Chapters Rain poured down from the sky onto the single cardboard box sitting at the side of the dirt road. The cold air around Scootaloo’s box, which she called home for the last few weeks of her life, chilled her to the bone as it passed by.
She curled herself up, pushing her body against the back of the box, hoping to stave off the stinging cold air. The wet shelter collapsed and the wind caused her to shiver and she whispered to herself, “Another night of nothing…”
She pulled herself out from under the crumpled box and onto the muddy road underneath the pouring rain. She looked up at the dark and gloomy sky, seeing nothing but shadows cast onto her from the roofs of the towering buildings beside her.
Rainbow Dash streaked through the air with a prismatic trail following her. Within her sight, another dark cloud appeared in front of her. Instinctively, she moved in for the kill, knowing that it was the last one before she could finally go home.
Kicking the cloud, Dash heard a loud ‘KABOOM’ and the scraping of brick against brick. She looked down and saw a shingle on one of the nearby roofs get knocked loose. Dash could only internally curse herself for not looking down beforehand.
Watching it slide down the roof, she huffed to herself, “Ugh. I better go get that.”
With a thrust from her wings, she flew towards where she had watched it fall off. Unfortunately, as she descended towards it, a sudden gust of wind picked it up and blew it speeding through the air. Dash grumbled as she gave chase.
Scootaloo looked down at her hooves and sighed. Hearing something move above her, she solemnly turned her head to see what the sound was.
SMACK .
A bright blinding pain filled her senses. Her eyes snapped shut as she stumbled back and tripped over her box into a mud puddle beside it. Unable to open her eyelids through the intense pain, she struggled to pull herself off of her back. Rolling in the mud beneath her, she was painted in pure brown.
She futilely tried to get out, but couldn’t. She sighed as mud started to seep into her mane and fur. She resigned herself to her fate as the cleaner-than-her substance slowly engulfed her body.
She let the void of her vision calm her as she thought about her friends and how they’ll take to never seeing her alive again. However much she wanted to resist the mud for her friends, she knew that she had no life out of suffering.
Not even the fond memories of the orphanage that took care of her when her family died could help her now. Wishing that she only helped more with the fundraising, maybe it would still be running… And she would still have a home.
A single, gleaming tear ran down her mud-soaked face as she thought about Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and most importantly… Rainbow Dash. Her only wish is that she could have been a better sister to her.
Maybe, she thought, I should have told her about everything and not have been so proud…”
She whimpered as her tiny frail body shook, “I’m sorry. ..”
Rainbow Dash flew down, internally scolding herself because of the paperwork she would have to fill out once she got back to work the next day.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Rainbow said as she smacked herself in the face with a hoof. Water dripped down her coat as she followed the shingle’s trajectory. Dash tried to shake herself dry as she flew, but she soon gave up after she felt herself losing control.
“This sucks!” Dash screamed in anger.
A bolt of lightning passed beside her, almost burning her mane right off. Rainbow stopped in her tracks, and yelled at the sky above her. “Hey feather-brain! Watch what you’re doing up there!”
There was no response from above. Dash felt like she deserved a belting to the face again for volunteering for the shift. It’s not like she needs the bits, she's never had money trouble, but it was just the right thing to do at the time. The weather team was desperately lacking ponies on account of better jobs opening elsewhere around Equestria. “Maybe I’m the dumb feather-brain.”
Flying over another street, Rainbow quickly scanned the mud covered path for the shingle. Before she dismissed the road as yet another failure, her eyes caught sight of her target. Though it was a quick sighting in the corner of her vision, a smile grew on her face as she was sure her hunt was over.
The harsh winds blew against her face, causing her to squint. Through the pouring downfall and the winds obscuring her vision, she spotted the shingle and flew over to it.
Slightly blown off course, she landed with a ‘CRUNCH’ . She looked down at her hoof and sighed when she saw that she had landed on it and had smashed the shingle into multiple pieces.
“Great,” she whispered, “More paperwork.”
She contemplated leaving it for the next pony to find and was about to leave when she noticed an orange filly laying upside-down in a puddle. Her limbs were sprawled out and she seemed to be unconscious.
As she approached the filly, her eyes snapped open and she gasped, “S-Scoots?”
Unsure if it really was Scootaloo, she stepped closer and couldn’t turn away as she observed the scars on Scootaloo’s body and the thin trail of blood creeping down the side of her head.
Scootaloo’s eyes flickered open. The warmth of a nearby fire resonated throughout her entire body. She stared at the spot ahead of her and saw nothing but cloud and a blazing flame inside of a fireplace.
A dull ache bothered her as she lifted her head off the ground and scanned her surroundings. She turned just in time to see Rainbow Dash walk in from a doorway from across the room from her.
“Hey Squirt,” Rainbow Dash said as she trotted up to Scootaloo, “How’re you feeling.”
Scootaloo nervously answered, “I’m fine. Yes, completely fine!”
Dash came to a stop besides her and sat down. Facing Scootaloo, she continued, “I know everything's not alright. I found you outside in the rain and injured. Why were you out there?”
“I… uhhh. I was playing?”
“Everypony around Ponyville knew about the big storm. Why would you play outside in weather like that?”
“Errr, I was bored?”
Rainbow Dash extends her wing over Scootaloo and pulls her close, “I saw your box, Scoots. You don’t have to lie to me.”
A single tear flowed down Scootaloo’s face and she mushed her face into Rainbow Dash’s chest and cried out, “I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash! I just didn’t want to be a burden on anypony!”
Dash slowly stroked Scootaloo’s mane as she sobbed into her fur. “It’s alright,” she whispered, “It’s going to be alright.”
Then Scoots knew, at that exact moment, that she would be okay…
Two years later…
-----
The whole attitude and mood floating around in the air of Sugarcube Corner was one of celebration. The whole building was packed full of ponies, many of which were new to Ponyville. Some were singing, some were laughing, but all were having fun.
Rainbow Dash placed the cake in front of Scootaloo. All of the ponies, including Scoots’ friends and Dash’s close family were singing, “Happy birthday, Scootaloo!”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom yelled out as the main crowd died down, “Happy birthday!”
Scootaloo grinned at friends while Rainbow Dash lit up the candles on the cake.
Once Rainbow Dash finished, she said, “Make a wish, Scootaloo!”
“I already had my wish come true!”
Scootaloo blew out the candles with joy.
Scootaloo’s eyes flickered open. A sudden scorch of pain pierced through her head as she began to register her surroundings. The soft warm glow of the sun’s rays trickled in through the window behind her and reflected off the silky white bed sheets covering her.
The cake?
Her pupils dilated as she scanned the room looking for the burning candles that had just been in front of her. Spotting nothing, her heart beat quickened and she started to take frantic breathes, looking for any sign of her past.
What about the- the… the? She internally searched her memories for an answer, but it kept coming back with a blank slate.
It hit her, almost like a brick to the face. She felt herself beginning to tear up. She mustered up the strength and pride to stop before she even started and muttered, “A dream… Nothing more than a dumb dream.”
She closed her eyes once again as she brought her hoof up to her head. Scowling because of a mix of pain and confusion, Scootaloo felt something wet on her skull. She lifted a hoof and felt some sort of fabric tightly wrapped around her head. Then as she dropped her hoof, still unaware of what had happened to her, the only door to her single room began to slowly open.
“Yes, yes,” Scootaloo heard an abrupt and annoyed voice echo from the other side.
The door fully opened, revealing a dark gray mare clad in a finely-pressed black suit. Scootaloo watched as the mare ignored the voices behind her, and stomped her way into the room.
“Give her more time to rest, lady!” a stallion in a white doctor's coat walked in, practically yelling at the mare.
“I just need to get some notes down,” She stopped and turned her head, scrunching her muzzle, “It’ll take two seconds, so give me a moment!”
The doctor could only shake his head as he added, “Her friends will be here soon, so this better take only a second.” He angrily stepped out of the room, leaving the mare with Scootaloo.
Scootaloo frowned as the suited mare briskly trotted across the private room. The mare took note of Scootaloo’s frown, but chose not to care. Her job was much more important to her in every respect.
The mare moved in beside Scootaloo and quickly ripped a notebook out of one of her suit pockets. “So,” she began with a huff, “I’m going to ask you few questions, are you ready?”
The mare did not wait for a response as she picked up a feather from a table next to Scootaloo and dabbed it in a inkwell it had sat by.
Still bewildered, Scootaloo replied, “I-I. I’m no-”
The mare interrupted with a overly enunciated “Perrrffffeeecccttt…”
“But I-”
“Do you remember anything?” The mare continued her disruptive flurry of questions.
“Well, I do have some weir-”
“Yes or no.”
Scootaloo mentally sighed and resigned to conform to her strange visitor’s rules, “No…”
Jolting down her answer, she continued, “You’re from the Ponyville orphanage, yes?”
