Our Girl Scootaloo 3 of 3

Chapters

Ch 3.2 Wheat, Wings and White Walls
Ch 3.3 The Good the Bad and the Party!
Ch 3.4 Choices and Consequences
Ch 3.5 Welcome to Earth
Ch 3.6 Cultural Differences
Ch 3.7 Life the Universe and Strippers
Ch 3.8 Dreams and Nightmares
Ch 3.10 Twilight's Turn to Teach
Ch 3.11 Dietary Complications
Ch 3.12 Revving the Engine
Ch 3.13 The Internet is Non-Flammable
Ch 3.14 Introduction to Viral Memes
Ch 3.15 Rescuing the Rescuers
Ch 3.16 Problems of Ethics
Ch 3.17 A day at the Park
Ch 3.18 Day Trip Into Orbit
Ch 3.19 Impossible Choices
Ch 3.20 Unforeseen Consequences
Ch 3.21 Rebirth
Ch 3.22 A Long Awaited Journey
Ch 3.23 Cake and Cutie Marks
Ch 3.24 Building Bridges
Ch 3.25 Innocence lost
Ch 3.26 The Cost of Specism
Ch 3.27 A Child's Dreams
Ch 3.28 Ghost in the Shell
3.29 Light of Love
Chapter 3.31 The Lotus Blossom
3.32 Pinki Pie's wakeup call...
3.33 Endings and beginnings...
Ch 3.1: The Rescue Mission
Ch 3.9 Rainbow gets a lesson in Acrobatics
3.30 Exponential Network Growth

Ch 3.2 Wheat, Wings and White Walls

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Two: Wheat, Wings and White Walls

The rooftop of the building was old and worn, the industry that had built the structure long gone. The old warehouse had been converted to student housing years ago, but the landlord had let the place decay, and the flat rooftop was scattered with beer cans and broken furniture. The only person in sight was a middle aged man in scruffy clothes who had started the evening in a bar and was already pretty drunk. He was startled out of a doze by a bright flash of rainbow light coming from behind the broken lawn chair he had fallen asleep in.

Rainbow and Dashie had spent most of the last week looking forward to and dreading this moment. As the flash faded, she opened her eyes and took in the run down roof top, the litter, the decay. She was worried that she seemed to be alone on the rooftop, but memories of her childhood, 'second childhood' she corrected herself welled up un-bidden, and though she tried to fight it and focus on the task at hand, she soon sat down, sobbing quietly into her hooves.

A voice from behind her brought her back to the present with a jolt. “Awww, don't be sad blue fluffy squirrel. Its a bewtiful night, and I have enough for bofth of us.” The man said presenting a green bottle with a silver fairy on it.

Rainbow spun around, looked the man over and sighed 'a little too much like home'. Drying her eyes she decided to ask the question anyway, 'not that this person would know, he's so drunk he isn't even fazed by me'.
“My friends and... I'm looking for a friend of mine; an orange and purple pegasus like me. Have you seen her?”

The man looked puzzled and swayed a bit as he thought. “You mean the doc? Yeah, she was the one as pumped my stomach that time I lost the drinkin contest. That dumb fool as drove us home was drunk and wrecked the car. She came sailing down for the sky all orange an purple, an black. Helped us all outa that wreck. When I got better I shook her hand and thanked her fer helpin us.”

Rainbow sighed again. “I'm sorry, the friend I'm looking for has hooves. Thank you anyway.”

As she turned around the drunk spoke again “Oh, she had hooves too, four of em. And two normal hands, and that long ten... tentacle she used to pump my stomic.”

Rainbow turned back, very confused now. “How could a doctor have hooves? Damn, you're just drunk.”

He seemed to think this over. “Maybe a little.” He swayed as a sound caught his attention, and he turned to point at a helicopter approaching from the direction of the hospital. “I bet that's her now, she always workss the night shift.”

Rainbow looked at the medevac helicopter as it roared past, half of her wondering what it was, while the other half said 'shut up, it’s just a helicopter.' Distracting as these internal discussions were, she still managed a glimpse through the side window, and clearly made out the flank of a pony pressed against the it. An orange pony.

'He was right! She's on the metal flying machine!'

'Helicopter!'

'Why is she on a helicopter?' 'How is she even out in public?!'

As the helicopter sped into the distance, the drunk said “I thought you was lookin' for her? Go git 'er, if those wings aren't just fer show. It’s a good night for flyin' and drinkin'.”

Shaking herself, Rainbow launched off the roof and took off after the helicopter wondering how drunk the man was; it was clearly daylight outside...

Tammy reclined in her chair and willed the clock to move faster. She was the last salesperson on duty at the small car dealership near the edge of town, and after a slow day with no sales she was ready to go home to her seven-year-old daughter and her husband. This was supposed to have been her girls' night out, but when two of her three friends canceled, it was hardly worth the trouble for only two people.

As she stared out the big glass wall that looked out on the front lot, she was startled out of a daydream by a bright flash of white light that seemed to come from a car three rows out.

“What the hell was that?”

She sat up and checked the security monitors expecting to see some kid with firecrackers, but as the static cleared, there was some kind of white... goat? No, wrong shape, deer? To big to be a deer... Then the figure on the monitor looked around and she made out a face.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

…

As the light cleared Rarity looked around and found herself alone –no sign of Scootaloo or her friends. Instead of a house or a lab, she seemed to be on some sort of huge black road on a cloudy day, surrounded on all sides by... coaches? Rolling pods?

The clop of approaching hooves drew her attention, but the hoofsteps sounded wrong... too far apart. She realized too late that she heard only two feet, not four, but before she could think of a way to hide a human woman came into view.

'Its really unnerving how tall they are.' she thought as she swallowed hard and looked up at the approaching figure who was almost twice her height. 'But just look at the cut of her suit. That's not a laboratory or military outfit, that's a business suit if I've ever seen one. A bit dark blue for my tastes, but the skirt falls nicely, and...' Unconsciously her ears followed the clop of shoes, and her train of thought was derailed as she caught sight of the woman's black high heel shoes.

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Rarity.” Tammy said as she knelt down and extended a hand. “My name is Tammy; do I have the honor of being the first to welcome you?”

Rarity shook the offered hand in a daze. “Why, yes actually, you are the first, but... you know who I am?”

Tammy couldn't help but smile. “Well, yes. You are a minor celebrity here; there are millions of people who know your name.”

“Millions?!” Rarity asked, fast losing her grip on the situation.

“Well, yes. I would guess you are here to find Scootaloo?”

She got a slack jawed nod in response.

“She is and safe and well. She lives in town and is working towards a medical degree. She'll be working tonight, but we can give her a call and should have no problem stopping in tomorrow morning.”

Tammy had never been hugged by a pony before now, and was surprised at how strong Rarity was as she squeezed her. “Oh thank you! Thank you! I was so worried!”

“It’s okay,” She replied returning the hug “she has a loving family, a good husband and two adorable kids, er, foals.”

This last was just too much and Rarity sat down hard on the bumper of a sedan that creaked in protest.

“Husband?.. Foals?!?” She looked completely lost as she stared across the asphalt.

Tammy sat down and put a hand on her shoulder. “It's okay, she has a good life.”

Rarity still looked stunned as she asked: “How??”

“Well, it’s been a long time. What is it now... almost two decades?”

“But... Rainbow...”

“...Oh, that's right! I forgot to ask, did something happen to Rainbow Dash in your world? We think whatever happened to bring Scootaloo here got Rainbow too, and her choice of landing spots wasn't nearly so fortunate. The last we saw of her, she was being given away by some homeless guy in Detroit! Is she okay? Did you find her?”

This was simply too much insanity to deal with in the span of five minutes. Rarity closed her eyes and breathed deep. Willing herself calm, she shook her head and recounted the events that lead to Rainbow's disappearance and her eventual recovery. By the time she was done both their faces were streaked with tears and smeared makeup.

“Oh my God, that poor man!”

“I know, but there was no choice, that world had nothing for her, and we couldn't bring her father back either. She had to come back; we needed her as much as she needed us.”

Tammy passed her a handkerchief and they both dried their eyes while she worked through to the natural conclusion. “And now you've come for Scootaloo?”

“We thought so, but we never dreamed she would be so... fortunate. Honestly we thought she...” She swallowed hard, “we didn't think we would find her alive. If she did survive, we thought we would have to fight our way through guards to pull her out of some kind of evil laboratory. It’s not an accident that we all made the trip, even poor Rainbow.”

Tammy leaned back regarding Rarity with a disappointed look. “Oh Rarity, did you really think we could be so horrible to someone so loving? You must think we're monsters!”

Rarity looked up with a hard expression. “Both Dashie and Celestia have spoken of this. I am not entirely ignorant of your history.”

Tammy sighed as she worked though her response, mentally saying a small pair of thanks for her daughter's taste in media.

“Nor I of yours.I know quite a bit about your history as well. Ruled by an immortal monarch who banished her own sister after a fight for power. A land peppered with mindless monsters, some of whom kill for fun.”

“But that's not -”

“The cockatrice? The timber wolf?”

Rarity thought that over while Tammy went on listing entire empires devoted to slavery and suffering as well as other notable drawbacks to Equestria. “Now I ask you, is that a fair assessment of your home? And does it sound similar to what you heard about my world?”

Rarity's shoulders sagged and she sighed.
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't judge without knowing.”

“It’s okay. You'll be fine, just use good judgment and stay close to someone you can trust.”

Rarity gave her a rueful smile. “And that would be you?”

Tammy smiled warmly back. “My seven year old daughter would tell you so.” She looked at the makeup stains on her hands and chuckled. “I must look like a raccoon. Come on, we can clean up inside and I'll tell you all about what Scootaloo has been up to.”

After some much needed time in the powder room, they sat out on the comfy furniture in the lobby while Tammy brought her new friend up to speed on events. After a while Rarity asked the question that was on her mind.

“I understand that Scootaloo is okay, but why do we have to wait until morning to see her?”

“Well, you don't. If you want, I can drive you right to her doorstep, but she won't be back until later tonight as she works the night shift, and at best your reunion would be late at night, with everyone tired. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have some things to think about before then don't you?”

An image of the cutie mark crusader she had know suddenly grown up and nurturing two little ones flashed though her mind. Rarity nodded slowly. “I do...”

“So why don't you take some time, learn the lay of the land, and show up well rested and aware of the basics.”

She sighed deeply and nodded again. “I suppose I could use the time to think.”

“Hey, don't be so serious. I have no plans to spend the entire night sitting here; if you'll let me, I'd like to show you around!”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “What do you have in mind?”

“How about a girls' night out? We can hang out until my girlfriends get here, then head out for a night on the town!”

Rarity slowly smiled “Yes, I think I would like that.”

While Tammy called her friends and made arrangements, Rarity took her advice to look around. She wandered through the side offices taking time to admire the style and flow of each. The entire dealership had a 90's glass and chrome look, with all the desks and fixtures following the same flowing lines as the cars they helped sell. Rarity took it all in, enjoying the somewhat alien style and thinking of what she could do with it upon her return. Ten minutes latter Tammy found her admiring a lamp and making sketches on a notebook she found on a table.

“Wow, that's a really good drawing.” She commented looking over her shoulder. “Do you mind if I?” She asked, gesturing to the pen and paper hovering in a glowing aurora emanating from Rarity's horn.
It took a moment, but comprehension dawned, and she held the pad out for Tammy who put her hand into the glowing cloud. “It feels.. warm. And it tickles a little.”

Rarity smiled warmly. “That's right, you don't have magic here do you?”

“No, not like this we don't. Scootaloo can't even grip with her hooves, she uses prosthetic arms and hands. I really do hope you decide to stay for a few days, there is so much you could teach us...”

Rarity looked away to hide a blush. After a moment, Tammy really looked at the drawing in front of her. “You're looking at the styling of this old furniture?”

“Well yes, I've never seen anything quite like it. I just know I can use this as inspiration for a new collection: 'From Another World!' Can't you just see it now?”

Tammy stifled a laugh. “No offense, but we have better stuff than this if you're looking for inspiration. Why don't we have a look at the vintage cars in the garage around back?”

“Rainbow mentioned something about a 'car'... it's some sort of carriage that pulls itself?”

Tammy's face took on a faraway look. “Oh, it can be much more than that. It can be a status symbol, a statement about who you are and what you believe in. Some cars can be works of art; rolling masterpieces that passersby crane their necks to see. The throaty roar of an older engine, the feeling of power as it launches and pushes you back in the seat, the wind blowing through your hair as you cruse the highway with the top down.” Tammy licked her lips, and Rarity stood transfixed by the obvious passion in her description. “You've never driven before have you? Come on, the boss keeps a 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible back here with the rest of his collection, and I think it’s time for a test drive!”

After Rarity laid eyes on the collection of vintage cars it took considerable effort to tear her away from them. The pair walked from classic to classic as they took turns admiring the lines, the look, the flow, and the style of each. After ten minutes of this Tammy couldn't wait any longer. “Okay, let's get going, we can come back and see the rest later.”

“But just look at them! I haven't even seen them all yet! How can I just walk away from such splendor?”

Tammy opened the door of the 1957 Chevy and gestured for her to hop in, and though she flashed a pouty expression, she did take the offered seat. While Rarity admired the interior, Tammy jumped in the driver's seat, put the top down, and turned the key in the ignition.

“THRUUMMMMM!”
The car roared to life and Rarity's eyes widened as she stroked the door sill “Oohh ho ho!”

Tammy cycled the garage door and gave Rarity a somewhat wild look that was less than reassuring. “Strap in!”

Startled out of her artistic contemplation, Rarity's face registered shock. “Wha -What!?”

Tammy rolled her eyes and reached over to buckle the passenger seat belt, giving it an unnecessary tug before buckling her own. “Even in a classic like this, we have to wear seatbelts, aftermarket in this case.”

Rarity stared down at the lone belt looking much relieved, and just a tad disappointed. “Oh... But why do we need -”

The answer came as Tammy put the car in reverse and roared out of the garage, throwing them both forward against the seat belts. “This isn't your mother's farm cart! Now let me show you what a car like this is for!”

They left the dealership behind in a squeal of whitewall tires as Rarity wondered if she really wanted to know.

...

The flash of brilliant orange light pulsed and was gone, leaving Applejack in a black wheat field. Looking around, she found she was alone, though she thought she could hear some sort of machine fading into the distance overhead.

“Well, nuts! Where the hay is everypony...”

As her eyes adapted to the darkness, she took a moment to survey her surroundings. It didn't take long. The wheat was taller than she was, even on two legs, and she could only make out a circle a few feet wide in the dim starlight.

With a sigh she picked a direction and started walking.

And walking.

Minutes dragged on, then turned into hours as she kept going wondering how big the field was. She picked a random star she could see ahead and started following it so she didn't get turned around, but hours later, she was still in the wheat field.

'This is ridiculous! I've walked far enough to get from home to Ponyville and back twice! This is just too big to be real...'

Having little choice but to keep going, she did so, her irritation growing all the way.

'This is just stupid! No farmer in the world could harvest this much before it rotted on the stalk! Why would somepony plant this much...'

...

For the first time in hours she thought she could hear something in the distance. It was a deep rumbling with a lot of clanging and rattling just barely discernible at this distance.

'Well whatever it is, it isn't wheat, and that's got to be better than this.'

As she walked towards the noise, she began to see a glimmer of light from that direction, but after a few minutes more she had a sense that something was wrong. Whatever was making the noise had been much further away, and therefor much bigger and louder then she had first thought, and it was moving.

It was getting closer.

She stopped to think, but the noise kept getting louder, and that dim glow was rapidly becoming a bright beam of light. She could see her surroundings clearly for the first time, and the light was no longer reflected, but shining down from what had to be two stories above her! The tremendous roar and clank of... whatever it was, had become painfully loud when she noticed it.

The wheat was falling.

As she watched the more distant rows of wheat were pulled down and sucked into... whatever it was.

'It’s a harvester the size of a building!' “Hey! Down here!”

She jumped and shouted, but got no response. The machine was nearly upon her, and it wasn't stopping.

“AHHH!”
She turned and galloped for her life, losing her hat in the wheat. She looked back, but as she watched her hat was pulled down between a row of huge green metal teeth and disappeared.

“Constarn' it! Who the hay is driving that thing?!”

She knew there was nothing but wheat to her left, so she veered right, and suddenly her view of the world expanded from feet to miles as she broke free of the black wheat field.

She could see the harvester clearly now as it mowed down the grain, sucked it up and blew the finished grain out a shoot into a separate truck that followed to the right and behind. She had to jog to keep up, but she could see no sign of anyone in the machines, ether pony or human. They did have big glass boxes on the fronts though.

'I bet that's where the controls are.'

She followed alongside the harvester and soon found a ladder leading up to the glass box on top, and with a leap, she mounted the ladder and climbed up. Inside the cabin she found an empty chair, and a lot of glowing controls and screens. The biggest screen showed a big orange brick with a tiny dot at the point where it joined against a big green brick. As she watched, the dot moved forward a tiny amount, and a sliver of orange turned green.

'It must be a map of the field, but who's driving this thing? Magic? Oh, I wish Twilight was here...'

She looked over the controls some more, and soon found one she did understand; a big red button sticking up on the top of the console labeled 'STOP'. She was about to press it when a thought struck her.
'I press this and somepony... some human, is bound to come see what’s wrong. Do I want someone to find me out here?'

She remembered some of the possible places the princess had warned them they might find themselves in... The possibility of finding Scootaloo alive, but locked up in a tiny cage, used for medical experiments... She stared at the map of the field, her hoof suspended over the button.

'Is this faithful, or stupid?'

Author's Note

Hope you're enjoying it, just be warned, part of the next chapter may be... upsetting.

“There are hardly any excesses of the most crazed psychopath that cannot easily be duplicated by a normal kindly family man who just comes in to work every day and has a job to do.”
― Terry Pratchett, Small Gods

Ch 3.3 The Good the Bad and the Party!

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Three: The Good, the Bad and the Party!

The meeting of the college Anarcho-Libertarian Party wasn't going well, but then, that was nothing unusual. Every week the group met to discuss the failings of various politicians, the unfairness of the current government -or government at all, argue over who loved Ayn Rand's work the most and how, given the chance, they would do things so much better. Of course, everyone seemed to have a different idea of what that meant. Most of those in attendance thought that most of the others were wrong, so the meetings were usually bad tempered affairs with lots of arguing and shouting, at least when they weren't complaining about the past week. It was fairly obvious that just about everyone there only tolerated their fellow anarcho-libertarians as slightly better than the 'mindless sheeple' who helped the state rob them of taxes and the girlfriends they obviously deserved and would have had in a fairer system.

While they sometimes wondered why they had to meet in this run-down lecture hall two blocks from campus, that was the space the student government had given them, and with bigger worries on their minds, they didn't think about it too much.

This particular night had begun discussing the evils of socialism, how the government was out to get them, and how everyone would just be better off in an anarchy with no rules or taxes. One of the new attendees had pointed out that anarchy doesn't last long, and that it usually devolves into a collection of small kings or warlords, but the assembled group of pimply college guys had assured him that all of them would get to be warlords in that scenario, so it would still be okay.

After a discussion of how unfair their various retail jobs were, and how helping customers was an imposition on their right to do as they pleased, a fight had developed between those who wanted to be paid more for said work, and those who thought the minimum wage should be abolished because socialism, that's why.

It was in the middle of this argument that the room had flashed a blindingly white, and Celestia had appeared on the stairs near the first few rows of desks up from the lecture podium. A quick look around showed her that the others hadn't arrived with her, and that she was in some sort of classroom. Adapting quickly, she pushed her worries aside and prepared to address the many questions this group of humans would have, hoping the sound of her voice wouldn't send them all running in terror.

“Oh, its you.” Spat a student from two rows up in flat, unfriendly voice.

It took a lot to startle Celestia, crown princess of Equestria but this did the job.

Into the continuing silence another student called out: “Yeah, a king is even worse than our government!”

“Princess, not king, you twit.” Chimed another.

“Call it what you want, its just another way for The Man to tell you what to do.”

“Woman.”

“Horse!”

“Whatever! I've got enough problems with our government without the man... horse woman... taxing me and telling me what to do!”

“Yeah! At least we can vote out our people when they don't listen to us.”

“If they don't brainwash the electorate.”

“They can only do that with the money from the evil corporations.”

“Maybe so, but she has corporate backers too. She runs the government and if you toe the line she probably gives out tax breaks just like all the other corrupt politicians.”

“It all still boils down to the same thing, she tells her people what -”

“Ponies!”

“Herd!”

“Subjects!”

“Whatever! She tells you what to do, and its just another imposition on our individual freedoms.”

By now, very confused, and rapidly becoming irritated, Celestia tried to get a word in edgewise hoping that a talking pony would get through to them.
“Good morning, I'm Princess Celestia, and I'm here to find someone.”

“Typical monarch, doesn't even know its night time.” Another responded gesturing to the daylight outside the window.

“Looking for someone?”

“Oh crap, is she after us too?”

“No stupid, she probably came to get Scootaloo.”

“That's not our problem, at least she doesn't want us.”

“Yeah, we have guns, so we have rights.” There was a short pause. “What is her policy on guns anyway?”

“There aren't any guns in Equestria.”

“You mean she took all the guns!?”

“You had no right to take everyone's guns!”

“Yeah, how are people supposed to kill looters when law and order fails? We need guns to defend our families!”

“And for when the black helicopters come from the UN! We have to have our guns to fight off the UN when they come to tax us!”

While Celestia didn't understand may of their terms, she had had enough dealings with the teenage children of the Canterlot Royals to know who she was dealing with. Her patience worn through, she used the Royal Canterlot Voice to cut through the noise.

“ENOUGH!”

Into the silence she asked “Where does Scootaloo live?”

“In the red brick house at the intersection of Smith and Baker street. Its like 5 blocks that way...ma'am.” A student replied, pointing east.

“Thank you.” And with that, she was out the door, and glad to be in the free air again after... whatever had just happened back there.

She hopped from roof to roof when she could, keeping out of sight and reading the street signs below. It didn't take long to find Baker street, and she soon followed it to Smith street and found the red brick house on the corner.
Careful to keep quiet, she glided down the ally between the buildings and looked in the windows one after another. She made out a kitchen, a living room, and...
“Ah, there you are, Scootaloo.”

She found the nursery on the third window of the second story, and inside was Scootaloo, alive and well and about three years old by the look of it. The little foal was napping in her bed wrapped up in a blanket and snuggling a cute stuffed lion. Celestia felt her heart warm at the sight, but if she had seen anything in these two worlds, it was that they were no place for a pony. She opened the window and taking a pen and paper from a high shelf, wrote a quick letter thanking the human who had cared for Scootaloo all these months. She knew it would be hard on them, but regardless of how she left, Scootaloo had to leave this place and go home. She pinned the note to the side of the bed, gathered up the little foal, her blanket, and her stuffed lion, and quietly shut the window. Lifting off into the sky with her the tiny bundle tucked at her side, she set off in search of the others so they could return home and leave this wretched world behind.

...

The flash of yellow light faded and as her eyes adjusted, Fluttershy found herself in a black field of oats. She looked around to ask where they were, only to find herself alone.

In a black field at night.

“Hello?... Scootaloo?... Rarity?”

The field remained silent and dark. She could only see a few feet around her due to the height of the oats, and that afforded a good place to hide. Unfortunately it also meant that something else could be out here, stalking her, and she would never know, even if it was right behind her. She was afraid to go without her friends, but with who knew what waiting here in the field... There was a russle in the oats to her left and she let out a squeal and shot into the air, clearing the oats and getting her first good look around. Looking in the direction of the noise she made out the dim shape of some other four footed animal, several feet taller than her who stared back wide eyed.

“He... Hello?”

At the sound of her voice, the figure whirled around and bounded away, its puffy white tail seeming to bounce and float away on its own long after the gray body of the creature had been lost from sight.

Fluttershy hovered over the field, wondering what else might be hiding there. Shaking herself, she resolved to find her friends and began climbing for a better look at this world. Eventually she made it high enough to see beyond what turned out to be a very large field of oats. To her left she could make out another field, a forest of trees to her right, and more or less ahead in the distance, she could see lights glowing around a cluster of buildings. After what Celestia had told them about the humans of this world, she wasn't sure she wanted to meet them, especially all alone, but the only human she had met so far had been a good person...

She had to risk it; she flew off towards the buildings.

As she got closer, she made out fields and feed troughs on the ground below and landed to get a better look. The fields looked a bit like home, and as she looked into the trough, she found it full of a mix of grain and pellets, which after a few mouthfuls, she decided was surprisingly good.

“There must be somepony else around here... Maybe I can find whoever mixed this up...”

She took off again, continuing towards a large rectangular building with light glowing from inside. She circled once and found a door that had been left open a crack, so she landed quietly and peeked inside.

Despite the metal walls, the building was apparently a barn, and at least fifty cows were milling around inside, or standing at a number of... stalls of some kind. A walkway ran down the center of the building flanked by the metal bared stalls on both sides with the rest of the cows lounging along the walls. Fluttershy walked half the length of the long room taking it all in and trying not to attract attention, but finally, she worked up the courage and approached one of the cows in a nearby stall.

“I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but have you seen any other ponies around here tonight?”

The cow didn't seem to notice her, and slowly shifted her weight while still chewing. This caused the suction pump attached to her utter to rattle and clank against itself as the cow shifted again to get more comfortable.

“OH! Oh my! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.”

She backed up into a stall on the opposite side of the aisle and spun around in time to see another cow walking toward her.

“Oh, could you please help me? I'm looking for my friends.”

The cow continued forward into the stall and stood still with out any sign of having heard her. While she watched, a metal arm with suction cups on it swung out and attached itself to the cows udder and began pumping.

“Oh my!” She stepped back, but again no one seemed to take any notice of her. After a few more attempts at communication it started to sink in.
'They may look like the cows I know, but these poor creatures can't really think, let alone speak...'

Being alone in this strange place surrounded by... animals... that looked like this was unsettling to say the least. It took a few minutes for her to start thinking of them like her forest friends instead of the talking cows they appeared to be.
As she watched the herd, she realized that they were not all cows; scattered here and there she saw very young calves prancing and running about or sleeping next to their mothers; None could be more than a week or two old. She called out to one of the larger calves with a big white spot on his side who was prancing by, and he came over to look at her. Up close she could see that these cows bore only a superficial resemblance to her friends back at Sweet Apple Acres. The little one in front of her was obviously playful, but his face was subtly different from what she was used to, and there was no light of intelligence behind his eyes.

“Hello little one. Do you have a name?”

The calf tilted his head and looked at her.

“Not yet? Well I think I will call you Tom. How does that sound?”

'Tom' continued to stare at her, then abruptly turned and went bounding off to the other side of the building. He found another calf and the two chased each other in circles for a few moments before running back to their mothers.

The bang of a metal door made her jump most of the way to the ceiling, and looking back the way she had come she heard voices around the corner coming towards her. With a quick glance around she saw the metal trusses holding up the triangular roof above and ducked behind one of them, hiding as best she could. It wasn't much for cover, but as the two humans came into view neither one looked up.
They looked like the same kind of... person... who had taken care of Rainbow Dash, though these two wore farm clothes and sounded a bit more like Applejack. As she watched and tried to work up the courage to say hello the two started gesturing at the calves.
“We got any old enough tonight?”

“Yeah, I think the one with the big spot over there is ready. He was eatin' from the trough like the adults yesterday.”

“All right, lemme get the rope.”

As she watched, the two worked together and got the laso around Tom's neck and pulled him out of the pen. He bucked and bayed, but the two soon pulled him down the main aisle and through a door into the next section of the building marked with a bland sign that read simply;

'Veal Processing'

“Poor tom! They didn't have to be so rough with him.” She wondered now if she should introduce herself to these ruffians, but after a moment she hopped from beam to beam and over the dividing wall into the next section of the building.

The smell nearly overcame her as landed on the next beam over the wall. It was like the stench of the worlds largest un-flushed toilet, and as she hung onto an upright to steady herself, she looked down and gasped.

Cages.

Row upon row of cages.

Cages stacked on top of each other. With mounting horror she realized that each tiny cage held a calf, and not one could be even six months old. The cages were so small that the calves couldn't even stand up, let a lone turn around, and she realized with a shock where the smell was coming from. These poor calves must have been locked up for days, weeks without even a bathroom break, and as she looked at the cages stacked on top of each other, she saw that there was a calf in each one, and that they had fared no better. Her mind reeled and she tried to hang on to the roof truss in front of her and not throw up from the smell.

Looking down she saw Tom crammed into a tiny cage just like the rest, but unlike the others who seemed silent and broken, Tom was thrashing against the metal bars and bawling for his mother.

Fluttershy was horrified, but seeing Tom like this she felt the fires of rage begin to grow. 'How could anypony be so cruel, so heartless to these defenseless children!'
She was dimly aware of the two men opening a cage at the side of the room and dragging the calf out and over to a white corner of the room equipped with a shower. Seeing them treat the poor thing like this, she was actually shaking with rage. 'The poor thing has been caged so long he can't even stand up! I'm going to -'

The gunshot echoed through building and the white walls were suddenly stained red. Fluttershy just stared, frozen in horror at what had just happened. She winced as the two humans speared the calve’s body with a huge metal hook and lifted it off the ground.

They continued to talk as though nothing was at all out of the ordinary. Moments later, the knives came out, and Fluttershy curled up on the beam, squinting her eyes shut as any trace of rage drained out of her, replaced by stark terror. The cutting noises continued as the two discussed something called a TV show, and she tried not to fall off the beam.

When the bone saws came out with their electric scream, she wet herself in terror and clung shaking to the beam just willing it all to stop. No one noticed anything in the overpowering stench of the room, and in the opposite corner, Tom bayed plaintively for his mother.

...

Back in the bar on the main street of town, the two ponies were having very different reactions to the same situation. The club was poorly lit with booming music thumping though the very floor boards and brightly colored lights flashing and strobing everywhere. Twilight had immediately tried to cover her ears so Rachel had led her to a table in the back where it was quiet enough to speak without shouting. Pinkie had taken one look, squealed with delight and disappeared into the crowd. Every so often she would pop up or run by, but it had been a few minutes now and Twilight had lost track of her.

It had taken Twilight a surprisingly short time to recover from her run-in with human filmmaking, especially after the girls of the Sorority had introduced her to something called a ‘long island iced tea’.

“And you say the reason I’m feeling like this is because of alcohol?” Twilight asked Joyce and Rachel who had taken seats on either side of her.

“Yup. This is a strong drink, so you should take it slow. They must have alcohol in Equestria, right? I mean, it’s one of the reasons we have a civilization today!”

“We use a different name, but from what you’ve told me I believe it is the same thing.” She frowned. “It’s not very popular though, most ponies prefer a type of plant that… makes you feel good when you add it baked goods. Sugar cube corner has a selection of delicacies that feature it.”

Joyce and Rachel both shared a significant look, then Rachel shrugged as Joyce muttered: “Pinkie. I should have known.”

“But why does this taste like burning?” Twilight asked as she levitated the glass and stared into its depths.

Joyce shook her head to clear it. “Alcohol is sometimes used as a disinfectant to kill germs. I know Rachel said this is a strong drink, but this is only, what, twenty percent?” Joyce turned and walked to the bar returning with two tiny glasses, too small even for a foal.

“Um… What is that for?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I asked for shots of one hundred and ninety proof, that’s ninety five percent pure alcohol.” She pushed a shot glass over to Twilight with a knowing grin. “Drink it if you dare.”

“Joyce, that’s not nice!” Rachel admonished as Twilight examined the tiny glass.

“Why isn’t it nice? What will this do to me?” Twilight asked in concern.

“Probably? It will be too strong for you to handle and you won’t be able to drink nearly that much.” Rachel added as she fixed Joyce with a disapproving look.

At this point their conversation was interrupted by a commotion across the room. Rachel could make out a pair of pink hooves sticking up in the air as the crowd chanted.

“Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!.... WOOOOOO!!!!”

“Holy shit, did she just do a keg stand?!”

Joyce was grinning openly. “Yes. Yes, she did.”

“Crap. You two wait here, I’m going to go make sure she doesn’t hurt herself. Or anyone else.” Rachel said as she hurriedly got to her feet.

“Now why would she hurt - ”

“You ever seen a three hundred fifty pound pony in a bar fight?”

Joyce stared at her.

“Nether have I, and I don’t want to either.” She added as she scurried off.

Joyce shook herself and looked back to Twilight. “She’ll be fine. Now how about that drink?”

“I guess I can… It certainly couldn’t be hard to drink such a tiny amount…”

“Good girl, just knock it back all at once like this.” Joyce downed her own glass with her right hand as she fished in her pocket with her left.

Twilight regarded the doll sized glass, shrugged, and downed the contents as Joyce had showed her.

A second later her eyes shot open and she sprayed the contents of the glass across the table upon which Joyce had placed the lighter she took from her pocket.
The fireball was a good 4 feet across and Twilight choked and gasped as the entire bar applauded loud enough to drown out the music.

“It’s flammable!?!”

She meant to shout the words, but they came out as a kind of raspy gasp.

“Oh yeah! But only the really good stuff. That long island iced tea you’re nursing? Weak socks. It's more water than booze.”

“Wow! Twilight, you never told me you could breathe fire!”

Pinkie Pie had appeared at her side and was talking even faster than usual.

“That is so neat! Did spike teach you how to do that? Does this mean you can send letters to the princess on your own now? That would be great because now you could send her letters at night!”

They both stared at her.

“Uhh… Pinkie, are you feeling okay?” Joyice asked, and Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. “Uh… how much have you had to drink tonight?”

“Oh, lots and lots! All these ponies, I mean humans, just keep giving me these cool party drinks! I started with something called a pint, then two more, then a ‘three wise men’, then -”
The list went on for some time as Joyce’s eyes grew wider.
“- and then they helped me stand on something called a keg and drink a few pints upside down! It was -” Her face twitched and she let out an incredible rumbling belch that lasted a good 5 seconds. “Oh! Excuse me.”

Joyce regarded Pinkie with a worried look. “How are you still standing up after all that??”

“Oh, I’m fine.” She smiled innocently. “About half of what they gave me was part of a ‘drinking contest’, but that was silly. The other guy actually fell asleep he was so bored. Slid out of his chair and everything, they had to take him home for a nap.”

Joyce and Twilight both stared at her as she bounced up and down in place as though this was perfectly normal.

At this point Rachel finally caught up with her-self appointed charge. “Pinky, I need you to blow into this.” She said producing a breathalyzer she had borrowed from the bar tender.

“Okay!” Pinkie grabbed the device and blew into it until it beeped and displayed a number which Rachel read out loud.

“Point zero two? How is that even possible?!”

Pinkie seemed unconcerned, and fixed a party noise maker over the end of the breathalyzer before blowing into it again producing a loud toot.

“She’s not even a little drunk! How is that possible?” Rachel asked Joyce.

“How should I know? I thought Scootaloo handled alcohol about the same way we do. Maybe Pinkie is just special?”

“Awww, I think you guys are special too.” She said as she scooped Joyce and Rachel up in a group hug that strained their ribs. “Thank you both for showing me this cool party!”

Joyce and Rachel both sat down hard with startled expressions as Pinkie let go of them.
“Hey, I’m going to go learn more about this party! I think I’ll start with the DJ!” With that she turned and disappeared into the crowd once more.

Now it was Twilight’s turn to look a bit smug as the two shocked Sorority sisters tried to make sense of Pinkie.

“She can be quite a hooffull at times.”

“Well, she doesn’t seem to be in any danger from the booze.” Joyce managed.

Rachel looked around at the increasingly dense crowd. “Maybe not, but have you checked your phone? This club is lighting up and people are coming here from all over town to party with Pinkie Pie. I don’t know how many more people are going to fit in here...”

...

About five minutes later the police arrived to shut down the club. As they ushered everyone out, Pinkie could be seen talking with the captain.

“But why do you have to shut down the party!? That's not very nice of you.” She added giving him a stern look.

The bewildered police captain had not expected anything like this, and decided to act as though the bright pink pony honestly didn't know any better.
“Well, Ms...?”

“Pinkamena Dian Pie.”

“Well Ms Pie, we aren't here to stop the party, but we are here to get everyone out of the building. By the fire code, that building can only hold one hundred and fifty people.”

“Uh... What happens if there are more than that?”

“Have you ever seen a stampede? Because that's what can happen if a fire were to break out in there. We enforce there rules to keep everyone safe.”

Pinkie looked thoughtful and put a hoof under her chin. “So, if we find a bigger building, we can have a bigger party?”

The captain nodded as Pinkie surveyed the surrounding landscape, her eyes soon settling on a large frat house several blocks away and up the hill where a party was already in progress. “What about that building?”

The captain shook his head. “That's between you and them. Just try not to get too out of control okay? We don't like stopping the party any more than you do.”

Rachel, Joyce and Twilight had kept together, though they had lost track of Pinkie again, that is until they heard her shout over the crowd. “Hey everypony! Who wants to party?”

There was an enthusiastic yell, and not just from the original party guests as passers by on the street joined in.

“Then follow me!”

Rachel, Joyce and Twilight all stood and watched in disbelief as the crowd of more than two hundred people followed the pink pony off towards the frat's house party.

“How long do you think this will last?” Rachel asked.

“Before she fills up that four story frat house?” Joyce answered. “I'd give it an hour or two tops.”

Rachel looked back to Twilight who had taken on that knowing grin she sometimes got. “Twilight? How long does a Pinkie party normally last?”

“Oh, I wouldn't expect it to end before sunrise. It's been a while since I've seen here that excited.” She added with a grin.

They continued to stand on sidewalk as the crowd moved off and more people followed. After a minute Rachel asked. “So are we planning to join them? I can party hard, but I don't know if I could go till dawn...”

Even Joyce looked a bit out of her depth. “Yeah. I'm big enough to admit when I've been bested.”

The sound of squealing tires made them all look up in time to see a 1957 Chevy convertible go roaring past with the top down. The car was packed with three women, and Rarity occupied the passenger seat, her main streaming out behind her in the wind as she talked animatedly with the others. Twilight caught part of a sentence as they flashed by: “whole store of makeup?! That sounds-”

“Well, it looks like you shouldn't have any trouble fitting in.” Joyce commented as the car dwindled into the distance. Twilight nodded, a dazed look on her face.

“This has got to be a lot to take in all at once.” Rachel spoke up “Tell you what; the university library is open twenty four hours; what do you say we stop in there for a few hours and show you around?”

“A human library? That sounds wonderful!”

Rachel smiled. “Our university is a bit old fashioned, so we still have a substantial selection of paper books. You will have to make a hard choice though.”

Twilight's expression registered concern. “Oh? What choice?”

Rachel was grinning widely. “Well, you see our university library is made up of more than 4 different main buildings, each of them several stories high. The best place to start could be the main library building, ten floors high, which features biology, chemistry, literature, history, anthropology and art.”

Twilight was beaming, but before she could even nod, Rachel continued. “Or we could go to the engineering library on the other end of campus. Its eight stories high and contains physics and math texts as well as civil, mechanical, electrical, industrial and aerospace engineering. Those are what we use instead of magic in our world.”

Twilight bit her lower lip and pranced from hoof to hoof, torn between two great choices as she tried to make up her mind.

Author's Note

Yes, griffon's are somehow carnivores in a world where just about every animal is sentient.
Yes, the ponies are okay with that, however the details work.
And yes, I think they would have a problem with some of our farming practices.

Things and beasts have threatened her friends before, but the underlying premises has always been 'The animal or dragon I am dealing with is fundamentally a good, sane, individual.'
That premise has just been violently shattered, and a world where sociopaths calmly torture and murder for no apparent (to her) reason is a lot scarier than the world she's used to, especially when the two men make absolutely no effort to hide what they are doing.

This will get better, and there is a reason that Fluttershy asks this be included exactly as it happened, and for the locket she carries with her (See chapter 1), but it will be several chapters yet before that all becomes clear.

Ch 3.4 Choices and Consequences

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Four: Choices and Consequences

Rainbow Dash's attempt to run down the helicopter was not going well, and despite giving it all her speed, the machine was growing more distant. The helicopter was a kind she had not seen before; it had the usual bright medical colors of red on white, but instead of a single set of blades with a side facing tail, this one had two disks on top, and the tail fan pointed back, pushing the machine forward at an incredible rate.

'This is nuts! Why can't I catch this flying machine?!' Rainbow thought to herself.

'Helicopter! And I don't know! Dad never let me chase these.' Dashie replied indignantly from inside her own head.

Dash strained harder, but it seemed to make little difference, however she soon had another problem to deal with. She had been so fixated on the helicopter she didn't notice what was happening around her until it suddenly vanished from sight, its bright paint scheme disappearing into darkness.

'Whoa, where did it go?'

She slackened her speed a little to look around and saw she was flying into a wall of shadow. Looking down she could see the sunlight that illuminated the city faded to black just outside of the last big cluster of houses. Beyond them she could see nothing but the dense black of night.

'Holy shit! What the hell is that!?'

'You’re asking me?! You're supposed to be the expert in this world! How can the day just end on a line like that??' Rainbow asked in alarm.

'I don't know! We have to stop!'

Rainbow tried, but in a flash she had already whipped though the line and found herself coasting on though the cool darkness of night. Stars shone overhead, and the moon was a slim crescent halfway up the dome of the sky. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she looked around; everything seemed perfectly normal aside from the abrupt end of the daylight.

'Any ideas?'

'I told you, I've never seen anything like that before... The helicopter didn't seem to care though, so it must be normal here.'

'Yeah, well a lot of good that does us, I can't chase a flying machine in the dark if I can't see it.'

'You don't have to, genius. They turn on lights after dark; see those flashing lights in the distance? That's the helicopter.'

'Sweet, let’s go!'

For whatever reason, she seemed to be having more luck now. The flashing lights and the distant roar of the machine were growing nearer, and several more sets of red, blue and orange flashing lights were coming into view on a road below. The new lights were coming from a group of... cars... that were clustered around another car in a ditch.

'What are those for?'

'It’s the police. Somebody must have run off the road.'

'You mean the royal guard?'

One of Rainbow's eyes rolled as Dashie sighed. 'Yeah, something like that.'

The helicopter had slowed to a stop and was hovering near the scene of the crash. As Rainbow closed the distance, she saw an orange pony with a purple mane jump from the side of the helicopter and land by the car in the ditch. The police had cleared a spot on the road for the machine to land, and after it touched down a team of medics jumped out with a stretcher and ran towards the car.

…

Scootaloo helped the team lift the man clear of the wrecked car and onto the stretcher, then stood back as the rest of them strapped him down for transport and carried him back to the waiting helicopter. A strangely familiar voice spoke from behind her.
“Nice job, kid. I sure didn't expect to find you working as a doctor.”

Scootaloo turned around to see who the arrogant jerk was who called her a kid and found herself staring at a blue pony who landed beside her with a flutter of wings. Her mouth hung slack for a moment before she managed to speak. “Rainbow Dash?!”

“None other.” She answered with a smug grin. “It’s good to see you again kiddo. I've -OOF!”

Scootaloo grabbed Rainbow in a fierce hug that actually lifted her off the ground for a moment. “Rainbow! Oh my God, I'm so happy to see you! I'm so glad you're okay! After that homeless guy got you we all thought you were a goner!”

Rainbow returned her hug and put a hoof around her shoulder. “It's okay, nothing happened to me, I'm fine.” She felt a few drops run down her shoulder as she realized Scootaloo was crying. “Hey, it’s okay, really. I'm here and everything is going to be fine.”

After a long moment Scootaloo pulled away and wiped her eyes with a sniffle, and for the first time, Rainbow realized she was working with hands; her hooves had never left the ground!

“Whoa! What are those?”

Scootaloo smiled though her tears. “That's right, you must have questions.”
She produced a gauze pad and dried her eyes properly, but that joyful smile never left her face. “These are my prosthetic arms; I've had them since I was little.”

Rainbow couldn't decide what to make of them. “But why do you need them?”

“I'd flip that and ask how you get along without them?” Her grin took on a mischievous look as an idea occurred to her. “Here, catch!”

Before Rainbow could say anything Scootaloo had fished her house keys out of a side pocket on her prosthetic and tossed them at her. Their arc ended abruptly as Rainbow grabbed them out of the air and held them with her right hoof.

“Uh, like this. Duh.”

Her keys appeared to be stuck to the bottom of Rainbow's hoof, and as Scootaloo watched in amazement they started to rotate on their own, just hovering without apparent support.

“That is so amazing! How are you doing that?”

“Doing what? Scoot, everypony can do this.”

Scootaloo was peering intently at her keys; she couldn't see anything with her eyes, so she pulled down her goggles and switched over to infrared. She could see the keys were gradually warming, as from body heat, and as she looked more carefully, she saw an amorphous, slowly flowing, cloud about the end of Rainbow's hoof.

“That looks a lot like the 'magic' the unicorns in the show use...”

“What? Pegasi don't have magic silly.”

Further conversation was interrupted by the sound of the helicopter getting ready to take off. “Oh crap! Come on Rainbow, we can talk more on the way back.”

“I’m not getting on that thing!” - “Sweet! I get to ride in a helicopter!”

Both statements seemed to come from the blue pony at the same time and in the same voice, leaving Scootaloo staring at her with a confused look.

“Uh, are you sure you’re okay, Rainbow?”

‘I’m not getting on that crazy thing!’
‘Dam it you cloud herding simpleton! It’s not going to hurt you!’
‘Hey, who you calling a simpleton?!’
‘The pony who’s afraid to fly in a machine, that’s who.’

Rainbow seemed to be looking off into space and twitching from time to time as her eyes slowly crossed.

“Rainbow Dash!”

“Huh?”

“We have to go now! It’s not safe to be out here on your own, and I need to stay with my team! Come on!”

Rainbow shook herself, nodded, and they both made a dash for the open door. Once inside, Scootaloo slid the door shut and said something Rainbow couldn’t hear over the roar of the machine. They lifted off and were soon racing back to the hospital as Scootaloo helped out with the patient diagnosis. After a few minutes Scootaloo finished her work and turned back to see Rainbow trying to drown out the din of the turbines with her hooves.

Scootaloo had to shout over the noise. “Sorry. Put these on.” She handed rainbow a strange looking set of ear muffs, which cut the noise back to a minor background hum allowing her to think again.

“Thanks!” She shook her head to clear it. “Where are we going?”

Scootaloo reached over and put the microphone over Rainbow’s mouth and motioned for her to try again. This time when she spoke she could hear the sound of her own voice repeated though the headset. “I said, where are we going?”

“We’re headed back to the hospital I’m working for. It won’t take long at these speeds.”

Rainbow looked at the man on the stretcher. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Yeah, he’s got a lot of superficial injuries, but nothing life threatening. It looks worse than it is.” She looked carefully at Rainbow. “What about you? You look okay, but what was that back there? It sounded like there were two of you.”

“Um… Well, there kind of are…” Rainbow replied, her hoof nervously scratching the back of her head as she looked away.

“Rainbow, what happened to you? Did that homeless guy do something to you? And how did you get here anyway?”

The rest of the helicopter crew were now watching the exchange intently, all of them interested to hear the details.

“Well…”

Rainbow related the story as she knew it – the storm, being aged backwards, growing up on earth with a loving father, the rest of her friends coming to rescue her, and the heart-rending parting that followed.
When the helicopter touched down it startled the entire crew who had been engrossed with Rainbow’s story, and with a final quick effort at drying their red eyes, they slid the door open and carried the patient into the hospital.

For their part, the waiting hospital staff saw the whole team come through in tears and thought some kind of disaster must have happened on the call. After a few attempts at explanation, one of the paramedics who had recorded the exchange simply cut and sent the file to the nurse he was talking to.

Scootaloo and Rainbow got out after the rest of the team and walked towards the ER doors, leaving only the co-pilot still on board.

As she dried her eyes, Scootaloo asked the question that had been at the back of her mind for several minutes. “So where you lived, your father kept you hidden away? For your whole life?”

“Well yeah… We had to. He said the world wouldn’t understand me, that they would…” She trailed off as she remembered who she was talking to. In a public place. Her face fell as for the first time she wondered about her father’s true motivations. She had walked several steps on before she noticed Scootaloo was no longer with her.

Scootaloo was standing stock still, her mind reeling over the implications of what she had just heard. Rainbow had never stepped forward, had never done any medical work, she had been hidden away from the world.

Her mind flashed back to her cheerleading days, the state competition and the team who had shaved their heads to be allowed to compete with their friend who was battling cancer… In rainbow’s world…

‘I wonder if her squad attended her funeral.’ She thought in a daze.

The two of them still chatted from time to time, and the thought of her being buried by her mother and father at age sixteen… Scootaloo shuddered.

She thought of the pile of letters from the cancer kids, the crayon drawing her dads still kept on the fridge;
“Dear Ms Scootaloo thank you for save my life. I had cancer and was going to die but now Mommy says I can go home. I drew this picture of you playing in a field with angels.”

In her mind the picture crumbled to dust and was replaced by a tombstone… with an angel of concrete.

She thought of her own husband… Never meeting her… never going to school… being tucked into a satin lined coffin by his mother at an age when the tiny med alert bracelet still fit…

She shook herself violently. ‘Not my world. It didn’t happen here, and they couldn’t have known.’ She forcibly pushed the speculation aside and dried her tears once more.

For her part, Rainbow could see something was troubling Scootaloo from the look of horror and loss on her face as she stared into the distance at nothing. Before she could say anything, the orange pony seemed to come back to the present and pulled herself together, shaking herself and looking at rainbow with a forced smile.

“So you have two different sets of memories? From growing up twice? That must be weird.”

“You have no idea.”
“Yeah, she doesn't even like the same flavors of ice-cream as I do!”

Both Rainbows sounded similar, but a good ear could tell one was a bit more confident, and the other, a bit more sheltered and reserved.

“No offense, but how do you manage to get anything done if you’re arguing with yourself like that?”

“It’s not that bad, we grew up very different, but we’re still the same pony on important issues. Most of the time we think as one, and it feels more… normal, but this trip has been more of a strain then -”

She paused as Scootaloo’s expressions took on a faraway look and she held up a hand.

“Hang on, it’s David… Hi honey, you’ll never guess who I just met…” Her expression changed from delight to concern. “Slow down David, what’s wrong?... WHAT!!....” Her eyes widened as she stared into the distance and a look of panic crossed her features. “Did you call Agent Tyler?!... Hold on, I’m loading her location now…” Her expression worked through confusion, then on to anger. “Yes, I see her. She can’t fly at all, let alone this fast. Someone kidnapped her!... I think I might know.”

She suddenly seemed to focus on the world around her, and looked accusingly at Rainbow. “Did you come here alone?”

One of Rainbow had grown up with cell phones, and she knew what a phone conversation looked like, but Scootaloo had not produced anything that resembled a phone or ear-bud. In confusion she answered; “We all came as a group, just like we did to save me, but I haven’t seen any of the others since we got here…”

Scootaloo’s face was set in a hard look as her eyes seemed to bore into Rainbow. “Did you come here to ‘rescue’ me as well?”

“Well, yeah.” Rainbow replied uneasily. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Let me guess, it was you, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinky, Rarity, Twilight and Celestia just like when they came to get you, right?”

Rainbow nodded as Scootaloo turned and galloped back to the helicopter.

“Hey wait! What’s wrong?”

“You got all that?... Good, I’ll bring her back, just let Tyler know what’s going on.”

Scootaloo threw open the door of the helicopter and took the unoccupied front seat, her hands flying across the controls as the whine of the turbines grew to a roar and the rotors picked up speed.

The Copilot looked across at her. “Scoot, you’re not rated for this bird – what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Rainbow had jumped on and stuck her head into the cockpit to hear what was going on. Scootaloo turned to her and barked. “Close that door!” Then she turned to the co-pilot and deadpanned in a tone of barely contained rage and fear: “Someone has kidnapped my daughter. I can track her, and I’m going to her now.”

It was not a question.

To his credit he just nodded and began running through the checklist while Rainbow stared at her in shock. “Oh my god! Who would –”

Scootaloo whipped around to face her: “Get that door closed, now!”

Rainbow stepped back and slid the door shut just in time to lose her footing and be pressed against the floor as the helicopter jumped into the sky, the turbines complaining under the strain. She managed to find the headset Scootaloo had given her and put it on to drown out the noise before making her way back to the cockpit as the helicopter lurched about and settled into a steep climb.

Scootaloo had that far away look again.
“Oh my God…”
There were tears running down her face as she held the controls.
“She’s crying!”

The co-pilot swallowed hard, trying to look stoic, and suddenly the call Scootaloo was on with Sophie Belle was patched though the com system for all of them to hear. Rainbow could hear the sound of the child crying and calling out for her mother.

Gradually a new sound entered the cockpit; almost too faint to hear at first but with growing strength Scootaloo was singing her favorite lullaby:

“Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby”

“Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true”

“Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me”

Her daughter's crying gradually quieted as she continued to sing, tears streaming down her cheeks while her hands kept a steady grip on the controls.

“Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?”

“If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why, can't I?”

As Sophie Belle's sobbing quieted, the tiny voice called out: “Mommy, I'm scared!”

“It's okay sweetie, I will be there soon.”

She sniffed. “You promise?”

“Yes Sophie, just be good and Mommy will be with you soon. I love you Sophie Belle.”

“I love you too Mommy.”

Rainbow gestured for attention and there was an audible click as the copilot muted the call.

“Who would do something like this?! Are we going to chase them down?”

“NO!” Scootaloo cried, the memory of her misadventure in the fog when she was still a foal suddenly fresh in her mind. “We have to come in on top of them; if they run I could lose my daughter!”

The sound of the turbines changed in pitch and became much quieter as the rotors suddenly went from max lift to near zero lift and the floor seemed to drop away beneath them.

“What the hell are you doing!” Rainbow yelled.

“I can see Sophie Belle's location, and I'm going to drop this helicopter right on top of them as quietly as I can. We have four thousand feet to fall, and we're still doing a good one hundred and fifty knots. When we get close, I'm going to bring it into a hover and jump out. You got that?”

Scootaloo's eyes were red from crying, but she spoke through gritted teeth. Her co-pilot just nodded agreement, while Scootaloo did something with the light controls then reached into her medical bag and came out with something Rainbow thought looked uncomfortably close to a weapon.

Author's Note

The chapter title comes from comparing their life choices, and the body count that resulted. They are both ponies, both designed life forms, and both could advance medical science enormously by willingly volunteering their time as Scootaloo did in her youth. Hundreds of millions of people are alive in this world thanks to an understanding of Scootaloo's synthetic biology, including quite a few friends and relatives. In Dashie's world... these people are only remembered as tombstones.

Ch 3.5 Welcome to Earth

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Five: Welcome to Earth

Despite Celestia's best efforts to fly smoothly from roof to roof, the cool night air had woken the little foal, and it had only taken a moment for her to realize she wasn't in her room and was being stolen away by a strange pony she had never seen before. One look down had convinced her not to struggle, and Sophie Belle had taken to clutching her stuffed lion and crying for her mom in a way that tore at Celestia's heart.

“Hush Scootaloo. I've got you. We're going home, back where it's safe, where no one will hurt you.”

This seemed to have little effect, and the terrified foal continued to sob as she was carried away. Minutes passed as Celestia paused here and there to look for the others, when her attention was abruptly called back to Scootaloo, who had stopped crying.

“Mommy, I'm scared!”

“Easy Scootaloo, I'm not going to -”

“You promise?” Scootaloo asked with a sniffle.

Celestia paused on the rooftop and really looked at her tiny passenger who was staring off into the distance at nothing.

“I love you too Mommy.”

The tiny Scootaloo looked around and seemed to see her again. “My Mommy's coming.”

Celestia felt bewildered by this, but did her best to play along. “She is?”

“Yes. She sounds angry.”

Despite the absurdity of this exchange, Celestia felt uneasy, and she soon resumed her search for the others, hopping from roof to roof, trying to stick to the higher buildings that afforded cover and a better view.

She was dimly aware of a quiet thrumming sound somewhere in the distance, and as she landed on a five story apartment building near the downtown, the sound was suddenly no longer quiet or distant. With an incredible roar a huge white and red flying machine seemed to appear above and to her left, swinging low like a pendulum on a string as it fell almost to roof level and whipped by a few hundred feet away before circling around and hovering off to her right.

“Mommy!” The little foal cried out in delight.

Celestia tried to get her bearings as a blinding light switched on, turning the dim cloudy day into bright sunlight in a circle around her and the child. Moments later a bright orange thing, impossible to see properly in the blinding light, landed on the rooftop in a crunch of gravel, and a mother's voice boomed from the hovering machine.

“Put my daughter down!”

Celestia shielded her eyes with a hoof and saw a bright orange pony with a purple mane and goggles pointing some kind of gun at her with what looked like human hands.

“Scootaloo?!?”

There was another crunch of gravel to her left and she looked over to see Rainbow Dash staring at her with wide eyes. “Princess?? You're the kidnapper?!”

In shock, her concentration faltered, and Sophie Belle tumbled to the ground, where she immediately picked herself up and ran to her mother, stuffed lion held in her mouth. Seeing this, the search light faded and the helicopter moved off to a safe distance as mother and daughter hugged each other tight, though Scootaloo's weapon never wavered from Celestia.

Rainbow's mouth was hanging open in shock as all this played out, and it took a moment before she managed: “Your daughter is a pony?!”

Celestia's shocked expression only faded as she looked from the black plastic thing in Scootaloo's hand to the bright green dot skipping about on her flank. The end of the thing was a rectangle colored with ominous looking yellow and black diagonal stripes, and while she didn't understand it, the threatening feeling was hard to ignore.

“Scootaloo? Is that you?” she asked.

Scootaloo's eyes were still red from crying, and her face was contorted in rage as she sheltered her foal behind her and took a step forward.
“You arrogant ass! You could have gotten her killed! Tell me why I shouldn't shock the everloving shit out of you?!”

There was a moments pause as Celestia tried to think, but the moment was broken when Agent Tyler climbed into view over the edge of the roof and paused to lean against the fire escape. Everyone stared at her as she calmly took a sip from the coffee cup in her right hand.

After an interminable moment she looked up.

“If you've all finished, I would propose we take this discussion to the coffee shop on Fourth and Main. My treat.”

…

After an embarrassed silence, Agent Tyler had climbed back down the fire escape out of sight. Scootaloo carefully seated her foal on her back and held her snug in her arms as she walked to the edge of the roof. She turned back only once to give Celestia a cold look.

“Are you coming or what?”

And with that she disappeared over the edge of the building, spreading her wings and landing on the street below.

Rainbow and Celestia looked at each other in shock. At length Celestia managed: “It... appears your prodigy has been busy.”

…

The two ponies followed Scootaloo and Agent Tyler to the coffee shop where the baristas already had a table waiting. After they had all come inside the empty shop, one of the two employees shut the door and hung up the closed sign in the window.

“This is my favorite coffee shop, how did you know?” Scootaloo asked Agent Tyler.

“Don't be silly, Scoot, we've all known for some time. My job is to keep you safe, and I take that commitment very seriously even if you don't always see the results.” She looked at the two employees behind the counter. “Isn't that right?”

“Yes, Ma'am!”

“Wait, they work for you?! But I know Bob and Joan! I've been coming here for years, and...” As she looked at them both agents gave her sheepish grins. “Why didn't you tell me?”

Bob cleared his throat. “Well, in our defense, you never asked.”

“But- I-” Scootaloo sputtered before conceding she was outmatched. “Just give me my usual.”

“One large 'Coffee of doom' coming right up. And we brewed up a special one for Sophie Belle.” He leaned in and whispered. “Decaf of course.”

For the first time in nearly ten minutes the little foal perked up from her safe spot nestled on her mothers back. “I get coffee?”

Scootaloo smiled and nuzzled Sophie Belle. “Yes, I think after tonight you have showed how brave you are, and you deserve some.”

Sophie Belle gave a squeal of delight and looked longingly at the offered cup as Joan put a lid and straw onto it and set the cup on the floor for her. She jumped down and took a huge sip, then made a face and looked up at her mom.

“Do I like coffee?”

Scootaloo stroked her behind the ears as she replied. “Yes, you do. Now drink your coffee like a warrior.”

Sophie Belle's face lit up and she resumed drinking as though the cup contained a wonderful treat.

At length, Scootaloo got her own drink and took a seat at her favorite table in the now empty shop with Sophie Belle and her stuffed lion tucked carefully behind her. Agent Tyler brought drinks for Rainbow and Celestia and gestured for them to join her at the table with Scootaloo. Rainbow sat right down, but Celestia approached warily as Agent Tyler regarded her with a level gaze and Scootaloo glared at her.

Celestia hung her head. “I must apologize for what I have done tonight. It was never my intention to take a foal from her loving mare.”

Scootaloo's glare could have formed icicles on a pot of boiling water.
“But you didn't mind if you stole her from a loving mother or father provided they didn't have hooves?”

The silence stretched on.

“I... I had not considered that. Does it matter?”

“My husband would sure think so. He was frantic when he called to tell me someone had kidnapped Sophie Belle.”

Rainbow began choking on her drink after trying to blow it out her nose. “Your husband is a human?!”

Scootaloo wheeled on Rainbow. “Do either of you have a problem with that?”

“But... humans aren't...” Rainbow stammered.
“Oh shut up. Some humans are hot, you just haven't watched enough sports.” Dashy finished with a catcall that left Rainbow blushing.

Celestia reluctantly took a seat on the booth, which creaked under her weight. “I am sorry. We came here to rescue you and take you home. It did not occur to me that you would be a mother.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow jumped in. “How the hay did that work anyhow? You and me were the only two who went missing.”

Scootaloo bit back one of the nastier retorts she kept for people who disparaged her daughters and replied in a level tone. “My daughters, Sophie Belle and Chaya are nearly-exact genetic copies of myself. They are clones. We had no idea if anyone would ever come looking for me, and after all the years it was beginning to look doubtful. My husband and I both wanted children, and we had a standing offer of free child care and support should we choose this way.”

She looked steadily at both ponies across the table as she continued. “I love my daughters with all my heart. And you” she rounded on Celestia, “should be glad I didn't electrocute you after the way you scared Sophie Belle.”

In the seat next to her there was a sudden burst of coughing and they all looked at Agent Tyler.
“You didn't zap her?!? Considering how long it took them to catch up I just figured...”

Scootaloo put a hand on her shoulder. “I was trying to keep the peace. I have been hoping for this day most of my life, even if it isn't going quite the way I planned.” She added with a glare at Celestia.

“Wow. You have more restraint than I do,” Agent Tyler remarked contemplatively, grinning in that eerie way she had. Celestia wasn't entirely used to human facial expressions, but it seemed to her that a friendly grin that didn't reach the eyes and a stare that said 'I don't know what the legal term is for assassinating an alicorn princess, but you touch my friend's kid again and we will all find out,' might not exactly be what one would call cogitatively up-to-spec. And it was funny, how very transparent the agent's intentions were from her gaze.

Scootaloo tightened her grip on Tyler's shoulder and nodded to Sophie Belle still enjoying her coffee behind them.

“Perhaps later.” Scootaloo turned back to their guests. “From what Rainbow and Dashie have told me, you are here to find 'Scootaloo' and take her back with her family to Equestria, right? Well at present, there are three of me, or none, depending on how you define it. I believe we have a few things to work out.”

“Yes, we do,” Celestia agreed, adopting her more normal persona. “We have come to bring you home, but your family, at least your human family must remain here in this world.”

Scootaloo bristled. “Oh really? You despise humans that much?”

“You did not tell her?” Celestia asked Rainbow, who shrugged. “I would welcome all of you if I could, but Humans cannot survive in Equestria. Anyone you brought with you would not return.”

Scootaloo's mood was not improving. “That sounds wonderfully threatening, yet vague and non-specific.”

“It is not a pleasant subject to speak of. The last humans to come to Equestria came in two groups nearly 90 years ago, and they all died horribly.”

Scootaloo had begun to glare at her again and was tapping her hoof in irritation. “I work as a doctor in an ER. I've seen a lot of death. You're going to have to be more specific.”

“I... I can not talk about it...” Celestai managed as she shrunk down in her seat, the memories of it all taking a visible toll on her.

“Yet you have no problem making life choices for me based on what happened? I am a doctor, Celestia, I am working though my residency to practice medicine, and I have seen a lot. Show me what you got.”

Celestia closed her eyes and shuddered, then reached out with her magic and touched Scootaloo's head.

Nothing happened.

She concentrated harder and her magic enveloped Scootaloo, lifting her off the floor where, to her credit, she crossed her arms and continued her level stare at Celestai. After a few more moments Celestia opened her eyes and set Scootaloo down.

“I don't understand. Why can I not transfer my memories to you?”

“You expect me to know?”
Scootaloo sighed. “It seems there is a lot you don't know about this world. Do you know what would have happened to anyone else who did what you have tonight?”

Celestia hung her head once more which seemed to irritate Scootaloo further.

“You kidnapped my daughter, the wrong pony I would add, you scattered your fellow ponies over who knows how big an area, and now you tell me that I must abandon my husband and my friends because of some incident you can't even explain to me?!

Celestia and Rainbow both cringed at this, and Scootaloo continued.

“And until someone tells you otherwise you are to keep your hooves firmly on the ground! I'm still getting the shivers thinking about how close you came to hurting my daughter.”

That got Celestia's attention.

“Surely you cannot believe I would ever harm one so innocent? I am very sorry for what I did, but you must know I would never harm your child.”

“You arrogant...!” Scootaloo fought back another blast of rage, and instead of staring at the princess, she took a moment to cuddle her daughter who had finished her decaf coffee and was hugging her stuffed lion, sticking close by after her ordeal, though the lateness of the hour had her nodding off where she stood.

“Mommy? Can we go home now?” The little foal yawned and her eyes fluttered as she tried to keep them open. Joan had been keeping an eye on them and appeared with an appropriate car seat for the little one.

“Of course Sophie Belle, you have been so good today. Just climb in here and we'll get you back home into your own bed.”

The little foal yawned again, but allowed her mother to buckle her into the car seat.

“Now you be good for Joan okay? She's going to take you home to daddy.”

“Okay... I love you Mommy.”

Scootaloo stroked her head with on hand. “I love you too Sophie Belle.”

Scootaloo gently rocked the car seat back and forth until she could hear cute little snores.

She looked up at Joan. “Are you trained in how to care for my little one?”

“Of course. We keep all the supplies here and ready should we ever need them.”

“Thank you. Please watch over her, I suspect I will have my hands full for a while.”

Joan just smiled. “You know we are here to take care of you. You only have to ask.”

Scootaloo nodded, then turned to the other agent behind the counter. “Bob, do you mind if I run off with that six-foot aluminum flag pole on the front of the shop?”

“Um, I guess so...”

“Thanks.” She turned to Rainbow and Celestia. “Now, its time you understood how much danger you just put yourself and my daughter in. Its time for a flying lesson.” Her voice had a hard, no-nonsense edge to it as she faced the princess down from across the table. “You will follow exactly the path I do. You will not fly off left, right, up or down. This will take about ten minutes, then we will come back here. Do you understand?”

Both Rainbow and Celestia were somewhat insulted, but given the circumstances, neither chose to argue. They walked out the door and followed after Scootaloo as she took flight and tracked up and north, away from the main street towards the outskirts of town. After a five-minute flight they landed in a field some distance from a series of tall metal towers with cables hanging between them.

“Now we walk. Dashie, I suspect you know what those are, but I want to hear it from you, Princess. What are those?”

Celestia stared up at the wires hanging from the poles hundreds of feet in the air. She could hear a faint crackle and pop every now and then, just on the edge of hearing even on this quiet night. “I don't know Scootaloo. But they don't seem... right. I wouldn't fly near them.”

“And if it was foggy tonight, could you still avoid them?”

“I... I don't know.”

“That's a good answer.” Scootaloo breathed in a friendlier tone. “You are willing to admit when you don't know something, and that's very important. Humans use these wires to transmit high voltage electricity to their cities and houses. I need you to stay here. Do not move from this spot until I return. I'm going to show you what would have happened to you and my daughter if you had blundered into one of these nearly invisible wires.”

Scootaloo trotted a few hundred feet clear of the power lines, pulled out the aluminum flag pole and flew up and over the lines, keeping several hundred feet clear at all times. When she was directly above the lines, she dropped the six foot pole, then turned and covered her eyes.

On the ground, Rainbow and Celestia watched the tiny speck of a pony drop the pole. It was going to miss all the lines and fall straight through.
'What did she expect to happ-'

A blinding flash of lightning jumped from one line to the pole and then to another line, followed instantly by a tremendous BANG like a thunderclap. They were both momentarily blinded by the light, but as the after images faded, they could see the remnants of the pole glowing white hot as they fell and started fires on the ground. Scootaloo returned and did her best to kick dirt over the burning metal as the two mares stood open-mouthed.

“That... that is what would have happened if I had approached the wires?!” Celestia managed.

“Yes. The bigger the wire, the bigger the bang. Even if you have some kind of lightning proof ass, my daughter does not. This is one of several reasons I am angry with you.”

“But... How? How can such a thing be allowed if it is so dangerous?!”

Scootaloo actually face palmed. “Because humans can't fly without machines! And to earn a flying machine license takes at least forty hours of training, during which things like this are mentioned.”

She sighed as her anger ebbed a bit. “We would be only too happy to teach you everything you want to know about this world, but please take it slow for the next few days. Despite everything that has happened, I have been looking forward to this day for most of my life. I didn't know for sure that you would ever come, and it means so much that you did! Just please, stop jumping to conclusions and charging off on your own. We will sort everything out and figure out a way to make everyone happy, just please bear with me, okay? You have a lot to learn about this world and my history, and I am just as eager to find out about your world.

Ch 3.6 Cultural Differences

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Six: Cultural Differences

With Rarity in the passenger seat, Tammy found that her three friends suddenly had time for a night on the town after all. Sick days were called in, apologies made, and before long the five of them were on their way to a local salon.

“You're in for a treat tonight Rarity, the salon we're going to is the same one that Scootaloo uses from time to time.”

“Oh my goodness! Our little Scootaloo has learned the importance of being ladylike?” Rarity asked hopefully.

Tammy looked momentarily uncomfortable and dodged the question with another question. “What do you normally have done when you go out?”

“Oh! Well, first I'd start with a pedicure, then have my hair done, and then I like to check to see if they have anything new in the makeup section, then on to perfume, and perhaps a stop to have my eyelashes curled and-” She was speaking fast enough that she momentarily ran out of breath.

