenever I slip past them. I wouldn't put it past for the clouds to snow upwards here. It's that kind of a place.

I didn't even have time to send out a S.O.S when I went down. The Agency doesn't know where I am. No help is coming for me. All I know is that S.N.A.K.E is after me, and the only direction I can go is up. The thought gives me a clear purpose. When all you can do is one thing, you do it as hard as you can, and maybe, just maybe, you'll pull through. I've never given up, and I'm not going to start now that I'm lost here, far behind The Princess' back. 

As I climb up the last ledge and finally reach the high plateau, my heart sinks down to my numb limbs. I was hoping something, ANYTHING, to be here. But instead of my salvation, I find the sneering face of Mane Hari, the international mare of mystery, staring at me.

"Agent double-ou-zero. How nice of you to join us," she says, "or should I just say Con Mane?" Her sneer turns into a wicked smile, even colder than the mountaintop. She's dressed warmly in a thick winter coat and even has a nice warm cap covering her mane. Only her white horn is visible from underneath its warmth. Warm, warm, warm... That's all I can think of when I see her. She leisurely takes a sip from the cup of cocoa she's been drinking, and then pours it in the powdery snow in front of me. I'm not giving her the satisfaction of crying out, but I have to fight to keep my mouth shut.

"You should know by now that SNAKE has this whole mountain surrounded. The only way out is on my helicopter. You are, of course, welcome to join me, Mr. Mane."

"So nice of you to offer a ride to a stranger, Miss Hari. I can't help but worry, though, that the rosy offer might have a hidden barb."

The secret agent of S.N.A.K.E gives a shrill laughter, so unbecoming of her beautiful looks and glittering eyes. "You know as well as I do, that our leader, Stavro Bridlefeldt, is waiting for you at his ski lodge, only a few miles away. I hear he has a new pair of ski boots he's been itching to try."

"I can imagine, my dear. But there might be a small factor that you have forgotten."

"Oh? Do tell."

"Unicorn magic doesn't work this high up. It's the air here. It's so thin that it cannot carry you twisted spells."
The gloating mare seems to be taken aback by the information that almost every pony knows from elementary school. It seems that the Number One Agent of the nefarious S.N.A.K.E missed an important lesson. Or maybe not, I think, as her shrill laughter once again fills the air.

"You think I would not take something as elementary as that into my plans? No, Mr. Mane. I brough a friend today. BIT BAT! Come here!"

Bit Bat. It had to be Bit Bat, Bridlefeldt's favored bruiser. I've gone a few rounds with the monster and never ended up victorious. Usually it takes all my training in Kara-hizume just to distract him long enough for me to skawker. And now I'm stuck here, on a mountaintop, with nowhere to run. This is not looking good. With trepidation I turn to look at my future assailant and expect to see his trademark saw-edged fedora.

And I only see a white snowfield before me.

"Hey wasn't Apple Bloom supposed to come over today?" the orange pegasus filly, dressed in a black turtleneck and goggles, asked in confusion.

"Yeah... but I guess she's still grounded." The unicorn filly, on the other hoof, took the opportunity to ease her winter jacket open for a moment to let the cool summer breeze in.

"Still? It's been a week now! How long's her sis gonna keep her locked up?"
The unicorn only shrugged. "Well... what are we gonna do now? We can't do the scene without Bit Bat"

"I guess well just have to... IMPROVISE!" yelled the pegasus and charged directly at the other filly, catching her completely off guard."

"SCOOTS! WE'RE ON THE ROOOOAIEEEEEE!"

The duo of spies plummeted down from the roof of Crusader HQ and down to the ground several feet below. Sweetie Belle managed to find a soft landing place, but unfortunately for Scootaloo, she was that place.

"OWWW!" the unicorn filly shouted, more out of habit than of actual pain. She quickly noticed the body of her friend underneath her and rolled to her side. "Hey Scootaloo. You okay there?"

The orange filly didn't answer immediately, but instead opted for a lungful of air after having the wind knocked out from her. After a few laboured gasps, she finally managed to get enough air to speak.

"Yeah... I guess so." She tried to get up, but only managed to rise up to her elbows before falling down on her back again with a small grunt.

"You sure? I mean... we musta fallen at least twenty feet down."

"More like ten. And I'm okay. Really. I think I'm gonna have a bump but that's all"

"Bump? Where?"

"I think... everywhere?" she tried to flash a grin, but thought better of it and only closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

"So..."

"Hmh?"

Two heavy hooves landed on top of the orange pegasus' shoulders. "I got you now, Con Mane. You're in no condition to fight, so give up and come quietly!" She leaned in closer so that their muzzles were almost touching. Scootaloo could smell the faint traces of pepperminty toothpaste the unicorn had used in the morning. 

"Don't you remember... " Scootaloo muttered, "that Con Mane NEVER gives up!" She quickly dug her forehooves deep into her assailant's sides and started rolling them around as fast as she could.

"EEEK! Nooo-ho-ohoo fa-he-he-heeeir!"

"Hah! My secret agent training allows me to fight even when weakened! What do you say, Mane Hari! Give up!" she called out as she rolled both of them around, ending on top of the unicorn filly instead.

"Ahhhaaaahahhaahaa Con... Scoots.... hiiii"

"What was that?

"UNCLE!"

"I knew it!" Scootaloo yelled in triumph as she lifted both of her forehooves high in the air and fell directly on her back.
The white unicorn had already gotten up and was inching closer to her prey. "This isn't over, Con Mane. I'll get you for this—" she was interrupted by the evil grin and deviously half-closed eyes of her friend as she made a warning gesture with her hoof. With a gulp, Sweetie Belle continued, "...one day," and fell on her back as well. They were both soon overcome with giggles, and for a while they just lied on the grass, side by side and looked at the few slowly moving clouds that the weatherponies hadn't cleared out yet.

"Hey Scoots... you sure you're alright? I mean we did fall kinda far."

"Didn't I tell you I was fine? It'll take a lot more than a small erm... EMERGENCY LANDING like that to slow the most awesomest pegasus in Ponyville down!"

"I thought Rainbow Dash was the most awesomest pegasus in town?"

"Well... she... I... Actually Rainbow Dash once told me I have great stamina."

"No way. She did?"

"Yeah. Told me I was built for crashing."

"Is that good?"

"Of course it is! You can't be the best if you aren't prepared to get hurt. At least that's what she said. "

"So... is that why you keep crashing all the time?"

"NO! It's not like I do it on purpose," the pegasus filly said with a slight pout on her face.

"Teehee, sorry."

"Mmm... It's okay."

"You ever had to go to the hospital?"

"Whah?"

"Yeah, like, after crashing. You ever had to go to the hospital?"

"A few times but... I usually just go home if I get hurt."

"But if you get hurt, shouldn't you—"

"The doc always asks so many questions on how I got hurt and then they want my parents to pick me up and they're usually away somewhere and mom can only come pick me up real late after she gets home and stuff. And I can't really ask a neighbour to pick me up and we don't really have that many friends either so... it's kind of a hassle so I'd rather go straight home. And mom patches me up when she gets home."

"Is your mom, like, a doctor or something?"

"Yeah."

"Really?" Sweetie's voice snuck up a few octaves as she turned to look at her friend.

"She works in Cloudsdale Central Hospital. She's some really hotshot specialist or something and has to work really long days and stuff."

"So... she flies to Cloudsdale every day then?"

"Usually yeah. And she goes to other hospitals sometimes too. That's why we live in Ponyville. She says that it doesn't matter where we live cos she'd still have to go everywhere, so it might as well be here."

Once again they just returned to staring at the blue summer sky. It felt like it was endless, like you could fall up into the blue sky and never stop falling. They marveled at the beauty of it in amazement that only a foal can muster at something so simple for what felt like an eternity, but was something more on the lines of a few seconds.

"Snack time?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"You kidding? I thought we'd never stop just lying around."

They made their way into the shade of the Clubhouse and removed their costumes. Sweetie put her clothes back into her saddlebags and pulled out a large bag.

"What are you having Scoots?"

"I've got a tomato sammich and some dried banana chips."

"Wow! where'd you get dried bananas?"

"Bon Bon's. She says they're kinda like candy, but healthier."

"When'd you start caring about healthy?"

"Hey! I'm an athlete! I gotta watch my diet."

"Right... so wanna trade a few chips?"

"Depends. What are you offering?"

"Well I kinda only got a big bag of carrots."

"Carrots? No thanks. I don't eat them." 

"Huh? How can somepony not eat carrots?"

"I just don't, okay. I don't wanna talk about it," Scootaloo said, in an irritated voice.

"Okay okay. Sorry I asked."

Scootaloo only grunted and muttered something under her breath, and they finished their meals in silence. Or at least the pegasus filly did. Sweetie had packed way too many carrots to eat in one go, and put the rest back into her saddlebags. 

"Umm... Scoots?"

"Mmmh?"

"So you really don't eat carrots?"

"I told you to let it go."

"It's not that. It's just... well if I ever told my folks or sis that I won't eat something, they made me sit in the table until I ate it."

"Really? My folks never do that."

"That's so unfair. So you've never had to eat pickled baby onions? Or," she had to stop herself from retching, "spinach?"

"Nah. I usually cook for myself, or mom just makes what I ask."

"You cook for yourself?"

"Yeah. Mom leaves me some bits and I go shop at the market and then head home. Cooking's kinda easy when you get the hang of it."

"My folks tell me I'm a good cook, but the stuff I make usually ends up being... brown."

"Brown?"

"Yeah. Like burned or stuff. I once even burned juice."

"How's that even possible?" Scootaloo asked while trying her best to hide her giggles behind her hoof.

"It wasn't my fault!" she answered, and ignored her friend. "I followed the instructions on the machine to a letter! I don't know why it didn't work! I even measured the ground beans with this really tiny measure and made sure I added the right amount of juice in the tank and stuff." 

"You... you actually made juice in... in a coffee machine?" By this point the pegasus was openly laughing and holding her stomach.

"HEY! Stop laughing! Dad told me it tasted good!"

The conversation ended with Sweetie harrumphing and turning to pout, while Scootaloo finally managed to stifle her chortles.

"Scootaloo... I think you've been really naughty."

"What?" The pegasus' final giggles stopped cold.

"Yeah. I think that only naughty fillies refuse to eat their food... and I think you need someone to teach you a lesson."

"Wait... what? What are you talking about?"

"If your parents won't tell you how to act then... I guess I have to be your big sister today and teach you some proper manners."

"You don't mean... Are you gonna..?" Scootaloo was already blushing, having finally figured out where her friend was going with this.

"Yes, Scootaloo. I think you deserve a punishment." The white unicorn could also feel her cheeks starting to glow and her heart starting to pound from excitement. But there was something else that she didn't expect. Anger. She was starting to feel really angry.

"Well. Um. If you say so, big sis?" The usual flair was gone from the pegasus' voice, and instead it had become a little bit quieter. Sweetie thought it sounded more fillyish than the normal rough, tomcoltish way her friend used to speak in. 

"Well... young lady. I think... I think that first of all you are going to do some corner time to think about what you've done."

"Corner time? But I've never been sent to the corner before... "

"Well now you are. Get moving. Right over there." Sweetie pointed to the far corner of the Clubhouse, the one furthest one from the door and the window. 

Scootaloo hadn't expected something like this. It was her first time to be sent to a corner, and even though the Clubhouse was like a second home to her by now, the intersection between the two walls suddenly felt a lot darker than usual. As she walked up to it, Sweetie was right behind her.

"Now sit down as close to the corner as you can and put your forehead against the wall. And no peeking around or talking. And hold your forehooves behind your back. Now you gotta think about why you are in trouble and what's gonna happen next."

"Wait! What's going to happen next?"

"No talking! You're just making things worse for yourself, young lady." Sweetie was using all the phrases her parents used whenever she was caught doing something bad. It felt so good to be the one commanding someone else and knowing they'd do whatever you told them to. But there was something even more, but she couldn't put her hoof on what it was. She watched her friend for a while, sitting with her head against the wooden surfaces of the corner. 

Sweetie wasn't a stranger to the corner herself. It was one of the favored ways of her parents to discipline her. She could remember the feeling that came with being sent to the corner. You couldn't see anything, and all the time you felt like you were being watched. If you moved even the tiniest bit, someone would call you out on it, so you had to stay absolutely still. And the position felt easy at first, just having to sit down, but she knew there was something more to it. When you leaned forward, you had to keep your head way down to reach the corner with your head. That made you look at the wall from only half an inch, and it would get harder to breathe too. And you couldn't support your body with your forehooves because they were behind your back. Worst of all was the waiting, while your parents were thinking about a suitable punishment for you. Being sent to the corner ALWAYS preceded something worse. And you knew it. Your imagination would run wild, thinking about all the things they could do to you, because they really could. You'd disappointed them and done something wrong, and now there was nothing you could do but take it.

She'd never thought what it looked like when someone else was doing corner-time. Scootaloo was already sweating, for a part of course for the heat in the small Clubhouse, but also from nervousness. She already had a plan. Sweetie'd never admit it to Scootaloo, but she'd been anxiously waiting for another chance to punish her friend, even having had a dream about it one night. That's when she'd gotten her best idea yet. The corner-time was just a warm-up.

"Now, Scootaloo. You wanted to know what happens next? Well I think that the best way to make you think about what you've done is give you a good reminder about it. I think that when you go to bed today, a hurting butt will do the trick." With delight she saw how Scootaloo instinctively moved her forehooves downwards to cover her rear. She had to stifle a small giggle of joy. It was all working perfectly up to now.

"And there's more. Because last time you squirmed around so much when I was giving you your punishment, I think I'll have to do something about that."

"Wait! Sweetie! What are you—"

"No talking in the corner, Scootaloo!" It was almost too much for the unicorn filly. Scootaloo was already twitching nervously in the corner, and all she'd had to say were a few words. And it would only get better from now on. But it was time to get to work.

"Now remember, no peeking and no moving. I'm gonna prepare your punishment now."

Sweetie started gathering the things she needed from around the room while keeping a close eye on her friend in the corner. First of all she went to the table and pushed it noisily to the corner next to the one Scootaloo was waiting in. The pegasus gave a big shiver as goosebumps ran through her back from the noise, but she didn't move. Next was the thing Sweetie was most excited about. She went to her saddlebags again and brought out the roll of twine she'd taken from her sister's shop. It was much too thick and coarse for sewing, but Rarity used it for tying mail packages she sent to her customers. She'd also brought a pair of scissors to cut it to size. But first... there was one more thing.

"Scootaloo... I'm going out for a moment. You will NOT move an inch until I'm back or you'll get in SO much trouble." 

Scootaloo was by now almost in tears. The corner thing was much worse than she thought. She was sure that it hadn't been designed with pegasi in mind, because when you tried to hold your forehooves behind your back your wings would get in your way. Ponies didn't even usually need to reach behind their back, so she was unused to the position. And leaning on the wall was making her neck ache from all the weight. And her hindlegs were going to sleep from having so much weight put onto them. The temptation to lift her head up or even move around a bit was almost unbearable. Especially now that Sweetie had gone out. She could so easily just rest for a bit and move around, and she'd never know, right? 

Scootaloo almost gave in, when a frightful thought made its way into her mind. What if Sweetie wasn't anywhere far, and was actually looking at her, seeing if she'd move. With a gulp the pegasus remembered Sweetie choosing the corner directly opposite the window. Was her friend... her big sis just waiting outside, watching her in the corner. It was a silly thought, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to move from the corner, out of fear of being caught doing something bad. 

She was also supposed to be thinking about what she'd done to be in trouble. The pegasus knew it was mostly just Sweetie setting up the stage for their game, but somehow it felt like there was something more to it. She'd seemed genuinely angry about something. But Scootaloo knew she'd never eat carrots. Sweetie didn't know the reason why she hated carrots so much, and she'd never tell. After a long, long time in the corner, she heard hooffalls behind her, coming inside the Clubhouse. But there was no voice. Just someone, standing there, looking at her. Maybe it wasn't even Sweetie Belle, she thought in horror. Maybe someone was there, looking at her back as she was sitting in the corner in shame. What if it was Applejack who'd come to check on them or some other adult. How'd she explain what they were doing? Would she get into real trouble for this?

"Are you ready for your punishment, Scootaloo?" came Sweetie's voice from behind the pegasus. What really scared her was that her friend's voice sounded really nasty. It had a sharp edge that was usually missing from her happy voice. Maybe Sweetie was getting a bit too much into their game. 

"Yeah."

"Good. Now get your butt over here."

Scootaloo was both relieved and anxious when she finally got to leave the corner. She noticed that her forehead had left a dark stain on the corner from her nervous sweat. Sweetie reminding her of her butt being in pain soon didn't help either. As she turned around, she was horrified to see Sweetie standing next to the table, playfully rolling a ball of string on the table.

"Like I said, Scootaloo. Last time I gave your butt what it deserved, you kept moving around so much that I could hardly keep you down. Now I think I'll use a bit of this twine," she paused to deliberately make the pegasus look at the item in question, "to tie you up."

"Uh... you serious? I mean... If I promise to not move around so much and—"

"No."

After looking at the string and feeling her feet begin to shiver, she finally managed to say in barely a whisper, "Okay."

"Move over here and stand at the corner of the table. I'm gonna tie your hindhooves to the corner leg of the table so you won't move away. And don't worry, my sister taught me how to make really good knots, so you won't be going anywhere."

The orange filly moved to her place, and put her forehooves on the table while trying to position her hindhooves so they could be tied to the leg. Sweetie didn't wait for long, crouching near the floor and starting to roll the string around Scootaloo's hooves. First she rolled it around a few times around each of the pegasus' pasterns and doing a few loops on the either side of her fetlocks. Then the unicorn started moving upwards, circling the string around several times, finally reaching Scootaloo's gaskins, and after making sure the string wasn't too tight, but still kept the filly in place, she tied a simple double knot to secure the tie.

"That string is... kinda tight."

"Stop being a crybaby. Next I'm gonna do your forehooves too."

"Eh? I thought it was just gonna be the backs."

"No. I'm gonna make sure you stay still. So lie forward and put your hooves together."

Without saying anything further, Scootaloo complied. Her hindlegs were really tightly bound, and leaning forward on the table made her realize how exposed her backside would soon be. She couldn't help but clench her buttocks nervously. 

