Enough to be concerned
Rainbow Dash woke up to a persistent poking sensation irritating her right cheek.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash, wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake up,” an annoyingly chipper voice said as a small hoof continued to poke at her cheek.
Rainbow couldn’t help but smile a little as she opened her eyes; there were certainly worse things to wake up to than an adorable filly two inches from her face. On the other hoof, Rainbow worked hard to cement her reputation as the kind of no-nonsense pony that other ponies wouldn’t dare to wake up, lest a terrible wrath come crashing down on them.
In one smooth motion, she ripped the covers off and flipped around, grabbing Scootaloo and pinning the filly on her back. “Well, I’m awake,” she said as a wry grin spread across her face. “What about you? Are you awake, Scoots?”
The young filly looked up with uncertainty. “Um, yes?”
“Hm... it sounds like you’re awake, but just to be careful, I’d better check.”
Rainbow started tickling Scootaloo. The filly squirmed, but Rainbow just held her down. Every time Scootaloo would twist to avoid the tortuous hooves, Rainbow would just switch her target. The filly burst out laughing as she flailed helplessly. “I’m awake, I’m awake!” Scootaloo gasped out in between bouts of laughter.
Rainbow eased up her assault and hopped down off the bed. “Morning, squirt.”
Scootaloo half-glowered as she caught her breath, “You don’t play fair.”
Rainbow scooped the little filly up in her forelegs and gave her a quick nuzzle. “Never,” she said with a grin. Scootaloo nuzzled back before Rainbow set her down on the ground.
Rainbow wasn’t really much of a morning pony; usually, her morning routine consisted of a quick shower, a swig of orange juice and a pop tart as she bolted out the door. But with Scootaloo around, Rainbow felt an odd desire to set a better example. While Scootaloo got ready for school, Rainbow set about making some toast with carrot jam. It occurred to her that it was possible that this would have to become an everyday thing. If it was an everyday occurrence, that would severely cut down on the number of hours she could spend sleeping, but right now, that seemed like a worthy trade off. To prove her point, Scootaloo came bounding down the stairs with a wide smile that made Rainbow feel just a little bit more warm and fuzzy then she cared to admit.
“This is delicious. How come everypony is always saying you can’t cook?” Scootaloo asked as she wolfed down her toast with orange juice.
“Because I don’t do it very often, but you live alone for long enough and you pick up a few tricks.”
“Can you teach me how to cook?”
“Probably not, but I’ll show you what I know; but not right now, because if we don’t get going, even I won’t be able to get you to school on time.”
A few minutes later, Scootaloo was settled comfortably atop Rainbow’s head as Rainbow headed down to the school. Before she landed she quickly scanned the area for guards and was relieved to find that they were still keeping their distance. She landed and bent down to let Scootaloo climb off, and the filly waved goodbye and headed inside. Rainbow was about to fly off to complete her shift on the weather patrol when she heard a cheery voice from behind her call out, “Excuse me, Rainbow Dash, can I talk to you for a moment?”
Rainbow turned around to see Ponyville’s resident school teacher, Cheerilee. “Sure, what’s up?”
Rainbow Dash hadn’t ever really had more than a two word conversation with Cheerilee. She didn’t have any foals of her own to attend school and it wasn’t like the two ponies had a lot in common.
“Some ponies from FPS came by early this morning. They said that until otherwise noted, you would be Scootaloo’s legal guardian. Is everything okay with Scootaloo?”
Rainbow was unsure how much she should tell Cheerilee. It occurred to her that if Cheerilee knew what was going on, simply having that knowledge might put her in danger. She wasn’t exactly sure how far Lightning was willing to go but she didn’t want to bet on him being merciful. She also remembered Scootaloo’s desire not to tell anypony. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m just watching Scoots for a couple days.”
“Okay, well then I need to know how to reach you in case of an accident, and you need to designate someone as Scootaloo’s emergency contact if you can’t be reached.”
“Weather patrol will usually know where I am if I’m not home, and if you can’t find me, I’m sure Fluttershy will know what to do.”
“I’ll note that in Scootaloo’s file. As of now, you’re the only one who’s allowed to take her out of class. Do you want to add anyone to the list?”
“Yeah, better go with Fluttershy again.”
