“What do you think his deal is?” the small filly questioned in a tone that conveyed her ephemeral interest. She could hear the incessant laughter of her classmates as she leaned nonchalantly against a weeping willow that sat opposite the school yard. It was a futile effort to escape the sweltering heat of the day, but it did act as adequate cover to isolate her from the rest of her classmates. Recess had just begun, but she had never been one to partake in the pointless games that the others seemed to love for one reason or another. Although on the outside she made it seem like she was above such things, the truth was that deep down she knew that none of them would want her to play with them in the first place.
“I don’t know Diamond— he seemed a bit strange, didn’t he?” responded Silver Spoon: her greatest companion and only true confidant. The two had been together since they were foals, and she had always been loyal to her; sometimes to her own detriment as evidenced by the fact that most of the other children did their best to avoid the two of them. “He was kinda cute though…” she added; her eyes glazed over as if she were considering something she really shouldn’t be.
“I dunno Sil— he seemed like kind of an egg-head to me,” Diamond responded quickly in an attempt to derail her friend’s current train of thought. “Besides, he’s a blank flank like the Cutie Mark Losers over there,” she finished while pointing a hoof at her three greatest adversaries; or at least she thought of it that way despite the fact that the three fillies didn’t really think about her too often.
“Yeah, yeah, I know...” Silver answered dejectedly. She loved Diamond and would never leave her out to dry, but she was truly feeling a bit lonely only having one friend to hang out with. “He is from Canterlot just like we are though; maybe we should give him a chance?” she pleaded; desperate to persuade her stubborn friend.
Diamond paused for a moment in contemplation of her friend’s request. She may have been young, but she was certainly no moron; it was painfully obvious that Silver was getting lonely and looking for a way to expand their friend group. As much as she wanted to dismiss the idea, the detached look on her friend’s face told her that she needed to do this for her. Diamond was always the shot caller in this relationship, but as cruel as she could be sometimes, she could never bring herself to let down her best friend.
“Fine Sil, we’ll talk to the blank flank after Cheerilee is done tanning his hide. At the very least we can use him to get under Scootaloo’s skin,” she responded dismissively.
“Tanning his hide?” Silver asked in confusion; it wasn’t a phrase that she was used to hearing regularly.
“Huh?” Diamond responded as if not understanding her friend’s confusion. “Oh that— yeah, sorry just something Dash’s Griffon friend kept saying while she was visiting. I guess I just picked up on it the same way Artemis did.”
“Oh, okay then,” Silver said in understanding. “But what does it mean?” she added after thinking about it for a second.
“Oh uh— hmmm… I guess I’m not really sure?” Diamond replied with a hint of her own budding confusion. “It’s not really important I guess,” she concluded. “Let’s just wait for our new blood to arrive,” she said; a maniacal grin slowly spreading across her face.
Silver Spoon was a bit put off by the idea of using the mysterious colt as a weapon against the Crusaders. Her aversion quickly faded however once she saw the door to the school house being slowly pushed outwards.
I did my best to avoid drawing attention to myself after I finally stepped outside into the warm Fall air. Fortunately for me, most of the children were occupied and fully immersed into the various games and activities that they were taking part in. Most of the area to the side of the school house was taken up by the reasonably large playground that many of the kids were playing on.
And play they did; everything from tag to what looked to me like a modified version of flag football. Some of the other less athletic children played on the wooden playground as they chatted away with their close friends. The scene playing out in front of me brought back many memories from my days in elementary school back home; some of them fond, and others not so much.
Considering they were all seemingly preoccupied with their leisurely activities, I decided to locate a shaded area where I could enjoy my lunch—whatever that may be—in relative peace. Looking to the side of the building I noticed a few trees that ran along a straight line parallel to the building. After not seeing many other options, I began making my way towards the tree line to find and cool place to lie down.
After finally arriving underneath the bloated willow that was the first tree in the line of many, I sat down on my haunches and removed the borrowed saddle bag from my flank. It took me a moment of fiddling to open the cloth flap on the side of the bag, and when I finally succeeded I removed the brown paper bag that took up a large portion of the interior.
