Just a heads up, the first chapter had a bit of re-writing done to it. If you don't feel like reading it then just read the AN at the bottom of this page.
Chapter 2: Memory two
After the whirling had finally ceased, Celestia touched down in soft mud. She smiled, realizing her pristine, golden horse shoes hadn’t been marred by the grimy substance. Taking in her surroundings, she noted that she was in a swamp, if the foul air and muddy waters were any indication.
“Come on, Sweetie Belle, it’s headed right for yah!”
Celestia turned her head towards the voice and was greeted with the sight of three young fillies circling around a large bull frog. She quickly recognized the orange filly as Scootaloo, the pony she was currently following. She also recalled seeing the other two at Cadance’s wedding as flower fillies.
“It won’t get by me,” Sweetie Bell said while diving towards the frog, determination etched on her face.
The frog tried to make a leap for it, but was caught in Sweetie Belle’s hooves. “I did it!” she squealed, only for the frog to slip out of her grasp. “It’s too slippery, Apple Bloom,” she said, as the frog made a beeline for the nearby water.
“Don’t y'all worry, ah got it!” Apple Bloom said, as she made a dash to cut off the frog.
“You’ll never make it!” Scootaloo said, as she too charged for the frog with a wide toothy grin on her face.
Both girls chose the exact same moment to lunge for the frog, resulting with them crashing into one another.
“Ouch, that hurt.” Scootaloo groaned while massaging the top of her head.
“Yeah, and there goes the frog,” Apple Bloom added, just as the frog dove into the murky water. “Guess none of us are gettin our cutie marks in herpetology then.”
Sweetie Belle giggled. “Yeah, we couldn’t catch one single frog, newt, toad, or salamander, but it sure was fun.”
“Speak for yourself,” Scootaloo said with a snort. “We came all the way out to froggy bottom bog, just to get dirty and stinky.”
“Aw, it ain’t that bad,” Apple Bloom said while sniffing herself. Her face scrunched like she’d eaten something sour. “On second thought, I could use ah shower.”
“Yeah, me too,” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “I think we should head home, my parents are going to scold me if I’m late.”
“Tell me about it,” Apple Bloom said, as the trio began to walk. “Last time ah was late Applejack gave me a tongue lashing something wicked.”
“Yeah… parents,” Scootaloo muttered under her breath in a sullen tone. Scootaloo’s apparent change in mood had gone unnoticed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, for they continued to chat merrily with one another.
Celestia, on the other hoof, had taken notice and filed that information away in her mind.
It was a short while later, when the trio had to split up to head to their respective homes. Celestia continued to follow
Scootaloo until they reached a rather lavish looking home, on the outskirts of the town. For Ponyville standards, it was quite large and impressive, obviously belonging to a fairly wealthy family.
Scootaloo frowned at the house; it didn’t have a single light on. Shaking her head, she marched up the steps and pushed the door open and strolled inside.
Celestia made to follow, just as Scootaloo shut the door behind her with unnecessary force.
Turning on a nearby lamp, Scootaloo took in the sight of the living room before letting out a long sigh. “Hey, Auntie Feather Quill, you home!?” she shouted, disturbing the silence of the house. After receiving no response, Scootaloo groaned as she made her way to the kitchen.
Spotting an envelope on the kitchen table, she walked over towards it. “Let me guess, another business trip?” she said while opening up the letter and reading it.
"Dear Scootaloo,
I’m sorry, but I’ve been called away on business. I’ll be in Baltimare for no longer then three weeks. I’ve left you enough bits in the envelope to tide you over until the end of the month. Do spend it wisely.
Love,
Auntie Feather Quill."
“Couldn’t even wait for me to get back to say goodbye?” Scootaloo grumbled in disgust, as she balled up the letter and tossed it at a waste bin, missing it by a long shot. “Pft…auntie of the year alright,” Scootaloo quipped before making her way towards the bathroom to clean herself off.
About ten minutes later Scootaloo exited the bathroom with a towel draped over her head. Her demeanor had smoothened out somewhat, but Celestia could still see the frustration in her eyes.
Having dried her mane, Scootaloo simply dropped the towel on the floor and walked towards her room. After entering, Scootaloo turned on the lights, and Celestia was taken aback by the sheer amount of Rainbow Dash themed merchandise.
