The Heart of a Warriorby ZapWBoltChaptersLifeLettersCampBattleAwakeWingMeetingLifeThe sky was growing dark. Darker than usual. The sun was almost never seen anyway, due to the pegasi no longer being able to perform their weather duties. But I had only heard stories about what it used to be like… before the war. My name is Scootaloo. I’m a pegasus. A normal pegasus. Except, I’ve been training to be a warrior. To fight against King Sombra. It wasn’t easy growing up in the war. There was no play. Only work. Most ponies from recent generations don’t even have their cutie marks. There’s no time for special talents to be discovered. As soon as I was old enough, I began training. I was weak, but I’ve grown strong, and soon enough, I’ll become a real soldier. The war has been going on for a several years. Going on ten now. I’ll be eighteen in the summer and that’s when I’ll be able to get out on the battlefield. My dad has been my personal trainer. His name is Thunderhead and he was a royal guard even before the war. My mom, Blue Skies, used to be a weather pegasus, but now she works at one of the military bases. She helps cook and clean over there with a lot of other weather pegasi. My dad may be my personal trainer, but my real trainer is a pegasus stallion named Silver Blade. He used to be a royal guard like my dad. General Blade has been through a lot. He’s missing his left eye, but that’s only one of his many battle scars. General Blade makes us work hard. There is almost no time for rest, and we get up early in the morning and we go to sleep long after the moon has risen. All of us are just waiting for the day when the sun and moon do not rise. When the princesses can no longer perform their duties… The only pony besides my parents who I know well is an earth pony named Apple Bloom. She used to live near Ponyville at a farm formerly known as Sweet Apple Acres. According to the stories from her older sister, the place used to be beautiful. Thousands of apple trees grew across the orchards, growing delicious, shining apples. When the war started, the farm was transformed into a canning factory. The workers there transported food over to our bases. Apple Bloom started training a while after I had, but I had lived on the battlefield my entire life. Apple Bloom was also born blind in one eye, due to malnourishment. No one expected her to be a warrior, but she fought her way up and proved them wrong. Even though Apple Bloom and I are around the same age, she has a few more years of training left. I’m going to be heading to a different base so I can get out into the battle where I am needed. We are upset about having to part, but we know there is nothing we can do. There is no time for friends anyway. The day was drawing closer. The day I would be shipped off to a new base so I could get out and fight. I was a little nervous, but I knew it was what I was meant to do. I may not have had my cutie mark, but my destiny was to fight until either I died, or the war had been won. Until it was time to leave, I still trained with the rest of the ponies. There were a few others who were going to be joining me at the next base, and we all stayed together for some more advanced training. Most of the training consisted of strength tests, but there were a few that were more about endurance and agility. I actually enjoyed these, because I found that I liked to run and jump hurdles and go through obstacle courses. I excelled at it as well, and I had one of the best times in the base. During our short break, I decided to take a quick walk around the perimeter of the base. The sky was a dark crimson. It looked like blood was dripping down it, spilling onto the earth below. There was not a cloud drifting through the sky, but I could see small glaciers poking out of the frozen ground. It wasn’t snowy here, but it was frigid, and the icy wind bit at me as I looked out on the horizon. The cold didn’t bother me; I had become accustomed to it. I squinted, gazing out on the land. I hoped to see some sign of a battle, but I knew I wouldn’t. The base I was living in was very far from the current fights, so we were separated from the action. I sighed, wondering where my parents were and what they were doing. My dad was probably in a battle right now, and my mom was most likely at one of the bases working. “Scootaloo.” I turned around to see Apple Bloom approaching me. I hardly recognized her voice because her country accent was starting to fade. “Apple Bloom.” I said her name. The yellow earth pony came up to me. “What are you doing over here?” I was asked. “Just… Looking.” I replied. “But I was going to head back. The next training block will start soon, I believe.” “Yeah, it does.” Apple Bloom replied, looking at me curiously. “Is there something wrong?” “No… Not really.” I answered shifting uncomfortably. I was a warrior in training. Sharing ‘feelings’ was not important. “It’s just I’m a little worried about how my first battle is going to turn out.” Apple Bloom smiled weakly. “You’re going to be fine Scootaloo. You’re a strong and brave pony.” My friend said this, trying to sound confident, but I knew she was just as worried about it as I was. “Thanks.” I smiled back as we went back to the training area. “You’re probably right. I’ll be fine.” But little did I know, I was about to experience something that would change my life forever. Author's Note Hey everyone, Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I write really short chapters so they probably won't get much longer than this. There will just be a lot of them. XD Anyway, I hope to update this story soon. See you all in the next chapter! LettersWe rose early in the morning. The moon was still high up in the sky, but it was around one AM. The moon was just barely poking out of the sinister clouds, beams of silver light floating down from the heavens. The rest of the ponies who were to be sent to the other base and I quickly got ready, gathering our things. I said goodbye to Apple Bloom. We wished each other luck and we both hoped that when Apple Bloom finished her training she would come to the same base I was going to. There were a few unicorns who were to transport us to the base with their magic. They gathered around us in a circle, their horns beginning to glow. A rainbow of colors beamed out from the unicorn horns, hitting us and surrounding us. Little sparks flew from the magic as the transporting process began. It felt strange, as I was enveloped in the magic. It was almost as I was disconnected from the world, like the universe had just disintegrated around me. I couldn’t feel, see, hear, smell or anything. My mind felt empty, though it was almost peaceful. But before I knew it, I was standing on the frozen ground once again. I raised my head to look around. The base looked almost exactly the same as the one I had trained in, but there was a lot more equipment. The barracks where we slept were on the left and the area where we trained was on the right. There was a brick building with smoke rising out of a lone chimney; I assumed that was the food court. Next to the food court was another brick building with a medical cross on it- the medical wing. Surrounding the base was a tall, wire fence. There were electric wires running all around it and barbed wire peeked out at the top. All the ponies who had been transported with me were now standing. We all looked around, taking in the new surroundings. “Line! Single file line!” I turned my head to see a burly white unicorn stallion with a blue mane and tail. He was wearing some light armor, but nothing like the suits used it battle. The stallion’s cutie mark was dark blue shield with a pink six-pointed star inside it. Above the shield were three light blue stars. I sighed as I jumped into line with the rest of the ponies in my group. I glanced at my empty flank with another sigh, and snapped my head around to stand in line. The white unicorn stallion stepped in front of the line. “You will refer to me as General Shining Armor, or just General Armor. I lead this base and you will answer to me no matter what happens. When I speak to you I expect a response! Is that clear?” “Sir, yes sir!” We shouted a reply in unison. “Good, good.” General Armor nodded, looking my group over. “There is to be no fooling around on the grounds of this base or on the battlefield. I don’t give a buck what you do with your life when you’re not on this land, but as far as I know, we’re still in base 003! You are expected to rise early in the morning, no later than 4:00 AM. That is, unless you are called in for duty. To your left are the barracks! You will be assigned an area for sleeping. To your right is our training area. This is where we will work for most of the day to improve our strength, endurance and tactics. On those grounds you are expected to work your utmost hardest, and there is no taking a break unless you have permission to do so! The food court is in front of us and that is where you will go for your three daily meals. Next to that is the medical wing. If you suffer any injury severe enough to get infected or worsen, always go to the medical wing! Now, march behind me to the barracks. You will be assigned a sleeping area. Move!” “Yes sir!” We marched behind General Armor, our hooves stamping against the barren land. A few days had passed since I had arrived at the base. The daily routine was very similar to the one I was used to, so I was easily accustomed to it. The day that I would be set off into the battlefield was fast approaching. I had a week left. I was excited to finally be able to do something