Scootaloo's Guardian

by Dirty Bit

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Feeling Lucky

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were galloping for Scootaloo's home without a moment to lose. The yellow filly managed to keep up with Sweetie Belle after she decided to dash into town first, knowing that she was the one carrying the food. When they were side-by-side, they went to converse with each other until they noticed an obstacle in their path, causing them to screech to a halt. They looked up and saw a face of pain and worry on the face of a certain magenta pony "Ms. Cherilee!" They said in unison.

The two never imagined her own teacher to look this way on such a peaceful day "Girls, can I ask you something, please? You would be doing me a favor..." The two fillies hesitated for a moment, but upon noticing Cherilee's expression they nodded at their teacher's request as she sighed "Thank you...It's about Scootaloo. Ever since Friday, I couldn't help but feel something wasn't exactly right with how she was acting. And if that's not enough, I don't even know where she lives! I figured, since you three are such good friends, could you perhaps point me to where Scootaloo might be??"

Uh oh. To help their teacher was one thing, but to ruin a friend's trust was something else. The two fillies promised-no, PINKIE promised Scootaloo that they would not speak of her home or her personal life to anypony, friend or not. And as many rules of life in Equestria are followed, one must never break a Pinkie Promise. This was going to be hard to lie to Cherilee, who had taught Applebloom and Sweetie Belle so much in school (Even if they had slept through some parts), and they were too flustered to come up with a lie. Applebloom scratched her head "Ummm, well Ms. Cherilee...While we would be glad t' tell ya..." She looked down as she strained the words out of her mouth "We were kinda actually on our way someplace else...liiike..." She looked around, and then turned to see Carousel Boutique in the distance, giving a hopeful smile "Carousel Boutique!"

This caused Sweetie Belle to turn to Applebloom with an incredulous look on her face "Huh?" The yellow filly ignored this and continued "We were jus' on our way t' th' boutique so we could hang out there and do some crusadin'!"

Sweetie Belle was about to interject, until she noticed her friend flash a wide grin that feigned innocence and whispered 'Play along'. She hesitated until she got the full message and chimed in after Applebloom's words "Yeeeeah! My sister really does enjoy our company after all! We were simply gonna go play some more!" She felt bad for lying to Cherilee, and even worse about how exactly the filly's older sister felt about the crusaders prancing about around the boutique.

Cherilee smiled, thinking she got something out of them "Well, that's good. If it's not too much trouble, may I join you at the boutique? I really wish to talk to her about whatever is bothering her...I just hate seeing the poor filly so down." Her ears drooped at her failure of trying to cheer up Scootaloo.

The two fillies looked at each other with anxiety and guilt. They figured the lie would work, but now they'll have Cherilee following her around until she finds Scootaloo. Applebloom then remembered Scootaloo needed food, and then quickly brainstormed an idea "Say! Ah'll join y'all later! I jus' remembered somethin' Ah have t' take care of!" She quickly galloped away from Sweetie Belle and Cherilee as she smiled to herself "See ya soon!!"

Sweetie Belle felt betrayed that Applebloom would ditch her like this, and she went to call for her until Cherilee stepped in "Well, since Applebloom won't be around, would you guide me to your home, Sweetie Belle?" She looked down at the filly with a smile.

The unicorn filly was nervous, but knew she now has to take one for the team "Yeah, okay. Let's head to my house then." The two then began trotting over to Carousel Boutique. She felt more and more guilty, knowing that two grown mares were about to be disappointed. While they trotted, they heard a faint but deep noise and then noticed a flock of birds frantically flapping their wings as they flew away from the Everfree Forest. Some of the town's citizens, along with Sweetie Belle, stared at this with confusion 'What's going on in there???'

Applebloom was galloping like crazy as she made her way across town to reach Scootaloo's shambled home. She was lucky to see that some folks were too busy to notice her breeze by. When she touched base at the entrance, she caught her breath as she trudged through the doorway with her saddlebags "Hello?? Anypony in here? It's Applebloom!" She managed to speak while walking. She didn't get a response, thinking they were either sleeping or hiding, until the yellow filly heard Scootaloo talking. Perking her ears up, Applebloom trotted further into the home and turned a corner to see Astaroth with Scootaloo on his lap, not even hurting her yet. This made her eyes widen in surprise as she carefully trotted further.

