//------------------------------// // My Little Guardian // Story: Requiem of Equestria // by TheBlox //------------------------------// Boulder by boulder, Scootaloo and Flake continued to dig up the debris blocking the entrance to the changeling hive with the help of the strength potion they had consumed. Even Mercy was trying to assist them, lifting the smaller rocks by his claws. Scootaloo couldn’t help but watch the small mammal with adoration as he made an effort to help out. “So, Daring Do,” Flake said to the pegasus while setting down a boulder, “Where exactly did you come across this bat?” “Huh?” Scootaloo’s ear twitched and she turned to him. “Oh. After I escaped the hive, I found him in the forest, and he seemed to follow me.” They turned to the bat and watched him lift a small rock out from the pit they were digging up. He dropped it aside, and flew back down into the hole to pick out more stones. “It’s cute how he’s trying so hard to help,” Flake admitted. “Sure is a smart little guy.” “Heh...” Scootaloo turned to Flake and smiled. “You have no idea. If it wasn’t for Mercy, I think I’d be lost... Or dead.” “What do you mean?” Flake’s ear twitched, and he glanced eye to eye with her curiously. Scootaloo lowered her head as she thought about it. Sighing through her nose, she looked out a window up at the deathly green clouds in the sky. “Mercy helped me when I was in need,” she explained in a gentle voice, and she turned to the bat digging up stones. “When I was hungry, he guided me to food... When I required shelter, he steered me to shelter... When I had to hide, he brought me to safety... When I needed to escape and run, he led me away from danger, and ensured I stayed on my hooves.” She turned back to Flake. “Mercy gave me what a true friend could ever give you.” Flake tilted his head. “And, what is that?” “He gave me love,” Scootaloo exclaimed. “He gave me the courage to move on, the wisdom to stay alive, and the strength to endure my tasks.” Flake’s eyes wandered as he put that to thought. It was a long moment of solemn silence. “Well... I suppose we should keep digging before the potion wears off,” he suggested. Scootaloo nodded and climbed back into the pit, which at this point was about eight feet beneath the floor. Flake followed behind, and using their enhanced strength, they continued lifting heavy boulders out of the hole. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ About an hour had past. Scootaloo and Flake kept digging deeper beneath the castle floor. Gripping stones by their hooves, they lifted them with the thrust of their wings by flying up and out of the pit. Progress was beginning to gradually slow down; they could tell the potion was beginning to wear off. “I hope you have more of those in the saddlebag,” Flake muttered as he lifted another heavy rock out of the pit. “I don’t think I do,” Scootaloo admitted regrettably. “We’d better be close to the bottom.” Flake exhaled through his nose and landed back in the bottom of the pit. “I don’t think we’re too far now.” Gripping a large stone, he lifted it and ascent back out of the hole with it. “Hhnn... I... Can’t—AH!” The rock slipped out of his grip, and it fell back down into the pit. Scootaloo was below, and she looked up just in time to see the boulder dropping toward her. Her eyes widened, and she swerved to the side; the boulder crashed back into the bottom of the hole. Flake and Scootaloo stared at the rock, and then exchanged glances as echoes of the loud crash emanated skyward. “You almost crushed me!” Scootaloo yelled, frowning at the changeling overhead. “Uh... Sorry?” Flake sighed. “I think the potion just wore off... I suddenly couldn’t lift it any longer.” They then heard a sound that made them fold their ears back in terror—a sound familiar to Flake. The echo of a loud birdlike screech. “The hell was that?” Scootaloo raised a brow. Flake’s eyes widened and he ascent back up out of the hole to look. “Oh please, Queen, no.” Turning his neck to see where the sound came from, he saw it out the window, coming straight for him. “She found us!” he yelled, and flew away from the creature chasing him. “Flake?!” Scootaloo flew up after him, and a blur of flames ripped overhead past the surface opening of the pit in Flake’s direction, which startled her back down into the hole with wide eyes. Then from above she heard a loud crash, and the room shook aggressively. Instinctively, she flew back out of the hole, concerned for the changeling. Off in the corner of the room, she witnessed the winged creature. It was twice as large as herself, and completely consumed by fire. Flake was pinned to the floor on his back, trembling and shielding his eyes with his hooves. Scootaloo’s eyes widened at the sight of the monster—she had never seen anything like it. She has heard stories of these creatures before, how they can grow to such immense sizes over time, and how they are born again from their ashes after death. “A phoenix...?” she murmured to herself in awe, “A phoenix is the feared Canterlot monster...?” She could see that the phoenix was building up a flaming attack, and it was preparing to strike Flake with it. Instincts told her that she had to stop it; she had to save Flake... After a hesitation and a deep breath, she built up her courage, and stepped forward. “STOOOP!!” she yelled at the monster in a loud and hoarse shriek. The phoenix froze, and slowly it turned around to face her. Its glowing golden eyes made contact with hers, and it frowned fiercely at her. Flake uncovered his eyes, and sat up on his flank to watch. