Life/Death Lesson

by varilla111

Think Twice!

Scootaloo is running for her life. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are galloping ahead sidestepping every tree and log there is in the Everfree forest, behind them the results of a very bad idea.

“At least we know taming magical creatures isn’t our special talent” says Scootaloo in a humorous manner without slowing her pace. In their noble quest of finding their cutiemarks together, they decided to do a thing they have never done before. Certainly trying to tame a manticore with a whip and a chair wasn’t the best of ideas, specially doing it by themselves, with no adults to watch for them.

Out of the woods, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle try to stop hastily, sliding on the dirt and raising dust for a few yards. Scootaloo not acting in time closes her eyes and embraces for the impact, her head hits Applebloom which manages to stop before she could fall into the canyon. The edge of the everfree forest is a dead end, and it is deep enough to be lethal. Scootaloo flaps her wings as fast as she can, elevating 2 feet from the ground and landing again, it’s no use but she keeps trying. She gets the same results.

Been able to fly turned into a matter of life or dead.

Inside the woods, there is a distinctive low, guttural growl. Slowly pacing out of the bushes they could see a huge lion head with 3 rows of sharp teeth, they could see its lion body, its dragon wings and the poisonous scorpion tail. Reaching them, step by step, snarling and showing its bare teeth. 10 yards, 9 yards, 8 yards. The fillies are trapped, nowhere to go. Scootaloo glances at the manticore in disbelief, Applebloom calls for Applejack and Big Mac, and Sweetie Belle does the same, only instead of yelling “Applejack” she screams in terror as loud as she can, with a very high-pitched voice. 6 yards, 5 yards, 4 yards. Sweetie Belle Starts to cry, Applebloom joins her with tears, Scootaloo backs away as much as she can, eyes tearing, hoping the creature will forgive them and go away. 3 yards, 2 yards, 1 yard. The manticore raises its paw with black claws 6 inches long, the fillies Squeal and close their eyes.

There is the sound of an impact, not claws in their bodies, but the sound of its paw receiving a blow, in front of the fillies there is a slim pony. The stallion glares at the beast with intense eyes, daring it to attack again, the manticore snarls and slowly turns around to disappear into the woods.

“You alright kids?” asks a formal and shy voice. Scootaloo drops down in depression, she couldn’t manage to fly not even to save her life, Sweetie Bell glances at the stallion and runs to hug his vanilla colored foreleg.

“Sir that thing was horrible, it wanted to eat us! I thought we were dead!” Sweetie Belle proceeds to tighten her hooves against his foreleg. Applebloom says she isn’t getting alone into the forest never again and Scootaloo lies on her face while hating herself for her flying problems. The stallion tries to reason with them but they are still in shock from the meeting with the manticore, he waits 1 minute.

“FILLIES!” he says loud and firmly, that got their attention. The fillies look at him with surprise and wonder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you” his voice softens even more. “Are you alright?” They nod. “Good, are you from Ponyville?” Applebloom nods and walks a little closer to the stallion and stands just beside him “Ok, please allow me to escort you safely back to Ponyville!” His statement is quickly interrupted by Sweetie Belle.

“Excuse me sir, what’s your name?” asks Sweetie Belle in a friendly manner

“Umm … Strong Gale” He looks at the fillies waiting for any signs of disgust to his name, he tells them they can call him Gale if they wanted to. Applebloom immediately trusts him and happily follows him. Scootaloo stares at Gale with teary eyes, she is sad but she had to keep going, furthermore thank him for his aid. Sweetie Belle jumps in his back and snuggles up against his dark striped mane. It smells like pure unsweetened chocolate. “Just what were you thinking? Coming here by yourselves, and I know you did something very stupid to have a manticore after you” He lectures the fillies and motions them to follow him inside the woods.

