The sizzling pulse of torn electrical circuits and the continuous crackle of static from the radio stirred Scootaloo from her forced weightless slumber, noting with a wince the red pearls that floated around her.
Scootaloo was suspended above the pilot seat. The installed artificial gravity was inoperable, while everything else was bathed in an unsettling red tinge. Flashing holographic warning signs littered the walls of the capsule, forcing Scootaloo’s eyes to squint at their offensive shine. A searing hot pain pulsed from a spot on her swollen cheek.
“W-what happened?” Groaned the young mare, suspended helplessly within her cockpit, her unhelmed astrosuit lit by the numerous damage indicators. She twisted her body in an attempt to control her vector.
“The… the last thing I remember was… an explosion...” Scootaloo said as she returned her attention to the spot on her cheek. She gently pressed on it and gasped. The cause of her discomfort was a rather large wound that started directly below her eye and spanned diagonally across the bridge of her nose. It ended on the other side of her cheek, where the feeling of dried blood took its place. Scootaloo brought her hoof down to eye level, stunned by the image in her mind;her face had been sliced open by some type of sharp blade.
As the haze of disorientation lifted from her static state, panic soon took over her mind.
What happened?
What it hit me?
Pushing off of the nearest surface, Scootaloo launched herself back into the linear seat, grasping out at the control sticks on either side of it to anchor herself while her rear hooves settled onto the throttle and brake pedals just below the seat.
“F-first things first, I need to check on the systems, or at least I think that is what big sis’ told me to check first,” Scootaloo whispered to herself, one eye closed and wincing with each and every movement she made. “My neck is so stiff… I must have hit my head on something… that’d explain why my head hurts so much...”
As so vigilantly taught by her sibling, Scootaloo first inspected the screens built into the arms of her chair. She gazed at a diagram of the physical damage sustained to her mobile suit and the propulsion system’s status on the left, reviewing them thoroughly, then inspected the status of the cockpit’s structural integrity, life support and the magic-reactor core of her craft on the right.
“Sustained heavy damage to the legs, arms… everything... all movement is-no,” Scootaloo gasped, trembling in her chair as she drew her terrified eyes away from the screen to her lap, “I have only got an hour’s worth of energy left. Long range communications are completely inoperable. But why? There’s no damage to that subsystem… it’s completely—”
Then it dawned on Scootaloo.
Something that drew tears to her eyes.
She was going to suffocate in the cosmic grip of space… alone.
Quickly, Scootaloo leaned forward and reached out to tap at a keyboard with a small monitor attached, which was suspended to her upper right. She frantically moved through the lists of the mobile suit’s various subsystems in hopes of reactivating the cockpit’s panoramic view screen, so that she could finally see what was going on outside her mechanical prison.
With little to no chance of reactivating the mobile suit’s panoramic view, Scootaloo slammed her hoof onto the arm of the chair in frustration.
“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”
Scootaloo pounded it repeatedly, while tears formed rapidly in her eyes. She shook her head from side to side, her breaths running ragged to the point of hyperventilation.
“This isn't supposed to happen… w-we were just going to play around the asteroid field close by, th-that’s all! How can this happen? What happened? We were just leaving the dock and then...”
Placing a hoof over her eyes, as if ashamed to show her tears to the isolating walls of static, Scootaloo whimpered as the oppressive presence of white noise surrounding her only drowned out her prayers.
All she wanted to do was to spend time with her sister, but now? Now she was not even sure if her sister was anywhere near her.
In fact, Scootaloo was not entirely confident that her sister was even alive anymore.
What was that explosion?
Was it caused by a collision?
“Help me… help me… anypony,” Scootaloo wept, “I don’t want to choke to death… I-I’m afraid!”
Then, as if her prayers were answered by Celestia and Luna themselves, a distorted voice barely spoke amongst the chaos. A voice that Scootaloo recognized to belong to none other than her sister.
“S-shhzshzsshzshz-li-shhzzzshhzzz-ans-sssshhzz-please!”
Scootaloo’s heart leapt with joy even as her tears streamed down her cheeks. She smiled, ignoring the pain that surged from her facial wound, and gripped the controls. She quickly activated the radio to fruitlessly scream back across the foggy connection,
“I’m here! I’m here! I’m right here!”
“Ca-shhzzz-short-shhhhhz-do-shhhhzz...shhhzzz-wave-shhzzz.”
