Our Girl Scootaloo 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV

Ch 3.24 Building Bridges

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 Twenty Four: Building Bridges

Across town, Agent Tyler and one of her fellow agents were strolling down the main street, relaxing and taking in the sights this new world had to offer. A stop at the 'Quill and Sofa' store had utterly failed to clear up anything, and after ten minutes, they had left, even more confused then when they went in.

The ponies on the street seemed to be gradually warming to their presence, and no one had slammed a door in their face for almost an hour now. They were still the subject of many stares, but so far that was all, and the two were using the time to discuss what happened at the castle.

'I don't understand it. How could we all have seen something that didn't happen?' She signed.

He looked at her seriously. 'Think about it. Raising the sun is a great trick, but it's just not possible, yet everyone here had 'seen' the princesses do it. Now we know how.'

'You mean its all in our heads.' She frowned. 'I don't like the level of mind control that implies.'

'Neither do I, but it explains why only those of us who had the medical treatment from Scootaloo's synthetic biology were affected. You're compatible with the system. I'm not.'

'You think the princesses know they're faking it?'

He looked thoughtful. 'I don't know. Next time one of them is on earth we should ask; I don't think they would lie to us on purpose.'

Just then a couple of foals nervously approached them to ask a question.

“Uh.. Hi?”

“Hello, kids.”

The two foals looked at each other. “You ask them!”

“It was your idea! You ask them!”

Tyler couldn't help but smile at them. “What was it you wanted to ask me?”

The younger of the two pawed sheepishly at the dirt. “I uh... I wanted to ask why you were all dressed up?”

The two agents looked at each other and smiled. “We're not dressed up, this is what we wear every day.”

The little foals eyes lit up as she thought that over. “Really?! You get to dress up in pants and coats and shirts and shoes every day?!” She looked back at her own nudity and sighed. “Mommy only lets me dress up for parties. It must be great to have a party every day...”

The poor agents were trying very hard to hide their mirth from the dejected child. “Oh sweetie, we don't throw parties every day. Back on earth, everyone wears clothing all the time.”

There were those shining eyes again. “Really?! Why do you do that?”

Agent Tyler felt something like an itch at that moment, and without really thinking, she replied. “Because I like clothes.” The itch at the back of her mind seemed to grow stronger. “...Do you have a shirt?”

“Well, yeah...the one...”

“That you really love? One that you feel so …groovy in?”
Music had started to play from out of nowhere, and a strange, easy feeling seemed to flow through Tyler, washing away all self-consciousness and doubt. She smiled as she reached behind her and her fingers closed around the neck of a guitar that seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

The fact that she had not played the guitar since college, that it was, to say the least, highly improbable for little ponies to know the words to a Human song from more than two decades before the Agent was born or that a backing track somehow seemed to emanate from the very buildings around her...well, none of that seemed to matter. Musical numbers here felt as natural and normal, even exciting, as a smartphone game or a really good cheeseburger felt at home.

And so Agent C. A. Tyler decided to roll with it. Besides, she had always wanted a guitar like this.

Five minutes later, a jubilant Agent Tyler was leading a parade of ponies down the main street to the tune of 'I love my shirt' by Donovan, singing and accompanying herself on the inexplicable Gibson 335 electric guitar while her fellow agent struggled to keep up, looking like he was about to have a stroke.

Everyone cheered as the song ended, and the crowd gradually dispersed as Tyler slung the guitar over her shoulder with a contented sigh. When her fellow agent finally caught up with her, she gave him a silly smile. “That was fun, wasn't it?”

“Agent Tyler, you just led a herd of ponies in song! What the hell was that?!”

A careful observer would have caught the momentary twitch as she came back down and realized what she had just done. Her subordinate however, was not quick enough to see it before she decided 'Well, fuck it, that was fun, so I meant to do that!'
A wide grin spread across her features. “Wasn't that great? I need to do that more often.” She looked down at the Gibson in her right hand. “And look at this beauty! As soon as the lab techs get done with this, this is going in my living room! I've never even heard of them doing one of these in electric blue...”

“But Agent Tyler!?”

She gave him a knowing grin before signing. 'Okay, so maybe the genetic treatment has some side effects. So far? I can live with this. Dude. It's a semi-hollowbody Gibson, for eff's sake. And did you see an amp, because I did not see an amp.'

'I expect it works via magical fields,' the other agent signed with a slack 'sigh' in his fingers.

'Sweet!'

