You were going spastic, just… how?! WHY?! Why would she try to kill you?! Ok, sure, she may feel pretty betrayed, that could be a thing. But goddammit! You two were still good friends, right?! Then why would she publically try to kill you?! Maybe, just maybe you can…
No, you can’t. You already spent the horn’s two charges for the day. God fucking dammit. “DAMMMIIIIIIIIITTT!”. There was no way to find out, no way to know! Why, just…
“Anon? Anon! What’s wrong with you?! Are you alright, are you ok?!” You hear a frantic girly shriek behind you before you feel yourself getting snuggled and hugged “Did you suddenly get attacked by other fillies?!”. Oh, it was Diamond Tiara. She was looking around already, trying to spot anyone who was closeby. But other than the ponies leaving the Colosseum, no one was around you. “Nopony at all. Hmph, nopony even coming to give you a congratulations. That’s just not right!”
Shit… You nearly lost your marbles there. Fuck, how were you going to handle this? How were you going to handle her? You can’t just go and tell Celestia you were wrong. No, no… You had to get more information first. You had to, when you get the chance, speak to Scrappy and see if he knows anything. He still had some devotion to her, so he has to know something. As for Diamond, you began to soften up as she cuddled you close. “I think it might be my getup”
“Maybe, still. Hmph… Mnnn…” She now looks to you, worried. She helps you to your hooves and brushes off your clothes to remove the dirt. “What happened then? Are you ok?”
Do not let her know, Anon, do not let her know. You put on a big fake smile for her and say “I just realized that I… Uhm… used both my charges for the day. I wanted to impress Princess Celestia with a trick, but y’know. Hahah… Heh.”
“Oh… Wait!” Diamond suddenly became frantic, and looked into your eyes with worried desperation “You didn’t embarrass yourself, did you?! Is that why she left?! Anon! You can’t be doing that! What if word spreads and everypony starts treating you badly?! Grrrr…” Diamond growled at the very thought “Which they better not! Or else…”
Oh god, did you really worry her that much?! It was like she was willing to murder… Don’t finish that thought, you don’t want to think of Diamond as a yandere. “No, no! It’s ok. She just had important princess stuff to do, that’s all, she didn’t make fun of me or anything. Heck, she went to congratulate Scootaloo before she actually left. Everything is ok! A-ok! No reason to think otherwise!” You say, obviously lying as sweat came down your brow.
But Diamond still buys it. “Oh, ok then. I guess she did have to squeeze in coming here into her schedule after all. And it’s good she went to congratulate Scootaloo, she deserves it!” Diamond said with a sweet smile “Now come on! We gotta go to Silver Spoon’s and tell her the good news!”
Silver Spoon? “Uh, why? Why isn’t she even here? I’d think she’d have been here to see all this.”
“She got sick! Oh, right!” Diamond giggled to herself “I forgot to tell you that! I erm… I guess all the excitement kind of overwhelmed me. Ah well, doesn’t matter. Let’s go!”
But wait… What about food? “Erm, actually Diamond. I was kinda invited to eat out with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, that’s ok, right?”
“B-but…” Diamond pouts “Don’t you want to hang with me and Silver Spoon? And… wait, eat out?”
“Erm…” Your eyes went wide right there. What did she think you mean? What did she know?! What did you mean?! HOLY CRAP?! DID YOU INFER…
But before you could say anything else, she whaps you on the head with her hoof as she angrily berates you “You were about to let me take you away from eating and filling your belly?! Oh wait..” Diamond stops, and adorably contemplates on her own words “I guess we could eat at Silver Spoon’s. Then again, you are eating with an element. I could go with you, but then who is going to help Silver Spoon get better? In fact, if I stay with her alone, we can talk about the wedding without you finding out anything.” Diamond nods to herself, then gives you a hard stare as she points towards the direction to the trainee’s lobby, or whatever it was called “Ok Anon, go eat! And you better not show up later and eavesdrop. Ok?”
Thank God, or Celestia, or Discord… whatever. She was willing to let you go and eat. Although, hanging out with her didn’t sound like a bad idea at all. She picked up on your nuances and worry too easily, and you needed some quiet time to sort out your thoughts. Not only on Chrysalis, but this whole Neighsay business. “Ok, thank you, Diamond, you’re the best” You reach your head over to kiss her nose. But she puts her hoof on your forehead and gently pushes back.
She then points at you again, with the same serious expression “Not yet, Anon. You also have to promise to come see me tonight.”
Tonight? Should you ask why? No, don’t ask, that would upset her. “Ok”
“Ok? You’re not going to ask why?” Diamond said, seeming insulted by your answer.
Dammit! But! But you didn’t want to insult her! That’s why you just said ‘ok’. “I just didn’t...erm, want to insult you by asking why. So, erm… why? I guess?”
She then gives you a gentle kiss on the nose as she looks at you with a blush “So you can wish your princess good night, of course! Also, so you can tell me when I can sleep over. I mean, duh, wasn’t it obvious?”
