Ignorant Bliss

Scootaloo wished she was never the one to cry often. She would usually cry if something hurt her or if she couldn’t figure out something, but she never really seemed to mind crying...until that voice in her mind “visited” her that night. After that conversation, she felt rather embarrassed for all the times she has cried.

Like that time when she accidentally got a paper cut. A small slice in the hoof sent her straight into tears. Or when she was running and tripped over a rock that led to her face planting in the dirt. Or when she was laughed at by her friends for dressing up as a chicken on her first Nightmare Night. These were all events that only babies cried over.

Scootaloo suddenly remembered Rainbow Dash, the most daring and bold pony in her life. Her face begins to burn with humiliation thinking about her “big sister.” What would Rainbow Dash think if she saw her cry in all of those events? She would be disappointed in a filly like Scootaloo, unable to toughen through the little things. She really would be a laughing stock.

But not anymore. Scootaloo wasn’t going to play the baby anymore. No, she was going to start preparing herself for the tough future headed her way. Screw all the sappy stuff and childish things. If she can manage to harden her own self, she really wouldn’t have to break down at all of the frivolous things in life, would she?

At that point, Scootaloo looked up and found herself standing in front of her home. “Home sweet home,” Scootaloo thought sarcastically. She sighed and pushed the door open, only to find darkness and silence. Hmmm, so her mom must already be asleep in her room. That meant she had to quietly sneak into her room and go to bed. She silently trotted towards her room and quietly shut the door behind her. She then hopped onto her bed and laid her head down onto her soft pillow.

“What a day. And I thought it was going to be fine but nooooo, my friends just had to leave my flank. And now I’m stuck living with my stupid mom who doesn’t care about me whatsoever without any friends to talk to. Maybe I should hang out with Pinkie Pie...no, that won’t work. She has a bakery to run. Fluttershy? No, she’s probably not expecting me. And I doubt she has time, especially with all those animals she has to take care of.”

Scootaloo was just about to fall asleep, but the voice spoke to her once again. “You know, you don’t need to rely on your friends to make it. I can help you take on whatever problem you desire by yourself,” the voice spoke, deviously. “Can’t you see all this time with your friends has only made you soft as a feather? Heh, you can’t even fend for yourself in the world before you. But if you trust in my plan for you, you won’t be living like this for long.”

Scootaloo didn’t hear anymore after that. The voice left and Scootaloo was lying there on her bed, the words repeating over and over in her head. It was right; Scootaloo CAN’T fend for herself. She was too much of a...chicken. Flightless, weak, and a coward. Her friends? Ha, they didn’t help whatsoever. They pretty much told her if she needed to cry, do it. If she was beaten, take it. You can’t do anything about it.

“You just wait,” Scootaloo thought. “Just wait till I finally show you what I am truly capable of doing.” And at that, Scootaloo drifted off into sleep.

****

Her mother stood in front of her, anger in her mother’s face. She had a stick in one hoof and trotted slowly towards Scootaloo. Scootaloo stepped back only to be stopped by a wall behind her. She looked to the left, the right, past her mother. Only walls. No doors. No exits. No escape. She was trapped.

Her mother, the dark orange mare, swung the stick at Scootaloo’s face. The stick smacked her right cheek and the impact made Scootaloo’s face turn left. The sting was extremely painful. She looked back at her mom, only to feel a even painful sting in her left cheek this time.

The evil smile on her mother’s face showed how much she was enjoying beating up her child. And knowing that her daughter was defenseless made the experience more exciting to her. Raising the stick up one last time, she quickly brought it down, aiming for Scootaloo’s head. If the blow landed, it would result a concussion or worse.

Scootaloo saw this coming and reactively jumped to her right. The stick hit the floor with a strong thud. Suddenly, she heard a voice. “Take this and use it,” said the voice. Scootaloo looked behind her and saw a rusty, metal shovel. Picking it up, Scootaloo was ready for her mother now. The dark orange mare charged at her daughter with the stick, ready to swing again. Scootaloo brought the shovel back and swung with all her might. A loud CLANG emitted as the shovel made contact with the mare’s face.

