After an accident injures Scootaloo, her only hope for survival lies with Nightmare Moon.
After being injured in a Cutie Mark getting attempt gone horribly wrong, Scootaloo is given no chance of survival. However, Nightmare Moon wants a new life, and Scootaloo is about to lose hers. Perhaps they could come to an agreement.
Cutie Mark Crusaders Apple Haulers sounded like such a good idea at the time. Helping the Apple family, making some bits, food along the way, and the potential for a cutie mark, what more could Scootaloo ask for? As it turned out a lighter load, a cooler day, more cloud cover, for Sweetie Belle to be with them, and to stop sweating like a pig. The young pegasus held her complaints though. She’d already eaten lunch with them, so she was going to uphold her end of the bargain.
Sweetie Belle had been roped into modeling some dresses for Rarity, so she wasn't able to take part in this one. Scootaloo was pulling a cart attached to her by a harness and a length of rope so she could maneuver more freely. However, the harness was chafing her sides and it forced her to keep her wings folded tightly to her sides.
They had yet to make it out of Sweet Apple Acres, and Scootaloo was already regretting her decision, but she supposed it could be worse. She could be Applejack or Big Macintosh, who were both pulling carts of apples that looked like neither of them should be able to move, yet they were.
She turned her attention to Apple Bloom, who was humming a tune to herself. “How do you do this every day? It’s miserable.”
“Eh, ya get used to it.” Apple Bloom shrugged off her comment. "But we haul ‘em like this for a reason. Our apples will keep in the market, and this way we get them all in one go.” As she talked they started heading up a hill, and the workload immediately increased.
The cart Scootaloo was pulling was the smallest, but it was by no means light and every moment on this incline it was trying to pull her down. She dug in her hooves as she worked to pull it forward. She looked to her side, seeing Apple Bloom pulling hers without any discernible effort.
Scootaloo could hear creaking and crackling in front of them. “What’s that sound?” She asked, looking ahead at Big Macintosh. He’d gotten his wagon stuck in a rut and was struggling to get it out, lurching forward and grunting with effort.
“Don’t force it, just back up a little, then run forward and you’ll get it over the gap.” Applejack told him.
He nodded and carefully backed up. When he had gone back a few feet he charged up the hill. When the front wheel hit the rut there was a cracking noise and he lurched forward, a resistance gone from his movement. Horror quickly filled him as he realized he was no longer hitched to the wagon. He wheeled around and tried to grab some part of it but it was out of his reach and it went barreling down the hill. “Run!” He called below
“Get outta the way!” Applejack frantically shouted at them.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s eyes widened and their pupils shrunk to pinpricks as it approached. The wagon barreled down at them, picking up speed as it went. She turned, and with all her might she shoved Apple Bloom, the earth pony moving away from her. It wasn’t much, but enough.
Scootaloo lost her footing as her cart pulled her down the hill. Her body skidded across the dirt, hitting a rock along the way. She grunted and the cart she was pulling smashed into a tree. She looked up to see the loaded wagon barreling at her. A bright light filled her eyes and images began to fill her vision.
The last thing she was fully aware of was screaming as it hit her dead on. It crashed into her and sent her colliding with the cart she’d been pulling with a crunch of bone and wood.
“SCOOTALOO!” Big Macintosh shouted, turning to Applejack. “Get to the hospital, get ‘em ready!” He told her before turning his attention back to the filly. He threw off his harness and charged down the hill.
When he got to the wagon he tried to push it forward, but it wouldn’t budge, his hooves slipping on the wood. Turning around he bucked it, moving it a small distance. Scrambling back he managed to get a good grip on it now. His hooves dug into the ground as he pushed, moving it just enough to get Scootaloo out of there.
He reached in and grabbed her neck with his teeth and pulled her out, grimacing at what he saw. He wasn't a doctor, but he knew ponies weren’t supposed to be that limp and flexible. Big Macintosh set her on his back and went to Apple Bloom. “Get on, now.” When she didn’t move he grabbed her and put her on his back too. “Hold her still.” He instructed before taking off towards the hospital.
Applejack immediately started the rest of the way up the hill. As soon as she was on the flat ground she unhitched herself from the wagon and took off towards the hospital at a dead sprint. Her hooves barely made contact with the ground as she sped through Ponyville. She couldn’t stop replaying that scene in her mind: Scootaloo shoving Apple Bloom out of the way, them both skidding back, and the runaway wagon crushing her.
She shuddered to think what would’ve happened if she hadn’t pushed Apple Bloom like that, but now it was time for her to repay Scootaloo by getting to the hospital and having them be ready.
In the depths of Luna’s mind, beneath her conscious thoughts, an ancient evil dwelled. This evil was known by many names: The Dark One, The Demon in the Dark, The Devil from the Moon, but the most well-known of these names was Nightmare Moon. She had always liked that one, the name had a certain elegance to it.
Her situation however was far from elegant. She was stuck within Luna and having to survive on whatever scraps of her magic she dared take. They had to be small enough that Luna wouldn’t notice, but just large enough to help her gradually rebuild her power. She thought it should be beneath her, scrounging for scraps like a rat. Of course, there was no real death when she didn’t have a body, but she needed that magic to help hold herself together. If she grew too weak, her own consciousness would be dismantled and reabsorbed by Luna’s mind.
She could see and hear everything Luna did and found herself bored during the day, but got very excited during the night. She was excited about the dreams Luna had been visiting, or more specifically the nightmares. Nightmare Moon would follow Luna into their dreams, staying out of sight. While Luna dispelled nightmares, she instead gained power from being in them. She could draw power from the monsters and horrors dwelling there and make herself stronger, but once more she had to be careful.
If Luna noticed even one time she would learn Nightmare Moon still existed, she'd undoubtedly find a way to undo all her work and leave her right back at square one. If she didn’t destroy her outright. So with the care of a mare walking on eggshells, she nibbled on the nightmares, taking very small amounts of power from them.
The slow pace with which she was rebuilding her strength may have been maddening to many ponies, but not her. She had infinite patience from being on the moon and while her patience would let her do this forever, her situation did not. Sooner or later she was bound to make a mistake and get caught.
But her strategy did have its rewards. Her nibbles had added up, and Nightmare Moon had absorbed almost enough power to get out of Luna’s head, but at the moment that wasn’t her biggest issue. There was also the issue that if she got out she had nowhere to go, and she didn’t want to find out what would happen if she was outside a body too long. Ideally, she would just escape, enter another pony and then be free to feed all she liked until she could make her triumphant return. But this had its own difficulties.
There’d be no way to escape without Luna’s notice, and doing that would take a vast amount of her strength. Also, should she enter another pony they’d likewise notice her entrance, and should they be examined close enough she could be discovered. She shuddered to think of what would happen if that situation arose, and if it did, she’d be too weak to flee again if she couldn’t feed first.
Nightmare Moon immediately knew her future host would have to meet some criteria. They needed to be willing to host her first and foremost or her plan was ruined from the start. Second, they needed to not have other ponies around them often to minimize the risk of detection.
She internally groaned at her checklist and the knowledge she was only going to get one shot at this. So she did what she did best, and continued to wait for the opportunity to present itself.
As Applejack raced through Ponyville she couldn’t stop replaying that scene over and over in her mind. Big Macintosh got stuck, she told him how to get free, and he took her advice. Somehow he came unhitched and couldn’t grab the cart and it went sailing down the hill at the fillies. Her own shriek echoed in her head, fearing they’d both be hit by it. But then Scootaloo acted. She could’ve saved herself, but she didn’t. She saved Apple Bloom. Applejack was grateful beyond words. If she hadn’t Apple Bloom would’ve been, been-
She shook her head to clear it. No, it was too horrible to contemplate. But realization struck her hard and fast. She realized her potential nightmare would be Rainbow Dash’s reality. She couldn’t fathom the horror of seeing her little sister crushed, but her friend would have to do more than imagine it. She felt a tremor of guilt rip through her, but couldn’t deal with that right now. Right now she had to get to the hospital pronto. Unfortunately, she was stopped by a pink party pony bouncing in her way.
“Heya Applejack, where you going? You sure were going fast, fast enough to give Rainbow Dash a run for her bits! Ooh, are you going to race her?” She talked while bouncing right in Applejack’s way, seeming to shift just enough to be a perfect roadblock whenever the farm mare tried to get around her. She groaned loudly; this was the worst possible thing she could have to deal with right now. “If you’re racing I could bring cupcakes for the winner, and the loser, too! Ooh, and a picnic blanket too! But how’ll it be fair if you have to dodge obstacles while she doesn’t? Oh, I know! We could get pegasi to throw stuff at her while she’s in the air!”
She groaned internally and externally. She was racing against time, and there was much more than pride on the line. “PINKIE!” Applejack shouted, and it did the trick. Pinkie Pie stopped midair, hovering off the ground for a fraction of a second before she landed again. “Pinkie, Ah don't have time for this! It's a matter of life and death and you're in my way so move your flank before I buck you aside!" She threatened. She didn’t wait for any response, running around Pinkie while she had the chance.
As she sprinted she heard the telltale bouncing of her friend and turned her head to see Pinkie Pie, bouncing fast enough to keep up with her. “What do you need me to do?” She asked looking straight ahead. Applejack was touched. She’d just told Pinkie to move it or lose it, and here she was to her help. “C’mon Applejack, talk to me here!”
“Right. My brother’s coming this way and he’s carrying Scootaloo. Ah need to get to the hospital to have them ready when he gets there. Ah need you to help clear the way.” She expected her to launch into another barrage of questions, but instead she giggled. How she was laughing in such a dire situation Applejack would never know.
“Oh that’ll be easy, just leave it to me!” She said before turning on a dime and bouncing the other direction. Applejack grinned, knowing she could count on her.
Applejack soon burst through the doors of the hospital, nearly trampling Nurse Redheart in the process. “What’s the rush? Is somepony hurt?”
“Yeah, there’s a badly hurt filly being brought here, and I mean very badly. You need to be ready to treat her as soon as Big Mac gets here with her.”
Pinkie Pie bounced into the marketplace, seeing it bustling with ponies of all kinds. She bounced through it and put an extra spring in her step whenever she needed to bounce over a pony. “Hey everypony, it’s Bon-Bon’s birthday! Party for her at Sugarcube Corner!” She grinned at the perfectness of the situation. She knew everypony in Ponyville, and a lot about all of them too.
She'd already been planning to throw Bon-Bon a surprise party, but she had to spoil the surprise to help her friend. Pinkie already had it set up, ponies were going there to party, and it was clearing the most direct route to the hospital. It was like squashing two parasprites with one rock. Pinkie grinned at how well it had gone, bouncing toward Sugarcube Corner.
Apple Bloom held onto Scootaloo as her older brother galloped like a bat out of Tartarus. She was holding her tightly, making sure she didn’t fall off. Looking at Scootaloo’s bloodied face made her want to vomit, and she did everything she could not to look at her shattered body.
When that wagon came at her she froze up in fear, but Scootaloo didn't. With more force than Apple Bloom thought she was capable of she shoved her aside, one thing led to another, and then she got hit. It wasn’t fair, Scootaloo’s concern for her got her hurt. Apple Bloom gave a grunt frustration and slammed her hoof down.
Her brother looked back at her with a sympathetic expression. He couldn’t understand how she felt, but he would be here for it every step of the way. He exited Sweet Apple Acres and began to head into town.
Apple Bloom watched Scootaloo closely, but something didn’t seem right. She watched her chest and put a hoof near her friend’s nose and mouth. She expected to feel some sort of heat from an exhale, but there wasn’t anything.
"Big Mac, Scootaloo's not breathing!” She grabbed her by the shoulders, seeing as they seemed to be intact. “Don’t you dare leave us, Scootaloo! Move away from the light or whatever it is you’re seeing!” She teared up. “Please don’t go!” She begged.
Big Macintosh grit his teeth when he heard she wasn’t breathing, trying to go faster. He sped through Ponyville, noticing a conspicuous absence of ponies. He wasn’t complaining, just meant he didn’t need to slow down on his way to the hospital. He burst through the doors, Apple Bloom hopping off his back. He saw his sister with Nurse Redheart and a group of hospital staff and felt a sense of relief. She got them ready just in time. “The filly on my back, help her! She ain’t breathing!” He urged.
Dr. Horse lit his horn and carefully levitated Scootaloo onto a gurney. He felt her neck and instantly became worried, beginning to perform CPR. “We need to get her to the operating room immediately.” At his direction, the staff began rushing off with Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom was about to follow after but her older brother put a hoof in front of her and shook his head. She looked at him shocked. “Scootaloo needs our help!”
Applejack made her presence known. “You can help her by staying right where you are. Scootaloo's in good hooves. We’re doing what’s best for her right now by staying out of their way so they can get her fixed up.” She gave a sad nuzzle into Apple Bloom’s side, and after she was done the eldest sibling held his youngest sister close. “Look, Ah need to go tell Rainbow Dash what’s happened, she has a right to know. Ah want you two to stay right here."
As she left she mentally braced herself, knowing this wasn't going to be easy to tell.
Big Macintosh held a sobbing Apple Bloom to his chest while he gently stroked her back. He felt tears starting to prick at the corner of his eyes too. His heart hurt seeing his sister so sad, and he felt responsible for what had happened. His wagon was what crushed Scootaloo like an apple in a cider press.
He winced remembering pulling her out of there. Her body had been as limp and flexible as a ragdoll. He wasn’t a pegasus, but he was certain wings didn’t bend like that. He let her cry out her grief into his chest, being the strong big brother he knew she needed right now. He had a sinking feeling about how Scootaloo would fare; he hadn’t seen anypony that badly hurt since the accident that took his mom and dad, and they were grown ponies, not a young filly.
“Big Mac?” He looked down and saw his sister looking him right in the eyes. “Is Scootaloo going to be okay?” She asked desperately. Her question broke his heart more and he had to take a deep breath to steady himself. He knew he couldn’t lie to her.
“Ah don’t know, but it don’t look good.” He admitted. Her sobbing renewed at his words and he tried to comfort her as best he could. Apple Bloom blamed herself for what happened; this wasn’t how the day was supposed to go. She thought back to the beginning of the day when they plotted this activity.
Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle had all been in their clubhouse sitting around a table, trying to figure out what their next cutie mark attempt would be. “Electricians?” Apple Bloom tried.
“Did that.” Scootaloo told her. “I didn’t know Rarity could dance like that.” The fashionista had flipped a light switch one day to find a nasty surprise they had accidentally left for her. “Besides, that’s too lame for a cutie mark.”
“How about baking?” Sweetie Belle offered. Her two friends grimaced at that suggestion.
“We already tried remember? The Cakes are still mad at us for that.” Apple Bloom didn’t know it was possible to burn water but some messed up how Sweetie Belle pulled it off.
“Skydiving!” Scootaloo said with an excited grin on her face. Apple Bloom was quick to take that one down.
“Not a chance for that today. We don’t have a pegasus that can carry us up there, we don’t have parachutes, and my family has to haul a bunch of apples to market.” She said with a huff before her face lit up. “Hey that’s it, we could try to get our cutie marks in apple hauling.” She saw the skeptical looks on her friends’ faces.
“What’ve we got to lose? You two’ll get free lunch, pay, and it’s a cutie mark idea we haven’t done before. I mean honestly, what’s the worst that can happen?” When Sweetie Belle was suddenly called away by Rarity to help model some dresses in Canterlot, Apple Bloom had said at least things couldn’t get any worse than that.
Apple Bloom mentally punched herself for those words. She’d jinxed it and now she was finding out just what the worst thing could be. Oh, why couldn’t one of them have talked her out of her stupid idea? Another pang of guilt pierced her as she turned her accusations on herself. Why couldn’t she have dove out of the way? If she had Scootaloo would have been free to get out of the way as well and wouldn’t be fighting for her life on an operating table. Her crying went on with renewed vigor as she chastised herself.
If only I hadn’t frozen up like that…! If only I hadn’t been such an idiot Scootaloo wouldn’t be, wouldn’t be…! She couldn’t even finish the thought in her mind, crying her eyes out into Big Macintosh’s chest. He thankfully didn’t seem to mind as she soaked his chest with tears. She could only imagine Granny Smith’s horror if she had been the one flattened. She thought her granny would've died of grief.
She could only imagine what Rainbow Dash was going to endure.
Applejack stepped out of the hospital and sat down for a moment, trying to catch her breath. She didn’t have the same crazy long-lasting stamina her brother did, and now that the adrenaline was wearing off her earlier chores and the sprint across Ponyville was taking their toll on her. After giving herself a few seconds to regroup she stood up and with the hesitation of a pony walking into a dragon’s den, she began to walk towards Sugarcube Corner. She knew Rainbow would be there, she’d helped plan Bon-Bon’s party after all. Now the question of how to tell her plagued her mind again.
There was no easy way to do this, but she wanted to soften the blow. Applejack gave it an honest try, but there weren't any words she could think of to lessen the damage she was about to do. She thought about just coming clean and telling her, getting it over with quickly like ripping a bandaid off. Before she knew it she’d arrived at Sugarcube Corner. Applejack took some deep breaths to steady herself before she entered the bakery.
As she opened the door she was assaulted by loud music courtesy of DJ P0N-3 herself, the sight of ponies partying like there was no tomorrow, and the smell of sugary goods. It looked like Bon-Bon’s party was in full swing. How Pinkie organized these events so fast was a mystery to her, and knowing the party pony she wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. The mare that this party was for seemed content to sit at a table with Lyra keeping her company.
Applejack looked around and quickly found Rainbow. Her namesake mane and tail made her stick out like a sore hoof. She was on the dancefloor busting a move when the farm mare approached her. “Hey Rainbow, we need to talk.” She said with a tiny hint of nervousness in her voice. “It’s about Scootaloo.”
Rainbow stopped dancing. “Sure, what's up?” The pegasus asked with a hint of worry. Usually, when a pony wanted to talk to her about Scootaloo it meant she’d done something wrong, or worse, she’d gotten hurt. The expression on her friend’s face made a pit of dread begin to form in her stomach.
“She got hurt when we were hauling apples towards the market. She saved Apple Bloom but she couldn’t get out of the way in time.”
The pit of dread inside her stomach deepened when she said Scootaloo got hurt, and whatever it was was severe enough to be able to hurt multiple ponies. “How bad is it? Is she gonna be okay?”
Applejack couldn’t meet her friend’s gaze. She had to tell Rainbow the truth. She deserved to know, she needed to know. “Ah, Ah don’t know, Rainbow. She’s in the hospital right now.”
There was a disconnect for Rainbow Dash. The words Scootaloo and hospital registered in her mind. However, it took her a moment to bring herself to believe her friend meant both those things were connected. As soon as she did she flew through the window of Sugarcube Corner and headed for the hospital.
Meanwhile, Applejack went to Twilight’s castle, hoping that she might be able to help Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash crashed in through the doors, skidding to a halt in front of Big Macintosh. “Where’s Scootaloo? Is she alright?” She asked frantically. She wasn’t crying, she was still in a state of shock. Applejack’s news was starting to take root in her mind, but another part of her refused to let it fully register.
When Apple Bloom saw the desperate look on her face she sniffled and hesitantly let go of her older brother, wiping her eyes dry. She wanted to keep holding on to him, but she knew Rainbow needed his calming presence more than she did. “No, she ain’t. She’s in the operating room and they’re doing the best they can.”
“What happened?” Rainbow’s voice was quiet and fragile. The Apple siblings could tell she was slowly processing the situation and was holding back a rising tide of sadness. “I need to know.”
The youngest of the siblings was the first to talk. “It was supposed to just be a boring apple-hauling job with the chance at a cutie mark, but Big Mac’s wagon came loose and, and Ah froze up.” There was a deep tone of shame in her voice when she admitted this. “Scootaloo didn’t, but instead of saving herself she shoved me outta the way.” There was a pause and she knew she couldn’t stop now. “The wagon hit her dead on and Big Mac pulled her out and we brought her here.”
She looked at the floor, her wings drooping, closing her eyes and choking back her sadness, fighting to keep the tears from falling. Her teeth were clenched and every muscle was tensed, but she soon felt two powerful limbs encircle her and pull her in. Opening her eyes she saw her face pressed against the eldest Apple’s chest. She looked up and saw the look in his eyes.
They were soft, green, but she could see the sadness she felt reflected in them. “Let it out. Bottling it up will only make it worse.” He gently began to rub her back with one of his hooves and rested his head on top of hers, holding Rainbow Dash close to his body. “Ain’t nobody gonna think any less of you.”
That wasn’t why she was fighting her tears. Sure crying and bawling like a foal would be uncool, but she was trying to believe Scootaloo would come out alive and well any time now and would want her older sister’s comfort. But when she thought of what Apple Bloom told her she realized how stupid that was. If she was injured to the point she was in the operating room then there was no chance of her just walking out of there.
She began to cry as her self-control failed her. She soon found herself crying into the stallion’s chest while he held her. The thought of Scootaloo being hurt and being unable to do anything about it made her feel utterly helpless.
Big Macintosh didn’t mind giving her an emotional rock to cling to. He rubbed small circles on her back, prepared to comfort her for as long as she needed. “We’re all here for you.” He gently rumbled.
Rainbow held back a sob, clutching tight onto him. She felt a second, smaller pair of forelegs encircling her barrel. She turned her head to see Apple Bloom hugging her, too.
She saw Apple Bloom's sad expression and gently wrapped one of her wings around her, not quite willing to let go of Big Macintosh.
Applejack arrived at Twilight’s castle, not bothering to knock. She pushed the door open, letting herself in. While it was rude to enter uninvited, time was of the essence. She checked the kitchen, the throne room, and didn’t find her friend in either of them. She checked the library and facehoofed, knowing she should’ve started there. There was the pony she was looking for, curled up with what she imagined was a good book. “Twi, Ah need your help right now.”
Twilight immediately levitated a bookmark into the novel and set it aside. As soon as she looked up she saw her friend’s dejected expression and knew something terrible had happened “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Twilight asked, getting up.
