> Origins > by MLPro > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flying with Rainbow Dash. Soaring over the pink and orange clouds in the sunset. Scootaloo felt free, as she always did when flying ever since she flew for the first time. But, as she looked down, she could make out a face in the clouds. A face that looked like her, but it wasn't quite her. The face grinned at Scootaloo, and Scootaloo grinned back. There was a special connection between the pegasus and the clouds. "Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle jolted Scootaloo awake from her peaceful slumber. Which sucked, since Rainbow Dash had recommended that she get lots of sleep if she was to be a truly good flyer. Especially considering her wings were smaller than the average pegasus'. "What is it Sweetie?" Scootaloo reluctantly left her bed to embrace her marefriend. "You want to go out to eat?" "Uh...sure, I guess." What was this all about? Scootaloo had woken up from a nap for this? "Come on! I made a reservation at the bar and grill!" Sweetie Belle trotted happily out of Scootaloo's room in their shared apartment with Apple Bloom. --- A few hours later, the two mares, dressed up and with their manes done courtesy of Coco Pommel, were finishing up their meal at Manehattan's bar and grill. "Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said as she sipped a wine. "Yeah?" Scootaloo put down her beer. Based on Sweetie Belle's unusual tone, this seemed important. "You know, we've been going out for a few years now, and I feel like we have a special connection...so...I was wondering..." "Oh my gosh, Sweetie, are you proposing to me?" Scootaloo giggled. Of course Sweetie Belle would be all awkward about it. "Well, I guess I am," Sweetie Belle lit her horn and levitated a box out of her dress pocket. She opened it to show a purple ring that fit Scootaloo's tiny wing perfectly. "Scootaloo, will you marry me?" Sweetie Belle was immediately cut off as Scootaloo kissed her passionately. "This is awesome!" Scootaloo pumped her hoof. "Our wedding is going to be super amazing! It's gonna beat Twilight and Rainbow Dash's wedding by miles! We can invite your family, and my family, and..." Scootaloo stopped abruptly as a realization hit her. "Um...Scoots, are you okay?" Sweetie Belle carefully asked. "My other family. I have no idea who they are, but I want them at our wedding. I want to see them, get to know them..." Sweetie Belle wrapped her hoof around Scootaloo. "Don't worry, Scoots. Just ask the parents who raised you if they have any information. I want to meet your biological family too. After all, they created the wonderful mare in front of me." The two mares kissed again, their plan set in stone. If Scootaloo was going to have something as important as a wedding, she would have to include both of her existing families in the special occasion. > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Thanks, Muffin!" Scootaloo called after the grey pegasus that was commonly nicknamed Derpy. As expected, there was an envelope addressed to her from her parents, White Lightning and Star Hunter. Dear Scootaloo, We knew that you would ask this of us sooner or later. We know how much it must have stung you when we first told you that you were adopted many years ago. First of all, congratulations on your engagement with Sweetie Belle. She is a wonderful mare and we are sure that she will take great care of you. We couldn't have asked for better. As for who your biological parents are, we don't know much about them. We adopted you from Cloudsdale, so that must be where you are from. And based on your DNA testing, we also know that you are part earth pony. We suggest you go to Cloudsdale and try to find some records of a couple that might have birthed you. We wish you the best of luck. Love always, Mom and Dad "To Cloudsdale it is!" Scootaloo shouted dramatically. "You never told us you were part earth pony!" Apple Bloom exclaimed enthusiastically as she read the note over Scootaloo's shoulder. "Oh, well yeah, I am. It explains my small wings. I think Fluttershy is part earth pony too," Scootaloo said. "Can I come to Cloudsdale with y'all? Sweetie Belle knows a cloud-walking spell; we might encounter cutie mark problems along the way!" "Of course! I couldn't do this without my two best friends!" Scootaloo tried unsuccessfully to put a wing around each of her friends. "Ouch! Scoots, your ring is so cold!" Sweetie Belle complained. "You picked it out," Scootaloo laughed before taking off for Cloudsdale, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom trailing in Sweetie's magical aura. --- "Woah," Scootaloo gawked at the massive collection of records in Cloudsdale's archive room, which they had been granted access to from Spitfire, who happened to be the mayor of Cloudsdale as she was the Wonderbolts captain. "I have to find my parents in all of this???" "You have us," Sweetie Belle reassured. "We can do this together." "All right, then! Let's get started!" Scootaloo exaggeratedly exclaimed. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PARENTS FINDERS, YAY!" --- Hours later (or so it seemed), Scootaloo still hadn't had much luck in finding her biological parents. She was wondering if this was a lost cause. "JACKPOT!" a shout shook Scootaloo from her thoughts. "You found something, Bloom?" Scootaloo grinned ridiculously. "I think so," Apple Bloom shoved a folder in Scootaloo's face. Scootaloo's stomach churned. This seemed to be it. She almost didn't want to open that folder. Do it, Scoots. Pony up. Scootaloo took a deep breath and opened the moment-of-truth folder as she and the Crusaders took an eager look inside. > Chapter 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of prostitution. If this topic is too sensitive for you, well then...I don't suggest reading this chapter. Name: Petal Bolt Sex: F Date of Birth: 05/06/1969 Date of Death: undefined Residence: 7023 Rainbow Road Occupation: Prostitute Ex-Spouse: Twister Date of Marriage: 06/20/1996 Date of Divorce: 08/04/1996 Offspring: Colt - Scooter Lily (sent to orphanage) Offspring: Filly - Scootaloo (sent to orphanage) Scootaloo could not contain her gape. Here was her first glimpses of her mother, and it was nothing like she had suspected. Firstly, it seemed that she was still alive, which was good. Secondly, she had another foal put up for adoption as well. Thirdly, her relationship with her husband was eyebrow-raisingly short. But the most shocking word Scootaloo read was "prostitute". This could not be good. "Um...wow, Scootaloo. What a mother you have," Bloom tried her best to stay supportive. "Well, I hope she's a good mare. Are you going to talk to her?" Sweetie placed her hoof affectionately under Scootaloo's chin. "I don't know if I want to anymore," Scootaloo blinked back tears. But she had to, right? She was about to have a wedding, and marry somepony who hopefully would not divorce her in less than three months. Scootaloo smiled weakly. "I'll do it, just in case she turns out to be amazing somehow." --- Rainbow Road was very appropriately named: the paved path was dyed in multiple colors. The rainbow factory hovered over the vibrant area; however, as the CMCs neared 7023 the path became duller and darker. Things did not seem to be looking up. 7023 itself seemed to be in poorer shape than the magnificent houses farther down the road. It was tiny, no more than 1,000 square feet in size, and was in terrible repair. The cloud structure was coming apart in some areas and lacked a fresh coat of paint. Scootaloo nervously approached the door and knocked a few times. As the door slowly opened, Scootaloo felt her stomach flee farther into her abdomen. An older, tired-looking yellow mare peeked cautiously around the door. Her mane, two shades of purple, was cut short and was styled in a similar manner to Scootaloo's. The darker parts of her mane matched her warm but worn-out eyes. Her cutie mark consisted of three pink flowers. "How may I help you?" Petal asked in a raspy, low-pitched, monotone voice that was tinged with sadness. "Um...Hi, Mom. It's me, Scootaloo." Scootaloo smiled at the older mare who she was really starting to pity at this point. Realization dawned over Petal's face. "Oh my Celestia," Petal embraced her long-lost daughter into a tight hug. "I never thought I'd see you again, Scootaloo dear." Tears streamed down her face, and Scootaloo finally allowed her own to flow. "I'm getting married and I wanted to invite you and your family to our wedding," Scootaloo gestured at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to join them. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Bolt. I'm Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo's fiancee, and this is our friend Apple Bloom." "It's an absolute pleasure to meet both of you. I imagine you've made my daughter immensely happy." The CMCs nodded their agreement. "Unfortunately, I don't have any idea where my ex-husband and son are. My ex-husband moved out of Cloudsdale after we divorced, and my son was adopted by a couple in Vanhoover." "It's all right. I'll try to find them. But...I read your archive, Mom. Why are you a - " "Oh, yes, that." Sadness once again crossed Petal's face. "Come in, dears. I will tell you everything." Scootaloo exchanged glances with Bloom and Sweetie that mixed relief with anxiety. > Chapter 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WARNING: This chapter contains prostitution. "I'm sorry, ma'am," the darkly-colored pegasus waved her hoof dismissively at a young, jubilant Petal Bolt. "It would greatly harm our reputation if we hired somepony from your family." "I promise I'm not like them!" Petal insisted. "I'll make tons of money, I'll be the start of an empire! I don't have to follow their path." "You're hopeful," the pegasus adimtted. "But the fact still stands: business comes first. And I'm sorry to say that hiring you will be a detriment to our business." --- "I'm so sorry, Mom. They wouldn't hire me," Petal fell onto her tiny bed. "It's all right, honey. We aren't the most well-off of ponies. Blame your relatives for becoming so desperate that they resorted to becoming criminals." "Why did they do that?" Petal choked through tears. "Some ponies don't think ahead. But I know you will." Petal's mom ruffled her daughter's