"I'm really happy you two could walk me to school."
Raven and me look down at the orange Pegasus, my blank expression never-changing as Raven nudges my side, trying to get me to smile.
Raven should no better, I never budge.
"We're both happy that you asked us to join you." Raven says, nudging me again, this time much harder.
I pay no attention to it, my eyes only glancing over the filly's mane.
I quickly nudge Raven back, causing her to look at me like I just stabbed her in the side. I point over to Scoots mane, Raven eyeing me curiously.
"What's wrong Wavey?" She asks me, causing Scootaloo to look directly back at me, stopping in her place.
I crouch down on one knee, seeing as I'm about an entire head taller than her. She smiles at me, one of those fake smiles she does every now and then when she's hiding something.
My eyes lock onto hers, causing her to quickly back away from it.
"Scootaloo, "I say to her, my one hoof stroking her cheek, "What do you have in your mane?"
She quickly moves her head away from me, instead looking towards Raven. Her eyes also go over her, a peaceful gaze that causes Scootaloo to sigh.
"I – it's nothing dad. Nothing at all."
Bingo.
"Scootaloo, "I say to her again, this time gripping her shoulders gently and turning her head to look at me, "you're a horrible liar. All three of us know it. You show me what's in your mane, and I might let you keep it."
Scootaloo once again looks over to Raven, who slowly gets down on one knee next to me, smiling at the orange Pegasus. I turn my head, noticing some ponies looking at us suspiciously as they walk on by.
The Pegasus sighs one more time, nodding her head as she looks down in shame.
"Go ahead, take it out."
I nod my head as well, using my magic to brush through her hair. Her sad gaze never falters as I pull out the small object.
Raven's jaw drops slightly, me just shaking my head.
It was a shard of glass. It was really small compared to the other ones I had in my saddlebag, yet it was the sharpest of them all. A fast way to turn the tide of a fight.
"Scootaloo, what were you going to do with this?" Raven says, quickly raising her voice to the now completely cowering Pegasus.
I once again nuzzle the pony next to me, her eyes quickly moving over me.
"How about you let me handle this sweetie. I was always better with her." I quietly say, not wanting Scoots to be frightened any more than she was before.
Raven silently glares at me, one of those soul-piercing stares that's supposed to intimidate others and make them cover in fear. The stare breezes right past me, my blank expression quickly getting under her skin.
"Fine, "Raven says, slowly getting up on her hooves and backing up a foot, "Do what you want."
I pay no attention to the words as I once again turn towards the orange Pegasus, the filly finally looking back at me. My hoof once again moves towards her cheek, gently stroking it as her gaze goes back to Raven, who's looking down at her in anger and disappointment.
"Scootaloo, please look a me."
She doesn't try to look at me, her head once again moving to look towards the solid earth below. I was about to turn her head back up to look at me, until a drop of water falls off of her face. I watch the water slowly fall to the ground, splashing onto the earth below.
"No words need to be said." I think to myself, setting the sharp piece of glass down next to me and opening up my front hooves wide. The Pegasus wastes no time in throwing herself into my hooves, the dam bursting for the second time today, her head burying itself in my neck and trying to choke all the wind out of me with her death like grip. And this wasn't a quiet sob in any way, her loud sobbing quickly got a lot of passerby's attention. None of them came up towards them though, only trotting off to do what they need to do.
Raven's stare quickly dissipates, trotting over to stroke the crying fillies mane. Scoots only buries her head deeper into my chest, her uncontrollable sobbing showing no point in stopping. I gently stroke her back with one of my hooves, caressing her spine and tracing tiny circles into her back to calm her down.
"Ssh." I cooed to her, letting her let everything out. Scootaloo did just that.
It was a full two minutes of complete silence from Raven and me until the little filly finally peaks her head up, her crying slowing down to tiny sniffles.
"I – it's not fair!" She yells through her sobs, snuggling into my fur.
"What's not fair?" Raven asks, continuing to stroke the fillies mane and stare down anypony trying to get too close.
"My friends, m- my blank flank, my life!" She yells into my chest, not noticing a shadow of somepony behind her, one I've never seen before.