Applejack proceeded to tell her the situation. “Ah’m hoping that you have something that can help Scootaloo. Some sorta spell, potion, anything. She’s at the hospital but Ah ain’t gonna stop trying to find ways to help her out until she’s all better.”
She sighed and shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t help her. It takes years to learn complex medical magic like that, and I just don't know it.” She said apologetically, unable to meet her friend’s gaze.
“Ah'll see if Zecora can't whip up something helpful, you see if you can find anything." With that, Applejack ran out of the castle and headed towards the Everfree.
Back in Canterlot, Nightmare Moon thought she couldn’t be any more annoyed at her other half and the banisher. Luna and the vile sun princess were seeing the nobles in the palace and all they wanted to do was complain about their problems to their rulers. Back in her night, the nobles served the princesses by paying them tribute with gifts and services, and in return, they would occasionally indulge their subjects by fulfilling a plea. But for these pampered and egocentric nobles to ask favors of their princesses like they were common servants was sickening to her.
The evil night pony decided she would have to remind them how true nobles were to act around princesses once she returned to power. But suddenly a scroll materialized in front of Luna with a burst of green fire. The night princesses promptly plucked it out of the air with her hoof. Oh great, now ponies didn’t even have the decency to show up to whine, now they could magically send their pitiful wants to her in a scroll. As Luna unfurled it Nightmare Moon heard her host reading aloud.
“Dear princesses Celestia and Luna, I have just overheard a terrible conversation, and am desperately hoping you can help where Twilight can’t. Scootaloo has been horribly injured, and is in critical condition at the hospital…!” The sadness in her voice was a welcome change from her usual tone, and it was exquisite how she struggled to continue to read the letter.
“She’s in surgery as you read this letter. If you could aid her in any way, we would be grateful.” Luna put the letter down and grit her teeth. She knew as a princess she wasn’t supposed to show favoritism but there was a special place in her heart for the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and to hear one in such dire straits made her heart ache.
“Summon the royal physician, and equip the carriage with our fastest pegasi, I am leaving for Ponyville immediately.” She instructed a guard who nodded and ran off to fulfill her orders. Just as she was about to leave herself, Luna felt a hoof on her shoulder. Turning she saw her sister with a concerned look on her face.
“Luna, I won’t be able to help you. I need to stay here to oversee the day court.” She said with an ashamed look on her face. “I truly wish I could help, but I can’t leave.”
“Agreed,” Luna said tersely. “I shall depart at once; please send word of my impending arrival to Ponyville.” She told Celestia before leaving the chamber.
Within Luna, Nightmare Moon was pleased. This presented a perfect opportunity.
She knew who Scootaloo was; she’d seen her nightmares before Luna dispelled them. And if she was hurt, this situation satisfied several of her plan’s criteria. First, willingness. She knew if a pony was threatened with death they could be convinced to do many things, one of those things could be host her. Second, being around other ponies. If she was critically injured and undergoing surgery, Nightmare Moon was certain she could do something to fake Scootaloo’s passing. Presumed dead, it would easy for her plans to progress uninterrupted. As for getting her to help with her plans, she had ideas.
If she had a mouth, it would have a huge grin on it. Having Scootaloo as her host would put some cherries on top of her plan for her return. From spying on Scootaloo’s nightmares she’d learned Rainbow Dash was her honorary big sister; what better way to punish one of the mares who’d locked her in Luna’s mind than using her sister against her?
Next was the fact that she had two best friends who were little sisters to others who’d imprisoned her; she could derive all kinds of fear and sorrow from using their friend against them. Then there was the fact that Luna cared about her too. A filly she cared for used to host her own dark half; she would savor every moment of that.
But for now, through Luna’s eyes, she saw her host stepping into a carriage equipped with four pegasi and an older looking unicorn stallion on board. He had on the most typical doctor’s outfit she’d ever seen; a white coat, undershirt, and tie. “You summoned me, your highness?” He asked as he bowed to her.
“Arise. Yes, Dr. Palliate. We are now heading to Ponyville with all possible speed.” At her words, the pegasi charged forward until they lifted the carriage off the ground. “Upon our arrival, you are to immediately report to Ponyville General Hospital and go to a filly named Scootaloo. She is in surgery for severe injuries, which you will assist in treating.”
“Understood your highness, but if time is such a pressing issue why are we taking a carriage? Why not simply teleport to Ponyville?”
“Teleporting such a distance runs the risk of potential side effects I'd rather not risk. I need you in top condition to aid her.”
“I understand. I’ll be ready.”
A sudden chill ran down Luna’s spine and she could swear she heard laughter.
Sweetie Belle was standing on a stage in Canterlot for several high-class ponies. She was modeling one of many dresses Rarity had made for the express purpose of cute-ceañeras. The one she was in was marvelous, just like the others. The fabrics complimented her two-toned mane, her coat accentuated by the vibrant colors. Best of all, neither she nor Rarity were hogging the spotlight from each other. No, this time they were sharing it together. Her dresses drew oohs and aahs while Sweetie herself was complimented on how beautiful she looked in them.
Rarity had planned this perfectly. All cameras or anything that could capture an image had been banned. This only served to make word of mouth stronger for the beauty of her work. The elite ponies viewing her work would gossip about it, and rumors about her work would spread. Also, it would no doubt attract future ponies to these presentations just to get a look at what the fashionista had put together.
Rarity’s cheeks hurt from smiling so much; she was so happy for her little sister. She’d tried to find a way she could sew and still bond with Sweetie Belle, and this was the result. A letter appeared before her in a puff of green fire, and she took it out of the air, opening it up. It was written in a frenzy, with misspelled words crossed out and drops of ink smudging other words. She struggled to make out what it was but as soon as she did her pupils shrank to pinpricks.
“Sassy Saddles, we're going to have to reschedule this presentation. Sweetie Belle and I need to get back to Ponyville right away.” Rarity rushed to the stage and began to take the dress off her sister.
“Of course Rarity, but may I ask why?” Sassy asked with a puzzled look on her face. “We’ve been looking forward to this for a while.”
“It’s an emergency. There’s been an accident in Ponyville and we need to get there quickly.” Rarity withheld that Scootaloo was hurt so her sister would stay calm. She’d tell Sweetie Belle exactly what was wrong once they were aboard the train.
“What kind of emergency?” Sweetie Belle asked, raising her forelegs to help Rarity take the dress off of her and return it to the mannequin. When it was off she checked her flank to see if a modeling cutie mark had appeared, but none had.
“We’re needed back in Ponyville, Sweetie. I'm sorry we have to cut this short.” Rarity levitated her saddlebags on before putting Sweetie Belle’s on for her. As the two began to leave the studio, Rarity turned to her younger sister with a loving smile. “I want to let you know how proud I am of you.”
“For what, Rarity?” Sweetie asked in an innocent tone as the two unicorns made a beeline for the station. She noticed the fashionista was walking at a faster pace than she normally did, but it wasn’t enough to give the filly any trouble.
“You helped me show off my latest fashion line, and looked très magnifique while doing it. I’m glad we found an activity we can do and enjoy together.” Rarity's smile never left her face as they arrived at the train station.
She levitated some bits out of her saddlebag and placed them on the counter of the ticket window. “Two tickets to Ponyville please.” The stallion behind the window swept the bits into his hoof before sliding two tickets out to Rarity.
Rarity and Sweetie Belle boarded the train and made themselves comfortable. Rarity decided she’d tell Sweetie Belle exactly why they had to leave in such a rush once they were well on their way back to Ponyville.
Applejack pushed open the door to Zecora’s hut and entered, hearing, of all things, her little sister’s voice.
“Please Zecora, there must be something you can do to help Scootaloo! A potion for her bones, an herb for her mind, or, something?” Apple Bloom asked desperately while the farm mare listened.
“I’m truly sorry about your friend, but nothing in my hut can make her injuries mend.” Zecora’s distinct rhyming voice had a tone of sadness.
“They don’t have to completely heal her, just help her! C’mon Zecora, you can make a potion for anything, why not injuries?!” Apple Bloom asked desperately. She felt tears in her eyes. “What about the Alicorn Amulet?! It could empower one of the doctors working on her to guarantee her recovery!”
The zebra was horrified that she would even suggest this and shook her head. “That Amulet only grants dark corrupting power, it would absolutely do more harm than good in this dire hour.” She took a deep breath to calm herself down, and put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “The fact that you’re trying to help her shows you have a caring nature, but right now your place is right beside her.”
“If Ah wasn’t beside her, none of this would’ve happened!” She immediately responded, her tears starting to fall down her cheeks. “If Ah hadn’t frozen up, or we’d been further apart, she coulda saved herself! Instead, she saved me. It should be me on that operating table, not her!” The filly explained, unable to stop the flow of tears. She left the hut before Zecora could stop her, but was met with the sight of a sad Applejack.
“NO!” Applejack said harshly, looking into her sister’s eyes with determination, but it was rapidly giving way to sadness. “Is that really what you think? That it’s your fault this happened to Scootaloo?” She asked, eliciting a nod from her sister. Applejack wasted no time in bringing her sister into the closest hug she could. “Well it ain’t.”
“Then whose is it?” She asked, crying into her older sister’s chest. Her mind was plagued by images of the crushed pegasus, and her own voice telling her brother Scootaloo wasn’t breathing. “Whose fault is it for her getting hurt?”
That question broke Applejack’s heart, and she loosened the hug so she could look her sibling in the eye. Her gaze was soft, and both ponies had tears in their eyes.
“It’s not anypony’s fault. It’s not yours, mine, or Big Mac’s. It was an accident, none of us coulda known the wagon would come unhitched.” She said nuzzling the top of her head. “And we should be grateful beyond words for what that pony did. She may well have saved your life.”
“But she could die because she saved me!”
“Apple Bloom, Ah didn’t wanna bring this up but you’re putting me in a Tartarus of a position here.”
There was a moment of silence as Applejack braced herself for the unpleasant emotions it’d cause them both. “Do you remember the storm that took ma and pa away from us?”
Applejack sat on the soft grass, patting the spot across from her. “C’mon, get comfy.” Apple Bloom complied, sitting across from her.
“You were so little when it happened, and Ah was a little older than you are now, but Ah will never forget that day.”
“But Ah already know what happened.” Apple Bloom protested.
“Just let me tell the story, Ah’m trying to make a point.”
“Ah don’t have the time for a story Ah already know, and Scootaloo might not either. Whatever point you’re gonna make, please just make it.” She pleaded.
Applejack saw the sadness in her eyes and sighed. “Fine. When we got out of the storm cellar, we were all dumbstruck by the damage. Houses were gone, buildings were gone, Ah’d never seen such destruction. Ponies had lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods.”
“So?”
“Ponies demanded answers for what happened. They wanted something to blame for it, but there wasn’t. The storm was a natural one, not something from Cloudsdale.” Applejack started.
“What’s your point?” Apple Bloom demanded, beginning to lose patience.
“Nopony caused it, there was nopony to blame. Just like nopony’s responsible for that storm, you’re not responsible for what happened to Scootaloo.” Applejack explained. “Sometimes horrible things happen to good ponies through no fault of their own.”
She said looking Apple Bloom in the eye. “It’s not your fault, sweetheart, and it pains me to see you beating yourself up over it.”
“It’s hard not to. Ah’m scared for Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom admitted, tearing up and hugging Applejack.
“Who’s crying?” A gentle voice asked, and both Applejack and Apple Bloom turned to see Fluttershy emerge from the forest.
“So why’re we heading back to Ponyville? You said there was an accident?” Sweetie Belle asked Rarity, the train heading down the rails at a steady pace. They were well outside of Canterlot now.
“Oh yes, that. Uh-” she didn’t know how to say it. She eventually sighed and decided to bite the bullet. “You see, what happened was-”
She was cut off as they all lurched forward, a loud noise coming from up ahead as the train began to slow down. A plume of steam spread from the engine.
A voice came over the loudspeaker. “The boiler sprung a leak and we just lost all pressure. Until help comes we’re gonna have to sit tight. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
“This is the worst. Possible. Thing.” Rarity declared, putting her hooves to her cheeks. “Oh no no nononononono this can’t be happening. Not now!”
“So we’re stuck for a bit, no biggie.” Sweetie Belle tried to reassure her older sister. “We’ll be in Ponyville soon enough.
“No, it won’t be soon enough. Sweetie, the accident was with Scootaloo. We need to get to Ponyville as fast as we possibly can.” Rarity said in a deathly serious tone before bracing herself for the waterworks. After a few seconds, she looked at her sister.
The filly was frozen in place and it took her a moment to speak. “What…?” She asked with a quiet voice. She looked like she was having trouble believing it.
Rarity knew Sweetie Belle had a tendency to freeze up when there was horrible news and knew just what to do. She got off her seat and went over to her sister, sitting beside her. She enveloped her sister in magic and gently sat her in her lap. She hugged her close and gently stroked her two-colored mane.
She knew trying to snap Sweetie Belle out of it wouldn’t work, she’d have to be a calming presence until her sister came out of it on her own.
“Scootaloo’s, hurt?” She asked looking out the window. “And we’re stuck here?” She asked with a tone that was becoming increasingly panicked.
“Calm down, darling. I’m sure help will be here soon.” Rarity tried to soothe her.
“Not soon enough! We’re in the middle of nowhere! We can’t get to Ponyville, we can’t get back to Canterlot,” she started crying as she spoke. “Scootaloo needs me and we’re stuck.” She hugged Rarity, beginning to cry.
“Shhh, please stop crying.” Rarity told her, continuing to stroke her mane. “I promise we’ll get back to Ponyville, until then I’m sure Scootaloo will be fine.” The fashionista whispered, resting her head on top of the filly’s while she waited for her to stop crying.
“That's terrible! How’s Rainbow Dash taking it?” Fluttershy asked, she and the three Apples sitting in a circle. After she arrived both the sisters had dried their tears and explained the situation to her.
“She’s taking it pretty rough, we should get back and be there to support her.” Applejack suggested, all three mares standing up.
“What’re we waiting for? Let’s go.” Fluttershy made a move to go but hesitated when the others didn’t. She let out a sigh as Apple Bloom started heading out, the yellow pegasus watching her. She felt fine following after others, but she was very uncomfortable taking the lead.
“Well don’t just stand there Fluttershy, c’mon.” Applejack said giving her pegasus friend a nudge to her withers.
“Oh, uh, right. I’m right behind you.”
“If you could go faster it would be appreciated, time is of the essence.” Luna urged the pegasi drawing her carriage. Ponyville was in sight and she wanted to hurry up. The sooner her physician was there, the sooner he would begin assisting Scootaloo.
Nightmare Moon saw Ponyville approaching through Luna's eyes and could hardly contain her excitement. Soon she’d be free, but she was in no rush. After a thousand years, she could wait a few more minutes. Being trapped on the moon had endowed her with endless patience that she was prepared to use.
Twilight sat in her castle’s library, flipping through another spellbook. The sun was shining in through the windows, she had a plate of daisy sandwiches before her, and beside her was a tall glass of chocolate milk. Any other day this was the perfect setup for a long, perfectly quiet reading and study session, one of her favorite things.
But this was not any other day.
She was looking for a helpful spell, something to save Scootaloo, but didn’t find what she was looking for. Groaning she slammed her book shut and tossed it aside, picking up another one. Opening it up she began to pour over the details written in it.
“Twilight, shouldn’t we be at the hospital?” Spike asked picking the book up off the floor and setting it on a pile of other books she discarded. “Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo need our support.”
“Scootaloo probably isn't in any condition to benefit from our support, and the others can help Rainbow without me.” She told him without looking up from her book. She picked up her glass and took a big drink of her chocolate milk.
“I thought you said healing spells took to years to learn.” Spike pointed out while getting comfy on a couch until she tossed that book aside too.
Twilight groaned when he made that point. Ponies attended four years of university and four years of medical school just to learn medical techniques, anatomy, and medicine. Some unicorns attended yet another four years at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns to master healing spells and more advanced knowledge. To think in the space of a few hours she could learn more than the surgeons did in at least twelve years was foolish.
She sighed and put her head in her hooves, feeling a headache coming on. Reading through several spellbooks for a miracle cure for the filly was a futile endeavor and she knew it. If there was a magic cure-all, they would teach it on day one and save the time of both the students and the instructors. “I did, and I’m not going to be able to help Scootaloo in time.” Twilight admitted.
“So why were you studying at all?” Spike asked.
Twilight sighed again and didn’t look up. "I want to be able to at least say I tried instead of just being emotional support.”
“So shouldn’t we get to the hospital and be there for Rainbow Dash now?” Spike asked, getting up from the couch to go.
"Yes. We're going now."
Luna’s carriage set down outside the hospital, and she hastily stepped out. “Excellent work. Dr. Palliate, assist Scootaloo at once.” The older unicorn nodded and entered the hospital, heading into the surgical wing.
As soon as she entered the hospital herself she saw Rainbow Dash being held by Big Macintosh, the pegasus trembling in his forelegs. The lunar princess made her presence known and put a hoof on the pegasus’s shoulder. “My sympathies Rainbow Dash, I too worry for Scootaloo. But know I have journeyed from Canterlot to help her, bringing my own personal physician to aid in her recovery.”
She looked at the other pony present, the stallion giving her a silent nod to acknowledge her. He continually rubbed Rainbow’s back with one of his strong hooves while the other foreleg held her close.
“I’m scared, princess Luna. I’m scared Scootaloo won’t pull through this. Scared I’ll lose her.” At her admission of fear, she felt the stallion hug her closer, the pressure on her body a soothing comfort. “We have such hopes and dreams that we want to achieve together. I mean I have dreams of my own too, but I mean we, ugh!” She gave a noise of frustration at being unable to put her thoughts into words.
“You want her to live through this so she can achieve her own dreams and you can both pursue your shared ones.” Big Macintosh summed up, looking down at her.
“Yeah."
“Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll make a recovery.” Pinkie Pie’s voice came from the reception desk as her head poked up. She bounced over the counter to join her friends. “I’m so sure I’m already planning a celebration party!” She said bouncing in place.
“That’s the spirit.” Applejack’s voice came from the entrance. The four ponies to see her, Apple Bloom, Fluttershy, and Twilight. Spike was present as well, riding on Twilight's back.
Rainbow smiled at her friends and gently pulled out of Big Mac’s embrace. “Hey girls, and Spike, thanks for coming. Anypony know where Rarity is?”
“She had a modeling gig in Canterlot. I sent her a letter about what’s going on here, she should be on her way.” Spike answered, getting down from Twilight.
“Hello Luna, it's good to see you.” Twilight greeted.
“Likewise, but I wish I was here on a happier errand.”
Nightmare Moon felt a strange mix of glee and anger within Luna’s mind. These five ponies and their absent comrade delayed a plan a thousand years in the making and trapped her within Luna's mind.
In addition to her anger, she felt happy to be here. Somewhere in this hospital was her ticket to becoming physical again, and the more hurt that filly was the better. She was prepared to save Scootaloo, and make her her new host. She just needed a way out.
Then again there was always the chance Scootaloo could die before Nightmare Moon got to her. If that happened it’d be a setback, but all she'd have to do is wait for another opportunity to present itself. It might take years, even decades, but she’d waited a thousand years already what was a few more.
Through Luna she saw Nurse Redheart exit the surgical wing and focused, but Redheart's sullen expression told her it’d be good news for her.
“Is Scootaloo okay?!” Rainbow Dash immediately asked, but Redheart could only shake her head in response.
“You’ll all want to sit down for this one.” When nobody moved she continued regardless. "Scootaloo is far from alright. That poor foal has sustained several devastating injuries.”
At her news the Apples winced, Luna looked shocked, Pinkie’s mane deflated, Spike fell to the ground, all while Fluttershy gasped and put a hoof to her mouth. Rainbow Dash felt her legs grow weak and fall out from under her. The only pony who had some composure was Twilight.
“How devastating?” Twilight hesitantly asked, bracing herself for the bad news that was to come.
Redheart looked uncomfortable, which Twilight knew was a bad sign. “She has six broken ribs, one of which punctured a lung, another hit her spleen which resulted in heavy internal bleeding."
Twilight winced. A punctured lung was bad, but a punctured spleen? Up to a third of a body’s red blood cells were stored in it, and damage to the spleen could result in it needing to be removed. Following the loss of the spleen, a pony suffered an acute decline in their athletic ability.
Redheart continued. “Her back left femur was broken in two places, while her right one was severely fractured.”
Luna was slowly pulling herself together. She was getting over the initial shock and news but saw a look on Redheart’s face that meant she was withholding information. This made her stomach sink with worry and her heart fill with dread. “What don’t we know?” She asked, having a feeling she would regret asking. She heard a sound like sniffling coming from the nurse.
Redheart took a deep breath. “Those weren’t the worst of her injuries. The worst ones, well, they’re permanent.”
“Hold on, permanent? As in forever and ever and ever?” Pinkie asked rubbing the back of her head, a grimace on her face. “Like, they’ll never go away?”
“I’m afraid so. Her left wing was mangled beyond our ability to reconstruct, even with magic. We couldn’t save it. But the very worst of all I’m afraid is that her back was broken.” Redheart’s voice was wavering throughout her speech, and at the last injury, she sounded very upset.
Rainbow Dash’s anger evaporated the second she heard Scootaloo had lost a wing. Her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, only faintly aware of her surroundings, her mind zoning out. She imagined the energetic orange filly who dreamed of flying high above the clouds, grounded forever.
She wanted to sob, she wanted to be angry at the Apple family, she wanted to demand to know where Scootaloo was, but none of these took root, leaving her frozen. Rainbow felt tears in her eyes as memories of Scootaloo flashed through her mind. Her racing through Ponyville doing tricks on her scooter and doing all sorts of crazy activities for a cutie mark, and it pained the pegasus to no end that these were impossible for her now.
“Hold on.” Fluttershy’s soft, quiet voice had a quiver in it. “There’s nothing you can do for her?”
