Chapter 10: Free at Last
Scootaloo could only stare, wide eyed, at the guards at the door. ‘Why are they here for me? What did I do? Where are they going to take me?’ she thought in a panic. She did manage to recover in order to look confident.
“Why, where are you taking me?” She asked a little shakily. The guards exchanged looks before looking back at her.
“We were told you would be informed before we got her, but since that doesn’t seem to be the case… We’re here to escort you to court,” the guard on the left answered. Scootaloo looked at Dusk for answers. Before he could answer, however, a voice cut him off.
“Ah, you’re here, but you’re early,” Rosetta said as she walked in, Rainbow close behind.
“So you haven’t explained the situation?” the guard on the right asked.
She opened her mouth to speak but Rainbow answered for her, “No, we were about to.”
“Explain what?” Scootaloo questioned as she looked around confused. The guard on the left looked Rosetta in the eye, then looked into Dusk’s.
“Well now that we’re here, we can’t allow you to do so without us listening in, otherwise her testimony could be skewed,” he informed.
Rosetta nodded and spoke, “I understand, and we’ll gladly accept, but it’s fairly early, and I know for a fact my son hasn’t bathed yet today.” Dusk looked away sheepishly, causing Scootaloo to let out a poorly suppressed giggle. “Allow us to prepare for the day at least, then we’ll tell her everything with your supervision,” Rosetta continued. “Dusk, go and shower, you smell like manure,” Dusk blushed, causing Scootaloo to giggle once more. He walked off, still blushing.
“Don’t think for a moment that you’re off the hook squirt, you’re going upstairs and waiting for him to finish, then you’re next,” Rainbow ordered. Scootaloo lowered her head in mock sadness. She accidentally sniffed and went rigid. She immediately ran after Dusk. Rainbow had to suppress her laughter at the scene but managed to snap her attention back to the matter at hoof at the sound of Rosetta’s voice.
“Would you two like to join us for some coffee?” The guards hesitated a moment but then accepted.
“Don’t think for a moment that this will get a good word from us,” one guard warned.
“If you want to wait outside in all that armour for, Celestia knows, how long it’ll take for them to bathe then be my guest,” Rosetta admonished without so much of a flinch. Both guards exchanged looks again and nodded. Rainbow closed the door behind the guards and followed them into the kitchen.
Scootaloo reached the bathroom door within moments. She could hear the sound of running water. She knocked on the door as hard as she could. The sounds of somepony slipping and falling caused her to laugh. She was then greeted by a suddenly open door and a furious Dusk Shine. Scootaloo could only grin impishly at his wet fur and angry expression. He raised himself to his full height, trying to intimidate her. Her grin only grew. His anger quickly faded as he looked at her.
“You’re lucky you’re adorable,” he grumbled, now looking annoyed.
She grinned and sang, “I know.” She began laughing again. He needed revenge. ‘But how?’ he questioned himself. He smirked as an idea came to mind. Scootaloo’s eyes widened, “Oh no.” Before she could do anything else he hugged her, still freshly wet from the shower. She pulled against his grip but couldn’t break it. “Lemme goooooo!” she groaned. He laughed and refused. She kept fighting his grasp until finally she broke free. She looked at her now soaked form. “Jerk!” she stated with a pout.
Dusk let out a small laugh before he spoke, “Heh, I made you moist.” Scootaloo blushed and punched his chest.
“PERVERT!” she shouted before walking off.
He laughed harder before shouting back, “WORTH IT!”
=^.^=
Meanwhile, downstairs, the guards ears perked up. One stood to go figure out what was going on.
“They’re just flirting, it isn’t anything to worry about,” Rosetta informed as she handed them mugs of coffee. The guard hesitated again but turned to go investigate anyway.
“You’re telling me you’ve never been playful with your marefriend back in the day?” Rainbow questioned with a smirk. The guard looked at her with a small bit of annoyance. He did, however, concede to that fact and sat back down.
=^.^=
Dusk had finished his shower and gone downstairs, leaving Scootaloo to do the same. She closed the door behind her as she entered. After putting a plug in the drain she turned the hot water on full blast. She sat on the ground as she waited for the tub to fill.
