Queen Scootaloo

by thedarktome

Center Of Attention

That night was so restless for Scootaloo that they had to give her some sleeping pills. After taking them reluctantly she was knocked out within ten minutes. Sleeping on the hope to have at least one pleasant dream that didn't revolve around fear, pain, and frustration. Those sleeping pills must've worked really well because those dreams were about nothing but blue skies, gardens, and animals that didn't bite her.

Of course, being in the dreamscape must come to an end. Her eyes opened rather abruptly and forced her out of the pleasantries of sleep. The sun's rays came in through the gated window and hit her face hard. Hard enough to knock her out of her cool sleep into the heat of the situation around her. She unfortunately had to wake up now.

After a few seconds of reluctance, Scootaloo groaned and sat up with her hand in front of her eyes to block out the rays. She had to use the bathroom, but she didn't feel comfortable with using it without a door. But she's taken plenty of risks before. What's a little use-the-bathroom-with-the-door-open gonna do?

Scootaloo threw her legs over the left side facing the door and stood up to stretch out her arms and legs. The pops of cartilage and joints were accompanied by the pleasure of relaxation. Once calm, she trudged her way to the bathroom that was directly across from her bed to relieve herself.

A few minutes later, she walked back out refreshed, and had actually taken a bath. There was a washcloth and towel in there. She's never used a shower before, but it also wasn't new to her to be rained on. Luckily, no one came in yet, so that was a plus. Definitely a plus. She was only allowed out when they allow her with one of those key cards that the nurses, doctors, and who else has with them.

She put on underwear, a gown, and socks. Then dropped down on the bed facing the door with a tired sigh and just looked around her room for a few minutes. She didn't really have a good look at it when she arrived there yesterday morning. Everything was hectic. It all happened so fast. She looked behind her through the protected window to tell the time. It was around nine in the morning so far based on the sun's position. She never had a watch before, and you couldn't exactly find a clock in the woods. Well one that wasn't thrown away.

Although yesterday was taxing, Scootaloo admitted to feeling a little better. It wasn't much but she was a little more focused. Yesterday when she first came there, she would barely look at things. And if she did, she couldn't register them. Today it felt different. Like she actually knew what was going on. She was in a facility. But that was it. She didn't like it. She shouldn't even be in this situation. Yet, here she was. Cut up, heart broken, and slowly becoming lifeless.

Her thoughts were moved to curiosity when the door clicked and buzzed open. The one who opened it was Dr. Martina in a business suit. Yesterday must've been casual or something. Because today she was all business with a white coat, clipboard, and jeans.

"Good morning, Scootaloo," she greeted happily. She didn't expect an answer. Nor did she receive any. "I hope you had a good night's rest." She softly closed the door with a click, then walked over to sit next to her. Scootaloo was nervous now. She was getting used to things, but not noticeably better. So someone who was in close proximity was still something she didn't enjoy, let alone like.

So she shifted down the bed to make noticeable room between her and the doctor. Dr. Martina sighed with a sad smile on her face. "Still not comfy with other people, I see," she observed. She reached inside of her jacket and pulled out a pen for her clipboard. "How can we make you more comfortable here?"

She watched Scootaloo actively try to avoid her gaze by looking at the ground. Figuring she wouldn't answer, she decided to coax one out of her. "How about TV? Do you like TV?" She kept looking around on the floor and bed. No reaction there, try again. "How about... reading?" Nothing still. "Okay well... Moving I guess. Anything with exercise?"

Scootaloo shifted her eyes upwards before moving her entire head up to look at the doctor, smiling a little. "You like exercise?" She nodded. "Okay. Any sports?"

Scootaloo looked around the room for something she could use as an example. She grabbed the doctor's notepad and pen, sticking the writing utensil into one of the holes. she then placed her left pointer and middle finger on it and made it look like it was skating.

"Scootering?" Martina assumed. Scootaloo nodded slightly and handed her back the notepad before moving away again. She wrote that down before telling her the situation. "Most of the time we don't usually allow those type of things in here. Actually, we never do. But... I'll see what I can do to make you smile again." Scootaloo nodded her head before Martina moved onto something else. "We're having breakfast in a few minutes and I want you to eat. If you don't, your body won't recognize food in the future and it will begin to reject it, making you vomit. I don't want that happening to you."