for Equestria, but I was nervous because I knew the risk I was taking. I was ready though. That was without a doubt. I was heading back to the barracks after dinner to get some rest. I would need it for my training routine the next morning. I stopped at the mailboxes outside of the barracks. I had been obsessively checking every day to see if there was a letter from my parents or Apple Bloom. But each day, I was welcomed into the barracks with an empty mailbox. I wasn’t expecting anything, but my spirits rose when I saw a single letter shoved into the back of the box. I reached in and pulled it out. I saw it was from my father. I took the letter inside and went to my bed where I eagerly tore it open. I pulled the letter out and began to read. Dear Scootaloo, How are you? I am happy to hear that you have finished your training and that you will be a full fledged warrior soon. I know you will do well; you are a very strong and intelligent young pony. I am so happy that you are my daughter and I wish you all the best in your battles. Remember that I love you and I will always be here for you if you ever need me. If you have the time, please write a letter back just to tell me how things are going. I love you, Dad. I smiled, happy to hear from someone close to me again. I immediately took a piece of paper out of my bag and began to write a response. Dear Dad, Thank you for sending me a letter! It was so nice to hear from you. I’m doing very well at the new base. Training is difficult, but I know it will prepare for my first battle. I am hoping to hear from Mom and my friend Apple Bloom soon. But for now, good luck and stay safe! I love you Dad. Love, Scootaloo. I sighed, sealing the letter and walking back outside to put it in the mailbox. I hoped my dad was right. I hoped I would be strong enough. Author's Note Hi everypony, Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I hope I did okay with the Shining Armor part. I don't know much about how stuff works in the military. I mean, they are magical, talking, pastel ponies, so realism isn't a big deal. XD Anyway, see you all in the next chapter! CampWhen I woke up that morning, the first thought that crossed my head was ‘Today is the day.’ It indeed was. I would be taken over to a camp on the battlefield so I could fight. It wasn’t far from the base so we would still get supplies from it, but we needed to be directly on the battlefield to fight. I went out of the barracks and went over to the food court. I grabbed a quick meal and then went back to the barracks to get my stuff. The rest of the ponies who were going were there packing as well. We left the barracks in a group without a word. We didn’t talk because we were to busy thinking about what was going to happen to us. General Armor was waiting for us outside. He looked exhausted and beat up, like he had been up all night. He almost seemed worried about something, but he didn’t explain. “Alright! I’m going to call your name and you will respond with ‘present’ when you hear it. Understand?” “Yes sir!” We said in unison. “Rumble!” “Present.” said a gray pegasus stallion with purple eyes and a dark gray mane. “Archer!” “Present.” said a blue earth pony mare with deep purple eyes and a dark blue mane. Her cutie mark was a golden bow and arrow. She was the only pony in our group to have her cutie mark. “First Base!” “Present.” said an orange earth pony stallion with blue eyes and a gray blue mane. “Dinky Doo!” “Present.” said a light purple unicorn mare with golden eyes and a light yellow mane, “Scootaloo!” General Armor called my name last. “Present.” I replied. After the roll call, the general talked about several other things that we would need to know. He told us how things would run at the camp. How we could be called into the fight at any time. How we would have certain tasks we were required to complete. After his speech, we were once again transported by unicorns. It wasn’t as strange this time now that I had experienced it before. But still, I felt so far away from the world… So isolated from everything else that was happening. When I opened my eyes again, I saw that we were in the middle of nowhere. Just barren, frozen land for miles and miles in front of me. In the distance, some deep purple mountains rose out of the earth, ominous clouds encircling their peaks. “Where… Where is everyone?” Someone asked. We were all beginning to wonder if we had been transported to the wrong place. Suddenly, the air began to ripple a little bit in front of us. Like the way a pond ripples when you throw a stone into it. I shook my head, wondering if being teleported by unicorn magic was starting to mess with me. But I could still see the ripples in the air. We all had gone dead silent as we all watched in wonder, confused by what we were seeing. Then, the ripples stopped, and it was almost as if the scenery was peeled away as a large, sturdy brick shelter emerged into our view. We gasped. It was like nothing any of us had ever seen. A purple unicorn began to walk towards us. She had deep purple eyes and a dark blue mane with purple and pink streaks. She was wearing some light armor much like the armor General Shining Armor had been wearing. I could tell she lead the camp, but she didn’t seem as strict as the other generals. “Hello.” She said politely. “I am General Twilight Sparkle. You must be the new warriors from General Shining Armor’s base. He’s my brother, so that’s why my camp and his base are so close to each other. You know, so we can work together.” We were all a little surprised at how normal she talked to us. It was almost like this war didn’t exist. Her tone just seemed to make it feel like we were just living normal lives, meeting each other on the street and saying hello. Two earth ponies walked up to Twilight and stood behind her. They were in much heavier armor that covered their entire bodies except their heads, but helmets were strapped onto the belts of the armor. One pony had a light pink body with blue eyes and a pink mane and the other had a gray body with teal eyes and a light purple mane. “This is Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie. They are some of our top earth pony warriors. They will be showing you around this camp.” General Sparkle explained. “It’s not a very big place, but by the laws of Princess Celestia, we have to use a cloaking spell anyway.” Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie lead us off without saying anything. I could tell they were the silent type. The five of us followed behind them, all nervous about what was about to happen. Pinkie and Maud showed us where we would sleep and where we would eat, but there wasn’t anything else at the camp. The one building that was there was very large though, so it could accommodate the few hundred warriors that stayed there. I went to bed early that night. Something told me that tomorrow, I would be needed. Tomorrow would be my first battle. I just prayed that I was ready. Author's Note Hey everyone, Sorry if this chapter seems kind of weird. I'm trying to get this story started, but luckily, the action starts in the next chapter. So yeah, keep on the look out for it! BattleThe first thing I heard was the sound of blaring sirens. My eyes shot open and I blinked so they could adjust to the bright lights that were flashing overhead. My heartbeat quickened even more than it already had; I had been having one of those dreams where the outside sound works into it. I rocketed out of bed, darting around in blind panic trying to figure out what was happening. That’s when I remembered the drills. We were being called into battle. I flew towards my locker and tore out my armor. I shoved it on, buckling straps and tightening belts. I remembered practicing with this armor back it training so it was easy for me to get it on. There were several other ponies in the hall who were jamming on their armor as well. We all rushed outside of the building where General Sparkle was waiting for us in her full armor. “Get into formation!” She screamed out orders as she directed us where to go. She was definitely a lot stricter now, but no one could blame her. Once we had gotten into formation, General Sparkle began to speak. “King Sombra has deployed his army onto our land once again! We must do our best to push them out of Equestria and destroy the king’s forces forces. We will fight, if not for ourselves, for every other pony who lives in Equestria!” After her speech, General Sparkle moved us out. We marched, out hooves cracking the icy ground. After a while, we joined up with a bunch of other armies. We marched together, the sound of our heavy hooves almost deafening. I could barely keep myself under control. I was so nervous I felt like I could jump out of my armor. But I marched on, taking deep breaths and preparing for what was ahead. Finally, Sombra’s army emerged in the distance. They looked as ominous as the clouds, except much more aggressive. They were wearing gray armor that covered their entire bodies, even their faces. Black feathers sprouted from the tops of their helmets and the their eye masks glowed a bright green. They marched just as perfectly as us. I could hear the generals screaming, but their words were just converted to nonsense in my head. I was too busy staring at King Sombra’s army. I could only think about the poor crystal ponies underneath that armor. They were forced to fight, and there was nothing they could do to get out of it. They were forced to kill us, even though we could be their saviors. And then suddenly, we charged. What happened next was a blur, and suddenly we were in full battle. The other pegasi and I took to the air, rocketing through it like bullets. Tears streamed from my eyes as the wind howled around me. Even though my goggles and armor I could feel the air rushing against me. I grabbed a small bomb out of my pack and aimed at a group of Sombra’s warriors below. I threw the bomb and it hurtled towards the army at breakneck speeds. When it hit the ground, it immediately exploded, dust and ice shooting out from the ground. The bomb had decimated all the ponies underneath it, so I knew I had to be careful where I dropped it. