18. Scootaloo II

Scootaloo

Every night was the same nightmare. She could hear them screaming. The bloodcurdling shrieks from her mother and father. She watched them burn. She saw the black cloaked monster set them on fire. Her home was gone, burnt up into ashes and her parents with it. All of her possessions were burned as well, her scooter, posters, everything. Everything has been taken away from her.

Scootaloo had woken up in a cold sweat. She had slept beside Apple Bloom's bed on a small blue cot. Her eyes trickled with flowing tears, and her chest felt compressed. Her nose stuffed up with mucus, but she tried to suck it all up. She pulled away her covers, and got up from her sleeping place. Walking up to the window, she viewed outside of the house. She looked up at the stars above the night sky, believing her parents to be up there. The moon shone brightly upon the landscape, making the night seem less as dark.

She never talked about her parents very often. They were good ponies sure, but they weren't as well known as Applejack and Rarity, who were her friends's sisters. Scootaloo never really had a sister, or any siblings at all. She was an only foal. Her parents had explained to her several times that they tried to have another kid, but sadly it never happened. It had been miscarriage after miscarriage, and nothing. Her mother always wanted another foal, and mainly wanted her to have another pony to play with. They went through this pain for years, ever since Scootaloo was very young. It was among the many reasons she looked up to the coolest pony around: Rainbow Dash. She had always seen her as somepony to idolize, since she didn't have an older sibling to look up to.

"Scoots." She heard Babs yawn. "What'a ya doin' up?" Her friend crossed the the room rather silently, and sat beside her.

"Now I-" Scootaloo started to choke up her words, tears streaming down like a waterfall. "Now I know how you feel!"

The bigger filly simply gave her a warm hug. The fact that both of them no longer have parents, made her feel a little less alone. "Please don't cry, Scootaloo."

"You don't understand!" She responded despondently, "I saw what happened! I saw them die! I saw the sabra--whatever, throw them in the fire!"

It was at this point that the orange filly started to bawl. Scootaloo cried into the other filly's shoulder, making it moist with tears. Babs tried to comfort her as best she could through words, but she was too upset to hear them. But it was good to have somepony around who understood. Scootaloo continued to cry for a good ten minutes, before all of her tears dried up. She broke from Babs's embrace when she did. Babs made an amiable expression on her face.

"Thanks, Babs."

"No prob." Babs replied, showing empathy. "We're among friends after all."

"I just hope there won't be anymore of those... things. I don't want to lose you guys."

"Me too--" Babs yawned, "But, let's get some sleep first."

"Yeah." She agreed.

Scootaloo went back over to her small blue cot, meanwhile Babs Seed trotted to her cot on the other side. She pulled her covers over her, hoping she doesn't have another nightmare. As she lay her head upon her pillow however, she heard a faint clinking sound. Poking her head up, she witnessed a pitch black bird perch upon the window sill. She couldn't see much, but the most she saw was its silhouette, and glowing yellow eyes. It's beak looked jagged when it opened its mouth, and let out a guttural croak. Nopony heard it other than her, since her friends--as well as Babs--were already asleep. The bird stared at her directly from the window sill, yellow eyes appearing blank.

What is that bird?

For a long minute it stared, never taking its soulless gaze away from her. Every time she stared into the bird's eyes, was like staring into the eyes of some dark and scary creature. She was getting very nervous just watching it... staring. She heard how eyes are windows to the soul, but its not like she would know much about that, let alone having any clue what this bird was thinking. She could feel her spine tingle, from never looking away. Its possible this bird was thinking something. But chances are, she didn't want to know.

Eventually, the bird cocked its head away from her. It turned its body around, hopped a few times, and then flew off. She felt oddly intrigued--and frightened--by her encounter with this bird. It could have been just some normal bird, yet it didn't seem that way. The bird had gazed at her with some kind of intent, she knew. She had seen many birds before but never like this one. While it made her feel uneasy, she couldn't help but be captivated at the same time.

"So, you saw a weird black bird?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously, chewing her cereal, "What else did it look like?"

"Well," She tried to remember her image of the bird, "It had a crooked beak and..."

