Author's Note

I'm trying something different with this chapter. See about getting into the mind of Scootaloo with everything that she and Applebloom have been experiencing with the baby on the way. It's not going to include anything bad or against TOS so dont worry there. Also there is a moment where Scootaloo mentions not having a cutie mark. I know the CMC already have theirs (and its been YEARS since they got it) but this is an alternate universe

Three Runaway Fillies (Scootaloo's POV)

As my big brother would put it this was just HELL and.... please dont tell him I said that.... I do NOT want my mouth washed out with soap again.... Yuck... Why am I saying that you ask? It's because I've been getting yelled at for things that arent even my fault! Same with Applebloom being told she's not even doing enough to help out with the orchard. Today we had a visitor while Applebloom and I were playing outside, that guy left, his tires couldnt get traction and ended up flinging dirt and rocks before he could get going. One of those rocks hit the window and we were at the wrong place at the wrong time..... Applebloom was already in a bit of trouble for apparently not doing her part in the work for the orchard that Ryder had to pick up the slack for. Right now? We're both on the couch still a bit dirty from playing because that dirt gets kicked up a bit too much. I had my wonderbolts hoodie on and matching sweat pants while Applebloom was just in her overalls and a teeshirt, both of us had work boots on because we had to get them for help in the orchard... Anyways Ryder and Big Mac were the only ones home since Applejack is with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy at the castle learning things from the Princess about things to expect when the foal comes. Anyways Big Mac was over by the window that broke cleaning up the glass making sure there was nothing we were gonna step on. Same with Winona- who was on the couch with us just comforting us knowing we were scared when Ryder yelled at us to get inside. Ryder was pacing back and forth in front of us, TV off, remote in his hand just so we dont steal it out of spite. He stopped and turned to us. "Girls.... I just wanna know which one of you broke the window!" He said. "Fess up to it, nobody gets in trouble! Maybe something down the line just so Applejack doesnt freak out at you but other than that nothing big. So just say who did it and you can go on your way!"

Applebloom huffed. "It was that guy orderin' all them pies that broke it!" She said. "His car kicked up the dust n' rocks! One of them rocks hit the window!"

Ryder looked to me as I stroked the dogs back. "Its true! He was the one who broke the window!" I said. He gave a sigh that sounded like what Miss Cheerilee would do if someone didnt have their homework.

I watched as he started to pace again. "Girls.... I know you wanna protect each other... Totally fine..." He said. "How about this.... Ten bits for the one to tell me who REALLY broke the window."

"But it really was that guy!" I snapped. "We arent lying!"

"Scootaloo come on! I'm always making sure areas around the house are clear of rocks and any I find go into the trees! Maybe even further." He looked back to Applebloom. "C'mon 'Bloom, tell me who broke the window. I'll double it! I know you wanted twenty bits for those new shoes you want..... Gets em faster this way." Applebloom said nothing. Just looked to me and Winona. Then she looked back at Ryder. He just sighed. "...Alright so that's how its gonna be..... You two need to go to your rooms NOW and when you're ready to stop lying to me, you can tell me. Only come out of your room for the bathroom or food. Other than that? Nothing. That means no Sweetie Belle, no desert, no sleepovers, NOTHING and I will be letting Rarity AND Filthy Rich about this just in case they were thinking about asking."

Applebloom hit the couch scaring Winona away... Dog climbed right over me and ran. "That aint fair! We ARE tellin' the truth!" She snapped.

"Bullshit! Complete and utter BULLSHIT! That guy left WAY before that rock hit that window. He couldnt have found a rock, threw it through the window and gotten into his car. Now stop arguing this and go to your room.... NOW!" We sat there for a moment not even believing what we were hearing. Though we knew not to make my brother mad by just sitting around here... We got up and walked around the couch just to go upstairs. It still sucked that our rooms were separated.... And I knew even touching my phone could get me in trouble. And here's the thing about that.... Its been dead since this morning because I forgot to charge it last night and Ryder is always afraid of taking my phone away because if something happens to me.... He's never gonna forgive himself. Luna told me after I had my nightmare after Ryder had me dropped off in Canterlot. It was that day before mom and dad died I think.... Ryder was taking me to school and such.... Luna told me after we were done a few days after was that Ryder basically regret putting me in Juvi in that alternate reality.... I've already seen what juvi is like from what Soarin told me.... Cold rooms, food sucks and anyone who wants to beat you up probably will. She was a bit scared of it.... Probably kinda like scared to think that even could've happened.

