Starting overby Jonny BenchChaptersthe enda helping handa new begginingpaybackCoincidencesLearning a new lessonThe path homeBase buildingdiscoverythe endIt was a cold and dreary Sunday afternoon in Ponyville. The sun was just starting to set, and ponies were all at home, with their families sitting down to eat dinner. All but one. A lone pegasi filly walked the long dirt path back to the place she called home, a small club house in the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. It wasn’t much, but at least it was a safe place she could lay her head at night. It isn't insulated and it doesn’t have any actual glass windows, but still it was better than a cardboard box on the street. Today this filly is feeling terrible, her friends were with their families in other parts of equestria, she had no food, and worst of all the local bullies decided to make her life extremely miserable today. “Stupid Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, making fun of me because I don’t have a cutie mark and that I can’t fly.” The filly says to herself as she trots up the stairs into the club house. As soon as she passes through the threshold of the door, however, she collapses onto her bed and starts crying. “Why do they have to be so mean to me? Why can’t they just leave me alone? Maybe their right and I am just a worthless chicken. I hate my life. I hate it so much I just want to. End it.” The thought comes to her and snaps her out of her tantrum. “Why don’t I just end it? Nopony’ll miss me if I’m gone. What would they care. If I actually did matter then I wouldn’t be here right now debating this whole topic. UGGGHH!” She says to herself frustrated. After a moment and having cleared her mind of her previous anger she makes up her mind and pulls a piece of paper and a quill out from her pack and begins to write. Dear everypony I have ever known, When you get this, you’ll be to late to stop me from carrying out my plan. My life has been nothing but pain and sadness, and tonight I want it to end. I’ll show you what I can do! I will fly! I’ll fly or die trying! All of you will know soon if I succeed tonight Because If I don’t the morticians will be carrying my body out of ghastly gorge tomorrow morning. If I don’t then all I can say is, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn't be a better pony. I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better friend. And I’m sorry I couldn't be a better sister. Goodbye everypony, I hope you’ll remember me. Sincerely, Your Friend and family, Scootaloo. She ends the letter and folds it up writing To: Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Bell, and Apple Bloom Putting it on the table in the clubhouse before walking out and towards the forest. Knowing full well what she was doing, she stepped over the barrier that had been put in front of Ghastly Gorge. As she got closer and closer to the edge of the chasm, she felt more and more confident about what she was doing was right. “I’m just a burden to everypony else, so why should I be here. I’m holding them all back from what they could be. It’s time to end the story that is my life. As she reaches the ledge, she spreads her wings as if to soar high in the sky. And then she jumps. “This must be what it feels like to fly!” She thinks “It’s too bad that this feeling has to leave as soon as it came.” As she continues to plummet to the ground, faster and faster. She closes her eyes and waits for impact with the cold, hard earth. But it never comes. Instead she hears a voice. “I got you. Don’t worry.” a helping handHearing this causes her to open her eyes and look around. What she sees is a complete surprise, an earth pony that is falling with her. She looks at him in confusion. “Who are you?” She asks. He replies with a soft smile and grabs her. She begins to struggle as she is placed on top of him, still being held tightly and he speaks to her. “Brace for impact.” As they hit the ground. Surprisingly the filly is still alive. “How? That impact should have killed me?” She says to herself. The colt walks out of the crater they had made and answers her question as well as ask a new one. “If I hadn’t interfered it would have killed you. Can you please tell me why you decided to jump? Unless you were sleepwalking, you couldn’t have accidentally fallen in without hitting the barrier.” She looks at him with a look of shame in her eyes “I did it because I’m so useless! I can’t ever do anything right! I can’t fly, I can’t stand up for myself, and I can’t find my special talent! I’ve just been a burden upon everypony I know, and I don’t want to be burden for them anymore! My parents abandoned me when I was about 5, and I’ve been on my own ever since then! I am done with everything this life has given me! You couldn’t possibly understand what it’s like to be alone and not do anything properly!” The colt looks at her with a look of sympathy in his eyes and decides to speak up. “I do know what it’s like to be alone. I lost my parents when I was four, as well as my wings.” He says pointing at his back with a fore hoof “I know what it feels like to be sad, lost, afraid, and feel broken. I am not going to pity you because nopony wants to be pitied, but I will offer you a preposition. I could either bring you back to town, and leave your life entirely, or you could join me and travel equestria, for one year. You would be able to see many new and cool things. I could teach you a few things on how to survive and be awesome, but you would not see anypony you know for an entire year. It’s your choice. You have until tomorrow aftern.” “I want to go with you! Please take me far away from this place, I hate how boring this town is! Please, please please take me with you. I want to see equestria and possibly find my special talent, and most importantly, I want to be as awesome as I can!” “Alright, you can go with me. Let's go and grab your things and we can head out tonight. Oh and you should leave a note for your friends so they don’t worry too much.” She remembers the first note she left and said “ We gotta hurry, If they find the note I left, they’ll flip and think I died! I left it in a clubhouse in Sweet Apple Acres. My other things are there to!” “Hop on my back, and we’ll be there before you know it!” Says the colt “How? We’re in the bottom of the gorge remember.” She replies “Get on my back and I’ll show you.” The filly hops on the colts back hesitantly as the colt begins to speak in a joking voice. “The captain wants to remind all of the passengers to hold on tight, due to the fact we might encounter some minor turbulence and thanks you for flying air Bench.” The filly rolls her eyes and puts her fore hooves around his neck and wraps her hind quarters around his barrel. The colt then leaps off the ground straight at the wall of the canyon. He then rebounds off and flies straight towards the opposite canyon wall and repeats the process until he clears the top of the gorge. The filly, who is clutching him tightly, is amazed at this feat of awesomeness. “All right, here we go!” Yells the colt as he stands on his hind legs and begins to run. As he takes off running, the trees they passed turn into blurs. “Who is this guy?” The filly thinks to herself. “Here we are.” The colt says to the filly. “How about you go in and grab your stuff. I’ll wait out here. You also might want to destroy that note to mentioned earlier. Don’t want everyone to think that you’re dead.” The filly nods her head and walks in the club house. The first thing she does is tear up her first note and starts to write a second Dear, Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and Rainbow Dash, I am going away for a while. A friend has offered me a chance to see the world and I am accepting it. I am sorry I can’t say goodbye in person, but we leave now or never. By the time you get this, we will probably be in a different city. I will miss you, but I need to have an adventure. I need to find out what my purpose is in life. I will return in one years time, so please don’t despair, and don’t be mad. Your friend, Scootaloo Once she is done writing the note, she folds it up and puts it where the old one used to be. After setting it down, she proceeds to gather what few belongings she may need or want: her scooter, helmet, blanket, Rainbow Dash plushie,and her note book, and puts as much of it as she can into her saddlebags. She then slings her bag onto her back and walks out the door. a new beggining“I’m ready” She says to the colt. “Alright, I’ll call for our ride.” He replies while pressing a button on his watch. “I just realized that we haven’t had proper introductions yet. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Jonny Bench. