Harmonics

by ezra09

The Rose's Thorns

“Ah’d rather not,” Apple Bloom said simply.

“Then why’d you come here?”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Ah don’t mean it like that. Ah do want to fix things, Ah just don’t think talking will help. We both acted like foals, and there’s no changing that. We can’t change what the other thinks either.”

She offered Scootaloo a friendly smile. “Can’t we just pretend it never happened? Let things go back to normal?”

Scootaloo wanted nothing more than to agree. With everything going south around her, the idea of saving just one of her friendships was more tempting than she would have imagined. Instead, she shook her head.

Apple Bloom frowned, setting her oats on the table with more force than necessary. “Why ya gotta be so stubborn?”

“I guess it rubbed off from spending too much time around you,” Scootaloo said. “I’m tired of pushing everypony away. I want our friendship to work, but lying to ourselves won’t help.” She looked down at the table as she continued. “When you first told me how you feel, I may have overreacted.”

“That’s putting it lightly,” Apple Bloom said, a light blush creeping into her cheeks.

“Yeah, yeah. I’d already screwed up every relationship I’d been in, and I didn’t want anything coming between us. I should have just told you I wasn’t interested.”

“Is there actually a point to this?”

Scootaloo cast her a sideways look, frowning. “The point is, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shouted at you, and I shouldn’t have avoided you for so long afterwards. I can’t change the way I feel, and I don’t know how long it’ll be before I find some other way to screw up, but I’m glad you’re here.”

Apple Bloom’s face soured. “Close enough, Ah guess.”

Scootaloo shrugged and busied herself with the take-out.

“Ah, come on Scoots, at least try to be positive. There’s no guarantee anything’ll go wrong.”

“Hmph,” Scootaloo scoffed, turning her head away slightly.

“Ya wanna talk about it?”

Scootaloo blinked rapidly as tears began to form. “It’s just some dumb guy.”

“Ya still thinking about Nimbus?” Apple Bloom asked.

That brought a small chuckle from Scootaloo as she shook her head. “No, Diamond Tiara can have that loser. It’s just one of my new friends from the school.” As the tears started streaming down her face, Scootaloo told Apple Bloom everything that had been happening over the past few weeks.

*****

Talking to Apple Bloom had eased some of Scootaloo’s unease, though her stomach still knotted uncomfortably as she trotted to work the next morning. Luckily, she made it to the sports field without seeing any familiar faces.

Time passed in a haze as she helped Coach Thunderhead set up a simple obstacle course and showed the students some maneuvers they would need. It was a piece of cake compared to some of the Wonderbolts’ courses Dash had let her try over the summers, but challenging enough for the younger pegasi.

Scootaloo decided to grab lunch at a nearby fast food place, rather than risking a trip to the cafeteria. The weather was perfect for sitting on the patio with a large order of hay fries. Not much traffic passed by the upscale neighborhoods around the school, and a light breeze stirred her mane as she ate in peace.

Scootaloo couldn’t focus on any of it. She ate her fries without really tasting them. The cheery sunlight didn’t make her feel any warmer. It just wasn’t fair. She should be back at the school, eating with her new friends, not hiding away like some criminal.

She was almost done when an uncomfortable itch ran the length of her wings. She rolled her shoulders uncomfortably, frowning. She was probably being paranoid, she reasoned, but shook her head. With a sudden jerk, she twisted around in her seat.

Somepony ducked around the corner of the restaurant at the same moment. She barely caught a glimpse of their tan tail.

Her eyes scanned the nearby street as her breathing hitched. Fear rose in her chest, and she pushed away from the table. Leaving the last of her food, she took off.

With a few beats of her wings, she was rising above the rooftops and whoever had been watching her. After a moment, she grinned, fear turning into confidence. Even if somepony, or more likely, some changeling wanted to hurt her, they’d have a tough time catching her.

She missed the soft whistle as she congratulated herself, so when the spell hit, it took her completely by surprise. A red-orange cord of energy whipped around her wings, drawing them together painfully. She gasped, legs churning through the air as she fell. She hit one of the roofs, bounced, rolled, and fell heavily out of sight in a dark corner between two shops.

Lights danced through her vision as her head spun. She tried to push herself up, but her wings, tied together above her back, threw her balance off.

“Nice shot,” somepony said nearby.

“Yeah, let’s just hurry up. Somepony might have seen that.”

