The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009

Chapters

Arc 1: To the Rescue
Arc 1: Status Quo Restored
Arc 2: Discovery
Arc 2: Bedtime Story
Arc 2: New Things
Arc 3: Death of a Crusader
Arc 3: The End of the Crusaders?
Arc 4: Shattered Beak
Arc 4: Scootaloo's Story
Arc 4: Hunting
Arc 5: The Flight of the Pink
Arc 5: The Meaning of Loyalty
Arc 6: Caught!
Arc 6: The Wrong Family
Arc 6: Fight for Your Home
Arc 6: Home
Arc 7: To Canterlot!
Arc 7: Undersea Visitor
Arc 7: Madness
Arc 8: Infiltration
Bonus Chapter: April Fools
Bonus Chapter: The Story of Gold Wings
Notes on all chapters
Arc 1: The Machine
Arc 3: Barrier City
Arc 7: An Awkward Week

Arc 1: To the Rescue

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 1: Three Become One

Chapter 2

"Are you sure nopony has seen them since yesterday?" Twilight Sparkle asked her friends. She and her five closest friends, and one other had gathered by the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. All present were worried, as the three fillies had been missing all night, and nopony seemed to know where they were or could have gone.

"They couldn't have gone far, they left the wagon and scooter here. I know Scootaloo wouldn't have gone far without it," the yellow pegasus with a long pink mane known as Fluttershy said quietly.

"Did you check with Scootaloo's parents?" Twilight asked.

"I couldn't find them. Nopony seems to know where they live," replied the older sister of Sweetie Belle; Rarity.

"Well we can find them easily. I learned a tracking spell last night. All I need is a personal item belonging to one of them," Twilight explained.

"I'll grab the scooter then," said the cyan pegasus called Rainbow Dash. She flew up into the small building. Glancing around she spotted the little scooter leaning against the wall. She turned to leave when something caught her eye. Something clicked in her mind, but she left to rejoin the group quickly. She knew what it meant but opted not to tell the rest just yet. She carefully placed the scooter on the ground before Twilight.

"Alright I haven't done this spell before, but it should tell me where they are, or at least where Scootaloo is and they are probably all together," Twilight said. She closed her eyes and concentrated. A red aura formed around the horn on her head then it enveloped the scooter as well. After a few seconds the glow vanished. Twilight opened her eyes wide with concern.

"Somethin' wrong, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe. This spell was the best I could find. It tells me in what direction what I'm looking for is in and roughly how far away it is. It's not exact for distance; it can be off by more than a mile."

"And that's bad because?" Applejack asked confused.

"Remember how our magic kept getting drained the past couple days?" Twilight asked Rarity.

"I don't like where this is going," Rarity responded.

"I cast a similar spell the last time I felt the drain. Whatever was causing it, the girls are very close by, maybe even the same location."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!" shouted the hyper pink pony, Pinkie Pie.

"Are you coming too, Big Macintosh?" Twilight asked the seventh member of the gathering and the only stallion present.

"Eeyup," replied the large red stallion like he usually did, "Ah care about mah sister and if what yah say is true, she's going to need a lot of help."

"Ah can take care of mahself Big Mac," Applejack said defiantly.

"Ah meant Apple Bloom," Big Macintosh replied smiling slightly.

"Oh, right. Let's get goin' then," Applejack said embarrassed, "where we headed?"

Twilight pointed and the rest of the group groaned.

"It seems like every time something is messed up, that forest is why," Rainbow Dash grumbled. "Well maybe they're at Zecora's or something."

"Um, her house-" Fluttershy said quietly.

"All night? In that place?" Rarity stammered. "Sweetie Belle's mane will be an absolute mess!"

"Um-" Fluttershy tried to start again but was interrupted still.

"Ah think she's taken a real likin' to Apple Bloom, but to let the rest stay over, Ah dunno," Applejack added.

"Um, excuse me," Fluttershy said a bit louder. Finally the rest looked at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's okay, what were yah gunna say, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"Well it's just that Zecora's house is that way." Fluttershy pointed in a direction well away from where Twilight had gestured.

"Well if we're lucky they've gone on a walk, or something," Rainbow Dash suggested. "Maybe one of Zecora's potions is messing with the magic."

"That's impossible, and even if it was it's still a different spot from what was draining my magic," Twilight countered.

"Maybe she moved," Pinkie thought out loud.

"Maybe but how could a potion siphon magic? Before it happened I wasn't aware anything besides Discord could do something like that," Twilight stated.

"Maybe it's him!" Rainbow Dash suggested.

"I think the Princess would have noticed," Twilight said shaking her head.

*THUNK!*

The sound of hoof on wood silenced the group. As one they turned towards Big Macintosh with one hoof planted on a tree.

"Ah don't see the point of all this talk when we should be finding them. We can ask them what happened when we find them," he said simply. "Now, Ms Sparkle, if you could show the way."

"Right," Twilight said, snapping herself to attention. She turned and walked off in the direction her horn told her, her target was.

"Who are you? And what are yah gunna do with us?" Apple Bloom demanded. She still couldn't see their captor.

"My name is of no importance. You may simply call me sir. You'll learn to soon enough. Or just professor if it suits you," the voice said coldly, "and I brought you here because I need your help with a little experiment I'm doing."

"Are you gunna let us go after?" Apple Bloom asked afraid of the answer.

"If it fails I might," the voice said, making a sound resembling a chuckle. "Are you little ponies familiar with all the pony races?"

"We just learned about them today," Sweetie Belle answered.

"Really? And what did they tell you about the first ponies?"

"That there used to be just two kinds of ponies. Earth ponies and alicorn ponies and all ponies around today came from them," Sweetie Belle summarized, better than the other two could hope to do.

"Even modern earth ponies were different from the ones back then," Apple Bloom added.

"How do you girls remember this stuff?" Scootaloo asked.

"Cause we don't sleep through class," Sweetie Belle answered snidely.

"Hey, I'd pay attention if it wasn't so boring," Scootaloo said proudly.

"So they told you about the earth and alicorn ponies then," the professor said ending the argument, "well we prefer the name terra pony, but it means the same thing," he said; coming into Apple Blooms field of view first. He seemed almost indistinguishable from any other pale green earth pony.

"Liar," Sweetie Bell said simply.

"Oh? And what makes me a liar?" the professor asked, pretending to sound shocked and offended but couldn't quite pull it off.

"Ms. Cheerilee said all the old earth ponies went extinct a long time ago," Sweetie Belle explained.

"That is what that cow and her idiot sister want you to believe!" the professor shouted, sounding angry now. "That's how the alicorns operate! They take what is rightfully yours, then erase you from the world and the history books! I'm surprised they haven't tried claiming there were no terra ponies at all, ever!"

"Who-" Scootaloo started to ask, but the professor continued, circling where they were contained.

"That tyrant ran us into hiding. Us. The very ponies that had worked so hard to make Equestria what it was. The very ponies that gave them power!"

"I'm so confused," Sweetie Bell said.

"Oh yes. We the terra ponies are the ones who made the alicorns what they became. Before that they were just another tribe. They owed us everything, and they turned around, and drove us from the land! But they couldn't get rid of us completely. We may not live as long as them, and we may lack their wings or magic or strength, but we were smart. We did everything we could to stop them. We stopped the planet's rotation, but they just used their magic to keep it turning. We unleashed a being of pure chaos to hinder them, but he turned on us and began helping them abuse the lesser ponies!

"I don't know what they tell you now, but the alicorns were not nice to the other ponies. They felt that anything that lacked wings and a horn was inferior. The sea ponies left the land to escape them. We enlisted the fairy ponies to help, but the damned alicorns used their magic to render them annoying but mostly harmless insects. Eventually Discord turned on them, and we thought maybe we would have a chance to free the world from our creation. But they defeated him in the end, just two short of total annihilation.

"But once they are disposed of, the terra ponies can return and reclaim our home. We can restart the planet's rotation. We can make the world a better place. But not just yet. They have the masses on their side now. We have been forgotten. The sea ponies would help but what use are they in the ocean? We are few in number. But if we could make an army we could finally free the land of our greatest mistake.

"And then we come to you. This is why I need you. Without you, Equestria will forever be under the hoof of those traitors Celestia and Luna!"

"We ain't helping you with anything!" Apple Bloom shouted.

"Yeah! Even if that did happen everything has been great for a thousand years! Why would we let you change it?" Scootaloo cried in agreement.

"Oh you were under the impression you had a choice. My mistake," the professor said, smiling very sinisterly at the filly before him; Scootaloo.

"What are you going to do to us?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I suppose I should tell you though you will be finding out soon enough," the terra pony said shrugging. "As I said the alicorns controlled everything. However we devised a way to create artificial alicorns ourselves to counter them recently. They're not quite as powerful, nor do they live as long but it's something. We just take three regular ponies; one unicorn, one pegasus, and one earth pony, and make an alicorn from them. But don't worry. You won't feel a thing. None of the others have. Not that they've been coherent enough to say so."

"Others?" Apple Bloom gulped.

"Well most haven't fared so well, but I bet you'll be the second one that succeeds. And look at that. The machine is ready to be used again, so let's get this party started," the professor said feigning a cheerful attitude.

Rot sat happily gnawing on a leg bone beneath a tall tree. Test 7 had been quite tasty. He probably should be getting back soon; he could hear the far off sound of the professor's machine starting up. Most animals wouldn't notice what it was, or would assume it was background forest noise, but Rot had heard it enough to know he needed to get back.

As he stood to leave he heard voices coming right for him. He quickly climbed up the tree, and hid in the upper branches. He hid in the thickest bunch of leaves he could find. He could take most ponies in a fight but if he wasn't paid to do it, why bother? Besides, it sounded like a lot of ponies.

"How much farther is it?" a blue pegasus asked impatiently.

"I told you the spell is a bit vague with distance, but I think we're still kind of far," answered a purple unicorn, who then stopped.

"You felt it too?" asked a white unicorn looking at the purple one.

"Yeah. That magic drain is starting again. I won't be able to maintain the spell much longer," the purple unicorn said, her nervousness painted all over her face.

A big red stallion stopped in his tracks and looked up. He stared at the sky for a few moments.

"Ah know which direction to go, Ms Sparkle," he said, "Ah can keep us going the right way until yer magic comes back."

"I didn't know you could tell direction just like that," a yellow pegasus said amazed, her voice half of a normal pony's volume.

"It's an old earth pony trick involving the sun. Applejack could learn to do it too, but since it's not useful on a farm, she doesn't want to," the red stallion explained.

High above Rot listened with total disinterest. Just some traveling ponies, he guessed. Then he noticed where they were headed; right for the professor. Alarmed, he looked at them closely to size them up. Two of those magic ponies, two flying ones, and three of the strong ones, he counted. Only two of the strong ones and one flying one looked like they could fight. And that purple, horned pony. He had been warned to avoid those. The professor is going to want to know about this.

Once the group passed by, Rot climbed down the tree silently and made his way to one of the tunnels he had dug through the forest. The ponies could not hope to match his speed underground. He would be back in minutes while they would take hours getting to the lab.

The girls screamed as the machine came to life around them. Soon they couldn't hear each other, then themselves over the roar of the machine. The terra pony deafly worked the controls. Soon bolts of light filled the air. The process had begun.

Apple Bloom was terrified beyond belief. The disk on the wall of her prison had begun glowing. But that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was that parts of her were vanishing before her eyes. First her hooves were simply gone, then her mane and tail. Then she was just a pair of eyes. Then there was blackness.

And then there was light. So much light. So much light that even when she forced her eyes closed as hard as she could it was still too bright. As quickly as it had come the light vanished and her eyes began adjusting to the dark area she found herself in. There were no bars now, just a glass wall. The glass retreated into the depths of the machine and she could see out into the room. Far away beyond a control panel the professor watched intently.

Shakily Apple Bloom walked out of the chamber. Something was wrong. She was covering more ground per step then she should have, and half the time it felt like her legs wanted to a different direction. She made it out the door before passing out.

"What do you think, boss?" Greg asked once the machine had died down. He was standing over the unconscious thing on the floor.

"I'm not sure if it worked," the professor said, pulling a syringe out of his lab saddle, followed by a small bottle of clear liquid. "Good thing I refilled the stimulants this morning."

"Bosss, we got a problem," Rot said, entering the room quickly, but out of breath

"Rot, where were you?" the terra pony demanded.

"I got held up. We have incoming trouble," Rot said panting. "Sseven ponies are headed sstraight for uss. I think they're after one of the poniess I caught," Rot explained.

"Well deal with them," the terra pony said annoyed.

"I can't handle that many on my own. Ssome of them looked like they could handle themselves in a fight." Rot replied. "There were at least 2 magic poniess, 2 flying poniess, and 3 of the sstrong ones," Rot recited from memory. "I remember one of the poniess was one you warned me to avoid. That Twilight pony."

"This isn't good. If Celestia's student comes here, the cow may follow and ruin everything. We need to deal with this quickly. Gore, put Test 9 in the holding cells, then help Rot eliminate the intruders," the terra pony ordered. "Better yet, capture them. What better to use against the 'Princess' then her own student," the terra pony almost spat the word Princess.

"Yes sir," Greg saluted, before picking up the unconscious pony and carrying it away.

"I will ready mysself for the fight," Rot said, bowing out.

"Test 9, unknown result. Subject passed out upon exiting chamber; probably due to the age of the components. It was coherent enough to walk out on it's own power. Test 9 moved to holding cells for further evaluation," the pony said into his recorder.

"Oh hello, Greg," Trixie said, bored.

"Hello there, Trixie. I brought you some company. Maybe," Greg said, placing the unconscious creation a few cells down from her. "Not sure if the mind is whole like yours, but we will soon find out."

"It was getting quite quiet in here without adoring fans," Trixie whined. Greg walked over and put some more hay through the bars, but this time included an apple he had stolen from a nearby farm.

"I'll be gone for a while. Some ponies are headed here, so we're going to have to deal with them," Greg explained.

"I hope they beat you so I can get out of here," Trixie said without sounding interested.

"They very well might. One of them is Celestia's personal student," Greg said producing a stone and running his talons along it. A relaxing activity for griffons that served a dual purpose, calming them down, and sharpening their talons.

"Celestia's personal- You mean Twilight Sparkle?" Trixie said, perking right up.

"You know her?" Greg asked, raising an eyebrow. "We make sure to avoid certain ponies connected to royalty so we can fly under the radar. If she's coming here, it can only mean bad news for us."

"Let me out," Trixie said quietly.

"And why would I do that?"

"That jenny ruined me, that's why!" Trixie shouted. "Let me out! I'll fight her myself! Because of her and her Apple friend's stupid relatives everywhere, I can't even get into a town before they start mocking me! If it hadn't been for her I would still be the Great and Powerful Trixie!" she shouted louder and louder, "not this," she said quietly, almost whispering it.

"I'll talk to the boss," Greg said with a slight smile.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"King Ra, it seems the griffons have been harassing an earth pony town on the southern border. Shall I order some flying troops there to help?" asked a horned pony

"No, we need them here," the King, a pony with wings and a horn replied. They didn't, but he really didn't care.

"Yes, your majesty," the horned pony said, bowing.

"Now isn't this an odd sight," commented a strange figure, walking into the throne room like he owned it. It had the head of a pony, but a body made from all sorts of random animals. He levitated the unicorn into the air and looked at him closely. "This is new."

"I don't know who you think you are, but get out of my throne room!" King Ra demanded. The figure ignored him and instead began striding around the room. The unicorn was levitated back to the floor and he galloped off a quickly as he could. He stopped when he saw a winged pony maid fly by as she cleaned the higher areas of the room.

"That's new too. And what do they call you, miss?" the bizarre figure asked the maid, stopping her from fleeing with his power.

"I'm just Honeysuckle, the maid, sir," the pony responded quietly.

"No, what are you. I've never seen a pony like you before."

"We're pegasus ponies, sir."

"Huh, so there are more of you? Well only alicorns are on my list, so you won't be facing my wrath today," the figure said.

"I will not be ignored in my own palace. Get out at once or you will be executed!" King Ra roared.

"And who's going to make me?" the figure taunted. He snapped a paw. In a flash, the royal alicorn guards were replaced with balloons in the shapes of ponies.

"How dare you-"

"You may call me Discord in the brief moment before you die," Discord said, slowly advancing on the King. "You might want to get out of here. It's not going to be pretty," he called to the pegasus. In terror, she galloped from the room.

"Bring it!" King Ra spat, drawing forth a battle hammer.

"You have no idea who you are dealing with, do you?" Discord asked snidely. "I killed King Apollo with only one hand. Let's see if I can do you in with just two fingers."

"Do not insult me!" King Ra shouted, swinging the hammer. Discord stopped it with just two fingers like he had promised. As hard as he pressed, he could not even budge the draconequus's arm. Enraged, he drew back, and swung again, but Discord vanished and the alicorn was left swinging at air. The hammer kept its momentum going and slammed into the stone floor, but when it did so, it squeaked.

Wide-eyed, Ra looked at his hammer in surprise. He swung it again, and again it squeaked. Furious, he threw the war hammer across the room where it was caught by just two talons.

"You shouldn't throw your things, just because you have a temper tantrum," Discord chided. "Somepony might get hurt!"

Discord wound up, and flung the hammer back at the King. King Ra threw up a magic barrier, but the war hammer smashed through it. Of course it had, it had been enchanted to do just that. King Ra had barely enough time to remember that before the metal hammer met his skull at a high velocity.

Calmly, Discord walked over and examined the broken body.

"Two fingers, just like i promised. I'd love to stay and play with the other alicorns, but it seems some donkeys have built their city where they shouldn't have, and I must deal with them first. Good bye," Discord said before vanishing into thin air.

"I hope we get there soon, my hooves are killing me," Rarity complained. Most present silently agreed.

"We'll get there when we get there," Applejack replied.

"Rainbow Dash, could you be a dear, and fly above the trees to see if you can see anything?" Rarity asked.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash said, confused. She had been staring at the sky with an expression of deep thought on her face.

"What is it?" Twilight asked. Her magic had come back, but Big Macintosh's sense of direction was so good they didn't need the tracking spell. Plus the original spell had been broken, and they would need something to recast it.

"It's just, I think I hear a griffon flying nearby, but we're miles from any griffon city," Rainbow Dash said, eyes skyward.

"I don't hear anything," Fluttershy said.

"I don't like this. My Pinkie Sense is going nuts!" Pinkie Pie said, spazzing out.

"EVERYPONY SCATTER!" Rainbow Dash shouted. Reflexively about half obeyed. Applejack grabbed Rarity and ran over to the base of a tree. Fluttershy got low to the ground and covered her head with her hooves. Pinkie Pie ran for cover by a log. Twilight, unused to fighting stood there until Big Macintosh shoved her out of the open before picking up Fluttershy by the mane and sending her hurtling through the air in the same direction. Twilight noticed just in time and caught the frightened pegasus with her magic.

Rainbow Dash saw the furred and feathered attacker coming and swerved to avoid it but it changed direction mid dive and flew into her. The gray griffon pinned her to the ground and held all four of her legs with it's own.

"Struggle and I start pecking," the griffon threatened.

"Peck this!" Rainbow Dash shouted before headbutting the griffon. It staggered back from her, clutching its head. She hadn't faired much better; a line of blood was running down her face, getting in her eyes, obscuring her vision. She looked over to see why Big Macintosh wasn't helping, but saw he was being held to the ground by two massive arms that seemed to come out of the very earth.

"Ah'm comin,'" Applejack called, galloping toward her brother. The griffon had regained itself and leaped to intercept. It did a somersault over the earth pony, but mid spin, grabbed her and upon landing, flung her away. Luckily Applejack didn't hit anything more solid than a shrub before stopping.

Meanwhile Big Macintosh's captor had emerged from the ground. It was a diamond dog. One much larger than the ones they had dealt with before. This one was lifting the stallion clear off the ground and was crushing him with his arms. Big Macintosh struggled to breathe under the bone breaking force but could only wheeze.

"I'll handle this," Rarity said bravely stepping forward. "Why are you doing this? It's not very nice. You're going to hurt him," she said in the whiniest voice she had ever done.

"Shut up pony," the canine snarled. Big Macintosh passed out in his clutches from the lack of oxygen.

"Why are you so mean? You shouldn't be doing this. I just want my sister," Rarity continued.

"I said shut up!" the diamond dog barked. To emphasize his point, he lifted Big Macintosh over his head and hurled the unconscious stallion at her. The two collided and took the pair out of the fight.

At the same time Rainbow Dash and Applejack were a two pony team against the griffon. It could barely block their relentless assault let alone counter or retaliate.

"I'd have expected more from a member of the Fook (foo-ck) clan!" Rainbow Dash taunted, dodging a weak swipe, noticing the coin shaped mark on the griffon's thigh. "The Qnak (nak) clan says hi!" she added, delivering a kick to her opponent's head who deftly blocked it.

"A blood-sister huh?" the griffon said surprised. "This should be a good fight."

"What the hay are you two talking about?" Applejack asked, catching her breath for a moment.

"I'll tell you about it later."

Applejack rolled her eyes and bucked at the griffon before them. It caught her legs and swung her whole body into her friend sending the two crashing to the forest floor.

The diamond dog stomped toward the remaining ponies.

"Stay back!" Twilight warned. The dog ignored her so she charged up some magic in her horn and fired the raw energy at him. He easily dodged out of the way and kept stomping closer.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Pinkie said appearing on the dog's head. He roared and swung his fist at the pink pony but she had vanished and he was left punching thin air. She reappeared by his knee. "You used to be a nice dog then you took an-"

"THAT JOKE IS TOO OLD!" he shouted swinging at her again. This time he hit his own knee and howled in pain.

"Look a cupcake," somepony said.

Pinkie Pie perked up and looked around. Sure enough sitting on a stump was a cupcake. Just sitting there. Cupcakes are meant to be eaten! This injustice had to be corrected! Pinkie ran over to the pastry but as she lunged at it, her head collided with something very solid and her mind went blank. The cupcake and stump vanished and was replaced with a tree.

"An illusion spell? But diamond dogs and griffon's can't do magic!" Twilight wondered, very confused. The canine was closing in.

"Back off. She's mine."

The dog stopped. Then turned and moved to assist the griffon instead,

"Who are you?" Twilight shouted.

"You mean you don't remember me? After you ruined my life?" The voice was familiar. Very familiar.

"Trixie?" Twilight asked out loud.

"Look at the smart pony. She figured it out! She remembers me even though she ruined me," the voice mocked. "Everypony give her a round of applause. Maybe an award for her achievement. How about a medal, or another window in Canterlot?"

"Show yourself!" Twilight growled. As a response a cloud of dust appeared several yards away. When the cloud dissipated, a pony stood in its place.

The cape and hat were familiar, though undersized for the pony that wore them, and this pony did not look very much like Trixie. This pony was much taller. Taller than any pony in Ponyville. The mane and tail were different styles and colors; a sandy yellow with pink highlights. The body was a patchwork of orange, blue and brown hair that seemed too haphazard for a natural pattern. Her cutie mark was different. Instead of the crescent and wand before, it was the crescent,with a feather replacing the wand, and what looked like a pear behind it all. Only the horn on its head carried the look of Trixie. That, and the eyes. The eyes bore right into Twilight with a tangible hatred.

"Hello there, Twilight Sparkle," the pony said.

"Trixie? Is that you? What happened? And where are the fillies? Are you the one behind my magic being drained?"

"It is I, the Great and Powerful and Improved Trixie," Trixie said, with a flourish. "You'll soon find out what happened to me. The foals already found out."

"If you hurt them-"

"Do I look hurt?"

"No, but-"

"If you want to see them again, you have to beat me," Trixie said. The diamond dog and griffon had stopped fighting. Rainbow Dash and Applejack both lay beaten on the ground. "Ignore them. This fight is just between you and me. No interference. Is that understood?"

"Yes," the griffon replied.

"Whatever," the diamond dog grumbled.

"Fluttershy?" Twilight looked around, waiting for some response, but the poor pegasus had simply fainted during the melee.

"Just you and me in the magic fight that was always meant to happen," Trixie said excitedly.

"We don't have to fight," Twilight said, trying to reason with her opponent.

"You're right." Trixie said, looking a bit reluctant. Twilight smiled slightly. "I could just hold you down and let them beat you until you can't move. Or break your horn off."

Twilight's smile vanished.

"Now see, I'm willing to give you a fair shot. Just a one on one magic dual. Sure if you win you still have to fight them, but then it's only two on one."

"But I don't even know that much combat magic! I never studied it!"

"Shame," Trixie said. Her demeanor changed, and she fired a bolt of fire straight at Twilight. The purple unicorn leaped out of the way just in time. "Word of advice. If you're going to get into a fight, don't tell the pony you're fighting you don't know how to fight."

"I'll keep that in mind," Twilight shot back. She lowered her head at Trixie, dug her hooves into the ground, and snorted. Then she charged her strange enemy. Before she got close, Trixie leaped over her head. Twilight turned around and saw that hidden beneath Trixie's cape were two small orange colored wings. Trixie used the things to glide effortlessly to the other side of the battlefield. Twilight's eyes went wide at the sight.

"Like them? Like I said, I'm also improved," Trixie said, before firing another magic blast, this time a wave that chilled the air as it passed. Twilight jumped over this attack before firing a blast of her own. Trixie simply blocked it with some magic of her own.

"Those wings aren't going to help you win. Those things are tiny!" Twilight taunted. It must be the adrenaline. This behavior is so unlike me. I'll have to study the effects some more.

"That's not all I got," Trixie yelled back. Building up her magic, she teleported right in front of Twilight, and bucked her square in the jaw. Twilight fell back, her vision blurred from the pain. "You are a pathetic excuse for a magician," Trixie taunted. "And to think I thought you were better than I. You're all strength and no talent."

Twilight tried mustering her magic, but Trixie just put her hoof on Twilight's horn. Twilight stopped out of fear. Breaking a unicorn's horn was about the worst thing you could to a unicorn. It would grow back eventually, but it would take years to do so. Trixie relaxed her hoof.

"You're lucky he wants you intact," was all she said before hitting Twilight with a knock-out spell.

"Whah do Ah keep waking up like this?" Apple Bloom grumbled rubbing her aching head. Blinking her eyes, she saw her scenery had changed again. Below her was a metal floor and all around there were metal bars. The cage she was in was much larger than the one she had been in previously, but beyond that, it was too dark to see. "Sweetie Belle? Scoots?"

"I'm here," Sweetie Belle replied from somewhere close, but Apple Bloom couldn't identify the source.

"Me too," Scootaloo said. She too was impossible to locate by sound.

"Everypony okay?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I'm alive," Scootaloo replied.

"My head hurts but I'm okay I think," Sweetie Belle answered.

"Sweetie Bell could you maybe use your magic to make it less dark?" Scootaloo asked.

"I'm not very good with magic, but I'll try," Sweetie Belle said trying to sound confident. She forced the magic in her young body into her horn and cast one of the few spells Rarity had taught her. Pleasantly a small orb appeared in the air before her and gave off a bright light. The other two girls fell eerily silent.

"Sweetie Belle, did you cast that in front of you?" Scootaloo asked finally.

"Yeah."

"Then how come I can see it but not you?" Scootaloo asked, sounding very scared.

"Can you see me now?" Sweetie Belle asked, raising a hoof towards the orb.

"Hey! That's mah leg!" Apple Bloom shouted.

Sweetie Belle looked at the hoof and shrieked. Her hoof was yellow. Yellow? Her head moved and surveyed the rest of her.

"Hey, mah head is moving on it's own!" Apple Bloom said confused.

"I don't think it's your head," Scootaloo said quietly. Sweetie Belle focused her magic again and cast one of Rarity's favorite spells; the mirror spell. Immediately a patch of air on the other side of the light source solidified into a mirrored surface. All three cried out at once.

Where there should be three little ponies there was now one big one.

"What happened to me?" Apple Bloom wailed.

"You mean us!" Scootaloo corrected.

"We look like one of mah old dolls Applejack made for me outta old cloth!" Apple Bloom cried.

"Rarity is going to freak out about this!" Sweetie Belle whined.

"Girls! Calm down! It's not that bad!" Scootaloo shouted. "We're still alive right? And we're all talking."

Every time one of them spoke the big pony in the mirror opened it's mouth but sounded different each time.

"I guess," Sweetie Belle said sniffing.

"And we have wings and a horn just like the Princess!" Apple Bloom pointed out. She stood up and examined her reflection.

She- or rather they, were the size of an average adult pony. From the neck up their hair was white, while all four legs and most of their flank and plot were bright yellow. The rest was orange. Unheard of in most ponies, their mane and tail were vastly different colors. Their mane was a combination of Scootaloo's purple and Apple Bloom's red, while their tail had both of Sweetie Bell's mane colors separated by a bar of Scootaloo purple. Their eyes were a bizarre mix of colors they couldn't pin down or describe that seemed to fluctuate.

"I wonder if we can fly," Scootaloo thought out loud.

"Try it," Sweetie Belle suggested.

"This cage is too small," Scootaloo answered.

"I sure hope somepony can fix this," Sweetie Belle said.

"Ah bet Twahlight could have us, us again in a jiffy," Apple Bloom said confidently. "We just gotta get outta here."

"So what do we do now?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Until we can get unstuck together, we're going to have to work together," Sweetie Belle stated.

"Yeah. It seems like we share moving like we do talking," Scootaloo pointed out, shaking a hoof and shaking their head to emphasize the point. "But I think we should divide up who does what so we don't get confused. Apple Bloom, you handle walking. I've got flying. Sweetie Belle, you handle the magic. We can just share talking and stuff."

"Makes sense to me," Sweetie Belle said.

"Alright," Apple Bloom agreed.

"Now all we need is a name," Scootaloo said, making them collectively smirk.

"Why?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah. Ah don't want to be stuck like this," Apple Bloom added.

"Well just for now. How about Sweet Appaloo?" Scootaloo suggested.

"I like it," Sweetie Belle said happily. "But I'd rather not stay like this forever."

"Fine, if it makes yah happy," Apple Bloom said.

"Hey, Apple Bloom, could you get us over to the door? I want to try picking the lock." Sweetie Belle requested.

"Okay."

"Where did you learn how to do that anyway?" Scootaloo asked.

"Rarity taught me. She taught me a few things like that."

"Why would she teach you how to pick locks?" Apple Bloom asked, sitting their body down by the door to the cage and relinquishing control of their shared front hooves.

"She always told me that there were bad ponies that would try to hurt ladies like us," Sweetie Belle explained why, reaching into their mane and pulling out a small metal hair clip that has somehow survived the machine. "So she taught me a couple spells to get away from them and how to pick locks so I could escape," she continued. She stopped talking to bite the metal band and twisted it to her liking before reaching through the bars and feeling around for the lock with her free hoof.

"Why didn't you use that before now?" Scootaloo asked.

"He took me by surprise, okay? And I couldn't find the lock on the thing he put us in," Sweetie Belle said. She located the lock and gently inserted the hair clip into it and began the delicate process of working the tumblers. "Plus my spell only stuns and wears off quick."

"Think yah can do it if we run into him while we get outta here?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Definitely," Sweetie Belle replied. There was a small click and the other two felt the smile. Sweetie Belle pushed the door but was dismayed to find it still locked. Confused, she used her magic to move the light source out of the cage. Now she could see what happened.

"You picked the wrong lock?" Scootaloo groaned seeing she had unlocked the door to the right of them. Sweetie Belle sheepishly removed the lock pick but as she did so heard a snap as the hair clip broke with most still in the lock.

"Perfect," she pouted.

"Put them in a holding cell for now," came an echoing voice. The three, now one, fell silence. Sweetie Belle instantly extinguished the light and got rid of the mirror. Apple Bloom moved them back to where they had woken up and laid down. They collectively kept one eye open.

Just then the diamond dog that had captured them and a griffon strode into the room carrying some things. They opened the cage on the left side of the girls They deposited four figures inside and shut the door. Then moved one more away and placed three more in that one.

"What a day," the griffon said.

"Yeah. At least we don't have to do anything until the morning," the diamond dog agreed.

"So where do we sleep?" asked a third creature entering the room, a gentle light coming from a horn on its head. The girls nearly gasped at the sight. It looked like they did now. Sure the colors were different but the pieced together appearance was uncanny. There was something familiar about that hat.

"The henchpony barracks are this way," the griffon said, walking out of the room. The other two followed him out.

"So we're not the only ones," Sweetie Belle said when she felt sure the three had gone.

"Yeah, but that one is working with him," Scootaloo added.

"Yah know who that was? Trixie!" Apple Bloom said.

"That loud mouth that came to Ponyville last year?" Scootaloo asked. "Said she was better than Rainbow Dash; as if."

"Yeah. Ah'm sure,"

"Well it clearly wasn't all of her there," Scootaloo said trying to be funny but nopony laughed.

"Sweetie Belle, could yah please-" Apple Bloom began but their unicorn third had already begun casting the light spell again. Once the orb of light was in the air she maneuvered it to the nearby cells. The three gasped as one as they saw the seven ponies. Their friends and for two of them, family.

"This just got really bad," Scootaloo said, her fear beginning to show.

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If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my latest story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 1: Status Quo Restored

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 1: Three Become One

Chapter 3

In the Ponyville library, two creatures stayed awake together.

"Hoo?" spoke the small owl to his companion.

"I don't like it either Owlicious," Spike replied. He kept his voice low so he wouldn't wake up the phoenix chick in the room. He still couldn't understand Owlicious, so he just filled in what he thought the owl was saying.

If I'm not back by midnight, send this letter to the Princess Immediately.

Twilight’s words echoed in his mind as he glanced up at the clock. 12:07.

"Well, time's up," he said. He picked up the scroll Twilight had left. He took a deep breath and when he exhaled, an emerald flame emerged from his jaw. The paper turned into a fine mist. The mist wisped away through the window and out into the night.

"Hoo?" Owlicious hooted.

"Don't worry. I'm sure the Princess will bring her back home alright," Spike said, trying to sound confident.

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The last nine alicorns strode bravely into the twisted throne room. The walls changed colors ever other foot, the pillars that should have held up the ceiling twisted around and instead connected the floor to random parts of the walls, other parts of the floor, or just ended in mid air. The floor was like a waterbed, constantly fluctuating with each step they took.

As they crossed the long expanse from the door to the throne, they were dismayed to find the room devoid of their target. On the far end, on a raised platform, below a wide balcony on a higher floor, sat a lone throne but with no occupant. The throne actually stuck out because it was not warped or twisted at all. It seemed rather normal in the chaos around it.

"He's not here," Corporal Thick Hide, a rather squat alicorn grunted.

"You can't fool me, Discord," Luna growled, "that's not a very good disguise."

At her words the throne itself began to melt away, replaced by a horrific figure. A pony's head perched on top of a slender furred body, with limbs borrowed from other creatures sticking out.

"Oh, you are just no fun," the figure said, crossing its front limbs.

"Is that all you have to say?" Celestia snarled.

"No. It would seem my genocide failed. I'll have to amend that," the draconequus said, looking at them. "Guards?" he called.

At once a legion of griffons raced to the balcony and stood at attention, spears in talon.

"Kill them," Discord said, with a lazy wave of his paw arm.

"No," one of the griffons said.

"What?" Discord shouted, flying up to their level.

"No," the griffon repeated.

"Have you forgotten our deal? I could very easily unmake your whole race!" Discord snarled, picking the griffon up and throttling him. "You get to come back as a species and you serve me! Now do it!"

"The deal did not include taking our sentience," the griffon shot back. Several more leaped from the balcony, and swung at the draconequus with their spears, forcing him to let go of his captive and move back.

"You'll regret this!" Discord threatened, jabbing a talon at them.

"You'll regret turning us into beasts," the griffon replied. "Fight your own battles, for we shall never again serve you, betrayer!"

"Fine!" Discord shouted wheeling around to face the alicorns. "Subjects. Can't live with them, can't live without them. Am I right?" he said in a taunting manner. "Now then, where were we... oh right. I was extinguishing the royal line," he snarled and charged the last alicorns.

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Sweet Appaloo awoke suddenly to the sound of crashing metal. They had done their best to stay awake all night, but it proved too much, and they had given into sleep eventually. From the dim light casting shadows everywhere, they could guess it was mid morning.

They turned to the sound, but made sure to do it slowly and quietly. They didn't want their captors to know they were awake yet. The trio of minions they had seen last night had opened the far cage, and had extracted the ponies within. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom whimpered when they saw who was being taken, but Sweetie Belle forced their body to remain silent.

The three thugs carried Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack from the room, the three still unconscious. Slowly the remaining four began stirring, woken up by the noise. The four got up, rubbing their hurts and looked at each other in the dim light. They could barely make each other out.

"That cupcake didn't taste very good," Pinkie Pie complained, still tasting bark in her mouth.

Fluttershy hid behind her mane and said, "I'm sorry I didn't help."

"Everypony stay calm. We don't know where we are or what's goin' on," Big Macintosh said, taking charge, "and we're missin' Ms. Sparkle, Ms. Dash, and Applejack."

"And how will we ever rescue the girls while we're stuck in here?" Fluttershy added.

"I suppose I could pick the lock," Rarity suggested, running a hoof through her mane then her tail. Her face turned to one of dismay, "Shoot, I always keep a hairpin on me for just such an occasion, but it must have fallen out. Maybe I can.." then a look of horror crossed her face.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked.

"I... I can't feel my magic," Rarity said, staring off into space.

"It's the collar," Pinkie Pie said simply.

"What coll-" Rarity started, then noticed the band of metal around her neck. "What is this?"

"Magic blocking collar," Pinkie explained, "keeps the pony wearing one from using magic. You just need to hit it with some magic to open it."

"How do you know that?" Rarity asked.

"I have one at home," Pinkie replied, "don't you?"

"Why would you have something like that?" Fluttershy asked.

"You never know when you'll need one," Pinkie answered, “or if Pumpkin Cake gets really out of hoof, I can rein in her magic.”

"So, no magic. Now what?" Rarity asked.

"We buck our way out!" Pinkie suggested.

"Nnnope," Big Macintosh said, shaking his head, "these bars are way too thick. Ah doubt Ah could even bend them."

"So we're stuck in here, while who knows what is happening to the girls and our friends," Rarity pouted.

"Actually we're over here," a familiar voice called out.

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity called, happiness returning to her voice.

"Ah'm here too!" Apple Bloom replied.

"Me three," Scootaloo piped up. The four captives began looking around for the source, but the only thing they could see was a single figure in the next cage. It was in shadow, and held itself well away from the bars on their side.

"Apple Bloom, where are yah at?" Big Macintosh called.

"Ah'm right here," Apple Bloom replied. He turned his head towards the source.

"We all are," Scootaloo added.

"Here, let me get that," Sweetie Belle said. The collar around Rarity's neck glowed white for a second, then fell away.

"Ooh that's much better!" Rarity said happily. "Now let's get some light," she said, letting her horn glow blue.

"That's a bad idea," Sweetie Belle warned. "It's not good."

"Don't be silly," Rarity said ignoring the filly. She cast the light spell, creating an orb in the air to give off some light. She then moved the orb towards the figure. Four clunks could be heard as four jaws dropped together.

"She did warn you," the 'thing' spoke in Scootaloo's voice.

Rarity's eyes went wide as dinner plates. "What did they do to you?"

"And where's mah sister?" Big Macintosh demanded.

"Ah'm right here," the creature spoke again, this time sounding like Apple Bloom.

"Like I said, we all are," It said sounding like Scootaloo again.

"Oh dear. Are you all alright?" Fluttershy asked.

"We're not hurt," Scootaloo replied.

"You look so silly!" Pinkie said laughing.

Their shared body frowned. "We noticed," Sweetie Belle answered.

"We need to get out of here right now," Scootaloo said.

"Ah knew that," Big Macintosh said.

"Yeah, but they just took Applejack, Twahlight, and Rainbow Dash," Apple Bloom explained.

"They've got some sort of machine. You put ponies in it and they come out all mixed together like this," Scootaloo continued.

"He said only one other one came out okay though," Sweetie Belle added.

"Who is he?" Rarity asked.

"Dunno. He said tah call him professor," Apple Bloom replied.

"He said he's one of the terra ponies," Sweetie Belle added, "one of the earth ponies that were around a long time ago."

"A... terra pony...." Pinkie said worriedly.

"Never heard of terra ponies," Fluttershy said quietly. Big Macintosh and Rarity shrugged their shoulders.

"Look we need to get out of here now! They're going to do to Rainbow Dash what they did to us!" Scootaloo shouted.

"Well without a lock pick or some way to break out, we're stuck for now," Rarity said. "I hope this can be fixed so we can get you three apart again."

"Are they all in?" the professor asked. Rot gave a thumbs up as he closed the door on the last pony. The three were starting to wake up.

"What hit me?" Rainbow Dash wondered, flexing her wings.

"Let us outta here!" Applejack shouted, bucking at the bars holding her in but the blows didn't seem to do anything.

"Kick all you want pony. Those cages were meant to hold stronger ponies than you," the diamond dog taunted.

"You'd better let us go now," Twilight threatened. The leader stepped in front of her cell. She eyed him but didn't recognize him at all.

"And why would I do that? I hold all the cards. I have you. I have your friends. What could you possibly do to make me let you out?" he said smirking at her.

"I'm Princess Celestia's personal student!" Twilight said boasting for once.

"That's why you're still alive," the pony smiled back.

"She's on her way right now!" Twilight said confidently. "I sent her a letter detailing where we were headed before we came here."

"I don't believe you," the pony said simply. The more Twilight looked at him, the more something nagged her mind.

"I know what you are," she said mostly to herself.

"Oh?"

"You're a terra pony. I learned all about your tribe at the last hippopology convention in Canterlot. But you're supposed to be extinct," Twilight said smiling that she had figured it out.

"Correct. I dare say I'm pleased somepony could figure it out."

"So what are you doing now? You can't be trying to kill me," Twilight tried reasoning it out.

"I'm here to give you a gift," the terra pony said getting closer.

"I'm not interested in anything you could have."

"How would you like to be an alicorn just like your precious Celestia?" the terra pony asked getting quite close.

"I'd say you're lying," Twilight spat, pressing her face to the bars hard enough to leave marks.

"You'll find out," the terra pony said slyly, before turning and walking out of her view. "Gore make sure to feed the others. They're next."

"Got it boss," Greg said walking off.

"Anything for me?" Trixie asked. Normally she would never take orders from anypony, but he paid his minions well, and she would need a lot of bits to get her show pony career started anew. Wagons cost a lot.

"Not right now. You'll be useless once the machine is on anyway. It sucks up all the magic for miles," the professor said.

"Alright ponies, time for your grub," Greg said, walking into the holding cell room. The first thing he noticed was all five were awake. "Oh good you've woken up. The boss will be glad to see that."

"He can go to the moon," the alicorn said, crossing its front hooves.

"And you can talk just fine. Also very good."

"Excuse me Mr. Griffon?" called an indigo maned pony.

"What is it?" Greg asked, picking up some hay and bringing it over to the cages.

"I was just wondering what a proud griffon like yourself is doing working for some pony," the pony said, batting her eyes at him.

"He pays me," Greg said, ignoring her attempted advances. "Don't bother trying to bring out my griffon pride, I'm a mercenary. I do what I'm paid to do."

"How much does he pay?" Rarity asked, dropping the allure in her voice.

"Enough."

"We'll give you three hundred bits right now if you let us out of here," Rarity said, holding up a bag of jingling coins.

"Princess Celestia is probably already on her way here," Pinkie Pie spoke up.

"You'll have enough time tah get away," Big Macintosh said.

"Alright. Deal," Greg said, holding his talon out for the money.

"Oh no. Open the door first," Rarity said, pulling it back.

"Smart pony," Greg said, pulling out a key ring and proceeded to unlock the door. The four leaped out of the cage. "My money?"

"Here's what we owe yah!" Big Macintosh roared. He reared up on his front hooves and delivered a devastating buck to the griffon's face, cracking his beak and sending him hurtling into the cage. Fluttershy slammed the door shut and locked it.

"I suppose I had that coming," Greg moaned, rubbing his beak tenderly.

"Now then we need a plan," Big Macintosh said turning to the mares.

"If you can distract that dog, I'm sure I can free our friends," Rarity said.

"I'll keep the professor guy busy!" Pinkie said hopping up and down.

"Let us out! We want to help!" the girls said before giggling at the sound of all their voices coming out in unison.

"No. It's too dangerous," Big Macintosh said.

"But what are you going to do about Trixie?" Scootaloo asked, "They made her into an alicorn like us."

"Rarity, you'll have to fight her. None of us can do magic," Fluttershy said.

"Me? But I don't know how to fight with magic!" Rarity said shocked at the suggestion.

"Why not use this?" Pinkie asked, holding up a metal band.

"Stop her from usin' magic? That will help," Big Macintosh agreed. "Ms. Fluttershy, if you could get that on her-"

"Me?" Fluttershy whimpered.

"Ah'll have mah hooves full with that dog, Ms. Pie has got the doc, and Ms. Rarity is freeing the others. That leaves you, unless you want to fight the dog instead," Big Macintosh stated.

"I'll do what I can," Fluttershy said, gripping the collar.

"Once I free the others we can help subdue them," Rarity said.

Suddenly a noise began deep within the building. A dull roar, building to a howling racket.

"It's starting!" the girls cried.

"GO!" Big Macintosh shouted, leading the charge to save the rest. Sweet Appaloo slumped against the bars of the cage.

"Idiots," Greg said pulling out a spare key ring and unlocking his cage.

"Hey! Let us out!" Sweet Appaloo cried.

"As if. I'm getting out of here."

The terra pony stood behind his control panel waiting for the machinery to fully power on. Suddenly a pink ball of sugar appeared before his eyes.

"Hi there! Do you like cake? Cause I like cake! And the Cakes! Though you shouldn't try eating them. They probably wouldn't taste very good," Pinkie Pie shouted rapidly over the din of the machine. "So you're a terra pony huh? Wanna know a secret?"

"Gore where are you?" the terra pony shouted. "Rot get over here and kill this thing!"

"Coming boss!" Rot shouted back, but was caught off guard by a charging stallion. Limbs flailing, he wrestled with the strong stallion.

"Trixie!" the professor called.

"On my way," she said, but a yellow pegasus blocked her path.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to stop you," Fluttershy apologized, before grabbing the alicorn loosely.

"I don't have time for this," Trixie said, brushing the delicate pony aside but Fluttershy came back and held on tighter, trying to get the collar on. Trixie simply picked Fluttershy up with her magic, and tossed her aside before turning her magic to Big Macintosh, easily tossing him aside as well.

"The collar!" Big Macintosh shouted. The metal band had fallen to the floor. A blue glow erupted around it, and it was tossed into the mess of pipes and wires on the far side of the room.

"You don't stand a chance," Trixie taunted, throwing him around some more.

"Maybe not like that," Applejack fired back, tackling the show pony.

"How did they get free?" the professor shouted.

"We're just that good," Rainbow Dash answered, plowing into Rot as the canine was trying to get up.

"Out of my way!" The terra pony shoved Pinkie out of his way and pulled a large lever on the control panel. At once the machine began quieting down.

"Girls, lets get them!" Twilight declared. However all of them were picked up by magic, and tossed together in a big pile.

"Please. You can't hope to beat me with magic," Trixie boasted. "I'm much stronger than you now. Only another alicorn could match me."

"I'll take her. You get the other two," Twilight declared, powering up her horn.

"Please, we've done this dance before," Trixie shouted firing magic.

"This won't be like the last time."

Meanwhile the others had set about subduing the diamond dog who couldn't stand up to the combined assault. Pinkie and Rarity together tackled the terra pony who couldn't put up any sort of fight. Together they dragged them away and locked them in a holding cell.

"You did it!" Sweet Appaloo cheered in the voice of all three.

"Sis!" Apple Bloom said, making them smile.

"What the hay?" Applejack cried. "Who are you?"

"Sweet Appaloo!" Scootaloo declared.

"Aay Jay, that's the girls," Big Macintosh said.

"That machine mixes ponies together and makes them into that," Fluttershy explained.

"Can we fix it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We'll find out once we finish with Trixie," Rarity said.

"Can we get out of here now?" Sweet Appaloo asked.

"Sure," Fluttershy said, unlocking the cage.

"Hey, where did that griffon go?" Big Macintosh asked.

"He had a spare key," Sweetie Belle replied.

"Come on, we gotta help Twilight!" Rainbow Dash declared. The group nodded to each other then galloped off.

Entering the main room, they saw Twilight and Trixie in a dead heat. Twilight looked worse for the wear, her body covered in burns. Trixie was in much better shape, but was exhausted. She could barely dodge the magic blasts fired at her, and wasn't throwing anything back.

"Give it up. You're on your last legs," Twilight declared.

"And you are too weak to beat me," Trixie spat.

The two stopped as they heard the horrific sound of grinding metal and cracking cement. They looked up towards the source and saw a massive hole being torn in the ceiling above them. Through the hole she saw a sight that told her everything would be alright. There in the light hovered a giant white figure surrounded by several other flying figures in gleaming golden armor.

"Is everypony alright?" Princess Celestia asked flying down into the building, flanked by a dozen royal guards.

"Princess!" Twilight sang, happily.

"Yay!" one of the alicorns cheered in a multitonal voice that visibly startled Princess Celestia but she quickly composed herself.

"You'll have to tell me how this happened later," Princess Celestia said to her student while rallying her magic. She looked about the room and was struck by the two multicolored alicorns in there. Surely there weren't more survivors.

"Princess be careful. We need that machine intact to fix them," Twilight said. Princess Celestia nodded, before stepping forward to help Twilight. The brown and orange alicorn fired a blast of magic right at the Princess of the sun.

She didn't move. She didn't even blink as the magic rolled right over her, the spell not even dirtying a hair. She simply charged a spell, and fired it at the offending pony. It sent Trixie back several feet and knocked her out cold.

"Now then. What is going on here?" Princess Celestia asked, turning to Twilight, who stood, amazed at how calmly her mentor had handled a direct assault.

"I'm not really sure," Twilight replied.

"Ah know!" the other alicorn said in one voice this time.

"Okay, so this pony, who said he was a terra pony, was kidnapping ponies and mixing them together to make alicorns," the pony said in a different voice.

"He did it to her, and us, and was gonna do it to them," It said in a third voice. "He said some mean things about you," it added a bit quieter.

"You'll have to tell me all about it," Princess Celestia said.

"First things first, can yah get them apart?" Applejack asked.

"I'm afraid that is beyond me. While I'm sure magic was involved, I simply have no idea how to undo it," Princess Celestia explained.

"What if we put them back in and throw it into reverse?" Rainbow Dash suggested.

"We have no idea how this thing works. We could end up doing more harm than good," Twilight replied. "It might not even have a reverse function."

"Maybe you could read a book about it," Pinkie Pie said, trying to be helpful.

"Why would there be a book on this?" Twilight asked, rolling her eyes at the pink pony who could be trying at the best of times.

"I dunno," Pinkie Pie replied, "but I found this one over there." She said holding a massive book in one hoof and pointing to a small cabinet mostly hidden by a pipe running in front of it.

"'The Pony Blender Mark III: a complete guide to construction, operation and maintenance.'" Twilight read out loud. She flipped it open and read the table of contents. "Chapter 37 The Reversal Process."

"Wow Pinkie how did you manage to find the one thing we needed?" Rarity asked.

"I was looking for some candy when I found it. I didn't even have to break the fourth wall to do it!" Pinkie responded.

"What the hay are yah talking about?" Big Macintosh asked her, but she was already busy making faces at a nearby reflective metal panel.

"Ah don't like this. If there's a manual on how tah build these things there might be more of em," Applejack realized.

"And Mark III? There has to be more," Fluttershy agreed.

"Quiet please," Twilight barked, her nose in the manual. "Okay. First it says you have to step into the chamber at the bottom."

Sweet Appaloo nodded and stepped into the machine. Twilight pressed a button on the console and the door closed behind them.

"This isn't good. Rainbow Dash, I'm going to need your help."

"Me? But you're the egghead," Rainbow said, shocked.

"Yes, but this machine drains the magic from nearby ponies, and it says reversing it takes even more magic than normal. Even with the Princess here I don't think I'll be able to stay focused enough to follow the instructions," Twilight explained.

"But why me?"

"Because, Rarity will be affected as well, Applejack, Big Macintosh and Fluttershy are not fast readers like you and I, Princess Celestia is too big for the controls and Pinkie Pie is well, Pinkie."

"Guilty!" Pinkie sang. Rainbow Dash glanced at the pony inside the machine.

"Alright I'll do it."

Twilight smiled and began. First she flipped the large switch that powered on the machine. She alternated between reading the next line in the book, and taking the appropriate action on the controls. Soon the machine was alive. Her horn began glowing of its own accord, and magenta colored bolts of light flashed out and into the machine. Rarity's and Celestia's horns began glowing as well, and blue and yellow magic was added to the mix. Bolts of magic seemed to come out of nowhere into the machine, sparks of all kinds of colors.

"Turn the flux dial ninety degrees to the left.Turn the flux dial ninety degrees to the left." Twilight read. She couldn't focus anymore.

"It's your turn Rainbow Dash," she mumbled, incoherently falling to the side. Rainbow Dash pushed her friend out of the way gently, and continued where the unicorn had left off.

A bright light filled the chamber at the base of the machine. The noise of gears and the crackle of electricity grew louder and louder, but through it all Rainbow Dash worked diligently making sure to hit everything in the proper sequence. The light in the lower chamber vanished, and appeared in the upper trio of chambers. After a few more tense minutes, Rainbow Dash turned one final dial then hit the power lever.

"Done," she said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

"Did it work?" Twilight asked, trying to get up, despite a splitting headache.

"We shall soon find out," Princess Celestia said. Fluttershy had flown over to the machine, and had opened up the first chamber she came to.

"Oh my," She said faintly. It wasn't audible over the remaining sound from the machine, but others noticed her expression.

"Are they alright?" Rarity asked.

"Ah can take it. Ah just want to know if they're okay," Applejack said bravely.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said in his usual way.

"You were really talkative before. What happened?" Rarity asked.

"Ah only speak up when Ah have somethin' to say," he said simply; "anythin' else is just wastin' breath."

"I think they're okay," Fluttershy said, from where she hovered. "They're asleep but, well...." she trailed off.

"Let us see," Celestia said gently. Fluttershy reached in, and pulled out Scootaloo.

"She looks fine to me," Rainbow Dash commented.

"Look," Fluttershy said turning over the unconscious filly, showing off her sides.

Sure enough this was the magenta maned orange pegasus filly but something was wrong. Her wings were still there but her flanks were different colors; one white, the other yellow!

Fluttershy placed the sleeping filly on the floor gently before moving to the next chamber. There she pulled out Sweetie Belle and placed her beside her friend. Like Scootaloo, her flanks were discolored as well, one orange, one yellow. Her white horn still on her forehead. Lastly Fluttershy removed Apple Bloom. No pony was surprised at that point by her orange and white flanks.

Applejack nuzzled her sister. "Ah hope that's still our Apple Bloom in there."

"Do you think if we sent them through again, we could fix this?" Rarity asked Twilight.

"I think that would be a bad idea; it might make it worse than discolored flanks," Twilight replied. "Besides the book says this machine needs several hours to cool down between uses."

"It seems to me that all this means is they will always carry a mark of their friendship," Princess Celestia said smiling at the sleeping foals.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh agreed, picking up Apple Bloom with his mouth. He then deposited her upon her big sister's back. Rarity simply levitated Sweetie Belle onto hers.

"I'll make sure she gets home safely," Rainbow Dash said, surprising everyone by picking up the remaining filly, and securing her between her wings.

"We don't even know where she lives," Fluttershy reminded her.

"I'll figure it out, and I think I have an idea where to go," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Now then we just have to wait for this thing to cool so we can fix Trixie," Twilight said. She looked around but found the new alicorn had vanished.

"Where did she go?" Rarity wondered.

"I'm sure she'll turn up," Princess Celestia said.

“Hey somepony took my change purse!” Rarity exclaimed. The group rolled their eyes.

"Now then, where is the pony responsible for all this?" Princess Celestia asked.

"We got em hogtied over this way Princess," Applejack said leading the way to the holding cell. Princess Celestia looked in at the diamond dog and terra pony.

"I'm surprised. I never expected to see one of your kind again," the Princess said venomously, her eyes narrowing. Twilight was startled. She had never seen her teacher nearly this angry.

"Oh the great Celestia has graced me with her presence. I am so honored," the terra pony said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Princess?" Twilight asked questioningly.

"This pony is a member of an ancient race. They lived alongside the alicorns. They were much more technologically advanced than other ponies and over time began using that to abuse the other ponies. The alicorns did what we could to protect the rest of pony kind but we were confused by their actions. After all, the other pony races were our mutual offspring."

"Wha?" Twilight uttered, confused.

"We drove them from the land to restore peace but they created the being known as Discord. Before my sister and I could stop him he had wiped out our people. We thought the terra ponies had gone extinct but now I see we were very wrong. I don't know where you have all been hiding these past centuries, but you should have stayed there. Be glad I've mellowed with age; I probably would have turned you inside out for what your kind have done, in my youth."

"Princess!" Twilight shouted, surprised at the regal pony's words.

"Isn't that a bit harsh for ancient history?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"This tribe's actions resulted in the death of every alicorn in the world save Luna and I, plunged Equestria into almost seven hundred years of war and torment, and nearly doomed the entire world. Yes Pinkie, it would be harsh but their crime is severe enough to warrant it. I can see they have not changed their ways these past two thousand years and I shall deal with them as I must."

"Your ancestors were fools to try and kill us. You will never defeat us. Already we have infiltrated your cities, your armies, your country. The terra ponies will return to reclaim what is ours by right. The rule of the alicorns should have ended with Sol but now it shall end with you! The age of the alicorns shall end soon! My comrades will finish what I started," the mad pony shouted. He then reached into his lab saddle and pulled out a small pill which he popped into his mouth.

"That's cyanide! Stop him!" Twilight shouted but it was too late. Within seconds the scientist was dead.

"Guards, bring the other one to the palace for questioning," Princess Celestia ordered. "Twilight, I'm afraid I have to leave you and your friends now. If the terra ponies are returning, this is a matter that will need my immediate and full attention."

"I still don't know what is going on," Twilight said confused. The rest had given up trying to follow along long before.

"Don't worry, my faithful student. I'll explain everything to you soon but if there really are terra ponies in Canterlot I must deal with that first."

"Should I do anything for now?" Twilight asked.

"Learn as much combat magic as you can. You will need it if the terra ponies are back in force. Just remember a terra pony cannot be trusted," the Princess said. They had walked back to the hole in the roof. The Princess took flight and her guards followed dragging the henchdog by some chains immobilizing his limbs.

"Don't want to forget this!" Pinkie said retrieving the metal collar.

"What is that?" Twilight asked. The object was quite unfamiliar.

"It stops unicorns from using our magic," Rarity answered, "it is most.... unpleasant."

"Yeah, but a great way to stop bad unicorns," Pinkie replied.

"I guess I'll hold onto it," Twilight said, picking up up delicately.

"You just need to hit it with some magic to open it," Pinkie stated. "Which works great cause they have to find another unicorn to help them."

"Let's get these poor fillies home," Rarity said, trying to move on.

"Where am I?" Trixie wondered, shaking off the stunning spell.

"We're on a small ledge on a cliff side about a mile from the lab," Greg replied. Trixie noticed immediately the crack running the length of his beak.

"Why have you brought me here?" Trixie asked, folding her legs into herself, and tried to seem small.

"It's not because I like you," Greg replied. "But I know you like money and so do I; and seeing as we both just lost a job, I figure the two of us could go into business together". He held up a small sack of bits. "I have some money to get started."

"Why should I work with you?"

"Well you need someone to do all the hard work and I need somepony to pay me. Being minions is what my clan is known for. Plus if I hadn't gotten you out of there when I did, they would have made you a boring old unicorn again."

"I must admit I'm surprised Celestia didn't kill me outright."

"What did you do besides join us and beat up her student?'

"I kind of attacked her," Trixie said, trying to blow it off.

"So it would be a very bad idea for either of us to stay in this country," Greg reasoned.

"I suppose we could try working together," Trixie said, thinking. "But first I need to see a stylist. Brown and orange is not my color."

"Of course, boss," Greg said, bowing. "Where shall we go first?"

"I heard there's a stylist that can do permanent dying somewhere in Prance."

"To Prance it is," Greg said, lowering his chest to the ground. She looked at him confused. "You can't fly distance with those tiny wings. Just hop on."

"Alright then," Trixie said hesitantly. She clambered onto his back between his large wings. With a stomach lurching jump he leaped from the cliff and the pair flew off, leaving Equestria.

"Ah think visitin' family will have to wait," Applejack said as the group reached Ponyville. The trek back had taken up most of the day and the sun was now setting.

"Yes, I think I'll keep Sweetie Belle here for now. Mom and dad are sure to be shocked by this," Rarity agreed.

"I'll see you girls in the morning. I'm gonna head home now," Rainbow Dash said taking to the air carefully to make sure Scootaloo stayed in place.

"What about Scootaloo?" Fluttershy asked.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she gets home," Rainbow said flying off.

"I'd better go make sure Spike is okay," Twilight said.

“Why did you keep that book Twilight? I know you live in a library, but what if some pony takes it?” Fluttershy asked

“Applejack made a good point. If this book exists that means there may be more out there. I'm going to read this thing and learn what I can about how it all works,” Twilight explained, “if there are more out there, we'll need a reliable way to split ponies apart again.”

“Good thinking there. Maybe you can make one yourself!” Pinkie Pie suggested.

“I was thinking something like that,” Twilight admitted. “If Princess Celestia is worried, then this is big and we're going to need every edge we can get.”

Slowly the friends went their separate ways.

"Granny Smith?" Applejack whispered as when she opened the door. Not hearing a reply, she walked inside the old farmhouse. Walking quietly through the house, followed by Big Macintosh, she saw their grandmother had fallen asleep in the living room waiting up for them. Smiling she headed up stairs while Big Macintosh placed a blanket over the elderly mare. Silently she willed the old steps not to creak and wake their grandmother.

Applejack entered her little sister's room and deposited her tiny charge on the bed. The three fillies had all slept through the entire day but after what they had been through she wasn't surprised. After tucking Apple Bloom in, she left the room as silently as she had entered and answered the call of her own bed. Too exhausted to get in the bed properly she fell on top of it and fell asleep.

"Sleep tight, Sweetie Belle," Rarity whispered; nuzzling her sister. "I sure hope that's you in there."

The sleeping filly turned over and pulled the blankets closer.

Rarity nuzzled her sister again before leaving the room to join her in the realm of sleep.

Rainbow Dash headed over Ponyville so the rest would not notice what she was doing. When she was confident her friends couldn't see her, she made a sharp turn and headed to her cloud home. She walked inside silently, a challenge made easier when your floor is made of cloud.

“Hey, Tank,” she greeted. The tortoise looked up slowly but by the time he had, Rainbow Dash had already passed by.

She walked through the lower floor to the living room. When she reached the couch she carefully removed the young pony from her back and placed her on the cloud couch. Quietly she walked over to a closet and removed some blankets and a pillow. She wrapped the filly in the blankets and gently placed the pillow under her head.

"Sorry I don't have a spare bed, but I don't get many visitors living with earth ponies," Rainbow Dash whispered, rubbing Scootaloo's head. The child pegasus yawned in her sleep. Rainbow Dash could feel her own eyes begging to shut. Giving in, she laid down on the floor by the couch and fell asleep. A floor or bed didn't matter much when everything was made of cloud.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 2: Discovery

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 2: Intermission

Chapter 4

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The tiny pony waited impatiently outside her parents bedroom. She had been told to stay out there, a task made harder by hearing her mother's cries from within. They had thought ahead and locked the door so it would not budge, even when she threw herself against it to get in. Why should she have to wait. She was fifty now! She was a big girl! Even though it was the shortest day of the year, it felt like the longest. Finally it creaked open and a horned head poked out.

"Celestia, you can come in now," the alicorn maid informed the filly. The tiny filly cheered and galloped in.

On the four-poster bed sat her mother and beside it, her father. In her mother’s hooves was a bundle of blankets. Her mother's face was covered with sweat and her mane was impossibly messy. Unlike her father's, her mother's did not move on it's own. Excited, Celestia jumped onto the bed and trotted over.

"Are you ready to see the foal?" her mother asked. Before getting a reply, she turned the bundle towards her daughter and pulled back a loose corner.

Inside slept a blue foal. Curious, Celestia leaned in and stared at the darker foal curiously. The foal opened it's eyes and stared back with bright blue eyes.

"I'm Celestia. And you are?" Celestia said, remembering her manners. She stuck out a hoof, but the foal just looked back.

"Celestia, this is your little sister Luna."

"Welcome to Alicornia, Woona!" Celestia said with a smile. The foal blinked.

And then she woke up.

The Princess of the day awoke in a cold sweat. Breathing heavily she wiped her brow with a hoof. Another dream from the past. She looked around her dark bedroom. Philomena was sleeping on her perch, and from the light streaming through the pink curtains.

"Sister? Are you awake?" came a voice from outside.

"Yes, Luna. I am awake," Celestia called.

"You sound troubled. Is everything okay?" Princess Luna asked through the door.

"Nothing has been right for a long time," Celestia replied, "but I will take over control just as I always have."

Scootaloo yawned as she awoke. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked around confused by her white surroundings. She wasn't in the clubhouse, that was for sure. Everything was white; the walls, the floor, the couch she was laying on; everything. It must all be hardcloud. Despite the unfamiliarity, something about the white made her feel oddly at home. Pegasi do prefer clouds. What was going on?

"Morning, squirt," Rainbow Dash said, entering the room.

"Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo gasped, not believing what was happening. She was actually in the home of her hero! But how did she get here? And why?

"I'm not used to cooking for anypony but me, but I did make some pancakes if you want some," Rainbow Dash said. The white flour caked on her blue hooves proved her statement.

"How? What?" she stammered.

"I brought you back here, since nopony seemed to know where you live," Rainbow Dash explained. "We can talk over breakfast."

"Okay," Scootaloo said, very confused. She climbed out of the blankets that had somehow been wrapped around her, and stood up. She looked at herself to make sure everything was as it should be. She flexed her wings, though why she did so was a mystery to her. Why worry about two useless clumps of feathers? Then she saw what was different. Her eyes widened when she noticed her right flank had changed from the familiar orange to a white that reminded her of Sweetie Belle. She turned her head and saw the opposite flank was Apple Bloom yellow. Slowly she reached back with a hoof and felt the discolored patch. Again with the changing colors. Just pick one and stay with it already!

"Come on, it's getting cold, and I am not cooking again today," Rainbow Dash said, while turning and leaving the room. Scootaloo jumped to follow her idol. Presently they entered the kitchen. In the middle stood a small white hardcloud table with two white chairs. It was clear from the state of the counters, that Rainbow Dash's cooking ability was only slightly above Apple Bloom's, but two stacks of pancakes sat proudly on the table.

Rainbow Dash took a seat at one of the two chairs and motioned for Scootaloo to join her.

"Syrup?" She asked. Scootaloo nodded while staring blankly, and Rainbow poured the sweet liquid over their breakfasts. Hungry from their adventures Rainbow Dash dug in but Scootaloo hesitated, unused to such treatment. "What, don't you like pancakes?"

"I- uh-" Scootaloo stammered.

"Go ahead," Rainbow Dash said, trying to encourage the nervous filly. Slowly Scootaloo began eating. After a few bites she looked at Rainbow Dash.

"What happened?" she asked.

"What do you remember?" Rainbow Dash mumbled around a mouthful of food.

"We went into the mixer thing then I woke up here. How did I get here?"

"I told you, I brought you here last night," Rainbow Dash repeated.

"But why?" Scootaloo asked.

"I wasn't going to just dump you in the middle of town. I figured you might as well stay at my place, and I can take you home when you wake up," Rainbow Dash answered. "Eat up. I don't want your parents thinking I starved you when I bring you home later." She said, but there was something off about the way she said it. Something that put Scootaloo on edge.

"They're.... out of town," Scootaloo lied.

"Well I can still swing by and drop you off. Where do you live?"

"You can just drop me off in town or something. It's fine."

"I don't mind Squirt. After what happened, I want to make sure you get home alright."

Scootaloo squirmed uncomfortably. "It's really hard to find. I'm better off walking,” She said. She knew it sounded pathetic, but anything was better then the truth.

"Scootaloo," Rainbow Dash said simply. The filly stiffened at the sound of her full name. "I went in the clubhouse."

Scootaloo immediately jumped off the chair and ran for the doorway, but was foolish to think she could outrun a race pony. Rainbow Dash blocked the doorway easily.

"Where do you think you're going? We're a thousand feet in the air. You leave, and you'll fall," Rainbow Dash said pointedly, "now just sit back down, and chill out."

Scootaloo reluctantly shuffled back to the table, and climbed onto the chair. She didn't want anypony to know. Things were great, why did they have to turn out like this? Why did Rainbow Dash, my idol for all things cool have to find out? Maybe I should jump. It beats going back.

"Why haven't you told anypony?" Rainbow Dash asked. She already knew the answer, but felt she should ask anyway.

"I can take care of myself. I don't want ponies thinking they need to take care of me all the time." Scootaloo replied. While true, it wasn't the real reason.

"A filly needs friends."

"I have friends."

"But you're not honest with them," Rainbow Dash stated. "I know you're afraid they might find out you're an orphan, and take you away to some orphanage."

Scootaloo stared at her half eaten food.

"I don't want to go back," she said.

"I can make sure that doesn't happen, but only on one condition," Rainbow Dash said calmly.

"I don't want them to know. Not just yet," Scootaloo said into her food.

"I want you to live here with me. Everypony needs a home."

Scootaloo's looked at the older pony in surprise.

"What!?"

"I'm just giving you a place to crash at night with food." Rainbow Dash tried explaining. "I'm not going to be your parent or anything. Think of it as being a roommate that doesn't owe rent."

"If I'm not being a burden...."

"Please. Nothing could slow down the great Rainbow Dash."

Scootaloo giggled a bit, relaxing.

"Mornin'," Apple Bloom mumbled as she entered the Apple family kitchen. She had quite the shock earlier, discovering her orange right flank and white left flank, but let it be as just a leftover from the adventure.

"Good mornin' to you too sugarcube," Applejack said merrily. "How do yah feel?"

"Ahlright Ah guess. Just tired," Apple Bloom grabbed a bowl, a spoon and some cereal from the cupboards and placed them on the table. Sleepily she poured out some cereal, and shoved the spoon into the bowl. The milk carton sat nearby, and she reached to grab it, but couldn't quite reach. Frustrated she closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and reached harder. Suddenly she felt the cold container meet her hoof. Surprised, she opened her eyes, but Applejack was busy cleaning on the other side of the room.

She pushed the carton out of reach again, and repeated what she had done before. Again the carton met her hoof. This time when she tried she kept her eyes open. As she reached for the carton this time she saw a small green glow erupt around her outstretched hoof that extended to the carton. The carton then moved on it's own accord into her waiting hoof, and the glow vanished.

She glanced quickly to see if her sister had noticed, but Applejack was still looking the other way.

"Uh, Applejack?" Apple Bloom called nervously. Her sister turned around with a concerned expression. Wordlessly the filly pushed the carton away and repeated the feat a fourth time.

"Uhhhh...." the older pony stammered. She trotted over and ruffled the filly's mane. "Yah ain't hindin' a horn in here?"

"No," Apple Bloom said confused.

"We best get yah over tah Twahlight's," Applejack suggested.

"Whah? Is this bad?" Apple Bloom asked, getting worried.

"Fer you? Ah don't think so, but that's probably Sweetie Belle's magic. We gotta get it back tah her and Twahlight'll know what to do. Now eat up quick like and we'll head out."

"Okay," Apple Bloom said.

"Can I go see my friends?" Scootaloo asked, the two having finished breakfast now.

"Well yeah," Rainbow Dash said. "I'm not your mom remember?"

"And can I keep my job?"

"You have a job?" Rainbow Dash asked, surprised.

"I run deliveries for the Cakes. How do you think I bought all my stuff?"

"I assumed you'd found it somewhere," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Um, where is my scooter?" Scootaloo asked, changing the subject.

"Probably back at the clubhouse, where we left it to come find you."

"Now how am I going to get anywhere?" Scootaloo whined.

"I have an idea," Rainbow Dash said, heading out the door to the outside of her home. She picked up a piece of the cloud lawn and moved it to the young pony. It was large enough for a pair of full grown pegasus to sit on. "Try this."

Scootaloo jumped onto the cloud and looked at the older pony.

"Pretend it's your scooter."

Scootaloo nodded and grabbed the cloud tightly. Buzzing her wings like she usually did, she managed to maneuver the cloud around. It was clumsy at first, but soon she figured out how to move around just like it was her scooter, and even how to go up and down. It wasn't perfect but it would do. She smirked and began buzzing towards Ponyville and her friends.

"Be back by dark!" Rainbow Dash called after the filly. “Geeze, I already sound like a mom.” She didn't have time to fool around, she had renovations to make. But first there was a pony she needed to see in Cloudsdale.

Sweetie Belle woke up feeling refreshed and confused. Sunlight was peeking in from behind a lacy curtain. She was in a soft bed with faintly purple sheets.

She was back in her room. How did she get there? Deciding that was a mystery for another time, she got out of bed, her stomach barking orders at her.

"Yeah be quiet," she snapped back. She looked down to see if she was herself again. Pleased to have her white feet back, she noticed her flanks. She smiled at the sight of her friends colors adorning her flanks.

She stepped out into the hallway, then she went over to her sister's room. Nudging the door open, she saw her sister like she had never seen her before: Lying on top of the blankets, without even her nightgown on. Still, excited to see her sister again, Sweetie Belle jumped onto the bed.

"Morning, Rarity!" she sang loudly.

The voice woke the elder unicorn. She moved to take off her eye mask that wasn't there, and couldn't think where it had gone to for a moment. Rarity looked down at the foot of her bed to see her little sister smiling at her.

"Sweetie Belle! You're awake!" Rarity said surprised. "That is you in there? Just you?" she asked nervously.

"Ah think so," Sweetie Belle replied, doing her best to imitate Apple Bloom, but it didn't fool Rarity who embraced her.

"I'm glad you're alright," Rarity said simply, tears in her eyes.

"I'm not going to be if you keep crushing me!" Sweetie Belle protested. Rarity released her sheepishly.

"Sorry."

Hearing Sweetie Belle's stomach growl again, she got out of bed.

"How about some breakfast?"

"Yay!"

"After you can pack your bags," Rarity instructed as the pair walked through the hall and down the stairs.

"Aww. Do I still have to see mom and dad?" Sweetie Belle protested.

"I've already informed them you'll be staying with me this week."

"Then why do we have to pack?"

"We're taking the next train to Prance," Rarity explained as they entered the kitchen.

"Prance!?!"

"Yes. I've read about a stylist there that can do permanent hair dyeing," Rarity said, pulling out some cereal to speed things up. Normally this is the kind of meal she would only eat if under a deadline, but she was too sore to cook anything fancy that morning. Being hit with another pony tended to do that.

"Why do we need that?"

"So you can have proper white flanks again."

"But I like them this way," Sweetie Belle said. Rarity turned and looked at her sister.

"But they're an eyesore. Don't you want a nice white coat like me and dad?”

"Not really. I think it's cool."

"Sweetie Belle this is not up for discussion. What would mom and dad think about this?"

"I don't care!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "I like it and if you try and make me go, I'll, I'll, run away!"

"But what if you realize how silly you've been later? Why not take care of it now?"

"Because I like them now! And if I do change my mind, why can't I do it then?" Sweetie Belle protested. Rarity sighed.

"Fine. You can look ridiculous if you want, but you have to tell mom and dad it was your decision," Rarity resigned.

"Okay;" Sweetie Belle smiled. "Now about that food?"

The smell of smoke entered the young dragons nostrils, but he just turned over in his sleep.

"So Rarity, what do you think of my hoard now?" he mumbled in the sleep.

The smell grew strong enough to rouse him. Startled by the black smoke wafting up the stairs, he panicked and ran to the source. Fire couldn't hurt him so he had nothing to fear from any flames. The smoke came from the kitchen. He ran inside to see his violet unicorn sister dashing about like a mad pony. The stove had caught fire.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" Twilight shouted, unable to think of something to put the fire out, despite knowing several spells to conjure water, and a few more to just move it around.

"I got it," Spike yelled over her. He pulled out one of the tree house's many fire extinguishers, and quickly put out the flames. When you're a dragon living in a wooden house, you learn quick how to put out any accidental fires.

"What to do, what to do?" Twilight said thinking, not noticing the danger had passed. Spike calmly opened a few windows to let the smoke escape.

"When did you get back, Twilight? What happened?" the dragon asked, nudging the panicking mare.

"Huh?" she looked around startled. "Oh! Spike. I didn't hear you come in. I mean into the kitchen."

"It's okay. I put the fire out,"

"Oh good."

"When did you get home?" Spike asked again.

"I don't know. Late? You were asleep already and I didn't want to wake you up," Twilight said smiling.

"Okay so what happened in here?" Spike pointed to the burnt stove.

"Oh, I just tried to make myself some toast. I never appreciated how hard you work cooking until I tried it myself."

"So can you tell me what happened after you left? Did Princess Celestia find you?"

"She found us. Thank you for sending the letter Spike. I'm not sure we would have made it without her," Twilight said hugging her assistant. "So what happened was-"

After the meal Sweetie Belle set about cleaning her room. She hoped she had convinced Rarity to let her keep her yellow and orange spots. She didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night halfway to Prance. As she made the bed, Rarity called her.

"Sweetie Belle, one of your friends is here to see you!" the fashionista called up the stairs.

"Coming!" She called back, racing down to see who it was.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo greeted.

"Hi, Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle replied looking her friend over. "You too?"

"Yup," Scootaloo answered, showing off her white flank. "Let's go see if Apple Bloom matches!"

"Probably."

Sweetie Belle joined her friend in walking outside.

"Be careful," Rarity said worried.

"I promise I will," Sweetie Belle answered sincerely.

When they got outside she noticed the absence of the group's wagon. All that was there was a cloud at ground level.

"Where's your scooter?"

"Back at the clubhouse," Scootaloo answered, jumping onto the cloud. "Isn't this cool? Rainbow Dash made it for me. I can ride it just like my scooter only in the air."

"Cool!" Sweetie Belle replied, jumping onto the cloud. Scootaloo started to smile as she imagined her friend falling right through, but her jaw dropped when the unicorn's feet stayed on top of the condensed moisture.

"How are you doing that?" Scootaloo said confused.

"Doing what?" Sweetie Belle asked. "You're standing on a cloud too."

"Yeah but I'm a pegasus! Only we can walk on clouds. Other ponies just fall right through! Why do you think there are no unicorns or earth ponies in Cloudsdale?"

"I thought that was because it's too high up," Sweetie Belle said deep in thought. "Maybe this is a side-effect of us being all mixed up."

"Let's see if Apple Bloom can walk on clouds too," Scootaloo suggested. Gripping the cloud she flew off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"Twahlight!" Applejack called, knocking on the door of the library. After a minute a tired looking unicorn opened the door. "Shucks, Twah, Ah didn't mean tah wake yah."

"You didn't. I've just been up... never mind. What do you need?" Twilight asked.

"It's about Apple Bloom," Applejack said dragging the filly inside.

"What is it?" Twilight asked, scared something had gone wrong with the reversal process.

"Show her," Applejack commanded.

At once the filly lifted one hoof and focused on the far wall, on a random book on the bookshelf. Nothing happened right away, but she kept willing the book to come to her. Finally, her face scrunched up in concentration, the book flew across the room and smacked into her face.

"Ow!" she cried, rubbing her muzzle.

"Oh my!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Twilight, how can mah sister, an earth pony, be doin' magic? She ain't got a horn!"

"I'm not sure. I'd better run some tests."

"Did Ah end up with Sweetie Belle's magic bah accident?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I don't think so," Twilight replied. "Magic doesn't work like that, and besides, Sweetie's magic is red, not green."

"What does color matter?" Applejack asked.

"Next to nothing, it's just every pony's magic is a certain color. It's pretty random but never changes once they're born," Twilight explained. The discussion continued as they made their way downstairs.

"See her?" Scootaloo whispered.

"No," Sweetie Belle whispered back. "And why are we whispering?"

"We could totally surprise her!" Scootaloo hissed back. She looked over the edge to scan the ground of her friend. In the back of her mind was a tugging sensation in the direction of town, but she ignored it.

"Let's just ask Big Mac if he's seen her," Sweetie Belle suggested.

"Fine," Scootaloo agreed unhappily. Carefully she lowered the cloud down near the large earth pony.

"Hi, Big Mac!" Sweetie Belle greeted.

"Hi," the red stallion returned.

"Is Apple Bloom here?" she asked.

"Nnnope. Aay Jay took her to see Ms. Sparkle."

“Thanks!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Great," Scootaloo grumbled. Her wings were already getting tired from the extra work moving a cloud involved, and now they had to fly all the way back to Ponyville. If only the wind was blowing, but instead the air was still. She could almost feel a breeze blowing through her mane just thinking about it.

"Uh, Scoots?" Sweetie Belle asked nervously, poking her quiet friend. Scootaloo looked at her confused. Sweetie Belle was looking at her in shock.

Thinking about it, she did feel strange. Her mane! It was actually blowing in the breeze! But there was something more. A feeling she had never felt before. It was as if she was tapping a pool of energy deep inside herself she'd always had but had never before been aware of. The feeling was exhilarating. Like adrenaline times a hundred. But this was so different. She could feel the energy there. She could feel it bending to her will, but what it was doing and how it got there was a mystery.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle shouted, shocking the pegasus out of her stupor. All at once the wind stopped.

"Huh? What?" Scootaloo mumbled, confused.

"Your wings were glowing!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"My what?" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Wings! Glowing! How?"

Scootaloo paused and felt around for that pool she had felt earlier. It was even easier to sense this time, and she pulled it forth.

"They're glowing again!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

The pegasus turned and saw her normally orange wings had a dark blue aura of light around them. She let the energy go and the glow vanished. Curious now, she repeated pulling the energy forward and letting it go, each time her wings glowed in response.

"That's magic!" Sweetie Belle said in awe.

"Magic? Really?" Scootaloo asked confused. Then her eyes went wide in shock. "Is this yours? Did I steal it?"

"No, see?" Sweetie Belle replied, her horn glowing red. "My magic isn't blue and I still have mine."

"We'd better go see Twilight." Scootaloo said. Once more she called forth the strange power and willed a breeze to carry them. She was quite pleased to feel the air blowing through her mane. "This is pretty neat," she said as the cloud moved slowly into town.

Rainbow Dashed walked into the all too familiar building in Cloudsdale. On the front of the building were large letters that read "Cloudsdale Town Hall". She walked inside and headed for the foster services desk. There was nopony in line so she marched straight up to the desk.

"Hey, Afterburn," she greeted the stallion going through some papers. A familiar face, he was a bright red pegasus with very dark blue mane that contrasted heavily. He looked up.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash. I never expected to see you here," he said smiling. "I haven't seen you since I quit the Ponyville weather team. How have you been?"

"Pretty good. Did you have to work during the Best Young Flyers competition?" she asked, making an attempt at small talk. What she had to ask wasn't going to be easy for him.

"I was working, but I heard a certain blue pegasus won the prize and saved the Wonderbolts," he said, "so what brings you to foster services?"

"I need adoption papers," Rainbow Dash explained, "and a huge favor."

"Alright, but the child in question will need to be present to sign them. We've had too many ponies try to make up fake foals for the tax benefits," Afterburn explained while pulling the requested forms out.

"I can't bring her here," Rainbow Dash said bluntly.

"Then I can't give you the papers."

"Look do you remember that story a few years back about the orphan who ran away from the Church of Celestia Orphanage?" Rainbow Dash asked leaning close to him.

"Of course," he replied raising an eyebrow.

"I think I found her," Rainbow Dash said simply and quietly, "but there is no way I can bring her back here."

"If you found her we have to tell somepony!" Afterburn hissed. "She's a wanted pony! She nearly killed three ponies!"

"You know how the conditions were like in there. Can you honestly blame her?" Rainbow Dash whispered back. "Please, I need those papers. I promise this isn't for anything stupid like money. Do I look like I need bits?"

"It's illegal! I'd lose my job if anypony found out! Or worse," Afterburn answered, crossing his front legs.

"Please," Rainbow Dash begged, "you owe me."

"I may owe you a favor here and there, but this is too big," Afterburn shook his head.

"Remember when you caused that tornado and I took the blame?"

“Yes I remember-"

"And that whole week I covered for you when you had to visit your family?"

"That was only because they wouldn't give me time off."

"And the time I caught you after you flew into that storm cloud and got hit by lightning?"

"Okay I owe you a lot, but this is serious stuff," he said, still shaking his head.

Rainbow Dash stared him in the eye and raised her front left hoof exposing a mark on the inside of the leg. A mark she rarely ever showed but he knew what it meant at a glance

"I swear on my life, as a blood-sister of the Qnak family, and as the element of loyalty that I am doing this to keep a little filly safe and nothing more," Rainbow Dash said clearly and calmly.

Afterburn looked at her for a moment and sighed. "I'll do it," he said finally. "You'll still need to take her to a doctor within 60 days. Nothing I can do about that."

“I'm sure I can get that taken care of."

"Have you named her? I can fill in the rest from her old records. They should be around."

"Her name is Scootaloo now," Rainbow Dash said. "Thank you," she added.

"This better not bite me in the plot," he grumbled. "I'll make sure this gets filed where it should be. John Hoofcock here, and here."

Rainbow Dash signed where he pointed.

"That's it. You'll get the official stuff in the mail soon."

"Thank you," Rainbow Dash repeated before turning to leave.

"You know, you're the last pony I expected to want to take care of a foal. What made you want to take this one in?" he asked as she walked away.

"I guess she just reminds me of myself."

"Twilight!" Scootaloo called as she and Sweetie Belle entered the library. The unicorn was nowhere to be seen.

"I wonder where Apple Bloom is," Sweetie Belle said out loud.

As the pair walked around the library, they both became aware of a nagging feeling. Something in their minds tugging in a certain direction that seemed to change as they moved. Finally they gave in and began moving the way the feeling indicated, then they collided with each other.

"OW!" they both cried.

"Do you feel it too?" Scootaloo asked.

"Like something's telling me to go this way?" Sweetie Belle replied. Scootaloo nodded. "Okay, this is weird."

"This is weird. Not me controlling the wind, or our mixed up flanks, but this," Scootaloo said sarcastically.

"Hmm..." Sweetie Belle said, thinking. "It feels like we need to go down."

"Where is every pony? Twilight!" Scootaloo called again.

"We're downstairs!" came Twilight's voice drifting up from the basement. The two fillies looked at eachother then continued into the roots of the tree.

"Hey, girls," Apple Bloom said miserably, sitting on a cold metal table with a strange cullender on her head.

"Uh, what's going on?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Apple Bloom seems to be able to use magic, and I'm trying to figure out exactly why," Twilight explained.

"You too?" Scootaloo asked.

"Huh?" Apple Bloom said surprised. With now practiced ease, the pegasus filly got her wings glowing. "Oh cool!"

"You can do magic too? Huh," Applejack said surprised.

"This has to be because they were blended together," Twilight reasoned.

"It don't make much sense tah me," Applejack said. "Neither of them got horns like a unicorn.

