Scootaloo awoke to the same roar and clang as the day before. Thanks to the merciless mining work from the other day and the two lashes across her back and across her right hoof, she was hurting everywhere, even in places she didn’t know existed. Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes, bringing her hooves up to rub the small bits of sleep still trying to pull her into a peaceful slumber.
Scootaloo looked over at Silver Spoon, shivering under her blanket. Even after everything she had done, in that moment standing over her school bully, she couldn’t help but feel a tremendous amount of pity for the filly in front of her. Scootaloo slowly rose from her spot on the ground, but froze as Silver Spoon began to stir. She must have lain on a sore spot as her eyes shot open and a cry of pain left her mouth. Scootaloo watched her cry out in pain, slowly turning to stare at their shared cell’s stone wall to give Silver Spoon the small amount of privacy she could.
When she finally settled, Scootaloo turned her head enough to see Silver Spoon in the corner of her eye. Scootaloo spoke to Silver Spoon for the first time since returning to their cell. “You know what this wall could use? A Mural.” Silver turned to her cell mate and smiled a bit, which caused Scootaloo to slightly smile in return. The door opened, and the voice roared to get going. Both fillies stood and headed for the same tunnel as yesterday, being given the same tools as before.
Scootaloo briefly wondered if she would always mine or if she’d pull a cart one day, stopping her train of thought when she reached Archer picking at the wall at their shared third level mining spot. “Hey Archer,” Scootaloo whispered to her new friend.
“Hey Scootaloo,” came the quiet reply. After an hour of picking away at the stone wall, Scootaloo’s mind began to wander, so as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, she decided try to start up a conversation.
“So Archer, what are your parent’s names?”
Archer looked over at Scootaloo, raising an eyebrow, but after a moment she shrugged and decided to answer. “Well my mother’s name was Fritter, and my dad was a royal guard who died before I got to know him,” Archer finished, turning back to her work.
Scootaloo picked away at the wall again before thinking of another question for Archer.
“What’s your favorite food?”
“Okay, what’s with the questions Scootaloo?” Archer asked.
“Well, we will be here for a bit, so I thought it would be nice to get to know each other,” Scootaloo responded in a slight panic as if she’d done something wrong to upset her new friend.
“Easy, its cool I was just wondering is all. If you really want to know, I love carrots. Especially baked ones with butter and salt,” Archer stated, fighting back her body’s desire to drool.
“What about your favorite color?”
“Duh, it’s blue like my coat” Archer teased “Okay, now what about you? I told you some stuff, how about you return the favor? What was your life like before all this?”
Scootaloo paused for a moment to remember her wonderful life only a few days prior, but it felt like it had been weeks. After a few more moments, Scootaloo remembered to speak. “I don’t remember where I was born. We moved around a lot, but I ended up at Ponyville after a while. I made some friends and together we formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders, then I formed the Rainbow Dash fan club and then I was adopted by her. I mean really adopted. It was so cool. I was writing in my….my diary when they grabbed me. I hid it in the woods next to her house so she didn’t think I was lame.” Scootaloo’s cheeks got red and her eyes began to get watery. She took a moment to compose herself and said, “So where did they get you?” Archer continued working, turning her head slightly to answer.
“I was grabbed outside of my house. It was… alarming, I guess. I can’t think of any other way to describe it.”
Scootaloo nodded her head, understanding what she meant. Scootaloo felt gems in the wall again, this time they were emeralds. ”So Archer, about those crystals…”
“Oh yeah, forgot about that. Well from what I’ve heard, the crystals in some of the walls are magically enchanted, something about the gems being in the ground for so long that they take on magical properties, form Equestria’s magical layer lines, and it’s rare but when the gems are small enough they can be used for thing like lights in the tunnels or the illusions they put near the three entrances, but most of the time you find them in the walls in huge clusters and, when you strike them, ca-boom! They cause some kind of magical release.”
“So is that what the big gems in the center of the mine are?” Scootaloo asked, glancing over the third level scaffoldings platform a few steps away to stare at the giant gem in the middle of the mine.
“No, those are mine markers. There’s red, green, and blue. As you can see we’re in the green mine. I’ve heard the blue mine is the cruelest, so if they move you there just keep as quiet as possible, even a whisper is punished with eight lashes.”
“Eight! Why so many!?”
“Shhhhhh,” Archer hushed Scootaloo just as a dog passed by. “It’s the mine chief.”
“Who?” Scootaloo asked, confused.
“Every mine has a mine chief. They’re in charge of the mines, while they answer to the warden, who takes orders from the commissioner’s office”
“What’s the commissioner’s office?” Scootaloo asked.
“They’re-“
“PONIES! Back to your cells!”
Scootaloo let out a quiet groan as she was forced to leave the mine and have to wait for her questions to be answered the next day. Scootaloo began walking down the tunnel to her cell, taking note of the tunnels with their cold, dark, empty walls flowing endlessly beyond. Scootaloo wondered how far they truly went, looking around to the bodies that took up space in the emptiness she saw some of the other ponies as she went. Some were crying, some were pushing food carts filled with the awful gruel. Scootaloo never thought to question why they only gave them gruel in the mines and nothing else. She’d have to ask Archer about it next time she saw her. As she continued walking, she saw some ponies huddled together, sharing their sorrows in the dark tunnels.
Reaching her shared cell, Scootaloo saw Silver Spoon crying under her thin blanket. Walking over, Scootaloo put her blanket on Silver Spoon’s back. Silver Spoon sniffed as Scootaloo lay down next to her. With a few more minutes of crying and sobbing Silver Spoon finally gained enough courage to speak. “Why did you give me your blanket?” Silver asked through a sore voice. Scootaloo thought about it for a few minutes. Why had she helped, this filly who made her everyday life at school torture? True, it was mainly Diamond Tiara, but Silver Spoon was just as guilty. After a few more minutes, Scootaloo finally spoke.
“Nopony deserves to suffer like this.” With that said, Scootaloo thought back to her conversation with Archer earlier that day.
“Hey Silver?” Scootaloo asked the filly next to her, a ‘hmm?’ was her answer. Scootaloo took this as a sign to continue “What are your parents like?” Silver Spoon paused. After a few moments of silence she answered with a question of her own.
“Is this like the conversation you had with Archer?”
“How’d you know about that?”
“You were loud enough for me to hear when I passed by.”
“Oh. Then yes, it’s like the conversation I had with Archer.”
“Ugh, fine, I guess since there’s nothing else to do. My father is a silverware manufacturer, his company makes silverware for most cities across Equestria, except the princesses and a few cities here and there, but most of the time he travels a lot, that’s why I was staying in Ponyville. To be honest, I don’t know much else about him. I don’t think he ever really cared to begin with…” she paused, realizing she was giving away too much of her relationship with her father. Silver took a deep breath and continued “My favorite food is hay fries-“
“Really?” Scootaloo asked in shock, not believing such a pampered pony enjoyed normal things.
“Yes now hush. My favorite color is orange.” There was a pause as the information was digested. After it clicked in Scootaloo’s brain, she began blushing heavily. As their cell door was shut, Scootaloo was happy that the room was pitch black now so she could better hide her blush.
Silver Spoon noticed how Scootaloo had grown quiet and scooted closer to her so they were laying against one another. Scootaloo noticed Silver’s movement, but said nothing. Silver almost couldn’t believe she was huddled up with Scootaloo, and Scootaloo was accepting it after all she had done to her. After a while both ponies lulled off to sleep, leaning on one another in a soft embrace. After a moment Silver spoke soft in Scootaloo’s ear.
“Hey Scootaloo?”
“Yeah?” Scootaloo softly whispered back, trying to fight sleep for a few final moments.
“You kind of… stink.” Silver said the last word gently, trying to lighten the blow.
“Shut up, and go to bed.” Scootaloo ended the conversation with a light huff.
Scootaloo awoke to the same loud bang and roar that each new shift brought carrying with it the same headache of a new day of work to come.
It had been two shifts since Silver Spoon’s and Scootaloo’s slightly friendly conversation and soft embrace. Archer had been moved to Red mine so Scootaloo was unable to speak to her, but as the ponies began their walk down the cell tunnel, they found all the mine pony’s sitting around some were discussing proper mining techniques or which picks they should try to get. Scattered amongst them were a few games made from carved stone many left untouched as any available players had a desired to gather extras sleep then play. Looking around as Silver walked up next to her, Scootaloo spotted Archer across the room, standing next to one of the left side tunnels. “Come on, Silver, lets go talk to Archer. She might know what’s going on.” After finally making their way across the room, Scootaloo and Silver finally met with Archer. “Hey Archer, what’s every pony doing out here and not working?”
“Oh, well once every week we get a rest day to recover for the next weeks mining.”
“That’s weird. Why would they care if were rested?” asked Silver Spoon.
“The dogs are cruel, but they’re not stupid, at least not these ones. They know that if all we did was work work work, everypony would die from exhaustion.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“Hey Archer, why are you standing outside these tunnels?” Scootaloo asked, curious.
“I was just hanging out outside this one looking for you guys. Come on, let’s go to the kitchens and eat.” Archer said, hurriedly pulling her wings tightly to her sides and heading over to the next tunnel.
Scootaloo and Silver followed Archer to the tunnel to their left. It was the closest tunnel on their left to the entrance that they first came from. As they walked down the tunnel, Scootaloo decided to ask a question. “Hey Archer, what was in the tunnel you were standing in front of?”
“That was the guard barracks. Here’s the kitchen.”
Scootaloo looked around at the averaged sized room filled with six tables, two in three rows. Directly in front of them was a small serving counter with a pot filled with more gruel. Behind the counter was a stallion, and behind him was a door which Scootaloo could only assume led to the cooking area.
“So what can I get you three little ones today?” said the stallion
“The only thing we get, Cluster. Come on, we’re hungry,” Archer snapped at the server, now identified as Cluster. Taking a closer look at the stallion, Scootaloo could see his horn had been broken off, and the stump sealed shut. She could also see his back left leg had been broken and was held by a crude splint that he could lug around, allowing the crippled stallion some small amount of movement. Looking closer at the splint itself Scootaloo could see that it was made of two crude pieces of wood barely holding, the two pieces were held together with an old ragged rope bit no longer than her own foreleg.
“Alright, alright, here’s three nice delicious bowls. You’re welcome to sit in here or eat out in the common area,” Cluster said as he hoofed over a bowl to each filly as they moved forward. Taking her bowl, Scootaloo followed Archer and Silver Spoon to the closest table, choosing to sit next to Silver Spoon with her back to the serving counter. Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo looked down at the horrible gruel before her and gasped, seeing a slightly brown apple slice sitting atop the slop.
“Hey Archer ther-“
“Hush!” Archer quickly shushed Scootaloo before she could utter anything further and began glancing around the room.
“You’re clear,” Cluster said behind the counter.
“Scootaloo, Cluster here worked out a deal with one or two of the guards. He got them to get some apples from the surface. They don’t always go up, but when they do the dog he talks to manages to get some. Only the lucky ones get any apples, and normally there’s a line, so these must have just come in. Isn’t that right, Cluster?” Archer spoke the final part to the cook.
