//------------------------------// // Got a griffon on my back, it's a griffon attack! // Story: The Ballad of Royal Blue // by PonyWithAPen //------------------------------// The griffon that Royal met earlier that day had finally reached his destination. It was a cave inside of a canyon, a hideout just south of Canterlot. He flew into the canyon, soaring until he reached the cave entrance, where a familiar face waited for him. He landed and greeted her. "Hey Gilda. I think I may have finally found that Ponyville place you were talking about where that nasty pink pony lives." Gilda smiled. "Good. I can't wait to get my hands on that stupid little dweeb. I would have just given you directions, but I blocked out the memories of that awful place after my experience. That little pink punk turned my former best friend against me!" Her expression changed to one of anger and sorrow. "Dash was my only friend...until I met you, Paulie." She held back the tears, at Paulie's urging. Paulie hated to see her cry. He had vowed revenge on both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash for what they had supposedly done to his close friend. That stallion from earlier today said that he was friends with this Pinkie Pie. He didn't budge when I commanded him to take me to her. But that was when it was just me. There's strength in numbers, so they say. I think it's time me and my buddies pay him a little visit. Later that night, under Luna's moon, a flock of griffons soared through the sky, actively searching for Ponyville, where they would find their target for the night. At that exact moment, Royal and Scootaloo were laying on their backs under a tree in their yard, watching the stars on this clear night. "The stars look so awesome tonight." Scootaloo said. "You've got that right, kiddo." Royal said. Suddenly, he remembered something he’d been meaning to say. He glanced over at the filly. "Scootaloo?" She looked at him. "Yeah?" "Do you mind if I say something?" "Sure." He paused before continuing. "You know that I'm doing everything I can to give you a good home, right?" Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, I know. Thank you for taking me in." "You're welcome." He paused again. "I've been having weird feelings lately, like something bad's gonna happen." Both of them sat up, and then stood up. "What I'm trying to say is…if anything should happen to me, I want you to know that I love you. Yeah, I know it's mushy, but we can't be macho all the time." Scootaloo ran and jumped up on his back, squeezing his neck in a hug. "I love you, too." Royal began to walk with the filly riding on his back. "Let's go inside. It's late." When they made it to the front door, Scootaloo slid off of Royal's back so he could get the door open. Once inside, it didn't take long before he heard a knock on the door. "What the buck? Who could possibly be at the door at this hour? Scootaloo, stay here." She obeyed. Royal exited his house, only to see a group of griffons waiting for him. There must have been about six total. He recognized the one in the middle. It was Paulie, though Royal didn’t know his name because he'd never introduced himself. "Well, if it isn't my little pony friend. So, blue boy, are you ready to fess up now?" Royal shook his head. "First of all, if it's gonna take six of you to capture sweet little Pinkie Pie, that's pretty pathetic. That's okay, though, 'cause I wasn't gonna tell you anyway." The griffons laughed at him, as Scootaloo looked on from the window, terrified. "You'd have to be awfully stupid to continue protecting your friend against six of us." Paulie said. "Well, if stupid is what it takes..." Royal said; a slight smile on his face. He knew he was in for trouble, but he couldn't let these guys just waltz into his town and kidnap one of his friends. The lead griffon's smile turned upside down. "Kill him." Appropriately, some thunderclouds rolled in as soon as Paulie had given the word. Pinkie Pie woke up screaming, which in turn woke up everybody else in Sugar Cube Corner, including the babies, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. While Mrs. Cake tended to them, Mr. Cake rushed in to check on Pinkie. "Pinkie! What's wrong, honey?" Her eyes grew wide, her breathing grew heavy. "Friend...trouble...I've gotta go!" She dashed past Mr. Cake, nearly bowling