//------------------------------// // New Scripts // Story: My Little Titan // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// 3. New Scripts Cyborg slowly opened his eyes. He blinked as the sun flitered in through the branches of the tree he was napping in. Glancing around, he took stock of his situation. 'Let's see... right, I'm napping in a tree at Sweet Apple Acres. I'm still Rainbow Dash.' He smirked. 'Still awesome.' As he lay back against the branch, he thought back to the discussion the group had a week ago in the library, taking a break from Luna's Welcome Back party. --------- Raven glanced over all of them as the magic she cast settled into each of their minds. "Everypony adjusted?" she said calmly. As nods were returned, she continued. "Good. Now, from what I've been able to determine, someone unknown removed the minds - and probably souls - of each of the beings we're currently inhabiting. I don't know if we were put in their place as part of the same working or if that was done by someone else. However, either way, someone's plans are in motion, and our presence here is likely to have an effect. The less anyone knows about who we really are, the more aces we have up our metaphorical sleeves. Understood?" Robin spoke up. "Makes sense, Raven, but I don't see your point." Raven turned to Beast Boy and Starfire. "You two know a great deal about the series. When was the last time anything in the show was a coincidence?" Beast Boy shook his head. Starfire spoke up. "Nothing in Equestria is ever a coincidence." Raven nodded. "And yet, when I first reached this library, I discovered perception-filter spells powerful enough that - once woken - God himself couldn't see into the library without standing outside and looking in the window. Given that nothing is coincidence, what does that tell you?" "We're being watched," Cyborg said calmly. "Someone is watching what is happening, probably whoever removed the Mane 6. There wouldn't be a place where we couldn't be watched otherwise." "Exactly," Raven said camly. "So, unless it's just the seven of us here in the library, we all have to act as close to how the Mane 6 would act so as to be indistinguishable." She glanced around. "I know this probably won't sit well, as we've all seen the kinds of mistakes they make, but for Celestia's sake, if you're going to make a change, make it look natural. It's already clear to whoever's watching that we aren't the originals if they know how things would go normally. Don't act like you have foreknowledge." Raven then looked towards Jinx, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Melvin. "Also, if you can possibly help it, don't use your powers in public unless you can give a logical explanation." She looked specifically at Melvin. "This will probably be hard for you, but-" "Bobby doesn't like Ponyville," Melvin said calmly. "Too colorful. He's staying in Everfree for now." Raven nodded with a smile. "Good." She turned back to the group at large. "Okay, does anypony have any questions?" Starfire raised a hoof. "Yes?" "Does this mean I should be breaking the wall of fourthness?" Star asked with interest. Raven sighed. "Star, this is a real world. There is no fourth wall." "I don't know," Beast Boy said calmly. "It could be a fanfic." Raven looked Beast Boy right in the eye. "Do you really want to think about what that means? About the idea of the kind of sick, depraved individual who would write this kind of story having control of our very lives?" Beast Boy shuddered. "You're right. We could be written by Control Freak." For some reason, Starfire looked off in a random direction and covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. ------------ As Cyborg stretched, he focused his thoughts on what Raven had said about acting as much like the ponies as possible. He had... taken actions that could be considered outside the story norm recently, and knew he needed to address them somehow. However, as much as he liked Rainbow Dash's character - he thought she was best pony, no matter how many times Beast Boy claimed it was Twilight - he wasn't sure how she would handle this situation. After all, this wasn't how it came up in the series. As he debated this internally, he heard Robin, Raven, and Beast Boy passing beneath him. "Thanks for helping me with this, Twi," Robin said, flawlessly imitating Applejack's southern drawl. "If I win this bet, Big Macintosh has to walk down Stirrup Street in one of Granny's girdles!" "Glad to help," Raven replied. "But if I may ask... what did Big Mac want if he won?" "Err... nothing really," Robin said, his eyes swinging from side to side. Cyborg facehoofed. 'What gives, Robin? You're normally a much better liar than that. You don't have to act that much like AJ.' A thought hit Cyborg. 