Chapters Scootaloo has just found out that Supreme Commander Colgate has decided to step down as the ruler of Equestria and turn things over to her. While Scootaloo was excited that she finally would be able to take over for Colgate, she had a lot of self-doubt. She couldn't help but wonder how she would live up to Colgate's legacy and one thing that worried her the most was wondering if she would be able to cast a goddess worthy spell.
It was early in the afternoon and Colgate had just announced her decision to step down in front of Commander Scootaloo, General Dark Night, General Lightning Storm and Cheerilee, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, her four guests from the other side of the portal. While her guests were happy she was stepping down, they did have their concerns over the second in command's temper and they couldn't help but wonder how long they would be there given that Scootaloo had a lot to learn before she could officially take over.
After they talked among themselves for a few minutes Cheerilee asked, "So Colgate, how long are we going to have to stay here. We do want to stay and watch the ceremony where you hand over power to your second in command."
Rainbow added, "After all darling, we do want to make sure that you honor your word and do indeed step down."
Colgate replied, "As soon as Scootaloo learns everything she needs to learn so she can take over my responsibilities."
Scootaloo asked, "So what exactly do I need to learn?"
Colgate replied, "Well I need to teach you how to get into the archives, which will include creating special locks that will match your hoofprint. You also need to not only learn how to access the great eye, but how to make it to where you are the only one who can use it."
Scootaloo asked, "Can I make it orange so it will match my coat?"
Colgate replied, "Well once you are Supreme Commander, it will be yours so you can make it whatever color you want." She paused for a minute before continuing, "But do us all a favor, please do not make it green."
Scootaloo replied, "Don't worry Colgate, I won't."
Colgate continued, "Besides doing that, you will need to do some studying so you can write a spell to cleanse Neigh Zealand of all that radiation as I have decided that will be your task to earn your goddess status." She began to laugh, "And besides, I'm sure Celestia will be happy once she has her own country to rule over again."
Her four guests heard her say this and Pinkie asked, "What do you mean Celestia will be happy to have her own country to rule over again?"
Colgate replied, "Well prior to Luna's return from the moon, Celestia ruled Equestria on her own. Right now she rules Saddle Arabia with her parents." She saw the four's faces become more curious and she continued, "I'm thinking that it would be best if you four learned about all our history by reading the history books I have in the archives. I want to get my second in command ready to take over as soon as possible."
Rainbow asked, "Are you really going to just let us into these archives and study your history?"
While normally Colgate would never dream of allowing anypony except for herself, perhaps Scootaloo and possibly her generals into the archives, she knew her guests could never use any of the information in them against her given they have no magic. She replied, "Yes, I will."
Everypony's jaws dropped open, especially that of her second in command. She gasped, "Seriously, you're going to......"
Colgate interrupted, "Scootaloo, do not worry. I will not be allowing them into the Starswirl wing and I will have Dark Night down there with them so we'll be perfectly fine."
Scootaloo had a look of relief on her face. She replied, "Well you just had me worried."
Colgate said, "Speaking of the archives, let's get this started. We need to get down there and find the spell for you to cast so the lock will fit your hoof perfectly. Once you do that, you will be the only pony with the ability to access the archives." She pointed her hoof towards the elevator and asked, "Shall we?"
Scootaloo replied, "Yes, let's go."
Colgate looked at her guests and finished, "Follow me, come on Dark Night, let's get going on this. I promised them they could study our history and I'm not about to go back on my word."
Dark Night looked at Colgate's guests and ordered, "Follow me ladies. This is a rare honor you are about to receive."
Colgate's guests nodded, smiled and followed everypony else. While the four were excited that they would be able to learn so much more about the exotic world they were in, Commander Scootaloo was the most excited. She knew that this would be the first step towards finally becoming Supreme Commander Scootaloo.
Author's Note
In this story, as long as G3 Scootaloo is in Equestria, she will be referred to as Scoots when taking part in a dialogue to prevent confusion over which Scootaloo is speaking.
When being spoken to or spoken about, both will be addressed by the same name unless both are present in the same room, which then G4 Scootaloo will be addressed as Commander.
Once they arrived in the basement they headed directly to the archives. Colgate's guests looked at the door and noticed that there did not appear to be a lock but did notice a hoofprint tile on the floor. Rainbow asked, "Colgate darling, what is that hoofprint on the floor?"
Colgate placed her hoof in the tile causing it to light up and then they heard a click as the door unlocked. Scoots was amazed by this, "Wow, that is just like the locks in my books!"
Colgate just chuckled a bit as they headed in. Once they were halfway in Colgate pointed her left wing at a couple sections of books. She said, "These are our history books, they contain everything from the creation of our world clear up to the end of the last war just a year ago." She cast her gaze at Dark Night and continued, "Could you get them any book they wish to read?"
Dark Night replied, "Yes, I can do that."
Colgate nodded and led Scootaloo towards the back where she unlocked the Starswirl wing and led her in. She headed to an obscure corner where she found a book on locks. She opened it to a page in the middle which described the energies involved in changing the locks. Scootaloo asked, "So is this the spell you used to change the locks back after Twilight altered them?"
Colgate replied, "Yes, it is."
While she was curious as to why she would need to study the energies involved in changing the locks and wondered why she just couldn't recite the spell and it would change, she knew that Colgate would not have brought it up if it was not necessary. Scootaloo began to stare at the book intently focusing as much as she could. Despite her having extremely powerful magic, she just couldn't go into the trance necessary to actually see the energies involved. This caused her to ask, "Colgate, how exactly do I figure out these descriptions? I'm reading them but I can't sense anything."
Colgate walked over by her second in command and sighed, "Scootaloo, you are going to have to stare so intently that you will go into a trance. When this happens, you will see images of ponies from the past doing this. That will cause you to feel the energy and know what to use."
Scootaloo asked, "So basically I will be seeing either you or Twilight using this energy?"
Colgate replied, "Yes, now focus. I want you to get this down."
Scootaloo nodded and continued to focus intently on the book. After fifteen frustrating minutes, a vision finally appeared in her head. She saw Colgate altering the lock from right after the death of the Dark Goddess. Once she felt the energy she asked, "So Colgate, can I cast this spell now? Can I make it to where these will be my archives and I'm the only one who can access them?"
While Colgate had initially planned on letting her, she noticed something about how her second in command stated it. She noticed that she put a lot of emphasis on the word "my." While it did not scare her any, it did make her think Scootaloo was wanting to rush things so she decided to make other plans, "Well I was initially planning on having you do it immediately, I think it would be best if you wait until after you take over."
She pouted, "After I take over? Why do I have to wait until then?"
Colgate could tell she was not very happy and replied, "I just think it would be best. Besides, you do still have to learn that spell to cleanse Neigh Zealand of all that radiation."
The commander sighed, "Oh alright. Where is the book I need to study for this?"
Colgate levitated the book to her and replied, "Here is the book you will need."
Scootaloo asked, "When I find it, will I have to stare intently like I did the last time so I'll know the energies? Who will I see doing it?"
This was one of those facehoof moments for Colgate as she thought her second in command would know that it had never been done before. She sighed, "Nopony has ever even written any spell to cleanse radiation because it has never been necessary." She saw a scowl forming on Scootaloo's face and continued, "You may have to find a spell to cleanse something else, such as wiping out a virus and alter it some to involve radiation. Regarding the energy involved, you will have to figure that out yourself."
This did not sit well with Scootaloo, "What? I have to figure this out myself? Can't you help me?"
Colgate replied, "Commander, this task has been assigned to you and you alone. Nopony was there to assist me when I created that hypercane that caused me to become a goddess nor was anypony there when I used enough energy to split uranium atoms either."
She mumbled, "Well you already had a spell for the hypercane and all you needed was strong magic to split those uranium atoms."
While Colgate could not make out exactly what she said, she could sense her building frustration, which caused her a bit of concern. To ease this concern, she headed back out to the main part of the library to see how her guests were doing and what they thought about the history they had read about so far.
Scootaloo was sitting there flipping through the pages of the book looking for any kind of cleansing spell that she could perhaps alter. While she had picked up an immense amount of knowledge through her times on the battlefield, studying was one thing that she did not like. She began snorting as she was looking through it, "Colgate said something about altering a virus cleansing spell." Her voice became louder as she groaned, "Where is it?"
After five more minutes of frustration, she finally found it. It read,
"Pestilence has wiped the land of life This causes many ponies a lot of strife, Seeing the desolation makes me mad With others it makes them sad,
The pestilence must become a thing of the past The sickness of this land can not last, Now the virus must be wiped out And life the land will no longer be without."
She read over this and went into deep thought, "Well it mentions cleansing the land so life can return but how do I alter this?" After ten minutes of thought she said to herself,
"Radiation has eradicated all life For many ponies this causes strife, Sadness is what the desolation causes many ponies to see, With others madness is the emotion that shall be,
The radiation must be wiped out Then life can return and wander about, Now that the radiation is a thing of the past Life can return to the land and forever it shall last."
Scootaloo looked down at what she wrote and smiled. She figured that since not only did she replace pestilence with radiation but also altered the wording some, that it could very well work. She wrote the spell down on some paper and headed into the main archives to find Colgate talking with her guests. She shouted, "Colgate, I think I have it! I think I have the proper spell!"
Colgate levitated the paper to herself and read over it. A smile formed on her face as she replied, "You know, this looks very good Scootaloo." Her smile quickly changed to one of frustration as she continued, "I just wish there was a place for you to test this before we travel all the way to Neigh Zealand."
Scootaloo replied, "Well you have that time spell of yours and given that we are both great flyers, I'm sure we could get it done in no time!"
Colgate sighed, "You're right Scootaloo. How about we do this tomorrow morning after breakfast?"
This did not sit well with Scootaloo since it was not overly late. She asked, "Colgate, you have that time spell don't you? This should only take us a few minutes. Let's just do it now."
Colgate's stomach growled as late afternoon arrived. She sighed, "Scootaloo, it is late afternoon and supper time will arrive before too long. Besides, I want both of us to have as much energy as possible, especially you. After all, you will need it."
Scootaloo grunted, "Ok. Well I am heading up to my room to clear my mind. I'll see you at supper."
She stormed upstairs and slammed the door behind her. Colgate's guests gave her a nervous look, Rainbow especially. She asked, "Colgate darling, I know she has a vast amount of military knowledge, but are you sure she is the one who should be taking over?"
Cheerilee added, "Her temper is quite volatile. What if she was to get mad over something and attacked another nation?"
Scoots added, "Or marched her army through the portal and declared war on us?"
Pinkie finished, "We certainly wouldn't want that and I don't think your world wants that either."
Colgate had a nervous look on her face as she realized that her guests made good points but also knew that despite her temper, that Scootaloo was not irrational, "Don't worry ladies. Like I said, I will drain that portal of its energy once you return to your world and if she starts anything, I'll take back control of this country and deescalate any hostilities she may cause."
Dark Night, who had been silent the whole time added, "I certainly hope so. The ponies of this world don't want more war and I certainly don't want more war either."
All five of them gave Colgate an intense stare before she replied, "Don't worry everypony. I will warn her about what my plans would be if she created hostilities. She knows I'd have the power to do it and that will keep her in check. Now let's get everything locked up down here, supper time is fast approaching."
The five nodded and after Colgate got the archives locked up they headed back upstairs. Colgate could only sigh in frustration as she heard her guests and Dark Night questioning her decision over who would succeed her. While she could see where they were coming from, she thought they would know that with her telling them she would intervene if things went downhill, that everything would be fine.
Sinister Plans
After being told by Colgate that she would have to wait to change the locks on the archives until after she became Supreme Commander, Scootaloo was furious. Colgate had told her that she would let her do it that day not that long ago. She stormed into her quarters and began stomping the floor and mumbling about how Colgate had lied to her. "Curse her! She told me I could change those locks today but she lied to me! Ugh what I wouldn't give to punish her somehow!"
After a few minutes of angry stomping Scootaloo realized that she better be quiet so she sat down and began looking at global maps and reminisced over her triumphs in the Equine Empire and Saddle Arabia. She suddenly began to wonder that if she was to duplicate what would soon be her army, if she would be able to experience success like that again.
She took a map of the world off her wall, grabbed a pen and began to draw her cutie mark on each nation, including Neigh Zealand, which she had yet to cleanse. She laughed, "Hmmm....I wonder! I wonder how the world would like it if a Supreme Commander ruled everything?" She then realized that after she cleansed Neigh Zealand that she would have goddess tier powers. She continued, "You know, Supreme Commander Scootaloo may sound good but Goddess Scootaloo would sound even better!"
As she sat there dreaming of a world where she was in power, she opened one of her drawers and pulled out something she had kept hidden from everypony, even Colgate. She pulled out a picture of the Dark Goddess Twilight Sparkle. Despite them being enemies for most of the war torn era, she admired Twilight as she was the first one to take war to the world and successfully take it all. She gazed into those green eyes and continued, "Forget Goddess Scootaloo, how about Dark Goddess Scootaloo!"
It then hit her, the reason that Twilight was able to become a dark goddess was because she cast her powerful, goddess worthy spell with a lot of malice, that this spell she will be casting will be out of pure good. She groaned, "Ugh, what kind of spell can I cast that would be of pure evil?"
