//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Beyond the Forest // by SparkofLightning //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy ran across roofs, masked by the dark early morning sky. They aimlessly travelled as they looked around for their little sister, carefully avoiding all of the guards walking around the town. After searching for a few minutes, they landed on the roof of a bakery that looked like a gingerbread house, agreeing that wandering around wouldn't do much for them in their situation. They waited and, eventually, they saw a speeding orange and purple blur heading in their direction. The blur came to a stop in front of them and smiled. "I'm glad you two made it back in one piece," Scootaloo said to them. Rainbow Dash rubbed Scootaloo's head, messing up her hair. "Did you ever doubt us? Hehe." "I think this town is too chaotic for us. Maybe we should head somewhere else..." Fluttershy suggested. Scootaloo shook her head. "No way! I found friends here that actually do want to help us! They can prove that we aren't monsters to the rest of the town!" Scootaloo took one of each of their hands and pulled them in the direction of the hideout. She stopped pulling, however, when the two older pegasi didn't move from their spot. Rainbow Dash looked away as her bright red demon eyes started to glow out of anger, but it quickly died down when she looked back at Scootaloo. Scootaloo took note of this and frowned. "Are you angry at me?" she asked softly. "No, Scoots..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "I'm angry at the other people. How do I know that we can trust them? They might want to just gain your trust and then once you let your guard down, they take you away to some lab to run tests on you and find out about your powers. I can't let that happen to you. I can't let that happen to any of us." Fluttershy's dark turquoise eyes had glowed softly out of sadness for the little filly. "We're sorry, Scootaloo. We just can't trust them." Scootaloo slumped down in defeat, but quickly perked up at the thought in her head. If they can't trust them because they don't know them then- "-I'll just have to show you! You can meet them tomorrow night!" Scootaloo eagerly looked between a somewhat confused Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "I know where they live! I'm their way of them communicating with each other!" Scootaloo hopped to a different part of the roof. "Not to mention that we get to learn more about the town from them so that maybe we can blend in!" Scootaloo turned to face the town. "We might be able to live here! We won't ever have to go to Pegasopolis again!" Scootaloo felt a hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you're excited about this Scootaloo," Fluttershy starts, "but don't you think you can be excited a teensy bit more quietly?" Scootaloo smiled sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry." "But, if we do meet your friends and they are as trustworthy as you say they are, I don't see a problem with staying here and trying to live normally," Fluttershy says. "Yeah! And we'll be the coolest people here because we can fly and everyone else can't!" Rainbow Dash smirked and quietly added, "Plus, I'll get to see those girls' terrified faces again..." Fluttershy glared at Rainbow Dash with an angrier version of "The Stare" and said, "Rainbow Dash, behave yourself or else you'll be sorry." Rainbow Dash immidiately turned her head to avoid staring into Fluttershy's currently soulless, unforgiving eyes. She made the mistake of angering Fluttershy before only once in her life (when she was younger than Scootaloo) and she has a scar running across her stomach that reminded her to listen to her childhood friend. Especially at night. Rainbow Dash swallowed her pride and a little bit of her fear. "Y-Yeah. Sure. Okay. I won't cause trouble. Don't kill me." Fluttershy's gaze immediately softened as she took Scootaloo's hand and led the way back to the cottage. Rainbow Dash kept her distance, trailing behind them. How does she do it? Rainbow Dash wondered. How is it that Fluttershy's the least threatening at first glance, yet she looks right through her victims so easily? She doesn't even look scary! She has no horns, short claws, lovely eyes (minus her angry stare), and only has a streaks of black in her hair! She could probably pass as a regular person if she cut her nails and hid her wings. Hmm...she'd make a great spy... The three girls avoided guards and ran to the hideout as quickly as they could. Within minutes, they reached the cottage. "Home sweet home," Scootaloo said sarcastically. The three girls entered the cottage and sat on the dusty wooden floor. Scootaloo stretched her aching wings. "I need to fly." "We'll find some place to fly soon. I presume that you'll be able to control yourself tonight because of the guards you killed today?" Fluttershy asks whilst pointing to the two decomposing bodies in a corner. Scootaloo chuckled. "Yeah, I'll be fine." The child yawned and took her sweater off, folding it to use as a pillow. "By the way, Scoots. Who gave you that?" Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo mumbled, "Apple Bloom did...I ripped up my old one before I attacked the forest and the people and the stuff..." She continued to mumble incoherent things until she finally fell asleep. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other for a moment. Then they smiled. "I guess they really do want to help if they saw her in her demon form and gave her something to hide her wings," Rainbow Dash said, lying down on the ground. "Yeah. I can't wait to meet them," Fluttershy says as she and Rainbow Dash drift off into a peaceful slumber. "Okay, girls. Spike gave me the idea last night that we should warn the citizens of Ponyville of the pegasi roaming around. From what we gathered, Scootaloo is still here and has the power of super speed. We currently don't know where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are, but it won't be long until they show up for Scootaloo. The guards that have arrived from Canterlot have all been told of how they look and what they've done. Is there anything else to add?" Twilight explained. She was currently in the library with Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, all of whom were seated. She was getting all of her information together so that she could tell everything she knew about the pegasi to Princess Celestia. "No," Applejack said bluntly, "but I'll ask Apple Bloom some more." "Not that I know of, dear," Rarity stated. "Except for the fact that all they do is fight..." she grumbled soon after her statement. Pinkie sighed. "No," she said sadly. "Good. We have everything. Should we tell Ponyville about them?" Twilight asked. Rarity stands up from her seat. "Yes! It will help us all if we got the word out that those things are out there controlling people's minds!" "Yeah!" Applejack agreed. "They can't be roamin' around just doing whatever they want! We need to lock 'em up!" Pinkie Pie sat silently as her two friends worked themselves up about catching the pegasi. She's learned to not argue with any of her three closest friends about the matter since none of them listened to her. Not even Twilight listened when she pleaded with her last night about leaving them alone. "Please, Twilight just listen to me! They-" "Pinkie Pie, those creatures don't belong here! I would have just run them out of town before, but they've killed multiple guards Pinkie! Killed!" Twilight had walked from in front of Pinkie Pie, who was standing in front of a bookcase, towards the door of the library. Pinkie walked towards the unicorn. "Twilight, I know that they killed the guards, and I know that you're angry at them because they almost killed you, but think about this for a moment plea-" "NO!" Twilight snapped. Pinkie froze in her tracks as Twilight marched towards her. She put her hands on Pinkie's shoulders and squeezed a bit too tightly. "Twilight you're hurting-" "Listen, Pinkie! Those things are out there killing innocent people! I can not and I will not stand for this! Applejack and Rarity know what those things have done to their families and I know what those things almost did to us! I won't let them continue killing people!" Twilight let go and marched to the door again. This time, she opened it and firmly pointed outside. "I think it's time for you to leave Pinkie," she said irascibly. Pinkie tried one last time. "Twilight, you're probably tired and you've had a rough couple of days. Maybe we can sit down and calmly talk about this. Please?" The next thing Pinkie knew was that she had been thrown out the house with magic. She turned to the door. "Stay out until you change your attitude!" Twilight slammed the door and as Pinkie Pie left, she went up to her balcony to think. Pinkie on the other hand knew that this whole situation was driving Twilight crazy since she had never dealt with murderers before. "I'll forgive you when I fix everything," Pinkie Pie whispered to no one in particular. After Applejack and Rarity came to impossible assumptions about the pegasi, their meeting had ended. Pinkie Pie had pretended to leave, but once Twilight closed the door, she hid in a bush in front of the library and waited. Rainbow Dash woke up to someone shaking her gently. "Scootaloo is still asleep," Fluttershy whispered. Rainbow Dash mumbled something along the lines of "That's great" and turned the other way to go back to sleep. "You aren't going to eat tonight unless you wake up." Not even seconds after Fluttershy uttered those words, Rainbow Dash jolted up and stretched. "Okay. I'm ready!" Rainbow Dash said softly enough to not wake the sleeping child, but loud enough to make Fluttershy worried that Scootaloo would end up being awoken. When she realized that Scootaloo was still sleeping peacefully, Fluttershy stood up and stretched as well. "I'm going to stay here with Scootaloo. You should go look for food and then when you get back, we'll find a place in the forest to fly," the pink haired pegasus said. Rainbow Dash saluted and said, "On it!" as she ran out of the cottage. ~A Few Minutes Later~ Rainbow Dash was currently hiding in the leaves of a very large tree. If she recalled correctly, this was the library and someone's...home? Yeah, that sounds about right. It's- Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed. Twilight's home. