"And I take to the skies,
With my only friend.
Every angel,
Begins at the end."
Dream of the Sky: Miracle of Sound: Level 3: 2013
Scootaloo's eyes fluttered open the next day and she was surprised to feel the warmth of somepony holding her. She looked up to see Rainbow Dash still asleep and was holding Scootaloo close to her.
The events of last night came flooding back to her, the storm, Luna telling her to go to Fluttershy's house, and finally telling Rainbow Dash about her parents. Rainbow must've fallen asleep holding her like this. It felt, nice, safe even, for the first time in awhile, she felt completely safe.
"Are you okay, Scootaloo?" Rainbow asked as she woke up and looked up at her, she still looked worried.
"Yeah... I'm okay now..." Scootaloo said weakly. "Just, promise me you won't make me go back home to them, okay?"
"Don't worry, I'm going to make sure they never hurt you again," Rainbow said confidently as she hugged Scootaloo gently. "You'll be safe, I promise."
Scootaloo smiled and closed her eyes again, just enjoying the feeling of being held by Rainbow Dash. It felt like her long nightmare was finally coming to a close, and Rainbow Dash was going to make sure that she was kept safe.
At the same time Rainbow was still trying to figure out what to do. She had been trying to help Scootaloo as best she could, but this... this was something that she couldn't handle, at least not alone.
"Is she going to be okay?" Fluttershy asked quietly as she entered the room.
"Physically, yeah, she'll be fine, mentally on the other hoof..." Rainbow said quietly with a sigh. "I'm going to give her a bit, then I'm going to her house... nopony deserves to go through this..."
"What do you want me to do?" Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow thought for a long moment before coming up with a quick plan. "Take Scootaloo to the Castle when I leave. Tell her what happened and she should be able to get help."
"Okay, just promise me you'll be careful Rainbow, don't do anything rash," Fluttershy said.
"Oh come on Flutters, when have I ever done anything rash?" Rainbow asked, trying to add a bit of humor to the situation.
"Ummm, do you really want an answer to that?" Fltutershy asked.
"Haha, very funny," Rainbow said and rolled her eyes as Scootaloo woke up again with a yawn. "Come on, lets get some breakfast."
00000
Rainbow took a deep breath as she flew towards Scootaloo's house. She had made sure that Fluttershy and Scootaloo made it to the Castle before she went on her way.
As she flew towards the house her anger started to rise. She had been trying her hardest to be there for Scootaloo even if she couldn't be her mother, she wanted to be there for the filly as much as she could.
Now... she was going to do everything she could to make sure that Scootaloo's adopted parents would pay for hurting her daughter.
She came in for a landing outside the house and pushed the door open. She wrinkled her muzzle when the smell of alcohol and vomit reached her nose. It was a smell that she knew all too well.
"Who the hay is bothering us now?" A stallion's slurred voice said from the other room. "Probably that good for nothing filly, come crawling back to us."
"I'll go get her," a mare's voice said and a pony that Rainbow Dash recognized as Scootaloo's adopted mother Icy Wind stepped out and her eyes went wide. "What the... what are you doing here?"
"Scootaloo came by my house last night," Rainbow said, affixing a glare on the mare. "She told me what you've been doing to her."
"What kind of lies is that worthless brat telling now?" The Stallion Last Drop said as he came in. "I assure you that we will make sure she doesn't bother you with this..."
"Scootaloo wouldn't lie to me, not about this!" Rainbow snapped, causing the two older ponies to recoil a little. "I trust Scootaloo a heck of a lot more than I trust the two of you right now!"
"Why do you care? You're not her mother, you're not even her sister, you're just a mare who she looks up to," Last Drop said. "You're just a..."
Rainbow couldn't take it anymore, she swung her hoof at Last Drop, catching the stallion off guard as she punched him hard, drawing blood from his muzzle. He growled at her and swung back, hitting her briefly, but it only seemed to make her angrier.
As Icy Wind tried to move behind her she bucked hard, sending the mare sprawling. The two older ponies where trying their best, but Rainbow Dash had dealt with a lot worse than them.
"Freeze!" A commanding voice said and several ponies dressed in guard armor stormed in, causing the fight to stop, leaving the two older ponies looking rather bloody.
"Oh thank Celestia, this crazy mare broke into our house and attacked us for no reason!" Icy Wind said, trying to put on an innocent face. "Take her away, lock her up and throw away the key!"
"Icy Wind, Last Drop, you're both under arrest," the lead guard said as he entered the house.
"What? What did we do?" Last Drop demanded as they where locked in hoofcuffs.
"You know exactly what you did, don't lie!" Rainbow Dash said angrily, she couldn't believe that they where actually trying to weasel their way out of this.
"You are under arrest for foal abuse and neglect," the guard said as they hauled the two ponies off.
"This isn't over Rainbow Dash!" Icy Wind shouted.
Rainbow Dash cringed a little at that and watched as they where taken away. She sighed a little as she started to calm down a little.
"Mrs. Dash, we're going to have to get a statement from you later," one of the guards said and Rainbow nodded. "Somepony will stop by the Castle, are you okay? You're bleeding."
"Huh?" Rainbow asked as she ran a hoof along her muzzle, coming up with blood. "I'll be fine, I'm going back to the castle."
The guard nodded and Rainbow left the house.
"Oh my gosh Rainbow, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked as she saw Rainbow as she arrived at the castle.
"I'm fine, is Scootaloo okay?" Rainbow asked and looked around worriedly.
"She'll be okay Rainbow, she's been more worried about you," Fluttershy said with a sigh. "What about her parents?"
"Those ponies gave up any right to be called that a long time ago," Rainbow said with a sigh. "The guards took them away, here's hoping that they'll never hurt Scootaloo again."
"I'm sure they won't Rainbow," Fluttershy said with a reassuring smile, she looked around then spoke even quieter than usual. "Rainbow, given the circumstances, maybe you should tell her..."
"No, not yet..." Rainbow said with a sigh. "Its not that I don't want to, but, she's in a very fragile state right now... I don't know how she'd take it."
Fluttershy sighed, she had known Rainbow Dash's secret since before they had even started dating. She had always felt it would be best for Rainbow to come clean to Scootaloo, but she wanted to give her wife a chance to tell her on her own.
Rainbow ultimately was afraid that she would be like her own parents, like Scootaloo's adopted parents.
"Come on, lets go check on her," Rainbow said and Fluttershy nodded and they went to go find Scootaloo and Twilight.