Homecoming of a Jumper

by tosety

12 What Scootaloo Can't Handle

Steelskin was awoken from a fitful sleep by a gentle knock on his door. The light streaming in his window assaulted his eyes.

“Coming,” he called out, glancing at his clock.

9:46

He smiled at the custom magic display based on Alex’s home reality. It was a nice little gift Twilight gave him as a housewarming present.

His smile fading, he dragged himself to the door, having a good idea who would be greeting him there.

His heart dropped into his stomach when he opened the door, finding exactly who he didn’t want to, but very much expected to see. His ears pinned back as he, for the dozenth time since last night, remembered his and Scootaloo’s parting. He felt his eyes start to mist up and he fought it with all his strength.

“Hi, Alex,” he said, just barely keeping a quaver out of his voice. “This is because of last night, isn’t it?”

“It’s okay,” he responded. “From what little Scoots told me, I’m pretty sure I don’t have to be mad at you.”

He gave a weary smile before continuing. “May I come in?”

Alex glanced down in surprise as Scootaloo pushed in front of him to glare at Steelskin.

“What was up with you last night?” she asked, trying to use her anger to push down the hurt she was feeling.

Wordlessly, Steelskin stepped aside to invite them in and they all walked into his livingroom.

Alex glared at his daughter as she walked into the livingroom before turning to Steelskin. “Do you have any tea I can make?”

Steelskin gave a thin smile. “Tea’s in the second cupboard from the left, pot’s in the cabinet directly below it.”

While they were talking, Scootaloo sat on the couch, blinking back tears. Steelskin followed her in and sat on one of the floor cushions opposite it, guilt forming a painful lump in his throat.

As she sat looking at him, her hurt and anger faded. In its place welled up concern as she saw him with a weariness she’d only seen on her dad’s face.

“So, Steel, what’s up with us?”

“What do you mean?” Steelskin looked away, failing completely at hiding the fact that he knew exactly what she meant.

“Us. You, me, the fact that we both like each other.” Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed as irritation resurfaced.

“I told you before. I’m too old-”

“You’re a year younger than me, and don’t go talking about all the ‘years’ you spent jumping. Yeah, you went through Tartarus, and that made you grow up fast, but,” Here, her eyes started getting moist. “I’ve been through some pretty rough stuff too.”

Scootaloo put a hoof on his before continuing. “You can’t keep it in. I wanna be there for you.”

“I-I can’t.” Steelskin looked down at her hoof before continuing. “I’m too broken. What I’ve seen... You saw how I treated Tiara. I really thought I was being... I don’t think I’m a pony anymore.”

“Tell me,” Scootaloo said emphatically.

Steelskin’s expression hardened in determination. “I don’t want you to have the nightmares I do.”

“You’re a bucking stupid flank head.” Scootaloo glared at Steelskin. “You think I can’t handle knowing somepony I care about’s been hurt or in danger? Have my dad show you his back. Have him tell you about the diamond dog he punched through the window then beat the fleas off. I bucking had to yell and hit him to get him to snap out of it before he killed her.” Her voice rose in anger and frustration.

Steelskin stared at her in confused embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t think-”

“Of course you didn’t think. You didn’t think about how my mom’s an Element of Harmony. You didn’t think about how she’s gone up against Nightmare Moon. You know, the bucking alicorn that almost killed her own sister and tried to bring about eternal night twice. You didn’t think about the fact she’s gone up against Discord, a god of chaos that could’ve turned her inside out. Or bucking Sombra. Or the bucking monster of the week out of the Everfree Forest.”

Tears dripped down both their faces and Steelskin pawed the floor, unable to meet her withering glare.

Scootaloo continued. “Or how about me?” She got up and hit him on the chest, counterpointing her words. ”You think I’m fragile after my bucking birth parents locked me in a closet for most of my childhood? How they rolled dice every day to see if they fed me? I can barely fly because of them, but, guess what? I can handle it!”

Scootaloo tackled him in a teary hug.

After a moment, Steelskin pushed her away. “You wanna know what I’ve seen?” His voice was tinged with anger. “I’ve seen your wings ripped off. I’ve seen the Elements of ’Harmony’ kill Celestia and Luna. I’ve seen Matt put ponies’ heads on spikes! I’ve seen you thrown into a cage and tortured because I wouldn’t do what an evil version of your dad wanted me to!”

Steelskin’s eyes went wide as he realized what he was saying. His voice dropped to a whisper. “I-I just don’t want to hurt you.”

Scootaloo’s eyes went wide as well and she looked a little green as she thought about what he just said.

