Chapters Her lavender mane wafted in the gently breeze; belaying the raging tempest inside the young filly standing on the gently slope. Violet eyes gazed at the distant horizon hoping to find a glimmer of salvation. An eagle on an apple tree limb above sat staring silent as a sentry. It's dark form no more solid then the fillys fractured heart. She paid it no heed, it's presence no more significant than an ant in a colony. She had made her choice and only the Grim reaper himself could stop her.
Several hours earlier....
"Please, Scoots? It would means so much to us." Rainbow Dash implored. Scootaloo merely shifted farther over in her chair. She hadn't touched her tea since they had arrived at the coffee shop and it had grown cold in it's disuse. She refused to even look at dash and had turned her chair away from her to avoid accidently even do so.
"FINE !" She screamed in frustration. "Just leave me alone..."
"Okay, squirt. Thank you."
The rainbow maned equine rose to leave and was stopped when Scootaloo suddenly whipped around, tears in her eyes, and smacked her.
"It's not fair. How could you even ask? Do you honestly hate me that much? " She whispered through grated teeth at the cyan pony. "Why her? Am I not good enough?"
Rainbow Dash stared at her attacker, but no answer came. No solace. No grand soliloquy. She just sat there in dumbfounded silence.
"You ask me to be your best mare at your wedding and you expect me to be "okay" with that?" Scootaloo screamed, her miniature titian orange body shacking with rage. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe I love you ....."
With that she turned and marched off toward Sweet Apple Acres. She paused mid-trot and looked back at the petrified and broken Pegasus. She smiled, a sad lonely fracture in her face, and whispered dryly, "Goodbye Rainbow Dash...you'll miss me, but I sure as buck won't be missing you."
Tears welled up in her eyes and she turned towards the farm. She vaguely remebered hearing her named called, but, she was gone before anyone could catch her. She sat and watched the Crusader clubhouse from her vantage point. She watched her friends come and go searching for her as the day dragged on. She knew what she had to do; She had known ever since finding out about Twilight and Rainbows Dashs engagement.
When night fell she crept into the clubhouse and grabbed her meager belongings. She left a sealed note on the table and pulled out her blanket. She lay down for the evening and watched the weather outside as it seemed to mimic her emotions.
~*~*~The Next Day~*~*~
Spike walked home after spending all day out with everyone searching for Scootaloo. He felt bad for giving up, but he hoped that maybe she would grow homesick and come back. When he arrived back to the library twilight was nowhere to be found. All the lights where off and even Owllicious was gone. He had the whole house to himself.
"Sweet...Ice cream time!!!!" He crowed in glee. He then felt instant guilt for his selfishness."Scootaloo's probably out there alone and cold."
He sat down on his bed and stared out towards Sweet Apple Acres. He sighed as he watched the storm rage. Just as he was about to delve into his bounty of sugar a glimmer from the club houses caught his eye. He rose from his seat and squinted into the gloom trying to decipher the origins of the glint.
"Only one filly I know would be out there this late." He mumbled to himself. He set down his ice cream and grabbed his notepad quickly scribbling a note for Twilight. Then, with new hope, he dashed out the door and into the night.
~*~*~*~*~*~
He was not the only being to notice the midnight visitor. Rainbow Dash, high in the clouds, dove towards the clubhouse at high speed.
"Please be her." She pleaded to no one."I have to apologize before it's to late."
The storm raged behind her as she flew. It's bolts and bellows cascading through the midnight air. Every flash illuminated her face, but only the storm saw the sorrow in her eyes. She rocketed towards the ground and landed silently on the porch. She rose her hoof to knock, but was stopped short by a noise from inside. She placed her ear close to the keyhole and listened in confusion.
"Mommy....I'm sorry..." Came a whisper from behind the door. Rainbow leaned back and cocked her head in confusion. That was scootaloo's voice, but who was she talking to? She wondered. She then rose up on her hind legs and hopped catlike onto the roof. She peered through a hole in the roof down at a sobbing Scootaloo. She had curled up around a picture frame of a mare. Scootaloo shifted in her sadness and revealed the photos hidden occupant to be Rainbow herself.
"Oh My Celest----" She gasped into her hoof. She had known the filly idolized her, but to be seen as a mother. She fidgeted at the knowledge and wondered how long she had been a surrogate to the orange filly.
"That's why she was so angry.... She was afraid of losing me. Afraid of losing her mother....again." Rainbow Dash murmured in realization.
Suddenly the door to the club house flew open and in walked a very happy baby dragon. He saw Scootaloo on the floor and rushed over to her. Just before he reached her she reared up and pushed spike onto the ground with her hooves. He gasped in suprise as his skull rechochated of the floor.