"Are you feeling nervous, Scoots?" Sweetie asked in a sing-song voice that was usually only reserved for sniping at Diamond Tiara. The unicorn gave a small smack on the pegasus' behind, eliciting a surprised yelp from the tied-up pony as she instinctively covered her rear.

"Wait! Weren't you gonna tie my hooves first?"

"Just a little taste of what's coming next. Now show me those hooves, it seems you really can't keep them away."

Sweetie once again got to work, tying several loops of the string around each of her prone friend's hooves.

"Now put them underneath you."

"Why?"

"Cos... cos I said so! I'm the big sis so you gotta do what I tell you to."

"Oh... yeah right. Just..." It was hard to get up from lying face first with effectively one hoof, but somehow Scootaloo managed to get up to her elbows and then finally to lift up her whole upper body. "There. Is that good?"

"Nope. I said under. You have to lie down again but with those hooves under your belly."

"Oh... I get it." The orange pegasus lowered herself down with an unceremonious thump and a small wince from the unicorn.

"That looked like it hurt."

"Nah... My chin is my hardest part. I always seem to fall headfirst, so it's used to this by now."

Scootaloo gave a nervous chuckle, but Sweetie Belle just kept quiet.

"That's enough laughing. Because you dared to laugh, I'm going to tie your forehooves even tighter!" Not waiting for possible protests, she took another piece of string and slipped it through the knots between Scootaloos forehooves and circled the string all the way around the pegasus' stomach, sides and back near her tail, securing them tightly in place. Sweetie then looped anothers string through the ties behind the orange pony's back, and secured her tail in the same string, lifting it up and away from her rump.

"What... even the tail?"

"Even the tail... and now the wings."

"Umm... No."

"What? How dare you say no to your Big Sis?"

"No it's not that... I mean... you... really shouldn't tie my wings. Or you know... pegasus' wings. It's dangerous. At least mom told me so. Some stuff about involuntary muscle movement and stuff."

"Really? I didn't know that." Sweetie had clearly been waiting to tie the orange pegasus' wings. "Well... we'll skip the wings I guess."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me. You know what comes next?", Sweetie Belle asked with a wide grin spreading on her face.

"Y-Yeah"
> Their Shouts And Laughter Carry Far
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Y... yeah." answered the, by now, very nervous pegasus.

"But uhh... because you didn't let me tie your wings you gotta ask me to do it."

"Do what?"

"You know. You gotta ask me to punish you. And tell me why."

"Do I really have to? It seems kinda silly..." Scootaloo tried to smile at the thought. It felt really silly. What did it even matter if she asked it or not?

"Yeah. Big Sis tells you to."

"Okay... err... Big Sis... would you... that is..." For some reason the words refused to come out.

"Well?"

"I... don't wanna say it."

"It's just a few words. You hafta say it."

"Big Sis... would you... please... Sweetie don't make me say it!" Scootaloo didn't know what was stopping her. It just felt so... wrong. Like admitting that she'd actually done something bad. Like... if she said it, it wouldn't be a game anymore, but real. 

"Do it!"

"But... but if I... doesn't that mean it'd be a real punishment then? And not just... you know... us playing around?"

"Scootaloo... " Sweetie sat next to her friend on the table and gently stroked the bound pony's mane. "That's the whole point. I think you actually did something wrong, and now you're gonna get punished for it."

"But... I just said I don't wanna eat carrots."

"No that's not the point. You said you didn't eat anything cos you didn't like it. And I know it's wrong to say that about food and so do you. Didn't Miss Cheerilee say that we should be thankful for all the food we get cos some ponies can't even get food and go hungry all the time?"

"She did, yeah. But I didn't think it was about, you know... me."

"Scootaloo, I'm pretty disappointed with you. And I'm not talking as your Big Sis, but as your friend. I know you're alone a lot but you still should think about others. There's a lot of ponies around and they'd be really happy to eat whatever they like and play around like us."

"Sweetie... I'm... why are you saying all this? You sound like a grown-up all of a sudden or something."

"Well... A few months back I saw some flyers about it. About Zebrica and the things that happen there. They have to go days without food and they have to drink dirty water. I asked my parents about it and refused to eat dinner. I felt awful about not eating! And I couldn't sleep at night and mom had to come over and I... kinda cried. And that was just one dinner! I thought that there must be something I can do to help. We even started giving some bits to charity with my parents. It's not much, but at least I try to do something. But I've NEVER refused to eat after that."

"Gosh... I... " the pegasus filly couldn't even finish what she was trying to say. A lump had risen in her throat.

"And I think you've been really selfish and... I think you're a bad pony, Scootaloo!" Sweetie shouted, in a genuinely angry voice.

The orange pony could feel hot tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Am I... really a bad pony?"

"Yeah. I think you are." Her voice was cold, colder than she'd ever talked to a friend. She remembered the last time she'd felt so angry, and that had led to her running away from her big sister and trying to adopt Applejack as a sister. 

Sweetie got up from the table and left the bound up filly lying on the table and walked away.

"Sweetie... "

"Yes, Scootaloo?"

"Would you... please give me a spanking for not eating carrots and ... and not thinking about others?" Her question was interrupted by small sobs.

"I don't know. I'd rather not even look at you right now"

"PLEASE! I'm so sorry! I don't wanna be a bad pony! It's just that I don't have anyone to tell these things! I didn't know!"

"Yeah, you knew. You just didn't care."

"I... You're right Sweetie. I'm so sorry."

"Uh-huh."

"Sweetie... would you please give me a spanking and help me be a good pony again?"

"I will, Scootaloo."

"Thank you!" Her relief was audible in her sobs. "And... umm... Sweetie. Could you... kinda... maybe... really be like a big sister for me? Cos I really think I need someone like you to... tell me when I'm bad... "

"I think... I'd like that, Scootaloo." 

Sweetie went back to the crying filly with her own eyes watering up as well. She slipped her forehoof under her friend's chest and gave her a tight hug. 

"I'd be happy to be your big sis. but that means that I won't always be nice to you."

"It's okay I guess. I think I need someone like that." Scootaloo said with tears flowing down her cheeks. "And... right now I REALLY wish I could hug you back."

"We'll do that later. But right now... I think we have something else to do."

"Yeah... right."

Sweetie got up from the table and walked around her friend. She didn't feel like she had last time. Last time it had been a spur of the moment thing. Now she was actually feeling like she was punishing a little foal, even though she was the same age as Scootaloo. Was this how Rarity thought about her when she was bad? The mixture of disappointment, caring, anger and worry? She didn't want to hurt Scootaloo like last time. It was more like... she wanted to do it because she cared for her friend. It was a totally alien feeling for her, and it made her chest feel like it was aching. But she knew what she had to do. 

"You know what, Scootaloo? Do you know why I went out?"

"To... make me nervous?"

"No... well... that too but... I actually got something." The white unicorn walked to the front door and came back with something in her mouth. The bound pony couldn't turn around enough to see what it was, but she had a sinking feeling of what it might be.

"You... didn't get a switch... right? You didn't right?!"

"I did. I was thinking of whether I was going to use it and... I think you should decide."

"But... I'm all bound here... What does it matter what I say? Won't you do what you want anyway?"

"I think you should ask yourself... do you think you deserve to get the switch today? If you honestly don't think so, then I'll toss it away."

"Then... I'll... I want you to give me the switch," the orange filly said in a nervous burst of words and shut her eyes tightly.

Sweetie smiled to herself. She felt proud for Scootaloo for choosing the harder punishment. She looked the switch over on the floor. It was a long piece of thin branch that Sweetie had bitten away from a small tree. Her jaws were still sore from the task, but it was going to be worth it. She'd nibbled the leaves away, and also taken out all the smaller twigs that came out fo the branch. Now it was barely half as think as her own horn. She took it in her mouth and gave it a tentative swish through the air. The wind made a whistling sound in the thin instrument's wake. For a moment she thought whether she could actually use it on Scootaloo. It looked like it'd hurt a lot. But the orange pegasus had asked for it herself. 

"Here it comes, Scootaloo." 

The only answer she got was a silent nervous whinny.

Sweetie lightly tapped the switch onto the orange rear of her friend. She'd expected the effect, and was overjoyed to see the small buttocks clench once again like she'd stuck them with something sharp. She pulled the switch back, but decided to bring it back up to Scootaloo's backside, and just gently moved it on the surface, making her victim squirm in anticipation. 

She moved back so that just the tip was touching the orange fur, drawing circles all over the pegasus' backside, flanks, hooves and sides with it, like she was using a brush. She even tickled the base of Scootaloo's purple tail, making her target move around from side to side. Scootaloo let out a small moan, which surprised Sweetie somewhat. She decided to continue teasing her bound friend, giving light raps on her flanks and rear, not really hitting yet, just to make her squirm a bit. The pegasus was fluttering her wings, trying to keep balance and just to move at least something. Every tap made the pegasus filly move her backside forward, but the tight strings in her hooves made her correct her posture immediately. Sweetie was almost beside herself from how well her idea of tying Scootaloo up was working. The unicorn knew she could do anything she wanted to her friend.

Scootaloo was clearly sweating now, and her breathing had become shallow and rushed. This was not something Sweetie had been expecting, but decided it was finally time to get to business. Without any warning she reared back, bit down hard on the switch's handle, and brought it whistling down on Scootaloo's exposed backside. The bound filly let out a small cry and rocked forward, trying to escape the pain with no success. Sweetie Belle watched in amazement as a red stripe appeared where the switch had landed, crossing both of her target's buttocks in the middle. She heard Scootaloo clearly sniffing back tears — it must have really hurt if she was crying from the first hit. She could only imagine how hard it hurt when a grown-up pony did the same to a filly's butt. An image of Applejack and Apple Bloom immediately came into her mind, and she had to shake her head to get the horrible image to go away. 

Sweetie once again brought the switch closer to the pegasus' backside and gave it a light snap. This made Scootaloo whinny again, just like she'd done when the unicorn had given her the first spanking of her life. She pulled back and brought the switch down on the upraised rump in full force, a bit lower than last time. The table nudged forward, colliding with the corner it was set against.

"Owww! That thing really hurts!" Scootaloo was clearly trying to brave it out, trying to fight the tears. Sweetie knew it was just a matter of a few more strikes to make the bound filly cry all out. She didn't let her friend catch her breath, and brought the switch down hard oh the orange-and-red rump. Once, twice, three times. Each one as hard as she could. 

"Owoowooowooowoowwwwwww!" Scootaloo shouted and gasped for air. She squirmed around, trying to turn away from the hits, but nothing she could do would allow her to move. It was only now dawning on her how helpless she was, and the only thing she could do was cry and flutter her wings. Or at least try to. It seemed like even her wings had abandoned her, standing out completely flared to the full extent of their tiny wingspan. She tried moving them, but they only ached as she tried to get them to relax. 

Sweetie was also looking at her friend's wings in amazement. They were completely open, not even beating anymore. She gave them a puzzled look, but when she noticed that the pegasus' sobs had died down again, she got back to the business at hand. She aimed the next strike at the base of her victim's tail, making her cry out and wiggle her whole lower body, trying to jump out of the strings. The next hit landed at the lower end of the orange filly's buttocks.

"AUUUGHH!" Scootaloo cried at full volume, her voice breaking into sobs in the middle. The unicorn made a mental note about that spot being more tender.

Sweetie decided to see how many more her bound friend could take before giving up. She reared back once more, and started raining blows repeatedly on the red-striped backside. Scootaloo only wailed and cried, and tried all she could to get away, but the twine held fast and she couldn't move anything except her mouth. She pulled futilely at her bonds, trying with all her strenght to break the strings keeping her in place. She tried to buck and kick, and even to reach down to her forehooves to bite down on the knots. She cried out again and again, but to Sweetie's amazement, didn't give up. 

The unicorn filly kept smacking, her neck aching from all the swinging, and the rump in front of her jiggled and danced under her strikes, making circles and figure-eights, trying to escape the beating, but it had nowhere to go. It was getting harder for Sweetie to breathe because of the handle of the switch in her mouth. She'd bitten so hard on it that it was completely crushed and the taste of bark and fresh wood filled her mouth. She took a deep breath and continued, repeatedly landing blows on the formerly orange rump of the pegasus, but suddenly she heard what she'd been waiting for.

"AIIIIHHHHGGHHH! NO MORE! I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE! PLEASE! PLEASE! STOP SWEETIE! NO MORE!" The filly kept on shouting even after Sweetie had dropped the switch on the floor and gone over to her friend. The pegasus had tried to curl up into a ball, but the tight bonds in her hindhooves had kept her still. Sweetie lifted her friends upper body up with a small grunt and sat down beneat it, resting Scootaloo's head on her lap. She held the shaking pegasus gently, stroking and soothing her mane and her face. The hot tears rolled down her legs and onto the floor, leaving small lines of damp fur after them. It didn't feel awkward for Sweetie to sit like that. Maybe this is how her mother had felt when the unicorn filly had been crying on the adult mare's lap?

Finally the tears started to dry up, and Sweetie whispered to her friend. 

"There you go, Scootaloo. You did it. I didn't think you'd take that many hits before giving up."

"I... wanted... to stop... after the first... few," she managed to answer amidst sobs and sniffles, "but... then I... thought about what you said... about how bad I've been... and I kinda thought about the other ponies... I never thought about them... "

"Shhhh. It's over now, Scoots."

"Yeah I know... but I've never even thought about them. And now... I kinda wanted to pay them back. I think I owed them or something."

"Shh... I'm so proud of you Scoots."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm really, really proud of you." 

Scootaloo just closed her eyes and let out a few more sobs, but she was smiling through her tears. And her smile wasn't her normal coltish smirk, but a gentler, sweeter smile. The unicorn holding her felt a similar smile come on her lips as well. It was the cutest face she'd ever seen on her pegasus friend. A smile she thought no-pony had ever seen. 

"So now do you think you've learned your lesson, Scoots?"

"Yeah. And a lot more I think. Maybe now you could open these strings? They're kinda starting to hurt... "

"Well then... " Sweetie gently got away from under her friend and walked to her saddlebags. "Before we do that, I think there's something you need to do." The unicorn came back to the tear-stained table and opened up her lunch bag and dropped it's contents on the table. Three carrots landed in the wooden surface and rolled a small way before coming to a stop in front of the panicked wide eyes of Scootaloo.

"Carrots? No no no Sweetie please no! Just untie me!"

"Nu-uuh. Not before you show me you've learned your lesson."

"Please! Sweetie no! Anything but carrots!"

"So... you haven't learned your lesson?" Sweetie's voice was disappointed as she sat down on the floor next to the  table. "Did you lie to me?"

"No! It's not like that! I... I'll eat anything! Just... not carrots!"

"Why?"

"I really don't wanna talk about it!"

"I can't believe you Scoots! You lied to me! You told me you were sorry and now you just try to do the same thing over again! I think I have to give you some more!"

"Sweetie! No please! Let me explain! I'll tell you!"

Sweetie Belle shot up from the floor and took the switch back into her mouth. She didn't even listen to her friend, just immediately started smacking again, landing a good two dozen blows on the sore backside of the pegasus. Only then did she hear what her friend was trying to say. Scootaloo's voice was completely broken, and she kept repeating in a small voice. "I'll tell you! I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" 

The white unicorn stood trembling behind her friend. She looked at the now dark red and blue rear of her pegasus friend. Did she really do that just now? She'd been so angry but... She ran to her friends side, trying to tell the broken pegasus how sorry she was. But Scootaloo just kept repeating, "I'll tell you!". 

Sweetie felt the panic rising in her chest. What was happening? What had she done? Her limbs were freezing, and cold beads of sweat ran down her back and sides. She couldn't even say anything because her tongue felt like it was glued to the top of her mouth. Scootaloo took a few deep breaths and, to the unicorn's relief, started talking again, though in a very raspy voice. 

"Sorry for not telling you... it's just... It's my worst memory. And it's a stupid thing."

"Shhh, Scoots. Just tell me." Sweetie replied, and after a moment of thought added, "I won't laugh."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"When I was in kindergarten... all the kids would always call me a carrot-pony or Carrot-Loo. They'd hide carrots everywhere; in my saddlebags, clothes, just about anywhere and whenever we ate our lunch they'd always try to hide carrots in my food and they always yelled "Carrot-Loo is eating herself and I know it's just little foals being nasty and stuff but every time I see carrots I start hearing them bullying me." She was left panting after saying so much in one breath.

"Oh no, Scoots. I had no idea."

"Yeah... well... I've never told anypony."

"Not even your parents?"

"Why would I? They'd just laugh and call me foalish."

"It's not foalish. They were really nasty. Let's put these away—" She started to fidget around with her lunchbag but was interrupted.

"Could... I have a carrot now?"

"Didn't you just tell me—"

"Yeah. But you're the only one who knows. So it's... not so bad I guess."

Sweetie leaned on the table and picked one of the carrots between her hooves and gave it to her friend. With only a small hesitation, Scootaloo bit a small of the vegetable and started munching, as tears once again started rolling down her cheeks. Neither of them said anything, Scootaloo just slowly munching away on the carrots, and Sweetie feeding them to her, occasionally stroking the wild purple mane of the pegasus. She'd never thought that Scootaloo could look so fragile and cute as she did now, lying on her stomach, being hand-fed by her big sister. After the last carrot had vanished down the orange pony's gullet, she once again gave that small, weird, gentle smile, and said. "I'd forgotten they actually taste kinda nice."

"I'll untie you now. So hold still for just a moment longer."

"I'm not going anywhere." Scootaloo managed a small laugh.

As Sweetie opened the knots and started pulling away the twine, she was shocked to see what was underneath. All the strings had cut deep into her friends skin, leaving sore, red gashes all over where they had been.

"Oh my gosh... Scoots... I'm so sorry... " Sweetie said. Her eyes were tearing up, making it harder for her to untie the knots. She tried desperately to use her teeth to pull at the jumble of strings, hoping to miraculously get it to open up. She was horrified to notice that some of the twine tasted metallic, and when she cleared away her eyes, she saw that the strings had been coloured crimson.

"Heh. It's not a problem. A few cuts and bruises is nothing to me. Remember I'm the toughest pegasus in Ponyville!"