“Yes,” Scootaloo stated with a frown as she readjusted her position to get more comfortable on such an unpleasant topic.
“It was shut down on the grounds of ‘insufficient funds’?” The mare continued while lightly tapping the end of the feather against the exposed page, either oblivious or not caring about the physical discomfort her questions were causing Scootaloo.
“Yeah… They tried really hard to get the bits but it didn’t wo-”
“Were you relocated after the shutdown?”
“N-no,” Scootaloo’s eyes glistened as her memories were recalled to answer the mare’s question.
Scootaloo watched as she wrote down more notes and placed the feather back in the inkwell when she had finished.
“Hmm, well thank you for the help, errrrr...” The mare waved a hoof in front of her to try and communicate that she was asking for a name.
“Scootaloo.”
“Yes, Scootaloo, thank you.”
The mare quickly placed the notebook back in her pocket. After doing so, she turned towards the door and left without another word. Scootaloo was somewhat relieved to see her leave. Though their time together was brief, she had the urge to smack the mare in the face if they were ever to meet again for being so inconsiderate.
“Rude…”
As the door slammed closed and some muffled yelling behind it disappeared, Scootaloo moved her hoof back to her aching head. She didn’t know how long she was out, but one thing was for sure: It wasn’t where she wanted to be.
Twilight felt her muscles tense as she entered the Ponyville hospital for the first time since Rainbow Dash’s accident. It was just as she remembered, clean and lifeless. She subconsciously scanned the waiting room as she walked to the front desk.
Ponies sat quietly, waiting patiently for their turn with one of the doctors. Twilight grimaced at the various ponies and the injuries they sustained, of which included broken wings and chipped hooves. Although they were unsettling to look at, there were no injuries of special note.
She approached the desk, and the receptionist recognized her almost immediately.
“Hello, Twilight Sparkle!” she donned a large grin, which Twilight mirrored back at the orange unicorn.
“Hi there,” said Twilight. “I received a message in the mail to come over here? I apparently have an appointment with somepony…”
“Hmmm,” the mare hummed as she flipped through the appointment book on top of her desk. Twilight waited a long moment as the receptionist flipped though the older pages of her book and periodically lowered her head down to the book’s level to check the small names and dates transcribed on the thin paper.
“Yes!” she finally exclaimed as she nearly hopped out of her chair, “You’ve been booked for room six, Foal Wing!”
The mare happily closed the book and used her magic to bring up a small sheet of paper that had sat below the desk, “If you could, can you please sign this before going?”
Twilight eyed the paper and tried pushing it away with a hoof, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t sign for any appointment…”
The receptionist pushed the paper back in front of her and stated, “Oh… Well, it said that you were close friends with the patient.”
“I-I” Twilight took a breath, composing herself, “Who is it?”
“Erm-” The mare frowned as she looked down at the large book in front of her and trailed off as she spoke, “I can check again, if you want…”
“No, no,” Twilight waved her hoof, not wanting to wait for the mare to flip through all the pages again. Instead, she looked down at the paper placed in front of her. With a sigh, she signed it using a provided quil without any sign of grace present in her movements.
I’m sure I’ll get my answers when I get there. Besides, visiting a sick pony won’t hurt.
Twilight smiled at the thought of giving a lonely pony in need company. To think that somepony wanted her of all ponies to comfort them gave her a feeling of happiness she had not felt in ages.
With that, she walked down the hall with a large smile on her face.
The suited mare held her chin held high as she glared daggers at Twilight. The two of them stood in the hall just outside of Scootaloo’s room.
“Are you telling me that you had no clue?” she snided.
Twilight pawed the ground nervously and looked down in shame, “Well I-”
“I’ve been called to Ponyville to investigate the well being of its foals, and what do I find?” the mare huffed in frustration, “I find the whole orphanage shutdown due to lack of funding! And the Princess, the highest ‘authority’ in this small hick town, has no clue as to why!”
Twilight’s mouth hung open as she struggled to respond, “I-I-I had no clue it was getting shut down!”
As Twilight tried to hide from the mare’s ceaseless glare, the mare questioned, “Do you know how many foals are running out in the streets, homeless, now? And from what I understand, its been going on for weeks!”
“W-weeks?” Twilight gasped, “They were outside for the whole storm?”
“Yes, and in fact, one got seriously hurt and had to be put into a magically-induced coma.”
The mare pointed a hoof at the door and declared, “The least thing you could do is go inside and say you’re going to do something. You know, while I fix your mess.”
Twilight turned to the lone metal door as the mare huffed and hastily stomped away. She trotted up to the door and lifted a hoof.
What am I going to say? I don’t think ‘I’m sorry’ is going to cut it, Twilight! I hope it isn’t too bad… Celestia, why didn’t I know? Was it really all my fault?
The flood of questions continued as she started to push on the door, hoping the sight of the hurt foal won’t be too much for her to take.
I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!
Twilight opened the door and stopped in her tracks as she saw the foal inside.
Oh, Celestia…
Scootaloo was laid back on a hospital bed, asleep. Twilight’s stare moved up the filly's body to the bloody bandages coiled tightly around the small filly’s head and the various scratches and scars that marred the once-lively skin beneath her dull orange coat.
Scootaloo tossed and turned in her bed. She kept her eyes closed tightly before a voice spoke up from her bedside.
“Shhh,” she heard it say. Scootaloo’s mane parted as a hoof ran through it. She sighed in relief as it continued on.
“It’s alright, Scootaloo, I’m here.”
As the mare spoke, Scootaloo felt pure joy as she recognized the voice as none other than her sister’s. Scootaloo rolled over in her bed to face her visitor. A jovial smile spread across her face as her eyes met the magenta eyes of Rainbow Dash.
“Rainbow!” Scootaloo almost sobbed, practically jumping out of her bed before Rainbow Dash placed a hoof above her and motioned for her to lay back down.
“No, no. Lay down, Scootaloo, you need your rest,” Rainbow said in a gentle voice. Scootaloo did what she was told obediently, nestling into her soft covers. The pain in her head was almost nonexistent. Her head had been throbbing since she had awoken earlier, though now, it was nothing more than a dull ache.
“I thought you left me here…”
“Of course not! I would never do that to you, Scoots!” Rainbow Dash playfully tousled Scootaloo’s mane.
The front door’s handle began to jiggle before it quickly swung open, revealing a familiar-faced doctor.
“Hello, Doctor!” Dash stood up from her stool beside Scootaloo’s bed and walked up to the doctor. “Do you have some good news about our little plan!”
The mention of a ‘plan’ made Scootaloo smile. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt like it was good news for everypony.
“Yes, mam!” The doctor looked over to Scootaloo and gave her wink. “Scootaloo has fully recovered!”
“Thank, Celestia!” Rainbow jumped up in the air in joy. When she landed, she looked back over to Scootaloo. “Do you know what this means?”
Scootaloo shook her head in confusion, but she did it with a large grin splitting her muzzle.
Rainbow Dash trotted back over to Scootaloo’s bedside. She reached over to the bed’s covers and lifted them up off of Scootaloo. “We’re free to go!”
The words barely registered in Scootaloo’s mind before she jumped down to the floor. Her legs felt better than ever as she felt the cold hospital floor beneath her hooves.
“Really? ”
“Yep! Come on, Scoots, you’re coming home with me!”
Scootaloo’s eyes could hardly take the feelings building up within her and before she knew it, she ran to Rainbow Dash, hugging her as tightly as she could, “Thank you, thank you!”
Rainbow Dash rubbed Scootaloo on her head, “No problem!”
A long moment passed as Scootaloo held on to Rainbow Dash’s leg, unwilling to let go until Dash began to move to the front door. Scootaloo followed beside her as they made their way to the closed door.
The doctor, Scootaloo noticed briefly, was now gone without a trace. She could swear she didn’t see him leave. Her brow raised as her gaze moved over to Rainbow Dash. She gasped loudly as her blood froze over.
Rainbow was emotionlessly frozen, locked in position like a stone statue.
“Rainbow?” Scootaloo asked before taking a step forward. As her extended hoof touched the cold floor, a huge bolt of pain ripped through her entire body. She fell over with a ‘thump’. Her head spun in circles as she tried to get back on her hooves.
“Rainbow?!”
She looked up but Rainbow Dash was nowhere in sight. The once white walled hospital room was now reduced to pure darkness. Everything was gone. Everything… But her.
“-Calcium, Chlorine, Copper,” Scootaloo heard a sing-song voice echo in the distance, “Potassium, Oxygen, Silicon, Carbon,” the rhythmic voice was getting louder with every passing word.
“Hello?” she yelled out into the darkness as the voice got even closer.
“Iron,” Scootaloo tried to get up, but couldn’t, “Zinc.” Her vision blurred as she searched for the source of the song.
The voice crescendoed as it finished, “Aluminum!”