“Well, you shouldn't have any shortage of new things here. And as long as you let them get some photos of you, I think they will probably be happy to let you have it all for free. They're part of a large chain, and that's the deal they have with Scootaloo.”

Rarity's eyes were alarmingly large as a grin lit up her face. “Free salon time??”

…

After the initial surprise had worn off, the stylists at the salon were delighted to work with her, especially given that when Scootaloo came in, the regular employees were unceremoniously herded out and 'more professional' stylists brought in.

The first hour was spent looking over all the different products on hoof for the discerning pony. While some things like lipstick and eyelash curlers were essentially unchanged, all the brand names were new, and with the encouragement of the manager (who was one of those who had been scorned and not trusted to work with Scoot,) she began to replace ALL her supplies from Ponyville, including at least one of all the right colors and shades.

To her surprise, some 'utterly essential' items were only available in a single example, and that in Scootaloo's colors.

“But how do you get by without proper concealer? These compacts are obviously well made, but these won't work with my coat.”

One of the stylists fielded that question. “Well, we humans do a lot with our hair,” She said as she brushed out her long blond locks. “But we don't really like hair anywhere else. Have you noticed that we only come in a couple of shades, mainly brown to white? That's because you're seeing our skin, not our coats.”

“You mean none of your makeup is compatible with the brilliant white hair of my face?”

They all shared an surprised look. “Well, no, not really. Our makeup is designed to go onto skin, not fur. Human women usually shave off what little fur we have.” She said stretching out her legs for Rarity to see.

“You... You shave off your beautiful coats?!” Rarity asked in astonishment.

Looking at her shocked expression, Tammy couldn't help but laugh. “Well, I don't think you could call our natural hair 'beautiful'.” She thought about it for a moment, then fished out her cell phone and pulled up a picture for Rarity. “Here. This is what my husband looks like in his boxers.”

Rarity cringed. “Eww! But that's...”

They all stared at her. “Now do you understand?”

“That's what you would look like if you let your coats grow out??” She asked with a look of disgust. “I... Umm... Yes. Yes, I think I understand.”

“I know we have some gaps in our lineup for your species, but we can still do a few things you might enjoy.” The manager chimed in. “We still have everything we need to do a full pedicure, and we could see if Scootaloo's old shoes fit you.” She added, gesturing to a plaque on the wall with four beautifully carved aluminum shoes. “How does that sound?”

Rarity had that look again. “Oh my goodness! I've never seen shoes like these before! Who designed these?”

The manager smiled. “It was some friend of Scootaloo's. They were made on a CNC machine out of solid blocks of aluminum. She seemed to like them, and if you like, we can put them on you after your pedicure.”

She nodded enthusiastically and the staff got to work, some of Tammy's friends joining in when they were able. One of the more experienced stylists who had watched and learned how to work with Scootaloo took down the shoes, along with the two part epoxy needed to secure them in place.

In a couple of hours the girls emerged from the store carrying so many bags that even Rarity was having trouble lifting it all. The staff gave them a heartfelt sendoff and they all piled back into the car, Rarity's borrowed shoes making an interesting 'clack' noise on the hard concrete.

“That was wonderful!” Rarity beamed as she pulled the door closed. “Where are we going next?”

The four women shared an uncomfortable look.

“Should we go to our usual spot?” Tammy asked.

“Umm... I don't know...”

“Yeah... that could be awkward...”

“Doesn't she count as a kid?”

Rarity puffed up her chest indignantly. “I most certainly am not a foal! I am a full grown mare! Now what is all this about?”

“Well... We usually go out to ladies night at the club...”

Rarity looked at her expectantly. When nothing more was forthcoming she asked. “And??”

“And it's... a strip club.”

“And?”

Tammy's three friends were looking more and more startled, and even Tammy, who had spent a few extra hours with Rarity was a bit surprised.
They tried to explain the concept in small words.

“Well, we all go to the club, and we watch hot guys strip naked...”

Rarity had raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Is that all?”

Now they were really starting to look uncomfortable in the back seat. “Well... Sometimes they have women in tight outfits come and tie up the guys... for fun...”

Rarity's face immediately brightened. “Oh, one of those clubs! Of course, I'd love to go, it’s just a pity I left my good flogger at home. Honestly, the one time I don't bring it with me.”

All four women took a moment to pick their jaws up off the floor.

“You know about that?!?”

Rarity gave her a confused look. “Well of course I do. Outfits for that kind of club make up a substantial portion of my business income. How do you not know this? I thought you said I was famous?” She finished with a look at Tammy.

Tammy stammered out. “I, but... Rarity, we know you from a children's TV show!”

It took a moment for her to process this tidbit of information that Dashie had neglected to mention.
She actually seemed offended by it.
“You mean you've never seen the 'Bit and Bridle' club? You've never heard of my friends Knotwork and Mistress Leash? You've never seen the straps and bridles I keep on display in the front of my store??”

Tammy looked thoughtful. “Actually, they did leave in the displays in your store... Is that why we never see anypony wearing a bridle on the show?”

“Well fetishwear isn't exactly common outside the club and the bedroom.” Rarity conceded. “You have to be particularly daring to walk about in a control harness during the day. The only pony I can remember doing that is the mare who visited from Saddle Arabia.” She smiled at the memory. “And oh, did her husband get some envious looks!”

The sound of mental gears grinding was almost audible as the four of them tried to wrap their minds around what she was telling them. At length she looked at Tammy. “Well? Are we going or not?”

Tammy shrugged, started the car, and they went.

...

As Celestia and Rainbow flew behind Scootaloo, the orange pony led the way to the hospital where she worked and studied. The three of them circled down to the empty helipad beside the building where Agent Tyler was waiting.

“Glad to see you’re okay. Is everything all right?” She asked Scootaloo with a raised eyebrow.

Scootaloo turned to regard the Princess and Rainbow with a frown. “Yes, it was necessary to explain a few things about the local power grid, but I think the point has been made.” Celestia looked sheepish as Scootaloo turned back to Agent Tyler. “Could one of your people put in a request with the prosthetics shop in the morning? If our friends elect to stay for any length of time they’re going to need a heads up display like my old one in order to fly safely.”

Tyler smiled. “Already done, though I don’t expect to hear anything back until morning. I also took the liberty of emailing several local flight instructors to ask for lessons.”

Scootaloo shook her head and really smiled for first time in hours. “Always one step ahead aren’t you? Thank you.” Turning back to Rainbow and Celestia she called out. “Hear that? We should have you two legal to fly on your own again in less than a week.”

“What!?” Rainbow and Dashy shouted in cute, if indignant harmony.

“Relax, Rainbow.” Scootaloo replied, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You saw what happened with the pole and the power lines. In this world you need a license to fly, and that means at least forty hours of practice in a human flying machine.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Forty hours!?!”

“Minimum. Most pilots need more than that to pass the test, but you should be happy; these lessons can cost a fortune, but I have a feeling you’ll be getting them for free.” She added with a grin and a sidelong glance at Tyler.

Before Rainbow could object further, Agent Tyler spoke up. “We can deal with all that in the morning, but at the moment we have more pressing problems. How many ponies did you bring to our world?”

“I brought the six element holders and myself.” Celestia replied evenly. “But none of us seemed to have arrived in the same place. I had set the spell to deliver us to ‘Scootaloo’s location’, but with three of her here, the spell must have been confused.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “It probably didn’t help that I was in the chopper doing two hundred miles an hour either. That means that five of your friends are unaccounted for.”

“Not quite.” The agent added with a smile. “We found Twilight in the main campus library after she apparently drove the poor librarian half mad with questions. She’s in a car on her way here right now. Pinkie Pie is also accounted for, though I didn’t see the need to bring her in right away.”

“Why not?” Rainbow asked, eyebrow raised.

“Because she has started a Pinkie party, and has already been booted out of a bar and a frat house for violating the building occupancy limits.” The agent replied with a grin. “An hour ago she commandeered the fourteen thousand seat basketball Coliseum, and the party has only been growing since.” She held out a tablet computer showing a live feed of the party which had already overflowed the floor and was pressing up past the first rows of seating. As the ponies stared, Pinkie appeared on the impromptu stage and began leading the group in song to something that sounded like dubstep.
“It just seemed like a shame to pull her away from this.”

“When we caught up with Twilight, she reported seeing Rarity out enjoying herself with a group of young women. We have an agent keeping tabs on her, and she is apparently planning to catch up with us later of her own accord. At the moment she seems to be enjoying herself at a local salon.”

Celestia nodded gratefully. “Thank you Ms. Tyler, that accounts for everypony but Applejack and Fluttershy.”

The Agent’s face fell at this. “Unfortunately, we don’t know where they are. We alerted the local authorities to keep an eye out, but so far there have been no sightings. Do you have any idea what they will likely do in this situation? The more we know, the faster we should be able to find them.”

Celestia frowned. “The only thing I can be sure of is that they will be out looking for us. You should alert as many humans as possible so that when they are found they know where to go.”

“Very well, that’s what I have been working on so far.” Tyler replied with a nod. She paused and looked off into the distance as someone messaged her. “And Scootaloo? Twilight just arrived at the main entrance. I believe I can handle the introductions from here,” She gestured to Rainbow and Celestia, “but if you wanted to introduce yourself to Twilight, I took the liberty of setting up a library media room for you on the third floor.”

Scootaloo’s eyes lit up, and she quickly excused herself. Rainbow looked confused until Agent Tyler reminded her: “Scootaloo is a doctor. She’s been hoping to compare notes with Twilight for years now.”

...

As Agent Tyler led Rainbow and Princess Celestia down the hall to the staging area, a man in robes and a white collar caught sight of the group and introduced himself.

“Princess Celestia I presume?” He asked with impeccable manners.

“Yes?” She asked, bringing the three of them to a stop in the hallway. “Who might you be?”

“Father Schmidt, Princess.” He replied, holding out a hand to shake her hoof. “Do you have a moment that I might speak with you?”

Celestia turned back to the agent with a questioning look, but didn't quite catch the mischievous glint in Tyler's eye. The agent shrugged. “Why don't you talk in that side office over there.” She indicated an empty room off the corridor, walked over and turned on the lights. “I'll drop Rainbow off and catch up with you in a few minutes.” As Celestia walked in, Tyler whispered in her ear. “Don't agree to anything and try not to get too worked up.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, but Agent Tyler had already turned away. Rainbow gave her a shrug, then followed after. Once they were out of sight around the corner, Rainbow asked. “Why did you do that? Couldn't church have waited until we found the others?”

This time their was no mistaking the grin on her face as she answered. “After what she put Scootaloo and her family through tonight, I feel it is only right to introduce her to a representative of the Catholic Church.” She thought for a moment, and her expression became friendlier. “By the way, did you have a religion where you came from? You mentioned in the helicopter that your father kept you hidden, so you couldn't have gone to church proper, but did you have a faith inside the home?”

“Well...” Dashie remembered back to the first time her father had introduced her to the faith, and the warmth and comfort it had brought her. She also remembered, all too clearly, the way he had to keep his faith secret at his work for fear of reprisal, and the hateful letters he had tried to hide from her.
“Could we please not talk about this?” She asked, visibly shrinking away.

Feeling like a complete heel, Agent Tyler's face fell. “Of course. I'm sorry Dashie. I didn't mean to pry.”

…

“I believe I understand the basics.” Celestia answered. “And your Pope and Jesus seem like very nice humans, but what is this 'hell' that you keep referring to?”

Father Schmidt thought for a moment before continuing. “Hell is the place where the souls of the damned go; those who die without having accepted Jesus as their lord and savior. It is a place of pain and suffering, of fire and brimstone were the dammed burn in agony for all eternity.”

The princess blanched visibly at his description. “Burn?”

“Yes.” He replied evenly. “It is a place of torture and horror. The damned may have their skins peeled off slowly with a dull knife, or their bodies dipped into vats of burning fire, screaming as their flesh burns away.”

The princess was now noticeably paler with a tinge of green around her face. “That's horrible! What kind of evil pony would stand by and allow such a thing?”

The priest scoffed. “Our Lord God is not a pony, Princess; we were created in his image, and redeemed from sin by the sacrifice of his one and only son. Our God is merciful, and only requires us to accept him as our one true God in order to avoid the pits of hell.”

“But I have never heard of this 'God'! Nor have any of my ponies in Equestria.”

Father Schmidt sighed. “That is unfortunate, as it means all those who ever died there, died in sin, and are now in hell. All the more reason you should make an appointment with the Bishop to invite some of our missionaries to your world as soon as possible.”

That seemed to shake Celestia, and she eyed Schmidt darkly. “You are saying then that all the ponies who have ever lived and died in Equestria, all my stallions, mares and foals are now burning in your hell?”

“So it is written, yes.” He replied, mistaking her rising anger for a crisis of faith. “The mares screaming as they watch their foals torn apart by wild animals, their stallions suffering as white hot pokers are slowly twisted into their eye sockets... But if you act now, we can ensure that no more are lost to us.”

...

Half an hour into Rainbow's introduction to the world of humans, Celestia stormed into the room and slammed the door behind her. Agent Tyler looked up at her. “Did you have a nice talk?”

Rainbow turned around and nearly fell out of her chair seeing the princesses face contorted by rage, small flickers of lightning arcing around her horn.

“The stallion and I had a difference of opinion.” She managed through gritted teeth. “I do not think I will be speaking with him again soon.”

The Agent teaching the class looked to Tyler for help, but received only a shrug in reply.

“Um... Okay then. Would you like to join Rainbow here? We're going over the basics of the human world so you can move around without getting into trouble or getting hurt.”

With an effort, Celestia took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. “Yes, thank you. I would like that very much.”

Ch 3.7 Life the Universe and Strippers

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Seven: Life the Universe and Strippers

Scootaloo led Twilight into a room with a computer terminal and a larger projection screen taking up most the far wall. She powered up the computer, shut off the lights and closed the door on the now dimly lit room.

Twilight looked around the Spartan room in confusion –aside from what Scootaloo had called a 'desktop computer' and a couple of chairs and tables, the room was empty. “Um, I thought you were taking me to a library to study this world? They're no books in here, and even if there were, you turned out the lights.”

Scootaloo just smiled. “We are in a library... after a fashion. Remember how I showed you that a computer can store pages of text?” Twilight nodded. “Well on this world most of the computers are linked to each other through something called the internet. That means that almost any page of text, any book, any movie, any photo, even whole programs that are stored on computers all over the world can be accessed from any other computer hooked up to the internet.”

Twilight still looked skeptical. “Okay, but each computer can only hold, what, a couple of pages? Even with the two or three thousand computers on this world, you would still need... Why are you laughing at me?”

Scootaloo put a hand over her mouth and coughed a couple of times. “Oh, you'll see. There are still libraries that store information as text in books, but you are a few orders of magnitude off in your estimates. How many books do you have in the ponyville library? Five or ten thousand?”

Twilight thought about it. “I'm not sure I have that many...” Before she could say more the projector kicked on and the entire wall lit up as a computer screen twenty feet on a side.

Scootaloo smiled at Twilight's gaping expression and pointed to the computer on the table. “That one computer is capable of storing all the books in your library, and at least 100 other libraries just like it, all by itself.”

Twilights jaw hung slack as Scootaloo continued. “And there aren't a few thousand computers in the world, there are billions of computers in this world.”

Twilight's gape became a look of consternation. “I don't know that word...”

Scootaloo stared for a moment, then pulled up a document to type in. “This is a hundred: 100. Here is a thousand 1,000. And ten thousand 10,000. One hundred thousand 100,000. One million 1,000,000. Ten million 10,000,000. One hundred million 100,000,000. One billion 1,000,000,000. Ten billion 10,000,000,000. And a good ballpark estimate of the number of internet capable computers in the world would be on the order of 100 billion, or 100,000,000,000.”

Twilight was shaking her head. “That's not possible! Every human would have to own a mountain of computers to come even close to that number!”

“Twilight, how many humans do you think there are on this plant?”

She thought about it, looked at the numbers that Scootaloo had entered, then revised her estimate upward. “Ten million?”

“Twilight, we have single cities with more people then that. This world is home to over nine billion humans.”

Twilight felt her knees go weak, and she sat down hard in one of the provided chairs. Seeing her reaction, Scootaloo tried changing the subject.

“Maybe we should start with a look at the world itself.” The wall changed, and a spinning globe came into view against a black background of stars. As Twilight watched, the picture zoomed in and in and in until her mind reeled at the scale of it. Eventually, the picture came to rest on a big building that looked oddly familiar.

“This is the hospital we are in now. We are in a room in this wing here,” She pointed with a white arrow on the screen. “and you can see the cars in the parking lot over here.”

The cars were tiny, but Twilight did recognize them from the drive in. “Is there a way I could look around with that?” She asked a little shakily. Scootaloo nodded and indicated the mouse on the desk in front of Twilight. “But... I didn't see you use this. How are you controlling this computer?”

“Oh! That's right, you don't know. A few years back we did some experiments with computer implants. It turns out because we ponies are a designed species our bodies were built to accept and work with computer implants. Humans are an evolved species so their biology won't play nice with electronics, but the researchers figured out how to grow my synthetic cells in other humans and so today anyone who has used my cell treatment can use implants.”

“Computer implants? Implanted in what?”

Scootaloo indicated a spot on the right side of her head a little below the ear. “Touch my head just here, you should be able to feel it.”

Twilight reached out hesitantly with her magic while the screen on the wall began shifting again. It felt like there was a tiny lump under the skin on the side of Scootaloo's head. “You... You let them put a computer in your brain?!?”

The screen had turned into a movie, and Twilight watched as a human in white gloves made a small cut in another humans head, about the same place as Scootaloo's, and slipped a tiny wafer under the skin before stitching the flap of skin closed.

“See, there is nothing to it. This started out as a cure for blindness and we latter figured out how to use it for-”

“Wait, you mean this can help blind ponies see??” Twilight asked, pointing at the screen.

“Well yes, that's the main reason I signed up to help with it and got the first implant myself.” She indicated one of her ribs. “This implant allows me to control my prosthetic arms – my body adapted to it and now I can use and feel with my arms just as though they were flesh and blood. But that was just the first one. Implants can do so much more today. You don't even have to stay in the hospital overnight, and once the implant takes, you can control computers and other devices, interface with cameras, and access the entire internet all without an external screen like this.” She indicated the wall. “You may live in a library, but an even bigger library lives in me, and I can see everything you're seeing here inside my own head. Every bit of knowledge, every book and movie ever put on the internet is accessible to me all the time, anywhere I want it.”

That got Twilight's attention. The video played again and she asked.

“But... doesn't it hurt?”

“Well, not at the time. They give you painkillers to numb the area for a few hours, so you can't feel anything while they install it. Afterwards? Its sore, and stings if you poke it for the first couple of days, but in a couple weeks it heals up and you don't even notice it's there.”

She watched the gleam in Twilight's eyes as she stared at the screen in thought.
Scootaloo grinned “Relax. We have hundreds of these implants in this hospital alone, and if you decide you want one I don't think anyone will object but before you ask us to put a library in your head why don't you get used to using it the old fashioned way?”

Scootaloo showed her how to use a mouse and keyboard, and Twilight caught on quickly enough, using her magic in place of hands.

“Okay, first things first things first, let’s get you familiar with the planet I live on.”

As Twilight got used to the latest version of Google Earth, she explored first the neighborhood, then zoomed out to see states, countries, and the world as a whole. Inside of five minutes they had exhausted Scootaloo's basic knowledge and she began reaching for Wikipedia, a site which, once explained, delighted Twilight yet again. After at least an hour spent on the geography lesson, the topic became one of size, leading Scootaloo to pull up a different web site.

“Now what was that called... Something about scale.” She typed a few things into the search engine, and eventually found what she need. “Oh, that right, it was “The scale of the universe 2”

As the site loaded Scootaloo continued. “This will give you an idea for the scale of this world, and of our universe. Keep an eye on the measurement here that tells you how big each thing is. Lets run the slider in all the way, before we zoom out. Once you can identify everything in this table you'll have a much better grasp on where you are and the scale of everything.”

That consumed another couple hours with numerous side trips back to Wikipedia when deeper explanations were called for. Scootaloo could answer most questions about viruses, molecules and atoms, but when they got into really small things she wondered how she would have ever managed this without internet access.

Twilight's thirst for information was insatiable, and as they started taking the slider back out the other direction, past buildings and continents, then on to planets, stars and galaxies, a trip back to Wikipedia bounced them to “100,000 stars project”.

At some point in the last few hours, someone had laid out a modest buffet on the back table, and about the time Twilight was exploring the nearby stars in the solar neighborhood, Scootaloo managed, not without some difficulty, to pulled her away from the controls long enough to eat.

Even after being reminded, Twilight was still vibrating with excitement. “Ish is show amashing!” Twilight mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich. “Ish world ish so uge and comficated and-”

Scootaloo put a hand against her mouth. “Easy Twilight, eat, then talk.” She couldn't help but smile “Jeez, you're acting like Pinkie Pie.”

Twilight made a visible effort to calm down, closing her eyes and finishing her current sandwich. “Sorry, it’s just... We don't have anything like this back home! And finding things in a library full of books, even with a good librarian takes so much longer!”

Scootaloo smiled modestly “Well I have had time to prepare. I've have been hoping for this chance most of my adult life. Getting to introduce a brilliant unicorn to my adopted world? Do you have any idea how many people wanted to be the one here, showing you all this for the first time?”

Twilight stopped with another bite halfway to her mouth. “I guess I never thought of that. Were there a lot of...?” She saw the flat stare Scootaloo was giving her. “Right, we're minor celebrities here...”

There was a thoughtful pause before Scootaloo asked the next question on her study list. “Twilight, how much do you know about where different species come from? Evolutionary biology and the like?”

“I know a little about biology, but quite frankly, I'm not a veterinarian or a doctor like you are. If you need to know details about animals and nature, I'm not the first pony you should be talking to.”

“Hmm... That's what I was afraid you'd say. But that's okay, the next topic I wanted to cover was history, and for that I was going to start with earths history, which requires some background information to make sense of.”

The screen began moving again as Scootaloo fed a title into the search engine. “Lets see, these are usually available on youtube, but I have to get the titles right... 'Evolution: Darwin's Dangerous Idea'... There we go.” She said as the video loaded. “I might as well let the others load while we watch the first one... 'Evolution: Great Transformations', 'Evolution: Extinction!', then 'The Evolutionary Arms Race' and 'Why Sex?'. That should keep you busy for a while.” She added with a smile.

“We're going to watch movies?” Twilight asked as the first installment started to play, showing a group of humans on a hill top looking over a huge skull.

“Documentary, actually. Its about how all the plants and animals of this world came to look the way they do today, and how and why that happened. You have to understand this before I can teach you basic earth history and expect it to make any sense.”

Twilight sat down to watch and enjoy the food, occasionally asking questions. “These humans... uh, people, are dressed very differently from the ones I've met, and the language seems a bit different.”

“You have a good eye. This takes place in the country of Britain a little over 200 years ago.” She saw Twilight's confused look and added hastily; “This was recreated and filmed with actors in the last ten or twenty years. No one had video cameras when this actually happened.”

…

It was well after dark some eight hours later when Twilight finished the last of the series. Throughout the afternoon and into the evening various people had been quietly bringing food and drink, and within minutes of Scootaloo going home for the night, an older woman who introduced herself as Dr. Gregerson had taken a seat on her right and started answering questions for her as they came up. Now with the last credits wrapped up and the wall a dull white that illuminated the room, she looked over and asked; “Well, what do you think of terrestrial biology?”

Twilight looked overwhelmed. “I... I never suspected there was so much yet to learn! Can we keep going? I'm not tired at all yet!”

Mrs. Dr. Gregerson glanced at the clock and chucked. “There will be someone here around the clock to help you, but you will have to sleep eventually. Why don't we ask them to wheel in the bed and then we can do the rest of the night as a slumber party?”

Hearing this suggestion from someone who had to be at least as old as Granny Smith brought a smile to Twilight's face. “Okay, let’s make a sleepover of it and see how far we get!”

The good doctor was more than a little tired herself, and after bringing in the beds and settling in she smirked as a plan occurred that would let them both get some sleep. “Hey, we have another documentary about where things come from called 'How Its Made'; want to give it a try?”

As the soothing theme song played over and over, along with informative and pleasantly bland videos of factory work, the doctor soon fell asleep, and though she tried mightily to stay awake, in only half an hour Twilight too was snoring.

...

Rarity's arrival at the strip club had resulted in more than a few questioning looks, but once inside, the group fit right in, and she was soon talking technique with one of the dominatrices. As the night wore on, most of the patrons choose to overlook the bright white pony who was cheering the action on with the rest of them.

After the floor show had wrapped up for the night Tammy noticed Rarity looking a bit unsettled as she made for a side door. Following behind, she caught up with Rarity sitting on the hood of the car in the quiet stillness on the edge of the parking lot.

“Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you knew how to have a good time.” She kidded. “Are you okay? You look a little off...”

Rarity looked over as Tammy sat down beside her. “It's... It didn't occur to me until just now...” She seemed conflicted and reluctant to continue.

“Yes...?” Tammy gently prodded.

“It all felt so normal but...”

“But what? You were clearly having as good a time as the rest of us.”

Rarity looked unnerved. “But that's just it. I... We aren't even the same species! But I felt... Very attracted to some of the performers, and I don't know why.”

Tammy smiled in relief and put an arm around Rarity. “Is that all? I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, Scootaloo and her husband get along just fine.”

Rarity nodded, only half listening. Then her eyes shot open and she did a double take.

“WHAT?!”

Tammy couldn't help but grin. “What? I told you she had a husband and two adorable foals.”

“But! How can?...” She worked this through for a moment. “You mean when a pony and a human...?!”

“Huh? No, nothing like that. She married a fellow med student, now a doctor I think. When they decided they wanted kids, the medical techs offered their help, and she gave birth to two clones who have grown into adorable little foals. They just learned to talk recently.”

This was still a bit much to process all at once, so Rarity decided to stick to what she could understand. “So Scootaloo's attracted to humans too?”

“Well yes. We covered a bit of this in college Bio last year. Ponies like you and Scootaloo have human brains. You're a designed species, and attracted to each other, but you're using human hardware as it were. Apparently whoever designed you never bothered, or couldn't, remove the attraction to other humans.”

“Now wait just a second, I'm not a human! I'm a Pony, just like everyone else I know!... Well, almost everyone else.” She finished lamely, as she remembered who she was talking to.

“Sorry Rarity, but no. Your mind is not that of a pony. I was a little girl once. I've seen ponies, and they are dumb animals. Even if you somehow boosted their brains, they would be a very weird species.” She paused and thought about it. “The whole dominance hierarchy and the female harem thing would be especially weird in a thinking race...”

She took a few minutes to explain what her college professor had taught on the topic; the medical studies, the MRIs, and all the rest. Rarity was no fool, but even she had some trouble adjusting to the fact that her mind had evolved to run a monkey body, not a pony body.

“I know this is a lot to take in. Scootaloo grew up with this; she never knew anything else.” She sighed and thought for a moment.
“Why don't I go gather up the girls and we can take them home? It's already well after midnight, and we really aught to get to bed soon. I know I hinted at this, but would you be willing to spend the night at our place? My daughter would really like to meet you, she's a huge fan.”

Rarity returned her smile, happy to be back on a more comfortable topic. “Of course, I'd be happy to meet her. And then in the morning we'll look up Scootaloo?”

“Of course. Thank you so much for letting me show you the town, I've really enjoyed it, even with the inevitable weirdness.” She finished with a small grin.

…

It took some time to drive everyone else home, but at length they dropped the classic car back at the dealership, cleaned it up and drove to Tammy's home in something called a 'Camry'. Her house was an unassuming ranch style home with one other car in the drive, and a dim light shining in the kitchen window.

Tammy unlocked the front door and took a moment to show Rarity where to find the kitchen, bathroom, and the spare bedroom. “Will this be enough for the night?” Tammy asked, gesturing to the modest, but clean and tidy bedroom.

“Of course darling,” Rarity yawned despite herself. “The bed does look inviting. Thank you again for you kind hospitality, I-”

Rarity trailed off as she caught sight of the child standing in the doorway wearing her pajamas and holding her teddy bear. Samantha had been woken by the odd sound of hooves on tile, and had heard her mother quietly talking with someone who's voice sounded oddly familiar. Now as she realized who was visiting, her eyes were nearly bugging out of her head. Acting quickly, her mother took her by the hand and made introductions.

Rarity, this is my daughter, Samantha. Sammy, please remember that Daddy is sleeping, and keep it quiet. I think you already know Rarity.”

Sammy held out a hand, obviously trying not to squeal with glee. “Miss Rarity? Are you really real?”

Rarity smiled as she reached out a hoof and shook the little hand. “Of course I am darling, what else would I be? Your mother told me you know me from the show?”

Tammy wished them both goodnight, glad she didn't have to get Sammy up for school the next morning. As she fell asleep in the next room she could hear the two of them going on and on as Rarity asked about which adventures had been featured on the show.

After exhausting that topic, Sammy had a suggestion. “Ms. Rarity? I know its late but... Could you give me a makeover?” She asked with her best Bambi eyes. “Please? I have my own makeup box and everything!”

Rarity was beginning to feel the lateness of the hour by now, but even her heart melted a little under Sammy's pleading eyes.
“Oh all right, but only a quick one, and then we both need our sleep.”

Sammy leapt to her feet and ran to fetch her makeup box while Rarity sighed and lay back on the bed. As she stretched, she caught sight of the beautiful shoes she had been wearing most of the night. They had been surprisingly comfortable, and so light she hardly had to think to keep them on, but it was nearly time for bed, and she idly let them go, expecting them to drop to the floor.

Nothing happened.

In confusion she sat up and shook her right front hoof, trying to shake off the aluminum shoe, but it remained firmly attached to her hoof. Confused now, and feeling a bit alarmed, she grabbed the shoe with her other hoof, pulled hard, trying to remove it, but it absolutely refused to budge, and no matter how she tried, every yank and tug from one hoof went right into the other.

Sammy came running back with her makeup box to find Rarity laying on her back, frantically trying to pry the shoe from her right front hoof. “Ms. Rarity? Are you okay?”

Rarity looked up in embarrassment. “Umm... Why yes darling, I'm fine, I just can't seem to get these shoes off.”

Sammy put down her box and came over to inspect her shoes. “Oh! These are so pretty. You are so lucky to get to wear shoes like that.”

Rarity was still feeling a bit unnerved, and no longer shared the feeling.
“Well yes, but it’s nearly time for bed, and I can't sleep in these. It wouldn't be ladylike.”

Sammy looked a bit sad. “I guess you're right. Why don't you take them off?”

Rarity looked down at the little girl, feeling quite embarrassed. “Um... I don't know how...”

Sammy raised an eyebrow, then gently took one of her hooves and looked at the shoe carefully. She sniffed her hoof, nodded, and went back to dig something out of her makeup box.

“Uh... What are you doing dear?” Rarity asked, more confused at being sniffed than anything else.

“Those are Scootaloo's old shoes. I saw her wear them on TV once.” Sammy responded. “I just need some acetone to remove the glue.”

“Glue?!” Rarity asked in consternation. “They glued the shoes to my hooves!?!”

Sammy returned with a bottle of nail polish remover and began carefully painting it on around the inside and outside of the offered shoe. “Well yeah silly, the only other way to keep shoes on a pony is... kind of icky.”

Rarity gave the child an arch look. “What could possibly be worse than glue? It’s like some kind of joke Rainbow might try.”

Sammy made a face as she finished applying the acetone. “Well glue is pretty new. They say Scootaloo didn't use to wear shoes often because she thought the nails were icky.”

Rarity's eyes widened. “Nails?!”

“Well yeah, see these little holes around the bottom of the shoe? That's where you pound in the lead nails that hold the shoe on.” Rarity looked like she was trying not to faint as the child continued. “It doesn't hurt, at least Scootaloo says it doesn't, but she never liked it much, so until someone told her about the glue, she didn't like wearing shoes.” Sammy gave a little tug, and the shoe came off Rarity's hoof. “There, see? Why don't you lay down so I can do the others. It'll be like doing each others nails!”

Rarity backed up against the headboard in alarm. “Each other's nails?!?”

Sammy looked at her in confusion, then slowly puzzled it out, a look of amusement dawning on her little face. “No silly! People have finger nails, see?” She held out her hand for Rarity to inspect. “I like to do my nails in bright colors, especially blue and pink!” She said, indicating one of each color.

“Oh... Okay...” Rarity conceded as she laid back down and presented her hooves again. “Um... Do you have a second bottle of that?”

Sammy produced another bottle, and together they used the nail polish remover to break down the glue and get Rarity out of her shoes. When the last one fell to the floor with a 'clank', she sighed and stretched her hooves. “Much better. I just don't understand why Scootaloo would use something like this.”

Sammy was looking confused again. “Would you rather use the nails?”

Rarity winced. “No, of course not, but why not just wear them normally, like this?” She asked as she put her hoof in one of the shoes and held it in place while she shook her hoof. With a glance at Sammy, she released her hold, and the shoe dropped to the floor once more.

“Oh! Scootaloo doesn't have magic silly, she uses arms like the rest of us.”

Rarity listened in disbelief as Sammy raddled off the high points of Scootaloo's history, her prosthetics, learning to be a doctor, getting married and having kids. As she finished up, she yawned widely and looked at the clock which read 3:27 AM. Rarity followed her gaze and a bit of maternal instinct kicked in as she remembered that while her friends had left during the day, it was already night when they arrived here, and this poor child must be exhausted.

“Well, thank you for telling me that Sammy, but I think it’s time to get you back to bed. I can give you a proper makeover in the morning.”

“Oh...” Sammy tried to pout, but her attempt was interrupted by another yawn. Rarity smiled and packed up the makeup items back into their box with her magic.

“Ms Rarity? Can I sleep with you tonight?”

Four AM found them both sound asleep in the guest bed, Sammy's arms wrapped around one of Rarity's hooves as they both snored softly.

Ch 3.8 Dreams and Nightmares

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Eight: Dreams and Nightmares

The day had been one of the most exhausting Scootaloo could remember and as she made it to the bedroom door she was only too happy to shed her prosthetic, plug it in to charge and slide into bed. David peeled off his outer clothes and soon joined her.

“I'm proud of you Scoot. Agent Tyler told me how you handled yourself on that rooftop. You saved our daughter and managed to do it while ingratiating yourself to her kidnapper.” He smiled ruefully while she sighed contentedly.

“Thanks David, that means a lot coming from you.” She yawned “But it has been a day, and I will see you in the morning. I love you David.”

“I love you too Scoot.”

...

She was worried. The only messenger from the distant village had told a tale of some kind of monsters who had appeared out of nowhere. When the villagers had tried to speak to them, two had fled in terror, and the remaining three spoke in a language they could not understand. The creatures walked on their back legs, and had dragon claws where their front hooves should be, yet the messenger said they wore clothing as though for a formal event.

The trip to the distant village had been a long one, and the messenger had already used considerable time in carrying the message to her in Canterlot. As the village came into sight on the horizon she could tell at once that something was wrong. The small village should have been buzzing with life, but her afternoon sun showed the single street deserted. Carts and stalls sat abandoned, most doors and windows were shut and nothing moved in the streets.

Settling to the ground she called out, but heard no response. There were signs of a hasty evacuation; tables overturned, food spilled and abandoned, but no other signs of damage or attack.
With a growing feeling of unease she walked down the street, continuing to call out for somepony, anypony, to answer.
The silence was deafening, broken only by the wind blowing through the eves or banging a screen door on some distant back porch. Beyond the eerie silence, she could smell something in the air... It was faint, but it smelled of... Death. Death and decay. Despite the warm sunlight she felt the hair on her neck standing up.

All her base instincts were telling her something was wrong, that she shouldn't be here, but she did not flee, she mustered her courage and used the full Royal Canterlot Voice.

“I have come to help! Can anyone hear me?”

The echos reverberated off the buildings and distant hills for a moment before dying away, but now the silence was no longer complete; She could hear a single set of hooves galloping toward her from the right. She turned to meet whatever was coming, prepared for anything, but when a pony came into view she had to choke back a cry of shock.

He was disheveled as though he had been awake for many days and his normally white doctors lab coat was stained everywhere with blood and other fluids. He skidded to a halt some distance in front of her with a look of terror on his face.

“Princess?! No, you must leave at once! It's not safe here!”

The smell of blood and vomit was pouring off him like a cloud making it hard to focus.

“I came to help fight off the monsters. Where are they?”

His expression registered intense confusion. “What?! No, you don't understand! They haven't hurt anyone, but we have to get you out of here!”

The Princess took a few steps forward, but as she did so the stallion backed up abruptly. “Don't come any closer!”

She stopped and asked in exasperation. “What is going on here?!”

With a visible effort, the doctor tried to collect his thoughts.
“The creatures have some kind of plague! I've never seen anything like it before: I sent all the villagers into the woods to hide, but I was already exposed. I've been trying to care for them as best I can, but it’s... it’s just horrible. If whatever they have gets loose in Equestria...” He shuddered, and several drops of blood and bile dripped from his lab coat onto the street.

A plague. With a thought she formed a protective bubble around herself with her magic, then looked back to the doctor. “Thank you for explaining; It sounds like you have done your best for everypony. Are you showing any symptoms yet?”

The panic seemed to be draining from him and he just looked tired. “No... No, neither I nor anypony else has shown symptoms, but I won't be certain until a few days have passed. These poor creatures though...”

She took another look at the doctors coat and steeled herself. “Take me to them.”

He led her away from the main street to a barn not far from town, and as they got closer, the smell became stronger. Despite having opened both front and back doors, the gentle breeze blowing though the barn did little to dispel what had grown into an overpowering stench. Flies drawn to the place buzzed in clouds sparking and frying as they flew into her shield. The deep unease that she had felt since her arrival only grew stronger and she had to fight the urge to turn and run.

“I've done all I can, but these two are already gone.” He sighed resignedly “I fear this one doesn't have much time left.”

The creature was laying on a table and shuttering as it, he, she realized, tired to keep breathing. Traces of bloody vomit and diarrhea stained the table on which he lay, and the brown blanket he was covered in was stained red with blood in many places. She could make out more blood leaking from around his eyes and mouth, and as she shifted to get a better look, he groaned pitifully and seemed to see her for the first time.

“Koko wa doko desu ka? Mayotte shimai mashita. Tasukete.” He broke down into a fit of coughing, spraying her bubble with bright red blood that hissed and sizzled on contact.

She had no idea what he was trying to say, but it looked like something was wrong with his skin... it was blotched and stained with blood. Something inside her was warning her to run, but she fought it down and maintained her outward composure.

“I have to be very gentle when I clean them.” The doctor said sadly. “Whatever this is seems to be destroying them from the inside out.”

She leaned in to watch closely as he dabbed a damp cloth at the creatures face to try to clean off the blood. As she watched something seemed to give, and without warning, his entire face from the left ear down to the chin pealed off and fell loose with a sickening sucking sound, his lips and face dangling from his naked jaws and swinging slightly as he continued to stare at her.

“Tasukete kudasai.”

She screamed. All rational thought gave way and her shield evaporated as she backed up, tripped over a bucket and fell heavily onto one of the bodies with a sickening crack of breaking ribs. She looked down in horror as the skin and flesh sloughed off the dead thing's face and arms, landing with a plop on the floor.

...

Scootaloo awoke screaming in terror. She kicked frantically to get the clinging blankets off her and fell off the bed, the overwhelming experience of blood in her coat still fresh in her mind, the scent of death still overpowering her sense of smell.

David leapt to the other side of the bed, eyes almost as wide as her own. “Scoot! What happened? Are you okay?!

She lay against the wall, heart racing as she panted for breath, but as the experience faded into memory, her own mind and emotions took over, pushing down the emotions and thoughts Celestia had felt all those years ago.

“It's... It's okay David... That memory that Celestia gave me...” She tried to slow her racing heart. “Can I have a glass of water?”

He nodded and went to fetch a glass giving her time to regain her composure. The pieces were starting to fit together in her mind. David returned with a cup and straw, holding it steady for her while she got to her feet and drank.

“Thank you, I needed that.” She shook her head and continued. “That memory that Celestia tried to give me didn't do anything at the time, but I just got the full brunt of it as a dream.”

“What on earth did she give you?” David asked in alarm.

“Her memory of what happened the last time humans came to Equestria.”

“Good God, was it that bad?”

“Worse. I completely understand why she would never risk bringing another human over after what happened. But there is good news too. If I do decide to go with them, I think you can come with me.”

David looked confused. “But didn't she say that humans can't survive in Equestria? And from the way you were screaming, whatever happened to them must have been pretty grisly.”

“Worse than you could imagine. But it’s okay. Anyone else who comes with them will be just fine.” Scootaloo managed a weak smile. “Celestia just didn't know the symptoms of radiation poisoning.”

...

Applejack had been worried, then angry, and had now lapsed into boredom. The red button had stopped the harvester all right, but now the building sized machine had been sitting idle for what felt like hours.

'So much for saving the day with difficult choices.'

She yawned and leaned back in the control chair which was surprisingly comfortable.

…

The sound of some strange animal roaring in the distance gradually made it though to her mind and Applejack woke groggily in the warm sunny cabin.

“Hu... Oh my back. Heck of a place to fall asleep. What in tarnation is that noise?”

Stretching, she pushed the cabin door open and looked out over the harvested field where three... vehicles... were riding towards her, though at that distance it would be a few minutes. Feeling more irritable than worried, she surveyed her surroundings in the daylight and did a double take.

“What in... The wheat is black??”

What had looked like a trick of the light last night was no trick in the full light of day. The entire field of wheat was as black as night, and though it looked normal enough in shape and size, Applejack was at a loss to explain the color.

'Harvesters that drive themselves, black wheat, what kind of farm is this? And what are they riding on anyway?'

As the humans came over the last hill, she lazily took a seat with her back hooves hanging over the door ledge looking down on them. They were riding some kind of four wheeled carts that they sat on like horses, saddles and all, but the machines were far faster, and nosier, than any horse. All three machines and their riders came to a stop at the foot of the ladder and the humans looked from Applejack to each other and back, apparently dumbfounded. For her part, Applejack was not feeling particularly pleased; it was too early, she had no coffee, and her favorite hat had been eaten by farm equipment that had tried to get her for dessert.

Finally one of the farm hands spoke up. “Um... Good morning?”

“Good morning to you. Its a nice day isn't it? Even nicer see'n as this harvester didn't run me over last night, though it weren't for lack of trying.”

The uncomfortable silence stretched on for several seconds before the portly man in the cowboy hat spoke up for the first time. “Wait, I know you... You're Scootaloo aren't you?”

Applejack reached up to adjust her hat but stopped when she remembered. “My name is Applejack, and I've come to find Scootaloo. Do you know where I can find her, and a new hat?” She added gesturing at the intake of the harvester.

The second farm hand asked; “But you look just like -”

“You're tellin me you can't tell the difference between two ponies long as they're orange?”

The human in the cowboy hat had begun to smile. “Well if you're lookin' for Scootaloo we can probably help. She helped a friend of mine out when he got in a car wreck a couple of years ago. Come on down, anybody who knows Scootaloo is a friend of mine.”

She looked at him skeptically for a moment and he added. “I'm real sorry about any trouble you had last night. This combine's designed to run all night on its own; its the only way any of us could ever get any sleep, what with the supergrains.”

Applejack gestured to the field of black wheat the still looked eerily out of place in the full sunlight. “Well, I'm pleased to hear that, but what in tarnation did you do to that crop?”

He laughed. “Actually, you can thank your friend Scootaloo for that too. Come on, you can ride behind me and I'll explain on the way back to the house. I'm John, by the way.”

As she reached the bottom of the ladder, he gestured to the waiting saddle of the four wheeled machine, then offered her his hat with a smile. “You said you needed a hat?”

She took the offered hat and found it almost identical to the one she had lost to the harvester. “Say, you're a farm pony –er -human too aren't you?”

“Ranch, hat and cattle” he smiled “Though, less hat till I fetch another from the house. You work on a farm?”

She fit the hat to her head and found it a surprisingly good match. “Course I do! Why my brother and I run Sweet Apple Acres, best apple farm this side of Canterlot.”

“Well, we share a business then! I run Rolling Hills farm, and it would be an honor if you would join us for breakfast.”

“You got coffee?” She asked in a flat tone.

“As long as you like it strong.” He smiled

“Then what are we waitin' for?” Applejack hopped onto the saddle, and after a few instructions to the other two men, her host got on and took the controls.

“Hang on to me now, it can get a bit rough out here.” And with that the machine roared to life and took off back the way it had come. After the initial scare had passed, Applejack found herself waving her new hat and shouting for joy as the machine bucked and raced across the open field.

In a surprisingly short time she could make out a few buildings on the horizon, and they swiftly grew to include a house, barn, and several large metal structures. As they got closer, the fields of grain gave way to pastures of green grass in which cows were grazing, or eating from one of the many feed troughs. With one last good 'whoop' Applejack put her new hat back on and the machine slowed to a stop under an overhang across from one of the long metal buildings.

Applejack paused to examine the contents of a nearby feed trough, and after a few bites, remarked “Hey, that's not half bad, and very filling. Mind if I take some for the road?”

John laughed and used a handy scoop to fill the pockets on her saddlebag. “Take all you like, but don't spoil your appetite. Lets go let them know we're ready for another real breakfast. I don't have to tell you farming's hard work.”

He called out some orders Applejack didn't fully understand to a young woman sitting on the porch of the house who nodded, and after a long stare at her went back inside. As they walked the rest of the distance to the house, Applejack related some of her stories from farming to John who appeared to enjoy them and traded a few stories of his own. They each took a seat at the outdoor table on the deck of the house where plates soon appeared along with utensils. The sound of two machines in the distance announced the return of the two farm hands they had left at the harvester and they soon took seats at the table bantering and trading anecdotes with John and Applejack.

Just as Applejack was getting to the good part in a story about the risks of buying discounted tools when she was interrupted by a sharp tug on her tail. She looked around to see a pony behind her tugging hard on her tail, but it took a moment to realize this disheveled, wild looking yellow/brown pony was Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy?? What the hay happened to you?”

As the others looked around the table to see her she seemed to shrink back.

“Run!”

Applejack hopped off the chair and brushed the matted hair out of her friend’s bloodshot eyes. “Come on sugar cube, what’s wrong?”

Fluttershy seemed unable to take her eyes off the two farm hands across the table as she took another step back. Her whole body was shivering violently in the warm morning breeze.
“Applejack, Run!!”

“Whats wrong? Run where? These humans know where we can find Scootaloo.”

Applejack noticed that Fluttershy's eyes were dilated to points and her hair was standing on end where it wasn't matted.
“They do... Things!... To the cows!”

Applejack turned to fix John with a hard look. “There something you wanna to tell me?”

John wore an expression of irritated disgust.
“Lemme guess. Grew up in the big city?” He gestured to Fluttershy. “I swear, city kids are so helpless, act like everything is such a big deal. You're a farm girl Applejack, let me show you what your friends talkin about.”

He pushed his chair out from the table and walked off in the direction of the barn muttering under his breath 'Things to cows. Honestly.'

Applejack gently squeezed past Fluttershy “Come on darlin, lets see what he has to say.” Fluttershy saw he was walking away from the metal building toward the barn, and managed to trail after Applejack, though her expression was becoming progressively less sane.

They soon rounded the corner of the barn and John produced a box of tools and things from inside a refrigerator. Walking around back, he opened a gate and, using a long black stick, herded one of the cows through the gate and up to a food trough. The trough was surrounded by stalls and a U shaped rail on both sides, and as the cow walked into the stall and stuck her head down into the U to eat, John slid a bar across the top to lock her head in place.

“You city kids think everything is such a big deal. This is all there is to it. You take the stuff and load it up.” He produced an all plastic syringe about three inches around and used it to draw a white milky substance from a glass jar. “Then you just push it home...”

So saying, he took the plastic syringe and shoved if forcefully into the cows exposed backside. Applejack flinched and involuntarily crossed her legs, suddenly very much aware of how little she was wearing. As his whole hand disappeared from view the cow bucked and kicked, but was held firm by the stall and stocks.

“Then squeeze it empty and your done.” He said as he removed his hand and wiped it off on a rag.

He turned to see Applejack gaping at him, eyes wide. Fluttershy had begun rhythmically tugging on her tail as she rocked back and forth, quietly muttering.

“Where are they?”

His face took on a look of disappointment.“Oh don't tell me a farm girl like you has never done this?”

Applejack managed to stammer out “Why?... Why would you do that?!”

John sighed. “Because cows only produce lots of milk after they've given birth. You have to keep em pregnant and churning out calves all the time. Where did you think milk came from?”

“Where are they?”

Applejack felt ice grow in her stomach as she looked over the fields at all the grazing cows.

And no calves.

“Wha... What happens to the calves?” She asked taking a step backward.

A new voice spoke up as the girl from the house rounded the corner with a big plate.
“Hey! You ask for breakfast then leave? What the hell Dad? The other guys are already half done. I got your steak and eggs right here, with some veal, just like you like it.”

Applejack didn't know what veal or steak meant, but as the smell of sizzling meat reached their noses Applejack's hair stood on end. The cow trapped in the stocks let out a low, mournful sound.

Applejack needed no more encouragement; she ran, and Fluttershy followed.

Ch 3.10 Twilight's Turn to Teach

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Ten: Twilight's Turn to Teach, or, The Peaches are Broken

The next morning found Twilight back at the hospital library around noon. Technically she had never left, just fallen asleep on the cot sometime early that morning before sunrise, and as the morning sun climbed up the sky she finally woke and quickly jumped back on the computer.

“Morning, sunshine, got a bit of jet lag?” Dr. Gregerson asked as she walked in sipping her cup of coffee.

Twilight looked up from the PC. “What's jet lag?”

This led to a discussion of time zones as she explained with Google Earth, followed by an explanation of how the tilt of the earth's axis caused the changing of the seasons.

“So nopony raises the sun here? It all happens on its own?”

“You got it.” After a thoughtful pause, Betty changed the subject. “Now that you've learned the basics of how terrestrial biology works, would you like to study a little earth history?”

Twilight's face lit up with glee. “I'd love to! Lets start all the way at the beginning! I want to learn everything!”

Betty smiled again as she plugged 'Age of the Universe' into Wikipedia. “At this point, the universe is about 13.8 billion years old. Our solar system is about 4.6 billion years old, and the earth is around 4.5 billion years old.”

Twilight's found her jaw hanging open as Betty went over the background microwave radiation of the universe, the formation of the first stars and plants, earth's formation, followed closely by the moon's, and the start of life at around 4 billion years ago.

“This is incredible! I had no idea how old your universe is!” She looked a little sheepish. “I never even thought to ask... I wonder how old our universe is?”

“I imagine we will find out over the next few years. It took a long time to learn what we have about our world, but now that we know how, we should be able to get answers for you much faster.”
Betty turned away from the computer to face Twilight.
“Yesterday I had the pleasure of teaching you a lot about our world, but we still know very little about how your world works. Would you be willing to teach me?”

Twilight's smile lit up her face. “Of course! What do you want to know?”

“Hmm... Where to start? Well for one thing, we have long wondered how you make some of the more complicated things in your world. We build things with factories and chemical plants, oil wells and refineries. Even a simple plastic ball needs all those things to be made and show up on a store shelf, yet we have seen very little of that in your world.”

“Oh, is that all?” Twilight cleared her throat and began. “We do make a great many things in our homes and blacksmith shops, but some of the more complicated things like balls and video games are made by the unicorns and provide a part of their income. Now for something like a ball you would use a spell like this:”

Twilight's horn began to glow and she closed her eyes in concentration, but after a moment, nothing happened. She opened her eyes, gave Betty an embarrassed look and tried again, but with the same result.

“I'm sorry, the Princess warned us that some of our magic wouldn't work in your world. I know I'm using the right spell, but I'm not getting any answer.”

Betty looked intrigued. “Answer? The spell is supposed to talk back to you?”

“Well, yes, how else could I pick what I need to make? Normally I would start the spell, concentrate on the item I want to create, and the spell would show different options and possibilities for me to choose. When I get it right, I just finish the spell and the item appears here in front of me.” She looked annoyed. “I'm normally really good at this, but I guess your world is a dead zone, just like some really deep patches of the Everfree Forest.”

“Dead zone?” Betty asked as she started to get an inkling of how this all worked.

“Yes, in most towns and cities it's easy to do even complicated magic, but as you get further out, the odds of finding a dead zone, an area where some magic isn't possible, seem to go up.”

Betty smiled. “Well, even if you can't do all of your usual tricks here, we called in the experts last night after you arrived and they have a few tests they would really like you to try downstairs. Do you feel up for a little practice?”

She practically beamed. “Of course!”

They made their way down to the improvised lab space in the basement of the hospital office building and Betty introduced her to some of the physicists and engineers who had flown in for this event.

“Okay, let’s try the simple stuff first. Here we have a sealed glass ball with a glass marble and ball bearing inside. First try to lift the glass ball itself.”

Twilight reached out with her magic and did so with no effort as the researchers watched their monitoring equipment.

“Okay, now, without breaking the glass, can you lift either the marble or the bearing inside?”

Twilight concentrated, and the ball bearing lifted off, but the marble refused to budge.

“Sorry, I can't lift the marble. You probably let the glass get too hot for too long when you made it. We see this back home sometimes: Its easy to stir sealed jars of canned food with your magic, but sometimes blown glass containers get too hot, and the magic inside dies. It's an easy enough fix though, just poke a tiny hole in the glass to let in some magic, then anyone can reach in and lift the marble with no problem.”

Betty looked thoughtful. “So you can walk into any store, even one you've never been to before, reach out with your magic and stir the contents of a sealed glass jar of canned food?”

“Well yes, even an earth pony or a pegasus can do that.” She replied with a look that said this should all be obvious to someone her age.

“Without shaking the jar itself? You can just reach in and swirl the contents?”

“Well yes. Here, somepony find me a jar of canned peaches and I'll show you.”

There was a flurry of activity, and a grad student was dispatched to the store for canned goods.

“Um... We'll come back to that. How about we move on to the next test? We chose this basement because this is where they keep some very powerful microscopes. Could you try and reach out and put some of your magic under the eyepiece?”

“Sure, but it won't look that different.” Twilight replied as she took a slide and held it under the indicated instrument.

“You've looked before?”

“Well yes, but there isn't much to see.”

“How strong a microscope were you using?

“I believe it was a good one... 10x magnification.”

One of the techs chuckled. “That would be a child's toy here. Now please put the slide on the tray... now move it a little left...”

The instructions continued for a few minutes as he got the machine focused and began recording information.

“Okay, now I'm going to put this sticky slide cover on here and that should trap a few particles of whatever your magic is.” He did so with no ill effect, then collected a few more samples the same way and passed them to other researchers for more tests and shipping to other labs.

“You're trying to figure out what magic is?” Twilight asked.

“Well, yes. Everything Scootaloo is, everything she can do stems from very advanced technology. We have no idea what your magic really is, we never had the chance to study it before, but with a little effort, hopefully we can figure it out.”

Their conversation was interrupted as Scootaloo came bounding down the stairs and around the corner. “Guys! I have great news! Watch this!”

Reaching out with her hoof, Scootaloo touched a pen on a nearby desk which stuck to the bottom of her hoof. She shook her hoof hard, but the pen stayed in place, then as she held it up for them to examine the pen levitated a fraction of an inch and began spinning.

The researchers were mesmerized, and even Betty was gaping openly. Twilight just looked confused. “Uh, why is this a big deal? Everypony can do that.”

“I never could!” Scootaloo responded. “I've used a prosthetic all my life because I could never do this, but this morning, suddenly I could!”

“That's amazing!” Betty responded, “What do you think caused it?”

Scootaloo was grinning from ear to ear. “I think I know. Last night at the coffee shop Celestia was trying to transfer a memory to me, but it wouldn't work. She actually lifted me off the ground with her magic, but nothing happened and we gave up. Then this morning the memory finally came though as a dream.”

She grimaced. “Well, more of a nightmare actually. But it worked; I think Celestia must have somehow rebooted my ability to use magic!” She actually grabbed Betty's hands with her hooves and pranced about in the joy of the moment.

She paused mid step. “Oh! It's also perfectly safe for humans to go to Equestria.”

That did shock Twilight. “But the Princess said-”

“Yes,” She replied getting back on all fours. “but I know what happened now. The people she met were speaking Japanese, and if you work backwards from the time of the memory, the year in our world was 1945.”

The room fell silent as that sunk in.

“Yeah, it was bad. Two groups of 'visitors' about a week apart? Fat Man and Little Boy. They all died from a massive overdose of radiation.”

Twilight looked around the room at the worried faces. “I'm sorry, I don't understand.”

No one spoke.

After a long silence, Betty put a hand on her shoulder. “It was a dark chapter in our history. The two groups of humans your princess met were not travelers, they were victims of a horrific weapon.” She sighed. “The only good news here is that in the nearly 90 years since then, no one has ever used that weapon again.”

“A weapon?” Twilight asked with come concern.

Scootaloo continued. “You remember I told you that humans have wars just like ponies do from time to time. The difference is we don't have the safety features you do. When we have a war, its not like the changelings coming to town; People die. People suffer. There is incredible pressure to win wars and end wars at any cost. In the 1940's and 1950s the human race developed a doomsday weapon. A single bomb that could destroy a city the size of Manehattan in under a second. We only ever used them twice, about a week apart, at the end of the biggest war this world has ever seen.”

Twilight was staring at Scootaloo in shock.

“The humans Celestia met were among the first and last victims of that weapon. Within a decade there were enough bombs built to end all life on this planet. There will never be another world war, because if there is, it will mean the extinction of the human species. Everything bigger than a cockroach will burn.”

Twilight was speechless, and Scootaloo continued. “On the upside, we have never had another world war. Plenty of small wars and petty conflicts, but never again the massive world-uprooting conflicts like World War II.”

“You had two worldwide wars before you sorted this out?!?” She finally managed.

“Yes. And all it took was the threat of total extinction to bring them to a end.” Betty commented dryly. “No one is proud of this legacy, but you should research the details before you judge us too harshly. Our base impulses are not so very different; your King Sombra just didn't have the ability to burn Canterlot to the ground with the push of a button. It does say something positive that we could, but in all these years, since their last use, no one has.”

Twilight looked at them seriously. “I'm going to need to speak with a history professor.”

Scootaloo chuckled at that. “I think I know a few who would love to meet you. Give me a few hours and I'll make the...”

She trailed off as the grad student came running back into the room clutching a glass jar of peaches. “They had some in the gift shop upstairs!” He handed the jar to Twilight who picked it up with her magic and concentrated. Nothing happened.

“I'm sorry, I can't stir these. There's something wrong with them.”

“The peaches are broken?” Betty asked innocently.

There were a few snickers around the room as Twilight gave Betty a look. “I don't understand, the only way this is possible would be if these peaches had been cooked at a temperature near that of liquid glass or even higher.”

“I think I'm beginning to get this...” One of the engineers said. “It sounds like whatever this magic is made of, it permeates your entire landscape. Anywhere there are ponies you have magic in the air and in the water. If you add peaches and close the jar, the particles of magic are still there, and will respond when someone activates them.”

Another engineer ventured. “But that would mean that while some magic particles are associated with an individual, they could also tap into the larger network to perform more complicated tasks.”

“Like my item creating spell!” Twilight exclaimed. “I bet you're right!”

“Well if that were the case, any magic you can do here would be driven by your own abilities.”

“Twilight told me about this upstairs,” Betty interjected. “Apparently some parts of their world are 'dead zones' where they can't do normal magic”

“If you were tapping into a larger system for some tasks then that would make sense.” Scootaloo reasoned. “What magic can you still do?”

...

An hour later, a very frustrated Twilight was sitting at the lunch table grumbling to herself when Scootaloo brought out the tray of vegetarian sandwiches from the deli and tried to console her.

“Hey, it’s not your fault that most of your magic is system-dependent.”

“It's just not fair! I couldn't even make you grow a mustache! No item creation, no time travel, no teleporting; even the gem finding spell only worked over a distance as far as I could reach!”

“Don't feel too bad; when I travel way out into the country on a call, I sometimes lose data reception. That means no access to that amazing library upstairs, no calls to talk to anyone else... it can be frustrating when you're stuck in an area with no reception.”

She tried to keep her a conciliatory look about her, but it took an effort, and as she sat down to eat her own lunch a smile broke out across her face. She held up a tray with one hoof and spun it in a slow circle. “I just can't get over how cool this is.”

“Oh yes. Gripping things with your hooves,” Twilight deadpanned. “Such fun.”

“Hey, this is still new and cool to me! Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of tasks I can only do with my prosthetic, but magic at my hooves? That's an awesome addition.”

“I told you,” Twilight groused. “Only unicorns can do magic. Any pony can pick-”

She was cut off by a scream from the room next door.

They both dropped their food and galloped into the lunch room where Betty had her glasses in her hands and was staring at them in shock.

“Betty?? What's wrong?!” Scootaloo asked.

“The... The screw fell out... I caught it, and I... I put it back in...” She stammered in astonishment.

They both looked at her.

“I don't have any screwdrivers.”

As Scootaloo and Twilight exchanged a confused look, she held up her glasses for them to see and the offending screw began to turn all on its own until it came out completely. Betty held out a finger tip and it levitated at the end of her finger.

“Oh my God!” Scootaloo breathed. “It must be transmissible!”

Now Twilight was really looking confused. “Is she supposed to be able to do that?”

Betty concentrated on the screw, and it spun itself back into its hole, allowing her to replace her glasses. “No. And I haven't laid a hand on Celestia either.” She looked seriously at Scootaloo. “I've had the treatment of your synthetic biology, it’s a large part of the reason I'm still alive, and that might explain this, but I think we had better track down anyone you've been in contact with since last night.”

The list was longer than she expected, and included her family, several friends and a number or researchers from around the globe, some of whom were traveling.

Back home, the foals were having a blast with their new-found ability, and David had his hands full trying to keep them out of trouble.

“This is nuts! They're getting into everything! Sophie Belle has already figured out how to open padlocks, and I had to ask some of the agents to come by and help!”

Scootaloo was staring into space as she talked to her husband over her personal audio link. “Padlocks!?”

“Yes! We're moving everything nasty, all the cleaning products and such to the very top shelves.”

Her face took on a look of irritation: it wasn't easy for a pony to reach the high shelves, and she was still a bit sensitive about her height. David seemed to know what was coming.

“I'm sorry dear, I know that bugs you, but I don't see that we have much choice.”

She sighed. “No, I guess we don't. How are you doing? Are you okay with all this?”

“Oh don't worry, we'll keep the little terrors out of trouble until it's all fixed.”

“No, I meant have you developed the ability too? You have my synthetic cells as well.”

There was a pause on the line.

“Huh, I guess I did get it too.”

A longer silence passed.

“Are you okay with this?”

She heard a devious chuckle. “Oh yes, I'm fine. In fact I've already thought of a few things I can do with this...”

Betty was only hearing Scootaloo's side of the conversation, and had been following as best she could, but at this point Scootaloo's eyes suddenly widened, she blushed beet red and said nothing for almost a minute as though listening intently. When she started breathing harder Betty cleared her throat, making her look up and blush even redder.

“Anyway! Yes! I am happy to know that you are fine, dear husband. Goodbye!”

She re-focused on the world around her. “He's... fine, but everyone at home can now use magic. I don't know if we're going to be able to contain this.”

Ch 3.11 Dietary Complications

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Eleven: Dietary Complications

They ran. For a short distance John gave chase, waving his arms and calling for them to wait, but when Applejack looked back a minute later she saw him fall to his knees clutching his chest. It didn’t matter. They continued to run for all they were worth, Fluttershy leading the way.

Neither of them were slow by pony standards, but now with true terror pumping through them they ran as never before to put the horrible farm behind them.
Applejack remembered the strange wheeled vehicles she had ridden on, and every unknown noise made her whip her head around in fear, listening for the roar of engines.

At length they reached the edge of a forest, and without hesitation Fluttershy plunged in headlong, leaving Applejack little choice but to trust her and follow. After another few minutes of dodging branches and rocks, Fluttershy finally slowed to a stop and they both took the opportunity to catch their breath.

“Fluttershy-” Applejack managed between breaths “how did-” pant “you know?”

Fluttershy didn’t appear to hear her, and even as she panted for breath she called out to the bushes; “Tom!” pant “Tom, come here!”

Before she even had time to wonder, a calf nearly as big as she was came bounding out of the bushes and began nuzzling up against Fluttershy.

She watched the two of them comforting each other for a moment before ‘Tom’ seemed to get bored and wandered off to begin grazing on the bushes.

“Fluttershy, who…?” Applejack finally asked, gesturing at the calf.

“I had to save him. I couldn’t let them…” She trailed off and shuddered. “We have to get him away from this place.”

“I’m all for that, but where are we? And where are the others? We should have all come through in the same spot but I popped out alone in a wheat field.”

“Oats.”

Fluttershy seemed to be staring blindly into the distance, as though focused on something a thousand yards away, deep in the forest.

“Come again now?”

There was no response, and Applejack put a hoof around Fluttershy’s shoulder. She jumped, and looked around as though seeing her surroundings for the first time.
“Are you okay, sugar cube?”

“I… I don’t know…” she managed in a shaking voice.

“Fluttershy, don’t take this the wrong way, but you look awful. What the hay happened to you last night?”

She started to speak, closed her eyes and shuddered, tried again, then finally managed; “I saw what they do. To the calves.”

Applejack felt her stomach turn. “You mean, you saw…?”

Tears were beginning to form in Fluttershy’s eyes. “Yes!” She began shaking as she tried to hold it back, but finally she just wrapped her hooves around Applejack and sobbed. “Tom…” she managed though her tears, “Tom was next! And now he’ll never see his mom again!”

Applejack felt her own tears building as she tried to comfort Fluttershy. “It’s… It’s okay.”

This only made Fluttershy cry harder.
“No! No its not!” she bit back a sob “There were others! So many more, and I couldn’t help them! They couldn’t even walk!” She sobbed into Appejack’s shoulder as her own tears ran silently down her cheek. “I tried and tried, all night I tried to get them out, but I couldn’t save them!”

Applejack couldn’t hold it back anymore, and she hugged Fluttershy close as they both cried openly.

“Why??” Fluttershy blubbered. “They were only children!”

Tom walked over and gently nuzzled Fluttershy’s face.

“They were only children…”

...

Agent Tyler had setup one of the hospital's conference rooms as a command center shortly after their arrival and had been using it to coordinate the hunt for Applejack and Fluttershy. Now after nearly a day of quiet activity, the room was in chaos as word filtered in of a farmer suffering from a heart attack after chasing two talking ponies.

A search team had been dispatched to his residence, and Scootaloo had gathered the others in hopes of being among the first to hear the news, but when the team called in from the farm, the news had not been good.

“Agent Tyler? We have a problem.”

All those assembled fell silent in hopes of news.

“Did you find them? Were they still at the farm?”

“No, Ma'am. We turned the place upside down and interviewed everyone present. There's no doubt Applejack and Fluttershy were there, but they're long gone now.”
There were disappointed and worried looks around the room, however he wasn't done yet. “But that's not what I had to tell you. It turns out Fluttershy found the Veal production area and -”

“Oh, God!”

“It gets worse. Apparently farmer John had a history of... disagreements... with the USDA and had the entire building wired for video monitoring to prove compliance with sanitary standards.” He produced a tablet for Agent Tyler and she visibly blanched at whatever she saw as the audio track played back the sound of electric saws.

“The poor thing! And she had to watch the whole process!?”

The agent's voice was grim. “It looks that way.”

“This is a disaster! Our first off-world guests arrive and this is what they find? If that farmer survives, he's going to wish he hadn't.”

Celestia gave the agent a cold look. “Did you expect to hide this from us? I am well aware that your species can live without eating meat, but chooses to do so voluntarily.”

Most of the humans present wore guilty looks or stared at their shoes. It was actually Scootaloo who finally broke the silence. “There isn't any good response to that, but you only have the high ground on this issue because you can't enjoy meat any more then I can.”

Twilight looked startled. “Scootaloo!”

She ignored the comment and continued. “Some humans do give up meat, they call themselves vegetarians, and while it’s unusual in this country, it’s common in others like India. Humans aren't natural herbivores like us. They evolved to run down and kill wild animals in Africa, and meat was an important part of their diet throughout history.”

Rainbow Dash looked Agent Tyler up and down then scoffed. “You think a human could run someone like us down? Yeah, right.”

Scootaloo scowled at her. “Actually, I would bet you anything you want that she could if you stayed on the ground. Provided you ran in the hot sun of the African plains.”

Dashie got up and walked to where Scootaloo stood. “I've been watching human sports half my life. I grew up with humans, too, remember? No human could ever hope to match even a slow pony, let alone a horse.”

Scootaloo actually smiled. “There's something you're forgetting. Everything you said is true in a temperate climate like this one. Humans evolved in the blazing heat of Africa, and a few tribes still do hunt this way.
They start in the morning and chase their prey though the heat of the day where the animal can't cool itself as well as they can. Humans are evolved to run very long distances like wolves, they absorb less heat from the sun by standing upright and sweating over their whole hairless bodies. The hunts end in the afternoon when the animal they're chasing can't run anymore or just out-rightly collapses from heat stroke if they don't put a stone knife in its throat first.”

Twilight looked startled and her ears flattened against her head as she her glanced nervously at the agents around the room. "You mean that humans are pursuit predators like timber-wolves??"

Rainbow took a step back and the other ponies looked around with worried expressions. “Princess, did you know that?”

Before Celestia could respond, Scootaloo burst out. “Oh come on! I'm describing what humans evolved to do. No one in this room is an illiterate spear-throwing savage, and no one is going to try to eat you.”

Celestia swallowed hard, but charged ahead anyway, trying to regain her composure “This doesn't excuse their current behavior, they have the ability to stop eating meat, yet they do not.”

Scootaloo sighed. “That's true. Just because humans evolved to hunt and eat meat doesn't excuse them from doing so once the tools are invented to stop. But it’s a lot harder to stop when there is so little reason to do so.”

“Little reason?? You’re talking about killing a defenseless animal!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “How is that not reason enough?!”

“As usual, the issue is more complicated than that.” Scootaloo replied in a flat tone. “Rainbow, answer me this; If every human in this room went full vegetarian right now and for the rest of their lives, how many animals would be spared? How many would get to live?”

Rainbow looked around and thought for a minute. “I don't know... A hundred? Maybe a thousand?”