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” “I’m Scootaloo, and the feeling is mutual.” “So nice to meet you Scootaloo. Oh looks like our ride is here.” Jonny says as he looks at the sky. Scootaloo looks up as well and sees a crate tumbling through the air. Lands on the ground next to them with a massive crash. As it hits the ground it bursts open revealing a device that looks like a scooter, but is made of metal. “This is a motorcycle. It is a lot like a scooter, except you don’t need to push or flap you wings to make it move. I am the only pony in all of equestria that has one. As a matter of fact, I made this myself and it is truly one of the most fun way to travel. Hop on and we can be on our way.” Jonny says to her as he gets on and pats the seat behind him. “You can put your stuff in the back compartment, trust me it’s a lot bigger than it seems to be on the inside.” Scootaloo walks up to the motorcycle and opens its “trunk.” She puts her scooter and saddlebags in while putting her helmet onto her head. She then proceeds to hop on the metal beast and sits down right behind Jonny. He turns around holding a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses and says. “You put your helmet on, good. You know how to be safe. Now before we go you should put these on for the total badass look that we’re trying to go for.” She grins as she grabs them out of his hooves and throws them on causing her to look like a boss. “ hold on tight cause here we go!” Jonny yells as he turns on the engine and floors the gas pedal. The bike zooms forwards and Scootaloo has a look of excitement in her eyes. She finally gets to have a real adventure! “Before we go, why don’t we wake up the town? It doesn’t hurt to cause a little mischief before we leave. Also I have a little present for the local bully.” He says with a mischievous grin on his face. “Heck yeah! Let's do it!” Scootaloo yells, clearly on board with his plan. Suddenly the bike makes a sharp turn and heads towards the apple family’s house on the farm, passing by as they continue onwards to Ponyville, causing a small yellow coated filly with a bright red mane to wake up, look outside , and go back to bed. As the two young ponies are driving down the dirt road, Jonny starts messing around with a few buttons on the front of the bike. Suddenly a package pops out of the console that has For: Diamond Tiara. Written on the top. He waits until they are just about to pass her house when he throws the package and it lands right on her doorstep. “What’s in the box Jonny?” “Just a warning to her so that she doesn’t bother anypony else.” They continue to drive through the streets of Ponyville, shouting wildly, trying to wake the small town up as they leave. They succeed and the entire town is standing outside of their homes as they leave the city limits. “That was hilarious Jonny! I hope this whole trip is going to be as awesome as that was.” “Don’t worry everything should be at least that exciting, if not more so. Now, it’s time for your first lesson, in driving!” “Wait, Driving! are you sure about this? I’ve only ridden on my scooter and that’s nowhere near the speeds your bike can go.” “Don’t worry about it. Besides, you said you wanted to be awesome right? I be here guiding you every step of the way to make sure you stay safe. Trust me.” “Okay, if you say so.” Jonny slows the bike down and comes to a complete stop as he hops off of it and allows Scootaloo to scoot up and take the driver’s seat. He then gets on behind her and gives her instructions. “Okay scoots, first you’re going to want to turn the key and start the cycle up.” She turns the key and the engine flares to life. “There are two pedals, one on each side. The left one is the brake so you can stop and the other one is the gas, to make you go. The stick in front of you is what lets the bike go forwards, backwards, or stay still. Move it into the position marked D and hit the gas.” She does as she is told and the bike immediately zooms forwards. “Hey, look I’m doing it! This is so cool!” “All right, nice job, now take your hoof off the gas and gently apply the brake.” She follows my instructions and we gently come to a halt. Jonny pushes a few buttons on his watch and a second box falls out of the sky, revealing another bike. “I see you can handle the awesomeness of a cycle, so you get to have your own. You can use the buttons and screen to change the color, lights, and parts of the bike. I hope that you enjoy it.” “Thank you! This is the best thing ever!” She replies, as she runs over to the second bike. She immediately starts customizing it. Seconds later the bike starts to change. The paint changes from black to orange and fuchsia, to match her coat and mane, as the lights change to a bright blue. Two thrusters appear on the sides of the bike as well as a mounted cannon. “Nice, I see you have an eye for customization. That is very good when trying to make new gadgets. Now, shall we continue?” Scootaloo nods her head and the two ponies go zooming off into the sunrise yet again. paybackMeanwhile Back in Ponyville. “Ugh, what was that? Eh, it's gone now, so I might as well go back to bed. Wait, what’s that outside? A package? Might as well go get it.” The young filly know to all as Diamond Tiara says to herself. She descends the large staircase, to the first floor and walks up to the door. As she opens it, she looks around, expecting the pony who dropped it off to still be visible, however, all she sees is a large blur in the distance. She shrugs off her curiosity and takes the package into her house. She shuts the door and walks into the kitchen with it. As she is leaving, she notices that it is addressed to her and walks back in so that she can open it. “I wonder what it could be! What if it's a new tiara, or a new toy! It could be filled with Lots and lots of gems! What if it’s the keys to my own house, that would be the best!” She says as she rips open the package. Inside, however, there is only a sphere and a note. The note says For all the times you called me a chicken, you swine! -Scootaloo Suddenly the sphere explodes and sprays mud everywhere. When she believes that the absolute worst thing ever has happened, it gets much worse. “Diamond Tiara? Is that you down there? What in equestria caused you to get up this early in the morning?” She realizes her situation and all she can do about it is say “Oh buck.” CoincidencesJonny signaled for Scootaloo to slow down and come to a stop. Once they both have parked, he walks over to her and tells her “We’ll be in Dodge a Junction in about ten minutes, so I felt that we should stop so I could tell you what to expect. There are thugs there that wouldn’t hesitate to fight you and would, mug, foalnap, or worse to you, so you need to look like you could take them down in an instant. I’ll try to find a bounty that we could take, and so I can teach you how to fight. Then we can really start having an adventure. Got it?” Scootaloo nods her head and gives Jonny a look that says, mess with me and you’re gonna have a bad time. “Alright then, let's carry on” Jonny says as they both hop on their motorcycles and speed off once again. Within a few minutes they have arrived in the town of Dodge Junction. They both pull up in front of the saloon and park their bikes once again, before walking into the loud facility in front of them. As they pass through the doors, however, the entire building goes silent as all eyes fall on the two young ponies who just entered. Suddenly one of the stallions at the bar shouts “Looky what we got here! Two little foals who just walked into the most dangerous part of the town. I think we should show them what we do to young'ens who go wandering off from their parents.” Everyone in the tavern bursts out laughing at the two young ponies as a few grown stallions start walking towards them menacingly. As soon as they are in striking range Jonny says to them “Looks like we have ourselves a room of idiots. I guess I better teach all of you some manners as well as your proper place” He then proceeds to uppercut the pony nearest them, and knocks out a second with an uppercut. Once the first two ponies hit the ground the bar settles down before all Tartarus breaks loose. All of the stallions in the bar run towards Jonny while the mares sit back and watch the fight that ensues. Within ten seconds, however, all of the assailants are on the ground either unconsious or moaning in pain. He then starts walking towards a room in the back, motioning for his friend to do so. Scootaloo cautiously walks to Jonny as he holds a door open for her and they both step into a room with an older mare who seems to be worried. After he closes the door, Jonny starts to speak. “Miss Jubilee, I heard that you have a bounty that I can start on. From what I was told it was a fairly easy one so I decided to let my apprentice join me this time.” The mare , Cherry Jubilee, replies “Yes, some stallions have been stealing some of my goods and I wish for the culprits to be put behind bars. I can pay you both handsomely.” “I require no payment, but I would suggest a beginners salary for my apprentice here. I’m going to be teaching her the ropes of the job here and don’t want here to get too much too fast, if you get what I mean.” “That is understandable Mr. Bench. She will receive the normal price once you have completed my task. This folder here has all of the information I have been able to gather on the bandits who have been plaguing my orchards. You shall also receive a payment in advance to make sure that you will stay on my job. Would 600 bits suffice?” “Yes that would be adequate payment for my compatriots services. We shall return with your “problem” either in hoof or behind bars.” Jonny finishes as he walks towards the door to leave, motioning for Scootaloo to follow. Before they can exit the room however Cherry speaks again. “I forgot to mention, your friend there is being searched for as we speak. I would advise to watch out for Royal guards of each kind and the families of the elements of harmony. They all want to find her and want to put you behind bars as well.” “I told Jonny that I wanted to travel with him because of how bad my life was back home. If they miss me now, then so be it. I will not return until, I have learned all I can about being a bounty hunter and that is my final decision!” Scootaloo says to her employer, before walking out the door. Jonny turns to speak to the mare one last time “I gave her my word that I would teach her and protect her from anything that would interrupt our time together, but I would return her to her home after one year of traveling unless she wished to stay with me. I have a feeling that she will choose the latter, because I sense she has great potential for this job. Now If you would kindly excuse me, I need to catch up to her before any of the locals get any bright ideas about her.” He then calmly walks out and shuts the door behind him. While he runs out to catch up to his apprentice, cherry sits in her office thinking about whether or not her decision was the right one. As the two hunters drive out of the town, a train arrives carrying six ponies. As they get off the train, they bolt to Miss Jubilees saloon and once they enter a cyan Pegasus shouts “Where is she!” Learning a new lessonAs cherry walks out from her office, a blur of cyan knocks her over and yells “Where is she? You said she would be here!” Cherry stands up again and responds to the Pegasus with “I said she had been here, not that I was keeping her here for you.” “What? We ask for all of the ponies who can to be on the lookout for her and try to help us get her back, and you decide to let her go! What is wrong with you! She might get hurt out there! She could be all alone starving out in the cold! How could you do this!” “For the record, she isn’t starving or cold. As a matter of fact she isn’t alone, nor will she be mistreated in any way where she is now!” The rainbow maned Pegasus gives her a look of confusion then anger as she pins the red mane earth pony to the wall and continues to shout “Are you telling me she’s gone as in dead? If so you're, then you’ll be joining her soon!” “Miss Dash, get ahold of yourself. I would never commit to such a heinous crime! What I mean is that she is not traveling alone. As a matter of fact, she is being taught a career in which a single job, could be more than your paycheck over a span of ten to twenty years! Furthermore, she is being taught by the best in the business himself and he swore not to let any harm come to her!” “And what job might you be talking about. Also who is that teacher you mentioned, I just might look him up so I can give him a good clobberin for foalnapping scoots.” “The colt you are looking for is none other than Jonny Bench, and his profession is…” “.. A bounty hunter!” Twilight sparkle finishes for cherry. “Princess Luna told me about him back when I first became an alicorn. She said he was the most dangerous and feared pony despite his age and size. His name alone can scare the army of any nation! How in Tartarus, did Scootaloo persuade him to teach her?” “He doesn’t sound that dangerous. Hay, I bet I could beat him up with one hoof tied behind my back and blindfolded!” “Rainbow, I want you to go down to the hospital and ask all of the stallions there to tell you exactly how they got there and to think about what you just said.” “Why would I need to do that cherry?” “Because, each and every one of them got their flank handed to them by Jonny earlier today, and he didn’t even break a sweat! He knocked out 20 Adult stallions in one minute and he wasn’t even breathing heavy! He could beat you in a fight In ten seconds flat! Also if you had gotten here about five minutes earlier, you’d have caught them leaving town. By now they should be about 400 miles from here. If you hadn’t wasted so much time interrogating me about the wrong stuff, you might have caught up to them by now! Not that it matters if you’d have caught up with them if the filly you want to find doesn’t want to go home! That's right she told me that she wanted to leave Ponyville and get a new look on life! She said that there life was like a living hell, in which her only joys were her friends who she said were often too busy to hang out and talk with her!” Cherry yells at Rainbow Dash, who is looking heartbroken and says “ She never said anything about that to me, but then again, I’m usually so busy with the weather that I rarely talked with her about anything that I didn’t think was important. Great, now I’ve really screwed up big time. Do you think she’ll forgive me?” Cherry replies “Of course she’ll forgive you, but you need to give her time to try something new. She said that she’ll return to Ponyville exactly one year after the day she left, so remember to wait for her. But just remember that she might not be the same pony whom you once knew. She may have matured a lot from before she left. If you really want her to return and stay I Ponyville, then you’ll need to be there for her, got it?” Rainbow nods her head in understanding and says to her friends “Let's go home girls, Scoots will return when she’s ready.” after that they all board the train to return home and await the fated day where their friend would return home, and wonder just how much she’ll have changed. The path homeIt was a beautiful morning in Ponyville. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming. All of the ponies are getting ready for a massive welcome back party and are eagerly awaiting the guests of honor. Suddenly a filly spots something off in the distance. “Look, over there. I see something! It’s them, they’ve returned!” She yells. Suddenly all of the ponies come running out of their homes to be able to see the guests of honor. They are amazed to see that they are riding on the backs of beasts that are made out of metal and walk on two legs, but run as fast as an earth pony if not faster. As they get closer, everypony is completely transfixed on the two ponies who are arriving. once they enter the town they slow down to a sluggish walk while they approach sugarcube corner. As soon as they reach the door of their destination, they turn off their machines, hop off of them,and walk into the bakery where they are met with a thunderous “Surprise!” From the many friends that had been waiting for their return. The expressions of the two ponies who were receiving the party had changed only slightly from no expression to a simple smirk as the Pegasus filly said “Long time no see everypony. Did ya miss me?” As her two closest friends run up to hug her they started asking questions rapid fire “Where were you?” “Why did you go?” “Did you make any new friends?” “Did you have fun?” The returning friend simply looked her friends in the eyes and said “You’ll find out, all in good time. For now, let's party!” As she pulls out her party bazooka and starts firing it left and right. The colt that arrived with her simply smiles and walks out the door, however his departure is not unnoticed as a certain cyan mare follows him out. She sees him sitting up in a tree looking at the sunset with a look of longing in his eyes. Without turning around he speaks “Miss Dash, I must warn you that attempting to harm me in any way will end badly for you.” “What makes you think I would want to hurt you?” “The fact that I talked your #1 fan and honorary sister into going on an adventure across all of equestria where she earned fame, money, learned how to fly, and found her cutie mark without you. I would think that most ponies would be angry at me for even seperating them from their friend/family for even a week.” “I was angry at first, but I learned that I just needed to be patient