There were wigs, banners, flags, t-shirts and posters littered among the filly's room.
‘I didn’t realize Rainbow Dash had such dedicated fans.’ Celestia thought to herself, her eyes falling on the date marked off on a Rainbow Dash calendar. ‘So, this was precisely three weeks ago.’
Turning her attention back to Scootaloo, she found the young filly staring longingly at a picture frame on her bedside table.
Celestia walked over to get a look at what Scootaloo was staring at so intently. There were three ponies featured. The stallion in the photo was a magenta colored earth pony with a dark purple mane. The mare was a light yellow colored pegasus, with a bright orange mane. In the pegasus arms an orange foal was being cradled.
Celestia reasoned that these were Scootaloo’s actual mother and father. The tears now pooling in Scootaloo’s eyes only solidified Celestia’s suspicions. Watching Scootaloo made Celestia’s heart ache. She couldn’t help but reach out and try to comfort the filly, only to have her muzzle pass through the child.
‘That’s right, it’s merely a vision.’ Celestia reminded herself as she stood back from Scootaloo, now waiting patiently for events to unfold. She didn't have to wait long, for a loud crash suddenly echoed from outside the house.
Scootaloo’s head sprung up in surprise, before she adopted a frown. “Don’t tell me those raccoons are messing around in the garbage cans again,” she said while wiping away some stray tears from her eyes. “Better go scare them off before they make a bigger mess than they probably already have.”
Grabbing a flashlight with her mouth, Scootaloo made her way downstairs and towards the back of the house. Stopping at the backdoor, she turned on the flashlight before pushing open the door and heading out.
“Alright you raccoons, play time's over!” Scootaloo called out, as she scanned the flashlight over the area. Just as she thought, the trash cans had been knocked over but there wasn’t a raccoon in sight.
“That’s weird; they usually don’t run until after I come out,” Scootaloo said with a shrug, now turning to head back inside. However, a sudden movement that she caught in her peripheral vision sent her head craning in that direction.
“W-who’s there?” she stammered out, into the darkness. “I said who’s there?” she tried once more, now fumbling with the flashlight in her hooves.
Her question was answered with the sight of a dark figure briskly limping away, towards the forest.
Scootaloo made to shine the flashlight on the creature, but it had already vanished into the tree line.
“W-what was that?” she asked herself, debating whether or not if she should follow it. Shaking that idea from her head, she turned her back on the forest. “No way, that would be stupid.” she reasoned. “What if it’s dangerous?”
With that Scootaloo made to pick up the knocked over trash cans, only to stop when she noticed they had blood smeared on them. “Blood?” she squeaked while backing away from the trash cans, her face a mixture of fear and disgust.
Celestia was also observing the blood carefully. On further inspection, she could see a small trail leading to where the creature had run.
“Maybe it’s hurt?” Scootaloo said, returning her attention back to the forest line with an unsure expression etched on her face. “No, it’s not my problem, even if it did get hurt,” she argued. “So, I should just leave it alone, and go about my…ah forget it!” Scootaloo decided, as she made to follow in the direction she had seen the creature limp off in.
“This is just going to nag at the back of my mind if I don’t get to the bottom of it,” she reasoned as she disappeared beyond the tree line after the creature.
Making her way through the brush, Scootaloo cantered briskly. She was thankful that Luna had decided on a full moon for the night. The light provided by the moon made following the bent branches the creature had made in its passing all the easier.
A short while later, following bent twigs and broken branches, Scootaloo and Celestia came across a creak. Scootaloo
recalled that this particular creak separated the small woodland area they were currently in from the Everfree forest. Having noticed a small, rickety rope bridge a short distance away, Scootaloo made her way towards it.
She stared at the forest on the opposite side with apprehension. The forest was well known for having strange and dangerous creatures lurking within. Even so, she, along with Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom, had made numerous trips to visit Zecora without any trouble.
Convincing herself that she would be fine, Scootaloo slowly crossed the bridge and entered the forest.
Celestia was initially surprised that Scootaloo would actually enter alone, considering the general fear most ponies had of the forest. Their fears were not without reason, for the forest was an anomaly to them; it functioned of its own accord. Weather, animals, and vegetation all worked in natural order, without the aid of ponies.
