//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14 
// Story: Scootaloo's Guardian 
// by Dirty Bit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 14


Hope for the Best


Scootaloo widened her eyes at this thought. Ever since yesterday, she lost the sole item that she was going to present to her class on Show and Tell day, which now resides inside Astaroth's stomach. What befuddled her is how he hasn't passed it on yet with the time they had spent together. She wanted to voice her stress to her friends, but noticed that Sweetie Belle was busy with the dark golem.

Sweetie Belle was talking to Astaroth about her sister "Well, Rarity is a very fashionable mare. She makes the best clothes for anypony that comes into her store! Someti-"

The unicorn filly was interrupted by an impatient Astaroth "Do I have to run this by you as well, you pathetic worm!? Tell me about her element, not her hobbies!" His outburst made Sweetie Belle cringe.

Applebloom tilted her head at the dark golem "There ain't nothin' wrong 'bout sayin' what anypony likes t' do now an' then. Why're ya so interested in the elements so much, Astaroth? Didn't y'all wanna learn more 'bout Equestria's history?"

Astaroth glared at the yellow filly "None of your business! I'm only gathering knowledge that I can put to good use later! The runt over here told me all I need to know about this 'Rainbow Dash'...I wonder if your world is no different to the one I'm familiar with..."

Applebloom chuckled at this "That's Scootaloo fer ya! Always talkin' 'bout Rainbow Dash, that filly! She even has her own fan club, if she hasn't told y'all yet!"

Scootaloo snapped out of her inner stress and shot a look at the yellow filly "You sound like it wasn't a good idea! The Rainbow Dash fan club was one of my best solo ideas yet! It hasn't been as lively as it used to, but it's still good!"

Astaroth growled "Enough of your jabbering!" He turns to glare down at Sweetie Belle "You! Get back to talking before I start crushing!" The unicorn filly squeaked at his words

Scootaloo sighed at this "Honestly, Astaroth...Even if you're serious, these threats of yours are getting old! Would you just calm down for a moment? You really need something to do in your life..."

Applebloom could not fathom where her pegasus friend gathers her courage to stand up to something so monstrous, knowing he could possibly kill the fillies whenever he wanted to. Her eyes widened when she noticed Astaroth walk over to Scootaloo and punt her into a wall "Sakes alive! Scoots!" She and Sweetie Belle galloped over to her friend as she plopped herself from the now-cracked wall, coughing in pain. The yellow filly turned and glared at Astaroth "Ya big bully! Ah oughta jus' try an' smack ya up good fer hurtin' Scootaloo!" She was really getting sick of the dark golem pushing Scootaloo around while she wanted to help him. She got into a defensive position.

Astaroth saw this and gave a malicious grin "You're welcome to try, worm...It's your funeral!" He cracked his knuckles. He may not have his ax, but that didn't mean he could do major damage without it.

Sweetie Belle saw this and was horrified at the sight as they stared each other down, but then flinched when she heard Scootaloo "Calm down, Applebloom..."

Applebloom and Astaroth turned to the orange filly, Applebloom blurting out incredulously "Scoots, ya can't be serious! This big grump jus' kicked ya int' a wall an' yer jus' gonna ignore that!?"

Scootaloo gave another pained cough as she rubbed her back "Yeah, I might feel this one along with the others...But don't worry about it. Astaroth's just acting like a baby is all."

Astaroth growled at this "You're asking for it, runt! Stay out of this! Your miserable friend brought this upon herself! Respect her decision!"

The orange filly began to chuckle at this "You like to destroy things left and right, and you're talking about respect? Sheesh, next thing I know, you're going to actually going to call me by my name! Just leave Applebloom alone and listen to Sweetie Belle! You want to know about the elements, don't you??"

The dark golem gritted his teeth and wanted to go over and kick her again, but he could only stare into her eyes and notice a certain warmth. Was she actually this tolerant of him? Was she insane? Aside from her impressive courage when they trade words, it was as if she considered him something close. No, that can't be it. Astaroth had no need for companionship, and he certainly did not need to deal with a lowly horse wanting to make him her friend. He grunted and turned to Sweetie Belle "What are you waiting for!?"

Sweetie Belle flinched, but then trotted up and continued to talk "R-Right...My sister's element is generosity, meaning she can give things to anypony or do things for them out of the goodness of her heart. She's really well-liked for it, especially if she makes a free set of clothes!"