“Why’s it so fuzzy?” Turning to the monitor on her right, Scootaloo brought up the communications array subsystem in its entirety, noting for the second time that despite its near inoperable state, there was little to no physical damage to the device itself, nor to the circuit that fed into the cockpit.
After running a simple diagnostic on the array subsystem, Scootaloo’s muzzle scrunched up, clearly confused by the results.
“The array is detecting a high density of Starswirl Particles. Almost like an electromagnetic pulse… but how? Electromagnetic interference of this scale can’t just happen from one small explosion… at least I think it can't... is it an attack? And from who? Pirates?” The concept of unknowingly being in the middle of a battle unnerved her, but for now, Scootaloo had to focus on contacting her sister, who was fortunately still alive and somewhere nearby.
After several minutes, Scootaloo finally managed to make some headway by switching to a shortwave communication signal, and boosting the strength with what remaining power she had left in an attempt to penetrate the forced blackout caused by the unexplained appearance of the EMP field.
With an audible pop, the static ceased and as clear as a summer morning on Equestria’s soil, Rainbow Dash’s voice filled Scootaloo’s ears, causing the girl to cheer with unbridled joy.
“Rainbow! I-I thought you were gone!”
A sigh of relief came across the radio, though Rainbow Dash’s voice seemed strangely subdued to the young mare. As if she was struggling to form a clear coherent sentence.
“Hey, calm down squirt, calm down… but first things first, before we get all mushy here, how’s your mobile suit? My… my suit is all kinds of fried. Can just about keep the communications operating.”
“My suit’s the same, though I think there is a fault in the magic-reactor, I seem to be leaking energy somewhere; not sure where though. I think my diagnostic equipment is all kinds of scrambled so I can’t get an accurate reading. I’ve got maybe forty-five minutes of energy left before everything turns off... I think. I’m more used to the controls in the VR suite back on Cloudsdale.”
“Because you hack the VR program so that it works in your favor, you mean?”
Scootaloo frowned. “That was one time, okay! But never mind about that; what about you? Are you okay? You sound kind of funny.”
“Scootaloo, put on your astrosuit’s helmet before the life support system cuts out. You should have enough power in your suit to last you a few more hours. The suit should recycle the air and keep you alive until help arrives from Equestria.”
“Rainbow Dash, what happened? Everything was fine and then the next minute… I’m waking up and there’s blood everywhere.” Scootaloo could feel the wound still bleeding, but fortunately not as bad as it might have been when it was initially made. “Are you okay?”
“I know that feeling. My heads hurts… feels like I drunk a metric ton of AJ’s homemade apple cider… and not the soft drink, either.”
“Rainbow, you sound strange. Are you you’re alright? Are you hurt? I’ve got a medkit here if you need help.”
“I’m… I’m a little tired that’s all, kiddo.” Rainbow Dash chuckled weakly. “Been through worse.”
Scootaloo gripped her cockpit’s controls tightly, a sickening sensation swimming in the pit of her stomach. “You’re a terrible liar, you know that right?”
When met with nothing but silence, Scootaloo reached a hoof underneath the linear seat and detached the astrosuit’s helmet from the undercarriage. She slowly slipped it on her head, wincing as the helmet pressed tightly against her wound.
Once the helm had been clamped securely to the rest of her astrosuit with a resounding click and hiss of oxygen filling its confines, Scootaloo narrowed her eyes at the monitor to her left, noting with a determined glare that her cockpit’s hatch was completely undamaged and fully operational.
“I’m coming over.” Scootaloo announced as she reached down on the left side of her chair to grip the small red lever.
“No!” Barked Rainbow Dash aggressively, before falling into a fit of coughs that only drew more pain and determination to the surface of Scootaloo’s eyes. “You can’t… I’m… I’m sorry, but you can’t come out. You have to stay inside.”
They had had their measure of sisterly arguments in the past, but never had Rainbow Dash ever voiced aggression quite like that before.
“I will not stay here while you’re hurt, Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo raised her voice, a little upset Rainbow Dash ever took that tone with her. “Stop being stubborn, okay? I’ve seen you hurt yourself plenty of times, Rainbow Crash.”
“Low blow there, chicken.”