Sweetie had finally remembered the scissors she brought with her and managed to open up the ties around Scootaloo's forehooves and tail. As the pegasus got up, rubbing some circulation back into her forehooves, the unicorn moved behind her friend, trying to avoid looking at the damage she'd done to the pegasus' backside. When she sat down and started working the scissor on the strings near her friends hooves, she noticed something else.

"Hey Scoots... I think you did it again."

"What?"

"You know... the... 'not pee' -thing."

"Yeah. I kinda did. You sorta tied me so close to the corner of the table that I couldn't help myself."

"Huh?"

"Well... I rubbed against the edge every time you spanked me."

Sweetie looked at the corner of the table in amazement and then a bit higher up. It was usual to see what ponies had between their legs, of course, but the sight she now saw in front of her surprised her still. She knew what fillies were supposed to look down there, mostly just the hole near the tail, and a small slit for peeing. But Scootaloo's slit was all swollen and red, like someone had stuck a pink handkerchief inside. It was all covered in some liquid, and some of the stuff got on Sweetie as she worked on the strings. She looked in wonder at the weird stuff, which felt cold and slippery on her hooves.

"You're all swollen and... leaky down here."

"I guess I am. It happens, right?." Sweetie was too occupied to notice how the bent-over pegasus was blushing once again.

"Doesn't it hurt? Did I hit you there or something?"

"No... it's not that. And it didn't really hurt. Well maybe a bit."

"Scoots... "

"Ummm... Sweetie Belle... the strings."

"YEAH! Sorry!" She immediately returned back to cutting the few remaining strings off. 

Scootaloo was finally free from her ties. She walked around the room stiffly a few times, and then sat down on the floor. And got up with a yelp.

"Ouch! That's so much worse than last time."

"I know... I went really overboard. Can you forgive me, Scootaloo?"

"Hey it's okay. I had it coming, right? If I'd trusted you from the beginning, you wouldn't have done it, right?"

"Yeah... well... I guess so. But I still shouldn't have," Sweetie looked to her friend sheepishly. "Is there anything I can do? You know, to help with the pain?"

"I guess... do we have a towel?"

"Yeah there's one in our beach bag. Why?"

"Well... if it's not too much... could you get some cold water for the towel? My butt is REALLY hurting."

"Why don't we just go swimming like last time?"

"Well... duh? What'd happen if someone saw me?"

"Yeah! Sorry! I'm on it!" Sweetie grabbed a bucket from beside the door and ran for the stream. She returned a few 
minutes later, not having stopped once on her mad dash, and walked up the slope to the Clubhouse. When she was about to open the door, she heard something weird from the inside. Scootaloo was panting hard, and letting out small moans. At first Sweetie thought she was crying again, but when the unicorn carefully opened the door to peer inside, she saw something quite different. Her orange pegasus friend was lying on the floor, with her rear held up. The orange filly was stroking the fork between her hindlegs with her right forehoof. Her eyes were closed but her back was arced backwards, and her wings were once again spread to their full wingspan against the floor.

"What are you doing, Scoots?" the unicorn filly asked as she lifted the bucket inside. The pegasus quickly tried to roll on to her stomach, but her stiff wings got into her way and she ended up having to stand up.awkwardly, while trying to avoid sitting on her sore rump. Her face was almost as red as her rear end. 

"Oh, hehe... nothing. just waiting for you."

"I saw everything, you know?"

"You did? Geez! Why'd you have to be so good at sneaking?"

"I wasn't sneaking! You were just making so much noise that you didn't hear me."

Scootaloo could only cough and try to look away from her friend.

"So what were you doing?"

"Could... we just let it go?"

"Well if you really want to but... It's just like last time, right? And it has something to do with your... crotch, right? Are you sick or something?"

"No! Nothing like that... it's just... I promised mom I wouldn't tell other fillies about the stuff she taught me."

"Your mom taught you to roll on the floor and—"

"No! Ewww! Of course not! She just... I can't tell you! I promised! And you weren't supposed to see. I just had to do it after all that. If I didn't know better, I'd say you did it on purpose!"

"Did what? I don't understand, Scoots!"

"Well... umm... could we just skip it this time?"

"I HATE not knowing stuff when people know it around me." Sweetie's voice once again cracked as she raised her voice."

"Yeah I know it's not fair. Sorry. But I gotta keep my word. It's one of the only things mom ever made me promise."

"Oh all right. But I'm gonna find out myself if you don't tell me!" the unicorn shouted while waving her forehoof around.

"I... kinda hope you will," answered the pegasus in a whisper.

"You say something?"

"Nothing. So can I have the towel now?"

"Hmmh, here," Sweetie said absentmindedly and pushed the bucket to her friend.

"Ahh. This feels real good. Thanks." The pegasus had wet the whole towel in the stream-cold water and was now lying on her stomach with the cloth covering her aching rump.

"I been thinking about one thing, Scoots."

"Yeah... what's that?"

"Why don't you care about getting hurt?"

"Of course I do!"

"Well... Well I don't think you do!" Sweetie once again raised her voice. "You're all bruised and you're butt's gonna be sore for a long time and... your hooves and the string... "

"I don't mind, Sweetie. Actually... " The voice of the orange filly had turned very quiet, and she wasn't even looking at her friend. "I... wanna tell you a secret. And I... I'm a bit scared."

"Why?"

"Well... cos... If you think I'm weird and don''t wanna be my... " the pegasus struggled to say the words, "friend anymore."

"Scootaloo... " Sweetie walked over to her friend, and unceremoniously punched the pegasus directly on top of her head.

"OWWCH! What the feather, Sweetie!?"

"You're so STUPID!"

"What? Why'dya... " 

"How can you say something STUPID like that! How can you think I'd stop being your friend!" Sweetie kept flailing at Scootaloo's head, trying to hit the pegasus again, while tears started working their way to her eyes. "STUPID STUPID STUPID—"

"SORRY! PLEASE! OUCH!"

After a moment, the unicorn's charge relented. "Just... never say you don't wanna be my friend again, okay?"

"Sorry! I... but... That's the point!"

"What are you talking about, stupid... Scootaloo?"

"It really is stupid!" the orange filly admitted, "but when I go home and there's nopony there... I feel really awful. I mean... I'm cooking something for myself and my friends are home eating dinner with their parents or sister and... it feels so bad it HURTS!. But... the REALLY stupid thing is that... when I have all the scratches and bruises and pinesap and stuff... I kinda remember that I have friends and got hurt doing fun stuff with them and... I don't feel so bad any mo—" She never got to finish that sentence, because a white unicorn filly had tackled her on her back and was now hugging her tightly in her forehooves.

"Why didn't you say anything!?"

"But... I've been alone so long and—"

"Just... shut up!" Sweetie Belle said in a raised voice, not shouting anymore, and hugged the orange filly even tighter. "I don't care if you've been lonely! Scoots, I'm here right now. And you're NOT alone you stupidhead pegasus!"

"T-t-t-thanks, S-sweetie," was all Scootaloo could say, having finally lost the last bit of bravado she'd been trying to hold onto. Now she was no longer the spaeed-demon tomcolt Rainbow Dash fanfilly. She was just a little, crying, weak filly, who wasn't feeling alone for the first time in a long, long time. 

She never wanted to let go of her new sister, but after a while the orange pegasus noticed the clock on the wall.

"Uhm... Sweetie... What time were you supposed to be home?"

"Around fi—OMIGOSH! It's almost six! I'm gonna get into trouble! But... what... how can I... "

"I think I'm okay. Like... for the first time in a long time, I think I'm okay, Sweetie."

"But you said you don't wanna go to the stream and swim cos someone might see you? Well how are you gonna get home without anyone seeing?"

Scootaloo managed a small giggle. "I actually already figured that out when you were away. I'll just put the Cutie Mark Crusader cape on. It'll hide my rump and sides, and the adults don't care about it. Most of them are already inside so nopony'll look at me twice. I'll just have to walk slow so it won't fly up."

"So... you gotta walk all the way home... slowly?"

"Yeah... guess that's the worst part of my punishment?" she answered, with her familiar coltish grin.

> Just Don't Go Too Close
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hello, mister! A glass of the tastiest lemonade in Equestria?" The white unicorn was standing behind the small crate that was acting as their sales table, holding her forehooves on the Cutie Mark Crusader cape, or in this case, the tablecloth.

"Well now, tastiest in ALL of Equestria you say?" replied the earth pony with a familiar hourglass covering his flank. Next to him, a confused young pegasus was trying to keep her eyes on a small bumblebee that was flying around her head.

"Uh-huh! We made it ourselves!" added the orange pegasus filly.

"In that case, I rather think I shall give it a try, now shan't I? Ms. Doo? Would you care for one too?"

"Does it come in muffin flavor?"

"Ehm... I believe the fact it's called 'lemonade' might actually hint of a taste of a more... lemony persuasion?"

"I like lemon muffins too!"

"I believe that'll be two glasses then. And how much do I owe you lovely young ladies for these beverages?"

"That'll be a bit for a glass, but I'll make a special offer for you! For three bits you get a free refill!" Sweetie Belle's expression had turned into one of certain cunning and business savvy. Or she might have been squinting.

"I see. And one might assume the offer expires as soon as this refreshment — fit for the Royal Pony Sisters, no doubt — passes my lips?"

"Yeah, cos you're gonna have to pay double for the second mug, pops."

"SCOOTALOO! That's not how you milk a customer for bits."

"But when they chug down the first glass, they just CAN'T NOT drink another!"

"Uggh... your grammar is almost as bad as your sales pitches."

"Hey Miss Dictionary! I'm one of the best pitchers in our school's softball team!"

"Is that what Miss Roseluck told you when you went to get your ball back from her greenhouse?"

"SHH! She never found out!"

Remembering their customers, the orange pony quickly turned her head in their direction while holding a forehoof behind her head.

"Ehh... you didn't hear that last part, right? Hehe."

"It'll be our little secret, young ladies."

"Thanks, pops. So how about the offer?"

"Let's just do the more traditional bit-a-glass offer for me and my friend."

"Coming right up!"

The two customers took their drinks, and after only a slight hesitation, downed them. A smile spread across their faces, one of content on the earth stallion's face, a more distant on the blonde-maned pegasus'.

"So? Did you like it?" asked the white unicorn.

"I must admit that I didn't expect such a taste from your products. You might be onto something with your claims of superiority."

The two fillies looked at each other in confusion.

"Was that a yes?"

"I believe it was."

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER LEMONADE BREWERS YAY!" the screaming fillies bolted up from behind their makeshif stand and high-hoofed each other. They then smacked their uplifted rumps together and turned to face their beleaguered customer.

"See anything nice? What does it look like?"

"I am not quite sure what you are asking but all I see is two fillies showing me their... ehm... bums."

"So no cutie mark?"

"I'm afraid not."

"OAWWW," the fillies grumbled in unison.

"Well... I'm sorry but I believe I need to go... over... there and... yes. Have a lovely day at the beach, ladies."

"Yeah. You too. And tell your friends!" The small white unicorn waved after them. After she was sure they were out of earshot, she swiftly gave a sharp swat on the pegasus' backside with her tail.

"Yeouch. Why'd you do that for?" the orange filly asked in surprise.

"You almost lost us our first customers because you were so greedy."

"Well sorry, Miss Business, but I need the bits for a new helmet."

"You still shouldn't treat customers like that! My sister always tells me to let the product speak for itself and make the customer want it! And also to make sure they like you so they come back to buy more. And you always hafta smile!"

"You're taking this awfully serious, Sweetie."

"Business is business, and bits is bits. That's what my sis always says."

"Fine, fine. You can do the sales pitches for now," she gave her behind a quick rub. "You didn't have to smack me though."

"I'm supposed to make sure you behave, right? Just make sure you don't cause us to lose any customers, or your butt's really gonna be sore." Sweetie Belle gave the cringing pegasus a wicked smile. She couldn't help but notice that the pegasus' wings had once more risen up, like she was flaring them. "Scoots, you're all stiff again."

"Shut up," came the angry answer.

"Huh?"

"It's a pegasus thing, okay?"

"Mmmh... fiiiine," the unicorn answered with a drawn-out voice, and added to herself. "You never tell me anything."

As they turned back to their stall, two of their pegasus classmates landed nearby, apparently on their way to the sandy beach.

"Rumble! Featherweight! How about some delicious lemonade?" shouted Sweetie.

The colts stopped cold in their tracks and turned to look at the stall. Sweetie immediately saw the two pegasi look wide-eyed at Scootaloo's wings. As they walked closer, their wings  started unfurling as well, and a small blush rose on both of their faces.

"Hi Sweetie Belle. Didn't... see you there. Hi... ummm... Scootaloo," called the pale pegasus colt with the permanently windswept mane. The thinner pegasus just just gave a small wave at them.

"Pip and Chowder not with you today?" queried the unicorn.

"Nnnh," was all she could get out of the blushing colts, who were still staring at Scootaloo.

"Yoo-hoo. Ponyville to Cloudsdale, anyone there?"

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. We'll we gotta be going. To the beach. To swim. At the... Yeah. Well... bye!" Rumble managed, while Featherweight only gave a weak smile. They both dashed off before Sweetie could say anything more to them. When the two pegasi got away to where they thought they couldn't be heard anymore, Sweetie caught Rumble saying in a raised voice: "Nu-uh. She was SO looking at my wings and not yours." The rest of the conversation was lost to her as they vanished from sight behind a few parasols.

"What was that all about. Any idea, Scoots?" she asked her severely blushing friend.

"Why'd you have to smack me! That was SO embarrassing!" The orange pony was blushing like mad as she faced the other way.

"Wha? They couldn't have seen that!"

"I'm not talking about that!"

"What in Equestria is wrong with you, Scoots?"

"Nothing... just. Argh." The pegasus had finally gotten her wings back down and was approaching her normal color.She poured herself a glass of lemonade and drank it down greedily.

"Hey! Don't mess with the stock! We only have that jug and the few bottles we could make. It's gotta last the whole day."

"I was thirsty, okay?"

Sweetie Belle could only throw her forehooves in the air. "Sometimes I think you're a colt and not a filly, cos I sure can't make any sense of you."





The business wasn't actually booming, but several ponies came over to their stand and were positively surprised by their drinks. Both of the fillies had ample time to go swimming while the other was minding the stall. For some reason all the sales seemed to be coming from the times when Sweetie was at the helm, while the lemonade still kept vanishing at the same rate between the both of them. The sun was almost at it's zenith and Scootaloo was doing her shift when she spied two familiar ponies coming over.

"Heya, squirt!"

"Omigosh. Rainbow Dash. Uhm. Hi Rainbow Dash!" the flustered filly said.

"Ahm here too, sugarcube," came the amused voice of the earth pony.

"Sorry! I didn't mean... Hi Miss Applejack!"

"Now lis'n here ya lil' varmint. There ain't gonna be no more namecallin' like that y' hear? It's just Applejack an' that's final!"

"Sorry... I didn't mean to—"

"It's all right, sugarcube," the orange earth pony said with another smile. "How's the business coming along?"

"Okay I guess. Could be better."

"Ah remember when ah was your age ah used to—"

"Who cares! Your stuff any good?" the cyan pegasus cut in.

"Yeah... I mean... I think?"

"Well then, hit me, squirt."

"Wha? Why'd I wanna hit you?"

The older pegasus slammed a hoof onto her forehead.

"What. I. Mean. Is: Pour. Me. A. Glass. Of. Lemonade," she said, stopping after every word to make sure the little pegasus could follow.

"Oh. OH! Coming right up!"

The cyan pegasus took a deep swig of the beverage, and slammed the glass back on the table. "Wow. That's actually really good. Didn't think you had it in you."

A small blush was starting to appear on the filly's face from getting compliments from her idol. "Thanks! But... we kinda made it together with Sweetie Belle. She's swimming right now."

"I think I'll have another, then."

As the pegasus downed her second glass, she continued: "So any cutie mark yet?"

Scootaloo turned around to show her bare flank to the older mares. "Nu-uh. STILL nothing!" her voice was laced with dark desperation and frills of panic.

"Now don'tcha be worrying about it like that. Y'all are sure to get yours in time. Now why don't you two jus' go have some fun an' not bother with your cutie marks?"

"I guess we could. And we can't really crusade with Apple Bloom being grounded and all."

"Oh that? She ain't grounded no more. Just got a case of some belly aches, that's all. Ah'm sure she'll be coming around The Clubhouse before you can say 'Ah told you to wash your hooves before dinner, lil' missy.'"

"Maybe we should come and visit her?"

"Ah reckon y'all just better steer clear for now. Wouldn't want you catching the same as what AB's having. She's barely had time to rest from runnin' to the outhouse and back for two days now, and she's got a mighty nasty fever to boot."

"That... doesn't sound like fun."

"You ain't just whistlin' dixie. Well lookie here. There come's your pardner in crime. Heya Sweetie!" The farmpony gave an energetic hail with her hoof to the small unicorn who was coming back to the stall with her mane and tail still hanging down wet.

"Hello Applejack. Rainbow Dash."

"Yo," the rainbow-maned pegasus answered finishing her glass of lemonade. "You've got some really great stuff here."

"Thanks. We worked real hard to make it yesterday."

"Well nothing tastes better than good lemonade after a swim. I must've drank at least five glasses by now," the pegasus said proudly.

"That'll be five bits then, please."

Rainbow Dash's ears perked up and her eyes popped wide. "Five... bits? I have to pay for this?"

Sweetie motioned at the sign next to the stall, declaring that the lemonaded did, indeed, come at the price of a bit per glass.

"But... I thought that you were just here trying to earn a cutie mark—"

"AND make some bits," answered the unicorn filly. Her friend was already blushing next to her, while the orange farm pony was seemingly enjoying the scene.

"Could you... maybe forget the cost for just this once? I mean I didn't bring any bits with me and—"

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT THE MOST FAMOUS PEGASUS IN PONYVILLE, RAINBOW DASH, WOULD NOT PAY FOR DRINKING OUR LEMONADE?" shouted Sweetie Belle in her high-pitched voice. Several heads along the beach turned to see what was happening, while the cyan pegasus waved her hooves in front of her while trying to shush the filly.

"Nononono! Of course! I'll pay. Just no more shouting!"

