Scootaloo's Guardian

by Dirty Bit

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Poor Scootaloo

The sun shined over Ponyville Elementary school, showing that it was in the afternoon. Inside of it, the students were sitting through another sleep-inducing lecture, courtesy of Cherilee, Ponyville's esteemed school teacher. Today, she was covering the story of the old and dangerous substance that once existed in the world of Equestria known as 'Smooze'.

She pointed to the picture of a purple blot with a horrid face on the canvas, wrapping up her lecture "Some say that smooze still exists here today. Which is why you should be careful on where exactly you wish to roam. You might never know where the Smooze could appear!" She turned to her students with a cheery smile "Any questions on the matter?"

When she directed her attention to the children, her cheery demeanor faded when she noticed everypony present was either daydreaming, or snoring 'Oh, why me? I'd figure this would at least catch the children's attention...'. The only child paying close attention to Cherilee's lecture was none other than Peppermint Twist, one of Cherilee's best students. She smiled as she raised a hoof, and the magenta teacher gave a small smile, knowing that at least her lecture did not fall on deaf ears "Yes, Twist. You have the floor!"

The small, red-maned filly perked up and readied herself "Mth Cherilee, do you know of any thertain plathes where th' sthmooze could be found? I heard that there aren't many other locathions left! It would be nithe to have a heath's up on which plathes can be avoided!"

It was nice to hear her lisp tinted with curiousity, and Cherilee enlightened her while the rest of the class stirred and woke "Well, Twist, it's good to know that you're being cautious about this! Usually, the smooze could be found in deek and dank places, like caves, or certain parts of the Everfree Forest. There's a theory that smooze was responisble for how the wild animals lurking inside behaved that way!" While she continued shedding light on the matter, a certain orange filly was staring off at the window, giving a forlorn sigh.

Scootaloo wasn't one for paying attention in class like Twist, and she was busy letting her mind drift about personal matters while looking out at Celestia's sun. She closed her eyes, until Cherilee caught Scootaloo "Scootaloo! Are you not paying attention to this class?" The orange filly perked up and turned to her teacher "U-U-Uh, yes, Ms. Cherilee! I heard every word!" Cherilee stared with a deadpan look in her eyes "Then would you be so kind as to recite what I had just explained earlier to Twist?"

The orange filly began to sweat, gulping visibly as she looked around at every set of expectant eyes on her. It wasn't fair! They didn't pay as much attention as she did as Cherilee spoke, yet she was the one being called up and forced to tell everypony else what was said ealier. Scootaloo stalled for more seconds, and the school bell miraculously rang, signalling the end of school and the weekend. The children cheered as they rushed out of the doors, passing their teacher as she called out "Remember, class! Monday is Show and Tell day! I hope you each bring something interesting for everypony to learn from!" With the children leaving, it was only Scootaloo and Cherilee left in the classroom.

Cherilee looked down and noticed Scootaloo looking away, a sad expression on her face "Scootaloo, is something wrong?" Scootaloo shook her head "No, it's nothing, Ms. Cherilee. I'm just gonna go and enjoy the weekend with my friends..." She trotted off as she hung her head down, her expression unconvincing in every detail. Her teacher trotted to her side "Please, Scootaloo, let me help you as a teacher. Just tell me what's on your mind."

The orange filly beared her teeth and shook away her teacher's smothering "I said it's nothing! I just wanna go back ho-" She paused, catching herself, but took a deep breath as she finished her sentence "Home..." She trotted away, leaving Cherilee to watching the poor filly leave with an expression of pity on her face "Scootaloo..."

When she reached the school doors, Scootaloo ran into her friends Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Together, these three fillies were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, an ambitious group of ponies on a quest of discovering their true talents. The two fillies approached Scootaloo, Applebloom chiming to her orange friend "There ya are, Scoots! Why were ya stayin' in the school like that? Did Cherilee chew yer ear off about not payin' attention in class?"

Sweetie Belle spoke as well, slightly worried "You didn't get detention again, did you? I mean, we haven't listened much to her lesson either, and it wouldn't be fair if you got in trouble! What happened in there?"