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to feel now that I had ended the lives of those ponies. They may have been our enemies but… This is my job. I reminded myself. The other pegasi were dropping bombs as well, and a few of them were on the ground fighting with the earth ponies and unicorns. i kept flying overhead, dropping the bombs. I already was beginning to wonder how many ponies had been injured or killed at this point. I shook the thought off a proceeded. The battle felt like it would never end. I was beginning to tire, but I forced the air into my lungs and kept flying. Then a new threat emerged. Sombra’s army had brought out cannons that were shooting large arrows. The whizzed by us pegasi, and we desperately began to dodge them. Our enemies aim was getting increasingly better, and even more arrows began to fly off into the sky. One of the arrows grazed the top of my helmet and I yelped. By the looks of it, those things were big enough to take off a limb, and the armor wouldn’t be able to stop them. More and more arrows began to surround me, and when I dodged one, I found another one was headed straight towards me. It was impossible to drop bombs now that all these arrows were coming at me. “SCOOTALOO!” I heard someone yell. “GET OUT OF THERE!” And then it happened. There was one too many arrows for me, and it felt something sharp pierce the base of my wing. There was a loud ripping noise and a snap, and I began to plummet to the earth. I had no idea what was happening. My ears were ringing and my vision was fading. I was numb. I couldn’t feel anything, so I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to be in pain or not. One thing I knew though- I was covered in blood. My own blood. I hit the ground, and a wave of shock went through me. The black began to surround, closing in on me. I tried to fight it, but there was no way I could stop it. The world around me slowing began to fade away, and everything went dark. Author's Note Hello everypony, This story has really begun. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I rated this story T for gore, even though there won't be too much. It's mainly just because it's war and this story will be violent. I'm glad I could write two chapters today because I may not have time to update for a little while. AwakeBlackness. All I could see was the black. My ears were buzzing, but I couldn’t feel anything. I was completely numb. I wasn’t sure what had just happened to me. I barely remembered my own name. My brain felt empty, like all my memories had been erased. Thoughts raced through my head trying to piece my memories back together, I tried to force my eyes open, but they remained shut. I wanted to move, but I didn’t even try. I knew my efforts would go to waste. I’m dead. I thought. I must be dead. For some reason, I was at peace with this fact. I barely even knew who I was, so I didn’t really know what I had lost if I was really dead. Suddenly, the buzzing in my ears stopped. “Scootaloo? Scootaloo, can you hear me?” The voice came to me like a distant whisper. It was distorted and sounded strange, but I recognized it nonetheless. “Dad…?” I croaked weakly. I wasn’t even sure if I had really said it or if I was just imagining it, so I said it again. “Dad…” Suddenly, all my memories came flooding back to her. I remembered my whole life, from fillyhood to my current age. I remembered growing up on the battlefield. I remembered all of the training I had done. I remembered the new base, and the new camp. Most importantly, I remembered Apple Bloom, and my dad and my mom… I remembered all the ponies I had met. And then I remembered the battle. I remembered how I had flown up with the other pegasi. I remembered dropping bombs on Sombra’s army. I remembered the arrows… And I remembered being shot and plummeting from the sky… But there was nothing else I knew about what had happened to me. My mind raced, desperately trying to figure out where I might be and what had happened. “Scootaloo!” There was my father’s voice again. This time, I felt a hoof touch my face. The numbness instantly went away and my eyes shot open. I blinked, trying to bring the blurry world into focus.My vision slowly began to clear, and I could make out a stallion who was standing in front of me. He had a gray coat and deep indigo eyes. His mane was black and it spiked up every which way in a messy cut. It was streaked with white and light gray. His tail was black as well but it did not have streaks like his mane. His muzzle had three large scars running over it and there was another scar under his chin. The stallion’s wings were clipped in several places. But the thing that was most noticeable was his cutie mark. It was two stormclouds with golden lightning bolts striking out of them. This stallion was my father. “Dad…!” I tried to yell, but my voice was raspy and rough. I tried to force myself upwards into a sitting position, because I had just realized I had been lying down. But my attempts were useless. “Shh…. Shh Scootaloo…” My dad whispered as calmly as possible. He helped me lie down in a comfortable position again. I looked around the room. I was in some brick structure. The walls and ceiling were painted a plain white and the floor was made up of greenish-gray tiles. The door to the room was black and there was a small window on it. Out through the window I could see ponies in hospital garments rushing about. Some looked like doctors and some were nurses. There were a few others passing by the window. Some of these ponies had bandages and a lot of them looked sick, so I assumed they were patients. I was lying on some hospital bed. The sheets were bright, clean white as were the pillows. An IV was in my leg and I noticed my limbs were heavily bandaged. “Is this… Are we… Am I in the medical wing?” I asked, finally finding my voice. “Yes.” Came my father’s reply. I was still very confused. “What happened…?” My father sighed. He looked terrible, like he hadn’t slept in a week. He looked ten years older than when I had seen him last. “You remember going into your first battle, don’t you?” I nodded. “Yeah. I remembered flying up and dropping bombs on Sombra’s army. Then the enemies started firing arrows and I think that I got… I got shot. I fell from the sky and I blacked out.” “Alright… I… I don’t want to worry you, but you were shot…” My father said with a nervous and worried look. “I presumed…” I said. My father took a deep breath and continued. “You were lifted out and to the medical wing. I got news of what had happened and came here immediately, but I don’t think you’re mother has heard yet. Either that or she’s been delayed on coming here. I got here, well, early. I was so worried about you… You weren’t awake, but you… You were knocked out for over a week.” I gasped. “Over a week?! But… but…. How bad is it dad? What happened to me. My father was hesitating to tell me something. “You took some serious damage…” He wasn’t going to tell me. I knew he wouldn’t. I looked around my room again and noticed a large mirror on the same wall my bed was pushed up against. I struggled to get out the bed. I put my hooves on it, pushing myself upwards. I winced as searing pain rocketed through my neck, head, limbs and back. But the pain didn’t stop me. I launched myself forward, landing on my hooves. Another jolt of pain went through me. My father was yelling at me to stop, but it was too late. I was already standing in front of the mirror. My legs were wobbly, my I stood there strongly. I lifted my head to look at myself in the glass. The tip of my right ear was torn off and a large bandage was wrapped around it and the top of my head. My right eyes had a large scar running through it and the skin around both my eyes was bruised. In fact, I looked purple I had so many bruises all over my body. My neck was bandaged, as well as my four legs. There were a few areas on my body where I assumed I had been stitched up. Then, I noticed the massive bandage that was wrapped around my middle. I tried to slowly unfurl my wings, but only the left one came up. A rush of panic went through me and I turned so my right side was facing the mirror. I began to breath heavily, the panic spreading throughout my whole body. My right wing was gone. Author's Note Hey everypony, This chapter was a little longer than the others, but there was a lot to say! I like leaving stuff as cliffhangers as you probably notice in my chapters. Hope you enjoyed this chapter though, and see you in the next one! WingIt felt like my world was closing in. Fading away. I felt trapped and isolated, like I couldn’t escape. I prayed it was just a terrible nightmare. That there was no war. That life was normal and I had both of my wings. I prayed and prayed, hoping that it would all end. But it wouldn’t. It was real. “Scootaloo…” My father’s voice was faint. The panic and terror was too overwhelming. “Scootaloo!” I was finally broken from my state. “W...what…?” The panic was rising in my throat again. “What