Scootaloo’s ears twitched as the song continued. She tried to move, but found her body to be in a complete mess. Every leg hurt tremendously as she tried to move them individually. Her head felt like it was going through a war, as every part of it fought the other to see just how much pain it could cause her.
Another dream… Scootaloo thought. Why can’t I just sleep forever?
“One more time, now!” Twilight sang happily as she looked down at a foal’s ‘sing-along’ book she pulled from the nightstand drawer as she sat on a bedside stool.
“No!” Scootaloo pleaded, pushing the pillow over her head to block out the sound. She didn’t care how much pain she had to endure to get the pillow around her head, she just wanted it to stop. “No more singing!”
“Oh!” surprised,Twilight quickly looked up from her book and magically placed it back on the bedside nightstand, “Sorry, Scootaloo, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Twilight let a smile edge its way onto her face, but it was clear that it was somewhat forced.
Scootaloo sighed from under the pillow, “Errr, it’s alright,” Scootaloo felt another surge of pain run through her head like a herd of stampeding minotaurs.
“My head just hurts… A lot”
“Do you need some medicine?” Twilight tilted her head sideways with a look of concern.
“Are they pills?” Scootaloo slightly lifted up her pillow to look at Twilight.
“Yes,” Twilight stated with a hopeful smile.
Scootaloo placed the pillow back over her head, “I don’t want them.”
A long moment passed as Twilight bit her lower lip while she simply stared at Scootaloo’s newly made pillow fort. Come on, Twilight. You have to bring it up sometime…
“Hey,” Twilight spoke up. “Can I talk to you about something?”
“Urrggghh,” Twilight heard Scootaloo moan from underneath the fort. Twilight nodded to herself as she took it as acknowledgement.
Twilight let out a breath before starting, “Well, I was hoping we could talk about the orph-”
BLAM! The front door swung open violently as the familiar voice of the doctor protested.
“Appointments and families only!” the fuming doctor yelled down the hall at the pony standing in the doorway.
“Back off!” Rainbow Dash retorted back as she entered the room. Before Twilight could even say a word, she heard the stomping of the doctor’s hooves down the hall.
“I’m not letting in another pony without permission! If you want to see her, you’ll have to sign for an appointment!”
Rainbow Dash turned towards the doctor, intent on standing her ground. “I brought her here, I should be allowed to see her!”
“Doctor?” Twilight tried to intervene.
Oblivious to her attempts, the doctor yelled at Rainbow Dash, “I don’t care if you want to see her, she needs her rest. This is not the time for her to have a party! She needs her rest!”
“Well, you know what?” Rainbow Dash poked his chest with a hoof.
“Doctor?” Twilight once more tried futilely to try and get his attention.
“What?” The doctor replied through clenched teeth.
Rainbow Dash yelled at the doctor, “Buck off! ”
“Doctor! ” Twilight screamed from between the two of them.
Both the doctor and Rainbow Dash turn to Twilight and screamed in unison, “What!?”
They stared at her, both fuming with their own brand of hatred. “Why don’t we talk out in the hall, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked as she pointed towards the front door. She then jumped to the ground from the stool she had been sitting on.
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but the doctor cut her off, “That would give me time to change her bandages again,” He looked over to Rainbow Dash, who had been fuming.
“Fine…” Rainbow Dash said grudgingly. Twilight sighed in relief as Dash pushed past the doctor, “I’m not leaving though!”
The doctor groaned in frustration as Twilight exited the room, followed by Rainbow Dash, who gave him another glare.
After the door closed behind the two of them, Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight and complained, “Wow! What’s his deal?”
Twilight rolled her eyes and stated, “Rainbow, he’s just doing his job…”
“I don’t care!”- Rainbow Dash shook her head in frustration -“I was told to wait one whole week before coming in, and it’s been one week. I’m going to see how she’s doing even if that featherhead doesn’t want me to!”
“She’s still in a lot of pain. The doctor is just looking out for her health. And furthermore, that’s absolutely no way to act in a hospital, Rainbow,” Twilight reprimanded.
Rainbow Dash huffed, “Well, I waited a long time!”
“That doesn’t mean you barge in and scream at the doctor with her in the room. She trying to get better in there,” Twilight rebuked.
“I-I…” Rainbow Dash hesitated.
Twilight sighed and then continued, but with a much more gentle manner of speaking, “If you want them to let you in, you’re going to have to act on your best behavior, alright? I don’t mean to chew you out like this, but she needs her rest.”
Rainbow Dash fell back onto her haunches and looked at the ground in shame, “I-I’m… I’m sorry, Twilight…”
Twilight trotted over to Rainbow Dash’s side and sat down beside her. She put a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s back to comfort her.
“It’s fine, Rainbow. J-just say you’re sorry, alright? I know how much you want to see her, and I’m sure she’s going to make a full recovery. You just need to wait.”
“It’s my fault…” Rainbow Dash mumbled.
“What?” Twilight moved her head closer to try and hear Rainbow Dash better.
“It’s my fault! I was the one that hit her!”- Rainbow Dash started to sniffle -“It’s all me! I shouldn’t have hit the dumb roof! I should have looked out. It’s all. My. Fault!”
Twilight bent down to Rainbow Dash’s eye level and lifted her chin with her hoof, “Rainbow, look at me.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes glistened with tears, “It’s not your fault, if anything, it’s mine.”
“B-but I was the one who put her here…”
Twilight looked away from Rainbow Dash, “I might have been neglecting some new responsibilities since I was crowned…”
“W-what do you mean?” Rainbow Dash asked as she lifted her gaze to look at Twilight.
“I might have been,”- Twilight turned her head back towards Rainbow Dash -“I might have caused all of this, and just me.”
“W-what?” Rainbow Dash cocked her head in confusion.
Twilight stood up and sighed once more, “Rainbow, can you look after Scootaloo for a bit? I just need to pay a visit to Mayor Mare.”
Mayor Mare signed her signature on another sheet of paper lying on her large oak desk. She tiredly lifted the sheet up to a tall stacked pile next to her, which towered over its tiny ‘out’ box. She stretched her back before proceeding to push another ‘in’ stack in front of herself.
She lifted her head up from her work as a soft knock on her office door sounded through the room.
“Yes?” she asked.
The door cracked open, revealing the mayor’s assistant.
“Umm,” the pony’s eyes darted around before continuing, “There’s a mare out here who wants to see you,” she almost whispered.
Mayor Mare cocked her head in confusion, “I don’t have any appointments.”
The assistant quickly took a glance behind her and whispered to what Mayor Mare could only guess was the pony.
“Just tell whoever it is to make an appointment. I need to get back to signing some things.”
Her assistant turned back to her. She looked at the ground while she spoke, hopefully trying to avoid a disappointed stare, “S-she says she’s from Canterlot…”
Mayor Mare sighed as she pinched the bridge of her snout. “I don’t care where she’s from, you need an appointment to see me on my working ho-”
The mayor was cut off as her front door was forced open. Her assistant scurried away back to her desk, leaving a suited mare standing in the doorway.
“Hello there, Mayor Mare,” the annoyed mare spoke as she closed the door. Without another word, she began marching over to the chair in front of the mayor’s desk. A huge scowl was painted on her face as she trotted closer.
“Excuse me?” Mayor Mare rose from her seat with a frown firmly planted on her face, “You can’t just barge in here.”
“Oh, but I can.” The mare reached her destination and quickly sat down in the padded chair. “Now,” she spoke after getting comfortable, “I think we should talk about a few things.”
“No, we’re not talking about anything without an appointment.” Mayor Mare pointed at the front door. “Please leave.”
“The princess wouldn’t like it if I did, unfortunately.” She looked around the mayor’s office, ignoring Mayor Mare’s glare. “Trust me though, I would love to leave Ponyville as quickly as possible.”
“The princess sent you?” Mayor Mare slightly disarmed her glare as she lowered herself back into her seat. “W-what about?”
“Well, the princess didn’t send me personally, heck, I don’t think she even knows my name.” The mare leaned in closer from her chair, wearing a dead serious expression, “But trust me, if we don’t get this sorted out, she’s going to hear about it for sure.”
Mayor Mare sank back into her seat under the suited mare’s deadly glare. She swallowed heavily, “I don’t believe I know what you’re talking about...”
“Neither did your superior, Twilight Sparkle. I hope you ca-”
“My superior?!” The suited mare lifted a brow as the mayor almost jumped out of her seat. “She’s not that high up, I assure you!”
“Oh?”
“She’s nothing more than a figurehead, a mascot, if you will. I assure you that she’s not in charge of Ponyville in any sense of the word.”
“Really?” The mare folded her hooves. “Then why is she the princess of this town? I was told beforehoof that this was the case.”
“I’m not sure who you’re talking to!” Mayor Mare’s frown was long forgotten as it quickly turned into a beaming smile as she defended her position of power, “I’m at the top here, nopony else. If you need to talk about something concerning Ponyville, you talk to me.”
