Trapped

by Gylden Glor

Scootaloo

I sigh in content as I turn over, and bury my face in Rainbow's chest, hiding my eyes from the harsh morning light.
Man, I've got a shitload of things to do today...
I've got to ask Twilight about Spike's darkness, that way I can know when he's got to die...
That, and I have to attend to Discord's reformation...yeah, I know about that. He's not here yet, but he will be...
Oh, fuck, I've got to check something on my iPad...gotta make sure my design is working.
I turn over, and stare at the ceiling for a few moments. I don't remember getting to the library...
Oh, that's right, the doctor used the magicz to heal me yesterday so I was discharged from the hospital early. Right...
Okay, messenger bag...right there. Good.
Alright,
Let's see...gotta go into Penultimate, and-
Huh. Pixel People is already running...
Well...I've got to work on that stuff for my job...
But a new clone has arrived! And, well...I've got to relax. I haven't been able to play games lately, so...it would be a godsend to just chill out and play a game right now.
Oh, shit, I need more land! May as well wait for some more income...
Alright, I think I can get more land now...yeah, I can.
Hey, I wonder if my planes landed in Pocket Planes yet?
Hmm...I just need one more Plane Bux to be able to buy that part and make an Anan-M...
Oh, fuck me, this range sucks!
Alright...hey, maybe I should try to beat everything on Brutal in Plague. I could get that Necroa virus...
"Peter...what're you doing up?"
"Work," I lie, not wanting to be interrupted. "It's really, really annoying..."
Rainbow Dash begins to sit up, and I quickly switch over to my design for a magical cell phone. Rainbow Dash throws her forelegs over my shoulders and rests her chin on my shoulder, as well. She kisses me on the neck, and I smile as I reach back to stroke her muzzle.
"Good morning," she coos. I turn my head and kiss her in greetings. I end up yawning halfway through the kiss, and Rainbow chuckles. "You should get some rest. You're too tired to be doing work right now..."
"Alright," I sigh, closing my iPad and placing it on the floor. "Might as well sleep for a bit more."
Rainbow smiles and pulls me back onto the bed, wrapping her wing around my torso and resting her head on my broad shoulder. I manage to get my arm underneath her before wrap it around her shoulder before she lays all the way down. We snuggle up to each other, and as I feel the comfort return I realize something.
Today is not going to be a productive day.
I gratefully accept that fact, as I can have a full day to do absolutely nothing. I kiss Rainbow on the crown of her head, and close my eyes with a deep breath.

My eyes burst open as light floods into the room.
"Wake up, you two! We've got a big day ahead of us!"
I growl in annoyance, as does Rainbow Dash.
"Twiliiiiiiight..." Both Rainbow and I moan in unison.
"Nope," Twilight chirps. "C'mon, get up!"
"I don't wanna," I whine. "I just wanna sleep..."
"You can't," Twilight responds. "Rainbow, you've got to be with us to greet Celestia's special guest. And, Peter, you've got to tutor Scootaloo."
"Wait, what?" I ask in genuine confusion. "Why do I have to tutor Scootaloo? I mean, not that I'm complaining, she's a great kid, but..."
"Because I normally tutor her on Saturdays," Twilight explains with a sigh. "But I obviously won't be here today to tutor her, so I was hoping that you could do it. It's just in math and science, so you should be able to handle yourself..."
I get out of bed and stretch, yawning as I hear my back crick in several spots. "'Ight. Where is she?"
"Oh, she'll be here in about an hour," Twilight explains as I try to get Rainbow Dash out of bed. "We've got to go, like, now, though, so...yeah."
"Alright." Turning my attention to Rainbow Dash, I begin to coo in an attempt to entice her out of bed. After a few minutes, and a damn long kiss that leaves my tongue feeling raw, she hops out of bed and follows Twilight out of the library, leaving me to nothing but the bed sheets.
I sigh as I organize the mess she left in her wake. Once that's done, I sit on the couch and take out my iPad, and play my favorite games while I wait for Scootaloo to arrive.