Scootaloo groaned and glared towards the door. It wasn't that the food wasn't good. It was just that she didn't want to take that risk. School meals were bad enough. Martina chortled and said, "Oh, don't be like that. The food is good and you'll probably want a second plate. Here's a list of what's going to happen today." She placed a sheet of paper on the bed. A schedule, Scootaloo realized. There were times and locations beside titles. "One of them may help you out and see the beauty in yourself."

The door beeped and unlocked when two nurses walked in. This time they were different. They were women. Young. Both of them were maybe twenty or twenty-two, one of them had long white hair, purple eyes, and purple skin. The other one was a light yellow with brown eyes and brown hair. They were the same shape, fit but thin at the same time.

"These are your new nurses, Violet Twinkle and Misty Flyer." The two nurses waved at Scootaloo before she turned her sights back to the ground. "The board found it a bad idea since you've had bad experiences with men for them to be around you. So we switched them out for women instead." The doctor stood up when the nurses approached. "I'll be seeing you later on today after the session in the lounge."

Scootaloo looked up quizzically with the question in her eyes. What session? Dr. Martina pointed towards the schedule she left on the bed before making her way out the door. Scootaloo grabbed it before she stood up, and allowed the nurses to slip the cuffs on her wrists. Since she was classified as a UP, they would continue to use those until the title was dropped. She had a feeling it wouldn't be dropped.

They walked Scootaloo outside and into the line where her anxiety started acting up again, forcing her to try and go back. "It's okay... It's okay," Violet, obviously the purple woman cooed in a vain attempt to get her to calm down. "They won't hurt you, I promise." Scootaloo finally got her footing down and stopped, refusing to move. Frozen in fear and uncertainty.

"It's okay, we'll be right there with you," Misty assured her. Scootaloo looked at the line until she spotted Icy Spring smiling at her with the others. Scootaloo pulled in her lips before she tried to tame her anxiety and stepped forward, going into the line and facing the same way the others go.

"There you go," Misty calmly praised her. "You'll be fine." The line started moving again towards the cafeteria for breakfast. She figured since she couldn't just run away and hide, she might as well just follow instructions.

On the way there, she spotted Dr. Martina talking to three men in business coats. FBI. One of them glanced her way and tapped the guy next to him's shoulder, motioning towards her. Scootaloo glanced away to avoid their gazes on the way to the doors of the cafeteria. The metal ones with tiny windows on them. The leading nurse placed her card on the electromagnet on the side. The doors unlocked with click and swung open for the lunchroom.

They all walked in towards the line while Scootaloo stayed behind and to the side for a moment with the nurses. "Do you want food or the IV tube?" Violet asked her. Scootaloo glanced towards the lunch line and sighed quietly. Dr. Martina recommended she eat some real food and since this was pretty much her first doctor, she might as well obey it. There was no telling if this was going to help her, or if this was going to hurt her.

She lifted her locked arms and pointed towards the line with the other girls. "Okay, we'll get some food."

***

After the nurse chose out the edible items of the hospital, which actually smelled good they moved Scootaloo over to the same table where she sat at last time. Conveniently across from Icy and the other two girls that she didn't know the names of. She sat down across from them while they were eating and talking about whatever. They didn't notice her presence yet, which was okay. She didn't want everyone watching her. After Violet set the tray down in front of her, the girls finnally looked up and smiled at her.

"Hey," the green-haired one greeted kindly. "Me and her haven't actually told you our names even though you saw us sitting here yesterday. I'm Green Rush and she's Loud Symphony." She pointed towards the girl with the yellow skin who waved as a greeting.

Scootaloo just looked at them before glancing down at her plate. The food looked good. REALLY good. She picked up her fork and poked at the doughnuts on her plate testing it's hardness and texture. Finding it soft, she set down her fork and picked it up with her hands, smelling it.