and wait for scoots to come back. If she did she did, if she didn’t she didn’t. I ended up learning that I was being selfish and needed to just let it go and that she needed to learn how to do her own thing. That's the thing about being in a family, even if your not related by blood, it’s hard to see your family grow up and leave you, even if they will come back to visit.” “She loved all of the adventure and getting to have fun, while trying new things. She even has a good reputation among the other hunters. I convinced her to make her home base in Ponyville so that she can chill out and rest in between her jobs. She will be dropping out of school for this but she will be continuing her job as a bounty hunter. She reminds me of when I was younger and just starting out, except I didn’t have anypony to guide me to become who I am now, nor did I have anypony to return to. Cherish the moments you have with your family because they go by in a flash.” Jonny says ending the conversation between them briefly before speaking again “I’m going to be living here from now on and help scoots on her jobs, but only when she asks for it. If your friend twilight needs a captain of her guard though, let her know I would gladly take the job.” Then he gets up and walks back into the party to attempt to socialize with the ponies there. When he walks in he instantly starts smiling as he sees Scootaloo holding Diamond tiara by her mane a foot off the ground while yelling at her for trying to ruin the party. When scoots finally puts Diamond Tiara back on the ground, she goes running, as if being chased by a timber wolf, all the way home. “That was rather enjoyable.” Says Jonny as he walks up to Scootaloo “I’m glad you’re sticking up for yourself and your friends. What did she say this time?” “She laughed at my friends for not having cutie marks yet. If there is a next time, she’ll get more than just a little scare, that’s for sure.” “She’ll regret the day she messed with you. I bet she learned her lesson, or will try to get her dad to do something about you. Either way she’ll stop bothering you.” “You got that right! Hey, wanna go outside and practice parkour?” “Sure, I’m in the mood for some free running.” Both ponies step outside and start stretching to get ready for an intense workout. Soon all of the guests from the party are outside watching to see what was going to happen. While they are stretching, Scootaloo's friend Apple Bloom sees Scootaloo’s cutie mark and says “Whoa! Look at how awesome scoots cutie mark is! It looks so amazing! What is it though? “It’s the symbol of the mandalorians, a proud race of warriors that were highly skilled in every aspect of being a bounty hunter. They are strong, fast, agile, and very intelligent. Their race is almost extinct now, and the few that know about them think of them as savages and lawless creatures of destruction. To have the mark of the mandalorians is very rare and only the most skilled ponies receive it as a cutie mark” Jonny explains to Apple Bloom as Scootaloo finishes her stretches. Once they are both done warming up they ask for sweetie belle to start them off. “Get ready. Get set. Go!” She yells as they both start running off into the town, doing backflips off of buildings and running on rooftops until they get tired and stop to rest on a cloud. As they sit there they lay back as they are slowly overcome with fatigue and fall asleep. Base buildingEarly the next morning, Jonny and Scootaloo are up and ready to start up their new base. Jonny then says to scootaloo "Hey, if you want to go catch up with your friends, just give me the schematics on what you want me to put in and I'll get it done." "You're the best Jonny, I'll be back for lunch!" "Bring your friends by for lunch, it'll be nice to chat with them!" He shouts to Scootaloo as she runs out the door to try and find her friends. "Well then, let's go buy some supplies." Jonny says as he walkes towards town. While he's walking, he spies Applejack and decides to go talk to her. "Hi Applejack, how're you today?" She replies "Well I'm just dandy, how about you Jonny?" "I'm doing well, just about to go buy some Lumbar and tools to start working on a base for Scoots and I to stay in." "Well, that sounds like quite a project! Tell you what, Big Mac, Applebloom, and I can come by in a bit to help you build it." "Thank you for the offer Applejack, but I should be able to handle it on my own. I already ordered some of the more rare items from a friend, but I guess we'll need some help painting afterwards though. Feel free to stop by around lunch, I should be done with most of the place by then." Jonny says receiving a rather stupefied look from the cowpony. She then says to Jonny "Alright, if you insist. See you then!" Before walking back to Sweet Apple Acres. Jonny continues on his walk and he soon reaches Ponyville. As he walks he can't help but feel as if everypony is talking about him. He shrugs that idea off and continues down to the hardware store. When he walks into the building, he starts to browse all of the different types of wood that are up for sale, before settling on a nice bit of cedar. He walks up the the clerk with one plank of it and says "I'll take all of this you've got." 10 minutes later, he's lugging three carts filled with hundreds of planks, and a few buckets of paint. When he gets back to the site he picked out on the outskirts of town, he checks his MCU or Mobile Comm Unit, for new messages. He finds the schematics for Scootaloo's room, armory and gaming room there as well as confirmation that his building materials will arrive soon. He puts his MCU away as he sees a large chariot in the sky and throws a signal flare down on the ground. When the pegasi in the chariot see the flare, they swing low and drop the package right in front of Jonny who signals that he got the package and proceeds to open it, revealing wires, beams made out of titanium and industrial strength nails and tools. He then presses a button on his MCU which calls a few of his special worker bots in, activates his special magic, he cracks his astral knuckles and says "Better get a start on it, after all the house won't make itself!" discoveryLater that day. During school that day, everypony noticed the absence of a certain orange filly. After school a young unicorn and earth pony started talking about it. “Where do you think she is Applebloom? What if she’s sick!” “Relax sweetie bell, she was probably playin hookie and is waitin for us in the clubhouse.” “Good point, she does do that a lot. Let's hurry, I want to try to find our cutie marks in astrophysics.” “Sweetie, you’re the only one who wants to try that Astro-whatcha call it. Race you there!” The two fillies take off running in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, and towards their clubhouse. As they approach their destination, they notice their friends scooter is nowhere to be found. They talk to each other again. “Her Scooter isn’t here, and it isn’t in the clubhouse either. Where could she be?” “Relax sweets, She left a note here. She probably went to sugar cube corner to get a snack.” The earth pony says to her friend as she picks up the note and reads it. As she reads, a look of utter shock appears on her face. “Your gonna want ta read this Sweetie Bell.” “Stop fooling around Applebloom, it can’t be that bad….” The unicorn’s voice trails off as she reads the letter. “She’s gone! We need to find Rainbow and the others, this is bad.” The two fillies grabbed the letter and bolted from the clubhouse and ran through the trees towards the farmhouse in the distance. Once they could hear the dog barking they started yelling. “Applejack! We need your help! Scoots ran away!” The farm-pony simply stepped out of the house and said. “What in tarnation is all that racket about, Granny’s tryin ta get some rest!” The fillies replied. “Scootaloo, she ran away and we need to go find her. She left a letter and everything!” The mare took the letter and read it. As she read it, her expression changed from one of scepticism to one of shook. “Your right, we need ta get the others and find her. You two find rarity and fluttershy, I’ll get the rest. Come on, hurry!” Ten minutes later at Sugar Cube Corner “Girls we have an emergency! Scootaloo ran away!” The orange earthpony, whose name is Applejack, said to her friends. “Yeah we got proof right here!” The two young fillies said as they set the letter onto the table. Suddenly a cyan Pegasus mare, Rainbow Dash, stands up and shouts “We gotta find her! I can’t be awesome without my #1 fan! Also she might be in danger.” “Alright, i’ll let my brother know and we can start searching right away!” Says princess twilight sparkle as all the ponies in the room start to run outside to let everypony know what has happened and to start the search.
