Siblings

by Undermine

Chapter 6

Siblings

Chapter 6

The wind was blowing through the trees. The clouds quickly passing in the sky. It was an increasing gust that nearly toppled everything in its path.

Admits this stands Scootaloo. As the wind rages around her, she plants her hooves on the ground and stands defiant against the gusts. Her eyes are closed. She is strong, but her strength is wearing thin. Her legs tremble. Her wings are fluttering loosely. Her jaw hangs open. She is unable to take it any longer and she lets the wind take her away.

She doesn't make it far as she falls into the arms of her sister Rainbow Dash. She looks wearily at the pegasus, her strong wings flapping effortlessly against the storm. She flies up above the clouds until they are no longer being pressed by the wind. Rainbow sets Scootaloo down.

"I guess I just wasn't strong enough," said Scootaloo.

"Hey, don't worry about it," replied Rainbow, "no matter how strong you may or may not feel, I will always have your back. Sound good?"

Scootaloo smiled. "Yeah. Thanks, sis." She went over and gave her sister a big hug and watched as the sun began it's way down into the horizon.

---

"Scootaloo," whispered Applebloom, "Scootaloo, wake up." The young pegasus opened her eyes and looked at her friend. She looked very worried.

"Wh-what is it, Apple Bloom?" she asked.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"What?" Scootaloo sat up. Of all the things that could've interrupted her dreams, it's an issue regarding Apple Bloom's bowels. "What do you want me to do?" she said irritatingly.

"I don't know where to go! There's nothing here!" Scootaloo took a quick look around the cell. There was nothing except for a small bucket in the back corner.

"There's a bucket over there."

"Ah can't go in a bucket! That's embarrassing!"

"Keep it down, alright?" Scootaloo looked towards the bars, hoping to not have disturbed the guard. "I know it's embarrassing, but you don't really have much of a choice." Apple Bloom stared blankly at Scootaloo. "Besides, it's not like we have a lot of dignity inside a freaking jail cell."

Applebloom let out a sigh and turned towards the bucket. "O-ok. But don't look!"

"Don't worry, I promise not-" Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were halted by the sound of hoofsteps. They instinctively huddled together against Sweetie Bell, who was still sound asleep. The hoofsteps stopped in front of their cell and Scootaloo looked into the face of the guard.

The guard that stood over them looked very different than the scary guard she was used to seeing. He was a unicorn who had a white coat and a grey mane with soft blue eyes. He wore the same cloak as the other guard, but his presence made it feel welcoming rather than frightening. He was looking straight at Scootaloo, his gaze instantly calming her down.

"Don't worry," the guard said softly, "I'm not gonna hurt you." Scootaloo recognized his voice. He was the same pony who called the other guard an asshole. She moved away from the huddle.

"Who are you?" she asked sheepishly.

"My name is Winter Storm. Now, I want you to slowly move away from the door please." The two did as they were told as he slid open the door. He entered the cell and stopped in front of Sweetie Bell. "Wake up little one," he said as he gently nudged the unicorn. She opened her eyes slowly at first, but they shot open when she saw the guard. "It's ok, it's ok. I won't hurt you."

He stood up and walked to the entrance of the cell. From his cloak he pulled out three strips of cloth. Sweetie Bell backed away from the guard. "Don't be alarmed," he said, "I'm only going to blindfold you for a short while. When I do, I want you three to remain silent and follow my lead. Ok?" The three nodded in unison. Winter levitated the blindfolds over to the fillies and gently wrapped them around their head. Scootaloo felt a nudge as she felt the unicorn's magic guiding her forward.

Through the darkness she could hear various sounds around her. She heard whispers close by and she heard shouting in the distance, but both were indistinguishable. She took note that everything sounded very metallic. The floor she walked on, the sounds echoing off the walls, and the low rumbles from within the building all had a strange reverberation to them.

It wasn't before long that Winter's magic guide stopped them. Scootaloo felt the blindfold loosen from her head, and once it was off she took in what she saw in front of her. They were in a dark room and the only light came from a single light bulb that illuminated one door. The door had a small caricature of a filly on it, and it took Scootaloo several seconds before realizing what it was; it was a bathroom.

"Alright," said Winter, "you each can take your turn inside. But don't take too long. I don't want the others to be suspicious." Apple Bloom was the first in line, and she darted in before saying a thank you to the guard.

"Um, Winter, is it?" Scootaloo asked softly.

"Yes?"

"I was, uh, wondering why you're being so nice to us, instead of being like the other guard?"

Winter smiled and said, "Because I'm not an asshole, remember?" Scootaloo couldn't help but smile, too. "Besides, I take my work more seriously than he does."

"Kidnapping ponies?" said Sweetie Bell. Winter looked away from the two.