“Yeah, these came in about an hour ago. If you crush it up and mix it with this slop it makes it almost bearable, but don’t let the guards see them, alright?” Cluster finished his explanation with a friendly wink towards Scootaloo.
Scootaloo followed the stallion’s advice and crushed her apple piece between her hooves and tossed it into her bowl. After mixing, she raised the spoon to taste, and found the gruel’s normal flavor of bitter had a sweet under taste to it that reminded Scootaloo of home. She smiled and turned back to Cluster.
“Thank you, Cluster. It really is a lot better.”
“Oh that’s no problem. Um, I don’t believe I asked your name, little one.”
“Oh, my name’s Scootaloo, and this is Silver Spoon.” Scootaloo gestured to the pony next to her.
“Well, welcome to the mines. If you have any questions or need something, I’m your pony.” He followed the statement by releasing a hearty laugh and wore a huge grin stretching from ear to ear, the kind of smile that you couldn’t help but smile back at.
“Thanks. I don’t suppose you have a way out of here, do you?” Scootaloo questioned halfheartedly.
“Sadly, no. That’s one of the many things I lack, but name it and I’ll see what I can do for you.” He replied with another friendly wink and a kind smile.
After the three filly’s finished their food they returned their bowls to Cluster and went towards the exit, but Scootaloo stopped before they were completely out. “Hey guys, I’m going to hang back with Cluster for a bit.”
“You sure, Scoots? There’s actually some fun games to play in the commons. Somepony carved a Battle Clouds game.”
“Nah, I’m good. But you guys have fun, alright? I’ll see you later.” With their good byes said, Archer and Silver Spoon turned around to head back to the commons as Scootaloo walked back over to Cluster and pulled a chair behind the counter to sit next to him.
“So what’s up Scootaloo, do you need something?” Cluster asked curiously.
“No I’m fine but well… you’ve been here awhile right? Is there really no way out?”
“Sorry Scoots, but I was serious. If I found one I would have left already, but you must have stayed for another reason, am I right?”
“Well yeah. I mean you serve ponies their food and you talk with them a bit, but they normally just leave after, right?“ Scootaloo saw a small nod from Cluster. “So that means you don’t have anypony to talk to normally, right?”
Cluster looked down at the little filly beside him and smiled. He hoofed her another apple and winked at her, saying, “Thanks for the thought, but I’m fine really. But since you’re already here we can talk, so…” Cluster sat awkwardly, waiting for a conversation topic to present itself.
“So ummm… oh I know, what does your cutie mark mean?” Scootaloo asked, looking towards Cluster’s right flank to see a slightly unrolled paper with a few stars on it.
“Oh, that. I take it you’re asking because you don’t have yours?” He smirked down at the blushing Scootaloo. “Well if you really want to know, I was a map maker a few ummm… years ago I think by now.”
The conversation continued for a few hours, jumping from a variety of conversations until an idea came to Scootaloo “Hey Cluster?”
“Yes Scootaloo?” he responded after filling the last of the bowls for a new group of colts that had walked in and left after the news that the apple slices had arrived.
“Well I was wondering, how did you meet Archer? The way you talked to each other seemed kinda, well, buddy buddy.”
“Oh, well Archer and me have been talking and looking out for each other for about seven, eight months now. Why?”
Scootaloo simply stared at the Stallion before recovering her senses. “What do you mean by months? She told me she came here with my group.”
“She did, huh? Then she probably has her reasons. If you really want to know, you should go ask her yourself.” Scootaloo thought about it for a moment and decided Cluster was right. She hopped down and put the chair back at its original table and started walking to the exit of the kitchen
“I’ll see you later, Cluster, alright?” Scootaloo spoke over her shoulder as she walked away.
“All right, good luck.” She heard him reply.
As Scootaloo entered the commons, she spotted Silver Spoon smiling smugly at a ranting Archer. “Hey guys, everything okay?”
“Yeah I’m fine. I just lost for the ninth time at this dumb game.” Archer said a little annoyed.
“Oh, all right, but I wouldn’t recommend playing Silver, she’s really good. Every time Cheerliee let us play board games on free days she would go undefeated.”
“Great, now you tell me,” Archer huffed
“Archer, can I ask you something?”
“You just did,” Archer quipped
“Okay, ha ha. But seriously, why-“ Scootaloo was cut off by a roar from that same dog who gave every announcement.
“PONIES TO YOU CELLS!” With those words uttered, Scootaloo cursed under her breath, saying she’d give a kiss to whoever shut that dog up for good as all the ponies were forced to head to their cells.
Scootaloo walked into her cell with Silver Spoon close behind. They soon settled with their blankets huddled in the center of the room, each pony’s head laying on the others back. Scootaloo was going to ask Silver about Archer, but she decided to ask her tomorrow. For now, sleep’s sweet song was calling her away. Scootaloo’s last thought before she drifted off was how she was going to find a way to talk to Archer in the morning.
“GET UP PONIES!” roared the voice down the tunnel.
“Silver Spoon, I really want to beat the snot out of that dog,” Scootaloo said in a hissing whisper as she stood and stretched.
“He’ll get it one of these days,” Silver responded, also standing and stretching. Enough shifts had passed that Silver Spoon and Scootaloo could tell the general location of their cell door.
The door opened and the two little fillies walked out into the tunnel’s dim light and heard the crying of the ponies around them, the same crying that originated from each strike of the whip across flesh and fur. Both ponies involuntarily shivered and began walking left, heading down the tunnel to the commons. As Scootaloo entered the commons she saw a small number of ponies lined against the far wall between the guard’s barracks and the boarded tunnel. This was the first time Scootaloo had seen this happen, and so she stopped to stare with a number of other fillies and colts.
“Hey Silver, what are they doing over there?”
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good if their hooves are against the wall. Let’s go, I don’t want to see this.” Silver Spoon’s pleas to leave fell on deaf ears as Scootaloo remained rooted to her spot in the commons. To Scootaloo’s horror, a small line of dogs came and lined themselves up with each pony against the wall, each carrying a whip and a face of cold emptiness. As the final dog finished its alignment, another appeared at the edge of the line and walked forward to stand close to the center of the room. He wore a darker shade of grey metal than his brothers a few paces behind him.
The dog in dark armor opened its maw and uttered a gut wrenching howl that clearly sent shivers through the crowd of on looking ponies. With a sick grin, it once more spread its jaws, this time to speak. “Watch closely. This is the punishment for you defiance! Watch closely and never forget who allows you to live.” With those words the beast waved its left hand, and the dogs standing behind the line of ponies began.
Each whip arose in its deadly silent arc only to flick back down across the ponies’ backs. Cries of pain and sorrow rang out through the tunnels as lash after lash was brought down across the ponies’ backs. The moment completely engraved in Scootaloo’s mind forever, each coat of golden yellow, bright red, and deep teal were washed away by scarlet red pouring down their backs, forming small pools around their hind hooves.
“Scootaloo, look away. You don’t want to see this.” Archer whispers in her ear beside her. Tears running down her cheeks, Scootaloo continued to stare blankly forward as a whip went down across the golden coated pony’s back, ripping pieces away from it, revealing the bone that lay beneath. Finally, after that strike, the golden coated pony could take no more and collapsed. The dog whipping her gave out a light noise that could hardly pass for a chuckle as he pointed one of his claws towards the golden pony. Two guards were by the pony’s side in a matter of seconds, grabbing its fore hooves and raising them to the wall, holding them there. The pony struggled and soon the guards began to lose their patience, signaling for more guards to bring a small jingling box over.
Silver Spoon did everything she could to not watch the dogs raise their whips. She looked back at the faces of the ponies behind them seeing the same look of slowly dying hope fading from each pair of eyes. Unicorns, earth ponies, and even pegasi shared the dark feeling of horror, the feeling of fear that they could be up on that wall with the others. Hearing a slight jingle and a shift in the noise, Silver dared a glance forward to see what had changed.
As the box reached the two dogs holding the pony, the dogs carrying the box reached inside, pulling out two long metal rods. The rods looked similar to long nails except instead of a sharp point the end was flat while the other end extended slightly out, forming a shape like a flower just starting to bud open. Small metal squares, hardly bigger than Scootaloo’s own hoof, one for each box, rested in each beast’s paw, gripped tightly. With the aid of the dogs that brought the box, the dogs held the golden pony’s hooves firmly in place as they lined up the flat surface of the rod to the back of each hoof as the box dogs pulled the metal squares back.
At the end of each pull, the squares shot forward, slamming the flat end of the metal rod through the pony’s hooves and into the wall, effectively holding the pony against the wall, the metal rods had no sharp end nor a hook or any other visual way to hold the pony there, but it was by the sheer length alone that they managed to wedge their victim where they were deemed to be planted. As the dogs returned to their previous positions, the whipping began again, this time striking the bone as well as flesh.
Scootaloo was on the verge of vomiting, the cries of the pony on the wall and its attempt at pulling its hooves away from the harsh stone surface stopped her from moving even an inch. Scootaloo looked at the open ends of the metal rods as a precious red liquid began to poor from them down the pony’s legs. This lasted for minutes as the pony struggled until loss of blood forced each pony who had been nailed to the wall at this point to simply hang off the wall and be whipped until not even their blood flowed from their body’s. The guards once again began moving Scootaloo and the herd towards the mines, Scootaloo numbly walked forward and grabbed her pick and began to pick at the wall saying absolutely nothing.
Scootaloo lied against the cell wall, simply sitting and breathing. She momentarily noticed Silver Spoon’s presence before going blank once more. “Scootaloo, you need to eat. It’s been three shifts since we watched what they did, but there’s nothing we can do about it, okay? Now eat.” Silver’s final word was punctuated by a bowl being placed between Scootaloo’s fore legs, which were lying limply on the ground, the contact causing her to look down at the shining white fresh apple slice sitting atop the gruel, a small twitch came from her muzzle, forming a gentle smile. Raising her hooves, she crushed the apple slice and mixed the contents of the bowl, lifting it to take a small bite.
“Archer’s being moved to one of the branch mines with us tomorrow,” Silver said quietly, trying to start a conversation.
“Is the move permanent?” Scootaloo asked after a long pause to swallow her food.
“No, we’re just filling in some empty spaces until they move some others in the shift after that.”
“Silver, who had those spots before?” Scootaloo questioned.
“I don’t know. Why?” Silver asked confused.
Scootaloo continued to eat her food, letting the silence fill the room. She watched as Silver’s eyes slowly dawned, understanding as the door of their cell shut, leaving the room in darkness just as Scootaloo shoved the remainder of the food into her mouth.
“Night, Silver Spoon. Thank you for the food.”
“No problem. Good night, Scootaloo.”
“GET UP PONIES!” Roared the voice.
Scootaloo and Silver Spoon had awoken five minutes before wakeup call and were sitting near the door, awaiting it to open as they did every day. When it did, they arose and began walking through the cold gray halls of the tunnels to their normal mine, but were stopped by one of the guards halfway down the mine tunnel. He pointed to his left, gesturing for them to go down the small branch tunnel, and so they began walking into the dark tunnel. It was so cramped that the guards had to slouch in the narrow space of the tunnel, making Scootaloo feel as if the tunnel’s dark walls were squeezing around her. Scootaloo saw Archer near the front of the tunnel, and mentally cursed that there wasn’t any free places near her. So Scootaloo followed Silver Spoon further.