the endIt was a cold and dreary Sunday afternoon in Ponyville. The sun was just starting to set, and ponies were all at home, with their families sitting down to eat dinner. All but one. A lone pegasi filly walked the long dirt path back to the place she called home, a small club house in the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. It wasn’t much, but at least it was a safe place she could lay her head at night. It isn't insulated and it doesn’t have any actual glass windows, but still it was better than a cardboard box on the street. Today this filly is feeling terrible, her friends were with their families in other parts of equestria, she had no food, and worst of all the local bullies decided to make her life extremely miserable today. “Stupid Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, making fun of me because I don’t have a cutie mark and that I can’t fly.” The filly says to herself as she trots up the stairs into the club house. As soon as she passes through the threshold of the door, however, she collapses onto her bed and starts crying. “Why do they have to be so mean to me? Why can’t they just leave me alone? Maybe their right and I am just a worthless chicken. I hate my life. I hate it so much I just want to. End it.” The thought comes to her and snaps her out of her tantrum. “Why don’t I just end it? Nopony’ll miss me if I’m gone. What would they care. If I actually did matter then I wouldn’t be here right now debating this whole topic. UGGGHH!” She says to herself frustrated. After a moment and having cleared her mind of her previous anger she makes up her mind and pulls a piece of paper and a quill out from her pack and begins to write. Dear everypony I have ever known, When you get this, you’ll be to late to stop me from carrying out my plan. My life has been nothing but pain and sadness, and tonight I want it to end. I’ll show you what I can do! I will fly! I’ll fly or die trying! All of you will know soon if I succeed tonight Because If I don’t the morticians will be carrying my body out of ghastly gorge tomorrow morning. If I don’t then all I can say is, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn't be a better pony. I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better friend. And I’m sorry I couldn't be a better sister. Goodbye everypony, I hope you’ll remember me. Sincerely, Your Friend and family, Scootaloo. She ends the letter and folds it up writing To: Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Bell, and Apple Bloom Putting it on the table in the clubhouse before walking out and towards the forest. Knowing full well what she was doing, she stepped over the barrier that had been put in front of Ghastly Gorge. As she got closer and closer to the edge of the chasm, she felt more and more confident about what she was doing was right. “I’m just a burden to everypony else, so why should I be here. I’m holding them all back from what they could be. It’s time to end the story that is my life. As she reaches the ledge, she spreads her wings as if to soar high in the sky. And then she jumps. “This must be what it feels like to fly!” She thinks “It’s too bad that this feeling has to leave as soon as it came.” As she continues to plummet to the ground, faster and faster. She closes her eyes and waits for impact with the cold, hard earth. But it never comes. Instead she hears a voice. “I got you. Don’t worry.”
a helping handHearing this causes her to open her eyes and look around. What she sees is a complete surprise, an earth pony that is falling with her. She looks at him in confusion. “Who are you?” She asks. He replies with a soft smile and grabs her. She begins to struggle as she is placed on top of him, still being held tightly and he speaks to her. “Brace for impact.” As they hit the ground. Surprisingly the filly is still alive. “How? That impact should have killed me?” She says to herself. The colt walks out of the crater they had made and answers her question as well as ask a new one. “If I hadn’t interfered it would have killed you. Can you please tell me why you decided to jump? Unless you were sleepwalking, you couldn’t have accidentally fallen in without hitting the barrier.” She looks at him with a look of shame in her eyes “I did it because I’m so useless! I can’t ever do anything right! I can’t fly, I can’t stand up for myself, and I can’t find my special talent! I’ve just been a burden upon everypony I know, and I don’t want to be burden for them anymore! My parents abandoned me when I was about 5, and I’ve been on my own ever since then! I am done with everything this life has given me! You couldn’t possibly understand what it’s like to be alone and not do anything properly!” The colt looks at her with a look of sympathy in his eyes and decides to speak up. “I do know what it’s like to be alone. I lost my parents when I was four, as well as my wings.” He says pointing at his back with a fore hoof “I know what it feels like to be sad, lost, afraid, and feel broken. I am not going to pity you because nopony wants to be pitied, but I will offer you a preposition. I could either bring you back to town, and leave your life entirely, or you could join me and travel equestria, for one year. You would be able to see many new and cool things. I could teach you a few things on how to survive and be awesome, but you would not see anypony you know for an entire year. It’s your choice. You have until tomorrow aftern.” “I want to go with you! Please take me far away from this place, I hate how boring this town is! Please, please please take me with you. I want to see equestria and possibly find my special talent, and most importantly, I want to be as awesome as I can!” “Alright, you can go with me. Let's go and grab your things and we can head out tonight. Oh and you should leave a note for your friends so they don’t worry too much.” She remembers the first note she left and said “ We gotta hurry, If they find the note I left, they’ll flip and think I died! I left it in a clubhouse in Sweet Apple Acres. My other things are there to!” “Hop on my back, and we’ll be there before you know it!” Says the colt “How? We’re in the bottom of the gorge remember.” She replies “Get on my back and I’ll show you.” The filly hops on the colts back hesitantly as the colt begins to speak in a joking voice. “The captain wants to remind all of the passengers to hold on tight, due to the fact we might encounter some minor turbulence and thanks you for flying air Bench.” The filly rolls her eyes and puts her fore hooves around his neck and wraps her hind quarters around his barrel. The colt then leaps off the ground straight at the wall of the canyon. He then rebounds off and flies straight towards the opposite canyon wall and repeats the process until he clears the top of the gorge. The filly, who is clutching him tightly, is amazed at this feat of awesomeness. “All right, here we go!” Yells the colt as he stands on his hind legs and begins to run. As he takes off running, the trees they passed turn into blurs. “Who is this guy?” The filly thinks to herself. “Here we are.” The colt says to the filly. “How about you go in and grab your stuff. I’ll wait out here. You also might want to destroy that note to mentioned earlier. Don’t want everyone to think that you’re dead.” The filly nods her head and walks in the club house. The first thing she does is tear up her first note and starts to write a second Dear, Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and Rainbow Dash, I am going away for a while. A friend has offered me a chance to see the world and I am accepting it. I am sorry I can’t say goodbye in person, but we leave now or never. By the time you get this, we will probably be in a different city. I will miss you, but I need to have an adventure. I need to find out what my purpose is in life. I will return in one years time, so please don’t despair, and don’t be mad. Your friend, Scootaloo Once she is done writing the note, she folds it up and puts it where the old one used to be. After setting it down, she proceeds to gather what few belongings she may need or want: her scooter, helmet, blanket, Rainbow Dash plushie,and her note book, and puts as much of it as she can into her saddlebags. She then slings her bag onto her back and walks out the door.