"Scootaloo, whats wrong?" He moaned in pain. " It's me spike...your best-friend."
She just glared at him from tear.
"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. Twilight made me swear I wouldn't."
This didn't appear to help, because she then pushed harder against his chest. He squealed in pain as she reached a cresendo in her force. Then she released after tears began to well up in his eyes.
"Now you know a fraction of the pain I suffer." She whispered. "Now you know what it's like to have noting left. To lose someone, even when they stand right next to you. To love and never be loved in return."
He starred at her for a time saying nothing. She slowly walked back over to her portrait and crushed it with her hoof. Rainbow gasped and averted her eyes. She shivered in grief and agony.
"I'm not saying it your fault." She smiled. Blood oozed from her hoof and foreleg. "Twilight will do something I could never do....make Rainbow Dash happy."
"I'm a freak and an orphan. I'm all alone and I can't seem to escape this hell!" She screamed. rounding on the small drake." I can't be saved"
"HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" She cackled madly into the raging storm outside. " I have no soul left to love. Who could love a flightless pegasus. I'm so sorry I couldn't be perfect like Twilight or Rainbow Dash"
Rainbow gasped in horror as Scootaloo grabbed a shrad of the glass and held it against her wing. The rainbow pony jumped from the roof and rushed to stop the filly, but was stopped by a shout.
"Do it!" Spike screamed in rage." Prove them right!"
He rose to his feet and walked towards Scootaloo. His shoulders shook with ever step, tears flowing like rivers down his cheeks.
"Do you know what it's like to be alone even with friends. walk a mile in my shoes and maybe you might now what it's like." He came to rest before the enraged filly."In this life we need someone to love and believe in. To banish our fears and to lean on."
He knelt down and placed his hand on her shoulder gently. She lifted her gaze and looked into his tear stained face. He smiled sweetly at her and continued his speech.
"You are beautiful Scootaloo, but noponies perfect. We all have our flaws and strengths. Rainbow Dash and Twilight, have their flaws. It's their love for each other and their friendship that makes them strong. So please, let me be your friend... let me help you."
He reached for the shard and she released it. Scootaloo, then, shifted her gaze away in shame.
"When this began, I was so scared and confused. I'm so happy I'm not the only one with these feelings." She smiled warmly. "I want to feel like I'm something worth loving, but mostly I just don't want to be alone any more."
Her shoulders sagged and she began to cry again. Spike gently tilted her chin and gazed into her teary eyes.
"Okay Scoots. You'll never be alone again"
He then kissed her. She blinked and blushed a crimson. After a while she leaned into the kiss; closing her eyes. Finally, he broke the kiss and stared into her eyes longingly.
" I love you." He whispered, his face red." I promise to never leave you. I'm terrified that i may lose you and I don't know if I can take that."
"Okay I'll stay...for you."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rainbow dash sat on the porch for a time and listened until she heard the two snoring from inside. She sighed and rose into the air. She couldn't tell if she was numb from the rain or shock. She knew she needed to tell Twilight where Spike was and that the two were okay. Her heart ached at the pain and grief she had caused.
"Tomorrow I will tell her how sorry I truly am." She promised herself.
"RAINBOW DASH !" Yelled a particularly frustrated purple mare. "You get down here this instant!"
Rainbow stared down from her perch high in The Library's limbs. She glared down at Twilight and stuck out her tongue.
"Why you?! Wait tell I get my hooves on you." She bellowed up the tree. "I can tolerate your pranks, but now you've gone to far! Look what you did to my mane!"
Rainbow looked at her friends mane and fell against the tree roaring with laughter. Twilights hair was a glaring shade of auburn and her coat a milky white. Rainbow wiped a tear from her eye and looked at her infuriated friend. She then sighed and flew from the tree, coming to rest next to the librarian.
"I like this color on you. Makes you seem so much more...mature." She giggled. Twilight glared at her and stormed back into her library with the pegasus in tow. The smell of Spike cooking lunch filled the whole house. Rainbow Dash's licked her lips in anticipation, but Twilight grabbed her ear with her teeth.
"OW!" She squealed. Twilight released her quickly and grabbed a quill and some parchment with her magical aura.
"OK, now that I have your attention, please tell me the dye's you used. I need to know so I can fix all the damage you've caused me." She quipped, agitated.
"But...but luuuuunch." The cyan pony moaned pathetically. Twilight just starred, unphased by the wining, and waited.
"Fiiine ." She sighed. "Some bleach in your soap and some red cake dye I got from Pinkie, in your conditioner."