"Okay. So where are our bits?"

"Like I told you, I don't have any with me," the pegasus mare said, but before Sweetie could raise her voice again, she continued: "BUT I have an idea! Why don't you become my sponsors?"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SPONSORS YAY!" The eager fillies shouted in unison. "What's a sponsor?" 

"If I don't have to pay for the drinks, I'll tell everyone I meet how good your lemonade was, and they'll come running over and buy your lemonade."

"Like who?" asked the white unicorn filly.

"Well... umm... people I meet today."

"What are you going to do today then?" Sweetie's face had turned into a frown.

"Well... I was gonna go take a nap and maybe practice a few tricks and then i have the evening shift at weather patrol."

"So you're gonna sleep and fly around all day? Who are you going to tell about lemonade?"

"Well, I, uhh—"

"And what's more, you drank five glasses of lemonade, which means for us to make a profit, we'd need to sell at least six glasses. We don't have that much left."

"I... errr... "

"And don't go forgettin' the rainstorm coming in an hour or so, RD," added the laughing earth pony.

"There's gonna be a rainstorm?" asked Scootaloo.

"There sure is. That's why everypony's at the beach so early. It's gonna pour down soon."

"So... Rainbow Dash is going to tell six ponies to come buy our lemonade, while we make more with no ingredients, and she's gonna do it while she's napping? I don't think I'm liking this whole sponsor thing," the white filly said with a very menacing frown.

"Psst! Sweetie!" the orange pegasus pulled her friends ear to her mouth. "You sure we can't just, you know, forget the money? It's RAINBOW DASH! I mean... we'd be so famous if she even told one pony—"

"No, Scootaloo. She's just trying to avoid paying us," the unicorn whispered back. She looked the cyan pegasus directly in the eyes and said: "Five bits, please."

"But... but... I don't... " the grown up pegasus turned to look at her stetson-headed friend with a pleading expression. "Applejack?"

"Hmh? Was there something?"

"Could... you maybe lend me some bits? I'll pay you back from my next pay."

"Ah dunno. It's been a real tight month being the summer and all, and you already owe me quite a sum."

"I know! But this is an emergency. P-Please?" The cyan pegasus was already groveling in the grass with her forehooves outstretched to the earth pony's hooves."

"Oh shucks. Ah'll pay for you today. But you'll owe me for this, RD." 

"Thank you thank you thank you! You're such a good friend, AJ."

"Y'all can thank me later when you come over to the farm and help me with Apple Bloom's chores now that she's sick."

"C-chores?" the pegasus asked with trepidation.

"Eeyup. Mowin' tha lawn, fixin' a fence, why I even think some of the ol' pigstyes need a good mucking and cleaning."

"You wouldn't make me, the fastest pegasus in Equestria, do... farm chores?"

"Well you're mighty welcome to pay your dues to these fine young fillies here."

With no way to talk herself out of her predicament, the cyan pegasus could only hang her head and mutter something about the world always being unfair for super-awesome ponies..

"Now maybe y'all will think twice before tryin' to take advange of other's kindness y'hear?"

"What are you now, my mom?" the pegasus grumbled.

"Nah, but ah wouldn't mind havin' a few words with her sometimes on how her daughter's actin'"

Applejack removed her hat and from somewhere inside produced six bits and put them on the table. She then poured herself a glass and drank it down slowly, all the while looking at her grumbling pegasus friend.

"You know what, girls? This is some mighty fine lemonade you've made. Maybe when the applebuckin' season kicks off I'll ask you two to come and make our workers some appleade?"

"Wow. You'd do that?" Sweetie asked, her voice breaking out of surprise.

"Ah sure would. But you two better mosey on someplace inside. It's gonna rain harded than that time Apple Bloom tried to build a waterbed in her room."

"We will! And thank you for your pardonage!" the unicorn filly shouted after them.

The fillies soon got to work packing their remaining stock and the crate onto Scootaloo's scooter-wagon, and headed for The Clubhouse.

"I still don't get it, Sweetie," grumbled the orange pegasus.

"What do you not get now?"

"Well... why couldn't we just let Rainbow Dash have the lemonade for free? It was just five bits."

"JUST five bits?" Sweetie stopped to look at her friend. "That's the same I get for allowance in a week! It's a lot of money!"

"It is?"

"Well how much is your allowance, then?"

"I don't have one. Mom just leaves me money when I have to stay home alone. Usually twenty bits or something like that."

"TWENTY BITS?" shouted Sweetie Belle. "And you get this how often?"

"Dunno. Almost every day when she's working."

"Then... then why did you wanna work selling lemonade? I'm sure you've saved a lot."

"Nah. I usually spend it all. I gotta buy food and the rest I use for snacks and comics and stuff."

"Scoots... " the orange pony seemed to completely miss the dangerous undertone in her friend's voice.

"Yeah. That's why today sucked so bad. I mean... we hardly made thirty bits. When we split it between us, I still need another forty for my new helmet. I was kinda hoping we'd make enough selling the lemonade and have some over for snacks but meh. Stupid rainstorm."

"Sucked? I thought today was super fun!"

"Meh. All that work for just dozen bits. Doesn't seem fair."

"Scootaloo, could we make a little detour on the way?"

"Sure. Where are we off to?"

"I think I left something at my sister's place. I think we can make it before the rain starts."

"Cool. So any ideas what we're gonna do today? I was kinda hoping we'd be at the beach the whole day making crazy profits."

"Oh don't worry, Scoots. I know exactly what we're gonna do today..."
> Or You Might Hear 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweetie came running out of The Carousel Boutique, hastily securing her saddlebags.

"Let's move!" she shouted as she landed in Scootaloo's scooter-cart.

"SWEETIE BELLE! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" came the angry voice of her big sister from inside the house.

"Make it fast, Scoots!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" She started buzzing her wings and they were soon speeding through the empty streets of Ponyville at full speed. 





The scooter came to a stop, nearly knocking the unicorn on her face from her high perch atop the crate she was sitting on. 

The first drops of the afternoon rainstorm were falling around them, and they quickly pushed the scooter underneath The Clubhouse before rushing inside. Scootaloo was still out of breath as she fell on the floor and rolled onto her back, giggling.

"Told you we'd make it!" she exclaimed in exhilaration. 

"Yeah, we did," answered Sweetie Belle in a deadpan voice. "Too bad you're going back out."

"Wha? Why'd I wanna go outside in the rain?"

"Because you're going to get yourself a switch."

"Oh." It took a few seconds for the information to register in the pegasus' head. "OH! You serious? Today? Right now?" 

She had gotten up from her prone position and was now sitting on the floor.

"Yup. I think you've been very naughty today, and deserve some discipline."

"Dis... What did I do now?"

"Are you telling me you don't even know?" Sweetie's voice rose in disbelief.

"Yeah well... We had fun at the beach, made some bits and... "

"Well young missy, I think you're going to learn A LOT today. Now go outside and get yourself a switch, and maybe you should think about what happened today some more while you're out there."

"But... now? In the rain? But... But... It's—" The last vestiges of hope were soon crushed from the orange filly's mind, as her friend angrily pointed at the door.

"Buts are made for spanking. Move it." As the orange filly left the building, her friend couldn't stop herself from adding: "And if it's not a good one, you're gonna go get another one!"





Scootaloo shuddered as she finally came back to The Clubhouse. Her purple mane was hanging limp, glued to her face, and her tail drooped down like a sad wet rag. Maybe because the day had been so warm, or that she'd been in the sun since morning, the rain had felt like an autumn shower. The rain itself wasn't the merry summer sprinkle that always seemed to come and go, only leaving a few pearls of water on the merry spiderwebs or end up on the tips of leaves as the first rays of sun made them shine in a caleidoscope of colours. No, this was the other kind of rain. It was small and misty, and felt more like a dense fog than real rain. It got everywhere, and stayed there. Everything started smelling of old cellars and forgotten attics. It was the kind of rain only a very specific set of fungi would enjoy and appreciate. For everypony else, it mostly just sucked.

The inside of The Clubhouse was lit when she stepped inside. Sweetie had found a small oil lamp that was giving off a dull, warm light around the small space. The tiny orange filly stepped inside with a heavy heart. Her friend had told her that she'd done something very wrong, yet she had no clue what it was. It had been just a normal boring day of standing around, drinking lemonade, and swimming whenever Sweetie wasn't in enjoying herself. Well the water had been warm, and many of her classmates had been there to have fun with. At the moment she couldn't remember what warm water felt like. She thought about shaking her mane dry, but then thought again, as the priceless drawings and the Collector's Edition Wonderbolts On Tour -poster would surely get spattered and ruined. She found the unicorn seated next to the table that had already twice been the location for the orange filly's suffering. As she entered, Sweetie shut the book that she'd been reading and pushed it back into her saddlebag.

"Well you took your time."

"Y-y-yeah," the miserable pegasus replied, while her teeth clattered together, making her stutter. "I co-couldn't find a go-go-good switch and ha-had—"

"At least you brought me something. Give it here."

Scootaloo moved over to the table and placed the length of wood on it. It was a thin branch from a tree she'd barely been able to reach. She'd seen several better ones around, but all of them were so high that she would have needed to fly to reach them. Once again the pegasus mentally kicked herself for not being able to fly yet. She wondered if she'd ever learn how to get airborne for more than a few seconds.

The unicorn picked the the piece of wood up and gave it a thorough scrutiny. She frowned as she turned it over in her hooves, and set it back down. 

"It's a bit on the heavy side, and way too long. The end also splits into two, which'll make it hard to wield. Are you sure this is the best you could do?"

"Yeah. I looked all over." The small pegasus' head drooped down. "P-please don't make me go look for another."

"Meh. It'll have to do. Now pick it up and go do your corner time."

"Corner time? I have to do that stuff again?"

"Well can you tell me what you did wrong today?"

"I... I tried thinking about it all the time I was outside. Was it because I called a few of the customers 'pops'? Or that I swam longer than I was supposed to?"

"It seems you still don't get it. Maybe some corner-time will make you figure it out."

Scootaloo moved over to the corner and sat down, pushing her head against the cold wall. It was even harder to sit with the switch held in her mouth, because now she had to breathe only through her nose. Also being wet and cold made her feel even more miserable. As she put her forehooves behind her back, her wet mane slipped to her back, sending cold shivers running down her back. Behind her she could hear her friend opening up a book and turning a page. For the longest time the only sound in the hut was the silent patter of droplets, falling on the roof from the boughs of the tree above, and the occasional turning of a page. The tiny clock on the wall they'd installed seemed to tick louder than usual, slicing the afternoon away a terribly long second at a time. 

"Umm... Sweetie."

"No talking in the corner. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Scootaloo was almost in tears. She could feel her hindhooves going to sleep, and the switch in her mouth was slippery from her saliva. Her breathing had become shallow, as the position didn't allow her to take in deeper breaths. It even felt colder when she wasn't moving around, her wet fur and mane feeling chilly everywhere. Goosebumps kept running all over her tiny body. She also felt her nose starting to run, which made breathing even harder. 

Sweetie heard the small sniffles coming from the corner, and decided it was time to move on. Once again she pushed her book back into her saddlebag, but not before taking out several other items and spreading them over the table for easier reach.

"Come here, Scootaloo," the unicorn called. Her friend got up from the corner and gave a small stretch before walking the few feet to the table. On the wooden surface several items lay spread; a coil of rope, much thicker than the string they'd used last time, a black cloth of some thick fabric, and for some reason, a first-aid kit. Sweetie took the switch from the pegasus' mouth and set it next to the other items, and then sat down on the floor. 

"Scootaloo, lie down on the floor. And put your head on my lap."

"Why do I have to do that?"

"Because I say so? Haven't you learned anything about how this works?"

Without saying anything else the pegasus lowered herself on the hard floor. It was a relief from being in the corner, and laying her head on the warm lap of her friend did feel nice. Nicer than she'd imagined. She could remember her own mother holding her like that a few times, after she'd gotten hurt or had a nightmare. The unicorn started gently stroking the pegasus' purple mane, and speaking to her softly.

"Now, Scootaloo, I'm very disappointed with you about what happened today. Did your corner-time give you any ideas on what you might have done wrong?"

"Is it something to do with the money?" The pegasus felt her eyes closing as the warmth of her friend was spreading around her face and neck. "I think you got angry when we were talking about it on our way here."

"It is about the money, yes. Do you have any idea what it might be?"

The pegasus wracked her head, trying to find an answer, but after a long time, all she could do was answer in a quiet voice: 

"No."

Her friend, and for today, big sister, gave a small sigh.

"Scootaloo, where do you think money comes from?"

"Well... my mom gives it to me?"

"And where does your mom get it from?"

"Work, I guess."

"Correct. She has to work almost every day and fly to several different places to get that money. That's why she's not home with you, but making sure your family has enough money. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"I also get my allowance for doing chores around the house or at my big sis' shop. If I skip a chore, I don't get my full allowance. Every bit I get on Saturdays, I've worked really hard on."

"So... you can only get money for working?"

"Usually, yes. And when you get money for work, you start to think: 'Hey, that candy costs 2 bits' and then you think 'I get two bits for doing the dishes, cleaning my room and stuff'. And you know what? The candy tastes a lot better when I eat it. Because I had to work to get it. And I even have a little piggy-bank, where I put one or two bits every week, so if I REALLY need to get something later, I can afford it."

"Wow. I didn't know you thought about it so much."

"But what about you, Scoots? You get money whenever you want, and never have to do anything for it. And you spend it on whatever, cos there's always going to be more. You don't understand what it's worth."

"I think I understand. So all the stuff I buy, the comics and stuff... I haven't really earned them?"

"Yeah. Today when you told me how you spent your money, you actually reminded me of two other ponies."

"Who?" asked the puzzled pegasus.

"Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."

"WHAT?" The pegasus' eyes shot open as she lifted her head a few inches up from Sweetie's lap. "I'm NOTHING like them."

"But you kinda are. You just get whatever you want and get pampered like them. You maybe use your money on different stuff, but it's still the same."

"No... I... I'm not like them. They're just spoiled little... "

The words stuck in Scootaloo's mouth, as the pieces finally clicked in her head.

"I'M spoiled! Sweetie I'm just like them!" Her eyes were burning from the realisation and shame that came with it as her head slumped back to her friend's lap..

"Yes, I'm afraid you are." Sweetie's voice was calm, and she still kept stroking the pegasus' mane. It made the whole thing feel even worse for the orange filly. If she'd been shouted at or something, it would have been so much easier, but now she couldn't fight back, only accept what was being said to her. The tears finally came, hot and shameful, running down her cheeks.

"And there's something more," continued the unicorn. "How many glasses of lemonade did you drink today?"

"I dunno... a few?" sobbed the pegasus on the floor.

"You drank at least ten glasses of lemonade. The lemonade we worked hard making yesterday. "

"Really? I didn't think—"

"No, you didn't. And how many did you sell?"

"Umm... kinda... none?"

"And who got the lemons yesterday? And the bottles?"

"Well... you but... "

"They cost me four bits to put together. You didn't think about that?"

"N-no. I didn't. I just... you know... thought you had them lying around or something."

"So we made thirty bits today. I sold thirty glasses of lemonade, and you sold none. You drank a large chunk of our stock, and then you DARE to tell me 'today sucked cos we didn't make enough for my new helmet,' when actually you earned none of it. AND I spent all the money beforehand on the ingredients. "

"Gosh I didn't think about it like that. Do you think you should get all the bits? I mean... it's okay by me—"

"So you can just ask your mom for more bits? Without doing anything to earn them?" The white unicorn filly just shook her head. "I'm just disappointed in you, Scootaloo. It's not really about the money, or who gets what. The real problem is that I think you're spoiled and... and greedy."

"Greedy?" Scootaloo once again got up, her face twisting in anger.

"Yes, greedy..." The unicorn looked at her friend with cold eyes. "...and selfish."

The pegasus was about to start arguing, or shouting, or storm out of the hut, but those cold eyes just kept staring at her, and the words once more stuck to her mouth. Instead of the bile of anger, she only felt a cold lump in her chest. Somehow she knew that her big sister was right. Her forehooves started shaking, as she threw herself against the unicorn's lap and desperately clung onto her friends midriff. She was now crying in earnest, feeling the hot tears flowing freely down her face.
Sweetie Belle just sat there silently, gently petting the orange filly in her lap. Only when the sobs started to quiet down, she continued to speak.

"A while ago I had the same lecture from my big sister. She'd been gathering gems all day long with Spike, and I took a large box of them without permission. I was gonna make some thing for school, I don't even remember what it was. But she was so angry with me. She said that it wasn't because I took something that wasn't mine, but because I didn't know how hard they were to get. The gems I mean. She then told me that they had spent hours and hours walking, digging and finally dragging the gems back to the shop. I really felt awful when I understood how much work she did for them, and I'd just taken them for granted. I mean... she has so many of them around. I didn't think it was such a big deal. But then I understood that nothing I got was really free. Food, toys, comics, candy. Someone had to pay for them. And work to get the bits. That's the day I asked my parents if I could get an allowance to work for the stuff I got. I mean... it's great to get presents and free stuff... but that's not really how it works. "

They sat in silence, the orange pegasus still hugging the white unicorn. Scootaloo managed to collect herself enough to let go and get up to a sitting position. Her eyes were already red from all the tears, but they both knew there would be more of them coming that day.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie."

"Good. Because that means you understand that you've been a bad pony."

"I mean... all my toys, comics, the candy... even my scooter. I've never done anything to earn them. I mean, not really. I hardly even do any chores at home. I cook the dinner but leave the dishes and pans in the sink. And my room's a mess. My mom usually cleans up and does stuff in the morning, but I'm usually at school or doing stuff. And whenever she tells me to do something I try to make excuses and... I've been really selfish."

"You know, Scoots... I told you I was disappointed in you earlier?"

"Y-yeah," the pegasus said while lowering her head in shame.

"I take it back. I'm really proud of you right now."

"Sweetie?"

"Yes?" This must be what the unicorn had been waiting for the whole day to hear.

"Would you punish me for being bad? For being selfish and greedy? I think I need a really hard spanking to remember it."

Yes, it was exactly what the unicorn had been waiting for.

"Of course, Scootaloo."

"And... umm... Sweetie?"

