Scootapocalypse

Chapter One

Scootaloo emerged from the mountain top’s cave. It was eerily silent. She stared up at the sky. The sun and moon were both high in the air. Something must be wrong. She had to go and find everypony. Rainbow Dash... Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle... She hoped they were okay. She walked carefully down the mountain, and then stopped. She looked down. All of Ponyville, and as far as her eyes could see, had been flooded by this purple wave. She carried on, picking up a slow trot. She got to the mountain base, and put out a hoof to meet the wave. It was sticky. She retracted her hoof. It was covered in the purple sludge. She shook of the worst of it. Sighing, Scootaloo climbed down onto the sludge. She sunk slightly until it covered her hooves completely. It was very thick stuff, and it grabbed around her hooves, slowing her down almost completely. All of Ponyville was covered in this sludge. Moving around would take forever. She trudged on, regardless.

It took forever, but she reached the center of town. Carousel Boutique was nearest. She’d go to Sweet Apple Acres after that. All the buildings were drenched in the purple ooze. Scootaloo reached Carousel Boutique.

“Sweetie Belle!” she shouted. “It’s me! It’s Scootaloo! Are you in here?” The window was smothered in the thick sludge. Scootaloo scraped a hoof across to clear it. It spattered to the ground with a gentle thud. The window was still purple.

The cat-flap.

It must have filled up from there. Sweetie Belle wouldn’t have stayed inside. She would have gotten out... Right? But where would she go... Well, Sweet Apple Acres was on the opposite side of town. Where this wave of sludge had come from. So she couldn’t have gone there... Apple Bloom. She had to go and look for her. She tried to run, but it just came as a trot. The sludge was slowing her down. What was this stuff? She decided to check Twilight’s library for a book, once she’s checked Apple Bloom was okay.

SPLAT.

“Urgh...” Scootaloo had tripped. She was caked in the purple sludge. She shook the worst of it off, but most of it remained. What had she tripped over? She prodded the ground with her hoof. There was a bump in the ground. Not just that... It was furry. Scootaloo scraped some of the ooze off of it. A cutie mark appeared. It was a pony. She’d tripped on a body. Scootaloo felt sick. She tried to run again, but the muck still stopped her. She trudged on, ignoring her stomach’s attempts to empty itself.

She reached the farm. She stood still for a moment just taking everything in. Everything was drenched in purple sludge, from the trees to the barn. Shaking slightly, Scootaloo called out.

“Apple Bloom? Big Mac? Granny Smith? Is anyone here?”

She dragged herself around the farm, looking for signs of life. There was nothing.

Applejack wouldn’t be here... She was still in Canterlot. And so was Rarity. And Rainbow Dash. She had to find Rainbow Dash. She’d know what to do. She’d have a plan. She always had a plan.

Scootaloo made a plan of her own. She’d get into Twilight’s house, see if there was a book about what this sludge was, then she’d wait a day, in case Rainbow Dash came back on her own. Rainbow would expect her to stay in Ponyville, surely. Then if not, she’d go looking for her. She trudged back, getting coated in more and more of the purple gunk. Scootaloo was exhausted. The effort it took to move a single muscle was ridiculous.

Scootaloo finally got to the library. The doors handle was covered in the gunk too. She sighed, and seized it in her teeth. She let go instantly. It was by far, possibly the worst thing she’d ever tasted. She retched, and felt the bile rising in her throat. She swallowed it back, and grimaced. It burned. She tried her hoof. Why hadn’t she done that in the first place? The door didn’t open. It was stuck by the goo. She pushed it gingerly. It moved slowly open with a low squelch. A few drops of the ooze dropped onto her head. She shook them out of her forelock, and surveyed the library.

The entire place was sodden with the stuff. She walked in slowly, and called out.

“Twilight?”

Wait. No. She was in Canterlot. She wouldn’t mind if Scootaloo looked through a few books. She scanned the labels on the shelves. Non-fiction was upstairs, in the somewhat drier portion of the library. She trudged up the stairs. There was a section labeled ‘Nature’. Would it be in one of those books?

Plants of Equestria, Herbal Remedies, Rocks, Natural Disasters... That’d be it. She knocked it off the shelf and tucked it under her wing. Scootaloo headed towards the balcony. She could climb up into the top of the tree and be safe from the gunk. She scrambled up through the leaves, the branches scratching against her limbs. She nestled into the thick leaves. She retrieved the book from under her wing, and flicked through the pages. Floods, tornadoes, lightning, volcanoes, smooze... What was smooze?

She studied the page. It fitted the description. A flood of purple, sticky liquid. There was even a recipe for a bath that would remove the stuff. She stuffed it back under her wing. This could come in useful. When Rainbow Dash and everypony else came back from Canterlot she’d apologize for Twilight for taking her book without asking, but the recipe seemed somewhat useful, and she had no way to note it down at that moment in time. She scrabbled back down onto the balcony, but she slipped. Her wings flapped, but they were useless. The book fell to the ground, and she followed after it, clipping her wing on the balcony as she did.

“Urgh...” Scootaloo whined. She stood up slowly, and stretched out her wing. She winced. It was bent up pretty badly. She headed back into Twilight’s house. Hopefully she’d have some bandages around. Maybe. She headed back in, and made her way to the bathroom. There was a cabinet over the mirror. She opened it up. Bandages! She grabbed them, and bound her wing up tight. She winced slightly.

“I look like Daring Do.” She laughed to herself. She remembered Dash reading the books with her. Dash had always joked that they could be ‘egg-heads’ together. Scootaloo used the rest of the bandages to construct a makeshift sling, so the book would remain tucked under her bandaged wing. She’d have her other wing free for grabbing things then. That seemed to be their only use. She headed out. What to do now? She needed supplies. Scootaloo headed home.

She opened the door. Everything was tinged purple. She trotted upstairs, and grabbed her saddlebags before returning to the kitchen. She untied the sling, and placed the book and the bandages into the bag. She scrabbled around in her cupboards. Tinned tomatoes, a few carrots, an apple, a jar of cherry jam, a few bits of candy, and a bottle of water. Her saddlebags were pretty much full. She slung them over her back. They were heavy too. Did she need anything else? Salt to clean out her ears. She found the pot of it and put it on the table to put in her bag.

She shoved the bags onto the floor, and walked upstairs. She rooted through drawers. It might get cold... She slung a scarf around her neck. There was a framed photo of her and Rainbow. She paused for a moment, and decided to take it. She untied the scarf, and replaced it with a blanket. Might as well have something to sleep under, and it still tied round her neck. She headed back downstairs.

She checked her supplies.

Blanket, tomatoes, carrots, apple, jam, candy, water, photo. It didn’t seem much now she thought about it, but it would last. She’d make sure of that. She headed out the door. The sun and moon were still high in the sky. Scootaloo wasn’t sure how she’d sleep without a clear day and night.

She made her way down the road. The sky was getting darker. The sun was getting lower. But... How? The princesses must be okay! If they were okay... They’d fix everything. Everything would be fine. She trotted, the bags slapping at her legs slightly. The moon rose up, bathing the town in an eerie glow. Scootaloo had never liked the dark.

It was early morning, and Scootaloo had made it to the edge of town. Canterlot was the nearest city from here, but Scootaloo was exhausted. She’d been walking all night. She collapsed in a heap on the floor. She yanked the blanket from round her neck and threw it over her. She slept for hours.