"I'm sorry, I really am, but even magic can't undo her injuries. All it was able to do was to prevent her from dying already." The nurse informed them. This seemed to snap Applejack to attention.
“Hold up, already? What do you mean already?!” She demanded with small pupils and wide eyes.
Her response was a sigh. “Look, the accident was bad and she's in critical condition. Despite the speed you brought her here with, Luna’s physician pitching in, and our best efforts, I’m doubtful of her chances.”
“What do you mean?” Big Macintosh knew it was a dumb question in the back of his mind but he was in a state of sheer disbelief. He had a hard time wrapping his head around the situation. He knew she’d be hurt but he never imagined it'd be this bleak.
He felt a small object clinging to him with the force of a timberwolf’s jaw. He didn’t need to look down to know it was Apple Bloom. He immediately wrapped his forelimbs around her and held her close, gently nuzzling the top of her head.
“While we’re doing everything in our power to save her, you should all prepare for the very likely outcome that we can’t.”
That news was the killing blow for Luna’s self-restraint. She started crying, and darted into the restroom.
She used her magic to turn the sink on and splashed her face, the cold water helping to shock her back to focus.
Nightmare Moon couldn’t be more excited. Any one of those injuries was dire on its own but all together spelled doom for anypony. While the doctors had no hope of healing her, she knew she could. But first, she needed to escape, and to escape she needed to weaken Luna.
Luna just needed some added stress and grief, something to give her a headache perhaps or make her sleepless. The opportunity to do so presented itself when she entered the bathroom. It’d take a bit of energy, but it was worth it. Focusing, she made her image appear in place of Luna’s. As soon as the princess looked up she flinched, making a quick, sharp noise of surprise.
“Hello, Luna.” Nightmare Moon greeted with a fanged smile.
Luna gawked at the mirror, rubbing her eyes. When she pulled them away Nightmare Moon was still there. She struggled to wrap her mind around what was happening. Nightmare Moon blinked when Luna didn’t, and this nearly made her heart stop. “What, what is this?” Luna managed to say.
“It’s a mirror, Luna. I’d think you’d be familiar with the concept.” Her words made the princess flinch again. “What’s wrong? Scared of your own reflection?” At her words, Luna’s eyes hardened.
“No, you’re not me! You’re all my worst traits brought to life. You’re, not, me!” Luna shot back with all the strength she could put into her voice, but Nightmare Moon sensed her weakness and pounced on it.
“You know that’s not true, you and I are one and the same. We’re two sides of the same bit; one reflection bound by different names. I heard what happened to Scootaloo.” Her voice didn’t come from the mirror, it was as if it was directly inside Luna’s head, and every word sent a chill down her spine. “You know as well I do that there's a way to save her and that the doctors won’t be able to.”
“There is no we, there never was a we, and there will never be a we!” Luna angrily told Nightmare Moon, but felt the need to hug her wings close to her sides, trying to stop the chill she was feeling.
“There was once, but in any case, we both know there’s a spell that can save her. Even Celestia couldn’t stop it then and it’s just as potent now. You just haven’t felt the need to use it yet. The spell you used to create your soldiers.” She taunted Luna, dangling that piece of knowledge in front of her.
“I know you care about her. I’ve seen how you speak to her, act around her. So why do you hesitate to cast a spell that would heal her and ensure she stays close to you forever?”
Luna froze and looked at the ground. She was fully aware of the fact that she could save Scootaloo, but at what cost? The spell that turned normal ponies into bat ponies had only ever been used on adults, and even their minds didn’t always survive the process. Even if the process was applied to Scootaloo there was no guarantee she’d be saved. She might be driven mad by the transformation process, or it might kill her outright. She had no idea how it would affect a filly.
“I know that look, it’s the look of hesitation, of fear.” Nightmare Moon chuckled, a chilling sound that seemed to lower the temperature in the room. “It’s true, not all ponies you used it on survived with their minds intact, but do you really think she’d allow that to happen? You’ve seen how strong her will is.”
She saw the look of continued hesitation on Luna’s face and decided to hammer it home. “If you use that spell you might kill her or you might drive her mad, that’s true. But if you don’t, she’ll die, or if by some miracle she lives she’ll wish she was dead.” Nightmare Moon suddenly cackled. “Make your choice soon, she doesn’t have long and you know it.”
“Are you okay?” As soon as Luna heard the voice she turned to see Pinkie Pie. When she looked back at the mirror she saw her own reflection again. Nightmare Moon was gone.
“I’ve never seen Luna cry before,” Fluttershy noted after she dashed off to the bathroom. “should someone go check on her?” She asked aloud.
“I’ll do it.” Pinkie volunteered, walking towards the restroom Luna had darted off to. As she approached she heard Luna say something about her worst traits and then that there was no we. She stopped, pondering what that could mean.
She thought for about half a minute and decided to just open the door. “Are you okay?”
Luna took a deep breath and nodded, shaking her head to clear it. “Yes, I’m just worried about Scootaloo is all. I think the stress is getting to me.” It wasn’t a total lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either.
“So what was that you said about your worst traits?” Pinkie asked tilting her head to the side. “It sounded really bad.”
Luna looked Pinkie directly in the eyes. “Pinkie Pie, hear me now. I implore you not to speak to anyone else about what you’ve heard here. Please, I need you to keep this to yourself.”
“Okay, I won’t repeat what I heard, cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye.” Pinkie assured her, doing the motions that went with the words. “Don’t worry Luna, nopony can break a Pinkie Promise-” Her face darkened as she added, “or else bad things happen.” She immediately perked back up again and motioned for Luna to follow her. “C’mon, let’s go. Rainbow Dash really needs some cheering up.”
“Oh yes, of course.” Luna used her magic to open the door and followed Pinkie out of the room, seeing Twilight was holding a scroll.
“—Luna will be arriving with aid any moment, please prepare for her arrival. I worry she may not handle the situation properly, given her relationship with Scootaloo. Please keep an eye on her for me, Twilight. P.S. No matter what, she is not to read this… what?” Twilight asked looking up from the letter. Spike was desperately drawing a claw across his neck, the sign for a pony to stop talking. Fluttershy was looking behind Twilight with a worried expression. Twilight turned and saw none other than Luna herself standing there, an angry look on her face. She withered under her gaze, pressing her ears flat against her skull.
“So my sister couldn’t be bothered to send the letter fast enough to herald my arrival, and even then she thinks me incapable of keeping myself under control at a time like this?” Luna asked rhetorically. She turned around and huffed. “I will be back. Do not follow me.” Luna told them, turning and storming down the hall with all eight ponies and one dragon watching her turn a corner when she reached the end of the hall.
She threw a door open and walked into the stairwell, kicking it back shut with her hind leg.
Luna’s mind was a storm of anguish, confusion, conflict, and anger. She was distressed that a filly she cared so much about was in so much trouble and she couldn’t do a thing about it. But then there was the fact she could, but didn’t know if she should. Her spell to turn somepony into a bat pony could either be a boon for Scootaloo, or it could be the thing that killed her. Or it could do worse than kill her.
She’d seen it work wonders on similar injuries, the healing powers it gave her ponies. Cuts closed, bones mended in hours instead of weeks. Wounds that would be fatal to a normal pony would only incapacitate a bat pony for a while, and injuries that should’ve been permanent turned out not to be. It was a tempting option for Luna to use on Scootaloo, but there were risks.
The spell was one of dark magic, something that was highly frowned upon in Equestria, but that wasn’t what she was concerned about. It put a large strain on the target’s body and mind. To go through such rapid physical change in seconds was an enormous demand on the body, and she’d never used the spell on a pony already in such an injured state. The transformation trauma may well be the thing that kills her. Then again, it’d never been used on such a young pony either.
Luna felt herself sink to the floor, pressing her back against the wall. Death wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to Scootaloo. It took a large amount of dark magic, and so much so fast could snap the target’s mind in half. They’d become nothing more than a feral beast, their only instinct to destroy everything in their path. The thought of using the spell on her, and Scootaloo becoming like that made her feel sick to her stomach.
But even if all went well and Scootaloo pulled through because of her spell she’d still face obstacles. As a bat pony, she’d stick out like a sore thumb, the only one of her kind. Additionally, while bat ponies could potentially overcome permanent injury, that wasn’t always the case.
She shook her head to clear it, focusing on that letter. That stupid, patronizing letter. Celestia didn’t trust her to handle herself, even after all these years and everything she’d been through. Luna growled and punched the tiles in frustration, breaking one of them. It seemed Celestia still saw Luna as she did a thousand years ago. She gave a loud groan of frustration, imagining her sister sitting on her throne, writing that scroll, and having the gall to ask Twilight to watch over her. Luna pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.
There was the also matter of what she saw in the mirror, and it terrified her. Luna didn’t know if that was truly Nightmare Moon or a stress-induced hallucination. She decided to believe it was the latter for her own sake. It was better to believe her sister may have been right than to entertain the possibility that Nightmare Moon still existed.
Nightmare Moon couldn’t be more pleased with the situation she had created. Luna’s mind was a tangled mess of thoughts, anger, and indecision, just how she liked it. The mirror trick had cost her precious energy, but she saw it as an investment towards her freedom. All she needed was to exhaust Luna mentally and physically, and her escape would be so much easier, but she still needed to be careful.
While she needed to weaken Luna enough to escape, she also needed enough energy to actually accomplish that. Then there was the matter of Luna figuring out exactly what was going on, and the more times she showed herself the greater the risk of that happening. She needed to pick her next moment to show herself carefully. For now, she just needed to sit back and wait.
“Ah’m worried.” Apple Bloom had broken a tense silence that had hung ever since Luna stormed off.
“About what, sugarcube?” Applejack knew that was a very dumb question, but she also knew having Apple Bloom point out the openly obvious was better than her internally dreading it.
“You all heard what Redheart said, what if Scootaloo doesn’t make it? Ah’d never be able to look at another apple without feeling guilty.” She looked at the ground as she said that, even her bow seeming to droop with sadness.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac felt the same way.
“Oh no you don’t!” Despite having her own guilt to contend with, Applejack pushed it aside to comfort her siblings. “Yes, Scootaloo got hurt helping us. Yes, it was because of our wagon. But did we plan for that to happen? Did we mean for her to get hurt? No. Are we gonna be here for her when she gets outta surgery? You bet your flank we will.”
“And if she doesn’t?” Big Macintosh asked.
“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.” Applejack answered immediately.
“How’re you handling this so well? It’s like you’re not worried at all!” Apple Bloom said with an accusatory tone.
“Ah am worried, sugarcube. More worried than Ah’ve been in a long time. You could even say Ah’m scared.”
“So then why’re you so calm?” Apple Bloom demanded to know. She couldn’t figure out how she was so calm, especially given the situation.
“So that hopefully you will be too.” Another response she had ready to go “Ah’m scared but that doesn’t mean Ah’m not gonna try to be a strong sister for you.”
“Uh, speaking of sisters,” Fluttershy’s meek voice still got everyone’s attention. “Something’s wrong with Rainbow, she hasn’t moved since she heard about Scootaloo’s injuries.” Fluttershy waved a hoof in front of Rainbow’s eyes but she didn’t blink. “C’mon Rainbow, please snap out of it.”
Twilight looked intently into her eyes. “C’mon Rainbow, snap out of it.” She knew adding on ‘if she comes out of surgery’ would be detrimental to her cause. She could’ve sworn she saw her lips twitch and gently rubbed her friend’s back. “Not just her, we all need you too.”
Pinkie Pie pulled a delectable cupcake out of seemingly thin air and held it under her friend’s nose. “If you perk back up, this cupcake is all yours.” She tried, but this didn’t get much of a reaction out of her.
Twilight thought she heard something and leaned in closer. She strained her ear, hearing her muttering. “It's my fault.”
Standing back up she had a quizzical look on her face. “What's your fault? Rainbow, please talk to us.”
“Sugarcube, is there something you’re not telling us?” Applejack’s voice was gentle but had a hint of demanding in it.
“It’s okay, Rainbow. Whatever it is you can tell us.” Fluttershy said before nuzzling the side of her friend’s head.
Very slowly, her eyes shifted to each of her friends. Rainbow Dash moved to not be totally on the floor, but she was unable to meet their gaze. “I was supposed to take her for flying lessons. I took a nap before that but I overslept.”
“And when you didn’t show, Scootaloo got the Crusaders together for another cutie mark attempt.” Twilight pieced it together pretty easily.
“What kind of sister am I?!” Rainbow’s voice was suddenly back to full volume, but as soon as she said that Applejack got uncomfortably close.
“Ah’m gonna stop you right there before you open that can of worms. You made a mistake, that's all. You had no way of knowing this would happen. All you did was oversleep, and that's it.” She said with such conviction that Rainbow Dash almost believed it herself.
“But-”
“But nothing.” Applejack put a hoof to Rainbow’s mouth to cut her off. “Rainbow, whenever you're feeling guilty ask yourself this: Would Scootaloo want you to be blaming yourself for something you couldn't control?”
What Applejack said resonated with Rainbow Dash, and she thought hard about it. She overslept and she shouldn’t have, but how was she supposed to know this would happen? She sighed and shook her head. There was still a measure of guilt, but Applejack’s words made it bearable now.
“Applejack, thank you.” She said before hugging her close. The scent of apples filled her nose as she felt her friend hug her back. Rainbow felt herself smile for the first time since this ordeal began.
Luna thought about everything that was buzzing around in her mind, having calmed down enough to focus on one thing at a time. On the matter of the letter, she decided to chew her sister out later and put that aside for now. On the matter of Scootaloo, she was still greatly confused.
Turning her into a bat pony seemed promising, but she wasn’t going to do it until she knew she couldn’t be saved by conventional medicine. But what if that was already the case? What if Scootaloo was already lying dead on the operating table?
Luna stood up and threw the door open, deciding there was only one way to rein in her fears. She saw a nurse walking by. “Halt.” She called after the nurse who turned around to see who it was.
“Princess Luna, what can I do for you?” She asked looking up at her.
Luna looked down at her with an intimidating face. “Take me to Scootaloo this instant.”
The nurse opened a door and held it for Luna. “This viewing room will let you see what’s going on, your Highness.”
“Thank you, that will be all. Dismissed.” Luna didn’t even look behind her as the nurse left, hearing the door shut. The air in the room felt thick and stale, making her have to breathe harder as she walked up to the viewing window and put a hoof on it. She felt her stomach clench at the sight below, threatening to make her lose its contents. “Oh Scootaloo…” From her vantage point, she saw perfectly what was happening below.
Scootaloo was lying on an operating table with medical ponies crowded around her. She had numerous IV lines in her forelegs feeding her blood and other fluids, and her back legs had been put in casts. A tube had been fed into her mouth to breathe for her, while much of her mane and chest had been shaved for electrodes to be attached to monitor her vital signs. She winced at the absence of one of the poor foal’s wings, just as Nurse Redheart had said.
Luna saw her physician below being given all sorts of medical instruments which he held in his magic. The sight of them made Luna’s skin crawl and constrict.
She felt her stomach further tighten. Between the two it felt like her body was closing in on her, and the heavy air made it all the worse as breathing became even harder.
She put her head to the glass and groaned, wishing there was something she could do. She felt useless, and a tightness forming in her chest on top of everything else only served to make things worse. She finally knew what all of these together meant. They meant that she, Princess of the Night, and co-ruler of Equestria, was terrified.
There is something you can do, and you know it. Nightmare Moon’s voice was in her head again, and Luna looked frantically around the dark room, but she didn’t see anything. Her body felt like it was crushing in on her now.
Luna wildly looked around, trying in vain to find the source of the noise. She sucked in a deep breath to raise her voice. “Leave me alone! You’re nothing but a stress-induced hallucination!” She shouted at the dark. Suddenly it was as if now the voice was whispering in her ear, close enough to tickle the fur on it.
You know I’m right, you are her only hope. After all, even if she survives this, whether you change her or not, she’ll need somepony to be there for her as she adjusts to her new stance in life. But will it involve leather wings or a wheelchair? That’s up to you.
Those words struck a deep chord in Luna, and she struggled with this new thought compounding her already frayed emotions. As soon as she dared look through the observation window again she wished she hadn’t. The heart monitor was displaying a singular straight line, and the surgeon was now performing chest compressions on Scootaloo. Her entire body froze up at the sight below. Scootaloo was dying, and her body defied all her attempts to move. She was only briefly aware of her body protesting the lack of oxygen.
There is something you can do.
Dr. Palliate injected something into her foreleg and his horn flashed. As those words bounced around inside Luna’s mind the heart monitor stopped displaying a flatline, once again showing a pulse. She let out a harsh exhale as the invisible force holding her still was released. She tried to breathe but the air in the room still felt stale and heavy. On an impulse Luna went to the door and threw it open, panting as she filled her lungs with the wonderfully fresh air the hallway had.
Luna became very aware of her heart thundering against her chest, her pulse ringing in her ears. A muffled voice said something, and a few seconds later it repeated itself. When she felt a hoof on her shoulder the world snapped back into focus and the voice became crystal clear. “Your Highness, are you okay?”
That question caught her off guard by another nurse, but she gave herself no time to recover. She couldn’t stop seeing Scootaloo flatlining on that operating table. What if it happened again? What if her physician couldn’t get her going again? She couldn’t wait. “Never mind that. You are to bring me Scootaloo’s medical information this instant.” Luna’s voice was as unwavering as steel, and her gaze could freeze fire in its place.
The nurse nodded and the only words she could speak were, “At once, your Highness.” She began walking down the hall and turning a corner.
Within the princess’s mind, Nightmare Moon smirked, impressed with how her other half had handled that situation. Ruthless, concise, and made her point in no uncertain terms. Perhaps there was hope for Luna after all.
She would’ve handled that the same way. If she had flatlined once then there was every chance it could happen again, and the sooner the spell was cast the better. If Scootaloo died before Nightmare Moon got to her, then she would’ve pulled strings and expended the small shards of power she had for nothing.
However, Nightmare Moon wasn’t too worried. It would be preferable to have Scootaloo as a host, it would be convenient to escape from Luna today, but it wasn’t essential for her. If Scootaloo perished it would be unfortunate, but she would simply wait for the next opportunity to inevitably present itself. Again, now it was just a matter of waiting until she needed to tug another string.
“There it is, Sweetie Belle, the train station! We made it!”
“After all your whining on the way here, I knew you would say that.” Sweetie Belle and Rarity had followed the tracks back to Ponyville, deciding they couldn’t afford to wait. It was still hot and humid, causing both their coats to become matted with sweat and Rarity’s mane now looking like a frazzled mess. Sweetie’s looked disorganized as well, but not nearly as awful as her sister’s.
“Oh, it’s not fair! Why does your mane look so nice compared to mine?” Rarity asked, putting a foreleg across her forehead.
“Because I don’t need to put as much work into mine,” Sweetie said with a cheeky grin. “now come on, the hospital isn’t too far now.”
“Darling, something just occurred to me, perhaps we should let Scootaloo’s parents know what’s happened if they don’t already know. Do you know where she lives?”
Sweetie Belle stopped suddenly. “Uh, well-” the more she thought about it the more confused she became. Scootaloo had never once hosted a Crusaders sleepover, she never brought anyone to family appreciation day, and her parents never showed up to pick her up from a sleepover, she just left of her own accord.
“What is it, Sweetie?" Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow with curiosity.
“I don’t know where she lives, I don’t even know who her parents are.”
“What? Surely you’ve seen her with, somepony.” Rarity’s words came out slower as a possible explanation entered her mind but she shoved it away. “Never mind that. When we get to the hospital we’ll ask Pinkie Pie. She knows everything about everypony.”
As soon as they stepped into the hospital, Applejack greeted them. “About time you two got here, and what happened to you? You both look like you were just in a tornado.” As soon as she said that Twilight elbowed her in the ribs.
“I know, I’ll fix it later. Right now we have much more pressing concerns. How is the poor dear doing?” Rarity asked.
“She’s in bad shape. Nurse Redheart said she’s probably not going to make it, and even if she does she’ll never walk again! And she lost one of her wings!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a look of complete despair on her face.
Rarity tried to form a response but nothing came to her. With everything from Rainbow’s eyes being red and puffy to the morose expressions on everypony’s faces, she was drawing a blank.
Sweetie Belle had a look of shock and horror on her face, but Rarity had an idea to change her focus. “Sweetie Belle, wasn’t there something we wanted to ask Pinkie Pie? I forgot.” Rarity put a hoof to her chin feigning ignorance.
“Oh! Hey Pinkie, do you know where Scootaloo’s parents live, or who they are?”
Pinkie put a hoof to her chin and made a ‘hmmm’ sound. Everypony present could swear they heard static followed by a no signal tone. After a few seconds, she shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“What? No way! You know everything about everypony in Ponyville, why not that?!” Rainbow demanded.
“Well, why don’t you know either? Isn’t she supposed to be your little sister?” Pinkie asked.
"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, has she ever brought anypony to Family Appreciation Day at school?" Twilight asked, trying not to jump to an obvious assumption.
“No, Ah asked once and she said they were busy working.” After that, an uncomfortable silence fell on everypony present.
Fluttershy’s soft voice broke the silence, but even her gentle tone was unwelcome thanks to the message it carried. “Her parents weren’t working, were they?”
“Now hold on, we don’t know anything for certain yet.” Twilight reasoned, but she found it harder and harder to deny. “Spike, please send a letter to Mayor Mare asking her to look for any records on Scootaloo or her parents.”
As he took out a quill and parchment and began to write, Applejack sighed. “Really Twi, really? Not one of us knows who they are or if they’re even alive, not even Pinkie, and she knows everything there is to know about these kinds of things. None of us like the thought of her being an orphan, but it's getting harder and harder not to think about.”