No more than ten steps forward, the tunnel took on a darker light. As they walked, Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel the warmth slip away from her body as a trickle of hopelessness slipped into her to fill the void. Looking around for the source of the poor lighting, she spotted the crystals on the ceiling. The crystals here were hanging from the roof by thin wires, hardly giving off any light at all. Looking down to the ponies in the mine with her, she could make out their silhouettes, some missing ears, others eyes and legs but no matter what part was missing from their body’s the empty look in their eyes was shared throughout. The branch tunnels were truly far worse than the main mines, but what she noticed most was that there were more adult ponies here than in the rest of the mine. It was then that Scootaloo caught the smell in the air, the smell of filth and decay, a musty stench that seeped deep into her nerves, making her instincts start to yell at her to run from this darkness. She swallowed hard and continued to move forward, trying to keep her eyes on Silver Spoon’s grey coat in the darkness.
Scootaloo stopped with Silver Spoon in front of a guard pointing at two picks stuck in the wall. Moving to grip the pick, Scootaloo shivered as she felt the dog’s eyes linger on her for just a bit too long, as if he was thinking of a delicious piece of food before deciding to take a huge bite. Just as her nerves began to get to her, she heard him turn and walk away. Releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding, Scootaloo began to work, giving tips to Silver Spoon, this being the first time she used the pick instead of pulling the carts.
After two guard rotations, a cry was heard down the tunnel, followed by the sound of a whip. “Wow, two hours. In the main mine there’s normally a whip strike like every five minutes.”
“I think that’s because these mines are so much worse. I mean look at this place.” A whip was heard behind Scootaloo, a silent command to get back to work. So she raised her pick and continued to chip at the wall.
Scootaloo whispered quietly, “The air stinks in here, and the ponies here are in re-“ Scootaloo froze as two guards walked by dragging a dark purple stallion missing his back left hoof. Scootaloo waited another moment as a third guard walked by with something sharp and white covered in a few dark purple splotches sticking out of its mouth. Scootaloo looked back to the wall, her stomach threatened to give.
The shift ended and Scootaloo rushed forward, trying to catch Archer before she left and wishing to leave the darkness of the branch mine behind her. As she reached the entrance, Scootaloo realized Archer was already gone. Waiting a moment for Silver Spoon to catch up, Scootaloo noticed the main mine was still being used. Thinking back, she couldn’t remember seeing anypony come from deep within the branch mines before this, but it made sense now.
“Come on, Scootaloo, let’s get back and rest. My hooves hurt. Ugh, how do you do that every time?” Silver asked complainingly.
“Oh stop complaining you wimp, it’s not that bad.” Scootaloo and Silver Spoon continued tossing friendly insults back and forth as they took their time heading back to their shared cell, enjoying the lights in the cell tunnel as if the gentle glow was from the sun itself . Reaching their cell, both ponies settled in together to sleep.
“GET UP PONIES!” roared that voice them same voice that annoyed Scootaloo to no end every shift.
Scootaloo stood with Silver Spoon and walked to the door as it opened and headed for the main tunnel as before. This time they went uninterrupted on their way to their places. Scootaloo took a pick and walked to her spot on the third level of the scaffolding as Silver was hooked up to her cart. As Scootaloo picked away at the wall she failed to notice Archer walk up and begin to pick the wall beside her.
“Hey Scoots, having fun without me?” Archer teased.
“Ah, I didn’t see you walk up and ha very funny. You know as well as I do this place stinks.” Scootaloo turned her head slightly to get a closer look at Archer. She seemed no worse than the last time she saw her. Scootaloo continued to pick at the wall, but her question soon found its way to the front of her mind.
“Hey Archer?”
“I was wondering when you were going to say something, it has to be something good if it took you this long. So what’s up?” Archer asked, looking sideways at Scootaloo, her stare showing she wasn’t going to drop the conversation even if Scootaloo wanted to.
“I was wondering why you told me you arrived here with my group instead of telling me you’ve been here for months?”
“What are you talking about, I’ve only been here as long as you have.”
“Stop lying to me, I thought we were friends Archer,” Scootaloo demanded a little too loudly, causing one of the guards to look towards them, growling and roaring.
“BACK TO WORK!”
Scootaloo and Archer quickly began to pick at the wall. “So tell me why’d you lie,” Scootaloo questioned again.
“Look, I don’t want to talk about it alright?” Archer snapped at Scootaloo.
“BACK TO WORK!”
“Come on, there has to be a good reason why, and we’re friends. Cluster told me you’d been here for a while, so what is it? Why won’t you tell me!” Scootaloo demanded on the edge of shouting.
“Look, sometimes ponies just have things they don’t want talk about SO JUST DROP IT!” Archer yelled at Scootaloo.
Scootaloo had lost all patience. Days worth of bottled suffering and rage leaked from her like water from a busted valve. She was in such rage she hadn’t noticed the dog walk over to stand behind her. She spun around and looked up at its hate filled eyes. “BACK TO WOR-“
“NOOOOOOO!” Scootaloo’s voice boomed over her dog master’s, raising her hooves and throwing them forward in rage, unintentionally sticking her forgotten pickaxe directly into the dogs chest, all the while her scream of defiance reverberated off the mine’s cold unfeeling walls. The dog master couldn’t believe what was currently sticking out of his chest. He took a step back, and then another, soon falling back through the flimsy railing behind him, watching the world fade to darkness around him as his body fell limply to the ground.
Scootaloo sat on the scaffolding staring at the spot the dog once stood, now only drops of blood remained as she was dragged by her mane through the tunnels to the commons, the dogs quickly shoving her against the wall and taking position behind her. Scootaloo had recovered her senses enough to realize what was about to happen. She braced herself for a strike that never came. Confused, she turned around to see the Warden standing beside the dog that was about to strike her. “Bring her to my office, I want to know what all this noise is about.”
The dogs acted instantly to their masters command, grabbing Scootaloo and dragging her down the guard’s barracks tunnel to the tunnels end, where they opened a door and threw her inside, slamming the door behind them, allowing Scootaloo her first few uninterrupted moments to think on what she’d done, how in her rage she ended the existence of one of her cruel slave masters, how its blood splattered across her muzzle. She whiped her hoof across her face, staring at the blood that was staining it . “I…I was right to do that, wasn’t I? These thing are our masters, monsters that torture and beat us, force us to work and stole us away from our families… family...Rainbow Dash. What would she say if she saw me like, this covered in the blood of a murdered creature… murder. As much as I hate, them I murdered that dog. I…I…I don’t know what to do.”
Scootaloo sat down and looked around the room, trying to desperately distract herself by thinking about why the guards hadn’t killed her even if the Warden ordered them not to do it. Maybe they had no choice but to follow his commands. If the dogs followed the Wardens orders exactly, she could only guess that this was the Warden’s office, a plain room with bookshelves of stone, a fine cut desk made of some kind of granite with a soft chair behind it and two half decent ones in front. Sitting, Scootaloo looked at some of the books on the shelves, trying to remember the last time she’d even seen a book, but was soon distracted by the door to the office opening and the Warden walking in and swiftly shutting it behind him.
Scootaloo kept her eyes on the dangerous dog for every moment, even as he skulked across the room and sat behind his desk and poured two cups of water, sliding one to Scootaloo. Taking a drink, he set his cup down and gave a sigh before he began to speak “So, pony. Tell me, why did you kill one of my hard working guards?”
Scootaloo tensed as he said ‘hard working’. She gritted her teeth and opened her mouth to begin her explanation. “Your guards are hardly hard workers. They’re nothing more than high paid bullies, the-“
“That’s not what I asked you, slave. Now why did you kill him?”
Scootaloo took a deep breath, noting the smell of vanilla in the office’s air. Just before she spoke she watched the Warden stretch out his unmarked paw, claws extended, and place it half way between them in the center of the desk. She watched as he drug it back, easily cutting through the thick stone, never breaking his cold stare. Taking a deep breath Scootaloo decided it was best to tell him or be at the receiving end of those claws. She figured it was best to start from the beginning. “It started when Archer, Silver Spoon, and I walked into the kitchen to get some food the last break day. We ate and the others left when I decided to stay with Cluster. You know, the nice pony who runs the kitchens?” The Warden made a dismissive gesture and Scootaloo took it as a sign to continue. “He told me about how Archer’s been here for months, so I asked her why she lied to me. She didn’t tell me why and we started yelling at each other. Normally something like this wouldn’t bother me as bad, but being in this place for so long and one of the few ponies you consider a friend is lying to you and having your damned dogs barking orders, I guess I snapped and shoved the pick into that guard’s chest. That’s it.” Scootaloo finished with a stamp of her hoof on the desk’s flat surface, glaring daggers at the Warden. It was clear not all of her rage had left yet.
The Warden sat there in his chair for a few minutes, contemplating what he’d been told. “So all of this started when that apple sneak told you about the Archer pony, hm?” The Warden asked, looking at Scootaloo who had widened eyes. “Oh don’t look so surprised, I’m not as dense as you slaves think I am. Now then, guards, see this pony back to her cell safely.”
Scootaloo stared at the Warden with his dark coat and yellow eyes and branded paw as she was carried back to her cell and thrown roughly inside it.
“Scootaloo, you alright? I thought they were going to kill you and I was going to be all alone here!” Silver cried as she ran over and tackled Scootaloo into a hug. “What were you thinking, you idiot? And how are you not dead right now?”
“Sorry, I wasn’t. It’s just Archer and me, the guards, it …” Scootaloo exhaled. She couldn’t think of a good way to explain what she’d done, all she knew was that she did it, so she just simply stared at Silver Spoon.
“You know I’m shocked, Scootaloo. Of the three of us I thought I’d be the one to break first,” Silver Spoon said sounding slightly surprised.
“What are you talking about? You did break, you’ve been crying since we got here, and what do you mean the three of us?”
“That’s not what I meant you dumb blank flank, I mean break as in snap, loose it, go crazy like the ponies in the branch mines. To be honest, I was afraid that it was going to be me for a while. As for the three of us, I was talking about Archer, you, and me,” Silver huffed and sat down.
“You shouldn’t compare that liar to us. She’s been here for months,” Scootaloo growled.
“Is that what this is all about? So what, she lied, I’m sure she had a reason. Just let it go,” Silver complained.
“Look, she said she was our friend and turned around and stabbed us in the back. Lied to us. Yeah everypony has secrets, but not here. This place is different. She could have been giving us useful information the hole time.”
“You mean giving you useful information. Look, Scootaloo, you keep saying we and us, but I’m not with you on this. I don’t get why you’re mad, so when you get over your own ego, let me know,” Silver Spoon said, turning around and laying down her back to Scootaloo.
Scootaloo sat there surrounded by darkness, in shock, thinking how ironic it was that Silver Spoon was the one telling her to get over her ego. But after a few minutes, she decided that maybe she would at least try to patch things up with Archer. It’s possible she’d tell her why she lied one day, but there would be no point in dwelling on something she couldn’t change.
