The Guardian Colt

Chapters

Unknown Residence
Wait! What? Two horns?
Found Again...
The Midnight Guest
Not Enough Zs...
Guardians

Unknown Residence

The day was early, a small breeze was sweeping over apple acres. The familiar sounds of apples 0could be heard hitting the ground as two ponies were bucking them, ready for autumn. The familiar sound of tribal drums were heard too, but not from the farm. A small tree house, re done to suit its new residence; that’s where the sound could be heard from. The sound only meant that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were welcoming a new member!

“We, the Cutie Mark crusaders, elect Button Mash to join us as a sister-“ there was an uncomfortable pause as the three exchanged looks of disbelief of what the unicorn just said.

“By Sister, I mean brother” Sweetie laughed nervously and continued to stare at the roll of paper; avoiding eye contact for a moment. The brown Colt looked at the Pegasus and the earth pony who were trying to stop themselves from laughing at what the white pony said. The unicorn executed a list of nouns with more hesitant pauses growing in between each one-

“Confidante… ally… bossom buddy… gal pal…compadre … blah blah blah…And fellow Cutie mark crusader!” Sweetie Belle paused as she read the rest of the paper.

“You are solemnly sworn in, here this day, in witness of your fellow sisters… Confidante… ally… bossom buddy… gal pal…compadre… Ah to heck with it; Congratulations!” She finally said with a huge grin.

With speech done, the white unicorn tossed a maroon clothe over the colt with a symbol of the groups design stitched on the side. The colt looked at his flank to where the symbol was and gave a small smile before looking back at Sweetie Belle. They all exchanged smiles before the energetic Pegasi spouted-

“So what’s todays plan for the Cutie Marks, the day’s still young and we need to fill it somehow.” She gestured to the window where the sun was not yet fully in the sky. They all exchanged a look, a look which showed thought. They all spent a few moments in quiet only for the silence to be broken by an “Oh, what about- oh wait, we’ve tried that never mind” or “Nah, that’ll never work”. The three fillies were hard at thinking, apart from the young colt who was now engrossed in his cyber life. Sweetie Belle understood Button Mash more than the other two, she was the one who invited him to join the Crusaders in the first place. She watched him as he pulled faces in the glow of his device.

“What about a Cutie Mark playing video games” the unicorn exclaimed. The two fillies looked at her with puzzled faces. Sweetie gestured Button Mash’s device. All of them took a seat behind the colt to see what he was playing. Too engrossed in the entertainment of it all they never asked what to do, they just watched in awe.

“Come on Big Mac! I see a couple of ‘em over here!” a pony’s voice echoed inside the tree house. The three fillies immediately identified the voice to being Applejacks. The sound of bucking came shortly after and hardly any of them could concentrate- mostly that being of the colt; Button Mash.

“Is there anywhere else we can go Sweetie?” He paused his game and turned round to look Sweetie Belle. Applebloom was quick to answer.

“Sure there is, but ya’ll better not make a mess!” She trotted out of the tree house and lead the three ponies to a barn; a hay barn to be exact. It was used to store Hay for the cows near apple acres. It wasn’t locked so the small ponies pushed their way in.

“Are you sure we’re allowed in here Applebloom” Sweetie Belle asked with a slight nerve in her voice. She inspected the higher floor to see Scootaloo already up there.

“This is way cool you guys! You should come up here!” Scootaloo shouted. Applebloom looked up with annoyance in her eyes, almost like Scootaloo had just ignore what she had just said back at the tree house. Button and Sweetie just ignored the look on Appleblooms’ face and climbed the hay to where the orange Pegasus stood. All the while the Brown Colt held his glowing device in his mouth- not letting any other pony touch it. Applebloom could only follow suit. It was warm higher up and this comforted the young ponies as they all nestled in the hay to watch the Colt resume is quest in the cyber reality. They were all in trance by the mechanism, before being broken from the spell by a noise from across the other side of the barn. Something else was in the barn…

“What was that?” Sweetie Belle asked, at this point felt slightly on edged. Something made the noise and it was in the same vicinity- that was all that was playing in her mind. Button looked up only to quickly look back down in response to a bleep. He and Scootaloo were too involved in what the device was showing. Applebloom and Sweetie on the other hand were staring at the other corner of the upper level of the barn- which is where the sound came from. Sweetie Belles eyes showed fear whereas Appleblooms showed confusion. The little yellow pony stood up and trotted over to where the sound came from; Sweetie Belle in the foot of her shadow. As the earth pony inspected one side of the hay, the white unicorn did so on the other; only to find a small Pegasus; approximately the same height as herself. She paused in disbelief- who was it? She had never seen the pony before.

He was a young colt, with a slivery white coat and an orange mane and tail. He was faced backward so she couldn’t see his face.

“Urmmm…” with the word humming in Sweetie Belles throat the colt turned and showed his face. His eyes were a mixture of blue and green, something calm and soothing was held about them. He had a softly rounded muzzle and on his forehead; something unusual was exposed. The Colt had two small pearlescent horns, almost like devil horns but the colt looked far from evil- he looked lost and confused. He took a couple of steps back till he met the wall of the barn. He looked behind him only to respond with a look of anxiety –he obviously didn’t want them to know he was there. Applebloom came over to confirm there was nothing to be found.

“Hey, Sweetie there’s-“ She paused as she took the sight in. She was staring at somepony she had never met before, but that wasn’t the point. She caught sight of his horns and she cocked her head.

“What are those?” The colt looked up. “Those horns? Are you- are you an Alicorn?” She was more in curiosity to be angry that somepony else, who she hardly knew taking refuge in her family’s barn. The Colt only looked at the two fillies in horror. He was on edge and wished that they never found him.

