Chapter 28
Every time she opened her eyes things were different. Sometimes it was dark, sometimes light. Sometimes there were others nearby, other times she was alone. She was always tired, and the warmth of the bed hurried her back to sleep every time.
One evening when the sun had no quite set Scootaloo awoke to see a fresh campfire. Two big hooded figures sat with their backs to her; she thought they were ponies at first, until one reached out for a long stick with his scaly yellow hand.
Instinctively she tried to stand up, and felt pins and needles in her hooves. Most of her body was covered in bandages, and even the muscles of her face were sore.
“Papa! Sec hath!”
Grace’s midsection and right front leg were bandaged, and on her right cheek a patch of wrinkled pink skin showed. Her eyes were bright and happy as she skipped around the fire and motioned at someone Scootaloo could not yet see.
Gina appeared at the cave’s entrance, dripping with sweat. She had her hood down, beaming with pride despite her exertion. And not without reason, as Morning Rain appeared a short ways behind. Between the two was a long pole on which a large black hog was hung. Its thick neck was rippling with fat, and stout yellow tusks protruded from its slack mouth.
“Hath asa tia,” Galina said, suddenly pulling Grace into her arms.
“You do this all the time?” Morning Rain huffed after setting the catch by the fire. “That’s crazy.”
“Not crazy,” Gina said defensively. “Eating grass is crazy! Grass is not for eating!”
“Maybe not for you,” Morning Rain said before submerging his head in a stone water trough.
Gina looked around the room. Her eyes widened with delight when she saw Scootaloo peeking above the blankets.
“Hey, Scootaloo is awake!” She announced.
The three children reached the bed at roughly the same time, all of them speaking at once.
“Do you know your name?”
“How many fingers am I holding up?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Can you stand up?”
“I’m fine,” Scootaloo said. “I… Is that water over there?”
Gina made a dash for the water trough, but her mother intercepted her halfway. Galina had a wooden cup in her right hand, and carried Gina on the same shoulder.
“Don’t run with water,” she said as she set her daughter down with the other children.
Scootaloo was lying in a kind of nest built into an alcove at the back of the cave. It was woven from an assortment of sticks, lined on the inside with many quilts and blankets, and big enough to comfortably accommodate a whole family.
Galina propped Scootaloo up and gave her water. Though she was not as thirsty as before memory of the mountain still haunted her. Looking into Galina’s kind eyes, all sorts of unpleasant thoughts and memories flooded her mind.
Scootaloo choked and coughed, her eyes filling with tears. The embarrassment made it worse. Galina pulled her close and motioned for the others to leave. Scootaloo sobbed into the griffin’s smoky feathers. She knew that she ought to say something, but there were no words in her racing mind.
The scent of spices and burning fat made her feel sick. Galina held her tighter as Scootaloo kicked blindly and tried to bash her nose into the side of the nest.
At last exhausted, Scootaloo lie limp in the griffin’s arms sobbing weakly.
“I want to go home,” she mumbled. “Please, let me go home.”
#
Early the next morning Rain helped Scootaloo out of the nest. A week had passed since she was rescued from Noctis, and the war was over. She was in a village called Panther Pass, where Gregor and his family lived.
The cave was quite high up. A steep rocky slope led down to the relatively level floor of the cirque, where there was a narrow path that wound around several massive boulders and ended at an old rope ladder on a sheer rock wall.
“That cave you were in is just past this ridge,” Morning Rain explained, pointing up the valley. “It took us almost a whole day to get there. It was Grace who first suspected that Noctis would be there, since it’s an easy glide down to one of the shipyards from that ridge. It’s a popular place for sylvanocians in general. The griffins around here know those caves too; there’s this kind of giant cricket in there that they eat. It’s totally disgusting.
“When Noctis filled Unity Hall with fog I crashed through one of the windows. When I woke up I was in a hospital, and Gari and all her brothers and sisters were there too. Princess Luna was with them; I’ve never seen her so worried. Dreamweaver drained all their alicorn magic, but they were okay for the most part. Gari told me to go to her old house and try to stay out of the way, but on my way there I ran into Rainbow Dash. She was beat up pretty bad. She tried to follow Noctis when she saw him carrying you away towards the east, but the Midnight Guard stopped her. She left to find Gari before I could say anything.