Scootaloo gritted her teeth, slightly annoyed by the nickname. “I’m going to come over there to make sure you are okay whether you like it or not. Besides, maybe with the two of us we can get one of our suits working so we can go home without having to be rescued.”
Scootaloo activated her helm’s internal radio system, switching it to a shortwave frequency so she could still communicate with Rainbow Dash when outside of her mobile suit.
“Scootaloo, I am begging you, do not open the hatch,” a desperation filled Rainbow Dash’s voice, her tomboyish and confident nature dissolving as she released a sob over the radio, “I can’t let you see this… please… just… not yet. Don’t go outside.”
Resolute no matter what Rainbow Dash said to deter her, Scootaloo reached under her seat to pull out a safety line. She quickly attached it to her astrosuit’s belt, before finally pulling the lever.
With a click and a resounding groan of metal, a portion of the cockpit opened up directly in front of her like a yawning metallic beast, allowing the vacuum of space to suck away what little precious oxygen remained within the cockpit.
Scootaloo gasped as she drifted forward from her chair, gripping a hoof on two handlebars that stood above the cockpit’s opening to prevent her from being drawn violently into outer space during the sudden decompression, however, the moment she drew her head up and stared off into the ever familiar sea of black beyond her suit’s cockpit, her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes pin pricked with a volatile mixture of fear and sorrow.
Staring right back at her was the gargantuan debris of something that had recently met its violent end and had thrown its charred corpse across the entire sector, obscuring the distant marble that was their planet of origin, Equestria.
“W-what is that?” Scootaloo shook her head from side to side, unsure if she was in fact awake.
Scootaloo leant out of the MS-05B Zaku I’s open chest, peering up in horror as she recognized what the debris once was, though irrationally rejected such a notion almost immediately with a shake of her head.
She did not want to believe it.
“W-where’s… where’s Cloudsdale…?” Scootaloo inquired, though found little reply from her sister, whose breathing had suddenly become very erratic over the radio. “Where’s our home?”
Scootaloo felt her body go numb as the immense despair crushed her, and she realized the cold, harsh truth that Rainbow Dash was attempting to hide from her.
Activating her astrosuit’s magnetic boots, Scootaloo walked out upon the crumpled mess of her Zaku’s chassis, absorbing the horrific spectacle of twisted metal and pieces of what she recognized to once be ponies, floating all around her dying mobile suit.
“R-Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo searched aimlessly with her gaze, seeking the personalized cyan painted Zaku which her sister was piloting.
With little luck from her current vantage, Scootaloo wandered to the left side of her Zaku’s chest, leaning over to spot the heavily damaged cyan colored suit floating directly below her, roughly three hundred yards away.
It appeared Rainbow Dash had taken the brunt of the blast; her mobile suit’s arms and legs were shredded into an unrecognizable mess, while the head was partly melted and fused to its warped shoulder mounted blast shields.
“Rainbow Dash, I see you!”
“S-Scootaloo, I thought I—ah, told you to not leave the suit?!”
“W-what d-do I do? I… we have to get you of there! We have t-to get back to… but… Cloudsdale is gone… Momma… Poppa… gone…”
A wet, heavy cough caused Rainbow’s words to become hoarse, as an alarm resounded through the radio. “Scootaloo, you have to… you have to listen to me. Get back in the suit and close the hatch, now!”
“No! I-I can’t lose you too!” Scootaloo screamed as she launched herself forward, deactivating the magnetic boots so that she could free float directly towards her sister, in the vain hope she could open up the cockpit’s hatch manually.
"Stop being a stubborn mule and listen to me, Scoots!"
The moment Scootaloo's hoofs had left contact with the metallic surface of her mobile suit, the safety line instantly locked up, preventing her from advancing towards her goal.
"I won't leave you!"
Scootaloo’s eyes teared up blurring her sight as they fell, desperately yanking at the line, hoping she could somehow dislodge or break it.
“You have to get back in! You have to get back inside your suit before it’s too late!” Rainbow Dash’s pleading only intensified, her voice rushing her words as the alarm grew louder over the radio, almost drowning her out. “My reactor is about to—”
As the radio cut off in a scream of static, Scootaloo lifted her hooves up to shield her face as the unrecognizable Zaku exploded, ripping the mobile suit apart, spewing out a fiery blast that threw Scootaloo and her mobile suit back with enough force to send them both hurtling into the all consuming darkness.