BOOM! Both ponies jumped as their cell door slammed open. They sat there waiting as the cell door next to theirs slammed open, and the next, and so on. They both arose and walked out to see all the others heading for the commons. They both looked at each other as a group passed. A guard soon ordered them to get moving, so they began to walk to the commons. Once they arrived, they saw the guards leading all the slaves to the kitchens and were forced to do likewise. As they walked into the tunnel to the kitchens, they saw Archer a few steps away. Scootaloo’s cheeks burned, but she had to make things right, it’s what Rainbow Dash would do…Rainbow Dash… this was the first time in a long time she’d thought about her mother, but was quickly pulled out of her thoughts as Silver Spoon pulled her forward.
“Hey Archer,” Scootaloo quietly said to the dark blue Pegasus.
“H…hey Scootaloo,” She replied quietly
“Look let’s just-“ Both said simultaneously, and soon went silent. Scootaloo gave it a few seconds before gaining the nerve to speak. “Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you for answers. Let’s just try to move on. Friends?” Scootaloo asked, extending a hoof to Archer.
“Yeah, that would be best. And sorry I yelled at you, I’m glad you’re not dead,” Archer replied, giving Scootaloo’s hoof a solid bump.
“Actually, the Warden talked to me. I told him what happened and he just let me go.” Archer looked at Scootaloo quizzically after saying that, but brought her head forward after seeing Scootaloo looking in front of her at something.
Sitting along the walls and on the floor and a few at the tables were ponies, all of them had a bowl in front of them with what looked to be some kind of soup. Scootaloo walked up to the serving counter with Archer and Silver Spoon, looking up to find a dog standing there with a cauldron to its left. It poured three bowls and gave one to each of the ponies, who turned and walked over to the closest table to their right with one other pony sitting at it. They set their bowls down, Silver sat next to Scootaloo, who had Archer across from her. Scootaloo looked down at the soup and took a sniff. It smelled alright, so she took her spoon and dipped it in lifting it up to take a bite and cooed in delight as she found a potato on her tongue, which she swallowed eagerly. Scootaloo glanced across the table to look at Archer whispering to the table’s unknown guest, but focused more as Archer quickly gasped and whipped her head back to face Scootaloo and Silver Spoon. “Don’t eat the soup!” Archer shouted quickly.
“Why not, it looks alright.” Silver questioned.
“Yeah and its good,” Scootaloo added, looking down at her soup. “What could be so-“ Scootaloo froze as something came to the surface of her meal, something “looking” at her. Scootaloo turned to a chuckling behind her to see the serving dog giving a toothy smile.
“Enjoy your meal ponies, it’s the ‘cook’s special,’ hehehe,” the dog cackled as he walked away. All four ponies look down to the bowls and screamed.
Author's Note
sorry it took so long I have school getting in the way
-Credit to editors-
Feather Book
th310stch1Id
RylanKrois
Legofan
KrishnaKarnak
-end-
again sorry for the wait, but don't worry I'm working on chapter 3 and ill try to get it to you all as soon as I can.
Author's Note
before you read this just a warning in this chapter and the ones to follow it gets a little graphic also please let me know if there's any mistakes with paragraphs or indents I was having a little trouble with them of Couse only if you want to that is enjoy the story. /)
CREDIT
editor
http://www.fimfiction.net/user/th3l0stch1ld
proof readers
http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Feather+Book
thank you guys for all your help and the help to come.
The best day of my life
The wind rushed past Rainbow Dash's sky-blue coat as she speedily flew directly for Ponyville Park, her signature trail painting the sky behind her in rainbow streaks. Fluttershy had invited her, their other friends, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders to a picnic there, and Dash was all too eager to go. It wasn't often that everyone was available for an occasion like this all at the same time due to school for the fillies and work for the others, but Fluttershy had managed to find a day that worked.
As Dash neared the park, she saw that everyone else except for Pinkie was already there. It looked like things weren't quite ready to start, as the picnic blanket has been unfurled, but Fluttershy and Twilight were still setting things up. She landed softly before them and approached them. "Hey guys, how's it goin'?" she asked, being sure to avoid disturbing the perfectly set blanket on the ground.
"Oh, things are very well," Fluttershy cheerily answered. Grabbing a small stack of napkins out of the basket she had beside her, she continued quietly, "Twilight and I will have things ready by the time Pinkie arrives with her cupcakes."
"Alright, cool," Dash replied, relieved that she wasn't the last one there. Being late was totally uncool. "Need any help?"
Twilight answered, "No, the two of us have got it handled."
"Oh, okay." Gesturing to a nearby tree, she stated, "In that case, I guess I'll take a nap." Rainbow stated as she floated over to a nearby tree branch and got comfortable. As she looked over the park, she watched her friends gently taking plates and things from their basket, a small carousel a few trots behind them, and a jungle gym to the right of that. Behind that was a sandbox that- “Hehe, higher Applejack, higher!”
“Okay Bloom, hold on tight,” exclaimed Applejack as she stood behind Apple Bloom. Noticing the swings for the first time vertically positioned in front of the jungle gym. Rainbow looked over and saw Sweetie Belle giggling next to her as Rarity pushed her lightly from behind, paying more attention to the file filing her hooves then her sister. To Sweetie’s left and closest to Rainbow’s tree branch sat Scootaloo with a bright smile plastered on her face. Rainbow watched Scootaloo for a minute, then a gentle smile spread across her muzzle as Rainbow gave a quick flap of her wings and preformed a flawless backflip, landing perfectly behind Scootaloo and quickly pushing her hooves out to give a solid push.
“AHHHHHHHHHH,” screamed Scootaloo at the sudden motion of her body. Halfway through her arch upwards she looked back to catch a glimpse of Rainbow Dash with waiting hooves, prepared to give her another push. Scootaloo’s smile magnified a hundred fold as she began her downwards decent.
A few minutes later and Pinkie Pie came bouncing up the road with two rectangular boxes neatly positioned on her back. At Pinkie’s approach, Apple Bloom and Sweetie trotted off towards the picnic blanket, followed closely by their sisters. Stopping in mid trot, Rarity turned around to address the ponies still at the swings “Rainbo-“ Rarity found an orange hoof pressed lightly to her lips she looked over to Apple Jack, who looked straight ahead. Rarity followed Apple Jack’s eyes, seeing a scene of rare happiness unfolding before her. Sitting on a little park swing was a beaming orange filly swinging up and down with a powder blue pegasus mare lightly pushing her every time she came back to her. Rarity smiled at Apple Jack and together they trotted over to the picnic blanket, eager for the delicious sandwiches that lay upon it.
BOOM! A loud explosion was heard in the late evening sky above the small pack of picnicking ponies. “Oh crud. I forgot there’s a rain storm scheduled for this evening,” Rainbow Dash huffed. “Well darn, let’s get home every pony. We don’t want to be caught too long in this here rainstorm, could catch a nasty cold,” Apple Jack said as everypony stood. The ponies waved their good byes. Before Rainbow Dash took off she spotted a little orange filly slowly trotting away. “Hey Scoots, need a lift? It’s getting dark,” Rainbow Dash asked as she reached Scootaloo at the parks edge.
“Oh sure, thanks Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said with a smile.
“Okay, where to squirt?” Rainbow asked, awaiting directions.
“It’s past the town, hall a little ways past the markets and before the first neighborhood street.”
Rainbow Dash quickly took off after Scootaloo wrapped her hooves around her neck, finding the slightly average size building quickly do to the many years being Ponyville’s weather captain. “Wow squirt, you live here? Your parents must make some nice bank.”
“Oh yeah, parents. Heh.” Scootaloo quickly dismounted Rainbow Dash’s back and said a thank you before turning to enter her home.
“Hey Scoots, aren’t you going to invite me in?” Rainbow asked, cocking her head sideways.
“Oh yeah, come on in. We can dry off inside, there should be some towels in the bathroom.” Both ponies quickly made their ways inside and began to walk down the house’s main hall, turning right at the last door and grabbing a few towels from the bathroom’s shelf. “Can I help you miss?” An unknown voice said from the next room. Rainbow and Scootaloo walked into the living room just outside the bathroom.
“Oh hello, you must be Scootaloos mom. I’m Rainbow Dash, nice to meet you miss…?” Rainbow dash asked, walking up to the mare holding up a hoof.
“I’m Miss Pure Heart. As for Scootaloo-“ Pure Heart looked over Rainbow’s shoulder to see a pleading Scootaloo with hooves held high in a prayer of please don’t. “I’m Scootaloo’s care taker. Yes, a pleasure to meet you,” Pure Heart said extending a hoof hoping not to make this a complete lie.
“Care taker huh? You sound like Twilight, ugh.” Rainbow turned to Scootaloo “So Scoots, you want to do anything before I have to head out?”
“Normally that would be awesome, but I don’t want you to get caught in that out there so you should probably hurry home.” Scootaloo said, trying to hide the nervous edge in her voice.
“Okay Scoots, want to walk me to the door?”
“Sure Rainbow.”
The two ponies walked past a filly and collt not much younger than Scootaloo. Rainbow stopped “So you two must be Scoot’s brother and sister.” Both pony’s responded by looking at the ground, not daring to meet Rainbow’s eyes as she was gently pulled away to the front door.
“Okay Scoots, what’s the deal?” Rainbow said as she turned around to face Scootaloo in the doorway.
“What do you mean, Rainbow?” Scotaloo answered with a small smile, looking slightly to the left.
Rainbow was no fool. She’d seen how nervous Scootaloo was. She’d have to get to the bottom of it. “Come on Scoots, talk to me. You’re acting strange. Are you nervous your mom won’t like me?”
“She not my mom. I’m…. .”
“What was that, Scoots? I couldn’t hear you.”
“I...I said She...” Scootaloo took a deep breath. “She’s not my mom, she’s my caretaker, and I’m and orphan,” Scootaloo said as she tried to stand taller and looked up into Rainbow’s eyes, but winced and looked back down a minute later.
Rainbow’s brain was shooting lightning to every part of her it, screaming for her to do something. She looked down at the small orange pony muzzle pointed to the ground in shame. A few more seconds later she put a hoof under Scootaloo’s chin and raised it took lock eyes with the little pony in front of her. “Scootaloo, why…why wouldn’t you tell me? I…I”
“Because I was afraid you’d never talk to me again that you’d think I’m some lame orphan and you’d start avoiding me and …and-“ Scootaloo broke down crying on the front door’s mat. Rainbow Dash bent down and hugged Scootaloo to her chest, whispering sweet words into her ear trying to calm her. After a few minutes, Scootaloo cried herself out and fell asleep in Rainbow Dashes protective hooves. Picking Scootaloo up, Rainbow headed back inside the now crowded orphanage and walked down the hall to the living room. Setting Scootaloo on the couch, Rainbow turned to the little ponies near the couch, the same colt and filly they passed in the hall. “Hey you two, why didn’t you tell me Scoots was an orphan?”
“It’s because the orphans look out for one another here,” Pure heart said as she walked over to Rainbow Dash. “You see, sometimes they don’t like to tell others there orphans, so they try to cover for each other. But I have to say I’m surprised you didn’t know. She’s told her two little friend’s older sisters. If I’m not mistaken, their friends of yours. Hmmm, I guess she could have asked them not to say anything to you, after all you are one of the most important ponies in her life…” Pure heart paused to look at Rainbow Dash a bit more. After a minute of thought she came to a decision.