After a moment of shocked horror, her mouth closed into a tight line. She pulled back her hoof and punched him in the face. “Knowing you’re hurting hurts me. Yeah, I might have nightmares when I hear those stories, I might even get sick like my mom did when she first saw dad’s scars, but it’ll be worth it to know you’re not having to face it all on your own.”

Scootaloo grabbed him back into a fierce hug and let her tears soak into his mane.

After a few moments, she looked up to see her dad in the doorway.

“So, looks like you’re having a pretty deep chat,” He said as he sat down on the couch.

Scootaloo stretched her neck to stare pointedly at Steelskin. “He was telling me how I’m too fragile to hear what he’s been through.”

Alex looked pointedly but kindly at Steelskin. "You think my princess is too fragile? She knows most of my stories, and Dash told her stuff even I found a little disturbing." Alex placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled in pride. "She’s one of the strongest ponies I know."

Scootaloo stuck her tongue out at Steelskin as he sighed deeply.

“So, you think Loo can handle hearing about how Tallic killed a dragon and made me bathe in its blood?” Steelskin looked between them, hoping to see how that affected them.

“Whaddya think, Scoots?” Alex grinned at her as he stood up. Steelskin thought he saw some slight worry in their eyes.

She shrugged, trying to act like it wasn’t a big deal. "Can't be as bad as the time Mom fought Discord.” Her face darkened a little, unable to keep up the act. “All those ponies he did things to…” She turned and looked at her dad with a little shudder. “I still can’t believe you humans made a kids show about that.”

“Yeah,” He responded. “They cut out most of what he did and put in a few more silly things.”

Scootaloo turned back to Steelskin with a determined glare. “Yeah, I think I can handle it."

---

#DS-1#
@Arrival+3 Minutes@

---

“Oh, great, another one.”

The voice was resigned and frightened, and the direction implied it was a pegasus.

I struggled to my hooves. I could feel Tallic right behind me, slowing his breathing and forcing quick healing of the jump sickness. Not that he would ever admit that it was anything more than a minor inconvenience.

“Quick, get Twilight and the others, looks like it teleported in and is still a little dazed,” Ordered a second voice from the ground on the other side of Tallic.

“Peace, friends,” Tallic rumbled. “We mean you no harm.”

“Great piles of steaming minotaur flop, it’s awake!” The first said even as she flew off.

---

“Interesting expletive,” Alex said with a slight frown.

Steelskin got the hint. “Yeah, I guess at my age, I should be censoring that stuff.”

Scootaloo gave a little huff.

---

#DS-1#
@Arrival +5 Minutes@

---

“Not only do I not wish to harm you, but, strange as it seems, I am willing to befriend you.” The anger in Tallic’s voice made me wince.

“Calm yourself down if you want them to believe that,” I whispered at him.

Tallic continued on in a slightly less threatening voice. “Is Twilight Sparkle a princess here, and are their majesties Princesses Celestia and Luna the rulers of this land?”

“P-princess Twilight?”

“From your tone, I would expect that the answer to my first question is a negative. I assume Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn is still Celestia’s protege?”

“How do you know about that?”

Tallic sighed mightily. “Just make sure she knows that I wish peace and will not attack unless attacked. I have had dealings with her in other realities and I would rather not have to match power with her again-Ouch!”

I heard an audible smack of hooves on snout.

“Rainbow Dash, I presume?” Tallic’s voice dropped again to a snarl. “I am getting quite tired of how you greet me in these varied realities.”

“Don’t give me that, you vicious dragon! Once Twilight gets here, we’re going to bust your flank up,” Dash’s voice said.

---

“Oops, sorry, gonna take a while since I’m not used to being able to be a kid,” Steelskin said. “But you can’t say your wife doesn’t talk like that.”

Alex’s face was neutral. “I admit nothing.” He then hummed and hawed theatrically for a moment. “Well, maybe sometimes.”

Scootaloo snorted then snickered, almost spilling her tea. “Yeah, sometimes.”

The kettle started whistling and the three stood up and walked into the kitchen to have their tea. Settling down at the table, the two ponies watched Alex start the tea steeping.

---

#DS-1#
@Arrival +10 Minutes@

---

I was starting to see blurs, so I figured I might be able to smooth things over.

Hopping up on Tallic’s back, I called out to the blobs in front of me. “Don’t worry, Tallic’s nice. He’s been protecting me ever since I got caught in his jump.”

Well, that’s what I was planning to do. What actually happened is that I jumped up, barely had my balance when I opened my mouth and promptly threw up, lost my balance, and slid down his side in a long smear of my own sick. Tallic whipped his tail around and caught me just before I slid off completely.

“He’s been taking care of me,” I said, struggling not to throw up again as he set me down on the ground.

