1. The Crusader
Scootaloo shook herself slightly, pushing herself to her hooves. As she opened her eyes, she noticed that she was standing on what looked like a large stained glass window... one she recognized. It was the relief from the hall in Canterlot Castle where the Elements had once been stored, showing Rainbow Dash and the others defeating Nightmare Moon. Shaking herself a bit, she fluttered her little wings and glanced around her.
The stained glass was actually a platform, and was surrounded by darkness. She couldn't see anything else. Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind.
'A great power has chosen you... but that power must be given form...'
Scootaloo spun around. "Who are you? Where am I? What's going on?"
'... Your questions will be answered in time. But first, there are questions YOU must answer...'
Three pedestals arose surrounding the platform, each with something on them.
'You must choose the path you will take...'
Scootaloo sat down on her rump. "Nuh-uh. I'm not answering any questions until I know what's going on." Remembering something Sweetie Belle had once mentioned, she continued, "or without consulting a lawyer."
There was silence for a time. '... just go to the pedestals...'
Scootaloo glared pugnaciously up at nothing. She continued to wait, but being just a filly, patience was not her strong suit. "Fine!" she said petulantly, and walked up to the first pillar.
On the pillar was a sword. The voice spoke. 'The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?'
"Damn, that sword looks bitchin!" Scootaloo said excitedly, grabbing it in her mouth and swinging it around. "Bet I look totally awesome with this!"
'... Is that a yes?'
"Wha? Oh, sure, I want the sword!"
'... Very well.' The sword vanished from Scootaloo's mouth.
"Hey! I said I wanted it!"
'And so you have it. But what will you give up in exchange?'
"... am I going to have to sign a contract or something?"
'... no.'
"So what am I giving up, then?"
'You had a choice of three forms for your power. You have chosen one to keep. Now choose another to relinquish.'
Scootaloo walked towards the other pedestals. She saw a shield and a staff. She walked towards the staff.
'The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. You give up this power?'
Scootaloo blinks. "Magic? Do I LOOK like a unicorn to you?" Turning she bucked the staff off the pillar, sending it flying into the darkness.
'... a simple yes would have sufficced.'
"No it wouldn't! Now where's my sword?"
There was silence. Then the platform Scootaloo was standing on shattered and she began to fall. However, she spread her wings and managed a controlled glide down to the platform below, this one showing a relief of Rainbow and the others defeating Discord. As she landed gently, shadows seemed to congeal and rise from the platform.
"What are those?" Scootaloo demanded in disgust.
'Throughout your journey, you may find foes who seek to do you harm. You must know how to fight.'
"And how am I supposed to do that without my sword?" The sword appeared in her mouth. "Bitchin!"
'Demonstrate your skill by destroying the creatures before you.'
Scootaloo blinked. "Destroy? But... aren't they, like, living creatures? Fluttershy would get really upset if I destroyed a living creature."
'They are not exactly... alive.'
"If they're dead, why do I need to destroy them?"
'They aren't dead either...'
Scootaloo gasped. "They're zombies?" she asked excitedly.
'... yes. Yes, they're zombies. They want to eat your brain. Make sure they don't.'
"Sweet!" Scootaloo leapt into the fray, swinging the sword at the shadow creatures. At first, she only did normal jerks of her head and neck to cut through them, and sweeping the sword from side to side in her mouth, but as more came she began to get creative. Driving the swordpoint into the platform, she swung herself around on the hilt, kicking the creatures as she passed by, dazing them. When they were all dazed, she planted all four hooves and used her momentum to yank the sword free of the platform, slashing through the circle of creatures in one stroke. She then leapt into the air, somursaulting to create a buzzsaw effect that sliced through several other creatures as they leaped at her. When she landed, she hurled her sword, impaling the last creature as it rose from the ground.
With all the creatures dispersed, she walked forward to retrieve her sword, only for it to disappear in light and reappear in her mouth. "Sweetness! This sword is totally awesome!" Looking down, she saw that the platform now displayed Rainbow Dash posing in a Wonderbolts flight suit. "... almost as awesome as her," she whispered. Seeming to think of something, she glanced towards her flank. "Aw man! A zombie slaying Cutie Mark would have been totally awesome!"
'It seems you know how to fight. That will help. But not all the foes will fall so easily. And the darkness within will be the hardest to slay.'
Suddenly, Scootaloo's shadow stretched out, expanding to immense size and taking a shape similar to the creatures she had fought before, but much larger. It glared down at her with blood red eyes and slammed its massive fist into the platform, shattering it.