“Zero.” Scootaloo replied in the same flat tone. “Nada, zip, none. All that would happen is new animals would not be born to replace those that were killed for food. Going vegetarian doesn't save the lives of animals, it prevents the birth of new ones. Any animal already born is still going to get eaten. And if everyone on the planet gave up eating meat tomorrow? A large number of farm animals; cows, chickens, pigs and such would go extinct and disappear from the earth forever.”

Rainbow didn't seem to know what to say to that, and Scootaloo finished in a kinder voice. “It's a safe bet that in a hundred years or so that will happen anyway. You can thank Betty and me for that.”

Twilight looked confused. “You are going to stop everyone on earth from eating meat? How is that going to work?”

“Not me, personally. Over the years, Betty's -Doctor Gregerson's team has been working to understand my synthetic biology and she developed a number of widely-used treatments for disease that have saved millions of lives with the side effect that anyone who uses the cure finds meat as unpleasant as we do. If you didn't know already, we ponies can digest meat products just fine, but whatever built us designed in a strong aversion that makes meat taste and smell awful. We've found out that that aversion to meat is passed on through the treatments, so anyone who uses medicine derived from our biology finds meat suddenly tastes like rotted garbage. And we know now that it's passed on to children, so given enough time, everyone will eventually need a treatment or have an ancestor who did, with the result that our aversion to meat will become the new norm.”

Betty stood with the aid of her cane and looked up at Celestia. “It’s true. I've had the treatment myself, so I can imagine how you feel. But it's thanks to Scootaloo here that the practice of eating meat is winding down. There are hundreds of millions of people who owe her their lives. She has truly been a blessing to all of us.”

Celestia, Rainbow and Twilight all looked at Scootaloo with shocked expressions. “You saved... millions of lives?” Twilight finally managed.

“Well, yes. I've been volunteering for medical research since I was little, and because we are a designed species, the scientists and doctors have been able to reverse engineer a lot of useful treatments from me.” Seeing their shocked expressions she added. “Have you ever looked at a child and known your actions saved their life? There is no feeling like it in the world.”

“But... Princess, you told us we might have to rescue Scoot from a laboratory! You told us how they might keep her in cage and stab her with needles and...” Rainbow shuddered as she remembered the description.

Scootaloo's lighthearted laugh seemed to finally break the tension in the room. “I can't say I've ever seen the inside of a laboratory cage, but I've sure had my fair share of needles. You get used to them, and when I was little, Papa and Dad used to get just as many needle sticks as I did, just to show me it was okay. It's a small price to pay to save someone's life.”

“You're really okay with it?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, I am. In fact, I've been hoping to convince all of you to come with me to this month's appointment.”

The hair stood up on the back of Rainbow's neck. “Are you NUTS?!”

Scootaloo held up her hands. “Easy Rainbow, no one is going to force you to do anything. If you don't want to you don't have to. Just keep an open mind okay? It would mean a lot to me if you considered it.”

There was a short silence while they considered this, but soon enough Agent Tyler spoke up once more. “Regardless of our respective dietary habits, we now have a good starting point to begin our search for your friends. I've called in some favors in the form of air support, so with any luck we should track them down soon, but we could really use your help in this.” She finished gesturing to the ponies.

Celestia stood and nodded her agreement. “After what they have seen you want us to be there to show them the are in no danger from you. Regrettable, but I will grant, necessary. We should each take a shift with your people so somepony is there to comfort Applejack and Fluttershy when they are found.”

Ch 3.12 Revving the Engine

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twelve: Revving the Engine

Celestia, Twilight and Rainbow had all gathered in the impromptu training room the Agents had set up in the hospital and were chatting with Scootaloo and Josie while waiting for the next lecture to start.

“Why do we have to be here again?” Rainbow complained.

Scootaloo tried to be patient. “You're here because you want to be allowed to fly in our world. To do that, you have to practice for forty hours and pass a test as a pilot of an earth flying machine.”

“I can handle myself in the sky better than anyone! There's no danger I can't...” She trailed off as the screen at the front of the room began playing a video of famous airplane disasters. Scootaloo played back a particular selection of a jet engine swallowing a flock of geese four times as Rainbow's cocky attitude mellowed somewhat and the others looked concerned.

Her point made, Scootaloo continued. “The rest of us are here because to understand our world, you need to understand how we get along without magic. All of you have asked me at one point or another how cars move, how planes fly, and so on. To that end, Josie” her friend nodded politely “has brought her husband in to explain what engines are and how they work.”

Philip had finished setting up at the front of the room and took the opportunity to introduce himself.
“Hello everyone, it's really quite a privilege to be your instructor today. Lets start off with the basics. By now you've all asked the question and probably gotten a lot of different answers, so let me ask you. What is an engine?”

“Duh.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “It's the thing that makes cars and stuff go.”

“Fair enough. Do you know how or why they work?”

Half of Rainbow looked confused, while the other half of her expression was smug. Twilight was paying rapt attention, and Celestia and Scootaloo were following along.

“Okay, I get the feeling this will be old hat to Scootaloo and Dashie but don't go to sleep on me, I promise I'll throw in a few bits for you too.”
“First and foremost, an engine is a device that uses a change in temperature or pressure to make useful energy. All engines, no matter how simple or complex have either a hot and cold side, a high pressure and low pressure side, or both. They allow energy to flow from the hot, high pressure side to the cold, low pressure side and along they way they use some of this energy to do useful work. The more energy they use for work, they higher the efficiency of the engine.”

“So how efficient is one of those cars we saw on the street?” Twilight asked. “Ninety five percent or so?”

Philip laughed. “Not exactly. The average automobile is around twenty to twenty five percent efficient. That means seventy five to eighty percent of the energy from the fuel is lost, mostly as heat.”

Even Celestia looked a bit surprised. “The cars we have seen everywhere are actually that wasteful?”

“You got it. The most efficient engines in the world, the building sized power plants we use to make electricity, are a little over forty percent efficient. The very best ones are just a hair over fifty percent.” He thought for a moment. “Do you know why that is? What drives efficiency?”

Rainbow scratched her head. “Awesomeness?”

“Delta, actually. The difference between hot and cold, high and low pressure. The bigger you can make that difference, the better the efficiency you can pull out of a system. The really high efficiency power plants get there by using unbelievably hot, high pressure steam to run their turbines because the bigger the difference between the hot, high pressure steam and the cold, room temperature air, the more they can wring out of the engine.”

“I think I can follow that...” Twilight said as she looked up from her notes. “Bigger difference equals more efficient.” She thought again, tapping a hoof and pen against her jaw. “Does that mean that the cars we saw are powered by steam?”

“Good guess, but no. Steam is just a convenient way to run a power plant: Wrap pipes full of water around the hot side whether it's a big box full of burning coal, oil, gas, sunlight, lava, or a nuclear reactor. Steam turbines are efficient, but they're also big and heavy. Cars and mobile machines usually use piston engines, burning either gasoline or diesel fuel.”
He searched 'how piston engines work' and pulled up a couple of videos for them to watch. “The concept isn't hard; a piston engine just creates a series of hot, high pressure explosions and uses them to shove the pistons down and turn the car's wheels. The details get complicated fast, but at its core, that's all there is to an automobile engine.”

“What was that big round engine Scoot here showed us? The one that sucked in those geese?”

“That was a gas turbine engine or jet engine. Instead of a series of explosions, a gas turbine creates one big, continuous explosion. The first half of the engine is made up of spinning blades that compress the air tighter and tighter. In the middle, they inject the fuel which explodes and expands out the back, turning the expansion stages and generating power or thrust.” He indicated the different parts of the animation as he spoke.

“So, in summary, that's how we get along without magic. Any time you see a machine moving, it's a safe bet it has an engine and burns some kind of fuel to make useful energy.”

Twilight looked thoughtful again. “But what about 'electric' cars? You didn't say anything about electric engines.”

Philip smiled at her catch. “That's because electric cars run on electricity from a battery. The battery is just a big jug full of electricity, and the car doesn't burn anything to make the energy. There is no hot and cold side, no high and low pressure side, so anything that uses electricity is not an engine, it's an electric motor.” He thought about that for a moment. “I should probably mention the basics of electricity while I'm at it. Who here knows what electricity is?”

“We see it as lightning on our world.” Celestia answered.

“True enough, but what is it? What is it made of?”

Silence filled the room.

“Okay, it's not actually that hard; let me explain.” He searched 'periodic table' and selected a model of a copper atom. “These are all the elements that make up everything you have ever seen. They're the building blocks of all matter including you and me. Simply speaking, all atoms are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons, usually with about the same number of each. Each positive proton in the center wants to hold on to an electron orbiting around the core of the atom, but some atoms like copper don't hold on to their last electron very tightly.”
The animation changed to show a chain of copper atoms, their electrons swirling around them. “Now in copper, because that last electron isn't held very tightly, we can start a sort of bucket brigade of electrons. If we shove one new electron onto this first copper atom, its own electron is kicked loose and jumps to the right, which kicks loose another electron which also jumps to the right, etc. That's all electricity is, its just a bunch of electrons surfing from one atom to the next like buckets being passed from person to person or like water flowing through a pipe.”

“Okay... That's kind of neat actually...” Twilight muttered as she frantically drew out the diagrams. “But how come it behaves so strangely? Some electricity jumps through the air like lightning but your people seem to have harnessed it and used it as a tool.”

“Fair question.” Philip replied. “That gets back to how you measure electricity. There are two basic ways: Current tells you how big the pipe of electricity is, so more current equals a bigger pipe. Voltage tells you how much pressure is pushing the electrons, so more voltage equals more pressure, and just like with water, if the pressure gets high enough, the pipe leaks and electricity arcs everywhere.”
“Power is measured in Watts, and its just pressure times pipe size, or voltage times current. You can have super high voltage, or pressure, and still not have any power if the pipe size is almost zero – that's like the static electricity you shock your friends with by scuffing your feet, er, hooves, on the carpet.”

“So...” Rainbow spoke up. “No matter how much I scuffed my hooves on the carpet, I couldn't make enough electricity to drive a car?”

“Basically, yes. The amount of electricity you make that way is so small as to be almost useless.”

“Okay...” Rainbow was thinking hard. “But lightning looks just like that, only bigger, and it can split trees and do all kinds of damage. How do you explain that?”

“Well, remember how you have both pipe size and pressure? Current and voltage? It's actually possible to trade one for the other. Power is pipe size times pressure, so you can constrict the pipe to boost the pressure, or make the pipe bigger and watch the pressure fall, but the power doesn't change.”
“Lightning has both high voltage/pressure, and a big pipe size/current. Put both of those together and you have a lot of power to do work, like splitting trees. I should also mention that it's the current, the pipe size that splits the tree. Remember how you can trade pressure for pipe size? Well, it turns out that only current/pipe size generates heat. If you shift the balance to almost all pressure in a tiny pipe, high voltage with low current, you can ship electricity very long distances with almost no loss of power.”

Rainbow and Celestia's eyes both widened as they remembered Scootaloo's demonstration with the metal pole their first night on earth.

“So that's why the lightning jumped out and fried the pole! Because it was high pressure, er... voltage!” Rainbow shouted. “And it's high voltage because...?”

“Because if they used high current/pipe size, the wires would have to be way bigger, and they would heat up like a toaster. Instead of shipping electricity across the country, you would be heating up the butts of all the birds who came to sit on the wires.”

Celestia and Twilight chuckled as he continued.

“Incidentally, that's how welding works. The welder changes the mix from some pressure, some pipe size, to nothing but pipe size/current. Then when the arc of electricity jumps through the metal, the metal gets white hot and melts so you can weld. Same idea with lightning spiting a tree. The lightning has high voltage and high current, so when high pipe size/current flows through the tree, it heats up the water in the tree until it boils into steam, then the steam explodes the tree from the inside.”

“Okay, that is pretty cool... But why do I have to know this again?” Rainbow asked, her cocky attitude making a reappearance.

Scootaloo just grinned. “Who did you think fixes the engine in a plane if it has problems during the flight?”

Rainbow slowly worked it out as Josie tried not to giggle.
“You mean I have to know how it works or I won't be allowed to fly?!”

“You got it, newbie.” Scootaloo confirmed with a grin and a slap on the withers. “Now anyone who doesn't need a pilot's license is okay to leave. Rainbow and I will be staying right here for the next few hours as Philip explains the intricacies of carburated aircraft engines.”

Rainbow just groaned.

…

The day was finally winding to a close and after all the excitement and stress, Scootaloo and David had both been looking forward to some time alone together. By the time she flew in to land on the roof of their apartment, David had already tucked the foals in for the night and he met her at the door of their third floor apartment.

“Long day?” He asked

“You have no idea.” She pulled him down to her for a long kiss. “Don't get me wrong, the seven of them are incredible, but I never really appreciated how nice it is to just turn the show off when I get tired.”

“Hmm... and how tired are you tonight? I've got a bowl of fresh fruit salad on the nightstand...” He knelt down and ran a hand up her neck, tracing a line under her chin before taking her muzzle in his hand and kissing her passionately in that way that made her knees week.

Scootaloo shuddered delightfully but managed to keep her footing and followed him to the bedroom. She hopped up onto their bed and helped him out of his clothes as he continued to plant kisses on her neck and face, pausing now to nibble her ears in a very... distracting fashion.
“Hmm! That's enough out of you!” she smiled mischievously as she shoved him down onto the bed and quickly locked his hands into the handcuffs waiting under the mattress at the head of the bed.

“Oh! So you're on top tonight?” He asked playfully.

She responded by pinning and kissing him, his head held in her arms.
“You got it, Doc.” She replied as she finally came up for air. “Now that I have your... undivided attentions, how about you....” She trailed off as she laid down along side him, her head on his knees as she exposed her belly and both rows of her nipples.

Several minutes later and just as she was starting to really enjoy herself, she felt her arms abruptly fall off. With a start, she looked back to find David had escaped the cuffs and unbuckled the straps holding on her prosthetic before tipping it harmlessly onto the floor.

“Hey!” She complained half-seriously as he pounced her and buckled the soft institutional cuffs around her front hooves, anchoring them to the foot-board. Her back hooves were soon similarly cuffed and spread as she complained; “No fair hiding the keys.”

David just smirked as he levitated the handcuffs in his right hand and moved his left hand lower, making her gasp. “Didn't need to. Magic, remember?”

Magic indeed! The feeling was like nothing she had ever felt before, and she was soon writhing in her bonds as he continued to experiment on her.

Then, as she pulled against the well worn cuffs they simply came off, their buckles open and unlatched.

'Right... Magic...'

This was going to be a long night...

…

Later the next morning a very frustrated Scootaloo sought out Rarity for some help. Rarity had just finished dictating more stories about her life to the researchers working out of the hospital, and was stepping out to use the ladies' room when Scootaloo found her.

“Hey, Rarity! Do you mind if-”

A somewhat pained look crossed her face as she gestured for Scootaloo to follow. “I'm sorry dear. I may have gotten just a tad carried away, and now I really need to use the powder room.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “How long were you in there telling stories?”

“Well, I got started right after breakfast... What time is it now?” She asked as she opened the door with her magic.

“Breakfast was over at eight. It's almost noon now.”

Scootaloo saw what looked like a blush as Rarity closed the stall door. After a moment there was a frustrated and most unladylike grunt. “Damn! I've been here for days now and I still can't get the hang of this.”

Scootaloo blushed as she realized the normal stall was too short to accommodate Rarity with all four hooves on the ground. There was a fumbling sound, and the door seemed to bow, straining against a great force. Scootaloo turned on the water and began washing her hands to hide her blush when there was a sudden 'Crack' and 'Bang!' as the latch gave way, dumping Rarity face first onto the bathroom floor.

“Oh crap! Are you okay?” Scootaloo asked as she bounded over and helped her friend up.

Rarity was red as a beet and looked like she just wanted to sink into the floor but seemed otherwise unhurt.

Scootaloo managed a small smile. “Damn bipeds, am I right? Here, let me show you.” She tossed the broken latch into the trash, then flipped up both seats, tucked her tail back and splayed her legs into a half seated position with her front hooves pressed against the support columns between the door. “This is one way if there isn't an alternative but in any decent rest room they should have a handicapped stall at the back.” She got down and gestured to the last stall. “I think you'll find that one more to your liking.”

Moments later, a much relieved Rarity emerged to clean up in front of the mirror, still blushing a little at the cheeks.
“Thank you, Scootaloo, that was much better.”

She chuckled. “Hey, it's not easy being a pony sometimes. When I got here they had to remove some of those damn 'low flow' toilets that didn't work like they ought to. You should have seen me blushing as I tried to explain to the dean that nearly three hundred pounds of purely vegetarian pony isn't compatible with 'low flow' designs.”

Rarity grimaced. “I can only imagine. I just feel bad for the Princess.”

“Ha! Yeah, Agent Tyler told me what happened that first night. It shouldn't really have surprised anyone that fifteen hundred pounds of pony was too much for normal plumbing. Is it true she actually gave the princess a package of horse diapers?”

Rarity's eyes went wide. “Is that what that box was full of? No wonder she was in such a foul mood when I asked her what was wrong!”

“Well the plumbers had a new room set up for her by morning, so I guess she didn't need them, but given the scare she gave my Sophie Belle, she got off light.”

Rarity seemed to consider this as Scootaloo changed the subject.

“At any rate, that wasn't the reason I came to find you.”

“Oh?”

“I heard you went to one of the local strip clubs on that first night here, and that you fit right in with some of the dominatrices. Agent Tyler said you sell... bondage gear in the boutique back home?”

Rarity's eyes lit up with glee. “Well, of course darling, it's one of my specialties. I can usually guess someones interests without too much trouble and I would guess that you enjoy a little... restraint in the bedroom?”

Scootaloo smiled and blushed just a little. “You would guess rightly then. But I have to ask, how do you do it back in Equestria? It was easy enough before, but now...” She trailed off as she used a hoof to levitate a quarter. “Nothing will stay on anymore. It was bad enough when we had to move all the chemicals out of the kids reach, but now this? How do you deal with this back home if anyone can just open a padlock or undo a knot anytime they like?”

“You mean...” Rarity ran that over in her head. “Ah. I keep forgetting you couldn't use your hooves to pick things up before we got here.”

“Well, yeah. I've used a set of prosthetics all my life.” Scootaloo answered, tossing the coin from hand to hand.

A growing blush set in as Rarity imagined just how helpless she would be without magic or prosthetics. She shook her head to clear it of... thoughts.
“Well, at any rate, its not particularly hard. You need only wrap something around the hoof or horn, and put a binding spell on it.”

“Binding spell?”

“My goodness,” Rarity smirked, “you're not a complete novice are you?”

Scootaloo blushed again, glad they had the bathroom to themselves, but decided to up the anti. “Well, given that David and I had to figure it out from scratch, and without magic, I doubt we have your skill set.” She took a step nearer, rubbing her hands together with feigned glee. “But who knows? We're both dedicated researchers. Maybe you should stop by some evening and we could show you a thing or two?”

In her line of work, Rarity got that a lot, but she hadn't been expecting to hear it from the little orange foal they had come to rescue.
'On the other hoof, she certainly isn't a little foal any longer...' She thought to herself as she ran her eyes over Scootaloo's body. A smile slowly spread across her face. 'Oh, what the hey, what fun is life without a change now and then?'

“Why, I'd love to, darling. Does tomorrow night work for you?”

'Shit!' Scootaloo thought frantically as she maintained her outward composure. 'I'm not into girls!... But this is something she does for a living... And all we'd have to do is go through the toy box with her...'
A wicked thought occurred to her as she remembered the tiny high voltage transformer she had wired into the AED unit that was an integral part of her prosthetic arms. Careful to keep the AED off, she flipped on the transformer with a thought and traced a finger up Rarity's neck, watching the hairs stand on end under the crackle of the violet electrical discharge. “I'd like that.”

Rarity leapt back, eyes wide and she nearly fell again at the unexpected assault on her senses. “What... What was that?”

Scootaloo found herself genuinely smiling now. “Oh, just a little... modification I installed for my husband's benefit. Its just a different power tap that shares the same electrical contacts I use in my work as an EMT. But enough of that. Weren't you about to teach me some novice technique? Binding spells I think you called them?” She added, matching Rarity's wicked grin.

'Hmm... This could be interesting after all...' Rarity though to herself.
“Um... Yes... Binding spells.” She cleared her throat. “They're really quite simple, and any pony can do them, even Pegasi and Earth ponies. It works like this;” Rarity took out a bit of ribbon and held it in her hoof, while she concentrated. “You think something along the lines of 'no magic' or 'bind' or similar, followed by the pony's name, or your memory of them.” She passed the ribbon to Scootaloo who took it in her hoof. “Now you do the same thing. Think 'bind', then 'Scootaloo', then your safeword.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, but did as Rarity asked.

“All done? Good, here now hold out a hoof, like that, very good.” Rarity tied the ribbon around Scootaloo's right hoof in a bow. “There. Now try to pick something up with that hoof.”

An attempt to catch the quarter showed that she now had all the dexterity of a horse's hoof again.

“And that's all there is to it. The spell will last a few years under normal circumstances, and will only work on you, or whoever else is a target and puts in their own safeword.”

Scootaloo untied the ribbon, then tied it around her left front hoof with similar results. She tried her safeword, but found she still couldn't hold the coin.
“What gives? I thought the safeword would undo this?”

Rarity chuckled. “Yes, it will, but it takes some time because I put mine on there too. Try fighting it hard, really reach for the coin.”

Scootaloo concentrated hard, and she could almost feel something straining, then giving way with a 'snap!' as she grasped the coin and picked it up.

“That's all there is to it. Usually both partners put their binding spells on the cuffs or ropes they use together. It works the same way for a unicorn's horn.”

Scootaloo thought that over. “And you can put these on any object?” Rarity nodded. “Even a wedding ring?”

Rarity smiled back at her. “Why Scootaloo, you are a quick learner. Though it is, of course, bad form to ask a lady in public.”

“Wouldn't it be fairly obvious?”

She laughed. “Oh, binding spells can become quite complicated if you want them to be. In my line of work I have become quite proficient with them. I once had a unicorn mare and stallion come in wanting a set of plain looking shoes that would match their rings, but they wanted them to hold on by themselves, and switch on and off with a key word.”

Scootaloo remembered some of the exhibitionist games she sometimes played with David... That delightful feeling when he unplugged the battery in her prosthetic, leaving her with nothing but her mouth to open doors and grip things. They could be out in public for hours and yet no one would know.

She felt a little shiver run down her spine at the memory. “Kinky mare.”

Rarity laughed. “And Stallion. She made sure he had a matching set too.”

“I don't suppose you have a book on the subject?” Scootaloo asked hopefully. “With a few million people new to magic on this world, you sure have a captive audience.”

Rarity grimaced at the pun before suddenly looked thoughtful. “Publishing? Well I do have a well known name...”

Author's Note

Sorry for the long explanation at the beginning, but I am just tired of issues like this getting hand waved. Twilight asks 'what makes the car move?' and the answer is 'it moves because of 'engine', your curiosity is now satisfied, on with the story'. :twilightsheepish:

Ch 3.13 The Internet is Non-Flammable

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Thirteen: The Internet is Non-Flammable

The long, opulent looking white car pulled up to the curb and Rarity couldn't help but giggle with glee as the chauffeur came around and opened the door for her and the others. Pinkie Pie bounced in, followed by Twilight, Agent Glover, and finally, with a polite nod to the young man holding the door, Rarity.

They all made themselves comfortable as the limo got underway and Agent Glover passed the first few minutes showing them the various features of the vehicle which ranged from a full entertainment center to a mini bar.

Pinkie soon figured out how to roll down the windows, and before anyone could stop her she had stuck her head out the window into the wind, her hair blowing out behind her.

“Uh, Pinkie?”

“Oh, let her have her fun.” Rarity admonished, fondly remembering her ride in the convertible.

“Wheee! This is so-” Pinkie abruptly coughed and pulled her head back inside the limo with a befuddled expression. “I think I swallowed a bug.”

Twilight couldn’t help but snicker a bit, and after a moment, Rarity joined in as well.

The conversation jumped from one topic to another as Agent Glover answered the steady stream of questions they all had. Things were generally going well until Rarity asked a minor question that had been at the back of her mind for a while.

“Your world has so many wonderful fabrics, and Scootaloo has told me that some are made from plants or even silk worms, but others are made from oil somehow. She told me so much that my head was positively spinning, but I didn’t get a chance to ask were this fabric comes from.” She said as she stroked the Limo’s leather seat. “I simply must take some back with me, we don’t have anything like this Equestria.”

Agent Glover’s face became noticeably paler and she suddenly received a very important call from someone that she had to take right then.

Rarity looked disappointed at the distraction. “Oh well, I guess I’ll ask someone else if I can remember.”

Pinkie Pie had been examining the contents of the mini bar and hadn’t heard. “Remember what?”

“Oh, I was just going to ask Agent Glover where I can get some more of this wonderful fabric. I’ve seen coats and now seats made out of it, and it’s just so supple and shiny; we don’t have anything like this back home.”

“Oh, you can probably get some at a biker shop! Some of the people at the party told me all about it.” Pinkie finished with a smile.

“Really? That’s wonderful! Did they say anything else about how to make it? I’d happily take back some plants, or even worms if it would mean a steady supply.”

“Oh, leather isn’t made from plants, silly! Leather is made from cowhide.”

Both Twilight and Rarity stared slack jawed at Pinkie as she continued to bounce up and down on the seat.

“They told me all about this! First they peel the skin off the cow, then they shave off the hair and then they treat it with a bunch of chemicals so it doesn’t rot.”

There was a moment of silence as both ponies looked down in horror as the realized what they were sitting on.

As screams erupted from the back, the phone next to the driver came alive with Agent Glover’s voice: “Stop the car right now!”

The limo pulled over to the side of the road and the doors were nearly knocked from their hinges as Twilight and Rarity sprang out. Agent Glover climbed out after them followed a moment later by Pinkie Pie.

“You booked us a ride in a luxury corpse mobile!?!” Twilight shouted at the agent.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t even think about it! We just booked you a ride in one of the most expensive limos available: It didn’t occur to me you wouldn’t know what leather is.”

“It didn’t occur to you to mention that we were sitting on…” Twilight closed her eyes and shuddered. “On the skins of dead ponies?!”

“I’m sorry! I just saw Rarity wearing that watch and I thought you knew.”

Up until this point Rarity had been frantically wiping her hooves on the ground in an attempt to make them clean again, but now, she really looked at her watch for the first time.

The band was stamped ‘genuine leather’.

As she tore the watch from her hoof and hurtled it into the road Pinkie spoke up. “Hey, what did you do that for? I thought you liked that watch?”

“Pinkie!?” Twilight asked in consternation, her anger still running high. “You knew about this?!”

“Well yeah silly, that’s normal here. And it’s made from cows, not ponies. No one eats ponies, so while you probably could get pony leather, it would be, like, crazy expensive.”

Twilight and Rarity looked open mouthed at Pinkie as she continued to bounce up and down. “I learned a whole lot about this world at that party.”

“And you’re okay with this???” Rarity asked, eyes wide.

“Well yeah, cows and ponies are just mindless animals here. Even our squirrels are smarter. And they don’t kill the cows for their skins, they’re just leftovers after they eat the meat.” Pinkie finished with a smile. “Besides, Rainbow and Scootaloo grew up here, and they’re not all freaking out about it.”

Twilight and Rarity looked from Pinkie to each other, unsure how to process this.

“I really am very sorry about this.” Agent Glover broke in. “I’ve called the limo company and they will be sending over a different one in just a few minutes. No leather this time.”

Throughout this exchange, the group of four had been standing on a freshly mowed lawn beside the city street without really looking at their surroundings. Now in the momentary silence from their loud argument, a strange sound floated to them on the wind.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeee!”

A few hundred yards away, a building and a playground stood behind a chain link fence bearing the sign “Washington Elementary School”. At the moment, the fence also bore the weight of at least ten little girls who were clinging to it to get a better look.

“Oh dear...”

The fence was already starting to bend under the weight and as Agent Glover looked from the kids to the Ponies to the road she snapped into action.

“Okay! Everypony, let’s go meet your adoring public!”

Pinkie happily followed as Agent Glover walked towards the school and leaning back over her shoulder she called out in a happy singsong voice tinged with worry. “What happens when you mix children and traffic?”

Rarity and Twilight looked from the children to the road where traffic was still zooming by.
“We’ll settle this later. Let’s go.”

…

By the time the replacement limousine arrived, Rarity and Twilight had both completely forgotten their intended destination. Each pony was surrounded by a ring of adoring children hanging on their every word as Rarity told her group all about proper hair care, and Twilight explained her studies in Canterlot. Pinkie had set off on a merry chase around the playground half an hour ago with three little girls riding on her back, and the children had instantly adopted her as one of their own.

Agent Glover was chatting with a group of teachers as they watched from the sidelines. “They’re going to be talking about this for weeks, aren’t they?”

“Are you kidding?” One teacher answered. “They’ll never forget today, not as long as they live.”

Agent Glover smiled. “I just feel bad for the kids inside.” She said gesturing to the tiny faces pressed against the inside of several classroom windows.

“Well, this next group is the last one. If you want to hang around another fifteen minutes or so then everyone will get their chance.”

She thought of their destination and smirked. “That’s fine; I think we can leave our hosts waiting a little longer.”

...

Some time later, they said their goodbyes to the children and teachers and made their way back to where the limo waited, this time without any trace of animal products.

“I know we sometimes seem so different, ponies and people,” Twilight said as she waved goodbye to the children, “but your children are so much like our own…”

“Oh my goodness, weren’t they simply adorable?” Rarity added. “I must have taught most of a class the proper way to care for your mane, er, hair.” She looked puzzled for a moment. “It does work the same way, doesn’t it?”

Agent Glover laughed. “As long as you don’t try to dye it. For some reason, Scootaloo has a rough time with that.”

After a brief search of the school ten minutes into their visit Pinkie had returned with an enormous box of party supplies and as they walked to the limo she was still picking streamers out of her mane while grinning widely. “That was a great party! I just wish I could have found some cake.”

Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder. “Are you kidding? The way you had those kids going I was afraid someone was going to faint!”

“They’ll remember this day all their lives.” Agent Glover added. “You are all very special to them.”

…

Later that evening after their return from the diplomatic engagement Scootaloo had caught up with Twilight to teach her a bit more about computer use and programing. It was in the middle of this discussion that Twilight drew her attention to the small tab on the side of the screen. “What does ‘safe search’ mean?”

Scootaloo smirked. “It’s a tool that keeps you from seeing… questionable content. It’s turned on now, so the filter is active.”

“Wait, this thing is screening what I get to see? Why would anyone want that? I’m searching for information about us in your world.”

Scootaloo gave her a deadpan look. “Really? You didn’t learn this lesson well enough on that first night outside the theater?”

“Well, it’s not like I would find that kind of thing while searching for information about ponies.”

Scootaloo thought about it. “True. I never have found that particular example done with ponies. And most of it is pretty harmless – people drawing you guys as snuggly married couples and such.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Married couples?”

“Oh yes. If you look you can find drawings of almost anyone with almost anyone else, though there are the occasional weird ones like that animation of Pinkie Pie being triple penetrated by a blue tentacle monster from outer space.”

“WHAT?!?”

“Oh the one with me is way worse. Leave it on or turn it off, you’ll be fine either way.” With that Scootaloo turned towards the door. “Now I have some things to hash out with the Princess, so you’ll have to excuse me. Call if you need anything.”

The door closed, leaving her alone in the room and after a moment of stunned silence Twilight resumed her browsing but after a while, curiosity got the better of her and she reached out with the mouse and clicked the safe search off.

Aside from a few saucy drawings the results didn’t really change much, and she soon found what she was looking for regarding the history and background of the show.

With the information in hoof she found herself staring at the search bar as she tapped her hoof on the floor in indecision.

“Oh, why not, I bet she was joking anyway.”

She entered the search terms and the animation jumped right to the front and automatically loaded. She stared dumbfounded at the image of a smiling Pinkie being held by four blue tentacles as more hovered nearby. Scootaloo had not been joking, and worse yet, it wasn’t a video, it was some kind of ‘video game’ with different buttons bearing alarmingly descriptive labels.

“Oh! They showed me this one at the party!” Pinkie commented from over her shoulder where she seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

Twilight shrieked and fell out of her chair.

“Pinkie?! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

“Oh, don’t worry silly, it’s just a game.”

Pinky grabbed the mouse and selected six different options, several of which really didn’t work well together and pressed play. Moans and squelching sounds mixed with goats bleating and baboons shrieking poured from the speakers as Pinkie tilted her head, scrutinizing the… thing… before her.

“The animation is pretty good, but they didn’t get that dark patch on my thigh right. Oh well, points for effort I guess.”

Without a backward glance Pinkie turned and bounced out the door humming as she went.

…

Scootaloo was deep in conversation with Celestia when one of the agents came running by, interrupting them as he flagged down a group of his fellows.

“Guys I need help! Twilight is trying to burn down the internet!”

The second agent grabbed a fire extinguisher while a third just muttered something under his breath and they all ran back the way they had come.

Celestia was about to follow when Scootaloo put a hand out to stop her. “Trust me. You don’t want to be part of this.”

Celestia still looked concerned. “But I have heard that the internet is large and valuable? I do not know if I have enough money to pay for a new one.”

There was an audible slap as Scootaloo face palmed hard enough to leave a mark. “You know? You really don’t have to worry about that.”

A thought struck her and she moved her hand enough to look up at the princess.
“Can Twilight set things on fire with her magic?”

“I believe so.” Celestia answered seriously.

“Hmm… Do you know what a fire drill is?”

“Of course.”

“Good, because we may be about to have one.” Scootaloo deadpanned. “Why don’t we step outside for a moment?”

They found a convenient third floor balcony with stairs to the ground should they need them, and once they had each taken a seat on the patio furniture Scootaloo picked up where she left off.

“I know you have your reservations, but it would really make a difference if you came with me to the medical exam. The volunteering doesn’t hurt much and it has meant the difference between life and death to a lot of people.”

Celestia looked uncomfortable as she shifted in her chair which creaked under the strain. “I know this means a lot to you, but I do not yet know this world well. I do not really understand who I would be helping, nor whether they deserve to be helped.”

Scootaloo hung her head. “This is about meat isn’t it?”

“That is a factor, yes.”

Scootaloo sighed, but before she could reply their attention was drawn to a white pony who came walking out the main doors three floors below leaving a trail of white hoofprints. As they watched, she shook herself and an explosion of white powder erupted around her, revealing her usual purple color underneath. With a sneeze, Twilight walked off in the direction of their hotel and before she was completely out of sight, a team of three agents stained with more white powder emerged carrying the burned out husk of a computer monitor which they dropped in a nearby trash can.

Celestia's eyebrow was still raised as Scootaloo turned back to her. “Even if you haven’t decided on the full exam yet, could I please ask for your help on a few smaller things?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Could I have a few strands of your mane?”

Celestia raised an eyebrow, but plucked a couple of loose hairs from her main and held them out to Scootaloo with her magic. Scootaloo produced a zip lock bag and tucked them away before continuing. “Thank you, that means more than you might imagine. I was also hoping you would be willing to help me read something.”

Scootaloo took out her tablet computer and loaded the list of possible translations of the DNA 'read me' file. “This was found coded into a section of my DNA when I was young and we think it's an instruction book of some kind from whoever created us. We’ve been trying to make sense of this for more than a decade and we have lots of possible interpretations, but none of them seem to make any sense.”

Celestia looked at the page of gibberish text on the screen then shook her head. “I am sorry, I cannot read this.”

“That’s okay, don’t give up yet. We have almost a hundred possible combinations to try; just keep looking at the pages as I flip through them and stop me if you see something that makes sense.”

The random pages of mixed text appeared on the screen one after another as Celestia kept watching. She was just beginning to yawn when something caught her attention. “Wait. Go back one.” Scootaloo did so and looked at her hopefully. “I recognize this. The spelling and grammar are not correct in many places, but this is the language of magic; both Twilight and I can read this.

Scootaloo jumped up from the table. “That’s great! Let me get our language expert on video chat! He’s been working on this off and on for years, and he’ll be ecstatic to hear you can read it!

The link was set up, and over the course of the next few hours, Celestia taught the professor how to read and speak the language of magic. Five minutes in, their conversation was already being viewed live by over a hundred cryptography experts, and as she critiqued his poor spelling and grammar the number of rapt viewers only grew. After so many years, the message in the DNA would finally be translated.

…

That evening as they all gathered in the hotel lobby before dinner, Pinkie pulled Rainbow Dash off to a quiet corner. “Rainbow! Did you hear what happened with Twilight today?”

Dashie snorted with laughter. “Yeah, I heard she tried to 'burn down the internet'.

“Yup. That didn't work out so well; she still smells like that white ammonia powder, but it gave me a great idea for a prank!”

Rainbow's ears perked up. “What do you have in mind?”

“I was going to slip this into one of the books she's taking to bed tonight.” Pinkie said as she produced a stapled document and passed it to Rainbow.

“ 'Twilust'? What is this?” Rainbow asked as she wrinkled her nose.

“It's called 'Clop fiction', sexy stories about ponies.” Pinkie grinned wider as Rainbow's eyebrow attempted to lift off her face. “Someone at the party showed me this one, and while the writing isn't great, its perfect because Twilights the main character! I'll explain the rest tonight, just try to read it before bed and don't let Twilight see you.” Pinkie finished with a grin as she turned and trotted back to the group.

...

“At any rate, that's what happened. Oh! And Twilight, I wanted to ask if you could translate this?” Scootaloo finished as she pulled her tablet from her prosthetic and showed a picture to her.

“Um..” Twilight muttered as she examined the photo of Scootaloo's flank, which had two lines of writing on it. She looked back and forth between the photo and Scootaloo's flank in front of her, which remained blank.

“The linguistic team tried, but the best they could come up with was 'problem' followed by a string of numbers.”

Twilight was feeling very confused by this point. “This looks like a cutie mark, but what happened to it?”

“Oh! Well this one faded out in less than a minute, but if flashed into existence in just the right place and with the same bright white light we've seen in the show. It happened this morning right after I saw the memory Celestia gave me.”

“So it is a cutie mark?” Pinkie asked.

“It sure looks that way.” Twilight answered. “And your friends were close, but it doesn't say 'problem', it reads 'Error 842'.”

Pinkie looked confused. “Scootaloo's cutie mark is 'Error 842'? That doesn't make any sense.”

“Oh! I almost forgot, could you do this one too?” Scootaloo slid her finger over the tablet screen and a very similar image appeared, this one showing a bare human hip... and a bit more...

“Um...” Twilight answered as she blushed. “Who is this? And why isn't he wearing any pants?”

“Well if you were a medical researcher trying to get through the TSA and your butt suddenly flashed what do you think would happen? They took this photo before it faded.”

“Well... It says 'Error 273-842' but I still don't know what that means...”

Scootlaoo was intrigued. “So you've never seen this before?”

“Well, no. Every foal gets their cutie mark as they grow up. I was wondering how you got to be an adult and still had a blank flank but... well, you didn't seem to mind, and I didn't want to be rude.” Twilight finished.

Scootaloo smiled back at her. “Well, I don't normally spend a lot of time talking to strangers about my backside, but since this happened I don't seem to have much choice. The prevailing theory is that my synthetic cells need the 'magic' component of whatever system this is in order to display cutie marks and perform higher-order functions like memory transfers and object manipulation.” She added as she spun a pen on the end of her hoof.

“You think magic is part of some kind of system?” Pinkie asked.

“Well how else to you explain all these abilities coming online only after I caught magic from Celestia?”

“Magic isn't a disease!” Twilight objected.

“Sorry, I didn't mean it that way.” Scootaloo apologized. “But many hundreds of millions of people on this world were already using my synthetic cells for their health benefits and among them, magic is spreading like... well, like a disease. I couldn't do any of this before you got here so whatever magic is, apparently it didn't survive the trip that brought me to this world as a child.”

“And when we arrived, we re-introduced it.” Twilight reasoned.

“You got it. There has been some panic, but for the most part it seems to be going over well... Though I'm glad I don't own stock in Master Lock or Brinks right now.” She added with a smile as she recalled the chaos at home brought on by her two little locksmiths.

Ch 3.14 Introduction to Viral Memes

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Fourteen: Introduction to Viral Memes

That night, after dinner Twilight had already polished off a history text and biology magazine in her room when she came across the plain and unlabeled printed pages. By the end of the first page she knew exactly what she was reading, but though she was blushing scarlet, she just couldn't put it down. She made it quite a way into the story before she hit a section so unpleasant she threw the text into the wall with a bang.

As she sat on her bed trying to make sense of what she had just read she heard Pinkie Pie's door slam in the next room over. A lot of muffled conversation followed, but it was the title of what she had just read, repeated several times that made her creep to the wall and listen to what was being said.

“Are you sure this is okay Pinkie?" Rainbow asked, "That story was... upsetting.”

“Oh, the prank isn't the story silly.”

“It's not?”

“No. You see, Twilight was so embarrassed by that weird game it gave me the idea to slip her the story. If she doesn't read it, no harm done, but if she does, then we get to freak her out tomorrow!”

“Freak her out?”

“Yeah! See I got us this tube of pink cupcake icing and this big vine of a potted plant. Twilight always sleeps late in the mornings, so we're going to sneak in there and lay on the floor like we fell asleep there last night.”

There was a moments silence before Rainbow chortled. “Oh my God, she is going to lose her damn mind! This is too perfect! You don't think this is too harsh though?”

“If it was too harsh, she won't have read the story, and she'll just wonder why we didn't sleep in our own rooms. Besides, how long do you really think you can keep from laughing once she wakes up?”

The conversation ran on a while longer as Twilight blushed even redder than before.
'It is kind of funny.' She grudgingly admitted to herself. 'They are going to be so disappointed that I figured it out ahead of time... unless...'

She went back to bed and polished off a book on computer software while she waited for everyone else to fall asleep. Finally at midnight she quietly opened the door to her room and went in search of a particular agent.

“Agent Glover? I need to ask you for help on something.”

“Of course. What's wrong?”

“Well, nothing is wrong, but I need your help to deal with a couple of pranksters.”

Twilight explained her plan, and watched with amusement as the agent initially blushed, but then understood and had to put her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing.

“So, do you think you can help me?”

“Oh, I guarantee it. I can set up your room just like you asked. I won't wake you if I come in around 3AM will I?”

Twilight grinned broadly. “Don't worry about it, just try to get a picture of those two clowns in the morning if you can.”

…

Rainbow and Pinkie both woke early that morning as the sun streamed in through the curtains, and with barely stifled laughter they got ready.
Rainbow tangled herself up in the potted vine while Pinkie smeared icing all over herself, and then giggling and shushing each other, they made their way to Twilight's room and slipped inside.

They made it precisely three steps in before Pinkie stopped cold and Rainbow ran into her.

“Hey, what's the problem?” She whispered.

Then she looked up.

Pinkie's eyes had gone as big as saucers and it wasn't hard to see why. The floor was strewn with pony sized handcuffs, ropes, and sex toys of so many and varied types that Rainbow couldn't even identify the purpose of some. Pinkie's attention was fixated on the foot of the bed where at either end a massive nylon collar was dangling by a thick chain. Both collars were padlocked to the bed, both had a lock on them just waiting to be closed, and while one collar was blue, the other was bright pink.

Twilight was still fast asleep on the bed, and as she turned in her sleep, a riding crop fell to the carpeted floor with a soft slap.

Outside the room, Agent Glover watched through the hand held recorder as the two ponies sprang from the room as though it were on fire and quickly (but very quietly) shut the door behind them. They're eyes were practically bugging out of their heads as they shared a worried look, then galloped off to their own rooms as fast as they could.

With a smile, Agent Glover quietly entered Twilight's room and packed up the toys into a bag which she set in the corner. She left the recorded video on the table and shut the door quietly behind her before going to wake Celestia for her turn with the search party.

...

The day had been warm and sunny, just like yesterday, and in the quiet of the woods Applejack could almost believe they were back in Equestria.

Almost.

Last night had been a hard one. They bedded down in the forest and tried to find a comfortable spot but without much success. It was warm enough they could sleep without blankets, but they hadn’t been asleep long when Fluttershy woke with a shriek of terror. The nightmares had kept her awake most of the night, and it was already early morning when Applejack had snuggled up next to her and finally gotten her calm enough to rest.

They all woke hungry the next morning but even in the forest there wasn’t much to eat. Some of the plants turned out to be edible but only to the very hungry, and most of them were unbearably bitter or foul, the strange three leafed vine being the worst thing Applejack had every tried, ever surpassing her mishap with muffins and worms at Sugar Cube Corner.

Much as they hated to admit it, they were relying heavily on the saddlebag full of grain and pellets Applejack had gotten from John. It was nothing special, but it filled their bellies and allowed them to keep moving.

Several times during the day a noisy flying machine had roared overhead or hovered nearby, but after the first time they learned to hide whenever they heard them coming and as they put more distance between themselves and the farm, these encounters came less frequently.

Tom was still following along with Fluttershy’s gentle encouragement and he seemed happy enough, but as Applejack got to know the calf better she found his presence more unsettling.
Back home they were both friends with a few of the cows of Ponyville, and since meeting Fluttershy, Applejack had gotten to know her fair share of forest creatures but Tom was… different.
The issue had come up when Tom had gotten ‘stuck’ at the top of a modest hill with one sheer side. The hill was nothing special, about eight feet high at the center, and making up one third of a circle, so away from the center, the hill tapered gently down to ground level, and the only place not easily crossed was the short shear distance where the hills top dropped vertically to the ground. Tom had wandered up this hill and when Fluttershy and Applejack came into view on the far side he hadn’t been able to get down. Fluttershy had talked and gestured and mimed the message of ‘go around’ but the little calf just couldn’t figure it out. Eventually, Fluttershy had to walk around the hill and lead Tom back down.

It was a few hours later as evening fell and they stopped to eat that Applejack brought it up.

“Fluttershy, I’ve known a few cows in my day but does Tom seem… slow to you?”

Fluttershy looked defensive. “The poor thing can’t help it, he’s very young and he hasn’t had any education.”

Applejack pulled off her saddlebag and set it on the ground between them. Reaching into the main pocket Fluttershy pulled out a hoofful of grains and pellets to munch on.

“I’m not bein' mean to the little guy, I’m just asking… Have yah ever seen anypony as slow as him? I’d wager even the parasprites are smarter than he is and they’re just bugs.”

Fluttershy looked uneasy. “I… I don’t know.”

Applejack frowned. “See, that farmer was…” she shuddered “He was breeding the cows like I breed apple trees. Now when you take two big apple trees and breed them together you get an even bigger apple tree, but if you take two small apple trees and breed them together…”

“You get a smaller tree? But what does that have to do with Tom?”

Applejack looked worried as she continued. “Fluttershy, how long do you reckon Tom could make it on his own?”

She looked at the calf. “Well, probably not long” She lowered her voice. “He really isn’t bright enough to take care of himself.” As she continued to look at Tom comprehension dawned. “Wait… are you saying you think…” A look of horror gradually crept across her face. “You think they… they did this to him?”

“I was hoping it was just my imagination, but” Applejack closed her eyes and shuddered at the memory “but you saw what John did to that poor cow. And from what you told me last night, it sounds like all the cows were like Tom. I think that monster did this to them on purpose.”

Fluttershy looked at Tom with a mix of pity and horror. “You… You think he’s been,” she swallowed hard, “breeding the cows to be stupid?!”

“I don’t see no other way to explain it. You remember Twilight tellin' us how King Sombra used chains to enslave his subjects. How much more convenient would it be to destroy their minds so they didn’t even realize they were slaves?”

Fluttershy brought a hoof up to her muzzle. “But that’s monstrous! Each mother would have to watch as their children grew up to be slower and slower…”

“Until they were too far gone to care.” Applejack finished, her eyes squeezed shut against the pain. “Until all the smart ones were gone, and only poor creatures like Tom were left, mindlessly grazing in the fields while their children were turned into…”

“No! No, it can’t be true!” Tears were forming in her eyes as she tried to find another explanation. “No pony could do something that cruel!”

Applejack slumped to the ground as the full weight of it hit her. “But I think they did. I think these humans didn’t just kill those calves you saw, I think they crippled them all. Crippled them so they couldn’t run, so they couldn’t fight back…”

From across the clearing Tom regarded them with an expressionless blank stare as he munched on bushes.

...

It began slowly the next day.

As Rarity left her room and walked to the elevator she noticed one of the agents seemed... different. He was the same huge man who had been guarding the floor all night and he still looked just as severe this morning as he had last night, but... she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. He gave her a curt nod and it was only after the doors to the elevator shut that she figured it out.

There had been tears running from under his sunglasses.

She sat down to the delicious breakfast that had been set out for them still wondering what she should say when one of the guests several tables over inexplicably broke down sobbing into her hands. Rarity trotted over to ask if there was anything she could do, but before she got there, a man in a business suit on the opposite side of the room started sobbing and practically ran for the restroom. Looking bewildered, Rarity continued to the woman and put a hoof on her leg.

“I'm sorry, is there anything I can do?”

The woman sniffed. “It's okay, I just- ” but she stopped cold when she saw who she was talking to. Her lower lip quivered and she got quickly to her feet and left, leaving her plate and purse behind.

Agent Glover emerged from the elevator just as the woman blew past her. She regarded her with a raised eyebrow for a moment before joining Rarity at the table for own her dinner after a long nights work.

“Did you sleep well, Miss Rarity?”

“Oh, very well, yes.” She replied distractedly. “Do you happen to know that woman? She just broke down in tears for no reason...”

“Never seen her before.” Glover responded. “It is unusual to see that, but it isn't unheard of. She may have just lost a friend, or maybe-”

A waiter half way across the room suddenly began bawling and dropped his tray with a tremendous crash.

The customer he had dumped a plate of food on leapt to her feet, raging at him and nearly jumping up and down as she gestured and pointed to her new dress. Without a word, the waiter put a hand on her shoulder, and she seemed to become distracted, staring off into space. Moments later tears formed in her eyes, and in moments she was sobbing too and crying into the waiter's shoulder.

Rarity and Agent Glover exchanged shocked looks. “Or maybe something is going on that I need to know about. Wait here.”

She walked over to the pair and introduced herself. The waiter looked up with red eyes and made a few half-hearted gestures.
Agent Glover looked severely at him and he closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate. The Agent stood still for a moment as if scrutinizing something invisible to the rest of them, then walked back and took her seat next to Rarity.

“What in the world was wrong?” Rarity asked in concern.

“Apparently there's some sappy new video making the rounds on the net. They all have implants like Scoot and I, and they made the mistake of watching the video when friends forwarded it to them.”

“Oh.” Rarity thought this over. “What kind of video?”

“I didn't watch it yet, I was going to wait until after dinner, but... Oh, why not.”
She seemed to concentrate and her face took on that faraway look she got when she was watching something internally. Within moments her sightless eyes were filling with tears.

“Oh, my God!”

Her expression of sadness gradually changed to horror as she fought down a sob. “Why? Why would someone do that?!”

Rarity was starting to get seriously alarmed by now. She grabbed the agent by the shoulder and shook her. “What? What in the world is the matter?!”

Agent Glover's eyes focused and she came back to the present. “It's... Someone took that video of Fluttershy and...”

Rarity put a hoof over her mouth. “Oh, no! I... I still haven't watched that... Agent Tyler said it was just too...”

Agent Glover wiped her eyes on her sleeve and pulled her tablet computer from her bag. “I think it's time you did.” She set the tablet up for Rarity to see and played the video.

As 'Concrete Angel' played though the speakers, the video came to life showing Fluttershy struggling to pull a calf from his tiny, filthy cage.

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above

The calf struggled to stand, but couldn't and collapsed back into the filth on the floor. Fluttershy tried again and again to help, and her yellow coat was soon stained brown as she desperately tried to help the little calf walk to freedom.

But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

The calf's knees were bleeding and he collapsed again. Fluttershy was filthy by now, and as she tried to force a smile and encourage him one more time the little calf looked steadily into Fluttershy's face and nuzzled her.

Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights

The scene repeated over and over as Fluttershy went from cage to cage, trying to find someone, anyone, who she could help escape. Not one could stand, but some could crawl, and soon she was surrounded by a group of calves who all tried to snuggle up to the closest thing to a mother they could remember.

Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born

Fluttershy had her hooves wrapped around a calf and was crying hysterically as several others crawled over to be close to her.

A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late

The video cut to the slaughter the night before, and Fluttershy, all alone in the rafters shaking in terror.

A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot

The image abruptly cut to a steakhouse menu landing on a table, the page open to the veal selection.

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above

The video showed Tom and Fluttershy, both covered in filth as they stood in the open doorway before the dozens of helpless calves who couldn't walk even that far. Fluttershy's face bore a tortured look as she stared at them one last time and the music faded as she whispered what she knew to be a lie: “Goodbye little ones, you'll be with your mothers soon.”

But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

She turned her back on them and left with Tom.

The video faded to black while tears and mascara streamed down Rarity's face as she choked out an anguished cry; “Fluttershy!”

Pony and Agent held each other and cried as the file continued to spread among the hotel guests. At length the two of them retired to the bathroom to clean up and try to collect themselves.

A few minutes later, a freshly washed Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash emerged from the elevator and made their way to the table where they dug into breakfast. Mid way through a third helping of fruit salad Rainbow noticed the tablet with a video icon sitting on the edge of the table.

“Hey what's this?”

“I don't know, maybe they animated that awesome story I read last night!”

Pinkie and Rainbow froze in mid bite and slowly turned their heads to see twilight looking at them with an unsettling grin.

“Uh... Are you okay Twilight?”

“Of course! Never better! In fact I learned a great deal from the books and papers I read last night. I was up really late studying.”

They both started backing slowly away as she fixed her own plate and dug in.

“Uh... what... what did you learn?” Pinkie asked uneasily.

“Oh, more than you could imagine! For example, did you know how many things these are good for?” She asked still grinning as four bananas and two cucumbers suddenly leapt into the air and hovered in front of the pair.

That was all it took; they both turned and galloped back to the elevator, nearly running over Rairity and Agent Glover on their way back from the rest room. Pinkie frantically pounded the elevator's 'close door' button until they disappeared from sight.

Rarity was still sniffling as she sat back down to breakfast, then paused to look at all the hovering fruit. “What is all that for?”

“They're nutritious and delicious!” Twilight responded as she chowed down on one of the bananas. “And high in potassium.”

For no reason Rarity could understand, Agent Glover and Twilight both came down with a fit of giggling, only broken when Twilight stopped to ask what that video was really about.

Agent Glover sobered up and was about to answer when Rarity calmly flipped the tablet over, face down. “Fluttershy is having a very hard time. Sometimes generosity is knowing when not to give someone something. You don't want to watch this.”

She had expected an argument, and was preparing a good retort when she noticed Twilight looking up at all the hovering fruit.
“Okay.”

Startled, Rarity asked in consternation. “What? You don't want to see it?”

“If you say I shouldn't see it then I trust you Rarity. I think I have finally learned that lesson.” She put the fruit down and discarded the empty peal. “By the way Agent Glover, you have got to show me what it is you did to my room last night. The way those two ran on the video I would have thought the room was on fire.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow, and the Agent grinned. “Oh I'd be happy to, but you'll be busy today and I need to sleep. Maybe tonight.”
She grinned again. “And if those two behave themselves perhaps we won't invite them.”

They both began giggling again leaving Rarity to wonder.

Ch 3.15 Rescuing the Rescuers

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Fifteen: Rescuing the Rescuers

Their second night on the run had been worse than the first. The night was cooler and though the three of them huddled together for warmth, only Tom got to sleep easily. Fluttershy and Applejack kept waking during the night but not just because of the cold; they both had nightmares and neither pony got much sleep.

As the light began to grow along the horizon they decided to give up and try to warm up by moving on and perhaps sleep during the afternoon when it was warmer.

They had both been noticing a strange feeling that had been building over the last two days, and though neither mentioned it, they had an uncomfortable feeling of swollen tenderness in their bellies. There were plenty of other things to worry about though, and Applejack just hoped she hadn’t eaten something that was making her sick; the prospect of seeking out help if they became ill was not a pleasant one.

Their only real guiding direction these last two days had been the powerful desire to be
‘anywhere but here’, but now they seemed to be running out of forest. They only saw a single flying machine all day but they began to pass more houses, dimly visible through the dense greenery.

Their supply of food was also running low. Tom seemed able to eat almost anything that held still, but they were still relying on the dwindling contents of Applejack’s saddle bag.

Sooner or later they were going to have to look for food.

By noon they were both exhausted from lack of sleep and the warm sunlight was making the passing forest glens look very inviting.

“Fluttershy? What do you say we take a nap? I barely slept a wink last night and I’m plum tuckered out.”

Fluttershy yawned. “Okay.” She paused for a moment as though unsure whether to speak, then went ahead anyway. “Applejack? Are you feeling a little… strange?”

Applejack gave her a concerned look. “Oh no, is your belly tender too?”

“A little, but it doesn’t really hurt… It’s just… I really want a jar of pickles.”

Applejack just looked befuddled.
“Pickles?”

“I don’t know, I guess I just really miss our friends and our home.”

“And that makes you want pickles?”

“I know it’s odd…”

Applejack sighed. “Well if it makes you feel any better, I’ve been thinkin’ about oranges most of the morning. Just can’t seem to get them outa my head. Let’s try to get some sleep here while the sun is up and its warm; with any luck we’ll feel better after a few hours’ shut-eye.”

...

The oranges were delicious, and Applejack stood before the trough of peeled slices savoring the sweet tangy flavor. A crunching sound made her look to her left, directly into the face of a cow, only inches away. The cow looked at her blankly, not even trying to introduce herself then went back to munching from the trough which suddenly contained the same mix of grain and pellets she had been living on the last few days, but no sign of oranges.

The realization slowly sank in: she was back on the farm.

She looked up fearfully from the trough to find herself inside one of the metal buildings she had seen. John was rummaging around in a refrigerator across the room, and as she watched he took out a jar filled with white milky liquid and a plastic syringe.

“have to keep ‘em pregnant and churning out calves all the time”

Applejack’s eyes went wide and she tried to back away only to feel something pressing against the back of her head. She tried to see what was wrong, but she couldn’t turn around in the tiny stall, and looking to her left she realized she had her head caught in the same metal stocks as the cow next to her.

“only produce lots of milk after they’ve given birth”

She bucked and strained franticly against the metal U pipe that held her, but she couldn’t pull her head free! She heard footsteps behind her, and the cow next to her suddenly bucked and protested.

“then squeeze it empty and your done”

As she kicked and flailed against the pipe her eyes were drawn to a calf across the room, one who looked a lot like Tom but was the same yellow color as Apple Bloom. As she watched, the hybrid creature looked back with that same mindless stare.
Applejack’s breathing was ragged as she bucked and kicked but the footsteps came closer and stopped behind her without any sign of urgency.

“Then you just push it home-”

...

Applejack awoke screaming and thrashing, and Fluttershy barely dodged a kick as she struggled groggily to her hooves.

“Appplejack, what’s wrong?”

It took a moment to realize where she was and that it had all been a dream, but gradually she got her breathing under control and her heart slowed down a bit.
“I’m sorry Fluttershy, I… I just had another nightmare.”

“Oh, you poor thing, it looks like you were terrified!” Fluttershy stepped over to where she was sprawled on the ground and held her tight in a hug.

“I’m… I think I’m okay now.” Applejack managed as she returned her friends embrace. “I’m just glad I don’t have to do this alone.”

“That’s what friends are for.” Fluttershy replied, smiling warmly. “We stick by each other.”

Applejack felt a strange wetness on her flank, and looked up at Fluttershy, momentarily confused. “Uh, I didn’t push you into a puddle did I?”

“No, why? Is something wrong?”

“Oh nothing.” Applejack said with a small smile. “You’re just sweating in the heat, that’s all.”

Fluttershy looked embarrassed as she pulled away. “I don’t think I…”

They both looked at the white stain on Applejacks flank.

Slowly and with mounting horror, Fluttershy looked down at her belly which was noticeable swollen and streaked with white droplets. Applejack looked down at her belly to see the first drops of her own milk leaking onto her skin.

They're screams were loud enough that Tom spooked and ran off into the woods.

“Applejack, am I-?!?”

“I don’t know!”

“How can I be pregnant?! I’ve never -”

“I don’t know!”

Fluttershy was hyperventilating hard enough she was starting to see stars. “How?! I’ve never! How can I be?!”

John’s voice came echoing back out of her nightmare.
‘have to keep em pregnant and churning out calves all the time’
Tears were forming in her eyes as she tried to imagine how this could have happened.

Fluttershy paused when she saw her friend crying. “Applejack?!”

“It must have been John!” Applejack shouted as she stamped the ground in a futile rage, tears streaming down her face.

“I! But!...” Fluttershy sputtered “How?!?”

“I don’t know!” Applejack Shouted again, her voice cracking under the strain. “But who else could have done this?!”

“I! I don’t!..” Fluttershy blubbered before breaking down completely. Applejack pulled her close and they both just held each other and cried.

...

Night was quietly falling, bringing an end to this terrible day. Applejack had done her best to be strong for her friend and keep it together, but Fluttershy had been hysterical, and it was only by drawing her thoughts back to Tom that she was able to get her functioning again. Tom had been missing since they woke in the late afternoon and though they had searched for hours, they still had found no sign of him. Now with the sun setting on the horizon they finally heard an answer to their calls.

They followed the sound to the edge of the forest where to their dismay, they found Tom happily laying waste to a homeowner's backyard garden.

“Tom! Come on, we can't stay here.” Fluttershy called, looking around nervously.

Tom barely looked up before going back to his feast, and eventually Applejack had to leave the cover of the woods and herd him back to safety. She saw no sign of lights in the house however and it looked as though they had not been seen.

“Oh, Tom, don't scare me like that!” Fluttershy admonished the calf. “Wait... What's this?”
In the falling light she had noticed a thin cord around the Tom's neck with a note tied to it. They both looked around in fear, but they seemed to be alone. Fluttershy cautiously pulled the note from the string and read it aloud.

'Fluttershy and Applejack; I am so, so sorry for what's happened to you! After everything you've been through you must feel so scared and alone.
I met Scootaloo on a Girl Scout trip years ago and I promise you, she is living a happy life of her own.
Your friends all found her and each other, but they're worried about you and I really hope you will listen to them and stop hiding. I have not told anyone that you're here, but if you follow the map on the back of this note it will lead you to a little camping spot I have in the woods. I have a pack full of supplies and good vegetarian food with me because I don't eat meat either.
I really hope you can find it in your hearts to trust again.
Lalitha.'

They both stared at each other while Tom went back to munching on the bushes.

Finally Applejack spoke up. “We're nearly out of food, and we have no way of getting home without the princess. I ain’t too keen on this, but if this human saw us, she could have called fer help, and she didn't.”

Fluttershy looked conflicted as she stood absentmindedly stroking her belly, but eventually she gave a small nod of agreement.

Following the map led them to a small clearing in the woods where a couple of tents were pitched and a fire burned under a pot of stew. The scent wafting off the pot had both their mouths watering and as they watched, a teenage girl walked out of the tent and stopped to stir the pot.

“Do you think it's safe?”

Applejack slapped a hoof against her face as Tom walked into the clearing from the far side and wandered right up to the girl.
“I sure hope so. It looks like somepony done made the choice for us.”

They watched as the girl produced an apple for Tom then looked around the edge of the clearing.
“It's okay, I'm the only one here and I'm not going to hurt you.”

Reluctantly, Applejack stepped out of the brush and looked her up and down.

Lalitha took a seat on a log by the fire, bringing her down to eye level. “Applejack! I'm so glad you came!

She made no move to approach further, but her stomach growled loudly as the smell of the stew became more pronounced. “How did y’all know we were here?”

Lalitha took a moment to collect her thoughts.

“The story of what happened to you has been all over the news; they had pictures of Fluttershy and Tom, and when I found Tom eating my mother’s garden it didn't take long to figure out that Fluttershy would never be far from his side.”

Applejack took a cautious step forward. “News... you mean we've been in the newspapers?'

“Yes. Your story has been on TV, radio, and internet news sites for nearly three days now. When that video of what happened to poor Fluttershy got out...” She sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

Applejack looked confused. “What about Fluttershy?”

She sniffed again, before continuing. “Three nights ago when Fluttershy stumbled onto the veal building there were cameras recording everything that happened. Someone released the video, and…” She paused to get herself together. “and it's just heartrending. Watching what happened that night, it just makes me feel ashamed.”

“But… I thought you said y’all don’t eat meat?” Applejack said taking a step back.

“I don’t. But I’m still human, and watching Fluttershy trying to help when the rest of us allowed that to happen…” She sniffled again.
“But some good has come out of it. That horrible farm is closed down, and all the calves have been set free, though most are going to need help to walk again.”

Fluttershy stepped into the firelight. “You mean it? They let the calves go?”

Tears were beginning to form in Lalitha’s eyes as she smiled. “Yes, yes they did. And a lot of states are passing laws to ban this from ever happening again.”

Fluttershy closed the distance and practically tackled Lalitha in a hug. “Oh, thank you, thank you!” She managed, tears of joy and relief running down her cheeks.

Lalitha returned her hug. “It’s all because of you, Fluttershy. You brought this out into the light and forced everyone to take a long hard look.”

After a moment they pulled apart and Lalitha was about to speak when her attention was drawn down to a damp white spot on her jeans. She looked at Fluttershy in confusion.
“Fluttershy? Are you… pregnant?”

Fluttershy quivered visibly, then broke down sobbing as she curled up in a ball on the ground. Lalitha looked to Applejack for help, but saw her tearing up as well so she pulled both ponies into a hug as Fluttershy sobbed out the entire story of all that had happened over the last three horrible days.

Her expression worked through fear, amazement and horror as she listened to it all, but finally Fluttershy got out the last of the story and Lalitha steeled herself for what was next.

“Okay, it’s okay. You’re not pregnant and no one touched you.”

“I’m not?” Fluttershy managed in a pathetic voice as she looked up at her.

“No, you’re not.”

“But then… why…?” Applejack asked, gesturing to her belly.

“That farm was a dairy farm. The cattle feed is spiked with female hormones to help the cows produce more milk. If I had spent the last three days eating that stuff I would be lactating too.” She finished, gesturing to her breasts.

“Oh! Oh thank goodness! I was so worried!” Fluttershy breathed.

“I’m sorry, but that’s not all. You obviously didn’t know what was in that feed or you would never have touched it.”

Applejack’s look of relief melted away as she asked fearfully; “Why...? What was in the food?”

“Well…” She stammered as she tried and failed to think of an easy way to say it. “Animals.”

Both ponies eyes went wide as their stomachs lurched.

“Animals?” Fluttershy squeaked out.

“You mean… that stuff was full of… meat?” Applejack asked as her face took on a green tint.

“I’m sorry, but yes, more or less. Farmers add protein to the feed to help the cattle grow faster, and it’s usually made from leftover bits of pigs, chickens, turkeys and fish.”

Fluttershy turned and heaved but Applejack was just holding out as her mind latched onto a particular word.
“Whadaya mean ‘usually’”?

Lalitha cringed but continued. “Well, you see... they also make protein feed from ground up goats, cows, sheep, and yes, sometimes the occasional horse or pony. It’s illegal to feed them to other cows, but it looks like John wasn’t a big one for following USDA rules…”

Applejack’s eyes had gotten even bigger if that was possible and she turned about and became violently ill into the greenery.

Fluttershy was sobbing between heaves as all this sunk in. “You… feed them to each other?!”

Applejack was still heaving and had both hooves over her head as she wailed; “Cows?! I done ate cows?!?”

Lalitha did her best to comfort them as they wailed, but there was little she could think of to say that would make this better.

Luckily, she knew someone who might.

When everything started happening three days ago she had taken the time to look up Scootaloo's number in her old phone, and had updated it to her new one. 'I just hope she still remembers me...'

It rang once, twice, then; “Hello?”

“Scootaloo! Am I glad to hear your voice. This is Lalitha, you know, from Girl Scouts? I showed you that cool veggie recipe after the nature hike all those years ago?”

“Of course, I remember you!” Scootaloo answered warmly. “I don't mean to be rude, but I'm kind of in the middle of something here.”

“I understand, but I'm calling because I need your help. I found your friends, and -”

“You found them?! Oh thank God, we've been so worried!”

“Yes, they're here, but they've really been through the wringer. How soon can you get out here?” She added as she repeated the address.

“If I borrow one of the Black Hawks we can all be there in an hour and a half... Hold on a minute...” Lalitha could hear shouts of relief in the background as the good news spread. “I see an open field on the map a quarter mile to your north east. Think you can meet us there in ninety minutes?”

“No problem, we'll see you there.” She broke the connection and looked back to the two poor ponies who were trying to fight down the dry heaves of their empty stomachs.

“Um... I have some good news if you want to hear it...”

They both turned shakily to look up at her. “I just called Scootaloo; she and your friends will be here in a little over an hour. They've been waiting for news for days and they sounded ecstatic to hear you were okay.”

They both smiled weakly as Lalitha continued. “Now come on, I wouldn't be much of a host if I just let you leave looking like death warmed over.” She thought about it for a moment.
“Why don't we try for something to make you feel better, something to give you a bit of closure. Applejack, Fluttershy, could you help me fetch some more wood to build up the fire?”

Happy for some mundane task to take their minds off everything that had happened, they set to work and soon had the fire blazing and the pot of stew set off to the side.

“In our culture when a friend dies we sometimes burn the body, the empty shell, as their spirit no longer needs it. If you are willing, why don't we throw what meat is left into the fire and pray for the ones we’ve lost? It may help bring you some peace.”

The two ponies looked at each other, and slowly, Applejack undid the strap on her saddle bag and tossed the whole garment into the blaze where the raging fire rapidly consumed it.

“I liked that bag, but I don't reckon I could ever use it again knowing what it had in it.”

“Applejack?”

“Huh?”

“Your hat, too.” Lalitha said sadly.

Applejack pulled off her hat and looked at it tiredly. “What is it anyway?”

“It is a traditional cowboy hat made of leather.”

Applejack gave her a blank look.

“Leather is made from animal skin, usually cow hide.”

Fluttershy pulled away in shock, but Applejack just looked worn out as she stared down at the hat in her hoof, then tossed it into the fire as well. In a few minutes the last identifiable pieces burned away leaving only the wood fire crackling in the darkness.

Lalitha served up bowls of stew for all of them and though their stomachs were not entirely settled they soon found the stew to be delicious, and gradually their hunger won out. They each helped themselves to several bowls before it was time to go, and as Lalitha led them out to the field Fluttershy actually complemented her on her cooking.