He was caught outside last night in the storm, so finding the barn gave him somewhere dry and warm to rest up. He tripped over which was the noise that altered the Crusaders.

“No Cutie Mark? We haven’t gout ours either.” Appleblooms voice drifted sympathy with each word, truing to relate to the colt. She was trying to get the colt to speak, in hope she could recognise his voice. Applebloom always went to the market with Granny Smith, she had been than many times she recognised all the senses: Taste of the hot buns, Sights of the familiar items, smell of the apple pies, the feeling of the muddy ground which everypony had made hard and uncomfortable. But one sense she was most familiar with was voices- she could recognise a pony before she even saw them just by their voice! But she got nothing from the colt, only him looking at his blank flank, ears pressed behind his head.

Sweetie Belle was in awe over his appearance, she didn’t understand the presence of two horns. She only had the one, so why had he got two?

“Can you use magic?” She was curious to hear his response. Applebloom was staring at his flank as she looked back to his horns. She was also curious to what he could do with them. But still no answer, just silence as he looked back at them.

xxxx

“Awwww! Did you see that? I could have had that skeleton if I had the sword of Hamrick!” the colt expressed with anger. Scootaloo was now losing interest in Buttons device and wondered why they came to the barn in the first place. Her mind was set back on trying to earn her cutie mark so she made her way over to the two fillies staring at the wall.

“Hey, are we going to try for our cutie marks today? Or what?” She grunted. As she got closer she saw the two staring in unison. She walked round the hay stack to see the colt the two were trying to question at hand (or hoof). Her eyes widened as she saw his wings.

“AWWW! Another Pegasus!” She was ecstatic to see yet another Pegasus in the same room. She got closer to him and put her hoof on his blank flank-

“And NO Cutie Mark- who is this guy?” The orange Pegasus took no notice of the horns which were quite clearly on the young colts head. The slivery colt could only watch as she looked him up and down until Scootaloo finally caught sight off his horns.

“Wow! Cool horns!” Scootaloo hesitated before asking, “You’re a Pegasus right?”

The colt pulled his head back slightly and nodded slowly. This was the first proper response that he had given even if was non-verbal. Both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were in shock, Scoots made it look easy talking to the young pony. Scootaloo smiled in response to his nodding and she just looked him over as Applebloom continued trying to question him-

“So what’s your name? How old are you?” Applebloom was trying to sound friendly so she could persuade the colt to respond so she could understand the situation a bit more, but all he did was watch Scootaloo look him up and down. It seemed to be that ponies of the same species had a better understanding of each other than another race, this was quite clear in this situation anyway.

xxxx

Five minutes passed and the colt- who still remained silent- was beginning to look more relaxed. He had stopped watching Scootaloo who was still looking at him but this time she was fixated on his horns. He was looking at the two ponies who stood in front of them, head to one side (almost like a puppy dog) The silence was interrupted by an over excited purple haired pony.

“Would you like to earn your cutie mark with us?” Scootaloo said with a sheepish grin. The colt stopped looking at the two ponies in front of him and looked at the orange filly. He shook his head and got up onto his hoofs. He backed up and picked what looked like a white saddle bag up with a blue lightning bolt on the side. He hooked it over his back; covering his blank flank and walked gently to the edge of the upper level of the barn. He didn't look back or even look at Button Mash- who was now bored of playing alone and decided to come see what the other crusaders were up to. Buttons eyes went small as he watched the white Pegasus jump off the edge and run out of the barn door.

“Who was he?” Button turned to the others for at least some logic to who he just saw. The fillies only shrugged and shook their heads. It was something they all wanted to know…

Wait! What? Two horns?

It was now the middle of the day and the young ponies were discussing what and who they had just seen. Applebloom lay on her back staring at the ceiling of the barn, Sweetie was sat on the edge where the mystery colt made his jumping escape, Scootaloo lay on top of a hay stack and Button just played with a little bit of loose hay. The conversation was quickly broken by Applejack who was accompanied by Rainbow Dash-

“Did you see that stunt though? I was AWESOME if I say so myself” the cyan Pegasus boasted. You could see Applejack wasn’t in the mood for talking to Dash as there was still too much to do on the farm. Rainbow had only popped over as she had nothing else to do- she had cleared the sky from the previous night before; ready for the next one. She had finished before it was even meant to be done, not in ten seconds flat but in some record time.

Applejack shifted through some hay looking for a saddle so she could hook a cart up to big Mac so he could pull some apples out of the yard and into storage. She couldn't find it, it wasn't where it was supposed to be. She looked round and caught sight of Sweetie Belles hoofs hanging over the edge of the upper floor.

“Sweetie Belle?” Applejack was confused to who it was. Sweetie Belle looked over and saw Applejack. Rainbow Dash fluttered up to the higher level to see all the young ponies just sitting there. Scootaloo eyes widened- her idol, her hero was in her presence.

“Oh what’s up Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo said through a huge grin, that’s all she could ever do when she spoke to the pony- she was always so happy to talk to her.

“Not much squirt, I was just practicing some AWESOME stunts before paying AJ a quick visit”- now to Applejack it wasn't a quick visit, the blue bird had been following her for the past 30 minutes talking about stuff she didn’t understand. She caught some words like ‘The WonderBolts’ but that was as much as she listened to. Scootaloo looked in awe at her sister figure and just nodded before the airborne pony asked-

“So what are you all up to?” She looked over to find Button Mash- who was now back to his cyber self. She mouthed to Applebloom who was he and she mouthed back one of Sweetie Belles friends. She had no idea who he was so was initial therefore she was confused by his presences. With that said –or mouthed- they returned to the conversation.