Her and her fellow Crusaders were eating breakfast in the dining room. Applejack wasn't around, but Big Mac and Granny Smith were. The big stallion had been plowing the fields, while the elderly mare napped on her rocking chair. All four of them sat next to one another, all eating the same cereal. Had Applejack been here--as Apple Bloom would put it--she would have made them a different breakfast.

"...And wut?" Apple Bloom prodded.

"I don't know, but it had these eyes. Creepy glowing yellow eyes." Scootaloo shuddered at the mere thought of it. "Other than that, that's all I remember."

"Gotta admit," Babs put in, "That's pretty freaky."

"Since when was seeing a bird the weirdest thing that's ever happened?!" Sweetie exclaimed. "There's another world, weird creatures that came from said world, and a secret organization just to name a few!"

She had her beat. Being reminded of the strange things happening lately, made seeing that bird look almost normal. They once said that they wanted to join, but of course that never happened. She supposed things will never be the same for any of them. In weird way, it almost seemed like a bad dream that she'll never wake up from. Then again, if it all had been a dream, Princess Luna would've aided them for sure. But it obviously wasn't.

"I see your point." Scootaloo agreed. "I just hope Rainbow Dash is doing alright. It must be hard being in that organization."

"How do ya think Ah feel about my sister?! Ah haven't talked to her in days!"

She looked to Sweetie Belle who, judging by her grin, was up to something. "So why don't we?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't we go find the secret base, and reunite with Applejack and Rainbow Dash? Or maybe even get them back! It's perfect!"

Babs was notably stunned. "Sweetie Belle, how in Equestria would we even know where ta find the base?"

Sweetie's grin faded. She must have remembered she didn't know where it was, let alone how to get in. Regardless, they continued eating their breakfast. Once they had finished, they went to the door to go outside. They may as well wait in the clubhouse, before Rarity comes. Sweetie Belle skipped ahead of them, and turned the knob with her magic. The door opened rather easily, thanks to Sweetie's magic.

"So, you've been practice'n a lot with yer magic?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yep," She replied, "almost every day."

As they walked outside, the heat of the sun's rays met their eyes, forcing them to squint. The sun had held high over the farm. As they walked upon the light brown soil, they heard Big Mac's grunting as he plowed the fields. It was clear the big red stallion was working harder than usual. They continued down the path that led to the clubhouse. She wasn't sure what they were going to do, but they at least had to wait until Rarity comes.

Rarity picked her and Sweetie Belle up over an hour since they spent time in the clubhouse. Mostly drawing, nothing special. She told them she had to visit Twilight at some point, to see how things were going. Now that she thought about it, it's been a while since her and her friends had Twilight Time. Much like Rainbow Dash, the alicorn princess had also been involved with the ronians in particular.

The light grey unicorn was leading the two of them to the new castle, which was somewhere off in the distance. Sweetie Belle was walking beside her, chatting with her sister about something random. Ponies were crowding the streets of Ponyville as usual. For a long time, she believes to have seen just about everypony in town. There was hardly face she didn't recognize. However, she did spot a few ponies she hasn't seen before, just ahead of her. One was a grey blue Earth pony, with a sandy brown mane. Another was an orange pegasus mare, who sort of resembled her. There was also a silver colored filly beside them, with a light red mane.

Huh. Never seen those ponies before.

There was only one pony out of that group that she did recognize. The light green mare from the ring toss booth. Her long mane was dark red, and braided. It was a rather strange coincidence for her, to see that pony. As they got closer, she could see them more clearly than before. When she turned her head back, she realized a silver colored mare was running towards the group of ponies.

"Mom!" The silver filly shouted, as she ran to the mare.

"Sanguine!" The mother said. "Oh, I thought I'd never see you again!"

"I missed you so much!"

Scootaloo's heart sank at the sight of it. The memory of her parents's death, came at her like a freight train. It made her miss the hugs and kisses given to her by her parents. There was also a pang of jealousy, for the filly had a parent at all. She tried hard not to cry; not now, not in public. She had to stay strong.

"Oh, hey!" She heard the mother say, "Where have you guys been?"

"It's a long story." The pegasus put in.

"Yeah." The mare from the ring toss put in. "As a matter of fact, you won't believe what we had to go through to get here."

"I guess I believe you, Ruby. And how 'bout you, Wildstrike?"

"My mind's set on my wife." The stallion said, "She probably thinks I'm dead by now. Oh well, better late than never!"