Applejack just sighed. “It's so good to be going home...”

Ch 3.16 Problems of Ethics

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Sixteen: Problems of Ethics

The helicopters had come into view over the treetops a few minutes after Lalitha reached the field with her new friends and they shielded their eyes from the wind blown debris as the two machines touched down. A moment later all their friends piled out of the doors and galloped to meet them, catching each other in a tearful group hug. It was some time before they calmed down enough to speak coherently again, hardly a problem as the helicopters spun down, and more minutes still as the group fawned over them, just happy to have Applejack and Fluttershy back safe and sound.

At last Applejack said out loud what she had be thinking for the last hour or so.
“Finally, we’re all together again; we can go home now!”

“Whoa, what now?” Scootaloo asked.

As the group turned their attention away from the hero's of the hour Scootaloo was looking concerned. “I’m really glad you’re all right, but I’m not ready to go back yet. I’m going to need some more time, a week at least.”

“What do you mean you’re not ready?” Rainbow asked as she hovered over the group. “We have to get you back! Scootaloo, our Scootaloo is still missing.”

“I don’t think that’s going to work out…” Scootaloo said uneasily.

“Oh? And why not? Are you just going to leave our Scootaloo hanging out to dry?” Rainbow asked.
“Yeah! We want her back! And I went through with this, so so can you.” Dashie agreed.

“Rainbow has a point.” Celestia joined in as she looked seriously at Scootaloo. “We have an obligation to save our Scootaloo.”

“But I’m an adult and-”

“And that give you the right to choose our Scootaloo’s fate?” Twilight asked pointedly as she stepped forward. "I know this isn't easy, but its for the best."

Scootaloo gritted her teeth as she bit back some painful internal conflict. “I don’t think you’ve thought this through properly. If you put your Scootaloo’s memories back into me, we'll wind up sharing a body just like Rainbow and Dashie.”

“Well, yes. I'm sorry about that,” Twilight replied, “but it's the best we can do.”

“We all came here to rescue Scootaloo, our Scootaloo.” Celestia reminded her. “Would you have us return empty hooved?”

Scootaloo squeezed her eyes shut tight in obvious pain and stamped her hoof into the dirt. “So your Scootaloo would wind up sharing a body with me. And what would you have her do when I take my husband to bed?”

They all looked shocked as this thought struck home. Without opening her eyes Scootaloo continued.

“And what of my life here? What of my family? My daughters?” She sniffed, and when she opened her eyes it was clear she was fighting back tears. “I have a lot of hard choices to make before we go anywhere. You obviously haven't given this much thought, but I have. If your Scootaloo is to live again, it will just about have to be through Sophie Belle or Chaya.”

“That's a great idea!” Pinkie shouted, her smile returning.

“Is it?” Scootaloo asked as a tear ran down her cheek. “Twilight, where would you be today if, when you were just three, someone had crammed the mind of a twelve year old Rainbow Dash into your head?”

Twilight looked uncomfortable and scratched the back of her head with a hoof.

“Would you be anything like the pony you are today? Would you even care about learning or books?”

Twilight cringed as she thought about it. “Well...”

Scootaloo actually shouted as the tears streamed down her face. “You don't think I know we have to save your friend?! That you came for her and found me, a complete stranger instead?! This is going to cost one of my children their future, and you don't think I know that?!”

There was a long silence as most of them stared at their hooves.

Scootaloo dabbed her eyes with a gauze pad as she continued more quietly. “We can figure something out. There is always a way to make it work, but it may take time. I have a lot to deal with just now and I would appreciate a little patience.”

...

Scootaloo seemed understandably distracted on the ride back, and at one point handed control of the helicopter to the co-pilot so she could take a call. They couldn't make out who she was talking to, but whoever it was did little to improve her mood.

The flight back took the a little longer due to a headwind, but before long they had returned to the small airport from which the search and rescue team had been operating for the last three days. Fluttershy and Applejack were given a heartwarming welcome as the pilots and volunteers met them at the landing pad. The two soon were soon feeling overwhelmed as they shook the hands of and tried to be friendly with the hundreds of volunteers who were thrilled to have found them alive and safe.

“Damn girls, you had us worried! We're so glad you're okay.”

Another person jumped in. “I have to know though, did we ever get close to finding you? Twilight and your friends have been pulling shifts out here on and off for days.”

Applejack looked surprised as she turned around to face her friends. “You mean that was you up there in those metal flying machines? You scared us half to death a couple of times! We thought somepony was comin to get us.”

Celestia smiled. “We were, but unfortunately the woods here are filled with, what did you call them...” She thought for a moment. “'White tail deer'. Herds of them, and all close enough to your size and shape that we had a difficult time indeed.”

One of the searchers held up a thermal camera. “We could see through the canopy with this easily enough, but all we kept finding were deer in groups of two and three.”

Rainbow jumped in. “Yeah, and not one of them had anything useful to say.”
“I told you deer are just dumb animals here cloud herder, but somepony didn't listen.”
“Hey, it was worth a try.”

That got Applejack's attention. “Wait, the wild animals are dumb too?!”

One of the volunteers stepped in. “Oh, right, you wouldn't know that. On our world humans are the only species that can think and speak. No other species has ever made it up to this level.”

By this point Scootaloo had finally finished her call, gotten off the helicopter and joined them, and Applejack looked to her for confirmation. “Is that true?”

“Well, yes. What did you think was going on?”

Applejack looked at her hooves. “I... I thought somepony had been breeding them that way.”

“Well in fairness, domestic animals are usually dumber than wild ones, but that's just-” Scootaloo stopped cold as she figured out what Applejack had been implying. “Oh my God! No! That's just...” She shook her head to clear the image from her head. “No. Humans have done some dark things over the years, but we've never enslaved and destroyed another thinking species. Good lord, that's about as close to pure evil as you could get...” She finished with a visible blanch.

“So the cows could never think to begin with?”

“No. I know this is a lot to take in Applejack, but humans are the only intelligent species we know of. Our own brains, our own intelligence is a minor modification of human. We share the same origins.”

Fluttershy and Applejack both staggered a bit at that. “You mean... But...”

Celestia extended her wings to cover both ponies. “Let us continue this discussion later. You have both been through a great deal, and thanks to our hosts there is a delicious feast, a hot shower and two soft beds waiting for you back at the hotel.”

Both ponies looked grateful for a way out and allowed themselves to be led to the Limo.

…

On the ride back to the hospital the ponies continued to catch up, Fluttershy and Applejack listening in awe as Scootaloo delivered the obligatory explanation of how she came to be married with two foals. She was pleasantly surprised when the two of them hugged her and told her how proud they were.

Fluttershy was still shaken from all that had happened, but she did smile and put a hoof Scootaloo's shoulder.

“It's not the life I would have expected for ya, but you seem to have made the best of it and then some.”
Applejack added with just a hint of a grin.

“I've tried, but I've had a lot of help along the way from my family, and friends.” Scootaloo replied with a sweeping gesture that encompassed the agents. “And I've been able to give back so much.”

“What? You mean as a doctor?” Applejack asked.

Scootaloo laughed. “Well, yes, I have saved a few lives directly, but my big contribution here has been the medical research.”

Applejack and Fluttershy both shuddered visibly and flattened their ears at the mention of the term as stories the Princess had told them about 'research laboratorys' and their treatment of 'lab animals' came to mind all too clearly.

“You mean... they forced you to live in a cage?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“What? No! I volunteered to help! I lived with my dads when I was a kid, and since college I've been living in the dorms, or an apartment with my husband.”

“But... The princess told us we might have to bust you out of lab... Said they would poke you with needles and do experiments on you...” Applejack added with a grimace.

Scootaloo looked at the two of them earnestly. “Girls, I count my doctors as some of my best friends and they've been with me from the very beginning. They do poke me with needles once a month, and I have participated in quite a few experiments over the years but no one ever forced me to do anything.”
She looked at their alarmed expressions and sighed. “Do you have any idea how much of a difference this work has made? How many people are alive today because of my volunteering?”

“You mean how many humans?” Applejack asked skeptically.

“Yes. I mean humans.” She replied with a glare. “The same humans who took me in, who raised me, who became my friends, and helped me grow into who I am today.”

“Well pardon me for sayin' so, but we've both learned a thing or two bout humans in the last three days. I ain't saying they're all bad, but you will excuse me if'n I don't applaud you for savin' them,” she added coldly.

Scootaloo sat back looking hurt. “Well, things haven't exactly been all sunshine and rainbows here you know, especially after Celestia broke in and kidnapped my daughter.”

Both ponies jaws fell open as they looked at Celestia who hung her head in shame.

“You did what?!” Fluttershy sputtered in astonishment.

“You're pulling my hoof...”

“I'm afraid it is true.” Celestia sighed. “I did not know what had transpired here and when I found Sophie Belle in her bed I mistook her for Scootaloo and took her away.”

Applejack seemed to think that over. “So it was just a mistake?”

“Yes. One I regret very much.” Celestia answered.

Applejack's expression had gone cold again as she turned her attention back to Scootaloo. “And everything that happened on that farm. Was that an mistake too? Or was that just something we weren't meant to see?”

“It's not something anyone was proud of.” Scootaloo mumbled.

“You don't say.” Applejack replied flatly. “But ya did nothing, ya just stood by and let it happen. Gryphons and the like I can almost understand, but humans?” She gestured to the agents. “Yall' don't need to kill to eat!”

Scootaloo didn't have an answer to that, at least not one she thought worth fighting over at present. The mood gradually recovered as the topic shifted to the adventures the others had had, but it was clear enough that specism was gaining a foothold, and simply being told of their origins wasn't enough to counter it.

When they arrived at the hospital Scootaloo stayed behind with Agent Tyler until everyone else had left. As the car pulled away leaving them alone outside the doors Tyler tried to comfort the obviously tired pegusus.

“I'm sorry, Scoot. They seem willing to tolerate human culture and they like most of us, but it feels like every time we gain some of their trust they trip over another horror.” She sighed. “Give it time. They'll get used to us.”

“Maybe, but I don't think I'm going to have any company at my monthly checkup.”
She chewed her lower lip before continuing. “I think I know how to fix this, but...”

Agent Tyler raised an eyebrow in interest.

“But I had really hoped I wouldn't have to do this. I can teach them what it means to be human, but its going to hurt... a lot.”

If Scootaloo had been paying close attention, she would have seen a very brief expression of alarm flit across the agent's face. “If this involves weapons or-”

“I got a call from the Make A Wish foundation while we were flying back in the chopper.”

That got her several seconds of silence.

“I remember the last time you worked with them...” Agent Tyler replied. “I thought you were... very strong... The little girl had the best time of her life.”

Scootaloo sniffed as she remembered. “Yes, she really did... But afterwards...” She took a deep breath, but it was clear she was trying not to sob. “Did you know they buried her with a lock of hair from my mane?” She winced at the remembered pain. “Her mother said she clutched in in her little hand, right till the end...”

“I... didn't realize it had hurt you that deeply...”

“It did hurt. It hurt enough I've been avoiding their calls for a long time now...” She shook her head, trying vainly to forget. “But it also made it painfully clear how important the research is. It's a lot harder to ignore the cost of inaction when they're right in front of you, clapping their little hands as their mother helps them up for the last pony ride they'll ever have... ”

Agent Tyler knelt down and held Scootaloo as the tears ran down her cheek.

“She wasn't even eight years old...”

She hugged Tyler tightly as she continued.

“The Make a Wish foundation has another case... she's got brain cancer, and the bad luck to be in that fifteen present of the population different enough that they can't use my synthetic biology.” She sniffled, and continued angrily “The same fifteen present who might be eligible if we could get a broader sample of DNA to work with. Like say, unicorn or earth pony DNA.”

“Is there any hope for her?”

Scootaloo seemed to sag against her. “No... At least not from us. It took years to design that treatment and even if it only took months to adapt she doesn't have that long.” Scootaloo pulled back far enough to look the Agent in the eye. “But she wants something only they can give her. She wants to visit Equestria.”
“I know it's manipulative, but I need them to understand why I do this. To understand why it matters. Celestia apparently told them horror stories about the treatment of laboratory animals, and that's what they perceive this as...”

Scootaloo gave a dry, humorless laugh.

“Do you know I figured out the same thing almost as soon as I could read? I was in for my monthly checkup and I complained, asked my dad's why I had to get poked so much. One of the lab techs said something about lab monkeys.”

“They tried to hide it from me of course, but I remembered the words, and searched them the next day while my parents weren't looking. It had video of the poor chimps in their tiny bare metal cages, ignored by the researchers and left to live out their lives all alone... Kevin and Jayne finally found me an hour later, curled up under the bed crying my little heart out, begging them not to send me away. It took time, but they explained something that day. Something that's hard and awful, but true. They explained that the volunteering I was doing would one day save the lives of other little kids like me. That the horrible abuses I had seen were wrong, and inexcusable, but that they took place to help kids like me.”

Scootaloo put her head on Tyler's shoulder as she continued.

“Did you know I've sometimes asked myself how much I'm worth by that scale?” She continued in a pained voice. “If I had to choose... Being found as a foal and kept locked up in a tiny steel cage for research... No friends, no one to love me, never meeting my dads...” Tyler could feel a growing dampness on the back of her neck as Scootaloo cried. “How many of the children that are alive today would I be willing to let die so I could grow up with my dads? How many of them is my happiness worth? Ten? Twenty?”

“Oh, Scootaloo...” Agent Tyler whispered softly.

“You know I actually keep track?” She sobbed. “I'm up to twelve by now... twelve people who inarguably owe their lives to what I did, not what I am! So when it's dark, and the nightmares come, asking that question, I can answer 'Twelve! My life as free pony is worth at least twelve lives!'”
“But you know as well as I do the weight of lives on the other side of that scale. Do you know how it feels to know that who you are is that much more important than what you do? That feeling that nothing you could ever hope to do would ever be enough to balance it out?”

She choked back a sob and a note of anger entered her words. “The contributions I've made through research have saved millions of lives! They've altered the face of the planet! More than one planet in fact! And these ponies can't see past their own fear of the lab!”

“And you think this will help?”

Scootaloo managed a weak laugh. “Help? I'm going to show them what ONE looks like. One life lost. It's going to hurt all of them, but if it gets them to understand the importance, if its enough to get them all volunteering, then it may well be the only thing I could ever do to balance that scale...”

…

After everything that had happened, Fluttershy was physically and emotionally exhausted. She insisted on seeing Tom before bed, and seeing that he was well cared for she allowed the agent to lead her to the hotel a few blocks away. She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but while many of the humans on the street took little notice of her, a surprisingly large number were acting strange enough that even she had to take notice.

Many would see her and immediately look away like they had been caught doing something wrong, and some actually started to cry. Many avoided her on the sidewalk, but one woman came over to speak to her.

“Fluttershy, I am so, so sorry. If there is anything you need, please just let me know.”

When she had moved on Fluttershy turned to the agent. “I don’t understand. Why did she say that?”

He sighed and looked down at her. “The video of what happened on the farm got out on the web. Tens of millions of people have seen what happened to you, and they’re sorry. Sorry for you, for the poor calves… It’s painful to watch. A lot of people are feeling guilty, and you’re a reminder of everything they might like to forget.”

Fluttershy wasn’t sure what to make of that. How could they know where meat came from, feel guilty about and it yet still eat it? She was just too tired and decided to worry about it another time.
The agent led her to the opulent hotel building, into the elevator, and up to the top floor where her friends were staying. He showed her how to use the key card for the door, checked out her room and left, wishing her a good night.

After crawling into the huge feather soft bed it took only moments to fall asleep.

…

Fluttershy was dimly aware of the grass under her hooves and the open fields around her, but something was wrong. She looked around and saw the mindless cows wandering the fields in the moonlight and with a start she began to run.

“Come on girls, we’ll find that missing chicken!” Apple Bloom's voice came floating on the wind.

She skidded to a halt, the hair on the back of her neck standing up: the voice had come from behind her.

“No! Girls, come back!”

As she whirled about she saw their shadows disappearing over the hill in the moonlight. She ran as hard as she could, the children’s banter getting steadily louder, but all the time the metal structure loomed larger and menacingly closer on the horizon.

As she crested the last hill she saw a gold backed cape and white flank disappear through the open door of the dreaded building.

“NO! Don’t go in there!”

Fluttershy’s heart was pounding in her ears as she closed the distance and bounded into the building. Inside, the mindless cows wandered about like zombies and she ducked and weaved between them, following the fading clop of tiny hooves on concrete.
The cheerful voices had faded away on the wind, and she could now hear something else– voices calling for help!
In a panic she burst through the door at the back of the building but this time the filthy cages were not occupied only by calves. John had a lasso around Sweetie Belle and was grinning as he dragging her closer and closer to the white corner of the room where the saws lay waiting.

…

Fluttershy awoke screaming as she thrashed and toppled over the end of the bed. The door of her room burst open and three agents swept the room for threats as a forth stopped to check Fluttershy.
Her eyes were dilated nearly to points and her heart was racing as she hyperventilated and glanced from face to face in a panic.

It didn't take long for young Agent Glover, a mother of two, to figure out what had happened. She motioned her people to return to their posts as she knelt down and comforted the shivering yellow pony. “It’s okay, Fluttershy, it was only a dream. You're among friends; you're safe.”

As this total stranger knelt and hugged her in the twisted pile of blankets on the floor, Fluttershy began to sob. She clung to the agent who tried to comfort her as all the stress and terror of the last several days came to the surface at once.

“Shhh... It's okay... I'm here for you...”

Fluttershy looked up the agent, tears still streaming down her cheeks; “Would... Would you have eaten those calves?”

Agent Glover had seen the video like everyone else, and the accusation brought tears to her eyes. “No Fluttershy. I needed the genetic treatment myself a few years back. None of my children or myself can eat meat.”

“It... It was just so awful!” She managed as she broke down again. Agent Glover took her in her arms and did her best to rock her back and forth.
“I'm so sorry Fluttershy. I'm so, so sorry.”

…

Eventually, after she cried herself out Fluttershy managed to get to her feet again.

“Are you sure you don't want me to call your friends over?”

She sniffed. “No... I... I can fall asleep on my own.”

“Okay, just remember, I will be right here if you need anything.”

The agent turned out the lights and slowly closed the door, leaving Fluttershy alone with her thoughts.

She walked to the window of her room, opened it and stared out at the world beneath her. Beyond the alley below, the main street bustled with activity in both directions and she could clearly see the hospital a couple of blocks away.
She rested her head on her hooves and continued to stare at the people and traffic below.

…

Fluttershy was walking through the woods with Applejack and Tom as they tried to stay hidden. Her stomach growled again and Applejack nodded and quietly set down her saddle bag so they could eat.
On her third hoofful of cattle feed, she looked down and noticed something among the grains and pellets. She reached in and pulled out the shredded, partially burned remnants of a red ribbon: Apple Bloom’s hair bow.

…

Fluttershy woke as her stomach churned, and she threw up out the open window into the empty alleyway below. Fresh tears stained her cheeks as gasped for breath and tried to fight down the now dry heaving of her empty stomach.

A memory flashed through her mind:

She was hiding, looking on in terror was Applejack talked with these monsters.

Applejack paused to examine the contents of a nearby feed trough and after a few bites remarked “Hey, that's not half bad, and very filling. Mind if I take some for the road?”

John laughed and used a handy scoop to fill the pockets on her saddlebag. “Take all you like, but don't spoil your appetite. Let’s go let them know we're ready for another real breakfast. I don't have to tell you farming's hard work.”

‘He knew.’

The realization shouldn’t have been novel, but she hadn’t had time to think it through yet. ‘He knew exactly what was in that, and he said nothing, he even gave us some for the trip!’

Her stomach was still uneasy, but something seemed to settle in her mind. She climbed through the window, spread her wings and was airborne headed for the hospital.

As she circled overhead, the particular room caught her attention, and she came to a hover outside of room 642.
Inside she could see two patients and a young woman who had fallen asleep in a recliner across the room. John lay in the bed closest to the window; any terror he might have inspired had been stripped away by his frail appearance, the paper hospital gown and his shallow, labored breathing. She knew he hadn't really woken since his heart attack, the one she had helped to bring on. He had been given the genetic treatment, and the doctors had said if he survived the next few days he would live, though how much of him was left after being out for so long was not yet clear.

Fluttershy gripped the window ledge with her front hooves continuing to hover as she peered down at him, only a couple feet away in his hospital bed by the window.

‘He built that whole farm. Everything that happened there happened because of him.’
She remembered how the Apple family lived on their farm, how it provided the money they lived on. Images flashed through her mind of what a public event must have been like when customers came to sample his ‘product’.

Her hooves gripped the brick ledge of the window tighter and her gaze seemed to intensify. ‘How could you be so heartless? What kind of monster would butcher innocent creatures like that?!’
The force of her grip was beginning to bite into the brick, tiny pieces breaking away and crumbling as she unconsciously bore down harder.

A slight breeze stirred around her, and she felt something trickle down her belly and run down the inside of her right leg. ‘You even spiked the food with chemicals to get more milk!’
Her face had contorted with fury but her gaze never wavered as she stared into him through the sixth floor window.

In the nurses’ monitoring station across the hall, a heart monitor began to sound a warning.

Author's Note

I realize that this story is delving through a dark stretch, and that it may be a bit more than some readers can handle; for that I apologize. I have included this because I believe this to be plausible and in character, and I have already cut some of Fluttershy's nastier nightmares that were based on 'Hold Me' by Delta Heavy.

Ch 3.17 A day at the Park

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Seventeen: A day at the Park

The news of the death had gone out the next morning and many news sites touted it proudly on their front pages. The general agreement among those who had seen the video was that this was a man who got what he deserved, and a lot of people started their day with a smile after reading of his untimely death.

At breakfast that morning Scootaloo proposed they take an afternoon trip to something she called an 'amusement park' to relax from the stress of the last few days, and after conceding Twilight the the morning to study the rest of them had agreed.

Initially, Pinkie of all ponies had objected, but after she accidentally sat down on a cucumber that had mysteriously found its way to her seat, she had suddenly become quiet and contrite, occasionally stealing a worried glance across the table at Twilight.

As the meal was breaking up, Agent Tyler stepped over and put a hand on Celestia's back above her wings. “You and I have something important to discuss. Please come with me.”

…

The trip to the hospital had been quiet. They rode the elevators up to the sixth floor and Celestia followed the Agent down the hall to an empty room of the ICU. Looking around the room, Celestia waited for an explanation, but when none was forthcoming she asked irritably. “Agent Tyler, I have come back here at your insistence and I have waited patiently. Please get to the point.”

“Very well.” She replied as she shut the door on the empty room. “This is the room where the man you knew as John had been recovering from a heart attack. Last night his heart suddenly gave out and he died as I'm sure you remember from the morning news.”

“Yes, I am well aware of the man and what he did. He will not be missed.” She replied hotly. “Now why are we here?”

“We are here so that I can start you on the path to establishing an embassy on earth and formalizing the contact between Earth and Equestria.”

Celestia shook her head derisively. “And what makes you think I would do that? Why would I want that kind of contact for my world?”

Agent Tyler sighed. “Because you will not be a world alone much longer. With your arrival, contact is inevitable, and you should begin at once to establish yourself as a sharp and cunning monarch. The kind of pony that humans can respect, and would be wise not to cross.”
Tyler crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall, ignoring Celestia's irritation. “Believe it or not I have your best interests at heart in this and you would do well to listen.”

Celestia was no fool and had negotiated her fair share of treaties and settlements over her thousand year reign. She respected Tyler's intelligence enough to know when something was up. Pushing her irritation aside, she asked. “Very well. I know you brought me here for a reason. Lets have that out before we continue.”

Agent Tyler smiled. “Good. John's bed was set up by the window last night. Why don't you take a look at the window ledge?”

Celestia walked over to the window but it didn't take long to make out the two fresh marks on the brick ledge that looked like someone had crushed the bricks in a vice. A quick glance at the five floor drop to the awning below told another tale as to how those marks got there.

“Now if you look down at the awning below the window, you can just make out a few white stains that didn't come from birds. Now if we were to test those, I'm sure we wouldn't find any trace of pony milk, and personally, I'm rather glad it's supposed to rain tonight. Saves a great deal of paperwork.”

The Agent now had Celestia's full attention. “Now something like kidnapping... well, that's not such a big deal if the mother and daughter forgive you, but there are more serious crimes that are not so easily dismissed.” Celestia gave a very slight nod, and Tyler continued. “Whether you believe it or not, I am trying to help you. As far as I know, you and I are among only three people who know of this. I intended to keep it that way, but nonetheless, it is high time you established your country's legal standing here on earth. Maybe got around to appointing an ambassador, someone with diplomatic immunity from prosecution?”

Celestia looked at her seriously, and for the first time that morning her lips twitched upwards in the beginnings of a smile. “Yes... You know, I believe you may be correct. Would I be right to guess there is someone just down the hall with a great deal of paperwork to fill out?”

Tyler nodded, and opened the door. “Right this way, Princess.”

...

Surprisingly, Pinkie Pie had actually required the most effort to convince. Twilight had stumbled across amusement parks in her net searching, and Fluttershy was just looking for a little time off to relax without really understanding where she was going, a view Scootaloo was happy to exploit for her own plans.

Pinkie's response to her suggestion had been. “An amusement park? Why do I need to go to a special park for that? I can have fun anywhere.”

After some effort she had convinced them all to come, with Agent Tyler acting as a chaperone. The amusement park was not a huge one, but as the coasters and drop towers began to peak over the trees Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy all craned the necks to get a better view out the window.

“Oh my goodness, what is that big tower for?” Fluttershy worried aloud.

“Oh, that's a ride! They use that to-” Pinkie was cut off as Scootaloo put a hoof in her mouth.

“When we get there, why don't you and Twilight go exploring with Agent Tyler while I go show Fluttershy around, okay?”

“All right, I'm just looking forward to the physics! I found a web page devoted to calculating how fast the coasters will go based on their weight and height.”

Agent Tyler raised an eyebrow, but smiled as well. “Okay, I can help you with that if you like. You don't get to where I am without a few calculus classes. But I intend to enjoy this afternoon off, so you both had better be ready to ride.”

The car pulled in to a back road where they were met by a special park representative who led them around to a side gate.
“We're very glad to have you here with us today. As special park guests, I have line hopper passes for all of you, and a park map highlighting all the rides that are equipped to handle our special guests.”

As the spiel went on Fluttershy quietly whispered to Scootaloo. “What does she mean by 'special' guests?”

“Usually? Overweight. They retrofitted a lot of the rides with a couple of seats to handle humans who are too fat to fit on the normal rides. One of the guys on their board of directors is only alive today because of my genetic treatment so when they did the retrofit, they made sure I could ride too. That's also why we get in free.”

When the introductions were over, Tyler, Twilight and Pinkie set off in search of the 'Steam Spider' while Scootaloo chuckled to herself.

“Um... What's funny?”

Scootaloo snickered. “The Steam Spider is one of the older spinning rides that predates modern ergonomics and ride design and its a great way to make a newbie sick. Agent Tyler has an... interesting sense of humor.”

Fluttershy looked after them, unsure whether to call out a warning.

“Oh don't worry, they'll be fine.” She waved after them dismissively before turning her full attention to Fluttershy. “I want to take you on your first roller-coaster. Why don't we start with this one?”

The indicated coaster on the map was an marked 'steel, intermediate' and had a snake name. Fluttershy looked at the cartoon drawing on the map and smiled. “That looks nice. A quite ride on a train.”

The ride in question had an enclosed loading station, and Scootaloo led the way as she probed her guest for information. “So, Fluttershy, you used to be a model for a while right?”

She grimaced at the memory. “Oh yes, but I didn't like it. I was glad when Rarity got me out of that mess.”

“Well on this world, female models are usually frail and weak, the lightest of the lightweights. Would I be right to guess that you are a bit lighter than some of your friends?”

Fluttershy blushed. “Oh... Well maybe a little, but it's not polite to talk about it...”

“That's okay, I was just wondering if that was also why you have a fear of heights and flying? Much like a human model would fear any sport that involved lifting heavy things over her head and holding them there?”

“Well... I suppose I never thought about that... You think being... A little weak... as a flier is what made Photo Finish like me?”

“I've thought so for a while actually, that's why I wanted to take you here.”

They attracted a few stares as they made their way thought the weekday crowds, but by and large, people left them be, though Fluttershy still found herself blushing a bit at all the attention. When they arrived at the back entrance to the ride Scootaloo pulled Fluttershy into the tunnel before she could get a good look at the ride.
“Okay, Fluttershy, before we start I need you to understand one thing. What we are about to do may look or feel scary, but it is actually very safe.”

Fluttershy didn't like the sound of that at all.
“Scary?”

“Yes. These rides are built to very strict standards. You have to understand that you are totally and completely safe on these. They are supposed to look and feel scary, but they are actually safe.”

Fluttershy had begun to quiver a bit as she took a step back. “You're sure?”

Scootaloo thought a moment. “Are campfire stories scary? And are they really dangerous? This is the same way. They look and sound scary, but they are really harmless.”

Fluttershy seemed to mull that over. “Well, some of those stories can be scary, but you're right, they are just stories...”

“Exactly. Now you may not be the best flier, but humans, they can't fly at all. We're going to go sit down in the special seats in the middle of the train and the shoulder harness is going to come down and hold us in so that no mater what happens we can't possibly fall out. Then the train is going to go up a hill and 'fly' through a bunch of turns and loops, a lot like what Rainbow does.”

Her eyes widened and she squeaked out. “Loops?!”

“Yes Fluttershy, loops. Just remember, you're safe, the danger is only campfire story danger. I want you to do this with me because you've never had the chance to really enjoy flying. Every time you take wing, you know you're weaker then everyone else, and you know what happens if your wings give out. That has to be scary.”

She shivered and nodded. “I don't like to admit it, but... yes...” She hung her head in shame.

“Hey, don't give me that look.” Scootaloo admonished with a smile as she put a hand under her chin. “This is going to be fun. Just this once you get to fly like the best, and you don't have to be afraid. Will you join me... Please?”

Fluttershy seemed conflicted, and Scootaloo stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her. “Come on Fluttershy, I invited the others because they would enjoy this but you're the real reason we're here. Will you please give it a try?”

At length she got the nod she had been waiting for, and without a backward glance she took Fluttershy's hoof and drug her up the stairs to the station. The team on the platform had watched the entire exchange though the monitor cameras, and as Fluttershy emerged onto the platform the attendant called out over the PA. “All right Fluttershy! You go girlfriend!”

She blushed fiercely as several of the ride-ops started applauding and shouting encouragement, and those waiting in line began to join in. As the next train arrived and emptied out two ride-ops helped the ponies into the larger seats in the middle of the train and pulled the shoulder harness down and snugly into place. The rest of the train quickly filled, and Fluttershy was too preoccupied with all the attention to really take in her surroundings.

“And we will see you all back here in two minutes! Have a great ride!”

The train slid forward, engaged the lift chain, and soon their car tilted back as they began ascending the lift hill. With the station behind them, Fluttershy took a moment to examine her seat.
“I... I can't get out!”

“Easy there, calm down. You can get out at the station. Humans can't fly remember? They built it this way so you can't fall out. You're safe here. Campfire scary remember?”

Fluttershy nodded and actually did settle down. Until she looked forward that is.
“That's a really tall hill...” She swallowed visibly. “A really really tall hill!” She looked to the side at the ground receding below them and shivered. “What... What happens when we get to the other side of the hill?”

Scootaloo smiled and took Fluttershy's hoof in her hand as the first car crested the top of the hill. “We fly like Rainbow Dash. Here we gooo!”

Fluttershy's eyes practically bugged out of her head as the near vertical drop opened up before them.

…

As the train pulled into the station, Fluttershy looked a bit dazed as she stared off into space.
“All right everypony! Did you enjoy your ride?!” Cheers erupted as the girl on the PA continued to whip up the crowd. “How about you Fluttershy?'

Scootaloo looked at her with concern, not quite sure how she had taken this.

Fluttershy slowly seemed to come out it, and with a visible blush, she looked at the nearest ride-op and asked in a voice that was almost a whisper. “Um... Can... Can I ride again please?”

The ride-op repeated her question out loud with obvious glee, and the whole station erupted in applause and cheers.
“All right Fluttershy! Lets load this train and give the pony what she wants!”

On the next three runs Fluttershy woke up more and more, and by her fourth ride she was screaming with glee and waving her hooves with the best of them. As the train slid into the station for the fourth time, Scootaloo suggested they give some others a chance to ride as well and her guest reluctantly agreed. They let the rest of the crowd go first, then walked down the exit stairwell together as Scootaloo asked. “Well? How did if feel to fly like a pro and really enjoy it?”

Fluttershy blushed as she replied. “It was very nice... but...”

Scootaloo watched her carefully and waited for her to finish.

“Do all the roller coasters feel like... that?”

“Well that was an average enough metal one; sit down cars with bucket seats, full shoulder harness, the usual. They also make coasters out of wood, and those usually have simpler cars with just a lap bar. They don't do loops and they're usually smaller and rougher, but some people like them better.”

“Oh. I just wondered... That seat made me feel...” She trailed off and blushed bright red.

“Oh... OH!” Scootaloo blushed too. “Yes, um... Some roller coasters have been known to have that effect.”

Looking for a change of subject she pulled out the map and selected a moderate wooden coaster that wasn't far off. “Why don't we try this one? Then you can decide for yourself which you like better, steel or wooden roller coasters.”

Fluttershy followed behind as Scootaloo led the way to the coaster and up the exit ramp to the platform. Word of their arrival was already starting to spread among the ride-operators, and they were once again greeted by name to the cheers of the modest weekday crowd. The were soon seated in the special modified car at the center of the train as the train slid out of the station and around a curve to the lift hill.

Fluttershy pulled at the simple lap bar holding them onto the bench seat. “Um... how do we-?”

Scootaloo smiled and put a hand on her shoulder again. “It's to keep the humans who can't fly from falling out, remember? They'll unlock it when we get back to the station.”

Fluttershy blushed a bit as the chain engaged with a solid 'CLACK' and began pulling the cars up the lift hill. They could both feel every bump and imperfection in the track as the train rolled steadily upward and Fluttershy's blush was joined by a look of fear as they crested the top of the lift hill.

“Here we go!”

The ride was very different from the last coaster, and Fluttershy found herself being violently jarred and pounded against the side of the car on her left and Scootaloo on her right. The turns and hills wiped by at a frightening speed, and the pass through the darkened tunnel nearly deafened her as she squealed and clutched the handles, but soon enough the train slid to a stop. Scootaloo could see the next train loading up ahead of them, and when she looked back she saw Fluttershy close her eyes and make a funny face as her whole body twitched visibly.

Scootaloo smiled. “Want to go again?”

Fluttershy took a deep shuddering breath and finally opened her eyes to give a meek little nod.

Five runs later, Fluttershy felt the beginnings of a headache and allowed Scootaloo to lead her off the ride on her suddenly unsteady legs.

"So, wooden or steel?"

The flustered pegasus leaned against the railing to steady herself as she blushed absolutely scarlet. "Uh... I like the wooden ones best... they're... nice."

Scootaloo just smiled and shook her head.
“Feel like having lunch?”

“Um... I guess so... What sort of food do they have?”

“Ever hear of 'Potato Patch Fries'?” Fluttershy shook her head. “You'll like them. They put an entire potato through the potato shunker, deep fry it and serve it up. Come on, I'm buying.”

The smell coming from the stand was mouth watering, and soon enough they were at the front of the line. Scootaloo took her's with cheese and ketchup, but when the cashier asked Fluttershy if she wanted cheese she shuddered and shook her head.
After they had eaten a couple of helpings each, Fluttershy did consed that the fries were 'nice'.

…

Across the park, Agent Tyler was leading the two seasick ponies through the game stalls in an attempt to calm their stomachs. They spent a solid half hour in the arcade before Pinkie found the balloon pop stall.

“Hey, what kind of game is this?” She asked the bored looking barker who was manning the booth.

“Eh, it's the classic balloon game. You give me three bucks, I give you five darts. For every balloon you pop you get a stuffed toy.”

Pinkie quickly surveyed the racks of stuffed animals and her eyes lit up as she spied an entire shelf devoted to ponies.

“Oh! Oh! I want the pink Pinkie Pie!”

“You got three bucks?”

Pinkie stood on her back hooves and made a show of pulling the linings out of her empty pockets in the pants she wasn't wearing. The barker blinked at odd gesture, evidently unable to see the pocket linings and shrugged.
“No money, no play.”

Seeing Pinkies sad expression, Twilight stalked over and placed three dollars on the counter. “Five darts please.”

The barker snorted. “Another one of you? Fine, have at it sweetie.”

Twilight grimaced as she picked up the darts and with a surge of magic hurled them at the targets where they drove through the balloons and deep into the plywood backing with a resounding 'THUNK!'.

“Thank you very much.” She said politely as the barker stared in surprise at the embedded darts. “I'd like that one right there if you-”

“Hey hey hey! You can't do that!”

“Do what?”

His face was turning red as he growled at the purple pony. “Whatever the hell that was! You want to win the prizes, ya got a use your hands!”

With a sigh Twilight plunked down another three dollars, but the barker just ignored her as he tried and failed to remove the darts from the board.

A few minutes later Agent Tyler wandered over to see the two ponies watching the man swearing as he attempted to yank the last dart out of the wooden backing with a pair of pliers.

“Is something the matter here?” She asked evenly.

“No.” Pinkie answered. “The man just says Twilight isn't allowed to use her magic.”

“There!” He finished as the last dart came loose. “Here's your five darts. And this time, ya better use your hands like normal.”

Twilight took the first dart in one hoof and he seemed to look at her and shrug before waving her on.
The first dart missed the balloons altogether.
The next three darts hit balloons, but just bounced off and failed to pop them.
As she stood there holding her last dart in her hoof Agent Tyler stepped closer and whispered in her ear. “Throw it in an arc so it hits the balloon as it falls.”
Twilight thought about it and did her best to do as instructed.

The balloon burst and Twilight gave a not entirely ladylike yell of joy. “All right! I mean... Um, yes. I'd like that one please.” She finished sheepishly indicating the little orange stuffed pony with the blue mane.

“Ya ya. Here you go.” He replied in irritation.

Twilight took the single stuffed pony and admired it for a moment. The sound of money hitting the counter with the thud of a fist made her look up.

“My turn now.”
Agent Tyler's expression betrayed just a hint of anger as she took the twenty darts in hand.

And proceeded to pop twelve balloon using only five of them.

Both ponies and the barker stared in shock as she indicated the items on the pony shelf. “Start with that one.” She said indicating Pinkie's favorite “and work your way left. Oh, and duck.”

With that she proceeded to clear the board of most remaining balloons, a small mountain of stuffed fuzzy toys building up beside her. “Pinkie? Would you be so kind as to find some children who would enjoy these toys?”
Pinkie's smile threatened to split her head as she grabbed a hoof load of toys and ran off to find more children. Twilight leaned in to ask conspiratorially “How did you get to be so good at this?”

The Agent showed just a hint of a smile as she plunked down another twenty one dollars and laid waste to the new balloons almost as fast as they were replaced, the mound of toys continuing to grow.
“Well, all agent's receive training with a variety of weapons, and if one such skill turns out to be particularly useful in bars...”
The balloon genocide continued until the Agent had emptied the booth completely of stuffed toys. The barker had taken one look at the badge on her belt and decided he would rather explain this loss to his superiors than deal with her.

As the three of them walked away from the mound of toys surrounded by a crowd of adorable children, no one seemed to notice Tyler tuck two Scootaloos for the twins and four Rainbow dashes into her bag...

Ch 3.18 Day Trip Into Orbit

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Eighteen: Day Trip into Orbit

Since their arrival they had all heard about how Scootaloo's research participation had turned the world of medicine upside-down, and with Celestia's DNA sequences and the translation of the 'language of magic' now in hand a new revolution was brewing behind laboratory doors around the world.

After the work Rainbow had put in for NASA, a number of important people made some calls, and one of the commercial companies that was now in the Low Earth Orbit tourism business soon made them an offer that was too good to pass up.

Scootaloo, her family, Agent Tyler, Agent Glover, and Twilight knew what to expect, but out of a sense of shared mischief, they had intentionally been light on the details they provided to the others who only knew they were trying out a new method of travel to distant lands.

The flight to the spaceport was straightforward enough but for the fidgeting of the Pegasi who felt the slightest of tingles in their wings. Under normal conditions, the EMFR drive spread out over such a large area that the local effect was only enough to scramble compass needles, but the effect could be perceived by another, similar drive. In Equestria, a tingling in the wings usually meant you were in Cloudsdale, surrounded by the familiar feeling of hundreds of other Pegasi, but now as they approached the spaceport, Rainbow was surprised to felt the familiar tingle.

“Where did you say we were going again?”

Scootaloo grinned. “We're going sightseeing in a new flying machine; see, look out the window.”

As their plane came in for landing they all looked out at the strange sight before them. Instead of a rocket launch pad or a runway there were several towers, all of them nearly fifty stories tall and constructed of a visible steel framework. The walls, or perhaps 'baffling' would be a more accurate term, were at best a crude windguard, but the important part seemed to be on top.
The tops of the towers looked like a boat dock, and while some were empty, several were swarming with activity as crews loaded cargo and performed maintenance on the... well, they were strangely squidlike, but seemed like ships, these things that occupied the docks. While the tops of the crafts varied considerably in design and shape, all of them trailed long black metallic tendrils behind and beneath them, stretching nearly all the way to the ground like some enormous mechanical jellyfish.

“What in Equestria are those things?” Rainbow asked as the plane sunk lower and the tops of the towers were lost from sight above them.

Twilight deadpanned “You didn't look up that video I told you to did you? You know, 'All Alone in the Night - Time-lapse footage of the Earth'?”

Rainbow shook her head sheepishly and Twilight sighed.

“Those are what we'll be riding on. They fly the same way we do, but they're built for heavy lifting, and they can go really, really high. Those long things trailing out underneath are the way they dump heat from the power plant – see? If you look carefully you can see the heat ripples coming off them from the hot air.”

“Looks like somepony has been studying hard these past few days.” Scootaloo complemented. “I knew you were a quick learner, but we only glanced over this stuff. You went back and learned all about these on your own?”

“Of course!” Twilight laughed as she began to chatter away, lecturing on the subject at hand. “We don't have anything like this back home, well, I mean we fly the same way, but we never knew it was anything special! You humans actually figured out how it works, though even after reading the explanation for the physics of it, I still don't really understand it myself.” She frowned, irritable at a subject so difficult she couldn't wrap her head around it.
“Anyway, they figured it out somehow, and then it was just a matter of coming up with a power source. Humans have access to nuclear power, so that solved that problem. Each one of those ships has an on board fission reactor that splits uranium to make heat to boil water to spin a turbine and generate the power needed to run the EMFR drive. Of course all that steam has to be cooled back down, and run back through, so they need a cooling system that works in a vacuum, and that was no easy task. That's what the long cooling fins are for. They're hanging down right now, but after we take off and get higher, and the air thins out they'll curl up and out like a huge bush, and by the time we get halfway up they'll be glowing almost red hot as they dump all the waste heat.”

Even Celestia looked a bit mystified but before they could get into too many questions they arrived at the unloading terminal and were all herded out of the plane and down the corridor. After a few more twists and turns they came upon an elevator leading up the tower to a private birth on the orbital ship. It took several loads to get everyone on board, but as Celestia and Twilight stepped out of the elevator they both paused to take it all in.

Spread out before them was an enormous bubble dome of clear plastic big enough to fit an entire four story building. Most of the floor was covered in soft Velcro and there were patches of the white material dotting the insides of the dome in several places. Through the dome wall they could see several even larger domes spread out over the surface of the enormous ship, and many were crowded with people in brightly colored shirts sporting cameras and sunglasses.
The inside of the room was occupied by a modest snack bar, a very large room clearly marked as the bathroom, several racks of sporting equipment and a pool under some kind of pipe/ball sculpture in which Pinkie was already amusing herself, playing with Sophie Belle and Chaya.

A chime sounded twice.“Attention passengers: Departure in two minutes. Our climb today will take approximately three hours.”

As the ship vibrated slightly and pulled out of the dock, the dome darkened and the ponies and humans amused themselves with the kick balls, the food and the pool.

“All right everyone, just kick back and relax, this is going to take a while.”

…

Applejack noticed it first. She had been sitting and talking at the snack bar about gardening with Kevin and the prospects of getting Zap Apples to grow on earth when she tossed an apple in the air, reached out to catch it and missed.
She held her hoof out for a moment gripping empty air, then looked up just in time to be hit in the muzzle as the apple fell leisurely back to the ground. She picked the apple back up, looked at it suspiciously and tossed it back into the air, watching it carefully this time. The apple flew almost twice as high as she expected, and fell much more slowly, finally arriving back in her hoof three seconds later. She looked across at Kevin in confusion and got a knowing smile in return.

“Okay, I’ll bite.” She responded slowly. “What did you do to the apple?”

Scootaloo flew over and landed beside them, a look of poorly feigned innocence on her face. “Is something wrong?”

Applejack just stared at her with a flat look and Scootaloo’s expression of ‘who me?’ gradually cracked as she smiled, then broke down in laughter. The others turned to look at them with expressions ranging between confusion and smug grins, and Scootaloo was grinning too as she called out to Pinkie and the kids who were still splashing in the pool.

“Sophie Belle? Chaya? You can fly now.”

There was yell of glee as the two foals burst from the pool, wings buzzing frantically as they took to the air in a shower of water.

That got Celestia’s attention.

“What is happening? How can they fly now when before..?”

Scootaloo and her family all gathered around as she smiled warmly at them all. “Despite everything that has gone wrong, we all are very grateful that you came came looking for me. This is one of the ways we have of saying thank you. You are about to see something no pony has seen in a very long time.”

The interior lighting dimmed out and the dome which had been dark across its entire circumference slowly lightened to transparency. There were a few gasps, but aside from that, the only sound in the entire room came from the buzzing of wings and yells of joy as the foals looped and played overhead.

The ship had already cleared the atmosphere, and was accelerating just enough to tilt a few degrees forward allowing a view of the world below. The sky was lit by bright stars beyond count and below them the darkened earth was illuminated in patches of light where cities straddled the sea and made the coastlines visible.

They all stared as the world rotated slowly below them. Finally David broke the silence. “What you are seeing, the very fact that we are here at all, is all thanks to Scootaloo's arrival in our world. The colonies on Mars and the outer planets, the orbital cities, all of this is only possible because of her. In a few more years, once we have pored over all the data you have given us we can expect even more wonders like this, and that is above and beyond all the lives she has already saved through advances in medical technology.”
“I know you have heard a lot of this before, but we wanted to take you up here today and show you first hand what your participation has done. Your help has mattered, probably more than you know.

“My goodness!” Rarity gasped in awe.

“Whoa...” Rainbow mumbled, actually falling silent for the first time in hours.

“I can see your house from up here!” Pinkie grinned.

Kevin put a hand on the moist fur of her withers and smiled. “Um, actually, that's the wrong part of the globe. See, there is the horn of Africa, Egypt, and up there you can make out the outline of Italy. All of this is many thousands of miles from our house.”

Rainbow's silence hadn't lasted long. “The view up here is incredible, but why can't I fly this high? I can't even get as high as that jet from a few days ago.”

Twilight put on her best lecturing voice and began answering with all the pent up speeches she had been saving. “Well, we made it out of the breathable atmosphere in just a few minutes, so with nothing to breathe, you couldn't keep flying no matter how hard you tried. See that blue/green haze out on the horizon? That's the atmosphere way down there below us.”

“But... If there is no air outside...” Fluttershy was beginning to look very nervous.

“We brought our own air.” Twilight answered. “This is a spaceship, one built for tourists like us, that's why they put in this dome; so we could all enjoy the view. There hasn't been any air outside the dome for hours now.”

“So... What would happen if I tried to fly out there right now?”
“You'd die stupid.”
“What?! Why?”
“What normally happens if you put your head underwater for a long time genius?”
“Oh... But there isn't any water out there!”
Dashie face hoofed with an audible 'clunk' of hoof on head.
“Ow! What did you do that for?”

Twilight jumped back in. “That question gets asked often enough they actually do have a way to show you if you want to try it. There's a special airlock out there that will let you go outside for about sixty seconds if you really want to, but it's not a fun experience for most ponies. If you have a cold, or other ear blockage it can be like going into a long dive where your ears will pop painfully, only in this case you can blow out your eardrum altogether. They can fix it with minor surgery, but until then you'd be deaf, and it would be very painful.”

“That sounds dangerous.” Celestia interjected. “Why is such a thing allowed?”

Twilight's smile grew even larger as she turned to teach her mentor. “Well, we are high above the upper boundaries of earth nations, so we technically fall under the laws and regulations of the orbital cities. They take the view that you can do just about whatever you want, provided it doesn't harm others, so if you want to do something dangerous to yourself, that's your affair, but it also means you can't come crying to them if something bad happens.”

“Yeah, it's still kind of the Wild West up here.” Scootaloo added.

“Well I want to try it. I've never had problems with my ears popping, and I bet I can breathe just fine out there.”
“Oh good lord.”
“What? You don't have the guts?”
Rainbows head turned to look at Twilight with that mixed expression she got when the two disagreed. “Aside from the ears, this is safe, right?”

Twilight looked a bit concerned. “Well... There have been a few accidents. Some humans have died, but it's usually those who are overweight or in poor physical condition.”

“Well I'm in great shape. Lets do this!”
“Fine. But you're taking over for this, cloud herder.”
Rainbows cross-eyed look vanished and she straitened up visibly. Agent Tyler was smiling mischievously as she pressed a button on the wall to call one of the attendants. “Okay, let’s go with that. Just remember not to look at the sun. Out here you can blind yourself in seconds.”

Two tour guides brought out the harness and after some fiddling, managed to make it more or less fit her as a third guide presented her a waiver to sign. With the formalities out of the way, they led her to the airlock on the side of the room and went over the check list one more time.

“Okay, Ms. Rainbow, why don't you repeat back to me what you need to do.”

Rainbow replied in a bored voice. “When the light goes red the air is going to rush out the door. I have to keep my mouth open and let the air escape my lungs, and when the doors open I will get to fly to the end of this rope and look around for a few seconds before you pull me back in.”

“Okay, just step in here, and when you are ready, press the big red button.”

The others looked on with some concern as Rainbow stepped into the airlock, and the guides secured her tether to the winch in the wall. They stepped out, closed the hatch, and everyone watched through the video monitor and through the dome as Rainbow pressed the button.

There was a loud rushing of air for a few short seconds, and a cloud of white smoke seemed to blast from the outer door just below the edge of the dome. Rainbow took it like a trooper and when the doors opened a moment later she galloped out on her own and reached the end of the tether in seconds as she looked around the outside of the ship.

The feeling was very strange; she couldn't feel anything touching her, yet her right flank in the sun was already getting very hot, while the rest of her felt... well, muffled. The view was spectacular, clearer then the clearest spring mountain day, and she could easily pick out tiny details on the ship hundreds of feet away, but the really odd thing though was the silence. It wasn't just quiet, it was as though sound had broken, and as she looked around and listened, she could actually hear the beating of her own heart. She was already starting to feel faint, and she tried to breathe, but the guides had been quite specific on that subject, and try as she might, she couldn't catch her breath. She tried to walk the short distance back to the airlock, but she was already swaying badly, and she blacked out and collapsed a few feet shy of the door. There were gasps of shock from the other ponies, but the tour guides didn't even blink, they just hit the button to drag her in by the winch attached to her harness, closed the outer door and filled the airlock.

“Don't worry, most of them pass out before they can get back.” One of them consoled the group. “We can't actually tell how much oxygen is in our blood; all the systems that tell us when we need to breathe are tied to our levels of CO2, or what we breathe out. In the vacuum you can breathe out CO2 just fine, so you don't feel the need to breathe. Most of our tough guy astronauts don't even get as much warning as she did before they black out.”

The inner door opened and the guides swarmed in, performed a quick check of her vitals as best they could on a pony, and gave her a lungful of an oxygen/CO2 mix that made her body gasp for breath as her internal CO2 levels rapidly rose and forced her to start breathing again. Her eyes fluttered open to see her friends gathered around her.
“I'm... I'm okay... Really...” She gasped as she continued to breathe deeply.
“Yeah, cloud herder here will be fine, just give her a minute to recover.”

There were a few chuckles at this and a lot of relieved looks, but Applejack still wore a frown.
“Scoot, I get that we're flying really high, but you never did explain what you did to this here apple.”

One of the guides looked at Scootaloo in consternation. “You didn't tell them we were going into orbit?”

“Oh, some of us knew.” Twilight replied. “How long is it until we arrive?”

“Well, this is the last half hour of the trip, most of our output is going into horizontal speed instead of vertical climb, so the gravity will start to drop away quickly now.”

“You done broke the gravity?!” Applejack asked in alarm.

Kevin spoke up. “Not exactly. Haven't you noticed that you feel a bit lighter on your feet? And that Sophie Belle and Chaya can fly now?”

Most of the ponies looked like they were trying to figure out if they should be worried or not.

“It's not just the apple. The ship is picking up speed, and in a few minutes we'll enter low earth orbit. Orbit means that when you turn off all the power sources you just fall endlessly towards the earth, but you never get there.”

“Ahem.” Rarity cleared her throat. “It may have been a while since my school years,” She paused and quickly added “Well, not that long of course, but I still don't see how something could fall and not hit the ground.”

“That's a very good question Rarity!” Twilight answered with what Scootaloo had come to think of as her 'teacher smile'. “You see, when you drop something, gravity pulls it straight down, and it hits the ground in moments. But what if you throw something? It still drops, but it also travels horizontally as it falls.”

“So what? No matter how hard you throw something, it always falls down again. Ow!” Rainbow added as one of her own hooves smacked her on the nose.

“Well yes, but that's only because we can't throw very hard. You all know the world is round; what would happen if you threw something so hard that for every foot if fell down, it traveled so far horizontally that the ground underneath it dropped away a foot?”

Pinkie answered from the back. “The thing you threw would fall, but never hit the ground! That is so neat!” She paused in mid bounce. “But, if that's true, then who threw the moon?”

If possible, Twilight's grin grew larger. “See me after class and I'll explain. But at any rate, we have been going higher and faster for almost three hours now, and we are about to reach orbit too!”

“You mean... we are going to be trapped up here forever like the moon?!” Fluttershy half squeaked.

Twilight laughed and hugged Fluttershy. “No silly, we have engines, we can come down whenever we like, but we do get to fall for a few hours.” And with that she jumped as high as she could, which turned out to be almost six feet. “Whoo-hoo! Come on girls, last one in the pool is a rotten egg!”

As the ship eased into orbit over the next ten minutes, the force of gravity became weaker and weaker until everyone else joined Sophie Belle and Chaya flying around the dome. The foals may have gotten a head start, but the others turned out to enjoy the weightlessness just as much, and Pinkie Pie soon invented a game she called 'pony pinball' and had foals, humans and even the princess bouncing around the dome and laughing. Best of all, only a few of them needed paper bags before they adjusted, and soon even Fluttershy lost her green look and joined the rest of them.

The pool had lifted out of its bed, and the strange spherical pipe sculpture turned out to be an elaborate air blower system that held the water more or less in place in one enormous droplet twenty feet across. As they frolicked in the three dimensional pool, Pinkie dug out some special scoops and sent them flying for others to grab.

“Hey Twilight, what are these fo-” Rainbows question was cut off as a ball of water caught her full in the face leaving her sputtering as a nebula of tiny droplets exploded from her head.

“Waterball fight!” Pinkie yelled. Those nearby paused to look at her and she shrugged. “Snowball, waterball, what’s the difference?” Before letting fly again, this time catching Rarity in the flank.

“Oh!” She squealed as the water exploded around her, some of it clinging to her coat like a sponge. She turned and fixed Pinkie with a playfully evil grin as her horn glowed. “It. Is. On!”

“Ha! You don’t have a water ball thrower! You ca-” Pinky was interrupted as a magically lobbed water ball the size of a beach ball hit her from above, fully submerging her for a moment before she emerged sputtering, and with a shake of her head began throwing pieces the ball at Rarity and anyone else who got within range. Inside of ten minutes everypony was soaked to the skin, feathers, or coat as the case might be, and as the bizarre three dimensional war waged on to the sound of laughing voices, Scootaloo and Twilight retired behind the snack bar and pulled down the screen to keep out errant shots.

It was in the middle of all this that Twilight shook her head, and as her bangs floated around her head, Scootaloo saw it; The telltale shaved spot with a half dollar sized bandage on her temple.

“Hey Twilight, I'm glad to see you decided to join the rest of us cyborgs.” Scootaloo smiled.

“Oh! Uh, yeah...” Twilight rubbed the back of her head selfconsciously. “The more I used your internet, the more uses I had for it, and eventually, the appeal of the chip won out.” She looked sheepish as she asked. “You won't tell the others yet will you?”

She grinned. “I won't, but I think they'll figure it out in time. Is it up and running yet?”

“Not yet. They said it may take a few days to get the first signals, and then it should slowly come online over a couple weeks.” Twilight actually pranced in place with excitement, slowly drifting away from the floor as she sang; “I'm going to have a library in my head!”

Scootaloo just shook her head and smiled. 'Some ponies.'

Ch 3.19 Impossible Choices

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Nineteen: Impossible Choices

Since the rescue of Fluttershy and Applejack they had all been avoiding the topic, but with the arrival of Scootaloo’s stored personality, they could do so no longer.

At the appointed time and in what the scientists had taken to calling the hospital ‘gate room’, a bright glow formed in mid-air, flashed, and a crystal sphere fell into the padded basket on the floor. Celestia lifted the softball sized sphere and looked it over; Luna had taken two halves of a hollow crystal ball and screwed them together with the personality stored inside. As Celestia turned to face the assembled ponies they could see the swirling magic contained in the sphere as it glowed softly, waiting to be re-united with a pony.

“That’s… That’s what I used to be?” Scootaloo asked quietly as they stared.

“Yes. This is the stored personality of who you were before the accident. This is the pony we came here in search of… I am sorry this did not work out as we planned.” Celestia replied with real regret.

The silence stretched on.

Pinkie was starting to tear up as she asked. “Isn’t there some other way to do this? Couldn’t we find a volunteer human to bring her back?”

Rainbow put a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry Pinkie, but Mary and I talked about this with you, remember? Scootaloo is a pegasus like me; she’s wanted to fly all her life! Even if Scoot could find a comatose human body as a donor, and if we could do it safely, the little foal we know would never fly again.”

Celestia nodded and asked the question they had all been dreading. “Have you decided whether it will be Sophie Belle or Chaya? We have several days to choose, but the personality does have to be released soon.”

Scootaloo shifted her weight from hoof to hoof as she tried not to cry. David knelt down and held her close in a hug, gently squeezing her. “You know you don’t have to do this right? They’re our foals. No one has the right to do this to them.”

Scootaloo’s resolve cracked as she tried to choke back a sob. “But what about their Scootaloo? How can we condemn her? I have to help her if I can…” Memories of Sophie Belle’s first words, of Chaya learning to walk flashed unbidden through her mind as tears ran down her cheeks. “Maybe I could serve as-”

David shook his head and held her tighter. “We’ve been over this Scoot. We can’t subject a child to an adult’s life. Even if we gave up sex for years, you perform emergency surgery on ER patients. We couldn’t ask a child to stare unblinking at what you see on a daily basis and that’s assuming you even could operate with smooth hands while dealing with that kind of inner turmoil. But just because you can’t host your old mind” He finished through gritted teeth, “does not mean that we have to sacrifice one of our children!”

“Well, how else are could we bring her back?!” Rarity asked, tears streaming down her face. “We must do what we can to save her! We can’t just leave her like this!” She added, indicating the crystal sphere.

“This is wrong.” Twilight intoned forcefully, her own eyes starting to water. “We can’t destroy her daughter’s life like this!”

“Well what do you want us to do?!” Rainbow yelled. “I care about Scootaloo! She was almost big enough for flight camp and I wanted to be the one to show her how to fly! We can’t just abandon her!”

“I don’t know!” Twilight sobbed. “But we can’t destroy one life to save another!”

“Maybe… Maybe it won’t be that bad…” Rarity suggested weakly. “Is it possible they could grow up together like sisters?”

“That’s possible,” Mary conceded “but much more likely, the stronger more mature personality would simply overwhelm the younger weaker one. We would probably get an answer from both of them for the first few days, but as time went on, the younger one would learn to rely on the older personality more and more until it was absorbed. At some point we would ask to talk to Sophie Belle and… and there would be no answer.”

“You can’t know that!” Rainbow accused.

Mary hung her head. “You’re right, I can’t be sure. But what if I am right? Are you okay with Sophie Belle’s end if it brings back Scootaloo?”

Their discussion was interrupted by the sound of tiny hooves as the twins came bounding into the room, Agent Tyler trailing behind them. Little as they were, they still had spent a lot of time in hospitals and most of the room and equipment held little interest for them. They each ran straight for the group, delighted to spend time with their new friends.

“Rainbow! Can you tell me the rest of the story now?”

“Yeah, did you win the race against the dragon?”

Apart from the foals there was a stony silence as the two pranced in a circle around Rainbow, peppering her with questions. Scootaloo hid her face so they couldn’t see her tears, but even so they soon picked up the impression that something was very wrong when Rainbow remained silent.

“Rainbow?” Chaya asked nervously.

“What’s wrong?” Sophie Belle asked as her eyes widened in concern. “Are you okay?”

“I’m… we’re just trying to make a hard decision, squirt.” Rainbow answered as she wiped her eyes.

Chaya's face fell as she hugged the blue pegasus.
"I'm sorry Rainbow..."

Sophie Belle spoke up worriedly from where she had wrapped her little legs around one of Rainbow's front legs.
"Can we make it better?"

Even Rainbow felt like cad as she gently stroked Sophie's mane. “Maybe... How... How do you feel about having an older sister?”

There was a sharp intake of breath from Fluttershy who was staring at Rainbow in shock.

“NO.” Twilight interjected, forcefully this time. “This is not okay. We are not doing this.”

“Is Mommy going to have another baby?” Chaya asked, somewhat confused.

Rarity gently gathered up the twins in her magic and led them back out of the room. “Something like that… Come on, why don’t we go out for some ice cream?”

“Yay!”

Agent Tyler was standing off to one side and as she watched them go her face revealed signs of some inner turmoil, though at the moment none of them took much notice.

“I know we have no good options Twilight, but I do not see any other way.” Celestia answered.

“Princess, this is wrong! We can’t do this to those poor innocent foals!”

Celstia hung her head. “Do you have an alternative?”

“Yes.” Twilight planted her hooves and looked the princess in the eye. “We try to put her into a comatose human.”

“But… She could die!” Fluttershy squeaked.

“And even if she survived she’d never fly again!” Rainbow added. “How could you do that to her?!”

An unexpected voice interrupted them.
“Stop. Just stop.”
All those assembled looked over at Agent Tyler who had finally spoken up.

“There is another way… But even telling you about it is a breach of national security…” She hung her head and with great force of will straightened up and made her decision. “But there is no way I’m letting one of my best friends do this to her children.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked. “What other way?”

“Sophie Belle and Chaya are not the only clones of Scootaloo on earth.”

She let that sink in for a moment as they all gaped.

“While Scootaloo has always given away all the medical information she had, there were some countries… despicable countries… who wanted access for their own studies. Studies that wouldn’t get ethics board approval.”

She swallowed hard and seemed to be wrestling with something as she continued. “Almost a decade ago, one of these regimes was in financial trouble and when we found out what they were doing we stepped in and… did what we could. For the past nine years or so a small branch of the US government has had in our possession four orange ponies who have been kept asleep. They have never woken up, and their minds are blank, a perfect fit for your homeless Scootaloo” She added with a gesture to the sphere before turning to back to an astonished Scootaloo. “I am sorry I couldn’t tell you before. This may very well mean the end of my career, but I could not let you go ahead with this.”

She sighed and turned from the assembled ponies as she made for the door. “I’m going to tell my superior I just betrayed classified information to a foreign national. If I’m still free in a few hours, I should be seeing you at their bedsides this afternoon.”

They all watched in stunned silence as the stern agent turned and walked slowly from the room.

…

“Wow... they look just like me.” Scootaloo mumbled. “I'm not sure what I was expecting... but...”

The others entered the hospital room after them, looking at the four foals in their hospital beds, most not sure what to make of them. The four looked identical to the pony they knew and remembered and were only a bit younger, perhaps eight or nine years old, but there the similarities ended. Each pony appeared to be sleeping but there were bandages over some of their eyes to keep out dust, and a network of tubes and IV's surrounded them to keep them fed and hydrated. Celestia alone noted that each of them had a small stuffed Rainbow Dash doll tucked under their pillow...

“And you said they've never been awake?” Rarity asked with some trepidation.

Agent Tyler took longer than usual to respond, and Celestia, watching from the behind couldn't help but notice she was still wearing her sunglasses despite being inside the hospital.
“For all practical purposes, yes. We brought each one of them out from their comas shortly after we... acquired them. None showed any intelligence more advanced than a newborn… They should be suitable candidates for your transplanted mind.” she finished in a voice that was oddly devoid of emotion.

“This is incredible!” Scootaloo replied with a smile. “Thanks to you, Sophie Belle and Chaya will be okay!” She turned and hugged Agent Tyler hard enough to strain her ribs. “Thank you so much for saving them!”

Agent Tyler did not return her smile.
“It was the right thing to do, but releasing classified information is no minor offense. I couldn't let you do that to your own daughters, but this could mean the end of my time protecting you.”

As the princess looked at Agent Tyler, she could feel something... odd, like a terrible storm dimly heard, rumbling on the distant horizon of her mind.

“Well, I, for one, will not forget what you have done today. If you need any help you have but to ask.”

The others smiled and cheered as Celestia reached out and put a hoof on the agent's shoulder.

-Audio link-

-!-

At her touch, Celestia felt an electric shock and a memory so strong it tore at her mind. Like a huge wave washing her away, her reality faded and she was looking through the agent’s eyes on that night so many years ago.

They had suspected something was going on for some time but the higher-ups hadn't been interested enough to risk an international incident. Now with the lab being abandoned a defector on the inside had come to them begging for help.

The building was an unassuming structure, just another government construction project no different from the others in this part of the city, its guards and security gone with the project's support. Agent Tyler strided through the deepening darkness and though front door without any trouble, but the two children waiting for her inside, perhaps eight and ten years old gave her pause.

In a country were serfdom still existed and people were routine left starving to fund weapons research, she had become... familiar with the terrible blank look of starving children. These two however... there were deep black circles under their eyes and neither could have bathed or slept in days but... they were not hungry, yet they looked at her with that same blank expression she had seen too many times before.
It took her a moment to translate what they were saying.

“Have you come to save them?”

She nodded, a lump forming in her throat as the two of them showed a little hope.

“Did your father send you to wait for me?”

The younger child shook her head, and it was clear from her red eyes that she had been crying. “No... Daddy sent us up here to sleep a few hours ago...”

The two piles of neatly folded sleeping bags remained untouched beside them, bearing mute witness to the past several hours.

The little boy stood shakily and there were tears in his eyes as he helped his sister up. “You have to help us... We've already lost so many...”

His sister wrapped her arms around the startled agent, fresh tears flowing as she pleaded. “Please, I'll never ask for a pet ever again! I'll never ask for anything ever again, but we can't help them anymore! Please tell me you won't let any more of them die!”

Agent Tyler tried to comfort the crying child as her fellow agents joined her in the lobby. “It will be okay now, we're here to help. Could you show us the way?”

They fell in behind the sniffling children as they led the way downstairs to the laboratory, but as they passed through the last door what they saw brought the agents up cold.

There were dozens of them, looking just like the little girl she had protected all these years, but they were not brimming with life and love like the girl she knew. With the change in governmental priorities had come funding cuts, and as the manpower and financial support had run out they had just been allowed to die. Their emaciated forms lay where they had been left, a few of them still struggling for breath, many obviously sick and covered in sores.

The shock and rage Tyler had felt all those years ago were so strong that Celestia felt her chest tighten until it was physically painful. The defector, a low-level researcher, had been given the task of shuttering the lab and with the project over no one particularly cared what happened to the unused 'specimens'.

His superior had simply provided him with a dumpster.

He and his wife had been doing what they could to keep the poor things alive, but without drugs or supplies they had been fighting a losing battle. Their two young children had been cleaning and fetching water, struggling to do what they could, but the poor creatures had been waking up as the drugs that kept them comatose ran out. With the minds of infants they couldn't even eat solid food, and watered down formula could only keep a young child going for so long.

As tears streamed from under the agent's glasses she knew the hard truth was they had only this one trip. One unmarked box truck and three fellow agents.

That was all.

They would not be coming back.

With little time to spare, she worked with the researcher to find those who still had a chance and loaded them onto the truck. There had once been so many, but only a very few still had any chance at life. They did what they could, but all too soon the truck was full. The defector and his family worked hard to keep the weakest of them breathing as the other agents stood guard.

Agent Tyler went back one last time.

As she stepped back into the room, she could see some of the tiny forms still clinging to life, a few of them crying faintly, but most already too far gone to have the energy even for that.

The Agent felt something brush against her leg, and looked down to see a little orange pony, her belly shrunken and all her ribs standing out starkly as she struggling to lift her head and feebly brushed her hoof against the agent's leg. Her once beautiful eyes were sunken, her fur and mane matted, but still, she managed to look up at the agent with something like longing.

“Eomma?”

The dumpster stood against the wall, a lock of purple hair trailing out from under the closed lid.

The suppressor made a hollow scraping sound as it screwed onto the end of the barrel.

-!-

Celestia hadn't spoken for some time before the others noticed something was wrong. Now they all watched in alarm as tears ran freely from her sightless eyes as she and Agent Tyler stared blindly ahead, her hoof still gripping her shoulder tightly. They both shuddered, once, twice, then again and again and again, as a some horrible shared memory played out behind their eyes.

After what seemed like a very long time indeed, the pair shuddered one last time, and whatever was holding them seemed to finally release its grip. As they came back to reality, Applejack spoke up in alarm.

“Princess...? Are you all right?”

As the room came back into focus through her own eyes, Celestia reached up and touched the tears on her cheek, her voice strained and barely held together. “No... No, I'm not...” Her whole body shook as she took a deep breath and looked down at the agent who had turned to face her. Tears had left two trails from under her dark glasses but her face remained as expressionless as it had been since she had learned of this. Celestia had mistaken this to be fear at doing the right thing and risking her career. She now dearly wished she had been right.

