Desperate for closure, Scootaloo discovers that the truth behind her idol's death may have been greatly, disturbingly exaggerated.
Rainbow Dash is dead.
Scootaloo saw it herself; an aerial stunt went horribly wrong and her adoptive big sister perished in front of her eyes. She grieved, and her friends - including the late Rainbow's friends - did their best to comfort her. Although, she did notice that Twilight seemed to react to the news... differently from the rest. She seemed to act as if nothing was wrong at all, like Rainbow was even still alive.
Time passes. One day Scootaloo receives a strange book, one that tears open her still-raw wounds and threatens to shatter her mind. Can the Cutie Mark Crusaders solve the mysteries behind the book, and make the pilgrimage to the place where the dead are given new life? Will they discover the truth behind Rainbow's ultimate fate?
More importantly... will they survive long enough to tell the tale?
Scootaloo was already doing plenty of that. Her bloodshot eyes burned as she rubbed them dry for the hundredth time this hour. She sniffled as quietly as she could manage, as she had run out of tissues long ago.
Her tired body shivered against its will as the wind whipped through countless rows of plain metal folding chairs. The entire town of Ponyville and hundreds of creatures from around all of Equestria had gathered for the funeral. She sat in the front row facing the Town Hall... and a dreadful box on a lavishly-decorated platform full of flowers.
Inside the rather simple coffin of plain oak wood and white satin laid a sky blue Pegasus mare clothed in the performance uniform of the Wonderbolts. Her wings had been positioned to flare upwards and outwards heroically, and her front hooves were placed in a praying position atop her chest. Her wild rainbow mane, once washed and conditioned and brushed to perfection, lay scattered across her face like a veil.
She looked like she was peacefully sleeping, as if in the middle of a wonderful dream. Scootaloo knew this was not the case, though. She had tried to wake her up so many times. She had even tried again ten minutes ago.
She heard several sets of hoofsteps behind her, but she did not move.
"S-Scootaloo? Are you alright?" A warm hoof touched her shoulder. Fluttershy's voice was even softer than usual. "It's getting quite dark out."
"Oh, dear..." Rarity trotted towards the coffin and peered inside. Her horn glowed with icy light as her magic brushed Rainbow's mane out of her face. "There, now. We can't have you looking so unsightly... not t-today..." she choked.
"C'mon, Scoots," Applebloom gently tugged at her left hoof while Sweetie Belle tugged at her right, breaking her free from her seat. "It's freezin' out here. Let's go inside and sit. We don't even hafta talk to anyone at the reception."
A noise caused Scootaloo's head to snap upwards. Rainbow's parents, Windy Whistles and Bow Hot Hoof, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were lifting her off the platform, aided by the swirls of Rarity's and Twilight's magic. She tried to follow them, but her friends held her back.
"I... I don't think you want to follow them," Fluttershy gently suggested. "They're taking Rainbow to the funeral home to have her cremated, now that everything's over."
Scootaloo's voice was hoarse and raw. She tried to protest but could only manage a couple of disjointed words.
"But... she... no-"
"She wouldn't have wanted that to be your last memory of her," Fluttershy soothed. "I'm sure she wanted you to remember her as she was in life... so proud, so bold... and such a w-wonderful f-friend... a great p-pony..." Though she had dealt with death many times in the past as part of her occupation, Fluttershy was struggling to hold it together long enough to comfort the adoptive little sister of her late best friend. Fresh tears stung Scootaloo's cheeks as she watched the somber parade walk slowly down the road until they were out of sight. Only then did she allow herself to half-walk towards the Town Hall, and be half-dragged by Applebloom and Sweetie.
Moist, warm, slightly-funky air cascaded into Scootaloo's body as she opened the door. The interior of Ponyville's main building was bustling with many of the funeral attendees, particularly those who knew Rainbow well. Most were residents of the town who had known her for many years, all speaking quietly and respectfully of her great exploits. The Wonderbolts closest to Rainbow were present: Spitfire draining her fourth mug of cider and continuing to blame herself for only adhering to 99% of the safety protocols, and Soarin, who rubbed Spitfire's back in sympathy as he sobbed and loudly blew his own nose. Various members of other races she had interacted with were in attendance as well, both civilian and royalty, from Thorax, King of the Changelings and Dragon Lord Ember to Gilda, Zecora, and even Little Strongheart.
And, of course, to be expected at the funeral of one of the Bearers of Harmony, Princess Celestia sat at one of the tables by herself, flanked by a pair of Royal Guards while nursing a glass of white wine, dressed in blackened finery. Also saddened by Rainbow's passing, she kept glancing around the room and finding eyes upon her, and she cringed at the thought of her mere presence taking attention away from the matter at hoof. Though she had requested silence, her earlier eulogy for Rainbow had garnered much applause.
To Scootaloo, however, all these ponies and other creatures may as well have been monochrome cardboard cutouts. She quietly slipped out of her friends' hooves and rushed past all the well-wishes and "sorry for your loss"-es, desperate for the sanctity of an empty room. Doors hastily opened and slammed shut in her wake until she found a small, dark storage closet in which to be alone.
Once she had shoved the heaviest of the cleaning supplies in front of the door to block entry, she sat down and wailed. Her eyes screwed themselves shut, forcing her to relive that abhorrent afternoon...
*one week earlier*
It was a beautiful day. Canterlot's golden spires glowed with radiance as ponies from all over Equestria gathered for the annual Wonderbolts Derby. Rainbow was excited for the event, eager to show off her extreme speed, and had reserved the best skybox in the cliffside grandstands for her friends. Scootaloo, of course, was also invited, but she much preferred sitting in the front row, as close as possible to the imported cloud racetrack.
Her body shook with anticipation as the Wonderbolts took their positions, Rainbow in between Fleetfoot and Blaze. The starting pistol's shot rang out, and she heard the thrum of twenty wings beating as hard as they could, followed by a blur of blue and gold. The crowd erupted into a thunderous clamor as the ten flyers whizzed around the track, Rainbow Dash quickly taking the lead.
She didn't really remember the ins and outs of the race, the overtaking or the strategies. It was gone, forgotten, all lost to that terrible accident.
High Winds, whom Rainbow was about to lap, had hit a patch of turbulence and fluttered erratically to recover. Rainbow was flying as fast as she could, too fast to safely avoid her. She veered to the right, thankfully missing High Winds but hitting the patch of turbulence, and spun out of control into the cloud barriers against the grandstands. Though her heart skipped a beat, Scootaloo did not fear for Rainbow's safety; the barriers were enchanted to bring any errant Pegasi to a safe stop, and this was not the first time she had crashed into them. Perhaps she would even use the barriers as a sort of springboard and launch herself back into the race, maybe even showing off with a trick.
But Rainbow did not come to a stop. She bounced off the barrier as intended, but her momentum carried her slowly back into the racetrack. Back into the path of the speeding Wonderbolts.
Fleetfoot was flying too fast to avoid her. Time stopped as Scootaloo watched Fleetfoot's front hooves drive themselves into Rainbow's left barrel.
She watched as Rainbow's eyes disappeared inside her skull.
She watched as the right half of her barrel bulged unnaturally.
She watched as her neck bent at an angle a neck was never meant to bend.
The crowd's shouts and cheers died as Rainbow and Fleetfoot fell motionlessly to the clouds below. A horn blared a series of short blasts from somewhere, and the other Wonderbolts immediately converged on their fallen comrades. Horrified, Scootaloo bent over the grandstand's railing as far as she could go, peering down to the thick layer of cloud cover they had come to rest on. Fleetfoot was rolling and moaning in pain, her front limbs and right wing shattered into bloody tangles.
But Rainbow twitched once, twitched twice, then lay still.
A grotesque, rattling gurgle escaped her bleeding muzzle, punctuated by a gush of crimson.
Her eyes stared into nothing.
The other Wonderbolts, pale from shock, quickly erected a cover of opaque clouds above the scene so the crowds couldn't see.
But Scootaloo saw everything.
*present*
The inability to breathe through her nose startled Scootaloo out of her nightmare. She coughed violently, rubbing her wet, salt-burned eyes so she could look around for something to blow her nose on. A box of thick paper towels proved sufficient, and the force she had to use to clear her sinuses almost drowned out the rest of her thoughts.
Applejack had been the one to confirm to her what she already knew. The coroner said that it had been instant, that she felt no pain. Here one moment, gone the next. She had burst into the morgue screaming for Rainbow to get up and tell her she was okay, much to the dismay of her friends and the hospital workers. Rarity's magic hadn't been strong enough to tear her away from her cold body, though she really hadn't the heart to at the moment. Twilight had to intervene.
