Commander Hurricane never agreed to join forces with the other tribes. The fate of everypony has been changed drastically because of his decision.
Commander Hurricane was known for his stubbornness in all of the tribes. He always wanted to be in control of as many things as possible, and there were absolutely no exceptions. When Chancellor Pudding Head and Princess Platinum finally see the error of their ways and propose to combine the tribes into one nation, Commander Hurricane decides that he won't be cooperative with the others and flies off with Private Pansy. Before they could completely disappear, Princess Platinum, outraged by the ignorant leader, had cursed the whole pegasus race for revenge.
Centuries have passed, and everyone that has been born after the founding of Equestria had been told that Pegasi were just myths; they weren't real! Just a silly old tale told to frighten children!
Or so they thought. One trip into the Everfree Forest will change many people's minds.
"I didn't either. Nothing like this has ever happened before. But I know it couldn't have been just me. It came from all three of us, joined together, in friendship."
The tribal leaders and their second-in-commands all filed out of the cave with Commander Hurricane, the leader of the pegasus tribe, grumbling in the back with Private Pansy trying to cheer him up. They all made their way to the center of the field when Princess Platinum spoke up.
"My word, that sure was something! In order to prevent this fiasco from happening ever again, we should unite our tribes in the name of friendship! Let's work together to keep those...those horrid creatures from appearing ever again!" Everyone except for Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy -who looked slightly nervous- nodded, but the others didn't notice.
"Equestria!" Chancellor Pudding Head suddenly exclaimed. Everyone looked at her in surprise, but then they looked in various directions thoughtfully.
"Equestria!" Smart Cookie eventually shouted.
"Equestria!" both Clover the Clever and Princess Platinum chant at the same time. Everyone looked at the two remaining people standing there. Commander Hurricane seemed to be deep in thought, and Private Pansy hid behind her hair skittishly. Finally, the commander gave his answer.
"I think I'll pass."
The others' jaws dropped to the ground.
"E-Excuse me?" Princess Platinum asked, turning a bit red.
"You heard me." Commander Hurricane stomped closer to the angered princess. "I said 'I'll pass.'"
"What?! Well, I'll have you know that you are making the dumbest, most insane choice of your life! We could finally be at peace, but you still insist on fighting? What is wrong with you?!" Clover the Clever put a hand on the princess's shoulder.
"She's right! Why is it that you don't want us tribes to live in harmony? It's the best path to take if you want this rivalry to finally end!" Smart Cookie explained. Chancellor Pudding Head simply nodded.
"If you really want to know, fine. I'll tell you. I believe that, unlike you, pegasi are soldiers. We are born weapons, we live as weapons, and we die as weapons. We are able to manipulate weather and defy gravity for what? Just so you could have a sunny day? Or maybe a stormy day? No! We deserve to do more! We can summon lightning, create tornadoes, and can travel at speeds you couldn't even dream to reach! You go ahead and live your pointless lives. Pegasi are going to live life as we should. We will remain powerful weapons that stop at nothing to expand our great kingdom and rule over everyone!" With that, the Commander flew off. Private Pansy, hesitantly looked at the remaining girls one last time, and said, "I'm sorry, but he's right. He always is."
Before anyone could respond, the private took off to catch up with her commander, but they weren't out of the princess's magical reach. Her horn glowed light pink and slowly became darker.
"Princess! Don't-" Clover the Clever started.
"They deserve this!" Princess Platinum yelled as she shot the very thin beam of magic at both pegasi without their noticing. "That curse will spread like a terrible virus. Whichever pegasus they meet with will catch it, and soon it will spread all over their tribe. Hmph!" Princess Platinum stuck up her nose and crossed her arms.
"Uh...What exactly does this spell of yours do?" asked Smart Cookie.
"I simply gave them what they wanted."
"Which is...?" Chancellor Pudding Head asked.
"Well, they think that they're war ponies, so I cast a high level spell that made them what the commander described them as. They're now 'powerful beings who stop at nothing to expand their great kingdom and rule over everyone.' I interpreted that as them wanting to take over the world and constantly be at war, which is an evil that only a monster- a demon could think of! So, they're all cursed to be demons, and don't try to tell me to revoke the curse; it's irreversible." Chancellor Pudding Head, Smart Cookie, and Clover the Clever all were unsure of Princess Platinum's decision, but there was no use in arguing. The deed was done.
~Many centuries later~
A peach skinned, pastel green, pink, and blue haired unicorn walked to the throne room as she greeted many guards. Her tail never touched the floor as she walked through the long hallway, and her white horn extended passed the average unicorn's horn. After a few moments, she reached the doors to the throne room where a light blue and dark blue haired unicorn with an average sized white horn had stood guard in front of. His tail was very much shorter than hers, being the length of most other people's.
"Good morning, Shining Armor. Any news?" she greeted.
"Good morning, Princess Celestia. We've received reports on the flood that happened in Fillydelphia and everyone is okay, but they might need more money for repairs, Manehatten accepted the request to be the host of this year's Summer Sun Celebration, and the creatures of Everfree Forest seemed to have moved further away from Ponyville, which makes it easier for us to expand the nation into the abandoned parts of the Everfree Forest," Shining Armor listed and he followed Princess Celestia into the throne room.
"Alright, then. We'll host a fundraiser for Fillydelphia next week, so we'll need to find the best party planners, bakers, clothes designers, and vendors out there. As for the expansion into the forest, I'll have Twilight and her friends to make sure the area's all clear so that we can begin as soon as possible. You can be the one to tell them if you want to." Shining Armor smiled, bowed, and headed off to the train station.
Knock, knock
"I'll be right there!" A unicorn with a purple horn, purple hair, and an average length purple tail walked over to the entrance of the currently closed library. She ran her hand through her hair, rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes, and opened the door.
"Hey, Twilight!" a fluffy pink haired girl greeted her. The fluff of her hair made it seem like it stood up on its own, and her tail was about an inch from the ground.
"Hey, Pinkie Pie. What's up?" Twilight motioned for Pinkie to go inside.
"Well, I filled out all of the orders for today, and the bakery doesn't open until 9:30, so I had an hour and a half to spend hanging out with you guys! Do you want to go see what Applejack's up to? Oh! Oh! Or, we can see if Rarity's working on a new dress or something. Or-"
"Pinkie. I'd love to hang out today, but I have a lot of reading to catch up on. Princess Celestia sent me new books imported from Saddlerabia! Isn't it exciting? Squee!" Pinkie listened as Twilight fantasized about what new things she could learn from the books until there was another knock on the door. "I'll be right there!" Twilight said as she made her way to the door.
"Twilie!"
"Shining Armor!" Twilight and Shining Armor shared a quick hug and then entered the library.
"Hey, Shining Armor! How's Canterlot? Is it as fun as I think it is to live there everyday? How's Princess Celestia? How's Princess Luna? Also,-"
"Pinkie! You're rambling again," Twilight said as Pinkie blushed and smiled apologetically. "Anyway," Twilight turned to Shining Armor, "what brings you here? Come for a visit?"
"Unfortunately, I can't really stay for too long. I've just come to tell you that Princess Celestia requested that you and your friends check out a part of the Everfree Forest. Apparently, the animals have migrated from a large chunk of the front of the forest, so we're going to expand into the abandoned parts. Your job is simply to make sure that there are absolutely no animals living in the parts that a guard there will show you."
"Yay! That sounds like fun! It's a harmless mission and we can all hang out!" Pinkie Pie excitedly stated.
"Ugh! That means I need to put off reading those books," Twilight complained.
Shining Armor chuckled. "Well, I'll be going back to Canterlot to take care of some calls. Oh, and Pinkie? Do you mind helping with a fundraiser for Fillydelphia?"
"Sure, I'll help!"
"Great! I'll send a list of all of the requirements in a day or two. Bye guys!" Shining Armor walked off to the train station after Twilight and Pinkie Pie said their goodbyes.
"I guess we should go get the others," Twilight suggested.
"Yep!" Pinkie agreed.
Pinkie Pie and Twilight had informed their other two friends -a dark purple curly haired unicorn who's tail was slightly shorter than Pinkie's and a freckled blond girl who wore a Stetson and had a red ribbon tied to her tail- of what their mission was. They all grabbed their elements and headed for the forest. When they reached the Everfree Forest, they saw one of the royal guards waiting for them.
"Good morning, Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. All of you are here, I presume," the guard said.
"Yep. All four of us," Twilight confirmed.
"Alright, then. Follow me, but try not to stray away from the group for your own safety." They nodded and followed the guard into the forest.
Three figures sat on a thick branch sticking out of one of many tall trees in the forest that they were at the edge of. Admiring the changing color of the sky, the small pegasus in the center stared in awe of how beautiful the view was with trees and animals around.
"I never knew...Everything could look so...so alive!" A slight breeze went by, and her short light purple hair and tail moved with it. She unfolded her orange wings and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the wind beneath her feathered appendages.
"I'm glad you enjoy it, Scootaloo." The one who spoke sat on the right of Scootaloo. Her long, light pink hair and tail also swayed with the wind. She unfolded her wings as well, but not to their full length or else she would invade the others' personal space.
"Yeah. It feels good to just get away from everything for a while," the other pegasus said as she also let the wind blow around her wings. Her rainbow hair and tail also swayed, just like the others. When they noticed that it was the official start of morning, they all folded their wings, put hoodies over themselves, and hopped to the ground.
"Hey, Fluttershy? Do we have another drill scheduled today?" The rainbow haired pegasus asked the pink haired one.
"I think so, but not until noon."
"Hey, Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy?" Scootaloo suddenly asked. "What's on the other side of the forest?" The other two pegasi looked at the forest.
"Huh...I don't really know." Rainbow Dash's mouth formed into a mischievous grin. "Want to find out?"
"Dash! That's forbidden, and you know that!" Fluttershy whisper-yelled.
"But how else would we know what's there? Even if you asked the animals to come closer to this side of the forest, I doubt that they're the only things there!" Rainbow Dash countered.
"We just can't!" Fluttershy continued. "They can punish us for it! Nobody wants that..." They all shuddered at the thought of the public punishment that one of their former friends received.
"Alright, fine." Rainbow Dash didn't say anything else about the topic.
"I guess we should go back, then," Scootaloo suggested.
"Well, we still have about six hours or something, so why don't we stay here?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well, there's no harm in staying for a few hours, I guess, but we have to keep our wings hidden and stay together, okay?" Fluttershy said.
"Okay, mom!" Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash mocked. After a good laugh, they all wandered around the edge of the forest together.
"It seems alright so far. No animals at all," Rarity stated as she tried to avoid all of the branches, dirt, and leaves that she could.
"Yeah, there's really nothing here to worry about. Oh! Maybe we needed to check deeper into the forest!" Pinkie Pie suggested.
"Why in tarnation would we do that, Pinkie Pie? There are dangerous creatures out there and you know that!" Applejack scolded her.
"But that's the point! Princess Celestia told us, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, to check if it's all safe and stuff! It wouldn't make sense to build things over here if we're living right next to the forest animals!" Pinkie argued.
"She has a point," Twilight agreed. "While it does make sense to send us to check the area out as a precaution, she could've easily sent a few of her royal guards to do it since they know how to fight. I think we might be missing something..." The purple horned unicorn was left to ponder about the topic silently.
"What about you, Mr. Guard?" Pinkie asked. "Don't you want to go deeper into the forest?"
"I'm sorry, Ms. Pie, but I cannot lead you all into unsafe areas of the forest. It is forbidden," he responded.
"Awww," Pinkie Pie pouted.
"Anyway, we've reached the other end of the safe area. Our work here is done." The guard led everyone back to where they started and left to go update Princess Celestia on the progress. The Mane 4 walked back into Ponyville and decided to all go to Sugarcube Corner.
"I can't believe we didn't go explore the rest of the forest! I mean, it was a safe zone, right?" Pinkie Pie complained.
"Well, the area surrounding the safe zone has a larger chance of being safe, but you can never be too sure," Twilight explained.
Applejack spoke up. "Well, either way, we aren't going in there again unless we need to. Ah'd rather stay out of trouble." Eventually, the conversation had changed subject, Pinkie Pie got some cookies that were baked the day before, and they all ate.
Apple Bloom ran out of Sugarcube Corner, her red hair and tail flicking behind her because of her speed. "Hurry up, Sweetie Belle!"
Sweetie Belle's lilac and light pink tail and hair were being slightly moved by the small wind the snow white horned unicorn could make while running. "I'm trying!" The two children ran all the way to Sweet Apple Acres and into a tree house. Sweetie Belle gasped as she tried to speak. "Why'd you...just run...off like...like that?" she asked.
Apple Bloom straightened her bow and looked at Sweetie Belle. "Didn't you hear what our sisters and their friends were talking about? A safe spot in the forest! We can go and explore and get our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom looked at her thigh. "Right there!" She pointed to the center of her thigh. "It'll be for finding a new critter or discovering new rocks or anything, really!"
Sweetie Belle looked at Apple Bloom skeptically. "Are you sure it's safe? Maybe it's only safe for them because they have the elements to protect them."
"Don't worry! We'll be fine! And if we see something, we'll just run back to Ponyville. If they said it was safe, they probably meant for everyone," Apple Bloom reassured her. Sweetie Belle thought about it, and it seemed to make sense. What's the worst that could happen?
"Okay, but we shouldn't be out for too long. I need to help Rarity make another small dress since her child size manikin didn't come in yet."
"Sure thing, it'll be quick." With that, the two crusaders set off for the Everfree Forest.
"Hey, it's about time to go," Rainbow Dash announced, judging that the time was about 11:00.
"Okay, then. Come on, Scootaloo," Fluttershy whispered. Good thing Scootaloo had amazing hearing.
"Alright, but I need to put this bunny back with it's family. I'll catch up."
"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, we don't want anything bad happening to you."
"Don't worry. Besides, I don't want anything happening to you guys either. I'll be fine," Scootaloo reassured them.
"Alright," Rainbow Dash said, "but if you aren't back in a half an hour, we're going to look for you, and don't take your hoodie off!" Dash ruffled Scootaloo's hair and flew off with Fluttershy after they took their own hoodies off.
"Where to put you..." Scootaloo said as she wandered into the woods.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were oblivious to the fact that they had wandered out of the safe zone a while ago. They kept walking deeper into the forest, and eventually noticed the change in scenery. The safe zone looked peaceful, but empty. Where they were now felt like every animal was watching them; it felt like they were intruding.
"Uh...Apple Bloom?"
"I've noticed, too, Sweetie Belle. Maybe we should head ba-" They froze when they heard the crunching of leaves get louder...
...and closer to them.
The two crusaders panicked and ran behind a tree as the crunching stopped.
"Hello?" the mysterious voice asked. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle peeked at the tan skinned girl with a long, purple tail and short hair in front of them and were instantly relieved. It was just a girl!
"Oh, thank Celestia!" Apple Bloom sighed as she and Sweetie Belle revealed themselves. "We thought you were some type of wild animal or something!" The girl's eyes widened and she froze. The bunny that she was holding got out of her grip and hopped of to Celestia knows where. The awkwardness of the situation made the two crusaders uncomfortable, so Sweetie Belle tried to start a conversation.
"So...um...What's your name?" The one with the white horn on her head asked. They're not pegasi...Horse feathers! What do I do? THEY AREN'T PEGASI! They're the ones that are connected with the earth and can use magic, right? Okay, I'll have to be careful. I don't know how powerful they are. If I act mean, they won't want to talk to me...but that could increase my chance of danger. Then again, if they attack, I can attack them twice as hard.
Scootaloo scowled. "None of your business." She crossed her arms and tried not to let her wings unfold under her orange hoodie.
"Geez, it was just a question," Apple Bloom commented.
"Well, why don't you leave me alone then?" Scootaloo said.
Sweetie Belle looked to a ticked off Apple Bloom and then back to Scootaloo. "Can you at least tell us how to get out of here? We got lost after leaving the safe zone, and we just need to know which way Ponyville is."
Scootaloo became confused. Ponyville? What are they talking about? Don't they have Unicornia and Earth? Either way, I have no idea where this 'Ponyville' is, so I guess I could point them in any random direction. Scootaloo looked up at the sky thoughtfully. Actually, that'd be mean and potentially dangerous, and even I'm not that cruel to my enemies. Besides, they haven't done anything harmful. I might as well tell them the truth.
"I don't know where this 'Ponyville' is. Sorry." Scootaloo noticed that she had fifteen minutes before Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy came looking for her. "I need to get going, though. Bye." She turned around and started walking to her side of the forest.
"Wait!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle called as they walked towards Scootaloo, causing her to stop.
"What?"
"We still need to find our way back!" Sweetie Belle told the pegasus.
"Oh well, that's your problem."
"But we need to get to our sisters!" Apple Bloom mentioned. "Please help us!"
Scootaloo was taken aback by their reason. They have sisters? Maybe they're honorary, like Dash and I. People are only allowed to have one child after all. "Well, I don't know where your family is or anything concerning you two for that matter. Leave me alone already!"
"We can't!" Sweetie Belle argued.
"Yeah! You're the only other person in the Everfree that we've found, and Zecora's hut is nowhere along the path we took!" Apple Bloom explained.
Scootaloo had only ten minutes before Dash and Fluttershy looked for her, and she didn't want them to worry or find her with strange people with no wings and a horn. "Look. I don't know anything, and your way out is probably different from where I have to go! So leave me alone!" Her wings fidgeted under her hoodie, but thankfully, the others didn't notice. I need to calm down. If they were sent by someone, there's no doubt that they'd want to see my powers. If I made it obvious that I had wings, they'd tie me up and it'd be all over. "I'm leaving!" Scootaloo shoved Apple Bloom into a bush and ran away when Sweetie Belle was distracted trying to help her friend.
"I guess we can't get out of here," Sweetie Belle pouted.
"You never know! Maybe our sisters are looking for us right now!" Apple Bloom tried to sound hopeful, but even she had her doubts.
Scootaloo flew as fast as her wings would let her. She wasn't the best flier like Rainbow Dash, but she was considerably faster than Fluttershy. She decided to tell her adoptive sisters of her encounter the next morning at the edge of the forest so she could guarantee that nobody would be eavesdropping. It'd just be her and her sisters. After seven minutes, Scootaloo reached the giant cloud kingdom:
Pegasopolis.
She flew to a small cloud house that only had two rooms: a bathroom and a bedroom. "There was no need for anything but the bare minimum, unless you're talking about weapons and power" was a very common saying that every pegasus lived by in Pegasopolis, and they were no exception. The rules were that you could live with whomever you wanted, but you shouldn't use any of the clouds for furniture since it was unnecessary to eat on a table with any utensils. All clouds that were found were used for the expansion of the kingdom and if you were guilty of using them for any other reason without proper permission from King Thunder himself, you would be sentenced to life in prison or death. Speaking of being guilty, if you lied about anything to anyone that had a higher rank than you, you could be put to death or banished to...well, nobody really knew, but they never came back or communicated with anyone from the kingdom. That is what happened to the three pegasi's friend.
"Hey, Scootaloo. What took you so long?" Rainbow Dash greeted.
Scootaloo took off her hoodie and tied it around her waist. "Um...I need to talk to you guys about something..."
"What is it?" Fluttershy asked.
The ten year old looked behind her at the open door cautiously. "I need to tell you tomorrow. In the morning." Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding. A few moments of silence went by before they all heard a loud siren go off in the distance.
"Time for the drill," Rainbow Dash said.
The three pegasi flew to different areas of the kingdom. It was split up into different regions: Archers, Healers, Knights, Assassins, and Spies. Archers use bows and arrows obviously, but they also learn how to use the resources around them to make makeshift bows and arrows should the archer's break. Healers were basically doctors who also knew how to fight. They had their own supplies when they had to battle abroad, but they normally had to use the resources around them to help someone. Knights wielded swords, sometimes shields, and very rarely hidden blades. They learn to summon weapons with archers and assassins at a very early age so that it'd become a second nature to them to know how to summon their swords. Assassins blended in with their surroundings and wielded all sorts of weapons. There were swords, daggers, hidden blades, bombs, bows and arrows, and many other things, but not many people wanted to be an assassin because they had to train 24/7 and were required to have immense power in order to summon all of their weapons on command. And then there were spies. They were just like assassins, but they hid in plain sight. They were the most casually dressed when on missions and never traveled in a group of more than three. Scootaloo was training to be a knight like Rainbow Dash was, but Fluttershy decided to be a healer. They all did know the basics of their respective groups, but they secretly learned how to summon bows, arrows, and hidden blades.
Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were standing in a very organized crowd of knights and knights in training. Facing them was a black haired, white winged thirty year old man with light blue armor on.
His voice boomed, "Stance!" In perfect synchronization, every knight got into the same fighting stance. Not one person moved out of place. "Draw!" Rainbow Dash held her hand up and a dark aura formed above it. The aura then faded away to reveal a thin but powerful red bladed sword with a golden handle. It landed in Dash's grasp. By now, everyone had done this same process, but had different swords. Scootaloo's was a thin, purple bladed sword with a golden handle. Everyone was now back in a fighting stance. "Opponent!" Dash turned to her left and faced a girl her age with dark purple wings and orange hair. She had a brown bladed sword with a sliver handle. Scootaloo turned to her right and faced an adult with grey wings and silver hair. He had a black handled white bladed sword. Other pegasi that wore armor flew to different spots of the arena they were in.
"Fight!"
Rainbow Dash let her opponent attack first. Dash blocked the attack and countered by spinning her sword to disarm the opponent and pinned the girl down with her sword.
"Rainbow Dash wins!" one of the armed pegasi announced.
"That was fast," Rainbow Dash commented.
Scootaloo had more trouble dealing with her opponent, however. She blocked every one of his attacks, but couldn't land a single blow on him. They both had the same level of power, it seemed. Unexpectedly, while Scootaloo blocked one of his attacks, the opponent kicked her in the side and almost pinned her down. She got up at the last second, rolled under him, and stopped her sword right next to his stomach. One move and she'd strike.
"Scootaloo wins!"
Scootaloo's sword dispersed as she flew over to the side where the winners of the battles were and watched the other fights.
"Snowflake wins!"
"Cloudkicker wins!"
"Rumble wins!"
"Lightning Dust wins!"
Once all of the fights were over, the defeated ponies were escorted elsewhere for intense training and the victors got to go back home.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle have been wandering around the Everfree Forest all day. The sun was about to set and they had lost all hope that they'd get home.
"I don't think they're going to find us," Sweetie Belle said.
"I guess you're right..." Apple Bloom agreed. The moon was rising and there was nobody else in the forest. The two crusaders decided to sit on a boulder and just think.
Ah can't believe Ah got us into this mess...If only Ah'd shut my trap and listen to Sweetie Belle for once, we wouldn't be in this situation...
Who was the girl that made Apple Bloom angry? Did she live in the forest? Why was she so confused when we talked about going home? I've never seen her before, and none of the towns or cities in Equestria are in that direction...Where'd she go?
"Ah'm sorry, Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom told the small unicorn. "If I hadn't convinced you to go into the forest with me then we wouldn't be lost."
"It's okay, Apple Bloom. Besides, we have each other! Who knows what would've happened if we were alone." Just then, they heard growling behind them. They turned around and saw a drooling manticore staring at them like they were his dinner. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom became pale and were frozen in shock and fear.
ROAR
The two girls screamed as loud as possible and ran in a random direction side by side. They dodged rocks, branches, and other animals as they ran for their dear lives. They couldn't seem to lose the manticore, but luckily, it never caught up to them. They ran around a giant boulder and a few trees in hopes of losing it, but their trial failed as the manticore swung at them. Luckily, he missed and they kept screaming and running.
After screaming for what felt like forever, a lasso was thrown around the manticore's neck, and Applejack appeared on it's back, pulling the rope back to slow the beast to a stop. The girls were surrounded by a blue aura and were levitated to Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Applejack still struggled with the manticore who was now bucking the air and jumping around like a bull.
"Yeehaw! Ah haven't went bull ridin' like this in a long time!" Applejack shouted. After Rarity got the crusaders to a safe spot, Twilight used her magic to put the manticore to sleep. Applejack jumped off and walked over to Apple Bloom.