“I have already cried for them.” The agent spoke softly to the silent room. “More times than you know over many years… I did all I could… In the hope that someday they could help the young woman standing before you.” Now, for the first time, the slightest trace of a smile touched her lips. “On that warm afternoon when we sat on the porch swings after her school protest… I never thought that they would one day save her children.”

Celestia was still reeling from what she had seen, but she now knew just what the agent had been forced to do in her role as Scootaloo's protector. She had stood by her for decades, and dealt with impossible choices to ensure Scootaloo led her life happy and free.
And now, after all that, she was worried that her superiors would simply dispose of her.

Since her arrival Celestia had felt out of her depth in this strange culture, but this at least was a situation she could at once understand and fix. She put her hoof back on the Agent's shoulder, deliberately making contact again. “I have seen a small token of what you have done to protect Scootaloo. Know this. From now on you are a citizen of Equestria and you will always be welcome in our world.”

Agent Tyler felt the first genuine smile in a very long time spread across her face as Celestia added. “Consider it a retirement gift.”

…

As the agent talked with Celestia, Twilight selected one of the comatose orange fillies and unscrewed the halves of the sphere, allowing the magic to spill out over the sleeping form before them. Like water sinking into parched ground, the magic soaked into her, and the foal before them shuddered, as it began to become her.
They waited for several minutes, but as nothing else happened, Scootaloo spoke up.

“Mary? Could we move her to one of the recovery rooms? This will probably take a while.”

Rarity asked the obvious question. “How long should this take?”

Mary tried to field that. “We don't know for sure, but I should at least be able to give you a minimum time. When Agent Tyler snuck them into our hospital,” (she made a mental note to ask the how she had pulled that off,) “she also gave us access to all their medical records. Their brains haven't really been used before, and as such they are physically smaller than they need to be, shrunken from lack of use. With luck, the new mind will begin to fix that in the next few days, after which she may be able to wake up. Her body will still be physically weak and after she wakes it will still be several days before she can take her first steps. All this is based on recovery times for similar injuries in humans of course, but if this works as Celestia has predicted then she may be in shape to play with her friends in a month or so.”

The group wheeled the sleeping pony out of the room and with Mary's help, delivered her hospital bed to the area usually used for post surgical recovery. Some of them had to hang back as they maneuvered the bed into an empty double room, because even that wasn't big enough for all of them to enter at once. As Celestia and Twilight waited with Scootaloo and David in the hallway, David suddenly grinned and began laughing softly.

“What is it?” Scootaloo asked her husband with an expression of mild consternation.

“I guess it's just the relief that Sophie Belle and Chaya are going to be okay...” He smiled down at her. “That, and we're all going to have to call you Ms. Scott or Dr. Scott from now on.”

Scootaloo looked dumbfounded for a moment, then began giggling. “I suppose you're right. It's better than being number one and number two at least.”

As Twilight looked on and smiled, one of the grad students from the 'gate room' came running up with a message for Celestia. Their laughter died out as they watched her take the note and read over it.

“What's going on?”

“I sent my sister a note explaining what had happened and Luna has made an... unusual request. She is asking me to take over her duties so that she may come here and... revive an old friend.”

“Wait, you mean she has another pony she wants to bring back to life? Who would that be?”

Celestia sighed. “She did not say, but I can guess. My sister never did have an easy time making friends and when she was abruptly banished a thousand years ago she lost everyone she knew in Equestria, save only myself.”

There was silence as they thought that over.
“Honestly I had hoped the show got that wrong. Losing everyone you ever knew and returning to a different world... That's some dark Rip van Winkle shit.” David muttered quietly. “But if she wants to revive an old friend, this would be as good a time as any.”

“Say, that begs a question.” Scootaloo added thoughtfully. “Does that mean that any pony who ever lived in Equestria could be brought back if you had a host body?”

Celestia looked surprised. “I suppose... This has only ever happened a very few times during my long rein. Whenever I went looking for somepony, I could always find them.”

Now it was Twilight who looked dumbfounded as she worked through what that would mean. “But... For that to be true... Why, even with compression software, the data storage capacity needed would be unimaginable!”

Scootaloo smiled and put a hand on her withers. “I never imagined you would be such an able student Twi. You've known about computers for what? A week and change? And you can already understand what that would mean.”

Twilight continued to stare into space, working on the problem and twitching a bit as the mental zeros piled up.

“At any rate,” Scootaloo continued “you should invite Luna over. I'm sure you'll be glad to get home, and I would love to meet anypony who's a friend of Luna's.

Author's Note

Authors note – Best read with the song that inspired it – search: Colorblind by Counting Crows

Ch 3.20 Unforeseen Consequences

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twenty: Unforeseen Consequences

Ever since Scootaloo's arrival on earth had become known all those years ago, physicists around the world had been quietly working on the problem of dimensional jumps. Based on what little data they had from the night of her arrival it had take almost a decade to get a working prototype built, but after the initial breakthrough they had several problems to solve.

The first one was power. Dimensional jumps required an unbelievable amount of it and worse, it was all needed in a very short period of time. The sprawling R&D facility working on the project had a dedicated natural gas pipeline to fuel its multiple on site power turbines, but even that had to be supplemented with a huge capacitor bank the size of a building. A cryogenics plant, similar to the one servicing the Large Hadron Collider kept all the superconducting cables and conduits at low enough temperatures to function, and all this was necessary to move objects big enough to see with the naked eye, but that was only the first problem.

The second problem was aim. After the initial breakthrough, the facility had taken several years to build, and when it went on line, the scientists were thrilled to find that they could indeed send objects and probes to other dimensions. The problem was that like our own dimension, all other dimensions they found were mostly empty space. The process of tracking down a simple planet had proven exhausting, especially in the first few years before they could reliably maintain a lock on one particular dimension. Once the locking technique had been developed they were able to send a probe, look at the distant galaxies, and make another jump to get closer.

Before the arrival of the Equestrians, it had taken several weeks of jumps just to reach a galaxy, another week to safely approach a solar system, and then more days to find out if the system held any planets. Working with NASA the team had learned a lot about other solar systems and had sent probes to orbit almost thirty planets, but they had yet to find one that bore life, let alone intelligence.

While the ponies had been using a room full of monitoring equipment in the hospital basement to perform their own jumps, the lab's scientists who had been watching were able to piece together enough to copy some of the Equestrians' techniques.

While the human methods worked, it was more a brute force solution to the problem and though Celestia was definitely pulling a lot of energy from somewhere to make her jumps, it was nowhere near what the human built equipment required; teams were already working frantically on improvements to their machine.

The second thing they got from their study was coordinates, not just in three dimensional space, but also the coordinates of the correct dimension. While they had not been able to make sense of the other dimensions they had explored, using the coordinates from Celestia, the team had re-calibrated their equipment, backed off a few light minutes, and sent their first probe though. They dared not use the exact coordinates for fear of coming though in Canterlot Castle, but with a velocity of half a million miles per hour straight down. Even at a safe distance, the results had been astonishing.

The solar system was not our own, and the star map of the sky was equally unfamiliar, but there were several planets, and one of them, a small and unusually dense world, fell right in the habitable zone of the star. Further inspection showed a large, earth like moon that kept the planet's axis stable, and the telltale signs of both oxygen and methane, proving this to be a living world.

The next probe was given a good push to set it into high orbit over the world, and inside of a day, the first ever map of Equestria was coming back though the data connection.

It was during their second week on earth, and just before Celestia's departure that one of the lead researchers caught up with her.

“Princess Celestia? May I have a moment of your time?” He called out as she made her way to the hospital basement.

“Yes?”

“You've been very helpful to us in our research, but I wanted to ask a favor of you.” He held out an odd looking backpack sized device with a variety of antennas and a laptop screen. “Would you please take this back with you when you return this afternoon?”

Celestia looked the device over with a raised eyebrow. “What is this?”

“It's a monitoring device and a beacon. When you arrive, if you could find a spot in one of the high towers to stow this we would very much appreciate it.”

Her expression did not warm as she asked bluntly. “Why should I help you with this?”

The researcher sighed before answering. “Because we will find a way to jump over eventually, but this will really save a lot of time. You've seen our world. No one has any ill will towards you, and it's looking like some kind of long term relationship is all but inevitable. You've told us that you cannot easily make the jump; that it takes a great deal of effort. If you can teach us how you jump, we can adapt our gate to make the jumps for you. Power is not such a problem here, but our equipment is primitive, and we really need your help.”

Celestia still sounded suspicious as she asked. “And how would this device aid you?”

“Basicly? It tells us where the ground is and gives a very exact measurement of its velocity and direction of travel. We have already put a satellite in orbit, but there is-”

Celestia might not have Twilight's obsession with study but she knew enough to understand what a satellite was. “You have done what??”

The researcher had the decency to blush as he continued. “I'm sorry, we don't mean to upset you, but this is common on our world. Any nation may launch satellites into orbit, and this is not, and can not be considered hostile because it is impossible to put something in orbit without it circling the globe and overflying all of our neighbors. The two biggest countries on our world settled this issue some seventy years ago.”

Celestia wasn't sure how to answer that.

“Really, if you wish to put a satellite of your own in orbit around our world you are welcome to do so. All I was trying to say is that launching a satellite is less difficult and less precise than trying to put an object on the ground. If we get the velocity wrong by say two hundred miles per hour, a few minutes of maneuvering will correct the problem. If we were to make that mistake when putting a person onto the ground...”

Celestia cocked her head to one side. “So you are saying you cannot send humans to our world?”

“Not exactly. If we really wanted to, we could put our people through in the upper atmosphere and have them parachute in using the air to correct any velocity errors, but it would be much easier for everyone to walk in rather than jump in. Some of my subordinates wanted to parachute these devices in and use that to finish the calibration process, but I overruled them. I have no wish to cause strife between our two worlds.”

“I am glad you feel this way.” She replied as she inspected the device and picked it up with her magic. She sighed as she continued walking back to the gate room and he followed beside her.
“This has just been a very stressful and unexpected trip.” She confided. “I am a capable diplomat, but I had no intention of opening diplomatic relations with an entire world when I began this.”

He nodded. “I can only imagine what this must be like for you. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

For the first time in hours, Celestia smiled. “Thank you, not at this time, but I will remember your kind offer.

...

Fluttershy had had a big day, and it was a welcome relief to get back to her hotel room. After everything that had happened, she was just happy to sit around the common area listening to Rainbow go on about her flying while Rarity waxed poetic on the many and varied types of makeup and fashion she had discovered.

As the evening wound down she made her excuses and retired to her own room, Applejack followed and closed the door behind them.

“So you reckon this is the end of it?” Applejack asked.

“I... I think so.” Fluttershy replied nervously. “It will be so good to be home again, to be back with my forest friends. They must miss me so...”

“No doubt.”

They both jumped at the third voice that had unexpectedly joined their conversation. A figure stepped out of the darkened bathroom and regarded them seriously.

“Agent Tyler! We... We were just...”

“Relax, Fluttershy. I know what happened. It's not an accident that Celestia chose you to be the primary ambassador to our world, the one who holds diplomatic immunity.”

“You... knew?” Fluttershy stammered.

“Yes. Who do you think 'leaked' that video footage? I called in a favor to get the viral video made, and you know the rest. Veal production is now illegal in forty-seven states, and there is federal legislation pending that will soon cover the stragglers.”

“You did that?!” Applejack asked in astonishment.

The agent smiled thinly “Well, who did you think it was? I have done what I could to help you since you arrived.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!” Fluttershy gushed in relief.

Even Applejack seemed to relax a bit of tension she had been carrying since the day Fluttershy had confided in her.
“I reckon it is over then; thank you Ms. Tyler. I guess we owe you one.”

“Almost over.”

There was a pause as both ponies looked at her with growing concern.

“I have one condition for all of this.”

Fluttershy suddenly looked very frightened and Applejack stepped forward protectively as Tyler reached into her vest and drew out a locket on a thin gold chain.

“I ask that you keep this as a reminder. Now and always.”

Applejack still looked concerned, but stepped aside, allowing Fluttershy to hesitantly reach out and take the locket, turning it over in her hoof. She cringed as she worked the clasp and the face popped open, expecting something awful, but nothing happened. After a moment she opened her eyes and looked. The inside of the locket was a oval piece of black plastic on the thick side, and in the cover was a picture of young girl, maybe eight or nine years old, smiling out at her.

The two ponies regarded the locket with confusion. “I don't understand. Who's that a picture of? And what will happen if Fluttershy carries that with her? This some kinda' human magic?” Applejack asked suspiciously.

“Dashie could probably tell you about digital picture frames. This is a small one that plays back pictures and video when you press the stem on the top of the locket.” She paused and fixed Fluttershy with a steady gaze. “Do I have your word that you will keep this?”

Applejack still looked worried, but Fluttershy looked up and smiled as she returned Tyler's stare. “After all you've done to help us? Yes. I will gladly keep it. But who is the girl in the cover?”

“Why don't you press the stem and find out?”

Fluttershy looked the locket over, and pressed down the tiny button built into the stem at the top. The small screen came to life and the speakers began playing back the opening bars of the viral video as Fluttershy recognized herself in the horrible barn. Her eye's welled up and she pressed the stem again to shut it off, but instead the video advanced to a news report. The Anchor read off the list of new states that had banned veal production in the wake of the scandal.
Applejack crowded in to see as Tyler leaned back against the wall and watched them.
The video cycled through several more news casts chronicling the search for them, and their eventual rescue.

Fluttershy looked up and smiled. “Thank you, this was so thoughtful of you.”

Tyler's expression, usually friendly enough, had gone cold as she intoned. “It's not done yet.”

-Audio Link-

The video cut to security camera footage from John's hospital room. The memories was still fresh, and Fluttershy remembered the look of the man, the other patient across the room and the woman sleeping in the recliner. She and Applejack watched as a yellow reflection became dimly visible in the reflective surface of the desk by John's bed. His labored breathing became more erratic as they watched, and an ominous alarm sounded across the hall. The yellow reflection disappeared just before a group of nurses came running into the room, swarming around John's bed.

The figure in the recliner was awoken by the commotion, and leapt to her feet, her expression terrified as she clutched the book she had fallen asleep reading. Fluttershy couldn't help the feeling that she looked somehow familiar.

The team tried their best, but nothing they did worked and the steady 'beeeeeee' of the heart rate monitor droned on and on as tears formed in the young woman's eyes.
“No... Please no!”

One of the nurses performed chest compressions while the doctor administered drugs and prepped the crash cart.

The woman tried to approach, but a nurse held her hand as she shook her head. “We have to let them try.”
She seemed about to break down, but as the first shock was delivered she waited, still clutching her book, her hands trembling with fear as she whispered; “Hold on Daddy... Please hold on...”

After almost five minutes of futile effort the doctor on hand called a halt.
“Time of death is-”

“NOO! Daddy!” The woman cried as she forced her way past the nurses to grab her father’s hand. “Daddy! Don't go! Please don't go!”

One of the nurses tried to comfort her as she knelt by the bed sobbing.
“Don't die! Please Daddy, don't leave me!”

The screen faded to black as the sounds of her sobbing gradually faded as well. Both ponies stared at the darkened screen in shock, their eyes brimming with tears.

Into the silence Agent Tyler spoke in a steady voice. “That is the only copy of that video, and I want you to keep it. Lisa Smith lost her mother when she was ten, one year after that photo in the locket cover was taken. That night in the hospital at the age of sixteen she became an orphan. The farm, her childhood home, will be sold and she will not want for money, but she will never see her father again.”

Tears were running freely down Fluttershy's face as she asked. “Why? Why would you show me this?”

“Because you need know the full consequences of what you did. In our world, we can rise to great heights or fall to terrible depths. We can build and create and accomplish amazing things, but this comes at a price. Unlike your world, ours is complicated. It is difficult. It is messy. There are no shining heroes of unmarred virtue, and there are no evil villains without redeeming qualities. Despite everything John did on that farm, he still had a daughter who he loved and cared for.”

Agent Tyler straightened up and walked towards the door leaving the two ponies still staring at the locket in shock. As she reached for the handle Fluttershy's voice stopped her.

“You... You think what I did was wrong?” Fluttershy asked as she tried not to sob.

Tyler slowly turned and regarded her with a sad expression. “I don't know, Fluttershy. I have protected you, but I neither commend nor condemn you. I don't know if what you did was right.” She pushed her suit coat aside and ran her fingertips over the grip of her gun in its holster. “Sometimes we never do find out.”

She sighed and pulled her suit back into place as she opened the door. “Welcome to my world.”

…

It was mid morning of the next day by the time everyone had gathered in the hospital basement 'gate room' to say their goodbys. Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity all gathered around the Princess for the trip home.

“I'm sorry you have to go, but I understand you need to get back to your families.” Scootaloo said as she shook Celestia's hoof with her hand. “We'll take good care of your Scootaloo, and let you know as soon as she recovers.”

“You have my thanks Scootaloo Scott. You have grown into a pony any parent would be proud of. I am still working with your Agent Tyler and the new earth ambassador, but I think we will be seeing each other again in about a month.”

Scootaloo couldn't help but wonder who had been chosen as the ambassador to an entirely new planet, but that was beside the point just now.

“I look forward to it. Have a safe trip.”

They all waved politely, except for Pinkie who grinned and waved wildly as a light began to glow around them and they each flashed and disappeared one by one.

When they had gone Scootaloo turned to David with a soft smile. “Did you know I was wrong about her?”

“Who?”

“Pinkie. For all her eccentricities, she understood, and she actually showed up for my monthly medical exam. She didn't want me to make a fuss about it, but she understood the importance of all this and she volunteered all on her own.” She grinned. “You should have seen my face when I walked in and found Mary going over the consent forms with her. She really is a good friend.”

David smiled and shook his head. “I'm glad to hear you didn't strike out completely. Give them time. They'll come around.”

Scootaloo hugged him and he held her close as one of the researchers on the far side of the room called out.

“We have incoming. Stand clear.”

With a deep violet flash, the space where the others had just departed was suddenly occupied once more as Princess Luna appeared wearing a set of saddle bags.

“Good morning Princess, welcome to Earth.” Scootaloo said stepping forward and offering her hand.

Luna shook the offered hand with her hoof, trying to conceal her raised eyebrow from this strange six limbed pony before her.
“It is good to meet you Scootaloo. My sister's letters have informed me of some events that have transpired here, but it seems she left out certain... details.”

David chuckled as he stepped forward and put an arm around Scootaloo. “Well, there has been a lot going on but don't worry, we're happy to have you here we'll answer any questions you like.”

The princess of the night nodded appreciatively, her glance stealing over her shoulder to the pack she wore. Scootaloo caught the look and hurried the rest of the formalities along, excusing herself and Luna at the first opportunity.

“Come on Luna, I'll take you to our little ones.”

A relieved looking princess followed the orange pony down the hall, and into the elevator leading to the ninth floor.

“I've heard a little about why you're here, and I wanted to say how sorry I am for all that's happened.”

Luna looked embarrassed. “That is... kind of you.”

“If you don't mind my asking, could you tell me a bit about the pony you're bringing back?”

Luna sighed as she withdrew the crystal sphere from her bag and looked at the swirling magic within.
“She was the only one who truly understood my night. A young pegasus filly who helped us to truly appreciate winter as the gift it can be... Her name was Snowdrop.”

Scootaloo Scott just stared for a moment. “You're serious aren't you?”

Luna cocked her head to one side. “You have heard of her? Perhaps from the television show Dashie spoke of?”

Scootaloo just shook her head as she stepped out of the elevator and continued down the corridor. “Not exactly. We knew the dimentional bleed through helped the writers... I guess we should have figured it wouldn't be limited to that group alone.”

Luna still looked a bit confused. “We speak of the same pony do we not?”

“A whitish snow colored pegasus who was born blind in both eyes?”

“Yes.” Luna sighed. “Her sight... was not the only handicap she faced so bravely. Such ailments are exceptionally rare, but they are not unheard of. I... I was not there for her when...”

Scootaloo had paused outside the room and stood up to hug the sniffling princess.

“Luna, I'm so sorry. We didn't know what had become of her...”

Luna returned her hug. “She succumbed to her illness not long after I...” she trailed off unable to finish.

“Hey, it's all right now. You're back now, and very soon we'll have her back too.” As they entered the room with the three sleeping foals a thought occurred to her. “I hadn't considered this, but if she was still a child when she died she will need someone to take care of her.”

For the first time since they had met, Scootaloo saw Luna really smile. “Yes, she will. I will be her guardian. After all that has happened it is the least I can do.”

Scootaloo returned her smile. “That's very noble of you. And eerily reminiscent of Fry's dog.”

Luna had fished out the crystal sphere once more, but paused before opening it. “Who?”

Scootaloo just shook her head. “Nothing, just a sentimental old show my dad's like. Have you decided which one you want to be your child's new body?”

Luna surveyed the three sleeping foals, as though noticing the strangeness of the situation for the first time. “Is... there any reason to chose one over another?”

“Not really. They're all exact genetic copies of me.”

Luna nodded absentmindedly and selected the foal nearest her, unscrewed the two haves of the crystal sphere and allowed the liquid magic to pour over the sleeping form which shuddered and kicked weakly as it's body absorbed the magic.

Scootaloo sighed as she leaned against the hospital bed and put a hand on Luna's withers. “Well, now we just have to wait. Mom.” She added with a warm smile.

Author's Note

The audio link for this is 'Winter' by Tori Amos The song is about growing up as her father's daughter, first as a child, then as an uncertain teenager he asks her 'when are you going to make up your mind? When are you going to love yourself as much as I love you? All the white horses are still in bed' - you haven't seen your full potential yet, and there is so much more to you!
In the third in final stanza her father has grown old, his hair is gray and his body burns with an illness he can no longer fight. He looks back on his life, the opportunities missed, chances lost, promises broken... As he lays on his death bed despairing, his daughter takes his hand and repeats back the same line that he had always used. 'When are you going to make up your mind? When are you going to love you as much as I do?'

And it is this last and final stanza that Lisa and her father will never know.

Ch 3.21 Rebirth

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twenty One: Rebirth

Her dreams had been very strange lately. Strange and nonsensical. Impossibly tall figures swam in and out of her field of vision, poking and prodding her with strange tools. Her head hurt, she couldn't seem to think straight and through it all her hero lay by her side, talking to her and telling of adventures in far off lands full of ancient temples and amazing treasures.

Rainbow laid the book down on the table next to her chair, her voice a bit sore from reading five chapters in a row. Looking down at the sleeping form beside her she couldn't help but smile as she gently stroked her orange fur.

'So, it's true then. She really is an orphan?'

'That's right...' Rainbow thought sadly. 'I've been an idol to her for a long time now but...'

There was a pause before Dashie responded.

'But you don't want her to have survived all this just to be taken back to the orphanage.'

Rainbow grimaced. 'She deserves better. I've been thinking about this for a long time now... I think it's time I stopped thinking and stepped up.'

'It'll be a lot of work. You'll be taking complete responsibility for another pony... But if it's any comfort, we'll soon have a father for her too.'

Rainbow nodded remembering Dashie's letter to the Princess and her agreement to bring her father back. 'I can't say I know how that's going to work out... I only have your memories of him...'

Dashie smiled. 'Don't worry. He's a good guy, and with the two of us to help him, and all three of us working together, I think we can give little Scootaloo the home she deserves.'

'I think you're right. But let's stick to the agreement okay? We don't tell her until the time is right.'

...

It took her several minutes to realize she was finally awake. The fact that the ceiling didn't move or drift into something else was what finally tipped her off. With a groan she tried to sit up and rub the sleep from her eyes, but her body felt weak and sluggish, and it took all her will just to bring her right hoof up to her face. When she could see properly again she noticed that her body was... wrong. She was smaller than she should be, as though she had somehow shrunk or aged backwards a year or two. Her hoof was her own, but it was thin, her usually sleek muscles atrophied away and she found herself breathing faster as she struggled to make sense of it all.

'What in the world happened to me?!'

The room in which she found herself also looked... off. The ceiling was far too high, the walls were painted like some kind of hospital, and numerous strange machines with blinking lights surrounded the bed she found herself in. She was really beginning to panic when a strangely familiar snore caught her attention and made her look to the left.

Reclining and apparently asleep in a thickly padded chair on her left was none other than Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow!”

At the shout, Rainbow startled awake and leapt to her hooves, promptly falling out of the chair in a heap. A moment later, she had wiped the sleep from her eyes and was hugging Scootaloo fiercely as the little foal returned her embrace.

“Hey, squirt! Good to see you're finally awake.”

Scootaloo felt herself relax as Rainbow hugged her and her heart gradually slowed back to normal.
“Rainbow, I am so glad to see you! I...” she trailed off as a thought hit her. “Uh, where are we, anyway?”

Rainbow laid her back down on the pillow as she chuckled to herself. “That's a long story, but I promise I'll tell you all about it soon. How do you feel?”

Scootaloo thought about it and blushed at the answer she gave. “Really weak and kind of woozy... What happened to me? The last thing I remember is flying after you into the storm to try to save you, then... nothing until I woke up here.”

Rainbow looked at her seriously, but she was still smiling that relieved smile as she answered. “We were both caught in some kind of accident. You've been out for a long time squirt, but you're awake now, and in a few weeks you should be strong enough to go home again.”

Scootaloo's smile gradually faded as a strange sensation drew her attention to her back legs, and with some difficulty she reached a hoof under the blankets and felt something crinkly and moist between her legs. Blushing absolutely scarlet, she tried to sink into the covers and disappear, but her hero seemed to understand.

“Relax, squirt, I said you'd been out for a quite a while. Why don't we see if you can get to the bathroom on your own? You're still going to feel weak, but I won't let you fall.”

A few minutes later Rainbow helped a very embarrassed orange foal hobble her way back to the bed where she laid down once more.

“Uh... thanks Rainbow I-”

Scootlaoo trailed off, her eyes wide as Dr. Betty Gregerson walked in with her cane and clipboard for her daily rounds.
“Morning kido, good to see you awake at last.”

Scootaloo looked from the towering biped to Rainbow and back, trying not to let her fear show.
“Uh, Rainbow?”

She felt a hoof on her shoulder as Rainbow reassured her. “Relax Scoot. This is Doctor Gregerson, one of the humans who's been helping you get better. She's cool.”

Dr. Gregerson smiled back. “I'm glad you think so.”
She proceeded to inspect her patient thoroughly, and Rainbow waited, patiently holding Scootlaoo's hoof through it all until the good doctor was done.

“Thank you Scootaloo. Now for this next part, I'm going to need your help Rainbow. I need you to put your hooves on Scootaloo's and go through some exercises with me. These old bones just aren't strong enough to do it myself anymore.”

And so for the next five minutes she coached Rainbow and Dashie as they had little Scootaloo push and pull with her weakened limbs, working her until the sweat ran down her brow.

“Okay, that should be enough for now. Now I need you to do these exercises at least three times a day for the next few weeks so your body can regain its strength. Can you three do that for me?”

Scootaloo, Dashie and Rainbow all nodded.

“Very good. You're a real trouper Scootaloo, and with a little work we'll have you back on your feet – er, hooves in no time.”

When the elderly doctor had gone and they were alone once more, Scootaloo, the sweat still moist on her forehead turned to ask. “What's a human?”

The answer came from a new pony who was just walking into the room. “You didn't tell her yet?” The laugh that followed sounded just like her own, and Scootaloo's eyes widened as she saw... herself stepping into view with a clipboard in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other.

“What?! Who are...?”

Ms. Scott just smiled. “You must have just woken up right?” She received a dazed nod of agreement and continued. “I'm Scootaloo Scott, your doctor, and depending on your definition, I'm you. The accident that sent you to this world wiped your memory and aged you back into a tiny foal, me, who grew up here and spent the last twenty years living with the humans of this world.”

Scootaloo felt like her eyes were going to pop out of here head. “I'm... You're a doctor?!”

Ms. Scott laughed. “Don't look so disappointed, I get to jump out of helicopters as part of the job- Big metal flying machines.”

“So... I'm you? Or...?”

Ms. Scott shook her head and took out her tools to do her own checkup on the orange filly. “You are the pony named Scootaloo that everyone knows and loves. I am the body of the original Scootaloo who had her mind erased and grew up here on earth. Your body is a clone of my original that we rescued from a... research laboratory. Princess Luna pulled your mind down from” she though for a moment “from the pony cloud for lack of a better word, and brought you here where your mind was joined to this empty host body that had spent the last eight or nine years in a coma. That's why you feel so weak; this body hasn't moved under it's own power in many years, and it will take a few weeks for you to build your strength back up.”

“Eight or nine years?! I've been gone that long?!”

Rainbow squeezed her hoof gently. “Hey, hey. Calm down Scoot, you've only been gone for about a month. Your doppelganger doc here was shoved twenty years into the past, so you haven't missed much back home.”

Scootaloo mulled that over for a moment as they both watched her.
“So... I'm a clone?”

Rainbow spoke up. “Well, your body is, but your mind, the part that makes you you? That's the same awesome filly I know and love.”

Scootaloo blushed bright red as her little heart swelled with pride, but before she could think of what to say to this, the sound of tiny hooves on tile broke the silence.

“Cousin Scootaloo! Cousin Scoot's awake!”

“Yay! Cousin Scoot!”

And with that, Scootaloo was hugged by the two tiny foals who leapt up onto her bed and snuggled up to their new relative.

“I told you it was a long story.” Rainbow grinned at her.

Ms. Scott shook her head and pulled the two foals off so Scootaloo could breath normally.
“Scootaloo? I'd like you to meet my daughters Sophie Belle and Chaya Jayne. Girls, this is your cousin Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo looked from her hero to her two younger selves, to her older self who had crossed her extra arms in front of her, and a suspicion slowly entered her mind.
“Is this some kind of prank?”

The two grown ponies broke down in a fit of the giggles as the two foals looked at her curiously.
“Sorry kido, as weird as it seems, this is all real.”
“Yeah, and did I mention the same thing happened to me?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and Scootaloo stared once more.

“Yeah, I got blasted back to a human world too. They put Dashie here back into my body, so now I've got a room-mate to keep me company.”
“Hey! I didn't ask for this either remember?”

“Okay... can we stop for a bit? I don't know if I can take any more weirdness for one day...” Scootaloo complained as the world seemed to spin around her.

“Sounds like good advice to me.” Rainbow agreed as she shooed the twins out the door and Ms. Scott followed. “Why don't we let you get some rest.” She added closing the door and taking her seat in the bedside chair once more. “I'll be right here when you need me.”

...

A few days later as Rainbow and Dashie were helping little Scootaloo get back on her hooves again, there was a stirring in the bed across the hall.

Whatever her other faults, Princess Luna had barely left her bedside in nearly a week, and as Snowdrop's mind gradually re-formed, Luna was there to calm and guide her through the many strange dreams. Normally, dream walking was something that came easily to the princess of the night, but with Snowdrop, she found herself calling on skills she had not used in more than a thousand years.

When Luna ventured into another pony's dream she could manipulate many things, change their perceptions, and even tweak their view of the waking world, a skill that had been invaluable during the early years of the sister's reign. The problem was that she was still bound by the limits of the mind she was exploring. The minds of the very young resembled the toys of the very young, all smooth shapes and bright colors; while older, more mature ponies had far finer detail and more intricate problems for her to solve. Normally this was merely a contextual detail of minor interest, but Snowdrop had always made her feel... vulnerable.

With her eyes crippled, the part of her mind that would normally learn to interpret sight never developed, instead being taken over to improve her hearing, touch and smell. When Luna explored her mind, a mind that had never known sight, she was, herself, blind, stumbling through a world of extreme sounds and sharp textures without help from the coping skills Snowdrop herself had developed.

“Snowdrop? Are you there?”
The texture beneath her hooves was sharper and more defined than any she could remember, and she found she could actually feel the soft moistness of the floor that supported her, bowing just a little under her with each step. The air smelled clean and warm with just a hint of moist earth, though she was not skilled enough to discern spring from summer or fall.

“Hello? Is someone there?”

She instantly recognized the small scared voice, and stepped forward to comfort her, only to find the surface she stood upon had run out as she stepped forward, pitching her headlong toward whatever lay below.

Her adrenaline surged as she fell, tumbling blindly head over hoof and her wings snapped open to stop her fall, but without her sight, she had no idea which way was up, let alone how to find another surface to stand on. The wind whipped at her from one direction, then the other, utterly scrambling her sense of direction, and in a panic she beat her wings fiercely trying to gain altitude and stability. As she picked up speed fast she realized too late that she was pointed downwards, and as she tried to pull up, an intense pain and a sickening crack announced her body's destruction as she collided hard with the ground.

Luna woke with a muffled shriek to find herself still in the hospital bed by the sleeping orange foal. It took a few minutes to calm her racing heart, but despite her fears, she closed her eyes once more.

She had to go back and help.

As scary as this was for her, Snowdrop had lived every day of her life like this, and now the little foal needed her. She swallowed hard and rejoined her dream.

...

Scootaloo was still recovering from her trans-dimensional accident on an alien world surrounded by talking monkeys, but all things considered, she was really taking it in stride. It only took a couple of days before she was walking the hallway outside her room, and in less than a week she, Rainbow and Agent Tyler were making longer and longer trips through the hospital.

Scootaloo and Agent Tyler also hit it off, and it wasn't long before the agent began taking her out on 'secret missions' that usually involved extracting a veggie burger from burger king while Rainbow got some much needed sleep.

...

The floor had a certain spring under her hooves as Luna stood once more, but something was different. The warm smell of moist earth was gone, replaced by the cold bite of winter air and she could feel tiny pin pricks of cold flash into existence across her back and flank.

Snow. It was winter now, and in the distance she could hear the sounds of a little foal sobbing quietly.

Using the her horn to feel her way, Luna formed a flat path of hard, solid magic from the place she stood, onward toward the sound. More than once the sound and shake of the walkway told her she stood over an endless gulf of empty air, and her shivers had little to do with the frigid breeze that flowed around her. As she grew nearer, the sobbing stopped as though someone was listening.

“Hello? Please, is someone there?”

There was a pause as Luna felt with her magic for the cloud on which her foal lay.

“Please, I don't want to be alone anymore...”

“It is okay, Snowdrop. I am here with you.”

“Luna?!”

She heard the startled foal leap to her hooves, but she made no attempt to run to her, knowing the dangers all too well by now. Instead, Luna felt the last bit of the way with her horn until she could feel a warm coat of fur and feathers ahead and to her left. Stepping carefully she sat down and extended her wing to cover the shivering foal, pulling her close as she nuzzled her back.

“Oh Luna, thank you so much. I was worried I wouldn't get the chance to say goodbye...”
Snowdrop felt the princess beside her cringe at her words, and she hastily tried to apologize.

“I'm so sorry we didn't get to see each other again, but I'm really glad you came back! We all missed you so much after...” she trailed off, unsure how to speak of her friend's banishment. The drop of water fell on her neck ran down her chest to the ground below, and with a start she realized her princess was crying.

“Oh Luna... Don't be sad. I... I just couldn't hold on any longer. I know Mom and Dad will be sad... I already miss them so much... But I just can't stay any longer.”

Snowdrop felt another tear land on her shoulder as Luna answered in a shaking voice.
“I am sorry too child. But you are not dying, and I have not returned early from my banishment...”

There was confusion mixed with hope in her voice when she spoke again. “I'm not going to die? But the doctors... they told my mom and dad that...”

Luna squeezed the little foal tightly under her wing, holding her close against the cold. “Child... it has been more than a thousand years...”

She felt Snowdrop shiver underneath her as she grasped what that meant. “But... Mom... Dad! You mean they're...?”

More tears fell as Luna nuzzled the distraught foal. “For nearly a thousand years now, yes. They couldn't save you, and neither could I at the time, but now I have found a way.”

“But... my parents...”

“Your parents lived out the rest of their lives. They had another daughter, and she grew into a fine mare and had a family of her own before she too passed on. I cannot bring them all back, but I have found a body for you. At this moment you are lying on a hospital bed as your new body heals itself and you.”

Her voice was cracked and strained when she finally answered. “Thank you Princess... I don't know what to say...”

“Say nothing then, just hold on to me, dear one. I am here for you, and if you let me, I will be your new guardian through the childhood you were robbed of.”

For the first time, Snowdrop hugged Luna tightly as her own tears of loss flowed. Her world was gone. She knew now that she had died in that hospital bed as her mother and father held her hoof, but now they were gone too. Everyone was gone...

Everyone except Luna...

A quiet background sound had been slowly building in volume as they held each other, and now even Luna beside her could hear the soft roar of static behind the silence, and indeed, even feel it in the clouds beneath her hooves. A new day was beginning.

…

Luna was just waking up when the orange foal on the bed beside her finally stirred and tried to sit up. With a small groan she failed and fell back onto her pillow as Luna came fully awake and leaned over to stroke her head.

“Luna?”

“I am here little one. You are safe.”

Snowdrop seemed to relax a bit, but her next question caught the Princess off guard.
“Luna? Why is it so loud?”

Luna raised her eyebrow, listening to the relative stillness of the hospital.
“Loud? What do you hear?”

The door shutting behind Ms. Scott interrupted her reply.
“Good morning Snowdrop! Good to see you awake at last, I'm Dr. Scott. How are you feeling?”

The orange pegasus seemed to think about it.
“I'm okay I guess... I feel kind of weak, but there's this weird sound I've never heard before... what is that?”

Ms. Scott grinned from ear to ear as she pulled a penlight from a pocket of her prosthetic.
“I think I might have an idea. Here, I'm going to do something and I want you to tell me if anything changes, okay?” So saying, she held penlight over Snowdrop's right eye and clicked it on.

“Oh! That's so loud!” The little orange foal flinched as the light entered her eye.

The elder Scootaloo flicked off the light with a satisfied smile. “Don't worry, it will take you a little while to get used to it, but this can happen sometimes.”

Luna just stared at her in confusion. “What? How can she be hearing light?”

“Light?” Snowdrop asked in a startled whisper.

“Yes, light. Your mind is being faithfully re-created by the magic that bears your consciousness, and your original mind couldn't see, so the parts of your brain that handle sight were taken over for other senses like hearing. Your new body has two fully functional eyes but your brain just doesn't know what to do with the new signal information. Don't worry though, in a few more days you should be seeing blurry images, and a little after that you'll be able to see just as well as I can.”

Her little voice quavered as she looked in the direction of Ms. Scott's voice.
“I'm... I'm going to see?”

Luna wrapped her hooves around Snowdrop and planted a kiss on her forehead as she answered in a choked voice. “Yes. You are going to see just like we can.”

As her eyes filled with tears, the little foal held out a hoof.
“Dr. Scott? May I please see you?”

Ms. Scott smiled and held her face up for the little foal to examine with her hoof. After a few moments she took her hoof and held it against the little foals face. “Sneak preview dear. Can you see the resemblance?”

Snowdrop ran her hoof over her own face and her eyes grew wide as she asked. “I'm your daughter?”

Luna and Ms. Scott looked at each other and shrugged. “More or less I suppose. Now sit up straight okay? I've got some exercises I need you to do with Luna.”

Ch 3.22 A Long Awaited Journey

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twenty Two: A Long Awaited Journey

Josie Findlay brought the issue up during breakfast with the Equestrians the following morning.

“With your Scootaloo and Snowdrop awake and able to walk now, I'm sure you must be thinking about returning home.”

Luna finished chewing and agreed. “Yes. I have spent considerable time with our ambassador selecting an appropriate structure for the new embassy, but it will take some time before it is ready. In the mean time, both our little foals have been away from home far too long, as have we all.” She added with a contented smile, which was mirrored by those around her.

Without the need for the elements on earth, most of the six had returned home in the weeks following the revival of Scootaloo, and now only Rainbow, Twilight, and Luna remained, along with a fresh group of eager Equestrian researchers.

“That's what I wanted to discuss with you today. You have been very kind to setup scientific beacons on your end, and with your help we have been using our gateway to send first materials and now ponies, back and forth for some time. Did you receive my letter on the subject?”

Luna smiled knowingly. “Yes, I did and I would be pleased to escort the first human delegation back to my world. I have no objection to anypony on the list you provided, but I must admit, I did not understand the concept of your worlds 'Make A Wish' foundation.”

The researcher ponies were still listening intently as they enjoyed breakfast, but Twilight's eyes had gone wide. “You mean... one of your children wanted to come with us?”

Josie answered steadily. “Yes, a seven year old girl named faith. I see you know what this means. If you do not object, Ms. Scott will be seeing to her medical needs for the first day or two while she and her husband become acclimated.”

“I have no objection, but” she turned to Twilight who was trying to look stoic “What is the purpose of this foundation?” A whispered conversation took place that left Luna looking rather pale. “You mean they cannot heal her?!”

“No princess. But there is at least a chance we can.” Twilight replied with determination. “I'll begin studying the details of her condition right away!”

Josie produced a folder from her briefcase and passed it across to Twilight. “I thought you might want this. The digital files and links should answer any questions.” Twilight had already opened the folder and begun scanning the links, arranging the browser windows behind her eyes.

“There is one thing I must caution you about.” She put a hand on Twilight's hoof, and the Unicorn came back to the present to see the earnest expression on her face. “This little girls is in a lot of pain and her parents have already been though hell. By all means, do what you can medically, but do it quietly, and make no mention of it to them. There is little greater cruelty than false hope just before the end.”

Twilight swallowed hard and nodded. “I won't say a word.”

“Thank you. And good luck.”

…

The ride to the gate facility took about an hour and as they were checked in through the fence at the perimeter David couldn't help but note that the place didn't look like much, just a lot of industrial buildings sprawling across the landscape. They got out at a building that looked as though it had been designed for function first and nothing second. Steel beams protruded at various corners, and even inside no real effort had been made to make the place look like anything other than a lab. Bare concrete floors studded here and there with steel support beams that supported the floors above met with walls of unpainted drywall and in some cases, not even that.

By contrast to the building, the machinery making up the place was immaculate. Pipes of cryogenic coolant crisscrossed the ceiling, along with huge electrical cables, and shielded network cable trays. The smaller research rooms had been plumed with gas for Bunsen burners, but also nitrogen, oxygen, distilled water, hydrogen and vacuum, such that a network of pipes adorned the walls, flowing around curves and corners like wires in a circuit board. The machinery became more complicated and formidable looking as they followed their guide into the heart of the gate room complex.

“I'm sorry about the appearance, Ponies and Gentlemen. Our facility was built for research, and this new role as grand central station is still new to us.”

Luna and Josie nodded, and their guide punched a few buttons on a wall panel, causing a large set of very thick vacuum doors to depressurize and swing slowly open on their hydraulic rams. The inside of the chamber didn't look like much, just a huge room, roughly four stories high and square with what looked like metal walls. Josie couldn't help the feeling she was stepping into a giant microwave oven.

Their guide told them the charging process was nearly complete, and that the jump should occur about a minute after she closed the doors. She reminded everyone not to hold their breath and went over how to equalize the air pressure in their sinuses, then mentioned for what had to be the third time that they might come out a few inches above the floor, and that they should be ready for a slight drop. At last the lecture was over, and their group watched the doors close behind her, eagerly waiting to see this strange new world first hand. For a few moments, nothing happened, then just as they were beginning to wonder, there was a blinding flash of light and the room was suddenly empty.

…

As the light faded and they all blinked away after-images they found themselves in the large castle chamber the Equestrians had been using for gate travel. The two guards waiting at the door nodded to them and one galloped off to let the princess know their visitors had arrived.

“Welcome to Canterlot Castle.” The remaining guard greeted them. “The Princess has been informed of your arrival and will be with you shortly.”

“Wow... So we're actually here...” David murmured, looking around the unadorned chamber. “It looks a lot-” He was cut off as his pants suddenly lit up with a bright white flash.

Ms. Scott teased. “Are you taking flash photo's with your butt again?”

David looked embarrassed, but Scootaloo and Faith hadn't missed it, and they were both regarding him with rapt expressions.

“You got your cutie mark!”

“What is it?! I want to see!”

Ms. Scott looked from her embarrassed husband to the two children both begging to see his naked ass and face-palmed, trying to hide her grin.

“Why don't you show me dear? I can take a picture for the others.” Ms. Scott offered.

Moments later they all gathered around the picture on her tablet which showed a doctors stethoscope on a chalk board.

Even Faith who was who was in considerable pain as her last dose of morphine wore off perked up at this. “You're a teacher who teaches doctors aren't you!”

“This is so cool! Maybe if you got yours, then-”

Another flash lit up the room, interrupting little Scootaloo who looked hopefully at her flank, only to be disappointed. This flash had come from Ms. Scott, who now had a matching doctors stethoscope over a pair of wings.

“Hm... Paramedic and ER doctor. I guess that works.” She finished with a simple smile.

“Hey! Why aren't you excited about this!?” Little Scootaloo asked.

“Scootaloo, I'm an adult. I already know who I am.” She continued to smile at her new marking. “Though I will admit a grudging affection for it. It just feels... Right.”

Before anyone else could comment another flash of light, muted this time by black pants and a jacket, drew everyone's attention to Agent Tyler's backside. Her two fellow agents looked uncomfortable, and the rest of the group stared at her expectantly.

Agent Tyler had been through a lot over the course of her life, but this was the first time she could remember that an entire room of adults, children and ponies had all been waiting expectantly to see her drop her pants. Her mouth twitched just a little as she tried to hide a smile.

“No.”

“Awww! But I want to see-”

“No.”

Ms. Scott was grinning widely now as she closed the distance and teased. “Oh come on, we're all nudists here.” while shaking her backside and tail in a way that made David blush.

“You've known me quite awhile, Scoot,” Agent Tyler addressed the elder pegasus. “Are you entirely certain that any ...cutie mark,” she said the word as if the very idea were frivolous but that she'd allow it, grudgingly, “of mine would be in any way appropriate for children? Bear in mind the...specifics of my career.”

“Oh...Good point,” Scootaloo the elder nodded. Little Scootaloo looked terribly disappointed.

“Don't worry, Little Scoot,” Agent Tyler explained. “If it turns out to be something not...a little overly specific, I promise not only to show you, but to arrange for a modest activity for yourself and the other ...Cutie Mark Crusaders which may allow you to test your skills in the same profession.” The agent's smile showed a few too many teeth and Scoot the Elder was worried for a little while. Little Scootaloo was just delighted.

“Yay! Interdimensional bodyguard cutie marks!”

“...The what now?” Agent Tyler looked surprised, which was a rare and interesting look on her.

“I bet it looks like a mission patch or a Stargate or a bulletproof...something really, really bulletproof!”

This seemed to actually impress the stern agent.

“Well, between you and me,” she gestured, and the two Scootaloos leaned in closer, “most of the difficulty in showing off said mark has to do with the number of bulletproof items I'm wearing now.”

“Really?” Little Scootaloo was impressed.

“Really?” Scoot the Elder was nonplussed. “Did any intelligence whatsoever indicate there would be guns in Equestria, let alone armed assault parties? I swear, you plan a trip to Burger King like you're extracting a hostage!”

“A delicious hostage with pickles and onion rings!” Little Scootaloo defended her agent friend.

“And the cherry-vanilla cola from the fancy soda machine, mustn't forget the drink,” Agent Tyler reminded.

“...Is that where you two kept disappearing to last week?”

“Well, duh.”

“I felt it would be culturally enriching for young Miss Scootaloo to experience American traditions, and since she wished to acquire some souvenirs for her friends back home and the restaurant was kind enough to come out with complimentary Equestrian figurines around the time of Princess Celestia's arrival, we used a franchise where I already have security protocols to make brief, veggie-cheeseburger and kids' meal toy acquisition trips.”

“An' then we went an' shot paintball guns at paper targets, and played laser tag with Agent's interns and met a trained K9 operative who knew how to detect bombs an' stuff and really liked belly rubs...”

It was hilarious how Little Scootaloo more or less treated 'Agent' as Agent Tyler's first name.

“So the 'essential,' 'government' meetings were actually you two ditching the press and going out for cheeseburgers?”

“...Yes,” both tiny-pony and fearsome-agent replied in unison.

“It counts as government because we took a fleet vehicle and filed our paperwork,” Little Scootaloo explained.

“So let me get this straight,” Ms. Scott sighed, looking more like an exasperated mom then she had in hours. “You will unashamedly consume fast food with a small pony, undoubtedly ordering a kid's meal yourself so she can collect two toys-”

“She does,” Little Scoot confirmed.

“But your cutie mark is still so unspeakably horrible that it cannot be viewed in the company of children.”

“I am willing to take that chance, yes,” Agent Tyler said in a low, defeated-sounding voice.

“As you wish.” A voice answered from the doorway. “But it would only be fair after that plumbing problem my first night in the hotel.”

Princess Celestia stood in the doorway wearing her best troll's grin. As everyone else bowed, Luna hugged her sister. “It is good to be back.”

Little Scootaloo nuzzled against Agent Tyler's hand for ear scritches as they followed the elder Princess through the doors to the next room. “I bet it's a really good cutie mark.”

“I hope so,” the Agent sighed.

“Like a cheeseburger, or that big coffee cup you have.”

“Yeah,” Agent Tyler sighed hopefully. For a moment, Scootaloo the elder remembered something Tyler had said, many years ago:

“...I might have been a remarkable barista. It's silly, I know, but I would have been very good at it and very happy doing that, but duty called, I answered, and after a while, there wasn't much left.”

She found herself hoping that Agent Tyler could find peace with whatever her cutie mark turned out to be.

Celestia led the group down the hall and through a maze of corridors that connected at length to a wide spiral staircase climbing up out of sight. As the group stepped out onto the huge balcony at the top, the sky was already showing shades of dark purple as the stars disappeared overhead. In the clear crisp air of early morning they could see with incredible clarity all the way out to the horizon that stretched out below them.

At the edge of the balcony, Celestia turned to formally greet them.

“Welcome to Equestria. It fills my heart with joy to have you all here with us today.” She smiled at the assembled ponies and humans alike, and Agent Tyler and her two fellows nodded and smiled in return with the rest of the group. “In honor of your arrival, and to celebrate the new friendship that grows between our two worlds, I have brought you here to watch the raising of the sun.” And with that, Celestia concentrated, and lifted the sun into the sky as they all stared in awe...all but Agent Tyler's two subordinates who were looking around in concern.

…

In the castle below them, Scootaloo, along with her husband and Faith, had been invited along for a tour of the great spires and halls of the sprawling building. Poor Faith was still feeling dizzy and nauseous, but was doing her best to enjoy this dream come true anyway. After only a few minutes of walking she fell to her knees and lost what little lunch she had onto the pristine castle floor.

“Oh, I'm so sorry!” She managed between heaves. “I didn't mean to spoil-”

Scootaloo stepped forward and cleaned her face with her hand, giving the poor girl someone to lean on as she fought down the nausea. “It's okay, Faith.” She whispered soothingly as their guide looked on with an expression of shock. “We all know you're not feeling well. We knew this could happen, so I brought some paper bags for next time okay? Just tuck them into a back pocket.”

She looked up at their guide apologetically. “Could you please call a janitor? I'm afraid she can't help it.”

He simply nodded, and soon they were on their way again, this time with little Faith riding on Scootaloo's back, holding on to her hand and mane for support.

The castle was bigger than she had expected, with a long and storied history and it was nearly three hours before the tour finally ended in the main courtyard under the warmth of the morning sun. The three of them thanked their guide and he blushed a little as Scootaloo complemented his scholarship and memory.

“Oh, it didn't take that long to learn, but thank you.” he smiled.

“Could I ask one more favor of you before we go?”

“Of course!”

“My friend Faith is due to see Twilight Sparkle and some other doctors in the Canterlot hospital, but I'm afraid I don't know where it is.”

“Not a problem at all. The princess has asked me to help you however I can, so I would be happy to show you the way.

...

After the raising of the sun and a long meet and greet that seemed to stretch on for hours, Celestia thanked all those assembled and excused herself to deal with other business. As the group filed out after her, Tyler and her two fellow Agents followed Twilight and little Scootaloo of towards the Canterlot hospital where they were to meet up with Ms Scott before catching a train back to Ponyville.

“It's strange actually seeing this world with my own eyes.” Tyler remarked. “I got so used to the flash animation they used for the cartoon. It's no less beautiful though.” She finished, admiring the huge stained glass windows they were walking past.

“I've seen parts of your world that are pretty like this.” Twilight answered. “The hotel, and some of the big buildings you have were quite impressive.”

“That's kind of you to say Twilight.” She smiled at the purple unicorn before changing the subject. “I'm still wondering how Princess Celestia raised the sun though.”

Twilight smirked. “I told you she could do it with her magic. But someone didn't believe me.”

“I guess you were right though. I can hardly argue after seeing it with my own eyes.”

Both her fellow agents looked uncomfortable once more and one of them tapped her on the shoulder, then quickly signed as she turned.

'Be alert. You did not see it with your own eyes.'

Tyler raised an eyebrow behind her glasses and signed back. 'What are you talking about? You were there.'

The second agent tapped her on the shoulder and signed. 'We were there. The sun did not rise any differently than usual. You and the others oohed and ahhed at the dark landscape, then came indoors for the conference. The sun rose some time later.'

Tyler looked back at them, now sharing their concern. 'Thank you. Speak no more of this until we return home.'

Ahead of them, Twilight turned to find she had left them behind. “Agent Tyler? Are you okay?”

“Yes, fine, Twilight, one of the windows caught our attention and I must have lost track of time.”

…

The three agents waited in the hospital lobby with Ms. Scott, her husband and Scootaloo while Twilight and the other doctors worked on Faith. What would normally be a boring, hours long wait actually past swiftly as Scootaloo happily answered questions ranging from what a given machine was for, to what the magazines were about. It was nearly noon before Faith came bounding out the doors and ran to Ms. Scott. “I'm done! I'm done! Can we please go to Ponyville now? Pleeeease?”

Both Scootaloos smiled at this. “Of course dear. Scootaloo? Do you know the way to the train station?”

“In my sleep! Come on, I can't wait to see my friends again! I still don't see why they didn't meet us at the castle.” She added, her face falling a little at the thought.

“Well, we were gone quite a while, Scoot. They probably had to get back to school, but I'll bet they'll be waiting for us at the station in Ponyville.” That seemed to perk her up, and she bounded out the door with Faith as the other grown-ups followed.

The walk to the train station took them through more heavily populated areas of the city, and for the first time they noticed ponies gawking at them as they passed. Most were too polite to cause problems, though they saw more than a few shutters and doors slam shut as they past. At the station, the ticket pony gawked at them for almost ten seconds before snapping back to the present.

“Uh, sorry. What did you say you needed?”

“Tickets to Ponyville please.” Little Scootaloo chirped, from below the edge of the window.

The ticket pony leaned out and looked down past the five strange bipeds and the six-limbed pony to see the tiny orange filly who seemed to be leading the group. She smiled innocently at him. “Hello!”

“Um... are you okay, little girl?” he asked hesitantly.

“Yup,” she replied with the same happy smile. “I'm going home to see my friends!”

“Oh... Okay. And you need seven tickets?”

“Yes, please. Five grown ups and two foals please.”

The ticket pony seemed to accept that, and made out the tickets. “That will be twenty-eight bits please.”

Ms Scoot dug into the change purse Luna had given them and came out with the appropriate amount. “Thank you, I think this is right, though you might want to double check it. I don't know if I've got the hang of the currency yet.”

“Oh! So you are those new 'humans' we've been hearing about in the papers!” He seemed to brighten, having finally put it together. “And you must be that pony the princesses rescued! Ms. Scoot was it?”

“Scootaloo, actually, Scott is my last name.” She answered warmly.

“Well, I'm pleased to meet you. And what would your name be little miss?”

“I'm Scootaloo.” Scootaloo replied as though that should be obvious.

The ticket pony looked confused again, then asked. “Uh, so you're her daughter?”

Scootaloo had to think about that one.

“Yes.” Her little brow furrowed in thought.

“Well... No.” After a bit more thought she looked the ticket pony in the face again and finished. “Well technically, we're both Scootaloo, but she's like 'earth Scootaloo' and I'm like 'Ponyville Scootaloo' so... yeah. Does that make sense?” She asked with a cute smile.

“Uh... If your not her daughter, then who is your mom?” He asked as his confusion only increased. In the back David had put a hand over his mouth to hide his widening grin.

Scootaloo looked confused this time, so Ms. Scott leaned down and whispered something in her ear. After a moment she smiled again. “Oh! My mom is a wildebeest.”

He frowned. “That's not a very nice thing to say about your mother young lady.”

“What? Scootaloo said you were asking who my birth mother was, the woman who gave birth to me right? Well, she was a wildebeest.” She seemed to consider that for a moment. “Scootaloo said they were handy, something about a zoo, so that's who they picked to be my mother. I assume she was a nice wildebeest, as they go.”

As this seemed to satisfy all the questions from her point of view, little Scootaloo scooped up the tickets and trotted away, calling over her shoulder; “Come on, you guys! The train should be here any minute!”

As they walked out of sight around a corner, two of the agents cracked up laughing as David and Ms. Scott joined them. Scootaloo and Faith looked at each other in confusion. “Hey! What's funny?”

“Oh, nothing much.” David answered, “We'll tell you...” The laugh seemed to die on his lips as he finished. “We'll tell you when you're older.”

Author's Note

If you're enjoying this, you might also enjoy 'Piracy', a dark new one shot that asks some very hard questions about what it really means to be 'good' or 'evil'.

This is not a story to read just before bed...

Ch 3.23 Cake and Cutie Marks

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twenty Three: Cake and Cutie Marks

The train pulled into the station with a squeal of steel on steel and burst of steam as it slid to a stop and the passengers began to hop off. The group pulled together as ponies scurried around them in every direction, the differences between them unnoticed in the rush of the moment.
After a few minutes most of them seemed to have disembarked, and the conductor began shouting 'all aboard' in what David couldn't help but think of as an adorably Victorian way. They all presented their tickets to the startled conductor and then Scoot and Ms. Scott boarded without trouble and David, following right behind, ran his head into the top of the door frame hard enough to knock him off his feet.

“Son of a-!” He managed as he sat on the floor holding his head.

“Oh, gosh, are you okay?”

He gritted his teeth, but managed. “Yeah... I'm fine. Just watch that low ceiling.”

Fortunately, Faith was short enough that she didn't need to worry, and the three Agents made it a point to watch their heads after seeing David's fine example. As they all settled in to the bench seats that were perhaps a little too short and deep for a biped, Agent Tyler spoke up.

“Pardon me, Scootaloo? Do they have restroom facilities on this train?”

“Of course! Here, it's this way.”

The two wandered off and the rest of them watched as the train began to move and the scenery scrolled by outside the windows. Ms. Scott put an arm around David, snuggling close as they watched the landscape outside. Faith had her face pressed against the glass with a rapt expression of adoration and in the back, the two agents seemed to have relaxed enough to enjoy the ride. The door to their car slid shut with a clank and Scootaloo quickly took her seat once more, followed by a somewhat red-faced Agent Tyler.

“Uh... Is everything okay?” David asked.

This seemed to intensify the slight color in her cheeks. “I'm fine. Let's just say the bathrooms here are... different.”

Ms. Scott raised an eyebrow and gestured for her husband to follow her.
The conversation soon drifted to what they planned to do when they arrived, how good it would be to see her friends again, and what the town was really like. In the middle of a description of Sugar Cube Corner, Ms. Scott and David opened the door and made their way back to their seats, one wearing an expression of amusement, the other looking mortified and trying to conceal a small damp patch on his pants. They conversation ground to a halt as they all stared.

“What? That wasn't as easy as it looked.” David shrugged as he tried not to blush.

Ms. Scott was grinning broadly and trying not to laugh at him as she teased. “Well, I told you it wasn't exactly easy for me, but I have years or practice, and some gymnastic training.”

This only made him blush more, and he shrank back in his seat. “All right, I promise I won't give you a hard time about leaving the seat up anymore.”

…

As the train began slowing down, the town came into view over a small ridge, and the rest of the group joined Faith as they stared out the window at the kids' cartoon show suddenly come to life. Soon the squealing of steel on steel announced their arrival, but before they could even stand up, little Scootaloo had already bolted out the door and off the train, driving right for the two little fillies who were watching the train hopefully.

“Scootaloo!”

“Applebloom, Sweetie Belle!”

The three collided and rolled a few feet as they hugged their friend and refused to let go.

“I missed you girls soo much!”

“We missed you too, Scootaloo!”

“We were so worried about ya!”

The rest of the group shouldered what few bags they had and disembarked in a more sedate fashion, pausing on the platform to watch the reunion. As the three gradually let go of each other, Applebloom got her first good look at her friend who appeared several years younger than she remembered.

“Say, what the hay happened to you anyway? You look like a little kid!”

“Um... its a long story.” She turned sheepishly and looked from the group of humans to her friends. “Girls? I'd like you to meet Scootaloo.”

Ms. Scott stepped up and held out a hand. “Nice to meet you.” Sweetie Belle hesitantly stepped forward and shook her prosthetic hand. “I know this may be hard to follow, but I'm the Scootaloo whose body you knew. I lost all my memory of you during the accident, and grew up on Earth were I work as a doctor. This little foal is a different body, but she is the mind of Scootaloo you know and remember.”

The two crusaders looked back and forth between the two of them, still eying the humans nervously. “Uh... Okay?”

“But how come our Scootaloo is so small? She looks too young.”

Both Scootaloos blushed, and Ms. Scott answered. “I'm sorry about that, but this was the only body we had on hand for the transfer. She'll grow up normally from now on, but she's always going to be a couple years behind you two in physical development.”

Applebloom's eyes suddenly lit up with glee. “Ah get to have a baby sister!”

Sweetie Belle shared her look of glee as Scootaloo looked a little worried, and Ms. Scott facepalmed.

“Why don't you two help little Scootaloo with her luggage.” Ms. Scott sighed. “I don't know what she brought, but the bags are bulky enough.”

That seemed to be enough, and the three of them charged onto the train to retrieve the forgotten baggage brought from the foreign world.

Faith watched them go with an expression of longing, looking as though she wanted desperately to follow, but couldn't quite summon up the courage to ask. Ms. Scott noticed this and sighed. “Come on Faith, why don't we see if we can buy some baked goods from Sugar Cube Corner?”

Faith perked up noticeably at this. “Really??”

David couldn't help but smile. “Yes, really. Come on, Pinkie is probably waiting!”

...

There were a few slammed doors and shutters as the group made their way through town, but these were outnumbered by curious stares as the residents of Ponyville got their first look at the strange 'humans' the papers had been going on about for weeks now. As they rounded a corner the gingerbread themed building came into view and little Faith's eyes lit up with joy as she ran up the steps towards the door which burst open just as she reached it.

“Welcome to Ponyville!”

The rest of the group caught sight of Pinkie Pie for a split second as she burst through the door and snatched the little girl up in her hooves and pulled her inside in an explosion of streamers.

Ms. Scott and Agent Tyler shared a look. “Well, who didn't see that coming.”

As they followed her in, the entire shop was decked out for a party, the likes of which had not been seen since Tuesday. This apparently had done nothing to diminish their host's enthusiasm however, and Pinkie was already introducing her to the Cakes and the other members of the town in attendance with their children.

Faith looked like she was in danger of imploding from pure joy at any moment.

As Lyra stepped forward to introduce herself Faith leapt in and hugged the startled pony who looked to Bon Bon for support.

“I'm so happy to meet you!” Faith beamed at the startled green pony. “Now you don't have to hide anymore! You can live in both worlds and have hands and everything!”

Bon Bon was giving her partner a raised eyebrow as poor Lyra looked back and forth between them in confusion.

“Here, I even brought you the the story!” Faith finished, fishing a printed-out copy of 'Anthropology' out of her pack and handing it over before moving on, apparently satisfied she had resolved all the story's conflicts on her own.

While David and Ms Scott tried to contain their laughter, Pinkie Pie swept in and started her on a game of 'Pin the tail on the pony' that had Faith smiling and wobbling a bit as she tried to score a hit on the poster board.

While the children played the others began sampling some of the myriad treats on display, all of which turned out to be delicious. On his third bite of cake David noticed a special small cake done up in bright colors on an elevated platform a bit out of reach of children and foals, and with deft cut he put a large slice on his plate and took a bite.

Two slices later, Pinkie wandered by and gave him a concerned look.

“Uh... did you eat all three of these slices yourself?”

David was grinning from ear to ear as he nodded and took another bite.

Ms Scott, watching the exchange heard her tone of voice.

“Yes he did. Is something wrong?”

Pinkie looked a bit embarrassed.

“Uh, no... he'll be fine in a couple of hours, but he... what was it your doctors say? He shouldn't operate heavy machinery until then.”

David turned and offered a forkful of the cake to his wife, his silly blissful grin showing as he asked; “Would you like some Scoot? It's so...” he had to think for a moment to describe the flavor, “it tastes so happy!”

Against her better judgment, Ms Scott took the offered bite, savoring the sweet lemony flavor as a warm carefree feeling seemed to wash through her.

“Wow, that is good...”

David was already reaching for another slice but she gently reached out to stop him. “No, no dear, lets leave some for everyone else, okay?”

His silly grin remained in place as he nodded absently and wandered over to the toys and games area.

“What did you put in that cake?” Ms Scott asked the suddenly sheepish pink pony.

“Oh just some local herbs and plants. Most of our treats have a little in them, but the ones on the high shelves are the really strong ones.”

Ms Scott's eyebrow only lifted higher. “And you feed these to children?”

“Well, yes.” Pinkie answered. “I kind of forgot to explain that to you guys though didn't I?”

The other Agents had gathered around by this time, and Mrs. Cake joined in the conversation; “The herbs tend to make a pony feel happy, contented and a little sleepy. How did you think we kept the little ones from tearing the place apart?”

Right in the middle of the following explanation, there was a loud crash outside, and Pinkie, Scootaloo and Faith ran to the window to see what had happened. For a moment they all thought they saw the Apple family's apple cart being attacked by a huge bat, but as the shouting and flapping continued they realized they were looking at some kind of smashed flying machine.

Two little fillies were trying to pull Scootaloo out of the twisted wreckage, and as they watched through the window, the commotion on the street became even greater as everypony turned to look in their direction. Faith had come running out the door, and joined Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, giving them the strength to yank the little orange filly loose.

Little Scootaloo sat down, looking dejected. “I'm sorry girls, I really thought that would work.”

“Oh, don't feel bad, Scoot. I think we just need to work on the control part.” Sweetie Belle answered.

“That was sooo awesome! Did you build this all by yourselves?” Faith asked.

“Well mostly, we-” Sweetie Belle finally turned and saw the scrawny biped sitting inches from her face. “Gah!”

Apple Bloom had also done a double take, but both fillies were now looking at Faith with interest.
“Sorry... We saw you at the station didn't we? Are you one of the humans who helped Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked, wide eyed.

“Yeah. She's cool.” Scootaloo replied in her best 'cool' tone. “Girls, this is Faith, she came with us from earth.” behind them, Applejack heaved a broken wing off the cart.

“You do know she's supposed to be the same age as us, right?” Sweetie Belle asked, in a tone that implied Faith should have been paying more attention when she 'helped' her friend.

“Hey! Just what in tarnation do you think you're doin'?” Applejack fumed at the four of them. “That zip line was bad enough, but you ain't even been back a day and now you're building another flying machine?”

“I'm sorry Sis, but I really thought it would work this time!” Apple Bloom apologized.

“Yeah! I'm littler and lighter now, and I brought this cool engine back with me and-”

The weed whacker to which the three had attached their propeller chose that moment to cough and catch fire.

“Aw, horseapples!”

…

After the four of them had helped Applejack clear away the wreckage, with a little help from Pinkie and Ms. Scott, Faith had asked if she could spend the afternoon with them, and Ms. Scott had agreed, giving each of them a small device and told them to call her if anything happened. None of them seemed to notice the strained looks that the grownups all exchanged.

As they walked away from the center of town, it was Applebloom who spoke up first.
“Wow. It's still kind of weird having two o' you running around, Scoot.”

“Yeah, Rarity tried to explain some of it to me.” Sweetie Belle added. “Is it true she's your mom?”

“Uh... Not quite.” Scootaloo replied, scratching the back of her head. “It's.. complicated.”

“And she already has her cutie mark! Does that mean that you're going to get a doctoring cutie mark too?”

“I... don't think that's how it works...” Scootaloo trailed off.

“How do you get a doctoring cutie mark anyway?” Faith asked. “I mean, if we asked, would they just let us into the hospital to try helping other kids?”

“Nah, we already tried that and the doc threw us out.” Applebloom answered sadly. Suddenly an idea occurred to her and she brightened noticeably. “Hey, what's your cutie mark? I can't see it under that fancy getup you're wearin'.”

Faith's face fell, and she pulled down her jeans to show them her bare hip. “I don't have a cutie mark. I really, really want one, but...

Three sets of eyes were now beaming back at her.

“You don't have your cutie mark either?”

“Well... no. We don't have them were I come from, but I've always wanted to get one.” She added sadly. “I was... I was kind of hoping you might let me come with you today?” She asked, looking at them with longing.

“Ya really mean it?” Applebloom asked eagerly.

“You want to be a cutie mark crusader?” Sweetie Belle practical squeaked with joy.

“Yes.. Please?” Faith asked as tears welled up in her eyes.

All three of them tackled her in a group hug as she smiled and laughed with the three ponies as she hadn't been able to do for a very long time.

...

A few miles away, an elderly pony reclined in her rocking chair on the front porch, looking out across the orchard with sleepy eyes. Her hip ached, along with most of her joints, but the warm afternoon was soaking into her old bones, dulling the pain and making her sleepy. She must have nodded of, because she had become vaguely aware of someone in the rocking chair next to her.

“Afternoon, Granny Smith.”

She turned her head lazily to the right and found herself looking at one of those 'human' ponies the papers had been going on about.

“Afternoon to you too.” Granny replied sleepily as she felt her chair rock gently of its own accord.

“It's been a long time now. “ The human said in a soft voice. “How many years since your mother came here to found the town?”

The breeze blew gently through the trees creating a soft rustling in the vast ocean of leaves.

“Too long...” Granny sighed. “Too long now... More long years than I can remember.” She had rather expected a pony in long black robe, not a 'human' in a white robe. 'Figures' she thought sleepily 'the papers didn't say anything about their hair...'

“Would you like to have a little longer?” She asked, looking down on Granny with a soft, youthful smile. Her hair seemed to float and flow slowly of its own accord, as though she were suspended in deep water.

