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Somepony Who Cares by Ice
By splishsplashCreated: 2022-01-05 17:17:03
Updated: 2022-03-11 15:15:26
Expiry: Never
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Somepony Who Cares by Ice
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(Rainbow Dash / Scootaloo)
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(06/09/2018)
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>"She did... WHAT?!"
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>Rainbow Dash had heard just fine of course, but it was one of those instances where she just needed to defer thought for a moment
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>If only for an instant
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>Because for all she knew of Scootaloo, this caught her off guard
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>"I'm afraid so," responded Cheerilee with a stern note in her voice
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>The disappointment her teacher tried to conceal gave Scootaloo a twinge in her stomach, for the first time all afternoon
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>But Rainbow's anger, far from encouraging the filly's introspection, only served to remind her of her own indignation
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>"Vandalizing the school bathroom?! What in Equestria were you thinking?!"
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>Her temper flaring up again, she spit back "Oh like you care! This stupid school had it coming!"
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>"SCOOTALOO!"
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>This was officially beyond the realm of Rainbow's experience as a caretaker, and she could hardly think straight
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>"Go outside and wait by the front door! And don't THINK about moving until I come to get you!"
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>While her anger was still simmering within, she also couldn't really remember seeing Rainbow this angry before...
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>With a contemptuous look, she slunk out of the classroom and down the hall
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>"Don't be too cross with her Rainbow," Cheerilee tried to soothe the blue pegasus after showing her Scootaloo's work
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>"TOO cross?! I can't believe this is happening! Where did she even pick up language like that?!"
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>Glancing over the vulgarities scrawled on the wall
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>"You know how these foals are. It seems like some of the others had been teasing her again this morning..."
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>"Teasing... ?" Rainbow sighed. "That still doesn't excuse this kind of behavior"
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>Rainbow almost gasped when she heard her own voice
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>Heard her own father's voice in it
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>"It's not even that serious, really," Cheerilee commented. "It was just one of the markers the foals use for hoofwriting practice. It will wash right off"
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>"And Scootaloo will be the one washing it off tomorrow," replied Rainbow
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>"I mean, if that works for you..." she added with a glance at her old teacher
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>Cheerilee smiled
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>"Rainbow Dash, did your own parents rub off on you?"
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>Before Rainbow could reply, Cheerilee patted her on the shoulder
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>"I think that's a good idea," and then in a more serious tone, "Really Rainbow, Scootaloo has been doing so much better ever since you moved her in with you. Everypony can see how good it has been for her"
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>"Sometimes I just don't know," Rainbow opined
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>"I never really thought about how much work it is to have a little filly around"
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>"I worry I'm not doing it right, or something. And now this happens, like... yeah Rainbow, you really screwed up"
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>Cheerilee put an arm around her
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>"You're doing just wonderful Rainbow"
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>"If I recall, you were something of a hoof-ful yourself, for your parents"
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>"But you turned out a lot better than alright"
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>Rainbow felt her cheeks burning
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>"Aw geez Miss, er... I mean, Cheerilee. Thanks"
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>"It's the truth, you know. But perhaps you should tend to your own little one, before she wanders off"
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>"If she even THINKS about it...!
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>Cheerilee chuckled
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>"Don't be too harsh with her"
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>If only Cheerilee knew, thought Rainbow
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>She wasn't nearly strict enough
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>On the way back home, they were both pretty quiet
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>Each lost in her own thoughts
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>The relatively lighthearted mood Rainbow had briefly enjoyed with her old teacher was quickly eclipsed by her own anger and disappointment
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>When they got to the house, Scootaloo immediately made for the stairs
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>"Where do you think you're going?" Rainbow focused on keeping her voice measured, while still trying to convey a sense of her newfound authority
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>"You are seriously in trouble right now. What were you thinking?"
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>"What do you mean trouble? You can't get me in trouble!" the orange filly retorted.
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>"Scootaloo, you are living in my house and that means you are living by my rules"
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>Her mind was racing
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>Thinking back to the countless lectures she had received as a filly
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>And to what she had too often received immediately thereafter...
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>But there was no way she could do that
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>Like, how does one even go about doing that?!
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>No, she definitely couldn't do that
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>What Rainbow had really wanted to keep to a "civilized and calm discussion" quickly devolved into a fully-fledged argument
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>Especially when Scootaloo tried to recount how the other foals had been teasing her
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>"Scootaloo doesn't have any family, Scootaloo has to pretend that Rainbow Dash is her sister, nopony cares about Scootaloo!"
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>"And THEY'RE RIGHT!"
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>"Everypony at school laughs at me!" she exclaimed with mounting distress
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>"And YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT ME!"
