With a single bite, another cookie was valiantly defeated by Scootlaoo’s hunger. After so long on the dull hay and grain-based survival biscuits, it, and the many others that followed it, never stood a chance. Her tongue found every crumb that clung to her muzzle. The empty plates spoke of just how hungry they all had been for a sweet treat.
“You liked them.” Little Star stated, more than asked. Her happy smile and perked ears suited her far better than the nervous imitation of a smile she had when she had popped them into existence.
“Whenever you want to make cookies again, you go right ahead,” Crash said, mirroring Scootaloo’s own thoughts.
With a flick of his hoof, Crash flipped one final treat into the air. Scootaloo’s eyes tracked it as if it was the only thing in existence. Before that round disk of soft and chewy perfection had even finished its ascent, she could just see what was about to happen. The cookie would flip in the air, and its journey back towards the ground would be interrupted by a certain colt’s mouth.
With a flick of her wings, Scootaloo set about saving the sweet treat from such a fate.
The look of surprise in his eyes was almost as sweet as the taste on her tongue as it started to close around her prize. She began to raise her hooves in victory when suddenly he was there.
His fangs just missed her delicate tongue as they sunk into the half of the cookie that still had access to the air. “Mine,” he growled through a locked jaw.
The pair of them crashed into the wall and were already grappling as they slid down it to the hard floor. The impact was nothing compared to the need to reclaim her cookie from that colt.
“Maybe I made them a little too tasty,” Little Star’s quiet voice was almost inaudible, but only almost.
Her friend’s musing slowly worked its way through Scootaloo’s mind and produced a result. What am I doing? By the sudden lack of struggle, Crash seemed to have had the same thought.
Their muzzles brushed together as, with a snap, he broke off his half of the cookie. An instant later, he slipped into the shadows below them, completely avoiding the difficulty of untangling what had been a dozen flailing limbs just moments before.
Scootaloo shook her head and rolled to her hooves as Crash crawled out of the shadow under the table. Her eyes looked for the cookie, but all signs of it were long gone. Instead of crumbs, or the other half of the tasty treat, all she saw was the angry scowl on his face. As their eyes met, it was as if his narrowed, draconic eyes glowed with an inner light.
A seed of guilt settled in her stomach. Maybe snatching the last cookie out of the air had been a less-than-awesome thing to do.
“You two looked like you were kissing,” Applebloom said with a laugh.
Sweetie Belle joined in with a giggle she failed to hold back.
All feelings of remorse vanished. Heat rose in Scootaloo’s cheeks, and she stomped her hoof. “No we weren’t. He had my cookie.”
“YOUR cookie?” He asked, his intense slit eyes aimed right at her from across the room. They pinned her in place with the weight of his accusation. The glow in his eyes brightened, and he lifted a hoof as if he was going to advance or lash out with it.
She shifted, and her flight muscles tensed. The urge to be anywhere but here right now made the open sky call to her. The only problem was he had wings too. His ear twitched then just stopped, frozen like a statue, his first step still incomplete, hoof simply held in the air.
With a start, he shook and shifted his gaze to Little Star. After a few seconds, her ears dropped, and a look of guilt showed on her face.
The next second, Little Star lit her horn, and both she and Crash vanished in a blinding flash of magenta light.
“What was that about?” Sweetie Belle asked as her light green magic stacked the plates up neatly.
“I ain’t got a clue,” Applebloom said.
Scootaloo blinked a few times. As the afterimages faded, the fear she had definitely not been feeling vanished without a trace. She ruffled her wings to settle them and sat back on her haunches. She just stared at the space Crash had been in and brought her hoof to her mouth. A moment later, she used her fetlock to wipe her mouth clean. That was not a kiss. She just wanted another cookie.
But she could not get the image of his eyes out of her head. They always held her so. He always looked into her every time he talked to her, every time he comforted her about the bloody things the action stories never talked about. The playful sparkle in them as they sparred, exchanging blows as they danced in the air. The heat started to return to her cheeks, and she shook her head. No, he is only a friend, nothing but a friend. Right?
That thought and others had Scootaloo switching between sitting still like a statue and zipping from one side of the room to the other like an energetic hummingbird on too much coffee.
“Quit it,” Applebloom shouted. “Yes, you did something wrong, but all you need to do is apologise.”
Scootaloo nodded, and with a surge of her wings, she was off.
When one friend can teleport easier than walking, and the other can just hide in a shadow, tracking either of them down could be hard, or in this case, impossible. Scootaloo checked everywhere twice, and still, there was no sign of either of them.
Defeated, with a cold feeling clutching her gut, Scootaloo returned to the two Crusaders she knew she could find.