Cheerilee nodded. “Is there anything else I should know?” Cheerilee asked that last question with enough of an edge to suggest that she thought Rainbow might be holding something back.
“I can’t think of anything,” Rainbow said in what she hoped was a nonchalant tone.
Cheerilee looked a little skeptical, but smiled anyway. “Alright, that’s all I need to know for now. Just have Scootaloo tell me when she’s back with her mom so I can switch her emergency contacts.”
“Sure thing. Thanks, Cheerilee.” Rainbow flew off, making a mental note to tell Fluttershy that she was now Scoot’s backup emergency contact. She didn’t think Fluttershy would mind. She took care of animals for a living, so what was one more filly to potentially add to that list?
Rainbow’s shift at the weather patrol was uneventful. Applejack had requested a quick shower for the south orchard, and there were some unauthorized clouds over the east side of town that needed to be broken up, but other than that, Rainbow spent her day lounging on a cloud, waiting for a radio call to alert her to any unforeseen weather emergencies. No calls came in, and so she was understandably surprised when she went back to headquarters to clock out and found two pegasi waiting for her.
“Ms. Dash? I’m Thunder Cloud, and this is my partner, Fire Wing,” a dark blue stallion said as he gestured to the red and yellow mare standing next to him. “We’re with FPS. We need to schedule an appointment to take your statement and do a comprehensive exam on Scootaloo. When would you be able to bring her in?”
Rainbow let her guard down as soon as she heard that the pegasi waiting for her were from FPS and not guards waiting to arrest her. “Tomorrow, first thing in the morning?”
“Tomorrow morning it is.” The two pegasi gave Rainbow a nod goodbye and flew off.
Since she was done with work for the day, Rainbow went out for a quick lunch followed by some flight practice, but after that was over she found herself with the rest of the afternoon to kill. Normally she would take a nap, or maybe see if Pinkie wanted to do some pranking, but right now neither of those ideas seemed that appealing. Instead, Rainbow found herself thinking about Scootaloo. She’d be getting out of school pretty soon. Rainbow flew over to the school yard just in time to catch the CMC being released.
“Hey, Rainbow,” Scootaloo said, as Rainbow landed near the trio.
“We’re heading over to Rarity’s; Cutie Mark Crusaders Fashion Models!” Sweetie Belle said as Applebloom and Scootaloo wrinkled their noses. The gesture was not unnoticed by the unicorn. “We said we’d help Rarity with her new line designed for fillies, and she needs a pegasus, a unicorn and an earth pony to model for her,” Sweetie Belle said, ignoring the distaste of her friends.
“We did say that,” Scootaloo said reluctantly. “Is it ok if I go over to Rarity’s?”
“Why are you asking Rainbow Dash?” Applebloom asked, curious as to why Scootaloo would need Rainbow’s permission for anything.
“Oh, um... I’m staying with Rainbow for a few days because my mom isn’t feeling well.” Scootaloo hoped her explanation was convincing enough to prevent her friends from asking anymore questions.
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle shrugged as though this made perfect sense, or they knew enough not to question Scootaloo when she brought up her sometimes mysterious home life.
“So, is it ok if I go to Rarity’s?”
“Sure squirt; I’ll leave the cloud ladder down. Just be back before it gets dark.”
Scootaloo’s being gone for the rest of the afternoon gave Rainbow an idea for how to fill the rest of her day. As soon as the trio of fillies was out of sight, Rainbow flew up to Cloudsdale. She found a furniture shop and bought an enchanted dresser and desk set to go along with a filly sized cloud bed. It wasn’t cheap, and she had to pay the furniture company extra to get the furniture rushed to her house that afternoon, but Rainbow couldn’t remember the last time she was happier about spending money. She spent the rest of the afternoon assembling and re-arranging furniture in what was now her guest room, and in what could someday be Scootaloo’s room. Just the idea that Scootaloo would have a permanent place to stay in her house made her feel an odd sense of serenity, like such a thing was meant to be. Rainbow was busy putting the finishing touches on the room when she heard the doorbell ring. She cautiously went to the door and was relieved to find that it was only Scootaloo returning from her misadventure as a fashion model.
“You locked the door,” Scootaloo said, looking more than a little annoyed at her honorary big sister.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I should probably get you a spare key. But, I have a surprise upstairs that I think might make it up to you.”