“I’m gonna need this,” she muttered to herself as the steam started filling the room. Her day’s shenanigans had finally caught up to her. Chasing Dusk around, talking with Rainbow, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s sisters almost murdering them and their coltfriends, guards interrupting her mid make out session... Scootaloo blushed with a little smile thinking about that last one. It had all added up and she needed to relax.
She turned the water off after a few minutes and took in a deep breath. The steam filled her from her nostrils to her lungs. It felt so nice, she was already relaxing. She dipped her hoof into the water and pulled it out immediately on instinct. It was scalding hot. Just the way she liked it. She then hopped in with all four hooves and quickly submerged herself in the head. From past experiences she learned the fastest way to get over the burning sensation was to get herself covered in it as fast as possible. It worked as she slowly raised her head from the water. She let out a content sigh before sinking back down until her nostrils were just above the water. After a few moments sitting there she began to use the shampoo on the edge of the tub. Her wings fluttered a little as she massaged her scalp. Normally she wouldn’t even use the shampoo, she’d just get her hair wet and rub her head. Why work so hard to clean it when bugs and dirt would just get in it when she was on her scooter. After all the soap was rubbed in she turned the faucet back on and used the flow of water to wash it out of her hair. She turned the faucet back of once all the shampoo was gone and she leaned against the back of the tub.
“What are they here for?” Scootaloo asked herself. Her mind began racing with ideas of what they could possibly want. ‘What is Dusk hiding from me?’ she suddenly thought. It caused her to double take. ‘Where did that come from?’ she questioned. ‘Dusk wouldn’t hide anything from me... would he? No, don’t start thinking like this, it will be fine, he’s trustworthy, and Rainbow is involved so what could go wrong? A lot actually… but still that doesn’t mean Dusk is hiding things from me.’ She concluded in her head. She stood up and quickly washed her tail before pulling the plug from the drain and fluttering out of the tub. It made her smile that she finally had the ability to flutter around now. She grabbed a towel and used her wings to dry herself off before haphazardly brushing her mane with her hoof then went downstairs.
Scootaloo walked in on the guards, Rosetta, and Rainbow exchanging small talk with Dusk sitting awkwardly in the middle. Scootaloo slowly took a seat beside Dusk, causing the small talk to cease.
“Alright miss Scootaloo, tell us, did your dad ever-” one of the guards began to ask but was immediately cut off.
“Stop right there,” Rosetta interjected, “If you ask questions like you’re about to our entire testimony will be forfeit because of forced memory.” The guard opened his mouth to speak again but she held up a hoof. “I will hear nothing of it, I let you in my house out of the searing heat, and gave you refreshments, the least you can do is just do as I ask, please.” she stated. The guard nodded. “Thank you, now I want from you two is to listen to what is said and be our witnesses that we didn’t tell her to say any specific phrase, any condemning words, and things of the like. Can you do that?” The guards nodded again, to which Rosetta smiled. “Thank you, now Rainbow do you want to explain to Scootaloo what’s going on?” Scootaloo turned and look at Rainbow Dash with questioning eyes.
“Well, Squirt, to keep it simple, we told the court about the horrible things your father has done to you and your friends.” she began, “We have a hearing soon to try and get you into my custody.” Scootaloo looked into Rainbow’s eyes searching for some form of lie. When no sign of lies were found she pinched herself to see if she was dreaming.
“Is this for real, is this really happening?” she asked as tears started to develop in her eyes.
“Yeah, it’s for real, and we need you to just tell the truth about what you’ve been through,” Rainbow answered. Scootaloo couldn’t hold back the flood of tears anymore. She jumped out of her chair and ran into Rainbow Dash’s hooves. Rainbow hugged her and pet her mane. She cried into Rainbow’s chest while Rainbow tried to comfort her. “Shhh, shhh, calm down Scootaloo, it’s alright,” Rainbow murmured into her ears. Scootaloo sniffled and slowly regained her composure. She sat up but stayed in Rainbow’s hooves.
“S-So, what exactly is gonna happen?” Scootaloo asked.
Rosetta was the first to answer, “You’re going to be put on the stand at some point or another, and asked questions about your father, your past, and things that have happened to you.” Scootaloo nodded as Rainbow gently stroked her mane. “You’re going to be asked very personal questions, and in rapid succession, that’s what plaintiffs do,” she continued.