“I spent the night at Gari’s house. She had these suits of armor in the living room. In the morning I went back to Unity Hall, and I found Grace and Gina at the moat. I told them what happened, that you were missing, and all about Dreamweaver and Gari, and they told Gregor and Galina. We all went to see Gari together, and Gari said I could come to Panther Pass because it’s further from the coast. She was busy broadcasting stuff to the fleet, and I think she just wanted me out of her way. Before leaving town I took a suit of armor. I though she wouldn’t mind.”
Evidently she did mind, and Morning Rain would not soon forget. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself before going on.
“Galina told us to stay here while she and Gregor went to the coast to delay some of Noctis’ ships. Grace and Gina were showing me around the mountain when we saw a sylvanocian on the ridge. Grace scouted out the spot the day after. There were ponies up there for sure.
“Scootaloo, all the griffins around here are trained fighters, even the kids. They’re hunters most of the time, but they can be soldiers when they need to be. If it weren’t for them…”
Morning Rain sighed and looked down at his hooves.
“I’m sorry, Scootaloo,” he said, his voice becoming bitter. “For all of this; for everything from Ponyville to here. If I hadn’t been so... so impulsive, you would be safe in Ponyville right now.”
Scootaloo felt a shiver run down her spine, for in one brother’s voice she heard the ghost of another.
“Rain,” she said. “You weren’t really thinking straight when you came to me, I’ll give you that much. But I’m the one who decided to follow you. And you know what? It hasn’t been all bad. Sure, that last week was pretty rough, but we made some new friends and did some pretty cool things. We beat a timberwolf, swam for a whole day and went sailing. I got to fly; that’s something I couldn’t do in Ponyville, not in a hundred years.”
“But…” Suddenly Rain’s face was wet with tears. “You almost died, Scootaloo! And it’s… all… because…”
“No,” Scootaloo said, pulling the boy closer. “I don’t think it is. Anything could have happened. What if the sylvanocian magic chose you instead? What if it just stayed in the Everfree Forest? Rain, even Princess Luna didn’t know exactly how sylvanocian magic works. This whole thing has been a big mess from beginning to end. I’m just glad it’s over now. So can we stop talking about this, just for a little while?”
Morning Rain stopped crying. Later that morning Grace and Gina led them to the top of the valley, from where they could see the high ridge. Scootaloo and Rain kept their noses in the undergrowth in search of strawberries. Even the griffins made a conscious effort not to look up.
#
Rainbow Dash and Gari appeared out of the trees as they ate their lunch of hearty soup. Gregor had prepared it with large chunks of meat, which could be excluded from the ponies’ portion. Scootaloo was still not used to seeing Gari without her cloak. She was looking a little thin from her recent ordeal, but at least she did not seem injured.
Rainbow Dash had bandages on her right legs, and remained hovering just above ground as she looked around the valley. Scootaloo waved, and Rainbow Dash made a beeline for the cave. Gari followed close behind.
“Hey, there’s my sister!” Rainbow Dash said, scooping Scootaloo off the ground and making a mess of her mane. “See, Gari? I told you she’d be up today!”
“You’ve told me that every day for a week,” Gari said with a good-natured smile. “Hello everyone. Do you have any news for me, be it good or ill?”
“All is well, Gari,” Gregor reported. “We suffered no casualties here, and no serious injuries. How is the situation in the Twin Cities?”
“We’re still working hard to sort out that mess,” Gari said. “I suppose sixty thousand sylvanocians surrendering at the same time was the best thing I could have expected, but that leaves the problem of what to do with them. There are no more vacancies in Kelp Town, and I have three whole families crashing in my house, kids and all. The resettlement of Equestria would have been as swift as its fall.”
“What are you going to do to them?” Rain asked, evidently not for the first time.
“Some want to return home,” Gari said. “About eight thousand have already gone inland. Then there are the ones who still want to go to Equestria. That we cannot deny; it is their right, as history attests. Princess Luna is making arrangements to give them some land for a frontier settlement near the Everfree Forest. Rest assured, Ponyville is in no danger.
“As for Noctis and Dreamweaver, they are still recovering in the Garden of Shadow. You and your friends were quite aggressive, Gina and Grace. But I commend you for your efforts.”
The twins smiled sheepishly and bowed their head.
“What will you do to them?” Rain asked. “After all they’ve done…”
“Be quiet, Rain,” Gari said sharply. “Need I remind you that you are not entirely innocent in this matter? Your running away delayed me for days, and that incident in Ponyville caught Princess Luna’s attention and led to her involvement. So do not talk to me as if you are wiser. I have dealt with many crises in my time, and I know what has to be done now.”