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>Her voice was a veritable shriek, all composure leaving her as she turned suddenly and bolted up the stairs
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>Leaving Rainbow rooted to the spot
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>And though her words stung her, it was only a superficial pain
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>Because she knew what the little pegasus was going through, the turmoil that a headstrong filly felt at her age
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>After all, she had been in just that spot herself
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>Had said similar things to her own parents
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>But by the same token, she knew now what her parents had known then
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>That a willful filly - especially when her attitude started to get the better of her - needed a firm hoof
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>Her own father had put her over his knee many times when she had strayed out of line
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>Okay, now maybe she could actually do that
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>Scootaloo slammed the bedroom door behind her
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>As she stormed past the bedside table, she flipped on the phonograph sitting there, which promptly launched into her new Appleloosa is the Reason album
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>Before finally throwing herself down onto the bed with a ragged sigh of frustration
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>All the tension just overflowed in that moment, as her body shuddered and she brought a hoof down dramatically onto the comforter
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>Rainbow Dash just didn't understand!
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>And yet... she felt her eyes sting with the hot beginnings of tears
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>Because while she was sure, okay almost sure, that Rainbow didn't care
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>(almost, maybe, probably sure)
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>The thing that hurt most in her chest suddenly wasn't her anger, or her resentment, or even the sadness beneath them
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>It was the look on Rainbow's face when she had accused her of not caring
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>As Rainbow marched up the stairs gravely, she understood finally how her father, how parents all over Equestria, actually did this
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>She didn't really feel angry now, just resolute
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>And it was simply because - she loved that little filly
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>And she knew that she needed this
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>So Rainbow had made up her mind, made the decision that this was happening and nothing could change that
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>Because she would be failing Scootaloo otherwise
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>And just like that, it was out of her hooves - it was just a simple fact of the universe
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>The sky is blue
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>Apples fall to earth
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>Scootaloo was getting a spanking
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>"Alright Scootaloo"
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>Opening the bedroom door slowly but implacably
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>"We need-" but cut herself off in the face of the blaring midwest Equestrian rock
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>"Young filly!" switching off the turntable
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>Scootaloo jumped up with an indignant "Hey!"
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>Rainbow just met her with a stern gaze
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>"This isn't going to slide this time. I'm going to do what I should have already done"
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>Oh geez, she really did sound like her father
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>And, stepping towards the little filly, had some strange vision of herself from a floating, third-pony point of view
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>This surely wasn't real...
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>No
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>The sky is blue...
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>It was like being on the race track
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>She seemed to sense her own hesitation, in some kind of slow motion precognition, before it actually arrived
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>And she put her head down and moved right through it
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>Crossing the short distance between them, she scooped up the orange filly in one strong arm and sat down on the bed in one fluid motion
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>And just like that, Scootaloo fell deftly (though through no effort of her own) across Rainbow's lap
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>And was promptly held down by a gentle but unyielding hoof on her back
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>"Wha-?! Rainbow Dash!"
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>"Oh yes, young filly. If I had acted the way you have today, my dad would have made sure I didn't sit down for a week!"
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>Suddenly Scootaloo's mind was filled with unbidden scenes
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>Her friends at school
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>Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, showing up to class in the morning
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>Sweetie Belle's pure white haunches veritaby glowing pink, or the thin stripes that a switch had left across Applebloom's flank
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>And she always stuck up for them when other foals gave them a hard time -duh!
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>But that was something that happened to other ponies
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>"Rainbow, you can't!" and for the first time her voice took the slightest edge of panic
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>"Can and am!"
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>And, moving on instinct, Rainbow brought her hoof down sharply
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>The sudden, resounding crack surprised them both
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>Scootaloo squealed with the shock of it, before her drawn-out appeal of "Rainnnboowwwww!"
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>If the blue pegasus had been surprised for one moment, she had to suppress a melancholy chuckle in the next, as she saw herself as a little filly lying there under the strict hoof of authority
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>And she wondered how she had doubted that she would know exactly how this went
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>As she began Scootaloo's punishment in earnest, the orange filly couldn't help but grip the comforter for dear life, as though she could burrow into it and escape
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>This was totally new to her, and the tears sprang to her eyes almost immediately
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>As Rainbow spanked her methodically, left-right-left-right, she squealed and shrieked softly with each slap of the strong hoof
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>Her back legs rubbing across one another, one hoof atop the other before they switched places
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>Gasping "Ow, ow, ow!" as the stinging slaps added up and she felt tears roll down her muzzle
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>Rainbow paused now, as the little filly began to cry in earnest under her ministrations
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>Remembering the heavy look her father always wore when she had misbehaved
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>Like some great burden lay across his powerful shoulders
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>Of course, she understood in an intellectual way, as she grew up, how hard it must have been to punish his little filly
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>But for the first time now, she realized, she understood it
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>Really, actually understood it
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>And so understood anew that she had to finish this
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>She wasn't going to let this little filly down - not on her watch
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>Glancing across the room at the orange pony's dresser, where her hairbrush lay
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>A lot like the hairbrush Rainbow used to have
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>"Scootaloo," she said, and the little pony started with a gasp between her tears
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>"I want you to bring me your hairbrush"
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>"R-Rainbow, n-n-no! Please!" she could barely keep her composure to utter the plea
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>And in a stern voice, Rainbow warned her "I swear to Celestia, young filly, if I have to get up myself it will be twice as bad for you"
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>Okay, she thought, that might have been harsh
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>But it seemed to do the trick, as Scootaloo fumbled her way off Rainbow's lap, scurried across the room, and barely hesitated in bringing the brush to her waiting caretaker
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>When the orange filly looked like she might protest again, Rainbow spared her the effort, grabbing her once more and pulling her across her knee again
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>A barely whispered "Please..." was all that she managed
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>Rainbow sighed a heavy sigh
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>"Scoots," she began in a softer tone of voice
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>"After your behavior today... I have to do this"
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>In a small voice, the orange filly responded, "I know it was wrong Rainbow..."
