Crusade of the Markless

Scootaloo looked outside to the weathered streets of Manehattan, a hard downpour afflicting the once bright and bustling city streets. It was an unexpected storm, but then again it had been so for twelve years ever since Tirek took over and drained the magic from all ponies. That meant that pegasi could no longer control the weather, earth ponies couldn't instill growth in crops, and unicorns couldn't cast spells.

A lot of things had changed in the twelve years that Tirek had been in control, and there had been many hardships, but luckily they had been able to adapt to their new lives. Scootaloo was one of the few lucky enough to not receive a cutie mark, something which she had once thought a blessing had been turned into a curse.

As soon as somepony earned their cutie mark Tirek was able to drain their magic, and he often did leaving them in a zombie-like state. Of course she wasn't much different, not having much to look forward to each day other than the gloom and doom of every day life. As soon as she had been old enough to be on her own she had left behind Ponyville, unable to stick around in such a lifeless reminder of what once was.

Of course that didn't mean she left behind her friends, taking time out of her schedule to meet up with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle every once in a while. Applebloom had opted to stay in Ponyville with her family and try to take care of the farm even without magic, whereas  Sweetie Belle had made the best of a bad situation and took up a job at one of the local nightclubs as a singer. Luckily neither of them had gained their cutie marks either, Scootaloo wasn't sure she'd be able to stand seeing her friends like that.

Scootaloo had caught wind that a few of her other old classmates had also escaped the gruesome fate of the cutie mark as well. Some of them she was a bit more acquainted with such as Pipsqueak and Dinky, wheras others she hadn't known as well, such as Rumble and Berry Pinch. She had heard that even the Cake twins, now young adults, were markless.

"Scoots, I'm home"

Ah yes, and then there was Babs Seed, the pony whom she had been sharing a house with for the past six years

"I'm in here Babs."

Babs trotted into the room, a smile on her face as she pecked Scootaloo on the cheek and Scootaloo found a smile of her own working it's way onto her face. Scootaloo hadn't planned on getting into a relationship with one of her best friend's cousin but as they spent more time together Scootaloo found herself falling for the rough-n-tough Manehattan mare. To her surprise the same had happened to Babs and they ended up dating, that had been almost two years ago.

"Hey Scoots, how was your day?"

"Boring, as always. Yours?"

"Same," Babs let out a sigh, "That's how things are though. Makes me think back to the good ol' days, ya know, before Tirek."

Scootaloo let out a sigh of her own. "Yeah, I know, at least one good thing came of it." she said, nuzzling Babs.

"Yeah," Babs agreed, "So what should we have for dinner?

"I was thinking about reheating the leftovers from last night."

"Eh, works for me."

It was then that a loud banginb rang out through the house, startling both it's inhabitants. Scootaloo put a hoof on her chest trying to calm her heart down from the sudden surprise. A couple of moments later the knocking returned, only not as loud. Scootaloo's eyes flickered towards Babs before  returning towards the doorway to their front room.

"You go ahead and get the food," she told Babs, "I'll see who's at the door."

"Allright, just be careful Scoots," Babs said, giving her another quick peck before turning and trotting off towards their kitchen.

Scootaloo trotted into their mostly barren front room, grumbling in annoyance at seeing Babs' soaked rain coat flung haphazardly in the corner, dampening the floor. Shaking her head, Scootaloo's attention returned to the door as a third series of knocks shook the door, signalling a rather impatient visitor.

Unwilling to endure another round of knocking Scootaloo quickly crossed the room and grabbed the knob, pulling the door open to reveal a white stallion almost completely covered by a rain coat. What helped Scootaloo to recognize him, however, was the eyepatch he was wearing across his left eye, a small area of brown peeking out from around the cloth.

"Can I come in?" he questioned, his deep voice a major change from his once high pitched tone.

Scootaloo nodded to him, stepping aside as he trotted in.

"Thanks." he said, shrugging off his coat as he stepped in.

"Babs!" she called out, "Get another plate, we gotta guest!"

"'Kay!"

Scootaloo eyed up the well toned form of the stallion, his body being crisscrossed in several scars. It was a shocking change from the once carefree Pipsqueak that she had known as a foal in Ponyville.

"So Pip, to what do I have the honor of this visit?"

"I want to talk to you Scoots."

"'Bout what?"

"About Tirek."