him over in the process. "Pinkie! Come back! It's storming out there!" Pinkie's father figure yelled, to no avail. Mrs. Cake came to his side, having settled the babies back to sleep. "What's wrong with Pinkie Pie?" Mrs. Cake asked her husband. Mr. Cake shook his head. "She said something about a friend, and trouble. Oh, Pinkie Pie. Be careful." Royal stepped back to avoid a swinging claw from one of the griffons. He had been able to get a couple of blows in, but he knew he had to stay light on his feet or the numbers game would catch up with him and he would be a goner. Even if he did die, he wasn't about to sell out Pinkie Pie. Inside the house, Scootaloo had hidden under the blanket on Royal's bed, where she now slept every night. This isn't real. Royal's not getting beaten down by a bunch of bullies outside. This is all just a bad dream. We'll wake up soon, and it will be a bright and sunny morning in Ponyville. Outside, just as Royal had feared, the numbers game indeed had caught up to him. Two of the griffons held him in place as Paulie pummeled him. Every now and then, Paulie stopped to ask him a simple question. "Are you ready to tell us where Pinkie Pie lives now?" Royal, his face starting to show signs of the beating, shook his head. "Sorry. Your call did not go through. Please hang up, and go buck yourself." That earned him another solid blow in the face from the agitated bird. "You know, we griffons are known to eat ponies." Royal grinned. "Is that so? Well I hope you have a nice tall can of Spitfire Cola handy because I don’t go down easy!" "We'll just see about that." Paulie, showing off his strength, ripped a tree from its roots and bashed Royal in the head, causing him to fall forward. Scootaloo, who heard him cry out in pain, had rushed to the window. “Royal, no!” She saw the six griffons rise into the sky. They were going to converge on Royal for the killing blow. Scootaloo burst out the door and rushed to Royal’s side. She was crying. “Royal! Get up! You’ve got to get out of here! Please, Royal!” Her self-appointed guardian did not respond. "Royal, this can't...happen!" The young pony saw a flash of lightning, which lit up Paulie’s face, making him look ultra-terrifying to her. She cowered against Royal’s body. It was then that she remembered one of the greatest lessons her father had taught her. It was something Rainbow had repeated to her daily. She imagined both of them, side by side, lecturing her. Scoot, if you’re going to be a Wonderbolt, you’ve got to be fearless. You’ve gotta laugh in the face of danger. I’ve seen great potential in you, Scoots. Show me why you’re gonna be the best. The speech concluded with Rainbow speaking to the filly. She opened her eyes and stood up. She walked several steps in front of Royal. She looked up at the skies, at Royal’s oppressors. “Griffons! Do you know who I am? I’m Scootaloo, from the town of Ponyville! I’m going to be the greatest Wonderbolt of all time! I'm not scared of the likes of you!” The griffon army was amused. Royal, having now regained consciousness, stared at the one who stood over him, protecting him. "Scootaloo…why is she out here?” “I’m going to kick you out of Ponyville myself! You hear me?” The army began laughing, and Royal looked on. “Scootaloo!” She turned around. “Royal, get inside! I’m not gonna let them hurt you!” She turned back to the griffon group. “Come and get me!” The vicious birds did not need to be told that twice. They dove out of the sky, approaching Scootaloo. The brave filly stood her ground, her legs trembling at the thought of death. “NOOOO!” Royal shouted in agony. Then, ignoring his injuries, he sprung up and ran toward Scootaloo. When he reached her, he spread his wings, levitating into the air. At that moment, a bolt of lightning was headed directly for the entire group. Royal used every bit of energy he had left to activate his special shield, protecting himself and Scootaloo from the bolt, which reflected off of the shield and headed straight for the griffon group, roasting each one of them. Pinkie Pie was running along the road to Royal’s house when she saw a brilliant flash of light. She covered her eyes in order to avoid being permanently blinded. This only lasted a few seconds. She opened her eyes and noticed that the storm was now over. She could see the weather team clearing the