“Alright,” the suited mare said instantaneously after Mayor Mare was done speaking, “Then maybe you can help me with this, since you say you’re the right pony to talk to.” She reached into her suit pocket and pulled out a small notebook.
Placing it on the mayor’s desk, she motioned for her to take it. “As you can see, many ponies high up in Canterlot aren’t happy at all.”
Mayor Mare picked up the notebook with a hoof. She read the first page, then flipped it over to read the second. With every word that passed through her mind, a sinking feeling in her gut grew deeper and deeper. A bead of sweat rolled down her face as she felt the suited mare’s glare glooming over her.
“I-I…” Mayor Mare stammered, “I had no clue of this, I assure you.”
“Yeah,” the suited mare rolled her eyes, “I’ve been getting that a lot. Unfortunately, you said you’re in charge, though.”
“I don’t know anything about this,” Mayor Mare said quickly as placed the notebook back on the desk.
The suited mare grabbed the notebook and positioned it so it was facing her from the desk. In a fast motion, she reached for a quill resting in its pot next to the mayor. “I doubt that, Mayor,” she said as she signed the date at the top of one of her notebook’s blank pages.
Another bead of sweat slowly ran its way down Mayor Mare’s face before she wiped it clean. “Trust me, if an orphanage was getting shut down, I would be the first to stop it,” she said with a wavering smile. She looked over at the suited mare’s page, only to see that she was writing down exactly every word she just said.
“So, you’re saying you had no clue?” The suited mare wrote down her own question on the page.
“No clue.”
“You do know that orphanages are crown funded, yes?”
Mayor Mare wiped her forehead clean before answering, “Yes, I know that.”
A moment passed as she wrote on her page again, flipped it to the other side, and continued writing. Mayor Mare felt her heart beating in her chest, and she fought the urge to wipe her face clean for fear the mare would catch her when she quickly glanced up from time to time.
“What’s the population of Ponyville?” the mare asked.
“It’s...” Mayor Mare hesitated, “It’s under two-hundred.”
The suited mare looked up with a raised brow, “Only two-hundred?”
“Yes…”
“So, the orphanage should have been receiving funding through the mail?” The mare began to write down her question before continuing, “With a population that’s under two-hundred, it must use the mail system to get their bits.”
Mayor Mare’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second. This was her chance, this was her light at the end of the tunnel. This was her first escape that she could see for miles, and if she didn’t take it, she was sure she’d never see another.
“Oh?” Mare Mayor adjusted herself in her seat. Her lips morphed into a concerned smile, “I hope it didn’t get lost in the mail.”
“If it got lost in the mail, why didn’t they come talk to you or send a letter telling you about their situation?” The mare looked up expectantly.
Mayor Mare sighed, “Well, the line to my office has been rather backed up for the last few months,” she leaned in closer to the mare, lowering her voice, “And I’m not happy to report that the mail system has been the same way for years.”
“Years?”
“Oh, yes,” Mayor Mare shook her head, “Nothing can get anywhere. In fact, I think I sent a fruit basket to a friend outside of town about two months ago, and I just received news yesterday that it finally left Ponyville.”
The suited mare flipped to yet another page, taking her time to write down every word the mayor had to say. Once she was done, she asked, “Who is in charge of Ponyville’s mail system, then?”
“Well…” Mayor Mare rubbed the back of her head as a frown snaked its way onto her face. “I think it’s alright if I bring this up now, since it is a major problem that needs fixing...”
“And that is?”
“What I said about Twilight isn’t fully true. She does manage one or two things around Ponyville. I didn’t want to say anything about the mail system, but ever since I gave her charge of that sector, its been getting slowed down to a crawl. I’m trying to teach her how to run things, but it might take a while.”
After a long moment of writing, the mare glanced up at Mayor Mare, who was slowly shaking her head in disappointment.
“How long ago did she take over the mailing system?”
“Few months ago. It’s such a pity it had to come to this, really.” Mayor Mare stood up from her chair and gave the suited mare her best smile, “I assure you though, this will get sorted out.”
Before the suited mare could speak up to protest that she had more questions, Mayor Mare held one of her hooves out across the table, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Miss…?”
The mare knew the extended hoof was a signal that she was being kicked out. She had more questions, but she knew that the Mayor would most likely use the mail system as a means of defence.
With a frown, she scooped up her notebook and shoved it back into her suit pocket and dropped the quill onto the oak table, letting it leak ink. Reaching over to grab the mayor’s hoof, she leaned in closer to the mayor. “Send me a letter if you want my name,” she said as she shook her hoof, “I bet you’ll get your reply in a few years at this rate.”
Mayor Mare’s smile slightly faltered at the insult, but she found the courage to give out a slight chuckle under the mare’s glare. Not wanting to waste any time, Mayor Mare lead the mare to the front door in a hurry, not letting her speak as she thanked her over and over again for ‘bringing the situation to her attention’.
The suited mare couldn’t say anything, and before too long, she was standing outside of the mayor’s office, listening to a quick, “Goodbye!” from the mayor.
She let out a breath as the door shut itself in front of her. Grinding her teeth together, the mare stomped her way to the front door. As she pushed the door open with a hoof, a soft voice called from behind her, “Excuse me, but, umm, do you want one of the new Ponyville fliers?”
The mare turned around to see the assistant holding out a piece of folded paper with her magic. “Does it have a map?” She didn’t want to admit it, but she became lost a few more than four times on her way to see the mayor.
“Yes, one of the entire town… It’s even updated with all of the new shops in town.”
“Alright,” the mare said as she motioned for her to move the flier closer. Plucking it from the assistant’s magic, she said, “Thanks.” The assistant waved goodbye as the mare turned back to the door, looking down at her newfound guide across town.
The mare pushed the door open and walked out into the bright day. Her eyes wandered around the map as she tried to find her next destination, the Mail House.
“Really? You put the numbers on the map but don’t tell me what they are?” She sighed as she turned to the next page, but stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw.
A green saddlebag filled to the brim with mail was drawn on the flier. The mare moved her lips as she read the huge bolded words under it, “Best mail service in Equestria to date.” She instantly flip the flier back to the first page, where she found the date it was printed at the top.
Five days ago…
Sweat trailed down the side of Mayor Mare’s face as she frantically emptied the contents of her desk into a suitcase. She pulled open one of the desk drawers and noisily rummaged through it.
“No, no, no! Where is it!?”
She slammed it closed and opened the one under it. Glass shattered as she tossed ink vials over her shoulder in a desperate search. Ink dripped down the wall behind her and pooled onto the floor below.
She turned around at the shrill noise and glanced at the newly-stained floor and wall. She hesitated for a moment then shook her head side-to-side as she continued her search.
“No… We’re not coming back, remember?” Mayor Mare whispered to herself.
Ripping open yet another drawer, her eyes widened as she caught sight of the object of her interest.
“Finally!” she said with glee.
Her hoof quickly brushed away the loose papers surrounding the small object before she picked it up. A huge smile formed on her face as she looked at the golden ticket in her hoof. It was a one-way ticket to one of the foreign Zebra Tribes. Her friends there would take care of her, she was sure of it.
Stuffing it into a pocket, Mayor Mare picked up her suitcase with a hoof and hastily trotted towards the front door.
Just get to the train station. No stopping for anything…
She twisted the knob of the door, revealing the waiting area to her office. In the span of only half a minute she could be outside, making her way to the station. But Mayor Mare had to hold back a scream as she saw a lavender mare open the front door to the waiting room.
“Princess Twilight!” the assistant sitting behind a desk greeted her, “Are you here to see Mayor Mare?”
Twilight glanced to the side as the door to the mayor’s office door slammed shut.
“Uhh, yes. I’m here to see her because of a certain... situation.”
Mayor Mare put her ear to the door. A single thought ran rampant through her mind.
Tell her I’m not here. Please, tell her I’m not here...
“Yep!” the assistant said happily, “She should be open for the next few hours, so I’m sure she’d love to see you!”
Worthless…
Mayor Mare heard the sound of hooves drawing closer to the door. In a panic, she ran back to her desk, stuffing the suitcase under it. More sweat poured down her face as a knock on the door sounded throughout her office.
“Hello?” she could hear Twilight call. “Can I come in, Mayor Mare? I really need to talk to you about something.”
Mayor Mare wiped her face off with a tissue, took a deep breath, and answered, “Do you mind coming back later? I have lots of work to do.”
“No… I really think we should talk now.”
Mayor Mare swallowed heavily, “Alright, then…”
The door creaked open, and Twilight stepped in. The mayor gave her best smile as Twilight wordlessly made her way to the second chair. Twilight rubbed her her tired eyes and somewhat tried to fix her frizzled mane after she sat down.
Mayor mare grabbed a stack of paper from the corner of her desk and slid it to the space in front of her. “So,” she started as she reached for a quill, “What brings you here, Twilight?”