“Oh, you poor dear,” A white and purple blob said with Rarity’s voice and I felt a cloth wipe at my muzzle.

“They’re jumpers!” Twilight Sparkle’s voice called out.

I sat, refusing to move away from Tallic, but letting them clean me up as my vision returned.

“I assume, from my warm welcome, that you have been having difficulties with my kind?”

”Metalicanaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Tallic jumped back, starting to spread his wings and raise his foreclaws in defense before he forced himself to relax and greet his pink nightmare.

“Ooh! Steelskin too,” Pinkie said, jumping forward to give me a hug, completely ignoring the remains of vomit on my coat.

Twilight trotted over. “Pinkie, what is-”

“This is superterriffic! Metallicana-”

“Tallic,” I interrupted Pinkie, knowing Tallic didn’t like using that name.

“Tallic is training Steelskin, here, in dragon slayer magic-”

Twilight cocked her head in interest. “Dragon slayer?”

“Yupperooni!”

Pinkie went on to explain about the dragon civil war with very few corrections from Tallic.

”Oh, no! I forgot!” Pinkie pulled something big out of... well, I don’t know, it was Pinkie after all. “Both of you should drink this. It’ll help with the jump effects,” She said with a wink at Tallic.

I took a sip from the cup thrust into my hooves and immediately felt my stomach settle, my head clear, and the last of the fuzziness leave my vision.

Tallic did the same with a keg, glaring at Pinkie Pie.

---

“So, you’re telling me Pinkie already had a keg of something that cured jump sickness?” Alex looked at Steelskin incredulously before shaking his head. “Nevermind, we’re talking about Pinkie here, of course she did.”

Scootaloo giggled. “Yup, sounds like Pinkie alright.”

“You have no idea,” Steelskin said with a snicker.

He sobered up and continued the story. “Twilight told us what had been going on.”

---

#DS-1#
@Arrival -2 weeks@

---

The first warning Ponyville had was Lilly Valley screaming “The Horror!”

Most ponies hadn’t even looked over at her before a blast of fire engulfed several buildings. Overhead, a giant green-yellow dragon flew overhead, belching fire as it scanned the town, looking for something. Most ponies scattered, but a few unicorns were firing on it and a flight of pegasi rushed off to get some rainclouds.

The dragon turned its attention towards the unicorns and inhaled just as Matt stepped out from an alleyway and unloaded a few plasma blasts, trying to find a vulnerable spot. It banked towards him as he ducked behind an alleyway.

On the other side of the street, Twilight stepped out in the middle of the street and fired a blast that the dragon dodged around just as Matt hit its wing. It roared its pain and renewed its charge towards where he was holed up, slamming into the building and burying him in rubble.

Twilight took the opportunity to catch it in a paralysis field, but it responded by sending a gout of fire point blank. It washed over a hastily erected ice shield. It shrugged off the paralysis and brought a claw down on the dome of ice.

As the ice shield crumbled, the dragon’s head jerked down and swung around to another alleyway. It leapt at the alley just as a mass of spikes exploded from the side of its neck, electricity crackling around it. It howled in pain as it grabbed the mass of writhing spikes and ripped it from its neck. With its free claw, it grabbed Alex and squeezed before throwing him into a building and launching itself into the air.

Its tail smashed into him on its way up as a final goodbye.

---

Scootaloo’s intake of breath brought Steelskin up short and caused Alex to put a hand on her shoulder.

“You really want me to keep going?” Steelskin tried to hide his discomfort at subjecting Scootaloo to the story with a look that screamed ‘I told you so.’

Scootaloo returned the look. “I told you already. I can take it.” She pushed her dad’s hand away and sat up straight. “Keep going.”

Alex poured the three of them more tea and Scootaloo took a careful sip, hoping to settle her stomach.

“Okay.” Steelskin narrowed his eyes. “Twi was out cold. I think she had tried to reinforce Trace’s shield. Trace ran off to the library to get some healing potions, but wasn’t able to make it back in time. Alex died in Dash’s hooves shortly after she got there...”

Steelskin shut his eyes, trying to stop his own tears at the painful memory. “It made a couple more raids before Tallic and I arrived.”

---

#DS-1#
@Arrival+5 Days@

---

“Why aren’t we bringing the cave down on him?” I asked.

“Never fight a dragon in or even near their cave unless you have something to prove to her.” Tallic gazed into the distance for a little while with a slight smile on his face before frowning and looking back to me. “When you need to kill a dragon, you catch him by surprise and every attack should be a killing strike.”

We waited for several days before it made its appearance. Tallic spent most of the time ‘napping’ while I hung out with whoever wanted to visit. It was usually the jumpers or the elements, and they always brought food for me even though I told them I was fine grazing.