As the funeral preparations were set in motion, Twilight had been the most stoic of them all, sending out invitations to all who knew Rainbow, selecting wreaths and flower arrangements, composing eulogies, arranging for Octavia to perform a set of appropriate dirges and requiems. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and her own two best friends had been sobbing messes most of the week. And Pinkie Pie... she was surprised Pinkie even had the inner strength and energy to cater the reception afterward.
But Twilight... Twilight never shed a single tear.
Scootaloo's aunts had quickly arranged for her a meeting with a therapist a couple days after the accident. He had told her that grief comes in many forms, and not all ponies grieve the same way. Perhaps Twilight was grieving in her own way, she presumed. She wished she had that kind of strength.
There was a gentle knock on the door. "Scootaloo? You in there?" Spike's muffled voice barely penetrated the closet. Scootaloo blew her nose as hard as she could in response. "I've got something for you... something Rainbow wanted you to have."
That was all the motivation she needed. She shoved the cleaning supplies out of the way and opened the door. Spike stood solemnly in front of her, holding a delicate, black-lacquered box the size of an apple.
"Twilight and the others are back," he spoke quietly, offering the box to her. "Rainbow said in her will that you could have some of her ashes, if you wanted them." Sniffling, Scootaloo slowly, gingerly took the box in her hooves and nodded. It may have only been a hoofful of crumbled bone, but it was now her most treasured possession. She held it tightly to her chest, prompting Spike to wipe his eyes with the back of his claws.
"Your friends are worried about you," he began again after regaining his composure. "C'mon, let's go see them. I'll even sneak you some cider if you want... Celestia knows I need some myself."
Scootaloo nodded, but did not speak. She had finally managed to stop crying; saying literally anything would cause her to start again. Spike gently wrapped an arm around her, and the two returned to the reception.
Ah... sorry, my friend, I'm afraid I can't stay long today...
...Today's your funeral, of course. I've spent all week arranging everything to be perfect...
...What do I mean? You died, silly... Snapped your neck into itty bitty pieces. Horrible way to go, really...
...The doctor did say it was instant, at least...
At any rate... I don't have to pretend you're alive and well anymore... As far as everypony's concerned now...
you are very much dead and gone.
*one year later*
Though not quite yet adults, Scootaloo and her friends had grown into fine young mares.
The orange Pegasus kept her adoptive sister close to her heart. She had become more bold and brash, showing off new tricks on her scooter whenever she could. Though her wings remained small and stunted, through vigorous practice and determination she had managed to learn to glide downwards rather than simply plummet from heights. Her fuchsia mane had been allowed to grow out, and she had meticulously trimmed and brushed it to resemble Rainbow's old manestyle.
Sweetie Belle had become a beauty rivaling that of her older sister. Though Rarity still forbade her from helping her create her dresses, she did allow her to model them from time to time, and through a couple successful fashion shows she garnered the attention of many a pony. Coupled with her melodious voice, she found herself launched into a cushy part-time job that allowed herself and her Crusader friends to travel Equestria with ease. Also, with Rarity's help her own magical abilities had greatly improved. She could even finely manipulate multiple objects at a time, just like her sister... though she was still not to be trusted with pins, needles or scissors.
Applebloom had grown strong... very strong. She could very nearly plow and sow fields and buck apples from the trees as quickly as her own elder siblings without any sign of fatigue. Her alchemy hobby had finally proven rewarding; among her other successful potions she created a special fertilizer that nourished the Apple Family's orchards and made the fruits grow even bigger, sweeter and healthier than before. Zecora herself even said she had nothing left to teach her.
Together, they were the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Accepting letters from all over Equestria and beyond, they traveled around the countryside helping those in need of figuring out their true talents, or better understanding their Cutie Marks. It was a duty they took great pride in, and they were often gone for a month or two at a time.
And today they had finally returned from an extended trip to Sire's Hollow. Applebloom threw open the doors of their clubhouse - which she had long ago renovated into a modest dwelling that could house the three of them together - and threw herself onto the couch as Sweetie Belle levitated some suitcases into their living room.
"Whew! Ah'm beat," she sighed as she reclined on the couch. Sweetie and Scootaloo mumbled in agreement, the former taking a seat on a plush chair beside the couch while the latter headed straight for her hammock in the corner. She flopped into it with the grace of a headless chicken and let out a loud, contented sigh.
She stretched her limbs as she sighed. Her hoof bumped into something on her nightstand between the hammock and the wall. Scootaloo made a confused noise; she distinctly remembered leaving nothing there before they had left.
Her friends were lost in relaxed conversation as she sat up and quietly grabbed the strange object. It was a brand new, sky blue-colored book, the only marking on it being a winged grouping of three buildings atop a lightning cloud. Curious, she opened it.
The first page simply read "For my Hero". Past that, the words were cryptic, enigmatic, esoteric... unsettling. Scootaloo's face scrunched. Deciding it was too much work to figure it out at the moment, she set the book back down on the nightstand, crawled out of her hammock and joined her friends in their conversation.
It wasn't until later that night that she picked the book up again. Though the three were always more than welcome in their own homes, it wasn't uncommon for them to spend the night in the clubhouse. While Scootaloo had her hammock, Sweetie Belle had a small camping cot nearby with an air mattress and blankets to sleep on, while Applebloom was more than happy with just the couch.
Sweetie's snoring jolted Scootaloo's eyes open, which clamped shut as their gaze met the moonlight shining brightly through the nearby window. She rubbed her face and grunted at the realization she was wide awake now. After a few moments contemplating how to go back to sleep, her memory returned her attention to that weird book. Sighing, she reached over and grabbed it, then flipped to the first page.
The prose was thick and perplexing, but the meaning became more clear as she read on. It detailed in an almost code-like fashion the story of two mares, one described as a dark dusk while the other seemed to be referred to by a different color each time. They were searching for a lost filly in a strange land only mentioned as "a place where the dead are given new life" that became progressively more terrifying and horrific the further they went. Creatures of all kinds wandered the land, tortured and mutilated, the gratuitous details of which were so graphic, so haunting, so realistic it made Scootaloo's stomach quiver. It ended with the dusk mare betraying the other, her fate left uncertain but pessimistic. Throughout the macabre, mysterious story the entire premise felt familiar, but she couldn't quite put a hoof on why.
It took only an hour and a half to finish reading the grim tale. A shivering Scootaloo gulped as she turned the final page. The last paragraphs had set the book up for a sequel, but that wasn't quite what made her pause. Rather, it was the final sentence that seemed to tie everything together with one ragged, rotting ribbon.
"Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Indigo, Violet - she was a Rainbow."
She was a Rainbow... She was a rainbow...?
On the opposite page was a hoof-drawn map of a mountain range covered in storm clouds, with a skull and crossbones imposed over the tallest peak. Above and below the map was a pair of hoof-drawn messages:
She is still alive.
Do not come for her, lest you meet her fate, or worse.
Scootaloo blinked. Somepony had clearly added in this last map and these messages. But why? And this wasn't even her book to begin with, somepony must have left it here for her to find. Were these messages specifically intended for her?
A chill ran down her spine, her wings fluttering nervously by themselves.
It finally came to her: Rainbow Dash and Twilight had gone on a long and apparently perilous journey to a distant mountain range to save a lost filly over five years ago. Ultimately they were unsuccessful, and while Twilight remained entirely tight-lipped about the whole trip, Rainbow never liked to talk much about the details, if she didn't just change the subject immediately. It was like she had decided to completely purge all memories of the journey from her mind.
What if... oh, Celestia... what if Rainbow had died back then and was given new life at that place? Was that what this strange book was getting at? The world was full of magic, but was such a thing... such a place even possible?
She absentmindedly mulled over the possibilities until a particularly loud snore from Sweetie startled her out of her trance. Scootaloo shook her head and sighed in relief. This was a puzzle the Cutie Mark Crusaders could figure out tomorrow. She rolled over in her hammock and shut her eyes until sleep finally clouded her mind.
But her dreams were already tainted by what she had read.
~
Once her friends had awoken, Scootaloo gathered her thoughts, then brought up the topic of the book and its contents while they were eating breakfast. She described everything she could that wouldn't cause her friends to lose their appetites, finishing with the final sentence, the added map and the messages. Applebloom and Sweetie were silent for a while as they listened, then pondered.
"Well... it sounds like some kind of horror story written especially for you," Sweetie finally said. "I guess you could interpret the two main characters to be Twilight and Rainbow... but honestly, it sounds like this was written in really poor taste."
"Ah don't like how you said the gory parts were super detailed," Applebloom added. "Just how does somepony know so much about that kinda thing? If they hadn't 'ave turned a new leaf a couple years back Ah'd be suspectin' Diamond 'n Silver bein' behind it."
"Why was it given to you?" Sweetie asked. "And the map and messages at the end, they must mean something... oh! I bet it's like a super-secret Cutie Mark problem that nopony else can know about!"