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and focused on her ears. She listened closely and started to hear voices inside. "-pegasi?" a regal sounding voice said. It was unsure, worried, and slightly unbelieving. "Yes. We've found some as they exited the forest." Twilight's voice sounded grave but professional. "The pegasi had attacked us as we were looking for them a few days ago. The youngest, Scootaloo, is currently in Ponyville, but only two girls, the unicorn Sweetie Belle and her friend Apple Bloom, know her location. Sweetie Belle had told us that Scootaloo hid around the apple orchard in their treehouse, but when we arrived there was nothing left but a mess of charred wood and a flooded area. We think that the others might eventually show up and-" Rainbow Dash had heard enough for her irises to turn red out of pure fury. They tried to hurt Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle gave away her location? Wait...No, Scootaloo trusts her and Apple Bloom I think. Maybe she wasn't actually there, but the guards almost caught her! I'll make sure they all pay for it! Rainbow Dash was about to hop over to another building but stopped when she heard a quiet sob. Who's there...? "There's no reason for this!" the unknown person cried. The person was slightly muffled by the bush he or she was in. "Why couldn't she just listen?" Rainbow Dash had two choices. One, go and find food and get back to her family as quickly as she could. Two, investigate the sobbing bush. She chose the latter. Rainbow Dash swiftly climbed down the tree and landed in a bush next to the one covering the crying person. Dash looked at the person and instantly recognized those blue eyes and pink hair. Although, those eyes didn't shine as brightly as they used to and her hair had straightened itself, refusing to bounce with every movement. "Why are you crying, Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash whispered to her. Pinkie turned her head in surprise and told the pegasus, "I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie threw her arms around Rainbow Dash who almost accidentally stabbed her as a reflex. Luckily, she caught herself just as she touched Pinkie's back. "Erm...Stop being sorry, please. This is making me really uncomfortable," Dash said as she struggled to pry Pinkie Pie off of her. However, the pink haired girl refused. "I'm sorry that this is all happening and I'm sorry that you've been hunted down and I'm sorry that you have to hide and I'm sorry that-" Rainbow Dash let her arms drop to her side as she gave up and let the girl continue with her apologies. Eventually, Pinkie reached the end of her apologies with, "-and I'm sorry that I've been such a bad friend!" "That's nice and all, Pinkie but I need to go now." Rainbow Dash stood up, brushed herself off, and adjusted her hood so that it covered most of her conspicuous rainbow hair. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie shot up with her hair back to it's original, frizzy state and her eyes more determined than ever. "I know how I'll make it up to you, though! I was already going to do this but then I chickened out at the last second, but I'm going to march in there and prove you innocent!" Pinkie Pie grasped Rainbow Dash's arm and marched towards the door. Dash desperately tried to pull back, but that girl had a really strong grip. However, when Pinkie Pie let go of her to knock on the door, Rainbow Dash sprinted away to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as her legs would carry her. *Knock Knock Knock* Twilight and Princess Celestia turned their heads to the door. Twilight then walks over to the door saying, "I'm terribly sorry, Princess. I asked no one to disturb me." Twilight looked through the peep hole and saw an intense gaze from a light blue eyed girl. Twilight didn't even bother to open the door. "Pinkie, I'm busy. We can do some random thing later, but leave me alone right now!" Pinkie Pie heard Twilight loud and clear, but she stood her ground and knocked on the door again a bit louder. *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* "Pinkie, I said leave!" Twilight's muffled voice came from the other side of the door, but Pinkie still refused to leave. So, she did what she always did when she was angrily knocking on doors. She banged her face into the door. *BANG BANG BANG* A very frustrated Twilight swung the door open with an unnecessary amount of force. "Pinkie, leave!" she shouted. "No!" Pinkie Pie pushed past the angry unicorn and stepped into the tree library. She looked at Princess Celestia, who was currently sitting at a wooden table with a few books on it. "I have something to say to you, Princess Celestia." The Princess finally spoke up since Pinkie's interruption. "With all due respect Pinkie Pie, I think you should leave." Pinkie shook her head. "Mm, nope! I have to tell you that-" "Pinkie," Twilight interjected. "You need to leave now." "I'm trying to tell you that the pegasi are-" Celestia stood up. "Pinkie, I understand that you might have some information on them, but we can talk privately later. Right now, I'm listening to Twilight's-" Pinkie was fed up. "Why don't you listen to me?!" Twilight and Celestia were shocked into silence by Pinkie Pie's outburst. Pinkie Pie took a deep breath in and breathed out. "Princess Celestia, Twilight, I'm trying to tell you that Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo are all innocent. They did what they did because we threatened them. We pressured them into killing guards because it's probably the only thing they knew how to do in that situation. Don't you think you can give them another