Anyways we just looked to each other in front of my room (thankfully out of view of our brothers) and I just made a hand signal to write little notes like we do sometimes in class. At least this time there is almost no chance on getting caught.... Cheerilee always takes our notes and sometimes makes us read them out loud but she knows after one time she made a mistake.... Always looks it over before making us read it if safe. If not she asks us to stay after class to speak with us. What do we do here? Winona. She takes our notes to the other when tucked into her collar. I ended up getting into my backpack, taking out a pencil and a piece of paper before starting to write on the desk Ryder built for me. 'Why does Ryder not believe us? We kept telling him the truth and he doesnt believe us! We both told him the same thing, he still thinks we did it! What the heck?!' I wrote. Now our little trick to things? Winona has sensitive hearing. And I mean REALLY sensitive. Any car that comes onto the dirt road gets her ears to perk up and she starts wandering around growling until the car stops or leaves. I gave a bit of a whistle that was near silent. It was still a whistle but not enough of a whistle to alert everyone. Almost immediately I heard her coming up the steps and down the hall. I keep telling Ryder he needs to take her to Fluttershy to get her nails clipped but he says its fine. Winona just ran into my room, panting happily as if she wasnt just in the middle of us getting yelled at. I folded up the paper and just stuck it in her collar trying to follow her collar. "Go on and get Applebloom girl!" I whispered.

That dog excitedly just ran out of my room and down the hall. As I waited for her to come back I just went to my door and listened. I could hear Ryder and Big Mac talking downstairs. Couldnt hear them well enough to tell what they were saying. Winona returned about a moment later. She hopped up onto my bed and allowed me to pet her and grab the paper which I opened and read. 'I dont know! I'm almost wishing Applejack was here.... Probably would at least have someone out there watching us so they could see it as well! ' She wrote back. I went back to my desk and started writing again.

'But you know Big Mac. Always complaining that he's the one always watching us and that its never Ryder or Applejack... Least they could do is give him a break and have one of the other... Lets just hope when AJ comes home and we have to tell her what happened that she believes us instead of Ryder.' I went and sent it right back to my sister in law. Honestly Ryder and Applejack have been married for a while but it still feels weird to call one of my best friends my sister..... I ended up looking at some of the stuff around my desk. A video game Princess Luna gave me from when Ryder was my age, a few games and a case for it, a desk lamp, calculator (not a cheap one either... Thank you Celestia) and even a cup full of pencils. I just put the pencil on my desk and just started to spin it while I waited for Winona to come back. She did with a note... and one of her toys. I sighed. "No play time girl.... dont wanna make my brother mad...." Anyways I took the note and opened it up again.

'Yeah.... But you saw her.... My sister's moody as all heck and when she does get mad its like we just did something so horrible to even get a response like that. Still aint fair one way or another .... Getting yelled at for even telling the truth.... Honestly love you too much to even throw you under the bus for something you never did!'

'Good to know that.... Love you too sis. Now throw this away before one of our brothers sees this... also just.... play a bit with Winona, roll her ball down the hall or something....'

