Chapter One
Chapter One
Scootaloo ran her hoof through the cumulus and watched the plumes drift off into the sky. They swirled, looped, and dipped. She leaned back, rested her head in her crossed forelegs, let out a blissful sigh. A performance just for her. The sun peeked out from behind a groaning white cumulonimbus. No risk of raining on her chillaxing session. She shut her eyes. For reasons she couldn’t explain, that simple act caused the warmth of the sun to increase tenfold. Eternities could be spent lying like this. Her mane flicked against her face, annoying yet so very cool. While she couldn’t say she knew exactly what paradise was like, she was pretty sure it was the spitting image of this.
She opened her eyes again, flinching as they adjusted to the sunlight. She turned her head and watched more thick plumes of cumulonimbus drift along below her. She couldn’t help but laugh. All her life she had wanted to harness the thrilling aspects of the sky: the daring tricks, the skull-crushing speeds, the endless freedom. As she laid upon the clouds, she realized that she enjoyed the meditative qualities of the upper-world just as well. She adored it all: the unceasing cloud ballets, the cooling drops of rain from a summer evening storm watching wisps of cirrus dance. She could spend hours listening to the ravens’ calls as they soared through the sky, nothing more than a pinprick against the expansive, blue backdrop. It was calming, enthralling, and she couldn’t get enough.
“Hey, squirt!” cried an unmistakable, raspy voice.
Oh yeah, Scootaloo thought, it's definitely paradise. She rose on dozing hooves. She stretched her wings, shook her legs, and craned her neck. Her legs were still pins and needles when she lifted off of the cloud. They'd just have to catch up. A real stunt flier waited for no one.
Flight was still an odd experience for her. When she was younger, it had escaped her like the answers to the universe. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t get her hooves off the ground for more than a second or two. However, once she had harnessed it, the act became second-nature, like walking or breathing.
She hovered into the air and found herself face to face with an angel, complete with coarse voice, rainbow mane, and somewhat obnoxious attitude. Sure, Rainbow Dash was anything but perfect, but then again, who was? She was close enough. All that mattered was that she had taken her under her wing, taught her to fly, and shown her the pegasus way of life. They stared at each other intently, eyes filled with a hunger for speed and a desire for adventure.
Rainbow tossed her mane. Beams of light flickered off the colors nearly blinding Scootaloo. She kept herself mostly steady, but all it took was a single wobble to draw a rasping chuckle from Rainbow Dash. “So, are you going to lollygag on the clouds all day, or are you going to do something productive?”
“Oh, so taking twenty-two hour long naps like you do?” Scootaloo smirked. Bad move. Rainbow Dash's nose was against hers in an instant, nearly knocking her into a back flip.
“My naps only last seventeen hours, thank you very much!”
“Is there a difference?” .
“Are you asking to get your flank kicked?” Dash's mane whipped against Scootaloo's face. It smelled of lightning and rain. Scootaloo never could forget the smell. She titlted again in the air. Rainbow did not seem to notice through the fire burning in her eyes.
After a long pause (for dramatic effect, as she had had been taught), Scootaloo finally let out a scoff of her own. “I’d like to see you try.”
A grin tugged at Rainbow's scowl. “Fine! If that’s the way you want it to be. Here, to Cloudsadale, to Ponyville, then back here. No breaks, no water, no exceptions.”
“You're on.” The pegasi hovered down to a thin sheet of altostratus. Rainbow drew a line along its surface. Bits of cloud sailed off toward the horizon. The air had stilled, yet onward they marched. Scootaloo stared down at her hooves. Was this really what cloud felt like? It was nice, but almost too fluffy. Like a mattress more than a solid surface. She nearly fell to the side as she tilted. Focus, girl, she chided as she leaned down into a starting position.
“On the count of three,” Rainbow said, lowering herself as well. She met Scootaloo's gaze. The grin she wore could calm a storm. “One... twothree!” Rainbow was off in a flash.
“Hey!” Scootaloo cried out, flapping desperately to catch up. They fell out of sync, she pulled a barrell roll and nearly lost direction. She leveled out and stared down a distant rainbow tail. “That’s cheating, Rainbow!”
“If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying!”
“I thought we were flying an honest race!”
“Honesty ain’t my element, squirt.”
Scootaloo ignored her. Race first, retort later. One, two, flap. One, two, flap. Slowly but surely, she began to catch up. All it would take was one misflap from Rainbow. A rare occurrence, but probable. Said opportunity came in the form of a flock of crows. Scootaloo dipped below while Rainbow narrowly avoided a collision above. Scootaloo fell in line, laughing at Rainbow's string of curses.
