Abandoned

by VilkaTheWolf

Introductions and Inductions

Scootaloo opened her eyes with the sudden realisation that they had overslept. She looked over at Green Lightning, who hadn’t moved a muscle since last night. His eyes had stayed transfixed to the ceiling for the duration of the night. Scootaloo sighed as she slowly got up from the floor. She wouldn’t have enough time to leave the clubhouse and get a fair distance away before returning, she would have to stay and face the onslaught of questions that were destined to come from the other two members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She could hear in the distance the sound of approaching hooves and excited voices.

She slowly approached Green Lightning with the intention of prodding him to wake him but thought otherwise.

“Lightning?” she said, seeing if he was awake.

She jumped back when he turned his gaze onto her and uttered “Yes?”

Composing herself she explained that her friends were on their way, “I really don’t want them to get the idea I spent the night with a colt,” she explained to him.

“Is that what I am, a colt?” He asked curiously, clearly not understanding what Scootaloo meant, “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

Scootaloo felt the blood rush to her face as she realised she had been the only one the think of such a situation.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” she clarified, “Listen I have a plan, I’ll introduce you as the newest member. But here’s the catch; you gotta pretend to be a filly, it’ll make it easier to convince them that we didn’t do anything…”

“Ok” Lightning said, oblivious, “How do I do that then?”

“Just sound like me,” she informed him.

“Like this?” he replied, in a perfect replication of Scootaloo’s own voice.

What? Is that what I really sound like!? she thought aghast. Pulling herself out of her daze, she turned her attention back to Green Lightning.

“Ummm, no that’s too much like me, maybe a little higher, to sound more girly,” Scootaloo instructed, not believing that she said she wasn’t girly.

“Okay, I’m going to further analyse your voice,” he said still sounding like Scootaloo, “my scans show that your voice is approximately three hundred hertz so if I slightly adjust to say three hundred and fifty hertz,” pausing he concentrated to get the frequency right, “it should sound like this,” he said in a voice more feminine than Scootaloo’s, but it was hardly as melodic as Sweetie Belle’s.

“It’s perfect!” she said just as the clubhouse door opened and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked in.

“What’s perfect, Scootaloo?” asked Apple Bloom.

Damn, we weren’t fast enough. Scootaloo cursed to herself.

“And who’s this?” Sweetie Belle added.

Realising that she could recover from her little slip up she cleared her throat, “Oh...uh this is Gr- I mean,” Scootaloo stopped for a second realising the Green Lightning might seem too masculine a name for a filly, “Viridescent Wings. Our newest member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” she explained.

Green Lightning turned to Scootaloo giving her a confused look but decided not to say anything of it.
“Yes, my name is Viridescent Wings. It is nice to meet you,” he said in his filly voice.

“Hehe, what are ya, a robot?” Apple Bloom joked.

“Do not call me that!” Lightning protested, “I am a real pony like you guys.”

“Whoa, no need ta get all defensive like that,” Apple Bloom countered.

“Unless you are a robot!” Sweetie Belle added.

“Girls! Who cares if she’s a robot or not,” Scootaloo begun, still keeping the facade of Green Lightning being a filly, “there’s no rule that says robots can’t be Crusaders!”
She stood defensively in front of Green Lightning, currently known to the crusaders as Viridescent Wings.

“Oh, ok...I guess it’ll be okay then,” Sweetie Belle said cautiously, “Butpleasemissrobotdon’tdoexperimentsonusordissectusor-” Sweetie stopped her barrage of words as she had run out of breath.

Lightning looked at Sweetie Belle “I promise I won’t do experiments on any of you.”

“So do ya have a nickname or somethin’?” Apple Bloom piped up, “Cos’ Viridescent Wings is a bit hard ta say if we’re in a hurry.”

“What is a nickname?” Lightning questioned.

Being the group dictionary Sweetie Belle saw this as her chance.
“Yeah, sure, a nickname, a shortening of the name used between friends.”
As she finished explaining Lightning finally understood.

“Oh, I see. Well if you drop the last six letters of my name you would get Virid, and if you drop the last four letters of my name you would get Virides. Those are shortened versions of my name.”

Scootaloo realised that Lightning still didn't fully understand what a nickname was.
"What about Viri?" She offered.

"Viri?" Lightning pondered.
"Yes, and then if you drop the last two letters of that you would get Vi!" He exclaimed.

Scootaloo facehoofed. He still didn't get it.

***

Green Lightning now stood in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He looked up at Sweetie Belle up on the pedestal with the other two by her side. Sweetie Belle then took out a scroll of paper and cleared her throat.