"Huh?"

"Thanks... for... you know... being my big sister today."
> What They Are Talking About
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neither of them wanted to get up just yet. The white unicorn filly kept brushing the damp and messy mane of her friend, who was still laying on her lap. The pegasus was still crying softly, no-longer trying to show a brave face like she usually did. She felt warm and safe, something she'd been missing for a long time, but hadn't realised before now. The gentle touches, the quiet words, the dim light, it all made her almost want to fall asleep. And still at the same time it felt silly. Her best friend was going to tie her up and hurt her, and Celestia knows what else, and she actually wanted it. It felt right. 

The orange filly let out a small sigh and turned her head to the side, so she could look up to the white unicorn holding her. Their eyes met, and they both shared a smile. Not the kind of smile one would expect between friends, but more like family. The mere thought brought a conflict in the small pegasus' mind. She didn't have a family like that. Her mother was nice, and her father was super fun, but only when they were around. It didn't matter what they did together on the weekends, or where they traveled together on holidays. The time she felt most empty was when she wanted to eat dinner with her parents, hear them ask about her day, to actually care what she was doing. And maybe, just maybe, tell her that whatever she did was right or wrong. Sweetie felt like the first person to ever really stop her and tell her everything she did was not okay. That there were limits to what you could get away with. And the consequences that came along with it.

She had to admit to herself that it hadn't been the original reason she'd asked Sweetie to give her a spanking. There'd been more. Whenever she did something really dangerous or crazy, she had started to feel strange sensations in her body. First she just thought it was mere excitement and what her mother called adrenaline. She'd never kept any secrets about the things happening in her body from her mother — she was a doctor after all, and asking her had felt like the natural thing to do. That day the young pegasus had learned a lot more about her own body, more than she could have believed possible. From that day she'd been looking for someone to share those things with. But she'd also promised her mother not to tell anyone, or she might cause a lot of trouble. That was one of the few things her mother ever asked of her in earnest, and she was determined to keep her word. When Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle gad heard that Apple Bloom was going to get a spanking from her sister, she'd had the same hot feeling in her body, but that time she knew what was going on. That's why she'd finally dared to ask Sweetie to spank her. Scootaloo had been about to tell her everything when the unicorn noticed her crotch getting all wet, but at the last moment, her promise kept her quiet.

If only Sweetie would figure out the things for herself soon! The orange pegasus felt her face start to glow and the tiny little place between her legs get hotter as she thought about being caught on the floor last time. And her friend STILL hadn't figured things out. How could she be so THICK! It took all of Scootaloo's willpower just not to blurt out everything. To tell how amazing you could feel from just touching yourself in a certain way. And she'd found out so much more after the talk with her mother. She'd experimented with things and found out even more new things. It felt weird, thinking her mother actually knew these things and had told her they were quite natural for a young filly. And she probably knew what the orange pegasus did to herself when she was alone. It kinda made it even more exciting.

"It looks like you're getting warmer, Scootaloo. You're face is turning all red there."

A small groan escaped from the pegasus' lips. The unicorn holding her of course thought it was out of exasperation, that her punishment would soon begin, but it actually had more to do with her friend's apparent obliviousness to... well... everything.

"Yeah. I'm ready to start if you are, big sister." She flashed the unicorn a more boyish grin, having found some of her confidence again.

"Well get up then. Your head's really heavy."

"Is not!"

"Is too! It weighs like a ton!"

"Does not! I'm a pegasus! I can walk on clouds and stuff."

"Well I guess you're getting fat!"

"No I'm not!"

"Well if your big sister tells you that your head is heavy, and you hafta believe it!"

"Meh. There you go using the 'big sis' card again."

"Did you say something, little missy?" Sweetie had taken the switch up in her hooves and was casually swishing it through the air.

"N-Nothing! So... " the orange filly found she had to swallow a lump from her throat before actually continuing. "...what should I do? The table again?"

"Nope. Today we're gonna use that chair." The white unicorn pointed at the high-backed wooden chair Apple Bloom had found in one of their barns at the farm, and had fixed and polished like it was nothing.

"Okay I guess... " Scootaloo sauntered over to the chair and looked it over. It was made from thick, heavy wood, clearly for grown-ups. Whenever any of the Crusaders sat in it, their hindhooves dangled several feet from the ground. It was of sturdy build, and it had taken all three of them to get it back to The Clubhouse. Without thinking, she climbed onto it and turned to lie on her stomach on the seat with her right side to the back against the back of the chair. The hard wooden edges felt like they were pushing into her skin already. This was not going to be fun.

"Not like that, Scoots."

"Huh? But isn't this how you get the... spanking?" The orange filly still had trouble saying the word, and felt her buttocks clench in anticipation, even though they hadn't started yet. 

"Well maybe. But today we do it a bit different. Sit on it like you normally would, but slide down. Like Miss Cheerilee always tells us not to sit in her class."

"Oh you mean like that one mare always does at the park? The one who's friends with the candy-shop miss?" She climbed back to the chair and turned into a more slouching posture.

"Yeah. Just like that. And now I'm gonna start tying you up."

"But... if I'm sitting on my rump... how are you gonna reach it?"

Sweetie Belle just gave a short giggle and said: "You'll see, Scoots." She then took the rope she had with her. It was so much better than the twine they'd used, and she was sure it wouldn't hurt her friend. That was not why she tied her up, anyways. "Umm... I hafta ask you one thing first."

"What's wrong, Sweetie?"

"Nothing's wrong... I just... wanna ask you if you really REALLY trust me?"

"Well... yeah. You're... like my big sis."

"Cos... Today's punishment is might be be kinda... bad. But I still think you deserve it."

"I... ummm... " The orange pegasus had to stop to think for a while. Worse than last time, when she'd been covered in bruises and even bleeding? That... didn't sound good at all. But she really DID trust Sweetie, and she really DID deserve a good punishment... so... "Yeah. You can do... whatever. I think you know what you're doing. And... it's supposed to hurt, right? Cos it's not a punishment if it doesn't, right?"

"T-Thanks, Scoots." For some reason the white unicorn's smile had turned into a smaller one, which was something the pegasus had not seen often. She thought it looked kinda cute. The smile quickly vanished as Sweetie got to work. She went behind the chair and tied Scootaloo's forehooves together behind the back of the chair. After checking that the knots held she circled back to the front side.

"Guess I'm not getting away now," said the pegasus while trying to put on a brave face.

"Those ropes not too tight? Not hurting your hooves?"

"Well... it feels kinda weird but I think it's okay." She also tentatively opened her wings up. "Seems these fellas are also okay," she added while folding them back to her sides.

"Good. Cos now we get to the fun part. Lift your hinds up, as far as they go."

"Huh?"

"Like you were trying to get them behind your neck."

Scootaloo lifted her hindhooves up, and a sudden realisation struck her. "You're gonna tie my hinds up? So that's how you're gonna reach my butt."

"Yeah. Just hold them there for a sec." Sweetie had to push the table next to her friend and climb on top of it, but she finally managed to tie the end of a rope to each of the pegasus' hindhooves. She then slipped the rope connecting the hooves behind the orange filly's neck. As a last touch, she jumped back to the floor and tied one last length of rope, joining together the one going behind Scootaloo's neck that held her hindhooves up to the smaller rope behind the back of the chair where the pegasus' forehooves were. She then backed away to look at the results.

Scootaloo was trussed up nicely. She was now sitting, or more like laying, on the small of her back. Her tail hung comfortably over the front edge of the chair. It had worked even better than she'd imagined.

"This feels really weird, Sweetie. And I can see everything you're doing. How did you come up with this?"

"Umm... I just did. And you're not going to see when I'm gonna hit you, cos of... THIS!" The white filly triumphantly lifted up the black cloth she'd set on the table earlier. "I'm going to blindfold you too."

"What? Why!?"

"Silly filly. Cos I said so."

"Oh yeah... I forgot."

Sweetie climbed back onto the table and tied the blindfold over her friend's eyes.

"See anything?" she asked while waving a hoof in front of the pegasus's face."

"Nothing."

"Good. Now before we start... I have to make sure you're all right. It'd be just awful if you were feeling ill or something.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's part of the punishment! Shh!"

"Sorry..."

Sweetie went back to the first-aid kit she'd brought with her and carried it over to the table. She also brought a smaller stool with her so she could reach higher without climbing on the table all the time. 

"First... let's see how your ears are working."

"My ears?"

"The patient would do well to be quiet," the small white filly said with a giggle. She then opened her toolbox of torture implements and after rummaging around for a moment, took out a cotton swab with her mouth and gently pushed it inside Scootaloo's ear.

"EWWW! GROSS! What are you doing! Take it out!"

"Now now my little patient. Try to stay still." She left the swab hanging from her friends ear and then moved to the other side and repeated the process.

"EWW EWW EWW! Take them out! What are you putting into my ears?!"

"I don't know if you can hear me right now, but it seems like your ears needed a cleaning, so I decided to start with them." 

Sweetie then gently pushed the cotton swab a little deeper and brought it out again, only fractions of an inch at a time. Her mother had told her it was dangerous to put them in too deep, so she tried to be careful. It wasn't easy, because the tied-up pegasus kept squirming and complaining all the time. After a while, she switched sides again to the chagrin of her orange friend. When she finally decided she'd enjoyed herself enough, she removed the sticks and threw them into the small trash can they had in the corner of The Clubhouse. With a smile, she noticed that both the swabs were covered in yellow-brown clumps of earwax.

"That was... uggh. Awful. You're so mean, Sweetie."

"Shush. We're just getting started."

"Aww, mane... " the pegasus grumbled.

The unicorn filly hummed to herself as she took another cotton swab and this time climbed up on the stool and placed both of her forehooves between her friends uplifted ankles and leaned on her shoulders. She then nonchalantly pushed the long swab into her friends' nostril.

"NO! Not my nose! EWWWWW!"

Sweetie had trouble holding on to the other end of the stick as a new bout of giggles almost overtook her. She once again started pushing the instrument deeper, until suddenly—

"HA-CHOO!"

Sweetie fell from the stool onto her rump from suprise. She felt a few wet spots on her face, and quickly started rubbing herself clean with her hooves.

"How DARE you! You just sneezed on my face!"

"Sorry... I couldn't help it. The thing you stuck in my nose tickled so much."

"Uggh... Fine. We'll skip the nose." The white unicorn filly unceremoniously tossed the swab into the trash. That plan had sure backfired. She tried to shake the failure off, and went back to the first-aid kit, soon emerging with a flat, thin wooden stick. It reminded her of the center of an ice cream. She only had a vague idea on what to do with it, her last memory of visiting at a doctor being from a long time ago.

"Next... I'm going to check out your mouth, Scoots."

"Oh... kay?"

"Now open wide." Sweetie picked up the stick between her teeth and climbed back up to where she'd been a moment ago. 

The obedient pegasus opened her mouth wide open, and Sweetie pressed her face forward. The stick wasn't too long, and as she pushed it inside of her friends mouth, she felt the hot, moist breath of the pegasus on her face. It smelled faintly of lemons and candy. She scanned her friend's mouth, not really sure what one was supposed to do with an instrument like this. She pushed around her friends gums, tongue, went around the insides of cheeks, all the while leaning closer. She had to keep breathing through her nose, and couldn't avoid the sweet scent that came out from Scootaloo's mouth. She leaned in, trying to reach the back of the pegasus' mouth, and felt her lips touching those of her friends. 

They both shied away from the touch, but Sweetie soon pushed the stick back in. Their lips once again touched each other, but this time the white filly didn't turn away. Her friend's lips felt warm and a little wet on her own. Scootaloo's mouth was open wide, so she turned her muzzle from side to side, enjoying the new feeling on her own face, as their lips brushed together gently. Sweetie also closed her eyes to feel what she was doing better, not even trying to look into her friend's mouth any more. The orange pegasus' jaw was starting to hurt, and she closed her mouth just a bit, but it was enough to close her lips around those of the unicorn's. The orange filly brought her teeth together and took the stick between them and pushed forward, bringing their lips together for real. She felt the unicorn' nervous breath as a gentle wind on her own muzzle. 

They both started moving their lips, puckering, moving back, trying to mimic what they sensed the other pony was doing. The stick between their teeth changed sides as they moved it with their tongues, trying to get closer and closer to the other. After what felt like hours of this, Sweetie had to pull away because the posture she was in started to hurt her back. She pulled the stick out and moved it to the side of her mouth and just let it hang there. She was still leaning on her friend's shoulders, and just looked at the orange pegasus. Both of the fillies were completely red in the face, and their hearts were thumping so loud they even felt it in their ears. It took a moment for Sweetie to catch her breath and climb back down, and almost as an afterthough dropped the stick into the trash. The only sounds in the hut were the heavy breathing of the fillies, and the raindrops landing on the roof above. 

"Sweetie—" the tied up pegasus started.

"I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT!" the white unicorn shouted in a shrill panicked voice, which cracked several times.. "It was an accident! It was just... just... a check-up! To see if you throat was okay and stuff! I didn't mean to ki-ki-ki—"

"Kiss?" the pegasus tried.

"NO! We didn't ki-ki... DO THAT! You got that! Just... a medicinal examination." The white filly huffed as the silence once again fell in The Clubhouse. 

"I... kinda thought it felt nice," said the blushing orange pegasus in a quiet voice.

"You... did?" 

"Y-yeah. I mean... if you wanna... you know... examine my mouth again... it's... I wouldn't mind."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think it'd be... nice." The pegasus tried to move her head around, maybe to get a peek at her friend from under the blindfold. Unfortunately for her, the unicorn had been very careful while putting it on, and she soon gave up.

"Yes... well... " Sweetie gave her best formal cough she could muster. "I think we should move on."

"So... no more examinations?"

"Actually... there is still one," she'd finally managed to regroup her thoughts and was back in the big sister -role. "I still have to take your temperature.

"Okay... so more stuff in my mouth?"

"The... other kind of temperature."

"Oh." Once again it took the pegasus' brain a moment to process this new information. If one was listening closely enough, they might have heard the cogs and sprockets finally take a huge, clunky step forward inside her head. "SWEETIE BELLE! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PUT IT IN MY BUTT!"

"And how are you going to stop me?"

"Please! NO! Not... that! Anything... ANYTHING but not that!" The pegasus was squirming madly, trying to move her exposed behind away from her unseen assailant, as if it was actually going to work with all the ropes that kept her in place.

"Don't be such a baby. It's just a thermometer."

"Noooo! No! NO! Sweetie! Please! NO!"

"Sorry but you told me I could do anything to you today... So this is what I'm going to do."

"You can't! That's like SO GROSS!" the orange filly shouted, before adding in a lot more quietly: "And... embarrassing."

"I KNOW it is! That's why we're doing it."

"Please. Sweetie Belle?"

"No. I'm going to take your temperature from your butt and that's final."

"OAWWW!"

The white unicorn walked to her friend. She didn't usually get to look at what ponies had under their tails. At least from so close up. Now she could clearly see everything. And even more than she thought.

"Scoots, you're leaking again."

"Please! Just... Don't look! It's so... eww! Just don't look at me!"

"Why? I think you look cute here." She lifted a forehoof, but hesitated for a moment. She knew it wasn't okay for a pony to touch another pony around there, but on the other hoof, she could do anything she wanted with the orange pegasus today. It was, after all, a punishment. She lowered her hoof gently on the orange inner thigh of her friend. "You have cute, soft fur here," the unicorn said, ignoring the nervous whinny from her friend. She then stroked the pegasus's fur lower, moving her hoof down towards the glistening slit. "I don't know why you're all wet here, but I guess I'll find out sooner or later. " Sweetie carefully circumnavigated the pink folds that had appeared from inside the orange slit, not daring to touch it. She continued even further down, allowing her hoof to make a few circles around the trembling buttocks of her friend. "Your butt is really soft, did you know that?"

"P-p-please... Sweetie... don't look at me down there."

"You can't stop me, can you?" The unicorn gently prodded the rear of her friend. "I thought it was really soft ever since I gave you the first spanking. Like a really comfortable pillow." The muscles in Scootaloo's rump once again gave a nervous twitch. "And it looks ever cuter when you squueze your buttcheecks like that." Sweetie then allowed her hoof to finally close in on it's final destination. 

"And then there's this here."

"Eww! That's my butthole! Don't touch it! It's so... dirty!"

"I don't think it's dirty. You went swimming today, after all. And it looks kinda funny. I've never really looked at another pony's butthole before. Never thought it would be so... pink."

"EWW! EWW! Stop! Please! I'm begging you Sweetie!" A small sob escaped the pegasus.

Sweetie only felt boldened by the resistance of her friend, finally daring to touch the wrinkled hole next to the pegasus' tail. She felt a cold shiver run through her back for doing something so naughty.

"This is where I'm going to put the thermometer. Right in this hole, Scootaloo."

There were no more protests from the orange filly. Just several more sobs. As Sweetie got up to search for her final instrument, she noticed how the blindfold was now considerably darker in several places.

The thermometer was an old-fashioned thing. It was practically just a long glass tube with a slimmer end with a metal tip. Inside was a thin pillar of some liquid that you had to turn around and squint to see properly, surrounded by numbers. It was also very alien to Sweetie Belle, because she hardly ever got ill. She opened the the cover that held the thermometer, and folded open the small instructional slip inside. It was all in thin, faded writing, and she had to move closer to the oil lamp to read it. It seemed that the thermometer was easy enough to use, just put it in the metal tip first and wait for a few minutes. It also mentioned other things, like using a small amount of lubricant before using it inside somepony's rectum. Most of the words meant nothing to Sweetie, but she got the gist of it. After a short search in the first-aid kit, she found a small tube of lip balm and nothing else. Well, it had to do.

"Now, my little patient. I'm going to take your temperature. But first, we have to put some lubricant into your butthole."

"Wha-what's that?" came the muffled voice of the sniffling pegasus.

"Means I'm going to put something into your butt to make it easier for me to get the thermometer inside."

"EWWW! Can't we do it without something like that? It sounds even more gross!"

"Well the instructions were quite clear." Sweetie moved the stool away so she could get close enough to her friend. She grabbed the capped tip of the lip balm tube and twisted it open with her teeth. Then she turned it around in her mouth and squeezed. A small pearl of balm squirted out onto her hoof. Closing the cap turned out to be easy, just pushing it back made it snap shut with a small click, and she dropped it on the stool next to her.