Scootaloo was wrapping up Fluttershy's description to Astaroth as she made herself comfortable on the dark golem's lap "-and what makes her seem NOT so shy was how she was able to stare down a cockatrice! By herself! Those things are so deadly, you know??" She grinned at the memory of how victorious the timid mare was in saving her, her friends, and Twilight from certain death.

Astaroth only hummed at this, taking in his knowledge being spoon-fed to him by the orange filly. He was wrong about this world. This one could be more important to him than he thought as he spoke up "So this Fluttershy isn't so fearful as you claim?? Do you wish to throw me off track, runt?? What are you hiding from me?" He spoke in his signature malice-tinted voice.

The orange filly rolled her eyes "I'm not throwing you off, Astaroth! I'm just telling you what I know like you wanted to! Besides, we still have to wait for Applebloom and Sweetie Belle to come back!" She turned her head to see the forementioned yellow filly trotting up with her same surprised stare upon seeing the pair "Talk about timing! It's good to see you finally, Applebloom! Where were you??" She looked behind her and raised an eyebrow "Wait, where's Sweetie Belle?"

Applebloom looked away, embarrased at what she had to tell Scootaloo "W-Well...We were on our way back t' yer place...But then we sorta ran int' Ms. Cherilee..." The yellow filly had her friend's full attention as her eyes widened "D-Don't worry, Scoots! Ah didn't say a thing about ya livin' here! Honest!" Scootaloo then sighed in relief as Applebloom continued "Ah had t' stall 'er an' make 'er think y'all were at Carousel Boutique! Sweetie Belle's on 'er own right now with Ms. Cherilee an-"

A deep sound of a clearing throat was heard as the two fillies turned their attention to an irritated Astaroth crossing his arms "I was promised knowledge on the Elements of Generosity and Honesty!" He turned his glare to Scootaloo "You aren't pulling a fast one, are you?" he spoke in a low and dangerous tone. He was patient up until she stopped talking about the elements.

Scootaloo drooped her ears and smiled sheepishly as she stared up at the dark golem "Oh yeah. I forgot..." She then hopped off of Astaroth's lap and trotted to Applebloom "Listen, Applebloom. I promised Astaroth that you and Sweetie Belle would talk about your sisters and their elements to help him understand. And since Sweetie Belle's not here-Hey!" She noticed a faint appearance of an apple in Applebloom's saddlebag "You brought food? Great! I'm starving!" She dug a hoof into the bag without hesitation and yanked out an apple, giving it a few good chomps "Oh, that was good..." She then remembered she was talking as she blushed in embarrasment "A-Anyways...Since Sweetie Belle's not here, you're gonna have to keep the big guy entertained!"

Applebloom looked at her friend "But what about you, Scoots? What're ya gonna do while Ah'm busy with Astaroth??"

Scootaloo gave her apple another good chomp and gulped down the bite, leaving nothing but the core "I'm going out and saving her, of course!" She tossed the apple core behind her, accidentally hitting the dark golem in the face and making him growl "Hehehe...sorry..."

The yellow filly was worried "Are ya serious about this?? This is kinda heavy knowin' yer gonna be out in th' open leavin' me here with him! Ah don't think Ah can handle th' big guy like you can!"

Scootaloo trotted to her friend and nodded with a confident glance "You'll be fine! Just tell him what he wants to know about your sister and don't leave anything out! It's not like he might meet her once he's ready to come out into Ponyville!" She trots over and grabs her scooter helmet and smiles "Besides...It's Cherilee that wants me, and she IS expecting me at the Boutique, right?? I think it's time I give them what they want before it's too late!" She trots to her bedroom, where she keeps her scooter in a corner next to her broken window, plopping it up and grabbing the handlebars with her hooves.

Fluttering her winges at a rapid speed, she began to motor herself out of her room as she rode on her scooter. She stops near Applebloom and smiles "Remember! Tell him what he wants and don't leave anything out! I'll come back with Sweetie Belle soon enough!" She then sped out of the house, leaving Applebloom and the dark golem by themselves.

Astaroth glared down at the yellow filly once the two were all alone "Well?? I'm waiting, maggot! Tell me about your sister! The sooner I know all about the elements, the better!"

Applebloom looked up at the dark golem and smiled a little "Okay, so y'all wanna know about Applejack so badly, huh? Well fer starters, she's really strong, but not as strong as my big brother, Big Macintosh! She an Ah live down by Sweet Apple Acres, where she bucks apple fer a livin'! It's real-"

The dark golem yelled "I want to know about her element! Her Element of Honesty! Talk about that instead!"

