Scootaloo's Guardian

by Dirty Bit

Chapter 6

At Ponyville Library, Twilight had just finished reading the ominous book she collected yesterday for the second time. She was practically gushing at all of the lost information it had to offer, a majority of it being historical features unbeknownst to most of ponykind. The one of the only things that bothered her about the book was the main topic about the blade known as 'Soul Edge'. What bothered her even more was that the very author of the book was anonymous.

She was thinking about reading it once more, until she noticed the front door opened to reveal Applebloom trotting inside with some saddlebags "Howdy there, Twilight! Can ya give me some books on Equestrian history, please? Ah kinda need 'em right now."

Twilight smiled at the yellow filly "Of course, Applebloom!" She turned to one of her bookcases and activated her horn, levitating three books from the cases with her magic. The books hovered and gathered into Applebloom's saddlebags, and Twilight was then curious "Why do you need these books exactly? Are you studying history at school right now? I never really considered you or your friends to be the learning type. No offense..."

Applebloom waved a hoof "None taken, Twi! We're actually helpin' each other out with some problems involvin' knowin' th' lay o' th' land. These books'll really get us goin'! We're jus' tryin' t' enjoy our weekend together like always, but with less crusadin'!" She turned to leave "Well, Ah best be goin' now! Later!"

Twilight tilted her head as the yellow filly left "That's strange. Normally crusading is in the little fillies' blood...I wonder what led them to read..." She rubbed her chin with a hoof, but then smiled "Oh well, at least it's good to know that they want to enrich their minds with knowledge!"

Spike walked in while eating an amethyst in his claws, swallowing his latest bite "I beg to differ, Twilight. Those girls always have some kind of crazy plan going, even if it involves a book or two. They're probably up to something! Remember that whole fiasco with Big Macintosh and Cherilee?" He raised an eyebrow, hoping that Twilight would know.

The lavender bookworm sighed at the memory "Don't remind me...At that moment, I figured that they would actually take the time to read like Rainbow Dash! Never thought they actually wanted to make a love poison for those two..." She shook her head from the thought and then levitated the ominous book to her face and opened the cover, smiling.

Spike groaned at this "Again, Twilight? Why don't you put that book down already? You've already read that thing twice now!" He noticed the book's cover and jumped a little, pointing at the book "Dude, that's creepy..." He never really wanted to read the book to begin with, and the cover added to his displeasure. Spike thought the book was a horror novel at first, until Twilight mentioned the lost history inside of it.

Twilight flipped the page "While you're right about how it looks, Spike, I can't help but enjoy most of this book's information! Did you know that, even longer before the birth of Equestria and Celestia herself, there existed a race known as humans?" She looked at a page displaying an illustration of what appeared to be a bipedal figure with armor and a large blue sword "I never imagined that a race like them existed before we have! It's simply fascinating!"

The little dragon rolled his eyes at this and took another bite of his amethyst. Unless the words 'Rarity needs you!' or 'Look at all these gems!' were to come out of Twilight's mouth, Spike doesn't really listen to his older sister. Sure, he'll cook and clean if needed, but he was never really engrossed in literature like Twilight was.

While the two were minding their own business, the front door opened again, only this time to reveal somepony different. It wasn't even a pony at all. It was a brown donkey who seemed old for his age, wearing a large blonde toupee.

Cranky Doodle Donkey, Ponyville's newest resident, was wanting to stop by Ponyville to find some books that he and Matilda could enjoy together at his house. Twilight took noticed after hearing the door open and smiled at the donkey "Hello, Doodle! Need any books today?"

Doodle gave a small smile back "Yes, please. Do you have any tasteful romance novels? Matilda and I want to read something nice today. Hopefully you won't disappoint, since I hear from Pinkie that you're supposed to be a smart mare."

Twilight nods and looks around "Sure! Let me see if I can find something for you." She searches her many bookcases for something suitable for Doodle's needs while levitating the open book next to her "So, how are you enjoying Ponyville so far? Is it to your liking at all?"

The old donkey gave a hum and a nod "It could never be more peaceful. With Matilda around, I can enjoy the rest of my days well. Thank you for asking..." He was staring at her searching, then noticed the illustration on the page of Twilight's book, gasping at the sight "Hey! I saw something like that before!"

Spike finishes his amethyst and raises an eyebrow towards Doodle "Something like what? Did Twilight pick a book you've already read?"

Twilight turned around "I didn't, did I? Maybe I should check further down on the right..." She was still levitating the book

Doodle shook his head and pointed a hoof at the illustrated page "The picture! I've seen something like that thing on the picture while I was traveling Equestria!"

This caught Twilight's attention as she gasped with widened eyes. She galloped over and stopped in front of Doodle with the open book at her side "You mean to tell me you actually seen a human before? Did it look like this?" She pointed her hoof on the picture.

The old donkey looked down "No, not really...It's been so long, but I remember seein' something like that while traveling the world in search of Matilda. While I was in Trottingham, I saw this cloaked figure hidden in a forest...It was dark, but I noticed it holding some kind of large scythe. I was under the impression it was a farmer."

