//------------------------------// // Ch 3.14 Introduction to Viral Memes // Story: Our Girl Scootaloo 3 of 3 // by Cozy Mark IV //------------------------------// Our Girl Scootaloo Part 3 of 3 by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release Chapter Three point Fourteen: Introduction to Viral Memes That night, after dinner Twilight had already polished off a history text and biology magazine in her room when she came across the plain and unlabeled printed pages. By the end of the first page she knew exactly what she was reading, but though she was blushing scarlet, she just couldn't put it down. She made it quite a way into the story before she hit a section so unpleasant she threw the text into the wall with a bang. As she sat on her bed trying to make sense of what she had just read she heard Pinkie Pie's door slam in the next room over. A lot of muffled conversation followed, but it was the title of what she had just read, repeated several times that made her creep to the wall and listen to what was being said. “Are you sure this is okay Pinkie?" Rainbow asked, "That story was... upsetting.” “Oh, the prank isn't the story silly.” “It's not?” “No. You see, Twilight was so embarrassed by that weird game it gave me the idea to slip her the story. If she doesn't read it, no harm done, but if she does, then we get to freak her out tomorrow!” “Freak her out?” “Yeah! See I got us this tube of pink cupcake icing and this big vine of a potted plant. Twilight always sleeps late in the mornings, so we're going to sneak in there and lay on the floor like we fell asleep there last night.” There was a moments silence before Rainbow chortled. “Oh my God, she is going to lose her damn mind! This is too perfect! You don't think this is too harsh though?” “If it was too harsh, she won't have read the story, and she'll just wonder why we didn't sleep in our own rooms. Besides, how long do you really think you can keep from laughing once she wakes up?” The conversation ran on a while longer as Twilight blushed even redder than before. 'It is kind of funny.' She grudgingly admitted to herself. 'They are going to be so disappointed that I figured it out ahead of time... unless...' She went back to bed and polished off a book on computer software while she waited for everyone else to fall asleep. Finally at midnight she quietly opened the door to her room and went in search of a particular agent. “Agent Glover? I need to ask you for help on something.” “Of course. What's wrong?” “Well, nothing is wrong, but I need your help to deal with a couple of pranksters.” Twilight explained her plan, and watched with amusement as the agent initially blushed, but then understood and had to put her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing. “So, do you think you can help me?” “Oh, I guarantee it. I can set up your room just like you asked. I won't wake you if I come in around 3AM will I?” Twilight grinned broadly. “Don't worry about it, just try to get a picture of those two clowns in the morning if you can.” … Rainbow and Pinkie both woke early that morning as the sun streamed in through the curtains, and with barely stifled laughter they got ready. Rainbow tangled herself up in the potted vine while Pinkie smeared icing all over herself, and then giggling and shushing each other, they made their way to Twilight's room and slipped inside. They made it precisely three steps in before Pinkie stopped cold and Rainbow ran into her. “Hey, what's the problem?” She whispered. Then she looked up. Pinkie's eyes had gone as big as saucers and it wasn't hard to see why. The floor was strewn with pony sized handcuffs, ropes, and sex toys of so many and varied types that Rainbow couldn't even identify the purpose of some. Pinkie's attention was fixated on the foot of the bed where at either end a massive nylon collar was dangling by a thick chain. Both collars were padlocked to the bed, both had a lock on them just waiting to be closed, and while one collar was blue, the other was bright pink. Twilight was still fast asleep on the bed, and as she turned in her sleep, a riding crop fell to the carpeted floor with a soft slap. Outside the room, Agent Glover watched through the hand held recorder as the two ponies sprang from the room as though it were on fire and quickly (but very quietly) shut the door behind them. They're eyes were practically bugging out of their heads as they shared a worried look, then galloped off to their own rooms as fast as they could. With a smile, Agent Glover quietly entered Twilight's room and packed up the toys into a bag which she set in the corner. She left the recorded video on the table and shut the door quietly behind her before going to wake Celestia for her turn with the search party. ... The day had been warm and sunny, just like yesterday, and in the quiet of the woods Applejack could almost believe they were back in Equestria. Almost. Last