After that I sent Winona back down the hall and just went over to my bed just to lay down holding a stuffed wolf close.... This one was something I got while staying with Celestia. She gave it to me after I got lost at the mall in Manehattan.... I guess I can say why I got lost. Since my mommy and daddy died... I apparently get so depressed I just mindlessly wander.... like I black out and just start walking wherever.... Happened while Ryder and I were waiting to go home... We had to stay with Dash but she was nice enough to let me sleep in her bed with her. One night I guess I got up to go to the bathroom but I didnt remember ever going back to bed or even going to the bathroom.... Dash ended up waking me up and I was in the bathtub holding one of her loofas like a stuffed toy.... At least it wasnt a pair of her underwear.... Ryder tells me she wets her bed but I havent seen it.... yet.... Dont doubt it because sometimes her room smelt like mine before our house burned down.... I still miss that house.... Yeah... Even though there was too much painful memories coming from that house too. Best thing I remember? Ryder coming over to see me, give me a present he couldnt give me on my birthday because daddy was being mean and not even inviting him.... He didnt really get me a gift but him at least coming and telling me happy birthday and spending time with me was enough. Anyways later that night Ryder and Big Mac were taking us out to get some food. Hayburgers were all they could even think of for dinner. Applebloom and I were in the back while Big Mac was front passenger. All we were doing was listening to the radio.... nobody spoke to anyone. "And we are back from our commercial break with some breaking news!" The DJ said. "The missing colt from Manehattan was found about an hour ago, alive and well. When the parents were interviewed by our colleagues over at GenX Rock over in Manehattan they had this to say."

I leaned on the side looking out the window before hearing a mare's voice. "We looked for him everywhere around the house, around the neighborhood, nobody saw him and we thought the worst." She said. "Turns out he and a few of his friends went and hid away in an old abandoned apartment building all to get out of a test they had. He's being punished at the moment. Other than that he's healthy, he's safe and unharmed."

"You heard it here folks. Boy has been found safe, ran away all because of a test! Can you believe that? How bad was that test? Math? Science? I can understand Math, everyone would wanna run away from that. As for now, back to the music. Here's some Metallicolt. But there's something that clicked there. I looked to Applebloom who I think got the same idea I did. We didnt really talk about it until we got home... AFTER everyone went to bed. I had to sneak over to Applebloom's room at the end of the hall with my phone. She had her light on and she was just sitting on her bed.

I huffed as I closed the door. "So...." I started to whisper as not to alert our brothers. "....Something tells me you got the same idea I did hearing that news story didnt you?"

Applebloom sighed kicking back in her pajamas.... Was just a night gown she got during our sleep over with Celestia. I was just wearing a tank top and some basketball shorts. "Eeyup. Heard it loud and clear." She said. "But uh... Just so I know we got the same idea.... why dont you just say it?" I hopped up onto her bed and sighed.

"Well we're gonna make em regret not listening to us. I'm gonna see if Sweetie Belle is still awake and see if she wants to join in on us runnin' off!"

"But where're we gonna go? Aint nowhere abandoned anywhere near us! Ponyville's still about a mile away from here and even if we did find somewhere abandoned we aint gonna find a way in!" I shushed her because she was getting a bit loud.

"Alright look.... I've got an idea but its in the complete opposite direction of Ponyville. We're gonna need to grab some apples and clothes and what not and we're gonna head off to Celestia's summer home. Babs is there, plus the guards around there know me so we can get in and stay there without worrying plus its the last place anyone would check." She stretched a bit.

"Well... I guess that's gonna work.... But what about Babs? She's just like Ryder's best friend n all since he saved her flank from Manehattan. She's gonna blab to him faster than anything."

"Yet when we tell her what he did, she's not gonna call him right away or at all even. We told the truth, he didnt believe us and I'm sure Babs has been in the same boat at some point. Right?" I could see her think while I messaged Sweetie Belle who I saw was online on the family friendly social media site. And yes... Ryder always checks who I'm following and whos following me.... He's already found one creep following me and by the time he was gonna tell me I already blocked him.... Diamond Tiara said he sent her some.... distrubing messages.... Hope Ryder sent guards after him. Applebloom yawned a bit as she grabbed her covers slipping under them.

"Maybe.... But we aint gonna know and I still aint sure she's not gonna blab.... We got a plan B?"

"Not really but if we can get Sweetie Belle.... She can definitely help us with a third option other than staying here to wait for Applejack... Its either we wait for Applejack or we run off to Celestia's summer home unless Sweetie has something to suggest..." I huffed sending the text off before looking back to Applebloom. "Think of what you wanna bring and I'll tell Sweetie to meet us at the treehouse tomorrow night where we'll stay before heading out the next morning."

