//------------------------------// // A Shocking Discovery // Story: I'll Always be Here for You // by The Abyss //------------------------------// Twilight sat down at her desk upstairs. She had just finished her morning routine of cleaning both her bedroom and the main room downstairs and was just about to work on another assignment from Celestia when she heard something smash downstairs, startling her. Not knowing what to expect, she charged her horn with a defensive spell just in case. She crept to her bedroom door and quietly pulled it open, wincing as the hinges creaked. Peering through the crack, Twilight didn’t see anything at first, so she pulled the door open a little wider. A moment later, she finally spotted what, or who in this case, had caused all the ruckus. “Rainbow! How much of the library are you going to destroy?” Twilight angrily asked as she whipped open her bedroom door. Stomping down the steps, she focused her magic on the splintered remains of the front door and quickly put the pieces back together. Another simple spell was all that was needed to attach the door back to the frame. After Rainbow had lost control that one time and smashed into the library, Twilight had dedicated an hour a week learning household repair spells just to make cleanup a little easier. “You know, it’s a little annoying that you break something nearly every time you visit. You need to learn how to-” “Twilight, stop! This is important!” Rainbow snapped. She ran forward and placed her forehooves on Twilight’s shoulders. “It’s about Scootaloo: she needs our help!” “Scootaloo? What’s wrong with her? Wait…” A tiny smirk grew on Twilight’s face. “Okay, what did she and the rest of the Crusaders do now?” “No, Twilight, it’s not that at all!” Rainbow shook her friend. “It’s about her parents! They abuse her!” “Wait, hold on. What?” Twilight’s grin faltered as she gently pushed Rainbow off of her. “You won’t believe what happened today! I went over to her house with her and I… and I…” Rainbow faltered as she clenched her teeth. Stomping her front hooves on the floor, she yelled, “I left her there! Gah! How could I have been so stupid?! I gotta go back and get her!” She turned and yanked the door back open. Flaring her wings, Rainbow jumped into the air and attempted to take flight through the open door, but just before she passed the threshold, something suddenly grabbed her tail, holding her in place. Flapping her wings harder, Rainbow tried to break free, but all she accomplished was a few hairs being painfully yanked from her tail. Relaxing slightly, she glanced back at her friend and noticed her lit horn. “Let me go!” she shouted desperately, trying to shake herself free from Twilight’s magical grasp. “Not until you tell me what the hay’s going on!” Twilight retorted, her wings bristling in apprehension. “You can’t just tell me that Scootaloo is being abused and then try to leave! Come on, Rainbow! You know better than that!” Rainbow fought for a few more moments, but soon gave up, falling to the floor in a dejected heap. “Ugh! Fine!” “Good! Now Rainbow, start from the beginning,” Twilight said firmly as she levitated a couple of cushions over to them. Setting them down in front of them, she rested on one and gestured for Rainbow to do the same. Satisfied that Rainbow wasn’t going to try and escape, Twilight closed the door with her magic. “Twilight… I…” Rainbow huffed angrily as she sat down, trying to catch her breath. “You aren’t going to believe this…” “Well, I’m not going to believe anything if you don’t tell me.” “Yeah, yeah, I know. Remember last night? How we had that huge snowstorm?” Rainbow started poking at her cushion as she sorted her thoughts. “Mhm?” “Yeah, well, just as I was about to go to bed late last night, I found Scootaloo walking underneath my house.” “Huh? What was she doing outside?” Twilight asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “That’s what I thought! So of course, me being me, I flew down to see what was up. I found her wandering around like she was in a daze. I called her name a couple of times and she didn’t even hear me! I landed right in front of her and she didn’t even see me until she walked right into me. When she finally looked up, her eyes were all glazed over like she was looking straight through me. But that’s not even the worst part. She had a huge bruise on her head because her father hit her with an empty liquor bottle!” Rainbow took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. “Wait, did she have a concussion?” Twilight asked, her voice full of concern. “Did she have any trouble remembering things when you were with her?” “Well… she didn’t remember that she slept at my place when she woke up, if that counts. I mean, you would probably be the same way if you woke up in a totally different house, right?” “Rainbow, I… I don’t know,” Twilight said as she shifted nervously. “How big was the bruise?” “Um…” Rainbow scratched the back of her head with a hoof as she thought back to last night. “Let’s see…about a little smaller than the size of a mug? Yeah, that sounds about right.” “About the size of a mug?!” Twilight exclaimed. “Yeah. So I flew her up to my place and made us some hot chocolate, and she told me… well, she kinda told me everything.” Rainbow shuddered as memories from the previous night flowed through her mind. “Everything?” Twilight prompted as Rainbow lost herself in her thoughts. “Oh, sorry…” Rainbow took a deep breath before she continued. “Yeah, everything. Like how her parents don’t love her, how they don’t take care of her, how they don’t feed her much, and how her father drove her out of the house last night.” The story finally shared, Rainbow