Uhhhh, if it was obvious, then why did she want you to ask about it at all? Ugh, girls, they never make fucking sense sometimes. “Right, you want to sleep at my house… with me. On my bed…” And oh boy, did that make you go deep red.
Even if she didn’t understand it, hearing you shakingly say those words did seem to put a thought in her head that caused her to blush “Mhmm… So we can erm, cuddle, and talk about stuff. Like, totally cool stuff.” She said as she shyly looked away.
Cuddling. You did like to cuddle, and you did want to cuddle with her. It’s not like you’d slip up and do something… lewd. Nah, it’d be ok. And it’d probably feel a lot less lonely having her closeby. “I’ll get that set up for sure, my princess. You have fun with Silver, ok?” You say as you give her a smooch on her nose, which she allows this time.
“I-I will, and you have fun too! And make sure you fill your belly, ok?” She smooches you back. “And make sure no filly tries to get you to go home with her. Got it?” She looks into your eyes to make sure there would be no deceit in your words. Cute, but she really wouldn’t be able to tell either way.
Besides, you had no eye for any other filly, so you give her a sure nod. “I will, and don’t worry. My eyes? Only for you”
And with that, you went on your way around the Colosseum towards the lobby Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were in. As you circled the Colosseum, you could see some ponies gathered around in crowds. Some were discussing the fate of the Colosseum itself, others about you, some even eyeing you and trying to make an approach towards you. But you made haste, not wanting to stop for anything. Chrysalis’s presence was still on your mind, and you had to focus.
When you reached the lobby entrance, the ponies guarding the door had already gone, and there didn’t seem to be any sign of Celestia either as you opened the door to go on inside. Well, that was quick. You also decide to shed the clothes you were wearing. If Diamond didn't like them, then there was no point in keeping them on.
“...And did you hear her?! Even Princess Celestia thinks I’m Wonderbolt material! That’s… So… AWESOME!” You could hear Scootaloo cheer in the main foyer of the room, hopping up and down on the couch with glee. “I can’t wait to tell the girls!”
Rainbow Dash, as you could see, was just looking upon her with pride. It was a sweet moment to see that Rainbow Dash truly saw Scootaloo as more than just a little kid, as some sort of little sister. She even had a tear in her eye as she watched Scootaloo happily hop about.
But you had to stop this if you wanted to talk to Scootaloo. You knew, you just knew, that you had to get some information somehow, and Scootaloo really is a good way to get it. “Heya guys, looks like Celestia’s visit went well. She just came and went?”
“Anon!” Scootaloo hopped down immediately and trotted in place in front of you happily “It went super well! She thinks I’m Wonderbolt material! Just like Rainbow Dash and Captain Spitfire! That’s soooo awesome! Super awesome! Isn’t it awesome?!”
It was, it really was. But dammit, this was important. You give her a smile and nod “That is super awesome indeed! But erm… Can I borrow you for a second? Hey Dash, can I borrow her for a second?”
“Wha? Why? We were just about to go catch up with Spitfire. Said she wanted to treat us herself. Can’t you save it for later? And why private? C’mon Anon, whatever you got to say to Scootaloo, you can tell me too.” Rainbow Dash says, ignorant of the importance of what you had to say.
“She’s kind of right, Anon. What’s so important that you can’t tell Rainbow Dash? I mean, I know Captain Spitfire made me a Junior Wonderbolt, but Rainbow Dash is one of the best! So she should be in on it.” Scootaloo, of course, agreed with Rainbow Dash. Because why not?
Fuck. Well, maybe you could still convince her. Scootaloo, out of the three CMC anyway, was a good friend, and understood the most how you felt about Chrysalis. So she should hopefully follow your lead if you at least whisper to her the subject of what you want to talk about. So you ease in close to her ear and whisper... “Scootaloo, it’s Chrysalis, she was here. Please, I need to talk to you alone about this.”
Scootaloo’s eyes went wide, her ears stiffen as her body shivers just from those words. She then looks to you, then to Rainbow Dash. What was she going to say? Was that even a good idea?
“Hey, what did you tell her? Scootaloo, you ok? You look a little spooked.” Rainbow Dash asked, worried as to what suddenly got her so freaked out.
“Oh um! Nothing spooked me! Ha ha!” Scootaloo laughed meekly as she started to back up towards the entrance of the course itself. “But erm, I do gotta talk to Anon alone and stuff. Y’know, it’s kind of embarrassing for him.”
Now Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at you, wondering even further what the hell you told her “Yeah? Like what?”
Shit. Something embarrassing, something… Oh goddammit, fine! But you were sure Fluttershy would find out about this later and do her best to “help”. You take a breath, and say, as honestly as you can “B-bed wetting issues. Y’know, Scoots is somepony I really tru-”
“Woah! Woah! Say no more, Anon. Erm… uhhh…” Rainbow Dash didn’t know what to say to that as she rubbed her leg with her hoof and looked away with a grimace “Yeah… go… erm… I’m gonna go get Captain Spitfire, so erm… yeah…” And with that, Rainbow Dash left to find Spitfire, leaving you and Scootaloo alone.