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped at the sight—the pony was standing up to it. “Don’t you dare hurt my friend!!” Scootaloo yelled furiously at the burning monster. It stood up with its wings spread out in a threatening stature. Though she was afraid, she didn’t show it. She stood taller, pointing at herself. “My name is Daring Do! I was sent here in the name of the Equestrian King!” Stomping her hoof back into the ground while leaning closer, she snarled at the phoenix. “I have a destiny to fulfill! And you are in my way!” The phoenix just screeched in response, and flapping its wings, it ascent above her. Standing on the ground defensively, Scootaloo waited for the phoenix to make the first move. From the mouth of the fierce monster, a ball of fire began to expand and ripple. “Come on!!” Scootaloo daringly taunted the creature. After an angry shriek, the bird launched the fireball straight for the pegasus like a torpedo. Scootaloo braced herself, and dove to the side with the help of her wings. The assault struck where she previously stood, creating an explosion of rubble and smoke. The phoenix frowned and flew after her through the room. Scootaloo made her way to an open window, and the phoenix launched another projectile at her. She felt the heat of the blazing missile as it missed and zipped past her, and it crashed into the window frame, creating another loud explosion of stone. The vibrant detonation threw her off course, and she swerved to the side to dodge oncoming airborne debris. “No no no—AH!!” Struck out of the air by a stone projectile from the blast, she dropped back onto the tile floor, collapsing hard with a thud. She rolled a few meters across the ground, and stopped limp on her side. “Daring Do!” Flake stood up and galloped after her, and the phoenix turned to face him again. When it made eye contact with him, he stopped and froze, frightfully backing away from it. “No!” Scootaloo winced and weakly pushed herself up from the floor. The phoenix turned back to the struggling pegasus. “Your fight... is with me,” she breathed, and bravely made it back to her hooves with a slight limp. “Daring, it’s not worth it!” Flake called out to her. “C’mon, let’s get out of here!” She didn’t respond, and stood her ground. The phoenix began charging up another attack from its beak, and Scootaloo spread her wings and ascent a few meters into the air until she was level with the blazing bird. “If the King himself told me I have a destiny... Then I cannot fail,” she exclaimed with pride. Lifting her front hooves, she raised her voice. “C’mon! I’m not afraid of you!” Shrieking angrily, the phoenix launched its flaring bullet at her. With little time to react, she gasped and dodged the attack. The ball of flames zipped past her again, detonating against a pillar and breaking it into rubble. A large cylinder chunk of the support pillar of stone crumbled away, and tipped over, crashing to the tile floor with a loud crackling thump that rattled the room. Scootaloo and Flake watched the pillar as it slowly rolled toward the pit where they had been digging up. “Ah!!” Scootaloo flew toward the rolling pillar to stop it, and the phoenix simply blocked her off. She tried swerving around it, but it kept blocking her way, and with a quick swipe with its wing, it swat her out of the air. Flipping back, she collapsed on the ground and rolled to a stop. Winded, she coughed and sat back up, noticing that the giant heavy cylinder was closing in on their dug up hole. “Flake!! Stop that pillar! Don’t let it bury what we started!” Flake panicked himself and flew toward the rolling pillar chunk. Pushing hard on the rolling marble stone, he tried to slow it down. “Uuugh! It’s... it’s too heavy!” It continued to roll, and it didn’t seem to decelerate. “Keep trying!” After a short stare down at the pegasus, the phoenix turned its glare at the changeling. “Hey!” Scootaloo growled. “Your fight is with me! Leave him al—HEY!!” The phoenix ignored her and flew toward Flake. At the corner of his eye, Flake saw the phoenix coming, and in a panic he swerved off to the side. “Oh NO!” In his attempt to fly away, the phoenix launched a fireball at him. Scootaloo watched as the burning projectile struck him right out of the air, exploding on contact. “Flake!!” She watched him flip through the air in a puff of smoke, and he crashed to the ground, rolling across the