_____________________________________
Three Years Later
Adorned in the EFF cadet uniform of a high collared, white cotton tunic cut in the shape of a military jacket, Scootaloo looked the part of a devout member of the EEF, except for the mess that was her shoulder length mane she had she refused to comb for the past three years.
“Do you have to come?” Scootaloo grumbled, “I think I can find the classroom by myself, you know.”
Hardly stunned by the attitude of the mare towards an elder, Applejack merely sighed and scratched at her cheek with a hoof, trotting on behind Scootaloo by quite some distance, not wishing to invade what Scootaloo liked to call 'her personal space,' whatever that was.
“Ah’m good friends with the teacher. Ah went to this very Academy with her and RD, Ah’ll have you know. So, Ah think Ah’m allowed to drop on by an’ greet an old friend if Ah so want to.”
Applejack’s emerald eyes regarded Scootaloo with a little smile; she was secretly proud that the filly had grown up into a fine mare, even if her attitude required some minor adjustment.
It was difficult raising her over the past three years, but she felt she did all she could for the filly.
Applejack often overlooked Scootaloo’s rather cold nature, considering what she had been through would be enough to change anypony irreparably. She remembered a time when Scootaloo used to smile, laugh and play… now all she ever seemed to do was study and spend endless hours in the VR suites, training herself often to the point of complete exhaustion.
How many times had she picked that filly up from a desk or from the cockpit of a VR booth and tucked her into bed?
Too many.
It was at that thought, Applejack lost her smile.
Although she did not want to admit it, Scootaloo was consumed with anger. An anger she had tried many times to purge, with little success.
Chores at the farm only seemed to frustrate the filly, rather than direct her energies in a positive manner.
“Ah know you worked hard darlin’ and no one is more deservin’ of being here, but can you try and make some friends? Trust me when Ah say this, the bonds you make in these walls will last a lifetime.”
Scootaloo paused and glanced back up at Applejack with scorn, her wings twitching. “I don’t need friends. And just because you have some legal papers claiming me as your daughter does not mean you are actually my mother, so stop trying to act like one.”
Trying her best not to appear hurt, Applejack nodded her head and adjusted her stetson, even if her heart bled at such a truth. “Fair enough. But don’ think Ah love you any less, even if you think that way.”
“Just... don’t embarrass me, Applejack.” Scootaloo stormed off down the hallway, leaving Applejack to secure the top button of her tartan shirt as she followed on after Scootaloo.
“Teenagers.” Applejack rolled her eyes.
She had wondered if she was ever this difficult with Granny Smith.
Author's Note
Like... hate... flame... it's all good.
You won't believe the shit I had to do to get this passed Moderation.
Hope you enjoy.
“Applejack, it is so very good to see you. How’s that early retirement going? The farm keeping you busy?” Cheerilee beamed as she greeted Applejack, drawing the mare into an affectionate embrace as they stood outside of the classroom, much to Scootaloo’s lament.
The young mare had taken to staring out of a nearby window, observing a much older class of cadets galloping around an athletic track which consumed a hefty portion of the academy's front yard, pursued by a rather large, muscular looking stallion who appeared to be yelling quite a bit.
“An’ it’s mighty good to see you again, Cher. Ah have to admit the farm has been keepin’ my attention quite a bit, so it isn’t what Ah call an ‘easy’ retirement… and since Ah was escorting this new little cadet here to the academy—”
Scootaloo restrained a frown at being called little.
She was of an average height for somepony her age!
“—Ah thought Ah’d come on by and invite you to hook up over at Sugarcube Corner with the rest of the girls later on tonight, mostly for some drinks to catch up on things, when ya’ll done for the day of course. Heck, even Rarity said she'd be there an' we both know how busy that mare is these days.”
Cheerilee nodded, pressing a hoof to her lips as she pondered out loud. “I suppose I could... I have already prepared for tomorrow’s lesson in advance so, sure, why not? Got to let down your mane every once and a while, huh?”
“The studious and punctual mare herself letting her mane down? Pull the other one! So, Ah’ll be seeing you at six then?” As Applejack turned from Cheerilee, she smiled at Scootaloo who was still staring out of the window, noting the mark of irritation twitching upon the young mare’s brow.
Lifting a hoof up, Applejack quickly scrubbed it against Scootaloo’s mane to catch her attention.