"Ah'm sorry, Applejack! Ah didn't mean for this to happen! Ah thought that-" Applejack cut Apple Bloom off with a hug.
"Just make sure you don't ever do something like that ever again!" Applejack broke the hug and looked at Apple Bloom with teary eyes. "Do you have any idea how worried we were? Ya'll have made it so far into the forest, Ah had started doubting that we'd make it in time."
"Ah'm sorry," Apple Bloom cried into Applejack's embrace. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle and Rarity simply cried. No words were necessary. After the sisters finished crying, they all headed back to Ponyville, unaware of the pegasus watching them from a tree.
Ponyville's that way, huh? Once the coast was clear, Scootaloo flew back to Pegasopolis to get some rest. She and her sisters were going to have a long morning tomorrow.
~Hours later~
Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo got up half an hour before sunrise. They decided to get breakfast later and flew straight to the edge of the forest and onto the same tree branch.
"So what did you want to tell us, Scoots?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well...Yesterday, when I was looking for a place to put the bunny, I came across two people-"
"WHAT?!" Fluttershy and Dash exclaimed.
"Yeah, I know! They weren't pegasi! It was so bizarre!" By now, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were giving Scootaloo all of the attention that they could possibly give.
"Did they do anything? Did they use magic? Were they complete jerks?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Did they attack you? Did they hurt you? Did they say anything?" Fluttershy asked.
"Guys! Calm down! It went like this..." Scootaloo explained the whole story about meeting Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to her adoptive sisters. "...and then I flew back home, but last night, I did find out that their 'Ponyville' place or whatever was directly across the forest from the entrance to Pegasopolis! Maybe we should tell some spies to check it out," Scootaloo suggested.
"Do you really trust the Spies with something like this? They'll just start yet another war and everything would be terrible for us! There's no special reward for reporting the new place anyway. Why don't we enjoy it for ourselves?" Rainbow Dash said.
"I agree with Rainbow on this one," Fluttershy announced.
"Alright then," Scootaloo agreed. "Do you guys have training today?"
"Nope," Fluttershy answered.
"Perfect!" The three pegasi put on their hoodies and jumped off the branch. Scootaloo turned around to face the forest as the sun started to rise. "This way!"
~Two hours later!
Twilight and Pinkie Pie stood outside of the Everfree Forest, debating whether or not they should check for any danger again. They decided to check and headed into the safe zone.
"There just has to be something we're missing! I just can't figure it out! Ugh!" Twilight complained.
"Maybe you're overthinking things. That happened with Discord and the elements, right? I mean, he took away Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, and Magic just by hiding them in a book! Of course, he took away the other parts of a friendship, too, but those were the base parts so everything just crumbled with it," Pinkie Pie rambled. Twilight just stared at her. "What?"
"Wow, Pinkie...That actually makes sense!" Twilight then got back on the previous topic. "But it doesn't help this situation much. Even if I am overthinking things, there's still something missing." They reached the end of the safe zone and sat down. "Hm..."
"Hey, Twilight! Look!" Pinkie Pie pointed to three figures in the distance that walking near them.
"Who's that? Don't they know not to go into the forest?" Twilight thought out loud.
"HEY! OVER HEEEEERRREEE!" Pinkie Pie shouted. The figures seemed hesitant and whispered somethings, but ended up walking up to Pinkie Pie.
"HEY! OVER HEEEEERRREEE!" The girl with the extremely puffy pink hair and tail screamed.
"She's one of the people who showed up to help the other two. So is the unicorn next to her. The unicorn can knock things unconscious, but I don't know about the other girl." They walked over to the two girls. When they came into a comfortable range of the puffy haired girl, she shook their hands so quickly and forcefully that their whole bodies moved with her hand.
"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie and over there's Twilight!" Pinkie Pie pointed to the unicorn. "What're your names?"
"I'm Rainbow Dash."
"Scootaloo."
"Fluttershy"
Twilight walked over to the group. "Nice to meet you all! If you don't mind me asking, why were you guys in the forest? Didn't you know that the safe zone was over here? You could've gotten injured, you know." Twilight got a closer look at them and realized they didn't look like the average pony from any cities she's been to. She completely forgot about her previous question and asked, "Where are you from? I haven't seen you around in the cities I've been to. Then again, I could've just not been in the same area."
"Uh...yeah...That's it...You just didn't notice us..." Rainbow Dash trailed off. Despite herself, Twilight let not having her question answered slide.
"Anyway, how about we head to Ponyville?" Pinkie Pie suggested. Dash and Scootaloo smirked mischievously, but quickly replaced it with a polite grin similar to Fluttershy's.
"Sure."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were lucky that they weren't stuck in their houses all day. They did have to do more chores than usual for a month, but they got to go outside and hang out at least. Right now was one of those times, so they decided just to walk around Ponyville.
"Ah wonder if we'll ever know who that girl was," Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah," Sweetie Belle said. "Something's off about her. I mean, she didn't even know where Ponyville was! Also, she didn't seem so fond of us or letting us stay with her until we found a way home."
"What do you think is wrong with her?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I don't know. Maybe she's hiding something in the forest that she doesn't want anyone to see."
"Maybe..." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked around and thought about the mysterious girl for about five more minutes before they heard Pinkie Pie in the distance.
"Here we are! Back in Ponyville! Do you guys want a tour? Or maybe we can start setting up your welcome party right now! Or we can meet everyone in town! Or-"
"Pinkie! You really need to break that habit." Twilight and Pinkie Pie got closer to where the crusaders were with -you guessed it- the mysterious girl and two other people. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's jaws dropped. After moments of shock, the girls ran over to the girl from the forest.
"It's you!" They shouted.
"Hehe...hi?" Those girls from yesterday found me already? That was fast! Still, not as fast as Rainbow Dash, of course.
"You know her?" Twilight asked the two girls.
"Yeah! We ran into her when we were lost in the forest and-" The one with the bow started.
"Hey, Pinkie Pie! How about meeting everybody?" Scootaloo asked over the girl's explanation.
"Sure thing!" Pinkie did find it odd that Scootaloo suddenly spoke over the explanation, but she decided not to question it. "These two are Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They haven't gotten their cutie marks yet, so they made the Cutie Mark Crusaders club to find them!"
So they get marked as well...but why are they called cutie marks? Scootaloo thought.
"Come on, guys! Let's go meet their sisters! Then we can go and-" Pinkie rambled on about who they'd meet as she led them to the Carousel Boutique. Scootaloo's sensitive hearing allowed her to hear Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tell Twilight that she wasn't from around here, and that she might not even be from Equestria.
So much for laying low. They might as well know that I'm a pegasus as well.
"What do you mean that you saw her in the forest?" Twilight asked. "I mean, I did find her, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy in the forest as well, but there's no possible way that they would've even made it that far without being chased by the creatures in the forest." Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Twilight were currently sitting in the library so no one heard their conversation.
"Well, that's where we found her. She was being a little rude, but-" Sweetie Belle started.
"A LITTLE RUDE?! She was so grumpy and cranky at us for no reason, and then wouldn't even help us! That was SUPER mean!" Apple Bloom argued.
"That's not the point!" Sweetie Belle shot back.
"Girls!" Twilight exclaimed, gaining the attention of the two children. "Listen, even though I find it very hard to believe that you found her that far in the forest, my friends and I will keep an eye on Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy." Twilight scrunched her eyebrows and put her fingers up to her chin. "Now that I think of it, those names are kinda odd for regular people..."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other worriedly. "Um...Twilight?" Apple Bloom asked. Twilight looked at Apple Bloom.
"Yes?"
"Doesn't the word 'flutter' mean to...well, fly?"
"Well," Twilight started, "I was thinking the same thing, but there's no possible way that they could be..." she trailed off.
"Be what?" Sweetie Belle asked, but Twilight was too lost in thought to acknowledge her.
I should contact Princess Celestia once she gets back from the royal meeting in Saddlerabia next week. That'll give me plenty of time to find out if they actually are living mythical creatures. I mean, they waltz in from deep in the forest, avoid talking about where they're from, and not to mention Scootaloo -I think that was her name- interrupted Apple Bloom when she was explaining where they found her. They are either really dumb or they've underestimated our intelligence. Either way, I think we found this out way too quickly...Did they even think about what could've happened if they just suddenly showed up?
"Twilight?"
Did they want us to know something? Why are they here?
"Twilight!"
Maybe they actually are regular people and I'm overthinking things...Then again, there is more evidence saying that they're suspicious characters...
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom took a giant breath.
"TWILIGHT!"
"Huh?" the screaming and ringing in her ears snapped Twilight out of her thoughts.
"You kept staring at the ground and wouldn't answer us," Apple Bloom told her.
"Oh, uh...Sorry about that. What was the question?"
"Well, we wanted to know what you meant when you said that the new people couldn't be something," Sweetie Belle explained.
"Oh...well..." Should I tell them? I don't know if those girls really are who they portray themselves to be, but then again, they couldn't be pegasi. They're just myths, and I'd be wasting my energy on trying to figure out if those girls were mythical creatures. That's ridiculous! I can't believe that I thought that in the first place! Ha!
"Twilight?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Not again..." Sweetie Belle commented.
"Well, girls. I just had the stupidest moment! I thought that they were pegasi at first- I mean, can you believe that?- but then I realized that that was impossible!" Twilight laughed. "Whew...That was hilarious!" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other.
"What's a 'pegasi'?" the confused 10-year-olds asked.
"The singular version would be 'pegasus', and they are mythical creatures who are the evilest of them all," Twilight explained. "Have your sisters not told this story to you before?" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shook their heads. "Maybe it's because it would've scared you or something," Twilight figured.
"Can you tell us, Twilight?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Sure. It all started when a ten-year-old boy ventured into the Everfree forest..."
"I'll be completely fine. There's nothing in the forest anyway!" The boy told himself aloud. He had been dared to go into the Everfree at night and stay there until daylight to prove his manliness. His goal was to travel all the way across the forest and come back before daylight, so he rushed deeper and deeper into the forest. Eventually, he ventured so deep into the forest that he lost all sense of direction.
"I'm not lost!" he told himself. "I just...went too deep..." The little boy turned around, planning on going back, but what stood before him was the ugliest being ever. It had long, dirty claws on its hands and feet, long, sharp yellow fangs that stuck out of its mouth, slit pupils, red eyes, tangled hair, a tangled tail, and worst of all: wings. The vile beast drooled and looked at the boy. It liked its lips with it's lizard-like tongue.
"What do we have here?" the beast gurgled. "Food?"
The boy backed away slowly. "I-I'm not food! I don't taste good at all! I need to go home!" He rushed away and made a u-turn while the monster chased him down. It's super strength gave it the power to claw at everything in sight. Trees were split in half, the animals were killed, and the beast even left visible dents in the ground with its feet.
"COME HERE, LITTLE BOY!" It shouted.
"Leave me alone!" The boy had seen the sun start to rise and the monster stopped chasing him.
"I must hide!" It gurgled. Alas, the monster was too late. The sun rose and the beast started to turn to ashes. The last thing it had said was, "I'll be back for you! And I'll bring all of my pegasus brethren, too! You'll paaaaaay!" With that, the monster turn to ashes, and the boy ran away, thanking Celestia for the sun.
"The end. I still can't believe I thought that they were pegasi! Ha! I mean, they didn't even burn, but they did come from a very far part of the forest. Oh well, there's way more evidence that pegasi aren't real! They're just normal people who just so happened to be deep in the forest," Twilight concluded.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said their goodbyes after Twilight mentioned something about a book. Nobody cared about that stuff anyway; it was just Twilight being Twilight.
"Pegasi don't exist, do they?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"No. Ah think it's just an old story and nothin' more. Besides, wouldn't it have attacked us by now if it was real?" Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah, you have a point, but let's find that girl again and find out where she's from just in case."
"Sweetie Belle, you don't have to worry about a thing. If she was actually a pegasus, Ah could kick her hindquarters and make her go back to the Everfree where she belongs!" Apple Bloom punched the air for emphasis. "But I guess some more crusading wouldn't hurt."
Scootaloo, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were fascinated by everything that Pinkie showed them. There was so much life and color in one home! And the whole town was lively! The different styles of homes and shops were just so overwhelming! I mean, the people of Ponyville had way more things than what they needed. There were tables and chairs, refrigerators, pictures, sweets, and so many more things to offer! There were even these things called 'arcade games' and 'playgrounds' that are just two out of a lot of examples of having fun! Of course, the pegasi had fun, too. They trained for fun since there wasn't much else to do, and it always took their mind off of the strict rules of Pegasopolis. Not to mention that they get more experience, but this place -Ponyville- has so much more! How did no one know of this before? How has no one found this place? It's amazing! Although, Rarity didn't seem like the type of person that Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo would hang around. They'd be at the horrible risk of getting put into a frilly dress at any given moment.
The tour ended at Sugarcube Corner, where the trio of pegasi were offered three free cupcakes. They each took one and studied them. It didn't make much sense for there to be such a variety of food when all you need are the basics. What category did the treat fall under? Was it safe? Or would it kill them as soon as they bit into it? Pinkie looked at them quizzically.
"Do you not like vanilla?" she asked.
"Vanilla..." Scootaloo whispered.
"Um, it's not that. We just, uh, aren't...hungry?" Fluttershy attempted to lie.
"Yeah, that's it..." Rainbow Dash said.
"Okie dokie lokie! I could wrap it up for later, then!" Pinkie Pie ran into the kitchen and came back with one large box. She then put the cupcakes in it and handed the package to Fluttershy. "Hope you had fun on the tour! I have to get back to work now, so I'll see ya around!"
The trio left and ended up in a park. They sat on the grass and examined the cupcakes again.
"This place is so weird," Dash said.
"I think that it's fascinating. There are so many wonderful colors and things to see!" Fluttershy stated.
"Yeah, but why?" Scootaloo licked the pink frosting off of the cupcake. "Blegh! This has way to much of...something! It tastes too sweet."
"It probably has a lot of sugar. We don't normally consume as much as the people of Ponyville do, but it actually is in the meals that we...normally..." It had just occurred to Fluttershy that they had skipped their breakfast, and everyone back home would know that they're missing. "Oh my gosh...Oh my gosh...Oh my gosh..." Fluttershy started hyperventilating and darting her eyes back and forth.
"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash dragged her by her hand to a more private area (which was behind a tree) as Scootaloo picked up their food and followed. She set Fluttershy down so that her back was on the tree. "Hey, Fluttershy! Snap out of it!" Rainbow shook her until she snapped out of her thoughts. Fluttershy hugged Rainbow Dash and started crying.
"What happened?" Scootaloo asked. "Was it another panic attack?"
"Shit...She's right. We've been here too long. They'll know that we ran away and probably search everywhere. If we go back they'll punish us, but if we don't..." Dash kept trying to think while still trying to get Fluttershy to calm down.
"Maybe we shouldn't go back then," Scootaloo suggested. "They'll never go past the forest like we did since it's forbidden, and there's nothing there that I'd want to return to after seeing this place. Besides, we don't necessarily have to stay here. We can go wherever we want!"
"Yeah, but they'll eventually find us. Plus, they'll just destroy everything..." Rainbow Dash said, but Scootaloo knew better than to think that Dash actually believed that they couldn't do anything.
"Rainbow Dash, you, Fluttershy, and I all know that we can fight them back. I get how you want us to be safe, but nobody wants to live like that again. We've been kept in the dark for way too long, don't you think that we finally stop being loyal to them?" Scootaloo explained.
Is it worth it?
What do you mean? Rainbow Dash asked the voice in her head. She figured that it was her subconscious or something.
Is the 'safety' of living in Pegasopolis really worth suffering? Fluttershy's miserable by the mere thought of going back! To go and put her through that would be the most un-loyal, un-cool, and just downright despicable thing that you could do. Here you all could have a new start! New friends, new rules, and a new experience! And you get to keep your only family! Will you really go back to Pegasopolis? Will itreallybe worth it?
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran around Ponyville in search of Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Of course, they've had no such luck in finding them, but they did finally find Pinkie Pie hopping around cheering a few people up. The crusaders decided that it'd be a good idea to ask Pinkie Pie what she knows about the 3 mysterious girls.
"Hiya, Pinkie Pie!" Apple Bloom greeted as she waved at the hopping girl.
"Hey, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle! How's it goin'?" Pinkie asked as she hopped over to the two crusaders.
"We were doing some investigating and we needed to know what you know about Scootaloo, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash," Sweetie Belle explained.
"Oh well, I would tell you, but wouldn't that be kinda...weird? Like, spying weird?" Pinkie Pie questioned.
"Well, not really since if you know that information, that means that they probably didn't mind sharing it with everyone else, right?" Sweetie Belle reasoned.
"I'm not so sure that that's how it's supposed to work..."
"Well," Apple Bloom started, "You never Pinkie Promised to keep it a secret, nor did you promise at all, right?"
"I guess not," Pinkie Pie thoughtfully said. "Well, in that case, I guess I can tell you a little bit of information."
YES! the crusaders both thought.
"Well, during the beginning of the tour, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo seemed like they were planning something until, hehehe, we got to Rarity's and they never wanted to go back!" Pinkie laughed at the thought of dread on the two girls' face when Rarity pulled out a whole rack of dresses. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle glanced at each other, but turned back to the laughing girl after she started to catch her breath. "Hahaha! Whew.... Anyway, after that, we walked around the rest of Ponyville and they were so fascinated! I've never seen someone so interested in the town! They were also whispering about something like 'more color' but I didn't catch what they were saying before the tour was over."
"Fascinated? By what?" Apple Bloom asked.
"No idea. They were staring at every single building with just as much awe as someone who first sees the Royal Palace in Canterlot." Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Whelp! I've got to go talk to Rarity about some ribbon for the fundraiser! Bye!" Pinkie Pie hopped off as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said their goodbyes to her.
"Why in tarnation would they be interested in a plain old building?" Apple Bloom wondered as the pair walked around looking for said girls.
"Hmm...In any random situation, it would just be that the girls either grew up in a poor town, have never seen a building before, or are just super interested in architecture," Sweetie Belle brought up.
"Well, Ah guess it's possible for them to have come from a poor town somewhere, but they don't look poor. Their clothes look normal and they didn't smell like dirt or anything, really. Ah've never heard of anyone who has never seen a building before, and none of the buildings in Ponyville are very extrava...extra...extrav..."
"Extravagant," Sweetie Belle finished.
"Right, that. Anyway, Ah don't think that it'd be any of those reasons," Apple Bloom stated. Sweetie Belle pondered on the topic more until she thought she found the answer.
"Well, maybe Twilight actually was right," Sweetie Belle suggested.
"What do you mean, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I mean that they could be pegasi. Just think about it."
Apple Bloom thought about it, but couldn't seem to add everything up the way Sweetie Belle did. "Ah have no idea how that makes sense."
"Well..." Sweetie Belle was about to explain, but then realized that someone overhearing her explanation could cause them to wonder if pegasi were real and that would just make everything even more complicated.
"Let's go to the clubhouse first, then I'll explain."
"Just think of it like this: They came from the forest, they were fascinated by normal buildings, they for some reason don't want to be around when we explained how we found Scootaloo, and they just seem suspicious!" Sweetie Belle paced around the clubhouse as she listed the reasons why she thought Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo were the mythical beasts known as pegasi. "And just look at their names! Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy! Those have to do with the sky!"
"Still, what if they were just regular people that just happened to be secretive and weird? It wouldn't be right to think that they were pegasi," Apple Bloom defended.
"Well, what would make them normal?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
"Ah don't know, but they aren't scary creatures that burn in sunlight, that's for sure."
"That was just in the story, though. Celestia knows that the stories are almost never accurate. Maybe the reason they're being secretive would be because they're hiding the fact that they are pegasi. Maybe they grew up in the woods and didn't have what we have because they couldn't go anywhere. Also, it would explain why Scootaloo was randomly there," Sweetie Belle explained.
"Well, now that Ah think about it, Ah think Ah saw something move in her hoodie at one point, but it could've just been my imagination..."
"No it isn't. I saw a slight movement also. The chances of us imagining the same thing at the same time are probably low."
"How do ya know that it was at the same time?" Apple Bloom questioned. "Was it when we were talkin' to her in the forest?"
"Yeah! When she started getting angry about not knowing Ponyville and wanting to leave, right?"
"Yeah! And even then, she went a completely different way when she ran away! There are no villages or towns that way!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gasped in realization. "They're from the other side of the forest!"
"Do you believe me now?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Yeah! We need to tell someone!" Apple Bloom said. "Maybe Applejack's in the barn. Let's go!"
Scootaloo wandered around Ponyville looking for Pinkie Pie or the Apple's Farm. They needed food and Rainbow Dash was helping Fluttershy, so it was up to Scootaloo to get dinner. They agreed to plan what their secret identities would be when she got the food, so she wanted to hurry and get enough food for them all. Especially since her wings were getting cramped from not being in use for so long.
Next time, I'm taking a flight break before I go.
After wandering around for about fifteen more minutes, Scootaloo deemed herself to be lost.
Of course I get lost! Now it will only take me a longer time to get food and go back! Seriously, how big is this place? I must have been going in circles because the tour was not nearly this long...
Eventually, the purple haired girl found the apple orchard. She decided to steal a few apples and leave as quickly as possible, but found it difficult because of the tree's height.
Whelp! Time to climb!
Scootaloo had a bit of trouble starting off, but ended up climbing the tree at a steady pace. However, before she could reach the top, she heard voices coming from the barn.
"...expect me to believe that they're-"
"Shh! We can't have anyone hear!"
"Ah don't think ya'll know what you're talking about. They're myths! Ya'll are just paranoid that they're real since you might just be scared, don't you think? It's also a bit rude to accuse them of being fairy tale creatures just because they're different."
By now, Scootaloo had climbed the tree and listened to the conversation from the top. It was Apple Boom and Sweetie Belle trying to convince Apple...Apple back? Apple slap? Apple buck? Whatever her name was, the two girls were trying to convince her of something.
"No, you don't understand, Applejack!" Sweetie Belle pleaded.
"Sis, we have proof! When we were in the forest we both saw fidgeting in her hoodie!"
Scootaloo's eyes widened as the feeling of dread took over. No...No...Nonononononono! No! They have NOT figured it out! They couldn't have! Stay calm, Scootaloo. It's not like anyone will believe them. Yeah, it's okay. Everything's fine!
"And she ran the opposite direction of Ponyville! Deeper into the forest!"
"Honestly, girls. This is too much. Whatever prank ya'll are trying to pull, stop. This is not funny. Don't you realize that ya'll are accusing them of being evil, disgusting creatures?"
Gee, I haven't heard that one before, Scootaloo thought sarcastically.
"That's a terrible low that Ah'm disappointed in you both for. In fact, Ah'll talk to Rarity about this and we'll rethink your punishment." Applejack shook her head. "Ah wish Ah knew what made you think such terrible things." Applejack started to walk towards the exit of the orchard and the entrance to the town.
"No! Applejack, you don't understand!" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom followed her.
"We're telling the truth!" Apple Bloom said.
"Hear us out!" Sweetie Belle said.
"Ya'll better stop this instant of Ah'll-"
"How about you stop and listen, AJ!" Apple Bloom snapped. Applejack was surprised by this outburst enough for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to talk to her.
"We know that it seems ridiculous, but we've seen what we've seen-"
"-and we know for a fact that we weren't hallucinatin' or anything! Ah thought that too at first, but we know what we saw!"
The two girls stared at the older one with a pleading stare. "Please! Believe us!" it screamed.
"...Ah still find this a bit hard to believe...but Ah guess Ah could tell the girls and keep a close eye on them... I'll head over to the library now, but if they aren't evil, you two are in huge trouble!"
"Thank you so much, Applejack!" Apple Bloom hugged Applejack quickly and took off with Sweetie Belle into the surprisingly hard to navigate town.
This isn't good. Not good at all. Scootaloo grabbed four apples from the tree and ran off as quietly, but also as quickly as she possibly could to the Everfree Forest.
Damn it! I need to tell Dash and Fluttershy, but what if the others find them? What would we even do if I found them first? Gah! This day is just getting worse and worse! Scootaloo was hopping on the rooftops of the buildings in Ponyville. She didn't care if they saw her; she could just say that it was parkour.