I nod as I finish going over my textbook. I've hilighted everything that I've been having a problem with, just like she told me.
I think I almost ran out of ink halfway through...
I pack my backs and strap them onto my back, and I go to say goodbye to my mother. I stop as I see her staring at the chair again - the same chair that he would sit on while he read the paper. I sigh as I approach my mother, and lay my hoof on hers.
"You sure you'll be okay while I'm gone?" I ask her. I hate when she gets like this. She's just...not there. I say she doesn't care about me to avoid bringing shame to her name, even though I know she loves me. She's just...distracted by the pain, really.
"Yes," she whispers, her voice hoarse with recently shed tears. "Yes, yes...I'll be fine, my dear..."
I smile, and give her a quick peck on the cheek. She smiles, still distracted by the past, even as I walk out the door and silently close it behind me.
I hate this time of year. This one day, perpetually marked off on the calendar as the day my mother hits her peak of depression.
Today is the day my parents got married.
And it's also the day that my father left, ten long years ago. Ten long years ago, when the orange filly he had left behind didn't understand why her mother kept crying as she was rocked.
All ten long years of pain, coping, and struggling. Ten years of sadness, and an emptiness that fills my fathers' old chair. My mother dares not to discard of it, as she still has the utmost love for him...
And that's why, over the past eight years, I feel as if I've lived on my own. My father's departure broke my mother. It broke her, and shattered her very existence - her very soul.
And I can never forgive him.
But that's not why I'm walking towards the Ponyville library, a bag of books chafing my shoulders as I walk. Today, I'm working to better myself, rather than finding the stallion that ruined my world.
I'm almost halfway there, and-huh? What was that noise?
"Who's there?" I call into the shrubs.

I knock on the door to the library, waiting as I stand before in silence, doing my best top stifle the sad memories that flow over me now. They're almost making me nauseous...
I push all thoughts of my past out of my head as I focus on the now. I have friends, and I have Rainbow Dash and Peter, who have replaced my absent parents in a way. In this way, I am loved.
Okay...I've got my head on straight. I can think how. Let's get down to this annoying-as-shit math and science, already...
The door opens, and I grin at Twilight, trying to act-
"Peter!" I cry in excitement, throwing myself at him in a vicious hug. My friend and father figure laughs as he holds me, and closes the door behind us. I grin as I feel his love for meemanating from him like a blooming flower.
"Hello, Scoots," he chirps as he lets me down. I stop as he stoops down, and take a major risk as I give him a peck on the cheek.
"Heya, Peter," I chirp back, smiling as he kisses me on the crown of my head. I feel a warm sensation bloom throughout my body at the caring contact, and at how much love and concern bursts forth.
No, no; he's not my father. He's just a friend. I can't call him "dad" or anything. Seriously, I've got to keep my head straight, or this will all be compromised...
"So, looks like I've got to tutor you today, you little shit," Peter announces, jokingly.
Holy shit, even better! He's going to be my teacher for the day! Wait, what? No, I've got to keep these emotions under check!
"Okay!" I cry, excited as I pull out my textbooks, and place them on the table before the couch.
I'm going to work hard today! I'm gonna make him proud! I swear on it! Oh, my, this is getting even harder to control...
"Looks like you're excited," Peter comments as he sits down next to me, resting his hand on my head. I smile, and feel a sort of peace that I've never known surge through me like some sort of medicine.
"Yep!" I chirp. "'Cus I've got the best teacher ever!"
Peter smiles, and tussles my mane as he holds out his hand for the textbook. I turn to the page I dog-eared in the Biology book, and let him read the hilighted portions.
As he flips through the text, I struggle to resist the crazy urge to hug him him again, and to remain against him, cuddling with him and being...happy.
"Alright," he announces. "So, tell me the difference between a lipid and an enzyme, Scootaloo."
I frown as I set all my mental force upon remembering that factoid. I remember hearing Cheerilee talk about it! C'mon, Scootaloo, think...think....
"It's alright if you don't know," he informs me. "That's why you're here. To find out what you don't know."
I shake my head as I grit my teeth. I won't let Peter know how little I know!
Wait a second...
Oh, holy shit! That's obvious!
"One starts with an 'l', and the other starts with an 'e'!" I cry as I puff out my chest in victory.
There's silence for a few moments before he begins to chuckle. "Yes, I suppose that is a rather key difference," Peter remarks. "But that's not the actual difference. A lipid is a 'fat', while an enzyme is a type of protein that breaks down other proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids."
My body deflates. "Oh...I knew that..." I look up at Peter with an apologetic frown, and he just shrugs off the fact that I haven't studied but just hilighted random things with a smile. A freaking smile!
"C'mon," he beckons, waving me over. "Come sit up against me, and we'll go through the stuff you don't get. Together."
I grin at him, and immediately press myself up against him. He gives me a quick kiss on the top of my head, and I smile as he begins our review.