"You've never tasted hospital food before, huh?" Green Rush asked her sincerely. Scootaloo glanced at her before taking a small bite out of the food. Her eyes widened instantly before she took another larger one, eating half the of the whole pastry.

"Wow, okay," Icy chuckled, watching as Scootaloo greedily dunked down the second doughnut up to the fourth. The nurses on the side chuckled as she moved on towards the rest of the food. Eating the sausages and bacon.

Within four minutes, she's cleaned the whole plate, not necessarily licking it but coming really close.

The three girls and two nurses stared at her in disbelief and with a little bit of concern.

"Are you okay?" Misty asked, walking over to her. Scootaloo nodded nearly unnoticeably. One thing Icy had realized though that after all that... She still didn't wear a smile. "Sweetheart... When was the last time you ate food? Real, healthy food?" Scootaloo looked down for a moment trying to remember the last time she had food that wasn't rotten, dirty, or contaminated. She sighed sadly and shook her head for an answer. "Okay. I'll talk to Dr. Martina about putting you on a healthy diet. Would you like more doughnuts?" Scootaloo nodded, letting the nurse go to grab more food while the girls across from Scootaloo looked at each other, all thinking the same thing. What had happened to her?

---

After an hour of breakfast, their group—which Scootaloo later learned was called 'Block A'—was led towards the gymnasium for the session she saw on her schedule. Most likely a therapy session. So instead of going down the hall she was used to, they turned down the big one on the left during the trek back past the nurse's desk with the double doors on the end. There were rooms on this hallway too, letting Scootaloo have a peak. There were tables, books, and two beds inside. They had roommates. Interesting. It was just her in her own.

Before they reached it, the gym doors were opened to allow them entry. The floors were padded down with barely any hard areas underneath their feet as they walked towards a setting on the side. Up ahead was a much better play area with goals, soccer balls, sporty stuff. But they weren't going in that direction. They turned to the right where a round circle of chairs with two occupied ones in the front were placed.

A man who was maybe in his early thirties was looking through two pages of notes on the one on the left. Probably trying to understand the discussion for the day. He was dressed in casual wear along with a name tag. Yellow Buzz. His name matched his body. Yellow skin, light yellow hair, and Yellow eyes with a body shape that let Scootaloo know he worked out a lot. There was also a woman named Chrysanthemum who had purple skin, dark blue eyes, and dark blue hair. She was the same shape and size as Scootaloo's nurses.

Yellow Buzz looked up after the gym doors opened and smiled to those entering on their way towards the chairs.

"Good morning, everyone!" He greeted. They all responded back in their own way before continuing. "I hope you all had a great rest."

The group took a seat on their own in the plastic chairs in a comfortable position facing the therapists. The nurses sat down on both sides of Scootaloo, once again handcuffed. Once everyone was situated, they began.

"As you all know, I'm Yellow Buzz and this is Chrysanthemum." The purple lady smiled and waved at her name. "And we're the hospital therapists."

"I see we have some new faces," Chrysanthemum said happily. She looked directly towards Scootaloo. She in turn kept her gaze to the floor to avoid any interaction of any kind. "What's your name?" They all looked towards Scootaloo who was shaking a little from the attention.

"She more than likely won't answer," Violet commented. "She's still in shock."

"Oh... Okay. Well, we won't ask her many questions if she—"

"Scootaloo."

Their attention moved back towards Scootaloo. "What was that?" Chrysanthemum asked.

Scootaloo glanced up and answered timidly, "Scootaloo."

"Okay. Would you like to tell us why you're here?" Scootaloo shook her head quickly. "Okay, that's fine. Whenever you want to you can."

They began the therapy session, which lasted a good hour. During that time, Scootaloo barely looked up, but she was listening. Mostly avoiding the gazes of others. She fiddled with her gown the whole time. That gave her something to do while listening to the interactions of the patients. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she wanted to participate. She really did. All of their stories of success and failure was something she could participate in. She had so many stories of her own about the years she lived by herself. But her anxiety was holding her back. But she wasn't going to let that deter her.

"So I did drugs to try and ease the pain," one of the patients finished telling their story. "Not doing that again."

