• Published 27th Aug 2012
  • 28,065 Views, 3,490 Comments

The Many Secret Origins of Scootaloo - defender2222



Everyone wonders what Scootaloo's story is. Apparently, everypony in Ponyville has their own answer

  • ...
78
 3,490
 28,065

Tydal

Twilight and Spike had decided after leaving Derpy’s place to take a walk around the park to stretch their legs and work off the muffins that were currently marching towards their tummies with banners that read ‘Fatty Fatty Fat Fat’. It was a beautiful day in Ponyville and Spike was absolutely giddy that he was able to enjoy it out in the fresh air instead of being locked away in a library studying musty old tomes (he didn’t tell Twilight this, of course; the unicorn was so in love with the library that her favorite perfume was Eau de Musty Books).

“Hey Twilight, I got a question.” Spike picked up a rock and skipped it across a small pond.

“Shoot,” Twilight said happily. Despite the insanity of Derpy, Dinky and the Doctor, she couldn’t help but feel her spirits raised; she was tackling this problem now on her terms, like a researcher, and that made the craziness easier to swallow. And if she wanted to take a break, she could! She bent down and, deciding to see if the adage was true, took a moment to stop and smell the roses.

They were…ok. Nothing to write home about. Now lilacs on the other hoof…

“If you are so concerned about where Scootaloo came from, why not just find her and ask her yourself? You know…instead of asking random ponies and getting mad when they tell you stories that aren’t as awesome as mine.”

Twilight’s face twisted in annoyance. “I thought about that…problem is that the Cutie Mark Crusaders went to Manehattan for the week to visit Apple Bloom’s Aunt and Uncle Orange.”

“Wait…the CMC are in the big city?” Spike asked, suddenly shuddering.

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

~Meanwhile, in Manehattan~

“He did it!” The CMC called out, pointing to a dock worker. Behind them, a massive cargo ship was slowly sinking beneath the waves, the screams of ponies leaping into the water echoing across the harbor.

~MC~MC~MC~

“Spike, you ok?”

“I just felt a million voices cry out in terror…only to be silenced.” Spike sat down on the ground and closed his eyes, as if in physical pain.

“…so, you want some lunch?”

“Yeah…think a nice sandwich might settle the voices down.” Twilight nodded, lifting Spike onto her back and making her way back into town.

Lemonseed's Outdoor Cafe had been busy the moment it opened 4 months ago and as Twilight and Spike approached they could see that every table was packed full of ponies gobbling up sandwiches and specialty dishes. There was a line of those that had gotten their bags of food waiting for a table and most of them had already given into temptation and begun to eat as they stood patiently for some seating to open up. Several times Twilight had done the same thing only to find her yummy meal already consumed the moment a table finally was freed. Normally she would have rolled her eyes as such service but Lemonseed's simply served the best sandwiches in Ponyville and it was difficult to stay mad when one had their cheeks stuffed with bread and sweetgrass.

Placing their order at the counter, Twilight and Spike looked out at the dining area and found an unusual sight: there was a single table that was not overloaded with diners. This would have been surprising in and of itself, but it was the lone occupant that caught Twilight's attention.

"Hey Twi...isn't that Lord Tydal?" Spike whispered.

Twilight nodded her head. Tydal was not a pony but a capricorn: a goat with a long fish tail and scales running down his back legs. Tydal was much larger than most capricorns; he was one of the few beings that could look Celestia in the eye without tilting their head. His muscular fish tail idly swayed as he looked about the cafe. Twilight could hardly believe he was there; Tydal was king of the Mareatine Sea and his power over the ocean rivaled Celestia and Luna's over the sun and moon. He had only recently returned to the world after overcoming a bad case of 'got turned to stone' and last Twilight had heard he had been in Canterlot rubbing flanks with the snobs and bluebloods (including Snobby Hooves and Prince Blueblood). Twilight had met the sea god once, a few months back, and had found him quite interesting, if a bit gruff.

That, however, did little to stop her annoyance at his ability to hog a table.

"How is that fair that he gets a table to himself while the rest of us have to wait?" Twilight grumbled.

"You'd actually want to sit with him?" the peach colored unicorn in front of her asked in surprise.

"Why not?" Twilight questioned.

"Because he's an OC!" The unicorn said the word as if it were the most vile thing in the world (and to many ponies it was).

"A...what?"