It was an hour later when Little Star returned alone. As the door creaked open, at first, everypony expected somepony else. Little Star did not normally use the door.
“I’m sorry.” Was the first thing out of Little Star’s mouth as she timidly walked in.
Applebloom trotted over and draped a foreleg over Little Star. “Whatever for? It was Crash and Scoots that started fighting.”
Little Star’s expression went all sheepish. Just like the million and one times, one of the other Crusaders had been caught doing something they weren’t meant to and had gotten caught.
With a few flicks of her wings, Scootaloo landed in front of Star. “What did you do?”
“I made a miscalculation.”
“What went wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked before Scootaloo could say anything harsher.
“One of the ingredients in the cookies...” Little Star said, her hoof drawing circles on the floor as her eyes lowered.
“You poisoned us?” Applebloom asked.
Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened in panic. “No, not more baked bads….”
“No, no, I would never... Everything was safe. Healthy and harmless... It’s just...”
“Just what?” Scootaloo pressed closer.
“Someponies... Well, they really, really like that certain ingredient and often get into fights over it...”
“Oh...” That gave Scootaloo a lot to think about. The cookies were good... But to steal one from a friend, from a fellow Crusader? Confusion replaced some of the guilt. Did the cookies make me do it?
“What was the ingredient?” Applebloom asked.
“Err...” Little Star started, and then with a flash of her horn, she was gone.
Applebloom huffed. “Something tells me she added something she should not have.”
“Like what?” Scootaloo asked.
“Like the special drinks my sister kept hidden in the cupboard,” Sweetie Belle added brightly.
As the other chattered back and forth about what the secret ingredient could be, Scootaloo’s mind could only focus on one thing. She wanted more of those cookies. She glanced around the room and sniffed, trying to hunt down even one more crumb.
Unfortunately, before she found any, the door opened again. This time, it was not Little Star.
“This is where you’ve been hiding,” Applejack said as she advanced onto the balcony with far too much purpose.
Scootaloo wanted to glare but instead just spoke. “We’re not in anypony’s way.”
“Sis, We didn’t do anything against the rules.”
“Nothing exploded or caught on fire,” Sweetie Belle added.
“Well, I’m mighty happy to hear all that. That’s not why I’m here. You all have chores you need to be doing.”
As if rehearsed, all the Crusader’s ears dropped like a synchronised performance.
Despite her attempts to make a game of her chores, to play make-believe that she was on some epic mission, her thoughts did not cooperate. Cookies and that definitely-not-a-kiss haunted Scootaloo’s mind as she flew back and forth.
At least she got to fly, and using her new wings to do that still felt amazing. She would never stop being grateful to Twilight for them. So she treated her errands as speed trails as she flew about carrying this and that. Her speed and manoeuvrability were perfect to dash about both inside and outside the castle. As long as her cargo was protected against storm-speed winds, everything was fine.
At least what she was doing was far more fun than what the others were stuck with, at least the two of them she could find. Applebloom worked with her in the new greenhouse, doing stuff with plants and small potted trees. It looked dull, but if it meant more tasty food, Scootaloo would have happily lent a hoof. On the other hoof, Sweetie Belle was stuck inside using the same knife she battled the hydra with to cut fabric for her sister.
No matter how hard she looked, neither Crash nor Star were anywhere to be seen for the rest of the day.
Supper was a bland thing. Water and a hay and nut biscuits-cake-thing. It crunched and flaked with each dusty bite. It was filling but was as bland as cardboard. It was definitely not one of Little Star’s most awesome cookies.
That night she dreamed of an army of cookies that attacked Equestria. Only she and her loyal sidekick Crash could save the day. With Sweetie Belle dealing with an ice cream flood and Applebloom dealing with a plague of vampire apples, only Crash and her could do what needed to be done.
Many, many cookies died that day, fleeing in terror as two of the three best flyers in the world swooped down and snatched hundreds into their hungry maws with each pass.
Scootaloo opened her eyes. The crystal ceiling’s distorted reflection looked back down at her. The sunlight outside definitely pointed to it being morning.
Her stomach rumbled, and the last remnants of her dream whispered to her how nice one of Star’s cookies would be right now. She shook her head and tried to get rid of the memory of the taste. Those things were really turning out to be too much trouble.
She stretched her legs one by one, then reached as far forwards as she could with her front hooves and arched her spine like a cat. A few wing stretches and an inspection, and then she was good to go.
She took wing and headed outside to do her normal exercises. One hundred squats, one hundred wing ups, one hundred jumping jacks, ten laps around the castle on hoof, ten laps more by wing, then repeat faster.