"Good," Yellow Buzz agreed. "It's always good to have outlets that don't have negative impacts. Anyone else wanna tell their story? No judgement here." They all looked around, expecting one hand to go up. "Okay. Well I think—"

"I'd like to... Maybe," Scootaloo whispered, holding up her handcuffed hands. They all turned to her and became really quiet as she took a deep breath. "I've been hurt. More than enough. Everything you see on me, the cuts. Scars... And bruises, they all came from different things. But most of them came from... People." She stayed silent for a moment to mentally prepare for the path she was taking. A path down memory lane.

"How have they hurt you?" Chrysanthemum asked calmly.

Scootaloo glanced up at her before looking down again, a few tears streaming down her face.

"They would... Beat me Just for fun. They were all guys. Each time, there was a group of five. They would do whatever they want. One of them took advantage of me and beat me at the same time. He treated me like a pin cushion. That's how I got most of these."

She lifted her arms up to reveal all the cuts before lifting up the gown for the same on her legs.

"At that point, I shut myself off in the woods nearby. It... Happened again and I got my face cut open on my way to Trottingham. After that I went to the top of a building and jumped. I couldn't do it anymore. Ten years on my own, raped twice, beat at least once a week... I couldn't do it anymore. I'm not beautiful, I hold no value... And all the trash I did have is gone."

All the girls in there had looks of sympathy plastered on their faces while Scootaloo closed her eyes and lightly sobbed.

"I am so sorry you had to go through that, Scootaloo," Yellow Buzz said to her. "No one should have to endure that. Especially not someone as young as yourself."

"Thank goodness you survived that jump," Icy said. Scootaloo looked up at her specifically with red eyes full of emotion. "Or else I never would've met you."

She blinked at Icy sadly before looking back down again. Sighing.

---

"Okay where's our first stop?" Twilight asked. Everyone was situated in front of the school again, looking at a map Sunset had printed off of Canterlot City. She had the areas circled that contained forestry and dense areas where Scootaloo would more than likely have lived in.

"Out of all of these areas, I've determined she'd be on uhhhh... Applejack's farm," Sunset answered. Her finger landed on a wooden area of the map. "Since Scootaloo was abused, I doubt she'd want to be around a lot of people. So she would want to live near a place that has food and was sort of irrelevant to the town. But was nearby enough to walk Into town."

"Sounds logical," Sci-Twi admitted before turning to EQG Applejack. "Do you think the police are still there?"

"Not sure," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "If they are, we wouldn't be able to tell until we're actually there."

"Guys, act casual," Rainbow reported quickly from the statue's remains. "Black suburban." They all relaxed, letting the suburban and white truck roll by and drive towards....

"My farm," Applejack groaned once they were out of sight. "They're headed right for it. Looks like they're still at 'the scene of the crime,' Princess."

"Then we have to be careful. Anemone! Amaryllis!" They all looked towards the roof of the school to see the thestrals jump off and glide down down towards them.

Anemone landed and stretched her wings. "What's up, egghead?"

The Princess just stared at her unamused before she blushed and snorted. "Stop calling me that, you look weird saying it. We're headed deep into Applejack's farm and looking for Scootaloo's camp. You'll know it if you see a scooter. Once you find it, fire a spell up into the air. We'll come to you. Catch is the FBI, whatever that is, is there too. If you get caught, stay firm and we'll find you. I don't know what these guys do to thestrals."

"The FBI is the Federal Bureau of Investigation," EQG Rarity clarified. "They handle federal... Investigations. Very bad subjects. So they're probably looking for the Thestrals and doing an investigation on Scootaloo at the same time, since they were with her."

"Speaking of her, I need to visit the hospital at three," Rainbow remembered. She jumped off the stone and approached. "I need to make sure she's okay."

"We're all going," EQG Fluttershy said. "I mean if...if we can."

"Maybe I can bring her a cupcake," Ponyville Pinkie suggested. She reached up to her head and pulled three cupcakes out of her hair. Everyone looked at the desserts strangely. Specifically the strands of hair poking out of the icing.

