15. Mudder's Milk
"Excuse me, I'm new to town and I'm trying to find my friend Scootaloo. Have you seen her?"
Fluttershy lower her head and her voice. "oh, hello. . . um I think she is at school with all the other fillies."
"Thanks."
"Are you. . . do you need help finding it?"
"No thanks."
Fluttershy continued up the road to meet Rarity at the Day Spa. It had been rebuilt with a generous donation from Applejack. She had just returned from winning another set of rodeo prizes. Rarity had assured Fluttershy that the Day Spa was safe now. In fact, Rarity walked Sweetie to school to make sure the Cutie Mark Crusaders were very far away from the spa.
"Oh Fluttershy, there you are. Who was the little grey filly?"
"She's new in town, she was looking for Scootaloo."
"Did she have a cutie mark yet? If the fillies get more members in their club, they might destroy half the town."
"Oh I'm sure they wouldn't do that. . . on purpose." Fluttershy smiled. "And if they do, I'll save you a room at my cottage."
"Oh so generous, and I'll show you some kindness by ensuring that doesn't happen."
It took a while for the grey unicorn filly to find the schoolhouse, and then she had nothing to do but wait until school was out. She would need to get Scootaloo alone for what she had planned. At last, fillies started pouring out of the schoolhouse.
She spotted the orange filly easily, and began shadowing her from a distance. Scootaloo had two other fillies with her; however they were headed out of town. If she had too, she could probably disable the other two. There had been plenty of time in the accursed basement to practice her magic for this day, and it was going to be perfect.
"Ah don't know 'bout that Scootaloo. Ah reckon ah'd rather fluff clouds then scrub floors anyday."
"You both had it easy, Rarity talked for hours about what a horrible travesty burning half the spa down was. 'Oh Sweetie, a lady must always look her best! And now the whole town of Ponyville will suffer from . . . dirt.' "
"Well look at the bright side, we've eliminated arson, day spa's, pranking, cement mixers, sauna operators, laundry mares, masseuse, and hot towel cooker from our list of cutie marks to try."
The three fillies shared a laugh as they walked off towards Sweet Apple Acres. "Oh, I almost forgot. Dash taught me a new trick I wanted to show you!" Scootaloo took off and hovered near the fillies.
"How'd ya have time for learnin' new tricks if ya were in trouble?" Applebloom raised an eyebrow and made eye contact with Scootaloo.
Scootaloo looked away and rubbed her neck, "Oh um. . . after I finished the chores of course!"
"A'hem." Applebloom continued to stare skeptically "Well, out with it then. Show us what ya got, and try not to throw us in a fountain this time."
Scootaloo waved a dismissive hoof at her. "Alright, she showed me how to form a twister. It's too dangerous for me to be doing any of the cool weather stuff yet. Still, I'm going to go out over the field and closer to the Everfree. I don't need a twister ramming into a house, if I ruin any more buildings we might get run out of town."
Applebloom had to stop her skeptical stare to laugh. She knew what it was like to watch a building you love be destroyed. She had seen the Apple family barn destroyed no less than six times. As much as she loved to build things, it got pretty boring rebuilding the barn after the third time. If there was an seventh time, she'd throw in the towel.
Returning her attention to Scootaloo, she saw her flying in a tight spiral closer to the Everfree.
The grey filly was glad for coincidences. When they happened to others, they were quite useful. Scootaloo had decided to fly off on her own to show off some sort of stunt flying. The other two fillies were a very safe distance away, at the other end of the field.
Levitating some rocks along with her, she quickly reached position near the forest. With the small pile of ammo, she waited for Scootaloo to slow down so she could aim. At last, she slowed down to a hover as the twister spun around in the field.
Scootaloo looked with pride at her twister. It was bigger than when she had tried it with Dash. Dash did say the less accurate your spiraling, the larger the twister would be. If it got too big, it'd dissipate, so the trick to using it as a stunt was a very tight spiral.