"Hiya, Scootaloo!"
Scootaloo mentally sighed.
"Hi, Pinkie Pie, I can't talk right now. I have something important to do so can you go and do whatever you were doing before?"
"Okie dokie lokie, but before I go, I should probably tell you that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle have been asking about you." Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo stopped on top of some pony's house.
"What did they ask?"
"Well, they asked me about whatever I knew about you guys and I just told them that you were very interested in the buildings and in Ponyville's colors. Then they went to either go talk about you, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy or get their cutie marks. You can never really know for sure."
"Is that so...Thanks, Pinkie." Scootaloo then continued to hop to where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were. Hopefully they could sort this out.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran through town, trying to find Scootaloo. They knew that she was the only one who they would be able to get any information from through blackmail (as long as everything went according to their plan). They just wish she wasn't so good at hiding!
"Ugh! Where could she be?" Apple Bloom impatiently asked.
"No idea, but let's keep..." Sweetie Belle saw Scootaloo hoping across the rooftops of houses. "There she is!"
Scootaloo turned around and saw the two girls chasing her. Damn it all!
Apple Bloom spotted a rope on the ground near someone's fence and took it. "Sorry, but Ah need this rope!" She tied it into a lasso and aimed at the girl hopping along the rooftops. By now, a few people had started to watch what was going on while others dismissed it as the cutie mark crusaders just causing more trouble with a friend.
"Sweetie Belle, Ah'm gonna try to catch her! Can you give me a boost to the roof?"
"Sure!" Sweetie Belle cupped her hands and launched Apple Bloom by her foot into the air. Apple Bloom caught the edge of the roof and climbed up. She was a bit faster than Scootaloo on land so she easily caught up to the accused pegasus. She prepared her lasso and aimed as she ran.
Scootaloo looked back and saw Apple Bloom throw the rope. She panicked.
She's gonna catch me! It's gonna be all over! Dang it, legs! MOVE FASTER!
Scootaloo knew that she wasn't escaping by running away. The farm girl was getting too close, and Scootaloo needed to do something, fast.
Uh...Oh! The forth apple!
Scootaloo grabbed the apple from her arm and looked back at Apple Bloom and her failed attempts at catching Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle had also made it onto the roof and was now runing alongside (or should I say behind) Apple Bloom. It seemed as if they reached an emptier part of town as there were barely any people to witness the three girls, the houses had turned into tiny cottages, and they were nearing the edge of town that was next to the Everfree Forest.
Now or never, Scootaloo.
Scootaloo turned around and threw the apple at Apple Bloom, making her stop for a second or two. This gave Scootaloo enough time to jump off the roof and run into the abandoned cottage that was closest to the forest. Sweetie Belle saw this and ran after her into the cottage with Apple Bloom following.
As soon as the CMC entered, they saw Scootaloo about to climb out the window. They dragged her back into the cottage before she could escape. Scootaloo got up from the floor that she was thrown down on and ran to a wall opposite of the two girls who were chasing her.
"Leave me alone!"
"No! You have to tell us what we want to know!" Sweetie Belle said.
"Why would I do that? You're the crazy people trying to kidnap me or something!" Scootaloo bitterly accused.
"We aren't kidnapping you!" Sweetie Belle said.
"Whatever! That's not why we're here! Listen, Scootaloo, we can blackmail you if you don't cooperate!" Apple Bloom stated.
"Oh yeah? How?" Scootaloo was very determined to get them to feel like idiots so that they could release her. If she didn't get back to Dash and Fluttershy, they could be in trouble.
"We'll tell everyone in Ponyville that you're a pegasus!" Sweetie Belle threatened.
Scootaloo asked, "So you're willing to lie to everyone if I don't give you information that you want to hear?"
"Well..." The silence of the girls let them hear the creaking of the wooden door, which had been swinging because it was not properly closed. The house itself was very dark and dusty, but there were a couple of holes in the wall that served as windows for the inhabitants of the cottage. Scootaloo took note of this. It made for a great hideout.
"As a matter of fact, we would! There's nothing really to lie about, and if you do lie, it would prove that you are a pegasus!" Apple Bloom answered.
Might as well just get it over with. They aren't going to stop bothering me if I don't, and I really don't want to hurt them."What is it?"
The two girls smiled. "Okay, first question: Where are you from?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Um..." What places did they have here, again? Ponyville, the forest... Did we even plan what we were going to say for this question? Damn it, we were going to do that today... Hmm... "I'm from..." What if I just told them the truth? They're probably going to check if I have wings anyway. Scootaloo sighed.
"Well?" Apple Bloom impatiently asked.
"I'm from the forest." Technically, it's true since a small portion is considered part of the kingdom.
"We knew it!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Yeah! We thought so since there aren't any villages on the other side." So that explains why they haven't found us. Everyone just believes that there's nothing there.
"Well, I've answered your question. Can I go now?"
"No, we still have many other questions!" Sweetie Belle said. Figures.
"Alright then," Apple Bloom said, "What's under the hoodie?"
"What?" Scootaloo asked. She didn't like where this was going, but there was no avoiding it now. Besides, even if they knew, she could threaten them into secrecy.
"She means what are you hiding? Under the hoodie. We saw something move under there before, and we want to know what it was." Sweetie Belle explained.
Scootaloo stared the two girls down. If she revealed the truth, she would be able to threaten them, but she wants to avoid that at all cost. It would be putting two harmless -yet annoying- people in unnecessary harm. If she doesn't show, that will probably give them all the proof they need, but they won't be secret about it. Not at all.
I can't have them say anything. I guess there will have to be a change in this whole "lay low" plan.
"You really want to know?" Scootaloo suddenly asked.
"Mhm." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded.
Scootaloo unbuttoned her hoodie and turned around. As she faced the wall, she didn't feel any guilt for breaking the most important rule in the Pegasus Kingdom:
Rule #1: Never reveal your true nature.
But they could all go die. Scootaloo dropped her hoodie to the floor. Her wings came through holes ripped in the back of her t-shirt, and they were in a clear view of the two girls behind her. Scootaloo stretched them and turned around.
"You know, it's pretty funny how well my wings can be hidden with one article of clothing. I've always wondered if everyone was just blind, or if I just have great eyes-" She sat down and folded her wings. She didn't put her hoodie back on. "-because it always seemed so obvious to me."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were at a loss for words. They had just discovered that pegasi do exist...but not in the way that they had expected. But still, they are literally looking at a fantasy. Were they dreaming?
"You can stop staring now."
"Oh! Uh...Sorry..." Sweetie Belle had finally found her voice, so she asked, "Why did...you hide?"
"Hm...Well, where I come from, we aren't supposed to reveal this to anyone. We're kept in the dark for many things. No one knew whether or not we should've hid, but we decided to because we heard that unicorns and earth people didn't like us. They'd want to kill us and use our powers. Then I realized that those are stories from Peg-erm...where I come from. They probably weren't true, just like whatever you heard about us."
"Oh..." Sweetie Belle responded.
"Is that why you acted mean back in the forest? Were you...were you scared of us?" Apple Bloom asked softly.
Scootaloo looked to the floor. "I didn't know what to do. I had never seen anyone from Earth and Unicornia before -Well, now I guess it's Ponyville. I panicked and thought that you would've hurt me if I didn't do something to push you away."
The door creaked again. There was a cool breeze that slightly moved a broken ceiling light, making it sway. The sun was starting to set.
"You need to go. Now." Scootaloo threw her hoodie on and buttoned it back up quickly.
"What? Why?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"What's the matter?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Night time is the matter. I'll explain tomorrow. Go." Scootaloo pushed the girls out of the cottage and ran towards the forest.
"But we have school tomorrow!" Apple Bloom yelled after her.
"Meet me here after it, then!" I can't believe I got so caught up with those two that I forgot about getting the apples to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy! Damn, I'm stupid!
Applejack walked over to Twilight's library with Rarity and Pinkie Pie. She didn't want to have this meeting, but the two girls were so persistent and worried back at the barn, so she needed to at least investigate what made the three newcomers so dangerous in the girls' eyes. She knocked on the door.
"Hey, Twilight! It's us, open up."
"Just a second!" Twilight said from the other side. The sound of shifting furniture could be heard before the purple horned girl opened the door. "Hey, girls. What brings you here?" Twilight closed the door after everyone entered the library.
"Well, Applejack has been saying that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom think that the three new girls were pegasi," Rarity explained.
"Yeah, and they were so determined to get me to listen to them and Ah promised that Ah'd talk to you girls about it," Applejack added.
"I don't think they plan on stopping any time soon. They asked me to tell them about Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo," Pinkie Pie said.
"Hm... They also told me about how they found Scootaloo in the forest and may have gotten the idea from my story, but I never thought that they would accuse them of actually being pegasi. Especially since I told them that it was highly unlikely."
"So they got this outrageous idea from us?" Rarity asked.
"Yes, but they might have a point." Twilight looked at the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment and then looked back to the girls. "They came from the forest and were avoiding questions about where they were from and why they were in the forest."
"And I guess that they haven't seen any place like Ponyville. They were very amazed at the buildings, but a lot of them were just average looking," Pinkie added.
"Also, they were talking about how they both saw movement in Scootaloo's hoodie or something. And she ran deeper into the forest where there aren't any villages," Applejack commented.
Twilight paced around the room and pondered the details. After a few moments, she stopped and looked at the girls gravely.
"Girls, I think we have three monsters roaming around in Ponyville, and we need to deal with them."
Rainbow Dash had sent Scootaloo out to get food about an hour and a half ago. She had calmed Fluttershy and was currently hiding in a tree that was a little deep into the Everfree Forest. The thick branches and closeness of the surrounding trees had proven this to be a good hiding spot for a few days. They would be able to spot intruders without the intruders spotting them. She took her hoodie off and tied it around her waist so that her wings wouldn't be so restricted. The sun was just starting to move down. There was only about one more hour until the sun went down completely. Maybe Scootaloo got lost. This is an unfamiliar town, but they really needed some food that didn't taste like a bucket of sugar shoved into a tiny baked good. Rainbow Dash was about to go into the town to find her friend, but Fluttershy stopped her by tugging on her shirt.
"What is it, Flutters?"
"I sense someone coming."
Rainbow Dash had cursed under her breath and went back into the tree. She looked for any sign of someone moving towards them. She saw two unicorns, the farm girl, and the tour guide with too much energy. How did they know Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were there?
I thought they didn't go into the forest!
If the pegasi moved, they would be spotted for sure. They only had one option, and that was to wait.
"How are they not in town! They literally just got here! Leaving without saying goodbye to the people who have helped you- Ugh! They are just so rude!" Rarity complained about the visitors when Twilight interrupted.
"This is around the area that Pinkie and I found them. It's almost the end of the safe zone so be careful where you go."
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash glanced at each other.
"Are they after us?" Rainbow Dash mouthed to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy looked down at the searching girls and nodded to Rainbow, now afraid of being found. "What are they going to do?" She whispered.
"No idea," Rainbow Dash mouthed.
The hidden pegasi had watched the other group of girls. Fluttershy wanted to hide until they went away. Just let them be and they won't harm the pegasi. Rainbow Dash on the other hand was ready to attack. She knew that Fluttershy wouldn't agree with her decision, so she decided to attack only if they caught Scootaloo off guard. They didn't know for sure when she would be back, but those girls were not going to hurt her little sister.
~~~~
It had been about an hour and the girls had finally given up looking for clues and the pegasi themselves. The sun was starting to set and Scootaloo still wasn't back. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had gotten worried soon after the girls had started their search, but they have been stuck in the same clump of trees for a while. What seemed like a nice home for a while turned out to be the corner that they had been backed into. Rainbow Dash was restless. She needed to make these girls leave, but anything she could do would alert them and she had no idea what they could do to her.
"Ah don't understand, Twi. Why are we looking for clues here? Can't we just look around Ponyville again?" Applejack asked.
"No, we had to look here because this is the first place that we found them. If they weren't in Ponyville, there's a chance that they could be here."
"Twilight, dear. We've been searching for hours! Can't we just go back home and figure this out tomorrow? The sun is already setting, see?" Rarity pointed to Celestia's sun which was now retreating to the other side of the world.
Shit! Rainbow Dash thought as she and Fluttershy shared an alarmed look.
"We need to find Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash mouthed.
Fluttershy whispered, "But how can we if they're still down there?"
"Uh..." Rainbow looked around for a path or distraction in a panic. "I have no idea!" she mouthed.
"Maybe we can throw a rock or branch?" Fluttershy suggested.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. She pointed to the leaves and other branches around them. They would make too much noise before they would even have the chance to get a branch.
"Then what do we do?" Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow Dash whispered, "No idea..."
"Do you girls hear something?" Rarity asked. Rainbow Dash silently cursed at herself for whispering too loudly.
"It's probably just the leaves," Twilight dismissed.
"If you say so..." Rarity said.
"So what are we going to do now?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Maybe we should investigate again tomorrow." As Twilight said this, Applejack noticed a sleeve coming from a tree nearby. She elbowed Twilight and said, "Whelp, time to get back to the farm! It sure has been a long day." They tiptoed towards the tree and Applejack got ready to push it.
"Hey! We know you're there!" she announced.
Rainbow Dash panicked and realized that she forgot to put her hoodie back on. Her wings were exposed.
Her wings were exposed.
She knew that it was too late. Her carelessness would probably cost them their life. Unicorns have magic and Earth People have strength.
But she's a pegasus.
Pegasi are demons, yet she's afraid of the weaker ones. No, that's not it. She's not afraid of them. No...She's afraid of what she could do to them. Especially since it's almost night time.
Oh no.
"Come down, now! Or else!" the purple horned unicorn threatened.
"Maybe they don't want to come down." The girls looked at Pinkie. "I mean, they're up there for a reason."
Pinkie is my new ally. The other girls could go buck off, Rainbow Dash thought.
"Get down here, now!" The purple haired unicorn asked. Rarity, right? The one to stay away from.
Twilight nodded to Applejack and the farm girl gave the tree a powerful push. Pinkie Pie's tail twitched. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash held on to the tree as tight as they could, but Fluttershy lost her grip. Rainbow Dash tried to reach for her hand, but she missed.
Fluttershy fell out of the tree and in front of the four girls, three of which were looking at her with a threatening (to Fluttershy) gaze. Rainbow Dash took the opportunity to put on her hoodie and got into a position, ready to pounce on the enemies. Fluttershy stood up and fixed her clothes. Then she hid under her hair and avoided eye contact with the girls.
Rainbow Dash was just about to jump onto the farm girl, but Fluttershy's response stopped her.
"It's none of your concern. Leave me alone." Rainbow Dash knew what this tone meant. Speaking up and not stuttering. She was not shaking or hiding fear. It was night time, and she has changed. The other girls were in danger.
"Yes it is!" Twilight persisted. Bad idea. "You've caused some suspicions and being citizens of Ponyville and the protectors of Equestria, we deserve to know!"
Fluttershy gave off an aura that felt very threatening to Pinkie Pie, but none of the other girls noticed. They were too caught up in the moment.
"Guys, maybe we should leave-" Pinkie started.
"Are you out of your mind, Pinkie Pie? We've finally caught her!" Rarity told the pink haired girl.
"No I really mean it." Fluttershy walked towards Twilight, who stood her ground. Bad idea #2. Pinkie spoke up again. "We really need to go." She tugged on Applejack's shirt.
"Pinkie, what's wrong? You aren't this scared when we fight monsters, so why are you afraid of her?" Rarity asked. Fluttershy's hair had a streak of black magically appearing and her eyes seemed to dig into Twilight's soul.
"I-I'm s-serious! We c-can defeat you i-if you t-try anything!" Twilight backed away and Applejack went to put Fluttershy into a full nelson, but a random spark of red electricity pushed her back.
Damn it, I can't hurt them! I can't let the night get to me yet! Rainbow Dash thought as she retracted her hand from aiming at Applejack.
Fluttershy held on to Twilight's neck and held her up. The unicorn struggled under the grip of the demon and gasped for air.
"Stop it!" Rarity screamed. Applejack hit Fluttershy in the head. While it didn't move her, it did make her drop Twilight.
"What the heck are you?" Twilight asked after catching her breath. Fluttershy just stared down at Twilight and looked into her eyes. "You are a pegasus, aren't you?" The demon turned around and walked deeper into the forest, leaving the four girls alone with her friend in the tree.
Scootaloo ran as fast as she could to the forest. The sun was getting closer and closer to the bottom of the sky, and she needed to get back to her family. How could she be so stupid? What if she was still lost in the town and the sun set?! Why didn't she pay more attention?
Why am I so careless?
Suddenly, Scootaloo fell to the ground and held her head. She was so close to the forest, but holding back her powers made the trip way more difficult than it should have been.
Just a bit closer! Come on!
The small pegasus tried with all of her might to stand and walk, but only walked five steps before falling back down. The pain in her head and the ringing in her ears was unbearable. She felt herself give in and let herself transform. Her head instantly stopped hurting as her hair became a darker purple and let gravity pull it down. She grew sharp canines, and her nails turned into short, yet dangerously pointy, claws. She felt a strong urge to get the restriction off of her back, so she ripped her hoodie off and tore it to shreds.
"Stop it!"
The scream was distant but it made Scootaloo more aware of everything. Her body wasn't completely done transforming, but the headache she got from holding her power back partially through the transformation was much more tolerable than the nightmare she had to deal with a minute earlier.
"You are a pegasus, aren't you?" Scootaloo couldn't hold her power back from heightening her sense of hearing, but she wasn't complaining about that. She had no idea how far away the voice was, but she knew that that was where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were. Scootaloo ran into the forest, letting the moon and stars be the light as she followed where the sound came from and let her body complete its transformation.
Rainbow Dash watched as the four girls tried to make sense of what just happened.
Rarity shattered the silence. "She is a pegasus..." The tension in the air rendered all four of the girls unable to move. That is until one realized something.
"Uh, girls...Ah don't know if I'm going crazy or what, but Ah didn't see her wearing the sweater we spotted...and the sleeve isn't hanging anymore..."
Twilight got up, dusted herself off, and walked over to the tree. She didn't want a repeat of what happened with Fluttershy, so she got her magic ready.
"Twilight! I told you we should leave! We need to go! Please!" Pinkie pleaded with Twilight.
"We need to catch them and get them under control! If you want to leave, go and get guards or something!"
"Yeah... This might be our only chance, so why don't ya go on ahead back to Ponyville." Applejack agreed.
"I think I'm going to agree with Pinkie Pie on this one. I wish I could change your minds, but I don't want to do this," Rarity said as she turned to Pinkie Pie. "Come on, Pinkie Pie. Let's go back and get help."
Pinkie Pie followed Rarity as she ran out of the forest, but looked back and Applejack and Twilight one last time. She opened her mouth to say something, but soon closed it and held back tears as she ran towards the town.
"It's unfortunate that you didn't listen to her." Applejack and Twilight looked at the tree that Fluttershy fell out of and saw Rainbow Dash hanging from one of the branches upside down. Her eyes glowed a bright red and her hair turned into very dark colors of the rainbow. Two small, dark red horns protruded out of her forehead. Her wings were almost all black with dark blue feathers making up the bottom half of her wings. She smirked and one of her fangs stuck out of her mouth.
"Twilight..."
Twilight blasted Rainbow Dash with magic, but she remained in the same position. She was no longer smirking and scowled at the unicorn.
"Don't you know it's rude to just hit people with magic beams?"
"RUUUUNNN!" Applejack and Twilight screamed from the top of their lungs and ran out of the forest. Suddenly, something grabbed Twilight's leg and dragged her back into the forest.
"TWILIGHT!" Applejack ran back for her and saw the figure holding on to Twilight. She ran as fast as she could and stomped on its arm to make it let go. She didn't catch what it looked like because she just helped Twilight up and ran back to Ponyville.
I need to let go of her...I can't kill her...
But she is a threat, therefore she must die.
...If she is such a threat, why am I stronger than her?
What of her friends? There are more of them than there is of you.
I have Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. All of us combined can take out all of their people without breaking a sweat.
...Fine. I'll let her live for now. I can go back to Pegasopolis and fight over there. Then I shall return.
When I reached the area where the screaming came from I saw Rainbow Dash talking to the purple unicorn and Applejack.
"Don't you know it's rude to just hit people with magic beams?" So they tried to hurt Rainbow Dash? They tried to hurt my sister?!
The other girls screamed and ran away. I looked to Rainbow Dash and she smirked and nodded, giving me the signal to take one of them. I rushed at the unicorn because she was the attacker and grabbed her leg. She fell and as I dragged her back, Applejack came out of nowhere and stepped on my arm. That didn't matter, but when she lifted her leg up, she hit one of my horns and that's when everything started to get blurry. Stupid undeveloped horns! If I was just a little bit older that wouldn't have hurt as much! Nonetheless, I got back up a few seconds later and tried to chase after them again, but then Rainbow Dash put her hand on my shoulder.
"They don't matter. I need to get to Fluttershy before she reaches Pegasopolis. They still don't know that you're a pegasus, so just stay here and try to lay low. It's not going to be fun going back..."
I stared at her and was about to protest, but I knew she was right. If I went back, they would just kill me. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy at least had a chance to live. They were stronger after all.
"O-Okay..." I stood up and looked at her. She was superior in every way, but wasn't like everyone else. She cared about me more than any of my family ever did. When I became her sister after they disowned me, I knew it was the best thing to ever happen.
"I'll be back in a day if I find her in the forest. I don't know how long it will take if she already made it back, though..."
"Just don't die, okay?" I started to shake and tried to hold back tears. I knew what awaited her back at that terrible place. Everyone is expendable since we don't die easily. "One child per family" is complete bullshit since they can just keep disowning everyone. Rainbow Dash's family won't help her. Fluttershy's family won't help either. No one will help them! They're done for if they go back... "Do you hear me, Rainbow Dash?" I hugged her as tightly as I could. I wasn't going to see her for a long time. I wish I came back to the forest earlier... Then they wouldn't have waited for me and we'd all still be in Ponyville. We couldn't even survive one night! All because of me! I should be the one dead! "Don't you dare die. And if you let Fluttershy die, I'm going to kill you, so don't let them kill you first."
"I know. I won't let her die or stay there. I'm going to go get her now." She broke the hug and I couldn't stop crying. She started walking away, towards the forest. "Oh, and Scootaloo?" I looked at her. "Stop doubting yourself. You're mind's easy to read, and who cares about our former families. We have each other. Trust me, Fluttershy and I will live. I promise."
With that, my rainbow-haired sister walked into the trees.
Scootaloo planned to stay at the abandoned cottage for the rest of the night. Her body was itching to destroy everything, fight anything, just do something, but she held herself back. She couldn't mess this up. She couldn't risk hurting everyone because she couldn't control herself. She would not. mess. this. up. Rainbow Dash was trusting her. She just needed to wait for daytime and everything will be fine. Unfortunately, daytime was forever away.
It's going to be a long night...
The pegasus was sitting cross legged on the floor in the center of the almost empty room, taking in her surroundings. There was a mirror with a long crack running diagonally through it, a small teddy bear presumably left behind from the last family that lived in the cottage, and a wooden coffee table. Dust collected wherever it could; some took the form of the powdery dust found everywhere and the rest collected in corners to string itself from furniture to furniture, looking like spider webs. Wind lightly blew through the tiny cracks and holes in the brown walls and brought out the hollowness of the room. The lack of life would put any trespasser on edge, but Scootaloo was too afraid to care about the atmosphere. She was afraid of losing control. She was afraid of everything she could do. She was afraid of herself.
Her stomach growled.
I'm not going to look for food. I have to stay here. Scootaloo crossed her arms and pouted at nothing in particular. I'm not moving!
Her stomach growled louder.
Not happening, stomach! You'll just have to starve! Her stomach seemed to growl as a response to her thoughts. No! We had food, but then you lost it when you tore your- Scootaloo's eyes widened as she looked down at her torso. Only her shirt with the back torn for her wings was there.
Crap! What am I going to do now?
Her stomach growled.
SHUT UP!