“It was my idea” Admits Scootaloo full of regret “I suggested we should try to tame the manticore” she looks at the ground in shame. That was a close call, she owes their lives to this stallion and she is grateful Sweetie Belle can scream so loud. On their way through the forest, Applebloom joins Sweetie Belle in the back of Gale and lays her belly on it. Letting down a free ride was never her style. “I know it was stupid, please forgive me guys”

“Is okay Scoots, we’re safe and sound!” Says Applebloom winking at Scootaloo

“Yeah, besides that’s wasn’t your stupidest idea” says Sweetie Belle even knowing that clearly was her stupidest idea. They all laugh, even Gale giggles a little. After a minute of walking, Scootaloo notices he doesn’t own a cutiemark.

“Umm… Sir?” she hesitates

“Yes?” says Gale holding her gaze. She notices his eyes are an intense red, redder than tomatoes, redder than the red in the rainbows. They are scarlet.

“I … I was wondering, what happened to your cutiemark?” Scootaloo needed quite some bravery to formulate her question. She doesn’t want to offend Gale but her curiosity surpasses her manners by far.

“Oh, I never got it” He says with no particular emotion. “Is very simple, I never got it” He repeats and drops her gaze. Most ponies would find the missing cutiemark a nightmare. The fillies have never, ever heard of a grown pony without a cutiemark, it would seem impossible if they weren’t be seeing it with their own, huge eyes.

“No way” Says Sweetie Belle, she gets down to look for herself, blank. Both his flanks are clear, she walks in circles to check both flanks over and over.

“Wait, are you serious?” says Applebloom, she gets down to look and her mouth drops open “If my eyes weren’t seeing it, I wouldn’t believe it!”

Gale clears his throat “Fillies, this is not the time, I have to get you back to Ponyville” He isn’t ashamed of his situation, lacking a cutiemark never seemed a problem, except when other ponies would get so unbearable about it. His lack of cutiemark doesn’t bring any happy memories, besides what does it matters? The cutiemark is a distinctive mark of all ponies and that’s it “Look, I never got it, but I don’t want one, I don’t need one, you don’t need one, no pony does” This doesn’t convince the fillies.

“But we want our cutiemarks!” says Applebloom, too loud to be considered polite “We ain’t real ponies without them!” The fillies stare at him, waiting for an answer. They don’t want the same fate as Gale.

“If we never get our cutiemarks, Celestia will send us to some land out of Equestria or to the moon or to work at a circus!” says Sweetie Belle, she can be very creative sometimes.

After listening to the crazy things the fillies had to say, Gale reminds them we got to keep moving. They keep arguing and exaggerating the cutiemark dilemma. Constantly, the fillies keep asking Gale of ways to get their cutiemarks “I don’t know how you can get your cutiemarks fillies, I’m sorry” they wail “But! I can tell you a story about me, trying to get my mark, that might help you get yours, but only if you promise to keep going” The fillies look at each other and accept. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom leap in his back again. Gale doesn’t protest about being ride. “Ok, let’s go”

Many lunar cycles ago, in a land where all the species thrive, there was a red eyed colt. I was still little and I assisted to school and played outside with my classmates all day long. Every day, me and my classmates would play, run, gather, plant, paint, sing, build, and do other activities in order to get our cutiemarks. We were doing everything we could to trigger our flanks into a precious mark. One sunny day in the middle of autumn, a small unicorn named Unique got her cutiemark, she was the very first to get it among the classmates. Her cutiemark only increased my wish to get mine. One by one, everypony was getting their cutiemark, until I was the only one without it. First it was funny, and then it was unbearable. I tried something different every day, my friends would help me, but they grew more distant with the time, they were not talking to me anymore, and avoided meeting with me.

“Unique told me I could not play with them anymore, unless I got my cutiemark” says Gale not talking to any pony in particular. He frowns at the nothingness and resumes his story.

I kept trying. I raced other ponies, and nothing. I gathered berries, and nothing. I read books, and nothing. I never gave up, I just had to do a very specific thing and in the wink of an eye, I would be with my friends again, all smiling, all playing. It was sad now, seeing other ponies getting their marks with ease was infuriating, I would never give up. I just had to do more dangerous things, or less usual ideas, or be smart and wait for the cutiemark to come by itself, like it happened to most of my friends, they weren’t looking for their marks, but “BANG” it popped right in their flanks, it just wasn’t fair. What it hurt the most was looking like a failure in front of my Dad. In spite of everything, my Dad loves me, I know he does. “Be patient, it will come when it comes, Gale” that is what my Dad always said.