“We’ve just seen a colt in the barn” said Sweetie Belle. Rainbow looked over to Button. “No, not Button. We mean a different colt, a Pegasus colt- with Horns!” Rainbow paused before she spoke.

“Did you say horns? As in more than one?” the cyan Pegasus was showing deep thought- trying to process the facts of a pony with two horns; she had never seen one before.

“What was he evil or? Applebloom shook her head at the question.

“He was really quiet an’ only Scootaloo got him to answer- which was only a nod. He seemed really timid.” Applebloom expressed concern in her voice. She cared for everyponies feeling.

“Why was he in the barn then?” Applejacks voice echoed from the lower floor as she shifted through the hay. “GOT YA!” She shouted, as she finally found the saddle.

Applebloom looked up at the ceiling and shouted back “He was just in here, I think he was hiding from the storm last night- his Saddle bag seemed damp.” There was a moment of silence and Applejacks face appeared as she climbed the hay stacks to the second floor.

“So the little colt must have nowhere, he must have been desperate to have to come in here- it gets cold at night.” Applejack was remarkably relaxed with the factor that some pony had sneaked into the barn and spent the night- it may have been the factor it was a colt; a young pony. Rainbow Dash and Applejack expressed the same look, sorrow for the colt.

“Where is he now?” Applejack finally asked. Something the two should have asked in the first place.

“He just got up, jumped down and ran out the barn door!” Applebloom replied. Applebloom felt that something must be done but she didn't know what.

“What can we do Applejack?” Concern lingered in Appleblooms question. The orange earth pony put her hoof to her head and gave a pose of thought. She thought quietly only to look up at the sound of bleeping from Buttons mechanism- which he was pulling faces at.

“Maybe we should tell Twilight? Or the others to look out for him?” Applejack finally announced. She looked at the fillies once more and said-

“Yeah, me an’ Rainbow will go to Twilights now and go tell the others, but first we need to see Big Mac and give him this saddle here!” As she finished the mouth full of words she filled it with the leather of the saddle and made her way down, followed by the flying pony.

As the two left the barn, the conversation continued into the rest of the day till all had to part and go home, ready for a fresh new school week- much to the joy of Scootaloo…

Found Again...

The following day came with a warm breeze and was full of laughter as the fillies and colts were leaving school to go home, returning to fun and a stress free environment. Scootaloo and Applebloom had left Sweetie and Button on their journey home as their journeys took different paths. The crusaders could only talk of the events of yesterday but during the journey, that was forgotten. Button and Sweetie Belle lived near one and other so after meeting one and other- due to the hoofs of Pinkie- they always walked home together. They were talking about video games, to much surprise. Button had rubbed a lot off on the white Unicorn. She herself was now wanting a JoyBoy. As they walked home they needed to cross a bridge to get over the stream which separated Ponyville into two. As they got closer, they saw a pony sitting in the middle of the bridge just staring into the running water. It was that colt from yesterday.

“Hey Button! Isn’t that the colt from yesterday?” She tried to be quiet so they didn’t alarm him in case he would try to run away. She really wanted to ask some questions- whether or not she would get the answers was another thing. They both approached with careful hoof steps. As they set their hoofs they slowed their spend making their steps impossible to hear. As they got closer they sat beside him.

“The waters soothing isn’t it?” Sweetie said with calm voice. The colt looked up with surprise and stared at Sweetie. He looked back at the water and didn’t seem at all bothered by their company –only startled by their sudden appurtenance. He hummed the word ‘Mmhm’ in response to the question. Sweetie Belles eyes widened as she heard the colt for the first time. He had his saddle bag next to him- it seemed drier than yesterday. But it wasn’t long before he picked up the bag and hooked it on his back; leaving the bridge. Both Button and Sweetie Belle followed his slow walk as they followed him into the Ponyville town centre- near Twilights house. Sweetie and Button followed keeping a set distance, until Sweetie told Button to keep on him whilst she went to get Twilight.

The filly knocked on the oak door and waited for a response. A small dragon opened the door and greeted the young pony.

“Ahh Sweetie, not seen you in a while is-“

“Not now Spike is Twilight in?” Sweetie was in a hurry, she didn’t want to lose the colt. Spike rolled his eyes and shouted for Twilight. It wasn’t long before the lavender mare appeared in the doorway.

“What can I help you with Sweetie Belle?” The purple mare asked.

“It’s the colt! We’ve found him!” Excitement was filling every word that left Sweetie Belles mouth. She was that eager she ran off in the direction that she could see Button walking, expecting to Twilight to follow- which she was doing. They closed the gap between them and the colt. Twilight finally got a closer look at the colt.

“Applejack and Rainbow told me a bit about him, how he may not have anywhere to stay?” Twilight was watching him as she addressed the matter.

“We found him in the barn, and he just ran out without saying anything.” Sweetie concluded. Button was nodding to everything his unicorn friend was saying. Twilight broke the distance between them and shouted the colt. He stopped and turned to see Button and Sweetie Belle again. He cocked his head; listening to what the purple unicorn had to say.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, I’ve heard about you- how these two found you in the barn on apple acres. Do you have anywhere to stop or live?” Twilight seemed to just jump straight to the matter without thinking about it. The white colt looked her in the eyes, and Twilight could see tears forming- it was obvious from there that it was true. As a tear rolled down his cheek. Twilight lowered her ears and walked up to the colt. She sat in front of him and put her hoof on his shoulder. He tried to shrug her off but just found himself falling into her caring nature. He sat down on the ground, with the sun glowing his mane. He looked into Twilights eyes and more tears rolled down his cheeks and patted the ground. Button and Sweetie watched in disbelief that the quiet colt was letting himself go to Twilight- of all ponies! They watched as he shed more tears, not speaking but words didn’t need to express what he felt.