Inside the bag was what most would consider to be a pretty average run of the mill school lunch— minus the meat of course. I started pulling the items out one by one to get a better idea of what I was working with.
“Let’s see here…” I muttered to myself as I reached into the bag and pulled out the first item. “Ah a sandwich with… flowers instead of meat?” I paused for a moment to consider if I should try the strange creation. “Hard pass on that one,” I concluded rather quickly; setting the peculiar sandwich aside and resuming my examination of the contents of the bag. I was super bored and still exhausted from my recent endeavors; frankly this was the most excitement I had experienced all day; felt like a more depressing version of opening a mystery bag from the dollar store.
Before I could continue my enthralling adventure however, a stern voice roused my attention.
“How’s it hanging Canterlot boy?” the voice asked in a transparent attempt to sound casual.
I looked up to find two fillies slowly approaching my new hangout. The one that had addressed me had a pink coat and a purple mane with white streaks throughout that almost reminded me of a more feminine version of my current hair style. Her more shy friend on the other hand, was standing a few paces behind her as if using her friend as a shield against me; clearly she was the more submissive one in this relationship. Unlike her more aggressive friend, she possessed an ashen coat that matched very well with the similarly dull nature of her mane. As if existing solely to solidify my assumptions about the pair, the pink filly championed an intricate tiara that rested dominantly upon her forehead, while her more reserved friend wore a pair of glasses that gave her a more passive look.
“Can I help you?” I addressed plainly as I set the paper bag off to my side.
“Just wanted to see what’s up with the new kid,” she answered with a surprising level of honesty. “Anyone who can make Loserloo that mad is okay in my books,” she finished with a malicious grin. The hatred seeping from her voice almost made me feel a little uneasy.
“Well I mean I don’t really have anything against the kid; I hardly know her for crying out loud.” I noticed her smile fade from her countenance at my defense of the orange pegasus. “I prefer to reserve my judgments until I properly get to know someone— Ya know, walking a mile in their shoes and whatnot?” I asked rhetorically.
“Who would want to walk an entire mile in somepony else’s shoes?” the grey filly interjected in confusion. “Why would anypony even want to walk that far with shoes on in the first place?” At this point the two fillies were standing side by side as they stared at me in confusion.
“Oh sorry about that— just a Canterlot saying I suppose…” I responded in false clarification. “Basically just means: don’t judge someone until you truly know what they have been through,” I explained to the confused pair.
“Everypony has all these strange foreign saying all the sudden. How come I never picked up on any of this?” the shy filly asked herself in confusion. “I lived in Canterlot too ya know.”
“Yeah about Canterlot…” the pink unicorn interrupted. “Whereabouts did you grow up in Canterlot? Me and Silver moved from there a few years ago, so we know the area pretty well.”
Luckily for me I had spent the entire morning preparing myself for questions just like this. I still didn’t know too much about the nearby city however, so I did my best to keep things vague while at the same time still convincing.
“I lived pretty far uptown; small manor in the city. My parents worked at the University there, so we did pretty well for ourselves,” I answered with a confident grin.
“Oh I know exactly where you’re talking about!” Silver exclaimed with a surprising level of excitement. I leaned back a bit at her sudden and unexpected outburst. Based on her lack of level-headedness I could tell that the shy filly was likely unfamiliar with social interactions.
She clearly noticed my reaction and was quick to apologize. “Sorry! It’s just that we don’t get to talk to ponies from Canterlot that often. Kinda miss it, ya know?” she explained; a sheepish expression confirming her explanation.
“Don’t worry it’s no big deal. It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” I said with a fake smile. Honestly, I just wanted to be left alone so that I could enjoy the next twenty or so minutes in peace. I wasn’t going to shoo them away just yet though; maybe they possessed some useful information, and god knows I should be gathering as much intel as I can at this point.
“It’s good to meet you too Artemis— I’m Silver Spoon by the way,” the shy filly introduced. I swear I could see a small blush on her face as she addressed me; a little strange to say the least.