These guys must be friends, er something.

"Scootaloo." She turned her head to realize Rarity was waiting. "Is something wrong?"

"No." She said curtly, "I'm fine."

She walked back over to the light grey unicorn, still glancing back at the unknown ponies. She wondered why she never saw them before. Maybe they were new here? Considering Ponyville's huge population, there's bound to be newer ponies every once and while. Sweetie Belle tapped her side to get her attention.

"Why'd you stop?" Sweetie asked curiously.

"I dunno. I guess I was just thinking."

"About?..."

"Just some stuff, nothing else."

Sweetie then quickly glanced back. "Hey, isn't that the pony from the ring toss?"

"Ring toss?" Rarity asked. She too, took a glance back. "Wait a minute, that is her! Just a moment."

The light grey mare turned back and trotted over to the group of ponies. The two fillies figured they should probably follow her. The aforementioned group was walking off in the opposite direction, from where they're going. It did not take long for the unicorn to catch up to them. The other ponies were now full aware of Rarity's presence. Once the two fillies caught up, everypony looked a little confused.

"Pardon me for intruding," Rarity apologized, "but aren't you the same mare who ran the ring toss at the fair a while back?"

The light green mare raised a brow. "Yes, I was." She said, unsure of what to make of the situation. "Why do you ask?"

"You came into possession of a strange orb. How, or where, did you find it?"

"I just found it lying on the ground. I thought it looked neat, so I decided to display it."

"Well, yes I am well aware that. But sometime during the attack, you disappeared. Where?" She continued questioning.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." The light mare stated doubtfully.

"I'm friends with Princess Twilight. We've saved Equestria several times. Trust me, darling, nothing would surprise me."

"Okay," She challenged. "How about being kidnapped into another world, huh? Bet ya won't believe that!"

Rarity seemed to ponder for a moment. Eventually she came to a conclusion: "You were one of twelve ponies captured that day, are you?"

"Wha--?" The light green mare was stunned, "How'd you?..."

"Like I said, darling," Rarity then repeated, "nothing would surprise me."

To any normal pony, this would seem confusing. She remembered Sweetie Belle telling her about the twelve ponies that were captured on the day of the fair. Twilight explained it to Rarity, who then explained it to her sister, and so forth. But there was also a thirteenth pony mentioned that Sweetie Belle mentioned: Sunset Shimmer. Scootaloo knew absolutely nothing about her, obviously.

"But what does surprise me, is how you came back." Rarity inquired.

"She's not the only one." The orange pegasus put in. "I was on of them too."

"So was I." The grey blue stallion said.

"Me too," The filly named Sanguine shouted, "I was there too."

Now Rarity was surprised. "All four of you?"

"There was also Limburger." The light green mare stated, "But we just said goodbye to him a while ago."

"And my little brother, too. He's now hanging out with his friends."

Rarity was notably astonished, "All six of you survived?"

"Eight, actually." The pegasus corrected. "Another small filly, and the bravest unicorn I ever met."

"Bravest unicorn?" Sweetie asked.

"Yep. Sunset Shimmer's her name."

Scootaloo saw the light grey mare's jaw drop. It was as if she saw a ghost, or something. The two fillies stared at the mare for some time. The other ponies stared with them, just as confused. Some of them started looking at one another, probably wondering why she looks as surprised as ever.

"Uh, Rarity?" Sweetie said nervously.

"We must see Twilight, immediately!"

The light grey mare was galloping much faster than the two fillies could keep up. At least the castle was not so far off. She could see the crystallized structure in the distance. Now would have been a good time to use her scooter, had she brought it. Sweetie Belle was getting tired rather quickly, more than her. The light grey filly stopped to catch her breath.

"Why." She panted between breaths. "Can't. She. Slow. Down?!"

"Come on, Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo urged.

Once they reached the castle, she noticed Rarity had been waiting for them. The mare was trying to catch her breath as well. Given she sprinted faster than they did, it did not surprise her one bit. As soon as they filled their lungs with air, Rarity went up the golden stair. The two fillies followed suit. Rarity knocked on the big two leavened door three times, before one of the doors opened. It was Spike who greeted them, eyes focused entirely on the unicorn mare.

"Rarity!" He greeted her. "Is something wrong?"