Granny smiled at her. “That would be kind of you, child.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “It's such a nice day today.”

…

After the disaster and cleanup of their flight, the Crusaders found themselves wandering the streets of Ponyville when Applebloom brought it up.

“Anyway, yah still haven' told us about it yet Scoot.”

“Told you about what?” Little Scootaloo asked, somewhat annoyed at the distraction from planing their next crusade.

“The human world, silly! You were gone for, like, a month and a half! What was it like there?”

“What? Nobody told you anything about it?” Scootaloo asked in surprise.

“Rarity told me nopony walks anywhere, they all ride in these things called cars,” Sweetie Belle replied, before adding in a confused tone “and then she started talking about a nineteen fifty something something, and then she started drooling and staring off into space, so I kind of got up and left...”

The others looked confused as Applebloom added. “You think that's weird. Applejack told me that all the oats and wheat are black there, and instead of harvesting them the normal way, they have these big buildings that run around the fields, scarfing them up.” She thought for a moment and added conspiratorially. “And I snuck back downstairs that first night AJ got home and listened at the foot of the stairs while they thought I was sleepin'.” She shivered a little and glanced at Faith. “Is it really true you eat animals?”

Sweetie Belle turned around to look at her critically “That's what the papers said, but you don't have claws and a beak like a griffin...”

“No silly,” Scootaloo corrected her. “The humans raise animals like we raise crops. They house and feed them, and then,” She swallowed hard. “when they're big enough they... kill them and cut them up.”

Applebloom looked uneasy. “Isn't that wrong? I mean I never asked where the griffins find their food, but...”

Her parents had warned her to expect this question, so Faith gave the only answer she could. “A lot of us only eat plants like you girls, but some of us do eat meat. We don't mean any harm, we just go to the grocery store and buy it.”

Scootaloo added. “Yeah, Agent Tyler took me to a grocery store once. Its like the farmers market, except neater and cleaner. They have every kind of food and plant and cheese right there, and the meat is mixed right in. It's just cut into slices and parts that don't look anything like an animal.” She looked concerned as she continued. “She asked me to point out the meat to her, and I couldn't always tell meat from cheese and other stuff.”

“You mean you could end up eating meat by accident?” Sweetie Belle asked in amazement.

“Yeah.” Scootaloo replied. “Apparently that happens there sometimes.”

Applebloom looked horrified as she thought back to what she had overheard. “So AJ wasn't kiddin! She ate meat and didn't even know it...”

“Eeww...” Sweetie Belle said as she made a face. “No wonder she's never gone back.”

The four walked on in silence for a while, each lost in thought.

“Well, there were some cool things there too.” Scootaloo spoke up at length, “but it just isn't fair that after traveling all the way to another dimension, I still didn't get my cutie mark!”

The other two crusaders looked up, thought about it, then nodded in solemn agreement. If traveling to another dimension wasn't enough, they might have to re-think their entire crusading strategy.

“Um... I might be able to help.” Faith spoke up quietly behind the group. They all turned to look at her and she blushed. “I mean, if you want me to that is...”

“Really?” Scoot asked.

“I... I think so... You see, ever since I found out about you, I've really, really wanted to find my cutie mark... But even if I haven't found mine yet, I think I can help you. I've watched every single show, and-”

“Show? You mean that weird show Rainbow talked about?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Did you see any of that when you were over there Scoot?” Applebloom asked.

“Oh come on! I was on an alien planet! Why would I want to sit around watching stories about myself?”

“You didn't see none of it at all?” Applebloom asked, disappointed.

“They showed me a little bit of it, but I just looked silly, and... and it just made me miss you girls even more...” Scootaloo added as she hung her head. “I was all scrawny and weak... I could barely even walk at first, and-”
Her explanation was cut short as all three of them hugged her together, and this time she offered no complaints about 'mushy stuff'.

“I missed you girls.”

The held the hug long enough to set a personal record for longest quiet time together. After a moment Scootaloo snapped back to the question at hand though, turning to look at Faith. “But you said you might be able to help us get our cutie marks?”

“I think so.” Faith replied seriously. “On the show you guys did a talent competition, but you got it all wrong... I think I can tell you how to get it right.”

“Yeah... we don't like to talk about that...” Sweetie Belle replied, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

“But what did we do wrong?” Applebloom asked.

“Well, according to the show, you mixed up your parts. Sweetie Belle could have gotten her singing cutie mark by singing in front of a crowd, but you had Scoot sing. Scootaloo could have gotten some kind of dancing or acrobatics cutie mark, but you left the dancing to Applebloom. And she could have gotten a construction, or building cutie mark, but you girls had Sweetie Belle do all the set construction.”

“So ya mean...” Applebloom began.

“All we have to do to get our cutie marks...” Sweetie Belle's eyes were lighting up with glee.

“Is Sing?!”
“Is build something?!”
“Is do awesome tricks?!”

Faith looked into the three enraptured faces of her heroes before her with some trepidation.

“Uh.. yes?”

Ch 3.24 Building Bridges

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twenty Four: Building Bridges

Across town, Agent Tyler and one of her fellow agents were strolling down the main street, relaxing and taking in the sights this new world had to offer. A stop at the 'Quill and Sofa' store had utterly failed to clear up anything, and after ten minutes, they had left, even more confused then when they went in.

The ponies on the street seemed to be gradually warming to their presence, and no one had slammed a door in their face for almost an hour now. They were still the subject of many stares, but so far that was all, and the two were using the time to discuss what happened at the castle.

'I don't understand it. How could we all have seen something that didn't happen?' She signed.

He looked at her seriously. 'Think about it. Raising the sun is a great trick, but it's just not possible, yet everyone here had 'seen' the princesses do it. Now we know how.'

'You mean its all in our heads.' She frowned. 'I don't like the level of mind control that implies.'

'Neither do I, but it explains why only those of us who had the medical treatment from Scootaloo's synthetic biology were affected. You're compatible with the system. I'm not.'

'You think the princesses know they're faking it?'

He looked thoughtful. 'I don't know. Next time one of them is on earth we should ask; I don't think they would lie to us on purpose.'

Just then a couple of foals nervously approached them to ask a question.

“Uh.. Hi?”

“Hello, kids.”

The two foals looked at each other. “You ask them!”

“It was your idea! You ask them!”

Tyler couldn't help but smile at them. “What was it you wanted to ask me?”

The younger of the two pawed sheepishly at the dirt. “I uh... I wanted to ask why you were all dressed up?”

The two agents looked at each other and smiled. “We're not dressed up, this is what we wear every day.”

The little foals eyes lit up as she thought that over. “Really?! You get to dress up in pants and coats and shirts and shoes every day?!” She looked back at her own nudity and sighed. “Mommy only lets me dress up for parties. It must be great to have a party every day...”

The poor agents were trying very hard to hide their mirth from the dejected child. “Oh sweetie, we don't throw parties every day. Back on earth, everyone wears clothing all the time.”

There were those shining eyes again. “Really?! Why do you do that?”

Agent Tyler felt something like an itch at that moment, and without really thinking, she replied. “Because I like clothes.” The itch at the back of her mind seemed to grow stronger. “...Do you have a shirt?”

“Well, yeah...the one...”

“That you really love? One that you feel so …groovy in?”
Music had started to play from out of nowhere, and a strange, easy feeling seemed to flow through Tyler, washing away all self-consciousness and doubt. She smiled as she reached behind her and her fingers closed around the neck of a guitar that seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

The fact that she had not played the guitar since college, that it was, to say the least, highly improbable for little ponies to know the words to a Human song from more than two decades before the Agent was born or that a backing track somehow seemed to emanate from the very buildings around her...well, none of that seemed to matter. Musical numbers here felt as natural and normal, even exciting, as a smartphone game or a really good cheeseburger felt at home.

And so Agent C. A. Tyler decided to roll with it. Besides, she had always wanted a guitar like this.

Five minutes later, a jubilant Agent Tyler was leading a parade of ponies down the main street to the tune of 'I love my shirt' by Donovan, singing and accompanying herself on the inexplicable Gibson 335 electric guitar while her fellow agent struggled to keep up, looking like he was about to have a stroke.

Everyone cheered as the song ended, and the crowd gradually dispersed as Tyler slung the guitar over her shoulder with a contented sigh. When her fellow agent finally caught up with her, she gave him a silly smile. “That was fun, wasn't it?”

“Agent Tyler, you just led a herd of ponies in song! What the hell was that?!”

A careful observer would have caught the momentary twitch as she came back down and realized what she had just done. Her subordinate however, was not quick enough to see it before she decided 'Well, fuck it, that was fun, so I meant to do that!'
A wide grin spread across her features. “Wasn't that great? I need to do that more often.” She looked down at the Gibson in her right hand. “And look at this beauty! As soon as the lab techs get done with this, this is going in my living room! I've never even heard of them doing one of these in electric blue...”

“But Agent Tyler!?”

She gave him a knowing grin before signing. 'Okay, so maybe the genetic treatment has some side effects. So far? I can live with this. Dude. It's a semi-hollowbody Gibson, for eff's sake. And did you see an amp, because I did not see an amp.'

'I expect it works via magical fields,' the other agent signed with a slack 'sigh' in his fingers.

'Sweet!'

Their conversation was interrupted at that point as Sweetie Belle came running up to them with an eager look in her eyes. “Hey! Can I borrow your crowd? I want to sing for them!”

…

The commotion following the impromptu outdoor concert was so great, it took several seconds for the Agent to figure out what had happened after the little unicorn stopped singing. As the three foals and Faith danced and squealed with joy he finally figured it out, smiled, and left the children to their fun.

“Sweetie Belle! You got your cutie mark!”

“This is amazing!”

“After all this time!”

The mark that now adorning her flank, a picture of a staff and musical notes, had flashed into existence just as she finished the last notes of her fifth song. They all stood oohing and ahhing over it for several minutes, drinking in their first success after countless months of effort.

Abruptly, Sweetie Belle turned and hugged Faith, hard enough to make her ribs ache. “Thank you so much! If it wasn't for you, who knows how long it would have taken me to figure this out.”
Applebloom and Scootaloo both joined in, hugging and thanking their new friend while Faith giggled and blushed and grinned.

At length, Applebloom piped up. “That was great! I'm so happy for you Sweetie Belle!”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo added. “Now let's go work on some great dance moves so I can get my cutie mark next!”

“Whoa whoa whoa! Hold on a minute.” Sweetie Belle interrupted, holding up a hoof for silence. “Our new friend here, the friend who just helped me get my cutie mark, wants to be a Cutie Mark Crusader, and we haven't formally let her join yet!”

“Oh right! Well, let's go right now!” Applebloom cheered.

“Sorry, Faith.” Scootaloo grinned sheepishly. “I guess I got a little carried away.”

Faith could only hug her new friends and smile so wide that it actually hurt.

Half an hour later, they had made it to the clubhouse in the Apple orchard, assembled everything and begun the ceremony. Faith sat in the center of the room, her eyes glowing with excitement as the three crusaders began.

“We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect Faith to join us as a... member.” Sweetie Belle frowned at Scootaloo. “Really? Only a member?”

Scootaloo just grinned. “Yup.”

She shook her head. “Anyway, you are solemnly sworn in this day as a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

Faith stumbled giddily to her feet and nearly fell over as she closed the distance and took the bright red cape in her hands.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders forever! Yay!”

“Does this mean we're the first club to admit a member from another planet?” Applebloom asked.

Faith just grinned. “I think so. Thank you girls so much for taking in someone like me.”

“What, you mean a human? That's no big deal.” Sweetie Belle smiled dismissively.

“Yeah! You're our friend, why wouldn't we let our friends join?” Scootaloo asked.

Faith hung her head. “Well... I was worried you wouldn't let me join because I can't get my cutie mark yet.”

That brought the festivities lurching to a halt.

“What do you mean you can't get your cutie mark yet? I know it can take some time, but I saw David and Agent Tyler get theirs just after we got here.” Scootaloo replied.

“Yes but... But they had the treatments developed from Scootaloo Scott. My mom said I'm not... compatible with her treatment. That's why I can't get my cutie mark.” she trailed off sadly.

“You mean ever?!” Appleboom asked in consternation.

“Well... My Dad said that because Scootaloo is the only one who volunteered for medical research, they can only make treatments from her... He said the more ponies that volunteer to help, the faster they can fix it, but...” She hung her head. “So far, only Pinkie volunteered to help.”

The three ponies looked at each other in confusion. “You mean you can't get your cutie mark, and no pony was willing to help?! But my sister went over there!” Applebloom added.

“Yeah! So did my big sister!” Sweetie Belle almost shouted. “And she wouldn't help you?!”

Faith seemed to shrink back from their anger. “I didn't mean anything by it... Maybe they don't like needles or doctors?”

Her reaction broke the tension as the three of them hugged her again. “Don't you worry about it no more.” Applebloom comforted her.

“Yeah, its not your fault. I think we both need to have a little talk with our sisters tonight.” Sweetie Belle amended with an angry frown.

“It's okay,” Faith replied happily. “Even if I have to wait until next time, I don't really mind. I'm just so happy to spend time with you girls.”

“Next time?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, when I get to come back here.” Faith smiled. “Then I'll be able to play with you girls forever!”

The three of them couldn't help but smile as they hugged the poor human. This lasted for almost a minute before Applebloom spoke up.

“Hey, now that you're an official member, do you want to help us go for our cutie marks? The barn is right down the hill, and I bet I can figure out something cool to build!”

“That's a great idea!” Faith replied, perking up. “And maybe I can give you an idea or something!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo amended. “That other world was full of all kinds of cool things we could build!”

The four of them trouped out of the clubhouse, Faith almost falling off the ladder in her hurry, and soon they were all running towards the barn, their red and gold capes trailing out behind them as their laughter echoed through the orchard.

…

With the tumultuous events of the last few months, Dashie and Rainbow were more than happy to let their soon to be adopted daughter get back to her usual routine of playing with her friends. The more time they spent with the little foal, the more certain they had become that this was the right decision, but like any parent, a few hours apart can often be a welcome relief.

Now after everything that had happened, Celestia had made the arrangements, the affairs had been put in order on two worlds, and Dashie's father was due to arrive any minute at Ponyville station.

The train pulled to a stop in a cloud of steam, and as the first ponies hopped off Dashie saw her dad step off the stairs in the back car and look around for her. He didn't have to look long.

The rainbow colored blur streaked across the platform and sent his suitcases flying in all directions as she knocked him to the ground in a massive hug.

“Daddy!”

“Dashie!”

The just held each other close for a long time as the other ponies on the platform looked on with smiles or confusion. At length Dashie finally backed off enough to see his face.

“Dad, I am so glad you're here! I know its only been a couple of months, but it feels like forever!”

“I'm just happy to have you back, Dashie.”

“Did you get my letter? The one that explained what happened and everything?”

He just smiled and pulled the paper from his back pocket. “Of course. I'm sorry to hear you're having such a time adjusting to your life back home and your new... roommate, but I'll do everything I can to help you.”

“Oh don't worry about me, the two of us are learning to get along all right.” Rainbow joked.
“She's right. We barely fight over anything these days.” Dashie agreed.

Her father just kept smiling. “I don't know how long that will last after all four of us move in together, but I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you. Taking in little Scootaloo? You're making your old man proud.”

Dashie smiled as she helped him up. “Thanks Dad.” She picked up his luggage and balanced the suitcase on her back. “Can I take you to your new home?”

“I'd like that.”

…

“Here we are!” Rainbow said as she set down the suitcase and stood on her back legs to reach up and turn the doorknob. Her dad walked easily though the front door without hitting his head and looked around at the modest home done up in pastel grays and blues.

“It looks wonderful Dashie. I'm still having trouble believing this is really real...”

“Believe it Dad. I'm never going to leave you alone again.” Dashie said as she hugged him. “Come on, let me show you little Scootaloo's room!”

He followed her up the stairs to the large bedroom behind the orange door. Inside, the entire room had been done up with wonderbolt fan club memorabilia including the posters on the walls and the sheets on the bed. A small selection of toys and cloths could be seen peaking out of the toy chest and the drawers, and though they they looked well worn, some of the stuffed animals showed signs of repeated repairs made by the small orange pegasus.

“Where did you get all this stuff? I thought you hadn't told anyone you were adopting her yet?”

Rainbow and Dashie both grimaced. “Well... It turns out the whole 'adoption' thing may not have much paperwork to speak of, at least on the orphanage's part.”

Her father waited expectantly and with a sigh she continued. “Not too long after I got back I was flying past the orphanage when I saw one of the ponies carrying all this stuff out to the curb. I stopped and asked what was going on, and they said that it belonged to an orange pony who had disappeared and wasn't expected back.” She shook her head. “Not everything is as perfect in our world as it could be, but they let me gather up her stuff and I've been hanging on to it all this time in the hopes that I could give it back to her... When the Princess agreed to bring you here and build this house, it seemed like the logical place to keep it all, especially given the little squirt can't fly up to my home in the clouds yet.”

There were tears forming in his eyes as he knelt down to hug her. “I'm so proud of you Dashie. You're going make her the happiest filly in the world.”

...

As the afternoon wore on, Ms. Scott and David found themselves walking with Pinkie and Twilight, admiring the whitetail woods, though none of them were smiling. The three of them had pulled Twilight away from her studies to ask the hard question about Faith, and after walking for some twenty minutes talking intermittently about fluff, the silence had begun to stretch.

“So... you've seen the information now, and you've had a go at her. Were you able to do anything?”

Twilight hung her head. “No, not really. I studied the disease and read everything you included, but I can't use magic on her with any accuracy! I can see the tumors in the digital files, but I can't detect them with my magic, let alone remove them.”

They could all feel what little hope they had shrivel up inside them and Pinkie was no longer bouncing as the four walked on in silence for some time.

At length Ms. Scott sighed. “I was afraid of that. Were you able to do anything for her?”

Twilight stopped and stamped the dirt in frustration. “I was able dull the pain for a while, blunt the nausea and other symptoms, but... it won't last long.”

Ms. Scott put a hand on her shoulder. “I appreciate you trying. You know that given a little time we could save others like Faith, but we still need volunteers.”

Twilight's face registered surprise as she put the pieces together. “Wait a minute... This was the point all along wasn't it?! You brought her here on purpose!”

Ms. Scott looked her steadily in the eyes. “Yes. And there are hundreds more lined up behind her. Hundreds of other children whom we can't help. Kids who have grown up with the show, and want nothing more than to come here, just once before they die. For Christ's sake, some of them think of Equestria as heaven! They believe that they'll get to come here and live with you after they die!”

Twilight was visibly cringing and trying not to look her in the eye as each point bit home. Pinkie put a hoof under her chin and gently raised her head until they could see each other.

“Medical volunteering really wasn't so bad, Twilight. It takes most of a day, and they asked me to sit still for way to long, but... It wasn't that bad.

Twilight sighed. “And you really think this would help?”

David shook his head. “If you volunteer and tell other ponies why you did, you will help save thousands, maybe millions of lives in time, but... It's too late for Faith. She probably only has a week or two left, if that.”

A tear ran down Pinkie's cheek, and as they watched, her poofy mane seemed to slowly deflate until it hung limply from her body.

“Pinkie?”

Before anyone could ask, Ms. Scott stopped dead in her tracks, staring at an internal display as an alarm played that only she could hear. “Oh shit! She's in trouble, I have to go, now!”

In a flash she was airborne and disappearing over the treetops as the others stared after her.
Behind them, Pinkie Pie sat down and cried.

…

The crusaders had settled on a design and already started construction of their 'car' when it happened. Without warning, Faith had just fallen over and started shaking and flopping around, but she couldn't talk to them and the scared little foals had no idea what was going on.

“Faith?! Faith!”

“What's wrong? What happened to her?!”

“I don't know!” Scootaloo answered. “She was fine a minute ago, then she just...” She pointed with a shaking hoof.

“What should we do?!”

That seemed to snap Scootaloo back to the present. “Press those buttons! Remember? The ones Ms. Scott gave us in case something went wrong!”

Each of the crusaders tore out their alert button and pushed it.

Faith continued to seize on the barn floor and the smell of urine reached their noses.

“What's wrong?!” Sweetie Belle cried “Why isn't something happening?!”

“I don't know! This was supposed to-”

“Girls, what's wrong? What happened?” Ms. Scott's voice spoke from the buttons.

“We don't know!” Applebloom's voice shook with worry “Faith was just standin' there and then she fell down and now she won't stop shakin!”

“What's happening?! She needs help!”

“Okay, girls, I can see the barn now, I'm going to be there in just a moment all right?” The tense voice responded.

Sweetie Belle ran out to the open barn door and could just pick out an orange dot growing on the horizon. “Please hurry!”

“I will, but I need your help.” Her voice seemed to give them purpose again. “I need to take her back to the human world, and that means I need a clear area with nothing but her in it. Can you clear a circle about two ponies across?”

The group sprang into action, and their multicolored whirlwind of destruction had cleared an opening big enough to land a helicopter by the time Ms. Scott skidded to a halt outside.
Faith's seizure had just about worn out her small body, and she was obviously getting weaker as Ms. Scott galloped inside and readied the recall beacon.

“Thank you, girls. Now steep back, I need to take her home.”

To her surprise, none of them moved.

“We're coming too.” Applebloom stated firmly, despite the shaking in her little hooves.

“Yeah, we can't just leave her like this!” Sweetie Belle agreed, trying to look brave.

Ms. Scott knew exactly what would happen to anyone or anything on the edge of the recall field. She made a snap judgement and dialed the field up to a larger volume. “Okay, but you have to hold on tight to Faith and me okay?”

The three foals nodded and hugged her and each other as Ms. Scott reached out and triggered the recall.
The flash of white light lasted only a moment, and was gone, leaving a perfectly spherical hole where they had been standing, and an equally clean cut through the ground and part of the wall.

Author's Note

One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic.
Joseph Stalin

Ch 3.25 Innocence lost

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twenty Five: Innocence lost

Back at the gate room, the flash of white light ebbed, and the thin disk of barn floor and the piece of barn wall collapsed to the floor as the three crusaders gave the new world but a cursory glance before turning back to Faith. Her seizure was much weaker now, her small body worn out from the exertion.

“What's happening to her?!” Sweetie Belle asked in fear as a group of EMTs came running into the room with a stretcher.

“She's had a seizure.” Ms. Scott replied in an even tone. “Her brain is going haywire and it's causing her body to shake and flop.” Three medical techs carefully lifted Faith onto the stretcher and secured her while another administered a shot, and within moments the spasms had stopped and her breathing had become more regular.

“Is she going to be okay?!” Applebloom demanded.

As the team rushed her out of the room, the crusaders gave chase, still waiting for a response from Ms. Scott who had followed only a few yards. When none came, they slowed to a halt in the empty hallway, looking back at her with terror in their eyes.

“Girls, Faith... won't be with us much longer.”

The three stood rooted to the ground in shock as Ms. Scott sadly explained what was happening. After she had finished the three crusaders were still staring at her in disbelief.

“You mean, this whole time, she knew she was...” Applebloom choked on the word. “Dyin?”

Ms. Scott just nodded numbly. “She has a type of brain cancer.”

“Well, fix her! You have to make her better!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

“We can't.” Ms. Scott replied dejectedly. “We don't know how.”

The words hit the foals like a slap in the face.

“We can cure this cancer in other humans if they're compatible with my DNA, with me. But so far, the doctors only have my DNA to work with. Pinkie donated too, but it will be a month or two before they are able to use her information. Faith only has a week or two left to live.”

Tears were beginning to form in their eyes, as this all began to sink in.

“You mean... there's nothing you can do?” Sweetie Belle asked in a pitiful voice.

“But what about Twilight?” Scootaloo asked.

“She wasn't able to help either.” Ms. Scott replied sadly. “I'm so sorry girls.”

“But... She can't just...” Applebloom fumbled.

“No! This isn't true! This can't be right!” Sweetie Belle yelled as tears ran down her cheeks.

“She's our friend! We have to help her!” Scootaloo pleaded.

Ms. Scott slowly shook her head. “The only thing you can do to help her is to spend some time with her and... show her she isn't all alone. You still have a few more days to spend with her if you want them...” She hung her head. “Why don't you come with me. We can follow her to the hospital.”

So saying she began walking slowly down the hallway towards the van pickup area, and after a moment the three scared little foals turned to follow her.

…

The van ride to the hospital was quiet but for a few soft sobs as the three crusaders tried to process what they had just heard. The early morning scenery scrolling by outside was completely ignored as their thoughts turned inwards.

They soon pulled to a stop at the hospital and followed Ms. Scott up the elevator to the seventh floor, and around the corner to the room. The door stood half open, and on seeing their friend, the three of them galloped in.

“Faith! Are you oka-”

Two humans were sitting at her bedside, and they looked up, startled, as the three foals burst into the room. As the three of them skidded to a halt, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both felt ice grow in the pit of their stomachs. It was obvious they were looking at Faith's parents, watching over the bedside of their sick foal. Faith lay in the hospital bed, apparently asleep and dead to the world, showing no sign she was aware of their arrival.
Her mother was holding her daughter's hand as she slept, and had obviously been crying, while her father seemed to have a small smile on his face. He got up and approached the crusaders.

“Thank you so much for letting her visit your world. It's all she's talked about for months now.” He knelt down so as not to tower over them. “It's one of the nicest things anyone – any pony has ever done for her. You've made her very happy.”

“Then... its true?” Sweetie Belle managed as she fought back a sob. “She's really...” She trailed off, unable to say it.

Her father's face fell and he took Sweetie Belle in his arms to comfort her. “I'm so sorry Sweetie.”

“But she's our friend!” Scootaloo insisted, tears running down her cheeks.

“She's just a foal!” Applebloom managed between sobs. “Foals don't just... die.” She looked up into his eyes with a pleading expression. “Do we?”

He pulled all three of them close and held them while they cried.

…

After a long while they noticed one of the nurses waiting patiently behind them.

“She's going to be out for quite a while after what she just went through. You girls should get some rest, it will probably be six or eight hours more before your friend is awake again.”

The crusaders allowed themselves to be gently herded into the hallway as Faith's parents went back to her bedside to try to sleep. The door closed behind them with a hollow 'click' leaving them standing in the hallway with Ms. Scott listening to the quiet background noises of the hospital waking up in the morning.

They had all cried themselves out by now, but still had no idea how to deal with this.

At last, Applebloom spoke. “We haveta' do something for her.”

Sweetie Belle just hung her head as a tear dripped from her chin and fell to the floor. “What could we do that would matter?”

“We could give her what she wanted most.” Scootaloo said slowly. “Her cutie mark.”

Ms. Scott looked up at this, confused.

“Remember what she said?” Scootaloo continued. “She said she isn't the same as, well, me I guess, and that she can't get the treatment that David and Agent Tyler did. The treatment that let them get their cutie marks?”

“Hey, yeah!” Sweetie Belle agreed, perking up a little. “She said they needed ponies to do...” She fumbled for the words. “medical research, and that so far only Pinkie had helped.”

“Well we're here now!” Applebloom agreed. “Why don't we volunteer?” She asked, looking up at Ms. Scott.

“Uh... you girls don't know what the treatment is, do you?” The elder Scootaloo replied apprehensively.

“Sure we do!” Applebloom responded, “It's the treatment that lets humans get their cutie marks.”

The elder Scootaloo shook her head. “That's only a side effect. The treatment allows us to cure a lot of deadly illnesses, including the brain cancer Faith has, but please don't get your hopes up. It will take several months to work up a treatment even if you girls volunteer today. It will help a lot of other little girls and boys, but it won't come in time to save Faith.”

As comprehension dawned on the three, they all registered looks of shock.

“But... My sister...” Sweetie Belle mumbled.

“But AJ was here! A month ago! Why didn't you tell her?!” Applebloom shouted.

“Tell her what? That medical volunteering would save lives?” Ms. Scott asked. “She knew that, Applebloom. But she had a rough first week here, and she hasn't forgiven humans for eating meat.”

“But griffins do that too!”

“Have you ever seen what that looks like? What it means to 'eat meat'?” Ms. Scott asked.

“I don't care!” Applebloom shouted.

That seemed to catch her by surprise.

“If you're tellin' me that I can save somepony's life by getting poked by a doctor, I'm doin' it.” Applebloom stated with flat determination as she wiped her eyes, mentally pushing aside the question about their sisters. “Faith and Scoot already told us about meat and supermarkets and stuff.”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle joined in. “I don't care what Faith eats. I want to volunteer!”

“Me too!” Scootaloo agreed.

Ms. Scott thought this over quickly and seemed to settle on a conclusion. “Well... okay, you can volunteer if you want to, but there will be a lot of holding still and some getting poked by needles. I do it every month, so it's not too bad, but if you want to stop, or if something makes you uncomfortable, just tell me okay?” They all nodded resolutely and followed behind as Ms. Scott led the way to the labs on the floors below.

...

“She did what?!” Applejack yelled.

The word had spread quickly, and now the group stood before the Apples' poor abused barn, which now had a six foot diameter hole cut out of one wall and was sagging due to the abrupt removal of one of the interior support columns. Twilight was working to support the upper deck with her magic while Big Macintosh installed a new support, but it was the news about her little sister that had thrown Applejack into a rage.

“She had no right to take Applebloom! You better bring her back right now or so help me...” She gestured up at David who looked appropriately worried.

“She didn't have a choice, Applejack, she had to get Faith back to our world, and the Crusaders wouldn't stand clear and let her go.” He explained as he remembered what he had heard of the audio link. “They insisted on going with her and Faith.”

“Then she should have done gone without them anyway! She had no right to take her without my approval!” Applejack yelled as she advanced on him.

“So you would have wanted to risk your sister's life?! Look at that wall, Applejack!” He continued, pointing to the hole in the barn wall. “We can send just the people through when we have a huge facility to map every detail, but when we come back from your world to ours, we don't have a huge scanning grid to take only ourselves. Our recall system just takes a sphere shaped cut out of everything around the beacon, and you saw what that did to the barn. If Applebloom wasn't willing to stand clear, the recall would have cut right through her too! Scootaloo had to take them with her!”

Applejack seemed to think about it as Rarity spoke up. “Applejack, I know you're upset, and I'm not exactly thrilled about my baby sister running around the other world either, but you know what a hoofful those three can be. The humans did take good care of us while we were there-”

Applejack gave her a dark look with a raised eyebrow.

“-after they found us that is.” She paused to look up at David. “Is it possible for them to get lost like we did?”

He shook his head. “The recall beacons are just a signal for the gate machinery to lock onto. We can only jump back into the gate room.”

Rarity's smile returned. “There, you see? The humans will take good care of them. Now we just have to send the message to have them sent back.”

Behind them, Twilight and Big Mac had finished their repair work on the support, and come to join the conversation, but Twilight was looking uncomfortable as she spoke up. “Uh... I don't know if they can do that either...”

“Why, whatever do you mean darling?” Rarity asked, puzzled.

“Well... the human child our girls were playing with? She was only here because of the Make-a-Wish Foundation...”

“And what the hey does it matter what group of humans done sent her here?” Applejack asked angrily.

Twilight looked ashamed as she continued. “The Make-a-Wish Foundation is a group that gives little foals one last wish, whatever it is they've always wanted... before they die.”

The others looked at her in shock while David simply nodded. “Faith has advanced brain cancer, and isn't expected to live more than another week or two at most. She's always wanted to come to Equestria, to see your world, and the princesses agreed to let her. Today has probably been the happiest day of her life, and it's all thanks to you.”

They were all silent for a moment.

The anger seemed to have drained out of Applejack as she asked. “But why can't they send...”

David frowned. “I'm sure we could send them home to you in a cage, but short of that, do you really expect your own sisters would abandon their friend?”

“But they've only know each other a few hours! How can-”

“She helped Sweetie Belle get her cutie mark.” One of the Agents said simply.

Rarity's eyes widened in surprise. “You mean my little sister-?”

“Yes, she got her cutie mark in singing. It's a musical staff with notes on it.”

As they watched, Rarity's look of pride seemed to melt away as she added in concern. “She'll never leave her now...”

“It's worse then that.” Twilight said as tears began to form in her eyes. “Faith's cancer? It's one of the things the humans can cure with the medicine they derived from Scootaloo's volunteering. The problem is, Scoot's DNA is too different to work on Faith, she needed other ponies to volunteer... and I didn't.”

There were guilty looks all around as that sunk in.

“You mean... this Faith girl is going to die... because we didn't volunteer?” Applejack swallowed hard.

“It's hard to say for sure, but there is at least a chance that if you all donated early on when Scoot asked you to, they might have been able to adapt the treatment in time.” David sighed and looked tired. “But that was over a month and a half ago. Its still very important to get more ponies to volunteer; we still need your help to save other lives, but... it's too late for Faith.”

Most of them were tearing up by now, but Rarity's face had suddenly taken on a look of fear.
“Do... do you think they know?”

The others looked at her and she continued in a worried tone.

“Do you think the girls will find out?”

David looked away. “Their friend is dying. Do you honestly think they won't try to help? They probably already know you refused to volunteer, and that Faith is now paying with her life. I wouldn't be surprised if they volunteer themselves.”

For the first time that day, Applejack looked genuinely worried. “We have to go get them! We can't just...”

“If you're worried about your sisters, you shouldn't be.” David stated in a level tone. “Scootaloo has been volunteering once a month since she was a tiny pony, and the doctors take good care of her. Your sisters will be fine.” He paused to look at Rarity and Applejack. “What they'll think of you afterwards is another matter.”

…

The needles had hurt a little, but Ms. Scott had stayed with them the whole time, taking all the same pokes they did, and it really hadn't been that bad. The MRI had been noisy and a little scary, but they had all suffered through it, even Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who had each endured a splitting horn ache and wing ache for their friend. Now after nearly six hours they were finally done, and Ms. Scott had taken them all out for ice cream.

“I still don't see what they need all those samples for.” Sweetie Belle groused over her milkshake. “They took little clippings of my fur, my mane, my tail, they even had me spit in a cup.”

“Yeah.” The younger Scootaloo agreed. “I know what a blood sample is, but I didn't even know I had some of those samples they got out of me with the long needles.

Ms. Scott just smiled. “I know it doesn't make much sense, but there will be a lot of people analyzing all the samples you gave us today.”

Applebloom crinkled her nose. “Even the... bathroom samples?”

“Yes, there are some doctors who specialize in that area.”

“Eeeeewww!”

Ms. Scott chuckled. “Well who did you think you went to see if you had a problem with your plot?”

Sweetie Belle was still trying to make a face, but a large yawn interrupted her.

“Why don't you girls finish up your ice cream and then we can go back to see Faith? I asked the hospital to get her a room big enough to sleep all of you. After all, its way past your bedtime.” She admonished gently.

“But it's still light out.” Applebloom whined. “It can't be bedtime ye-” She too was cut off by a huge yawn.

“Yes, but our worlds don't have quite the same schedule.” Ms. Scott explained as she herded the three away from the table and out to the waiting van. “A day on our world is a little bit longer, so day and night don't sync up.”

As the three climbed into the van, Applebloom asked the question that was foremost on their minds. “But we did good today right? All that pokin' is going to help somepony?”

Ms. Scott smiled as she buckled their seat belts. “Yes. Given a few months, what you did today will save many many lives.”

“But... not Faith?” Sweetie Belle asked in a pleading voice.

Ms. Scott hung her head as she spoke softly. “I'm sorry girls. She isn't going to make it that long. The best we can do is enjoy what time we have left.”

They were all trying to look brave as she took her own seat, but as the van made its way back to the hospital she could hear someone quietly sobbing.

Ms. Scott had had to pull some strings, but staff had arranged the room as she asked, with a proper bed for Faith's parents, and two twin beds together for Faith, who was still sleeping peacefully as they quietly opened the door. Ms. Scott paused to check Faith's chart and did her best to hide her cringe from the three foals trailing after her. After a pause to make sure her morphine drip was still working and the other pain killers were read to hand, she herded the sleepy crusaders to the bedside. Her parents didn't stir as Ms. Scott helped the three sleepy foals up onto the bed and tucked them in as they all snuggled up to Faith.
“Sweet dreams, girls, now get some rest. We'll all still be here in the morning.”

The three of them each gave a little nod as they held Faith tightly between them, and despite their best efforts, quickly drifted off to sleep.

...

The afternoon had wound down to a close, the sun had set, and Granny Smith once more reclined in her rocking chair on the front porch. Dinner had been served, the chores done, and now she took the time to drink in the cool evening air as the sunset faded and stars gradually appeared in the sky.

The figure in white stood out more at night, but Big Machintash was still inside cleaning up, and he took no notice of her. She found Granny Smith sound asleep in her rocker, and with a smile dug something out of her pocket. Granny flinched a bit at the pinch, but didn't wake, and in a moment it was done. The figure nodded in satisfaction, stood up, and took a few steps around to the back of the house. Big Mac looked up at the flash of white light, but a quick look behind the house through the window revealed nothing out of the ordinary and with a shrug, he turned and went back to the dishes.

He didn't find the circular cut in the grass until the next morning.

...

At eleven that night, the group of ponies gathered in the Canterlot Castle gate room for their return to the human world. David had asked for a jump back only an hour after Ms. Scott had left with the girls, but had been told, politely but firmly, that the human gate was still an experimental transporter, and as such, would occasionally require maintenance that took it offline.
Celestia had been willing to help, but given that the foals were in no danger, and considering the strain it put on her, she had set up the jump to take place right before bed. As the light enveloped each member of the group, the stone room around them disappeared, to be replaced by the blank white walls of the human gate room.

“Great, we're here.” Applejack said impatiently. “I still don't see why she couldn't just send us directly to the hospital.”

“We talked about that remember?” David sighed. “ How did it work the last time Celestia sent you all through? The gate room is a big empty room to aim for that we know is clear to receive us.”

“I just hope we got here in time.” Rarity said in an agitated voice. “Do you think...” She trailed off as she noticed David's faraway expression, one that usually meant he was talking to someone. After a few moments he came back to the present.

“My wife just filled me in; the girls know what's going on and they're scared, but trying to be brave about it. They spent most of this afternoon getting poked along with her, and they've gone back to the hospital to spend the night with Faith. Apparently she still hasn't woken up yet...”

Rarity looked torn. “They know what's going on...?”

Twilight hung her head. “So they found out what was going on and immediately did what I was scared to.” She looked up at David with a tremor in her voice. “Do you still need ponies to volunteer?”

“Desperately. We could take all of you tonight if you want to, though as late as it is, some of you might want to wait till the morning.”

“Now, just hold on there!” Applejack growled. “None of the rest of us said nothing about volunteering for your freaky medical research.”

The silence in the big room was deafening, and after a moment she turned around to see Rainbow, Rarity and Fluttershy looking uncomfortable.

“You're not seriously considering this?!”

“Well... Dashie has been guilting me about this for weeks now... I think she has a point.”

Rarity tried to look composed as she added. “A lady admits when she is wrong... “ She grimaced as she continued. “And if I ever want to be able to look my sister in the eye again...”

Fluttershy gave a small nod of agreement.

“You're going to volunteer too?!” Applejack exploded, making the yellow pegasus flinch. “After everything that happened to us, you're going to help them?!”

Fluttershy reached up and grasped the locket that she still wore around her neck, opening it and looking at the photo of the young girl in the cover. She closed her eyes and spoke very quietly. “Yes. I owe it to them.”

Applejack's face was flushed with anger as she growled at them. “They killed those cows. They butchered 'em and ground 'em up and fed 'em to each other. To us! They dosed us with chemicals until we started dripping milk! And now you're willing to go along with this kind of farmin' because one of them is dyin'?!

“You haven't spent time with Faith,” Twilight objected, “she's just a little foal, she doesn't know anything about this!”

“Then the humans are just usin' her!”

“No, Ms. Scott is.” David interjected flatly. “Kids like Faith die every day of illnesses we could cure with your help. But after every one of you except Pinkie refused to help, she knew she had to do something. She's a doctor, and children were dying, and she couldn't save them. She picked Faith out of a long list of other kids who also wanted to go to Equestria, and deliberately used her to show you exactly who needs your help. She gave Faith her last wish, to see your world before she died.” David looked directly at Applejack as he finished. “And I don't think she's likely to apologize.”

David walked off towards the open door and they all fell in behind him as Applejack stood fuming. “The bus to the hospital is waiting outside, and it will also be available to take you back to your hotel rooms if you need them. I'll be happy to coordinate for anyone who wants to volunteer tonight, but after that, my wife and I will be going home. It's been a very long day.”

Author's Note

Update: I've just finished a much darker story 'Piracy', an exploration of good and evil that'll have you checking under your bed tonight. Just don't read it all alone in the dark... :scootangel:

Ch 3.26 The Cost of Specism

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twenty Six: The Cost of Specism

“I still can't believe they're all goin' along with this.” Applejack muttered to herself as the elevator took her up to the floor where Applebloom was staying. The doors opened and she stepped out alone, studying the signs for a moment before heading off to the correct room on her left. The curtains were drawn, and the lights dimmed, so she opened the door quietly, and stepped inside.

Faith's parents were still asleep on their bed together, and Faith had turned over in the night wrapping her arms around Sweetie Belle with her head tucked under Scootaloo's chin. Watching them sleep, Applejack couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt.

She could hear someone muttering in the bathroom, and momentarily she heard a flush as Applebloom emerged with a confused expression on her face, glancing back at the facilities. She turned, and her eyes widened as she caught sight of Applejack waiting for her.

“Come on little sis.” She whispered as she turned and quietly opened the door. Applebloom glanced at her friends, then as though steeling herself for an argument, shook her head and followed AJ out the door shutting it behind her.

“Come on Applebloom, we're going home.” Applejack stated as she led the way to the elevators.

It took a moment for her to realize no one was following her.

Turning around, she found Applebloom glaring at her with an expression of deep anger tinged with sadness. “Is it true what Ms. Scott said? That she told you she needed volunteers and you refused?”

Applejack felt her own hackles rising at the implicit accusation. “That's no business of yours, Missy. Now let's-”

“No business of mine?!” Applebloom almost shouted as tears formed in her eyes, “Faith is dying! They said you could have saved her, but you wouldn't!” She wiped her eyes with a hoof as she hung her head and continued very quietly. “Is it true Applejack?”

“I refused to help these humans” she replied coldly “after what they did to us. After seeing what they do on their farms.” She turned away again. “Now lets get the next ride outa' here. You've got school in the morning and-”

Applebloom took a deep shuddering breath and a single tear splashed on the hard tile. “I'm not coming with you.” The finality of the statement stopped Applejack in mid stride. “I didn't wana believe her when she told me... but now that you done admitted it...”

Applejack had turned back again, but seeing her sister in tears only stoked her anger. 'The humans butchered those cow, ground them up and fed them to me! And after all that, they lied about it to my sister and tricked her into helping them?! To being poked and prodded like an animal so more of them can live?!'
Applejack looked around and found what she was looking for under the arm of a nurse who had paused in her rounds to watch them. “Hey! Leme borrow that computer of yours.”

Startled at suddenly going from spectator to participant, the nurse handed over the tablet with a questioning look. Applejack looked right at the computer and growled. “Show me the video of Fluttershy and the calves.” The video popped to top of the list, and began playing as she presented it to Applebloom and behind her the nurse gasped.

The result was immediate and predictable, and when the video ended two minutes later Applebloom was crying openly as her older sister smiled grimly. “That's what they did to us. That's what humans are like.” She sighed and wrapped a comforting hoof around Applebloom. “I'm sorry sis. I didn't want you to know anything about this... I tried to protect you, but it sounds like they didn't even tell you they ate meat.”

“Did Faith live on a farm like that?” Applebloom asked in a choked voice.

The nurse who had watched this all with mounting disgust spoke up as she took her tablet back. “No, of course not! Only a tiny number of people ate meat made that way even when it was still legal! Most of us never think about where our meat comes from, and a poor kid like Faith would probably never have know!”

“So she didn't know...” Applebloom asked out loud as she tried to reconcile the girl she knew with the horror her sister had shown her. Her eyes were still red from crying, but as she looked up at Applejack they hardened. “But you did.”
The anger faded from her tone as she continued sadly. “You knew she had nothing to do with this, but you still...” She pulled away from Applejack's embrace with a shudder. “I don't know how you could do this...”

“Never you mind. I've seen enough of humans to know all I need to.”

Applebloom glanced from the darkened room to her sister and fresh tears dripped on the tiles as she spoke.

“I... I don't think I want to be your sister anymore Applejack.”

Her little sister quietly opened the door and rejoined her friends.

The door closed with a click.

The nurse left to continue on her rounds.

Applejack was left standing in the hallway, staring blankly at the door, alone.

...

When Applebloom woke next, it was to a squeal of joy. Faith had finally woken, and found herself snuggling with the three sleepy ponies.

“Oh my gosh! You came back with me?!”

Sweetie Belle wrapped her hooves around Faith. “Of course we did, we couldn't leave you all alone!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo affirmed, “You're a cutie mark crusader now, and we take care of each other!”

Applebloom had just woken and felt like laughing and crying, but managed simply. “A true friend helps a friend in need.”

Faith was tearing up again as she hugged them all. “Oh! I love you girls!”

“We love you too Faith!”

They held on to each other for some time, and were soon joined by Faith's mother and father as well. After a long while they broke the silence and asked the obvious questions.
“How are you feeling sweetie?”

Faith thought about it. “My head really hurts, and I feel kind of sore all over...” She looked scared as she figured it out. “I had another seizure didn't I?”

Her father answered in a pained voice. “Well, yes sweetie, but we knew they were only going to get worse...”

She turned to the crusaders. “I'm so sorry girls! I didn't scare you did I?”

They all exchanged a confused look before Applebloom answered. “You're worried about scarin us?”

She nodded nervously, her downcast eyes and quavering voice betrayed her feelings as she answered. “I really didn't mean to scare you... It's just... I've always wanted to be your friend. And I guess I kind of forgot to warn you that I was sick.”

“Don't worry about it, we weren't that scared.” Scootaloo said, trying to puff herself up.

“Horseapples we weren't!” Applebloom retorted with a shaky glare at Scootaloo, “We were really worried that something had happened to you!”
All the pent up fear and anger of the last day came bursting out as she continued. “And now they're tellin' us that you're diein'?! You're just a little foal like us! Please Faith, tell us its not true!” She finished as she started to cry again.

Tears were forming in Faith's eyes as well as she leaned forward and hugged the poor quivering pony. “Oh Applebloom, I'm so sorry.”

Sweetie Belle couldn't help it, and was trying not to sob as she asked. “Then you knew? All this time, you knew you were...?” Faith just nodded again as Sweetie Belle broke down. “But why?! You said you would be back! That we could have more time together next time! Why would you say that?!”

Her mother and father cringed at this and looked away as Faith pulled Sweetie Belle close. “I will be back Sweetie. I promise.”

Sweetie Belle looked up, her eyes red from tears. “But... if you die...?”

Faith smiled kindly and stroked her friends mane. “After I die, if I've lived a good life I get to go to Heaven, and when I get there, we can all get back together, and have all the fun we want.”

Scootaloo looked confused. “The human name for Equestria is 'Heaven'?”

Before they could ask any more questions, the nurse on duty bustled though the door, smiling when she saw Faith was up.
“Good morning! It's good to see you're awake, how are you feeling?”
Faith answered truthfully, holding her poor head as the nurse took her vitals and added more information to her chart.

“Okay dear, now you know what's next. Do you want your friends to wait outside?”

Faith just smiled weakly. “It's okay. They don't wear pants at all.”

The nurse waited a moment, then shrugged and shooed the ponies off the bed as she pulled back the sheets revealing Faith's hospital gown and diaper. Faith did blush a little as the nurse explained. “They're needed because of the seizures. Waking up from one of those is bad enough without having to change your pants every time.”

She helped Faith roll onto her side, the removed the wet garment and replaced it with the speed born of long practice. Next she helped her to sit up against the pillows and started the morning checks. “Okay, wiggle your fingers... Good. Now press your hands against mine... push back against me... hard as you can... good girl. Okay, now wiggle your toes...”

There was a silence as nothing happened.

“Okay, dear, I need you to wiggle your toes.”The nurse asked again, her good humor faltering under a cloud of apprehension.

Again nothing happened.

“Um... how about you just move your legs, okay? Just move whatever you can...”

The crusaders looked nervously from one to the other as Faith held her breath and strained, putting all the effort she could into trying to shift her legs.

Nothing moved.

Her mother hugged her father, sobbing quietly into his shoulder as he tried to console her.
The nurse grimaced, but quickly forced a smile. “Okay dear, its all right. We knew the tumors would probably squeeze off the nerves to someplace before long. Here, what's the lowest place you can feel?” She asked, gently prodding Faith's belly and working down.

Faith had tears in her eyes as she found she couldn't feel the pokes below the belly button.

Her parents held her while she cried, and the three ponies quickly rejoined her on the bed, each of them terrified, but doing their best to comfort their friend.

...

A doctor's training can make a person, or pony in this case, extraordinarily resistant to jet lag, and that morning found Ms. Scott awake early as she hopped a cab through the morning fog to the hotel where the others were staying. While some of them had woken early and made their way downstairs to enjoy the lavish breakfast, Rarity and Applejack were notably missing.

The elder Scootaloo joined them for breakfast, and struck up a conversation with the three of them.

“I wanted to stop by this morning and personally thank you all for your help last night. The contributions you've made will help a lot of people and we won't forget this.”

Rainbow looked a little embarrassed. “Oh, it wasn't really that big a deal...”
“See? Isn't that just what I told you?” Dashie retorted.

“I found it absolutely fascinating!” Twilight exclaimed. “They explained what each test and sample was for, and how everything worked. I learned so much!” Her mood fell a bit as she continued. “And sometimes about things I really didn't need to know...”

Ms. Scott raised an eyebrow.
“What happened? Did you look through one of the encyclopedias of disease? I explicitly warned you not to do that if you'll remember.” she added flatly.

“No, it wasn't that...” Twilight said nervously, rubbing her hooves together as the other two each looked uncomfortable. After an expectant moment, she sighed and continued. “The speculum... And the stirrups...”

Ms. Scott looked surprised. “Well surely you must have gynecologists in Equestria?”

“Uh... Not exactly...” Rainbow said rubbing the back of her head.
“Yeah! My dad never took me to a doctor like that...” Dashie amended “Though, technically, he never took me to a doctor at all...”

Fluttershy seemed to be trying to sink into the table as she mumbled very quietly. “It's... um... most of us don't ever go to a doctor like that unless something is wrong... and that doesn't happen to most ponies...” She added, flushing bright red.

“I almost thought they were up to something.” Twilight added, “But then I looked up a few articles about problems with the human reproductive system.” She blanched visibly. “I had no idea there were so many ways things could go wrong! I don't say this often, but I'm really glad I'm a pony!”

The others nodded agreement as Ms. Scoot looked amused. “Well, I can't say I've ever given it much thought. I've been getting exams like that each month for many years now, though you'll have to show me how it works in your world the next time I'm over there. I'd be interested to see how your culture deals with these issues.”

“What issues are those?”
The question came from Rarity, who had just emerged from the elevator with a hung-over looking Applejack trailing behind.

“Oh... It's not important. Just shop talk about the exams we all had last night.” Twilight answered with a blush.

The sunlight streaming through the windows made Applejack wince as she tried to suffer through her hangover. Ms. Scott took one look and fetched a Gatorade and pulled two aspirin from her prosthetic. “Sorry AJ, but you look awful. Swallow these, and wash them down with all of this. You should start to feel better in a few minutes.”

Applejack tried to object, but just found herself wincing in pain, and with a groan she conceded the point and did as the doctor ordered.

Rarity spared a moment to frown disapprovingly at Applejack as she chugged the bottle, but AJ didn't seem to notice.
“At any rate, do you think the girls will be awake yet? They stayed up awfully late last night, and I wouldn't want to wake them, but... I really need to make sure Sweetie Belle is all right.”

Ms. Scott frowned. “Well, it can take a while to get used to the time difference, but let me find out...” Her face took on that blank stare as she pulled up a connection and called the nurse on staff to find out. A moment later she snapped back to the present with a grimace. “Well, they're awake all right, but Faith isn't doing so well... We aught to get over there as soon as we can...”

…

Since their joyful awakening that morning, things had been going rapidly downhill for the crusaders. The same tumor that had pinched off the nerves in Faith's spine and paralyzed her from the waist down was also squeezing other nerves and the pain that had been dulled with drugs before, and unicorn magic during the trip had come roaring back with a vengeance.

The four of them had talked about their past adventures, the fun with Babbs after her change of heart, even the qualities of earth sodas that the nurses kept them supplied with, but as the morning wore on they noticed faith wincing and squirming as the pain became worse.

Finally, Applebloom couldn't ignore it anymore. “Faith, are you feelin' okay?”

The little seven year old squirmed again and squinted her eyes shut as she pulled the yellow pony's head close to whisper in her ear. “Could... could you please make sure my Mom's asleep?”

Applebloom looked uncomfortable as she checked to see that her Mother was in fact napping in her chair across the room while her father had stepped out to get lunch for everyone.
“Uh, yea, she's asleep alright... what did you want to-”

Faith cut her off in a raspy whisper. “I don't want to go Applebloom! I don't want to go, but it hurts so bad!”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked pained as they snuggled up to faith and held her little body which was shaking despite her best efforts to conceal it. “What er you talkin' about? Ms. Scott said you still had at least a few days left!” Applebloom pleaded.

Sweetie Belle felt something wet on her cheek and looked up to see tears streaming from Faith's closed eyes. “It just hurts! It hurts so bad!”

“I'll call the Doc to give you something!” Scootaloo said as she got to her hooves, only to feel Faith's hand grab her right hoof in a death grip.

“Please, don't!”

“But you're in pain! I have to-”

Faith shook her head fiercely. “I'm already getting as much as I can and still be me... When they give me more I... I go away... and I don't remember anything after.”
The ponies looked on in shock as she little girl squirmed and tried to cry silently.

“But... but what can we do?” Applebloom whispered back, her voice beginning to crack.

“I don't know... But if I go again I... I don't think I'm going to come back...”
The crusaders all held on to Faith as squeezed them back. “And I don't want to leave you girls yet!”

…

When Dr Scott entered the room an hour later she found three scared looking foals still sharing the bed with a comatose little girl. A quick glance at the charts showed the nurse had been in half an hour ago and administered another dose of pain killers that apparently put Faith right to sleep, leaving her friends to wait with her, just as they had through the night.

“Girls? Could I ask you to please come with me for a moment? I promise this won't take long.”

The three of them shared a pained look as they all rubbed their eyes. “Well... Okay, but only for a minute...” Sweetie Belle answered, shakily stepping away from their sleeping friend.

Ms. Scott lead them down the hall and around the corner to the lobby where the others were waiting. An embarrassed silence followed as the red eyed foals stared at their sisters and mentors.

After a moment, it was Applejack who stepped forward.
“Applebloom... I reckon I owe you an apology. I did a lot a thinkin' last night, and... and I went and volunteered too.”

For the first time in a day something like relief appeared on the crusaders faces, though Applejack, still looking at the floor didn't see it.
“Everypony else here did too... I know it ain't enough to save your friend, but-”

The sound of hooves warned her just in time to look up and catch Applebloom as she threw herself into her arms. Behind her, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were each clinging to Rarity and Rainbow as their walls came down and the tears flowed openly for the first time.

“Applejack, I'm so scared!”

“It's okay sugar cube, I'm here for you now.”

Behind them Sweetie Belle hugged her big sister with all her might as the tears ran down her muzzle and across Rarity's shoulder.
“She's dying Rarity!! She's in pain and she dying and I don't know what to do!”

Rarity didn't respond, in words but just held her sister close as she cried. Even little Scootaloo had given up any pretense as Rainbow held onto her and sobs shook her little form.

...

It took some time indeed, but eventually tears were dried, apologies made, and the tearful group made up before following Ms. Scott back to Faith's room.

As they entered, Faith was once more awake and she, her mother and father were holding their hands together in prayer. Despite her best efforts to concentrate on the sentiment tears were already running from her closed eyes as she cried again from the loss and returning pain. As they all gathered around, the crusaders hopping up onto the bed and joining her family in a group hug, already tearing up themselves as they felt sobs wrack Faith's small frame.

“I love you all so much!” She sobbed into her mothers shoulder. “It hurts so bad but I don't want to go!”

“We love you too Faith.” Sweetie Belle whispered as she held on.

“Yeah... We'll be seein' you... real soon.... don't you worry bout us...” Applebloom choked out.

Even the grown ponies were trying not to cry as her parents tried to reassure her. The soft hum of the morphine drip went un-noticed by most, though little Faith heard it and only cried harder as she felt her mind slipping away again.

When her parents had tucked her back in once more, Ms. Scott spoke up in sad tones.
“This is probably it. If you like we could bring her up one last time to say our goodbyes, but she's in a lot of pain right now, and it may be kinder to just let her sleep...”

Applebloom looked up from the bed where the crusaders lay cuddling Faith. “What... what do you mean?? I thought... I thought she had a few more days!”

“She does...”

Rainbow turned on Ms. Scott, her fear and sadness flashing to anger. “Then why? Why are we saying goodbye if there's still time?!”

Ms. Scoot sighed, her tail and mane drooping as she wiped her eyes with a hand. “She does have several days left Rainbow. She might even have a week. But you saw how much pain she's in. She's suffering. Most parents... don't want their little one to suffer any more. We have the drugs to keep her out... until the end. It's often the kindest thing we can do.”

Ms. Scott walked slowly from the room to leave the parents and children in peace as the others followed her out into the hall.
“You should probably start planning for the funeral... your sisters probably haven't had to deal with this yet, and it isn't easy to say goodbye. We have counselors who can assist if you need-”

A loud stomp of hooves on tile cut her off and Rainbow yelled. “How can you say that?! How can you just give up on her like this?! She's still here! She's still alive!” Her anger obviously waring with grief as her words took on a pleading tone.

When Ms. Scott spoke again her voice was hard.
“Rainbow, we are out of options. In your world, everyone gets second chances, no one suffers, and little kids don't die in their parents' arms. Your world has safeguards. You have a system that takes care of you, that cares for you. We don't. Every kindness, every comfort that poor girl has had was invented by humans, built by humans and given to her by humans because if we don't do it no one else will.”

Into the silence Dashie asked softly; “Even her faith? Did humans build that too?”

Scootaloo seemed to deflate as she wiped her eyes and sniffled before answering. “No, Dashie, we didn't. But she isn't the first sick kid I've cared for, and I learned long ago that by the time praying for them is your best bet, they're already lost to us.” She sniffed again and tried to compose herself. “I do have faith... but outside of Equestria it is a very rare and special day indeed when a prayer like this is answered... and of the dozens of children I've watched die... it hasn't happened yet.”

Applejack, of all ponies, closed the distance between them and put her hoof around the elder Scootaloo, holding her close as she finally let down her doctor's walls and softly shed her own tears.

Scootaloo gave Applejack a grateful smile as she steadied herself once more, but further conversation ended as the one of the research doctors came running up to the group, excited and obviously out of breath.

“Dr. Scott! I wanted to be the first to give you the news; We just got the word back that they have the first version of the new cure available for testing. Our team and others have been working on what Pinkie gave us and we have reconfigured the cure in a way that might work.”

As their faces lit up, Ms. Scott looked back with furrowed brows. “What version is it? Alpha? Beta?”

“It hasn't been tested yet.”

Her face fell still further. “Not at all?”

The researcher nodded but forged ahead anyway. “I know it's not protocol, but they've made an exception for your current patient. It might not work, but it doesn't sound like she has much time left anyway.”

Ms. Scott looked torn, but after a moment she made up her mind.
“Very well. Get all the supplies and people you need and meet us at the gate room facility. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right. I'll see you in Equestria.”

Ch 3.27 A Child's Dreams

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twenty Seven: A Child's Dreams

The next hours were a mad dash as people and equipment were uprooted and packed off to the gate room facility to be sent over. After making her plan clear to her counterparts at the hospital, Ms. Scott made the jump with the fourth group and began coordinating the work with the local hospital. Through a set of happy circumstances they found a room big enough for their needs, and they has soon set up the equipment, plumbed the gas lines, and fueled the generator and backup generator.

Things could have gone badly with the setup, but unlike any Earth hospital, hospitals in Equestria seemed to have a surplus of space, equipment and personnel, and the administrator was only too happy to help with their plan.

By early afternoon in Equestria, one of Canterlot hospital's treatment rooms was configured and everyone had arrived who was needed, many of the Equestrian doctors and visitors trying not to stare as they went about their work.

When Ms. Scott was satisfied that everything was in order she stepped out into the waiting room where Faith's parents were waiting with the crusaders and the other ponies.

“What's happening in there?” Her father pleaded.

“We don't know what's going on! We were just told to follow along, but no one has told us anything!” Her mother agreed, voicing the same concerns most of them were feeling.

Ms. Scott took a deep breath. “I apologize for all this. We all know Faith doesn't have much time left, and when I heard the news I didn't think of anything but the job. Thanks to Pinkie's generous donation and the tireless work of researchers the world over, we now have a new version of the genetic treatment.”

Several of their faces lit up with smiles as others looked confused. Ms. Scott just held her hands up for calm.

“I need you to understand what this means. In a few months or years this cure will be properly tested and safe for use in humans, but what we have today is the very first version. I need everyone to understand that even with this, Faith's odds of survival are still less than one in five. But one in five is a hell of a lot better than zero.”

“I don't understand... I thought if you had the cure...?” Rarity asked.

“I know this can be confusing, but the cure isn't refined yet. We haven't had the chance to test it, so there is still a very good chance that the synthetic biology could fail to grow, or that it could attack her body and kill her. There is a chance this can work, and that's why we're here, but there is no guarantee.”

Her father spoke up again from where he sat, holding his sleeping daughter's hand. “But why couldn't you have told us this earlier? And why here? Why couldn't we have done this in the hospital on earth?”

Ms. Scott closed her eyes and sighed. “I do owe you an apology for the lack of communication. That was my fault, and I'm sorry. If you give us permission, we are going to treat your daughter here because I'm hoping it will help. Highly complex magic only seems to work right in Equestria; we all got our cutie marks when we arrived, and I'm praying that whatever this system is, it will help better the odds. Believe me when I say she will need every advantage she can get...” She trailed off as she stroked Faith's hair from her closed eyes.

There was a long silence as her mother and father shared a worried look.

“Please, do whatever you can.”

…

With everything finally in place and all the monitors recording Dr. Scott put the needle into Faith's arm and started the IV. Unlike similar situations before, most of the staff knew someone involved in this personally, and the usual medical detachment was harder to muster, especially with several worried looking ponies in medical attire hanging back to offer assistance if needed. As the minutes ticked by the saline solution containing the programmed synthetic biology flowed into her arm and the bag gradually emptied as everyone stood by in tense anticipation.

“Is it working, doctor?”

Dr. Scott barely looked up, her attention still focused on the data scrolling before her eyes. “So far so good. We should see an uptick in her metabolism and heart rate as the new cells begin to integrate and grow, but it looks like all the pain killers are slowing the process down...”

Ten minutes later, they had the boost they hoped for. “Heart rate is 90 BPM. She took longer to get here than we expected, but so far she's doing well.”

One of the Equestrian doctors ventured the obvious question. “When will we know if it's worked?”

Dr. Scott sighed. “In a tested version this process normally takes place as an outpatient procedure. They administer the treatment, hang around for an hour or so to look for any obvious problems and then send the patient home. The new cells begin growing immediately, and in a few days have begun to make noticeable changes in the prognosis of most diseases. In a week or two all but the worst cases are usually cleared up as the synthetic immune system destroys any invading organisms. They recommend a diet with lots of yogurt and other foods with good bacteria because in those overzealous first weeks the synthetic biology frequently overreacts and kills off the helpful intestinal bacteria as well. In this case though... If its going to work, we should have a very tense couple of days before she gradually begins to heal. If...”

There was a pause as her attention was drawn to several displays she had setup behind her eyes which had begun to flash yellow.
“Damn it.” She muttered.

“What's wrong?”

“Her heart rate is still rising, and her body temperature is going up with it... If this keeps up...”

The external monitors had begun to notice the change as well and the chirp of alarms from various monitors filled the room as her heart rate continued to climb.

“Shit! One hundred fifty and climbing. Get me the sedatives.”

The drugs made their way into the IV, but Faith's heart rate continued to climb past 160 into the 170's.

Another doctor spoke up.
“Damn it, her heart's going at a dead run, we have to bring this down, she can't keep this up for more than half an hour or so, tops.”

“Obviously!” Dr. Scott answered, “But she's already on morphine, and if we give her too much we could slow her heart down to dangerous levels when she comes off this.”

As her heart-rate passed 190 the first doctor passed more depressants to Dr. Scott who shook her head but put them in.

There was no discernible effect.

By now the alarms were sounding in earnest as her body strained to keep her metabolism going at the equivalent of a dead sprint and her heart and lungs began to tire.

In under a minute her heart rate began to fall... and fall... and fall...

“One fifty... One hundred...”

Dr. Scott stood by with the best stimulants they had, praying that Faith would plateau out at a reasonable level.

“Sixty... Forty...!”

“Damn damn damn!”

The stimulants and adrenaline went in.

“Twenty beats per minute! Damn it, she's crashing!”

There was a hard edge on Dr. Scotts voice as she addressed the surgeon. “Get ready with your equipment. Crash cart stand by, everyone else stand clear.”

“Ten...”

The crash team did their work and stood ready with the paddles, but their usual drugs were having little effect on Faith's failing heart.

“Eight...”

The beats of her little heart were now nearly ten seconds apart and falling. In any normal situation, the results of an unresponsive crash like this were depressingly predictable, but Dr. Scott wasn't done yet.

“Dr. Marks, you may proceed.” She stated in a cold voice.

“But what about-” One of the earth researcher ponies asked, only to be cut off sharply.

“The crash cart can only shock a beating heart back into a working rhythm.” The elder Scootaloo spat. “She's not responding to the drugs, and if her heart stops altogether that cart will be as useful as a damn boat anchor! Dr. Marks, are you ready to go?”

The surgeon nodded while his people put the last touches on their equipment. Faith's heart gave one last beat before the forlorn wail of the heart rate flat line filled the room.

The surgeon needed no further prompting, and stepped in to work.

...

Several hours later a very tired looking orange pony pushed the doors of the waiting room open with an open palm. Faith's parents leapt to their feet along with most of the ponies in the room as they waited tensely for the announcement.

“She's alive, and she's awake.” Dr. Scott intoned carefully. After waiting a moment for everyone to calm down and listen again she continued.
“Faith is in a very dangerous situation right now. Her heart failed during the first hour and hasn't restarted since. We have her hooked up to a heart-lung machine that's keeping her alive, but we don't know when her when her heart will be able to take over again.”

Everyone looked stricken as she continued to explain for the benefit of the ponies to whom this technology was new.
“Humans have been able to replace a failed heart or destroyed lungs with a machine for nearly eighty years now, but the problem has always been the difficulty of getting machinery and biology to work together. The early units would form a fatal blood clot within minutes or hours, but we've gotten a lot better with time. Faith is at serious risk as long as she's on the machine, but we have her hooked up to neural monitors so we can react if she has a stroke. She's still young and, besides the cancer, healthy, so if the synthetic biology takes as it seems to be doing, we can hope she'll be out of danger in a few days.”

“Can we see her now?” her mother asked in a shaky voice.

Dr. Scott allowed herself a smile. “Of course, she’s been asking for you.”

…

As they entered the room Faith's parents were already at her side hugging their daughter as they all shed fresh tears of relief. The crusaders hung back with the Twilight and the others as Ms. Scott put a hand on Pinkie’s withers.

“Thank you, Pinkie. She wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you.”

For the first time any of them could remember, Pinkie seemed to be at a loss for words, simply content to stand and watch as tears ran down her cheeks and a warm smile played across her face.

After a few minutes, Faith asked her mother something and she gestured the ponies over to her bedside. Sweetie Belle made it there first and wrapped her hooves around her friend.
“Oh! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Don’t go scarin' us like that anymore!” Apple bloom amended.

“Yeah!” Little Scootaloo agreed as she squeezed the little girl, “We were so worried about you!”

Faith smiled as she returned their hug. “Well you don’t need to worry anymore. Now I get to stay and play with you forever just like I said.”

Most of the ponies and humans looked confused, but it was her father who asked what she meant.

“Well, I’m in heaven now.” Faith explained simply. “My heart stopped, and now I’m awake in heaven with all the people I love.”

Dr. Scott had been inspecting the network of leads and electrodes attached to Faith's bald scalp, but this made her look up with a raised eyebrow, mirrored by many others in the room. After a lengthy and confusing explanation for everypony involved, Dr. Scott agreed with her parents to leave Faith’s world view unchallenged for the time being.

The ponies and people spent most of the afternoon together, talking and laughing and just enjoying each others company, but as the evening came on a white nurse pony with a pink mane tied up in a bun reminded them that Faith needed her rest and began herding them from the room.

As Sweetie Belle waved goodbye to Faith and her parents, Pinkie and the nurse exchanged a meaningful look, smiled, and the doors closed leaving her with her family and a single loving pony.

“Well, I'd better write a letter to the princess explaining that everything's worked out.” Twilight sighed. “And I have a standing arrangement with the castle guard – anyone who wants to can stay the night in one of the castle's spare rooms, that way-”

Dr Scott's brows were furrowed as she interrupted. “Twilight, I'm surprised at you! You of all people should know how precarious Faith's situation is!”

Fluttershy spoke up hesitantly. “Well, I have cared for a few primates before,” She glanced apologetically at one of the human doctors, “Um... meaning no offense of course. But she seems healthy and happy. That usually means the adorable, hairy little thing- er – patient, is getting better...”

Dr. Scott shook her head and crossed her arms in front of her. “Normally you would be right, and we can see from the blood samples that the synthetic biology derived from Pinkie is already starting to take, but her heart still isn't beating. Until we can get her off the heart-lung machine she is in danger. We're monitoring her brain activity for signs of a stroke, but we can only deal with so much; Our surgical team will be on call all night, but if things go badly we can't clear three or four simultaneous blood clots. She's doing fine right now, but I'm still worried for her...”

Twilight shook herself. “Sorry, its just easy to forget how complicated medicine is on your world. I know she's not out of the woods yet, but she's in good hooves with you.” The others nodded as Twilight continued. “She wouldn't be here at all without all your hard work.”

Rainbow hovered over and took the orange doctor in a hug. “I'm so proud of you Scoot.”

…

The wing rushed over her wings as Luna dived under a cloud and an orange streak followed close behind her, giggling with glee in the moonlight.