Scootaloo shook her head, giving a small smile to know that her friends were there for her "No, it's fine, girls. I didn't get in trouble at all." The two fillies in front of her sighed in relief, Sweetie Belle wiping a hoof across her forehead despite her not sweating. Applebloom then grinned "Hey, at least it's th' weekend! What say we have some fun an' stuff? Ah bet we'll be able to find our talents before Show an' Tell day! Speakin' of...What're y'all gonna show on Monday?"

Sweetie Belle smiled "I plan on asking Rarity to making a gem-covered dress so I can show the other ponies her expertise! My sis can be so creative when it comes to making clothes!" The white unicorn filly did love her sister, even if they share arguments now and then. She felt it would be best to get a dress made so it would help her convince other fillies and foals to buy her clothes.

Applebloom smiled "That's mighty nice, Sweetie Belle! Ah don' know if I should maybe take Winona with me an' show th' class some o' her new tricks me an' Applejack taught 'er!" She smiled "Hey, maybe y'all can visit me on th' farm! Ah can show ya what Winona can do before anypony else does!"

Scootaloo was momentarily drawn away from her hidden depression, curious to what Winona now knows, smiling about the thought "That sounds good. I don't have any plans right now. Let's get going!" The crusaders gave a three-way high hoof in agreement to the idea and began racing each other to Sweet Apple Acres.

When they finally reached Sweet Apple Acres, they noticed Big Macintosh carrying three buckets chalk full of shiny and delicious apples to the barn. Applebloom waved a hoof and smiled to her big brother while passing him with her friends "Hiya, Big Mac!" The large drafter pony nodded to the greeting with a warm smile "Eeyup...".

The crusaders wandered along the fields in search of the Apple Family pet, not finding a single sign of her. Sweetie Belle turned to Applebloom "Applebloom, can't you just call Winona to you? I mean, she IS your pet."

The yellow filly giggled in embarrassment upon remembering the simple option "Hehe, musta slipped mah mind." She cleared her throat, and then tucked her lips and gave a powerful whistle. The other fillies cringed at the volume, but were happy to notice it worked. They noticed a little brown and white dog barking happily as it dashed from out of a barn and near the crusaders. The dog pounces on Applebloom and licks her while she giggles "Okay, Winona! Down, girl!" She lightly pushed off the affectionate dog and pet her ears as she panted and wagged her tail.

Applebloom readied herself as she turned to her friends "Alright, y'all! Prepare t' be amazed! Mah dog's gonna perform tricks that'll impress even Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo was now more than curious "This I gotta see!" The yellow filly held out a commanding hoof while Winona sat and panted happily "Okay, Winona! Do a flip!" Winona got on all fours, perparing herself to jump. When she leaped into the air, she quickly arced herself into a backflip, and landing back on her legs with relative ease.

Sweetie Belle gasped in awe "That was cool! let's see another trick!" Scootaloo, however, was unamused. She seen many flips, and was not to impressed with a dog doing it.

Applebloom nodded "Alright, Winona! Say momma!" Winona barked once, but then the yellow filly repeated herself "Momma! Say momma!" Winona barked twice, making her repeat once more "Momma!" The dog then uttered a pair of wierd barks that sounded similar to incoherent speech "Yeah, that's it! One more time, girl!" This time, it sounded as if Winona actually said 'Momma', making the two fillies gasped together. Now Scootaloo was impressed, not expecting a dog to speak Equestrian, but when Applebloom continued having her repeat the word 'Momma', it began striking some chords in her heart.

Beginning to get inwardly frustrated on the issue, she spoke up and interrupted the dog's speaking talents "Hey, Applebloom! Does she know any other tricks?" Applebloom smiles "Well o' course she does! Okay, Winona, show mah friends how well ya dance!" Before the dog could stand on its hind legs, another whistle was heard, causing Winona's ears to perk up and follow the trail "Hey! Y'all were supposed t' dance, Winona! Get back here!" She gave chase to her pet, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle following suit.

After traversing over a hill, they notice Winona stopping at the feet of Applebloom's older sister, Applejack. She smiled down at her companion, then noticed the crusaders stopping behind her, her little sister looking a little miffed "Applejack, Ah was showin' mah friends Winona's new tricks! Why'd ya call 'er?"