night had been a hard one. They bedded down in the forest and tried to find a comfortable spot but without much success. It was warm enough they could sleep without blankets, but they hadn’t been asleep long when Fluttershy woke with a shriek of terror. The nightmares had kept her awake most of the night, and it was already early morning when Applejack had snuggled up next to her and finally gotten her calm enough to rest. They all woke hungry the next morning but even in the forest there wasn’t much to eat. Some of the plants turned out to be edible but only to the very hungry, and most of them were unbearably bitter or foul, the strange three leafed vine being the worst thing Applejack had every tried, ever surpassing her mishap with muffins and worms at Sugar Cube Corner. Much as they hated to admit it, they were relying heavily on the saddlebag full of grain and pellets Applejack had gotten from John. It was nothing special, but it filled their bellies and allowed them to keep moving. Several times during the day a noisy flying machine had roared overhead or hovered nearby, but after the first time they learned to hide whenever they heard them coming and as they put more distance between themselves and the farm, these encounters came less frequently. Tom was still following along with Fluttershy’s gentle encouragement and he seemed happy enough, but as Applejack got to know the calf better she found his presence more unsettling. Back home they were both friends with a few of the cows of Ponyville, and since meeting Fluttershy, Applejack had gotten to know her fair share of forest creatures but Tom was… different. The issue had come up when Tom had gotten ‘stuck’ at the top of a modest hill with one sheer side. The hill was nothing special, about eight feet high at the center, and making up one third of a circle, so away from the center, the hill tapered gently down to ground level, and the only place not easily crossed was the short shear distance where the hills top dropped vertically to the ground. Tom had wandered up this hill and when Fluttershy and Applejack came into view on the far side he hadn’t been able to get down. Fluttershy had talked and gestured and mimed the message of ‘go around’ but the little calf just couldn’t figure it out. Eventually, Fluttershy had to walk around the hill and lead Tom back down. It was a few hours later as evening fell and they stopped to eat that Applejack brought it up. “Fluttershy, I’ve known a few cows in my day but does Tom seem… slow to you?” Fluttershy looked defensive. “The poor thing can’t help it, he’s very young and he hasn’t had any education.” Applejack pulled off her saddlebag and set it on the ground between them. Reaching into the main pocket Fluttershy pulled out a hoofful of grains and pellets to munch on. “I’m not bein' mean to the little guy, I’m just asking… Have yah ever seen anypony as slow as him? I’d wager even the parasprites are smarter than he is and they’re just bugs.” Fluttershy looked uneasy. “I… I don’t know.” Applejack frowned. “See, that farmer was…” she shuddered “He was breeding the cows like I breed apple trees. Now when you take two big apple trees and breed them together you get an even bigger apple tree, but if you take two small apple trees and breed them together…” “You get a smaller tree? But what does that have to do with Tom?” Applejack looked worried as she continued. “Fluttershy, how long do you reckon Tom could make it on his own?” She looked at the calf. “Well, probably not long” She lowered her voice. “He really isn’t bright enough to take care of himself.” As she continued to look at Tom comprehension dawned. “Wait… are you saying you think…” A look of horror gradually crept across her face. “You think they… they did this to him?” “I was hoping it was just my imagination, but” Applejack closed her eyes and shuddered at the memory “but you saw what John did to that poor cow. And from what you told me last night, it sounds like all the cows were like Tom. I think that monster did this to them on purpose.” Fluttershy looked at Tom with a mix of pity and horror. “You… You think he’s been,” she swallowed hard, “breeding the cows to be stupid?!” “I don’t see no other way to explain it. You remember Twilight tellin' us how King Sombra used chains to enslave his subjects. How much more convenient would it be to destroy their minds so they didn’t even realize they were slaves?” Fluttershy brought a hoof up to her muzzle. “But that’s monstrous! Each mother would have to watch as their children grew up to be slower and slower…” “Until they were too far gone to care.” Applejack finished, her eyes squeezed shut against the pain. “Until all the smart ones were gone, and only poor creatures like Tom were left, mindlessly grazing in the fields while their children were turned into…” “No! No, it can’t be true!” Tears were forming in her eyes as she tried to find another