In truth, Celestia knew that Equestira itself was the true anomaly of the world. It was a land nearly bursting at the seams with magic, unlike the lands surrounding it. It was the perfect haven for pony kind, for they were a species far more attuned to the magic of the world than any other.
Casting those thoughts aside, Celestia continued to follow Scootaloo, who had moved quite a distance ahead of her.
Coming into a clearing, Scootaloo dove inside a nearby shrub, for the rustling of some nearby bushes had startled her. Swallowing the large lump in her throat, she wiped the sweat from her brow before tentatively looking over the bush she had hidden in.
The area was mostly silent, only disturbed by the echoing chime of the night wind and the numerous insects that chirped and screeched. Letting out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, Scootaloo stealthy crept out of her hiding place and back into the clearing.
“What was I thinking, coming out here?” she muttered as she went to turn around, only to find herself face to face with a pair of malicious beady red eyes.
“Cocka-Cockatrice!” Scootaloo stammered out, remembering her last encounter with the small monstrosity of a snake with a roosters head. Quickly coming to the conclusion to run, her eyes widened at feeling no response from her legs.
Looking down, she could see that both her hind and forelegs had already been transformed into stone and the effect was steadily creeping upward.
“Help me!” she shouted. “Help!”
The cockatrice had a look of enjoyment on it's face at seeing the fear-stricken face of Scootaloo, its eyes peering into hers.
Scootaloo’s expression was of pure horror as the stone crept up to neck level before finally stopping at her chin. She wondered what had caused it to stop, just as she realized that the cockatrice was no longer in her face but a few good feet above it.
Something was holding it there by the throat. All Scootlaoo could make out clearly was that the creature holding the cockatrice was tall, dark and stood on two legs.
Scootaloo’s mind raced in fear, confusion, and wonderment, as she watched the cockatrice struggle in the grip of the thing that was strangling the life out of it. A moment later a disgusting "crack" sounded, and the cockatrice’s futile struggling ceased.
Scootaloo thought to scream, but she couldn’t find her voice when the cockatrice’s lifeless body was dropped at her hooves with a thump. The stone that had been threatening to consume Scootaloo vanished in an instant.
Realizing she was free, Scootaloo took a few steps back and looked up at the creature that had saved her. It was too dark to make out the fine details of the creature; however, she could at least see that it was furless. She also noticed that it was holding something, a spear by the looks of it.
Going with the only option that made sense, Scootaloo took off as fast she could to the nearest tree and hid behind it.
The creature watched Scootaloo go with an unreadable expression. Having decided the little pony wanted nothing to do with it; the creature made to turn around but stumbled to its knees.
Meanwhile, Scootaloo’s heart was beating like a drum. She’d never seen anything like that creature before. It was obviously dangerous, she thought, recalling how easily it had crushed the cockatrice’s throat. Even so, she felt guilty for having run, after it had clearly saved her.
Attempting to overcome her fear, Scootaloo dared to peak her head around the tree that she was hiding behind. The creature was still in the clearing, although now hunched over. ‘What’s it doing?’ She thought, now watching it carefully.
It was hurt, that much Scootaloo was certain of. She could make out a wet substance on its midsection that glistened under the moon light. Tracing the liquid to its source, Scootaloo grimaced at the sight of something protruding from the side of its abdomen. From her vantage point it looked like a stick, but she reasoned it was too smooth and straight to be that. She wondered if it might be an arrow.
Scootaloo got her answer, when the creature suddenly forced the stick like object further into its own body. The object had been pushed so far; it actually pierced through the creatures back, revealing a bloody arrow head.
Gritting its teeth, the creature grabbed the arrow tip in one hand and snapped it off and in one swift motion yanked the remainder of the arrow base out.
“Guwha!” the creature yelled in obvious pain, as it tossed the arrow away. Panting heavily from exertion, the creature made to stand up but collapsed back to its knees, now gripping the wound.
Both Scootaloo and Celestia watched the creature with pity, as it struggled along the ground to a nearby tree.
Propping its body against the tree, the creature simply lay there, covering the wound with one hand.
‘What should I do?’ Scootaloo pondered, still watching the creature from a safe distance. ‘It could bleed to death if I just leave it. I do owe it one after all, but then again if it hadn’t stumbled into my trash cans, I wouldn’t be out here in the first place.’