She screamed as she fell amongst the broken glass, afraid to spread her wings for fear of being cut. Down below, another creature - twin to the massive shadow but silve - awaited her, gathering a massive sphere of light with which to attack, probably to destroy her.
As her sword vanished, she screamed as she fell into the light.
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"Scoot! Scoot, wake up!"
Scootaloo rolled out of the cloud bed, falling onto her rump. She opened her eyes. "Huh? What? Shadow zombies?"
A warm chuckle distracted her. "That must have been some nightmare, squirt." Magenta eyes looked down at her lovingly from beneath a rainbow mane.
Scootaloo grinned. "Eh, it wasn't that bad. I had this bitchin sword and I carved them up in 10 seconds flat!" Rainbow laughed at that. "But then the giant one appeared and double teamed me, and my sword vanished, so I kinda got bucked over..."
Rainbow ruffled Scootaloo's mane. "Don't worry about it. Though you're right, that does sound pretty awesome. Now come on, you're going to be late for school, and I'm gonna be late for work."
"Okay!" Scootaloo hopped to her hooves and started to run out, but paused. She remembered what was so special about today, why she was so eager for the day for the first time in a long time. Turning back, she hugged Rainbow Dash. "I love you, big sis," she said happily.
Rainbow chuckled, wrapping a wing around the small filly. "Love you too, squirt. Now get a move on already."
"Okay!" Scootaloo raced out, grabbing her scooter as she ran. It was her first day as Rainbow Dash's official little sister, and already she knew she would love every minute of it.
As she zoomed along towards school, she swerved to avoid a strange pony standing in front of the library. Remembering how many significant events happened recently that started at the library, she slowed down to examine the stranger. "Umm...excuse me," she said calmly.
The strange pony was covered from head to hoof in a cloak of deepest black. He - if it was a he - turned to face her, and no eyes were visible from beneath the hood. "This world has been connected..." a deep voice echoed from the depths of the hood. "Tied to the darkness."
Scootaloo scrunched her face up in confusion. "Uh... come again? I don't get what you mean."
"One who knows nothing can understand nothing," the voice echoed again before walking off. The figure rested a hoof against the walls of the library before turning away. For a brief moment, Scootaloo thought she saw something there, but it passed.
"... wierdo," Scootaloo affirmed before turning towards school.
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At school, Scootaloo quickly approached the other two CMC. "Hey girls!" she said happily. "What's on the schedule for today? We doing more crusading?"
Apple Bloom shrugged. "I dunno, Scoots. I'm kinda out of ideas. We've tried EVERYTHING!"
Sweetie Belle hung her head. "We're never going to get our Cutie Marks..."
The three sighed together. Then Scootaloo perked up. "Well, I'm sure we'll figure something out. Oh, that reminds me! I had the craziest dream last night I have GOT to tell you about!"
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at her, their eyes wide. "Dream?" they asked simultaneously.
"Come along everypony!" Cheerilee called. "Time for class!"
"Talk to you later!" Scootaloo said happily as they each headed to their seperate classes.
School passed quite slowly for Scootaloo, and for some reason she felt incredibly antsy... more so than usual. As the day wore on to past noon, however, her teacher made an announcement. "Students, I have good news. The entire school will be making a surprise field trip today!"
The entire class cheered. Scootaloo bounced excitedly. She'd get to spend some time with her friends during class. This was going to be awesome.
"An unusual discovery has been made, and is currently being stored in the Golden Oaks Library. We have all been invited for a chance to view it," the teacher continued happily, ignoring the moans of dissapointment from most of the class. "Miss Cheerilee will be overseeing the field trip."
Scootaloo sighed. The library. Talk about boring. However, she did remember that - for some reason - Rainbow Dash had been spending a lot of time at the library lately, so maybe she'd bump into her there as well. This brightened her outlook.
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Admittedly, Scootaloo had greatly overestimated the size of the Ponyville school. It was only three classes in total, and each numbered only ten pupils. As such, Cheerilee was quite able to keep all thirty fillies and colts under control with ease, although there was the usual bickering amongst some of them, especially with Diamond Tiara.
"Well if it isn't Little Orphan Scootie and her Blank Flank friends!" Diamond Tiara said snidely. "So how does it feel to know you're only just now average?"
The news about Scootaloo's... legal status had only gotten out the month prior, when Daimond Tiara and Silver Spoon - intent on pranking the CMC - had found Scootaloo in a sleeping bag in the clubhouse early one morning. Once Diamond Tiara had dug out all the details, she had teased Scootaloo about it mericlessly. Oddly enough, however, Silver Spoon had not participated in any teasing regarding Scootaloo's foster status, although she continued to back Diamond Tiara in regard to blank flank teasing.