Applebloom glared a little "My name's Applebloom, ya dummy! An' as fer my sister's element, there ain't much t' tell about it! She's all about th' truth, the whole truth, an' nothin' but th' truth, so help her Celestia!" She flashed a smile of pride for her sister "She can even tell when somepony's lyin', so Ah wouldn't be fibbin' 'round 'er if Ah was you!"

Astaroth scoffed "So she can see through others...can she fight as well??"

The yellow filly glared "If yer gettin' any ideas on hurtin' Applejack, y'all can jus' forget it! I'm tellin' ya about 'er like ya wanted! There ain't no need t' go around breakin' anythin' that moves!"

The dark golem sneered at this "I've been cooped in this ridiculous abode for only a day, and I already miss doing just that!! You're trying my patience with your foolishness, you arrogant worm! Now keep talking!"

While she could keep up her glare, Applebloom was feeling scared on the inside to the point of visibly shaking 'How can Scoots put up with this monster an' NOT be scared!?'

Meanwhile, at Carousel Boutique, Rarity was busy glaring at her little sister "Sweetie Belle, just what is the meaning of Cherilee being at our doorstep!? Did you and your friends get in trouble??"

Sweetie Belle shook her head "Nonono! It's not that at all! It's jus-"

Cherilee stepped in "Allow me to explain, Rarity. I was told by your sister that Scootaloo was around here, and I only wished to find her. Do you know where she is??"

Rarity raised an eyebrow "What??" She was about to speak until her little sister spoke up while flashing a wide grin at her teacher "That's because she's hiding around out of Rarity's sight! She was practicing watching Rainbow Dash like always!"

Cherilee was exasperated "Again?? Oh, that filly and her antics. She shouldn't even be spying on other ponies like this...This one time I caught her disguised as-"

Rarity then interrupted "But I wasn't aware of her presence to begin with! I was never even informed of their arrival! Unless..." She leered over to Sweetie Belle "What are you planning, Sweetie Belle??" She growled as she kept her gaze locked on the poor filly.

Cherilee then joined in "Sweetie Belle, is there something you're not telling us?" Her gaze a calm, but firm, making the unicorn filly sweat.

Sweetie Belle thought all hope was lost, until she heard the sound of wheels approaching. She turned to see Scootaloo speeding towards her location on her scooter in confusion, with Rarity and Cherilee following suit.

The orange filly skidded to a halt as she hopped off of her scooter "Hey, everypony! What's up?"

Sweetie Belle saw this and quickly perked up "Scootaloo! There you are~!" She spoke in a tone that feigned innocence as she trotted to her friend "You really know how to stay out of sight sometimes!" She then whispered in Scootaloo's ear "I'm glad you're here! Cherilee's been looking for you!"

Scootaloo smiled and nodded to her friend as she played along "Well, you know me! Hide and seek's my number one game to play sometimes!"

Rarity was about to talk to the two fillies, until Cherilee trotted over "Oh, there you are, Scootaloo! I was wondering where you were, considering you and your friends are rather inseparable." She looked down with an expression of light sadness "Scootaloo, I felt like we haven't talked well back at school Friday. Not to sound like an overbearing parent, but how you've acted then has been bugging me, and I wish to sort things out with you. Is it okay if we could talk?"

Scootaloo tilted her head, confused at what her teacher was talking about, but then perked up when she remembered. Back then, she would still feel sad about it, but now she was happy to know that she has someone to be with, even if he can get out of line at times. She smiled up at Cherilee "Oh, nothing's bothering me at the moment, Ms. Cherilee! I feel great, actually!"

It was now Cherilee's turn to be confused as she looked down at Scootaloo "A-Are you sure? You seemed so distant a couple of days ago. Is it really not much of a problem now?"

The orange filly shook her head "Nope! My friends helped me out a couple of days ago! I have them to thank!" She turned to Sweetie Belle "Right, Sweetie Belle?"

Sweetie Belle stared blankly at her pegasus friend "Uuuuh..." She looked at the two grown mares and then smiled "Yeah! It was just something involving Show and Tell day tomorrow!"

Cherilee caught herself and chuckled "Oh, is that all??" She turned to the orange filly "Well, don't be shy about what you bring, Scootaloo, so long as everypony in class can learn from it! I look forward to what you have to show me tomorrow at school!" She began trotting off "I wonder where Applebloom is...I'll bet she's busy with what she has forgotten..."