“You can stop with me, until you have somewhere.” she said softly. The colt looked up with glistening eyes from his tears as the Purple Unicorn got to her hoofs and made a motion with her head that read ‘follow me’. He followed her back to the library

Ponies caught attention that the colt was crying and watched him as he walked by. As the four ponies reached the library, the door opened. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Scootaloo and Applebloom stood in the interior of the tree; waiting to see the colt. They all heard that they found him with news from spike. The three ponies entered and left the white colt at the door, his teeth grit and more tears seeping through his closed eyes. They watched as the colt slowly came in, releasing his grip on his emotions.

“We know ya spent a night in the barn, and we’re not angry. Just concerned for ya sugar cube” Applejack expressed emotions as she watched the colt look her in the eyes. For the first time they saw the colt. His eyes were raw from crying, but his bluey green eyes prevailed through the redness. The tears were stopping. He looked round and saw Twilight sitting the closest to him.

“Like I said; you can stay here, with me and Spike until you have somewhere. It will be no trouble.” she said softly. He looked at the bed Spike was setting up for him, it was small with a light blue quilt. The pillow was a light purple colour and had a star in the middle which was a darker purple than the lavender it sat on. None of them spoke as they watched the white Pegasus who looked round the library, scanning the walls; reading the titles labelled on the spins of each book.

Scootaloo was fixated on the Pegasus the most. After seeing him in the barn she wanted to be friends, friends with another young Pegasus. Rainbow Dash was awesome and all, but she couldn’t act her age round her- in fear she would put her off. As the rest of the ponies made their way into a different room, she remained with rest or the crusaders. As soon as she was sure Twilight and the others were in a different room, she got up and walked over to see him-

“Hey! You got off pretty quick the other day! I liked the way you jumped off the side. Guessing you can fly?” she was curious to see if he could or couldn’t fly.

“No, I can’t fly- not yet” He said softly. Scootaloo was shocked- he just spoke. His voice was soft and tender as it echoed to the rest of crusader. They all sat with wide eye; a look of disbelief sat on their faces. Button had stopped playing with his JoyBoy and followed Sweetie and Applebloom who had gotten up to sit closer to the colt; to listen to what he was saying.

“I can only flutter down to things, that’s all” he explained as he extended his wings; giving them a quick glance to check they were still neat before relaxing and folding them back by his side. He looked back up to notice his crowd had increased by three more small ponies. He looked them all in the eye with one sweeping glance before going into his saddle bag-

“Is it dry now?” Applebloom asked. She was not destine for an answer but was surprised to hear the colt respond-

“Yeah, it wasn't too wet to start off with- how did you know?”

“How did I know… what?” Applebloom was confused. She had been side-tracked by an actual response from the colt.

“How did you know my saddle bag was wet?” he concurred as he looked her in the eyes.

“Oh, urmm it looked damp. Ya know how the colour changes when things are wet” She blushed in embarrassment, it was obvious what he was asking in the first place. The colt smiled and brought his saddle bag in front of him, to get a better look for something. The crusaders all watched as he shifted though the bag, pulling out whatever was in his way. He pulled out a blue scarf along with a blue pony hoodie. The hoodie was fresh and clean and looked well looked after.

“What’s that?” Button was the first to speak up as he watched the item meet the floor. Sweetie Belle thumped him on his shoulder. “Oww what was that for?” he looked at her with a puppy dog look.

“You don’t ask questions about peoples things it’s just-“ she was stopped as the colt looked up at her and smiled.

“It’s fine, that’s my hoodie. It keeps me warm when it’s cold outside. Try it on if you want?” he pushed the hoodie over to Button who looked at with a huge grin. He quickly pulled it over his head but struggled with the rest of the holes. This sparked a question in Sweetie Belles mind…

“Can I ask a question?” she said out loud, hoping the colt would register it was aimed at him

“Yeah, sure you can!” he pulled his head out of his bag, halting his search for was the unicorn had to say.

“Your horn… can you use magic?” She said it with a moment’s hesitation. The colt looked up and looked back to answer.

“I don’t know. I’ve never really tried…” with that said Twilight reappeared into the room followed by a small purple dragon. She smiled at her new guest and said directed her voice to the fillies.

“Applebloom, Sweetie Belle your sister are going and they want you to go with them”. The fillies gave an expression showing sadness as they had to leave. The look a chid gives their parent when they say they have to leave a toy shop. They all sighed, and walked to the door where the older ponies waited for them. Button hurried to take the hoodie off as he would walk home with his unicorn friend. The colt gave a smile at them all as they left. There was a moment’s silence which hung in the library for a while…

××××

Day quickly turned into night and there was yet another storm brewing for Ponyville, The colt had settle into his bed which was downstairs. The lavender unicorn was making something to eat in the kitchen and spike was tiding the library from Twilights intense studying during the morning. As he climbed back down from his ladder he noticed the colt drifting off

“Woah!” he ran over and poked the colt awake. “Don’t fall asleep little guy, Twilights making you something to eat!” The colt looked up with heavy eyes, he glanced to the room where he could hear the unicorn preparing food. Spike decided he should go hurry Twilight- he didn't’t realise how tired their new residence was but before he got chance the lavender mare trotted through with a salad levitating in front of her.

“Here you are!” she smiled and set the bowl in front of the small Pegasus. She watched him stretch up and eat at the bowl.

“So can I ask you a few que-“she was paused by Spike; who grabbed her hoof. He pulled softly on her head and brought it down to his level. He whispered in her ear-

“He seems really tired Twilight, can’t the questioned be saved for tomorrow?” she smiled and nodded in agreement. She looked back at the colt who was struggling to keep his eyes open.