"Lets just hope that we can even get Sweetie Belle over here.... You heard our brothers at dinner.... No sleepovers, no friends over, not much fun until next week...."

"I think I can find a way around that.... Hopefully.... You might have to help figure a way out of this.... Maybe try to convince them to give us a bit of a later punishment?" She sat up again.

"Maybe one of us tells the truth, get out of it or maybe a bit of a ligher punishment for one?" I hummed as I closed the app on my phone.

"But who takes the blame? And how do we know they're even gonna go for it?" She lied back down and put her hands behind her head staring up at the ceiling.

"Well they're always giving us a second chance to come clean.... Homework, something we said or something else." Yep.... Some weekends we have homework, others we dont, they ask us friday night, we say no, tell them saturday afternoon the same thing. There's been ONE time we knew we had no homework yet Miss Cheerilee asked for the homework that the sub was supposed to assign....Nobody said anything, nobody took anything out, Cheerilee ended up giving the whole class an hour detention but when confronted about it from one of the other parents she apologized and we didnt get homework for the rest of the week as an apology.

"I guess we can at least try.... If there's still trouble for the one who takes the fall, the other ones gotta at LEAST buy a Princess Size candy bar! So do we have a deal?" I could see Applebloom starting to think a bit. She then shrugged.

"Fine. Deal. Nothing gonna happen if they dont go for it.... Rock paper scissors when we're working in the orchard tomorrow?"

"Sure... Now just get outta here and get to bed.... Already risking it by being in my room with the light on." I just left without a word, turning her light out before heading to bed... may have hit the bathroom first but that's not because I'm afraid I'm gonna have an accident.... But because my drink from dinner really went through me. Anyways I went back into my room and hopped back into bed covering up setting my phone on the charger. Sweetie was about to go to bed but I sent her the plan I had. Even asked her what she thinks about the plan and if she has any input. Even told her to let me know tomorrow morning. I lied there still awake for about an hour thinking what we could even do as a backup if Ryder and Big Mac dont give us that second chance... I passed out after that. I was out like a rock until my phones alarm went off..... At six in the morning.... School didnt start until seven or seven thirty. Well... On a school week. This was a vacation week. Spring Break. First of two weeks here and I'm mostly glad about that.... Mostly being some days we have to get up early early to help with the harvest since Applejack is pregnant. Big Mac always says to get it done early rather than later otherwise the apples arent as good.

Anyways I got up and got dressed in a gems tee and some jeans. Even put some socks on before going out of my room. Morning routine is boring. Nobody awake yet other than me, brushed my teeth, used the toilet again and just brushed my mane a bit. After that I went back to my room and grabbed my phone before heading over to Applebloom's room to let Winona out. She just booked it towards the stairs. I followed before heading downstairs and letting her out, stepping outside with her. The cool morning air was nice. It was foggy, you could see the sun rise still and the dew on the trees glistening. I only stepped out just to be sure Winona actually went and did something. Luckily she did. Would've went back inside with her but my phone started to ring. I quickly checked it and looked up at Ryder's window. Thankfully closed. And who was calling? Luna. I quickly answered and hurried off towards the trees to hide just in case Ryder or Big Mac woke up. I put the phone on speaker and leaned against the tree. "Scootaloo, good morning!" Luna said. "As much as I love giving you calls every now and then but I think this one is just a bit of business...."

I huffed feeling a bit of dew drop from the leaves and land on my head. "Morning Princess and... What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well Scootaloo I spoke with Applebloom last night when she got to sleep... Told me that she was planning something with you..." I sighed.

"Please dont tell Ryder! He doesnt believe us with what happened yesterday!"

"Now Scootaloo I believe you and Applebloom.... do you forget what I can do in your dreams? I can replicate environments you know and even tap into memories to see things that happened... I did the same thing in your sisters dreams. I saw the stallion who broke the window with his car, the car he drove, even the plate."

"So... are you gonna tell Ryder what happened?"

"Yes but only after the fact of what you're doing.... You see I'm gonna help you get out of trouble and maybe help you stay comfortable while on the run.... Where was it that you had in mind to even go?"