A whistling noise flew past Scootaloo's left ear. Looking around she couldn't see anything. She glanced to Applebloom and Sweetie, who were still at the other end of the field. Something sharp hit her back hoof with force, sending a shock through her leg. For a second she examined her hoof in mid-air, before realizing she should take cover. Before she got a chance, another rock hit her wing followed closely by one that hit her head, causing her to spiral down to the ground.
With a loud thud, Scootaloo slammed into the ground. It was much harder to recover after a crash you didn't see coming. By the time she got to her feet, a grey filly stood in front of her.
"What did you—" She was interrupted by a rock hitting her in the jaw. Scootaloo spat and tried to take off, only to feel magic yanking on her left wing like a blunt instrument.
"Impressive magic for a jerk, get lost before you make me angry." Scootaloo crouched back low to the ground. If the filly released her grip to grab another rock, she could tackle her.
"You don't remember me do you?" The grey filly walked up to her.
"Why would I? What did I ever do to you?"
"What did you do?" The filly began cackling. "What did you do!" The filly had a fire in her eyes as her grin turned feral. "I'll tell you what you did, you abandoned me! For years I suffered while you played with your friends here!"
"What are you talking about? I've only—" The filly slapped Scootaloo with a hoof. I didn't think of that, she can just punch me while pinning a wing. And if she's that close. There was a glint in Scootaloo's eye when she swung her own hoof up, knocking the unicorn to the ground.
Scootaloo started to hover a few feet off the ground, feeling a pain in her wing. It would make it hard to fly, but not impossible. As she turned to fly away, she heard the unicorn behind her.
"Go ahead, run away you chicken! I'll find you again, you were a chicken at the orphanage and you're a chicken now!"
Scootaloo stopped in mid-air, and then dropped to the ground. She marched over to the grey unicorn filly. Her brow wrinkled as she narrowed her eyes. "No. Pony. Calls. Me. Chicken. Who the hay are you?"
"Everything she told me was true wasn't it? After you escaped Gerda you never came back for me, for us! All the fillies she tortured, and me, trapped in a bucking basement for years!" The unicorn's horn was glowing, fueled by her rage.
"Wait, you're D—" Another rock interrupted Scootaloo, sending her to the ground clutching an eye.
"Why didn't you come back for me? We were friends! I would stand up for you, I helped you escape!" Tears were running down the unicorn's cheeks. "You can't even remember my name."
Scootaloo looked at her, thinking of what to say. She'd have to stall until Applebloom and Sweetie made it over to help. She'd also have to stop pissing her off, because those rocks really hurt. Scootaloo considered taking another swing at her, but now that she knew who the filly was, she didn't want to hurt her.
"Whatever Gerda told you was a lie." Scootaloo saw a large rock hover up, and she gulped. "I only escaped a few weeks ago. She clipped and ripped most of my feathers out for trying to escape!"
The grey filly stood there pondering what had been said, holding the large rock in midair. "She sawed off my horn; it took months to grow back. Do you have any idea how painful and embarrassing that is? And then, after she threw me inside, I heard you shouting! She said you had gotten away! If you lie one more time, so help me I'll kill you!"
"She suffocated me, by the time I woke up you were gone, we never knew what happened. And then the punishment, she did clip my wings. Please Dinky, don't turn into her."
The rock fell to the ground and Scootaloo's wings stopped glowing grey. She was no longer pinned to the ground.
"Like her? How—How could you think I'm like her?" The rock levitated up again.
Scootaloo slowly walked forward under her careful gaze. "Dinky, no pony should have to go through what we did. If we let those painful memories convince us to hurt others. . . We will end up like Boulder, like Gerda, Masking our pain with the pain of others."
The rock fell back to the ground and so did Dinky. "I don't—want to be in pain—anymore." She was crying into the grass.
"You can stay here, Twilight will get some pony to adopt you and we can all be happy. Gerda won't ever be coming back. The ponies here ran her out of town. One of them is Celestia's student, and the princess herself put out the arrest warrant!" Scootaloo sat down beside her and draped her good wing over her.