"Well a unicorn's magic isn't in the horn, its just channeled through it, you knew that right? Sweetie Belle?" Twilight replied. All the other ponies present just stared at her blankly. "Right. So there's a special organ inside a pony's body that generates magic. It's called the mana gland. All ponies have one, even you Applejack. However in earth ponies it's inactive. With pegasi, it's partially active so they can walk on and manipulate clouds. My magic isn't in my horn, it just comes out there.

“All the tribes have some residual traits of the others. I mean we’re not pegasi, but we still have certain muscles in our backs for wings if we had them.”

"Ah think ah get it," Apple Bloom said getting off the table.

"Somehow being together started the mana gland working fully in Apple Bloom and Scootaloo," Twilight added.

"What about Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked. "She can walk on clouds now."

"That probably ties into the whole being together thing. Again it's a kind of magic pegasi use without realizing it, and it works without their will. Apple Bloom can probably do it too."

"Well that sounds nifty," Applejack said. "But is this gonna end up hurtin' them?"

"Apple Bloom just has to be careful moving books," Twilight said with a smile.

"What's that about?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Don't ask," Apple Bloom grumbled.

"If I had known this was going to happen, I would have examined Sweetie Belle before hoof. I would guess the cloud walking has permanently lowered how much magic her body effectively generates as the spell can't be turned off and constantly consumes magic. It's not much, but you should be aware."

"I stink at magic anyway," Sweetie Belle said with a shrug.

"Also, seeing as the pegasi and unicorn traits have spread, I would think that earth pony strength has also been shared. Not fully, but I'd guess you're all probably stronger than you used to be."

"So mah sister's gunna be okay?" Applejack asked, wanted to be sure about this.

"Yes," Twilight said.

"Well maybe someday Apple Bloom can just magic all the apples instead of buckin' them," Applejack said with a smile, "save us ah lotta time."

"I wouldn't go that far," Twilight interrupted. "She's not very strong, even by unicorn standards. Just take it slow and find your limits. When you find them, be aware of just what you can and can't do," she said to Apple Bloom.

"What about me?" Scootaloo asked.

"Same goes for you," Twilight said. A curious expression came across her face, and she tapped her horn to Scootaloo's wing. "Okay, you're even weaker."

"Hey!" Scootaloo protested.

"Sorry, I was just curious how strong you girls were," Twilight said sheepishly.

"Oh," Scootaloo said dully.

"So can Ah keep mah magic?" Apple Bloom asked.

"If Twahlight says it's safe then alright. Just don't go abusin' it, yah hear?" Applejack replied.

"We promise!" the three fillies said together.

"Wow," Scootaloo said. "I didn't know this was actually magic," she said, tapping the cloud.

"I don't feel any stronger," Sweetie Belle added.

"Girls we do have serious business to take care of," Scootaloo said. She whipped up a light wind and guided them over the town. "We need to plan for show and tell."

"We could show off our flanks!" Apple Bloom suggested.

"Yes but how?" Scootaloo replied. "It's not much of a show and tell if everypony sees them before our turn."

"We could hide them under our crusader capes," Sweetie Belle suggested.

"Great idea!" Scootaloo agreed.

"Enough talk. Let's get crusadin'," Apple Bloom declared.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, friend forever!" The shouted together. The three friends drifted off together to a day of adventures.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

What Apple Bloom was doing was not strictly speaking levitation but a subset of that branch of magic known as object summoning. While it is a form of levitation it does nothing more then bring the object to the caster via the most direct route that is not blocked. If no route exists it will just attempt to make the most direct route and collide with the obstruction. This type of magic is common among infant unicorns.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 2: Bedtime Story

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Edited by Dr. Bob

Arc 2: Intermission

Chapter 5

"Hi, Rarity," Sweetie Belle sang. Her big sister was outside at the moment, closing up shop for the day.

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked looking around. "Where are you?"

"Up here!" Sweetie Belle called from her cloudy perch. Rarity looked up, and nearly fainted at the sight of her sister on a cloud. Scootaloo buzzed the cloud down, and Sweetie Belle jumped off. "Bye!" she sang to her friends as they flew off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"Bye!" they chorused in return.

"Sweetie Belle, be careful!" Rarity said sternly, once the two had gone inside.

"I was just fine." Sweetie Belle frowned.

"You could have gotten hurt!"

"Cloud walking is a kind of magic innate to pegasus," Sweetie Belle paraphrased from what Twilight had said. "I must have picked it up when we were mixed together."

"I can understand walking on clouds," Rarity replied, "but you must be careful without an adult around. If you had fallen there would be nopony to catch you."

"Scootaloo was there! She was moving the cloud."

"Scootaloo is a foal. And a scrawny one at that. It's not that I don't trust her not to catch you, but I don't think she would be strong enough," Rarity said.

"I'm careful. Really," Sweetie Belle said. "You never made this much fuss about me when I rode in the wagon!"

"Because if something went wrong in the wagon you would only fall a couple feet, but in the sky that's hundreds of feet. You could end up seriously hurt or worse. Besides, I made sure you were all wearing helmets."

"Yeah, but Apple Bloom can bring me back up," Sweetie Belle said.

"What?" Rarity asked.

"Oh, right. Somehow Scoots and Apple Bloom can do magic now," Sweetie Belle explained. "Scoots can do air magic and Apple Bloom can use basic levitation. If I fell, she could just pull me back up with her magic."

"What?"

"Twilight said they must have gotten it when we were stuck together or something. Now that I think about it, my magic is red, but not when we were mixed together..."

"You must tell me about it," Rarity said. "Now wash up, dinner is ready."

After dropping her friends off at their homes, Scootaloo headed for the clubhouse to eat her meager supper and sleep. She parked her cloud outside and headed up the ramp. When she entered, she immediately looked for her scooter. Rainbow Dash had said it was inside, but she didn’t see it. Then she saw her blankets were missing as well. All her stuff was gone! In their place sat a note, held in place by a rock. Scootaloo walked over and read the note in the dim twilight.

Scootaloo, don't forget about our deal. I took your stuff to my house so you would remember.

-Rainbow Dash

Honestly, she had forgotten. She had completely forgotten Rainbow Dash had threatened to turn her in unless she agreed to live with her. Not that Scootaloo didn't want to live with the pony that was her idol, it just made it that more likely she would be caught. That kind of exposure was sure to draw the attention of some pony who would recognize her.

"Guess I have to go back now," she sighed. She hopped back up onto her cloud and propelled it via wind back to her new home.

"Hah, Applejack, hah, Big Macintosh, hah, Granny Smith," Apple Bloom greeted as she walked into the old farm house. The family was gathered around the old round oak dinner table.

"Howdy, Apple Bloom. Yah made it back just in time fer dinner," Applejack greeted.

Around the old round wooden table the family was sitting down to a big garden salad meal. Apple Bloom jumped onto her usual seat. Soon everypony had their share and began talking.

Apple Bloom glanced around to see if anypony was watching her. Ah wonder if Ah can eat with magic. When she was sure nopony was watching, she focused on her fork. At once it flew at her, and hit her in the nose, then it fell with a clatter to the table. Her family turned, and stared at her.

"Sorry. Dropped it," she said, turning orange with embarrassment.

"So, anyway, Nurse Redheart wanted a hundred apples fer the hospital, but she didn't have enough bits to cover it with her, so Ah said-" Applejack went on, continuing her story.

Apple Bloom put the fork back and tried again, but with less force. This time, it sort of jumped, but didn't do what she was trying to do. "Aw, buck it," she mumbled. She just held the fork in her hoof and simply summoned the food into her mouth without the fork. After a couple misses, she got the aim down and soon every piece of food went right into her mouth every time. It was going great until she saw Applejack looking at her out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't say anything.

After a few minutes she began feeling tired. But not in the normal ways she felt tired. Not the, hard-to-keep-your-eyes-open tired, nor the kind of tired where you just want to not do any more work. It was a new kind of tired. She noticed the aura around her hoof seemed to be getting dimmer. Scared she was squandering a finite resource, she stopped using magic and went back to eating normally. After a time, the exhaustion went away and she hazarded another go with magic. It seemed as strong as ever.

Note to self: Magic can run out, but it comes back quick, she thought, making sure to remember that. Ah guess Ah am makin’ mah own magic.

"Apple Bloom, you've been awful quiet tonight," Granny Smith commented.

"Yeah. Yah sure yah feel aright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"Ah feel great!" Apple Bloom beamed.

"Whah did yah have tah go tah Ms.Sparkle's this mornin'?" Big Macintosh asked.

"Oh, just this," Apple Bloom said.

At her command, Applejack's hat slid forward over the mare's eyes. Applejack pushed it back.

"Ah'd say yer gettin' better at that."

"Well, Ah'll be. An Apple that can do magic," Granny Smith said, smiling.

"Can you do anything else?" Big Macintosh asked.

"Ah can walk on clouds too," Apple Bloom replied. "I haven't figured out how to do anything but pull stuff tah me," she added, raising her glowing hoof.

"Maybe Ms. Sparkle could teach you some more," Big Macintosh suggested.

"Naw, Ah'd rather figure it out on mah own," Apple Bloom said. "You should see Scootaloo, she can control the air!"

"Can Sweetie Belle walk on clouds too?" Applejack asked.

"Eeyup," Apple Bloom replied, electing a laugh from the family, before summoning another bite of food.

"Ah'll have to get used tah that," Applejack said.

“Eeyup!”

When Scootaloo arrived at the house in the sky, she secured her little cloud to the lawn, and trotted over to the door. She wasn't sure if she should knock or just come in. The lights were on, but she sat for a minute, wondering if she should just turn and leave. It wouldn't be easy, moving to a new town, but she had done it before. She could get a new scooter someday. Maybe.

"Hi there, pony who brings me muffins!" a cheery voice said behind her. She whipped around to see the town mailmare staring at her with yellow eyes. Well, staring at her and the roof of the house. "I have some express mail for a Ms. Dash."

"Oh. She's inside," Scootaloo said.

"Do you live here?" the mailmare asked.

"Uh- I guess," Scootaloo replied.

"Great. Could you give this to her? I need to pick up Dinky from daycare," the mailmare said.

"Sure," Scootaloo said, taking the official looking envelope.

"Bye!" the gray pegasus said before flying off.

She had no choice now. She had to go inside. Nervously she knocked on the door. A minute later it opened.

"It's not locked," Rainbow Dash said simply, her eyes displaying a look of boredom.

"Oh," Scootaloo replied stupidly. "This came for you," she added, giving the letter to Rainbow Dash before stepping inside.

"Wow, Afterburn works fast," Rainbow Dash said, looking at the return address before placing it on a table. "Are you hungry?"

"A little. Can I have my scooter?"

"It's in your room," Rainbow Dash replied.

"I have my own room!?" Scootaloo cried.

"I live in a cloud. Adding new rooms is free and easy," Rainbow Dash pointed out. "It's at the end of the hall upstairs, but you should eat first."

"Okay," Scootaloo said, following Rainbow Dash to the kitchen/dining room.

"All I got is some vegetable stir fry from a couple nights ago. I didn't have time to go shopping today."

"It's okay," Scootaloo smiled, beginning to enjoy the situation. Rainbow Dash pulled out the dish, and placed it on the table, and pulled a fork out of a drawer.

"Eat up. I already ate."

Scootaloo dug in, having eaten nothing since breakfast. "So what do I have to do so you won't tell?" Scootaloo asked between bites.

“Who said anything about telling? I said I wouldn’t let them take you back to an orphanage, not rat you out, but like I said, you have to stay here. I'm not trying to be a parent or anything. I won't tell you to take a bath, or do your homework, or go to school or wake you up in the morning. But don't expect me to make breakfast all the time, or clean up after you. You're a big filly, I think you can handle it. You can join me for dinner if you want, or make something yourself. Your choice."

"Can I have my friends over?"

"Sure, if you keep to your room. Though having non-pegasus friends over might be a challenge."

"I'll make it work."

"That's the attitude," Rainbow Dash said, smiling.

After eating and cleaning the dishes Scootaloo headed upstairs to see her room. When she entered the correct door, she was overcome. It wasn't huge, but it was about the size of the clubhouse, with some white shelves and a fluffy bed. The walls were totally bare, save for a "Rainbow Dash Fan Club" poster Rainbow Dash had obviously brought here.

On one wall was a closet that sat mostly empty. Her Rainbow Dash wig, and a green scarf and hat were the only things inside. On one wall was a small window that looked out over the Everfree forest. Furniture that could float on clouds was expensive, so there was none to be found in the room, except for a lamp next to the bed, but it was more than enough for the filly.

In a corner sat her scooter and the blankets from the clubhouse. They may have been old and tattered, but they had kept her warm all this time. She gathered them up and arranged them on the bed on top of the existing blankets. She knew how cold it got at night that high up. Suddenly she became aware of a pressure, and rushed downstairs.

Rainbow Dash was reading through a sports magazine when the filly came down the stairs.

"Where's the-" she began.

"It's the door on the left when you go upstairs," Rainbow Dash replied, without looking.

"Thank you!" Scootaloo said, racing back upstairs.

Once she heard the door close she put down “Stunt Flying Monthly”, and produced what she was really looking at. With a quick movement, she opened the envelope. Inside were several sheets of paper. Most dealing with tax breaks and stuff of that nature, but on top was a nice looking page, suitable for framing.

"This document certifies that Rainbow Dash is guardian and sole caretaker for Scootaloo", it read. Rainbow Dash was one to show off, but not today. Quietly, she walked upstairs and into her room. She placed the documents into her safe box. How they managed to enchant the block of steel to sit on a clouds was a miracle for the ages, but they did it. It was expensive too, but necessary. The new additions weren't the only important documents in there.

Before going back downstairs she turned to two pictures on the bureau. The first was a very old photograph, that was torn slightly and had clearly experienced the elements. In sepia tones it depicted a small pegasus filly flying over the heads of a pair of earth ponies, a joyful smile on her face.

“I'll make you guys proud,” Rainbow Dash said to the picture. “I'll give her the kind of life you wanted me to have.”

The second was in color and had a cyan colored filly with a rainbow mane standing beside a brown griffon and the pair was in front of a large imposing griffon. All three looked quite happy.

"I'll serve the clan proud," Rainbow Dash said to the second picture. "I'll raise her right."

"Sister?" Princess Celestia asked as Princess Luna entered the throne room for the twice daily shifting of power.

"Yes?"

"I learned some distressing news," Celestia said.

"Like, ‘we-should-summon-the-elements’, distressing?"

"The other tribe is back."

"So they did survive. I thought as much," Luna said.

"You suspected and didn't tell me?" Celestia shouted.

"I had no proof. Just the odd rumor."

"Regardless, I plan to find where they are hiding, and eliminate them for good."

"Sister...."

"I know what is best for all of us," Celestia said finally.

"I don't think they would see it that way," Luna said quietly.

An hour later, Scootaloo had settled into the bed. Rainbow Dash entered the room.

"I wanted to see if you liked your room."

"It's perfect!" Scootaloo replied.

"I know it's a bit empty, but I'm not exactly Ms. Moneybags, and I know you'll think of something."

Scootaloo was already planning on putting as much time in as she could for the Cakes, now that she had a place to put stuff. She fidgeted, unaccustomed to something softer than a wood floor.

"Can't get comfortable?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm too comfortable. Everything is so great. Nothing ever works out for me. Why is this going to be any different?" the filly rambled. The mare quieted her with a glance.

"Maybe a story will help you sleep," Rainbow Dash said sitting down by Scootaloo's bed. “This is a true story, and you’re the first to hear the whole thing, so pay attention.”

Scootaloo nestled herself into the covers to listen.

"It all started with a young pegasus filly, a little younger than you are now. She was a flying prodigy. Unfortunately she was also the daughter of two earth ponies. Despite that, from an early age she was flying around, quick as could be. And her parents were happy to see their child so happy and free in the air.

"Then one day, when she was out flying, a freak storm hit her hometown. She was blown away in the wind and when it was over she couldn't find her home. Luckily some of the Cloudsdale weather team found her, and helped her locate her family." She had to stop at that point, her voice was too shaky to continue. She took a few deep breaths then went on.

"The storm was really bad. Normally storms don't get nearly that bad. It only took a couple hours to get back home, but when they found it... The roof had caved in with her parents inside. She didn't know what to do then. How could she? She was a pegasus raised on the ground who had been orphaned, just like that. She didn't know of any other family members in far off places that could take her in.

"The weather team, seeing how good she was at flying, took her back to Cloudsdale. They pulled some strings, and got her enrolled in the flight school. It was a boarding school, so she lived there all year. It was an okay place to be; a bit boring during vacations, but it was warm and they had food.

"After a year or so, she met a nice griffon and they became friends, but she didn't want her friend to know she was an orphan, so the little filly would lie about doing things with her family during vacations. Then one day during the winter vacation, the griffon discovered the truth. She expected her to laugh, or throw her aside like past friends had done, but she didn't. Her family took the pony in as one of their own, and she went back every vacation until the pair graduated.

"They even made her a real member of the family. It was quite the honor. Very few ponies had ever been made a blood-sister or brother. Seven, including her, or so I've been told. The filly, now a mare, was so happy. She had a family again.

"Eventually they drifted apart. They both changed as they grew up. The pegasus moved to a small town and began pursuing her dreams. She made lots of great friends in the town below, but never told them about her past. When her griffon friend came by, the pony found her friend had become a bully, so the pony rejected her sister, though they did make up a bit later.

"The mare was happy though. Her friends were all awesome and because of them she had done things she never thought were possible. But something was missing. Every night when she came home it was to a silent house. No classmates up talking, no griffons wrestling. She always felt lonely at home. Not even owning a pet helped.

"Then one day she saw a little filly. A little filly that reminded the mare very much of herself, and to her surprise the filly was also an orphan. So the mare took the filly in. At first the filly didn't want to be there, ashamed of being parentless. But the mare knew all about that. Finally the filly agreed to stay with the mare. And the mare was happy. The end."

"That can't be the end," Scootaloo whined, "what happened next?"

"We'll have to find out how it ends," Rainbow Dash said smiling. "Good night Scoots," Rainbow Dash said, getting up and turning to leave.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked. "How do you know if somepony is a bloody-sister?"

"When a griffon joins a new family, or in this case a pony, they are given the mark of that family. The normal family members receive it when they reach adulthood. The family is very important to griffons," Rainbow Dash explained, "they usually look something like this," she continued, raising her front left hoof, exposing a scar on her leg. A very old wound in the shape of a claw.

"Did that hurt?" Scootaloo asked, wincing at the thought of such an injury.

"A bit, but it was worth it," Rainbow Dash said, putting her hoof back down. "Now it's time for little fillies to go to sleep," she said, yawning herself. She turned and walked to the door before turning the lights off.

"Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo called quietly. The mare glanced back. "Good night."

"Good night," Rainbow Dash echoed closing the door.

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Confidently, a blue pegasus walked through the cloud streets, the wind tousling her rainbow colored mane. School had been out for two days now and the lonely winter was just beginning. Things were looking up though. She’d managed to find a Wonderbolts toy somepony had lost. It would be something to play with while she waited for her friend to come back.

"Dash?" came a voice. The blue pegasus whipped her head around. It sounded familiar. She wasn't looking for the source, she was looking for a place to hide. Unfortunately, she was in the middle of the street, so there was simply no place for her to go. She gulped and turned to face her friend, a fake smile on her face.

"Hey, Gilda. What are you doing in Cloudsdale?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I forgot my talon stone at school, so I flew back to get it," the brown griffon replied. "What are you still doing here? Didn't you say you and your parents were going to Canterlot to see the Wonderbolts?"

"Well you see, uh... dad got uh... sick. Yeah sick..." Dash lied, "so we had to cancel until he's better."

"I can tell you're lying," Gilda said simply.

"What? No. I'm telling the truth."

"Your tail always flicks like that when you lie to the teachers," Gilda said sternly. "Now why are you really here?"

"My tail does not flick when I lie!" Dash countered. "It just does that sometimes."

"Come to think of it, your tail does flick a lot," Gilda admitted. Whenever you talk about your parents.

"What?" Dash asked, noting the griffons curious expression.

"Nothing," Gilda said quickly. "Say, why don't I go and meet your folks while I'm here. I bet a cool pony like you has some cool parents."

"You wouldn't want to meet them. They're really lame," Dash lied.

"I wouldn't call taking you to Canterlot, Fillydelphia, and Las Pegasus lame," Gilda said, waving the thought away. "Why don't you want me to meet them? Do they not like griffons or something?"

"I... I wouldn't know," Dash said. She sat down and looked away.

"Why would you-"

"They're dead," Dash blurted out.

"Dead?" Gilda exclaimed. "You're a... what do they call it...."

"Orphan," Dash supplied. "I know you're going to make fun of me, so let's hear it."

"Dash," Gilda said seriously, "come with me."

"What?" Dash asked confused.

"You are coming home with me," the griffon said.

"What?" Dash repeated.

"Come on, I know my dad will let you stay with us."

"I'm fine. I live here at the school," Dash replied.

"That lame place? Oh, you are definitely staying with me for winter vacation," Gilda declared. "Now either you come with me, or I will drag you there. No friend of mine is going to be stuck living in Flight School. Come on, it's only a few miles from here."

"I... I can really stay with you?" Dash said, sniffing a bit.

"Of course. We're friends."

"All my other 'friends' made fun of me," Dash said quietly.

"A griffon wouldn't," Gilda replied. "Are you coming?"

"Sure!" Dash said. Gilda stretched her wings and took to the skies. Eagerly, the blue pegasus followed. As they soared through the sky, Dash looked back. The cloud city that had been her home for just over a year was now fading into the distance and she didn't miss it one bit. Below the scenery changed, from the rural farmland Cloudsdale was currently over, to forests and mountains.

"I should warn you, most griffon's don't know what the word orphan means," Gilda shouted over the roaring wind.

"How could they not know what it means?" Dash asked.

"Because, griffons don't have them. Why have a name for something that doesn't exist?"

"So what happens when a griffon loses her parents?" Dash asked, curious how an entire race could not have any orphans. Unless they killed them.

"We don't live in families like you. We live in clans. It's a lot bigger, imagine all your aunts, uncles, cousins, and... what do you call it... in-laws? Living pretty close."

"I don't have any family. It was just me and my parents," Dash replied, "so I really can't."

"You'll see what I mean. Anyway, if a griffon's parents died, the rest of the clan would take care of them. If the whole clan was killed, another clan would step in."

"So you do have orphans, you just don't call them that."

"We.. we don't ever view a hatchling as without family. Only the last griffon alive could be considered an orphan. It's kind of hard to explain."

"But... my parents are... dead. What does that make me?"

"In sore need of a new family," Gilda replied. "To griffons, family is less about blood and more about heart."

"I guess that makes sense. A bit sappy, but I think I get it."

"Good, because that's home right there," Gilda declared. She pointed with a talon at a mountain range coming up before them. Dotted all along the barren rocky sides were various stone and wooden structures. The sky mostly empty, casting few shadows on the mountains in the late afternoon sun, but Dash could tell there were no ponies here at all. The realization didn't particularly unnerve her, but the realization that it didn't bother her did.

Gilda went into a dive and Dash followed close behind. They angled downwards towards a large stone and wood building. It seemed pretty big compared to the others around it. It even had a wooden landing pad that the griffon and the pony she was escorting, made use of. Dash stared at the large wooden door before them, but Gilda simply walked over and opened it.

Inside were at least a dozen or more griffons. Some were busy tidying up, some were lounging around, and some were sharpening their talons. In one corner, a pair, a bit larger than Gilda were wrestling. The pony stared at everything in sight. Even though she had left her terrestrial home very young, she didn't remember it looking anything like this.

While the door and front had been wooden, the rest had quite clearly been carved out of the rock face. The walls, while being very well hewn, were rough from countless carvings made into it. From where she stood Dash could not make out any of them. And the floor. The floor was... well carpeted, it seemed, but it was irregular. Various colors, and patterns blanketed the floor and it changed constantly. It also didn't feel like normal carpet.

"I'm home!" Gilda shouted. Some of the griffons inside glanced over, a automatic reaction to the noise, but then did a double take spotting the blue pony behind her. Dash shrank back from the looks but Gilda nudged her forward. "Dad?" she called.

From another room, a very, very large griffon strode in. He towered over the others and Dash had to crane her neck way back as the griffon approached, mouth agape.

"Bow!" Gilda hissed. Dash looked over and saw her friend in a deep bow. Confused, she did as Gilda ordered, and went into a bow, though she wasn't sure if she did it right. "Dad, this is my friend Rainbow Dash, from flight school." Dash looked over and saw Gilda had straightened back up, and she did so as well.

"Yes, I remember you mentioning her. Welcome to the Qnak home, Rainbow Dash," the large griffon said, smiling.

"Uh... hi?" Dash said quietly, still a bit nervous from the sight of the large griffon.

"Dad, I need to talk to you for a second," Gilda said. She turned to Dash. "Why don't you meet some of the family."

"Okay," Dash said. She could tell this was meant to be a private conversation, so she wandered off to examine the wall carvings. They seemed to have everything from names to pictures. If she cocked her head at just the right angle, she could just barely make out the words being spoken across the room.

"Dad, I just found out today that she's an orphan. Could she stay with us?" Gilda asked quietly.

"I don't know, Gilda. She's a pony. We don't exactly have the most compatible of cultures," her father replied.

"I'll teach her what I can," Gilda said. "And she's pretty tough, I think she could handle herself pretty well."

"You know what I mean Gilda. We don't eat apples and hay here."

"Like I said, she's tough," Gilda countered. "Dad, she was living on the streets. She really needs a place to stay."

"I agree with you on that. I just don't know if our home is the better place for her. I only doubt our ability to care for her properly. I will give it a chance. But if I feel this is not working out, I will insist she return for her own good."

"Thanks, dad," Gilda said. She walked over to Dash who turned.

"So?" Dash feigned curiosity.

"Dad says it’s fine if you stay here," Gilda said with a smile.

"Yay!" Dash cheered a bit loudly.

"Come on, I'll show you my room and I'll tell you some things you'll need to know to fit in."

"Lead the way."

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If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 2: New Things

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Edited by Dr. Bob and Lunafan1k

Arc 2: Intermission

Chapter 6

"Morning, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said as she happily entered the kitchen.

"Hey, kiddo," Rainbow Dash returned. She was finishing up something crunchy.

"Where's the cereal?" she asked. It was only her second morning ever in the cloud house, so she had no idea where things were.

"Sorry, you can't eat this morning," Rainbow Dash replied.

"What?" Scootaloo gaped.

"You have a doctors appointment in twenty minutes. They're going to want to draw blood and you can't eat for a while before."

"The doctors?" Scootaloo's eyes shrank.

"Yeah. Ponies are supposed to go there regularly," Rainbow Dash said. "This is my day off, so it has to be today. I'm in deep enough trouble, calling in sick the past two days."

"But what if he finds out I'm an-" she paused, not wanting to say the word, "orphan?"

"First, I told you, I made sure everything is cool. Second, it's part of their job to keep secrets and not tell," Rainbow Dash said calmly. "We should actually head out soon, so we don't miss the appointment."

"Do I have to?" she protested.

"Yes," Rainbow Dash said very finally.

Scootaloo followed Rainbow Dash outside. Her little cloud was waiting for her, so she reluctantly stepped on and summoned a small breeze. Beside her, Rainbow Dash took flight.

"Hurry up, slow poke," Rainbow Dash urged.

Glaring, Scootaloo summoned a wind that knocked Rainbow Dash off balance.

"Woah!" she cried as the air buffeted her.

Scootaloo smirked as she turned the wind on her cloud and sped forward.

"How did you do that?" Rainbow Dash yelled over the wind, as they raced through the town. The filly had completely forgotten she hadn't mentioned her magic to Rainbow Dash yet.

"Just a trick I learned," She answered.

"So you can control the air now or something?"

"Kinda," Scootaloo replied over the rushing air, "I haven't really tested my limits yet."

It only took a short time to reach the local medical clinic. Scootaloo parked the cloud out of the way, and the pair entered. Rainbow Dash handled the secretary, and came back to join Scootaloo with a blank piece of paper. Sitting down next to the filly, she carefully folded the paper into an airplane. Smiling when she caught on, Scootaloo focused her power on the paper to lift it into the air.

After crashing into a wall a couple times, she got the hang of it, and could maneuver the paper plane around the waiting room without hitting anything. It was rather clumsy, though; she couldn't do more than make a gust of air that went in one direction at a time. The other young foal in the room, an infant unicorn, watched with amazement at the paper airplane that just kept flying and flying, never noticing the pegasus.

"You know your wings glow blue when you do that?" Rainbow Dash asked quietly.

"Yeah I noticed. Magic tends to involve a lot of glowing," Scootaloo replied. Presently, the door to the offices opened and a beige earth pony stepped into the waiting room.

"Scootaloo?" he called. The filly snapped to attention, and the plane fell to the floor. The unicorn foal whimpered, so Scootaloo blew the plane over to him before walking over to the doctor.

"I'll be right here until you get back." Rainbow Dash reassured the nervous filly.

The doctor led her through the hallway and opened the door to a sterile room with various health related posters on the walls. He gestured toward a long cushioned table. She climbed on it while he closed the door.

"Okay then Scootaloo, I'm Dr. Forceps. Before we begin, do you have any questions?"

"Um, what exactly are you going to do?" she asked.

"Hmm," he hummed, reading through some papers in a folder. "Ah. It says here this is your first doctor's visit ever. Unusual... No matter, you’re here now. Since this is all new to you, I'm going to explain what I'm doing first before I do it, and if at any point you feel uncomfortable, let me know."

"I feel uncomfortable now. Can I leave?" she asked hopefully.

"No," he replied smiling. "First, we're going to draw some blood. Testing it takes some time so we might as well get it done first."

"Okay."

He pulled out a syringe, but Scootaloo just stared blankly. After rubbing her foreleg with some stuff, he brought the needle over.

"This may hurt," he said before sticking it into her leg. She didn't even flinch. She was used to pain, and this was nothing. He removed it and rubbed the spot again. "I'm impressed. Usually foals make a big fuss when I do that." She read some of the posters while he prepared the sample and hoofed it to a pony outside the room.

The rest of the visit was a very strange experience for Scootaloo. She was poked, prodded, and had to do a series of actions, none of which made much sense to her. She was weighed and measured, asked to fly around, but could only buzz off the floor a bit, her wingpower being measured at barely 0.1.

“Now, I heard that you somehow have magic, despite not being a unicorn,” Dr. Forceps said jotting down some notes.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said, letting her wings glow.

“Let’s get you tested in that then,” Dr. Forceps said. He led Scootaloo over to a device on the wall. “This is meant for unicorns, but we’ll make it work,” he said.

He picked up a small cone shaped part with some wires connecting it to the machine. It was obviously meant to go on a horn she didn’t have. In the end he had her stretch out her wings and simply cupped it over two outstretched feathers. Then, Scootaloo summoned as much magic as she could muster.

“2.1, not bad for a pegasus,” Dr. Forceps said, removing the cone.

“What does that mean?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well this machine measures how much magic your body can store at a given time. It’s based on a 1-10 scale.”

“So, I really suck,” Scootaloo said. 2.1 was really low!

“For a unicorn it would be considered very poor, but you are not a unicorn, so 2.1 is nothing to feel bad about,” Dr. Forceps said. Next, we’ll test your strength,” he said, pointing to a pull cord on the bottom of the device. “Simply levitate that as hard as you can.”

“Uh... I don’t know how to do that,” Scootaloo said. “I’ve only had magic for like a day, and I’ve only figured out one spell.”

“Maybe we’ll test that another time, hmm?” Dr. Forceps said. “So, what is the spell you know?”

“This,” Scootaloo said, creating a small breeze.

“Elemental magic? That’s usually quite difficult,” Dr. Forceps commented. “Must be something to do with you being a pegasus. But that gives me an idea,” he said. He rummaged around the cabinets and took out the wingpower measuring device. “We’ll measure your magic with this!”

Scootaloo got the idea, and once he set it down, she conjured the strongest gust of air she could. The miniature windmill spun quite rapidly, much to her satisfaction.

“Well, if those were your wings, I’d be impressed. 8.3 wingpower,” he announced.

“So, what happens now?”

"I just have to go over the results of the blood test," he replied. "Then I'll let you and your guardian know how you did."

My guardian? Scootaloo wondered to herself when he left.

"Ms. Rainbow Dash?" the doctor called. She jumped at her name, but hurried to meet the doctor.

"How is she?" she asked.

"Let's discuss this in private," he said, opening the door to an empty room. The expression on his face was unreadable.

"If it involves her, we can say it in front of her," Rainbow Dash replied.

"If you're sure," the doctor said. He continued down the hall, and opened a different door. Inside Scootaloo stood on the table, watching the door.

"Hey, Squirt," Rainbow Dash greeted.

"So?" Scootaloo asked the doctor.

"Ms. Dash," the doctor said, turning to the mare, "if these adoption papers weren't a day old I would have had you arrested for child abuse."

Scootaloo blinked at those words. Had Rainbow Dash really?

"How bad is she?" Rainbow Dash said, ignoring the looks of disbelief she was getting.

"She shows signs of chronic and severe malnourishment. She has far too many nutrient deficiencies to list, she is severely under weight for both her height and age, and her growth has been stunted so badly she is more than a year behind," the doctor said, glancing at his notes occasionally, "I suspect her poor flying is a direct result of this. On the brighter side, she doesn't appear to have any diseases at this time, and for starving as much as she has, she is in relatively good health.

“I’ve never seen or heard of a pegasus who could use magic before, so I have nothing to compare her to, but she is below average for a unicorn of her age, but again, she is not a unicorn.

"Normally, I would have given her several vaccines, but due to her condition, she would not fare too well, so I'm holding off on them for at least a year."

Scootaloo's face had 'sad' all over it. Rainbow Dash tried to maintain her composure.

"Is there- no, what can we do about it?" she asked, trying to sound positive.

"I want her on multivitamins. One tablet twice a day for a month, then bring it back to one tablet a day. It may be a bit of an overdose, but it should bring her up to 'normal' for a filly her age. She has a long way to go to catch up.

“As for the magic, I would suggest she practice her magic often. That will strengthen her mana gland. She should see some improvement over time in how much she can do.”

"Will I be okay?" Scootaloo asked nervously.

"I'm not sure at this point. Given the circumstances, I'd say you realistically have a good chance you'll only be on the smaller side. I don't think you'll be pulling any sonic rainbooms, either. In fact, I wouldn't count on being able to fly much better than you do now. There is a slight chance you could make up for lost time and catch up. If you stick to the proper diet you may be able to do so." He turned to Rainbow Dash now, "make sure she gets plenty of healthy foods. As your doctor as well, I know about your 'unusual' high protein diet. That may help as well, but you know officially I can't recommend such a thing."

"Thank you, doc," Rainbow Dash said. "Come on, Scoots."

"You can find the multivitamins in the pharmacy next door," the doctor said as they left together.

As they left, Scootaloo could see the unicorn foal trying to keep the airplane aloft, but was failing, but was loving every minute of it. In silence, they went across the street and picked up the pills. Returning to where they had parked, they remained quiet.

“Do you still want me?” Scootaloo asked finally.

“Why wouldn't I want you?”

“I'm clipped,” Scootaloo said. “I'll never be able to fly right.”

“I may kick you out if you keep up with that attitude!” Rainbow Dash growled. “I'm don't want to be associated with a quitter.”

“I'm not a quitter!” Scootaloo shouted.

“That's not what I'm hearing” Rainbow Dash replied.

“But he said-”

“No foal of mine, adopted or otherwise, is going to listen to the odds,” Rainbow Dash chastised. “My family is a family of positive thinkers, and what do positive thinkers say?”

“I will get better!”

“That's more like it!”

Scootaloo looked at the mare who had taken her in and embraced her.

The two pegasi returned to the sky house in due time. Both hungry, they went to get some lunch. Having eaten everything in the fridge last night, Scootaloo just made a bowl of cereal, having learned the mechanics of such a task at one of the Cutie Mark Crusader sleepovers. Rainbow Dash went over to one of the metal containers on the counter, and pulled out some odd black strips of something. Putting one end in her mouth, she had to tug it apart.

"What is that?" Scootaloo asked. She had never seen anything like it before.

"You probably don't want to know," Rainbow Dash replied, taking another bite.

"Please?"

"Well, Forceps did say this might help," Rainbow Dash said, looking at her food. "Alright I'll tell you. It's venison jerky."

"What?" The words were completely foreign to the filly.

"It's something that's salted and smoked. That's what jerky is," Rainbow Dash explained, avoiding the real question. Scootaloo glared, not easily misled. "It's meat okay!"

"Meat!?" Scootaloo cried, shocked.

From the depths of Rainbow Dash's mind, a memory came surging back at the words.

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It was her first day as a guest in Gilda's home. Dinner had come, and she sat awkwardly at the table. Everyone was served a hot, slightly burnt mass she couldn't identify. The griffons immediately grabbed their share, and started eating. The lone pony sniffed it, but still couldn't tell what it was. It smelled good to her, but she didn't want to eat something if she didn't know what it was.

"Go on," Gilda motioned with a talon. Of course she did. It was her job to get me to fit in.

Reluctantly Rainbow Dash picked up the mass and bit into it. Flavor unlike she had ever experienced flooded her mouth. The juices dribbled down her mouth as she devoured the strange dish. It had to be the best thing she had ever tasted. It was hard to eat for her though. The griffons didn't seem to have the same problem, but they had a sharp beak not flat teeth like her. She was the last one finished, despite her zeal. When she had finished, Gilda was smiling at her.

"I didn't think you would eat it all," she said, sounding surprised.

"It was sooo-o-oo-o good," Rainbow Dash replied, still tasting it in her mouth.

"You don't know what that was do you?" Gilda asked, smirking.

"It wasn't any fruit or vegetable I've every seen."

"That's because it wasn't. That was pork," Gilda told the young filly, who stared blankly back. "You know, pig meat."

"Meat!?" Rainbow Dash cried, her pupils shrinking.

Ponies were herbivores by nature, but vegetarian by choice. Eating other creatures didn't even occur to most, and disgusted those who it did. Griffons were not invited over for dinner for good reason, and it wasn't table manners. Most ponies thought eating other living things was a thing only the lowest of the low should resort to, and then only in times of dire crisis. Suitable for the unintelligent wild animals of the world.

How could she have forgotten griffons ate meat? There were a dozen at school, and they had an entirely different lunch than the ponies there. It wasn't against any law, but it was a social norm. Why have a law against something nopony would ever do?

But Rainbow Dash had just violated that. She had eaten the flesh of another creature. And she had enjoyed it. She looked at her hooves, expecting them to turn into claws or something. Part of her wanted to throw the meal back up. But why? It was natural for the griffons. Why shouldn't it be natural for me too?

"Yo, Dash, you in there?" Gilda asked, waving her talon in front of Rainbow Dash's face.

She had to say something. She knew what she had done was wrong, but it hadn't felt wrong at all. She had always been told only sick ponies would do such a thing, but she felt perfectly fine. She knew what she was going to say.

"So when do we have more?" she asked, smiling.

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Back in the present, Rainbow Dash gazed off into space, lost in her fond memories. Realizing the filly in the room was waiting for her to say something, she let the memory go.

"Yeah, it's meat. Griffons eat it all the time, so when I was living with them, I got a taste for it," Rainbow Dash said, breaking off another piece, "it was all they had most of the time, and when you're hungry you eat what you can, as I’m sure you know."

"I get that, but why are you still eating it?" Scootaloo asked. Having gotten over the initial shock she was genuinely curious.

“Well, I really like the taste," Rainbow Dash answered. "We ponies might not be natural carnivores, but we are totally missing out. Plus it's high in protein, which is great for muscles. I bet I wouldn't have been able to even do the sonic rainboom without this stuff. I wasn't just born faster than everypony else. I only did it the first time after a winter with the Qnak's. Gilda's family."

"So eating meat gave you an edge over everpony else?"

"That's my belief."

"Can I try some?" Scootaloo asked. She had finished her meal, and had already cleaned up.

"Uh, are you sure you want to eat some?" Rainbow Dash asked seriously. "This used to be a deer. It lived in the woods, maybe had some kids, was killed by a griffon, cut up, salted, and cooked. Once you eat some... you can't take it back. Ever."

"If you eat it, then I'll eat it," Scootaloo said, determined to be like her mentor.

"If you're sure," Rainbow Dash said. She felt awkward giving such a food to a filly, but at the same time knew the doctor had said it might help her get better. She hoofed over a small strip. Scootaloo bit down on it, but couldn't quite tear it apart. "It's not easy at first. Pony teeth weren't meant for this stuff."

Frustrated, Scootaloo kept biting down. On her third try, her teeth went right through it. Her eyes went wide with surprise. She opened her mouth, but couldn’t see what was going on.

"Your teeth are glowing," Rainbow Dash informed her. “Magic sharp teeth?”

"I didn't know I could do that!" Scootaloo said, amazed at her latest magical feat. She finally started chewing the piece in her mouth. “This IS good!”

"I'll have to cook something tonight then," Rainbow Dash said, smiling a bit. Scootaloo swallowed the first piece and ate another. This time, she could feel the magic being consumed as she ate. The spell was perfect for the tough food.

"Can I have some more?" she asked.

"Go ahead. They're in here," Rainbow Dash pointed to the row of containers on the counter, each with a symbol on them. "I have deer jerky, pork, beef, and turkey," she said, pointing to each container in turn. "This last one is empty, but I put all the weird ones I find in here. Last month it was moose jerky."

Scootaloo grabbed a strip of each to try. “Do you make this yourself?” she asked.

“Naw, I buy it over in Shattered Beak. That's the closest griffon city to here,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I gave up hunting years ago.”

“Why did you stop?”

“It's too hard to get away with catching animals around here. Too easy to get noticed. Plus I just never have the time. It's a lot easier to just buy it.”

"Do you really think I'll be okay?" Scootaloo asked quietly.

"Kid, I'm going to make sure you can do a sonic rainboom within two years," Rainbow Dash replied with a smile. “And what did I say about attitude?

"You really think I can do one?"

"Of course. Plus, with your wind powers, you might be able to do it easier than I can. That is, if you do what the doctor said. And learn to move the air just right. With the right airflow you could have almost no wind resistance. But you have to do what he said."

"I promise!" Scootaloo said, saluting.

"I have to go shopping today, so do what you want," Rainbow Dash said, exiting the room. Scootaloo followed. She donned a saddle and opened the door. "Just make sure to be at Sugercube Corner by sunset. Remember, sunset."

"Got ya," Scootaloo said, eating another piece of meat. She really did seem to like it.

"Oh, and it might be a bad idea to tell your friends what you're eating. I've made a point of not telling anypony. They might react badly. They may be your friends, but this is a big thing."

Scootaloo nodded. She knew how to keep a secret. "What if I go anywhere? Should I lock the door?"

"Good point. I'll have a spare key made," Rainbow Dash said. "But I'll see you at Sugarcube corner anyway, so when you leave just make sure you lock the door and don't forget anything.”

With a jump. her caretaker was gone.

Arriving at Sugarcube Corner just before sunset, Scootaloo anchored her cloud, and went around the building to the door. The first thing she had done was grab her scooter, and bring it back to the clubhouse where the wagon was kept. After completing all her deliveries for the Cakes, she had spent the rest of the afternoon trying to make air go in two directions at once. It was hard enough to figure out in her head, let alone actually see the results of a trial. In the end, she had to give up or be late.

Coming around to the front, she saw a steady stream of townsfolk walking inside.

"Huh. I wonder what Pinkie's celebrating this time," she wondered out loud, as she joined into the crowd. Inside her question was answered by a big "Successful Rescue Party- After Party" banner.

Scootaloo loved Sugarcube Corner parties. The decorations and happy ponies made her feel like she belonged in Ponyville. That she wasn’t some strange pony who just wondered into town one day. Plus a party meant free food, and that fit her budget perfectly.

"Hey, Scootaloo! How are ya?" Apple Bloom greeted, walking over.

"Hi, Apple Bloom. I'm alright," Scootaloo replied, pulling a small piece of jerky out of hammer space and eating it.

"Whatcha got there?" Apple Bloom asked. The pegasus turned bright red.

"Uh, just some dried fruit," she lied quickly. "Doctor says I need to eat up if I want to get any bigger."

“Ah hate the doctor, always sticking me fulla needles like Ah'm a pincushion."

"That's cause you're a wimp," Scootaloo teased.

"Hey, here comes Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom said excitedly, pointing to the door. Scootaloo didn’t need to look, she could sense her presence, but she turned anyway, and saw the third filly walking in. She was wearing a simple, plain white cloth dress, for a change, that covered most of her body.

"Hi!" Sweetie Belle greeted. "Did you girls find out anything new?"

"What's with the get up?" Scootaloo snickered.

"Rarity made me wear it. She says my spots are 'eyesores' or something."

"That ain't right." Apple Bloom frowned. “Oh great. They came.”

“Hello there, blank flank club,” Diamond Tiara said snidely, as she approached the group.

“We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Apple Bloom shouted back.

“My bad,” Diamond Tiara said sarcastically

“What do you want anyway?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Wow, even I didn't think you could look more ridiculous,” her gray companion, Silver Spoon said smirking.

“What are you talking about?” Scootaloo asked.

“Dying your flanks. That's so lame. I must say it suits you three perfectly,” Diamond Tiara said.

“Oh my gosh!” cried a passing green unicorn. “Bon Bon, look!”

“What is it Lyra?” her cream colored earth pony companion asked.

“Matching colors! We should do something like that!” Lyra said, pointing to the trio. Realizing what was going on, Sweetie Belle tore off her outfit.

“That is so adorable! We should!” Bon Bon agreed. The pair walked off again, leaving Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon catching flies in their mouths.

“You were saying?” Sweetie Belle teased.

“I'm saying you're tasteless weirdos,” Diamond Tiara said, sticking her nose in the air.

“Hey!” Apple Bloom cried.

“Let it go,” Scootaloo said, putting a hoof in front of Apple Bloom. She turned and gave her friend a smirk. “We are kind of weird aren't we?”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom agreed.

“I think I have an idea for a new spell,” Scootaloo said mischievously. She focused on Diamond Tiara and built up a lot of magic, then unleashed it as a strong burst of air blowing through the prissy earth pony's mane causing it to frizz up.

“My mane!” she shrieked.

“Quick, to my house! I have styling supplies!” Silver Spoon declared. The pair quickly fled.

“I know we shouldn't be misusing magic like this, but that was so funny,” Sweetie Belle said, laughing until her sides hurt.

“Hey ya, Rainbow,” Applejack greeted. The rest of the gang was already there.

“Hey, girls.”

“What do you think of the party? I mean, I know we all needed a party after what happened but, still what do you think?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“It's pretty cool,” Rainbow replied.

“Are you okay? You look really tired,” Twilight said concerned.

“I just flew out to Shattered Beak and back is all,” Rainbow Dash answered.

“I've never heard of that town before,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“Why would you go all the way to a griffon city?” Twilight asked, recalling the name from one of the books she had read on the area.

“Oh, you know, visiting friends, doing some shopping.”

“That reminds me. You said you'd explain what y’all were sayin' to that griffon. What was that all about?” Applejack asked.

“I was kinda hoping you forgot,” Rainbow Dash said, awkwardly scratching the back of her head.

“Ooo I know!” Pinkie piped up. “It's cause you were friends with Gilda!”

“That brute?” Rarity asked.

“Actually, she's right. Mostly,” Rainbow Dash admitted.

“But I thought you weren't friends with her anymore,” Twilight pointed out.

“We made up after the whole party thing. I told her to stay clear of Ponyville, though. She's a bit rough even by griffon standards.”

“Why would you make up with a brute like that?” Rarity asked.

“Because, Gilda isn't just my friend. She's my sister,” Rainbow Dash said finally.

“Your sister?” Fluttershy gasped.

“How can yah be related tah her?” Applejack asked.

“Griffons and ponies can interbreed, but the result is a hippogriff, not a pony or griffon,” Twilight added.

“Wow, Twilight, even you don't know about this?” Rainbow Dash asked surprised. “I'm a blood-sister.”

“Ah'm still confused,” Applejack said, scratching her head. Rainbow Dash sighed in annoyance. The downside to living with earth ponies and unicorns.

“Griffons join other griffon families all the time. It's usually because they like what that family stands for, or for the griffon equivalent of marriage, but sometimes their family kicked them out for some reason. When they join another clan, they’re called a blood-sibling,” Rainbow Dash explained. “They usually don't allow ponies in but I'm just that awesome.”

“I've never heard of that,” Twilight stated, not really sure what to think.

“I have,” Fluttershy spoke up.

“How did yah hear bout this?” Applejack asked.

“I learned it in flight school,” Fluttershy answered.

“We went to a school where a lot of griffons attended,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“I remember it being very rare for ponies to join a griffon family. I never knew you did, Rainbow Dash.”

“It's not something I spread around,” Rainbow Dash answered, looking about nervously.

“But it's so cool!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“It's so unlike you to not brag about something,” Rarity pointed out.

“It was never a big deal for me,” Rainbow Dash replied simply.

“So how do you join a griffon family?” Twilight asked, trying to learn as always. “It can't be as easy as asking.”

“Well no, you have to do something to impress the head of the family, to make him or her feel you are worthy of being in the clan,” Rainbow Dash answered. "Then they offer to let you join."

“So what did yah do that impressed them so much?” Applejack asked.

“Was it the sonic rainboom?” Pinkie asked.

“I don't really know what it was,” Rainbow Dash answered with a shrug. "He never actually said. It was probably because I'm so awesome."

“So why did you fly all the way to a griffon city in one day?” Rarity asked.

“It’s not that far. Only about an hour if I fly quickly.”

“But that doesn’t explain why you would go,” Twilight said.

“I'll tell you about it some day,” Rainbow Dash said, blowing them off.

“Rainbow, honesty is important to maintaining a solid friendship,” Twilight chastised.

“That's why Applejack is honesty, not me,” Rainbow Dash countered, but Twilight kept pressing her. “Look, you all have some things you'd rather not share. Don’t deny it, you know it’s true. This is mine.”

“Ah can respect that,” Applejack said, “if it was somethin' we needed to know, you'd tell us.”

“So, any news from the Princess?” Rainbow Dash asked, trying to change the subject quickly.

“Nothing so far,” Twilight answered.

“Hey, what's she-” Rarity started, “hey, Sweetie Belle!” she called, walking off.

“We'd better see what's up,” Rainbow Dash said. Anything to stay away from those kinds of topics.

“Sweetie Belle, what are you three doing?” Rarity demanded. The three fillies had climbed up onto a table, and were showing off their new looks to all the passers by.

“What does it look like I'm doing?” Sweetie Belle replied smartly.

“Someponies took a real likin' to our new look,” Apple Bloom went on.

“So we decided to start a new trend,” Scootaloo finished.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders, Trend Setters!” they cheered together.

“I'm already booked for the next week,” a pink haired pony spoke up. Rarity recognized the local manedresser immediately

“I hadn't considered the popularity of such a thing,” she admitted.

“I told you, I'm not doing it!” an olive colored earth pony snapped at a pegasus following her.

“But I'll look silly if only I do it!” the town mailmare said.

“They're called friendship flanks, and we're not friends. You're just my roommate who eats all the muffins!” the earth pony threw back. The two vanished back into the crowd.

“IDEE-EEAA” Rarity sang suddenly. Her friends looked at her. “If this really is the next big fashion trend, I need to get in on it. If everypony is dying their flanks, they'll need outfits to show it off,” she said to herself. “Excuse me everypony, but I must get to work on this. Sweetie Belle, I'll see you at home.”

“Bye,” her sister called after her.

“So girls, how have you been?” Twilight asked.

“Okay,” they chorused.

“Notice anything strange?” Fluttershy asked.

“A couple things,” Scootaloo said innocently.

“Like?” Rainbow Dash urged.

“Oh you know, this and that,” Sweetie Belle said, trying to sound innocent as well.

“Stop foolin' around,” Applejack said sternly.

“Fine,” Scootaloo conceded.

“Ah got this, girls,” Apple Bloom said, stepping forward. “First, we can all walk on clouds now. Second, Scootaloo and me got magic powers.”

“Really?” Pinkie Pie sounded surprised.

“So what kind of powers do you have?” Fluttershy asked.

“Ah can do this,” Apple Bloom answered, summoning a fresh cupcake to her. She had to move a bit to catch it as it soared at her.

“And I can do this,” Scootaloo added, summoning a small gust of air that knocked some confetti into the air.

“Oh wow! I knew you could summon magic, but I didn't realize you had worked out a spell,” Twilight said, amazed. “Elemental magic took me awhile to even get the basics. I'm impressed.”

"How is this possible?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's really simple," Twilight replied, "see, everypony has an organ inside them that can generate and control magic. It's completely dormant in earth ponies, and produces enough to allow pegasi to walk on clouds."

"That sounds really specific," Pinkie Pie said out loud.

"I'm trying to find a way to easily identify terra ponies since they basically look like earth ponies. They don't have one. If I can learn diagnostic magic, I can easily identify them in a crowd."

"Well, good luck with that," Pinkie said happily, bouncing off.

"At least we know none of us are," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"How can yah be so sure?" Applejack said trying to sound sneaky, "they look a lot like earth ponies. Who's tah say Ah ain't one and don't know it?"

"Didn't you hear? They can't do magic at all. If Apple Bloom can do magic, that rules out your family," Rainbow Dash replied.

"I trust all of you anyway," Twilight said with a smile.

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Two cloaked figures sat side by side on a bluff, watching the scene before them. A city built on a mountain was burning in the distance. A city that, until five years ago, they had lived in. Black smoke billowed up into the night sky. An evil laugh echoed across the expanse, and the two could hear it as far away as they were.

A sudden movement caught their attention. At the same time, both of their manes began moving of their own accord, against the gentle breeze, not with it.

"Tia? What does this mean?" the smaller figure asked the larger figure.

"It means we're the rulers now. The rulers of a burning city." the larger figure replied.

"What do we do now?"

"I'm not sure, Luna."

"We have to stop him."

"Yes. But I don't know how we can. If our entire kingdom couldn't stop him, how can we?"

"We won't know until we try."

"Yes, I suppose you're right."

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The party had ended some time ago, and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were now at home.

"Thanks, uh... mom?" Scootaloo said, unsure how to address the older pegasus. She was about to go upstairs for the night, but she felt she needed to say some things first.

"Ugh, don't call me that," Rainbow Dash groaned, making a face. "It makes me sound old."

"So what should I call you?" Scootaloo asked.

"How about Rainbow Dash?"

"Okay, thanks, Rainbow Dash."

"For what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"For, you know, adopting me."

"That? I told you I'd take care of it."

"For so long I waited for somepony to adopt me. I gave up when I, uh... left the orphanage. Now that it actually happened... it's weird, it feels like such a big deal, but at the same time, it doesn't."

"I know how you feel. When I first moved in with the Qnaks, it was so different from what I expected. I did everything I could to fit in. A lot of things I wouldn't have considered otherwise, but looking back, I'm better for it. For your sake, don't act like I'm going to kick you out of you mess up or something. I'm giving you a place to stay, not trying to raise you."

"Still, you gave me the best birthday present ever," Scootaloo said.

"Wait, today's your birthday?"

"I'm not exactly sure when it is exactly, but it was a couple weeks ago."

"Well, happy birthday, Scoots."

"Now you're making me sound old!"

The two laughed a bit.

“Night, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said, mounting the stairs.

“Nigth, Scoots,”

“Night, mom,” Scootaloo said quietly as she headed upstairs. She must not know I’m a wanted pony. I hope I don’t end up getting her in trouble for what I did.

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End Arc 2

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 3: Death of a Crusader

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Edited by N and Dr. Bob

Arc 3: The Sea Ponies

Chapter 8

"So that was the first day. Did anything important happen after you and Rainbow Dash went into your room?" Twilight asked.

"No," Scootaloo said quickly.

"Please continue," Twilight said.

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An urgent knocking awoke Fluttershy to pink. All she could see was pink. It had happened before, so she reached up to brush her mane out of her face, but found the pink obstruction was solid. She moved it forcefully and looked around. The pink obstruction was one of Pinkie’s hind legs. Now that she was awake, she could see Pinkie was half laying on top of her.

“Um...” Fluttershy said, turning red with embarrassment. Somepony knocked on the door again, waking Pinkie up.

“Oh,” Pinkie uttered, noticing the situation. “Huh, more fuel for the Flutterpie fire,” Pinkie said cheerfully, getting off of her. “Sorry about that, I’m not used to sharing a bed except with Gummy.”

“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said. Another knock came, more urgently now.

“We’re coming!” Pinkie shouted. She swam over to the door to find Applejack waiting.

“Good, yer up,” Applejack said.

“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“Dunno, Seafoam and some other pony said we need tah get up now,” Applejack replied. “Get yer stuff, we gotta go.”

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie grabbed their bags and followed right away. Down the hall, Seafoam waited, along with a sea pony guard in full armor. The rest of their friends were slowly getting up.

“I’m sorry I had to wake you up in the middle of the night, but it’s very important,” Seafoam said. “This is Captain Sandbar, he’ll explain more.”

“Your warnings were just in time, Ambassador,” the other sea pony said. “Just two hours ago we discovered that there are assassins within this very city targeting you. The King has ordered you be moved to a safehouse for your own protection.”

“Oh my,” Rarity exclaimed.

“Wouldn’t we be safer in the palace?” Twilight asked.

“Normally, yes, but we fear they might be in the royal guard. Where you are going, only the most trusted fish are stationed,” Captain Sandbar replied.

“Let’s get goin’ then,” Applejack said.

The group swam through the palace to the front where they met with several more fishfolk.

“Our escort,” Captain Sandbar explained. “I trust each of them with my life.”

Twilight nodded in approvement. The group then swam out, flanked by the guards. Rainbow Dash was uneasy, but she didn't express it. There was exactly one guard for each of them, including Seafoam.

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Two quadrupedal figures galloped across the open plain. Far in the distance behind them, several figures flew roughly in their direction. They needed a place to hide, and they needed it now. Their cloaks were pulled back in the wind, exposing equine heads, but they had no manes to speak of. Their tails too were cut off. They would be too much of a give away.

"Tia, can't we just cloak ourselves with magic?" one figured asked between labored breaths.

"Possibly, but they might sense us, Luna. One can never tell with griffons," the other figure, Tia, replied.

"But where can we hide? There is nothing for miles!" the first figure, Luna, argued.

"Maybe we caaaaaaaa!" Tia shrieked, vanishing from sight.

Luna turned and looked to see where her companion had gone. In the flat land, a hole in the ground stuck out, and Luna ran to it and jumped down to follow. The fall was several yards, but nothing to one of her size. With a thump, she landed beside Tia.

"Luna, is that you?" Tia asked in the dim light. Luna held a hoof to Tia's muzzle. She fell silent, and the two looked up to see if their pursuers had seen where they had gone. The two breathed a sigh of relief as the flying figures passed over the hole they were in.

"It must have just been a patrol. They didn’t see us,” Luna said. “Are you alright sister?”

"Yes," Tia replied. At once the horn upon her head began glowing, illuminating their surroundings.

The two looked around in awe. This was no mere hole. They seemed to be in a structure of some kind, made of stone bricks. The walls were fairly smooth, and the floor was slightly damp. It was narrow and long, rectangular in shape, possibly a hallway of some kind. The walls had metal rings in it. Far above them was a stone ceiling. The tunnel was huge, large enough for a teenage dragon to walk through upright. The spot they had fallen through seemed to be unintentional. It was a jagged hole, like something heavy had fallen through the masonry.

"Where are we?" Luna whispered loudly.

"I do not know, but I think we have found a place to hide for a while," Tia replied.

"Shall we look around?" Luna prompted. Without waiting for a response, she began walking off in one direction. Eagerly Tia followed. The hallway was several dozen yards long, but when they reached the end, they were forced to stop. What seemed to have been a doorway at one time was filled with dirt, with roots invading the open space. Disappointed, they turned and walked to the other end of the hallway. This time they found results. The stone corridor began sloping downward. There were even stairs, worn nearly smooth by rain water.

As they walked on, the air grew stagnant, the floor wet and slippery, and the darkness imposing. Stone bricks gave way to solid rock. Tia's horn was a pathetic source of illumination in this lightless world. They could barely see. Still they pressed on, curious to the origin of such a place. They must have been nearly a mile underground before the passage way leveled off and they continued on. Their hooves made loud splashes as they stepped in shallow, ancient puddles. The corridor had still kept its initial size or had even gotten bigger; it was hard to make out the top in the dim glow.

Finally the stone tunnel opened up into a chamber so large, Tia's light could not reach the top. It was circular but they could not see the far side in the dim light. In the center stood a pedestal with six stone spheres resting on it.

"This may be a temple or treasure room of some kind," Luna suggested. She got her own horn to give off light, and began examining the walls.

"Yes, but for what nation?" Tia wondered, examining the opposite wall from Luna. They were covered in archaic symbols and carved figures. The figures were not ponies or anything she could identify.

"I do not recognize this language," Luna said, "but look, it changes!" she declared.

Tia trotted over to see the other wall had strange symbols as well, but distinctly different. And the figures were not ponies here either, but very different from the others. As they walked along the walls, they saw that every few yards the symbols and figures changed and each set of similar symbols and figures were spaced apart from the others. When the writing wrapped around the entire room, it simply continued above. The two had to fly to continue follow the spiraling sequence of runes and pictures. The last few sets of figures were definitely Equestrian, and the final set seems familiar.

"Can you read it?" Tia asked. Luna had spent much more time than she had reading old texts.

"I know this language," Luna replied. "It hasn't been used in over four thousand years. It will take some time, but I think I can translate it."

"See if it can explain this place," Tia urged.

"I will," Luna replied.

"I'll go gather some food for us. I think we should stay here for a while."

“Agreed. I’ll get to work right now.”

The group of ponies and fishfolk made their way slowly through the city, moving from alley to alley to avoid detection. The palace disappeared into the distance as they started entering the outskirts of the city.

“I thought you said this place was close,” Rainbow Dash said.

“We’re almost there,” Captain Sandbar said. “One more block.”

Sure enough, they changed direction for a square building. It wasn’t very large, but had only one way in or out: a single doorway. Very secure.

The building, despite having the impression of many stories from the outside, was hollow and seemed to be a single main room with a few side rooms. On one side was a balcony with glass separating it from the ocean. Behind them, the fishfolk closed the door.

"Welcome," a voice drawled. All pony eyes turned to the balcony. There, behind the glass stood a dull orange mare. “To your doom. Wow, that sounded less cliche in my head.”

“A terra pony? Down here?” Pinkie said, surprised.

“How can you tell?” Twilight asked.

“What, are you the only one allowed to be smart?” Pinkie chided.

“But they look like us earth ponies,” Applejack said.

“And name one earth pony that would want us dead,” Pinkie asked. Nopony spoke up. “Exactly.”

"Scoots, get off me," Rainbow Dash whispered. The filly let go quickly, not sure what her guardian meant to do.

“Captain, what is the meaning of this?” Seafoam demanded.

“Shells and lots of them,” Captain Sandbar said, smirking.

"What do you think you're doing, attacking us?" Spike growled. There was a deep rumbling in his throat when he spoke the words. He tried making himself seem bigger, but it didn't work. Plus he couldn't breathe fire underwater, so he posed little threat to anypony.

"I'm succeeding where my companion failed. Seize them," the mare ordered. At once, the guards sprung on the unsuspecting ponies. Unable to maneuver underwater, tired, and hungry, they were subdued without much of a fight and held down, that is, all but one. The poor crab tasked with grabbing Rainbow Dash found his shell cracked open in several places before he could even blink.

“Wrong move!” Twilight shouted, readying her magic. However, before she could cast a single spell, a metal collar was clamped around her neck. She stopped breathing for a moment. All at once her magic was gone. The shock stopped every thought, and her mind went blank.

"You're next!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the mare on the balcony.

"Ripper, Thrasher, get her," the mare said calmly. At once, two shark fishfolk raced into the room and at Rainbow Dash. She dodged their charge and began fighting back. Their hides were tough, but she was tougher.

"Let me go!" Apple Bloom cried, suspended in a lobster guard's claw. The guard was holding Scootaloo next to her, but the pegasus filly was too busy watching her mentor in action to fight back. Flailing about, Apple Bloom tried hitting the claw to no avail. Determined to free herself, she charged her tiny hoof with magic, and punched again. The chitin around the entire claw shattered, exposing the soft flesh underneath. In surprise and pain, the guard dropped both fillies.

"Don't let her get away," the mare commanded.

Defiantly Apple Bloom stood her ground, both front hooves aglow with power. Thrasher swam over quickly. She tried to throw a punch, but couldn't get it going in time. She closed her eyes as the shark bit down, but it didn't hurt. She opened her eyes, her pupils pinpoints, and saw the teeth unable to pierce her flesh. Then her magic gave out. The blood curdling scream echoed through the room.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack cried, struggling as hard as she could to get free, but couldn't escape her squid captor. Thrasher swam around the group, taunting them with the helpless screaming foal in his jaws. A cloud of red water trailed behind him.

"Let go!" Rainbow Dash commanded, abandoning her fight with Ripper to assault Thrasher, but Ripper caught her first.

"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGG!" she grunted as the razor sharp teeth pierced her abdomen and leg, effectively pinning her in the jaws.

Laughing through their victims, the sharks circled the group filling the water with choking red blood. The noise snapped Twilight out of her stupor, but without magic, she could do little to help.

"Stop playing around and kill them!" the mare ordered.

"Shut it, air breeder. Wheel kill dem," Ripper growled through the pony in his mouth.

Forgotten, Scootaloo watched in horror as her friends slowly died before her eyes. Rainbow Dash tried putting on a brave face for the filly, but she didn't see it. She couldn't see it. Even in the ocean, her tears blocked her vision. Apple Bloom had stopped crying. Her body was completely limp. She was already gone as far as Scootaloo knew.

Who were they to take away the only pony to ever care for her? Take away her friend? No. They wouldn't take away this happiness. These fish wouldn't ruin this. She rubbed the tears from her eyes. Scootaloo stepped forward, a wilting anger in her eyes.

“Let them go," she snarled. The incapacitated ponies looked toward the filly. Even the sharks stopped their taunting to look at her. "I said let them go." Her eyes narrowed. She reached deep inside herself to that pool of energy and forced out every last drop, but it wasn't enough. She strained and pulled, trying to get more, but it was like squeezing a dry sponge. Finally more power came out slowly, but it felt different from her normal magic. Drawing it out made her feel sick to her stomach. The more she pulled, the more she began feeling sick and tired. And weak. She didn't care. She just needed one shot.

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"Oh my! Scootaloo, never do that again!" Twilight shouted.

"What?" Scootaloo asked.

"That wasn't magic! That was your own life force you were using!" Twilight said, horrified.

“Oh. I didn't know you could do that," Scootaloo said stupidly.

"There are so many other options for getting more magic, like converting matter into it, like I did with our manes."

"Yeah, because I totally went to unicorn school and learned how to do that," Scootaloo retorted.

"I told you to not go past your limit!" Twilight reprimanded. "You could have lost months, or even years off your lifespan!"

"And it would have been a sucky year without Apple Bloom," Scootaloo replied.

"Just don't do it again."

"I don't plan on it."

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"What, diss?" Ripper asked, biting down harder. Thrasher followed his namesake, shaking Apple Bloom like a rag doll.

"LET. THEM. GO," Scootaloo demanded, shaking with rage. Had the water not hidden it, they would have noticed her wings were solid blue with the magic she had summoned up. The very water around her began boiling from the built up energy. She didn’t know what spell to cast, she just knew she wanted them gone. "NOW."

"You puny air breathers have a lot to learn if you think you can tell us what to do," Thrasher said, spitting Apple Bloom out. The filly just floated limply in the water. Ripper let Rainbow Dash go as well. The pair laughed at the audacity of this foal ordering them around.

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed to slits. Then she let the magic out. Instantly the two sharks stopped laughing. They were utterly silent. White lines had appeared in a flash all over their bodies. Then they turned red. Deep red lines spider-webbing across their bodies, down to the bone in some areas, the edges of their fins completely chopped off.

The sharks roared in pain, the water around them reddening. Scootaloo kept staring them down. Terrified of the filly now, they fled. Scootaloo turned towards the remaining guards holding her friends down.

"Let them go or your insides will look like their outsides," she threatened. It was an empty threat. She had spent all her magic, but they had no way of knowing. With several panicked shrieks, they fled the room as well. Not stopping to rest, she swam over to Rainbow Dash.

"Heh, I'm out of shape," Rainbow Dash said through gritted teeth, pulling herself together. She was still alive, for now.

"Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked. She knew it was a stupid question.

"I'm sure I'll live," Rainbow Dash said, wincing. "I've had worse than this."

Her stomach and leg were bleeding profusely, but Scootaloo nodded and moved to check her friend.

The rest were crowded around the young filly. It was bad. Most of her abdomen was in tattered pieces. The shark hadn't bitten anything substantial off but it was a stomach churning sight all the same. Fluttershy had her ear to the earth pony's torn up chest.

"Her heart stopped beating," Fluttershy announced, sobbing. "There's nothing I can do."

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack wailed, pounding the floor.

“Twilight, do something!” Pinkie shouted.

“I don't know what to do!” Twilight cried. “Bringing ponies back from the dead is impossible! There’s nothing I can do at this point!”

"You win this round!" the mare shouted at them. "Mark my words, you will not interfere with the terra ponies' plans again!" She shrieked before fleeing. Nopony was paying attention.

Scootaloo settled next to Sweetie Belle. The three were now two. She looked at her yellow flank. Apple Bloom would never be gone. Not as long as this reminder stayed. She wasn't sure why, but she tried sensing out Apple Bloom. She couldn't. She could sense Sweetie Belle with her mind, but their friend was definitely gone. Forever.

She put a hoof around her friend's shoulder, but Sweetie Belle didn't respond to it. The young unicorn tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

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Shells are sea pony currency. 2 shells = 1 bit at current exchange rates.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

mechsrule:
What's your username on fimfiction?

Arc 3: The End of the Crusaders?

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Edited by N

Arc 3: The Sea Ponies

Chapter 9

And then Sweetie Belle began singing.

It didn't have a distinct tune, nor words in any language they knew, just a noise from the unicorn's mouth. It was sad, but at the same time joyful. She kept singing despite the tears running down her cheeks. Soon everypony was staring at her through watery eyes, but she didn't seem to be aware. She just kept the song going.

As her voice grew, points of light appeared in the water around her. They floated towards her, coalescing at the tip of her horn. As she continued the song, the ball of light grew and grew until it was almost blinding. As she sang, her voice grew until it became deafening. Later, sea ponies would claim to have heard it as far away as the other side of the city.

When she uttered the last lyric of her song, the light shot from her horn and hit Apple Bloom's body. It twitched erratically for a couple seconds, like it had been hit with electricity. Her wounds that had all but stopped bleeding, began leaking anew. Fluttershy pressed her ear to the foal again.

"She's alive!" she shouted.

"Ah'll ask how, later. She ain't going to last long like this!" Applejack said, leaning over her sister.

"I got this," Twilight said, moving forward. She leaned over the re-dying filly and pressed her hooves over the foal's ragged chest. “Oh right, no magic,” she said, tugging at the collar.

“Here,” Rarity said. Her horn glowed briefly and the collar fell away.

Twilight batted the thing away, cringing at how it made her feel. “Now I can do this.”

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity said to the unicorn who was rubbing her throat.

“Yes?” she croaked. “OW!” She winced. “I must have strained my voice a bit,” she murmured quietly.

“What happened?”

“I thought about how the sirens could do magic, so I started singing. The words just seemed to come to me,” Sweetie Belle replied in a raspy voice.

“Seafoam?”

“I don't know. There are myths of sirens who could bring back the dead with their music, but they are very old legends,” Seafoam replied.

"There," Twilight announced, backing away. Apple Bloom's wounds had been charred black, but they no longer bled profusely. "This'll leave some nasty scars, but I stopped the bleeding for now. We need to get her to a hospital, now."

"We can't trust anypony here," Rainbow Dash said. She was still losing blood rapidly, but had still managed to drag herself over.

“Rainbow Dash you shouldn't be moving!” Fluttershy said, very concerned.

“I'm okay. I've been hurt worse than this before,” Rainbow Dash replied, smirking. “Where can we go?”

"Canterlot," Twilight answered, "it's far, but it's the best chance she has."

"We'll never make it in time," Applejack said.

"I'll teleport us."

"That far? It's impossible!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Maybe for one unicorn. But not two," Twilight said.

"Right;" Rarity realized where this was going. She called forth all her magic and touched her horn to Twilight's. She forced all the magic out into her friends horn. Its red hue didn't noticeably change.

"Well?" Twilight asked.

"That's all I have," Rarity replied.

"Wow," Twilight said simply. "I never really realized how much stronger I was. I can barely feel your magic."

"I'm tapped out," Scootaloo informed them.

“Me too,” Sweetie Belle added.

"I'll have to make do," Twilight sighed.

“You girls go. I am going to return to the palace and expose the Captain's treachery,” Seafoam said. “May the currents guide you to your destination safely.”

“May the winds always be at your back,” Rainbow Dash returned. With a flick of her tail, Seafoam was off.

"Leave us here. Use your magic to get Dashie and Apple Bloom to Canterlot. We'll come back on our own," Pinkie Pie said.

"What I'm teleporting is fairly small compared to how far I have to teleport. Plus you'll be in danger if you stay here," Twilight replied. “And I’ll need your help. I’m teleporting really far, so I might not end up right where I want to. If that happens, I’ll need you to help me get them to the hospital.”

"If you're sure..." Pinkie murmured.

"Get close."

They moved in as Twilight commanded. She planted her feet wide and charged her horn. She poured all her magic into it, more magic than she had ever used before. The water around them rippled with the energy, and a ring of light formed around them. Sparks jumped from her horn to the ring and back, more and more rapidly until the water was full of the sparks of magic. Then, in a flash, they were gone.

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“Rainbow Dash?” Clance Qnak called. He entered the bedroom Rainbow Dash and his daughter shared to find the filly hunched over on her bed.

The bed was like any other, though a bit special in her case. Like all griffon beds, it was covered in furs for warmth, but like all older griffon beds, the furs of animals they had hunted themselves, and Rainbow Dash’s was no exception.

“Yeah?” Rainbow Dash asked, not looking away from what she was doing.

“We seem a bit short on knives in the kitchen. Have you seen any of them?”

“Uh.... yeah,” Rainbow Dash said sheepishly. “I kind of borrowed some of the older ones. I wanted to see if it would work before I spent any bits on it.”

“On what?” Clance asked.

“This!” Rainbow Dash said proudly. She turned around and held up a hoof. Wrapped around her leg was a fur band with three knives wrapped in additional bands to hold them in place. They were placed so the blades’ entire lengths were past the end of her hooves, with the sharp side inwards.

Clance looked surprised at what she had made. “Oh!”

“I still want to make it so they retract, you know, so I can still walk,” Rainbow Dash said, turning her hoof over. “Once I figure that out, I’ll get some real blades. I hope it’s okay I borrowed these.”

“Just make sure to bring them the next time we go hunting so you can try them out,” Clance said, turning to leave, a smile on his face.

“Sure thing, dad,” Rainbow Dash said, returning to her work. A second later she mentally slapped herself. Did I just.... Did he notice?

Clance didn’t slow his pace as he left the room. Did she just... no, I must have misheard.

It didn’t mean anything. Just a slip of the tongue, Rainbow Dash reassured herself.

Another flash and they stood outside the Canterlot hospital. They gasped in the lack of water for a second, coughing up what remained in their lungs, but were soon able to breathe normally again. Then they all cried in pain as their ears popped. Twilight fainted from the energy expenditure.

"Twilight!" Rarity cried, seeing her friend fall. Then she noticed something. Twilight’s familiar dark purple mane was completely gone. She looked around at her friends trying to shake off the post-teleport disorientation. All their manes and tails were missing. "What happened to our hair?"

"Will you stop fussin and help us?" Applejack snapped, her sister lying on her back. Scootaloo and Fluttershy were trying to pick Rainbow Dash up. Rarity joined Pinkie Pie in helping to carry Twilight in.

No sooner had they walked through the door, then Rainbow and Apple Bloom were taken off to be treated. They wanted to take Fluttershy too, but she explained it wasn't her blood and wandered off to clean herself up. They all sat in the waiting room silently.

"Ah hope Apple Bloom is alright," Applejack said. She was hiding her face with her hat, but her voice was labored.

"She'll be okay," Fluttershy said, "this is the best hospital in Equestria."

"Ah shouldn't a brought her," Applejack moaned.

"You had no idea this would happen. None of us did," Rarity said softly. As she was talking, a doctor entered the room. They all turned and looked expectantly.

"I know you all want good news, so that first. As far as I can tell they're both going to live," the doctor said, reading some papers. "The mare seems alright. We stitched her up, but we need to keep her for observation in case of infection. The filly is in bad shape. I'm surprised she even survived the injuries."

She didn't.

"Is mah sister gonna be alright?" Applejack asked, lowering her hat. Her eyes were bloodshot and the inside of the hat was soaked, as was most of her face.

"I'm not making any promises, but she is stable for now. She's in an induced coma at the moment while her body recovers. At best, she'll be here about a year. When she is eventually discharged, I would recommend buying her a few shirts. There is nothing we can do about the scarring."

"But she'll be alright?" Applejack repeated.

"At this point, we're not sure, but if she's survived the injuries this long, I'd say she has a good chance of making a decent recovery. The bites grazed a few organs, but everything important is still there, she broke five ribs and several major arteries appear severed but were obviously healed later. She’ll never be one hundred percent, but I feel she will recover enough to go home."

"But she'll live." Applejack said, sniffing. "That's all Ah needed tah hear."

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"And that’s what happened," Scootaloo finished.

"Would you like to hear what you missed after that?" Twilight asked.

"Fine. I'm not leaving soon anyway."

"Well we had all fallen back asleep, but you know that," Twilight began.

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"Twilight, wake up," a voice called gently through the mists of sleep.

"Huh?" Twilight mumbled groggily.

"Twilight?"

She turned and saw Princess Celestia standing there looking very concerned.

"Princess!" she said hoarsely. "What are you doing here?"

"I got her," Spike announced.

"It's the middle of the night. Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"It’s early morning actually, and you are far more important to me than sleep."

"Princess," Twilight said, smiling.

"What happened in Barrier City?" Princess Celestia asked after a brief pause.

"One of the sea ponies woke us up in the night and told us there were ponies trying to kill me. He led us to what he said was a safe house, but it was a trap set by a terra pony. He wasn't lying, only he was one of the ponies trying to kill me. The terra pony sent some sharks after us and Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom were hurt really bad."

"Oh my," Princess Celestia said sitting down next to her student.

"I was so scared. I couldn't think, I didn't do anything,"Twilight said, hanging her head. "I'm a failure."

"Twilight you don't have to be so hard on yourself. With the protracted peace we have been in, you not knowing how to fight is to be expected, and a good sign of how well we've maintained that peace.”

“And having a magic blocking collar didn’t help. It was awful, not being able to feel my magic,” Twilight said, shuddering at the vivid memory.

“I have fortunately never experienced that. I see you lost your mane. What happened to it?"

"I didn't have enough magic to teleport us here, so I had to convert the hairs into magical energy. Plus losing them meant less to move."

"A very clever trick," Princess Celestia praised.

"I did see some amazing magic too," Twilight went on, "magic I don't think even you can do."

"I find that hard to believe," Celestia said with a chuckle.

"Apple Bloom was dead. And I mean dead. Her heart had stopped. Then Sweetie Belle started singing this song, and cast some spell. Next we know Apple Bloom is alive again," Twilight said. "I've never heard of somepony bringing another pony back to life."

"Do you see the true power friendship can bring?" Princess Celestia asked. "You are right, restoring life is beyond my power, and believe me, I have tried to do so, many, many times. I have no doubt what happened was only possible because of their friendship."

“Seafoam said it may have been a form of sea pony magic,” Twilight said, remembering the performance. “They have sea ponies down there that can do magic just by singing.”

“That is very fascinating,” Princess Celestia commented. "I know many incantations, but to have them in song form must be lovely to hear."

"That wasn't all," Twilight said after a pause. "Scootaloo did something I think was combat magic. She cut up the sharks pretty bad with a spell. They probably died from it. If she hadn't... we probably wouldn't have made it."

"These three have certainly been through a lot lately haven't they?" Princess Celestia said fondly.

"Princess?"

"Yes?"

"What do we do now? I don't know if the King was to blame, but I don't think we can trust the sea ponies."

"I'll handle him myself," Princess Celestia said. "I think you all should stay in Canterlot for the next few days. I am going to personally teach you fight with magic."

"I don't want to hurt anypony," Twilight whined pathetically.

"I think this little filly is going to need some help," Princess Celestia said, ignoring her and jerking her head towards Scootaloo. "Doing what she did can be quite traumatic. You should help her through it."

"I'll do my best, Princess!" Twilight said. Her reluctance to hurt was matched by her eagerness to help.

"There are matters I must attend to, but please stop by when you feel ready to learn combat magic," Princess Celestia told her before leaving. "I'll send some guards to get your things in Gallopster."

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"And that is why you are here," Twilight said finishing, "I want you to tell me how you feel about what happened."

"I don't feel anything," Scootaloo replied.

“It's perfectly natural to feel ashamed or regret after doing something like what you did."

"I don't regret what happened," Scootaloo said without blinking.

"Even if they are trying to hurt you, it is still normal to feel regret toward what happened. What if you had killed them?"

"I sort of regret not killing them," Scootaloo shot back. "They deserved it."

"Don't talk like that," Twilight chastised, "that is not the way for good ponies to talk."

Which I am not. "Can I go home?" Scootaloo asked again.

"Not until your parents come and get you," Twilight repeated. Scootaloo had had enough.

"They're not coming!" she shouted. "They never will come!"

"All our friends are on the hunt for them as we speak. They'll find them."

"They're wasting their time," Scootaloo spat.

"Your parents seem to be a hot button issue for you. Why?"

"Do you really want to know?" Scootaloo asked, snarling. Twilight nodded. "I don't have any parents, alright!"

"You're an orphan?" Twilight was so surprised, she nearly dropped her quill. "I had no idea."

"Well now you do. Can I go now?"

"Of course not. We'll just call the orphanage, and they can send somepony to pick you up."

“The orphanage closed down after I left,” Scootaloo replied, smiling creepily.

“I'm sure we can find one to take you in.”

"NO!" Scootaloo shouted with such ferocity, Twilight felt actually afraid of the filly. "If you make me go back-" she said, grabbing the collar. She couldn't remove it herself.

"Scootaloo, calm down," Twilight ordered.

"If you try to make me go, I will kill myself. I will," Scootaloo threatened. She didn't back down.

"It's where you are supposed to be. It's what's best," Twilight said calmly. "It's not worth killing yourself over. What could be?"

"Shut up!" Scootaloo commanded. Twilight obeyed, but more out of shock than obedience. "You're a smart pony Twilight, smarter than I'll ever be. I know that. You've read more books than I ever will even see. You know a lot of things I'll never know.

"You know what it's like to have a loving family. You know what it's like to feel safe. You know what it's like to have everything hoofed to you. To feel comfortable, and get support from everypony around you. You know a lot, but there are some things you will never know. Things you will never read in a book.

"You will never know what it's like to be abandoned less than a week after you're born. Or what it's like to stay up late at night wondering why they did it, and where they could be. Why they could just abandon their daughter like that. Did they just not want a foal? Were you born wrong?

"Do you have any idea what it's like to grow up without a real name? To be simply called the day you were found? Coming up with your own name is something you have never read about.

"What it's like to be starving every day. To live in an orphanage. Your books can't tell you what it's like to wake up every morning, and instead of wondering 'what will I learn in school today', you wonder 'gee I wonder who will use me for a punching bag today. Will it be the older kids here, the kids in town, or maybe one of the caretakers who's had a bad day'.

"I bet you've never thought about what it's like to hope and pray every minute of every day that somepony will walk through that door and take you out of that tartarus hole, but also knowing it will never happen. Do you know how it feels to not fear death, or even desire it, because it means escape from there? If taking my own life means I never have to go there again, I will do it without hesitation.

"Ever read a book about how it feels to escape that kind of place? They almost stopped me you know, but I got three of them with a nail I dug out with my bare hooves. How about what it feels like to run across Cloudsdale in the dead of night, with the police and everypony else out looking for you? What about spending two years on the run? Do you know what it feels like to go to sleep every night, not knowing if you will even wake up in the morning? I bet you don't.

"You will never know what it feels like to dive in a dumpster, just so you can maybe find somepony's leftovers so you might have something to eat. You will never know the feeling of despair that comes from being kicked out of a doorway, into the rain. You won't feel the pain of finally making some real friends, but knowing you can never tell them.

"You will never know what it feels like to lie to them every day. Stealing food so you can stay alive. So the pains of an empty stomach are weak enough to bear another day, or working your hooves to the bone to earn enough for some real food every once in awhile, or to keep of the facade of having a family. You will never know how it feels sleeping in the cold every night because you have no other choice.

"Twilight you will never know what it is like to be me. I wouldn't want you to. You don't have to understand why I did what I did. You don't have to approve, or ask how it makes me feel. I want you to understand this: I have never regretted the things I've done. I am ashamed of lying to my friends. What pony wouldn't be?

"But I don't regret what I did. I did what I had to. I saw a way out, and I took it. I didn't let them stand in my way. I saw my friends being killed, and I did what I had to. No matter what you say, I will never regret what I did. I did it because I had to. I would have only regretted anything if I had done nothing or failed.

"I don't regret giving up my own life force to save them. Even if I had known, even if it meant I died tomorrow, I would have done it anyway. My friends are worth it. Aren’t yours? I wouldn't call myself a friend otherwise.

"So before you think, oh she's an orphan, she belongs in an orphanage. Before you assume she needs therapy, do something first. Try putting yourself in her horseshoes. Try imagining what it must be like. You wouldn't last one day in my life. But I don't regret any of it. It's made me who I am. If that's wrong, then I'm wrong, but I wouldn't want it to have happened any other way."

Scootaloo stood, panting. She had never spoken about her life before and she had half growled half shouted her speech. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but she was too angry to care. Twilight was staring at her, trying to absorb what she had just heard. The pad and quill had long since fallen from her hooves.

"I... I had no idea..." Twilight said shamefully.

"Just... please don't tell. Please," Scootaloo begged, her vision obscured by tears. "I don't want to go back. I want to stay in Ponyville, with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom."

"I Pinkie Promise that what you said won't leave this room," Twilight said.

"Can I go see Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom now?" Scootaloo asked after she had finally calmed down.

"Uh, yeah," Twilight said. She was still trying to process the filly's words. "I'll call off the search for your parents."

Her horn flashed, and Scootaloo's collar fell away. The filly walked to the door gratefully, and turned.

"You're a nice pony Twilight. I'm glad you're not me. A nice pony shouldn't have to go through that kind of stuff," Scootaloo said before leaving.

"Princess?" Twilight asked, entering the throne room.

"Hello there, Twilight," the Princess greeted.

"I'm ready to learn combat magic," Twilight said.

"I thought you didn't want to hurt anypony. What changed your mind?"

"I realized I didn't want to see my friends hurt more than I didn't want to hurt somepony."