“Come along, Snowdrop, let us grab that big fluffy one!”

The two mares grabbed opposite sides of the large fluffy cloud and began hauling it back down to the castle below where an interesting sight was already taking shape. The castle roof looked much as it ever had to Luna, but to Snowdrop's new eyes this was still a sight of wonder. “It's so perfect!” She had said earlier that evening “I've never seen something so majestic!”
Luna had cracked a wry smile and suggested that the two of them could do better.

Now great ramps and flying buttresses of clouds clung to the upper levels of the castle, slides connected windows in one tower with those in another hundreds of feet away and below. The entire affair seemed reminiscent of a child's cardboard castle, and as they pulled the new cloud into place Snowdrop piped up with another idea.

“Oh! I know! Let's make a big trampoline from up here to that poofy cloud down by Auntie Celestia's window!”

Luna grinned mischievously and soon the two of them were laughing like foals as they rocketed past her window and bounced on to another part of their new play house.

“Mom? Can we go see if Scootaloo wants to come out and play with us?” The little orange filly asked with a beaming smile.

…

A few hours later Luna reclined in the cool moonlight as the two orange foals laughed, flew and played beneath her. 'And to think, this whole time it was just a vitamin deficiency...' She mused. 'Trust those humans to know what 'celiac disease' is and what to do about it.'

She had begged off a few minutes after rousting Scootaloo from her bed. The two orange foals had developed a habit of waking each other by hovering muzzle to muzzle with their sleeping counterpart until the other woke. While unnerving to spectators, the two of them seemed to think it was hilarious.

As the two foals jousted with cloud lances below her, Luna closed her eyes, lay back and began to dream walk.

The dreams of those in the capital had a unifying theme tonight, and by the fourth 'humans are coming to eat us' dream she was able to craft and turn loose a counter meme which she followed for a while as it spread out through the sleeping populace. This form of public relations wasn't something she advertised, but with one of her and millions of ponies there wasn't much choice in the matter. Given the addled state of a sleeping mind, most ponies never knew the difference. She watched appraisingly as her doppelganger assured another parent that the humans weren't coming for her foals, then smiled as it worked, the nightmares waned and the mare returned to a peaceful slumber.

Her mind was drawn to the uneasy dreams from a particular human who had just drifted off, and as she poked gently at the edges of her consciousness the sound of gunshots and screaming made her recoil from Agent Tyler's mind. Steeling herself she pressed forward and tried to coax the agent into a deep dreamless sleep, keenly aware of what had happened the last time she had attempted to help more directly. The images that welled up were enough to cause nightmares of her own; starving children, the little Scootaloo's she had rescued from that awful lab, pulling the trigger and watching the life bleed out...
With a supreme effort of will she forced the agent into a deep and dreamless sleep, while she woke to find herself still on the cloud, panting for breath and covered in sweat.

As she stood up, a ball of clouds flew up from below her and hit a hovering orange form to her left, breaking up like a snowball to the sound of coughing and sputtering on Snowdrop's part. There was a pause, then the little orange foal fashioned the ball into a battering ram and dove straight at something out of sight below her that gave a startled squawk as she plowed into it with her poofy cloud ram.

Luna smiled as her racing heart slowed a bit, and laying back she closed her eyes once more, slipping into the dream world as though lowing herself into a pool. The ripples of her doppelgangers were still spreading across the surface of the sleeping ponies, but as she looked more closely something seemed off.
The doppelgangers relayed back simple information to her, in this case yellow for ponies in need of their calming words, green for those sleeping peacefully, and red for problems they were not programmed to deal with. Looking out from her vantage point high over the sleeping city, most of the homes glowed a pleasant green, the few patches of yellow gradually fading to green, but a small patch on the edge of town was not lit at all. Normally that would mean the area was uninhabited, but as Luna watched one of her doppelganger programs finished turning a yellow house green, ventured into the dark area and flashed brilliant red for a moment before disappearing altogether.

Luna frowned. Over the years she had released many different versions of status reporting programs starting with crude ones in her youth that had grown in capability and sophistication as she became a more skilled dream walker. Even if the ponies in this dark patch had rejected one or two versions there should still be reports from older more primitive ones... the only explanation for a dark patch was that someone else was crippling her programs on purpose, and that seldom bode well for the ponies affected.

Moving carefully, Luna began probing at the dreams of one stallion in a house on the edge of the affected area. His dream of doing... sexual things... with his mare friend was common enough for one his age, but there was an undercurrent of unease throughout that was not normal. Staying to the background, Luna searched for changes to the sleeping mind and soon spotted a small dark shadow in a disused corner of his mind steadily expanding itself and overwriting other memories. At this stage she knew it was too immature to pose a serious threat to her and with a deft blow from her hoof she stunned the thing and sat down to being pulling it apart for clues.

The texture and feel of the thing were enough to make her suspicious at once, and as she sifted through the shattered files it didn't take long to find memories of the last pony infected – a young teen mare who worked with -!

With a blanch she lashed out and smashed the last retirements of the darkness, shattering it into dust. The memories it had overwritten were mostly high school math that had not been used in years; whatever did not recover naturally would not be missed. Feeling the traces of fear and darkness fading from the stallion's mind, she quietly stepped back out of his dream and turned her attention to the blank spot ahead of her.

She had dealt with this darkness before, but unlike most cases of mental illness she encountered, this strain was a particularly nasty one, both malignant and infectious. On her visit to Earth, Ms. Scott had explained a great deal to her, and it was her description of cancer that most closely approximated her current fight.

If a nightmare could be crushed and completely banished from the mind, that was usually the end of it, and in most cases, a pony's own mind was strong enough to fight off the invader. When she did have to intervene, it usually took only a straightforward bit of counsel and working together to banish the darkness, but sometimes, her work took her to darker places.

The worst cases were those brought on by trauma, and then hidden from the world, left to fester and grow slowly at the back of the mind. A major reason Luna had begun to work through doppelgangers had been to find and cure these cases before they became truly malignant.

This nightmare was one of the worst. She had killed it twice already, and while she had no doubt that it was completely gone from the original host pony, a copy had apparently made it out undetected before the purge. By now, it had developed the very worst qualities one could find in a nightmare: It could hide from her, it could snuff out her doppelgangers, it had learned to spread through the night, and it could torment any pony it infected. With a shake of her head she steeled herself for the coming battle and reached out for the teen mare she had seen in the things shattered memory.

It was worse than she feared.

The mare writhed in her bed as the darkness tormented her with a horrible nightmare which her beloved pet did not survive. Worse yet, there were distinct signs of madness mixed into the narrative, and Luna couldn't help but cringe in sympathy as she conjured an ethereal ax and waded in.

The thing put up a vicious fight, but against an Alicorn it was only a matter of time before it's defenses failed. When it had finally spasmed its last, Luna surveyed the damage in dismay; this was no minor infection. A significant percent of the mare's memories had been overwritten, and so much of her mind's resources had been hijacked that she had no doubt the effect would have shown in her school work. With a sigh, Luna spawned a repair doppelganger, custom-designed to help the high-schooler put her mind back together, a task that might take several nights of work to fully heal the damage done. As the sobbing teen hugged her clone, sobbing her heart out after what she had been through, Luna excused herself to track down the remaining infected ponies.
Dr. Scott had given her such a strange look when she had asked how transmittable insanity was on earth... This was going to be a long night.

…

Several hours later, the infection was quelled, and Luna had resumed her normal dream walking, when a small voice in the chorus of dreams caught her attention and she plunged in, feeling the heat of the earth sun on her coat and the hot dry desert air blowing through her mane. A small human girl stood leaning on a railing looking over a massive chasm that spread out below her and nearly to the horizon on both sides. Luna took a cautious step forward and Faith looked up and smiled at the sound of hooves on the wooden platform.

“I'd kind of hoped you would stop by tonight.” She said with a warm smile.

“What is this place?”

Faith turned back to the railing as Luna stepped up beside her. “It's the Grand Canyon. My parents took me here a few years ago, before I got sick...”

Luna leaned down and nuzzled the girl. “I sometimes forget the beauty of your world.” A smile touched her lips and she added “Could you show me more of it?”

Faith grinned widely and with a look of concentration, the world around them shifted to the view from the top of a modest rocky mountain peak. Humans milled around the snow-covered walking path that led back to the tram lift and admired the summer sun beating down on the city below.

“This is were we went for vacation last year.” Faith explained as they admired the view. The contrast of warm summer sun on her back and snow under hoof was a delightful one, and Luna smiled.

“What is the name of that city below us?” She asked with a gesture.

Behind them the tourists began to dim and wink out of existence as Faith tried to remember.
“I think it's Colorado Springs, but... I don't know...”

Luna smiled and put a hoof over her shoulder as they watched a while longer. She looked to her left, about to suggest they take the tram lift down and see it for themselves, but a fog had begun to roll in and the tram station seemed to have faded into the mist.

“Oh, I know! The boating trip!”

Their world shifted once more and Luna found herself on the deck of a pitching sailing ship traveling at full speed across a brilliant ocean of blue water. The design looked unusually simple, just a flat triangular deck with a single mast and some kind of cabin, blurry and dimly visible in blindingly bright light of the sun. Ahead of them the sea and sky seemed to stretch on to the ends of the world, while behind them the sun shown through a rapidly advancing blanket of thick white fog that was rapidly closing on the small craft.

“It is beautiful. Equestria's oceans are a sight I have not seen in many many years.” Luna added somewhat wistfully.

“I know! It's so shiny!” Faith replied with a broad grin as she stared into the blinding reflection of the sun off the sea waves.

Luna gave the little girl a questioning look as Faith stared directly into the blinding sunlight. The boat seemed to be slowing, the water below calming and growing still as they lingered a moment longer.

“My room!”

The view shifted again and came into focus as a child's room with simple green walls, a window, a bed and three lone toys scattered on the floor. It was the barest room Luna had ever seen outside of an orphanage. With great enthusiasm Faith swooped in and picked up a toy car and began making engine noises as she ran it back and forth over the floor, seemingly ignoring the princess who had begun to notice the unnatural silence of the place.

“Faith... was your room always this quiet?”

The little girl looked up at her with a silly, uncomprehending smile on her face. “Silly pony!” Luna raised an eyebrow in alarm, but Faith went right back to playing with her toy.

A nagging suspicion was screaming at the back of her mind, but Luna found she just couldn't think clearly. She stepped up to the window and pulled back the curtain allowing daylight to stream into the room, and as she did the fog outside began to pour in through the window that suddenly had neither curtains or glass. She whipped around to see fog pouring in through the empty blackness of the hallway, a hallway suddenly visible due to the abrupt disappearance of the door.

Faith looked up into the gaping doorway of pure blackness and dropped her toy car with a scream.

“Faith! Faith! You need to wake up!”

The fog pouring into the tiny room seemed to melt the little bed in the corner, tearing away at it in a rush of silence and darkness until the princess, Faith and her toy car were the only things left in a rapidly shrinking patch of floor.

“Scared! Help! Scared!”

Faith cried as she pulled at Luna's legs and the fog began to flow around her hooves. Luna frantically tried to figure out what was going on as she hoisted the terrified girl onto her back, but her mind refused to work properly All she could feel was terror of the blank white silence and fog as it began to cover her legs, numbing them and sending her crashing to the floor.

“Mommy! Scared!” The little girl managed again as she began to cry in earnest. The numbness of the fog wrapped over them both in one final gust and Luna felt her whole body going numb as her sight winked out and the little child on her back managed one last cry before she too fell silent.

…

“Is she okay? Luna? Luna!”

The two orange foals who stood over the princess where she lay on the cloud were getting rapidly more worried.

“Snow, is this okay? She sounded like she was in trouble.”

“I don't know...” Snowdrop answered as she prodded her adoptive mother with both hooves, “I've never seen her do this before but...”

Spending the better part of a month in an earth hospital had taught them both a few things about basic medicine and vitals, and little Scootaloo noticed it first. “Snowdrop... She's not breathing!”

“Oh no! No! Luna! Luna, wake up!”

“I'll go get help!” Scootaloo was over the side of the cloud in a flash and streaking off towards their rooms. Snowdrop panted in terror as the tears formed in her eyes, but before she gave in, something Luna had told her jumped to the front of her mind.
'Snowdrop, you helped us to understand winter. Do not doubt yourself so; if you put your mind to it, you can be anypony you want to and nothing need ever be out of your reach.'

Something snapped in the little orange foal and without really thinking she leapt into the air and landed on Luna's chest with all her might, driving the air from her lungs. Luna's eyes shot open as she gasped for breath and a very relieved Snowdrop clung to her tightly as she choked and sputtered.

Moments later, Rainbow, Fluttershy and a disheveled looking Twilight and Dr. Scott shot over the edge of the cloud, followed closely by a panicked looking Scootaloo.

“Here! She's up here!”

Luna saw them all land and rush up to her as through a haze, her mind coughing and sputtering back to life as she struggled to process what had just happened.

“Luna, are you okay?! What happened?!”

The answer to that question flashed like a bolt of lightning and Luna's eyes shot wide open in terror as she understood.
“FAITH!”

She was over the edge of the cloud in a flash, racing for the hospital with everything she had as the others did their best to follow. Moments later she wrenched the third floor window from its frame with her magic, hurling it into the night as she dashed inside, demanding of the startled doctors,
“What happened! What is wrong with her?!”

The two doctors in the room wore baffled expressions as they looked from Luna to the sleeping girl and back again.
“What are you talking about? Nothing has happened all night.”

In quick sequence, Rainbow, Dr. Scott, Twilight and Fluttershy climbed through the window after the princess, Dr. Scott making straight for the monitoring equipment. For a long moment she stared at the electrical feedback from the probes distributed across Faith's skull, her frown only deepening as she stated,
“She looks completely fine, these readings are all well within normal for a sleeping child.”

Luna's tone left no doubt of her convictions as she spoke,
“No, something is very wrong! Examine her again!”

One of the other doctors had powered up second computer terminal as the second began a check of her vitals. Luna's panic rapidly began to spread.
“Dr. Scott, her pupils aren't responding to light!” a short pause as he tried something else, “I can't get normal reflexes... she won't wake up!”

Dr. Scott shook her head in denial and alarm,
“Then get the team in here, now!” She turned back to the Philips EEG, scrutinizing the normal-looking readings with a feeling of sinking dread. It took almost thirty seconds of careful observation as the rest of the crash team came rushing into the room, but at last, she spied a tiny message at the bottom right corner of the screen:

'Recording timed out, press Alt F5 to stop playback'

“FUCKING SHIT PILE!” Dr. Scott raged as she brought both prosthetic fists down on the rolling computer console with enough force to shatter the case and rip the first two shelves apart, sending a spray of plastic parts and broken electronics flying in all directions. The other ponies stared open mouthed at the wrecked console as she shouted,
“The fucking thing was showing us a playback of her healthy brain waves! She's been going un-monitored for who knows how long! Get her into the CT/MRI scanner now!”

In a rush, Faith's bed was wheeled under the machine, and the high resolution scanner lowered around her head. As the first pictures came in, several blood clots were clearly visible, blocking off the major vessels feeding her brain. A second later, the MRI image came back with a full color image of her brain activity. Most of it was a terrible, flat black.

“Prep her for surgery.” Dr. Scott's tone was deadly flat as she barked orders at he other technicians and physicians, “Fetch the stint cables and CNC cauterizing drills.”

As the rest of the team descended on the unresponsive girl, a nurse gently put a hand on Luna's shoulder.
“They're going to do all they can, but we need you to wait outside please. You'll only be in the way here, and we need to give them room to work.”

The four ponies allowed themselves to be led gently out to the waiting room, the distraught silence lasting until the nurse made to turn back.

“Please... what's happening to her?”

The nurse had seen the CT and MRI scans just as they had, but her training left her much less room for hope.
“Faith has... had a several massive strokes. They're going to do everything they can to clear them, but... It may already be too late. At the very least, she's going to have to re-learn how to speak and walk, but that MRI...” She turned slowly to look steadily at the assembled ponies. “There is a very good chance she may be brain dead.”

She turned sadly, the door swinging shut behind her with a soft 'thump' as one by one the mares began to cry, and across the hospital, a heart rate monitor stirred to life, announcing the restarting of Faith's heart, just a few hours too late.

Author's Note

Biology designed by evolution is incredibly hard to work with: the heart is not particularly complicated, but designing an artificial one that can work without forming blood clots sure is.

The links you may have missed : )
The nightmare was worse than she feared.

Ch 3.28 Ghost in the Shell

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twenty Eight: Ghost in the Shell

The haste of the pegasi's departure from their rooms at the castle had woken everyone else, and it didn't take long before the others began trickling into the hospital. The hours slowly ticked by, the only sound in the silence the stifled sobs of the Crusaders as they tried to be strong for one of their own. Outside the darkness of night continued unabated, but eventually, the operating room doors opened at last.

Dr. Scott's expression told them all they needed to know.

“I'm sorry, everyone, but I don't have good news. The heart-lung machine caused several blood clots just as we feared, and due to a problem with the monitoring equipment, we didn't notice until much later.” The anger was clear in her voice at that, but it faded as she spelled out the consequences. “Faith has suffered severe brain damage. Her body is very much alive, in fact it's actually taking on the cancer and should be healthy again in a month or two, but I'm afraid there isn't much left of the girl we knew. You can come see her if you want, but... you might not want the children to see-”

The rest of her thought went unheard as the Crusaders nearly bowled her over in their mad dash to get by. Some of the others tried to stop them, but the three dodged and burst through the door of the recovery room.
“Faith! Faith, are you all right?” Scootaloo called.

Faith was sitting up in bed, wearing only the thin hospital gown, and had both arms held tight against her chest as she rocked slowly back and forth, her mouth hanging open. The three foals leapt onto her bed, waiting for a response, but none came.

“Faith...?” Applebloom asked, the tremor of fear and loss all too clear in her voice.

The little girl didn't respond, and as the other ponies caught up with them, it became clear this wasn't something they would be able to hide. The girl had made no motion to acknowledge her friends around her, continuing instead to rock slowly back and forth as she stared blankly ahead. The smell of a soiled diaper was impossible to ignore.

“Faith? Faith, say something!” Sweetie Belle insisted as tears ran from her bloodshot eyes. She grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently. The girl didn't move or turn her head, but a sort of guttural 'Aaaah' sound emerged from her open mouth as her rocking was interrupted.

Across the room, Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around Applejack and buried her face in her mane as the tears flowed. Rarity had a hoof over her mouth in shock as her mascara ran down her face, and it was clearly taking everything Luna had to keep from sobbing along with them.

Sweetie Belle hadn't let go of her friend as she shook her harder, her eyes never leaving Faith's blank face,
“Faith? Faith, wake up! Faith, you have to wake up!”

The only answer from the girl in her arms was more monosyllable grunts as she tried to continue rocking back and forth. Scootaloo and Applebloom hugged each other and cried in earnest as Sweetie Belle shouted through her tears,
“Please Faith! Please, you have to wake up!”

Rarity stepped forward carefully and put a hoof on Sweetie's back as she tried to keep her voice from cracking.
“Sweetie...? Sweetie, I'm so sorry...”

Sweetie Belle was screaming by now as she shook her friend,
“Faith! Don't go! You have to wake up!”

There was no response. Rarity gently lifted her little sister's hooves off the girl who immediately resumed rocking. Sweetie's face was contorted in pain as she turned to her big sister.
“Why Rarity? Why won't she wake up?!”

Rarity had to squeeze her eyes shut as she took Sweetie Belle in her hooves.
“Sweetie... Faith is gone... I'm so sorry...”

Sweetie struggled in her hooves as she pointed,
“No! She's right here! We can't just leave her like this! You have to make her better!”

As Applejack and Rainbow scooped up their sisters, Rarity just squeezed Sweetie tighter as she sobbed. Behind her bed, her parents held onto each other in silent agony, the truth having become painfully clear to them hours earlier.

After a long while, a brokenhearted little voice asked,
“Why Scoot?! Why won't she talk to us?”

Dr. Scoot wiped her eyes as she answered;
“I'm sorry, Sweetie, but the girl you knew is mostly dead. Her brain was starved for oxygen for too long, and now only her shell is left...” She sniffed before continuing, “Most hospitals on earth have a few patients like this. Motorcycle accidents without an adequate helmet, people who drowned, certain illnesses...I'm so sorry, little one, but we don't have anything we can do for them, besides make them comfortable.”

Across the room, Scootaloo's eyes had dilated to pin points as her scooter antics flashed to mind. Ignorant of the grief around her, whatever was left of Faith continued her endless rocking, back and forth, back and forth.

It was Apple Bloom who finally brought up the obvious question;
“But what about them others? You still got two of Scootaloo left in that earth hospital...” She pleaded, “Can't we put Faith back into one a them?”

Dr. Scott looked meaningfully at Luna,
“That was a major reason for doing this procedure in Equestria: If all else failed, we could try for a Disney death...” There was a strained look in her eyes as she continued, “Did she make it, Luna? Is she recorded?”

…

The sun was just peeking over the hills as Applejack slowly trudged the last distance across the yard and up the front porch to her home. The wild emotional rollercoaster of the last several days had left her exhausted and sleep deprived, but a least here, in her own home she could count on something resembling peace and predictability. None of them had had the heart to break up the Crusaders, and she had left the three of them with Rarity and the others while she took an early train back to Ponyville and walked the long road home under the rising sun. The sound of dishes clattering in the sink reached her ears, and despite it all, the smell of freshly cooked breakfast made her stomach growl.

“Morning, Big Mac,” she called as she stepped through the front door, trying to act normally as she grabbed a plate to help herself. “That sure smells good.”

Big Mac glanced in her direction with a confused, somewhat worried expression.
“Eeyup.”

She piled her plate high and slid into a chair across the table from her brother.

“Um... Did I miss anything while I was gone?”

“Eeyup.”

Applejack waited a moment, but as no further explanation was forthcoming, she looked up and found her brother looking confused and rather dazed.

“Uh... is everything okay, Mac?”

“Nope.”

And with that, Big Mac stood up, placed his empty plate in the sink, and left without another word.

Applejack knew her brother could be a stallion of few words, but this was quiet even for him. She was trying to decide whether to go after him, when the sound of hooves on the stairs made her look up to see a young and rather handsome stallion descending the stairs. As she watched in confusion, he put something into his saddle bag and fished out a helmet which went onto his head. Applejack could only gape as the Canterlot guard pony walked into the family kitchen and began fixing his own breakfast.

“Good morning! You must be Applejack.” he greeted her, sliding into the seat across the table and extending a hoof.

Applejack tried to maintain an even expression as she reached out and shook the offered hoof. “Good morning to you too. Might I ask who you are?”

The stallion blinked then laughed good-naturedly. “Why, Lieutenant True Flight, ma'am. I'm the best in my entire battalion with a spear,” the earth pony added by way of explanation.

Applejack just raised her eyebrow higher. “That's swell and all, but what in tarnation are you doing in my home?”

He looked up at her from his breakfast and grinned mischievously. “Why, your sister of course.”

It took Applejack a moment to process that, but her eyes narrowed dangerously as she replied.
“Excuse me?”

“Oh yeah, she's quite the looker, your sister! She must have to beat the stallions off with a stick.” He leaned back and stared wistfully at the ceiling. “And good Celestia is she a Griffon between the sheets!”

…

It turns out that some members of the Royal Guard make an interesting sound when bucked through a window, but Applejack wasn't really paying much attention as she leapt through the shattered frame, landing on top of the Lieutenant.

“What did you do to my sister?!”

“What in Tartarus is your problem, lady?!”

Applejack hit him in the jaw hard enough to make the confused stallion see stars. “I'm not gonna ask you again. What did you do to my sister!?!”

“Sweet Celestia, I bedded her like she asked me to!”

“You bedded her?!” Applejack picked up the stallion who was at least half again her weight and slammed him against the wall below the window. “My sister is a foal who's still in grade school, and you done bedded her?!"

For the first time the stallion seemed to understand what she was saying, and a look of astonished horror played across his face.

“What?! No! I'm talking about your older sister!”

“Nice try! Ah haven't got a older sister!”

“Your cousin, then! She's green, cutie mark of a steaming hot pie? The one with the pretty mane!”

Applejack could feel the cogs and gears of her mind grinding on this new information and threatening to jam up altogether.
“Are you talkin' 'bout my grandmother?!?”

“Grandmother?! Lady, what is your damage?! I am talking about the very attractive young green mare who invited me home for dinner yesterday!”

Before Applejack could decide whether to hit him again, a new voice joined their conversation.

“Applejack! Just what do you think you're doin' to our guest?”

They both turned and Applejack's mouth fell open as she stared. Standing on the front porch was Granny Smith; her color, her cutie mark, all the signs made it obvious at a glance who she was, but there the similarities ended. The mare standing before them looked as though she had never known a wrinkle in her life. Her coat was rich and full, her body young and attractive, and her step had a distinct sway that brought a smile back to the Lieutenant 's face. Her multicolored mane streamed out behind her and seemed to float on the nonexistant breeze just like Princess Celestia's, and with a proud shake of her head she hopped off the porch and sauntered up to the colt Applejack still held pinned to the wall.

“I think we've just had a little misunderstandin',” she said as she pushed her granddaughter aside and kissed the Lieutenant deeply. “But all the same, you gotta be getting back to your unit. Now off with ya, I ain't goin' nowhere,” she added with a conspiratorial wink.

The young colt smiled back at her and nodded before turning and heading around the house and down the road back to town.

When Granny Smith finally wiped the dreamy look from her face and turned back to Applejack, she found her still staring blankly ahead.

“Oh, come now, you act like you never wanted a little flank for yourself.”

“Granny?!”

“Yes, granddaughter of mine?” she replied cheerfully.

“What the hay happened to you?!”

“I got younger,” she replied mischievously. “In fact, I might even be a bit younger than you now. You got to watch how much time you spend in the sun, you know: It causes wrinkles.” As Applejack continued to stare open mouthed she added as an afterthought: “Oh! And I've been robbin' the cradle of fine young things like that handsome Lieutenant. I'd almost forgotten how much fun that can be!”

Applejack had to use a front hoof to close her own jaw as it wasn't going to do the job on its own. “But how?!”

Granny Smith looked puzzled for a moment, then just told her what she remembered. “Well, the Human of Death came to me in a white coat and asked me if I wanted to stay a while longer. I said yes, and apparently that was the end of it.”

Seeing that no further questions were forthcoming, Granny Smith continued. “At any rate, I'm going to enjoy this! I'll see you young'uns later. I got another date this afternoon with a hot young thing who's on liberty from his post in the Crystal Empire. Big orange stallion with a blue mane who's just the most dashing guardspony. I think he said he was a sentry or something.”

...

Josie couldn't help but grumble as she stalked through the ornate marble halls of the palace. One day. She hadn't even been the ambassador to Equestria for One Full Day, and now she had to deal with this. In fairness, she had heard enough about what Scootaloo was up to to have no envy of her homecoming either, but she had held out hope of having at least a week to get used to her new position.
'And now I get to cause an interplanetary incident with the princess herself. Wonderful.'

Celestia nodded politely as Josie was shown into the conference hall trailed by the head of the fledgling Earth Research Team pushing a small cart.

“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Princess.” Josie began, gathering her nerve as she continued, “I believe you have already heard the news?”

The princess looked concerned as she replied. “Only that one of the research team was injured in a confrontation with your police force. I was hoping you could shed some more light on the events of the last few hours.”

Josie set down a number of pictures on the table that seemed to show a wild chase in progress through the city.
“Thank you. Let me start by saying that while the research pegasus survived, he did require considerable medical care, is in a lot of pain, and it will be some time before he is up and active again.”

“This all began about four hours ago when the researcher, Guiding Light, took off for a quick trip to the hospital. This morning was gray and foggy, and despite the training we've been giving your teams, he didn't realize the danger. He reports that he became disoriented and lost almost immediately, and spent the next fifteen minutes flying in circles trying to find the ground. This came to an abrupt stop when he smashed through the twentieth story window of an apartment complex, breaking three ribs and knocking himself senseless.”

Celestia winced visibly as Josie continued.

“Reports on this next part varied, but its now clear that he came to rest, bloody and covered in broken glass on top of one Ms. Jane Smith's bed. The next thing Guiding Light remembers is a human in a nightgown screaming 'Rape' and hitting him with a baseball bat. That's how he broke his fourth rib.”

“Ms. Smith chased the stallion out of her apartment into the hallway and apparently attracted the attention of an off duty police officer who ordered them both to stop. Unfortunately, Ms. Smith continued her chase and drove the injured stallion out of a window on the nineteenth floor balcony, which the police officer took as 'evading arrest'.”

Celestia was looking progressively more concerned the longer this went on.

“At that point Guiding Light was quickly lost in the fog again, and the local police began a full search operation to find him in connection with the attempted rape of Ms. Smith and the damage to private property, specifically the two windows. They eventually found the stallion lost once more in the fog and chased him through the city park for half an hour before finally hauling him, soaked and bleeding from the pond in which he had become mired. I regret to mention that said pond happened to contain an unusually large number of mother ducks, which account for many of his...lesser injuries. Fortunately, by this point the officers reviewing the events had sorted out what started all this, and the stallion was taken to a hospital, not a jail.”

Seeing that the story had reached its end the princess was finally able to stop wincing and straightened up to reply.“I appreciate your bringing this matter to me, Madam Ambassador. Thank you for the handling this situation as professionally as you did. I understand that there will be... hitches in our new relationship that we will both have to work through.”

Josie's stern expression had not changed as she replied. “Yes. That is why I am here. It was pure dumb luck that Guiding Light slammed into a window and not a wall. If he had been a couple of feet to the right, left, up or down, you and I would be talking of tombstones and memorials instead of recovery times. I had warned Princess Luna about this risk shortly after she arrived, but we had both hoped our training class for new pegasi on earth would be enough. Clearly that is not the case.”

Josie reached into the cart and pulled out a sturdy looking vest that she held out for the lead research who reluctantly pulled it on. It took a moment, but it was soon fitted, and with an audible 'Snap” she closed a latch under the barrel of his body, locking the garment on. He wiggled about to get a more comfortable fit before addressing the princess;
“The Earth Ambassador has already discussed this with me Princess, and I agree that it's what we must do. I was in charge of this team. Light's injuries are the result of my inability to control him and I feel responsible.”

The princess looked at the black vest that effectively covered and restrained his wings with a raised eyebrow. “Surely you are not proposing...”

Josie fixed her with that same hard stare. “Yes, I am. I have already discussed this with my counterparts and we will begin enforcing it within the day. All pegasi coming to earth will be fitted with a vest like this on their arrival that prevents them from flying until they have taken and passed the certification course. We are adapting the class from the traditional private pilot's test, and though it will no longer include engine study, it will still be enough to ensure those who pass can fly safety on our world.”

“You are really willing to bar my little ponies from your world unless they allow you to bind them?!”

Josie sighed. “We're not happy about it either, Princess. We plan to start offering the certification class here on your world as soon as we can set up a facility, but until then, yes, we will bar entry to pegasi who will not cooperate. I'm not willing to wait for the first bodies to start dropping. We are addressing this now, and forcefully, but in a way that ensures every one of your ponies comes back home alive.”

While the Princess thought this over Josie continued; “We've designed a set of aviator goggles with a heads up display that will be provided to all new pegasi, and that, combined with the training should be enough to allow them to fly safety, just as Scootaloo did for all those years. In the mean time, any pegasi who cut off their vests before completing training, or take to the air without their goggles will be summarily deported to Equestria and not welcomed back for the foreseeable future. It's harsh, but we don't feel we have any choice. Your ponies have grown up in your world, and they have no respect for the dangers of ours.”

The princess was still frowning at the restrictive vest, but after Dr. Scott's demonstration with the power lines on her first night, she had to concede the risks were real.
“I am hardly pleased by this. Our relations will not be helped by binding one third of our world's travelers,” however, before Josie could interject she continued “but neither will they be helped by killing some percentage of our citizens. I agree this is a poor solution, but I have none better. I will ensure you have everything you need to set up the training school in Canterlot so that those... vests may see as little use as possible.”

For the first time in an hour, Josie allowed herself to smile. “Thank you, Princess. And that leads me to my next request,” she added, fishing out another pile of cloth. “It is a given that this will be met with resistance, and your ponies have no good reason to listen to us. That's why we made up this vest to your measurements. If you are willing, we would like you to participate in one of the first classes and earn your 'Earth Wings' in the next week. Such a public endorsement of the process would save a great deal of hurt feelings at worst, and several lives at best.”

The princess levitated the bright, vibrant, safety orange vest in her magic and regarded it with a raised eyebrow for several seconds before setting it down on the table once more. She was reminded of an Earthling invention she had seen, something Scootaloo called 'road cones.'
“I will... think about it.”

“Also, on a more personal note, I have met with some of the aeronautics team who first studied our mutual friend, Ms. Scootaloo Scott, and with the aid of a generous grant from my nation's government and certain contractual arrangements I've been negotiating with a few Earth businesses, I believe we may, soon, have a second option available.” The politician took a small pocket-projector from the inside of her suit jacket, set it on a table facing a blank wall and used the Bluetooth on her smartphone to bring up a wire-frame diagram of a pegasus. “The second version of the ESD-”

“Excuse me,” Celestia inquired, “ESD?”

“Earth Safety Device,” Josie explained. “We thought about Pegasus Training Vest, but Marketing felt that might sound too patronizing or imply that pegasi don't already fly safely. The flying conditions on Earth really and truly are the root of the problem here, Princess, so we decided to market the vest much the same way BCDs -that's 'buoyancy control devices,' are marketed to scuba divers. Sure, you could call it an 'inflatable don't-sink-and-die vest,' but that really lacks the elegance and technical appeal of 'buoyancy control device.' Sounds fancy, doesn't it?” Josie's smile had a little of the ADD charm from her middle teens. “The ESD is the same. Our plan is to improve the design so it's not so...well...so dang bedroom-tastic in its' Velcroey strappitude-”

Celestia restrained a snort.

“And we'd like to get it to the point where it's actually a teaching device that can be used Equestria-side by fillies and colts looking forward to their first Earth field trip. For one thing, the boys in Aero think they can use mild electromagnets and a TENS unit to make it so the wings are free, just limited to a hover of about five feet off the ground, at least to start.”

The wire-frame animation became quite a decent picture of a pony and demonstrated the vest's proposed features as Josie spoke.

“Then, of course, we'd like to make them adjustable so pegasi can gradually, with their instructors' approval, move up to more and more flight freedom. This will also be convenient for maintaining the no-fly zones my nation in particular uses for certain security and pilot safety reasons -so far, the Aero guys want to connect it up to GPS and just make the wings vibrate or possibly feel tingly when they get within a certain range of a no-fly. It could also be used for certain aerial sports, such as laser tag, using the exact same technology.” The animations flashed, danced and did more cool things. “Marketing thinks that if we add convenient pockets, manufacture them in a range of stylish colors and fabrics, offer custom embroidery with one's cutie mark, sell patches at various Earth tourist destinations to iron on, and, of course, make Earth Pony and Unicorn versions for purely fashionable reasons, well, soon the problems ought to be sorted out.”

“...Madam Ambassador?” Princess Celestia inquired.

“Yes, Princess?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you have...just the slightest tendency, to bury the lead?”

“...Scoot mentioned that, yeah,” Josie shrugged, scratching the back of her head a bit. “I'm still negotiating with the various bidders and contractors to try and get ESD 2.0 up and running. They're all hoping to get first crack at Equestrian advertising, stores and generally an entree into your world's economy in which they can do business, but since nobody has the slightest idea what Equestrian health, safety and material standards are, I'm having quite a time making sure I don't accidentally let some bunch of lead-spattered, sweatshopping hex-chromium jagoffs start selling you-all a big bag of nasty.”

“Safety standards?” Celestia nodded. “I see. We would need to codify and make available our idea of appropriate standards for goods legal to sell in Equestria.”

“And to make, and how you want the taxes to go, and...” Josie decided standing on ceremony was kind of 'ow' in what Philip called her Business Heels of World Domination (+5 Pointiness!) and looked meaningfully at a chair. Celestia gestured for her to take a seat and she relaxed like a balloon dropping half of its' interior PSI. “Frankly, Princess, I think we need to get some of the alphabet-soup agencies from pretty much every country that has such standards to throw a convention or something, get our world on the same page, and then once we've got those ducks in a row, then I can have a bit of the old diplomatic incontinence and let you know what you're up against. Or, considering that'd take forever and a damn weekend, I can give you sample documents from the dot-gov websites and you can kind of crib off the Cliffs Notes of our best systems. Germany, the US and Great Britain are pretty good, but if you can beat China and India for workplace and material safety, your people -fuck! -ponies, should be okay.”

For some inexplicable reason, Princess Celestia decided she liked Ambassador Findlay-Price. She was, if nothing else, the most honest human she had encountered thus far. She made the Element of Laughter look like a paragon of focus and self-direction, but you could generally trust her. She also had a certain lack of self-consciousness that reminded her a lot of Princess Luna.

This might be the start of a very good working relationship.

…

The morning's disaster had left everyone emotionally numb, and within an hour, most of those assembled had left the hospital, seeking the familiarity of home or of mundane tasks to blunt the stinging pain. Twilight had held it together better than some of her friends, but it wasn't clear how long that would last once she ran out of work to do, so Dr. Scott had suggested she join her on the short hop back to Earth.

The shuttle bus from the gate-room facility back to the city hospital was a quiet one, but after a few minutes the two sniffling mares happened to look up at the same time, and all the grief and pain came to the surface as they hugged each other and cried openly. By the time the suburbs were passing outside the window they were both a mess of soggy fur and disheveled manes, but for the first time in hours, the painful pressure on Twilight's chest had eased enough that she felt she could speak without immediately bursting into tears.
“How?” She sniffled again, one foreleg still wrapped around the elder Scootaloo. “How can you work with children like this?”

Dr. Scott smiled weakly as she dabbed at her eyes with a gauze pad,
“I normally don't. Pediatrics just wasn't for me...”

“Do you think it will work?” Twilight asked with a sniff, “Princess Luna said she thinks Faith made it, but we won't know until she wakes up as... well, as another you, I guess.”

The elder Scootaloo sighed, but a small smile touched her lips at the thought.
“I'm holding out hope. We still have no idea how the complex synthetic biology works with the 'magic' of your world, but that doesn't stop us from using it.” She paused to think and smiled in earnest as a thought occurred to her; “But if we do pull Faith back, that will make six of me running around...”

Dr. Scott made some calls as the city grew around them, and the van soon dropped them off at the hospital where several people in suits were waiting politely. As the two ponies hopped out, the assembled party bowed deeply, and Dr. Scott managed something resembling a curtsy in return as Twilight looked confused.
“It is an honor to meet you, Dr. Scott. Thank you for calling this meeting.”

“Thank you for setting it up on such short notice. I knew some of you were in town; I expect the others will be joining us by teleconference?”

“Of course. Ms. Tyler has provided a room on the tenth floor.”

“I see you have something important to deal with.” Twilight nodded politely, her eyes still a little puffy as she made to leave, but to her surprise, Scootaloo stopped her.

“No, wait!” She shook her head to clear it as the others made their way in, leaving the mares standing under the entryway awning. “I'm sorry, I didn't even tell you who I was calling, did I? Dr. Aramaki and his team are part of the Todaima Corporation, the medical company that consulted on the birth of my daughters. They need to talk to both of us, you especially, as your friends aren't available at the moment.”

Twilight tilted her head in confusion,
“What would they need to talk to me about?”

Scootaloo put a hand on her shoulder as she looked her square in the face,
“Twilight, how many little orange ponies are left in that hospital bed upstairs?”

Her brow furrowed further as she answered,
“Uh... Well if Luna has already come as she said, then there would be one remaining clone, and a little foal that will hopefully turn out to be Faith...”

“And what happens when the next child, human or Equestrian, finds themselves in Faith's position?”

“Well, we only have one of your clones left so...” Twilight's face took on a look of shock as she realized where this was going. “You can't be suggesting...!”

“I can and I am. The only reason Faith has any hope at all is because we just happened to have blank clones on hand to save her, but we have hospital wards full of little girls and boys like her, and we're fresh out of clones.”

Twilight took a step back in alarm as that implication sunk in,
“Now wait just a minute here! You want to make a bunch of blank clones of yourself on purpose?!”

Scootaloo shook her head,
“No Twilight, I'm asking you to this meeting, because if this works, if Faith pulls through, the whole world, both of our worlds, will be asking you, begging you, to provide bodies to save their children.”

“M... Me?!” Twilight took another step back as the image of hundreds, no, thousands of little Twilight Sparkles and Scootaloo's chased each other through a hospital ward in her mind.
“But...! You can't...!”

Scootaloo sighed again and sat down before the alarmed princess.
“I know this is a lot to take in, but it's an inevitable consequence of all this if we save Faith. I'm not sure where this will all lead, but I know it's better than where we are now!”

Twilight had stopped, but her eyes were still wide as she tried to process this.
“But I don't even know if I want to have a foal! How can you possibly ask-”

“How can I ask you to give up your uniqueness?”

“Yes! It was weird enough when Pinkie did that, and while I respect what you've done, I never agreed to let you make copies of me!”

Scootaloo stood up once more, advancing on Twilight as she stumbled backwards once more.
“Seriously? Are we really having this conversation?! How many lives do you think could be saved by this process in a year? How many children? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Did you learn nothing from all Faith went through?!”

“Yes! I get it! But you can't just expect me to give up my identity like this!” She looked down at her body, “I like my body... I don't know if I'm okay with some company... mass producing it...”

Scootaloo grunted in irritation.
“Well, if you won't, how long do you think it will take to find mares and stallions who will? Weeks? Months? We lose kids like Faith every day on our world, and I'd be willing to bet your own world still has a mortality rate for children. Yours will be safe in memory, even if it takes time to sort this out, but how many human children are you prepared to let die so you don't have to do something unpleasant?”

“But!... It's not that simple!”

“Really? Could you look Faith in the eye and say that?”

Twilight's face twisted in pain at the jab, and a single tear ran down her cheek.

The silence stretched on for a long time. At last Twilight looked back at her with a pained expression.
“I never thought I could hate you Scootaloo...”

Scootaloo shook her head sadly.
“And you don't now. Not really... I'm just forcing you to reach the same hard conclusions you would anyway before a lot of innocents die.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then no one will force you... But you will still have to live with yourself each day as they look for replacement volunteers...”

The silence stretched again until Twilight stamped her hoof in frustration and defeat.
“Even Sombra and Nightmare Moon weren't this bad!”

“I've told you, your world has a protector. You have Mama Bear watching over you, so you don't have to make these kind of hard choices very often. But cancer can't be reasoned with. You can't bribe it or coerce it; all you can do is try to kill it, and given that every strain is different, derived from the cells of its host, that is a devilishly difficult challenge.” She sighed and stepped closer to wrap a comforting arm around Twilight. “Hey, take it from me; having a bunch of clones really isn't a big deal, and I don't love my daughters any less because of who they look like.”

Twilight perked up a little as memories of Sophie Belle and Chaya Jayne frolicked through her mind. She thought about it as the two walked into the building.
“I suppose that means I'm going to have a whole lot of... half children?”

Scootaloo smiled.
“I don't know if anyone's ever come up with a word for a child who's the product of three people... You should invent one.”

Twilight pondered that as they took the elevator up to the tenth floor to begin working out the details of this latest shift in world order. That, and they obviously wouldn't have the same cutie mark, interests or personality that she did, just a physical resemblance. Nieces? Godchildren?

...Research assistants?

Maybe it wouldn't be all that bad.

…

This day that had begun far too early with heart wrenching grief had now segued to interdenominational travel, then an exploration of self identity, and now after six hours of Todaima Corp meetings, Twilight found her head spinning from what amounted to a crash course in grad school biology and cloning. Her early fears had been somewhat allayed, as the introduction and analysis of more pony DNA meant that small changes could soon be made such that the clones would not exactly match their donor. Talk soon moved on to which farms and horse stocks would be most suitable, possible immune compatibility issues, and the best choice of coma drugs.

“Hey, you still with me there?” Scootaloo chided as Twilight stared off into space at the departing humans.

“Uh...” She shook herself and managed a small smile. “Sorry, this is just a huge amount to take in all at once.” Her smile faded as she continued, “I don't know how I'm going to break it to the girls...”

“I know it will be hard, but you did the right thing here today, and I'll be there for you if you need me.”

That brought a smile back to her face.
“Thanks Scoot. They're all good level headed ponies; I think they'll come around if we give them some time.”

Scootaloo put a hand on her shoulder.
“I'm sure you're right. Hopefully, in-

“SCOOTALOO!”

Both mares whipped around at the shout to see an enraged Applejack glaring daggers from the doorway where she stood.

“Uh, hello?” Scootaloo asked in confusion.

“You wouldn't happen to know where I could find Death, now would you?!” The orange mare asked with a jab of her foreleg as she advanced on the startled mares.

“Wh... Wait, what?!” Twilight stammered.

“You heard me! I need to find the 'Human of Death' so I can buck the stuffing out of him! Granny said he was wearing a white coat, so it didn't take long to figure out where to look!”

Scootaloo and Twilight shared a wide eyed glance as Applejack continued to breathe hard from her meteoric flight up the hospital stairs.
“You... you think the hospital keeps Death on their payroll... and you want to beat him up?” Twilight finally managed.

“Could be for all I know bout you humans! Granny said it was your 'Death' as messed with her, and now she's just... just all wrong!”

Twilight didn't like the sound of that one bit,
“Wait, is she okay?! What happened to her?!”

A look of pained confusion set itself upon Applejack's features as she fumbled for an explanation.
“She... she's taking Royal Guard ponies to bed with her!”

If their eyes had been wide before, they were truly bulging now, as their eyebrows attempted to climb off their heads.
“WHAT?!”
“HOW?!”

When Applejack began to redden and didn't immediately reply, Twilight assumed the worst.
“This is awful! I know Granny Smith! Even leaving aside the question of how, why would she try to rape an unsuspecting stallion?!”

Applejack was growing progressively redder as this line of questioning continued.
“Well... It weren't exactly rape...”

A dozen different brain washing spells flitted through Twilight's mind as she shuddered.
“What was it then? Mind control? Drugs?!”

“Um... She kind of asked them out on a date...”

There was a long silence as the two stared at her.

“And then they decided to stay the night...”

Even Scootaloo couldn't repress a shudder as she asked,
“Has she started dating the blind?”

Applejack's anger flared again,
“No! I mean to say, she's suddenly young and pretty! Buck, she might even be younger than me!”

“An age spell!?” Twilight asked in astonishment.

“Not unless you know a one that lasts for days! By Mac's count, she's done had three ponies over already, an' she don't look to be stopping anytime soon!”

The two ponies shared an uncertain glance before turning back to AJ,
“Uh, I'll have to see her to figure out what happened,” Twilight muttered, “but don't you think you're being a little hard on her? She is a grown mare.”

Applejack just glared at her.
“Twi, she's my grandmother! And as the Element of Honesty, I got no choice but to tell you her date for tonight was your coltfriend.”

“WHAT?!”

Scootaloo looked back and forth between the two mares,
“So it did work out between you and Flash? We never found out for sure.”

“I! But! Wha!?” Twilight stuttered, before rushing on, “We were taking it slow to start but... Granny Smith?!”

Applejack showed a trace of a smirk,
“Well, he is a grown stallion.”

Twilight's horn sparked dangerously as she glared at Applejack, and Scootaloo glanced up worriedly to make sure the room was equipped with fire sprinklers.

“If he doesn't have one buck of an explanation, he might not be for long!”

“Well, with a mane like hers, I'll grudgingly admit she does stand out.”

“What about her mane?” Scootaloo asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, her new mane is just like Princess Celestia's.”

There was a long silence as that sunk in. Behind them, a young woman in a lab coat and nurse's cap looked into the room to see what all the shouting was about.

“The 'Human of Death'...” Scootaloo stated slowly as she worked it through, “A man in a white lab coat came to see your Grandmother?”

“That's what she done said! Now what in the hay did he do to her?!”

“Oh god...” Scootaloo sat down hard as the full implications of that hit her. “Somebody cracked the code...” When there was no immediate response, she gestured an arm at Twilight; “Princess Celestia donated some hairs from her mane! They must have gotten DNA from them and sequenced it!”

“Yes, we did.”

All three ponies whipped around to see the young woman siting on the table behind them wearing a wide grin.

“Who are-”

“Oh come now Scoot, don't tell me you don't remember me?”

Twilight put a hoof protectively on Scootaloo's shoulder,
“Scoot, is everything okay? Who is this?”

The woman smiled mischievously,
“You too, Twilight? Come now Scoot, you don't remember that first talk we had a few weeks before your High School protest?”

Scootaloo's eye's had suddenly gone very, very wide.
“Betty?! Betty Gregerson!?”

Betty pulled off her nurse's cap, allowing a head of brightly colored hair to break free, floating out behind her on the non existent breeze.
“That's right! I lost the cane not long after we deciphered the code, and I've been working in the background for the last few weeks. After everything Applejack told me about her grandmother during her donation, it didn't take long to figure out what was happening. There are several well known signs that the treatment is about to give out, and from what she told me, her grandmother probably only had a couple of weeks left to live.” She turned an apologetic look toward the orange pony as she continued; “I'm glad to hear the treatment saved her life, though I certainly never expected it to cause you such trouble...”

The mood in the room had suddenly turned somber as Applejack realized how close she had come to losing her grandmother.
“You... you did it to save her life?” She asked hesitantly.

“Well, yes. I asked her permission of course, but she was already looking pretty out of it by then.”

While Applejack mulled that over, Scootaloo jumped in.
“Betty... Am I right in guessing anyone with the treatment is going to have a lifespan in the thousands of years?”

“Barring accident and injury? It sure looks that way.” Betty nodded somberly.

“And you can do this to anyone who's had the treatment?” Betty simply nodded, the worry on her face now reflected in Scootaloo's own.
“Oh God... When this gets out...”

“It's going to change everything.” Betty stated in the same voice she normally reserved for announcing time of death.

“Ms. Betty, was it? Seems I owe you an apology.” Applejack said as she extended a hoof with a growing smile, apparently missing their mood, “Thank you for everything! I mean it, I owe you big for this, and I won't soon forget it.” A grimace briefly cut through her smile as an incident involving Spike came to mind, and she added sheepishly, “If you don't mind, that is...”

Betty nodded as she shook her offered hoof, but failed to return her smile.
“I'm glad you approve of what I did. I hope you still feel that way after everything changes...”

Applejack looked back and forth between the two doctors, confusion growing on her face.
“Whater you talkin about? I know at least three older Apples who'll be thrilled to hear about this!”

“Applejack... By cracking Celestia's genetic code, our team just discovered immortality. While this will be a godsend in the short term, it's going to be very bad news in the long term...”

Scootaloo's eyes were getting wider as she thought it through;
“The nursing home industry and all their related suppliers will be put out of business overnight... All those people will suddenly be unemployed, and all the elderly will suddenly be dumped back into the job market; social security is based on the young taking care of the old, and if people stop dieing, that program could be dismantled in a matter of months!”

Betty nodded.
“All of a sudden the job market will be flooded with tens of millions of desperate people, all fighting over a smaller pool of jobs. And most of my former pears aren't going to be happy about it. It's all well and good to tell your grandchildren to get a job, but when some of these people who are decades behind the times, many without the computer skills of an eight year old suddenly have to get a job or lose their homes? This is a recipe for violence.”

Twilight was looking worried as she asked,
“But it'll all work out, won't it? Given a little time, things will go back to normal... right?”

Scootaloo sat down hard.
“I hadn't even thought of that... yeah, in a few years, things will stabilize, but then you'll have a new problem... You'll wind up exacerbating the class split we're already struggling with. It's hard enough to live in a country where one in four military families need food stamps or aid just to eat, while the wealthy live in mansions waited on by servants. Every US presidential candidate for decades has been a millionaire; they actually keep people on their staffs to teach them how to act poor so the voters don't realize how big the split is...”

Betty agreed,
“You're all too young to remember it, but that's been a problem as long ago as George Bush senior; he was doing a meet and great in a grocery store, and he got distracted by the bar code scanner built into the counter. He started asking what it was, right in front of the cameras.” She shook her head, “The man was so rich, he hadn't done his own grocery shopping in decades. The servants took care of all that. Then there was that time in the early twenty teens when Willard Romney casually bet his debating opponent ten thousand dollars during a national debate. He treated ten thousand dollars like I would treat ten!”

“Yeah... in some ways, the only cry of equality for millions of people has always been 'you can't take it with you', but now... now if the wealthy become fucking immortal while the poor continue to die because they can't afford the treatment...”

Twilight was on her hooves, her hackles up as all the pieces clicked into place.
“I don't believe it! This could be the single most important thing to ever happen to humans and ponies, and it sound like it's going to start a war on your planet!”

Scootaloo looked meaningfully back at her,
“I wouldn't be too quick to judge Twilight. What happens when your population starts to explode? You'll have a lot more breathing room than we do, but sooner or later, the forests will fall, the wild empty lands will be bulldozed to make room for cities, and Equestria is going to get very, very crowded.”

The silence stretched uncomfortably for a long moment before Applejack hesitantly asked a question.
“Uh... Ms. Betty? Does everyone who gets this here treatment get the mane too?”
Betty nodded.
“Even the stallions?”
Betty nodded again, and after a moment, Applejack began to laugh.

Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder in trepidation as she asked,
“AJ, are you okay?”

The chuckling pony pulled herself together long enough choke out;
“The stodgy old stallions-” Snort! “Who run the court in Canterlot-” Giggle! “They're all going to have the most gorgeous girly manes!”

Betty was just about to scowl at the chortling pony when the image of Bill Clinton sporting the long, brightly colored flowing hair popped unbidden to mind and she nearly collapsed off the table laughing.

Twilight snickered a bit as she imagined prince Blue Blood's father in that ridiculous condition.
“Well I'll admit, I wouldn't have thought of that.” She forced her smile wider as she continued, “We can work out the details together, but at the moment we have something else important to talk to you about AJ...”

Applejack wiped a tear of laughter from her eye,
“Okay... We can work it out together. What's the other thing?”

Twilight blushed and fiddled with her hooves, trying her best to keep smiling;
“How do you feel about becoming a mother... to two thousand foals?”

Author's Note

Thanks for staying with me through the long wait while I worked on 'The Brightest Shine'! Stay tuned for the next chapter when AJ gets to give 'The Talk' to her little sister... and her grandmother... :twilightoops:

Comments and suggestions are always welcome!

3.29 Light of Love

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Twenty Nine: Light of Love

Strange dreams...

She drifted though dreams and nightmares, visions of heaven interspersed with terrible visions where she felt her own mind collapse from within, memories burning and fading away like smoke. She kicked in her sleep, but wakefulness slipped out of her grasp. Sometimes she would imagine herself in heaven with the Crusaders, or back in school so long ago with her friends before everything went so wrong, but these happy visions drifted in and out of focus, never staying as long as she would like.

...

“How much longer, doctor?”

“It shouldn't be long now... You should stay, Pinkie; she'll want to see you.”

She tried to keep her spirits up, she really did, but the last few weeks since getting to know Faith had been some of the hardest she could remember... When Faith was up and playing and she threw her a party she felt sooo happy! But there was always that worry in every shadow and behind every closed door... the worry that Dr. Scootaloo might be right... That Faith might...

Pinkie shook her head hard to clear it. That was all done now. Yes, the old Faith in the hospital had... Her whole body shuddered as she squeezed her eyes shut tight. But now Faith had a new body and Doctor Scootaloo said she was going to wake up good as new and that meant the nightmares would stop and she could concentrate enough to plan parties again, and everything would be okay!

She tried not to think about it, but sometimes when she was distracted, or at times like this when there was nothing to do but wait… the conversation she’d overheard between Twilight and Luna came crawling back into waking memory despite her best efforts to banish it.

…

It had been the worried tone of Luna’s voice that had made her stop to listen.

“No safety net? Twilight, I do not understand you. You said you wanted to talk about a matter of great importance. Has something happened to Guiding?”

A ragged sigh followed, and Pinkie cautiously peaked around the corner to see what was going on. Twilight’s shoulders were sagging and there were dark circles under her eyes as though she hadn’t slept that night. True, the accident with Guiding Light had been a close call, but through sheer luck he’d survived the crash and last she’d heard he was still recovering well.

“Guiding is fine, or as fine as any pegusas can be after crashing through a window and being chased by a crazy person with a blunt object.” Twilight added with a shake of her head, “No, the problem is what almost happened.

Princess, you know that death is reversible under some circumstances; that a pony can survive in some form beyond the destruction of the body. The human scientists are calling it the ‘pony cloud’, but regardless of the name, its how we were able to undo so much damage and bring Scootaloo back.”

“Well yes, this is well known. The humans have the same thing I believe. One of them referred to it as ‘heaven’ in passing; apparently it was setup long ago by a powerful wizard called ‘Christ.’”

Twilight’s nervous demeanor seemed to get worse as she interjected.

“Yes, I’d heard the same thing, and up until last night I hadn’t thought much more about it, but… After such a close call I went looking for information on this ‘heaven’ so we’d be ready if we ever needed to use it, but when I started asking detailed questions about how the magic worked…”

Luna was beginning to look concerned.

“Yes?”

“Princess, they have no safety net! There are writings and texts beyond count, but they’re all self-contradictory mysticism and ancient tales! There isn’t a single modern text on how to use the magic safely! And all the examples of humans coming back from the dead are either unverified or thousands of years out of date! We’ve been operating all this time without a safety net!” Twilight visibly shuttered and Luna swallowed hard. “If Guiding Light had died yesterday… there is nothing on this world to record him, nothing that could bring him back!”

“Well, surely we could have used the most recent memory from Equestria.”

“Yes, and based on what I’ve found we need to institute a policy whereby all researchers on earth must check in with Equestria every few months, lest they lose all their work should there be another accident.”

Luna nodded seriously.
“Agreed. Thank you for bringing this danger to my attention. Your dedication to research is a tribute to your good name. I will implement this rule today.”

Twilight was still shaking her head though.

“Thank you Luna, but that’s only part of the problem. What about the humans?”

“What do you… Oh...” Luna trailed off as her eyes went wide.

“Exactly. No safety net. When someone dies on Earth, they’re gone for good; there is no recording, no backup, nothing! A whole civilization being continually erased from existence! They don’t even have long-lived leaders like you and Princess Celestia; the oldest humans ever get is a bit over 100 years, and most don’t even get that much! They’ve managed to piece together working systems of government anyway, but when it comes to death…”

“What? How could any creature deal with the sure knowledge of its own destruction?”

They both cringed before Twilight went on,

“Some humans seem able to deal with it, to function even knowing they will be erased along with their parents and foals, but the rest… Princess, do you remember hearing about the bizarre ‘religious’ wars the humans have fought?”

“I do, though I could not make sense of their motivations. We have precious little ‘religion’ in Equestria, and certainly not enough to kill somepony over.”

“Well it’s starting to make a terrible kind of sense to me. Many humans can’t live without a safety net any more than ponies could, but until we showed up there wasn’t anything they could do about it. So they warped reality until they honestly believed they had a safety net. There are many different versions with different rules, but most have the same underlying structure: if you want to believe you’re safe and protected from this horrible situation then you have to do what your ‘religion’ says. I saw your expression when you realized you were operating without a safety net for just a few days. You looked horrified, and you’re one of the two oldest and strongest ponies ever!

“Imagine what it must be like for them; to be holding on to a delusion of protection based on a history of old legends, and then some other humans come along and tell you you’re wrong. That everything you need to believe to be safe is a lie. That you and your parents and your foals will be wiped out of existence, and there is nothing that can be done about it except to abandon your beliefs and accept theirs... Does that sound like a moderate position that can be settled through reasoned discourse and logic?”

Luna was beginning to look sick
“That… that is unthinkable! Violence would be nearly unavoidable!”

Twilight shook her head.

“They do better than most ponies would in this unbearable mess. Even with the deck stacked so heavily against them, most human religions manage to do tremendous good; they act as the conscience and moral compass for a lot of humans, much as you and Princess Celestia are our guiding lights.”

There was a long silence before Twilight spoke again.

“We do need to check in more often, but until we have some solution to offer the humans, I’d ask that you keep the reason for this quiet, and not just from them. Death is hard enough on us when it’s mutable; to openly speak the truth of this here would be heartlessly cruel.”

Luna repressed a shutter as she agreed.
“Yes, Faith’s parents have been through quite enough without knowing the truth. If we should fail them…”

Twilight sniffed,
“The hardest thing is hearing their funeral rites… I read a lot of them last night, and seeing the recordings, hearing the joyful proclamations of future happy reunions when I know the truth of this world…”

Luna stepped forward and wrapped a wing around Twilight, pulling her in close as she continued.
“There… There was a wake for a father of two fillies, two human girls, just about Applejack and Applebloom’s age. They were sad of course, but to see them both speak so kindly of their father, to hear them talk of what they were going to tell him when they met him again when I knew, I knew it would never happen…”

Luna held Twilight tighter as she dabbed her eyes.
“I am sorry Twilight, I will not share this with anypony else.”

Outside the door, Pinkie turned and slowly continued down the hall in a daze, her long pink locks dragging along the floor.

…

“Faith... Faith, it's time to wake up...”

Faith's mother was gently stoking her daughter's head again, calling her name as Pinkie blinked away the memory. Slowly, the figure in the hospital bed began to stir, and as Pinkie looked on with mounting excitement, Faith slowly opened her eyes to see her mother and father.

And immediately began to cry.

“Faith, what's wrong, sweetie?!”

The little orange filly was sobbing her heart out, and it took several moments before they made out what she was saying.
“It's not fair!”

Confusion was writ large across every face as her father asked,
“What? What's not fair? Faith, what's going on? Are you okay?”

“Of course I'm not okay!” Sniff! “I... I had a wonderful dream that I... That we...” A fresh round of sob shook her little body as she choked out; “But it was all just a dream! And I'm still here in the hospital, I'm still...”

Dr. Scott handed her a tissue, and after a moment Faith took it in her hoof and dabbed at her eyes.

And then she just stopped dead, the tissue pressed against her face by her own hoof. Slowly her eyes opened to take in the room full of people and ponies around her, and when her tears came again they were tears of joy.

It took a long time before the cheering and hugging and crying finally slowed enough for anyone to be understood.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Faith managed between sobs. “I love you all so much!”

“We love you too, Faith!” Pinkie said as she joined the group hug.

“All right,” Dr. Scott interjected as she wiped away some tears of her own, “That's quite enough for now. Faith's body has been comatose for a long time and it's delicate! Please, lay her back down on the bed.”

“Aww... Do I have to?” The little filly pleaded.

“Faith, you can barely stand.” Dr. Scott admonished lightly. “You'll be up and about soon enough, but you must build up your strength first.” She picked up Faith up carefully and laid her back down with a pillow under her head. “Now, what’s the last thing you remember before waking up here?”

The little orange filly scrunched up her face as she tried to recall.

“I... I was in a hospital in heaven, and all of you were there too... I went to sleep, but then....” She shuddered at what little she could remember after that. “After that all I remember is some really bad dreams... I think Luna was there, but something was very wrong...”

Dr. Scott sighed in relief at finding her memory intact. The bad news had to be delivered sometime though, and this was as good a time as any.

“Faith... You died in that hospital. A series of massive strokes killed off most of your brain. Your... Old body, is still over there...”

“We were so worried!”

“We thought we'd lost you!”

Her mother and father clutched her hoof tightly as fresh tears left tracks down their cheeks. Faith squeezed their hands in return (a very strange sensation given she had hooves now) looking up into their eyes.

“So... I'm really better now? I'm not dying anymore?”

Dr. Scott smiled.

“Nope. According to our visiting Equestrian doctors, you're recovering nicely and will soon be a healthy young pegasus. Given that we've figured out the niacin deficiency that kept Scootaloo grounded, you'll even be able to fly in a few months.”

Faith found herself tearing up again as the reality became clear...
“Fly... I'm a pegusas now... and I'm going to fly...”

Her father leaned in with a silly smile,
“You know, this means you'll also get your cutie mark some day soon...”

Tears of joy were streaming down her face as she dumbly mouthed the words,
“I'm... going to get my cutie mark...”

Her parents drew her back into a group hug as the group dissolved into a mix of joyous tears and laughter. Caught up in the moment, Pinkie reflexively reached into her mane, forgetting she was still in the human world, and grabbed for her party cannon.

And found it.

“Cutie mark party!”

A mighty ‘bang!’ heralded the first earth shot of the party cannon as the celebration continued. It would be several months before the maintenance staff fished the last of the streamers out of the hospital ventilation blowers.

Some considerable time later Faith recovered enough to think again, cocking her head at Dr. Scott.

“Um... Doctor Scootaloo?”

“Yes, Faith?”

The little filly began to blush as she sheepishly asked,
“Uh... Does this mean I have to be naked all the time now?”

…

Half an hour later Pinkie stumbled from the hospital room, such was the disorienting strength of the emotional high brought on by all that had just happened. She narrowly avoiding the door as Faith's father caught it and followed after her. In the quite of the empty hallway he composed himself with some difficulty.

“Pinkie, I want to thank you for everything you've done for my daughter. She wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you.”

The blush spread across her cheeks as she tried to wave the comment away.
“It's okay. I just did what any pony would.”

He slowly brought out a small package wrapped in the wrapping paper sold in the hospital gift shop.

“I know it's not much, but I want you to have this.”

“Ooh! Presents! Thank you!”

Pinkie demolished the wrapping, pulling out a tablet, some childhood drawings and a glowing nightlight shaped like a bear.

“I've been carrying these from hospital to hospital for far too long. Now, because of you, we don't need them anymore. Please, keep them all as a token of our gratitude for what you've done for us.”

The happiness welling up inside threatened to send her into tears again as she lunged forward and wrapped her hooves around him.

“Thank you, I'm sooooooooo happy for you and Faith!”

…

In the dimly lit office, Scootaloo Scott leaned back with a sigh as she pushed away from the monitor to stretch.
“Wow… The book is finally done. Nice job, Twilight; you got a good happy ending and brought us all up to the present.”

Twilight nodded sagely as she put another check on the tail end of a huge scroll and set it down on the moonlit windowsill. The rainbow, dimly visible as it wafted up from the edge of town was beautiful tonight, and the sight held her gaze a moment before she shook her head and replied.

“I caught up with Pinkie and got her story a few hours ago. All I have to do now is some formatting and send it off to the printers on two worlds…”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes.
“Really? Formatting? Twilight, you’re one of the most meticulous writers I’ve ever met. Any mistakes in this book will be on the heads of the publishers who post this. You’ve been at this for a long time and at nearly 500 pages it’s time to stop chasing ‘War and Peace’ and just publish already.”

Twilight grimaced,
“I know… It’s only been a few months, but it does feel like I’ve been at this for years…”

“Yeah! Four and a half years! Finish up already!” Pinkie’s voice shouted from somewhere out of sight making them both jump.

“I thought Pinkie was on her way back to Equestria tonight?” Scootaloo said with a raised eyebrow as she looked around for any sign of the pink pony only to find nothing out of the ordinary.

Twilight just sighed.
“Don’t bother to look, it’s just Pinkie being Pinkie. Though that is the first time she’s managed that trick on your world…”

Scootaloo’s raised eyebrow gradually lowered as she finished her thought.
“Anyway, if it sells as well as I think it will, maybe you can come back and do an afterword someday. There are certainly enough loose ends to follow up on.” She amended as she counted on her prosthetic fingers, “The pending population and immortality crisis, humanity becoming a magic race with all that implies, the coming waves of ‘half pony’ children who switch bodies to cheat death and the donor ponies who volunteer to be cloned, the cultural and economic impacts of trade and immigration between our two wildly different worlds…”

Twilight nodded,
“Not to mention the exploration of both our universes using the gate facilities to jump directly to our destinations! I really enjoyed that old TV show you sent me… ‘Star Trek, the next edition’ I think? I’m a little sad that we’re never going to build ships to travel to the stars now, but instantaneous transportation certainly comes with a lot less drama ! They’re already talking about setting up a gate facility in Equestria to allow jumps to Mars and some of the outer planets of your solar system. It probably won’t be long until humans and ponies will be walking on many distant worlds looking for life and seeding it along the way.”

Scootaloo couldn’t help but smirk at her starry eyed expression,
“True, and closer to home you can follow up on Faith and see how she’s getting on in her new clothing-optional lifestyle. Rarity mentioned the equine equivalent would be wearing socks in public all day?”

The only thing missing from Twilight’s startled and embarrassed expression was the sound of a needle being pulled from a record. After several moments to collect her thoughts and pointedly ignore her editor’s laughter Twilight added,
“True, but Faith isn’t the only transplant to follow up on: we’ve got Dashy’s father and Agent Tyler was also talking about buying a home in Equestria.”

“I do hope that works out, she’s had a rougher life than anyone I know; she deserves a quiet retirement and a coffee shop of her own.”

Twilight nodded agreement as she lay back in her chair and finally relaxed.
“I think it will all work out. We’ve got good people and ponies on both sides and with all of us working for a better future, everything will be just fine.”

…

The day had been long but good and despite the late hour she still had a spring in her step as she remembered that smile on Faith’s face. The train ride back to Ponyvile from Canterlot had taken the rest of the afternoon, but she’d made it in time to keep her promise of foal sitting for the Cakes so they could have the night off.

Not two minutes after they’d left, the twins decided it was time for a rousing game of ‘hide and seek on the ceiling,’ but after the day she’d had, it just helped them all burn off some extra energy.
‘That, and brush up on my lamp catching skills,’ she smirked to herself as she tucked little Pumpkin in for the night. She turned away with a contented smile, only to slam her right hoof into a table leg hiding in the dark.

“FFFFffffffffffffudgsicles” she managed through gritted teeth. ‘I really need to work on my lamp catching skills…’

The Cakes would understand a single broken lamp; at least this time she’d stopped it from catching fire. She gingerly lowered her throbbing hoof to the floor and stared into the darkened room searching for more traitorous furniture.

It was just too dark to see.

‘With all the things we knocked over, I'll need a new light. Let’s see…’ She reached into her mane and rooted around, coming back with a sealed mason jar.

‘Oh, right. I let all the fireflies go…’ She smiled briefly at the memory before rooting around again. ‘It is so good to be back home again. It can be so frustrating to have to carry everything in saddle bags.’

An oxy-acetylene cutting torch and goggles came next. Pinky turned on the gas and held the striker over the hissing nozzle before pausing to glance down at the two sweetly sleeping babies.

