Chapters 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.
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.
Chapter Two
Scootaloo shook the blanket off of her. The sun was high in the sky. It must be about midday. How long had she slept?
She slung the blanket back round her neck, and rummaged in her bag. She ate half a carrot, and had one lick of jam. If she kept rationing like that, her food would last for ages. She’d find more by the time she ran out. She stretched out her legs, yawning quietly to herself. It was warm. She stood up slowly. It was quiet, asides from the chirps of a few flitting birds.
She surveyed her surroundings. It was much easier to see in daylight. There was a pond nearby. She trotted over and dumped her bags at the edge. Even if this wasn’t the proper recipe to remove smooze, it’d still be nice to have a bath. She dipped a hoof in. It was warm and inviting, and she stepped in, letting the water come up to her chin. She sat in the water for a while, pondering what to do next. Rations, then perhaps she’d read up a bit on smooze. She’d only really scanned the book before, and there was a couple of pages of information.
She clambered out of the water, and shook the droplets out of her fur. Sitting down at the pond’s edge, she took the book out of her saddlebag and flicked through the smooze page. There was a large chunk of information on one page.
Smooze is a variety of ochre jelly. It forms a large wave, which will engulf as much land as possible before drying into a sticky coating. Once it is sticky, it will remain in this state for up to twenty weeks before it will dry up naturally. However, anything underneath with have been eroded by the smooze. If you come into contact with smooze, it is recommended to remove it as soon as possible, as it is an extreme depressant, and will cause the victim to behave irrationally.
Scootaloo flicked to the bath recipe after reading that.
“Let’s see... Four Poison Joke stems, a tuft of cloud, and two carrot tops. Blend all the ingredients together and pour into water.”
Poison Joke only grew in the Everfree Forest. On the other side of Ponyville. She sighed, packed up her things, and slung her bags onto her shoulders. If she ran, she could probably get back here in a few hours. She noticed a few patches of smooze where there was fur sticking out. She shuddered, and kept going.
The Everfree was quiet. In the day, it was actually rather safe. It was night-time when it was best avoided. She took a deep breath in, and walked into the forest. The foliage brushed against her, and droplets of smooze came off of them, landing at her feet. Her hooves were covered in the stuff. It wasn’t long before she found the Poison Joke. Scootaloo was careful to touch it only as much as she had to. She knew what it could do, and she didn’t want to end up having to come back to the Everfree to get ingredients to fix Poison Joke.
She picked up a stick to up-root the plants. She shoved it into the earth with some force to get through the layer of smooze. Four stems. This wouldn’t take long. She uprooted the flowers, and grabbed them in her teeth, shoving them into her bags as quickly as she could. Hopefully the limited contact would leave her un-affected.
It was almost sun-down when she got back to the pond. She slumped down by the water, and slung her bags down. Relief rushed over Scootaloo’s back. She tipped out her ingredients. Now she just needed the cloud. The few clouds that were dotted around the sky seemed pretty low. She might be able to jump up and reach one. If she couldn’t she could always use her blanket to lasso one. A gentle breeze started to float a cloud her way. Scootaloo crouched down low, ready to pounce on it. Just a few...More...Seconds... She sprang up, and clipped the cloud with her hoof. A tuft came down with her, as she fell back to the ground with a thud. She shook the dust out of her mane.
She rummaged through her bag, and found her water bottle. She glugged down half the bottle. She hadn’t drunk in a while. She’d never really drunk much; it was a habit of hers. She scrubbed at her mouth with a hoof, wiping away a few trickles of water. She paused for a moment, before tipping the rest of the water into the pond. Hopefully she could collect some more soon.
She grabbed the carrots too, and gnawed the tops off. She shoved them into the bottle, and the cloud followed. She picked the Poison Joke out of her bag and put those in too. The cloud fizzled away and dissolved the rest of the ingredients with it. It left a pale brown liquid. She tipped some into the pond. The water bubbled slightly, and tinged brown like the mixture. She put the cap back onto her bottle. Now she had some spare in case she got smoozed again. She slipped under the water. The smooze melted away into nothing, and Scootaloo finally felt clean. She got out after a few minutes, since it was starting to get dark. She settled down under her blanket for the night. An early start was in order.