"Do you, Viridescent Wings, promise to uphold the tradition of fighting to get your cutie mark as well as your fellow comrades'?"

Lightning wasn't quite sure what to do, he looked over at Scootaloo who gave him an encouraging smile. "Yes." he answered bluntly, "What exactly is a cutie mark by the way?" All three of the other members gasped at his question.

Apple Bloom started explaining the basics of how it's all related to the philosophy of everything. And how if no pony had cutie marks then nothing in the world would get done.

"...so cutie marks are supposed ta be what ya special talent is and then that talent will define ya for tha rest of ya life!" She finally finished.

"Ok. I understand now." Lightning said.

"Do ya now?" Apple Bloom asked skeptically.
"Repeat everything I just said," she challenged.

"Very well." He agreed and then proceeded to relay back to Apple Bloom a word for word recital of what she had said earlier.

He received shocked looks from all three of them and decided to break them out of it with some bad news.

"Due to...me...not being completely real it is a possibility that I will not get my cutie mark. I don’t even know if I can for that matter."

After seeing the baffled and disappointed looks on the fillies' faces, he tried to cheer them up. "But I can still help you get yours."

It worked.

"Moving on!" Sweetie Belle continued, "do you promise to always be our pal, friend, compadre, amigo..." She suddenly paused and read a few lines ahead.

"Ah! I did it again," she said, frustrated with herself.

"Congrats, you're a crusader now," she finished, exasperated, throwing down the cutie mark crusaders’ signature cape.

Before Lightning could question the purpose and importance of the cape Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo cheered so loudly it rattled Lightning's head.

When that died down he finally sprung the question, only to be met with blank stares.

"Cos it looks cool!"
"Cos its the rules!"
"Who cares!" They all responded simultaneously.

"Ok," He said tying on the cape.

Now that the induction ceremony was over Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle left the clubhouse to start crusading. Before Scootaloo could follow Green Lightning stopped her.

“Why do I have to be a filly?” he questioned in his original voice.

“Oh it’s just because,” Scootaloo paused thinking of the reason, “that if Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle knew they might tease me...us...if you were introduced to them as a colt…”

“Oh. Well why did you have to change my name then?” he asked.

“That was just in case ‘Green Lightning’ wasn’t really girly enough,” Scootaloo explained. After looking at his face she continued, “That’s not a problem is it?”

“Well, you gave me the name and I got attached to it.” He replied.

“Yeah but I gave you this new name too!” She said back to him, “So get attached to this one too. It’s Viridescent Wings’ name not Green Lightning’s.”

Green Lightning then let out a unnecessary sigh. “Ok, I am Viridescent Wings and that is my name.” he said, accepting his fate in his filly voice.

His eyes rolled back into his skull.

UnitNo.000185 Memory Store Online

Run Archive.bat{

access p:/DATA{
create folder[Memory];
assemble.archive[GreenLightning];

**WARNING!**
**Creator.visualProfile is protected (ProtLevel(9))!**
**Could not be archived!**

store GreenLightning.archive(Memory.folder);
protect.ProtLevel(3)[Memory.folder];

}
}

Run MemEdit{

access p:/DATA{

create profile[ViridescentWings];

set.MainProfile ViridescentWings.profile;

ViridescentWings.voiceProfile == GreenLightning.archive(ViriVoice);

**WARNING!**
**GreenLightning.archive is protected (ProtLevel(3))!**
**Access archive?**

yes

**Access Granted**

protect.ProtLevel(3)[ViridescentWings.profile];

scan archive(GreenLightning.archive){

findAll (“Cutie Mark Crusaders”);

copyAllFound (ViridescentWings.profile);

}

format(ALL ProtLevel <= 2){

**Formatting p:/DATA 10%**
**Formatting p:/DATA 36%**
**Formatting p:/DATA 75%**
**Formatting p:/DATA 89%**
**Formatting p:/DATA 100%**

**Format Complete**

}

}
}

reboot

…

**Hello World**

When the eyes were once again looking out the right way a filly’s voice was heard, “Hi. I am Viridescent Wings. I am a filly. What is my purpose?...I forgot.”

Scootaloo looked at Green Lightning or Viridescent Wings not quite sure what had happened. “Um...your purpose is to...um be my friend and fellow Cutie Mark Crusader.” She knew it seemed a little selfish but kept the feeling down.

Viridescent Wings nodded as she took in the new information.

Scootaloo reasoned with herself that if Green Lightning had really forgotten everything it’d be fun to have to reteach him...or her. Smiling at Viridescent she gestured for her to follow as they went out to meet with the other crusaders.