Astaroth paused for a moment. He had all he needed on the elements in terms of who they were and what they represented. What bothered him was that they are all aspects that were meaningless to him. How could a few simple emotions resemble something powerful enough to fend off a god? This was complicating indeed. The dark golem looked down at Sweetie Belle, who was thinking on what else to say and then held a hand up "Enough. I have all I need for now..."

Sweetie Belle looked up at Astaroth "Really?? Well, thanks for listening, I guess...Well, now that you know about the elements, what are you going to do now, Astaroth? You still need to know more about Equestria's history!"

Applebloom sighed "That's right. He's still not ready t' go out like this..." She then perked up "Aw, shoot! We have school tomorrow! What'll we do about Astaroth while we're gone!?"

Scootaloo then remembered her predicament. Not only was she without something to bring to school, but now she has to worry about leaving Astaroth unattended...

...Or did she?

The orange filly thought it over, and then a smile began to play on her lips "I have an idea..." Applebloom and Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo as she trotted up to Astaroth with a smile "Astaroth...You're going to be my thing to bring for Show and tell day!!"

Her fellow crusaders dropped their jaws at this. In their eyes, they feel Scootaloo has officially lost it. Astaroth only showed an expression that mixed bemusement with anger "Just what are you getting at?? Is this some kind of trick??"

Scootaloo shook her head "Nope! You're gonna come with me tomorrow and we're gonna get you acquainted with Ponyville a little early! Yeah, maybe this IS a bad idea, but I just can't leave you here alone. You're my responsibility!" She turns to her friends, their expressions unchanged, then back to Astaroth "Sorry, OUR responsibility! Besides, I can tell that you're already sick of reading those books! Nopony other than Twilight has a passion for them, you know??"

Astaroth crosses his arms as he leers down at Scootaloo "So you plan to give me a tour then?? But what is this business about me being your responsibility?? I don't exactly remember being your slave, runt!"

Scootaloo glared up at the dark golem "You're not our slave, Astaroth! You're our friend! Plus, I really can't leave you here even IF you can look after yourself, and you're already bored with this place. So what do you say?"

The dark golem stared at Scootaloo, then rubbed his chin in thought. So far, the orange filly has proved her worth in spirit, and has even given him proper leggings in a world considered completely alien to him. She has deemed herself a worthy tool in his case. With that, he gave a nod "Very well...I'll follow you tomorrow...But know that I'm not doing this for your case!"

Scootaloo grinned at this "Good, then it's settled! You're coming with me to school tomorrow!"

Sweetie Belle turned to the orange filly "But Scootaloo, he's huge! Do you really think he'll fit in there??"

The orange filly heard this and looked back up at Astaroth, who was towering over her and her friends effortlessly and winced "Good point...Maybe it's possible for me to show him to the class outside if Ms. Cherilee lets me!" She then smiled as she thought of something "I wonder what would happen if he met Diamond Tiara..." She chuckled to herself.

Applebloom stared at Scootaloo "Um, Scoots? Ah hate Diamond Tiara as much as th' next filly, but don't ya think havin' Astaroth 'round her could be a tad bit overkill??"

Scootaloo noticed the cruel humor of her thought and drooped her ears "S-Sorry...I'm sure Astaroth can keep himself contained with how long he's been hanging out with us!"

Astaroth grumbled "You better not disappoint me, runt...I want to be out of here now! I wish to-" He felt it again as he grunted and held his chest. The fillies saw this and instantly galloped to Astaroth's side as he took a knee 'Again!? What is this!?' He shut his eyes as the pain intensified. What was going on inside of him?

Scootaloo hopped onto Astaroth's knee, giving a grunt in pain with her past injuries and looked up at the dark golem in worry "Astaroth! Are you alright??"

Sweetie Belle was confused "What's happening to him, Scootaloo? Is he hurt? Or is he sick at all?"

Applebloom added to her unicorn friend's opinion "Ah'm willin' t' agree with Sweetie Belle on this one. He has been spendin' so much time underground! Ain't healthy for nopony but them Diamond Dogs!"

Scootaloo growled "Oh, I'll get those stupid dogs if they got him sick!" She looked back to Astaroth "C'mon, big guy...Stay with me!"