“We’ll talk tomorrow, enjoy your salad and just put it on the side when you’re ready for bed- stops the library from getting cluttered you see.” She sounded positive with each word. She gave one look at spike, in turn who looked back. Spike noticed the Pegasus colt getting to his hoofs so he rushed over-

“Why don’t you just get some sleep and I’ll take that for you” The colt looked up with gratification over the offer.

“Thank you” was all he said before dropping back into sleep. The dragon looked over to the pony who was dimming the lights. Twilight gestured to him for bed and he was quick to answer that with a huge smile. The two made their way upstairs and the lights hit off. Everything was quiet indoors. Only the storm could be heard raging outside…

The Midnight Guest

The storm raged throughout Ponyville. Most ponies had bolted their widows shut in case of any damage due to the high speed winds. It had been a while since the Crusaders departed from Twilights and they were all pretty much comfortable in bed- par from Scootaloo.

Scootaloo didn’t really have somewhere to call home. She stopped in a tree house just off apple acres. She never had any of the others round, she didn’t want them to know. It was cold and the wind was bashing the tree house. The orange filly tossed and turned as she dreamed.

She was dreaming of the colt. She saw him flying in the sky and all she wanted to do was be with him, to be able to fly, to be free. The sound of thunder woke her with a scream. She looked to her candle which was now just a softly melted stump. She took to her hoofs and trotted to the window and saw the rain hammering the fields. Her thoughts were then cast back to the colt. She wanted to talk to him, to ask him how he coped with being alone. She seemed to have a lot in common, well at least that’s what she thought.

She made for her scooter; deciding she would go and see if the colt was still awake. With her scooter ready and her helmet fastened down, she took to the door to meet with a violent gust of wind, knocking her back slightly. Her little wings were beating violently, enough for a slow movement on the scooter as she exited her tree house.

××××

As she got into Ponyville she saw no lights, everypony was tucked up warm and cosy- away from the storm. She spotted the library through the pelting rain. Her purple mane was sodden, dripping in her face only to be lifted every time the wind took her on. She was shivering ‘maybe this isn't’t such a good idea’ she thought as she got closer to the library. A crash of lighting put her mind straight- she couldn't go back now; it was too much of a risk- plus she was cold. She got off her scooter and lay it inside a bush to stop it from being taken by the wind. She looked over the bush to make sure her scooter was secure enough before throwing her helmet alongside it-quickly running to the window of the library. She peered in to see the colt neatly tucked in under the blue quilt. She pushed the window with her forehead to hear a latch come loose; it was open. As she opened it, the sound of thunder made her jump through into the library- forcing the defiant window shut behind her. She quickly looked round to see if anypony was awake. No pony was.

It felt wrong doing this, almost like breaking and entering. But she was cold, frightened and all she could think about was him. With that thought she stood next to his bed. She looked round her before tucking herself in beside him; she was cold and tired. His body was warm and his feathers were soft. The heat from his body warmed her and she smiled with content. The colt turned over to face Scootaloo- she panicked as she presumed she had awoken him but she only found he was still sleeping. He was trying to get comfortable. His front hoofs stretched out and were touching her damp coat. He pulled back as soon as he felt the cold sensation go down his hoofs. His eyes slowly opened to see an orange filly smiling at him, a sheepish grin was sitting on her face. His eyes went wide as he realised the situation.

“Shhh! Please don’t shout. I’m really cold and all I could think about was y-“she stopped before she finish the word ‘you’. She didn't want to seem clingy in any way. She panicked on what to say so she told him her situation with the tree house and how she was alone and she was cold and how long it took to get here and how it felt wrong to be here- phew! That’s was a mouthful.

She waited anxiously for a response from the colt. She panicked with the silence that hung. He then finally looked back into her eyes and smiled. She was relieved that he understood, well that’s what the smile told her at least. As he smiled his eyes rolled up and his eye lids closed slowly, he was once again asleep. She watched him return to his dreams with relief in her mind. She was still cold though. She looked round to see if any windows were still open, but there were none. She looked back at the colt who had been asleep for the past five minutes. A thought was struck into her mind, to which she didn't argue with. She shuffled closer to the colt and hugged him, warming herself with his heat. The orange filly who was now holding onto the colt was now drifting asleep herself. She felt like she belonged for once in her life.

xxxx

The early morning hours were still seeing the storm, straining on Ponyville. It was still dark and the library was silent. Despite being tired, Scootaloo couldn't sleep. The howl of the wind only made it less easy to sleep. It was loud and it sounded like it was batting the library with some strength. She looked up at the ceiling before casting her eyes back to the colt to whom she still didn't know the name of. The colt was asleep, but showed sign of waking. The sound of thunder cracked the colt from his sleep. He opened his eyes wide and looked around. He took no notice that the orange filly had been watching and was still watching him. He settled back down and his eyes went heavy once more, he was about to drift of when the filly put her hoof on him-

“Please don’t go to sleep, I can’t sleep and I want somepony to talk to” She whispered. All the colt could do was stare at with heavy eyes, he was too tired for any else.

“Thanks, Thanks for last night. Where I live it’s really cold and not cool at all” she smiled on the last part, looking down and then back at the colt, who was now back asleep. She didn't’ want to wake him so she just go closer to him again and hugged him. He didn't wake at all so he must have been tired. As she looked at his face, she planted a small kiss on his forehead- now that’s not something a young radical pony like Scootaloo wouldn't normally do, but the colt made her feel like she belonged. With the action done, she nestled her head into his warm chest and for the first time in a while she managed to get some shut eye for the rest of the night…

Not Enough Zs...

