Chapter 16
Scootaloo yawned and stretched as she sat up, rubbing her eyes as she glanced around at the walls of her Ponyville home. It was a Saturday, which meant she didn't have anything pressing waiting for her. No lessons back in Canterlot, no school here in Ponyville...nothing to do but hang out with her friends Crusading for her Cutie Mark. A huge grin spread on her face as she thought of all the stories of such antics she could tell Bluebottle and her Mom and Dad-
The sight of the eyepatch laying on her endtable brought the happy thoughts crashing down as reality rushed back into her mind. With it came the unpleasant recollections. The fire, the cellar, the dark ponies, her parents...
Closing her eyes, Scootaloo took several deep breaths as she struggled against her own heart. She wanted to grieve and move on like she was supposed to. She wanted to live the life that was taken from her. She wanted to dream of a happy life with her friends, with Bluebottle, with her parents...but those dreams couldn't be. Her friends were in just as much danger just from being her friends. Bluebottle would charge into the danger to protect her, and wind up like her parents. She would never have peace and a fulfilled life. There was only one thing left for her:
Revenge.
Calming her breathing, she reached over and picked up the eyepatch. Lifting it to her face, she tied it over the eye that held the Mark of Contract, the eye that had been plucked out and restored. With it firmly tied on, her heart settled, and control wrapped around her like a regal mantle. She was the Royal Watchdog. She would ensure that all that poisoned this land was dragged to Tartarus and destroyed. She would hold nothing back...and she would ensure her fate never befell those she cared for. That was her destiny now...a destiny that would never be written upon her flank.
Her morning ritual finished, she managed a soft smile as she hopped out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. Sebastian was already there, sitting at the table and working on lesson plans and grading homework since Cheerilee still wasn't back from vacation. A rather scrumptious looking omelette was at her seat at the table, along with a pile of homework assignments she hadn't completed yet, a stack of papers relating to Wingshadow's public business, and an opened envelope marked with only the Wingshadow crest. "Morning, Sebastian," she greeted warmly as she leapt into her seat, immediately burying her face in her plate as she devoured what was there.
"You have better manners than that, My Lady," Sebastian chided, his voice pained.
"Sunrise has better manners," Scootaloo corrected even as she chewed. "Because Sunrise has to be the perfect little heir. Scootaloo, on the other hoof, can be as messy and crude as she damn well pleases." Swallowing her mouthful, she chugged the orange juice set out for her before deliberately belching.
Sebastian shuddered violently. "My honorable butler ancestors would be turning in their graves at the sight of this if I had them," he murmured in mock despair. Scootaloo's eyes were sharp enough to catch the hint of a smile he tried to hide, however. "If that's the case," he continued as he resumed his aloof attitude, "then Scootaloo has homework to do-"
"Which you know I'm already three grades ahead of from your private tutoring," Scootaloo pointed out blandly. "So it's pretty pointless-"
"I tutored Sunrise," Sebastian interrupted pointedly. "I plainly know nothing of Scootaloo's abilities beyond what school records show."
Scootaloo glowered at Sebastian for a time. "...this is pointless make-work," she pointed out irritably. "I could do it in my sleep."
"Then it should be no trouble whatsoever to do so," Sebastian riposted, plainly enjoying the verbal spar.
Scootaloo turned her gaze back to the homework, grumbling irritably under her breath. "The only challenge of this is holding the damn pen," she groused.
"If you prefer, I will transcribe for you," Sebastian allowed diffidently.
"That'll work," Scootaloo decided firmly as she turned to the envelope. "So who brought us this?"
"Filthy Rich," Sebastian offered with a smile. "Quite the surprise that he's part of the network."
"Of course he's part of the network," Scootaloo countered. "He's a successful middle-class merchant with a chain store outlet in half the cities on the continent and traveling salesmen just about everywhere else. He can go just about anywhere for 'business' and talk to almost anyone, and all his inquiries are fully justifiable as business related. It's the best spy cover ever invented." Pushing her empty plate aside, she tilted the envelope to spill its contents. "So let's see what we have here."
"The information is regarding a cult in operation just outside Equestria's borders, targeting Equestrian citizens and nobles," Sebastian explained. "As I haven't reviewed the file, I don't know any more than that."
Scootaloo pushed through the papers. "Seems to be about the standard cult nonsense. 'Reunite with lost loved ones' and 'eternal life', all that road apples. If I believed in any of that, I'd have never summoned you in the first place and let those people kill me."
"Indeed," Sebastian allowed. "Aside from your personal distaste for cults, I'm not sure why this is of interest. Then again, Filthy Rich's passcode indicated he's deep cover, and he wouldn't have delivered this news personally unless he felt it was important to see to its safety." He rubbed his chin. "I got the impression that if my response had indicated I was anywhere but Wingshadow Inner Circle he'd have simply sent on a request for someone Inner Circle to come to Ponyville to collect the information, or to arrange a meeting with you personally to deliver it."