"Eh, I dunno about that," Scootaloo mumbled, unconvinced. "I feel like it is meant to be some kind of secret or something. The things it talks about are pretty horrible... too detailed to be just imagination." They were silent for a few moments, puzzled as to what to make of it.
"Oh, I know!" Applebloom suddenly lifted her hoof. "Why don'cha ask Twilight about it? She's good at mysteries and things like this. Plus she likes books a whole lot, maybe she'll know who wrote it."
"Hmm..." Something caused the tiniest twinge deep within Scootaloo's heart as she considered this option, but it was almost entirely overshadowed by excitement. "Yea, you're right. Great idea, Applebloom! I'll go see her right away, then."
~
Scootaloo had dropped the book off with Spike in the morning, asking him to have Twilight read it and then tell her when she'd finished. It was now afternoon, and Spike had come to her and the others in the clubhouse, saying that she was ready to give her opinion. With the little dragon hovering beside them, the three ponies walked gingerly inside Twilight's crystal castle, their muted reflections reminding them of their raucous ways in the past.
They found her in her private library, sitting on a rug on the floor, squinting at the mysterious book as if lost in thought. She jumped a little at the sound of their approaching hoofsteps, sighed and smiled.
"Ah, hello girls," Twilight greeted, friendly as ever. "How was your trip to Sire's Hollow?"
"Great!" Sweetie grinned. "We helped every little colt and filly in town!"
"So, you read the book? What do you think?" Scootaloo cut in. Twilight's mouth pursed uncomfortably.
"Yes... this..." she leered down at the closed tome. The Cutie Mark Crusaders leaned in. "Well... it seems to insinuate that Rainbow Dash is still alive."
Something between fathomless grief and impossible elation tugged at Scootaloo's heartstrings. "Wh... What?" she coughed.
"Whoever the author is, they went through great lengths to make the message as abstruse as possible... but once you cut through all the flowery words and purple prose, it implies that Rainbow and another mare went searching for a lost filly in a dangerous place. The other mare turned on her... possibly out of madness. But the ending, especially... it greatly suggests that she's still alive and... trapped there."
"'The place where the dead are given new life', right?" Scootaloo's eyes widened. "Didn't you and Rainbow go on a similar journey a few years back?"
"I..." Twilight blinked. "...Yes. We went to the Shrouded Mountain to look for... oh, what was her name... But it was very dangerous. We didn't find her... and we barely escaped alive ourselves."
"I see," Applebloom picked up the book and flipped to the last page, where the map and messages sat. "So is this evil-lookin' mountain here the Shrouded Mountain?"
Twilight was silent for a few moments before she answered. "...That's it," she nodded.
"But..." Sweetie chimed in, "in that book... if it's really about Rainbow, then the other mare, that means-"
"I would never do anything to Rainbow!" Twilight snarled as she suddenly lunged at Sweetie Belle, stopping only as her face came within inches of her own. "She's my best friend! I-" She seemed to stumble over her own words for a moment, ending with a sigh as she withdrew from Sweetie's personal space. "I... I saved her flank from many dangerous traps and monsters there... look, just... just heed the book's advice and please never go there. Neither of us were ever really the same after we returned."
The Crusaders were silent. They stared blankly at the Princess of Friendship, not sure of what to make of her words or actions.
"Well... if you three will excuse me... I need to prepare for an upcoming international summit. I'd be happy to continue this discussion later," Twilight smiled thinly. It was obvious in her eyes that she never wanted this discussion to ever be discussed again. The Crusaders nodded and meekly said their goodbyes as they headed towards the door.
But Scootaloo hesitated. "Um, Twilight?"
"Hm?" Her voice sounded unusually curt.
"Um... when Rainbow... when Rainbow died... she really did die... right?" It sounded so silly her voice lowered to a near whisper when she said it. Twilight sighed and walked calmly over to Scootaloo, wrapping a foreleg and a wing around her. But this embrace lacked its usual warmth, as did her eyes as she gazed up into them.
"I'm afraid so, Scoots. She's not here anymore... but she'll always be with you."
Scootaloo shivered. Maybe it was all in her mind, but that statement sounded less-than-genuine. She nodded quickly and squirmed out of the hug, breaking out into a run to catch up to her friends.
Um... S-Sundae Sprinkles... W-Who are you? Where am I?
'Sundae Sprinkles', eh? That's not the name I heard in the papers... your other name, please.
Wh... what do you-
What did they call you? When you were finally discovered, and they finally found the ponies that had gone missing... what was left of them, anyway.
Oh... San... Sanguine. Please... is this my punishment?
Oh? You want to die? To be executed for your crimes?
I mean... no, but-
Because I must say, I'm extremely interested in how you developed your methods. A simple ice cream shop pony, capable of trapping, torturing and murdering so many others... and your method of disposal was ingenious! Using their blood as a substitute for eggs in your famous Devil's Food ice cream... sounds delicious, if I'm being honest.
I... you... well, thank you... oh, I just wish she could have tasted it... I was so close to the perfect recipe. Just a few more for another test batch or two, and I know she would've wanted to share it with all the ponies in her parties...
Hmhmhm...
...Guess I'll never get the chance to now, though.
Nonsense. According to all official records, you've already met your fate on the chopping block...
Huh?
You're special, Sanguine. You're quite the talented mare. That's why Princess Celestia saw you fit to join my research facility... though you may never leave this place, you are free to experiment to your heart's content for the rest of your days.
I... you mean... I can perfect my recipe? Really?
Oh, yes... I can get you set up right away. I and the rest of my staff cannot wait to try your newest batch of Devil's Food ice cream, Sanguine... and I'll be sure to save a carton of it just for her.
~
Days passed. The more Scootaloo thought about the book, the more she believed in its words.
It seemed to know things only Rainbow and herself would've ever known. The Colorful One often alluded to past events and other fillies in flowery similes and metaphors that - once she had thought long and hard about their meaning, and had taken the time to look up the more esoteric words she didn't know - very clearly referred to things she and Rainbow had done together: The Sisterhooves Social, camping trips to Winsome Falls, meeting Rainbow's parents, and even Rainbow's heartfelt words about her underdeveloped wings.
She is still alive.
She skimmed and scoured the pages over and over, searching for more mysteries and hidden meanings. Soon she noticed that some words were needlessly capitalized in a smaller font that blended in well with the rest of the text - a lazy mistake for most editors, but perhaps not so here. It took her an entire sleepless night to find ten such capital letters; she finally nodded off at dawn wondering what or where the Storm Peaks were.
She is still alive.
All the while, the words tore at her heart while mending the tears back together at the same time. She would be reminded of how much she had idolized, cherished, loved her adoptive sister and smiled. She would be reminded of her violent death, realize that she was gone forever, and cried until her face hurt.
She is still alive.
But then she would remember the book's words, and she would wonder if "the place where the dead are given new life" was real. She would wonder if Rainbow had been to that place all those years ago, or if she had, and she really perished there on her trip, and yet returned.
She is still alive.
Scootaloo glanced up to a small shelf above her bed in her room. A small, black urn, shining like an ebon jewel, sat peacefully, its only adornment being an emblem of Rainbow's Cutie Mark in grayscale.
She is still alive.
Her chest ached as she gazed at the urn. Her vision darkened and blurred the longer she stared. She missed her so much. So very much.
She would do anything to bring Rainbow back.
~
"You... You want to do 'hwat now?!" Applebloom yelled incredulously.
"I can't stop thinking about it," Scootaloo paced around the clubhouse. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle sat on the couch in disbelief. "That book... it was meant for me. It was meant for me to figure out all its secrets. It was meant for me to find Rainbow!"
"But she's dead!" Sweetie exclaimed bluntly. "We all saw the accident, we all went to the funeral, and you wouldn't stop trying to wake her up!"
She is still alive.
"'The place where the dead are given new life'..."
"Huh?"
"'The place where the dead are given new life'," Scootaloo mumbled slightly louder. "What if Rainbow... what if she actually died first during her trip to the Shrouded Mountain with Twilight, and that place... it brought her back somehow? Is that what "the place where the dead are given new life" means? What if-"
"Lemme stop y'all right there," Applebloom interrupted. "There's no way a place like that really exists, Scoots. If'n it did, ah doubt it'd be much of a secret. Ponies and other creatures from all over the the world would be lookin' fer it."
"Also, pretty sure necromancy is, like, suuuper illegal," Sweetie added. "Even villains won't do it!"
"You been obsessin' over that book a li'l too much, ah think."
She is still alive.
"It has to be about her... it just has to!" Scootaloo argued. "Sure, it's written like it was translated into Griffonese and then Yakish and back to Equestrian, but it talks about all kinds of things only she and I would know! It has to be real. It has to be true!"
"It's ridiculous!" Applebloom shouted in frustration.