“Diamond Tiara,” the other filly interrupted as she stepped in between her friend and myself. I noticed the slight glare that she shot at the gray earth pony as she cut her off; clearly she was a bit possessive of this one.
“So what’s the deal?” I asked after we had finished basic introductions. “Why do you guys hate Scootaloo? Is she grumpy like that all the time?” I couldn’t help myself from being at least be a little curious about the strange behavior of the orange pegasus.
“It’s not just Scootaloo, it’s all of them! The worthless drebble of society!” she shouted as if it should be plainly obvious. I was a bit taken aback by what she was getting at.
“That’s a little extreme— don’t you think?” I asked; hoping for a better explanation to her strangely aggressive opinion.
“Extreme? I mean just look at them!” she said; pointing a hoof at her classmates to prove her point. I wasn’t really buying her message here, but I looked over towards where she was pointing to see if there was any veracity to what she was claiming.
The fillies and colts ran up and down the field with abandon as they chased after the light blue pegasus that currently was holding the ball against his barrel as he ran on three legs. I wasn’t really sure how difficult that would be to pull off, especially considering I still lost my balance from time to time with four hooves planted firmly on the ground.
I watched with mild interest as Rumble made his way towards the end zone with the opposing team hot on his tail, and his teammates joyously cheering him on. He didn’t make it terribly far however before the other team’s final defense came forward in an attempt to stop him dead in his tracks. Fortunately for the young pegasus colt, his classmate’s last ditch effort came in the form of a small orange filly that wasn’t very well known for her aerial prowess.
Rumble made one last leap before he flapped open his wings and propelled himself gracefully into the air a full three body lengths above his now livid opponent. I could hear his teammates screaming his praises as he landed gracefully in the end zone directly behind the fuming filly.
His celebration wouldn’t last long.
“You moron!” Scootaloo accused as she stomped towards the victorious colt. “You know that you’re not allowed to use your wings! It’s earth pony rules!” I could hear her team yell out in agreement at the filly’s accusation.
“Psh whatever Scoots it’s just for fun. Who cares anyways?” Rumble responded as he hoofed the ball over to Scootaloo. It definitely looked as though the accusations didn’t seem to affect his demeanor too much; clearly he was just playing to have a good time.
“What’s the point of playing the game if you can’t follow the rules numbskull?” she retorted in agitation.
I could tell that Scootaloo’s name calling began to have an effect on the young colt. “You would do the same thing if you could,” he responded confidently. “You’re just jealous that I’m able to fly right over you like that!” he said with a smirk; waving a hoof dismissively at his opponent.
The entirety of the playground fell silent after Rumble’s final statement.
Rumble looked around in utter confusion when he noticed the sudden silence of his peers. “What… I…” It took him a few seconds before his brain finally caught up with what he had just said to his classmate. He cautiously hazarded a glance at the orange filly, and much to his own dread, he could see the tinge of fresh tears begin to stain her coat.
“Scootaloo come on— I didn’t— I didn’t mean it like that!” pleaded the young colt in an attempt to mollify the situation.
Before he was able to get out another sentence, Scootaloo bolted away from him in the direction of the nearby forest. Most of the class remained silent as she made her retreat; in fact, only two fillies called after her as her frame disappeared into the forest’s thick brush.
“Scootaloo wait!” they called out in unison as they rushed towards the field that their friend was playing on just a few moments ago.
“It’s dangerous in there Scoots!” the pale-yellow earth pony shouted as she made her way towards the forest’s edge. Even at a distance I could see the fear in her eyes as she begged her friend to come back.
“Yeah— pant don’t do it— pant Scootaloo!” the white unicorn filly followed up; her pace beginning to slow as she ran out of breath from the short run.
I watched the whole scene take place with growing concern for the well-being of the orange pegasus. As rude as she has been to me that day, I couldn’t help but feel terrible for the way she was being relentlessly hazed by her classmates. I also remembered what Adagio had told me the night before about the various monsters that supposedly roamed the untamed forest; needless to say, this did not fill me with confidence.
“Heh, what an idiot,” the pink filly next to me derided as the other foals were still unresponsive from the shock of their classmate running into the notoriously dangerous forest. “I’m sure she’ll come running back in a few minutes.”