“Hey! Watch it!” Scootaloo protested. “Stop doing that! You know I hate it.”
“Scootaloo, Ah’d like ya’ll to meet your instructor, Cheerilee. Now, you be good for her, ya hear? Ah don’t wanna be hearin’ any bad stories about you, especially from her. She’s a very fine pilot; in fact, she even beat me in that department back in the day when we’re in the same squad.”
Scootaloo scuffed a hoof on the ground, muttering to herself. “Not exactly hard when you’re a grease monkey.”
“Ah heard that…”
Cheerilee giggled, restraining a smile at the young mare’s reaction and Applejack’s natural capability to embarrass her.
The scene itself was so sweet, Cheerilee almost felt jealous that she herself had not yet settled down to raise a foal of her own that she could tease unendingly.
That was why, perhaps, she had become an instructor.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Scootaloo,” Cheerilee held out a hoof towards the cadet, “I look forward to watching you develop over the course of the next few years. From what I understand, you had one of the highest test scores for admittance into the Academy on record. I have to say, I was very impressed when I reviewed the results myself. I expect a lot of great things from you.”
“It was nothing,” Scootaloo played it cool, shaking the hoof, “kinda easy, really.”
Cheerilee blinked at the confident and rather cocky nature of the cadet, before offering Applejack a sly grin. “I see… so I take it Applejack had no hoof in your studies?”
Applejack lifted both of her brows at that. “An’ what’s that supposed to mean? Why are ya’ll both ganging up on me? Is it ‘pick on AJ’ day or somethin’ and somepony forgot to tell me this morning?”
Cheerilee broke out into yet another chuckle as she leaned in close to whisper to Scootaloo, making sure she spoke just loud enough for Applejack to hear, plenty of mirth within her tone as she continued to tease her friend. “Did you know Applejack failed the entrance exams twice? I heard she broke down into tears on the second question on her first attempt.”
“Twice?!” Scootaloo gawked up at AJ, as if searching for the truth of that revelation upon her adoptive mother’s face.
“Damn it, Cher!” Skilfully, Applejack inclined her stetson to hide the vast majority of her embarrassed state. “A-Ah passed it in the end though. An’ don’ you go trying to one-up me, Cheerilee. Ah’ll have you know Ah’ve got some dirt on you too!”
Cheerilee beamed at the embarrassed pony, quickly changing the subject. “It was a pleasure to see you again, AJ. So, tonight at six? I’ll be there. I’ll try and drag along the Duo of Chaos, as well, providing I can get them out of their apartment in one piece… but for now I think it is about time Scootaloo introduces herself to the class.”
“Yeah... good luck with that,” AJ muttered, “see you then, traitor.”
Peeking from under her stetson, she gave Cheerilee one final wink and a parting kiss to the side of Scootaloo’s cheek, which the younger mare immediately scrubbed away with a hoof.
“Behave yourself, Scootaloo. Try and make some friends, you hear?” With that, Applejack trotted away, smiling to herself as she knew full well the kiss was meant to further embarrass Scootaloo in front of her superior.
That grumpy little face of hers did always bring a smile to Applejack’s face.
Scootaloo merely wrinkled her nose, before looking back up to Cheerilee who guided her towards the door.
“Now, Cadet Scootaloo, just wait here and give me a moment."
Scootaloo saluted. “Yes, M’am.”
Sliding the door open, Cheerilee stepped across the threshold, leaving Scootaloo standing outside in the hallway, listening in on the light conversations she could not quite make out that had spread around the classroom while its instructor was absent, the usual hustle and bustle one would expect when a classroom was not under supervision.
“Cadets,” upon Cheerilee making her presence known, all chatter abruptly ceased, “I am pleased to inform you that we are going to be receiving a new addition to our class today. Now, I wish you all to greet her warmly and to help her find her footing here at the Academy, since she is transferring in halfway through the second semester.”
Scootaloo felt peculiarly nervous considering how calm she had felt up until this point. She had never really stood up in front of a classroom of other cadets before, let alone forced to introduce herself in front of a whole crowd of them.
“Please, come in, Scootaloo.”
As if on cue, Scootaloo’s summons into the room coincided perfectly with a long drawn out sigh that escaped her lips, attempting to solidify her resolve while biting back her nervousness with a forced swallow.