“How did none of us ever notice before now?” Rainbow Dash asked with a stunned expression. She had trouble processing this, that the orange filly she affectionately referred to as her little sister, could be orphaned. “How did I not notice…?” She quietly asked herself. “Why were you hiding it, Scootaloo?”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hugged each other close, the former choking on a sob. “Ah wish Ah’d never suggested you two help us. If Ah hadn’t none of this woulda happened.” After she said this she felt her friend hug her tighter.
“So what happened, anyway? Rarity said she got hurt, but she didn’t say what hurt her.” She let go of Apple Bloom and sat down far away enough to respect her personal space.
“We were going uphill, then it’d just be a nice little trot to the market, but Big Mac’s wagon hitch came undone and it started coming at us. Scootaloo shoved me out of the way, but then it just, wham-” she clapped her front hooves together for emphasis. “It hit her dead on and we got her here as fast as we could.”
A letter appeared in front of Twilight. She opened it and cleared her throat to read it aloud. “Dear Princess Twilight, after thoroughly searching the Ponyville record hall, we couldn't find anything about Scootaloo.” As soon as she read that Twilight gave an exasperated groan and threw the letter in the trash.
“See what Ah mean? Scootaloo ain’t got no records cause there’s nothing to record.”
Twilight wasn’t going to dignify that with a response. “Spike, take another letter, this time to the records clerk in Canterlot.” As soon as he had a fresh parchment and quill out, Twilight began.
“Dear records clerk, you are to immediately search for any documents or records about a pegasus named Scootaloo and send them to me as soon as you find them. This is to be considered your highest priority. Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” As soon as Spike finished writing, he rolled the parchment and sent it off with a short breath of green fire.
“Twi, why are you being so stubborn about this?” Applejack demanded.
"Look, Canterlot has records on every pony in Equestria. In a few minutes, we'll have our answer on Scootaloo's parents."
Fluttershy stepped forward and tapped Twilight’s side to get her attention. “But, um, what about the other questions? Like where has she been staying?”
“Ah have an idea about that.” After being quiet for so long Big Mac finally decided to weigh in. “Ah’d bet mah right foreleg she’s been living in the Crusaders’ clubhouse. It’s got insulated walls and windows, a watertight seal, what more could she want?”
“Why is it built like an actual house?” Rarity asked curiously. “I know the Crusaders fixed it up but I had no idea they went so far.”
“Heh, any job worth doing is worth doing right.” Apple Bloom told her with a prideful grin.
Before anyone could comment further Spike groaned, making a retching noise before he gave a loud belch, and in a burst of green fire a manila envelope with the word ‘Scootaloo’ written across it appeared.
“Well, that was fast.” Twilight wasted no time taking the envelope over to a waiting room table. She levitated the magazines off the table before dumping out the contents. There were certificates, documents, and newspaper clippings. Everypony crowded around the table, wanting to see what there was to see. “We wanted answers so badly, well now we’re about to get them.” She picked up a piece of information and began to read it aloud.
Name: Scootaloo Race: Pegasus Place of birth: Canterlot Status: Missing and presumed dead
“What?! Let me see that!” Rainbow Dash yanked the paper out of Twilight’s hooves. “Scootaloo was in Canterlot not all that long ago, she was one of the flower girls at the royal wedding, and they didn’t connect the dots on that?!” Her voice rose steadily at the clerical error.
“Well don’t keep us in suspense, who are the poor dear’s parents?” Rarity had a tone in her voice that held both excitement and trepidation as she held Sweetie Belle close to her side.
Rainbow Dash looked down further. “Her parents’ names are Rain Breaker and Flower Blossom. It doesn’t say anything about where they are or if they’re-” Suddenly she was handed a newspaper article by Fluttershy, the yellow pony tapping the headline.
“Read this, it’s a news article on what happened to them, and her.” Rainbow took it and gulped as she saw the headline. Fire Ravages Canterlot Home.
“Well, let’s get this over with.” She could feel everyone focusing on her as she started to read aloud. “Today a fire ravaged a home in Canterlot leaving nothing but ashes and smoldering debris in its wake. Two ponies, Rain Breaker and Flower Blossom died as a result. Their daughter, Scootaloo, has been taken to the hospital with severe injuries.”
Rainbow Dash silently read more to herself and gulped hard. Scootaloo was only two years old when it happened. She felt a warmth prick at her eyes to think a filly she saw on such a common basis had once been in such dire straits.
She wiped her eyes and shook her head, trying to focus.
“So, if she survives, what do we do next?” Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow Dash turned around with a resolute look on her face, wiping her eyes dry. “When Scootaloo recovers, I’ll adopt her, simple as that.”
“Actually, it ain’t. Ah can’t even count the number of problems with that idea.” Applejack had a flat, blunt tone to her words. “She’s lost a wing so she’ll never be able to fly up to your house. Plus, what happens if she falls off? She wouldn’t even be able to glide to slow herself.”
“Oh really? Then what would you suggest?” Rainbow demanded, pressing her snout up against Applejack’s.
Applejack pushed Rainbow back. “You can’t adopt her because of what Ah just said, mah family can’t because we don’t have any spare room for her, Pinkie can’t since the bedrooms are upstairs and there’s no way a ramp could be put there. Rarity already has a little sister to look after and a business to run, and Twilight has princess duties and that could make Scootaloo a target for whatever baddies we face. The only pony here who could adopt her is Fluttershy, and even then that’s iffy. But we can worry about that if she recovers.”
“When she recovers, stop saying if!” Rainbow Dash demanded.
“What do you mean there’s no medical file on Scootaloo?!” Luna demanded, a menacing look on her face.
“I’m sorry Princess, but Scootaloo has never been to the hospital for any reason. She’s never had any injuries or illnesses serious enough to need to come here before now.” The nurse explained, cowering under Luna’s glare. “I’m truly sorry! But, but I have news that you will want to hear.” She hesitantly offered.
“What?!” Luna demanded, further invading her personal space.
“I checked in on Scootaloo. She’s out of surgery and being moved to intensive care as we speak.”
“That’s the news you should have lead with, now take me to her at once!”
As soon as she arrived, Luna turned to face the nurse. “Inform Dr. Palliate that he is to report to the intensive care unit and remain on standby for Scootaloo.” The nurse gave a nod before leaving, wanting nothing more than to be out of the princess’s presence. Satisfied that she was alone, Luna braced herself while she waited. From what she’d seen in the operating room, anything could await her beyond that door, and the eagerness to use her spell returned in force as her patience rapidly wore out. She began to tap her hoof. She kept looking down the hall, all the while wishing for the nurse to hurry up.
As soon as her doctor became visible, Luna kept mentally urging him to walk faster, and as soon as he arrived she got uncomfortably close, speaking to him in a harsh whisper. “Remain outside the door on standby, and unless Scootaloo is in danger there are to be absolutely no interruptions.”
Opening the door she immediately caught her reflection in a mirror. She had dark circles under partially bloodshot eyes and her feathers were in disarray. Even her mane and tail appeared duller and less sparkly. It came as no surprise however, she’d spent the entire night before tending to the dream realm, and now instead of sleeping she was dealing with a mentally taxing ordeal.
Seeing Scootaloo up close hurt even worse than watching her from the viewing window. The thing that jumped out at her most was the breathing mask over her face, but as soon as she got over that she noticed the sunken look her eyes had and the dark rings under them. Much of her once perfectly messy purple mane had been shaved off to attach small disks to her head that were connected to a machine Luna didn’t pretend to understand. There were lengths of stitches on her torso, and IVs feeding into both her forelegs. If it weren’t for the continuous beep of the heart monitor she’d think Scootaloo was dead.
Luna felt her eyes mist at the sight but closed them tightly and hardened her resolve. She could fix this, and all it would take were nerves of steel. “Don’t worry Scootaloo, I’m here now. I have a spell to make you good as new- no.” She gave a smile with some teeth showing. “It’ll make you better than new. Now, let’s see if we can fix what has been broken.”
She closed her eyes and accessed magic she hadn’t tapped into for over a millennia. When she opened them her sclera had turned a glowing green while her pupils had become vertical. A purple haze emanated from her eyes as her horn was shrouded in a plum-colored aura. Before she used it she heard a door open and sharply turned her head to the room’s door to see it was still closed.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Luna turned her head just in time to see Discord close the door in the reflection and emerge from the mirror.
A low growl escaped through grit teeth as the magic around her horn dissipated. She braced for the impending headache that would soon be plaguing her. “Go away, Discord.”
He snapped his fingers and a rag appeared in front of him. “I can understand wanting to shake things up with a new look but Sombra‘s dark magic really clashes with your eyes.” Against her struggles, he scrubbed her face with it and when he pulled away her eyes were back to normal. “There, much better.”
Luna cast a silence spell on the room, not wanting any other ponies to hear their conversation. “State your business Discord, and do not interfere with mine!”
Nightmare Moon felt a wave of unease wash over her upon Discord’s arrival. He could ruin everything if he succeeded in reasoning with Luna. Worse still, she couldn’t influence Luna right now without giving herself away. Her tension only continued to mount as she saw Discord smile. The pony through which she could escape was within reach, but the thought that she could fail when she was so close revolted her.
“While I would love the chaos your spell would cause between you and Celestia, the repercussions would cause too much chaos, even for me.” Discord snapped, making a three-legged presentation stand with a bar graph appear along with glasses and a retractable pointer. “You see this is how much chaos you and Celestia generate now, this-” he pointed to a much taller bar. “is how much you two will generate if your spell succeeds, and that’s a big if.”
“How would it cause chaos? I only want to save Scootaloo!” Luna felt immense anger and impatience. She was right there, and if nothing else her spell could give the filly a fighting chance. “And what do you care either way?!”
Discord grinned and slid the pointer smaller before making his visual aids disappear. “Let’s assume you succeed, turn Scootaloo into a bat pony, and end up saving her. You’ll be putting yourself at odds with several ponies. For starters, Celestia has expressly forbidden the use of that spell, and Rainbow Dash may not appreciate the changes it makes to her.”
“Celestia is my equal and has no authority over me, Rainbow Dash has no say in this whatsoever, and just look at her!” Luna gestured a hoof at Scootaloo. “She’s on her deathbed and if there’s a chance I can save her I have to take it!”
“Luna, I want you to think about how the consequences of your decision will affect Scootaloo.” He said with a firm tone, his eyes narrowing as he folded his arms. “You’ll be making her a social pariah from any other ponies. She’ll be the only pony of her kind, doomed to be an outcast for the rest of the long life you give her. I want you to think about the consequences your actions will have.”
As soon as she heard that Luna felt her ears drop and her left eye twitched sporadically. “Consequences? Consequences?! I will not be lectured about the consequences of my actions by a creature whose very existence is predicated upon ignoring his own!”
“I’m just trying to help, there’s no need to get so hostile.” Discord putting his hands up in mock surrender. “I can see trying to reason with you is like trying to talk to a wall right now Luna, but keep this in mind-” he vanished and appeared on the wall, looking like an amalgamation of shapes. “Success or failure, your spell will cause tragedy either way. I want you to think very carefully before you do something you can’t undo.” With that, he walked along the wall until he reached the mirror and crossed through it. He opened the door in the reflection, walked through, and closed it behind him.
“Twilight, are you alright?” Rainbow Dash asked, but she didn't answer, her expression changing every few seconds. She waited a few seconds and waved a hoof in front of her eyes before she sighed and put it to her face. “Of course…”
“Twilight’s really deep in thought. Word to the wise, if you want to draw a mustache on her, she won’t notice.” Spike said with a smug chuckle.
“How are you so happy?” Rainbow asked with disbelief.
“Eh, it’s nice to know at least she’s still acting normally.” He said with a small shrug, his expression changing from smug to sheepish.
“I’ve got it!” Twilight said it with such sudden, explosive volume and excitement that everypony jumped in surprise.
Rainbow Dash had an annoyed look on her face while she was breathing heavily. “While I’m waiting for my pulse to go back to normal, what exactly do you have?”
“I have a way you could adopt Scootaloo,” Twilight announced with a bright smile.
Luna stared at Scootaloo as her small chest continued to rise and fall. No matter what she couldn’t shake Discord’s words that success or failure, her plan would end in tragedy. She listened to the incessant beep of the heart monitor and her expression hardened. How could this end in tragedy if it was successful? Scootaloo would fully recover with time, and could even go on to do great things that Luna knew she was capable of, and all she needed to do was stop stalling and cast the spell already. “Enough distractions, let us begin.”
Nightmare Moon couldn’t agree more. Freedom, a new body, and a brand new lease on life were only seconds away. It was time to escape this prison and work to become her own mare once more. And it all started with Scootaloo.
“Now hold on, Twi, Ah just had a whole list of reasons why that’s a bad idea.” Applejack shot Rainbow a side glance.
“Just hear me out.” Twilight still has a smile on her face. “If Rainbow Dash moves in with Spike and I, her house wouldn’t be an obstacle for Scootaloo anymore, plus the two of us could help look after her."
“Sounds like a decent plan but there’s one major flaw. What about-”
“I thought of that, too. My castle was grown from super malleable crystal, I’m sure with a little magic I could make accommodations for Scootaloo’s condition.”
“And her wing?”
“I’ll field that question.” Rainbow Dash said putting a hoof out. “It’s not totally unheard of for a crippled pegasus to fly, and there are some great wing prosthetics for when her remaining wing catches up to the rest of her body. I’m not letting her dream of flying die yet.”
Applejack had to resist the urge to remind Rainbow Dash that Scootaloo was more likely to die than to achieve her dream, but she couldn’t deny Twilight had put together at least a plausible plan. On top of that, Twilight’s status would let her cut through any red tape that got in the way. She sighed, nodding. “Y’all make a good point. Ah’ll try to help you out any way Ah can.” She turned and saw Apple Bloom side hugging Sweetie Belle, and a wave of guilt washed over her like ice water causing her to shudder.
Luna clenched her teeth and growled at herself, her indecision standing in her way. Discord’s words just wouldn’t stop bouncing around her head. Of course Discord would be the one to throw a wrench into things. She took a deep breath in through her nose and held it for a moment, before exhaling. She looked down at Scootaloo’s damaged form and her expression hardened as her resolve returned.
“Something I can’t undo?! If I don’t act, she’ll perish, another thing that can’t be undone.” Luna felt dark power course into her horn, her eyes lighting up with dark magic. “I promise Scootaloo, no matter what comes of this, no matter what difficulties this causes you, I will be there to help you through them.” Luna leaned down and gave Scootaloo a kiss on the forehead. “If there had to be a permanent change in your life, I do believe it should be this over death.”
Her horn gained a powerful glow and she flared her wings as a stream of magic went from her into Scootaloo. It struck her in the chest, but she didn’t move an inch as it entered her. Luna’s eyes returned to normal and she waited with bated breath for any sign it was working.
A faint purple glow began to shine from a row of her stitches and Luna put a hoof to the area to investigate. The incision was closing before her eyes, and she felt a small smile spread across her face. “It still works. After all these years, it still works.”
She used her magic to gently open one of her eyes, seeing her pupil slowly lengthen and contract into a vertical slit. Despite it appearing to work, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Scootaloo’s eye twitched so Luna let it close again, but suddenly a piercing, continuous sound rang through the room that threatened to make Luna’s heart stop. The heart rate monitor was displaying a continuous flat streak, and she felt as though her own pulse had stopped, yet she could swear her pulse shot up to a million beats a minute.
“What?! No!” Luna looked to the door and wondered why Dr. Palliate didn’t enter and realized her own silence spell was ensuring no sound exited the room. She wasted no time in throwing open the door with her magic, grabbed him by the tail, and dragging him inside. “Do something!” She pleaded.
Dr. Palliate gave her an indignant look as he pulled a syringe out of his coat and injected it into Scootaloo’s IV line. As soon as that was done he put his hooves to her chest and began compressions.
Luna’s breath came in short, fast inhales followed by slightly longer exhales. Every second seemed like an hour as her physician continued to work and watched the heart monitor, but there was no change. After what felt like an eternity Dr. Palliate stopped. He was panting slightly, perspiration dotting his face.
“Why did you stop?! Continue at once!” Luna demanded, but he shook his head in response.
“It won’t do any good, Scootaloo is gone. If the drug I gave her hasn’t restarted her heart by now it’s not going to. I’m afraid there’s nothing left of her to save. I’m sorry.” As if to punctuate his statement he turned the heart monitor off. “What would you have me do now, your highness?”
Luna shook her head and sighed sadly. “Very well then. Inform Scootaloo’s friends of her passing, then take the carriage back to Canterlot. That will be all.” Her tone was heavy with disappointment and more than a hint of sadness.
“You won’t be joining me, your highness?” He asked, wiping his brow with the back of his hoof.
“I wish to be alone right now. You know what to do.” With this Luna’s horn glowed and she disappeared in a flash of blue light.
A while later after both siblings had returned, Dr. Palliate exited an elevator into the main lobby, seeing a group of ponies. “Are you Scootaloo’s friends?” He asked with a professional tone.
“How is she?” Rainbow Dash asked, feeling an ominous pit begin to form in her stomach.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” He put a hoof to his chest. “I am Dr. Palliate, Princess Luna’s personal physician. I was brought here to oversee your friend’s treatment.”
The pit became a chasm. If he was here to take care of Scootaloo, what was he doing here? He spoke with a phlegmatic tone that lacked inflection, giving a calming vibe to his voice, but it was doing little for Rainbow Dash.
“As for her, there’s no easy way to say this. Scootaloo has passed away due to her injuries.” He shook his head and looking down. His eyes were already half-closed, but they got a slant that gave a hint of sadness through his glasses.
After he delivered the news a heavy silence fell on the gathered ponies as they all worked to process what he’d said. Scootaloo was gone, it a tough pill to swallow.
Rainbow Dash looked to the floor, then back to Dr. Palliate. “Take me to her. Please, I need to see her.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. Hospital policy forbids anyone but hospital staff from entering the morgue. Besides, I’m afraid you probably wouldn’t want to see her in the state she’s in.”
“Please!” She begged, her wings drooping from her sides until they were practically touching the floor. Her voice broke as she spoke. The fact that she hadn’t broken down crying was nothing short of a miracle. “My mind knows she’s gone, but my heart doesn’t. The only way I’m ever going to begin to move past this is to see her firsthoof.” She looked him in the eye and tried an analogy she was sure he’d understand. “It’s like surgery, you’ve gotta cut something open before the healing can really begin.”
“I’m sorry, really, but there’s nothing I can do. My hooves are tied.” Again his phlegmatic voice held a hint of sadness, but his expression remained largely unchanged.
“But mine aren’t!” Twilight stepped forward, her wings unfolding the slightest bit. “As the Princess of Friendship, consider that rule overwritten; you will be taking us both to see Scootaloo.” Twilight fought to conceal her unease afterward. As a princess, she could bend a lot of rules, but she still felt uncomfortable pulling rank like that. It made her feel awkward, and like she was forcing other ponies to do things they didn’t want to do.
“You don’t have to do this Twilight, really.” Despite telling her that, Rainbow Dash still had a pleading look on her face.
“You’re right, I don’t have to, I want to. Rainbow, I can practically feel the sadness you’re desperately trying to bottle up. If I didn’t try to help you in every way I could, what kind of friend would that make me?” Twilight wrapped a wing around Rainbow Dash and gently pulled her closer. Her pegasus friend leaned into that, letting out an exhale she didn’t know she’d been holding.
Dr. Palliate sighed and shook his head a little. “Very well, I will take you both to see Scootaloo. This way, please.” As the three were turning to leave a voice spoke from behind them.
“Sorry, Rainbow Dash, but we need to get going.” Applejack had an apologetic tone. “While Ah’m sorry about everything that’s happened, we have chores to do in the morning in addition to the ones we couldn’t do today. Besides, it’s already past Apple Bloom’s bedtime. C’mon, sugar cube.” She said nodding firmly to her little sister.
Apple Bloom gave Sweetie Belle one more big hug before slowly trotting over to her siblings, but Rainbow Dash had a look of surprise on her face. “Bedtime? What time is it?”
Big Macintosh saw how tired his little sister looked and put her on his back while Applejack spoke up. “Late enough for it to be night time.” With a solemn nod, the Apple siblings began to leave.
“I’m afraid on that note Sweetie Belle and I must leave as well. It’s dreadfully late and I have orders to fill tomorrow. Besides, she’ll need all the sleep she can get after this.” Rarity went to pick up Sweetie Belle but the younger pony swatted her older sister’s hooves away.
“I’ll walk…” She said with a yawn, but stood close to her sister.
“Goodnight, Rainbow Dash, and if you need anything from me, anything at all, all you need do is ask for it.” Rarity said before she left with Sweetie Belle.
“Thanks, Rarity, I appreciate it!” Rainbow Dash called after her, feeling a tiny shred of a smile appear on her face knowing her friends were still at her side.
“I need to go too, my animal friends are probably worried sick about me. I told them I was just going for a walk, not away for most of the day.” Fluttershy walked up to Rainbow Dash and gave her a big hug, which she reciprocated. “I’ll make you the same offer Rarity made: if you need anything from me, all you have to do is ask for it.”
Rainbow Dash nuzzled her cheek and hugged Fluttershy closer. She felt her resistance breaking, her eyes grew moist, and without her consent, she started crying. She couldn’t stop herself as her tears fell, and felt two more ponies joining in the hug. “Why, why am I crying?” She asked, desperately trying to stop the waterworks.
Dr. Palliate stepped forward and made his presence known. “I think I can answer that. You feel as though Fluttershy leaving you is a parallel to Scootaloo leaving all of you, and you feel like you’re being abandoned both by Scootaloo and your friends and you're so scared because you don't want to be alone or have to face it alone.” He said, looking slightly towards the floor as he finished.
Everyone was speechless as they mulled over his words, and Rainbow Dash thought hard about it. He’d just summed up her feelings in a few sentences, and they couldn’t be more accurate. “How did you piece that together?”