stared at the floor, thankful to have shared her burden with somepony. As the silence dragged on, she felt a little awkward as she waited for Twilight to speak up. Looking up in curiosity, she jumped slightly when she saw Twilight’s expression. Saying that Twilight had a shocked look on her face would be a huge understatement. Her left ear was twitching, her muzzle was hanging open loosely, and her eyes were wide open. “Yeah, Twilight. It’s that bad,” Rainbow said, her shaky voice breaking the silence between the two of them. “Rainbow, I... How can her parents treat her like that?” Twilight finally asked. “I don’t know!” Rainbow exclaimed, her wings twitching. “And when I tried to leave, I asked Scootaloo to come with me. I didn’t want to leave her in such an awful place, but you know what she said? She said no, saying that things would only get worse for her if she did!” Changing subjects, she fidgeted before she spat out, “On top of that, I think I know why Scoots can’t fly, and I’m pretty sure I’m right!” “Um…” Rainbow cut her off. “Scootaloo’s mom drank while she was pregnant with her.” “What? There’s no way that she’d do that, Rainbow.” “Yeah? Can you explain why Scoots has underdeveloped wings?! Her parents drink like it’s the end of the world!” “Rainbow, I–” “Well?!” “I… I don’t know,” Twilight said unsurely. “There’s… no! Her mother wouldn’t do that!!” “Twilight, have you ever met her parents?” Twilight stayed silent. “I didn’t think so. And you know what else? They live in a bucking dump on the outskirts of town!” Rainbow stood up once more. “Twilight, you should’ve seen her last night! She… she…” Rainbow trailed off as she choked on her words, her emotions getting the best of her. Tears started forming in the corners of her eyes, which were quickly wiped away. “It’s just, I… I can’t stand by and let Scootaloo stay there...” Twilight was taken aback; she had never before seen such strong emotions coming from Rainbow in the time that they’d spent together. Standing up, she unfurled her wings and pulled Rainbow into a reassuring embrace with them, giving her a small nuzzle as well. As Rainbow slowly regained her composure, Twilight took a step back and confidently said, “I’ve heard all I need to hear, Rainbow. Let’s go get her!” Landing on the road just outside the dilapidated structure, Rainbow held out a hoof, motioning for Twilight to come closer. “Twilight, listen,” Rainbow said in a hushed tone. “Scootaloo’s dad is–” A screech from inside the house made their heads snap towards the house. Rainbow didn’t waste a single second. She jumped into the air and rocketed across the yard, slammed through the front door, and landed inside the foyer, her head whipping around. Frantically, she searched for the source of the yell, but was only met with an eerie silence. Entering the house with her horn lit and ready for action, Twilight found Rainbow pacing in place, unsure of where to go. Before she could ask what to do, Rainbow spotted Scootaloo’s mother sleeping on a couch, an empty bottle of liquor in her hoof. She ran up to the mare and violently shook her awake, sending the empty bottle to the floor. “Where the buck is she?!” Rainbow yelled at the drunken, half-awake, mare. She began to speak, but Rainbow stopped listening when she heard another scream come from the upper floor. “Rainbow, this way!” Twilight called out as she galloped upstairs. Stopping on the landing, she glanced into an open room, but a whimpering sound quickly drew her attention to the only closed door at the end of the narrow hallway. Throwing it open with her magic, Twilight galloped forward and found a scene that shook her core. Pinned beneath her father, Scootaloo held a thin, beaten pillow over herself in a vain attempt to shield herself from his raised hoof. Just as Scootaloo’s father’s hoof began to fall, Twilight whipped him off of Scootaloo with her magic and slammed him against the opposite wall. Trotting forward, she kept him pinned in place as she moved between the stallion and Scootaloo. She released Scootaloo’s father, letting gravity push him to the floor in a heap. Looking back behind her, Twilight found Scootaloo still cowering at the foot of her bed. A couple moments passed before Rainbow burst into the room. Quickly locating that which she came to protect, she darted forward. “Scootaloo! Thank goodness you’re...” she started to say, trailing off when she saw just how messed up her favorite fan was. Upon hearing her voice, Scootaloo cautiously glanced up. Her eyes full of tears and her ears pinned back, she looked like she was on the verge of breaking down, but that wasn’t what shocked Rainbow. As the pillow fell away, she noticed something terrible, something that made her heart plummet and twist her stomach into knots. No. Oh no no no no! Scootaloo’s left wing was in ruin. She had it pinned to her side and it hung awkwardly. Rainbow knew what a broken wing looked like, and this was a bad one. A few feathers had been ripped out, showing that the monster that was Scootaloo’s father had tried to permanently ground her. Rainbow’s whole body prickled numb with anger. “Rainbow! I knew you’d come ba-hack!” Scootaloo choked out as she let go of the pillow. She stood up on shaky legs and started limping over to Rainbow, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. She was only able to make a couple steps before Rainbow scooped her up in a hug, and as she felt the familiar and comforting embrace of her idol, she collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably. Rainbow could only stare at the crumpled wing and her body trembled with unfocused energy. She wanted to kick the monster the rest of the way through the