"You ready, Scoots? I'm going to start now."

"No... I'm not ready... "

"Good!" Sweetie said in a merry sing-song voice. She leaned in closer to the task at hand.

The trussed up pegasus felt her friend's hot breath running over her backside. She once again gave a futile squirm, and finally resigned to her fate. She'd never had her temperature taken from her rectum before, only from the mouth. Even the thought of putting something inside there felt nasty. She usually avoided thinking about the whole thing, mostly considering going to the toilet a necessary evil that took time away from having fun. The pegasus felt a hoof taking a grip around one of her hindhooves, and a cold bead of sweat ran down her back. It might also be that her mane was still damp from her foray outside before and a lone droplet of water had decided to dislodge itself and travel down, but the results were the same. A cold shudder ran through her shoulders, making the ends of her short fur in her arms and face stand on end. Then something very cold touched her tender hole, and she squirmed to get away.

"Stay put or I'm going to get this stuff all over."

The orange pegasus squeezed her eyes shut, even though it mattered little with her blindfold. She felt the unicorn start rubbing the cold balm around her hole, going in tiny circles around it. Then a horrifying feeling overtook her, as her friend pushed the tip of her hoof down on the hole, pushing some of the vile stuff inside. She tried to push her buttock together to cover her butthole, but her legs were spread too wide for them to reach.

Then something even colder touched her hole. With horror she realised that this was going to be it. She gave one last try: 

"Please! Sweetie let's just skip this part, okay? Just... spank me or something but don't put it in!"

"I'm going to spank you, don't worry. I'm going to spank you till your butt's all red and you cry like a baby. But first I'm gonna do THIS!"

The pegasus felt the cold object enter her. It didn't hurt more than a little pinch as the tip went in. Sweetie kept pushing the thermometer deeper, until it was about halfway in. The feeling was so alien to Scootaloo that she tried to lift her backside up from the chair and even shake the weird thing out, but it wouldn't budge. 

"There. That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"It feels SOO weird, Sweetie. Now can you take it out? Please?"

"The instructions say that you have to wait several minutes before taking it out."

"Minutes? More like hours! Couldn't you just take it out right now?"

"No. Besides, I have the next phase of your punishment all set up, and we can start while we wait for the meter to finish."

"You're not going to spank me with that... thing inside me!"

"Of course not, you silly dodo."

"Hey! I thought we agreed not to use that word anymore? Cos I can't fly and stuff?" 

"Oh yeah, Sorry. It kinda slipped." The unicorn apologised in earnest. There were some lines you just didn't cross. 

"It's okay."

"SO! Your next punishment. Can you tell me why you're being punished today?"

"Well... umm... cos I've been acting like a spoiled pony and been... selfish and... greedy." Saying the words hurt more than it should have. They were just words. How could they feel so heavy?

"So do you know what happens to greedy and selfish ponies?"

"N-no?"

"They always get what's coming for them."

"A-and that is?" The pegasus was starting to feel genuinely scared. What in Equestria had Sweetie planned?

"That's why you're going to drink some lemonade."

"I'm... Wha? How is that a punishment? I like lemonade!"

"Nice isn't it?"

"But... how is this a punishment?"

"Cos we still have two bottles left. That's at least 10 glasses. And you're gonna drink all of it.

"WHAT? I can't drink that much soda in one go! I mean... one glass, maybe two..."

"I'm sure you can manage it. Like you said, you really like lemonade."

"But Sweetie! That's crazy!"

"That's what happens when you're greedy. You drank so much of the stuff we made and didn't sell even one glass the whole day! So I think it's just fitting for you to drink the rest of it too."

"But... I... " The orange pegasus nervously shifted in her seat, and was reminded that she still had the thermometer in her rear.

"No buts. This is your punishment, and you agreed to take what was coming to you." Without waiting for more protests, the small unicorn trotted outside to their cart. The rain didn't show any signs of easing. It looked like somepony had dragged a heavy gray curtain around The Clubhouse. You could barely even see the closest trees. Even if it was summer, it felt like night-time. A few confused birds tried to chirp in the trees, but mostly they just tried to stay under branches and thick leaves and not get wet. Two small rabbit were sitting underneath the hut, but they opted to dash into the rain and not wait to see what the humongous white creature was about to do.

Sweetie quickly grabbed the two extra bottles and one of the glasses they'd had with them at the beach, and dashed inside. Even the short while it had taken her to get back had made her feel uncomfortably damp. She walked to the table and set the beverages there. She then took a glass, and slowly poured out a glass of lemonade, making sure the filly next to her heard it sloshing down into the container. The white filly then climbed back on the stool in front of her friend.

"Open up. Here comes the first glass. And if you don't drink up, it'll end up all over you."
The pegasus tried to open her mouth to protest, but the rim of a lemonade glass was shoved into her mouth. The greenish-yellow soda slid into her mouth, and she drank it down as fast as she could. Small rivulets of liquid rolled down her cheeks, but she finished most of the glass.

"Good!" Sweetie said while jumping back down. Once again she poured a glass and climbed back.

"Gimme a second, I gotta—" The rest of her sentence was cut off by a gurgling noise as Sweetie once again started pouring lemonade down the pegasus' throat. She coughed a few times, splattering the soda all over her chin, but still managed to get most of it down. The carbonate in the drink burned in her throat, and the lemonade was losing its sweet taste and reminded her more of raw lemons.

Sweetie once again made a refill, and climbed back up. This time Scootaloo just shut her mouth and tried to turn her head away. 

"That's not going to work, Scootaloo. You're gonna drink it all down. Because that's what greedy ponies do." The unicorn pushed the glass between the bound filly's lips and started pouring. This time only about half ended up going inside the pegasus, the rest covering her face and chest.

"Oh dear what a mess you are. And we've only halfway through the first bottle."

"Please! Just a second!"

"You have the time it takes for me to pour another glass and no more."

"Please! Just—" Again the rest of her protests were drowned under gurgles and coughs, but she managed to finish most of the glass. 

The same process continued, with Sweetie rapidly filling glass after glass, and forcing Scootaloo to down them. After the first bottle was empty, Scootaloo just weakly tried to neigh and whinny when the glass came to her lips, but every time was forced to give up and drink. The contents of the next several glasses ended partly in the pegasus's throat, but mostly all over the squirming filly. Then she felt a sharp pain in her stomach which kept on going for several seconds.

"Sweetie...I think I'm gonna... toss it..." 

The unicorn had expect this might happen and grabbed a nearby bucket. Scootaloo managed to keep the drink in, only letting out a few loud burps. Sweetie finally decided that the orange filly had had enough.

"Well, you drank almost two full bottles so I guess that's enough for now. How does it feel to drink all the lemonade you can, Scoots?"

"Urrgh... That was AWFUL! I don't think I'll ever drink lemonade again. Or any other soda." Her voice sounded raspy from all the carbonate in the drink, and she was suffering some small amounts of vertigo from all the liquid and sugar. 

"Serves you right. Now let's see your—" The condident white unicorn fell silent.

"Huh? You gonna take that thing out now?"

"Well uhm... "

"What?! What is it!?"

"I think I kinda... maybe... pushed it deeper when I was lemonading you." The unicorn's voice was quivering from clear nervousness.

"Deeper? What do you mean deeper?" Scootaloo's voice echoed the same trepidation that her friend seemed to be suffering from.

"Oh... well.. . It's still outside but... I can only see the tip."

"Phew. I thought it was all the way in or something. Don't scare me like that."

"Well... it's not that... it's just... I can't really reach it with my hooves... so I kinda hafta..."

There was a exceptionally nervous moment of silence, the kind you only get when you try to pass gas unnoticed in a small, confined space, except you notice that something else has passed also, and you are only wearing very short shorts, and the little girl from next door asks a very specific question from her mother. Only worse. 

"... EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" shouted the trussed up filly.

"Just... just stay still, stupid. It might go in deeper if you move."

"But... you gotta use your mouth! That's like SOOO gross!"

Sweetie peered at the end of the thermometer. It was only out for about a half an inch. She might have been able to take it out with her hooves if it hadn't been between the soft buttocks of her friend. 

"Ugh... Here... goes."

She placed bot of her forehooves on the inner thighs of the orange pegasus. As she slowly brought her head close, she could smell the sweet aroma of the lemonade all over her friend. And something else. Something salty, and warm. Some of the lemonade had dripped down to between the pegasus' legs, and mixed up with the moisture that was running down from her pink slit. There was no way for the white filly to avoid getting some of it into her mouth.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and lowered her head. She came in too fast and her lips ended up surrounding the tied-up filly's rectum. To her horror, Sweetie felt her teeth pushing the thermometer even deeper. In panic, she turned her head to the side and searched for the tip of the meter with her tongue. The taste of lemonade, and something salty covered her mouth, but she tried to concentrate on her task. She searced all over the area where the meter should have been, but could find nothing. Had she really pushed it inside? She breathed heavily through her nose and felt the orange filly shudder as her breath hit Scootaloo's moist slit. Her muzzle was rubbing against the pink folds, and the fur on her face was soon covered in the slimy stuff that was leaking out. She kept sliding her tongue around, still keeping her eyes shut, but could not find the object she was searching for. Her tongue had started feeling oily from the lip balm she'd applied earlier.

There was only one place the meter could have gone. She moved her probing tongue around until she found the center of the wrinkly hole, and tried to push inside. There, finally, she felt the tip, right inside. Inside, what she now realised, her friend's butthole. Trying not to think too much, she closed her lips around the hole and sucked inside. The thermometer gently slid out, and she grabbed it between her teeth, trying to keep her tongue and lips from touching it. She quickly pulled out and dropped the instrument on the stool next to her. She quickly started rubbing the back of her hooves around her mouth, in case something icky had happened, and tried to suppress a retch. She picked the thermometer up with her hooves, maing sure not to look at it, and dropped it into the waste bin, not even caring if it was worth something, or if someone would want to know what happened to it at a later date. She then dashed to the lemonade bottle and took a deep swing into her mouth and spat into the bucket in what her sister would call 'a most unladylike fashion'.

"Blargh!" she shouted, only narrowly avoiding retching again. She searched around her mouth, trying to find anything that didn't belong there, but was tremendously relieved to find only the tastes of salt, lemon and sugar. Her hooves had started to shake, and she soon found herself seated on the floor, not able to get up. After the worst was over, she finally noticed something was off. Scootaloo hadn't said a word since she started.

"Scoots? You okay Scoots?" she called out.

The pegasus turned her head away, her cheeks flushed to an almost rose-coloured hue. Her wings were once again spread to their full extent, making her posture even more uncomfortable.

"I... don't wanna talk about it."

"Scoots... I..."

"Could we... maybe pretend that this never happened or something, Sweetie?"

The white filly could only sigh in relief.

"Yeah. I don't wanna talk about this again. EVER. Like... Pinkie-Pie swear ever."

"Well... umm... I think we hafta make do without a Pinkie-Pie promise. Cos my hooves are kinda tied..."
> And Never Again Think Of Foals As Innocent
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took Sweetie a moment to regroup herself and assume her role again. She walked over to her tied-up friend and looked the pegasus over. Scootaloo's orange fur was wet and sticky everywhere from the lemonade. The tangy smell of sugar and citrus clung to the unicorn's nose as she checked the ropes one more time.

"How are you doing there, Scootaloo?"

"I'm fine I guess. It just... feels weird sitting like this and my legs are kinda starting to hurt."

"Would you like me to let you go for a moment?" Sweetie tugged at the ropes that bound the orange filly's forehooves to the chair.

"Like in the middle?"

"Y-yeah... I mean... If you're not feeling okay?"

"Thanks I guess, but..." Scootaloo gave a slow shake, "...I think if you let me loose now I couldn't go back." Her wings had started slowly folding back against her sides and she gave a long exhalation.

"Next part's gonna be the switch," Sweetie said, almost like it was just a matter of course. She slowly walked over to the thin piece of wood and started slowly nibbling it, trying to remove the twin ends that were sticking from the branch and cleaning out the small nubs and calluses that protruded along it's length.

"I figured." Despite her best efforts, the pegasus could hardly avoid a shudder running through her whole body. In addition to being blindfolded, it was quiet, and she couldn't pick up any smells from around the room apart from the overpowering smell of the soda all over her coat. A small sense of panic started coming over her. At first, she just swallowed it, but it would not go away. She wondered why in Equestria she was doing this? Bound, blinded, hurting, her stomach was churning nastily, and the worst was yet to come. And she could just ask her friend to stop it, right now, and the unicorn would surely let her go. 

"S-sweetie... " The pegasus called out, her voice carrying a tiny quiver with it.

"What's wrong?"

"I... I don't know if I wanna go on. I'm... I'm... SCARED!" the pegasus shouted the last word as her voice cracked into a sad little whinny.

Sweetie dropped the switch and ran to her friend, and after climbing on the small stool, gave her an awkward hug. Her own white coat got coated in the sticky stuff that covered the orange filly, but she hardly noticed. She could feel the warmth of the pegasus against her own body.

"Shh... You're gonna be alright. This is the last part of your punishment."

"But... "

"I know it's scary, but you agreed to this. And I'm gonna make sure you won't get away before I'm finished." Sweetie also felt a new sensation inside her body. It felt hot, growing on her cheeks and making her heart pound. It was almost the same as when she and Scootaloo had shared their first... mouth inspection. 

"Couldn't you... just... skip the spanking for today?"

"No. I think it's gotta happen. And you asked for it yourself." The heat coursed through her, and looking at her bound friend only made it grow stronger. She even felt a few beads of sweat starting to form on her back and sides.

"I know, but... "

Sweetie hugged the shaking pegasus again and nuzzled her under her chin before pushing away. She walked over to the switch and picked it up. It was mostly finished, just a few more bites and it'd do. The thought of bringing it on the naughty pegasus' bottom sent a new wave of heat coursing through her. She felt excited, like on a birthday morning when you saw the gift-wrapped box for the first time and knew something great was going to happen. Behind her, she heard the pegasus clear her throat and try to move around in her binds.

The white unicorn was finally content with the quality of her implement, and walked to her friend. Without another word, she brought the switch gently against the upraised backside of her friend, a mental image of the filly squirming in her binds flowing into her mind. Even the mere thought almost made her drop the implement, as her mouth turned into a wicked grin. The pegasus was clearly in tears already, her head hanging down against her chest as hopeless sobs wracked her small body. She only gave a small twitch as she felt the touch of the supple wood against her soft fur. 

Sweetie had second thoughts about the whole switching. This was not like the last two times. The orange pegasus seemed so broken and weak Even though that was the reason why they were doing this thing, it felt so very wrong right now. But somehow, it felt even more exciting for just that reason. Her friend was now completely helpless, not just her small body, but all of her. Everything she did could hurt the pegasus deeply, and the feeling of power over her friend felt overwhelming. 

"Scootaloo. I'm going to spank you now. It's your punishment, and you're gonna take it like a brave pegasus." The heat in the unicorn's body was coursing around her limbs, and she felt her own backside twitch with anticipation.

There was no immediate answer from the orange filly, just a weak sob.

"Did you hear me, y-young missy?" It was harder for Sweetie to breathe now, as her heart was pounding in her ears and her mouth was completely dry.

"Sweetie... please don't... hurt me." The words were weak and pleading. Not the words of the usual headstrong tomcolt, but of a scared little foal.

"I will It's... for your own good!" The unicorn managed from between clenched teeth.

"But I don't wanna!" The pegasus' shout was filled to the brim with panic and desperation. She pulled at her ropes, trying to rip her hooves out from their confines. She managed to lift her rump a few inches from the chair before dropping it down again. Her messy wet tail was flailing around madly. The feeling of absolute power that the unicorn felt was overwhelming, and she could hardly contain her impulse to just start striking. She dropped the switch from her mouth.

"Scoots... SCOOTALOO!" Sweetie Belle put a hoof on her friend's thigh. "Listen! I'll just give you ten hits, okay? Ten hits, and it'll be over."

The orange filly shivered all over, but it was clear she was trying to get a grip on her feelings. She turned her head back and breathed deeply, finally getting the shakes to subside.

"Ten strikes, Scoots. Then it's over." the unicorn repeated.

After a few more deep breaths, the orange filly was able to speak again.

"I... think I can take... ten hits. Okay. Yeah. I can do it."

"That's my brave little pegasus."

"Just ten hits. Okay. Ten hits."

"Here it comes."

Sweetie couldn't wait any longer. She put all her strength into the first strike, intent on making every strike count like five. Because her hits were coming from lower than the last time, the switch struck the pegasus at a steep angle on her tender thigh. Scootaloo let out a squeal as a clear red mark was left on her hindhoof where the hit had landed. Sweetie couldn't even wait for her friend to catch a breath, but immediately went for another hit, and another, and another. By the third hit, the orange filly was shouting, by the fifth, she was begging for the spanking to stop. By the seventh, all she did was scream. 

The shrill cry kept on going a long time after the last hit had landed. Scootaloo's rear was now an orange canvas with a criss-cross pattern of red stripes everywhere. Sweetie couldn't take the shouting anymore, and had to just run outside to The Clubhouse's porch. As she shut the door, the screams were muffled, but she could still clearly hear them. She was panting and shaking all over, and the new burning sensation had overcome her. She felt hot all over, and as she sat on the porch, she felt a jolt going through her body. She moved her forehoof lower, to the place where her hindhooves joined the rest of her small body. There she found something very new, the source of her heat and wetness. The moment she touched herself, she felt another jolt coursing through her neural pathways, sending a primal need to her brain. 

She found herself on her back, still listening to the crying of her friend inside. Sweetie stroked her wet crotch with her forehoof, squirming and moaning on the damp wood. Her eyes fell half-shut and her head trashed from side to side, as more and more waves of pleasure rolled over her. Her hoof felt hard and clumsy, sending small twangs of pain from her slit, but the pain she felt only intensified the feeling of intense pleasure she was drowning in. Fleeting images flittered through her mind, of Scootaloo tied up with her rump held high, with their first awkward kiss, of her own muzzle rubbing against Scootaloo's wet slit. It all made sense to her in that instant. What her friend had felt, what she'd wanted to say but couldn't. The white unicorn could never have imagined that she'd ever be able to feel like this, just from touching a certain place of her body. More images swam in her mind, of her bathing together with her sister, of her sister using her unicorn magic to wash herself with a sponge. Hadn't she spent a long time washing under her tail? She'd always wondered about that, but thought it was just her sister being prissy about the 'dirty place'. And Scootaloo rubbing against the corner of the table and moaning when the pegasus got her second spanking. It all made sense now. 

