//------------------------------// // Chapter Five: Scootaloo // Story: Crusade // by viclouiis //------------------------------// That day was crazy. Sometimes kids don't see exactly how bad something is, until it gets about ten times worse. That was the case with me. I wasn't keen on leaving Sweetie alone in the Everfree, but she didn't want to come back to Ponyville with us, and I needed to know that my family was safe. Pip did too. "So..." He said as we trudged along. "Yeah?" I asked. "What do you think those things were?" Pip asked. "I dunno. Weird hole things?" I wondered. "Scootaloo, can you be serious for once?" Pipsqueak snapped. "Alright," I said. "Sorry. It's just..." Pip trailed off. "I know. This is crazy. But it'll be alright. I promise,". I didn't mean to break that promise, I swear. Ponyville was on fire. Really. I don't know how, but those weird hole things had lit all of Ponyville on fire. "I need to find my sister," Pip said. "And I need to get my parents," I said. "We'll split up. Meet back here. I we we aren't back be sunrise, leave without the other," Pip frowned. "Alright. Good luck," I said. "You too," He replied, and we went our separate ways. My house wasn't very distinguishable. It didn't stand out. It was normal, as far as houses go. It was also on fire. "Mom? Dad?" I called. No answer. I should have turned back. They had most likely left the house. But I was young. I wanted them to be there, to be somewhere I could find them. So I pushed on through the flames. I reached the second floor. They weren't in their room. I checked my room last. They weren't there either. I picked up my scooter, and realized that the doorway had been engulfed in flames, as had the window. So I did what any sensible person would do, and that is scream at the top of my lungs. I'm not sure if I was expecting anypony to come to help, but luckily, somepony did. A cyan blur rushed over the flames, scooped me up still clutching my scooter, and rushed me out of the house. I looked up, and saw a rainbow maned pegasus. "Thanks," I said. "What were you thinking, kid?" The pegasus asked. "I wanted to find my family," I said. "Well, everypony's either been kidnapped by the changelings or they've escaped, so they're not here. Speaking of which, we have to get out of here. Discord's coming back soon," The mare said. "Discord?" I asked. "God of chaos who destroyed Ponyville? We have to leave now," The mare said. "But... My friend... Pipsqueak..." I said. "What about him?" The mare asked. "He's on the other side of town, looking for his family," I said. "Celestia. I'll go check it out. Come on," She said, picking me up and speeding across Ponyville. The feeling of the wind in my mane was amazing. Too bad I couldn't fly. We arrived at Pip's house quickly, with me giving the mare directions. We arrived just in time to see Pip being held down by one of the hole things, and being hauled off. I wanted to scream, but common sense and the mare's hoof kept me from making a sound. She kept us from sight, and after the mare was gone, flew us in the general direction of Cloudsdale. She took a left away from Cloudsdale, though, and I soon saw a cloud house on the horizon. She dropped me off, and landed next to me. "Sorry about your friend, kid," The mare said. "Yeah... Thanks for saving my life," I said. "You're welcome... We could get your friend back, you know," The mare said. "Really?" I asked. "Sure. I'd help you find him," She said. "But why?" I asked. "I... Had a friend once, and she went missing. They never found her. Might as well help you find your friend," The mare said. "That sucks. Thanks for helping..." I trailed off. "Rainbow Dash," The mare half smiled at me. "Nice to meet you, Dash. I'm Scootaloo," I said. "Alright, Squirt. Are we going to stand outside this whole time, or are we going to find your friend?" Rainbow asked. "Hopefully find Pip," I said. "Well, every army with prisoners has a jail or something, so we want to find out where their jail is..." Rainbow said. Rainbow and I were inside, looking at a map of Equestria. "So, they probably don't take the prisoners to Ponyville or the Everfree, because we were there, and we didn't see any changelings," Rainbow said, crossing off Ponyville and the Everfree forest. "So, do we just check out one of these places? See if it's prison-ish?" I asked. "I guess so. But before we do that, we should sleep. There's a spare room at the end of the hall," Rainbow said. "Alright, thanks," I said, hauling my scooter down the hallway. I really liked the cloud house. It had a ton of Wonderbolts memorabilia on display, and the cloud felt good under my hooves. I opened the door to the spare room, set my scooter up against the wall, and slipped into the cloud bed. It was so relaxing, that I fell asleep in seconds. Next thing I know, Rainbow's shaking me awake. "Kid. I saw some griffons and changelings heading this way. We're gonna bolt. You ready?" She asked. "One second," I said, and grabbed my scooter. "Now I'm ready," I said. Rainbow picked me up, and zoomed off into the horizon. We were off on a new crusade.