"Uhhh... Surrrrreeee," Princess Twilight drolled. "Maybe. But we should get going right now. It's almost twelve, meaning that some of them may be going off for lunch, giving us an open window. You girls take the lead and fly high. We'll come up behind you. Once we're all in place, we can begin the search."

Anemone nodded before she and Amaryllis took off into the air for Applejack's farm. They flew high. So high that if you looked up, you would only assume it's a bird or a plane.

"Let's hope it's here," Amaryllis commented, breaking the silence. "Because this world is making me sick."

Anemone looked over in interest "Why?"

"Well it's what they did to Scootaloo! Look at her, she's a mess! She was raped twice, beat up, cut up, and someone else is trying to take advantage of all that. Why? I don't know, but... I have a hunch Zolan is trying to get an apprentice or something."

Anemone sighed and looked down. They were nearly at the farm. She could make out all the tasty apples in their trees. "I really hope Scootaloo can hold out a little longer," she said sadly. "If she doesn't, dark magic will spread all over. Do you think Zolan runs off of despair and sadness?"

Amaryllis thought about that theory. "Maybe. It would make a lot of sense. Make someone extremely sad and upset, and you've hit the jackpot. Gives you more power... Magic... Whatever."

Anemone chuckled before nodding. "Alright, we're here. Let's scout it out. Stay behind me and we'll cover the radius." She sped up and got in front of Amaryllis as she tilted her wings, slightly navigating their flight path.

***

Both Pinkies poked their heads over some bushes by the farms gate dressed in all black uniforms, complete with ski masks. Going incognito. EQG Pinkie looked around before she pulled out some binoculars and checked over the area while Ponyville Pinkie pulled out a radio.

"Team Pinkie to Team Egghead, this place is swarming with the black flies. Over." She lowered the radio before taking hold of the binoculars. There were scientists and FBI agents poking all around the barn area, but they were also in the house. There were tents and other things setup too. They're obviously looking for something or someone... Or two someones.

"Pinkie, we have no idea what that means," Princess Twilight replied. She teleported herself and Sci-Twi behind a large Apple Tree near one of the tents. "We have to get past these tents and reach the wooded areas on the other side. But there's so many. There were only two thestrals, not twenty. And stop calling us Eggheads, jeez. What is with you guys?"

Team Rarity and Applejack made their way over the white picket fence on the East side of the farm. "Seriously," Applejack agreed through the radio. "Thanks Pinkie for the Radios. I don't know where you got 'em from, but they sure helpin' us out. Rainbow how you doin'?"

"Yeah, I'm the only one... Without a partner," she whispered back. "So I have double the workload. I have to watch my back And watch for a scooter." Rainbow Dash turned down the level of the radio before she got down and crawled behind some bushes that were providing cover behind some agents near the outside of the farm talking with each other. Once she was out of sight—which took two minutes—she got back up and turned the radio back on. "I had to crawl underneath a bunch of agents just now. Any sight on the thestrals?"

Princess Twilight looked up, seeing two specks on the opposite sides of each other in the air over the farm. "I see them," she radioed. "They're circling. I don't think they see anything. That's why we're here to get a closer look."

***

Anemone waved her hands across from her sister and pointed down to the ground, signalling to land. They both nose dived towards the ground in the forest before flapping their wings, slowing to a light hover. Anemone waited for Amaryllis who burst through the forestry a second later, panting a little.

"I didn't see anything," she said, dusting the dirt off her jeans. "Did you?"

"Not yet," Anemone answered, looking around the area. "We have to be careful. It's like a hunting ground out here. I saw a few of them walking around here with whatever those things were that they hit us with."

"The things that fire some type of bolt?"

"Yeah. And they're in these woods." They both looked around with large ears listening for any threat. "So we stick together so I can protect you. I'm not losing you this time. Because if they catch us, they may split us up." They began walking into the forest. Their footsteps were silent in an attempt to make little to no noise.

Amaryllis eyed the dirt under their feet and asked, "Why?"

"We escaped last time and it was aggressive. So if we got loose together again, they'll put us in separate areas so they can use us as specimen again. Hopefully it won't come to that." Amaryllis gulped loudly as they continued their search, looking for some type of sign for Scootaloo's campsite. Soon they came to a clearing. But it wasn't alone.