“Let’s just say I’ve been in a similar situation to this.” With that, he shifted the subject rather quickly. “If you want to see Scootaloo then we’d best be going.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep shuddering breath and nodded, letting go of Fluttershy. “Does anypony else need to go?” She looked to Pinkie who nodded. “I have to work tomorrow, plus I agreed to watch the Cake twins. Besides, there’s no point in staying here.”
Twilight and Rainbow both winced at her comment. It was brutal, but not incorrect. Being here wouldn’t bring Scootaloo back. Rainbow Dash sighed and nodded. “I’ll make sure to visit you tomorrow though.” She wiped some tears out of her eyes and managed half a smile as the group hug ended.
At her words Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy each gained a small smile. The fact that Rainbow Dash had plans for tomorrow that didn’t involve lying around and moping. “I better be going before my animal friends send out a search party for me. Bye everypony.” Fluttershy began trotting out of the hospital, with Pinkie Pie looking to her then back to Rainbow Dash.
“I’m gonna hold you to that, Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie’s mane had reinflated and she had some more spring to her step as she followed Fluttershy out of the hospital.
“Well then,” Dr. Palliate’s calm voice got both mare’s attention, as well as the attention of the dragon who’d been watching everything happen while silently thinking to himself. “Shall we be going?”
Luna teleported into her bedroom, swaying slightly from side to side, fatigued from the long day's events. Her timing was opportune though since Celestia soon began to lower the sun. She sighed and walked on to her balcony, beginning to raise the moon. As soon as it was up she groaned and returned to her room.
She unceremoniously tossed her tiara on her nightstand before flopping down on her bed. Before she knew it she had started crying. “Scootaloo, I’m so sorry…” She whispered aloud, feeling tears roll down her cheeks. It wasn’t that poor filly’s injuries that had killed her, it was Luna’s spell. If not for her she might still be alive. Crippled and clinging to life, but alive nonetheless.
What was a princess in her position to do? She was too weak to effectively guard the dream realm tonight, and though she was utterly exhausted, sleep eluded her. However, she must’ve been crying louder than she thought because she heard a rough knocking on her door. “Your Highness, are you alright?”
She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. “I am fine, but I need you to ask Celestia to come here at once. Please, it’s of great importance.”
“As you wish.” Luna listened to the sound of the guard’s hoofsteps as he left. Luna was deeply hurting on the inside, and if there was one pony in the world she felt like she could confide in, it was Celestia. She was certain she’d get an earful for what she did, but she couldn’t keep this contained inside. After all, bottling up her feelings is what drove her to make the worst mistake of her life.
“Scootaloo… It’s time to wake up, little one.”
Scootaloo groaned and shook her head, cracking one of her eyes open, and saw wooden planks beneath her. “Was it all a dream?” She quietly asked herself, looking up. Her breath froze in her throat and her blood ran cold. Standing mere feet from her was the unmistakable Nightmare Moon.
“That wasn’t, but this is, and you and I are going to have a little chat.”
The guard Luna had sent arrived at the door to Celestia’s chambers and knocked. “Your highness, are you still awake?” He stepped back and ran a hoof through his mane as the door was flung open. Celestia was standing there, looking tired and more than a little peeved. “What is it, Blade Glint? It’s very late.”
“I’m sorry, your highness, but Princess Luna requests your immediate presence at her chambers. She says it’s of great importance.” He said, sheepishly grinding his hoof against the marble floor.
Celestia gave a heavy sigh and rubbed her eyes. “Fine then, I’ll go see what she wants. Resume your post.” Normally she wouldn’t be so short and rude, but it had been a long day and the bags under her eyes were proof of it. As she began the trek towards her sister’s room, beneath her irritation, she had a bad feeling she knew what this was about.
The sight of Nightmare Moon had Scootaloo upright and alert, but it took her two seconds to see she was in terrible shape. She was sickly thin, emaciated even, with her ribs and cheekbones plainly visible. Her wings were missing a great deal of their plumage, and the feathers that remained were heavily damaged and askew. Her horn was dull and cracked. Most noticeable above anything else was that she wasn't wearing her armor.
“What happened to you?” Scootaloo asked with a raised eyebrow, still taking in her surroundings. It was the Crusaders’ clubhouse, but it was way bigger. There weren’t any windows or doors either, but she could see perfectly well. What caught her attention most was the wall where they had failed cutie mark ideas. In their place, a great many picture frames were depicting every pony she knew.
She easily spotted Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, whose picture frames were ornate and golden. Spanning out she saw some frames were silver, others bronze or blue, and she stopped when she saw Diamond Tiara, whose picture frame was rusted and mangled, with the picture itself being torn and crumpled. "And what is all this?”
“You tell me, this is your subconscious. As for what happened to me, I was hit squarely in the face by the Elements of Harmony. However, they can’t destroy, only defeat.” She gained an unsettling grin, her cheeks stretching taut as she did so.
“What’s the difference?” She asked, in a state of disbelief about where she was and just who she was talking to.
“After everything I’ve seen I thought you were smarter than that.” Nightmare Moon gave a low chuckle and shook her head a tiny bit.
Scootaloo glared. This was her head, and Nightmare Moon was in no shape to scare her. “Don’t patronize me, just tell me!” All this did was elicit another chuckle from her.
“Very well. As I said, they can only defeat, not destroy, such as turning Discord to stone, or locking me in Luna’s subconscious.” There was a pause as she let that sink in, and looked at her hoof as if to check it for dirt. “However, while I was trapped I still retained my own consciousness. As such I was able to see, hear, and feel everything Luna experienced between when I was first imprisoned and now.” She shuddered violently, grimacing. “However, I had to constantly fight to keep my mind together and leech off Luna’s magic to help me with that.”
This information made Scootaloo pale and her pupils shrink. “No way…! Then that means, everything I’ve told Luna, everything I’ve ever confided in her-! You-!”
“I know all of it. I know your parents perished around a decade ago, I know you left the Canterlot orphanage and came to Ponyville, and I know you’re incredibly resourceful.”
“Yeah, well, I want to know how you got here, and how did I for that matter?! If I really got crushed by a wagon full of apples, how am I still alive? And why do you look like you’re starving to death?”
“After the accident, you were rushed to the hospital, and Twilight sent a letter asking for help. Luna answered and brought her personal physician to help treat you, but your chances of survival were bleak at best. But even if you survived, you would have suffered permanent injuries. I reminded Luna that there was a spell to save you. Tell me, have you ever seen bat ponies before?”
“Yeah, I saw the two that brought Luna when she first visited Ponyville after-” she stopped talking when the mare chuckled.
“No, you didn’t. Those were just two pegasi that had illusion magic cast on them to appear as bat ponies. They wanted costumes as well so Luna obliged them.”
“What do bat ponies have to do with me or that spell, unless… they’re...” she trailed off and looked at the floor as realization struck her. “I think I’m gonna be sick…”
“Oh don’t be so melodramatic, the increased healing factor that spell grants was the only way to save you. However, I wanted out of Luna’s mind, so when she cast the spell I used it as my way to escape and enter you, Scootaloo.”
“So that’s why you look so terrible, you’re weak from travel.” Scootaloo had a look of realization on her face.
“There’s the clever filly I’ve come to know, but I’ve already planted the seeds for my return, and all I need to do to strengthen myself is absorb the one I left in you.” Her eyes turned pure white with a glow to them.
Scootaloo felt a wave of cold spread through her insides as a purple mist exited her body, condensing into an opaque silhouette of an Alicorn. She felt drained as it left her, and by the time the mist stopped, she felt as if she’d just galloped all over Ponyville. “The Tantabus?” She managed, trying to get some of her strength back.
Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed and the silhouette dissolved into mist once again, entering her chest. As it entered her body her wings filled out and organized themselves into pristine condition. The cracks in her horn filled themselves in and her muscle mass was restored. “Much better.” She murmured, looking herself over before returning her attention to Scootaloo. “Correct. What I just absorbed was a tiny fragment of the Tantabus, but as you can see it was brimming with magic.”
“But I thought the Tantabus was gone forever after-” she gave a low gasp. “When Luna reabsorbed the Tantabus it was in her subconscious with you!”
Nightmare Moon nodded, still looking over her rejuvenated body. “Right again. I see your cleverness has returned, but you are only partially correct, Scootaloo.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Partially?”
“As I told you, I was within her subconscious, but I wasn’t totally helpless. I could nudge Luna’s train of thought in certain directions, influence her decisions, or put ideas in her head. I was the one who filled her head with the notion that she needed to be punished, and while the Tantabus may have been her creation, I was the one who guided its creation.”
Scootaloo shuddered violently at the thought of another voice in her head guiding her actions, but her shudder only continued when she realized that’s exactly what she had now.
“When it wasn’t haunting her dreams it was within her subconscious, allowing me to modify it to my needs. When I figured out I could have the Tantabus store her fear and anguish as a form of magic that could sustain and strengthen me, I tried to escape with it."
“The group dream! The Tantabus didn’t decide to escape, you made it do that!”
“Yes. In my original plan, it was to be how I escaped to the physical world, but Luna managed to weaken it and trap me all over again, but that was only a setback. What you fought wasn’t the entire Tantabus. The core of it, yes, but not the entire being.”
Celestia knocked on Luna’s door, dreading what awaited her. “Sister, I’m here. I was told you wanted to see me.”
“Enter,” Luna called. Her voice lacked energy and had a strong note of sadness.
“I think I know how things went at the hospital,” Celestia said with a knowing tone, closing the door behind her and casting a soundproof spell on it as she sat at Luna’s bedside.
“Do you think she’s up there, sister?” Luna asked, feeling tears brim in her eyes. "Do you think somewhere among the stars Scootaloo’s soul still exists?”
“She’s in a better place now, sister. I'm truly sorry she couldn’t be saved. I know you cared a great deal for her.” Celestia put a hoof on Luna’s shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. “I’m sure you did everything you could.”
The next thing Celestia knew Luna was hugging her and openly crying. “But that’s just it, she’s dead because of what I did! I should have just let the doctors do what they could for her, but I was so scared of losing her! I tried to save her my own way, but it ended up killing her instead!” She couldn’t stop herself from sobbing into her sister’s fur, the waterworks in full force.
Celestia was taken aback by her sister being so distraught, returning the hug and nuzzling the top of her head. Trying to save such an injured pony was a task likely beyond any spell she knew of, except for one. “You tried to use that spell, didn’t you Luna?” Her tone wasn’t accusatory, it was sad with a hint of disappointment.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of losing another foal so close to my heart, but in the end, I was what ended her. The cruelty of the irony is not lost on me.” Luna couldn’t meet her sister’s gaze, trying to find some shred of comfort in the embrace they shared.
“Only part of it? Where was the rest of it?” Scootaloo had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, Nightmare Moon’s intimidating smile and piercing eyes unnerving her to her core.
“At the climax of the battle, I used the Tantabus to tear a hole to the material plane and was halfway through when Luna managed to overcome her guilt. As you know, this made the Tantabus weaken and shrink. However, when we were drawn back into the dream world, I wasn’t too upset, as I’d accomplished something great nonetheless.”
“Why escape with it though? Luna said if it escaped it’d make all of Equestria into a living nightmare.” Scootaloo hated to admit it but her curiosity was piqued.
“Luna was sorely mistaken. The Tantabus is a beast of the dream realm, it can’t survive in the real world without a host, but given that it was the first and only creature of its kind, that sort of mistake is understandable. The core’s host was her, but since the Tantabus is an extension of my will and is linked to me, it came with me in that spell. You’re its host right now. As for the pieces that were missing, they were already in other pony’s minds, doing what they did with Luna.”
“Hold on, why are you telling me all this?” Scootaloo was terrified of the answer she’d give, but all these details were making her head spin.
Nightmare Moon began to chuckle, which grew into laughing, and then full-on cackling. “You’re already dead, my dear. If things don’t work out there’s no risk of you revealing my plans, so it makes no difference whether I tell you or not. I’m hoping what I’m leading up to will entice you to accept an offer I’m going to make, but I’ll get to that in a bit. For now back to my story.”
Her stomach dropped as she slowly processed those words. You’re already dead. And if Nightmare Moon was here and talking about her grand plan, she obviously intended to make Scootaloo a part of it. But what was her alternative if she didn’t want to be a part of it?
“You see, if the Tantabus could feed on Luna’s negative emotions and nightmares to grow more powerful, why rely only on her? With every dream she visited after its creation, I left a piece of it behind unbeknownst to the dreamer or Luna. Once I escaped into the real world I intended to absorb the fragments to empower myself and become physical once again.”
“If the one from me restored you like that, then all the fragments you planted, together, oh wow.” Scootaloo found it hard to imagine the amount of magical power they could offer all together.
Nightmare Moon nodded her approval. “You’re understanding it perfectly, Scootaloo. While the Tantabus was battling all of Ponyville, I was using the connection Luna had to all of you to embed a fragment into each pony’s mind. Every pony in Ponyville has one, as well as a great many ponies throughout Equestria. Without their knowledge—or Luna’s—they passively grow more powerful, just waiting to pass that strength on to me.”
Scootaloo felt a sense of dread from all these details buzzing around her head, and remembered how scary and powerful Nightmare Moon had been at the Summer Sun Celebration. Now she was being told not only was that same pony aiming to return, but she would be stronger than ever, all without Twilight, Rainbow Dash or anypony else being any the wiser to her plans beforehoof.
“So, where do I fit into all this? If I’m dead, what do you want with me?”
Her demeanor immediately brightened, but it only made her more terrifying. Nightmare Moon’s smile widened, and a small blue light seemed to emanate from her eyes. Scootaloo found this in many ways scarier than she’d been before. “That, my little filly, is a question I thought you would never ask.”
“So what do you intend to do now, Luna?” Celestia asked with a concerned tone. The princesses had gone from hugging to sitting on the edge of Luna’s bed, with Celestia keeping a close eye on her.
Luna looked over at her. She may not have been crying anymore, but her eyes were plenty red and puffy. “I intend to lay Scootaloo to rest, followed by setting up appointments with the royal therapist. While I’m hesitant to talk about my feelings with anyone but you, I know bottling them up inside is what led to you-know-what.”
Celestia sighed, nodding. Even now after all this time they couldn’t find it in themselves to openly talk about how she became Nightmare Moon. “Is there anything I can do for you, sister?”
There was a long sigh before Luna shook her head. “Celestia, I am about to ask for something that seems foalish and stupid, but I do need something. Would you please stay the night with me? I don’t want to be alone. Please.” She was aware of just how pathetic she sounded, but felt Celestia hugging her again.
“Luna, you will always be my little sister, no matter how old we get. I’ll gladly stay the night if that will help you.” She said, taking off her peytral, tiara, and shoes.
Luna levitated her necklace off and set it aside, smiling softly. “Sister, you know how much I am comforted by this.” Before she knew it she and Celestia were sharing the bed, something they hadn’t done in over a thousand years.
“Do you remember the last time we did this?” Luna asked.
“I believe it was shortly after Starswirl began to teach us how to effectively wield our magic. I was so tired I didn’t want to walk the extra distance to my room.” Celestia smiled wistfully at the memory.
Luna’s response was to scoot a little closer to her sister. Shortly after, the two sisters fell asleep together.
Nightmare Moon’s demeanor immediately brightened, but it only served to make her more terrifying. Her smile widened, a small blue light shone from her eyes. “That, my little filly, is a question I thought you would never ask.”
Scootaloo’s ears flattened against her skull, her forelegs grew shaky. “So, where do I fit?”
Nightmare Moon began to approach her. Scootaloo wanted to run but felt frozen in place.
“Look at us, we're both standing between life and death, three hooves in the grave already, but if we work together, we'll both get a second chance” She saw Scootaloo was uncomfortable and stopped. Even without her armor, Nightmare Moon’s vertical pupils and pointed teeth made her a terrifying sight.
Scootaloo’s narrowed her eyes a little. “How do I know you’re not lying to me?”
“I’ll prove it. Try to lie to me.” Nightmare Moon watched her expression closely, wanting to see the impending look of realization on her face.
“Alright, my name is Scootaloo.” Why did I say that? I wanted to say Apple Bloom!
“Try again.”
“I live in Ponyville.” Canterlot! She scolded herself, You were supposed to say Canterlot! “Rainbow Dash is a pegasus! Applejack works on a farm!” Scootaloo shook her head in frustration. “How are you doing this?!”
“I’m not doing anything, it’s an effect of being in the dream realm. I don’t know why it works this way, but I am affected by it, too.”
“Oh yeah? Then give me something I don’t know about you!” Scootaloo challenged. There must be something to this! There’s no way she’ll tell the truth too.
She gave Scootaloo a sly grin, showing her pointed teeth. “My name is Moonlight.” She saw the confusion and shock in Scootaloo’s face, which only caused her grin to widen even more. “Yes, you heard correctly. My true name is Princess Moonlight, although it seems that it was buried beneath a thousand years of legends and my sister’s falsifications of history.”
“Falsifications? I don’t understand. I thought your name was Nightmare Moon.”
Moonlight’s eyes narrowed, her tone much more bitter. “Everything you think you know about me is a lie. Celestia spent the past thousand years bending facts and truths to paint me in a horrible light while portraying herself as a hero!”
Scootaloo was confused. She knew the story about how a thousand years ago Luna was consumed by jealousy of her sister, became Nightmare Moon, and was promptly banished. Now, however, her curiosity was piqued. Is there more to it than that? I never thought about her side of the story, but now I want to hear it... “What else is there?”
Moonlight seemed to think for a moment, deciding how to explain it, but she suddenly scoffed, waving a hoof through the air as if to bat away whatever she’d been preparing to say. “Words won’t do it justice. The only way for you to understand is to show you!” She splayed her wings out, her horn and eyes shining with a blinding light.
The light made Scootaloo recoil, shutting her eyes tightly. She struggled to open them, but through the narrow slit of her vision, she only saw a blackened silhouette. The light further intensified, forcing her to close them again.
A short time later she heard Moonlight’s voice. “Open your eyes, Scootaloo.”
She was standing in what looked like Fluttershy’s cottage, but there wasn’t an animal in sight, and the more cozy aspects of it weren’t present. A brief look around and she found Luna sitting at a desk, writing in a journal. Luna looked much younger, her mane wasn’t waving or sparkly. Scootaloo looked for Moonlight but while she couldn’t see her, she could clearly hear her voice.
“Long ago, my sister and I were taught by the greatest unicorn of our time, Starswirl the Bearded. What you are seeing is me undertaking my greatest challenge. My sister and I were each to spend a year alone, free of all distractions, including other ponies. While isolated, we were tasked to come up with new spells and forms of magic to present upon our return, as well as study and master existing spells.”
“No distractions for a year? At all? That sounds so boring.” Scootaloo shuddered at the thought.
“It wasn’t as bad as you might think, Scootaloo. The solitude allowed me to make tremendous progress on my project as I spent entire days working to accomplish this task. However, the results of it are of little importance.”
She watched Luna sitting in the middle of the room, her eyes closed and her horn lit. Scootaloo approached her and reached out, but her hoof passed right through Luna. She waved it around, but she didn’t feel anything nor did Luna seem to notice her. Scootaloo put her hoof back down, feeling more than a little weirded out. “You couldn’t have been working on magic the entire time you were alone. How’d you not get bored?”
“You’re right, I did have time where I wasn’t working on my studies. To pass my free time, I kept a journal of my thoughts and feelings. I also meditated and exercised to strengthen both my body and my mind.” She answered.
“Sounds like when I was-” Scootaloo cut herself off and slammed her mouth shut at the realization of what she was about to say, and what she would be revealing. She waited for the dream realm to force the answer out of her, but nothing happened. If I don’t try to lie, I’m not forced to tell the truth. Good to know.
With that tidbit of information stored away, she could now properly scold herself for her slip up. I could have just gave it a simple ‘nevermind’, but no, I had to cut myself off! I could have just told her that it’s my darkest secret while I’m at it! I was so focused on the story, I completely zoned out and said that without thinking about it. BUCK!
This wasn’t lost on Moonlight. “Like what, Scootaloo? Do tell.”
Scootaloo looked around wildly as the scene below her faded, leaving her alone in a void. She couldn’t see Moonlight, but she could practically feel her smirking. “It’s not important,” she insisted, “Where are you?!”
“Oh Scootaloo, do you really think that will work? And if you think you can just refuse to answer, you’re out of luck.”
A purple mist gathered together, parting as Moonlight took her corporal from again. “You and I have all the time in the world to talk, so you may as well begin.”
Scootaloo gave a low groan. If she’s honest, then she just wants to know it so she can pretend to care about it. Or she’s just toying with me. Whatever, I don’t care. I’m not ever gonna tell anypony about it! “Not happening.”
Moonlight grinned. “You think you can win a waiting game with me, Scootaloo?” She gave off a tiny chuckle in face of Scootaloo’s defiance. “It’s not in your best interest to think you have any control over the situation.”
Scootaloo’s expression didn’t change, so Moonlight continued. “You're dead, but you’re not gone yet. I’m solely responsible for your soul lingering, and right now you need me infinitely more than I need you. With the magic I gained from you, I can exist outside of a host long enough to make an offer to another pony in your position, one that's more agreeable than you.”
Scootaloo’s conviction wavered, and Moonlight seized the opportunity to further undermine her defiance.
“I can tell the idea of death frightens you, so let's make this easy on us both. We will finish this memory of mine first, then you will be revealing your secret. I suggest you accept, that is the best and only offer you will ever get from me.”
“Alright, alright.” Scootaloo’s voice lacked energy as she tried to figure out any alternative.
“Excellent! Now, where were we?”
As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. Scootaloo thought angrily to herself. She holds all the cards! If she really knows all the same secrets Luna does, then I don’t have much to hide, but there’s a reason I hid this one! She gave a low grunt of frustration.
“Oh, right.” Moonlight’s horn lit up and the scene from earlier reappeared, but this time Luna was prancing like a giddy schoolfilly and shouting ‘Yes!’ over and over again. “This is the day I was to return. What I created was mostly amateur magic or incomplete works, but I was confident they would impress Starswirl nonetheless, and I had a very long time to perfect them afterward.