"You know...an Oceanic Creature? Isn't natural for an OC to be around the rest of us, acting like he belongs." The unicorn glared at the giant capricorn, giving a condescending sniff. "OCs always think they are better than us and deserve to have greater adventures and sexier love lives. Most of them are so one dimensional...I wish everypony would see that we do just fine without OCs bursting into town and shaking things up and causing trouble!"

"Well, I don't think Tydal is like that," Twilight said sternly. "And I don't think all Oceanic Creatures are like that either. Are there bad ones? Of course...but there are also bad ponies too. You in particular. Come on Spike." Twilight turned on her hooves and trotted over to Tydal's table. "Mind if we sit here?"

"Of course, Twilight," Tydal said, his deep voice rumbling like thunder warning of a coming storm. "I decided to get in line and hold a table for my party while they went to get the food. I've offered a few ponies a seat while I waited but they are apparently as whale-headed as your friend over there."

Twilight decided not to dwell on the question of the stubbornness of whales. "Sorry you heard that. I tried to set her straight..."

"Ponies like her always fear change," Tydal said simply. "That is one thing that hasn't changed over the 1,500 years I’ve slept." He narrowed his eyes, a dark smile gracing his lips. "I wonder how your peachy little friend would react if she knew she was an 'OC' herself."

"She is?" Spike asked, turning to try and see if the unicorn had a fish tail.

"It's very diluted...probably had an ancestor who married a capricorn before my kind was turned to stone, but it is there. She is an OC.”

"And very one-dimensional," Twilight muttered. Her bad mood was quickly cast aside as Spike pulled out their sandwiches, all dark thoughts about peach-colored ponies leaving her mind as she torn into her lunch with a gusto.

"Why are you here instead of Canterlot?" Spike asked, happily munching on some fried pine needles.

Tydal rolled his eyes. "I was stuck as a rock over a millennium and after chatting with Prince Blueblood I was ready to ask Celestia and Luna to turn me back to stone." He shuddered, as if the very memory of the pompous unicorn was causing him physical pain. "They are all like him. I gave my life to help the Princesses free this country from Discord and THEY are the ones that hold power? Makes me wonder if I should have fought on dear Uncle Discord's side."

Twilight perked up at the mention of Discord and the Princesses. One of the greatest mysteries of Equestria was the alicorn sisters: where they came from, why there were only two of them (three now with Cadence), how they had gained their powers... scholars had debated for hundreds of years the different theories and origins and never once did Celestia decide to clean the matter up. Twilight got the feeling her mentor enjoyed the squabbling (the scholars did too...a few had even begun to refer to her a Trollestia, referencing, of course, to the legendary Queen of the Trolls, Trollestia the First, beloved by her trollkin but notorious for pulling pranks).

But here was Tydal, a fountain of information waiting to be tapped. Twilight felt herself grow giddy at the thought of delving into the capricorn's mind and discovering lost secrets.

"Hey Spike, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" Twilight said, leaning in close to her assistant.

"I think so Twilight, but if you replaced the I with an O, then my name would be Spoke."

"...no, Spike. Tydal maybe be able to answer all my questions!"

"Oh...right!" Spike grinned, rubbing his clawed hands together before turning to address Tydal. "Lord Tydal, do you know where Scootaloo came from?"

Twilight's brain went from 60 to 0 in 3.2 seconds flat.

"SPIKE!" She shouted, the ends of her hair beginning to go ablaze. "I wanted to ask about the origin of life, not about Scootaloo!"

"Oh..." Spike said.

Tydal cleared his throat. "But both questions go hoof in hoof."

"Huh?" Twilight said, staring at the capricorn as he began his story...

~MC~MC~MC~

In the beginning there was nothing. Not even chaos. There wasn’t even a Marebucks, if you can believe it (By the tide, there are a lot of those things...no wonder all you ponies are so high-strung).

Then, because if there is one thing the universe hates its nothingness, a single being came into existence. She goes by many names in many cultures. To those in Equestria she is Tau Sunflare, the white alicorn with dark red hair and the gift of creativity and creation. To the griffons of Grifftoria she is StormWind, whose wings are dipped in gold. In Zebrica she is 'The One Who Steps on Mountains' and her size is so great that to see even a 100th of her would destroy one's mind. To the capricorn race she is ‘The Creator’ and is as shapeless as the sea.

I call her Mother.