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>"And I'm going to make sure that you remember it" came the reply
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>"I know it might not make sense right now, but... I understand where you are right now, Scoots"
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>"This is for your own good"
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>Scootaloo might have repsonded were it not for the lump in her throat
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>But Rainbow made it a moot point in any case with the first stinging swat of that big wooden hairbrush
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>If getting spanked was something new and unpleasant for Scootaloo, getting spanked with her own hairbrush was a whole different level
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>Because, by Celestia, that thing stung horribly each time it touched her flank
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>Like some kind of magic wand with a particularly vicious enchantment
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>It took scant moments for Scootaloo to lose it completely
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>The tears were flowing in earnest, her muzzle was downright soaked, and the bedspread was damp where she tried to burrow into it
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>Her hind legs kicked up and down rapidly under the onslaught
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>Rainbow steeled herself against the sobs of her young charge
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>She needs this
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>Just do it right, and get it over with
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>Left-right-left-right as the orange pegasus sobbed under her, deep sobs from her chest, punctuated by the thin whine of her inhalations
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>Thinking back to how her own spankings typically ended, Rainbow brought the hairbrush down on the lower curves of Scootaloo's haunches, right where she would sit
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>On the hard wooden chairs at school... she would be feeling this
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>Over and over she spanked the little filly there
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>Causing her to shriek out in pain
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>And finally, after what felt like scant seconds or a few eternities (Rainbow wasn't sure which), she stopped
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>Sitting there on the bed, Rainbow kept one hoof gently on Scootaloo's back as the small pony sobbed her eyes out
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>And somehow she felt just as drained as the chastised little filly across her lap
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>She waited while the sobs turned to sniffles, rubbing the filly's back softly
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>"Hey, Scoots"
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>What now?
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>Well, if she was anything like Rainbow had been back then...
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>The blue pony gingerly put her arm under Scootaloo and lifted her up towards her
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>Scootaloo instantly wrapped her arms around Rainbow, buried her face in the larger pony's soft chest
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>Moving on instinct
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>And Rainbow wrapped her up in an embrace, her powerful wings folding around the little filly
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>Scootaloo's muffled voice tried to come through her tears, through her remorse, and through Rainbow's thick fur
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>"Rainbow, I'm so sorry... I know... I know that-"
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>"Shhhhh," the blue pegasus whispered in her ear. "I know"
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>"It's over now, it's all behind us. Everything is forgiven"
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>Scootaloo stuttered out, "But... you don't... aren't you-"
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>"Scoots," said Rainbow softly, bringing her muzzle down to brush the little pony's own, "We're here because I love you"
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>"And nothing can ever change that"
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>After a few minutes of silence, Rainbow reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a tissue from the box there
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>Holding Scootaloo's head in one hoof, she wiped her face off the best she could
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>"I think it's time we got you cleaned up"
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>"...and me too," looking down at her chest, "since you decided to use me as a tissue"
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>Scootaloo started to blush just a little
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>"Well," she stammered, "you kinda asked for it!"
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>Rainbow smiled
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>"Come on kid, let's go! I'm sure we're both starving!"
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>At school the next day, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were glued to her side the moment they saw her
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>Applebloom even offered to share her lunch
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>Not that she needed it - Rainbow had packed her a lunch, as usual
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>But the thought sure was nice
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>And besides, she spent most of lunchtime helping Miss Cheerilee clean up the bathroom
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>But that was fine
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>It was the least she could do after the way she acted yesterday
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>How stupid, she thought to herself now that she was in a more clear-headed state of mind, to think that nopony cared about what she did
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>Well, she certainly wouldn't forget now - Rainbow sure did!
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THE END
by splishsplash
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