Rainbow then cut in, “All you have to do is tell the truth Squirt.” She nuzzled Scootaloo’s mane softly. Scootaloo blushed and looked at Rosetta for confirmation. She received a nod from the mare.
“So I’m gonna be asked questions and all I have to do is tell the truth?” Scootaloo asked. She received another nod. “S-sounds easy enough, when do I start?” she asked.
“About ten minutes actually,” Dusk stated.
Scootaloo cleared her throat and wiggled out of Rainbow’s grasp before saying, “Well let’s get going.”
The five ponies began the walk to Ponyville City Hall. Scootaloo trotted nervously between Rainbow Dash and Rosetta. She looked to Dusk for comfort but he seems just as nervous as her. The silence was awkward and pregnant with tension. After a few minutes of walking Rainbow spoke up.
“So how long is this gonna take, do you think?” She asked one of the guards.
“That depends on the judge, the jury, and the evidence,” one guard answered. Dusk started giggling.
“Sorry, but is it bad that I heard ‘judge, jury, and executioner’ in my head?” He asked through his laughter. The guards chuckled a little as well.
Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she yelped, “EXECUTIONER?!” This triggered them all to start laughing.
“No Squirt, there won’t be an executioner,” Rainbow stated. “You haven’t done anything to deserve one... yet.” She added slyly. Scootaloo gulped loudly. Everyone continued to laugh for a while. Once the laughter subsided, they continued in silence, this time with less tension.
They soon reached the City Hall. The guards opened the doors for the other four. Once everyone entered, the guards ushered Scootaloo away from the rest of the group.
“It will be fine Scootaloo, just be honest and everything will work out,” Rosetta called out. Scootaloo didn’t have a chance to answer before they entered the main hall. She looked at the two guards for comfort but knew she probably wouldn’t get any.
“We will escort you in and to your attorney,” a guard stated.
“My attorney?” Scootaloo asked.
The other guard nodded and said, “Yes, it is someone you know very well, according to Miss Dash.”
“But I haven’t talked to anyone,” she countered.
“She left the message to, ‘Trust me, Squirt,’” the second guard stated. Scootaloo smiled and nodded.
“Ok, thank you,” she answered. She waited with the guards in silence for a little while. She was soon escorted into the courtroom. Looking around at all the ponies staring at her was making Scootaloo nervous. ‘1, 2, 3, 16, 40!?’ she mentally counted in a panic. Her eyes fell on her father in the front. Her eyes widened and her walk stiffened. She searched desperately for friendly faces. She thankfully saw Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell, as well as their sisters, and their sisters friends. Scootaloo was very surprised to find that Dusk and Rainbow Dash weren’t there. She did however see Rosetta. She was staring at Scootaloo with a calm expression. Scootaloo let out a soft sigh before reaching the front of the room and sitting down. She looked at the strange pegasus stallion sitting next to her.
Before she could say a word he opened his mouth and spoke, “Hello Scootaloo, my name is Diamond Suit, I’m an old friend of Dash’s from flight school. I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure your father doesn’t get away with this.
“We will now begin, please rise for honorable Judge Swift Justice.” The bailiff announced. The crowd rose to their hooves.
Once Judge Swift made it to her seat she announced, “You may all be seated.” The crowd obeyed as she looked over the papers presented to her. “Alright so we have the prosecution of, Plaintiff, Scootaloo versus Defendant, Hay Rolled on the grounds of child abuse.” She looked at Hay Rolled with a blank expression and asked, “How do you plead?”
“Not guilty, your honor,” stated his lawyer. Judge Swift wrote something down and looked up at Diamond suit.
“You may begin,” she said monotonously. For Scootaloo, everything passed by in a blur. A mixture of arguments, pounds of a gavel, several witnesses took the stand, giving mixed signals over who was in the wrong. She could barely comprehend what was going on until she saw Rainbow Dash sit in the witness chair. She watched carefully as Dash
“Miss Dash, is it true that you often look after Miss Scootaloo?” Hay Rolled’s lawyer asked.
“Yeah.” Rainbow answered.