"...Can you even reanimate ashes?" Sweetie put a hoof to her chin. "What if she comes back as just a pile of ashes? She'd just blow away in the wind." Applebloom slapped a hoof to her face and dragged it down slowly.
"Uh..." The thought hadn't crossed Scootaloo's mind until just now, but she was almost instantly positive it didn't matter. "Well... no. No, it'll work. It must. It has to!"
She is still alive.
"She can come back! I can help her come back!"
She is still alive.
"She... she's still alive..."
Scootaloo went silent as her breathing slowed. Her mind went blank. But then it was filled with possibility. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle glanced nervously at each other.
"I... I'll bring her there... it must be true... it must be there..."
She is still alive.
"...Sh... Shrouded Mountain... must find..."
She is still alive.
"Must find!"
She ran out of the clubhouse door before her friends could even react.
~
There was no time to waste. Though she moved as fast as her legs could carry her, it simply wasn't fast enough.
First, Scootaloo burst through the doors to Twilight's castle, knocking a busy-with-chores Spike over in the process. She scrambled inside the library room she had been in earlier and began frantically searching for atlases. She had already torn down half of a shelf of perfectly-organized books when Spike stumbled inside, rubbing his head.
"Uh... Scootaloo? What'cha doin?"
"Atlas..." Her words were few and fevered. "Storm Peaks... atlas... Storm Peaks... atlas... Storm Peaks, Storm Peaks, Storm Peaks... atlas..."
"Oh, an atlas. Um, Storm Peaks..." Unfazed by her erratic behavior, Spike picked up one of the books she had thrown on the floor and began flipping through its pages. "I think Twilight once mentioned it was a mountain range in the Undiscovered Wes-"
Scootaloo snatched the atlas away, knocking Spike over again in her enthusiasm. She hastily flipped to the Undiscovered West section and began scanning the pages. As Spike groggily recovered, it took only seconds for her to find the Storm Peaks Mountain Range in the lower left region of the map.
"A-HA!" she shouted, knocking poor Spike over once more with the sheer power of her voice. "Can I borrow this?! Thanks! Bye!" He decided to stay on the floor as Scootaloo then quickly ran out of the library and out of the castle.
...
"...Wh... What was that about...?"
...
"...Ugh."
~
After running around Ponyville and spending some of her Bits on food and camping supplies, Scootaloo finally allowed herself a moment to rest as she entered her room. She looked over the atlas again, estimating how long it'd take her to travel there herself and back, and began packing her saddlebags accordingly. In went a sleeping bag, an enchanted flint and steel for starting fires, a flashlight with fresh and extra batteries, food rations, water purification tablets, a multitool, a pamphlet about wilderness survival, a first-aid kit, a coil of rope and an extra blanket.
She made a mental note of the path she'd need to take to get to the Storm Peaks, then packed the atlas inside. She grabbed the mysterious book and packed it as well. Now all she needed was that one morbid object.
Slowing her breath and her body, Scootaloo carefully picked up Rainbow's urn from its resting place on her shelf. She stared mournfully at the grayscale Cutie Mark for a few moments.
She is still alive.
Her gaze hardened with a sigh.
"Rainbow... I'm gonna bring you back, no matter what. Pinkie Promise."
She wrapped a hoof-towel around the urn before carefully placing it inside its black-lacquer box, and then carefully placed the box in a fortified corner of her saddlebags. Satisfied, Scootaloo took a final look around her room, counted her remaining Bits in her purse to make sure she had enough for the journey, grabbed her scooter and left.
~
She had only just reached Ponyville's train station when she heard hoofsteps running behind her.
"Scoots! Wait up!" Applebloom shouted. Scootaloo's eyes widened to see Applebloom and Sweetie Belle running towards her, both with fully-packed saddlebags of their own.
"Guys? What are you two doing here?" she asked as she got in line at the ticket counter, her friends quickly joining her.
"Well, we tried to follow you after you ran out on us," Sweetie gasped as she caught her breath. "Then Spike said you'd borrowed an atlas from Twilight's library, and then we saw you buying supplies in the Town Square..."
"We figured you had yer heart set on findin' that place," said Applebloom. "So we're comin' with you, like it or not."
Scootaloo gaped. "But... you guys said it doesn't exist, and that Rainbow... what changed your mind?"
"Oh, ah still don't believe it. But if goin' there'll give you the closure you need, then ah'm all for it," Applebloom smiled as she put a foreleg around Scootaloo's neck.
"We're your friends, Scootaloo," Sweetie nodded. "And we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders! All for one, and one for all!"
"We'll go to this Shrouded Mountain place and see just what's up there... together," Applebloom added. Scootaloo's body filled with tingling warmth at her friends' words and gestures, and tears of tenderness threatened to spill from her eyes. But suddenly Twilight's warning echoed in her mind.
"Aww, thanks, you two..." she sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "But you really don't have to... I mean, Twilight did say it was really dangerous there..."
"Too late," Sweetie stuck her tongue out as she flashed three tickets in front of her face. "All that's left to do is wait, the Undiscovered West train doesn't leave for a couple hours."
"But you guys have other things to do... Applebloom, don't you have to help the others rebuild the barn again? And Rarity has another fashion show coming up soon, I thought?"
"Nah, Applejack's built that barn from scratch so many times she can do it in her sleep," Applebloom waved a dismissive hoof.
"And I told my sister we've got a Crusaders mission in the Undiscovered West. She's fine with it, she's got other models... and it's not like nopony'll know where we're going," said Sweetie. Though Scootaloo still felt a little worried, she knew there was no convincing them to stay now. All she could do was gulp down her troubles and smile.
"Well... alright. The three of us together, then!" Scootaloo beamed boldly.
"Yea!" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle nodded. They stuck a hoof each in front of themselves, stacking and lifting them up together in a flourish of teamwork. As they laughed and settled into pleasant conversation, Scootaloo glanced to where the urn rested deep inside her saddlebags.
She was sure Rainbow was proud of her and her friends, wherever she was.
She was sure Rainbow would be proud of her when she brought her to "the place where the dead are given new life" and brought her back.
She was still alive, after all.
She is still alive.
She is still alive.
She is still alive.
Do not come for her, lest you meet her fate... or worse.
The journey to the Storm Peaks was long and difficult.
After the train had reached the final stop at the border of the Undiscovered West, Scootaloo and her friends traveled gradually southwest. Civilization in the form of towns and villages were few and far between, and the roads connecting them were unpaved and unkempt. When asking the few ponies they did meet in these towns for directions to the mountain range, they were always pointed westward with various stern warnings about the area's perils. They walked for nearly a week until finally setting their eyes on their destination: a chain of blackened mountains with their peaks covered in storm clouds taller and higher than they'd ever seen, with Mount Thunderclap being the most monstrous of all.
It wasn't so much that there were dangerous beasts or bands of bandits in the Plain Grey Plains where the mountains sat, but rather that there were zero signs of life for miles around. Every tree they came across was dead, lightning-blasted and charred. Bushes were mere clumps of dry, tangled thorns. Hardy weeds and tufts of crabgrass were sparse and sickly, streams and pools of water were empty and stagnant, and there were no vultures, no lizards, no snakes, not even bugs burrowed into the grey sands. It was as if the entire land had been cursed.
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle expressed their concerns as well, but none of these things broke Scootaloo's resolve. If anything, she fully expected The Place Where the Dead Are Given New Life to be somewhere dangerous and remote. Where else would such a place full of hope be? Her nerves burned with anticipation throughout the trip, tingling more and more as she and her friends spent another day crossing the plains. They made their camp at the base of the Shrouded Mountain that evening, and she was so excited she could barely sleep - though that could've been because of the lightning and thunder rumbling up above as much as her own heart. But just through the din of it all, she could almost hear Rainbow's voice again.
She is still alive.
"Almost there, sis," she mumbled under her breath, patting the urn through her saddlebags. "Almost there."
~
They broke camp and began the climb to the summit at the darkened crack of dawn. Lightning flashed frequently, lighting their path more brightly than the rising sun. Cold mist settled on their backs, sending a chill through Scootaloo's spine. The mist eventually turned into rain, softly pattering on their bodies and drenching their manes until Sweetie Belle cast a simple shield spell above them to act as an umbrella.
The path was rough and rugged. The rain beat down harder the higher they went. Just above them, the storm clouds howled with raging winds, jagged hail, crackling lightning and roaring thunder. Scootaloo's soaked fur suddenly stood on end, and she hesitated as a powerful lightning bolt struck a rock not twenty feet away from her. Her friends shrieked as the rock exploded from the force, the shards clattering against Sweetie's shield. They were still and silent for a moment until Applebloom put a hoof to her chin in thought.
"Hmm... ah wonder if..."
She swung around and raised her hind legs, channeling her Earth pony magic and bucking the ground behind her with all her might. The ground shook as a deep trench dug itself upwards into the mountain, almost immediately beginning to form a thin stream of water down the middle.