There was another tent setup that was active. "There's more in there," Anemone whispered as they got down. "They probably found something. We need to get in the dark, come on." She grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her towards a more dense area of the woods, sticking to the shadows.

Amaryllis smirked to Anemone and teased, "You know... Your hair is a complete giveaway. Even if we are in the dark."

The oldest groaned before running a hand through her hair that had gotten noticeably longer ever since they've been on the run. "Well, that magenta hair of yours isn't doing us any favors either. Let's focus more on—"

"Hey, do you hear somethin'?" Someone on the other side of the tree asked. Anemone and Amaryllis froze up and straightened their bodies.

"Yeah," another answered. "It's coming from over there. Go check it out." Amaryllis would've shrieked if Anemone hadn't placed a hand over her mouth. The footsteps got closer as well as a metallic clinking sound. They both kept as quiet as they could, waiting for the steps to stop. Some rustling came from beside them before a long rifle came into view. They kept as still as they could while it moved through some bushes right next to the tree they were hiding behind. A few seconds later it retreated, going back out.

"Yeah, there's nothing here. If there's someone here, they'll step in those traps." The footsteps walked back away, letting the two thestrals relax.

"That was too close," Anemone whispered holding her hand to her chest. "And what traps?"

Amaryllis removed her sister's hand from her mouth. "I don't know, but they have this place wrapped around their finger. I hope the Apple family got out."

"Yeah, me too. Come on. Let's continue this—" they both froze before looking down at their feet. There was some type of cord going across the ground. A trap. How did they not see this before? A loud pop sounded off from right beside them, attracting the FBI's attention.

"Hey! They're over there!" A gun cocked before the two ran past the tent.

"Let's go!" A few of those darts hit a tree right in front of them as they rushed past, jumping over something.

***

EQG Pinkie looked through the binoculars while her counterpart was eating a cupcake. "Uh oh." She picked up the radio before pressing the dial. "Guys, the'yre moving."

"Who's moving?" Sci-Twi asked as they walked past another campsite.

"FBI. They're running towards the woods." The Equestrians stopped and looked out towards the encampment, seeing multiple agents rushing out of the tents and into the woods. "I think the thestrals were spotted. What do we do, Twilight?"

Both Twilights looked at each other before sighing. The princess grabbed the radio, barking orders into it. "We're going to try and help them out, you guys raid the tents. Once we find something, anything relevant, we leave. Go."

Everyone rushed out off their spots and stalked towards the tents, making sure to stay under cover while thew agents ran by. "Boy I sure hope there's no one' in here," Ponyville Applejack said as she walked into the tent.

***

"Get in the trees," Anemone whispered, before taking off and latching onto a branch above her. Her sister followed along by hopping onto a branch and clinging onto the trunk as they watched a team run right beneath them. A few more came, although they were more careful. They were even looking up, which meant bad news for the thestrals.

"How do we get out?" The youngest whispered. "I don't know what those dart things are, but they stick in stuff."

Anemone shook her head and whispered, "I'm not sure. From what I can see, the only way out is to fly, but then they'll try and shoot us down from the air. Without a distraction, we won't get far. That and we'll leave our friends behind. And we can't do that. This is for Scootaloo. The faster we find the Orb of Zebrica, the faster we can save her."

Amaryllis was about to respond until a dart stuck into the bark right in front of her face. "Eep!"

A few more shot around them hitting the bark and spearing across Anemone's arm. "Ow!" She yelped, rubbing the scratch. She snarled before summoning her magic and firing a bolt towards the ground. She hit one of the agents and knocked them back.

"Come on!" She grabbed Amaryllis and jumped right when they switched to the bullets, hitting the tree. They landed on the ground and started running again. But it was getting close. They slid to a stop right behind another group of them.

"Behind you!" They all turned and pointed their weapons at Amaryllis.

She screamed before Anemone pulled her to the right, causing them to hit nothing. "That would've hurt!" Amaryllis shouted.

