• Published 25th Aug 2012
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Harmonics - ezra09



Years after the events of Discordant, Scootaloo is hired as an assistant flight instructor.

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Memories

It sure is dark.

Scootaloo lay on the hard ground of the cell. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but all she could make out was the jagged shape of the bars.

It’s so boring here.

She hadn’t been fed since she’d arrived. A part of her worried that the changelings didn’t have any food fit for a pony. The old pony, Al, had told them all that changelings could survive on real food too, but they might not waste what resources they had on her, despite Lirean’s promises.

Scootaloo tried to breathe deeply. They hadn’t given her any food because she’d only been there a few hours. At the most half a day. It was probably the middle of the night. They weren’t going to starve her. Hopefully.

Are you just going to lie there and ignore me all night?

Scootaloo shifted slightly, remaining silent.

Bah, that’s no fun.

The cell and room beyond were completely silent. Even the buzzing wings in the hall outside had stopped.

Oh, try to lighten up, Scoots. Try to look on the bright side.

“Bright side?” Scootaloo snapped at the empty room. “Name one positive thing about this mess.”

You don’t have to fight with Applebloom now.

Scootaloo glared at the wall, grinding her teeth in frustration.

I mean, after what happened, is there really any other possibility? She kissed you. She obviously doesn’t get it.

“She was drinking.”

Oh, but is that really an excuse? That didn’t make her want to kiss you, it just gave her the courage to act on those feelings.

“But I already knew how she felt. This doesn’t change anything.” Scootaloo looked up at flat shadow only a few feet above her head where the cell’s ceiling was. “Or it wouldn’t if we could talk about it. Why are you still around? I thought the crazy voices would go away once I remembered everything.”

Do you?

“Yeah. I went to the restaurant with Thistleroot. We met Star Shine and he invited us to go with them to that show. He invited me to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Thistleroot and I followed him after Twilight and Rainbow Dash left, and overheard him talking to Crystal Ball, Lirean in disguise. Then Thistleroot took me home.”

And?

“And then I... I...” She winced and shook her head. “That’s it. That’s all that happened.”

The voice in her head changed, becoming more formal. Silver Shield. We met briefly a few days ago.

“That was the pegasus from the Crusader meeting,” Scootaloo said. “I’d met him a few days before, but forgotten about it.” She frowned. That didn’t quite add up.

He wasn’t at dinner or the show. You didn’t see him at all before getting home, did you?

“There’s something I still can’t remember,” Scootaloo said. She lifted her chin a bit, frowning. “Why are you helping me?”

Why wouldn’t I? I’m you, after all.

“Well, yeah, but you’re always so...” Scootaloo trailed off.

I’ve never said anything you haven’t thought, have I?

Scootaloo fell silent for several long minutes before shaking her head. More time passed before she finally spoke again. “I missed him at first.”

Oh?

“The first night after we turned him back into stone, I went to say good night, and no one was there to hear me. I used to have dreams about talking to him. If you’re some kind of subconscious... thing...”

How eloquent.

“Shut up. If you’re part of my mind, then that’s probably why you sound like him, isn’t it? Not just because I felt guilty, but because I missed him.”

That sounds about right.

“Wow, am I screwed up or what?” Scootaloo said with a bit of dry humor lightening her voice. “It’s a good thing I’ve got such great friends.”

Oh, of course. Great friends that didn’t just leave you to get captured again. Wonderful friends that don’t constantly thrust you into uncomfortable situations. Right?

Scootaloo felt a quick flash of anger, but another thought kept her from retorting. The imaginary Discord wasn’t saying anything she hadn’t already thought. If that was true, it wasn’t saying things out malice. She shrugged and said, “No point in feeling sorry for myself now, is there?”

Discord’s laughter echoed through her head. What about Applebloom? Assuming you get out of here, what will happen between the two of you?

“I don’t know,” Scootaloo answered honestly. “What do you think?”

Oh, Scootaloo, you’ve been down this road before. You’ve told her you aren’t interested in her. You’re scared of what would happen if you let yourself feel anything romantic towards her. Tragic really, that your warnings would go unheard. If she keeps it up, there’s not much you can do but push back.

“And?” Scootaloo asked.

And the reason you refuse to let yourself feel for her is because you care too much. You have a poor track record with relationships. I mean, just look at Nimbus. With Diamond Tiara of all ponies. What could possibly be so bad about you that somepony would—

“Yeah, asked myself that one already, can we just move on?”

Right, sorry. You’re afraid of losing your friendship with Applebloom by letting it become anything more.

“And because of that, I ended up ruining our friendship by getting mad at her,” Scootaloo said.

A bit of questionable logic, there. Wouldn’t you say?

“It was stupid,” Scootaloo agreed.

So that brings me back to my question. What will you do?

“Whatever I have to. Applebloom values our friendship just as much as I do. I guess we just won’t go out drinking together.”

Not ‘I’ll keep trying until I screw it up’? Why, I’m almost proud.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. After a moment she stopped and tilted her head as a thought occurred to her. “What happened?”

What happened?

“The night I can’t remember. What happened? What can’t I remember? You’re my subconscious, right? You should know.”