“But what if she doesn’t?” Silver Spoon asked with a hint of concern.
“Why do you care so much?” Diamond accused; glaring menacingly at her friend for her perceived slight against her.
“Do you really want to see her getting seriously hurt?” I asked with a hint of anger. “I’ve heard stories about what’s out there, and it doesn’t sound like a place for someone that young.” I began to lift myself up from the grass to get a better idea of what was going on. “Why do they have a school so close to the forest anyways?” I asked incredulously; hoping the fillies would have some kind of reasonable explanation.
“The princesses have some kind of ward protecting the edge of the forest. Supposedly it stops any of the creatures from being able to exit the Everfree. I’m not really sure how it works beyond that,” Silver explained; holding a hoof to her chin in an attempt to pull the totality of the information she had on the mysterious forest.
Well that’s just great; they have some sort of ward to keep the creatures from exiting the forest, but no protection to stop little foals from running into the forest. I’ll just add that to the list of dumbass oversights that these ponies seem to love. Where is Cherilee anyways? Shouldn’t she be watching these kids in case something like this happened?
As my worries began to become more and more prevalent, I decided that I needed to take control of the situation. These were children I was dealing with anyways; they probably don’t even know what to do. As I made my way towards the scene of the incident my two unwanted companions looked at me is disbelief.
“What do you think you’re doing?” the pink snob spat at me. Honestly neither of their opinions really mattered to me, and I didn’t think they ever would.
“I’m not sure,” I responded; looking back at the furious filly. “But I’m certainly not going to sit on my ass doing nothing.” I could hear my assailant fuming as I turned away from them and continued on my way to the rest of the group.
It looked to me like the ragtag group of fillies and colt were still effectively shell shocked when I made my way over to them. They stood stock still— many of them with their mouths agape, as they all stared at where their friend had disappeared into the forest.
“Well, why are you all just standing here?” I asked with authority; a bit annoyed at their lack of useful assistance.
“Nobody’s ever just… ran off into the forest like that…” Rumble responded in dumbfounded shock.
“Yeah… everypony knows about the monsters that live in there— what if she gets hurt?” Sweetie Bell finished in a panic.
“Sweetie Belle, go get Ms. Cherilee and tell her what happened; hopefully she will have some idea of what to do,” I asked with a calm demeanor to placate the panicking filly.
“Everyone else,” I started; turning away from the white unicorn to address the rest of the group. “Look along the edge of the forest and see if you can spot where she is; maybe she didn’t go in too fa—” Before I could finish my instructions, a blood curdling scream pierced through the somber forest.
“AHHHHHHHH—” It was obvious that the scream was cut short before it could be naturally finished. I felt my stomach drop in overwhelming dread of what may be happening to the poor orange filly. I knew that time was short— in fact it may already have been too late. Although I didn’t spot any of the so called monsters in my own trek through the forest, I knew enough to know that even just natural predators could be deadly under the right circumstances.
“Sweetie go do what I said now! Everyone else go back to the school house,” I demanded in a raised tone.
“What are you going to do Artemis?” asked Rumble; I could tell by the looks of his classmates that they were all wondering the same thing.
In fact, to be truthful I also had no idea what I was doing, or what I even could do. I may have been a full-grown man, but the current state of my figure was completely contradictory to that fact. I mean really, what could I do to stop a real predator; even in my old body I would hardly stand a chance.
Before my fears could get the best of me I glanced over at Scootaloo’s two supposed best friends. The looks on their face was all too familiar; a feeling that I had been struggling with now for the majority of my life: the all-encompassing fear that you may never see your loved one again. It’s the absolute worst dread; a feeling that surrounds you in a haze that makes you forget that there was even a such thing as light in the first place.
I knew that if it was my sister in there I would already be sprinting headlong into the indomitable darkness of the forest. I would give anything to have a chance to save her; I wasn’t going to let the mistake of doing nothing to get the best of me.