Shaking her head in frustration, Scootaloo slowly crept away from behind the tree. ‘No, that’s all beside the point. It helped me, so I have to help it, it’s only right.’
Summoning all the courage she could, Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak. “A-are y-you o-okay?” she stuttered, still feeling unsure of her decision.
The creature slowly turned its head towards her, still bearing a neutral look.
Taking a few nervous steps forward, Scootaloo pressed on. “Uh, I could maybe bring you some band-aids or something,” Scootaloo offered. “Well, I doubt a band-aid will help stop that kind of bleeding,” she added. “You need some real help.”
“Yarrow,” the creature said dryly.
Scootaloo stopped in her tracks. “Yarrow, what’s yarrow?” she asked curiously.
“Plant, achillea…yarrow.” It groaned, the pain in its tone evident.
“It’s a plant?” Scootlaoo repeated. “Okay, just hang on. I’ll be right back,” she said as she made to gallop away.
Celestia quickly made to follow after her. She herself knew what the creature was referring to, but wondered just how Scootaloo intended to find it.
What felt like ten minutes of non stop galloping finally brought Scootaloo and Celestia to a large hollowed out tree. There was a small door and two carved out holes for windows. Its appearance would have been quite quaint, if not for the many ceremonial masks littered about and small glass bottles strung up from branches.
If Celestia had to venture a guess, she’d assume the home belonged to a shaman. However, she wasn’t aware that there were any practitioners of the art in or near Ponyville. It was a practice usually only performed by zebras, which Equestria didn't have many of.
Meanwhile, Scootaloo came to a sudden stop at the door. Huffing and puffing from the long run, she hastily knocked on the door. “Z-Zecora, open up it’s me S-Scootaloo,” she panted.
A moment later the door opened and a small zebra stood in its archway. She wore a pair of large golden hoop earrings, with matching neck rings and a set of rings on her left foreleg. Celestia smiled at realizing her suspicions were correct. Zebras preferred to inhabit the lands outside of Equestira, which explained why this one, although living in Equestria, had taken refuge in the Everfree forest.
The zebra looked confused for a moment before adopting a smile. “My dear Scootaloo, what an unexpected visit. A tale I hope you will revisit.”
“Sorry, no time to shoot the breeze, and I apologize for disturbing you at such a late hour, but uh…” Scootaloo stopped herself mid sentence. She hadn’t considered until that point, if she was going to tell Zecora about the wounded creature. How would she react to it, would she be too afraid to even want to help it? Deciding to play it safe, she fabricated a lie.
“Yeah my uh…cat, that’s right my cat got hurt. A vase fell on his head, and he’s bleeding all over the place, a real mess. I need some, what do you call it again?” Scootaloo thought hard on the matter. “Um achillea… achillea yarrow.”
Zecora scrutinized Scootaloo with a calculating gaze for a moment, before answering. “Although your lying leaves much to be desired. I do in fact have what is required.” She said as she trotted to a nearby cupboard and began rummaging through it. “I hope dried achillea is fine. Its healing agents are still divine.”
“Yeah, whatever you have will do,” Scootaloo said. “You know, beggars can’t be choosers and all.”
Zecora had finally found what she was searching for and emerged with a small cluster of dried plants, held in her mouth. Walking towards Scootaloo, she set the plants at her hooves. “Take as much as you need. For which this plant will succeed.”
Scootaloo beamed before scooping up a generous amount of the plants in her mouth. “Thanks a bunch, Zecora,” she said, even with her current mouthful.
“May your endeavor prove well. Now I bid you, farewell,” Zecora said to Scootaloo, whom simply waved and trotted off.
A short while later Scootaloo and Celestia were once again in the clearing where she’d left the creature. The being was still in its propped up position, although unmoving. Scootaloo felt her stomach lurch at seeing the deathly still creature. For some reason, the prospect of it dying frightened her and, forgetting her previous inhibitions, she ran directly to it.
