Left With A Feather

by Silver Octave

Chapter 4: First Step to a Long Journey

Blaze looked to his left then right, waiting for Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to come at him. They were playing a game called Zombies, and he was the last one 'living'(not it). He stepped softly as he hid behind a bush to avoid the two fillies in front of him. Then he noitced that the bush was starting to burn. He backed away and slid down a steep hill that eventually came to an end at a hidden cave. He wasn't sure it was there before because he's played with the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the field in front of Ponyville that faced the city of Canterlot on the Two Sister's Mountain.

Scootaloo heard Blaze scream as he fell, and ran to where he started his dissent. Looking back at Apple Bloom who arrived with Sweetie Bell, and barked.

"Go get help! I'll see if I can get him back up. He might be hurt!"

"You sure us? I'm sure Sweetie can use her mag-"

"Go! Hurry!" Scootaloo yelled louder, her voice cracked a few times.

Apple Bloom trotted off with Sweetie Bell mostly because they hadn't seen her like that before. It had only been two weeks since her camping trip with Rainbow Dash, and she still had trouble crossing the bridges around Ponyville. However they both wanted to also get help so they just listened to her.

Scootaloo looked down the hole in the ground a few tears slid down her face. After wiping them she inhaled and jumped into the hole balls first sliding down the long slide.

Blaze felt like the slide was a long one, after counting to himself it lasted almost two minutes. There he saw a temple with a glowing figure on the top of the steps. After looking at the figure it looked like a unicorn. It even waved to him which caught him by suprise. He stated to walk towards to figure, and it started to dull into a cobalt blue coat. It's mane was a black color, and it's eyes were ruby blue.

He smiled and gave Blaze a hug. "Look at you!"

Blaze pulled away and looked at the unicorn with the look of utter confusion written on his face. "W-who are you?"

The unicorn laughed with a low belly laugh. "I'm your father! Look at you stallion! You look so grown up."

"How do you know I'm your son? I'm a freak..." Blaze said. "You aren't a phoenix." He sat down with his head hanging low, and his wings flopped to the sides of him, unfolden.

Silver's ears dropped as he walked carefully up to Blaze. "Oh but you are, Dark Wing."

Blaze looked up at Silver with even greater confusion. "How do you know my real name?! Not even Scootaloo knows that!" Blaze shouted.

Silver backed up, then sat next to Blaze. "Because I gave you that name. It came to me in a dream I had the night we found out you were going to be a colt. I told your mother, and she said it sounded like she'd agree with. You know I watch you two everyday, and that Scootaloo looks like a keeper."

Just then Scootaloo shout out of the slide and flipped a few times until she rolled to the steps of the temple. "I need to go. She can't see me anyways. Only the dead can go here." Silver said standing up. "This is the death gate. If you touch it will judge your actions while you were alive. White is the Summerlands, Red is Tartarus, and green is you're not done yet."

Blaze looked at Silver. "Can I tell mom?"

Silver touched the gate, and turned white while he looked back at Blaze. "No...you can't."

Scootaloo came to her senses and found Blaze crying on the top of the steps. His tears fizzled as they hit the ground. Each one turning into a line of steam. She hazely walked up the stairs, still dazed from her tumble, and approched Blaze.

"Why are you crying." She asked him.

Blaze shook his head. "I...I just saw my dad..."

"And I don't have parents." Scootaloo instantly said her deepest secret she had in her vault of 'Never tell anyone' secrets. Blaze had clearly wanted to keep this a secret to only her, so it was only right to repay what was given. "I won't tell a soul. I promise...I promise..." She said hugging Blaze as he continued to weep uncontrollably.

Blaze looked up at Scootaloo. "S....s-same...here..."

After about ten minutes had passed a flash of blue light entered the room at the bottom of the stairs.

"Arth thou little ponies fine?" Luna asked in a worried tone. "What are thou two doing in such a place this? Arth thou dead? Oh what a sad day."

"We're not dead, we came out of a hole." Scootaloo said. "Can you help us?"

Luna nodded. "I can send you to the surface." She said, then saw Blaze. "He can't come."

Scootaloo looked at Luna with both anger and confusion. "Why?!" She asked.

Luna flew close to him, and Blaze backed up. "I don't under stand..." Luna said. "Touch the doors! Now if you wish to return."