“I’m going to bring her back,” I stated confidently; a small spark igniting my previously dormant spirit. This was what I needed: something to fight for that would help me build the connections to help rescue my sister. I knew that this was a bad idea for laying low and avoiding the ire of my captives, but sometimes you need to give a little to get a little.
The rest of them could only stare at me in shock as I started my journey headlong into the forest. They knew that they should probably stop me, but they were so shaken by the situation that they failed to realize what was going on before I was already shrinking in the distance.
I was incredibly afraid, but my determination heftily outweighed my hesitation.
My heart beat violently against my chest as I did my best to follow the crude path outlined by hastily broken branches. It was clear from the sloppy meandering of the route that the filly I was tracking didn’t really have a clear destination in mind. That wasn’t what threw me off though, rather it was the fact that the tracks seemed to change size and orientation as I delved deeper into the forest.
“Scootaloo! Can you hear me?” I shouted in an attempt to establish contact. At this point I had been running on the path for about fifteen minutes with no clear end in sight. In fact, if anything the path seemed to become more and more erratic the longer I continued forward.
I decided to stop for a moment to catch my breath and to listen for any response I may receive from the missing filly. I couldn’t tell if I was out of shape of if my legs were just too short to be running long distance like this. Regardless of the answer, I knew I needed to take a moment to gather my thoughts.
I’ve been hot on the trail for a solid fifteen minutes now and I don’t seem to be catching up in the slightest. I know kids can be emotional, but this was bordering on ridiculous. How could she run like this for such an extended period of time without slowing down in the slightest?
Before my confusion could get the best of me, I noticed a sickly glow permeating from behind the overturned log that lay rotting next to me. Despite my own looming sense of dread, I slowly leaned over the obstruction to see what was casting such an intense miasmic glow. I could hear myself utter an audible gasp as I slowly backed away from the gruesome sight.
It’s hard to describe what I witnessed, especially considering I could only bring myself to glance at it for a brief moment. Beyond the log was a neon green mass of what I could only describe as some sort of coagulated ectoplasm. Interspersed within the sickening substance I could see noticeable streaks of crimson red that I assumed to be fresh blood. I felt myself begin to retch as the intense malodorous stench drilled into my nose.
If I was worried before, I was absolutely terrified now. Any creature capable of creating such a horrifying sight must be dangerous to say the least. Based on the color and scent of the deposit, I could also infer that the monster was likely venomous— possibly to a lethal extent. The visible blood was even less reassuring considering the quantity interspersed within the pile; I desperately needed to hurry if I had any chance of saving the poor filly.
As I made my first step to continue along the makeshift trail, I heard something that made me stop dead in my tracks. A soft, yet barely audible whimpering penetrated through the ambient noise of the forest. At first, I didn’t know if I actually heard was I thought I had or if my mind was playing tricks on me, but another quick succession of light sobs quickly deferred my suspicions.
“Scootaloo?” I called out quietly; I didn’t want to scare her into running again, or draw out the attention of whatever had attacked her in the first place. As soon as I called out her name, the whimpering stopped entirely. I had a good idea of the direction the noise was coming from however, so I began to lightly trot in that general direction.
I did my best to keep my eyes peeled as I walked cautiously through the underbrush; after all, I still had no idea if that monster was still lurking in the vicinity. I would like to claim a policy of better safe than sorry, but it was hard to justify embodying that principal considering where I was at the moment. I heard a light rustling behind the bush that sat to the left of me as I passed it by.
“Come on Scootaloo; I’m not going to hurt you,” I whispered as I knelt down a safe distance from the bush; I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure that she was the one causing the disturbance. I was really starting get creeped out the longer I spent encased in the oppressiveness of the forest. Getting her and getting out as quickly as possible was my highest priority.
A moment of heavy silence passed before I got a reply. “Just— sob go away!” Finally, a response; not the one I was hoping for, but a response none the less. At least I knew that I had definitely found the brash orange pegasus.
“Are you hurt?” I asked with genuine concern; disregarding her previous demand out of concern for her safety. When I didn’t get an immediate response, I decided to take matters into my own hands— er hooves. “Come on Scootaloo, we don’t have time for this; we need to get back before something dangerous comes along and—” I pulled back the top branch of the bush to get a look at the filly’s condition. What I observed however was beyond anything I could have ever imagined.