Finally, on the fifth day, Tallic opened his eyes and told me to hide in the woods.

A shadow fell over us as I ran to the nearest clump of trees as Tallic leapt into the air, scales shining like polished mirrors. It dodged him, just barely avoiding his talons before unleashing a torrent of flame and circling around to grab at Tallic’s wing. Tallic pulled the wing in and launched a spike through its own wing membrane and into its side. Tallic snapped at its neck as it lashed out with its tail. Luckily, it just bounced off Tallic’s hide.

Tallic grabbed at the tail with a hind leg, getting distracted enough for it to grab him around the neck. Even as the dragon was grabbing at him with its other claw, Tallic grabbed its neck with his foreclaws and brought his hind claws up to break the dragon’s wings. As they fell, Tallic angled himself to hit the ground near me and dug his opposing claws into its throat as their impact dug a ten tail trench in the grass. A few moments of struggle ensued before Tallic pulled himself off his mortally wounded enemy.

He limped towards me, multiple gashes leaking silvery blood onto the grass. Behind him, the green dragon feebly struggled to right itself. “Come here quickly. A dragon’s blood is too powerful to waste.”

I numbly walked over to him, still reeling from watching the fight. I was more concerned with trying to figure out when he got all the wounds during his fight.

“The blood of a dragon gives a dragon slayer power. The dragon slayers of the civil war would bathe in the blood of the dragons they killed. These realities are getting more and more dangerous, so we must use what we can to strengthen you and prepare you for what lies ahead.” As he finished talking, he ripped the dying dragon’s throat out and threw me under the flow of blood.

---

Scootaloo ran to the bathroom and violent retching sounds came from within.

Alex reached out and put a hand on Steelskin’t hoof and smiled sadly. “Don’t worry, she wants to be stronger. She knew what she was getting into.”

Steelskin gave a smile that almost reached his eyes. There wasn’t anything to say, so he just thought about the feeling of the burning dragon blood soaking into his coat and filling him with a power that was even more frightening for the accompanying desire for more. His breathing quickened as he remembered how good it felt to sit there, absorbing a dead dragon’s blood while Tallic ripped open its chest and ate its heart and lungs.

Scootaloo marched in and downed the rest of her cold tea before glaring at Steelskin and wrapping him in a fierce hug.

“It bothers me, but I can take it,” she whispered. “What I can’t take is knowing that you’re suffering alone.”

Steelskin gave a choked laugh.

“What would you say if I told you I enjoyed the feeling of power its blood was giving me?”

Alex looked a little nervous, but Scootaloo, after swallowing hard, replied, “I don’t care. I know you’re a good pony.”

She swallowed hard again and poured herself another cup of cold tea, downing it in one gulp. “You’re better than a good pony. You’re more like my dad than anypony I've ever met - well, with the exception of Mom.”

Alex looked a little uncomfortable about the praise, but Steelskin was too busy being floored by the look of determination in her eyes to notice.

---

#DS-1#
@Arrival+5 Days@

---

Dash caught herself just before she hit the ground, but was still stunned to the point of unresponsiveness at the sight of me covered in dragon blood. I, myself, was so caught up in the feeling of the dragon’s power seeping into me that I didn’t notice her until Trace came barrelling into the clearing made by Tallic and the other dragon’s landing.

I almost missed the sight of Dash because she bolted, leaving a blast of wind I felt from fifty tails away.

Trace glanced briefly at her fading rainbow trail before turning to us.

“What’s this about?” he asked, gesturing vaguely.

Suddenly, I became painfully aware of the smile on my face and the blood soaking my coat and mane.

Swallowing loudly, Tallic gave an answer. “We are keeping the power of this dragon from being wasted.”

“I see...” Trace responded hesitantly. “Well, seeing as you’re both unharmed, I suppose I’ll let the others know the dragon has been… ‘dealt with’, assuming Rainbow Dash hasn't already beaten me to the punch.” Turning, he muttered something under his breath before teleporting away.

I’m pretty sure that, between the two of them, they warned everypony off. We had very few visitors, and the only one who didn't disappear shortly after thanking us for saving Ponyville was Matt. Tallic ended up giving him the meat and trying to give him a few other parts. Even he wasn't really comfortable with the whole blood bath thing.

---

Scootaloo returned from her second run to the bathroom with a look that just dared Steelskin to mention it.

Once she had his full attention, she spoke with steely determination. “I told you. The thing I can’t handle is knowing you’re alone.”

With that, she hit him in the face.

Hard.

Author's Note:

Thanks again to my prereaders and fellow Memverse writers.

DS is short for dragon slaying