2. It's Always Sunny in Ponyville
Scootaloo was woken up by a sudden jolt, causing her to bump her head. Opening her eyes, the last images from her dreams faded. Bright light poured into the cabin of the train, and Scootaloo quickly remembered what had happened. She had finally escaped from the orphanage! She would be able to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. As she slid out and gathered her scooter and improvised blanket, she saw the white mare from last night in front of her.
The white mare was passed out and snoring loudly, oblivious to the world around her. Scootaloo unlocked the door and opened it slowly. With a quick glance down the hallways, she saw a few ponies getting up and exiting the train. The signs outside the window said "Ponyville Central Station" in large block letters. Quietly closing the door behind her, she exited the train and stepped out into the warmth of Celestia's sun.
Standing there on the platform, she could feel the infinite possibilities stretching out before her. She would never have to eat dry oats twice a day again. She could run and play, or nap in the sun. She could make friends who wouldn't bully her. Most importantly, she would never have her wings clipped by an old hag again. All she had ever wanted or needed since her parent's passed away was her scooter and the thrill of speed.
Looking around, she realized it was a fairly large village and she had no idea which way to go. She loosened the straps of her helmet, which had been fastened to her head all night. Stepping up on the scooter, she stretched out her wings. A gentle breeze ruffled the feathers, causing them to twitch slightly in joy. A few of her primaries hadn't grown back in yet. Once the majority of them had started to reach full length, she had moved forward with her escape. Now they would all finish growing in, and she might even be able to fly one day.
With a buzz she began beating her wings in the only way she knew how. The air currents around her wings propelled her forward towards Ponyville.
Scootaloo eventually found her way to town square, buzzing along and dodging many ponies and stalls. She had taken her scooter out in Canterlot a couple times before being sent to the orphanage, but the snooty ponies there yelled at her for going so fast. Here everyone seemed friendly, and aside from nearly running over a few of them, didn't mind her rocketing down the roads at unsafe velocities.
Scootaloo pulled over for a minute when she smelled something delicious baking. Every sweet scent she could imagine floated out of a building labeled "Sugarcube Corner." Her mouth was watering and her stomach began to rumble. It had been awhile since she ate, and she considered stealing something to eat. Looking inside several ponies were sitting around enjoying their snacks. It wouldn't do her any good to get caught stealing, in fact she'd end up right back at the orphanage with Gerda if that happened.
With a sigh, Scootaloo walked the scooter around the corner and got ready to continue exploring. Something in the cloud above her caught her eye. The fluffy white cloud seemed to have grown a prismatic tail. She had never seen such beautiful colors, were they really attached to somepony? Watching in awe, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane landed on the cloud. She looked worried, pointing into the distance and trying to get the other pony to wake up. After a brief exchange, the cloud disintegrated as a rainbow colored blur shot into the distance. The yellow pegasus nearly fell to the ground when the cloud vanished, and then gave pursuit.
"Wow, that was so awesome!" Scootaloo looked around and everypony seemed to have missed the spectacle of the rainbow mare.
Bringing her wings up to full speed, she took off in the direction of the blur. Before long, she had reached rows of apple trees beyond the edge of town. Just beyond the apple orchard, was an unruly forest with menacing looking trees. Something in the dark forest reflected the sunlight into her eyes and caught her attention. Resuming her buzzing, she zoomed off towards the dark forest.
About a hundred feet into the forest there was a run-down barn. The weather vane from the roof had fallen off and landed in the ground. This must have been what Scootaloo had seen as a glint of light. Pulling the weather vane inside with her mouth, she put it out of sight and looked around. The wood was weathered and planks were missing here and there. The wood had not begun to rot, and most of the planks were still attached to the walls. There was a ladder up to a small loft, and a few bales of hay that had mostly rotted and turned to mulch.
Climbing up the old ladder, she found the floor was surprisingly intact. Aside from beams of sunlight piercing through the roof, this would be a perfect place to sleep.
Scootaloo climbed back down and took inventory of what else was in the barn. There were some old tools, some loose planks of wood, and a couple buckets. She stashed the blanket from the mare on the train behind a bale of hay. Her stomach began rumbling again, so she stepped back on the scooter and headed for the grove of apple trees. The whole time she was in the barn, a pair of green eyes watched from the bushes.
Once she had reached the farm it was easy to get over the small fence. Up above her were some of the most delicious looking apples she had ever seen. Scootaloo was against stealing, it's how many orphans got caught after escaping. It also meant admitting she couldn't take care of herself and earn the food. Her stomach rumbled and growled, disagreeing with Scootaloo's ethics in favor of a juicy morsel.
There were so many apple trees that nopony would know if she took a couple to eat. Scootaloo walked up to the tree and tried hitting it with her hooves a couple times, but none of the apples budged. She then spun around and bucked it with all her might, and it still didn't move an inch. Unfastening her helmet, she threw it up at one of the apples. After a few more tries, she had managed to knock an apple off.
Greedily consuming the scrumptious morsel, she failed to notice a large shadow approaching her from behind.
"What have ah told you fillies 'bout stealin' apples?"
Scootaloo jumped, and turned wide-eyed to face an orange mare wearing a tan stetson.