The impact was so strong that her mom stumbled a few steps and then finally toppled over. Her body hit the floor with a thud. She was clearly knocked out. Scootaloo breathed heavily for a few seconds before she dropped the shovel. Then, she felt like the room around her was fading and she was slowly dissolving…

****

Scootaloo woke up on her bed, feeling the wetness underneath her back. The intense dream of her’s must have cause her to sweat rapidly, eventually soaking her bed. “What kind of dream was that?” Scootaloo questioned in her head. “How come I had never had a dream like that before?” It truly mystified Scootaloo on why she has never had a dream that wild. Could it be the mysterious voice’s doing? Was it a sign of what’s to come?

Setting aside what just happened, Scootaloo looked at the clock. It read 9:00 AM in red, digital numbers. She sighed. It was summer break on a monday and she had no plans of what to do. Maybe she could just relax somewhere and rest the whole day. She could go get a snack or walk to the park or do something that would make time fly. But before she could get any further in thought, she heard the voice speaking to her again.

“Awake? Good. I believe it’s time to begin my little test for you, Scootaloo. I need you to first find an area where nopony expects you or anypony in general to be at. That is your first task.” And with that, the voice disappeared. A place where nopony expects anypony to be at...interesting. And literally the definition of weird. But it must be the first task in the strange “test” so she might as well.

But the thought lingered in her mind. How was she going to find a place that nopony expects her to be at? Is there even a place where nopony would bother looking? “Guess there is only one way to find out,” Scootaloo finally thought. She would have to go out and find it...unfortunately.

Having it only being 9:00 in the morning, Scootaloo knew her mother would still be sleeping. That’s pretty much the perfect time for Scootaloo to go out and find an area...without being questioned by her mother. Her mother really didn’t care what kind of things Scootaloo gets into. That made it easier for her to carry out the task.

She quietly opened her bedroom door, silently trotted to the front door, opened it, stepped outside and silently shut the door behind her. Scootaloo immediately saw the bright weather of today. It was sunny with pretty much 0% chance of rain. That is usually the best it got for her. So good, she didn’t need a scooter. She can walk around and see the greatness of these days. But she quickly waved the thought out of her head. It was time to get back to her task. She suspected maybe a dark alley in between some of the stores in Ponyville. So that was a start.

Scootaloo headed towards the shopping area in Ponyville. Buildings stood out left and right of her, but none seemed to have an isolated alleyway. It was all occupied with dumpsters, garbage bags, teen colts trying to “play it cool,” and one ugly scene with three thugs beating up a defenseless pony. The scene disgusted her the same way the thought of her mother did.

She quickly hurried along down the road in hopes of finding a place. But there was nothing that could have sustained isolation. She began to wonder if there even was a place with no ponies hanging around. After walking down the paths a little bit longer (and getting a quick breakfast donut in a bakery nearby), Scootaloo decided that there was no place here that could possibly be used as a hideout.

Just when she was about to give up, something caught her eye. It as the dark alley to her right. Except there was something strange about this alley. She felt an unusual presence deep within the darkness of the alleyway. This presence sent shivers and chills throughout her entire body. Scootaloo hesitated. She anticipated something to be lurking around the darkness, waiting to drag her in by force. But that didn't happen, so Scootaloo thought she might not be in the right place.

"Go on. Come towards the darkness, my little pony."The mysterious voice spoke in her head again. At this point, Scootaloo felt as if she had lost a bit of control of her body, since she was walking towards the shadows without any hesitation. The instant she entered the darkness, she lost sight of everything around her. It was as if she was blindfolded and didn't know where she was anymore. She really didn't, but no part of her whatsoever wanted to back out, so she kept going.

Going and going until she felt very drowsy. Her eyelids at this point felt heavy as iron and her legs began to bend in exhaustion. It was already beginning to feel hard for Scootaloo to even walk straight. She was swaying left and right with every step and she couldn't control herself. "What's happening?" Scootaloo said, to no pony in particular. All of a sudden, it was as if her brain shut down and Scootaloo collapsed, drifting off into a slumber in a dark world she had just entered.