tiles. Bumping against the wall, he coughed and remained still, lying on his side. He pushed himself back up and coughed a few more times. He had an obvious limp, but at least she could see that he was okay. She turned to look at the rolling pillar, and she felt a sinking feeling in her gut as she watched it reach their pit, and the massive marble cylinder fell down into the hole. Her ears fell to her sides when she heard the very loud crash in the bottom of the pit that shook the room. She and Flake exchanged glances, both knowing it was going to be impossible to dig that up—especially without another strength potion. After a brief moment in silence, the phoenix shrieked once more, and flew down toward Flake again. Flake’s eyes widened at the incoming bird, and he tried standing back up, but his weak legs wouldn’t allow it. His ragdoll limp made it impossible to get to his hooves. “HEEEY!!!” Scootaloo yelled furiously and lunged toward the phoenix. It briefly turned its glance to witness an angry pegasus. “I said your fight is with ME!!” The phoenix huffed a cloud of smoke from its beak, and it hissed an intimidating screech. Spreading out its wings, it turned its course to fly toward her. Now that she had the bird’s full attention, she took the opportunity to guide it away from the changeling. Swerving to the side, she flew out an open window, and the phoenix followed behind her. Soaring through the darkened sky, she turned her glance behind her to see that the phoenix was hot on her tail. She clenched her teeth in suspense and turned to look back ahead. Taking in a deep breath, she made a nose dive, heading toward another section of the castle. “C’mon! Let’s see you outfly this!” She aimed for a stain-glass window and braced herself for impact. Smashing through the glass, she found herself flying through a narrow hallway with red carpeted flooring and support pillars lined up along the sides. Flying through the castle halls to get away from the persistent monster, Scootaloo was struck out of the air by a flaming projectile. “AH!” Flailing through the air, she collapsed and rolled across the tile floor, and she crashed into a wall to her back, knocking the wind out of her. The phoenix kept coming, lighting up every corridor as it came closer, and Scootaloo trembled as she made the attempt so stand. From the phoenix’s beak, she could see it charging up another attack. With a loud and angry shriek, it launched its fireball at her. Her eyes widened as the incoming projectile came hurtling toward her. In a panic, she rolled to the side, and the attack struck the wall with an explosion. The forceful and hot wave of the blast pushed Scootaloo off her hooves, and she stumbled over, collapsing hard on the floor. The phoenix landed on the tiles with a crackling impact, and stood before Scootaloo with its wings spread out. Scootaloo gasped and tried standing, when the phoenix swatted her back with its right wing. She slid across the floor on her back, and her head collided with a stone pillar. The impact to her head caused an irate ringing tone to her ears, and her vision was suddenly blurred. She cringed in pain as she weakly and slowly rolled over to her left to get back onto her front. Placing her hoof upon her throbbing head, she tried pushing herself up again. The ringing noise in her ears and her vision slowly went back to normal, just in time for her to look up to see the phoenix standing over her. It was ready to strike its finishing assault on her. She was too weak to get back up or dodge the inevitable fate she was about to be dealt with. Staring into the golden eyes of the giant bird, her eyes filled up with tears. “This isn’t... my destiny,” she murmured in a sobbing voice, “I... I was sent by the king. This can’t be my destiny.” Too weak to stop the attack, she felt her body give up. She closed her eyes and lowered her head, shamefully weeping in defeat. Nearly ready to strike her down with its final attack, the phoenix arched its back to increase the firepower in its mouth. Before it struck her down, a screech echoed through the castle halls. Scootaloo’s ears perked to the familiar sound, and she lifted her head to look. Mercy, her tiny companion, was flying eye level with the gigantic phoenix. Screeching loudly, the bat spun around the air in circles, distracting the horrifying beast from the pony. Scootaloo’s mouth was hanging open—she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The phoenix stepped back, eyeing the puny mammal flying around its head. The downed pegasus could tell that the phoenix was trying to focus more on her than Mercy, but the bat continued to relentlessly screech and fly around the head of the monster like a pesky fly. Aggravation was building up in the phoenix, and it continued backing up across the tile floor, step by loud crackling step, attempting to swat Mercy out of the air with its wings of fire. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she watched Mercy face off against the phoenix, and she tried harder to stand up. As she pushed herself back to her hooves, a vibrant hiss emanated from the phoenix’s beak. Then in an instant, it fired its built up flaming energy point blank into Scootaloo’s airborne friend, and a blazing explosion erupted on impact with the mammal, followed by an agonizing screech. “Mercy!!!” Scootaloo’s shriek was loud and hoarse, and instant tears began to form in her eyes. She suddenly felt an impossible inner strength build up in her legs, and she jumped back up onto her hooves. From the airborne explosion, she saw the bat fall in a puff of smoke, collapsing on the ground with a dusty and soft thud. “Noo!!” She made a dash for the downed bat, and the phoenix stepped closer toward her. She hit the brakes when the phoenix stepped in her way, but only briefly, and then she positioned on all fours for battle. Rage built inside of her, and her eyes furrowed as tears fell to the floor. “You!!” she screamed in sobs, and with a powerful thrust, she lifted off in the air flapping her wings. “AAAAAAH!!!” Without giving herself a moment to think, she lunged straight into the chest of the fiery beast. A vibrant thump emanated upon impact, and she felt the burn when she came in contact with the ablaze phoenix. She was too caught in her fury to care, and after she collided into the monster, she pushed off with a hard buck to the bottom of the large bird’s beak. It screeched painfully when her hoof met its beak; it made a few steps backwards, and then flapped its wings to ascend. “Come on!!” the airborne pegasus yelled furiously, raging tears spilling from her eyes. “I’m not afraid of you, you creep!” The phoenix shrieked at her, and dove after her. Frowning with immense anger, Scootaloo challenged the bird’s game of chicken and thrust herself toward it. The phoenix and pegasus flew closer and closer to each other, and just as they were about to collide into one another, Scootaloo braced herself without thinking clearly about what she was attempting, and she tensed her muscles before impact. From the collision, there was a loud crackle of a thud. Scootaloo felt the painful burns when she came in contact with the bird’s scorching body, and she fell and flipped back through the air in a trail of smoke. Collapsing to the ground, she rolled across the tile floor to a stop. She coughed a few times from being briefly winded and burnt, and pushed herself back up, growling. Looking up, she noticed that the phoenix was dizzied from the strike in the air. It occurred to her that the strength potion she drank must have still been in effect—if even a little—otherwise the large bird wouldn’t be flying the way it was after they crashed into each other, considering their body mass differences. It had a hard time flying straight, and it tilted and swerved a few times. Then after some drunken flapping, the phoenix fell to the floor in a crackle of rubble, and a cloud of dust rippled across the tile floor in a ring from its collapse. Scootaloo braced herself, feeling the vibration of the castle halls rumbling after the phoenix’s crash. The ground shook immensely, and her eyes were widened from shock. The raging beast weakly stood up from its crater it put in the floor, screeching horrendously in anger. Scootaloo’s eyes widened from all the commotion, and the rumbling began to increase as pillars started to collapse. From the bird’s crater, a crack split across the floor in multiple directions, and trailed up the walls and spread through the ceiling. Then from the ceiling, massive chunks of rubble began to cave in. The pegasus was in a panic, stumbling at her hooves where she stood. She spun around as pieces of rock fell from above, and she looked down upon her small friend not too far from her. She heard the phoenix shriek once more, and she turned to glance at the beast, and witnessed a giant piece of stone fall from directly above it. The phoenix looked up at its impending fate, and Scootaloo watched as it spread its wings in the attempt to fly away. Before it could move even an inch, the massive rock crashed down upon the bird, and a loud painful screech echoed through the hall; the bird burst into ashes as it was crushed, and a wave of its charred remains spread across the floor in flakes of dust. Scootaloo panicked and turned back to the downed bat, and she made a dash for him. “I’m coming, Mercy!” she cried as she dodged boulders, shards of stain-glass, tipping pillars and other falling debris from the rumbling hall that was collapsing down on her. Diving through the air, she flew in his direction. She swooped down over him, and with open arms she picked him up off the ground. Holding him close, she made her way to an open window, and flew out into a clearing. Ascending away from the collapsing ruins behind her, she spun around to watch as that part of the castle crumbled into a pile of rubble with rising dust and ashes. Eyes still damp from tears, she looked down upon her friend in her arms. He was