I broke the surprise kiss I had laid onto Raven’s lips. The look in his eyes told me that he enjoyed what I had given to him. We both knew that we had work to do. He turned and walked away and I walked through another entrance to the courtyard. I was nervous about what I had to do. I felt like a lot was weighing on my shoulders, but Raven had assured me that, thanks to the balcony, it wouldn’t be too hard at all. Still though.
I put my hood up and walked in a circle around the castle. Raven said that there was a series of waterways just on the other side. Not many ponies ever went there, with the exception of fisher ponies. Nopony ever went for a swim there because of the looming waterfall. He told me that would be the easiest way to get into Blade’s room. The balcony overlooked the long mountain range the river ran through.
All of the fishers had left by this time. This part of Canterlot was made mostly of wood. It was very similar to a boardwalk, but much less friendly to families. The drop down into the water was quite the steep one. Railing lined all of the edges and and a bridge that led to a bazaar that fish were sold at.
I flew to the top of one of the many shacks that bordered the walkway. I could see the balcony from where I was standing even though the lack of light took its toll on my vision. I started to run toward the castle. I had to fly across the garden in order to get to the first rooftop. I could use the trees to cover my flight.
I set my plan in motion and leaped off the roof. I flew with expert skill that I had picked up from watching Rainbow Dash when I was just a little filly. I eventually learned to mimic most of the things she could do. What I was doing didn’t really need fancy flying though. I flew close to many of the trees, through a few of them. Eventually I made it to the first rooftop within the Castle’s limits. It was a carriage house. The roof tops were close together now, but I had to be more careful. There were an extreme amount of guards in this place. My hood at least cloaked me a bit.
I was running softly thanks to my wings that I flapped lightly. Light enough to make my hooves feather weight, but not enough to take me off the ground. I saw a glow in one of the narrow passages between the buildings and slowed to a stop. I peeked over the edge to see two guard ponies. It would seem that the two used this place as somewhat of a romantic area to spend quality time with each other. I had to keep myself from laughing as I heard the sounds of their lips smacking.
Even though it was ironic to see these two guards being not so up tight, it still caused a problem for me. Their lantern lit a large part up and it was risky to just jump right over them. I looked around on the roof and found a large stone. I figured that I could probably create a distraction if these two were any good at their jobs at all. I picked it and and gave it a hard throw at one of the other buildings. I loud thud was produced as it slammed against the stone wall.
“Wait, what was that?” Said one of the ponies, releasing the grip he had on his partner.
“I heard it too. I hope it’s not another guard. The Princess will be pissed if she finds out about this. We better go check it out.” The two of them instantly went back into serious guard mode and run towards the noise, taking their lantern with them. I didn’t tarry; I leapt up onto the next rooftop. I was extremely close to the balcony.
The glow of the moon, mixed with the faint light of the city on the other side of the castle guided me. I took a leap off of the final roof and flew as fast as I could toward the balcony. I landed and rushed inside, while trying not to make any noise. I hoped that nopony had seen me.
There was very little light, but using that produced by the moon I examined the room as best I could. There were many bookshelves that lined the wall. A rack of swords hung on another wall, a desk was just next to it. Blade’s bed sat under a large window with its back to the east. The sun would rise I wake him up early. A nice substitute to alarm clocks I, had to admit.
I had no idea where he would hide his stash, but I didn’t think it would be too hard to find. After all, it’s not like many ponies were inclined to search his room. He was held too high for that kind of nonsense.
I started searching around his room. I looked under his bed, and into all the boxes under it. While I didn’t find any drugs, I did find a pipe which I stuck under my wing. The next place I looked was in the drawers of his desk. Nothing there, only old papers. His swords glinted off the moonlight. I had never actually held a sword in my life, so I was naturally curious. I knew that he couldn’t get mad at me for touching them because he wasn’t here. I pulled one of them off of the rack and swung it around a bit. As I was putting it back I noticed a hole behind it. I stuck my hoof in and felt a plastic baggy. Jack pot.
Suddenly, the door to the room opened. “What do you think you’re doing in here!? Breaking into the castle is punishable by death. Either you come with me and live a little bit longer, or you resist and I kill you now.” A unicorn stood at the doorway, just feet away from me with his sword drawn. I made a dash toward the balcony door, but he was closer. He beat me there and blocked the exit.
He slashed his sword in my direction, which I dodged by inches. I ran out the door he had come through and he chased after me. He fired magic missiles, which flew past my head. One came close enough to burn my ear slightly. I cringed in pain as the intense heat lingered on my flesh. I continued through the corridor despite my newfound pain. Another missile flew past me and smashed into one a window, breaking it. I took this chance to escape. I ran and jumped out of the window.
What I didn’t realize is that a shard of glass still remained standing in the window. It scraped across my underbelly and created a large wound. The pain that I felt in my ear now felt like nothing more than a mosquito bite. I nearly fell to my death, but I tried not to let the pain get the best of me. I flew up and onto the roof of the castle. The unicorn guard came rushing to the window and looked out. I think he assumed I had flown off already, but in all reality I was just meters away from him.
I took my cape off and wrapped it around myself. I flew up, fighting the pain that urged me to stay where I was. I had to get back to the inn. There I would be safe. I flew as fast as I could through the pain. Eventually I made it back. I ran up the stairs before anypony could see the cut, or the drugs I still carried.
I closed the door to the room behind me. I didn’t have any other way to bandage myself other than my cape. I remembered the bottle of wine that Raven had bought last night. He and I shared a glass, before we put the cherry atop our wonderful night. I took the bottle out of the ice tray and opened it. I chugged it down as fast as I could, which wasn’t fast enough. Eventually I felt the pain start to dull. I passed out onto the bed, dizzy from blood loss and intoxication.
I don’t know how long after I had past out that I woke up, but I woke up to see Raven’s face. His beautiful grey face with the fiery mane. Damn was he hot. “Hey, cool. There was a little bit of a hitch at the castle, but I got the stuff. Now give me a kiss!”
I leaned forward to kiss him, but was stopped by a sudden pain on my belly. I had completely forgotten about the cut. I fell back onto the bed and passed out again.
I woke up back in the hotel, only now I had proper bandages. My sobriety had returned and sunlight shone from the window. Raven sat on a chair next to my bed. His hair was a mess and he had heavy bags under his eyes. Not only bags, but his eyes were a tint of red, and watery.
I spoke in a slow voice, “Raven?”
He looked up at me quickly. His eyes brightened and he wrapped his lips around my own. “Scootaloo, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know that you would get hurt! I should have never let you go by yourself!”
Tears streamed from his eyes. I didn’t know what else to do, so I kissed him. I kissed him with as much passion as my heart held. I didn’t want him to feel bad about me getting hurt. I knew the risks when I decided to go along with him. “Raven, don’t be sorry. This isn’t your fault,” He just stared at me with wet eyes. “I love you. Don’t hold it against yourself. It’s nopony’s fault.”
He gave me a small smile and kissed me. “Good,” I said with a smile. “Now come on in bed. You must be exhausted.”
He walked around where I was laying and fell into the bed with me. “We are going to meet Blade tomorrow. I showed him the ring and he seems more than interested, but I don’t want to think about tomorrow. I’m too tired.” He wrapped his hooves around me. “I love you, Scoots. I’m never going to let you get hurt again.”
-Raven knew the best way to protect Scootaloo, but he felt too in love to leave her now.