"Sweetie Bell!" Scootaloo whispered harshly, "Don't say things like-"

"No, she has a point," said Winter, still looking away from the two, "my job does entail me to do unethical duties, and I feel very ashamed for doing them. But, I always try to make amends to myself."

"How do you do that?" asked Scootaloo.

Winter looked at the two again and smiled. "By being the nicest guard out there." Scootaloo felt her heart warm up.

Sweetie Bell still didn't completely trust him. "But why are you doing this sort of job in the first place?"

Winter's smile faded, and he said gravely, "I made a deal with my boss."

"Your boss? Who's he?"

"A griffon by the name of Nimbo. He runs everything around here, and he doesn't have much of a heart like me."

"What kind of a deal did you make?"

"I made a deal to protect my family," he said, looking at the ground. "I was overdue with my payments and they came to get me, but instead of killing me they told me that I was a promising-looking pony and that they were short on security. I objected at first, but when they mentioned my family I felt as though I had no other choice." He looked at the two fillies. "Family comes first, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," replied Scootaloo, thinking about her mother and father, "I guess it does." Another pony came into her head. Rainbow Dash. She had considered her as a big sister the time she was spending in the cell. But now she wondered if Rainbow felt the same. If I had as much of an impact on Dash as Dash had on me, Scootaloo thought, would she have that same notion?

Apple Bloom came out of the bathroom, and Sweetie Bell quickly stepped inside. Apple Bloom looked up at Winter. "Ah heard you talkin' while I was in there. I'm mighty sorry to hear about you and yer family."

"Hey, don't worry about me," he replied, "I've been through far worse. I just want you guys to be safe, and to make sure you don't have many encounters with Thunder Hail."

"Is that the other guard?" asked Scootaloo, "the 'asshole'?"

Winter chuckled and replied, "Yup. That's him."

Sweetie Bell came out of the bathroom and motioned Scootaloo to go in. She went in and sat on the single toilet seat. As she was relieving herself, she listened to the conversation outside.

"So, what happens now?" she could hear Sweetie Bell saying.

"Well, now we wait until your families pay for your ransoms."

"How long will that be?"

"Well, if everything goes as planned, you'll be out of here by Friday. And don't worry, I'll make sure that I'm the one who takes you girls home."

"But what if they don't pay the ransom?"

"They will. I'm sure of it."

"How can you be certain? Ho do you know that they won't come for us instead?"

"I can't be certain, but I can tell you that for every foal that we've taken the family has always paid. Nopony has every refused and nopony has ever tried to play the hero. All I can tell you is this: I'm sure it's happened before when times were a bit more complicated. But that time is over and this time is more peaceful. Ponies are losing their sense of reaction to anything unethical. They can't process clearly when something as horrible as this happens to them. That's why my boss will give them a price, a date, and a location, because the family's initial reaction will be that this is their only way out of this horrible situation. To pay up."

"Wow," she heard Apple Bloom saying, "that was a lot to follow, but it was mighty smart and serious."

"It's not from me. It's from my boss. He's basically got this down to a science." That was the last thing she heard him say before she got up from the toilet seat and went out to the three of them, waiting.

"You all set?" Winter asked the three fillies. They nodded their heads in unison. "Alright then. I'll just blindfold you girls very quickly and lead you back."

---

As they walked through the halls, Scootaloo once again heard the voices of the other ponies around them. They were still whispering, but the whispers were louder and bit more clearer. She heard phrases like "What's he doin'?" and "Why is he doin' that?" and "Nimbo won't like this". The voices faded as the magic leading the three was wearing off. The blindfolds were taken off and the three found themselves in the cell again.

"Just remember to stay silent and get lots of rest," said Winter, "I'll try to swing by every now and then." He turned to leave the cell.

"Oh, uh, Winter?" said Scootaloo.

He turned back around. "Yes?"

Scootaloo came up to him and gave him a small hug. "Thank you." she said softly.

Winter patted her head gingerly. "Don't mention it." He parted from the hug and closed the cell door. He locked it and walked into the hallway.

The three girls sat in the dark cell, looking at each other but not saying a word. They were smiling. They had been given all the hope they could ask for. The three went into a huddle and closed their eyes.

Scootaloo no longer felt her body shivering, nor did her mind feel restless. Everything felt blissful to her. She took it all in and peacefully dozed off into sleep.

Comments

[Purble]

Bawhhh...
Winter's so nice...

Now watch him turn on them

~Rosalynn~

[chewyrainbow]

lol i am really enjoying this story can't wait to see, well read, the looks on these gangsta faces when rainbow comes in and plays hero

[Fluttershyisacutegal]

awww winter, what a caring colt