Outside Lyra and Bon Bon’s studio, the guards were on either side of the main doors but armed and armoured in the stuff Twilight made for the fair. The air cracked and tinkled as waves of frosty air spilled from the blades of their weapons.
There was so much sky she could fly in, so much freedom she could have, but it only took a glance back at Bon Bon to know she would get in trouble if she gave in. So she resisted the lure of the open sky and stuck close to the castle as she went through her exercises.
The first was simple and, to her, might as well have been a simple walk. It gave her plenty of time to take in everything going on around Ponyville.
Far too much of the town was just gone, damaged and destroyed buildings broken down for parts, and the land cleared. The wall and towers now surrounded every building left standing that they were going to keep, but still, almost everypony slept in the castle.
Ponies in Royal Guard Armour stood atop the modified Friendship Express as others, including Big Mac and Snowflake, helped unload it. Thick sheets of metal, along with the ballistas and catapults, made the train look almost awesome. Still, it definitely needed a better paint job. It just looked wrong with the bright, cheerful colours underneath peeking through past the dull metal armour.
On her second set, she spent most of her time looking at the white towers of Canterlot. Are you really a mean pony? Unsurprisingly, nopony answered her unspoken question. For a second, she wondered what she would have done if Princess Celestia herself teleported in to answer. With a snort, she shook her head. No way was that going to happen, even if she was a mind reader.
By her third repeat, she had to focus more on what she was doing. She knew she was just a blur to any non-pegasus, and a crash at that speed could really hurt somepony. After her fourth repeat, she was panting, and after her fifth, she had to stop. Her wings trembled, and her coat was lathered with sweat.
She just sprawled out on the grass, not caring that anypony could see her. Each breath came a little easier, and bit by bit, her pounding heart slowed. After a minute, she rolled onto her back and glanced up to the sky. Every single bit of white up there in the blue sky was flanked by guards. She pushed herself back to her hooves. “I don’t think they will let me just borrow one….” Scootaloo thought as she let her wings drop a little. She was going to have to queue for the showers again.
“Stupid Earthpony soap….” Scootaloo grumbled. The harsh soap had left her clean, but even now, hours after her shower, her nose still twitched whenever she moved her wings too quickly, and the mineral scent still clung to her feathers so stubbornly she feared she might never get rid of it.
“Hey, there is nothing wrong with our soap,” Applebloom complained and threw an orange at Scootaloo.
With a smirk, Scootaloo just held her hoof in the way and waited. As it drew nearer, she could feel how it cut through the air, how its movement wanted to keep it moving the same way. Her smirk became a full-blown grin as she put her plan into motion. The second it made contact, she flipped its motion. She barely felt it brush her hoof before the orange simply shot straight back the way it had come from.
Applebloom ducked, letting the fruit sail over her to bounce off the wall with a juicy splat.
Sweetie Belle’s magic lifted the now slightly misshapen fruit. “Come on, we should not be wasting food.”
“But it’s an orange,” Applebloom complained as Sweetie Belle started to eat the mentioned fruit. A shudder went down Bloom’s spine as she watched.
Scootaloo held her hoof out. “Hey, can I have some?”
“Sure.” With a juicy rip, light green magic tore half of what was left off and floated the segments over.
With a slow movement, Scootaloo opened her mouth and claimed the juicy treat from the air. It was not one of Little Star’s cookies, but at least it was sweet.
Applebloom shook her head, a look of betrayal in her eyes.
“It’s just fruit,” Sweetie Belle said as she carefully used a rag to clean up each and every spec of fallen orange juice.
Sadness weighed Applebloom’s ears down as she looked away. “I miss our apples.”
Scootaloo watched her friend for a moment before she trotted out of the room. There had to be an apple somewhere in this castle.
She searched high and low but found none. Instead, she came across Crash and Little Star together. Is he getting more cookies? Scootaloo crept closer.
Crash held a clipboard as Little Star emptied crates of supplies into piles of stuff.
Crash sighed. “You don’t need to hide.” His slit eyes found hers, and he smiled. “I’m sorry about yesterday.”
Little Star looked between the two of them with a puzzled tilt of her head.
“Well…” Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m, kinda sorry too.”
He nodded and slowly smiled. “Then shall we forget about it?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah.” Those cookies were good, but the more time passed, the less her actions made sense. She liked Crash. Why would she steal from him?
“Want to help?”
“Nah, I’m looking for apples.”
“Apples?” Little Star asked, looking thoughtful.
“Yeah, Bloom’s missing them.”
“Apples? Apples? Hmm, Apples!” With a flash of magic, a single jar of apple jam popped into existence.
“That will do,” Scootaloo said as she reached for it.