Sweetie Belle gave a sigh in relief and wiped a hoof across her forehead to get rid of her sweat. She then looked up at Rarity, who leered down at her sister, demandign an explanation. The filly could only respond "Just some stuff between us crusaders! Gotta go!" She quickly galloped off, Scootaloo quickly hopping back on her scooter and riding off.

Rarity called out to her sister as she and Scootaloo ran off, causing her to huff "Those fillies can be so mischievous at times, it's sickening..." She was about to go inside, until a prismatic blur breezed by and landed in front of her home to reveal Rainbow Dash standing "Huh? Rainbow Dash? This is certainly a surprise! What brings you to my home?"

Rainbow Dash smiled "Hey, Rarity! Actually, I'm here to tell you that Twilight needs us and the girls at the library! She says it's urgent!"

Rarity blinked at this "Is that so? Well, in that case, what are we doing here? Let's go grab the others and spare Twilight the trouble of looking for them!"

The cyan pegasus took flight "One step ahead of you! I'll handle Applejack and Fluttershy while you get Pinkie! See ya then!" She then dashed off, leaving a prismatic trail behind. Rarity galloped off to Sugarcube Corner in search of Pinkie Pie.

Back at Scootaloo's home, Applebloom wrapped up her words on her older sister "-an' that's pretty much it! Ah hope ya listened well, Astaroth, cuz' that's all I can tell ya about Applejack!" She sighed, content in knowing the dark golem hasn't gone berserk yet.

Astaroth nodded "That leaves the Element of Generosity..." There was silence for a few seconds between the two as they stared. Then the dark golem quickly rose to his feet and punched a hole through a wall "WHERE IS SHE!?" Applebloom yelped and jumped at the sudden action and outburst.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle finally made it back to the ruined home without anypony looking and they trotted inside to see Astaroth setting his sights on Applebloom and clenching a fist as the yellow filly began backing away. Scootaloo quickly galloped in front of her and glared "STOP!"

Astaroth quickly halted himself as he grunted "You again...Where's the other one? The more spineless one of you three??" He then looked over and noticed Sweetie Belle catching her breath. He narrowed his eyes and walked over as he picked up Sweetie Belle by her head, making her scream "Shut up and talk..."

Scootaloo turned to the dark golem "Astaroth, give her a break! She ran all the way here! Give her some air!!"

Astaroth gave the orange filly his attention as he glared "I've already given her time and she has wasted plenty of it!! I want my knowledge and I want it NOW!"

The orange filly scoffed at this "Alright already! Sheesh, you're such a big baby sometimes..." She trotted over and looked up at Sweetie Belle, who was shaking in Astaroth's grip "Sweetie Belle, I know I haven't told you this yet, but I want you to tell Astaroth about Rarity and her element."

This made Sweetie Belle stop shaking "What? Why does he wanna know about my sister?" She turned to face Astaroth "Do you have a crush on her??"

Astaroth glared at the unicorn filly "I'll crush YOU if you don't start talking!"

Applebloom finally summoned the courage to yell at Astaroth "Would ya jus' calm down fer one measly second!? We had t' go through so much trouble t' get here! The least you could do is give 'er some space!"

The dark golem scoffed at the yellow filly and turned to Scootaloo "I'm impressed, runt...You've managed to give one of your pathetic cohorts the same amount of courage you possess..."

Scootaloo sighs "Just sit down and let Sweetie Belle catch her breath. She won't talk well in this condition, you know!"

Astaroth growled a little, but he complied as he walked back to his usual spot and sat down, setting Sweetie Belle down for the first time. The unicorn filly was then regaining her composure as she sighed "Okay. I'll start talking about Rarity now..." She then sat down as she looked up at Astaroth "You see, my sister's a real fashi-" she felt a nudge as Scootaloo hissed "About her element! He'll get angry if you talk about anything else!"

Sweetie Belle nodded at this "Right. Anyways, my sister's the Element of Generosity, meaning she can help anypony she wants to out of the goodness of her heart and ask for nothing in return! It's one of the things I like most about her!" She continued talking about Rarity as the dark golem listened intently.

Scootaloo sighed, content that her current problems involving food and other complications were solved. But now she has to deal with a new problem that rose to her mind after her little reverie with Cherilee and Rarity:

What was she going to bring to Show and Tell day?

End of Chapter 13

Comments

[Yasahiro]

I spy with my little eye something beginning with "Astaroth at School".
Guess what?

[Dirty Bit]

413635 ........