skies. She kept running until she came across the scene and let out a gasp. She saw Royal and Scootaloo, both laid out on the ground. Surrounding them were several griffons, burned to a crisp. She ran over to her friends. “Royal! Scootaloo! Are you okay? You’ve got to wake up! Please, wake up!” Pinkie began shaking Royal's body, then Scootaloo's, which was probably not the best way to treat an unconscious lifeform. However, it worked. Both ponies opened their eyes at the same time. Pinkie had tears in hers. Royal and Scootaloo faced each other, lying on their sides. "Well, it's over. We did it, kiddo!" Royal said, with a big smile on his face. He then noticed Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie Pie...what are you doing here?" She helped him sit up. “Royal! You’re okay! My Pinkie sense told me you were in trouble!” She was ecstatic that he was alive. “I was.” He pointed toward the fried bird bodies. “But Scootaloo saved my life.” He and Pinkie looked at her, but she shook her head. The filly had tears in her eyes. “It was Rainbow Dash. I know it was! That was her lightning bolt! She knew we were in trouble!" Scootaloo's thoughts were confirmed when a familiar figure came flying through the clouds and landed right next to Pinkie Pie. She surveyed the damage, and then turned to Royal and Scootaloo. "Oh my gosh! Are you two okay?" The sky blue mare asked her friends. Scootaloo tackled her, nearly bowling her over. "Shh, it's okay, kiddo. I'm here now." She consoled her young protege. Royal stood up, noting some pain in various body parts. "We're fine. Thanks, Rainbow. Did you see Scootaloo stand up to those bullies? She was awesome!" Rainbow patted the filly's head. "Darn right you were, Scoots!" Rainbow suddenly noticed that Pinkie was standing next to her. "Oh, hey Pinkie. What are you doing here? Wait, let me guess, Pinkie sense." Pinkie nodded. "You got it!" There was one more question on the girls' minds. Rainbow asked it. "Royal, why were those griffons trying to kill you, anyway?" Royal looked over at Pinkie, then back to Rainbow. "It's a long story. They're after somepony, and I'm not about to sell out. Tell you what, let's have a meeting at the library tomorrow with Twilight and the others. I'll explain everything then, I promise." The girls nodded. "Okey Dokey lokey! Good night, everypony!" Pinkie, her joyous spirit returned, trotted away in her usual manner. Rainbow stayed for a little while longer. She still held Scootaloo close to her. "So, are you still up for flying tomorrow?" Royal asked her. She looked at him, surprised. "After all you went through, you still want to fly?" He nodded. "It's not like they broke my wings or anything. Besides, I promised Scootaloo we'd go. I can rest up after our little meeting tomorrow.” Rainbow smiled. She was growing more impressed with the Fillydelphian with each passing encounter. “You’ve got yourself a deal! But…it’s kinda late. Let’s push it back to, say, noon, all right?” Royal nodded. “Sweet! See you two bright and early!” Rainbow flew off into the night sky. Royal sat there, chuckling. “Bright and early, she says. Rainbow Dash, you are a riot!” His expression softened. “You’re also a bigger hero than you realize.” He brought the now-sleeping Scootaloo back into the house with him and put her to bed. He kissed her on the forehead. Thanks kid. No matter what they say, you're the most incredible pony I know. He then settled onto his sofa and fell asleep in an instant. After all, there’s no way he wanted to be too tired to fly with his favorite filly. The next morning in the aptly named Swelter Canyon, Gilda was stirred from her sleep by a tap on the head. As her vision adjusted, she saw that it was Paulie, burned to a well-done black color. Naturally, this presented her with all sorts of questions. “Paulie! What happened to you?” Paulie slammed his claw against the cave wall. “Forget about Pinkie Pie! She’s impossible to find!” Gilda turned to him, amused. “What do you mean, impossible to find?” The charred griffon was in no laughing mood. “There’s a blue stallion protecting her. I can’t get rid of him no matter what I do!” Gilda’s expression did not change. “So? Just dust him and get on with the Pinkie search!” Paulie’s head turned on a swivel and brought the rest of his body with it. “You don’t understand. That blue