breathing, but very slowly and weak. His body was burnt very badly; his left wing had been scorched through, and his right ear was singed off. “Ohh, nooo...” Scootaloo’s lips trembled, and she hiccuped a silent cry. “Pleeease... Mercy, nooo...” Her eyes then widened and wandered. “The potions,” she exclaimed to herself. Without wasting time, she quickly flew back to the ceremonial room where she and Flake had been digging—she remembered her saddlebag was in there. Flying through one of the open windows in the ceremonial room, she spun around in search for the leather bag. She then spotted it sitting on the floor. In a hurry, she flew down to the saddlebag, and while gently holding the bat in one arm, she dumped her saddlebag of supplies onto the floor. The glass vials of potions tumbled across the tiles in a pile, and she began digging through them desperately for something—anything—that could save the bat’s life. “Come on, come on!” she whimpered, finding nothing that would be useful for his condition. Then after a prolonged search for a potion, she heard Mercy squeak in her arm, ever so quietly. Her eyes widened in tears, and she stopped to look into his eyes. “Mercy, you’re going to be fine,” she cried and sniffled. “You can’t go now, I need you. Way too much.” Her ears then perked to the silent sound of hoofsteps approaching her. Quickly turning to her left, she saw Flake limping up to her. He had the expression of concern in his eyes, and his ears were folded back. He saw the look on Scootaloo’s face, and decided it was probably better to stop where he was; he stood watch from the short distance. Scootaloo turned her glance back down to Mercy in her arm. He was suffering... but even so, he was smiling. The silent weeping pegasus watched him slowly fade. His breathing slowed down each passing moment; his pupils progressively dilated... Then, nothing. Everything stopped. “Mercy...?” More tears trickled down her cheeks, and she looked into Mercy’s cold, empty eyes. He wasn’t moving, he wasn’t breathing... He was dead. Scootaloo bit her lip and a silent weep escaped her throat. Tears kept coming from her eyes, and the changeling stood aside, watching. Scootaloo sat down on her flank, whimpering her sobs as she cradled Mercy in her arms. “I... um...” Flake murmured, trying not to make the pegasus even more upset than she already was. “We should keep moving.” Scootaloo cringed in response, and she looked at him, frowning. “Excuse me?” she questioned him quietly with a faint growl in her voice. “Wh—” Flake scratched his head, uncertain how he would have said something wrong. “B... before the phoenix reforms herself from her ashes—” “There is always time to pay your respects!” the pegasus interrupted the guilt-tripped changeling. Flake’s eyes wandered in response. He looked to the floor, trying to figure out why this was important. His ears curved back, and he looked up into Scootaloo’s eyes. “I-I don’t... understand.” “How?” Scootaloo whimpered. “How can you not understand?” She looked down into the bat’s dead eyes in her arms, and with a gentle hoof, she closed his eyelids for him. “When somepony dies, you don’t just... you don’t...” she wept and turned her glance back to Flake. “You don’t just... neglect them.” “I...” Keeping Mercy in one arm, she pointed her other hoof off in the direction where they had come from. “What about the bones, huh?” she cried. “The river? You saw your own kind over there!” Frowning, she wrapped the bat up in both arms and glared at the changeling. “Tell me you felt something.” Her eyes squinted. “Or do you feel nothing?” Flake wasn’t sure what to say to that. He looked down at his olive green hooves, putting her words deep into thought. He cringed, and a tear rolled down his cheek. “Yes... I feel,” he exclaimed. “I just... I...” “You what then?” His ears twitched, and he looked back up into her eyes. “When a changeling dies... We don’t know what to do.” He shrugged. “I’ve never known what we’ve done with the bodies of the deceased. But... what do you do when somepony dies?” His head tilted. “How do you respect somepony... who is dead?” Scootaloo stood up, holding onto Mercy in one arm, and she trotted toward the doors. “You bury them,” she replied solemnly. “Respectfully. Honourably.” She pushed herself through the doors and exit the ceremonial room. “Properly.” She turned her neck to look back at the changeling, and she squinted her damp eyes. “And then you pray,” she exclaimed. “Though they are dead, they still hear us. Somewhere out there beyond our world, they’re still present, and they want us to remember them as they were. And the right thing to do, is to let them know... that they shall be remembered, exactly as they should be remembered.” “But, if they’re dead... why do we bury them?” he questioned her. The pegasus exhaled through her nostrils and shook her head. “The deceased deserve a proper burial where they shall not be disturbed. A place where they can rest in peace. You said it yourself, how