A sudden brightness filled the barren room and Scootaloo stood up quickly, ready for any attacker. She searched the room and noticed that the light came from the holes in the walls. The light was not the sunlight or moonlight she was used to seeing. The artificial light had caught her off guard, and since Scootaloo had no idea what or who the fake light came from, she didn't trust it. The light was accompanied by multiple footsteps running towards the direction of the forest.
If I go I might lose control...
Scootaloo was about to go back to sitting down in the center of the room, but flew into a different room as soon as she heard someone about to open the door. They slammed the door shut after they entered and had very uneven, heavy breathing.
After a moment of catching their breath, the intruders spoke.
"Scootaloo?" one of them whispered. "It's us, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Are ya here?"
Scootaloo was about to reveal herself, but then realized that she was in her demon form. She stayed silent.
"Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle asked, walking towards the room that Scootaloo was currently hiding in. The floor creaked with each step, irritating Scootaloo.
Just...Stay in control and don't hurt them...Please! Scootaloo begged herself. "D-Don't move! Don't get any closer!"
The creaking abruptly stopped. "Why? Is everything okay?" Apple Bloom unsurely asked.
"You just...shouldn't be near me right now, okay? Go back home..."
"But we can't!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, "There were guards that went into the forest to find your friends! Our sisters said that they attacked them!" Scootaloo gasped.
"W-What?! Are they insane! The guards aren't going to go far into the forest, are they?" Scootaloo asked.
"Well...to be honest, we aren't too sure, but hurting one person the way your friends did wouldn't be taken lightly, so attacking all four of them would result in a huge chase. Especially since Twilight is Princess Celestia's student and they are all the bearers of the elements...Yeah, I'm guessing that the guards won't be giving up on them any time soon," Sweetie Belle explained.
Scootaloo sighed and muttered, "All we wanted to do was just-UGH!" Forgetting about control, Scootaloo threw the nearest object- which happened to be a piece of wood from a broken bookshelf- at the wall opposite to her. There was a burn mark from where she held the plank of wood and a burn mark on the wall from the wood not cooling down quick enough.
"U-Um...S-Scootaloo? W-What was that?" Apple Bloom asked as she and Sweetie Belle entered the room and saw a giant, smoking dent in the wall. They then turned to the demon in the corner, who stared right back at them with her glowing purple eyes.
Scootaloo looked down and turned her head. She tried to form words, but she didn't know what to say. They were scared of her, she knew it. They would hate her an chase her back into the forest. She still couldn't bring herself to hurt them, though. Not even if they gave the secret away. Who cared anymore?
"I should just-" Scootaloo was interrupted by both of her hands being held.
"We'll help you and your friends, okay? Besides...It's our fault that this happened..." Apple Bloom started.
"Yeah, if we hadn't been so focused on trying to rat you guys out then we would have probably realized that we were really messing things up for you when you didn't do anything to us really. We're sorry..." Sweetie Belle finished as they took Scootaloo to the front door. The three of them stood facing the door. "It's still night," Sweetie Belle said. "If we run, we can make it to the clubhouse. It's in the apple orchard and further away from any guards or people. You can hide there and not have to worry about running out of food so quickly. Then, we can plan how to get everyone to stop chasing your friends..."
Scootaloo nodded and Apple Bloom cautiously opened the door, checking for guards. They quietly snuck out of the cottage, hiding behind walls, bales of hay, garbage cans, you name it. The girls hid behind any type of cover they could find. Soon, they found themselves in the center of Ponyville, only half way to their destination on the other side of the town.
"Guys, I don't know if you'll be safe around me." They moved closer towards their destination as they hid in another hiding spot. "I mean, just look at me!" Scootaloo gestured to herself before they moved forward. "If the guards knew that you helped me-"
"Listen, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle interrupted. "We helped you because we chose to. Don't worry about how you look because we know that you're not an evil person." They were almost at Sweet Apple Acres and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle faced Scootaloo.
"We know who you really are and we can cover for you or maybe even prove you innocent!" Apple Bloom whisper-yelled encouragingly. Scootaloo simply smiled before they continued to make their way to the clubhouse. After a few minutes of walking (and holding back the urge to destroy everything in Scootaloo's case) the girls finally made it to the clubhouse. Once they walked in and locked the doors, Scootaloo sat down and held her head, groaning and growling.
"What's wrong? Do you have a headache? I could go get some ice for you to make it better," Apple Bloom suggested.
"Not that type of headache-" Scootaloo let out a small growl. "I'm holding....myself...back." I can't lose control! I won't let Dash down and I won't hurt my...aquaintances!
"Is there anything we can get to help with that?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Something nonflammable or-agh!- something that can't be broken easily."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other and thought about what they had that was nonflammable or seemingly indestructible. After a moment or two of thinking, they both thought of something to give the suffering pegasus. They dug through a pile in a corner and took out a container. They handed Scootaloo the container and she just looked at it questioningly.
"Open it!" they exclaimed excitedly.
Scootaloo crushed the container and tore it open to reveal a large amount of some weird goo. "What is this supposed to be?"
"It's fire proof goo! We made it as a science project for show and tell!" Apple Bloom said.
"Although, it was supposed to be able to stay up like clay so we could mold it into a statue..." Sweetie Belle muttered, "but this will have to do!"
Scootaloo held the weird substance in her hands. It felt liquidy yet it succeeded to stay in one piece. She tried stretching it out and when she let it go it went back to it's original blob shape. Then her headache reminded her of why she needed the goo in the first place. So Scootaloo tested it out and made her hands heat up. Soon, the blob was on fire, but it didn't burn. It just let the light purple flame engulf itself and Scootaloo felt herself be as calm as the blob in the fire. No worries, no headache, no pain.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were a bit wary of how big their pegasus friend was going to let the fire be. It grew and grew until it was mere centimeters away from the ceiling of the clubhouse, but the wood luckily didn't catch on fire like the two fillies thought it would.
Scootaloo seemed a bit calmer than before, so the two crusaders knew that they did something right. When the fire started to die down, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom saw that Scootaloo's eyes weren't glowing as much and didn't have to hold her head anymore.
"Thank you." Scootaloo kept the failed science project in her hand so that she could crush it or stretch it as much as she wanted. It acted as a stress ball that doesn't really have too much of a shape, and the pegasus was happy that she found some alternative to burning everything to the ground (even if it didn't completely take away the pain of suppressing her powers).
"N-No problem! We're glad you feel better..." Sweetie Belle said with a forced smile.
"But, uh...what was that all about?" Apple Bloom asked slowly. "Ya didn't really mention being able to set things on fire like that."
Scootaloo sighed. She didn't like to talk about herself or her powers, but she isn't the one in charge here. She's still unsure if these two were actually here to help her or turn her in. "Well, I-um. You see, it's just my, uh, my power to do that..." Scootaloo stumbled over her words and then shut her eyes and prepared for physical or verbal backlash.
The other two girls noticed her fear. "Hey, it's okay," Apple Bloom said, moving closer. "We're here to help you, remember? We won't hurt you." Scootaloo opened her eyes and saw them coming closer. She almost backed away, but realized that she was up against a wall. When they came closer and didn't get burned, she knew that they wouldn't be a threat.
Her powers always detected threats.
"Hey, look! The sun's rising!" Scootaloo turned around as Sweetie Belle said this and smiled. She felt herself become lighter and saw herself glow. Her hair turned back to it's regular purple, her nails became shorter, and various other parts of her that grew or changed because of the night time had reversed back to their original state. All except her fangs, which merely became shorter instead of completely hidden.
"Finally." Scootaloo sighed. "Now, I just have to wait for Dash and Fluttershy for the next few days."
"Why do you have to wait that long?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"It's because last night Fluttershy couldn't control herself and tried going back to...the forest...and Rainbow Dash went after her. Fluttershy is amazing at hiding and she always does it in her demon form if she isn't fighting. Having said that, it will probably take Dash a whole day to find her. Plus, they have to figure out how to find me and get me out of here with them without getting recognized."
"Why? You all did just fine yesterday," Sweetie Belle asked.
"You're sisters and their friends found out the hard way that Dash and Fluttershy are pegasi, but they don't know that I am. I'm sure they'll suspect it, but they don't have proof." Scootaloo looked at her wings. "Except for the fact that I ripped my only cover up for my wings." She facepalmed. "Now what am I going to do?"
"You can borrow some of our clothes! Or we can go get you new ones!" Sweetie Belle suggested. "Rarity has all kinds of clothes lying around that she hasn't given to anyone yet. I'm sure taking one or two wouldn't hurt."
"Alright then," Scootaloo said. "But I don't know if I should stay here alone. What if someone comes and finds me?"
"Ah'll stay with you while Sweetie Belle gets the clothes!" Apple Bloom offered. "It shouldn't take her too long so Ah can tell you more about Ponyville and then we'll take it from there." Scootaloo nodded.
"Sounds good to me."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle smirked and shouted, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER PEG-"
"GUYS SHUT UP! Do you want to get us caught? Not to mention you're killing my ears!" Scootaloo said as she glared at them and covered her ears. The crusaders smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry." Then they whispered, "Cutie Mark Crusader Pegasus Helpers! Yay!"
Sweetie Belle ran back to Carousel Boutique, dodging various objects and people along the way. When she walked into the shop and noticed the lights were all off, she quietly closed the door behind her and tiptoed towards the back room. When she was close to the door of said room, the lights came on.
"And where did you sneak off to last night, hm?"
Sweetie Belle flung her body around to face her very angry looking older sister. "O-Oh, uh, heh. Rarity, you're not sleeping in again? Um, I mean, the lights were off and-"
Rarity folded her arms and glared at Sweetie Belle. "Answer. the. question." she said through gritted teeth.
At this point, Sweetie Belle was shaking in fear. She had no idea that her sister could be so angry at her, and Sweetie Belle knew that she needed to find a way to get out of this situation very quickly. "I was just...going to the clubhouse. I forgot something there and needed to find it. It took me all night, though."
"It took you all night to find what, exactly?" Rarity questioned.
"Um..." Sweetie Belle looked around the room, trying to find an excuse or an exit but to no avail.
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity snapped. "Look at me when I'm talking to you. Something is clearly going on and I'm disappointed that you don't at least have the decency to tell me the truth! I've already locked the windows in your room as that is where you will be staying all weekend."
"But-"
"No! I will not let you off the hook. You snuck out of the house to Celestia knows where and you come back the next day and lie to me! You think I'm going to let you off the hook so easily? Don't forget that you're still grounded from when you accused our new-" Rarity hesitated, and Sweetie Belle knew that Rarity was going to try to pretend that last night didn't happen, "friends of being pegasi! Disgusting creatures that want to only satisfy their bloodlust and hunger! Disgusting, terrible, disturbing creatures that just wanted to kill! They wanted to kill her!" Tears that gathered in Rarity's eyes poured out as she sunk to her knees. "Just go to your room, Sweetie Belle."
Sweetie Belle wanted to help her sister, but on the other hand, she needed to get back to the clubhouse with clothes for Scootaloo. If she sat here comforting her sister, she could ruin the trust that she and Apple Bloom had just developed with the pegasus. However, if she snuck out again, she would lose her sister's trust. Not to mention that she will be punished again.
She didn't know who she was supposed to choose, so she went to her room to think about it.
~Meanwhile~
Rainbow Dash wasn't having the best of luck looking for Fluttershy. Even at night with her senses heightened to be four times better than in her regular form, she still couldn't find her best friend.
"Fluttershy...Where are you?" Rainbow Dash had reverted to her regular form a while ago, but she was still able to heighten her sight as she ran through the forest. She noticed how some of the smaller animals cowered in fear, but Rainbow Dash only started questioning why when she reached a point where a chimera running from something in a clearing that was in front of her.
It can't possibly be Fluttershy...
Rainbow Dash hid behind a tree and crouched down so that the tall bushes on the ground could cover her tail and part of her wings. She looked through the leaves and saw the person standing there. He was a brown winged, brown skinned pegasus with dark green hair. He had on black pants with a long black cloak to cover most of his body. The hood was currently down, revealing his deranged facial expression and soulless black eyes. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she started to shake nervously.
He's an assassin.
The assassin was looking down at his deceased target, most likely thinking of what to do with the body. From the angle she was in, Rainbow Dash could not see who the assassin killed, and she could only hope that it wasn't Fluttershy.
"I won't report this to the king. He wouldn't give me what I want." The assassin then smirked and said, "I'll just have to find out what place this thing crawled out of and take over it's homeland for myself. I need to plan this out, though." With that, he flew right above Rainbow Dash and towards Pegasopolis. Panicking, Rainbow Dash raced to the figure on the ground, but abruptly stopped when she saw the body clearly. The person had peach skin, black hair, and a white horn. What made even less sense to Rainbow Dash was that they had armor on, as if they were prepared to fight the assassin.
Is that a unicorn? Why is a unicorn so far out in the woods? Why were they trying to take that guy on? How did they know he was here? Rainbow Dash didn't understand what was going on, but she did see this as an opportunity. She took the person's armor off so that she could wear it and blend in with other guards in order to get to Scootaloo. Once she did take the armor off, however, the man's skin turned into a nice tan color, his hair turned brown and red, and his horn turned orange. "I see. So they use magical armor to hide their true identities."
"Yeah, I think it was this way. He said to meet up at a clearing, I believe."
Crap Rainbow Dash thought. She didn't have time to put the armor on, so she threw it all into a bush and flew up into a tree. As soon as she turned around to look back at the clearing, the two approaching guards, a female unicorn and a regular male, had seen their ally laying in his own pool of blood.
"Oh dear Celestia!" the unicorn cried out. They rushed to his side and hopelessly tried to look for a heart beat and somehow revive him. Once they realized the futility of the situation, they cried.
What wimps. Rainbow Dash thought to herself. She would've killed them right then if she didn't have a more important task at hand. Speaking of which, she was about to leave to continue her search, until the male guard spoke. "It must have been the same monsters that attacked the Bearers of the Elements. It couldn't have been anyone else."
"You mean, the one with the pink and black hair?" the female guard asked.
"Yeah, that or the rainbow one they were talking about."
Rainbow Dash couldn't decide whether she wanted to kill them first or find Fluttershy first, but she did know what she needed to do.
I'll find you guys later. Right now I need to find Fluttershy and then stop that assassin from reaching Ponyville.
~An Hour Later~
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom weren't having the best luck either.
"Scootaloo, calm down, Sweetie Belle will be here soon! Ah promise!" Apple Bloom had been trying to get a restless Scootaloo to stay still for a few minutes, but she couldn't get through to the pegasus.
"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! I need to fly! Or run! Or do SOMETHING!" Scootaloo has been jumping off of things all morning and tried to fly out of the clubhouse multiple times. The clubhouse was covered in burned and torn up ropes, the fire proof goo, various objects that were used to cover the windows to keep Scootaloo inside the treehouse, and all of the paper that fell off of the walls and onto the floor when Scootaloo kicked it down or when Apple Bloom hit it whilst trying to catch Scootaloo. It was a miracle that Apple Bloom was able to keep Scootaloo from flying away for this long.
"Not to mention that it has been forever! What if Sweetie Belle left us? What if she told your sisters that I was here?" Scootaloo flew up to the ceiling and held herself up with her arms and legs in a corner. Her eyes darted around and started to glow. "What if she left to get poison or bring back a weapon? What if she never actually did like me? She wants to kill me, then!"
"Scootaloo, listen to me! Sweetie Belle is not like that at all!" Apple Bloom reasoned, but Scootaloo was still too worked up to pay her any attention.
"I shouldn't have trusted anyone." Scootaloo attempts to fly out of one of the windows, but before she could open it, Apple Bloom grabbed her by her legs and pulled her back. Scootaloo rolls backwards and jumps to the door. Apple Bloom tackles her before she gets there, but by the time Apple Bloom got back up Scootaloo was already back on the ceiling. "I shouldn't ever trust anyone."
"Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom tried to get her attention, but it still didn't work. Fortunately, she had an idea. "What about Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy? You trust them, don't you?"
Scootaloo finally snapped out of it and looked at Apple Bloom. "What? Of course I do."
"Well, then you should trust Sweetie Belle and me! Ah have been here the whole time and Ah haven't hurt you. Trust me, Sweetie Belle would never abandon us unless something really really important happened. Maybe Rarity held her back! Yeah, that has to be it." Scootaloo slowly descended to the floor. Apple Bloom walked towards her slowly.
"We don't know that for sure though..." Scootaloo mumbled.
"Hey," Apple Bloom put her hand on Scootaloo's shoulder. "Trust me. Actually, trust us."
Scootaloo looked up at a smiling Apple Bloom. "I'll try to."
"Good. Now, maybe we can find a way to-"
"APPLE BLOOM! YOU BETTER GET DOWN HERE BY THE TIME AH COUNT TO THREE!"
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's eyes widened.
How in the world did Applejack know that we were in the clubhouse?
Oh no! Ah forgot to go back to my room and pretend to wake up!
"Oh Celestia," Apple Bloom muttered under her breath.
"ONE!"
"Listen, Scootaloo, you hide and I'll go outside to deal with this." Apple Bloom got up to leave, but Scootaloo grabbed her arm.
"TWO"
"You're sister's going to kill you! Stay here and hide with me!" Scootaloo pleaded.
"Scootaloo, trust me. I'll be okay."
"THREE!"
"Hide, Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom pushed her into a pile of pillows as Applejack kicked down the door. She and Big Mac marched into the clubhouse and glared at Apple Bloom.
"Who were you talking to?" Applejack questioned.
"What are ya talking about? Ah wasn't talking to anyone." Apple Bloom directed her gaze away to the ceiling.
"Stop lying. You always look up when you lie. Ah'm going to ask you again and if you don't tell me the truth, you will never speak to Sweetie Belle again."
Apple Bloom's breath hitched. She needed to keep Scootaloo safe, so she made sure to look Applejack directly in the eyes and said, "Ah'm not lying. Ah wasn't talking to anyone." The two sisters stared each other down.
"Apple Bloom, Ah warned you." Applejack took Apple Bloom's arm and dragged her out of the clubhouse. "Ah wish Ah didn't have to do this, but you know how Ah feel about my family lying to me." The door slammed. Scootaloo immediately jumped out of the pile of pillows and ran to the window. She slowly and quietly unlocked it and opened it so that she could listen to the conversation.
"...told me that Sweetie Belle also snuck out last night and we know ya'll are up to somethin'. Ya better tell me right now what's going on and Ah might let you see Sweetie Belle."
"Applejack, please listen to me. Ah can't tell you the truth." Apple Bloom says.
"Apple Bloom-"
"If Ah told you, you'd hate me and jump to your own conclusions! Ah won't tell you anything!"
"This has gone too far." Applejack made her way up to the clubhouse again. Scootaloo hid in her previous hiding spot.
"Applejack, stop!" Apple Bloom tried to run after her, but Big Mac held her back.
What do I do? I can't hurt her sister! Clearly, she has power over Apple Bloom and must be at a higher rank. However, their system must be different since I'm not in Pegasopolis. I could at least scare her away...but how can I do that without giving myself away?
"Hello? Who else is here? C'mon, you're little trick is done and it ain't funny. Come out now before Ah start searchin' for ya."
I wish I had Fluttershy's power. Illusions would be really useful right about now...Wait a minute, that's it!
Scootaloo looked around at the pieces of goo that were scattered around the clubhouse. They were in pieces small enough for Applejack to not notice them, but they were big enough for Scootaloo to spot.
"Alright, I'm gonna start looking for ya."
She focused on one of the pieces of goo and lit it on fire. Only the goo, she thought. Not the wall. Scootaloo did this to a few pieces of the inflammable substance by the time Applejack started to smell a strong scent of smoke.
"What in tarnation?" Applejack turned around and saw the walls were lit up with purple fire. She panicked and ran out of the clubhouse, screaming at her siblings to get water or help. Applejack and Big Mac ran off to find help and Apple Bloom had gone back to her room to get Scootaloo a sweater. When she made it back to the clubhouse, the smoke inside had grown. She knew she couldn't go back in until her sister and brother came back with help.
"Psst! Apple Bloom!"
The small red head looked around for the source of the voice.
"Up here!" In the tree behind her, Scootaloo was waving her over. Apple Bloom climbed up the tree and gave Scootaloo the sweater.
"Ah probably should have been the one to get you something to cover your wings in hindsight, but now we have a bigger problem. Ah probably won't be able to leave my house for a long time and Sweetie Belle is probably also trapped, so we won't know how to help you get back to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy." Apple Bloom put her head down in shame. "Ah'm mighty sorry Scootaloo. Ah thought we could help, but..."
"Don't worry. Besides, do you really have to go back to your home?" Scootaloo asked her.
"Yeah. As much as they are annoying me right now, Ah really do love my family and Ah can't leave them."
Scootaloo sighed is disappointment. "Oh well, I guess. I could always sneak into your house and Sweetie Belle's house, though. That way, we can all still communicate. It'll have to be at night when I have all of my powers."
Apple Bloom smiled and was about to respond, but was interrupted by sirens.
"Ready! Aim! Fire!" Water shot up from the ground and at the clubhouse. It washed away the fire, the smoke, and everything inside the treehouse. Papers floated out of the doorway with some of the water and landed on the ground. In the stream of water was also goo, the ripped up rope, crayons, parts of costumes, and various other things that were either burnt, ripped, or broken.
"I'm sorry, Apple Bloom. Everything I touch seems to always be destroyed." Scootaloo looked at a crying Apple Bloom and hugged her. Scootaloo didn't mind that Apple Bloom's tears stung or that some of the water from the hoses made her skin steam because her friend was sad and she needed to be there for her.
~Later~
"One of them is still here! They burned down the CMC clubhouse and brainwashed my sister!" Applejack exclaimed and she paced in front of her three friends.
"I think Applejack is right, Twilight. Sweetie Belle refused to talk to me about why she snuck out last night. Even when she's in trouble she owns up to what she does when she has no other choice. This is most definitely out of the ordinary for Sweetie." Rarity said.
"At least no one was hurt, right?" Pinkie Pie tried to look at the bright side, but glares from her two polar opposite friends had shut her up.
"Clearly your sisters are the only ones who know Scootaloo's location, but I doubt they're going to tell us if we ask...Maybe we need to do some investigating of our own." Twilight suggested. "I might have to write to the Princess sooner than I expected, but it's for the best. SPIKE!"
After Twilight wrote to the princess about the monsters they were hunting down, the girls went to Rarity's Boutique to search for any clues in Sweetie Belle's bag. When they found nothing, they went to Sweetie Belle's room.
"Sweetie Belle, open the door. We need to ask you some questions." Rarity demanded.
"No."
Rarity was shocked. "Did you just- Open this door right now, Sweetie Belle! You are already in a lot of trouble!" Twilight put her hand on Rarity's shoulder to calm her down.
"Sweetie Belle, please open the door. It's really important that we talk to you."
"No."
"We promise that we'll keep everything a secret from the guards," Twilight said.
"You won't keep it a secret from Princess Celestia, and she has no obligation to keep it a secret from the guards," the small unicorn retorted.
"How about you just tell me?" Twilight offered. "I'll only tell everyone else only what they need to know."
"No."
Rarity was fed up with Sweetie Belle. "What has gotten into you, Sweetie Belle? You were never-"
"Rebellious? I don't care, Rarity. I'm not telling you or your friends anything." Sweetie Belle snapped.
Twilight looked to Rarity and Rarity looked to Applejack. Applejack nodded and was about to kick the door down, but Pinkie Pie stood in the way.
"Pinkie Pie, move." Applejack said.
"Don't you girls see what you're about to do?" Pinkie Pie looked at Rarity. "You are about to break into your little sister's room and threaten her into telling you a secret she clearly has a reason to keep. And Applejack," Pinkie Pie looked at the farm girl, "you are about to break down her door, her only protection from her angry sister and her angry friends. Can't you at least let her have one place where she feels safe?" Then Pinkie looked to Twilight. "And Twilight, I can't believe you of all people are condoning this behavior! What happened to the Twilight I know and love? The one who tried to keep everyone out of trouble, not starting it purposely!"
The three girls that were the target of Pinkie Pie's outburst were taken aback. Then they realized that Pinkie Pie was right. They were doing this all wrong. They hung their heads in shame.
"Erm...Sweetie Belle?" Rarity started. "How about you come downstairs when you're ready..."
Rarity never received an answer.