“After we returned, we found that Starswirl had disappeared without a trace. Equestria was in turmoil as everypony searched for a pony powerful enough to replace him. With the cycle of the sun and moon in jeopardy without him, my sister and I tried to help.” Moonlight smiled and closed her eyes, speaking with fond remembrance. “Not only were we enough, we didn’t need the other unicorns to help us at all, making them redundant. After that, one thing led to another, and before my sister and I knew it, we had both been crowned as the rulers of Equestria.”
She paused and looked at Scootaloo, who had trouble processing all this new information.
She looked up at Moonlight, picturing all of this happening a thousand years ago. “So, what happened to Starswirl?”
Moonlight responded with a small shrug. “That is something even I don’t know. After we became princesses, one of our first decrees was to scour Equestria far and wide in search of him, but we couldn’t find any leads, and his ultimate fate remains unknown, even to this day. After that-”
“Wait!” Scootaloo cut her off, earning her a glare that made her ears droop. Receiving an expectant look, she continued. “Why didn’t Twilight or Cheerilee teach us about any of this? This is all completely new to me!”
“Only three ponies in all the world know the truth about these past events: Myself, Celestia, and now you, Scootaloo.” She chuckled lightly. “Feel honored.” Her chuckling stopped abruptly when she saw Scootaloo gearing up for another question. “Before you ask why it isn’t common knowledge, my sister is responsible for that.”
“Even Luna doesn’t know? And why doesn’t Twilight know about it?”
“Because if Celestia had told her any of it, she’d have to tell her all of it. Twilight would never have been content to know only part of the story. The years being counted from my banishment, the earliest story that’s told to foals being about how I tried to shroud the world in eternal night, ponies know little of history before then, if they know any at all. Not many wonder, either. They just accept these stories and move on; as far as most are concerned, there is no relevant history before my banishment. As for Luna not knowing, she remembers some of it, but the Elements of Harmony purged the most intense memories.”
That could explain how Moonlight is a separate pony from Luna. I’m not sure how many more surprises I can take. Why would Celestia take such drastic steps to hide everything? And what made them fight in the first place?
Moonlight started to talk again, causing Scootaloo to refocus on her. “It was quite insulting when I showed myself in Celestia's place at the Summer Sun Celebration and only Twilight knew who I was.”
Moonlight’s words cut short as she flinched, her eyes flashing purple for a moment. “I’m afraid we’ll have to finish this later, I can sense Twilight near us. I need to get you on your hooves quickly, or we risk her discovering us.” The clubhouse manifested itself again, and both ponies could feel the solid wood beneath their hooves. When Moonlight looked at the wall of pictures, she saw one for herself had materialized in a bronze frame among the others, and couldn’t help but chuckle in amusement.
“How do you know that?” Scootaloo was more than a little relieved that Twilight had forced Moonlight’s hoof. At least I won’t have to tell her my secret just yet.
“Her Tantabus fragment.” She responded matter-of-factly. “Time may move far faster in the dream realm than the waking world, but I need to get you up as quickly as possible.”
“So how is this going to work?” Scootaloo asked with a feeling of ambivalence.
“This is my offer-” She looked her in the eye “-I will save your life and grant you a new body, one beyond anything you could have ever hoped to achieve before. I will teach you about whatever you wish to learn about, and certainly the truth of the past. Help me come to life and return, and you will rule directly under me. But most of all, I offer you the chance to decide for yourself what you want to be, without anything else dictating your path, and all I ask in return is your help and cooperation.” She let that sink in for the young filly.
I’d be lying if I said that what she’s offering isn’t appealing.A new body? I’d take new wings alone. I’m not sure about her being my teacher... But she’s almost as old as Celestia. Surely she has a lot of wisdom to pass on, and I really want to know the rest of the story... And I could be what I want to be, not what life forced me to be. It’s so tempting... But there’s still a problem...
“Alright, but what’ll happen to me once you get your own body? I don’t want to just disappear.”
Moonlight chuckled. “I am not the kind of pony to just discard a foal for no reason, especially one that will be so helpful. Do not worry Scootaloo, I will always have a place for you.”
Not sure if I should be glad or nervous about that, but better than her killing me the instant she doesn’t need me anymore, Scootaloo decided. She took several deep breaths to steel herself for what was about to happen.
Moonlight grinned from ear to ear. “Let us begin. Luna has already cast the spell necessary to save you. It’s been getting everything ready, preparing your body for what’s to come. Now it just needs some more magic to kick things off, which your fragment will provide.” Her smile faded somewhat. “I suggest that you brace yourself, and do it quickly. We're short on time.”
Scootaloo nodded, thinking of what was about to happen. I’m about to make a pact with Moonlight. I’m going to become a bat pony, something I know nothing about, and that’s just the start of it. I’m going to have to face the others at some point after this! What’ll they think? What’ll Rainbow Dash think? What’ll she-
“Scootaloo.” Her thoughts were interrupted by Moonlight’s voice. “I know this isn’t how you wanted things, but just because you've had little control of your life's events up until now doesn't mean you won't have it very soon. This is nothing short of your second chance, a do-over to get the life you've always wanted for yourself. Together, the only limit to how far you can go will be that you give yourself." She put her hoof out towards her. "And all you need to do to grab it by the reins is take my hoof."
Nice speech, wish it was coming from a different pony. She still felt a tiny amount of reassurance at the thought of not facing what would come next by herself, even if the one she was facing it with was a pony like Moonlight. She looked at the outstretched hoof, but something prevented her from reaching out for it.
“Hold on.” Scootaloo looked at Moonlight. “Were both of you alicorns before you met Starswirl?” If she can save me with her magic, I bet Twilight can as well. I just have to stall her long enough, and I’ll get a new life without having to put my friends in danger!
Moonlight scoffed, the delay noticeably annoying her. “Yes, why?”
“Were you always that way?”
The question made Moonlight look uneasy. She put her hoof down again. “No. No, we weren’t.”
Scootaloo sighed, a little annoyed at herself that she hadn’t just asked this first. “So how did you two become alicorns?”
Her question made Moonlight shudder and slowly recoil. “I will tell you, but not right now.”
Scootaloo’s jaw nearly dropped. Moonlight had been in almost total control of the conversation, but now she seemed completely freaked out. She wasn’t willing to immediately discuss it, and her tense body language told what her words didn’t. Whoa, didn’t expect that. “Why not?”
Moonlight gave her a somber expression. “I don’t care to tell that story right now. Just know this: if you think my sister and I were born alicorns or made that way by something beautiful or pure, you couldn't be more wrong. It was a horrifying, excruciating, and exacting process."
This revelation both intrigued and horrified Scootaloo. So they weren’t always alicorns, they were made that way, but what could be so bad that it scares a pony like Moonlight?
Anger flashed in Moonlight’s expression. “Do you even realize that Celestia wronged you as much as she did me?”
“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked, confused.
“Think about it, who created the system that just left you to rot in the Canterlot orphanage?”
Scootaloo turned away from Moonlight, her gaze going into the distance. “Celestia,” she mumbled.
“Who decided that Ponyville is too small for an orphanage, resulting in you having to sleep in the basement of a school, always in fear of Cheerilee discovering you?”
“Celestia,” Scootaloo said, just a bit more firmly than before.
“Who enacted the laws that meant that you could turn to nopony for help because you would be ripped away from your friends?”
“Celestia,” Scootaloo said, a tear running down her cheek from the mere thought of losing Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
Moonlight grinned, but Scootaloo couldn’t see it. “Who formed this culture for over one thousand years? This culture, that made it impossible for Luna to openly help you?”
Trembling from hatred, Scootaloo said, “Celestia.”
“Who forbade and shamed the kind of magic that could have allowed you to fly, that would have undoubtedly helped countless other ponies just like you, had she allowed ponies to study and refine it?”
Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed. That’s right, Twilight would never save me. She’s too loyal to Celestia, and she would have me destroyed or sealed away because of the dark magic Luna used on me. Through gritted teeth, Scootaloo pressed out, “Celestia!”
Moonlight looked around the clubhouse. Something new was appearing out of Scootaloo’s sight, but she could see it as clear as the night sky. A picture of Celestia pinned to the wall by a knife straight through her eye.
Moonlight wanted to grin from ear to ear but forced herself to take an expression of pity. She waited until Scootaloo looked at her again and said, “Do you see it now, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo didn’t answer, but the rage in her eyes was enough to tell Moonlight the answer, anyway.
“The truth about Celestia, the creator of the system that failed you, and enough power to change Equestria for the better. You’ll even get wings that will carry you through the skies, faster than even Rainbow Dash could hope to be, as the cherry on top. And all you have to do to get all of that is to lend me your body for a little while.”
Moonlight extended her hoof to Scootaloo once more.” So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?”
Scootaloo reached out to take her hoof but pulled back at the last moment.
Moonlight scowled and narrowed her eyes for a brief moment but she quickly regained her composure, fighting back the frustration in her voice. “What’s wrong, Scootaloo?”
“My friends, they could—they could be hurt, or worse!” Scootaloo’s voice was full of terror at that prospect. “New life or not, I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle because of my choice here. I’d rather die than let them get hurt.”
“My dear Scootaloo, have some faith in yourself,” Moonlight replied with a tone that was just a little too sweet to offset the impatience, “You will be more than powerful enough to protect them if you agree to our deal, and you’ll be around to be with them after we’ve corrected all of Celestia’s mistakes.”
Come on, take it already! Moonlight thought, Even if I could reach another pony in time that’s desperate enough to take my offer, I’d never find one so easily rallied against Celestia! She felt Twilight coming closer and closer. “If you agree you'll be powerful enough to protect them, but you need to decide now!”
Before Scootaloo could think it through anymore, she tightly grasped Moonlight’s hoof. As soon as she did a pain like sharp needles radiated throughout her entire body, but it ended as quickly as it started. Scootaloo gasped as the pain disappeared, her body growing heavier and heavier. She fought to stay on her hooves, but couldn’t stop herself from falling over.
Moonlight caught her with a foreleg, cradling her small body and gently lowering her to the floor. “Rest now, Scootaloo, and when you wake, you will be ready to take the first steps down your new path.”
Scootaloo heard her speak, but it was like she was hearing her through gauze. She could feel that she was being held, and with her mind as foggy as it was that wasn’t a particularly bad feeling. She barely noticed her eyes closing, drifting off to her last mortal sleep.
When Twilight entered the morgue and saw Scootaloo lying on a metal table, she felt a deep pang in her heart. As she approached, these pangs only got worse and worse. Oh you poor thing… While she knew Scootaloo was dead, actually seeing her hammered it home in a painful way. Suddenly Twilight couldn’t help but feel a touch of frustration towards her.
Why didn’t you ever tell us, Scootaloo? We could’ve done something for you! Her thoughts paused and her annoyance vanished as she also looked at things from Scootaloo's point of view and recalled Applejack and Big Macintosh’searlier words. We would’ve tried to find someone who’d take you in, and if not, gone from there.
Twilight felt newfound annoyance sprouting, but it was at herself this time. And where exactly would we have gone from there? If we couldn’t find a pony willing to adopt her, we would’ve had to send her somewhere so that she’d be looked after. There are probably plenty of ponies in Ponyville who would’ve been willing to take her in, but there’s always the chance that nopony would. Why would she take that chance when she already had a place to live? Looking down at Scootaloo, she still felt something amiss.
Her mind was trying to put together all the pieces as it came up with them, but some still didn’t fit neatly. She isn’t just a healthy weight for her age, she’s athletic, she’s fit, and maintaining the pace she kept requires a lot of food. If Big Mac was right and she was living in the clubhouse she’d have easy access to all the apples she could eat, but it takes more than that to maintain a healthy diet. Even if she did supplement that with whatever Sugarcube Corner threw out she’d have some pudge on her, but she’s very lean. She obviously didn’t have parents providing her with regular meals, so where did the rest of her food come from?
Another thought crossed her mind, and this one hurt more than the others. If she didn’t have parents, who cared for her when she was sick?
Twilight’s mind flashed to when she’d been Scootaloo’s age. If I ever got sick, mom always insisted I stay in bed, but it wasn’t bad at all. I had Smarty Pants to hug and talk to, and mom would take care of me. If I could hold down food, she made sure I never went hungry. If I hadn’t had her and dad… Her thoughts trailed off as the mental image of Scootaloo lying on the floor of the clubhouse, sick, hungry, and alone flashed through her mind. It was a horrible mental image and she fought to clear it from her mind, only to be immediately reminded that the reality of the situation was worse than what she’d been thinking of.
“Are you alright, your highness?” Dr. Palliate’s voice drew her attention away from Scootaloo, and she turned to regard him before looking back at the filly.
There was a pause before she answered. “Yeah, given the circumstances I’d say so.” Twilight sighed, wishing today had just been a dream. “Today started off like any other day, now it's ending on about the worst note that it possibly could. By the way, you don’t need to call me ‘your highness’ or use my title. Please, just call me Twilight.”
“Alright, I will. Not fond of it?” He asked.
Twilight turned back to him. “Sort of. I don’t like to be treated differently from anypony else, and while being a princess affords me power and influence that others don’t have, that’s exactly why I don’t want to use it. When I used it to get back here it felt like I was pulling rank over you, and it’s not a feeling I’m comfortable-” She glanced to where Rainbow Dash should have been, but she was absent. A quick glance around the room showed she wasn’t in the morgue at all.
There’s pretty much only one place she could be. Twilight began walking out into the hall, Palliate following after her.
“There you are.” Twilight only had to turn her head to see Rainbow Dash, walking over to her with Palliate following close behind. “What’s wrong, Rainbow Dash? I thought you wanted to see her.”
Rainbow Dash looked sheepish, rubbing a hoof against the back of her head. “I do, it’s just hard to work up the nerve. I was following you, but when we started to get really close, it felt like it was getting harder and harder to keep walking. It was like my body was telling me no.”
“If you need a few minutes, that’s alright.” Twilight offered.
“Ms. Dash, I’m afraid I must respectfully disagree with Twilight.” Palliate stepped forward so he was standing beside Twilight. “You can brace for this all you’d like, but be it for thirty seconds or a week, nothing will fully prepare you for what you’ll see. I suggest you do it now and save yourself the anxiety and dread that would come from putting it off.”
What happened next took only an instant, but in that instant Rainbow Dash had grabbed Dr. Palliate by his lab coat and slammed him up against the wall. Any anxiety or hesitations she might’ve been feeling evaporated, replaced by a burning anger.
“What the buck is wrong with you!? I thought doctors were supposed to care about the ponies they treated, but you don't seem to give a damn about anything that’s happened today! Do you not care that a foal is dead?! That she’s never going to get to grow up and live her life, or that she spent what little life she had how nopony should: alone?! She didn’t even have a cutie mark yet for Celestia’s sake! And to make it all the worse, I had a hoof in it!”
Rainbow Dash felt tears rolling down her cheeks as she spoke, but she paid them no mind. “Don’t you care at all?!”
Palliate couldn’t meet her gaze, and not just because his glasses had been knocked off when she slammed him against the wall. He felt a pain in his back from the impact and without his glasses, all he could see was a multicolored blur. “You’re hurting me!” He said as he desperately tried to pry her forelegs off.
Twilight was shocked, but hardly surprised when she snapped like that. Hearing Rainbow Dash’s tirade against Palliate, she couldn’t help but agree with her. Competent or not, a certain amount of tact was expected of doctors, and he certainly didn’t have it. When he said that he was in pain, she decided enough was enough.
With almost as much ease as breathing, Twilight levitated his glasses off the floor, gently setting them on Palliate’s face. This got Rainbow Dash’s attention who turned to face her. Seeing the hurt and anger in Dash’s eyes made her hurt for her friend, and she put a hoof on her shoulder.
“Dash, I know you’re sad, and angry, and you have every right to be, but hurting him isn’t going to make you feel any better and you know it.” Twilight looked her in the eye. “Please put him down.”
Looking back at Palliate, she decided Twilight was right. She released her hold on him, letting him drop the few inches back to the ground. “Are you alright? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” she asked more out of obligation than real concern.
He gave Rainbow Dash an ambivalent look, before adjusting his glasses and coat. “My back will be sore for a little bit, but I’m fine. I won’t delay you any longer if you want to see Scootaloo right now.” There was a brief pause. “Or we can wait a moment, if you’d like.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Let’s just go. Lead the way.”
“Right away.” Palliate began walking back down the hall, the two mares following him. He opened the door to the morgue, and his eyes widened. “But, that’s not possible...” There was an incredible amount of disbelief in his voice as his eyes stared at something, or rather a lack of something.
“What? What’s not possible?” Rainbow Dash and Twilight both raced forward to look in as well, but both gained the same disbelieving expression he had.
All of Twilight’s previous questions were cast aside in favor of a much simpler one as she stared at the now-empty examination table: Where’d Scootaloo go?
Moonlight swam to consciousness immediately noticed several things. She was lying on a cold surface, but the chilling feeling didn’t go all the way to her back hooves. In fact, she couldn’t feel her back legs at all.
She also felt something on top of the body she was borrowing. It was light and thin, and she soon realized it was a sheet that stopped just below her head.
It’s time to get out of here. I just need to- Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a door open and a voice coming from that direction. “Here she is, your highness.”
Damn you, Scootaloo!If you hadn’t hesitated we’d be out of here already! Now there’s a chance that I will be discovered! Scootaloo couldn’t hear her, which did nothing to dampen Moonlight’s annoyance. As she heard hoofsteps approaching, she was grateful for her current condition.
Scootaloo’s body was just barely alive. Moonlight had been sparing enough magic to maintain its vital functions, and right now that was a blessing. Minimal heartbeat, breath so shallow it would be virtually impossible to notice, and she was likely cold to the touch. Now our entire fate rests on them not noticing my presence. If they do, it will be the end for both of us.
She listened to Twilight and Palliate talking to one another, and had to fight back a smile when she said it was ending as badly as it possibly could. It’s not over yet, Twilight. In fact, it’s just getting started. I just need some alone time to get out of here.
A feeling of nervousness washed over Moonlight when Twilight stopped talking mid-sentence. Holding what little breaths she was taking, she heard retreating hoofsteps, joined by another pair, before the distinct sound of a door being closed.
As soon as the door closed, Scootaloo’s eyes opened the tiniest amount, but she wasn’t the one looking through them. Moonlight scanned the room through the narrow slit of vision she’d given herself. When she saw nopony in the room, she allowed a smile to cross the face of the body she was borrowing.
Purple light enveloped her, and she began dissolving into a mist. She quickly entered a vent near the ceiling, heading through the ductwork.
Outside the hospital this mist collected together, forming a glowing silhouette that resembled Scootaloo, but differed in several ways. Her ears were longer and more pointed, she’d developed a pair of fangs, and her remaining wing had transformed to resemble that of a bat. As the light faded her mane and coat were a much more muted color than they had been.
Moonlight attempted to take off running, but as soon as she did a sharp pain ripped through her body inside and out, causing her to inhale sharply through clenched teeth. It radiated through her bones and especially across her left side.
She looked herself over, and saw Scootaloo’s left wing was indeed missing. Checking the other side showed that while the right one had changed from the spell, it was still small and useless. It seems her internal injuries were a challenge even for the spell to heal. No matter, it still succeeded, and I would have endured many times worse for a chance like this!
Clenching her teeth, she forced herself to take a step forward, feeling another blossom of pain in her body. I feel your pain, Scootaloo, I really do. She took some breaths and took another step, and another, and another. As her small steps turned into galloping, the pain got worse before slowly beginning to subside.
A wonderful feeling of freedom washed over her as she ran. It’s been so long since I’ve felt the sensation of control over my own body.
With a blazing speed, Moonlight entered the Everfree Forest. She had a lot to do, not much time, and a long way between each of her tasks, but with the night still young and with the mobility afforded to her now she was confident she could make it.
Moonlight arrived at Zecora’s hut, approached the door, and found it unlocked. She opened it slowly, hearing a small creak as a result. The only active source of light inside was a fire burning beneath a large cauldron in the center of the hut. She stepped in, shutting the door behind her.
Her sight cut through what darkness the fire didn’t illuminate. She could see every detail and every object as if it were a bright day, and the detail she liked best right now was that Zecora wasn’t home.
Now where could she have put it? Moonlight moved as quickly and quietly through the hut as she could.
Moonlight methodically looked through the hut, ignoring objects that would be too small to hold what she was looking for. She looked under Zecora’s pillow, beneath her bed, and behind her books and masks. She became increasingly frustrated at her lack of progress and meticulously put everything back as she found it.
I can’t risk her knowing someone has been snooping around in here, especially at such a crucial time. But I can’t afford to dawdle around here too much longer, either. If I can’t find it soon-
Her ears twitched, the sound of hooves clopping against wood drawing her attention. Reacting quickly, Moonlight dove beneath Zecora’s bed. It was a bit of a squeeze, and she was thankful Scootaloo’s body wasn’t any bigger.
No sooner had she hidden than she heard the door creak open, hoofsteps entering. Moonlight stayed stock still, even consciously trying to keep her breathing quiet. This is not good, I’m cornered right now!
The sound of hoofsteps got closer, and Moonlight felt unease rising within her. What I wouldn’t give to have access to all of my magic right now. When the hoofsteps reached the edge of the bed, Moonlight held her breath. She cursed her loud heartbeat for betraying her position.
Anything could happen right now! She could be up late tending to whatever brew is in that cauldron. She could want something from under the bed!
At the realization that her cover may soon be blown, Moonlight tensed her muscles, ready to pounce if someone looked under the bed.
She heard a groan before the bottom of the bed bumped into Moonlight’s back. She could swear her heart stopped despite hearing a hammering pulse in her ears and her muscles tensing further, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. If she checked under the bed to investigate whatever that bump may have been, she’d have no choice but to make sure she didn’t live to tell about her.