Twilight leaned in closer to Doodle with expectant eyes "Is the farmer still around Trottingham!?" If it were true, she wanted to go out and search for the last surviving human and study him or her. Her joy was shot as the donkey shook his head.

Doodle looked at the lavender bookworm "No one knows...The farmer's probably gone by now, or could be somewhere else. But I'm surprised to see something connected to what I've seen in my day. Now, about my book?"

Twilight perked up "Oh, right! I'm on it!" She went back to searching, and secretly wondered if the mysterious farmer was still around. Perhaps she could go out with her friends and search later.

Meanwhile, at Sugarcube Corner, Sweetie Belle was busy collecting some cupcakes and cookies to feed Astaroth. She also was carrying a first aid kit like Scootaloo wanted. The unicorn filly was looking up at local party pony Pinkie Pie while she was adding up the total price of the food.

Pinkie rang up the price and grinned "That'll be 25 bits for the snacks, Sweetie Belle! I hope you enjoy those cupcakes~!" She was in her usual bubbly mood while monitoring the shop.

Sweetie Belle gave Pinkie her money and smiled "Thanks, Pinkie! But these aren't really for me, but I'm sure he'll love them!" She had high hopes about feeding Astaroth Pinkie's snacks. The party pony made the best baked goods, winning the hearts of many who come to her shop.

Pinkie smiled "Who's gonna be eating my stuff, huh? Is it a certain somepony I should know about??" She leaned on her counter, wanting to hear a reply from Sweetie Belle.

The unicorn filly was backing away sheepishly, cursing herself for almost revealing her friends' secret "Uhhh, I can't really tell! It's a surprise! Bye, Pinkie!" She quickly galloped out of the store, leaving Pinkie to narrow her eyes in suspicion.

"Can't tell if surprise...Or hidden plotline..."

Sweetie Belle was trotting around town, sighing in relief that she didn't let the secret about Astaroth slip entirely. Ponyville was just not ready for Astaroth in his current condition, and the poor filly shuddered at the thought of him meeting somepony and wanting to destroy them. Hopefully, the sweets she bought could be enough to change his attitude.

Applebloom was trotting at her own pace, carrying the three books on Equestrian history in her bags. When she saw Sweetie Belle come into view, she galloped over to her "Heya, Sweetie Belle! Ah see ya got th' food! Ya didn't say anythin' t' Pinkie did ya?"

Sweetie Belle grinned awkwardly "Nope! Not a thing!" She couldn't let her friend know that she almost talked about Astaroth. The unicorn filly noticed the books in Applebloom's saddlebags "Hey, you have the books! Looks like we're set!"

The yellow filly nods "Yeah! Maybe some food an' knowledge oughta cool th' big guy down! Let's go!" The two made for Scootaloo's house secretly, making sure nopony was watching.

Back at the abandoned house, Scootaloo was pacing left and right while looking down as she was lost in thought 'Okay...Maybe I gotta try a different approach to see if he'll open up to me...' She thought to herself as she stopped pacing and took a look at Astaroth in the other room, sitting down in his resting position. She then went back to pacing and thinking 'Should I try and act more brave and strong around him? He seemed to like that...but I don't wanna antagonize him. That guy's huge!' This was becoming hard for the poor filly as her left hind leg twitching in pain, but then she heard footsteps as her friends approached her home.

Applebloom came in and noticed Scootaloo, smiling "Heya, Scoots! We're back! How're things on yer end?" Sweetie Belle followed after, setting the bag of goodies on the floor and trotting over to Scootaloo with the first aid kit.

She took the case and opened it, unraveling the medical tape with her mouth. Sweetie Belle wanted to help Scootaloo with her cuts while she was talking as she got started. Scootaloo looked over towards the other room "Well, Astaroth's not doing anything big. All he's doing is resting while we were waiting for you guys." She glared "The worst part is, he's still a jerk no matter how nice I am to him! I'm trying to come up with a better tacti-Ow! Easy, Sweetie Belle!"

The unicorn filly patched up one of the bigger cuts from her slamming into the wall, and gave an apologetic grin "Sorry, Scootaloo..." She went back to patching the orange filly's wounds.

Applebloom tilted her head "Still? Sheesh! Ah guess we came here at th' right time! Lemme get that big oaf his books!" She trotted over towards Astaroth, who acknowledged her presence by turning his head to face and glare at her.

The dark golem growled "What do you want, maggot?" Even when he was about to be given what he wanted, Astaroth was not happy to see Applebloom. He was already fed up with Scootaloo's presence alone, even if she did seem more courageous than the other fillies.

The yellow filly glared back at Astaroth "Th' name's Applebloom, ya big jerk! Ah came back cuz' I got th' book y'all wanted!" She pulls each one out and placed them in front of his eyes "Here! Take yer pick, Astaroth!" The gark golem looked down at the books and picked them all up and scanned each cover.