a new beggining“I’m ready” She says to the colt. “Alright, I’ll call for our ride.” He replies while pressing a button on his watch. “I just realized that we haven’t had proper introductions yet. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Jonny Bench. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” “I’m Scootaloo, and the feeling is mutual.” “So nice to meet you Scootaloo. Oh looks like our ride is here.” Jonny says as he looks at the sky. Scootaloo looks up as well and sees a crate tumbling through the air. Lands on the ground next to them with a massive crash. As it hits the ground it bursts open revealing a device that looks like a scooter, but is made of metal. “This is a motorcycle. It is a lot like a scooter, except you don’t need to push or flap you wings to make it move. I am the only pony in all of equestria that has one. As a matter of fact, I made this myself and it is truly one of the most fun way to travel. Hop on and we can be on our way.” Jonny says to her as he gets on and pats the seat behind him. “You can put your stuff in the back compartment, trust me it’s a lot bigger than it seems to be on the inside.” Scootaloo walks up to the motorcycle and opens its “trunk.” She puts her scooter and saddlebags in while putting her helmet onto her head. She then proceeds to hop on the metal beast and sits down right behind Jonny. He turns around holding a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses and says. “You put your helmet on, good. You know how to be safe. Now before we go you should put these on for the total badass look that we’re trying to go for.” She grins as she grabs them out of his hooves and throws them on causing her to look like a boss. “ hold on tight cause here we go!” Jonny yells as he turns on the engine and floors the gas pedal. The bike zooms forwards and Scootaloo has a look of excitement in her eyes. She finally gets to have a real adventure! “Before we go, why don’t we wake up the town? It doesn’t hurt to cause a little mischief before we leave. Also I have a little present for the local bully.” He says with a mischievous grin on his face. “Heck yeah! Let's do it!” Scootaloo yells, clearly on board with his plan. Suddenly the bike makes a sharp turn and heads towards the apple family’s house on the farm, passing by as they continue onwards to Ponyville, causing a small yellow coated filly with a bright red mane to wake up, look outside , and go back to bed. As the two young ponies are driving down the dirt road, Jonny starts messing around with a few buttons on the front of the bike. Suddenly a package pops out of the console that has For: Diamond Tiara. Written on the top. He waits until they are just about to pass her house when he throws the package and it lands right on her doorstep. “What’s in the box Jonny?” “Just a warning to her so that she doesn’t bother anypony else.” They continue to drive through the streets of Ponyville, shouting wildly, trying to wake the small town up as they leave. They succeed and the entire town is standing outside of their homes as they leave the city limits. “That was hilarious Jonny! I hope this whole trip is going to be as awesome as that was.” “Don’t worry everything should be at least that exciting, if not more so. Now, it’s time for your first lesson, in driving!” “Wait, Driving! are you sure about this? I’ve only ridden on my scooter and that’s nowhere near the speeds your bike can go.” “Don’t worry about it. Besides, you said you wanted to be awesome right? I be here guiding you every step of the way to make sure you stay safe. Trust me.” “Okay, if you say so.” Jonny slows the bike down and comes to a complete stop as he hops off of it and allows Scootaloo to scoot up and take the driver’s seat. He then gets on behind her and gives her instructions. “Okay scoots, first you’re going to want to turn the key and start the cycle up.” She turns the key and the engine flares to life. “There are two pedals, one on each side. The left one is the brake so you can stop and the other one is the gas, to make you go. The stick in front of you is what lets the bike go forwards, backwards, or stay still. Move it into the position marked D and hit the gas.” She does as she is told and the bike immediately zooms forwards. “Hey, look I’m doing it! This is so cool!” “All right, nice job, now take your hoof off the gas and gently apply the brake.” She follows my instructions and we gently come to a halt. Jonny pushes a few buttons on his watch and a second box falls out of the sky, revealing another bike. “I see you can handle the awesomeness of a cycle, so you get to have your own. You can use the buttons and screen to change the color, lights, and parts of the bike. I hope that you enjoy it.” “Thank you! This is the best thing ever!” She replies, as she runs over to the second bike. She immediately starts customizing it. Seconds later the bike starts to change. The paint changes from black to orange and fuchsia, to match her coat and mane, as the lights change to a bright blue. Two thrusters appear on the sides of the bike as well as a mounted cannon. “Nice, I see you have an eye for customization. That is very good when trying to make new gadgets. Now, shall we continue?” Scootaloo nods her head and the two ponies go zooming off into the sunrise yet again.
paybackMeanwhile Back in Ponyville. “Ugh, what was that? Eh, it's gone now, so I might as well go back to bed. Wait, what’s that outside? A package? Might as well go get it.” The young filly know to all as Diamond Tiara says to herself. She descends the large staircase, to the first floor and walks up to the door. As she opens it, she looks around, expecting the pony who dropped it off to still be visible, however, all she sees is a large blur in the distance. She shrugs off her curiosity and takes the package into her house. She shuts the door and walks into the kitchen with it. As she is leaving, she notices that it is addressed to her and walks back in so that she can open it. “I wonder what it could be! What if it's a new tiara, or a new toy! It could be filled with Lots and lots of gems! What if it’s the keys to my own house, that would be the best!” She says as she rips open the package. Inside, however, there is only a sphere and a note. The note says For all the times you called me a chicken, you swine! -Scootaloo Suddenly the sphere explodes and sprays mud everywhere. When she believes that the absolute worst thing ever has happened, it gets much worse. “Diamond Tiara? Is that you down there? What in equestria caused you to get up this early in the morning?” She realizes her situation and all she can do about it is say “Oh buck.”
CoincidencesJonny signaled for Scootaloo to slow down and come to a stop. Once they both have parked, he walks over to her and tells her “We’ll be in Dodge a Junction in about ten minutes, so I felt that we should stop so I could tell you what to expect. There are thugs there that wouldn’t hesitate to fight you and would, mug, foalnap, or worse to you, so you need to look like you could take them down in an instant. I’ll try to find a bounty that we could take, and so I can teach you how to fight. Then we can really start having an adventure. Got it?” Scootaloo nods her head and gives Jonny a look that says, mess with me and you’re gonna have a bad time. “Alright then, let's carry on” Jonny says as they both hop on their motorcycles and speed off once again. Within a few minutes they have arrived in the town of Dodge Junction. They both pull up in front of the saloon and park their bikes once again, before walking into the loud facility in front of them. As they pass through the doors, however, the entire building goes silent as all eyes fall on the two young ponies who just entered. Suddenly one of the stallions at the bar shouts “Looky what we got here! Two little foals who just walked into the most dangerous part of the town. I think we should show them what we do to young'ens who go wandering off from their parents.” Everyone in the tavern bursts out laughing at the two young ponies as a few grown stallions start walking towards them menacingly. As soon as they are in striking range Jonny says to them “Looks like we have ourselves a room of idiots. I guess I better teach all of you some manners as well as your proper place” He then proceeds to uppercut the pony nearest them, and knocks out a second with an uppercut. Once the first two ponies hit the ground the bar settles down before all Tartarus breaks loose. All of the stallions in the bar run towards Jonny while the mares sit back and watch the fight that ensues. Within ten seconds, however, all of the assailants are on the ground either unconsious or moaning in pain. He then starts walking towards a room in the back, motioning for his friend to do so. Scootaloo cautiously walks to Jonny as he holds a door open for her and they both step into a room with an older mare who seems to be worried. After he closes the door, Jonny starts to speak. “Miss Jubilee, I heard that you have a bounty that I can start on. From what I was told it was a fairly easy one so I decided to let my apprentice join me this time.” The mare , Cherry Jubilee, replies “Yes, some stallions have been stealing some of my goods and I wish for the culprits to be put behind bars. I can pay you both handsomely.” “I require no payment, but I would suggest a beginners salary for my apprentice here. I’m going to be teaching her the ropes of the job here and don’t want here to get too much too fast, if you get what I mean.” “That is understandable Mr. Bench. She will receive the normal price once you have completed my task. This folder here has all of the information I have been able to gather on the bandits who have been plaguing my orchards. You shall also receive a payment in advance to make sure that you will stay on my job. Would 600 bits suffice?” “Yes that would be adequate payment for my compatriots services. We shall return with your “problem” either in hoof or behind bars.” Jonny finishes as he walks towards the door to leave, motioning for Scootaloo to follow. Before they can exit the room however Cherry speaks again. “I forgot to mention, your friend there is being searched for as we speak. I would advise to watch out for Royal guards of each kind and the families of the elements of harmony. They all want to find her and want to put you behind bars as well.” “I told Jonny that I wanted to travel with him because of how bad my life was back home. If they miss me now, then so be it. I will not return until, I have learned all I can about being a bounty hunter and that is my final decision!” Scootaloo says to her employer, before walking out the door. Jonny turns to speak to the mare one last time “I gave her my word that I would teach her and protect her from anything that would interrupt our time together, but I would return her to her home after one year of traveling unless she wished to stay with me. I have a feeling that she will choose the latter, because I sense she has great potential for this job. Now If you would kindly excuse me, I need to catch up to her before any of the locals get any bright ideas about her.” He then calmly walks out and shuts the door behind him. While he runs out to catch up to his apprentice, cherry sits in her office thinking about whether or not her decision was the right one. As the two hunters drive out of the town, a train arrives carrying six ponies. As they get off the train, they bolt to Miss Jubilees saloon and once they enter a cyan Pegasus shouts “Where is she!”