They were neck and neck from Cloudsdale to Sweet Apple Acres. Fire shot up Scootaloo's wings. Her left one had lost feeling two farmsteads ago. Stupid, she cursed as she chewed down on her lip. Stupid, stupid, stupid. You should have stretched. You shouldn't have gone and wasted away instead of practicing. Her wing stiffened. This time, she did lose balance. The clouds spun and blurred before her. She righted herself again, swaying in the air, bouncing into Rainbow Dash. Good. She hadn't lost much time.
“You okay, squirt?” Rainbow called out. Her grin was gone. She almost looked concerned.
“Of course I am!” Scootaloo shouted, closing her eyes, hoping it would calibrate her bearings. When she opened them again, the world blurred and jumped as violent as ever.
“I don’t want you crashing on me." Rainbow's voice seemed miles away. Scootaloo bit back the fire. How'd she fall so far behind so quick? "If you need to stop, it's cool. I don't want you hurti—”
“I don’t need anypony’s help!”
Her wing cramped again, then locked. She tumbled through the air. Ground, sky, ground, sky—the world was a blur. Bile rose in her shifting throat. With each rotation, the trees below were closer. Celestia, she could count the leaves. Her chest went hollow and all went quiet.
I’m gonna die! I’m gonna to die! She kicked her legs in a panic. Maybe they would work. She shrieked. Said shriek continued even after her voice shattered. Scootaloo stole a flickering glance upwards.
Rainbow sped towards her, eyes squinted in determination. A cone formed around Rainbow. A cone that Scootaloo had only heard about in stories. She couldn’t help but smile. If the last thing she saw was a Sonic Rainboom, then she could die a happy mare.
She could feel leaves brush and crack against the back of her head. The cone had reached its breaking point. Too little, too late, but what a way to go out. She just hoped she could see the burst before she hit the branches.
This is it...
“Scootaloo...”
I’m ready...
“Scootaloo!”
Scootaloo was blinded by a wave of light
* * *
“Scootaloo! Wake up!”
She slowly opened her eyes and glanced around the room. Her vision was blurry. The air around her smelled of wood and ink. Her cheek was damp with drool, and there was a putrid taste in the back of her throat. She lazily licked her chapped lips and attempted to lift her head off of the book, but the parchment and ink beckoned her like a Siren’s call. Her face fell flat onto the pages.
“Scootaloo, get up!”
“Fibe muhr minutz, Twi’ligh,” Scootaloo mumbled. Paper tasted super weird. “I wasb habin’ dish aweshume dreham.”
“This isn’t a hotel, and my books are certainly not meant to be used as pillows. Now, hurry up... I'm locking up in a few minutes.”
“What?” Scootaloo lifted her head from the book and squinted up at Twilight, then out the window. Sunlight painted a warm scene. Fillies and colts raced around the side streets, book-filled saddlebags still tied tautly to their backs. “It’s, like, noon!”
“Actually, it’s two o'clock,” Twilight corrected.
“Like that matters. I thought the library stays open until seven!”
Twilight raised a forehoof and closed her eyes. Scootaloo's ears flattened, bracing for an incoming lecture. “Okay, first, you and I both know that you’re not allowed to be here for that long. Second, I have a very important meeting with a friend. I'm closing up early.”
"Alright." Scootaloo shrugged. "I'll be sure to lock up for you." She returned her head to the comfort of the book-pillow. She could get used to this. It wasn't that uncomfortable, despite its nerdiness.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Now you’re just being silly. Fine then, I hate to do this, but you leave me no choice.” A purple glow and sense of weightlessness suddenly enveloped Scootaloo. Warmness coursed through her veins and cleared her groggy mind. She smiled for a second before realizing that Twilight was levitating her. “Come on, Twilight! I was reading!”
Twilight smiled. “Oh, really? I didn’t know one could read through osmosis.”
“Os-what?”
“Osmosis: The process of gradual or unconscious assimilation of ideas.”
Scootaloo stared at her, mouth agape. Were those even words? “Look, Twilight... Come on, Twilight, put me down! I can walk myself out.”
Without hesitation, Twilight set her down. Unfortunately for Scootaloo, her legs were still asleep, and she fell with a thump as soon as her hooves touched the floor. Ow.
“Oh my goodness! Scootaloo, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
Scootaloo winced but brushed off her blank flank with a cough. Stupid legs. Her wings betrayed her enough already, she didn't need them joining the rebellion. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just gotta wake up.” She stretched herself out. Sensation trickled down to her hooves, dusting off the pins and needles. She shook herself off and popped her neck before heading back towards the desk.
Twilight rolled her eyes and followed. “Scootaloo, the door’s that way,” she said, nodding over her withers.
Scootaloo could hear the familiar fizzle of a horn powering up once again. She'd be prepared this time. "You think I don’t know that? I'll be there in a sec.”
“I’m beginning to wonder,” Twilight muttered.
“Look, I just want to check out a book, Twilight. That’s all.”
“Okay, but are you actually going to read it?”
“Of course I am.”
“I’m not going to let you check it out if you aren’t going to read it. I have no qualms with quizzing you afterwards.”