chance? Let them live and see if they can adjust!" Celestia cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "Pinkie," she started slowly. "Yes?" Pinkie expectantly asked. "A death is a death and many deaths are many deaths. They killed many guards. They will never be citizens. There is nothing more to it." With that, Celestia used her magic to levitate Pinkie Pie out the door. No matter how hard she banged on the door or how loudly she screamed at Twilight and Celestia, they refused to let her in. Pinkie Pie refused to go to any other meetings that were held to discuss the pegasi. ~Time Skip~ Rainbow Dash made it back to the hideout in the late morning. She brought back six apples, three sandwiches, and eighteen cherries. When she walked into the cottage, she dropped the food on the floor and the three honorary sisters began to eat. Finally, we can be at full power now. Rainbow Dash thought as she bit into a lettuce and tomato sandwich. "So, I overheard Twilight talking to someone about us. The person seemed to be a few levels above her. They must have connections with the leader or something." Fluttershy ate a cherry and looked at the ceiling. "I guess this means that more people know about us. Hmm." "Well, that's okay. We still have some allies," Scootaloo said with a mouthful of apples and cherries. She swallowed everything before continuing. "Actually, we only have three. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and possibly Pinkie Pie." "Yeah, Pinkie's an ally. She was trying to fight for us when Twilight and the official were trying to find was to catch us or something." Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, these people aren't really a threat to us. They don't seem like they want to hurt us. They just want to catch us." "Yeah, and those guards were super surprised when I asked them if they were gonna kill any of us," Scootaloo adds. Fluttershy, Scootaloo, and Rainbow Dash ponder for a few moments before the conversation takes a pleasant turn to who's the messiest killer and fun things like that. After they finished eating, they went into the forest to look for a place to fly in peace. Pinkie Pie knew that she only had a limited amount of time before the town was alerted of the pegasi's presences. She also knew that plenty of people in the town didn't think for themselves often enough. Whatever Celestia says goes. Whatever Twilight says must be true. "I need to figure out a way..." Suddenly, a lightbulb appeared over Pinkie's head. It wasn't lighting up, so she grabbed it, shook it, and twisted it back into it's place above her head. After a few sparks, it lit up brightly, filling the pink haired girl's room with light. "First, I'll start simple. I'll need to get a message of acceptance across. Maybe I can just tell everyone I see! Yeah, that's good." Pinkie walked over to a drawer and opened it. She pulled out several crayons and a ridiculous amount of paper. "Next, I'll throw a party to celebrate friendship!" She started to scribble and write all over a page. Once she finished that one, she did the exact same thing to the next page. "Then, when Twilight tells everyone about Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo, the town will be able to make the choice on their own." Pinkie was finished with thirty invitations in fifteen minutes thanks to her being...well, Pinkie. "Pinkie? Are you going to eat dinner any time soon?" Mrs. Cake asked from downstairs before trying to quiet down a rambunctious Pound Cake. "Probably not, Mrs. Cake! I'm doing something super important!" "Okay, then. Have fun!" It was finally night time. Scootaloo had been waiting for forever for Fluttershy and Dash to meet Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Even when they were playing tail tag, a game similar to tag but whoever is it can only use their tail to tag the others, in the forest, Scootaloo had been so incredibly impatient and eager to show her friends to her sisters. "Ha ha, calm down, Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash said as she and Fluttershy were pulled along by the excited child. Scootaloo's eyes glowed in amusement as they stealthily approached the apple farm. While avoiding one or two guards, Scootaloo led Fluttershy and Dash to Apple Bloom's window. "This one is Apple Bloom," Scootaloo whispered. She then peeked into the window to check if anyone other than her friend was there. Luckily, there was only Apple Bloom looking at a...thing. Scootaloo was curious to find out what that was, so she lightly knocked on the window. A startled Apple Bloom looked at the window and instantly became happy as she went to open the window. "We'll stay here until you say it's safe to come in," Fluttershy says as she and Rainbow Dash hid in the darkness. "Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom whisper-yelled. "Hey, Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo climbed into the room and looked at the thing on Apple Bloom's table. "What is that?" Apple Bloom looked at her desk confusedly, not finding anything that might stand out. "What are ya talking about?" "This." Scootaloo walked over to the desk and picked up a rectangular...something. Next to it was a thin piece of wood with a black point in the center. "What is all of this?" Apple Bloom stared at Scootaloo and then giggled. "That's a textbook, Scootaloo, and next to it's a pencil. Ah was doing homework." Apple Bloom's laughing did not faze Scootaloo who picked the sharpened pencil up. "This could make a good weapon." Scootaloo aimed at the wall and chucked the writing utensil at it. Much to Apple Bloom's surprise, the pencil punctured the wall as if it wasn't there. All the farm girl could do was stare. "Anyway, my sisters are outside. Is it okay if I bring them in to meet you?" Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom as if she didn't just throw a pencil through the wall. "Erm... Sure..." Apple Bloom still couldn't believe what she had seen. By the time she had recovered, there were three pegasi in her room. "This is a nice room you have, Apple Bloom," Fluttershy politely said with a smile. "It's really small," Rainbow Dash commented under her breath. "Oh, erm," Apple Bloom stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you two. Well, properly at least." The three pegasi were confused and Apple Bloom deadpanned. "Please tell me that ya know what a handshake is." "I'm guessing that it's a greeting action," Rainbow Dash inquired. Apple Bloom closed her eyes and sighed. They're from the forest. Give them a break. "It's simple. You just take the other person's hand and move it up and down." Apple Bloom demonstrated with Scootaloo, who stood closest to her. Then she asks, "If ya'll don't do this where ya'll are from, how do ya greet new people?" "It depends who they are," Fluttershy explains. "For example, Pegasus A is a lower rank than Pegasus B. If they were to meet, Pegasus A would have to either bow, nod, or kneel. However, if Pegasus B was the highest rank, Pegasus A would have to move to the side and bow on the floor or else they'd be punished. Since Pegasus B is a higher rank in either case, he or she doesn't have to greet or acknowledge Pegasus A." Apple Bloom's eyes went wide. "Oh my Celestia, did Ah offend you? Ah'm sorry, Ah didn't mean to." Fluttershy waved dismissively, "No, no. It's okay, we don't really like that whole system. We were just confused because we didn't know why you put your hand out." "Whew. Okay, then." "Who was that person that you mentioned?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Celestia. Who is she?" "She's the Ruler of Equestria," Apple Bloom said. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy glanced at each other. Scootaloo quickly changed the subjects before anyone asked any more questions. "Hey, Apple Bloom. Do you have anything you want me to tell Sweetie Belle?" "Huh? Oh, um... Ask her when her punishment is over. Ah still have a few weeks," Apple Bloom gloomily said. "Okay!" Fluttershy quickly added, "We have to go!" and pushed her sisters out of the window. As soon as they turned to the left, just out of view from the window, Applejack walked in. "What were you doin'?" Applejack asked firmly. Apple Bloom quickly thought of a cover up. "Ah was talkin' in my sleep." Applejack sighed. "When will ya stop lyin' to me, Apple Bloom?" She closed her little sister's door and locked it from outside. Apple Bloom plopped herself on her bed. "Ugh! When will she stop being angry at me?" Suddenly, Applejack shouted, "APPLE BLOOM!" What now? she thought. "Yes?" Applejack unlocked her bedroom door and stood in front of the girl with a bow in her hair. "Why is there a pencil lodged in the wall?!" Apple Bloom sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Sweetie Belle had just finished playing another boring board game with Rarity. Honestly, Rarity's pathetic attempts at making her happy were driving Sweetie Belle crazy! "Did you have fun Sweetie Belle?" "Yes." "Do you want to play again?" "No." "Are you sure? If not, we could always play something else." "Yes, I'm sure." Rarity didn't think it would take her sister this long to get over Scootaloo. Maybe Sweetie Belle needs more attention. That will distract her from the monster. "I have a wonderful idea!" Rarity announces to the only other girl in the room. "Let's have a sleepover!" Sweetie Belle's eye twitched in annoyance. Soon after, her eyes slightly widened in concern. "Um, actually, you know what? I feel much better! There's no need for a sleepover!" "Nonsense, Sweetie Belle! A sleepover is just what we both need!" Rarity went to her room to get some make up, hair products, costumes, and sleeping bags. Sweetie Belle rushed to the window but saw no one there. Crap! What if Scootaloo shows up while Rarity is in here?! After a few moments, there was a knock on her window. Sweetie Belle quickly opened it and found her pegasus friend staring at her. "Hey, Sweetie Be-" "No time! Rarity's coming! I got dragged into a sleepover. I'll meet you at the hideout tomorrow!" "Okay, bye!" Scootaloo quickly dropped down, but not fast enough for Rarity to miss an orange blur. "Who was that?! Was that Scootaloo? What hideout! Tell me!" Rarity marched over to the window as she said this, but found no one there. "Ha ha! I got you!" Sweetie Belle said. "No one was there. I scared you!" the little unicorn stuck out her tongue. Rarity sighed. "Sweetie Belle, that isn't a nice prank to play." Scootaloo must've been there. I'll have to find that hideout tomorrow. "Aw, c'mon Rarity! It was just a joke!" "Not a very good one, but let's move on. I think that I found the perfect hairstyle for you!" Rarity said excitedly. Sweetie Belle groaned. Why me?