I feel my limbs tingle in anticipation. I may soon be free of this prison...
Although, I must remember that the fate of the world resides upon my actions. Whether or not I get the bearers of the Element of Harmony to be chummy with me, and if I actually manage to pull Equestria together for once, rather than tear it apart...
Oh, I'm going to hate my new job...
I feel the carriage shudder underneath me as the chariot pulls to a stop. I listen carefully to the conversation that happens, waiting to hear the individual that created this world, whom I am very eager to meet...
"Remember," I hear Celestia growl to me in a hushed voice, "Peter doesn't remember that he made this world, okay? Don't try to cause chaos by reminding him, because that could potentially result in the end of, well...everything."
I snake my way into her mind. Of course, Princess. I may be a denizen of chaos, but I know when there needs to be Harmony.
"Good. I trust you'll do the right thing."
With that, she stalks away, and boards her chariot.
About twenty minutes later, I'm stretching my limbs as I feel the wind blowing past me...
"Oh, you have no idea how good it feels to be free!" I declare unto the world. I feel a ridiculous temptation to shoot off a bit of magic, but I must resist if if I'm to become the savior of Equestria and blah blah blah.
"Discord, we've released you so we can reform you!" The pretentious lavender one calls out.
"Please, I heard everything," I grumble with a roll of my eyes. "Now, where's Peter? I've got to have a little...chat, with him."