Learning a new lessonAs cherry walks out from her office, a blur of cyan knocks her over and yells “Where is she? You said she would be here!” Cherry stands up again and responds to the Pegasus with “I said she had been here, not that I was keeping her here for you.” “What? We ask for all of the ponies who can to be on the lookout for her and try to help us get her back, and you decide to let her go! What is wrong with you! She might get hurt out there! She could be all alone starving out in the cold! How could you do this!” “For the record, she isn’t starving or cold. As a matter of fact she isn’t alone, nor will she be mistreated in any way where she is now!” The rainbow maned Pegasus gives her a look of confusion then anger as she pins the red mane earth pony to the wall and continues to shout “Are you telling me she’s gone as in dead? If so you're, then you’ll be joining her soon!” “Miss Dash, get ahold of yourself. I would never commit to such a heinous crime! What I mean is that she is not traveling alone. As a matter of fact, she is being taught a career in which a single job, could be more than your paycheck over a span of ten to twenty years! Furthermore, she is being taught by the best in the business himself and he swore not to let any harm come to her!” “And what job might you be talking about. Also who is that teacher you mentioned, I just might look him up so I can give him a good clobberin for foalnapping scoots.” “The colt you are looking for is none other than Jonny Bench, and his profession is…” “.. A bounty hunter!” Twilight sparkle finishes for cherry. “Princess Luna told me about him back when I first became an alicorn. She said he was the most dangerous and feared pony despite his age and size. His name alone can scare the army of any nation! How in Tartarus, did Scootaloo persuade him to teach her?” “He doesn’t sound that dangerous. Hay, I bet I could beat him up with one hoof tied behind my back and blindfolded!” “Rainbow, I want you to go down to the hospital and ask all of the stallions there to tell you exactly how they got there and to think about what you just said.” “Why would I need to do that cherry?” “Because, each and every one of them got their flank handed to them by Jonny earlier today, and he didn’t even break a sweat! He knocked out 20 Adult stallions in one minute and he wasn’t even breathing heavy! He could beat you in a fight In ten seconds flat! Also if you had gotten here about five minutes earlier, you’d have caught them leaving town. By now they should be about 400 miles from here. If you hadn’t wasted so much time interrogating me about the wrong stuff, you might have caught up to them by now! Not that it matters if you’d have caught up with them if the filly you want to find doesn’t want to go home! That's right she told me that she wanted to leave Ponyville and get a new look on life! She said that there life was like a living hell, in which her only joys were her friends who she said were often too busy to hang out and talk with her!” Cherry yells at Rainbow Dash, who is looking heartbroken and says “ She never said anything about that to me, but then again, I’m usually so busy with the weather that I rarely talked with her about anything that I didn’t think was important. Great, now I’ve really screwed up big time. Do you think she’ll forgive me?” Cherry replies “Of course she’ll forgive you, but you need to give her time to try something new. She said that she’ll return to Ponyville exactly one year after the day she left, so remember to wait for her. But just remember that she might not be the same pony whom you once knew. She may have matured a lot from before she left. If you really want her to return and stay I Ponyville, then you’ll need to be there for her, got it?” Rainbow nods her head in understanding and says to her friends “Let's go home girls, Scoots will return when she’s ready.” after that they all board the train to return home and await the fated day where their friend would return home, and wonder just how much she’ll have changed.