The early morning studies were in full swing, with Spike going back to Canterlot for royal duties Twilight wanted to get the studies out of the way and spend the rest of the day with her dragon assitant. As she went down stairs she noticed muddy hoof mark making their way to the colts’ bed- who she totally forgot about. She made her way to his bed and saw he was still in fact asleep, so she just returned to her morning schedule- study. The muddy marks were totally dismissed, maybe because the lavender pony had too much on her mind, but they were a small reminder of the guest they had last night…

××××

The sound of an alarm woke her up. The orange filly was still hugging the colt as she looked up and saw the light from the early sun. She unlocked herself from the colt as she made her way for the window, not registering how muddy she was and what a mess she made in the library. She gave one last look at the colt before jumping out the window, pushing it till she was sure it was shut. She looked at the ground and then to the sky to see the sun; clearing the sky from the storm which raged throughout the night. Then realisation had just hit her- she was late for school! She started to run before remembering she had secured her scooter in the bushes near the library. She pulled it out and quickly snapped her helmet on before zooming off.

She quickly zoomed though Ponyville as she met the school house. She locked her scooter up and bolted it to the door to notice it was locked. She stared to panic, jumping on the spot when she heard the familiar voice-

“Good morning Scootaloo, you’re early this morning”

Scootaloo turned to see Cheerilee, getting the keys for the school house out her saddle bag. As she saw her unlock the door the orange filly collapsed to her knees with exhaustion. Cheerilee looked at the filly with concern.

“Are you ok Scootaloo? Did you get much sleep last night?” She asked. The orange filly looked at her and just shuck her head as she got back on to her hoofs.

“No, I didn’t” she finally added. She sighed and looked behind her to see that more of her classmates were turning up. She noticed that Button and Sweetie arrived before Applebloom for once. As she walked over she saw the yellow filly trotting into the school yard which was ironic given the fact that she was just thinking about her. They all exchanged greetings, par from Scootaloo who was trying not to yawn.

“Ya’ll right Scoots?” Applebloom asked. She had a look on her face expressing concern. The orange filly looked up and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m just really, really tired…” with that said the purple maned Pegasus let out a huge yawn. The rest of the crusaders just giggled. Applebloom thumped Scootaloo on the shoulder and said-

“Don’t worry, first period won’t be long. Then you can sleep in the break” she said with a smirk on her face, trying not to laugh at the filly. Scootaloo just stared at the earth pony as she made her way into the classroom. She was so tired she didn’t know how she was going to make it through first period let alone the whole day! With the thought of sleep in her head she followed suit and made her way into the classroom for first period to begin.

xxxx

First period seemed to drag for the orange Pegasus. She watched Cheerilee with heavy eyes, trying not to close them as she didn't want to get told off. As the bell rang –an indication it was break time- it made Scootaloo jump. Her senses were dulled down due to being mostly tired, so anything came as a shock to her.

As she made her way out, two ponies made smug comments at her as they noticed her mane was still bed like but she ignored them and just carried on out the classroom. Outside seemed really bright and stung her eyes, she flinched slightly but managed to make it outside to the rest of her friends. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were sitting on the swings whilst Button played on his JoyBoy, pulling faces at every bleep. Sweetie Belle was split between the two, showing interest in Buttons game as well as for what Applebloom hand to say. The conversation stopped at soon as an orange filly collapsed in front of them and instantly fell asleep.

“You sure you’re alright Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo snapped up, surprised by the words. “What?” She said with a strain in her voice.

“I said; are you alright?” The unicorn repeated. Sweetie had got off the swings and helped her winged friend to her hoofs.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just tired-“ she was cut off by a yawn. “-That’s all.” She added after. She sunk back down to the ground and closed her eyes. Applebloom couldn't help but laugh at the fillies actions. Normally Scootaloo was dead energetic and wanted to do extreme stunts on her scooter during the breaks but this pony before her was the complete and utter opposite of the pony she knew- hence why she found it so funny. Sweetie Belle just glared at Applebloom who had stopped laughing on seeing Sweetie Belles annoyance. The two were silent. Sweetie Belle left Scootaloos side and gestured for Applebloom to follow. Sweetie Bell took her to Cheerilee classroom to find the pinkie purple mare drawing the next lesson objectives on the board. ‘How to add and subtract fractions’ Applebloom cringed at the objective- maths wasn't her strong point.

“Miss Cheerilee?” Sweetie Belle waited for a response. The mare put the chalk down and turned with a smile.

“Yes Sweetie Belle, how can I help you?” she said with a soft and welcoming voice. The young fillies explained the situation with Scootaloo, how they thought she was too tired to be in school and what not. They took her to the window and gestured to where Scootaloo was still fast asleep. Button was still playing his game but was sat near her instead of on the swings.

“Ah, I see. She seemed tired this morning when she was trying to get in the school house- even though it was locked.” She watched the young Pegasus with concern.

“I guess she won’t be focused for the next lesson, but she need to do the lesson in order to pass the grade.” She was stuck between letting her go home and get some proper sleep or making her do the lesson and miss loads out due to her being really tired. She concurred her thoughts with a sigh before finally saying-

“I guess she needs her sleep. There will be plenty of time to catch up…” Cheerilee walked over to the classrooms chalk board and added. “You wouldn't be able to see her out, I’ll write the form out and I’ll get the work sheets so you can give them to her.” As she finished writing the objectives, Cheerilee went over to her desk and took a couple of forms out and filled them in. The two fillies waited patiently at the door for Scootaloos maths sheet, Applebloom still cringing at the next lessons objectives.

“Here you are girls, make sure she fills only the front page out, we haven’t done the back page yet.” She said the last part with a small smile. Sweetie Belle took the sheet levitating in front of her face, reading the text-

“Oh this stuff’s easy” She said with a boastful smile. Applebloom looked at her with a look of jealousy over her ability to understand mathematical equations. The two walked out as Cheerilee continued the preparations for the next lesson. As they hit the school yard, the gentle pitter-patter of rain hit them.