"There, if we walk in the ditch, then we're lower to the ground an' we shouldn't hafta worry about bein' zapped," Applebloom nodded.
"I still think this is a bad idea," Sweetie warned, although already making her way into the trench with the others. "The weather's just getting worse the higher we go up."
"Well, a place like this is bound to be surrounded by danger," Scootaloo reasoned. "Why else would nopony know about it?"
They continued up the mountain in silence, focusing their energy on climbing carefully. As it rained, the rocks became slippery and unstable, threatening to send them tumbling back down in the midst of a landslide. The icy winds whipped viciously through their coats, chilling them to the bone. Rain turned to sleet, trying its hardest to freeze the three ponies where they stood. And all the while, lightning flashed and pulsed and struck all around them amongst deafening, raging, unending thunder.
Finally, after many exhausting hours of treacherous climbing, Scootaloo finally saw the ground leveling out. They had reached the summit. Her shaking, shivering body surged with renewed exhilaration as she ran ahead of the others, stopping only when she reached the very top. Groaning, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle hastened their pace to catch up to her.
"Guh! ...Sure woulda been nice if we coulda flown up here," Applebloom panted as Sweetie flopped on her belly beside them, gasping for breath. "Well, Scoots? Is it everythin' you were expectin'?"
"I..." Scootaloo started, but trailed off. Applebloom and then Sweetie gazed in the direction she was looking, and their mouths opened wordlessly. The summit before them sank into a shallow crater about five hundred feet in diameter, the ground charred ash gray and black from countless lightning strikes. Puffs of storm clouds drifted lazily along the ground like ghosts in a graveyard, seemingly on their own accord. And in the very center of the crater sat a small, blackened gray building, no bigger than a toolshed and lying atop a floor of storm clouds, a sheltered alcove leading invitingly inside.
She is still alive.
Scootaloo brushed her saddlebags where the urn sat nestled inside. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but the urn wasn't rattling or vibrating or anything out of the ordinary. She glanced at her bags; that specific spot wasn't glowing or anything, either. Maybe she needed to be closer to the crater's center?
She walked forward, crossing the crater's threshold. Suddenly she felt her body tense up, and her fur stood violently on end. The closest puff of storm cloud to her began to glow a vibrant, violent blue; Scootaloo just barely managed to leap back over the ridge as a blast of white-hot lightning struck the spot where she once stood, the shock of which threw everypony backwards.
"Whoa!" "Whut in tarnation?! "Wh-What was that?!"
They laid stunned on the ground for a moment before nervously picking themselves back up. Only Scootaloo dared to peek over the edge of the crater once more.
"Did... Did that cloud just try to hit you with lightning?!" Applebloom coughed. Scootaloo only stared into the crater in silence, now acutely aware of just how many cloud puffs lay within.
It... It really did seem like it...
"Hey! You there!"
The three ponies froze. They never dreamed of meeting anypony else up here. Turning in the stern voice's direction, they saw a brick red stallion with cream-colored patches quickly trotting towards them. He wore a thick, body-covering uniform patterned with mountain camouflage; a strange, short, black metal pole ending in two points hanging from his side. Avocado-colored hair obscured his similarly-colored eyes, which were scowling, almost glaring literal daggers through them if he could.
"This mountain is off-limits! What are you doing even thinking about camping up here?!" he yelled, immediately brandishing his strange weapon, leering at the three mares.
"Whoa, now, take it easy!" Applebloom yelled back in alarm.
"We're... uh, the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Sweetie answered. "We're on... an important mission!"
"Oh, really?" the stallion sneered, taking another menacing step closer. "Cutie Mark Crusaders... how quaint. And just what might that mission be?" Sweetie fumbled over her next words as she and Applebloom took a few steps back.
"We... We're here to find The Place Where the Dead Are Given New Life, sir," Scootaloo choked out after a moment. "Um... h-have you heard of it?"
Something flashed in the stallion's eyes. Something sinister. He unleashed a wicked grin.
"Oh... I see..." he chuckled. Scootaloo gulped.
"So... you've come here for that... You've come here...
...TO DIE!"
*clunk*
Just as the stallion lunged forward with his weapon, a large boulder enveloped in a spring-green aura slammed into his body, knocking him over and trapping him beneath it. Scootaloo and Applebloom stared at Sweetie Belle in shock; her face was frozen in horrified fear of what had just happened, and what she had just done.
"D-Die?!" Applebloom stuttered. "D-Did ah hear that r-right?!"
The stallion groaned and shifted beneath the boulder. It wasn't going to keep him pinned for long.
"Forget about that, let's get out of here!" Scootaloo yelled. The three ponies immediately spun around and began running back down the mountain as the stallion steadily hefted the boulder off of him. Then... slowly, vengefully, he grabbed a walkie-talkie from a pocket in his uniform as he caught his breath.
~
The Cutie Mark Crusaders hastily made their descent. Rocks slid and shifted in the slippery mud beneath their hooves, sending them down a different path, though they were too frantic to stay together to notice. It was a good fifteen or twenty minutes before any of them even thought to check behind them; when Scootaloo finally saw that they were not being followed, the three ponies finally skidded to a stop. They were silent as they gulped in the frigid mountain air, and Sweetie was finally able to concentrate enough for her umbrella shield once more.
"Wh-What was that stallion's problem?!" Scootaloo coughed. "What the heck was he trying to do?!"
"What'd ya attack him for, Sweetie?!" Applebloom wheezed. "That stupid stick of his was his only weapon, we coulda taken him! Now ah bet he's real hurt an' really mad!"
"R-Rarity told me... when I started modeling for her," Sweetie trembled with a thousand-yard stare, "...there'll be ponies... ponies like that, watching me... if one ever came up to me like that... then she told me to... show no mercy, and then run... oh, Celestia... I..."
Applebloom and Scootaloo moved to embrace Sweetie, and they caught their breath together in silence. Once they had regained their stamina, they took note of their surroundings. More of the same blackened rocks and dead trees, but different from the ones they had passed earlier. But still, up was up and down was down, they weren't exactly lost there.
Scootaloo sighed.
She is still alive.
She touched the spot where the urn laid protected. She had not yet fulfilled her promise.
"Well... we can't go that way now," she spoke lowly. "Not with that crazy stallion there."
"Wha- yer tellin' me you still wanna find that place?!" Applebloom yelled incredulously.
"We didn't quite reach it, I don't think..." Scootaloo replied. "I think it might be that building in the middle of the crater."
"Maybe," said Sweetie, "but how can we get there? I'd... I'd really rather not see that stallion again."
"An' there's all them storm clouds driftin' about in the crater," Applebloom added. Scootaloo thought back to what she had seen; while looking around the crater, she had noticed a number of caves dotted around the crater's walls.
"I saw lots of caves," she finally said. "I bet there's probably at least one that'll lead us there. We just gotta find it, that's all."
The wind picked back up as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle stared in disbelief at her.
"...Do you realize just what yer sayin'? That'll take forever!" Applebloom groaned. "Where're we supposed to find-"
"Euugh..." Sweetie's face scrunched. "I thought we told you to warn us first when you did that, Scoot!" Applebloom and Scootaloo sniffed the air in response, and their faces scrunched as well. It was an acrid, earthy, metallic scent full of death, disease and rot.
"Ack, that wasn't me!" Scootaloo cringed. "That wasn't even close to me!"
"What went an' died over here?!" Applebloom wailed. Morbidly curious, she and the others staggered in the direction of the terrible scent.
It wasn't long until the mud beneath their hooves took on a reddish tint. Another hundred feet more and they found themselves staring in disgusted horror. The source of the stench was what appeared to be a shallow lake of slimy, rotting, partially-coagulated blood, but it smelled so very wrong, like so much more. An iridescent film had formed on the surface, and bits of what looked like bones, entrails and viscera floated like dead fish. As the stench invaded and permeated her body and mind, Scootaloo's nose picked up whiffs of chemicals, soap and bleach.
"...Sweet Celestia," she finally uttered, feeling her mouth become wet. The three gagged violently. Sweetie Belle politely vomited behind a rock, the scent of which made the stench even worse.
"Wh... What in Tartarus is this?!" Applebloom choked. "Wh-What is this doin' here?! Why is this here?!"
"Wh-Where did it come from?" Scootaloo gasped, trying her hardest not to vomit as well. Now this was something she had half-expected, given that she was searching for The Place Where the Dead Are Given New Life. For some reason, this seemed... acceptable. Noticing a slight current in the jellified mess, she trotted off to the left, much to her friends' dismay.
"Scoots...? Where are you going...?" Sweetie asked woozily. She and Applebloom followed her until she came to a stop. Before them was a cliff face, out of which four large pipes, each big enough for a pony to walk upright, extended side-by-side. The pipes were covered in sewer grates to keep things out, but unlocked latches on the outer edge of the pipes meant that they were easily opened for maintenance.