"Seems like you learned something important," Princess Celestia said knowingly. "Were you able to help Scootaloo get over what happened?"

"She didn't need it. But I did," Twilight admitted.

"I thought as much. Shall we begin?" Princess Celestia asked.

“Actually, before that, I had a question.”

“Ask away. You know I’ve never refused to answer any of your questions, nor do I ever see myself doing so.”

“Well, while we were there, we met a dragon called Glare. He was a lot like Spike, only older, and more grown up. He seemed surprised that Spike didn’t know there were other dragons like him, and he mentioned something called the messenger dragon corp.”

“Oh,” Princess Celestia said awkwardly. “I had intended to place him in the corps later.”

“By later you mean when he was old enough?”

“By older I mean after you wouldn’t need him anymore.”

“I don’t need him, I want him around, he’s like my brother!” Twilight stated. “Why does everypony seem to think I only use him to as a servant!”

“Well, I meant after you were, you know, no longer able to need him,” Princess Celestia said.

“Ohhhh,” Twilight said, finally catching on.

“There is a messenger dragon corp here in Canterlot, and most young dragons are put into it for training, but I held off on it in Spike’s case.”

“Because of me?”

“Well yes,” Princess Celestia replied. “Do you remember the test you took to get into the School for Gifted Unicorns?”

“Of course I remember the day I became your faithful student!”

“Well, you weren’t supposed to pass,” Princess Celestia said with a giggle.

“Huh?” Twilight said, confused.

“We do that test for every student. They’re supposed to just show their control of magic by injecting their magic into the egg to help hatch it. Messenger dragon eggs require pony magic to hatch. It’s one of the things that keeps our two species together and reliant on each other. It normally takes about an entire class to hatch one egg.

“When it does hatch, the baby is put into the corps until the class graduates. The dragon is then presented to the best performing student in the entire class to be their companion until death.”

“By I hatched it all by myself,” Twilight said.

“I felt you two were meant for each other, so I let you keep Spike, without sending him off for training. After all, he has plenty of time to learn more skills, and he knew what he needed to, to help you.”

“Would it be alright if he spent some time in the corps while you teach me combat magic?”

“That is for the two of you to decide. All messenger dragons are allowed in the corps.”

“Say, if this corps thing is for all dragons, do you know who his mom or dad is?” Twilight asked.

“No,” Princess Celestia said, shaking her head. “All eggs are taken from the parents as soon as they are laid, and put into the school system for classes to hatch.”

“That seems so mean,” Twilight stated, “they never meet their parents. How could you do that to them?”

“It was their idea,” Princess Celestia replied.

“Oh.”

“So, would you like to begin now, or do you have any more questions?”

“Can I just let Spike know where to go for the corps?” Twilight asked.

“I’ll have Nova let him know,” Princess Celestia said. She took out a scroll and wrote something on it. Then she levitated the scroll out through a side door. Twilight looked at her confused. “Nova’s my current messenger dragon.”

“Oh.”

“What, did you think I just magicked the letters into Spike?”

“Good point.”

"Most dragon are raised by the parents, just not the ones in the corps, though most not in the corp system are family dragons. The family of dragons serves a pony family forever. Like Nova, her mother, and her grandfather were both my messenger dragon as well,” Princess Celestia explained. “If you are ready, we can begin,” Princess Celestia said. “Now do not hesitate to strike me. You cannot seriously harm me.”

“What? Hit you?”

“Of course. An important part of combat magic is sparring, and you are far too strong to spar with anypony else but me or my sister.”

“I don’t know...” Twilight said nervously. She couldn’t seriously throw magic at royalty, could she?

“Go ahead Twilight. I promise you can’t hurt me.”

“Here goes,” Twilight said, mustering all her magic.

Scootaloo walked into the hospital wing that housed her friend and parent. Rainbow Dash was awake when she entered. The older pegasus put down the book she was reading. Her torso was wrapped in bandages, but she seemed fine.

"Mom!" Scootaloo cheered.

"Hey Scoots, I haven't seen you since I woke up. How are you?" Rainbow Dash greeted, ignoring what the filly had called her this time.

"I told Twilight," Scootaloo said simply. "It was the only way I could get her to let me see you."

"Well they had to find out sooner or later," Rainbow Dash sighed.

"No, I told her about me. I didn't even say I was adopted," Scootaloo said, reassuring the older pony. "She kept going on about how I needed help to get over what happened. I don't."

"I know, Squirt," Rainbow Dash said, ruffling the younger pony's mane.

"I know you know," Scootaloo replied, smiling. She wasn't going to mention her abuse of her magic. "Has Apple Bloom woken up?"

"Not yet," Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo trotted over to her friend.

The poor filly had been in bad shape when she had been brought in, and looked in even worse shape now. Her chest was covered in bandages that were continually changed as blood stained them. She had hoses and tubes sticking in her everywhere. But she was alive, and she would get better. That's what the doctors had said. They said she was lucky to be alive at all. They didn't know the half of it.

“Hey, Scootaloo! What are you doing here?”

Scootaloo turned and saw Sweetie Belle walking in, carrying a book behind her with her magic.

“Hey, Sweetie Belle. I got Twilight to let me go,” Scootaloo said simply. “What are you doing here?”

“See this?” Sweetie Belle said, presenting the book. It was quite old and didn't seem to be made of paper at all. “When they brought our stuff here, this was in the basket.”

“So what is it?”

“It's a book of siren songs. The sirens must have sent it to Glare for me,” Sweetie Belle sang. “I found this song that promotes healing, so I've been coming here every day to sing to Apple Bloom, so she'll get better.”

“That was pretty cool how you revived her,” Scootaloo said.

“I still have no idea how I knew that song,” Sweetie Belle replied. She sat down by Apple Bloom's bed, and opened the book to the correct page. Scootaloo opened her mouth to say something, but stopped and waited. Then Sweetie Belle began her song. A fast paced, cheerful tune this time.

As she sang, bits of light began appearing as before, but this time floated right into Apple Bloom. The earth pony developed a halo of light. When the song ended, the light faded into her. She moved a bit in her sleep, but did nothing else.

“That was cool,” Rainbow Dash said from across the room.

“Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo said finally.

“Yes?”

“You beat us.”

Sweetie Belle looked confused for a moment, then looked at her flank. On it was a mark. A golden emblem she had seen before. The mark of a siren.

“I got my cutie mark!” She screamed. She and Scootaloo began jumping up and down excitedly. “I have to show Rarity!” she said after a few minutes of dancing and cheering. She hurried from the room, book in tow. Still smiling, Scootaloo returned to Apple Bloom's side.

"Get better Apple Bloom. I have something I want to tell you two," Scootaloo whispered to her friend. She didn't know if she could hear her, but she didn't care. She was ready to tell them everything. Or mostly everything.

“Hey, Scoots,” Rainbow Dash called.

“Yeah?” Scootaloo replied, not taking her eyes off Apple Bloom.

“I was wondering if, maybe you wanted to come with me the next time I go to Shattered Beak.”

“Wow, really?” Scootaloo said, excited. “You never let me come before!”

“I think you’re tough enough,” Rainbow Dash replied. “So, do you want to come?”

“Of course!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “When do we go?”

“Once I’m out of here,” Rainbow Dash said. “Which I hope is soon. It’s so boring in here.”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “I have to wait here for you and I don’t even get a bed!”

“You have a key,” Rainbow Dash reminded her.

“I know,” Scootaloo said, sitting down beside Rainbow Dash’s bed.

“Greetings, Miss,” said a pony wrapped in a cloak.

“Bonjour, madame,” the unicorn she was addressing replied, before switching to the strange pony's own tongue. She had been very nervous when the abnormally large mare had walked into her shop in the early morning with a gray griffon following her. “What brings you to my salon today?”

“I heard you can do permanent hair dyeing. I have a great need of your services,” the pony said.

“Oui. What kind of color are you looking for?” the manedresser asked. The cloaked pony removed her hood revealing a patchwork of orange and brown, with a few spots of blue.

“I want the rest of my coat to match my horn,” the pony said.

“Not a problem. You'll just need to remove your clothes.”

The multi colored unicorn looked around. The store was empty. She waved a hoof. The griffon went outside and stood outside the door to deter any passersby from entering. Then she removed the cloak covering most of her body.

“Bouche bée!” the manedresser cried.

“Here are the bits for the dye job,” the unicorn- no alicorn before her said, placing a bag of money on the counter. “Plus some extra that say you never saw me.”

“Oui, oui!” she said. “Come this way and Je shall match you right away.”

“Excellent,” the alicorn said, following. She was led to what looked like a large standing shower with a mirror along one wall. The stylist began mixing paints and testing against her natural color until she was satisfied. Then she poured the paint into a spray bottle.

“What color would vous like your mane?” she asked. The alicorn searched her mane for one of the few locks that still held her own color.

“Like this,” she said, snatching some with magic, "with a highlight in the middle."

The stylist went back to work and soon had two more bottles.

“Close your eyes and let la magic begin.” she said. The alicorn did so.

While the stylist pony sprayed the paint on her body, she went over recent events in her mind. Four months. It had taken four months. Four months since her life had changed so dramatically. Four months it had taken to travel from the laboratory all the way to Prance.

It had been slow going. They had to avoid ponies at all costs. She knew Celestia would be looking for her. One did not get away with assaulting royalty. Because of this, they had to make wide detours and travel at night. Prance was on the far side of Equestria from where they started, but such a trek would have only taken two weeks by air normally.

It had been hard traveling too. Trixie knew how to eat of the land. It was a skill she had honed as she traveled from town to town. When she couldn't find enough to eat, Greg shared what he could hunt. There was a time in her life when she would have refused such a meal, but that was a long time ago. Long before she met the professor.

The manedresser worked diligently to cover her entire body in paint. Even every feather of her diminutive wings. When she was done, Trixie felt a wave of magic pour over her body, followed by torrents of water that washed the paint off. Then the stylist moved onto her mane.

Trixie had plans. After she had her proper looks back, she would return to her old career. They would have to avoid Equestria, but there were plenty of other countries out there. Celestia would not risk war by invading another country just to get at her. Of that she could be certain.

Her wings were mostly a waste. They were too small and weak to support her weight for more than a few seconds. She had tried ignoring them, but they bugged her until Greg taught her how to preen them. An activity that thoroughly disgusted her, but she could not deny how nice they felt afterwards.

Occasionally she would catch them stretching without her realizing it, or she would find herself moving in a way she didn't intend. It was a constant reminder that two other ponies had gone into her new body. She had tried to reach them, even commanding them to speak, but they seemed mostly gone. Whatever the reason, she was glad she didn't have to share control with two other minds. She commanded her body, nopony else.

The coloring must have been almost over. She could feel water running through her mane and tail now. Finally the stylist pony used a heat spell to dry her off nearly instantly.

“Okay, open and see la beauty!” the stylist said. Trixie opened her eyes. She was staring back at herself. Her old self. She smiled broadly for the first time in months.

“Oh, this is fantastic! Trixie feels like her old self again!” she cheered. “How permanent is this coloring?” she asked. If she had to return frequently, she wanted to know how often.

“I said permanent, and I meant permanent. I use la magie to change your hair color on inside.” the stylist explained. “Even as your feathers fall out, new ones will be blue.”

“Quite the magic trick there,” Trixie said, admiring herself some more.

“Would you like manecut as well?” the manedresser asked.

“No, this is all I needed. Thank you,” Trixie said, donning her cloak again. “Remember, I was never here.”

“Oui,” the unicorn nodded, dumping the bits into the shop til. “No winged unicorns in my shop today or ever.”

The now blue alicorn left the shop, escorted by the griffon.

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"Tia, I think I have it worked out." Luna announced. It had taken weeks, but she had finally deciphered the ancient carvings.

"That is wonderful! What does it say? What is this place?"

"That's just it. Even they didn't know. They found it much like we did," Luna answered. "It begins by saying who they were and how they found this place. It seems they did this because that is what the previous visitors had done."

"So each of these sets of writing is just another group of ponies finding this place and writing they found it?" Tia asked.

"It seems that way. I can't go back any farther, so what the initial writings were about we'll never know. But what they talk about is amazing. They said that here they found artifacts of immense power, and used it to banish a great evil. I don't know the name, it cannot be translated, but the last thing they said is they, like their predecessors, returned the artifacts here for when they would be needed again."

"And the artifacts?"

"They called them the Elements of Peace."

"These stone things?" Tia said, pointing to the six stones they had left untouched on the pedestal.

"It would seem so. This place is fascinating. All this history, lost because we simply cannot read it. Oh how I wish I could understand just a fraction. Imagine what we could learn from all the beings that have set hoof here, or rather whatever they have, here. Ponies seem to be only the most recent visitors."

"But the artifacts? The elements? Does it say how to use them?" Tia asked, stepping over to the pedestal.

"It did say each had a name, they translated roughly as, honor, giving, happiness, truth, gentleness, and power."

"That sounds... a bit counter to 'peace'."

"They were a bit hard to translate," Luna admitted, "I think there are better ways to define them. The group before us was made up of all alicorns. The elements reacted to them. They were very specific on which reacted to whom, but again, I can't translate names."

"So what do we do?" Tia asked.

"Let's get a look at them," Luna said.

She picked one up in her hoof and examined it closely. It was a nearly perfect sphere with a stone rhombus carved into the surface. As she looked at it more, it slipped from her hoof and fell to the stone floor where it shattered. The two alicorns stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"Did you just break an ancient artifact of great power?" Tia asked finally.

"It shouldn't be possible!" Luna said, tapping the fragments with her hoof. Tia did as well. Suddenly the shards began glowing yellow and began hovering around the white alicorn. "I think I get it!" Luna declared.

She began touching each of the stones in turn. Three reacted to the contact, and began floating around her as well, one pink, one blue, one red.

"Maybe you should..." Luna prompted, and Tia touched the remaining stone orbs. The remaining two glowed green and purple, and began floating around the white alicorn. Suddenly, the speed of the orbs began to increase. Faster and faster the stones orbited the alicorn's getting closer and closer to their necks.

"Luna..." Tia whined nervously.

Then the balls hit them, and there was a bright flash of light. As their vision adjusted back to the normal glow of their horns they saw what had become of the Elements.

"This is lovely!" Tia said, admiring the gold necklace upon her neck. Embedded in the front was a purple disk shaped gem with two crescent shaped gems on either side, one yellow, one green, that flared on the outside edge, creating a picture similar to her cutie mark.

"Fascinating." was all Luna could say. Her necklace was pitch black, with a blue crescent moon shaped gem and two star shaped gems on either side, one red, the other pink.

"So how do we know which is which?" Tia asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe each has unique properties or something." Luna replied.

"And how do we use them?"

"The writings didn't say." Luna replied.

"So now we have the Elements of Peace..." Tia said.

"Now we can defeat Discord." Luna said confidently.

"NO!" Tia shouted. "You know it's far too dangerous to fight him. We'll only get ourselves killed!"

"We're going to die either way! It might as well be for a worthy cause!" Luna shouted back.

"It's still suicide!"

"It says these things have vanquished great evil before. What if that evil was Discord?" Luna said. “The dates would place it when grandfather was killed, which fits with what we already know.”

"Luna, we are not going to rush into Discord's palace and challenge him. We'll be dead before we can even figure out how to use these things."

"So we'll learn first. We can defeat lesser evils. Then when we know how to use them, we can face him."

"Luna, mom and dad died so we could be safe. Throwing our lives away on such a bad idea would be a mockery of their sacrifice."

"Mom and dad died so Alicornia could have hope. And we found that hope right here." Luna replied. "We have a duty to keep all of pony kind safe."

"And what good will it be when we die and the world stops. At least Discord keeps it turning."

"I'm going to do my best to stop him, and if you won't come then so be it." Luna declared. With that, she turned and walked out of the chamber.

"Wait. I'll come with you. If we die, we die together." Tia said following.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Second picture is courtesy of Google images.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 4: Shattered Beak

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 4: Family Time

Chapter 10

“Brace yourself, we'll be able to see Shattered Beak in a minute.” Rainbow Dash announced. She was still in bandages, but that wasn't going to keep her grounded. Scootaloo stood up on her cloud to get a look. They maneuvered over a mountain and the city came into view.

Before them stood a massive mountain that reached well above the clouds. The peak had several ridges running down the sides of the mountain, giving it a broken appearance. Around the point where it passed through the clouds, there was a wide plateau that circled the entire mountain. Parts of the plateau were above, and some parts were below the cloud cover. Built onto the plateau was a medium sized city of stone and wood buildings. It was large enough to house hundreds.

The pegasus pair flew into the airspace, but didn't encounter any trouble. Rainbow Dash led them to one area that seemed free of all buildings. As they landed, Scootaloo was amazed at all the sights around her. She had lived in a variety of places, but all of them were inhabited by ponies. Seeing none in sight was peculiar, but not unsettling.

“Stay close,” Rainbow Dash instructed.

“I'm tough,” Scootaloo replied, dismounting from her mode of transportation.

“You're a tough pony, but not griffon tough,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Okay...”

Together they walked through the streets of the city, getting the occasional strange look. Rainbow Dash ignored it, but Scootaloo couldn't help but look back at all the beaked faces staring at her. Rainbow Dash seemed to know her way around. Before long they reached the market. Griffons milled about the colorful stalls, haggling and conversing. Smaller griffons tugged at older griffons, begging them to buy them some toy or snack. It was a lot like being home, only with predators.

“Hey, it's my favorite customer!” a fat gray griffon said, waving to Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, Marv!” Rainbow greeted. “How's the hunting?”

“We had a good lamb harvest this month. Best in twelve seasons,” Marv replied. “Say, what's with the hatchling? Did you actually find a male that can put up with you?”

Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes.

“Another female then? I’ve heard you ponies can do that.”

Rainbow Dash slapped her face with her hoof. “I am not having a foal myself.” She shuddered at the thought. “I’m just taking care of her.”

“Aw, you mean I won't have a brother or sister?” Scootaloo joked.

“Not a chance,” Rainbow said, making a face.

“Hey, what’s this?” Scootaloo asked, pointing to a wooden board on the market stall. It had a series of pictures of various objects, one of which was a couple bits, and a row of hooks next to them, holding up little blocks with numbers on them.

“That’s a price guide,” Rainbow Dash explained. “Griffons don’t have their own money so they use everypony elses. This just shows what each is worth in relation. Like one bit for two shells, but three bits for one strip.”

“So what would you like today? I have a special on turkey today, just four bits a pound," Marv asked.

Rainbow Dash made her selections and paid the merchant.

“Alright Scoots, I'm going to give you a tour of the whole city!” Rainbow Dash announced once her purchases were crammed into her saddlebags.

Together, they made their way through the winding streets. Rainbow Dash paused occasionally to point out landmarks. She talked about the history of the city, and told about the actions of various griffon heroes immortalized in stone.

On their travels, they passed a small open field of cloud. In the field several dozen griffons were gathered, cheering.

“What's going on over there?” Scootaloo asked.

“Dunno. Let's check it out,” Rainbow Dash said.

The pair walked over to see what all the commotion was. In the cloud field, there was a large depression with a series of ramps and bowl shaped depressions dug into it. Inside were a couple griffons standing on long flat pieces of hardcloud, sliding around. Scootaloo looked closer, and saw that they were actually skateboards made of hardcloud. As she watched, she saw several perform tricks as a griffon met a jump or a depression.

“What are they doing?” she asked a nearby spectator.

“Oh hey, a pony,” the griffon said looking at her. “It's called cloudboarding. It's only the second most popular griffon sport.”

Scootaloo watched in awe at the ease to which the griffons maneuvered around. She looked around, and saw a vendor nearby, cashing in by selling hardcloud boards to any fools who thought they could imitate the griffons before them. She rummaged around for her pocket change. She had spent most of the summer working her hooves to the bone doing odd jobs to earn some money. Now was the time to spend it.

“Can I have a board?” she asked the griffon merchant.

“Sure hatchling, if you got the bits,” the griffon said. “It's twenty bits for a basic board. Deluxe ones are fifty.”

“I'll take a basic one,” Scootaloo said, placing most of her money on the counter. “Can I have a spare bit of hardcloud too?” The merchant counted the coins.

“Sure hatchling. Is this enough?” He asked pulling out a long strip of hardcloud out from under the counter.

“Perfect!” she replied, trotting off happily.

"Howdy, Apple Bloom! How are yah feelin'?" Applejack asked entering the hospital room. On the bed her sister was awake, sipping at a cup of water.

"Like Ah got eaten by a shark," Apple Bloom joked.

"Don't yah joke about that; we almost lost yah. Ah've never been more frightened in mah life," Applejack scolded.

"Ah know... yah did lose me...."

"If we lost yah, yah wouldn't be here, now would yah?" Applejack said trying to comfort the filly.

"Rainbow Dash told me what happened. Ah wasn't just bit and tossed around, Ah died. Whah wouldn't yah just say that?"

"When Fluttershy said yah were dead... Ah just didn't know what tah do. Ah didn't know how yah would feel knowing yah had died."

"Ah think it's cool! Ah'm the first pony ever tah come back from the dead! Ah'm a zombie! Rar!" Apple Bloom said, giggling.

"Good thing yer in bed, or Ah'd be in trouble!" Applejack said, joining in the fun.

"Rar! Ah'm hungry fer brains! Diamond Tiara, yer safe."

“Ah'm glad yer takin' it so well."

"How's the farm? Am Ah missin' anything?"

"Everythin's fine. Just focus on gettin' better, yah hear?"

"With Sweetie's singin', Ah'll be outta here in no time," Apple Bloom cheered.

“Scoots?” Rainbow Dash called, looking around. She was so busy watching she hadn't noticed the filly wonder off. “Scoots, where are you?”

“Hey look, a pony who thinks she can board!” a griffon nearby shouted. Rainbow Dash turned to see Scootaloo walking into the arena carrying something.

Scootaloo placed her hoof made scooter on the edge of the arena, and climbed on.

“You're out of your league, pony,” one of the griffon boarders taunted. Scootaloo just smirked, and tipped the scooter forward. At once the outside world ceased to exist. It was just Scootaloo, her scooter, and the cloud before her. When retelling the story, she would later find herself unable to remember exactly what happened. It was all a blur of spins and flips.

The next thing she remembered clearly, was the last move she did. Going through a half-pipe, she built up as much speed as she could going down. She jumped off the other side. The half-pipe was placed at one side of the arena, so she managed to jump over the entire thing, aided only slightly by her wind powers. Only enough to push her in the right direction.

She landed and ground to a halt. The world returned. All she could hear was cheers. She looked around at the griffons cheering at her performance. Rainbow Dash among them. One of the griffon boarders skated over and dismounted. The griffon bowed to her. She didn't understand what it meant but was shocked anyway.

“That was some of the best cloudboarding I've ever seen!” the tawny winged, hazelnut colored griffon praised. Scootaloo could tell he was about her height. “You have got some sweet moves!”

“Uh... thanks,” Scootaloo stammered.

“You should enter the junior tournament,” another griffon, reddish brown with slate gray wings, said, walking over as well.

“Wait, there are tournaments for this?” Scootaloo said surprised.

“Well duh,” the second griffon said rolling his eyes.

“This was just exhibition,” the first griffon explained. “I'm Rriz of the Mouas(moe-as), by the way."

"Trundent (truhn-dent). Liaq (lie-ack) clan," the other griffon said.

"Scootaloo," Scootaloo said simply.

"There's tournaments all the time. The next one's happening over in Blood Crest next month," Trundent explained.

"Cool. I'll have to check it out."

Trundent walked off and returned to boarding.

"Scoots, that was awesome!" Rainbow Dash praised, walking over.

"Really?"

"Totally," Rainbow Dash replied, "who's your friend?"

"Rriz of the Mouas clan," Rriz said.

"Rainbow Dash of the Qnak clan," Rainbow Dash said. Then she did an odd movement where she bowed her head slightly, but kept it level. Rriz quickly returned the gesture, looking embarrassed.

"Sorry. Um, is she in your clan?" Rriz asked.

"Not yet," Rainbow Dash replied.

“She should join one of the big sports clans. She'd fit right in," Rriz said.

"That's for her to decide in her own time," Rainbow Dash replied.

"I'm so confused," Scootaloo said, rubbing her head.

"I'll explain on the way home," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Do we have to go now?" Scootaloo asked. "I wanted to scoot some more."

"Alright, just a few more minutes," Rainbow Dash said.

“Yay!" Scootaloo cheered. She got back on her scooter and beat her wings, propelling herself forward. Rriz followed behind.

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"Still no progress on getting to Steelmane?"

The alicorn asking the question was seated on a massive gold throne. His mane moved on it's own, just like every one of his predecessors had. Upon his head sat a gold crown. Before him stood his top military leaders, each in gold armor. And poking her head in the door to listen, was a tiny white filly. Tiny was an overstatement, she was nearly the size of an adult member of an offspring tribe, but still small for her own tribe.

"No, my king," one replied. "We cannot pierce the bunker, despite our best efforts."

"Has there been any sighting of Discord?" the king asked.

"No. Despite our best efforts the demon cannot be found. He seems to be suppressing his influence so we cannot locate him."

"That's very strange. Last time, he stormed right in here. What could he be up to?" the king wondered out loud. “Pull out troops back from the bunker and have them focus on locating Discord. Leave just a few sentries to watch Steelmane.”

“Yes sir.”

At that moment something pulled the filly away from the door.

"Celestia, what are you doing?" her mother hissed. "Your sister is busy keeping the rotation. You need to be resting."

"I'm sorry momma, I just wanted to hear what's going on. I am going to be queen like you one day." Celestia replied.

“Not for a very long time," her mother told her softly. "You leave the silly court business to your father and I. You have your sister to worry about."

"I know," Celestia grumbled.

"That's important. It's the job of the older sister to take care of the younger sister. Don't ever forget that."

There was a flash and the world changed. A mad, pitch black pony was where her mother had been.

"This is the end sister. The night will last forever," Nightmare Moon snarled.

"I'm sorry Luna. I'm sorry mom," Celestia said, crying. Then she released the power of the elements.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Scootaloo loved it. It felt so right. The wind rushing past her, the calming feel of wheels rolling beneath her. It was like her whole world was at peace in that moment. Like there was no where she would rather be than on that scooter in that moment. Before she knew it, Rainbow Dash called her name and she stopped.

"Aw, already?" Scootaloo whined.

"It's been two hours," Rainbow Dash replied. "You may not have have school tomorrow, but I have to work."

"Okay..." Scootaloo said sadly. "Bye Rriz."

"Come back soon," Rriz said, taking a break from boarding.

"I can't. I've got school coming up soon. I won't be able to come here then," Scootaloo replied.

"Well, do you live nearby?"

"Ponyville," Scootaloo replied.

"I think I know where that is. I'll stop by sometime," Rriz said.

“Okay," Scootaloo said with a smile. Something made Rriz stare at her for a moment.

"Hey Itra!" he shouted into the crowd. A female griffon similar to Rriz turned towards him. "You owe me five strips!"

"What?" the griffon asked after coming over.

"You said those pictures on their plots are tattoos. Well, ha! They're not! Now pay up!"

"What, a cutie mark?" Scootaloo asked confused.

"What does that prove?" Itra asked, pointing to Scootaloo.

"She didn't have one earlier," Rriz said simply.

"I-" Scootaloo stopped and stared at her flank. The formerly white flank, now was adorned with a dark blue tire speeding down a ramp. "I got my cutie mark! I got my cutie mark!" she cheered.

"Huh. So they're not clan marks or tattoos? Weird," Itra said.

"They're kind of similar," Rainbow Dash said. "It's a sign they're growing up, just like a first flight or first hunt. They appear when a pony discovers what their special talent is."

"And they just appear? That's so weird," Itra said.

"Yeah, like mine appeared when I discovered racing."

"Yeah, now pay up!" Rriz jeered.

"I'll pay you at home, downy-brain. Come on, it's getting dark," Itra snapped.

"Fine. See ya, Scootaloo," Rriz said before taking off into the air with Itra.

"So.. Apple Bloom?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah?" Apple Bloom replied, surprised by how serious her sister was talking.

"Do yah.. do yah remember anythin'?"

"Do Ah remember what?"

"Do yah remember bein', yah know, dead?"

"Ah remember the shark bitin' me. Then Ah remember wakin' up in the hospital. Everythin' in between is blank. Ah'm sorry."

"Yah ain't got nothin' to be sorry for. Ah was just curious. A lot ah ponies will wanna ask if yah saw anythin'. No pony knows what happens when yah die, and since yah did and came back... well they'll wanna know what happened."

"Ah hadn't thought ah that," Apple Bloom admitted. "Ah wish Ah could now."

"Ah'd better head home soon; bahfore dark," Applejack said. "See yah tomorrow, Apple Bloom. Ah love yah."

"Ah love yah too, sis."

“What was all that about?” Scootaloo asked as they flew home, her new hardcloud scooter secured to her regular cloud.

“You'll have to be more specific,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“All the bowing,” Scootaloo replied. “When you greeted him you did a bow, and when he came over he did a different bow.”

“Respect is important to griffons,” Rainbow Dash replied simply. “Things like that are just customs, like how we shake hooves. Since we were both strangers to each other, we bowed slightly to show mutual respect for each other. The deeper the bow, the more respect they feel is due to the one they are bowing to. Griffons don't bow to anything they perceive as below them. Basically all non griffon. That's why he didn't bow before I did.

"If I knew him, we might not bow either, because the slight bow is meant mostly for first time greetings. It’s like a ‘hi, fellow griffon’ sort of bow. If you’re not really introducing yourself, don’t bother, like if you bought something at a shop.”

“But when he came over, he bowed before even saying hi to me,” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Bowing is a showing of respect. He was just showing he respected you for your performance,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“And you said I'm not in your clan. But I thought you adopted me.”

“Right. If you were my biological daughter, you would automatically be a member of the clan. Since you're adopted into the family, you have to prove yourself like I did. It's not a bad thing. It means you can join any clan you want and not have to get a second mark. They hurt enough the first time, I don't want to know how it feels to remove one.”

“This is confusing,” Scootaloo said, rubbing her head.

“If any griffon asks your name, just say Scootaloo, no clan,” Rainbow Dash instructed. “And remember to bow like I did when you introduce yourself. They should return the bow, but probably not very deeply. Not a lot of griffons have respect for ponies, but showing that you understand their culture can help.”

"Say, can you take me to this city called Blood Crest next month?" Scootaloo asked.

"What for?

"Trundent said there's a cloudboarding tournament there."

"I suppose, seeing as it's your special talent and all but, you'd better practice. I don't want to take you all the way there if you're not going to mop the floor with the competition," Rainbow Dash said.

"I'll definitely win!" Scootaloo said with a smirk.

"That's what I like to hear."

“Can you take me hunting some time?” Scootaloo asked after a while.

“What brought that up?”

“I don't know. You’ve mentioned it a few times, and I just thought I'd might like to try it,” Scootaloo said. Rainbow Dash laughed a bit.

“Maybe some time,” Rainbow Dash said when she was done. “You'll need the right tools though.”

“Tools smools, I have magic,” Scootaloo said, flashing her wings.

“Your spell would shred prey. The idea of hunting is to not do that. Try working a spell that is more precise. Biting would be a very bad idea.”

“All the spells I've learned so far have been accidents. I've never tried to learn a specific kind of spell.”

“You don't need magic you know,” Rainbow Dash said pointedly.

“Then what do you use?”

“I made myself a set of claws when I was a filly,” Rainbow Dash answered. “I was at a huge disadvantage when my family had talons and I didn't, so I adapted. They’re basically some knives I strap to my leg. Maybe you can do something similar.”

“I'll think of something.”

“I still remember my first hunt,” Rainbow Dash said fondly.

“Story time!” Scootaloo cheered.

"It's not a story for little fillies," Rainbow Dash replied, shaking her head.

"If you tell me, I'll tell you how I got my name," Scootaloo offered.

“What, Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yup. I wasn’t born Scootaloo,” Scootaloo said. “But I’ll tell you how I got the name if you tell me your story.”

“It doesn’t have to do with your scooter?”

“I got the name first.”

“Okay then, deal," Rainbow Dash agreed, curious, "it was during the second month I spent with Gilda's family. I was practicing my maneuvers...”

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“Hey, Dash,” Gilda greeted as she landed nearby. Rainbow Dash was currently racing around the clouds to practice.

“Do you think I’m getting any faster?” Dash asked absentmindedly.

“I can't tell,” Gilda replied. “Dad wanted me to ask you: Wanna come hunting with us tonight?”

“Hunting?” Dash asked. She stopped her flying, and hovered to listen. "What's that?"

“It's where we go out to get food,” Gilda replied.

“Isn't that just shopping?” Dash asked, having heard the term at school.

“No. We go out and kill the food,” Gilda answered. "Buying it all the time is expensive, so we hunt a lot."

“Oh.”

“What, is the pony a chicken?” Gilda taunted.

“No!” Dash protested. “I've just never done it before.”

“It'll just be you, me, and dad. He'll teach you.”

“Well okay,” Dash said reluctantly. Eating another creature was one thing, but killing was something else. Still, she wanted to fit in, lest she be kicked back to the streets.

"Here, you might need this," Gilda said, pulling out a small dagger.

"Why would I need that?" Dash asked, balking at the sight of the metal weapon.

"Well, you don't have talons like us, so you need something sharp, or are you planning on kicking the animal to death?"

"Good point," Dash said, taking the dagger. She held it loosely. It felt so cold in her hoof. The smooth steel gleaming in the late afternoon sun. Her own reflection in it stared back at her. Judging. She blinked and put it away.

"I'll let him know you want to come. We'll leave soon," Gilda said, flying off again. Dash stayed there thinking about what she was going to do. Actually killing something with her bare hooves. She was still surprised she had hooves and not bestial claws yet. She was quickly losing her ponyhood to the griffons. Was that such a bad thing?

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"Are you ready Rainbow Dash?" Gilda's father asked. Clance was a massive griffon, though looked a lot like Gilda. Standing beside him, Dash barely rose to his knees. A veteran of at least one of the griffon wars, as well as a respected patriarch, his bore simultaneously, the air of one not to be messed with, and a source of great wisdom, like he could just as easily kill as discuss philosophy. Upon his back were the griffon equivalent of saddle bags to carry what they caught. Dash was quite put off by the deep red they seemed to be stained.

Rainbow Dash, Gilda, and Clance hovered over the forest below. Night was falling but there was still enough light to see by for about an hour. They had flown far from Crouched Back, their home, and Dash had no problem keeping up with the larger griffon, though she suspected he slowed down for her and Gilda.

"I'm not sure what to do," Dash admitted.

"The key to hunting is surprise," Clance instructed. "Once you spot your prey, get as close as you can without it noticing you. Then when the moment is right, strike. Since we are in the air and the prey is not, diving at it quickly is also a decent tactic, but there is the chance it could see you coming, and hide before you get there. You must strike quickly, because the more it struggles, the more chances it has to get away, so go for fatal injuries. A slice to the throat, or breaking the neck will work."

"Okay..." Dash said, still unsure. Unsure because I am unable or unwilling?

"Watch me," Gilda said. She flew off, scanning the forest below with Dash in pursuit. Something must have caught her eye, because in a split second she dove into the tree cover. She flew back up a moment later, a woodchuck struggling in her beak. "Seh?" Gilda mumbled. The wiggling thing seemed to annoy her, so she bit down harder. The movement stopped, and she deposited it in her father's saddlebag.

Dash nearly threw up right there. Ponies are friends with nature. They don't eat other creatures. Or kill them except in self defense. But I’ve eaten meat. This was the next logical step. A battle was waging inside her mind, but the griffons seemed oblivious.

"Go ahead, Dash," Gilda said, motioning. Dash couldn't help notice her beak was still red.

She couldn't let them down. What if they kicked me back to the streets? Gilda's dad had practically said as much, She didn't want to even think about going back there. With a half hearted sigh, she began flying over the forest as her friend had done. She silently prayed to Celestia that she wouldn't see anything. "Damn Celestia," she swore under her breath.

She had just noticed a rabbit below the tree cover. It was oblivious to her presence. Knowing they were watching, she closed her eyes to prepare herself. It didn't help, but she dove anyway.

Please, little bunny, hear me coming and run she pleaded in her mind. It was not to be. It was almost too easy as she pounced on the rabbit and pinned it to the ground.

"Alright, Dash!" Gilda cheered from somewhere up above. .

"What do I do now?" Dash shouted back.

"Break its neck!" came the reply.

Dash stared at the rabbit. It stared back. She grabbed its head with one hoof, and the rest with another. She couldn't do it. The rabbit slipped from her grasp and was gone.

"Aww tough break," Gilda said, landing beside the filly. She put a talon on her friend’s shoulder. "Don't worry, not everybeing gets it on their first try."

“I'm sorry," Dash said, shrugging the talon off.

"Hatchling, you have nothing to be sorry for. Lack of experience is nothing to be ashamed of," Clance said, landing as well.

"I couldn't do it," Dash muttered.

"Dash it's not the end of the world because one rabbit slipped from your hooves," Gilda said, trying to console her equine friend.

"I let it go!" Dash shouted suddenly.

"Ponies are not known for being bloodthirsty. I am not surprised you couldn't do it," Clance said calmly.

"Maybe hunting isn't your thing," Gilda suggested.

"I'm just a weak pony!" Dash shouted. "I'll never be anything more!"

"Dash..." Gilda murmured but the filly didn't hear her. Dash took off galloping into the trees. Gilda moved to follow but was stopped by a massive talon on her own shoulder.

"Let her go," Her father said.

"But she could get lost or hurt!"

"She won't get lost as long as she has wings," Clance said simply. "She will return when she is ready."

"I hope she does come back," Gilda whispered.

"Come daughter, we must hunt some more if we want to eat tomorrow." With that the two griffons took to the skies.

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"I'm weak. I'll never be tough like them," Dash grumbled. She wasn't sure where she was, and didn't care. She didn't want to be around the griffons. She was a failure. She couldn't even kill a rabbit. She had stopped galloping, and was merely dragging her hooves.

Something fell to the ground by her side. The dagger. It sat there taunting her. She picked it up and threw it. It hit a tree and clattered to the ground. All she had done was startle nearby wildlife.

"I'm a failure," Dash said, lying down. Then she stood back up. Something was coming through the undergrowth. Something very big. It wasn't headed straight at her but it was definitely getting closer.

It came into view. A large boar easily four times her size. She might have been a filly, but it was still huge to her. Then it saw her. The two stood there staring at each other, daring the other to move. Dash was now deeply regretting tossing aside her only weapon. Slowly, she positioned herself to grab it. The boar noticed and charged with a squeal.

Dash jumped for the dagger. Rolling to the side to avoid the charging boar, she felt the handle meet her hoof and grabbed it tightly.

Idiot, just fly away! the rational side of her mind screamed. It wasn't any good. Her wings were clamped to her sides. Her fear stole her ability to flee. She couldn't run. But she could fight. Dash stood her ground, dagger in one hoof, and glared at the boar.

With another roar, the boar charged again. Dash dodged again, but into a tree, unable to move farther out of the way. The boar skidded to a halt and rose up before her. It was going to stomp her to death! Dash gripped the dagger in both hooves, and thrust it forward, looking away. She felt the flesh give way to the metal and heard the pained cries of the animal. Metal grated against bone. Warm blood spilled out on her. But she didn't think about it. She didn't notice.

Dash pulled the dagger back, then rolled to the side as the boar came crashing down. The boar, bleeding from the ribs, got back up. The fight wasn't over yet. The boar scrapped the ground in preparation for another charge.

Then her wings unlocked. She could run away. But she couldn't. She wouldn't run. Not anymore. She unfurled her wings and took to the sky. Below the boar bellowed at her. It didn't have to worry the fight was over. She wasn't going far.

Dash rose high above the trees. High enough the boar became an ant below her. Then she dove. She flew as fast as she could, back down towards the animal. It quickly grew in size as she returned. Once she broke tree cover, she tilted her wings back, causing her to spin forward. One hoof outstretched, she crashed down onto the boar's head.

Her leg burned with the pain of impact. It didn't feel like she had broken anything, but it was close. But her attack had done what she intended. The boar crumpled before her. It didn't squeal or twitch. It just fell to the forest floor; its skull crushed. Rainbow Dash landed a few hooves away, panting.

Rainbow Dash looked at it. Then the dagger in her hoof. Then at her hooves themselves. They were not blue anymore. They were deep red. She could feel the warmth through her skin. It didn't feel wrong. Not in this moment. They weren't claws. They were still hooves. Numbly she limped over to the fallen beast. She stared at what she had done for a long time. She had taken life. Even if it was in self defense. But it hadn't been self defense, had it? She could have just let it go and flown away. But she hadn't.

Her grip on the dagger loosened. Then tightened. She brought it up over her head. She stared at the stained steel for a moment. Then she brought it down into the boar's flesh. It didn't move. She carefully released her grip and stepped back. She couldn't stay there. She needed help.

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"Dad, we should have gone after her. Now it's almost dark and there's no sign of her!” Gilda shouted.

“You were the one who insisted she come,” Clance reminded her.

“And you said I had to get her used to the griffon way of life.”

“I meant our diet and roughhousing. Both of which she has adapted to just fine.”

“What if that boar we heard got her?" Gilda said, worried. Since Dash had run off, they had moved around the forest until they had heard the distinct sound of a boar attacking something. The sound had ended before they could pinpoint its location, but they got as close as they could and continued the search on foot.

"Then what is that?" Clance replied, gesturing with a talon. Gilda looked and cried at the sight of her friend. The filly's cyan coat and multichromatic mane were now various shades of red. The filly staggered about.

"Dash!" Gilda cried, racing over to the pony.

"Help...." Rainbow Dash croaked. "I need help...."

"I'll say!" Gilda replied. "What got you? And where?" she asked, searching the pony for injuries.

"No, I'm okay...Just a sprain..." Rainbow Dash weakly pushed the griffon away. She turned and limped off. Gilda tried stopping her, but Rainbow Dash kept pushing her off. She led Gilda and Clance through the forest for a few yards. The corpse came into view. "I can't lift it myself," she said simply before fainting.

"And that was my first hunt," Rainbow Dash finished. The telling had taken them half of the way home.

"Cool!" Scootaloo said in awe. "So what happened next?"

"Her dad carried the boar, and Gilda carried me back home. It wasn't a giant thing; you have to remember I was pretty young, so it was huge to me. They were still impressed I had killed it myself," Rainbow Dash replied.

“Was it hard?" Scootaloo asked. "Killing?"

"It always is at first. Ponyfolk aren't normally that way. It gets easier," Rainbow Dash told her. "It shouldn't, but it does."

"I wasn't even thinking about what would happen back in Barrier City. I just wanted them gone," Scootaloo admitted. "I wasn't worried if I killed them or not."

"It's always different when you're protecting somepony," Rainbow Dash agreed.

"Does that make me a bad pony?" Scootaloo asked looking down.

"Did Twilight get to you?" Rainbow Dash asked chuckling. "There's nothing wrong with protecting your friends. Don't let any pony tell you otherwise."

"I won't," Scootaloo replied knowingly.

"You can wash away the blood, but you can never wash away the shame of letting a friend die because you didn't act," Rainbow Dash was quiet for a while. "Your turn," she said finally.

Scootaloo sighed, then began her tale in return.

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The most popular griffon sport is called Griffon Ball. It plays a lot like a sort of team wrestling match, but in the air. The object isn't to get a ball into a goal area, but to force the other team's captain to land on the ground by just about any means necessary. Killing is an automatic loss for the perpetrator but maiming and other permanent injuries are allowed. It's quite brutal and the average career length is two seasons.

Cloudboarding was originally created by former Griffon Ball players who had been rendered flightless due to injuries. It started as a way to stay active, but quickly grew in popularity, though for many years only flightless griffons were allowed in tournaments. Some would intentionally maim themselves just to compete. They removed the rule to stop that.

If anyone's wondering how Scootaloo can manage to fly by herself with magic without resting but couldn't move the balloon very far, it's because she needs much less power to move just herself. So little in fact, it's close to the amount her body generates so she can fly by herself almost indefinitely. That makes sense right?

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 4: Scootaloo's Story

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 4: Family Time

Chapter 11

"Growing up in the orphanage was awful. The food was the cheapest slop they could find, the beds were hard and always dirty. The whole place was dirty. Some dirty old building that was built as part of the church. And they expected us to be grateful for it.

"There were no toys, no playing, no fun. They woke us up every morning for prayers. Then they gave us a bowl of something for breakfast. The older kids would head off to school, while the rest of us were left to work for the church. Cleaning the pews, washing the priests clothes and stuff like that.

"When we weren't working, we were outside, but the foals in town would beat us up sometimes. Who could we go to? The ponies at the orphanage would beat us up too.

"I was always hungry and sore. Every day I thought about just jumping off of Cloudsdale and escaping. I knew my wings wouldn't support my weight; that's why I wanted to jump. They would have caught me though, so it wasn't worth trying. You'd think the orphans would be nice to each other because we were all in there together, but we weren't. It was everypony for themselves.

"I knew I had to get out of there somehow, but I didn't know how. They were always watching us, and I couldn't outrun them, even if I was in good shape. It would have to be at night. But if they caught me, I would be beaten severely. I needed a way to fight back.

"One day I saw a nail sticking out of one of the pews. It wasn't much, but it wasn't flush with the wood like the others. I had to be careful. If they caught me, I would really get it. So every day when I cleaned the pews, I would pick at it a bit more until I could pull it out. The day I got it out, was the day I escaped."

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A filly lay awake, her coat like that of uncooked bread dough. Everypony was asleep. She didn't want them to hear her. Cautiously, she felt around in her tail for the metal object. Locating it, she liberated it from the knot she had tied it in and held it before her. She couldn't see it in the dark, but felt its cold presence in her hoof, running its three inch shaft across one hoof. Slowly she lowered it to her own neck.

She wasn't sure where to stab it, but enough tries, and she was sure to hit something important. This wouldn't be like the last time that got her banned from the kitchens. She had tried to stab herself with one of the knives, but ended up just nicking a rib before the caretakers got it away from her. This time she would do it.

Here came freedom. Here came escape. Here came a way out from these three years of torture, of pain and starvation. It would all end, right here and now.

Why kill yourself? The thought flashed in her mind.

Because death means escape. She argued back silently.

You really want to die a blank flank? You could just escape. There's nopony awake now. Just run. Slowly she pulled the nail away. She could run away. Quietly, she began to work. She tore the sheet on her bed apart using the nail, and tied pieces to her hooves to muffle the noise, then slipped off the bed and crept across the large open room full of sleeping foals.

She couldn't go out the front door; it would squeak and wake everypony up, but she could make a detour through the church. The was only one door between here and there, and it didn't open into the room she was in. Every second she expected somepony to spot her moving through the dark, but if they did, they didn't speak out.

She trotted into the church's main area and stopped. Three priests were still awake! One was near the podium, the other two talking in the back of the room. They hadn't seen her yet, so she kept to the shadows and made her way to the pews. If she could get to them, she could crawl under them and avoid detection until the last second.

Silently, she padded over, her hoof made socks making no noise on the hardcloud floor. Getting in between two pews, she cautiously looked out to make sure nopony had seen her. The priest at the altar was turning her way, so she quickly pulled back.

*Thunk*

Pain shot through her head as bone met wood. She didn't cry out. Blows had long ago ceased to cause a reaction, but the noise was audible. Had somepony heard?

"Who's there?" one priest shouted. The others began stirring. She was caught! But she was so close! She wouldn't let this chance slip by. She shrugged off the socks. They would only hurt her running now.

The single priest reached where she was hiding, and saw her. "Hey, what are you doing out of bed, March?" he said, reaching a hoof at her. Without thinking, she raised her hoof and brought the nail down into his foreleg. "Arrrgghhh" he roared. She pulled the nail out, and ducked under him. The other two priests saw her coming.

One moved to block the door while the other charged her. Being so small, she ran right under the first one, and caught the inside of his thigh with the nail, then spun around and jabbed it into the outside of the same leg. The priest crumpled to the floor, clutching the leg.

"Don't cause pain if you can't take it!" she snarled, breaking her silence.

"Get her!" the first priest shouted, and the three piled on. March flailed around, wildly kicking and stabbing and slashing. Finally the priests relented, but March wasn't sure if it was by choice, or if they were too injured to continue. Not stopping to see why, she dashed out the door, soaking wet and into the night.

“So wait, they called you March?" Rainbow Dash asked, interrupting the story.

"Well they weren't very creative with names, so it was either when or where they found me and I didn't respond to City Hall," Scootaloo explained, "so March Ninth it was."

“And you weren't orange? What happened there?"

"I'm getting to it," Scootaloo replied, continuing.

The dough colored filly galloped through the streets, the air beginning to fill with the beating of wings. She needed somewhere to hide or to get away! March quickly navigated the few cloud bridges in the city, and jumped where she had to, not sure where she was going, but felt she was going the right way, wherever her instincts were leading her. Finally she found herself in front of City Hall. She paused, realizing where she was and stared. Stared at the spot on the actual stone steps where this nightmare began for her. Then she looked around wildly.

Close by she heard voices. Quickly she looked around for somewhere to hide. Spotting a flying carriage, she dove under it. The voices got louder as the ponies neared. It was cramped under the carriage, and got even worse as one of the ponies stepped onto it, nearly crushing March beneath it. Then the carriage began moving.

Panicking, March Ninth grabbed onto the wheel well, and held on as the carriage lifted off the street. Soon they were flying through the sky with the foal holding on for her life.

Just let go. They can't find you now. her mind taunted her.

No. She was out of the orphanage. Whatever awaited her on the ground couldn't be any worse. She had not come this far to end it now.

Her legs ached from holding on for so long, and her grip began failing, but thankfully the carriage touched down, and the ponies walked off into a nearby house. Finally, March unhooked her hooves and fell to the ground.

What an odd material underneath her hooves. It felt like dust, but thicker. And everywhere there were dark shapes. She wasn't out of the storm yet. There were still pegasi in the sky looking for her. She could see them as they blocked her view of the stars as they passed.

She emerged from under the carriage, and began running again. She wasn't sure what the large shapes were; they were much too small to be houses, and too oddly shaped to be pillars. Moving between them, she came upon a low stone wall. She climbed over and found herself in an open area full of stone slabs sticking out of the ground.

"A rock farm?" she wondered. She had heard such things existed on the ground. Then she froze. She heard wing beats coming toward her. The moon was up, and she was sure to be spotted! She was exhausted from running and holding on to the carriage, but she managed one last burst of energy. She galloped across the open area and leaped behind one of the stone slabs, concealing herself in the shadows.

Please hide me, she silently begged the inanimate rock.

March held her breath as a pegasus guard flew over. She shrank back, reaching for her nail, but found she had lost it at some point. She relaxed as the guard flew off without even slowing down. The filly was safe. March slumped down against the stone. Soon the late hour, physical exertion, and poor health became too much, and she fell asleep.

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Dawn broke over a lone filly. Slowly she stirred. The foal opened her violet eyes, but immediately shut them to shield them from the sun. She turned over, and opened them again. Her whole body crackled as she moved. Crackled?

What was this strange green stuff everywhere? It was very wet. Where was she? Then the memories from the previous night hit her. She had attacked three priests and escaped. But now what? She glanced at the stone slab that had shielded her the previous night.

Scootaloo Germain

902 A.B. - 987 A.B

May her spirit live on in a new generation

March Ninth read the stone, having lots of practice learning scripture. She was in a graveyard. She had slept on a grave. She shivered at the thought. She looked down at her hooves. They were stained red. Her whole body was covered in dried blood in fact. Desperate to be free of the foul substance, she began rolling around in the green wet stuff, but something was wrong. The blood was coming off, but her fur wasn't pale anymore.

Frantic now, she looked herself over. Her whole body had turned from its familiar pale yellowish brown, to a deep orange, somewhere between her old color and the blood. It was very unnerving. She reached up and grabbed a few strands of her messy mane. They too had darkened a bit but not as dramatically. Before she could begin freaking out, somepony called out.

"Hello there!" came an elderly voice. March spun around, and saw an elderly white mare, with a mane that seemed to once hold many colors, but had now faded with age, slowly trotting over. As she neared March could see the mare's eyes were very misty. "What's a little foal like you doing in a graveyard at this hour?"

"Uh..." March stammered.

"Visiting a relative?" the mare supplied. March nodded, not sure if the mare saw. "Well you don't need to say any more. Are you parents around?"

"No," March grumbled.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No," March repeated. She hadn't eaten since the previous morning.

"Well why don't you join me," the mare said, walking off. March was too hungry to refuse and trotted after.

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The mare led March through the graveyard and to a small house that seemed to be part of the wall. The mare then led her inside to a small but very clean kitchen.

"Who are you?" March asked, looking around. Nothing was white here. Everything had color! The change was pleasant. Some things were familiar, but most of it was foreign to the young pegasus.

"I'm Daffidazey, the caretaker here," the mare explained. She placed two red objects on the table. The mare then picked one up and began eating, but March just looked at it. "Haven't you ever seen an apple before?" the mare asked.

"I never saw anything like this in Cloudsdale," March said, shaking her head. She picked it up and bit into it. Her eyes grew wide at the sweetness. March Ninth wished the apple could last forever, but in just a few mouthfuls it was gone and her hunger roared louder than ever. Then there came a knock on the door. March stood stock still as the mare went to answer it.

"Hello?" the mare asked, opening the door. March was out of view from the door, but was close enough to hear the conversation. "Can I help you gentlecolts?"

"We're looking for a lost filly by the name of March Ninth," a gruff pony informed the mare.

"She's described as a pale brown colored pegasus with a light purple mane. Have you seen anypony matching that description?" an equally gruff voice went on.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen any lost fillies," the mare replied.

"If you do, please contact the Cloudsdale authorities," the first voice said.

"I will. Good day, gentlecolts," the mare said closing the door.

She trotted softly to the kitchen to find the orange filly quivering. The filly's mind was racing. They were still looking for her and knew her name. If her color had changed enough, maybe they wouldn't recognize her, but she needed a new name. Plus, she hated March. It reminded her of the orphanage, and anything she could do to rid her mind of those memories was a good thing in her opinion. Her orphanage free memories consisted of one morning so far, but she would make sure the rest of her life would be devoid of orphanages and priests.

"Seems some poor filly got herself lost," the mare commented. "Too bad I'm colorblind. Not that it matters much, I can hardly see my own nose anymore anyway."

"That's a... shame," March said quietly.

"What did you say your name was?" the mare asked. March's mind raced. She blurted out the first thing that popped into it.

"Scootaloo.”

"Ah, you must have been visiting your grandmother," the mare commented. "I knew her back when I was young. Would you like to see an old picture of us?"

"Uh, sure," March replied. It would be a while before the guards were gone. Might as well learn more about the mare she would be impersonating while she waited.

The mare walked off and spent several minutes going through the house looking for it. Finally she returned to the kitchen, and showed March the old picture, yellowed a bit with age.

"Here's me," the mare said, pointing to one pony. "And this was your grandmother."

March didn't need the help. She spotted the pony right away. Her new coat and mane nearly exactly matched the pony in the picture, though March lacked the orange highlights of the real Scootaloo.

Huh, a butterfly cutie mark, that's so.... girly.

After some more awkward conversation, March left the house and wandered into the nearby town.

"So that's it?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "You just picked some name off a gravestone?"

"At the time, I figured it was the least I could do after sleeping on her and stealing her looks," Scootaloo replied. "It kinda grew on me."

"So when I'm mad at you, I get to call you March Ninth?" Rainbow Dash teased.

"You'd better not!" Scootaloo cried. "I'm Scootaloo. I may have not been named it, but it's my name now."

"And how did your coat change colors? I can buy the blood staining, but that wouldn't last forever, even if you never bathed again."

"I'm not sure how that happened, but I'm glad it did. It's what's kept me hidden all this time," Scootaloo said simply.

"So how did you get your scooter?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oh that? I got it in the second town I came to, about a month after I left Cloudsdale. I only stayed there a couple weeks. The bigger foals thought I was a street rat, a foal whose parents couldn't afford to feed them. I was just walking along one day, when one of them rides by on a scooter and it breaks. She blamed me just because I was there and threw it at me."

"She threw it at you!" Rainbow Dash shouted angrily.

"Just a wheel, and she missed. I don't know what her problem was. The wheel had just fallen off. So when she left, I took the scooter, fixed it up and skipped town. I've had it ever since. I got the wagon from the Cakes for working for them, and Rarity gave us the helmets. That scooter served me well. Almost a shame it can't sit on clouds," Scootaloo sighed, but she put on a smile anyway. "But we all have to move on. Nothing stays the same."

"And in some ways, nothing ever changes." Rainbow Dash replied.

Later that night, Scootaloo lay awake, thinking back to when she first met her friends. She couldn't wait to show them both her cutie mark tomorrow.

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Ahead of the now orange filly was a small town. She gazed over the small homes and large spaces. Hopefully this one would be friendlier than the last one. Her belly rumbled, reminding her she had things to do, so she got back on her scooter, pumped her wings and rode off.

Fixing it had been easy, even without any knowledge or experience. The screw holding the wheel had gotten loose, and the whole thing had fallen off. All March had to do was put the wheel back in place and tighten the screw. If that filly hadn't thrown it at her, she would have given it back. Finders keepers she had decided.

Learning to ride had been something else. First she tried doing it like the older filly had, but she just tired herself out, trying to kick herself around. It had been quite accidental, that when her wing twitched with annoyance, that she had propelled herself forward with her wings for the first time.

As the houses got larger and she entered the outskirts, March decided to head for the center of town. There she would certainly find a market and with it food. She didn't have money, but if no pony was looking... well every business had shrinkage.

She propelled her scooter rapidly through the town. Hopefully Scootaloo had not lived in this town, and her looks would be new, but she wasn't going to hang around and let them get a good look at her. As she passed a clothing shop, a walking marshmallow got into her path. Still new at this, March swerved to the side and crashed into a bush, but avoided hitting the marshmallow.

"I'm sorry. Are you alright?" came a soft voice. March disentangled herself from the branches, and at once inspected her transportation for damage. Some scuff marks, but nothing important. "Are you okay?" the voice said again. March turned and saw the marshmallow staring at her with a look of concern. No, not a marshmallow, but a white unicorn about her size.

"Uh, yeah," March finally said.

"Here," the other filly said. Her horn glowed a bright red, and a twig pulled itself from March's mane. So that's magic. "Do you live here?"

"My.. uh... family’s just moving around, trying to find a place to live," March lied.

"Cool, I just moved here!" the unicorn replied. "My mom and dad think this is a better place to grow up, but they make me stay with my sister and she's no fun. I just moved here yesterday. I'm Sweetie Belle by the way. What's your name?"

"Uh...." March stammered, "Scootaloo," she blurted out. She still wasn't totally used to the alias, even if her color was a constant reminder.

"Nice to meet you. That was really cool how you were scooting around. Is it your special talent?"

"No," March replied, showing her pure orange flank.

"So what are you doing?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Just checking the place out," March replied.

"Mind if I join you?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I won't stop you," March said. She got back on her scooter, but moved slowly so the unicorn could keep up on hoof.

Together, they wandered the town taking in all the sights. March was constantly searching for secluded, but covered places she could use for a bed. It seemed whatever local school there was had let out, as the town was all at once overrun with foals. March couldn't help but notice they all had cutie marks. They reminded her of her own blank flank. It's hard to find your special talent when you spend your whole day at an orphanage.

"Huh. I think we're the only two without cutie marks," March said after a while.

"It seems that way," Sweetie Belle agreed.

"Hey, watch it!" a filly shouted. March had nearly run into her.

"Sorry. I just got this," She admitted, putting her hoof down to stop herself. The pink earth pony filly with a purple and white mane eyed her strangely, then looked at Sweetie Belle.

"You must be new in town," the pink filly said.

"I've never seen them before," a gray filly agreed, appearing from behind the first.

"I'm Diamond Tiara and this is Silver Spoon. My dad practically owns this town," the purple filly declared.

"So?" March scoffed. Diamond Tiara ignored her.

"I'm having my cute-ceañera at Sugarcube Corner tomorrow. Everypony is welcome to come. Even new foals like you," Diamond Tiara said.

"Why would we go to a party for you?" Sweetie Belle groaned.

"Because everypony in class will be there. Only losers wouldn't show up," Silver Spoon answered.

"We'll be there!" March retorted. The two earth ponies trotted off. "What's Sugarcube Corner?"

"I was going to ask you," Sweetie Belle replied.

"Did you say Sugarcube Corner?" a cheerful voice asked. The two fillies turned to see a big smiling pink face. "You must be new in town."

"I'm Sweetie Belle and this is Scootaloo."

"Welcome to Ponyville! Come on, I'll take you to Sugarcube Corner!" the pink pony said, bouncing off. The fillies looked at each other, but followed. They were led to a building that seemed to have a gingerbread roof. "This is where I live and work, the greatest place in Ponyville, Sugarcube Corner!" the pink pony announced.

"Sweetie Belle!" a dainty voice called. The unicorn filly turned. Through the crowd, a larger, slightly off white unicorn emerged and trotted over.

"Hi, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle greeted.

"How do you like Ponyville so far, Sweetie? I see you've already met Pinkie Pie." Rarity said to the younger unicorn. "I know you want to explore some more, but it's nearly dinner time. You can play with the local foals tomorrow. Come along now."

"Okay," Sweetie Belle said sadly. "Bye, Scootaloo. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Sweetie Belle!" March said, waving the unicorn off.

"Bye, Rarity!" the pink pony cheered.

"I'll have to give you a proper welcome to Ponyville some other time. I'm on the clock," Pinkie Pie said to the remaining filly before going into the building. Alone once more, the pegasus beat her wings, and went off, but remembered where the pastry shop was.

Once the sun had set, March Ninth crept back in the dead of night, and went around to the back of the bakery. There she found the dumpster. It had a latch to keep out animals, but she expertly undid it, even in the low light. With practiced ease, she climbed in and began to rummage around. With her teeth, she tore trash bags apart, searching for any old food.

"Score!" she cheered quietly. She had found a small bag full of stale pastries. Clearly the owners didn't over bake much. Greedily she stuffed them into her mouth, enjoying the hard but still sweet treats. There wasn't many in the bag, so she ate some and saved the rest for the morning. She placed them on the scooter, and buzzed off to find a place to sleep, her belly still rumbling in hunger.

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"Hi," March said, entering Sugarcube Corner in the early morning. The pink pony from before was nowhere to be seen, instead a portly blue earth pony mare stood behind the counter. Behind the glass sat an array of delicious looking treats that only made the empty hole in March's tummy feel even more empty.

"Hello there. How can I help you?" the mare asked.

"I was wondering if you're hiring," March said. "I'm no good at cooking, but I could do cleaning or deliveries or something."

"Oh, well we don't get that many orders like that. We usually handle any big catering affairs ourselves," the mare replied. March sighed. "We do have regular daily orders, but normally Pinkie handles them when she's not busy in the kitchen."

"Okay," March sighed

"Aren't you a little young to be looking for work?" the mare asked, looking at her closely.

"My uh... parents said if I want spending money, I have to earn it," March lied.

"I guess I could give you a try then. It's nice to see a filly with a work ethic. Pinkie tends to get side tracked when on a delivery. It just so happens we have a delivery waiting right now. Would you like to try it out?" the mare asked.

"Sure. I'm kinda new in town, so I don't know addresses yet," March admitted.

"That's okay. It's just some muffins for the post office," the mare explained. "Here's the box, but do you have a way to transport them?"

"I have a scooter," March replied, taking the small, plain box. The mare thought for a moment.

"Pinkie, where is the spare wagon?" the mare called loudly.

"Ummm....." a voice in the kitchen replied. "I think it's in the spare bedroom."

"Could you go get it?" the mare asked.

"Sure, just a second. Keep stirring, Apple Bloom," the voice replied. It was followed by the sound of rushing hooves going up stairs, then back down. The familiar pink pony came out carrying a red wagon in her flour caked hooves. She placed it on the floor before rushing back to the kitchen.

"Where's your scooter?" the mare asked. March led her outside. There the mare took the rope leading from the wagon, and tied it to the rear axle of the scooter. "There. That should do it."

"Cool!" March said, climbing on.

"Remember these go to the post office. Ask somepony if you can't find it," the mare instructed. March nodded and buzzed off.

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Finding the post office had been easy. She'd asked, and been directed to a building with several dents in the roof that mystified her as to the origin. Still, she parked her scooter and carried the package inside.

"Delivery from Sugarcube Corner!" she announced.

"Muffins!" the gray pegasus behind the counter cheered. At once she took the package, smiling broadly. "Here," she said, pulling out a gold coin and hoofed it to March. March stared for a second at the mare. Only one eye was on the package, the other was off in another direction entirely. That explained the dents.

Her job done, March turned and left the post office. The priests had taught her well not to stare at other ponies. She hopped back on the scooter, but stared at the bit in her hoof. It wasn't much but it was more money then she had ever held before. She put it away, and turned to leave when something caught her eye.

It was a shadow moving rapidly across the ground, faster than her eye could follow. She looked up and saw a blue streak flying through the air, followed by a rainbow contrail. Her mouth hung open in amazement. Her wings twitched, and her thoughts soared. She would give almost anything to be up there too.

“Who is that?” she whispered in awe.

“That’s Rainbow Dash,” a blue unicorn colt informed her. “How could you not have heard of her? She’s amazing!”

“I.... just moved here,” March lied.

“Well she’s the coolest pony in Ponyville,” his brown unicorn companion said.

March watched for a few more minutes before heading off to the bakery.

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"All done!" March announced, entering the bakery.

"My, that was fast. How would you like to handle all the regular deliveries?" the mare asked.

"Sure," March agreed, placing the money on the counter.

"Oh you can keep that, deary. It has already been paid for," the mare said, pushing the coin back.

"Oh," March said.

"I'll make up a list of all the regular deliveries for you. That way you can pick them all up here and deliver them before after school."

"Right... school...." March muttered. "Are there any more for today?"

"I'm afraid not. It's Saturday, and we're closing early for a party later today," the mare explained. "Silly me, I don't even know your name."

"They call me Scootaloo," March replied.

"I'm Mrs. Cake," the mare returned. "I'll have the list for you tomorrow morning.

"Okay, I'll see you then," March said.

"You can keep the wagon. And here, for today's delivery," the mare said, pulling a cupcake from the display. She gave it to the filly.

"Thank you," March said, smiling.

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"Hi, Sweetie Belle," March said. She had been headed back to her secret hiding spot when she bumped into the unicorn.

"Hey, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle replied. "Are you going to that party?"

"Oh right," March said, facehoofing. "I totally forgot. And why do you want to go? That Diamond Tiara was really stuck up."

"Yeah, but she said everypony our age will be there. Maybe we can both make new friends!" Sweetie Belle suggested.

"Good point," March agreed. She waved a hoof towards the wagon. "Hop in." Sweetie Belle did so, and soon they were traveling through the streets back to Sugarcube corner. They parked and went inside. Instinctively, March got out of the way and hid.

"Why are we under a table?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Sorry. Force of habit," Scootaloo said. She was shocked to attention when she heard Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon talking

"Blank Flank!" they said in unison.

"You got a problem with blank flanks?" March called, coming out from under the table. The offending fillies turned. "I said, you got a problem with blank flanks?"

"The problem is, I mean, she's like, totally not special," Silver Spoon explained.

"No, it means she's full of potential," Sweetie Belle corrected.

"It means she could be great at anything. The possibilities are, like, endless," March added, mocking Silver Spoon's tone.

"She could be a great scientist, or an amazing artist, or a famous writer, she could even be mayor of Ponyville some day," Sweetie Belle went on.

"...and she's not stuck being stuck-up like you two," March finished.

"Hey, this is my party, why are you two on her side?" Diamond Tiara protested.

"Because..." March began. She and Sweetie Belle both bore their flanks to the crowd.

"You don't have cutie marks either? Ah thought Ah was the only one," said a yellow earth pony filly about their size. She trotted over to them.

"We thought we were the only two," March replied.

"I for one think you are three very lucky fillies," declared a purple unicorn.

"Lucky? How can they be lucky?" Diamond Tiara pouted.

"They still get to experience the thrill of discovering who they are, and what they're meant to be," the purple unicorn explained.

"And they got all the time in the world tah figure it out, not just an afternoon," added an orange earth pony mare.

"Wow, Apple Bloom, I wish I could be a scientist," a grey pony said, walking over to the trio.

"Do you really think you could be mayor?" asked a pink pony.

"Maybe I got my cutie mark too soon," another complained.

"Hey, what's everypony doing? This is my party, everypony is supposed to be paying attention to me," Diamond Tiara whined.

"Whatever. We still think you're losers, right Diamond Tiara? Bump, bump, sugar... lump..." Silver Spoon said, trying to do a hoofshake but her companion didn't move.

"Not now, Silver Spoon," she said simply, a frown on her face.

"Name's Scootaloo," Scootaloo declared finally.

"Sweetie Belle."

"Apple Bloom," announced the yellow filly.

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"So Ah was thinking, now that we're friends... Ah mean, we are friends, right?" Apple Bloom began once the trio had managed to free themselves from the crowd and found a table to themselves.

"How could we not be? We're totally alike. We don't have cutie marks, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon drive us crazy-" Scootaloo replied.

"Totally crazy," Sweetie Belle interrupted.

"Well, now that we're friends, what if the three of us work together to find out who we are and what we're supposed to be?" Apple Bloom suggested.

"Ooh! Ooh! We could form our own secret society," Sweetie Belle agreed.

"I'm liking this idea," Scootaloo declared. What was one more secret?

"A secret society. Yeah. We need a name for it though," Apple Bloom said.

"The Cutie Mark Three?" Scootaloo suggested.

"The Cutastically Fantasics?" Sweetie Belle suggested.

"How about.... " Apple Bloom thought for a moment. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"It's perfect!" Scootaloo decided.

"This is gonna be so great!" Sweetie Belle sang.

"We're gonna be unstoppable!" Apple Bloom cheered.

"What do you say we celebrate with some of these delicious cupcakes?" Scootaloo said, holding one up to take a bite but Apple Bloom put her hoof in the pegasus's face.

"NOT the cupcakes. Trust me," Apple Bloom said simply.

"Let's see if there are any cookies!" Sweetie Belle suggested.

"Yeah! Come on!" Apple Bloom said.

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“So how come I never saw you two bahfore?” Apple Bloom asked as the party was winding down.

“I just moved here,” Sweetie Belle said. “Didn’t you say your parents were looking for a place to live, Scootaloo?”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo replied.

“Does that mean you’re not going to stay for long?” Apple Bloom asked, her ears drooping.

“I... I like it here. I think I can convince them to stay,” Scootaloo said.

“Yay!”

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Scootaloo turned over in her sleep, the old memory was gone again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I lifted the dialog from MLP wiki, so credit to them for the transcripts.

The elderly mare is based loosely on Daffidazey, a G3 pony. I never watched G3 so I kind of picked her at random.

I would like to apologize for my previous and future skater lingo. I have never even stood on a skateboard. All that I know about it comes from Rocket Power. Yeah. I'm very sorry.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 4: Hunting

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 4: Family Time

Chapter 12

“So, Scoots, do you have any plans for today?” Rainbow Dash asked casually over breakfast.

“Yup. I’ve got deliveries in the morning, then I’m going to visit Apple Bloom in the hospital, like always. I might get some cloudboarding in after that.” Scootaloo replied.

“Well, make sure you leave some time to practice your magic,” Rainbow Dash instructed. “The sooner you have a spell down, the sooner we can go hunting.”

“I’ll practice extra hard than!” Scootaloo declared. “Are you sure the spells I know aren’t enough?”

“Well you don’t want to shred the target, and you don’t want to bite them either,” Rainbow Dash answered. “I’d suggest either making that slash spell stronger but with less randomness, or the magic bite spell but on something other than your teeth.”

“Okay.”

“Twilight?”

Twilight opened her eyes to see Princess Celestia standing over her. Twilight groaned as she rubbed her eyes.

“Good, you’re awake. The training continues now,” Princess Celestia said.

“What?” Twilight cried. She barely had enough time to throw up a force field before a bolt of lightning was fired at her. She rolled out of bed and ducked down behind it. “I haven’t even had breakfast! Do we really have to do this now?”

“Your opponents won’t wait until you are ready to fight you, they will attack when they choose. They may even strike while you are asleep. You will have to learn to set traps before you sleep to alert you to their approach. I won’t wake you up again. We’ll take a break later.” Princess Celestia explained. She then fired another lightning bolt just over the edge of the bed, narrowly missing Twilight’s mane.

At once the bed glowed magenta, and was flung towards the Princess, forcing it and her into the far wall. “How’s that!” Twilight shouted. At once she realized what she’d done, and her ears drooped.

The bed fell away from the wall, and Princess Celestia calmly pulled herself free from the dent she had made. Aside from some dust, she seemed fine. Not even a feather was bent. “That was good. Let’s keep going!”

“Hey, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo greeted as she and Sweetie Belle entered the hospital room. “It’s good to see you up for once.”

“Hi, Applejack,” Sweetie Belle added.

“Howdy,” Applejack returned. It was odd seeing her stetson hat perched on her head with no ponytail coming from it.

“Hey, girls!” Apple Bloom said. She sounded a bit hoarse, but cheerful. She was actually sitting up in her bed this time.

“Ah’ll yet yah have yer time,” Applejack said, leaving. “See yah tomorrah, Apple Bloom!”

“Bah, Applejack,” Apple Bloom said. “So, what’s with the look?”

“Apple Bloom, you’re going to hate us, but,” Scootaloo said, turning to the side.

“Yah got yer cutie mark?” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“Me too,” Sweetie Belle said, showing her flank as well. “I got mine right after we got to Canterlot.”

“I got mine yesterday in Shattered Beak.”

“What’s it for anyway?” Sweetie Belle asked, “She wouldn’t tell me until we got here,” she added, pointing to Scootaloo, but facing Apple Bloom.

“Cloudboarding. It’s like skateboarding, but on clouds. When I was there, I made myself a scooter out of hardcloud and before I knew it, I’d been scooting for two hours and I had a cutie mark. I wouldn’t have noticed if Rriz hadn’t pointed it out.”

“Who?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“He’s a friend I met over there.”

“Now wait a sec, that don’t make no sense,” Apple Bloom said. “Yer always on yer scooter. Whah was this different?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it was being in the clouds. It just felt so right. Like I wanted to just do that for the rest of my life,” Scootaloo explained.

“That’s like how I felt when I was singing!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“But Ah feel that way about a lot ah things and Ah don’t have one.”

“Actually, I had an idea about that,” Scootaloo said.

“You did?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yah did?”

“Yes. See, I realized, both me and Sweetie Belle got ours for things that aren’t pony things. She sings like a sea pony, and I cloudboard; it’s a griffon sport. Maybe your talent is for something that a regular pony wouldn’t do.”

“She got hers fer singin’? That makes sense, Ah guess,” Apple Bloom said. “So what do we do now? We can’t be the Cutie Mark Crusaders if Ah’m the only blank flank!”

“The Crusaders are Crusaders until we all have them,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Too bad your talent isn’t coming back from the dead. Or maybe it is; have you seen your flank lately?” Scootaloo suggested.

"Ah doubt it, but Ah haven’t seen it yet. Ah wish somepony would tell me what happened. Ah still don't remember nothin’ after that fish bit me. Rainbow Dash didn’t say much cause she was gettin’ eaten too, and Applejack won’t tell me."

"It was super cool," Sweetie Belle said.

"Totally," Scootaloo agreed, though they both had different parts in mind.

"You should have seen Scoots here. She marched right up to them and stared them down. I thought Fluttershy had a mean stare, but Scoots has her beat," Sweetie Belle explained, "she used some magic I’ve never seen before, and totally sliced up the sharks!"

"I didn't kill them," Scootaloo reminded her zealous friend. "Though I meant to," she admitted. She wasn’t going to mention her magic abuse. Ever.

"Anyway, they ran away then she scared off the guys holding us."

"I totally faked them out," Scootaloo said smirking.

"So then Fluttershy was seeing if you were okay," Sweetie Belle continued more quietly now. "Rainbow Dash was still talking, but... you were dead."

“Rainbow Dash told me that much,” Apple Bloom said.

"Then Sweetie Belle here starts singing this song," Scootaloo continued, "her horn lights up and zaps you. Fluttershy was all like 'she's alive'!"

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I'm still not sure how I did it."

"So Twilight stopped the bleeding, and teleported us all the way here," Scootaloo finished.

"Wow Ah wish Ah had seen it," Apple Bloom joked. "Say, is no hair just in this year? Applejack was bald too."

"No, Twilight turned it into magic to get us here," Sweetie Belle explained. Her normally long hair was barely visible. Scootaloo's mane was just stubble.

"Girls, I have something to tell you," Scootaloo said finally. She looked at Apple Bloom to make sure her earth pony friend wasn't about to fall asleep. "I've wanted to tell you this for a long time, but I was afraid to,"

"Ah secret?" Apple Bloom muttered.

"We're your friends, why would you be afraid?"

"I wasn't afraid of you," Scootaloo replied. "You know how nopony could find my parents after we got here?"

"I remember Rarity searching all over Ponyville for them," Sweetie Belle said, thinking back.

"The reason they couldn't is-" Scootaloo paused, "I don't know where they are either."

"How can you not know where your parents are?" Sweetie Belle asked, confused.

"Because I'm an orphan," Scootaloo said finally. "My parents abandoned me when I was really little. I’ve been alone since before I came to Ponyville."

"What?" Sweetie Belle cried. She grabbed Scootaloo and started crushing her in a big hug. Apple Bloom tried in vain to join in, but she could barely get up from the bed.

“That’s awful!” Apple Bloom said. "Whah didn't ya tell us? Yah could ah lived with us!"

"Because if I told you, somepony would have found out and taken me back to the orphanage," Scootaloo answered. "That is the worst place ever. Imagine the worst place you can, then imagine a place a million times worse."

"So where do you live?" Apple Bloom asked.

"First I lived in the alley behind Vinyl’s house. Then I moved into an old tree by Quills and Sofas. Somepony had put a bunch of rubber balls in there that I had to take out first.. Then I lived in the Clubhouse,” Scootaloo explained. “I really appreciated all the work you did. It was a my favorite place.”

"Lived?" Sweetie Belle said, questioning the past tense.

"Yeah. I got adopted," Scootaloo replied.

"By who?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"The coolest pony in Ponyville of course."

"Rarity?"

"Applejack?"

"If your sisters adopted me I'd be living in your house," Scootaloo pointed out.

"Pinkie Pie?"

"No! Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said with a frown.

"Wow really?" Apple Bloom asked in amazement.

"Yup. I've been living with her since we got all mixed up."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah, that's so cool," Apple Bloom added.

"I got so used to keeping it a secret I just couldn't," Scootaloo said quietly. "I'm sorry for not telling you."

"We forgive you Scoots," Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle sang.

“Just don’t tell anypony. Not even your sisters,” Scootaloo said.

“How come?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Because if somepony finds out, they might get me sent back to the orphanage, and I’ll never see you two again,” Scootaloo said.

“We Pinkie Promise not to tell!” Sweetie Belle said.

“You know,” Scootaloo said suddenly. “You two are the reason I stayed here.”

“Huh?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I was just passing through, trying to find a town I could hide in. I wasn’t going to stay more than a few days but... then I met you two. And I decided to stay here.”

They were quiet for a while, not knowing what to say.

"Did ya ever meet them?" Apple Bloom asked. “Yer parents?”

"Nope. I don't want to either," Scootaloo answered. “I wouldn’t ever want to meet the kind of ponies who would abandon their daughter.”

"But maybe you have a brother or sister," Sweetie Belle said.

"You guys are all I need. Cutie Mark Crusaders, friends forever!" Scootaloo sang.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, friends forever!" Sweetie Belle chorused. They looked over, but saw Apple Bloom had fallen asleep. Silently, they tiptoed out of the room and headed for home.

“Alright, recruits, we have a new dragon who will be joining us today,” the gunmetal gray and dystopia brown colored dragon at the front of the room announced. “He’ll be sitting in a few classes while his companion is here in Canterlot.”

“Uh...” Spike said. He entered the classroom and looked at all the similar faces. It was a small class, about ten other dragons, just like him. Each was a different color, creating a rainbow sea of scaly faces. He could tell, as young as he was, they were still younger. “Hi, I’m Spike.”

“Do you really have a companion?” one of the dragons asked.

“Yeah,” Spike said simply.

“Ooooo!” most of the class said. They gazed at him in wonder.

“Just pick a seat and we’ll begin,” the teacher, Realism instructed.

Spike walked over to an open seat and sat down.

“I know this is ground we’ve covered before, but we’ll go over it again for Spike’s benefit,” Realism said. “We are all messenger dragons. When you graduate, each of you will be assigned a companion. You will be their companion until death. During that time, you will assist them in any way they need. Your compensation is room and board, and companionship.

“When your first companion passes, your options are thus: you can return here and be assigned a new companion, you can shift yourself to a relative or friend of your last companion, you can find a new companion on your own, or you can find a line of work you enjoy. The only requirement is you serve that first companion until death.

“Spike, would you care to talk about life with a companion? You’re the only one here besides me who has had one.”

Spike looked nervously around. “I don’t really know what to say. I’ve lived with Twilight my whole life. I don’t have anything to compare it to.”

“Just tell us what it’s like,” Realism said. “What you do?”

“Well, I write letters for her, help manage her checklists, clean the library, cook her meals, and go on any errands she needs done.”

“Sounds like a lot of work,” one of the other dragons said.

“It is,” Spike replied.

“And how would you describe Twilight?” Realism asked.

“She’s a really powerful unicorn with some self confidence issues,” Spike said.

“As a companion, I meant.”

“Oh,” Spike said. “She’s.... she’s kind of like a mom and a sister in one pony. It’s kind of hard to explain.”

“I know just how you feel.”

Scootaloo stared down her target, pulling forth her magic. With now practiced ease, she let it out. The apple she was focusing on fell over, rolling off the stump it had been placed on. Scootaloo went over to inspect it.

Reworking the slash spell into a single slice had been surprisingly easy, but it didn’t make it much stronger. The apple had a slice going about half an inch into it. The apple was riddled with similar gouges, but none much deeper than the fresh one. Not nearly good enough. She could always give it more power, but sacrificing your life span for food wasn’t exactly a smart idea. And she had promised not to do it again, a vow she intended on keeping until the next time her or her friends’ lives were threatened and beyond her normal ability to protect.

Clearly she needed a new strategy. As she usually did, she flapped her wings in annoyance. With the motion, a feather fell out. It was one of her larger wing feathers. Had she been able to fly, it would have hindered her ability to do so.

Great, I’m molting again. Just perfect. Then, Scootaloo looked at the loose feather and got an idea. She held it in one hoof and focused her magic into it. There wasn’t much left after her last spell, but it was beginning to return. It was a crazy idea, but maybe her second spell.... Awesome!

“That was very good,” Princess Celestia said. “How about we take a break to recover our magic?” She set about dousing some magic flames about her from Twilight’s last spell.

“Okay,” Twilight agreed. She was already on her last legs.

The two had been practicing magic all day long. Twilight loved it; learning from the Princess again. Sure it was hard, actually using magic against her teacher, but after she saw her first few spells didn’t even bother the Princess, she ignored her reservations about causing harm.

“Do really think I’m any good?” Twilight asked.

“I certainly think you could beat most ponies by outlasting them.”

“That’s not very ideal,” Twilight observed.

“No, but you are getting better,” Celestia said.

“Do you really need to take a break or are you doing this just for my sake?” Twilight asked.

“Mostly for you, but I think this is the lowest my magic has been in a thousand years,” Celestia replied. “I know I often repeat myself, but you are the most powerful unicorn I’ve ever met.”

“I know you’ve met a lot of ponies, but surely there must be a lot stronger. Star Swirl the Bearded, Abra Kazam, Archmage Merlin-”

“You surpass all of them by a wide margin. Twilight, as far as I know, you are the fourth most powerful magical being in Equestria alive today, just behind Discord, my sister, and myself,” Celestia said. The fire was out and she laid down beside Twilight. “You were almost the third, you know.”

“Right, Nightmare Moon banished you to the sun,” Twilight said.

“Close. Right event, wrong pony,” Celestia replied. “I didn’t expect you would be able to save Luna.”

“But you sent me to get the Elements.”

“Yes, I sent you to Ponyville to do three things: find the Elements, find bearers for them, and make some friends. However, I planned on you beating Nightmare Moon, not freeing Luna.”

“Oh,” Twilight said.

“I thought Luna was beyond even the Element’s power to save. I am very glad I was wrong.”

“I didn’t know the Elements of Harmony had the power to kill,” Twilight said.

“They don’t as far as I know, but that wasn’t the plan,” Celestia said. “I once shared the Elements with my sister as you know. After banishing her, only one remained in my control: magic. Right before I sent you to Ponyville, I used my influence to make the Elements do what I wanted when you six got them later, even though they would have left my control at that point.”

“And that was?”

“Drain Nightmare Moon’s power and give it to somepony else.”

“Wouldn’t that just make somepony else evil?” Twilight asked.

“Just her alicornian powers, not her dark powers,” Celestia said. “In the end, they did the opposite.”

“So once you had your sister’s power, what were you going to do?” Twilight asked.

“I wasn’t going to get her power, you were,” Celestia said.

“Me?” Twilight cried.

“Hey, Scoots,” Rainbow Dash greeted, entering their home.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said.

“How did practice go?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Did you work on any new moves?”

“I did what you said and worked on my magic,” Scootaloo replied, pulling out a fresh apple and her loose feather

“Oh?”

Scootaloo held the feather tightly, letting her magic flow into it. It took a second for the blue aura to form around the edge. Then she brought the feather over and moved it easily through the apple. The two halves fell through the cloud floor, after falling from her hoof.

“Is that good enough?” Scootaloo asked.

“I’ll say!” Rainbow Dash said. She looked outside briefly. “It’s still light out, wanna-”

Scootaloo rushed over excitedly. “Yes!”

“You were the best suited to fill my sister’s horseshoes,” Celestia said.

Twilight stared at her.

“It didn’t come to pass now did it? I think when Nightmare Moon broke the Elements in their inert state, that removed my influence and allowed your own to take hold.”

“But... why me?”

“You’re my faithful student. Who else but you could handle that kind of responsibility?”

“Now then, as my dad told me,” Rainbow Dash whispered, “the key is either stealth, or speed. You can go with either.”

“Is that why we’re up here?” Scootaloo whispered back. She was referring to the small cloud they were lying on, floating over the Everfree Forest.

“That, and you can’t fly yet,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I can’t hunt with you on my back. Speaking of which, how is that coming?”

“Ugh,” Scootaloo groaned. “I’m molting.”

“Well that sucks.”

“So what now?” Scootaloo asked, gazing down.

“You have to pick a target, then jump ‘em.”

“From up here?”

“We’re pegasi. We can take hard landings better than most. And you can still use your wings to slow you down.”

“Okay, so what do I go after?” Scootaloo asked.

“That’s up to you. You have to find the prey yourself.”

Scootaloo nodded and looked down. She turned her head about, trying to spot any sort of movement that would betray an animal. She saw some, but most were small songbirds. They weren’t a meal. Far off she could see some larger animals. No, I don’t think I’ll try a manticore today.

Finally, she saw something. She summoned a light breeze to take them right over the spot. Far below them, a wild turkey was moving about. It was completely unaware of their presence. Eagerly, Scootaloo stood up and leaned over the side of the cloud. It was easily a hundred feet to the ground.