"And here I see why," Scootaloo murmured softly as she pulled out another sheet. "This cult isn't promising the reunion or eternity in the next life...but this one. And there are eye witness accounts of these 'holy transformations', and talk of those who have thus 'ascended'. It was at most a minor cult with few converts from Equestria...but they've been steadily growing since..."
Sebastian waited a time for Scootaloo to continue. When she did not, he deduced, "Since Twilight's ascension?"
"Yeah..." Scootaloo confirmed. "This cult...seems to be promising to turn ordinary ponies into alicorns...and has apparently delivered. This needs immediate attention..."
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The Main 6 needs to be in the next chapters.
They need to know
Guess that letter quickly ascended the list of priorities to deal with.
Oh, oh, do we get to see some zombies?
8137289
No they don't.
Things like this are the responsibility of Wingshadow House...to deal with the threats that - to be blunt - the Mane 6 aren't emotionally equipped to handle.
dawww... .Sebastian genuinely likes working for her
D'oh! I was wrong.. oh well.. glad im wrong.. it would suck if Starlight gets killed off
Missing a ", there.
Hmm.... this spells trouble...
And what a dangerous trouble it seems to be..
8137302
Still..
It would be funnny to see them trying to help with friendship
So I guess it wasn't Starlight and her village after all, but then again that village was so far away from the main part of Equestria that it would have been pretty hard for Filthy Rich to find out about it, since no pony seems to leave the village when they stumble on it.
I hope it won't become the cult with 'supposedly' genious surgeon like in Aurora Society arch. That is a bit too much gore for this fiction.
Also I get the impression the house of Wingshadow has no issue with handling things in a more final method than the mane 6 or Celestia does publicly.
8137390 All it would take for Filthy to not know about Our Town is no sales ponies to show up or they were dealt with
8137440
Exactly.
There are laws of the land that no one is ever put on trial for officially. This is because it is the job of the House of Wingshadow to hunt those criminals down...and deal with them however they see fit.
Something tells me the "alicorns" the cult creates are "wrong" in a very significant way.
8137442 I'd think Starlight wasn't "dealt with" by Wing shadow because she wasn't killing anyone, the Elements are still a force of good and can " correct" problems or deal with immortal ones, any mortal threat that needs eliminated falls to Wing shadow. Starlight is lucky she wasn't deemed unsalvageable
I think Starlight would've been dealt with by the Wingshadow if they knew about her. And there is a simple reason for this too. She develop spell take other ponies cutie marks. And then would hold them against their will until they saw the light of her cause.
8137442 There would still be records to deal with those of authority that refuse to go away if nothing else. Probably not the entire truth but an accounting at least
8137615 Probably, but those records would be something that is exclusively accessible to the Princesses, the Wingshadows, and maybe one or two others who know what they do. Anyone else who tries to follow that trail without permission is going to run into a brick wall because they'll have to go through a princess to get it and there's no way that's happening.
Oh hell. Forced apotheosis never ends well. There's a reason why tests and trials are required. There's a reason why you need both a strong mind and body. If you have a strong mind but a weak body, the change could kill you. If you have a strong body but a weak mind, the change could shatter your sanity and turn you into a bloodthirsty monster.
One Nightmare Moon was enough, thank you!
8138116 of course there are more, medicinal, means of making an alicorn, never mind the operation would kill two out of three converts.
8138533 I don't think medical apotheosis is a viable option... you can glue horns and wings willy nilly, but that doesn't guarantee the transplant of the specific race magicks...
8138116 besides, apotheosis removes you from those you care the most... only the foalish seek Apotheosis...
8137809 Don't think so, considering the Wingshadows are a black ops style branch of the nobility, so it is logical that Moon Butt would like not to be that connected to the things the tartarus Watchdogs have to do to keep the little pones happy...
8137289 as explained before, the mane 6 are the public face of order, the Wingshadows are those that do what must be done, consequences be damned...
This is pretty much the description of the main cover of a nation of spies in one of my favorite series by David Eddings. Every Drasnian merchant seems to be a spy... or enough of them that the honest merchants say the spies give them a bad reputation.
Is it wrong for me to hope that Scootaloo finds herself an inadvertent big sister to a young alicorn she rescues????? "Everyone, I want to introduce my little brother/sister, her magic finally stabilized and she's eager to make friends!" Cue Mane 6 having a heart meltdown and Pinkie throwing a party.
8139492
Where do you think I got the idea?
8139495 Silk would be proud. Then try to charge you for the idea.
Magic duct tape.
When they said holy ascention and transcendence into holy forms I thought of necromorphs.
8157928 ALL HAIL THE MARKER!
We have the Cult of M.A. Larson on our hooves!!!
I got a Full Metal Alchemist vibe from this chapter.
8177413
8177413
The cult of black and red alicorns
8276389
Hence Prince ToonKritic from the Brony analysis team.