Sweetie's legs twitched, out of her control, and she switched to her other forehoof, bringing the first one to her muzzle, smelling the same salty aroma of arousal that had clung to her nose since the time she'd inhaled it when cutting open the strings around the orange filly's ankles. She moaned a guttural cry, so very unlike her usual high-pitched voice. Her hindhooves were now twitching in rhythm with her own strokes and she felt her own hips start thrusting against her forehoof, desperately wanting for more.  A wet slapping sound reached her ears as the shouts from inside grew more quiet. It was a dirty, slippery sound that came from her own slit being clumsily caressed by her own hooves. Sweetie tried to lift her head and look down to see what was happening, but her back spasmed backwards as her body started moving on it's own, bringing with it a tremendous feeling of pleasure. 

The unicorn again switched her hooves, rubbing her now dripping wet hoof on her face, enjoying the smell of her own arousal. She brought the hoof to her mouth and hungrily licked it all over. The thick substance covered her mouth and made her tongue slippery with the taste of a young filly's first steps into womanhood. The moans of pleasure she let out were growing more shallow, more rushed, as her hindhooves tried desperately to reach even higher in the air. The bottom of her stomach felt like it was filling up, ready to burst out through her swollen fillyhood. The waves of her the first orgasm in her life started rocking her body; Her head slammed onto the floorboards as the pressure finally exploded outwards, blurring her vision from ecstasy. The filly's eyes turned upwards, hiding under her half-shut lids, and her hindhooves fell flaccidly on the porch. Only thing still moving was the hoof in her crotch, gently stroking her burning slit. 

It took her a long time to recuperate, only slowly returning to Equestria from the peaks of her pleasure. Sweetie was finally able to open her eyes and let out a content sigh, and then reality caught up with her. Her friend was still inside, bound and hurting, her job still not done. She just hoped it wasn't too late.

When she got inside, a new smell assaulted her nose. It was an unfortunate, but familiar one to her. Under the bound filly was a large puddle of liquid, covering several feet of the hut's floor. 

"GET OUT!"  the pegasus started shouting in a rough voice as she heard her friend enter.

"Scoots... what... "

"GET OUUUUT! IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! I'M SO SORRY! I'LL CLEAN IT UP! I PROMISE! I DIDN'T MEAN IT TO HAPPEN!

The shouting pegasus's tail was still dripping, the event having taken place not long ago.   Sweetie scanned the room, checking if they'd left anything valuable or otherwise vulnerable on the floor. It seemed a few drawings would never be hung on the walls, but other than that the damage was minimal. 

"Shh, Scoots. It's gonna be okay. I'll clean it up."

"NOOO! DON'T TOUCH IT!"

"It's not a big deal, really. I'll handle it."

"How can you say it's not a big deal!? I... I... "

"You peed yourself. I know. I'll clean it up."

"But... It's so gross! Just let me go and I'll clean it up! It's all my fault. I couldn't keep it in! It was all the lemonade and you were gone so long and I shouted for you and I tried to keep it in!" Tears were running from under the blindfold. "I really tried. I really... REALLY... tried! You gotta believe me!"

Sweetie had already located a towel, and with the bucket they'd used earlier, she started cleaning the liquid off the floor. Scootaloo kept apologising all the while, but the white unicorn hardly said anything, only letting out a few 'It's gonna be okays' as she worked. When she'd gotten most of the stuff into the bucket, she headed outside and dumped the contents on the grass. The unicorn then filled the bucket with water from a rainwater barrel that Apple Bloom had insisted they roll all the way from the farm. It seemed like a really good idea right now. 

Inside, the unicorn once again got back to work, washing the floor with the clean water.

"Sweetie! Please untie me! I'll help you clean up!"

"Don't worry, Scoots. I got this."

"How can you say that! You're cleaning my... EWW! How can you do that? You're gonna get my... PEE all over you!"

"It's not a big deal, Scoots. It really isn't."

"I'm so sorry."

"Accidents happen. That's why your big sis is here to help out."

The unicorn kept cleaning up the floor, occasionally going outside to change the water. When the floor was moist from water only, she moved to the still tied-up orange filly. First she dried her tail into the bucket and rinsed it several times with water. After one visit outside, she came back with the bucket full of water. She'd made sure to clean the towel up completely. The unicorn trotted over to Scootaloo, and climbed up on the table, and with some deft toothwork, managed to untie the blindfold around her friend's eyes. The orange filly immediately turned her teary red eyes away from her friend, too ashamed to even look Sweetie in the eyes.

"Scootaloo, I said it's okay. Don't worry. Let's get you cleaned up and then I'll untie you."

"You don't hafta! I can go wash up myself! Just untie me and I'll go home and take a shower and—"

"No. I'm going to wash you now. I was intending to do this from the beginning when we got all that lemonade all over you. And we would have had to wash the floor anyways cos we got the lemonade on the floor too."

"But... you had to touch my... pee..."

"Yes. I had to."

"Why'd you do something like that? It's so gross."

"It's not gross. It's just pee."

"Eww..." The pegasus grimaced in disgust.

Sweetie had taken the wet towel from the bucket and was now gently washing the sticky soda from her friend's face.

"Scoots... can I tell you a secret?" Sweetie asked in a nonchalant voice. At least she hoped it sounded nonchalant, because inside, her stomach was filled with butterflies.

"O-of course! You know I'll never tell anypony."

"I used to wet my bed."

"Is that all? I used to do that when I was small too."

"Umm... I used to do it... a bit longer than other foals."

"Erm..."

"Like... A LOT longer." A slight blush was visible on the unicorn's pale cheeks.

"How... long actually."

"Umm... I've been dry for... about a year now. Well I've had a few accidents but... "

Scootaloo could only stare at her friend with a mixture of horror and sympathy.

"I've been to a few doctors and I have to eat salt in the evening which makes me feel real weird and I can't drink anything before going to bed. They even gave me some medicine but that made me throw up so we couldn't use it. But what I'm tryinna say is that I've been mostly cleaning after myself for a while now. You know, washing the linens, drying the bed... stuff like that. It's really embarrassing, but I've kinda gotten used to it." As she spoke, Sweetie moved to her friend's chest, occasionally rinsing the towel in the clean water and continuing to clean her friend up.

"Gosh... I never... "

"And you can't tell anypony! Ever! I mean if somepony at school found out... like Tiara or Spoon or—"

"I'd never tell anypony! Never! I trust you with being my big sis so you can DEFINITELY trust me!"

The small unicorn's eyes were starting to fill up with tears.

"Hey! Sweetie?"

"I'm okay. It's just... I'm really happy you said that."

"That you can trust me?"

"N-no... that you trust me. I mean..." Sweetie had gotten to her friend's stomach now, but had to stop for a moment to blink her eyes clear. "...I always mess up things I try to do with my folks or my sister. And they always shout at me and tell me I can't be trusted and that I can't do anything alone. Especially my sister. She's always looking over my shoulder when I do anything."

"But we mess up all the time! That doesn't mean anything!"

"It doesn't?"

"Of course not! Trusting someone is not about them messing up. You don't MEAN to mess up, right? It's be different if you lied to someone or hurt them on purpose or stuff."

Sweetie had to turn away, her face in a twisted expression.

"Sorry, Sweetie! I didn't mean about what we're doing!"

"No, it's just—" The unicorn turned once again to look at her friend, her eyes running.

"No, Sweetie."

"But there's—"

"No. Not a word."

Sweetie sniffled and gave a small nod. She dipped the towel in the bucket again, and started moving the cool wet cloth along the orange filly's thighs.

"Umm... Sweetie? I don't think I got any lemonade there."

"But it feels good cos I hit you here? Let me make you feel better."

"S-sure. Like, whatever." A small rustle was audible from somewhere behind the pegasus, and as Sweetie kept wiping the tender, soft fur of her friend, the pegasus's wings started rising up again. The unicorn gave a small smile, and after wetting the towel again, moved down, towards the pegasus's rear. She made long, gentle brushes with the cloth, covering her friend's buttocks with the feeling of cool, fresh water. A relaxed smile appeared on Scootaloo's face and she closed her eyes. The eyes shot open in a few moments, when she felt the wet towel traveling between her buttocks. "Hey, I can, like... clean there myself? You don't hafta..." she stammered.

"Shush, Scoots. I know what I'm doing. You trust me, right?"

Sweetie made sure to clean her friend's crack thorouly, spending a lot of time at the small hole that she'd earlier inserted the thermometer into. She then moved upwards, and after wetting the towel one more time, boldly moved the cloth to her friend's slit. 

"Sweetie! What the hay are you...?"

"I figured it out, Scoots. Just a moment ago when I was outside. I know what it feels like. And after all you've been through today, I think you deserve a little reward."

"Oh mane! You can't BELIEVE how much I hoped you'd figure it out. But are you sure you wanna do it to me? I mean... it gets all messy and smelly—"

"I know. And I also know how good it feels."

"I... I'd really like if you did it. But only if you—"

"I do."

Sweetie Belle started rubbing her friend's crotch gently with the towel, and Scootaloo's further comments were drowned in a quick, surprised squeal. The unicorn moved the cloth back and fort, turning her hoof so that just the edge was putting pressure on the tender parts of her friend. She moved slowly, not wanting to hurt her friend with her hard appendage. After a few more strokes, she dropped the towel on the floor and turned to look at her friend's private parts. 

"Wow, Scoots. You look even wetter than last time. And your peach is all red."

"Peach? What are you talking about?"

"Umm... Isn't that what it's called? At least that's what my mom taught."

"Oh... Well my mom called it a 'vulva'. She showed me a big diagram with a lot of difficult words about different parts, but that's kinda the only one I remember."

"Wow. I guess my mom didn't know that." Sweetie was just staring at the folds of her friend.

"Sweetie? Not to rush you or anything... "

"Yeah in a minute. I've just never looked at one. It looks so weird. Like a pink canyon."

"A canyon? Like Ghastly Gorge?"

"Yeah." The unicorn gently parted her friend's lower lips and peered inside. "Wow! There's even more inside! And it's all wet."

"Sweetieee!" came the impatient whine of the pegasus, as she jiggled her whole hindquarters around to get more contact with the probing hooves.

The white filly started stroking the sides of her friends pink folds with both hooves. She was leaning in close, taking in the scent of her friend getting turned on by her touch. Sweetie moved her hooves up and down along the edges, enjoying the slippery feeling, and peering inside whenever she got the chance. Whenever she hit the top of the crevasse, the pegasus gave a short jump and a moan. She couldn't remember where her own most sensitive parts had been, having been so caught up in her urges, but she seemed to have found her friend's. Giving more attention to the upper portion, she rubbed her hoof in a small circle, moving upwards and pushing the edge of her hoof partly inside her friend, bringing forth a lovely moan of pleasure from the pegasus.

"More! It feels so good, Sweetie!"

The unicorn complied, propping herself up with her other forehoof, wrapping it around her friends hindleg, and moving the other other in a more rapid pace inside her friend's slit. It was now positively leaking, and Sweetie felt everything she touched to grow more slippery by the moment. A small rivulet of Scootaloo's secretions flowed down along her bottom, between her buttocks, slowly approaching her wrinkly hole. Without thinking, Sweetie leaned forward and pushed her tongue out, licking the liquid up, and continuing to move her tongue all the way to her friend's folds. She probed inside with her tongue, finding it much easier to touch her friend without fear of hurting her with her clumsy hooves. A high-pitched squeal from the pegasus affirmed that she was also liking this idea.

"Sweetie... are you... using your... mouth?" the pegasus managed to get out between heavy breaths and whines. Her voice had taken on a much higher pitch than usual, almost sounding like her unicorn friend pleasuring her.

Switching between mouth and hoof, the white filly was able to speak again.

"Yeah. You taste kinda good, Scoots."

"That's... kindaaaah... "

"Gross?" the unicorn replied in a coy voice, enjoying her friends stuttering speech and involuntary voices of enjoyment.

"I... was gonna... say... awesome..."

That was all the permission Sweetie needed. She once again turned her mouth against her friend's swollen slit, moving her tongue all over the slippery sides. Her own muzzle was already covered in Scootaloo's juices, and the smell was overpowering in her nose. She felt the new, but now a bit more familiar heat returning in her own crotch. Having an extra hoof available, it instinctively traveled to her own fillyhood, starting to stroke her own wet folds. She tried looking for the most sensitive parts that gave herself the most pleasure, and mirrored the movements with her tongue inside her friend.  

Scootaloo's voice had turned into a high-pitched squeak, like she was cheering her favorite sports team to victory, repeating a long drawn-out "aaaaah!" over and over again. The whine became shorter and shorter as Sweetie found even better moves, finally touching herself at the very top of her inner folds. For a moment, she had trouble concentrating on her tongue, when her own eyes tried to turn around in her head. Her lower body was moving from side to side and her tail was all the way up. The tied-up pegasus was mirroring her moves, moving her backside in rhythm with the touches of her friend's tongue, shivering from pleasure and anticipation. 

The unicorn wanted even more, and started kissing the sides of her friend's crevasse, sucking them between her teeth before letting go. This elicited a surprised "Eep!" from her friend, and she repeated the maneuver on the other side, with even greater results. She let her tongue drive deeper, this time moving to the bottom of the moist slit, finding a new opening. Sweetie could hardly believe what she felt as her tongue pushed deeper inside, as the fleshy pink walls tried to grab her and pull her deeper inside. She found the new place with her own hoof too, but was mollified she couldn't fit her hoof inside, and had to pull it out. 

The orange pegasus was losing control, squirming and whinnying, letting out incoherent squeals in anticipation of her climax. Sweetie hungrily lapped along the slit of her orange friend. pushing for the tender part she'd found earlier. She found a tiny nub, not even the sizce of a small pinhead, which she rolled her tongue over again and again. It didn't take long for Scootaloo to start trying to move her own rump up and down on the chair, trying to make the tongue go even faster, until she let out a long cry that kept going higher and lower for a long time before falling silent. Sweetie licked for a moment more, finding an abundance of Scootaloo's juices still flowing from her folds, but couldn't contain herself much longer. She fell back from her standing position onto her back, and in front of the orange pegasus' eyes, kept pleasuring herself. 

She spread her legs wide open, so that her friend could see every movement, every part of her body, everything that she was doing. They looked eachother directly in the eyes, as Sweetie's second orgasm started shaking her body. Once again she lost herself in the pleasure, and with a rhythmic growl, allowed her own juices to flow onto her tail and the floor. 
After she was starting to catch her breath again, she heard a voice coming from above her. Scootaloo had her familiar coltish grin on her face again.

"Feels good?"

"Y-yeah. It was... I can't even... "

"I know. Awesome, right?"

"Awesome." Sweetie let out a long sigh. "Really, really awesome." 

The white unicorn managed to get pack on her feet, and circled the chair Scootaloo was tied to. She pulled the ropes open, having used a pull-knot this time to make it faster. The pegasus could finally lower her hindhooves from their elevated position, which she did with great care. Sweetie was able to open the binds without a hitch, and the orange filly was finally free to move around. When she jumped down from the chair, her legs gave out from under her and she collapsed to the floor with a frightened yelp. 

"Did you hurt yourself?" asked the worried white unicorn standing next to her downed friend. 

"I... can't feel my hindhooves!" 

"Shh. Don't worry. The feeling'll come back in a moment. It's just a side-effect from being tied up so long. Comes with that type of tie."

"Sweetie? What are you talking about?"

The unicorn slammed a hoof in her mouth.

"N-nothing! It's just that maybe the rope was too tight or something. I wouldn't know... "

"SWEE-TIE?! What are you not telling me?" The pegasus managed to lift herself up onto her forehooves even though her hindhooves were still numb.

"Telling? Nothing! I mean... there's nothing to tell."

"You're the worst liar I know, Sweetie. Now spit it out."

"Promise not to get mad?"

"No. Tell me!" Scootaloo punched her forehoof on the floor and looked her friend with burning eyes.Sweetie gulped down a big worried lump in her mouth. 

"There's... kinda... this book about this kinda stuff."

"A book? Where'd you get a book like that?"

"Well... umm... the library."

"You went to the library? Where that crazy Twilight is? ARE YOU CRAZY?"

"No no no! She was out of town. It was only Spike. And he gave me the book and promised not to tell anyone. And all he wanted for it was some gems and for some reason, my sister's handkerchief."

"Show it to me. It's the book you read earlier, right?"

"I don't really think that's a good idea—"

"SHOW IT TO ME, SWEETIE?"

With shaking hooves Sweetie walked to her saddlebag and picked the book between her teeth before giving it to her friend.

"Bonds of Trust," Scootaloo read out loud, "A Beginner's Guide To Responsible BDSM."

"Yeah... that means like the stuff we've been doing."

The orange filly opened the book to a random page. Sweetie was in a near panic, hoping like crazy her friend wouldn't find one certain page.

"Candle wax," the pegasus continued reading, "can be used to cause mild discomfort in the sub. The pain can be increased by lowering the candle closer to the sub, so the drops of molten candle wax are hotter when they hit. It is unusual to cause any damage, but a small amount of cream should be kept at hand for skin irritation. Be careful not to let the flame touch the sub under any circumstance, as this might cause first- or second degree burns... Sweetie what the heck is this? It tells about dripping candles on somepony? Wouldn't it be almost impossible to get out? Like what happened with Snips and Snails and the gum?"

"Well... I... I wasn't going to try stuff like that."

"And this?" Scootaloo had turned to a new page. "Hoofcuffs as bondage? They even have a picture of frilly hoofcuffs!"

"Yeah, there's a lot of weird stuff in that book."

"Why the hay do you have a book like this?"

"Well... I kinda... wanted to figure more stuff we could do. And I was really worried when I hurt you last time that I didn't want stuff like that to happen."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The book told me what kind of rope to use and what to do if you got hurt and what kinda safety measures I should make. That's why I have the first-aid kit with me and there's other stuff in my saddlebags too."