“Strong Gale, stop it! You are going to hurt yourself!” said my Mom and trotted out of the house after me. She is a pink earth pony, and is known by the name of Healing Breeze. She is also known to be the only one that calls me by my full name. My Mom motioned me inside the house and I limped my way in. Inside, she swept tree branches and dirt out of my mane. She treated a big wound in my left foreleg, and asked me what happened, I said I fell again. I was wandering in the everfree forest before causing my wound. I climbed a tree and jumped from one tree to another, and that was one of the many dangerous things in my mind. I had planned to do an entire notebook of activities in order to get my cutiemark, and this was just the beginning. My Mom pleaded me to stop this, and I answered by glancing at her Red Cross flank, I would stop once I obtained my mark. My Mom offered her reasons, and gave me an appealing argument of why owning a cutiemark is not important. I ignored every single word. My Dad, a white Pegasus named Tempest, flew inside the house and glanced with sudden fear at me. He just said “Please, don’t exasperate”. I love my Dad. I wanted to obey, to do what I was told, but at the end the cutiemark was an itch, I wouldn’t be calm until I got it.

“I should have stopped there… but I didn’t” Gale frowns at the trees and animals in the Everfree forest. His gaze is full of displeasure and sadness, his lips dry like hot sand. He closes his eyes and snaps out of his trance. He drops his gaze to Scootaloo, just beside him. He smiles at her and apologies for his story. He says is a very sad story and he shouldn’t tell it. The fillies protest loudly. Sweetie Belle clenches her hooves to his mane and applies spasmodic movements to it, Applebloom bucks on his back, and Scootaloo bites his tail and pulls with the power of her hooves and wings.

“Are you joking? That is the most exciting story I’ve heard in a long time!”

“Sir, you better tell us right away!”

“This is probably the most important story ever! You must tell us!”

Gale, overwhelmed by their obstinate perseverance, tries not to trip, steadies himself up and says this, right before resuming his story. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you”

My notebook was almost over. Most activities checked, leaving the 2 most dangerous ones for the last. I gained wounds and bruises of all sizes and colors around my body, My Mom treated every single one without objecting, all of them healed completely in a full degree, not leaving a single dot where the wounds remained.

My Mom got her cutiemark by attending the sick in a hospital, as easy as it sounds. My Dad flew to the very top of the heavens and the exhilarating feeling triggered his cutiemark. For the next thing in the notebook, I had to create an exhilarating feeling. I had to jump from the closest waterfall into the stream.

It was cloudy and cold outside. I put on my blue hood in case it rained, I didn’t tell anyone about my pilgrimage, either my Mon nor Dad. I traveled to the closest waterfall, walked to the edge of it and trembled, my body wanted badly to back away from it, but I clenched my teeth, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The first seconds of been in midair were invigorating, it filled me with vitality, once the gravity started pulling me down I was more active than I ever been in my life. Concentration overcame the situation, I was falling faster and faster in a fall that would only be stopped by the water below me, because I had no wings. I knew that, but I would try anyway, besides its just water, I just had to swim back up. I pointed both my forelegs to the water, and prepared for the impact. I plunged headfirst in the water. My ears hurt and went deaf. I opened my eyes and immediately swam back up to the surface wanting air, after I took the first mouthful my energy came back, and swam until I got to land. I dropped to the ground still gasping for air and lost consciousness.

I woke up in my bed and I saw my Mom looking at me, her rose eyes were sad, displeased, furious, worrying and sorry. Her eyes hurt more than the fall. While holding her gaze I could read all her thoughts, “why you do this? Stop this, you don’t need a cutiemark” My Dad entered the room and said he found me while flying, next to the river, barely breathing, and ask me for how long I would keep doing this, I stared at his cutiemark. It was a marvelous silver twister. I said I would never, ever do something like that again.