h-happened…?” “You… you lost a wing Scootaloo.” My father hesitated, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, I felt a surge of rage blow through me. “HOW?!” I screamed, almost falling down at the effort of screaming. “HOW DID THIS…” I collapsed onto the cold, tile floor, my legs giving out under me. I breathed heavily, trying to push myself up again. But it was no use. At this point, a few nurse ponies had emerged into the room. They helped me get back into my bed and one of them went out to call in the doctor. I tried to resist; I hated being in such a helpless position. But I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it. “How did it happen, Daddy…?” I whispered weakly, sounding like a little filly who had accidentally dropped her ice cream cone. A tear slid down my face, dropping onto the thin sheets covering me. “Scoots…” My father was using his old nickname for me. This meant he was about to tell me something I really wouldn’t like. “The arrow that shot you, well, it pierced right through the bone of your wing, just above the last joint. Your wing… well, it came off from where it had been hit. They tried to save your wing sweetie, they really did. But… they couldn’t. They amputated the rest of it to save you…” Another tear fell off of my face. “W-will I ever fly… again?” I asked quietly, dreading the answer. My father was about to answer when the door to my room swung open. I lifted my head just enough to see who it was. It was a tan unicorn with a brown mane and tail. He was wearing a white coat and a stethoscope hung from his neck. The stallion wore thick glasses that made his blue eyes look much bigger than they really were. “Good morning Miss Scootaloo.” The doctor greeted, levitating a clipboard with his magic. “It’s good to see you finally awake. I presume you have discovered your…. Injury?” The doctor looked at my father, who nodded. The doctor continued. “Ah… I am sure you are very upset and confused by all this, but for now we just need to take some blood and check you over a little bit to make sure everything is okay. You had a bad fall and… a bad injury. We need to help everything heal up, don’t we?” I didn’t reply. The doctor gave the nurses a few instructions. One of them grabbed a needle and began to sterilize it, along with her hooves. Another came over to me and wrapped my hoof up in a black pad. She pressed down on a cylinder connected to the pad by a tube and the pad slowly began to tighten around my hoof. “Blood pressure is normal…” the nurse commented as she wrote a few notes on a clipboard. Another nurse looked into my eyes, my ears and my mouth. The other listened to my heartbeat. Neither of them looked alarmed, so I assumed I was working alright. The first nurse was now coming towards me with the needle. She dabbed by leg with some alcohol and stuck the needle in the vein, pulling blood out with it. I swallowed hardly as I watched the syringe fill up with my own blood. I could only think of how much of it I had already lost… When the nurse was finished, she pulled the needle out and rubbed a bit more alcohol onto my leg. She taped a cotton sheet over it and took the blood over to the doctor. After a while, the doctor turned around, blood filled syringe in hoof. “Well, it seems everything it fairly normal Miss Scootaloo. You should make a full recovery, through it will take a while.” There was still a question running through my mind that I desperately needed to hear the answer to even though I dreaded it. “Doctor, thank you for taking care of me and all that, but… will I ever be able to… to fly again?” The doctor sighed, looking slightly agitated. “Well, in this day and age, we do have the technology to make you a prosthetic. You won’t be able to feel it, but it will work as a normal wing would. You should be able to continue your duties as a warrior, though it won’t be the same.” I nodded. I felt much better now that I had heard this; I had expected a much more upsetting answer. The doctor was just about to leave the room when he stopped and turned around. “Oh, and in the meantime, we have someone you might like to meet.” The doctor pushed the door open a little further. I lifted my head up once again; it took a lot of effort to perform this simple action. When I saw the pony who was outside of the door, I was immediately intrigued. She was a light blue with magenta eyes. Her mane and tail were the entire spectrum of colors; a rainbow. The mane and tail were clipped shortly much like mine, but her forelock was long and uneven and it hung down over her eyes. The pony’s right side was facing me, and I could see she was a pegasus. But when she turned around to enter the room, I gasped, barely believing my eyes. Her left wing was missing. Replaced by a metal frame covered in steel plates. She was just like me. Author's Note Wow. I finally got back to this story. I have been busy. A lot busier than I thought I would be. Hopefully I can write more of this story soon. MeetingThe mare’s magenta eyes bored into me. The look she was giving me was so intense I couldn’t keep eye contact with her and I had to look away. All at the same time, she looked annoyed, angry, curious, upset and joyful. The doctor’s voice broke the uncomfortable silence. “Miss Scootaloo, this is Rainbow Dash. Both of you have similar injuries, we hoped that you two might be able to heal together.” Heal together? I had no idea what this delusional doctor was thinking, but warriors like me didn’t just make friends. My only friend was Apple Bloom and that was because I’d known her since we were fillies. There’s no time for making friends or having fun. Everyone knows that. Before anyone could say anything else, my dad’s earpiece buzzed. “Yes. This is Second Lieutenant Thunderhead.” My father spoke into the microphone. “Affirmative. I’m on my way. Over.” I didn’t question anything. I knew my father wouldn’t be able to stay with me much longer. He probably begged for a few days off so he could see me. “Scootaloo, I’m sorry…” He apologized. “I can’t stay. They need me out there. I’ll try to come back in a few days to check on you, but even if I can’t Mom will be coming soon. I’ll write to you.” I sighed. “Don’t worry Dad. I understand. I guess I’ll see you later.” “Yes. Bye Scootaloo.” Before I could respond, my father rushed out the door. There was another long moment of silence. No one knew what to say. The doctor was once again the one to break it. “Well…” He said, shifting uncomfortably on his hooves. “I’ll leave you two. I have to go tend to the other patients.” He walked out of the room hurriedly. For a long while, the rainbow maned pegasus mare and I stared at each other. This eye contact wasn’t strange as it had been before. Now it was competitive, like it was a staring contest. Finally, the mare broke eye contact and sat down up against the wall opposite to my bed. “It wasn’t my idea.” She said, glaring up at me again. “Glad to know we’re both in the same boat on this ‘healing together’ thing.” I growled slowly. There was another period of silence. “Rainbow Crash, right?” I asked, spitting out the words. “Dash.” She hissed angrily. “And what does it matter what my name is? I’m not in this to make friends.” “Neither am I.” I muttered. “Neither am I…” As another few moments of silence passed, I looked at Rainbow Dash’s metal wing. I guessed that it was the one the doctor was talking about. It looked uncomfortable to wear, but as long as I could fly, it didn’t matter. As I was studying the wing, another question popped into my head. One that I knew would annoy her. “So, what happened to the ol’ wing?” I sneered. Rainbow rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh. “And you’re the one asking this? Have you looked in a mirror lately?” “As a matter of a fact I have!” I snarled. This mare was starting to frustrate me. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash looked inspired. “You know, if you really want to know about my wing, I could tell you the story. I’m sure you’ll be impressed.” Before I could stop her, the tale began. “So of course, I’m a warrior. Like you and most of the ponies in this hospital. So I’m just minding my own business, dropping bombs from above and being an awesome sniper, when suddenly, this random enemy pegasi knocks me straight out of the air!” She punched the air with her hoof to show me. Suddenly, she looked alarmed. “Well, I fought them first and I was about to win when another one came up from behind and pulled my wing right out of the socket! I tried to fly, but I couldn’t. I mean, I almost did, but… Anyway, I fell down from the sky. I was really high up because that’s cool and all that stuff, but I hit the ground and I heard a really loud snap! Then I blacked out, and I woke up here in the hospital. They told me I severely broke my wing and they had to amputate it! But that didn’t stop me! I kept training and stuff and I got this metal wing and… yeah. That's the story.” After hearing the story, I felt surprisingly better and I pushed myself into an upright position. “You wanna hear how I lost my wing?” I didn’t wait for an answer, but began the tale anyway. Of course, much like Rainbow had, I added a few things in to make the story more interesting. She seemed mildly impressed when I had finished. Rainbow Dash smiled. An authentic smile. “Maybe we have more in common than I thought.” “Maybe we do.” I gave that smile right back to her. And maybe my life wasn’t completely ruined. Author's Note Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry if it seems rushed. If there are any typos, please let me know!