Whatever her name and whatever her form, The Creator looked upon the world and decided to fill it with all manner of magical and enchanted creatures, so that she would have others to play with.

It…wasn’t as magnificent as ponies think…

The Creator (who at this point in history looked to be a foal) giggled as she grabbed onto one of the clay dolls she had made, trotting it along the ground. “Yay! I’m a pony! Twot twot twot! Watch me buck da twee!” She made the little toy hit the tree with her hooves. “Uh oh, the apples didn’t a-fall! Can’t someone help me?”

She grabbed a smaller green pony and, tilting her head, decided to add a horn to it so it looked different. “I’m a…uh…uh…unihown! No that’s silly…a unicown! Dat’s it! I’ll just my…uh…magic to lift up the twee!”

Squealing in delight, the Creator used her magic to make the two clay dolls come to life, watching as they began to happily trot all around the land she had created, never noticing the giant filly foal that clapped her hooves in delight. Grabbing a white pony she had made (the Creator was in her ‘pony’ phase…she’d outgrow it, much as she had outgrown her ‘griffon’ phase and her ‘3-toed sloth’ phase) she decided to add a new friend to the mix.

“I can fwy!” The Creator made the pony say. However, her grin turned to a sad frown when she saw that her other ponies were running away in fright from the newest member. She could hear their tiny voices crying out that she was a monster, as no one had heard of a flying pony. “No…she’s a fwiend!” The Creator said desperately.

Looking around, she quickly grabbed some clay and stuck it onto the back of the white pony, giving her crude wings. They were much too small to support her body weight and aerodynamic technicians would have a fit…but luckily they hadn’t been created yet so there was no one to complain.

“Surprise!” The little white pony doll squeaked as the Creator breathed life into her. She watched in glee as the other two ponies came out from their hiding spots and soon joined the pegasus in playing.

“What…so all of creation…is a game?”

~MC~MC~MC~

“Well…yes.” Tydal scratched his beard. “Isn’t it obvious? I would have thought you ponies would have figured that out by now.”

“No we haven’t and no it isn’t!” Twilight exclaimed. “How can you just boil down the glory of creation and existence and say it is a game?”

“Because it is,” Tydal said calmly. “I really don’t see what the problem is here. We were all created by a supreme being that, at first, treated us as toys that could talk back to her.”

“Sounds like that play we say last week, Twilight,” Spike said, “you know, the one where the farmer pony toy and the Princess Luna explorer toy became friends and put aside their rivalry?”

“Spike, that was fantasy…this is real life.”

“You know, I hadn’t seen that play yet,” Tydal growled. “Celestia had gotten us tickets for tomorrow’s performance. Thank you for the spoilers.”

“Oops.”

Turning to Twilight, the sea god leaned in close, nearly butting noses with her. “So, do you have a better answer for why there just happens to be three races of ponies that all look the same save for 1 genetic difference? Because, as somepony who actually knows The Creator and calls her ‘mommy’, I would love to hear it.”

Twilight opened her mouth…then closed it. Then opened it again. Then she did this weird twitching thing that was similar to what she did when she ate a brownie but in the end was nothing like it at all. Finally she settled for resting her head on the table and sighing.

“Ok…so we are the descendents of toys. Please continue.”

~MC~MC~MC~

The Creator (now looking more like a teenage filly, complete with frizzy hair and her newest invention, leg warmers) shook her head in disguise. “Stupid ponies,” she grumbled, watching as once again the pegasi and the unicorns battled each other while the earth ponies tried to find a way to take advantage of the situation. This was not how she had wanted things to go: she wanted her little friends to work together in peace and harmony…but instead they were warring with each other and trying to become top dog (or pony, as the case was here).

But now it was clear that, like all her other collectables (‘They aren’t toys!’ she had complained to…well, no one since she was the only one of her kind, but still…), that they would need a top toy (“Top toy?”/”Yes…I am very glad she changed her mind and called us gods.”) to lead them.

While The Creator had gotten much better at making new friends, creating all-powerful beings was a tricky thing. She looked over at Discord, her first attempt at customizing, and sighed. Yeah, he was funny and he looked original but he hadn’t turned out like she had hoped and now he was busy spreading chaos throughout her lovely landscape (‘It’s a landscape, not a play mat! Play mats are for babies!’)