I chew a bit on my pencil as I go over the answers that Scootaloo marked down on her practice test.
Please, let them be right...
When I finish grading the test, I smile to myself in victory. "Yo, Scootaloo," I call, waving her over.
"Yeah?" She asks nervously as she comes from her side of the couch. I pull her underneath my arm, and grin down at her.
"You got a ninety seven," I inform her with pride. She gasps, grins, and hugs me. I grin as she hops around in victory, and fetch my messenger bag and count out the paper Bit-bills I have in my wallet.
Oh, right, I'm the Head Technician of Equestria. I make about forty thousand bits a week.
And I don't have to pay taxes, because...fuck if I know!
I decide to take out only one twenty Bit bill...wait, no, how about five; and flash a grin at Scootaloo.
"C'mon," I beckon. "That deserves a treat."
"A treat!?" Scootaloo cries in delight. She bolts out as I hold the door open.
"Now, then," I announce. "I already had breakfast, so...let's go to Sugarcube Corner."
Scootaloo's wings begin to vibrate in excitement, and I chuckle lightly as she follows me, hovering an inch above the ground. I decide to keep it silent until we get there, because she's not going to listen until her excitement dies down a bit.
We enter Sugarcube Corner a few moments later, and Scootaloo immediately zips up to the glass, staring at the treats and confections they contain.
"Oh, wait," Scootaloo mumbles as she withdraws from the display case, and pulls a bag out of her wings. (Since when were wings a fucking endless supply store?) She shakes out a few bits, and sighs in defeat.
"I only have five bits," she whimpers as she turns to look up at me. "I guess we've got to settle for a lolly pop at one of those bootleg places..."
Scootaloo sighs, and Mr. Cake pouts in disappointment from behind the counter. He'd seemed so eager to take her money.
But he'll have to settle for mine.
Without telling Scootaloo first, I pick out a rather large cookie that is designed to look like wings, and pay the full sixty bits for it. I make, like, twenty times that in a fucking day, so it's fine.
I turn, the cookie warm in my hand, and see that Scootaloo is paused by the door. I walk past her, making sure to hide the cookie (which she didn't notice me buying, #ninjaswag) as I proceed over to a table. She blindly follows me, and takes a seat, resting her chin on the table.
"Don't look so glum, Scootsie," I coo.
"You said I could buy a treat," Scootaloo moans, her voice so soft I almost have to strain my ears to hear her. "But I didn't have enough money..."
I smile at her, and place my hand on the side of her face. "Scootaloo, why did you assume that you had to buy it?"
She looks at me with a cocked eyebrow, and I grin as I present her with the cookie. She gasps, and immediately grabs it, shouting: "Oh my gosh, thanks!" Over and over again, even as she takes generous bites out of it.
"Careful, now," I chuckle as she wolfs the fuckin' thing down. "You don't want to choke now, do you?"
Despite my warning, she eats it in a whole of a half a minute, and lets out a stifled burp in content. "Oh, man...That was the best cookie ever!"
I smile as I stand, and motion for the young filly to follow me. "Come on. There's something I wanna show you."
She nods, and walks after me with a dreamy smile on her face as we proceed towards the Everfree Forest. After about twenty minutes of walking, we've arrived at our destination, and I state as such.
"Alright," I announce, pointing to a spot on the flat stone, where one can easily peer into the gurgling river. "Just sit there, and-"
Scootaloo does just that, and grins up at me with a sparkle in her eye. I smile, and sit down next to her, draping my arm over my shoulder as I immediately take out the small pod from my pocket, and toss it towards the lake.
Now, this is something that I've been working on for quite a while now, but haven't really shown to anypony, besides Twilight, who helped me make them, and Celestia. Each one of the pods I have contains a spell, and on contact with something, it will perform that spell in a certain radius.
The pod I just lobbed towards the water, for instance, has a spell that causes a miniature barrage of explosions in the two-foot radius. Now, that may sound dangerous, but it's not. The most they can do is sting a pony. So, in a way, they're like magical firecrackers.
As soon as the pod makes contact with the water, the surface tension of the Hydrogen molecules exerts enough force on the pod to burst it open. As it is, the explosions all occur at the same exact time, and a fine mist of water is sent flying into the air.
"Whoa!" Scootaloo cries in wonder, undoubtedly at the explosions themselves.
"Watch," I urge, pointing to where the water is cascading.
And, just like that, the mist starts to break up the light spectrum, and a rainbow appears.
"Whoooooooooaaaaa!" Scootaloo cries in much more wonder. I smile as she watches the rainbow follow the mist.
"Cool enough for you?" I ask as she leans against me.
"Almost as cool as Rainbow Dash!" She declares. I whistle in appreciation.
"That's pretty darn cool."
Scootaloo giggles, and I join along, holding her close to me like a father would her daughter.
As we sit there, staring out at the settling veil of mist and the fading rainbow, Scootaloo shimmies her way into my lap. I blush a bit as she rests on a sensitive spot, but say nothing about it.
She leans against my chest, and I clasp my hands over her belly. I take a deep breath, and she squirms against me in an attempt to get a bit more comfortable. I blush as the motion arouses me, and do my best to hide it by secretively pulling my shirt down over the bulge in my pants.
Goddammit, why does the human penis have to be so fucking awkward? I mean, regardless of situation, any provocation will get it to turn on. Even if it's a young child that you regard as your daughter. Fucking disgusting...
I sigh a bit as Scootaloo stops squirming. She closes her eyes, and starts to take a nap of content happiness. I zone out as she rests against me, realizing just how much I love the young little filly...