“I’m not too sure what’s been going on for the last few days, but I was hoping you could help me figure it out.” Twilight raised an eyebrow as Mayor Mare searched her desk for a pot of ink, only to briefly turn her attention to the wall behind her.
Twilight’s eyes wandered to the objects that were strewn out across floor under the wooden desk. She cocked her head sideways, “What happened in here?”
Mayor Mare laughed nervously, “Oh, I was just looking for something important.”
“Did you find it?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, I found it after a long search.” Mayor Mare wiped a bit of sweat off her face. “I’ll have to be heading out soon. So, if we could get this over with quickly, I’d be grateful.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to intrude. Your assistant said you were available for the next few hours. I wanted to talk about the orphanage that recently shut down…”
The mayor’s body tensed up. Words eluded her as she opened her mouth and closed it again. She focused on the thoughts running through her mind instead of answering Twilight.
How does she know? Is she working with the suit? Here to ask me questions for an investigation?
“A mare told me that I had something to do with it. I don’t want to be rude, but is what she said a mistake? I’ve never been told I ran anything around Ponyville, let alone an orphanage.”
Twilight ran a hoof through her mane. “I’m just really confused about the whole matter. I was thinking you could help me.”
She doesn’t know? Mayor Mare could hardly hold back a grin. Thank Celestia.
“Well,” Mayor Mare started, “I was told a few months ago that you’d be coming around my office for a briefing on a few things.”
Twilight’s expression dampened as she sank back into her chair. “Oh no…”
“Yes,” Mayor Mare sighed, “They told me I could lighten up on a few things around Ponyville. I even received a letter from Celestia saying you were to be in charge of the mail system.”
“What?! I never received a letter informing me of this change! W-when did they say I took charge? W-w-where did they send it?!” Twilight stood up from her chair, and began pacing around the room.
“Did they send it to my treehouse, or did they start sending them after the fight with Tirek? Do they even know where to send it? I would imagine they would be given a description of either one… And the castle isn’t hard to find in the slightest. What abou-”
“Twilight!” Mayor Mare interrupted Twilight’s rant. “Does it matter if you received it or not?”
“Of course it does!” Twilight’s face began turning a slight tint of red. “How would I stop an orphanage from being shut down if I didn’t even know I was in charge of it?”
“Twilight,” Mayor Mare shook her head. “You can’t do much about it now. I think the best thing for you to do now is apologize to the ponies of Ponyville… And the mail system.”
“The mail system?! I-is that what they put me in charge of?”
“Yes.” Mayor Mare put on the look she was famous for, and the look that her assistant dreaded, a look of pure disappointment.
A moment passed before Twilight sank to her haunches, lowering her eyes to the floor. Tear formed in her eyes as she spoke, “I had no clue… I-I would have stopped it.”
Mayor Mare lifted herself out of her chair and trotted over to Twilight. “I’m surprised they didn’t tell you, honestly.” She stood over Twilight, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “But you better try to make things right. I hate to say it, but the Canterlot newspaper would have a field day with this story. They’ll ruin you if you aren’t the first to speak up about the matter. To them, it’s no use being sorry if you don’t fix it.”
Twilight sniffed, “How can I fix this?”
Mayor Mare sighed, “I’m afraid the real fixing will be done by the suit from Canterlot. The best thing for you to do is to make a public apology.”
Twilight looked up from the ground to see the mayor’s face. A comforting smile greeted her. Twilight couldn’t hold back the tears.
“I hurt Scootaloo…” Twilight whimpered, “It’s my fault.”
Who? The mayor thought.
The mayor rubbed Twilight’s shoulder. “No, it’s not so much your fault as much as it is Canterlot’s messengers. Still.” Mayor Mare let out a sigh. “It would be good for you to apologise publicly. Okay?”
“Okay…” Twilight wiped her eyes. “I’ll do it…”
Yes!
Twilight stood up on her hooves, and with a newfound objective in mind, she nodded to the mayor.
“Alright, I’ll apologise, like you said.”
Mayor Mare smiled. “Good.”
Looking out the large windows to the side of the front entrance to the Mail House, Derpy smiled as she saw the sun slowly lower into the horizon. The once light environment of the once outside world was becoming darker with every passing minute, and Derpy found herself wanting to get home for some long awaited rest.
The bell above the front door rang as yet another happy customer eagerly trotted her way in front of Derpy’s counter.
“I want to send this to Canterlot,” Lyra said with a grin as she placed a brown box on the counter. “How long do you think it’ll take?”
“Don’t worry!” Derpy waved a hoof before picking up the box. “It’ll be there in two days! I plan on making a run up there tomorrow.”
“Cool!” Lyra nodded and walked out, content on leaving her package in the very able hooves of Derpy.
Placing the small, brown box carefully in a larger crate marked ‘Canterlot’, she heard the front door bell ring, signaling that Lyra had left and that Derpy’s long shift was over. Mid ring, Derpy was somewhat startled by a rude voice from behind.
“Hello?”
Derpy turned around with her smile still plastered on her face. “Hello there! Do you have a package you need mailed?”
“Yes,” the suited mare said, a rude undertone outlining her voice. “I need something sent to Twilight Sparkle’s new ‘house’.”
“Princess Twilight? I could show you wher-”
“No, no.” The mare rubbed her face irritably. “I want to send it there by mail.”
“Okay…” Derpy shrugged, “What do you want to send?”
“This.” the mare pulled out a quill and placed it on top of the counter. Derpy looked at it and then back at the mare, who only scowled back at her.
“You want to send that?” Derpy picked it up, eyeing it from different angles. “D-do you want me to put it in a box?”
“No. Just send it,” the mare stated sternly. “Just slap a mail-thing on it, or something.”
“Errr, alright. I’ll get around to sending it before I go to Canterlot.”
The mare raised a brow, “How long will that be?”
“Tomorrow.”
The mare pulled out her notebook. She quickly looked around for a quill, only to reach out and grab the one she gave to Derpy.
Derpy frowned at the mare, “You sure you want me to send it? She lives just across town.”
“Yes.” The mare placed the quill back down once she was done writing. “And be quick about it, will you?”
Derpy nodded and grabbed the quill. “Also,” she heard the mare say after she turned. “Where’s the hotel around here?”
“Ummm.” Derpy placed the quill carefully inside the crate. “We have a small motel type thing around the corner. I’ve never been there, but I heard it was nice.”
“Can’t even have a nice place to sleep around here....” the mare said with a huff before she turned around and walked out of Mail House.
“Rude…” Derpy said under her breath once the bell above the door stopped ringing.
Author's Note
Scootaloo, from this point, will be given a much larger role in the story. Sorry in that regard.
The window sign for the Pin Family’s Bakehouse was casually flipped over to ‘open’ as the sun began to rise into the sky, covering Canterlot in a soft blanket of warmth. Inside the building, a small colt yawned loudly before opening the front door and stepping out into the city.
One of his daily chores while living and working under his father, the business owner, was to check the mail everyday. He never argued the fact that messages were hardly ever delivered two days in a row, but he knew his father would never stand for it.
The early bird gets the worm, his father’s voice echoed in his head. If we miss a bill, you, your mother, and I will be working for another pony for peanuts. This business has been in the family for years, and your grandfather almost lost the damn thing when I was your age. I won’t allow that to happen to you.
The colt rubbed his tired eyes as he continually tossed a key up into the air. Approaching his street’s community mailbox, he caught sight of one of his father’s many friends who also owned their own family establishment.
The pony in question was older than most living in the area, but his towering figure never let on that he was in need of any help. Wrinkles were few and far between, only appearing up around his soft, blue eyes.
The stallion closed and locked his section of the mailbox before turning around to meet the colt’s eyes. “Hey there, Roll Pin,” the brown-furred pony greeted with a smile. “How’s your father doing?”
“He’s doing alright, Mr. Cafe,” Roll Pin said as he stretched out his hoof, reaching for his family’s locked box with the key. He sometimes wished he was older for the exact reason of reaching higher places. Every morning it took him what felt like ages to open the mailbox.
Mr. Cafe chuckled. “Let me help you with that, Roll. I know how much of a hassle it can be sometimes.” He held his hoof out expectantly. With a sheepish grin, Roll Pin descended back to the ground and placed his keys in Mr. Cafe’s hoof.
“Thanks,” Roll said as Mr. Cafe opened his mailbox.
“It’s really no problem. My son used to need the same help when he was your age.” Mr. Cafe flashed him a smile before peering into the mailbox. His eyes widened as he pulled out a small letter that was sealed by the Ponyville wax seal.
Mr. Cafe’s expression hardened as he caught sight of the seal. Roll Pin cocked his head quizzically before Mr. Cafe quickly pressed the letter on Roll Pin’s chest.
Hastily grabbing it from the old pony, Roll Pin suddenly felt a pair of eyes looming over him. “Get this to your father at once,” Mr. Cafe whispered, all past joy seemingly gone from his voice. “No one else is to see this letter, you got me?”
