//------------------------------// // A Fresh Start // Story: Harmonics // by ezra09 //------------------------------// Scootaloo buried her head deeper under the pillows, a muffled growl of frustration barely audible in the dim bedroom. She lay in bed fuming for who knows how long. She didn’t care either. If it had been up to her, she’d have been there all night. “Scootaloo?” The door to her rented apartment creaked open and a familiar rainbow mane poked inside. “You in here?” “No.” “Hey, I heard about what happened,” Rainbow Dash said, stepping inside. She was still dressed in her flight suit, and her mane was more tousled than usual. She was older than when they met, but still young enough to compete. She was only an inch or so taller than Scootaloo these days. “It’s nothing.” “Sure it is. But, if you don’t want to talk about it...” Dash trailed off before turning back to the door. Scootaloo tossed the pillow aside with a sigh. “Wait.” Rainbow pulled an about face and waited. “It was stupid. I found out...” She trailed off unintelligibly. “Sorry, what?” “Nimbus was seeing somepony on the side.” Scootaloo flopped over, turning her back to Dash and glaring angrily at the wall. “Oh, I hadn’t heard that part,” Dash winced. “I’m sorry.” Scootaloo shrugged. “He’s a jerk. I let him know it.” “In front of everypony?” Scootaloo sighed again, “Yeah.” “Including his dad?” “I didn’t want that job anyway.” Dash shook her head. “Scootaloo, you need to find something. This is the third time you’ve been fired this year.” “I know, I know. What, should I have pretended everything was fine?” “I guess not.” Rainbow smiled slyly. “You at least get your point across?” Scootaloo turned over and broke into a smile of her own. “He’ll have a pair of black eyes for at least a week. The jerk went down like a sack of bricks.” Rainbow laughed and walked further into the room, sitting next to the bed. “You didn’t need a guy like that anyway.” “Yeah,” Scootaloo agreed, eyes drifting slowly toward her own flank. “Still...” Rainbow Dash caught her chin with a hoof, “We already agreed, that has nothing to do with it. You show me 10 ponies with cute little hearts on their flanks, I’ll show you 9 with relationship troubles.” That got another short laugh from Scootaloo. “So,” Dash said, an upbeat shift in her voice. “There was another reason I came over. I got a letter today. Derpy gave it to me when I stopped by the Cake’s. Asked me to bring it by.” Scootaloo’s head perked up, a curious frown on her face. “A letter?” Dash reached back to a small pouch under her wing and pulled out a slightly beaten scroll. With a flick of her head, she tossed it onto the bed. Scootaloo stared at it, eyes narrowed in annoyance. “The seal is broken.” “Oh, hehe, how did that happen?” Scootaloo rolled her eyes and nudged it open. “It’s from Princess Celestia? She wants me to go to Canterlot.” Scootaloo frowned. She hadn’t been to Canterlot for the better part of two years. She couldn’t help but feel ashamed whenever she so much as looked at the princess. Her stomach twisted uncomfortably. When she’d still been a filly, almost ten years ago, she’d been living on the streets, barely getting by. A spirit named Discord had started being kind to her, talking to her, feeding her, and she’d fallen for his lies. She’d done some bad stuff to help him. It had taken two of her friends being mind controlled and an impending invasion from fire wielding changelings to make her come to her senses. “I don’t know,” Scootaloo said, staring down at the paper. She glanced up to see Dash watching her, face set in a firm expression. “Well, I need to find another job, don’t I?” Scootaloo stumbled over the words. Dash didn’t say anything. “I... fine.” She said with a defeated shrug. “I guess I owe her that much.” Dash nodded approvingly. “We’ll fly down tomorrow. Be sure to pack anything you might need in the next few weeks.” With that she turned and left. “Alright, see you tomorrow, sis.” Scootaloo’s head flopped back onto the pillow. It came back up a second later. “Wait, a few weeks?” ***** Scootaloo’s stomach squirmed for the hundredth time as Canterlot Castle came into view. They’d taken it easy, and it was well past noon by the time they arrived at the front gates. A small group of Royal Guards were waiting for them. The castle looked the same as always, bright and solid, standing majestically over them. The grounds were well kept, grass gently sloping down to the labyrinth. Scootaloo could just make out the statues in the distance, and thought she saw the tip of a horn above a large figure of Starswirl the Bearded. “This way, please,” one of the guards said. “Alright, I’ll meet up with you later.” Rainbow Dash waved and began to trot away. “Wait, wait, what?” Scootaloo said, voice a bit higher than she meant. “The princess wants to talk