“And why do you believe I won’t read it?”
“You just don’t strike me as the reading type.”
“I bet Rainbow didn’t seem like the ‘reading type’ either.”
Twilight gasped and took a step back. Her ears folded against the sides of her head as she traced the ground with her eyes. The silence was cut by steadily rising breaths. Scootaloo's felt her eyes brimming. No. No, not now. “Sorry... sorry for that, Twilight.” She joined the librarian in staring at the floor. She heard a sniffle. She could not be sure it wasn't her own.
“It’s fine, Scootaloo. I know you didn’t mean anything by it.” Twilight’s voice trembled.
Scootaloo began to take silent steps toward the table had been using as a bed. Twilight fell in line not long after. Two books lay upon the chair, and another lay open on the table, a stain still standing out on the page. Giving Twilight a sheepish grin, Scootaloo closed the book and took its spine in her teeth. The taste of old hayburgers filled her mouth. She nearly gagged. Salvation came in the form of a telekinetic spell. Twilight said nothing as she walked over to the checkout desk. She placed it on the desk and stared down. She blanched.
“Um, Scootaloo?” Twilight’s voice shook as much as her hoof as it ran along the cover.
“Yeah?”
“Why--” Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. “Why are you getting this book?”
“Eh, I don’t know. Rainbow mentioned the books a few times. She said they were ‘awesome’ and ‘cool,’ so I decided to give ‘em a shot. I got to, uh..." Scootaloo racked her brain for a number, something that would make Twilight think that she had actually read the book, rather than passing out as soon as she had opened it to a random page. "Chapter five! It was pretty good. Love the part with the whips and the ponies doing the things and all that. Yeah, books!" She lowered her gaze. "I promise I’ll finish it.”
Twilight didn’t react; she was in a whole other world, her shoulders and back tensed, her head lowered to the point that her chin nearly brushed the cover. She stared at Scootaloo for but a moment before averting her gaze. “Scoots.” Scootaloo raised a foreleg. Twilight had never called her by that nickname before. Hay, Scootaloo had never heard Twilight use anypony's nickname before. She needed to sit down. Was it just her, or had the air stopped circulating? She sucked in a dry breath. Finally, Twilight continued. “Why did you come here?”
“To read, duh...”
“Yes, but did you, um, come here for this book specifically?”
“Well, a book in the series, yeah. Why? Is that a problem?”
Twilight blinked and wiped an eye with her forehoof. “No, I was just wondering.”
Silence overtook them once more. Twilight completed the proper checkout procedures without making eye contact. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere. For a moment, Scotaloo was thankful for the silence. No doubt a talkative Twilight would probably lecture her about damaging library property or something, but as the librarian stamped away in silence, Scootaloo found herself wishing for that lecture. Something. Anything.
Twilight pushed the book forward without a word. Scootaloo picked up the book in, gave Twilight a nod of gratitude, and stuffed it into her cyan saddlebags. Once the book was secure, she trotted to a nearby bookcase and collected the scooter and helmet leaning against it. She brushed her mane back with one hoof and placed her helmet on her head with the other. Two clicks of the straps later she was good to go. The scooter rattled across the uneven floor. At least it was a sound.
Scootaloo jumped from the top step, landing atop her scooter with a flutter of her wings. On a 'cool landing' scaled, she'd give it around an eight. She shook out her wings. Before speeding off, she once again looked at Twilight. As expected, she had followed her in silence. “Thanks, Twilight. See ya later!” Maybe that would get her talking. No dice. The unicorn merely nodded, eyes still downcast.
Scootaloo rolled forward, beating her wings slowly before picking up speed. She glanced back at the library and saw Twilight standing in the doorframe. Scootaloo stopped and called back. “Twilight... are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah... I’m fine,” Twilight replied. At least her attention was focused on the sky now. Scootaloo turned her head and searched the sky for what had caught Twilight’s eye. A faint rainbow hung just above the distant hilltops. Scootaloo felt a lump choke her throat. She swallowed it away with a gasping breath.
“Have a good evening, Scootaloo.” Twilight’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Yeah... yeah, you too...” Scootaloo couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
* * *
Maybe it was just her cocky nature, but Scootaloo was certain that nopony in Equestria could ride a scooter like she could. The speeds she could reach, combined with the tricks she could pull off, were a skill-set that made even the most gutsy of ponies’ jaws drop. Ironic then that her talent with a scooter was not, in fact, her special talent. If she was meant to get a scooter cutie mark, she would have gotten it months—years—ago. She looked at her flank out of habit.
Nope, still blank.
She sighed and focused on the road. Normally, she hated the long route from downtown Ponyville to her house on the outskirts, but this was one of those exceptions. The only sounds she heard were the clicking of pebbles and twigs beneath her scooter. She closed her eyes and imagined that she was flying.