"Well Babs is staying at Celestia's summer home and I think we can just go there..." I heard her hum as I looked back at the house.

"Well that's a good idea.... But how do you suppose on getting in to the gates?"

"Babs and Uncle Orange could just say we're coming over to stay a couple nights and after a night or two we tell Ryder where we are...."

"And do you think that would cause more trouble?"

"Yeah but he'd have to listen to us then." She hummed again.

"I suppose I could meet you there and once Ryder does figure out where you are and comes for you, I can sit you both down so you can tell him what happened and why you did what you did. Sound alright?"

"I guess so? Just.... What about Sweetie Belle and Rarity? Sweetie told me Rarity would just HATE it if Sweetie Belle went missing.... and I'm putting that lightly....."

"You are right about that..... I remember our time when Ryder was at war and you had your nightmare about if your mother and father hadnt passed the way they did.... That is a very big issue.... I'll think of something for that. For now, you just get back to your day. I'll have guards find something easy to set up as a tent and light enough for you to carry it."

"Thank you Princess! Just.... Can you include some food stuffs for us too? I dont know if we're gonna be able to get away with stealing food from the kitchen and I'm still not sure what Apples are fresh and which ones arent ripe yet."

"Well... considering I know what straight apple juice does to you and your bladder I suppose I can add in a special cooler full of snacks and what not.... I assume you'd be leaving at night?"

"Possibly the best thing to do...."

"If you leave at night, have a flashlight handy. You have one of those dont you? If not I can have a guard plant a little survival kit with a flash light, medkit and a little knife. I know the perfect one!"

"Alright sounds good... I really should get back inside now.... Dont want Ryder to be wondering why I was outside and with my phone...."

"Remember, north of the house. Hopefully you know how to access it on your phone.... even though I play games on nights off I couldnt for the life of me figure that out.... Now run along so you dont get in trouble, if you do, tell Ryder I just called to check in on you. Bye now!" I hung up my phone and shoved it back into my pocket running back to the door. I carefully opened it up just to see Winona laying on the couch. I just went back upstairs, plugged my phone in again and just went to my desk to draw.

I was getting better in my drawings. Ryder's been encouraging me about it, saying I might get real good at it one day. Not sure if its what my cutie mark is gonna be but its a hobby. I had a drawing I was already working on in my sketch book. Ryder says to use something as perspective. I've been using his car outside my window. I still havent gotten down to the door emblem but he says it looks good. But since nobody was up at this point I thought about drawing a little plan. Wrote about Luna making a drop of supplies and a tent so we are gonna have to walk through the night a bit to figure out where we're going, which reminded me about the compass thing on my phone. Opened up the maps, tapped a little icon and it straightened the map from whichever way I was looking to a north-south thing. My room faces south west when looking out the window so I had to go from Applebloom's side of the house to go north. Though I just stopped after that and hid the plan before going back to my bed and grabbing my phone just to see Sweetie Belle replied. 'I'm in if I can get there somehow.... Rarity's been ignoring me almost and I'm SICK of it!' She said. 'If you can get me over there I'll pack some clothes and stuff for this.'

I went and messaged back. 'Sure thing.' I said. 'Just.... give me a couple hours... Gonna have to do something with Applebloom to see if we cant get out of trouble...'

After that I played a few games on my phone. Resource management games, a few puzzle games and stuff. That only went on for about a half hour until I heard my brothers alarm go off. There I just quickly put my phone back on the charger and just lied there in bed staring at the roof. After a few more minutes I heard my brothers door open and heard him even head over to the bathroom. After a while longer he came out and just poked his head into my room knocking on the door. I just turned over in my bed and towards the wall. He sighed. "Scoot... Come on dont be like that...." He said. "I'm sorry you're in trouble but you know what happens when you lie. And trust me when I say this is better than what Applejack would've done..... She would've took you girls and dragged you through the dirt making you go through the orchard to pick up Winona's droppings and rotten apples."