Scootaloo took a deep breath and jumped. For the first thirty or so feet she buzzed her wings to slow her descent, then she let gravity take over for her strike. She held the magic lined feather out, and landed with a thump beside the turkey. She’d completely missed!

She stared at the poultry, and it stared back. It didn’t seem the slightest bit afraid of her. Why should it? She was a pony, and ponies didn’t hurt animals. She wasn’t going to give it the chance to realize she was a threat. She swung the feather, slicing through its neck. At once it fell over.

Rainbow Dash landed beside Scootaloo who stared at the turkey. Its body twitched a bit as it lay on the ground.

“Not bad. You okay?” Rainbow Dash asked, putting a leg over her.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “What do we do now?”

“You’re really okay?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking at the filly in the face. She remembered vividly how she had felt on her first hunt.

“I’ve seen things die before,” Scootaloo said dully, her eyes looking almost bored.

“Right,” Rainbow Dash said. “Okay. So, now we bring it home to prepare.”

“Princess?” Twilight asked.

“Yes?”

“What... what would had happened if your plan had worked?”

“I’m not quite sure,” Celestia admitted. “I imagine you would have been turned into an alicorn, or at the very least you’d have gained her long life.”

“That’s... weird. Just taking her power would do that?”

“Probably. It’s not like I could test it, but that was my theory.” My hope.

“And what if it had failed? What would have happened to me?”

“You already know what happened, Twilight.”

Scootaloo stared at the tan lump before her. Beside it was a pile of feathers she had just finished removing. She had always wondered what this seemingly purposeless room on the first had been for. It had only housed a smooth table and some stained buckets. Now she knew.

As little as the hunting had fazed her, this was a bit much. It felt a little mean to be taking the feathers out of another avian, even if it would never need them again.

“So now that it’s cleaned, what do we do?” Rainbow Dash prompted.

“Um... eat it?” Scootaloo asked. “I’m kind of hungry.” Rainbow Dash pulled her back from the carcass.

“Hold on squirt. Don’t ever, ever, ever eat raw meat,” Rainbow Dash said sternly.

“How come?” Scootaloo asked. “You told me Gilda would catch things in her beak, how is that different?”

“Because she’s a natural predator, and you’re not,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Raw meat can make you very sick. Natural predators are either immune or really resistant to that kind of thing, but we’re not.”

“How sick?” Scootaloo asked nervously.

“I ate some once, not knowing I shouldn’t. I spent the next week living in the bathroom. Does that answer your question?”

“Always cook meat. Got it.”

“But it is ready to cook, so let’s move to the kitchen,” Rainbow Dash said.

She led Scootaloo through the bottom floor of the house, Scootaloo carrying her catch. Rainbow Dash pointed to a spot on the kitchen counter and Scootaloo put the turkey down there.

“Now we could throw it in the pan as is, but it’s boring, so we can add spices and stuff,” Rainbow Dash said. “It depends on what you’re making, but this is the best pan for most large things of meat.” Rainbow Dash rummaged around in the cupboards and pulled out a large metal egg with flat sides. It opened in half and she placed the turkey inside.

“So what do you add?”

“It’s all about taste. Put some on your hoof and give it a taste. If you think it will go with the turkey, add it. If it doesn’t, don’t,” Rainbow Dash instructed. She opened a drawer, revealing dozens of bottles of spices. “The only way to do it wrong, is if you don’t like it.”

Scootaloo took out a couple of bottles. She opened one and sprinkled a bit on her hoof and licked it up. At once her face scrunched up, then she began panting. “Water!” she whined, running over to the sink.

“They can be a bit strong,” Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

“No kidding,” Scootaloo said, returning.

She was more careful now, only tasting a bit here and there. She added only a couple spices in the end. When she was satisfied, she placed the lid on the pot.

“Okay, now what?”

“First we add some water,” Rainbow Dash said. She took the lid back off and put some water in the bottom.

“How come?”

“This keeps it moist. After all we’re going to be cooking it in a hot, dry oven,” Rainbow Dash said. She carefully opened the oven and placed it inside. “Now we play the waiting game.

“Can we play a board game instead?” Scootaloo asked.

“So why make me an alicorn?”

“Well I need somepony to keep me company,” Celestia said with a smile. “As an alicorn, you’d be able fulfill Luna’s duties, and you’d live as long as I would, or close enough. Even as a unicorn, you’d at least share her long life.”

“But I’d still be a child to you,” Twilight said.

“I don’t think so,” Celestia said. “We’re actually quite close in relative ages.”

“Huh?” Twilight exclaimed.

“Alicorns live thousands of years, but I’m still quite young for a member of my tribe. We’re about at the same point in our lives, though mine is just longer.”

“So why me?”

“You’re my faithful student,” Celestia said. “Who else but you?”

“But why?”

Princess Celestia gazed off. “I told you, I thought Luna was beyond any form of help. I... I didn’t want to have my sister suffering like that. Without her long life and alicornian powers, she would be little more than an angry winged unicorn. She wouldn’t be a serious threat anymore.”

“And you wanted me to take her place?”

“I needed somepony to take her place, bringing forth the night. I wanted somepony to be my companion for however many centuries I have left. It’s rather... draining to make friends all the time knowing they’ll be gone so quickly.”

“I wish you had told me before.”

“If I had, do you think things would have gone the same way?”

“Probably not,” Twilight said, smiling awkwardly.

“I think things worked out nicely. Except for you, that is.”

“I’m happy just being a regular old unicorn,” Twilight said.

Princess Celestia grabbed Twilight’s head with one hoof and gently turned it towards herself. “Twilight, you are anything but an ordinary unicorn. Never forget that.”

“So?” Rainbow Dash asked.

The turkey was now done and sitting on the table. Since Scootaloo had caught it, she got the first bite. Scootaloo bit down and chewed with her magic teeth. At once, she coughed and grabbed for a glass of water.

“Too much... what was that red stuff?”

“Cayenne pepper.”

“Yeah. That.”

Rainbow Dash took a little bite. “A bit strong, but not bad for your first try.”

Scootaloo made a small nibble. “I guess I didn’t mess up that much.”

“Okay, so now you know how to hunt and cook,” Rainbow Dash said. “Now I can kick you out, and you can survive on your own.”

Scootaloo looked at her in horror, but Rainbow Dash burst out laughing.

“You should see the look on your face!” she said between bouts of giggles. Scootaloo just frowned. When she had finally stopped laughing, Rainbow Dash walked over and put her leg around Scootaloo. “You’re not going anywhere. I was just joking.”

“Ha ha, mom,” Scootaloo said, trying to annoy her ‘mom’.

Rainbow Dash’s smile wavered a bit. “Just don’t call me dad. That would be weird.”

“I’m a flightless pegasus, with magic, and two discolored flanks, whose entire body changed color, who just killed and ate a turkey. Weird is my life.”

“Naw, you’re just my Scoots,” Rainbow Dash said.

Scootaloo smiled. “Can we go hunting again soon?” she asked.

“Sure. Not all the time, but we can definitely go again,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“I thought you gave up hunting,” Scootaloo said snidely.

“I did, but now I have a reason to go.”

“Aren’t you afraid we might get caught?”

“It’s not illegal,” Rainbow Dash said. “And if they find out, they find out. I’m not going to tell them, nor am I going to make it obvious, but I’m not worried. Not anymore.”

“Me neither!” Scootaloo declared.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Image by Kishmond, taken from deviantart and resized by me.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 5: The Flight of the Pink

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 5: Traitor

Chapter 12

"Hi girls, it's good to see you all again," Twilight Sparkle said, seeing all her friends inside the Ponyville Library, waiting for her return. "Now off to school, Spike."

"Yeah, yeah," Spike grumbled, walking off.

"Did yah have a good time in Canterlot?" Applejack asked.

"How did it go with Princess Celestia?" Fluttershy asked.

"Did you learn a lot?" Rarity asked.

“I learned.... a lot," Twilight replied. "I know you have a lot you want to ask, but the Princess sent me back with an assignment that must be completed right away."

"What kind of assignment?" Applejack asked.

"She want us to search Ponyville for any enemy agents," Twilight replied.

"Why would she want that? Everypony knows everypony else here," Pinkie Pie said.

"And how are we supposed to do that anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It's simple. Since all ponies have a mana gland except terra ponies, and they look just like earth ponies, all we have to do is round up all the hornless and wingless ponies in town, then I can scan them with my magic," Twilight explained.

"What are you going to do if you find any?" Pinkie asked.

"We'll probably take them to Canterlot and see what Celestia wants done. She didn't say what to do with them," Twilight replied.

"She'll probably throw them in jail," Rainbow Dash suggested.

"Or execute the varmints," Applejack growled. "That's what Ah'd do after what they did tah Apple Bloom."

"That's for the Princess to decide," Twilight interrupted.

"Okay, but how do we round 'em up?" Applejack asked. "We can't just say a dead tribe is hiding amongst us. Folks'll panic."

"We could say they're sick," Fluttershy suggested. "We could say we're checking for infected ponies."

"And it only affects earth ponies. That could work," Rarity went on.

"Sounds like a plan. Girls, go spread the word. I want every earth pony in Ponyville by the town hall by noon," Twilight ordered. The other elements of harmony saluted. "Applejack you can keep your family at home. You're already cleared thanks to Apple Bloom."

"Right," Applejack replied. With that the six split off.

“Okay, class, I want everypony to welcome back Apple Bloom,” Ms. Sunweed said.

The class turned to the door to see the still bandaged filly being floated in on a small cloud. She was finally able to leave the hospital just in time. Much longer, and she would have missed some classes, which would have meant staying back a year. As it was, she was a bit late arriving.

Her wounds were still there, but had healed enough that the doctors allowed her to attend classes, though she did have to spend the rest of the time in the hospital. She looked worse then she was; the bandages were mostly there to keep the wounds clean and to keep the sight from shocking other ponies. She had Sweetie Belle’s magic to thank for her quick recovery.

“Hi, everypony!” she greeted cheerfully. Cloud travel was more comfortable for her, and having friends around to push made it far easier then a wheelchair. At the moment Scootaloo was pushing her forwards with a small breeze.

“Now I want you all to leave her alone, and not bother her with a lot of questions about what happened to her,” Ms. Sunweed told them. “Apple Bloom, you can share your story with the class in your own time.”

“That's okay, Ms. Sunweed. Ah don't mind tellin' yah now,” Apple Bloom told her. “Ah was attacked by a shark while we were visitin' the sea ponies over the summer.”

“Oh my, a shark!” Ms. Sunweed gasped.

“Yeah. But Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle saved me!”

“Sounds like quite the tale!” Ms. Sunweed said, smiling a bit.

“That's all there is to it,” Apple Bloom said. Better not mention Ah died after what Applejack said.

“Then I guess we can go ahead with the class if you'll take your - um... seat.”

“Okay,” Apple Bloom replied. Scootaloo manually pushed the cloud through the room and stopped it by three empty desks. Apple Bloom carefully dismounted and sat in one chair while her friends took the other two. Scootaloo moved the cloud to the side of the room. Ms. Sunweed then began class.

“I'm so sorry to hear about you three,” Diamond Tiara said smirking.

“We're okay,” Apple Bloom replied.

“Since when have you cared?” Scootaloo asked, suspicious of the earth pony's friendly behavior.

“Well you can't be the blank flank club if two of you have cutie marks,” Silver Spoon replied.

“Now that you have your cutie marks, you can hang out with us now,” Diamond Tiara said to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo

“You can't be serious,” Sweetie Belle snorted.

“We are,” Silver Spoon replied.

“Do you really think we would leave Apple Bloom to hang out with you? You must be dumber than you look,” Scootaloo said, frowning.

"Any ideas on what we can do today?" Apple Bloom whispered.

"I can't go crusading today. I'm busy," Scootaloo whispered back.

"What have you been doing anyway? You've been busy all week," Sweetie Belle asked.

"I'm practicing for a cloudboarding competition next month," Scootaloo replied. "It is my special talent after all."

"What is all the talking about?" Ms Sunweed demanded, snapping them all to attention.

"Uh..." Apple Bloom stammered.

"We were just talking about how interesting the lesson was," Scootaloo lied.

"Is that so?" Ms. Sunweed said frowning. "Why don't you explain what is so interesting about hoofing out textbooks?"

"Because learning is fun!" Sweetie Belle replied. The teacher rolled her eyes and continued passing out the books.

"I have to ask your sisters if you can go with me to Blood Crest for the competition," Scootaloo said once the teacher wasn't watching.

"Where's that?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"In griffon territory. I'm not sure where," Scootaloo replied.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Apple Bloom asked.

"No," Scootaloo replied, "griffons are pretty cool."

"Ahem."

“Sorry," Scootaloo apologized, quieting down. "I'll tell you later," she whispered.

"Is this everypony?" Twilight asked.

"Ah think so," Applejack replied. Normally Spike would do the head count, but he was in school at the moment. Every earth pony in town now stood before them, looking a bit worried and confused. "We missed the school though."

"It's okay. They're foals, so their parents are in town. I'll check the teachers later," Twilight replied. "It's okay everypony. There's just a bit of a bug going around Equestria," Twilight announced to the crowd. "It's nothing severe, but we just want to make sure Ponyville is completely clean. If you'll all stay still for a couple moments I'll give you all a quick check up and you can go back to what you were doing."

Before waiting for the crowd, she got her horn glowing. A green light bathed the earth ponies for a full minute then vanished.

"Okay everypony here is perfectly fine. Thank you everypony," Twilight announced, smiling broadly. The crowd quickly dispersed as the ponies went back to their daily tasks.

"Well that's a relief," Rarity said.

"Not everypony," Applejack corrected.

"Who did we forget?" Twilight asked.

"Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy informed her. True, the pink pony had not been in the crowd.

"I don't think any of the Elements of Harmony could be bad," Rarity said bluntly.

"Princess Celestia said to check everypony, so that's what we're going to do," Twilight said.

"Okay, do Pinkie and we can tell the Princess Ponyville is clear," Rainbow Dash said. Twilight walked over to the oddly silent pink party pony. Her friends didn't notice her normally poofy hair had deflated and hung limply.

"Hold still," Twilight said. She began summoning up her magic.

Her earth pony friend stopped obeying the order to stay still, and ran.

"Where ya'll goin'?" Applejack called, but Pinkie Pie seemed not to hear them.

"Is she...?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I'm not sure, I didn't get a good scan, but running like that...”

"They know, they know, they know!" the terrified pink pony thought to herself as she raced through the crowded streets.

With surprising ease, she maneuvered around anypony that got in her way. She had never run this fast or hard in her life. Screeching to a halt, she rushed into her destination: Sugarcube Corner.

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I'm going home for a while!" she shouted to the two baker ponies.

“Huh?" Mr. Cake said.

"What?" Mrs. Cake asked, but the portly pony was too late. The pink blur was already upstairs. They heard a loud crash as the ball of sugar barreled into her attic bedroom.

“No time to pack!" she muttered to herself. She simply grabbed her pet alligator and pulled down the ladder to the second attic, where she kept most of her stuff. She climbed the ladder and shut it behind her. She looked up at the finished ceiling and spotted a big red button labeled "EMERGENCY ESCAPE". She pounded the button with her free hoof.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two figures wrapped in cloaks entered a strange and secluded town. Nestled between some high mountains, it seemed to have escaped Discord's notice. Everything seemed... chaos free.

"I don't like this," the darker figure said, pulling her hood back, revealing a dark blue equine head with a horn on top. A very short mane ran down the back of her head. Around her neck was a black necklace, partly hidden by the cloak.

"It's a nice change from itching powder pollen," the other figure replied, also removing her hood. This figure was much the same but pure white and had a mane of green, pink, and blue, all pastels. She had a golden necklace.

Together the two walked through the strange town but there didn't seem to be anypony around. The silence was deafening. It seemed like a normal town, but something put the darker of the two on edge. Something felt very wrong. As they reached the end of a block, they turned and saw a pony standing around.

"Father?" the white pony exclaimed.

"What?" the blue pony cried.

The pony turned. There in the middle of the street stood a large alicornian figure. Royal garb hung in tatters around his strong frame. Soot marred his red coat, and his orange-red mane seemed unkempt. The two could not deny, that standing alone in this strange town, was none other then King Sol himself.

"Father!" the white pony cheered.

"Tia wait!" the blue pony called but the white one had already galloped off.

"Luna, come on!" Tia shouted back. She ran up and skidded to a halt in front of the large pony. She looked up at him, tears pouring down her face. "Father!"

"Child," her father returned, wrapping a leg around her. He gazed down affectionately.

"I- how is this possible?" Luna asked confused. She walked over much more slowly. "Why are you here alone?"

"I'm not alone Luna," King Sol said calmly. Some of the houses opened up and more alicorns stepped out, about two dozen total. Each was covered in guided armor, but were unarmed. Again, something unnerved the alicorn of the night but she couldn't put her hoof on it.

"Father I'm so glad to see you," Tia said nuzzling the leg.

"I am as well," Luna said but kept her distance.

"I'm glad you two are safe," King Sol said kindly.

"We saw Alicornia burning and ran. We... we thought you were dead," Tia whimpered.

"It will take more than Discord to do me in."

"Is mother here?" Tia asked. King Sol looked away.

"She didn't make it out. I'm sorry Tia. We're the only ones who got away," King Sol said. Something clicked and Luna began scowling.

"Father, we want to help defeat Discord," Tia announced.

“He cannot be defeated," King Sol said shaking his head. "Even our army couldn't best him. Our only hope is to wait him out. That is why we are here, so far from others."

"Okay, I'm done this this," Luna snapped, "get away from my sister."

"Luna, what are you doing?" Tia cried.

"Get away from my sister. I don't know or care what you are, but get your hoof off my sister!" Luna barked.

"Luna, I am your father," King Sol growled.

"You are not," Luna snapped back, "our father is dead. There is no other reason for our manes to move on their own."

"Tia, what is wrong with your sister?" King Sol asked the alicorn at his feet.

"What's her name?" Luna shouted.

"I've had just about enough of your silliness," King Sol snarled.

"I said, what is her name!" Luna shouted.

"I just called her Tia, didn't I?"

"You don't know do you?" Luna said with a smirk. "Of course you don't. I never used it. Father would never call her by a nickname."

"Wait... that's right!" Tia said, her eyes wide with the realization. She wiggled away from the large alicorn and backed away. "Who are you?" she cried. "How dare you impersonate him!"

"I know what he is. He's a changeling," Luna said, smiling but her eyes were full of anger. "They all are. Why else do they all look the same?"

The alicorn guards began closing in.

"Changelings can work off our memories, but you slipped up," Luna said baring down on their false father. "Father would have never left mother behind. He would never call us by a nickname, and he would never admit defeat. Plus, I can practically taste the illusion spells you're casting on this whole place. I'll bet there isn't a single real building here at all."

"You could have been so happy here, but you had to go and ruin it," the fake King Sol said. His features began melting away. The red horn became black. The feathered wings became thin green membranes. His mane fell flat and turned blue-green and kept it's ragged appearance. All his red coat melted away, turning black. Even parts of his legs vanished into nothing.

"I can't believe I just hugged that," Tia said, gagging.

"What will you do now, Tia and Luna?" the large changeling snarled. The two looked around. The other alicorns had changed into creatures like the one before them. They were surrounded and badly outnumbered. The changelings closed in on them. As the got closer, the changelings began shifting their black bodies were replaced with duplicates of the true alicorns. Tia and Luna were now staring down a dozen of themselves.

"Any ideas Luna?" Tia asked.

"I only know about changelings, not how to fight them," Luna replied.

"Get them!" one of the fake Tia's shouted. The rest pounced but in desperation Tia threw up a force field which they all bounced off of. The picked themselves back up and began throwing themselves at the magic dome to break it.

"Think you can teleport us away?" Tia asked, focusing on maintaining the protection.

"That was always your specialty," Luna replied. She tore off her cloak and began poking her necklace. "Come on! Do something!" she snarled.

"What ever you're doing, hurry up! I can't keep this up forever!" Tia cried, as the changelings kept hammering at the bubble of magic.

"Elements of Peace, activate! Go! Power up! Work!" Luna shouted in desperation. She was trying everything she could think of, even throwing raw magic into the gems but nothing got them to react.

"Sister, you hold them off. I'll try something," Tia ordered. The other alicorn nodded and turned her power to the force field. At once she felt the drain of energy as blow after blow threatened to shatter the magic dome.

Tia sat quietly and focused her magic into her necklace. At once something happened. The pink circle began glowing brightly. The other two in the gold band joined in. Then the ones on Luna's necklace glowed as well. The light blinded the changelings, but didn't bother the two alicorns. The magic bubble winked out, but no being noticed.

Power surged through Tia. Many millions of times more magic then she had ever felt before, but it didn't hurt at all. It rushed through her veins. Luna looked over and saw her sister's eyes had turned bright white, and were giving off light as well from the extra energy. Now it just needed an outlet and it found it.

From the two, a beam of colors shot out. It snaked its way through the air and encircled the changelings. The vile things were held tight by the rainbow band and they were gathered together. With a great motion the band thrust into the sky and sent the changelings soaring through the air into the distance. It's job done, the rainbow beam dissipated and the light coming from the Elements of Peace dimmed.

The two looked around, blinking at what had just happened.The town had been replaced with a forest and the enemies were nowhere to be seen.

"That was... interesting," Tia said plainly.

"At least we know they work," Luna replied.

"You're right. I think we could defeat Discord with these things," Tia stated.

"So are you ready to march up and face him?"

"We'd still be killed before we got a chance to use them. We'll need help," Tia answered, ignoring the jibe."That power was incredible. And how it all flowed together; it was like all these different elements were in perfect harmony."

"That's a better name I think. Harmony instead of Peace," Luna commented.

"Whatever we call them, I think this one is the key," Tia said, pointing to the pink circle on her neck. "This one activates the rest."

"Probably power I'd guess."

"Yes, I'd have to agree with that." Tia added. "I think we should leave quickly. They'll probably be back soon." Luna nodded and once more dawned her cloak and the pair rushed off.

Meanwhile, the gang had raced after Pinkie Pie.

"Are you sure?" Rainbow Dash asked.

“I told you, I didn't get a good scan.”

"The way she was actin', she knew she's one a them," Applejack said.

"I can't believe we have a traitor amongst us," Rarity exclaimed.

The group was nearing Sugarcube Corner now.

"So what do we do? We can't just arrest our friend and hoof her over to Princess Celestia," Fluttershy protested.

"Yeah, what has Pinkie ever done to hurt anypony?" Rainbow Dash agreed.

"I'd like to believe she's a good pony," Twilight agreed, "but she ran. She wouldn't have run if she was innocent."

As they debated, a loud explosion rang out. They turned to see the roof of Sugarcube corner crumbling apart, showering the streets with debris resembling parts of a cupcake. Through the rubble, a balloon rose, supporting a basket. It wasn't like Pinkie's normal balloon. This one was oblong in shape, and larger. The basket seemed heavier too, and not just from the twin propellers mounted to one end.

The craft rose quickly into the air away from Ponyville. A pink head popped over the side.

"I'm sorry!" Pinkie shouted down to them. The propellers started turning, and the aircraft began moving away. There was a sudden lurch and the basket swayed awkwardly.

"Pinkie do you really think you can outrun me in a balloon?" Rainbow Dash asked, perched on the edge of the basket with a bored look on her face.

"Sorry, Dashie," Pinkie said, looking away. Then she picked up a metal cylinder, and pointed one end at her pegasus friend. Closing one eye, she took aim then pulled a lever on it. Out of the far end, a net flew out, ensnaring Rainbow Dash.

"Woah!" she cried as she toppled off the edge of the basket and to the ground below. Twilight saw her fall ,and caught her friend with her magic. "Help me out of this thing!"

"You won't catch me. Please don't follow me," Pinkie shouted down to them. She did something they couldn't see, that caused the propellers to fall off, crashing to the ground below. Luckily they didn't hit anypony when they landed. To replace them, a pair of chemical rockets popped out of the basket, and fired. "Bye!" Pinkie called faintly. She was out of sight in seconds.

"Well, now what?" Applejack asked.

"We follow her, that's what!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"You can't be serious. We have no idea where she is headed. She could be headed for a terra pony base for all we know," Rarity pointed out.

"Then we have to follow her," Twilight said. "If we can find one, that might be the break we need to stop them for good."

“I could probably follow her myself, but you couldn't keep up with me," Rainbow Dash stated.

"Maybe we can," Twilight said slyly.

“Are you thinking the other balloon?" Fluttershy asked.

"No, I have a better idea," Twilight told her. "I need you and Rarity to search Pinkie's room for something we can use to track her, then meet me at my house. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, meet me at the library! I have to go grab Spike."

"Sure!" Rainbow Dash saluted.

"We'll do our best," Fluttershy said, following her friend into the damaged bakery.

"Hello?"

The gray pony opened his workshop door to find two bat pegasi in royal guard armor. He was quite shocked that they were there. It was the middle of the day.

"Gearbox?" one asked.

"How can I help you?" he replied.

"The Princess has requested your presence at the palace immediately," the other informed him.

Did she know? Have I been found out?

"What would Princess Celestia want with a simple earth pony inventor such as myself?"

"Princess Luna," the first guard said, emphasizing the distinction, "has heard of your magic amplifier and wishes to see it for herself."

"Oh. Sure. I'll just get my things," Gearbox said.

Was that really it? He went back inside and gathered some things in a saddle: the amplifier prototype, a few other odd inventions, a magic inhibiting collar, and a firehoof. Just to be safe.

"I'm ready," he announced, closing the door and locking it behind him. "So how are we doing this?"

"Chariot," one guard said simply, pointing a hoof toward the black platform. Gearbox got onto it and the two guards got into the yolks. With a flap of their leathery wings, they were off.

"Sorry, Ms. Sunweed," Twilight said, barging into the classroom. "I need Spike home right away."

"Is it really more important then lessons?" The teacher asked.

"Yes. Spike we're doing a field test. Now," Twilight informed the young dragon, happy to be leaving the boring class.

"What? Already?" Spike said, shocked.

"We don’t have a choice. Get on," Twilight ordered, but didn't wait, and simply levitated Spike onto her back, and galloped off.

"Some ponies just don't understand the importance of education," Ms. Sunweed grumbled before returning to what she had been doing.

Twilight burst into the library at full gallop, nearly crashing into her friends. Without stopping, she let Spike down and turned to her friends.

"This way girls." Twilight pointed to the basement door. They followed, but stopped in the doorway.

"You didn't," Rainbow Dash said, mouth wide.

"Ah don't believe it," Applejack said, stunned.

Before them stood a pile of machinery they had seen all too well before. The once organized laboratory was now a mess of pipes and wires going every which way. Spike at once stood behind a control panel, like he knew what he was doing. The device dominated the tiny room.

"Girls, this is the Pony Blender Mark V," Twilight announced.

They already knew what it was at a glance, but looking it over, they could tell Twilight had been hard at work. Panels were lying on the ground next to open circuit boards. It looked distinctly different from the one they had been put inside in the Everfree Forest, but close enough to bring chills to their spines.

"Whah is this in yer basement Twi?" Applejack asked, not wanting to hear the answer.

"It was you that made me decide to make it," Twilight told her. She omitted their other friend who had suggested actually building it.

"Me?"

"You pointed out that if there was a book on how to make these there might be more. So I thought if there are more, then we would need our own to cure ponies put into one," Twilight explained. "After building it according to the book, I began working on improvements to the reversal process and various other aspects. I wasn't able to reduce the magic consumption much however.

“Anyway, the Mark V is much better. It cools more rapidly, so we can use it every two hours instead of six. It also pulls ponies apart more reliably. I didn't know how lucky we got with the girls until I read more. It was sheer luck they were close enough in size that it didn't mess them up anymore then it did."

"So whah are you showing us this?" Applejack asked.

"One of the new features I designed myself," Twilight went on, "is something I call merger memory."

"I don't get it," Rainbow Dash said.

“It basically means that when it blends three ponies together, it makes a recording of what they were like before. That way, when you activate the reverse function, the ponies come out exactly the way they went in with no side effects," Twilight elaborated.

"Ya'll are gunna ask us to get in there, ain't cha?" Applejack grumbled.

"Yes. I think it's the only way we can catch up to Pinkie Pie, and fight off any of her terra pony friends," Twilight said.

"Are you sure this thing will get us apart?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I like you guys, but I don't want to be stuck in the same body with you forever."

"And no side effects?" Applejack asked. "What Apple Bloom can do is nice and all, but it ain't fer me."

"I'm sure it will work. Merger memory will get us back to how we are now. What happened with the girls was sheer chance, nothing more. It won't happen with this version," Twilight said confidently. "Just look," She pointed. Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked and from where they stood they could see two familiar gems.

"The elements?" Applejack asked.

"Yes. It seems the energies of the elements of harmony stabilize the combination process, so no matter what ponies go in, they will be mixed evenly. Before the ponies had to be in harmony with each other and themselves. If one pony was stronger or egotistical, that would affect the end result, like how Trixie was all different colors but clearly held dominance," Twilight explained. "This way we'll all have equal control, like we saw with the girls."

"If it's the only way, count me in," Applejack said.

"Let's do this," Rainbow Dash agreed.

"Spike, you know what to do." Twilight nodded to her assistant who gave her a thumbs up. The three ponies marched over to the machine. "Just step into the compartments. No bars this time. Oh, and no hats."

"Right," Applejack said, removing it.

They did as they were told. Steps in front of the chambers made it easier to get in. On the side of the room Spike donned some protective eye and ear gear. Twilight had made him practice this several times, and he had the guide if he needed it. He gave Twilight one last wave and started the machine.

"Oh no," Rarity said, standing bolt upright.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked, dropping the rubble she was moving. Trying to locate anything that was Pinkie's was nearly impossible in the ruins of her room. Most of what had been the ceiling had been pulled away, leaving behind a room filled with toys and wooden boards. At least the rest of the building was undamaged and structurally sound.

"Something nearby is siphoning my magic," Rarity told her.

"Just like-"

"Yes," Rarity nodded.

"We should tell Twilight," Fluttershy said.

"I'm sure she's aware," Rarity said. "Let's focus on finding something for now."

"Okay," Fluttershy said, returning to trying to move the piece of wood.

The machine stopped and the noise quieted. Nervously, Spike pulled the lever that opened the central chamber door. Out stepped a large figure.

"Did it work?" Spike asked.

"It certainly did," Twilight spoke.

"This is so cool!" Rainbow Dash said, making them smile.

"This feels really weird," Applejack said, scratching their head.

"Wow, so that's what they looked like," Spike said, looking over his friends melded form.

Tentatively, the artificial alicorn made a step forward. The hoof jerked about before settling. Then another step. Then two hooves tried moving. They lost their balance, and fell over.

"Ow!" they uttered together.

"This is harder than it looked," Twilight mumbled.

"They made it look so easy," Applejack agreed.

"I wish we had actually talked with them. Maybe we'd have a better idea on how to do this," Twilight stated. "What if just one of us moves at a time? Applejack since they are your, legs why don't you try getting up?"

"Okay," Applejack said. While the earth pony moved their legs, the other two focused on relaxing. Slowly they righted themselves.

"Now let's go upstairs," Twilight declared.

They moved slowly at first, getting a feel for sharing control over one body. They had it mostly down by the time they reached the main floor. Getting through the door had been a challenge in itself, but with some clever manipulation of their wings, they managed to fit.

"Now to wait until Rarity and Fluttershy get here," Twilight said as Applejack sat them down. The wings on their back were very heavy, and the sensation of having them was very odd to two thirds of them. So was an irritating sensation coming from them.

"I got this," Rainbow Dash told them. "Some of my feathers got ruffled up when we fell."

She leaned over and began preening instinctively. Applejack and Twilight fell silent. It felt odd having feathers run through their teeth, but the irritation went away. She had finished her work just as Spike came upstairs.

“Spike, could you bring the mirror from my room?” Twilight asked. She was well aware she was too large to fit through her bedroom door at the moment.

“Huh?” Spike asked.

“Could you get the mirror from my room?” Twilight repeated.

“What?” Spike asked. Twilight almost laughed before levitating off the earmuffs he was wearing.

“Could you get the mirror from my room?” Twilight said a third time.

“Oh. Sure thing,” he said. He quickly raced out of the room and returned with the a full length mirror. He gently propped it up against the wall. Taking control, Twilight stood them up and examined their new look.

None of them had gotten a good look at the fillies' mixed form, but is seemed close. Their head and chest belonged to Twilight, while the legs and back end where all orange. The wings and midriff were cyan. Their cutie marks had merged into one; the cloud from Rainbow Dash with Twilight's large star sticking out of it, with Apples surrounding it instead of smaller stars.

Twilight couldn't be sure, but she thought they might be as tall if not taller than both of the Princesses. Her horn was much longer than normal too, just like her mentor's. Her mane did not flow in a non existent wind however.

“Wow,” Rainbow Dash said as she stretched their wings out. “These are way bigger than mine.”

“And we look like we could buck a tree in half,” Applejack said, testing out a leg. Their combined actions caused their collective body to tip over, and they fell to the ground.

“Girls we have to work together!” Twilight reminded them.

“Sorry,” Applejack and Rainbow Dash said at once. The sound of both their voices coming from the same source was very strange. Spike couldn't help but laugh.

“What's so funny?” Applejack said grumbling.

“You're having an argument with yourself,” Spike said giggling. The artificial alicorn frowned at him.

“Hey Twi', I've been thinkin',” Applejack said.

“Yes?”

“If yah built that thing to counter other fake alicorns, what good is it if yah have to bring them here first? Can't yah make something portable or somethin'?”

“I thought about doing that, but it's just not possible.”

“Twilight, if anypony can do it, it's you,” Rainbow Dash said, trying to encourage her.

“Well, I tried making a model you could just carry, but it gives off too much heat when it runs. It would be single use only at best, and would melt apart when you used it.”

“Uh, melt?” Applejack asked nervously. “Just how hot is that thing getting?

“The coolant is liquid helium. There is absolutely nothing colder. Even with that it, takes two hours to cool down to safe levels. If I ran it sooner, it would melt the machine,” Twilight explained. “Plus we don't have the technology yet to make the components any smaller, so it's still pretty big. I made a prototype, but it was so heavy I couldn't get it outside, and it melted to the floor when I tried using it. That's what happened with the Mark IV.”

“Keep tryin' sugarcube. You'll figure it out.” Applejack told her.

“I'm sorry girls, but Equestrian technology is too far behind. This thing is the most advanced thing I've ever seen. Just trying to reverse engineer the parts was almost impossible. We would need actual terra pony technicians to get any farther, and I don't see them helping us,” Twilight said sadly. “Let’s talk about something else, okay?”

“So, uh, how was Canterlot? Did Ah already ask that?” Applejack asked.

“It was... interesting. I learned a lot.”

“It must have been cool, learning to fight from Princess Celestia!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“It was really hard. We were fighting all the time,” Twilight replied.

“Fighitin’?”

“Sparring. Basically the most common way of fight training,” Rainbow Dash explained. “So, did you ever beat her?”

“Just once. The rest of the time she pretty much knocked me around.”

“Sounds mighty painful.”

“I still learned a lot,” Twilight said.

“I learned a lot too!” Spike declared. “I-” Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

“Spike?”

“On it,” Spike said, answering it.

“Hello, Spike,” Rarity greeted, entering.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said, following.

“Hey girls,” Twilight greeted, trying to sound nonchalant.

“My, you look just like Princess Celestia,” Rarity said. "If she had fallen into some paint and got a mane cut."

“That might be a good way to get out of town without attracting too much attention,” Twilight thought out loud. “We don't want anypony thinking there's a fourth princess or something.”

“We found some of Pinkie's things,” Fluttershy announced, dropping an assortment of gag items and costume pieces onto the floor.

“Perfect!” Twilight said. She leaned over and performed the tracking spell.

“So what's with the new um... look?” Fluttershy asked.

“We need to find Pinkie and fast. She might lead us to a terra pony base for all we know, and we need to be strong enough to take them on,” Twilight explained.

“Twahlight here built her very own alicorn machine in the basement,” Applejack added. “Then improved it so we can get apart again.”

“So what does it feel like?” Flutteshy asked.

“Not that different. It's just like being me, then they'll move and I have to remember why my leg is moving on it's own,” Rainbow Dash explained. “But it still feels like all my body.”

“Girls, we're wasting time,” Twilight said, taking charge again.

“Anything we can do?” Rarity asked.

“Not really. If you have any questions, you can ask Spike,” Twilight said. “Now everypony be quiet, illusion spells are not my specialty,” she said. She pulled forth her magic and let it blanket their single body.

“Now you really do look like Celestia!” Rarity exclaimed when the spell was over.

“That's the idea,” the facsimile of Celestia said in Twilight's voice. It opened the door and stepped outside. “Alright Rainbow Dash, you fly, I'll point the way.”

With a flap of their wings, they were in the air.

“Woah nelly!” Applejack cried, hooves flailing.

“Stay still!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“We're called earth ponies for a reason, Rainbow,” Applejack retorted, but let their legs go slack. Rainbow Dash took over.

Turn to the left,” Twilight ordered and they moved. When they were facing the right direction, towards some distant mountains, she shouted “Stop!”

With a powerful stroke of their wings, they shot forward.

Rainbow Dash was loving it. Sure they were larger and heavier then she was used to, but the wings more than compensated. “I wonder how fast I can go,” she thought, pouring all she had into going faster and faster. Before they had cleared Ponyville completely a familiar sonic cone began to form around them.

“Is that what Ah think it is?” Applejack wondered. She didn't dare talk, as their lungs were working heavily. With relative ease, Rainbow Dash surged them forward, piercing the cone.

Behind them ponies rushed into the streets to see the source of the loud bang. Looking up, they saw a sight that had not graced the skies over Ponyville in a while.

“I had almost forgotten how marvelous those are,” Rarity said, looking up.

“They must be really strong fliers,” Fluttershy stated. “Rainbow Dash has always needed to dive in order to pull one off before.”

"Was that Princess Celestia?" a mint colored unicorn with cream flanks asked.

"Doing a sonic rainboom?" her cream colored earth pony with minty flanks companion continued. The two looked at each other with equally confused expressions.

"Bon Bon, was Ponyville always this weird, or did it only get this way after I moved here from Canterlot?" the unicorn asked. The earth pony stared blankly at the unicorn who was lying on her back in a very unpony like fashion. Then watched unsurprised as her companion stood up on two hooves to continue to watch the passing alicorn, shielding her eyes from the sun with a foreleg.

"Weird. Right," Bon Bon replied, rolling her eyes. "Whatever you say, Lyra."

A small balloon set down on a gray rock farm miles from any major town. The ponies in the field turned to look. Pinkie Pie jumped from the basket.

“Hi mommy, hi daddy,” she greeted the pair.

“Pinkamena, what are you doing here?” her father asked.

“Some of the others have been causing trouble. Princess Celestia was looking around for any terra ponies, and they nearly caught me, so I had to leave. I need somewhere to stay while I move somewhere new to live,” Pinkie said. Her mane had remained flat since she left.

“Well you are always welcome here on the farm,” her mother said.

“Were you followed?” her father asked seriously

“No, I shook them off pretty easy.” Pinkie replied.

“Well we're busy tending to the east field. Do you still remember how to do it?”

“Of course, daddy,” Pinkie replied.

"Hey, Pinkamena, what's that on your tail?" her mother asked. Pinkie looked and saw her pet clamped onto the end.

"Oh that's Gummy, my pet alligator." Pinkie said prying the reptile off.

"Isn't that dangerous?" her mother asked.

"He's got no teeth, see!" Pinkie pointed out. Pinkie placed Gummy inside before joining the family in their labors.

“She's down there girls,” Twilight announced. Even as fast as Rainbow Dash had flown them, it was after sunset when they arrived.

“Ah guess she really did grow up on a rock farm,” Applejack said, noting the terrain below them.

“So do we nab her now?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No, I think we should wait until morning. I don't know about you two, but I'm pretty tired,” Twilight said.

“We're all tired Twi',” Applejack pointed out. Rainbow Dash maneuvered them to the ground. Taking over, Applejack walked them over to a secluded spot off of the farm where they could be hidden from sight. At once Rainbow Dash began preening, but Applejack forced their head back. "Do yah have tah do that now?"

"Yes," Rainbow Dash responded. "You don't have wings so you don't have to take care of them, but I do."

"Sort of like how unicorn horns can get overgrown if you don't file them down?" Twilight asked.

"I guess," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Well can it wait for a few minutes? I want to do some experiments," Twilight requested. They reluctantly nodded to themselves. Twilight summoned up her magic and levitated a rock from the ground. Then she crushed it into dust. "Hmm... I'd need to use a machine for more precise measurements, but I'm sure my magic is considerably stronger now."

"Ah never seen yah do somethin' like that before," Applejack commented.

"Next test." At once their horn began glowing brighter and brighter. The aura was massive, several times larger they they were even at their larger size. Once it couldn't get any stronger, Twilight pulled it back.

"You're going to get us spotted!" Rainbow Dash hissed.

"A necessary risk," Twilight replied, jotting down some mental notes. "I'd estimate a 140% increase in my magic limit, and at least a 50% increase in its strength. I bet I could teleport all the way back to Ponyville with all this magic."

"And we're a lot faster," Rainbow Dash added. "That sonic rainboom was almost too easy.

"Stronger too," Applejack pointed out again. She took control to test her earlier claim, and bucked a dead tree. It shattered apart in a burst of splinters. "Ah bet Ah could lift more with one hoof then Big Macintosh can with all of em."

"This is great. If we could integrate this kind of power into the Equestrian military, we'd mop the floor with the terra ponies," Rainbow dash said, smirking.

"Easy girls, it's not perfect yet. Remember there's only one that can separate us again. I'm sure I can improve the machine some more. 140% is good, but it should be 300% ideally. I'll keep working on it," Twilight replied.

"But we could make hundreds more alicorns," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

Twilight shook their head “I pretty sure we’re totally sterile right now. Anyway, we’re still not close enough genetically to be compatible with another alicorn, fertile or not. We’re closer to a winged unicorn than an alicorn. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are the only alicorns." The other girls got real quiet. "It's only in this state. Nothing to worry about after we're apart again. I wouldn’t have ever used it if it was a permanent effect."

"Eh. I wasn't planning to have foals anyway," Rainbow Dash said.

"Ya'll change yer mind when yah find that special somepony," Applejack replied.

"I am not having a foal. Ever. I don't ever see myself wanting to squeeze a watermelon through my crotch," Rainbow Dash said, cringing at the thought. "Besides, the world has enough unwanted ponies as it is."

"Rainbow...." Applejack said softly.

"Don't try to tell me otherwise. I know it," Rainbow Dash said, sighing heavily. "I lived it."

“Is there something you want to share with us?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash sighed. "No. But I will. I already told you Gilda was my sister, but I didn't exactly tell you why."

"You were made part of her family," Twilight remembered.

"Yeah. Because I was an orphan," Rainbow Dash said finally. "My parents died when I was about a year old. I ended up living at the flight school. Going home with Gilda was the greatest day of my life. Even better then when I got my cutie mark. I really mean that. I was never in an orphanage, but I know what it's like.

"Before I came to Ponyville, I worked in the Cloudsdale foster care services. You know, give back to the community for what little it did for me. But I couldn't take it. Equestrian orphanages are dumps. Dirty and overcrowded. I spent my time either either made sure the orphanages met the codes, and they barely did most of the time, or I filed reports on how much they sucked."

"Ah had no idea. Family's so important," Applejack said, wishing they were apart so she could give her friend a comforting hug.

"I always had a family. They just weren't ponies is all," Rainbow Dash said confidently. "They were always there for me, like my parents wanted to be. It seems heartless, but I don't miss them that much. I was too young to really know them, and soon I had some griffons to fill the hole they left. "

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Twilight asked, surprised.

"It wasn't any of your business. I don't need you girls acting like I need help or comfort. It's almost as annoying as the ones who teased me," Rainbow Dash responded dully. "Plus, I lost a lot of friends when I told them. Gilda was the only one who stuck by me when they found out."

"That ain't right," Applejack grumbled. "We wouldn't a done that. That's just mean." They shrugged.

"So why did you quit?" Twilight asked. "You could have done some good there."

"I quit because I couldn't take it any more. I only did it for a few months but in that time..." Rainbow Dash trailed off. "I had to file reports for over forty local foal deaths."

“That's terrible!" Twilight exclaimed.

"How could so many ponies die so quick?" Applejack asked in disbelief.

"The orphanages were, and still are overcrowded. Sometimes they got sick and couldn't afford treatment, sometimes a foster parent would abuse them to death," Rainbow Dash replied, "but the thing that really made me quit, was the number one cause of death."

"Starvation?" Twilight asked remembering what Scootaloo had told her.

"Fallin' off a cloud?" Applejack suggested.

"You're way off," Rainbow Dash informed them.

"Well that's disease, murder, accidental, and starvation. What else is there?" Twilight rattled off.

"Drownin'?"

"Wild animal attack?"

"Birth defect?"

"Poison?"

They shook their head and paused before uttering one last word before the pegasus stayed silent for the rest of the night.

"Suicide."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Equestria wide, orphan suicide is the number one cause of death, responsible for the death in more than 70% of cases, with large cities having the worst numbers. Canterlot is the worst while Baltimare boasts the lowest. Orphans have more than twice the suicide rate of any other social group.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 5: The Meaning of Loyalty

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 5: Traitor

Chapter 13

The yellow earth pony awoke to a world of pain. A world she was used to waking up to by now. Just as she had nearly every day before, she grabbed a pill off the table beside her bed, and sent it down her throat with some water. Then she waited for the painkiller to take effect.

Once she felt well enough to move, she got out of bed and headed to the hospital cafeteria. She would have to wait for her friends to pick her up before she left anyway. Might as well eat first. She lazily dragged over a tray and shuffled down the line, picking things that wouldn't bother her. Her insides were still pretty tender. When she sat down at a table, she realized she had forgotten a fork, so she simply reached out with a hoof and tried to magic one over.

It didn't go well, she knocked over the fork container, and the fork that did respond to her call hit her in the face.

"Ah really need tah get better at that," Apple Bloom groaned, rubbing her face. "That or wear a catcher's glove on mah nose."

The white unicorn was roused from her slumber by the smell of breakfast. After making her bed, she trotted down to find her older sister quite happily cooking.

"Good morning, Rarity," she greeted.

"Good morning, Sweetie Belle," Rarity replied, focusing on cooking properly. "You know, I really must thank you and your friends. Since this whole friendship flanks thing took off, the Boutique has been flooded with business. Alterations mostly, but they still pay bits. I might be able to hire an assistant if this keeps up."

“Does that mean you're going to get them too?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Oh no, I still think they look ridiculous," Rarity answered. "Besides, how could I when I have five friends. I don't have that many flanks, and I couldn't possibly pick between them."

"I guess that makes sense. Is breakfast almost ready? I have to go meet Scoots so we can pick Apple Bloom up at the hospital."

"She's leaving already?" Rarity said, surprised.

"No, but the doctors are letting her go to school with us so she doesn't get held back a year," Sweetie Belle replied.

"So Sweetie, have you thought about having a cute-ceañera? It's been a few weeks, hasn't it?" Rarity asked.

"Not until the crusaders are done. We couldn't have one without Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo walked into the kitchen to find it strangely empty.

"Rainbow Dash must be out still," she thought. “Probably in a tavern with Applejack again.” Bored, she fed Tank then she fixed herself some toast to eat. She noticed a note sitting on the counter. It was the same one that had been there yesterday.

”Scoots-

I’m leaving early to meet Twilight with the others when she gets home today. I’ll see you later tonight. Don’t forget you have a check up tomorrow.

-Rainbow Dash”

Right. That. She’d forgotten she had an appointment after school. Fun, fun, fun.

“Good morning, everypony!” Pinkie Pie greeted coming downstairs. It had been a while since she had been home, so she had spent the night in the guest bedroom. Her parents were already gathered around the table eating.

“Good morning, Pinkamena,” her mother replied. “We have oatmeal for breakfast.”

“Oh goodie!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “You should try it the way the buffalo make it. It's really good. Actually I'm not even sure if it was oatmeal.”

“You met buffalo?” asked her mother.

“Yup!” Pinkie answered while walking over. Suddenly she stopped. Her back leg twitched, then her eyes fluttered, then her back itched. “Uh oh.” She said, her pupils shrinking.

“Pinkie sense?” her father asked.

“Yeah. That combo means a friend is coming to visit!” Pinkie informed them, "all my friends know." At once her father rose.

“Alright ladies, we knew this might happen one day. Good thing we're ready,” he said. “Honey, to the cellar. Pinkamena, let's go get ready to meet your friend.”

“Got it,” Pinkie replied. The pair went upstairs. Her father unlocked a door. Inside was a collection of various weapons. They each grabbed one and returned to the lower floor.

"Good morning, class," Ms. Sunweed said as the foals filed in. Apple Bloom was right on time today. "Today's lesson will be on magic," she instructed as the class sat down.

"Boring," Silver Spoon groaned.

"Now, what do you know about magic?" Ms. Sunweed asked the class.

"It's a form of energy that reacts to the actions and influence of certain creatures. Magic is either created inside a being or found as background energy in the world around us," Spike said, bored. "All pony tribes except the old earth ponies had access to magic in some form."

"Very good, Spike," Ms. Sunweed praised.

"Now who can tell me where magic comes from?"

"No pony knows where latent magic comes from, only that it seems to be everywhere in varying concentrations, and doesn't seem to have an end," Spike rattled off. This was stuff Twilight had told him years ago.

"Thank you, but I was referring to pony magic."

"A unicorn's horn," Diamond Tiara said, rolling her eyes.

"Nnnope," Apple Bloom corrected. "Magic is created in an organ inside a unicorn. All ponies have one but it doesn't work in some tribes."

“Yeah, the horn is just the focus for the magic. A unicorn without a horn can still do magic, but it's much weaker and tends to misfire, like all the time," Spike added. "I remember when Twilight broke off just the tip. She couldn't do anything right until it grew back." He shuddered, remembering that horrible month.

"It seems you know a lot about this," Ms. Sunweed commented.

"You tend to learn a thing or two living with Twilight," Spike replied with a shrug.

“Pinkie we know you're in there! Come on out!” Rainbow Dash shouted at the farm house. The door opened and out stepped the familiar pink pony followed by an old brown earth - no terra - pony. Pinkie was carrying the net cannon she had used on Rainbow Dash the day before.

“Wow, you guys look so funny all mixed together like that,” Pinkie said giggling at their appearance. Her companion coughed. “Oh, girls, this is my daddy. Daddy this is must be.... Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, I think.”

“Get off my farm, alicorn,” the older terra pony ordered them, staring them right in the eye without blinking once.

“We ain't a real alicorn,” Applejack replied.

“I said get off my farm,” Mr. Pie repeated staring at them.

“We flew all the way from Ponyville. We're not leaving without Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash countered.

“You heard daddy, girls,” Pinkie said simply pointing the metal cylinder at them. “Just leave. Forget all about me.”

“You really think a net will work on us?” Twilight retorted.

Pinkie replied by pointing the barrel away from them and pulling the lever. Out of the end flew a metal egg. The egg arced through the air until it hit the ground. The instant it did so it exploded into a cloud of shrapnel. When they looked back Pinkie had loaded another round and pointed it back at them.

“If the next thing you do doesn't involve leaving, we fire,” Mr. Pie threatened. He pulled out a similar weapon then pointed it towards the mixed together girls.

“Please,” Twilight said rolling her eyes. She easily grabbed the weapons with her magic and pulled them from the ponies' hooves.

“Damn magic,” Mr. Pie swore.

“Come on Pinkie. I don't want to have to get rough,” Rainbow Dash shouted.

Pinkie looked at her father then back at her former friends.

“If I surrender, will you leave my family alone?” she asked.

“Yes,” Twilight replied.

“Then I give up,” Pinkie said.

“Pinkamena, you don't have to do this,” her father said.

“I do have to,” Pinkie replied. “Alright, take me away.”

Twilight's horn glowed red with magic. The glow then encircled Pinkie's hooves for a moment before solidifying into a set of metal shackles. With a deft movement she was lifted via magic and deposited on their alicornian back.

“Bye, daddy!” Pinkie said glumly as Rainbow Dash launched them into the sky.

"So who can give me some examples of magic?" Ms. Sunweed asked.

"Uh, this!" Snails said, trying to charge is horn for a light spell. He smiled when it finally worked.

"Okay anypony else?"

"Cloudwalking," Scootaloo stated.

"This," Sweetie Belle said, starting a song but she stopped as the lights began appearing.

"Anyone else?" Ms Sunweed prompted, looking at Spike.

"Not all dragons have magic. Those that do, well it's different from pony magic," Spike said simply. "Mostly just fire."

"Like sendin' letters real quick?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah. That's messenger dragon magic," Spike explained. "I don't really know that much; I only spent a few weeks learning the basics while Princess Celestia was tutoring Twilight."

They had been flying in stony silence for a while before Pinkie Pie broke the quiet.

“So, what am I supposed to call you now?” she asked.

“What do yah mean?” Applejack asked.

“Well your names don't make any sense, cause there are three of you,” Pinkie replied. “I know, how about Rainjack Sparkle! Or Applelight Dash! Or Twijack Dash! Or I know, Appledash Sparkle! Ooo, that sounds like a dump shipping triangle, but who cares?”

“This isn't going to be a long term thing,” Twilight told her. "We're getting apart as soon as we get back to Ponyville."

“So... where are we going?”

“Canterlot castle,” Twilight responded bluntly.

“I shouldn't be surprised,” Pinkie replied.

“You had to know we would catch you. Why did you run?” Twilight asked her.

“I don't know. I was scared. I mean, we haven't exactly met the nicest terra ponies,” Pinkie told her. “I thought you would never want to see me again if you knew.”

“What I don't get is, if you are one of them, why didn't you go to one of their hide outs?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Oh, I don't have a clue where those are,” Pinkie told them, rolling her eyes, “my family defected from the rest of those mean ponies, years ago, just after I was born. I'd never even met one what wasn't family until we met that professor in the Everfree Forest. I may be a terra pony but I'm not with them.”

“When yah ran we assumed the worst,” Applejack said. "Ah suppose that's mah fault sayin' they should kill all them terra ponies," Applejack added quietly. "Ah'm awful sorry, Sugarcube. Ah didn't mean it. Ah was lettin' mah anger talk and not mah head."

"How could we not think you were on their side?" Twilight added.

“I'm sorry. I didn't want to know what you would think of me if you knew. I thought about telling you after the first time we met another terra pony, but then we met that second one and I was like, no way can I tell them now!” Pinkie rambled. “Say, are you lost?"

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"You're going the wrong direction. Canterlot is way far north," Pinkie said.

"Rainbow Dash, I thought you knew the way!" Twilight snapped.

"We're going the right way," Rainbow Dash replied. "We're going back to Ponyville."

"What!" Twilight exclaimed.

"She's our friend, Twilight. She hasn't done anything wrong," Rainbow Dash replied. "Even if she had, she's our friend and she deserved a chance to explain herself."

"Princess Celestia ordered us to-" Twilight began, but Rainbow Dash talked over her.

"We were ordered to search for enemy agents, and we didn't find any."

"That's... true..." Twilight admitted. "This still feels like a one way ticket to the moon."

"Then we'll go as friends," Rainbow Dash replied.

“You girls are the best!” Pinkie said, hugging them. Then she giggled. "Or girl."

“Wait, weren't you chained up?” Twilight asked.

“Girls, for future reference don't put a terra pony on your back. Ever,” Pinkie told them, while holding the shackles in front of their nose. It looked like something had melted through them. “I mean I'm your friend, but if I wasn't I could really hurt you from here.”

“Pinkie, we're probably the strongest pony in the world besides the Princesses. What could you possibly do?” Twilight asked. She still needed to learn to trust the pink pony's words.

“For starters, I could do this,” Pinkie replied.

She put her hoof on a spot on their back right before the point where their wings erupted from their sides. She applied some pressure, and at once their wings snapped to their sides, and they began falling out of the air. She pulled back and their wings snapped open again.

“If I wasn't your friend I would have hit harder, then broken your horn. I would have then jumped off, and floated to safety with my flying squirrel suit. Even if you were a real alicorn, you would have been too injured in the fall to follow me.”

To prove this, she flapped her front legs showing she could produce a membrane seemingly out of nowhere connecting her body and hooves.

“Um, wow.” Applejack said nervously.

“But you guys are my friends so I wouldn't do that,” Pinkie assured them, but it didn't work very well. “Since you guys got magic and wings and brawn we had to go with brains. Daddy taught me a whole bunch of ways to fight other ponies, since we don’t have any of the natural advantages you guys have.”

“Anything else you can tell us?” Twilight asked.

“Not really. I was a foal when we left. From what my daddy told me and my sisters, when Discord showed up, we sealed ourselves inside these underground bunkers called sanctuaries. They are undetectable by magic and the doors were hidden. The doors were made to not be able open for two thousand years. They opened several decades ago. We've been living on the farm ever since we left, which daddy said was shortly after I was born. Sorry I don't know more.”

“That's still something.” Twilight said. “Do you know how many sanctuaries there are or how many ponies are in them?”

“No idea. I'm sure somepony knows or knew.” Pinkie replied. “Probably a few of them and there are probably thousands of ponies, since we would need to keep the population going.”

“So you've been locked away for all them years,” Applejack said amazed.

“Yup!”

"I'm still confused. How come the other two ponies didn't recognize you as one of them?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I have no idea. They probably thought I was just an earth pony," Pinkie replied. “I recognized the mare right away, remember?”

“You know, I didn't get a clear scan when you ran away like that,” Twilight told her.

“What's the point now? We already know she's a terra pony,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“Yeah, but I thought I sensed something. I couldn't tell what it was but I want to try again.”

“Well you can go ahead. I'm not running any more,” Pinkie told her. Twilight performed the spell.

“Okay it is what I thought it was,” Twilight said shocked. “Pinkie, you are definitely a terra pony but...”

“What is it Twi'?” Applejack asked.

“Pinkie, something inside you is generating magic.”

A gray pony walked up to the palace gates slowly. This was probably the last place he ever wanted to be, but he had no choice. Princess Luna’s guards were probably still watching him from the air, but he didn’t dare look to be sure. He held his breath as he approached the guards, one unicorn, and one pegasus outside.

“Halt,” the pegasus commanded.

“State your name and business,” the unicorn said.

“Uh.. Gearbox,” the pony answered, “the princess called me here to see my inventions.”

“Okay, but we’ll need to scan you before you can enter,” the unicorn said, charging his horn.

“You know what,” Gearbox said, backing up, “I think my appointment was for tomorrow.”

“Nonsense. Come with me,” a regal voice behind him said. He knew who it must be when he saw the two guards bow. “Come, Gearbox, I wish to see you in my private meeting room,” Princess Luna said, striding into the palace.

“Princess,” the pegasus guard said, “Princess Celestia wants us to check every pony that enters.”

“And I’m saying you don’t have to check my guests,” Princess Luna replied.

“Of course,” the pegasus guard said, returning to his post.

“Come along, I don’t have much time before I must rest,” Princess Luna said, walking into the palace, with Gearbox following nervously.

"So as you learned, everypony has something inside them that can make magic, but it is only active in unicorns," Ms Sunweed summarized as class began drawing to a close.

"That's not true. Pegasi have some magic. That's what lets us walk on clouds," Scootaloo blurted out.

"Yes, but they can't use it consciously." Ms. Sunweed replied. "Only unicorns can."

"Well other ponies would be able to if they were making magic," Apple Bloom stated.

"I'm sorry but that's not true," Ms. Sunweed responded.

"Uh, yeah it is," Scootaloo said defiantly. To prove this, she got her magic aura up. Apple Bloom did the same, holding up a hoof.

"We can both do magic." Apple Bloom said simply. "But we ain't unicorns."

"Don't be silly. Pretending is fun but you can't do magic." Ms. Sunweed said. She was too far away to clearly see the glow! But her jaw dropped when she saw a spare piece of chalk glow green the fly to Apple Bloom. Her aim was a bit off, so Sweetie Belle caught it with her magic.

"See?" Apple Bloom asked.

“Wow, you three are bigger freaks then I thought," Diamond Tiara said snidely.

"You jelly?" Scootaloo replied with a smirk.

"What could be the downside to this?" Apple Bloom asked, pulling the earth pony antagonist's tiara in front of her eyes.

"So is this what Twilight meant when she said the mark III had side effects," Spike muttered out loud. "Hmm... I hope the merger memory works right," Spike said to himself.

"What?" Sweetie Belle asked, not hearing what he said.

"Nothing," Spike said quickly.

"I say, gather round and get yourselves a fresh mug of cider!" a tall olive pony called.

"Fresh squeezed from the Winding River Farm!" a nearly identical pony added. One by one the centaurs filed up and bought a mug. Three pony visitors in one day. What a nice surprise for their village.

"One mug please."

"Here you go, madam," the first pony said. He paused briefly as he hoofed over the drink. "Say brother, did you expect to see any kin this far from home?"

"I'd say not, Flim," the brother replied. "Say brother, are my eyes deceiving me, or do you see what I see?"

"I see it, Flam, but I don't believe it," Flim answered.

"Something the matter, colts?" the blue mare before them asked snidely. "Did I get cider on my cape?"

They both shook their heads.

"It's the wings, isn't it?"

They both nodded. Of course it was. How could she go anywhere without all eyes going from her forehead to her back. Not that she minded the attention, but she wanted it more on what she was doing, not what she was.

"Say are-"

"They're real. Long and weird story you probably wouldn't believe anyway."

"So, what is a fine pony like yourself doing so far from home?" Flam asked.

"I'm a wanted mare back home," Trixie said, putting on her best evil face. "I assaulted Princess Celestia, and attacked her precious student, Twilight Sparkle."

"How would you like another mug on the house?" Flim asked nervously. She levitated the mug over, and he refilled it with a fake smile.

“Twilight... Where have I heard that name before. Does it ring any bells, brother?" Flam asked.

"She's a purple unicorn. Powerful. Lives in Ponyville," Trixie said, trying to see where this was going.

"Didn't we get kicked out of a Ponyville?" Flam asked.

"I believe so Flam," Flim replied.

"Well if you see her, you didn't see me," Trixie growled. "She'll take me back to be executed for sure."

"She's no friend of ours," Flim stated.

"It seems she gets on the bad side of a lot of honest hard working ponies," Flam said.

"Yes, she does," Trixie said quietly. "Good day, gentlecolts. To our continued avoidance of that accursed unicorn," she said, finishing the cider.

Scootaloo walked into the clinic with a bored expression on her face. Going to the doctors was something everypony did. Didn’t want to arouse suspicions by acting out of place, now would we? She did her best to ignore the ponies in the waiting room and strode up to the counter like Rainbow Dash had done.

“Can I help you?” the secretary asked.

“I, uh, have an appointment for today.”

“What’s your name, sweetie?”

“Scootaloo.”

“Okay, you’re all set. Have a seat and he’ll call you in shortly.” The secretary went back to whatever it was she was doing. From her motions, Scootaloo suspected she was playing cards, but she didn’t say anything. Instead she took one of the medical flyers and sought out a seat that didn’t have anypony sitting near it.

As she folded the paper, she discreetly looked at the other ponies present. Snips was there, as well as some other foals she didn’t know by name. When she was done gazing about, she turned back to her work.

After giving it a light toss, she used her magic to keep the paper airplane flying around the room. She smiled. If felt good, and she even thought she was doing better than she had before. She even made it do a loopty loop, though it was an accident.

The whole time she did her best to sit nonchalantly watching, trying to make it seem like she was just another observer. The unicorns in the room looked at each other, trying to work out who was doing it, but they all shook their heads. Snips glanced her way and she gave a snide smile, but then refocused on her magic.

One by one the other foals were called in. More came in, but Scootaloo patiently waited. By the time her name was finally called, she’d managed to make the airplane do another loopty loop, this time on purpose. All it took was a burst of air to get it going, then another to make it flip up, though it was rather awkwardly executed. The airplane’s nose was now one big crumpled mess, but aerodynamics didn’t matter when magic kept it flying.

But now it was her turn, so she let the plane go on its doomed way, and followed Dr. Forceps to one of the actual rooms.

“That was quite the show you put on,” he said while closing the door. “Just about everypony who came in here said something about it.”

“Well Rainbow Dash did say I should practice my magic,” Scootaloo replied, getting on the table.

“Still, you must have been doing that for over an hour, or did you take a few breaks?” As before, he came over with a needle and drew blood. This time he didn’t give her a verbal alert, but she barely registered it.

“I didn’t feel like stopping.”

“Fascinating,” Dr Forceps said. He hoofed the sample to a pony waiting outside then came back over. “You must either have more magic than I thought, or you recover it at a phenomenal pace. Tell me, what is the longest time you’ve kept a spell going?”

“Well,” Scootaloo said, trying to hold still. He has something in her ear and she didn’t want to jar it. “Rainbow Dash and I flew to Shattered beak. I used my wind to push a cloud there. I’m not sure how far it is, but it’s a couple hours each way.”

“And no pausing? Open, please.”

Scootaloo opened her mouth on command and he shone a light inside.

“Done anything big? Any spells that made you run out?”

Scootaloo waited until he was done before replying. “Well... yeah. Twice over the summer I completely ran out. The first time I made a big gust of air to lift a hot air balloon with me and my friends. Then...”

“Yes?” he asked, wrapping a cloth band around her foreleg. It began inflating, crushing the limb.

“I... Twilight said I did something I shouldn’t have.”

“Combat magic?” he asked. He seemed satisfied and removed the band. “On the scale, please.”

Scootaloo did as she was asked but stayed quiet while he gauged her height and weight.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“You know Rainbow Dash got bit by a shark, right?”

“I was aware, yes.”

“I chased off the sharks attacking them using a spell that gave them cuts all over.”

“I hadn’t heard that detail. Back on the table please.”

“I didn’t feel like the magic I had was enough, so I kept pushing it, trying to get more... If you were a unicorn, you’d probably know what it feels like.”

“Probably. Deep breaths,” he said, pressing a cold metal disk to her chest. A tube ran from it to two other ends he placed in his ears.

Dr. Forceps dropped the pen he was holding. “That isn’t something I’d like to hear.”

“I’m sorry,” Scootaloo said, feeling ashamed.

“It’s okay. You didn’t know. I, or someone else should have warned you about the dangers of magic overuse. It’s me who should be sorry.”

“I would have done it anyway,” Scootaloo said. “They would have died otherwise.”

“So, ready to test your wingpower?” he asked, trying to change the subject. Scootaloo nodded and he pulled out the miniature windmill and placed it on the floor.

Scootaloo got her wings buzzing, and immediately noticed something. She hadn’t really tried for a while, so she hadn’t noticed, but she was actually off the ground! Mostly. Her wing beats were actually strong enough to counter gravity, despite a few feathers flying out as she did so, another reminder she was at the tail end of her molt. Her back hooves dragged on the floor as she moved past the windmill.

Flying like this was easy, just like riding a scooter, only her hooves dragged on the ground instead of the wheels. She strained her muscles, but couldn’t get completely clear of the floor. Tired, she stopped buzzing her wings and sat on the floor.

“0.3 Wingpower. A 200% improvement!” Dr. Forceps declared with clearly fake enthusiasm.

Next she went over to the magic meter and once again the metal cup was placed on her outstretched feathers.

“2.1. It should be lower considering you were using it constantly for a while, but its not,” he said. “Too bad this thing can’t really measure how fast your body recovers it directly, though I’d suspect its rather high.”

“And that’s good, right?”

“Yes. Most unicorns have a decent recovery rate, being able to recover most of their magic within one to two hours. I’d bet your recovery time is far less than an hour.”

“Can’t you measure it?”

“Yes, but in a roundabout way. It only measures how much is in your body at that time. If a foal has expended it all, we can measure how fast they recover it by how long it takes to reach its limit.”

“So I just have to waste a lot of magic? That sounds easy enough,” she said, getting her wings glowing.

“Let’s use it constructively,” Dr. Forceps said quickly. He placed the wingpower windmill in front of her, then grabbed his papers to hold them down. Scootaloo nodded and focused on it, getting up the fastest wind she could, trying to put as much magic into it as she could to waste it all.

“I don’t think I can go any faster,” she said after a minute.

“You’ve improved. 9.2 wingpower,” he said over the wind. She kept the breeze going, buffeting the wall now. It took a further couple minutes but she felt her magic finally give out. The wind died down to nothing.

“Okay, I think I’m out,” she said.

“Right, I’ll hook you up to be sure,” he said. He placed the cone back on. “You’re at 0.1. Try wasting it.”

Scootaloo nodded and made another quick burst of air.

“Perfect, 0.0. I’ll go get your blood work. You give me a holler if it reaches 2.1 before I get back.” He left the room, leaving Scootaloo alone with the machine.

She sat and watched the numbers tick by slowly. It had reached 0.6 before he returned.

“I’m back,” he announced pointlessly as he entered. “Is Rainbow Dash not with you today?”

“I think she’s hanging out with her friends. Twilight’s been in Canterlot for the past couple weeks. I haven’t seen her since yesterday.

“She does tend to get caught up in things. How are we doing?”

“It’s 0.7 now.”

“Remarkable. According to my watch... it’s been just over ten minutes since I left, that means...” he scribbled on a scrap of paper. “You recover all your magic in about thirty minutes. I can honestly say I’ve never seen a unicorn with anything near this limit to generation rate. Maybe it’s because you’re a pegasus.”

“Look, I barely know anything about magic. What does that mean?”

“What it means, you kind of already know. Advanced spells are beyond your capability because you simply don’t have the magic reserves to do them, but you can cast weaker spells almost indefinitely. You could have probably kept that paper airplane flying for days, am I right?”

“I’d need to sleep,” Scootaloo replied.

“But you get my point. So, would you like to hear how you are doing after six months?”

“The suspense is killing me,” Scootaloo said, she made some gagging noises and clutched at her chest.

“You are doing remarkably well. So well in fact, I think I can take you off the vitamins. You’ve grown two inches, and gained fifteen pounds. I’m very happy with how well you are doing.”

“It’s all thanks to a proper diet,” Scootaloo said, smiling.

“Maybe I should advise all my smaller patients to do that,” Dr. Forceps said jokingly.

Scootaloo giggled. “I don’t think their parents would approve.”

“Their loss.”

“So I’m in the clear?”

“Not exactly,” he said. “You’re still far behind. These improvements do make me feel optimistic about your future, namely you may not be totally clipped as I feared. Just stick to what you’re doing and I’ll see you again in six more months.”

“Okay. Bye,” Scootaloo said, leaving.

“And do be careful with your magic. Maybe ask one of the unicorns in the town to teach you.”

“Maybe someday when I need it.”

Princess Luna and Gearbox sat in the meeting room. It was a rather small room with only two chairs and a table that had been folded against the wall.

“So, I hear you have a magic amplification device,” Princess Luna said.

“Yes,” Gearbox said, pulling it out of his saddle. It was a metal cone with a box at the smaller end and a strap that secured it to a pony’s head.

“And how well does it work?”

“Well, I’ve only tested it on two unicorns,” Gearbox replied, “and it’s not made to fit somepony of your size.”

“Yes, but how well does it work?”

“Of the two tests, it averaged about a 30% increase in magic output,” Gearbox answered. “It’s only a prototype.”

“Still, that has much promise. What a marvelous invention for an earth pony. But you’re not one, are you.”

All at once Gearbox reacted. He pulled the firehoof out of his bag and aimed it at the Princess, who immediately pulled it from his hoof with her magic. It clattered to the floor several yards from where he sat.

“Now that you got that out of your system, let’s talk.”

Gearbox eyed the firehoof, contemplating if he could reach in before she could get some magic in. She seemed to read his mind and in a flash of light, the weapon vanished.

“You have little to fear. Whatever war there was between our tribes is over as far as I am concerned.”

“So why bring me here?” Gearbox asked.

“I am very interested in your magic amplifier,” Princess Luna said simply.

“That’s it?”

“There are a few other projects we could use the help of a terra pony on.”

“And if I build stuff for you, you don’t go after me?”

“If you build them, you get paid. I told you, the war is over,” Princess Luna said. “It has been over since my parents died and I see no reason to continue it now, two thousand years later.”

“I find that hard to believe given the security.”

“My sister is a bit paranoid. After all she is older and remembers more than I. You will be working for me, and you will be safe, even if you refuse to work with me.”

“And I don’t have to tell you anything?” Gearbox asked.

“Not if you don’t want to.”

“So what are these projects?” Gearbox asked.

“My sister has been working on a very interesting project and I think your skills would be helpful in finishing it.”

“What about the guards? They’ll check me eventually.”

“Here,” Princess Luna said. She pulled out a small black medallion with a white crescent on it. “I’ll instruct the guards to ignore anypony wearing one of these. You will be allowed to go anywhere in Canterlot and beyond, except our private rooms. What do you say?”

Gearbox signed. “Let me look at it and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Fluttershy come quickly!”

The cream pegasus awoke to the call. It was the middle of the night but Rarity was knocking on her door. Frightened, she rushed through her house to find out what was the matter.

“What's wrong?” she asked, embarrassed she wasn't wearing a robe.

“They're back!” Rarity announced.

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"You!" the blue alicorn shouted. He charged out onto the balcony and faced the draconequus.

"Me," the draconequus sneered.

"You should have stayed stone, Discord!" King Mithra shouted, charging a spell.

"Please, those weak spells don't work on me anymore," Discord said, sounding bored.

King Mithra fired the spell at him, but Discord reflected it with a wave of his talon. The deflected spell hit the alicorn who stood still as his body began making crackling noises, an expression of silent fear on his face. Curious, Discord walked over.

"Don't tell me you tried to petrify me after I told you it was pointless," Discord said. His question was answered as the blue alicorn turned off white and became stiff. "Well then, I guess I can't play with you anymore," Discord grumbled. He lifted the stone alicorn to the edge of the balcony. "Now die like Empathy did."

"Father!" shouted a voice. Discord turned and saw a distressed red alicorn looking at him. Discord sneered again.

"Long-" he reached out and grabbed the statue, "live-" he bent his arms and leaned in, "the new-" he pushed forward, "king-" the statued King Mithra tipped over the edge and plummeted to the ground below.

"Father!" the red alicorn cried, racing to the edge, not caring for his safety. He leaned over the balcony in time to see the stone figure shatter on the stone street below, the figure that had been so proud and regal minutes before, now lay in a million fragments. At once, the red alicorn’s mane lifted itself and began billowing in a breeze, but the air was still.

"Congratulations, your highness," Discord mocked, patting the foal on the shoulder.

"Get back, Prince Sol!" ordered a large alicorn from behind them.

"Is that any way to address your king?" Discord said, smirking at the six alicorns, all in cloaks, who now crowded the doorway.

"You'll pay for your crimes," one of them shouted.

"And how will you do that? Your petrification spells won't work on me any longer."

"Now!" one of the alicorns declared. He stepped forward and tugged off his cloak, revealing a gold necklace with a purple sword shaped gem. The other five did so as well, revealing five more necklaces, each with its own gem.

"What? How did you? You are not fit to have those!" Discord roared.

"Elements of Peace, Power."

"Elements of Peace, Honor."

"Elements of Peace, Giving."

"Elements of Peace, Truth."

"Elements of Peace, Happiness."

“Elements of Peace, Gentleness."

"Isn't that cute. You named them," Discord spat.

The six necklaces glowed brightly as each pony called out in turn. They rose up into the air as the air around them filled with energy.

"Time for a retreat..." Discord whined. He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened and it was too late. A blast of energy shot forth from the six alicorns and hit him, returning him once more to his stone form.

"It's over," the bearer of honor said.

“Look," the bearer of gentleness said, pointing. In a flash the statue of Discord vanished.

"Delayed spell. Smart," the bearer of power grunted.

"Come on, Prince. The ponies need to see you are unharmed," the bearer of truth said to the small red alicorn. The alicorn stayed at the balcony, looking down.

“Call the guards. I want every inch of our lands searched, as well as any lands we can get away with. I want him found and brought here,” the new king ordered.

“Prince, there are more pressing matters,” the bearer of happiness said.

King Sol whipped around with an angry expression. “He just killed fifty ponies, including my father. He will pay for his crimes. If we cannot slay him, then we will seal him away in a vault here. He will not terrorize my kingdom any longer.” The six just looked at him. “I am the king now. Do it.”

The six looked at each other.

“You go do as he says. I’ll stay here and look after him,” the bearer of giving said to the others. They nodded and galloped out of the room. The remaining one turned to the young alicorn. “Revenge will not bring you peace of mind.”

“No, but making sure this can never happen again will. Your companion was right. I do need to show I am okay. I shall do that now,” King Sol said, walking past the other pony. He didn’t look to see if he was followed or not. He didn’t care.

“Spike, open the door!” Rarity shouted, pounding on the door to the library.

“Hey, girls!” Pinkie Pie said as she opened the door for them.

“Pinkie?” they cried in unison.

“Twilight, Dashie, and AJ are downstairs getting separated,” she explained as they entered the library.

“I thought they were going to bring you to Canterlot or something,” Fluttershy said.

“I thought so to!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “But here I am!”

“So are you-” Rarity began.

“Yeah, I'm a terra pony,” Pinkie said, looking sad for a moment. "I know you must hate me for not telling you."

“No we don't,” Fluttershy said, shaking her head. “You're not just a terra pony, you're Pinkie Pie; you're our friend.”

“I love you girls,” She said, hugging them. Just then, the basement door opened and three ponies walked into the room.

“You weren't kidding, Twilight, that worked perfectly,” Rainbow Dash praised.

“Yeah, Ah feel just like mah old self!” Applejack agreed.

"I feel almost disappointed. After seeing what Scoots can do, I'm almost jealous," Rainbow Dash commented.

“Oh hi, Rarity and Fluttershy,” Twilight said greeting the newcomers. "Sure, I could disable the merger memory, and maybe you'll end up with magic too. Or you could end up without wings."

"On second thought, I'm good," Rainbow Dash said sheepishly.

“So are you going to examine me now?” Pinkie asked.

"Before we go, Ah think Rainbow Dash has something she wants tah share," Applejack said. The pegasus shot her a look.

"Fine. I'm an orphan. Happy?" Rainbow Dash said, grumbling.

"Oh you poor thing. I can't imagine how that must feel," Fluttershy said, at once hugging Rainbow Dash, but the blue pegasus pushed her away.

“This is partly why I didn't tell you. When I tell somepony, they either make fun of me or baby me. I don't need either. I'm just fine," Rainbow Dash explained.

"But growing up all alone can't be good for you," Rarity said actually concerned.

"I didn't say when I was made an orphan," Rainbow Dash grunted.

"You said you were one," Twilight remembered. "That's what I would call growing up alone."

"I wasn't alone. I had Gilda. I had her family," Rainbow Dash countered. "You don't call Spike alone because he has us."

"But they're griffons," Fluttershy said. "How could a bunch like Gilda compare to a real, pony family?"

"So what?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "There are thousands of orphaned ponies just rotting in orphanages all over Equestria! All over the world! Do you know how many orphanages griffons have? None. Zero. Why? Because they don't need them. Stray griffons are always taken in by a new clan. Only exiles are on their own and that's because they did something to deserve it. Most don't even know what orphan means because the concept is so impossible to them.

"They took me in not because they felt sorry for me, or because I begged, I didn't, but because family is so important to their culture, even a non-biological family. They were nicer to me then the ponies at school were! They actually care about orphaned creatures! They may be carnivores. They may eat other living things, but compared to how heartless some ponies can be, they're practically saints.

"I'm glad I was raised by the Qnaks. They taught me right, something the school was never going to do. I lived at the flight school before they took me in by the way. Griffons aren't all mean. Gilda is a bit of a bully, I'll admit that. But she's just one. If you're going to judge all griffons by the actions of one then judge me too because I'm one of them," Rainbow Dash finished and held up her foreleg revealing her clan mark. "I'm proud to be a Qnak."

"If being an orphan is so bad. why don't you do something about it? Start a protest or something?" Twilight suggested.

"I am doing something," Rainbow Dash replied. I adopted one. "I'm going to become a Wonderbolt. That way, I can put the issue right in the face of Equestria. It'll be hard to pick on orphans when one is a national hero. Maybe I can even get ponies to be friendlier with griffons. The only reason there are so few ponies in griffon clans is they don't try to join. It's not that hard."

“Let's get you into the laboratory,” Twilight said heading back downstairs after a long silence.

“What's going on?” Fluttershy asked.

“Twilight says Pinkie has some magic in her,” Applejack explained.

“I thought only unicorns had magic,” Rarity said.

“Yeah, but all ponies except terra ponies have a mana gland,” Twilight reminded them.

“Wow, Twilight, you did a great job with this thing!” Pinkie Pie said when she saw the Pony Blender.

“Thanks. I really improved on the design in the book.”

“I thought you just used the one in the Everfree Forest,” Pinkie told her.

“Actually it kind of is. I had to dismantle most of the other one to make this one. These aren't exactly common parts,” Twilight told her. “I'm still having trouble making it smaller. Maybe you could help me sometime.”

“Sure,” Pinkie smiled. "I'm not exactly a mechanic, but I'll do what I can."

“Alright if you'll step in there I can begin the full diagnostic,” Twilight said opening a door leading to a gray chamber. Pinkie entered and laid down on the table. Twilight shut the door and hit a series of buttons on the side of the chamber. Lights flashed inside several times in quick succession. Then Twilight opened the door. “That's it. This should narrow down how exactly your body is generating magic.”

“This thing is totally deus ex machina,” Pinkie said as she exited.

“Spike?” Twilight called. The dragon hurried over. She was happy to see he had removed the earmuffs this time. “Take a letter.”

“Sure thing!” He said. He toddled off to get a quill and scroll.

“Let's see,” Twilight said, turning to a screen. She studied a series of images while her friends simply stood about. This was Twilight's thing. “I think I've got something.” she said finally, turning to the group. “I'm not sure what it is exactly but Pinkie, there seems to be a metallic, neurological implant inside your cranial cavity that is the source of the magic.”

"I have no idea what you just said," Pinkie replied with a big smile.

"It means: there's something in your head making magic," Twilight summarized.

“I've never done any magic,” Pinkie said confused. "Nothing at all."

“There's no way to get a better look without surgery,” Twilight told her. “It's not worth the risk. Still, I've never seen a machine that can generate magic so I can't explain it.”

“Ready!” Spike announced as he entered the basement. All eyes were on Pinkie Pie however.

“Thank you Spike.” Twilight said.

“What do I write?”

Dear Princess Celestia

I am happy to report that Ponyville is 100% free of enemy agents. I did learn that the terra ponies were in underground places they call sanctuaries where they sealed themselves for 2000 years. They have been free for decades now. They are not all united against Equestria. Also the first test run of the Pony Blender Mark V was a perfect success but the problems I have discussed with you before still persist.

Your Faithful Student

Twilight Sparkle

“Can I finish the letter?” Pinkie asked. Spike handed the quill and scroll over.

P.S.: Today I learned you should always trust your friends and tell them things even if you are afraid of how they will react. And if they are your friends, they will always accept you for who you are, regardless of where you came from.

Pinkie Pie

“Sent!” Spike announced as the wisp of smoke vanished from sight.

"So what do we do now?" Rarity asked.

"Well, Princess Celestia is probably asleep right now. We'll have to wait until morning to get a reply," Twilight replied.

"No I mean what do we do."

"What if she comes for Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked.

"Then we'll stop her," Rainbow Dash replied. "We have the elements of harmony."

"It won't come to that. I'm sure of it," Twilight interrupted.

*burp*

A scroll flew out of Spikes mouth, and Twilight grabbed it with her magic.

"Already? Celestia should be asleep."

"That wasn't from her," Spike said.

"How can yah tell? Looks like a regular letter tah me." Applejack asked.

"Messenger dragon thing. When she sends a letter it feels a certain way. This felt different. It's was sent from a different dragon. I've only ever gotten letters from her until now."

"What does it say?" Pinkie asked nervously.

"It's from Princess Luna," Twilight stated, then read the letter.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,

We received the letter you sent to my sister and we are on our way to speak with you face to face. We shall be there shortly. Please do not send another letter to Celestia until I arrive.

-Luna"

"Why would she not want me to send a letter to Celestia?" Twilight wondered out loud.

“I don't like the sound of this," Rarity commented.

"Should we get the elements?" Applejack asked.

"No, I think we'll be okay," Twilight said. Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the front door.

"That was fast," Rainbow Dash said at the sound. Cautiously the seven walked upstairs. Twilight opened the door to find the Princess of the Night standing there.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle and friends. May I come in?" Princess Luna asked.

"Of course," Twilight replied. She backed up and Luna entered, closing the door with her magic.

"Did you receive our message?"

"Just a few seconds ago," Spike replied.

"Good."

"Luna, why did you read my letter?" Twilight asked. She'd never had some pony other then Celestia read her mail as far as she knew. Even if it wasn't private, it was still personal.

"We- I am sorry for intruding on your private correspondence, but I have been screening her mail for some time. For her own good," Luna explained. "Celestia is very paranoid when it comes to matters involving the terra ponies. We- I am not. I have taken it upon myself to direct messages on this subject to myself. She is likely to... overreact."

"So why couldn't you say that in the letter?" Fluttershy asked.

"I have more to say. I have been looking for a way to put an end to this conflict and thanks to your letter, I may have found a way to deal with the problem without involving Celestia. If she got wind of one of these, 'sanctuaries', she would no doubt send in the guards and slaughter all inside. I would rather there not be hundreds of ponies dead for simply being of the wrong tribe. That is why I'm assembling a team of ponies to secure them without royal involvement."

"Count me out. I'm not getting involved with another bunch of ruffians," Rarity declared.

"I'd rather not hurt anypony either," Fluttershy added.

"And we got the harvest comin' up. Ah can't be gone on some mission," Applejack said shaking her head.

"I still need your cooperation. You cannot tell Celestia about this. It is for your own safety as well as many innocent ponies safety," Luna said.

"We won't," Twilight vowed.

"I know I won't," Pinkie Pie said smiling.

"You're a terra pony aren't you?" Luna asked examining her closer.

"How did you know there was one here?" Twilight asked.

"The way your letter was written pointed to you finding one and the postscript kind of gave it away," Luna explained.

"So what do you need us to do?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Nothing at the moment. I'm still assembling a team. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, you both are on it if you agree to participate."

"Of course," Twilight said.

"Sure," Rainbow Dash agreed.

“What about me?" Pinkie asked. "What if Princess Celestia finds out?"

"I will handle her. Do not worry," Luna replied. "I will contact you again when the team is ready. Good Night."

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That point where Pinkie touched is a vulnerable nerve cluster, that controls the wings of a pegasus or alicorn. Intense pressure can hinder the nerves for an extended period and a bad enough injury to that spot can cause permanent damage including loss of flight for life.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 6: Caught!

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Edited by Dr Bob

Sorry, no pic.

Arc 6: Exposed

Chapter 15

"One side, coming through!"

The old pegasus priest walked slowly through the small town. The ponies were all kind, and the town was so quaint. It just needed a church to be whole.

"Excuse me!"

That's why he was here: to find a suitable plot of land to build. After the last one had been shut down, they needed a new place to teach ponies the divinity of Celestia.

"Watch it!"

There was something familiar in that loud voice, echoing through the crowd. Something that caused an ache in his many scars. The mark of a slash wound on his thigh in particular.

