Sympathy for Scootaloo Pt 5

>The morning comes way too soon.
>Once again, it’s hard for you to move.... What the?
>Oh, Scootaloo found her way out and is laying over your chest again. Heh, cute.
>You remember last night.... fuck
>You throw your arms around her and give a shuddering sigh.
>How could they? Just about everything here, Equestria, was nearly straight out of a kids cartoon show. How could they?
>How many know about this? The Mayor seemed a bit sympathetic when you mentioned Scootaloo. Does she know or was she just showing concern for a poor orphan?
>Fluttershy? Maybe, She’s as much an Earth p0ny as there could be with wings. Even if she did, her fragile psyche probably blocked it years ago.
>Damn, you probably tuned away your only chance. What was it Rainbow said? “Loopholes”?
>You guess you should ask her yourself. But that means having to face... Well she’s not your Rainbro right now. Well she’s certainly hurting things... Painbow?
>No that sucks.
>Scootaloo stirs on your chest.
>She blinks awake and gives you a sheepish smile you return.
>”Sleep ok Scoots?”
>”Yeah... What time is it?” She bolts off your chest “OH NO I’M LATE! The Crusaders were going kayaking today!”
>You wish her luck and see her out the door.
>Yeah, that’s it kid... Good luck.

>Fine fine fine
>The clouds are still out and it’s supposed to be clear. Dash is probably still at home.
>You race to her cloud and start hollering.
>No answer.
>Well rock, I’m counting on you.
>You wind up and just as you’re about to let it fly...
>”What are you doing?” You jump and the rock flies in any old direction.
>”Oh uh hey Dash....” You wish you had something planned out.
>The wind whips the leaves around a bit as you two stand in awkward silence.
>”Did you want anything? Or were you just planning on vandalizing my home?”
>Yup, she’s probably just as pissed at you after last night.
>”I... need your help.” You admit as you finally meet her eyes.
>Wait, that’s not anger. She’s sad, hurt.
>”Yeah, I know.”
>”So..”
>”So?”
>”Are we cool Rainbro?” You hold your fist out.
>She hovers for a second and pounds it “Yeah, I deserved it.”


>The two of you walk for a bit and decide to stop at a outdoor restaurant.
>Maybe you’re still in shock, there’s no way this is the way things are.
>Rainbow breaks the silence. “It’s not that I don’t care... It’s just that.. It’s the way things are.”
>You’re getting tense again.
>She must sense that. “I know it’s wrong. It’s just that nop0ny’s ever questioned it. I guess I fell in with tradition. I’m sorry.”
>Tensions easing. “It’s ok I guess. Not like this is the only thing done just because of ‘tradition.”
>You look at her summoning all your determination “What were the loopholes you were talking about?”
>Rainbow casually leans back, “Well there are 3 things I can think of. One, She passes recertification at Flight Academy”
>You don’t think that will happen
>”Two, She finds her cutie mark for something ground related.”
>Possibility
>”Or 3, she gets adopted.”
>Well sheeeeeet you wanted to do that from the get go.
>Only one problem, You need to get married.
>Go ahead jimmies, rustle away.


>Where do you even start to express how unhappy you are with this idea?
>There is nothing more wrong with this whole situation.
>Dear Celestia, God, Buddha, FSM, whatever... Don’t let this happen. ANY of this.
>Your head hurts, probably because you’ve been bouncing it off the table for the past 30 minutes.
>Well, here it goes. “Rainbow.... will you... uh... You know.” YOU FEEL SO DIRTY!
>She scrunches her nose. “Yeah, NO. You’re a bro and all, but... I can’t.”
>You breathe a sigh of relief. What? Why? That would have made things super easy!
>Still... your Bro and all.
>That’s ok, just find someone... p0ny else.
>This sucks.
>The only two you can think of that would probably consider it is Fluttershy and Applejack.
>So here it is, what would you do to protect her? How far would you go to keep Scootaloo safe?
>Questions like that always seemed to relate to action movies and involved manly men doing manly things. If only you could be a Commander Badass.
>No apparently not.
>”Wait, how much time do we have left even? What age do they hunt these kids down?”
>”Should be her next birthday. I know she just celebrated one, same day as Apple Bloom.”
>Good then, you have some time.

>You spend the rest of the day and into the week in a funk. You try your best to hit the town and find suitable.... females.
>It doesn’t work. They’re all very nice, but that’s just not your thing.
>You decide to take a break and start building Scootaloo’s Scooter.
>None of that ram shackled wooden planks and shit for your girl. No way.
>This is going to be the fine stuff. You manage to get a nice lightweight metal with the help of Twilight.
>You successfully managed to harness Pinkie Power(tm) to bend and mold the metal.
>Rarity threw on some flair.
>Hell, even Applejack and Fluttershy put in some work.
>Come to think of it. After it got out that you were looking after Scootaloo, they became a lot more tolerable.
>It starts really coming together and you have to admit, you’re not too bad at this whole dad thing.

>It’s been about a month since you took Scootaloo in.
>She’s happier than you’ve ever seen her and that’s saying a lot because she was always a cheerful filly.
>You had been out shopping for food and you noticed something else.
>Having her around has changed your mood as well.
>You’re smiling a lot more and eating better.
>You go out of your way to greet p0nies in town and now you always have something to say even if most ask “How’s Scootaloo doing?”
>You’re heading home when Rainbow Dash soars down towards you.
>Maybe she’ll want to come over, you know how much Scoots idolizes her.
>The look on her face isn’t reassuring.
>She’s out of breath but still manages “She... She lied about her birthday.”
>You drop your shopping.
>Brain?
>Yeah?
>I hope you have something...