“Hey...”
A voice...
A scrawny unicorn mare was staring Scootaloo straight in the eyes.
“Hey!” The mare growled, kicking Scootaloo in the stomach. She winced, and got to her feet.
“What’s in the bag?” She snarled. Scootaloo didn't speak. The unicorn snatched it up with her magical aura, and tipped out the contents. Scootaloo took a step forward to re-claim her things, but the mare turned with lightning fast speed, and Scootaloo snapped back into place. The unicorn started levitating the things back into the bag.
“What’re you doing?” Scootaloo asked, quietly.
“Getting supplies.” She replied, levitating the bags onto the back. She started to walk off.
“No!” Scootaloo yelled, galloping after her and snatching the bags back.
The unicorn kicked out and struck Scootaloo’s front legs. She stumbled, but kept hold of the bags. She flung them aside. The unicorn leapt for them again, and Scootaloo kicked back. She struck the unicorn’s head, and she fell back, her nose bleeding. Scootaloo froze up, the realisation of what she’d done washing over her. The unicorn’s face filled with rage, and she bolted towards Scootaloo, flooring her. Scootaloo squirmed to get free, but the mare was strong. She sunk her teeth into Scootaloo’s ear, and Scootaloo screamed, trying to pull free. She felt her ear getting damp, but she wasn’t sure if it was from blood or saliva. She jerked her head away, and her ear burned with pain. She winced and staggered away slightly. The unicorn growled, and took the bags again. She flicked through their contents again, and found the framed picture.
She sniggered. “Who’s this loser ?” She grinned, staring at it. Scootaloo glared with a look of utter contempt. The unicorn lifted it up high into the air, and brought it down to the ground as hard as she could. It shattered instantly. The mare kicked some dust over it, and sauntered off.
Scootaloo fell to the floor, tears falling down her face. She grabbed the photo, ignoring the glass shards and they cut at her hoof. She held it tight to her chest, and lay down again. A photo and a blanket. Her only possessions.
Chapter Three
It was quiet and dark. Scootaloo plodded along, silent and solemn. Her forelock hung over her eyes, matted and greasy. Her ribs were starting to show through her skin. Her blanket flapped against her side. She had tied it up into a make-shift bag, to carry her book and the remains of her photo. She had no idea where she was headed. It had never occurred to her to bring a map. Wherever she was, it was humid and uncomfortable. She hasn’t seen another pony since the unicorn’s encounter. That was about a week ago. The heat was relentless, never changing. Smooze clung around her hooves, making the slightest movement a chore.
There was a blotch in the distance. Scootaloo disregarded it at first. Most blotches turned out to just be smooze covered trees or buildings - But this one seemed to be moving. Not by much, but enough to catch her attention. She turned and walked towards it slowly. As it got nearer, Scootaloo realized - It was a pony. As she got closer, she could work out more details. It was a mare, light pink in colour, with a darker pink mane and tail drooped out over her. She was sitting on her back legs, staring off into the distance.
Scootaloo turned her attention to the pony’s cutie mark. Three balloons. She froze. She knew this pony. She was only a few metres away from her now.
“Pinkie?” Scootaloo spoke slowly. She didn’t move. Scootaloo moved closer, until she was almost next to her.
“Pinkie?”
The mare was mumbling quietly to herself.
“They’re all okay... I’m okay... Everypony’s okay... I’ll find them... It’ll be fine...”
Scootaloo put a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. She shot round, staring at Scootaloo with blood-shot eyes. Her face was stained with tears.
“Scootaloo?”
She grabbed Scootaloo in a hug. Scootaloo felt something wet on her shoulder. Pinkie was sobbing quietly to herself. She held on for ages, until Scootaloo started to squirm slightly.
“Oh... Sorry.” Pinkie freed Scootaloo from her embrace. Scootaloo smiled awkwardly. Pinkie was as disheveled as she was. Her mane was tatty and flat against her head, her coat was dull and dusty. Silence reigned once more, until Scootaloo decided to speak up again.