The smell of grass and the water of a nearby stream covered her mind’s canvas with green and blue, while the sound of a cold wind rustling the autumn leaves added a layer of yellow and violet. The red handlebars shook in her hooves. She grinned and could taste the moist wind as it blew through her teeth, topping off her image with a hint of indigo. This must be what flying looked like: a spitting image of a rainbow.
Rainbow...
Mentioning her name in front of Twilight had been hard enough. The actual, unprovoked mental vision hurt even more. Scootaloo had tried being tough, tough like her, but that was impossible. Her vision blurred as her hooves started to shake. Handlebars twisting in her hooves, the scooter swerved across the path, nearly sending her sprawling. She came to a stop on the side of the path and sat down in the grass, inhaling and exhaling frantically. She looked to her right. There was enough light in the sky to see where she was going. She was only five minutes from home. She could take as long of a breather as she wanted. A smirk pulled at her lips. Her father always told her to be back before sunset, and Scootaloo loved to push that envelope. She looked in front of her and realized where she was. The smirk faded.
A garden of granite and shadows loomed on the other side of the fence.
Every muscle in her body shook. Stumbling over her own hooves, Scootaloo scurried onto her scooter and fled down the path. The air bellowed as Scootaloo sped down the path. She knew crashing at this speed would be dangerous, but that didn’t matter. The only thing she could think about was getting as far away from that accursed place as quickly as possible.
Glancing to her left, she saw the outline of a cottage. Its windows were dark, just as they had been for the past two weeks. Her forelegs turned slightly. She had time for a quick visit. A little bit of company never hurt anypony, even a pony as isolated as Fluttershy. Despite her forehooves' insistence, she dug a hind hoof into the gravel halfway down the path. Being around Twilight had left her shaking; seeing Fluttershy would break her entirely. She waited a few moments. The sky darkened around the cottage, but no candle lit. She listened for the distant song of birds or splashes of fish but only silence populated the area. With a sigh, Scootaloo turned her scooter around and returned to the main road.
As she crested a large hill, she could make out her house. Light shone from the first story, and she groaned. That meant her father was home and waiting for her. She looked to the left and saw that there was still plenty of light in the sky—at least by her standards. She gave her wings a hard flap, and continued down the dirt road. She rolled up to the front steps and hopped off of the scooter, hastily removing her helmet. After checking her saddlebags to make sure her book hadn’t fallen out during the ride, she ran up the steps as fast as her legs could carry her. If she got inside and up the stairs quick enough, maybe her dad wouldn't notice.
The door flew open as she reached for it.
Rats.
Her father stood in the doorway, fearful eyes darting from her, to the horizon, and back to her. He was breathing heavily, and she could see that every muscle in his body was tense. He looked at her and the road behind her several more times, his muscles slackening with each glance. Eventually, only his heavy breathing remained. He looked down at Scootaloo, glaring daggers.
“Inside. Now!”
She entered the gaudy living room and searched for something to focus on. Her gaze shifted from the pale-mauve drapes, to her father’s unfinished sculptures in the corner of the den, and finally to the single couch that occupied the center of the room. Finding no viable distractions, she looked up at her father.
“H-hey D-d-dad,” she said, trying to shoot an innocent smile. She missed. Her lips trembled.
“Scootaloo! Du bist spät Fräulein!” Maler scolded, slipping into his native Germane tongue.
“I’m pretty sure there’s still light in the sky, Dad.”
She had him there. If anything, she was earlier than usual. Still, she could hear his heart from across the room. His hooves paced in place as he stared her down, eyebrows furrowed. What would it be this time? Grounded for life? Bed without dinner? His expression finally slackened, and Scootaloo sighed. At least she'd get an opportunity to defend herself.
“Where were you, Töchterchen? Hanging out with friends?”
“I was at the...” The words drifted off. There was no chance that he would believe her.
He leaned forward. “Where were you?”
“The library,” Scootaloo replied flatly, eyes downcast.
“You? At the library? That’s the best excuse you can come up with?”
“Hey, I’ve got the book right here!” She yanked open her saddlebag and pulled out a large book with a red cover. The cover depicted a pegasus with a golden yellow coat, cocky grin and trademark hat fighting an army of skeletons.
“Daring Do and the Phoenix Pool." He chuckled. "Well, I'll be. I used to read these books when I was colt!
“Wow," Scootaloo said, "they’re that old?”
“Are you calling me old, Töchterchen?” He smirked. Scootaloo said nothing, choosing to focus on the floorboards once more.
“So,” he continued. “Why did you get this? I know you, and I know that you hold books on the same level as broccoli and cough syrup." He laughed again. "Not saying that it’s a bad thing to start. It's just... odd.”