Fluttershy was frantically searching around the forest for Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. She knew that at least one of them would go after her, but she had no idea which way Ponyville was anymore, and if she flew too high, someone else might find her. However, she had an idea of how to get Rainbow Dash to know where she was. The problem was that if she messed up or made it seem unnatural, a pegasus might recognize the illusion. She decided to give it a try.
Just picture it in your mind, Fluttershy. You can do it! Make a storm...
Dark clouds started to fly in from the east, and Fluttershy internally cheered. Slowly but surely, the clouds were on their way to covering the whole forest. Once they got close to Fluttershy's location, they started to drizzle, then rain. The animals hid in their homes, so Fluttershy took that as a sign to hide as well. If anyone saw her from a distance, they might realize that she wasn't an animal since they were all hiding.
Once she felt safe, Fluttershy created pink lightning. It only struck around the area she was in, but it didn't strike often enough to be suspicious looking.
Soon, a rainbow sliced through the clouds and landed in front of her hiding spot. She jumped out and hugged Rainbow Dash as hard as she could without hurting her.
"Thank goodness you came! I thought I'd be lost!" Fluttershy said.
"I'm glad I found you, too, but we can't celebrate right now." Rainbow Dash took Fluttershy's hand and started to run through the forest. "An assassin killed a unicorn guard and now they want to find where he came from. The guard's friends found him dead and probably went to tell someone. They suspect it's us, but I still don't think Scootaloo is safe. We need to stop them from reaching Ponyville," Rainbow Dash explained.
"Well, by foot it takes about three hours to get from Pegasopolis to Ponyville, so depending on where they started, we might be able to catch up by flight," Fluttershy thought out loud.
"They weren't too close to Pegasopolis, but they must've been close enough that the assassin sensed them. Either that or they were just unlucky and happened to run into him. Wait a minute!" Rainbow Dash stopped running. "The assassin probably sensed me! He must've known I was there! Why didn't he kill me?"
"I'm not sure, but maybe we can worry about that later. We kinda need to catch up to the other guards," Fluttershy reminded her.
Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Hehe, oh yeah." Both pegasi took off towards Ponyville, hoping that they could find the guards before they reached the town.
Scootaloo climbed out of the tree and tried to blend in with the other citizens of Ponyville. She copied everyone else's movements so as to not seem out of the ordinary, but she still seemed suspicious somehow because some people kept looking at her. Eventually, someone came up to her. She was a pale skinned person that had long brown hair tied back and green eyes.
"What do you think you are doing, young lady?" she questioned. Scootaloo noticed that she had a strict tone, but she didn't know how to answer the question. She must be scolding me. Scootaloo thought. She bowed her head.
"Look at me when I talk to you!" A very confused Scootaloo looked up at the lady in front of her. I thought that when you-oh wait. I'm not in Pegasopolis. What did Apple Bloom do?
"I didn't do anything wrong," Scootaloo said.
The woman scoffed. "Don't talk to me like that! Why aren't you in school?" Scootaloo's heard the term before, but couldn't remember where.
What was school again? Is that where they train? "Um, I was...on my way?"
The woman deadpanned. "It's almost eleven o'clock! Why would you be on your way to school so late? And you aren't even rushing! Nor do you have a backpack!"
I'm over this "I told you I was on my way, didn't I? You're preventing me from getting there."
"Am I?"
"Yes. Yes you are."
Before Scootaloo could take a step, the woman told her, "It might be helpful to you if you were going the correct way, kid." Scootaloo froze. Then she ran.
"Hey, get back here! I'm telling the authorities that you're cutting class!" Scootaloo did not care who "the authorities" were or why cutting class was such a big deal to them, so she kept running through the town and towards the cottage that was her hideout. When she reached the hideout, Scootaloo tried to think of a way to contact Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy. However, that thought process was abruptly stopped when she heard footsteps heading towards her location.
Could it be them?
Scootaloo walked out of the cottage and walked towards the back. She saw that the footsteps were not caused by her honorary sisters, but they were from guards, presumably the ones from the morning.
"Hey, kid!" the female unicorn guard called out to her.
Great, is she going to scold me about school as well?
"Yeah?" Scootaloo said as the guards ran towards her.
"Have you seen any pegasi flying around recently?" the male asked.
Apple Bloom said that we were myths here, so I should laugh, right? "Hahaha! What? Pegasi?"
"Now we know that it might seem funny," the female began, "but we are serious. There has been an encounter with those monsters and we need to find them and take them to the princess to lock them up."
Scootaloo stopped laughing. "Wait, you aren't going to kill them?"
The guards gasped. "No! Why in Equestria would we do anything so...so...so barbaric! What is wrong with you?!" the male exclaimed.
"Oh, erm...Where will they go, again? I wasn't paying attention." Scootaloo innocently smiled when the guards gave her funny looks.
"They're going to be locked up in Canterlot in the Royal Castle..." the unicorn said warily. "Are you okay, kid?"
Scootaloo stared at them. They have useful information. I need to get it and then kill them. "So, you didn't catch them?"
"No, unfortunately." The man said.
"Oh, well. Have you seen them?" Scootaloo took small steps towards the two distrustful guards.
"You know, kid, you should back up a bit. We don't need to tell you anything," the woman said defensively. She and her comrade took a step back from the advancing girl.
"Have you hurt them?"
"Not yet! Now leave us alone. You're making us uncomfortable and we can arrest you!" the man said. Scootaloo was standing right in front of them, her eyes focused intensely on the guards. The unicorn charged up her magic, but Scootaloo held onto her horn and stopped her from casting any spell.
"'Not yet' was the wrong answer."
Scootaloo pulled her hand down quickly, snapping the unicorn's horn off. The woman cried out as blood ran down her head, and Scootaloo took the opportunity to stab the guard between her eyes with her own horn. The man was frozen still until Scootaloo turned to him. He tried to run, but Scootaloo grabbed his arm and flipped him over so that his head hit the ground behind her. He was still alive but losing consciousness. Scootaloo held him up by his neck so that he was kneeling in front of her, but she didn't choke him enough that he couldn't speak.
"You're going to tell me what I want and I'll consider sparing your life. Did you see a pegasus?"
"N-No."
"How do you know about them, then?"
"Twilight told me. She encountered them."
"How much did she tell you?"
"Only that one has dark rainbow hair and blue wings while the other has pink and black hair and yellow wings."
"Are there more of you in the forest?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Two more."
"Are any coming from another place?"
"The others coming from Canterlot either aren't going into the woods or haven't arrived yet."
"That's all I need to know. Have fun in Tartarus."
"W-Wai-" Scootaloo stabbed him. His body slumped and fell to the ground, leaving Scootaloo all alone with blood covering her hands and body.
"Dang it. Now I have to clean up the mess." Scootaloo sighed and started to drag the bodies into the cottage.
Twilight looked up at the starry night sky, pondering on the event that happened earlier in the day involving her and her friends' method of getting information about the pegasi. She sat on her porch, wondering how she became so crazed with catching the demons that she would go out of her way to scare a child into telling a secret. Well, Twilight only condoned the behavior. It's not like she actually did anything wrong, right?
"Who am I kidding?" Twilight sighed. "I should apologize to Sweetie Belle when she finally leaves her room."
It's been hours and the small unicorn hadn't even opened the door to take the food Rarity set out for her. When a red eyed, unkempt Rarity came knocking on Twilight's door for advice during the sunset, Twilight had absolutely no idea what to say to the distressed fashionista. She couldn't think straight because of all the guilt plaguing her mind. Applejack came by as well and said that she wasn't doing so well with Apple Bloom either. They are constantly at each other's throats because of this mess, and Applejack doesn't see why Apple Bloom wants to keep Scootaloo's secret even when Apple Bloom knows that Applejack knows that Scootaloo is still there. Somewhere.
Suddenly, a small voice came from behind Twilight, taking her back to reality. "Twilight? I made you tea."
Twilight turned around and accepted the tea from a little dragon. "Thanks, Spike," she said softly before taking a sip.
"Yeah, you seemed stressed out lately so I thought maybe it would help to talk about it over tea." The little dragon sat next to the unicorn, facing her.
"Oh Spike, I wish I could tell you. The story's a secret, though, and if I told anyone I'm afraid that they will get hurt."
Spike tilted his head in confusion. "Why would anyone get hurt?"
"Well," Twilight starts, "don't tell anyone what I'm saying, but there are these creatures the girls and I are trying to catch. I'm afraid that if we let anyone know what they look like, the people of Ponyville will try to catch the creatures themselves and get hurt while doing so."
Spike looked away from Twilight and at the town in front of them. It was peacefully quiet. All the children inside and snuggled up in bed while the parents cuddled and watched TV together. Or perhaps the mother read a book while the father ironed his clothes. Some pedestrians walked alone on this wonderful evening; they walked not to hurry into their houses, but to enjoy the starry sky in all of its shimmering glory.
"Wouldn't it be easier to just tell people just in case whoever it is that you're trying to catch shows up?"
Twilight took a sip of her tea and looked at the dragon. "I can't do that Spike. They could get hurt."
Spike looked back at Twilight. "But what if the creatures show up and get away with wreaking havoc because nobody knows who it is or what they do?"
Who it is or what they do...Wait a minute, that's it! Twilight thought. She abruptly stood up, spilling the tea and startling Spike as she picked him up. "Spike! That's it! I don't need to tell them everything about the creatures, just their powers and that they're very very very very very dangerous! You're a genius!" Twilight hugged the very confused Spike.
"Uh...Glad I could help. Can you let go now?" Twilight placed Spike back on the ground and used magic to clean up the spilled tea.
"But wait!" Twilight exclaimed. She then slumped down to her knees. "They won't know what their powers are because I don't know what their powers are..." Twilight sighed. "I'll ask the girls tomorrow and see what they think. Let's just go get some rest." The unicorn and the dragon walked back into the treehouse, preparing for their slumber.
Meanwhile, Scootaloo, who was currently in her demon form, was sneaking around Ponyville trying to find Sweetie Belle's house. She knew that it was tall and way too fancy and elaborate, but compared to Pegasopolis, all of Ponyville's buildings were elaborate. Maybe not so tall, but they were unnecessarily detailed. Finally, after 30 minutes of searching, Scootaloo found what seemed to be the place she's been looking for. It was a circular, two story building that was most likely inspired by a castle of some kind. Different patterns such as swirls and diamonds complemented the structure of the building, which was themed as a carousel, hence the name.
Disgusting. Scootaloo thought. At first, the colors were really amazing and wonderful, but now they just hurt her sensitive eyes and annoy her. Anyways, which one is Sweetie Belle's window?
"Um, excuse me, but what are you doing?" Scootaloo turned around to see a royal guard standing there with a questioning look. He looked to be older than the girls hunting her down and he wore purple and yellow armor. The guard had different shades of blue in his hair and tail and his expression made that question seem more like demand. His horn lit up with blue magic as his expression showed that he was now more irritated. Scootaloo was suddenly even more thankful that she was wearing Apple Bloom's sweater with the hood pulled over her head, masking her face. "Answer the question, kid."
Scootaloo looked at him and then grinned maniacally. "I'm just admiring the architecture."
This kid isn't normal. The guard thought. Any kid would tremble in fear because of my actions. I was even about to apologize, but now I know something is totally wrong. Not to mention, there's a feint purple glow from under the hood and her smile doesn't look right.
"Is something wrong, guard?" Scootaloo asked as she walked towards him slowly.
What's wrong with me? Why can't I move? The guard tried to take a step back, but his legs refused to listen to him. "S-Stay back! I can-"
"Arrest me? Seriously, you guards need to start being original with your last few words," Scootaloo said. I want to have fun with this one. Maybe I can summon a weapon on him. Which one, should I choose? Hmm...
"Scootaloo, no!" Scootaloo heard the voice from behind her and sensed that the person was above her. The pegasus turned around and saw Sweetie Belle leaning out of her broken window, looking at Scootaloo. The guard took that chance to run away from the small demon.
"C'mon Sweetie Belle, you let him get away! I was gonna have fun, too." Scootaloo pouted and crossed her arms.
"Scootaloo-" Scootaloo interrupted Sweetie Belle's statement by running up the side of the boutique and holding herself up with her arms on the ledge of the window, startling the unicorn back into her room. Scootaloo climbed into the room and looked at the window. She then figured that it was locked before and Sweetie Belle couldn't open it.
Sweetie Belle stared at the pegasus with wide eyes. "What in Equestria was that?! You had super speed or something! And you ran up a building! Who does that?"
"I do, and from now until something bad happens, I will be your form of communication with the outside world!" Scootaloo spread her arms out wide for emphasis. Then she added, "By outside world, I only mean Apple Bloom, of course." Sweetie Belle simply stared at Scootaloo. "Um...Hello?"
"..."
"Sweetie Belle?"
"..."
"I think I broke her."
Suddenly, the unicorn broke out of her trance and jumped up. "Oh my Celestia, Scootaloo!"
"Ah!" the pegasus immediately went into a defensive stance and looked at Sweetie Belle with a threatening gaze. Sweetie Belle shrunk back and Scootaloo realized what she did, so she relaxed herself. "Don't scare me like that, especially at night time."
"Sorry...Scootaloo..." Sweetie Belle mumbled apologetically.
"Anyway, what do you want?"
"Oh!" Sweetie Belle pulled out two chairs from a corner and gestured for her to sit down. Scootaloo stared at the chair unsurely. Then, after seeing Sweetie Belle sit on the chair across from the one in front of her, very cautiously, she sat down. "I've had a lot of time to think today and I thought that it would be a good idea to get to know each other more. Maybe we could tell each other more about where we're from?"
"Um...I don't know about that..." With Pegasopolis constantly being at war, there are plenty of secrets that need to be kept secret. Most of the time, royalty doesn't let citizens in on what goes on beyond the battlefield, but plenty of the pegasi Scootaloo has been around have known very sensitive information. Sharing it with a unicorn didn't seem like the best idea.
"Aw, c'mon Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle pleaded with the saddest, cutest face she could make.
What the heck is this? She's all...squishy and adorable and it makes me really uncomfortable!
"Fine! Fine! Whatever! I'll talk about stuff for a bit." Geez, that's one weird power. I guess telling her some vague things won't be too harmful. "What do you want to know?"
Sweetie Belle perked up and said, "Great! We can go back and forth, okay? How about we start simple. What food do you guys normally eat?"
"Well, we-" Scootaloo paused but quickly caught herself and continued her sentence. Something's not right... "Uh, we normally eat food that falls into categories."
"What food do you guys normally eat?"
Rarity leaned closer to the door, hoping that it wouldn't squeak nor that her hair rollers would hit the door and blow her cover. The curly haired unicorn couldn't actually see inside the room, but she could hear inside pretty well. When Rarity heard the commotion outside and saw Scootaloo, the unicorn knew her little sister would be involved somehow.
If Sweetie Belle refuses to tell me about those horrid creatures, I shall just find out myself.
Rarity did admit to herself that she felt a little guilty about sneaking around- which is certainly not ladylike- but sacrifices had to be made to get a mission done.
"Well we- Uh, we normally eat food that falls into categories."
"Categories? Like protein, vegetables, and things like that?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
Scootaloo seemed to relax and smiled. "Yeah. Although, we don't have as much sugar stuffed into our food as you guys seem to."
"Alright, your turn!" Sweetie Belle said excitedly.
Scootaloo thought for a moment and decided to ask, "Um...Why do you guys have so much extra...well, everything?"
"What do you mean?"
Scootaloo then went into explaining about how the pegasi only used the absolute bare necessities. There were shower houses that filled clouds with a certain amount of water so that they didn't waste any water, they had to go to food stands to sign in and get a previously prepared meal (and if they didn't go to their designated food stand, they would be punished), and there were battles upon battles upon battles. To Rarity's horror, the fighting never stopped in whatever strange land the pegasus came from.
"One time," Scootaloo started, "I was sparring with my TBP, Rumble, and-"
"What's a TBP?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Temporary battle partner. It's a term we use in what would be the equivalent of school, which is-" Rarity accidentally stepped on the floor where the wood made a tiny creak. No normal person would have been able to hear it, let alone a ten-year-old distracted by a conversation.
However, Scootaloo was on alert and looked at the doorway. Sweetie Belle followed her gaze, and Rarity hid by flattening herself next to the doorway and praying that the children wouldn't walk out of the room.
"Rarity, are you out there?"
I swear, she never gives up!
Sweetie Belle marched to the door and turned to where Rarity was hiding. She crossed her arms and glared up at the sheepish unicorn.
"O-Oh, um, Sweetie Belle. Fancy seeing you here, how's it going?" Rarity rambled.
Sweetie Belle's expression did not change. "Rarity, I thought that after what happened you'd give me some privacy for once! Scootaloo trusts Apple Bloom and me to keep her safe from you and your friends! Can't you just leave us alone, she isn't doing anything bad!"
Rarity came back to her senses and looked at Sweetie Belle incredulously. "Nothing bad? Are you blind, Sweetie Belle? She was about to hurt Shining Armor a few minutes ago!" Wait a minute, Rarity thought. If she's in the other room, I can catch her and bring her to Twilight. However, that might be difficult to do... Maybe I can try that telepathy spell she taught me after the Diamond Dog fiasco. "You know what, Sweetie Belle? I'm leaving and by morning she should not be here, do you hear me? That monster-"
"She's not a monster!" As Sweetie Belle said this, she didn't realize that Rarity's horn started to glow.
Twilight! Can you hear me? "Oh, excuse me," Rarity said sarcastically. "That demon will not ever set foot or claw or wing or whatever in this Boutique ever again!"
Rarity? What's wrong? Are you okay? Shining Armor came over just now and explained everything and-
"That isn't fair, Rarity! You're being unreasonable!"
Twilight, Scootaloo is at the Boutique. She's in Sweetie Belle's room. Hurry over so that you can catch her! "I'm not being unreasonable, I'm just doing what I need to do to keep you and the rest of Ponyville safe!"
I'm on it!
Sweetie Belle was about to argue until a loud noise was heard from the bedroom. The little unicorn panicked. "Scootaloo!" She ran in and saw that Twilight and Shining Armor had appeared in her room. They both were looking around for something.
"Twilight? What are you-" Sweetie Belle then understood that Twilight and her brother weren't looking for an object. They were looking for a person. She turned to Rarity, livid. "How could you?!"
"Sweetie, I'm-"
"No! You're not!" Sweetie Belle started tearing up, angry at the fact that Rarity and Twilight refused to listen to her. "You are not keeping Ponyville safe, you are not helping me, you are not making things better, and you are certainly not being a good sister! I told you that Scootaloo wasn't doing anything bad! Yeah, she might have been angry at Shining Armor, but that's because everyone keeps threatening her! Wouldn't you not trust everyone if they were all against you for being different?"
The older unicorns in the room were silent, until Shining Armor spoke up. "Look, Sweetie Belle," he began calmly. "I know that you want to protect Scootaloo, but she can kill you. I've seen her up close and that thing is terrifying! Trust me, a royal guard that is only looking out for you, when I say that Scootaloo needs to go."
Sweetie Belle backed away from the three other people. She shook her head and looked around for her friend. For a second, it seemed as if she left, but then Sweetie Belle spotted the tip of Scootaloo's tail sticking out of her giant toy box. Sweetie Belle needed to find a way to stop the other unicorns and lead them away from Scootaloo.
"I know where she probably went, but I don't want to go there with you. I wouldn't be able to look her in the eyes."
"Oh, Sweetie Belle," Rarity cooed as she walked over and hugged her sister. "I'm glad you finally came to your senses, and I'm sorry we had to scare you like that."
Twilight kneeled to Sweetie Belle's height. She asked softly, "Can you tell us where Scootaloo is?"
Sweetie Belle wiped her tears away, "She's in the apple orchard. Most likely where the clubhouse is. She goes there for food because she can't get any anywhere else."
Twilight stood back up and said, "Thank you, Sweetie Belle. You're really helping everyone. Trust me." She then turned to Shining Armor. "We should take care of this. Rarity," Rarity looked to Twilight, "you stay here with Sweetie Belle in case the pegasus comes back. The others might show up to be with her, and that won't be good." Rarity nodded and Twilight left with Shining Armor.
"I'm really proud of you, Sweetie Belle. Now, since we're both very much awake, I'll take these curlers out of my hair and we can have fun playing board games and things like that!" Rarity left to go to her room and Sweetie Belle watched Rarity until she closed her bedroom door, leaving a small crack that let light escape the room.
Sweetie Belle whispered, "Okay, Scootaloo. You can come out now." Scootaloo climbed out of the toy box and hugged Sweetie Belle. The unicorn was surprised at the action, but eventually hugged the pegasus back. Once they broke the hug, Scootaloo whispered quickly.
"I'm going to go to Apple Bloom's room. I know that it's risky, but I need to tell her that you didn't actually give me away. I'll leave immediately after I tell her and wait at the hideout." Scootaloo then ran to the window but turned as she as about to leave. "Nice acting by the way." With that, Scootaloo jumped out of the window and used a burst of speed to reach Apple Bloom before the siblings could reach Applejack.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had finally made it back to Ponyville after killing another guard in the forest and hunting his partner down. Even with Fluttershy's ability to sense other living creatures being better than both Rainbow Dash's and Scootaloo's sensing abilities combined, it was still very difficult to find the remaining guard. They knew the pegasi were hunting them down when they saw their friend lying on the ground, so of course that particular guard had to be the only one prepared to run and hide from demons who could sense them. They were good, Rainbow Dash gave them that. However, their flaw was that they ran out of the energy to use magic to conceal their presence from Fluttershy.
Upon arriving, the two pegasi were in their demon forms because it was still night time, so they hid behind a cottage that was closest to their location. When Rainbow Dash looked down, she noticed a faint trail of dry blood leading into the small home. She and Fluttershy went inside and found the bodies of the guards Rainbow Dash left alone to find Fluttershy.
"I guess Scootaloo took care of them. She never did learn how to kill without getting blood everywhere," Fluttershy said.
Rainbow chuckled. "Please, Fluttershy. Sometimes you're messier than she is."
"Not true!" Fluttershy faked a pout, but soon giggled at Rainbow Dash's "yeah, right" face. "Let's just go find Scootaloo."
The two pegasi put their hoodies on and walked out of the cottage, looking for their little sister.
Apple Bloom paced around her room, angry at everyone.
"Stupid Big Mac. Stupid Applejack. Stupid Twilight. Stupid Rarity. Stupid me!" Apple Bloom let out a loud grunt of annoyance and plopped herself onto her bed. She was currently locked in her room and desperately wanted to help her pegasus friend out of the situation she had put her in. "Why did Ah ever open my big mouth? Ah should have been the one to tell Sweetie Belle that they didn't do anythin' wrong!"
"C'mon, Apple Bloom, stop moping. You won't fix anything that way."
The farm girl jolted up and came face to face with the glowing eyed demon in the room. Apple Bloom smiled. "Scootaloo!" She threw her arms around her friend, thankful that she was alright. "Ah'm so so so so so so so so sorry that this is all happenin', Scoots. Ah feel just awful."
"It's fine, really." Scootaloo said as the hug was broken. She put her hands behind her head and gave Apple Bloom a goofy smile. "I've been through multiple battles and two wars. This is nothing but a tiny bit of drama." Scootaloo laughed for a bit until she suddenly became serious. "Although, Sweetie Belle lied to them and said that I was hiding in the orchard. I'm probably not going to last too long if I visit her every night..." Apple Bloom put her head down, but Scootaloo simply smiled. "Haha! Challenge accepted, then! I'll make sure you can communicate with Sweetie Belle even if it kills me! Which honestly, the guards couldn't do even if they tried."
Apple Bloom was confused more than anything. "Why are you risking getting caught to let Sweetie Belle and me talk to each other?"
"Cause it doesn't matter to me." Scootaloo said. In reality, I'm terrified that they will catch me, but I can't let Apple Bloom know that. She'd worry about me even more. Apple Bloom was a bit hesitant to believe Scootaloo considering the fact that she was terrified when they first met, but she didn't push the matter any further.