"Where's Twilight?" Rarity said hastily. "I need to speak with her, now!"

"Okay. Don't worry, I'll be right back."

The little dragon slipped back inside. The door was slightly open, but they waited patiently regardless. At some point, she witness Twilight poke her head out from the door crack. She opened the door all the way, and stepped outside. Twilight's expression showed signs of both worry, and uncertainty.

"What is it Rarity?" She asked.

"Do you still remember the thirteen survivors of the Sabrathanian base?" Rarity said quickly. "The survivors you told me and our friends about?"

"Yes, I do. Why do you ask?"

"Because I just saw not one, but four of those survivors!"

"What?!" Twilight said, bewildered, "But how is that possible?"

"I don't know, you tell me!"

The lavender alicorn pondered for a moment. "Or... Wait... Did you ask them if they met other ponies there?"

"No. I didn't even think to ask that. Why would I need to ask that?"

"The organization." Twilight put it simply.

"Ah." Rarity must not have thought that.

But then again, Scootaloo knew little about the organization anyway. But what would the organization have anything to do with them? Did they have some way of getting to Ronia, that nopony else knows? These were the very questions that bothered her the most. It's likely she won't get a direct answer, much like the strange black bird.

"I must say, Princess, this book is rather fascinating." She heard distinct voice.

From behind Twilight, emerged a tall armored figure. He was clad in silver armor, and he had enormous white wings. And then there was his eyes. Bright green eyes. She did not see any visible pupils anywhere on his eyes; they where like full green orbs to her. He was holding a book, she noticed. She couldn't tell what it was, but that didn't matter to her now.

"What is that?!" Rarity gasped.

"Rarity, this is Gadreel. Gadreel, Rarity." Twilight introduced.

"It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." The ronian greeted.

Much like before, Rarity's jaw dropped. "I don't suppose you are a... nezenite?"

"But of course. How could I not be?"

She noticed Sweetie Belle went over to ear and whispered: "He's a nezenite!"

"I know." She whispered back.

"Do you remember that day when we saw the kaerndallens? How they said nezenites did a lot of terrible things?"

"Yeah."

"He's one of them!"

I know. I can see that.

She remembered the day they encountered the bronze clad warriors, and that guy Sweetie liked so much. She remembered what they had explained to them. How the nezenites conquered many lands, and killed many ronians--such as the kaerndallens--in the process. While the thought didn't resonate as much as it did with Sweetie Belle, it had been hard to forget about it.

"But, anyway," Twilight sounded like she wanted to change the subject. "About these survivors?"

"Right, right." Rarity then began to explain. "I don't know much about them, but I did recognize one of them. The light green mare who ran the ring toss booth."

"Her? She was kidnapped by the sabrathanians?"

"Yes. I tried to ask about the ball, but all she said was that she found it somewhere and used it as on display as a prize."

"Ball?" The nezenite asked.

Twilight looked to the ronian and said, "I remembered Kapral calling it a Beacon Orb. It was used during the sabrathanian attack."

"A Beacon Orb?! That was one of the items stolen from a secret weapons manufacturer, many years ago."

"I know." The alicorn then turned to Rarity. "I'm glad you told us about this. Now all we have to do is find those ponies, and maybe find out more information about their travels. And hopefully we'll know how they got back to Equestria."

"I don't suppose it can wait until tomorrow?" Rarity asked. "I need to get these two fillies back home."

"Of course."

Scootaloo was already getting pretty tired from walking, by the time they were farther away from the castle. She could feel her legs start to burn from walking so much. Her friend was looking just as tired--if not more--than she was. Rarity however, did not seem quite as tired as they were. The light grey unicorn was leading them back to the Boutique, where she lives of course. Along the way, she noticed several ponies had wary expressions on their faces. They were all looking back, as if they were scared something might happen.

What's going on? she wondered, Why is everypony afraid all of a sudden?

Sweetie Belle seemed to notice this too. As for Rarity, it looks like she's starting to become aware of everypony's wary glances. She saw a few mares covering their children's eyes, as if they aren't supposed to see anything. One stallion was even trotting as if to get away from something quickly. Whatever it was that's making these ponies antsy, it can't be good.