Their conversation was interrupted at that point as Sweetie Belle came running up to them with an eager look in her eyes. “Hey! Can I borrow your crowd? I want to sing for them!”

…

The commotion following the impromptu outdoor concert was so great, it took several seconds for the Agent to figure out what had happened after the little unicorn stopped singing. As the three foals and Faith danced and squealed with joy he finally figured it out, smiled, and left the children to their fun.

“Sweetie Belle! You got your cutie mark!”

“This is amazing!”

“After all this time!”

The mark that now adorning her flank, a picture of a staff and musical notes, had flashed into existence just as she finished the last notes of her fifth song. They all stood oohing and ahhing over it for several minutes, drinking in their first success after countless months of effort.

Abruptly, Sweetie Belle turned and hugged Faith, hard enough to make her ribs ache. “Thank you so much! If it wasn't for you, who knows how long it would have taken me to figure this out.”
Applebloom and Scootaloo both joined in, hugging and thanking their new friend while Faith giggled and blushed and grinned.

At length, Applebloom piped up. “That was great! I'm so happy for you Sweetie Belle!”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo added. “Now let's go work on some great dance moves so I can get my cutie mark next!”

“Whoa whoa whoa! Hold on a minute.” Sweetie Belle interrupted, holding up a hoof for silence. “Our new friend here, the friend who just helped me get my cutie mark, wants to be a Cutie Mark Crusader, and we haven't formally let her join yet!”

“Oh right! Well, let's go right now!” Applebloom cheered.

“Sorry, Faith.” Scootaloo grinned sheepishly. “I guess I got a little carried away.”

Faith could only hug her new friends and smile so wide that it actually hurt.

Half an hour later, they had made it to the clubhouse in the Apple orchard, assembled everything and begun the ceremony. Faith sat in the center of the room, her eyes glowing with excitement as the three crusaders began.

“We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect Faith to join us as a... member.” Sweetie Belle frowned at Scootaloo. “Really? Only a member?”

Scootaloo just grinned. “Yup.”

She shook her head. “Anyway, you are solemnly sworn in this day as a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

Faith stumbled giddily to her feet and nearly fell over as she closed the distance and took the bright red cape in her hands.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders forever! Yay!”

“Does this mean we're the first club to admit a member from another planet?” Applebloom asked.

Faith just grinned. “I think so. Thank you girls so much for taking in someone like me.”

“What, you mean a human? That's no big deal.” Sweetie Belle smiled dismissively.

“Yeah! You're our friend, why wouldn't we let our friends join?” Scootaloo asked.

Faith hung her head. “Well... I was worried you wouldn't let me join because I can't get my cutie mark yet.”

That brought the festivities lurching to a halt.

“What do you mean you can't get your cutie mark yet? I know it can take some time, but I saw David and Agent Tyler get theirs just after we got here.” Scootaloo replied.

“Yes but... But they had the treatments developed from Scootaloo Scott. My mom said I'm not... compatible with her treatment. That's why I can't get my cutie mark.” she trailed off sadly.

“You mean ever?!” Appleboom asked in consternation.

“Well... My Dad said that because Scootaloo is the only one who volunteered for medical research, they can only make treatments from her... He said the more ponies that volunteer to help, the faster they can fix it, but...” She hung her head. “So far, only Pinkie volunteered to help.”

The three ponies looked at each other in confusion. “You mean you can't get your cutie mark, and no pony was willing to help?! But my sister went over there!” Applebloom added.

“Yeah! So did my big sister!” Sweetie Belle almost shouted. “And she wouldn't help you?!”

Faith seemed to shrink back from their anger. “I didn't mean anything by it... Maybe they don't like needles or doctors?”

Her reaction broke the tension as the three of them hugged her again. “Don't you worry about it no more.” Applebloom comforted her.

“Yeah, its not your fault. I think we both need to have a little talk with our sisters tonight.” Sweetie Belle amended with an angry frown.

“It's okay,” Faith replied happily. “Even if I have to wait until next time, I don't really mind. I'm just so happy to spend time with you girls.”

“Next time?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, when I get to come back here.” Faith smiled. “Then I'll be able to play with you girls forever!”

The three of them couldn't help but smile as they hugged the poor human. This lasted for almost a minute before Applebloom spoke up.

“Hey, now that you're an official member, do you want to help us go for our cutie marks? The barn is right down the hill, and I bet I can figure out something cool to build!”

“That's a great idea!” Faith replied, perking up. “And maybe I can give you an idea or something!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo amended. “That other world was full of all kinds of cool things we could build!”

