Tale of a Lost Scoots

by RDfan27

Chapter 17 - Familial Relations

A soft knock at the door roused Blazing Fire from his spot relaxing on the couch. “Coming!” he called, annoyed, before begrudgingly getting up and making his way to the door.

He threw the door open with a little bit more force than he had originally intended. “Yes,” he spat vehemently. Then he was who stood before him at his door this evening. “Tidal!” he called, raising a hoof to the smiling mare in front of him to invite her in for a hug. She accepted the hug, before following him inside.

“Hey dad,” she greeted as she made her way into the house. “Where’s mom at?”

Almost as if on cue, her mother appeared from the kitchen, where she had presumably been cooking dinner, based on the apron that she wore as she entered the room. “Is that who I think it is?” she asked jokingly as she walked up to her daughter. “Come here Tidy!” she said as she pulled her daughter in for a motherly hug, promptly suffocating her in the gesture of affection.

“M-mom!” she choked out. “C-can’t breathe…”

“Oh, sorry dear,” her mother said as she pulled away from the suffocating embrace, leaving Tidal Wave gasping for air. “You know I just like to see you. I didn’t know you were coming tonight. What brings you here?”

“Oh, so I need an excuse to come visit my folks?” she asked, putting on her best hurt expression. Her father simply shot her a deadpan glare in return. “Okay, fine, there’s a reason. How about we discuss it over dinner?”

“Sounds lovely to me honey,” her mother agreed. “Now, go get washed up, dinner is almost ready.

***

By now, the morning sun had raised, and light was pouring in from the hospital windows. The older mares had long since finished with the detectives and were now fast asleep in chairs along the wall of Applebloom’s room. Despite how interested they seemed to be in the newcomers and their tales of harmony and friendship among the races, they were not doing much. All they were told was that they would be contacted if anything came up.

They actually spent most of their time with the detectives talking about Equestria, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Rainbow Dash and was not appreciated by her either. In fact, as soon as they left the station, she stated that they weren’t going to just wait around for the detectives to come up with something, and instead were going to investigate some on their own. She, unsurprisingly, was met with little opposition or hesitation from the others, and it was quickly decided that they were going to keep looking. Before they went to sleep, they decided that they would come up with a plan in the morning, which was now quickly approaching.

Twilight was the first one up and quickly began to prepare a plan while she waited on the others to awake. Eventually, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who were sitting next to each other, woke up, followed by Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and then Rarity. They decided to let Sweetie Belle and Applebloom sleep, so they kept their voices down in order to avoid unintentionally rousing them from their slumber.

“So,” Twilight began, pulling out a map that she had procured from one of the nurses early that morning. “We know that Scootaloo is probably hurt. This means that she is going to be seeking help. We know that if Scootaloo got help, then somepony would notice that she is a pegasus, and therefore doesn’t belong here. This means that she would most likely end up in a city that has pegasi.” They all nodded their heads, seemingly following along okay. “The detectives yesterday said that there are two cities for pegasi. One is the seaside city of Seabreeze, and the other one is the capital city, Atlas.”

“How do we know which one she is in?” Fluttershy asked, curious to see if she had thought of this yet.

“We don’t,” Twilight said sadly. “But, I may have an idea that will help with the problem of deciding where to look first.”

“Well, what is it?” asked Rainbow Dash. “I hope you don’t mean…”

Twilight sighed. Yes, that was exactly what she meant. She knew the others wouldn’t like the idea. Hay, she didn’t even like the idea. Nevertheless, it was for the best, because it would allow them to find Scootaloo the fastest. “Yes, I mean we should split up.”

“Are you nuts!” yelled Pinkie Pie. “We just got to this new crazy wacko land that has ponies all mad at each other and hating each other… and you want us to split up!”

“Yeah, I’m with Pinkie on this one,” agreed Rainbow Dash. “Splitting up could be dangerous. How would we even find each other later?”