“Bed wetting, really?” Scootaloo said as she stopped making her way towards the entrance to the course, looking at you with an eyebrow raise “I’m kind of surprised Rainbow Dash bought that.”
“It was the only thing I could think of! Sheesh! And that’s not important… Scoots, I need your help”
Scootaloo took a long breath as her hateful memories of Chrysalis began to fill her mind. She looked at you, not in worry, but in a bit of suspicion of you instead. “With Chrysalis? You need my help with her? Anon, come on! I thought we were all done with her already! She was evil, and holding back her own kids! She’s not even supposed to be here anymore! Did you see her or something? What’s going on?!”
Dammit Scootaloo, why did she have to be inquisitive? Ok sure, Chrysalis gave her every reason to hate her. And… that’s it really. Ok, just remain calm and explain the situation. “No, I saw her leaving on my map. And…” On second thought, leave out the part where you think she tried to kill the both of you. Without conclusive evidence, and with Scootaloo already on the hate train, that was probably a bad idea. “Erm… Yeah, look. I haven’t talked to her, but she had to be here for a reason, don’t you think?”
“Puh…” Scootaloo scoffed “Probably wanted to try to take out the princesses or something, but realized she couldn’t do anything because she’s dumb.”
“Yeah, well… I need to figure out why she was here, the real reason she was here. So I was wondering, do you think you can ask Scrappy if he knows anything? I’d ask, but he’d probably make me challenge him for the information.” Please Scoots, she has to at least do that.
“If he knows anything? Anon! Scrappy is totally a good guy now. He’d never ever talk to Chrysalis about anything! Heck, he’d try to bring her to justice if he could.” Scootaloo said, insulted that you’d even come close to suggesting Scrappy would even go near her anymore.
“Scoots! Come on! You know that’s not true! He loves all of you, but also loves her. He’d do the same thing I do and try to get her, his mother, to be good. I’m not suggesting he’d betray us or anything, I just need information. If Chrysalis is planning something, I need to know, if only because I am the only one who could properly trace her if need be.” Or rather, you didn’t want the princesses involved, as you were sure Twilight has some magical bullshit that could easily trace her.
Scootaloo sat on her butt and crossed her hooves, silent, and unmoved.
“Scoots, please. I’m asking you as a friend. I know Scrappy would never join her or anything like that. But there’s still a chance she may have tried to talk to him, and asked him to keep it a secret. If he knows anything, then I need to know too. If it’s something dangerous…” As if, if she really wanted you dead “Then I need to stop her. Please, help me out here.”
Scootaloo didn’t budge from her position, but you could tell she was thinking hard on it. After awhile, she finally relented and let out a heavy sigh. “Oh boy, I really hoped she wouldn’t bother anypony ever again. Anon…” She looked to you, with genuine worry in her heart. She hated to even think she'd tried to go near Scrappy, but it also hurt her to see you so distressed over it. Especially since she thought you still thought there was any good in her. “If it’ll help you, then ok, I’ll ask Scrappy. Better we find out than just letting her do what she wants. But you gotta promise me not to do anything dumb, alright? If you’re gonna tell me about all this, then that makes us a team! And… erm…” Scootaloo started to think on all the praise she got today, as well as being given the title of Junior Wonderbolt. “You and me? We gotta stick by each other, no matter what. I know what I did that one time was stupid, but I’ll be more careful this time. If Chrysalis is doing something bad, then you’ll totally need my help, ok?” She holds her hoof out towards you, in trust you’ll shake it “Partner?”
You look at her hoof. Dammit, did she really want to get THIS involved again? You could handle it this time! You knew you could! All you needed her to do was get the info out of Scrappy, that’s all. If you had to shake her hoof, then fine, but you weren’t truly going to let her in on anything important. You had to protect her, so that meant truly facing Chrysalis alone. “Ok, partner.” You reach for her hoof, and give it a shake. “Thanks Scoots, I knew I could count on you.”
“Don’t sweat it, Anon. We’re a hero duo, you and me. The Hero Colt and the Junior Wonderbolt! We’re like, Wonderbolt Hero Duo… or something like that. Erm, heh, I’ll think of a better team name later. But right now, let’s just forget about her, ok? I wanna eat already.” Scootaloo said as she gave her tummy a rub “I’m starving!”
It was clear Scootaloo didn’t want to think about it too much. That she wanted Chrysalis as far away from her mind as possible. She was worried that you were around, yes. But in the back of her head, despite agreeing with you, she felt Twilight and the others would handle it as they always would. But just the same, she felt as well, that if you somehow ended up in danger, she’d be there to help you, just as you saved her when the platform collapsed.
“Alright, I need some food myself. Kind of got a few other things I gotta do today. Erm, thanks Scootaloo, really. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.” You say, being mostly truthful.
“No prob! I don’t like Chrysalis very much, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like you. You got my back, right? Well, that means I got yours.” She says with a friendly grin.
Yeah… Right...