Blaze looked over at Scootaloo. It was like it was saying 'help me', but all she could do was stand there. He touched the door, and orange runes bolted from where his hoof made contact with the door. Luna watched with amazement, seeing this for the first time. Blaze had looked back long enough to see this, and moved his hoof away.

Blaze cleared his throat. "Can...can I go home now?" He asked. "This place gives me the creeps."

Luna's horn lit up as she charged spell, and the next thing they knew, they were on the surface. They looked at each other, then looked for Luna, but she was no where to be seen. Blaze stood up, wiping his tears away, and stared at Scootaloo.

"How come you didn't tell me before?" Blaze asked.

Scootaloo's head dropped. "I it's something I don't want to talk about." She said.

"Then where do you think we are?" Blaze asked. They woke in a forest.

Scootaloo looked around for any symbolism of their location, but she hear rough running waters to her right. "Do you hear that?"

Blaze stopped moving to listen. He heard it too, and began to walk towards the sound, Scootaloo followed close behind.

"I think you're cool." Scootaloo said. "Even though you cried, I still think you are the coolest pony I know." She thought for a moment. "Even more than Rainbow Dash."

Blaze smiled. "Thanks, I think I needed that."

"So, when we get back-"

"We don't tell anypony." He stopped at the edge where the river ran. Water splashed onto him and he jumped back. "Water...it burns?"

Scootaloo looked at the 'burn' the water made on the side of his leg. It had left a black spot on it, but soon it turned orange again. "Did you do that?"

Blaze shrugged. "I think I heal quickly. Which might explain how my wings never stay broken for long." He walked along the river, against the direction of the current. "Lets go up river, maybe somepony will be there."

"What if there isn't?" She asked. "Ponies are looking for us."

"If they can't find us, we can live out here." Blaze joked as he walked. "I like the wilderness. Less noisy than in town during the weekend."

Scootaloo caught up to Blaze as he walked towards a hill. This had been his first time being this long away from his mom, and in the wild. The forest had trees, and flowers of different kinds. Their walk came to an end after about an hour of walking up river to a water fall.

They stood there in awe at the water fall as the mist around them started to frizz up Scootaloo's mane. Blaze chuckled a bit as her hair looked up even. Scootaloo tried to brush it down with her hoof as the colt laughed lightly,

"No!" He said trying to stop her from fix her mane. "You look better like that."

"Oh, Ha-ha." Scootaloo said.

After a moment of scilence Scootaloo started to feel hungry. It had been a while from the last time they ate. It had been clear to Blaze after hearing her stomach the weirdest noice he'd heard before.

"Hungry?" He asked, rubbing his own stomach. "You want some flowers to eat? I saw some that looked like you. Orange with purple stripes."

She nodded, and he got up. To find the flowers he saw a while back on their walk. The sun was about to set soon, so he hurried. He flew around for a few minutes and saw the flowers. After picking a couple dozen of them he made his way back to Scootaloo who had her hooves in the water.

Blaze watched as she dipped her head in the water.

"I-I got the flowers!" Blaze called from the dry land.

Scootaloo looked back at Blaze as her wet mane covered a small portion of her face. She smiled at him, and got out of the water. He gently placed the flowers in front of her and backed up into a tree to sit down.

She ate a couple and held a few in her mouth as she got close to Blaze. The wind had started to pick up, and she shivered.

"Bad time to take a quick bath I guess." She said after a few minutes. Blaze nodded as he started to fix his feathers. Something Scootaloo saw him do a few times in one day. Usually pegasi pruned their wings in the morning when they woke up, or after a shower. "Why to you prune so much? Is it because you're part bird?"

Blaze looked up towards the water fall and gave it some thought. He nodded lightly, and continued as the wing blew more. He heard Scootaloo shiver, and saw her curled up into a small orange ball. Giving it some thought, he pulled her next to him.

"Don't say anything...I'm only keeping you warm."

Scootaloo smiled as she felt the heat from his body. It was sitting next to a warm fire. Her mane was still wet, but her body was dry next his warm glow.

"I know..." She said. Blaze was clearly blushing, not even hiding it with his other wing. Smiling she rested her head on his shoulder. Blaze's long mane flicked upwards, and he tried to stop it with some success.

Blaze tried to shift his position, but Scootaloo stopped him. "What?" He asked, his face still red.

"Don't move...you're warm..." She said. "I-I don't understand why, but....I feel safe around you."

Blaze raised and eyebrow. "Huh? Me? I'm a monster, you can't be safe around a monster."