"Sorry!"

This time, he saw the pony making that racket as she raced past him on a scooter, towing a wagon full of packages behind her. He only got one look at her, but knew who it was. He could feel it in every scar on his body. That was her.

"Sister," Princess Luna said, entering the throne room.

"Luna," Princess Celestia returned. "Shouldn't you be heading to bed soon?"

"Yes, but we- I had something to discuss with you. Alone."

Celestia nodded and dismissed her guards. "Does this have something to do with you going through my mail?"

Princess Luna did her best to hide her surprise and continue. "Yes. It was necessary."

"I was having my student search for enemy agents. Why is it necessary to keep her findings from me?"

"Because you are not fit to deal with them," Luna said definitively. "And you know it."

"You know what they are responsible for," Celestia said simply.

"The ponies responsible died a long time ago."

"Are you here just to argue this point?"

"No. There is more we- I wish to discuss, but I want you to agree to something. I want to handle the terra pony issue. You are too biased to render fair judgments."

"And what makes you more qualified, Luna?"

“Because I understand why they did what they did!" Luna blurted out. "It's the same reason I turned on you. Jealousy. Not over power, but that we got the recognition for what both our tribes had done. They made the Dynamo, but we got all the praise because our tribe powered it. We killed the ponies who built it so nopony would know it even existed! That just made it worse."

"That does not justify what they did," Celestia roared.

"We are not condoning what they did!" Luna shouted back. "We are merely stating we understand why they did it! When Nightmare Moon had control, all we could see was hate and scorn. It was lies, but we couldn't see through them. It was awful sister. We wish to free them from it as we were."

Celestia fell silent. Luna had rarely discussed what being Nightmare Moon had been like.

"Please, Tia, I need to do this."

"I.. I understand, Luna. You do what you have to do," Celestia agreed.

"Thank you."

"Was that all you wanted to discuss?" Celestia asked.

"No. It seems one of the elements of harmony chose a terra pony as a bearer."

"Pinkie Pie is a terra pony?"

"How did you know I meant that one?"

"It had to be her. Applejack's sister can use magic."

"Ah. Well. You seem to be taking that well."

"If the element of laughter chose her, who am I to judge its decision?"

"Thank you again, sister. Know I have the situation well in hoof," Luna said after a pause. She turned and left the room.

In a white cloud living room, two pegasi sat around reading in the late hours.

"This Daring Doo is so cool!" the younger, orange pegasus said.

"The coolest," the older, blue pegasus replied.

"Second coolest," the younger, orange one countered. "The coolest is right here."

"Third," the elder shot back, "the second coolest is right here too."

The two began laughing. Their merriment was interrupted by a knocking on the door.

"Now who could that be?" the older wondered out loud. She went to answer it to find two more pegasi dressed in blue uniforms.

"Rainbow Dash?" one asked.

"Yeah?" the blue pegasus replied.

"What's going on?" the orange pegasus asked, walking into the entryway. She stopped and stood stock still when she saw the ponies at the door.

"You're under arrest for harboring the wanted fugitive, March Ninth," the second stated.

"And you," the first said, pointing to Scootaloo, "are under arrest for three accounts of attempted murder."

"Horse apples," the orange and blue pegasi said simultaneously.

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"Duty, they have almost breached the doors. It's now or never," a draconequus, Might, said, looking around the war room. Huddled around the room were draconequi of all shapes and sizes. Some wept, others simply braced for the inevitable. Outside, the alicorns and terra ponies assaulted the massive doors that had been keeping them safe thus far. In the middle of the room was a large table where six draconequi stood around it, looking very focused. Each wore a belt around their torso with a gemstone embedded in each.

“This doesn't seem like a good idea," another draconequus, Charity, said.

"What's the point of uniting to save our people? There will be none left to save if we do this," Empathy, a third draconequus agreed.

"We'll still be here," Sincerity retorted.

“We’re down to half our number already. Might as well go all the way and have a fighting chance of winning,” Might said.

"If we do lose, we'll give 'em one tartarus of a fight," Duty declared.

“Jollity, do you have any jokes?" Charity asked.

"No. I can't really find anything to laugh about here," the final draconequus around the table said. "Wait, I got one!" he said. He snapped his fingers and an image appeared on the table of a four legged creature with twisted horns on its head. "It's all this things fault! What is it?"

"It's a goat," Might said plainly.

"It's a scapegoat. Like us," Sincerity said grimly. No being laughed.

"That was the best I had," Jollity grumbled. "I don't even know why I'm not giving up my power too. My magic can only be used for pranks, you know that."

"Jokes can hurt, and pranks can be taken too far, can't they?" Might said trying to make him feel better. “We six are in this together until the end.”

"Times up. We do this now," Duty said.

"One last act of the draconequi!" Might agreed with a determined glare.

Around the room, the pony faces turned and looked at them. They knew what was coming and were ready. The draconequi around the room stood up, and several summoned forth weapons, or summoned them and handed them over to those who could not. Together, they thrust the weapons into their own chests. Instead of collapsing, they began glowing. One by one, their bodies vanished, each reduced to a small ball of light. The lights then flew towards the six, colliding with them, and causing the six to flash with light as each one connected. Finally, only six draconequi remained in the room and the glowing ceased.

"What a rush!" Charity declared, flexing her arms.

"With the power of sixteen draconequi each, we'll level them," Duty sneered.

"Do you really think we can win, even with this power?" Empathy asked.

"We'll all make it through this. I know it. They don't call me Sincerity for nothing," Sincerity said confidently.

"Now let's go give them one last stand for all the draconequi they have slaughtered in their stupidity!" Might roared. He charged from the war room with his five companions right behind him.

"Here's the paper, dad!" the yellow earth pony filly said, placing the rolled up newspaper on table.

"Thank you, Sunspot," her father, a light purple unicorn replied, lifting the paper into the air with his magic, and reading over the headlines. His eyes bulged, and he spit out the coffee he had been sipping. "Honey!" he called.

"Yes?" asked a yellow mare, walking over. He turned the paper around so she could see.

"Look!" he instructed.

"Runaway filly caught after thirty month search," the mare read out loud.

"Look at the picture," the father said.

"Oh my Celestia! That looks like-"

"We've got to get to Ponyville. Now," the father finished.

"What's going on?" Sunspot asked.

"We may have found your sister," the mare replied.

"Girls, I've called you all here for a reason," Twilight announced. Before her, were four of her friends, as well as Spike, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.

"Well, get on with it," Spike said.

"What about R.D.?" Applejack asked.

"That's the reason. Late last night, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were arrested," Twilight informed them. "This letter is from her, asking me to act as their lawyer. I already have her power of attorney, so I don’t know why she felt she needed to ask."

"What!" the group cried in unison.

"What did she do now?" Rarity inquired.

"According to this, Rainbow Dash was harboring a fugitive," Twilight read off of the letter.

"Gilda?" Fluttershy suggested.

"No, the fugitive was Scootaloo."

"What did Scoots do?" Apple Bloom asked.

“Probably running away from the orphanage,” Sweetie Belle whispered to Apple Bloom.

“Yeah, probably,” Apple Bloom whispered back.

"Well, there are conflicting opinions on what happened," Twilight read, "but the facts are about two and a half years ago, she ran away from an orphanage, and when she did so, she injured several ponies. That's why she is incarcerated right now."

"Scootaloo's an orphan?" Applejack asked.

"That's why we couldn't find her parents!" Rarity realized.

"Did you tell?” Sweetie Belle asked Apple Bloom.

“No,” Apple Bloom replied. “Ah would never tell.”

"You knew about this?" Twilight asked.

"We're her friends. Course we did," Apple Bloom replied.

"Why didn't you tell us? That poor filly, all alone..." Fluttershy said softly.

"This is probably why she kept it a secret," Twilight pointed out.

"So... what do we do?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"I'm going to go to Cloudsdale, and do what I can. If I can get Scootaloo off the hook, Rainbow Dash will be free as well," Twilight answered. "I'm heading out soon."

"Ah can't believe we never noticed she didn't have ah home," Applejack said, shaking her head.

"And what was she doing for food?" Fluttershy asked.

“She’s always running deliveries,” Pinkie added. “She probably used that money for food.”

"She was living with Rainbow Dash," Sweetie Belle reminded them.

"That's another thing. That doesn't seem like something she would do, just let a random filly live in her house," Rarity said out loud. “She can call it fanservice all she likes, but it’s still strange behaviour for Rainbow Dash.”

"Why wouldn't she? Rainbow Dash is her mom," Apple Bloom replied.

"What?!" the croup cried again.

"After that big fuss she made about havin' foals, she already had one?" Applejack asked her sister.

“And at such a young age, too,” Rarity commented, “I’m not really surprised, all the time she wastes, cavorting about.”

"Huh?" Apple Bloom asked.

"She adopted Scoots a while ago," Sweetie Belle said.

"Last spring," Apple Bloom added.

"Ah just don't get that pegasus," Applejack said, shaking her head in confusion.

"I'll have to stop you there, Miss. There is an interrogation in progress," the officer said to the formally dressed unicorn.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, and that is my client in there, now get out of my way."

"You're her lawyer? Then you'll be needing a copy of the records," the officer said, hoofing over some documents. Twilight looked through them briefly.

"You did a search of her house?" Twilight shouted.

"Standard procedure," the officer replied.

Twilight skimmed the papers, and nearly dropped the pages in shock.

"I'm not talking until my lawyer gets here," Rainbow Dash repeated. On cue, the door slammed open, and an angry unicorn stormed in. "Twilight! Thank Celestia you're finally here!"

"Is this true, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight demanded, waving the papers in the pegasus's face.

"I can't read blurs, Twilight," Rainbow Dash grunted.

"There are bodies in your freezer!" Twilight shouted.

"They searched my house?" Rainbow Dash groaned, putting her face in her hooves.

"Rainbow, answer me!" Twilight demanded.

"Yes, Twilight. That was the deer from our last hunt," Rainbow Dash replied, peeking out from behind her hooves, "and... some chicken I think."

"So not only are you killing animals, you got a foal involved?" Twilight snapped.

"It's not a crime, Twilight. I’m passing on family traditions."

"Why would you take a foal murdering?" Twilight shouted.

"We were just getting food. It's not a crime, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said simply.

"No wonder she didn't have any problem killing those sharks!" Twilight realized.

"Actually, that happened first. I wouldn't have taken her if I didn't think she could handle it."

"I'm done here," Twilight shouted. She threw the papers to the table and stormed out.

"Twilight, where are you going?" Rainbow Dash cried.

"Get yourself another lawyer," Twilight said, tears in her eyes, "and a new friend."

"Excuse us, we're trying to find this filly. Could you help us?" asked a light purple unicorn.

"That's the filly who brings me my muffins!" cheered the gray pegasus the unicorn had asked.

"Do you know where she is?" asked the yellow mare beside him.

"I heard she got arrested. She's probably up in Cloudsdale," the pegasus answered.

"Great. Now we need to find a capable unicorn,” the unicorn said.

"You should ask Twilight Sparkle. She knows all kinds of magic, even one that lets regular ponies walk on clouds. She lives at the library. It's the big tree house in town," the pegasus informed them.

"Well thank you, Miss," the unicorn said.

The pegasus's expression changed and she examined him closely. In a rare moment, both eyes faced the same direction. "Say, have we met?" she asked.

"Uh, no. I don't think so," the unicorn replied awkwardly.

“You sure? Like four years ago, in Canterlot?”

“We did live there at that time, but I think I would remember you,” the unicorn said.

"Huh. You look an awful lot like one of my old coltfriends, back in Canterlot, from before I had Dinky. Oh well. Mail doesn't deliver itself!" she said, and with that she flew away.

The earth pony mare glared at the unicorn.

“What? It’s Canterlot. It’s full of unicorns,” he said. “I doubt she can even see straight enough to even tell two of them apart.”

"So? What's goin' on with Rainbow?" Applejack asked as the balloon touched down. The whole group was waiting for her.

"She's where she belongs," Twilight snapped.

"What are you saying?" Fluttershy asked.

"I found out what Rainbow Dash has been keeping from us," Twilight said, "she's been taking Scootaloo out into the Everfree Forest to kill animals and eat them!"

"What?" Rarity exclaimed.

"She said it's 'family tradition'. I am not defending her," Twilight said. "I still think I can get Scootaloo free, but I need some time."

"She's our friend. We can't just leave her in jail, no matter what she's done," Applejack countered.

"Then one of you do it. Rainbow Dash is sick in the head. She needs help. As much as we've been through, this is just too much," Twilight said, "I have work to do."

The unicorn walked off, leaving the rest standing around the balloon looking confused.

"Rainbow Dash is a carnivore? That don't sound right," Applejack said.

"I can't believe Twilight would abandon Rainbow Dash like this!" Pinkie Pie growled.

"Do you really think Rainbow Dash is eating animals?" Rarity asked.

"I know so," Fluttershy said simply.

“What?” Rarity said, surprised. “How did you know?”

“We went to school together. I remember she went on a hunger strike because they wouldn’t let her order from the griffon menu.”

“Ah don’t get it,” Applejack said.

“Well, Flight School was a boarding school, and there were griffons there, but they had a different lunch from us because they ate meat. Rainbow Dash wanted to do it too, and refused to eat anything until they let her. It took three days for them to finally allow it.”

“So she’s been eating meat this whole time, and you knew, and didn’t tell us?” Rarity asked.

“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” Fluttershy replied. “After all, griffons did it all the time, and I knew she was best friends with Gilda. I didn’t know she was hunting, and I didn’t know she had Scootaloo doing it too, but I’m confident she had a good reason to. I know she wouldn’t feed meat to somepony without telling them what it was.”

"It would explain a lot, like how she was fit as a fiddle in Barrier City and we were all hungry," Applejack said.

"And why she never invites us over for dinner," Rarity added.

"That's probably because she lives on a cloud. We can't visit without magic and a balloon," Applejack countered.

"If Twilight won't help Dashie, I will!" Pinkie Pie declared. The pink terra pony galloped off.

"Pinkie, Ah don't think- aw horseapples. Well, she can't get up tah Cloudsdale without Twilight or some unicorn helpin' her," Applejack said, watching her run off.

"I'm going to see Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy announced. "I want to find out why she brought Scootaloo hunting."

"Rarity, do yah think yah can cast that cloudwalking spell?" Applejack asked.

"Yes, I think so. It's not very difficult, but I don't think I could do all of us at once," Rarity replied.

"Well you should go. Ah think yah have the best chance of gettin' Rainbow outta there," Applejack said.

"Sorry, but I have no idea how. I understand Canterlot high society down to a T, but I don't know anything about pegasus law. It's bound to be entirely different."

"Ah might go see her later too. Do yah think yah can cast that spell on me?" Applejack asked.

"Sure, but I’d best do it right before you leave. It lasts a couple days, so best not waste any time," Rarity replied. “I’m a seamstress, not a mage.”

"So this is what she meant by tree house," the yellow filly called Sunspot commented as they finally located the local library. The four ponies entered the hollowed out tree to find a violet unicorn searching through various books and a similarly colored dragon cleaning up behind her.

"Excuse us?" the light purple stallion called.

"Oh!" the dark purple unicorn said in surprised. "Sorry about the mess. Can I help you?"

"We are looking for a unicorn who knows the spell that lets us walk on clouds," the yellow mare said. “A mailmare said you might know it.”

"I sure do," the dark purple unicorn said, walking over. "Are you going today? It only lasts a couple days, so I should apply it right before you go."

"I'm not sure how long it will take. We have to get to Cloudsdale to find our third daughter," the stallion replied.

"She's in the paper!" the red filly piped up,

"Wait- what?" the dark purple unicorn asked.

"See? Right here," the yellow filly said placing the newspaper on the floor and pointing.

"Oh my. Perhaps I should introduce myself. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and I'm her lawyer."

"Lawyer? How much trouble is she in?" the yellow mare asked.

"A lot, but I think I can get her out of it."

"Then she can finally come home!" the stallion said happily.

"I've heard from her what you did. I don't approve of her current caretaker, but I am not letting her live with the ponies who abandoned her as a foal," Twilight said defiantly.

"We didn't," the stallion countered.

"We gave her to relatives in Cloudsdale to take care of. We didn't know how to raise a pegasus, and then we fell on hard times, which just made things worse. It seemed what was best for her. We didn't know they had abandoned her until we went to retrieve her some years later, we swear," the yellow mare continued.

"By that time she had run away from the orphanage, and we lost track of her," the stallion finished.

"Can you get us our daughter?" the mare asked.

"There's a slight problem," Twilight said, shaking her head. "Legally, she's been adopted."

"We feared as much," the stallion said sadly.

"Is there anything you can do?" the mare asked.

"I think I can, but as I said, I need time. Come back right before sunset, and I should have it all taken care of. Then we can head to Cloudsdale so you can be reunited with Scootaloo."

"Her name is Comette," the mare said.

"And the paper called her March Ninth. She certainly is a filly of many names."

"You have a visitor," the guard announced. Rainbow Dash looked up, half awake. A familiar pink mane came into view.

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, seeing her friend. She ran to the cell bars. "Filly, I am glad to see you."

"Rainbow Dash, Twilight said she's not going to defend you," Fluttershy said, avoiding the other pegasus's eyes. "She said you and Scootaloo have been hunting in the Everfree Forest."

Rainbow Dash sighed and sat down. "It's true. I'm teaching her how to be a griffon, just like Gilda's family taught me," Rainbow Dash said after a long silence. "I know you'll never want to speak to me again, but I'm glad you came."

"I already know you eat meat, I just wondered why you brought Scootaloo," Fluttershy said.

"Huh? You knew? But how?," Rainbow Dash said surprised.

"We went to school together. I was there for your hunger strike.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.”

“Eating other things is just what some animals do. There's no right or wrong about it. Just as long as you don't eat somepony's pet..."

"I wouldn't dream of doing that," Rainbow Dash replied. "You're really not bothered by me being a carnivore?"

"Omnivore," Fluttershy corrected. "You still eat apples and hay right? That makes you an omnivore."

"I didn't really know that was a thing," Rainbow Dash said simply.

“So, why did you bring Scootaloo along?” Fluttershy asked.

“She heard me talk about hunting and wanted to try it.”

“Just out of the blue?”

“Well, I’ve been giving her meat for a while now. Again, she asked for it.”

"What are you going to do without Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm waiting to get a new lawyer. Until then I'm staying quiet."

"But they'll keep you here for a long time."

"No they can't. If I don't get a lawyer, they can't take me to court. They don't take me to court, they have to let me out in a couple days."

"Well is there anything I could do to help?"

"Dad might know a way out of this," Rainbow Dash said thinking, "but Crouch Back is too far from here. It would take days to walk there and back."

"Where is that?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Fluttershy tried to insist, but the guard came back. "You have another visitor. Sorry, one at a time," the guard said.

"Oh. Sorry. Bye, Rainbow dash," Fluttershy said.

"Bye, Fluttershy. Take care of Tank for me until I get back, please."

"Sure thing," Fluttershy replied. She left the room and a familiar orange earth pony entered.

"Hey R.D.," Applejack greeted a bit coolly.

"You came? How?"

"Twilight ain't the only unicorn in Ponyville," Applejack replied. "So."

"So?"

"You really eat meat?"

"Yes."

"Did Twilight really walk out on yah when she found out?"

"Yes."

“Do you and Scoots really hunt in the Everfree Forest?”

“Yes.”

"We're gunna get yah outta here," Applejack said determinedly. "Ah don't know how, but we'll find a way."

"Thanks. It's good to know two of my friends don't hate me," Rainbow Dash said, tearing up a bit.

"We can't hate yah fer somethin' so small. Ah wouldn't do it mahself, but Ah ain't you and Ah ain't gunna tell yah how tah live yer life."

"Twilight was mostly mad I got Scootaloo involved."

"Ah was wonderin' about that. Just whah was she at yer place?" Applejack asked.

"I kind of adopted her." Rainbow Dash answered.

"So Ah heard. Ah can't believe you adopted a filly after that whole rant about how yah never wanted tah have foals."

"Actually it was before that and I don'twant to have one, but I'm open to taking care of one," Rainbow Dash explained. “When I realized she was an orphan living in the Clubhouse... I wasn’t going to just ignore her, so I’ve been letting her live with me.”

"And look at what she's done in yer care. Ah don't know how long she's been with you-"

"Since they were mixed together," Rainbow Dash interjected.

"As Ah was sayin', all Ah gotta do is look at what she's done, and how she is, and Ah know you are doin' right. Ah wouldn't do it to mah kin, but she ain't. She's saved all our hides. Ah think yer doin' a great job raisin' that little filly."

"Thanks," Rainbow Dash said. She didn't sound sincere, but that might have been the stress of the situation talking.

"It ain't just me and Fluttershy. Rarity agrees she shouldn't have done that, and Pinkie's off doing something tah help," Applejack went on, "we're all on yer side."

"Thanks for telling me. I think I feel better knowing Twilight's the odd one out," Rainbow Dash said, sniffing a bit.

"There, there, Sugarcube. Things'll work out. They always do."

Scootaloo was led out of her cell and into a new room. It wasn't like the others. This one seemed welcoming, with two doors on opposite walls. Twilight was waiting for her on the far side of the room when the guards led Scootaloo in, then they left the two alone.

"Scootaloo, I have a surprise for you," Twilight said happily.

"Are we going home?" Scootaloo asked dully.

"You are going home," Twilight replied. The unicorn stepped over with her horn glowing. The glow enveloped Scootaloo for a second, then dissipated.

"What was that for?" Scootaloo asked.

"It's a cloudwalking spell. You're going to need it in a moment," Twilight explained.

"Why would I need that?" Scootaloo asked.

Something clamped around her neck. Flailing wildly, she pulled at it to no avail. She tried to slice it with her magic, but stopped struggling when she found she couldn't reach her power. It was like a vital organ had been ripped out of her. A void that the magic once filled, open now. Strange how she never felt this emptiness before having magic, but having it taken from her so abruptly, it hurt not being able to feel its presence. She was so used to it by now, that not having it was like not having her scooter.

"Now you can go home," Twilight said.

"I don't like where this is going," Scootaloo said to herself.

"I was able to cut you a deal. In exchange for a little favor, I got the pony bringing the charges against you to drop them, and the police agreed if you submit to therapy, they’ll let you go. I won't be administering it this time."

"What about Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked.

"Rainbow Dash is sick. After spending time in here for what she did, she is going to get help just like you. You won't be going home with her," Twilight answered.

"My mom is not sick!" Scootaloo shouted.

"Her illness is in her head."

"There is nothing wrong with us!"

"I have a second surprise for you," Twilight said, ignoring the filly. Scootaloo glared. "Come in!"

Four strange ponies entered the room from the other door. Two were adults, one stallion, and one mare, the other two were a pair of fillies, both larger than Scootaloo. The stallion was a light purple unicorn. The mare, a bright yellow earth pony. One filly was a red unicorn with a yellow mane. The other was a yellow earth pony with a brown mane. Scootaloo looked at them confused.

"Who are they?" Scootaloo asked Twilight.

"Scootaloo, this is your real family."

"Comette, We've come to take you home," the mare said.

"Who are you?" Scootaloo shouted.

"We're your mom and dad," the mare said.

"Rainbow Dash is my mom. Go away!" Scootaloo spat, cringing back.

"Scootaloo, they didn't abandon you. They gave you to some relatives to care for you. They were the ones who abandoned you, not your parents," Twilight explained.

"I don't believe you!"

"I've taken care of the paperwork. You have legal custody again," Twilight said. "I have all her things in this bag. Just some clothes from her house."

"Why does she have that collar on?" one of the fillies asked.

"That is for your safety. Scootaloo has gained the ability to use magic recently, and knows at least one spell that can hurt ponies. This way she cannot use it," Twilight explained.

"Magic? How is this possible?" the stallion asked. "Unicorn blood?"

"It's a long story. She's not very powerful, but as you know she has violent tendencies. I included a list of some good psychiatrists with the papers I gave you earlier," Twilight replied. "Hopefully they can get her in the right mind."

"Thank you very much, Ms.Sparkle," the mare said.

"Come along, Comette. Let's go home and be a family again," the stallion said. Scootaloo didn't move. She just stared at them, wide-eyed.

"Go on, Scootaloo," Twilight encouraged.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Scootaloo shouted. "I want to be with Rainbow Dash! I want my mom!"

"You have yet another visitor," the guard announced. “Popular mare, huh?”

Rainbow Dash looked up to see an angry Twilight storming up to her cell. The pegasus glared back with equal ire.

"What do you want?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"I'm just letting you know that you will no longer be warping that poor filly's mind," Twilight snarled.

"What are you saying?" Rainbow Dash asked nervously.

"I found her parents. She's going home with them as we speak," Twilight said snidely, smiling sinisterly.

"YOU WHAT!" Rainbow Dash shouted, lunging at the bars. "How? She's my foal! I have the papers at my house!"

"As your attorney, I can sign legal documents for you. You gave up Scootaloo just an hour ago."

"You jenny! You had no right to do that!" Rainbow Dash growled.

"I had every right. You gave me power of attorney."

"Why would you do that? You know they abandoned her!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Why would you take an innocent foal with you while you slaughter wildlife?" Twilight shot back.

"Maybe because she asked? Did you think about that? I was trying to raise her the best I could!"

"You call that best? Your mom could have help-"

"My mom is dead, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Dad too. Remember? The Qnak clan is my family."

"Then why would you try raising a foal when you have no idea how?" Twilight shouted.

"She was living on the streets, Twilight. Anything is better then that, and I wasn't going to turn her in," Rainbow Dash answered quietly.

"So you find somepony to take care of her! You know what? It doesn't matter. It's done. She's out of your hooves.”

"Please... don't do this, Twilight," Rainbow Dash begged, her tough exterior falling apart under her tears. "Don't give her to those ponies."

"It's done, Rainbow Dash. I'd say get a new foal to brainwash, but I doubt the foster care system will let a felon adopt," Twilight said, turning to leave.

"Don't take Scoots... Please... she’s my Scoots... she's my daughter..."

"Not any more. Goodbye, Rainbow Dash."

"And this is our bed. Mom said she's going to get you a new bed soon, but for now we have to share," Starflare said, hoping onto one of the two beds in the small bedroom.

"Great," Scootaloo said, glaring at it. She deposited her bag on the floor and began going through it to see just what Twilight had packed. All that was in it was her hat, scarf, and her scooter. She wasn't very surprised the rainbow wig was missing.

"So..." Sunspot said, but trailed off.

"Yes?" Scootaloo grumbled.

"I'm glad we found you, Comette," Starflare said. Scootaloo whirled around and put her hoof to her 'sister's' mouth.

"I'm going to stop you there. I don't want to be here, I want to go home, and my name is Scootaloo. I don't care if you two are my real sisters or not. My name is Scootaloo."

"Okay, I'm glad we found you, Scootaloo," Starflare corrected, trusting the hoof away.

"I'm not," Scootaloo grunted.

“It's not so bad," Starflare said.

"Yeah, the school is really nice," Sunspot added.

"How can it be nice? Both of my friends are back in Ponyville," Scootaloo said sadly, sitting down and staring at her hooves. "My mom's in jail and I'm stuck here. No magic, no flying. Nothing."

"You can't fly?" Sunspot asked.

"No," Scootaloo said bitterly.

"So... uh... what's your cutie mark for, Scootaloo?" Starflare asked, trying to change the subject.

"I got it for cloudboarding," Scootaloo said simply. "It's like regular skateboarding, but you do it on clouds and stuff."

"Cool!" Sunspot said.

"There's a tournament over in Blood Crest this week, but I don't think I can make it. I'm stuck here," Scootaloo grumbled. "And I really wanted to see Rriz too."

"Who?" Starflare asked.

"Just a friend," Scootaloo replied. “No pony you would know.”

"Look, just what is your problem?" Sunspot growled suddenly, jabbing at Scootaloo.

"My problem? I'll tell you what my problem is! I just spent the last six years of my life going through Tartarus and back, all because of those two plotholes, then when my life is finally starting to turn out okay, I'm dragged here, away from everypony and everything I cared about! That's my problem!" Scootaloo shouted.

"Don't take it out on us! We didn't do anything!" Sunspot shouted back.

"How am I supposed to know that? All I know is I wound up on the steps of City Hall, a week old!"

"Wait what?" Starflare said suddenly. "Mom and Dad said you were living with some distant cousins who abandoned you after a few months."

"They were mean, but they weren’t stupid at the orphanage. They can tell the difference between a week old foal and a month old one." Scootaloo growled. Starflare jumped off the bed and ducked under it. She emerged a moment later with a thick book in her mouth. "What's that?"

"It's a photo album," Starflare explained, placing it on the ground and opening it.

It was full of pictures of Scootaloo's 'family' doing various activities. The ones in the front were mostly of infant versions of Starflare and Sunspot, then they came to a page with only three pictures on it. The first depicted a dough colored filly in a newborn bed in a hospital with younger versions of her 'parents' on either side The next had the doughy foal in a basket looking at the two older fillies beside it with bright purple eyes, the two fillies before her now. The final one was the foal alone in the basket on a stone slab of some sort.

"See? They took this right before they gave you to our relatives," Starflare said pointing to the third picture.

"Did they tell you that or were you there for it?" Scootaloo asked.

"We weren't there. It was in Cloudsdale after all, and mom and dad didn't want us falling," Sunspot answered.

"Yeah. They lied," Scootaloo said simply. "I recognize that stone slab. That's the front step of the Cloudsdale City Hall."

"That could be any chunk of rock," Starflare countered.

"I went and looked at it nearly every week of my life when I was at the orphanage. I think I know the place they found me. Don't take my word for it, there's only one place in Cloudsdale with real stone and that’s City Hall."

"But why would they lie?" Sunspot wondered.

"Would you tell your filly you abandoned her sister?" Scootaloo asked. The two other fillies shook their heads.

"Scootaloo, we'll do what we can to help," Starflare said.

"Yeah. You can count on us," Sunspot added.

“Thanks,” Scootaloo said. “At least somepony is on my side.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twilight awoke in the middle of the night. Somepony or something was down stairs! It clearly was not concerned about waking her, given the noise it was making, crashing around the library.

"Spike?" Twilight whispered, but saw the dragon asleep in his bed.

Cautiously the unicorn rose from her bed, and readied her magic. Quietly she tip toed across her room. As the door creaked open, she silently cursed not scheduling time to oil it. But then she was in the main area of the library, and saw what was making all the noise. In the center of the room sat a familiar blue pegasus doing... something.

"Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?" Twilight asked. Something wasn't right. Wasn't she supposed to be somewhere? Slowly the pegasus turned, a demented expression on her face.

"Hey, Twi. What's up." she said. She then burped, but with it came a couple brown feathers. "Uh...."

"Rainbow! You didn't!" Twilight cried.

"Don't worry." Rainbow Dash said, getting up, her grin widening. "You're next." The pegasus leaped at her, mouth wide enough to swallow her whole.

And then Twilight woke up. She gasped for air, and shivered in fright. Even though it was a dream she began crying.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 6: The Wrong Family

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

[img]Sorry, no pic.[/img]

Arc 6: Exposed

Chapter 16

"I'm not talking until you get me a lawyer," Rainbow Dash said stubbornly.

"I told you we're working on it," the interrogator explained.

"If you can't supply me with a lawyer, you can't prosecute me and you'll have to let me go," Rainbow Dash said simply.

"We'll find you one, don't worry."

Again, on cue the door burst open. In the door was a pink pony in a suit and tie. The party pony was actually wearing serious formal attire. It was so different from her usual attire and attitude, it was nearly as funny to see as her jokes were regularly.

"Pinkie? What are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"I'm here to act as your lawyer," Pinkie said. "I spent all night memorizing Equestrian and Cloudsdale law. I'll have this all cleared up in no time."

"Are you even certified?" the interrogator asked. "I'm not losing this case because I let an untrained lawyer in here."

"Dashie, how many times have you been interrogated?" Pinkie asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"According to Cloudsdale law, if a suspect is interrogated more than two times without a lawyer present, that is grounds for automatic case dismissal. Chapter 14, section 97, subsection R, line six, of the Cloudsdale law book, A.B. 997 edition."

"Miss Dash, will she represent you?" the interrogator asked.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash replied. “I think she knows her stuff.”

"I ask that you leave. According to Equestrian law, I am allowed thirty minutes with my client upon arrival, in private," Pinkie said. "Also I ask you refer to my client by her name, Miss Qnak. Rainbow Dash is her first and middle name." Reluctantly, the interrogator left.

"Pinkie, what are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I wasn't going to abandon my friend. You stuck up for me, and I'm sticking up for you. That's what friends do," Pinkie replied.

"Even though I kill helpless animals and eat them?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You're just doing what griffons do," Pinkie replied. "Turning my back on you for something like that wouldn’t be right."

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Do you really think you can get me off the hook?"

"You're off the hook already, just not formally. The charges against Scootaloo were dropped, meaning you didn't do anything wrong."

"I didn't know the charges were dropped," Rainbow Dash said.

"You're not going to like what Twilight did," Pinkie said sadly.

“I know. She told me last night."

"At least she was mare enough to say it to your face," Pinkie said, frowning.

"If I'm as good as free, and she is already out, why are you here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm here to help you win back Scootaloo," Pinkie Pie said. "Now, I need you to tell me everything you two did together."

"Good morning, Comette," the mare claiming to be her mother, Star Dust, said.

The filly glared as she entered the boring brown-painted kitchen and took a seat on an empty chair. Everything about the room screamed ‘normal family’. Scootaloo hated it. On either side were her sisters while her 'parents' prepared breakfast. She was still unconvinced these could be her parents; the ones who abandoned her nearly seven years ago now, but it had been enough for Twilight. She'd break that unicorn's horn in half for this!

"Eat up. You have a big day ahead at your new school!" Star Dust sang.

Scootaloo stared at the meal. Eggs. And no bacon. Reluctantly she picked up a fork and began eating.

"Is the collar bothering you?" her father, Reflection, asked.

"No," Scootaloo said simply. With the collar on she couldn't use her magic, and since she couldn't fly, she was as helpless as an earth pony. A weak earth pony, that is. She couldn't remove it without magic. Magic she couldn't use with it while it was on. What a vicious cycle.

"How do you feel, Comette?" Star Dust asked. Scootaloo just kept eating.

"Answer your mother," Reflection grunted.

"My name is Scootaloo," Scootaloo said simply, not looking up from her food.

"Oh, why do you insist on such a name. Comette is such a pretty name," Star Dust begged.

"It's my name," Scootaloo said simply.

"So, uh, Scootaloo, do you really have magic?" Sunspot, asked.

"Sure do," Scootaloo said, her demeanor changing dramatically in response to her name. "If you take this collar off, I can show you."

"Nice try, but Ms.Sparkle said not to take it off until the psychiatrist says so," Reflection said.

"Figured I'd try anyway," Scootaloo replied.

"What's it like flying?" Star Dust asked.

"I can't fly. Doctor said I’ll be lucky if I’m not totally clipped," Scootaloo said. "Because I grew up in an orphanage, my growth was stunted. I should have been flying years ago but because I WAS ABANDONED I can't."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that, but it was your cousins that abandoned you, not us. You have to understand, we thought it was best for you," Star Dust said.

"If you wanted what was best for me, I would be with my mom," Scootaloo said. She had finished eating and was staring at her empty plate.

"Are you still hungry, Comette?" Reflection asked. Scootaloo remained silent. Her father grunted. "Scootaloo?" he said finally.

"I like bacon with my eggs," Scootaloo said.

"What's bacon?" Sunspot asked.

"Nothing. Never mind," Scootaloo said. "Um... could you take me to Blood Crest in a couple days?"

"Where?" Reflection asked.

"Blood Crest. I can show you where it is on a map. There's a cloudboarding tournament happening there the day after tomorrow," Scootaloo explained.

"What's cloudboarding?" Star Dust asked.

"It's like skateboarding, but done on clouds," Scootaloo answered. “It’s my special talent.”

"You're the only one here who can walk on clouds, and not with that collar on," Star Dust pointed out.

“Yeah, but we could take a balloon or something and there are spells that let regular ponies walk on clouds, you know that. Plus I don't think it'll be a problem. From what my friend Rriz told me, the Blood Crest stadium is made of stone with just the arena part being cloud."

"What an odd name for a city," Star Dush stated.

"Griffons name a lot of cities like that. Shattered Beak, Keen Eye, Still Tail..." Scootaloo rattled off.

"What was that about griffons?" Reflection asked abruptly.

"Well cloudboarding is a griffon sport, so the tournament is in a griffon city."

"You are a pony, not a griffon. I don't know what garbage that pegasus filled your head with, but griffons are savage creatures. We will not endorse such behavior in this house," Reflection roared.

"Griffon are not! They just act a bit differently than us! Most of them are really nice," Scootaloo shouted back.

"Don't talk back to your parents. Now go get ready for school," Reflection ordered.

“Look, I know it’s hard leaving your home behind. Why don’t we spend the day bonding after you get home from school,” Star Dust suggested.

“Sounds like fun,” Scootaloo said expressionless.

“What would you like to do?” her ‘mother’ asked.

“Go home.”

“Okay, what did you and your foster mom do?”

Scootaloo thought for a moment. Should I lie? They won’t like it, and I’d rather not do anything I did with Rainbow Dash with them... If I’m honest maybe they’ll realize what they’re taking me away from. “Sometimes we’d race around Ponyville. She got me to read too, so we’ve been doing that the past few nights when we’re not out hunting.”

“Yes, I saw about your horrific diet in the paper,” Star Dust said.

“You won’t have to ever do that again,” Reflection added.

“Are you kidding? It’s one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done! Stalking a herd of deer through the Everfree Forest for four hours, waiting for just one to stray from the group. Then Mom goes in from above while I cut off it’s escape! There’s nothing like it and I love it.”

“Mom, what’s hunting?” Starflare asked.

Star Dust paused. “It’s not something fillies need to be concerned with,” she said finally.

“She means she’s afraid to talk about it because you either will get scared of me, or she’s so afraid of the idea she doesn’t want to say it herself,” Scootaloo said with a smirk. She just smiled innocently at the two adults now glaring at her. “I best be getting ready for school!” she added quickly, scampering from the room.

Twilight felt very good that morning. Everything felt right with the world. She’s saved a filly from a horrible life, reunited a family, and even now, she could hear Princess Celestia’s praise for her actions in her imagination.

“Good morning, Applejack,” She greeted, approaching the farmstand.

“Hi,” Applejack said without looking at her.

Twilight paused. Normally Applejack was so friendly and cheerful, especially on a morning like this one. Everypony can have a bad day once in awhile she decided. “Can I have two apples, please?”

“Sure,” Applejack said placing two apples on the counter. “Eight bits.”

“Eight bits?” Twilight exclaimed. “They were just one bit a week ago!”

“Taxes,” Applejack replied.

“But Princess Celestia hasn’t raised taxes in years. And inflation can’t be to blame, this is way too fast.”

“It’s jerk tax,” Applejack said.

Twilight stared at her.

“Ah charge more tah bad ponies, ponies Ah don’t care for, that sorta thing.”

“What? Because I save Scootaloo from becoming a blood thirsty carnivore and refuse to let one roam our streets, that makes me a bad pony?” Twilight shouted.

“Ah ain’t gonna discuss this with yah. Now pay or leave. Ah got other customers.”

“Fine! Maybe I’ll just buy other fruits from now on!” Twilight stormed off. As soon as she turned a corner she had to stop. Why are you defending her? She’s the one who’s wrong!

Her perfect day slipping from her hooves, Twilight decided to just head home. She had to dry her face off, and quickly worked up a spell that wisked away her tears. It was almost time to open up the library and with Spike in school, she would have to be there all day. As the tree came into sight, she saw somepony waiting outside.

“Fluttershy? What are you doing?” Twilight asked.

“Um... I’m waiting for you to open. I hope I’m not rushing you or anything.”

“I was just about to do that,” Twilight said with a smile. I can handle Applejack being weird. She’ll just have to get over it. “You don’t have anything on loan, do you need a particular book?”

“Yes, I need some maps of Equestria.”

“Okay,” Twilight said. She unlocked the door and led Fluttershy inside. “Maps are over here.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said. She flew over to the correct section and began looking at the various titles.

“How are you doing?” Twilight asked casually, putting her things away.

“Okay.” Fluttershy had removed a couple books and was looking at the large pages. “Oh! Perfect!” She flew over to Twilight and showed her the map she was looking at. “Do you know if you have a bigger map of this area?”

“Let’s see,” Twilight said. She examined where Fluttershy was pointing more closely. “That’s Griffon territory. Why would you want to go there?”

“Because I’m going to help Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said quietly.

“What?” Twilight exclaimed.

“Twilight, I knew Rainbow Dash was an omnivore long before we were friends, and that never once stopped me from wanting to be her friend. If you don’t like it, that’s your problem, not hers.”

“So then why are you even here? If it’s my problem, then it’s not yours,” Twilight grumbled.

“But you made it my problem by...um...”

“Yes?” Twilight said, glaring.

“By... um...”

“Say it!”

Fluttershy shook her head.

“Fluttershy, I promise that no matter what you say, I won’t get mad.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath. “You are acting like a spoiled, sheltered little filly who rather than, like a mature pony, would simply break ties with a friend they no longer agreed with, instead you decided to kick her while she was down and took away one of the two things she really cares about. Your actions were petty and foalish and you’ve alienated a lot of ponies who used to respect you.

“To be fair, it’s probably because you’re a unicorn. You tend to be more uptight about things, just look at Rarity. She’s a great friend, but we both know she can be a bit picky at times. I don’t mind Rainbow Dash because griffons and pegasus ponies have been close for longer than the pony tribes have. Both Applejack and Pinkie Pie are able to look past any apprehensions they have because Rainbow Dash is their friend. All you’re showing is you still don’t understand what it truly means to be a friend.”

Twilight just stood there, stunned.

“Um... I’ll just look around and see if you have the books I need myself.”

"So what do we do, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked as the pair walked out of the Cloudsdale police station.

"It's all taken care of. I have a court order for Scootaloo to be returned, and if that doesn't work, I already have a court date so you can win her back," Pinkie Pie explained.

"You really thought of everything. I didn't think you could be so..."

"Smart?"

"Serious. I mean you're usually all parties and candy, but you haven't smiled once, all day."

"There's nothing to smile about," Pinkie said.

“When Applejack said you were doing something to help, I assumed you were going to try and break me out or something,” Rainbow Dash said.

“That was plan C.”

“Then what was plan B?”

“This is plan B.”

“Oh,” Rainbow Dash said. “So what was plan A?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Pinkie said. “Plan A always fails, so I skipped it.”

“So isn’t this still plan A?”

Pinkie held a hoof to Rainbow Dash’s lips. “Shhh!” she hissed. “Do you want the universe to hear you, then ruin it?”

Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes.

Apple Bloom, returning from school, walked into her familiar hospital wing to find Big Macintosh waiting for her.

"Hey, Big Mac," she greeted. The stallion nodded. Somepony must have seen her enter the hospital because her regular doctor came in just then.

"Ah good, you're back," he said. "Are you her father?" he asked Big Macintosh.

"Brother," the red pony replied simply.

"Well, Apple Bloom, today's the big day," the doctor said to the filly. "Today you're getting discharged."

"Already?" Apple Bloom said, surprised.

"Yup. You've healed much faster than we expected. That siren magic is pretty powerful stuff," the doctor replied. "We just have to remove these bandages for good and you're all set."

With a deft movement, he tore the end of the bandages around her midriff and began peeling them away. At once the smell hit Apple Bloom. How could she be surprised? She hadn't had a proper bath in a while. Finally, the last strip was pulled away, and she got a clear view of her body.

It was a grizzly sight. What hair was left, was heavily matted from weeks of being constrained. The rest would have to grow back in time. Her once smooth torso was now covered in jagged scars and scabs. But everything was closed up. She'd passed through death's door and come back. No pony else could claim that. This seemed small apples compared to what had almost been.

"Now make sure she takes it easy," the doctor instructed Big Macintosh. "Most of the injuries are fine, but any strenuous activity could cause them to open back up. When she gets back home, make sure she is cleaned thoroughly. The hair will grow back, but I don't think the scars will get any better. She's a very lucky filly. If they do open back up, but nothing too big, just treat them as you would any cut. Anything too big and bring her back so we can patch her back up."

"Will do," Big Macintosh said simply. "Ready to go?"

"Eeyup!" Apple Bloom replied, rubbing a hoof gently down her bumpy stomach. Together the two walked out of the hospital and back home to Sweet Apple Acres. "Hey, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup?"

"Is it okay if Ah go see Zecora later? Ah haven’t seen her in a while."

"Better ask yer sister," Big Macintosh said.

"Okay...”

Scootaloo lazily chased peas around her lunch tray with a spoon. The day was only half over and she already hated every pony in the class. They treated her like a freak, but at least she didn’t have to put up with any of them sitting at her table, they gave her a wide bearth when she walked in the halls. She missed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Everything else would be bearable if they were here. She wasn't sure how they were taking all this, but she just wanted to see them, regardless of how they felt.

"I heard she killed a bunch of foals," somepony whispered at the next table.

Of course they were talking about her. Her face was plastered on every newspaper she had seen.

"I heard some colt pissed her off, so she ate his parents," another said.

"I heard she ate her own parents."

“Why is she wearing that collar?”

“Probably to stop her from swallowing ponies whole!” one foal said, though from his tone, it was clear he was joking a bit.

"You're all wrong. My father said she was foalnapped by griffons and forced to eat ponies," At this Scootaloo looked up and glared.

"Griffons do not eat ponies," she snapped. The ponies all jumped back in fear. She glared at them for a moment, then returned to her food. Soon the whispering started again.

"That has to be it."

"Don't you read the paper? She was foalnapped by some pony named Rain Crash or something. She made her kill and eat other ponies."

"Naw it has to be a griffon. It said she was in the paper."

"Her name is Rainbow Dash and she is my mother," Scootaloo snarled.

"Your mom was a griffon?" a colt asked.

"My mom is just a blood-sister," Scootaloo said. "Don't you know anything? She just joined a griffon clan; she's a pegasus like me."

"So your mom is a blood thirsty lunatic who joined a bunch of savage monsters, then made you do it too," a filly said. Scootaloo lunged at her with a yell and began beating the other foal. The filly screamed but barely fought back despite the furious barrage of kicks.

"DO. NOT. TALK. ABOUT. MY. MOM. LIKE. THAT!" Scootaloo shouted in between blows. A cafeteria monitor grabbed her by the mane and pulled her off the other filly.

"Get your hooves off of her!" the monitor yelled. Scootaloo flailed in his jaws, trying to get back to the filly to continue. "You're going to the headmaster's office right now."

"I'll take her to the nurse," another monitor said scooping up the beaten and wailing filly. She had several nasty cuts and a black eye was beginning to form. One leg was bent at an odd angle. Her crying did not abate as she was carried away.

“Howdy, Applejack!” Apple Bloom greeted, seeing her sister managing the farmstand in the market.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack cheered, embracing Apple Bloom.

“Careful,” Big Macintosh said.

Applejack lessened her hold. “Sorry, Sugarcube.”

“Ah’m okay,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah’m just glad tah be goin’ home.”

“Granny Smith’ll be glad tah see yah,” Applejack said.

“Say, can Ah visit Zecora later? Ah haven’t seen her since Ah’ve been in the hospital.”

“Only if yah take a bath,” Applejack said. “Yah smell worse than the sty on ah good day.”

“So, Comette, why are you in my office on your first day of school?" the headmaster asked from his desk. The filly remained silent, but fiddled with the metal band around her neck. "I can stay quiet too. You're not leaving until you talk, and I can wait a very long time."

"My name is Scootaloo," Scootaloo snapped.

“That’s not what it says here,” he replied, holding up a paper she assumed was part of her permenant record.

“Look, I don’t care what my parents named me, I gave myself this name, and I will not respond to anything but.”

"Okay, why are you in my office, Scootaloo?" the headmaster grumbled.

"She was making fun of my mom. I told her not to," Scootaloo said, staring at the desk, burning a hole in it with her glare.

"You broke one of Oak Skips legs," the headmaster said. Scootaloo looked up, shocked. She hadn't been trying to break anything, she just kicked the other filly. Breaking a pony's leg with just a stomp should be impossible for her.

I would think that earth pony strength has also been shared. Not fully, but I'd guess you're all probably stronger than you used to be.

Twilight's words flashed in her mind. She'd have to be more careful.

"There is no reason to resort to violence."

"I'm not about to sit there while some hinny says things about my family," Scootaloo growled.

"Language, Comette," the headmaster grunted.

"That's not my name," Scootaloo said simply. "Can you just get to the punishment already?"

"Fine, since you're so eager: three weeks detention, two months of probation, and you have to apologize to Oak Skips."

"What?" Scootaloo shouted. "She calls my mom a mad pony and I have to say I'm sorry? I didn't intend to break anything, but I meant every kick. You'll have to send me to the moon before I'll do that!"

"You will or-"

"Or what? Words won't change my mind, you need magic to force me, and you can't threaten me. There is nothing you can threaten me with that I haven’t already been through. Are you going to give me more detention? Fine. I really don't care," Scootaloo said.

"Okay then. You have daily detention until further notice, and you are on probation. If you are caught fighting again, you're suspended."

"Whatever," Scootaloo said, getting down from the chair.

"Hah, Zecora," Apple Bloom greeted when the Zebra opened her door. At once the zebra noticed the patchy coat.

"What has happened to my friend Apple Bloom, that has caused such a nasty wound?" Zecora asked frowning.

"Applejack didn't tell you? Shoot, no wonder yah never visited," Apple Bloom said, frowning as well. "Ah got attacked bah a shark in that sea pony city."

"Attacked by a shark? But you survived with such a little mark!"

"Well Ah didn't make it. The thing killed me bahfore they could get it off me," Apple Bloom said smiling. The zebra looked more and more confused.

"Then are you a spirit?" Zecora said, rubbing her eyes. "Surely my fears have no merit!"

"Ah’m okay now. Sweetie Belle brought me back to life and now Ah’m all better. Ah just wanted to stop bah and say hah. Ah haven't seen ya in a while," Apple Bloom explained. "Say, are yah goin' on a trip?" Apple Bloom asked, noticing the saddle backs on the zebra's back.

"I must head into town; I need the help of a unicorn," Zecora said. "To finish my latest potion, I need a bit of magic from their horn."

"Do you need unicorn magic or will any magic work?" Apple Bloom asked. She scrunched up her face and got her hoof glowing. She held it up to show her zebra friend.

"Such a sight I have never seen. An earth pony hoof with a glow of green."

"Ah learned this after me and mah friends got stuck togeth-" Apple Bloom stopped. She hadn't told Zecora that story yet. "It has been a while. How about Ah fix up the potion and Ah’ll tell yah all about it. What do yah need?”

"A simple charge of raw magic will do. Just enough to change the hue," Zecora instructed, pointing to the large cauldron in the room.

Apple Bloom scrunched up her face and forced her magic to some forth. It built up rapidly, but she couldn't work out how to discharge it. Finally she just dipped her hoof into the liquid. Finally she felt the energy leave her hoof. She had barely given it any before the bubbling blue mixture turned yellow.

"Is that good?” Apple Bloom asked.

“That magic was enough, thank you very much.”

“Ah might as well tell yah everythin' now."

And so Apple Bloom explained everything. Beginning with being foalnapped, what it felt like sharing a body with two other ponies. Discovering her magical abilities and what she could do. Then the events in Barrier City where she remembered being attacked, then woke up in the hospital days later. She finished with Scootaloo being taken away. Zecora listened intently and didn't ask too many questions.

"What is this?" Star Dust asked the pink pony in a suit at her door. Despite her mane resembling a lump of cotton candy, the pony looked more serious than a Royal Guard.

"This is a court order for the return of Scootaloo to rightful custody. She was taken from it by someone without the authority to do so. You have to give her back," Pinkie said.

"I'm not doing anything until I speak with my lawyer," Reflection said.

"Then I'll see you in court. I've already filed papers. We'll see you, and your lawyer in royal court in two days," Pinkie said.

"How could you get a royal court date so fast?"

"I know Princess Celestia personally. She agreed to help me as soon as I said I needed royal court time," Pinkie replied.

“Bah, Zecora,” Apple Bloom said, walking along the faintly beaten path.

“Farewell, my little friend,” Zecora replied. “I hope your companion’s story has a happy end.”

Apple Bloom wandered back towards home to find Sweetie Belle sulking by the clubhouse.

“Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“Hey, Sweetie Belle,” she replied.

Sweetie Belle rushed over and hugged her. “What are you doing out?”

“They just let me out today!” Apple Bloom announced. “All thanks tah you and yer singin’, Ah’m all better.”

“Well I’m glad you’re okay,” Sweetie Belle said quietly.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“I miss Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Me too. Ah hope Twahlight gets her outta jail soon.”

“She is,” Sweetie Belle said. Apple Bloom stared at her with a look of bewilderment. “Rarity told me a little while ago she saw Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash come back from Cloudsdale, but Scootaloo wasn’t with them.”

“So where is she?”

Sweetie Belle looked back glumly. “I don’t know. Her scooter is still here. I don’t think she came back at all.”

“Well Ah’m gonna find out!” Apple Bloom declared. She stormed off into town with Sweetie Belle following to see what she did.

"Fighting with other foals!" her father roared. “Daily detention! I hope you’re happy!”

"She insulted my mom," Scootaloo grumbled, her face expressionless. “She called Rainbow Dash a savage!”

"Rainbow Dash is not your mother," Reflection shouted.

"She is!"

"This was your first day and already you're picking fights! Go to your room, Comette, and stay there until I or your mother come and get you!" Reflection ordered. Scootaloo glared, but stormed off, stopping by the kitchen on her way.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

Twilight ignored whoever was calling. The library was closed and she had far too much work to do to entertain any late visitor or another friend come to yell at her. Star Dust and Reflection had just informed her that a pink pony had come to their door with a court order to relinquish Comette, and said there was already a royal court date set if they refused.

Now Twilight had to figure out what Pinkie Pie was doing and how to counter it.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Twilight sighed. “Spike, could you-”

*KNOCK KNOCK BAM*

The door fell inward, snapping off its hinges. On the other side stood a small yellow earth pony, rear hooves still glowing from the magic assisted door bucking.

“You didn’t have to knock the door down!” Sweetie Belle said.

“Ah didn’t mean tah. Ah just wanted tah make a louder noise. Ah wasn’t plannin’ on blastin’ it down, mah magic did it on its own,” Apple Bloom replied, turning around.

“Girls? What are you doing here?” Twilight demanded.

“We wanna know where Scootaloo is!” Apple Bloom replied.

“She’s in Hoofington, only about twenty minutes away by train. I’m sure your sisters can take you to visit,” Twilight replied.

“What is she doing there?” Sweetie Belle asked angrily.

“She’s gone home to live with her real parents.”

“What?” Apple Bloom cried.

“How can they just take her?” Sweetie Belle cried. “Rainbow Dash adopted her!”

“I undid that,” Twilight said. The two fillies stared at her. “I am well aware my decision is not very popular, but it was the right thing to do, and in time, you’ll-”

“Get her back!” Apple Bloom shouted.

“You big meanie!” Sweetie Belle yelled with her.

“Girls-”

“Yah got no right tah take our friend!” Apple Bloom shouted over Twilight.

“Girls-”

“Why would you let them near her after what they did?” Sweetie Belle cried.

“GIRLS!” Twilight shouted. They kept going, so she used magic to hold their muzzles shut. “Girls, I know you don’t understand why I did what I did, but you have to understand it was for Scootaloo’s own good. Rainbow Dash was having her do very bad things. I made it so Rainbow Dash can never make her do those bad things again.”

“What kinda bad things?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Like bad touching?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“She was hurting animals,” Twilight said, not wanting them to hear the whole story. They were innocent foals, no need to trouble their mind with what was surely tormenting Scootaloo.

“Ah don’t believe it,” Apple Bloom declared.

“Yeah! Do you-”

“Apple Bloom, are you in here?” came a voice. They all looked and saw Applejack standing in the doorway, looking at the broken door. “Ah heard ah crash and assumed yah were involved.”

“Whah would you assume that?” Apple Bloom asked.

Applejack gave her a look. “Call it sisterly intuition,” she said dully. “Come on, Ah’m headin’ back home, yah should come too if yah want supper.”

“Okay,” Apple Bloom said reluctantly. She walked over to the doorway. “Sorry bout the door, Ah guess Ah don’t know mah own strength.”

“Send me ah bill,” Applejack said, pointing to the damage.

“It’s... it’s okay,” Twilight replied. “I can just fix it with my magic. Apple Bloom just needs some magic training so accidents like this don’t happen.”

“Ah’ll think about it,” Applejack answered. She left, with Apple Bloom tailing close behind.

Sweetie Belle left right after them.

“Spike, why can’t they see I’m right?” Twilight asked.

“Oh no, I’m not getting involved with this,” Spike said.

"Scootaloo?" Sunspot asked as she nudged open the bedroom door.

"Hey, Sunspot," Scootaloo greeted, lying on the bed.

"I snuck you some carrots from dinner," she said, placing them on the bed.

"Thanks, but I already got something," Scootaloo said, pulling a package of crackers from her tail.

Sunspot looked in amazement. "How did you do that?"

"I lived on the streets. You learn how to hide things quickly there."

"Oh."

"Plus, I already hid some snacks in my scooter. They were for when I was out practicing, but now..." Scootaloo said. She pulled out a black strip and vigorously tore off a piece. It was a lot harder without magic, but she managed. “It’s all I have of home...”

"The foals at school are saying you tried to eat Oak Skips," Sunspot said.

"Really? What idiots."

"Still-" Sunspot stopped, and put her ear to the door. "Somepony's coming. You'd better-" she said, turning around. Already the crackers and carrots had vanished. Quickly, she backed away as the door opened. In walked Reflection and Star Dust.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Reflection asked sternly.

"I didn't mean to break her leg, just beat the snot out of her?" Scootaloo answered. She was being honest. She hadn't intended to break anything, but this earth pony strength was something else.

"Try again," Star Dust said.

"If I didn't have this stupid collar on, I probably would have just knocked her over with some wind?"

"That's strike two," Reflection said.

"I probably hurt any chance I had of going back with mom?"

"Strike three," Reflection growled.

"You're going to stay here until you come up with a better answer. And wash that dye out of your hair," Star Dust ordered.

"What dye?" Scootaloo asked, genuinely confused. "This is my normal hair color."

"Really? The friendship flanks are natural? And I suppose your coat just naturally changed from tan to orange," Reflection said in a snide tone.

"I got these by accident and I can't make them go away," Scootaloo said, poking her flanks, "and yes, my coat changed colors. I don't know exactly why, I just fell asleep on a grave covered in blood and woke up another color. That was the same day I got my name."

"Covered in-" Star Dust murmured.

"From when I ran away from the orphanage YOU PUT ME IN!"

“That wasn’t us!” Reflection shouted.

“I don’t care!” Scootaloo shouted back.

“Look, I know the past few days have been hard,” Star Dust said calmly, “but we care about you, and we want to be a family again.”

“If you cared about me, I’d be on my way to Blood Crest by now,” Scootaloo said, grumbling. “As it is, I’d have to go all out to get there in time. Cloudboarding is my special talent! Who cares if it’s a griffon sport, they’re really nice.”

“You are a pony, not a griffon!” Reflection shouted. He stomped down. He hadn’t been paying attention, and his hoof slammed down on a certain hardcloud object lying on the floor. The board shattered like a stale cookie.

Scootaloo’s ears drooped and her mouth hung wide open. “My cloudboarding scooter!”

“Maybe this will end this nonsense,” Reflection said, huffing. “We’ll be back in the morning to see if you’ve come up with something better to say for yourself.”

With that, he left the room. Star Dust stayed for a minute before leaving as well. Neither seemed to notice Sunspot had been in the room.

Scootaloo slowly crawled off the bed and made her way to the remains of her hoof made scooter. She picked up one of the pieces and turned it over in her hoof.

“Scootaloo?” Starflare asked. Scootaloo nearly jumped when she heard the quiet voice coming from so close. She hadn’t even noticed the other filly entering the room.

“Just... just go away,” Scootaloo said quietly.

She didn’t know what to do. The past two years of her life had been spent almost exclusively on her scooter, and now it was no more. It was hardcloud, it could be repaired or replaced easily, but... how could she get it replaced? She couldn’t use magic or her wings to get herself to a cloud city to buy more. She didn’t even have any bits to pay for it! Her cloudboarding career was effectively dead and she hadn’t even started it.

“I want to go home,” she cried.

Suddenly, she felt a weight on her back. Then another.

“It’ll be okay.”

“We’ll help you get home.”

Scootaloo just sat there in her sisters’ embrace. She had known them all of one day, and already they were trying to help her. Trying to make things right. She didn’t want to admit it, but she began to feel just a tiny bit better.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The rhythmic sound of rolling wheels on dirt. It was very calming to the filly. The source was getting closer so March stopped her aimless wandering and looked over. A bigger filly was gliding along on some sort of wooden board with wheels on the bottom; her hooves on a set of handles. Every couple seconds the filly would lean over and give herself a push.

March watched in mild interest. It seemed like a neat way to get around. If I ever have money, I'm going to buy one of those, whatever it is.

As the older pony rolled past, it became clear to March something was wrong. The smooth sound was steadily becoming offbeat. Then, all at once, something happened and the scooter fell to one side, taking the older filly with it. She grunted as she hit the ground, and March watched on with little real interest. One of the wheels seemed to have fallen off.

"You broke my scooter!" the older filly yelled at March. March looked at her with surprised. So that's what it was.

"I what? I'm all the way over here," March pointed out, waving her hoof to emphasize the distance between them.

"You just don't get it. Everything is your fault, street rat!" the filly shouted.

She picked up the detached wheel and threw it at March. March instinctively ducked and covered her head with her hooves, but the plastic simply landed nearby.

"Stupid piece of junk!" the older filly spat, kicking the scooter before stomping off in a huff.

When she was sure she was gone, March got up and examined the wheel. Carefully she picked it up and walked over to the scooter. She wanted to know what had broken and if she could fix it. Since the older filly had so generously left it behind, it might as well belong to somepony. It only took her a second to realize the wheel had simply fallen off so March looked around and spotted a glint of metal in the dirt. She easily picked up the screw and went about trying to reattach the wheel. It wasn't easy without tools but soon the wheel was once again attached to March's satisfaction.

March then righted the scooter and climbed onto it to see if her repairs would hold. Now how had the other filly moved this? Awkwardly, March stuck one leg out and kicked at the ground. Agonizingly slowly she felt it roll forward. Now emboldened, she kicked a few more times, each time going progressively faster, but it was hard work pushing that hard. The scooter was a bit big for her and that didn't help. Tired, she let the scooter grind to a halt. Her wings twitched in annoyance. Then her eyes went wide as she felt herself move.

Excited, March began flapping her wings rapidly. In response, the scooter moved forward. The filly grinned widely for the first time in a very long time. She beat her wings harder and harder, trying to see how fast she could go, and colt was it fast! She quickly worked out how to turn and she practiced doing a few loops around the street.

"Hey!" shouted a voice. March coasted to a halt, unsure how to stop, and turned to see the older filly glaring at her, a much larger pony beside her. "What do you think you're doing with my scooter?"

"Finders keepers!" March shouted back. She beat her wings as hard as she could. The two ponies chased after but couldn't keep up. Soon March was speeding out of the town, and on to a new one.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Zecora dialogue is hard.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 6: Fight for Your Home

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

No Pic

Arc 6: Exposed

Chapter 17

"The royal court is now in session. The custody decision of the filly Scootaloo, a.k.a. March Ninth, a.k.a. Comette shall now begin," the herald announced. The throne room looked as splendid as it always did. On the throne sat Princess Celestia, gazing at the two groups of ponies before her.

Twilight was wearing her best dress, and had a very large pile of papers with every argument she could think of. She was confident the Princess would see things her way, and the family behind her had nothing to worry about. Scootaloo was held tightly by her father, but she strained at his leg, trying to get to Rainbow Dash.

Just a few feet away were two ponies. Pinkie was still in her suit, and looked serious, no hint of a smile on her face. Next to her, Rainbow Dash looked very nervous. She saw Scootaloo and gave her a little wave.

Far beyond, were observers, all very interested in the ponies involved, but cared little about what the verdict would be. In the front row sat Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity, all with rainbow colored shirts to support their friend.

"Pinkie, this was a horrible idea!" Rainbow Dash hissed. "Of course the Princess is going to go with Twilight! Why couldn't you have gone with some other court?"

"Don't worry, Dashie, I know Equestrian law forwards and back, inside out, and upside down. Auntie Pinkie has it all worked out. Besides, if I had gone with another court, it could have taken weeks or even months to get a court date. Now, you and Scootaloo can be back together by tonight. Plus, Twilight could appeal if it was any other court. This way she can’t."

"Thank you, Big Voice," Princess Celestia said to the herald. "I assume you both understand how this court works?"

"Of course your majesty," Twilight said.

"Sure do!" Pinkie cheered.

"Since you are the plaintiff, you start, Pinkie," Princess Celestia prompted.

“Right,” Pinkie said. She stood and adjusted her tie before continuing. “Three days ago, Scootaloo was taken from the rightful custody of Rainbow Dash Qnak, to the custody of Reflection and Star Dust. This was done illegally because of a personal disagreement between Ms. Qnak and her former lawyer, Twilight Sparkle. Two days ago, I obtained a court order to have Scootaloo returned to Rainbow Dash’s custody. I anticipated her current custodians refusing to cooperate and already had this court date set up to resolve the matter.”

“When you asked for court time, I admit I didn’t even think to ask what it was for. Twilight, is it true you took this filly from Rainbow Dash illegally?” Princess Celestia asked.

“I have her signature on this paper giving me power of attorney,” Twilight said, holding up the appropriate document. “And I did do this because it was in the foal’s best interest. Besides, I have evidence that suggests she never had legal custody in the first place and that the adoption papers are forged.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash shouted before Pinkie Pie could silence her.

“Yes. There is no way she could have adopted her legally. To do so she would have had to bring Scootaloo to the Cloudsdale City Hall, and they would have a background on her. They would have realized who she was then. Since that never happened, she had to have forged the documents, and used her knowledge of adoption services she gained while working there to get them in place.”

Rainbow Dash fidgeted. Sell out Afterburn? I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be right, I practically forced him.

“She did no such thing!” Shouted a pony in the crowd. Rainbow Dash turned and saw the familiar red and blue pegasus standing up. “I filed the paperwork without the filly present, and I knew who she was.”

“You do realize you are admitting to breaking the law, right?” Princess Celestia asked.

“No he wasn’t,” Pinkie exclaimed. “In fact, there is a clause in the Equestrian fugitive laws that protect ponies who do not reveal a fugitives location to authorities if they are not asked. The exception only applies if the pony in question did not harbor the fugitive, just knew where they were and they were never directly asked by authorities. The law was instituted after Mayor Greymane tried to arrest a bunch of bystanders to a crime because they didn’t inform police where they criminal had gone, even though they were never asked anything.”

“I stand corrected. He merely broke protocol and allowed an orphan to be adopted without being present,” Princess Celestia replied.

“I was against it, but Dash invoked her clan name. I knew she wasn’t making it up when she did that. While I ignored that, everything else was done by the books. The adoption was legal,” Afterburn explained.

“Now that that matter is settled, let’s move on. Twilight, your opening statement.”

"Thank you, Princess," Twilight said, then she put her game face on. "This whole thing is a joke. Pinkie Pie is not a lawyer, and Rainbow Dash is unqualified to care for a filly. She's been known to be reckless, rash, and a danger to others. This whole mess came about because she was harboring a fugitive."

"Objection!" Pinkie shouted. "The charges were dropped, by your hoof, I might add, so Rainbow Dash did nothing illegal and her incarceration was unwarranted."

"That may be, but it doesn't change what else she has done to this innocent filly. She has admitted to taking Scootaloo into the Everfree Forest to murder wildlife and eat them."

"Objection!" Pinkie shouted again. "According to Equestrian law, murder is defined as the intentional killing of a sentient being. Wildlife is not sentient, and therefore it is not murder."

"My point remains that Rainbow Dash was making a foal kill and eat innocent creatures. That is sick and depraved behavior. I saw a filly in a poor environment and moved to correct the problem. I had been approached by Scootaloo’s parents, and after hearing what had actually happened, I decided it was in Scootaloo’s best interest to live with them. I used everything in my legal right to make sure that happened."

"I think I should let Pinkie Pie talk before she explodes," Princess Celestia said, noting the terra pony's expression.

"What Rainbow Dash was doing was perfectly natural and healthy. She was not forcing Scootaloo to do anything. Her participation was optional, and such activities were only done so at the filly's own urging."

"Oh come on, like she would say no to doing anything with a pony she looked up to so much," Twilight said.

"That has no legal standing, so don't interrupt unless you have a objection with some legal merit," Pinkie Pie shot back. "As I was saying, she was not taking a filly into the forest to kill and eat animals, she was sharing in a cultural heritage, and fulfilling a cultural and verbal obligation."

"Twilight, your rebuttal?" Princess Celestia asked.

"That is not a cultural thing. It's sick and wrong. A verbal obligation means nothing."

"Objection! According to Equestrian law, verbal contracts can be just as valid as a written one."

"I’m curious, who was this verbal contract made with?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Surprise Witness!" Pinkie Pie said shrilly.

On cue a figure strode calmly into the throne room, causing the guards to drop their spears in shock. A massive brown griffon, wings folded neatly, at least as tall as the Princess herself, walked calmly through the throne room, ignoring the gasps and thumps as pony’s in the crowd fainted. When he had passed both plaintiffs, he stopped, bowed until his face was parallel to the floor, then sat down.

"I am Clance Qnak," the griffon said. "I am Rainbow Dash's father."

The crowd gasped as one.

"You got my dad? How?" Rainbow Dash whispered.

"Fluttershy figured out where he lived and found him!" Pinkie said back. "We've got this in the bag now."

"Are you the one with whom this verbal contract was made?" Princess Celestia asked.

"If you are referring to the clan oath my daughter took, then no. The oath was with the clan as a whole, not any individual."

"Objection. This is not Rainbow Dash's father," Twilight said.

"Counter objection. While there was no formal adoption, Rainbow Dash is a marked member of the Qnak clan, and as such, is a recognized member of the family. How he personally views himself in relation means little," Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"Counter, counter objection. If she was not formally adopted then she is not a member of his family," Twilight snapped.

"Counter, counter, counter objection!" Pikie cried, nearly falling out of her chair in her hubris, "according to Cloudsdale law, griffon blood-siblings are viewed a valid form adoption in the rare event a pony is involved. Equestria in general has no law on the subject either way." Pinkie said, getting flustered.

"Enough. Let me hear what he has to say, and I will decide if it is relevant," Princess Celestia declared. "I am not familiar with griffon ways. Would you care to explain?"

"While it varies from clan to clan, it has common rules. If a griffon wishes to become a member of that clan, they must prove themselves worthy to the clan leader. When they have done so, a ceremony of some sort takes place. This varies from clan to clan greatly, but almost always involves the new member taking an oath. Then they are given the mark of the clan.

"From that point on they are a full member of the clan. If they choose to leave, they must remove the mark. Rainbow Dash took the oath at age five, and since then she has been a member of my family. Before that she was simply a welcome guest in our home,” Clance answered.

"And what was the oath she took?" Princess Celestia asked.

"It's mostly a clan secret, but I suppose I can divulge the part that is relevant. Rainbow Dash vowed to uphold the traditions of the clan. That would include teaching her foals to hunt and cook prey."

"And she is obligated to do this?" Princess Celestia asked.

"In my opinion, she may have started earlier than she should have. We normally don't allow our hatchlings to hunt until after their first flight, but it is my understanding she began before that. I probably would have done the same, seeing as she has not flown yet. But yes, she is obligated to do so to any foal of hers, adopted or of her blood. If she did not, she would be banished from the clan. That is the worst punishment griffons have," Clance replied.

“What about a death penalty?” Princess Celestia asked.

“For some, death is preferable,” Clance said simply.

"Thank you. I have some questions for the two parties. I have never had a clan leader in my throne room before, and I would like to talk with you some more after this is over," Princess Celestia said. Clance nodded and stepped off to the side. "How old is Scootaloo?"

"Five," Twilight said at once.

“Six and a half, actually,” Rainbow Dash corrected.

"She's six and she can't fly?" Princess Celestia exclaimed.

"Another witness!" Pinkie Pie cried. This time a pony merely got up from the audience and stepped forward. A beige earth pony in medical garb.

"And you are?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Dr. Forceps. I am the primary care doctor for both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo," Dr. Forceps answered.

"Objection, this has nothing to do with this debate," Twilight protested.

"The Princess asked a question, so I got the pony who could answer it best," Pinkie Pie replied snidely.

"You planned this, didn't you?" Twilight snarled.

"Big time," Pinkie replied, not smiling at all.

"So, is it true Scootaloo cannot fly?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Yes," Dr. Forceps said simply.

"Is there anything you feel I should know before rendering a decision?"

"Yes," he repeated. "When I first examined Scootaloo, about six months ago, I found her to be extremely poor condition. Severely malnourished, and showing signs of chronic and severe starvation. She was more than a year behind her peers in terms of development. I checked her again fairly recently, and she is still far behind where she should be."

"See, Rainbow Dash is a horrible parent," Twilight shouted.

"Let me finish," Dr. Forceps snapped furiously. "The filly had been in her care only one day when I first examined her. Before that time she was living on the streets."

"A situation she put herself in by running away from the orphanage," Twilight stated.

"A situation that probably improved after her condition," Dr. Forceps retorted. "If it had been better there, she should have been flying long before she ran away. That only tells me this has been an ongoing issue that she has suffered from for a long time. Far longer then she has lived on the streets.

"As I was going to say, she is still far behind. BUT her recovery has been many times better then I could have hoped. I feel foolish now for saying she would probably never even fly. As dramatic as it is, it probably will never be enough. She simply lost too much time. Still, she has improved more in that time then I thought possible in a year."

"And what would you attribute to the recovery?"

"Here's where my words bite me in the plot. I may have, unofficially, stated that a certain diet that Rainbow Dash follows might help. Seeing as she followed it, and this is what happened, I must say I'm rather glad I did."

"Thank you, doctor," Princess Celestia said dismissing him.

"These are still her parents. It is only right that she is with them," Twilight stated.

"They gave up any right to take care of her when they abandoned her," Pinkie Pie replied.

"They didn't abandon her. She was placed in the care of relatives who did so without their consent or knowledge," Twilight countered.

"No they didn't!" Sunspot shouted suddenly.

"What are you doing!?" Reflection hissed.

"We have a picture of Scootaloo on the steps of Cloudsdale City Hall, where she was abandoned!" Starflare added.

"Sun? Star?" Scootaloo murmured.

"We have no such picture," Star Dust blurted out.

"It's right here," Scootaloo declared. She fished the picture out of her mane and held it up.

"Where did you-?" Reflection snarled.

"When you grow up on the streets you learn to hold on to things like this," Scootaloo said snidely. The picture glowed yellow, and was gently pulled from her hoof. It floated through the air to Princess Celestia who examined it.

"I'm sorry, but this doesn't tell me much either way. It looks like just a stone slab to me," Princess Celestia said, levitating it back to Scootaloo.

"Exactly," Scootaloo said. "It's clearly a front step of some kind, and they claim it's the last picture they took before they hoofed me over to my relatives, but then, why is it stone? If it was taken in Cloudsdale, it should be hardcloud. The only stone slabs in the whole city are at City Hall where I was found abandoned."

"Hey, yeah!" Rainbow Dash realized. "Ask any pegasus from there. They're still complaining about how much it cost to get them enchanted."

"We simply gave her over on those steps. Nothing more," Reflection said quickly.

"Hmmm," Princess Celestia said deep in thought. "I'm not sure what to make of this. Do you have any evidence to contradict what they are saying, like statements from these relatives?"

“Unfortunately no,” Star Dust said.

“We disowned them when we learned what they did to Comette, and since then we have lost contact with them. We have no idea where they are,” Reflection added.

“That is... unhelpful for you,” Princess Celestia commented.

"I don't care if they did or did not abandon her! I don't even care if it's a griffon rule! She still took a filly out killing! That's wrong!" Twilight shouted.

"Is that the basis of your whole argument? Hunting?" Princess Celestia roared.

"When Twilight heard Rainbow Dash was hunting, she actually quit as her lawyer," Pinkie Pie said plainly. "She had no legal right to take the filly away."

"I had her power of attorney!" Twilight snapped.

"You relinquished that when you refused to represent her in court!" Pinkie shouted back.

Princess Celestia sat down and rubbed her head with a hoof.

"That is truly distressing. Twilight, I expected better of you," Princess Celestia said, shaking her head.

"But- but-" Twilight stammered.

"Enough, Twilight. Let's just move on to the final words. Reflection and Star Dust, you first."

"She's our daughter and she belongs with us," Reflection said simply.

"I know what we did might have seemed cruel, but we only did what we thought was best. When we learned she had been placed in an orphanage, we did everything in our power to find her and bring her home. We want to be a whole family again," Star Dust begged.

"Rainbow Dash?" Princess Celestia prompted. The pegasus stepped forward nervously.

"I'm not really sure what to say. I really don't know how to raise a filly apart from how I was brought up or saw other parents do. I know I'm not the best mom in the world. I don't think I'm the worst, but I wouldn't take home even an honorable mention medal in the best mom contest if you get what I mean. I really had no business trying to take care of a filly. I know that now, and I knew it then.

"And I adopted her anyway. I did it because a long time ago, I was in the same spot. Clance took me in. He didn't know how to raise a pony. He was worried I wouldn't be able to adapt to the griffon way of life. But he did it anyway. When I realized Scoots was just like me, I knew exactly what I was going to do. Even if it meant putting my dreams on hold to take care of her. Because I remembered how it felt being in that position, and how good it felt to be offered a way out.

"I remember when I took her in, I said 'I'm not doing this to be your mom'. I guess I messed that up," Rainbow Dash said, her eyes watering. "Now I really get how my dad felt the first time I called him dad. If I'm unfit to be a mom then fine, take her away and give her to a better parent, somepony who can raise her right, but don't leave her with the ones who abandoned her. I just want her to be happy... because... because I love her. She's my daughter and I love her."

Across the aisle, Scootaloo was crying and smiling broadly.

"Before I make my final decision on this matter, I want to hear from one more pony: Scootaloo," Princess Celestia said.

"Me?" Scootaloo said surprised. Her father let her go and she stepped forward.

"Yes."

"What am I supposed to say?" Scootaloo asked confused.

"What ever you want. Anything you think is important for me to know," Princess Celestia said gently.

"Okay..." Scootaloo said, trying to buy some time to think. “I want to say I’m sorry. Because of me, you got in trouble, Rainbow Dash. Because I made the stupid mistake of fighting, instead of just running, all this happened.

"I really hate this whole mess!" she continued "I hate them," she said pointing to her parents, "and I hate just about every pony here," she said finally. "I see how you all judge me because I'm different. I'm weak, tiny, a freak. I don't care what you think of me.

"Because of those two I went through Tartarus and back every single day for six years. I starved, I worked hard, I even went dumpster diving for food. No pony helped me. No pony was there to lend a helping hoof. I've always had to fight for what I have. Then along came Rainbow Dash. She didn't baby me, or do things for me. I didn’t want or need that. She just gave me what I needed: a home.

“I was so ashamed when she found out I was an orphan. I looked up to her so much. I didn’t want her to know. I thought she would hate me, or pick on me like everypony else had. I’d kept it a secret from everypony, even my friends, not just because I was afraid of getting caught, but because I didn’t want to lose them. Then I found out my mom was an orphan to. Then I knew it would be alright.

"Everything was great. I learned so much from her. My life was finally becoming one I could be proud of. And then Twilight showed up with my parents. She made me go back with the ones who put me through all this.

“Don't get me wrong. I'm glad they did. If they hadn't, I might never have met Rainbow Dash. I probably wouldn't have discovered my special talent either. They said they don’t like it and I should forget about it. My own supposed loving parents tell me to ignore my cutie mark. And this hasn't been all bad. My sisters are pretty cool, and I even got some baby pictures, something I didn’t have before, but...

"I... I just want to go home," Scootaloo finished, sobbing a bit.

“We want her to go home too!” Sunspot shouted.

“Yeah! She should be with Rainbow Dash!” Starflare agreed.

"I've decided," Princess Celestia announced after a brief pause. "Twilight Sparkle’s actions were indeed illegal, nor were they in Scootaloo’s best interest. Rainbow Dash shall retain custody.”

“What!” Reflection shouted.

“I’m not finished. The circumstances regarding her placement in state custody are murky at best. Henceforth, I am allowing her birth family a minimum of one monthly visitation. Every month you can take custody of Scootaloo for one full day and together you may do as you wish, but if she is to be taken outside the boundaries of her hometown, Rainbow Dash must be notified prior to the visit taking place. You may request any day you wish, but her custodian has the final say. You may decide how holidays are handled between yourselves, but again, Rainbow Dash has the final say.”

“That’s not fair at all!” Star Dust cried.

"Be thankful I granted you that. If these allegations against you were proven, I would have to forbidden to even be near her, and make you pay child support. If you get proof for your side, feel free to bring it to me and I will amend my decision appropriately.

“Remove that collar from her. Court dismissed," Princess Celestia ordered. "Twilight, I'm very disappointed in you," she said.

The unicorn’s heart sank. It wasn't that she lost. She had disappointed the Princess. She had never done that before- Well ignoring the whole Smarty Pants incident. The words hurt more than any wound.

As soon as the collar came apart, Scootaloo was free. The rush of power felt great. The returning magic energized her every cell. Her wings glowed brightly and a whirlwind of air formed around her as she expended the pent up energy, enjoying the feel of it flowing out of her again. Then she reigned the magic back in, and raced over to Rainbow Dash.

"Mom!" she said embracing and nuzzling the mare.

"Scoots," Rainbow Dash said back, returning the hug. "Come on. Let's go home."

"Bye, Sunspot and Starflare. Thanks for helping me," Scootaloo said, turning to her sisters. "Come by Ponyville some time. It shouldn’t be far by train. I'll show you more of my magic."

"Bye, Scoots!" Starflare replied.

"We’ll miss you!" Sunspot said, smiling. “Now go home.”

"And as for you," Scootaloo said, turning to her parents. She fished around in her mane, and pulled out a second picture: one depicting her as a newborn with her parents on either side. She showed it to them. The picture flashed blue and the sides fell away leaving just the filly. "I hope this clears up how I feel."

"Thanks for coming, dad," Rainbow Dash said to Clance.

"I will always be there for my daughter or any member of my clan," Clance replied. "I wouldn't dare call myself dad otherwise."

Together, the two pegasi walked out of the throne room, and outside into the mass of ponies waiting outside. A noise from behind them caused them both to turn.

"Rainbow Dash, I-" Twilight began, but the pegasus shot her a glare.

"You crossed a line with me. Now you have to live with the consequences," Rainbow Dash said. She grabbed Scootaloo's mane in her jaws, and with a flick of her head she tossed Scootaloo onto her back. “Maybe you should take your own advice and find a new friend.” Rainbow Dash turned and walked off.

"Girls, you know I was only doing what I thought was best, right?" Twilight asked her friends who had followed.

"You abandoned her, Twilight. A true friend wouldn't do that," Pinkie said and turned her back to Twilight.

"Ah may not agree with how Rainbow lives her life or raises Scoots, but yah messed with her kin and that ain't right," Applejack said, also turning her back.

"I'm sorry, Twilight. You overreacted," Fluttershy said. Sheepishly, she too turned.

"I know you think you were doing what you thought was best, but I think you knew you weren't," Rarity said. Her last friend turned around. The four walked off towards the train station, leaving Twilight alone.

"Twilight, I want to have a word with you," Princess Celestia said, striding outside.

There was a flash of light, and the two were now on top of one of the castle towers, looking down at the throng of ponies outside, wanting to get a glimpse of the 'cannibal ponies'. The alicorn looked over the edge and down at the guards holding the crowd away from the pegasi.

"Twilight, I am very disappointed," Princess Celestia said again, not turning.

"I thought it was for the best," Twilight protested.

"Best for whom, Twilight?" Princess Celestia asked, "Which one of them would have benefited?" She waved a wing down. "Tell me, what do you see down there, Twilight?"

"I see my former friend being harassed by paparazzi," Twilight replied.

"Do you want to know what I see?" Princess Celestia asked. "I see a loving family that just got put through two horrible ordeals. One of them was caused by my own student. How do you think I should feel about that?"

"She was killing animals and eating them. How was I supposed to react?" Twilight asked.

"With tolerance. Listen and understand before judging," Princess Celestia replied. "I never told you this, but a long time ago, after we defeated Discord, but before we ruled Equestria, Luna and I roamed the world for a very long time together, just the two of us, never seeing or wanting to see other ponies. During that time, when the land did not provide enough for us, we ate those the land provided for. It is not something I would do unless I had no other choice, but it is something I would do again if I had to."

"But... it just seems so wrong," Twilight said, looking away.

"Twilight, I can understand not wanting to be her friend, but you got her daughter involved, and that wasn't right. Imagine if somepony tried to take Spike away from you because you feed him pony food instead of gems all the time?"

"I'd.. I'd do anything to get him back..."

"Now do you understand how you made Rainbow Dash feel?"

"I think I do, Princess....."

"This is one lesson I wish I hadn't had to teach you.

"So... what do I do?" Twilight asked. "They all hate me now. I just lost all my friends in one week and it's all my fault."

"You haven't lost anyone yet, Twilight. I would suggest you make amends. Your friends will forgive you in time," Princess Celestia said. "Now I have to go. I have a griffon clan leader as a guest."

“How the hay are we going to get out of here?” Rainbow Dash asked. The group had ducked into a small store to escape the crowds for a minute. They surrounded the small building on all sides, trying to get pictures or quotes from anypony they could.

“We already had an idea,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Ready,” Applejack said. She had removed her hat and hair bands. Rarity nodded and pulled a pair of fake wings attached to a harness out of her saddlebags, then put them on Applejack. She then placed Applejack’s things in the bag.

“Me too,” Apple Bloom said, pulling her hair ribbon out. Rarity pulled out a smaller set of fake wings and strapped them to Apple Bloom, taking care to not to tug on her wounds. She then put the ribbon away as well.

“I’m confused,” Scootaloo said.

“We’re gonna draw them away so you two can fly home,” Applejack replied.

“But you don’t even look like us,” Scootaloo said.

“Hello? Unicorn here,” Rarity said, slightly annoyed. “I’m going to cast an illusion spell.”

“So why the fake wings?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Do you have any idea how hard illusion spells are, let alone one that needs to add limbs? I simply can’t do it,” Rarity stated.

“So I made some fake wings that they could wear,” Fluttershy said.

“Applejack and Apple Bloom have the closest silhouettes to yours, so I can cast a spell to change their colors to match yours,” Rarity said.

“What are we waitin’ fer? Show her,” Applejack said.

Rarity nodded, and summoned up her magic. A glow covered the two farm ponies. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo watched with amazement as the two became near perfect copies of themselves. It wasn’t exact, the manes were a bit off in terms of shape, and the wings looked funny, but they would pass all but a close inspection.

“Come on, kiddo,” the Rainbow Dash look-alike said in Applejack’s voice, leaning over. The Scootaloo look-alike climbed onto her back.