The dark golem's pain stopped as he took some deep breaths. He then looked to see the crusaders surrounding him, and growled as he swiped his free arm and shooed them away from his space "What do you think you're doing!?"

Applebloom glared "We were jus' tryin' t' see what's wrong, ya big dummy! Did ya never have anypony help ya before??"

This was rich. Astaroth was created by demented cultists who thought they could rule the world, only to be controlled by a god of war. He was pleased with becoming aware of himself and doing what he himself wanted. No one in their lives wanted to help the dark golem either because he was a large abomination or they would already be dead if he approached them, and now these children wonder if he actually had assistance before he met them. Astaroth grunted "I don't need your help..." 

Scootaloo facehooved "You can be such a pain sometimes, and I already felt enough of it from you...Lemme just eat some more food and we'll think on how to pass the time!" She trotted over to the saddlebags Applebloom left on the ground and took another apple. She then turned to the yellow filly with a smile "Thanks for getting the food, Applebloom!"

Applebloom smiled back "Ain't no problem at all, Scoots!"

Astaroth, with nothing to say at the moment, went back to sitting down and biding his time for his first steps into town for tomorrow. He turned to see Sweetie Belle looking at him in both curiousity and slight worry, and quickly looking away once the two met each other's gaze. He scoffed and crossed his arms as he sat down 'Blasted Elements...Are they actually that powerful??'

Meanwhile, at the library, the very Element bearers gathered in the main room with Twilight at the head "Girls, I'm glad you're all here! This is a serious issue I need to discuss with you all!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes "You already said that to me, Twilight! Just get to the point so we know what exactly we're dealing with!"

Twilight shot a look at the cyan pegasus, but nodded as she began her explanation "Okay everypony...this is going to sound shocking and unbelievable, but I saw a human come into my library!"

The other mares tilted her head at this, save for Pinkie, who was smiling at this "Oh! Was he nice and smart? I'll bet he was since he came to visit you and stuff! Does Lyra know about this yet? She keeps obsessing over humans for so long! Twilight, why didn't you tell us sooner!? I would've thrown him a party and invited everypony!"

Applejack simply shoved a hoof in Pinkie's mouth to shut her up, despite her still talking with her muzzle covered. She sighed as the party pony continued with her muffled jabbering.

Rarity turned to the lavender bookworm and spoke "Twilight, while you were right about this whole thing sounding shocking and unbelievable, are you sure this is something we should worry about??"

Spike came in and vouched for his older sister "It's true! He was THIS big, too!" He raised his claws as high as he could to point out his emphasis "And he was all dark and carried this huge scythe around!"

Rainbow Dash blinked at this "Is he some kind of farmer or something??"

Applejack then came in "Doesn't matter iffin' he is or not. Twilight's tellin' th' truth." She turned to Twilight "Have ya sent a letter to th' princess yet??"

Twilight looked down and sighed "No...And that's where my explanation gets more shocking! You see, I was reading this book about two swords: One is called Soul Edge and the other is Soul Calibur, though the book focuses more about the former. As I read it, it spoke of a small portion of history involving the humans and who exactly were involved with the swords! A couple of hours ago, the very human I was talking about visited my library and took that book, burning it in his grasp!"

The others gasped at this, and Fluttershy spoke up "Why would he do such a thing?? Doesn't he know it's wrong to destroy library property??"

Twilight shook her head "While I agree, Fluttershy, he actually had a reason to...He said it was a 'mistake from his past' and that nopony was to know about it...Not even the princesses! He even warned me not to send a letter to them or else I might put all of Equestria in jeopardy! He then took off and barely anypony noticed! It was like he vanished the moment he left..."

Rainbow Dash spoke up "So let me get this straight...A 'human' waltzed into your library, burnt a book about swords, and just left without anypony knowing?? I won't doubt AJ, but this all sounds kinda crazy. What is a human, anyway??"

Pinkie popped Applejack's hoof out of her mouth and spoke "A miserable pile of secrets!!" She earned the attention of everypony and Spike, and shrugged "...What? I was just answering!"

Fluttershy shook a little "You're not actually thinking about going after him, are you?? You can't do this alone, Twilight!"

Twilight nodded to the timid mare "Exactly! And that's why I want you all to accompany me in finding Zasalamel and finding out what he's hiding from us! I want to know as much as I can about what we and the rest of Equestria are dealing with!"

