“Thistleroot? I haven’t seen him since Tuesday.”
“Yeah, he’s been gone all week.”
“Who?”
Scootaloo walked down the halls of the school, heart racing. Nopony had seen him since their fake date. Had he been captured too? Were they keeping him locked away? Or had they taken him to their hives to feed?
No, Dash spoke to him after I went missing. He didn’t get kidnapped with me.
She picked up her pace, allowing herself a moment of relief. Unless that was a changeling pretending to be him.The thought was barely complete before she was galloping down the hall.
His address was easy enough to get from the school records. He lived a few blocks away, on the third floor of an apartment on Lincolt Avenue. She pushed buttons at random until somepony buzzed her in, and then she charged up the stairs.
She pounded on the door with a hoof. “Thistleroot! You there?” After a few seconds of no answer, she tried the door and found it locked. Finally, she turned and gave it a solid buck. The cheap wooden door sprung open, bouncing off something with the sound of breaking glass.
Scootaloo pushed her way through and into what looked like a jungle. The thick greenery towered over her, clinging to the walls and trees. She stepped gingerly over a broken pot, and peered into the apartment. There was too much light for the plants to continue across the entire room. In fact, they didn’t seem to reach further than a few feet in any direction.
A rough battlecry made her jump. Suddenly, the plants surrounding her sprang to life, creeping toward her. Vines wound their way about her legs as bushes leaned in from every direction.
Scootaloo gasped, kicking out in panic. Her wings flared up and she flailed about, tearing at the plants. She moved forward in small bursts as they snapped. With one final shove, she surged out of the plants and into a bare living room. With her wings free, she charged into a low flight, and collided with another body.
“You’ll never take me!” the pony screamed in a high voice, flailing at her with useless swings of his hooves. “Never!”
Scootaloo stood up, staring at him for a long moment. “Thistleroot?”
“Oh, hey Scootaloo. You aren’t a zombie.”
“Uh, no.” She stepped back and let him up. He took a second to brush his mane from his eyes.
“So,” Thistleroot looked between her and the wreckage of his potted plants. “I’m guessing you aren’t here to silence or brainwash me?”
Scootaloo blinked. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about you being a changeling. Nopony could fake it that well.”
Thistleroot gave her a goofy grin before pulling her into a hug. “Where have you been? We were all worried.”
*****
“So you’ve been hiding here all week, convinced they were going to kidnap you next?”
“Well, yeah. We both broke into the mansion and went to the restaurant,” Thistleroot said. “I guess if it was changelings, I don’t have anything to worry about.” He glanced at Scootaloo. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she answered honestly. “It was terrifying, but my friends were there for me to talk to.”
Thistleroot nodded. “Always good to get something like that off your chest. So, want to run to Pony Joe’s? I’ve been living off unseasoned oats for the past four days.”
“Sure,” Scootaloo said, turning to the door. Before she could do anything else, a stream of green fire flowed through the room, coalescing into a thin tube in front of her. The fire’s sudden appearance made Thistleroot flinch back with an unstallion-like squeak.
She giggled and reached out as the flames turned to paper. “Relax, it’s just dragon mail.”
“Oh, yeah, I knew that.”
Scootaloo opened the scroll with a flick of her hoof and began to read. “It’s from the princess.”
“Oh, from the...” Thistleroot stopped mid sentence, eyes widening. “The princess? As in Princess Celestia? As in a royal decree just appeared in my living room?”
Scootaloo arched an eyebrow at him. “It’s not really a decree. She’s just asking me to join her for lunch. I guess doughnuts will have to wait.” She paused before turning away and adding, “Why don’t you come along? I’ll introduce you.”
Thistleroot answered with a heavy thud and a crash.
“So is that a yes?”
*****
“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh...” Thistleroot chanted, staring up at the ornate doors before them.
“Calm down. It’s just the princess,” Scootaloo said.
“Just the princess? Just the most powerful being in all of Equestria? How can you be so calm?”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes, smirking, when a thought occurred to her. Why was she so calm? True, she’d met with the princess enough, but even a few days ago every meeting was filled with fear, or at least unease.
“Well, lets not keep her waiting. She might decide to banish us.”
Thistleroot sputtered as Scootaloo strode toward the doors, expecting the guards to magic them open as usual. Instead, the one on the right stepped forward. “The princess is expecting you.” He nodded toward Thistleroot before continuing, “She made no mention of this one, however. He’ll have to wait out here.”
Scootaloo frowned in confusion, wondering what the princess might want to talk about that she needed to do so privately. The other guard threw a wary glance at Thistleroot, and Scootaloo blinked, fighting a chuckle as reason dawned on her.