“We’re going to head for the train station, so when we draw them off, you can fly home, unseen,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Thanks,” Rainbow Dash said.

“It ain’t no trouble,” her twin replied. The disguised Applejack and Apple Bloom walked out into the crowd, followed by the other girls. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo waited a few minutes before going outside. The press had left, so Rainbow Dash spread her wings and took to the sky, careful to keep the filly on her back.

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Deep underground, far below the ruined city, the draconequus placed five stone spheres and one golden belt on a stone pedestal.

"Even your power wasn't enough. So I return you to where you belong, where we six found you so long ago," he spoke. Something in his words triggered a reaction, and the belt glowed brightly, reverting to a stone ball. He scoffed, then strode over to the wall, and began carving a message. Teary eyed, he carved likenesses of his friends and named them.

"Jollity - could find humor in anything but our destruction

Sincerity - only ever lied once; when he said we'd all make it through this

Duty - stuck by us until the very end

Charity - would give anything to those in need, even her life

Empathy - cared for all beings, even those that wiped us out

Might - did what he could to shield us. In the end, even his power was not enough.

Long ago we six found six stones in this place. They reacted to our touch and became bound to us. We called them the Stones of Unity because of how they brought us all together. Times were good for my kind, we flourished under the power of the Stones, and built a great city on this spot. Then the world stopped turning. The ponies, envious of our glory, blamed us and attacked. As a last effort we combined the might of all our people into the six of us. Together we faced the ponies, and together we lost.

I was the only survivor, and returned here to hide the Stones so the ponies cannot get them. This is not over. Whatever gods exist have deemed me to be the ghost of my kind; our collective power condensed into one vessel. A last hope for justice. The ponies will know pain, they will know suffering, they will know loss and despair far greater than that which they caused us. The ponies will know discord."

He stormed back up the ancient steps. He could have teleported to the surface, but it felt better to walk. As he walked through the temple hall, he gazed up at the hole he had made. No point in fixing that now.

He simply walked outside and flew up, over the city. All at once he let his new power out into the very world.

"You can have your victory, but I deny you a prize!" he shouted into the empty sky. At his will the very ground shook. The city trembled, towers collapsed and buildings caved in. Everything began sinking into the earth. The dirt and rock bubbled over the sinking streets like a rising ocean. Wild animals fled in terror as the ground swallowed the city up and the earth folded over it, leaving nothing but an empty plain.

"And now for my revenge."

“So, what’s this I heard about you getting in a fight?” Rainbow Dash asked as the pair flew home.

“Some jenny at school was talking trash, so I showed her why she shouldn’t,” Scootaloo replied.

“Yeah, well, you’re grounded for a week,” Rainbow Dash said sternly.

“What?!?” Scootaloo cried. “I get into fights all the time and you’ve never cared before!”

“Yes, generally I would have fought too in your position, but you have to know when to pull your kicks. You broke her leg, and that’s going too far.”

“It was an accident,” Scootaloo said. “It must be some earth pony strength I got from when we were mixed together.”

“Then you have to be more careful, and you have a week to learn just that. I expect you home within an hour of school letting out. You can do your deliveries during that time.”

Scootaloo sighed. “Okay....”

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I have to say, this chapters very short flashback is probably the most signifigant.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 6: Home

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 6: Exposed

Chapter 18

Note: Parts of this chapter take place the previous night.

"Rainbow Dash, please! I want to talk!" Twilight called up to the blue pegasus busy clearing the clouds. The weather pony turned and glared. "Look, what I did was wrong. I really overreacted and-"

"Yeah. You did," Rainbow Dash said. Then she turned and flew away.

"It feels so good to be home," Scootaloo said to herself, sitting in her usual seat in class. She tried to ignore all the faces staring at her. She tried.

"Class, we actually have to learn today. Stop staring at Scootaloo and pay attention," Ms. Sunweed commanded. Reluctantly the class turned to the front of the room, but the pegasus filly would catch them sneaking glances at her.

"So much hate," Scootaloo growled to herself, mostly.

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"So... I'm sorry, I've never entertained a griffon, let alone a clan leader before. I'm not sure how to properly address you," Princess Celestia said. She was in her private meeting room, meant for one on one chats with foreign dignitaries. Across the large table taking up most of the room sat a rather composed looking griffon, equaling her in height. On the table sat two teacups and a teapot, gently smoking.

"Clance is fine," Clance said simply. “I’m sure you get enough formal talk in your everyday business.”

"That is for sure. Do you like tea?" Celestia asked, levitating the teapot into the air.

"I've developed a taste for it over the years," Clance replied. She poured them both a cup, and levitated hers to herself.

"So, you are Rainbow Dash's father."

"I call myself that, yes," Clance answered. “Though I only started after she started calling me dad. I was rather surprised when that happened. Thought it was just a slip of the beak, but she kept doing it.”

"Do you know what happened to her real parents?" Princess Celestia asked.

"From what she has told me, they died in a freak storm," Clance answered. The two quietly sipped their tea for a few minutes, not sure of what to say.

"It's strange having you here. I've spent so much of my life looking down to meet ponies' eyes," Celestia commented.

“I know that feeling.”

"Rarity? Are you busy?" Twilight asked, entering the boutique.

"I'm not too busy," the white unicorn replied, sticking a few pins into a dress she was working on. "What do you need?"

"I.. I just need somepony to talk to," Twilight admitted.

"So you came to me?" Rarity asked, not taking her eyes off her work.

"No one else will even acknowledge me anymore," Twilight sobbed.

"Well I should think so after the way you acted." That didn't help the violet unicorn feel better, and she just sobbed more. "If you want my advice, you should apologize. I don't know how much it will help, but it's worth a shot."

"I tried, but Rainbow Dash flew away before I could finish," Twilight said, trying to dry her face with a hoof. "She barely let me begin."

"Then you're not doing it right. Don't just talk, do something to show you're sorry," Rarity suggested.

"I'll try to think of something. Thanks for still talking to me," Twilight said, turning to leave.

"I can't just ignore a pony in need. And I am probably the only one who sort of agrees with you."

"If you agree then why-"

"I agree eating, " Rarity cringed, "meat is rather crude and barbaric. I wouldn't turn on my friend like you did, but I would definitely have told them how I felt about it."

"Thanks, Rarity.”

“Twilight, you took away one of the two things she really cares about. Understand if you had also somehow managed to take away her wings as well, I would not let you in my store. I was on your side even when you decided to quit as her lawyer, but you took it too far.”

“So I’ve heard,” Twilight grumbled.

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Jollity watched his long but joke filled life pass before his eyes. It did little to distract him from the transformation taking place across his body. His limbs were stiffening and he could no longer feel his tail. He hadn't seen which alicorn had hit him with the petrification spell, and it didn't matter now. As he turned to stone, he relived the battle in his mind.

It only took them a minute to start falling apart. Empathy had been the first; she got hit with a petrification spell, just like him. Sincerity dove to catch her before she hit the ground, but was sliced in two by a terra pony on the ground. Empathy shattered on impact.

Enraged, Duty had charged the alicornian king, but was struck down by several dozen blasts of magic. Jollity hadn't seen if anything had even been left.

He had been next. He focused more on deflecting shots away from Might. His magic could only be used for joking around, so he left the combat to Might. Unfortunately, he'd been blindsided, and now it was over for him as well.

Above him, he could see Might, holding his own against the waves of alicorns. Helpless, Jollity watched a powerful bolt of magic tear through Might's shield and through the draconequus. He hadn't seen what happened to Charity.

Far below the street called him. Just like Empathy. If he could still move his eyes, he would have closed them. As luck would have it, his mind went blank before he hit.

"Howdy, Rainbow!" Applejack greeted from her apple stand.

"Morning, Applejack, or is it afternoon? Anyway, how's the harvest?" Rainbow Dash asked, landing right in front of the stand.

"Great, like always," Applejack replied. Rainbow Dash placed some coins on the table and Applejack hoofed over the appropriate amount of apples. "Say, Ah wanted tah ask. How long are we gonna stay mad at Twilight?"

"I'm mad at her, you guys don't have to do anything," Rainbow Dash replied, putting the apples away.

"We're gonna stick with yah on this. Well me, Pinkie, and Fluttershy."

"I'll start talking to her again when she apologizes," Rainbow Dash said definitively.

"She came by earlier sayin' yah wouldn't let her," Applejack pointed out. "Like Ah said, Ah ain't talkin' tah her till you do, but Ah can't stop her from talkin' tah me."

"She tried to apologize to me. That's not what I want. She has nothing to make up to me," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Ah get it! Yah want her to say she's sorry tah Scoots! Don't yah?"

Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Well, Ah hope she can figure it out bahfore Scoot's is an old mare," Applejack joked.

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"There's so little I know about griffons," Celestia said finally.

"That is more than understandable. We know so little about ourselves," Clance answered.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean we don't know. Everything we are today is made up. A lie. There is no way for us to ever recover what we were before Discord. Every being from that time is long dead. Even you were born after we were thought extinct. All our records and what we were then, is lost forever."

"I'm sure you could find something if you just looked hard enough," Princess Celestia said trying to sound encouraging.

"Yes, I'm sure we would. But we don't want to. We're too afraid."

"Afraid? Of what?"

"Of what we might find. The thought eventually crosses the mind of every griffon. What if... What if we did go extinct. What if Discord didn't enslave us, but created us in the image of a long dead species."

Princess Celestia remained silent for a while, pondering this idea.

"Would it really change much?" She asked.

"I suppose not, but it's just not a comforting thought. That's why we don't want to know. We're happier not knowing."

"I can see what that would be preferable. However I don’t think that is the case.”

Clance looked genuinely interested. “Oh?”

“If you were something Discord created, I don’t think you would have been able to rebel against you like you did.”

"We sensed it when he came back," Clance said abruptly.

"What did you do?"

"I did what every other able bodied griffon did: we took to the skies and made for Canterlot to fight him. Kill him if we could, or die if we couldn't. Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t do this to protect pony kind, but to save ourselves. He’d kill us for our betrayal. A griffon wouldn’t give in to such a fate; we’d fight to the last griffon standing to stop him.

“It was a glorious sight. Thousands of griffons united, like so few times before, for one purpose. We are not one people. We are many groups that simply get along. But we do come together when our joint survival depends on it. The last time we had all come together was for civil war. I will always remember it."

The orange pegasus filly sat alone on the schoolyard, munching on some jerky. Class had been almost as bad as the other school. Everypony gawked at her, and to make it worse, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom weren't there.

"Scootaloo!" called a voice. Slowly she looked up, and saw a familiar white unicorn walking across the schoolyard towards her. Behind her was Apple Bloom; she was bandaged back up, but walking fine.

"Ah'm sorry we're late," Apple Bloom said when they stopped right next to the pegasus. "The crowd kinda roughed me and Applejack up last night, and Ah needed tah get fixed back up. The doctors let me out early, but if mah bites get opened back up Ah gotta go back.”

"I’m sorry," Scootaloo said, staring at her food.

“About what?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“You got hurt because of me,” Scootaloo said.

“Ah shucks, it’s nothing. Ah just wasn’t bein’ careful is all.”

“Yeah, they didn’t mean to hurt her, it was bound to happen,” Sweetie Belle said.

"What's wrong, Scoots? Somepony step in yer cornflakes?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Have you both been in a hole the past week? Everypony knows everything about me," Scootaloo said, crying a bit. "That I'm an orphan, that I eat meat. Everything. And just look at how they act."

Scootaloo waved a hoof towards the other foals. They were all keeping far away from her and avoided looking in her direction. At her movement several flinched.

"Just cause yah eat more then hay? That's silly. Is that meat yah got there?" Apple Bloom asked pointing to the strips of jerky.

"Yeah," Scootaloo replied. Apple Bloom grabbed one with magic and pulled it from the pegasus's hooves. She broke the strip in half with her hoof and tossed one piece to Sweetie Belle.

"I like the way you think," Sweetie Belle said, grabbing it.

"Hey! Look at this!" Apple Bloom shouted so the whole schoolyard heard. All the foals stopped playing around and look in their direction. "Ya'll think Scootaloo is weird fer eatin' meat?"

"Well we're all weird then!" Sweetie Belle shouted. With that the two bit down and awkwardly chewed at the jerky. Apple Bloom half gave up, and took it out of her mouth. Most of the other foals stared, one even fainted.

"Ya'll are a bunch a cowards!" Apple Bloom shouted. She turned around to Scootaloo. "How do you eat this stuff? It's so hard!" she moaned, trying to tear it apart.

"What are you doing?" Scootaloo said, crying.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders stick together no matter what," Sweetie Belle said. "Seriously though, you eat this? It's really salty."

"Ah think it tastes pretty good," Apple Bloom said, chewing on a piece she’d finally managed to tear off.”

"You guys, what will your families think?" Scootaloo said, sniffing a bit.

"Yer our friend. Yah have tah work harder to change that."

"Thanks," Scootaloo said, smiling weakly.

"So they just let you off the hook?" Sweetie Belle asked, sitting down.

"No, I have to go to therapy. It's nothing I can't handle," Scootaloo replied.

"Scootaloo, it'll be okay," Sweetie Belle said, nudging her friend. "They'll either come around or forget all about it."

"What, them? I'm bummed because I missed my cloudboarding tournament," Scootaloo replied. "I really wanted to compete."

"You'll have another chance."

"I'm not sure if I will. My scooter is toast," Scootaloo replied.

"What happened?" Apple Bloom asked.

"My parents broke my hardcloud one," Scootaloo replied, "I still have my old one, but what good is it? It can't float on clouds."

"Ain't there a way to use magic fer that?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know how to do it. Do you, Sweetie Belle?"

"No," she replied.

"The only pony in town who would know is Twilight, and I'm not going to her for help.”

"Ah don't blame yah."

"Yeah. She's a jerk!"

“Besides, I'm too big for it now."

"So are we goin' crusading today?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I can't. I'm grounded for getting into a fight,” Scootaloo said dully.

"Yah get in fights all the time," Apple Bloom pointed out.

"Yeah, but I accidentally broke her leg," Scootaloo explained. "Earth pony strength."

“Huh,” Sweetie Belle said.

“You should be careful,” Scootaloo said. “You might end up hurting somepony too.”

“Yeah, Ah remember Applejack tellin’ me tah be careful with where Ah kick, especially somepony who aint an earth pony,” Apple Bloom said.

Several yards away, a purple baby dragon heard every word.

Spike came home to find Twilight reading book after book. Deciding to leave her to it, he went about putting away the ones she had finished.

"Oh no," Twilight moaned.

"What is it?" Spike asked, putting down the book he was carrying.

"It says when a griffon wants to make amends with another, they bring a kill. If the griffon accepts the apology, they'll eat the kill," Twilight read.

"What are you doing?" Spike asked.

"Rainbow Dash won't listen to me, and Rarity suggested I do something to make this right, so I looked up griffon customs."

"Oh. So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to do whatever it takes to make this right," Twilight said, pulling several more books off the shelves and pushing aside the ones she had been looking at.

"Come on! It's hard enough keeping up with your normal messes!" Spike complained, grabbing the discarded books.

"Sorry, Spike, but I need to find the right kind of spell."

"You know how to kill with magic," Spike pointed out.

"I can't do that, Spike! It's wrong!" Twilight said, sounding a bit unhinged.

"Twilight, calm down! You're losing it again!" Spike shouted.

"But if I just happened to leave a dormant spell lying around," Twilight continued muttering to herself, ignoring him, "a kill spell, activated when a creature walks by it, and it trips, that's not murder! Right? Right! Right? Right."

"Twilight...." Spike said patting her on the back.

"Ah ha! Magic traps! Perfect!" Twilight said, finding the book she was looking for.

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"I don't envy you," Clance said to the Princess. She gave him a curious look. "Not one bit. I find it hard enough to care for just my clan. I don't think I could handle an entire nation. Being a Princess must feel like a curse sometimes."

"It does wear on me, but I have Luna to help bear the burden," Celestia replied. "So how did you become clan leader?" she asked.

"It was during the last civil war. As we call it, The Civil War That Defined Murder. I was just one of many warriors, doing my duty. Then one day a messenger came to my platoon and informed me that Toupa, the matriarch before me had been killed in battle, and I was the new patriarch."

"Just like that? What did you do?"

"Went right back into battle. Killing other beings is wrong and we had to make it that way for all griffons. Even to this day my clan, along with the Alsara clan are on the front lines, stopping those that would break this rule. Wouldn't you agree it is only right to sacrifice yourself for the good of all beings?"

"Maybe, but I have a lot more riding on my life," Celestia replied.

"Yes, I'd suppose so," Clance said chuckling. "But I'll be damned if I'm not going to do whatever it takes to secure a lasting peace for griffons."

"Is that why you adopted Rainbow Dash?"

"Hardly. She's one impressive pony."

"I have to agree with you on that."

"When Gilda, my older daughter... well they’re about the same age. Anyway, when Gilda brought her home with her, I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid of how our different way of life would affect her. I can see my fears were unwarranted.”

Deep in the dark forest, a lone unicorn waited impatiently. All around, placed about a yard apart, was a network of magic traps, set to unleash horrible dark magics upon any creature unlucky enough to step on one. It had been almost an hour, and mercifully still no wildlife had passed. She had to stay, lest some unfortunate pony happen by. At least she could warn them and stop them from getting too close.

Maybe they could smell the unicorn, or sense the doom. In a way the unicorn was glad they hadn't come near. The unicorn was really dreading what would result if one did happen to stumble near. The unicorn was so lost in her own thoughts, she didn't hear a creature approaching until the magical discharge alerted her.

Carefully she turned and saw a fox lying on the forest floor like it was asleep, twigs and leaves noticeably disturbed by the spells activation. Focusing, the unicorn undid the remaining spells, then walked over to the broken body. Now came the hard part.

"Hey, Scoots. How was school?" Rainbow Dash greeted as the small filly entered the cloud home. She just glared at the older pegasus. "That bad?"

"I'd say you have no idea, but I doubt that. It was pretty sucky until Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle showed up."

"They weren't there in the morning?"

"Some of Apple Bloom’s bites got opened up last night." Scootaloo answered.

"And they call us the savage ones. Weather patrol was pretty lame too. Good thing it's all pegasi though. They're at least used to griffon habits."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said, slumping down in a chair.

"Hey, cheer up. We're going to Shattered Beak either tomorrow or the day after. You can probably get a new scooter there," Rainbow Dash said.

"I thought I was grounded," Scootaloo grumbled.

"You are, but what's the point in saying you're grounded if I'm gone all day. If you're with me, I can make sure you're being punished."

*Knock Knock*

"Hmm. I bet I know who that is," Rainbow Dash said putting on her best, disinterested face.

Twilight knocked on the cloud door. A minute later, a blue pegasus opened it and stared blankly at her.

"Rainbow Dash, I am truly sorry for what I did and I hope you will accept this as proof of how sorry I am," Twilight said. She closed her eyes as she levitated the fox carcass from behind her to her front. The pegasus looked at it, bored.

"I don't accept it," Rainbow Dash said dully.

"Rainbow Dash, I'm sorry! What more can I do?" Twilight begged.

"You just don't get it, Twilight. No amount of apologizing to me is going to make me forgive you." Rainbow Dash said. She then closed the door in the unicorn's face.

"Spike. I don't know what to do!" Twilight cried into her hooves. Her draconian brother handed her another tissue. "I'm a murderer now and it didn't help at all!"

"You're not a murderer Twilight. What did she say?" Spike asked. The unicorn had been so distraught when she arrived home, her words had been incomprehensible. He didn't ask about the dead fox she had dragged behind her with her magic.

"She said she wouldn't ever forgive me, no matter what I did to apologize to her," Twilight wailed. Her pillow was soaking wet, but she didn't care enough to dry it with a spell.

"Is that exactly what she said?" Spike asked, trying to help.

"Close enough," Twilight said, sniffing.

"Ohhhhhhhh. I get it," Spike said, finally realizing what the problem was.

"You do? Tell me!" Twilight exclaimed, grabbing Spike by the arms.

"No, I won't." Spike said, pushing her off.

"Please, Spike, I want my friends back!" Twilight cried.

"I get what Rainbow Dash meant, and you won't learn your lesson if I just tell you. You'll just have to figure it out on your own," Spike said.

"Tell me!" Twilight demanded.

"NO," Spike growled.

"Please, Spike..."

"I'll tell you this. You're going about it all wrong. It's not that you haven't done enough, you just haven't done the right thing yet," Spike said.

"That doesn't help me at all!" Twilight protested.

"That's all I'm going to say," Spike said defiantly.

"Even if I bribed you, with say, a diamond?" Twilight asked seductively.

"A... diamond...." Spike said, licking his lips. He slapped himself. "No. That's all you're getting out of me. I've said too much as it is."

"Fine," Twilight grumbled. She sat down and began to think things through.

I haven't apologized the right way. I ki- brought that dead fox to Rainbow Dash, but that didn't work. Should I have brought something else? No that makes no sense. She would have said something like it was too small. She has to be waiting for me to do something. But what? There has to be a clue in what she said. Something that made Spike get it.

No matter what I do to apologize Rainbow Dash won't forgive me. No, that's not what she said. Spike even asked to be sure. There has to be something in the way she said what she said that gave it away. But what? No matter what I do to her she won't forgive me...!

"I got it!" Twilight exclaimed, startling the poor dragon and waking the phoenix chick, Peewee. "She won't forgive me because I'm apologizing to the wrong pony! She wants me to apologize to Scootaloo! But what do I do?"

"There, I think I can help," Spike said. "I know exactly what you can do."

"Does it involve more murder?" Twilight asked nervously.

"Just some magic," Spike said. "First, you need the right spells."

Once again, the purple unicorn knocked on the cloud door, and once again a bored looking pegasus opened it.

"What now?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"Um, can I talk with Scootaloo?" Twilight asked.

"If she wants to talk with you," Rainbow Dash replied. She closed the door, gently this time. After a few minutes the door opened again but an orange pegasus was standing there.

"What do you want?" Scootaloo asked, trying to mimic her mother's demeanor.

"Look, I’m really sorry for putting you through all that. The way I acted was wrong. I shouldn’t have even thought about taking you away from Rainbow Dash.”

Scootaloo stared blankly.

“And, as a way to help fix the bridge between us I burned, I have this,” Twilight said. From behind her, she produced a familiar blue scooter, levitating it with her magic. Gently, she placed it on the ground between them.

“Is that...” Scootaloo said in surprise.

“I heard how your parents broke your other one, so I kind of borrowed your other one from the clubhouse and cast some magic on it,” Twilight explained. “It’s bigger than it used to be, and it’ll float on clouds now.”

“I... how did you even know?” Scootaloo said, confused. She delicately stepped onto the wooden scooter. True to Twilight’s word, it was bigger to match her larger size, and sat on the clouds like the hardcloud one had.

“Do you think you can ever forgive me for putting you through all that?” Twilight asked.

"Look, this is cool and all. I mean it actually worked out okay, I'm free of prison forever, sure I have to put up with my parents once a month, but I got two sisters out of this," Scootaloo said, holding the scooter. "I'll completely forgive you, but on one condition."

"Just one?"

Scootaloo leaned in and whispered, "I'm working on a present for Rainbow Dash, but I need to learn enchantments. If you promise to help me, we'll be okay."

"Of course I'll help!" Twilight agreed. "I've always wanted to teach a pony magic!"

"Just keep it a secret."

"I won't tell."

“I’ll go tell Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said. She went inside with the scooter. A minute later, Rainbow Dash came out, her expression somewhat softened from before.

"Rainbow Dash, I’m really sorry for how I acted. I-”

"I’m sorry too," Rainbow Dash replied. "It was kinda my fault. I should have told you girls a long time ago. Maybe we could have avoided this whole fiasco if I hadn’t been keeping so many secrets from you."

"Maybe. Are we okay?” Twilight asked nervously.

“No. But I think I’m willing to start forgiving you.”

“Oh.”

“Twilight, I just want you to know I never made Scootaloo do anything. Everything was something she insisted on doing. I would never dream of letting her eat meat or hunt unless she knew exactly what she was getting into. That’s more than I got.”

“Huh?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Gilda didn’t think to mention I was eating meat until I’d eaten my first lump of pork,” Rainbow Dash said snidely. “I told Scoots exactly what it was and where it came from, and she wanted it anyway.”

“You’re her idol, she’d do anything to be like you.”

“True, true,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “I am pretty awesome. Who wouldn’t want to be like me?”

“That just...” Twilight stopped and took a deep breath. “Rainbow, I promise not to flip out at you for your... habits if you promise to not keep bringing it up. Please? It really grosses me out.”

“I’ve kept it quiet this long,” Rainbow Dash said, smirking.

“I hope we can just move on.”

"Look, I'm glad Scoots forgave you, but I haven't completely," Rainbow Dash said.

"Let me guess, you need a favor."

"How did you know?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight just shrugged.

"Anyway, Scoots's birthday is coming up in a couple months, and I have a slight idea on what I want to get her, but I need your magic know how."

"Of course I'll help!"

"Just keep it a secret."

"I won't tell,” Twilight replied. “What do you need to know?”

“I’m not sure if you will want to answer it. I’ll just get a book on it instead,” Rainbow Dash said, trying to back out of the deal.

“But you said you needed my expertise.”

“I could just look it up,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Oh, just ask what you want to ask!” Twilight demanded.

“Well, it’s just...” Rainbow Dash said awkwardly. “It has to do with us hunting...”

“Oh,” Twilight said, understanding the nervousness. “Just ask but... spare me the details...”

“Well, Scoots knows this spell. Or maybe it’s two, I dunno. Anyway, it started when she learned how to make magic teeth.”

“Magic teeth?”

“Yeah, so they were sharp enough for meat. It’s hard to eat it with just these,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing to her open mouth. “Her teeth get this blue glow and they cut through it.”

“Like blades?”

“I guess. Then, she figured out how to actually make the same magic effect around other things. I know you don’t want to hear the details, but she basically makes the blade thing around other things to hunt.”

“I’ve heard of that kind of spell, it makes a sharp edge of magic around a given object,” Twilight replied. “So what’s your question?”

“See, I had this idea. Right now it works okay, but she uses her own feathers, but that only works when she’s molting, and I have a set of claws. Basically a bunch of knives strapped to my leg. I tried letting her use mine, and just make the magic go through it, to see if just plain metal works, but she can’t keep it up for very long, but the teeth thing she can, so is it the material?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, right away. “Because it’s not part of her body, it takes more magic to maintain. There is a type of metal alloy that conducts magic very well. If you had some strips, she could channel the spell through them and make the blades from that. The alloy wouldn’t have that problem.”

“Perfect! What’s it called? And where can I get it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It’s called mananite, but getting it’s the problem. It’s pretty rare and expensive.”

“Like, how expensive?”

“About three thousand bits for a block.”

“Three thousand bits!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “That’s like two months’ salary!”

“There are other options,” Twilight said, trying to think of another, cheaper solution.

“Could we find some?”

“It’s an alloy, you can’t find raw mananite because there is no raw form, and the components are also rare and heavily protected. All the raw component deposits in Equestria are under constant Royal guard.”

Rainbow Dash sat quietly for a minute. “Do you really think it’s the best option?”

“Yes,” Twilight replied.

“And nothing else will even come close to working as well?”

“Not really, no.

Rainbow Dash went quiet again, thinking deeply. “I bet I could get a lot for my Young Flyers crown. Maybe enough to cover this. Maybe the goggles Spitfire signed, if it’s not.”

“Those are your prized possessions.” Twilight asked, surprised. “You’d really sell them?”

“They’re just things, Twilight. Things that are collecting dust on my shelf. I’d rather she have some good memories.”

“Still, that’s kind of a lot to spend on a filly.”

“It’s going to be her first birthday,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I want it to be special, you know?”

“Her first with you?”

“No, her first ever. Orphanages don’t celebrate them, and I don’t think she ever had a party before in Ponyville. Anyway, it was just a thought. Maybe something else would be more practical.”

“You really care about her, don’t you?”

“Pinkie had to stop me from rounding up my whole clan and storming their house to get her back.”

“Really?” Twilight asked, horrified.

“No, but I felt like it.”

“I think I might know of a way we could get some,” Twilight said, smiling.

“Oh?”

“I remember my brother mentioning the Royal Guard has a large supply of it for weapons,” Twilight said. “Maybe you can work something out with them. I don’t think you’d need a lot of it.”

“He could help me out?”

“I’ll send him a letter,” Twilight replied. “Anything else I can do to help?”

“I need is an excuse to get her out of the house for a few days, so she doesn’t notice while I get it and make it.”

“Hmm... I have an idea, but it’ll cost a lot too,” Twilight said. “Magic camp.”

“Magic camp?”

“Yeah, in Canterlot, every so often they have a sort of camp for young unicorns. They teach them some basic spells to see if they have a gift for magic. It’s about a week long and coincides with school vacations. If you want, you could sign Scootaloo up for it, then take care of the gift while she’s away. There’s one next month.”

“Sounds cool, and perfect timing! I don’t know if I could afford it, but I’m sure I can find a way.”

Twilight smiled. “Actually, I have a solution for that too.”

“Oh?”

“There’s a scholarship for the camp. You need a recommendation from a court mage to get it, but it covers almost all of it.”

“And you’re just such a mage?”

“Yup!”

“So, you’ll give her a recommendation?”

“Of course.”

“Now to see if she’s up for it,” Rainbow Dash said, cupping her hooves around her muzzle. “HEY, SCOOTS!” she called. A minute later, Scootaloo came back outside. “Twilight says there’s a camp in Canterlot where you can go to learn magic and stuff.”

“Uh huh,” Scootaloo said.

“You’d learn a lot there,” Twilight said, “levitation, transformation, some illusion spells, maybe conjuration or even enchantments.”

Scootaloo’s ears twitched. Twilight mentally clapped her hooves. It worked like a charm. Both pony’s problems solved at once.

“And I can go?” Scootaloo asked.

“I’ll take care of it,” Rainbow Dash said.

“What about Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo asked.

“I’ll have to talk with their sisters, but if they agree, they can go too,” Twilight replied. “I know Apple Bloom could certainly use it for the sake of my front door.”

“Awesome!” Scootaloo cheered.

“You’ll have a lot of fun. My mom is one of the teachers there!”

“Why don’t you go make sure the cake don’t burn while I work everything out with Twilight?”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said, scampering off into the house.

“A cake?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I wanted to thank Pinkie for helping me,”

“But a cake? Do you even know how to bake one?”

“No, but Scoots does,” Rainbow Dash replied. “She spends a lot of time at Sugarcube Corner. She knows what goes in it, and I know how to cook things.”

“So do you forgive me?” Twilight asked when they were alone again.

“Of course, Twilight. We’re friends,” Rainbow Dash said, patting her friend’s shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re willing to forgive me. I thought you never would after the last time I was here.”

"I was really surprised when you brought that dead fox. What was up with that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"A book I read said that's how griffons apologize," Twilight explained. "Was it wrong?"

"Maybe not a thousand years ago," Rainbow Dash replied. "That is so old fashioned. And for future reference, griffons don't eat raw meat anyway. It's just gross and could make a pony sick. Not them, they’re pretty resistant to stuff like that, but I’m careful about it."

“Make a pony sick?” Twilight asked. “And you eat it anyway?”

“I always cook it first. That takes care of anything in it. The first time I taught her to hunt, I also taught her how to cook, and why you should. Don’t tell her this, but I’m really glad she wanted to go hunting. I was probably going to have to start doing it again myself.”

“Why?”

“Do you know how expensive a filly can be? Sure my job pays for food for me, but not for two ponies. It’s pretty expensive even with the great deals I get on meat. I know a lot of the guys over in Shattered Beak and they let it go for a fair price, but it’s still a lot. Hunting is free. Between that and her medical bills, I’m happy to be break even.”

“If you needed bits-”

“I was making ends meet, but just barely. I don’t need charity,” Rainbow Dash said sternly. “I don’t want it, and I don’t need it.”

“Still there are all sorts of tax breaks. You’re not even claiming her as a dependent!”

“Well I didn’t want anypony to figure out who she was,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Would it even change that much?”

Twilight crunched some numbers in the air. “Well, seeing as you’re an orphan yourself, that’s a credit-”

“Not. I’m part of the Qnak clan. I’m not legally an orphan. Trust me, I looked into that a long time ago.”

“Still, you have a dependent now, that’s a deduction, the dependent is a former ward of the state, another deduction, single parent-”

“Okay, so I could probably be saving a lot. I’ll fix it now that it doesn’t matter if anypony knows.”

“I’ll make sure to change your tax forms for this year.”

“My accountant, my lawyer, is there anything I don’t depend on you for?” Rainbow Dash joked.

“I’m also the executress for your will. Speaking of which, you need to get that remade, adopting Scootaloo nullified the old one.”

“Just another thing to do. Gotta find her a therapist to make the cops happy too.”

“When you have a day off, stop by the library and we’ll take care of it,” Twilight said with a smile.

“Thanks, Twi’.”

“No, thank you for forgiving me,” Twilight said.

“And then they totally started making out. Twilight grabbed-”

“Spike, stop embellishing my letters to the Princess!” Twilight demanded.

“How did you know?” Spiked asked.

“You were talking out loud,” Twilight said dully. “There was no ‘making out’.”

“How am I supposed to know that? I wasn’t there.”

Twilight slapped her face with a hoof. “Just remove that part and send the letter, please.”

“Awww... fine.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 7: To Canterlot!

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 7: Magic Camp

Chapter 19: To Canterlot!

“Cutie Mark Crusader Campers!” the trio of fillies cheered as the train departed Ponyville Station.

“Take care now!” Rarity called after them.

“Learn lots!” Applejack ordered.

“Just make sure you have fun!” Rainbow Dash added.

Before long, Ponyville was a blob in the distance, and ahead loomed Canterlot, where the three would be spending the next week.

It had been easy to convince Rarity to let Sweetie Belle go. Getting Apple Bloom to go had been harder. Apple Bloom had tried arguing that she might get her cutie mark, but Applejack countered that by pointing out her special talent couldn’t be something she shouldn’t normally have. In the end, after realizing Apple Bloom would probably spend the whole week following her around, Applejack agreed to let her sister go.

Scootaloo was really excited. Not only would she have a chance to learn the enchantments she needed, Canterlot also had great blacksmiths. She was sure to find one who could make what she needed to enchant. Sure she’d seen its nastier corners in her travels, but she could easily avoid them along with anypony who might recognize her.

The trio disembarked from the train and headed toward Canterlot castle where the camp was to be held. The magic camp would take place on the grounds, and there were plenty of guards and signs directing foals to the correct location to meet in one of the gardens outside the School for Gifted Unicorns.

As they approached they saw numerous other foals outside, waiting about. There were quite a few there, but at least they would be divided up to make things more manageable for the instructors. As they got into the midst of them, Scootaloo thought she saw somepony she knew.

“Starflare?” Scootaloo called out. The filly looked just like her.

“Scootaloo?” the filly called back. She smiled and galloped over.

“It is you!” Scootaloo cheered, hugging her sister. “Girls, this is Starflare, one of my sisters.”

“I’m Sweetie Belle.”

“Apple Bloom.”

“Nice to meet you!” Starflare returned.

“So, how have things been with Reflection and Star Dust?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, mom was really upset we lost you again, and dad wanted to come after you anyway. Eventually they calmed down.”

“I was worried they’d do something to you two after you defended me.”

“They were too busy being mad about losing you to remember,” Starflare replied. “So, what brings you to Canterlot?”

“We’re goin’ tah Magic Camp!” Apple Bloom replied.

“Really? Me too!” Starflare cheered. “Mom and dad dropped me off earlier today. I’m just waiting for it to start.”

“Cool,” Sweetie Belle said.

“So when does camp start?” Scootaloo asked.

“Not for a couple hours,” Starflare replied.

“So Ah guess we have tah wait,” Apple Bloom said glumly.

“Well why don’t we hang out until it starts,” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Great idea!” Starflare agreed.

“So if we’re meeting your brother, why are we going to the palace? Shouldn’t we go to the barracks?” Rainbow Dash asked as she flew Twilight into Canterlot on a cloud.

Twilight had been nervous about flying, especially with Rainbow Dash, but she had to trust her friend again or they would never be real friends.

“Princess Celestia wanted me to meet somepony. It just happened to be today that Shining Armor wanted to meet us too,” Twilight replied.

Rainbow Dash grunted, but took the cloud down near the front door to the castle. Twilight got off, and Rainbow Dash sent the cloud away with a kick.

“Hello, Twilight. You made it just in time,” Princess Celestia said. She strode outside to meet them. “And I see you have brought Rainbow Dash along.”

“It’s the fastest way here,” Twilight replied. “So who am I meeting?”

“She’ll be arriving shortly,” Princess Celestia said. “You can see the balloon now.”

Princess Celestia pointed at a small balloon in the distance, gently floating towards the castle.

It landed by the palace steps and a strange, but familiar pony got out. She was green, with some metal braces on her legs. Upon her back were not wings, but fins, and she had no mane or tail, not even a stub. Behind her followed a gray earth pony. She walked very slowly and awkwardly, one step at a time, almost like an oversized foal walking for the first time. She seemed to have the most difficulty with the rear legs, trying to move them together most of the time.

“Seafoam?” Twilight cried.

“Hello, Ambassador Sparkle,” Seafoam replied. “It is nice to see you again.”

“Woah, cool!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Thanks to that water breathing potion you discovered, I managed to devise one that worked the other way,” the gray pony following her said. “We’re lucky that their bodies haven’t evolved that much and the bones were still present. All it took was a little magic and some braces and we have a land walking sea pony.”

“I’ve never exactly walked before, but I’ll manage,” Seafoam said.

“I’m Gearbox by the way,” Gearbox said to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “I’m an inventor.”

“Welcome to Canterlot,” Princess Celestia said to Seafoam. She then turned to Gearbox. “I see my sister did well to hire your services.”

“This can hardly be called my work,” Gearbox said. “It was your court mages that did the magic.”

“I just flew in a balloon, something no seapony has ever done. I’m amazed no matter who is responsible,” Seafoam said.

“So what are you doing here?” Twilight asked.

“The king was so embarrassed over what happened, he decided enough was enough and he would send an ambassador here,” Seafoam explained. “I was the logical choice given my extensive experience dealing with surface dwellers. I’ll be here for quite a while.”

“I’ve already installed a tank in one of the rooms for her, and prepared a few gallons of the potion so there’s no danger of the effects wearing off,” Gearbox said. “I have other projects to work on, so if you have any problems, send me a message. Princess Celestia’s messenger dragon knows me.” With that, the gray pony walked off rapidly.

“Are you busy all day?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Just initial negotiations today,” Seafoam replied.

“How about you come visit Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash suggested. “We’ll give you the grand tour.”

“I really should take care of business first,” Seafoam said.

“That’s okay. We have things to do in Canterlot first,” Twilight said. “We could come by later.”

“I think that will work out fine,” Princess Celestia said.

“Yes, it shouldn’t take long,” Seafoam said. “The King is quite eager to help now.”

“Welcome, everypony, to magic camp. My name is Velvet Sparkle, and I’ll be your teacher for the week,” the friendly white unicorn mare said, greeting the dozen foals before her. “I see some familiar faces and some new ones as well. Now, does anypony have a question for me?”

“Is it true yer Twilight’s mom?” Apple Bloom asked.

“You mean Twilight Sparkle? Yes, she’s my daughter.”

“I have a question!” a dark gray unicorn colt said. “Why is there an earth pony and a pegasus here?”

“They might be changelings!” exclaimed a yellow winged unicorn.

Scootaloo whipped up a light wind that tousled their manes. “Does that answer your question?”

“My daughter recommended all three of them,” Velvet Sparkle added. “Anypony else have a question for me?” She waited a few seconds before continuing. “How about we go around and introduce ourselves. Just give us your name and something about you related to magic. It can be a favorite spell, or something you want to learn, or the first spell you learned. Anything related to magic. You first,” she said, pointing to the colt who had questioned Scootaloo and Apple Bloom’s presence.

“I’m Iggy. I want to learn how to become invisible.”

“I’m afraid that’s a bit more advanced than anything we’ll be covering,” Velvet Sparkle said.

“My name is Blue Heart, and... I’m not really good at magic. I guess I’d like to learn how to walk on clouds,” said a light blue unicorn with a teal mane.

“That spell isn’t as common as it should be,” Velvet said. “I’ll make sure we make time to learn it.”

“Um... Frostfire. I use spells other ponies don’t like to talk about.” This filly was gray with a blue and red mane partially hidden by a floppy hat.

“I think I remember you from the last camp, though I believe you had a different teacher.”

“Spice!” declared a pink filly with a purple mane

“Sugar!” added a second filly, with the same color scheme, but lighter in shade.

“We can do this!” they said together, their horns glowing.

“And that is?” Iggy asked.

“Tele-” Sugar started.

“-Pathy,” Spice finished.

“I’ve... never seen that before,” Velvet said, surprised.

“Only we-” Spice started.

“Can do it,” Sugar finished.

“I’m Silver Star,” said a gray filly with a white mane. “My first spell was teleportation.”

“Very nice,” Velvet commented.

“I’m Scootaloo, and I want to learn how to enchant things,” Scootaloo announced.

“I don’t know if we’ll have time to go over that, but I might be able to help you with the basics,” Velvet Sparkle replied.

“Name’s Apple Bloom. Ah don’t really know much about magic, but Ah’d like tah get better at this,” Apple Bloom said. She summoned her bag to herself, but it stopped just short of hitting her face.

“Don’t worry, we’ll help you with levitation.”

“My name is Sweetie Belle, and I like to sing magic.”

“Right, Twilight told me you could do vocal magic,” Velvet Sparkle said. “You’ll have to show us some time.”

“I’m Starflare, and I’m really good at light magic.”

“Very fitting for your name.”

“I’m Sketch. I’m only here because my parents made me come.”

“That’s not a magic fact, Sketch.”

“Fine. I only know levitation,” he said, grunting.

Velvet turned to the last pony, the winged unicorn. “And you are?”

He looked about nervously. “Uh... Quickquib.”

“And your fact?”

“I... um... don’t know any magic?” he said awkwardly.

“Well it is nice to have you all here,” Velvet said when they were all finished. “Now if you will all follow me, I’ll show you around the camp.”

“Shining!” Twilight greeted, seeing her brother outside the barracks, waiting for her.

“Twili! How have you been?” Shining Armor asked, trotting over.

“I’ve been so busy lately,” Twilight replied.

“So, um, you said you can get me mananite?” Rainbow Dash whispered.

“Yes and no,” Shining Armor replied, not lowering his voice. “I can’t just give you mananite. I’m just a captain, and I’d have to justify it to my superiors. I’d have to do it in exchange for a service to the guards or other valuable materials.”

“Sorry, I can’t join the guards at all,” Rainbow Dash said, “I served in a foreign military.”

“That wasn’t my idea,” Shining Armor replied. “You see, there’s a lot of rumors going around right now, about a long dead pony tribe not being dead after all. A tribe much more advanced than we are.”

“So you want some terra pony tech? That’s easy, there’s a huge pile of it in her basement,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing to Twilight.

“I’m interested in weapons,” Shining Armor replied. “Equestria’s weapons are primitive by comparison to other countries. We only keep them at bay with magic, and that’s not good enough.”

“Well we don’t have any weapons right now,” Twilight replied.

“That’s fine, I’ll give you the mananite now, and you can give it to me when you get some.”

“Why do we have to give it to just you?” Twilight asked.

“Because I won’t see it, otherwise.”

“Celestia would probably have it destroyed,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “Remember how she reacted to the last terra pony? So will anything do, or are you looking for anything specific?”

“Well, I’m not sure what kind of war machines they would have, if they even have any. Weapon stockpiles would be good too. Especially firehooves and gunpowder. You know how expensive that stuff is,” Shining Armor replied.

“It’s a deal. Any terra pony weapons we find are yours,” Rainbow Dash said, shaking his hoof.

“Great. How much mananite do you need?”

“Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I’ve worked out a design that will work the best for what you are trying to do,” Twilight replied. “We just need two bars.”

“I’ll grab some now,” Shining Armor said.

“Okay, when I say go, I want you to hit the target with your magic,” Velvet instructed. The group had moved to another part of the grounds. Fifty feet away were a series of bullseyes. The foals stood behind a line in the grass.

“What does she mean ‘hit it’?” Apple Bloom asked.

“She didn’t say what spell, so I guess whatever spell you want,” Scootaloo replied.

“But I don’t know any spells like that!” Apple Bloom protested.

“Go!” Velvet Sparkle shouted.

“Just hit it with that stomp spell,” Scootaloo replied. Then she turned her attention to the target, and built up her magic. She focused it like she had so many times before, then unleashed it. The red and white target flashed blue before a deep slice appeared across it. It didn’t go more than a quarter inch into it, but Scootaloo was proud of herself anyway.

Next to her, Apple Bloom contemplated how to stomp the target from where they were. She tried seeing what the other foals were doing. They simply got their horns glowing, and sent a bolt of that color at the target, but she didn’t know how to do that. Rather than risk failing, she charged her hoof and stomped. The ground shook momentarily, before a cloud of dirt knocked the bullseye over.

“Let’s see how you did,” Velvet said once all the foals had fired their spells. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both looked equally nervous, as theirs stood out dramatically. All the others looked the same, a big scorch mark, though the other foals didn’t all hit the same spot. “Um...”

“Sorry, buh Ah didn’t know what spell Ah was supposed tah use,” Apple Bloom said, dragging her hoof in the dirt.

“Me neither,” Scootaloo admitted.

“I didn’t mean any spell, just a blast of magic,” Velvet replied.

“Oh. I don’t know how to do that,” Scootaloo replied.

“Same,” Apple Bloom added.

“Don’t worry, you’re here to learn this stuff. Why don’t you show me what spell you did use?”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said. She charged her magic and slashed at the target. Her angle must have been off because a small piece of the wooden target fell off.

“Eeep!” Silver Star squeaked.

“Okay, and you, Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom focused and stomped again. The resulting eruption was smaller this time, a consequence of her low magic.

“I’m telling you, changelings!” Quickquib declared.

“Those are both uncommon spells, you know,” Velvet commented. “Now the magic bolt is not a spell at all, but rather a release of raw magic. It’s a bit inefficient but can be invaluable in a pinch. All you do is gather up your magic and simply send it out in one direction. Why don’t you give it a try?”

“Okay,” Scootaloo said. She could already feel her magic coming back, so she summoned it up until her wings glowed. Then she released it. The glow simply vanished and the magic retreated to the pool inside her. Scootaloo growled at herself and tried again.

When her wings were glowing again, she did what she usually did when she was frustrated and flicked her wings. This time something happened. The magic popped out of her wings, but instead of coming out in a single bolt, it caused an eruption of what looked like blue fog to appear, extending a few feet in front of her, then it dissipated quickly.

“You have to condense the magic before releasing it,” Velvet said calmly. “Apple Bloom, why don’t you give it a try?”

Apple Bloom nodded. It took a little longer for her hoof to glow, but when it did, she was at a loss as to how to release the energy. She tried waving her hoof, flexing her leg, but nothing worked. Finally she tried thrusting the leg forward. That did the trick, and a green ball of magic flew forward and struck the ground near the target.

“Very good. I want you all to keep trying until you can hit the center twice in a row,” Velvet instructed.

The foals returned to practice and soon the garden was alight with various colors of magic being fired around. By the end of the hour, most had accomplished the goal of two consecutive bulls-eyes, though it was hard to tell now with all the scorch marks on the targets. Even Apple Bloom had hanged to get a couple in the center, but not in a row.

“We’re all a bit low, so why don’t you all take a break to recoup your magic,” Velvet Sparkle said. “Be back in an hour.”

“Yay!” the foals cheered and rushed off, some in pairs, some by themselves, eager to explore Canterlot. Scootaloo just stood there frustrated. She hadn’t managed to progress past the puff of blue smoke. No matter how hard she tried focusing the magic together, it still did nothing.

“Why don’t you take a rest? The break will help,” Velvet said trotting over.

“I don’t need a break,” Scootaloo retorted. “I need to learn this!”

“Now now, Clopstantinople wasn’t built in a day. With all the magic you’re using, I’m sure you need to recover.”

“Not really,” Scootaloo replied. “My doctor says I have a really high regeneration rate.”

“Still, taking a break will give you time to think of a new approach.”

“Okay...” Scootaloo reluctantly left and headed into town. Might as well get things in motion now.

“They’ll be ready in a week,” the smithy said.

“Great. Thank you. I’ll be back then,” Rainbow Dash said. She left, and immediately bumped into a certain filly.

“Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked.

“Oh, hey,” Rainbow Dash said.

“What... what are you doing here?” Scootaloo asked.

“Just... dropping off some of our knives to be sharpened,” Rainbow Dash lied.

“Can’t you have that done in Ponyville?” Scootaloo asked, suspicious now.

“Yeah, but the Canterlot smiths are way better,” Rainbow Dash said. “Well I have to get going. Twilight’s waiting for me.”

“Okay.” Scootaloo didn’t even have time to register that Twilight was also in Canterlot and what that could possibly mean before Rainbow Dash flew off. Scootaloo didn’t bother following her, and instead walked into the shop.

“Hello?” she asked.

“Can I help you?” the earth pony smith grunted.

“I’m looking to have some blades forged.”

“Okay, what metal?”

“Steel I guess,” Scootaloo said. “What else is there for blades?”

“I have a few ingots on display, take a look,” the smith said. He waved a hoof to one wall. Along it was a series of shelves with single metal bars sitting on display. “Pick any one you like and I’ll tell you what it’ll cost.”

Scootaloo walked over to the wall and gazed at the various blocks of metal. None looked particularly impressive until she found one that was an iridescent purple. And beside it was a blue one! and a green one! There was a whole line of colored metal bars!

“Nice huh? They cost more than regular steel, and they’re a bit weaker, but they’re great for decoration.”

“How much are these?” she asked.

“Depends on the size of the blade,” the smith said. Scootaloo rummaged around in her tail and produced a tracing she had made of one of the blades from Rainbow Dash’s claws. She placed it on the counter.

“I need six of these.”

That looks like... huh. “Any particular color?”

“Um... red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Can I do one of each?” Scootaloo asked.

“Hmmm. I wouldn’t need a whole bar for each, but they’re not really fit for cutting.”

“I’ll use magic to reinforce them,” Scootaloo said.

“Fair enough. I’ll do it for 1200 bits.”

“Twelve hundred!” Scootaloo cried. She pulled out her bag of money. She was well below that.

“That’s the lowest I can go,” the smith said.

“I only have one hundred bits. Is there anything I can do to make up the difference?”

The smith looked at her for a moment. “Maybe.”

“I’ll do anything!”

“I’ll do it in exchange for star metal,” the smith said.

“What metal?” Scootaloo asked, confused.

“Foal, yah ever heard of a shooting star?”

“Yes.”

“Well sometimes they actually land in Equestria. What lands is a really high quality metal called star metal. If you can bring me at least ten pounds, I’ll do the job for free.”

“Where am I supposed to find something like that?” Scootaloo cried. She hardly saw shooting stars, let alone one that hit the ground.

“You’re in luck little filly,” the smith said. he calmly strode outside and Scootaloo followed. Once outside, he pointed at a distant mountain. “Do you see that slide? It kind of curves to the left at the bottom?”

“Yeah.”

“Last night I saw a shooting star land near the top of the slide. Normally I’d have my brother go get it, but the idiot went and broke his wing three days ago. You’re a pegasus so you should have no trouble getting it instead. If it’s over ten pounds, you’ve got yourself a free set of blades.”

“I’ll do it.”

“I think he will like what we have discussed.,” Seafoam said.

“Excellent. Nova, have you got everything?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Yes, Princess,” the white messenger dragon with yellow spikes said.

“Will you need to rewrite it on waterproof paper?” Princess Celestia asked Seafoam.

“That is part of Glare’s job,” Seafoam replied.

“Very well. Nova, could you send it please?”

“Right away,” Nova said. She rolled up the scroll then set in on fire.

“Ah, and right on time,” Princess Celestia said as Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked into the throne room.

“Yes, we just finished up for the day,” Seafoam added.

“So will you be coming to Ponyville with us?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Of course. I want to see everything I can while I’m here,” Seafoam said. “I have a bottle of air breathing potion if I need it.”

“Alright, to the train station!” Rainbow Dash declared, sticking a hoof into the air.

“The train station?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well yeah. I don’t think Seafoam can walk on clouds, and she has enough magic in her right now. Plus it’ll be nice,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“I’d love to see what a train is,” Seafoam said.

“We won’t make it to Ponyville until nightfall,” Rainbow Dash said. “But then we’ll have tomorrow.”

“I don’t know if I should spend that much time away from my work,” Seafoam said.

“I’m sure your King will need time to go over what we discussed,” Princess Celestia said. “If anything important comes up, I’ll just send you a message.”

“You could stay at my house if you want,” Twilight offered.

“That is most kind, fellow Ambassador,” Seafoam said.

“Just call me Twilight.”

“We’ve all had a great day, so it’s time for a camping tradition,” Velvet announced. “A campfire!”

The foals were gathered around a large wood pile on the castle grounds. Velvet lit it with a spark of magic, and within a minute they had a roaring fire going, casting a merry glow on everypony.

“And what’s a campfire without marshmallows?” Velvet sang, producing a bag of them.

“Okay, Sweetie Belle, get on the stick,” Scootaloo said, brandishing a large twig.

“What?”

“She said we’re roasting marshmallows.”

“Oh, ha-ha!”

“Forget the sticks,” Velvet ordered. “You have to use magic to hold them.” The foals groaned. She ignored the outburst and passed around the bag so each foal could take one.

“At least I learned this,” Scootaloo said, levitating the tasty puff. Every spell she had tried to learn had ended in varying degrees of failure. Her light spells were dim and unfocused since the light came from her wings and they were very different in size and shape from a horn, she’d given up on magic bolts, and even the despell spell had only worked sometimes. Only levitation had she been able to get down at all, though objects she levitated bobbed a bit, unlike the other foals’ whose objects mostly hung in place. It was rather hypnotic watching the marshmallow float up and down like it was caught in an invisible ocean and it was bobbing on the waves.

“Yeah, this is better than hittin’ mahself in the face all the time,” Apple Bloom agreed. She had done well with levitation as well, but couldn’t quite get the object to move unless she was pointing a hoof at it. Even her light spell had been okay, but awkward. The unicorn’s horn was the source of light for them, but since her hooves were her magic focus, the light came out of them, making it rather difficult to walk while using. Creating free floating light sources was mentioned as a possibility for later in the week.

“Here,” Frostfire said, passing the bag to Blue Heart.

“Eeeek!” Blue Heart shrinked, dropping the bag. All eyes were on her as she backed away from something on the ground.

“Careful!” Frostfire shouted. She was sitting next to Blue Heart and quickly scooped up what had scared her. “You could've hurt him.”

“Him!?” Blue Heart cried. “What is that thing?”

Frostfire held it up so the rest could see. It looked for all present to be the skeleton of a lizard. It’s empty eye sockets had an eerie glow in them.

“Eeewww!” Sugar cried.

“Gross!” Silver Star agreed.

“Changeling!” Quickquib shouted but everypony was used to ignoring him by now.

“Cool!” Apple Bloom declared.

“He’s my pet Fluffy. I brought him back to life when he died,” Frostfire explained.

“That’s weird. Ah was brought back tah life but Ah ain’t no pile ah bones,” Apple Bloom commented.

“You just haven’t had enough time,” Scootaloo joked.

“It took me a long time to get it to work,” Frostfire explained. “Who brought you back?”

Apple Bloom just pointed.

“I used a song that I have no idea how I knew it, and I don’t even remember how it went now,” Sweetie Belle stated.

Velvet had walked over and was examining ‘Fluffy’. “Necromancy is not a field of study the Court Mages encourage.”

“I only use it on small things. Fluffy’s the only animal I brought back that stayed back.”

“Don’t worry, what’s done is done, though I do ask you refrain from doing in while on the grounds,” Velvet Sparkle said authoritatively.

“It’s still creepy,” Quickquib declared

“I’m with him,” Iggy agreed.

Frostfire stuck her tongue out. “Well that’s your problem.” She lifted up her hat and placed the lizard under it.

“What is it with you-” Spice began.

“And calling everything a changeling?” Sugar finished.

Quickquib rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve just been a bit jumpy I guess since the invasion. They really did a number on my house.”

“So...” Velvet said, trying to move along. “Sweetie Belle, would you mind singing a bit?”

“Sure!” Sweetie said excitedly. “This is a song that clears away clouds. You need a lot of sirens to really make it work, but I’ll do my best.” She closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and began.

Two beings were fast asleep in the tiny wagon when something knocked on the door, waking them up.

"I'll get it," the taller winged and horned figure said. The other, furred and feathered, laid back down. The first figure walked over to the door and opened it. "Hello?"

There was nopony there. Confused she stepped out into the moonlight and looked around.

"If this is a prank, I assure you it is not funny," she shouted.

"Trixie Lulamoon?" came a voice from behind. She spun around, horn blazing but something was clamped around her neck. At once her magic died out.

"Trixie!" roared her companion. He leaped at her assailant, but two more attackers joined in and subdued him.

"Trixie Lulamoon?" the voice asked again. Trixie looked over at the pegasus. Not just a pegasus. This one had bat wings.

"What do you want?" Trixie spat.

"The Princess wants to speak with you."

"You might as well kill me now. I'm not speaking to Celestia."

"Princess Luna has demanded your immediate presence at Canterlot," the bat pegasus said.

"You attack me in the middle of the night and demand I leave all my possessions behind for your Princess? She holds no power here."

"I'm sorry but we had to make you listen," the pegasus replied. His companions had already released Greg. "We are to escort you there. You can bring the wagon if you wish."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then we knock you out and take you back by force."

"Greg, we're going to Canterlot," Trixie declared angrily.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frostfire - property of Blank Flank

Iggy - property of Csquared08

Silver Star - property of Dinky Doo

Sugar & Spice - property of Emerald Glow

Blue Heart - property of blueheartpegasus

Sketch -- property of Pen Writer Pony

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 7: Undersea Visitor

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 7: Magic Camp

Chapter 20: Undersea Visitor

“Good morning,” Twilight said, yawning. She flipped the covers off herself then climbed out of bed. She looked over at the spare bed to see Seafoam awkwardly sprawled on top. She stirred.

“Good morning, Twilight,” Seafoam said. After rubbing her eyes, she reached down and picked up one of her leg braces. One by one she put them on then got up. For good measure, she took a small swig from a bottle she was carrying. She flinched at the taste.

“Spike?” Twilight asked. The purple dragon was already up, much to her surprise. “He must already be making breakfast.

“Oh I’ve always wanted to try surface food!” Seafoam said excitedly.

“Alright, girls, here’s the plan,” Scootaloo said in a hushed town over breakfast. All around unicorns were eating and talking excitedly about the next day of camp. “We wait until the first break, then head over to the mountain to get the star metal.”

“Why are we doing this again?” Starflare asked.

“I need it to get a gift for Rainbow Dash for the anniversary of her adopting me,” Scootaloo replied. “And I meant us three, not you.”

“Why can’t I come?” Starflare whined.

“Because you can’t walk on clouds,” Scootaloo answered. “Any other questions?”

“Whah do yah need us?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Because,” Scootaloo said in an annoyed tone, “I don’t know how big the rock is and I’ll need your help to carry it back.”

“Can’t we just roll it onto a cloud?” Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo shot her a look. “Right, it’s a rock. Rocks fall through clouds.”

“I figure with the three of us, we can hold it, or maybe tie ropes to it.”

“Or levitate it,” Apple Bloom suggested.

“All the way back here? My magic won’t last that long,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Anything I can do?” Starflare asked, eager to be involved in any way.

Scootaloo thought for a moment. “Cover for us?”

Starflare saluted. “Consider it done!”

“So I have a list of the most interesting places in Ponyville. We have more than enough time to visit each in the one day you have here,” Twilight said as she and Seafoam walked through town. They were catching plenty of stares, and causing a few ponies to walk into each other while they stared at the sea pony.

“Excuse me, Twilight, but what is that building?” Seafoam asked. “Is it made of... food?”

“That is Sugarcube Corner. Its decoration since it is a sweet shop.”

“What’s a sweet?” Seafoam asked.

“What’s a sweet?” Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping out of nowhere. “How can you not know what sweet is?”

“I understand the idea, but there’s nothing sweet in Barrier City,” Seafoam explained.

PInkie Pie stared at her with a look of horror. “You’re coming with me right now!” She grabbed Seafoam and dragged her into the bakery. She sat her down at a table and ran off.

“What just happened?” Seafoam asked, looking dazed.

“Pinkie Pie happened,” Twilight said, finally catching up.

“Is she always like this?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes. You just have to learn to just accept all the weird things that she does.”

“Here!” Pinkie said, popping up between Twilight and Seafoam. She placed a cupcake in front of Seafoam and stood back and waited.

Seafoam picked it up and looked at it.

“Here it comes!” Pinkie whispered in Twilight’s ear.

Seafoam turned the cupcake over in her braced hoof and brought it to her face.

“This is my favorite part!”

Seafoam took a bite and her face lit up. She stood there with a huge smile on her face, not blinking for several minutes.

“I love my job,” Pinkie said, smiling just as wide.

“This is wonderful! Why do we not have this back home?” Seafoam wondered out loud as she took another bite.

“Sugar dissolves in water. It just isn’t possible,” Twilight informed her. “You could use waterproofing spells but you’d have to do that for each one and have them imported.”

“If everything up here is this delicious I might never go home.”

“Hey!” Pinkie exclaimed. “You’re a sea pony!”

“Did you seriously just notice that?” Twilight asked.

“Now I remember, you were our guide!”

“I can’t tell. Is she serious?” Seafoam whispered to Twilight.

“Yeah, Pinkie, you can tell a terra pony from an earth pony at a glance but you didn’t notice she’s a sea pony?”

“Well if I was a sea pony I probably would,” Pinkie replied.

“Pinkie, that’s not a valid point and it really doesn’t make any sense,” Twilight said, stonefaced.

“Did you just imply what I think you did?” Seafoam asked.

“Oh yeah, you missed that. I’m the good terra pony!” Pinkie explained.

Seafoam blinked and looked at Twilight. “Does-”

“I’m not sure,” Twilight replied. “Princess Luna does.”

“Hey, Seafoam!” Rainbow Dash called, entering the building. “I see you’ve had a Pinkie Pie cupcake.”

“I’ve never had anything most delicious.”

“100 percent rainbow free!” Pinkie added.

“Pinkie, you are so random,” Rainbow Dash said.

Scootaloo glared at the rock in front of her with a burning hatred. They were learning transformation and were supposed to be turning the rocks they were given into soap. They were all terrible at it, but most of them were making progress.

Scootaloo glanced over at her friends to see how they were doing. Sweetie Belle’s rock had gained the texture and shape of a bar of soap, but still looked like a rock and didn’t foam right. Apple Bloom, on her other side, had somehow managed to break the rock in half but it was still a rock. She was busy trying to put it back together.

Scootaloo then stared at her own that had at least changed shape so that it was in the shape of a bar, but it was still utterly a rock. Scootaloo rolled it over and gave it another burst of magic. The rock’s surface rippled but remained stone. She gave a sigh and slumped down.

At least the first spell that day had been useful and something she had been good at. It was a force field spell, not unlike one she had seen before around Canterlot. The spell was easy, but the real test came when Velvet Sparkle launched pillows at the barriers to test their strength.

Most gave out after a few hits though Apple Bloom had lasted the longest. Scootaloo’s bubble had been significantly more flexible than the others so it had lasted longer but the pillows had really dented it before it finally broke.

“Okay, campers, time for a magic recovery break,” Velvet Sparkle announced.

Finally. Scootaloo rushed her friends out the door. Let’s get this done.

“This is Sweet Apple Acres, one of the major apple suppliers for Equestria,” Twilight explained.

“What’s an ‘apple’?” Seafoam asked.

“You’ll see. Hi, Applejack, Big Macintosh,” Twilight greeted.

“Howdy, Twilight,” Applejack replied, bucking at a tree. She glanced over, then did a double take. “Whah if it ain’t our guide from Barrier City.”

“Howdy,” Big Macintosh said simply.

“Hello,” Seafoam returned.

“Seafoam’s spending the day in Ponyville, then heading back to Canterlot,” Twilight explained. “She’s basically doing what we were doing over the summer.”

“Welcome tah Sweet Apple Acres. Here, have an apple,” Applejack said, picking up an apple and hoofing it over.

“Oh, so an apple is food. Thank you,” Seafoam said. She took a bite and her face lit up. “Oh, this is better than the finest lobster.”

“What?” Applejack asked, furrowing her brow.

“It’s really good seafood,” Seafoam answered.

“Well, help yerself,” Applejack said. “Just buck the trees.”

“Uh, ‘buck’?” Seafoam asked.

“Like this,” Applejack said. She walked over to a tree and kicked it with both her hind legs.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Seafoam said glumly. “If it weren’t for these braces, I wouldn’t even be walking.”

“Right, fins...” Applejack said.

“How is your sister doing?” Seafoam asked.

“Thanks tah that siren magic, she’s doin’ great,” Applejack replied. “She’s actually at some camp in Canterlot right now.”

“I’m glad she has recovered. It was just awful, what happened.”

“There it is!” Sweetie Belle declared, pointing. Scootaloo maneuvered the cloud closer to where she was pointing and saw a large rock sitting in a crater. It was bizarre looking, dark red and covered in craters, nothing like the rocks around it.

“Great!” Scootaloo said leaping down. “Help me get the rope on it.”

Apple Bloom joined her and soon they had the star metal tied to themselves. They climbed back on and Scootaloo summoned a gust of air to get them moving. She crossed her hooves as the rope got taunter and taunter. She breathed a sigh of relief as it came free of the ground, immediately causing discomfort as the rope around her waist dug into her.

“Hurry! This really hurts!” Sweetie Belle cried.

Scootaloo nodded and got the wind blowing right away.

“This is Fluttershy’s cottage. She takes care of all the local animals,” Twilight explained as she and Seafoam walked down the path.

“Take care... like farming them?” Seafoam asked.

“N- no, like feeding them and healing them when they get hurt or sick.”

“I forgot you don’t eat meat up here.”

“Fluttershy? Are you in?” Twilight called when they were close enough. After a minute the yellow pegasus came trotting around the tree house.

“Hello, Twilight,” she said when she got close. “Hello, Seafoam. I didn’t expect to see you here. How are you?”

“Dry,” Seafoam said, eliciting a laugh from Fluttershy.

“I’m showing her around Ponyville,” Twilight explained.

“I was about to feed the ducks. Would you like to join me?”

“Sure,” Seafoam said, smiling.

“Mission accomplished!” Scootaloo cheered as they left the smithy. The rock had indeed been over ten pounds and the deal was closed. She’d be able to pick up the blades just before camp was over. Together the trio flew back to the castle grounds, hoping they weren’t too late and wouldn’t get in too much trouble for being gone so long.

As they neared, they realized they had little to worry about. The rest of the foals were there, but Velvet was still away, so they landed nearby. Starflare ran over, a concerned look on her face.

“What?” Scootaloo asked.

“It’s Blue Heart, she didn’t come back from break!” Starflare said rapidly. “The teachers all went out to look for her, but they’ve been gone awhile.”

Sweetie Belle looked at Quickquib. “What, no ideas on who took her?”

He shook his head. “If changeling’s had taken her, they would have replaced her. No sense in blaming them.”

“We’ve got to go find her,” Scootaloo said urgently.

“She’s probably lost somewhere,” Apple Bloom suggested. “This is a big city afterall.”

Scootaloo looked grim. “I’ve spent far too long on the streets to know better. If she didn’t come back, she’s in some sort of trouble.”

“So what do we do?” Frostfire asked.

“Who saw her last?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I think I did. She said something about going to try cloudwalking,” Silver Star said.

“Okay, that means she’s probably in one of two places, either the weather center or the airship docks,” Scootaloo reasoned.

“How do you know that and who put you in charge?” Iggy demanded.

Scootaloo glared at him. “She’d need a pegasus to get a cloud for her, and those are the most likely places to find them. If she was at the pegasus guard barracks, she’d be back by now. And as I just explained, I spent almost half a year on my own in cities like this one, so I’m in charge unless you have a better idea.” Iggy went quiet and backed off. “I say we split up and look there. Sugar, Spice, can you do that mind thing with other ponies?”

“Sort of, but it’s-” Spice began.

not very good. Sugar’s voice rang in their heads. It was grainy, like it was coming through an old radio, and distant, like the radio was on the other side of the house.

“Good enough. Apple Bloom, you, Spice , Starflare, and Iggy, go to the weather center Sweetie Belle, Quickquib, Silver Star, and Sketch, you go to the docks. Sugar, you and Frostfire are with me.”

“Where are we going?” Sugar asked.

“To get information,” Scootaloo said cryptically. “Be careful, do not go off alone. Sugar, Spice, make sure you keep in contact with Sweetie Belle at all times. If anypony finds anything, let me know. Go!”

“So where are we going?” Frostfire asked as they trudged through yet another dark alley way.

“Every city is the same. there are ponies who know what is going on. Nothing is totally secret here. If something is happening, somepony will know what it is.”

The three rounded a bend and Scootaloo’s eyes went wide. “Cloud?”

Several yards down the alley a dirty yellow pegasus colt turned and looked at her with equal surprise. “March?”

“Cloudiseum, it is you!” Scootaloo cheered, rushing over.

“You know him?” Sugar asked.

“We were at the same orphanage until I ran away,” Scootaloo replied.

“Orphanage?” Frostfire said questioningly.

“And they shut it down, now I’m stuck here in this dump,” Cloud grumbled.

“And is it any worse?” Scootaloo asked jokingly.

“Point. What happened? I thought for sure you were dead!”

“I nearly did die a few times,” Scootaloo replied. “Like I said, I ran away and snuck out of Cloudsdale on a chariot. I was on the run until they caught me last month.”

“Ouch. I hope they were nicer to you than Twenty Third Street,” Cloud said.

“Just the cops got me. I got off easy though. Even got adopted too.”

“Nice. So what are you doing here?”

“A pony went missing and we’re trying to find her. A unicorn called Blue Heart. She’s blue colored. Pretty obvious, really. Have you heard anything? Any whispers from the street rats?”

Cloud looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t, it’s hard to remember everythin’ they say,” he said, holding a hoof out.

Scootaloo growled and slammed him into a wall. She held him there with a foreleg. “I don’t have time to waste bribing you. Tell me what you know! You know full well what can happen to a lone filly in a city like this, especially one who isn’t street smart!”

“Alright, alright!” Cloud spat. “I haven’t heard anythin’ about your missing friend.”

Sugar and Frostfire whined, but Scootaloo held him firm.

“Heard anything else?” she prompted.

“Yeah. A couple other ponies when missing earlier today, just no unicorns that I know of.”

“Any names or descriptions?” Scootaloo asked.

“Umm.. one was an earth pony called Sing Song, and the other was a pegasus called Trips. I don’t know what they looked like. All the street rats are on alert though.”

Scootaloo let him go. Her mind was already buzzing with wild thoughts. No, it can’t be. He’s dead. “Um... one last thing. Has there been any word about magic suddenly vanishing?”

“You know somethin’ I don’t?” Cloud asked. “A bunch of ponies were freakin’ out a while ago, sayin’ their magic was gone.”

“No, no no!” Scootaloo moaned. She ran over and grabbed Sugar. “Tell Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exactly what I say: There’s another alicorn machine. And it’s here.”

Sugar looked at her, confused.

“Do it!”

Sugar nodded and went quiet for a moment.

“Cloud, do you know of any loud noises that happened at the same time everypony’s magic went away?”

Cloud shook his head. “Nothing.”

Scootaloo thought for a moment. “Then it has to be somewhere where the noise wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. Some place always loud...”

“The airship docks?” Cloud suggested.

Scootaloo grabbed him and hugged him. “That’s gotta be it! Thanks, I owe you one!” She turned to her fellow campers. “Sugar, tell everypony to meet there. Let’s go.”

“No problem, March. Just not so rough next time.”

“Name’s Scootaloo now,” she called as the three galloped off.

Sweetie Belle stood stock still, her mind racing.

“What is it?” Sketch asked.

“This just got very, very bad,” Sweetie Belle said. “It might already be too late.”

“She’s...” Silver Star gulped. “Dead?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “I don’t know. It could either be really, really bad or really, really good for Blue Heart.”

“Where do we start looking?” Frostfire asked as they reached the innumerable warehouses that made up the airship docks.

“I don’t know, anything. It’s a big, big machine. Really loud. If you feel your magic being sucked out, it’s too late,” Scootaloo replied. “I’ll probably feel it now that I have magic. You’d think it would stop cloudwalking...”

Sugar grabbed her by the tail and pulled Scootaloo back.

“Hey!” Scootaloo shouted.

“I’m not going another step until you explain exactly what is going on,” Sugar demanded.

Scootaloo took a deep breath. “Look, about a year -” she stopped.

“What?” Sugar asked.

Three foals cried as Spice collapsed.

“What’s wrong?” Iggy asked.

“Quiet!” Spice cried. Tears were streaming down her face and she rolled about wildly, clutching her head. “Sugar! Hurt!”

Apple Bloom snapped into action. “Iggy, Starflare, get to the docks and find Sweetie Belle. Ah’m gonna go tah bring Spice to the palace and tell the Princess what’s goin’ on.”

“Right. Good luck,” Starflare said, saluting.

“Pretty good plan, I have to say,” Scootaloo commented as she was dragged along the ground. “Knock out the unicorns then bind the pegasus so she can’t fly,” she elaborated, trying to flex her wings under the black strap holding them to her sides. “I can’t fly anyway, but a good plan.”

“Shut it or I’ll knock you out too!” the light blue earth pony dragging her and the other fillies growled.

Scootaloo scowled, but obeyed. She was certain she could break free with a bit of magic, but this was their only lead on finding Blue Heart. If she concentrated she could sense her friends moving. She couldn’t tell how far away they were, but from their movements she guessed Sweetie Belle was somewhere in the docks as well, and Apple Bloom seemed to be moving toward the castle. Probably t o get Celestia. Good call.

She just let the pony drag them through the docks until they got to one warehouse that they were dragged into. There she saw what she knew must be there: another Pony Blender. And with it, another pale pony, this one a dull red, at the controls. It was set up differently, with more care taken to hide it, and everything was in one room, but it was recognizable at a glance.

Scootaloo, Frostfire, and Sugar were thrown unceremoniously into a cell and the door was locked. Scootaloo immediately took control and examined the room as best she could. She couldn’t see much, there were a couple rows of cells with seven of the eight sides being solid. They were in an outer row, and all were very low to the ground, meaning she couldn’t see most of the room from where she was. She hadn’t seen any sign of Blue Heart, but hoped she was somewhere and separate.

Besides the earth pony who brought them in, and the pony at the controls, the only other guard was a griffon. The griffon seemed interested in them and casually walked past the cage, eyeing them. Scootaloo glared back, remembering what Rainbow Dash had told her, but stole a quick glance at the griffon’s clan mark. At once an escape plan began to form in her mind.

Apple Bloom galloped into Canterlot Castle with Spice trailing behind. The filly seemed out of it without her sister, like she was half asleep. As they rounded a bend, they bumped into a grey pony with a crescent moon medallion around his neck, causing him to drop the notebook he was carrying.

“Sorry,” Apple Bloom said, getting up quickly.

“Do be careful,” he said, picking the book back up.

“Come on, get up, Spice, we gotta get the Princess,” Apple Bloom urged, trying to force Spice back onto all fours. She just stared vacantly.

“If you need to speak with her quickly, I can help. I can get you past the security,” the stallion said to her. “What is the matter?”

“There’s a terra pony in Canterlot and he foalnapped our friend!” Apple Bloom cried.

The gray pony blinked. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, at least Scootaloo is. He’s got this machine that mixes ponies together and turns them into alicorns.”

“And you know this, how?”

“Cause Ah was in one!” Apple Bloom shouted. “Now will yah help me? She won’t budge!”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Scootaloo said the docks,” Apple Bloom replied.

“Stay here. I’ll inform the Princess of everything you just told me.” The pony then turned and galloped off.

“Okay, she’s over this way,” Sweetie Belle said, leading her group through the maze of identical warehouses. They’d run into Iggy and Starflare, who explained about Spice. Together the remaining foals went out in search of the now four missing foals.

“How exactly do you know this?” Starflare asked.

“We... can just sort of tell where each of us are. It’s something we’ve had since we were mixed together.”

“And that means?” Wind Dreamer asked.

“Sweet Celestia, what is that?” Silver Star cried, pointing. Sweetie Belle followed her hoof and saw a misshapen figure crawling through the docks.

“Oh no, we’re too late!” Sweetie Belle cried, sprinting over.

“Help me” it groaned. The creature was definitely an alicorn. However its wings were bigger than the rest of its body while its horn might as well have been a large pimple. Its coat was a blotchy green and white with some hints of blue.

“What is that?” Sketch asked, trying not to gag.

Sweetie Belle cringed. “We’re too late. This was Blue Heart.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 7: Madness

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 7: Magic Camp

Chapter 21: Madness

“Ow...” Frostfire moaned as she woke up. She rubbed her head but didn’t get up.

“Keep it down,” a voice whispered. She opened her eyes slightly and saw Scootaloo looking down at her. They seemed to be in some sort of cage but she couldn’t see anything beyond that.

“Where’s Sugar?” Frostfire asked.

“Still out.”

Frostfire looked around and confirmed that Sugar was lying nearby. As she went to lay her head back down she felt something brush her leg. “What’s this?” she cried, tugging at the metal band around her neck.

“Magic blocking collar. It stops you from using any magic.”

“What?” Frostfire whined.

“I’ll get it off of you soon. Listen, I think I have a way out of here, but I need the help of your ‘pet’.”

“Fluffy? Why?”

“Because the bars are too strong for my magic to cut through. We’re going to need to steal the keys from the guard. I’ll keep her busy while Fluffy grabs the keys.”

“You’d better not let him get hurt!” Frostfire snapped. “It was hard bring him back once, I don’t what to have to do it again.”

“He’ll be fine! Just make sure he knows what to do. This is pretty risky but only for us, we have a Trals griffon here. I’m going to distract her now.”

“Fluffy will do it,” Frostfire said. She lifted up her hat and pulled the skeleton out. She laid the undead lizard on the ground and hid him with her hooves so the guard wouldn’t see.

“Hey, Trals trash!” Scootaloo shouted at the griffon as she flew lazily about the room.

The reddish brown griffon whipped around. “What did you call me?”

“You heard me. You’re nothing but a piece of Trals trash. What, get tired of being with the lowliest clan and decided to do some mercenary work. I must say it’s a step up.”

The griffon landed and grabbed the bars with both talons. Frostfire discreetly moved her hooves so Fluffy could get out.

“You have a lot of nerve, pony,” the griffon snarled. “For someone who would hardly make a meal.”

“I’d love to see you try,” Scootaloo taunted. “My mom says the only reason you hunt ponies is because you’re too weak to hunt anything that might fight back.”

“I’ll turn you into glue, you welp!” the griffon snapped, jamming her beak between the bars.

“Arta, back off!” the pony in charge ordered. “We need her alive.”

“If she turns out bad, I want to kill her,” Arta shouted back, not taking her eyes off Scootaloo who stared right back. “Personally!”

“Go help Bruser clean the coolant system,” the lead pony said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Arta replied. She flew off but glared at Scootaloo as she did so.

“Did he get it?” Scootaloo whispered.

Frostfire smiled and held up the key ring.

“This is it,” Sweetie Belle announced.

“Are you sure?” Iggy asked.

“Positive. I walked all the way around. Scootaloo is definitely inside,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“So how do we get in?” Quickquib asked.

“It’s just a simple lock,” Sweetie Belle answered. She pulled a pin out of her mane and twisted it into a pick. She inserted it into the lock and began fumbling it around. “We’ll be in in just a second.”

“Okay, here’s the plan,” Scootaloo said, holding the keys Fluffy had managed to retrieve. She was happily flexing her wings now that they were no longer bound to her sides. She’d easily removed the band from Frostfire’s neck after cutting the strap around her off. “I’m going to unlock the door and keep the guards busy. You check to see if you can find Blue Heart or any other ponies. Free them, then head for a door. Get out and get help.”

“What about you?” Frostfire asked, rubbing her collar free neck. “And Sugar?”

Scootaloo looked at the unconscious filly. “She’s dead weight. Unless she wakes up, she’s staying here.”

“But what about you?” she repeated.

“I can handle myself. I’ll be okay as long as they don’t grab another earth pony. Are you ready?”

Frostfire nodded.

“Hello there, little fillies,” the thin red pony said, suddenly appearing in front of their cage. “I’m Tick Tock, and I’m here to give-”

“Save it,” Scootaloo snarled.

He blinked in surprise, but continued. “Here to give you a great gift. How would you like-”

“To be an alicorn like Celestia,” Scootaloo finished.

“How did-”

Scootaloo sighed in annoyance. She couldn’t get the door open with him in the way. “You’re the fourth terra pony I’ve run into. You’re a bunch of liars and cowards.”

“You’ve met us before...” Tick Tock breathed.

“Scootaloo, what are you talking about?” Frostfire asked.

“There was a tribe of ponies long ago called the terra ponies. They’re basically weak earth ponies. They were supposedly extinct but it turns out they’ve just been hiding.”

“We’ve been waiting! Waiting to get our revenge on-”

“I’ve heard this before, can you just shut it? Your stupid plans are giving me a headache!”

He glared at her for a moment before turning away and flicking his tail dismissively. When he was far enough away, Scootaloo acted.

“Go!” Scootaloo shouted. She kicked the cage door open and leaped out. Frostfire jumped out behind her and began sprinting around the room, looking in every single cage.

“Get them!” Tick Tock ordered. At once the earth pony Bruser and Arta the griffon charged into the room headed straight for Scootaloo.

“I’m going to enjoy this!” Arta shouted, flying low for a tackle, but Scootaloo ducked down and slammed her back into Arta’s chest as she flew over. Arta crashed a few yard away.

“Did I mention my mom’s a blood-sister and taught me how to fight off griffons like you?” Scootaloo said, smirking.

“How about a griffon and a pony?” Bruser snarled, grabbing her from behind.

“Hey, no fair!” Scootaloo cried, flailing in his grasp.

“Little pony, want to see something cool?” Arta sneered. She had gotten back up and was now slinking up to the trapped Scootaloo. She got close and traced a talon up her chest, leaving thin trail of blood. “I’m going to show you what your heart looks like. You’ll probably be able to see it still beating right before you die.”

“I doubt it!” Scootaloo cheered. She charged her wings and flapped them hard. She was really hoping that this would be the moment. The moment where she’d finally get the most basic of magic uses. It wasn’t to be. Instead of a magic blast, all she got was a big cloud of blue smoke. It did work to drive the griffon back, however, but Arta was brushing the mist away within seconds.

“Back off!” shouted a familiar voice. Scootaloo turned and saw Sweetie Belle, Starflare, Sketch, Quickquib, and Iggy had burst through one of the doors to the outside. Sweetie Belle was leading the charge, headed right for Scootaloo and the guards.

“Solar-” Sweetie Belle began. Scootaloo noticed the red glow around her horn and immediately clamped her eyes shut. “Flare!”

Scootaloo could still see spots but quickly recovered. She was still in Bruser’s grasp so she sent a slash spell at his foreleg that caused him to drop her. She turned to run to her friends, but something grabbed her tail and yanked her back. Scootaloo was thrown through the air and crashed into a cage. In an instant Arta was upon her, slamming her into the cage bars.

“How did you-”

“Do you think I’m dumb enough to just get hit by a light spell?” Arta sneered. “Now, where were we...” she said, baring her talons.

Scootaloo quickly brought up her magic and cast the only spell she could think of. She enveloped the griffon in magic and threw her aside.

“Frostfire, you find her yet?” Scootaloo called out.

“No!” Frostfire shouted back.

“We found Blue Heart. It’s too late,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“We may still be able to fix it,” Scootaloo replied. “Remember, they fixed us.”

“I don’t think they’ll be able to fix what I’m going to do to you!” Arta snapped, leering over Scootaloo.

“Why won’t you just stay down?” Scootaloo growled.

“You’re going to stay down! Permanently!” Arta snarled, grabbing each of Scootaloo’s wings in a talon.

“Bad move!” Scootaloo sneered. She sent her magic through her feathers, turning each one into a blade for just a fraction of a second. Arta pulled her bleeding claws back, crying in pain, allowing Scootaloo to scamper off.

Meanwhile Bruser had recovered and was now menacing the other foals.

“You don’t scare us!” Sketch declared, the rest gathering around him.

Bruser smirked for a second. There was a flash of green fire and suddenly his blue body changed into a black carapace. Translucent wings appeared at his shoulders. A shell of blue, not unlike the color he had just been, protected his back.

“Uh oh!” Iggy said, backing away.

Quickquib stood up to the changeling. “Your hive must be pretty pathetic if you’re acting as mercenaries.”

“And just what do you know?” Bruser spat, getting in Quickquib’s face.

“Don’t tell me living among ponies so much has ruined your sense of smell,” Quickquib replied. “I could smell you before I even came in here.”

“You’ve got some nerve, nymph!” Bruser snarled. He swung with a foreleg and knocked Quickquib away. He crashed into one of the cages and slumped to the floor. “Now then-”

“You’d better choose your next words very carefully.”

Bruser stopped and looked at the door. There was an bat pegasus at the door, in night guard armor, with several more similarly armored ponies behind him. Bruser snarled then leaped at the foals. Iggy got in front and threw up a magic barrier that Bruser bounced off of. The other three foals all charged their magic and fired bolts at him, sending him falling back.

Three guards immediately pounced on him. Another four guards grabbed Arta who was too busy nursing her wounded talons to resist.

“How did-” Starflare started.

“Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said together as the earth filly came in, trotting confidently in front of a guard with Silver Star not far beind. Two guards followed closely behind them, one carrying a green and white something, another carrying a zoned out Spice. As soon as she was inside, she perked up and leaped off the guard’s back.

“Spice!” Sugar cried, leaping from the cage.

“Sugar!” Spice cried back, galloping over to her sister.

“What do we do about Blue Heart?” Silver Star asked.

“I don’t want TO Be stuck LIke this!” the failed alicorn moaned.

“Twilight will know what to do,” Sweetie Belle declared. “Can one of you get us a cloud? We need to get her to Ponyville quickly.”

“We’re not about to allow a bunch of fillies run off after this,” one guard said.

“Are things secure in here?” a gray pony walked into the warehouse after the guards. Behind him was a blue and orange dragon about twice his size.

“They are,” one guard replied.

The gray pony whistled when he saw the machine. “Hmm. What do we have here?”

“It’s a machine that combines ponies into alicorns,” Scootaloo explained.

“Like her,” Sweetie Belle said, pointing to Blue Heart.

“Fascinating. I’ll have to have a look at this,” the pony said, walking over to it.

“Our friend Twilight might know how to fix her, she did it before,” Scootaloo said.

“Sir, we can’t just let them leave,” one of the guards countered.

“Then give them an escort. I’ve heard of Twilight and she probably can be of assistance. I’ll be here to see if I can figure out how this works.”

“I’ll send a message if we find anything,” the dragon added.

“Very well. Come along, foals, we’ll fly to you to Ponyville,” the guard said, shepherding them to the door.