Morning Rain looked into his bowl and argued no more.
“That was kind of harsh,” Rainbow Dash commented, carefully putting Scootaloo back in her spot by the fire.
“Rain,” Gari said in a softer tone. “I do not mean to insult you. I know that you set out with good intentions; that you were doing everything you could, based on what you knew. But that is part of the problem. You know less than you think you know. Please, just trust my decisions in this matter. Let me handle it, okay?”
Morning Rain nodded, his face a mixture of bitterness and disappointment.
“Say,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked around the cave. “Do you think there’s room here for one more pony?”
“That can be arranged,” Gregor said. “However, I think it would be better if Scootaloo went to a proper hospital. I’ve done all I can, but I am not a proper doctor.”
“Just one night, please?” Grace begged. “We barely got any time to play!”
“Yeah,” Gina said, putting her arms protectively around Scootaloo’s neck. “Scootaloo came all the way from Equestria! We might never meet again!”
“You are being too dramatic,” Gregor chortled. “Equestria is far away, but you have been there three times already in your short lives. And who is to say that Scootaloo won’t visit you here? But I suppose it is no great matter to have you here for one more night, unless Gari has any objections?”
“If you can keep Rainbow Dash off my hands for a day, I would be ever so grateful,” Gari said, earning her a scowl from the blue mare. “I will be back tomorrow to take them all to the Garden of Shadow. There are a few things that need to get done before we return to Equestria.”
Gari ate with them before leaving. She glided from the cave for many miles before disappearing somewhere in the vast forest that lay between the coast and the mountains.
They spent the rest of the day in the valley with many other griffins. Rainbow Dash always stayed close to Scootaloo, and the ponies were put into the same team whenever a game was organized. There were races and fights, and long hours of storytelling where a wild boar could weigh more than an elephant.
The shadow of the mountain lie like an icy tarp over Panther Pass before the last of the children returned home. Rainbow Dash carried an exhausted Scootaloo up the slope to the cave. All across the valley fires were burning. All the griffins here lived in caves. Their suppertime chatter was like the squabbling of many songbirds.
That night the nest was completely full. Galina and Gregor slept with their children between them, while Rainbow Dash kept Scootaloo under her right wing and Morning Rain under her left. Gina and Scootaloo continued to talk long after the last embers turned from red to orange, until Galina clamped her daughter’s mouth shut with one hand and Rainbow Dash put a hoof over Scootaloo’s nose.
#
Scootaloo recognized the dream instantly. Ponyville was certainly not built on the side of a mountain, and there was no black throne before city hall.
“Do not be so timid, Scootaloo,” said a familiar echoing voice. “Come. Speak. Ask me, and I will answer. I will not stay long.”
The mare on the throne was not nearly as imposing as Scootaloo remembered. She was a small, barely an adult, with a short horn and rather unimpressive feathered wings. Her eyes were light blue with slit pupils like a sylvanocian’s. The edges of her body faded to a diffuse black fog; Scootaloo could not see a cutie mark.
“You’re Nightmare Moon?” Scootaloo said, approaching cautiously.
“A part of her, yes,” she said. “I wish you would stop thinking about me in those terms. I am so much more than that.”
“I thought you went back to the sylvanocians,” Scootaloo said. “How can you be here, talking to me like this? What are you, really?”
“I am magic,” she explained. “I did not lie to you. I am bound to no one, but I am influenced by many.
“Like I said before, sylvanocian magic is not like other kinds of magic. Everyone who has ever used sylvanocian magic leaves behind a memory of themselves: their ambitions; their values; their fears. When you tap into sylvanocian magic, you welcome those things into your heart and make them your own. It is not an overpowering influence; more like whispers and dim reflections, and even less than that, but the power is never neutral.
“The sylvanocians were a peaceful race. Back in the days before Nightmare Moon they were guardians of the night and masters of dreams. The Everfree Forest was theirs, and they were satisfied.
“The greatest mistake they made was to let Princess Luna in. Not to be disrespectful, but to give an alicorn so much control over foreign magic is to invite trouble. She took so much, and left such a great impression that her jealousy and insecurity became the defining feature of sylvanocian magic.