Roll Pin swallowed heavily. The urgency in Mr. Cafe’s voice frightened him. “Is it something to do with the bakery?”
Mr. Cafe shook his head. “I don’t know yet, Roll. Please, just get it to your father at once. After that, tell him to meet me at the cabin.”
Roll’s eyes darted around, confused. “I-I.” He stammered before finding his voice. “Cabin?” he said. But Mr. Cafe was already trotting down the street. A long frown was plastered on his face as he went.
Mr. Cafe mumbled to himself, “I knew the Pin family was nothing more than a bunch of idiots…”
Four shadowed figures sat around a wooden table in a darkened, small room. Outside the locked metal door, two guards watched the hallway intensely for intruders.
All arriving at different intervals that morning, each making sure no ponies were following them, they were finally ready to start their hastily organized meeting.
“Alright, gentleponies,” the pony at the front of the table stood from his seat, looking around at the others. “It looks like we’re all here. Before we start though, I would like to thank you all for you continued support of this group. And I assure you all, there is nothing that we can’t fix here today.”
The pony looked around the room. When the figures nodded silently, he continued, “We’re going to stick to code names for this meeting, as some of us might think that we’re now being pursued.”
As the pony, code named ‘Intro Field’, began to take his seat, he heard the sound of another rummaging through their saddlebag. In a fast motion, an opened letter was placed on top of the desk. All the ponies’ heads turned to face it.
“One of our agents in Canterlot received this letter this morning from Ponyville,” Apple Crush said as the whole room respectfully listened. “It seems as though one of our collectors has been discovered.”
He picked the letter up and stood to his hooves. After clearing his throat, he began to read.
“Dear Mr. Pin, I’ve been put in an unfortunate position as of yesterday. A business in which I was funneling money from collapsed recently. After some investigation, I’m sure that a suit knows it’s my doing. I’m not asking for you to run and hide, for I am going to the safehouse located in the Zebra Tribes.
With some luck, the new princess of Equestria, Twilight Sparkle, will take the blame on my behalf. I wouldn’t count on this though, as the suit might tell her before she makes this critical blunder.
I’ll stay in Ponyville until the train arrives to pick me up. It should be here on the afternoon you read this letter. Wish me luck.”
Apple Crush placed the letter back down. “The collector is being followed by a suit from Canterlot, it seems. I’m not sure what she means by Twilight Sparkle taking the blame, but it doesn’t sound good for us in the slightest. If anything, it might put even more force behind the investigation.”
“Horsefeathers,” Control Push hissed from across the room. “The ‘collector’ you’re describing is nothing more than a greedy whelp. Her whole job centered around delivering messages to our agents in the field discreetly through the use of dead drops.”
“I’ve been informed that she has been taking minimal funds from her town?” a feminine voice asked. “Has she been funneling the funds to us directly or through the use of another agent?”
“That’s the problem,” Control Push said. “She been sending the bits right to one of our higher ups.” He gazed back at Apple Crush and scowled. “It’s seems like she was never given a dead drop location.”
Apple Crush pointed at him accusingly. “Untrue, Control! She was given all the necessary information to make the drops. I think it was another pony who didn’t give her the right address!”
“Oh, now you’re accusing me?” Control leaned back in his chair. “I can’t believe you would think it’s my fault when the pony has been sending the funds right to your agent!”
Apple Crush slammed his hoof on the table, cracking it slightly. “Well, I don’t think it-” he began to bellow before being cut off.
“Enough, you two!” the female yelled. Her face was red with anger as she stared the two of them down. “We’re not here to argue on whose fault it is; We’re here to fix it.”
With a snort, Apple Crush speedily sat down in his wooden chair. Rubbing his now throbbing hoof, he glared at Control.
Control opened his mouth to retort, but was silenced by a glare from the mare across the room. He crossed his forelegs and grunted in submission.
Intro Field nodded. “We can’t let her get to the safehouse. She knows far too little about our operation to warrant the spending of the necessary bits to keep her hidden. The bits we’re paying her, as well as the bits she’s been bringing forward from Ponyville, are rather pathetic amounts.”
Control Push sighed as he rubbed his head. “Well, what agents was she paying off?”
“Only one,” Apple Crush replied. “That agent, thank Celestia, might be the answer to this very problem.”
“And the suit?” the mare asked.
“This agent should be able to get rid of both of them. And I’m sure he can make it look like an accident, with extra funding, of course…”
“The princess shouldn't be much of a problem once those two are gone. It’ll be a cold trail with nothing, if anything, to follow,” Intro Field assured. “And if the newly appointed princess, bless her soul, wants to put her snout to the dirt to find us… Things are going to get ugly.”
“That settles it, then,” Control happily chimed in before turning to face Apple. “Send your agent a letter pertaining to our situation. Send another package containing five-hundred bits inside. Promise him two-hundred after our problem is dealt with.”
Intro Field looked around the room at the now gleaming faces of his comrades. “It looks like we’ve came to a simple solution, gentleponies.”
The whole room nodded in agreement.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes flickered open from their deep, blissful sleep. She lifted her head from the bed it was leaning on and rubbing her tired eyes. Seeing the morning light streaming in through the window above Scootaloo’s hospital bed, Rainbow Dash was reminded that she was supposed to be working.
She sighed. “The doctor’s going to be mad that I didn’t leave…” Rainbow Dash muttered.
She looked down at Scootaloo, who was sleeping soundly in her bed, nuzzling the white bed sheets. Rainbow Dash frowned, “Why should I care if he wants me out of here? I’m not hurting her…”
A moment passed as she simply watched Scootaloo in her sleep. This shouldn’t have happened, Dash thought. Scootaloo doesn’t deserve this.
Suddenly, the sound of the front door creaking open filled the room. “You alright in there?” she heard the doctor ask as he pushed himself in with a tray of food in hoof. “I didn’t want to wake you two last night.”
Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head before standing up. “I’m fine, Doc.” He placed the tray of food on the nightstand before moving over to Scootaloo. Memories of the screaming match between the two of them flashed through her mind.
“Hey, Doc?” Rainbow asked.
“Yes?” he replied as he checked Scootaloo bandages. She subconsciously flinched when he touched her wrapped head; however, she did not wake from her slumber.
“Again, I’m sorry for what I said to you the other day. I was just worried, you know?”
The doctor chuckled, “You should see what some of the other patient’s friends do to me when I can’t let them in. Sometimes I think about hiring some thugs to guard me all day.”
Rainbow Dash’s face broke out in a broad smile. “Uh, do you have a job opening in that area?”
“If I do, I’ll be sure to call you. Why do you ask?”
“I’m on thin ice with the weather team as is. I don’t think they’ll think too well about me not showing up.”
The doctor pulled out a fresh roll of bandages from his suit pocket. while unravelling the old ones from around Scootaloo’s head, he said, “Well, I don’t think they’ll have much of a reason to argue when you tell them you were with an injured filly.”
Rainbow Dash winced as the old bandages were removed from Scootaloo. A large, deep gash on the side of the filly’s head was clearly visible from where she was standing. No doubt it was where the speeding shingle embedded itself in her skull. Amazingly, Scootaloo kept snoring peacefully in her sleep. Rainbow Dash found it to be a strange combination of cute and disturbing.
“Don’t you think she’ll wake up?” Rainbow asked as she somewhat hid her eyes with a hoof, peering over from time to time.
He pulled off a long strip of the bandage roll and cut it loose with his teeth. “Not for at least ten minutes, no.”
“How can you be sure?”
The doctor glanced over his shoulder at her. “Remember that fight we had?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, Scootaloo is under a coma spell. If she takes on too much stress at one time, the spell forces her body to fall asleep for exactly twelve hours. It’s to make sure foals don’t hurt themselves. I think she was internally freaking out when we started going at it.”
A wave of guilt washed over Rainbow Dash as horror violated her previously cheery mood. The doctor noticed it immediately and put on his most reassuring smile.
“I think it’s my fault, really. I shouldn’t have came in barking like that. You obviously care a lot about this filly.” He directed his attention back to Scootaloo.
“I shouldn’t have came barging in.” Rainbow peered down at her hooves and sighed. “I didn’t mean for this to happen to her.”
The doctor began wrapping Scootaloo’s head with the fresh strip of bandage. “That storm came at a bad time, sure. But you ponies working in the sky had no clue it was going to hurt her. It’s no pony’s fault in that regard.”
But you don’t know the whole story… You don’t know how she got hurt, or who did it… I’m as much to blame as the storm. If it wasn’t for me, she’d still be alright.
“Well,” the doctor said as he rose to his hooves, derailing Rainbow Dash’s train of thought. “I’ll be back in here in a few minutes to give her breakfast. After that, I think it’d be a good idea for you to talk to somepony about where she’s being relocated.”
With a smile he pointed at the tray of food on top of the nightstand. “That’s for you.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “Relocated?” she blurted out. “What do you mean?”