Scootaloo just shrugged. "Buzz off, Diamond Tiara. Go bug some other pony, why don't you?"
Diamond Tiara smirked. "What's the matter, Scootie? No mommy to cry to?"
"Why don'tcha just back off, Diamond Tiara?" Apple Bloom flared. "Can't ya tell when yer goin too far?"
"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle added. "How would you feel if you were in her horseshoes?"
Diamond's smirk grew wider. "I wouldn't know. My parents kept me."
"This is boring, Diamond." Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Can't we do something else?"
Diamond Tiara blinked at Silver Spoon in surprise for a bit, then shrugged her shoulders. "Why not? I wouldn't want to hang aroun these Blank Flanks any longer than I had to, anyway!" She turned and strutted off towards the front of the group.
After Diamond Tiara's back was turned, Silver Spoon locked eyes with Scootaloo. 'Sorry,' she mouthed, before turning to follow Diamond Tiara.
Scootaloo managed to unclench her body and flatten her wings, grumbling under her breath. "Someday, Diamond Tiara's going to regret all the greif she's given us, mark my words."
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, then paused to glance at Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie, what are you doing with that marker?"
Sweetie smiled. "It's part of my cooking lessons from Pinkie Pie. I'm trying to mark her words... but I can't find them."
The three friends giggled together. Apple Bloom then turned to Scootaloo. "So, what were ya saying earlier about a dream?"
Scootaloo grinned. "Oh yeah! You see, I started out in this-"
"Alright class!" Cheerilee's voice interrupted. "We have arrived at the library. Now everypony, please be on your best behavior for Twilight Sparkle, alright?"
"Yes, Miss Cheerilee!" the class chorused.
Smiling, Cheerily knocked on the library door, only for it to slowly creak open. She pushed it forward. "Hello? Twilight Sparkle, are you here?"
The ponies slowly entered, confused at the fact that all the lights were out. However, once everypony was inside, the doors slammed shut and all the lights came on.
"SURPRISE!" Pinkie Pie shouted out, bouncing around from behind the banner that read, 'Happy Homecoming Scootaloo'. She then bounced up to Cheerilee. "Miss Cheerilee, I know this was supposed to be a field trip for the fillies and colts to see Twilight's big super duper important crazy artifact of unknowable plot significance, but the paperwork for Rainbow Dash adopting Scootaloo didn't get fully finished and finalized until way way late last night much too late for a party for a schoolfilly who needs to go to school in the morning to stay up for so I was going to hold the party today but when I heard that the whole school was coming here for Twilight's big find I thought it was the perfect opportunity to have Scootaloo and all her friends and classmates together for a super duper special surprise party and I know I should have cleared it ahead of time with you but if I did that then it would ahve spoiled the surprise and please don't be mad at me for doing this but it's such a big thing for Scootaloo and I wanted it to be super duper spentacularly specialest special for her and-"
Pinkie took a deep breath. "-and tl;dr, I'm sorry party now please?" She proceeded to give Cheerilee a very cute begging pout face.
Cheerilee couldn't help but laugh at Pinkie's antics - much like most of Ponyville - and could only smile as she saw Pinkie's expression mirrored on her students faces. "Well, I suppose a little party couldn't hurt..."
"YAY!" With that, the little ponies charged into the library, heading for games, treats, and fun.
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After a time of partying, Scootaloo found herself wandering the library. In the process, she bumped into Twilight, who looked torn between being aggravated and resigned. "Hey Twilight. What's wrong?"
Twilight glanced down at Scootaloo and chuckled. "I suppose it was too much to hope for to be able to educate some ponies for once."
Scootaloo frowned. "I'm sorry the party got in the way of your leacture." She tried to sound sincere, but it was difficult.
Twilight laughed. "You don't need to apologize for Pinkie Pie." She sighed, somewhat sadly. "I guess my discovery wasn't that important anyway..."
Scootaloo actually did feel a little guilty. It seemed this had ruined Twilight's day. "I'd like to see it."
Twilight perked up. "Really?"
"Yeah!" Scootaloo said, managing to feign believable enthusiasm. She thought it was the least she could do for Twilight, especially for her part in Scootaloo's adoption. "With the way Pinkie talked about it, I bet it's totally awesome!"
Twilight managed a chuckle. "Well, it's certainly unique, that's for sure." Twilight led Scootaloo to a less crowded part of the library, where something was covered.
Scootaloo glanced at the wall next to the covered object. "Hey, where does that door go to?" she asked. "I don't think I've noticed it before."