Moonlight cursed every second she waited, the tension making them feel like they were minutes. After what felt like an eternity, she heard gentle snoring, and let out the loudest sigh of relief she dared. Now that she had a little time to think, she could almost laugh.
The irony of this isn’t lost on me. I’m widely considered to be a monster, I’m hiding under someone’s bed, and I’m only going to come out now that they’re asleep. Under better circumstances, this would be much more humorous.
With that thought in mind she carefully began to crawl out from underneath the bed. Carefully standing to her hooves, she looked and saw Zecora asleep on the bed. As she once again took stock of her situation, a fresh wave of annoyance set in.
I couldn’t find that damn thing when the hut was empty, and I’d be walking on eggshells if I wanted to find it now. But maybe, just maybe, I can get my answers from her.
Moonlight sat down and closed her eyes, intently focusing on trying to enter whatever dreams Zecora may have been having, but when she opened them she found herself exactly where she had been before. An expected outcome, but that doesn’t make this any less frustrating! I’m willing to bet I can’t draw on her fragment in this state, either. The one mare who knows where it is hidden, and I can’t tap into her mind!
Allowing herself a huff of annoyance, headed towards the door, timing her steps to Zecora’s snores. She carefully opened the door and slipped out, closing it behind her. Now that she was outside she allowed herself to groan in frustration.
This is a fool’s errand! She could have hidden that infernal necklace anywhere in her hut, or she could have hidden it somewhere out here! Moonlight froze at that last thought, a wicked grin crossing her face. Of course! Zecora would want to hide it somewhere obscure, but still close by so she could still keep an eye on it.
Moonlight looked at the hut and spotted a number of potential hiding spots. She looked up at the hanging bottles, immediately getting ideas. They were opaque and some were high up, a perfect way to keep them out of reach. Even if this body had both wings, they wouldn’t be any use at that size. I’ll start with the lower hanging ones first and work my up from there.
Climbing up on one of the hut’s roots, Moonlight grinned. Scootaloo’s body is recovering well. What was pain earlier is merely discomfort now. She carefully stood on her hind legs and grabbed one of the bottles, shaking it in her hoof. There was no noise and it was too light to have anything in it. The next two she checked were empty as well.
She scanned the upper branches and saw more bottles hanging, and knew she needed a better method of searching them. If it’s in one of them, it would need to be in one big enough to hold it. It also likely has something special to it; a seam, maybe some sort of hinges. She didn’t just stuff it in through the top, after all.
With that in mind she looked through them, immediately ignoring ones that couldn’t possibly contain what she sought. She spotted a large blue one with a wide base, and some kind of line across it. I just need to get up there. One giant leap, and it’s mine.
Taking some steps back on the root and charging forward, Moonlight leapt with a grunt of effort, clutching the top of the upper branch with her hooves. Pulling herself up and balancing on the tree limb, she smiled with satisfaction. It’s quite fortunate that Scootaloo was as active as she was, otherwise I may have had a hard time getting up here.
Not wasting any more time, Moonlight saw the bottle she’d spotted earlier and pulled it up, shaking it when she had it. She grew excited when she heard clattering from the bottle, and the seam on the outside only served to heighten her anticipation. Popping the cork out and holding it in her teeth she looked in. She was practically giddy now. A red light coming from the hole at the top confirmed that she’d guessed correctly.
I can’t just smash it, Zecora would surely notice it was gone. Thankfully, this has an easy way of opening. Putting her hooves on the top and bottom she twisted it and it unscrewed in her grasp.
Setting the top half down on the branch she pulled out the item she’d been searching for with such anticipation.
Staring into the glowing gem and single showing red eye, Moonlight felt her heart race with excitement. The Alicorn Amulet, finally, you’re mine once again!
Securing it around her neck she felt a warmth surge through her body and limbs, a feeling of invigoration accompanying it.
As she began to get down from the tree the ground, the gem, eye, and metal on the wings all changed from red to purple. Moonlight’s eyes widened in surprise at this particular color, and a feeling of frustration washed over her. Purple?! It’s supposed to be blue! It must be this body I’m in... But no matter, I still feel stronger. Now to go get a few things from my old castle.
In an instant Rainbow Dash was across the room and threw the sheet off the exam table, revealing only the casts Scootaloo had been in. “Where’s Scootaloo?!” she demanded, looking back at the other two ponies.
“I- I don’t know!” Palliate rushed up to the examination table. His composure failed him and his normally calm voice was filled with anxiety. “She was here just a moment ago! But what’s baffling is that her casts are here and intact.”
“No, that’s not baffling, what’s baffling is how she could have left here!” Rainbow Dash insisted. “I thought you said she had all kinds of injuries.”
I also said she was dead, but it’s certainly not a good idea to remind her of that. My back is still hurting from that wall. “Yes she was, but what I can’t understand is how her casts are intact.”
“What does that have to do with anything?!”
“I’m sure if you let him explain, he’ll tell us.” Twilight told her before giving Palliate a gesture to continue.
“Well, if either of you have ever broken a leg, then you know why they shouldn’t be like this. They’re not meant to slip off, otherwise they’d be useless. They have to be cut off, yet they’re completely intact.” He told them.
“I know, I had plenty of them as a filly, but I mean what does it matter here? Somepony came in here and teleported her away?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I doubt it, Rainbow Dash. When a pony teleports whatever is in direct contact with them goes with them. It wouldn’t make sense for a pony to go to the trouble of removing Scootaloo’s casts so that they’re somehow intact before stealing her body.” He reasoned.
“Then what did happen?!” She demanded.
“I don’t know!” Palliate blurted out, taking a step back from Rainbow Dash as his composure completely failed him. “It’s as if she just vanished into thin air! The only way in here normally is the one door we were just outside, so nopony just carried her out, there’s a vent but it’s much too small for anypony to fit through so that only leaves teleportation, but for some reason her casts are still here and intact. I just don’t know what happened! What’s concerning to me right now is that some unseen force just stole a pony and we have no way of knowing if it will do the same with other ponies!”
“Let’s find Luna.” Twilight suggested. “I’m sure she can help us figure out what happened and make sure nothing happens to anypony else.”
“You won’t be able to find her in the hospital.” He told the two. “She went back to Canterlot after Scootaloo’s passing. She’s probably either asleep or overseeing the dream realm right now.”
“What if Luna is the one who took Scootaloo?” Rainbow immediately asked, looking at the empty table.
Twilight followed her gaze. “It still wouldn’t make any sense. Why would Luna teleport in, somehow get Scootaloo’s casts off so that they’re in one piece, and then steal her away?”
“Yeah, because Luna is totally in a state of mind to make rational decisions right now.” Rainbow Dash’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Palliate looked at the casts as well, and his mind began to quickly replay events from earlier in the day. I never met Scootaloo before today, but Luna must’ve cared a great deal for her to assign me to caring for her. I’ve seen ponies become distraught over the loss of loved ones before, and when they’re foals, it always hurts worse. But her rapid deterioration, Luna’s demeanor, did she do something that was the cause of her death, only to somehow magically steal her body after it failed?
He hadn’t given it as much thought as he ought to have before, but now that he thought about it, it fit together all too well. I don’t know of any spell that could summon an object or a pony, but if anypony had access to such a spell it would be Celestia or Luna. It could be, and I will have to look into it, but until then I can’t take any chances.
Looking at the two other mares, he finally spoke. “Right now hospital protocol demands that I inform the security staff of Scootaloo’s disappearance, then the hospital will go on lockdown as they thoroughly search the building for her. I suggest you leave before that happens or you’ll be stuck here for some time.”
Where is it? Moonlight kept repeating this question in her mind as she browsed the bookshelves in the library of the Castle of the Two Sisters. She’d seen some useful books, but what she wanted continued to elude her.
As she browsed over other titles, she finally found the one she was looking for. Ah, here we are: Passages and Pathways. She reached out and pushed the book in, hearing a light click.
The bookshelf sank down into the floor, revealing a passageway. Moonlight began to walk in, but a grinding noise caught her attention. The bookcase quickly began to rise up again, slamming back into place behind her.
Small hoofsteps echoed throughout the hidden hall as Moonlight walked through it. There wasn’t any light, or even any torches on the walls to be lit. Were it not for her night vision, she wouldn’t be able to see anything.
Moonlight’s ears twitched. The further she walked, the more she heard a continuous, high-pitched ringing. Her curiosity was piqued, and as she walked further she could tell the direction it was coming from.
She looked to her left, seeing an ordinary-looking door. As she pushed it open, the ringing only grew louder.
I can already hear it fine, it doesn’t need to get this loud, she thought with mild annoyance.
None of the books or the comfy-looking chair in the quaint room interested Moonlight as she walked to a corner and investigated the source of the nearly deafening ringing. She bent down and pulled a book out of the shelf, seeing a small button that protruded from the wall.
She pressed it, and the ringing stopped, only for a lower-pitched, quieter ringing to sound from across the room.
Another? Moonlight went across the room, but seconds later the sound vanished, and the original ringing was once again loud and clear.
Despite the annoyance it caused her, Moonlight grinned. A secret inside a hidden passage? This is certainly something worth investigating.
Scootaloo grunted softly, her eyes slowly opening. Was that all a dream, too?
As she sat up and saw the portraits on the wall surrounded by the colored frames, that notion was shattered as everything she’d recently been through came back to her.
First there was a wagon barreling down towards her, then meeting Moonlight, and finally making a deal with her for her life.
Today has been one heck of a day, and I think it’s just getting started. But if I’m still here in my subconscious, where’s she?
“Moonlight?” Her voice was a whisper at first but quickly turned into a shout. “Moonlight, can you hear me? Are you there?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted an answer or not, but when nothing happened, she turned her attention back to the wall. Her eyes settled on the picture of Celestia that had a knife through the eye pinning it to the wall.
Suddenly the intense discussion from earlier returned in full detail, every single word Moonlight had said about Celestia burned into her mind.
Scootaloo frowned and approached the picture, grabbing the knife and trying to pull it out. But no matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn’t budge. She tried putting her hoof against the picture for extra leverage, but as soon as she touched the picture, her vision began to blur and fade out.
Moonlight had uncovered four nodes in the bookshelves, and there was a fifth somewhere nearby, but her patience was running thin. All of them were time-sensitive, and if even the first one ran out of time, then they all reset and she had to start over. By the time she was hearing the fifth one, she had seconds before they reset and that same annoying, high-pitched noise sounded again.
She investigated where she had heard the last sound, pulling books off a shelf, but unlike with the others, she didn’t see a small node coming from the wall. She tapped her hoof along the wall, soon hearing a hollow sound.
So that’s how it is. Moonlight knocked on it a bit harder, and the hollow noise made her think it wasn’t too thick. She drew her hoof back and struck that space, feeling the small false section of wall break as her hoof stung from the impact. Ignoring that and eagerly brushing the debris away, she looked down the hole and saw the node she’d been looking for.
She smiled as she approached where the constant ringing had been coming from. Let’s try this one more time.
She slammed down on the node, bolting across the room and hitting the second, already scrambling and pressing the third. She hurried and lunged down, hitting the fourth node. Only seconds left!
Springing to her hooves she sprinted towards it. I’m not going to make it! Time seemed to slow down for her, and every step felt like an eternity, as she came closer and closer to the button, each hoofbeat sounding like the ticking of a clock.
When her hoof slammed down on the node she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I made it.
As soon as she did, there was the sound of stone sliding on stone as a hole in the ceiling opened, revealing what looked like a gem of some kind. It began to glow, and a translucent image of a large bat pony made entirely of blue light appeared.
Moonlight had expected to find a valuable artifact or a rare spellbook, not whatever she had stumbled upon. This pony was old, but he still towered over her current form, and his size betrayed his strength.
“To have found this message, you need a bat pony’s hearing, so if you’re listening to this, then I rejoice that the time of our return is near. My name is Silver Fang, and at the time of this message, it’s been seventy-four years since Moonlight was banished. They have been dark times for us. After Moonlight was banished, Celestia set to hunting us down without pause or compromise. Most of us fled, others tried to grovel at her hooves for mercy, only to find there was none to be had. Serves them right for thinking they could trust her.”
Fools, Moonlight thought to herself, scoffing at the notion of seeking mercy from Celestia. After what we did, they should’ve known she’d show no mercy.
Silver Fang continued, pulling her from her thoughts.
“We learned that the bat ponies Celestia captures aren’t killed, they’re locked away in Tartarus.” He grinned widely, “Anypony trapped in Tartarus doesn’t age, thirst, or hunger. They’re alive, and there they will stay alive indefinitely. With this knowledge and the hope that Moonlight is still alive, we hold hope to rise again. And it is with this hope that we that escaped have worked to build our return, and you seeing this means the time to do so is almost upon us.”
Moonlight was in shock, her mouth hanging open as her mind blanked out.
“After Moonlight was banished, many of us went into hiding, but we weren't idle. We worked to make, gather, and hide everything needed for another uprising. We’ve toiled in the shadows, hiding from Celestia’s prying eyes. We have prepared for decades, thanks to greatly extended lifespans as a result of the bat pony spell. At this point, I suspect we’re able to move more freely because she thinks we’ve all died out.”
Silver Fang frowned, touching the wrinkles on his cheek.
“However, we are not immortal. By now, we are all over a century old. If Moonlight returns, it likely won’t be in our lifetime, and it wouldn’t be right to bring foals of our kind into the world only for them to have to hide like we have.”
He gestured towards the ceiling where the gem was projecting him. “To that end, we stashed everything we made in hidden caches across Equestria, with messages like this so that only a bat pony would find them. We also posted sentries to protect them, but by the time you see this, they’ll likely be all gone.”
A rolled-up scroll appeared in front of Moonlight in a flash of magic and fell to the floor, but her attention would not be diverted.“Armor, weapons, artifacts, equipment, bits, everything you will need to succeed.”
Silver Fang’s expression hardened, and his voice became coldly focused. “What you need to do is simple. Go to Tartarus. Find your fellow bat ponies, free them, arm them with what’s in these caches, and tear Celestia apart. Good luck.”
As the image faded, Moonlight felt the floor beneath her shift. She snatched up the scroll and leaped back as a small section of the floor parted, revealing a staircase.
Moonlight sat in sheer disbelief, struggling to process what she’s just heard. However, as she wrapped her head around the message, a feeling of euphoria washed over her. Maliciously happy laughter began to echo about the small room, but it stopped abruptly.
Her laugh wasn’t the same intimidating laugh she’d previously held, but a filly’s.
“Are you telling me-? Ugh!” Moonlight growled in annoyance. In addition to Scootaloo’s body, she had borrowed her voice as well.
She turned to the scroll, opening it and seeing a map of Equestria. Across it were dots over specific places. I take it that’s where they hid these caches, and one is right here.
She folded up the map and tucked it under her single wing, looking at the revealed spiral staircase. And it seems it’s right beneath my hooves.
When Scootaloo’s vision returned, she was in Canterlot Castle on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala and was suddenly awash with how she felt that night.
All her current unease and trepidation were drowned out by much more pleasant emotions. She was overjoyed to be Rainbow Dash’s plus one, the background music created the perfect atmosphere for the event, and she was looking forward to the wonderful food served to the guests.
She looked up at the top of the staircase, seeing Celestia and Twilight talking. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she wasn’t trying to hear them. She was hoping to see Luna, but no matter what, this was going to be a great night!
Suddenly she was back in her subconscious, the knife still clutched in her hoof. She let go of it, backing away from the wall.
What was that? I was right back at the Gala. The sights, the sounds, even the emotions. Scootaloo’s face broke into a smile. “That, was, awesome!” She shouted as her tiny wings buzzed in excitement.
“I wonder if the others do the same thing?” She glanced across the wall for a portrait to try it out on, but her smile faded when she saw Moonlight’s among them. Yet again, Moonlight’s angry words pounded in her head, as well as her own.
“Moonlight said that Celestia wronged me just as much as her. It was easy to agree with her in the heat of the moment, but now... I’m not sure anymore.”
Scootaloo sat down and stared at Celestia’s picture before looking back to Moonlight’s. She began to drift back to her days in the Canterlot orphanage, but she grunted harshly and stopped herself. “Somepony somewhere definitely screwed up with the Canterlot orphanage, but it’s not her fault. She doesn’t handle every single thing in Equestria.”
She began to pick at the floor while her thoughts continued. “I’m sure it wasn’t just Celestia’s decision that Ponyville was too small for an orphanage, but either way, I still had to sleep on a hard floor every night.”
Getting bored with the floor she stood up and stretched her wings and legs. There’s nothing really bad that I can think of about her. She paused, remembering how Moonlight came to be, and just how old her grudge with Celestia was.
A sense of dread slowly crept into her, making her feel cold on the inside. “Then again, when they fought before, she banished her for a thousand years. What’ll she do to me?!”
She began to think of what exactly could happen, but nothing was positive, and each new train of thought was worse than the last. “If she’d banish her sister, what’ll she do to me?! Maybe she’ll banish me to the moon, or turn me to stone, or turn me to stone and then banish me!”
Her legs felt weak and she didn’t so much sit as she fell to the ground, feeling tears prick at the corners of her eyes. “I only just met Moonlight, and I’m already in a corner. Even if I commit myself to whatever plan she has, she could still lose, and even if I don’t and she loses, I won’t be able to just hide anymore.”
A new problem began to weigh on her mind, bearing down on her. “Forget not having parents, I took a deal with Luna’s evil half. But, what was I supposed to do? It was either take her deal or die, and she would’ve just found somepony else. Anypony would’ve done the same thing I did. Right…?”
Her tears threatened to spill over her cheeks, but she fought to suppress them, wiping them away.“Come on, I’m better than this. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t cry in the face of uncertainty, so I won’t either.”
The urge to cry suddenly vanished and a small smile finally appeared. She scanned the wall, seeing the picture of Rainbow Dash. “I’m sure she’ll understand. After all, she took me under her wing that night. And it’s not like with Celestia and Luna, my big sister is the Element of Loyalty. If anypony will stand by me no matter what, it’s her.”
Feeling a little bit better about what might happen, she looked back at Moonlight and Celestia’s frames one final time, thinking long and hard about what could happen. “If Moonlight wins, only Celestia has to get hurt, and if she loses, Rainbow Dash won’t let anything bad happen to me. And if everything goes the way I hope it does, soon I’ll be flying alongside her.”
Scootaloo wasn’t sure if she believed herself, but it was the best explanation she had to put her mind at ease.
Moonlight pushed open the door at the bottom of the stairs, and what she saw made her practically giddy with excitement all over again. The chamber was about the size of one of the royal bedrooms in Canterlot, but not an inch of space had been wasted.
Weapons hung from racks in the center of the room. Sets of armor were set up along the walls alongside chests that she could only guess the contents of, and saddlebags hung from hooks on the walls.
It’s like Hearth’s Warming came early this year. Moonlight took the scroll out from under her wing, reading it again.
Even if every cache is only as big as this one, I’ll still be able to equip a large force. However, everything here is useless to me without somepony to wield it.
Remembering Silver Fang’s words, her excitement grew. And thanks to him, I know exactly where to find said force. So many ponies have told me to go to Tartarus in the past, and it seems that their wish will finally come true. Just not the way they imagined it.
The night air was filled with the sound of crickets chirping as the Apple siblings walked across Sweet Apple Acres. Big Macintosh looked behind him, making sure Apple Bloom was still asleep.
“Hey, Applejack,” he softly told her, “take Apple Bloom and put her to bed. Ah’m gonna go check something.”
She moved over and gently scooted Apple Bloom onto her back. “You’re gonna go check the treehouse, ain’t ya?”
“Eyup.”
As Big Macintosh started walking off, Applejack went to the farmhouse. As soon as she opened the door she knew her rough night wasn’t over yet.
Idly rocking back and forth in her rocking chair and glaring at her from across the room was Granny Smith. Her forelegs were tightly crossed, and Applejack knew she was in for it now.
“Do you have any idea what time it is? Where in tarnation have you been?! Ah have been worried sick! First Ah go to check on y’all and find ya gone and one of the wagons wrecked, then Ah can’t find anypony around ‘ere! You better have a darn good explanation!”
Oh boy… This is gonna be tough. “Granny, there was an accident. That wagon broke loose and it-“ her voice momentarily failed her, still finding it hard to say aloud, “it crushed Scootaloo.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped. “How did that happen? Is she alright?!”
Applejack shook her head, momentarily checking that Apple Bloom was still sleeping. “No, she’s not alright. Granny, Scootaloo’s gone.”
She was shocked. Cuts, scrapes, and the occasional bruise were to be expected from what they did, but honest work on their farm having killed somepony was a mournful prospect. “Put Apple Bloom to bed, then come back and tell me everything.”
“Got it.” She started going up the stairs, going slowly so as not to disturb Apple Bloom, or worse, have her fall off. Going into the filly’s room she gently tucked her into bed, giving her a kiss goodnight.
“Sweet dreams, sugarcube. Today’s been a rough day for everypony, and we’re not done yet, but we’ll get through it together.”
Making sure she was asleep, Applejack crept out of the room and closed the door behind her. Going downstairs, she heard the front door open, and when she got to the bottom she saw her older sibling coming in.
“It’s a good thing nopony took me up on that bet. Ah couldn’t find anything in the treehouse.” Big Macintosh told them.
“So Scootaloo wasn’t staying there... Well, where the hay was she sleeping, then?” Applejack asked
Granny Smith looked confused “Wait a minute, why in tarnation would that filly have been living in the treehouse?”
Applejack sat down, getting settled into the couch. “It’s a lot to tell all at once, Granny.”
Entering the boutique, Rarity checked to make sure Sweetie Belle was still behind her, though she could have just kept listening to the soft sobs coming from her.
Sweetie Belle dragged her hooves as she came through the door, her gaze squarely on the floor, and her curly mane obscuring her face.
Rarity knelt down and gently pushed her head back up. The look on the younger unicorn’s face told her all she needed to know as she wrapped her in a loving embrace. The hug was returned with greater force than Rarity had expected as her sister began to weep into her shoulder.