"You said you left them here. So, why aren't they here?" I demand, tapping my hoof on the floor in impatience.
"I...I don't know!" Twilight Sparkle cries as she runs about the library. I sigh as I snap my fingers, instantly teleporting her in front of me.
"They're not here because they left," I inform her. "By the goddesses, I would've thought a pony as smart as you would've figured that out by now..." Twilight blushes, and I roll my eyes. "So where would a grown man go with a young filly? Anypony?" Fluttershy raises her hoof, and I grin at how meek she is. "Yes, you! Yellow one, up front!"
Fluttershy shakes as I sap all the light from the room, save for a single spotlight beam that is shining directly on her. "Um," she states, shrinking into ball. "Sugar...Cube...Corner?"
I let the light back into the room as I spawn explosions of confetti in the room. "Bingo! Now, let's go."
The ponies nod, and with a snap of my claws, we're in Sugarcube Corner.
"Well," Twilight Sparkle remarks, "that's one way to get around..."
"DISCORD!!!"
I roll my eyes as panic breaks out. Yes, chaos is all good and happy and whatnot; but seriously, what is it with these ponies and overreacting to everything?
"Everypony calm down!" Twilight Sparkle declares, her voice amplified to fill the entirety of the building. "Discord's here to be reformed! Princess Celestia sent him here for that reason."
Apparently, that's good enough for these inbred ingrates, as they immediately calm and return to smiling and laughing as they eat their confections.
And ponies say I'm the advocate of disorderly conduct...
"Hiya, Mister Cake!" Pinkie Pie chirps, oblivious to the chaos that had just occurred as she hops over to the counter. "Did Peter come in here with good ol' Scootaloo?"
After a quick conversation, Pinkie Pie returns with the same enigmatic grin plastered across her face. "Peter came here with Scootaloo and bought her a cookie, but they left."
"Uhh...Maybe he brought her back to her mom's house?" Rainbow Dash suggests.
"Good thinking, Rainbow," Twilight remarks. "Alright, girls, let's-uh...Discord, could you?"
I raise an eyebrow at the lavender unicorn. "Yes. I can. Because I don't know where Scootaloo's house is. So I would be completely able to teleport there." I quickly access the Data Pool of this simulated world, and find the data signature that outputs emotional attachment towards Scootaloo's signature. I locate the signal, and nod to myself as I key in the coordinates to my teleportation function.
Twilight sighs in defeat, and is about to walk out when I snap my fingers, and bring us before the aforementioned house.
"I'm the God of Chaos," I say to her shocked expression. "What'd you expect?"
After a moment, Twilight shakes it off and enters the building without so much as a knock. I guess when you're escorting the deity of chaos to your friend, you forget manners, huh?
We follow her through, and see that Twilight is staring at a legchair, and is shaking.
"Uhm...Twilight?"
"Peter's in danger," Twilight growls.
"What?" I can't help but ask. Even though I'm the God of Chaos, I'm just as confused as the ponies here.
"Scootaloo's mother..." Twilight begins, turning the mare's head so we can see her eyes. "She's showing the same symptoms that Shining Armor showed at his wedding."
"Could'ya please tell us what the fuck that means, Twilight!?" Rainbow Dash cries, her wings expanded in agitation. "You just told me that my boyfriend is in danger, and you won't say what he's in danger from."
Twilight gulps, and takes a deep breath. "There's a Changeling eating off of her love for whoever it's replaced." She begins to elaborate, explaining how this is accompanied by constantly zoning out as they focus only on their love for the replaced pony, and how the pony could potentially fall asleep at random times during the day due to emotional exhaustion. However, Rainbow Dash interrupts her by flying out the door at full tilt, apparently having discerned where Peter is.
Seeing as how Peter isn't a program like the rest of us, but is a human turned program, he has no registered data signature, so I can't determine his coordinates with a simple scan. I decide not to explain this to anypony as I fly out the door, following Rainbow Dash and her crazy prismatic trail.