Scootaloo's Day
by Blackbelt
"Mommy, do you have to go?"
"Don't worry, my little flier. I'll be back right after the Longest Night Festival. Than I'll have plenty of free time."
"...I know you have responsibilities and stuff, but I still wish you didn't have to go...."
"Tell you what; After I get back, we'll start your flying lessons, ok?"
"REALLY!? Oh, thank you Mommy, thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
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The Longest Night Festival was in full swing. Princess Luna had just raised the moon and dotted the sky with stars. Ponies were excited, talking amongst themselves about the beauty of the situation. And off in the distance, some pony was yelling about some magic show.
Scootaloo ignored all of it, walking away from the festivities of the night. She walked slowly, head hung low, wings drooping slightly. Guided by the light of the moon, she made her way through the streets of Ponyville, the ponies celebrating paying her no mind. Eventually, the streets lead to a foreboding barred gate, tall and menacing. She placed a hoof upon one of the doors, and pushed with all the strength she could muster, barely opening the gate enough to squeeze through.
The path gone now, the young filly walked through the grass, passing by the small gravestones that dotted the cemetery. She walked, until she came upon a hill at the the back of the cemetery. At the top of this hill, there was a grand statue, made of the finest marble. It was a statue of one of Luna's Night Guards. At it's base, read a simple description.
Nocturne Striker
Friend. Wife. Mother. Hero.
Scootaloo sat in front of the statue. She dared not look at it directly, keeping her gaze firmly at the ground. Eventually, she found the strength to speak.
"Hi Mom."
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Scootaloo eagerly looked out her window, scanning the skies. She knew that any minute now, her mommy would be returning from her super awesome hero duties. Eventually, she saw an armored pegasus in the distance. Scootaloo immediately smiled, thoughts of the flying lessons that would come filling her head.
She immediately began to worry, when she noticed it was not her mommy flying towards her house. When she heard a knock coming from the front door of her house, her worry only grew. She quickly ran downstairs to see what was happening. When she got there, she saw her dad speaking with a Night Guard Stallion, a grim look in his eyes.
The stallion saluted her father, before he spoke. "Mr. Roller sir.....I'm sorry, but......your wife.." The stallion went silent, before pulling out something that was tucked beneath his wing. Scootaloo recognized her mommy's helmet immediately. What she did not recognize was the giant dent that marred it.
"What happened to mommy?!" Scootaloo yelled before she could stop herself. Running on instinct, she ran right in front of the guard. "What happened to mommy!?" she repeated. "Is she ok!?"
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Scootaloo pulled out a candy bar from beneath her wing, carefully unwrapping it. She broke it in half, holding one half of it in her hoof. She carefully put the other half in front of her mother's grave.
She ate her candy bar in silence, the only other sounds were the sound of the wind, and the sounds of the various creatures of the night that called the cemetery home. Once she finished her half of the candy, she worked up the courage to look at the statue once again. "I..." Scootaloo struggled to say. "I've been doing well mom. So has dad. I got a new teacher at school this year, and she's really nice. And everyone in Ponyville has been doing well too. Like earlier today, the nice lady who works at the candy store had a good friend visit her. She seemed really happy when she came into the candy store." Scootaloo thought for a moment. "OH! And Princess Luna is gonna visit Ponyville for the Longest Night Festival..."
Scootaloo continued to recount what had happened over the year to the statue, doing her best to not cry openly.
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Scootaloo sat next to her father. Tears streamed down her face as she listened to various ponies stand, and talk about how wonderful her Mommy had been, and the impact she had had on their lives. Scootaloo made no effort to stop crying. No one had tried to stop her. No one knew what exactly to say to her.
Scootaloo had managed to at least stay quiet in her sorrow, letting the ponies who stood speak. At least until Princess Luna had stood, speaking of how all Night Guards, and indeed all ponies, could do well to live up to the example that her Mother had set.
Scootaloo didn't know why she chose that moment to make her sorrow known.
"WHY!?" Scootaloo yelled. "Why did my mommy have to go!? She....she was the best Mommy in the world....she didn't deserve this..." and than Scootaloo turned her attention upon the Princess of Equestria. "And why couldn't you do anything to save mommy!? You're a princess! Why did Mommy have to go!?"
Scootaloo yelled louder and louder, anger and sorrow mixing together, focused upon the alicorn that sat next to her mother's grave.
The only words the princess provided were "I'm sorry" And Scootaloo could tell, beyond any doubt, that Luna truly meant it. Scootaloo also knew that she really didn't care about any sort of forgiveness as she continued her tirade. No one, not her father, not her Princess, and not her mother's comrades did anything to stop her.
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"....and Sweetie Belle has the most beautiful voice. I wish you could hear it...and....." Scootaloo finally paused in her story. Her eyes began to water. ".....I wish you were here Mommy.....I miss you....."
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It had been a week since the funeral. Scootaloo and Heavy Roller sat at the table in the living room, eating their breakfast in silence. The same way the two of them had eaten breakfast every day since the news hit.
Heavy Roller quietly excused himself from the table and headed downstairs, to open the garage that made up the first floor of their house, just as he had the same way every day since the news hit.
Scootaloo finished eating, and walked back to her room, laying down in her bed. Just as she had every day ever since the news hit.