“She’s an orphan, Rainbow, she can’t stay here for the rest of her life. When her wounds are fully healed, she’s to be sent to another town or city, I think.” He shrugged. “You’ll have to ask that rude suited pony if you want more information. I’m not really well versed in the procedure.”
“W-what if the place is fixed back up?” The thought of Scootaloo being shipped off to another city sickened her. Her friends are here , she internally scolded herself. She shouldn’t have to move!
“The orphanage?”
“Yeah.”
The doctor shook his head. “After its failings here, I don’t think another one will be made and housed.”
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. “Well, how do I get her to stay? Do I need to talk to that dumb pony from Canterlot and beg?”
“She’ll most likely be moved. The only way I can see her being able to stay, is if she’s adopted, or something like that.” He quickly glanced over at the clock above the front door. With an apologetic look, he said, “I’m sorry, Rainbow, but I must get going. This hospital barely runs without me.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t try to stop him as he opened the door and left the room. Her mind was in a whirlwind of ideas. ‘Adopted,’ the doctor’s voice reverberated in her head. She walked over to Scootaloo’s side and stared down at her.
“I’m not going to let them move you,” she muttered. “You’re not going to go somewhere you’re going to feel scared… I want you to feel safe.”
A silent moment passed as Rainbow Dash opened and closed her mouth, unsure if she should say it. Do I deserve her? I’m the one who put her here…
Rainbow inhaled deeply before a new thought crossed her mind. “And I’m the one who is going to take you out…”
Author's Note
More character tags will be added as the show themselves within the story.
Sorry for the inactivity. I'll be getting back on track with this story.
You're Dreaming
A carriage peacefully rolled through the streets of Canterlot. Large villas decorated in gold and silver walls and pillars surrounded it. Using the lit torches from the grand houses’ exteriors and lamp posts, the ponies pulling the carriage slowly moved through the pitch black of night.
The transportation itself was gorgeous. The jewel encrusted door handles and emeralds lining the wheels would leave anypony of lesser wealth in awe. The carriage seemed fit for the princesses themselves.
Closed off from the rest of the world by a sturdy golden-plated roof and elaborately painted window blinds, one of its passengers applied more lipstick to herself whilst looking into a tiny, hoof-held mirror.
“What do you think?” she asked before looking up. “Too much?”
Across from her, a earth stallion dressed in a completely black suit arched an eyebrow as he gazed up from the book he had been reading for most of the ride.
He smiled warmly as he scanned her bright red lips and blushed cheeks. Her dark grey fur made the color stand out and he found himself liking her new look. “You look dolled up.”
The mare brought a hoof up to her mouth and giggled, “I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m going for, isn't it?”
“Indeed, you are.”
“And the dress?”
He let out an over-exaggerated sigh and placed a hoof under his chin. Studying the grey silk dress in which took up almost half of the carriage, he shook his head. “I’m not sure if it’s… enough. Do you know what I mean, Glass?”
Glass waved a hoof and turned away. “Oh, shutup.”
The stallion smirked as he leaned back in his seat. He was content on watching her for a few moments as she simply applied more makeup. Though, his concentration swiftly shattered as she spoke again.
“What type of mask did you bring? I rather not find myself stuck in a sticky situation only to find out I have no clue what you’re wearing.”
With a nod, the stallion reached down to the purple cushion next to him. Removing the cushion from the seat, a small compartment containing a plain wooden box was revealed.
“Which one do you want?” he asked as he lifted the box out and pushed the cushion closed before placing the box on top of it
Glass rolled down her lipstick and shut her mirror before placing them both inside a light blue purse. “I don’t know,” she said as a grin formed on her face, “Surprise me.”
“They only gave us two.” The box creaked open as the stallion dipped his hoof in and pulled out two white masks connected to thin, plastic rods. He glanced between both of them, unsure of which one to take.
“What if I shut my eyes?” Glass chirped, “Would that make it easier for you? We’ll be there any moment anyway. No reason not to have some fun before the real party, eh?”
“Sure, why not?” he chuckled.
Glass clenched her eyes shut as she leaned closer to him. After a few seconds of waiting, she felt the interior of one of the masks rub against her face. Reaching out, she grabbed the rod from him and opened her eyes.
She was greeted by the sight of a long beaked, teary eyed griffon sitting in front of her. She couldn’t help but laugh at the mask, for it was obscenely offensive and would probably get a pony killed if worn in the wrong places.
“What?” the muffled voice of the stallion asked from behind his mask. Glass kept laughing to herself as he took it off and examined it. “I swear I gave you the better one.”
“Oh, really?” Glass lowered her mask and wiped off some fresh spit from the corners of her mouth using her dress sleeve. “What’s mine? A zebra with a huge hula-hoop piercing through its nose?”
“Nothing like that.”
Flipping her mask over, Glass’s eyes widened. The face of a cat looked straight back at her. Simply designed, the only real detail to set it apart was its squinted eyes, nose, and whiskers.
“My, my.” Glass started, placing it back on her face. “You really do know how to please a mare, don’t you, Pencil?”
Pencil nodded with his usual smirk plastered on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of laughing outside the carriage. Slightly lifting one of the window’s blinds next to him just enough to peek through, he turned to Glass. All the previous joy vanished from his face, and instead took on a much more serious expression.
“We’re here,” he said glumly.
Glass took in a deep breath as she lowered her mask. She felt a twinge of fear course through her body and subconsciously began to shudder. Unexpectedly, she turned to face Pencil as she felt him place a hoof on her shoulder. “You’re going to do just fine in there,” he reassured her.
“Yeah, I know” Glass turned away as she pushed his hoof, “We’ve been planning this for over two months. I’m not going to blow it.”
They both felt the carriage come to a stop, and the sweet, soothing tones of violins and cellos was able to be heard. “Once you get in there, you’re on your own.” He lifted the blinds again and peered through the window, making sure not to be seen by anypony outside. After a moment of silence, he continued, “Remember that we all have a part to play in there and out here.”
She turned to face him and said, “Just remember to be outside when I’m done, okay?”
His face hardened. “I’d never forget. We have a plan, and I plan on sticking to it.”
Glass nodded before lifting the mask back up to her face. Not even a moment later, the music, laughter, and casual conversations of the outside world flooded the carriage as the side door opened. Extending a hoof to Glass, one of the many well groomed butlers smiled before saying, “Welcome to the ball, if you may, could you please follow me?”
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
The mare’s eyes shot open as the deafening beeping of an alarm clock filled the air in the small motel room. She didn’t move for a moment, for her whole body felt as though it had been through a blender. Bringing a hoof up from under the covers to rub her partially-numb face, she groaned loudly.
Throwing the covers aside and sitting up, the mare flashed the clock a scowl before slamming her hoof on top of it. The beeping persisted, scratching against her inner skull like claws on a chalkboard.
She brought her hoof down on it again, producing a light crunching sound. She was almost sure the pounding decreased the volume ever so slightly, no, she was sure of it. After repeating the same formula for success for the fifth time, the ear piercing sound disappeared completely from existence, leaving behind nothing more than crumpled plastic.
The mare panted. She could feel her heart beating inside her chest at a breakneck speed. Swallowing heavily, she nodded to herself.
Breath, she thought. Taking a labored breath, she filled her lungs to capacity. Letting it all out, she could feel herself calming down. Just breath for once in your life.
It felt so real, her mind began to wander as she pondered her dream. The masks… The party… She shook her head, clearing it of those thoughts. Leave the past in the past, damnit.
Her eyes felt ravaged, her parched throat demanded water, and her mind begged for a release. A loud cough resonated through the room as she lifted herself off the filthy bed.
Taking a step onto the brown carpet, she felt the first evidence of what happened the previous night underneath her hoof. Looking down, she continuously blinked away spots in her vision as she focused on a loose article of clothing.
Small objects such as toothbrushes, mouthwash bottles, and drinking glasses claimed the the ground around her like the inhabitants of a sprawling town. To her surprise, there were virtually no stains on the carpet.
Her lips curved upwards a smidge as the priority of cleaning up dropped entirely. Stumbling towards the only other room connecting to her own, the bathroom, she made sure to support herself on the doorframe before entering. Another slip like last time would leave her with another nasty bump.
As she placed a hoof down on the white tiled floor of the washroom, she suddenly felt herself slip fall forward, causing her whole body to jerk as it descended. Slamming face first onto the ground, bright colors flashed through her head as she clenched her eyes shut.
A bloody and hard fought battle raged endlessly inside her thoughts, threatening to tear her apart bit by bit. Opening her mouth to breath, her eyes opened as her tongue made contact with the familiar taste of alcohol.
Finding herself laying on her side, the mare lifted herself off the floor, making sure to have a proper grip on the ground this time. Liquid dripped from her fur as she found herself standing over the toilet. She could only shake her head in self pity as an apple cider bottle floating around in the toilet bowl caught her attention. Surrounded by little bits of… filth, she forced herself to the sink before the sight made her vomit.