LifeThe sky was growing dark. Darker than usual. The sun was almost never seen anyway, due to the pegasi no longer being able to perform their weather duties. But I had only heard stories about what it used to be like… before the war. My name is Scootaloo. I’m a pegasus. A normal pegasus. Except, I’ve been training to be a warrior. To fight against King Sombra. It wasn’t easy growing up in the war. There was no play. Only work. Most ponies from recent generations don’t even have their cutie marks. There’s no time for special talents to be discovered. As soon as I was old enough, I began training. I was weak, but I’ve grown strong, and soon enough, I’ll become a real soldier. The war has been going on for a several years. Going on ten now. I’ll be eighteen in the summer and that’s when I’ll be able to get out on the battlefield. My dad has been my personal trainer. His name is Thunderhead and he was a royal guard even before the war. My mom, Blue Skies, used to be a weather pegasus, but now she works at one of the military bases. She helps cook and clean over there with a lot of other weather pegasi. My dad may be my personal trainer, but my real trainer is a pegasus stallion named Silver Blade. He used to be a royal guard like my dad. General Blade has been through a lot. He’s missing his left eye, but that’s only one of his many battle scars. General Blade makes us work hard. There is almost no time for rest, and we get up early in the morning and we go to sleep long after the moon has risen. All of us are just waiting for the day when the sun and moon do not rise. When the princesses can no longer perform their duties… The only pony besides my parents who I know well is an earth pony named Apple Bloom. She used to live near Ponyville at a farm formerly known as Sweet Apple Acres. According to the stories from her older sister, the place used to be beautiful. Thousands of apple trees grew across the orchards, growing delicious, shining apples. When the war started, the farm was transformed into a canning factory. The workers there transported food over to our bases. Apple Bloom started training a while after I had, but I had lived on the battlefield my entire life. Apple Bloom was also born blind in one eye, due to malnourishment. No one expected her to be a warrior, but she fought her way up and proved them wrong. Even though Apple Bloom and I are around the same age, she has a few more years of training left. I’m going to be heading to a different base so I can get out into the battle where I am needed. We are upset about having to part, but we know there is nothing we can do. There is no time for friends anyway. The day was drawing closer. The day I would be shipped off to a new base so I could get out and fight. I was a little nervous, but I knew it was what I was meant to do. I may not have had my cutie mark, but my destiny was to fight until either I died, or the war had been won. Until it was time to leave, I still trained with the rest of the ponies. There were a few others who were going to be joining me at the next base, and we all stayed together for some more advanced training. Most of the training consisted of strength tests, but there were a few that were more about endurance and agility. I actually enjoyed these, because I found that I liked to run and jump hurdles and go through obstacle courses. I excelled at it as well, and I had one of the best times in the base. During our short break, I decided to take a quick walk around the perimeter of the base. The sky was a dark crimson. It looked like blood was dripping down it, spilling onto the earth below. There was not a cloud drifting through the sky, but I could see small glaciers poking out of the frozen ground. It wasn’t snowy here, but it was frigid, and the icy wind bit at me as I looked out on the horizon. The cold didn’t bother me; I had become accustomed to it. I squinted, gazing out on the land. I hoped to see some sign of a battle, but I knew I wouldn’t. The base I was living in was very far from the current fights, so we were separated from the action. I sighed, wondering where my parents were and what they were doing. My dad was probably in a battle right now, and my mom was most likely at one of the bases working. “Scootaloo.” I turned around to see Apple Bloom approaching me. I hardly recognized her voice because her country accent was starting to fade. “Apple Bloom.” I said her name. The yellow earth pony came up to me. “What are you doing over here?” I was asked. “Just… Looking.” I replied. “But I was going to head back. The next training block will start soon, I believe.” “Yeah, it does.” Apple Bloom replied, looking at me curiously. “Is there something wrong?” “No… Not really.” I answered shifting uncomfortably. I was a warrior in training. Sharing ‘feelings’ was not important. “It’s just I’m a little worried about how my first battle is going to turn out.” Apple Bloom smiled weakly. “You’re going to be fine Scootaloo. You’re a strong and brave pony.” My friend said this, trying to sound confident, but I knew she was just as worried about it as I was. “Thanks.” I smiled back as we went back to the training area. “You’re probably right. I’ll be fine.” But little did I know, I was about to experience something that would change my life forever. Author's Note Hey everyone, Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! I write really short chapters so they probably won't get much longer than this. There will just be a lot of them. XD Anyway, I hope to update this story soon. See you all in the next chapter!
LettersWe rose early in the morning. The moon was still high up in the sky, but it was around one AM. The moon was just barely poking out of the sinister clouds, beams of silver light floating down from the heavens. The rest of the ponies who were to be sent to the other base and I quickly got ready, gathering our things. I said goodbye to Apple Bloom. We wished each other luck and we both hoped that when Apple Bloom finished her training she would come to the same base I was going to. There were a few unicorns who were to transport us to the base with their magic. They gathered around us in a circle, their horns beginning to glow. A rainbow of colors beamed out from the unicorn horns, hitting us and surrounding us. Little sparks flew from the magic as the transporting process began. It felt strange, as I was enveloped in the magic. It was almost as I was disconnected from the world, like the universe had just disintegrated around me. I couldn’t feel, see, hear, smell or anything. My mind felt empty, though it was almost peaceful. But before I knew it, I was standing on the frozen ground once again. I raised my head to look around. The base looked almost exactly the same as the one I had trained in, but there was a lot more equipment. The barracks where we slept were on the left and the area where we trained was on the right. There was a brick building with smoke rising out of a lone chimney; I assumed that was the food court. Next to the food court was another brick building with a medical cross on it- the medical wing. Surrounding the base was a tall, wire fence. There were electric wires running all around it and barbed wire peeked out at the top. All the ponies who had been transported with me were now standing. We all looked around, taking in the new surroundings. “Line! Single file line!” I turned my head to see a burly white unicorn stallion with a blue mane and tail. He was wearing some light armor, but nothing like the suits used it battle. The stallion’s cutie mark was dark blue shield with a pink six-pointed star inside it. Above the shield were three light blue stars. I sighed as I jumped into line with the rest of the ponies in my group. I glanced at my empty flank with another sigh, and snapped my head around to stand in line. The white unicorn stallion stepped in front of the line. “You will refer to me as General Shining Armor, or just General Armor. I lead this base and you will answer to me no matter what happens. When I speak to you I expect a response! Is that clear?” “Sir, yes sir!” We shouted a reply in unison. “Good, good.” General Armor nodded, looking my group over. “There is to be no fooling around on the grounds of this base or on the battlefield. I don’t give a buck what you do with your life when you’re not on this land, but as far as I know, we’re still in base 003! You are expected to rise early in the morning, no later than 4:00 AM. That is, unless you are called in for duty. To your left are the barracks! You will be assigned an area for sleeping. To your right is our training area. This is where we will work for most of the day to improve our strength, endurance and tactics. On those grounds you are expected to work your utmost hardest, and there is no taking a break unless you have permission to do so! The food court is in front of us and that is where you will go for your three daily meals. Next to that is the medical wing. If you suffer any injury severe enough to get infected or worsen, always go to the medical wing! Now, march behind me to the barracks. You will be assigned a sleeping area. Move!” “Yes sir!” We marched behind General Armor, our hooves stamping against the barren land. A few days had passed since I had arrived at the base. The daily routine was very similar to the one I was used to, so I was easily accustomed to it. The day that I would be set off into the battlefield was fast approaching. I had a week left. I was excited to finally be able to do something for Equestria, but I was nervous because I knew the risk I was taking. I was ready though. That was without a doubt. I was heading back to the barracks after dinner to get some rest. I would need it for my training routine the next morning. I stopped at the mailboxes outside of the barracks. I had been obsessively checking every day to see if there was a letter from my parents or Apple Bloom. But each day, I was welcomed into the barracks with an empty mailbox. I wasn’t expecting anything, but my spirits rose when I saw a single letter shoved into the back of the box. I reached in and pulled it out. I saw it was from my father. I took the letter inside and went to my bed where I eagerly tore it open. I pulled the letter out and began to read. Dear Scootaloo, How are you? I am happy to hear that you have finished your training and that you will be a full fledged warrior soon. I know you will do well; you are a very strong and intelligent young pony. I am so happy that you are my daughter and I wish you all the best in your battles. Remember that I love you and I will always be here for you if you ever need me. If you have the time, please write a letter back just to tell me how things are going. I love you, Dad. I smiled, happy to hear from someone close to me again. I immediately took a piece of paper out of my bag and began to write a response. Dear Dad, Thank you for sending me a letter! It was so nice to hear from you. I’m doing very well at the new base. Training is difficult, but I know it will prepare for my first battle. I am hoping to hear from Mom and my friend Apple Bloom soon. But for now, good luck and stay safe! I love you Dad. Love, Scootaloo. I sighed, sealing the letter and walking back outside to put it in the mailbox. I hoped my dad was right. I hoped I would be strong enough. Author's Note Hi everypony, Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I hope I did okay with the Shining Armor part. I don't know much about how stuff works in the military. I mean, they are magical, talking, pastel ponies, so realism isn't a big deal. XD Anyway, see you all in the next chapter!