"...I think we've found our cave," Scootaloo finally said after a moment.
"You must be jokin'," Applebloom growled as Sweetie put a hoof to her mouth as her cheeks bulged. "This ain't funny."
"Not all of them are gross," Scootaloo pointed. The pipe second from the right dripped with only slightly-discolored water, whereas the other three dripped with small streams of blood, tangled entrails trapped within the grates. She went to the pipe and unhooked the latch, the grate opening for them slowly.
"C'mon, I think we can get to that building this way. 'What goes up, must come down', after all!"
"Scoots, no," Applebloom swung her forelegs outward while shaking her head furiously. "Ah know you wanna see that place real bad, but this is just wrong on so many levels."
"This is real bad," Sweetie moaned after swallowing the remaining contents of her stomach back down. "Twilight said this place was dangerous... I don't know why this is here, and I don't really want to go find out."
Deep down, Scootaloo agreed with them both. The mere sight- heck, the mere concept of a lake of rotting blood was enough to send most ponies into a hysterical panic, let alone potentially investigating its source. They were the same kind of pipes, after all. Celestia knows what horrible thing was on the other side of them.
She is still alive.
But she had a promise to keep. A sister to revive. Her heart ached as she saw Rainbow Dash in her mind's eye, invariably proud of her for her efforts.
Her resolve.
Her purpose.
As if compelled, Scootaloo stepped inside the pipe, her friends' protests falling on deaf ears. They wailed, then shouted angrily, then cried out in frustration as she slipped deeper inside, their hoofsteps clambering against the metal and quickly catching up to her. The wind picked up outside, and the sewer grate swung shut behind them with a loud clang.
She is still alive.
Scootaloo touched her saddlebags. The urn was silent, motionless.
Don't play dumb. I told you, when you first moved here, you must never contact anypony in the outside world ever again! Now your little sister, that gullible little sycophant-
...Oh, I haven't done anything yet. But she and her friends have begun a very foalish journey. In fact, I just watched them board the last train to the west ten minutes ago...
...Yes, that's right... they're coming here... They think they're going to some magical place to bring you back from the dead... HAH!
...Soon, if they don't turn back, they will be just as damned as you. Unless... you tell me how you breached my security measures...
...Still feigning ignorance, eh, best friend? You know I know you're smarter than that.
But I can wait. I can draw it out of you... I have plenty of methods to make you talk...
~
"Scootaloo, this is ridiculous! And disgusting!"
Applebloom wasn't sure why she was still arguing. The three of them, led by Scootaloo, had been climbing up the bowels of the mountain for the past hour now. The icy, slick concrete had swallowed them in total darkness, bioluminescent green moss being their only source of light until Sweetie Belle formed her magic into a glowing orb on the tip of her horn. They walked on a path of raised metal grating to the right of the wastewater, the sounds of their clanging hooves drowning out the sloshing and churning. But as they ascended they would occasionally stop in their tracks, their ears flicking in response to what sounded like stale, trapped gases and winds blowing through the pipes, producing airy, distant shrieks and howls.
"Ugh, I'll never get this smell out of my mane," Sweetie whined. "Do we really have to go this way?"
"Water follows gravity and flows downwards," Scootaloo spoke as she walked stoically forward. "And upwards is where I'm going."
"Ah know you wanna git to that "place where the dead are given new life", Scoots, but lookit us!" Applebloom tried to reason once more. "We're in a buckin' sewer fer Celestia's sake! Surely there's an actual cave we coulda gone in instead, or maybe even a different path on th' outside!"
"Although... that crazy mountain stallion out there did threaten to kill us," Sweetie frowned. "Besides, we've been in here for so long... do you know how to get out of here?" Applebloom and Scootaloo stopped in their tracks.
"Wait, you weren't payin' attention?!" Applebloom gasped, looking at the others. Sweetie shook her head.
"Um... I've just been focusing on going up..." Scootaloo admitted sheepishly.
"Well, ain't that just great. The Cutie Mark Crusaders... lost in a stinky sewer," Applebloom pouted.
"We'll be fine..." Scootaloo waved her hoof as she turned back to the path ahead of her. "All we gotta do to get out is just go downwards."
"What are you gonna do when you even get there-" Sweetie's question was cut off by another phantom scream floating through the sewer's pipes. They gulped collectively and let a few moments pass before walking again. "...Do you really think Rainbow'll come back from the dead?"
"Sweetie..." Applebloom groaned. Scootaloo stopped again, prompting her friends to do the same.
"...You know... I'm really not sure what will happen," she finally said, her voice shaking. "She's gone... I know. I watched her... and I miss her so much. But this book, it... it just knows so much about us. All the hidden messages, all the memories... and this place she and Twilight went to, the things they never told us about, never wanted to tell us about..."
She is still alive.
"I... I just can't... I can't ignore it. Something keeps telling me she's there! She's really there! I just need to go there and find her! I need to go there and bring her back! S-Somehow..."
She touched the urn through her saddlebags. Nothing happened, but Applebloom and Sweetie Belle did move forward and lay a hoof on her back. They gazed and nodded sympathetically at Scootaloo, silently reassuring her. She quietly sobbed for a few minutes to regain her composure; once she was ready, they set off again.
~
Another hour passed. Any evidence of maintenance work this deep in the sewers became entirely nonexistent. The luminous green moss grew thickly all over the walls, emitting so much sickly green light they could have mistaken the place for an evil Changeling hive. They saw what appeared to be a crossroads in the tunnels approaching, providing enough space to rest and comfortably stretch out for a while. Scootaloo quickened her pace slightly, relieved at the sight.
But something knocked her off balance and made her trip. As she stumbled, she heard a rattling noise at her hooves. Looking down, she found a coil of wire stuck to her foreleg, adorned with a few strands of small bones strung like wind chimes. As her friends stopped to help, Scootaloo suddenly heard a fourth set of hoofsteps in the distance.
"Uh... what was that?" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle's ears flicked as they heard the noise too.
"Another pony?" Applebloom suggested. "But what in tarnation is anypony else doin' here...?"
"You should not be here..."
Something menacing echoed. The hoofsteps stopped.
"Um... w-what?" Sweetie breathed.
"You...
...should not be here!"
A swoosh and a roaring voice boomed from behind them. Forgetting all about the strand of bones, Scootaloo and her friends screamed as they ran for the crossroads. Once they reached it, however, they found themselves in a long, damp hallway lined with multiple tunnels along the walls. Some were stacked two, even three high, and pipes embedded in the ceiling were covered in thick grates, each and every one leaking out a trickle of wastewater through a tangled stalactite of glowing moss. Their eyes darted around frantically, trying to pick out the best place to hide.
Another swoosh, this time louder. Scootaloo ran into the fourth pipe on the left. Looking behind her, she gasped as she saw Applebloom run further down the hallway while Sweetie ran into the seventh pipe on the right. She stopped and called out to them, but a fleeting black shape shot past the tunnel's opening, forcing her words back down her throat as she turned and ran again.
About thirty feet in, she found herself in a narrower hallway. Her heart sank as she looked around; the other tunnels on the left side of the crossroads emptied out into this same hallway, while one other tunnel in front of her led ever deeper into the sewers. This was quickly confirmed by a screaming Applebloom shooting out from the furthest tunnel down the hallway and running towards her, her eyes widening as she saw her and realized the same thing. Maybe it was different on the right side?
A growl of frustration belonging to none of the three Crusaders echoed throughout the tunnels. Scootaloo joined Applebloom as she ran past, and they ducked down another tunnel in order to reach the other side, hopefully finding Sweetie in the process. But they ran past the crossroads and down an opposite tunnel, and found a similar layout on the other side.
"Aw, come on! Whut is this?!" Applebloom shouted. Sweetie's screams echoed throughout the tunnels, turning Scootaloo's blood to ice. She and Applebloom made haste down the right hallway, but as one ducked into a different tunnel than the other, they were separated once more. Scootaloo hoped to see her again as she ran towards where she thought the scream had originated from, but Applebloom did not exit her tunnel into the crossroads. Hopefully she had only turned back to check an adjacent tunnel.
She made it to the left hallway, only for Sweetie Belle to collide into her barrel and knock the both of them over. Once they had scrambled back to their hooves, Scootaloo breathed a small sigh of relief, only for her breath to hitch in her throat as they heard a vicious snarl and Applebloom yelling in the distance.
"Get over here...!"
Sweetie's horn lit with spring-green magic in preparation as they ran back down the tunnel. They stopped once back in the crossroads, taking a moment to determine where Applebloom might be. But suddenly a rushing, rumbling noise sloshed high above, making bits of dead moss overhead rain down upon them.