Sitting huddled up into a quivering ball, was not the brash orange pegasus filly I was expecting, rather my eyes were met with an abyssal black creature that merely resembled the shape of the filly. Rather than fur, it looked like the entirety of the creature’s body was covered with a pitch black chitinous like material; very much reminiscent to an insect rather than a sapient creature. Additionally, the various holes of differing sizes that were spread all throughout the creature's body made it look even more sickly at first glance.
The rest of the monster’s figure was also starkly contrary to the filly I had met earlier. Its eyes were much sharper around the edges, and had a pure aqua color rather than the grayish-purple I had witnessed earlier. Additionally, rather than flat teeth built specifically for grinding down grains and leafy greens, I could see two sharp fangs protruding out of the front of the creature's maw. All of those features considered, the most surprising difference was undeniably the net-like insectoid wings that were huddled against its frail body. It wasn’t the wings itself that were a shock though; it was more the fact that half of the right one looked like it had been ripped clean off.
“What— what are you?” I asked in complete shock. “What did you do to her?” I amended with a hint of anger tinging my demand.
“I didn’t do anything! I didn’t ask for this!” I could see her shaking visibly increase as she feebly tried to defend herself. “Please don’t hurt me— I’ll just disappear and you’ll never have to see me again— just please,” she whimpered as she huddled deeper into the bush.
Despite my reservations about the creature, my heart melted as I watched it —no her—trying to slink away from me. I could see the absolute terror in her eyes as she tried her best to get away from me. I was definitely still freaked out about the situation, but how could I possibly bring myself to pass judgment without knowing anything about this creature.
“Didn’t I already promise that I wouldn’t hurt you?” I said; taking a deep breath to calm myself and placate my mixed emotions.
“Yeah— but that was before—”
“Before nothin Scootaloo; I’m not one to go back on my word,” I cautiously held out my hoof as if offering a silent agreement to the petrified creature. “My word is my bond, and I’m not in the business of hurting those in need.”
I could see the intense hesitation in her deep blue eyes as she stared fearfully at my hoof. It was if she was afraid I might attack her at any moment. Thankfully I felt as though she could sense my compassion as she cautiously reached towards my outstretched hoof.
After I helped her remove herself from the prickly brush, I calmly asked my first question. “Are you okay? What attacked you?” She was still visibly shaken and I could see her body quivering as she sat next to me. I was pretty small myself all things considered, but she looked comparatively miniscule as she held herself low to the ground. As much as I was still concerned about my own safety, I draped a hoof over my new companion in an attempt to calm her down at least a little bit.
“Nothing attacked me… I— It was just the transformation that made me sick,” she answered hesitantly. I could feel her shaking calm down a little as I ran my hoof reassuringly along her back.
“But your wing—”
“It’s always been like that…” she quickly interrupted; unable to make eye contact with me at the moment. It looked like she was deeply ashamed of what happened to her.
“Always? Like you were born with it?” I asked; hoping I wasn’t pushing her too far to answer questions that made her uncomfortable.
“I don’t really remember— my mom made me forget,” she answered after some hesitation. “All I know is that some bad men did this to me.”
“Ponies did this to you?” I asked incredulously; they didn’t really seem like the type to do something like this, but then again, maybe Maple and Adagio were capable of doing something so grotesque; the idea made me even more worried about my arrangement. Speaking of which, I knew they were going to be pissed at me when I got back, but there were more pressing matters at the moment.
“No— I don’t know— I think they were like me,” she squeaked out; looking ashamedly at the hole that penetrated clean through her right fetlock.
“So bug creature things?” I asked; mostly to myself. It was still a bit hard to justify the weird things I was be exposed to on a now daily basis.
“The ponies call us changelings,” she clarified; I could tell she was beginning to feel a little bit more comfortable talking with me. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of us considering what happened at the wedding— you said you were from Canterlot, right?”
“Yeah about that…” I started; not quite sure how much information I should really be sharing at this point. “Maybe not so much...”