"Door?" Twilight glanced where Scootaloo was looking. "What door?"
"That-" Scootaloo paused, then shook her head. "I could have sworn I saw a door there..."
Twilight put her hoof to Scootaloo's forehead. "Are you okay? You dont have a fever... Did you sleep well last night?"
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "I'm not a baby. Now where's this discovery you mentioned?"
"Right!" Twilight went over to the covered object. "Oddly enough, it just appeared her in the library one day." She pulled the cover off.
The object was pure white from tip to tip, of strange design. Scootaloo blinked for a bit. "It looks like some sort of giant key..."
"I know," Twilight said in wonder, "but you see the part with the grooves where it would fit into the lock? A very high level of magic is focused there down to a razor point, almost like a blade. I'm thinking until I know more about it, I'll call it a Keyblade."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "How original. Hey! It looks like you could grip it in your mouth!" She begins to reach forward to bite down on what is an obvious hilt.
"Scootaloo!" Twilight pulled the eager filly back. "Didn't you hear what I said? It's full of incredibly powerful magic I can't even begin to identify! It could turn you into a mutant monstrosity from the ninth dimension of agony!"
"That sounds awesome!" Scootaloo cried excitedly. "Would it get me a Cutie Mark?"
"Probably not."
"Oh, less awesome."
Twilight shook her head. "And here I was hoping Rainbow would be a better influence on you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow asked, walking up behind them.
As Scootaloo hugged her new big sister, Twilight rolled her eyes. "I told her the worst case scenario regarding picking the dangerous magical artifact up in her mouth, and she thought it would be awesome."
As Rainbow hugged Scootaloo, she smirked at Twilight. "So what was the worst case scenario?"
"Horrible transformation into unimaginable horror."
"Doesn't seem so bad." Rainbow shrugged. "Besides, if it was something like that, you'd fix it eventually."
"How can you know that, Rainbow?"
"Because you could never leave my little sis horribly mutated. You'd never let me down like that." Rainbow smiled at Twilight. "I've got too much faith in you for that, Twi."
Twilight looked away for a moment to hide her blush. Then she turned back. "Alright, Rainbow. What would you say is the worst case scenario for picking up the artifact in your mouth?"
"That's easy!" Rainbow said with a laugh. "It tastes like Applejack's baked bads!"
"Oh sweet Celestia, EWW!" Scootaloo said loudly, to the accompaniement of Rainbow and Twilight's laughter. As the laughter died down, she looked closer at the Keyblade. "I wonder what kind of door this key thing opens, anyway?"
"A door to darkness," a voice said from nearby.
The three ponies turned. Scootaloo spoke up. "Hey! You're the wierdo who was hanging around here earlier!"
Twilight, however, braced herself. "What do you mean, a door to darkness?"
"This world has been connected... tied to the darkness. And when the door opens, this world will be consumed." The cloaked stranger approached the key. "I shall open the door." He began to reach for the key.
"I don't think so!" Twilight cried, powering up her magic and launching it at the stranger.
A red hand reached out from under the cloak and caught her magic blast. After holding it for a moment, the wrist flicked, and the spell backlashed against Twilight, sending her careening backward through most of the party.
"TWILIGHT!" five voices shouted in shock.
Scootaloo, however, reacted in rage. She lunged towards the figure.
"Scoot, no!" Rainbow shouted out.
The figure easily sidestepped Scootaloo's lunge, bucking her onto the key. Without thinking, she grabbed the hilt in her mouth. As soon as she picked it up, bright light cascaded over the artifact, and it changed.
The hilt was now colorless, while the hilt guard remained white. The central pole extending outward from the key changed to red, and the head of the key became golden. Hanging on a chain from the base of the hilt was a small charm in the shape of the symbol Sweeite Belle had sown onto the Cutie Mark Crusader capes.
Not noticing the change, Scootaloo swung the blade towards the cloaked figure, who stepped aside. The key clanged against the wall Scootaloo had been staring at earlier... and a door appeared.
The figure laughed. "Thank you, little foal. This could not have been easier for me." The red hand once more extended from the folds of the cloak to seize the door... and yanked it open.
"Scoots! Watch out!" Rainbow threw herself protectivel in front of Scootaloo, shielding her with her body.
There was a soundless explosion from beyond the door as light and darkness erupted. Scootaloo caught a few brief images in the light - Apple Bloom and Sweeite Belle similarly shielded by their sisters, the Elements flashing in the light, the walls cracking - before a shockwave sent her flying backward.
As she slowly lost conciousness, the last sound she heard was the cloaked figure's unpitying laughter.