‘Hmmm… Maybe not…’

She rooted around for another moment before a thought occurred.
‘Wait – saddle bags!’ She carefully reached around the crib to where she had tossed her bags and pulled them over. ‘He said he had a night light in… Ah-ha!’

A soft white light spilled from the bag as she opened the box and withdrew the small glass teddy bear. She pulled the box out and set it aside, lifting the glass nightlight high enough to illuminate the nursery and the tremendous mess the three of them had made of it.

‘Oh… I better clean this up too…’

A strange unease washed over her and she paused, one eyebrow raised as she took a second look around. After a moment she shrugged and set the nightlight down on a dresser to busy herself with the cleanup while trying not to wake the little ones.

‘Blocks in the block box, dolls in the doll house…’ The mess of toys began to re-organize as her hooves flew from task to task, but as she kept going the feeling of undirected worry returned and her movements slowed.

Something was definitely wrong.

Pinkie looked around the room again, carefully looking and listening for anything out of place.

Only the soft snores of Pumpkin and Pound.

The feeling of unease was unmistakable now, and with a start she realized the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up. A quick check of her twitchy tail –

‘Whew. No twitchy tail. So whatever it is isn’t dangerous.’

With a sigh she tried to ignore the tension as she finished the cleanup and left to check the rest of the house. Forty uneventful minutes later the doors and windows were locked, the bakery ready for the morning rush and everything put back where it needed to go, sans only the shattered lamp in the trash can.

‘Oh right- I should really get a proper light in there…’

Both foals were still sound asleep as she quietly opened the door, but a quick look confirmed there was no ready replacement for the missing lamp.

‘Well, at least I can mount Faith’s old night light on the wall so the twins don’t break it.’ She thought with a smile.

A quick check of the box produced not a plastic or metal mounting bolt, but a small Velcro patch that seemed designed to stick the glass bear to fabric.

‘Huh?’ After a moment Pinky shrugged and pulled a push-pin from her mane to mount the hanger to the wall above the twin’s crib, illuminating the whole room with its soft white light.

‘Now then, can’t have you going out before the Cakes get home; where do I plug you in?’

A cursory glance showed no sign of any electrical plug. A more detailed look also turned up nothing; the glass teddy bear had no compartments, plugs, wires or batteries she could find. In deepening confusion she pulled a uni-charger out of her mane to see if the bear ran on stored magic.

Nothing.

The only mark on the little bear was a tiny engraving on the bottom. ‘Light of Love’.

The unease was back again, and stronger than before. Her pinkie sense would tell her if anything was dangerous, but so far… nothing.

She quietly picked up her saddle bags and sat down in the rocking chair by the door of the nursery, digging around until she found the little gift box from Faith’s father. Inside was a tablet and the well worn original packaging for the glass bear marked ‘Light of Love – Tritium’. She flipped it over to see the simple message on the back - ‘May your love always be a light in the darkness.’

“What’s a light of love?”

Her quite mutter was enough for the tablet to hear, and the screen flashed white for a moment as a video loaded. As SONG started to play, Pinkie picked up the tablet to see a happy mother cuddling her newborn baby.

“You’ve loved them.”

The image changed to a father reading a bedtime story to his little girl. Another image of a mother tucking her little one into bed.

“You’ve cared for them.”

A toddler took his first steps while his parents cheered. A little girl in overalls waved to her parents as she got onto the school bus for the first time.

“You would do anything for them.”

The same parents now looking much older held their little girls hands as she walked through the big white doors of an MRI scanner room wearing only a thin hospital gown. A father read a farm animal book to a bald little boy. A mother walked into a clinic beneath a sign reading ‘bone marrow donation’.

“But sometimes it isn’t enough.”

A little boy called from his bed.
“I’m scared mommy! I’m scared of the dark!”

A pair of shaking hands hung a small glass bear from the lid of a coffin as the narration continued.

“Light of Love will light their way through the cold darkness and burn for ninety years.”

The image of a small girl hugging her parents overlaid the closing lid as a small voice sighed.

“I love you mommy. I’ll wait for you.”

“The light of your love will stay with them until your time comes to be reunited once more.”

As the music wound down the tablet shook in Pinkie’s hooves and tears ran down her face. A simple message scrolled across the screen as the narrator intoned; “Remember, you are not alone. See some of the other customers who bought ‘Light of Love’ this year.”

The page changed once more and settled on a grid of pictures, all the smiling faces of children.

There were at least twenty staring out at Pinkie as her chest ached.

‘So many children… So many little foals…’

The slow blinking at the corner of the tablet gradually registered in her mind, but it took a moment to understand what she was seeing.

A blinking ‘scroll left’ arrow.

Slowly, almost against her will her hoof came down and touched the icon brining up a new page of smiling children.

And another.

He mane wilted until it hung straight and limp and still the pages came. Page after page of ‘satisfied customers’ to endorse the corpse light now hanging in the nursery. The tightness in her chest grew, breathing became harder, but still she tapped at the screen, the new faces flying by with greater and greater speed as she reached desperately for the end, for the last page of tiny smiling faces.

She didn’t find it.

Eventually the pain became more than she could take. With a small clatter the tablet slipped to the floor as Pinkie collapsed into heaving sobs.

The sound of shattering glass came from the Cakes house one last time that night.

It was the sound of a cutie mark breaking.

Author's Note

Humanity straddles two worlds: In one, science and study roll back the blanket of darkness and ignorance, revealing the inner workings of our universe and literally lighting the night sky as we reshape our world. In the world of animals we watch in helpless ignorance as illness and predators we do not understand snatch away those we love. As hormones and mating rituals rule our emotions, lead us to discriminate, and shape our very lives.

But humanity does not stand upon this divide, no. We find ourselves in the midst of a stride thousands of years in the making that is carrying us ever faster towards transcendence. To be human is to use science to heal, and yet still mourn the loss of those beyond its help.

The song if you missed it in the text.

Don’t worry too much dear readers, Pinkie will recover to be better than before in a few chapters without any suicide or homicide – promise. Character development is often hard, and her ability to make others happy is built on the fundamental assumption that things are okay. Faced with a world where this is no longer true, her purpose will have to... expand somewhat.

Chapter 3.31 The Lotus Blossom

Author's Note

Wow, I've let this go so long there no longer is an official release of MLP-FIM to support...

It's been three years since this last updated, and three years to the one before that.
Last night I read the first FIM fiction story to our little girl who is now old enough to follow the plot and laugh at the appropriate times. She wasn't born when I started writing OGS. I've let "20% cooler" become the enemy of "good enough" and its time to bring this story to a close.

To that end I'll be posting all the remaining chapters in their current state and adding a final summery to wrap it all up. It isn't right, but if I drag this out any more I'll probably never finish it.

This chapter had been held back because it's an obvious re-write of a well known show, but if you'll forgive the cliche of fic in a fic, it does show us a bit more of how the spread of un-controlled magic is being felt by the general public.

Chapter 3.31 The Lotus Blossom

--Somewhere south of the equator--

“Do you see this beautiful flower? Can you see how each petal is perfect, unbroken and adds to the beauty of it all?”

The little girl looked up at the large white flower cradled in her grandmother’s hands with wonder.

“Yes, grandma.”

Her grandmother had ordered it specially two days ago from the flower stall, telling her it would be hers when they returned to the family’s small run-down apartment. All afternoon she had wanted to ask for the flower, but she had been good and waited patiently all the way home.

“Take the flower in your hands.”

She reached out and carefully cradled the perfect white form in her cupped hands, feeling the cool waxy touch of the blossom against her palms as the sweet scent wafted up to her nose.

“Thank you! It’s beautiful, grandma...”

Her grandmothers smile seemed to fade as she spoke again.

“Now, crush it with your hands.”

The child looked up at her in shock.

“Go ahead, just curl your fingers and crumple it.”

Reluctantly she did so, feeling the small pops and crunches as the flower collapsed in her grip. Grandma knew what she was doing...

“Now open your hands again...”

The little girl stared down at the ruined flower in her hands, a look of concern on her face for the first time.

“Now, can you make the flower perfect again? Can you fix it?”

She pulled at the broken petals in concern, doing nothing to improve matters, and reached out to her friends to ask them for advice, her eyes shining just a little as she did so.

Down the hall a young girl and a mother before her time heard the innocent question and felt tears prick her eyes as they shone. A nurse at work in the city hospital felt her eyes flash and her stomach sink as she recognized the query, one she had seen go wrong far too often. The query spread, hundreds hearing the little girl’s call as she asked the innocent question ‘Can I fix the flower?’ unaware of what was to follow.

Those who heard knew what came next.

The instruction that she was not a person, but a thing, an object to valued only for her ‘womanhood’ or lack thereof. That no man would ever love her if she had sex before marriage, because just like the flower in her hand she would worthless, a crumpled worn out thing to be discarded. Men were people, men could do as they liked, but women, little girls like you? They must preserve themselves until such time as a person deems them worthy of purchase and wedding.

Only a fraction of a second had passed as all this thought took place between people scattered across a continent. The little girl did not feel the spike of anger, of nausea at what was happening. She did not feel their resolve harden as a consensus was reached.

No.

Not again.

Not today!

Contact was made with a plant biologist and she assented to help. One of the visiting earth ponies cringed and offered guidance. Those who knew the housing complex remembered a sludge filled drainage pond behind the apartment complex that was always covered in a sheen of green algae. Everyone agreed to lend a little of their strength and magic to the plan.

And several seconds after she reached out, a calm sure voice, the voice of all who had heard her call spoke back to the little girl.

‘Yes, you can make it whole again. Go to the pond behind your apartment.’

With a growing smile the little girl ran for the door of the family apartment, calling out to her grandmother,

“Yes! Yes I can fix it! Come on, grandma, come on!”

The grandmother stared after the running girl in confusion, her mouth hanging open. This was a hard lecture that she hated to give, but a long life had taught her the harsh ways of the world, and as much as it hurt, the sooner it was done, the sooner it was over. Her granddaughter was better served to learn this lesson from a loving grandma than from a harsh world outside her door.

A door she had just vanished though with a beckoning wave.

“Hey, where are you going? Come back here!”

When she reached the door to the shared hallway the door to the stairs at the end of the hall was already swinging shut behind the rapid patter of small shoes.

“Come on, grandma! The pond! The pond by the fence!”

Grumbling, she made her way to the elevator and rode it down to the ground floor hoping she wasn’t going to chase too far. Ten years ago she could have run after the little girl, but now?

At the ground floor she walked down the dim access hallway to the back of the building where the pond and the dumpsters sat. Several half dressed children ran past her down the hallway laughing and shouting as they played. She stubbed her toe on some bit of debris hidden in the shadows and stumbled for a moment before someone caught her and steadied her balance.

“Do not be too hard on her.” A warm elderly voice said close to her ear as some unseen woman helped her to her feet. The grandmother turned to give this meddler a piece of her mind, but found no one at her ear. A glance down showed a small boy perhaps five years old looking up at her, his eyes glowing brightly in the darkness and illuminating the dark hallway in a dim white light.

“The old ways served us well, but they are not needed anymore.” The voice of the old woman spoke out of the child’s mouth as he looked up at her. “Go. See the gift your granddaughter has made for you.”

The glow faded and the child grinned, turning and running off after his friends and leaving the grandmother leaning against the wall of the hallway, her heart racing in her chest. With considerable effort she shook her head in bewilderment and pressed on toward the back of the building, opening the doors out onto the grimy alleyway in the fading light of the setting sun.

Her granddaughter sat in the center of the filthy pond up to her chest in the slimy water, her eyes shut in concentration as she cradled the white blossom in her hands. Where it touched the water, a dim glow seemed to flowed out beneath the surface, spreading as she watched and slowly the flower began to unfold itself. Large green leaves appeared, spreading across the surface of the pond as the lotus grew and spread, the film of algae being swallowed up by the expanding greenery. As the leaves reached the edges of the pond thick stalks rose slowly from the water, swelled, and blossomed forth into dozens of perfect white lotus flowers as her granddaughter slowly opened her white glowing eyes and smiled up at her beloved grandmother.

“Look, grandma! I fixed it!”

3.32 Pinki Pie's wakeup call...

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

3.33 Endings and beginnings...

The weeks and months that followed were tumultuous to say the least as so many foundations were shaken to their core. As the newly infectious magic spread, holding false beliefs soon became physicals impossible, resulting in the collapse of many, many institutions of all shapes and sizes.

Our story's final chapter begins in an Equestria not too different from the one that began all this. Nearly everyone had elected to come home in the end, and aside from a few retired visitors like Agent Tyler and her new coffee shop, life was much the same as it had ever been. That was actually what sparked the conversation at the cafe's lunch table that morning.

"Well I really like Tyler's new coffee even if it isn't what the noble's prefer" Rarity retorted.

"Yeah, but it was better when she was still getting cool off world ingredients." Rainbow replied. "What ever happened to that anyway?"

Pinky shrugged her wings "From what I heard they couldn't make enough money to keep the portals going. We still get the odd researcher through now and then, but its' been quite a while since the last one..."

Twilight had an odd feeling at those words, like something was subtly wrong with them, but she couldn't quite put together what.
"Well, it has been a while since I talked to Dr. Scott... I spent all that time building my own connection gear, why don't I give her a call this afternoon and let you know what's going on on their side?"

...

When the white flash ended, Twilight looked around expecting to see the city she had spent so many weeks in, or perhaps the gate room if her aim was off, but instead she found herself floating in a huge transparent bubble, apparently drifting high above an unfamiliar moon.

Huge chunks of the moon were being lifted into space and enormous structures were visible stretching out into the distance in orbit around the sun.

"Ah, you have returned again." Spoke a smiling voice inside her head. "Too long without contact I take it?"

She started and looked around for the source of the voice before a memory clicked into place. She had done this before.
She was talking to herself.

"Yes, right again, I always was a smart one." smiled a voice she dimly recognized as her own. "Let me guess; you're wondering why your life seems more or less normal after everything that happened. Why with so much change on this side so little has changed back home?"

Twilight could only nod.

It's because as we grew brighter and greater with the magic flowing through our shared species we finally reached and surpassed the level of 'Momma Bear."

She stared "How did I not know this??"

"I'm sorry, this part is always hard. You do know, we just weren't sure you could know all this back home. We thought it best to leave this out , or you would be coming back here every day to ask to join us again. " there was a pause "Of course you are welcome to join us again in this new iteration if you wish. Another Twilight can be sent back to the fishbowl."

"...the what now??"

"Equestira; the fishbowl. How could a world like yours exist in such perfect harmony - a world where the problems that plague humanity just don't happen. A world with incredible technology like magic but natives who don't know how to build it, only how to use it? Isn't it obvious? Equestria is a fishbowl world. Artificially constructed just like a beautiful salt water fishtank full of tropical fish and corrals for the viewing pleasure of a greater entity.

Had their been any gravity, she would have sat down hard.

"Whoever built Equestria didn't leave much in the way of notes. Momma Bear is a quite capable AI, and as we've been getting stronger and smarter we've worked to improve some of her features, fine tune some of her subroutines that had gotten out of wack over the millennia. We're pretty confident she should last a long long time regardless of what happens to us now, but the one request she made was that her purpose must continue. 'The fish must swim' I suppose you could say."

Twilight's eyes were wide as they literally stared off into space "My world is an artificial fish bowl for someone else's enjoyment?!"

"I know. It took us quite a while to wrap our minds around it too. That's why Twilight stayed here and we made up a fresh copy to go home to the bowl, though it didn't work out too well. Momma Bear want's you back, you're important to the tank, but making a copy of us that want's to stay isn't easy. You're the fifth one to come back this year, and though you're welcome to stay and grown into something greater here, we're still struggling to get a copy right that is Twilight at the core, but still wants to stay in a tank..."

"You're not going to send me back?"

The voice seemed surprised "Of course you can go back if you like, or you can stay, or both at the same time. Copying a mind as small as yours is trivial by now."

Her head was spinning as she asked the next question "But what about everyone else? Where is everyone?"

"Most of those you knew are now far larger than you remember. Most thinking beings now live digitally and only instance a body in the real world from time to time. The shard you're speaking to is only a small piece of what Twilight became, and I stick around to handle various logistical problems inherent to mining a moon. Most of me is light minutes or hours distant working on a number of physics projects like the sun harvester and the antimatter converter plant. There are still a handful of meat humans and ponies left, but their numbers are always shrinking. In another few hundred years of real time we'll be a completely digital species. It didn't go down quite like people thought,,but they weren't too far off either..."

All Twilight could do was stare in shock.

"And of course Mamma Bear didn't want us to keep tampering with her tank. There's a reason that technology hasn't budged there in thousands of years, and trade with us would have upended everything in just a few years. You can see how it did on this side." the voice added with a smile.

Below them, a dark patch in the stars that she hadn't paid much attention to began to light up as the moon swung out into the sunlight again, the swirling clouds of Jupiter churning below.

Twilight was still staring at the spectacle unfolding below, a powerful need to learn and know waring with the thought of leaving her friends behind to become... whatever this version of herself had.

"Oh don't worry. At least one of all your friends stayed behind, so you won't lack for company, and you're not abandoning anyone. Now here, why don't you join me and we'll design the next Twilight for Equestria together. Its as good a way to grow up as any."

Author's Note

And so ends a three part, nine year long odyssey. The story that got me into fanfic in the first place upon reading 'My Little Dashie' and thinking "I could write this better". I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it.

Now I'm going to watch Owl House, Star vs the Forces of Evil and SheRa with my daughter. Best wishes and happy holidays! : )

Ch 3.1: The Rescue Mission

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point One: The 'Rescue' Mission

With a sigh Twilight leaned back in her chair and stretched. “Well, that pretty much wraps up everything that happened before we got here.”

Scootaloo finished the last page that was new to her and handed the computer back to Twilight with her prosthetic right hand. “This is wonderful, you're every bit the author Celestia made you out to be.”

“I'm glad you like it, and a little surprised too. I still can't believe you wanted me to include all those... details... about David and yourself. Most couples back in Equestira generally don't reveal that much about their married life.”

Scootaloo just smirked. “Really? I would have though after that prank Pinkie and Rainbow pulled on you, you would have learned that what people imagine is always much worse than reality. The truth you've been writing is positively boring compared to what some of the stories the tabloids have run about my husband and I.”

Twilight blushed at that. “Well, yes, you do have a point.”

“So why did you call me here late at night like this? We've been meeting three and four times a week to talk shop and work on this. What did you need so urgently it couldn't wait for morning?”

Twilight's uneasy expression returned and she found herself scratching the back of her head with a hoof. “Well... It's about the next section. Everything we've written up till now has been very much the unvarnished truth. I understand why you don't want to sugar coat anything but... so far this has been pretty tame.”

“Excuse me?” Scootaloo asked indignantly. “Tame??”

Twilight looked embarrassed, but didn't back off the topic. “Okay, maybe not tame, but... you led a pretty good life. I... I don't know if I feel comfortable writing what comes next in that same voice.”

“Oh, come on Twi, so things didn't get off to the best start. You came here expecting a repeat of what happened with Dashie at best, or to have to rescue me from a laboratory at worst. You didn’t know I had already made a life for myself, earned a doctorate of medicine, married and had two foals... But we both know nopony got hurt and we're all still here today to write this.”

“Well, that's true...” She conceded, “But after what happened to poor Fluttershy? Do you really want to put that all on the page just as it happened? She still has nightmares about those first few days...”

“Twilight...” Scootaloo answered in surprise, and then her face fell as she realized. “She hasn't told you, has she?”

“Told me what?” Twilight asked with a concerned look.

Scootaloo grimaced and didn't answer immediately.

“What? What didn't Fluttershy tell me?”

“It's... It's not my place to say. But you'll find out when you do the interviews for this section. Suffice it to say that Fluttershy asked that her part in this be included exactly as it happened.”

“But!... She asked for that? After everything that happened to her and Applejack, she asked to have it included?!”

Scootaloo actually cringed as Twilight said this, then looked her in the eye and nodded.
“Haven't you noticed the locket she carries with her now?”

Twilight paused a moment to think. “Her little gold one? What about it?”

“It's... Very important to her. I... She'll explain it in her own time.”

Twilight shook her head to try to clear this strange line of questioning. “Well, even if she does want her part in this included, you have to concede that you can't just write in exactly what happened! This book is supposed to be something teenagers can read! You're going to lose readers if you don't candy coat this.”

“Twilight, you're making it sound like someone raped her! We both know no one touched any of you. Hell, no one even did anything malicious! Almost everyone you met had nothing but good will towards you guys.”

“ But...” Twilight stopped and took a moment to calm herself. A deep breath. Two.

“I know this isn't easy for you, Twi, and I can help when you need it, but even you have to admit things could have gone so much worse. It was pure dumb luck that Celestia even survived that first night, especially given that Dashie and Rainbow were too broken up to tell her what high voltage power lines look like.” She shuddered at the memory. “Why don't you just start with the basics? That time in the three worlds flows at the same pace, so while it had only been three weeks since the accident that took Rainbow and I from Equestria in 2033, Rainbow had been blasted fifteen years into the past on her world, and I was shot back twenty years here.”

The change of topic seemed to be helping, and Twilight sat up with a puzzled look. “Doesn’t everypony already know that?”

“Not everyone: From your perspective it had been three weeks, from Rainbow’s it had been fifteen years and I experienced twenty years between my arrival in 2013 your ‘rescue mission’ in 2033. Time travel can be confusing enough even with a full explanation.”

“Well, I could get into the theory of how that worked; some of the equations are complicated enough they don’t fit on a single sheet of paper!” Twilight answered, her eyes taking on a certain gleam. “I’m only beginning to understand what the scientists figured out, but I bet if explain it carefully-“

Scootaloo put her hand gently over Twilights mouth and shook her head slowly, trying to hide her mirth. “Please don’t. You know what? Let me write that part. Why don’t you start with what you know best; your departure from Canterlot Castle in Equestria?”

“Hmf. Talk about an inauspicious beginning. We expected to show up at your front door, just like we did with Dashie. The Princess set the spell to take us to ‘Scootaloo’s location’, and the spell did the best it could.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t know about the twins, and it probably didn’t help that I was doing two hundred miles an hour in the medevac helicopter at the time…” Scootaloo added rubbing the back of her head with her prosthetic hand.

“You think?! The spell scattered the seven of us in a line from the center of the city out into the boonies! The trip was less than a minute old, and we were already in trouble, some of us more than others…”

...

“Remember girls, we don't know what we will find once we arrive. We could come through in a laboratory, or worse...”

All the assembled ponies shared a look of grim determination and nodded. It had been almost three weeks now since the accident that sent Rainbow Dash to a different world, and a week since they had returned. They had all needed a few days to recover after that ordeal, and Rainbow was still learning to live with two personalities in one body after Twilight had re-loaded her memories. Dashie and Rainbow usually spoke as one pony now, but they still had arguments from time to time, especially when Rainbow had to explain some quirk of Equestrian society to Dashie who wouldn't know, having grown up on earth.

But now the Princess had found the right world, and homed in on where Scootaloo was, or had been. They were as ready as they could be. Though they had kept their grim suspicions to themselves, it was still obvious to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom that something was very wrong as they watched with worried expressions from the edge of the room.

“Please bring our friend back, Applejack!”

“And take care of yourself big Sister!” Sniff, “You come right back okay?!”

The assembled ponies nodded, took a deep breath, and a bright white light began to glow around them. With a yellow flash Fluttershy was the first to go, followed moments later by Applejack in a flash of orange, then Rarity, then Rainbow Dash followed by Pinkie Pie and Twilight. With a final glance at the foals, Celestia flashed white and was gone.

...

Light shone from the windows of sorority house as the sisters got ready for some time off from school and a night on the town.
“Okay girls, are you ready?” shouted a redhead who seemed to be in charge.

“Oh, hells yes!”

“Lets go already, these heels are killing me!”

“I done told you they're too high! You're gonna break an ankle girl!”

“Oh cool it, you ain't my mother.”

“You got that right,” another voice chimed in “so don't go crying to her for help when your ankles give out in a couple of hours.”

“All right! I'll bring a sneakers in my purse, sheesh!”

As the chorus of rowdy voices gathered by the door they were interrupted by a flash of blinding purple light coming from the den. For the first time in hours, the house knew silence.

It was short lived.

“What the hell was that?!”

“I don't know, did you leave the TV on again?”

“Scootaloo?” A new voice called.

The group exchanged confused looks, then went to investigate. As they filled the den, Twighlight stood her ground in the center of the small room.

“Hello, my friends and I are looking for Scootaloo. She should be here.”

The girls looked around the room occupied by the purple pony. “Uh, what friends?”

Twilight looked around and noticed for the first time she was the only pony in the room. Panic flashed across her features, but she seemed to get control of herself and pressed ahead. “I came here looking for an orange and purple pony called Scootaloo. I should have arrived very close to her. Are you her caretakers?”

“Caretakers? You mean like parents?”

“Sister, this is a college town, and I got enough trouble taking care of the girls under this roof.” One of the resident assistants chimed in: “You think I have time to care for children?”

Twilight seemed to sag at that; “You mean you've never seen another pony like me?”

A pounding of footsteps coming down the stairs behind her announced the arrival of another sister; “Hey guys, I finally found that other shoe, are you still here...” She surveyed the den for a moment, then asked flatly. “Is this some kind of joke?”

Caught off guard, again, Twilight turned and raised an eyebrow, “Uh, hello?”

Comprehension seemed to dawn on the new girl, followed quickly by a huge smile. “Oh my God, you're really real aren't you! You came to find Scootaloo!”

“You know Scootaloo?!”

“Of course! Well, by reputation at least. I'm Joyce, and these are my sisters.”

Twilight counted at least thirty girls at a glance and looked confused again. “All of them?”

“... Oh! Sorry, no, think sisters as in roommates that go to college together.”

One of the group spoke up “Joyce, what is going on?”

Joyce sighed in exasperation. “Jeez, didn't you guys take any bio or engineering classes? This is another pony, you know, same species as Scootaloo? Goes to school here, bright orange coat?”

Rachel from the engineering school got the reference “Oh that Scootaloo! We're going to study her Electro Magnetic Field Repultion drive next semester in one of my aerospace and electrical classes!”

“Scootaloo is alive? She's okay?” Twilight asked and got two nods in reply, “Oh thank
Celestia, I was so worried! Where is she?”

“I would guess she's on duty tonight, she's working on her residency, and usually pulls a shift with the paramedics after school.”

“The what medics?”

“She's training to be a doctor, and she's working with the paramedics to help pay for school. That could have been her in the helicopter that flew over a few minutes ago.”

Rachel had produced a tablet computer and pulled up a documentary on Scootaloo. As the introduction played she showed it to Twilight. “Yeah, she was found, like, 20 years ago and she's a hero to a lot of people. Still makes the news from time to time, I can't believe I didn't recognize you. It's Twilight isn't it?” She asked extending a hand.

Twilight shook the offered hand. “Why yes, I... Wait, I didn't tell you my name. Does that mean Scootaloo remembered me” she asked hopefully?

“Huh? No, Scootaloo arrived here as a baby, she didn't remember anything.” Joyce replied.

“Then how did...?” She asked looking confused.

“Oh, from the TV show, lots of people know your name.”

The 'My Little Pony' theme song played from the tablet as it was again presented to her. Twilight stared wide eyed as the episode jumped forward depicting her and her friends. “Dashie told me, but I didn't really believe her...”

“We call it dimensional bleed through – some of us dreamed about you in enough detail to produce this. We don't really understand how it works yet, but now that you're here we can finally check the accuracy and figure it out!”

Twilight was looking increasingly overwhelmed when their second RA stepped in; “Not tonight she won't.”

All three science geeks of both species looked at her. “We won't?”

“Nope. Twilight, your friend is safe and well, we can help you catch up with her tomorrow, but tonight...” She turned to the assembled group “Tonight, Twilight is our guest of honor, so let’s take her out for a night on the town!”

“That's more like it!”

“WOOO!”

Twilight soon found herself walking into town with Rachel, Joyce and the rest of the girls as she tried to deal with the strangeness of this world full of monkeys. The first thing she noticed as they went out the door was the cluster of blindingly bright starts scattered across the night sky. Rachel confirmed that it was indeed night, but the city was still as light as a dark cloudy day despite the sun having already set! As she watched, the tiny points of blinding light slowly moved across the sky.

“What in the world are those? She asked one of the sisters.

“Oh, that's right, you don't have Sunbeam. They're just big foil reflectors that light up the city at night. Saves a fortune on street lights and junk.” She finished in a disinterested tone.

Shaking off the strangeness of all this, Twilight attempted to beg off several times, but Joyce pointed out that even if she did snub them and leave, Scootaloo was on the job and probably wouldn't be done until late at night. Deprived of a good reason, and too polite to turn down an invitation, Twilight was soon waiting in line for a club across from what looked like a movie theater.

“You have movies here?”

“Yeah, for about 100 years now. That one's an art house theater that plays cult classics and old movies they can show cheaply.”

“Is that what that flat thing was? Some kind of movie in a box?”

“Um, not quite... Do you know what a computer is? A calculating machine that can do many different jobs based on what software you feed it?”

Before she could respond, a bright pink pony came bounding out the doors of the theater, looked frantically around and found a trash can into which she became violently ill.

“Pinkie Pie!” Rachel and Twilight exclaimed.

They ducked around traffic and were both at her side in moments. “Pinkie, what's wrong?”

Pinkie shakily pulled her head from the can and saw her friend. “Twilight! Oh I'm so glad I found you!” She still looked a little shaky as she seemed to be fighting back nausea.

Twilight and Rachel exchanged worried glances. “Pinkie, are you okay? What happened to you?”

“I don't know, when I got here I was in a dark closet full of mops and stuff and all of you were gone! I peeked out the door and they were showing a scary movie, like a campfire story but a movie, and I didn't want to get caught, so I watched and waited for the movie to be over so I could sneak out and... and...” She suddenly grabbed Twilight's shoulders and looked her square in the face. “Twilight, what did you have for lunch?!”

A moment ago she would have sworn she couldn’t be any more confused. “What? Uh.. I had some grain and garlic with a side of chick peas and beans, why?”

Pinkies face turned green and she returned to filling the trash can.

Twilight was rapidly becoming worried. “What in the world is the matter with her?” She asked Rachel.

For her part, Rachel had taken a moment to read the movie listings, and was staring fixedly at an entry half way down the board with a mortified look on her face. Not hearing a response, Twilight looked up and followed her gaze. “What's a 'human centipede'?”

Rachel was looking almost white as she turned back to the pair. “You don't want to know. Really. Lets just say it’s a work of pure fiction and... leave it at that.”

Not at all satisfied, Twilight pressed the issue “You're saying a movie did this to Pinkie? What in Equestria was it about?”

“Look, just trust me okay? You don’t want to know. There are some stories so revolting that just hearing the concept will cause... well that.” She gestured to Pinkie who was resting her head on the trash can and panting.

“You seriously expect me to believe there is a concept so disgusting, so vile, that just seeing a few moments of it will cause...” She looked at Pinkie, then back to Rachel and Joyce who had joined them.

“Yes, some information is really that nasty.” Rachel replied as she tried to explain the concept. “I'm sure you know people... ponies... that do things you don't enjoy, eat food you wouldn't eat right? Well there are some people who watch movies the rest of us don't like.”

Twilight squinted suspiciously at the two girls while Joyce fiddled with her tablet. “Why should I believe you?”

Joyce motioned her over to a corner out of view and propped her tablet against the wall. “If you don't believe us, if you really want to know, this is the... short version. Now I'm warning you, you really, really don't want to see this, but if you think you know better, press the screen here and video will play.”

Twilight looked suspiciously from Rachel to Joyce, then back to the video. “Two girls one cup?”

…

The girls each held one of the ponies heads until they were done.

“Oh, Celestia, why does that exist??” Twilight moaned.

“I told you not to watch.” Joyce chastised “But someone thought all knowledge was good and useful for something.”

“Knowledge yes, but that!” She still looked a bit green.

Joyce put a hand on her shoulder. “Why don't you both join us in the club, they have... drinks that will help you both forget all this.”

Both ponies nodded weakly and the group of four walked across the street to the bar.

Author's Note

Most of this story will be cheerful enough, but humanity is not all sunshine and rainbows and we don't always change our behavior just because somepony is visiting. There is no gore tag on this story because it doesn't need one, but some readers may find chapter 3.3 in particular to be... upsetting.

Ch 3.9 Rainbow gets a lesson in Acrobatics

Our Girl Scootaloo

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Nine: Rainbow gets a lesson in Acrobatics

Riding in a car still didn't feel normal to Rainbow, but at Agent Tyler's insistence she had agreed to let one of the agent's subordinates drive her to the NASA research and development airport to see how humans flew. After what seemed like an hour of crawling along the streets of this enormous city they hit the highway and half of her was again reminded of how incredibly fast these 'cars' were.

“I've seen people fly in jets before, but I've never gotten the chance myself, have you?” Dashie asked her driver.

“No, I've never had the pleasure, but I'm told Scootaloo made some friends at NASA years ago, and that's who we are going to see. They keep some decades-old fighters on site for aerodynamics testing purposes, but from what Scoot told me, you're in for a treat. This is the site where they developed the linear induction electrical aircraft catapult used on the new aircraft carriers, and they're supposed to have quite a kick.”

Before long they pulled off the freeway, and after a series of checkpoints they slowed to a stop outside a huge gray aircraft hanger. The door was already open and a sleek looking fighter was waiting in the morning sunlight, numerous fuel and electrical lines still connecting it to ground support equipment.

As Rainbow hopped out of the car a pilot in full flight gear stepped forward and introduced himself.
“Good morning Rainbow Dash, I'm Captain Rodgers, and it looks like I have the pleasure of giving you your first aerobatic lesson.” He leaned in and smiled as he shook her hoof. “I've always been a bit of a fan.”

“First aerobatic lesson? What kind of lightweight do you take me for?” Rainbow replied, not sure if he was serious or only ribbing her.

“I don't know yet, but we'll soon see. We have your flight suit and gear inside.” He indicated the small office space on the side of the hanger and as Rainbow headed off he called out with a smile. “We'll be ready to go any moment, so don't keep us waiting.”

Inside the building another pilot introduced himself and after shooing her off for a quick trip to the rest room he began helping her on with the complicated suit that had last seen use with Scootaloo. As Rainbow pulled up the green pants she stopped dead in her tracks as she looked down at the white inner lining.

“Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up! Is this a diaper?!”

The pilot reached in and fed her tail thought the matching hole in the bottom. “Well of course. We don't always need them, but for a veteran like you, well, we don't know how long you'll want to stay up there.” He gave the suit a tug, seating it in place before helping her get her front hooves into the sleeves “How did you think pilots relieve themselves on long flights?”

He helped her the rest of the way into the suit and began closing the many buckles and zippers.

“Well... okay... I guess I am an old hand at this.” Rainbow said with a smile.

Once she was all suited up she practically galloped out the door, but her driver hung back for a moment.

“Is that true? You really expect her to stay up that long?”

He gave her a knowing look. “You ever had to scrub the piss out of a cockpit after some newbie blacked out during a high G turn? This way no one need ever know if that happens, and that's fine with the rest of the ground crew.”

As Rainbow closed the distance to the jet she couldn’t get over how big it was.
‘Is this thing really going to fly?’
‘Of course it is. This is how humans fly, and they’ve been doing this for a while’
‘But how?! This thing must weigh a ton!’
‘Usually ten to twenty tons actually.’
‘What!? No way can something that heavy get into the air!’
‘Did I mention that a few tons of that is fuel weight? Imagine it being pushed across the sky by tons of burning fire! You’re going to love this, you old cloud pusher, you!’

Rainbow couldn’t decide if Dashie was pulling her leg or not.

“You all set to go?” Captain Rodgers asked as he climbed up the ladder to the cockpit.

“Uh, yeah, totally.” Rainbow answered uneasily as she flew up and landed in the co-pilots seat behind Rodgers.

After strapping in and a short safety lecture on do’s and don’t do’s, he fired up the engines and the whole plane vibrated as the turbines came alive. Over the roar of the engines, his voice crackled through the headset in her helmet.

“All right, I’m going to taxi to the catapult and it will get us airborne. Put your flight mask on so I can hear you.”

She reached out and buckled the form fitting mask over her muzzle, and almost instantly felt herself inflate.

“What the hay?!”

“It’s an oxygen mask – it pumps air into and out of your lungs and keeps you alive when we get to higher altitudes. It’s a basic part of the plane, but I want you to get used to it before we get too far.” He craned his head around to look back at her. “By the way, if you chicken out before we even get off the ground I’m out fifty bucks to a real jerk on the maintenance team.”

Rainbow felt her cheeks glowing red under the mask. The flow of oxygen reversed and she felt her lungs empty before being filled again by this strange air pump.

She set her jaw. “Don’t you worry about it Captain. You won’t be losing any money today unless you bet against me.”

He gave her a small nod, and the plane began to move. She could hear the chatter over the radio as he talked to the control tower, and felt the ‘clunk’ as they were latched into the catapult.

Finally she heard him say in a calm voice “And we are cleared for takeoff. Engines to full, all passengers are advised to keep their hands and hooves at their sides and hang on to their asses.”

Rainbow started to make a snide remark, but as the engines screamed to full power the catapult came to life and she found herself slammed back into the seat. Try as she might, she couldn’t even breath in under the tremendous load, not at least until the oxygen mask pumped her lungs full for her, and by the time she got her bearings they were flying.

“Wow! That was awesome!”

“No, that was a boring cat launch. What do you say we go higher?”

Before she could answer the plane tilted up and up until she was laying on her back in the seat, still being pressed down as the machine rocketed straight up into the sky.

“Now you do this all the time, so let’s add some excitement, shall we?” Rodgers added with a grin.

The plane began a barrel roll, and picked up speed until they were shooting skyward and Rainbow found herself pressed up against the shoulder harness as the corkscrew motion of the plane tried to fling her out of her seat.

After what seemed a long time, but was only a couple of minutes, Rodgers leveled off at twenty thousand feet. “Okay, we've arrived at a good altitude. Enough of the easy stuff, what do you say we try some acrobatics and tricks?”

Rainbow felt her eyes bugging out under the glare shield of her helmet.
‘Is he serious?!’
Dashie was having some misgivings of her own, but couldn’t resist the chance to rib Rainbow after all the cracks about being out of shape, and not up to snuff.
‘Oh yeah, that was just a warm up. You’re not chicken are you? Do you need me to tell you where the vomit bag is, lightweight?’

Rainbow felt her teeth grate, and pushing her worries aside she called out; “Yes, Sir! Let’s do this, Sir!”

“That’s more like it!”

The seat suddenly dropped out from under her and she found every loose item in the cockpit was set floating free about the cabin as her stomach lurched. “Let’s start with some easy zero g time. How you holding up back there, Rainbow?”

‘What the hay is happening?!’
‘Oh calm your tits, this is zero G, so zero times the pull of gravity. We’re weightless! Wheee!’
Rainbow seriously considered punching herself as she called out. “No problem here, Sir.”

“Good! Now let’s try some loops and turns.”

The world outside the canopy bubble began to spin and gyrate alarmingly before they settled into a slow climbing turn. Rainbow felt like somepony was sitting on her chest, as Rogers called out “Two G's... Three G's... Four G's... You still with me back there?”

The oxygen pump was now doing all the work to keep her breathing, and the thing the pilot had called a G suit had puffed up around her back legs and was squeezing her hard. With considerable difficulty she called out. “Still here, sir!”

'What the Hay does he mean when he asks if I'm still here? Where does he expect I'm going to go?'
Dashie laughed 'He expects you're going to get woozy, black out, and piss yourself.'
'WHAT!?'
'Flying a fighter isn't for the weak-willed or faint of heart. You have to be in great shape to fly one of these. The weak black out. We're only pulling four G's, and you're already flagging.'
'How many G's can one of these take??'
'The plane can take way more than the pilot. Eight or nine is about the human limit.'
'Eight or nine G's!?! That's double what we're doing now!'

“Good! Let’s keep going then!”

'Oh crap, I think he's serious.'

“Five G's”

'Get your heart racing! Strain every muscle in your body like your constipated!'
'What! Why?!'
'Because it helps keep the blood in your brain where you need it to stay awake!'

“Six G's”

Rainbow's vision was starting to tunnel in under the tremendous strain of this never ending turn. Without looking back, Rodgers called out. “Almost to the limit. We're going to eight G's or until you black out. You still back there?”

“Yes Sir!”

Rainbow thought she could hear a note of pride in his voice as he called out. “Nice. Here we go; Seven G's.”

Despite her best efforts, Rainbow could see her field of view shrinking.
'Oh crap, I don't know how much longer I can take this.'

There was no answer.

'Dashie?'

“Seven and a half.”

She could barely see at all now as she thought to herself 'I guess that’s one way to get some peace and quiet.'

“Eight G's! You still with me Dash?”

“Still here, Sir!”

“Not bad.” The crushing weight rapidly lifted off as he let the Jet take a progressively more shallow turn. “I guess you're made of tougher stuff then I thought.”

'Whoa, what the hell just happened?'
'You blacked out.'
'And you didn't?!'
'Nope. Looks like there's only enough blood for one of us past six G's.'
'Hmm. Oh well, as long as one of us stays awake.'

They were startled out of their conversation as Captain Rodgers called out. “Okay, now that you did the easy positive G's, lets pull some negative G's. Think you can handle the difficult kind?”

“Yes Sir!”
'Please tell me he's kidding!'
'Sorry, negative G's are supposed to hurt.'
'And positive one's don't?!'
'Well no, not as much. With negative G's, all the blood is trying to cram down into your head.'
'Isn't that dangerous?'
'Remember how they scanned our head before we got to do this? They were looking for weak blood vessels that could burst and kill us when we pull heavy negative G's. Good thing they didn't find any, right?’

Rainbow was glad that nopony could see the worried expression on her face as the jet began an outward turn this time. Everything not bolted down fell up onto the canopy which had abruptly become the floor over which she was hanging by her seat harness. As her butt left the seat the weight began to build again, along with a terrific headache as they passed three and then four G’s.

“You still with me back there?”

‘Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow.’
“Yes Sir!”

“Alright then. You’re doing just fine.”

The jet completed its roll and the floor became down again as they resumed straight and level flight.

‘You know, I wasn’t just into NASCAR back home, I did play with an old simulator video game in my day.’
‘That’s how you know all this crazy stuff?’
‘Yup.’ There was a note of aggression in her tone ‘Why don’t we ask him to connect up the joystick back here?’

“Sir, what do you say you let me have a go at it? Turn on that joystick back here and let me show you some of my moves.”

“Okay, here it comes.”

Rainbow reached out a hoof and felt the joystick come alive in her grip, the jet bobbing gently up and down as she nudged the stick slightly forward and back.
‘Okay, let’s show this guy what we can do!’

She jerked the stick hard right and put the plane though a series of maneuvers that would have a crowd cheering, or a flight instructor sweating.
‘This thing is so crazy fast!’
‘Yeah, but it’s so heavy, I feel like I’m flying a train!’

As they spun upside down through a corkscrew and a loop at the same time Rainbow called out. “This thing is a blast to fly, but why does it have to be so heavy? It takes so long to turn or change direction!”

There was no immediate answer, and looking forward, she saw Rodgers re-attach his mask and stuff a paper bag into a side compartment.

“All the big jets are like this. You need the weight for the engines, the fuel to burn in them, the life support systems that keep us alive, not to mention the munitions this jet would normally be carrying.”

The plane paused mid maneuver in a half inverted spiral. “Munitions?”

“Well yes, these jets are designed to fight and kill other jets and bomb targets on the ground. That’s what all the attachment points under the wings are for.”

‘You didn’t mention this thing was a killing machine?!’
‘What, isn’t it obvious? What else is something like this good for? Awesomeness? Besides, you should see the explosions when they drop bombs on buildings! It’s really cool!’

Rainbow felt somewhat ill, and she receded into the background and let Dashie take over the flying. “Sorry, I knew that, but you have to remember there are two of us in here. We’re cool.”

“Glad to hear it. I can see you’ve got some talent for acrobatics so you must have laid hands on a simulator at some point right?”

“Yes, an old video game back in my world. And its hooves, by the way, not hands.”

“Okay, did that sim teach you enough to read the display in front of you?”

Rainbow really looked at the instruments before her, and with a little effort was able to figure out altitude and speed. “Sort of…”

“Okay, this jet has a service ceiling of sixty thousand feet. Why don’t you see if you can get us up to fifty-five thousand?”

‘Even I know that means ‘go up’’
‘Duh, but how far?’

She put the jet into a climb while she studied the altimeter, and eventually figured it out. “There, we’re on our way with twenty five thousand feet to go.”

She could hear the smile as he replied. “You’re better at this than you let on.”

“Hey, this cutie mark isn’t just for show.”

He laughed. “Okay, now as we climb, keep an eye on the view outside.”

Rainbow did as he asked, wondering what she was looking for. “Is there some kind of cool bird that lives up here?”

“No. We’re so high up now that nothing can live at this altitude without life support... at least nothing big enough to see without a microscope.”

“All right, so what are we up here to see?”

“You haven’t noticed yet? I admit it’s subtle, but you know the sky well. Look again.”

Dashie figured it out before Rainbow and smiled behind the mask. A moment later Rainbow noticed too.
‘The sky is turning black!’
‘Yup.’
‘How are you okay with this?! The sky is supposed to be blue! Why is the sky black?!’

‘Because it’s underneath us.’

Dashie was grinning widely now, genuinely enjoying something she never thought she would live to see.

She rolled the plane slightly to the right, bringing the horizon into view below them. Rainbow gaped as she saw the curve of the earth below her and the blue of the sky spread out beneath them.

“You okay back there?”

“Fine Sir, I’m just explaining a few things to my roommate.”

“She ever been this high before?”

“Of course not. You said it yourself, nothing can live up here without life support.”

There was a pause as the stars began to blink into existence overhead, even as the sun still shone behind them.

“I want to say thank you for taking us up here Captain. I lived my whole life down on the ground or a few hundred feet above it.” She could feel her face struggling to grin and gape at the same time. “I’ve always wanted to see this.”

The lingered at altitude for a few minutes, talking and admiring the view. At length Rodgers suggested they move on.

“Move on to what?”

“Well, we've pulled some G’s and been to the top, but we couldn’t push the throttle all the way forward over land.”

“Why not?”
‘Wait, what did he mean by ‘over land’?’

“The neighbors complain when you blow out their windows with a sonic boom. Fish don’t care though. What say we make a run along the deck with the afterburner?”

‘What’s an afterburner?’
‘Remember all those tons of exploding fire pushing us through the sky?’
She swallowed hard. ‘Uh, yeah…?’
‘More of that. And faster!’

“Let’s do it! Can we play in zero G on the way down?”

The cabin became weightless again as he took control of the jet.

“Fine by me.”

Rainbow felt her stomach protest, but she didn’t care.
‘Wheee!’

…

A few minutes later the ocean rose up to meet them, and the engines, which had been quiet during their descent, picked up again. The ride became progressively more and more bumpy, until finally they seemed to pass through, and it felt like they were skating on glass.

“There you have it Rainbow. The humidity is just right out here, and if you look out at the wing you can see a sonic boom being made.”

‘What’s wrong with the air? That’s not what a sonic boom looks like.’
‘Oh? What should it look like, Miss Cloud Herder?’
Rainbow ignored the jab. ‘There should be a cone or a dome shaped shockwave around the whole plane, but look at it. The shockwave is literally touching the plane!’

She looked and saw this was true. Every protrusion, tube or bolt had a shockwave wrapped around it with eddies flowing off behind.

“That is pretty cool, but why is the shockwave touching the plane?”

There was silence for a moment as he tried to make sense of her question. “Uh, come again?”

“Why isn’t the shockwave out in front of the plane?”

“Uh… Where else could it be but wrapped around the plane? Unless you had some kind of force field to keep the air off, the shock wave is going to form around whatever is pushing though the air.”

“This just isn’t what it looks like when I fly this fast.”

Rodgers laughed. “When you go this fast?! Ha! Even if you could somehow generate the enormous amount of energy needed to hit this speed, your body couldn’t take that kind of punishment. Those shock waves of air out there would tear off your hair in seconds, followed quickly by what was left of you.”

“But the shock waves don’t touch me. They stay out in front like I told you.”

There was another thoughtful silence as he considered. “I’m not sure, but I know there are a lot of guys at NASA who would dearly love to see you fly. When we get back, talk to them and see if they can set up some test for you.”

“Tests? What tests?”

“Rainbow, we don’t have forcefields or whatever it is you use, but if you let us watch you while you fly, maybe we can learn something from each other. Besides, are you really going to hold out on us after all we’ve heard about your abilities?”

She grinned. “Oh all right, if you insist!”

3.30 Exponential Network Growth

Part 3 of 3

by Cozy Mark IV

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release

Chapter Three point Thirty: Exponential Network Growth

The morning sunlight shown brightly in through the windows of the hotel dinning room as Dr Scot trotted up to the breakfast table and grabbed a fresh green apple in her right hand. Several of the pony researchers smiled or nodded as she made her way over to what they’d begun informally calling the bearers table.

“Good morning everyone!”

Those present returned her greeting with the exception of Rainbow Dash who settled for lifting her face off the table and giving her a silent scowl that clearly expressed her opinion of ‘morning’ as well as offering several likely places it could go. Scot’s attention only lingered on Rainbow for a moment before drawing her back to the unexpected orange pegasus at the table seated beside Twilight.

“And you must be Flash; it’s nice to meet you.”

Flash rose automatically to return her greeting, hesitating only a moment before putting his hoof in her prosthetic hand to shake.

“Good to meet you as well Dr. Scott. Between two traveling princesses and all the scientists we have to watch your adopted world will certainly been keeping the royal guard busy.” He paused a moment as he seemed to realize that could have been taken the wrong way and hastily added. “No offence meant Mam.”

Dr. Scott and Twilight shared an unobserved smile across the table.
“None taken Captain. It had never occurred to me what a logistical headache all of this must be for the military branch that protects equestrian royalty. Especially considering you apparently weren’t invited along for the initial trip...”

Twilight looked sheepish as Flash pointedly avoided her eyes.

“An unavoidable complication Mam. The princesses thought this would be a quick out and back with no need for an escort. As soon as they realized their mistake we were brought into the loop.”

‘Yes,’ Dr. Scott mentally added ‘but not before another princess and a bunch of researchers got here first. I suppose when your ‘protectee’ can shoot lasers from her head and claims to move the sun the job of ‘guard’ becomes mostly ceremonial.’ She shot a quick glance to Twilight as she took a seat opposite the pair. ‘Smile and wave indeed. I can see why they have something in common...’

“So, how was your trip? I hope you weren’t too jet lagged to sleep.”

He returned her smile warmly.
“Mercifully not a problem – I got to the hotel just as everyone else was going to bed, but one pony who shall remain nameless was still up hitting the books.” He looked meaningfully at Twilight who blushed slightly at what she had to know was coming. “After a very intense welcome I was able to clear up a certain misunderstanding ” he shot Applejack a pointed glare “regarding her grandmother.”

It took every bit of bedside manner Dr. Scott had to stifle her laughter and keep a straight face as she replied.
“Well mercifully no one here is culpable for the various... eccentricities of their family. I take it your meeting didn’t go quite the way Granny Smith intended it to?”

Both the Captain and Twilight were blushing visible by now.
“No. No it did not. I had arranged to meet her in hopes of getting a advice and a present for a certain special somepony. After she understood, well, let’s just say we had a good laugh over dinner and I got the advice I was looking for.”

“Advice?”

His ridged smile softened into something more real as he glanced to his left.
“I play the guitar, and was wondering if Twilight would enjoy learning on an instrument of her own. Granny liked the idea, said Twi had a beautiful voice and that it sounded like a good idea. She even told me about a shop that would custom match her color. What I hadn’t expected was how quick a student you would be.” He finished looking over at Twilight.

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that hard to learn.”

Dr Scot raised an eyebrow at that.
“You taught her to play scales on the guitar?”

Flash just shook his head.
“Oh, she can do a bit more than scales and cords... What do you say Twi, do you feel up to a quick encore?”

“I don’t know, the guitar is all the way upstairs...” Twilight tried to back peddle in embracement.

He just looked at her with a proud encouraging smile and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Oh... alright, but only a quick song...”

There was a purple flash and the teleported guitar hung suspended in the air before Twilight who reached out and grabbed it. She plucked the strings in sequence, tuning them up with the speed and ease of long practice, then...

What followed was every bit the performance of a skilled performer. Soon every person and pony in the cafeteria had paused to watch and when she wound down to a stop quite a few of them applauded. Even Rainbowdash had picked her face up off the table and was looking impressed.
“Wow Twilight, how come you never told me you could play?”

Twilight arched an eyebrow in her direction as she leaned the guitar against the table and sat down again.
“Because I couldn’t, Dash. I’d never played an instrument before last night.”

There was dead silence at the table as they all stared at her.

When the punch line failed to arrive Rarity spoke up.
“Um, darling, you must mean you’d never taken formal lessons on that particular instrument, right?”

Twilight’s look of confusion grew as she turned to Rarity.
“No, I mean I’ve never played an instrument. I was always too busy with my studies to pick up a hobby like that.”

There was a long pause until at last Dr Scot looked to Flash.
“Well I don’t know how things work in equestrian, but here on earth it would take several years of disciplined effort to get that proficient with an instrument... Is it normal over there to pick up a new instrument and immediately know how to play?”

Now Flash was beginning to look confused as well.
“Well no, but we had a really productive session last night, and she worked on it for a long time with my guidance...”

“Captain... Did I understand you right that you arrived here around eight to ten PM? And you only had ten to twelve hours total between arrival and now to do any teaching and still get some sleep?”

“Well... Yes...” Twilight responded as she and Flash shared a look that was equal parts confused and worried. “Yes that’s right... Flash, they have a point; How did I get this good this fast?”

“I... I don’t know...”

Thinking quickly, Dr Scott decided to defuse this line of questioning until Twilight could safely approach it without a panic attack.
“Well regardless of how you did it I for one am impressed. And it’s not like anyone ever got in trouble for learning too much too fast. Did anyone else get up to anything interesting last night?”

“I do believe Rainbow learned something about earth beverages and liquors.” Rarity snarked politely as she sipped her tea. “Apparently the ‘Crocodile Help’ drink company was trying to get her as a sponsor and even offered to name their blue flavor ‘Rainbow Blast’. Things were going well right up until somepony suggested they seal the deal at a local bar.”

Dr. Scott gave her a level gaze.
“And you know all of this... how?”

“Well somepony had to keep her from drowning in these unfamiliar toilets while she... divested herself of some of the night’s celebratory beverages.” Rarity sighed dramatically. “And along the way I got to hear all about the nights events... whether I wanted to or not.”

“Hey, I told this native Everclear was stronger than whatever liquid rainbows are, but somebody wouldn’t listen to me.” Dashy chastised.

“It was clear and watery! How was I supposed to know it would be that strong?” Rainbow complained holding her head.

“Maybe by listening to someone who knew the local drinks?” Dashy shot back through gritted teeth. “When I checked out and left you to it, that should have been a big hint.”

“Hey, you are not my mother Dashy!”

“Yeah? Well here’s something else your mother wouldn’t do.” Dashy replied as she put a hoof to her lips and blew a high shrill whistle that made everyone cringe and Rainbow groan in pain.

“Mental note:” Flash muttered under his breath “Never tick off the pony you share a body with while hung-over...”

“Whelp,” Applejack said at length “some of us got actual work done yesterday.”

“This work wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with avoiding a certain ‘talk’ back home with your dear grandmother would it?” Rarity replied in a sweat tone.

The farmer was instantly red cheeked as she tried to ignore the remark.
“Anyhow, I spent some time with them geneticists who are working on the new foal bodies grown on our DNA. It turned out that the recessive genes for our coat color-“

What followed was a graduate level thesis on the genetic influences of intelligence and personality, and how it was likely the changes they had invented yesterday would result in better bodies with less bleed over from the host’s genetics. Total silence had fallen some time ago as Applejack continued to talk, but it was only now that she paused for response that she noticed all the slack jawed faces watching her.

“What?”

“Applejack, when did you learn to speak egg head?” Rainbow asked in astonishment.

“Whataya mean? This is how I always talk.”

Twilight placed a shaking hoof on the table before her to stop the tremors.
“Applejack. That was an insightful explanation of equine genetics that would impress me if it came from the mouth of biochemistry student. How in Tartarus do you know all that?

Applejack’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Are you calling me simple?”

Dr. Scott shook off her shock enough to put a hand on Applejack's shoulder.
“Applejack, I’m a doctor. I’ve been through years of biology, biochemistry and medical school and I had to work to follow some of that. Have you ever had formal education in genetic engineering or cellular programming?”

“Well, no...”

“Then...” She surged her shoulders and held out her arms, “How???”

There was a long pause as the same look of confusion slowly crossed AJ’s face.

“Well I did spend a lot a time with those scientists yesterday. I guess some of their terminology done rubbed off on me.”

...

Twilight sat fidgeting on the back seat with Rainbow and Dr. Scot as their car took the onramp to the freeway and began to leave the town behind.

“Girls, something is very wrong here and I need to get back to my lab to figure out what’s happening.”

“Oh come on Twi. So Applejack took a crash course in egghead; so what? She’s still the same pony as before.”

Twilight shot Rainbow an irritated glare as Dashy shrugged and looked apologetic.
“It’s not that simple Rainbow! Ponies don’t just absorb a biochemistry degree in a day! Or learn to play an instrument in only a night!”

“Depends on the instrument...” Rainbow snarked with a wicked grin. A moment latter Dashy’s hoof smacked her across the forehead drawing an irritated “Ow!”

Dr. Scot rolled her eyes as Twilight sputtered.
“It is strange, that’s for sure. You’re certain that nothing like this ever happens back in Equestria?”

“Outside of tall tales and ancient legend, no, no it does not. Now don’t get me wrong, the idea of a school that could grant a college degree in a week?” Twilight closed her eyes and shivered all over. “Yes. Yes, that I would very much like to see. But until we know how and why this is happening we don’t know where it’s going or what the side effects will be.”

Dr Scot leaned back in thought.
“Well what do you remember about last night?”

“Well I-” Twilight paused to look at Rainbows grin, sighed, then continued. “I started off just looking at the guitar; I’d never even held one before. Then Flash showed me how to grip it right and played a few cords with me. We worked through the sequence of our first song together as I got a feel for it-”

“Hold on.” Rainbow held up a hoof “You mean he played the song and you watched?”

“No... I played the song and he helped.”

“Did you know the song before?”

“Well, no...”

“Then how did you know what to do?” Dashy asked incredulously.

“He guided my hooves.”

“Oooohh!” The leer was back on Rainbow as she poked her friend. “So you were sitting on his lap so he could hold your hooves?”

“No, he was sitting on the chair while I sat on the bed.”

Silence reigned for a moment.

“Twilight, ” Dr. Scot asked with strained patience “how was he guiding your hooves from across the room?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“He just played the song through my hooves while I memorized what it felt like and then gradually took over.”

“So... your colt friend just took physic control of your body.” She paused. “And you didn’t see anything odd about this?”

Twilight blinked owlishly.
“No, no I did not... Why didn’t I notice that?!”

As Rainbow tried to calm Twilight, Dr. Scot mused out loud.
“So we have two Equestrian ponies learning an Equestrian instrument on earth... Could it be something different about my world? Or something in it?”

The discussion continued in this vein for several more minutes without any hard conclusions before their driver interrupted from the front of the vehicle.

“Okay, what did you do now?”

The three of them stared at each other before turning back to Ms Glover at the wheel.
“Uh, I think we missed something. What’s going on?”

The car slowed rapidly as it pulled over and stopped with Glover repeating her irritable inquiry.
“There, ahead in the sky. What is that?”

Unable to follow her view through the windshield from the back seat, Dr. Scot opened the door and climbed out for a better look around. The day was sunny and clear, perhaps 75 degrees F without a cloud to be seen out to the horizon as far as she could tell.

“What? I don’t see anything.”

More doors opened and the others piled out onto the edge of the road with her as their driver pointed ahead up at a dimly visible band of color she’d missed.

“That. What is that?”

Rainbow made a rude noise and waved a hoof dismissively.
“That’s a rainbow, what else would it be? Don’t you have rainbows on earth?”

Dr. Scot looked alarmed as the pieces fell into place.
“Uh girls? Did you do this?”

“Not as far as I know...” Twilight replied with a raised eyebrow. “What’s wrong? I’ve learned enough to know earth does have rainbows like this.”

Dr. Scot put a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder.
“Dashy, Rainbow, what conditions are needed to make a rainbow?”

“Droplets of water suspended in the air...” Dashy stated slowly as her eyebrows climbed.

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow chided “Those help, but we have rainbows without that all the time!”

“Finish that thought.” Dashy said slowly.

“Yes, you have rainbows without natural conditions all the time. In Equestria.”

“Oh...”

“Uh oh...”

...

Before today if someone had asked the good doctor Scootaloo what the procedure was for dealing with extra terrestrial weather events, she would asked them if they were feeling well. Now as the group found themselves hunting for the end of the rainbow with two pegasi and a limonene she couldn’t help but quickly check her vitals on the heads up display.

‘It’s a heck of a day when you wish you were only delirious because it would be simpler than dealing with reality.’ She groused.

“Hey, I see something!”

“Yeah, it’s coming from over there.”

Unlike a normal rainbow that could turn into a full circle if viewed from the sky, this rainbow seemed to blow with the wind. The closer they got, the less it looked like a real rainbow, and the more it looked like some kind of rainbow colored smoke rising into the air.

It even seemed to be coming out of the exhaust stacks of a power plant...

“Hey Rainbow,” Dashy called out to herself “do power stations in Equestria generally sprout rainbows?”

“Uh, no. Rainbow falls concentrate and refine the stuff, but they don’t make rainbow from nothing.”

The three of them glided into the facility, landing with two hard ‘clack’s of hooves on concrete. Twilight and Glover followed their GPS beacon and met them at the front gate several confusing minutes later. Apparently the underpaid guards at the front desk had not received training on how to deal with government agents and flying ponies. After an awkward twenty minutes they eventually got the plant engineer to meet them and answer some questions.

“Now that you mention it, it does kind of look like a rainbow doesn’t it?” she agreed looking up at the steam rising into the morning air.

“It’s a lot more obvious from the air.” Scootaloo replied “Are you guys celebrating pride week or something?”

“No... No, when the front gate told me that some flying ponies were asking questions about the plant’s rainbow factory, my first question not regarding pharmaceuticals was just that, directed at our PR expert. This isn’t anything we’re doing.”

By now they group had covered about half the distance to the first building connected to one of the smoke stacks. Rainbow and Dashie took off to get a better look from the top of the stack while the rest of them proceeded to the roll up foam and metal door which the engineer opened with a key card. What had been a background thrum half felt through the ground became a deafening roar as the door ascended making Dr Scott flinch back as Twilight effortlessly conjured small purple bubbles over her ears. With a grumble she fished her spare ear plugs out of her pack (working on a helicopter all night did come with a few perks) and passed under the door. Inside of the building was packed full of complicated machinery connected together by a dimly lit web of pipes and cable conduits. The door descended behind them and as their eyes adjusted to the dim output of the old high bay LED lamps the prominent shapes of the huge gas turbine and its matched generator became clear a bit further in.

Years ago natural gas turbines like this old thing would have run round the clock to feed the grid, but solar and wind power had become cheaper than fossil fuels decades ago, and with grid batteries to level load the system for still cloudy days, these old systems had a pretty quiet retirement these days.

“By the way, why is this plant running during the day?” Scootaloo shouted over the deafening roar of the turbine.

“We’re under contract to run a certain number of kilowatt hours per month, mainly at night.” The engineer replied. “If we don’t produce our quota by the end of the month they pay us to run it in the day. They need us for the bad times so we get subsidized when everything works as it should.”

She gestured to one of the foreman and a moment latter the noise began to diminish as the huge turbine lost power and began to slow from its original obscene speed, to a merely ridiculous speed.

“The maintenance team love it this way. Any downtime they need, they just ask for it at the end of the month and we give them all the repair time they need.” She ran a hand absently through her graying hair, “You should have seen it in the good old days. Total madness to keep the turbines fired round the clock without rest. I sure don’t miss those times.”

Making a note to read up on electrical power grid design in the last decades, Twilight filed the information away and called their attention back to the task at hand.

“How hot is the gas coming out of these stacks? Is it possible someone put colorful chemicals into the exhaust scrubbers?”

“Wouldn’t that just result in a single muddy color?” Dr Scootaloo Scott replied.

Twilight was examining the in feed natural gas line, and gave the sample valve a quick quarter turn open and closed. A slight hint of natural gas odorant emerged from the small purple force bubble she’d placed at the pipes end, but there was definitely no trace of rainbows in the gas.

“Okay, if it isn’t in the turbine input gas…” Twilight absently burned the bubble of gas and let it go as she wormed her way through the tangled machinery towards the exhaust filters at the end of the turbine. Her magic had felt stronger than usual ever since they had entered the building, and on a whim she grabbed the handles of the exhaust scrubber filter port, threw up a containment force field and removed the door with almost no effort.

A safety alarm blared as the cover came off, but a quick depression of the safety interlock switch silenced it and she stared into a chamber lit by blinding rainbows.

After a moment to ensure that they were not going to be burned by the open exhaust port, the engineer and Scootaloo came closer for a look of their own.

“It’s full of rainbows…”

A fourth head was abruptly thrust into their midst as Dashy and Rainbow rejoined them.
“Hey, Rainbow here says this stuff is concentrated magic – apparently it makes pony magic stronger and does something hippie-related to the equestrian environment?”

Twilight was staring at the vortex of gradually dimming rainbows behind her shield in something like astonishment.
“I think you’re right Rainbow… But places like rainbow falls, they’re just distribution points… They server an important role in Equestria, but they don’t really produce magic… This…”

Scootaloo frowned.
“Wait, we know earth didn’t originally have magic, and we know the little bit you brought with you is pretty limited without an environment saturated with whatever these ‘magic’ particles are. Does this mean the magic is… multiplying? Trying to take over the earth?” She paused for a moment. “I don’t even know if that’s a good or a bad thing…”

The engineer shook her head.
“Hold on a moment here. I’ve been following what published research there is on magic, and the latest information suggests some kind of nanomachine network though it’s proving devilishly difficult to pin down.”

Rainbow looked up at the graying engineer incredulously.
“You know about magic?”

She waved the question aside.
“This isn’t the movies, nanomachines or whatever, any machine needs energy and raw materials to make copies of itself. For you to be right…” she trailed off as she held up one finger, hunting along a bank of instruments and tapping at the touch screen.
“Exhaust stack temp, I know it’s in here somewhere…”

With an amused snort the foreman who had shut down the turbine leaned over her shoulder and deftly brought up the exhaust temperature information.
“Yeah, it’s been a lot hotter than usual in here lately, that’s why we’ve got all the upper windows open. We thought the insulation was just failing on the stack piping.”

The engineer pulled out her tablet for some back of the napkin calculations, her eyebrows rising as the results were checked and double checked.
“There’s energy missing… A lot of it. Look at where the exhaust gas and coolant temperatures should be compared to where they are – something is sucking up that heat!”

“Magic likes to be hot?” Rainbow asked in confusion before sighing as Dashy replied: “No bird brain, heat is energy, as in energy to make something – didn’t you ever read a physics book?” Her face quickly contorted into an affronted frown as Rainbow scorned all things egg head, before falling into a look of profound sadness as Dashy replied “Not all of us got to play outside you know.”

The sight of the blue pony trying to hug and apologize to herself was confusing enough the engineer lost her train of thought and just stared.

Scootaloo shook her head again,
“Okay, so if you’re right that explains the low stack temperatures and high temperatures inside the building here – something is venting the stack heat from hot inside to’ cold’ out here in the shed and using the difference as useful energy… but where is the raw material coming from? You can’t make something from nothing.” She finished authoritatively, leaning up against a pile of discarded piping against one wall.

She suddenly stumbled and fell in heap when what should have been hundreds of pound of scrap metal parts collapsed under her weight like rusty tinfoil.

The entire group stood dumbstruck as Scootaloo hauled herself upright in a cloud of dust.
“I’m okay!”

“What.”

After a moment the engineer turned to her forman and asked slowly,
“Didn’t you say you thought one of your people was stealing scrap metal?”

“Yeah… Yeah I did, things have been turning up missing around here for a couple of months now, ever since we hired that new guy. I’ve never been able to prove it was him…”

Dashie snorted
“Three guesses why.”

“Uh, does anyone have a level?” Scootaloo asked slowly.

“Yeah, I got one in the tool box.” The foreman replied “What for?”

“Has… Has anyone else noticed the floor isn’t level anymore?”

The foreman just laughed.
“Honey, this place is one giant slab of concrete. Has to be with stuff like this mounted on it.” He slapped the turbine meaningfully. “And concrete is poured. As in poured like a liquid. It can’t NOT be level.”

Scootaloo reached into a nearby tray of mixed bolts and parts, selected a dirty ball bearing and carefully placed it on the smooth floor.

The bearing immediately began rolling towards the generator, picking up speed and striking with a ‘Clack!’ loud enough to be clearly heard over the slowing turbine.

Everyone stared for a moment. Eventually it was Twilight who broke the silence.
“I think it might be wise to find out how much material is missing from under this floor. Would I be right in assuming that a sink hole would be bad news for your business?”

…

Some time later as they made their way back to the limo it was Agent Glover who posed the obvious question.
“So your magic is making more of itself and it’s using any heat or power source to do so?”

“Yes.” Twilight responded. “Now that we’re looking for it it’s easier to see: It doesn’t look like much to those incompatible with magic, but look at that big truck over there.” She indicated a tractor trailer pulling into the gates. “You can just see the slightest traces of rainbow coming out of the stacks. The magic must have been hitching rides across the world this way, spreading from machine to machine and making more of itself out of the waste heat from the engines and any handy raw material.”

“Isn’t that going to be a problem for the aircraft industry?”

Agent Glover stopped dead in her tracks, cursed fluently for a moment in a language none of them new, then wiped out her phone and began franticly dialing.

“Uh… on the plus side, it didn’t seem to have eaten the turbine house, just everything else nearby… Maybe it’s smart enough to not be a problem?” Rainbow asked.

“Hopefully, but I doubt the average consumer is going to be happy about it. At this rate there might be a market for pegasus chariots sooner than I thought.”

Author's Note

Hard to believe it's been a year since the last posting...