I gave a sigh before sitting up. "....Yeah..... I guess....." I said, acting as if I was just still in a cruddy mood. "....Honestly wanted to see if Sweetie wanted to come over today for a sleepover before we go back to school..." He huffed.

"....Well... I guess I could make a little promise to you guys... I gotta go pick up a new window piece to replace the broken one.... Once I fix it I'll call up Rarity, have her bring Sweetie Belle over and get you that sleep over. But what I want you and Applebloom to do is to tell me who really broke the window. Otherwise no sleepover no matter what. Got me?"

"....Alright..." He smiled and hugged me. I hugged him back. "...Love you Ryder...."

"Love you too sis...." He broke the hug and went back to the door. "Why dont you go wake Applebloom up, get ready for breakfast? I'll wake Big Mac, tell him the plan for today." I gave a nod before getting up from my bed... Forgetting I took my shoes off. Ryder looked back at me.

"What? I took Winona out." He sighed and just went for the stairs.

"At least someone did...."

As he went down the stairs I went over to Applebloom's room and knocked before coming in.... Yeah... I may have made the mistake of walking in on her in the bathroom when I was tired. She wasnt too happy and neither was I for when I had to handle the smell after. Yeah. Anyways after I knocked I went into her room just to see her sat up in bed rubbing her eyes. ".....Jeez.... what time is it?" She asked.

I huffed hopping onto the foot of her bed. "Time for breakfast." I said. "But we got some good news and bad news. Good news is Ryder's gonna fix the window before Applejack gets home and after that we can get Sweetie Belle over here for a sleep over." I winked at her. "Bad news is we really gotta figure out who's gonna tell them who broke the window.... Still with the agreement from last night? The thing about deserts?"

"Yeah.... I can take the blame.... Just gimme a minute to get dressed...." I gave a nod and went back out into the hall just to wait for her and yes I did check on her just to make sure she didnt just go back to sleep. She's got a habit of that Big Mac and Ryder are trying to break.... They've even contemplated giving her coffee... Yeah... No... Button told me he had coffee before because he thought it was chocolate milk, he had too much energy and ended up getting sick after that. Lucky it was a weekend.... Cutting this short we got our breakfast and immediately after Ryder went out and left us with Big Mac. We were up in our rooms again, me just 'drawing' away on another plan, the first one I ended up tossing in the trash. Dont worry. Hid it as best as I could. used a permanent marker to scribble all over it. But outlined it like this. Stay in the treehouse, leave the treehouse and search north for the supplies the Princess left. After that, head north towards the summer home, once there, get a guard to let us in and we stay there and go back to Ryder in a few days.... and just hope that Applejack isnt home and ask what happened to us... and that Rarity doesnt freak out....

I hid that page in my dresser before hopping back into bed just to play more on my phone. Big Mac never checked on us. Knows we're getting older and what not. Games were something to keep me occupied until we got out of trouble. That took a few hours.... Phone didnt hold me for no more than an hour, I went and took a nap for another hour. Wasnt much of a nap considering I still heard the hammering and the sawing just to get the window fixed. After my alarm went off I got up, walked out of my room and into the bathroom because yes- had to go again. Just as I left the bathroom I heard Ryder call out to us. "Scootaloo! Applebloom! Come here please!" He said.

I glanced at Applebloom's door. Closed. I looked down the stairs. "Applebloom's door's shut! I'll get her!" I said. I went over to her door and knocked before entering and sure enough she was asleep again. I had to nudge her and rip off the blankets... sure she was cranky but its better than her just swinging around and slapping me which she has done before. "Come on wake up. Time to take the blame." I said somewhat softly. She huffed and got up stretching. I walked with her out of the room and down the hall towards the stairs. I saw Ryder and Big Mac downstairs, Big Mac leaning against the kitchen counter, Ryder was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up at us. We both came down together, Applebloom trailing behind me.