explanation. “No pony could do something that cruel!” Applejack slumped to the ground as the full weight of it hit her. “But I think they did. I think these humans didn’t just kill those calves you saw, I think they crippled them all. Crippled them so they couldn’t run, so they couldn’t fight back…” From across the clearing Tom regarded them with an expressionless blank stare as he munched on bushes. ... It began slowly the next day. As Rarity left her room and walked to the elevator she noticed one of the agents seemed... different. He was the same huge man who had been guarding the floor all night and he still looked just as severe this morning as he had last night, but... she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. He gave her a curt nod and it was only after the doors to the elevator shut that she figured it out. There had been tears running from under his sunglasses. She sat down to the delicious breakfast that had been set out for them still wondering what she should say when one of the guests several tables over inexplicably broke down sobbing into her hands. Rarity trotted over to ask if there was anything she could do, but before she got there, a man in a business suit on the opposite side of the room started sobbing and practically ran for the restroom. Looking bewildered, Rarity continued to the woman and put a hoof on her leg. “I'm sorry, is there anything I can do?” The woman sniffed. “It's okay, I just- ” but she stopped cold when she saw who she was talking to. Her lower lip quivered and she got quickly to her feet and left, leaving her plate and purse behind. Agent Glover emerged from the elevator just as the woman blew past her. She regarded her with a raised eyebrow for a moment before joining Rarity at the table for own her dinner after a long nights work. “Did you sleep well, Miss Rarity?” “Oh, very well, yes.” She replied distractedly. “Do you happen to know that woman? She just broke down in tears for no reason...” “Never seen her before.” Glover responded. “It is unusual to see that, but it isn't unheard of. She may have just lost a friend, or maybe-” A waiter half way across the room suddenly began bawling and dropped his tray with a tremendous crash. The customer he had dumped a plate of food on leapt to her feet, raging at him and nearly jumping up and down as she gestured and pointed to her new dress. Without a word, the waiter put a hand on her shoulder, and she seemed to become distracted, staring off into space. Moments later tears formed in her eyes, and in moments she was sobbing too and crying into the waiter's shoulder. Rarity and Agent Glover exchanged shocked looks. “Or maybe something is going on that I need to know about. Wait here.” She walked over to the pair and introduced herself. The waiter looked up with red eyes and made a few half-hearted gestures. Agent Glover looked severely at him and he closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate. The Agent stood still for a moment as if scrutinizing something invisible to the rest of them, then walked back and took her seat next to Rarity. “What in the world was wrong?” Rarity asked in concern. “Apparently there's some sappy new video making the rounds on the net. They all have implants like Scoot and I, and they made the mistake of watching the video when friends forwarded it to them.” “Oh.” Rarity thought this over. “What kind of video?” “I didn't watch it yet, I was going to wait until after dinner, but... Oh, why not.” She seemed to concentrate and her face took on that faraway look she got when she was watching something internally. Within moments her sightless eyes were filling with tears. “Oh, my God!” Her expression of sadness gradually changed to horror as she fought down a sob. “Why? Why would someone do that?!” Rarity was starting to get seriously alarmed by now. She grabbed the agent by the shoulder and shook her. “What? What in the world is the matter?!” Agent Glover's eyes focused and she came back to the present. “It's... Someone took that video of Fluttershy and...” Rarity put a hoof over her mouth. “Oh, no! I... I still haven't watched that... Agent Tyler said it was just too...” Agent Glover wiped her eyes on her sleeve and pulled her tablet computer from her bag. “I think it's time you did.” She set the tablet up for Rarity to see and played the video. As 'Concrete Angel' played though the speakers, the video came to life showing Fluttershy struggling to pull a calf from his tiny, filthy cage. Through the wind and the rain She stands hard as a stone In a world that she can't rise above The calf struggled to stand, but couldn't and collapsed back into the filth on the floor. Fluttershy tried again and again to help, and her yellow coat was soon stained brown as she desperately tried to help the little calf walk to freedom. But her dreams give her wings And she flies to a place where she's loved Concrete angel The calf's knees were