At the mention of a surprise, Scootaloo’s ears perked up and her wings began to buzz. “Is it a new scooter? Wonderbolts tickets? My very own cannon that I can shoot myself out of so I can practice being a stunt pony?”
“It’s none of those things squirt. Just come up and see.” The two pegasi went upstairs and Rainbow opened the door with a flourish. “It’s your very own room. What do ya think?” Rainbow looked down at the young filly expecting to see a look of unbridled joy, but instead got a blank expression. Rainbow quickly tried to recover. “I know it’s not decorated yet but we can pick up some posters tomorrow. If you don’t like the furniture I can always send it back… I think.”
“No, it’s not that. This is really nice of you, but if I have my own room that means I won’t get to sleep in your bed.” The little filly pawed at the ground. “I like it there. It’s warm, and safe, and I know nothing bad can happen to me.”
“Tell ya what, kid; if you ever feel scared, you can dart across the hall and hop in my bed.”
“Will you still tell me bedtime stories?”
“Of course.”
Scootaloo’s face lit up as she realized that she now had her very own room in Rainbow’s house, and she didn’t have to forfeit her favorite refuge. Her eyes got bigger as she wandered into the room and started imagining all the things she could do with the blank canvas of space.
“I want a Wonderbolts poster on that wall, and I can keep my CMC stuff over there and I can put my scooter in the corner. Can we get a hook for my helmet?”
“Sure squirt; we can get all that stuff tomorrow. Go get washed up for dinner. I’m gonna order us some pizza.”
“Thanks, Rainbow, you’re the best,” Scootaloo said, as she gave Rainbow Dash a quick hug.
Rainbow gave Scootaloo’s mane a quick tousle before heading downstairs to order pizza. The two pegasi spent what felt like another normal evening together. Scootaloo clearly preferred not to talk about her home life and Rainbow couldn’t think of anything to say anyways. As a result, they both ignored the elephant in the room.
Rainbow had finished tucking Scootaloo in for the night (in her new room), when she realized that she forgot to tell her about their FPS appointment. It wasn’t news she particularly wanted to break, but it would be worse if she just sprung it as they headed out the door.
“So, listen kid; we need to go to FPS tomorrow. They’re going to ask you questions about Lightning Strike,” Rainbow said, hoping not to upset Scootaloo too badly.
Scootaloo squirmed uncomfortably. “I don’t want to talk about it; I just want to pretend it never happened.”
Rainbow sat down next to her. “I know, but it did happen, and pretending that it didn’t will only make things worse. We need your help, kid. You’re the only one who can stop him. I promise I’ll be with you the whole time.”
The promise that Rainbow would be there with her seemed to calm the young filly’s nerves. She nodded, and Rainbow gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.
The next morning, the two pegasi found themselves at the FPS offices. The Foal Protective Services satellite office in Ponyville was located on the western edge of town. It was housed in a non-descript building that it shared with most of the other government agencies with offices in Ponyville. Despite it ostensibly being there to provide services for needy foals, there was very little about the office that was child friendly, save for a few coloring books in the waiting room. The rest of the office was a maze of cubicles, filing cabinets and busy ponies rushing to and from various activities; in short, it looked like any other government building. Scootaloo hid herself behind Rainbow’s forelegs as Rainbow looked around for the pegasi she saw yesterday.
“Ms. Dash?” Thunder Cloud said as he appeared from around the corner. He then kneeled down to face the filly still hiding behind Rainbow’s forelegs. “You must be Scootaloo.” Scootaloo nodded but kept Rainbow between herself and this new stallion she had never met.
“You’re going to come with me and I’m going to ask you a few questions,” he then turned his attention to Rainbow. “Fire Wing will take your statement in room 203.”
Rainbow Dash eyed Thunder Cloud warily. She had no doubt that his intentions were good, but her protective instincts were kicked into overdrive by the tactile sensation of Scootaloo huddling behind her. “I’m going with her,” she said, in a tone that offered neither threat nor ambiguity.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Dash., but protocol dictates that we talk to Scootaloo without any adults present. Rest assured that she’s in good hooves.”