“Why are we getting’ all this bad weather? Are the Pegasus ponies tryin’ to mess with us? Applebloom was trying to understand the fluctuation of the weather. Sweetie Belle didn't mind the rain but Button did. He ran up to them and passed them, holding his JoyBoy in his mouth to stop it for getting wet, leaving Scootaloo in the rain. The sudden realisation she was being rained on hit her and she slowly got to her hoofs and walked up to the school house door to be stopped by two fillies

“Ah think ya should go home scoots” Applebloom said. Scootaloo thought of home- cold, hard and useless.

“But what about-“ She let out another big yawn. “-About next period” she added.

“We've talked to Cheerilee and she’s given this maths sheet for ya to do. She think’s ya should go home an’ rest.” Applebloom stated, looking concerned for the orange filly. Scootaloo looked at her in a daze of confusion but didn't question it. She took the paper off Sweetie Belle and made her way to her scooter- not saying anything due to her exhaustion. The look on her face told the others she was too tired. As she unlocked her scooter and pushed it to the school yard gates she put her hoof up and waved it- a goodbye motion to the other crusaders. The trip home was going to be as long as first period seemed…

Guardians

Scootaloo pushed on through the rain, every flap of her wing was taking a toll on her energy. The wind was picking up and was making the journey more of a tackle to get through. She looked up and could recognise certain buildings; Twilights library, Mr and Mrs Cakes bakery and a couple of fruit stalls. As she looked back down the wind blew her off her scooter and she hit the ground with some force, scraping the side of her leg. She yelped as she looked down, her flank was bloody and had grit in her cut. Tears started to roll down her face. She just wanted to be at home- no matter how rubbish it was- it was somewhere at least. She tried back onto her hoofs but the wind kept her down. She looked round for some pony to shout for help but no one was around. More and more tears hit the ground- she was a mess. Her mane was soaking, her coat was damp and her flank bloody. She lowered her head to the ground in agony over her wound and as she looked up as hooded pony stood over her…

Xxxx

Twilight had been gone for some time now. The lavender unicorn had taken the dragon out for a bite to eat before he was to set off for a couple of days for royal business, leaving the colt alone. The colt had been browsing the titles of each book; trying to find something to read whilst his host was away. Nothing sparked his interest though. He sighed as he strolled to the window to see yet again, more rain. He looked outside to find ponies struggling to escape the rain- he shuddered as he felt a sensation of coldness go down his back. He could almost feel what they felt; being in the rain- cold and wet. It was sometime before the commotion of outside died down. He gave up his watch of the outside and returned to looking for a book to read.

‘How to’ were the most dominant titles of the books. He didn't want to learn he wanted something to read for entertainment, he was a colt at the end of the day. His search continued until he heard a faint cry. He thought nothing of it, so he continued searching until his curiosity got the better of him. He trotted over to the window and sure enough he found where the noise came from. It was the filly that he saw in the barn and from last night. She was on the ground and her scooter was on its side with its wheels still thrashing round. He watched her as she tried to get back up, that’s when he caught sight of her wound. He panicked at the sight of something which looked so harsh and deep. He jumped to his saddle bag and collecting his blue hoodie and slammed the door behind him.

It took some time adjusting his sense in the wind and rain but he finally clocked on to where he needed to be. He tailed round the tree until he saw the sodden filly laying on the ground. He approached her silently, not knowing what to say. She looked up and stared at him until the wind blew his hoodie off from over his head. By the time his hoodie was down, the filly had her head lay on the ground, tears rolling down her face. The colt looked at her and then to her scooter. With all the energy he had he lifted her and balanced her back on the scooter. He put his for hoofs around her and on the handle bars. With the filly in his embrace he pushed off towards apple acres…

Xxxx

It had been around ten minutes before the filly and colt arrived at apple acres. By this time the wind was so strong it set them off course. The colt had the barn in mind, he didn't want to take the injured filly into his host home as he feared the reaction he might receive. But as his course was altered he was looking for anywhere now. He passed a dozen trees before finding a small tree house- the Cutie Mark Crusaders den of operations. He didn't know what it was but it was somewhere. He let go of the filly as she fell to the ground, exposing her wound to the rain. He dropped the scooter and pulled her inside to the tree house. The wind sounded horrific from the inside but it was somewhere the filly could rest. As he got her inside he pulled his hoodie off and covered the top part of her body, leaving the wound exposed. He looked down himself to see that some of the blood stained his coat. She had been bleeding and bleeding quite a bit. He panicked and wondered what to do. He pulled his hoodie back off her and made it damp with rain water before pressing it on the wound with some force. His jaw started to ache from the tightness he was holding the hoodie with. He released his bite and watched the filly looking up at him. She smiled with tears rolling down her face, before she started to shiver. He approached her and put his hoof on her shoulder- she was freezing. His hoodie was now wet and he had no idea on what he could do to make her warmer until an idea popped into his head. He pulled her to a corner of the room so she was less exposed from the coldness of the room. He wedged himself in the corner of the room and pulled her up against his chest; wrapping his wings round himself and her. Scootaloo was softly crying as the colt whispered in her ear-

“You’re gonna be okay, I’ll stay here with you until you feel better”. This only made more tears fall from Scootaloos sodden face, not as she was upset or due to the pain but it was because what the colt said- it made her feel wanted and loved. She was lying sideways on his chest, her bloody flank was exposed and this only brought more pain to both of them as they saw it. Scootaloo started to cry more every time she looked at her wound and with the final glance she cried softly-

“I-I-I can’t feel m-my leg” she whimpered. The colt shuffled his hind legs to reach hers. He moved the wounded leg until she yelped with pain. She still had feeling in, so it was just shock. The filly remained crying before her exhaustion finally took a toll on her as she passed out. The colt hugged her tightly as she fell asleep. The colt found tears rolling from his eyes as he whispered in her ear-

“I've got you, I-I’ll look after you” with the final word he kissed the top of her head gently so he didn't wake her. It was a traumatising experience from both parts but it wasn't long before the colt fell asleep and they were both in a deep sleep.