“Everypony calm down!” Twilight urged, looking over her shoulder and hoping that Pinkie’s outburst hadn’t woken up the sleeping fillies. Luckily, it hadn’t. “Look, I know it’s not the best idea, but it’s the best idea we have. We need to find Scootaloo fast, and this way we can cover much more area quicker. Plus… we may not have a choice.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash asked, glancing down at the map that Twilight was now pointing at.

“Look here,” she said, pointing a hoof at a ring of mountains on the map. “This is where Atlas is. There is a valley behind these mountains, and that is where the City is. That wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but there is no road shown on this map, which means that there might not even be one.”

“So you’re saying that this city is only accessible by Pegasi?” Rainbow Dash asked, catching on to where Twilight was going with this.

“Right. Only you, Fluttershy, and I would be able to get up there.”

“So we split up? Three of us go to Atlas and three to Seabreeze?”

“That’s the best solution I can think of. We can find Scootaloo quicker, and we don’t have to worry about the pegasi not liking earth ponies or unicorns in the capital city. It will still be a problem in Seabreeze, but it shouldn’t be as serious of a problem as in the capital city.”

“But what about your horn darling?” Rarity asked, pointing out the obvious question everyone had been wanting to ask. “That’s sure to raise some questions is it not?”

“Right you are Rarity. This would probably raise even more questions than if a unicorn or earth pony ended up there, especially since it is clear that alicorns are a new thing for the ponies here.”

“So what are you gonna do?” Applejack asked.

“I’m going to hide it!” she exclaimed loudly, jumping up to her hooves as she did so, before reigning in her little burst of excitement. She gave a sheepish smile, and her cheeks showed red as she slunk back into her seat. “Ahem, yes. I’m going to cast a spell that hides my horn from sight. I can still use it if necessary, but it will be hidden from sight.”

“Whoah,” Rainbow Dash said, amazed. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Yeah, not many ponies can. I’m the only one I know of, apart from the princesses.”

“That’s so cool!” Rainbow Dash said. “Wait, won’t it look weird for a pony without a horn to use magic though?”

“It would, for sure. That’s why I’m not going to use my magic. It’s just good to know that it’s there if we need it in a dire situation. It will be an absolute last resort.” Twilight said, growing serious as she said this.

“Okay. Now what?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, first, are you three okay with this?” she asked, pointing a hoof at Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity. “You don’t have to do this if you aren’t comfortable with it.”

“Don’t worry about us Sugarcube. We’ll be just fine. Ain’t that right?”

“Why of course darling. You mustn’t worry about us.”

“Yupperoonie!” chimed Pinkie Pie.

“Well, it’s settled then. As soon as we can get out of here, we’ll get to searching for Scootaloo,” Twilight said as she folded up the map.

“Alright!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Scoots! Here we come!”

They all visibly cringed at Rainbow Dash’s outburst, looking to see that the fillies who had once been sound asleep, were now stirring awake. “Ughh,” they all, but Rainbow Dash, groaned at the same time.

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her mane with a hoof. “Hehe… oops.”

***

The family of Tidal Wave, Blazing Fire, and Honeydew all sat together at the dinner table, enjoying a nice homecooked meal of hayburgers and asparagus. All was silent as they ate, with the family opting to simply enjoy eating a meal as a family in silence. Something they hadn’t done in years.

Eventually, everyone finished their meals and put down their silverware. Honeydew offered to do the dishes, and got up, taking everyone’s plates with her as she walked over to the sink and began rinsing the plates in the sink.

This left Tidal Wave and her father alone at the table to talk. “So honey, what’s wrong?” her father asked, clearly seeing through the front that she had put up.

She gave an exasperated sigh. “That easy to read huh?” she asked, slouching her shoulders and dropping her head.

Her father gave a hearty laugh, reaching over and placing a hoof on his daughter’s shoulder. “Sweetie, I’ve known you long enough to know when something’s bothering you, and whatever it is, it seems to be eating you up quite a bit.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she said, sounding quite defeated and sad as she recalled the tale of the filly that had come into the hospital earlier that day. “There was this filly that came into the hospital today and was placed under my care. I feel so bad for the poor thing. The weird part was that I don’t think she’s even from the island. She told all these stories of the place where she lives, and it’s absolutely nothing like here. All the three pony races live in harmony, they live under four princesses, although only two are the main rulers, and she just went on and on about her home.”