“Surely we don’t all have to go,” Quickquib said, getting up.

“We should probably stick together,” Sketch said.

“I wonder where that terra pony went,” Scootaloo thought out loud as she climbed onto one of the guard’s back. The guards flew off, leaving a small group left to cart off the defeated changeling and griffon.

“Sir,” one guard said, entering the building. “I found a body in the alleyway.”

“Oh?” the dragon asked, shocked.

“It was likely the pony behind this. It appears as though he shot himself,” the guard said.

“What a shame,” was all Gearbox said, in a bored tone.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Minutes earlier

“Blasted idiots, they’ve ruined everything!” Tick Tock shouted, exiting the building through a different door. He wasn’t going to let himself get caught. He just had to make it to the sanctuary and he’d be safe.

“Stay right there.”

“Who?” Tick Tock turned. “Hey! What are you doing, pointing that at me? We’re allies!”

“I’m nothing like you.”

“We’re the same tribe. We have to stick together against the other tribes. We have to win this war!”

“It’s ponies like you that are the reason we have to still hide. Sanctuary Two wants no part in anything you’re trying to start up.”

“Then Sanctuary Six will be the saviour of the terra ponies!”

“Your sanctuary will fall, and you won’t be there to see it.” The pony fired a firehoof. The other pony fell to the ground. The shooter then placed the firehoof in the corpse’s hoof.

“So, Seafoam, how was your first day on dry land?” Spike asked as he served up dinner.

“Actually it’s my second,” the sea pony replied. “And it was magical. I tried some cupcakes, then I visited an apple farm, then I fed some ducks. I almost don’t want to go back home.”

“Sounds pretty boring to me,” Spike said.

“Spike,” Twilight chastised, but the dragon was too busy to hear her. His cheeks puffed up to unnaturally wide levels, then shrank back. He fell down and rubbed his stomach. “Spike, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Spike said, leaning up. “I think somepony tried to send us something but it was too big.”

*KNOCK KNOCK BANG!*

Twilight heard the crash and ran into the main room of the library to see a troop of foals walking into the library, followed by an equal number of night guards.

“Why do you always break her door?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Ah can’t help it! Mah magic just does it’s own thing sometimes!” Apple Bloom replied.

“Girls? What are you all doing here? Are you supposed to be in Canterlot?” Twilight asked, worried.

“Twilight, we need your help!” Scootaloo said, leading a final guard into the room. On her was a crumpled figure that made Twilight gasp. “There was another terra pony in Canterlot. Can you fix her?”

Twilight looked at the misshapen alicorn. “Maybe. Spike!”

“What?” Spike mumbled, running into the room.

“Get the blender online! Now!”

“Right!” Spike said, seeing what was happening. He ran full pelt across the room and went down into the basement.

“What’s he doing?” Sketch asked.

“After the incident with you three, I took apart the machine and rebuilt it here incase something like this happened,” Twilight explained.

“So yah can help her?” Apple Bloom asked.

Twilight turned the filly over, examining her closely. “Maybe. I don’t know. You basically came apart ideally, even given the little holdovers you have. Her... I don’t know. She’s a bit... flawed, if you see what I mean. She didn’t mix properly like you three did. I think she even got blended with a colt or two, which complicates things further.”

“Twilight? What’s going on?” Seafoam asked, cautiously walking into the room.

“What the?” Iggy exclaimed.

“Seafoam!” Apple Bloom cheered, seeing the sea pony.

“I’m just going to sit over here until things make sense,” Frostfire said, moving to one side.

“Seafoam, it seems the terra ponies are still very active. This time, in Canterlot,” Twilight declared.

Seafoam looked over and gagged at the sight. “Is there anything we can do?”

“I have some terra pony tech downstairs that should reverse this, but I’m not sure how well it will work. I really wish I had some parts from the other machine. That would make things a thousand times easier, assuming they were the last ponies put into it.”

“Oh!” Seafoam exclaimed. A yellow mist had appeared near her and had solidified into three metal disks covered in inactive lights that clattered to the ground.

Twilight rushed over and picked them up with her magic. “This is exactly what I needed! Who could have sent these, and how did they know to send them?” She shuffled them around and found a note stuck to one of them.

“From Gearbox. I’m currently at the incident site and I’m trying to understand how this machine works. From what I learned from examining it and a book I happened to find nearby, I deduced you would need these, so I’ve sent them as quickly as I could. I tried the direct method but it seems your dragon is too young so I had to send them in a more round about fashion. PS. I have informed the camp counselor about the foal’s situation. Please send the guards back here when the foals arrive, and come to Canterlot tomorrow. We have a lot to discuss,” she read out loud. She looked up but saw the guards had already left after hearing her words, except for the guard carrying the artificial alicorn.

“You’re going to-” Spice started.

“Fix her, right?” Sugar finished.

“Please help me get her to the basement,” Twilight said to the guard. “I’ll see what I can do.” With that she went downstairs and closed the door. It only opened a few minutes later when the guard left, leaving the remaining eleven foals and Seafoam alone. Most were busy staring at the sea pony.

“How... have you been, young siren?” she asked Sweetie Belle, trying to break the awkwardness.

“Um... okay... I’ve learned a few songs,” Sweetie Belle answered.

“And how are you, Apple Bloom?”

“Okay. Ah’m still a bit sore, but Ah feel better every day,” Apple Bloom said, rubbing her scars.

“Who are you?” Silver Star blurted out.

“I’m Seafoam,” she replied. “I handle land dweller relations for Barrier City, and I’m the acting ambassador to Equestria right now.”

“But what are you?” Quickquib asked.

“I’m a seapony,” she said, chuckling. “I know we don’t live in Equestria but surely you still know of us.”

“We learned about you in school,” Scootaloo declared.

“I didn’t,” Starflare said.

“Well we’re a tribe of ponies that live underwater. We normally can’t live on dry land but thanks to some magic, I can for a short period of time.”

“Hey, what was that about earlier,” Iggy asked Quickquib. “You were talking with that changeling like you knew him or something.”

Quickquib looked at them sheepishly. “Well... you see...”

“What’s this I missed? You with your changeling paranoia and you start talking with one?” Scootaloo shouted.

“Um...”

“Quickquib?” Frostfire said quietly.

Quickquib stared at the floor in shame. “Quickquib is dead. He died when he was three days old. I replaced him before his parents even knew.”

“Wait, you’re actually-” Spice said.

“A changeling?” Sugar completed.

“Yes.”

“What’s a changeling?” Seafoam asked.

“Er... They’re bug ponies, I think,” Starflare said.

“We’re not,” Quickquib replied. “We’re technically insects but we only look like ponies. We actually feed of the emotions given off by other creatures.”

“That explains why I’ve never heard of you. There are no insects underwater.”

“You just... replaced the real Quickquib?” Frostfire asked. “Isn’t that... evil?”

“Well he was dead.”

“Dead from what?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Dunno. We watch all newborn foals in case something like this happens. When they die young we replace them with a changeling nymph so they can have a way to feed as they grow. As long as it happens when the foal is young enough, they will grow up like a real pony and no one will know the difference. The parents don’t have to go through the pain of losing their foal so it works out best for all involved.”

“Why were you picking a fight with that other changeling then?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“There are a lot of different changeling hives. I’m not sure how many but we don’t get along.”

“So what do you really look like?” Sketch asked.

A light blue flame burst into being around Quickquib’s horn and slowly spread down his body, turning it black as it went. Seafoam backed away in fear of the fire, but it was over quickly and she relaxed.

“This is my real form.”

“So you just... eat emotions? How does that work? Is it like a lampre pony or something, sucking emotions instead of blood?” Seafoam asked.

“We just need to be near ponies and we just sort of absorb the feelings you give off. These fangs are mostly for show.”

“Ah, see, mine are for eating,” Seafoam said, smiling, showing off her sharp teeth.

“Why would a-” Sugar began.

“Pony need fangs?” Spice finished.

“I’m an omnivore,” Seafoam answered. “That means I eat meat and plants. We don’t have all the different foods you have up here like cupcakes or apples so back home we eat mostly fish.”

“Eww, meat?” Silver Star said, sticking her tongue out.

“It’s not that bad,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah, I have it all the time,” Scootaloo added.

“Really? I thought you did not,” Seafoam said.

“Mom and I didn’t want to tell you back then but everypony already knows now,” Scootaloo replied.

“I hope Blue Heart is going to be okay,” Starflare said suddenly.

“Ah’m sure she will,” Apple Bloom declared.

“She’s done this before,” Sweetie Belle added.

“And we turned out okay,” Scootaloo finished.

“You mean you were like that?” Iggy asked.

“Not really,” Sweetie Belle answered.

“We were all stuck together but we didn’t look as bad as she did,” Scootaloo said.

“It wasn’t much different than bein’ apart, only we had tah share doin’ stuff,” Apple Bloom explained.

“But Twilight used the machine to get us apart again,” Sweetie Belle said.

“So this will be fine then?” Sketch said hopefully.

“Well...” Sweetie Belle said awkwardly.

“Did yah see our flanks? It wasn’t perfect.”

“That’s why Apple Bloom and I have magic, and they can walk on clouds,” Scootaloo said.

“Aside from needing a dye job, you actually came off better,” Frostfire pointed out.

“I actually like it,” Sweetie Belle said, rubbing her yellow flank.

“Though we can’t play hide and seek no more,” Apple Bloom added. “We can also kinda tell where each other is at. We can only tell direction though.”

“So that’s how you knew where she was,” Quickquib said.

“Yup. We’re not sure how far away it works though,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Pretty far, when I was in that warehouse I could sense both of you, even though you were by the castle, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo said. “Come to think of it Trixie looked different too,” Scootaloo said, remembering their short altercation.

“Who?” Silver Star asked.

“Another pony who got turned intah an alicorn,” Apple Bloom replied.

“Though when we were like that we could all talk, and so can Blue Heart and the other two she’s stuck with. Trixie was the only one who talked.”

“I wonder what happened to her,” Sweetie Belle said. “Rarity said she didn’t know.”

“Rainbow Dash said she thinks Trixie ran off with that griffon so she wouldn’t get caught. She’s probably out there somewhere doing her lame routine or something,” Scootaloo added.

“It’s strange, when Ah went tah get help, Ah found this pony,” Apple Bloom said suddenly. “Ah said Ah needed the Princess, only he got Princess Luna. Ah keep fergettin’ there are two princesses, but whah her? It was still day time.”

“He was wearing that medallion,” Frostfire pointed out. “Maybe he just works for her.”

“An attack in my city!” Celestia roared. “Luna, you said you would handle this!”

“I am!” Luna shouted back. “I’m working on it right now, pulling together a team to solve this issue, and if anything this proves that what you are doing is a waste of time. All your security and it still happened.”

“This team had better produce results soon or else I will send out the entire army and turn over every last rock until we find them.”

“Sister, I have it handled.”

“I have yet to see you capture one terra pony,” Celestia yelled.

“You want to find a terra pony?” A grey pony walked calmly into the room.

“Gearbox...” Luna said through gritted teeth. “Now is not the time.”

“Do you want to know where to find some?” he continued, ignoring her. “You know that new town, Haven?”

Princess Celestia nodded. “I think so. An earth pony colony right?”

Gearbox smirked. “Wrong. The town was established thirty years ago. The first earth pony moved in last year.”

“What!” Celestia shouted.

“That’s right. There is a whole city of terra ponies living peacefully and have been for a long time. These ones attacking Equestria are a minority. We are just as committed to stopping them as you are.”

“Luna, you brought him here knowing what he was?” Celestia demanded.

“I was suspicious, yes. We needed an inventor and I got us one.”

Celestia eyed him and he glared back. Luna stepped between them.

“Sister, he has done nothing but help. A lot of them have, and you know that. If you are still stuck in your vendetta, then you will have to face me as well.”

Princess Celestia turned and began to stride out of the room. She turned her head before she had completely exited it. “You have one month to produce some sort of result or I will have Haven leveled.”

“She wouldn’t...” Gearbox whimpered.

“I’m afraid she would,” Luna said sadly. “She blames you for a lot of things that are not your fault. Captain?” One of the night guards perked up and looked towards her. “Gearbox, please go with him and give him possible locations for Sanctuaries. Captain, I want a patrol to check every area he indicates within two days time.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“I also want to be ready incase this does come to open conflict. Do what you can to make sure we can secure the Canterlot weapon stockpiles first in the event my sister makes a grave mistake.”

“Yes, Princess.”

Gearbox walked over to the captain. “Let’s go to the library. There are plenty of maps here I can use.”

“Right with you,” the captain said, following him out of the room.

“It’s like it was a thousand years ago,” Luna said to the now empty room. “Only now it is you who must be freed from madness. I pray for a better outcome this time, sister.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 8: Infiltration

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 8: Sanctuary 4

Chapter 23

“This is Sugarbowl, over. Repeat, Sugarbowl, over. Do you read, over?” Pinkie said to herself.

“This is Hex Wrench, over. We read you loud and clear, over,” Gearbox's voice rang in her ears. With a smile Pinkie Pie trotted forwards, dragging a large trunk with hundreds of hidden compartments.

After meeting with Princess Luna and waiting a night to get armored up, Eclipse had headed straight for the sanctuary. On the way Gearbox had presented them with a radio system he had devised to get through terra pony security systems. It used magic to generate a radio signal that could only be read by another radio. The transmitter was small enough to be disguised as a tooth. Pinkie, having lost several teeth to sugar, had no problem giving one up. Since she was the only one going in, she was the only one who needed one.

The sanctuary, from what they had seen, was built into the side of a bluff in the countryside. Pinkie Pie's mission was to get in, find any information on other sanctuaries, commit as much sabotage as she could, then hide or escape. At that point the rest would use force to take control. It was simple. In theory.

“HALT!” one of the patrolling ponies shouted as Pinkie Pie neared. He pointed his firehoof at her.

“It's okay. I'm a terra pony too!” She shouted back. “I have some tactical information stolen from Canterlot.” This wasn't a total lie. She had been provided fake but convincing reports about troop movement and guard changeover times to help gain the enemies' trust. The guard eyed her over carefully.

“Come with me and keep your hooves where I can see them,” he ordered.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie cheered, bouncing in the direction he pointed. He followed, keeping his weapon trained on her.

The school yard was full of fillies and colts playing. They had mostly gotten over having a meat eater at the school and no longer avoided Scootaloo like she had cutie pox. Happily she played tag with them when she heard several shouts of shock. Confused she looked towards the source and saw a familiar hazelnut colored figure landing in nearby.

"Rriz!" Scootaloo cheered, bounding over.

"Who?" Apple Bloom asked, following.

"What's going on?" Sweetie Belle said joining them.

"Hey, Scootaloo!" Rriz greeted seeing her. Most of the other foals stared at the beaked stranger. He seemed to be aware of how much he stuck out but didn't do anything to address it. "How have you been?"

"You would not believe the month I've had," Scootaloo replied. "So what are you doing here?"

"What can't I visit a friend? Actually I saw you missed several tournaments and wanted to see if you were okay," Rriz explained.

"Yeah I got mixed up in some stupid crap but I'll be at the next one."

"Um, Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked, poking the pegasus.

"Who's this?" Sweetie Belle finished.

"Oh. Right. Girls, this is Rriz. I met him over in Shattered Beak, remember?" Scootaloo said, turning red a bit. "This is Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom."

"Hi," Rriz greeted the two.

"So can you stay long?" Scootaloo asked.

"Totally. I'm just waiting for the next tournament and a couple days off from practice can't hurt."

"Class just got over so we can totally hang out all day."

"It figures you'd be friends with a griffon," Diamond Tiara said, finally working up the courage to speak.

"What's all that about?" Rriz asked.

"Some downy brains think because we eat meat, we must eat ponies," Scootaloo answered.

“You eat meat?” Rriz said, surprised.

“Since I’ve been living with my mom, so almost a year now,” Scootaloo replied.

"Don't worry. I wouldn't eat any pony," Rriz said to Diamond Tiara. "Just the ones who can't fly."

The prissy earth pony squeaked in fear and tore off, Silver Spoon close behind.

"Wow that was more fun than it should have been," Rriz said smiling. "What a sap."

"You know, I just had a better idea," Scootaloo said, "Cutie Mark Crusader sleepover at my house!"

"Are you sure Rainbow Dash will let us?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"She's out of town and she did say I could have friends over. She never said she had to be home," Scootaloo said mischievously.

"I don't think that's my style," Rriz said, awkwardly scratching a leg.

"Afraid to hang out with a bunch of girls?" Scootaloo taunted.

"Okay, I'm in."

"I'll meet you two by the Ponyville fountain around sunset," Scootaloo said to her pony friends. "Eat up at home if you don't want meat for dinner."

"Okay," Sweetie Belle said.

A mile away from the sanctuary the group sat huddled around a radio. Gearbox had a set of earphones on and was listening intently to everything he heard, recording everything on paper. Luna hadn't sent them off with just their wits; they had all been outfitted with armor.

Gearbox had on heavy armor, very similar to standard guard armor, but with a holster for his firehoof. On the chest was a set of thin green gemstones symbolizing the green circuit board on his flank. Doppler had some unique armor on made special for him. Thick scales would not protect against bullets. On his was a flame made of a dark blue gem.

Being a unicorn, Twilight's armor was lighter, and left her horn free. On the chest was a large purple six pointed star shaped gemstone embedded in the chest plate. It wasn't the element of magic, but it was a good likeness. Trixie had a similar set of armor but there was a light blue five pointed star on hers, and there were holes for her wings. It was also slightly lighter so she could still glide.

Sticky hooves had the lightest armor of the group, mostly some dense fabric. Metal armor would be noisy and give her away. She’d been reluctant to wear anything but was satisfied with how the suit muffled her hooves. On the chest was a black dagger emblem that was only distinguishable because it was a different material from the rest.

“Hey, Twilight?" Rainbow dash said. Rainbow Dash was wearing her griffin armor. A dirty brown thing that covered most of her body but left her wings completely free. The only part that wasn't griffin issue was a pair of brass goggles. A cowl had clearly been modified for a pony to wear as it left much of her muzzle exposed. Her mane and tail were both hidden from sight.

Twilight had originally been against wearing it, citing how ineffective it would be against bullets but Rainbow Dash won in the end though Trixie had worked her magic to make a red lightning bolt on the front. Greg was wearing a nearly identical set of armor, though it lacked the goggles and had a gold coin on the front instead of a lighting bolt.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash," the unicorn returned.

"Are you ready for this?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No," Twilight said. "Have you ever been in a battle before?"

"A couple times, remember? The civil war was decades ago, but some griffons still think it's going on. The family would occasionally raid one of their lairs to get them to knock it off."

"Your dad really took you into a fight?" Twilight asked, shocked.

"I wasn't a little foal. It's not that bad anyway. Griffon combat is all talon to talon. No magic or firehooves."

"So how does a pony go hoof to talon? You don't have any claws."

“And that's where you're wrong,” Rainbow Dash said pulling out two sets of three slightly curved metal blades attached to leather bands. The bands each fit snugly around one leg and tightened to stay in place. When she flexed her hooves right, the blades retracted so she could walk, or extended so they could be used as weapons. They seemed very old to the magic pony, but very sharp.

“No offense Rainbow Dash, but you look like a griffon with those.”

“That's the point,” Rainbow dash replied. “I made these so I wouldn't be at such a disadvantage with the family.”

“Rainbow you should be careful or you might just turn into a griffon.”

“Eh, as long as I have wings I'm cool.”

“I don't think I'll ever understand you,” Twilight said shaking her head. “If you had all that stuff in Ponyville, why didn't you get it when we went to get Pinkie?”

"It wouldn't have fit. It's all custom made. Well the claws would have, but I didn't want to hurt her."

"You were planning on bringing her back to Ponyville the whole time?"

"Guilty," Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

"Can you keep it down? I'm trying to listen!" Gearbox hissed, The two quieted down at once.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Captain Steelmane led his platoon through the sky towards their destination. The intelligence had been vague but it seemed the terra ponies were building some dangerous super weapon. He and the hundred or so alicorns under his command had been sent to investigate. They didn’t let offspring ponies into the military. They were so short lived and so limited in abilities.

Normally this wouldn’t have caused a concern, but the terra ponies had been acting very strangely lately. A million possibilities raced through his head. It seemed likely they were building some sort of device. After all they were very industrious, always coming up with neat little things.

The terra ponies and alicorns had always shared everything until recently. They had become more and more withdrawn. Maybe it was because the alicorns controlled too much. Steelmane had to admit that he at least agreed they were on the verge of overstepping themselves but that wasn’t enough to start something.

Finally he spotted their destination. It was a large metal door in the side of a hill. He led his platoon into a dive. They landed outside and were met with two terra ponies holding firehooves. They pointed them at the alicorns.

“What are you doing? I’m Captain Steelmane. I order you to stand down,” Steelmane said.

“We don’t recognize your authority,” one guard said.

Steelmane flicked his right ear twice. This wasn’t an innocent act. It was a silent command. Two members of his group sent out stunning spells, knocking out the two guards. Steelmane then walked through the steel door, leading them into the unknown.

“Just what are they up to?” he wondered out loud.

“State your name and business,” ordered one of the guards. Pinkie had been brought right up to the door. A large metal disk, with a hinge on the top, hanging wide open. The opening was wide enough for eight ponies to walk in and out of side by side.

“Pinkamena Pie,” Pinkie said. She hated her full name but that was what the terra ponies would know her as. “I have some documents from Canterlot about the Royal Guard.”

“Scan her,” another guard said motioning. A third guard stepped forward with a small metal device in one hoof. He waved the thing at her slowly a few times. “Huh.”

“What is it?” the first guard asked.

“Must be one of Dr. Axon's guinea pigs,” the third guard replied. “She's clean. Better let the Doc know about it.”

“One coming in,” the second guard said into a radio, “and find out what one of Dr. Axon's patients is doing here.”

“Go on in,” the third guard said motioning to Pinkie. She grabbed her trunk and skipped inside. The doorway was long semi-circular area that continued downwards at a slight angle for a few yards before opening into a larger area with several armed ponies milling about. On the far wall was another opening into a larger area beyond that Pinkie Pie couldn't see from her location. On a far wall was a big number four on the wall.

"Sanctuary four?" Pinkie said to herself.

"Four huh?" Gearbox said.

“Hold it,” a new guard said once she had entered. Pinkie tried to look innocent as he marched over. “Dr. Axon wants to see you. I was ordered to escort you there.”

“What kind of doctor is he? Cause I hate dentists. Always telling me to eat less sugar. I love sugar! How could I give up candy? I don't care if I do lose all my teeth,” Pinkie babbled.

“Just be quiet and come this way,” the guard said jabbing her with his gun. Pinkie reluctantly followed.

“Pinkie stay with him,” Gearbox said over the radio. “This Dr. Axon sounds important.”

Pinkie didn't reply, the guard was watching her too close to risk it. So she did as Gearbox ordered and followed the guard into the main compound.

The sanctuary was a massive underground structure in the rough shape of a + and consisted of two levels, the top being mostly open with a thin walkway overlooking the lower floor. Most of the roof was a light source that cast a gloomy glow throughout the complex.

The two main corridors had rooms on each side that served different purposes but since most of the doors were shut tight Pinkie couldn't get a good glimpse of them. The place wasn't packed with ponies but there were at least a couple hundred. Before they were halfway between the door and the center of the complex they stopped.

There waited an old terra pony with a dull lime coat was waiting for Pinkie. His mane was a dull gray but it was clearly that way from age. That was something Pinkie had noticed. All the ponies had dull lifeless coats. It was so different from the colorful appearances she was used to. The waiting terra pony was wearing a lab saddle with heavily laden pockets.

“What is this you have brought me?” the pony asked the guard.

“Seems she's one of yours,” the guard replied.

“Yes, as I see. I can take it from here,” the pony said. The guard saluted before walking away. “Tell me, what is your name.”

“Don't lie. Use your full name,” Gearbox instructed.

“My name is Pinkamena Pie, but my friends call me Pinkie,” Pinkie told him.

“Hello there Pinkie. I am Dr. Axon,” Dr. Axon told her. “You may not remember me but we met a long time ago. Before your father betrayed us."

“I don't remember you at all. Sorry,” Pinkie said trying to look sad.

“Please, walk with me a bit. I am sure you have a lot of questions for me,” Dr. Axon said.

“I need to give these documents to somepony important. They have information on troop deployment and stuff,” Pinkie explained tapping the trunk.

“Then let’s get you a temporary quarters first then,” Dr Axon said walking off.

“Whatever you do, stay with him,” Gearbox ordered. He didn't need to; Pinkie was curious now. The doctor led her through the complex and down one of the corridors. Stopping by one of the doors, he opened it to reveal a room full of small compartments built into the walls. The only privacy was a curtain. Some had ponies sleeping in them, other ponies were reading. Others stood vacant. The doctor walked through the room until he found one that was definitely unoccupied.

“You can place your belongings here and pick them up later,” He said. Pinkie heaved the trunk onto the bed and closed the curtain. “Now, let us walk together.” Pinkie followed him outside. He led her down a stairwell and to the lower floor. “So do you have any burning questions you would like to ask?”

“Ask how he knows you,” Gearbox said in her ear.

“Well, how do you know me?” Pinkie repeated.

“As I said your family lived here in Sanctuary 4 until they ran away. I didn't think you would ever come back. I was very sad when you left.”

“How did the guard know you knew me?” Pinkie asked.

“I am sure you have noticed by now, you are not a normal terra pony.”

“Yeah I'm a lot more cheerful than you guys,” Pinkie said smiling. "More colorful too."

“Not like that. You have magic,” Dr. Axon said looking at her.

“I've don't know what you're talking about. I've never done magic in my life,” Pinkie said hoping to get a better explanation.

“Let me explain then,” Dr. Axon said fulfilling her wish. “You are the culmination of more than two millennia of research, development, and testing. Well culmination is a bit strong.”

“To do what?” Gearbox asked, shocked, but the doctor continued.

“Before we sealed the doors we realized we would never be able to control the world as we were. We could counter strength with brains. We could easily control the skies. Our weapons of war far outclassed the rest of pony kind. But there was one thing that was beyond us: Magic. We needed magic ourselves if we were to compete with the other tribes.

“So we began trying to give a terra pony magic. Early tests were primitive and misguided. We tried sawing of unicorn horns and implanting them on terra ponies. That didn't work at all. Once we isolated what it was that gave other ponies their magic, we tried transplanting the organ. However our bodies lack the proper support structure and so that failed dismally.

“Next we turned to genetic engineering. Trying to twist our genes so we could produce our own magic. Those that survived, went insane. For a long time we gave up. It was deemed impossible. This was of course over many centuries. A new attempt every so many decades by some optimist who thought he or she had it. And then I came along.

“It was I that found a way to generate magic with machines. It was I that developed machines that could run off a pony's own bio energy. It was I that combined the two together into a device that could finally give a terra pony magic.

“I made a prototype. All I needed was a test subject. Somepony young that could adapt to the implant. I needed you. You were the only foal in the whole sanctuary at the time I deemed young enough.

“Your father objected of course but I won in the end. I implanted the device. Before I could test it however, your father took you away and fled Sanctuary 4. I thought my little experiment was lost forever but here you are.”

Pinkie stood there staring at him. She was a guinea pig in some twisted experiment to give terra ponies magic. She wasn't sure how to feel. She self-consciously rubbed the back of her head where it met her neck. He couldn't be right. He just couldn't!

“But I've never been able to do magic. Ever,” Pinkie said, mostly to herself.

“Well that is the nature of prototypes. They don't always work. After you were gone, I kept at it. It soon became clear that it wasn't enough. They had magic in them but couldn't use it. I solved that problem too. Just some tweaking in the implant. It isn't always successful. Most survive the surgery, but most of the survivors go insane shortly afterwards. But I am making progress all the time. The last two both came out excellent.”

“This is so wrong!” Pinkie shouted. “How can you do that to somepony who can't agree to it?”

“I don't use foals anymore. Age doesn't seem to matter much,” Dr. Axon said simply. "Not that their personal feelings matter to me."

Pinkie was about to respond when her tail began twitching. She quickly rolled out of the way just in time. A crate crashed to the ground right where she was standing. Dr. Axon walked over coolly.

“Sorry!” called a pony from the upper level.

“What was that about no magic?” He said with a smile.

“Wait, my Pinkie Sense is magic?” Pinkie asked.

“Tell me, what is this Pinkie Sense?”

“Well sometimes I get these weird little twitchy feelings that mean different things. Like when my tail twitches it means something's about to fall,” Pinkie explained. “But how is that magic?”

“Let me try something,” Dr. Axon said. From his lab saddle he pulled out a monocular which he stuck in one eye. Then he looked up. “Lad could you drop something else down here?”

“You want me to drop something?” The stallion asked confused.

“Yes!” Dr. Axon replied. The pony shrugged and pushed another crate over the edge right were Pinkie was standing. Her tail twitched and again she rolled out of the way.

“Just as I thought. Your magic reacted when your tail twitched,” Dr. Axon informed her as he put the monocular away.

“What does that mean?”

“I did stick the implant in your central nervous system,” Dr. Axon said thinking. “The magic may be manifesting as some form of clairvoyance or precognition, but instead of visions or reflexes, it uses your body to reveal the future. Fascinating.”

“Twilight just explained to me what your 'Pinkie Sense' is. This actually makes a lot of sense. I'll relay this to them," Gearbox explained over the radio.

“So what are you going to do to me?” Pinkie asked nervously. Who knew what kind of experiments he had planned for the one who got away.

“Nothing,” Dr. Axon replied. At once she was relieved. “Like I said, the implant in you is a prototype. I could remove and upgrade it if you wanted. I've already advanced the tech beyond that to give terra ponies full control over magic. While it is fascinating to see what became of you, I simply don't need you anymore. Enjoy your time in Sanctuary 4 and your little power. Visit me in the lab if you want to upgrade,” he said before walking off. Pinkie stood there and waited until he was out of sight before ducking inside an open room. There was nopony inside.

“Hex Wrench, this is bad, over,” She said.

“I know. If they have magic now this is very dangerous, over.”

“And he said this is Sanctuary 4. That means there are at least 3 more, over,” Pinkie said.

“Well I'm from 2, so yeah. Anything else you can give me? Over."

“There are at least 300 ponies in here. There only seems to be about forty of fifty active guards but they are heavily armed. I don't think the others are fighters.”

Gearbox didn't reply.

Pinkie facehoofed "Over."

“Hmmm. We'll have to see if we can intimidate them into surrendering. That's a lot.”

“There's something else,” Pinkie said making sure there was nopony outside. “All the ponies in here.... They're all dull. Over.”

“What do you mean dull, over?” Gearbox asked.

“Like they lost their color. Like their sadness is in their coats, over.”

“Side effect of the sanctuaries' magic blocking. I've seen this myself. Our bodies simply can't absorb latent magic like the other tribes, resulting in the dimmer coats, among other things. It'll take a few generations outside to fix. That's why I didn't realize you were a terra pony on sight, over.”

“I'm going to do as much recon as I can then return to the bed they gave me. Until then I will maintain radio silence. Sugarbowl out, over.”

“Okay then," Gearbox said, removing the headphones.

“What did you learn?" Twilight asked.

"It turns out that thing in your friend's head is an implant that generates magic. It's an old one so she can't control it but there are other ponies who can," Gearbox explained.

"Well that's just great," Rainbow Dash grumbled.

“We can't just go in and kill everypony there are a lot of innocent ponies in there,” Gearbox went on.

“We knew there would be civilians. As long as they're not armed they should be fine,” Rainbow Dash said.

"I'd prefer there be no casualties," Twilight stated.

"Agreed," Gearbox added.

"Tell them to surrender and they live. Fight and they die." Greg suggested.

"Can't say we didn't warn them," Rainbow Dash agreed.

“I have a plan on how to attack,” Twilight announced.

“And what would that be sir?” Rainbow Dash growled. She did not normally mind following the unicorn's orders, but this was combat. This was her specialty.

“We're going to rush the entrance. Move as fast as we can. If we can take them by surprise and Pinkie takes control of the door we'll be golden. Trixie and I can stun the ponies once we’re inside,” Twilight explained ignoring the attitude.

“That sounds really risky,” Sticky Hooves commented.

“No it sounds stupid,” Rainbow Dash retorted.

“Princess Luna put me in charge, not you,” Twilight reminded her.

“You don't know the first thing about combat!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“And you have a better plan?” Twilight growled

“I do. Divide and conquer. We have Trixie create a distraction that draws most of them out while the rest of us hit them from the rear. They'll never see it coming. Then we go in and eliminate the rest."

"I like this idea," Greg commented.

“What kind of distraction?" Trixie asked.

"Can you make it seem like there's an army?"

"Trixie is quite good with illusions but I cannot make that many."

"This is a perfect excuse to try my magic amplifier," Gearbox said. He ruffled around in his saddle bags and pulled out a small metal device that resembled a trumpet. He hoofed it over to Trixie. "Put this on your horn," he instructed.

Trixie did so and tested it by sending her magic through the invention.

"Trixie thinks she can do it with this," Trixie said. "They will all look the same but Trixie can make hundreds seem to attack."

"Perfect," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk.

"Okay. We'll go with that," Twilight agreed.

"Twilight, do you know any spells that might help?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I can place down a trap that triggers when enough of them step on it. You just have to be careful because it will affect you too if you're in it," Twilight replied.

"I'll show you where to set it," Rainbow Dash said.

Suddenly the radio came to life. Gearbox picked it up quickly.

“Sugarbowl, this is Hex Wrench, over,” Gearbox spoke into the radio.

“Hex Wrench, we have a problem, over.”

“Have you been compromised, over?”

“No but I just saw a terra pony. He's not dull like the others,” Pinkie said nervously. “I think he might be one of the magic ones, over”

“What makes you say that, over?”

“Well I figured I'm bright but my family is dull too. Since I know I have magic I thought maybe that might have something to do with it. After all it can't be living outside since both my sisters were born after we left, over.”

“Sisters? Hmm. That might account for it. We'll keep our eyes out. Is there only one, over?”

“I've only seen one, over.”

"Sugarbowl... try to make contact. Over."

Scootaloo sat by the Ponyville fountain next to Rriz, waiting for her friends to arrive. As the sun began setting she saw both friends making their way there with their things.

"Rarity didn't want me to go so I told her we would be doing homework," Sweetie Belle informed them.

"Not if it's that World Histories junk. I'm still mad they left out Gold Wings," Scootaloo said defiantly.

"They left her out of your history books?" Rriz said surprised. "Every griffon knows about Gold Wings."

"I know, right?" Scootaloo agreed. "So you girls ready to spend the night in the sky?" Scootaloo asked climbing on her cloud. Her friends smiled and climbed on as well. With a gust of wind they were off. Rriz flew beside them.

It wasn't the same cloud Rainbow Dash had given her so long ago. Like all clouds it began drifting apart long ago so Scootaloo had continually added new cloud to it to keep up the size. As much as she loved being able to ferry her friends she longed to fly on her own. Her wings were still too small. She would never admit it out loud, but she envied Rriz's freedom.

Within a couple minutes the cloud home came into view. She piloted the cloud to the lawn and held it in place with a hardcloud anchor.

"This is so cool!" Sweetie Belle sang.

"Ah've never been in a house made of cloud bahfore!" Apple Bloom said in awe.

"It is nicer than some old club house," Scootaloo said smirking as she unlocked the door and led them in. "Hey, Tank," She greeted the tortoise. He glanced over slowly.

"It must be so cool livin' here. Yah can see all of Ponyville!" Apple Bloom said looking around the white interior.

"Just one rule girls," Scootaloo said talking seriously for a moment. "Don't go in the freezer."

"Why not?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"That's where we hide the bodies," Scootaloo said jokingly.

"Really?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Actually, yeah," Scootaloo admitted.

"So where is your room?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"This way!" Scootaloo called, heading up the stairs, her friends in hot pursuit.

"Um hi," Pinkie said approaching the blue pony cautiously. He glanced over.

"Ah, a magic sister. I've never met you before. Are you Axon's latest?" he asked.

"No," Pinkie replied. "I'm the first."

"You're one of those Pies? A traitor?" the magic pony sneered. "Good, they finally brought you back here."

"I came back on my own," Pinkie shot back.

"Then why did you come back? The lesser tribes try to kill you or are they just so backwards you couldn't stand it?" Pinkie started to glare at him.

"Keep your head, Sugarbowl!" Gearbox shouted over the radio. Pinkie flinched a bit and hoped the other pony didn't notice.

"What?" the magic pony asked, seeing the other magic pony twitch slightly.

"Uh..." Pinkie stammered. "I just do that sometimes?"

"Figures. You should talk to Axon. I'm sure he can fix you up with a better implant. Clear up any bugs," the terra pony said.

"He already mentioned that," Pinkie replied. "So you all just live here?"

"Yup. It's not great but it beats having to live with the lesser tribes. All that feather and horn nonsense."

"Hey, they're not so bad," Pinkie protested. "I did live with them for a few years."

"And now you're back here," the magic pony pointed out.

"Yeah," Pinkie sighed.

"I know it's kind of empty but it's not like I have a lot of bits," Scootaloo informed them while opening the door to her room. Since she bought the hardcloud scooter she had hardly bought anything else. She had been too busy training for the tournament to do any extra work.

"Haven't ya pegasuses ever heard of paint?" Apple Bloom commented.

"It's cloud," Scootaloo reminded her earth pony friend. "It's water. You can't paint water."

"But you can hang posters?" Sweetie Belle pointed out.

"The walls are hardcloud. I could paint it, but hardcloud paint is just too expensive," Scootaloo explained.

"So what should we do first?" Apple Bloom asked. “Braid our manes?”

“Paint our hooves?” Sweetie belle suggested.

“None of the above?” Scootaloo groaned. “That’s so girly.”

“Uh... Rriz? Any ideas?” Apple Bloom asked.

"Actually I was wondering what bit you, if you don't mind my asking. I've seen a lot of bite marks but none like those." Rriz asked. He'd been studying the filly intently for several minutes.

"Ah shark," Apple Bloom replied.

"Figures it's a fish. You don't get many of those on mountain tops," Rriz joked. "Still, surviving a shark attack is pretty impressive."

"Oh Ah didn't," Apple Bloom said, enjoying the shock of saying that. "Sweetie Belle here brought me back tah life with a song."

"I got my cutie mark for that," Sweetie Belle added.

"You ponies really care a lot about such a strange thing," Rriz commented.

"Strange? A cutie mark show's who we are and who we're meant to be," Sweetie Belle stated.

"Yeah, but doesn't it bother you how arbitrary that seems? What if you don't like it? You can't exactly change it later like you can with a clan mark. If a griffon doesn't like his clan then he leaves. To me it sounds like you're stuck with what you get."

"But- hmm..." Scootaloo said trying to come up with a rebuttal.

"Yah don't have to only do that yer whole life. Granny Smith's is an apple pie, but she don't bake all the time," Apple Bloom pointed out.

"And if it wasn't something you would like to do, you wouldn't get it anyway," Sweetie Belle added.

"Still. I don't like the idea of my plot dictating what I should be doing," Rriz grumbled.

Pinkie walked through the complex, a sad look on her face. Everywhere she looked she saw sad ponies. Fillies and colt didn't play. They just sat about. They would watch her as she passed. It was understandable. Her bright pink coat stuck out.

"Excuse me?" One of the fillies, with a faded blue coat, asked Pinkie. "Are you one of those magic ponies?"

"I guess," Pinkie replied.

"Can you make it so we can go outside?" another filly asked.

"Yeah I want to see the sun!" a colt said.

"I want to see clouds!"

"What's rain feel like?"

"I don't want to stay here!"

"I want to see the sun!"

"Please take us outside!"

Pinkie didn't know what to do. All the foals were crowded around her, begging. All these foals being kept in this depressing place. It wasn't right.

"Foals!" She shouted to get their attention. "I Pinkie Promise that tomorrow all of you will get to go outside."

They foals cheered and began talking excitedly.

"Wait!" She shouted again. "First you have to do something. Tonight you have to stay in your beds no matter what happens or what you hear. If your parents try to make you leave or try to leave themselves, tell them they have to stay. It's the only way you can all go outside tomorrow. Make sure to spread the word! Tell all your friends but don't tell the grown ups until tonight so it'll be a surprise!"

The foals nodded but were too excited. Outside! None of them had seen the sun and tomorrow they would get to.

"Hex Wrench I hope you heard that," Pinkie said through the cheers.

"I did. We've made a plan. All you need to do is make sure you have control of the door to keep it open for us. Over."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This chapter is actually much older than the last 8. I had it mostly done before I did the revision and restarted even though it was next so a lot of it kinda hints to that. Like Scootaloo’s joke about bodies. I hadn’t planned on that reveal until later. Rriz wasn’t here, Eclipse didn’t exist, but Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack had marched off to war with a platoon of soldiers. So yeah, there were changes.

It's not stated but the implant is the source of Pinkamena. Just sayin'.

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my latest story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

My other tumblr, a sequel of sorts to Forever a Changeling’s pony ending.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Bonus Chapter: April Fools

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

Chapter 0

Warning: Contains Spoilers

If you're new to this series, be aware this is not chapter 1 and shouldn't be read first.

Twilight woke up to the sound of breaking glass. Somepony was in the tree house! At once she was awake, drawing forth her magic. She got out of bed,and slowly and quietly headed down stairs to investigate. As she entered the main floor of the library something jumped out and pinned her to the ground.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight shouted, surprised.

"Twilight," Rainbow Dash said. Something was wrong. Her pupils were barely visible, and the pegasus was shaking. Twilight couldn't help noticed her wings were flared.

"What are you doing in my house at this hour?" Twilight demanded.

"You've got to help me Twilight! I'm really hungry!" Rainbow Dash said.

"So you broke into my house?"

"That's just it. I'm not hungry for hay or apples. I'm hungry for ponies!" Rainbow Dash whined.

"Get off me!" Twilight growled, levitating the pegasus off her. "I think I read something about this. When you lived with Gilda, did you eat any meat?" The blue pony fidgeted. "Are you still eating meat?" Rainbow Dash nodded. "Rainbow, you can't do that! There's a food borne illness in meat that's causing this. Carnivores are all immune to it, but you're not."

"So what do I do?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"If I can find the book, maybe it has a cure," Twilight said. At once she began searching the bookshelves, but stopped when she felt Rainbow Dash pressing against her. The pegasus began nuzzling her.

"How do you remember all this stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked, but didn't stop.

"I reread it just the other day. This is another symptom," Twilight said, trying to return to searching but Rainbow Dash was rubbing against her harder now. "Rainboooohhhhh," she cooed. At once she began blushing at the sound she had made.

"I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash whispered.

"It's okay," Twilight would be lying if she said she didn't like what was happening. She had wished for something like this to happen ever since she had first laid eyes on the multicolored mane.

Something wasn't right. Something was ruining the dream. It wasn't the fact Rainbow Dash was obviously sick, or the fact her friend was a carnivore. It was probably the metal blades slicing her throat open. The sensation of the pegasus nuzzling the back of her neck made Twilight almost completely unaware of the warm blood flowing down her front.

"Sorry," Was the last thing Twilight Sparkle ever heard.

"What is so important you had to wake us up at 3 in the morning to see?" Sweetie Belle asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I can't really describe it," Scootaloo said. The trio was on their cloud, rushing across Ponyville towards the club house.

"Well it better be important. Applejack'll have mah hide if she finds out Ah snuck out a bed," Apple Bloom protested.

"It won't be a problem," Scootaloo replied. Not for long, anyway

"Hey Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said bluntly. The pink pony woke up to three metal blades in her face. Beyond them sat the familiar blue pegasus picking her teeth with something. She turned when she saw the terra pony was awake and tossed aside what she was picking her teeth with. Pinkie cringed when she saw the broken purple horn. "Maybe you can help me. I'm really hungry, and I have a huge sweet tooth right now."

"Is this revenge for Cupcakes? That was totally noncanon!" Pinkie protested.

"What? No. I'm just really hungry," Rainbow Dash replied.

"So what is it?" Sweetie Belle asked. They had entered the club house, but it seemed exactly the way they had left it.

"Yeah, whah did yah bring us here?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Oh I had a good reason," Scootaloo answered. The pegasus stepped into the club house, wings glowing brightly. "It was the only way to save you." For myself.

"Hey Rarity," came an annoyed voice. At once the fashion pony awoke, and removed her eye mask. Standing at the foot of her bed was a familiar blue pegasus. What wasn't familiar was the red blood soaking the pony, and the metal blades on her forelegs.

"Rainbow Dash, what is the meaning of this? What are you doing in my house?" Rarity demanded.

"Twilight was too lean, and Pinkie was far too sweet," Rainbow Dash explained. "I wonder how high society tastes."

"What are you talking about?" Rarity demanded. Rainbow Dash got closer. She reared up, and extended both sets of claws.

"I love being a griffin so much!" Rainbow Dash cheered, coming down onto the unicorn.

"What do you mean save us?" Sweetie Belle cried.

"Rainbow Dash is sick. She's killing and eating other ponies This was the only way I could stop that from happening to you," Scootaloo explained.

"What?" Sweetie Belle shrieked.

"We gotta stop her!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Whah did yah bring us here fer?"

"I brought you here because she's not the only one who's sick," Scootaloo said with a creepy smile.

"What?" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom said together.

"We're going to play a game. It's called Scootaloo says. The rules are you have to do what I say. If you don't, you're out of the game. As long as you stay in the game, you stay alive. Sound like fun?" Scootaloo said, still with the creepy smile. "Let's begin. Scootaloo says get on your backs."

The other two fillies stared at her wide eyed. Scootaloo's expression changed to one of anger. She stomped over and opened her mouth; Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle just stood in shock. She placed Sweetie Belle's horn in her muzzle and bit down. The horn broke with a sickening crack, and Scootaloo stood there chewing it. Sweetie Belle began crying, and Apple Bloom tried to comfort her.

"Scootaloo says get on your backs," Scootaloo repeated. This time they obeyed, but Sweetie Belle kept crying. "Scootaloo says spread your legs." They did so, but looked with fear at their former friend. The pegasus filly got really close to the pair. "Scootaloo says you're going to enjoy this."

Fluttershy woke up thirsty early in the morning. Softly she got out of bed, and headed downstairs for a drink of water. She stopped, and screamed when she saw her living room. Every one of her animal friends were dead, slaughtered! Little bodies were strewn everywhere. And in the middle of it all stood a blood red pegasus.

"Hey, Fluttershy. Your pets were fun, but I'll bet you'll be more fun," Rainbow Dash said, charging the dainty pegasus.

"Well, Apple Bloom, I'm glad you are still in the game," Scootaloo said, letting the white limb fall from her jaws. "Too bad about Sweetie. Still, I'm glad you're still in."

"How could yah do this to yer friends?" Apple Bloom cried, not looking at the body beside her.

"You know, you're really cute with that bow," Scootaloo said, getting really close now. "I can see why Rainbow Dash likes you earth ponies so much."

"Hey, Applejack," came a quiet seductive voice. The farm pony didn't rise.

"Hey, Applejack," the voice came again. Still the earth pony slept on.

"Hey, Applejack," the voice came a third time, a bit louder. This woke the orange pony up.

"What the hay?" she said, seeing a pegasus standing over her.

"Hey, Applejack," Rainbow Dash said seductively, staring deep into the earth pony's eyes.

"What in tarnnation are ya'll doin' in mah bed, Rainbow?" Applejack demanded.

"I just visited all our friends, and thought I should see the hottest mare in Ponyville last," Rainbow Dash replied.

"What are yah on about?" Applejack asked. Her eyes shrank when she noticed the fresh blood literally dripping down pegasus's body like she had fallen into a pool of it. Now that she noticed, the bed seemed soaked in the foul stuff.

"Twilight was too lean, Pinkie, way too sweet enough, Rarity, too fancy and Fluttershy was bland. but I think you'll make the finest meal. After all, you're always teasing me with that flicking tail of yours," Rainbow Dash said leaning in. "You were begging for this."

"Get yerself off a me right now, Rainbow!" Applejack demanded.

"Oh I love it when they fight," Rainbow Dash said with a smile. "Let's see how you taste, hmmm?" Rainbow Dash said leaning in. "Maybe you taste like cider?"

"You were right. That was fun," Scootaloo said to the older pegasus.

"So how were your friends?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Alright. I'll miss them, but we'll both make new friends in the next town."

"We sure will," Rainbow Dash replied.

"How was Applejack?" Scootaloo asked.

"She had this delightful hint of apples," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Why do you think we're not going after each other?" Scootaloo asked.

"No idea. Twilight said something about this being caused by eating meat, but I wasn’t really listening."

"So were are we going now?" Scootaloo asked, sitting on the older pegasus's back. The pair were flying through the night together. Two cannibals.

"Canterlot. We're going to have a royal buffet," Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

"Yay! Best mom ever!" Scootaloo cheered.

Lol I love this day.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Bonus Chapter: The Story of Gold Wings

The story of Gold Wings

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

If you're new to this series, be aware this is not chapter 1 and shouldn't be read first.

The griffon race was in its infancy. Discord had brought them back from the bring of extinction three hundred years previously, and they were still trying to figure out their place in the world. Every being seemed out to destroy them, since as minions of the element of chaos they were abominations. It didn't help that the griffons were quite aggressive to begin with and were always feuding with other races and themselves.

Ponies were a source of food in those days. Not all griffons felt this way, and doing so was frowned upon, but the law against eating a sentient was not to come for centuries. Ponies were not aware of this, and griffons were treated as monsters to be exterminated as soon as a clan was found.

The story opens during a series of skirmishes between the griffons and the mountain dragons. Dragons while outnumbered could handle a dozen or more griffons at once. While it hurt their dwindling numbers, the griffons wanted the mountains for their homes. The mountain dragons disagreed, and went on the offensive.

After a large mountain dragon destroyed a griffon settlement, the surviving clan fled towards pony lands with the dragon in pursuit. While slower, he tracked them tirelessly.

The dragon caught up with them near Clopstantinople, a pegasus stronghold. To this day nopony knows what it was that drew Gold Wings to the spot, or made her go to the aid of the carnivorous griffons, but when she saw the dragon she flew to intercept.

"Why have you entered pegasus lands?" Gold Wings demanded.

"I am removing these pests from my land," the dragon replied. "Once they are dead, I shall leave."

"This is pegasus land. Dragons are not welcome," Gold Wings declared, brandishing her trusty spear.

"Out of my way pony or I'll take care of you too," the dragon snarled.

"I warned you," Gold Wings shouted before charging the dragon head on.

The battle was fierce but to this day no bards sing of the glory displayed in that moment. Gold Wings never spoke of the details of struggle, and no pony else witnessed it first hoof. While smaller and not fire proof, she was more agile, and could dodge most of the dragon's swipes and fire blasts. Being a mountain dragon, the fire was weak but the ones that hit still burned just the same.

With her spear in hoof, Gold Wings singlehoovedly slew the dragon. Her black armor was covered in blood as she trotted away, holding up her weight with her spear. Large chucks had been torn away by the dragons claws, and she didn't get far before collapsing from the wounds.

Gold Wings woke up in a cave. Ever the warrior she took stock of her situation. Her armor was gone, somepony had bandaged her wounds, and she could see her spear resting against the far wall. Her side was wounded, as well as both right legs but her wings seemed intact with just a few singed feathers. She tried to get up, but her side wound flared, and she fell back.

"Please do not move," a clacking voice said. She turned, and saw a beaked visage staring back at her. "You will make the injuries worse. They need to heal."

"Why have you brought me here?" she demanded.

"The patriarch will answer your questions," the griffon replied, walking off. Shortly after, he returned with a larger griffon behind him. The large griffon bowed to Gold Wings. Bowed so deeply his beak clicked against the floor.

"If it had not been for your actions my clan would certainly have been slaughtered," the large griffon said. "You have my eternal gratitude for that."

"I only did it because he was in pegasus territory," Gold Wings said plainly.

"You did not need to do what you did. You could have left us to our fate, but you did not," the larger griffon replied. "Your reasons matter little next to the deed. Is there anything else you wish to ask of us?"

"Yeah as a matter of fact there is," Gold Wings said. "What am I doing here? I thought griffons ate ponies. Shouldn't I be your dinner right now?"

"You wound me. The Alsara (al-sara) clan would never dare eat another sentient," the griffon replied. "We saw you succumb to your injuries, and took you to a temporary home to heal on my orders."

"Okay, and you are?"

"I am Tansas (tawn-sass), Patriarch of the Alsara clan. You can stay as long as it takes for you to heal, but you will always be welcome with us."

"You'll have to pardon me if I don't trust you," Gold Wings snapped.

"It is understandable. We griffons haven't earned the best reputation. There are plenty of clans out there that would view you as a talkative meal. That is not the way of the Alsara clan," Tansas explained.

"So you said," Gold Wings muttered. "Last question. What are you doing here?"

"We were simply fleeing from the dragon you killed. If you wish for us to leave your lands we shall do so," Tansas answered. "Our home was destroyed by that dragon. If it is okay with you ponies we would like to build a settlement on a nearby mountain. I am not sure of the name you use, but it is just right for us."

"I'm just a warrior. I have no real power in Clopstantinople," Gold Wings explained. "You'll have to take it up with the general. That is if you can even get near the city."

"It seems we have a favor to ask of you then," Tansas replied. "But please, get well first..."

"I'm Gold Wings, a warrior of Clopstantinople."

It was a couple days before Gold Wings could stand again. Even then her side burned, and she leaned on her spear, but anything was better then lying there watching beaked faces stare at her all day an dnight. Gold Wings learned the griffon she had first seen was the clan's remaining healer; the dragon having killed the others. The healer took great care to ensure the pony was comfortable and fed. Luckily the two species had similar diets and she could eat what they had except any meat.

It would still be a day at least before Gold Wings would be able to fly back to Clopstantinople, but she got up with the help of her trusty spear, and was determined to not remain a sitting duck for the predators. Limping around, she made sure to examine everything for any future need.

The cave was quite large. Where she had awoken was a small alcove while the rest was dominated by a couple dozen griffons. Most seemed to be in mourning. One thing that really stole Gold Wing's attention, was the fact that there were maybe two foal griffons in the bunch. Was that the right word? Foal? As she limped around, she ran into Tansas again.

"You are walking already? It fluffs my feathers to see you were not seriously hurt on our account," Tansas said.

"Ponies are fast healers," Gold Wings said simply.

"So I see. As you see, this is the Alsara clan, or what's left of it," Tansas said sweeping a talon in front of him, "all because of that accursed dragon."

"That's what happens when you provoke a dragon," Gold Wings replied.

"We had done nothing. We had simply settled on a mountain top. A very low mountain top. Then this dragon attacked us, claiming it was his land. He didn't even give us a chance to leave before attacking. So many of my clan have perished, and we still have no home to show for it," Tansas said, actually crying.

"What happened to the griffons anyway?" Gold Wings asked. "We had always believed they were extinct then right when Discord took over they began popping up again."

"We were never gone. Your ancestors tried to kill us all off," Tansas explained. "We have no memory of that time, but what we understand happened is a demon you call Discord, appeared to our remaining kin, and offered us a deal. He would ensure our return from the brink of extinction, if we did just one thing for him. Pledge our eternal loyalty to him."

"And you accepted? Just like that?"

"What would you have done? It was that or the end of the griffons. So we swallowed our pride and accepted, but the demon went too far. He destroyed our minds and rendered us beasts. During that time everything we were was lost. As Discord grew in power, so did we. Eventually our minds returned to us but by that time it was too late. Too many generations had passed.

"When Discord called out to us to help him, in his final hour, we refused and he was defeated. By whom even we do not know. With the demon dead, we were free again. But we needed a home. We've been fighting for one since then, and our numbers have only fallen as consequence."

"So why do you keep pissing of earth dragons?" Gold Wings asked. "Wouldn't it make more sense to live where they're not?"

"Unfortunately they seem to already inhabit all the places we find suitable to live in," Tansas replied. "Griffons need open mountain tops and plateaus to live on. Asking any less would be like asking you winged ponies to live on the ground instead of on clouds."

"I'd fight a dragon for that," Gold Wings agreed. "So you said you needed a favor?"

"Yes," Tansas replied. He led the pony to the mouth of the cave and pointed with a talon at a mountain in the distance. "That mountain is perfect for griffon settlement. If it is okay with those in charge of your city, we would like to build a village on it."

"That's Haystack I think," Gold Wings thought out loud. "I can probably get you to speak to the General, but I can't guarantee he'll go for it."

"A chance for peace is more then we have had in years."

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Gold Wings grumbled, as she flew back to Clopstantinople with Tansas following. As she neared the city, several warriors rushed out to attack the griffon. "He's with me," she shouted as they neared. Recognizing her, they held back.

"What ever you say Gold Wings," one guard said flying off.

The odd pair touched down inside the city, and strode into the command center. At once Tansas had a dozen spears aimed at him, but he didn't flinch.

"Stand down. He wants to speak with the General," Gold WIngs declared. The spears were pulled back, but remained trained on the griffon. Gold Wings led in through the building to the command chamber. The general and his nine lieutenant generals turned and eyed the pony and griffon entering.

"What is the meaning of this?" shouted one lieutenant.

"Bringing an enemy combatant here! This is treason!" another yelled.

"General Sure Hooves, this is Tansas. He means no harm. He wishes to speak with you," Gold Wings declared standing at attention, addressing the lead pony. Outfitted with overly elaborate armor that would be only a hindrance in battle, General Sure Hooves looked a bit silly, but his face was very serious.

"Very well. I will hear what he has to say, only because you vouch for him," General Sure Hooves said with a nod. "At ease soldier." Gold Wings relaxed a bit, but only a bit.

"Thank you very much," Tansas said bowing deeply. "Because of the actions of this brave pony, my family still lives."

"I simply kept our lands clear of dragons," Gold Wings said modestly to the General. "Any warrior would do the same."

"We saw the body, but we feared the worst when we found your armor nearby without you." a lieutenant said.

"Killing a dragon alone is almost unthinkable." another said.

"She should definitely be promoted for this." a third added.

"Enough. Let the griffon speak," General Sure Hooves shouted over them. At once the other ponies fell silent. "Go on."

"As I said, because of her we live. That dragon attacked our home, killed many of my clan, and followed the survivors as we fled. My clan is quite small and we couldn't hope to fight it ourselves, but this pony saved us. When we saw her fall, we brought her to our home, and did our best to heal her."

"I would have figured you'd have eaten her," a lieutenant sneered. A look from the general shut him back up.

"My clan, the Alsara clan, does not hunt ponies. It is not our way and never will be," Tansas explained, "the reason I am here, is to ask that we be allowed to build a new settlement on a nearby mountain. I believe you call it Haystack. It is perfect for a griffon home."

"Why not go to another griffon home?" a lieutenant asked.

"We have no such place," Tansas said sadly. "Our cities of old are long gone, if we ever had any. Now they are home to mountain dragons or inhospitable now. Besides a few settlements, there are no griffon towns or cities. But living on the ground is not the way for griffons to be. Asking a griffon to live on the ground, would be like asking you pegasus to do so. We need to be high up; not on clouds like you but on mountain tops. If you allow us to live here, the griffons will no longer be nomads. We will have a home once more."

"I don't like it," A lieutenant stated.

"Nor do I. If we allow them to stay, other griffons will come," another agreed.

"They will. We are not the only clan that does not hunt ponies. Only clans who follow this code would be allowed to settle," Tansas said.

"I don't buy it," one lieutenant scoffed.

"We should kill them right now," a second snarled.

"No, run them off. If we kill them then we are no better," A third said.

"Please," Tansas begged. "We have been homeless for so long. We just want to end this constant migration."

"Griffons are too violent," a lieutenant replied.

"They are little more then talking animals," another spat.

"What do you think Gold Wings?" the General asked. His face was unreadable.

"I've been living with them for more then a week now. They are aggressive, sure. Maybe a bit violent, but they are honorable to. Something no animal is. They don't try to start fights. Griffons would make a far better ally then enemy. I can't speak for every griffon, but the griffons I met simply want peace and a home," Gold Wings said slowly.

"No matter what becomes of this, you have our thanks for trying," Tansas said to Gold Wings. Then he spoke to General Sure Hooves directly. "If you wish for us to leave, then we shall do so at once without complaint."

"Is this mountain within our territory?" General Sure Hooves asked.

"It is just inside the boarder," one of the porters replied after consulting a map.

General Sure Hooves was silent for a long time while the lieutenants continued to argue and bicker. Most were completely against the idea. The rest were only slightly against it.

"I've made my decision," General Sure Hooves declared. At once the lieutenants fell silent, and turned to him. "I will permit the settlement on a few conditions. You can only build on the top thousand feet of the mountain, and any hunting you do must be done out of our lands. I will also expect you to keep any new griffons in line. You personally will be held accountable if they attack any citizen of this city."

"General you can't be serious," one lieutenant snapped.

"You're just giving into your mare," the one next to him accused. General Sure Hooves sent them a death glare and they sat back down sheepishly.

"His mare?" Tansas whispered.

"We're dating," Gold Wings replied simply.

"And that means?" Tansas asked, but General Sure Hooves continued.

"We will not always be able to trust the earth ponies or the unicorns. They are ground bound. But griffons are our kin of the sky. It is in the best interest of the pegasi to have allies like this. I would rather have them as friends then foes. If you think I am unfit to command then prove you are a better leader, and beat me in combat." The lieutenants didn't respond. "I didn't think so. What do you say to my conditions griffon?"

"Your terms are more then acceptable," Tansas said bowing even more deeply then before. "I will never be able to express what this means to griffon kind. Should anyone ever threaten this city of yours, we will defend it to the last, even from other griffons. You shall never regret this."

"Porter make sure the troops are informed of our neighbors," the General ordered.

"Yes sir," the porter said leaving the room.

"I must go tell my clan," Tansas said leaving as well. Gold Wings followed him. They silently flew through the city until they reached the edge where they stopped and sat down side by side. "Gold Wings, I have something I want to tell you."

"Yes?" Gold Wings asked curiously.

"I would be honored if you were to join my clan," Tansas replied. Gold Wings cocked her head not understanding. "From time to time a griffon is at odds with his or her clan, or more often, wishes to form a matingship with a griffon from another clan. They can join another clan if the patriarch offers to bring them in."

"So what does it involve?" Gold Wings asked.

"We're still working that out," Tansas admitted. "When Discord destroyed our minds we lost much of our culture. All the old ways were lost. We've had to start anew now that we are free of him. Early on there were just small differences between us but that grew, and soon we formed groups that we called clans. Each has its own customs and traditions. It is my hope that having cities once more will help unify us again.

"For the Alsara clan, once a new griffon is accepted to join the clan, they are given the clan's mark. That's it though a feast follows to celebrate. I think we shall skip that for you. Meat is not for ponies after all."

"So what is a clan mark?" Gold Wings asked, now interested. "And what does it mean?"

"A clan mark means you are a member of that clan. A blood-sister. An honorary griffon in your case. You would have equal rights within the clan to any other full member. I wouldn't count on this working all the time, but most other clans should respect your griffon status. If you ever have hatchlings of your own, they will be eligible to become clan members simply by right of birth," he explained, then held up his front left leg, exposing a scar in the shape of a tree. "This is the mark of the Alsara clan. If you do me the honor of accepting you will receive one as well."

"Huh. Just how often does this sort of thing happen?"

"Of the griffons in my clan you have met, there are seven blood-siblings among them," Tansas replied. "However it has never happened in known griffon history that a non griffon has been offered this. What you have done for us is beyond measure. I am at a loss to think of anything we can do to express our gratitude in a greater way."

Gold Wings was quiet for a while, thinking about it. There wasn't a downside besides a scar but she had plenty of those already. If she ran into another griffon it could save her life. The other ponies would probably treat her funny if they knew but how would they? They'd just assume it was a funny looking scar or something.

"I happily accept your offer. I would be honored to join your clan," Gold Wings said finally.

Gold Wings was beginning to have second thoughts. In full view of the clan her left foreleg was being held out straight, pinned in place on a stone slab by some straps. Before her was the clan healer, messing around with various materials and mixing them together before dipping a knife in the concoction.

"This is a very unique poison," the healer explained to her, "the wound will heal but the poison causes it to scar no matter what."

Great so now you poison me.

"That is all it will do. No griffon has even been sickened by it," the healer replied to her thought.

"Gold Wings, you have been offered the chance to join the Alsara clan. Do you accept?" Tansas asked, standing behind her.

"I do," She replied, following the ceremony.

"Do you swear to always act in a manner that honors the clan?"

"I do."

"Do you swear to always respect and abide by the rules and customs of the clan?"

"Yes."

"Then join us," Tansara said stepping back. The healer came forward and stuck a foul brown thing into her muzzle to keep her from biting her tongue. Then the healer lowered the blade to her foreleg.

She bit down as the blade pierced her flesh. The metal stung as it was expertly moved around tracing the shape of a tree into her leg. The healer had to stop every couple strokes to reapply the poison to the blade. The whole process took a couple minutes but felt like hours. Then it was over. Her leg was freed and wrapped in bandages. The wound burned fiercely, but she put on a brave face.

"Alsara, I give you our new blood-sister, Gold Wings," Tansas declared. "May the wind always be at your back."

"And your skies always be clear," Gold Wings replied with the traditional pegasus farewell.

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"And that's how it was explained to me by my mom," Scootaloo finished.

"So... what happened next?" asked the green filly before her.

"Well, the griffon's built their city like they said they would. You can see how Still Tail turned out," Scootaloo said, waving a hoof at the city around them.

"Wait, that happened here?" asked the other, blue, filly.

"Well yeah. You asked about the city," Scootaloo replied.

"So... what happened to Gold Wings?" the blue filly asked.

"Well, her son became a blood-brother, but after that I don't really know," Scootaloo answered.

"Tell us another story!" the green filly asked.

"Okay, another story while we wait for the tournament to start," Scootaloo agreed.

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If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Notes on all chapters

So, here's a collection of various tidbits of information about the world of The Seven Tribes. I'll keep this updated when I have something to add that doesn't give away spoilers from unreleased chapters, but does contain spoilers for any available chapters. Nothing here is necessary to enjoy or understand the rest of the story.

Lies and truths from the Professor

-he did not invent the machine, though he did build the one he used himself from the book

-the terra ponies did not create discord

-who or what started the conflict is currently unknown

-while having been in hiding for some time, the terra ponies number in the hundreds if not thousands

-the terra ponies have infiltrated Canterlot, but have not gotten into the Royal Guard

-the terra ponies are far more technologically advanced then the rest of Equestria

Rules for the Pony Blender Mark III

-you can totally use it for your own story (this or any model)

-ponies going in must be of similar size

-the result will always be stronger then the three ponies used to make it combined.

-willpower, sense of self, ego, and physical strength all play into which characteristics carry through.

-horn and wing colors will always match the color of the donor regardless of the above

-cutie mark is typically a combination of the ponies's put in

-if subjects are not harmonious, especially with themselves, the result may be brain-dead or worse (see test 1-7)

-older models tended to have worse results

-result will live longer then other ponies except alicorns

-earlier models did not have the reverse function

-Terra ponies, sea ponies, alicorns, and fairy ponies, cannot be used in one

Feel free to use terra ponies in your own story as long as you follow these rule to keep things canon:

-terra ponies are almost impossible to distinguish from earth ponies on the outside.

-terra ponies have duller coats (less saturation). This is not absolute but is true for 99% of them.

-other ponies can use magic that is in their bodies, but only unicorns and alicorns generate magic on their own. If a unicorn shared magic with a non unicorn, that pony would be able to use that magic until it ran out. Terra ponies cannot do this.

-terra ponies are not united against the rest of ponykind.

-their technology is much more advanced

-terra ponies are still ponies, not humans or any crap like that. Do not attempt that. Do not even make a human to pony story where the human becomes a terra pony

-terra ponies cannot access other dimensions.

-they have little military hardware. Being forced into hiding, they lost most of their arsenal. They have weapons and small arms, but few machines of war survived. They have the knowledge of how to build them still. They are currently trying to rectify this shortage.

-terra ponies are almost universally skilled in combating other ponies. This includes carrying magic blocking collars, and knowledge of certain pressure points on pegasus that prevent them from flying.

Just about every adult unicorn knows these three spells: levitation, illumination, and magic missile. Illumination creates light from their horn as Snails demonstrated. Magic missile isn't really a spell, but just a blast of raw magic.

All unicorns can learn all spells if they put forward the effort. The only limit is spells that require more magic then they have. They do have a tendency to learn certain spells more easily then others and disregard others.

Alicorns are not truly immortal but there's no easy way of saying an ability to live a very long time and age slowly. Their life spans usually range from 8000 to 10000 years.

Shells are sea pony currency. 2 shells = 1 bit at current exchange rates.

Adding new rooms to cloud homes isn't actually free but is very inexpensive. The more solid parts of pegasus dwellings are typically 'hardcloud'. This is an odd substance that has the properties of both a cloud and a ground based object. While solid, it sits on top of clouds itself until it bares too much weight for the cloud to hold it up. A non pegasus can stand on hardcloud, even if that hardcloud is on a cloud itself but how reliably they would be able to do so depends on the size of the piece of hardcloud and again weight. Shoes of hardcloud would not allow them to walk on clouds, but a floor would be sufficient.

Hard cloud is incredibly cheap to manufacture so making an entire room out of it cost slightly more then a week of groceries for two. It can also be shaped like a cloud but maintains it's shape well.

Regular materials have to be enchanted to stay on clouds so they are much more expensive. That is why Rainbow Dash only has the bare minimum of ground appliances.

Messenger dragons can summon any object small enough, but only objects in their own hoard.

Scootaloo walking on water is exactly what she said it was. It does take more magic than cloud walking and exceptional focus due to the fluctuating nature of water. Unicorns might be able to replicate it but one with the skill and desire is unlikely to exist. Twilight is not capable of it at this point, even if she knew how to do it. Princess Luna and Princess Celestia both can do it but don't as it tends to startle other ponies.

Apple Bloom learned two different but related spells. They are both magic to force spells that allow her to hit with more power than she normally would be able to muster. The one she did on the beach is a force transference spell that channeled the force through the sand to where she wanted it while her splash was a force amplification spell released the force on impact. Such spells are rarely learned as other spells are much simpler. Such as just hitting with magic or using magic to manipulate the sand. Also few unicorns would actually make contact.

That last spell Apple Bloom cast is another one unicorns would never normally learn called Steel Skin. It basically hardens their body to resist physical damage to the point where they are nearly invulnerable. Its strength is uniform so the magic goes to maintaining it and has no effect on how strong it is. She can maintain it for about four seconds. It's pretty demanding, but can save a pony's life. It can't protect them from everything. A significant fall or massive impact will cause damage through the magic. I.E. Rarity falling out of Cloudsdale. Even with this spell she would have died. She wouldn't have gone splat, as the magic would have held her body together, but her insides would have been destroyed by the sudden deceleration. The hardening effect is only skin deep.

Blood-sister and blood-brother is a common griffin term for any adopted family member. Such things are common among griffins but other species are rarely if ever considered. To become a blood-sibling all one has to do is impress the patriarch of the family to the point where he offers one the option of joining the family. One does not have to accept and should not feel they have to. That is part of the reason there has only been 5 known pony blood-siblings since Nightmare Moon's banishment (7 in recorded griffin history). Only pegasus have been made blood-siblings. The griffins would simply not accept a ground bound creature.

All griffin cities are built on mountains that meet the clouds. This is because they can walk on them like pegasus. They do not like being low to the ground, but also like the feeling of solid rock. Also the names almost always follow the same pattern, adjective then noun. Griffins do not have their own official nation, as they have no defined boarders except where other countries end. The mountain they live on and a distance around the base are usually considered their territory and land between other nations that they inhabit are called theirs even if they have no interest in controlling it. They just live on mountain tops in a wide area, sometimes crossing other countries or sitting in the middle of them. They have a unified legal system and culture, but have no official boarders, so they are not a nation. The largest single territory is a mountain chain far to the north, covering almost fifty square miles. Because of this, they have no currency and just accept all other forms of currency and they compare values based on the exchange rates between them.

Griffon Clans:
A list of every clan mentioned, with a few unused, with their current numbers (when mentioned in the story with Alsara having two, one for when they first come up, then one for the present day), current leader (again two for Alsara) and if they are a patriarch or matriarch, clan mark, any clan traits, and any other notes on the clan. Some stuff is blank. I know. Deal.

Forming a new clan is easy, all you need is a unique name and mark. However you need the respect of other clans for it to mean anything. Unique marks are hard to come by now.

Alsara (al-sara), Estimated Population: 29/53, Clan Leader: Tansas (tan-sass)(P)/Liana (lee-on-ah)(M), Clan Mark: tree , Clan Traits: very high number of blood-siblings, Notes: Established first griffon city. One of the clan council members
Falney (fall knee): Estimated Population: 24 Clan Leader: (), Clan Mark: a wheel, Clan Traits: almost all blood-siblings, Notes:
Fook (foo-ck), Estimated Population: 229, Clan Leader: Flay (M), Clan Mark: A coin, Clan Traits: leader is decided by a massive fight between all clan members. All members blood-siblings. Griffons born to current members do not qualify by birth to be in the clan, Notes: A clan of mercenaries and griffons for hire.
Liaq (lie ack), Estimated Population: 31, Clan Leader: (), Clan Mark: A single layer cake, Clan Traits: , Notes:
Mouas (moe-as), Estimated Population: 75, Clan Leader: (), Clan Mark: A sharp rock, Clan Traits: , Notes:
Qnak (nack), Estimated Population: 124 ,Clan Leader: Clance(P), Clan Mark: A claw, Clan Traits: , Notes: One of the clan council members
Trals (trah-alls), Estimated Population: 84, Clan Leader: (), Clan Mark: A dagger, Clan Traits: Matriarch only, Notes: ate beings before civil war. Former member of the clan council, banned due to civil war involvement.
Watara (wah-tar-ah), Estimated Population: 35, Clan Leader: (), Clan Mark: three swirls, Clan Traits: , Notes: they are the griffon equivalent to weather ponies. They aren't as involved as ponies are in weather.

Dates (which I never use) are relative to Nightmare Moon's banishment because the earlier calenders were all lost during Discords reign. Dates after the banishing are A.B. and dates before and including the year of are B.B.. Discord's reign began approximately 1030 B.B. but the exact date is unknown because of poor communication methods at the time and some debate when it began; when he first started killing off the alicorns or when he had total control. His reign ended in 923 B.B. but Celestia and Luna did not assume power for centuries as the fight had left them quite weakened, and they were unsure if they should even interfere with the offspring tribes anymore. Plus they were busy with other things. During this time the events of the Hearths Warming eve play took place. (696 B.B.)

An theory/explanation on pony genetics within my story world.

All the tribes can interbreed easily except fairy ponies and sea ponies for obvious reasons. However there are some quirks. The earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns are all muddled together enough, so that any pairing can result in any other of those tribes. Sea ponies and fairy ponies are too far from the main group to breed. Sea pony- other pony breeding is genetically possible, but with the difficulty that would have to result from it, so is considered impossible.

Winged unicorns can arise at random, but are extremely rare. They follow the same pattern as earth/pegasus/unicorn ponies, but even if two were both alive at the same time and mated, the result is slightly more likely to be another winged unicorn than any other pairing.

Earth ponies are the same as terra ponies, but plus an extra organ.

Ponies have roughly the same chance of being a winged unicorn as being a terra pony, but they're just called earth ponies.

Alicorn-alicorn is the only pair that can have alicorn offspring.
Alicorn-terra pony can result in only unicorns and pegasi in the first generation of offspring. Earth ponies can result in later generations.
Alicorn-winged unicorn, high chance of more winged unicorn offspring

Bat pegasi do not count as a full tribe. They are a variant on normal pegasi and their decendents follow the same patterns as regular pegasi, but with bat wings instead.
Bat pegasi-regular pegasi can result in either with equal chance
Bat pegasi-winged unicorn could result in a bat winged unicorn
Alicorn-bat winged unicorn, high chance of bat winged unicorn offspring

Twilight at this point (Chapter 9, or Arc 3-3) has no combat magic besides straight magic blasts and stun spells (which are not true combative spells). She does have basic elemental magic as she demonstrated, but her mastery over it is laughable. Unlike Scoots, she can use all forms currently, but in air magic alone Scoots has her beat. What she used was a self invented cauterization spell to stop the bleeding. Nor does she have healing magic of any kind other than the above and that was makeshift (a combination of fire spells and summoning oils to burn). She is quite good at transformation and conjuration spells. She also assumed Rarity was roughly equal in power to her. That's why she assumed the two of them together could teleport that far a distance.

Siren magic is not like unicorn magic. It is not powered by an internal source, but rather draws on the latent magic in the world around them. The points of light are that magic. The spell used Sweetie Belle's magic up when it charged. Unicorns near to siren spells can have their magic drained but in this case that did not happen.

Earth ponies, while having no magic of their own, use natural magic in much the same way to grow crops. Happy, J-rock?

Also I want to make it clear the spell didn't 'revive' Apple Bloom, it simply got her heart beating again and healed her enough to allow her to actually live. It was vital healing but was limited to injuries that killed her or would kill her again almost immediately, like a ruptured heart or a broken spine would have been healed. This did not cause any lasting damage to Apple Bloom other then the scars. The spell that sealed the wounds did cause some significant nerve damage in the area. No zombification, brain damage, and she can still get her cutie mark when it's time.

Prance is not a part of Equestria, but the political ties are strong enough that if either princess put out an arrest warrant on a pony, they would respect it. There is no warrant for Trixie however. Princess Celestia feels that Trixie will inevitably punish herself more than Celestia would have, and has let the matter go.

The hair dying is a form of magic the manedresser came up with on her own. The paint is just to get the color right. It actually changes the ponies genetics so the hair produced in that area is the desired color. A pony could do any color anywhere if they so desired. Since single colors are the norm, they tend to stick to that.

Magic stats

A comparison between the various magic users in the series based on a few numbers I made up. All values out of 10.

Magic: two numbers, first is the maximum amount of magic the pony can have at once, the second is how much magic their body generates per hour up to the maximum amount. If the two are the same, then the pony has all their magic back within an hour and it works out from there. Works on magnitude scale like the Richter scale.

On average, unicorns range from 2 to 6. Fairy ponies ranged from 8 to 10. Alicorns ranged from 6 to 10. Pegasi don't count as all magic their body produces is immediately consumed by the cloudwalking spell. Obviously, being charged from another source can cause a pony to go over their limit, but this causes mild discomfort to extreme pain, and permanent damage if it goes too far for too long.

Power: Average strength of spells. Some spells do not apply.
Control: how well the pony can control the spells and get them to do what he/she wants
Raw Control: how well the pony can control raw magic and summon their magic
Spells: a comparison between the number of spells they know

Princess Celestia
Magic: 10.0/ N/A
Power: 10
Control: 10
Raw Control: 9
Spells: 10
Notes: The two princesses seem to generate enough magic to make up for the constant loss consumed by turning the planet. What it is beyond this is unknown, as it is so far proved impossible to measure the rate due to the constant use.

Princess Luna
Magic: 10.0/ N/A
Power: 10
Control: 9
Raw Control: 10
Spells: 10
Notes: See above. Better at illusion spells and detecting them than her sister.

Twilight
Magic: 9.0/8.3
Power: 6
Control: 6
Raw Control: 4
Spells: 6
Notes: Twilight is the only unicorn to get a 9 in magic and the first to break 8. Good at transformation and conjuration spells.

Appledash Sparkle
Magic: 9.1/8.6
Power: 7
Control: 6
Raw Control: 8
Spells: 6
Notes: Merging only improved magic and power as control and spells are both restricted to those who went into the new form.

Trixie
Magic: 6.2/5.8
Power: 6
Control: 8
Raw Control: 8
Spells: 8
Notes: Really is a fair match for Twilight, but the lower magic puts her at a disadvantage. If magic were equal, Trixie would beat Twilight in a magic contest. Very good at illusion spells, but poor in most other areas.

Alicorn Trixie
Magic: 7.1/6.7
Power: 7
Control: 8
Raw Control: 8
Spells: 8
Notes: See Appledash Sparkle

Rarity:
Magic: 3.8/3.9
Power: 3
Control: 9
Raw Control: 9
Spells: 2
Notes: Very skilled at levitating multiple objects in multiple directions at once. Discovered the spell: detect gem stone.

Apple Bloom
Magic: 2.8/ 2.6
Power: 1
Control: 4
Raw Control: 4
Spells: 1
Notes: Is very bad at complex spells. Anything beyond, cast for immediate effect, is beyond her current ability. This includes levitation.

Scootaloo
Magic: 2.1/4.2
Power: 3
Control: 8 / 4
Raw Control: 7
Spells: 1
Notes: Magic regeneration is high because while her spells require very little magic to use, they run for a long time so her body responded to this by producing it faster, so some of her spells she can cast almost indefinitely. Control has two numbers as the first applies to wind spells the other to all other spells.

Sweetie Belle
Magic: 3.2/2.5
Power: 2
Control: 7
Raw Control: 5
Spells: 1
Notes:

Sweet Appaloo
Magic: 4.2/5.0
Power: 2
Control: 7
Raw Control: 5
Spells: 1
Notes: Most of the stats come from Sweetie Belle as she was the only current magic user.

Arc 1: The Machine

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Edited by Some Person

Arc 1: Three Become one

Chapter 1

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“Father?” the pure white filly called as she walked out onto the balcony; her tri-colored mane hung limply from her head. The other pony present was vastly different: a towering red figure with a fiery orange mane that moved on its own.

He didn’t reply, so she stood beside him. She had to rear up and support herself with the balcony railing to see anything. Together, the two gazed out at the city below. From their high vantage point high on the mountain, they could see all of Alicornia, the most regal pony city in existence.

“Father, where are they going?” she asked, pointing to the figures flying over head. Their wings beated furiously,and their horns glowed, ready to unleash horrific magic on whatever their target was.

Finally, the larger figure spoke. “They are going... to their deaths.”

The filly blinked and looked away. Her brow furrowed.

“They do not... intend to die, but I do not see them winning the fight ahead of them,” the larger pony said.

“But Father! This is Alicornia... We’ve never lost a... war, not—not once,” the filly studdered.

“This is one enemy that cannot be defeated,” her father replied

“Who?”

“Discord.”

“Who?” the filly repeated.

“Discord is a being of terrible power. He has slain nearly every king that has come before me, and we have yet to stop him. Every victory was just a false one. Discord returned every single time. He simply cannot be defeated. He killed your grandfather on this very spot, four thousand, three hundred, and twenty nine years ago.”

“Why? Why would somepony do that?” the filly cried.

“I think he’s simply insane. As far as I know he has no reason.”

“So... what do we do?”

“We fight to the last pony standing. Our armies are only fighting to slow him down. Very soon he will come here. I’ll face him again, but this time, I will be ready. I won’t be a little foal. I’ll fight him.”

“And I’ll fight with you!” the filly declared.

“No, you will not, my dear Celestia. You and your sister will not be here when Discord arrives.”

“But Father, I want to fight! I’m three hundred and fifty! I’m old enough to protect my home!”

“You are still a foal and you have a sister to take care of. I have already made arrangements for you and Luna to be taken out of the city tonight. Your deaths’ will be faked. We’ll use the Dynamo so Discord will never know the truth.”

“But... Father...” the filly said, her eyes watering.

He lowered his head and nuzzled her. “Please, Celestia. You and your sister have to stay alive. You have to survive this, or everypony dies. Without you two, there is no hope. Discord will destroy the Dynamo, and with it, any hope the world has. It can never be replaced or repaired, all the terra ponies have vanished. You and Luna have to live. For me. For your mother. For your home, your country, your tribe; for every being that has ever and will ever live.

“Please, my Celestia. You and Luna have to survive. You must keep hope alive, or all of this will be for nothing.”

She looked into his eyes. His face was just as wet as hers now.

“Promise me that once you leave today, you won’t come back. That you’ll stay far away from here. From Discord.”

“I-I-”

“Promise, you’ll keep your sister safe.”

“I promise, Father,” Celestia said.

“King Sol,” came a voice. They turned and saw a blue-colored unicorn servant with a light blue mane in the doorway. “The preparations are ready.”

“Thank you, Presto,” the larger alicorn said. “Come, Celestia. It is time to go.”

“Can you tell me where we’re going?” Celestia asked.

“Presto can tell you,” King Sol replied.

“You will be living with a very nice earth pony family. They have a rather large apple orchard just south of here,” Presto said, smiling. “I’m afraid you’ll have to leave your things behind, lest anypony get suspicious of their absence.”

“Okay...”

“Remember. Stay safe, stay hidden. Do not let anypony know who you are. And always protect your sister.”

“I will, father,” Celestia said.

“Good girl. Presto, I leave my daughters in your care. I must get ready for my performance.”

“Come, Princess. The orchard is waiting,” Presto said. Celestia took one last look at her father before following.

“Princess, the orchard needs your ruling.”

Princess Celestia shook her head, trying to let the painful memory go.

“Princess, are you alright?” the yellow and white dragon asked.

“Yes, Nova, I am alright. Just... daydreaming. What was the problem again?” she asked.

“Hoofington is experiencing a rather severe drought and the crops are doing poorly. They are asking for leniency on their taxes this year.”

“Why are the local weather ponies not helping?”

“They are on strike, Princess, demanding better wages,” Nova answered.

“Right. And all weather ponies have the same pay rates all over Equestria. Please send a letter reminding them of this. As for the famers, they shall have their request. Ask if they will have any food shortages.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“What are you doing?”

“Let us out!”

“Somepony help us!”

Three ponies cried in terror. The horrible noises had started again, only the three were at the source. All around them, machinery howled; Gears turned. Bolts of varying light flew through the air, illuminating the room for a split second, the colors creating an effect not unlike a rave. But there was no dancing, no happiness.

Only a pony and his work. Hunched over a control panel, the pony worked hard, pressing one button, then another. Occasionally turning a dial or flipping a switch. The flashing light would have blinded him if he weren't already wearing goggles. He didn’t appear to hear their cries, or if he did, he ignored them.

Surrounding the pony was a mass of wires, cables, and tubing. The rest of the room was much the same. Pipes jutting out of the walls at odd angles, wires hastily taped in place. Just to get to the control panel, somepony would have to navigate a labyrinth of metal. The holes punched in the walls where the pipes fed through were proof enough of that. It wasn't just messy, but dangerous as well. The pipes appeared covered in frost despite the summer weather. Electricity arched through the air every few feet.

Dominating the room, however was the massive machine in the center. Like the room it stood in, it too looked like it was built without any plans. Every inch seemed to have a different exposed wire, loose screw or pipe. Nothing was remotely orderly or symmetrical except for three chambers inside the machine. Each was spaced evenly apart around the somewhat circular machine. Heavy iron bars closed each of the chambers off from the outside and were thick enough to keep anypony inside no matter how strong they were. They were empty now.

At the base of this monstrosity of metal was a fourth chamber below the others. A plexiglass door protected it from the chaos outside. This chamber was the only thing the pony at the controls would look at other than metal panel before him. Another bolt of light illuminated his expressionless face. The bolts seemed to be hitting the machine at various points and coalescing in the chamber at the bottom. A ball of light formed there.

And the noise. How could anypony stand being around this noise? One couldn't hear the pony next to them, even if they yelled right into their ear. Everything added to the din. The gears ground, sparks arcing from exposed wires, the monotonous sound of spinning fans unseen within.