Upon entering, the young mare marched herself forward to stop directly beside Cheerilee, turning to face the clinically white and grey classroom with a perfectly rehearsed stare that gave no quarter, aimed over the tops of the other ponies’ heads, and resolutely avoiding every eye in the room.
After all, she had enrolled here to learn how to become a better pilot and certainly not to make friends, despite Applejack's request.
Avoiding eye contact and generally ignoring the other cadets was but ‘phase one’ of her plan to isolate herself.
“Would you like to introduce yourself?” Cheerilee urged, trying her best to smile despite Scootaloo’s very evident displeasure.
With a nod, Scootaloo glanced up to her superior and then once again to stare above the heads of the other students, phasing them out entirely by focusing on the back wall.
“My name is Scootaloo and I’m sixteen years old. I was born on Cloudsdale—”
The very name of the colony whose destruction had instigated the war caused the students to whisper amongst themselves almost immediately, but it was one particular; one very well-spoken and irritating voice, that Scootaloo took an immediate dislike to.
Arrogantly, it spoke above the rest of her peers. In fact, the source even went as far to stand up to protest her so-called concern.
“She’s a Spacer?! Why do have a Spacer in this Academy? Isn't she part of the enemy that started this whole war in the first place?!”
The derogatory term for a pony born in space drew Scootaloo’s glare straight towards the lilac colored mare wearing what appeared to be some kind of cheap looking ornament atop of her head.
Scootaloo gritted her teeth, shifting on the spot as her hooves itched to make contact with the mare. However, Scootaloo was not going to let that remark pass her by without some kind of reaction, even if she longed to resort to violence.
“What did you just call me?”
Cheerilee narrowed her eyes at the ruckus and lifted a hoof up into the air to quell the chaos.
“Quiet! I will not have such racial slurs directed towards any Cadet under my tutelage; especially from you Diamond Tiara. You ought to know better that it should not matter where a pony was born, but rather what it is that they stand for. So what if a pony was raised here on Equestrian soil or within the zero-gravity atmosphere of a space colony? So as long as they fight for equality and peace, then the EFF welcomes all such individuals into our ranks, with zero prejudice.”
The lecture from Cheerilee had calmed the room for the most part, but Scootaloo could not remove her eyes from the mare called Diamond Tiara, relishing in the fact that she was shifting uncomfortably under Scootaloo’s glare as she begrudgingly sat back down in her seat.
“I apologize, Scootaloo.” Cheerilee offered a sympathetic smile towards the Cadet, before immediately looking off into the classroom. “Sweetie Belle?”
Another mare, white, this time in the far off corner, quickly stood up from her desk, lifting her hoof up to salute as her name was called out, catching Scootaloo’s attention as she tried her best to ignore a particular set of eyes angrily burning into the side of her head.
“M’am?”
“Scootaloo is going to take the empty desk between you and Featherweight. Would you please escort her around the Academy today during Free Period after lunch and show her around all the facilities? If I am not mistaken, I believe she is also sharing the same room as you in the on-site dormitory.”
“Yes, M’am! It will be my pleasure.”
“Right, now that introductions are out of the way, go take your seat and I will begin today’s lesson, Scootaloo.” Cheerilee turned to face the wall at the front of the class, which Scootaloo only now recognized to be a rather large LCD display as the rotating insignia of the Equestrian Federation Forces appeared on screen.
Adhering to her tutor's demands, Scootaloo trotted her way towards her new desk, settling down upon the stool as she glanced towards Sweetie Belle to her left, who instantly began pestering her upon eye contact.
“Hey,” Sweetie Belle whispered, “don’t worry about Diamond Tiara, she’s a jerk to everypony. By the way, that’s a pretty awesome scar.”
Why did I look? Scootaloo mentally whined.
“Thanks… I kind of got that impression.” Scootaloo folded her forelegs onto the desk, resting her chin upon them as she tried her best to ignore the mare.
“So, you’re from space? That's pretty neat. What’s it like up there?”
Unlike you, exceptionally quiet...
Grumbling to herself, Scootaloo inclined her head and nuzzled her face into her folded arms, closing her eyes as she released a yawn.
“Wake me up when the lesson is over.” Scootaloo muttered.
“Hey… hey, you can’t sleep here,” Sweetie Belle protested, “you’ll get in trouble… hey? Cadet Scootaloo?”
