Scootapocalypse

Prologue

It was a sunny day in Ponyville. Bees were buzzing, birds were fluttering lazily through the sky, and ponies were scattered throughout the town, going about their daily lives.

Rainbow Dash flapped through the sky, clearing the clouds as quickly as she could. She had somewhere to go. She swooped down and grabbed her saddlebags. The last cloud turned to dust, as Rainbow sped along to her sisters house. Today was Scootaloo’s birthday, and Rainbow had promised to spend the day with her.

She landed outside the door, and knocked. Scootaloo opened it almost instantly.

“Were you waiting right by the door?” Dash asked.

“Maybe.” Laughed Scootaloo. She opened the door and Dash trotted in.

“Well Scootaloo, I’ve got a few plans for you, but what do you want to do?”

“Hmm. Can I... Get my ear pierced?” Scootaloo squeaked, her wings fluttering in their hummingbird-esque way.

“Uh, sure!” Rainbow replied. “Where do we go to do that?”

“I think there’s a place nearby...” Scootaloo said. Rainbow headed to the door, Scootaloo in tow.

They made their way to the shop, Scootaloo grinning from ear to ear. She’d wanted to do this for ages, but she’s never had the courage to go on her own. But with her sister, she could do anything. Sister. It still felt weird to call Rainbow Dash that, but at the same time, it felt right. They entered the shop. A stocky blue unicorn stallion with a ring through his ear and a thick, stubbly beard was sat behind the counter. He turned to face them.

“Hello Miss’s.” He said, in a gravelly voice. “What can I do for you?”

“Well,” said Rainbow Dash, “This young mare, would like her ear pierced.”

“Sure.” said the stallion. He smiled warmly at the two. His horn glowed a darker blue, and the book rose gently into the air. He walked it over to the two mares, and placed it down on the table next to them. “You just flip through here, find something you like, and let me know.” He called as he returned to the counter. Scootaloo stared at the pictures for a while, with Rainbow sat next to her. She soon settled on two small studs. She carried the book over to the counter. “This one please.” she mumbled through clenched teeth. The stallion laughed and took the book with his magic.

“I think they’ll look good.” He said. “If she go sit there, I’ll go get the studs for you.” He picked up a small box from under the counter and followed after Scootaloo. Rainbow flew over and sat next to her sister. The stallion opened the box and took out two small black studs. “These are proper obsidian stones. Real nice stuff.” He grinned. Scootaloo noted his cutie mark. A stone and a ring. He probably knew his stuff. He took out the earring gun.“Which ear do you want these in then?” He asked, levitating the first stud into the gun’s slot.

“The left one. Both of them. Please.” Scootaloo smiled, shaking slightly. Rainbow held out her hoof, and Scootaloo grasped it. The unicorn raised the gun to the mare’s ear.

“Ready?” He asked quietly. Scootaloo gulped and nodded, gripping Rainbow’s hoof slightly tighter.

CLICK!

The gun snapped shut and Scootaloo’s ear stung. She winced.

“You okay?” Dash asked quietly. Scootaloo nodded again, her eyes welling up slightly from the pain. She scrubbed at them with her free hoof.

“Ready for the next one?” The stallion asked, loading the gun with the second stud.

“Yeah.” Scootaloo replied. It hadn’t been as bad as she’d expected. Might as well go through with it while she was here.

CLICK.

The sound rang out again. Her ear was really sore now.

Rainbow Dash walked over to the counter to pay.

“That’ll be five bits, please.” The stallion said. Rainbow opened her saddlebag and took out a few coins. “Thanks” he said. “Just clean them out with alcohol or salt water once a day, so it doesn’t get infected.”

They left the shop.

“You were pretty brave in there!” Rainbow Dash complimented Scootaloo.

Scootaloo blushed. “I wasn’t that brave.” she mumbled.

“Sure you were!” Rainbow replied, smiling. “What do you wanna do now?”

Scootaloo thought for a moment, before speaking quietly.

“Can we fly?”