"Anyway," Scootaloo starts, "I'm gonna go. They guards will be here soon looking for me, so I'll see ya tomorrow!" Scootaloo then ran out the window and to her hideout.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy ran across roofs, masked by the dark early morning sky. They aimlessly travelled as they looked around for their little sister, carefully avoiding all of the guards walking around the town. After searching for a few minutes, they landed on the roof of a bakery that looked like a gingerbread house, agreeing that wandering around wouldn't do much for them in their situation. They waited and, eventually, they saw a speeding orange and purple blur heading in their direction. The blur came to a stop in front of them and smiled.
"I'm glad you two made it back in one piece," Scootaloo said to them.
Rainbow Dash rubbed Scootaloo's head, messing up her hair. "Did you ever doubt us? Hehe."
"I think this town is too chaotic for us. Maybe we should head somewhere else..." Fluttershy suggested.
Scootaloo shook her head. "No way! I found friends here that actually do want to help us! They can prove that we aren't monsters to the rest of the town!" Scootaloo took one of each of their hands and pulled them in the direction of the hideout. She stopped pulling, however, when the two older pegasi didn't move from their spot. Rainbow Dash looked away as her bright red demon eyes started to glow out of anger, but it quickly died down when she looked back at Scootaloo.
Scootaloo took note of this and frowned. "Are you angry at me?" she asked softly.
"No, Scoots..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "I'm angry at the other people. How do I know that we can trust them? They might want to just gain your trust and then once you let your guard down, they take you away to some lab to run tests on you and find out about your powers. I can't let that happen to you. I can't let that happen to any of us."
Fluttershy's dark turquoise eyes had glowed softly out of sadness for the little filly. "We're sorry, Scootaloo. We just can't trust them."
Scootaloo slumped down in defeat, but quickly perked up at the thought in her head. If they can't trust them because they don't know them then-
"-I'll just have to show you! You can meet them tomorrow night!" Scootaloo eagerly looked between a somewhat confused Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "I know where they live! I'm their way of them communicating with each other!" Scootaloo hopped to a different part of the roof. "Not to mention that we get to learn more about the town from them so that maybe we can blend in!" Scootaloo turned to face the town. "We might be able to live here! We won't ever have to go to Pegasopolis again!" Scootaloo felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm glad you're excited about this Scootaloo," Fluttershy starts, "but don't you think you can be excited a teensy bit more quietly?"
Scootaloo smiled sheepishly. "Hehe, sorry."
"But, if we do meet your friends and they are as trustworthy as you say they are, I don't see a problem with staying here and trying to live normally," Fluttershy says.
"Yeah! And we'll be the coolest people here because we can fly and everyone else can't!" Rainbow Dash smirked and quietly added, "Plus, I'll get to see those girls' terrified faces again..."
Fluttershy glared at Rainbow Dash with an angrier version of "The Stare" and said, "Rainbow Dash, behave yourself or else you'll be sorry."
Rainbow Dash immidiately turned her head to avoid staring into Fluttershy's currently soulless, unforgiving eyes. She made the mistake of angering Fluttershy before only once in her life (when she was younger than Scootaloo) and she has a scar running across her stomach that reminded her to listen to her childhood friend. Especially at night.
Rainbow Dash swallowed her pride and a little bit of her fear. "Y-Yeah. Sure. Okay. I won't cause trouble. Don't kill me."
Fluttershy's gaze immediately softened as she took Scootaloo's hand and led the way back to the cottage. Rainbow Dash kept her distance, trailing behind them.
How does she do it? Rainbow Dash wondered. How is it that Fluttershy's the least threatening at first glance, yet she looks right through her victims so easily? She doesn't even look scary! She has no horns, short claws, lovely eyes (minus her angry stare), and only has a streaks of black in her hair! She could probably pass as a regular person if she cut her nails and hid her wings. Hmm...she'd make a great spy...
The three girls avoided guards and ran to the hideout as quickly as they could. Within minutes, they reached the cottage.
"Home sweet home," Scootaloo said sarcastically.
The three girls entered the cottage and sat on the dusty wooden floor. Scootaloo stretched her aching wings. "I need to fly."
"We'll find some place to fly soon. I presume that you'll be able to control yourself tonight because of the guards you killed today?" Fluttershy asks whilst pointing to the two decomposing bodies in a corner.
Scootaloo chuckled. "Yeah, I'll be fine." The child yawned and took her sweater off, folding it to use as a pillow.
"By the way, Scoots. Who gave you that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Scootaloo mumbled, "Apple Bloom did...I ripped up my old one before I attacked the forest and the people and the stuff..." She continued to mumble incoherent things until she finally fell asleep. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other for a moment. Then they smiled.
"I guess they really do want to help if they saw her in her demon form and gave her something to hide her wings," Rainbow Dash said, lying down on the ground.
"Yeah. I can't wait to meet them," Fluttershy says as she and Rainbow Dash drift off into a peaceful slumber.
"Okay, girls. Spike gave me the idea last night that we should warn the citizens of Ponyville of the pegasi roaming around. From what we gathered, Scootaloo is still here and has the power of super speed. We currently don't know where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are, but it won't be long until they show up for Scootaloo. The guards that have arrived from Canterlot have all been told of how they look and what they've done. Is there anything else to add?" Twilight explained. She was currently in the library with Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, all of whom were seated. She was getting all of her information together so that she could tell everything she knew about the pegasi to Princess Celestia.
"No," Applejack said bluntly, "but I'll ask Apple Bloom some more."
"Not that I know of, dear," Rarity stated. "Except for the fact that all they do is fight..." she grumbled soon after her statement.
Pinkie sighed. "No," she said sadly.
"Good. We have everything. Should we tell Ponyville about them?" Twilight asked.
Rarity stands up from her seat. "Yes! It will help us all if we got the word out that those things are out there controlling people's minds!"
"Yeah!" Applejack agreed. "They can't be roamin' around just doing whatever they want! We need to lock 'em up!"
Pinkie Pie sat silently as her two friends worked themselves up about catching the pegasi. She's learned to not argue with any of her three closest friends about the matter since none of them listened to her. Not even Twilight listened when she pleaded with her last night about leaving them alone.
"Please, Twilight just listen to me! They-"
"Pinkie Pie, those creatures don't belong here! I would have just run them out of town before, but they've killed multiple guards Pinkie! Killed!" Twilight had walked from in front of Pinkie Pie, who was standing in front of a bookcase, towards the door of the library.
Pinkie walked towards the unicorn. "Twilight, I know that they killed the guards, and I know that you're angry at them because they almost killed you, but think about this for a moment plea-"
"NO!" Twilight snapped. Pinkie froze in her tracks as Twilight marched towards her. She put her hands on Pinkie's shoulders and squeezed a bit too tightly.
"Twilight you're hurting-"
"Listen, Pinkie! Those things are out there killing innocent people! I can not and I will not stand for this! Applejack and Rarity know what those things have done to their families and I know what those things almost did to us! I won't let them continue killing people!" Twilight let go and marched to the door again. This time, she opened it and firmly pointed outside. "I think it's time for you to leave Pinkie," she said irascibly.
Pinkie tried one last time. "Twilight, you're probably tired and you've had a rough couple of days. Maybe we can sit down and calmly talk about this. Please?" The next thing Pinkie knew was that she had been thrown out the house with magic. She turned to the door.
"Stay out until you change your attitude!" Twilight slammed the door and as Pinkie Pie left, she went up to her balcony to think. Pinkie on the other hand knew that this whole situation was driving Twilight crazy since she had never dealt with murderers before.
"I'll forgive you when I fix everything," Pinkie Pie whispered to no one in particular.
After Applejack and Rarity came to impossible assumptions about the pegasi, their meeting had ended. Pinkie Pie had pretended to leave, but once Twilight closed the door, she hid in a bush in front of the library and waited.
Rainbow Dash woke up to someone shaking her gently.
"Scootaloo is still asleep," Fluttershy whispered. Rainbow Dash mumbled something along the lines of "That's great" and turned the other way to go back to sleep. "You aren't going to eat tonight unless you wake up." Not even seconds after Fluttershy uttered those words, Rainbow Dash jolted up and stretched.
"Okay. I'm ready!" Rainbow Dash said softly enough to not wake the sleeping child, but loud enough to make Fluttershy worried that Scootaloo would end up being awoken. When she realized that Scootaloo was still sleeping peacefully, Fluttershy stood up and stretched as well.
"I'm going to stay here with Scootaloo. You should go look for food and then when you get back, we'll find a place in the forest to fly," the pink haired pegasus said.
Rainbow Dash saluted and said, "On it!" as she ran out of the cottage.
~A Few Minutes Later~
Rainbow Dash was currently hiding in the leaves of a very large tree. If she recalled correctly, this was the library and someone's...home? Yeah, that sounds about right. It's- Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed. Twilight's home. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and focused on her ears. She listened closely and started to hear voices inside.
"-pegasi?" a regal sounding voice said. It was unsure, worried, and slightly unbelieving.
"Yes. We've found some as they exited the forest." Twilight's voice sounded grave but professional. "The pegasi had attacked us as we were looking for them a few days ago. The youngest, Scootaloo, is currently in Ponyville, but only two girls, the unicorn Sweetie Belle and her friend Apple Bloom, know her location. Sweetie Belle had told us that Scootaloo hid around the apple orchard in their treehouse, but when we arrived there was nothing left but a mess of charred wood and a flooded area. We think that the others might eventually show up and-"
Rainbow Dash had heard enough for her irises to turn red out of pure fury. They tried to hurt Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle gave away her location? Wait...No, Scootaloo trusts her and Apple Bloom I think. Maybe she wasn't actually there, but the guards almost caught her! I'll make sure they all pay for it! Rainbow Dash was about to hop over to another building but stopped when she heard a quiet sob. Who's there...?
"There's no reason for this!" the unknown person cried. The person was slightly muffled by the bush he or she was in. "Why couldn't she just listen?"
Rainbow Dash had two choices. One, go and find food and get back to her family as quickly as she could. Two, investigate the sobbing bush.
She chose the latter.
Rainbow Dash swiftly climbed down the tree and landed in a bush next to the one covering the crying person. Dash looked at the person and instantly recognized those blue eyes and pink hair. Although, those eyes didn't shine as brightly as they used to and her hair had straightened itself, refusing to bounce with every movement.
"Why are you crying, Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash whispered to her.
Pinkie turned her head in surprise and told the pegasus, "I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie threw her arms around Rainbow Dash who almost accidentally stabbed her as a reflex. Luckily, she caught herself just as she touched Pinkie's back.
"Erm...Stop being sorry, please. This is making me really uncomfortable," Dash said as she struggled to pry Pinkie Pie off of her. However, the pink haired girl refused.
"I'm sorry that this is all happening and I'm sorry that you've been hunted down and I'm sorry that you have to hide and I'm sorry that-" Rainbow Dash let her arms drop to her side as she gave up and let the girl continue with her apologies. Eventually, Pinkie reached the end of her apologies with, "-and I'm sorry that I've been such a bad friend!"
"That's nice and all, Pinkie but I need to go now." Rainbow Dash stood up, brushed herself off, and adjusted her hood so that it covered most of her conspicuous rainbow hair. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie shot up with her hair back to it's original, frizzy state and her eyes more determined than ever.
"I know how I'll make it up to you, though! I was already going to do this but then I chickened out at the last second, but I'm going to march in there and prove you innocent!" Pinkie Pie grasped Rainbow Dash's arm and marched towards the door. Dash desperately tried to pull back, but that girl had a really strong grip. However, when Pinkie Pie let go of her to knock on the door, Rainbow Dash sprinted away to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as her legs would carry her.
*Knock Knock Knock*
Twilight and Princess Celestia turned their heads to the door. Twilight then walks over to the door saying, "I'm terribly sorry, Princess. I asked no one to disturb me." Twilight looked through the peep hole and saw an intense gaze from a light blue eyed girl. Twilight didn't even bother to open the door. "Pinkie, I'm busy. We can do some random thing later, but leave me alone right now!"
Pinkie Pie heard Twilight loud and clear, but she stood her ground and knocked on the door again a bit louder.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
"Pinkie, I said leave!" Twilight's muffled voice came from the other side of the door, but Pinkie still refused to leave. So, she did what she always did when she was angrily knocking on doors. She banged her face into the door.
*BANG BANG BANG*
A very frustrated Twilight swung the door open with an unnecessary amount of force. "Pinkie, leave!" she shouted.
"No!" Pinkie Pie pushed past the angry unicorn and stepped into the tree library. She looked at Princess Celestia, who was currently sitting at a wooden table with a few books on it. "I have something to say to you, Princess Celestia."
The Princess finally spoke up since Pinkie's interruption. "With all due respect Pinkie Pie, I think you should leave."
Pinkie shook her head. "Mm, nope! I have to tell you that-"
"Pinkie," Twilight interjected. "You need to leave now."
"I'm trying to tell you that the pegasi are-"
Celestia stood up. "Pinkie, I understand that you might have some information on them, but we can talk privately later. Right now, I'm listening to Twilight's-"
Pinkie was fed up. "Why don't you listen to me?!"
Twilight and Celestia were shocked into silence by Pinkie Pie's outburst.
Pinkie Pie took a deep breath in and breathed out. "Princess Celestia, Twilight, I'm trying to tell you that Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo are all innocent. They did what they did because we threatened them. We pressured them into killing guards because it's probably the only thing they knew how to do in that situation. Don't you think you can give them another chance? Let them live and see if they can adjust!"
Celestia cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "Pinkie," she started slowly.
"Yes?" Pinkie expectantly asked.
"A death is a death and many deaths are many deaths. They killed many guards. They will never be citizens. There is nothing more to it." With that, Celestia used her magic to levitate Pinkie Pie out the door. No matter how hard she banged on the door or how loudly she screamed at Twilight and Celestia, they refused to let her in.
Pinkie Pie refused to go to any other meetings that were held to discuss the pegasi.
~Time Skip~
Rainbow Dash made it back to the hideout in the late morning. She brought back six apples, three sandwiches, and eighteen cherries. When she walked into the cottage, she dropped the food on the floor and the three honorary sisters began to eat.
Finally, we can be at full power now. Rainbow Dash thought as she bit into a lettuce and tomato sandwich. "So, I overheard Twilight talking to someone about us. The person seemed to be a few levels above her. They must have connections with the leader or something."
Fluttershy ate a cherry and looked at the ceiling. "I guess this means that more people know about us. Hmm."
"Well, that's okay. We still have some allies," Scootaloo said with a mouthful of apples and cherries. She swallowed everything before continuing. "Actually, we only have three. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and possibly Pinkie Pie."
"Yeah, Pinkie's an ally. She was trying to fight for us when Twilight and the official were trying to find was to catch us or something." Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, these people aren't really a threat to us. They don't seem like they want to hurt us. They just want to catch us."
"Yeah, and those guards were super surprised when I asked them if they were gonna kill any of us," Scootaloo adds.
Fluttershy, Scootaloo, and Rainbow Dash ponder for a few moments before the conversation takes a pleasant turn to who's the messiest killer and fun things like that. After they finished eating, they went into the forest to look for a place to fly in peace.
Pinkie Pie knew that she only had a limited amount of time before the town was alerted of the pegasi's presences. She also knew that plenty of people in the town didn't think for themselves often enough. Whatever Celestia says goes. Whatever Twilight says must be true.
"I need to figure out a way..." Suddenly, a lightbulb appeared over Pinkie's head. It wasn't lighting up, so she grabbed it, shook it, and twisted it back into it's place above her head. After a few sparks, it lit up brightly, filling the pink haired girl's room with light. "First, I'll start simple. I'll need to get a message of acceptance across. Maybe I can just tell everyone I see! Yeah, that's good." Pinkie walked over to a drawer and opened it. She pulled out several crayons and a ridiculous amount of paper. "Next, I'll throw a party to celebrate friendship!" She started to scribble and write all over a page. Once she finished that one, she did the exact same thing to the next page. "Then, when Twilight tells everyone about Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo, the town will be able to make the choice on their own." Pinkie was finished with thirty invitations in fifteen minutes thanks to her being...well, Pinkie.
"Pinkie? Are you going to eat dinner any time soon?" Mrs. Cake asked from downstairs before trying to quiet down a rambunctious Pound Cake.
"Probably not, Mrs. Cake! I'm doing something super important!"
"Okay, then. Have fun!"
It was finally night time.
Scootaloo had been waiting for forever for Fluttershy and Dash to meet Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Even when they were playing tail tag, a game similar to tag but whoever is it can only use their tail to tag the others, in the forest, Scootaloo had been so incredibly impatient and eager to show her friends to her sisters.
"Ha ha, calm down, Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash said as she and Fluttershy were pulled along by the excited child. Scootaloo's eyes glowed in amusement as they stealthily approached the apple farm. While avoiding one or two guards, Scootaloo led Fluttershy and Dash to Apple Bloom's window.
"This one is Apple Bloom," Scootaloo whispered. She then peeked into the window to check if anyone other than her friend was there. Luckily, there was only Apple Bloom looking at a...thing. Scootaloo was curious to find out what that was, so she lightly knocked on the window. A startled Apple Bloom looked at the window and instantly became happy as she went to open the window.
"We'll stay here until you say it's safe to come in," Fluttershy says as she and Rainbow Dash hid in the darkness.
"Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom whisper-yelled.
"Hey, Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo climbed into the room and looked at the thing on Apple Bloom's table. "What is that?"
Apple Bloom looked at her desk confusedly, not finding anything that might stand out. "What are ya talking about?"
"This." Scootaloo walked over to the desk and picked up a rectangular...something. Next to it was a thin piece of wood with a black point in the center. "What is all of this?"
Apple Bloom stared at Scootaloo and then giggled. "That's a textbook, Scootaloo, and next to it's a pencil. Ah was doing homework." Apple Bloom's laughing did not faze Scootaloo who picked the sharpened pencil up.
"This could make a good weapon." Scootaloo aimed at the wall and chucked the writing utensil at it. Much to Apple Bloom's surprise, the pencil punctured the wall as if it wasn't there. All the farm girl could do was stare. "Anyway, my sisters are outside. Is it okay if I bring them in to meet you?" Scootaloo turned to Apple Bloom as if she didn't just throw a pencil through the wall.
"Erm... Sure..." Apple Bloom still couldn't believe what she had seen. By the time she had recovered, there were three pegasi in her room.
"This is a nice room you have, Apple Bloom," Fluttershy politely said with a smile.
"It's really small," Rainbow Dash commented under her breath.
"Oh, erm," Apple Bloom stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you two. Well, properly at least." The three pegasi were confused and Apple Bloom deadpanned. "Please tell me that ya know what a handshake is."
"I'm guessing that it's a greeting action," Rainbow Dash inquired.
Apple Bloom closed her eyes and sighed. They're from the forest. Give them a break. "It's simple. You just take the other person's hand and move it up and down." Apple Bloom demonstrated with Scootaloo, who stood closest to her. Then she asks, "If ya'll don't do this where ya'll are from, how do ya greet new people?"
"It depends who they are," Fluttershy explains. "For example, Pegasus A is a lower rank than Pegasus B. If they were to meet, Pegasus A would have to either bow, nod, or kneel. However, if Pegasus B was the highest rank, Pegasus A would have to move to the side and bow on the floor or else they'd be punished. Since Pegasus B is a higher rank in either case, he or she doesn't have to greet or acknowledge Pegasus A."
Apple Bloom's eyes went wide. "Oh my Celestia, did Ah offend you? Ah'm sorry, Ah didn't mean to."
Fluttershy waved dismissively, "No, no. It's okay, we don't really like that whole system. We were just confused because we didn't know why you put your hand out."
"Whew. Okay, then."
"Who was that person that you mentioned?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Celestia. Who is she?"
"She's the Ruler of Equestria," Apple Bloom said. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy glanced at each other.
Scootaloo quickly changed the subjects before anyone asked any more questions. "Hey, Apple Bloom. Do you have anything you want me to tell Sweetie Belle?"
"Huh? Oh, um... Ask her when her punishment is over. Ah still have a few weeks," Apple Bloom gloomily said.
"Okay!"
Fluttershy quickly added, "We have to go!" and pushed her sisters out of the window. As soon as they turned to the left, just out of view from the window, Applejack walked in.
"What were you doin'?" Applejack asked firmly.
Apple Bloom quickly thought of a cover up. "Ah was talkin' in my sleep."
Applejack sighed. "When will ya stop lyin' to me, Apple Bloom?" She closed her little sister's door and locked it from outside.
Apple Bloom plopped herself on her bed. "Ugh! When will she stop being angry at me?"
Suddenly, Applejack shouted, "APPLE BLOOM!"
What now? she thought. "Yes?"
Applejack unlocked her bedroom door and stood in front of the girl with a bow in her hair. "Why is there a pencil lodged in the wall?!"
Apple Bloom sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night.
Sweetie Belle had just finished playing another boring board game with Rarity. Honestly, Rarity's pathetic attempts at making her happy were driving Sweetie Belle crazy!
"Did you have fun Sweetie Belle?"
"Yes."
"Do you want to play again?"
"No."
"Are you sure? If not, we could always play something else."
"Yes, I'm sure."
Rarity didn't think it would take her sister this long to get over Scootaloo. Maybe Sweetie Belle needs more attention. That will distract her from the monster.
"I have a wonderful idea!" Rarity announces to the only other girl in the room. "Let's have a sleepover!"
Sweetie Belle's eye twitched in annoyance. Soon after, her eyes slightly widened in concern. "Um, actually, you know what? I feel much better! There's no need for a sleepover!"
"Nonsense, Sweetie Belle! A sleepover is just what we both need!" Rarity went to her room to get some make up, hair products, costumes, and sleeping bags. Sweetie Belle rushed to the window but saw no one there.
Crap! What if Scootaloo shows up while Rarity is in here?!
After a few moments, there was a knock on her window. Sweetie Belle quickly opened it and found her pegasus friend staring at her.
"Hey, Sweetie Be-"
"No time! Rarity's coming! I got dragged into a sleepover. I'll meet you at the hideout tomorrow!"
"Okay, bye!" Scootaloo quickly dropped down, but not fast enough for Rarity to miss an orange blur.
"Who was that?! Was that Scootaloo? What hideout! Tell me!" Rarity marched over to the window as she said this, but found no one there.
"Ha ha! I got you!" Sweetie Belle said. "No one was there. I scared you!" the little unicorn stuck out her tongue.
Rarity sighed. "Sweetie Belle, that isn't a nice prank to play." Scootaloo must've been there. I'll have to find that hideout tomorrow.
"Aw, c'mon Rarity! It was just a joke!"
"Not a very good one, but let's move on. I think that I found the perfect hairstyle for you!" Rarity said excitedly.
Shining Armor had gone back to Canterlot after his and Twilight's failed attempt at catching Scootaloo. Upon his arrival, he's been sending guards to search the area around Ponyville, but none came back with anything useful. He frequently updated Princess Celestia of the guards' predictions as to where the pegasi were, but it was obvious that they were getting nowhere with the search.
Shining Armor had just finished reporting to Celestia and was a few meters away from the throne room doors when a guard called to him from behind.
"Captain. Permission to speak freely?"
The young, blue haired man turned to the guard. "Permission granted. What is it?"
"We've been looking for them for days, Captain. Don't you think we should just give up?" a grey royal guard asked.
Shining Armor was taken aback. "Why in Equestria would we ever give up? The Royal Guards have never given up on anything before and if we give up now, Equestria will be in grave danger!"
"Yes, but-"
"No! How dare you even think about forfeiting! You'd just hand Equestria to the enemy!" The angry captain scoffed. "And you call yourself a soldier." Before the royal guard could defend himself, a third voice cut into their conversation.
"Please, excuse my interrupting but you are dismissed, soldier." Celestia stood up tall as she walked over to the pair from just outside the throne room doors. Her voice was calm and comforting but firm. The guard immediately bowed and excused himself with a "Yes, Princess."
Once the guard turned a corner and was out of hearing range, Celestia looked at the only other person in the room. "Shining Armor, I suggest that you watch your temper. These are tough times for us all, but snapping at everyone won't solve our problems."
Shining Armor sighed. "Yes, Princess." With that, the Princess and Shining Armor went their separate ways.
I just don't understand. Shining Armor thought to himself as he walked down the halls of the palace. Why is it that all of a sudden these demons come out of nowhere and threaten our lives? They aren't from any enemy civilizations or else we would have found the village that they are from, so what is it?