The orange cowpony chuckled a little "Sorry 'bout that, sugarcube. I need t' borrow Winona t' help me with roundin' up the sheep. They seem t' be complainin' again about askin' an' whatnot! Maybe y'all can go someplace else and hang out or somethin'." She turns to her pet "C'mon, girl! Them sheep ain't gonna herd themselves!" Winona barked eagerly and followed Applejack on a trail, the two running fast.

Applebloom pouted at their departure "Horseapples! An' Ah was wantin' Winona t' dance, too..." Sweetie Belle trotted to her friend's side and smiled "It's not so bad, Applebloom. We got to see some pretty nifty tricks from your dog. Plus, don't we have some crusading to do?" Applebloom perked up at the idea "Oh yeah! What's th' fun in this day without a little crusadin'? C'mon, y'all! Let's put our heads together and come up with a plan!"

Scootaloo tried her hoof at coming up with a plan, but she was aware that most of them involved extreme stunts followed by a harsh moment with being covered in tree sap. While they tried thinking, Applebloom brought up a question "Wait a minute, that reminds me!" She turned to the orange filly "What're ya gonna do for Show an' Tell day, Scoots? Y'all got anythin' cool t' show us?" The orange filly was startled at the question, and began feeling down. Other than her prized scooter, she really doesn't have much to show. Everypony in Ponyville was aware of her special tricks, and it wouldn't be wise to perform the same thing twice.

Scootaloo looked away from her friends and rubbed the back of her head awkwadly "Uhh...Not really, no..." She looked down, feeling defeated while her friends looked concerned. Applebloom spoke up "Anythin' ya wanna talk about, Scoots? Maybe we can help ya out with it." The yellow filly sounded exactly like Cherilee, causing Scootaloo to shake her head "No, no it's fine! I can think of something tomorrow!"

Sweetie Belle looked worried "You don't sound so happy, Scootaloo. Why won't you tell us what's wrong?" This earned the unicorn filly a glare from her friend "Because there isn't anything wrong! That's what I've been telling you guys!"

The two fillies took a step back as Scootaloo lashed out for a short while, Applebloom looking threatened "Easy, Scoots! Was just a question is all..." Scootaloo sighed and looked down "Sorry, I'm just not feeling my best today. But I'll definitely come up with something soon! Just you wait and see!" She said with a reinvigorated smile. This set her friends at ease as they smiled at her confidence. Drawing up blanks on what they should crusade next, they decided to walk around in Ponyville and find some ideas from the scenery.

The crusaders trotted along the busy square, still undecided on what they should be doing, until Sweetie Belle came up with an idea "Why don't we go to the library? I'll bet we could find some interesting stuff in a book!" The other two fillies raised their eyebrows at this.

Applebloom replied to the unicorn's question "Doncha think we'll be wastin' time with readin' books, Sweetie Belle? We won't find much other than spells and some old records on borin' stuff! What could we possibly come up with from that?"

Sweetie Belle looked abashed that her idea was easily frowned upon, but backed up her case "Well, we never really tried digging up for stuff! Maybe we could try our hoofs at archaeology! We could possibly find some old bones and be famous for it!"

Scootaloo perked up once more "I'm liking this idea! But are we really gonna go to the library for this sorta thing? Why don't we just grab some shovels, find a spot, and start digging?"

The unicorn filly looked annoyed "We need to read up on some good digging spots if we're gonna be good archaeologists! Besides, we could find some interesting stuff with what Twilight has in her stock! Let's go, everypony!"

Sweetie Belle then led her friends to Ponyville Library, going inside and looking around. Applebloom trotted up with determination "Okay, girls! Spread an' search for anythin' you can find! Let's move!" The crusaders sped away from each other like bullets and began their quest for knowledge.

Sweetie Belle was pushing through old geography books to get a good head start, covering all the old monuments and ruins close to Ponyville. Applebloom was looking up some old relics and artifacts stated in encyclopedias and published by authors covering history. Scootaloo was more focused on looking up old legends and pony folklore so she could find something at least interesting to dig up.

As she sifted through each book in a clumsy fashion, tossing each unimportant book over her shoulder as they landed on the floor. She then caught sight of a large book looking like a mixture of black and blood red, piquing her interest as she pulled it out and looked upon the cover.