'Come to think of it, how come you imitate the southern drawl flawlessly? Well, I suppose you learned how to disguise your voice from Batman... but what about Star? She talks perfect Pinkie when she's being Pinkie, but when she's being herself she still makes colloquial errors like when she talked about the fourth wall.' He shook his head. 'I miss having a computer in my brain. It was easier to think then.' "Applejack, you're a terrible liar," Raven was saying. "What would he win?" "Now Twi, he set the terms of the bet, I want you to know that-" "What were his winnings, AJ?" Robin gulped. "I had to set him up on a date." Raven shrugged. "That's not so bad." "With you." Raven stopped. "Really." Her voice was very flat. "Yeah," Robin said quietly. "Apparently he likes the bookish type that knows how to have fun." "Spike, settle down." Raven shook her shoulders. "Your claws are digging into my back." "Sorry, Twilight," Beast Boy said, calming himself down. He suddenly belched out a scroll. Raven blinked. "A letter from Princess Celestia?" Spike nodded, unrolling it to read. "Hear ye, hear ye, blah blah blah, Grand Galloping Gala, blah blah blah, Canterlot on the 21st, blah blah blah, invites Twilight Sparkle and one guest." He then prepared himself and exhaled a thin stream that took the shape of the two tickets. Raven glanced at the scroll. "So it's a form letter?" At Spike's nod, she reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a scroll. "Stick the tickets in here and send it, Spike." Nodding, Beast Boy did as instructed. Robin looked at her. "What was that, Twi?" Raven smiled. "Princess Celestia knows I have five friends who would love to go to the Gala with me, and she sends me only two tickets. Mostly I just wrote that rather than have to choose which of my friends go with me, I'd rather not go at all, especially as by the time the Gala rolls around I'll still be getting used to Ponyville." Robin nodded. "So ya Aesoped her?" "Pretty much. Saves the struggle-" Spike belched up another scroll. This one showed the mark of Princess Celestia's own hooves. Curious, Raven unrolled it and read. "My dearest student, I was unaware that all your friends would want to attend with you. The Grand Galloping Gala is a rather uptight gathering, and - truth be told - had I a valid excuse, I would skip it. It is a pretentious event and one that I take little joy in. Had I known your friends would desire to attend with you, I would have sent them tickets of their own. It was my hope that by the time the Gala rolled around, your plus one would be a certain special somepony, and that you could use the Gala to take the opportunity to introduce me to him... or her, I'm not judgemental. However, perhaps that was overenthusiastic, given how inexperienced in socializing you are. Instead, I have included a group ticket for you plus up to eleven friends. This way, you and all your friends may each bring somepony as their guest to the gala. Do not feel compelled to bring eleven guests, however. Bring whoever you wish. I'm sorry if this situation caused you any social distress. Your concerned teacher, Princess Celestia." Raven levitated the larger than normal group ticket. "Huh. Didn't see that coming." She levitated the smaller individual ticket and continued to read. "P.S.: And here's one for Spike in case all six of you DO bring a special guest." Robin chuckled. "Looks like yer teacher's trying to play matchmaker." Raven looked at him flateyed. "Don't." Cyborg blinked as realization struck him like a lightning bolt. 'Duh! If Rainbow didn't know how to handle something, she'd ask Twilight! I can do the same!' With that, he dove down to land beside them. "Hey Twilight! Glad I caught you!" "Rainbow!" Robin snapped. "You said you were too busy to help me with the apples today!" "Yeah, I know, I know," Cyborg interrupted, waving a hoof. "I'll make it up to you next week when Applebuck Season starts. Right now I've got a real doozy on my plate and I need Twilight's help to sort it out, okay?" "But Twilight's helping me out right now!" Robin countered, stomping a hoof. "Easy, AJ," Raven interrupted. "I can help you next week too to make up for it." She turned to Cyborg. "So what's bugging you?" "Well, you know how I've got quite a few fans here in Ponyville?" Raven's eyes narrowed. "Yes?" she said calmly. Cyborg winced. Raven knew exactly what he was talking about. "Well, one in particular has caught my attention, and... I'm worried about her." Raven quirked her eyebrow. "Really? Why?" "Well, she's been in Ponyville nearly as long as I have, and been a fan nearly the entire time. She was my first fan here, so of course I noticed her and paid attention when she cheered." Cyborg rubbed the