//------------------------------// // Not Without A Fight // Story: Family Mares // by SolidFire //------------------------------// Not Without A Fight No. What the buck was she thinking? Scootaloo threw the noose away from her and stepped down off the chair. Rainbow and Spitfire weren't going to give up on her, so she was not going to give up on them. Gone was the broken and helpless filly that wrapped that cord around her neck. The lyrics from one of her favorite songs came to mind. "You can't break me." She wasn't going to let herself break over this. "Crush the fears of yesterday." She knew what she had to do. She swallowed. She was not going to enjoy this... "Applebloom, Ah need ta talk ta ya." Applejack wasn't going to enjoy the conversation she was about to have with her little sister. It was going to tear Applebloom apart to hear that her friend wouldn't be coming back from Canterlot. The little filly was worried enough about Scootaloo without knowing that she had been sent back to a horrible family situation. Applejack decided to spare the details. Applebloom had obviously been crying over her friend's recent absence. "Is it about Scootaloo? Is she okay?" Applejack sighed. "It might be a while before you see Scootaloo again." "Why? Is she still at th' hospital?" Applejack hated herself for not being able to lie to her sister to put her at ease. "No, she ain't at th' hospital. She's with her parents in Canterlot. Th' Princess decided she should stay with them instead o' Rainbow an' Spitfire." Tears came to Applebloom's eyes as her sister revealed the truth to her. "W-what? Scootaloo told me her dad was hurting her! That he left her behind in Ponyville all alone before a snowstorm! Why's she there?!" Applebloom was bawling. "We're doin' everythin' we can ta get her back here. Don't you fret one bit. She'll be back here before ya know she left." This was technically not a lie. While Applejack couldn't predict the future or support her claim that Scootaloo would be home soon, she did believe it to be true. And technically, the seven mares who had been forcibly ejected from Canterlot WERE doing everything they could at the moment to get her back. Unfortunately, with the restraints on the pegasi and unicorns of the group, they couldn't do a bucking thing. It burned at Applejack. She wondered how Rarity was breaking the news to Sweetie Belle... "Sweetie Belle, please. There's no need to cry. Scootaloo will be back in Ponyville before you know it." "How do you know sis?! You told me she would come home with you, and that didn't happen!" Sweetie Belle was sobbing. "You told me she'd fly home right next to your chariot and everything would be fine! You promised me-" "Sweetie Belle, I'm so sorry. We never could have expected Princess Celestia to rule that way. It... it..." Rarity didn't hide her anger very well. "It's a travesty of justice! We'll bring back Scootaloo before you know it, I promise! This time, I'll keep it or chip a hoof trying!" As pathetic as Rarity's last statement was, it meant everything to Sweetie Belle. Rarity, promising to damage part of her carefully pedicured hooves if she couldn't succeed meant she had put a task as much to heart as Applejack did every year come applebuck season. But she truly was more concerned about Twilight than her carefully manicured hoof. Having her trust betrayed by her lifelong mentor had to be horrible beyond imagination... Back in the library, Spike belched and a letter appeared bearing the Royal Seal. "Twilight, you have a letter from the Princess. Want me to re-" "Burn it Spike. I'm not her student anymore." "What? Twilight, are you-" "She just condemned an innocent filly to suffering for the sake of preserving her political image. I have no more business with her. Burn the letter." Spike was torn. Although he was technically supposed to ensure that Twilight was made fully aware of the content of every letter sent to her by the Princess, his loyalties lied with Twilight, not the government. He walked to the fire he had ready for Twilight's return and uncomfortably threw it in. He knew Twilight was having a hard time dealing with Scootaloo's absence, but he had no idea she was this pissed. "Twilight, what are you reading?" "A forbidden spells book. I'm brushing up on combat magic." "What kind of combat spells would be in a book of forbidden spells?" Spike was very worried. Twilight had never wanted to harm anypony before. Just the concept of forbidden combat magic usually made her cringe. Now she was studying it? He didn't like where this was going. A unicorn with her power should not be studying those spells. "The kind that can turn a pony into pulp. Preferably a pony by the name of Jade Crestfall." Spike swallowed. Twilight was studying magic as a means to kill somepony. Spike knew he had to stop her. He began to write a letter back to the Princess when a hoof knocked the parchment out of his hand. "Spike, you know I appreciate everything you've done for me, and I know you're trying to help, but you will not get in my way on this. Neither will the Princess. Do you understand Spike?" Spike swallowed and nodded. Spike had no idea how Twilight had gotten to him so quickly. She was supposed to have her magic restrained. There was no way she could have teleported to him. He looked over and saw Twilight's horn glow as she turned a page in her book. She had broken the restraints on her magic. The restraints the Princess herself had placed. "Twilight, this isn't you! You would never consider hurting anypony!" "Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Even if you don't like it." Spike swallowed. If Twilight was in a killing mood over this, he was terrified of what Rainbow and Spitfire were planning..." Rainbow fought against the restraints on her wings. She wasn't going to let her daughter be lost like that. Not when things were starting to get good. "Rainbow, you're not going to break the restraints. Give it up. We can go save her when they break." Spitfire was on the couch. It had never felt so empty in their cloud home. Without the energetic, orange little filly running around the house or pumping the bass from her bedroom speakers, the place just felt wrong. "NO! I'M NOT GIVING UP! NOT NOW!" Rainbow was screaming, mostly to herself. "I... can't... hnng... give up..." She fell to the floor. She lowered her head. "I guess I don't have much of a choice, huh?" A lone tear slid down her one of her cheeks. She hadn't felt so helpless since the incident with Sky Scraper. At least back then it was just her. Now she had somepony to protect and she couldn't. She was stuck in her cloud home and couldn't even flap her wings. She felt a warm presence curl up against her. She leaned in to Spitfire. The two mares let there emotions pour out as they sobbed. They wished they could do something, ANYTHING, to get Scootaloo back home. "We'll get her back Rainbow. For now we have to wait." "The waiting is what's tearing me up inside. I can't wait, I have to act." "I know Rainbow. That's part of the reason I married you." "Huh?" "When I saw your undying loyalty to your friends, I knew I could always count on you. I know that Scootaloo can count on you right now. This won't be over until we say it's over. We're getting our daughter back. No matter what the cost." Rainbow loved her wife more in that moment than she had at any time since their wedding. The two mares shared a kiss, short at first, then long and passionate. As horrible as the timing was, they had to do something to help them relax. The two mares continued their kiss, growing more passionate by the second, until an unmistakable voice was heard from behind them. A voice that normally warmed their hearts upon hearing. One that usually brought out the motherly instincts in both of them. "Uh, am I interrupting something?" Rainbow and Spitfire yelped and turned to look in the direction of the voice. Scootaloo stood in the doorway. She was far more battered than either of the mares had ever seen her. More so than any of her "Crusading" had left her, more than the night Rainbow took her home. Their jaws dropped as they sprinted to her and gingerly wrapped their forelegs around her. "Scoot, what are you doing here? What happened?" Rainbow asked. She was horribly worried for the filly in the doorway. Her worry grew the more she looked over the young filly, until a short, cliche sentence escaped Scootaloo's lips. One that Rainbow and Spitfire had only ever heard in movies. The last sentence Rainbow and Spitfire expected to hear at the moment. "You should see the other guy."