“Sweetie, I know it hurts. Today was a tragedy, but it gets easier, it just takes time.”
“I don’t want easier,” Sweetie’s voice took a pitch that seemed perfectly tuned to break Rarity’s heart. “I want my friend back! I didn’t think the last time I saw Scootaloo would be the last time I ever saw her.”
For a while, the only sound in the boutique was Sweetie’s crying until Rarity dared to break it, trying to change the subject to absolutely anything else. “I know it’s late, but do you want anything to eat? In all the commotion we didn’t get any dinner.”
“I’m not hungry… I think I’m just going to go to bed. I just want today to be over.”
Her answer was expected, but disappointing all the same. Rarity hated seeing her so upset, and knowing there was absolutely nothing she could do to make things better frustrated her. Rarity let go and took a step back, still keeping at eye-level with Sweetie Belle. Maybe there was one thing she could do.
“Would you like to stay with me tonight, Sweetie?” She gently asked. It was admittedly just sharing her bed with her sister, something they often did when she had a nightmare, but it was all she had to offer.
She was glad when she nodded. “Yeah, that sounds nice.” Her voice still held a great deal of sadness, but she sounded a tiny bit better than she had before.
Rarity smiled, glad to see any improvement in her mood. “Alright. Go brush your teeth and come in when you’re ready.”
Sweetie Belle gave the faintest of smiles before she started heading up the stairs, and Rarity felt a sense of relief as she started following her. Rarity went into her bedroom, getting herself ready for bed.
“This is a load of horseapples!” Rainbow Dash angrily declared as she exited the hospital. Twilight followed right behind her with Spike riding on her back. She had been waiting to shout that since they’d been advised to leave, but getting it out didn’t make her feel any better.
“I’m sorry, but, well-“ Twilight paused, trying to think of how to finish that sentence. There was no good way to finish it, and nothing she said could make the situation better.
“Scootaloo is gone, we have no idea where she is, and we’re trusting Doctor Apathy in there to look for clues.”
“Her body is gone, Dash.” Twilight corrected. “As for Palliate, his bedside manner may be lacking, but if Luna trusts him, I think we should, too. We’ll find out who took her.”
“Or maybe she’s alive!” Dash shot back. “She could be out there somewhere!”
Twilight felt her frustration growing, a harsh tone creeping into her voice. “Dash, I saw her, lying on a metal table, covered with a sheet, and not breathing.”
“Oh come on! We’ve seen weirder things happen! We can’t be certain unless we find her!”
She was about to argue with her, but stopped and sighed. “You’re right, but we’ll have a better chance of finding her when it’s daylight and we’re well-rested.” She saw her friend’s crestfallen expression and felt sympathy for her.
“Look, we won’t get anywhere if we’re looking while we’re tired and it’s the middle of the night. We should get a good night’s sleep so we’ll be up to the task tomorrow. We’ll also have better luck asking for help then.”
“Ugh, I hate waiting.”
“I know, believe me, I know. For now, let’s both go home, get some sleep, find out what Palliate finds in the morning, and go from there.”
Rainbow Dash spread her wings, and with a strong flap, she began to rise off the ground.
“Come over bright and early, we’ll gather our friends and get started. I’ll see you then.” Twilight tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it was weak and she knew it. She was grateful when Rainbow Dash flew off, letting her face relax.
She flinched when Spike poked her, turning back to him. He looked nervous, but curious at the same time. “Do you really think she could be alive?”
Twilight thoughtfully looked back to the sky, watching Rainbow Dash fly away from them. “She was right, we have seen stranger things before, but it’s highly unlikely Scootaloo is still alive.”
She watched Rainbow Dash speeding towards Canterlot and very soon a ring of rainbow color exploded through the sky with a thundering boom.
Twilight sighed, putting a hoof to her face. “Why do I even bother?”
“She’s going straight towards Canterlot.”
“No, she’s going straight for Luna. I don’t think she’s going to appreciate Rainbow Dash showing up unannounced.” Twilight noted.
“Should we do something?” Spike asked.
“I don’t think we could stop her if we tried. We should let Celestia know she’s coming. Spike, take a letter.” he pulled out a quill and paper, and she began. “Dear Princess Celestia, Rainbow Dash is on her way and is going to demand to talk with Princess Luna. I write to you to let you know she’s coming.”
Spike finished writing and rolled it up, but he looked skeptical. “Celestia is probably asleep, Twilight, I’m not sure if she’ll be awake to read this.”
Twilight thought for a moment, then lit up her horn. “Shield your eyes, Spike.” When he did she squinted and cast a spell on the paper so it glowed brightly. “There, send that.”
“Nevermind, no way she’ll sleep through this!” Spike shut his eyes and breathed out a plume of fire to send the letter on its way, relieved that the bright glow was gone.
After a moment, Twilight’s eyes suddenly widened. “Hey Spike, you still have that envelope from earlier?”
“Gotcha covered.” He held it up, showing it to her. “How come?”
“Because,” She focused and teleported then both to the throne room of her castle, gently taking the envelope with her magic and spreading the contents all over the map. “we didn’t get to examine this well earlier, and I’m sure giving this a quick once-over before bed wouldn’t hurt.”
She levitated one of the photos up for a closer look and she felt her throat constrict. Her earlier statement was immediately proven wrong. “Oh sweet Celestia!” She exclaimed, her magic slamming the photo face down as she felt sick to her stomach.
“What? I didn’t see it.” Spike hopped down off her back and on to one of the thrones, looking at the blank backside of the picture.
“You don’t want to, Spike.” Twilight grimaced. “It was a picture of Scootaloo in the hospital after she was rescued from the fire. Immediately after she was rescued.”
“Oh…” Spike cringed, now grateful he hadn’t seen anything.
“I think it would be best if nopony else saw that photo.” Twilight gathered everything else up, sealing it back in the envelope. “On second thought, I’ve decided we’ll look through this in the morning. We won’t be good help to Dash if what we see might keep us up all night.”
As if on cue, Spike put a claw over his mouth and let out a long, drawn-out yawn. “Yeah, you’ve got a point there.”
Twilight smiled, wrapping a wing around him and gently guiding him towards the hall. “Then let's go to bed, what do you say?”
Granny Smith sunk back in her seat, processing everything her granddaughter had just finished telling her. “That story’s sadder than a rocking chair that’s lost its swing, Applejack.”
“Yeah…” She put her head in her hooves, groaning. “Ah don’t know what to do. Apple Bloom’s gonna be traumatized for life, Scootaloo lost hers, there’s no way to fix this.” She leaned against the armrest of the couch, supporting her head with a hoof. “Dying all alone without a family, Ah can’t think of a worse way to go.”
She felt a comforting hoof on her shoulder and looked up to see her brother’s reassuring smile. When she heard her grandmother chuckling, she glared at her. “What could you possibly be laughing at?”
“A family doesn’t just have to be by blood, Applejack. Why, take Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, we all know they and Scootaloo think of one another as sisters.” Granny Smith smiled, her words filled with a tone of confidence. “Heck, she was around us so much she may as well have been an Apple.”
Applejack’s spirits began to lift, the feeling of despondency she was feeling greatly lessening. “You got a point, Granny. You shoulda seen how much her wings buzzed with excitement the morning after Rainbow Dash agreed to be her big sister. Ah thought she was gonna take off flying then and there.”
Granny smiled back. “That’s exactly what Ah mean. It ain’t blood or forms that make a family, it’s the love they share with each other. The poor dear had a family, what she needed was a home.”
“Eyup.”
A peaceful silence hung in the air for a few seconds before Applejack spoke again. “So where do we go from here? Ah mean, what happens next?”
Granny Smith stood up from her rocking chair, the wood creaking with her movements before she got to her hooves. “We do what any grieving family does: we lay her to rest, we mourn her, and we keep her memory alive. It’s a process we’ll all have to go through, so will Rainbow Dash, and Sweetie Belle, too.”
“It ain’t simple and we both know it. It’s gonna be especially hard on Apple Bloom.” Applejack told her.
“Ah know it ain’t easy, Applejack,” Granny told her, looking away and rubbing her eye. Her voice was much more somber. “Nopony knows better than me how difficult it is to bury a loved one, but it’s something we’re gonna have to do, and that’s how we’ll get through it.”
She felt Big Mac squeeze her shoulder, looking up to him. He offered her a reassuring smile, but he put a large hoof over his mouth to stifle a loud yawn.
“Sounds like y’all had a day longer than a country mile.”
“Yeah, we did.” Applejack stood up from the couch, rubbing her eyes. “Ah’m gonna go hit the hay. Ah’ll see y’all in the morning.”
After making her way upstairs, Applejack carefully cracked open Apple Bloom’s door and looked inside. A feeling of relief washed over her as she saw her still sleeping peacefully.
“Goodnight, sugarcube. Ah’ll see you in the morning.” With that, she gently closed the door before going to her bed for the night.
Rainbow Dash flew towards Canterlot, her speed increasing and the wind rushing past her faster and faster until she broke forward in a Sonic Rainboom. I’ll never get tired of that.
As she sped towards Canterlot, her eyes locked squarely on the castle. Alright, Luna, I’m going to get to the bottom of this and the first step to that is getting some answers out of you!
Moonlight panted as she walked along the stone pathway, Scootaloo’s body feeling like it was filled with rocks. She’d exhausted all her stamina and were it not for the Alicorn Amulet’s power, she wouldn’t be able to keep going. The heavy saddlebags on her back were no help, either, her legs slightly trembling beneath their weight.
Her whole body was sopping wet thanks to a late-night downpour. As she looked up a bolt of lightning illuminated the gates of Tartarus, thunder following soon after. It was a fitting punctuation for where she was going.
Her hooves splashed in the water as she pulled herself up the stone steps leading to the gate. When she reached the top, she put her hoof against the lock. A purple glow began to shine from her amulet. Despite her fatigue, her spirits were high.
The glow began to run through the lock, clicks sounding from it. The gates opened with the sound of metal grating against stone. Moonlight smirked as she stepped into Tartarus. When she crossed the threshold, the gates began to close behind her, shutting with a metallic slam.
She glanced from side to side, seeing rows of cages full of various creatures. They were all relatively docile compared to how they would normally act, but she could hardly care.
A distant set of pounding thumps suddenly drew her attention.
She tossed off her saddlebags and started digging through them. She’d packed something just for this situation, she just needed to find the blasted thing.
The pounding was getting closer, and she dared to glance in its direction, beginning to hear growling, too. Panic began to rise in her and she dumped out the contents of the saddlebags, finally seeing the object she was after.
She snatched up the stick she’d been looking for as Cerberus came into view. She held it in front of her and called out, “Who wants the stick? Do you want it? You want it, don’t you?”
Cerberus skidded to a stop, all three of his heads fixated on the stick. They smiled and panted with happiness, following the stick as Moonlight waved it around.
“Go get it!” She called before tossing the stick and watching him run after it. With the threat of being mauled dealt with she finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling her tired muscles relax.
“That was too close…” she muttered to herself, beginning to pick up her things and putting them back in her saddlebag. A moment later she heard laughter before a voice called from behind her.
“I thought for sure you were about to be his next meal.”
Moonlight placed her saddlebags back on before turning towards the source of the voice.
Seeing who it belonged to a frown crossed her face, but she began to approach. As she got closer, she was more clearly able to see its occupant. Within was a frail, emaciated centaur lying on the floor. “Are you disappointed that I didn’t, Lord Tirek?”
“Not really.” He slowly got up and stretched himself out, his joints creaking and popping. He leaned forwards and grasped the bars of his cage. “I so rarely get any form of entertainment here, it was amusing either way.”
Tirek smirked, peering down and getting a good look at her. “I must say, you look very different from the last time I saw you, little one.”
Moonlight huffed. “This body isn’t mine, I’m just borrowing it until I get mine back. What I need to get it back is hidden somewhere in here and I’m not leaving until I have it.”
This drew a sinister smirk from Tirek as his eyes seemed to glow with sickly yellow light.
“I know exactly what you’re looking for, and more importantly, I know where they are.”
This revelation made Moonlight’s eyes widen for a moment, but her skepticism immediately restrained any excitement. “Is that so? And you think you know what I’m here for?”
“Indeed.” Tirek slowly stepped back from the edge of his cage, gesturing to the area around him. “I’ve been here since Equestria was young. In my early days here I saw them bringing in a great many ponies like you and locking them away in a sealed chamber. I can tell you where it is.”
Moonlight raised an eyebrow, her skepticism reaching its peak. While Tirek did know what she was after, he seemed a little too accommodating. “You’d just tell me? You wouldn’t insist I take you there, or only tell me if I let you out first? There has to be a catch, Tirek.”
He chuckled, crossing his arms and sitting his back legs down. “Let’s not kid ourselves. I’m certain any attempt I make for my freedom would be denied because you know I would betray you at the first opportunity, and I have a strong suspicion you would be planning to do the same.”
“I won’t deny that.” She answered, occasionally shifting her weight around. Although the amulet’s magic was enough to keep her awake, it did nothing to abate the fatigue in her muscles. Eventually she gave in and sat down, giving her tired legs a break.
“You must want something. Nothing of value comes without a price.” She lied down and put her forehooves under her head. The temptation to just take a little nap was tempting, but she resisted. Soon sleep wouldn’t be an issue for her.
The centaur grinned, tenting his fingers. “You will provide what I want: Equestria to suffer.”
That took a few seconds to sink in, but when it did a quizzical expression began to cross her face. “And that’s really all you want?”
Tirek clenched his fists, his face morphing into a snarl. “I want many things, but right now I’m going to go for what’s closest to my reach. What I want is to see Equestria pay for twice foiling my evil schemes, corrupting my brother, and condemning me to an eternity in this dark, dank, claustrophobic dungeon. I’ll be happy to have it happen, even if I’m not the one to do it!”
Her excitement was beginning to work its way free, but she still kept it in check. “I can guarantee you that, Tirek. Taking my revenge will involve causing quite a bit of that.”
Tirek’s expression was incomprehensible for a moment. Perhaps he was excited about his dreams coming true, even if another was fulfilling them, or maybe he was disappointed that he wouldn’t be there to see it for himself. Moonlight couldn’t tell either way, nor did she care to figure out which it was.
He leaned forward, gazing down at her. “Then listen closely, and I will tell you what you need to know.”
Celestia and Luna were both sleeping contently until an intensely bright light abruptly awoke them. They shifted and tried to block the light, but in doing so Celestia accidentally rolled out of bed and landed on the floor. She threw off the covers and got to her hooves.
“Enough!”
With a quick spell the light vanished, leaving behind a scroll. Curious, she levitated it into her hoof and began to read.
Luna groggily sat up, blinking herself awake.
“Who’s that from, sister?”
“It’s from Twilight. Rainbow Dash is on her way, and she-”
Celestia was cut off when a pegasus-shaped shadow appeared on the carpet, Rainbow Dash crashing through one of the bedroom windows moments later. She landed on the ground, pointing a hoof right at Luna.
“There you are!”
Luna flinched when Rainbow Dash crashed into her room, the surprise startling her fully alert. “How did you know this was my bedroom?”
“This is the eighth window I’ve broken trying to find you, but that’s not important! Scootaloo’s gone missing”
This caught the princesses off guard and they shared a look before Luna lit her horn and teleported away.
“Where’d she go?!” Rainbow Dash demanded.
Celestia sighed, looking at the imprint on the bed where Luna had been. “If I had to guess, she went to Ponyville to help look for clues.”
Now it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to be surprised, but she collected herself quickly. “Twilight wants to start looking for Scootaloo in the morning, but she could be in danger. We can’t afford to wait.”
Celestia seemed confused. “I thought Scootaloo had died.”
“Maybe she did, but if there’s even a chance she’s alive we need to start looking right away!”
Celestia thought for a moment before lighting her horn and levitating her regalia over. “I agree with you, Rainbow Dash. Not only will I send you royal guards to help the search, but I will personally help you find her.”
Rainbow Dash’s surprise continued as she felt her anger beginning to leave with the promise of help. “Why are you helping me?”
“Because her sudden disappearance is very worrying, and I’ll admit that if I wasn’t with Luna the entire night I’d have probably come to the same conclusion you did.”
Dash hesitated for a moment. “Just to make sure we’re on the same page, what conclusion would you have come to?”
Celestia turned back to her uninvited guest. “That Luna was somehow involved. I don’t know what happened, Rainbow Dash, but I assure you she wasn’t. Head back to Ponyville, I’ll be there shortly.”
A sense of ambivalence weighed heavily on Dash’s shoulders. Celestia might have been telling the truth, but for all she knew she could be covering up for Luna, too. But she still had nothing to prove it other than the fact that Scootaloo was gone, but that didn’t automatically mean Luna was behind it.
She suppressed a sigh of frustration at the realization that her trip had been for nothing, and her only real move was to go along with the princess’s suggestion.
“Alright, I’ll meet you there.” She told Celestia before flying back out the broken window, racing back to Ponyville.
Every step Moonlight took was a challenge. Her borrowed legs felt like they were made of lead, and the idea of sleep threatened to lure her in like bait in a trap. She wouldn’t rest, and soon she wouldn’t need it.
She looked around, trying to see if she was in the right place. She grit her teeth in frustration, wondering if the centuries had skewed Tirek’s memories, or if he had intentionally led her astray for his own amusement.
The thought that she’d been sent on a fool’s errand only made her frustration grow, and a small growl escaped her throat. She needed to find them if she was going to defeat Celestia, and Twilight, and rule Equestria. If Tirek was tricking her she’d find a way to make him sorry.
Just as she was about to begin planning what she’d inflict upon him, she saw what she was looking for. A dark gray door, just like the one on the surface, but this one was different. There was no keyhole or indentation in the door.
Moonlight approached it and tapped on the door, feeling that it was indeed quite solid. She put her hoof against it and closed her eyes, trying to focus magic into any sort of lock, but she felt no response.
She withdrew, trying to find a way to open this door. There didn’t seem to be any sort of lock she could pick, and she didn’t have the destructive power to force it open. It seemed like an impossible challenge for her, and the idea made her tired frustration bubble up and boil.
“I… Will… Not… Be… Denied!” She slammed her hooves into the door, her only response being a stinging pain for her efforts. When she pulled back, though, she saw that her hooves were covered in a layer of dust, and markings on the door were visible now.
Curious, Moonlight reached forward and wiped more of the dust away, seeing similar markings and symbols beneath it. “Runes. Well played, sister.”
As she saw more of them, she focused, making sure she was reading everything correctly. What she saw made her roll her eyes.
“Of course you’d put something like that here. I’d be surprised if you had put anything else.” She cleared her throat, and read the runic inscription. “In your slumber, may you finally find peace, may your kin find closure, and the harm you bring to Equestria forever cease.”
The door remained tight, unyielding to her simple command. “Of course, I should’ve known. Not even she’s stupid enough to write the passphrase right on the door. So what is it?”
She thought hard, trying to think like Celestia. She’d use something memorable, probably something significant to her, but she was drawing blanks. “Ugh, for all I know she coded the door with gibberish she wrote down somewhere to remember it.”
She shook her head. “No. Celestia was never the kind of pony to follow proper safety standards.” She started pacing back and forth. “It needs to be something nopony inside would ever say by accident, or by guessing. She wouldn’t have bothered with the door if she wasn’t afraid of them waking up by accident, so she would have….. Should have accounted for that. So it could be…”
An old memory reared its ugly head in her mind. When they had both still been younger, Luna kept stealing Celestia’s diary, and eventually, Celestia put an enchantment on it that meant only those saying a certain phrase could read it. She never bothered keeping the phrase secret, because she knew that Luna would never say it for something this petty.
“Oh for the love of…”
Moonlight gulped. She took a couple of deep breaths, preparing herself for the worst thing she ever had to say.
After one last deep breath, she shouted, “PRAISE THE SUN!”
As soon as she finished the last syllable the door cracked open, stale air rushing out and making her step back. She practically gagged as the unbelievably musty odor invaded her nostrils, but it wasn’t enough to keep the smile off her face when she saw what the door had revealed.
Passing through the door Moonlight’s vision cut through the darkness, letting her soak in the sheer scale of the chamber and the rows upon rows of cages. Approaching one she saw the limp form of a pony with the same pointed ears she had.
“Silver Fang wasn’t exaggerating, there must be hundreds of them here. But right now I’m only interested in one.”
Wind rushed against Scootaloo’s face as she soared through the skies, her tiny wings buzzing like there was no tomorrow. The sensation of speed, the freedom from gravity, the new view of the world, it was like nothing she’d ever felt before, and the hoof beneath her belly continually reminded her of who’d made it possible
She may not have been able to fly with her own wings, but her new sister Rainbow Dash was letting her experience what it was like to fly for the first time in her life, and it was even better than she’d hoped for.
Scootaloo’s only complaints were that she couldn’t do it herself, and eventually they’d have to stop, but for now she was enjoying the euphoria high it was giving her. She opened her mouth to give a shout of happiness, but suddenly everything was gone.
Darkness closed in around her, and she fell.
Scootaloo was unceremoniously slammed back into reality as she was flooded with feedback from her body. Everything was heavy and sore, and she could feel her legs trembling with fatigue.
A hoof brushed against the back of her neck and pulled on something. She tried to look up, but her vision was stuck on the floor. Whatever it was came away, and any vestiges of strength she had left her. She started to fall forward and squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation, but she felt contact not with a hard stone floor but a pair of forelegs.
Summoning all her strength, she forced her eyes halfway open to see herself pulled against a pony’s barrel, a hoof gently brushing up and down her back. She tried to speak, tried to move, but all that came out of her was a small groan.
“Shh, just go to sleep. I promise I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
Scootaloo didn’t recognize the voice, but she wasn’t in a position to argue with it. The warmth from this pony’s body and the gentle pressure on her back served to relax her, and her eyelids felt like they had the weight of trains pushing them down. Letting her eyes close, Scootaloo took their advice.