At this point, her father’s expression had darkened, and he simply stared at her in silence, although she was so enraptured with remembering the details about the little pegasus that she didn’t take any notice of it. “That still wasn’t even the strangest part though. You’re probably wondering why she was in the hospital? She was foalnapped. She claims that these two ponies, one pegasus and one earth pony, brought her into their home for the night, then when she woke up the next morning fell down the stairs. She says she woke up in some sort of covered cart and was accidentally thrown from it when it hit a hole in the road. After that, all she remembers is falling, before being caught by some Rainbow blur before fainting.”

Blazing Fire’s face was now cold as stone, and his dead glare straight ahead could stare daggers through anypony. “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, when I looked at her file of information the hospital was able to find on her, I was shocked! I found out that sh—” Tidal Wave was cut off by her father’s hoof on her mouth, silencing her instantly.

“Honey, you haven’t told anyone else about her story of being foalnapped yet, have you?” A simple head-shake “no” was all he needed to continue. “Well don’t.” Her face grew very visibly concerned and confused at the same time from hearing this. “I know you want to report this, and normally you would, but in this case, you mustn’t tell another living soul.”

“Not even the government? I thought I should since it sounds so much like those two ponies they’re looking for that do this all the time.”

“ESPECIALLY NOT THE GOVERNMENT!” Blazing fire yelled, and judging by the sound of a plate shattering in the next room, he had yelled probably a little too loud. He sighed. “Look, honey, I know you want to help her, but I promise you that if the government finds out that she is alive and well after one of those attacks…”

Now it was Tidal Wave’s turn to place a hoof on his shoulder. “I think I get it, dad. No need to tell me more. I promise I won’t mention it to another soul,” she said, holding up her right forehoof to show that she was serious.

Her father looked up at her and smiled, silently thanking her for heeding his warning. ”Now I just need to figure out how to save her,” he thought as pieces of his grand plan slowly began to fall into place in his mind.

Just then, they looked up to see the rainbow mane and blue coat of her mother come out of the kitchen. Her cerise eyes met theirs as she entered the room. “Hey, sorry I took so long. Your father gave me quite a scare and I had to clean up a broken plate or two. No big deal. So, what were you two talking about that got your father to yell so loud?” she asked as she took a seat at the table.

Just then, it hit Tidal Wave. Why the pony that Scootaloo had described sounded so familiar, and another reason for her coming there in the first place. Her father, with his orange mane, yellow coat, and magenta eyes, did not remind her of the pony described at all, but her mother was a different story. It was like an exact model of what was described.

“Oh! That was the other thing I wanted to talk about! Mom, this filly that came in today was describing her mother to me. The way she described her was like she was describing you! Physically at least. The personality was way different, but she said she was a pegasus with the cyan fur, rainbow mane and tail, and magenta eyes. It’s just like you!”

Honeydew was stock still, not daring to even move a muscle, and barely even deciding to breathe. Her husband sat in a similar fashion next to her. A few minutes of silence later, Tidal Wave asked, “mom… are you okay?”

“What was her name?” she spat out very quickly and with force, catching Tidal Wave off guard.

“What?”

“I said… what was her name?” she asked, slower, but still filled to the brim with anger seeping into her voice.

“Uhh, Rainbow Dash, I think. Why?”

It was then that her mother fell out of her seat as she fainted.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone, sorry for the late upload today. It's finals week, and I'm a little behind from getting stuck with the flu last week. I'm glad to be back and able to get you all a chapter today though. I really hope you all enjoy, a lot is revealed in this chapter, and I know you are left with a lot of questions. Just be patient, you'll find out eventually... and yes, I did that on purpose. You shall not know what she found in Scootaloo's file!

Anyway... thanks for reading. Remember, feedback is always appreciated! See you all next week!

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[Teraunce]

Fish! Fish I SAY!