Xxx

About an hour passed in the clubhouse and the rain was still pelleting down, accompanied by strong gusts of wind. Scootaloo was awake again, with tears rolling down her face from the pain she was still in. The colt was awake too, trying to comfort her. It seemed odd for a colt she thought was silent to be holding her and comforting her in such a small space of time, but that wasn't tripping on her mind- the pain was though. The colt had folded his wings and only had his hoofs hooked round her, the warmth from his body was enough to suffice her coldness. The colt looked at the wound; it was raw, still bleeding ever so slightly, with bits of black and brown scattered in the rawness from where the grit lay. The grit needed to come out but he didn't know how- he had a slight idea but it would cause the filly pain beyond what she could handle but he had to do it.

“You may not like what I’m going to do…” He said softly as he slipped from underneath her. He went to his hoodie, which had stains of blood on it. He hung his head out a small hole which sufficed not much more than a window to the clubhouse, drowning the hoodie in water. He walked over to the filly and sat down with the hoodie still in his mouth.

“W-what ar-are you gonna d-do” she said with tears. The colt looked at her and knew what needed to be done.

“I’m going- I’m going to try and get the grit out” he said with hesitation. The fillies face dropped in more despair with more tears rolling down her face.

“B-b-but won’t th-th-that hurt?” She was crying more now, it hurt the colt to see a pony in such pain. He could almost feel the pain that she felt. He didn't answer her as he couldn't bear the truth. He sunk his head closer to her flank and buried the cleanest part of the hoodie into her wound- she screamed in agony, tears rolling down her face almost creating pools on the floor. He wiggled the hoodie round making the grit loose from the harshly cut flesh which by this point had started bleeding more so. But it was working. He pulled the hoodie off the cut and wiped the loose grit away. Most of it was gone now.

“I’ve got to do it once more, try to be brave…” he knew the last part of what he said couldn't be done. As he sunk the hoodie into the cut again she yelped with tears pouring down her face. He did the same motion again- wiggling it round to loosen the fleshes hold on the grit. As he pulled it out the bleeding was more intense, the wound was deeper than he thought it was but the grit was gone. He applied pressure to the wound and managed to stop the bleeding but not the crying. Scootaloo tried to drag herself away from the pain that was being caused by the helpful colt but there was no prevail. As soon as he removed the bloody hoodie and was sure she’d stopped bleeding he pulled her upon himself once more to keep her warm. She started to hiccup; she had been crying that much. It was cute, the way she hiccuped. Cute as in a sympathetic way. The colt closed his eyes as he rubbed her back with his hoof. She was calming down, the pain was reduced after the grit was taken away from the equation.

After ten minutes of crying, and tears patting the floor she had finally stopped. The only noise to be heard was the sounds of her hiccuping. The colt was still rubbing her back when they heard a familiar voice in the background.

“Ya see, these winds are good fer no pony. It’s blown one of ma trees over. It was only a young’an too”

It was Applejack! The colt looked to the window and released his grip on Scootaloo who was now almost asleep again. As he trotted to the window he saw she was complaining to an older Pegasi- one of the weather team.

“Look, mam, I only do my job. The weather was scheduled for wind and rain so don’t complain to me…” The weather pony said in a monotone. He gave her one last look before flying off; leaving Applejack gob smacked by the response she got. She was kicking the ground as she saw the timid colt approach her.

“Hey, ya’ll alright sugar cube? Ya not lost again are ya?” She asked as she cocked her head. She noticed that his silvery white coat had blood stains on it.

“No, it’s an orange Pegasus. A filly.” He only said ‘a filly’ for her to realise who he was talking about- Scootaloo. “She had a fall and she’s cut herself really-“

“Where is she?” Applejack interrupted with panic in her voice. The colt gestured to the nearby clubhouse before seeing the orange pony bolt in the direction he pointed. Applejack stood in the doorway to see Scootaloo hiccuping softly as she slept. It was obvious she had been crying as her face was soaked. As Applejack approached, the light from the window shone on her wound. That was all she needed to see. She bolted out the clubhouse and to the farm. It was quite until a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane turned up accompanied by another Pegasi with a pink mane. Both had heard the news from Applejack who wasn't long behind.

“Where is she?” Rainbow Dash shouted with nerves rattling in her voice. She was panicked over what Applejack had told her. Applejack responded by running to the club house, the two Pegasi followed her leaving the colt to get even wetter outside. He didn't bother going back to the tree house as when he got closer the rainbow maned Pegasi dashed out with the young filly in her arms followed by the delicate pink maned Pegasus who smiled gently at the colt. Applejack walked out the clubhouse seeing the cyan Pegasus zoom off.

“She’s goin’ to the hospital. That wound’s too deep an’ by the looks of it she’s lost a lot of blood.” She remained looking in the sky. But her voice was meant for the colt who stood near the fillies scooter. His mane was dripping now and his horn pierced his mane exposing them. Applejack finally looked down to the colt who had started walking away from the clubhouse.

“Ya should go see her! Go see her at the hospital!” Applejack shouted to the colt. He stopped, not turning round but acknowledged her by heading in a different direction- back to the centre of Ponyville. He knew where the hospital was from there…