After her first attempt at creating a scratch custom had gone south, The Creator had decided to hone her skills by doing minor adjustments and repaints. She’d started with a zebra, reasoning that no one really cared about them anyway (“Wow, now that was mean.”) and gave her power over the land, creating the Lady of Zebrica. Next she had selected a capricorn, giving him magic and strength and control over the sea (and making him very sexually appealing and a hit with all the capricorn ladies).

“Just had to throw that one in there, didn’t ya?”

“As the great philosopher Cigar isa Cigar once said upon being asked a very similar question….eeeyup.”

“I’m beginning to see what that unicorn meant about OCs.”

What she had in mind for this new creation would be a bit more advanced. Oh, the same power boost and size increase would occur (she liked having her ‘babies’ be the same size as her when she shrunk down to play with her friends), but she wanted this new creation to be a mix of all ponies, not just one. That would mean alterations to the form: strength of an earth pony, wings of a pegasus, and the horn of an unicorn.

The Creator got out her crazy glue…

~MC~MC~MC~

“So our ruler…is a custom action figure?”

Tydal shrugged. “If it makes you feel better, so am I. Well, technically the only thing custom about me is my magic and size. Oh, and the green hair…only capricorn with that.” He glanced up at the spiked emerald hair that topped his head, which seemed to shift and flow like the waves upon some distant shore.

“Don’t forget your raw sexuality,” Twilight grumbled.

“Twilight Sparkle, I am a married deity!” Tydal said in mock protest.

“What about Princess Luna?” Spike asked.

“Repaint of Princess Celestia. I think she might have done something with the nose, but it wasn’t much.” Tydal chuckled to himself. “Celestia was not happy when Mother revealed Luna to her. Threw a big fit, if I remember correctly. That was about the time that Mother decided to dump Celestia and Luna on me.” Tydal rolled his eyes, scoffing as he remembered that very important day in Equestrian history.

~MC~MC~MC~

Tydal trotted out of his keep to find his Mother (in her Alicorn form) standing with a small white alicorn filly and an alicorn foal (who was currently gumming her sister’s tail).

“Tydal, you were always the most responsible of your brothers and sisters and…blah blah blah…they’re your problem now. I’m going on vacation,” Mother said, summoning some sunglasses and a travel bag. “Have fun with your brother. Mama’s gonna work on her tan!”

Tydal blinked as his Mother darted away, leaving him staring at his little sisters.

“Uh…hi,” Celestia said softly.

Luna released her sister’s tail and promptly spit-up all over herself.

“…bugger.”

~MC~MC~MC~

“…wow,” Twilight muttered.

“Now you see where Discord gets it,” Tydal grunted.

“Is your Mother always that…flighty?” Spike asked, finishing the last of his fried needles.

“No…sometimes she’s just neglectful.”

“Well…this has been soul crushing,” Twilight muttered. “Can we please get to Scootaloo now?”

“Ah, right…well, the funny thing about Scootaloo…”

~MC~MC~MC~

The Creator smiled as she watched Cadence romp around Celestia’s legs. She took only a moment to observe the filly’s play before disappearing once more into her workshop. She had known for quite some time that Celestia had been depressed, what with her baby sister becoming Nightmare Moon and her brother/mentor being turned into a rock, and she was thrilled that she had finally been able to create a new little sister for Celestia. She smiled, envisioning all the sisterly adventures to two would go on…the wonderful, SISTERLY bond the two would-

“Come on, Cadence,” Celestia said softly.

“Okay Aunt Celly!”

The Creator’s eye twitch. “Aunt…niece…aunt?!?! SHE’S YOUR NEW SISTER, YOU STUPID….GAH!” She stomped around in utter frustration, throwing about her paints and her clay and her action figures in a fit of rage. “I slaved over a workbench for months to make you a cute little sister that looks like you and is full of love and you make her your NIECE?!?! I used up all my pink paint on her too! AARRRRRRRRRRGGGGG!”

The Creator grit her teeth, all the objects in her workshop settling back into place as she went from blind fury to cold, hard anger. Her eyes narrowed and a wicked smile formed on her lips as she trotted over and selected a pegasus filly action figure and got to work.

“You want to play like that, Celestia? Well, it’s been a while since I made something evil, so I think I should make up for lost time.” She began to mix her paints, the time flying by as she carefully reshaped and redesigned the simple model to become the embodiment of evil and rage. “This will be the perfect weapon…it will teach all of you ponies to listen to mommy when she tells you to do something!”

