//------------------------------//
// Scootaloo's Fate 
// Story: Generation Z: The Chronicles 
// by Another Army Brony 
//------------------------------//

	

At this rate, Pacific Penguin correct every one of the chapters I have written so far by the end of the week. That, or he will have an aneurism brought on my my atrocious grammar...time will tell.



Scootaloo wakes with a start, feeling very ill at ease. The events of the day seem surreal, like a horribly vivid nightmare.

 'But if that's the case, then why am I covered in mud and scratches, lying on the side of the road outside Ponyville?' she wonders.

Most of the day has slipped away, and it is already late afternoon. Her stomach confirms this with a sharp pain and a loud grumble, complaining about the time since her last meal. Still quite shaken and hesitant, she turns to the one place she can think of to get food. With a knot in her chest and a stomach full of lead, she slowly begins to move towards Ponyville.

As Scootaloo walks through the desolate streets of Ponyville, the afternoon slips into evening as dusk rises up to swallow the sky.  Scoots comes across the Apple family stand, and reaches underneath to grab an apple. She makes a mental note to give Applebloom the bits for it the next time she sees her. As she is munching on the apple, she notices that it is not nearly as crunchy and delicious as it should be, and seems to be making her even hungrier the more she eats of it.  Annoyed, she throws it away with all her might, and turns toward her home.  As she turns, she hears a distant thud and can't help but smirk at the distance she made on her throw.

Even as she was congratulating herself and wondering what an apple-core-throwing cutie mark would look like, a sound rose up behind her that caused her smile to fade like it was never there, as her pupils shrank to pinpoints.  Even as she was trying to reassure herself that there was nothing to be afraid of because there was nothing there, the sound rose again.  There was no mistaking that moan. She quickened her pace to get away, feeling the soreness from her earlier expenditure with every step. Soon her legs felt like they were made of stone and her lungs were burning as if filled with magma, yet her pursuer seemed to be gaining on her. Every step she took brought the moan closer. 

As she crossed the market again, a different moan sprang up in front of her. She slid to a stop, backed up and turned the way she came, only to confront the owner of the first moan she ran from. Again she backpedaled, as more moans began to pop up in all directions. She found herself in the center of the market square, surrounded on all sides by a horde of these…whatever they were.

Day had fallen, Celestia's sun disappearing from the sky. As the the last of its rays left the sky, so did the warmth. Fog began to roll in as dusk reigned.  All around her, the eyes of these creatures seemed to glow an unnatural crimson color. Scootaloo slowly turned in a circle, looking for a way out. The creatures begin to close in around her, making her more and more frantic. Out of the horde that bears down upon her, one thing above all else catches her attention.  As she stares in disbelief and horror, tears begin to flow unchecked down her face. There, not half a block away and closing fast was a certain pony. Her stump of a foreleg made a sickening squelch with every other step, and her now deflated mane hung limp on her face. Through the mane, only the briefest shimmer of crimson shone through.

Scootaloo lost what little composure she had left and sat down and wept, all hope lost. She could do nothing but weep as the squelching sound slowly grew closer, coming to a stop just in front of her. She held her breath and waited for the end to come.  In the back of her mind, she could hear her mother's voice, reassuring her.

 'I'm coming home, mommy. Soon, we'll be together again' she thought to herself. 

As a hoof roughly grasped her shoulder and shook her, she screamed. The fog closed in, becoming incredibly dense, suffocating her. Everything faded to black as her senses dulled, she felt herself slipping away. Or so she thought.

Reverberating through the fog, a voice came that was all too familiar.

"Whoa nelly!"

At the sound of this voice in the ether, all of the fight went out of Scootaloo, and she sat for a moment in a daze.  Again, the voice came forth.

"Wake up, Scoots. You must be having one HAY of a nightmare."

At this, Scootaloo's eyes snap open. There was no way this could all have been a dream.  Even as the thought formed in her mind, the fog thinned ever so slightly, though the moans did not. As her eyes focused, Scootaloo discovered the owner of the hoof that had shaken her was none other than Applebloom.  In her half delirious state, she can still hear the moans of the horde. She looks into Applebloom's concerned eyes, and the last echoes of the nightmare fade away.  As soon as Scootaloo regained enough composure to stop weeping, Applebloom began to bombard her with questions about what kind of nightmare she had experienced, and why Applejack found her passed out on the side of the road near the farm. Still somewhat delirious, Scootaloo recounted the days' events as best she could, followed by the nightmare. 

As Scootaloo finished recounting the events, she looked up to her friend. Apparently sometime during her story, Applebloom had mysteriously acquired a notepad, pencil, and pipe, and was blowing bubbles and scribbling furiously.  After a moment of silence broken only by the scratch of pencil on paper, Applebloom looked up, and into Scootaloo's eyes. following a brief pause, they simultaneously said

"Cutie mark crusaders head doctor."

Applebloom smiled, and Scootaloo facehoofed. 

Scootaloo broke the short silence. 

"So, 'Doc,' what's your conclusion?"

"Ah think you've been hearin' too many ghost stories, an' they gone to your head."

Scootaloo facehoofed so hard it hurt. Frustrated, she began to argue with Applebloom. The two were in the midst of a heated debate when Applejack walked in. 






Author's Note:
See? I'm actually trying to stick to my resolution, and upload more often. Due to lack of a pre-reader (hint, hint), there might be a few errors in this chapter...I've scrubbed it to where it looks good to me, but I'm sure I've missed something. Any kind of feedback is appreciated, and if you are interested in becoming a pre-reader, drop me a line. I'm looking to make this the best Fic I can, and I can't do that without you, Reader. I've said my piece, expect more soon. (Like real soon...possibly later tonight...no promises though.)