Then it hit her, she realized that Colgate's guests do not trust her. She said to herself, "Hmmm....perhaps I could cast a powerful, no make that an extremely powerful loyalty spell on those four with evil intentions," she looked back down at the picture of Twilight and laughed, "I could become a dark goddess just like you!" Her blood began to boil again as she focused more on how Colgate lied to her about changing the locks. She looked down again and finished, "I will avenge your death Twilight. I will bring upon this world a never before seen wrath! All will bow to Dark Goddess Scootaloo and no other!"
As she was saying this she heard a voice ask, "Scootaloo, are you alright? I just heard you talking to yourself."
It was Scootaloo from the other world and she realized that she had to stop talking so loud. She replied, "Yeah I'm ok. I'm just thinking and often times I think out loud."
Scoots said, "Well I was just wondering. It is time for supper. Let's go, I'm sure we don't want to keep Colgate waiting."
Scootaloo replied, "Just a minute, I'm coming."
Scootaloo quickly put her picture of Twilight back in her drawer and headed downstairs. While she never imagined that anypony would hear her, she figured that her other world counterpart would not cause any problems. She thought to herself, "Everything will be fine! She is just an earth pony and what threat could she pose against a powerful Alicorn such as me!"
Suppertime Discussions
Suppertime had arrived and when Colgate's guests arrived in the dining hall, there was another dark Alicorn present that they did not recognize and two creatures that they had never even seen before. While Cheerilee, Pinkie and Rainbow looked at them nervously, Scoots looked at them in awe, especially the changelings. For a moment she sat there in silence before asking, "Colgate, I haven't seen these three before. Who are they?"
Colgate replied, "The dark Alicorn is my other officer, Major Frigid Wind. The ones that look like a cross between ponies and insects are my changeling officers. The one on your left is General Lightning Storm and the one on the right is Major Deadly Cloud."
Scoots introduced herself, "Hello, my name is Scootaloo. I am one of Colgate's guests from the other side of the portal."
Lightning Storm asked, "Portal, what portal?"
Before Scoots could say anything Colgate replied, "I'll tell you later about this. This issue is not to be discussed during suppertime." She then motioned for the other three to introduce themselves.
Pinkie said, "My name is Pinkie Pie."
Cheerilee continued, "My name is Cheerilee."
Rainbow added, "My name is Rainbow Dash but most everybody calls me Rainbow."
Dark Night asked, "Everybody? Don't you mean everypony?"
Rainbow looked kind of confused about the everypony term until Colgate interrupted, "General, the inhabitants of her world speak differently. They don't use the term pony nearly as much as we do." She cast her gaze at her guests and continued, "So, what all did you learn today when you were studying?"
Scoots was the first to say anything, "Wow, I never imagined that your world would have such an exciting past." She became more enthusiastic as she continued, "LaurFa banishing her sister, the Nightmare Rebellion, Celestia banishing her sister, the development of things such as dams, the history of Discord, the defeat of Tirek and so many other things!"
Cheerilee added, "I learned that your world is much more violent than our world has ever been."
Pinkie continued, "I'm glad that we never had things like this happen in our world."
Rainbow added, "You know darling, the history of your world makes our history seem boring. I don't think we've ever had any problems in our world at all, much less nearly having our world destroyed multiple times by war and evil creatures."
Scoots finished, "And that nuke spell! How did you do it?"
Colgate chuckled, "Yeah our world has had its exciting moments but I am hoping that our future will become as calm as your world is." She looked at Scoots and continued, "And the information regarding that nuke spell is classified. I'm sorry but that is one thing that I must keep classified forever."
While they were talking Scootaloo just gave the four a smile realizing that after she cleansed Neigh Zealand and when the time was right, that she would cast a loyalty spell of pure malice on them to earn her "Dark Goddess" status.
After supper everypony except one continued their discussion, Scootaloo. She yawned, "I hate to leave this early but I'm tired and I really want to get some rest for tomorrow."
Colgate smiled, "Good, I'm glad to see that you want to be fully alert for this. After all, tomorrow is a big day for you. If you cleanse Neigh Zealand, all we'll have to do is go and get the other world leaders, come home, introduce you as the new Supreme Commander to Ponyville and then to make it official, have you take over the great eye."
Scootaloo added, "And make it orange like me!" She paused and continued, "And then change the locks to the archives so that only I can access them!"
Colgate finished, "And I can turn that duplex on the west side of town into my house and office."
Colgate's guests gave her a smile when she said this. They realized that since she had already made plans for what she would do after the transfer of power, that she would stick to her word and step down. Rainbow said, "Well you get some sleep darling, you are going to need to be alert tomorrow!"
Scootaloo left and while most everypony else continued the conversation they were having, Scoots just couldn't help but wonder what it was she heard. Deep down she did not trust Colgate's second in command and decided that she was going to find out what she was mumbling to herself about.
Author's Note
Dark Alicorns
Changelings
Midnight Plans
That night Scootaloo had trouble getting to sleep as she continued to focus on what she would do after Colgate stepped down and she took over. While she wanted to depose the other leaders immediately, she realized that she did not know any banishment spells and that she would have to wait until she was in charge to study them but she did already have plans. Given that she could not sleep, she got up, turned her light on and began to write these plans down. She wrote,
"Queen Luna I shall banish to the moon. Princess Celestia I shall banish to the sun. Queen Galaxia and King Cosmos shall be cast into Tartarus. Goddess Brevity shall be banished to Titan again. Goddess LaurFa I shall banish to the void. Colgate knows my weaknesses. Her death is all that will suffice. Colgate's four guests must be brainwashed and kept here. Everypony must eventually be brainwashed. Servitude and subservience to Dark Goddess Scootaloo is a MUST. The portal must be found and their world conquered and cast into chains. They may have resources I need. Like Twilight, I shall demand a 10% tribute from all ponies across the world. Dissenters will face the same fate Black Feet did....torture and death."
Scootaloo smiled at her list and let out a yawn. She looked up and when she saw that her clock read 0000, she knew she had better get to bed. She shut her light off and laid down. Once she got to sleep she fell into a deep peaceful sleep, the type that provides a pony with the most rest.
Cleansing Neigh Zealand
When morning arrived, despite being up late the night before, Scootaloo woke up well rested and ready to go. When she headed down to the dining hall she found nopony except Colgate. She asked, "Colgate, where is everypony else?"
Colgate replied, "My guests and the officers are eating over at the base. I figured that it would be best if it were just you and me. I don't want any kind of conversation distracting you."
As soon as their food arrived Scootaloo nodded and began to eat her food. Colgate saw this and was pleased to see such eagerness from her second in command. Once she was done Colgate continued, "Well Scootaloo, we had best be going. I want us to get there while it is still dark."
Scootaloo asked, "Still dark? Why do we need to get there while it is still dark?"
Colgate replied, "Because at night those two islands glow green because of the radiation. Once you cleanse them of radiation, that green glow will be gone and you will have proven yourself."
Scootaloo said, "Alright then, let's get going."
The two headed out the door and Colgate took to the sky. She looked down and said, "Scootaloo, get up here by me. I need to create a time bubble."
Scootaloo remembered this from long ago and replied, "Just like old times!"
Colgate flared up her horn and recited, "A bubble is what we need, so from frozen time we can be freed, in this bubble we can move fast, while everything else is stuck in the past, it is frozen time which through we must pass so we will never be late to class."
As soon as she finished saying this the two were inside the bubble. Colgate poked the very edge of her horn through the bubble and continued, "Tick tock, tick tock, look at the racing clock, what is short is time and being late is a crime, we must finish on top so it is time I must stop, with time froze, it is my enemies I shall bulldoze."
Time was now frozen and both of them knew what needed to be done next. They began to fly and fly quickly. While they were moving fast, Scootaloo was not moving fast enough for them to break the sound barrier. Colgate shouted, "Scootaloo, we need to break the sound barrier if we want to get there in a timely manner."
Scootaloo grunted, "I'm trying as hard as I can."
Colgate snapped, "Well try harder. I can't do this without you flying as fast as me."
Scootaloo sighed in frustration but eventually she was able to get up to Colgate's speed and they broke the sound barrier. A bright bluish-orange light soared across the sky to the southwest. While time was frozen outside the bubble, inside the bubble time kept on ticking and after what was several hours to them, they finally arrived over Neigh Zealand when they stopped. It was still dark and like what Colgate said, there was a green glow coming from the land beneath them.
Scootaloo saw this and excitedly asked, "Colgate, can I get started?"
Colgate replied, "Not yet, I have to unfreeze time and undo the time bubble, remember?"
Scootaloo sighed, "Oh, right."
Colgate flared up her horn and recited, "Look at the clock, it is stuck in place, with this there can be no pace, everything is still but that does not fit the bill, for now the clock shall again run so everypony can have fun."
As she recited this time began to flow by normally but one more thing had to be done, undoing the time bubble, "In the bubble time continues to run, but now the time outside runs and allows fun, the bubble must burst so we can quench our thirst, from the bubble we are now free and everything we can clearly see."
Suddenly the time bubble was gone and the two could feel a light breeze against their faces. Colgate sped skywards and motioned for Scootaloo to follow. Once they were a couple thousand feet above the island Colgate ordered, "Alright Scootaloo, your time has come. Remember the spell, use whatever energy you think will work and most of all, have confidence in yourself. I know you can do this."
Scootaloo looked down and began to fire. She knew that she could not aim it at one small point, she had to cleanse the whole island. After realizing how exactly she would have to do this, she shot a very wide beam of energy, one large enough that it covered the whole island. She began to glow orange as she recited,
"Radiation has eradicated all life For many ponies this causes strife, Sadness is what the desolation causes many ponies to see With others madness is the emotion that shall be,
The radiation must be wiped out Then life can return and wander about, Now that the radiation is a thing of the past Life can return to the land and forever it shall last."
Once she recited this her energy output increased and she began to glow brighter. Soon her cutie mark began to glow and finally, orange beams shot out of her eyes. She was grunting loudly as this spell required a lot of energy and was actually a bit painful. After five minutes Colgate tapped her and told her she could stop. She stopped and as she looked down, she was stunned. What was glowing green was now pitch black.
Colgate gave her a smile and said, "Well one down, one to go!"
Scootaloo nodded and the two flew to the south to the other island. Once they arrived Colgate ordered, "Now do the same thing here."
Again Scootaloo began to glow as she recited the spell. Like it was before she began to glow brighter, her cutie mark glowed and ultimately orange beams shot out of her eyes. Again it took five painful minutes before she would be done. Once she had finished that island too, was dark. The two flew down and landed on the barren island. Colgate lit up her horn and noticed something different about her second in command. No longer were the whites of her eyes white, they had a pale shade of orange over them. Colgate gave her a smile and said, "Congratulations Comman....I mean Goddess Scootaloo, you did it. You completed your task."
Even though she had no way of seeing her eyes she knew that Colgate would not lie to her. She began to celebrate, "Yes, yes, yes, yes! I did it, I did it! Now I can take over and you can return to private life!"
While she was happy for her second in command, Colgate couldn't help but remember how when she would be extremely happy that Twilight would act the same way. While it did irritate her quite a bit, it did not cause her to think that she had anything to worry about. She figured that a lot of ponies would celebrate that way.
After she finished celebrating Scootaloo excitedly asked, "Well shall we go home so we can get me ready for my coronation?"
Colgate asked, "Coronation? What coronation?"
Scootaloo realized that she had used the wrong term. She corrected herself, "I meant the transfer of power."
Colgate replied, "Well first we need to go and get the other leaders and take them back to Ponyville with us." Scootaloo using the term coronation did bother Colgate some and she wanted to find out why she used it. She continued, "Scootaloo, what was the whole coronation thing about? Coronations are for princesses like Celestia, queens like Luna and goddesses like Brevity. Military leaders do not have coronations. In your case it will simply be a transfer of power."
Scootaloo replied, "I'm sorry Colgate, I'm just so excited!" She looked around and continued, "Well shall we go get the other leaders rounded up? I want us to be able to get back to Ponyville so we can get this done!"
This frustrated Colgate. She thought that Scootaloo was wanting to rush things way too fast and she was tired. She raised her voice, "Scootaloo, I am tired and I think we should take a short rest, at least until it is daylight. Then we can go and get the other leaders. For now I just want to sit for a few minutes."
Scootaloo asked, "But where? These islands are still a barren wasteland."
Colgate replied, "I'm just going to sit on the ground. If you want to remain standing then be my guest." She yawned and continued, "You know, riding that time bubble all the way across the Pegasus Ocean made me a bit tired. I'm going to take a quick nap. If you don't fall asleep wake me up when the sun rises and we'll get going."
It did not take long for Colgate to fall asleep and Scootaloo just stood there in frustration. Just like it was with the locks, she felt like Colgate was trying to either delay her claiming her spot on top or spend enough time delaying it that perhaps she would change her mind. A thought suddenly came across Scootaloo's mind, "What if she was to decide to do something to get rid of her madness and stayed in power?"
She began to bite her hooves for a moment but soon realized that Colgate is not one to go back on her word. She simply sighed in frustration hoping they could get this done before too long.
Author's Note
Time Bubble
"A bubble is what we need, so from frozen time we can be freed, in this bubble we can move fast, while everything else is stuck in the past, it is frozen time which through we must pass so we will never be late to class."
Freeze Time
"Tick tock, tick tock, look at the racing clock, what is short is time and being late is a crime, we must finish on top so it is time I must stop, with time froze, it is my enemies I shall bulldoze."