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The tears flowed freely from the young filly. "..I love you Mommy...." was all she could say, sitting in the cemetery as the sun rose.
wait a minute......
Scootaloo looked up, and saw the sun rising into the sky really, really fast. And than she heard a voice, loud and clear, that did nothing to lessen her worries.
"RUN! Run, my little ponies! The sunrise is not my doing! Flee to the forests and hide! Co-" and then Scootaloo heard Luna scream in pain.
Deep down, Scootaloo knew that she could stay in the cemetery safely. She knew that anything that was happening in the town would take awhile to reach her, and she could run and hide like Luna said. But she also knew her dad was still in town. So she ran back to the town as fast as she could, cursing the fact that she didn't have her scooter with her.
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Scootaloo was running across a large grassy field. Grass as far as the eyes could see. But Scootaloo wasn't looking at the grass. Her attention was solely focused on a pegasus that flew through the sky. "Mommy! Don't go!" She yelled."MOMMY!" But the pegasus payed the young filly no mind, flying faster, quickly flying to the horizon, until she was out of sight.
"MOMMY!" Scootaloo awoke with a start, cold sweat covering her body. She was still in her room. Having the same nightmare she's had every night since her mother died.
It had been three months.
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She saw it as she was running through Ponyville. A wicked mare, looking like some kind of twisted phoenix, flying through the sky. In a yellow aura of magic there followed a group of ponies. Scootaloo recognized one of them immediately.
"DADDY!"
The young filly could only watch helplessly as her father was taken away by a monster bathed in fire and hatred. And she saw off in the distance where the monster was headed: Canterlot.
....I'm not losing him....I couldn't do anything for mommy, but I'm not gonna be some chicken..... Scootaloo ran home, a plan formulating in her head.
...Mom wouldn't be afraid....
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"Scootaloo?" Heavy Roller stood in the doorway of his daughter's room. The only response he had gotten was a quiet groan, which came from a small lump underneath the covers that sat upon Scootaloo's bed. He sighed, then breached the subject he had come to discuss. "....I was wondering if you were interested in starting flying lessons soon. I was looking into some schools, and-" he was silenced quickly when Scootaloo threw the covers off herself, the blankets landing with a light poof on the floor.
"Mommy said she'd teach me. I don't need a school." Scootaloo said simply, her voice devoid of emotion.
Heavy Roller winced under his daughter's gaze. "..Scootaloo..." He considered his words carefully. "...I know you always wanted your mother to teach you how to fly, but-" Scootaloo cut him off before he could say the truth neither of them wanted to hear.
"I don't care. Mommy said she'd teach me. And I promised I'd learn from her. I'm not gonna back down from a promise." Scootaloo grabbed the covers from the floor, and wrapped herself back in them, ceasing any further conversation.
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Scootaloo gathered everything she thought would be helpful around her house, quickly tossing the items into a small red wagon which now found itself connected to her trademark scooter. Satisfied once the wagon was filled to the brim with various items, she mounted her scooter, flapping her wings as fast as she could, propelling her scooter forward.
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Scootaloo sat at her window, looking amongst the starry night sky. She saw the moon, bright and full, bringing light onto the darkness. She saw the stars, dotting the sky, forming beautiful constellations. Every so often, she would see a pegasus fly across the sky.
She found herself dearly wishing one of those pegasi flying across the sky was her mommy, finally returning home, and that the last six months were just a horrid nightmare.
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The end of main street came into view, and the nicely kept streets gave way to an often traveled dirt path. Scootaloo saw a line of scorched earth, which seemed to stretch around all of Ponyville. She was about to cross this burnt border, when suddenly, she felt a pair of hooves grab her, pulling her into the air, leaving her scooter to crash into a nearby tree.
"HEY! LET ME GO!" Scootaloo yelled, trying to shake loose. She needn't struggle long, as she was just as quickly placed on the ground. Scootaloo quickly looked around, looking for her would be kidnapper. Until she saw who it was.
"Whoa there squirt! Where do you think you're off to in such a hurry? With everything that's just happened you should get home before you folks start worrying."
"But that monster took my dad!!" Scootaloo yelled, temporarily forgetting the fact she was talking to the second coolest pegasus she had ever met. Rainbow Dash was about to suggest that Scootaloo's mom was probably worried until Scootaloo muttered "...he's all I have left....."
Rainbow Dash was really glad Scootaloo had mentioned that before she had asked about her mom, and made a note to learn more about her biggest fan. "Look, kid, I know you're worried and all, but is rushing to Canterlot really the best idea right now? I mean.....you DO know who that monster is, right?" Scootaloo shook her head. "...that was Corona...."
"Doesn't matter. I-I'll still go to Canterlot." her voice shook as she spoke, the stories she had heard of the Mad Queen flashing through her head. "I need to save him.....I can't be alone.....Mom wouldn't be afraid......Mom wouldn't be afraid......" Scootaloo's muttering slowly became quiet as she began repeating her mantra to herself, trying to convince herself of her mission, rather than convincing her idol of it. She wasn't broken out of it until she felt a hoof gently pat her on top of her head.
....I'm sorry daddy......
"Your dad'll be fine squirt. Now come on. Let's get out of the sun."
"....Mom wouldn't be afraid...." Scootaloo muttered weakly one last time, before finally relenting and following Rainbow Dash back towards the town.