“I...” She drifted off, not sure if she wanted to mention the real reasons. Reality hurt too much, but at the same time, her father could see through her like thin air. Any excuse she made—any lie she told—would be detected by her father’s ever-judging eyes. She sighed and continued, “Rainbow used to talk about how ‘awesome’ they were and, well, I could use some ‘awesome’ right now.”
Her father let out a slow breath and knelt down next to his daughter. He wrapped his forelegs around her and nuzzled her cheek. “Well, from experience, I can confirm that these books are... what you call it? Awesome?”
“Yeah, that was it.”
“Although...” His face tensed up again as he read the cover. “You do realize that this is not the first book, right?” He adjusted his glasses as he stared at the cover. "I've never even read this one."
“Oh, horseappl—” She covered her mouth, hoping that it would mute the profanity. It was not enough.
“Scootaloo C. Dronte, what did I tell you about using such vile language?” Her father's face bore a mask of forced disapproval.
“Never use it.” She guiltily sighed.
“You’re damn right.” His lips pulled up in a grin.
“Hypocrite!” she cried.
“Do you even know what that word means?”
“Yeah... well, no, but I’ve heard it used to describe ponies like you!”
He chuckled. “Okay, you’ve got me." The chuckle ended in a frown as he tilted the boom, studying it like a slab of marble. He sighed. "Yeah, I remember this one. I'll warn you, if memory serves correct, this book didn't get good reviews. Series really changed for worse after this from what I read, but I believe the series doesn’t have much in the way of... what is the word? Continuity? You will probably understand what you're reading even if it is not the first book. Though if you want to actually get into it, maybe a better one?"
“Eh, I'll be fine. I don’t want to go all the way back to the library just so I can get the first book." She winced and shook her head. "Especially not after how Twilight acted.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know," Scootaloo said. "She saw that I was getting one of these Daring Do books, and then she started asking me all these questions. Why I was getting it. Who I heard about it from. And then she got all sad.”
“Well, that's understandable."
“But why? It's just a book.” Despite the words, Scootaloo felt a hole being bored into her chest. She felt like falling onto her haunches.
“You'll understand some day, sweetheart. Hopefully not any day soon." He adjusted his glasses, then tapped his hoof on the floorboard. The sound of boiling water wafted into the den. He smiled. "Say, are you hungry?” he cooed, kneeling beside her again, and wrapping a foreleg over the back of her neck.
“As a horse!” Scootaloo exclaimed, giggling. Her father seemed to appreciate the joke. He shook his head but smiled nonetheless.
“Well, that’s good because I wasn't making anything you’d like,”
“Oh... what are we having?” Her ears drooped.
“Just some icky, gross... spargel!”
“Really?” Scootaloo took to the sky, fluttering her wings and landing on all four hooves not a second later. “Meanie! You almost tricked me.”
“You and I both know that my cooking is atrocious at best.”
“If by 'atrocious' you mean totally awesome, then yeah. Unless you’re baking. That...” Scootaloo shuddered as she thought back to the gingerbread cookie disaster two Hearth’s Warming Eves ago.
Her father rolled his eyes and grimaced. The house had smelled of burning vanilla until Winter Wrap Up. “Wahr, wahr. So, what do you say? You think you can handle it?”
"I was born ready!" Scootaloo yelled. Out of habit, she lowered herself into a starting position, and her father followed suit. Their eyes met.
Her father grinned. “Drei... zwei... eins... los!" The sound of clattering hooves and raucous laughter filled the house. It was but a moment, but it was the little things that helped Scootaloo forget. A moment was better than nothing.
* * *
Scootaloo stumbled into her bedroom. “Goodnight, Dad!”.
“Goodnight, Töchterchen! Sweet dreams,” Dad called out, his voice muted by the door to his studio.
"Okay, I'll see you in the morning," she said between yawns as she closed the door.She flapped her wings. Flight once again escaped her, but it was enough to plop herself into bed. It wasn't a marathon, but it was progress. Lying around and moping wouldn’t help anything anyway. 'You don’t learn to fly by sitting on your flank all day. You learn to fly by jumping off a cliff.' That’s what Rainbow had told her. Sure, she had taken that message a little too literally at first, but over time she had grown to understand the meaning behind Rainbow’s words.
Rainbow.
Her mind really needed to stop drifting there. The nightmares were bad enough. She let her head sink into the pillow, and her mind drifted back to the dream she had at the library, specifically the fall. The tumbling, the pleading, the realization. What would it have felt like if she had hit? Would she have hit at all? It was just a dream, but.... She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes. The tears pushed and pried but she stood firm. No... I have to be brave. I have to be strong. I have to...
But she wasn't. A single tear broke free and trickled down her cheek. Then another. Then dozens upon dozens. She buried her face in the pillow to hide her sobs.
She slammed her hoof into the pillow with each gasp. Stupid. Weak. There were several things that she wanted to preserve—her mask of toughness was one of them. She hated herself for crying, but she just couldn't win. In the back of her mind, she had planted the idea that maybe, just maybe, her tears would bring those she loved back to her. Only that would make the stupid things worth it. Unfortunately, even in a magical land like Equestria, tears did little more dampen pillows.