“What— what do you mean?” she asked; looking up at me in confusion.
“We all have our secrets; maybe I’ll tell you more later if I think I can trust you,” I said with a light smirk and a playful wink. Honestly, I was just trying my best to get her to calm down at this point.
“Why did you run away?” I asked while I had her direct attention. “You could have been really hurt out here.”
“Sometimes when I get really angry or upset I lose control of my transformation. That’s why I ran into the woods… I was afraid that I would switch back in front of everypony. I’d be completely screwed if that happened,” she responded with a bit of her confidence returning.
“What makes you think that they won’t accept you for who you are?”
“After everything that happened at the wedding they’ve been hunting down changelings everywhere that they are spotted… Nopony really knows or cares what happens to them after the Royal Guard catches them,” she looked down at the ground again, resigning herself to unwarranted guilt; I could tell that she was ashamed of herself— as wrong as that may be.
“I’m really sorry that the world treats your kind that way. It really sucks to know that racism is alive and well in happy pony land,” I replied reassuringly.
“You’re not scared of me?” she asked in befuddlement.
“To be honest I was a little at first.” Her frown at my comment made me feel all the more vindicated that she was nothing more than a defenseless child— regardless of what she looked like on the outside. “But now I know the truth Scootaloo, and you seem alright to me.” I jokingly rustled her pointed ears to prove my honest intention. “Is that your real name by the way?”
“We didn’t have names in the hive; that was the one my mother gave to me so I kept it,” she replied; I could tell by her conviction that it really did mean a lot to her, and I admired that.
“Well where are your parents now? Who takes care of you?” I asked; knowing that I would likely not want to know the answer.
“I haven’t seen my mom since just before the assault on Canterlot. She brought me to the edge of the forest and told me to run to Ponyville— to make a new life for myself. She told me that I needed to spread kindness— no matter how much the world tried to drag me down. When I asked her why she couldn’t come with me— she said it was because they could track her down, and that I would never be safe if she came with me… That was the last time that I saw her.” I could see a long held back tear drip down her cheek as she finished recanting her story.
“And your dad?” I questioned reluctantly.
“I don’t like to talk about him,” she answered with finality. Based on the sharpness of her response I decided not to press her more on that issue
“Where have you been living?” I asked after a moment of silence.
“The Cuite Mark Crusader Clubhouse…” she answered hesitantly.
“The What?”
“It’s a little tree fort on Applebloom’s farm that we use to meet up and plan for our next cutie mark crusade,” she said as if it explained everything. I didn’t know much about their little group, but I also didn’t think it was very important given the current situation.
“So you’re on your own out here?” I responded sadly; my own emotions beginning to affect me and solidify my judgement about my new companion.
“Yeah…” was all she replied; her tone devoid of any noticeable emotion.
“Well, you’re not alone anymore Scootaloo— I’ll tell you that much.” I pulled her into an embrace to prove the honesty of my intentions. Regardless of race, this was a child that had been cast aside far too many times. “We’re going to find your mom, and were going to make those monsters pay for what they did,” I whispered to her with conviction.
“That’s— that’s impossible! These guys are horrible. I may have had some of my memories repressed, but I can still remember a lot of the horrible things they put us through. You don’t know these guys like I do.”
“Something tells me that I might have an inkling of an idea,” I responded cryptically.
“Come on let's get going we can talk more on the way back; everyone must be worried sick by now back at the school. Besides, I need to hear more about what happened at this big important wedding you keep talking about.”
All I got in response was a light nod.
“Are you able to transform back now?” I asked. We might be even more screwed if she was entirely unable to transform back into the disguise she was wearing when she entered the forest.
Rather than responding with words, I watched as she scrunched her face in concentration. At first not much happened, but then suddenly a bright flash of green flame enveloped her black figure entirely. I was again concerned for her safety at first, but found that my concerns were unwarranted when the smoke cleared to reveal the orange pegasus that I had run into the forest in search of. I could see that she was smiling at my worried expression.
“Well, let’s get ready to face the music.” I directed; watching as Scootaloo walked in step next to me.