"Sweetie, what'd you do?!" Scootaloo glanced around.
"That wasn't me!" she quivered. Somewhere, Applebloom yelled again. Even more chillingly, a tortured, raspy voice echoed from a pipe directly above them.
"You... You do not belo- ...wait a minute..."
Before Scootaloo could process the words, a deluge of water began pouring from the grated pipes above. Sweetie's magic quickly formed into an umbrella as they ran into the nearest tunnel to the right hallway, but the water quickly began to flood the maze of pipes. Bits of glowing moss and rotting garbage swished past, the water collecting and running along the ceiling and dripping down onto their heads. They were nearly floating by the time they reached the hallway, and they quickly pulled themselves into the dampening tunnel above. In only a few moments the water began to rise once more, forcing the two back into the hallway as to not get trapped. Together they struggled to stay close and afloat, screaming in terror, violently slapping, kicking and treading water as it rose to the third tier of pipes and began to rise even past their floors. Between gasps and coughs for air, Sweetie's magic eventually morphed into an air bubble around herself and Scootaloo, and they watched in floating horror as the water rose all the way to the top of the ceiling with no sign of drainage. The luminous moss glowed intensely from the flood, nearly blinding the two.
Scootaloo shivered in the damp air. "How... How long can you keep this up for?"
"I don't know..." Sweetie breathed heavily, straining to keep the water out. "It's really hard... maybe five minutes at the most? ...Wh-Where's Applebloom?" A wave of dread washed over Scootaloo.
"S-She's not... we d-didn't... oh Celestia, no..." The image of Applebloom scratching at the pipe grates on the ceiling as the water rose above them stamped out all her other thoughts. Even if she could hold her breath, how long until the water drained enough? Tears began to moisten her eyes, and Scootaloo's breathing grew shallow as another image etched itself into her mind: an image of one of her best friends floating back down with the draining water as a lifeless, bloated corpse.
And it was all her fault.
But she didn't get much of a chance to mourn. Suddenly a coughing, gagging Applebloom appeared, roughly shoved inside the air bubble by an unknown hoof. Then, just as quickly as it had happened, the bubble began to move swiftly through the water. As Sweetie struggled to maintain her spell's integrity, Scootaloo blinked away her tears.
Just outside the green-tinted magic swam a Pegasus mare, but not one she recognized. Her coat was a filthy shade of cool grey, and her mane and tail were matted, dripping, tangled ropes of dark magenta and darker pink, with similarly-dark purple eyes and a Cutie Mark of a baby bottle. She wore endlessly patched and tattered saddlebags around her barrel, and a clear plastic bag over her head with string tied around her neck to keep it in place, presumably to obtain a couple extra breaths while she shoved at the air bubble with her front hooves and flapped her wings to swim faster.
Applebloom soon found herself silently staring at their savior as well, but Sweetie groaned and clamped her eyes shut as she funneled as much magic into her spell as she could. Around them, her air bubble's walls rippled and wavered; she was quickly tiring herself out. Scootaloo hoped she could hold it for long enough as the Pegasus mare directed them down towards a dark tunnel, and they swayed blindly in the currents like an eel.
Only a minute later, Sweetie began to cry out in exhaustion as the bubble began traveling upwards. No sooner did Scootaloo feel herself being launched out of the water that the spell finally broke, and the air bubble burst. A sudden brightness forced her eyes shut, but she soon reopened them as she realized she was on solid ground.
She found herself in the back corner of an oubliette the size of a barn, aglow with moss and a small, dying fire kept within an old industrial-sized metal mixing bowl. In one corner was a broken desk covered in papers with a half-burnt candle beside them; in another corner were cracked crates and barrels filled with various supplies. In yet another corner was a large pile of rags, roughly arranged into the shape of a bed.
But none of this really mattered at the moment. She rushed over to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, scooping them both into a tight, tearful hug, which they returned. A cough interrupted them shortly, and they looked over towards the mysterious Pegasus mare as she untied the bag from her head, shook it out and placed it back inside her saddlebags before taking them off and setting them aside.
"You..." she finally spoke. Her voice was caustic, raspy and gravelly, as if she had a serious sore throat. "How did you get down here? Are you escapees? You don't appear old enough to be one of them..."
"Who... who are y-you?" Scootaloo stuttered, realizing that she and her friends were now at this pony's mercy. The mare took a moment to turn away and cough.
"...Accoucheuse," she finally answered. "Ugh... to be caught during the evening shift's preparation, you're lucky I was tracking you three."
Scootaloo and the others shared worried glances at each other, not knowing how to respond.
"Well... none of us are going anywhere for a while. Might as well rest up for later... go on," Accoucheuse waved her hoof, "I am not your enemy here."
Not wanting to offend the mysterious sewer mare, Scootaloo nodded, and she and her friends sat down by the fire. She began to open her dripping saddlebags for some rations when a flash of realization made her heart leap to life. She gasped as she frantically dug through her belongings, found the black-lacquer box and opened it secretly, carefully unraveling the slightly-damp towel.
She is still alive.
The urn was dry, undamaged. Breathing a deep sigh of relief, Scootaloo repacked the precious item and replaced it in its hiding spot, safe from the world.
"I've gotta hand it to ya... I never knew you had this much brutality, such callousness, such sheer... chaos in ya."
"Well thanks, I guess? I- Hey, please don't touch that, it's very sensitive to vibrations."
"Aww... so, how far along are you?"
...
"Whoa..."
"Close, my friend. Close. Just a few more reagents and research."
...
"Ohhh... she... she's... beautiful..."
"Please don't touch the glass, or do... that. They must be sterile."
"D'oh, but I can be sterile! ...Wait, that didn't come out right..."
...
"Do you really think it'll work?"
"Of course. It worked with her until that freak accident, didn't it? Even you couldn't tell."
"True... she really was just like the real thing."
"And so will she. And the next one. And the next... you'll have her, as many of her as you like, alive and perfect... forever."
~
"Ah... ah-ku-say...? I'm saying it right, I hope."
The fire in the old metal bowl was roaring now. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom sat around it on some piles of cloth after hanging the contents of their saddlebags out to dry. The mysterious mare that had brought them here sat on the opposite side, whether out of caution for them or awareness of her appearance. Now that she had dried out a bit, it was clear to Scootaloo that she had lived in these sewers for months, maybe even years. Her mane and tail were matted dreadlocks with bits of moss and thin, sharpened bones sticking out of it, her fur was oily and odorous, and her hooves were chipped and a little too long, like they hadn't been worn down or trimmed in ages. Her voice bore the telltale signs of constant infection from the sewer's damp air and cloying mold.
"Oui, Sweetie Belle," Accoucheuse nodded. "I understand it's not a conventional name for most Equestrians... I was born and lived in Prance before coming here."
"Here? You mean you wanted to live in a sewer?" asked Scootaloo. Accoucheuse covered her mouth and turned her head as a giggle turned into a coughing fit.
"Oh, goodness, no... no... I would give anything to see my native Prance, or even the daylight again," she sighed mournfully.
"Well, why dontcha leave, then? You some kinda hermit or somethin'?" asked Applebloom. Accoucheuse's head bowed low and she was silent for many moments. The Crusaders shared worried glances and leaned forward.
"...A fugitive, perhaps," she finally spoke. "No... a deserter."
"Deserter...?"
"Why are you here?" Accoucheuse suddenly asked, ignoring Sweetie. "There are no good reasons anypony would ever come to this place. Nopony has ever returned from the mountain... alive."
The three were silent at this statement for a moment, until Scootaloo dared to speak. "Um... I-I came here to find... somepony very special to me. I-"
"They're probably long dead by now, I'm afraid," Accoucheuse cut in. Scootaloo gulped before continuing.
"Well... I got... somepony gave me this book a while back." She retrieved the mysterious book from her belongings, a little damp but not badly damaged. Accoucheuse's eyes lit up at the sight of it, coaxing Scootaloo to give it to her. "The things it said... I can't help but think she's here. So... my friends and I came to find her."
Accoucheuse ran a hoof over the book's emblem before flipping it open. She only spent a few moments glancing over the pages before reaching the back, with its map and secret note. Her eyes widened, then darted between the two final pages before closing with a sigh, while she also closed the book and handed it back to Scootaloo.
"...You should have heeded the warning," she advised, her eyes opening. "This pony your book speaks of... I've seen her."
Scootaloo's heart tried to leap out of her throat as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle gasped. "She's here?!" she shouted. But Accoucheuse quickly held up her hoof to silence her.
"You cannot save her. If you have any hope of seeing your loved ones again, you must turn around and leave at once!"
"But... But I promised..." Her words trailed off as Accoucheuse stood up and began pacing back and forth behind the fire, face fraught with fear. Her mouth contorted into an endless number of barely-uttered words.