Unfreeze Time
"Look at the clock, it is stuck in place, with this there can be no pace, everything is still but that does not fit the bill, for now the clock shall again run so everypony can have fun."
Undo Time Bubble
"In the bubble time continues to run, but now the time outside runs and allows fun, the bubble must burst so we can quench our thirst, from the bubble we are now free and everything we can clearly see."
Cleansing Spell
"Radiation has eradicated all life
The radiation must be wiped out
Rounding Up Brevity
Three hours had passed and the sun began to rise above the horizon and Colgate was sound asleep. While Scootaloo was getting fairly tired herself, she was not about to just try and even get any rest. She nudged Colgate and woke her up. She asked, "Colgate, the sun is rising. Think we should get going?"
Despite still being quite tired Colgate replied, "Yeah, we probably should." Her stomach began to growl as she continued, "Besides, I'm hungry and I really want to get some food in my stomach."
Scootaloo asked, "So where are we going first?"
Colgate replied, "Well I am thinking that we can hit Alicorn Island first, then Saddle Arabia, then the Equine Empire and finally the Crystal Empire before we head home...."
Scootaloo interrupted, "Yeah and then we can get home and crown me as Supreme......"
Colgate angrily interrupted, "Scootaloo, military leaders are NOT crowned. We are simply promoted. Ugh with the way you are acting it seems like you'd rather be a monarch than what I have groomed you for millennia to be, Supreme Commander of Equestria."
Scootaloo sighed, "Ok, you're right."
Colgate took to the sky and motioned for her to take to the sky with her so she could create the time bubble. Once Scootaloo was by her side she recited, "A bubble is what we need, so from frozen time we can be freed, in this bubble we can move fast, while everything else is stuck in the past, it is frozen time which through we must pass so we will never be late to class."
The time bubble formed around her and Colgate poked the edge of her horn out of it and continued, "Tick tock, tick tock, look at the racing clock, what is short is time and being late is a crime, we must finish on top so it is time I must stop, with time froze, it is my enemies I shall bulldoze."
Time was now froze outside of the bubble. Colgate looked at Scootaloo and ordered, "Let's get going, I want to get up to Alicorn City as soon as possible."
Scootaloo nodded and the two took off and much more quickly this time they broke the sound barrier and headed north. Despite time being frozen and them traveling faster than the speed of sound, it took several hours to reach Alicorn Island as it is no short distance from Neigh Zealand. Finally after a tiring flight Alicorn Island appeared on the horizon. Colgate ordered Scootaloo to stop and she recited, "Look at the clock, it is stuck in place, with this there can be no pace, everything is still but that does not fit the bill, for now the clock shall again run so everypony can have fun."
Once she recited this time began to run outside the bubble and she only had one more spell to cast, the undoing of the time bubble, "In the bubble time continues to run, but now the time outside runs and allows fun, the bubble must burst so we can quench our thirst, from the bubble we are now free and everything we can clearly see."
She cast the spell and they took off towards Alicorn City. Colgate pointed her wing at Brevity's palace and ordered, "Let's get to the palace. Hopefully Brevity will let us have some food and we can get going."
Scootaloo simply nodded but thought to herself, "Yes, one step closer to me taking over!"
They headed to the palace and saw Brevity standing out on her balcony getting some fresh air. She saw them and yelled, "Colgate, Scootaloo, what brings thee to Alicorn Island?"
Colgate replied, "Well I have come to let you know that I need you in Ponyville. I have some news that needs to be shared." Again her stomach growled and she asked, "But first I was wondering if you have anything Scootaloo and I could eat? We are both famished."
Brevity replied, "Follow us to the dining hall and we shall have something to eat." She looked back and continued, "But why dost thou have to tell us something in Ponyville? Canst thee just tell us now?" Her voice grew more concerned as she asked, "Twilight didn't somehow come back from being dead did she?"
Colgate laughed, "No Twilight is still dead! I just need to announce something to the leaders of the world and I want to do it with all of them together in Ponyville."
Scootaloo added, "Yeah, she's goi........"
Colgate put her wing over Scootaloo's mouth and gave her a death glare. The three headed to the dining hall and Brevity summoned the chefs to fix them a good, filling breakfast. She asked, "Colgate, Scootaloo wast going to say something but thou stopped her. What wast she going to say?"
Colgate replied, "For right now that is classified information. I will notify everypony once we are all together."
Brevity sighed, "Well we are most curious and hope that it is nothing bad."
Colgate replied, "Do not worry, it isn't."
After finishing their meal Colgate decided it was time for them to go. As they headed outside Brevity asked, "So are we going to travel by ship or are we going to use thy time spell?"
Colgate replied, "Brevity, didn't you feel yourself being frozen in place for a bit a couple of times? We are going to use my time spell. It is much, much quicker and I want to get this announcement taken care of as soon as possible."
Brevity looked at Scootaloo and asked, "This is quite important, isn't it?"
Scootaloo replied, "Yes, it is very important. It is not just important for her, but for the whole world."
Brevity was not sure what exactly she was hinting at but thought that maybe Colgate was wanting to negotiate commodity prices or something else economical given that it would affect the whole world.
Colgate ordered, "Gather around me so that I can cast the proper spells."
The two gathered around Colgate and she cast the proper spells. As they headed out Colgate looked back and ordered, "Brevity, remember we need to break the sound barrier if we want to get to Ridead before we wear our wings out!"
Rounding Up the Celestial Monarchs
Brevity picked up speed and soon they broke the sound barrier. While Colgate and Scootaloo were both used to flying around quite a bit, since the days of war and unrest had ended, Brevity did not fly around as much as she used to so this was putting quite a strain on her. After what seemed to be forever for her they finally saw Ridead on the horizon. Colgate ordered them to stop and cast the necessary spells so they could head to the palace.
Unlike it was with Brevity though, none of the royals were out and about, they were in the palace. When they reached the gate a guard asked, "Halt, who goes there?"
These guards had seen them before and this angered Colgate. She asked, "You have seen the three of us before have you not? We need to speak to Princess Celestia and her parents."
This jogged the guard's memory, "Oh my goodness, Supreme Commander Colgate, I am sorry for questioning you. Follow me, I shall lead you to their throne room."
As soon as they arrived Celestia ran up to them, "Colgate, Brevity, Scootaloo, how are you doing?"
Colgate replied, "We are doing quite well." She looked at her parents and motioned for them to step forward.
Brevity spoke up, "We need to speak to the three of you in Ponyville over something very important."
Galaxia approached them and asked, "Why do we have to discuss this in Ponyville? Why can't we discuss it here?"
Cosmos, who had also approached them noticed Scootaloo's eyes right away. He pointed his wing at her and asked, "Does this involve Scootaloo's eyes? Did she do something to achieve goddess status? Is that why they have that orange tinge to them?"
Colgate replied, "Like I have said, I will tell all of you this when we get to Ponyville." She leaned over to Celestia's ear and whispered, "Try not to act overly happy but I'll give you a hint. You'll have your own country to rule over again soon!"
Despite being told not to, Celestia began jumping around like a school-filly and screamed, "Yes, yes, yes! I can be Queen Celestia of Neigh Zealand soon!"
This caused the mouths of the other three to drop. Brevity gasped, "Colgate, Scootaloo cleanses Neigh Zealand of it's radiation and thou dost not tell us?
Colgate glared at Celestia and growled, "Princess Celestia, I told you not to act all happy when I told you that." She cast her gaze at the others and continued, "Ok, you all know that Scootaloo has cleansed Neigh Zealand of its radiation but when we get to Maredrid and the Crystal Empire, do not go acting like you know this." She glared at Celestia and added, "Especially you! I don't think your sister would take kindly to me sharing information with the four of you before I do her."
Celestia sighed, "Oh alright."
Colgate replied, "Good. Now let's get going. We have done a lot of traveling today and we have a lot more to do." She headed out the door and continued, "You know the routine, follow me."
The four headed out and surrounded Colgate so she could cast the proper spells. Once she cast them they took off for Maredrid. Like it was with Brevity, the Saddle Arabian monarchs had not done much flying so their wings were out of shape and they just couldn't reach the speed needed to break the sound barrier. Colgate noticed this and ordered, "Look, I know your wings are likely out of shape but the three of us can not carry this bubble alone."
Scootaloo added, "Come on you three, I need you to do this! I don't want my moment to be delayed!"
The three looked at Scootaloo with curiosity wondering what exactly she meant by "her moment."
Rounding Up Luna
Despite them trying as hard as they could, Celestia, Galaxia and Cosmos simply could not break the sound barrier so for them anyway, the trip to Ridead took much longer than it should have. After what was hours for them, they finally saw Maredrid on the horizon. Colgate ordered them to stop so she could cast the necessary spells. After casting them they flew down to the palace where they were greeted by the guards. Unlike the guards in Saddle Arabia, these guards knew who they were immediately.
One guard asked, "I take it you are here to see Queen Luna?"
Celestia replied, "Yes, we are."
The guard said, "Well unfortunately she is not here today. She left a few hours ago to spend a couple days up in Marescow to meet with the mayor and mingle with her subjects."
Scootaloo groaned, "Ugh, we have to work our wings to death AGAIN?"
Colgate replied, "No. We will just fly up there like ponies normally would. Besides, after the way we've been working our wings today, a nice relaxing flight sounds nice."
Brevity and the Saddle Arabian monarchs nodded in agreement but the same could not be said of Scootaloo. This frustrated her greatly, "Colgate, that is going to take forever! You said that we would get everypony rounded up today, get home and then my moment would come!"
Colgate was tired and was quickly becoming frustrated with Scootaloo's impatience, very frustrated. Her eyes began to shine white as she yelled, "Look, there is no time limit on this. We will get back to Ponyville when we get back." Her voice became more intense as she continued, "Don't rush this Scootaloo, patience is a virtue."
Scootaloo interrupted, "But,"
Colgate shouted, "Look, if you keep this up I may just decide a couple day vacation in either Marescow or the Crystal Empire is necessary. I am trying to reduce my stress levels and you aren't helping any!"
Scootaloo had not seen her boss that angry in a very long time so she figured that it would be best if she stopped trying to rush things. She replied, "Alright, I understand."
Colgate sighed, "Good. Now let's get going."
Colgate took off northwards and everypony else did the same. For all except one, it was a nice, peaceful flight and the southerly breeze sped up their trip some. After four hours Marescow was finally visible in the distance. Colgate looked back and yelled, "Alright, we're almost there!"
Cosmos replied, "Good, maybe we'll be able to get something to eat! I'm so hungry."
Celestia licked her chops and added, "Maybe my sister will have some cake!"
Brevity laughed, "Oh thou and thy cake!"
Colgate laughed a bit and then led them all down into Marescow into the courtyard in front of the palace. She knew how Luna was, that on nice days she likes to be out mingling and that is exactly where she was. Luna saw them all land in the courtyard and immediately ran to her family, "Mother, Father, Sister, what brings all of you here?"
Celestia, despite knowing what happened with Scootaloo replied, "Little sister, I am not even sure of that myself." She pointed her wing at Colgate and continued, "Ask her, she is the one who is rounding us all up for one reason or another."
Colgate added, "Well I have something I need to address to all the world leaders but I think it would be best if I told everypony at once and given the nature of the message I need to address, it must be done in Ponyville."
Luna looked at everypony who was present and sighed, "I take it you still have to go to the Crystal Empire and get LaurFa?
Colgate replied, "Yes, I do."
Luna motioned for Colgate to follow her away from the rest of her party and asked, "So I take it you have taken the advice of those other ponies? I take it you are going to step down and want us all present?"
Colgate replied, "Yes, I have. I know the ponies from that other world have their concerns about Scootaloo's temper but I think she'll do a perfectly good job."
Luna said, "As do I." She looked skyward and continued, "Think we should get going? I'm sure Scootaloo wants us to get LaurFa, get back to Ponyville and get all this done."
Colgate replied, "That would be nice but I'm thinking we should just fly regularly up to the Empire. Your family couldn't fly fast enough to break the sound barrier and it was hard to carry three ponies in that bubble who can't fly that fast."
Luna suggested, "I do agree and perhaps when we get to the Crystal Empire we should just see if LaurFa will let us stay the night. I'm sure you and Scootaloo are dead tired."
Colgate replied, "Good plan but your sister wants cake and likely won't leave until she gets some."
Luna gasped, "But all I have is fritters! I am not a big fan of cake so I don't have any, especially up here! Maybe LaurFa will have some."
Colgate replied, "Hopefully now let's go and tell the rest of them that we're headed up to the Crystal Empire. Some of us are hungry but I think we should be fine until we get up there."
Luna nodded and the two headed over to tell the rest of their convoy the news. Naturally Celestia was upset and when Colgate said they were just going to fly up there like they normally would, Scootaloo again was unhappy but did her best to hide it. They took to the sky and headed due north.
Rounding Up LaurFa
It was late in the afternoon when they saw the Crystal Empire off in the distance. Despite her being having the most endurance out of all of them, even Colgate was exhausted. When they crossed through the dome Colgate ordered for them to land. She sighed, "I don't think I've put my wings through this much of a workout in one day in ages! I certainly am looking forward to some rest!"
Scootaloo asked, "Rest? But after we pick up LaurFa aren't we going to head home and take care of things?"