But that would be cheating. Where’s the fun in that?

“So you do know?”

Yes, but I can’t just go telling you.

Scootaloo frowned in annoyance. “You aren’t really Discord. I don’t care if it’s cheating or less fun, I want to know. You should want me to know.”

I suppose that’s true.

“So tell me.”

The voice was silent for a long moment. I can’t.

“Why not?”

I can’t say. Just think on it.

Scootaloo frowned. “Uh, okay. So you can’t tell me why you can’t tell me?”

Quite odd, wouldn’t you say? Could you imagine something like that just occurring at random?

“No,” Scootaloo said, shaking her head. “Wait, do you mean it wasn’t random?” The voice didn’t answer. “If it wasn’t random, somepony had to make it happen. But why would anypony do that? The only ponies who know about you are Twilight, Thistleroot and the princess.”

The voice kept quiet and Scootaloo stood to pace her tiny cell. “That sounds like something Star Shine or the changelings would do. But then that would mean you’re part of the spell and not just a side effect. And if that were true, you wouldn’t try to help me.” Scootaloo shrugged. “Not that you were ever much help before today.”

Odd timing, isn’t it? That I would prove to be a bit more useful after the spell slipped enough for some of your memories to come back. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. The voice sounded oddly shaky.

Scootaloo stopped pacing. “So you were part of the spell, and not just a side effect of it. But why? The only thing you ever did was make me sad or angry.” Scootaloo shook her head again and resumed pacing. “You’re my subconscious. The spell used you to make me angry. What did that accomplish? Oh, I ended up getting angry at my friends sometimes. Maybe you were there to keep me from getting help.”

There’s one other thing, Scootaloo. The voice had changed. It had gone from Discord’s to a faint echo of her own. A pegasus and unicorn attacked you.

“What does that have to do with the rest of it?”

I can’t say. The voice had grown fainter.

“What’s going on?”

You’ll figure it out. The voice said, so quietly Scootaloo could barely make out the words. Scootaloo waited, but it didn’t say anything else.

“Okay, think. What did the unicorn and pegasus have to do with the rest of it,” Scootaloo thought aloud, trying to talk her way through it. “Well, when the unicorn started his spell, it felt the same as the memory spell. I guess he was going to put another one on me. But what was he going to make me forget? What happened before then?”

She closed her eyes to think. “The fake Thistleroot had told me he didn’t want to see me again. That was part of the plan, they wouldn’t make me forget that. It was also the first time I was able to make the voice in my head shut up. Would they want me to forget that?”

Scootaloo stopped and sat down. There was something there. She could feel the dull numbness of the memory spell, just a stray thought from painful silver light. Something she just couldn’t remember.

At first, Discord had ruthlessly reduced her to tears, forcing her away from her friends. Finally she stood up to the voice, and somepony had tried to put a new spell on her. When she’d gotten some of her memories back, the voice had gone from hateful to helpful.

“This will keep the spell from taking hold,” Scootaloo whispered. She blinked in confusion. She could feel the light from the spell, but the pain that usually accompanied it was absent. The light was fading. Her eyes went wide as she remembered.

*****

Scootaloo was blindfolded and lying down. Her legs were tied and she was gagged. Some ponies had been in and out. Star Shine was there. He and Silver Shield had come for her in the middle of the night.

He’d used his magic to force her to remember things. She saw and felt her memories from ten years earlier with alarming clarity, as though she was living them again. After several hours, Star Shine had given up in disgust. He’d wanted to know about the Elements of Disharmony. Wanted to know more than Scootaloo knew.

He didn’t bother keeping it a secret. She wouldn’t remember anything later. Star Shine wanted to make his own elements.

“And it seems only two ponies in the world know how. One is on the moon, and the other is more heavily guarded than Fort Broncs.” Star Shine sighed and shook his head. “Well, this wasn’t a total loss.” Scootaloo heard him step around the table she was on and gently patted her cheek. “At least we know for sure that Discord can help us.”

Star Shine left, promising to come back in a few minutes. Scootaloo waited, unable to think straight. After a moment, hoofsteps entered the room, and she struggled against the ropes.

“Easy,” a gentle mare’s voice whispered into her ear. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Scootaloo stopped struggling, though the fear remained.

“They’re going to cast a spell on you to block your memories. If the princess finds out what they’re planning, she’ll be able to take appropriate countermeasures. The ideal solution would be to kill you, but I’ve made sure they all understand that isn’t an option. Your mind will be blocked and then you’ll be given to the changelings. Star Shine will inform the princess where you are, and she’ll save you.”

“Scootaloo, it’s of the utmost importance that you remember what they’re after. They’re going to learn more about the Elements of Disharmony from Discord, and if they succeed, they’ll be in a position to overthrow the princesses.” A warm, rosy light flooded through Scootaloo’s mind. “This will keep the spell from taking hold. Your subconscious will reject the spell, and eventually it will fail completely.”

The light faded a moment later. “That’s all I can do for now.” Without another word, the mare left the room.

Scootaloo would have been at a loss of words, even if she hadn’t been gagged. She’d recognized the mare’s voice.

Why in the name of Harmony would Rose want to help her?

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