Dropping the plants at its side, she tried rousing it. “Hey, wake up! Don’t go dying on me!” she tried, now mustering the courage to actually try and shake it some. “Come on, don’t be de…”
Before she could finish, Scootaloo suddenly found herself gripped by the throat and lifted to just her hind hooves. Her fore hooves beat uselessly against the creatures arm in a futile attempt to stop it from strangling her. “S-s-stop,” she choked, her horror now growing after looking into the creatures face and seeing that its eyes were still shut.
‘It’s still passed out!?’ she thought frantically, slowly beginning to lose consciousness. ‘It’s going to choke me to death in its sleep!’ “W-w-wake up!” she screamed the best she could, a tear sliding down her cheek.
The lone tear landed with a pitiable splat on the creatures arm, and its eyes shot open, looking around frantically. Seeing what it was doing the creature released its grip on Scootaloo.
She dropped to the ground and scampered off as fast she could. Her heart pounded faster than she thought possible. Taking cover behind a bush, she sucked in several lung fulls of fresh air.
The creature stared at the bush it had seen Scootaloo dive into for a moment, before taking notice of the plants at its side. Its lips creased into the faintest of smiles as it reached out and grabbed the dried yarrow.
Meanwhile, the sound of dried leaves being grounded together caught Scootaloo’s interest and she peered through the bush she was hiding in. She could see the creature was kneading the plants together in its palms. It grimaced in pain as it applied the ground flora to its wounds.
Scootaloo continued to watch, until the creatures eyes landed on the very bush she was hiding in.
“Asante sana,” it said, the fatigue in its voice apparent.
Scootaloo’s ears perked up. She couldn’t be entirely sure, but she guessed that was "thank you" in whatever weird language the creature spoke. She assumed its knowledge of Equestrian language was limited to simple words and names, recalling that it had requested the plant in Equestrian.
The initial rush of a near death experience had settled enough for Scootaloo to leave the presumed safety of the bush. Making sure to keep at least some distance this time, Scootaloo ventured about halfway into the clearing.
She sat on her haunches and from there quietly observed the being a short while, before finally asking, “What are you?”
The creature looked at her through half lidded eyes, evidently trying to process what the pony had asked. “Shujja,” it eventually answered.
“What?” Scootaloo returned. “I don’t know what that means.”
The creature nodded its understanding, before trying again. “Warrior.”
Scootaloo looked to the spear next to it, then to the blade that she’d just noticed, tied to its hip, and finally at the wound it now had covered in plant matter. “Yeah, I kind of get that part,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “How about something more informative, like your name?”
The creature looked confused at the request, and Scootaloo sighed, as she pointed a hoof at herself. “My name is Scootaloo, what’s yours?”
“Jina langu ni…Kimbo,” it said tiredly, now looking on the verge of falling asleep. “Kimbo, is name.”
“Kimbo?” Scotaloo rolled the name over her tongue. “That’s a funny sounding name,” she said as Kimbo let out a loud yawn.
Taking notice of Kimbo’s fatigue, Scootaloo grinned bashfully. “Sorry, I forgot that wound is probably taking a lot out of you,” she said as she let out a yawn of her own. “I guess I’m a little tired from all the…excitement too.”
The creature didn’t respond, for it had already fallen asleep or slipped into unconsciousness, Scootalooo really couldn’t tell.
Deciding that she’d done enough, she lifted herself to her hooves and made to go back to her home. However, remembering that there wasn’t anypony waiting for her, she sighed and sat back down on her haunches.
For a short while she simply watched Kimbo’s rhythmic breathing, quietly trying to understand the strange creature. Concluding that she wouldn’t learn much by watching it sleep, she gave in into her own exhaustion and shut her eyes.
Celestia watched the entire scene with a thoughtful expression on her face. The signs were clear as crystal, the filly would befriend the creature, or better yet, Kimbo. Celestia found that she was quite eager to witness the events leading up to the unfortunate incident in Ponyville. Moreover, she fully welcomed the swirling and distortion that accompanied the new vision that was now taking over.
Alright for those that didn't feel like re-reading the first chapter, here's the short of it. Rarity is no longer a bitch, that role was given to Colgate instead. She now servers more as a mediator, but does initially take part in the whole grab your torch and pitchforks riot. Further more the memory spell has been altered, to make more sense. Apart from that, the chapter was generally cleaned up of errors. Well that about does it, thanks again to DF for editing and I'll see you guys with the next chapter!