stallion has some kind of magical, mystical voodoo power! He called upon the power of lightning to smite 5 of our friends last night!” This got Gilda’s attention. A devious smile formed on her face. “I don’t deal in magic, but I think I just got an idea! Listen here, Paulie.” Gilda spilled out the details of her entire plan to her friend, whose own grin became more malicious with each sentence. “If we can do that, we can harness that power for our own! Then we can rule Equestria, you and me, Gilda!” Paulie said, his eyes filled with fire. “And with a little help from our friends, Equestria will be no more. Only Griffonia will remain!” Paulie ventured further into the cave. Gilda just stared at him. “Griffonia? Really?” she snarked. Paulie just shook his head. “Come, my dear. We have much to discuss about that blue bandit!” Meanwhile, morning had arrived in Ponyville as well. Royal was up bright and early to watch the sunrise. He had not forgotten the events of the previous night. He reached over to grab something when he felt the presence of another next to him. Scootaloo, as it turned out, had joined him in sleeping on the sofa. Royal decided it would be best not to disturb the young sleeper, so he made sure to step lightly as he made his way over to grab a leftover muffin from the new batch Pinkie had brought him just a few days prior. However, on the way back to the sofa, he tripped over Scootaloo’s scooter and made a loud crashing noise. Predictably, this woke her up. She looked around before gasping at the sight of her guardian sprawled out on the ground. “Royal? Oh no! I’m so sorry! I didn’t want it to sit out in the rain so I brought it inside!” He resumed his position on the sofa as she was talking. “It’s okay, Scoot. You can do whatever you want as far as I’m concerned. You saved my life last night.” The pink-maned filly shook her head again. “Royal, it was Rainbow Dash, remember?” “Don’t be so modest, kid. I wouldn’t be here talking with you right now if you hadn’t come out and distracted those griffons.” Scootaloo thought for a moment. She leaned up against him, her eyes filling up with tears as she realized how awful the morning could have been. She couldn’t bear to lose someone else so soon after the accident. “What I said out there…I was just making stuff up to distract them from hurting you. I can’t fly. I’ve never been able to fly. All I ever wanted was to be like Rainbow Dash. She’s the coolest pony I’ve ever seen. I’m surprised she talks to a loser like me.” Royal held her close. “I’m not special, and I’m pretty sure the only reason Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle like me is because we’re all blank flanks.” Royal just continued to hold her. She was depressed. Finally, Royal decided he couldn’t take it anymore. “Scootaloo, stop it! This negativity has no place in my home!” She looked up at him. “Why do you always sell yourself short? What you did last night; that took guts, kid. That took the confidence of ten Rainbow Dashes! And you did it! I never could have done that at your age.” "You mean that?" He nodded. "Oh yeah. You're more like Rainbow than you realize, kid. I've only known you a short time, but I've seen the way you interact with your friends, and how you carry yourself. Even if you were just making that stuff up last night, standing up to a bunch of griffons that could have torn me to shreds, that was amazing. Sure, Rainbow helped out, but you’re the one who protected me." He hugged her again. "Sky's the limit, Scootaloo. Think about it. You get to tell all your friends at school about how you saved my life. And no matter what anypony says, you'll always be special to me. Don't you ever forget that." Scootaloo hugged him back. Both of them had tears in their eyes now. They sat in that position for a few minutes, then Royal looked out the window and noticed the sky had grown a bit brighter. “Hey kid, as long as we’re up let’s watch the sunrise. I haven't done that in a while.” Scootaloo snuggled up next to him as they watched the sun come up over the horizon. "Do you really think I can do anything?" "Anything you want. There's no such thing as impossible. And I will always be rooting for you." Scootaloo hugged him as the pair drifted back to sleep. They had survived a vicious ordeal together, and now it was time for some well-deserved rest.