"Ok. That is all." Twilight mumbled as she wrote. "Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike!"
The little dragon came running from the kitchen, his apron covered in jelly, and stopped just shy of the two mares.
"How soon until dinners ready, Spike?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"Hi to you as well, Rainbow." He laughed. "It will be ready in a little bit. What do you need Twilight?"
"I need some baking soda and some compound 35 with citric acid, from the cellar."
"What for?"
Her glare was more than enough of an answer for the young dragon. He turned on his heel and headed toward the cellar door. As soon as the door clicked Twilight rounded on Rainbow and sighed.
"Why do you do this to me...What have I done to deserve this constant torture?" She questioned, her mane askew. "Are you mad at me? Is this some sort of punishment?"
Rainbow looked away quickly, her face scarlet with embarrassment. She shifted her hooves in place and her wings fidgeted. Twilight new she had struck a chord, so she pressed the issue.
"I'm your friend, okay? You can tell me anything, Rainbow Dash." She implored, placing her hoof over Rainbow's shoulder. The cyan pony jerked away and glared at Twilight, enraged.
"You know, for such a smart pony, you sure can be stupid!" Rainbow spat. With that she turned and left the librarian without another word. The door slammed behind her making Twilight flinch.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID!" Rainbow Dash cried as she flew away. " I can't let it happen again, never again !
"What's wrong? Miss me already?" Came a voice from nowhere. Rainbow Dash froze in mid-air; the voice all too familiar. Her head whipped around searching for the voice's owner.
"Awww, how sweet...Some ones got a cruuuush. So cute I think I may just vomit." The voice mocked. Rainbow gulped and tried to fly as hard as she could away from the heckler.
"I JUST love how you dyed her coat to look like mine. Were you hoping it might help?" It continued. "I knew you missed me."
She realized, with a shock, that the voice wasn't coming from around her, but from inside her very own head. She tried to scream, but was stopped by a terrible itch from must under her chin. She tried to speak, but the urge to scratch it, with all her might, prevented her. She landed next to a lake and started scratching vigorously.
"Go away!" She gasped frightened. The itching just wouldn't stop no matter how hard she tried. She scratched and scratched to no avail.
SHHLICK. SHHLICK. SHHLICK.
Confused, she pulled her hoof away and it was drenched in blood. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a choked gurgle. Her eye lids dropped and she collapsed to the ground in pain. As she stared at the sky, gasping, a figures shadow came into view. It was a unicorn with auburn hair and a silvery coat . He smiled down at the struggling pegasus, his blood red eyes flashing, and laughed. A terrible vile cackle filled with sadism and malice.
"This is the second time I stand over you while you lay there dying. This time, though, I want save you." He smiled, a wicked bloody crack in his shaded face. " You took her from me and for that you shall pay!
Her vision swam and faded to nothing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Screamed Rainbow Dash as she lept from her bed, clutching her neck and gasping for air. The storm still raged outside; matching her scream in volume.
"What wrong?" Asked a frightened Twilight. "Did you have another nightmare?"
She sat in mid-air as she collected her breath and looked around in terror. Twilight stood up and walked over to her. She then reached up and placed a hand on the pegasus's flank. Rainbow flinched away and looked down at a smiling Twilight. Rainbow Dash sighed and landed, tears in her eyes. She reached and clutched Twilight in the a hug.
"I was so scared that-" She gulped. "-he's back."
Twilight just held her tighter and stroked her mane; scanning the darkness with her eyes.
"It's ok, I'm her, I'll protect you." She murmured, softly.
They stayed there awhile and listened to the storm rage until the dawn came. The sun broke through the clouds and it's rays traveled across the room in streaks. As they crossed the room they illuminated the desk next to the bed. On it, next to the bedside lamp, sat three picture frames . The first held a picture of Twilight and Rainbow Dash on there first date. The next held Twilight and her parents on Christmas. The last was new to the table.
It had faint burn marks and signs of age. In it was Rainbow Dash laying in a hospital bed with a portion of the picture that had been ripped off. Whoever was there, next too her, was erased. In her arms, plan as day, lay a small new born filly. It's purple mane and bright orange coat; a stark contrast to her mother. A baby Scootaloo rested as her mother stared down at her lovingly.
Rainbow Dash starred at the picture, from her spot on the floor, with Twilight. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at her daughter. The guilt and pain making very breath she took ache
"Is it to late?" She whispered. "I don't want her to suffer like I did. Growing up without a mother...."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Dawn came swiftly for the two mares. Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash with concern.
"Dash...What happened twelve years ago?" She asked, longing to ease her burden.
She began slowly. " I can't remember much of those days but, I remember the...snow. Black snow."