She wiped her eyes and looked around her room. Most of her Rainbow Dash collection remained intact. The core from the apple Dash had eaten at the centennial meteor shower lay on a shelf, right next to a rainbow-wig. Wonderbolts posters and memorabilia lined all four walls (Scootaloo couldn’t recall what the walls underneath even looked like). Her gaze drifted to the nightstand, and the two items that lay upon it: a pair of goggles and a face-down picture.
Design-wise, there was nothing particularly special about the goggles. They were a generic set that one could buy at any local bit store, but they were special to. Rainbow Dash had worn them. They weren’t just Rainbow’s property, they were a part of her. Rainbow had simply given to them on a whim one day; Scootaloo had sworn to protect them. Back then, Rainbow had simply rolled her eyes, but it had planted something. It had to have. Not long after that, Rainbow had started speaking to her more often. Scootaloo placed the lens of the goggle against her ear. If she pressed hard enough, she almost swore she could hear her. "Rainbow?" she whispered.
Of course, she received no response. She sighed and placed them back on the nightstand. They bumped against the face-down picture frame. She let her hoof hover and tremble over the frame for a few seconds. No. Not now. Not tonight.
She reached for the floor and, after several missed swipes, found her saddlebags. She rummaged through them until her hoof smacked against something hard. Slowly, she pulled the book out and looked at the cover. Daring Do stared at her through the darkness, eyes still gleaming with determination.
“Why not?” Scootaloo mumbled. She hopped out of bed, reached under it, and pulled out a lantern filled with fireflies. How the fireflies were still alive was a mystery—she’d had the lantern stuffed under her bed for at least a week. She placed the lantern on her nightstand, hopped back into bed with a determined flap of her wings, and opened the book. The fireflies’ lights were dim, and Scootaloo had to squint to make out the words, but sure as the moon rises, the words came into focus.
“Daring Do and the Phoenix Pool.”
– – –
Prologue:
The strength of the gale threatened to blow Daring Do’s hat off her head. She could barely see through the stinging rain, but she could make out the outline of a mountain. The distance between her and her destination was still far more than she’d hoped, and the storm showed no signs of letting up anytime soon, but she had to keep moving.
Lightning strikes illuminated the world around her. The light was blinding, and Daring Do found herself looking down, shielding her eyes from the searing flash. She saw a face in a puddle—a face she didn’t recognize—and she turned to attack. However, nopony was behind her. Perplexed, she looked back at the puddle. Lightning flashed, and she couldn’t believe what she saw.
Dark circles surrounded her eyes, and water droplets cascaded off her unkempt, oily mane. Her eyes were red from nights without sleep. Her vest hung loose around her torso, and her leg muscles lacked firmness. Food had been hard to come by in the lifeless plains of Strideberia—not that she felt like eating in the first place. There was no time to eat or rest.
She didn’t know how much longer she could go on, but she had no choice. She needed to find the Phoenix Pool, find the spirit of her father, and return him to the land of the living.
If only the journey had been so simple. This wasn’t a quest for treasure. Not anymore. This was for them all. Names, faces flashed through her mind. Pallah, Gordo, Silver Strings, Cay. Somehow her blood grew colder.
"You can think later," Daring Do whispered. She gritted her teeth, pressed a hoof to her hat, and marched onward. So many steps, so many miles. A few more, painful as they were, would not...
– – –
Scootaloo was already bored. I thought Rainbow said these books were awesome? All about action and adventure and treasure and kicking butts and all that good stuff. All I’m seeing is some girl walking. She had not even made it past the first page. Rainbow had rarely been wrong, but could even the coolest pony in all of Equestria in the history of ever like something uncool? Scootaloo chewed the inside of her cheek.
She made a wager with herself. If the first chapter was five pages long or fewer, she’d read it. She flipped back through the pages, passing the table of contents. She cursed to herself and started to flip forward again. Before the first page had passed something caught her eye. She flipped back once again. On the inside cover was a map filled with lines, dots, and other weird symbols.
She could see a sketch of a mountain peak, with the words Phlegethon scribbled next to it. There was a dot near the top of the mountain, marked with the words Phoenix Pool. She scanned the map, studying every detail of the proposed route. Finally, her eyes settled on the starting point of the trek, and her heart stopped.
Canterlot...
The book fell to the floor.
Could it be? No, books were fictional. Well, good books were fictional, if ever a book had the possibility of being good. Canterlot was the capital. That's the sole reason why it was there. A common city. No, there was no reason to get excited. But... what if?