to you, not me.” Scootaloo watched in horror as Dash trotted calmly down the road. “Miss?” The guard said impatiently. “Uh, right,” Scootaloo said. Come on, she thought, It’s not like this is your first time talking to the princess. If she wanted to banish you, she’d have done it years ago. The guard led her up into the castle, through several familiar halls, and to Princess Celestia’s personal quarters. She was asked to wait in the hall as the guard went ahead to announce her. Scootaloo stood in silence, sweat dotting her brow as the seconds ticked by. She knew it was ridiculous. Celestia had been more than understanding. She knew how easily Discord could manipulate ponies, and the punishments handed out to Scootaloo and her co-conspirators had taken that into account. But Scootaloo had turned the princess into a statue for crying out loud. Maybe it would have been better if Celestia had banished her. At least then Scootaloo would feel the scales were even, and she wouldn’t feel so ashamed every time she saw the princess. Of the five, Scootaloo’s punishment had been the longest. She’d been the first to help Discord, and the only one to do it knowing all the details, completely of her own free will. She sometimes got the feeling Celestia hadn’t wanted to punish any of them, and that it was more of a formality. The first thing she’d done was put Scootaloo in a foster home, since she was too young to stay on her own. “She’ll be watched constantly,” Celestia had said, “by somepony I trust, and who has performed great services for Equestria before.” Dash had been more than happy to watch over the “dangerous criminal”. In fact, Scootaloo had been living with Dash for several days before the Princess ordered her under house arrest. Scootaloo had spent the next few years making amends to the ponies of Equestria, basically helping around communities. Some ponies had objected to such a lenient sentence, but Celestia had the final say, and Scootaloo was just a foal after all. Finally, the door opened again and the guard gestured for her to enter. “Scootaloo,” Celestia said in greeting as she entered. She stood beside a large wooden desk, pastel mane flowing gently in the still air. The princess smiled kindly. “So good to see you again. Please come in.” Scootaloo took a few steps into the room and bent her front legs in a bow. “Princess Celestia.” “Please, stand up. I don’t mean for this to be a formal meeting.” Scootaloo straightened and fidgeted her wings nervously as she waited. The princess continued, “Would you like me to send for something? Tea, perhaps?” “Uh, no thanks.” Scootaloo wished the princess would skip the pleasantries and get to the point. Celestia seemed to pick up on her mood. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked you here.” “Kind of,” Scootaloo admitted, nervously glancing out the window. Celestia moved over to several cushions and took a seat on one of the larger ones. Scootaloo sat on a smaller one, keeping her rigid posture. “I have a favor to ask of you,” Celestia said. “A favor?” Scootaloo repeated, blinking. “Yes. I’m sure you’ve heard of my school for gifted unicorns?” Scootaloo nodded. It was the same school Twilight Sparkle had gone to. “It’s recently been expanded to include courses for Pegasi and Earth Ponies too.” “Okay?” Scootaloo said, still not sure what it had to do with her. “And with the increase in students, we’ve had to hire on more staff as well.” “Okay?” Scootaloo said again. A thought struck her a moment later, and she almost laughed. “Wait, what kind of favor did you want exactly?” “I’d like you to come to the school as an assistant flight instructor.” “But, why me? I’m no teacher. I can’t even hold down a weather control job.” Scootaloo frowned and shifted slightly, just enough so her cutie mark was out of view. Celestia frowned as well. “Ah, I heard about that this morning. I’m sorry for your trouble.” Scootaloo shrugged and she continued, “Considering the circumstances, this might be a good chance for you.” “But why me? There’s a ton of ponies more qualified.” “Maybe, but you were personally trained by one of the wonderbolts,” Celestia said. “I’m not asking you to come on as a full time instructor, just an assistant. I think it would be good for you.” Scootaloo’s frown deepened. The princess thought it would be good for her? She suddenly got the feeling that Celestia was trying to give a favor more than ask for one. Or maybe it was both. Either way, Scootaloo was without a job, and as intimidating as the princess could be, she’d never been less than kind to Scootaloo. “Alright,” she said, trying to keep her voice even, “why not?” She could give it a try, for the princess at least. It shouldn’t be too hard, teach a couple foals to beat their wings, make a few bits while she was at it. Really, what could go wrong?