She paused; Her eyes scanning the rooms emptiness for the missing fragments of her memory.
"Many years ago, before I came to Ponyville, I meet a stallion. He was a rising star in the courts of Canterlot. He was so charming and kind. I just....I never had anyone who cared about me like he did. He was nice to me and, for once, I was happy. We started dating and everyday I spent with him was wonderful" Her eyes glistened like a morning dew.
A smile crept across her face as memories flooded her mind.
"He asked me too marry him and, of course, I couldn't resist. I loved him so much. When I discovered I was pregnant with Scootaloo I was thrilled. I could finally have a family.....or so I thought."
~*~*~*~*~*~* Outside of the Cutie mark Crusaders Clubhouse*~*~*~*~*~*~
Scootaloo stared up at the waning twilight and sniffed the morning air. She giggled as a brilliant blue butterfly landed on her nose. She watched it as it closed and opened its elegant wings. It rose off her nose and into the air to continue its mysterious journey. A moan behind her brought her back to reality.
Spike lay sprawled across the grass, nuzzling her blanket. she smiled at him, but her mirth quickly faded. The nights "events" had taken there toll on both of them.
"Ooh Spike....What am I going to do with you?" She laughed. He moaned again and twitched; Causing Scootaloo to giggle. She sat down next to him and stroked his head. He smiled and curled around his new mare friend.
"I love you.." The little dragon moaned, half asleep. She looked down at him; her face bright red. She, then, stood up quickly, breathing heavily. He opened his eyes and stood up looking at her in concern.
"Scootaloo...You ok?" Spike Inquired, standing up.
"no..." She breathed, shacking her head violently.
I love you sweety; with all my heart.
She stared at Spike, but he wasn't Spike. He had a tall slender white body and a blue suit. He stood like Spike and had hands like Spike, but his skin was smooth and his mane was only on his head. He smelled of gunpowder and iron. Scootaloo stared at him and somehow he felt...familiar.
"Oh! How I have missed you" He smiled; his face cracking at the edges. She backed away, but her escape was blocked by some invisible wall behind her.
"Who are you?" She squeaked in terror. He grabbed at his chest with his hands and wore a hurt look on his face.
"You don't remember me?"He whined pathetically. " Can't even remember your dear old dad?"
~*~*~*~*~At the library~*~*~*~
"His name was Gilfy and he was everything I had ever wanted." Rainbow Dash continued, only pausing where her memory failed. "He was so handsome and kind, but he had a tendency to be...vengeful."
"So what happened to him?" Twilight inquired, curious.
"Well, just before winter, he was doing some research on pan-dimensional anomalies.He was making great headway in his research, but he told me that he kept coming accross the same refrence over and over. "BAD WOLF". When he went to the princess, to try and ask her what the phrase meant, she had him arressted on the spot.
I would have gone to his beg for his freedom, but I was in labor with Scootaloo. By the time they released him she was born and we had gone home." She paused and shuffled her hooves uncomfortably. "He was...less than forgiving. He vowed to show Celestia the error of her ways.
That same night he went into our basement and locked the door behind him. I waited, with Scootaloo, all night for him to re-emerge. As I waited I heard a humming coming from downstairs--"
"Oh my Celestia" Twilight whispered in horror; realization washing over her mind.
"--All I remember is the house shaking and darkness. When I woke up I was in Ponyville hospital."
Twilight rose and stared in horror at her fiancee. She then flipped around and began searching through her book cases.
"Bad Wolf, sonic vibration, Nocte Tenebris Lux ... " Twilight whipered hurridly as she ripped books from there shelves.
"What are you looking for?" The cyan pony asked, bewildered.
"HERE IT IS!" Twilight exclaimed, triumphantly. "Nights of Dark Light. A phenomenon that only occurs when dark energy passes into our realm. When a portal is opened between our world and the one of the Vashta Nerada. Only twice has this occurred and in both cases the witnesses mysteriously...vanished; never to heard from again."
She shut the tomb and looked at the cyan pony.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~In " THE DARKNESS" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Scootaloo gazed at her "father" in awe and horror. He was like pure fire and rage. His eyes like the night and a storm in the heart of the sun. He seemed ancient and forever. Yet, even in her awe, she knew he was something to be fear. His very aura spoke of a terrifying evil.
"Come to daddy" He smiled, arms wide open.
Preview of chapter four.
"and so he stood atop the mountain. A stone against the gale; the final sentry. He will fall and in his wake a darkness shall fall.A darkness that shall reign for a thousand years, but none shall remember the warning.It is a fading darkness drowned by light. "
Be afraid for it is fear and fear shall reign.