CampWhen I woke up that morning, the first thought that crossed my head was ‘Today is the day.’ It indeed was. I would be taken over to a camp on the battlefield so I could fight. It wasn’t far from the base so we would still get supplies from it, but we needed to be directly on the battlefield to fight. I went out of the barracks and went over to the food court. I grabbed a quick meal and then went back to the barracks to get my stuff. The rest of the ponies who were going were there packing as well. We left the barracks in a group without a word. We didn’t talk because we were to busy thinking about what was going to happen to us. General Armor was waiting for us outside. He looked exhausted and beat up, like he had been up all night. He almost seemed worried about something, but he didn’t explain. “Alright! I’m going to call your name and you will respond with ‘present’ when you hear it. Understand?” “Yes sir!” We said in unison. “Rumble!” “Present.” said a gray pegasus stallion with purple eyes and a dark gray mane. “Archer!” “Present.” said a blue earth pony mare with deep purple eyes and a dark blue mane. Her cutie mark was a golden bow and arrow. She was the only pony in our group to have her cutie mark. “First Base!” “Present.” said an orange earth pony stallion with blue eyes and a gray blue mane. “Dinky Doo!” “Present.” said a light purple unicorn mare with golden eyes and a light yellow mane, “Scootaloo!” General Armor called my name last. “Present.” I replied. After the roll call, the general talked about several other things that we would need to know. He told us how things would run at the camp. How we could be called into the fight at any time. How we would have certain tasks we were required to complete. After his speech, we were once again transported by unicorns. It wasn’t as strange this time now that I had experienced it before. But still, I felt so far away from the world… So isolated from everything else that was happening. When I opened my eyes again, I saw that we were in the middle of nowhere. Just barren, frozen land for miles and miles in front of me. In the distance, some deep purple mountains rose out of the earth, ominous clouds encircling their peaks. “Where… Where is everyone?” Someone asked. We were all beginning to wonder if we had been transported to the wrong place. Suddenly, the air began to ripple a little bit in front of us. Like the way a pond ripples when you throw a stone into it. I shook my head, wondering if being teleported by unicorn magic was starting to mess with me. But I could still see the ripples in the air. We all had gone dead silent as we all watched in wonder, confused by what we were seeing. Then, the ripples stopped, and it was almost as if the scenery was peeled away as a large, sturdy brick shelter emerged into our view. We gasped. It was like nothing any of us had ever seen. A purple unicorn began to walk towards us. She had deep purple eyes and a dark blue mane with purple and pink streaks. She was wearing some light armor much like the armor General Shining Armor had been wearing. I could tell she lead the camp, but she didn’t seem as strict as the other generals. “Hello.” She said politely. “I am General Twilight Sparkle. You must be the new warriors from General Shining Armor’s base. He’s my brother, so that’s why my camp and his base are so close to each other. You know, so we can work together.” We were all a little surprised at how normal she talked to us. It was almost like this war didn’t exist. Her tone just seemed to make it feel like we were just living normal lives, meeting each other on the street and saying hello. Two earth ponies walked up to Twilight and stood behind her. They were in much heavier armor that covered their entire bodies except their heads, but helmets were strapped onto the belts of the armor. One pony had a light pink body with blue eyes and a pink mane and the other had a gray body with teal eyes and a light purple mane. “This is Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie. They are some of our top earth pony warriors. They will be showing you around this camp.” General Sparkle explained. “It’s not a very big place, but by the laws of Princess Celestia, we have to use a cloaking spell anyway.” Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie lead us off without saying anything. I could tell they were the silent type. The five of us followed behind them, all nervous about what was about to happen. Pinkie and Maud showed us where we would sleep and where we would eat, but there wasn’t anything else at the camp. The one building that was there was very large though, so it could accommodate the few hundred warriors that stayed there. I went to bed early that night. Something told me that tomorrow, I would be needed. Tomorrow would be my first battle. I just prayed that I was ready. Author's Note Hey everyone, Sorry if this chapter seems kind of weird. I'm trying to get this story started, but luckily, the action starts in the next chapter. So yeah, keep on the look out for it!
BattleThe first thing I heard was the sound of blaring sirens. My eyes shot open and I blinked so they could adjust to the bright lights that were flashing overhead. My heartbeat quickened even more than it already had; I had been having one of those dreams where the outside sound works into it. I rocketed out of bed, darting around in blind panic trying to figure out what was happening. That’s when I remembered the drills. We were being called into battle. I flew towards my locker and tore out my armor. I shoved it on, buckling straps and tightening belts. I remembered practicing with this armor back it training so it was easy for me to get it on. There were several other ponies in the hall who were jamming on their armor as well. We all rushed outside of the building where General Sparkle was waiting for us in her full armor. “Get into formation!” She screamed out orders as she directed us where to go. She was definitely a lot stricter now, but no one could blame her. Once we had gotten into formation, General Sparkle began to speak. “King Sombra has deployed his army onto our land once again! We must do our best to push them out of Equestria and destroy the king’s forces forces. We will fight, if not for ourselves, for every other pony who lives in Equestria!” After her speech, General Sparkle moved us out. We marched, out hooves cracking the icy ground. After a while, we joined up with a bunch of other armies. We marched together, the sound of our heavy hooves almost deafening. I could barely keep myself under control. I was so nervous I felt like I could jump out of my armor. But I marched on, taking deep breaths and preparing for what was ahead. Finally, Sombra’s army emerged in the distance. They looked as ominous as the clouds, except much more aggressive. They were wearing gray armor that covered their entire bodies, even their faces. Black feathers sprouted from the tops of their helmets and the their eye masks glowed a bright green. They marched just as perfectly as us. I could hear the generals screaming, but their words were just converted to nonsense in my head. I was too busy staring at King Sombra’s army. I could only think about the poor crystal ponies underneath that armor. They were forced to fight, and there was nothing they could do to get out of it. They were forced to kill us, even though we could be their saviors. And then suddenly, we charged. What happened next was a blur, and suddenly we were in full battle. The other pegasi and I took to the air, rocketing through it like bullets. Tears streamed from my eyes as the wind howled around me. Even though my goggles and armor I could feel the air rushing against me. I grabbed a small bomb out of my pack and aimed at a group of Sombra’s warriors below. I threw the bomb and it hurtled towards the army at breakneck speeds. When it hit the ground, it immediately exploded, dust and ice shooting out from the ground. The bomb had decimated all the ponies underneath it, so I knew I had to be careful where I dropped it. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to feel now that I had ended the lives of those ponies. They may have been our enemies but… This is my job. I reminded myself. The other pegasi were dropping bombs as well, and a few of them were on the ground fighting with the earth ponies and unicorns. i kept flying overhead, dropping the bombs. I already was beginning to wonder how many ponies had been injured or killed at this point. I shook the thought off a proceeded. The battle felt like it would never end. I was beginning to tire, but I forced the air into my lungs and kept flying. Then a new threat emerged. Sombra’s army had brought out cannons that were shooting large arrows. The whizzed by us pegasi, and we desperately began to dodge them. Our enemies aim was getting increasingly better, and even more arrows began to fly off into the sky. One of the arrows grazed the top of my helmet and I yelped. By the looks of it, those things were big enough to take off a limb, and the armor wouldn’t be able to stop them. More and more arrows began to surround me, and when I dodged one, I found another one was headed straight towards me. It was impossible to drop bombs now that all these arrows were coming at me. “SCOOTALOO!” I heard someone yell. “GET OUT OF THERE!” And then it happened. There was one too many arrows for me, and it felt something sharp pierce the base of my wing. There was a loud ripping noise and a snap, and I began to plummet to the earth. I had no idea what was happening. My ears were ringing and my vision was fading. I was numb. I couldn’t feel anything, so I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to be in pain or not. One thing I knew though- I was covered in blood. My own blood. I hit the ground, and a wave of shock went through me. The black began to surround, closing in on me. I tried to fight it, but there was no way I could stop it. The world around me slowing began to fade away, and everything went dark. Author's Note Hello everypony, This story has really begun. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I rated this story T for gore, even though there won't be too much. It's mainly just because it's war and this story will be violent. I'm glad I could write two chapters today because I may not have time to update for a little while.