wall and take him on a one-way trip to Ghastly Gorge. Which direction she went all depended on what got her attention first. “Rainbow, you need to get Scootaloo to the hospital immediately! Alright?” Twilight asked in slow, even words as she kept her eyes trained on the stallion, trying to keep Rainbow from doing something she might regret. Twilight words gave focus to Dash’s will. Anger gave way to grief and Rainbow cracked. “I'm so sorry. I never should have left you...” Rainbow murmured, rubbing the filly’s back reassuringly as a sole tear slipped from her eye. "Everything’s gonna be alright, Scoots, I swear it." Twilight winced at the hate Rainbow leveled upon the stallion. “Rainbow, you have to get her to the hospital, now!” Twilight ordered as she kept an eye on the stallion, watching him with the gaze of a hawk as he tried to get back up. “Hop on, squirt; we’re gettin’ you out of here,” Rainbow said, gently placing Scootaloo on the bed. Kneeling next to it, she flared her wing for Scootaloo to walk on. With a small nod, Scootaloo climbed onto Rainbow’s back and settled down just in front of her wings. With Scootaloo holding onto her mane, Rainbow stood and trotted out of the room, leaving Twilight alone with the stallion. “So!” Twilight said in a firm and menacing tone. “Mind telling me what the heck is going on here?” “I ain’t gotta tell nopony about mah business,” Scootaloo’s father replied haughtily, slurring his words. With a drunken roar, he lunged towards Twilight, intent on taking his anger out on the pony that had attacked him. As his gaze swung upwards to find his attacker, he faltered momentarily as he found the only other pony in the room, instantly recognizing who it was: Princess Twilight Sparkle. Steeling his resolve, he figured that it didn’t matter if it was a princess or his bitch wife that had attacked him, he was going to put that pony in their place. Swinging his hoof back to strike, he gasped in surprise as he was shoved onto Scootaloo’s bed by a bright purple aura. Her wings bristling in anger, Twilight pinned the drunk stallion down, ignoring his cries of anger and rage as he unsuccessfully tried to get back up. “You know, attacking a princess of Equestria is a crime that can get you at least ten years in prison. In addition to that, beating your filly–” “You broke into my house and attacked me!” the stallion yelled back, cutting her off. “I was well within my rights to defend myself, and I was just in the middle of disciplining my daughter! And what gives you the right to take my daughter from me?" Twilight huffed. “Well, I had more than enough reason to believe my friend, Rainbow, that Scootaloo was living in an abusive home,” Twilight replied. “Besides, you physically holding her down and beating her in front of me was evidence enough!” “What?! Why would you believe that stupid pegasus? She’s a nobody!” the stallion yelled, still trying to get up from under Twilight’s magic. Giving up for a few moments, he continued, “That stupid mare broke into my house earlier and threatened me and mah wife!” “No, she didn’t!” Twilight said firmly as she stalked forward, making the stallion squirm under her intimidating gaze. “She didn’t break into your house last night; Scootaloo let her in. And I’m much more inclined to believe Rainbow—the Element of Loyalty and one of my closest friends—above a stallion who was just criminally assaulting his daughter moments ago.” “I was disciplining her!” “For what?” “For bringing others into mah house without my permission.” “But you just said that Rainbow broke into your house,” Twilight countered with a smug smile. “I… I… Fine! She didn’t break into mah house, but she did threaten me and mah wife. And that stupid filly deserved to get disciplined!” “Since when does disciplining somepony mean breaking one of their wings and ripping feathers?!” Twilight exclaimed incredulously. “Well, she–” “There is absolutely nothing that anypony can do that would deserve such harsh treatment like that!” Twilight cut him off. Rainbow was right: Scootaloo’s parents are way out of control! Seeing no other option, she continued in a cold and measured tone, “Seeing that this is no place to raise a filly, Rainbow Dash and I are going to take care of her for the time being.” “You can’t do that! She’s mah filly; I can do whatever I want with her!” “For the time being, she’s not yours anymore, and we’ll let Foal Protection Services sort this out when they get here,” Twilight replied. “Like I was saying, Scootaloo is staying with us.” A few moments passed in an awkward silence as the stallion just glared at her. “Alright, I’m going to let you up, but only if you promise to remain civil.” Scootaloo’s father continued to glare at her for several moments, then finally relented. “Fine, ah promise…” Twilight released the spell holding down the stallion and watched him stumble to his hooves. “I’ll be back in a few days with an FPS representative from Canterlot. As Princess, I’m officially placing both you and your wife under house arrest in the meantime. Be warned: I’ll know if you or your wife try to leave the property the moment you cross the threshold.” She turned around and walked downstairs, leaving the disgrace of a stallion alone. She was going to tell Scootaloo’s mother the same thing on the way out, but as she passed the living room, she saw that she had passed out. Again. Shaking her head in disgust, Twilight left the house and slammed the door shut behind her. Walking out to the road, she turned back towards the house and lit her horn, then quickly cast the tripwire spell. The sound of her teleporting away rang through the trees, leaving Scootaloo’s parents alone with their misery.