Scootaloo stayed rooted behind Rainbow’s forelegs and Rainbow herself refused to move. Thunder Cloud kept his face calm and his voice neutral. “Ms. Dash, protocol exists for a reason. If an adult is in the room, it could prejudice her testimony. I respect that you feel you are trying to protect her, but you need to let us do our job.”
“If you did your job, I wouldn’t be here.” Rainbow said tersely.
Thunder Cloud ignored the cheap shot and continued. “I promise we aren’t going to do anything more then ask her a few questions and perform a simple non-invasive medical examination. If it goes beyond that, and that’s a big if, we will get your permission before proceeding.”
Rainbow Dash and Thunder Cloud eyed each other. Rainbow let out a sigh. As much as she hated to admit it, Thunder Cloud wasn’t a bad pony. He was an overworked employee doing a job that brought him in contact with truly horrific situations. If he could stand to be a little friendlier, it was only because his detachment was probably the only way he could deal with the emotional trauma of his job. Rainbow nodded in conciliation. She kneeled down and gently rested a hoof on the shoulder of a nervous Scootaloo. “It’s okay, Scoots. This is still just like what we talked about. You’re going to go with Thunder Cloud, and answer some questions, and then before you know it it’ll be over, and we can go spend the day in Cloudsdale.”
Scootaloo cautiously stepped out from behind her haven and followed Thunder Cloud down the hall while Rainbow looked around for the room marked 203.
She entered the room and found Fire Wing sitting there with a file and a notebook at a plain brown table. Rainbow sat down across from her and looked at her expectantly.
Fire Wing wasted no time with pleasantries or friendly banter. “Okay, Ms. Dash, let’s start with how you came to suspect that Scootaloo was being abused.”
Rainbow Dash launched into the story of how Scootaloo had practically gone catatonic after knocking over her lamp and everything that happened after that. She told her about the foalnapping charge, Lighting’s threat after the meeting with Celestia, and how Scootaloo was still clearly nervous that she would be hurt whenever she did something wrong. Throughout the story, Fire Wing remained dispassionate, nodding along and writing down a few notes.
“Have you ever seen Lightning Strike hit Scootaloo?” Fire Wing asked when Rainbow had finished her story.
“No.”
“Has anypony you know ever seen Lightning Strike hit anypony?”
“No, but-”
“Have you ever witnessed any bruises or other marks on Scootaloo?”
“No but-”
“Has Lightning Strike ever explicitly admitted to you that he hurt Scootaloo?”
Rainbow became exasperated at the singular line of questioning. “No. Look, I told you what I know. Why isn’t that enough?!”
Fire Wing dropped her composure for a moment and something that sounded a lot like sympathy crept into her voice. “I believe you, but what I believe and what I can prove are two very different things.”
“I don’t… I don’t want to see her get hurt again. Isn’t that what y’all are supposed to do?”
“Yes, Ms. Dash, but there are still rules I have to follow, and one of those rules is to collect hard evidence.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. As hard as it may have been for her to accept, Fire Wing wasn’t trying to be obstinate; she was just doing her job, like her partner. Rainbow wasn’t really mad at her; she was mad at Lightning Strike for hurting Scootaloo. She was mad that the system wasn’t built to magically solve all her problems with one fell swoop. But most of all, she was mad at herself for feeling so powerless. Scootaloo had put the last remaining hope she had in Rainbow Dash, and despite the obvious good she had done already, she was still worried that she wasn’t worthy of the honor.
After she was finished giving her statement, Rainbow went to the waiting room, and waited for Scootaloo to come out. When she finally did, some 20 minutes later, Scootaloo looked a bit shaken up but otherwise seemed no worse for wear. The filly ran over and instinctively pressed herself close to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow reached down with her wings and repositioned the filly so she was secure on her back, and in response Scootaloo snuggled against the soft prismatic mane.
“There appears to be enough here to warrant concern,” Thunder Cloud said as he glanced at his partner’s notes. “We’ll be in touch.”
Rainbow nodded. She was much more worried about the filly on her back than the investigation right now.
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Another good chapter!
I hope Lightning Strike gets what's coming to him. I hope for more chapters soon!!!
Great chapter. Nice mix of emotions.
Thank Luna there was enough to warrant concern, if not Dash would have gone ballistic.I hope Lighting Strike gets some very unpleasant news soon. I can totally see Scoots and Rainbow snuggling together after Scoots has a nightmare.