AwakeBlackness. All I could see was the black. My ears were buzzing, but I couldn’t feel anything. I was completely numb. I wasn’t sure what had just happened to me. I barely remembered my own name. My brain felt empty, like all my memories had been erased. Thoughts raced through my head trying to piece my memories back together, I tried to force my eyes open, but they remained shut. I wanted to move, but I didn’t even try. I knew my efforts would go to waste. I’m dead. I thought. I must be dead. For some reason, I was at peace with this fact. I barely even knew who I was, so I didn’t really know what I had lost if I was really dead. Suddenly, the buzzing in my ears stopped. “Scootaloo? Scootaloo, can you hear me?” The voice came to me like a distant whisper. It was distorted and sounded strange, but I recognized it nonetheless. “Dad…?” I croaked weakly. I wasn’t even sure if I had really said it or if I was just imagining it, so I said it again. “Dad…” Suddenly, all my memories came flooding back to her. I remembered my whole life, from fillyhood to my current age. I remembered growing up on the battlefield. I remembered all of the training I had done. I remembered the new base, and the new camp. Most importantly, I remembered Apple Bloom, and my dad and my mom… I remembered all the ponies I had met. And then I remembered the battle. I remembered how I had flown up with the other pegasi. I remembered dropping bombs on Sombra’s army. I remembered the arrows… And I remembered being shot and plummeting from the sky… But there was nothing else I knew about what had happened to me. My mind raced, desperately trying to figure out where I might be and what had happened. “Scootaloo!” There was my father’s voice again. This time, I felt a hoof touch my face. The numbness instantly went away and my eyes shot open. I blinked, trying to bring the blurry world into focus.My vision slowly began to clear, and I could make out a stallion who was standing in front of me. He had a gray coat and deep indigo eyes. His mane was black and it spiked up every which way in a messy cut. It was streaked with white and light gray. His tail was black as well but it did not have streaks like his mane. His muzzle had three large scars running over it and there was another scar under his chin. The stallion’s wings were clipped in several places. But the thing that was most noticeable was his cutie mark. It was two stormclouds with golden lightning bolts striking out of them. This stallion was my father. “Dad…!” I tried to yell, but my voice was raspy and rough. I tried to force myself upwards into a sitting position, because I had just realized I had been lying down. But my attempts were useless. “Shh…. Shh Scootaloo…” My dad whispered as calmly as possible. He helped me lie down in a comfortable position again. I looked around the room. I was in some brick structure. The walls and ceiling were painted a plain white and the floor was made up of greenish-gray tiles. The door to the room was black and there was a small window on it. Out through the window I could see ponies in hospital garments rushing about. Some looked like doctors and some were nurses. There were a few others passing by the window. Some of these ponies had bandages and a lot of them looked sick, so I assumed they were patients. I was lying on some hospital bed. The sheets were bright, clean white as were the pillows. An IV was in my leg and I noticed my limbs were heavily bandaged. “Is this… Are we… Am I in the medical wing?” I asked, finally finding my voice. “Yes.” Came my father’s reply. I was still very confused. “What happened…?” My father sighed. He looked terrible, like he hadn’t slept in a week. He looked ten years older than when I had seen him last. “You remember going into your first battle, don’t you?” I nodded. “Yeah. I remembered flying up and dropping bombs on Sombra’s army. Then the enemies started firing arrows and I think that I got… I got shot. I fell from the sky and I blacked out.” “Alright… I… I don’t want to worry you, but you were shot…” My father said with a nervous and worried look. “I presumed…” I said. My father took a deep breath and continued. “You were lifted out and to the medical wing. I got news of what had happened and came here immediately, but I don’t think you’re mother has heard yet. Either that or she’s been delayed on coming here. I got here, well, early. I was so worried about you… You weren’t awake, but you… You were knocked out for over a week.” I gasped. “Over a week?! But… but…. How bad is it dad? What happened to me. My father was hesitating to tell me something. “You took some serious damage…” He wasn’t going to tell me. I knew he wouldn’t. I looked around my room again and noticed a large mirror on the same wall my bed was pushed up against. I struggled to get out the bed. I put my hooves on it, pushing myself upwards. I winced as searing pain rocketed through my neck, head, limbs and back. But the pain didn’t stop me. I launched myself forward, landing on my hooves. Another jolt of pain went through me. My father was yelling at me to stop, but it was too late. I was already standing in front of the mirror. My legs were wobbly, my I stood there strongly. I lifted my head to look at myself in the glass. The tip of my right ear was torn off and a large bandage was wrapped around it and the top of my head. My right eyes had a large scar running through it and the skin around both my eyes was bruised. In fact, I looked purple I had so many bruises all over my body. My neck was bandaged, as well as my four legs. There were a few areas on my body where I assumed I had been stitched up. Then, I noticed the massive bandage that was wrapped around my middle. I tried to slowly unfurl my wings, but only the left one came up. A rush of panic went through me and I turned so my right side was facing the mirror. I began to breath heavily, the panic spreading throughout my whole body. My right wing was gone. Author's Note Hey everypony, This chapter was a little longer than the others, but there was a lot to say! I like leaving stuff as cliffhangers as you probably notice in my chapters. Hope you enjoyed this chapter though, and see you in the next one!