All of the leaders glared at her and Luna replied, "Scootaloo, while some of us are more tired than others, we have decided that we may see if we can spend the night up here. I don't know about you but I am tired, very tired."
Scootaloo protested, "Really? Can't we just get her and go home?" Scootaloo then remembered how Colgate would make entire trips around the world easily in the past and continued, "Colgate, back during the era of the wars, you would get going in that time bubble and travel the world like it is nothing! Why are you so tired?"
Colgate could again sense impatience coming from her second in command, "Scootaloo, for starters, I didn't have any ponies to carry in that bubble that couldn't break the sound barrier. Second, I had to do that on a regular basis back then and it was urgent." She raised her voice and finished, "And finally, I didn't have somepony complaining about how we have to get things done ASAP. If she will allow it, we are staying the night here whether you like it or not."
Colgate grunted as they headed towards the palace. Luckily for them the guards recognized them and led them to the throne room. When she saw them LaurFa was shocked to see all of them together, and was especially surprised to see Scootaloo with them. The first one she addressed was her sister, "Brevity, what is going on? Why is everypony up here at once?"
Despite knowing part of it involved Scootaloo, Brevity replied, "We are wondering that ourselves. We know part of it involves Scootaloo and Colgate wanting us to go to Ponyville but what else we are not sure of."
Colgate added, "LaurFa, there is a situation that I need to discuss with every leader present."
LaurFa sighed, "Well we are all here so why don't you just bring it up now? Why do all of us have to be in Ponyville for you to address it?"
Colgate replied, "Because we just do. This is a big thing going on and it can only be addressed in Ponyville as it will have a huge impact there."
LaurFa asked, "So are you going to do that time spell and are we going to leave now?"
Colgate replied, "No, most of us are quite tired and hungry." She stepped closer to her and asked, "Actually, I was going to see if we could join you for supper and then if it would be ok with you, stay the night?"
LaurFa was ecstatic that she would have guests for the night. She joyfully replied, "Of course you can stay the night! It will be nice to have more than just my officers joining me for supper!"
Celestia interrupted, "What about desert? Will you be having cake for dessert?"
LaurFa broke down laughing, "Oh Celestia, you and your cake! What are we going to do with you?"
Luna chimed in, "Feed her lots and lots of cake and feed me lots and lots of fritters!"
LaurFa cast her gaze at Galaxia and Cosmos and asked, "What is it with your daughters and sweets? Why do they crave sweets so much."
Galaxia pointed her wing at Cosmos and laughed, "They probably got that from Cosmos here. He gorges himself on donuts all the time!"
LaurFa looked up at the clock and said, "Well look at the time. Let's head to the dining hall and have some supper....and don't worry you two....I mean three, I'll make sure you get the sweets you love so much."
While almost everypony was thrilled that they would not only get a filling supper but also be able to spend the night, Scootaloo was not. She began to feel more than frustration that Colgate had went back on her word about transferring power to her that day but also anger and even distrust. She began to wonder if Colgate was even serious about this or if, despite her being a goddess now, that Colgate would not step down and she would just remain her second in command.
Author's Note
Time Bubble
"A bubble is what we need, so from frozen time we can be freed, in this bubble we can move fast, while everything else is stuck in the past, it is frozen time which through we must pass so we will never be late to class."
Freeze Time
"Tick tock, tick tock, look at the racing clock, what is short is time and being late is a crime, we must finish on top so it is time I must stop, with time froze, it is my enemies I shall bulldoze."
Unfreeze Time
"Look at the clock, it is stuck in place, with this there can be no pace, everything is still but that does not fit the bill, for now the clock shall again run so everypony can have fun."
Undo Time Bubble
"In the bubble time continues to run, but now the time outside runs and allows fun, the bubble must burst so we can quench our thirst, from the bubble we are now free and everything we can clearly see."
Trouble Getting to Sleep
Night had arrived in Ponyville and everypony had settled in to sleep. Colgate's guests were staying in the VIP bedroom and they were having trouble getting to sleep. They weren't sure if it was because they were in a completely different world but one knew exactly why she couldn't get to sleep, Scoots.
It was just yesterday that she had heard Colgate's second in command mumbling things in a tone of voice that she did not trust. She was tossing and turning more than the others and this prompted Rainbow to ask, "Scootaloo darling, why are you tossing and turning so much?"
While Scoots knew that none of her friends exactly trusted Colgate's commander, she distrusted her the most and had plans for that night. She replied, "I just can't sleep. I don't trust Scootaloo and I have a really bad feeling about what might happen when she takes over."
Cheerilee chimed in, "You too? I just get this bad feeling from her."
Pinkie added, "Yeah, she gets so mad so quickly. What if she was to get mad at one of the other leaders and start a war or something?"
Rainbow replied, "Darling, remember how Colgate said that if Scootaloo did that that she would resume control, deescalate things and then find someone else who would be more fit to rule?"
Scoots replied, "Yeah, I do. Personally I wish she'd promote Dark Night instead because he is nice, has a level head on his shoulders and probably wouldn't start a war."
Cheerilee yawned, "That would be nice but I think we should get some sleep. I'm sure they'll get back tomorrow and we want to be alert for it."
The other three nodded and they tried to get to sleep. While three of them were able to clear their minds, Scoots simply couldn't. She kept on hearing Scootaloo's mumbling in her head and something kept telling her that despite her not knowing her way around the tower, that she would have to find her way to Scootaloo's chambers and find out what is really going on with her.
Scootaloo's Discovery
Scoots laid there patiently waiting for her friends to fall asleep. Once she heard all three of them snoring, she quietly got out of bed. She knew she had to be quiet given that Rainbow tended to be a lighter sleeper. After a couple of minutes of quietly creeping out of the VIP bedroom, Scoots was able to walk at a somewhat more normal pace in the hall, well as normal as she could given there was almost no light for her to see at all.
As she headed further down the hall she saw light coming from under one of the doors, that of Dark Night. She thought to herself, "Great, just great. I can't do anything until I know he is asleep."
She stood outside his door and after a few minutes he turned his light off. Scoots knew though that she simply couldn't go into Scootaloo's room just yet, she would have to wait for him to go to sleep. Luckily for her, she heard him snoring just minutes after him turning his light off. Once she knew he was asleep, she crept into Scootaloo's room and pulled the door shut behind her. While it was hard to see in there, a bit of light coming in the window, enough light to reveal that Scootaloo had a small desk lamp.
"Jackpot!" thought Scoots. She turned the light on and began to look on her desk. The very first thing she saw was a map of the world that she had forgot to put in her drawer. It had her cutie mark drawn over every single country. Scoots saw this and thought, "I knew it! I knew she was up to something."
She knew though that a mere map was probably not all she had in there. She saw the drawer to her right and pulled it open. What she would see would not only shock her, but terrify her. She saw the picture of Twilight, a much larger picture than she saw in the history books. She thought, "So this is the dark goddess in all her glory. She really did look evil."
She continued to look through the drawer and found the paper that Scootaloo had written her plans down on. As she read it she was shocked and scared but soon another emotion ran through her. When she saw that Scootaloo wanted to brainwash her and her friends and keep them there, she began to become angry. When she read that Scootaloo wanted to not only enslave her world, but their world as well, a look of determination developed on her face. She mumbled to herself, "So you think you're going to enslave two worlds do you? You may think that we are weak Scootaloo but mark my words, I will make sure that you do not enslave anyone!"
While Scoots knew that she simply couldn't wake Dark Night and show him all of Scootaloo's plans nor could she simply deliver them to Colgate when she got home but then something crossed her mind. She realized that the fanfare around Colgate stepping down and Scootaloo will be huge, huge enough that she could sneak out of the ceremony and do what it took to stop her likeness's promotion.
Once she finished looking at Scootaloo's plans she put what she found back in the drawer and put the map back exactly as she had found it. She turned the desk lamp off and slowly walked back towards the VIP bedroom. When she got there she only heard two snores, not three. As she laid down she heard a voice ask, "Scootaloo darling, where were you?"
Scoots knew that she couldn't just flat out tell her what she had been up to so she lied, "Well I was in the bathroom."
Rainbow knew it was a lie, "For two hours?" She sighed, "Scootaloo, I want to know what you were really up to. No one spends two hours in the bathroom."
Scoots replied, "Look, this is something that I can't tell anyone. It is something that must remain with me and me alone." After taking a quick breath she continued, "Look, you and the others will find out tomorrow, alright."
Rainbow sighed, "Well alright darling, let's try to get some sleep."
While Rainbow was able to get back to sleep, Scoots just couldn't. She knew that she should be able to get into the tower unnoticed during the ceremony and get what she needed, she just wasn't sure where she would drop what will be a bomb on not just Colgate, but all of the leaders in this world.
Morning in the Crystal Empire
Morning arrived in the Crystal Empire and Scootaloo was the first to wake. As the sun shone in on her she sat up, stretched and said to herself, "Finally! Today is the day that I become Supreme Commander Scootaloo!"
As she got out of bed she walked with a lot of confidence. Gone was the frustration from last night and the fears that Colgate may decide to stay in power after all. When she got to the dining hall it was empty. She thought to herself, "Where is everypony? I would have thought they would be awake by now." Soon the frustration and suspicions again set in, "Colgate, I bet she is trying to delay my coronation further! She wants to hold on to power for as long as possible."
Scootaloo began to pace back and forth in frustration. It was at that moment that she decided one thing would be for sure, the moment she was named Supreme Commander that she would cast a brainwashing spell on Colgate's guests and become a dark goddess. She began to laugh, "Colgate may have had a nightmare involving Dark Goddess Twilight but in real life she'll have to face Dark Goddess Scootaloo and she will be much harder to defeat!"
After thirty more minutes of pacing the other leaders showed up and could see the frustration in Scootaloo's eyes. Out of all of them, Colgate was the most frustrated, "Scootaloo, there is no need to be so impatient. You'll get your promotion when you get it!"
Scootaloo threw her hooves up in the air and asked, "Oh ok. So when is breakfast?"
LaurFa replied, "We'll have breakfast shortly and after that, we'll head to Ponyville since you seem to be in such a hurry."
Scootaloo looked at Colgate and asked, "To make things quicker can we use your time spell? I really want to get this done as soon as possible."
Colgate walked to Scootaloo, stood tall, spread her wings wide and replied, "Scootaloo, I am honestly beginning to wonder about you. I am wondering if maybe you aren't the one for this position." She raised her voice and continued, "Don't get me wrong, you know everything you need to do this but you are just so impatient. Like I have said, patience is a virtue."
Scootaloo realized that she had better stop trying to rush things if she wanted to still be Colgate's successor. She replied, "I'm sorry Colgate, I'm just so excited....."
Colgate interrupted, "And that is another thing, a leader should not get excited. She needs to have her composure about her at all times."
Scootaloo sighed, "Yeah you're right. I'm sorry for rushing things so much. Please don't let somepony else take over instead of me."
Colgate replied, "Well alright then. Just stay patient, don't rush us in getting home and everything will be fine."
During breakfast their conversation was fairly normal although it was all Scootaloo could do to not go asking if they could hurry things up a bit. When breakfast was done she would not be any happier over what would happen next.
LaurFa had a suggestion with as big of a day that this was, "Scootaloo, with this going to be your big day what would you think about us all taking the royal train down to Ponyville? That way you can relax and prepare for how you will greet the crowd."
Scootaloo gave her a weak smile and replied, "Yeah, sure."
This only frustrated Scootaloo further because taking the train would wind up taking much longer than simply flying to Ponyville. She did her best to put on a happy face but she still felt like this was the other leaders trying to delay the transition as long as possible or perhaps even getting Colgate to go back on her word.
Luna's Concerns
The ride down to Ponyville was quiet for the most part, although Luna did want to talk to Colgate. Luna walked up to Colgate, pointed her wing to the car behind them and asked, "Colgate, do you think we could go to the next car? We really need to talk."
Colgate nodded and followed her back. Once they arrived she looked Colgate straight in the eyes and said, "Colgate, while I am happy that you are going to step down, I do have my concerns about Scootaloo being the one to take over."
Colgate asked, "What kind of concerns?"
Luna replied, "For starters, she is horribly impatient and that may cloud her judgement if she were to be waiting on some pony to arrive or if a disagreement was to arise regarding trade deals between our nations."
Colgate asked, "Anything else?"
Luna replied, "Yes. I know how she is, her temper is far shorter than yours and deep down, she has the same blood lust that you do." She leaned to Colgate's ear and whispered, "Personally I think you should rethink giving Scootaloo this post. I think she is way too likely to start a war over nothing."
Colgate sighed, "Luna, she has already completed her task that gave her goddess tier powers and those I can not take away. Even if I were to find somepony else instead, she could easily depose them."
Luna was getting a bit frustrated as it seemed like Colgate was not taking her suggested. She grunted, "Well ok, I guess the most I can do is trust your judgment. You know her better than I do but I just have my concerns."
While Colgate could see where she was coming from regarding Scootaloo's impatience, she did not see Scootaloo as one to simply start a war for no reason because she was the one who confronted her over it when she was on the brink of insanity.
One Final Lesson
Once the train pulled into the station and they all disembarked, Colgate asked a favor of her fellow leaders, "Could all of you go and notify the town that they need to gather at the base of the tower as soon as possible?"
Luna replied, "Yes, I can do that."