__________________________
For an Academy that held over two hundred cadets of varying ages and levels of training, the cafeteria was surprisingly small and rather less crowded than what Scootaloo had come to expect.
Waiting in line for what seemed like an eternity now, Scootaloo appeared just about ready to explode not, and only from the sheer boredom.
Not that she was impatient, mind you… after all, this was the mare that remained within a VR simulation for the better part of a day, laying in wait for her simulated enemies to unwittingly fall into her perfectly orchestrated trap.
It was safe to say she had won against the simulation with little to no effort on her part, though Applejack was pretty angry that day, if Scootaloo recalled correctly, since she barely ate anything and scarcely drank a drop of water throughout the entire thirteen hour session.
Or was it a twenty hour session?
They feel the same.
But this?
This dinner queue was a true test of her self proclaimed, legendary patience...
“—I mean, why does she have to act that way? It’s not like you personally started the war or something...”
Please, shut, up! Scootaloo screamed in her head. Does she ever come up for air?!
It was not that she did not appreciate Sweetie Belle’s friendly nature, but Scootaloo wanted nothing more than to be shown where the VR suites were in this Academy so she could be left to her own devices and seclude herself from social interaction.
“Oh, you will simply adore the food here by the way. We've got the best cook this side of Equestria; her husband owns and runs Sugarcube Corner in the city as well, so we even get some of the best desserts I have ever eaten in my entire life delivered fresh, daily. Hey, do you like cake? Should I grab us some? I could really go for some carrot cake.. ooo, maybe triple chocolate fudge, too...”
As they finally came to the counter, much to Scootaloo's joy, the mare picked up a plate, purposefully zoning out the overly friendly Sweetie Belle as she looked to the cook smiling back at her beyond the quite impressive display of food.
“Hello there, Cadet! My name is Mrs. Cake. You must be new here? How are you adjusting?”
Scootaloo appeared a little taken back by the astute observation. “How did you know?”
Mrs. Cake chuckled. “I suppose I can spot what you kids call ‘newbies’ a mile off… that and I am very good at remembering a pony's face.”
“Oh,” Scootaloo looked anywhere and everywhere except at Mrs. Cake’s, “well… thanks for the food, it all looks…”
Pretty good actually… rice, spaghetti, hayfries—oh-my-gosh is that deep fried corn burgers? I love those!
“Please, help yourself to anything you like. It’s all self serve but don’t worry if anything runs out. I have plenty more in the back so pile your plate as high as you want because I am sure Instructor Bulk Biceps will more than likely make you run it off. Also, if you have any specific dietary requirements, I’d be more than happy to accommodate your needs.”
Scootaloo gave the mare a genuine smile as she used a set of tongs to pile her plate with corn burgers. “Thanks, it all looks amazing.”
“I’m pleased you think so.” Mrs Cake turned her attention to Sweetie Belle, “and good afternoon, Sweetie Belle, how are you today? Come to sate that sweet tooth of yours? Sweetie? Uh… Sweetie Belle?”
As Scootaloo shifted down the line, she lifted a ladle to place some rice onto her plate next to her stack of burgers, though paused midway as Sweetie Belle’s aghast expression leaned in very close, staring at her as if something terrifying was latched onto her face.
Scootaloo leaned her head back, perplexed by the sudden invasion of her personal space. “Um… what are you doing?”
“So, you can smile!”
Scootaloo flushed red. “W-what?”
“Just now. You smiled!” Sweetie Belle grinned. “You look so much prettier with a smile rather than that scowl you've had on your face since this morning. Kind of creases that scar.”
"Sh-shut up!" Embarrassed, Scootaloo picked up her plate and moved from the food counter swiftly, trotting into the cafeteria hoping to find a secluded table to claim for herself.
Of course, every table has somepony on it. Maybe I’ll just eat a packed lunch outside from now on.
Broken from her thoughts by a nudge on her flank, Sweetie Belle carried her plate of food above her head with the aid of her magic, and trotted on past the new cadet, beaming a smile Scootaloo could not quite get angry at for whatever reason.
“Come along, Scoots—”
“Scootaloo...” Corrected Scootaloo with a mutter, her teeth gripping her plate firmly, rendering her fully incapable of delivering a full rebuke.