“Have you ever seen anything to indicate that she has been abused?” he asked.
“You mean besides the bruises, cuts, missing feathers, and the occasional burned fur?” Rainbow retorted. She continued, “I have heard her in her sleep, crying about her father beating her and abusing her, not to mention it’s not hard to see a change in her each time she hears his name!” Scootaloo’s eyes teared up a little from the memories of the nights Rainbow stayed up with her to comfort her. The lawyer winced at the statements. He sighed and turned around.
“No further questions your honor,” he stated defeatedly. Diamond didn’t think there was a whole lot he could add. Rainbow was a quick to win mare after all.
“I have no questions either your honor,” he stated before retaking his seat.
“Any further witnesses?” Judge Swift asked.
“One more your honor, I’d like to call Dusk Shine to the stand,” Diamond responded. He figured they had it won, but overkill doesn’t exist in the courtroom. Scootaloo’s eyes widened and her head snapped towards the back of the courtroom. Dusk walked in, escorted by two guards. He stood at the witness stand and made his oath. He then sat and waited for the questions. “Mr. Dusk Shine, how long have you known Scootaloo?” Diamond Suit asked.
“I’ve known her since Kindergarten, but only known her personally around five months,” Dusk answered.
“How close would you say you two are?” Diamond asked.
“Well, she’s kind of my… uh… well… she’s my filly friend,” Dusk answered a little sheepishly. There was a small “Dawww,” coming from around Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s rows. Scootaloo blushed profusely. The loud bang of a gavel was soon heard.
“Order in the court!” Judge Swift demanded. “Continue Mr. Diamond,” she said.
“Thank you, your honor, how did you become personally involved with Scootaloo, Dusk?” he asked.
“Well Elusive, Rumble, and I were hanging out, we ran into the crusaders and horsed around,” Dusk began. “We all had to go home, and apparently Scootaloo and I lived in roughly the same direction,” he continued. “That same night I heard the crash of glass then the sound of hoofbeats. It was Scootaloo, she had ran from her house and hugged me. Her dad was soon outside and on us, he started screaming obscenities, he called her a whorse. Well I may have… knocked him out… but I teleported him back into his house. Thankfully the tree softened my fall.” he finished. The last line got a few laughs from the room. The gavel sounded again and everyone shushed back up.
“Has she mentioned anything about her father to you?” Diamond asked.
“Yeah, not alot though, she doesn’t like talking about it too often but she mentioned a few beatings, and the fact that she doesn’t think he’s a bad stallion, but that he is a bad father,” Dusk stated. “She doesn’t want to live with him anymore, but also thinks he shouldn’t be imprisoned for it,” he finished.
“What do you think?” Diamond questioned.
“I think Scootaloo is a kind, forgiving filly, and that if she thinks he should be free, then I can’t disagree,” Dusk answered.
“No further questions,” Diamond said.
“Does the defendant have anything to add?” Judge Swift asked. The lawyer went to stand, but Hay Rolled grabbed his shoulder before standing himself.
“Your honor, I’d like to change my plea,” Hay Rolled announced. There was a collective gasp from the room. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she stared at him.
“So you plead guilty?” Judge Swift asked for confirmation.
“Yes, and I’d like to add that Scootaloo is mostly right,” he said. “I believe I deserve to be punished far worse than she thinks I do,” he stated.
“Is that all?” Judge Swift questioned. Hay Rolled nodded and sat down. Scootaloo sat in awe at what he had just said. There was a stunned silence in the room as Judge Swift told the jury to convene.
The room sat in nervous silence, awaiting the decision by the jury. After about an hour they re-entered the main room.
“How do you find the defendant?” Swift Justice asked.
“We find the defendant… guilty on the charge of child abuse,” the jury spokesperson announced.
“Ok, Mr. Hay Rolled, I sentence you to one hundred hours of community service, a minimum of sixty hours with a court ordered psychiatrist, and I am releasing your custody of Miss Scootaloo to Miss Rainbow Dash. You will only be allowed to see your daughter again when she decides to allow you to do so,” Judge Swift Justice declared. “Court is adjourned,” she finished and began filing the paperwork.
Rainbow Dash shot out of her seat, with a loopty loop in the air, and cheered. Many others cheered as well. Hay Rolled walked over to Scootaloo and looked at her apologetically.
