//------------------------------// // Return IV: Lost // Story: Return: Tales of the Lost // by Dustchu //------------------------------// War, war never changes. -ooo000=+=000ooo- Sweetie disappeared upstairs, passing by the Elements who wished her a good night's sleep, something she wondered was even a possibility after everything that has happened to her and her friends. She hadn't slept well in over six years, sleeping on nasty rotted beds, floors, dirt, having to keep her senses alert in case they were attacked by raiders, bandits, or some mutated beast out for their blood. It was hard to think that having a nice nap was possible. Wouldn't stop her from trying. As she reached the door to their room, she gave pause. Recalling what Rarity told her... informed her of her parents, and how they parished years ago. How long had she been telling herself she wanted to see them again, how much she missed them. Six years I've gone without seeing my parents... six years I've been telling myself I would see them again, and now... they're gone for good... and yet I don't feel anything. She wondered just how much she had changed over the past six years... to the point where she can't even shed a tear for her deceased parents. She pushed those thoughts aside, as she entered the room. Inside she saw Scootaloo and Apple Bloom sitting on their beds, looking downright comfortable to be able to sleep in actual beds for once. Both had obtained their weapons and armor, which were lying by the sides of their beds, Sweetie's were in the only unoccupied bed, she trotted over to the bed as Scootaloo conversed with Apple Bloom. "Just saying, I'm gonna miss some parts." Scootaloo said, as she idly cleaned her rifle's scope with a small rag. "Like what exactly?" Apple Bloom questioned, looking up from where she was tinkering with her own weapon, having taking parts of it off to inspect. "The food for one thing, like those fancy lad snack cakes," Scootaloo hummed, looking blissful almost as she thought of those snacks cakes. They were over two hundred years old, but perfectly preserved thanks to the world's advanced technology. The pegasus' wings fluttered a bit, creating a tiny metallic scraping noise once again, she did not bring any with her, and she regretted it. Apple Bloom begged to differ. "Ah don't know why you like those so much, they weren't all that good." Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, not understanding in the slightlest why Scootaloo had such an obsession with the, all it took was one and she was on board with finding the factory that made them and finding the recipe... something Bloom wasn't sure if she accomplished or not. "Ah mean, maybe they're good fer eatin' one in a while, but not all th' time." "Pfft, you don't know what you were missing~" Scootaloo chuckled, watching as Sweetie Bell pulled out one of her larger knives and started to sharpen it. The ten inch bowie knife made a scraping noise as she slid it across a whet stone, making Scootaloo turn to her. "Say Sweets... everything alright? You only sharpen that knife when you're uh... thinking..." "My Mom and Dad are dead." Sweetie answered bluntly, still sharpening her knife, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo just kept their faces turned towards her, as if expecting her to continue. "Killed looking for me, by Manticores, a year after I was gone..." Sweetie had nothing in her voice to suggest she was sad... no cracking of her voice, no hitching of her breath... just a flat tone, as if she couldn't care less. "Just me and Rarity now..." "Well shit..." Bloom spoke softly, asking, "Do... ya need anything or..." "No... I wasn't here for it, there's nothing for me to cry over except headstones." Sweetie coldly replied, making Apple Bloom wince. Sweetie, however continued. "They've been dead for five straight years, what's the point in crying over them?" "They were family, Sweets." Scootaloo told her, looking at her friend in mild concern. "I mean..." "Yes... they were family... now they're just corpses." Sweetie replied once again, not looking up as she continued to sharpen her knife. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom left it at that... not saying anything else as they continued to work on their firearms, before retiring for the night. -ooo000=+=000ooo- Morning soon rolled around, wind blowing, birds singing, and the sun shining brightly. Three young mares soon awoke, and it wasn't a nice awakening either, as they all thought they heard something and sprang up out of bed, weapons at the ready, as they crept around their room, looking for any dangers. Their minds were on full alert, scanning high and low, and suddenly the door opened. Sweetie in a fit of paranoia, threw several sharpened knives flying, all of them smacking into the door frame on the left side, embedding themselves deep into the wall. Whoever was beside the wall yelped in surprise, and Sweetie turned to see who it was intruding on them... Pinkie Pie. Pinkie blinked her eyes, shaking slightly as she had a nervous smile plastered on her face, her baby blue eyes turned to look at the knives that had almost impaled her, noting just how large and sharp most of them were. Some were for hunting, cooking, and some were for chopping up big hunks of meat, that much she knew from a story she heard from a pony traveling into town. "S-so, n-no breakfast for you t-than?" Pinkie stuttered out, laughing nervously. Sweetie just gave her a flat look, before quickly pulling her knives out of the wall with her magic, yanking them out and placing them back in the sheathes on her harness on the bed. Which, after she had done, turned to put it on, without her suit, seeing how it needed to be cleaned and possibly repaired. "Sorry, Pinkie..." "N-n-no p-p-problem!" Pinkie tittered, turning to run for her life, galloping down the halls and down the stairs. "Called it." Scootaloo said, doing like Sweetie Belle had down and putting her harness for her rifle on, sans her uniform. Apple Bloom did the same, before the three decided to leave the room and go downstairs. Sweetie in the lead, as her two frends hung back a bit, conversing onwhat else would happen, mostly involving some of their old school yard friends... and enemies... A meeting the three dreaded... Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon. Two enemies of theirs since they joined school, since they were blank flanks. BUt now that they had obtained their marks, what would the pink filly and her friend think of them now? What would she think of them... if she knew what the three had gone through the past six years? They didn't know. But they would soon find out... -ooo000=+=000ooo- "I don't know what to do." Rarity sighed heavily to herself, sitting just beside her friend, Twilight Sparkle. The mare, after hearing what Rarity's little sister told her just last night, and how she reacted towards her parents' death... it worried her greatly, wondering if Sweetie was alright, in both a mental and emotional state. She wondered if she should call in her step sister, Cadance, to help deal with these emotions. "I... I'm shocked, Rarity, but... whatever happened to her on that world she was at... it must have been very... painful, turned her emotions inside out, changed her, all three of them in fact." Twilight explained, rubbing Rarity's back. "I mean... the way they told us how they ended up there, everything so far has been pretty tame, aside from the human that tried to... well..." "Yes yes, I know... I just..." Rarity looked up at Twilight. "I just expected more from her, tears, denial... but she just accepted it, and moved on like it was such a casual thing..." The alabaster mare shook her head, holding it in her hooves. "She just... acted like I told her there was a sale on bread..." Twilight sighed, looking down at the floor. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Rarity... but, I'm not sure what to do..." "Ponies live, ponies die... its how life works." A sudden, almost angelic voice spoke up, making both mares look up to see Sweetie Belle standing near them, dressed in her knife harness. "They died, Rarity, yes its sad... yes its heartbreaking, considering they're the ones who raised us for so long... but crying about them, will not bring them back. So its pointless." "Sweetie Belle!" Twilight gasped, shock lacing her words as she reeled from how blunt, how cold Sweetie Belle sounded. "Its true, and you know it." Sweetie Belle told Twilight, making the princess flinch from her tone again. "Mom and dad are dead, and I wasn't here to protect them... its my fault they're dead, but you don't see me crying over it." Sweetie started for the room they were in last night, and finished, saying, "I've moved on..." She then disappeared into the room, leaving behind a heartbroken Rarity, shocked Twilight, and two Crusaders who felt awkward, before following their youngest friend. Twilight hugged Rarity as the older mare cried softly, Twilight whispering, "I'll fix this... somehow, I'll fix this..." She didn't get a response... -ooo000=+=000ooo- The CMC had returned to their seats, Sweetie laying on her side as she idly sharpened another knife, Bloom and Scootaloo sitting on either side of her, waiting for the others to wake up and return before beginning their story again. Time passed them by, minutes turned into hours, and the scraping noises had gotten on Scootaloo's nerves, making her get up and walk away from the room, deciding to walk around the castle for a