As they were coming up around the block, Scootaloo saw a rather unusual sight. A light turquoise pegasus mare, with a two tone amber mane was walking up ahead of them. Her mane was shorter up at her head and neck, but her tail was longer. Her mane sort of resembled a mohawk, in a way. She wore a long grey cloak, which covered her flank so you couldn't see her cutie mark. Underneath, she seemed to be wearing something black. Every time her hoof touched the ground, it made a metallic clinking sound. As they got closer to her, she saw that the mare was wearing shoes of some kind. But they weren't ordinary pony shoes. They seemed to have weird blade-like things on the sides--which is probably what was making the clinking sound.

Who is that pony?

Once they've came within a close distance, the mare glanced slowly to their side. The mare's gold-orangeish eyes stared at hers, and most likely Rarity and her sister. Her look seemed disinterested at first, but then her brow raised, and her stare intensified. Something about this mare seemed very intimidating to say the least. Suddenly, it felt as though something crawled up her spine, and gave her goosebumps. When the mare trotted closer, her heart skipped a beat. She noticed Sweetie Belle was just as nervous as she was.

"Pardon me for asking," the mare's voice sort of rasped, "but have I seen you before?"

"Uh..." Rarity was a little surprised by her question. "I'm not sure."

"You look familiar, though. I don't believe I've heard your voice, but I know I've seen your face somewhere."

Rarity put a hoof over her chin, as she pondered. "The more I think about it, you do look familiar... somehow."

It was clear Sweetie's sister was starting to get a little nervous. As for Sweetie Belle herself, she looked more nervous than before. Looking at the pegasus's front hooves, she saw that they were blades. They looked more like claws though, curved and hooked. The rest of the shoe looked like a gauntlet. The claws seemed to be attached to a bolt. Is it possible those claws could come down, and be used as a deadly weapon? That could be part of its design.

"Um, excuse me?" Scootaloo built up the courage to speak, "Where did you get... those things?"

The pegasus looked down at her front hooves, realizing what she meant. "I got them from a griffin a while back. They serve me well, when I need 'em most. As some might say: 'Better to have one and not need it, than need it... and not have one.'"

"Well, um... That's quite an understandable principle, I guess." Rarity commented.

"Yep." The mare jerked her fetlock, and the blades suddenly came down. She then lifted one hoof and looked at it. "It is quite a principle indeed." She articulated. "And it's pretty intriguing in its design! A beautiful masterpiece, wouldn't ya say?"

"Well, I suppose it is." Rarity was very unsettled now. "Listen, I have to get going. I mean, it was a pleasure talking with you, but I have plenty of important things to do and such."

The pegasus's brow rose again, as if she assumed something was up. Could she have sensed her noticeable fear? Her gaze intensified on the mare. She had to have been suspicious of her. For a long time she stared, ceaselessly. She noticed Sweetie Belle slowly cowering behind her big sister. Scootaloo had become rather unsettled herself the more the staring prolonged.

Fortunately, the mare broke the silence. "I guess you're right. I have other places I need to be." She jerked her fetlock again, and the claws retracted.

"Yes, yes, of course!" Rarity said hastily. "Anyway, It's getting late, and my sister and her friend have to get back home. So, goodbye for now."

"Wait!" The mare's voice rose. "One more thing: you haven't by any chance come across a rainbow maned pegasus, have you?"

"No." She answered quickly. "No, I haven't. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

After she said that, the mare continued on her way. Rarity looked to the two of them, expression showing a mix of fear and concern. The two fillies didn't need to be told to keep going, they wanted to keep going! The three ponies did their best to ignore the light turquoise pegasus, as much as possible. They didn't want wish to make any more contact with the perplexing mare. Once she turned to the right hoof side, the three ponies made a mad dash forward.

The mare, as ominous as she was, made her curious. She wasn't sure what it was, but something about the mare frightened her. Was it the weapons she carried? Or was it the way she spoke? It could have been what she said, and the way she said it. She also wondered why she wore the cloak. What does she have to hide? There were many questions she wanted to be answered. Thinking about it reminded her of the bird again. Both the black bird, and the greenish pegasus, resonated in her skull.

I guess if I had to pick which was scarier... I'd have to say that mare.

Author's Note

The light turquoise mare was of course, Lightning Dust. This is the first time she's ever been seen in this story so far. And trust me... this won't be the last we see of her.