Dinky looked up. "So that's why Boulder is running the orphanage. I can't go back, but I don't know if I can stay. . ."
Scootaloo was about to reply when she smelt something foul in the air. She knew what it was, there was something about the scent that made it unique. She would know it anywhere. It was the timberwolf that had stalked her for her first two weeks in Ponyville. Scootaloo could fly off safely, but Dinky wouldn't be so lucky.
She heard the cracking branches before she saw the green eyes at the edge of the forest.
"Dinky, run."
Dinky looked up, her emotions a mess, her mind confused, and a filly she had almost killed standing between her and the forest. "What? What's—" Her question was cut off by a loud growl.
"So you've finally come back for me huh? Re-assembled all your twigs, but I'm not defenseless anymore!" Scootaloo hovered low to the ground to show the timberwolf she had the mobility advantage. Despite their differences, Dash had taught her the meaning of loyalty and she would not leave Dinky to the fate that she had nearly punished Scootaloo with.
Scootaloo had been reading Dash's action novels, and had been dying for a chance to say a certain line. "You shall not pass!"
The wolf started to circle Scootaloo with steam shooting out of his nostrils. It wanted more than anything to kill the filly it had stalked for weeks, but it knew how hard a Pegasus is to catch when they know you're coming. It would wait, and pounce her when she was not suspecting it. The grey filly though, such succulent meat, the wolf rarely got to eat a pony. It was something of a delicacy, and it would grab the weaker pony and drag her into the forest.
Scootaloo risked a glance back, Dinky hadn't run yet and not much further away she saw a red bow and white horn peaking over a ridge. The crusaders had come to help, and saw the timberwolf. The horn disappeared, hopefully to go get help. Applebloom remained, as fearless as her big sister despite being outmatched.
"Dinky, I said run! I'll be fine!" Scootaloo continued his dance with the timberwolf. If they kept circling, it would end up over by Applebloom. If Dinky didn't run now, Applebloom would be in just as much trouble.
Time slowed for Dinky as soon as she saw the wolf. She had known pain, but never fear of death. This was true fear, not twisted threats. She had never seen a beast so frightening; there were no animals that ate meat for fifty miles around Canterlot. The beast had sharp teeth, and Scootaloo was the only thing holding it back. The same filly she wanted to punish for abandoning her. Dinky had believed the stories Gerda had told her, about Scootaloo escaping, being adopted, and never coming back for her. The Scootaloo she saw now was not that Scootaloo.
"Scootaloo, duck!" Scootaloo flew a bit to the side and glanced back quickly, and saw several more rocks flying towards her.
"You gotta be kidding—" Scootaloo folded in her wings and fell to the ground. The wolf saw his chance and pounced her, just in time to get nailed by a large boulder and several pebbles to the head.
"Quick, for Celestia's sake run you fool!" Scootaloo and Dinky took off up the hill towards the safety of the farm.
Applejack and Big Mac vaulted over the fence while Sweetie ran under it. The trio were headed straight for the everfree, as three fillies booked it for the farm. Applejack and Sweetie joined them, while Big Mac continued up the hill towards the forest.
With years of experience and unrivaled strength, the wolf never stood a chance. He sprinted over the hill, and straight into the hind legs of Big Mac. Shattering into dozens of pieces, the glowing green sticks began to roll back towards the forest. Mac stepped on as many as he could, but some of them would doubtless make it back into the Everfree and reassemble. At least it wouldn't be back anytime soon.
"Ah want ta know what you fillies were doin' at the Everfree and ah want the truth!" Applejack had corralled the kids into the clubhouse, including Dinky who had no idea what the hay was going on.
"Ah told ya sis, it was just a stunt—" Applejack glared at her, and Applebloom knew she saw through her lie. Sweetie and she had made it to the hill in time to see the end of the fight, and Scootaloo was already developing a shiner on her right eye.
"Scootaloo? And whoever you are." Applejack looked at the grey filly, who shrank back.