The rest of the leaders in unison said, "As can we."
Colgate replied, "Good." She looked at Scootaloo and continued, "Follow me, I have one more lesson for you. One that you must learn if you are to become Supreme Commander."
Scootaloo asked, "What is it?"
Colgate replied, "You will find out when we get to the archives. For now though, just follow me."
Scootaloo knew that it would be in her best interests to not question her and just wait to see what it was. Once they entered the tower they were greeted by Colgate's guests. Rainbow was the first to say anything, "Thank goodness darlings, you're home. I was worried something had happened to you."
Colgate replied, "Don't worry, we're fine and today is my commander's big day."
Cheerilee asked, "So today is the day that you step down and return to dentistry?"
Colgate gave her a smile, "Yep, after the ceremony I will order all the equipment I need but first I will begin to settle into that duplex on the west end of town."
Pinkie asked, "So it is already furnished?"
Colgate replied, "No but I will begin the furnishing process by taking my bed with me. I've slept on that thing for thousands of years and it is so comfortable!"
This did not sit well with Scootaloo, "What, you're taking the bed? That bed is meant for the Supreme Commander of Equestria, not the ex-Supreme Commander."
As Scootaloo was saying this, Scoots thought to herself, "If I can pull off what I plan on doing, Colgate won't have to worry about surrendering that bed to her."
Colgate quickly wanted to get out of this situation. She sighed, "Scootaloo, you have your own bed and besides, I want to teach you one final thing before I let you take over."
Scootaloo replied, "But, the bed....."
Colgate interrupted, "Look Scootaloo, you're the one who is in such a hurry to become Supreme Commander. Let's get down to the archives so you can learn that spell."
Scootaloo nodded and followed Colgate down to the archives. As she was unlocking the doors, Scootaloo couldn't help but think, "Soon I will be the one to unlock the archives! Me and me alone!"
As they headed back to the Starswirl section Scootaloo walked with confidence, knowing that this was the final step to fulfilling what she thought was her destiny. Colgate grabbed a book, opened it and said, "Scootaloo, there is the spell. Now you will have to do more than simply switch out blue with orange because that wording has my energy in it. You will need to pour your energy into how it is worded."
Scootaloo replied, "Alright, sounds good."
Colgate stood there watching her studying this like a proud mother, realizing that the pony she had prepared for this for over three millennia was finally going to be what she prepared her to be. As it came to her mind, Scootaloo began to write the spell down,
"While the blue eye is fine orange it shall be since it is mine, The old energy is gone as it can not stay with me the fabric of Equestria will never fray, orange it shall now be so I can spy upon all that belongs to me."
Colgate saw Scootaloo writing a spell down and walked towards her. She asked, "I take it you have come up with something?"
Scootaloo levitated the paper to Colgate and asked, "So what do you think?"
As Colgate read over it a look of disapproval formed on her face. While she didn't think that Scootaloo had put any negative energy into it, she did not like the wording. She replied, "Well it is different than the one I wrote, much different." She sighed and continued, "Don't you think you're sounding a bit possessive of not just the eye, but all of Equestria?"
Scootaloo was a bit annoyed but tried to hide it, "Well you said to write my own spell and that is what I did, besides I don't think it sounds possessive."
Colgate admitted, "Yeah that I did." She gave Scootaloo a smile and continued, "Well shall we head outside. The others should have the whole town gathered at the base of the tower."
Scootaloo's eyes grew wide, "Does that mean?......"
Colgate interrupted, "Yep, your time has come. Let's go, I'm sure the whole town is excited to see this."
As they headed upstairs Scootaloo couldn't help but feel not only a sense of happiness but a sense of pride. Although Colgate did not see it, she did pour some malice into it while she was writing this down. Scootaloo thought to herself, "Soon I shall be Supreme Commander Scootaloo and once I brainwash those trouble making guests of Colgate's, I shall become Dark Goddess Scootaloo!"
Colgate's Announcement
Once the two headed outside they were pleased to see that the whole town had been gathered, along with the other leaders and Colgate's guests. Scootaloo gave the crowd a smile knowing soon that they would be not just her citizens, but her subjects. Like it was when the last war ended and Colgate gave Dark Night an award, a platform had been sat up. Colgate and Scootaloo walked up it, joining General Dark Night and General Lightning Storm.
The crowd began to cheer as the three most distinguished ponies and the most distinguished changeling stood before them. After a minute of cheering Colgate raised her wings and lowered them to silence the crowd. After a few seconds of silence she began, "Citizens of Ponyville, leaders from abroad, my fellow guests, today is a day which will mark a major change not only here in Equestria, but across the whole world."
Applejack, who was standing in front asked, "What kind of change? What is happening?"
Colgate continued, "Before I tell you what is going to happen, let me tell you about what led me to calling this meeting." She took a deep breath and continued, "Just a few days ago, I looked upon the world with the blue eye and like it has been for the past year absolutely nothing was going on and I'm going to admit, I have become bored, very bored. While I am ashamed to admit this, I was actually hoping to see something exciting going on." Colgate knew that she could never mention wanting an enemy so she continued, "I was hoping that a storm would have struck somewhere so we would have to go and help everypony rebuild. All I do is check on Scootaloo once a day and visit the Apple Family every now and then. When I'm not doing that, I'm doing absolutely nothing and I feel like I'm going to go nuts!"
The entire crowd gasped in shock when they heard the Supreme Commander they hold so dear admit to this. Colgate knew that before ponies began to react negatively that she needed to continue, "It was during breakfast that morning that I was given some advice that I step down and retire to private life. Naturally that was not an option in my eyes so I decided to take a flight over the Everfree Forest." Her voice became more nervous as she continued, "And while you may think I'm going completely nuts, when I landed I thought I heard the voice of Twilight Sparkle."
Again the crowd gasped as Colgate continued, "Well I heard her voice and naturally I headed in the direction it was coming from, wondering if she had somehow came back and I headed into a cave. Well I found myself going through a portal and wound up in a completely different world." She motioned for her guests to step forward and up onto the platform and continued, "It was while I was in this world that these ponies helped me realize that I was not hearing Twilight. They helped me realize that the stress of my job was causing me to lose my sanity."
She paused for a minute and motioned for Luna to step onto the platform as well, "And it was during a nightmare I was having when I was getting some sleep that Queen Luna gave me the same advice that my guests and my officers gave me as well." She motioned for her guests and Luna to return to the crowd and continued, "And I have realized that they are right, the stress of having been Supreme Commander for so long is finally starting to break me. Because of this, I have decided to step down and Commander Scootaloo shall become Equestria's new Supreme Commander."
The entire crowd gasped before going into a stunned silence. The silence was almost deafening. Colgate motioned for Scootaloo to walk to the front of the platform to speak, "Hello everypony, I am Commander Scootaloo. I have been Colgate's second in command since the defection of then Commander Shining Armor. I have been through many, many battles and captured Lemon Hearts after she was responsible for the attack on the Equine Empire. However, I know that I have much to learn about the executive role involved in ruling a country but I hope that Colgate will give me advice if I need it."
Colgate interrupted, "Don't worry Scootaloo. If you need advice on the economic or diplomatic aspects of ruling over Equestria, I will gladly give it to you."
Scootaloo replied, "Thanks."
Colgate continued, "So upon one final task, changing the great eye from blue to orange, Scootaloo shall become Supreme Commander Scootaloo and I shall become, like I was four thousand years ago, Dr. M. Colgate, D.D.S."
The crowd continued to stand their in shock but one thing that nopony noticed was that while Scootaloo was giving her address, that Scoots had rushed into the tower to set her plan in motion, the plan that would prevent Scootaloo from unleashing her malicious plans upon Equestria and the entirety of two worlds, theirs and hers.
A Tyrannical Discovery
While Colgate had resumed talking to the crowd going more in depth about what led her to her decision along with how the world had changed over the past four millennia, Scoots had rushed up to Scootaloo's quarters and was gathering everything she had discovered. While she was doing this, she noticed Scootaloo's saddle bags under her desk and thought, "This will make carrying all of this so much easier. We really need things like this in our world!"
Scoots grabbed the saddle bags and began to put all the materials in them, the maps, the list of what she was going to do to everypony and the picture of Twilight. As she was putting the picture in the saddle bags, two more sheets of paper that were stuck to the picture fell onto the floor.
What she found was even more disturbing. On one of them she saw a picture of her and her friends with a green haze over their eyes bowing to "Dark Goddess Scootaloo" and on the other she found one of the other world leaders, bound in chains and being whipped by "Dark Goddess Scootaloo." She was appalled by what she saw and realized that this made it all the more important that she get these to Colgate prior to Scootaloo altering the eye.
While Scoots was retrieving the materials from Scootaloo's quarters, Colgate was continuing her speech, "I have seen the looks in many of your eyes but I want to promise you, Scootaloo is a lot like me. She likes stability, she will do anything to protect Equestria and she will work well with the other leaders to keep the world's economy balanced." She looked at Scootaloo and asked, "Shall we? Shall we make the transition of power final?"
Scootaloo replied, "Yes, we should."
Colgate looked at the crowd and finished, "So now at any moment, once the great eye changes from blue to orange, know that you will have a new leader, Supreme Commander Scootaloo!"
The crowd began to cheer as the two Alicorns flew up to Colgate's balcony and headed into her bedroom. Scootaloo faced the window, her horn began to glow orange as she recited,
"While the blue eye is fine
before she could finish the spell something crashed into her, breaking her concentration and a great yell was heard,
"STOP!"
When Scootaloo hit the ground she shouted, "What happened? Who knocked me over?"
Colgate saw what her guest had done and was very unhappy. She snapped, "What the hay did you do that for?" She saw that Scoots had Scootaloo's saddle bags on and continued, "And what are you doing with my commander's saddle bags on?"
Scootaloo got up and was furious. She grabbed Scoots in her aura and yelled, "What are you doing with my saddle bags?" She pulled her up to eye level and continued, "Once I'm supreme commander I'll have your head for this!"
She sat her down and Scoots yelled, "Colgate, you have to see what is in these saddle bags, you can't let her take over!"
Again Scootaloo grabbed Scoots in her aura but caused her saddle bags to fall to the floor. Unfortunately for Scootaloo though, some of the material in them fell out. Colgate saw this and levitated one of the pages up to her, it was the picture of Dark Goddess Twilight. This did not sit well with her. She broke Scootaloo's hold on Scoots and yelled, "Scootaloo, what is this? Why do you have a picture of Twilight Sparkle?"
Scootaloo flat out denied it. She yelled, "That isn't mine! She snooped in my quarters, she stole my saddle bags and she planted that picture in there! She must be punished for this!"
Colgate knew that the Scootaloo from the other side of the portal would never plant things like that, much less be in possession of a picture of the most hated pony in history. She snarled, "Yes she snooped in your room but tell me, how would she be in possession of a picture of HER?"
Scootaloo began threatening Scoots with death when Colgate levitated the other papers to herself. What she saw next enraged her. She grabbed Scootaloo in her aura and yelled, "What are these?"
Scootaloo yelled, "She drew those and planted them in there while we were gone! You should know she doesn't trust me! You should know that I would never draw such a thing!"
Colgate's voice became louder and angrier, "So, you think you can just brainwash them and become a dark goddess huh? You think you can enslave all the world's leaders just like that, huh?"
There was one more sheet of paper on the floor, which Scoots held up to Colgate, "Colgate, if you think those are bad you may want to check this one out."
Colgate grabbed the sheet of paper and was enraged by what she saw. She knocked Scootaloo to the floor and yelled, "So, you want to banish the other leaders to various places, huh? You want to kill me, huh? You want to brainwash my guests, huh? You want to enslave their world and our world, huh? You want to conquer the world and demand tribute, huh?"
Scootaloo yelled, "That isn't my hornwriting, she wrote that and is trying to frame me! You need to let me cast my spell so I can punish her!" She grabbed Scoots in her aura and snarled, "And with you, I'll make what I did to Black Feet look like foal's play. Mark my words you lowly rat, you will suffer more than anypony else ever has!"
Colgate levitated Scootaloo's spell to herself and compared the writing, they were an exact match. Colgate smacked Scootaloo so hard she knocked her across the room. She boomed, "Tell me then, why is the writing of your spell and the writing of these treasonous plans the exact same? There is no way she could perfectly duplicate your writing, not to mention list all the world's leaders BY NAME and list where she wanted to banish them to."
Scootaloo yelled, "Well then it had to be Dark Night! I know he wants my position so he wrote that, drew those pictures and had her put those in my quarters to frame me!"
Colgate again smacked her and yelled, "Well then, we shall see what the other world leaders have to say about this. Tell you what, since you are so certain you didn't write or draw any of this, you can prove it in front of all of us."
Scootaloo laughed, "Oh Colgate, if only you knew." Her horn began to glow and her eyes began to shine. At first they were orange but soon they turned into something Colgate hoped she would never see again.
Colgate yelled, "Scootaloo, over by me now!" Scoots rushed over by Colgate and her horn began to glow and her eyes began to glow a deep blue as she cast a protection bubble around the two.
Scootaloo laughed, "You really think that is going to work! Face it Colgate, your days of ruling are over, the days of Dark Goddess Scootaloo are about to begin!"
Scootaloo's horn again began to glow, albeit a bit darker orange and green beams of energy shot out of her eyes as she recited, "You have committed treason and that is not in season, you are a threat to me and I simply can not let that be, I can no longer be annoyed so you shall be cast into the void."