The cover showed a picture of what looked like an oversized knife with an orange eye located on the blade. Scootaloo was jittering with excitement upon looking at it. She looked over at the books title, reading in slightly bolded lettering 'The Legend of Soul Edge' "I better save this one! It looks so awesome...I'll bet Rainbow Dash reads this along with the Daring Do series!" She said to herself as she placed the ominous book on the checkout desk and went back to looking.

The crusaders were unaware that Ponyville librarian Twilight Sparkle trotted in from the kitchen with her assistant Spike, then gasped at the mess of books on the floor as the fillies progressed their search. She caught their attention by calling out to them "GIRLS!" The three fillies halted their search and noticed Twilight Sparkle looking slightly annoyed, then looked down at all the books they had thrown "Oops..." They said in unison.

After a half hour of helping Spike pick up all the books they had tossed and organizing them properly, the CMC trotted up to Twilight and hung their heads in apology "We're sorry, Twilight! We were jus' tryin' to prepare ourselves for a little diggin' venture!" Applebloom confessed, and Sweetie Belle added to it with a smile "Yeah! We're planning on getting our cutie marks in archaeology! We're gonna dig for some old stuff, and maybe some treasure!"

Twilight tilted her head at their ambition, but smiled at their yearning for knowledge "Well, it's good to know you three are trying your hoof at something safe and educational. While your display of research was a bit messy, I'm proud of you for pursuing knowledge before going out and trying something! You remind me of me when I was your age...My mom was so proud of me when I was digging through each book to get my required information!"

There it was again. Upon hearing that word, something dark in Scootaloo stirred, causing her mood to slowly waver. But before it could take hold, Applebloom replied to Twilight "Well, thanks fer yer vote o' confidence in us, Twi! Ah can't wait t' get started!" She turns to her friends "C'mon, y'all! Let's get started on our journey!" Scootaloo felt better, and the three smiled at one another and began to yell in unison.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER ARCHAEOLOGISTS! YAY!"

They zipped out of the library to get their gear ready. Twilight sighed at their display of reckless emotions "Sometimes I wonder about the safety of those fillies..." Spike was picking one of his scaly ears with a claw "Tell me about it..." They went back to their duties in tending to the library. Twilight went to her desk and took notice of the ominous book Scootaloo had left earlier, levitating it to her eyes 'Hm...I haven't read this book yet...' She took it up to her room where she began to read it.

Later, at the outskirts of Ponyville, the CMC prepared themselves for their digging venture as they made check of their gear. They packed shovels, rope, brushes, and canteens full of juice to keep them hydrated. Each filly wore smiles of determination, waitng to find something big as they got started, trotting out farther into the dirtier reaches of the plains.

They knew to steer clear of the Diamond Dogs, avoiding their territory as they sought a good spot for digging. Sweetie Belle looked around to see if there was any hint of history around the dirt, but sighed as she spotted nothing. Applebloom was equally disappointed with not finding anything historical to let them know they could find anything phenomonal in the ground, but she wanted to start digging while she still had the vigor inside of her "Alright, Crusaders! Let's get to it!" She took her shovel in her teeth, along with her friends, and they all picked their own holes to get started on.

Each fillly dug far enough into the ground for their age, and Applebloom was first to come out with what looked like a popsicle stick "Ah, ponyfeathers! Ah gotta dig deeper!" She cursed at her find, and went back to digging. Sweetie Belle was digging, and emerged from her hole with a small collection of rocks, equally cursing herself "I'm no better at finding wonderful things in the ground like my sister..." She went back to digging.

Scootaloo was putting her back into shoveling a deep hole, and took a small break after her effort, not finding a thing 'C'mon, Scootaloo! This is for a digging cutie mark! You gotta see it through like your other times!' She thought to herself as she continued digging. After a small period of time from her continuation, she pierced her shovel in the dirt, only to hear a loud CLANK sound. She stopped, tilting her head in confusion as she struck at the ground again, getting the same sound as before. Taking a brush she began brushing aside all the dirt and coming across some kind of old hunk of steel. She had to let her friends know about this.

She emerged from her hole and called to her friends "Hey, you guys! I found something! I need your help!!" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle crawled from their holes and looked over at their orange friend "What didya find, Scoots? Is it treasure?" Sweetie Belle added to the curiousity "Is it an old relic of sorts!?" Scootaloo shook her head " I don't know, but I really need your help in digging this out!" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other and nodded with determination as they hopped out of their holes and galloped to their friend's aid.