She turned on the tap and ran her hooves under cool water. Splashing her face a few times, the mare gulped before opening the mirrored medicine cabinet. Not even taking a look at her own reflection, she retrieved a transparent orange pill bottle and shook it.
Tilting and turning the small bottle to look past the label and to the contents inside, she counted six pills left.
“Take one every six hours for headaches and nausea,” she subconsciously read out loud as her gaze flickered over the usage directions on the white label. Pulling the cap off with her teeth, she carefully tilted the bottle and shook it until five of the six pills fell out. Without a second thought, she leaned her head back and downed them all at once.
The motel owner paced in the hallway outside one of his rooms with a frustrated expression painted on his face. He’d been muttering an indecipherable conversation with himself, one that only he knew or cared to talk about.
Suddenly, he stopped, shook his head, and raised a hoof to the door. Bringing it down hard on the thin wood, he yelled, “Listen, lady, you got to get out of there right now! You didn’t pay for the day, you payed for the flippin’ night!”
No response.
The motel owner felt his blood boil. “I received noise complaints last night about this room!” He pounded on the door again. “Open up!”
Silence.
“If you don’t open up at this instant, I’m going to call the guards, no, the Royal Guards, to kick this door open!”
“Oh, shutup,” a rude voice answered him from the other side. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off. “Calm yourself down, alright? It’s not like anyone comes to this hole anyway.”
The doorknob turned and the door opened, revealing a finely groomed mare wearing a suit. She frowned deeply as she closed the door behind her.
“How dare you call my establishment a hole!” the stallion snorted, “You owe me five more bits for staying in there for half the damn day! That includes any damages you might have done, too.”
The suited mare raised a brow. “What makes you think I damaged my room?”
“Oh, please.” He pointed a hoof behind him and at the other closed doors dotted around the narrow hallway. “I’ve been receiving complaints since last night.”
Ignoring him as he continued to spout off, the mare reached into her suit pocket. Pulling out a hooful of bits, she started counting.
“What did you destroy, hmm? Smash the sink? Ruin the bed? What about th-”
“Here.” Her hoof prodded his chest as she shoved the bits towards him and dropped them. Scrambling to pick them up, the motel owner’s face morphed into a cocktail of confusion and rage as he quickly eyed the amount.
“This is only three!”
“Yep.” The mare pushed past him, leaving him flustered as he wordlessly mouthed out the most offensive words his mind could scrape together in an instant. He wanted to yell and scream, perhaps even hit her, but he kept his mouth shut.
“If this wasn’t a business…” he mumbled as he approached the door, preparing himself for a world of expensive bills and… repairs. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, he turned the knob and barged into the room.
His jaw almost hit the floor as he observed the state of the room. Beads of sweat perspired on his forehead as his breathing’s pace increased rapidly.
The bed’s sheets were without crinkles and it had the grandeur of a queen’s. The carpet, unlike what his usual cleaning techniques produced, was spotless. Marveling at the cleanliness of the room, he trotted over to the bathroom and peeked his head in. He was met by a practically sparkling floor, toilet, and sink.
“Well then…” He wiped his forehead clean with a hoof. “It must have been a different room…” A moment passed as he let it soak in. Gradually, he felt his expression hardened.
It must have been another room.
Marching out the room, he was content on spending the rest of his day on a relentless witch hunt for the true culprit, completely failing to notice the missing alarm clock.
Beams of warm sunlight shined on Scootaloo’s cheek as she continued to cuddle one of the softest pillows she’d ever felt in her life. The day itself was merely a blur of sleeping and blissful dreams of sweet nothingness.
Rubbing her face against the pillow, Scootaloo never wanted to let the moment slip away. She just wanted it to stay the way it was… perfect.
Her ears twitched as a door creaked open. Scootaloo made sure to clench her eyes shut, for she felt it might help deter anypony from pulling her away from her comfortable position.
Hoofsteps worked their way over to her bedside. Making sure to tighten her grip on the pillow, Scootaloo expected a rude awakening, just like so many other times back at the orphanage; instead, she heard a few hushed whispers and before she knew it, her pillow was being lifted from her grasp. Instinctively, Scootaloo fought back, she wasn’t about to let it go without a fight.
“No!” Scootaloo said in a groggy voice, “Ten more minutes, please!”
“Scootaloo… You’re going to have to let go of my leg sometime.”
Surprise shot through Scootaloo’s body as her eyes snapped open. Bright light swarmed her vision and she had to squint her eyes as they readjusted. Her vision was anything but clear and her body ached for more sleep, but she mustered enough strength to smile brightly.
Looking up, Scootaloo was greeted by Rainbow Dash’s graceful grin.
“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo blurted out whilst unwrapping her grip from around Rainbow's leg and pushing herself up to sit on her haunches, “I-I didn’t know you were here!”
“Yep,” Rainbow lifted her recently cuddled hoof and rustled Scootaloo’s messy mane with it, “It’s been a bit since you went under. We thought you’d be up about an hour ago.” Pointing over her shoulder, the Doctor gave Scootaloo a friendly wave.
Scootaloo could hardly contain her excitement. She had some many things to say and to ask; however, a quick glance at her surroundings extinguished the want to ask any questions as her memories came flooding back to her.
The hospital bed, the bandages, the doctor… Scootaloo snapped back to Rainbow Dash and began mouthing out words, intending to speak but nothing came out despite her best efforts.
Raising an eyebrow, Rainbow Dash briefly looked behind herself and at the doctor with a confused expression.
“Get her some water, her throat must be dry.”
Reaching over to the nightstand, the doctor retrieved a half-empty glass of water and gave it to Rainbow Dash. “Drink this, Squirt,” she said whilst hoofing it over to her.
It was only when Scootaloo laid eyes on the liquid, did she know just how much pain she was in. Not only was her throat burning like the scalding sun on a hot summer day, but the throbbing in her head had come back with a fury.
Grabbing the water, Scootaloo downed it quickly. After swallowing heavily and wiping her mouth with the blanket, she looked up at Rainbow and said, “I’m sorry about the fanclub! I know I’m not there right now, but I think Snips or Snails should be running it. D-did the Friday meeting get canceled?”
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked before quickly shaking her head. “No, no! I’m here to see you, Scoots. Not to worry about the fanclub.”
“B-but-” Scootaloo tried to continue but stopped as Rainbow lifted a hoof to her lips.
“I don’t care about the club right now, okay? All that matters right now is you.”
“Well,” the doctor spoke up, “it looks like you two could have a few minutes to yourself.” Smiling, he turned and walked to a spot just in front of Scootaloo’s bed. “I’ll be back in five. If you’re feeling hungry, Scootaloo, the pudding on your tray should help. I wouldn’t touch the noodles though, they’re a bit old.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and grabbed the pudding cup. “Thanks, Doc.” Opening it up with her teeth, she passed it to Scootaloo who happily buried her muzzle into it, licking at the pudding stored inside.
“Err, you might want to use this.” The doctor held up a spoon.
Scootaloo’s cheeks flared up as she grinned sheepishly with a bit of chocolate pudding on the sides of her muzzle. “Sorry…”
“Nah, it’s fine, Squirt,” Rainbow said. She took a napkin and wiped off the pudding from Scootaloo’s face then passed the spoon over to her, “You’re probably starving after being out for so long.’
“Why, how long was I sleeping?”
“Thirteen hours,” the doctor answered.
Scootaloo stabbed her spoon into the pudding once more, scooped the contents up, and dumped them inside her mouth. “Wow,” she began, cheeks bulging with pudding, “that’s a long time.”
“Sure is,” Rainbow Dash chimed in, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. Scanning her face, Scootaloo was able to make out dark lines under Rainbow’s eyes. It confused her for a moment until it finally dawned on her.
She was about to say something when Rainbow let out a loud yawn and stretched her wings. Has she been here all night? She wouldn’t do that for me, would she?
“Well,” the doctor said as he turned towards the door, “I’m going to get out of your manes for a few minutes; I’ll be back to check on Scootaloo in a bit.” Scootaloo pushed another spoonful of pudding into her mouth before lifting the spoon into the air to wave goodbye, failing to see loose pieces fall on the blanket.
As the door closed behind him, Scootaloo looked over to Rainbow Dash. Unable to think clearly after her recent revelation, a puzzled expression found its way onto her face. Staring back at her, Rainbow couldn’t hide her worry from Scootaloo.
“What’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked, cocking her head to the side with the spoon hanging out of her mouth.
“I-I” Rainbow stammered, “I w-was hoping to ask you a few things.”
“Sure, you can ask me anything, Rainbow Dash!”
A long moment passed as Rainbow simply rubbed the back of her head and looked away, attempting to build confidence to speak. Almost without warning, the words came pouring out of her mouth.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were in an orphanage, Scootaloo?”