Scootaloo punched him lightly. "Don't say that!" She nearly shouted. "You're not a freak, or a monster! You're you, and I am me. Why do you keep calling yourself a freak when you aren't. You're different, that's all..."

Blaze gave a long sigh and closed his eyes. "Can I ask you something?" Blaze looked next to him at Scootaloo. "D-do you like me?"

Scootaloo thought for a moment. "Like....like-like or just like?"

"Like-like..I mean, we've been friends for a little while now, and...we play a lot together. And whenever I'm around you and your friends-"

"Our friends..."

"Okay...our friends...I feel safe...I feel wanted. My whole life, though it hasn't been long, I was always bullied for who and what I am."

Scootaloo hugged Blaze tightly causing his hair to rise again in shock. "Don't worry...I've been wanting to ask you the same thing." She said after what seemed like forever to Blaze. "I feel safe around you, in a good way..."

After Scootaloo spoke Blaze rested his head on Scootaloo's. "So...we're-?"

"Yeah...but nopony can know..."

Oh how they hoped that would be true. Hiding in a set of bushes nearby Sunny Skies, Twilight, and Discord watched them talk. Sunny had tears of joy while Discord and Twilight stood next to her. After asking Discord to find them, Twilight decided it would be best to bring Blaze's mom along to see if he was alright, and clearly he was more than just alright.

"Oh I'm so proud of him!" Sunny said wiping away her tears.

"I don't see how Celestia didn't sense his power when he was born..." Discord said as a circle of magic was in front of his eye, scanning Blaze. "How is he even here?" He looked over at Sunny.

Sunny didn't speak for a moment, which made it clear to Twilight, but not to Discord, that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Sunny, did something happen that made him like this?" He insisted.

Sunny replied with a slight nod, then started to walk away. "I don't want to talk about it..." She flipped her mane back.

Discord tried to follow Sunny, but Twilight stopped him with a magical wall. She shook her head and looked back at Blaze.

"She doesn't want to talk about it Discord, just let it go. Maybe, when she's ready, she'll talk about it." Twilight said softly. "It's clearly a secret she wants kept as long as she allows it."

Discord rubbed his chin. "I suppose you are right Twilight, but don't you want to know as well what happened?"

She nodded with a long sigh. "I do, but sometimes...it's best wait for her to say it."

"Any guesses then?" He asked. "Phoenix magic surrounds him, and his heart."

"I can't think of one..." She replied.

"What now?" The god of chaos asked.

"We'll come back tomorrow to get them. Lets give them some time to be alone."

"Should I watch over them?"

"If you would kindly do so."

Discord bowed towards Twilight. "I'll make it so. I want to take more time scanning him anyways." He snapped, and vanished into thin air.

"Don't do anything stupid Discord...or I'll turn you into stone."

Author's Note:

[Yes I know I changed the way Luna spoke during her part at the doors of death. I just gave up, and didn't rewrite that whole scene. I praise those who can keep the act up.]

The flower buds blooms...Scootaloo has told a deep secret she hasn't told anypony before to Blaze after she finds him at the doors of death. Now they have planted a seed, and need to tend to it in secret. How'll this will work out? Faust may only know.

Going to take a break from writing. I'm moving in a couple of weeks back to the east to live with my mom so I need to pack. The next chapter will be up by next Wednesday.

Comments

[Texus]

I am not sure i understand it right, maybe i am just not that focused right now. I am not sure how Blaze end up in front of the death gate thing.
I don´t get exactly how the room looks like where there in.

This Chapter is very good an it is a bit sweet to see Scootalo like this. I am glad that you give them a special bond already, i don´t want to much in this direction already, maybe just cuddling and a kiss on the cheek or something like this. I just say it because i don´t know how old they are here and other writers would make them out with each other already.

In the Moment i can´t manage to long chapters at a time, so i woul like it if you keep the length this long.

PS: I am ok if Twilight ask him or his mother something, but maybe she just don´t have to do this to much, i mean she don´t have to overstrain with her questions.

[Luckyfanisaac]

"You sure us? I'm sure Sweetie can use her mag-"

Scootaloo's head dropped. "It's something I don't want to talk about." She said.

but she heard rough running waters to her right. "Do you hear that?"

"No!" He said trying to stop her from fixing her mane. "You look better like that."

He nodded lightly, and continued as the wind blew more.

She nodded with a long sigh. "I do, but sometimes...it's best to wait for her to say it."