They began digging along Scootaloo's hole and making it bigger, exhausting themselves in the process, and when they reached the level on where Scootaloo found the object, they looked at the hunk of metal sticking out.

Sweetie Belle wiped the sweat from her forehead as she gasped for air "Is it...Is it just another rock?" Applebloom was equally exhausted as she drunk from her canteen "Ah think we may've went overboard on this, girls..." Scootaloo, while tired, was not ready to quit this time. The metal looked completely unequine to her, and she wanted to know what was down there "I'm not giving up! Let's do it!" She began digging around the hunk of metal, and it began to grow larger in size. With what adrenaline Scootaloo had left, she made an effort to dig further around it and began finding more stuff attached to it. This encouraged her friends to join her and helped her dig.

When they were finished, they drank what was left of their canteen and looked at what was in front of them. It was a dirty pile that had a shape similar to a Diamond Dog with the piece of slightly rusted metal sticking out on the top. Scootaloo wanted to know what she uncovered "What are we waiting for? Let's brush the hay out of it!" They took their brushed and cleaned out the shapen pile of dirt, and gasped in awe in what they gazed upon.

They discovered some kind of wierd body, still similar to a Diamond Dog, only bigger and much more different. This body was bluish green, and had giant nails all over its upper body. It had no muzzle, and wore a mask that looked like a hammer on its head. Its legs were as huge as its body, being covered in worn rags and spiked shoes on its feet. This was enough for the crusaders to squeal in delight on their discovery and congratulate each other. They didn't care if they had no cutie mark from this, they were happy to have uncovered something so bizarre that could possibly lead them to fame. But one question remained for all of them: How were they going to get it out?

This left Scootaloo to sigh and sit on her haunches as she tried to think. She and her friends had burned a considerable amount of daylight when digging up a body, and they had to go home as Sweetie Belle climbed out of the hole "Sorry, girls. I better get going. Rarity will kill me if I stay too long, and I'm all dirty from digging! I'll meet up with you two tomorrow to come pick it up!" She galloped off back into Ponyville.

Applebloom turned to Scootaloo "She's right, we'd best be gettin' home an' make sure our families don' worry about us...Besides, this thing ain't goin' anywhere and it looks super cool! Ah'll see ya later, Scoots!" She turned and crawled out of the hole, leaving Scootaloo to sit down and stare at her find.

Scootaloo was silent, and then her lips quivered as she began to sniffle. A tear escaped her eyes as she hung her head down and crawled out of her hole dejectedly, but not before looking back at the strange body. When she came out of her hole, the sun was ready to set completely as the orange filly trotted back into town.

She looked around to see fillies and foals go back to their families: Mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters. Each sight was heartwarming to most, seeing the families group together for a hug, but poor Scootaloo was all alone. The worst part was that she never really told her friends or teacher, knowing she would get pity from it.

After a long amount of traveling, she finally came across an abandoned house that looked like it was condemned. She pushed the door open, only to have it fall the moment her hoof made contact with it, making her sigh. The orange filly looked around and seen how chaotic her little abode had looked and trotted further inside of it.

The walls were dirty and cracked, the ceiling had some support beams sticking out of it, and the wooden floors were creaky and looked ready to give out.

A group of mice scurried past Scootaloo as she made her way into her room. There was nothing but grey and torn walls and the same shoddy floor, but the ceiling was just fine. In the center of the room laid a worn blanket she used to sleep with, and she trotted over it to look out at the cracked window on the wall.

Nightfall was about to set in and everypony retired into their own homes, finding comfort in their company. Scootaloo gave off one more sad sigh as she trotted back to her blanket and tucked herself in, resting her head on the uncomfortable wooden floor.

'Mom...'

End of Chapter 1

Comments

[Draequine]

First you bring the Shadowman into equestria, AND NOW THIS??? You monster!!!

I love it!

[DavidPony]

hmmm.....interesting.......wonder what the body is

tracking

[Primordial Deomontus]

D'aw

[Dirty Bit]

232370 Rest assured, Facilier would seem like a newborn child compared to this

[Trot C. Foxy]

I wana see where this leads...........surprised no one commented on the image on that book scootaloo found......hehe

[Ceraph]

Loving it!

[Icarus Crimsonhoof]

There will be blood.