“She’s all yours. I’ll just keep a watch out.”

Scootaloo managed to focus on the two stallions. One was a gangly orange unicorn. His horn glowed with magic. The other was a brown pegasus. The unicorn approached her calmly, head lowered as his horn began to hum with even more power.

“What are you doing?” she managed to cough out, edging away from him.

“Don’t worry about it,” the unicorn answered. “Just sit still and relax.”

Scootaloo pushed herself farther away, turning so that her back was to the wall. The unicorn took another step closer, lowering his head further. Scootaloo started to feel a buzzing sensation at the back of her head. The silver light that had plagued her memories began to flow through her, taking the edge off her thoughts. After a moment, a red-orange light started trickling in, mixing with the silver light.

She could barely keep her thoughts focused on what she was seeing. The pegasus was twenty feet away, turned away from them. Nopony was in the street beyond. Even if they were, she wasn’t sure she could have called for help. The unicorn's horn glowed more brightly, and he took another step to stand directly over her.

With the last bit of strength she could muster, Scootaloo bucked him in the horn. His head snapped back, a surprised look of pain on his face. He fell back on his haunches as his sparked and the glow faded. Suddenly, Scootaloo’s thought snapped back into clarity, and the binding around her wings faded.

She rolled to her hooves and leapt, wings beating furiously as she half flew, half ran up the side of the building. Another spell sailed by her as she dove onto the roof. She took a moment to breathe and stretch her wings. Nothing seemed seriously hurt, so she galloped to the other side of the building and launched herself into the air.

She’d only made it a few yards before the sound of flapping wings came from behind her. She rolled instinctively, barely dodging the brown pegasus. He rolled toward her, swerving up to gain a height advantage and began to push her lower. Scootaloo heard a faint whistle and snapped her wings to her back, dropping a few feet just as another binding spell sailed over her.

The brown pegasus dove into her, slamming into the middle of her back and pinning her wings. They plummeted toward the ground as she struggled to shake him. At the last possible second, he released her and pulled up. She flared her wings out, catching herself and leveling out just above the ground. She had to tuck her legs in, and the tips of her rear hooves still tickled the road for half a second. Some ponies were pointing at the two of them, but she was moving too fast to take in any details. She slowly gained altitude, turning her head about in search of her attacker.

The brown pegasus soared in from her right, clipping her flank as she dived again. He was fast. Probably as fast as her. It wouldn’t be easy to escape if he could match all of her moves.

A smile crept onto her face and she began to push herself even faster. “Just try and keep up with this!” she shouted back in challenge.

The brown pegasus fell in line behind her, flying all out just to keep up with her.

Scootaloo began to feel a slight resistance as the air around her hummed. She thought back to her lessons with Dash. There was one trick she’d never managed to pull off.

“You need a perfect form,” Dash had said. “Perfect rhythm, perfect everything. Once you get up to speed, there’s a point of no return. All or nothing. Once you pass that, all you can do is go faster and pull it off.”

Scootaloo could feel that point approaching. A clear sphere formed around as she picked up speed, slowly stretching into a cone. She could hear the pressure building up from the pegasus behind her. They were at the all or nothing moment.

Scootaloo pulled back, wings stretched wide as she began to decelerate. The brown pegasus flashed by her, a look of confusion on his face. He tried to turn, but the mach cone around him shook violently. He hung suspended in the air for a moment, just long enough for the confusion to fade from his face, replaced by a look that clearly said, “Aw ponyfeathers.”

As Scootaloo sailed past him at a much safer speed, the brown pegasus was flung backwards, tumbling through the air with a panicked scream. Scootaloo allowed herself a moment of gloating, turning back to stick her tongue out at him before flying off to safety.

*****

Rose Thorn sat in her office, a look of loathing fixed on her usually attractive face. A white unicorn filly stood off to the side of the room, offering no opinion. The orange unicorn stood in the center of the room, head ducked low.

“You had one chance at this. Isn’t that what I told you before?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The unicorn’s voice shook as his eyes darted around the room, looking for a way out.

“And now that you’ve blown it, she knows to be more wary. We won’t get another chance to reapply the memory spells.”

The unicorn remained silent, pawing at the ground.

“So you and your mentally deficient partner have lost us one of the most important pieces on the board.”