Applejack tipped her hat and smiled "Y'all know what my decision is! Yer story pretty much checks out, Twi. So when do we get goin'??"

The rest of Twilight's friends did not hesitate to agree. The lavender bookworm smiled at their commitment to helping out a friend in need "Just head back to your respective homes and be sure to pack what you need. We'll meet at the outskirts of Ponyville in two hours! It's best that we travel light so we won't have to deal with issues involving luggage."

Fluttershy cringed at the thought of how severe this situation can be. She was then met with Pinkie Pie's normal bubbly behavior "Don't worry about a thing, Fluttershy! This'll be just like the time we fought against Nightmare Moon and Discord! I'm sure this Zasalamel guy's not all bad!"

Rainbow Dash joined her timid friend's side "Yeah! And if he IS bad, he's looking at a serious case of hooves to the face!" She flashed Fluttershy a condifent smile, to which the timid mare returned.

Rarity sighed "Well, looks like I may as well make plans with Mom and Dad to watch Sweetie Belle while I'm gone...This could be the biggest problem we have yet to face!"

Spike quickly went to Rarity's side and puffed out his chest "I'll be there to protect you, milady! There's no way he's gonna lay a paw on you!" He was more than determine to protect his most precious treasure next to Twilight. A chirp was heard, and Spike turned to see his newest pet phoenix Peewee looking sad in his nest.

The purple dragon waddled over to him and gave him a nuzzle, and was then met with Twilight next to her with a sad expression of her own "I'm sorry, Spike, but you'll have to stay here while we're gone. You have to look after Peewee! He's only a baby, after all."

Spike looked at his newest pet and took his older sister's words into consideration, nodding with a smile "Okay, Twilight! You're right about Peewee, too. Who else is gonna teach him how to be a pony other than Owlowiscious?" The whole group shared a laugh after hearing the joke.

Twilight turned to her friends "Okay, then it's settled! You're free to go home and start if you want to. Don't be late, either! We need to catch up to him no matter what!"

Everypony and dragon in the room shared a nod as Twilight's friends took their leave to prepare for another journey around Equestria. The lavender bookworm looked down 'I hope he hasn't travelled too far...'
_______

The hydra laid in a large puddle caked in dried blood and scars, disemboweled with each head's jaw hanging wide open. It was a long and hard battle for Zasalamel as he trudged further into the forest, his outfit more dirty than before.

After another good mile of walking, Zasalamel was lucky to find a waterfall nearby and decided to take temporary refuge. Taking his free hand, he scooped up the pristine waters and sipped at it to regain his energy. It was best to drink the water before bathing in it, given his small injuries and how dirty his outfit was.

When he drank for the third time, he felt a small wave as he pulled out and looked at the shard he acquired yesterday. It was glowing with more power than it had before, making the cloaked man narrow his eyes "...Another one is close...I'll have to get all the rest I need before I can continue." He carefully placed his shard inside of his clothes, taking them off and beginning to set foot inside of the waterfall to wash himself.

As the water poured over his person, he looked up at the sun passing by. Soon, the day will near its end and he will have to fight whatever lurks in the forest at night.
_______

On the Friendship Express, Braeburn and Little Strongheart were sitting in their room as the locomotive made its way along the tracks. They were silent most of the way, with both having their respective thoughts on how they would come to approach Zasalamel.

Braeburn laid in his bed and then grunted as his wound leaked new blood. Little Strongheart gasped and quickly reached for her equipment to staunch the bleeding. The cowpony then gave a chuckle "Well, shoot. This thing's takin' it's sweet time t' heal! I wonder when this thing'll get patched up for good!"

Little Strongheart sighed "How can you be so calm about this?? You're about to deal with more than just this cut once we run into trouble..." She was as worried about Braeburn as Apple Bumpkin. The cowpony was practically the best friend she had ever met, even if they had started out in conflict.

Braeburn kept his smile "I'll be ready fer it, Li'l Strongheart. Anythin' t' set things straight with how your tribe was met with all this hooey! I'll bet that guy's not so bad once we get t' know 'im!" He rubbed his chin in thought "I wonder what his name is..."

Little Strongheart shook her head and smiled at her cowpony friend. It was as if she could actually trust Braeburn into handling a grave situation without feeling so reluctant about it. She just hopes that this journey that the two have agreed to set out on won't be so harsh for them...


End of Chapter 14