mane. "Somepony will hire you. And you will save our name." --- Nopony hired her. At least not before her mother died of wing cancer that was too expensive to treat. Her father was already long gone, having suffered an unknown illness. Petal was old enough to carry on by herself, so she took up the house and tried to come up with some way to keep herself going. There was a knock at the door. At the time, Petal would never had guessed that this was the knock of opportunity. A handsome orange stallion stood on Petal's front porch. His light mane was cut short and his cutie mark was a tornado and a cloud. His dark purple eyes matched Petal's. "Hello? May I help you?" Petal asked cautiously. "Yes, my name is Twister. I heard that you have some economic difficulties?" "Correct," Petal affirmed. "Don't worry. I have an offer that will keep you afloat." "You do?" Petal felt extreme happiness as well as denial. "Thank you so much, Twister!" "However, it might shock you a bit. It's all I could find." "I'll do anything! I'll eat dirt!" "Well, something like that. See, Cloudsdale is low on prostitutes. Can you perhaps satisfy some ponies' sexual desires?" --- Petal spent the next year working for ponies by having sex with them. It wasn't the most glorious of jobs, but Petal had to admit that it was kind of fun to pleasure herself for a living. She was able to get by, and slowly she bonded with her best client, Twister. In fact, she felt that she had more feelings for him than just sexual attraction. --- "Twister, I love you," Petal kissed her client on the nose. "Can we go out sometime?" "Wow, forward much?" Twister laughed. "I suppose so. You're amazing in bed, so I wouldn't be surprised if you had an amazing personality as well." "Thank you, Twister," Petal blushed. "You know, for everything." "I saw something in you, honey. Even if you don't do great things directly, I know you'll inspire the right pony." --- Since their first date, Petal and Twister became an inseparable couple. That was perhaps why Petal suddenly felt nauseous, and after taking a test, realized that she was pregnant. "It's going to look so bad if we don't get married," Twister said. "You know the rich Cloudsdale ponies. They have quite the standards. So, I know we've only dated a few times and we've only known each other for a year, but will you marry me, Petal?" "Of course, Twister. After all, I love you more than anything." --- It happened when Petal was six months pregnant, and the couple were given the knowledge that Petal was having twins, a colt and a filly. Twister had left. To this day, Petal had no idea why. All she had were official divorce documents and a short letter: "I'm leaving. Don't get me wrong, I still love you. I just need to leave. -Twister" And since Petal could not take care of her foals by herself, she had no choice but to put them up for adoption. A couple in Vanhoover accepted the colt, and a couple in Ponyville accepted the filly. Both were named Scooter Lily and Scootaloo, respectively, and after Petal gave them up, she spent the rest of her days banging ponies for a living. That was, at least, until she saw her biological daughter after she had gotten her cutie mark, grown up and gotten engaged with the most gorgeous mare Petal had ever seen. It appeared that Twister was right: Petal had inspired the right pony, her own offspring, to do great things. > Chapter 4 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vanhoover: the ultimate winter attraction. Ski slopes and ice rinks resided at the heart of the city, and temperatures dropped below freezing in the winter. Scootaloo made a mental note that this place might make for a nice honeymoon spot. "Hiya Apple Bloom Sweetie Belle Scootaloo!" A voice startled Scootaloo out of her thoughts. She whirled around to face the source of the sound: Pinkie Pie. What was she doing here? "Um...hey, Pinkie," Bloom said. "What brings you round these parts?" "Duh," Pinkie giggled. "Dashie and I were sent here to solve a friendship problem!" "Hey, Scoots," Dash ruffled Scootaloo's mane. "What brings you here?" "Sweetie Belle and I are getting married, and I'm looking for my biological family. Apparently my brother Scooter Lily is here. And I met my mother Petal Bolt." Pinkie beat Dash to the reaction. "Petal Bolt? That's my aunt's cousin's name! She's Surprise's cousin!" "Wait...Surprise from the Wonderbolts is your aunt?" Dash became doubly bewildered. "I guess that means you and I are related, Scootsies! Super awesome! Now you know why you are part earth pony!" "How did you - " "Don't question it," Dash quickly stated. "But, wow, firstly you're engaged to Sweetie Belle, which is totally awesome, and secondly you're looking for your family? Can I help? Maybe this is our friendship problem!" --- The five mares spent the rest of the day searching through Vanhoover's archives for Scooter Lily, eventually finding his archive and tracking his residence to 6839 Half Pipe. Scooter's house was in much better condition than his mother's; in fact, it appeared that he was adoped into a wealthy family. His sprawling lot was decorated with fountains and vegetation, and the house