"I know, I know!" Her sister yelled before turning again. "We're cutting it really close!" They ran towards the right, knocking down another agent as they ran past. "I wish we could fly in here but it's way too stuffed!"

"Yah think?!"

The two looked around and spotted more of them shooting. Out of the rain of darts one finally landed in Anemone. "I'm hit!" She shoutex. "Amaryllis, get to the air and go REALLY high where they can't see you, okay?!"

Amaryllis grabbed her arm and asked, "What about you?"

"Just go! Go!" Amaryllis looked at her sister sadly before flapping her wings and going upwards. Some darts fired out of the canopy before falling back to the ground, unable to make contact with it's target.

Anemone watched her sister go off into the air while she flew high up into a tree, already feeling the drug start to take effect. Once she was high enough she relaxed, throwing herself over a branch and laying across it. "These people are crazy," she whispered as she slowly fell asleep.

Team Twilight tip-toed into the woods before quickly hiding behind some trees after spotting the FBI walking out with something on a stretcher. Princess Twilight peeked around it to see...Anemone laying across it, knocked out with her hands cuffed together and something on the fists. She closed her eyes tight and bit her lip.

"Can we get her out?" Sci-Twi whispered. The princess shook her head.

"If we do, we're caught too. Radio the others and tell them to search the woods. We'll come back for Anemone like we planned." Princess Twilight watched them carry her back out onto the land and towards the truck while Sci-Twi radioed the others. This is not gonna be good.

A loud "flump" behind them made them both turn around in alarm to see Amaryllis looking in horror at the sight of her sister being pushed into some type of vehicle. "What are they doing? Why are they pushing her in... Whatever that is?!" She asked loudly before Sci-Twi put her hand over her mouth.

"They're still in here," she whispered. Then pried off her hand away from those fangs. "Did you see anything?"

"There was a pond in there, but we were too busy running to stop at it." Princess Twilight looked towards the area, contemplating what to do.

"Well, we can't teleport around in there since I have no idea what it looks like. We're walking. You stay in the trees until I fire a bit of magic into the air or we call you down. Twilight, where are the others?"

"Right here." The girls looked back towards the rest in front of them, watching the truck drive off.

"I'm guessing they got Anemone?" EQG Rarity asked sadly. Princess Twilight nodded her head.

"She's strong...like me," Rainbow said, turning back around with determination in her eyes. "She'll survive and probably kick a lot of butt while she's at it. Let's go save Scoots."

Princess Twilight nodded before she explained that there was a pond in there, more than likely where Scootaloo got the bites and more from. After the briefing, Amaryllis flew up into the air and into a tree, watching as they took her sister to some place she had no idea of. The group continued walking, taking cover every now and then whenever a group of FBI walked through the area and popping back out once they were out of sight. Eventually they made it to the pond. It was a level below them, perfect for hiding in but it was, in both of the Rarities opinions, gross as well.

"Rarity, it's a pond in the woods, of course it's gonna be gross," Rainbow protested as she jumped down in the level. The Applejacks followed suit along with Team Twilight, and the Pinkies.

"Uhh... Okay, yeah, so we'll just stay up here in case someone comes here," EQG Rarity said. The other nodded her head in agreement.

"Uggghhh, fine whatever," Applejack protested. Then returned back to the task. Someone was obviously living there, based on all the trash on the ground. There was also a few places on the ground where some people even sat at, meaning it was a common spot.

"Someone definitely came here often," Scit-Twi confirmed. "So if this Orb of Zebrica was around here, they either have it or it's still hidden."

"I think it's still hidden," Princess Twilight said. She pressed her foot against the ground to see if there was something under it. "You don't just grab a magical item that's more powerful than the Elements of Harmony."

Sunset placed her hands on her hips and walked around. "Well, considering that there is more magic in Equestria than there is here," she concluded. "I'd bet if someone did find it, like say Scootaloo perhaps, she'd probably sell it or something for money or food." She poked her hand at the ledge that had a lot of vines going over it. Instead of just finding resistance, her hand went straight through them. "Guys. I think I found something."