"Come on now, ah came to Cherilee's class and told ya'll to stop sneakin' onto mah farm."
"Sorry. I'm uh. . . new in town. I didn't know." Scootaloo looked back at her helmet and scooter and began to inch towards them. "So I'll just get off your farm--"
"Not so fast, who are your parents?"
Scootaloo paused at the mention of her parents as a wave of emotions hit her.
Scootaloo had a happy childhood in Canterlot. Despite the fact that she had been small for her age, she had two loving parents. Her mother was on the Canterlot weather team. She had long held an important position as the blue team leader. Her father worked at the rainbow factory, and commuted to Cloudsdale every day.
Thinking of them, and the comfort of their love, had gotten her through many lonely nights in the orphanage. She had also begun to resent them, blaming them for placing themselves in harm's way. They had died, leaving her alone in a dark, cruel world to fend for herself. Scootaloo had dropped her last name, and had sworn she would take care of herself.
"Nimbus and Autumn Rain." Scootaloo looked at the mare who finally cracked a grin to relieve some of the tension.
"Well now, if ah catch ya sneakin' round the farm again, Ah'll have to go have a talk with your parents. My name's Applejack and ah own this farm." Applejack bucked the tree with enough force to knock down a single apple. She caught it with a hoof, then tossed it to the stunned filly. "Next time, ya'll should try askin' nicely if ya want an apple. Fillies who steal things will end up in lots of trouble."
Scootaloo managed half a smile. "Thanks ma'am" She quickly gathered her helmet and scooter, and headed for the forest with the apple balanced on the handlebar between her hooves.
"HOLD IT! Ya'll can't go in that forest, that's the everfree. It's far too dangerous for fillies."
Turning around, Scootaloo saw Applejack had closed the distance to a few paces behind her. "Oh I didn't know, thanks again!" Scootaloo turned and zoomed towards town. Once she was sure the orange mare wasn't watching, she circled back to her home in the forest.
Scootaloo spent most of the day cleaning up the abandoned barn. She carried all the hay that wasn't rotted up to the loft, to make a small bed. She had consolidated all the tools into one toolbox, they would come in handy to keep her scooter repaired. She stored the apple in a smaller lockbox and moved it up to the loft with the tools. In one corner she piled all the good wooden planks that had fallen from the roof. In another corner, she left the rest of the odds and ends she might be able to use. Resting her scooter against the wall, she climbed up into the loft.
Pacing around the bed, she tested all the boards by putting some extra weight on them. They seemed sturdy enough, and soon she laid down in the hay and pulled her blanket over her. It was already getting cold and dark as the sun set, and the moon rose high into the sky. She heard a soft rumbling in the distance, and identified it as thunder. It was likely going to rain tonight.
Curling up, she fell asleep and began to dream.
"Nice black eye chicken! Maybe tomorrow we can give you a matching one!" Boulder walked into his room as Gerda glared at him.
"Everyone get in bed, now! If I hear another peep out of you worthless urchins there will be no breakfast tomorrow!" Gerda came to Scootaloo's door, and Scootaloo fled to the safety of her bed. The door slammed closed, and a tumbler in the lock clicked into place. She was now locked in the dark room for the night.
Laying there, she heard a growling noise and smelt something foul. She heard something coming closer. "Boulder? Is that you?" She suddenly saw the pony step out of the shadows with the head of a wolf.
Scootaloo awoke with a start, and continued to hear the growling. Looking down through a small knot in the wood, she saw something crawling around in the bottom of the barn. It was comprised of twigs and branches, and emitted a foul odor. It had a ghastly green glow about it, and was sniffing the scooter and looking around. Scootaloo didn't need instinct to tell her what it was. It was a predator, and it had come for her.
Laying there as silently as she could, she waited for the beast to leave. After several minutes that felt like hours, she felt a drop of water land on her head. It was nearly enough to make her scream in fright. Soon another drop, then another, fell upon her head. It had begun to rain, and the wolf-creature below left the barn to find better shelter. Scootaloo sighed with relief, now she was wet but safe. She'd have to fix the broken door on the barn tomorrow to keep predators out. For now, she'd try to sleep through the rain.
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sweet Eos you must keep writing, i beg ya not to let this fall to the wayside like so many other stories i've read.
nice job keep up the good work
Skyrim reference! I see it!
Every once in awhile, one might stumble upon a story that is hard to make a comment on that isn't showering the writer with praise because they can't find a single thing wrong to talk about. This is one of those glorious times in history.
2099966 I plan to keep writing until I've exhausted every possible Scootaloo scenario.
2101821 Thank you
I have not read a story in a while that depicts her venture into Ponyville. I must say you did have some fresh ideas there.
Heh, I nearly had a stroke when the water landed on her head.
Allright mister author... game on! I have read Twilights Doll house and A Puppet to Her Fame! You are good.... But seriously if you cut off her pinion joint or do something else to Scootaloo... People will have to find you and slash your tires! If you take public transportation... then I do not know! But we will think of something...
Otherwise please continue. Your stories do please us...
I alter my previous statement from the last chapter. After re-reading the long description. I find it sad that Vinyl won't play a more important part in the story. But I'm a sucker for a good Scootaloo fic.
Something tells me that I'm gonna love this fic but be very frustrated with it as well.