“Excuse me Miss Dash, could I speak with you over there?” Pure heart said, pointing a hoof to the other side of the room.
“Sure” Rainbow said as she walked with Pure Heart across the room to stand in front of the mahogany book case. Rainbow stood there actually looking at Pure Heart for the first time. Pure Heart had a calming yellow coat, close to her friend Fluttershy’s coat, but with a hint of red. Her mane was a deep purple with streaks of white. Aside from some bags under her eyes, she seemed to be your average pony.
“So where did all the others come from?” Dash asked after a moment.
“Oh they were all playing in the back yard when you got here, but the real reason I called you over here was to ask if you would like to adopt Scootaloo. Of course, you’d have to go through some paperwork and a background check. So what’d you say?”
“I…I don’t know, I’ll have to think about it a bit, but I’ll get back to you on it. I need some time to think.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting for your reply. Every pony time for bed!” Pure Heart said as she began to gather a few of the trouble making ponies in her hooves. Dash took the opportunity to head out the front door. Flying into her bedroom window, Rainbow walked over and got under her Wonderbolts blanket, mind abuzz with thoughts of a specific little orange filly. Rainbow was pretty sure she knew what she wanted to do, but for now she needed to rest.
A warm spring breeze flowed into the window of Rainbow Dash’s cloud home. The small warm air gently rustled the powder blue coat of the spectral colored mare as a quiet yawn escaped her throat and she arose to stretch and pop small places along her back, legs, and wings. After her stretches, Rainbow quickly leaped from her bed and trotted across the room to gently jump out her nearby window to head for Ponyville’s orphanage.
Applejack was in the middle of delivering another quick kick to one of her countless apple trees when she caught sight of a familiar rainbow trail flying overhead. Applejack waved to her friend happily as she flew down to great her. ”Hey RD, where you off to in such a rush?” Applejack questioned grinning brightly.
“Today’s the day I’m adopting Scoots, Applejack,” Rainbow replied with a powerful grin.
“Well shoot isn’t that sweet. But RD, you’re sure about this right? It’s a big responsibility and a lot of hard work to raise a filly.” Applejack warned with a serious look showing she shouldn’t treat this as a simple thing
“Of course I am! Ever since that camping trip, we’ve been getting closer and closer. Besides, I care about her, and I want to give her a good home with some pony that can help her with her flying and who better than yours truly?” Rainbow dash said with a smug grin “I’ve also put a lot of thought into it, and this is what I want to do.” Rainbows smile shirting to a tight face of determination
“If you’re absolutely sure Rainbow, then I support you. But I’m here to lend a hoof. Feel free to ask if you need any help and sorry again for not telling you about it before she was really frightened.”
“Thanks, Applejack it’s all right I forgave you guy’s when I told you my decision, I’ll see you later. I got to go bye!” Rainbow shot off quickly, heading for the orphanage, wanting to get her new daughter faster for the loss in time talking with Applejack.
Rainbow landed in the orphanage’s front lawn. The orphanage wasn’t really that big, heck it was barely bigger than a typical home. That didn’t stop the mare running it from spreading as much happiness and uniting families when she could. As Rainbow Dash approached the front door, she took a look around the orphanage’s yard, taking note of what she could see. The path leading to the door had small toys littering the path. There was a young foals little bike tipped over, a little pool, and everything else from cards to small broken action figures no pony bothered to clean up, all complete with slightly longer than normal grass.
Rainbow approached the door and raised a hoof to knock. Before her hoof made contact with the door, it flew open, with a bright purple eyed filly looking through it at her.
“Rainbow Dash, what are you doing here!” Scootaloo beamed at her hero.
“Hey squirt. I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d pay a visit to my number one fan. Can I come in?”
“Sure i- oh hold on one second.” Scootaloo quickly shut the door, and soon small hooves rush away from it. Muffled voices could be heard inside. A few minutes passed, and the door was opened again. “Okay, come on in.”
Rainbow Dash followed Scootaloo inside, allowing her to lead her through the slightly cluttered house. Passing a few rooms, Rainbow Dash caught sight of fillies and colts playing games and having fun. After passing a few more doors, they ended up inside a living room of sorts with a mare lying on the couch. Scootaloo pulled Rainbow closer to the mare. “Miss Pure Heart, here’s Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo’s wings were buzzing at incredible speeds, nearly getting her off the ground.
“It’s so nice to see you again. Little Scootaloo talks about you all the time,” said Pure Heart as she arose from the couch, turning to shake hooves with Rainbow Dash. She quickly examined the mare in front of her as she did a few days ago, sure that Pure Heart was doing the same. Pure Heart had a calming yellow coat, close to her friend Fluttershy’s coat, but with a hint of red. Her mane was a deep purple with streaks of white. Aside from some extra bags under her eyes, she looked the same as she did few days ago.
“Yeah, well I am pretty awesome.” Rainbow’s boastful side started to show itself.
“Well are you here for adoption, or just to play with little Scootaloo?” said the mare with a slight wink when Scootaloo turned to look at Rainbow Dash.
“Wow right to the point huh? Funny you’d ask, I’m actually hear to do both.”
“Awesome lets go Rainbo- wait, what?” Scootaloo asked the question, not believing she heard what Rainbow said was right.
“You heard me, Scoots. I want you to come home with me.” Before Rainbow Dash could tell what happened, Scoots had her hooves wrapped tightly around Rainbow’s neck, leaving her dangling in the air. Rainbow returned the hug, lifting Scoots slightly with a hoof placed below her to keep the filly from falling.
“Well, I’ll need the two of you to come with me to get the papers signed and a quick background check. Then you two can get Scootaloo’s things and put them near the door for you to grab on your way out when you’re ready to leave.” Pure Heart walked to an office next to the couch’s far arm. She was quickly followed by Rainbow Dash, still carrying Scootaloo. After signing a few papers, a formality background check because the checks had already been done, and getting Scootaloo’s things Rainbow and Scoots said their goodbyes and thanks before flying back to Dash’s cloud home.
Rainbow landed on the soft sponge cloud, placing Scoots’ bags down and lowering her body so Scootaloo could get down. After a few minutes of waiting, Rainbow turned around to look at Scootaloo, who was staring down at the soft cloud ground. “Scoots, is this your first time on a cloud?” Her reply was a small nod. Rainbow leaned in and gently nuzzled her new daughter, whispering soft words of comfort in her ear.
“Okay Scoots, just relax. I’m right here to catch you. Trust me, I won’t let you fall, okay?” Scoots looked up into Rainbow’s eyes as a gentle breeze blew a few of her colored hairs into her face. After a few moments Scootaloo nodded lightly and lowered a hoof to the ground, placing it on the cloud where it sank a little, then stopped.
Rainbow watched Scootaloo slowly crawl off her back as the look of pure joy spread across her muzzle. “Rainbow look, I’m walking on a cloud! I’m walking on a cloud!” Scootaloo hopped around happily, her fear completely forgotten.
“Okay, come on Squirt. We need to get you inside and into your new room.”
“I get my own room!” Scootaloo shouted, grabbing her bag and running after Rainbow.
“Yeah, it’s this way.” Walking into her new mother’s house, Scootaloo looked around to see a large circular room with columns going all the way around it. Trophies and ribbons decorated the walls. To the right of Scootaloo was a circular staircase, running along the wall, leading up to a hallway. As Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash walked into the hall, Rainbow lead Scootaloo to the room on her right, saying, “This is my room. Yours is here, across from it.” Rainbow then lead Scootaloo across the hall to her room.
“Wow this is mine?” Scootaloo ran into the plain bedroom. Rainbow noted how she acted like it was the greatest thing she’d ever been given.
“Scoots, relax. You act like this is the first time you’ve ever had a room.” Scootaloo immediately stopped and looked at the ground. This didn’t go unnoticed. Rainbow Dash got low to look at Scootaloo at eye level. “Scoots you’ve had a room before. haven’t you?”
“N-no, I haven’t. This is the first time I’ve ever had a room…or a bed…or…” Scootaloo began to cry. She hid her face in her hooves, trying to hide her face from her idol. Rainbow Dash walked over to Scootaloo and wrapped her hooves around her, nuzzling her new daughter, trying to help her while she dwelled on her sad memories.
Slowly, Scootaloo’s tears stopped and she was contempt to simply sit, being held in her new mother’s embrace. ”Scootaloo, I need you to be honest with me. Were you miss treated at the orphanage?”
“No, it’s wasn’t there. Yeah the toys weren’t that good, and there wasn’t a lot of food, and there weren’t enough beds, so I had to sleep on the floor, but no, it wasn’t that bad.” Scootaloo answered with simple honesty.
“Then was it your family before-?” Rainbow dash almost kicked herself for asking the question so bluntly. Subtly was never her strong point.
Scootaloo looked down at Rainbow’s chest fur, giving Rainbow her answer. Rainbow wrapped Scootaloo in a tighter hug and decided now would be a good time to change the subject. “Scoots, let’s get you something to eat. Then we can go and buy you some new toys and things for your room.” Rainbow Dash leaned back and gave Scootaloo a quick kiss on the forehead. Rainbow Dash had forgotten to ask about Scootaloo’s past before at the orphanage to Pure Heart, so she’d either have to ask her at a later date or get Scoots to tell her, but she didn’t want to hurt the filly. So for now, she focused on getting them some food. Smiling, both ponies headed downstairs. Scootaloo sat at the table as Dash went into the kitchen and came back out a few minutes later caring daffodil sandwiches. ”I hope you like daffodil.”
“Yeah, thanks m…mom .“ Scootaloo took a bite of the sandwich placed before her. She smiled and began to dig in.
“You don’t have to call me mom if you don’t want to-“
“No, I want to, it’s just strange is all! I haven’t called some pony that for a while, so it’ll just take me a bit to make it feel normal.”
“Take all the time you need, Scoots I don’t mind.”
After Scootaloo finished her Sandwich, Rainbow put the dishes in the sink and began to lower herself so Scootaloo could hop up on her back. Scootaloo smiled as Rainbow Dash soared down to Ponyville. It only took a few minutes for them to land outside the furniture store.
Walking into the store the smell of sawdust and new clothes assaulted the mare’s and filly’s noses. Looking around, they saw a mare behind the counter simply sitting and reading a magazine, so Rainbow turned to Scoots. “Okay Scoots, go ahead and find some furniture. Remember, this is going into your new room, so make sure you want it, okay?” Scootaloo nodded and was of trotting up and down the aisles and all around the store, checking each piece of furniture, looking for the one she wanted even more than the others. After about an hour of searching, Scootaloo stopped in front of a powder blue dresser traced with the Wonderbolts insignia along its trim and the Wonderbolts symbol carved on the dresser face. “This one, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash walked over to the dresser and smiled happily at the filly’s choice. “You sure this is the one you want? “ Rainbow Dash asked, looking down at the little orange filly below her.
“Yeah, I want this one. It’s cool.”