“I lied” says Gale having tears in his eyes, his mouth is motionless. He frowns at the sky intensely. “I wish I didn’t lie” that was all he said before resuming his story.

Well of course I lied. There is one last thing in my notebook. It is said that a near death experience will set off the cutiemark of any pony, and I would create a near death experience. I had to disturb a dragon.

Once I felt better, I was ready for my last trip. I was grounded, so I couldn’t leave the house unless there was an adult with me, until further advice. It was pointless, because nobody ever locked the doors or the windows of the house. One stormy night in the middle of spring, I sneaked out of the house with my hood on, for the rain. I knew of a dragon living in a certain cave in the everfree forest, I knew the forest by heart because I wandered it every day. I galloped my way into the forest. After hundreds of yards of traveling I found the certain cave. Before going in, I glanced at my flanks, just in case I finally got my cutiemark, they were as clear as water, not surprising. I gulped and slowly went it, making sure to not make any noise. It was very dark inside and a lightning lit up the cave. I saw the dragon and my fear sent electric signals to my limbs, I stood there refusing to let panic defeat me. The dragon was sleeping and snoring very loudly. I gathered enough courage to lift a stone, and I stared at the stone trying to ignore what I had to do with it. I swung my hoof backwards and swung it towards the dragon, while the stone was flying my heart beat like mad. I turned around to run away from the dragon but not before I held it’s cold, reptilian eyes and heard the most frightening hiss of my life. The dragon woke instantly. I screamed so loud it was hard to breath, and I yelled for my Dad. The dragon chased me out of the cave. I was running towards the woods, maybe I could lose it there. The dragon took flight after me and I saw how the moonlight disappeared under its enormous shadow, there was the sound of deep breathing, and I felt a tremendous heat around me. The path to the woods was obstructed by its flames, and so was any way out of its reach, “Is over, I’m dead” I though. After I closed my eyes, I heard more of the fire breathing. Instead of pain I felt like flying, and felt hooves around my torso and waist. My Dad heard my scream and came to save me. The dragon was persistent and flew after us. The beast took one last very deep breath and unleashed all of his fire power towards our direction. My Dad saw the flames. He landed inside the forest and covered my body with his. A big area of the forest ignited, I felt extreme heat around me, but it didn’t burn me, it only burned my Dad. The beast retreated, probably scared by the rain. I ignored what I saw, closed my eyes and snuggle up against my Dad. My Dad took flight.

We landed abruptly in front of our home, my Dad dropped down and I looked at his body, I started to cry. His legs weren’t white anymore, and his entire torso was burned to the flesh and his breathing was harsh and uneven. There were heat marks all over his body and steam was leaking from them, but his wings and head remained intact. I held his gaze, I held his red eyes with mine, and he said “Gale! Oh my son, are you all right!?” I nodded with tears all over my cheeks. I only had ashes on my coat. My Dad smiled “I love you … Strong Gale” and dropped my gaze.

I cried out for my Dad “Dad! Daddy! Please don’t leave! Am so sorry, I will never do it again! Am so sorry! Please, please… don’t leave me, Dad? Daddy…” My Mom and others ponies came out of their houses to see what was going on. I fainted.

“It was my fault. I killed him, I killed my Daddy” says Gale with no intention to keep talking. The fillies fall silent.

After 5 minutes, Sweetie Belle softly apologies for his loss and for making him tell the story. Scootaloo promises to not let herself be corrupted by her cutiemark and Applebloom understands how dangerous can an ambition be.

“I’m sorry Sir. I didn’t know how dangerous this can be”

“We promise to never, ever do something stupid like that again”

"We will be smart about it and wait, is much better than doing risky things”

Gale replies “No, I am sorry, I shouldn’t have told you this horrible story” the fillies try to object, but he quickly cuts them off “Just don’t forget to not let your actions be controlled by your emotions, or you might do something you will regret. Forever” he stops walking, they are in Ponyville now. The fillies pace towards Ponyville and turn around to look at Gale vanish inside the woods. They memorize his words inside their minds and their hearts for the rest of their lives.