"Ugh!" She clasped her head in her forehooves, massaging her temples gingerly. Nopony had told her that this thinking thing was so hard. She got out of bed, picked up the book, and trotted over to her desk. Sweeping unfinished homework and detention notices away with a foreleg, she placed the book on the table and took a seat. The desk held little of use. A couple of unfinished comics, a crumpled love letter from Snails, a moldy daisy sandwich, a whole bunch of nothing. Finally, right at the back, she found what she was looking for: a map of Equestria.
She flattened it against the desk and placed the book next to it. She scurried to her nightstand, retrieved the lantern, and quickly tiphoofed back to the desk. Her eyes darted from the book to the map, constantly comparing the two. There was a forest on the real map, and a forest in the exact same spot on the book’s map. The location of Canterlot in relation to Ponyville matched up perfectly. Even the rivers seemed to follow very similar curves. And then she found it.
On the real map, way up in the far corner, in the exact same spot that the book said 'Phlegethon' was located, was an isolated triangle. She could hardly keep her eyes from blurring as she dragged a quivering hoof across the legend of the map. At last she found it. Triangles were the symbol used for only one thing: mountains.
There was no way. She rubbed her eyes and checked again. The triangle remained, its twin resting on the cover beside it. “Sweet Celestia,” Scootaloo muttered. She could not move. Her chest welled up to the bursting point. A desire to laugh, a desire to cry. She rose from the chair and shuffled to her bed. She sat down on the edge, mouth agape and eyes unfocused. She moved her hoof over to the nightstand, and wrapped her foreleg around the picture frame. Even in the darkness she could make out the distinctive rainbow-mane.
She gave the photo a melancholic smile and hugged it to her chest with the same gentleness that one would hold a newborn foal. Her eyes stung with fresh tears as she rocked back and forth on the mattress. In between heaving, shaky breaths, she whispered, "I'll get you back, Rainbow Dash...
"I'll get you back..."
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Definitely got some potential with this one. I especially liked the interaction between Scootaloo and her father.
Gonna keep an eye on this one.
God damnit, I am going to cry sooner or later.
This story is so cute. I'll be tracking it.
Love me some Scootaloo stories. Tracking
Great so far, keep up the good work.
Messing with the boundry between this world and the next? Nothing can possibly go wrong!
294955
Nope, no problems whatsoever
twilight.ponychan.net/chan/fic/src/132203054200.png
Tracking, can't wait for more.
Neat.
Looking forward to where this story goes.
By the by, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned your title yet; it's certainly what caught my eye:
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
~from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Intentional?
294966
Yes that was intentional. Big fan of LOTR and that quote in general
This was incredible. The emotions were captured amazingly and the characters were written very well. I need to know what happens next! Thank you for writing this.
You have a gift for beautiful prose. Sometimes it's a tad bit too purple... but you know what? The adornment never strays to far from being tasteful and delightful. Splendid job.
I love Scootaloo and her father. The being German(e) was both clever and surprising. It adds an interesting little bit of color, and it's nice to see someone trying to find a different backstory than orphan. (Though that's been done well too!) I love that you sort of hinted at Rainbow's death with the goggles- even if it's not true, you've given me clues that make me assume it was a flying accident (cracks, stain) so that it's still in my mind and hanging over the reader as much as it hangs over our intrepid little filly.
Looking forward to this! Definitely worth reading, and already a delightful story.
This is off to an intresting start.
But I find your German sounds odd.
"Sie sind spät Scootaloo." is a very formal way to great one's daughter, even If one is trying to sound very strict. "Du bist spät Fräulein." would sound more natural.
And that he is calling his daughter "Tochter". That's like calling her daughter all the time. If he's using it as a nickname I think "Schatz, Schatzilein, Mein Schatz" or "Töchterchen" would work better.
295046
Thanks for the input. I don't really know German (I'm just a silly American who got the idea to incorporate a foreign language into a fic), so getting some hints from someone who knows the language is extremely helpful.
Of course, I can always say "The language is Germane not German" as an excuse, but I'd rather the foreign dialogue be somewhat accurate.
Holy buck.
What drew me to this was the LOTR title (thank you Bilbo) and the coincidence that I'd just been watching Return of the King Extended Edition Blu-Ray.
But now... you get a stache
, goggles 
, and me tracking it.
May the Grace of the Valar Protect You
Shire Folk
Pretty good, ill be looking forward to the next chapter.
Oh boy, this is going to be good.
And I hope, with the power of 1000 alicorns, that Scoots will succeed.
I'm not one for sad fics involving character death, but this is one very unique and captivating twist to that concept that's keeping me hooked.
Tracking
"Her eyes were read from nights without sleep"
Red?
SO. MUCH. GOOD.
Typos
Through every storm, end every race,
and not end
Her eyes were read from nights without sleep.
red not read
Anyway this is looking pretty good so far; I don't like how Spike is just not mentioned, I never like it when authors shove characters out of a story or scene because it would distract from the story's subject... but you're not losing anything for that, not yet anyway.