bleeding and he collapsed again. Fluttershy was filthy by now, and as she tried to force a smile and encourage him one more time the little calf looked steadily into Fluttershy's face and nuzzled her. Somebody cries in the middle of the night The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights The scene repeated over and over as Fluttershy went from cage to cage, trying to find someone, anyone, who she could help escape. Not one could stand, but some could crawl, and soon she was surrounded by a group of calves who all tried to snuggle up to the closest thing to a mother they could remember. Bearing the burden of a secret storm Sometimes she wishes she was never born Fluttershy had her hooves wrapped around a calf and was crying hysterically as several others crawled over to be close to her. A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate When morning comes it'll be too late The video cut to the slaughter the night before, and Fluttershy, all alone in the rafters shaking in terror. A statue stands in a shaded place An angel girl with an upturned face A name is written on a polished rock A broken heart that the world forgot The image abruptly cut to a steakhouse menu landing on a table, the page open to the veal selection. Through the wind and the rain She stands hard as a stone In a world that she can't rise above The video showed Tom and Fluttershy, both covered in filth as they stood in the open doorway before the dozens of helpless calves who couldn't walk even that far. Fluttershy's face bore a tortured look as she stared at them one last time and the music faded as she whispered what she knew to be a lie: “Goodbye little ones, you'll be with your mothers soon.” But her dreams give her wings And she flies to a place where she's loved Concrete angel She turned her back on them and left with Tom. The video faded to black while tears and mascara streamed down Rarity's face as she choked out an anguished cry; “Fluttershy!” Pony and Agent held each other and cried as the file continued to spread among the hotel guests. At length the two of them retired to the bathroom to clean up and try to collect themselves. A few minutes later, a freshly washed Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash emerged from the elevator and made their way to the table where they dug into breakfast. Mid way through a third helping of fruit salad Rainbow noticed the tablet with a video icon sitting on the edge of the table. “Hey what's this?” “I don't know, maybe they animated that awesome story I read last night!” Pinkie and Rainbow froze in mid bite and slowly turned their heads to see twilight looking at them with an unsettling grin. “Uh... Are you okay Twilight?” “Of course! Never better! In fact I learned a great deal from the books and papers I read last night. I was up really late studying.” They both started backing slowly away as she fixed her own plate and dug in. “Uh... what... what did you learn?” Pinkie asked uneasily. “Oh, more than you could imagine! For example, did you know how many things these are good for?” She asked still grinning as four bananas and two cucumbers suddenly leapt into the air and hovered in front of the pair. That was all it took; they both turned and galloped back to the elevator, nearly running over Rairity and Agent Glover on their way back from the rest room. Pinkie frantically pounded the elevator's 'close door' button until they disappeared from sight. Rarity was still sniffling as she sat back down to breakfast, then paused to look at all the hovering fruit. “What is all that for?” “They're nutritious and delicious!” Twilight responded as she chowed down on one of the bananas. “And high in potassium.” For no reason Rarity could understand, Agent Glover and Twilight both came down with a fit of giggling, only broken when Twilight stopped to ask what that video was really about. Agent Glover sobered up and was about to answer when Rarity calmly flipped the tablet over, face down. “Fluttershy is having a very hard time. Sometimes generosity is knowing when not to give someone something. You don't want to watch this.” She had expected an argument, and was preparing a good retort when she noticed Twilight looking up at all the hovering fruit. “Okay.” Startled, Rarity asked in consternation. “What? You don't want to see it?” “If you say I shouldn't see it then I trust you Rarity. I think I have finally learned that lesson.” She put the fruit down and discarded the empty peal. “By the way Agent Glover, you have got to show me what it is you did to my room last night. The way those two ran on the video I would have thought the room was on fire.” Rarity raised an eyebrow, and the Agent grinned. “Oh I'd be happy to, but you'll be busy today and I need to sleep. Maybe tonight.” She grinned again. “And if those two behave themselves perhaps we won't invite them.” They both began giggling again leaving Rarity to wonder.