For years she worked (though for her it felt like hours), slaving away to get every detail perfect. This would be her masterpiece, her weapon to take control of the lands and creatures she had created and make sure they learned to properly respect her. Every feather was given the greatest detail, the eyes painted and painted again to give depth and the hair assembled one strand at a time.

The Creator cackled in glee as she began on the final touches, infusing the little toy with all the powers of death and destruction. “She will be a plague…she will attract monsters from all over to find her and she will drain the magic and the strength from any that get near her!” A less evil and giddier grin formed as she clapped her hooves together. “Oh, and she’ll ride a scooter!”

And she gave the new goddess of death a name…a name that, in the ancient Equestrian legends, meant ‘the destroyer of all hope’.

Scootaloo.

~MC~MC~MC~

“And that is the origin of the dread creature known as Scootaloo,” Tydal said solemnly.

“…really?” Twilight whispered in awe and fright.

“No…not really. I can’t back any of that up.”

Twilight and Spike just stared at the sea god.

“But…but you said…why would you lie…”

“Had to do something while I waited for my food to arrive. It was either that or play 20 Questions and I hate that game.”

Spike glanced at the capricorn, then at Twilight, who was moving past ‘bursting into flames’ and was moving into ‘full nuclear meltdown’. The baby dragon quickly realized that unleashing Twilight on the god of the sea could very well bring about the apocalypse. “Uh, you might…”

“Right.” Tydal’s horns glowed and Twilight and Spike both were warped away to a nice peaceful meadow outside of town. The king of the Mareatine looked at the other ponies that sat around him, who were now glancing away, lest he turn his attention onto them. “Well…that was fun.”

“Tydal, what were you doing just now?” Princess Celestia said, a bag of food floating over to the table (even she knew Lemonseed’s had the best food in Equestria). “Why are all my subjects cowering?”

Tydal’s horns glowed and he retrieved his BLT (Bluegrass, Lettuce and Tomato) from the bag. “You know how you have been suggesting I ‘get with the times’?”

“Indeed,” Celestia said, daintily taking a nibble of her daisy sandwich.

“Well, I decided to try my hoof at ‘trolling’ somepony.”

Celestia’s lips twitched, though it was barely enough for anypony to notice. “And just who did you turn your attentions upon?”

“Luna’s daughter.”

“I have a daughter?” Luna said in utter surprise, sitting down at the table, Cadence and Shining Armor (who was there purely to make sure his wife and her family didn’t get into too much trouble) a few steps behind. “Who is she?”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

“Twilight is Luna’s daughter?” Celestia said, mildly surprised (of course, pretty much every emotion Celestia had was mild). “I didn’t know that.”

“I didn’t either and I’m her mother!” Luna said with glee.

“That makes no sense!” Shining Armor complained.

“Oh, that is so wonderful!” Cadence cooed. “Like a fairy tale…”

Shining Armor glared at the crazy gods. “No, not like a fairy tale…nothing like fairy tale! Twiley can’t be your daughter! It…it makes no sense! You were trapped on the moon…and I have memories of her as a foal…and why is this the first time we’re hearing about it?”

“Well, apparently everypony already knows. That’s what that blue baker pony told me when we stopped off for cupcakes at Sugarcube Corner, and she seemed very informed,” Tydal said.

“Well, if a random stranger we met said it then it must be true,” Shining grumbled. “Don’t believe her own brother…”

“Well, if you insist, we won’t,” Celestia said calmly, promptly ignoring the royal guard.

Luna’s face broke out in a huge grin. “I have a daughter! I have a daughter!” She began to dart about the room, shaking hooves with any pony she could find. “I have a daughter! Oh, this is so great!” She returned to the table, hurriedly eating her lunch. “Come on! After lunch we have to go visit her! Oh, this will be wonderful! We’ll paint each other’s hooves, and we’ll go shopping, and we’ll bond over our monthly bleeding cycles! SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!” She began to do a happy dance at the table, Celestia and Tydal doing their best to ignore her while Cadence clapped her hooves in delight.

“Wait…” Cadence said, smile falling, “if Twilight is your daughter and my Shining is her brother…and I am your niece…does that make Shining and I cousins?” Shining Armor’s eyes tripled in size at the implication.

“Congratulations Shining, you just committed incest,” Tydal said drolly as Shining Armor began to slam his head against the table.