No one spoke until Scootaloo spoke up again, "M – me and my friends were getting bullied by D – Diamond Tiara yesterday."
The pony in front of me quickly flared her wings, her face quickly turning to an angry scowl.
"Whoever this pony is, the stranger clearly hates her guts." I think to myself, my attention turning back to the filly, her tears and sniffling having stopped altogether.
"I yelled at her, told her to back off and stay away from my friends."
Scootaloo's sobbing picked up once again, this time much lighter than before. The mare quickly knelt down behind the filly, reaching out to touch her shoulder. I quickly stare her down, pulling the filly closer to my chest. Whoever this mare is, she ain't laying a hoof on this filly.
The mare looks at me, giving a stare of her own. Raven stops stroking Scootaloo's mane, trotting in front of me and getting into an attack stance.
"What happened next Scoots?" I ask her, whispering into her ear.
"She… she threatened to cripple my friends. Wanted to break their hooves to teach them to not talk back to her."
Now that got my blood boiling.
"She said that she was going to do it at recess today. I - I want to protect them from her."
Raven looks back at Scootaloo, "Violence isn't the answer Scoots."
That did something to Scootaloo. The filly's face blossoms an angry glare that could cut through steel. She quickly pulls away from me, causing Raven to step back a bit from the sudden movement. Then the little filly does the unthinkable.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THE ANSWER THEN?"
The other mare trots next to me, quick to get out of Scootaloo's way. Raven recoils from the shout, backing away slowly from the approaching filly.
"YOU TELL ME THE FUCKING ANSWER! TELL ME WHAT YOU WOULD DO IF YOUR BEST FRIENDS WERE GOING TO GET INJURED FOR LIFE! TELL ME WHAT YOU WOULD DO? HUH? FUCKING TELL ME!"
If the people passing by didn't pay any attention now, they certainly did now. Raven's soft gaze never changes, her blank expression remaining the same.
Scootaloo quickly calms down from the outburst, falling to the ground to continue sobbing. Raven trots next to me, clearly stunned by the outburst.
This time the blue Pegasus trots up to Scootaloo, putting a hoof on its shoulder. The orange filly quickly looks up, her eyes going really wide, but no words coming out of her mouth.
"How about you tell me about this 'Diamond Tiara' squirt?" The stranger says, clearly concerned for the filly's safety.
Scootaloo nods her head, slowly getting to her hooves. I finally get back up on my hooves, standing still to watch what Scootaloo does.
"She's a bully from my school. All she does is bully us for our blank flank, or call us names. She thinks she's better than everyone else, and bullies everyone else. I was tired of it, and thought I would teach her not to mess with us anymore."
I smile down at the filly, the mare next to me doing the same thing.
"It's fine Scootaloo," I tell her, levitating the shard of glass into my mane, putting it in a position so it won't stab me if it shifts in its place, "you're a brave filly, and a great friend. Anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend."
The filly looks at me with a confused look, and so does Raven, "Your not mad at me?"
I shake my head, rubbing the fillies mane, "Of course. You decided to stand up for your friends and take action."
Scootaloo smiles again, throwing her hooves around me once again.
"Well Scoots, how about we go to school and figure out what to do about this filly." The stranger says, covering Scoots with a wing.
Scootaloo nods her head slowly, but not before Raven speaks up, "Excuse me, but who are you?"
The blue Pegasus looks back at the two of us, her face once again going into an angry glare, "I'm her best friend, Rainbow Dash. Who are you?"
"Were the ones who put food on her table and make sure she isn't living in a trash can." Raven says flatly, trotting up next to me and quietly nuzzling my side. I turn to her and give her a quick kiss on the cheek, making her light up like a pair of Christmas lights.
"Guy's… I'd know you'd love to meet each other and explain everything now, but I'm already 10 minutes late for school." Scootaloo says.
"Alright, we'll all go together." Rainbow Dash says, starting to run towards the direction of the schoolhouse. The rest of us join her as well, ignoring the stares we're getting from Scootaloo's screaming before.