“Umm... Where is everypony? You went to Canterlot with Rainbow and everyone...” She trailed off.
Pinkie breathed in slowly.
“We all went up to Canterlot together, and Princess Celestia told us that there was a threat made, and that we had to stay in Canterlot until it turned up, because the capital city is usually the main place for bad things to happen. So we all went out to go look around, and then the wave came... Rarity got stuck in it, and we all went back to help her, and Twilight got stuck too, and she told us to go ahead and they’d catch up... So we all did...”
Fresh tears welled up around Pinkie’s eyes. She scrubbed them away with a hoof.
“So we all got away, and Rainbow and Fluttershy carried me and Applejack up into the sky so we wouldn’t be got by the wave, and then we landed on the top of the mountain that the castle is on... We waited and waited for Twilight and Rarity, but they didn’t come back. Fluttershy wanted to go back to look for them, but Applejack kept saying no because it wasn’t safe... We stayed there for the rest of the day, and then we left... We came here and made a camp, but Fluttershy left to go look for Twilight and Rarity... Applejack said she’d be fine and she’d come back and find us, but she didn’t...”
Tears were flowing freely now. Scootaloo slung her blanket bag to the floor, and untied it. She picked up a corner with one hoof and wiped Pinkie’s face. She couldn’t stop herself, and Scootaloo could see why.
“So we made a group, and we helped other ponies who were lost. Applejack was the leader, and Rainbow was the look-out, and Applejack said I had a really important job - To keep up morale... So I had to make everypony smile! Which was really hard... I couldn’t throw parties, and nopony wanted to talk... Rainbow kept asking if she could go and look for Fluttershy, and Applejack kept telling her no... They started arguing all the time... So I thought if I found Fluttershy, maybe they’d stop arguing... So I went back to Canterlot... But I couldn’t find Canterlot.”
“So that’s why you’re here?” Scootaloo asked quietly. Pinkie nodded and rubbed at her eyes again.
“But now,” Pinkie continued, a slight smile forming on her face through the tears, “It’s okay, because you’re here!” she squeaked. Scootaloo smiled back. Pinkie prodded Scootaloo’s bag gingerly.
“Oooh! What’s in there?” She asked, head cocked to one side.
“Oh.. Um...” Scootaloo took the bag off and dumped it on the floor. Pinkie peered inside.
“Natural Disasters?”
Scootaloo nodded. “I um... ‘borrowed’ it from Twilight...”
Pinkie’s ears pricked at the mention of her friends name. “Twilight’s okay?” She grinned, skipping slightly.
Scootaloo didn’t know what to say now. “Um... I think so...”
“Yay! Did she say where she was going?” Pinkie asked.
“Oh... No, she didn’t. I think she was in a hurry...” Scootaloo had always been a bad liar. She wasn’t sure if Pinkie was just really gullible or if she was deluding herself.
“Okay then.” The pink mare said, still smiling. She picked up the photograph. “Oh, it’s you and Dashie!”
Scootaloo wasn’t sure if she should ask or not.
“Have you seen Rainbow?”
“Not since yesterday...” Pinkie replied, suddenly solemn again.
“Well, that’s okay. I’m sure I’ll find her.” Scootaloo said, forcing a smile.
The two mares sat in silence for a while. Scootaloo didn’t want to force the conversation. She packed her things back up.
The sun started to dip below the horizon. Pinkie stood up.
“What’s up?” Scootaloo asked.
“I need to go back to camp!” Pinkie said. She gasped suddenly. “You can come with me! Why didn’t I think of this earlier?! Come on!” She bolted off. Scootaloo scrabbled to her feet and galloped after her.
“What’s this camp?” Scootaloo wheezed. Lack of food and the sudden exercise didn’t mix well.
“Well,” Pinkie replied, full of energy as always, “There’s about seven of us, and we’re all camped out at our ‘base’. We have some food still I think, and everyone’s super nice once you get to know them!” Pinkie grinned. “It’s about ten minutes away!”
Ten minutes? Scootaloo thought to herself. I’ll be dead by then at this rate...
Scootaloo slowed down slightly to save energy. Hopefully she would have a meal soon.