back of his head. "Every performer pays special attention to their first fan, you know?" Raven nodded, her irritation diminishing. "Especially when they're loyal, right?" Cyborg nodded. "Anyway, her name's Scootaloo, and... well, I've actually paid enough attention that I know quite a bit about all my fans, except her. I don't even know who her parents are." Raven shrugged. "I can see you're concerned, but-" "So I asked Pinkie Pie what she knew, since she knows everypony in Ponyville, and she told me she doesn't know who Scootaloo's parents are either, or even where she lives!" Raven raised her eyebrows. "You're right, that is concerning." She frowned. "When did you do all this?" "I actually asked Pinkie two days before the Summer Sun Celebration," Cyborg replied. According to the memories that had come with Raven's scrying, that was when Rainbow had looked into Scootaloo's situation by this simple expedient. "Alright," Raven said calmly. "What then?" "Well, it had been bugging me ever since, but I put it out of my mind while I practiced for impressing the Wonderbolts at the celebration. That's why I left clearing the sky for so long. Dodging clouds while doing tricks helps my mind work better than just doing tricks." Cyborg chuckled internally. While the last part was true, the second part he could only say sounded true. "After everything with Princess Luna and the Elements, it kinda slipped my mind, but when we had that talk in the library about the responsibility they brought with, I was reminded about my concern." Raven nodded. They'd agreed on that cover for why the seven of them had met privately in the library in the middle of Luna's Welcome Back party. "So what did you do about it?" "Well, Scootaloo was at the party, so when the party wound down and everypony was heading home... I followed her." Raven frowned. "Really Rainbow?" "I borrowed a ninja suit from Pinkie Pie. At night nopony could see me." Robin spoke up. "Rainbow, not to be rude, but your namesake colors would stick out like a hoof sore at night." "I dunked my mane and tail in tar and had a very thorough wash when I got home, okay? Nopony saw me. My POINT," Cyborg continued testily, "is about where I followed her to." Cyborg sighed. "She spent the night in a box under the bridge out of town." Robin's eyes widened. "She's homeless?" Cyborg nodded. "Seems that way." "Now hold on," Raven interrupted. "She could have just had a fight with her parents and run off for the night-" "You didn't see the way she looked when she crawled in their, Twi, or the way she was shivering." Cyborg closed his eyes against memories he did not wish to see. "Or how she went back to that same box every night this week." Raven sighed. "So... what do you plan to do about it, Rainbow? I can tell you want to do something." "What I'd like to do is take her in myself," Cyborg said before sighing. "But how do I do that? It's not like I can go up to her and say, 'Hey Scoots! I noticed you're homeless and was worried about you. Want to move in with me?'" Cyborg rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that would go over real well. It'd probably send her running and it would take weeks to talk to her again... assuming I'm not brought up on charges for soliciting a minor." "Ya could alwasy try being subtle," Robin spoke up. "I know it ain't yer strong suit, but it could work." "I was kind of hoping Twilight could give me some advice on how to do just that, AJ," Cyborg shot back with a glare. As they glared at each other, Raven tapped a hoof against her chin. Beast Boy continued to just watch, deciding not to get involved in this one. Finally, Raven returned her hoof to the ground. "Sorry Rainbow, I can't help you on this one." "What?" Cyborg asked, shocked. "But-" "Rainbow, whatever you do to fix this situation has to come from you. It has to flow naturally from who you are." Raven shook her head. "I can't tell you how to fix it." THen she smiled. "Besides, it would set a bad precedent." "Huh?" the three boys said simultaneously. Raven smiled. "Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's personal protege... has better things to do with her time than solve everypony else's personal problems. I'd rather not have everypony knocking down my door everytime they have relationship problems when I have... important research... to do. Besides, I'm hardly experienced in those matters to begin with." Raven smiled wider. "Besides Rainbow, I'm sure you'll come up with something. From what I've heard, you always do. Why don't you go get something to eat and think about it. In the meantime, I'd rather see Big Macintosh in a girdle than across a romantically lit table." She smiled at Robin. "Nothing personal against your brother, but I'm not ready to date." "I getcha, Twi. I getcha." Cyborg nodded. "Thanks anyway." Spreading his wings, he flew off to Ponyville proper. Settling down at a local restaraunt, he ordered some food and sat at an outside table. When his food arrived, however, he noticed something rather important. 