“Potatoe-potato,” Sweetie Belle idly remarked as she approached a table with one other pony present, whom Scootaloo immediately recognized to be her classmate from this morning that sat to her immediate right.
He was a small, thin looking stallion, quite frail and bookish in appearance.
The complete opposite of what Scootaloo would have thought Sweetie Belle associated with.
“Hey, Featherweight!” Sweetie Belle slipped onto a stool as she sat opposite the young stallion.
Scootaloo purposefully sat herself a couple of seats away from Sweetie Belle, setting her own plate of food onto the dinner table before noting Featherweight’s suddenly shy demeanor and rather nervous response.
“H-h-hi, Sweetie Belle…” Featherweight blushed.
Scootaloo mentally groaned, suppressing an eye roll. You have got to be kidding me. This day just keeps getting worse.
“I-I see you've got nothing but sweets again,” Featherweight remarked with an equally nervous laugh, “you know, you should really eat more healthily… it’s not good for your body to eat so much sweets.”
“Nah. I eat plenty of healthy food. I’ve got a stash of fruit hidden under my bed.” Sweetie Belle hoisted a blueberry muffin from the mound of other confectionery goods piled high upon her plate, practically devouring half of it one mouthful.
“O-Oh… okay then...” Featherweight dropped the subject a little too quickly for Scootaloo’s tastes.
Jeez, grow a pair. Even I can tell you like her and I don’t normally pick up on these kinds of things easily.
Drawing her eyes to her own plate of food and trying to find some solace to the situation she was forced into, Scootaloo gazed hungrily down at the burgers, her stomach growling the longer they remained untouched.
They look so delicious. I am so going to enjoy this.
Leaning down to take a bite, Scootaloo’s body instantly sat rigid in her stool as something wet and very cold spread across the top of her head, dampening her mane and dribbling its dark liquid down onto her plate of food.
Sweetie Belle’s gasp and Featherweight’s wide eyes pulled Scootaloo’s attention over her shoulder to Diamond Tiara and a grey colored mare flanking her side, an upturned, empty bottle of cola hovering beside Diamond Tiara's head, who was wearing quite the mischievous smile with a devilish expression in her eyes.
“Oops,” Diamond Tiara remarked sarcastically, “seems like I wasted good cola on a dirty little Spacer.”
The screech of a stool caught Scootaloo’s eyes as her anger quietly seethed below the surface, somewhat stunned at the fierce expression Sweetie Belle was giving Diamond Tiara.
“Hey! Apologize to her! That was uncalled for; she did nothing to you!”
“Pfft,” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, “hear that Silver Spoon? The loser of the class wants me to apologize to the Spacer.”
“Yeah,” the grey mare approached Sweetie Belle, glaring past her spectacles before giving Sweetie Belle a nudge with her hoof, “whose side are you on, anyway, loser? She's the enemy you know.”
It was Featherweight’s turn to stand. “H-hey! D-don’t push her around like that!”
“Aw, is the little prince coming to save his little, wittle damsel in distress?” Diamond Tiara pouted towards Featherweight. “Sit down, Featherweight… we wouldn't want you to get hurt, now would we?”
“Don’t threaten him like that!” Sweetie Belle hissed. “When the instructors hear about this—”
“Oh, they won’t, Sweetie Belle, if you know what is good for you. Now, be a dear and leave us with the Spacer... we have so much to talk about, after all.”
Scootaloo gritted her teeth as she stood. “Diamond Tiara?”
“How dare you address me you—”
Cut off by a hoof connecting straight onto her nose, Diamond Tiara cried out as she fell down onto her haunches and then onto her back, holding her nose as blood practically poured out onto her trembling hooves, her body quaking with the sudden shock to her system.
Silver Spoon flew to her friend’s aid, gawking up at Scootaloo as she glowered down at them both.
“You scar-faced psycho!” Silver Spoon spat.
"You... y-you you hit me!" Diamond Tiara yelped, tears streaming down her muzzle.
Sweetie Belle, Featherweight—in fact, the entire cafeteria shared a similar sentiment as everypony went silent.
A pin drop could be heard halfway across the academy.
“Don’t ever threaten my friends again... and if I so much as I smell you anywhere near them? I'll show you what this Spacer is fully capable of, and I promise that you won’t trot away with just a broken nose, got it?”
Author's Note
On The Next Chapter: Prodigy.
A clash of personalities!