Rainbow nodded, and they headed towards Sugarcube Corner. Scootaloo was almost as big as Rainbow Dash now, so holding her up in flight wasn’t particularly easy anymore. So they’d found a new way. Pinkie Pie would fill up a bunch of balloons with helium, and tie them round Scootaloo’s back. Then she could flap around and really ‘fly’.

Pinkie was behind the counter, getting a couple of muffins out for Derpy Hooves.

“Here you go!” Pinkie said, handing the grey mare her muffins. “That’ll be two bits.”

Derpy paid, and fluttered towards the doorway, grinning. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash approached the counter. Pinkie smiled.

“Happy birthday Scootaloo!” Pinkie grinned, grabbing a cupcake. “The Cakes made this one just for you!” She handed it to Scootaloo. A deep orange cake with a miniature mountain of purple icing, matching her coat and mane. It looked almost too good to eat, but she wolfed it down anyways. Orange and blackberry. You’d think the flavors wouldn’t work together, but Scootaloo loved it.

“I guess you want some balloons too?” said Pinkie, grabbing a bunch of multi-coloured balloons. They were already inflated. Where did she even get those from? Pinkie Pie handed Scootaloo a large brick, so she wouldn’t float off until she was ready. Pinkie and Dash worked together, stringing Scootaloo up with the balloons.

“See ya’ later Scootaloo!” Pinkie called as she left Sugarcube Corner with her sister.

Scootaloo just smiled through a mouthful of brick, and waved.

“You ready?” Rainbow asked, flying just above the ground. Scootaloo nodded, and dropped the brick. The balloons carried her up. This was the closest she’d ever get to real flight. Pegasi used a form of natural magic to help lift themselves, since their wings were far too small to carry their full body weight. Stronger fliers had more of this magic, and weaker fliers had less. And some, like Scootaloo, had none at all. It was just something to live with, and Scootaloo thought she was doing so quite well.

She flapped her wings, though it served no purpose besides taking her in whatever direction she wanted to go in, but it gave the experience a more real feel. It was nice being up in the air. Peaceful. Calm.

They always did the same sort of thing. They’d flutter about for a bit, so Scootaloo could get accustomed to being air-bourne once more. Then they’d race one another, and Scootaloo always won, though now she suspected Rainbow may have been letting her do so. She didn’t care. Nothing mattered up here. She landed on a nearby cloud, and Rainbow flopped down beside her. The sun was going down. The only part about today she never liked.

“I guess we’d better be getting home, huh kid?” Rainbow said, smiling.

“I guess so.” Scootaloo sighed. Why did today have to end? Rainbow untied a few balloons from her sisters back, and they watched as they floated off into the evening breeze. Scootaloo slowly started to sink through the cloud, as the balloons started to struggle to hold her weight. Rainbow flapped down slowly beside her.

It was dark as they walked back to Scootaloo’s house. Nopony was around anymore. Their journey never seemed to last long.

“See ya’ soon Scootaloo. Happy birthday kid.” Rainbow said, flying away into the night sky.

“See ya’.” Scootaloo mumbled, walking back into her house. Wait. She didn’t need to be sad anymore! The rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were coming round tomorrow for a secondary birthday thing. Well... They weren’t really the Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore. They all had their cutie marks. They’d just kept their ‘titles’, since it felt right to do so. Scootaloo looked down. A small red wheel with a blue flame was stamped on her flank, signifying her scooter abilities. She walked into the kitchen to mix up some salt water. The stallion at the shop had said to clean it once a day. She put it in a bowl so she could dunk her ear into it. She slipped her ear into the water. It was nice. She sat for a while with her ear in the bowl, until time caught up to her.

“Oh Celestia! It’s nearly midnight!” Scootaloo exclaimed looking up to her clock. She tipped the salt water down the sink and trotted upstairs to bed.

The sun rose once more in Equestria.

Scootaloo rubbed her eyes, and rolled over... And fell out of bed with a loud thud. She growled to herself, and walked downstairs. A note had been pushed under the door.

Sorry Scootaloo but we have to cancel our plans for today. Something’s going on, we’re not sure what, but Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash have been called up to Canterlot by Princess Celestia, so it must be serious. They told us to stay indoors. We’ll have to re-schedule for another day.