they were treating the dead changelings was wrong. Dumping them in the river like they were garbage...” She winced at him. “So tell me. When you die, what do you want other changelings to think or do? You want to be buried and remembered? Or do you want to be dumped in a heap like you never mattered in the world?” Flake’s ears folded back at the thought. “I...” “Oh wait, you’re dead. So who cares, right?” she muttered cynically. Flake felt a nervous lump in his throat, which he had to swallow. After a quiet gulp, he opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t seem to respond to that. Scootaloo sighed and turned around, making her way out of the castle. “We bury them, because it is right. Because it is what they would want. And it is what they deserve.” The changeling felt a heavy weight in his heart as she stepped out of the room with the bat in tow. He lowered his head, and his eyes wandered. Thinking deeply about what she was saying, he felt himself tremble. And he felt himself cry. “Wait,” he suddenly said, and galloped after her. Scootaloo stopped trotting ahead and turned to him in question. He slowed down to a stop, and he slightly cowered as he made his request. “Is it okay... if...” He bit his lip. “...If I watch?” Scootaloo was a bit struck in awe by his question. It took her a moment, but she smiled and nodded. “I would like that,” she whispered. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Outside of the castle, they found a proper patch of soil in the shape of a circle surrounded by a stone path. Scootaloo gently placed Mercy down on the ground beside her to free up her hooves, and in the center of the circle of dirt, she used her hooves to dig a hole. Flake sat off to the side and watched. Once Scootaloo’s hole had been deep enough to her satisfaction, she turned to the bat beside her, and gently scooped him up in her arms. First holding him in a soft embrace close to her heart, she carefully and respectfully placed him down into the bottom of the hole. Looking down at him from over his grave, she sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hoof as tears kept dripping from her cheeks. After her final glance at her small friend, she began pushing the dug up soil back into the pit, burying him. After Mercy was properly buried, she sat on her flank, and bowed her head over his grave. Flake listened closely as he heard her whisper... “Mercy, thank you,” she murmured. “You’ve been more than a friend. You’ve been my guide, my hope, and my hero.” As she spoke, her voice kept wandering into stutters and whimpers. She sniffed and wiped her nose as she continued. “You’ve shown me love and helped me overcome self-doubt. And... You saved my life.” She grit her teeth and looked to the sky as more tears fell into the soil. “I’ll never forget you.” Sitting off to the side, Flake remained quiet. There was absolute silence for well over a minute. It was a long moment for him to think—to feel. Standing to his hooves, he slowly trotted over to Scootaloo, and gently placed a hoof on her back. Her ears twitched, and she turned to look at him with her damp eyes, to see that he was crying himself. She tilted her head in question, and he put his hooves around her, and held her in a calming embrace. Her eyes widened from the surprise, uncertain how to take this sympathy from a changeling. “Thank you, Daring Do,” he whispered to her, “For showing this to me.” The pegasus felt her heart tremble, and she returned his gesture, hugging him back. “It’s Scootaloo,” she said. Flake raised a brow and pulled away from her to look into her eyes in question. “Scootaloo...?” “My name is Scootaloo,” she revealed. Confused, the changeling blinked a few times. “I’m sorry I kept my real name from you. I did it to protect myself and my friends.” She sighed. “Hope you understand.” The changeling smiled and nodded. “Of course.” He grinned through his damp eyes. “I think Scootaloo sounds much prettier anyway.” Scootaloo turned away and blushed. Then echoing through the sky, they heard the unpleasant screech of the phoenix. Their ears perked from the sound, and they released each other and both looked up, spinning around where they stood with caution. “She’s reformed herself,” Flake exclaimed and trotted in a hurry back to the castle. “We’d better go now, while we still have a chance.” He stopped to turn around, and saw that she was taking her time. “Scootaloo!” The pegasus was looking at him from Mercy’s grave. Turning her glance back to where she buried him, she calmly bowed once more. After her quiet moment, she stood back up, and took a few steps back. “Goodbye, my little guardian,” she whimpered, and turned to Flake, galloping to finish what they started. After she caught up to him, they ran together back into the castle. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Many thanks to these gentlecolts: Proofreading and Editing done by The Princess Luna and David Hasselhoof. Prereading and other Assistance by Morfonious.