'Horse apples! I was so distracted I forgot Rainbow doesn't eat anywhere near as much as I do. What am I gonna do with all this food?' "Hey Rainbow Dash!" a happy voice called out to her. "Hungry much?" Cyborg looked over with a smirk. "Hey Scoots!" He noticed Scootaloo trying not to stare at the heaping pile of food, and a light clicked in his head as opportunity dropped itself into his lap. "Guess I ordered too much. Shame to let it go to waste though. Want to help me finish it?" The barely disguised eagerness and hunger in Scootaloo's eyes was almost painful to look at. "I don't know if I could eat that much Rainbow," she said as she climbed up across from Cyborg. "I'm not really THAT hungry." "Nonsense!" Cyborg replied knowingly. "Growing fillies are always hungry. Especially us athletic types, right?" He grinned. "Betcha I still eat more than you." Scootaloo grinned. "Race you to the middle!" "Ready set go!" They both dug in voraciously, stuffing their faces as only they could. They reached the middle at the same time, and the fight over the last morsel looked like something out of a cheesy animated action film. Cyborg laughed happily. "You win, Scoots! Guess you were just hungrier than I was." Scootaloo laughed. "Guess so." Cyborg then paid for their meal... and apologized for the mess their fight for the last bite made. "So what are you doing the rest of the day, squirt?" Scootaloo grinned. "I've got nothing planned. What about you?" Cyborg raised his eyebrows. "Well, I was going to practice some tricks, but... I work better with an appreciative audience. Normally, I'd ask Fluttershy, but she's busy today. I don't suppose you know anypony who'd be interested?" Scootaloo, predictably, bounced up and down with joy. "I'd love to watch you practice your tricks Rainbow! I'll be sure to cheer super loud!" Cyborg chuckled. "Great! But if you want to watch this show, you need the best seat in town." He scooped Scootaloo onto his back and flew up to the top of Rainbow's cloud house. "How's this for a seat?" he asked, bracing Scootaloo against the cloud chimney. "It's great!" Scootaloo cried excitedly. "Wow, I've never been on a cloud before, this is so awesome!" Cyborg smiled. "Well, it's about to get more awesome!" With that, he took to the air and began to run through Rainbow's stunt repetoire. They spent nearly an hour like that, Cyborg doing tricks and Scootaloo bouncing up and down and cheering at the top of her voice. Finally, Cyborg flew down to the roof and settled next to Scootaloo. "So how was that?" Scootaloo bounced up and down excitedly. "It was super duper amazingly awesome! It was beyond awesome, it was... beyawesome!" Cyborg chuckled. "Glad you enjoyed the show, squirt!" He ruffled Scootaloo's mane affectionately. "Don't tell me-" Scootaloo's voice croaked from screaming too long. "Don't tell me it's over already." "Sorry. That's all the flying for today, squirt." Seeing the fillies face fall, he smirked. "Wanna play some video games instead?" Cyborg had been pleasantly surprised to learn that Equestria did, in fact, have video games... and was even more so to discover that Rainbow Dash had all the latest gen consoles and some pretty sweet games. Given her competitive nature, he probably shouldn't have been. Scootaloo's grin went wide enough to cut her face in half. "Really?" "Come on, let's get inside," Cyborg replied with a laugh. They spent the next several hours playing video games, everything from Halo to Super Smash Sisters Rodeo. They even spent some time letting Scootaloo play 'Legend of Ponyta: Wind Waker' while Cyborg controlled Twinkle Toes from the Advance, since she'd never played an RPG before. Cyborg also grabbed them some grub from the fridge midway through the gaming, so Scootaloo never noticed the passage of time. As the last game ended, Cyborg glanced out the window. "Wow, I didn't realize how late it was getting." The moon was already fully risen and it was quite dark out. "I'd better get you home." "Y-you don't need to do that, Rainbow!" Scootaloo said nervously. "I can walk home. I'm not scared of the dark!" "Nuh-uh!" Cyborg insisted. "I can't even see the ground, it's so dark. No way am I letting you walk home alone in that. You could trip over something somepony left out and break your neck." He shifted Scootaloo onto his back. "Just tell me where to take you. Besides, I gotta tell your folks where you've been all day, right?" Scootaloo was silent. Cyborg looked over at her. "Come on