“There might still be a chance,” the unicorn said. “If we can find her before she gets to the Princess—”

“No!” Rose thorn snapped. “That isn’t a risk we can afford to take. Get out of my sight.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” the unicorn said, bowing quickly and tripping over himself to leave the room.

Rose Thorn took a moment to breathe, closing her eyes.

“It’s so hard to find good help these days, isn’t it, Miss Thorn,” the unicorn filly said with a giggle as she skipped to the center of the room. Her coat was pure white, with a blue mane and tail. She had bright blue eyes and light freckles.

Rose Thorn nodded. “I suppose it’s your turn again, Crystal Ball.”

“We won’t disappoint you,” Crystal said with a quick curtsy. Despite her size and energy, the filly found a way to make the gesture look sarcastic and insulting.

“This isn’t a time for games,” Rose thorn said. “No cat and mouse, no giving her a fair chance. No gloating once she’s in your clutches, and don’t even think about building an inescapable death trap.”

The filly pouted, but after a moment nodded her head in agreement. “She can’t be allowed to see the princess. Just so we’re clear...” she trailed off.

“Find her,” Rose Thorn said, tapping her hoof to the desk with a note of finality. “Kill her.”

Comments

[La Barata]

UPDATE!
SO SWEET AND TASTY
UPDATE!
CAN'T BE TOO HASTY
UPDATE!
UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!

[AnAsianToaster]

Oh, is that a hint of ScootaBloom? Of course I mention whatever romance there is before the incoming attempt on Scoots' life.

[Rozen Knight]

And in todays news... ANOTHER AWESOME CHAPTER WHAT MORE NEWS CAN THERE BE!

[Midnight herald]

The pegasus’ horn glowed more brightly, and he took another step to stand directly over her.

Ummmm....
Other than that, a great chapter. Of course "Crystal Ball" would be involved with this madness. I just hope Scoots is smart enough to get to the Princess straightaway rather than, say, talk to Apple Bloom or anything...

[ezra09]

1862874

Thanks.

[arglefumph]

Scootaloo couldn’t focus on any of it. She eat her fries without really tasting them. The cheery sunlight didn’t make her feel any warmer. It just wasn’t fair. She should be back at the school, eating with her new friends, not hiding away like some criminal.

That should be "She ate her fries without really tasting them." Other than that, this was a nice chapter. For a moment there, I thought Scootaloo was going to do a Sonic Rainboom, but her way of shaking off the villain was probably a lot easier for her to do.

[ezra09]

1863000

Thank you.

[DaughterScrewball]

Subtle Scootabloom? Kinda interesting. More importantly, the return of Crystal Bal!!!

[ToaofTwilightZ]

Wait, isn't Chryssy still in the moon?

[ezra09]

1864599

Yup.

[ezra09]

1865432

I think you misread, though I may be wrong. I'll go through and check. The incident between Applebloom and Scootaloo happened 8 years after Discordant, 2 before Harmonics. Thistleroot mentions that the mare in the moon vanished 12 years ago, and reappeared 2 years after that, if I remember correctly.

[Csquared08]

So the new changeling queen is also posing as Crystal Ball? Or is Chrysalis somehow back?

1865444
I didn't get a notification for this!? I call shenanigans!

Anywho, when I read it, I thought it said something like the mare in the moon reappeared two years ago, not two years after it vanished.

[Frankie]

Crystal Ball? Wasn't that Chrysalis? Isn't she still on the moon?

[North]

Scootaloo began to feel a slight resistance as the air around her hummed. She thought back to her lessons with Dash. There was one trick she’d never managed to pull off.
“You need a perfect form,” Dash had said. “Perfect rhythm, perfect everything. Once you get up to speed, there’s a point of no return. All or nothing. Once you pass that, all you can do is go faster and pull it off.”
Scootaloo could feel that point approaching. A clear sphere formed around as she picked up speed, slowly stretching into a cone. She could hear the pressure building up from the pegasus behind her. They were at the all or nothing moment.

Aww...for a second there I thought Scootaloo was going to do a sonic rainboom.

[TheGreatEater]

Applebloom shook her head. “Ah don’t mean it like that. Ah do want to fix things, I just don’t think talking will help. We both acted like foals, and there’s no changing that. We can’t change what the other thinks either.”

Ah
____________

Applebloom >> Apple Bloom
____________

I know she survives ... somehow, but still. Damn! Rose is one stone cold mother trucker.