"You... why did you... you knew this would happen... why did you... how could you..."
"...Um... Miss?" Sweetie timidly cocked her head to one side. Accoucheuse stopped pacing, but violently shook her head as if trying to get a horrible image out of her mind, continuing to mutter all the while. After ten, maybe fifteen seconds of this she finally threw her head back and snarled loudly in frustration, sending chills down the Crusader's spines. Her voice died in her throat, and she breathed slowly and deeply, almost gagging and heaving as she exhaled.
"Uh... you okay?" Applebloom spoke after a few uneasy moments.
"...Ignorance..."
"Huh?"
Accoucheuse turned towards them. "These sewers... have you any idea the facility they are attached to?" The three ponies shook their heads slowly. "In Prance I was a caregiver, to mothers and their foals. One day, disease spread throughout the town, and the youngest among them lost their lives. It was traced back to my business, and I was forced to close. I thought my career was over, but then... she called for me.
"I accepted her offer, and I was brought to the facility. A highly-classified place for medical research, I was told. A place where ponies worked together to find cures for rare illnesses and new therapies for mental conditions. I was hired on to help care for the patients: colts, fillies, even little foals."
Sweetie Belle's eyes softened and she smiled. "Aww... well, that doesn't sound too bad-"
"But the things... the things those doctors did to them... the treatments, the screaming, the pain... I watched as pony after pony perished under their care, afflicted with the most horrible of conditions that did not exist before. They were treated much worse than mere test subjects... so much worse..."
Accoucheuse began to shiver, harder and harder until she appeared to be having a seizure. Scootaloo and her friends watched in silent terror.
"I couldn't take it anymore... I had to escape. But who could I trust? Nopony! I searched, I schemed, I hoarded; I waited and waited for the right moment, and I grabbed my last ward and escaped into these sewers. We ran, we ate nothing but moss when our rations ran out, we searched for the sewer's exit... NOOO! No, don't make me! Don't make me see it again...!" Her chin slammed on the floor and her wings unfurled as she covered her eyes with her hooves. Applebloom slowly walked over to her, attempting to lay her hoof on her back when she suddenly reared up. "We saw an opening... the sky! He was out of my hooves faster than I could react, and the second he had left the pipes, entered the sunlight... he... HE..."
Applebloom finally managed to put a sympathetic hoof on her back as Accoucheuse finally broke down, sobbing and wailing uncontrollably. Scootaloo couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the foal, but the crude explosion of hysterical noise coming from her muzzle only made her imagine terrible things. Sweetie Belle uncomfortably sipped from a cup of water and grimaced - it was safe to drink, but was discolored and had an off taste. None of the three knew quite what to make of the mare's horrifying tale, nor did they know exactly how to comfort her.
Finally, after a long, unpleasant silence, Accoucheuse quieted down, breathing slowly between sniffles.
"I have been trapped here ever since," she whimpered. "What happened to... my ward... they've done the same to me, I am certain of it. I will never leave this mountain... I will die on this mountain. And... I've made my peace with that. But I will never, ever go back to them... NEVER!"
"Sounds real nasty... can't say ah blame ya," Applebloom soothed.
"There's gotta be some way to get you out of here!" Sweetie reasoned. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Helping ponies is what we do!"
"Yea, but... if whut she's sayin' is true... this sounds more like a job fer Twilight n' friends, or maybe even the Princesses." At Applebloom's suggestion, Accoucheuse suddenly reeled back, as if in mortal agony, stumbling backwards until hitting a wall. The others were alarmed, but still not quite sure how to help her.
"No... no, no, no, no, no..." was all she could say between rapid, shallow breaths, her eyes darting frantically around the room.
"...See whut ah mean?" she gestured.
"Two for two ponies we've met today sure have been crazy..." Scootaloo agreed quietly. She and Sweetie Belle huddled together as Applebloom joined them. "But do you think it's true? The facility up above... or-"
"Or is she just a crazy sewer pony?" Applebloom finished. "Ah dunno, but ah don't like any of this one bit."
"What should we do?" asked Sweetie. Scootaloo stared at the floor as she weighed her convictions. Between the mysterious book, the crazy mountain pony, the lake of rotting blood and now this crazy sewer pony, she would be a fool to not realize something strange was going on. Mysteries and horrors befitting The Place Where the Dead Are Given New Life were unearthing themselves at a brisk pace, but the higher, deeper and further she dug, the more Scootaloo questioned whether or not she could handle it all.
But the mysterious book and the urn hidden within her saddlebags were now indelible stains on her mind. Despite the dangers, somepony wanted her to come here. Accoucheuse had seen Rainbow Dash, implied that she was not only here, but imprisoned and... still alive? Could it all be true? Years of living in the sewers had taken quite the toll on her mind, after all.
But if Rainbow truly was still alive... then whose remains was she carrying around?
She is still alive...
...is she still alive?
Scootaloo closed her eyes in resolve. She had to know the truth. And she was so close to finding it.
"You two should go back. Tell Twilight and our sisters and everypony else what's here," she finally spoke. Sweetie gasped.
"Uh... come again?" Applebloom's eyebrow raised so high it could've flown off above her head.
"I need to find Rainbow," Scootaloo said, plainly and boldly. "After everything we've seen and heard, I need to know the truth. And if she's really still alive and in trouble, then I need to save her!"
"Will you listen to yourself?!" Sweetie protested. "We walked past a literal lake of blood and guts! We were attacked by a crazy mountain pony, and Accoucheuse here has gone mad from whatever went on up above! Th-This is... way beyond what we can handle!"
"Ah... ah don't believe her," Applebloom lowered her voice. "Rainbow's dead, Scoots... nothin's gonna bring her back."
"Well I do," Scootaloo retorted. "And I'm going to find her, and I'm going to get her out of here and bring her home!"
Accoucheuse suddenly snorted, breaking up their argument. The Crusaders looked over to her as she slowly approached them, the crackling fire and smoke disguising a miasma of sewer-washed stench.
"You truly are foals if you wish to find the facility... you would do well to escape while you still can. But, if you truly wish to save Rainbow... maybe I can at least try to atone for my sins."
"You'll help me look for her?" Scootaloo asked hopefully.
"I will take you there, and nothing more," Accoucheuse glared. "Only because I am in desperate need of supplies. I refuse to set hoof in that accursed place ever again."
"Ah! Thank you!" Scootaloo ran over to Accoucheuse and gave her a big hug, quickly regretting her decision as she realized just how filthy she was after all this time in a sewer. Before she could let go, however, Accoucheuse moved to pull her away, but seemed to change her mind and held her tightly. Her chest heaved as she struggled not to cry.
"Ma chère... I have not felt such warmth in ages..." she sighed wistfully, a thousand-yard stare glazing over her eyes. Meanwhile, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle turned to each other.
"'Finally'? She's been losing her mind ever since she got that weird book," Applebloom hissed. "We need to get out of here before we all end up as nuts as her!"
"Although... if she really is right... if Rainbow is actually here-"
"Ugh, what do you mean?! She's dead, we watched her die!"
"But what if she is? Then just whose funeral did we go to?"
"Rainbow's, clearly... don't tell me yer startin' to believe this nonsense!"
"I..." Sweetie's voice trailed off as she looked over to Accoucheuse and Scootaloo, the former having ended her embrace and the latter gasping for fresher air.
"...Sweetie...?!"
"You go back," Sweetie instructed. "Nothing we do or say will make Scootaloo change her mind until she sees this through. I'll stay with her and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. You've got enough Bits for the way back, right?"
"You... You gotta be kiddin' me!" Applebloom was incredulous. "Ah... no, ah ain't goin' back! Not if both'a you two aren't! Somepony's gotta make sure neither'a you two do anythin' stupid!"
"Very well," Accoucheuse spoke, although more directed towards Scootaloo than anypony else. "We shall set off in ten minutes' time. You will not need food nor water, for there is plenty; nor will you need provisions for camping or warmth. But you will need a way to defend yourself. Pray you do not come across anypony within the facility, however... it will not be enough."
Scootaloo stoically nodded and moved towards her saddlebag's contents, while Applebloom and Sweetie Belle gulped nervously before doing the same. They made sure to only pack what could be useful: a first aid kit, a flashlight, a snack or two. Scootaloo carefully placed her provisions around the black-lacquer box, now shifting and jostling a little from the lack of supplies to keep it secure, and sealed it shut.
Accoucheuse, saddlebags secured around her own barrel, then walked over to the sole well-like tunnel that led out of the oubliette. "The waters have receded," she spoke after peering down. "Come, follow and stay close... there are a few other traps and tricks I've set up along the way that you'll need to avoid."
She grabbed at a ramshackle ladder laid against the tunnel's walls, turned around and descended. The Cutie Mark Crusaders took a few deep breaths, then began their descent and followed Accoucheuse into the darkness.