1 - The Line

Chapter 1: The Line

“Next!” the screechy voice of the weary official echoed through the dingy office. A fan creaking above that only added to the sad affair that was this department’s responsibility.

A cautious couple of hoof-steps forward, and a young filly placed a couple of round plastic discs on the counter.

“Well?” snapped the official, turning a beady yellow eye to the young filly. “What do you want?”

The small filly shrank back slightly, cringing at the tone the government worker exuded like rancid butter in the sun. “I just want to exchange these tokens for credit,” she croaked out. She quailed as she became aware of everypony’s eyes fixed on her with laser-like intensity. Even the gruff administrative official showed a little more than flat disinterest at the filly.

She narrowed her eyes at the filly, her gaze flicked to her neck and then back to her eyes. “You’re a red collar. You couldn’t possibly have gotten these tokens by legal means,” she growled, signalling to two bulked up and muscled diamond dogs standing off to the side. “Take her away. Next!”

“Wait!” the filly screamed shrilly. “I was sponsored! It’s real! Don’t take me away, my family will starve. My mother is sick! My brother is in the hospital–”

Her pleas were cut off as the double doors to the office slammed closed.

A cold laughter filled the room as a tan-coloured stallion trotted out from behind a cabinet.

“Oh that was delicious,” he crowed, wiping away some tears in his eyes. “The poor filly, so silly!” He glanced at the tired-looking official. “As agreed, you can keep that,” he laughed indifferently, waving at the two tokens. With that he left through the side-doors, disappearing from the dark and dank office.

Most of the ponies returned to their own affairs. After all, this was nothing special. Things like this happened all the time. They didn’t know the circumstance of most ponies that came in here but they knew they were all tragic, just like their own desperate situation. They did know one thing though about that poor filly, she wasn’t going to survive the week.

Because without credit, there was only one fate reserved for those without money.

–––––

“Come on ,Sweetie Belle! Catch up,” Scootaloo nagged at the struggling white-coated filly. “We’re almost there.”

“Ugh, Scootaloo, not all of us have the advantage of wings and a scooter to launch themselves up to wherever they need to go,” she sighed, struggling up the steep incline. “We shouldn’t even be here!”

Scootaloo waved a nonchalant hoof. “I know, I know, but it’s so cool, you have to see this!”

As Sweetie Belle finally approached the ledge Scootaloo was perched on, she cast her gaze out to the circle of stones below them.

“So what’s this thing you wanted to show me? I can’t see anything down there.”

Scootaloo had a confused expression plastered all over her muzzle. “I was so sure that there was some weird glowing thing down there,” she said despondently. “Why is it gone now?”

Sweetie Belle restrained an urge to shout in frustration. Her sister always told her that a lady must remain calm, where warranted. Sweetie took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down. Scootaloo wouldn’t have dragged her up here for no reason, and she wasn’t a pony that would lie.

“It’s okay Scootaloo,” she said. “I believe you.” Sweetie found that she really meant that. That’s what friends were for.

Scootaloo gave Sweetie a grateful smile. “Oh well,” she pined. “Maybe next time.”

They were both about to leave when a loud crack rang through the clearing and echoed up the mountainside. A low hum filled the air, the ground rumbling as the pitch dropped lower and lower. Sweetie Belle glanced uncertainly at Scootaloo and they both turned their heads to see the circle of stones below glow with actinic intensity.

“Cool,” Scootaloo crooned in a classic disregard for the situation. Sweetie was more acutely aware of rumbling that was coming from above. She looked up and gasped in horror as an assortment of small stones, rocks and most worryingly, a boulder came tumbling towards them.

“Watch out!” she yelled desperately, trying to get out of the way. Scootaloo saw the boulder and leaped out just in time, but Sweetie wasn’t fast enough. The boulder caught her broadside as she slipped on some loose gravel, propelling her off the ledge and into the air.

“Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo cried out in anguish, as rock and pony tumbled towards the ominously glowing mass below. She glanced back at her scooter, but discounted it, it was too far away. With a primal yell, she leaped off the cliff after Sweetie Belle, heedless of the consequences. Sweetie found herself smiling as she saw her friend darting after her.

The last thing she thought before everything became indistinct and fuzzy was, Scootaloo is reckless, brash and abrasive, but she is a good friend.

–––––

Scootaloo hurtled through the air faster than she thought was possible. She stretched her forelimbs out, as if to split the air with her own two hooves. She saw Sweetie Belle and the boulder swept up by the glowing white light. At this rate she knew she would crash into the glowing field in just a few seconds.

But it was not meant to be.

Moments before she could touch the light, the field was suddenly gone. The light collapsed on itself with frightening velocity and the clearing was empty, save for the ring of stones, the grass underneath and the surrounding forest of trees.

Belatedly, Scootaloo tried to pull up, but her wings were too weak. She landed headfirst into the ground, plowing dirt and grass away and making a deep furrow in the earth. Weakly, she tried to get up, but found she couldn’t. In fact, it was hard to do anything, her hooves flopped uselessly about.

Her last thought before embracing the darkness were, how am I going to explain this to Rarity?

––––

With a start, Sweetie awoke, her head aching and her body feeling like it was just one massive bruise. Groaning, she struggled to her hooves, trying to get her bearings. The soft clop of her hooves on a hard surface prompted her to look down, and she realised she was standing on the hard cobblestone of a street. Blearily, she cast her gaze around, taking in the scenery. Maybe she could find something she could recognise and get back to Ponyville…

The more she looked, the more it seemed unlikely she was anywhere near Ponyville. The houses were merely badly thatched roofs and the walls were covered in something that looked like soil or clay. She spotted a few ponies about, but they looked ragged and tired, ignoring her and everything until she called out to one of them.

“Hey!” she called out to a pale orange stallion. “Where am I?” The stallion looked at her blankly for a moment then just moved on.

As he turned away from her, she suddenly spotted his flank and almost fell back in surprise.

It was completely blank.

“Hey wait–“ but the stallion had already trotted out of hearing distance. Again, Sweetie looked around, this time focusing on the flanks of everypony. Sure enough, everypony she saw had a blank flank!

Before she could even register that bombshell in her mind, the blaring sound of trumpets pierced the air.

“Make way!” a voice shouted. “Make way for the Equinarch!”

Sweetie turned her head in surprise and could only gape as a jet-black carriage pulled by snow-white stallions in armour careened towards her at a breakneck pace.

“What are you, deaf? Get out of the way!” One of the stallions snorted.

“Watch out!” another voice shouted from her side. The next thing she knew, Sweetie was on her side tumbling away as the carriage thundered on.

A reprimanding hoof clocked her smartly on her head as two purple eyes stared keenly into hers. “Do you have a death wish?” the young pegasus filly growled at her.

Sweetie just gazed open mouth in confusion.

“Scootaloo

“Sweetie Belle?!”

"I'm so glad you're here!" Sweetie choked out tearing up.

Scootaloo didn't look so thrilled.

"But," she spluttered. "You're dead!"

Author's Note:

This is more to get ideas out of my head. If they work, then hooray! If it doesn't... awww okay...

Trying my hand at new things... weeeee!

Next Chapter: Scootaloo, is that really you? Why are you wearing a collar? Why is everypony wearing a collar?

As always, my non-stick but magnetically attractive readers, thanks for reading!

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