WingIt felt like my world was closing in. Fading away. I felt trapped and isolated, like I couldn’t escape. I prayed it was just a terrible nightmare. That there was no war. That life was normal and I had both of my wings. I prayed and prayed, hoping that it would all end. But it wouldn’t. It was real. “Scootaloo…” My father’s voice was faint. The panic and terror was too overwhelming. “Scootaloo!” I was finally broken from my state. “W...what…?” The panic was rising in my throat again. “What h-happened…?” “You… you lost a wing Scootaloo.” My father hesitated, unsure of what to say. Suddenly, I felt a surge of rage blow through me. “HOW?!” I screamed, almost falling down at the effort of screaming. “HOW DID THIS…” I collapsed onto the cold, tile floor, my legs giving out under me. I breathed heavily, trying to push myself up again. But it was no use. At this point, a few nurse ponies had emerged into the room. They helped me get back into my bed and one of them went out to call in the doctor. I tried to resist; I hated being in such a helpless position. But I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it. “How did it happen, Daddy…?” I whispered weakly, sounding like a little filly who had accidentally dropped her ice cream cone. A tear slid down my face, dropping onto the thin sheets covering me. “Scoots…” My father was using his old nickname for me. This meant he was about to tell me something I really wouldn’t like. “The arrow that shot you, well, it pierced right through the bone of your wing, just above the last joint. Your wing… well, it came off from where it had been hit. They tried to save your wing sweetie, they really did. But… they couldn’t. They amputated the rest of it to save you…” Another tear fell off of my face. “W-will I ever fly… again?” I asked quietly, dreading the answer. My father was about to answer when the door to my room swung open. I lifted my head just enough to see who it was. It was a tan unicorn with a brown mane and tail. He was wearing a white coat and a stethoscope hung from his neck. The stallion wore thick glasses that made his blue eyes look much bigger than they really were. “Good morning Miss Scootaloo.” The doctor greeted, levitating a clipboard with his magic. “It’s good to see you finally awake. I presume you have discovered your…. Injury?” The doctor looked at my father, who nodded. The doctor continued. “Ah… I am sure you are very upset and confused by all this, but for now we just need to take some blood and check you over a little bit to make sure everything is okay. You had a bad fall and… a bad injury. We need to help everything heal up, don’t we?” I didn’t reply. The doctor gave the nurses a few instructions. One of them grabbed a needle and began to sterilize it, along with her hooves. Another came over to me and wrapped my hoof up in a black pad. She pressed down on a cylinder connected to the pad by a tube and the pad slowly began to tighten around my hoof. “Blood pressure is normal…” the nurse commented as she wrote a few notes on a clipboard. Another nurse looked into my eyes, my ears and my mouth. The other listened to my heartbeat. Neither of them looked alarmed, so I assumed I was working alright. The first nurse was now coming towards me with the needle. She dabbed by leg with some alcohol and stuck the needle in the vein, pulling blood out with it. I swallowed hardly as I watched the syringe fill up with my own blood. I could only think of how much of it I had already lost… When the nurse was finished, she pulled the needle out and rubbed a bit more alcohol onto my leg. She taped a cotton sheet over it and took the blood over to the doctor. After a while, the doctor turned around, blood filled syringe in hoof. “Well, it seems everything it fairly normal Miss Scootaloo. You should make a full recovery, through it will take a while.” There was still a question running through my mind that I desperately needed to hear the answer to even though I dreaded it. “Doctor, thank you for taking care of me and all that, but… will I ever be able to… to fly again?” The doctor sighed, looking slightly agitated. “Well, in this day and age, we do have the technology to make you a prosthetic. You won’t be able to feel it, but it will work as a normal wing would. You should be able to continue your duties as a warrior, though it won’t be the same.” I nodded. I felt much better now that I had heard this; I had expected a much more upsetting answer. The doctor was just about to leave the room when he stopped and turned around. “Oh, and in the meantime, we have someone you might like to meet.” The doctor pushed the door open a little further. I lifted my head up once again; it took a lot of effort to perform this simple action. When I saw the pony who was outside of the door, I was immediately intrigued. She was a light blue with magenta eyes. Her mane and tail were the entire spectrum of colors; a rainbow. The mane and tail were clipped shortly much like mine, but her forelock was long and uneven and it hung down over her eyes. The pony’s right side was facing me, and I could see she was a pegasus. But when she turned around to enter the room, I gasped, barely believing my eyes. Her left wing was missing. Replaced by a metal frame covered in steel plates. She was just like me. Author's Note Wow. I finally got back to this story. I have been busy. A lot busier than I thought I would be. Hopefully I can write more of this story soon.
MeetingThe mare’s magenta eyes bored into me. The look she was giving me was so intense I couldn’t keep eye contact with her and I had to look away. All at the same time, she looked annoyed, angry, curious, upset and joyful. The doctor’s voice broke the uncomfortable silence. “Miss Scootaloo, this is Rainbow Dash. Both of you have similar injuries, we hoped that you two might be able to heal together.” Heal together? I had no idea what this delusional doctor was thinking, but warriors like me didn’t just make friends. My only friend was Apple Bloom and that was because I’d known her since we were fillies. There’s no time for making friends or having fun. Everyone knows that. Before anyone could say anything else, my dad’s earpiece buzzed. “Yes. This is Second Lieutenant Thunderhead.” My father spoke into the microphone. “Affirmative. I’m on my way. Over.” I didn’t question anything. I knew my father wouldn’t be able to stay with me much longer. He probably begged for a few days off so he could see me. “Scootaloo, I’m sorry…” He apologized. “I can’t stay. They need me out there. I’ll try to come back in a few days to check on you, but even if I can’t Mom will be coming soon. I’ll write to you.” I sighed. “Don’t worry Dad. I understand. I guess I’ll see you later.” “Yes. Bye Scootaloo.” Before I could respond, my father rushed out the door. There was another long moment of silence. No one knew what to say. The doctor was once again the one to break it. “Well…” He said, shifting uncomfortably on his hooves. “I’ll leave you two. I have to go tend to the other patients.” He walked out of the room hurriedly. For a long while, the rainbow maned pegasus mare and I stared at each other. This eye contact wasn’t strange as it had been before. Now it was competitive, like it was a staring contest. Finally, the mare broke eye contact and sat down up against the wall opposite to my bed. “It wasn’t my idea.” She said, glaring up at me again. “Glad to know we’re both in the same boat on this ‘healing together’ thing.” I growled slowly. There was another period of silence. “Rainbow Crash, right?” I asked, spitting out the words. “Dash.” She hissed angrily. “And what does it matter what my name is? I’m not in this to make friends.” “Neither am I.” I muttered. “Neither am I…” As another few moments of silence passed, I looked at Rainbow Dash’s metal wing. I guessed that it was the one the doctor was talking about. It looked uncomfortable to wear, but as long as I could fly, it didn’t matter. As I was studying the wing, another question popped into my head. One that I knew would annoy her. “So, what happened to the ol’ wing?” I sneered. Rainbow rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh. “And you’re the one asking this? Have you looked in a mirror lately?” “As a matter of a fact I have!” I snarled. This mare was starting to frustrate me. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash looked inspired. “You know, if you really want to know about my wing, I could tell you the story. I’m sure you’ll be impressed.” Before I could stop her, the tale began. “So of course, I’m a warrior. Like you and most of the ponies in this hospital. So I’m just minding my own business, dropping bombs from above and being an awesome sniper, when suddenly, this random enemy pegasi knocks me straight out of the air!” She punched the air with her hoof to show me. Suddenly, she looked alarmed. “Well, I fought them first and I was about to win when another one came up from behind and pulled my wing right out of the socket! I tried to fly, but I couldn’t. I mean, I almost did, but… Anyway, I fell down from the sky. I was really high up because that’s cool and all that stuff, but I hit the ground and I heard a really loud snap! Then I blacked out, and I woke up here in the hospital. They told me I severely broke my wing and they had to amputate it! But that didn’t stop me! I kept training and stuff and I got this metal wing and… yeah. That's the story.” After hearing the story, I felt surprisingly better and I pushed myself into an upright position. “You wanna hear how I lost my wing?” I didn’t wait for an answer, but began the tale anyway. Of course, much like Rainbow had, I added a few things in to make the story more interesting. She seemed mildly impressed when I had finished. Rainbow Dash smiled. An authentic smile. “Maybe we have more in common than I thought.” “Maybe we do.” I gave that smile right back to her. And maybe my life wasn’t completely ruined. Author's Note Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry if it seems rushed. If there are any typos, please let me know!
