//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: On the Wings of a Pegasus // by Jinzou //------------------------------// Scootaloo hated the feeling of the spell. The unnatural warmth was one thing, but feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on her, made her feel so... vulnerable. All the marks she had worked so hard to hide over the years were literally being shown to the entire room. As she started glowing, she heard a soft gasp and a quiet "Oh Celestia..." She didn't need to turn to know that was Morning Skies. Just being in front of Twilight and Rainbow had been bad enough but now there was a mare she'd not even known for a full five minutes seeing all her shame. She turned to Rainbow Dash with pleading eyes, hoping against hope she could make Twilight stop, then whisk the filly away where she could hide from the world forever. Rainbow just gave her a reassuring smile and gently placed one of her hooves on Scootaloo's. "Hey champ, you're doing great. After this we can go out and get some ice cream, okay? You can get as many scoops as you want." The cyan mare whispered. Scootaloo simply nodded. It didn't help much. Scootaloo cringed as they began to check out her rear end. She heard Morning Skies and Twilight whispering to each other. "Looks like he was a fan of corporal punishment as well." Morning Skies whispered. Twilight simply nodded. As the two mares continued walking around Scootaloo, going to inspect the right side of her body, Rainbow Dash tried to get her attention. "It's gonna be okay Scoots. You're being really brave right now. We can spend the rest of the day flying together, and then I can read you some more Daring Do if you'd like. Wouldn't that be great?" Scootaloo nodded mutely again. She could feel the tears starting to come but fought them off as hard as she could. She hated this. She hated it so much. It felt like the biggest breach of privacy ever, and she just wanted to run away and cry and hide where nobody could see her. The two mares finally ended up in front of her, surveying her head and neck. Scootaloo shut her eyes tightly and looked away. This was just too much. Scootaloo's heart dropped and she heard Morning Skies start to address her. "Scootaloo, dear, could you please..." She paused. She's going to ask me to do something terrible. Or to say something terrible. Please, just leave me alone, I'm already inches from tears. I can't do it. I can't. I just can't. "Could you please sit up and let us see your tummy?" Morning Skies finished. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief. She sat down and lifted her front hooves, doing her best to balance and not fall flat on her face. This wasn't any better. She still felt naked in front of these mares. She bit her cheeks as she waited for it to finally end. "I think that should do it Princess. I've seen all I need to." Morning Skies said after what felt like forever. The spell faded, as did the uncomfortable warm sensation. Scootaloo rushed toward Rainbow Dash, hiding her face in Rainbow's coat and doing her best to hide the rest of her behind Rainbow's front hooves. "That was horrible!" she sniffed, still fighting back tears. "I'm so sorry you had to endure that, dear." Came Morning Skies demure voice. "But I think you'll be happy to hear that we have enough to definitely hit that mean old stallion with an abuse charge. He won't ever be able to bug you again." Waiting for a reaction that never came from Scootaloo, Morning Skies lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "I'm terribly sorry to say this Scootaloo, but Princess Twilight might have to do that spell again at the trial. It won't last nearly as long, just a few seconds. But we need to prove that your father did all those things to you. Then we can lock him away and you can enjoy the rest of your merry little life. Just think of how happy you'll be after, dear." "I don't want him locked up." Scootaloo sniffed, shaking her head, still firmly pressed against Rainbow's coat. "I want my old dad back. The one that loved me." There was a very pregnant silence as the three mares were left speechless. Morning Skies knew she should be the one that knew what to say, but foal abuse was extremely rare in Equestria. This was the first case she'd even seen while at her job. Rainbow started gently stroking Scootaloo's back as she whispered to her. "I'm sorry Scoots, but you know that's not gonna happen." Upon feeling a gentle nod from the filly, she turned to Morning Skies with a stronger tone. "Are we done here, or is there anything else we need to do?" "Well normally..." Morning Skies straightened upon and locked eyes with the pegasus. "I'd ask to get the full story from Scootaloo herself but... seeing how she is right now, I think it would be a little better for Princess Twilight her to fill me in. Is that alright, Princess?" "That's fine. And please, skip the formalities. Just Twilight is fine." "One more thing." Morning Skies trotted over to a nearby table, taking a couple bits out of a pouch and dropping them by Scootaloo. "To apologize for making you have to go through that, I want you to have a treat. On me. Whatever you and Miss Rainbow Dash like." Scootaloo turned her head and shakily thanked her. Twilight gestured that Morning Skies should follow her and led her upstairs, leaving just Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Scootaloo took a deep breath and slowly walked out from under Rainbow. Unable to meet the gaze of her idol, Scootaloo instead asked the ground. "Can we go get that ice cream now?"