“One last hug?” he asked softly. The Bailiff was watching Hay Rolled like a hawk.
“S-sure,” Scootaloo answered uncertainly. Hay Rolled leaned in and hugged her.
As he hugged her he whispered, “You haven’t seen the last of me.” before walking away. Scootaloo’s eyes watered and widened. She closed her eyes tightly and looked down fighting back the tears. She reopened her eyes and chased after him.
She hugged him from behind before whispering into his ear, “Nothing you do can hurt me, pansy ass.” She then shoved off of him and ran over to Rainbow Dash and all her friends. She heard a small growl of rage from Hay Rolled. She didn’t care, she ran into Rainbow Dash’s hooves. Rainbow hugged her tight and lifted her into the air. Her friends giggled with happy tears in their eyes. Once Rainbow finally let her go, she looked over to Dusk, who was smiling bright. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before hugging him too. Once they separated they left the courtroom and walked onto the streets. They rejoiced around each other.
“I’m so glad you don’t have to deal with him anymore!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. Apple Bloom hoofbumped her and giggled as they all hugged. Their sisters, and technically Scootaloo’s new step mom, all smiled at the fillies. Rosetta and Dusk watched with grins on their faces as they tried not to giggle.
“Thank you, all of you, without you, I-I may not have been able to stand up to my father, or ever get away from him, but with all of you around I know I’m finally safe,” Scootaloo said with tears in her eyes. “I know that I can finally handle myself without his meddling, thank you all soooooo much,” She thanked again and hugged them all.
Dusk pulled away from the scene with a huge fuss. “Geeze, Scoots, when did you become so soft?” he teased. Scootaloo stared Dusk down with fake rage. She charged and tackle-hugged him. Dusk’s air left his lungs as Scootaloo squeezed with all her might. “I give, I give!” Dusk yelled breathlessly. Scootaloo, as well as their crowd of friends, laughed as she stood up. Dusk went to stand up but was knocked back down by a pony rushing by. The pony kept moving without a word. Dusk slowly stood up with Scootaloo’s help.
“EXCUSE YOU!” Sweetie Belle yelled after the pony. “Some ponies, geeze,” she huffed.
Scootaloo smiled and said, “Screw that guy, nothing is going to bring me down today!” A loud cheer erupted from the group from those words. They devolved into a loud chatter and began chatting about things that might happen, future crusades, and even a couple dates planned by the older sisters, making the younger ones blush bright.
However a loud scream interrupted them. “PEPPER!” a mare screamed from the nearby crossroads. The group looked over and saw a young colt about to get run over by a speeding carriage. The same young colt Dusk had nearly tackled the other day. Dusk was quick to react. He tried to teleport but was unable, he tried again and again as quick as possible but just couldn’t. He then charged into the street and shoved the young colt out of harm’s way. But at the cost of his own harm. The carriage slammed into Dusk at full speed. Everyone around the accident screamed. The carriage came to a stop ten feet from Dusk’s body. The group he had just been in charged into the street crying.
“Dusk, DUSK!” Scootaloo screamed as they approached. They drew in close to his form.
“No, nonononono, NO!” Rosetta yelled as she started to see the full damage done to her son. She broke into tears at the sight of his contorted body. Nothing was too bad out of place, except his left foreleg, which was stuck under his back. However there were two large black bruises, noticeable even through his fur. One on his neck, the other on his lower torso. Rosetta fell to her knees and screamed, “CALL FOR HELP!” She then looked down at Dusk and brushed his mane out of his face, “Dusk, Dusk, you’re ok, stay with me ok, please, please, stay with me,” Rosetta weeped over her son whispering these words. Scootaloo looked around through tear stained eyes looking for anypony who could help. She locked eyes with a pony standing near the edge of a house with a small smirk on his face. It was Hay Rolled. He quickly disappeared from sight. Scootaloo knew what had happened but had to focus on help. She looked over to Rainbow. The moment she saw Scootaloo look at her she took to the skies and searched for help as fast as possible. Scootaloo’s eyes filled with tears as she stared at the scene. She let out a loud scream of pain as she held Dusk’s hoof as gently as she could.