“After the Elements of Harmony separated us, her influence began to fade. The fragment of magic that returned to Noctis came fresh from Princess Luna, and during a trying time in his life. Do not judge him harshly, Scootaloo; Princess Luna was driven to madness by tamer trials than his, and did more damage. If you can only remember one thing, remember this.
“As to why I remain here, remember that you have already left your mark on the sylvanocians. You cannot expect to remain completely unchanged from such an experience. For the most part I am gone, dispersed in all the sylvanocians in the world. But you will not be rid of magic completely.
“This is the last time we will speak like this, Scootaloo. I have no voice and no mind beyond what you see now, and this form will not last. You will barely know that I am here. You may live the rest of your life without ever casting a spell if you so choose; you will never be anything but what you choose to be. But if you decide to look into sylvanocian magic, you will have all the potential of a true sylvanocian. A gift to you for all your pain, and perhaps a great risk. Time will tell.”
Scootaloo now noticed that the mare was fading as she spoke. Now her face was translucent, her ears becoming trails of black vapour that then became nothing at all.
“Wait!” she called. “Don’t go yet! Why did you choose me? Why not Rain, or Gari, or anyone else? Why me?”
“You were the most familiar,” said the mare, now only a faded face and a pair of hooves. “Think back, Scootaloo. Think about the nights. your nights. Remember all those dark times when you had no roof over your head, when you were fleeing from your unknown pursuers. Remember your thoughts and your feelings.”
Immediately Scootaloo recalled her first night in the Everfree Forest, holding tight to her brother who had gone mad. She remembered the night in Dodge Junction where she happily ate and drank with no guilt, and the comfortable warmth under Gari’s wing when she slept in Saltlick. Nights on the Master’s barge, exchanging wild stories by the orange light of a gas lamp. Earlier memories she had also: sleeping beside her father, with only one blanket for them both; sneaking out of her room at the orphanage to watch the mysterious night guard in the courtyard.
Declaring herself to be Morning Rain’s sister beneath the light of a full moon.
Rainbow Dash doing the same for her years later.
“So tell me,” said the face, now so far gone that no expression could be seen. “What does the night mean to you? Is it truly a lonely time, full of monsters? Is it all dark and brutal?”
“No,” Scootaloo said as more images filled her mind: sleepovers at Sweet Apple Acres; watching the meteor shower with her friends in Ponyville. “It’s… nice. Peaceful.”
“And that is how the sylvanocians see the night, Scootaloo.” The voice was all that was left, and even it was fading. Now it was little more than the rustling of leaves. “Princess Luna did not see it as such. Your brother was too young to know. But you knew. And you have known for quite some time. So I trust you with this gift. Now, you are free.”
The throne disappeared. Scootaloo sat down in front of town hall and looked around in wonder. She was quickly forgetting that it was a dream. She longed to see her father and her friends again.
“Hey there Scoot!”
Scootaloo jumped. The last remnants of doubt left her mind. Standing before her were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
“Come on!” Apple Bloom said. “We were s’posed ta meet ma’ sister half an hour ago!”
They pulled Scootaloo up, and the three ran down familiar roads beneath impossibly bright stars.
#
Scootaloo sat on the highest yard of the mast, feeling the wind on her brand new wings. True to his word, Gabe had made her a comfortable leather harness. The new gear box was identical to the old one. Her wings were made of red silk, durable and almost weightless. She had spent the morning flying around town with Rainbow Dash and Morning Rain, and would have flown out to sea beside the ship had the captain not forbade it.
The Kingfisher was their ride home, the Swift being already halfway to Equestria when they reached Kelp Town. It was a rather large fishing schooner with an all griffin crew. Captain Giuseppe was kind enough, yet Scootaloo missed Captain Gilbert’s serious confidence.
She scratched the exposed stitches on her neck. For all his talk of not being a doctor Gregor was good with a needle. In time the scars would go away. Her only concern now was whether the shaved strips of her coat would grow in enough to hide them before she got back to Ponyville.
“Hey squit.”
Scootaloo nearly lost her balance. Rainbow Dash had her chin on the yard, holding onto the ropes with both front hooves. She was no longer wearing her Wolderbolt’s uniform. Even the best flier in Equestria was not bold enough to face a superior officer with the spoils of her misconduct still on her back.
“Hey Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said. “I thought you were helping the cook.”
“Nah,” Rainbow Dash laughed. “I can’t stand cooking, and no alicorn or griffin can change that.”