As Shining Armor exited the Princess's Palace, he stopped in his tracks as he spotted a hooded figure turning a corner. He felt that something was wrong and that it had to do with that person. The captain turns to a nearby guard with fair skin, black hair, and a grey horn.
"What's your name, soldier?" He demands.
"Crimson, sir."
"Crimson, follow me," Shining Armor commanded.
"Yes, sir."
Shining Armor led Crimson around the corner where he saw the suspicious figure walk. The two royal guards saw the mysterious person cross a street and head into a crowded area. They tried to keep up.
Pinkie Pie hopped around Ponyville all day for the past few days. She's been singing about acceptance and threw multiple parties and get togethers to get the people of Ponyville to make a choice for themselves.
"Hi there, Aloe! I hope you're having a great day!"
However, her mood plummeted when she saw Twilight stand on a box in the middle of the shopping center.
"Everyone! Please stop what you are doing and pay attention! This is very important!"
Here we go. I hope all I've done has helped my pegasi friends...
"Over the course of about two weeks, there have been unsettling events happening. First, three strangers had suddenly shown up in Ponyville! At first, my friends and I believed them to be friendly. However, two fillies have discovered their true nature, and my friends and I felt the need to investigate..."
"...So we went and as soon as we found them hidin' from us, we knew they were up to no good. Now, Ah know this is goin' to sound crazy, but my friends and Ah have found out that the three people were actually pegasi!"
The crowd that gathered around Applejack had stopped eating their food to listen to all that the girl had to say. They were engaged in every word the farm girl projected to the crowd, and they seemed ready to run some pegasi out of town.
"The pegasi's names are Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo. They have taken the lives of guards and brainwashed my sister, Apple Bloom, and Rarity's sister, Sweetie Belle..."
Rarity's crowd wasn't doing so well.
Most of them seemed to not like the idea of throwing someone out of a country. They also had a hard time believing that anyone was capable of killing anyone else.
"...They must simply be stopped!" Rarity said. "Citizens of Ponyville, we must come together! We must throw these heathens out of Equestria! If you see any winged demons that fit the descriptions posted around Ponyville..."
"... I urge you all to report them to a guard or any one of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony!" Twilight ended.
Pinkie Pie watched the mixed reactions the citizens had. Some were doubtful about the existence of pegasi, some were unsure if they supported the deportation of any creature, and others were all for keeping Ponyville pegasus free. It seemed that Twilight has too much influence for Pinkie Pie to combat. The majority of the crowd wanted to fight against the pegasi.
Good luck Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo. I can't do too much to help you now.
The pink haired girl turned away from the unicorn and the crowd that was rallying with her and made her way home.
After two hours of following the strange character, Shining Armor was ready to give up the chase.
All of this chaos has been getting to me. I have no proof that this man is bad.
Then he examined his surroundings.
Wait a minute... Why would anyone need to be in a place like this?
Shining Armor and Crimson had followed the mystery man into a desolate place a distance away from Canterlot. The blue mountains looked down upon the two guards, blocking their main source of light in protest of their trespassing of the land.
"We seem to be going towards Fillydelphia." Shining Armor whispered. "What do you think he wants from there? And why does he take this path?"
"I'm not sure, sir," Crimson responded.
Soon, the man stopped. He turned around and looked at Crimson and Shining Armor's hiding spot behind a rock.
"I know I'm interesting to watch, but it would be kind of you to leave me alone. I have an important mission to complete and I would rather not make a scene and hurt you. That would make my life more difficult."
Shining Armor and Crimson glanced at each other incredulously. Nonetheless, they left their hiding spot and faced the man.
"Thank you." He had a warm, deep voice. He stood up straight, smiling comfortingly. His black cloak covered his heavily built form; his arms rested at his side unthreateningly. He took careful steps towards the two guards.
"I really am not looking for trouble with you, guards. I simple wanted to get away from civilization." The man stops in front of Shining Armor, forcing the guard to make eye contact.
Sweet Celestia...
His eyes were blacker than night itself; they were colder than a glacier, more vicious than a swarm of angry changelings. They killed death itself, taking death's place as the taker of lives. This man's eyes revealed a life of relentlessly ripping souls from all types of lifeforms, refusing pity and moving on to his next target without so much as a second glance at his victims. This man was cold blooded, and he would not hesitate to hurt Shining Armor and Crimson if worse came to worst.
However, Shining Armor was the Captain of the Royal Guards. He would not let a threat to Equestria roam freely no matter what happened.
"There will be no trouble if you come with us, sir." Shining Armor stood up straight, making himself look taller. "As the Captain of the Royal Guards, I must arrest you. Stand down and turn yourself in."
The man chuckled, and with the calm, even tone of his soothing voice, he asked, "And what exactly are you going to arrest me for? I've done nothing."
The man simply chuckled. He lifted his brown arm and held out his hand. Shining Armor and Crimson wielded their weapons: spears. Quickly, the man's chuckle became a maniacal cackle. The crazed man's hand glowed green and as his deranged laugh grew in volume, he summoned a smoke bomb. It blew up as soon as the two guards were able to register that the man was not normal.
"Get down! Get- Gak!" Shining Armor couldn't see anything through the smoke, but he heard Crimson start coughing and choking.
"Crimson!"
All he could hear were screams and gurgling. Shining Armor jumped when he felt something warm touch his arm.
What the Tartarus?! What is going on?!
He looked at his arm and saw Crimson's blood, but no sign of his comrade.
"Crimson! Where are you?!"
Multiple earsplitting cracks resounded throughout the mountain range Shining Armor was trapped in. Then there was only deafening silence.
"Crimson!"
Shining Armor received no answer as he walked aimlessly through the smoke that refused to clear. After a few steps, his foot bumped into something.
Half of Crimson's body lay twisted on the ground. His right arm was shoved down his throat, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. His left arm was protruding from his stomach, and the bottom half of his bruised and bloodied body was nowhere in sight.
Shining Armor started hyperventilating and searched frantically.
Oh Celestia, oh Celestia! He's still here! Oh dear Celestia!
Appearing in front of the petrified captain was the man. His eyes were the same onyx orbs they were before, but now there was a desire in his eyes; there was a need for him to damage, to hurt, to kill.
And Shining Armor was his target.
Twilight! TWILIGHT! He used his telepathy as a desperate attempt to contact anybody.
Shining Armor? What is it? Are you okay? The man dragged himself closer to Shining Armor in a drunk-like state.
Twilight, you have been the best sister I could ever ask for, okay? I love you so much...
"HehehehaHAHAHAHAHA!" The man laughed.
What? Shining Armor, where are you?! Why are you saying these things?!
In the mountains leading to Fillydelphia... I'm going to miss you and Mom and Dad.
"Bye bye, Captain!" Tears streamed down Shining Armor's face. He couldn't believe this was it. He wouldn't get to live a long life and die peacefully in his sleep... No, he would have his life stolen by a demon of all things. And all he could do was sit there and pitifully sob. Shining Armor cried and cried some more as he prepared himself for the end.
Twilight...
The man raised a clawed hand up.
I love you all.
The claw came rushing down at a speed barely within comprehension's reach, and all Shining Armor could see was his own blood flying out of his stomach. He then closed his eyes.
~That Evening~
All I wanted to do was get some food!
Rainbow Dash ran through Ponyville, an angry mob both in front of and behind her. She made another left turn and ran into another mob.
How annoying.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and jumped on top of carts and hoisted herself onto a building. The more athletic people followed her onto the rooftops.
Crap!
Once again, Rainbow Dash ran as quickly as she could. This all started when she walked from behind a cart she was hiding behind in the shopping district. She didn't spot any of the girls that were after her, and she had stolen a few bits, so she decided to buy food; the main reason for this being that she and her sisters needed to eat something other than apples, and the district was too crowded to steal from. When she attempted to buy celery, the vendor backed away from her in fear. Other people caught on to the vendor's behavior and figured out that a pegasus was right in front of them. Some people started screaming at her to leave. Others joined in, and eventually someone threw a rock at her. Rainbow Dash caught it, of course, but that only angered the growing crowd more.
"That's right, demon! Run away! We don't want you here!"
"Leave and never come back!"
Rainbow Dash eventually outran the angry citizens and found her way back to the cottage. She ran in and slammed the door shut, startling the only other occupant.
"Rainbow Dash? Are you okay? What happened?" the small pegasus asked.
Rainbow Dash sighed and sat next to the door, glaring at the floor for a brief moment before answering, "They know who we are."
Scootaloo gasped. "What?" she whispered incredulously. Then she understood what might've happened.
Their sisters must've told everyone...
"We need to find Fluttershy and leave."
Scootaloo protested immediately. "No! I have friends here! We can convince everyone to not hate us somehow!"
"And if they don't listen?" Rainbow Dash countered. "If they keep angering us, then what? We'll end up wiping all of them out! Once that happens, the whole country will be after us and we'll be in yet another war!" She sighed. "It seems like starting wars is the only thing we can do, huh?"
"That isn't true, Rainbow Dash! We've done other things!" Scootaloo thought for a moment. "Let's see...we...um...Oh! A group of healers found land without having to hurt any others!"
Rainbow Dash stood up. "Yeah, and then when they were discovered by the changelings, the healers were attacked. They fought back and long story short, the war against the changelings began." The older pegasus walked aimlessly around the room. "How will we ever fix this mess?"
Scootaloo pouted at having her argument countered. "We could try talking it out with the girls one at a time. The people in this place don't seem to want to kill us, so anything we do won't end in a complete disaster."
Rainbow Dash paused her walking and turned to Scootaloo. "Well I guess we have nothing better to do. Let's tell Fluttershy first-"
She was interrupted by someone banging on the door.
"Open the door! We know you demons are in there!" an unfamiliar female voice shouted.
"Bucking nuisances," Rainbow Dash muttered. She grabbed Scootaloo's hand and ran through the cottage looking for another exit. As soon as they left the main room, the door was broken down.
"There they are!" Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo turned their heads briefly and saw three people in golden armor running at them. To the left was a grey horned male guard, in the middle was a female guard with no horn, and to the right was a male guard with no horn. Each guard glared at the two pegasi with anger and contempt.
Rainbow Dash turned around and spotted the door she was looking for. She pushed Scootaloo through the door, but that temporarily slowed her down and allowed the guards to catch up to her. One raised a spear and stabbed her leg, causing her to fall.
"Agh!"
The non-unicorn male guard that stabbed Rainbow Dash took the spear out of her leg and prepared to strike again. Rainbow Dash, however, ignored the wound and launched herself at the female guard. Dash punched her in the gut, turned halfway around, and elbowed the other guard in his stomach. Both guards backed away from the angered demon, but the Demon did not hesitate to scratch the man across his abdomen. Blood gushing from his wound, the man dropped to the floor; he was conscious, but in immense pain. The Demon grabbed the female guard's neck and threw her to the floor, cracking the back of her skull. The woman's eyes were unmoving and her chest suddenly became still, signifying her death.
Rainbow Dash turned to her other opponent. Her red eyes glowing in anger, red electricity crackling around her body.
The guard coughs, "You sicken me, demon! You are at fault! Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle will take you down, and you will never hurt anyone else ever again!"
Rainbow Dash kneeled down and roughly grabbed his neck. She held him up so that he had no choice but to look into her fiery red eyes.
"You sicken me, guard. You and your pitiful friends can never even hope to kill me." The Demon used her red electricity to shock his heart, ending his life.
~~~~Meanwhile~~~~
Scootaloo ran out the door and into the forest as fast as she could. She heard Rainbow Dash fall, but knew that the guard who had attacked stood no chance against an angry Dash. Scootaloo had her own problem anyway, and that problem was beginning to catch up to her.
"Get back here, little demon!"
Scootaloo sighed. She knew everything would come crashing down at some point -as it always does- but did it have to end up with them all being separated? How annoying.
"Go crawl in a hole and die!" Scootaloo shouted at the guard. She was not in enough control of her powers to burn him without taking the forest down as well.
So she had to rely on Plan B.
Scootaloo stopped running, ending up in a clearing with the guard running at her.
"Stand down now! I don't want to hurt a kid, but I will if I have to!"
The demon rolled her eyes. She charged at the guard and punched him in his stomach. However, the guard took the opportunity to trap her in his magic.
"What the-" Scootaloo tried to understand what was happening as she struggled to free herself from the teal glow surrounding her. "What is this?! What did you do to me?!"
Damn it! I was too careless! This must be his unicorn magic...so that means that it comes from his horn! How do I attack his horn?
"Ha! Take that demon! Now, I'll take you back so you can be contained," the guard said, simultaneously levitating her in the direction of Ponyville, but not the same path they took to get to the clearing.
"Contained?"
"Of course. There's no way we can allow you to roam freely. You'd destroy everything," the guard said.
Think Scootaloo, think! You need to get yourself out of this mess! What would Dash and Fluttershy say to you if you don't? They'll be so disappointed that they'll leave! So THINK!
The guard was levitating Scootaloo fairly close to tree branches, but not close enough to where Scootaloo could grab one and hit him with it. He was walking on a dirt path instead of grass, so that didn't help either. Scootaloo looked up and focused on looking through the spaces the leaves left between each other. The darkening sky was clear and the sun was struggling to cast its last light upon the forest.
The sun...That's it!
The end of Scootaloo's tail lit up, and eventually, her whole tail became a magenta flame. The hair on her head did the same, and her body lit up as her body hair also turned into fire. Soon, she was a magenta ball of fire, and the guard noticed how hot it became all of a sudden. He turned around and, in his surprise, disabled the containment spell he had around Scootaloo.
She took the chance to ram into him and grab onto him, ultimately burning the guard to death.
Scootaloo powered down and looked at her singed clothing. Apple Bloom's hoodie was completely obliterated and her white shirt exposed most of her stomach. Her pants were turned into shorts, and her shoes were in the same state as the sweater. Scootaloo grumbled as she headed back to Ponyville to find her sisters.
'It's fireproof!' she said. 'It will stay intact!' she said. I'm going to kill that vendor if I ever see her again!
Fluttershy failed.
She knew that it could've ended this way, but she refused to acknowledge the possibility.
"Okay, demon, we'll start the interrogation now," an unclear, disembodied voice spat.
Fluttershy had gone out to find Rainbow Dash when she didn't return to the hideout. Then, she had seen a panicked Twilight running out of town with a large number of guards (ten to be exact, two of which were medics), and being the curious demon she was, Fluttershy had followed Twilight and the guards into a mountainous area. Two bodies lay unmoving on the ground: one had been cut in half with limbs sticking out of it and the other had been covered in blood but still in one piece.
"Shining Armor!" Twilight had cried over the body in one piece. "Shining Armor! Shining Armor!" Twilight had lain her head on Shining Armor's chest for a few moments. She had raised her head slowly, an incredulous expression on her face.
"He's alive," she had whispered. "He's alive! He's alive! Guards, he's alive! Do something!"
The medics had rushed to Shining Armor's side to begin saving him. Twilight had kept repeating to herself, "He's alive! He's alive!" and had paced around frantically.
Fluttershy had known a demon had done this, and she knew neither Rainbow Dash nor Scootaloo would split someone in half to kill him or her. No, it was a new demon.
They had been found out.
"Hey! Who's there?" a guard shouted in her general direction. She had been hiding in a small hole in the mountain above the group, but as Fluttershy thought about the possibility of a new demon, she had dug her nails into her hand, drawing blood. The blood fell next to the guard that shouted at her.
Crap!
Fluttershy had realized beforehand that she was trapping herself by hiding in that spot, but there were no other places to hide as the mountains were too wide to hide behind while also being able to eavesdrop and there were no caves around to hide in. She should have run away, but she had really wanted to know what happened. Something had told her that it was important.
She had no choice but to wait until they levitated up to her or reveal herself. She had chosen the latter and peaked down from her hiding spot.
"Um...i-it's me, but I'm not here to hurt anyo-oof!" A unicorn guard had hurled a boulder at the pegasus, slamming her against the mountain that had provided a place for her to hide.
The boulder had fallen and an unscathed Fluttershy had jumped out from the indentation in the mountain to the ground. She held her hands up in a gentle manner, trying to show that she had meant no harm.
The guards, excluding the medics, had pointed their spears at her, and an angry Twilight had marched forth.
"What are you doing here?! Did you do this? Did you do this to my brother?!" Twilight had briefly turned towards the guards to say, "Look at her hands! They have blood on them! She did this! She's the only one who could've done it!"
"Whoa whoa whoa! Wait! I didn't do this! I was just following you because you seemed hysterical-"
"Hysterical?! How would you know I'd be hysterical unless you were spying on me to see my reaction, you demon!"
Fluttershy calmly told the aggravated girl, "Look, I can explain. None of us have done this-"
"You had to have done-"
"No, we didn't! There's ano-"
"Guards, don't listen to her!"
"There really is another-"
"Take her down! Don't listen to anything she says!"
"A new demon did this, Twilight!" The guards had run towards Fluttershy, who had been ready to fight. "I'm telling the truth!"
Three unicorns and five regulars against one pegasus. The sun hadn't been retreating fast enough for Fluttershy's comfort, but she had to have dealt with it.
The regulars had charged first with spears ready to impale her. She had jumped over the one in the middle and kicked him hard enough so that he had fallen unconscious. A female regular had chucked her spear at Fluttershy's head, and the pegasus narrowly missed getting her ear cut in half. However, as Fluttershy had ducked, a unicorn had blasted her back with a magic beam, burning a hole into the back of her sweatshirt. She had jumped out of the way of the many other magical beams that followed.
As she had avoided the magical assault, the pegasus hopped closer to the guards that had been prepared to pin her down with their spears. Fluttershy had realized this and side stepped to the right at the last minute to dodge. One of the magic beams had hit one of the guards with the spears in her face, knocking her out.
"Why did it have to come to this?" Fluttershy muttered. She had dodged more magical beams from the guards and had been preparing to fight the last spear-wielding guard.
Wait a minute...
Fluttershy had looked around and noticed a certain purple horned unicorn was missing. She had searched as well as she was able to while dodging assaults from four different people, but she hadn't been able to find Twilight. Suddenly, as Fluttershy had looked up, she had been surrounded by a purple glow.
"What the-" Fluttershy had struggled, but the forcefield was only strengthened by the other unicorns adding their magic to it.
"Got you," Twilight said as she had levitated herself down from above Fluttershy.
"Listen to me, I'm going to be the least of your problems if you don't let me go right now!" Fluttershy tried. She had only needed to stall until the sun decided to set. Then, she would've been able to escape.
She should have been able to escape.
Unfortunately, it hadn't worked out that way. They had ignored everything she had said and cast a spell that knocked her out, dragging her to where she could only assume would be Canterlot.
Had everything worked in Fluttershy's favor, she wouldn't have been stuck kneeling in an empty room with a thin piece of metal stuck to the side of her face. Magical restraints prevented her from moving, and an annoyingly bright lightbulb was placed between her eyes, held to her face by a headband. Fluttershy's eyes were forced to remain closed, her arms were pulled behind her back, her ankles were tied together, and any time she jumped forward her restraints took a whole lot of her energy away. No magic she could try using would allow her to escape, so she evaluated her situation.
I'm trapped on solid ground. I don't know how to escape. My magic is not completely in control. It must be night time. No, wait... I may not be able to control my magic but I don't feel any power coursing through me. I've been restrained. It must be day time.
"First question. Why have you and your kind invaded our peaceful country?" a voice asked through a speaker.
Fluttershy kept her head down and did not answer.
Is it late in the day? No, it must be morning. If they had knocked me out before my transformation, I wouldn't have changed and exhausted myself enough to sleep for too long. I woke up in my regular form so that must be the case. These restraints keep me stuck to this wall and this dumb light prevents me from seeing where I am. I can't use my power with it here.
"Why have you invaded our country?" the voice repeated more firmly. Fluttershy ignored the question.
I have to take out the light. It's the only option.
"Hey, you idiot, answer me!"
I just need to figure out how-
Fluttershy almost jumped as the sound of a door being slammed open reached her sensitive ears. She heard heavy metallic boots march towards her, stomping his way over to the pegasus who helplessly backed herself further into the wall.
"Answer us when we speak to you." The voice was robotic and unclear.
A voice changing mechanism? Most likely magical, but could it be technological? How advanced is Ponyville? This could serve to be problematic... she analyzed.
"I will ask once more," the voice droned.
Fluttershy continued to think of a way that she could escape. I need to have one look at the room-
"Why have you come here?" it asked her.
-so that I can see where I am-
"To attack our royalty?"
-and use my power. Come on-
"To destroy our civilization?"
-think!
"To kill us one by one as you have been doing so far?" The person grew angrier as time went on and Fluttershy still refused to answer the questions. Fluttershy needed more time to think. She needed to stall.
"Will you hurt me if I answer your questions?" the pegasus asked.
"No," the armored person answered irritably.
"W-Will you leave them alone if I answer your questions?"
"Yes," the figure lied. The person didn't need any clarification as to who "they" were and had no reason to tell the truth to a demon.
"Can you take this light away from my face and just put a blindfold on me instead? This is starting to really burn."
"No."
"Okay then, I won't answer your-"
"I'll kill you if you don't!"
Fluttershy sighed. "I can only tell you that Ponyville's in danger. I have information on the danger but I will only share this information if you do two things for me."
The armored guard angrily raised his fist. He was about to punch the demon until a different voice spoke through a speaker on a wall to Fluttershy's right.
"What are your requests?"
"You're actually going to listen to this piece of-"
"Officer, you are dismissed."
The aggravated officer stomped his way out of the room.
"Demon, what are your requests?"
Fluttershy replied instantly for fear the voice would change its mind. "One, I will tell any and all information I have on the danger to Ponyville and the rest of your land only to Twilight Sparkle. Two, this stupid light will be taken off of my face and never placed there again. Ever."
There was a long pause before Fluttershy received a reply.
"Why do you wish to tell the information you have only to Twilight Sparkle? Is she a target of yours?"
"I do not trust you, your leader, nor any of her friends with the information I hold. The pink one would keep what I will say to herself in her blind form of protest, the blonde and the white horned unicorn would only accuse me of crimes I am incapable of committing such as brainwashing, and I doubt they would let me talk to their sisters regardless of the information I hold. Therefore, Twilight is my only option."
"Very well, demon. The meeting will be arranged."
"My name is not 'demon'. My name is Fluttershy," she said before the sleeping gas took ahold of her.
~The Next Day at 2:00pm~
"Surrender now, demon! We have one of your kind already!"
"There's no hope for you!"
"Clearly, you are no match for us!"
Rainbow Dash was livid. They chased her the day before, made her kill people again, made her lose track of her sister, caught her best friend, and insulted her ability to survive! If only she didn't have to hold back, Rainbow Dash would show them what true strength was. She would destroy them all.
However, if Rainbow Dash destroyed Ponyville, there would be no where she could run. The pegasus that killed the guard in the mountains and the assassin she found in the forest were probably one in the same, and destroying another demon's interest- no, destroying an assassin's interest was just asking for torture worse than death.
A rock to the back of her head took Rainbow Dash out of her thoughts. Right. Running from a mob. Again. I need to find Scootaloo. She's most likely with Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle, but how do I get to her without bringing half of Ponyville with me?
"Get captured, demon!"
"Forfeit your freedom to cleanse our land!"
"You all are so annoying!" Rainbow Dash shouted before she stopped running.
In front of her was a mob of angry vendors armed with rotting food. One of them spoke up, "You must've tried to poison our food that day, demon! You're hood is always up to protect you from the daylight, but we'll knock it right off!"
The new mob threw the food, but Rainbow Dash realized the group chasing her all morning still had more rocks to throw. From the rooftops above, five unicorns made their horns glow as brightly as they could to make the demon burn away for good.
In the middle of all of the chaos was an angry Rainbow Dash.
A very angry Rainbow Dash.
Persistant little-UGH! Just don't lose control, Dash. Don't lose control.
Rocks and pebbles tore at her clothes. Her face was cut briefly before her regeneration abilities kicked in.
Don't lose it. Don't lose it. Don't lose it. Don't lose it. Don't lose it-
Pelted by rotting food and sometimes even utensils, Rainbow Dash stood in the center of all of the anger.