It wasn’t that Celestia wanted a private chat, necessarily. The guards were doing their job and protecting her. They had no knowledge of Thistleroot and therefore saw him as a potential threat. What would he do, assault the princess with a ficus?
Then it hit her, the Royal Guards had never seen their princess in action. She’d only been in one public fight in recent memory, and it was against a changeling that had been feeding on most of Canterlot castle for weeks.
Scootaloo could still see Celestia standing off against the new changeling queen. The sheer force of her magic had been overwhelming. There was no doubt she could protect herself, and anything that could challenge the princess would tear right past her guards.
“It’s alright,” Celestia called from beyond the doors. “Let them both in.”
“Good ears,” Thistleroot noted with a low whistle.
The guards looked at each other hesitantly before stepping aside. The doors were wrapped in a pale aura of magic and swung wide. “Announcing Miss Scootaloo and, uh, guest.”
The dining room inside was warm and inviting, with sunlight streaming in through the high windows and falling across a delicious looking assortment of food. Celestia stood between them and the table, smiling pleasantly.
“Good afternoon Scootaloo. And good afternoon to your friend as well.”
Thistleroot seemed on the verge of hyperventilating, but managed to sink into a low bow. “Your highness.”
“This is Thistleroot. I hope it’s okay I brought him, we were going to go eat when your letter came.”
“Of course it’s alright. And I’ve already heard of you.”
Thistleroot made a painful sounding gasp, as though he’d tried to swallow his own lungs. “You’ve heard of me, princess?”
“Twilight and Rainbow Dash spoke of you when we were searching for Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo snorted at Thistleroot’s dumbstruck expression. “Careful princess. If you look him in the eye, he’ll probably go into shock.”
Lunch tasted as good as it looked. The princess and Scootaloo made small talk, and eventually Thistleroot calmed down enough to join in. Eventually, Princess Celestia needed to go prepare to lower the sun.
“But first, could I have a word with you privately, Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo nodded and gestured for Thistleroot to wait for her out in the hall. “What’s up, princess?”
“Well, simply put, I’d like you to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
Scootaloo looked up at the princess in confusion. “That’s a joke, right?”
Celestia shook her head. “Star Shine has personally extended an invitation to you, though you forgot that with everything else that happened that night.”
“He did? Why?”
“Well, the details from ten years ago aren’t widely known, but they aren’t a guarded secret either. He knows or suspects the cause of your cutie mark, and as I’m sure you’ve heard, their organization is mainly concerned with questions you’ve asked yourself.”
“Okay, but why would you want me to take him up on it. You said yourself that you didn’t think he was entirely innocent, and...” Scootaloo trailed off. “You want somepony in their group to keep an eye open.”
Celestia nodded. “I need somepony I know I can trust, somepony who can attend the meetings without causing suspicion, and tell me if they change into something unhealthy.”
Scootaloo glanced away, a sudden jolt of guilt mixed with pride making her uncomfortable.
“Honestly, I think it may be good for you. Even if Star Shine can’t be trusted, the average crusader believes in their cause. Maybe hearing their thoughts will help you straighten out your own.”
Scootaloo nodded before looking at the ground beneath the princess’s hooves. The princess had helped her countless times, even after everything she’d done. Now was the perfect chance to repay her, and do some good for a change. There was just one problem.
“I’m scared.” The words caught in Scootaloo’s throat. She looked up, expecting disappointment or anger. Instead, the princess smiled softly.
“Anypony in your position would be. After what happened to you, most ponies would be afraid to leave the house. I wouldn’t ask this of you if I thought they were connected to the changelings, or if they were any threat to you, and I’m only asking because I think it would be helpful to you. If you’re afraid, then I certainly wouldn’t want to force you to go.”
“Star Shine’s the one who found me, isn’t he?” Scootaloo asked, prompting a nod from Celestia. “If he wanted to hurt me, he could have just done nothing.”
“Scootaloo,” Princess Celestia said, leaning in. “Regardless of what you decide, even if you want to leave Canterlot for a few years, I promise, anypony that tries to hurt you will deal with me.”
Scootaloo looked up to meet her gaze with a look of uncertainty.
*****
“So, what was that about?” Thistleroot asked when Scootaloo joined him in the hall. “Or was it secret I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you stuff? Nice necklace by the way, the princess give it to you?”
Scootaloo shrugged, feeling the golden chain rub against her coat. A small silver charm sat at her throat, warm despite the chill of the darkening evening. “Hey, you free Monday evenings?”
“Please tell me you signed us up for a bowling league.”