“This is the only one.” Little Star pulled it back towards her.
“But it will make Applebloom happy.”
Little Star tapped her chin just like Twilight sometimes did. “I might be able to turn this back into apples… and from there have something that can be planted, it would only….” The rest of her explanation trailed off.
Crash’s and Star’s heads snapped up and looked the same way. The jar of apples vanished back where it had come from.
“Get the others and gather by the main doors. They’re going to want to see this.” Little Star said, prancing a little on the spot.
A moment later, Little Star popped out of existence, and Crash had slipped into the shadows.
“Hey, wait for me!”
Less than a minute later, Scootaloo and the rest of the Crusaders trotted out of the crystal tree that was still everyone’s home.
Outside, a massive crowd of ponies gathered. The forest of legs and bodies blocked all sight lines.
“I can’t see,” Applebloom complained.
With a little jump, Scootaloo cleared the heads of the older ponies.
She reached the peak of her leap and then opened her wings. They slowly beat, catching just enough air to hold her in a hover.
Crash was the first to join her in the air. Moments later, with a flurry of butterfly wings, the rest of the Crusaders joined her.
A dozen thestrals marked a large perimeter. Their stoic looks did more to keep the ponies back than any wall could.
Their stony demeanour lasted until Little Star waved. More than a few waved back with smiles, and just like that, the whole gathering lost a lot of the tension.
Six of the nightguard took fight and gathered in a confusing stacking formation.
Crash tapped her and pointed to the ground. Suddenly, the formation made sense. Their shadows overlapped, creating a huge one.
The shadow seemed to change somehow and deepen, becoming darker as its surface began to ripple. The flat shadow bulged, pushed up from the ground and silently tore open. Tendrils of darkness pulled it open, revealing something darker still inside. A few flickers of light danced within its depths. Something moved inside. What? And then what Scootaloo saw started to make sense. A stormcloud began to emerge.
It was an odd-looking storm cloud, but the tickling static that played over Scootaloo’s wings made it as plain as day it was real.
“Hey, don’t that kinda look like an airship?” Applebloom asked.
Trying to settle her feathers down, Scootaloo tilted her head to the side, trying to see whatever Applebloom saw. “Maybe?”
As more for the cloud pushed itself out of the shadow, yes, it did indeed look like an airship. A sleek and deadly-looking one. With mounted ballistas and magic shapes that glowed in cyan light.
“That is awesome,” Scootaloo breathed out as she took the whole thing in. Stories of air pirates and adventure played in her mind. The flash of magenta light did not even cause her to look aside, Little Star’s teleportation having become so normal these days.
“Mummy!” Little Star cried out. As the light of her arrival faded, it showed her almost suffocating her mother’s head with a tight hug, said head that had only just poked out of the shadows with the airship.
Luna cradled Star in her wings as she dragged herself fully out of the shadows. Lots of nuzzling happened, far too much if you asked Scootaloo.
So she turned her attention back to the stormship. As if taken from the page of one of Spike’s comics, its dark form loomed.
“Looks fast,” Crash said beside her.
“Yeah, but it’s a cloud... It’s only gonna go as fast as it’s pushed.”
“See those crystals?” Crash asked as he levelled a wing at an off-colour bit of the stormship. She stared at it and tried to see past the churning clouds and electricity that danced over it. “There’s something darker in there. Just under the surface.”
“Yep, and by where they are on either side like that, that’s just where the rotors would be on a normal airship.”
“How do you know so much about airships.”
“Oh... I used to make models of them...” Crash said.
Even at a distance, Little Star’s happy “Yay” was almost deafening. In a flash, the tail end of her joyful cry was much closer. Magenta light enveloped the group. With a lurch of motion, the now familiar grip of Star’s magic pulled Scootaloo and the rest into an instant hug. “We get to go on a trip. We get to go see Mummy Twilight.”
Applebloom was the first to shake off the surprise. “Where are we going?”
“Mummy Twilight built a house for all the griffons.”
Everypony had their attention suddenly fixed on Little Star, apart from one bat-winged colt, who was looking right at Luna.
Luna nodded ever so slightly, and just like that, Crash turned his attention to the excited and happy Little Star.
What was that about? Scootaloo thought.
“You know the griffons are warriors, right?” Crash asked.
Little Star nodded. “I read a lot about them when I learned that’s where Mummy Twilight was going.”
“Then we are going to want to look our best and have trophies of some sort for the things we’ve done...”
Little Star looked back to Luna. In another flash of light, she was back with the night alicorn, talking happily about making things from the hydra’s body.
It was strange, but for some reason, that made her think of those delicious cookies again.