The pony looked up again. The light was intense enough now to brighten up the entire room, casting shadows everywhere. Quickly he returned to his labors, hitting buttons and flipping switches. After several minutes a readout on the control panel changed. The pony looked at it. His face broke its stony appearance when the corners of his mouth curved up. Turning back to the controls, he adjusted some dials and hit some buttons.

The noise quieted. The gears slowed down and eventually stopped. The bolts of light had long since died down. The quieter sounds became audible. The gentle sound of fluids being forced through the frozen pipes. Even the breathing of the pony at the heart of all this could be heard though not through his protective ear plugs.

He stared at the chamber at the bottom of the machine. Where the bright light had been, now stood a four legged figure. The pony's smile widened as he pulled a lever. The glass door retracted into the machine's interior. The pony stepped around the controls to get a better look at the figure.

"Well, Come out," the pony finally said, breaking the silence. The figure just stared ahead. A trouble maker. He knew how to deal with troublemakers. The pony reached into his lab saddle and produced a small instrument, but kept it inactive in his hoof.

"I said come out!" he repeated. This time he got a response. The figure lurched forward, like it was uncertain if it could walk. It was right. The creature fell down and lay on the ground pathetically in front of the pony.

"Discord damn it!" the pony swore eying the creature over. Like him it had four legs. From its back sprouted two feathered wings and on its head was a single twisted horn; both traits the earth pony standing before it lacked. The creature looked back at him; Its eyes were not shining and colorful like a pony's eyes should be. They were dim and didn't seem to even reflect the ambient light in the room. It was solid black, too, something that would have unnerved anypony. But not this particular pony.

"Speak, if you can," the pony commanded. The creature looked back vacantly. This was not even remotely a normal pony. One wing was oversized while the other could have belonged to a filly. Its horn was short and blunt. The reason it couldn't walk was obvious: its torso was bulky, and its thin legs couldn't support its own weight. Its coat and mane were a patchwork of hair of different lengths and colors giving the appearance of a rag doll made from quilts.

"I ordered you to speak!" the earth pony repeated. It pulled the instrument in his hoof forward and pressed the only button on its surface. It was just a small rectangular box with horns at one end. When he pressed the button, electricity sparked between the horns. He leaned in and pressed the horns to the creature's skin. The creature shuddered and twitched from the assault but didn't make a sound.

"Speak!" the earth pony shouted before pressing the button again and shocking the creature a second time. This time he got results, but instead of language, the creature began to wail nonsensically. It started quietly but steadily rose in volume rivaling the din of the machine it had just tumbled out of. It wasn't a cry so much as the thing just made a noise to voice its unhappiness. The earth pony's smile had long faded and he looked away in disgust.

"Rot, Gore, get over here!" he said walking away from the machine. Two figures emerged from the shadows. The two new arrivals and the pony removed their protective headgear, and the earth pony put the electrocuting device away. "Rot," the earth pony said again, addressing a diamond dog. "This one was a failure as well. You need to bring me ponies that are more compatible."

"I'm ssorry, bosss," the canine replied, hissing a bit on the s's. "The poniess sseem so alike to me."

"I don't want excuses. Go out and bring be another batch, and this time try to grab all three at once. If they're together they should be close enough for it to work. And make sure they are all the same size and sex this time," the pony ordered.

"You got it, boss." Rot bowed before turning and walking away.

"Gore, I need this failure disposed of in the usual way," the pony said, turning to the remaining being. This creature was almost as odd as the wailing thing on the floor. Its front half was feathered, while the back was covered in gray fur. It stood out because its front talons were red around the claws while the rest was the normal yellow. Upon its back stretched two large dark brown feathered wings.

"Boss, I told you my name is not 'Gore', it's 'Greg'," the griffon stated.

"Greg doesn't sound dangerous enough. How do you expect me to be feared when one of my henchmen is named 'Greg'?" the earth pony replied. "Gore sounds threatening."

"Whatever. I'll just go take care of that then," Greg said. He walked over, and grabbed the still wailing creature. He threw it unceremoniously onto his back and left the room. The earth pony reached into his saddle again and pulled out a small recording device.

"Test 7 a failure. Creature not in harmony with itself. The subjects need to be all the same size as this test showed. It was too heavy to support itself and the rest of it suffered similar problems. Test 7 was incapable of both speech and higher brain functions. Test 7, terminated."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I’m home? What am I doing in the club house? The filly looked around, confused. Hadn't she just been somewhere else? She gazed about looking for some indication of what was going on. In the corner sat her blankets, all neatly folded as always. Posters of Cutie Mark Crusader plans were over the walls. But something was still off.

"Scootaloo," came a voice from behind her. Startled, she reeled around to see her teacher standing there. What was Ms. Cheerilee doing at Sweet Apple Acres? "Scootaloo, it's class time not nap time," Ms. Cheerilee said sternly. Then it all made sense, and she woke up.

"Sorry," the filly mumbled, rubbing her eyes. The teacher eyed her sternly but began class without chiding her further.

"So, class, can anyone tell me how many kinds of ponies there are?" a magenta colored mare asked, addressing a room of young fillies and colts. Immediately several hooves shot into the air. Most watched attentively, eager to listen. The teacher pointed to a pink earth pony in the front. "Yes Diamond Tiara?"

"Three, Ms. Cheerilee," the pony said matter-of-factually.

"I'm sorry, that's wrong," Cheerilee replied. Diamond Tiara looked dumbfounded, but nopony laughed. Most of the hooves went down, but one remained. "Yes, Apple Bloom?"

"Four, includin' zebras," the yellow-colored earth pony with a red mane said, in a heavy accent.

"Wrong again," Cheerilee said. "It is more than three, but zebras aren't technically ponies, just like donkeys aren't either."

The class looked around at each other, but no hooves were raised anymore.

"I guess nopony knows," Cheerilee said, but there was no hint of disappointment in her voice. "I'm not surprised. There are in fact five types of ponies around today. You all know the three in this room, the unicorns, the pegasi and the earth ponies. Can anyone guess what the others might be?"

Five? The class murmured amongst themselves.

"The Princesseses," said a brown colored green maned unicorn in the back of the room. Some of the class laughed at his pronunciation.

"It's Princess, and that's not a race, simpleton," Diamond Tiara said to him, smirking.

"Diamond Tiara, watch your language!" Cheerilee warned.

"Sorry, Ms. Cheerilee."

"And Snails, you are partly right," Cheerilee continued to say.

On the chalkboard she began drawing a set of ponies and lines connecting them. Two were at the top with a line connecting them with three lines pointing down to a trio of ponies. From those she made one line from each at wide angles except the middle one which remained alone. The five pony drawings were easily identifiable to any in the room, but the teacher proceeded to label them anyway. At the top was one marked old earth pony, and something called an alicorn. Below that were ponies labeled unicorn, new earth pony, and pegasus. When she had finished, she turned back to the class and continued the lecture.

"The Princesses are members of a tribe of ponies that had the wings of a pegasus, the horn of a Unicorn, and the strength of an earth pony, and they were known as the alicorns."

"So how come we never see more of them?" Apple Bloom asked.

"During Discord's reign, ponies were met with suffering greater than anything we have ever experienced. While the history is vague, and mostly missing, we do know that the only remaining alicorns are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Cheerilee explained. "As far as we know the rest are gone."

"What about Princess Cadence?" asked Apple Bloom.

"She is what is known as a winged unicorn. While they look like alicorns, they do not live as long, and are more similar to us. They aren't a tribe because they are exceedingly rare," Cheerilee answered.

"How come earth ponies are on there twice?" asked a small orange pegasus with a fuchsia mane filly in the middle of the class.

"Good question, Scootaloo," the teacher praised, glad the pony hadn't fallen back asleep. "This is why I am so excited to share this lesson with you, as I only learned about it at the last teachers convention in Canterlot. Canterlot scientists recently discovered that rather than the three tribes we know today, originally there were just alicorns and earth ponies. But they're not exactly like earth ponies of today. Every pony has at least some ability to manipulate magic. Pegasi can walk on clouds, and earth ponies can use the ambient magic of the world for crops, and we all know unicorns can actively control it. Old earth ponies couldn't do that, which is what made them different from today's earth ponies. However they went extinct before the alicorns. Recent studies have found that all modern ponies are actually descendants of the alicorns and earth ponies.

"But as I said, there are only five around today, and we have seven up here now," Cheerilee continued. She turned to the board, and put a big X through the old earth ponies. "Anyone want to guess what the remaining two are?"

The class sat silently still absorbing what they had just heard. None of them had any idea anyway. So Ms Cheerilee went back to the board, and drew another pony figure to the side of the unicorn.

"That looks like Rarity when she had those wings Twilight gave her!" a soft spoken white unicorn with a pink and purple mane spoke up.

"Good eye, Sweetie Belle," Cheerilee said happily. She pointed to the pony a line away from the unicorns. "A long time ago some unicorns focused only on magic and nothing else."

"Like Twilight?" asked the only non pony in the room. A small purple and green dragon sat in the middle of the room looking slightly bored.

"Even more so, Spike," the teacher answered, "over many generations their bodies weakened and shrank. Soon they were a whole new tribe of pony called the fairy ponies. They were no bigger than a grown up unicorn's horn, but several times more magical. The wings were a byproduct of all the magic they cast on themselves. However,"

Cheerilee paused and made an X through that drawing as well.

"After Discord's rise to power, none were seen again. It is unknown what happened but they, like the alicorns are simply gone."

"I heard that Discord couldn't mess with them like he could to regular ponies, so he turned them into parasprites," Scootaloo stated, without raising her hoof.

"That is a theory, but has yet to be proven or disproven," Cheerilee responded. She pointed to the last empty spot. "Now the last kind of pony is still around today, but I doubt any of you have seen one."

"Wait, I think I know this one," Spike said out loud.

"Raise your hoof spike. I mean, claw," Cheerilee said, trying to instill a rule everypony seemed intent on breaking today. He did so, earning a chuckle from most of the class. "Yes?"

"I remember the Princess talking about them once back in Canterlot. They were..." the dragon paused, thinking hard. "Cee ponies?"

"Correct, Spike. The last one is sea ponies," Cheerilee said, as she filled the last hole with a drawing. It looked very strange indeed. Its head was shaped like a pony's, but its body had no legs, just two front fins and two larger ones on its back, and its body ended in a long winding tail. "Sea ponies are still around today, but we never see them because of Equestria's relatively small oceanfront. Rest assured they are out there in the big blue. Unlike the four tribes here in Equestria, the sea ponies left and formed their own homeland.

"It is believed that they were once a small group of pegasi who took up residence by the ocean.Then they adapted to live first near water, then in it, and finally under it. If you ever meet one, remember that they can only live in the ocean."

Spike spoke up. "I remember now. Princess Celestia wanted to set up a trade agreement for the pearls they had, but she couldn't find anything the sea ponies wanted in exchange. She offered to speak to their King, pony to pony, but couldn't because he wouldn't leave his palace, and she couldn't find a spell to breath underwater long enough."

"That's very interesting, Spike. I didn't know we were still in diplomatic communications with them."

"It was awhile ago," Spike replied while shrugging.

"Ms. Cheerilee, what about bat ponies?" Scootaloo asked.

"Oh you mean Princess Luna's guards. The bat pegasi aren't quite a tribe yet because we're not sure if they're a whole other tribe, or just a variation of normal pegasi. We're not even sure where they came from exactly. The common theory is they are what is left of the Lunar Republic, and that they hid away underground during Nightmare Moon's exile."

"Huh," Scootaloo said, sounding disappointed.

“What about crystal ponies? My sister wouldn’t stop talking about them last fall,” Sweetie Belle asked.

“We’re not quite sure. Like bat pegasi, they’re relatively new and we have to work out where they fit. It is likely they are a subset of earth ponies.

“The reason this is important is it shows that all ponies today started at the same place. It also means that ponies are so well mixed that any pony can come from any other kind of pony." A loud bell rang out and on cue, all the ponies in the class grabbed for their things or began talking with friends. "Quiet down class," she said trying to restore order. Eventually they settled down. "Have a good vacation everypony, and remember show and tell is on the Monday we get back."

The foals raced out the door, excited to be free of school for nine whole days. The now infamous trio set out together.

"That was cool. I didn't know there used to be actual fairies," Sweetie Belle said to her friends.

"Yeah, and who knew there are actual ponies living underwater. How weird is that?" added Scootaloo.

"Ah think y'all are both forgetting the best part. How earth ponies have been round the longest," added Apple Bloom.

"She said old earth ponies and alicrons!" Scootaloo responded.

"It's alicorns!" Sweetie Belle corrected.

"I'm telling you, your cutie mark should be a dictionary," Scootaloo retorted. "Speaking of which, I think we should spend the whole week getting our cutie marks so we can have them for show and tell!"

"Yeah!" the other two cheered in agreement.

"Oh wait, I can't," Sweetie Belle said, looking down. "I have to spend the week with my folks."

"Right," Scootaloo said, disappointment seeping into her voice.

"Ah forgot yah only stay in Ponyville tah go tah school," Apple Bloom added, "Actually Ah won't be here neither, Applejack is taking me tah see Uncle and Auntie Orange."

Scootaloo tried to hide her sadness as they left the school building. Rounding the corner, under the eaves sat a small blue scooter with a red wagon tied behind it. She reached into the wagon and pulled out a purple helmet. She donned it before stepping onto her most prized possession. Her friends followed suit, pulling out the blue and green helmets in the wagon before climbing into it. Once everypony was settled, Scootaloo beat her wings rapidly, propelling the scooter forward.

With well practiced ease, she navigated the winding streets of Ponyville at great speed. She startled ponies as she raced in front of them or turned suddenly but she made sure the ride was smooth for her passengers.

"Just cause we can't be here all week don't mean we can't go crusadin' today!" Apple Bloom said, trying to cheer up her friend.

"Yeah. Maybe you and your family can do something too next week," Sweetie Belle said, trying to be helpful. Scootaloo was glad they didn't see her stiffen at those words.

"I guess. What do you think we should try today?" Scootaloo said, trying to compose herself. Her friends didn't need to know. They couldn't know. She was not going back.

"I'm sure there’s something at the clubhouse we haven't done yet," Sweetie Bell suggested. "Why don't we go there?"

"Where did you think I was going?" Scootaloo asked rhetorically.

It wasn't long before the pegasus stopped her buzzing and stepped off the scooter. They had arrived at the clubhouse. It was just a small tree house big enough for their needs and they wouldn’t outgrow it for a few more years.

"We could try helpin' Berry Punch home today," Apple Bloom suggested.

"We could be Cutie Mark Crusaders Designated Drivers!" Sweetie Belle sang; walking up the ramp to the club house.

"Good idea, Apple Bloom. But she's usually up by now," Scootaloo pointed out, entering the tiny building. "Any more ideas?"

She waited for an answer, but when no response came, she looked back. Sweetie Belle stood there, looking back questioningly.

"Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo called. She expected her friend to pop inside, but the earth pony filly didn't come. Scootaloo called again.

"Did you get lost, Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle joined in. When no response came the pair looked at each other. Nervously they ventured outside to locate their missing crusader.

"I'll look around to the left, and you look that way," Scootaloo directed. Sweetie Belle nodded, and began walking in the indicated direction.

Sweetie Belle moved aside the foliage, and looked high and low for a glimpse of anything yellow or red that would lead her to her friend.

"I'm not having any luck. How about you, Scoots?" she asked, after a minute of fruitless searching. When no response came she called louder. "Scoots!" she called again but there was still no reply. They must be playing a trick on her! She marched back to the clubhouse. "Alright come out!" she demanded. On cue something stepped out from behind a tree, but this was no pony. Sweetie Belle recognized it as a diamond dog. She’s seen pictures of them in her textbooks, but had never met one.

"Hi, mister. Have you seen a yellow or orange pony around?" Sweetie Belle asked trying to sound bigger than she was. The canine didn't respond right away, it just looked at her. Then with a movement faster than the young unicorn could see it swung at her with an arm and knocked her out with a sharp blow to the forehead.

He looked around to make sure nopony was watching. Then he grabbed the unconscious pony by the scruff of the neck and carried her to the tree where a cloth sack waited. He deposited her into the sack then lifted it over one shoulder. Before departing into the forest, he picked up the scooter and wagon and placed them inside the building, away from prying eyes.

"What have you done to The Great and Powerful Trixie?" the pony's latest creation growled. Like the last one, it too seemed pieced together.

"We may have finally made some progress this time," the pony said, ignoring the creature. "Now I want you to try flying."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie does not listen to noponies like you, and she is also not a pegasu, you fool," the creature replied.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear. I said fly," the pony said, pulling out the little instrument and charging it. Before he could use it on his latest victim, its wings flapped, and with a humph began slowly raising itself off the ground. After a couple seconds the wings gave out, and it came crashing back to the ground.

"Ow," the abomination groaned.

"Okay, flying distances is clearly out of the question. How about magic. Move something," the earth pony demanded, menacingly waving the device in his hoof. Almost immediately it began glowing a light blue before being thrown out of his hoof and landing several yards away. "Excellent. You might actually be of some use to me if we can do something about that mouth of yours."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie will have no part in anything you do!" the creation calling itself Trixie said defiantly.

"Gore take this to one of the holding cells," the pony said, ignoring the protests again. The griffon henchman walked forward and grabbed the primarily orange and brown pony in his front talons. It roared with rage at the contact and its horn began glowing. The griffon deftly clamped a metal collar around its neck, and the glow vanished.

"Magic blocking collar," the griffon said dully, jiggling it around. He carried the pony away with one arm, where it hung, limp and defeated without its magic.

"Test 8 is a partial success. I feel I am getting closer now. The body was alright, but the dominating personality of the unicorn shifted the balance in its favor. Its horn is fully sized but its wings and body are smaller than ideal. Its magic is strong so it may still be of some use. Test 8 moved to holding cells to be trained."

After navigating the maze of pipes and wires, the griffon and his captive came to a separate room with a row of large cages lining the walls. He opened one, tossed the pony inside and locked the door.

"Trixie demands to know what you have done to Trixie!" the creature stated. It got up and walked over to the cage door, its hooves clicking loudly on the metal floor.

"The professor's trying to take over the world with super ponies, or something. I don't really care–a paycheck is a paycheck. Don't bother escaping, the bars are strong enough to hold any earth pony in, and that collar is staying on," the griffon explained. "And my name is Greg, not Gore. I really hate that he keeps calling me that."

"Take over the- but- oh my head," the creature stammered, rubbing its temples.

"Here, I'm sure the professor wants you alive," Greg said, thrusting a couple talon-fulls of old hay into the cage.

"I am not hungry," the creature said turning its nose up at the food, but its stomach said otherwise. "Fine," it said munching away at the hay.

"Make sure you do what the professor tells you to do if you want to stay alive, Ms. Pony. He doesn't take kindly to defiant ponies. Even though you're the first to come out sane, he'll still feed you to the timberwolves if he gets mad."

"I'll try to keep that in mind, Gore," the pony said, looking away, frustration in its eyes.

"Greg, Ms. Pony," he corrected.

"Trixie. Just Trixie," the pony responded.

"Well if you work out or not I'll see you anyway, Trixie," Greg said, leaving The Great and Powerful Alicorn alone.

Miles away, a violet unicorn could be found in her home, if one could see past the mountain of books around her. Feverishly, she scanned book after book but nothing caught her eye. Finishing another, she placed it to her left and grabbed another from her right. Her concentration was broken by a knock on the door.

"Spike, could you get that?" the unicorn asked, not looking up.

"Sure thing, Twilight," came the reply from another room. Her young, similarly-hued draconian assistant dropped the duster he was carrying and ran downstairs to answer. Twilight could hear the voices, but it was too far away to understand. Steadily the voices grew louder, and promptly her assistant walked in, tailed by a familiar orange earth pony wearing a brown stetson hat.

"Hi there, Applejack. Sorry about the mess, but I've noticed something strange with my magic the past few days, and I've been trying to look into what could be happening," the unicorn said looking at her friend, but not getting up out of fear of knocking the books over and ruining her system.

"No problem Twahlight," the earth pony replied in her heavy southern accent, "Ah was just comin' by tah see if you've seen Apple Bloom or her friends around."

"I haven't seen anypony all day," Twilight replied.

"Ah figured that when Ah saw all this," Applejack said, waving a hoof at the piles of books. "Rarity hasn't seen them all day neither. They weren't at the club house neither. Ah know they're probably out crusadin' or somethin', but yah know what kind of trouble they can get themselves into."

"Applejack, I'm sure they're fine and safe. If they got into trouble there are plenty of ponies around to help."

"Yeah but Ah'd still like to know where they are, Twi. Spike, did they say anythin’ at school?"

"Nope," Spike said, having returned to his cleaning. "I don't even know why I have to go to school anyway. I already know most of that stuff from you, Twilight."

"It's important for a young dragon to spend time socializing with beings their own age, and since there aren't many baby dragons around, pony school is the next best thing," Twilight explained. Her tone was very to the point, with the irritation of repeating herself coming through

"Ah suppose yer right and Ah shouldn’t worry so much, but ah can't help it. She's mah sister," Applejack said frowning.

"They may be at Scootaloo's house, you know," Twilight suggested. "Maybe they're going to stay the night there. I know both you and Apple Bloom are headed to visit family, and Sweetie Belle is headed home for the week, so they're probably getting the most out of the time together."

"That makes sense, Ah guess. Ah'll have to give her an earful later for not telling me bahfore."

"Say are you busy today? I could use some help with these books. I'm trying to look up magical afflictions that cause you to lose your magic for a short period of time."

"You saying yer magic's been on the fritz?" Applejack asked. "Rarity said something about that earlier. Said she was working on sewing somethin' when it was like her magic got sucked out."

"That's what I felt!" Twilight exclaimed, jumping up suddenly, knocking over several stacks of books, confirming her earlier concern. "And if it's not just me, it must be some phenomenon causing it. Spike can you put these books away?"

"Yeah, yeah," Spike grumbled.

"Thank you, Spike," she said smiling at him. "I'm going to have to look up tracking and locating spells. Maybe I can figure out what's causing this. And if the girls do go missing in the future, I'll know the spells to figure out where they are."

"Ah'll leave you to that, Twi. Books just ain't mah thing," Applejack said excusing herself.

"Okay then, see you later." Twilight immediately went to the books; scanning the shelves. "Ah ha! 'Tracking and Trapping'... no that's not even close."

"Boss, I got you the next subjects," Rot said as he approached his pony boss.

"Excellent," the pony said, not looking up from the mess of papers before him. The canine placed the sack on the floor. "A bit small," he noted.

"Yeah but like you said, I got three that were the same size and they were all together when I got them," Rot replied.

"That may work. The last batch you brought me turned out better than expected, even though that mouthy unicorn stole the show, and her influence corrupted the end product. Still it's the first one to come out talking," the pony said, before opening the sack and examining the three unconscious figures within. "Get them prepped. The Blender still has to cool down a bit, but you might as well get them ready."

"Yes, sir," Rot said saluting. He scooped up the sack and carried it over to the machine dominating the room. Roughly, he took out each of the three fillies in turn and placed each in one of the three chambers and closed the bars, pausing only to remove the hair ribbon from one and toss it aside. Clothing would interfere with the process. "Anything else you need boss?"

"Nothing right now. You can do whatever you want, but be back when I turn it on. Don't go so far so you can't hear it."

"Okay, boss," Rot replied. He was feeling rather hungry. Perhaps he'd have some more of Test 7 for a snack.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A cyan pegasus lounged on a cloud, enjoying the sunset. A large creature landed next to her and sat down.

"Hey dad," the pegasus said, without opening her eyes.

"I have something I wish to discuss with you," her father said. At once the pegasus opened her eyes and looked over at the feathered and beaked face looking back. "As you know by now, next week Gilda comes of age, and will be marked."

"Of course I know that," the pegasus said.

"How would you like to join her?" the large griffon said simply. At once the pegasus sat straight up.

"You want me to join the clan!?" the pegasus exclaimed.

"Yes. I think you would make a fine member, if you accept my offer."

"Of course I will!" the pegasus said, smiling widely.

"I am–"

"Rainbow Dash!" came a voice, interrupting everything. The world faded to black and the pegasus woke up.

"What is it, Rarity?" shouted a rainbow maned pegasus in an annoyed tone while peeking over the edge of a cloud.

"I was just wondering if you had seen Sweetie Belle or her friends," the indigo maned, white unicorn called up.

"Haven't seen them all day. Why don't you ask Applejack?" the cyan pegasus, better known as Rainbow Dash, suggested.

"She asked me first. They don't seem to be anywhere," Rarity replied.

"Did you check with Scootaloo's folks?"

"I've never met them. I don't know who they are. Do you?"

"Why would I know?"

"She's your number one fan. You must have seen her with them at some point."

"Well I don't know who they are either. I'll keep an eye out for the girls," Rainbow Dash said, saluting.

"Could they be in Cloudsdale?" Rarity wondered out loud.

"What, the Crusaders?"

"No, Scootaloo's parents. It would explain why we've never met them."

"If they lived in Cloudsdale, why would she go to school here? They have their own schools," Rainbow Dash answered.

"Well, Sweetie Belle just stays with me to go to school here," Rarity said, reminded her.

"Yeah, but if that were the case, Scoots would be with relatives here and we're back to finding them."

"Hmmm. I'll have to insist on meeting them some time. Let me know if you see them and send Sweetie home. I want her packed and ready to go by tomorrow morning."

"Sure thing, Rarity," Rainbow Dash said before returning to her nap. "They're big girls. They can handle themselves."

Apple Bloom slowly opened her eyes. The throbbing pain in her head threatened to knock her back out again, but she fought to stay conscious. The cold wasn't helping either. It was really cold. Shivering, she looked around. The last thing she remembered was getting to the clubhouse and something hitting her from behind.

The yellow filly tried standing, but a wave of pain crippled her efforts, and she lay back down. Deciding that figuring out where she was more important, she looked around. She found herself in a cold metal box with bars on the only side that looked out. On the opposite side was some strange metal disk with all sorts of lights and things she didn't recognize sticking out of it.

Looking outside didn't yield any more answers. All she could see from her position were some pipes passing by the chamber and some of the machinery beyond. Was this one of those foalophiles her sister had warned her about? She sure hoped not. Just then she heard a groan. Eyes wide she got up and trotted to the barred side, ignoring her body's cries to stay still. Peering out didn't offer much more of a view. She was sure the sound had been close by.

"Hello?" she said quietly.

"Apple Bloom is that you?" came a reply just as quiet.

"Yeah it's me. Is Scoots with yah?"

"No," Sweetie Belle answered worriedly from somewhere to Apple Bloom’s right.

A groaning from her left answered her question.

"Any idea where we are?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Nnnope," Apple Bloom said sounding very much like her brother. There was a violent thump that rang out from her left.

"Ow..." Scootaloo groaned rubbing her shoulder. "I can't get the bars to budge."

"I already tried my magic but I can't find the lock to pick it," Sweetie Belle added.

"Well girls, there's a reason we earth ponies have done just fine without wings or magic and that's pure strength," Apple Bloom said. She turned her back on the metal bars standing obliviously between her and freedom. Marshaling all the strength in her tiny body, and channeling generations of apple bucking, she kicked at the bars. They didn't even bend. The kick did however create a loud noise. The three captives fell silent.

"Ah you've woken up then," a calm voice spoke. None of them could see the source. "I guess we can begin soon."

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Quick readers guide.

When you see this:

It means the following scene is taking place in the present.

When you see this:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It means the following scene is either a memory, a dream, or something that happened at some point in the past.

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 3: Barrier City

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Edited by n and Dr. Bob

Arc 3: The Sea Ponies

Chapter 7

"Why do I have to do this?" Scootaloo asked. She was laying back on a small, but extra-cushioned couch. Her eyes were locked in a seemingly permanent scowl.

"Because Princess Celestia and I both agree. You need to spend time with a therapist," Twilight replied. She was sitting in a chair next to the couch, with a notepad and quill in hoof. A pair of superfluous glasses were perched upon her nose. Both ponies lacked their familiar manes and tails. They were in one of the various guest rooms in Canterlot Castle, and would be there for some time.

Scootaloo was quiet for a while. "What do I have to do to get out of here?"

"Well, you're here until your parents come and get you," Twilight informed her. "So in the meantime, let's talk."

"There's nothing to talk about,"

"Scootaloo, you killed two beings and saw a friend die. That is not nothing," Twilight said.

"I didn't kill anybeing," Scootaloo said, grumbling.

"I was there Scootaloo, we all were. We saw you do it."

"I didn't kill them," Scootaloo repeated. "They didn't die."

"Okay, you nearly killed two beings. That can be traumatizing for anypony, let alone a filly."

"I feel fine," Scootaloo replied defiantly.

"You might feel fine now, but I have to make sure."

"Is this really necessary?" Scootaloo asked, tugging at a collar around her neck. While intended for unicorns, the device prevented anypony wearing it from using magic of any kind. Even cloud walking. It felt so strange being cut off from her magic. Like a part of her was missing, like a third wing or something, and even though she knew it was there, it was beyond her reach. It only needed a pulse of magic to open, but that left the victim’s fate in the hooves of other ponies. "It's not like I'm going to attack you or anything."

"It's for your own safety." Twilight didn't want to admit she was afraid of the filly's magic. So she wouldn't.

"Can I see my friends?" Scootaloo asked.

"When your parents come, I'm sure they can take you to the Canterlot Hospital," Twilight replied. Scootaloo groaned. "Why don't you try telling me what happened."

"You know what happened, you were there," Scootaloo reminded her unnecessarily.

How could she forget. She had let all her friends down. Because she wasn't prepared enough, they had all almost died. It was only because of the filly she was now attempting to council, that they had made it at all.

"Yes, but if I hear it in your words, maybe I can get a better idea of how you feel about what happened."

"Fine," Scootaloo said, settling in to begin the tale.

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"I can't believe we get to go to the beach!" Rarity said excitedly.

Applejack, Apple Bloom, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Scootaloo, Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Twilight Sparkle were all gathered by the Ponyville Library.

The group was standing around Pinkie Pie's balloon, busily filling it with bags and other travel equipment. They were headed to Equestria's only coastline, a 60 mile long strip of land on the southern border. Several towns lined the coast, and they were headed to the minor port of Gallopster.

It was the middle of summer vacation for the fillies, so when Twilight announced she was being sent to visit the sea pony king, her friends decided it would be a great opportunity to get away for a few short days. It was currently mid day; they planned to leave then and arrive in the afternoon of the following day.

"Ah've never seen the southern ocean bahfore!" Applejack said almost as excitedly.

"This is a business trip," Twilight Sparkle reminded them.

"That doesn't mean we can't enjoy a little sunbathing," Rarity said.

"We're going to be underwater. There is no sunbathing down there," Twilight pointed out. Rarity looked crestfallen. "If we get there early enough, we may be able to spend some time on the beach, but we need to be in Barrier City by nightfall."

"So we spend an awesome day on the beach then sit through boring talk. Sounds cool until that last part," Rainbow Dash said, smiling.

"It will take hours to get there. We will be lucky if we arrive on time for our escort, let alone early," Twilight explained, double checking everything. "Balloon travel is slow enough, but with it weighed down by all this stuff, we'll go even slower."

"What if Rainbow Dash and I take turns pulling it?" Fluttershy suggested. She didn't like the idea of traveling so far from home, but did want to meet the interesting undersea wildlife the sea pony kingdom held.

"Maybe," Twilight agreed, "but with just two of you, I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"I can help too!" Scootaloo said, trying to be helpful. "I can make a big wind to help push!"

"We'll get there when we get there okay!" Twilight shouted. She looked at the others cringing. "Sorry, but I have a lot to think about right now, and wasting time just lying on sand isn't one of them."

"If we're pressed for time we should just go," Pinkie Pie suggested, jumping into the basket. The rest soon followed suit. She released the anchor and the balloon began slowly rising, weighed down by its passengers and their luggage. They were just barely over the rooftops as they left town.

"How about that wind, Squirt?" Rainbow Dash asked, nudging the filly. Scootaloo nodded. At once her wings were aglow with dark blue light. The basket shuddered as they began rising in the sudden air current. More quickly than if the basket had been empty, they rose to a safe travel height.

"That looks good," Pinkie told her. Scootaloo gladly relaxed her magic, the light around her wings had almost flickered out when the earth pony spoke, and she was panting a bit. That well of magic inside her was nearly empty.

"Don't worry, it comes back real quick," Apple Bloom assured her friend, remembering her experiences with magic overuse.

"Here, let me show you an old alicorn technique Princess Celestia used on me," Twilight said, walking over to the exhausted pegasus. "Rarity, Sweetie Belle, you should learn this too."

The pair walked over and watched as Twilight summed forth her magic. Her horn began glowing a familiar red. She then leaned over and touched her horn to Scootaloo's wings. The filly's wings began glowing purple. It was dim at first, but grew brighter and brighter; and redder. It felt pleasant, her wings feeling warmer from the energy. She could feel the magic filling that pool of energy inside her.

"Ow ow!" Scootaloo cried. Her wings felt like somepony was pouring water inside them and the water was growing steadily hotter. The glow was no longer purple, but a slightly darker red than the one around Twilight's horn.

"Sorry!" Twilight squeaked, pulling back immediately. The burning didn't go away. "I must have given you too much. You just need to burn off the extra magic."

"Which way?" Scootaloo asked, her face screwed up in pain.

"That way," Pinkie gestured. Scootaloo looked where she was pointing and called forth a breeze to push them on their way. As they moved the burning feeling slowly went away, and her magic returned to its normal hue.

"What was that, Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"It's called magic transference, and it's just what it sounds like," Twilight told them. "Princess Celestia used it on me a few times when I burnt out during her lessons."

"It looks like it hurts," Sweetie Belle commented.

"That was my fault," Twilight said, hanging her head in shame. "I should have been more careful."

"So what went wrong?" Rarity asked. She wouldn't dare use something risky.

"I gave her too much. I've only practiced on Princess Celestia. You can transfer as much of your magic to any other pony as you want, but a pony can only have so much magic in them before it starts being too much. Princess Celestia can handle all my magic and then some, but she is an alicorn after all. It only causes harm if you don't expend the magic quickly," Twilight explained. "You should know how to do it in case one of us runs out of magic and needs to borrow some."

"That would be useful to know," Rarity admitted.

"Yay, beach time!" Apple Bloom cheered. She and her friends charged off to play.

The trip had taken much less time than expected, and they had arrived on the coast by mid morning the following day. They landed on one of the docks just off the beach, the location where they would be picked up later. While they waited, they set about unpacking for a few hours of relaxation. Or at least most of them did.

The beach was fairly crowded with ponies of all kinds. The fillies noticed at once all the ones who had 'friendship flanks'. None of the beach goers seemed exceptionally fazed by the hot air balloon landing nearby.

"I can't believe I didn't pack a bathing suit," Twilight grumbled.

"You are more than welcome to borrow one of mine," Rarity offered, having brought several.

"I couldn't possibly, Rarity. Besides we're different sizes."

"Whah do yah even need one?" Applejack asked. Her beach attire consisted of her removing her mane and tail bands, and placing her hat aside. "Ah just don't get you and yer need tah wear clothes all the time."

"Because it's the proper thing to do," Rarity replied.

"Don't worry, Twilight, I packed one for you," Spike said, pulling the garment out.

"Thank you, Spike. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I'm almost too afraid to think about it," Spike muttered.

"Welcome!" greeted a voice. They turned and saw a yellow and orange scaly creature walking out of a small cabin adjoined to the dock, just a few yards from where the balloon had landed. "I am Glare, messenger dragon to the King of the sea ponies."

"Hi. I'm Ambassador Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said.

"Woah..." was all Spike could manage. It was almost like looking in a mirror. Besides the color, Glare looked almost exactly like he did when he woke up in that pile of stuff he’d hoarded during his recent ‘greed’ episode.

"Glad to see you're ahead of schedule. I'll send word for them to pick you up," Glare said. He pulled out a scroll and set fire to it with a puff of yellow flame. The paper turned into a mist that flew into the ocean.

"Well, we should all stay close for when they arrive," Twilight instructed to her friends.

"No need. They'll take a couple hours, and when they arrive, I'll just let you know through him, and he can pass it along," Glare said, pointing to Spike. "As long as you're all friends, it won't matter how far you go."

"Okay then. We'll see you on the beach," Twilight amended her earlier statement. Then she turned to Glare. "What did you say you were?"

"Messenger dragon to the King of the sea ponies?" Glare answered, unsure of what she meant. "I was in the Royal Corps for a decade, but I've kind of dropped that title."

"You... you look like me!" Spike exclaimed finally. "I've seen a ton of dragons, but none of them looked so much like me!"

"Hasn't this boy spent any time in the Corps?" Glare asked Twilight. The mare shook her head.

"We've been together since the day I hatched him. You've got to be the only dragon we've ever seen like him. I've certainly never heard of any Corps."

"That's... unusual. So young dragon, what have you been taught?" Glare asked Spike.

"I can send letters to Princess Celestia, and she can send them back. I know how to cook and clean, and some stuff Twilight taught me."

"Hmmm. I would recommend he spend some time in the Corps. He could learn a lot and be more useful to you," Glare said to Twilight.

"He's like a brother. I don't care how useful he is!" Twilight said angrily.

"I suppose he'll have time to learn it later," Glare said.

"What more could there possibly be?" Spike wondered.

Glare burped suddenly, and a roll of parchment and a quill popped out of his mouth. Glare grabbed them and held them so he could start writing. "Would you like your list in alphabetical order, or in order of usefulness?" Glare asked insincerely.

"That was cool!" Spike cheered. "How did you do that?"

"If you join the Corps, you can learn how. That's the whole reason they exist; to teach us just what we can do," Glare answered. "The Royal Messenger Dragon Corps go back way to the rule of King Init, when we first came to be."

"I've never heard of him," Twilight said, surprised she didn't know. "When did he rule Barrier City?"

Glare laughed. "He never did. King Init was an alicorn, not a sea pony. He ruled over eighty thousand years ago," Glare explained.

"I've never heard of him," Twilight declared.

"That is because ponies don't remember like we do. We share the beings we have served with each other, and because of that, we have a near complete list of rulers for every nation, ever, going back, as I said, eighty thousand years. It's not particularly useful, most are in books anyway."

"So... how long would it take me to learn this stuff? I'd love to learn to just make stuff appear like that, but I can't leave Twilight alone. She can't even cook without me!" Spike said.

"Years, but I suppose I could teach you a few things before your transport arrives."

"I'll stay here. You go relax Twilight," Spike ordered. Reluctantly she left to join the others on the sand.

"What should we do first?" Sweetie Belle asked her friends.

"Swimmin'!" Apple Bloom cried.

"Sand castles!" Scootaloo shouted.

"I vote sand castles too!" Sweetie Belle agreed.

Having never visited a real beach before, they didn't quite know the mechanics. First they tried using dry sand, but were disappointed as it fell right down. Looking around, they saw what the other foals were doing and moved closer to the water. They lacked the proper tools for the job, but with a bit of magic and hard work they soon had a small sand tower surrounded by a moat.

"Cutie Mark Crusader, castle builders!" they cheered, stepping back to admire their work.

“What are you three doing here?”

The trio turned and saw their least favorite earth pony pair.

“Hah, Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom grunted.

“Hello, Silver Spoon,” Sweetie Belle said, equally as happy.

“What do you want?” Scootaloo asked.

“I said, what are you three doing here?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“What, are we not allowed on the beach?” Sweetie Belle asked sarcastically.

“I was just wondering what you are doing here. I’ve never seen you here before,” Diamond Tiara replied.

“Twilight’s visitin’ the sea ponies and we came along,” Apple Bloom explained.

“What are you doing here?” Scootaloo asked.

“We’re here every year,” Silver Spoon said, smirking. “My family’s second home is here so we get to come here every summer.”

“My family’s second home is up north so we go skiing in the winter,” Diamond Tiara added.

“Two homes? Whah would yah need two homes? Yah got that much stuff?” Apple Bloom asked, confused.

“We have them because we can,” Silver Spoon said.

“And that is the saddest sand castle I’ve ever seen,” Diamond Tiara said.

"Whah do yah always gotta be so mean?" Apple Bloom cried, stomping her hoof down. She didn't realize what she had done. The sand beneath Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon rumbled. They looked down, curious, but were met with a column of sand erupting into the air right into their faces, knocking them backwards.

"Ew!” Silver Spoon said, spitting sand. Apple Bloom looked at her glowing hoof in shock, but willed the magic away quickly, and tried to look innocent as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon glared at them.

“My daddy’s going to hear about this!” Diamond Tiara shouted.

"Close your eyes," Sweetie Belle whispered to her friends. They did so. "Solar flare!" Sweetie Belle cried. There was a bright flash of light Apple Bloom and Scootaloo could both see through their closed eyes. The other two fillies were not prepared, and could only see spots. "Run!" Sweetie Belle called to her friends. They followed her as they fled farther down the beach.

As their vision cleared, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon wondered off.

"What did you do, Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Belle asked, panting from the quick escape.

"I dunno. Must be some new kind of spell," she replied, looking at the offending hoof.

"Try it again," Scootaloo requested.

Apple Bloom nodded and focused. She wasn't as good as the pegasus at summoning up magic on command, but soon her hoof was glowing green. She then turned her attention to a nearby random patch of sand and stomped. A rumbling second later, a plume of sand shot a couple feet into the air.

"Cool!" Scootaloo said wowed.

"Ah wonder if Ah can do it with stuff other than sand," Apple Bloom thought out loud, eyes on the fading green glow. "It uses a lot a magic," she commented. "Can we go swimming now?"

"Say, how come you don't have wings?" Spike asked Glare as they took a brief break.

"That's history 101 in the Corps. We lost our wings to a draconequus demon," Glare explained.

"Discord?" Spike asked. Glare nodded.

"Before him, we had served as couriers for the alicorn monarchy, or warriors in times of danger, though with wings and the size of other dragons, as well as most of the powers we have today, but we were too stupid to really use them. We were no better than wild dragons. All at once he stripped flight from us. It was a big blow, but it forced us to rely more on our pony companions, which was better in the long run. We adapted and became how we are today."

"It's weird. A while ago, I kind of got into a big greed thing," Spike said quietly.

"Ah, yes. The bane of us all."

"I got really big. Just how big can we get?"

"I've grown to my natural limit," Glare replied. "Unless I start a significant hoard, I will stay this size for the rest of my life."

"Huh. All the dragons I met were huge."

"Yes, but how can we serve other beings when we tower over them. This size is just right for us. The draconequus did us a service when he shrank our bodies."

"Well that's good. I didn't want Twilight to have to make an extra wide door for me," Spike said relieved.

"That wouldn't be a problem anyway. She'll be long dead before you're close to my size. We can live for a thousand years or more. I'm almost six hundred myself."

"Better not tell Twilight that. She'll want you to tell her everything."

"Yes, unicorns can be like that. Should I also not mention my great grandmother was Starswirl the Bearded's assistant?"

"Definitely not."

"I must say, you are quite brave," Glare said.

"I am? I mean of course I am!"

"Going underwater like that? You couldn't pay me enough to go down there. I may work for the King, but I'm staying right up here on dry land."

“That must get pretty inconvenient, since you’re supposed to send messages back and forth for him,” Spike said.

“Not really. I do get some mail from Barrier City, and it comes here daily to be sent out, but they’re really separate from Equestria. I rarely ever actually send messages for the King.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle jumped right into the cold water, but Scootaloo hung back.

"What are you waiting for?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I wanted to show you a new trick I’ve been practicing," Scootaloo replied. They noticed her wings brimming with blue magic. Cautiously, the pegasus filly stepped out into the water. Or onto it. As much as they had seen, they were still amazed to see Scootaloo actually walking on the surface of the ocean like it was a solid, if uneven surface.

"How are ya doin' that?" Apple Bloom asked, shocked.

"I figured since pegasi can walk on clouds, and clouds are just water, why can't we walk on regular water too?" Scootaloo explained. “It's a lot harder though," she added, wobbling a bit as the waves passed. “I don’t think I could do it without my magic either.”

"Well are you comin' in?" Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo cut off the flow of magic, and fell through the water’s surface, splashing both of the other crusaders. "Oh yeah? Take this!" Apple Bloom yelled playfully. She called forth her magic, and punched the water. The resulting wave actually knocked Scootaloo back out of the water. She splashed back under a few feet away.

"Woah, Apple Bloom, you got quite the leg there! "Scootaloo said after she had resurfaced.

"Ah'm an Apple. Ah course we're strong!" Apple Bloom replied, flexing her tiny legs.

"What's wrong, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked the quiet unicorn, ignoring Apple Bloom.

"Oh, nothing. It's just you guys are doing all this cool magic stuff, and I haven't done anything new!" Sweetie Belle said.

"You still know more spells than the two of us put together," Apple Bloom said, trying to cheer her friend up.

"Oh yeah," Sweetie Belle said, smiling.

Something caught their attention. A swirling green smoke had rushed towards them and it condensed into a piece of paper that Scootaloo caught before it hit the water and read.

“Oh. Lunch is ready," she announced.

"So did you girls have fun on the beach?" Fluttershy asked when the trio returned for lunch.

"Yeah!" They chorused together.

"It worked!" Spike cheered.

"Well, eat up, we're going to meet the sea ponies soon." Twilight said, passing out the sandwiches Spike had prepared. Everypony did as they were told. Rainbow Dash passed Scootaloo some hard black strips, and she promptly ate them up.

"What are those?" Applejack asked.

"Dried fruit," Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo said together, almost as if they had rehearsed it.

"You two almost sound like sisters," Applejack said, smiling. Everypony had noticed how close the two had become recently, but they didn't know why. The two looked at each other and laughed.

"Yeah, you two are always hanging out," Pinkie Pie pointed out.

"Of course. What kind of hero would I be if I didn't do a little fan service now and then."

"Rainbow...." Twilight grumbled.

"So, Glare, how are we going to get there?" Rainbow Dash asked, changing the subject.

"A vessel will be here shortly to take you to the palace," Glare replied.

"But how are we going to breathe underwater?" Fluttershy asked. "None of us have gills."

"We don't need them." Twilight said with a flourish, she went off to the basket and when she returned, she was carrying a set of bottles telekinetically. "Zecora and I came up with this potion together. It allows a pony or any land creature to actually breathe water for 72 hours, or until they next leave the water." Twilight explained. "When the carriage arrives, we'll have to drink it, then be back here in three days."

"That zebra never ceases tah amaze," Applejack commented.

"Ah bet she could make a potion for anythin'!" Apple Bloom agreed.

"Well, this required a bit of magic to work," Twilight corrected.

"What about our things? They'll get ruined if they get wet," Rarity pouted.

"You could cast a waterproofing spell," Twilight suggested. "But we'll probably only be there a day or two, so you won't need anything."

“What, not even a change of clothes?” Rarity cried.

“We’re gonna be under water,” Applejack pointed out. “No sense in wearin’ any clothes.”

"I shall watch over your things here," Glare said.

"Say, how did you do this? I thought you could only send letters to the Princess," Sweetie Belle asked, holding up the now soggy note.

"Glare taught me a few things," Spike replied. "Turns out I can actually send messages to any of my friends or any other messenger dragon."

"There's a lot more he has to learn, like summoning scrolls to write on, or tracing a letter."

"Tracing, like finding out where it came from?" Twilight asked.

"In a way, yes. It is a skill that only we can use. When properly trained, we can tell exactly what dragons have sent a given message, even if we do not know their name. Each has their own... signature, if you will," Glare explained. "Since none of you seem to know anything about us, I'll add that when we do not know the recipient, we send letters between us until it reaches one who does, or is at least close enough to deliver it manually. Tracing a letter prevents it from showing up to the same dragon twice."

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Rainbow Dash commented.

"I can't believe the Ponyville library didn't have anything on this," Twilight complained.

"That's easy, darling, there have never been any dragons in Ponyville," Rarity pointed out. "Besides Spike that is," she added quickly.

"There's one in Cloudsdale," Fluttershy said.

"Ah, Cliff Side, if I'm not mistaken," Glare said. "Most major mail centers employ us. We can deliver letters much more quickly."

"I wish we had known you sooner. We could have all been spared some grief during the dragon migration," Rarity said.

"Wait, you actually tried to migrate?" Glare said, laughing at Spike. "And how were you planning on doing that without wings?"

"I followed on foot," Spike replied, annoyed. "I wanted to learn about what it meant to be a dragon, and they were the only dragons I had seen."

"How could you live in Canterlot and not see any dragons? There should be a dozen corps members there!"

"I spent my time with Twilight and the other ponies," Spike said.

"You know, Spike, if you want, you could join," Twilight said, "I'll take care of things."

"No, I can learn that stuff anytime, but you won't always be here," Spike said. "I'd rather spend my time with you than be off there."

"Um...what's that?" Fluttershy asked. She pointed toward the open sea beside the dock. Something was coming towards the surface.

"Alright girls, get ready to meet the aquatic pony tribe," Twilight announced. The three fillies looked close, but couldn't see any figures. A spherical vessel made of what looked like opaque glass rose from the water. Once it was above the level of the boardwalk, a hatch in the side opened up about level with the dock.

"Forgive me for not swimming outside, but I would like to welcome the Ambassador and her entourage,” a voice from inside the vessel called.

"Bottoms up." Twilight said, passing out the bottles. She went first. She stepped up to the hatch, drank the potion in one swig, and jumped in. One by one the rest followed. As they went, Glare pulled Spike aside.

"Is that the one you really like?" Glare asked, pointing to Rarity.

"Yeah... She's the one that stopped me when I went all greedy," Spike replied. "You're going to tell me not to try, right?"

"No, just remember this. She will die one day, and you will still have a long life to look forward to."

"I know, but.. it's worth it, even if it's only for a little while."

"That it is, youngling. That it is."

When it was Scootaloo's turn she drank it too. It tasted terrible. And there was a stuffy feeling in her chest, like her lungs were being filled with downy feathers. She could see her friends inside already, swimming in an inside pool so she jumped in to join them.

When she hit the water, the first thing she noticed was it felt really nice being below the surface. She could see clearly. She took a deep breath, and didn't start violently choking on the saltwater. The potion had done the trick, and she could actually breathe the water.

The vessel was partially transparent from the inside, and through its surface she could see them moving down into the depths of the ocean. It seemed to be pulled by a pair of large fish.

"Greetings, Ambassador Sparkle," the voice said. She could hear clearly underwater as well, if not better. She turned and saw the source. She was not exactly as Cheerilee had drawn them; ponies with fins where hooves should be and a long tail sure, but they also had two larger fins on their back, repurposed wings. It could have been the water, but she seemed to be a pale green. Her fin-hooves seemed fairly dexterous. She had a cutie mark like terrestrial ponies. It looked like a weird rock.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"It was brain coral," Twilight interrupted.

"Huh?"

"Seafoam's cutie mark was brain coral."

"Hey, can I tell my story?" Scootaloo griped.

"Sorry, go on."

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"It is a pleasure to visit the sea pony home." Twilight returned, trying to bow but couldn't quite do it. The sea pony giggled.

"We do have rare visits from surface dwellers, but I think you're the first to not demand airtight accommodations," the sea pony said. "I am known as Seafoam, and I will be your guide while you are in Barrier City."

"Is it true sea ponies used to be pegasus ponies?" Scootaloo asked.

"It's true. But we moved to the sea just over two thousand years ago," Seafoam answered. "I must say, I didn't expect the ambassador to have such a large group of assistants."

"Assistants?" Rarity protested.

"These are just my friends," Twilight explained. "They heard i was going to the ocean and wanted to come. I hope this won't be a problem."

"Well, they are all welcome in the palace," Seafoam said, "It will take us awhile to arrive. Does anyfish have any questions?"

At once they began asking various questions from fashion, to how the bathrooms worked, all of which Seafoam answered to the best of her ability. After what seemed like hours and probably was, she ended the questions.

"We are almost there," she said, pointing with a fin. The girls pressed their faces to the side of the vessel to get a better look. Out of the murky water appeared a magnificent metropolis. Towers of colorful coral, gigantic sculptures hewn from the very rock, and glass cylinders connecting one rocky building to another. "Welcome to the sea pony capital of Barrier City."

They ooo'd and awed at the sight as they passed by. Finally they stopped in front of the largest structure in the complex. While most of the buildings were made of coral, this one was made of solid bedrock. Stretching hundreds of feet into the ocean, it dwarfed the buildings around it in both size and beauty, with intricate gold inlays and enormous buttresses.

A hatch on the bottom of the vessel opened up, and Seafoam swam out. The rest joined her. She led them up the ramp and inside. There were no stairs in Barrier City, save for the airtight areas, and those were few in number. Why bother when you don't have legs. Ramps were used mainly for looks. They entered the palace and swam on.

Most of them could swim already, but the pegasi found that they could maneuver through the water just like they could through the air, albeit at a slower pace. Rainbow Dash tried seeing how fast she could go, but she wasn't very hydrodynamic and couldn't hope to match her speed in the air. The fillies had trouble keeping up, so their older siblings and Rainbow Dash carried them. Spike was very uneasy. Dragons were beings of fire, and while a bath or pond was no big deal, being underwater was unnerving on an instinctual level. Glare had been right.

They came to a set of massive brass doors flanked on both sides by massive guards. These weren't just sea ponies, but numerous large sea creatures joined the ranks. Lobsters, sharks, octopuses, and starfish to name a few. Each carried at least one long metal rod with three spikes at one end. These were all foreign to the girls. The guards parted at Seafoam's arrival, and they continued inside.

"Greetings, ambassador," called the large sea pony seated on a golden throne. It rivaled Celestia's in terms of size, and so did the pony seated on it.

"Greetings, your highness," Twilight said, attempting another bow, but getting nowhere.

"How do you like our little city under the waves?" the King asked. "I have not personally set eyes on Canterlot, but I have heard it nearly matches the beauty of my kingdom."

"It is lovely, your highness."

"I see you have brought many friends with you," the King said. "We'll have to make room at the banquet for them."

"We don't want to impose, yer majesty," Applejack said, trying to bow as well.

"I may wear the crown, but I always make sure everyfish is taken care of. Royalty may rule, but it has a duty to the beings it rules. The King serves the fish, not the other way around," the King said. "I'll have the servants tend to your rooms while we eat."

"Thank you ever so much, your highness," Rarity said bowing.

"Servants, set some extra places," the King said, waving a fin. A few sea ponies bowed and exited the room. "I know you are eager to get to business, but it can wait until tomorrow."

"With all due respect, this is very important," Twilight said.

"Perhaps you can tell me some now and some then," The King agreed.

"Thank you. Princess Celestia sent me here to inform you that the terra ponies are not as extinct as once thought, and now are working against all of pony kind."

The King was quiet for several minutes.

"This is grave news you bring. The alicorn’s war with the terra ponies is what drove us to the sea in the first place," the King said, deep in thought. "But we have little to worry about down here. They cannot breathe or cast magics to do so."

"But they may have agents here. Non-pony agents," Twilight went on. "They have worked with griffons and diamond dogs in the past, and it is safe to assume they would work with other beings."

"They may," the King nodded.

"The Princess is just asking for your support in this matter."

"She doesn't have it," the King said bluntly. Twilight looked crestfallen. Her mission was over, and it had barely begun. Suddenly he began chuckling. "But that is how diplomacy works, no? I think one thing, and you try to convince me I am wrong."

"Your majesty, the banquet is ready," a servant said entering the room.

"Excellent. Tomorrow we can do the debating, but for now, we eat," the King said, getting up and heading off to where the servant had entered. As he turned they could see his cutie mark was that of several ocean waves.

The girls followed into a different, much larger room with an enormous table going from one end of the room to the other. Piled on top was all manner of foods, most of which, none of them could recognize. Already the table was full of what they could only assume were nobles, both pony and fish folk. The group sat down in the empty spots at the end.

"Friends, tonight we have nine of our surface sisters and a messenger dragon joining us," the King said, sitting at the head of the table. "Let us welcome them into our home and show them the harmony of the sea ponies."

The girls looked cautiously at the various foods before them. It was all so strange.

I know what half of this is,[i/] Rainbow Dash thought, remembering all the seafood meals she had, had with the griffons.

"Hello," Seafoam greeted, joining them.

"Would you mind telling us what this is?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"Not at all." Seafoam smiled, "you surface ponies don't eat fish right?"

"Nope," Rainbow Dash replied automatically, and a bit louder than she would have liked.

"I've caught them, but for my animal friends," Fluttershy said quietly.

"Than you'll want to stay away from just about everything," Seafoam explained, before grabbing some food for herself. She pointed with a fin at a bowl of multi colored leaves. "The seaweed is vegetarian, but there isn't much of it. It's not a popular dish."

"Now Ah see the downside tah comin' here," Applejack sighed.

"I didn't know sea ponies were carnivores," Pinkie said surprised.

"Aren't they your friends?" Fluttershy asked.

"Some are our friends, but not all fish folk are intelligent. If they talk they don't get eaten. Simple as that. There isn't much that grows underwater, so we adapted," Seafoam explained. Scootaloo looked closer, and saw her teeth were actually sharper than that of a surface pony. They weren’t quite predator like, but still sharp.

"Well I refuse to lower my standards," Rarity said. She levitated some seaweed over to herself and began eating. At once she gagged. “Oh this is simply horrid!”

"I agree," Sweetie Belle said, mimicking her sister after trying a bite.

"Me two," Apple Bloom echoed.

"Uh- me three," Scootaloo said. She wouldn't go hungry, Rainbow Dash had packed plenty of food for the trip. She could even see Rainbow Dash hastily stuffing some food into her bag for later when nopony was watching. When everypony was busy, she did the same.

“I'm surprised at how many beings here are not ponies,” Fluttershy said quietly, nibbling some seaweed.

“What, don't you have other beings on the surface that talk?” Seafoam asked.

“We do. Griffons, centaurs, minotaurs, changelings, harpies, donkeys, goats, zebras...” Twilight listed.

“Dragons,” Spike added. He had ignored the food, and begun eating one of the stone bowls.

“But we don't live with them for the most part,” Twilight continued.

“How strange,” Seafoam said, frowning. “It's always been us and the fish folk down here. We've always lived together.”

“And they don't mind you eatin' their kin?” Applejack asked.

“They view the non sentient fish as lesser beings, so they'll eat them too.”

“We could certainly learn a lot about harmony with a little culture exchange,” Twilight commented.

"They sound a lot like griffons," Rainbow Dash commented. "They won't eat anything that talks back either."

"Really? Ah thought some did," Applejack said.

"Actually, the last griffon civil war was over that, but the good side won and eating sentients was banned," Rainbow Dash explained. "Some still do, but its illegal, and they do their best to stamp it out. It's one of the few laws griffons have."

"You really know a lot of griffon history," Twilight commented.

"It's hard not to learn it when you spent as much time with them as I did."

As they ate, a group of sea ponies wearing white robes swam out over a raised stage along one side of the room. About two dozen in all, both stallions and mares. On the front and back of each robe was a gold emblem shaped similarly to the head of a trident. Once they had found their places, they turned their heads up and began singing. There were words, but no being present could understand them. The song grew louder and louder as they sang.

Watching them, the group could see lights appearing in the water above them. Small points of different colors. The lights swirled around leaving trails of color behind them.

“Dazzling!”

“Wow!”

“Oooo!”

“So cool!”

The girls were in awe at the display.

“Who are they?” Twilight whispered to Seafoam.

“They are the sirens,” Seafoam whispered back. “An ancient order of sea ponies dating back to when we first entered the ocean.”

“How are they doing that?” Twilight asked.

“Magic,” Seafoam replied. Twilight looked at her confused. “The sirens use their voice to summon forth magic.” Twilight turned back to the singers. Then a noise started coming from behind her.

Sweetie Belle had closed her eyes and was joining in. Quietly at first, trying to catch the flow of the melody. She caught it, and began to perfectly echo the choir. Rarity watched with amazement as lights winked into existence above her sister. The sea ponies who had previously been paying exclusive attention to the sea pony singers, began glancing at the unicorn who was joining in. Even a few of the sirens glanced over, but were careful to keep the song going.

The song went on for a while, but Sweetie Belle sang the entire time. When it was over she, stopped and looked around.

“Why is everypony staring at me?” she asked.

“Sweetie Belle, that was lovely!” Rarity praised.

“I have never heard of a land dweller being able to sing a siren's song,” Seafoam said.

Across the room, the sirens were talking amongst each other very excitedly. One left the group and swam over to Sweetie Belle.

“Sorry if I ruined your song. I just wanted to try it,” Sweetie Belle apologized.

“Young foal,” the siren spoke, “you have nothing to be sorry for. That is what our song is meant to do. Those with the gift of the siren's song are rare as you can see. Finding a new fish with the gift is always a welcome surprise.”

“Not every pony can sing? But it seemed so easy,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Some may try to imitate us, but only a siren can truly sing as we can. A siren will find learning a song very easy, as you just demonstrated,” the siren explained. “In all our days, we have never seen an air breather with the gift. Would you please sing with us in the next song?”

“Okay!” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Then please follow. We shall begin our song soon,” the siren said. Sweetie Belle got down from the seat and followed him to the stage.

“So what exactly are the sirens?” Rarity asked Seafoam.

“I guess you could say they are the sea pony equivalent of unicorns. They are capable of great magic. They have been known to heal the injured and stop storms with their voices,” Seafoam explained.

“Just how rare are they?” Rarity asked.

“All the sirens in the sea pony kingdom are on that stage now,” Seafoam answered.

“Is it hard to become one?” Rarity asked, watching her sister trying to get onto the stage.

“One does not become a siren. You must be born with the gift. Having a siren in the family is a sign of good fortune,” Seafoam continued. “Parents are always trying to get their foals to sing like a siren, but the sirens always know who is a true siren.”

The girls quieted down as the next song began. A few songs later, the meal was over, and the servants began clearing away the food. The girls were still hungry, but they would not stoop to relenting on their values

“Rarity! Rarity!” Sweetie Belle called as she raced back. One of the sirens was following. “They want me to join them!”

“I'm afraid that won't be possible,” Rarity told the filly, shaking her head. “You heard Twilight, we get three days underwater and that's it.”

“Somefish may find a solution to that problem some day,” the siren said calmly. “In the meantime, with your permission, we would like to teach the foal some of our songs. If you must leave soon, we will give you one of our song books before you go.”

“It will have to wait until tomorrow, but I don't see why not,” Rarity replied.

“Thank you!” Sweetie Belle said happily.

A servant approached. “I am very sorry, we only have five spare rooms available for you all.”

“Not a problem. There are ten of us, so we’ll just double up,” Twilight said.

“Roomie!” Pinkie Pie cried, hugging Fluttershy.

“What?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well of course it’s going to be us together! Everypony else is already paired up” Pinkie said plainly. “Sure, it’ll make them think of Flutterpie, but they’re just silly.”

“Who’s them?” Applejack asked.

“And what’s Flutterpie?” Twilight asked.

“Oh girls, you can be so silly sometimes,” Pinkie said.

“If you are ready, I will show you to your rooms,” the servant said.

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"Scoots, are you still hungry?" Rainbow Dash asked, pulling off her bag, and pulling a piece of fish out.

"Way ahead of you," Scootaloo replied, pulling out some of the food she had snagged. Rainbow Dash shot her a snide smile. She took out some white fish and bit down with her magic teeth. “Mmmm. How come we never have this at home?”

“And how are we supposed to get seafood in Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash replied. They ate happily together, while the rest rubbed their empty tummies.

"I feel sorta bad for them," Scootaloo said after they had finished. "We're going to be all full and they're going to starve."

"Maybe they'll learn what it's like to be us for a change, huh?" Rainbow Dash joked.

“If only for a day or two.”

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The twisted face leaned in closer.

"You need a little madness in you," said the alluring voice. The draconequus's eyes began dissolving into swirls, mesmerizing the pony before him.

"Get away from her!" Celestia roared, knocking him away from the dark blue alicorn with a blast of magic. Luna shook her head as though dazed. "Luna?"

"I am okay sister," Luna replied.

But were you really?

No.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

If you like this story, you should check out some of my other works:

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

Arc 7: An Awkward Week

The Seven Tribes

by Scootaloo-009, a.k.a. Mechsrule1

My Little Pony and related names, images, and scenarios are property of Hasbro Inc.

Arc 7: Magic Camp

Chapter 22: An awkward week

The noise from the basement had stopped a long time ago, but Twilight had yet to come upstairs. The morning sun was streaming in through the windows. The foals had all fallen asleep waiting. Suddenly Apple Bloom walked into the room.

“Everypony up! Ah made breakfast!” she announced loudly, rousing them. The foals yawned and stretched. Seafoam slipped a fin out of her braces to rub her eyes.

“Is it morning already?” Iggy groaned.

“The sun rose an hour ago,” Apple Bloom informed them. “Y’all been sleepin’ in.”

Frostfire groaned. “That doesn’t make it morning.”

The sound of footsteps from the basement silenced them all. All eyes watched the door expectantly.

“Cross your hooves,” Sketch said. Seafoam clacked her braces together but she was physically unable to cross them.

The door opened and Twilight walked in carrying two foals on her back. Spike followed closely behind carrying a third foal.

“They’re apart,” Twilight announced, removing the pegasus colt and unicorn filly from her back. The pegasus was brown with a green mane with a blue and an orange streak.

“And they seem normal,” Spike said, putting the earth pony colt on the floor. He was yellow with an orange mane. It had a green and a blue streak.

“No hint of magic in the other two. I ran every test I could think of to make sure it had worked. Aside from the mane discoloration, I think we can call this a success,” Twilight added.

“Are they okay?” Quickquib asked.

“The process takes a lot out of them but they should be waking up soon,” Twilight explained. “Yes, I think we should all head out now. Spike, send a letter detailing what happened to the Princess, and that we are on our way back. Their parents are probably worried sick.”

“Princess Luna or Princess Celestia?” Spike asked.

“Luna. You can send it to her, right?”

“I can try,” Spike said. “Anything else you want me to tell her?”

“Just see if she can meet us when we arrive.”

“What about-” Spice began.

“Breakfast?” Sugar finished.

“I could make something really quick,” Spike suggested.

“Ah already made oatmeal,” Apple Bloom stated.

“You cooked? Uh oh!” Spike said, rushing into the kitchen.

“Ah can make some things!” Apple Bloom protested.

“Woah!”

They all turned and saw the unicorn foal had woken up and was looking at them all.

“Ugh,” Blue Heart said, getting up. She had a streak of green and a streak of orange breaking up her blue mane but she seemed as normal as before.

“You’re okay!” Silver Star cheered. The foals gathered around, hugging Blue Heart, but Scootaloo hung back and instead went over to the pegasus foal. He yawned and opened his eyes.

“Hey, how do you feel?” Scootaloo whispered sweetly.

“My head... where... hey! I can’t hear them!” he exclaimed.

“Shhh. It’s okay. We fixed everything,” Scootaloo said calmly, smiling a bit.

He rubbed his forehead. “What happened?”

“Somepony mixed you up with two other ponies but we got you apart again.”

Trips looked at the other foals then back at Scootaloo. “Um... where are we?”

“We’re in Ponyville. We’re going to be heading back to Canterlot soon,” Scootaloo explained.

“Oh,” he said, sounding disappointed.

“Twilight seems to think we’ll have to find your parents when we get there.”

The colt’s eyes watered up.

“It’s okay,” Scootaloo said, nuzzling him. “I know.”

“It’s all because of her, isn’t it,” he said, pointing to Blue Heart, still surrounded by the other foals. “They weren’t going to come find us. Were they?”

Scootaloo nodded shamefully. “No.”

“Why? Why don’t they care?” he cried.

“I care.”

“And what does that count for?” Trips snapped.

“That’s one more than you thought yesterday.”

“Yay,” Trips moaned.

“You know, I know a way off the streets.” Trips looked at her, listening intently. “First you have to find your way to Cloudsdale. Try sneaking onto a carriage or something. When you get there find a griffon, and tell them you are an orphan and you want to join their clan.”

Trips looked at her in horror. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Naw, griffons are cool. The only ones who aren’t, don’t come near Cloudsdale anyway. Now they might have you do some weird things, some things you wouldn’t normally do, but it’ll be okay. If they say no, keep looking until you find one that says yes. Oh, and make sure to bow when you met them.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“The best part is they can teach you all you need to know to survive on your own. Even how to get real food that wasn’t thrown out but somepony else.”

“How do you know all this?”

“How do you think? I still remember the top five dumpsters in Baltimare. My mom adopted me a year ago and she’s taught me everything I’ll ever need to know to take care of myself. A griffon will be able to help you with that, too.”

“Now that you are all awake, how about we eat then get you all back to Canterlot,” Twilight said, noticing Sing Song had woken up as well.

“Food!” Sing Song exclaimed. Twilight chuckled and led the group into the kitchen. The place was fairly orderly and Spike was busily gathering every bowl he could find and stacking them by the stove where a big pot steamed.

The room was crowded so they stood while Spike served up the oatmeal and they began eating. Trips and Sing Song inhaled their portions so Spike gave them a bit more.

“It won’t take very long to reach Canterlot by train,” Twilight said while they ate.

“Aw... do we have to go back?” Sing Song whined.

“Of course you do,” Twilight said, surprised. “We’ve got to get you home.”

“But we don’t have to go to Canterlot,” Trips said.

“Aren’t you from there?” Twilight asked.

“I’ll handle this, Twilight,” Scootaloo said. “You guys can’t stay in Ponyville. This town is barely big enough for one of us. You can try going to another town but you can’t both stay here.”

“Well I might head to Cloudsdale,” Trips replied.

“Your best bet is still to get a ride from Canterlot.”

“I’m very confused,” Seafoam said.

“They’re orphans, like I was,” Scootaloo answered. “Ponyville’s too small though. You need to have a big town or else the only way they’ll find enough food is by stealing.”

“That still doesn’t mean they need to go back to Canterlot. There have to be ponies looking for them!” Spike said.

Trips and Sing Song snorted and Scootaloo shook her head sadly. “Some orphanages do care, but the Canterlot Orphanage is not one of them. No pony would miss them except the other orphans.”

“Still, they’re two missing foals,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Orphans go missing all the time. They’re lucky,” Scootaloo said. “They’re going to come back. Most don’t.”

“That’s awful!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“That’s reality,” Scootaloo said.

"The great Princess Luna herself visits me in my lowly cell. To what do I owe the honor?" asked the pitch black earth pony from behind the thick iron bars.

"I am here to give you a choice," Princess Luna replied,

"What? Execution or life in here?"

"I have a series of missions I need completed by you and a couple other ponies. If you complete these missions, I will grant you a full pardon."

"What kind of missions we're talking?"

"There are several facilities I require located, infiltrated and controlled. You will not be alone."

"Let me guess, I'm doing the infiltrating."

"You will do as commanded by the team leader. When all the facilities are located and under royal control, you will get your pardon. If you run away, I will put a kill-on-sight order out on you."

"A full pardon... alright. I'll do it. When do I start?"

"As soon as the first facility has been located."

"Good. My dye was beginning to wear off."

Twilight led the foals up to the front of Canterlot Castle where Princess Luna stood waiting for them. Trips and Sing Song had scampered off as soon as they had arrived in the city.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna greeted. “I see you were successful in undoing the terra pony’s work.”

“Yes. I was wondering if we could talk about this.”

“I’m afraid I am too busy. However, you should speak with Gearbox. He is part of my group like you. I will hopefully speak with you again at another time. Their counselor is waiting in the side garden.”

Twilight nodded and Princess Luna went inside. She then led the group around the castle until she ran into her mother.

“Twilight!” Velvet exclaimed, rushing over. “Thank Celestia you found them.”

“Actually they found me.”

“Regardless, they are all safe. What were you all thinking, running off like that?”

“I was foalnapped,” Blue Heart explained. “They rescued me.”

“Blue Heart was a victim of an experiment but I was able to reverse the effects. From what they told me, they were able to track her down just in time,” Twilight explained.

“I am just glad they are all alright.”

“I have somepony I have to meet. I’ll try and come by before I leave,” Twilight said. “Bye mom.”

“You are alright, right?” Velvet asked after Twilight left.

“I’ve still got a headache, but I’m okay now,” Blue Heart replied.

“What are we gonna do fer camp?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I’m sorry, but camp is cancelled,” Velvet said.

“What?” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“We can’t possibly continue after what happened,” Velvet said, chuckling nervously.

“We can and we shall.”

They turned and immediately bowed as Princess Celestia walked through the grounds towards them.

“Princess, I was going to send them all home. After the trauma of what happened, it is for the best,” Velvet Sparkle explained.

“This act of terrorism cannot be allowed to have any visible effect on us. If the affected foals need help, they shall get it, but the rest of us will continue on as though nothing has happened. These criminals will be dealt with but if we change our actions, they will have a victory. I will not allow that,” Princess Celestia said.

“As you wish, Princess,” Velvet said, bowing again.

“Good.” Princess Celestia slowly walked off.

“You heard her,” Velvet sighed. “Let’s go, foals. I’m sure I can find something for us to do.”

Twilight wasn’t sure where to meet Gearbox, but it seemed he had anticipated this because within a couple minutes of wondering about, a night guard had come up to her and explained she would take her to Gearbox. She soon found herself in the royal library with the gray pony pouring over a dozen maps spread over all the tables.

“There you are,” he said, looking up as she entered. The guard saluted them left them alone. “I hear you were able to undo what that lunatic did.”

“I still don’t understand how you knew to send those parts,” Twilight said. “But thank you. If wouldn’t have worked otherwise.”

“There’s a funny story about that. When I started examining it, I found that,” Gearbox said, pointing to a book on a table. It took a glance to confirm it was indeed a copy of the same one Twilight had.

“It makes me wonder just how many of these there are,” Twilight said out loud.

“At worst, thousands, but probably a dozen or less,” Gearbox said, staring at a map. “There aren’t that many with the ability and resources to make one, and this appears to be the work of just one sanctuary.”

“So what are you doing now? Did the terra pony give some hint as to the location of a Sanctuary?” Twilight asked.

“He’s dead. Shot himself before the guards could get him.”

“Oh...”

“But you are right, I am trying to find a possible location.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yes. Luna has told me you and one of your friends are part of the terra pony task force she’s putting together. The best way to help is to make sure the two of you are ready the moment we have a confirmed location. There are a lot of lives riding on our speed.”

“If they are that much of a threat, we should send in the guards,” Twilight suggested.

“They’re not the ones I’m worried about. It’s that Psycho Sun Princess.”

“What!” Twilight snarled. “Princess Celestia is-”

“Threatening the lives of about two thousand ponies if we don’t get results within a month.”

“I don’t believe for a second Princess Celestia would ever do something like that,” Twilight said confidently.

“Two days ago I would have agreed with you, but here I am,” Gearbox said. “If you don’t need anything else, I need to get back to work.”

“I’ll leave but I still don’t believe you,” Twilight said before leaving. Gearbox rolled his eyes then returned to scanning the map.

The rest of the week passed without incident. It went like a blur for Scootaloo. Nopony could really focus after what had happened and their efforts were hampered. Velvet Sparkle had them learning spells to get themselves out of trouble, like the spell signal flare that they could use if they got lost. She instructed them in the basics of teleportation but none of them were able to do it except Sugar and Spice who managed to do it once, though they simply switched places. They only managed to learn a few more spells before it was time to go home.

“Bye!” They chorused to each other as their parents came.

“Bye, sis,” Scootaloo said, giving her sister a hug. She turned to her friends. “I need to do something, so I’ll meet you at the train station. I want to get out of here before-”

“There you are, Starflare.”

“-my parents show up,” Scootaloo groaned.

“Oh... you’re here too, Comette...” Star Dust said, stopping still.

“Star Dust,” Scootaloo grunted.

“Comette,” Star Dust said softly.

“Mom was wondering when you wanted to have a visit. She’s okay with any day as long as it doesn’t interfere with school or my job.”

“We’ll... be in touch,” Star Dust mumbled.

“Er...” Starflare said. “Bye, Scoots.”

Starflare followed Star Dust as she walked off stiffly.

“See you two soon,” Scootaloo said before walking off herself.

The three fillies leapt off the train as soon as it stopped. Three mares were waiting for them and there were hugs all around.

“I’m so glad you are okay!” Rarity exclaimed.

“We heard what happened from Twahlight. Ah’m not lettin’ yah outta mah sight again.” Applejack said.

“They were worried but I wasn’t,” Rainbow Dash lied.

“I still don’t understand why you weren’t brought home straight away,” Rarity said.

“Princess Celestia said we had to keep the camp going,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Ah wanna go back again! Ah learned a lot!” Apple Bloom cheered.

“Mom, I was really confused by something,” Scootaloo said.

“Oh?”

“That terra pony... like the first one he had two henchponies. One was a Trals griffon.”

Rainbow Dash tilted her head to the side. “Are you sure? It was probably just a similar mark.”

“No, she was definitely Trals. If she wasn’t, she would have said something when I called her out on it.”

“Rainbow? What’s this about?” Applejack asked.

“Apparently the terra pony was able to enlist a griffon that eats ponies,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“You said griffons don’t eat ponies,” Rarity said.

“It’s illegal but a few clans still try and get away with it. I don’t know why one would work with a pony...” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her head. “Maybe he was paying her in food... but... Trals hate ponies... hmm...”

“Just another problem,” Applejack said.

“I’ll have to talk to my dad about this.”

“Rainbow Dash!”

The six turned and saw Twilight galloping towards the station. She skidded to a halt, panting heavily.

“I- I-”

“Slow down, and breathe,” Applejack ordered.

“I-” Twilight stopped and took a deep breath. “I just got a letter from Princess Luna.”

“Okay...” Rainbow Dash said questioningly.

“They’ve definitely found a terra pony sanctuary. She’s calling us to take care of it,” Twilight explained.

“Okay. Scoots, get on,” Rainbow Dash said. “You can tell me all about camp on the way home.”

Scootaloo obeyed, hopping onto Rainbow Dash’s back. Her mom then grabbed her bags and flew off. As they soared, Scootaloo talked all about what had happened. She went over a lot of the spells she had learned but left out the fact she hadn’t yet learned enchantments yet. She resolved to talk to Twilight about that when she had the chance.

“So it turns out I’m really good at flowing spells but not much else,” Scootaloo finished as they walked in the door. “I didn’t get near teleporting. I don’t think I have enough magic to do it.”

“It makes sense, I guess,” Rainbow Dash said absentmindedly.

She put Scootaloo’s bag down then went upstairs. Inside her room, waiting by the door was a bag. She slung it over her shoulders and headed back down where Scootaloo was looking a bit confused.

“I’m going to be gone for a few days while I take care of this.” Rainbow Dash pulled out a bag of bits and placed it on the living room table. “There’s food in the fridge and you know how to get more, but if you need anything, use some of this. Try not to go crazy, I’m not sure how long this is going to take. I’ll see if Fluttershy can check up on you every so often. Be good and take care of Tank for me, please.”

Rainbow Dash gave Scootaloo a hug and a peck on the head before heading for the door.

“Wait, where are you going again?” Scootaloo asked.

“To go beat up some bad ponies. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

"We're here, Princess," Twilight announced. It was dark out by the time they reached Canterlot and they found Luna in the courtroom. The alicorn dismissed the guards.

"I'm glad you made it so quickly. Why have you brought Pinkie with you?" Luna asked.

"It's a terra pony base so the only pony we could send in without being detected is another terra pony," Twilight explained. That was half true. Pinkie had insisted on going along to discover the origin of the implant in her head.

"I already had that covered, but this cannot hurt," Princess Luna said. "Meet the rest of the team."

At her words, a side door opened and three ponies, a griffin, and a messenger dragon marched into the room.

"Trixie!" Twilight snarled. She charged her horn and got ready to fight, but a magic bubble formed around her.

"Calm yourself," Princess Luna ordered calmly.

"She attacked your sister and was going to break my horn!" Twilight protested.

"Princess Luna has explained that if Trixie does this, she will be forgiven for her crimes and be allowed to return to Equestria," the blue fake alicorn replied.

"And him?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing to the griffin.

"I go where she goes," Greg said simply, standing next to Trixie. “And I’m getting paid. Well.”

"Maybe we should have some formal introductions," Luna suggested. "First is Doppler, my personal messenger dragon. He shall send and receive all messages for you."

"Doppler of the Royal Canterlot Messenger Dragon Corps," the blue dragon with orange spikes said saluting. He was a bit shorter then Glare, and probably younger.

"You have met Gearbox, Twilight. He is a machinist," Luna went on.

"I invented a magic amplifier among other things. I'll handle any tech we encounter," the gray pony explained.

"And?" Luna prompted.

"I'm a terra pony machinist," Gearbox admitted. "My sanctuary is not a threat."

"But is under threat right now." Princess Luna added. "Next is Sticky Hooves. She's a master thief who even stole Celestia's crown once. Her name is an alias, but she won't say what her real name is."

"A thief? Can we really trust her?" Twilight asked.

"I was rotting in a cell with five life sentences to look forward to. I get amnesty for this. I'll do what I have to," the pure black pony said simply.

"Trixie knows a variety of magic and while not particularly powerful, her knowledge will be valuable. Plus the shock value of an alicorn will be significant, but you understand we cannot risk ourselves," Luna went on.

"Trixie can help you learn to fight with magic," Trixie said to Twilight.

“I’ve learned that already from the Princess you don’t respect,” Twilight snapped.

"I'm with her. I'll fight whatever gets in our way," Greg said. “You already know my name is Greg Fook, professional mercenary.”

"Next is Rainbow Dash Qnak. She is the fastest pegasus I have ever seen and I have heard she has managed to do a sonic rainboom more than once," Luna continued.

"Look, I'd love to help, but I really can't if this is going to take a long time. I have to find my daughter a therapist soon or she goes back to jail. I'd really love to help, but I can't be off on some mission far away," Rainbow Dash said. Princess Luna rolled her eyes.

"Have thou forgotten who I am?" Princess Luna said. She levitated two scrolls and quills to herself and wrote on them in sync. When she was done, she stamped them with a royal seal and levitated them to Doppler. "Send one to the Cloudsdale Police Department, and the other to the Ponyville Mayor’s Office."

Doppler sent the two away in two bursts of orange flame.

"There. I've commuted her sentence. Now she just has twelve hours of community service to be served within four months. Is that acceptable?"

"Okay, yeah, that’s fine," Rainbow Dash said, bowing. “Thank you.”

"Finally there's Twilight Sparkle. She is the personal student of my sister and will lead the team. She is the most powerful unicorn either of us have ever seen," Luna finished.

"Um... hi," Twilight said shyly.

"Don't forget me!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "I'm a terra pony too."

"Really?" Gearbox said surprised. He looked at her closely. "Could have fooled me."

"From now on you are known collectively as Eclipse. You answer to me alone. Celestia only vaguely knows of your existence and will not be informed of your actions. Do not contact her with anything regarding the mission. You are allowed to violate any orders given by any authority except mine and Twilight’s, even my sister’s. Show them my seal if they are causing an issue. You may ignore the law when necessary, though I cannot help you if you somehow get involved with a foreign power.

“I urge you to work with haste. Many, many lives are at stake.”

“What is she talking about?” Pinkie asked.

“If we don’t do something within a month, Celestia is going to destroy my whole home town,” Gearbox spat. “Two thousand lives. Gone because of her senseless grudge.”

“I still don’t believe a word of that,” Twilight said, shaking her head.

“Believe it, Twilight Sparkle, for I was there when she said it as well,” Princess Luna replied.

“It’s a town of terra ponies. Innocent ponies who have been living in peace for three decades but apparently that’s not enough for her,” Gearbox added.

“A whole village?” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Yeah. It’s called Haven. Haven’t you been there?”

“No. My family left the sanctuary a long time ago and we’ve never gone back. I have no idea where it is,” Pinkie explained.

“Ponies, please, you must work quickly. The deadline looms near,” Princess Luna interrupted. “Head towards the armory. My guards will fit you with some armor.

“Right. Team, let’s move out,” Twilight commanded.

Six ponies, one griffon, and one dragon strode out of the palace and into the streets of Canterlot.

"How can you be so okay with this?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash.

"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash replied.

"That griffon attacked you, and now you're working with him."

"Yeah, so? That was then, this is now. We fought but it's over now," Rainbow Dash answered.

"Yeah, griffon's don't hold grudges usually unless murder was involved," Greg added.

"And you, how dare you show your face around here!" Twilight snapped at Trixie.

"Trixie did not wish to be here, but she had no choice," Trixie replied.

"Twilight, just let it go," Rainbow Dash urged.

"Just let it go? She was going to break my horn!"

"It would grow back," Trixie said simply.

"Is that all you have to say?" Twilight demanded.

"Can we get this over with?" Sticky Hooves growled, ending the argument.

"So, where are we going?" Twilight asked, still angry.

"The sanctuary is about twenty miles to the west of here," Gearbox replied. “It was one of the locations I suspected and a patrol confirmed it. We don’t have any data on numbers or weapons though."

"Okay." Twilight said. “It shouldn’t take too long to get there by air.

"What?" Gearbox said, leaning away from Pinkie who was staring at him intently.

"I've just never seen another terra pony before that wasn't part of my family or trying to kill me."

"What is there to see? We're just earth ponies without mana glands."

“Still, it’s cool!”

“I don’t know why we need armor,” Greg said.

“They’ll likely all be armed with firehooves,” Gearbox replied. “I’d like to have a sheet of metal between me and one of them, personally.”

“Well I brought my own and I’m not wearing anything else. That steel will weigh me down,” Greg complained.

“Ditto,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Ditto on what? The weighing down or bringing it yourself,” Sticky Hooves asked. “And I agree. I’m not wearing any armor. I can’t be walking around in anything noisy.”

“Both,” Rainbow Dash replied. “It’s griffon armor but it’s served me well so far.”

“In what, picking flowers?” Greg taunted.

“Hey! I’ve raided half a dozen Tral and Yuig caves with my dad. This isn’t my first big fight. We were there for the big changeling invasion too, so we’ve seen combat, though they haven’t had their first yet.”

“Great,” Greg groaned. “Just what we need, a team full of ponies soaking wet behind the ears.”

“We have enough veterans to make this work,” Doppler said. “They can do support.”

“I feel so left out,” Pinkie said.

“I’ll put this simple. You, Twilight, and Gearbox are not seasoned fighters like the rest of us,” Sticky Hooves said.

Twilight laughed out loud. “I’ve fought ton’s of things before.”

“But you haven’t had to kill and that makes all the difference,” Gearbox said. “And I have, just saying.”

“I’ve... killed...” Twilight said quietly.

“That didn’t count,” Rainbow Dash said bluntly. “As long as you can use your magic to shield us, it’ll work out.”

They had already reached the armory where two night guards were waiting. They were ushered inside to the forge.

“You lot better appreciate this,” the smithy said as he shoveled more coal into the furnace. “Normally I’d tell ya to come back in the morning, but Luna paid extra for this to be done now and entirely custom which means I won’t be getting any sleep at all.”

“And she didn’t pay for the lip,” Gearbox retorted.

“That’s always on the house,” the smithy replied. “Come along, I have to get your measurements.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This arc is over. I’m taking a break from this story to finish up Forever a Changeling.

Forever a Changeling, my new story starring Rainbow Dash as a changeling.

Samurai Applejack, a drastically different kind of story. It’s rated mature for violence and some suggestive lines.

Night of the Werepony, what I consider to be my worst story, but it’s my most popular. It’s just one chapter long.

My tumblr, an alternate universe mixing MLP and Cyborg 009.