What I did like was a lot of the detail in the scenery and how it played on the story; this get a like from me and four stars on EQD.
it reminds me a bit of the fic A Rose is a Rose...can't wait for more!
296036
This is just the first chapter... Spike will show up, as will the rest of the mane 6 (well, mane 5, but still...)
oh i am tracking this for sure
296108 > "Mane 5", is that a spoiler to the eventual outcome or just an observation of the current state of affairs?
296936
Observation of current state of affairs
55 likes
0 dislikes
Also, I love this story. Fucking Favorited.
I took me until the end to figure out rainbow dash was, you know, ..
I like it so far. Though,the interactions between Scootaloo and her father gave me diabetes.
Judging from his name, is he a professional artist or something?
Poor RD... I picked up what happened during Twilight's internal monologue. I wonder how she...
I expect great things from this story. Terrible, yes. But great. Many manly tears will be shed.
Well well well, I'm definitely tracking this one!
Looks like it's time Scootaloo proves she's not chicken!
The character interactions are really well done and I love the concept. Go go Scoots! Nothing bad ever comes from playing with resurrection. Nope, nothing at all. This has great potential.
"Du bist spät Fräulein" I'm pretty sure you only call people Fraulein if they're old, I think normally it's just Frau. As a address my German teacher by Frau followed by their name. Like how you'd call someone mrs anderson. It would be frau anderson.
Oh wait fraulein is how you address a child formally, so you're correct, please disregard my last comment.
Nice. Tracked like a mo-fo.
Will Scoot Scoot adventure alone to this pools of magicness or will the Crusaders become her companions or.....her 'fellowship' you could say, hehehe. Anyways! Its a great story and i'm really excited for the next chapter...tracking and thumb!
Man, I don't know if i'm willing to accept what happened to RD until you write it. Great story though.
I cried. I am crying as I am writing this comment, I will cry if you do not finish this, and I will cry after you do finish this.
The last tears, althrough, will be the tears of joy.
*looks at author's avatar*
Dammit. It's like Scootaloo is being shipped with Sweetie Belle EVERYWHERE.
Even in my side-story, "Pinkie of the Colossus", there's a shipping-esque moment between Sweetie Belle and Scoots, although that was in Dual Pie's dream, which had more of a focus on forgiveness, but Sweetie had apparently head-patted Scoots to sleep.
and then there's Equestria Total War....
298695 Scootaloo was never chicken. ...But she WAS like Marty McFly, and can be talked into ANYTHING so long as you ask if she's chicken.
332220 It was a joke Xaos, but I'm guessing you knew that.
Honestly though, I think Scootaloo doesn't get enough love. I'd honestly like to see more stories where she's put to the test and comes out just as, if not more awesome than her idol!
332354 yeah, I know it was a joke. The whole "Scootaloo is a chicken" joke has been around ever since "the Stare Master". Heck, I even used it (and will probably continue to use it) in "Pinkie of the Colossus".
....those emoticons do NOT match the scene at all.
But yes. Scootaloo does NOT get enough love. I'm looking forward to more installments to this story, but "Buck to the Future" really excites me for some reason.
"Great Scoot!"
I especially like the way that you dont really go into how rainbow died in this fic. You know that she is dead, and you hinted that it was some kind of accident from the cracked goggles, but besides that, who knows how it happened? I love how you left it to our imagination. My suggestion would be to not really go into the details of her death, and focus more on peoples reactions to it. Also, I am usually pretty sure how a story will end, but with this one, its not so much. It could easily go either way, Rainbow comes back, or Scootaloo fails. Either way, I think that it would make for a great story. Mabey you could write an alternate ending where she either revives her, or doesnt revive her, depending on what you plan to do. Anyways, its your fic, so dont feel pressured or anything, but I am really looking forward to the rest of this story.
looks to be a good one! i love these fanfics when they arent crazy rape-gore-incest fics!
I really enjoy the way you portrait Scootaloo. And making Rainbow's death a mystery so far is a good thing, it creates more suspense that way. Great beginning, I wonder where this is going. I'll definitely track this story.
Using German(e) is a nice touch, but you're a bit off here and there. Nothing too bad, but nobody would say “Drei... zwei... eins... geh!", it would be “Drei... zwei... eins... los!". If you want to include more of it in the future, I wouldn't mind helping out. It's my first language.
Keep up the good work
Scootaloo's last name is "Dronte"? How did I miss that on my initial readthrough? She really is a chicken, isn't she! Well, a tropical equivalent.
No, I don't speak Germane. Thank you, Google Translate.
why
why must scootaloo suffer all the abuse?
tracking and can't wait to see where the story takes me.
sadly enough when i was reading this "dust in the wind" was playing
I wish I had more time to read today
Tommorow
294973 OOhhh... LOTR fan? If there's LOTR influence am I stupid to much when I hope for an epic story and a happy, even unnatural ending?