There were three books, and each were more unique than the last one. The first one was a large blue book called 'Equestrian History for the Estute'. This one seemed to hold the most information he would desire. The next book was just as big, but was red and held the title 'Encyclopedia Equestria: Vol. 1' Perhaps he should force the fillies into finding the remaining volumes. The last one was short, and was covered in yellow and black. There was a wall-eyed Pegasus on the cover, and the title was called 'Equestrian History for Dummies'. Applebloom took notice to the last one and figured Twilight would set her up with such a book, but also giggled as it was presented to Astaroth.

Astaroth set the other two books down and was about to begin reading until Sweetie Belle trotted over to him "Wait, Astaroth!" he glared and looked over at the unicorn filly "What?" he replied in his loud and gruff tone.

Sweetie Belle, after finishing patching up Scootaloo's wounds, balanced one of the cupcakes she bought at Sugarcube corner on her muzzle and she carefully trotted over to Astaroth's side and set it on his lap "I got you some food! I know you'll love it!" She grinned, still hoping that something so tasty would be enough to coerce the dark golem.

He took the cupcake in one of his large hands and inspected it up close, sniffing it a little. After staring at it, he took a large bite and chewed slowly. Scootaloo trotted in after he took the cupcake and gathered with her friends as he watched him eat it. They were smiling, expecting him to be jolly after tasting something so heavenly.

They were wrong.

Astaroth's eyes widened, and then he turned to his left side and spat out the bite in his mouth, tossing the cupcake away. He then faced Sweetie Belle and grabbed her by the head, eliciting a scared shriek, and glared at her with his murderous eyes "What is this drek!?" Clearly, he did not enjoy the cupcake as the crusaders intended.

Sweetie Belle resembled a frightened and abused puppy as she hung in Astaroth's grip "I-I-I figured you'd like it! It was a cupcake from Sugarcube Corner! Everypony loves them! Please don't hurt me!" She was shivering in fear.

Scootaloo saw this and glared "Calm down, Astaroth! She didn't know! Besides, it's just a cupcake. It's not like it'll kill you or something..." She paused, then looked up curiously "Would it?"

Astaroth turned to the orange filly while holding Sweetie Belle and glared "I expected better from your pathetic cohorts, runt! The books better not be as bad as what I just tasted!!"

Applebloom pointed a hoof "They ain't! Those books are th' best in Ponyville AND they'll cover all the history ya want! Now can ya put Sweetie Belle down, please? Yer scarin' her!"

The dark golem turned to Sweetie Belle, and then grunted as he tossed her at Applebloom. The two barreled backward as he picked up his book and began to read. He was determined to collect his knowledge so he would roam the world free of his burden.

Scootaloo galloped to her friends and helped them up, and Applebloom looked angry "Scoots, Ah'm sorry, but Ah can't stand bein' around that guy! He's jus' so plum difficult!! How yer able to put up with him by yerself is beyond me!"

Sweetie Belle looked over at Astaroth while he was engrossed in his literature "I can't believe he doesn't like Pinkie's cupcake...It's like he's pure evil!" She heard Astaroth chuckle while she spoke.

Scootaloo sighed as she looked at her patched wounds from her first encounter with Astaroth, but then turned to her friends "Girls, you should probably go..."

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo with incredulous expressions on their faces "But what about you!? Ah know he's stayin' here an' all, but what if he decides t' target ya when he gets mad? That guy's built like mah brother!"

The orange filly smiled "I already told you, I had worse. And I also brought him back to life, so he's my responsibility. Besides, with what I've been through with him, I'm sure to get to him somehow! You girls just go have fun with other ponies while I keep an eye on the big lug!"

Sweetie Belle trotted up and donned the same look of worry when she first left to get food "Are you sure about this, Scootaloo? It's still daytime! What'll you even do here?"

Scootaloo waved a hoof "I'll think of something." She turned and looked at Astaroth reading his book, flipping a page as she repeated herself in a softer tone "I'll think of something..."

Applebloom looked sad, not liking the fact that she'll leave her friend once again with a murderous monster, but she could tell that it's what she wanted. She nodded "Okay...We'll come back later then, Scoots. See ya later." the yellow filly reluctantly trotted out of Scootaloo's home.

Sweetie Belle gave Scootaloo a hug, and then followed after Applebloom as the two left the orange filly's home. Scootaloo gave a sigh, and then turned to Astaroth and trotted over to him. She smiled at him looking so interested in his book, and she rubbed her chin with a hoof as she wondered if she should read as well. Rainbow Dash liked reading, and perhaps she could bond well with Astaroth if she reads with him.

She went to go grab one of the two remaining books, but then a large hand slammed onto the top of them, making her jump back. Scootaloo turned to see Astaroth bearing his teeth and glaring daggers at her "Get your own..." he spoke in a dangerous tone as he went back to reading.

The orange filly could only pout at her predicament. She'll get bored so fast and then she'll have no choice but to become an equine football if she dared to touch one of the books in Astaroth's possession. But as she said before, she'll think of something.

Meanwhile, out in a desert outside of Appleloosa, the wind was whistling while the sun was burning in the sky. In the distance, a cloaked bipedal figure, holding a large scythe was traversing through the sand in search of something. Under its hood, a glow could be seen from one of its eyes.