Scoots, where are your folks at? I'll take you to-" "Fillydelphia..." Cyborg blinked. "Fillydelphia?" He hadn't expected that. It could be she was a runaway from a bad home. That might be harder to fix, but it was still an explanation and he could probably make a case to keep taking care of her- "... Sanitarium." Cyborg's train of thought derailed, crashed through several miles of dense foliage, and upended into a botomless ravine before exploding in a Lucas-worthy cinematic fireball. "... the mental ward?" Scootaloo nodded, tears in her eyes. Cyborg closed his eyes against the pain in that admission before pulling her into a tight embrace. After a while, he asked, "Do you have someplace to stay?" Scootaloo sniffled against her tears. "...not really..." Walking into the spare bedroom, Cyborg tucked Scootaloo into the bed. "Then you can sleep here, okay?" Scootaloo blinked at him in shock. "You're not going to put me back into foster care?" Cyborg thought for a bit. "We'll talk tomorrow." Cyborg turned to leave the room. He figured if he kept her life exciting enough - and if convenient enough distractions occured whenever they sat down to talk about this - tomorrow would be delayed enough times that she'd be settled in and the issue need never come up- "And how many tommorrows will it be?" Scootaloo asked piercingly. Cyborg winced. 'Or she could be way too dang perceptive for her own good,' he thought to himself. "What do you mean?" "You knew I was homeless," she said. It wasn't a question, so Cyborg didn't respond. "You knew I was staying in that box under the bridge. Three nights ago, a light rain was scheduled. Not enough to inconvenience anypony... except somepony who was sleeping outside. I wasn't sure the bridge would provide enough shelter... but there was a hole in the clouds for three feet all around the bridge." Cyborg winced. He knew that if anypony noticed that he would have gotten in major trouble, but until now he thought it had gone completely unnoticed. "Yeah... that was me." Scootaloo nodded. "I thought so, but I wasn't sure. And these past three nights, I could feel somepony watching over me while I slept. Was that you, too?" "... the entire week, actually." Cyborg knew it was time to lay all the cards on the table. "I followed you after the party for Luna. I saw you in that box. I've been watching each night, wishing I could do something..." "Why didn't you sooner? Why go to so much trouble to make it look like a coincidence?" Cyborg looked up at Scootaloo. "What else could I have done? Pulled you aside and said, 'Hey, I noticed you're homeless and I was worried. Wanna move in with me?' How would you have reacted to that?" "I would have been ecstatic," Scootaloo said quietly. "And just like now... I'd have wanted to know why." "Why?" Cyborg asked, confused. "Why take such an interest in me? Why go to such lengths for me? Why am I so important to you, Rainbow?" Scootaloo wiped her eyes. "I know why I want this - more than anything - but why do you?" Sighing, Cyborg walked up and settled Scootaloo against the pillows, tucking her in. "Lots of reasons, I guess. Because somepony has to. Because I noticed. Because I always wanted a little sister. But mostly... because whoever takes on the responsibility of taking care of you needs to be somepony who can see what an awesome filly you are, and can understand how hard you've struggled. Somepony who cares enough to take care of you for your sake, and can understand what you need." He looked her in the eye. "And because I see a lot of myself in you. The same drive, the same eagerness, the same dreams... I've seen how you reach for the sky." He smiled. "And... because you're my first and biggest fan." Scootaloo blinked her eyes, holding back tears. She then threw her forelegs around Cyborg's neck. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash." Cyborg hugged her back. Everything he said... it had been his words, but the emotions had come from Rainbow's memories, too. It was what she would have said and done... if she had been here to say and do it. "No problem, Scoot." He held her gently in leg and wings, gently rubbing her back. After a while, Scootaloo whispered quietly, "Could... could I sleep in your bed tonight?" Cyborg smiled. "Sure thing, Scoot." Scooping her up in one wing, he carried her back to Rainbow's room. Crawling into bed, he laid Scootaloo down in the cloud covers before curling up around her. "Goodnight, Scootaloo," he said quietly. "Good night," Scootaloo replied. As Cyborg watched, sleep slowly claimed the little filly... but just before it did, she whispered, "I love you, Rainbow." Cyborg smiled. "Love you too, squirt." Laying his head down, he let sleep take him, wondering what dreams would come tonight.