"I was showing them a stunt, my friend Dinky here saw and came to watch. But the timberwolf saw her, and I had to fight it off while she ran."
Applejack stared straight into her eyes. Scootaloo used a trick Dash had taught her, meeting her gaze and locking eyes with her. To avoid eye contact was an admission of guilt.
"Is that true Dinky?" Applejack carefully kept both fillies in view to gauge their reaction.
"Uh. . . yes." Dinky was still trembling from the prospect of being dog food.
Applejack sighed. "Alright, ah'm just glad no pony was hurt. Ya'll head on back to your parents now. Applebloom, show 'em to the edge of the farm. We're not finished yet."
Applebloom gulped. Her sister was stern but fair, and would likely ask a few more questions. To her credit, AJ would then spend the night making her sis feel better. In fact, she'd probably get out of chores for the night. The two sisters were closer than probably any other pair of sisters in town.
Once the four fillies had gotten far enough away, Dinky spoke up. "Why'd you lie for me?"
"Why'd ya try ta kill our friend!" Applebloom stopped and glared at her.
"Applebloom! It was a misunderstanding. Dinky is my friend from the orphanage, that's all you need to know." Scootaloo shot back the same glaring look.
"Girls please! If Scootaloo says she's okay then she's okay. Any friend of Scoot's is a friend of mine." Sweetie stood smiling at Dinky, and between the two less even-headed fillies.
"Ah reckon you're right. Just don't go tryin' to give her anymore black eyes." The four walked in silence to the edge of the farm.
"See ya at school tomorrow." Applebloom turned and headed back home.
"Looks like this is goodbye, my home is the other direction." Sweetie nodded and walked away.
"Scootaloo. . ." Dinky just looked at her, unable to finish the question.
"What is it Dinky? Anything I can do, I will. You shouldn't have had to be stuck there."
"What is it like? To have a family?" Dinky's eyes were starting to water up, so she looked away to maintain her tough appearance.
Scootaloo was startled by the question. How do I put into words something that comes so naturally and feels so right? "It's wonderful. I didn't believe it at first, I thought I could do everything myself. But when I let somepony adopt me, somepony I cared about, it all changed. I feel safe now, I'm happy, and loved. . . Words don't do it justice, but I know even if Gerda did come back, Dash would give her life to protect me."
Dinky couldn't hide her tears any longer as she looked back. "You—" Dinky swallowed the lump in her throat. "You said you knew a pony who could get me adopted?"
"I did, and this is her house." Dinky hadn't noticed, but the two had walked right up to a large house built inside an oak tree. "Let's go inside and get you cleaned up."
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duh next chapter there is no need to ask you are making an awesome story!
the plot has returned.......
Methinks Derpy and Dinky will get along juuuust fine....
2175401 thank you.
2175409 And it brought friends!
2175410 Indeed. Adoptions for every pony!
Though I may be running out of orphans to adopt. Maybe Diamond Tiara will find out she is adopted and her biological mother is Gerda. (Hint: I don't like Diamond Tiara.)
Even better idea: Big Mac adopts Boulder and implements tough love.
Oooo that is a nice twist. MOAR!
Tis quite good. MOAR TOASTIES!!!!!!!!!!:
I'm either extremely confused, as the show refers to Scoots as a she, or my life is a lie.
Watched this movie last night. Hilarious!
I love the firefly references.
The bits with Gerda and Dinky feel a bit rushed and slapped on at the last minute, but the rest of the story is freaking awesome. Slice'o'life indeed.
OK OKAY HOLD UP DINKY?REALLY DERPY'S CHILD WHY NOT THE ONE THAT LOOKS SIMILAR TO DERPY OR SOMETHING OMG MIND BLOWN THERE
LOL ALL DE GANDOLF REFERENCES AND LOLleedleleedleleedle for days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVy7YeeqGZQ
Bucking love this and nice Gandalf quotes
The one ring to rule them all is this chapter
YOU SHALL NOT PASS
hehehe