Her energy shot towards Colgate and Scoots but it bounced right off of the bubble and threw Scootaloo up against the wall, knocking her unconscious. Colgate lowered the bubble and rushed over to who was now her foe. She pointed towards a cabinet and said, "Scootaloo, there is a box labeled horn caps in there. Open it and grab one, I need to disable her magic."
Scoots grabbed one for Colgate and it took it to her. Colgate's horn began to glow as she levitated the cap onto Scootaloo's horn. Scoots saw this and asked, "Colgate, why did you have to use your magic to put it on her? Couldn't you have just used your hooves?"
Colgate replied, "No, I had to use my magic so that I could enchant it. This way, I am the only pony who can remove it." Given that Scootaloo was still knocked out cold Colgate continued, "Scootaloo, I need you to keep an eye on her while I notify everypony that there will be no transfer of power." As she began to head towards her balcony she continued, "And I'm going to round up the other leaders and your friends. We are going to go to the throne room to present this evidence to the others."
Scoots asked, "Like what would happen in a trial?"
Colgate replied, "Yes. I'll be back in a minute."
Colgate flew off of her balcony down to the anxious crowd. The first to say anything was Luna. Luna asked, "Colgate, what happened? Why did she not change the eye and what was that bright blue light coming from inside?"
Colgate replied, "That is something that must be discussed inside." She pointed her wings at Scoots's friends and continued, "I need the three of you, General Dark Night along with all the leaders to meet me in the throne room. Something bad has happened and we have important things to discuss."
A pony in the crowd asked, "So do you want us to wait here or go home?"
Colgate replied, "Return home. I am not sure when we will get everything situated."
While everypony else headed home, the other leaders and Scoots's friends headed inside. When Colgate arrived back in her sleeping quarters she pointed her wing at the papers that Scootaloo had and said, "Scootaloo, I need you to put those in her saddle bags and follow me down to the throne room."
Scoots nodded and while she grabbed the papers, Colgate levitated Scootaloo and headed towards the throne room. While she was not exactly sure what would happen, Scoots did know one thing. She knew that there would be no transfer of power that day and wondered if there would even be one at all.
Author's Note
Scootaloo cast loyalty spell to become dark goddess.
"You have committed treason and that is not in season, you are a threat to me and I simply can not let that be, I can no longer be annoyed so you shall be cast into the void."
Author's Note
A majority of this chapter will be done in a back and forth dialogue.
An Important Hearing
Thirty minutes after knocking herself unconscious, Commander Scootaloo awoke to find herself chained to a chair in the throne room. When she realized this she lit up her horn and attempted to teleport out of it but nothing happened. When she saw that Colgate, Dark Night, the four ponies from the other side of the portal along with the other leaders were present she went into a rage, "You can't do this, you can't do this to Dark Goddess Scootaloo!"
Colgate couldn't help but laugh because she gave the exact same response that Twilight would give when she was defeated after her corruption, "Oh Scootaloo, how cute. You're acting just like Twilight would when she was defeated."
Scootaloo began to struggle to get out of the chains but couldn't. She yelled, "Why did you do this? Your Dark Goddess never did anything....."
Colgate yelled, "Silence! Scootaloo, I don't know if you remember this or not but some rather treasonous material was discovered in your quarters."
Scootaloo remembered it very well and remembered how it was obtained. She pointed her hoof at Scoots and yelled, "Yeah and it was obtained by her! She planted that in there to frame me!"
Colgate's eyes began to shine a bluish white as she yelled, "Not this again." She calmed down and continued, "Alright everypony, let's get this hearing underway. I want us to get this done by a reasonable time."
Brevity stood at the front of the room and stomped her hoof. She addressed Scootaloo, "Commander Scootaloo, because of the materials found in thy quarters along with thy attempt to banish Colgate and Scootaloo to the void, thou art being charged with high treason." She glared at Scootaloo and asked, "How dost thou wish to plead?"
Scootaloo realized that she had best calm down if she was to have a chance of not being found guilty. She calmly replied, "I would like to plead innocent."
Brevity sighed, "Very well commander." She looked at Colgate and asked, "Supreme Commander Colgate, could thou give Brevity any details into what thou thinks may have caused this to happen?"
Colgate replied, "Well I'm going to be honest. I never noticed any signs in her that she would do this. The only change in behavior I noticed was when I told her that I was planning on stepping down and after she cleansed Neigh Zealand of its radiation along with learning a couple things, that I would hand power over to her."
Brevity asked, "What sorts of behavior changes didst thou notice?"
Colgate replied, "I noticed that she suddenly became very impatient. She went from taking things in stride to acting like everything had to be done immediately."
Brevity cast her gaze at Scootaloo and asked, "Scootaloo, thy response to these accusations?"
Scootaloo knew that she had better not lie given that all the leaders, including Brevity, had seen them. She replied, "I will admit, I did start getting more impatient. I did not get impatient out of malice though, I was simply excited for my coronation, I mean my promotion to Supreme Commander."
Brevity asked, "Coronation? Why wast thou using the term coronation? Given that thou art a commander Brevity thinks thou would know that in Equestria it is known as a promotion as there are no coronations in nations led by the military."
Scootaloo grunted, "Look, your Dark Goddess was just excited, ok?"
This did not sit well with Brevity, "Scootaloo, we would all appreciate it if thou would simply refer to thyself as me or I, not this 'dark goddess' nonsense."
Scootaloo just rolled her eyes and knew that if she confronted Brevity over the way she speaks, that she would likely dig herself in a deeper hole. Brevity then turned to the one who discovered the materials, Scoots. Brevity asked, "Scootaloo, from what Brevity understands it was thou who discovered these materials in the commander's quarters while she was gone."
Scoots replied, "Yes, that is correct your Majesty."
Brevity asked, "Scootaloo, why didst thou go into the commander's quarters to begin with? Didst thou not know that doing so is a serious crime?"
Scoots replied, "I did not even think about it. I heard the commander saying things in a rather sinister voice one day and I realized that I had to do something to stop her."
Brevity asked, "Scootaloo, what didst thou hear her say? Didst thou hear her say anything that would be of concern?"
Scoots replied, "No, I just heard her mumbling to herself and her voice sounded very sinister. That is what caused me to investigate her quarters while she was gone."
Brevity addressed Colgate, "Colgate, what she did is a serious crime in every nation, including Equestria. While Brevity can not tell thee what to do, Brevity suggests that thou put her on trial for her crime."
Colgate realized that had Scoots not did what she did, that Scootaloo would be supreme commander and be acting on her plans. She replied, "Brevity, I have no plans on charging her with anything."
When Scootaloo heard this she went into a rage, "Well of course not! She is suddenly your little angel and she can get away with anything! I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you were to transform her into an Alicorn and have her be the ambassador from their primitive world to Equestria!"
Brevity's eyes began to glow white as she shouted, "Commander Scootaloo, such outbursts are not allowed in Brevity's courtroom. One more outburst like that and we will find thee in contempt of court which is a crime in itself!" She saw Scootaloo was about to say something and continued, "If thou knows what is best for thee, thou would do best to only speak when spoken to!"
Scootaloo grunted and rolled her eyes. Brevity turned her attention back to Scoots, "Scootaloo, so when thou decided to snoop in the commander's quarters, what didst thou find?"
Scootaloo held the papers up and Brevity levitated them to herself. When she saw them a rage began to boil in her that she had not felt since the war between her and her sister yet she knew that in this hearing, that she could not do to Scootaloo what she wanted to. She asked, "Colgate, hast thou seen these papers?"
Colgate replied, "Yes I have and it is because of what is in them that she is being charged with high treason."
Brevity levitated the papers to Colgate and asked, "Supreme Commander Colgate, could you describe to everypony what these papers are. What images they contain and what message they contain?"
Colgate replied, "Certainly."
She held up the first picture for everypony to see, the picture of Twilight Sparkle. Colgate said, "The first picture is one of the enemy of the free world, the pony who was the enemy of peace and freedom for thousands of years, Dark Goddess Twilight Sparkle."
Brevity asked, "Scootaloo, what wast thou doing with a picture of a pony who was thy enemy? Why would you have such a picture in thy possession?"
Scootaloo yelled, "That is not my picture! Like I told Colgate when she first discovered them, her little angel planted it....."
Colgate interrupted, "Scootaloo, tell everypony the truth. Lying in court is a crime in itself and I doubt you want to add perjury to high treason to the charges against you."
Finally things began to sink in for Scootaloo. She finally realized that she could no longer deny what everypony already knew. She replied, "I had it in my possession because despite her being my enemy for thousands of years, I admired her."
Brevity asked, "And why didst thou admire her?"
Scootaloo replied, "Because she was the first pony to conquer the entire planet and unite it under one banner. Unlike Colgate who liberated it and gave everypony independence, she kept everything as her own. She actually conquered places fairly and did not split uranium atoms to kill hundreds of thousands of ponies."
Colgate knew that comment was aimed directly at her but just let it slide. Brevity asked, "Colgate, what is the nature of the second picture?"
Colgate replied, "The second picture is of my guests, Scootaloo, Cheerilee, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash with a green glaze over their eyes bowing down to 'Dark Goddess Scootaloo.'"
Upon hearing this Colgate's guests' gave Scootaloo a death look but didn't say anything as they did not want to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. Brevity asked, "Scootaloo, wouldst thou like to explain why thou drew this picture?"
Scootaloo replied, "Because Colgate has been treating them like honored guests, especially that little snitch that bears my name." She became more agitated as she continued, "If I would have changed that eye and became supreme commander, they would either be unquestionably loyal to me or they'd be dead."
Brevity rolled her eyes and asked, "Colgate, what about the nature of the next picture?"
Colgate replied, "Well in this one it has all of us world leaders bound in chains as she, in her dark goddess form, is whipping us."
Brevity frowned, "And what about this Scootaloo? Why didst thou draw this?"
Scootaloo boasted, "Because I'd be more powerful than the rest of you! Once I would have cast the necessary spell to become a dark goddess I would own you and that is what I would do to you. I would prove the supremacy of Dark Goddess Scootaloo!"
At this point it was all Brevity could do to prevent herself from unmaking Scootaloo but she wanted to make her answer for the next document. She asked, "Colgate, what about the document with writing on it?"
Colgate replied, "Well before I tell you I want to warn you that what she has written in here will anger all of you greatly. To make this flow more smoothly, could you all wait to react until I finish reading it?"
In unison all the leaders replied, "Yes, we can."
Colgate began, "This all involves how she wishes to punish world leaders. She has stated that she would banish Luna to the moon, she would banish Celestia to the sun, she would cast Galaxia and Cosmos into Tartarus, Brevity she would banish to Titan, LaurFa she would banish to the void and has stated that since I know her weaknesses, that only my death would suffice."
Before Colgate could finish reading the document all of the world leaders had spread their wings wide and began to walk towards Scootaloo. Brevity was so angry that she forgot to speak in her traditional way, "So Scootaloo, you are wanting to banish us all?" Her growl turned into a laugh, "Dost thou really think thou could actually pull that off? Dost thou not know of how powerful we all are?"
Colgate chimed in, "And that isn't all. She also wants to brainwash my guests, she wants to find the portal they came through, go through it to their world and enslave them, she wants to demand a 10% tribute from all ponies, dissenters will all face the same fate as Black Feet AND get this," She began to laugh, "She stated that all ponies must show subservience and servitude to the 'DARK GODDESS SCOOTALOO!'"
Scootaloo yelled, "Well look at my eyes! They are the same green that Twilight's were so I am a dark goddess!"
LaurFa laughed, "A dark goddess who can't use her magic."
Brevity sighed, "Well everypony, Brevity is not sure about thee but Brevity feels as though enough evidence has been presented that we can come to a decision."
Once all of the leaders nodded in agreement they headed to a far corner of the throne room. Brevity said, "Brevity is not sure about the rest of thee but Brevity rules we find her guilty."
Colgate added, "As do I."
As each leader was asked what their ruling would be, each one said guilty. After they all agreed on her guilt, they began to discuss her sentence. Brevity was the first to say anything, "Colgate, while Brevity knows that the final decision rests in thy hooves, Brevity feels as though it would be best to execute her."
LaurFa added, "I second that."
Luna continued, "I am all for execution."
Celestia stated, "While I normally would not support execution, I think with all the plans she had, it is our only option."
Galaxia added, "I am sorry but I do not support execution here. I think that banishment to the void would suffice."
Cosmos continued, "I am in the same mindset as my wife. I support banishment to the void."
They all turned to Colgate and Brevity asked, "What about thy decision Colgate? You are the leader of Equestria so her fate, regardless of what we suggest, falls into thy hooves."
Colgate replied, "Don't get me wrong, I would love more than anything to execute her in front of the whole town but I think that would be letting her off easy. I think an eternal banishment to the void would be far worse on her."
Brevity interrupted, "Banishment to the void? That's it?"
LaurFa added, "Colgate, I can not support that unless you agree to never split any uranium atoms again. We do not want it getting torn open."
Colgate replied, "Trust me, I have no desire or need to split atoms or do any kind of atomic testing at all. I promise all of you that I will not do that."
Brevity sighed, "So be it. Equestria is thy country and if thou wishes for banishment to the void to be her punishment, that is what it shall be."