Don't lose it.Don't lose it.Don't lose it-
The hatred.
Don't lose itDon't lose itDon't lose it-
The madness.
dontloseitdontloseitdontloseit
She reveled in all of it. The wonderful feeling of chaOS AND HOSTILITY AND LOATHING-
Rainbow Dash gasped and put her hand to her aggressively beating heart.
I had almost turned insane in front of everybody. I can't lose control no matter what! Breathe...
Despite all that was going on around her, Rainbow Dash sat down on the dirt road and meditated to keep herself calm. No amount of rotten foods, rocks, or utensils moved her from her spot, and once the crowd ran out of items to throw, they resorted to shouting even louder than before.
At this rate, my ears will start bleeding. Focus, Dash, focus. You can ignore them. They can't hurt you. Do. Not. Lose. Control.
Rainbow Dash's plan worked for a while, but the growing mob did not let up. Eventually, those who finished their shifts at three o'clock in the afternoon had joined, children threw their school supplies at her (mostly because they wanted an excuse not to do their homework), and guards showed up soon after the mob had grown to be made up of a few hundred people.
Luckily, Dash had enough time to calm herself down before she lashed out. When the guards walked up to her, she stood up.
"Hey demon, over here!" a kid laughed while clapping his hands.
"Watch out, guards! It'll attack," one man yelled.
The guards heroically stood tall in front of the pegasus, impressing the crowd of people.
Idiots. They think that just because they have a bunch of weaklings to fuel their egos, they've suddenly become heroes.
"Demon, surrender to the Equestrian Royal Guard. If you do not surrender peacefully, we will take you by force," the white horned guard's voice boomed.
Rainbow Dash scoffed. "As if! I'm not here because I want to be here. I just have no where else to go. Do you know how hard it is to get a mob to stop chasing you?" Especially when you're holding your powers back to keep everyone around you alive. I mean, come on! I can't even use my speed without losing control! This is so frustrating!
"Nonsense! You deserve all the misfortune that comes to you!" the black haired guard to the right said.
"Seriously," Rainbow Dash sighed, "do you even know what you're trying to arrest me for?"
The guards scowled. "Of course we do! You are under arrest for the murder of Sapphire Star and Midnight Hero, the disappearance of multiple other soldiers, and the attempted murder of Twilight Sparkle!"
Dash was genuinely confused. "So what? I killed a few guards, who hasn't? Plus, they threatened me. I defended myself. End of story. Also, I didn't almost kill Twilight. She was the idiot who decided to try and fight a demon."
The crowd gasped and the people whispered amongst themselves.
"What?" Dash asked. "Have you never been in a battle before? Everyone has killed someone at some point in their lives."
The guards pointed their spears at her. "We've been ordered to take you in," the black haired guard said, "and now that you have admitted to ending people's lives on multiple occasions, we have no reason to continue this conversation. Come with us peacefully, or we'll take you to Princess Celestia the hard way."
Rainbow Dash glanced up. If I plan this correctly, I could get to Fluttershy and break out during night time. Poor Scootaloo, I wish I didn't have to keep leaving her...However, this may be my only opportunity to get Fluttershy out without fighting too many people. Plus, that assassin is still lurking around and I can't take him on my own, so getting her out is a priority. Scootaloo will have to manage...But I'm worried the assassin may attack before I'm able to reach Fluttershy. What do I do? I don't want Scootaloo to be in danger. Well, it is supposedly a peaceful country, so that means fighting may be unnecessary...
After a few moments, Dash finally spoke. "I'll go with you, but only to talk, so don't try and tie me up. But first, I need to give a message to someone."
"We do not permit you to do so. Now follow us." the unicorn guard said.
"I wasn't asking for permission." Suddenly, Rainbow Dash jumped into the light being cast above her by the five unicorns that thought they were somehow weakening the pegasus. When the crowd and the guards tried to keep sight of Dash, they were temporarily blinded by the light, giving the pegasus enough time to escape.
First, I'll make sure Scootaloo has a safe place to live. Then, I'll rescue Fluttershy.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were being walked home from school by their sisters. They stayed an extra hour every day as one of the many parts of their punishment for helping the pegasi hide. Sweetie Belle had "proved her repentance" by giving away Scootaloo's possible location, but she was still not off the hook for everything she had done prior.
They walked ahead of their sisters, just out of earshot.
"Ah hope Scoots is okay," Apple Bloom whispered. "What if she gets caught, too? She has no where to hide."
"Aw don't worry Apple Bloom, we'll find a place for her to stay. Maybe with Pinkie Pie," Sweetie Belle suggested.
"Ah don't know if that's a good idea. Pinkie Pie has gone crazy, too, but in the complete opposite way that our sisters have. Pinkie's been doin' all kinds of stuff to prove that demons are misunderstood, but Ah'm afraid she'll tell the whole world that Scootaloo is with her to prove some point."
"Well Pinkie Pie may have gone crazy, but she wouldn't do that...right?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Well, it is always good to have a back up plan. If Pinkie Pie is too crazy, where could Scootaloo go?"
Apple Bloom thought for a few moments. "Probably wherever she is now, Ah guess. She hasn't gotten caught so she must be safe."
The Carousel Boutique had come into view, and the pairs of sisters were preparing to say their farewells for the day. However, the sound of objects falling to the ground and repeated sounds of hissing, scratching, and meowing came from inside, the group rushed in to see what the commotion was about.
"Opalescence? Was that you causing all this ruckus? Opal!" Rarity called. The hissing and scratching only intensified in response.
"Come on ya'll, she's upstairs!" Applejack said as she bolted to the second floor of the boutique.
"Opal are you-" Rarity gasped. Droplets of mud dirtied the floor of the hallway, and the door to Rarity's room was cracked open. From inside, Opal meowed angrily.
Before they walked in, the group heard something large scurrying away. What they did see when they walked in almost gave Rarity a heart attack. Mannequins littered the floor, some in one piece, others broken. Her supplies were thrown around her work area and her bed had been covered in muddy shoe prints. Opalescence scratched at Rarity's closet door, looked towards the owner, and scratched again.
"Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, stay back. There's an intruder..." Applejack whispered as she and Rarity cautiously walked towards the walk-in closet. Opal, tired of scratching and assuming her owner could handle the situation, scurried out of the room.
With a charged horn, Rarity slowly opened the closet door.
"Nothing's here..." Rarity whispered wearily.
"Maybe Opal's chasing a mouse or some-MPH!" Applejack was interrupted when two hands covered her and Rarity's mouths and they fell onto the floor. Applejack tried to yank the hand off of her mouth, but the intruder's arm didn't budge at her attempts.
"You don't mind if I borrow a few things, do you, Rarity? I need stuff for a mission."
When the intruder removed her hand from Rarity's mouth, the fashionista screamed at the top of her lungs.
"RAINBOW DASH?! HOW DARE YOU BREAK INTO MY HOUSE, DEMON!"
"Aw come on, Rarity, don't be like that," Rainbow Dash said as she placed her hand back on the unicorn's face. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll answer a question or two as a thank you for letting me borrow clothes. Besides, all of us should get to know each other more if we're going to be running into each other all the time." Dash took a moment to think about what she would need. She also used this moment to acknowledge the two children in the room.
"Hey Apple Bloom! Hey Sweetie Belle! Do you two have any idea where Scootaloo is?"
"Erm...No...Do ya mind letting our sisters go, though? Ah don't think they like being stuck on the floor like that..." Apple Bloom replied.
"As long as they promise not to attack me or call for Twilight," Rainbow Dash said as she glared at them. After a few seconds of intense staring, Rarity gave a muffled huff and Applejack rolled her eyes. Dash was satisfied with those reactions and released them.
The unicorn and farm girl stood up and quickly put space between themselves and the pegasus. While they were regaining their composure, Rainbow Dash held up two fingers. "I'll answer two questions. We'll start with..." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and spun around three times. She stopped and pointed to whoever was in front of her. "Sweetie Belle!"
"You leave them out of this! You have no right to talk to our sisters! Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle! You should get out of-" Rarity was interrupted by Rainbow Dash digging through her closet. "Hey! You can't just-"
"I'm waiting for the question, Sweetie Belle. It can be about anything you want to know." Rainbow Dash pulled out a pair of black pants and threw them to the side.
The small unicorn blinked. She eventually realized that Dash was talking to her and hesitantly spoke, "Uh! Sure! Um...W-Will you ever stop...um...killing people?"
"Probably not, but you shouldn't worry about me killing average citizens..." Rainbow Dash pulled out a long-sleeved black shirt and threw it with the pants. "Well, not unless they piss me off."
Rarity was fuming, and she attempted to use her magic to contact Twilight. However, before her magic could connect to Twilight's, a red glow appeared around her horn and her magic fizzled out.
"What the-"
"I told you, Rarity," Rainbow Dash said as she pulled out black gloves and black socks. "No calling for Twilight."
While Dash was distracted looking through clothes and scolding the angry unicorn, Applejack cautiously inched towards the door of the fashionista's room. However, as she was about to take her third step towards safety, her legs stopped responding. Applejack fell to the ground, and the two children ran to her side.
"Are you okay, Applejack? How did ya fall?" Apple Bloom frantically asked her sister.
A wide-eyed Applejack looked at her unresponsive legs. "Ah can't feel my-"
"She fell because she tried to run away and get help," Rainbow Dash interjected. "So I took it upon myself to cut of her brain's connection to the nerves in her legs."
"YOU WHAT?!" Everyone except the pegasus screamed.
Rainbow Dash found a pair of completely black sneakers and set them next to the clothes she had previously set aside. "Don't worry. She'll regain feeling when I withdraw my magic from her body. Anyway," Dash glanced at a roll of fabric lying on Rarity's design table. "you still have one more question." She cut a large piece of the black material from the roll; it would make the perfect mask.
Applejack and Rarity had had enough of Rainbow Dash. "Get out of my house!" Rarity screamed. "Get out before I call for guards! They'll arrest you and Scootaloo! They already have-"
"'one of my kind!' Blah blah blah, I get it. Whatever. I have what I need so I guess I'll go." As Dash let Applejack gain feeling into her legs and gathered the clothes she threw on the ground, Apple Bloom blurted out, "Why are demons scared of us?" The ten-year-old immediately covered her mouth after asking, hoping that she hadn't angered the pegasus with the question.
Rainbow Dash abruptly stopped what she was doing. "What?" she whispered.
A short pause took place before Apple Bloom realized that everyone was waiting for her to continue. "U-Uh...It just...um..." Under the harsh stare of her older sister and the side glance the older unicorn gave her, Apple Bloom seemed to be unable to find her words.
Thankfully, Sweetie Belle helped the struggling girl. "When Scootaloo showed us her wings, she told us she was scared of us. The only reason she was mean to us in the forest was to protect herself, not to pick a fight with us."
"But if ya'll are a whole lot stronger than us," Apple Bloom began to ask, "why are ya'll always runnin' from us like we could hurt you?"
Rainbow Dash stood up and faced the two children. "Let's get one thing straight," she said firmly, "I'm not afraid of you. None of us will ever be afraid of you." She faced Applejack and Rarity, who were glaring at her. "No matter how strong you think you are."
The light shining into the room turned from a bright yellow to a calming orange color. The warm rays illuminated the two children, making it seem as if they were shining. The two older sisters were covered by the shade provided by half closed curtains, but spots of orange slipped through holes in the curtain, courtesy of Opal's attempt to claw Rainbow Dash. The other side of the room was completely dark, and the slight glow that had appeared in Dash's eyes put everyone else on edge.
Damn it. Rainbow Dash thought as she heard people trying to find her. They're at least five miles away. I hope I make it out.
"What we're really afraid of are ourselves," Rainbow Dash muttered. Applejack could have sworn that Dash's eyes got redder as she spoke, but the pegasus closed her eyes before the blonde could be sure. Control it, Dash. Control it.
"How are you afraid of yourself?" Sweetie Belle asked. She then remembered what happened to Scootaloo when they took her to the clubhouse. "Wait, does this have something to do with the time Scootaloo had that headache?"
Alarmed, Rainbow Dash opened her now red and slitted eyes and took a step towards Sweetie Belle. "When did she have a headache?!"
Applejack and Rarity walked in front of their sisters defensively. Dash took a deep breath and calmed down. Her eyes became magenta again and she spoke again. "Sorry. But still, when did she get a headache?"
Apple Bloom answered, "When you went lookin' for Fluttershy. We went to the hide out and found her. By the time we brought her back to the clubhouse, she was in a lot of pain."
"Did she go all night like that?"
"Well," Sweetie Belle said, "she almost did, but then she asked us for something fireproof. We gave her our science project and then..." she trailed off. I don't know if I should mention her powers around our sisters. "Then she got better."
Dash sighed. As long as she didn't go all night without using her powers. That could've ended really badly. She focused her power on her ears and listened out. The amount of people looking for her had increased, and they were getting closer.
"I really need to leave now." Rainbow Dash gathered the clothes and headed to the window. However, when she looked out, she saw that the area behind the boutique was crawling with guards. Oh shit, now I'm trapped with four people and it's going to be night time soon...How did I not hear them? I don't understand...
The pegasus turned towards the group of four and saw their confused faces.
"I might be stuck here for the night," she sheepishly admitted.
Rarity stomped her foot down and screamed, "No, you are not! You will leave right now!"
"You see, if I did that, I'd get into a bad situation. I said before that I wasn't afraid of you, and I'm not, but I will probably lose control if I go out there. I feed off of negative energy and gain power with everything those people say or do to me. If I lose control, all of those people will die."
"Since when have you valued anyone else's life?" Applejack viciously muttered under her breath.
"Since I was eight," Dash responded, much to Applejack's bafflement. "If we had known we'd end up killing people, we wouldn't have come here. Everything is so chaotic now, but all Scootaloo, Fluttershy, and I wanted was to explore."
"Why? Did you get tired of harassing some other town?" Rarity spat. "Or are you lying and you really wanted to ruin Equestria's peace to prove some sort of sick point?"
The pegasus sighed. "I've only known how to mess life up for others. That's what I've been trained to do. None of us meant to screw everything up, but it was inevitable. It's one of the curses of being a demon, I guess." Rainbow Dash looked back at Rarity and Applejack with a serious expression on her face. "I'm not here to try to get pity or something. But since you're listening to me, I need to tell you that Ponyville- or I guess Equestria- is probably going to be attacked by another demon. However, this one isn't as friendly as us, if you get what I mean."
"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle. Ya'll might have to step out for this conversation. Ah don't like where it's goin'."
"Huh? But-" Sweetie Belle began.
"No buts. You and Apple Bloom go to your room right now." Rarity said, not once taking her eyes off of the demon as the two girls grumbled and closed the door on their way out.
Once the door to Sweetie Belle's room could be heard shutting, Applejack spoke up. "So you're saying that we're in danger because of another one of you?" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at this.
"Seriously, do I have to spell everything out for you?" she asked exasperatedly.
"Do tell," Rarity interrupted, "how exactly you found this bit of information out? Were you-"
"Will you quit accusing me already!" Rainbow Dash snapped. "You aren't helping anyone with all this distrust and anger! How am I supposed to keep my powers in check when all this town ever does is give me more to feed off of?!" She held her head and sat on the floor. A moment passed before Rainbow Dash calmed herself down. "I was trying to find Fluttershy the day after she almost suffocated Twilight and I found a guard dead. When I got closer, I saw the demon standing over the body, talking about taking the land for himself."
"If you were supposedly trying to not cause trouble, why didn't you stop him?" Applejack asked.
"I agree! A demon should be able to fight another demon!"
Rainbow Dash deadpanned at the two friends. "If I told one of you to fight Twilight, would you be equally matched?" Applejack and Rarity got the message and backed off. "Later on, I heard some people talking about how Fluttershy was captured. I have no doubt that the person who killed that guard is the the demon I saw."
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Applejack questioned.
"I have no reason to lie. I hate that guy as much as you're eventually going to, but just know that he's really really powerful. He can and will kill you just by looking at you, so don't try to fight him. I'd suggest packing your things, taking your family, and getting out of here. Speaking of family," Rainbow Dash turned to closed door, "can you find Scootaloo for me? I'm really worried about her."
Rarity and Applejack immediately ran to the door when they heard tiny footsteps running away, but when they opened it, no one was there.
~The Same Day, also at 2:00pm~
"Thank you again, Miss Sparkle, for showing up on short notice," a female guard with a grey horn and fair skin said. Twilight was being escorted to the room where Fluttershy would warn her of an incoming danger. On the way, she passed by various soldiers marching to where they were supposed to be stationed for the time being.
"It's no problem, Lieutenant Lunar Rose. I've been waiting for an opportunity to hear about what these creatures have been up to. Can you tell me more about the setup?"
"We've removed the light from its face. There's a slight burn mark, but not any more severe than what would appear on a normal person. It refuses to speak to anyone, so we're assuming its waiting for you and you only. However, two guards, one anatomist, and one psychologist have been cleared to be in the room with you. Outside of the interrogation room will be eight guards, one magic specialist, another psychologist, and myself," Lt. Rose explained. "The magic specialist and anatomist will be studying the demon after the interrogation, so they were allowed access in order to gain background information."
"Alright, then. How is her current state of mind?" Twilight asked. Will she try to kill me again?
"There's no way of knowing for sure, but so far it has been stable and mostly responsive. We can not decipher any emotions from it unless it speaks, however."
"Why is that?"
"It hardly shows any emotion on its face. When the door to its containment room slammed open, it didn't flinch. When it spoke, the emotion was in the voice, but no visual signs were given that it felt anything," the lieutenant concluded.
"Very well then. Thank you for all the information," Twilight said as they reached the monitoring room. As Lt. Rose described, almost a dozen guards were waiting for them to arrive, and once Twilight walked through the door, three scientists stood up and greeted the unicorn.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sparkle," the magic specialist began. He had long, cherry red and ginger hair that was tied back into a low ponytail. His dark brown skin contrasted with his marigold horn, and his fiery orange eyes glinted with a passion for understanding all types of magic. "My name is Dr. Mystic Comet, and I am the magic specialist. I must say, I am quite excited to study this demon, and, as a fellow expert in magic, I'd like for you to join me in testing the demon's limits after the interrogation."
Twilight shook his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, but remember that I am here only to get information, so I have to politely decline. Any tests that you wish perform on the demon will not involve me, but I would love to hear about the results."
"Very well, Miss Sparkle. I look forward to the interrogation."
The two psychologists introduced themselves next. "Hello, Miss Sparkle," the grey haired man began as he shook her hand. "We are the Neuro-Twins. I am Dr. Psychic, and this," he gestured to the darker grey haired woman standing beside him, "is Dr. Psyche. We look forward to working with you." The twins had pale skin, curled hair, and freckles. Dr. Psychic had neck-length hair that was greased back, and Dr. Psyche had shoulder length hair that was styled into a bun.
"I will be accompanying you," Psyche began, "while Psychic will be taking notes in here."
"Wonderful. I can't wait to work with you, Dr. Psyche," Twilight said as she shook the doctor's hand. When the twins walked away, a woman with a pearl white horn and red eyes entered the room and glanced at the purple horned unicorn. Twilight internally winced as the woman walked up to her; the sound of her heels annoyed Twilight to no end.
"Well, well, well, Miss Sparkle. It's a pleasure to meet you." The young woman with a slight accent asked. Twilight could not pinpoint what place the accent suggests the woman is from, but she determined that it couldn't be a place she has visited. Twilight also noticed that the woman was noticeably more different than everyone else in the room. The guards and scientists all looked to be about forty years or older, but the woman could not have been any older than twenty five. The other scientists were wearing business formal attire (and a magic proof lab coat in Dr. Comet's case), but the woman was wearing a white button up crop top and black pants. Her two inch heels shone with the gloss it was covered in, and Twilight assumed they would most likely squeak if they were ever rubbed together. Over the woman's right arm was her lab coat, and in her left hand was a briefcase. On top of her messy, long brown and black hair were strange looking silver goggles.
"Erm...It's nice to meet you, as well Miss..."
"Humerus is my nickname, so you can call me that." Humerus walked away to dump her stuff on a nearby chair, and Twilight looked over at Lt. Rose.
"Trust me," she mouthed. Once Humerus was settled, Lt. Rose cleared her throat. "Ahem. Everyone has arrived, so we should proceed with the interrogation. Everyone, please go to your designated spots while the demon is retrieved."
When she awoke, Fluttershy still could not see a thing. However, she was grateful that the annoying light from before had been replaced with a blindfold.
As if that stupid light could weaken me! It annoyed me, that's for sure!
As Fluttershy continued to grumble to herself about the light, the door slammed open for the first time that day. A heavily armored guard stomped over to her and undid her restraints. Before she could use any powers, she felt him clamp on a pair of handcuffs; however, Fluttershy noticed that he left her ankles untied. The guard pulled her up by her hair and dragged her through a long hallway. Eventually, they reached a new room and he let go of her hair. The guard led her to a chair, made her sit down, and stomped away.
Geez, what's his problem? He must be the same guy that had the voice changing technology.
Fluttershy tried to break free of her restraints, but found that the handcuffs also prevented her from using magic.
If my hands are disabled, I can try sensing with my feet.
Fluttershy began taking off her shoes when she heard Twilight speak.
"Don't move. You will be restrained more so than you are now."
Fluttershy complied and sat still. She tried redirecting the small amount of magic she could access to her senses.
"So what is it you wanted to say, Fluttershy? What type of danger have you brought with you? What lies will you pass on to me?" Twilight angrily asked.
Fluttershy sighed. "Look, I didn't mean to almost kill you-"
"You held me up by my neck! That's not an accident!" Twilight took a deep breath. "That isn't the point. Tell me what you wanted to say about the possible threat."
"I'm going to get to that, but you really should know that I didn't want to hurt you..." Fluttershy hesitated and sniffed the air. Something's off... "Twilight are you alone?"
"What? That has nothing to do-"
"Twilight." Fluttershy asked firmly. "Are you alone?"
"...No, I'm not. But you still have to tell me about the threat." Twilight did not know why she told the truth. Fluttershy was blindfolded and the scientists and guards sitting behind the demon were so quiet that even Twilight would have forgotten that they were there if she couldn't see them. However, she couldn't lie. It just felt wrong to lie.
"I will tell you if everyone else leaves. If you want them to stay, I will only tell you if you take my blindfold off," Fluttershy bargained. "But I will not tell you a thing right now."
Twilight's eye twitched in frustration. When she looked to the two scientists for advice, Dr. Psyche gravely nodded while Humerus arrogantly smirked and put her goggles over her eyes. Twilight took Fluttershy's blindfold off, and the guards tensed up, ready to spring into action.
Fluttershy was elated to be able to see again, but she quickly realized that she hadn't missed much when the blindfold was on. She was in a completely white room. Twilight sat across from her in a black chair, but Fluttershy couldn't figure out how many other people were there.
"Everyone must be behind me," Fluttershy commented. "I will keep my word and tell you what you need to know."
Twilight glared at Fluttershy, refusing to break eye contact with the demon.
"He's an assassin. He'll show mercy to demons, and he'll surely throw your life away with one move. Rainbow Dash told me that she saw him after he killed a guard in the forest, but ignored her. What that means for us is unclear, but for you, it's bad news. He's able to wield a multitude of weapons, and he knows how to defend himself with and without his hands. It's nearly impossible to catch him off guard, and if you do, his reflexes are incredibly quick." Fluttershy found that withholding the truth from Twilight proved to be more difficult than her mental barrier training in Pegasopolis. It's as if telling the truth would solve all my problems. Why am I doing this? Am I... trusting her?
"Why do you think he's here?" Twilight questioned.
"He might've followed us. Or he had the same idea as us-"
"Which is?"
"To see what's on the other side of the forest."
Twilight stared at the demon. Fluttershy stared at the interrogator.
"I won't say anymore, Twilight." There are too many people watching.
"Fine. Then we're done talking." Twilight said despite no one moving to leave.
"Yeah," Fluttershy whispered with a hint of disappointment. "We're done talking."
Eventually, Twilight got up and left the room. One by one, the scientists and guards followed. Only Fluttershy was left.