“Okay, let’s get someone to help us with this.” After moving the Wonderbolts dresser to her home, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo continued to look for furniture. In the end, Scootaloo ended up with a Wonderbolts themed room, filled to the brim with Wonderbolts furniture, posters, and toys.
Rainbow Dash finished hoofing over bits to the moving ponies that helped move Scootaloo’s new thing to her room. Rainbow Dash then shut the door and headed up stairs to Scootaloo’s room.
“So squirt, how do you like your room?” Rainbow questioned the little filly.
“I love it!” Came Scootaloo’s immediate reply, flashing Dash a bright smile.
“Oh, well that’s good, but I’ve got something we need to talk about, Scoots.” Rainbow watched with hidden joy as the happiness on Scootaloo’s muzzle faded to a fearful curiosity. Only when Rainbow was completely sure that every part of Scootaloo was worried did she lean down and look the filly in the eyes and say, “I got us passes for the Wonderbolts show tonight!”
Scootaloo’s smile nearly split her face as she jumped into the air, releasing all the built up fear in one huge joyful explosion of happiness, landing in Dash’s awaiting hooves and hugging her tightly. After a few minutes, Rainbow Dash broke the hug and said, “Okay squirt, planning isn’t usually my thing but we’re going to try to leave around 5 o’clock so we can play some games and ride a few fun rides at the little festival park outside the stadium. They have it set up so ponies can play before the shows begins.”
“Cool, I can’t wait to ride a roller coaster. It’s going to be awesome!” Scootaloo cheered.
“Alright squirt, why don’t we go to the back yard and work on your flight drills a bit before we wash up and get ready to go?”
“Okay,” Scootaloo cheered again, rushing past Rainbow Dash and heading for the stairs.
Time flew by for the two little ponies in the back yard. What seemed like minutes soon showed to be hours as the sun’s golden light began to move ever lower in the sky, signaling Dash it was time to head inside and wash up. After give Scootaloo some bath toys which she reluctantly accepted, even though she was secretly happy to have a distraction from the boring bath, did Rainbow press to her own shower, quickly stepping inside to allow the water to wash over her, feeling its warmth drain away a hard afternoon of practice.
A few minutes later Dash walked out of her shower and into her slightly messy room. Passing her bed on her right that sat parallel to her door, she walked over to her closet and pulled out a towel from a small stack sitting inside it. After drying her mane and coat, she remembered to bring a towel to Scootaloo, who she found was playing with a rubber duck, so she set the towel on a small stand next to the door. When that was done she turned around and went back to her bed. Sitting down, she extended her right wing and noticed the feathers were a bit messy and after little more than a moment of thought, Rainbow Dash leaned her head over and took some of her wing in her mouth and began to preen her feathers. Almost done with the right wing, Rainbow dash caught a quiet gasp coming from in front of her.
Turning her head to the door, Rainbow spotted a blushing Scootaloo standing in her door, trying, and failing, to look anywhere but at Rainbow Dash. Seeing the blush, Rainbow mentally kicked herself for forgetting to shut her bedroom door, a habit caused by not being used to having another pony in the house. Rainbow smiled at Scootaloo, trying to calm the filly’s nerves, but gave a slight frown when she noticed Scootaloos own wings where looking messy beyond anything she’d ever seen.
“Scoots, when was the last time you preened your wings? They look a little messy,” Rainbow Dash questioned.
“I…I don’t really preen my wings. The last time I tried I pulled out some feathers and hurt my wing for a few days. I didn’t have parents to show me how and miss Pure Hearts an earth pony. She probably didn’t know how to either,” Scootaloo admitted, blushing and looking to the floor.
“Scoots, first off don’t always assume somepony doesn’t know something because a lot of the time they do know at least a bit, or can help you find a way to learn more on your own. As for your wings, that makes sense, since if you preen them the wrong way you can really hurt yourself, but it’s important for proper wing care. Heck even the changelings have some kind of preening if what twilight read and won’t shut up about is true. So come on up here and I’ll show you how to properly preen your wings, okay?”
Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash for the first time since catching her. She nodded lightly and slowly walked over to hop up and face Dash on the bed. Rainbow touched Scootaloo’s left wing, lightly showing she wanted her to extend it, and so she did. After opening her wing, Scootaloo saw Dash bend down to her wing. Just before her mouth made contact, Scootaloo’s body tensed and she tightly closed her eyes, awaiting the pain. What came though was a feeling of pure bliss. Scootaloo’s mouth dropped open and her muscles went limp as Dash expertly preened Scootaloo’s wings.
After a few minutes, Rainbow Dash finished both wings and smiled at Scootaloo, who was nearly passed out from comfort overload. Rainbow extended her left wing and gave Scootaloo a light tap on her side to rouse her from her stupor. “Ok Scootaloo, I want you to preen my wing.” The moment the words left her muzzle, she noticed Scootaloo’s eyes bulge and her pupils shrink to pin pricks. “It’s alright Scoots, I’ll guide you through it, okay?”
“O…Okay,” Scootaloo said, swallowing hard. She hadn’t been able to preen her own wing, how was she supposed to preen her new mothers? What if she hurt her wing? She might hate her or wors-
“It’s all right Scoots, I’ll be right here with you.” After hearing those words, Scootaloo steeled her resolve and leaned forward to the powder blue wing, taking the wing’s base feathers in between her teeth and stopping to await instructions.
“Okay Scoots, now gently slide the feathers between your teeth. Don’t pull too hard or bite down, just relax and take your time. Some feathers might come off, but that’s all right, it’s to make room for healthy new ones, okay? And try to skip over any broken ones, I’ll teach you how to get those another day. First we need to get down the basics.” Nodding, Scootaloo began to slowly move along Rainbow’s feathered rows, passing over any broken ones as carefully as she could, but still hearing slight sharp breathing every time but, pretended not to notice. If Rainbow Dash wanted her to stop, she was sure she would say so.
After finishing the wing, Rainbow bent down and fixed a few mistakes and preformed some trick with her mouth to remove the broken feathers. Rainbow could tell this was the filly’s first preening, but there wasn’t nearly as many mistakes as she thought there would be, so she picked her up and gave Scootaloo a light kiss on the forehead. “Good job, squirt. Now hop on, we have a show to get to.” Rainbow followed this by laying down and allowing the filly to sit on her back with her muzzle in her mane.
After locking the door, the pair was headed on their way to Cloudsdale. A thought occurred to Rainbow: that this might be Scootaloo’s first time to Cloudsdale. So she decided she’d take her on a quick fly-by tour of a sky mark or two but, after she confirmed it. “Hey Scoots, is this your first time to Cloudsdale?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Then I’m going to show you a few places on the way when we enter the city. Also, when we get there, don’t wander off. Cloudsdale’s nice and all, but you never know.” After getting a nod from the little orange filly, Rainbow proceeded into the Cloudsdale city limits, passing a set of huge buildings on her way in, and began her mini tour. “Ok Scoots, those buildings are the weather factories. That one makes snow but it’s on temporary shutdown til’ winter. That one’s the Rainbow factory, where all of Equestria’s Rainbows are made.”
“How do they do that anyways?”
“It’s really simple to explain. You see, inside the facility there’s these machines called prism generators. The pegasi dump water into the funnel, and after that the machine shoots a light inside to make the water a color. Then they use these special orbs that have been filled with pegasus magic, with the help of a unicorn enchanting company, to get the colors to stay that way and become kind of like a paint. There’s always crazy rumors about every part of the factory, going from the water center to the cloud station. It’s all a bunch of scare tact to keep the newbie’s in line though, they got me with it awhile back, so if we run into some friends from the weather factory, don’t believe a word of it.”
“Okay. Can we go inside?”
“Not right now because it’s emptied. But since I’m part of the weather team, we can get an all-access tour next week. We can even go into the non-public parts, where all the cool machines and tools are, okay?”
“Alright.” Scootaloo smiled as Rainbow Dash was once again kicking herself for being so dumb to put the thought into her head. She’d have to find a way to convince her that she didn’t want to go in to the back areas, where the tools and machines could potentially hurt her by falling or exploding or any other amount of dangerous things. Rainbow Dash marveled at what a “good parent” she’d been in the past few hours, but was distracted by the sight of the Cloudiseum coming into view, and around it was the miniature theme park set up for the show.
After they landed, Rainbow lowered herself for Scootaloo to hop off. Afterwards, they headed for the ticket booths and after buying some game tickets and showing there all access passes, the two ponies proceeded into the large crowd of flying, walking, and running pegasi. Scootaloo was surprised by the massive number of ponies that were here. “Come on, squirt. Let’s see if we can win that bit toss game.”
After losing twenty bits, Rainbow Dash accused the pony behind the counter of cheating. He of course denied this and they were asked to move on. After Scootaloo was told she was too small to ride the roller coaster, and nearly cried even though she was fighting the losing battle with all her might, Dash bought her some ice cream and convinced her there was still plenty of fun rides to ride. After riding a few admittedly lame rides and even a few alright ones, every pony moved inside for the show to begin. Scootaloo was surprised when they entered a viewing box with about seven other ponies.
“Hey Rainbow, isn’t this expensive?” Scootaloo questioned as they sat in the two seats closest to the door and farthest back to get the best view of everything.
“Nah. Well, normally yes, but the rest of the ponies here are some old pals who had two spare tickets. Besides, I make okay money, how do you think I can pay for that huge house? Well actually since Ponyville is a rather low income area housing is kind of cheap, besides, that when there’s only a few cloud homes in one area they don’t tax as heavy. To be honest, I’ve spent more on you in this last day than in the last four months, but in a good way. I like buying you stuff. Speaking of buying, Scoots, I’m going to run down to the venders and buy some food and drinks, so I need you to stay here, okay? I’ll introduce you to everypony when I get back alright?”
“Okay, hurry back Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said as Rainbow flew quickly out the door. Within moments she was out of eyesight. Turning back around Scootaloo’s head froze. Standing no more than ten paces away was Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts, talking to one of the workers. As they started to walk off, Scootaloo couldn’t hold back her desires and hopped out of the chair, making a rush to catch up with Wonderbolt. As she turned down a corner corridor, rushing after her, Scootaloo continued on her tail but just barely missing the captain every time. When Scootaloo finally managed to grab her back hoof, Spitfire turned around and smiled down at the little filly.
“Well hello there sport, how’d you get down here with all of us?” the Wonderbolt asked curiously. Stopping in her tracks, Scootaloo looked around to notice she was standing with not one, but the entire Wonderbolts team in their preparation room. Only then did the horror hit her at how far she’d followed the Wonderbolt.
“What’s the matter, manticore got you tongue kid?” the captain teased.
“Wha-oh, um it’s just… I think I’m lost. I was here with my mom and I saw you from my seat and followed you, but I don’t know how to get back,” Scootaloo said, fear clear in her voice.
“Well I’m sure we can help you out, but you need to calm down for us alright? Here, Soarin get the kid one of those toys they left us.” Hearing the order, Soarin grabbed the closest one off of the table and walked over to the filly standing in front of his captain. Smiling, he hoofed it over to the now brightly smiling filly.