The four of them trouped out of the clubhouse, Faith almost falling off the ladder in her hurry, and soon they were all running towards the barn, their red and gold capes trailing out behind them as their laughter echoed through the orchard.

…

With the tumultuous events of the last few months, Dashie and Rainbow were more than happy to let their soon to be adopted daughter get back to her usual routine of playing with her friends. The more time they spent with the little foal, the more certain they had become that this was the right decision, but like any parent, a few hours apart can often be a welcome relief.

Now after everything that had happened, Celestia had made the arrangements, the affairs had been put in order on two worlds, and Dashie's father was due to arrive any minute at Ponyville station.

The train pulled to a stop in a cloud of steam, and as the first ponies hopped off Dashie saw her dad step off the stairs in the back car and look around for her. He didn't have to look long.

The rainbow colored blur streaked across the platform and sent his suitcases flying in all directions as she knocked him to the ground in a massive hug.

“Daddy!”

“Dashie!”

The just held each other close for a long time as the other ponies on the platform looked on with smiles or confusion. At length Dashie finally backed off enough to see his face.

“Dad, I am so glad you're here! I know its only been a couple of months, but it feels like forever!”

“I'm just happy to have you back, Dashie.”

“Did you get my letter? The one that explained what happened and everything?”

He just smiled and pulled the paper from his back pocket. “Of course. I'm sorry to hear you're having such a time adjusting to your life back home and your new... roommate, but I'll do everything I can to help you.”

“Oh don't worry about me, the two of us are learning to get along all right.” Rainbow joked.
“She's right. We barely fight over anything these days.” Dashie agreed.

Her father just kept smiling. “I don't know how long that will last after all four of us move in together, but I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you. Taking in little Scootaloo? You're making your old man proud.”

Dashie smiled as she helped him up. “Thanks Dad.” She picked up his luggage and balanced the suitcase on her back. “Can I take you to your new home?”

“I'd like that.”

…

“Here we are!” Rainbow said as she set down the suitcase and stood on her back legs to reach up and turn the doorknob. Her dad walked easily though the front door without hitting his head and looked around at the modest home done up in pastel grays and blues.

“It looks wonderful Dashie. I'm still having trouble believing this is really real...”

“Believe it Dad. I'm never going to leave you alone again.” Dashie said as she hugged him. “Come on, let me show you little Scootaloo's room!”

He followed her up the stairs to the large bedroom behind the orange door. Inside, the entire room had been done up with wonderbolt fan club memorabilia including the posters on the walls and the sheets on the bed. A small selection of toys and cloths could be seen peaking out of the toy chest and the drawers, and though they they looked well worn, some of the stuffed animals showed signs of repeated repairs made by the small orange pegasus.

“Where did you get all this stuff? I thought you hadn't told anyone you were adopting her yet?”

Rainbow and Dashie both grimaced. “Well... It turns out the whole 'adoption' thing may not have much paperwork to speak of, at least on the orphanage's part.”

Her father waited expectantly and with a sigh she continued. “Not too long after I got back I was flying past the orphanage when I saw one of the ponies carrying all this stuff out to the curb. I stopped and asked what was going on, and they said that it belonged to an orange pony who had disappeared and wasn't expected back.” She shook her head. “Not everything is as perfect in our world as it could be, but they let me gather up her stuff and I've been hanging on to it all this time in the hopes that I could give it back to her... When the Princess agreed to bring you here and build this house, it seemed like the logical place to keep it all, especially given the little squirt can't fly up to my home in the clouds yet.”

There were tears forming in his eyes as he knelt down to hug her. “I'm so proud of you Dashie. You're going make her the happiest filly in the world.”

...

As the afternoon wore on, Ms. Scott and David found themselves walking with Pinkie and Twilight, admiring the whitetail woods, though none of them were smiling. The three of them had pulled Twilight away from her studies to ask the hard question about Faith, and after walking for some twenty minutes talking intermittently about fluff, the silence had begun to stretch.

“So... you've seen the information now, and you've had a go at her. Were you able to do anything?”

Twilight hung her head. “No, not really. I studied the disease and read everything you included, but I can't use magic on her with any accuracy! I can see the tumors in the digital files, but I can't detect them with my magic, let alone remove them.”

They could all feel what little hope they had shrivel up inside them and Pinkie was no longer bouncing as the four walked on in silence for some time.

At length Ms. Scott sighed. “I was afraid of that. Were you able to do anything for her?”