They all stopped searching and looked towards her as she parted the copious amount of vines. Once she did, she walked inside with the others right behind her.

"Yeah, she lived here," Rainbow whispered sadly before walking towards the blue scooter sitting in the corner. While she was dealing with that, the others looked around the cave beneath the area above for any clue. Rainbow Picked up the scooter with both hands and looked at it. It was really worn out and old, having cracks going through the wood and the handle bars rusting. "I'm going to get her a new one."

"I'm positive she'll appreciate it a lot!" Pinkie said. She dropped a hardhat on her head and turned on a drill that she retrieved out of nowhere. It was placed against the wall and turned on, making everyone cover their ears. "She'd love a new scooter! Probably a new skateboard too. AS WELL AS CUPCAKES!"

"Pinkie," Sci-Twi called. She pointed to the wall. "I think you're deep enough."

"What?" She yelled out from inside.

"I THINK YOU'RE DEEP ENOUGH!"

"OH, OKAY! BY THE WAY, I FOUND A BOX!" Pinkie walked back out holding a gray ornate cube and the jackhammer. "It was in the middle, but I went right past it."

She placed it into Princess Twilight's hands and allowed her and Sunset to look it over. Twilight nearly dropped it after feeling the insane amount of magic in it. It was Equestrian alright. It had the symbol of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna on it, along with the sun and the moon.

"This is Equestrian," Sunset confirmed, getting a closer look at it. "It has the marks of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna on it. But wouldn't it have the symbol of Zebrica on it instead? Or the Crest of the Thestrals?"

"I'm not sure, but I feel a lot of magic coming from it," Princess Twilight answered. She moved it around to study. "It's really strong in there. REALLY strong. It must be more powerful than Discord or the other Princesses."

"And that's what has me on edge," Sunset agreed. "We got the two things we came for. The Equestrian magic and Scootaloo's scooter, as well as the knowledge that she did live here. Now let's bail before Rarity goes nuts up there."

Rainbow folded up the scooter before Twilight teleported them all up to the level above them, startling the two girls up there. "Whoo! Twilight, Darling you need to have a better and more subtle entrance than always appearing in a flash of light," EQG Rarity said, trying to slow her heart rate.

"We found something with Equestrian magic," Sunset informed her. "We're not sure if it's the orb, but it's really strong according to Twilight, the princess one, not the geek."

"They're both geeks," Rainbow argued, making them all chuckle at the two girls who had scowls on their faces. "I'm just playing with you Twilight one and two."

"Shut it, Rainbow," they both replied.

"Now we have to get this back to the princesses," Princess Twilight suggested. She teleported them back to Amaryllis' tree. She was looking out towards the distance watching as the last of the FBI vehicles pulled away. While they were searching, those guys quickly packed up and left. They must've been there for them.

"Amaryllis!" Twilight yelled up to her, catching her attention. She looked down, seeing Sunset holding some type of box. They must've found it. She jumped out of the tree, flapping her wings to a slower descent before landing in front of Twilight.

With her eyes on the box she asked, "You found it?"

"We found something," Sunset clarified. "Do you know what this is?" She held the box towards Scootaloo who took it in her hands.

"It has magic in it," she answered. "A lot of it."

"We feel it too. We're going to ask Luna, see if she knows anything about what the artifact may look like. This is more than likely it, but since time is running out, we need to make sure this IS actually it. We don't want to waste our time."

"Okay," Princess Twilight said. "Sunset, take that to the Princesses. Rainbow Dash, go visit Scootaloo. The rest of us will try to find Anemone. Let's move."

Author's Note:

Hey, guys! So, does anybody actually know what the crest of Equestria actually looks like? I'm making guesses here. It would make more sense for it to be this...a little bit....right?

I'm just making guesses here, but to me it would make more sense.

Comments

[Ghost Of Razgriz]

Love this story.... sad but love it.

[Captain Emerald]

"You've never tasted hospital food before, huh?" Green Rush asked her sincerely. Scootaloo glanced at her before taking a small bite out of the food. Her eyes widened instantly before she took another larger one, eating half the of the whole pastry.

Scoots hospital food is disgusting trust me