The path homeIt was a beautiful morning in Ponyville. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming. All of the ponies are getting ready for a massive welcome back party and are eagerly awaiting the guests of honor. Suddenly a filly spots something off in the distance. “Look, over there. I see something! It’s them, they’ve returned!” She yells. Suddenly all of the ponies come running out of their homes to be able to see the guests of honor. They are amazed to see that they are riding on the backs of beasts that are made out of metal and walk on two legs, but run as fast as an earth pony if not faster. As they get closer, everypony is completely transfixed on the two ponies who are arriving. once they enter the town they slow down to a sluggish walk while they approach sugarcube corner. As soon as they reach the door of their destination, they turn off their machines, hop off of them,and walk into the bakery where they are met with a thunderous “Surprise!” From the many friends that had been waiting for their return. The expressions of the two ponies who were receiving the party had changed only slightly from no expression to a simple smirk as the Pegasus filly said “Long time no see everypony. Did ya miss me?” As her two closest friends run up to hug her they started asking questions rapid fire “Where were you?” “Why did you go?” “Did you make any new friends?” “Did you have fun?” The returning friend simply looked her friends in the eyes and said “You’ll find out, all in good time. For now, let's party!” As she pulls out her party bazooka and starts firing it left and right. The colt that arrived with her simply smiles and walks out the door, however his departure is not unnoticed as a certain cyan mare follows him out. She sees him sitting up in a tree looking at the sunset with a look of longing in his eyes. Without turning around he speaks “Miss Dash, I must warn you that attempting to harm me in any way will end badly for you.” “What makes you think I would want to hurt you?” “The fact that I talked your #1 fan and honorary sister into going on an adventure across all of equestria where she earned fame, money, learned how to fly, and found her cutie mark without you. I would think that most ponies would be angry at me for even seperating them from their friend/family for even a week.” “I was angry at first, but I learned that I just needed to be patient and wait for scoots to come back. If she did she did, if she didn’t she didn’t. I ended up learning that I was being selfish and needed to just let it go and that she needed to learn how to do her own thing. That's the thing about being in a family, even if your not related by blood, it’s hard to see your family grow up and leave you, even if they will come back to visit.” “She loved all of the adventure and getting to have fun, while trying new things. She even has a good reputation among the other hunters. I convinced her to make her home base in Ponyville so that she can chill out and rest in between her jobs. She will be dropping out of school for this but she will be continuing her job as a bounty hunter. She reminds me of when I was younger and just starting out, except I didn’t have anypony to guide me to become who I am now, nor did I have anypony to return to. Cherish the moments you have with your family because they go by in a flash.” Jonny says ending the conversation between them briefly before speaking again “I’m going to be living here from now on and help scoots on her jobs, but only when she asks for it. If your friend twilight needs a captain of her guard though, let her know I would gladly take the job.” Then he gets up and walks back into the party to attempt to socialize with the ponies there. When he walks in he instantly starts smiling as he sees Scootaloo holding Diamond tiara by her mane a foot off the ground while yelling at her for trying to ruin the party. When scoots finally puts Diamond Tiara back on the ground, she goes running, as if being chased by a timber wolf, all the way home. “That was rather enjoyable.” Says Jonny as he walks up to Scootaloo “I’m glad you’re sticking up for yourself and your friends. What did she say this time?” “She laughed at my friends for not having cutie marks yet. If there is a next time, she’ll get more than just a little scare, that’s for sure.” “She’ll regret the day she messed with you. I bet she learned her lesson, or will try to get her dad to do something about you. Either way she’ll stop bothering you.” “You got that right! Hey, wanna go outside and practice parkour?” “Sure, I’m in the mood for some free running.” Both ponies step outside and start stretching to get ready for an intense workout. Soon all of the guests from the party are outside watching to see what was going to happen. While they are stretching, Scootaloo's friend Apple Bloom sees Scootaloo’s cutie mark and says “Whoa! Look at how awesome scoots cutie mark is! It looks so amazing! What is it though? “It’s the symbol of the mandalorians, a proud race of warriors that were highly skilled in every aspect of being a bounty hunter. They are strong, fast, agile, and very intelligent. Their race is almost extinct now, and the few that know about them think of them as savages and lawless creatures of destruction. To have the mark of the mandalorians is very rare and only the most skilled ponies receive it as a cutie mark” Jonny explains to Apple Bloom as Scootaloo finishes her stretches. Once they are both done warming up they ask for sweetie belle to start them off. “Get ready. Get set. Go!” She yells as they both start running off into the town, doing backflips off of buildings and running on rooftops until they get tired and stop to rest on a cloud. As they sit there they lay back as they are slowly overcome with fatigue and fall asleep.
Base buildingEarly the next morning, Jonny and Scootaloo are up and ready to start up their new base. Jonny then says to scootaloo "Hey, if you want to go catch up with your friends, just give me the schematics on what you want me to put in and I'll get it done." "You're the best Jonny, I'll be back for lunch!" "Bring your friends by for lunch, it'll be nice to chat with them!" He shouts to Scootaloo as she runs out the door to try and find her friends. "Well then, let's go buy some supplies." Jonny says as he walkes towards town. While he's walking, he spies Applejack and decides to go talk to her. "Hi Applejack, how're you today?" She replies "Well I'm just dandy, how about you Jonny?" "I'm doing well, just about to go buy some Lumbar and tools to start working on a base for Scoots and I to stay in." "Well, that sounds like quite a project! Tell you what, Big Mac, Applebloom, and I can come by in a bit to help you build it." "Thank you for the offer Applejack, but I should be able to handle it on my own. I already ordered some of the more rare items from a friend, but I guess we'll need some help painting afterwards though. Feel free to stop by around lunch, I should be done with most of the place by then." Jonny says receiving a rather stupefied look from the cowpony. She then says to Jonny "Alright, if you insist. See you then!" Before walking back to Sweet Apple Acres. Jonny continues on his walk and he soon reaches Ponyville. As he walks he can't help but feel as if everypony is talking about him. He shrugs that idea off and continues down to the hardware store. When he walks into the building, he starts to browse all of the different types of wood that are up for sale, before settling on a nice bit of cedar. He walks up the the clerk with one plank of it and says "I'll take all of this you've got." 10 minutes later, he's lugging three carts filled with hundreds of planks, and a few buckets of paint. When he gets back to the site he picked out on the outskirts of town, he checks his MCU or Mobile Comm Unit, for new messages. He finds the schematics for Scootaloo's room, armory and gaming room there as well as confirmation that his building materials will arrive soon. He puts his MCU away as he sees a large chariot in the sky and throws a signal flare down on the ground. When the pegasi in the chariot see the flare, they swing low and drop the package right in front of Jonny who signals that he got the package and proceeds to open it, revealing wires, beams made out of titanium and industrial strength nails and tools. He then presses a button on his MCU which calls a few of his special worker bots in, activates his special magic, he cracks his astral knuckles and says "Better get a start on it, after all the house won't make itself!"
discoveryLater that day. During school that day, everypony noticed the absence of a certain orange filly. After school a young unicorn and earth pony started talking about it. “Where do you think she is Applebloom? What if she’s sick!” “Relax sweetie bell, she was probably playin hookie and is waitin for us in the clubhouse.” “Good point, she does do that a lot. Let's hurry, I want to try to find our cutie marks in astrophysics.” “Sweetie, you’re the only one who wants to try that Astro-whatcha call it. Race you there!” The two fillies take off running in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, and towards their clubhouse. As they approach their destination, they notice their friends scooter is nowhere to be found. They talk to each other again. “Her Scooter isn’t here, and it isn’t in the clubhouse either. Where could she be?” “Relax sweets, She left a note here. She probably went to sugar cube corner to get a snack.” The earth pony says to her friend as she picks up the note and reads it. As she reads, a look of utter shock appears on her face. “Your gonna want ta read this Sweetie Bell.” “Stop fooling around Applebloom, it can’t be that bad….” The unicorn’s voice trails off as she reads the letter. “She’s gone! We need to find Rainbow and the others, this is bad.” The two fillies grabbed the letter and bolted from the clubhouse and ran through the trees towards the farmhouse in the distance. Once they could hear the dog barking they started yelling. “Applejack! We need your help! Scoots ran away!” The farm-pony simply stepped out of the house and said. “What in tarnation is all that racket about, Granny’s tryin ta get some rest!” The fillies replied. “Scootaloo, she ran away and we need to go find her. She left a letter and everything!” The mare took the letter and read it. As she read it, her expression changed from one of scepticism to one of shook. “Your right, we need ta get the others and find her. You two find rarity and fluttershy, I’ll get the rest. Come on, hurry!” Ten minutes later at Sugar Cube Corner “Girls we have an emergency! Scootaloo ran away!” The orange earthpony, whose name is Applejack, said to her friends. “Yeah we got proof right here!” The two young fillies said as they set the letter onto the table. Suddenly a cyan Pegasus mare, Rainbow Dash, stands up and shouts “We gotta find her! I can’t be awesome without my #1 fan! Also she might be in danger.” “Alright, i’ll let my brother know and we can start searching right away!” Says princess twilight sparkle as all the ponies in the room start to run outside to let everypony know what has happened and to start the search.