Twilight stopped and stamped the dirt in frustration. “I was able dull the pain for a while, blunt the nausea and other symptoms, but... it won't last long.”

Ms. Scott put a hand on her shoulder. “I appreciate you trying. You know that given a little time we could save others like Faith, but we still need volunteers.”

Twilight's face registered surprise as she put the pieces together. “Wait a minute... This was the point all along wasn't it?! You brought her here on purpose!”

Ms. Scott looked her steadily in the eyes. “Yes. And there are hundreds more lined up behind her. Hundreds of other children whom we can't help. Kids who have grown up with the show, and want nothing more than to come here, just once before they die. For Christ's sake, some of them think of Equestria as heaven! They believe that they'll get to come here and live with you after they die!”

Twilight was visibly cringing and trying not to look her in the eye as each point bit home. Pinkie put a hoof under her chin and gently raised her head until they could see each other.

“Medical volunteering really wasn't so bad, Twilight. It takes most of a day, and they asked me to sit still for way to long, but... It wasn't that bad.

Twilight sighed. “And you really think this would help?”

David shook his head. “If you volunteer and tell other ponies why you did, you will help save thousands, maybe millions of lives in time, but... It's too late for Faith. She probably only has a week or two left, if that.”

A tear ran down Pinkie's cheek, and as they watched, her poofy mane seemed to slowly deflate until it hung limply from her body.

“Pinkie?”

Before anyone could ask, Ms. Scott stopped dead in her tracks, staring at an internal display as an alarm played that only she could hear. “Oh shit! She's in trouble, I have to go, now!”

In a flash she was airborne and disappearing over the treetops as the others stared after her.
Behind them, Pinkie Pie sat down and cried.

…

The crusaders had settled on a design and already started construction of their 'car' when it happened. Without warning, Faith had just fallen over and started shaking and flopping around, but she couldn't talk to them and the scared little foals had no idea what was going on.

“Faith?! Faith!”

“What's wrong? What happened to her?!”

“I don't know!” Scootaloo answered. “She was fine a minute ago, then she just...” She pointed with a shaking hoof.

“What should we do?!”

That seemed to snap Scootaloo back to the present. “Press those buttons! Remember? The ones Ms. Scott gave us in case something went wrong!”

Each of the crusaders tore out their alert button and pushed it.

Faith continued to seize on the barn floor and the smell of urine reached their noses.

“What's wrong?!” Sweetie Belle cried “Why isn't something happening?!”

“I don't know! This was supposed to-”

“Girls, what's wrong? What happened?” Ms. Scott's voice spoke from the buttons.

“We don't know!” Applebloom's voice shook with worry “Faith was just standin' there and then she fell down and now she won't stop shakin!”

“What's happening?! She needs help!”

“Okay, girls, I can see the barn now, I'm going to be there in just a moment all right?” The tense voice responded.

Sweetie Belle ran out to the open barn door and could just pick out an orange dot growing on the horizon. “Please hurry!”

“I will, but I need your help.” Her voice seemed to give them purpose again. “I need to take her back to the human world, and that means I need a clear area with nothing but her in it. Can you clear a circle about two ponies across?”

The group sprang into action, and their multicolored whirlwind of destruction had cleared an opening big enough to land a helicopter by the time Ms. Scott skidded to a halt outside.
Faith's seizure had just about worn out her small body, and she was obviously getting weaker as Ms. Scott galloped inside and readied the recall beacon.

“Thank you, girls. Now steep back, I need to take her home.”

To her surprise, none of them moved.

“We're coming too.” Applebloom stated firmly, despite the shaking in her little hooves.

“Yeah, we can't just leave her like this!” Sweetie Belle agreed, trying to look brave.

Ms. Scott knew exactly what would happen to anyone or anything on the edge of the recall field. She made a snap judgement and dialed the field up to a larger volume. “Okay, but you have to hold on tight to Faith and me okay?”

The three foals nodded and hugged her and each other as Ms. Scott reached out and triggered the recall.
The flash of white light lasted only a moment, and was gone, leaving a perfectly spherical hole where they had been standing, and an equally clean cut through the ground and part of the wall.

Author's Note:

One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic.
Joseph Stalin

Comments

[Gyro Pony]

Keep it going!!
You flesh out the story very well. Much better than I could ever do.

[Lord Of Dorkness]

...A Littlest Cancer Patient actually dying in a story? I honestly can't even remember the last time I saw that happen in any story.

Color me impressed.

Again.

I'm eagerly awaiting to see where this is going.