bit. The pegasus walked the halls of the castle, admiring the decor, which was rather bland. She felt a bit more at peace when she was alone, the silence, and the lonesome feeling may have made others paranoid. But to Scootaloo... it just felt right to her, and she was glad to have it. That's not to say she hated the company of her friends, but every once in a while she enjoyed being alone to her thoughts. I wonder... if there's a chance of bringing it here. She pondered to herself, her thoughts turning to something she had back in the wasteland of Texas... before she ended up bumping into a pony, knocking them flat on the ground. The mare hit the ground with a thud, before groaning and going about picking up what she dropped, which consisted of several scrolls and what have you. "Oh jeez, I'm so so sorry, I should ha-" She stopped, looking up at Scootaloo. "Oh... um... hello, are you one of Twilight's guest?" Scootaloo observed the mare, noting the light purple fur, three tone dark purple, light purple and blue mane and tail, and blue eyes. The unicorn had a cutie mark of a star with two blue lines swirling above it, and seemed to be... a bit skittish. "I guess... you could say that, who are you?" "Oh... me? I'm uh, Starlight Glimmer," SHe introduced herself. "I'm Twilight's Student of Friendship, um... and you?" "Scootaloo, Cutie Mark Crusader." Scootaloo told her, wondering if she should have added her other titles. They wouldn't matter here... She told herself, her titles she had gained, along with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom mattered little here in Equestria. "Oh... OH! You're the filly that went missing, six years ago, wow... you're back, that's so great!" Starlight smiled, asking, "Did your friends..." "They're with me, they came back as well so we're all back, hopefully for good this time." Scootaloo told her, as she started walking, STarlight following behind her. "Um... pardon me for asking, but... where did you three go?" Starlight questioned, looking curious. "I just... want to take notes, I'm curious if you met anypony and made friends." Scootaloo gave pause to that. Friends... that's a strange word now that I think about it. Friends, she had friends, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were her friends, having been through so much with them. Shed blood, sweat and tears alongside those two, nearly losing their lives as they tried to survive... no, they did survive. "Friends... Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, I have to say are my only friends... friends are people, or rather ponies you can trust not to stab you in the back... ponies you can trust with your life." She looked over at Starlight, who looked confused. "Ponies that you can trust to catch you... if you fall." With that said, Scootaloo continued her little walk, leaving behind a confused... and slightly horrified Starlight. -ooo000=+=000ooo- Eventally, Scootaloo arrived back to where Bloom and Sweetie were, along with the rest of the elements, and both princesses and even Starlight. Scootaloo had found a question lingering at the back of her skull, she found herself wanting to ask it for some time but neglected to for... well.. if you knew, they'd be obvious reasons. The pegasus sat down on her seat, deciding to bite the bullet as it were. "Okay, so now we get back to the story." Twilight said, her tone determined... she wanted to find out why Sweetie was this way... as well as the other two. But Scootaloo raised her hoof. "Uh, yes Scootaloo?" "Question, I know this will bite me in the ass... but what are the odds of... getting something to... eat." Scootaloo asked, getting a look from both of her friends. "You talkin' bout what Ah think yer talkin' bout?" Apple Bloom asked, raising an eyebrow as Scootaloo nodded. "Ah'm wondering that myself..." "Same..." Sweetie added. "I'm sorry, of course we can bring some food for you to eat, what is it you would like?" Twilight asked, popping into existence a notepad. "Hayfries? Donuts? Ooooo, maybe some milkshakes and hayburgers?" "Uhm... actually..." Apple Bloom slowly rolled her eyes to Scootaloo, rubbing the back of her head as the pegasus sighed. "You got any meat around?" Scootaloo finished for Apple Bloom. What followed next... was the longest, most awkward silence... to ever grace Equestria... ... ... ... "Seriously though, got any? I'm hungry... guys?" Our story continues, as Rarity learns a sad truth about her sister not being so little anymore. The CMC and their cold attitude, and their almost in-equine craving for meat. Have our three heroines turned into carnivores? Is Sweetie truly such a cold blooded pony?! Stay turned next time, for the next chapter of: Return, on Vault-Tec Channel 6 *FLICKS OFF* *STATIC*