Sorry,

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle

XOXO (P.S Happy birthday for yesterday!)

Scootaloo sighed. She was staying in then. Why had all their sisters been called to Canterlot? She hoped it wasn’t serious. It usually was. She pushed the thought out of her mind. Her friends were all stuck indoors. Wait... Sweetie Belle was still living with Rarity at Carousel Boutique. It was pretty close, only about five minutes away. She could go over there and find out what was going on!

She headed out the door. Nopony was around. It was a ghost town. Usually there were at least a few ponies out and about, going about their daily business. Apparently everyone had been told to stay in. She picked up the pace, speeding up to a trot. Still nopony around.

She knocked on the door of Carousel Boutique.

“Who... Who is it?” A quiet voice spoke.

“It’s Scootaloo... Who’s this?” Scootaloo joked.

“Oh... Hi Scootaloo. Do you want to come in?” Sweetie Belle asked, still quiet.

“Um, sure? I got your note... What’s going on?” Scootaloo asked.

“I’ll tell you inside. Rarity told me not to let anypony in, but I’m sure she won’t mind if it’s you.”

“If you’re not allowed to let me in, it’s fine, I can go...” Scootaloo trailed off.

“No, no, it’s fine. Just... Come to the back door. I have the key for that.”

Scootaloo trotted round to the back entrance. Sweetie Belle was waiting, with the door open, key levitating above her enveloped in a green aura. She looked pretty worried. Scootaloo walked through the door, and her friend closed it instantly and locked it at lightning speed.

“Calm down Belle...” Scootaloo said, worry starting to creep over her too.

“I can’t...” she replied, pacing back and forth. “It always worries me when Rarity has to go and see Celestia with the others, but normally she seems so calm about it. This time... Even she seemed worried.”

“Is Apple Bloom okay?” Scootaloo asked.

“I think so... She came through town earlier to ask if I knew what was going on, and then we wrote you that note. She delivered it when she left.”

“Oh, okay. What should we do now?”

“Well, Rarity said to keep quiet, not let anyone in, and keep the back-room shut.”

“Why?” Scootaloo was even more confused now.

“Well, I don’t know why I have to keep quiet, or why I can’t let anyone in, but the back-room has to stay shut because Opal’s in there, and Rarity doesn’t want her going out the cat flap.” Belle replied.

“Oh okay.” Scootaloo said.

They stayed at Carousel Boutique for a few hours, staying mostly silent. The slightest noise made Sweetie Belle jolt with fear. The silence eventually got too awkward for Scootaloo, and she decided to leave.

“You’ll be okay on your own, yeah?” Scootaloo asked as she headed for the door.

Sweetie Belle nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

Scootaloo headed home. Still nopony around. The sky was starting to turn a dull pink. The sun was setting. How long had she been out? There was something in the distance...

It was getting closer. A big purple blob. It looked like... A wave.

Scootaloo bolted, sprinting down the street to find higher ground. The wave was collosal, and it was still getting nearer. What was high nearby. There was a mountain... Could she get there in time? She had stamina on her side, but the wave grew closer still. She could see its peak in the distance. She was getting nearer to it. Only a few more minutes. The wave had engulfed several buildings now, and ponies were flooding out onto the streets to escape it. They were getting in Scootaloo’s way. She pushed forward, outrunning them all. Hopefully they’d follow her to safety.

They didn’t. Confused and terrified, they formed a stampede behind Scootaloo, trampling one another as ponies were swept up by the wave.

Just a few more steps. Scootaloo leapt onto the mountain side. The wave was still coming closer. She couldn’t run up here. It was too steep. She plodded quickly up the side, getting as high as she could. There was a spiral path that circled round the the top of the mountain. She remembered Rainbow Dash telling her about it. She reached the path pretty quickly, and galloped round it, getting slightly dizzy. The wave had reached the bottom of the mountain now. It was rising up. She could out-run it. She could get away. She kept running, round and round the mountain. The wave had stopped rising now, but Scootaloo kept running.