Scootaloo fiddled with her tomahawk, now hanging from a ring on her flight harness. Kelp Town was just a speck in the distance, her ships like whitecaps on the waves. Yet Scootaloo thought she could make out ponies and griffins on the boardwalk and in the towers, and even the dogs lounging at the gate. Beneath the stench of fish and all the blood in the butcher shops it was a peaceful place, and now Scootaloo found herself wishing for another day on the safe side of those sea walls.
“I bet my dad would love this place,” she said before she could stop herself.
“He’ll want to hear all about this,” Rainbow Dash said. “You should write a book: The Adventures of Scootaloo. They’ll even make a movie out of it. Just make sure I get a big role with lots of screen time, okay?”
They laughed together, Rainbow Dash holding Scootaloo close by her side as the mast swayed smoothly through a slow arc.
“So how are you holding up?” Rainbow Dash asked. “That magic thing did quite a number on you.”
“I’m okay now,” Scootaloo said with a genuine smile. “Thanks.” She paused for a moment, wondering if she should ask the question that was on her mind. “What did Gari do, exactly?”
Rainbow Dash looked around quickly, and then checked the deck below. There was one black-furred griffin at the first mast, and a pilot at the helm. She lowered her voice and leaned in closer.
“She sent Noctis and Dreamweaver away,” she said. “They’re going to some city inland.”
“Oh,” Scootaloo replied blankly. “Okay.”
“Okay?” Rainbow Dash repeated incredulously. Immediately she put her hoof to her mouth and looked back at the deck. The sailors had taken no notice. She continued in a frantic whisper, “That’s not okay, Scootaloo. They were going to take over Equestria! Look at what they did to you! They should be locked up! Sent to the moon! And Gari sends them away without a single guard!”
“Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said, putting her hooves around her sister’s neck. “I don’t care what happens to them. Whatever Gari decides to do, Noctis and Dreamweaver won’t do anything like this again. I know. Don’t ask me how; I just know.”
“Oh, I give up!” Rainbow Dash sighed. “You know, for once Rain had it right. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him! He was red.”
“Well, what’s he gonna do?” Scootaloo said. “He’ll be fine. I know him.”
The weeks went by quickly, and though she did not earn her cutie mark in navigating, slob dumping, anchor lowering or sail folding Scootaloo enjoyed every moment of the voyage. When the ship docked at Saltlick four white pegasus stallions in the golden armor of Royal Guards were waiting with two gold winged chariots. Even Gari was surprised by this.
“What is your business here?” She asked when they were still a good distance off.
“We were sent here by Princess Luna,” said one of the gold-clad stallions. “We have orders to take Princess Gari and company directly to Ponyville.”
“Thank you sir,” Gari said, and stepped onto the first chariot. She waved for the others. “These guys don’t bite, you know.”
Rainbow Dash was shaking and mumbling excited gibberish as she stepped onto the chariot. Scootaloo and Morning Rain joined her, their mouths hanging open and their eyes bulging out of their heads.
The chariots flew fast and high. Although none in the company were in any danger of falling to their demise Scootaloo and Morning Rain clung to the sides for the whole trip. The ground which had taken them weeks to cross now slid by miles at a time.
There were signs of autumn as they flew north. The leaves were not yet falling, but showed hints of yellow and red in their fringes. Scootaloo thought she spotted dark grey ponies at the southern edge of the Everfree Forest.
The rapid descent into Ponyville left Scootaloo dizzy. They touched down in a familiar street to the sound of a tremendous stampede. Stepping off the chariot, Scootaloo was immediately picked up by a pair of worn-down hooves.
“Oh Scootaloo, thank goodness!”
She barely dared to breathe. Slowly she reached out and felt her father’s short orange coat. Tears of joy filled her eyes. She could hear her father’s quick heartbeat, feel the rise and fall of his chest as he cried. Here was no trick of her imagination.
“Welcome back Scootaloo!”
When her father at last released her, Scootaloo turned around immediately and jumped between her waiting friends. The whole town had showed up. There was even an orange banner hanging at the end of the street: “Welcome home Scootaloo”, with the last half of her name tacked on in a compressed font.
Dust looked thinner and a bit older, but there was nothing except happiness and pride in his smile. After another long hug with her friends they all stood up together. Pinkie Pie was waving frantically from the alley beside the house.
Scootaloo could already smell the cake.