4188867
He did threaten to hurt her at the end of chapter 4.
love this story can't wait for the next one I'm hoping for a painful punishment for lightning strike for hurting poor innocent scootaloo
First off, don't know how but I read the chapter after this before I even learned of this one
But, at least it explained why lightning was in rainbow's house and told her how fps gave him a hard time.
DOWN WITH THE BASTARD!
I don't usually comment, but I feel that this deserves it.
Although your writing style is quite casual, and it lacks detailed descriptions usually found in good stories, if find that it is very... Human. I find it very easy to sink into your story, and picture what is going on, without the need for over the top detailing. You've also managed to stir emotion through the story; from anxiousness, leading up to the meeting with Princess Celestial, to anger, in the various encounters with your villain. This is of course amongst other emotions.
The only negative feedback would be with minor syntax errors, such as double spaces dotted around. And, as others have mentioned, the pacing often feels a bit rushed at points. These are very minor though, when I consider how good the rest of the story is.
TL;DR - Its a great story, with very few issues, keep up the good work. Cheers
CheenoDash out!
But lightning DID admit to Rainbow Dash about hurting Scoots. Only two chapters ago.
4318528 No, he threatened to hurt her in the future and implied that he hurt her in the past. Technically he never admitted to abusing her.
In Chapter 4, you say:
And in this chapter, you say:
Why does Rainbow say no? Lightning Strike is threatening to hurt Scootaloo when he gets her back. Why doesn't Rainbow say anything about this?
in the beginning of the chapter the interaction between Rainbow and Scootaloo was by far the cutest thing i've read
4322008
I'm wondering the same thing.
Lightning Strike feels pretty one-sided as a villain, but other than that, I'm quite enjoying this up to now.
For future stories, I think it might be a good idea to give antagonists a motive beyond "he's a jerk who likes to see a filly suffer." For example, Lightning Strike could have been resentful of the fact that his lover had a child while he wanted a childfree mare, and he takes that anger out on Scootaloo. His motivation to hide the abuse could then come from not wanting to lose Scootaloo's mother.
At any rate, keep it up!
Wow that's really getting interesting, Lightning Strike is such a bitch though!
I agree with the sentiment of a lot of the commentors here, there is absolutely no reason for Rainbow not to bring up what Lightning Strike threatened her with. She should also bring up what Twilight found with her magic.
The story is ok, but the biggest issue you have is the way you try to keep out solutions like the princesses just fixing everything or one call to the FPS to solve this. I can understand not wanting to, but right now the decisions made and reasoning behind the inactivity, as well as the disbelief towards Scootaloo simply make no sense a lot of the time.
Can't she answer yes to this one? I mean, there's also the threat at the end of their last meeting. Even if it's a case of "your word against mine" that's still important info that Dash would in no way forget to say.
4396999 Did Strike say that he had hurt Scootaloo, or just that he was going to?
Lightening Strike explicitly said he was going to hurt Scootaloo worse than ever, then come after Dash. That merits a note in the FPS's books.
I bet Fire Wing is related to Spitfire.
4408121
That he was going to. In ways that Rainbow Dash couldn't even imagine. Then he stated that he was going to come after Dash.
4408121 It's BS like this that makes me wonder what's so "fool-proof" about our systems.
4418271
He straight up threatened Rainbow. That's enough to merit a visit from the police, and possibly enough for a restraining order.
Yes he did.
Edit:
But isn't that something worth mentioning?
5161777 she did mention it
She should have told the person about the therts they he told her
I'm preeeetty sure that this line right here not only qualifies as heavily implying if not admitting that he hurt Scootaloo, but also qualifies as a threat to her wellbeing and possibly her life, as well as against Rainbow Dash, who by the way is a national hero. So, why in the everloving hell did Dash say 'no' and why did Fire Wing ask that question if Dash told her about the threat?
"Isn't that what y'all are supposed to do?", that doesn't sound like Rainbow...
move down a line.
______________
Applebloom >> Apple Bloom
_____________
7363297
Eeyup. But then again she does hang around a bushel of apples a lot of the time. It's not too unlikely that the vernacular would rub off on her from time to time.
Applebloom >> Apple Bloom
___________
Man, Scoots needs all the huggles.