itself was constructed with fine marble. If Scooter was kind enough, Scootaloo could ask him to donate some bits to his mother. They couldn't even enter the property without using one of those fancy new speaker things where you either entered a number called somepony and asked them to let you in. Scootaloo pushed the "Call" button and waited. "Yes?" an older mare's voice answered. "Um...hi, this is Scootaloo, Scooter Lily's biological twin sister." "Scooter Lily has no biological siblings." "Not that he was aware of, it seems. But trust me, I've done the research." "Likely story, ma'am." "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash is here too!" Pinkie yelled into the speaker. "Oh sweet Celestia! Two of the Elements of Harmony! Please come in, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash!" "Thanks, Pinkie," Scootaloo smiled. Pinkie shrugged. "Being famous has its perks." --- Before long Scootaloo and the others were in the living room drinking tea prepared by the mare from the speaker which turned out to be a maid and sitting before Scooter Lily himself. He strongly resembled his mother, with a pale yellow coat and a light pink mane, and a cutie mark of a flower shaped like a lightning bolt. "So you say you're my twin sister, huh?" Scooter sipped his tea thoughtfully. "It could be true, but I'm not sure as I have no clue about my biological family whatsoever." "She's correct! You trust me, right?" Pinkie piped up. "I suppose," Scooter replied. "I didn't know our family either. But I searched Cloudsdale. I found our mother. She's..." Scootaloo took a deep breath before explaining her mother's story. "Wow...really? Her husband just up and left? With no explanation? How cruel," Scooter mused. "But if our mom's in a tight spot, I can definitely help her out. My adoptive family is very well off, as you might have guessed." Awesome! Scootaloo thought. "But speaking of accidental pregnancy, I...uh...guess I had way too much fun at a party once," Scooter continued. "And I got a random mare pregnant. And she's forcing me to find somepony to adopt the foal...so I figured I'd suggest it since you and Sweetie Belle can't really have foals yourself." "That sounds great," Sweetie agreed. "We'll definitely look into it." --- After signing the adoption files and promising Scooter she'd keep in touch for the wedding information, Scootaloo was ready to face her biggest challenge yet: finding her father. After Pinkie and Dash solved their friendship problem, they promised to help. They would all search beyond Equestria if they had to. For the sake of Scootaloo's own sanity. > Chapter 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- WARNING: contains depression and suicide. "What? I can't do that! I have a wife and twins on the way!" Twister pleaded with the gruff dark gray pegasus guard. "You should have thought about that before you killed that poor mare." "I had no choice, sir. She was trying to kill us first. She broke into our house last night with an axe, I could not let her do it. My twins deserve a chance to live." "That may be true, but you still committed a capital crime nonetheless. I must take the necessary measures of justice. I hope you understand. You will be tried for this but until then, it is not safe to keep you roaming free." "Can I write a note to my wife first?" Twister asked softly. "I'll keep an eye on you," the guard narrowed his glare. Twister quickly grabbed a quill and parchment and wrote a quick note to his wife Petal Bolt. "I'm leaving. Don't get me wrong, I still love you. I just need to leave. -Twister" --- Twister paced around his cell, lost in thought. He probably should have told Petal where he was, but he didn't want to scare her. After all, she had been sound asleep during the whole incident. Of course, there were plenty of thugs in Petal's neighborhood, but none of them were murderers until she came along. He wondered if his foals would be all right. They might grow up to hate him for upping and leaving, but that would be totally fine. He could live with it. Could he? No matter what his motive, Twister committed a murder. And a murder was the most terrible crime a pony could commit. Even if Twister was set free after the trial, he would be left to wallow in what he had done. Nopony would forgive him, and who knows how his family would react. There was no way he could ever admit what he had done or face it. He had made a mistake that could never be undone. There was no point in trying. Twister tugged hard on the chains that bound him to his cell wall. They clamped down mercilessly on his neck and hooves. It should have hurt, but it felt peaceful now. It was a sense of escape for him. He knew what he had to do. Twister spread his wings and flew as fast as he could away from the wall, allowing the chains to yank him back. The pain roared through his body, but he kept flying against it. It became harder and harder to keep it up, his oxygen supply was slowly but surely depleting, but he kept going. Soon enough, he could not breathe at all, and he started hacking up a storm. Then he fell to the ground and let himself be enveloped by the comforting darkness.