All the leaders nodded and they headed over towards Scootaloo. They all stood tall and spread their wings wide. Colgate sternly said, "Scootaloo, we have come to a decision."
Scootaloo mocked, "Oh we have come to a decision! We have decided to find Dark Goddess Scootaloo guilty and as a punishment, we're going to burn her alive in front of the whole town!" She began to laugh, "Well guess what, that won't do it! You can't kill a dark goddess!"
Colgate frowned, "Well we did find you guilty but your punishment will be announced and carried out tomorrow morning in front of the whole town."
Scootaloo again tried to mock her but Colgate fired enough energy at her that she stunned her. She levitated her and asked, "So who wants to help me put this little rat in the dungeon?"
Luna quickly agreed while the others decided to stay put. Colgate ordered, "Well since you don't wish to join us, could you go down and notify the townsponies that they are to gather at the base of the tower tomorrow morning at 0900?"
LaurFa replied, "Yes, we can do that."
As they headed down into the dungeon Luna wanted to find out one thing. She asked, "Colgate, are you still going to step down or have you decided to remain in power now?"
Colgate asked in return, "Queen Luna, do you promise not to tell anypony what I am about to tell you?"
Luna replied, "I agree."
Colgate said, "Well I have decided to maintain my post as Supreme Commander of Equestria." Colgate saw Luna's jaw drop open as she said this and continued, "But, I have decided that I am going to promote General Dark Night to being my commander and second in line."
Luna asked, "Seriously? Will he have any additional responsibilities?"
Colgate replied, "Yes. I will be handing over all of the day to day military responsibilities to him and that will allow me to return to doing what I love while staying in power."
Luna gasped, "Are you saying what I think you're saying? Are you going to reopen your practice after so many millennia?"
Colgate replied, "Yep, I am. That way I will be occupied and my sanity will stay intact."
Luna threw a hug around Colgate and said, "I am so happy for you Colgate. I am happy to see that you can stay in power and pose no threat to your nation or the world."
While the two had begun to celebrate Scootaloo began to come to. She mumbled, "Let me guess, Colgate's staying in power and enslaving the world?"
The two ignored her question and Colgate said, "Well let's get her locked up. It is getting close to supper time and I am hungry, very hungry."
Scootaloo mumbled, "What about me? Don't I get to eat?"
Colgate replied, "Don't worry, General Lightning Storm will bring you your food."
After getting her locked up Colgate and Luna headed upstairs to the dining hall. While Colgate was visibly happy to have this taken care of, deep down she felt a sense of sadness as she never imagined that Scootaloo would do this. Out of all the ponies in her inner circle, with the exception of Dark Night, she was the last one she ever expected to commit treason.
The following morning arrived and everypony was ready to get this over with. They held one final meeting in the throne room before they would head out to administer Scootaloo's punishment in front of the whole town. While most of the ponies had come to accept the fact that Colgate was not going to have her former commander executed, Brevity just couldn't accept it.
Brevity asked, "Colgate, art thou sure that thou only wishes to banish her? After all, she wanted to do so many horrible things to not just us, but thy guests and even worse, she wanted to kill thee!"
Colgate replied, "Brevity, like I said executing her would be going easy on her. I want her to suffer and I believe being stuck in limbo for all eternity will be far, far worse. Besides, she will be stuck in there always wondering and hoping that she will get free but never will. It will consume her over time and she will eventually fall into despair."
Brevity gave her a smile, "Well Brevity can see where that would be worse than death."
As the time grew closer to 0900 Luna asked, "Well, shall we go get our prisoner and notify the crowd of her crimes before serving justice upon her?"
Colgate replied, "Yes, we should." She pointed here wing towards the door and continued, "Luna, I want you to help me in getting her. Everypony else, go out and wait for us."
The rest nodded while Colgate and Luna headed down to the dungeon. Their trip down was silent until they reached Scootaloo's cell. When she saw them she sneered, "So, your Dark Goddess sees that you have come to punish her." She glared at Colgate and continued, "What are you going to do, kill me like you did Twilight? Are you going to have little miss Brevity unmake me? Are you going to banish me somewhere?"
Colgate grabbed Scootaloo in her aura and sighed, "Give it a rest already."
Luna added, "You brought this upon yourself Scootaloo. Had you not made treasonous plans like you did, none of this would be happening."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes as she was being led out of the dungeon. As she was led out of the tower and to the platform, she looked at everypony with hate. Despite not being able to use her magic, her eyes shined green and were filled with nothing but malice and resentment.
When the crowd saw those green eyes they gasped in shock. One pony asked, "Is she what I think she is? Is she a dark goddess just like Twilight?"
Despite having a horn cap on and being surrounded by both Colgate and Luna she boasted, "Yes, I am." She puffed her chest out and continued, "When your dark goddess breaks free she will punish everypony who doesn't pay homage to her!" She glared at Colgate and sneered, "And your precious supreme commander will be dead!"
Everypony couldn't help but laugh at the powerless dark goddess. Many knew about how Twilight behaved just over a year ago so a few chuckled, "Oooh, just like Twily. You think you can rise again when you've been soundly defeated!"
Once Scootaloo had been led to the middle of the platform she faced the crowd for all to see, green eyes and all. Almost immediately the ponies began to boo the fallen commander. After a minute of non-stop booing and some heckling, Colgate raised and lowered her wings, causing everypony to go silent.
Once the crowd went silent Colgate began, "Citizens of Ponyville, my guests, leaders from abroad, as you all know yesterday I was set to step down and transfer power to then Commander Scootaloo. Because of unexpected events though, there has been a change of plans."
A pony in the crowd asked, "What kind of change?"
Colgate replied, "Well yesterday one of my guests" she motioned for Scoots to come up to the platform before continuing, "one of my guests found some rather disturbing and damning materials in her quarters."
Another pony asked, "What kind of materials?"
Colgate replied, "After hearing my former commander talking to herself in a rather sinister way, the pony standing next to me, who happens to carry the name of Scootaloo decided to do some investigating and I'm glad she did."
Scoots blushed, "Oh it was nothing!"
Colgate replied, "Don't sell yourself short." She faced the crowd and continued, "In her quarters this pony found a picture of the Dark Goddess Twilight Sparkle."
The crowd immediately began to boo and scream the word "traitor" at Scootaloo. After allowing them to boo for a minute Colgate continued, "And that is the least of it. She also had a picture of my guests brainwashed by her and bowing down to her. She also had a picture of all the world leaders in chains and her whipping us."
The boos began again and the words flung at Scootaloo were far, far worse than what they were calling her before. Colgate again allowed it for another minute before continuing, "And the worst thing she found was plans that Scootaloo had for this world. She wanted to banish all the world leaders to one place or another, she wanted to brainwash my guests, she wanted to enslave the world, she wanted to demand tribute just like Twilight did AND she wanted to kill me."
The entire crowd began to boo and one pony shouted, "Off with her head!" Another yelled, "Burn her!" Soon the crowd had moved very close to the platform when Colgate yelled, "Stop! We don't need to resort to that kind of violence! We can't make a martyr out of her!"
The crowd quieted down and moved away from the platform. Once they moved back Colgate continued, "It was because of this material that then Commander Scootaloo was charged with high treason."
A pony yelled, "Convict her, burn her!"
Colgate yelled, "We're not going to burn her!" She calmed down and continued, "Once this was discovered the other leaders and myself held a hearing and after hearing from Scootaloo and going over the evidence my guest found, we convicted her of high treason in a unanimous decision."
Another pony asked, "So what is her punishment going to be? Will she be executed?"
Colgate sighed, "No she will not be executed. While many of my fellow leaders voted for execution, the final say is up to me and I decided that execution would be going easy on her." A pony began to say something but Colgate interrupted, "I have decided that an eternal banishment to the void would be far worse on her. For all eternity she will be there in limbo wondering if she will ever get free and she never will."
While many ponies wanted to see her dead because of what she wanted to do, the crowd stomped their hooves in approval. Colgate pointed her wing to her right and ordered, "Scootaloo, stand over there."
Scootaloo would not do as told though. In an act of defiance she took to the sky but would be shot down quickly when Brevity hit her with a bolt of energy. Scootaloo crash landed behind the platform and broke a wing. She was screaming in agony as Colgate went to drag her back. Once she got her back up on the platform she began to spank Scootaloo and laughed, "Bad Scootaloo, bad, bad!"
The whole crowd began to laugh as Colgate was spanking Scootaloo the way one would a foal. After twenty spankings Colgate raised and lowered her wings. She pointed to her right and again ordered, "Scootaloo, stand over there."
Scootaloo walked over to where she was ordered and awaited her fate. As Colgate lit up her horn she asked, "Anything you'd like to say to the crowd traitor?"
Scootaloo glared at the crowd and sneered, "Well, it was nice serving Equestria for so long even though your tyrant Supreme Commander stabbed me in the back." She began to yell, "She promised me that she would let me take over a couple days ago but no, she just had to delay it and now I bet she won't even step down! She'll probably stay in power, go bat shit crazy and start a war! She'll be the death of everypony!"
After her little rant Colgate pointed her horn at Scootaloo and lit it up. She fired a bolt of energy at her and recited, "You have committed treason and that is not in season, you are a threat to me and I simply can not let that be, I can no longer be annoyed so you shall be cast into the void."
A black vortex opened up and began to swallow the screaming Scootaloo. After a few seconds passed the vortex closed and Scootaloo was gone. Colgate's guests watched in shock as things like this would never even be dreamed of in their world. Colgate looked out into the crowd and said, "Well it is complete. Her banishment shall be eternal and nopony will have to worry about enslavement or war."
The crowd began to cheer loudly and stomp their hooves in delight. While Colgate was glad to see that everypony was happy, she hoped that the announcement she was about to give would make them equally as happy if not happier.
A Long Overdue Promotion
A few minutes had passed and the crowd was still cheering the banishment of former commander Scootaloo. Some ponies were beginning to leave and this prompted Colgate to yell, "Stop! I have some announcements to make."
Given that she had announced that she was stepping down just the day before, most ponies figured that she was going to announce who would be taking over for her. Colgate continued, "As you all know, yesterday I was going to step down and hand power over to Scootaloo but because of what has happened, I have decided to make other plans."
When Colgate mentioned other plans this concerned many of the world leaders and her guests. Rainbow asked, "Other plans? Colgate darling, you're not going to go back on your word are you?"
Colgate cast her gaze at Rainbow and replied, "Just listen." She looked back at the crowd and continued, "Before I make this announcement I am going to tell you something about my top general, General Dark Night." She motioned for him to come up to the platform and continued, "It was over 4,000 years ago when my top general was the top general of King Sombra."
Many of the ponies who knew their history began to boo and ask how Colgate could trust him. Colgate raised and lowered her wings, silencing the crowd. She continued, "Yes at the time he was serving under an enemy of Equestria but after the defeat of the unicorn king, he joined the side of Equestria. First he served under Twilight Sparkle," again the crowd booed and Colgate had to calm them down, "but after she became truly evil, he joined forces with me and we overthrew Twilight. I must say he has been the best officer I have ever had. He is every leader's dream. He is loyal, he loves his country and will do anything to defend it along with its citizens."
Dark Night chimed in, "Well you know how much I love this country. Yes at one time I was an enemy of Equestria but once I became loyal to Equestria, I viewed it as my true home and the citizens of Equestria as the ones I love."
Colgate continued, "General, I look back over the millennia and realize that I have done you a grave injustice. Back after the first defeat of Twilight Sparkle, I gave Shining Armor the position of Commander and first in line to my post but now that I look back, I know who I really should have given that post. Also, when I gave it to Scootaloo I thought she would be the best for the job but again I was mistaken in my decision."
Dark Night asked, "Really? You think you made the wrong decision?"
Colgate replied, "Yes and today, I have decided the time to right this wrong has come. General Dark Night, today and hereafter you shall no longer be General Dark Night, you shall be Commander Dark Night and if anything was to happen to me or I was to become unable to perform my duties, you would become Supreme Commander Dark Night."
Dark Night hugged Colgate and replied, "Thank you Colgate, thank you! I promise I will not let you down!"
Colgate said, "I know you won't."
Everypony, especially those who thought Colgate would step down looked on in shock because of what Colgate said, If she was to become unable to perform her duties.
They realized that this meant only one thing, that Colgate was not going to step down after all, that she was going to remain Supreme Commander of Equestria. Out of everypony though, this bothered Rainbow and the other guests the most, "Colgate darling, I thought you were going to step down!"
Pinkie added, "Yeah, you promised you would."
Cheerilee continued, "You said you couldn't handle it anymore, why the change?"
Scoots finished, "What about that dream? Won't it become a reality now?"
The crowd began to give Colgate odd looks, including all the leaders with the exception of Queen Luna. Colgate realized she had to calm those she had grown close with along with the other leaders. She continued, "While I shall remain Supreme Commander of Equestria, I have decided that my new second in command shall have responsibilities that none of his predecessors have had."
Dark Night asked, "And what is that?"
Colgate replied, "Unlike how I have done in the past, you shall handle all the day to day operations of the military. Given that you have been a general for Equestria for over 4,000 years, I believe that you will be perfect for the job."
While Dark Night was thrilled, her guests got looks of extreme concern on their faces. Rainbow asked, "Colgate darling, you told us that you already have so little to do. Now you will have even less. Aren't you afraid of losing your sanity?"