“There, now why don’t you tell us you moms name, alrig-“ Spitfire was interrupted by a staff member announcing that it was time to start the show. With a frown, Spitfire told the filly to relax and watch the show from here, they’ll make an announcement before the show starts so the filly’s mother doesn’t panic. Scootaoo nodded and walked over to the stadium side window seats and sat down next to a few non performing Wonderbolts. Scootaloo heard Spitfire whisper to the guard outside that she was not to be allowed to leave and that he needs to pay more attention because a filly was able to sneak past him.
Scootaloo was worried, but was also excited that she’d not only get to see the show from a stadium side seat next to Some of the Wonderbolts themselves, but got a new Spitfire plushy. After hearing the announcement about her whereabouts some of the fear started to return.
About a minute into the performance, Scootaloo heard the door slam open and a frantic Rainbow Dash rush inside and scoop her up yelling, “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”
“I’m sorry, I saw Spitfire and I got so excited, I guess I didn’t think about what I was doing. Can…can you forgive me… mom?” Rainbow Dash stopped her yelling after hearing her new title being called. That showed the fear this filly was feeling, along with her shaking body. Setting the filly down, Rainbow Dash leaned down to be on eye level with the filly.
“It’s all right Scootaloo, but don’t scare me like that, okay? When I got back and you were gone, I freaked out and nearly caused the entire security team to pee themselves. When I heard where you were I was so happy you were all right that I almost did a Rainboom getting here. I love you, Scootaloo, I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, okay?”
“Alright, I’m sorry. I love you too mom.” Scootaloo hugged Rainbow tightly, drying her tears in her coat.
“Okay squirt, what do you say we watch this show? It’s getting good.”
“Okay,” Scootaloo said as her and Rainbow Dash took their new seats, enjoying the performance.
After the show was over, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash helped themselves to the craftservice table, freezing with food partly in their mouths as the Wonderbolts reentered the room. “Hey sport, your mom get here yet?” Spitfire asked with a slight giggle, seeing the food all over the filly’s face.
“Yeah, here she is.” Scootaloo pointed to the blushing Rainbow Dash beside her.
“Rainbow, I didn’t know you had a kid. Aren’t you a bit young?” Spitfire questioned.
“Oh…ummm well… you see, Scoots is kinda…”
“I’m adopted,” Scootaloo said, proudly smiling up at her mother, who smiled back.
“Well isn’t that sweet. Well Dash, you seem like you have your work cut out for you with this one. Oh that reminds me. Scoots, was it? If you want I could sign that toy for you, and don’t worry about the food. It’s on us.” Spit Fire smiled at the grinning filly.
After signing the toy, lots of fun, food, talking, and games, it began to get late, and a long loud yawn from a certain orange filly, causing sweet awwws and more yawns around the room.
“Well I think it’s time we head out, need to get this one to bed,” said Rainbow Dash, scooping up Scootaloo and placing the filly on her back.
“Awww, but I’m not even…tired,” replied Scootaloo through a yawn.
“Hear kid, take these,” Spitfire said, placing an object around Scootaloo’s neck. Looking down, she saw it was Spitfire’s very own Wonder Bolts goggles.
“Wow, thanks Spitfire!” squeed the filly.
“No problem, but from now on listen to your mother, alright? And I’ll see you two later.”
“Okay, I promise.” Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash finished their goodbyes and began to fly home after a crazy and fun night. Rainbow reminded herself she’d need to punish Scootaloo somehow, either spanking or manual chores, she didn’t know yet and was too tired to decide tonight.
“Ok Scoots, I’m going to go make some dinner. Why don’t you play a bit and I’ll call you when it’s done.”
“Can I Help?”
“Sure Scoots, come on.” Scootaloo trailed after Rainbow Dash, clutching her new Spitfire toy to her chest not letting it out of her sight since last night. “Ok Scoots, let’s start by choosing which meal we want to eat.”
“Which one do you like Rainbow Dash?”
“Well I like rose soup, but I don’t eat it often, normally on special occasions. But I’d say the fact that we started a new family today would be a pretty special occasion, so if you want we could have that.”
“Yeah, so what do we do first?”
“Okay we start by getting the roses out…” after about an hour of Rainbow cooking and her telling Scoots to get things and do anything else she could think of like set the table so she could feel like she helped, dinner was ready.
After the dinner was eaten, Rainbow picked up the slightly enlarged-stomached Scootaloo and carried her to her new room. After placing her in bed and tucking her in, Rainbow turned around, heading for the door, but stopped after hearing her new daughter’s voice. “Wait mom, I was wondering if you could read me a story.”
“Sorry, what was that Scoots?”
“I…I asked if you could read me a story.”
Rainbow stood there, facing her daughter for a minute in shock. Rainbow couldn’t believe she didn’t think to ask that. “Sure Scoots, I’d love to. What do you want to read? Oh! I know, how about a Dareing Do book?”
“Sure, that sounds awesome.” Scootaloo snuggled in her new bed to get more comfortable.
“Okay. Ahem, Daring Do and The Seven Silver Swords…” as Rainbow read on, she noticed Scootaloo’s eyes slowly sliding shut. After she was sure Scoots was asleep, she marked her place in the book, leaned forward, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then turned to leave, quietly shutting the door.
“MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!” Rainbow awoke with a jolt, hearing her new title cried out into the night. She quickly flew out her door and across the hall to Scoots’ room, throwing the door open and rushing inside to see what was wrong. The sight in front of her gripped her heart, seeing a small orange pony squeezing a Spitfire doll for all it was worth, sobbing and lightly rocking. Rainbow flew over and quickly wrapped her in a tight, comforting hug.
“It’s okay Scoots, I’m here. It’s alright, shhhhhh. It’s all right sweetie, I’m right here.”
“I didn’t know where you went. I was scared i-“
“Shhhhhh Scoots, easy. I’m right here. Was it a nightmare?”
Scootaloo nodded as she shoved her face into Rainbow’s chest. Seeing this, Rainbow wrapped her hooves around Scoots and lightly lifted her as she slid into the small bed with her, never breaking their hug as she wrapped the blankets around them and softly stroked her mane.
After a few minutes Scoots calmed down and looked up to Rainbow’s face. “Sorry”
“No Scoots, don’t be sad. I’m your mom now, it’s my job to be here for you. I’ll always be here, Scoots. Now try to get back to sleep, I’ll stay here tonight in case you need me. Good night, Scootaloo. I love you.” After saying those words, Rainbow placed a soft kiss on Scootaloo’s head as the young pony drifted off to sleep, held in her mother’s hooves.
Scootaloo looked around for the source of the sounds she heard. It sounded like some pony was coming closer to her, and in a hurry at that. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t locate the source of the sound or see anything at all that could be causing it.
Following a loud thud behind her, Scootaloo turned quickly to see a flash of Grey fur and a wool sack, then only darkness. Scootaloo fought frantically to get free from her wool prison, screaming for her mother to save her and yelling curses she was sure would have gotten her into trouble at her captor. She fought and struggled for what could have been anywhere from a day to a year, but as she neared the brink of exhaustion in the small sealed bag, the darkness was breached by a dim light. Suddenly she was thrown on to a cold stone floor in a dark dirty room. She looked around and saw she was surrounded by other foals all waiting for something to happen. Suddenly the lights went out and a deep voice roared, “Sleep!” After a few minutes, foals around Scootaloo laid down to sleep. Scotaloo wouldn’t be put down so easily. She took a deep breath, inhaling the stink and the dirt in the air coming from so many ponies moving around and being so close together in one room. Closing her eyes she prepared to charge the cave wall where the light had come from. Her eyes shot open and she began to gallop at the wall. Before she moved even three paces away, she was scooped up by a teal mare with a brown mane and held close to her chest. Scootaloo flailed and yelled at the mare with all her might to be realeased, but the mare held her tightly. Even as the strength began to leave Scootaloo’s body she continued to cry out a scream until slowly and unwillingly, exhaustion forced her eyes to close, Scootaloo was set down by the teal mare to await answers for where she was and why she was there on her own. Even as tired as she was, sleep didn’t come easy that night on the cold floor.
Scootaloo awoke to crying. She wasn't sure she heard it right at first, but as she listened she could hear the faint wails of a young pony. After a few minutes, Scootaloo looked around to find the source, spotting a dark blue coated filly curled in a ball a few feet away, tears still running down her cheeks.
Scootaloo was about to approach her when a larger pony, if she was seeing right in the dimly lit room, a mare, stepped close to the foal, wrapping her in a hug and shushing her with a gentle hoof on her back. As Scootaloo stared at the foal and mare, a sudden longing to be with her mother gripped her. She was on the verge of tears, but with the memories of Dash in her mind, she felt fear, but also hope that she wouldn't brake. Not before Dash reached her.
Scootaloo was about to stand up to try and charge the door, but the thought left her the moment a teal mare walked by, eyeing her. With no choice left in the matter, Scootaloo laid her head down and closed her eyes, drifting back to sleep.
“GET UP PONIES!” roared a voice Scootaloo couldn’t help but find familiar. She opened her eyes to a dark room, instantly recalling the voice. It’s the same one that ordered lights out the day before, or at least she thought it was a day ago.
Scootaloo arose from her spot, looking around and seeing the others doing the same. A bright light appeared on the side of the large square cave room wall.
The light succeeded in gathering ever pony’s attention in the room. Out of the light, a tall figure stood on its back legs, hunched over with raised ears. The shadow stepped forward and continued to do so until it reached the edge of the doorway it stood in. The shadow turned and walked along the cave wall, followed by several others. The shadows soon appeared to be tall furry creatures with sharp claws and fangs. Scootaloo didn't know what it was, but it she had a vague idea she’s seen them before.
Scootaloo was herded with the others towards the door. The pony's that resisted where jabbed at with spears that may not kill, but caused a large amount of pain. It was clear the beasts had done this before.
After walking for a minute, their small herd entered a rectangular tunnel that connected with three others; one across from theirs and one to their left, forming a hallway of stone Scootaloo was thankful the dirt and stink in the air was left in the holding rooms they had just left. Out of two tunnels walked two similar herds. One herd filled with only fillies and colts looked more frightened than the others. Scootaloo couldn't guess why.
As the three herds joined, they were lead down the fourth tunnel and into a huge room with several other tunnels, three to her right and three to her left along the side walls. The farthest left tunnel was boarded up. Scootaloo could also see three decently sized tunnels on the opposite wall. She could just make out a few smaller tunnels branching out in different directions from the inside of each of them. In front of them, there was a clearly temporary stage set up in the center of the room with a small pack of beasts on it, the very same platform they were being herded towards. Scootaloo could tell she wasn’t going to like being in this place at all.
As the herd got settled in front of the stage a, large beast with scars all across its brownish golden hinted fur and sharp predatory yellow draconic eyes appeared, hatred and disgust clear on his face.
“PONIES!” The beast addressed the room. “From this point on you belong to us! You are slaves! You have no freedom, no rights, and no hope! You will mine gems and haul gems, no questions! Get them to ther-“
“Who do you think you are?” Screamed a light teal mare near the edge of the herd, staring daggers into the beast on stage. Scootaloo realized it was the mare that had stopped her the night before. As a reply, the beast simply pointed a claw to the mare. Within moments, two beasts held her down as a whip cracked against her flesh. The display was more horrifying then anything the ponies had ever seen. As her coat and skin split, she screamed from the pain. Blood began to creep down her back, creating a small crimson red spider web. Upon hearing her cries of anguish, the beasts laughed, dropping her after three whips that left three very deep bloody gashes down her back, where they would later scar.