"I... guess that kinda makes sense. Hey this might be kinda fun."

Sweetie let out a relieved sigh. Maybe she'd be getting out of this yet.

"Huh... There are bookmarks here," Scootaloo said. She might have as well condemned the unicorn to exile, or worse."

"D-don't look at them, please!"

"Why not?"

"Cos... you might... "

"Might what?"

Her only answer was a desperate whinny as Sweetie fell on all fours across the book from the orange filly.

"Please?" She looked at her friend with pleading eyes. Scootaloo looked back at her, but turned to read the book, turning it to the first bookmark. 

"Insertion," she once again read out loud, "can be performed in various orifices of the sub. Most commonly this involves either the mouth (called oral insertion) or the rectum (or anal) insertion. Other alternatives are aural (ears), nasal (the nose) or vaginal. Urethral insertion is not adviced. Make sure to use a soft item if not performing oral or anal insertion. The item should be as round as possible, because any sharp edges or corners may cause bleeding. These kinds of plays can be performed under the roles of doctor and patient, or parent and child... Sweetie... you... these were my punishment... and this calls them 'plays'? Like... games? But... I thought you said I deserved a punishment? So I'd become a better pony? Was it just... a game for you?"

"No! You don't understand! I really thought these would make you a better pony! Honest!"

"How? How does showing a thermometer in my butt make me a better pony? Tell me, Sweetie!" The desperation of the unicorn was mirrored by the anger in the pegasus' voice.

"I... kinda thought that cos you always hafta be alone and you gotta act so grown-up, I thought that if I made you feel like a foal you'd kinda get away from it. And I... kinda wanted to really act like your big sister. You know... just for a while."

"R-Really?" The anger was suddenly gone from the pegasus' voice. "I didn't even think about that. You... really did all of this just to make me feel like... a little filly?"

"That was the only reason! Honest! Just so you wouldn't feel like you had to be the lonely grown-up! I mean... after last time I went home and we had dinner. And my mom scolded me for being late and I had to eat the dinner while standing up. It sucked, but then I thought about it some more. I had someone to expect me to come home, and who was worried when I was late. And then I thought about you, alone, thinking about your friends. I started crying at the table and had to go to my room. Mom thought she'd been too strict and said I could eat the rest of the dinner sitting down, but I couldn't eat anymore. I almost came over to your house!"

Scootaloo was just sitting, staring at the white filly with her mouth agape. 

"You... planned all this... to... " she couldn't continue, as her lower lip started trembling again. Then her eyes once more shot open. "If you planned all this... does it mean that... you made me wet myself on purpose?" her voice had a very dangerous edge to it, which didn't go unnoticed by Sweetie.

"N-N-No! Of course not! I... wouldn't do something like that. It was an accident. Just a nasty accident. Right?"

"Sweetie... why is there another bookmark here?"

"Scootaloo... please... don't... "

The orange pegasus turned the few pages, until she reached the page that was marked with a small orange slip. She couldn't read aloud, only skim the page. Phrases like "...only for advanced plays....", "...one of the most embarrassing...", "...lot to drink...", "...a bucket, unless intending to make the sub clean afterwards...". 

And in the middle of the page, a pony bound exactly the way she had been just a few moments ago. The image caption told the reader how a pony tied in this position could not help wetting themselves if they had enough to drink before the play. It was all there. Everything they'd done. Sweetie had planned all of it since the beginning. Maybe even since they'd made the lemonade. Planned to make her wet herself in front of her. To humiliate her. This was nothing like spanking as a punishment. This was... vile. 

Scootaloo stood up. Her hindhooves were still tingling from the sensation returning, but she didn't even notice.

"Scoots... let me explain... I—" The rest of her words were drowned by the yelp of pain that she let out as she crumpled to the floor. Scootaloo lowered her hoof and walked out the door. 

Sweetie was crying, but managed to get back onto her shaking hooves. The whole side of her face was hurting, and she couldn't see anything with the eye on that side. She shook her head, but desperately ran outside onto the porch, and into the rain. Underneath her, she heard the orange pegasus removing the cart from her scooter. When the unicorn managed to get down to the ground, Scootaloo was already wearing her blue helmet and flaring her wings. Sweetie's words wouldn't come out, so all she could do was run and stand in front of her friend.

"Please... let me—"

"Get out of my way. Or I'll drive over you." The pegasus's voice was low, almost a growl. 

Sweetie walked toward her friend, trying once again to talk to her friend. She was almost close enough to see individual raindrops bouncing off of the pegasus' helmet. when the orange filly shot forward, not with her scooter, but with her hindhooves. She pushed the small white filly tumbling into the wet mud.

"I said, stay out of my w—" A tiny white body barreled into her, bringing her crashing down into the murk surrounding them. 

Sweetie was desperately sobbing and clinging to her waist with both forehooves.

"If you don't let me go, I'm going to hurt you."

The bawling unicorn just tightened her grip. The first blow landed directly onto the top of her head. The next caught her in the ear, making her whole head ring. She felt her own grip loosening as the last strike caught her squarely on the muzzle, and the smell of metal filled her nose. Clutching her face, the unicorn curled up and rolled away.

"YOU IDIOT!" The pegasus screamed. "I TRUSTED YOU! YOU LIED TO ME!" She had to take a breath before continuing: "I HATE YOU!" Panting, she picked up her fallen scooter, and with a buzz of her wings, sped off into the rain.

Sweetie Belle was left lying in the mud, crying, and quietly begging for forgiveness from her friend.
> The Dominant Ideal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The small shape of the sweaty unicorn filly sped up the grassy hill. Her breaths came in ragged, and there was a distinct taste of metal in her mouth. The taste had been completely alien to her only two days before, but not anymore, thanks to Scootaloo. This time it was not because of a nosebleed, but because she had bitten her tongue while running. She didn't even notice — She had somewhere to be. 

When she finally crested the hill, Sweetie spied the orange pegasus lying on her back on the grass with the familiar scooter next to her. Scootaloo was looking at the cloudy sky with dreamy eyes, following a rainbow-colored streak speeding around, weaving between clouds with turns that seemed impossibly sharp to perform while flying. The filly's ears perked up when she heard heavy breaths approaching. She lazily turned her head, but when she saw the source of the sounds, the pegasus jumped up onto her feet. Her heart was pounding, making sure her muscles had enough oxygen for anything she might need to do next, either fight or flee. 

"What are you doing here!?" she shouted in a surprised voice, which carried undertones of fear and anger in equal amounts.

It took a few moments for the unicorn to catch her breath, but it was long enough for Scootaloo to pick her scooter up and prepare to leave and avoid talking to the other filly.

"I... just wanna talk to you, Scoots." Sweetie Belle's voice was raspy from her sprint, her small frame not fit for such feats of athleticism. Her chest was burning almost as badly as her legs, and she had to use all of her willpower just not to fall down on the ground and pant.

"Well I don't wanna talk to you!" shouted the orange pegasus, but she made no move to immediately kick off, her wings still folded along her sides.

"Please! I just... you hafta listen to me! Please! Don't go!"

"I don't have to do ANYTHING you say, stupid!" 

"I didn't mean it like that! Sorry... " The rest of her words were drowned in her gasping, and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

Scootaloo felt a cold numb pain in her chest while looking at Sweetie. The unicorn's mane was ragged, and one of her eyes still had a clear blue ring around it where the pegasus had struck her. The white filly had finally fallen down on the grass. Scootaloo tried to shut the sobs from her ears, to just turn her back and leave, but for some reason her hooves betrayed her and refused to move. She angrily pushed the scooter down and threw her helmet after it. 

"What the hay do you want, Sweetie. I was watching Rainbow Dash practice and you had to come and spoil even that! Why can't you just leave me alone?!" the orange pegasus shouted while slowly walking towards the cowering filly.

"Please... Scoots... don't hit me again... "

The quiet words slammed into the pegasus, stopping her in her tracks. The white filly had covered her eyes with her forehooves. Scootaloo noticed that for some reason she was holding her forehoof up, prepared to bring it down on the unicorn's head. The thought still rolled around in her head, calling out for vengeance, for justice... for something other than the constant empty feeling she'd had ever since the day before yesterday. Slowly, the pegasus lowered her shaking hoof, and sat down in front of the unicorn.

"So... you wanna talk. Talk," she said, while trying to sound as uncaring and cold as she could.

"I feel so bad about what I did and I haven't slept well for two nights and I wanted to find you yesterday but my sis didn't let me go out and  I know you hate me and never wanna see me again but I wanted to tell you that I'm really, really sorry about it and want you to be my friend again!" Sweetie blurted everything out in a torrent of words and was left wheezing and sobbing, still covering her eyes.

"I... how can you... friends? You think we can be friends after something like that?" The pegasus let out a small laugh to accentuate how ridiculous she found the notion. 

"P-please—"

"NO!" Scootaloo shouted, making the white unicorn's ears ring. "I don't want to be your friend! How could I be friends with someone who does... stuff like that?" The pegasus' face was twisted in anger, and she slammed her hoof on the ground, right next to the prone pony. 

"I didn't mean to! I went too far and I know it! I should've stopped when you asked to and—" Sweetie's sound was high-pitched, and kept breaking up.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT! YOU... YOU... IDIOT!" The pegasus once again slammed her hoof on the ground. "You... you were my best friend... I thought we could do anything together... I mean... after all the stuff we've done, how COULD YOU?"

"Scootaloo... I'm so sorry! Just... please tell me why you're so angry... "

"You mean you REALLY don't even know that? How THICK are you?" She leaned forward with every word, almost touching the cowering unicorn.

"I'm sorry... " came the quiet answer, followed by several sobs.

"I let you do all that stuff to me, to tie me up, to hit me, to stick stuff into me! Do you know WHY?"

"Cos... cos you wanted to be a better pony?"

"NO! Well... yeah... but... THAT'S NOT THE POINT! It was because YOU said it would make me a better pony. It's... because... I trusted you." All the energy left the orange filly with those last words, and she could feel the hot burn of tears in her eyes. "I really trusted you." She was about to angrily swipe them off and storm away, but couldn't find it in herself anymore. All she did was let her head droop down and feel the tears start rolling down her muzzle.

"It wasn't supposed to be like that. I mean... I DID plan the... pee thing. But... it wasn't supposed to go like that." When the pegasus didn't answer her, she pushed on. "I did it for you. I wanted you to... to feel like a foal again. To be helpless."

"W-what? Why?"

"You told me you had to do everything yourself at home. Cook and stuff. And you were alone. And remember what I said about the dinner? Well I wanted to give you one day where you were the little sister and could be... yourself."

"Myself?"

"Yeah... cos whenever we did the spankings and the other stuff... you were like a little filly. 

"But I am a filly? What are you talking about?" The pegasus sounded unsure, and even a bit hurt.

"You're always doing crazy stuff and you told me you did it cos you wanted to be noticed and... I just thought you really wanted to be... you know... not you."

"You're really not making any sense, Sweetie."

"You... looked so cute the first time we talked after i gave you a spanking. Like there was another Scootaloo inside you. And I really like her."

"Me... her... what..?"

The small unicorn let out a long sigh and finally removed her hooves from her eyes. "I messed everything up again, didn't I? You told me you trusted me and I messed it up. It's just like what I do at home. I always try to do everything right, but then something happens and everypony gets angry."

For a while, the only sound on the hilltop was the quiet wind moving in the grass. Sweetie just looked at her friend, not knowing what to say next, while the pegasus seemed to be deep in thought.

"Just... tell me one thing." Scootaloo finally asked.

"Y-yeah?"

"Why did you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me about the book?"

The unicorn didn't answer immediately, but after hesitating for a moment, she said: "I... can't!"

"What?! You expect me to—"

"No... it's not that... it's... I'm scared, Scoots." Sweetie was once again covering her eyes with her hooves, as if to protect herself from the certain anger that was sure to follow. 

The pegasus threw her hooves up in exasperation, and then slammed them back on the ground, making the unicorn curl up even more.

"That's it. I'm leaving." The orange filly got up and turned away, when something grabbed her ankle. 

"Scootaloo! I'll tell you! Just... promise me you won't hate me." Sweetie Belle was hanging onto her friend's hindhoof desperately with both of her forehooves.

"Any more than I do now?" Scootaloo just shook her hindhoof, making the unicorn lose her grip.

"But... It's so weird! I'M weird! Cos... cos whenever we did stuff... It wasn't all about you. I mean... at first it was but then... The time when I tied you up... I couldn't stop! And the same last time! I knew you wanted to stop but I COULDN'T! And then I got scared you'd find out and I tried to lie about the book so you would think the pee thing was just an accident. And it kinda was cos I was gonna put a bucket under you and scold you about it and then let you go but when I spanked you with the switch I got so hot and I went outside and touched myself for the first time..."

"So... so you actually got wet from... hurting me? I... thought... I—"

"I know I'm sick, and I'm scared! I don't know why it happened but I didn't want you to find out. I mean... what kinda pony would want to hurt others and like it? But all I know is that ever since the first time i tied you up, I haven't thought about anything else but myself hitting your butt, seeing it jiggle and turn red and you shouting and begging me to stop... It's so wrong but I really like your pain!"

"Sweetie... wow... I didn't know—"

"I really wanted to help you become a better pony, and I really did feel awful about the stuff you told me. But I also wanted to..." For a moment she was lost for words. "And the book! The stuff that was in it? I mean... I couldn't sleep when I thought about the things I could do to you. And when we were at the beach, all those ideas came together when we started talking about money. And I wanted to try everything. And I KNEW you'd hate me. And I couldn't stop. I wanted to. But I couldn't..."

"S-sweetie... When... I peed myself, I... I actually thought you'd hate me." Scootaloo's voice was quiet, and shaky. All the adrenaline she'd had just a moment ago was now gone, replaced by cold sweat and shaking muscles. Even talking felt difficult with her teeth rattling together, even though it was the middle of summer. "I... thought you'd never tie me up or spank me againg. Cos... cos I like it! I like being helpless and you doing all those weird things to me. Even... the spankings.  And when I peed myself, I thought that was it. That I couldn't even look you in the eyes. But you told me it was okay, and you cleaned it all up and washed me and... did the other thing too. I don't think I've ever felt so good. I mean... I finally felt like I had a big sister who would forgive me for anything and make it all go away. And you told me it was an accident and I was so relieved. And when I found out you'd planned it and lied about it I felt so... used! Like everything I'd felt had been a lie. And you yourself told me you wanted me to feel like that." She took a deep breath. "And THAT'S why I got so angry.

"I'm... sorry. I never meant to betray you. Never! Is... is there anything I can do to make you forgive me? Anything? I mean... I would even let you... spank me... "

"I think... I think that I kinda hurt you enough already. And... I'm sorry for hitting you. That wasn't cool."

"It's okay. I deserved it."

"Thanks." Scootaloo looked at her friend, who was staring back at her with wide eyes full of hope.

"So... does that mean you forgive me too, Scoots?"

"Guess so. But... I think we shouldn't do any of that stuff any more. I mean... at least for a while." The pegasus' voice was no longer trembling, and was now eerily flat.

"Just... as long as we can be friends?"

"Friends? Yeah. Okay."

Sweetie got up from the ground and moved closer to her friend, putting her forehooves around the orange filly. She was about to lower her head on Scootaloo's shoulder when she was abruptly pushed away.

"No." 

"W-what's wrong, Scootaloo?" asked the frightened white filly, lying on her back in the grass.

"I don't think I'm ready for hugging and stuff. I... I gotta think about stuff."

"I thought we'd be friends!"

"We are... but I kinda... just give me some time, okay?"

"O-okay."

"And... and I don't wanna call you my big sister any more. It doesn't feel right. "

"Scoots!" Tears were again burning in the white filly's eyes. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. "What are you saying?"

"I guess I mean that I don't trust you. We can be friends and go Crusading and stuff... and maybe some day... I dunno. But I can't trust you just now. I'm sorry."

Sweetie was about to shout at her friend, to beg for her to reconsider and to trust her, but when she looked her friend in the eyes, there was something she had never seen before. A coldness that made her feel unwanted, like she was a nuisance. Her friend's face was so calm, like there was no emotion behind it. The white filly could hardly breathe, and felt the world start to swim.

The orange filly turned away to look at the sky. "So how's the eye?"

"Eye?" Sweetie stammered, shaking her head clear,  "Oh yeah... that. Rarity put something cold on it when I went home but I guess it still shows."

"So did you tell her what happened?"

"My sister? I... kinda told her I'd fallen down in the rain and hit my face on a tree stump."

"You lied to your sister?"

"I didn't want you to get into trouble."

"U-huh," was all the pegasus said. 

"Did... you tell your mom about what happened?"

"I told her I got into a fight with a friend and hit her in the face. She told me that fillies aren't supposed to do that and that I should play nicer."

They sat on the windy hilltop, silently, right next to each other. Sweetie Belle couldn't help but feel that there was an insurmountable wall between her and her friend. 

After a while the pegasus got up and headed for her scooter.

"Well... I'm off. C'ya around, Sweetie."

"Y-yeah. You too, Scoots."

The white unicorn was left alone on the hilltop, watching after her friend's departing back. 

She hadn't felt so lonely in her life. 


















Author's notes: I know I said I wouldn't write an epilogue or sequel after the last chapter. I wanted to end the story in the rain, but several people pointed out to me that it wasn't really an ending, just me stopping to write. I raged about it for a while, almost citing "Suited For Success" and how I'm a great artist and everyone could go buck off. Then I took a nap and read the last chapter again, and I had to admit to myself that it really needed more closure. This chapter is more about tying up the few underlying themes in the story than anything else. It is not supposed to change the ending from the last chapter, or the feelings that I hoped to convey. I really suck at endings. They always make me sad.

There are a few people I'd like to thank for this story, mostly to acknowledge their involvement and inspiration, even though I haven't told them directly before. This story goes out to:

-YourAntagonist, for showing me that there can exist quality fiction involving sex and underage imaginary horses.

-Chuckfinley for being an awesome writer and for awakening my urge to write a BDSM story. Hope you get better soon. 

-MrNumbers for kicking some much-needed sense into me without being a dick, which is a real accomplishment if done over the web..