Colgate replied, "Actually no, I am not. Since I am going to be having Commander Dark Night handling all the day to day affairs of the military, I can do something that I have longed to do for longer than I can remember."
While most everypony looked on in shock and wonder, one pony knew what her plans were, Queen Luna. Her smile widened as Colgate continued, "I have decided that I will no longer merely be Supreme Commander Colgate, I shall also be known once again as Dr. M. Colgate, D.D.S. I have decided to reopen my practice since I will have the time to see patients."
Everypony from Colgate's guests, the world leaders and the crowd overall began to cheer in joy. Not only would they continue to have a strong, competent leader but they would also have a world class dentist in Ponyville once again. Colgate gave them a smile and continued, "Once I get all the proper equipment here, I will begin taking appointments." She raised her voice and laughed, "And you better take care of your teeth! You know I don't like to see cavities!"
A Special Award
After announcing that she was going to remain Supreme Commander, promoted Dark Night to being her second in command and announcing that she would be reopening her practice, the crowd was cheering and stomping their hooves in delight. Colgate couldn't help but stand there happily seeing everypony so happy. She would not be done though as there was one more thing she wanted to do before adjourning the meeting.
After five minutes of cheering Colgate raised and lowered her wings, causing the crowd to go silent again. Once they were quiet she began, "While I have given a spectacular officer a long overdue promotion and announced that I will be reopening my practice, I have one more thing I want to do. I want to give something special to somepony who is truly deserving of it. She pointed her wing at Scoots and said, "Come on up Scootaloo, I have something special for you."
Scoots nervously walked up onto the platform and faced the crowd. Colgate continued, "I have decided that this pony, Scootaloo, is truly deserving of a rarely given honor."
One of the ponies in the crowd, one who had been curious about where she was from, finally asked, "Colgate, I am wondering where this pony is from. She is a bit shorter, more plump and her eyes are smaller than ours."
Colgate leaned down and asked, "Scootaloo, do you want to tell them or do you wish for that information to remain classified?"
Scoots faced the crowd and began, "Well my friends and I come from a different world. We came here through a portal with Colgate which lies deep in the Everfree Forest, in a part that Colgate said that nopony dares venture to because of all the predators."
Another pony asked, "Ok but why are you so different than us and what is your world like?"
Scoots replied, "Why we are different I am not sure but about my world. My world is radically different than yours. In our world we have never had any dark magic, we have never had any wars, we don't have militaries, we don't have the technology you have like your dam, we don't banish ponies places and the unicorns that do live in our world do not have nearly as advanced magic as unicorns do in this world."
Another pony asked, "What about Alicorns? Do you have them in your world?"
Scoots replied, "No, we do not have Alicorns nor do we have changelings like you do in our world either."
Colgate and Scoots stood there expecting more questions but none were to be asked. Once Colgate realized this she continued, "Now for why I am going to give her an award. Like I said earlier, it was this pony who discovered the materials in my former commander's quarters that led us to discover that she was plotting bad things not only for us and Equestria, but for the other leaders and the world. Had it not been for her suspicions, Scootaloo would have become Supreme Commander and this world would have likely been thrown into war again in less than a year."
She levitated a gold medal down onto Scoots's neck and continued, "And Scootaloo, because of everything you did to save not just Equestria, but our world, I have decided to give you the Equestrian Medal of Honor award."
While many ponies were in shock that Colgate would give a medal to a pony who did not put her life on the line to save Equestria, others realized that if it weren't for her, that they would have wound up becoming enslaved so they all began to cheer and stomp their hooves in delight.
Scoots was very happy that she had saved not just her world from invasion, but Equestria and the lands that lie beyond it. She began to bow and said, "Thank you Supreme Commander Colgate, you have no idea how much this award means to me."
Colgate lifted Scoots out of her bow and replied, "Scootaloo, you saved our world and preserved our freedom. You bow to no one!"
Colgate began to bow as did everypony else. Scoots was in a state of shock as she never imagined that the most powerful ponies in an advanced world, like those in her fantasy books, would bow down to her. Once everypony stood back up Colgate continued, "Wear your medal proudly Scootaloo, you have earned it."
Scoots asked, "But what about in my world? What do I say when ponies ask where I got it."
Colgate replied, "We can discuss that later but for now, I think it is time we adjourn this meeting. After all, I'm sure than you and your friends would like to join my fellow leaders, my new Commander and myself for lunch."
Scoots and her friends enthusiastically agreed and followed Colgate and the other leaders back towards the tower while the crowd dispersed and headed home. While the four could not be sure, they had a feeling that after this lunch that they would be able to finally return to their homeland.
A Meaty Lunch
Lunch time had arrived and while they had been eating with Colgate since they arrived, that day would be something special. Because of Dark Night's promotion, Colgate had decided that more than a mere meal would be served, but a feast. As their food was being brought in Scoots and her friends were amazed by the amount of food they were being given.
Scoots was the first to say anything, "Wow Colgate, I have never seen this much food on one plate before in my life!"
Colgate replied, "Well given that Commander Dark Night received his promotion today, I ordered that the chefs prepare all of us a feast of epic proportions."
Colgate's guests looked down at their plates and saw something that they were completely unfamiliar to them. Rainbow asked, "Colgate darling, what is this brown thing on my plate with this red stuff running out of it?"
Colgate replied, "It is a delicacy for some of us in Equestria." She looked over at Dark Night and saw him devouring his. She continued, "Dark Night, are you even tasting that?"
Dark Night replied, "Of course I am! Just because I eat my steak fast doesn't mean I don't taste it."
Almost immediately Scoots knew what is was that they were being served. Just like it was in her fantasy books, the ponies of Equestria were omnivores. She exclaimed, "Wow, just like in my books! Ponies eat meat!"
Almost immediately thereafter Scoots tore into her steak and began to devour it. While she had never tasted meat before, the moment she began to eat it, she loved it and began to think to herself, "Hmmm....I wonder! I wonder if I could find this anywhere at home."
She saw her friends sniffing their steaks and it was obvious that they did not like the smell. Suddenly it hit Rainbow what they were being served, "Colgate darling, you're serving us meat? Ponies in this world eat meat?"
Colgate replied, "Yep, most of us do." While she was not expecting that some of her guests wouldn't even want to touch it, it did not anger her. She continued, "I take it the ponies of your world do not eat it?"
Cheerilee replied, "Goodness no! Killing a poor animal just so we could eat it? That is mean!"
Pinkie sniffed her steak again and went, "Yuck! Not to mention nasty!"
Rainbow asked, "Darling, how can you stand to kill something just so you can eat it? Doesn't it bother you when it is screaming in pain?"
Colgate laughed, "Well it is normally the ranchers that slaughter the livestock and prepare it for consumption."
The three sat there with sick looks on their faces just imaging an animal being slaughtered while Scoots, who had finished her own steak, was looking at Rainbow's and licking her chops. She asked, "Rainbow, if you're not going to eat yours can I have it? I'm still hungry."
Rainbow pushed her plate to Scoots and sighed, "Ewww....how can you stand to eat that darling?"
Scoots replied, "It tastes good. I hope I can eat meals like this when we get home. It is so tasty."
Her friends gagged over her comment while Colgate could only smile. She thought to herself, "Oh boy, I have a feeling she's going to go killing things to get the meat she craves now!"
As their lunch drew to a close her guests, Rainbow in particular, were giving Colgate an intense look and things went silent. Finally it hit Colgate as to what was running through their minds. Colgate asked, "I take it you ladies are ready to return home?"
Rainbow replied, "Yes darling, we are. We are wondering if you could lead us to the portal?"
Colgate said, "Yes, I can. Follow me."
A Fond Farewell
As Colgate led her guests towards the portal, again they became unnerved as they crossed from the wide open spaces around Ponyville into the dark confines of the Everfree. While Rainbow, Cheerilee and Pinkie walked close together, Scoots walked closer up to Colgate. Colgate saw this and couldn't help but wonder what was up with her. She asked, "Scootaloo, is everything ok? On the way to Ponyville you were very nervous but now you seem just fine."
Scoots motioned for Colgate to lean down and whispered, "I don't know what it is Colgate but I'm not scared. Maybe it is because I know you're here or I'm becoming more accustomed to a world where not everything is completely safe."
There was something about the way Scoots looked at Colgate that seemed odd, very odd. She could tell something was running through her mind but did not wish to ask her about it right then. After a couple hours of walking the five finally reached the portal. Colgate knelt down and said, "Well we're here. We have reached the portal."
Her guests rushed to her and hugged her. Rainbow was the first to say anything, "Thank you for everything darling. While your former commander did scare me a lot, I find your world really fascinating."
Pinkie added, "Yeah and everypony here seems so friendly."
Cheerilee added, "I have enjoyed it here as well but I will admit, I'm ready to return home."
Unlike the others who seemed happy that they would be returning home, Scoots looked glum, very glum. Rainbow saw this and asked, "Scootaloo, why do you look so sad? You were able to visit a place just like those in your fantasy books!"
Pinkie added, "Yeah and aren't you excited to go home?"
Scoots just sighed and looked up at Colgate with a look of sadness in her eyes. Colgate had a feeling as to what she was wanting and simply gave her a smile, which caused her to smile as well. When her friends saw this Cheerilee asked, "Scootaloo, what is up with the sudden smile?"
Scoots replied, "Well I have realized that while many things in life are wonderful, that sometimes they have to come to an end and I will always have my memories."
Rainbow looked towards the cave and portal and asked, "Well everypony, oops I mean everybody, shall we return home?"
Her friends nodded and Colgate knelt down and pulled them into an embrace. Well my friends, I guess this is goodbye. I will always have fond memories of you and Scootaloo, again I would like to thank you on behalf of all the ponies of this world for doing what you did to stop another war." She paused for a minute and continued, "Well ladies, once I know you are safely back in your world I will drain the portal of its power."
Scoots's ears shot up at this, "Colgate, please don't drain the portal. I don't want our worlds to be separated and besides, what if we was to want to visit one another?"
Unlike her, her friends weren't in the same mindset. While they knew that no war would erupt in Equestria or the lands beyond, they still had their concerns. Cheerilee was the first to mention this, "While we know your world will be safe and calm now, I still have my concerns about that portal. What if someone found it, came through and did something to...."
Scoots interrupted, "Cheerilee, nopony has come through yet and besides, Colgate said that she is the only pony who has ever dared to venture this deep in the forest."
Cheerilee sighed, "That is true."
Scoots continued, "And besides, I don't want to never see my friends again."
Something about what she said struck the three, they began to wonder what was really going through her mind. Finally it hit Rainbow, "Scootaloo darling, are you saying that you're staying here instead of coming home?"
Scoots looked up at Colgate who gave her a smile. She replied, "Yes, I have decided to stay in Equestria. While I will miss the three of you, the time I have spent in this world has not only changed me some, I feel a true connection to it. I honestly don't know if I could readjust to our world knowing that this amazing land really exists."
Rainbow asked, "But darling, where would you live?"
Colgate replied, "There is a spare bedroom in the tower that I will give to her. After all, I consider her a very dear friend and she saved not just your world but our world as well. Ponies like that do get extra perks."
Cheerilee asked, "But what will she do for a living? Where will she......"
Colgate interrupted, "Cheerilee, all she has to do is enjoy life. Unless she wishes to engage in a form of employment, she can just kick back and relax."
Scoots asked, "Really Colgate, I won't have to do anything if I don't want to?"
Colgate replied, "No, you will not."
Scoots could see tears developing in her friends' eyes before they broke down crying. Never could they imagine that, especially given her initial reaction to Colgate when she first met her, that she would remain in Equestria and live with her. Scoots too began to cry and ran to her friends, "I know this is hard ladies but I just feel like this is where I belong, this is where I want to be."
While her friends were still having a hard time coming to terms with this, they finally gave Scoots their blessing. They engaged in one final group hug before Scoots and Colgate would return to Ponyville and her friends would return home.
Scoots said, "I'm going to miss all of you but Colgate and I will come and visit!" She looked up at Colgate and continued, "Right?"
Colgate replied, "Of course! Besides, I would love to get to know more about your world."
Rainbow said, "Well darlings, I guess this is farewell."
Pinkie added, "We're really going to miss you Scootaloo."
Cheerilee finished, "Goodbye Scootaloo, goodbye Colgate."
Scoots interrupted, "Hey, you act like we're never going to see each other ever again! This isn't good bye, it's more of a 'see you later.'"
Colgate added, "Scootaloo is right, this is more of a see you later moment. Do not worry ladies, Scootaloo and I will come to visit and naturally if you wish to come back for a couple of days when we visit you, you're more than welcome to do so."
The three gave her a smile before Rainbow asked, "Well darlings, shall we head home?"
The other two nodded and headed through the portal. As they returned to their own world Colgate looked down and could sense two emotions from Scoots, one of a little bit of sadness but another of a great amount of happiness. Scoots asked, "Well Colgate, shall we return home?"
Colgate replied, "Yes, I think we should." She levitated Scoots up onto her back and ordered, "Hold on though. This time we're flying back, it will make the trip much quicker."
Scootaloo couldn't help but smile as they headed back towards Ponyville and the tower. While she would miss seeing her friends every day, she knew there were plenty of friends to be made in Ponyville and Equestria, which she now considered her home.
The End