“Now because this is your first day, the most that will happen is a few whippings. But after today, that courtesy is gone! Learn your place and behave! Those who don't...will be beat and whipped. Not just a few times, but until we believe you have learned your lesson. Continue to act against your orders, and you die. No arguments, no choices!” Boomed the beast on stage.
Scootaloo gulped. This beast was actually pretty scary with his yellow venomous eyes, his thin fur, and sharp claws. They must have extended about three inches out. And he had a strange brand on his right paw, some symbol she didn't understand. The others didn’t seem to have one. It must show he has the higher position.
“Now move them to their holding cells! You will be paired in twos or threes, and then tomorrow you will be sent to work in the mines or branch mines.” The spear carrying beasts began leading them to one of the side tunnels to the far right of the stage. As they went, some of the beasts would open doors and throw ponies in cells. As they walked, Scootaloo took a closer look at the guards. Judging from their build, the guards appeared to be males, and dressed in crude armor along their arms, legs, and heads, as well as a sharp speared blade tips strapped to the tip of their tales, running up the their back pieces with some kind of flexible material. Scootaloo was finally stopped and thrown in to a damp aired cell.
Inside the cell it was dark. Not the kind of dark that was in the herd cells, but an empty and disorienting darkness. So dark she couldn't see her hoof in front of her muzzle. She began to turn her head to look around, when to her surprise she kept turning. There was nothing to tell her she had turned. Her head began to hurt, so she stopped to breath.
A loud creek was heard as the door quickly opened and slammed shut. Scootaloo heard a grunt from in front of her.
“Hello?” Scootaloo said, trying to see who entered the cell. A feminine whimper was all that greeted her in response. “Are you okay?” Scootaloo tried once more. Only more whimpering. She decided to let whoever this was calm down. She laid her head down for fear of the dark confusing her again. Before she knew it, Scootaloo had fallen asleep on the cold stone floor.
“Get up ponies!” The same voice from the day before roared as cell doors were heard clanging down the hall, along with moans of rising ponies and whimpers of pain from the ones dragged out of their cells, only to be thrown into the hall where the beasts directed them forward. As Scootaloo waited for their own cell door to be opened and for her and her new cellmate to be forced into the hall, she decided to try to speak to her cellmate again.
“Are you feeling better? Can you speak?” Scootaloo asked as lightly as she could, this time to be greeted with a quiet response.
“I’m better now, but I’m scared. I...I...I want my mooooooooom!” cried the pony in a quiet, rasping whisper. She sounded like somepony Scootaloo knew, but didn’t speak in fear of her cellmate silencing herself again. Instead choosing to stand up to stretch.
“Don’t worry; we’ll get out of here. Rainbow Dash will come to save us.”
Scootaloo heard a scoff come from the other pony. “Yeah, right, like that will happen. Don't tell me your part of that lame club in Ponyville.”
“You don't know what you’re talking about. Rainbow Dash is the greatest! She'll save us.” Scootaloo all but shouted in the defense of her mother. Scootaloo was angry and slightly at a loss. This pony must have been from Ponyville to know about her club, but she must have been nuts to doubt Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it,” the pony replied with another scoff.
The cell door opened and Scootaloo turned to the light. “Out! Now!” said the voice that awoke them.
Scootaloo turned to get a look at her cell mate. The pony before her stared right back at her, both their mouths hanging open in shock. A mere few steps away sat a red eyed Silver Spoon, one of her school bullies. Locking eyes for a moment, Scootaloo remembered all the things Silver had done to her.
With deepening frowns they were quickly jerked from their cell and thrown across the hall, slamming into the wall. Both fillies felt pain surge through their bodies from muzzle to hooves. They both moaned in pain and slowly stood up. “Walk!” roared the beast beside them. For fear of more damage being done, they began to follow the flow of ponies heading down the slate gray dull tunnel the same way they had come before only able to see by the small dim light coming from the crystals that had been placed in the wall.
As Scootaloo and Silver Spoon walked, Scootaloo decided she should try to get some information.
“Hey Silver Spoon, what are these things?”
“You’re joking right? You really didn’t pay attention to anything Cheerilee taught you, did you. These are diamond dogs, blank flank.”
“Oh yeah, I remember now. Cheerliee taught us about these. But I thought she said they were lacking intelargic.”
"You mean intelligence, and I don’t know why but these dogs seem to be different from the other ones we read about.”
“Quiet now!” roared the diamond dog three ponies behind them.
As they walked, they ended up back in the cavern where the stage had sat. Looking around she noticed that they were being lead down a new tunnel one of the three that was opposite them when they first entered the large stage room. As they started walking forward they were guided to the far right tunnel continuing their forced march Scootaloo turned to look down the small branching tunnels seeing ponies of all ages and sizes picking away at the walls, sweaty and covered in dirt and bloody cuts. She could also see a few carts being moved further down the tunnels. As Scotaloo finally reached the end of the large tunnel with the others, her breath caught in her throat at what she saw. They entered an even bigger room then the one with the stage in it; it had wooden scaffolding’s and wooden ramps leading upwards. Ponies were using picks to chip at the walls, looking for gems, some chipping at the gem clusters they had already found, other ponies carrying carts filled with gems.
Scootaloo was jabbed quickly by a pony behind her. “Come on, move,” whispered the pony behind her. She started walking again, then down a wooden ramp to a station where the dogs where giving out picks or strapping harnesses to ponies backs.
Scootaloo was given a pick. As she started walking in the direction the dogs pointed her to, she turned to see the pony that poked her earlier. Looking further back, she saw Silver being strapped to a cart. When she resisted, the crack of a whip and the cry of a filly were heard echoing from the cave walls.
Scootaloo turned away, too shocked to do anything and knowing she also couldn't yet do anything to stop the dogs. She walked up two ramps before she began to pick at the wall. As she worked, she saw the pony from earlier a yard or so away. Scootaloo scooted over and whispered to the filly.
“Hey, how long have you been here?” Scootaloo turned slightly to look at her she replied.
“About two days I think. Same as you if I'm guessing right.” Scootaloo nodded and asked her a question that had been eating at her since she entered her cell.
“Hey, ummm, sorry I didn't ask your name. I'm Scootaloo, and do you know why that one group was so scared when we entered the stage room?”
“I'm Archer. I know who you are, we were both in Cheerilee's class. I sat in the front but got moved to the back, and... Yes, I know why that one group was so scared. I was in that group.” Archer looked at the ground slightly as she continued picking at the wall.
Scootaloo turned to see a visible shiver run through the pony's body. She had a blue coat and dark blue mane. Scootaloo mentally kicked herself for being so rude as to not even examine the foal next to her. She had a bow and arrow cutie mark.
Scootaloo waited for her to answer, but her impatient side began to show as her hooves began to lift and be put down in the same place. The filly finally opened her mouth to answer the question to the delight of Scootaloo.
“The ponies in the other group woke up, but when the dogs entered the room three stallions yelled and charged the dogs. The dogs, they ripped them to pieces like they were nothing. They ripped one of their legs off and held a paw to his neck as he squirmed and bled to death. The others were stabbed until they stopped moving”
Scootaloo immediately started to regret asking. She tried to distract herself by looking at her pick, the pick’s sharp end resting on the floor. As a whip was heard a few inches behind her, she quickly wrapped her hooves back around the handle and went back to digging.
“Hey Archer, I was wondering, do you know what’s up with the crystals in the walls”
“Yeah there magically enchanted to give of a weak light. The dogs use them for different things like-“
A whip smacked right behind Archer, silencing her as the dog was clearly paying closer attention to the two now. In the quick few seconds the dog looked away, Scootaloo turned her head slightly to quickly speak.
“Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash will show up and everything will be alright.”
“It’s better if you just do as they say,” Archer replied quietly
“No way, I’m getting out of here. Anyways, we can talk about the crystals later.”
A Shiver went through Scootaloo as the dog turned back to stare at the two, almost daring them to speak.
Scootaloo couldn't believe how so many ponies could just give up like they had. Scootaloo's thoughts were interrupted as her pick hit something a lot harder than the stone wall. She turned to see a bright red gem poking out from the cave side. She realized that it was a ruby. The way the gems form in the Equestrian caves, it was most likely a cluster, and that meant more work to mine.
As Scootaloo finished mining the ruby cluster, she turned to see Silver Spoon behind her throwing them into the cart. Scootaloo looked closer to see matted fur where her tears had rolled down her face and several scars down her back. As much as she despised Silver, she hated seeing her like that, so beaten and broken. She leaned over and laid a gentle hoof on Silver’s shoulder, causing a flinch from the filly. After a moment, seeing it was only Scootaloo, she continued her work. Scootaloo went to put a hoof on her again, only this time for her hoof to be cut deep by a whip.
“Ahhh!” Scootaloo pulled her hoof back and brought to her chest. She looked down, seeing the warm liquid that kept her breathing slowly running down her foreleg. She thought back a moment ago, remembering feeling the whips sting as if it had burned her very flesh. Oddly enough, the whip’s strike was very soft, leaving only pain behind it.
“Back to work!” Roared a dog.
“Make me,” Scootaloo replied with a deep defiance. The dog brought his whip up to strike the filly again. Scootaloo braised herself as the whip came down hard across her back twice, leaving lashes that would hurt, but luckily not scar. But the pain was unbearable. As the whip came down, each light touch left burning pain. She understood now why Silver had flinched.
“NOW WORK!” As much as Scootaloo wanted to tell the dog to shove it, she knew it would only bring more pain. She decided to follow orders for now.
Turning, she picked her pick back up and continued to mine. She mined until the dogs came around for what she could only guess could have been hours later with small bowls of white and brown mush with grains mixed in. Scootaloo questioned the meal at first, but soon her stomach won against her mind, and she lifted a spoonful to her mouth. Taking a bite, she felt a lot of crunches when she chewed. She looked at the bowl to realize that the brown was actually dirt. They were eating some kind of paste with dirt and grains.
Looking around, she found the others not bothering to question it and continued to eat. She soon realized that this was likely their only meal, so she began to force the meal down, nearly losing it every few minutes.
After they ate, they began to work again. They continued this until the dogs began unchaining the cart ponies and started leading them all out of the chamber. The ones around Scootaloo started walking down too. As they walked, all the ponies broke off to their directed cell tunnels. Scootaloo did likewise, and ended up at her cell. She knew it was hers because she saw Silver go in. Taking a look at the door, she saw a number on it scratched into the metal. It was the number 83.
As Scootaloo entered her room, she looked at Silver huddled under a thin blanket. She walked over to another one next to her. She wrapped it around herself slowly so she didn’t hurt her cuts. She slowly laid down next to Silver. Neither spoke for fear of breaking the thin air of peace, until the door slammed shut, and they were plunged into darkness. Scootaloo only now realized how much her body hurt from all the work she had done. She slowly closed her eyes, hoping tomorrow would be better.