Big Mac huffed dipping into the fridge and grabbed a few bottles of cider. Enough for all of us. "Why dont you girls, go on have a seat?" He said pointing to the couch with a bottle in hand. Popped off the cap against the counter. Picked the cap up before taking a nice long drink of it. Applebloom and I took a seat on the couch, both knowing what was coming next. Big Mac pulled away from the kitchen just to pace in front of us. "Now girls, we aint mad atcha.... Just a bit.... Sympathetic is all. We were your age once, we liked chuckin' rocks at things, sometimes we'd get unlucky, hit something and break it.... Lucky we dont tan your hides because of it... Only wont because we know the bond you two got. Best friends, becoming sisters since our siblings got married. Butcha gotta know, lying about things is only gonna bring more and more trouble.... All we wantcha to do is to tell me and Ryder who threw the rock. That's it. No more time out, get yourself some friend time, maybe see if we cant invite Diamond over maybe....." That's when Ryder came over and whispered something into Big Mac's ear. He just looked to him. "Really now?" My brother nodded. "Well.... Maybe not since she's got a bit of a cold but wouldnt mind at least getting a little care package together for her."

Ryder sighed as he came over to the arm of the couch, nearest to me. "No bribes this time and we really dont wanna have to tell Applejack about this." He said. "Just tell us and you're off, free as a bird. She asks what happened if she gets a sliver of glass in her foot or something, tell her it was just a splinter or something." Applebloom and I looked at each other 'worried'.... Both in a false sense and its atotally real sense as well because..... we didnt really know if this was a trick or not. But we know we had to do it.

That's when Applebloom sighed and hung her head. "...It was me..... I threw that rock...." She said. "....I threw it.... I-I didnt think it'd hit the window.... just another tree..." I could see her lip quiver before she started to cry... Guess she's good with making herself cry. Got Celestia with it on the train. Yep. Those were fake. We did kinda plan it but I still did hate it after Sparkplug left.... I swear I was SO embarrassed when she saw me in a diaper but.... Even told me she wore some during her stage time, makes me feel better. Anyways Big Mac came over setting two bottles of cider down on the coffee table before hugging his sister. "....I-I'm sorry....."

Big Mac shushed his sister. "....You're good sis.... Everythin's alright.... I forgive ya...." He said. He grabbed her cider and popped it open for her before giving it to her. "Here.... Calm down, drink some..." I grabbed my cider and opened it albeit a bit hard to do.... caps are on tight. Actually cut myself on one before. And yeah we bottle cider for six packs, even give out cups of em on Cider days. From what Ryder says the cider bottles are easy to get, caps are a bit harder but he has a press that he made for the caps to put em on already filled bottles. Wont ask how its done. That's on you.

Anyways I started packing a bag not long after I finished my cider. Filled with clothes got my sleeping bag together with it and just had it at the foot of my bed until we got word we could have Sweetie Belle over which.... I'll admit took about an hour. I even asked if we could have the sleep over in the treehouse. Lucky us they said we could even said we could get Pizza for dinner! Just cheese for us because neither me, Applebloom or Sweetie could even agree on toppings. Applebloom made sure we had everything we needed. Even reminded Sweetie Belle beforehand. Like. After we got the word we could have her over. I texted her, telling her to have comfortable walking shoes, long pants and flashlights if possible. Once we were alone we had a lantern lighting up our treehouse. It was where we had our meetings for what we're gonna do for our cutie marks. Had drawings everywhere. I was up against the wall, Applebloom and Sweetie were laying down on their sleeping bags. "Finally we're actually doing something about our annoying siblings who dont even listen to us!" Sweetie said. "Rarity has almost ignored me for TWO DAYS only because she had clients that wanted their dresses and suits all before tomorrow and she only pulled away for that stuff long enough for dinner and all it was just a bag of macaroni and she didnt even open the cheese package!"

Applebloom huffed grabbing at her little windup alarm clock she keeps in here... I still dont know how she keeps it on time and working. "I dont doubt that. Your sister barely pays attention to anything when she's working on clothes." She said. "I still remember she wet her pants in the middle of trying to sew up a torn dress and she didnt even bother stopping to change until she was done and that took an hour or so! Least your sister dont blame something you didnt do on you forcing you to do this sh- uh.... stuff...."

I spread my legs out. "Yeah, Ryder and Big Mac thought we threw a rock, made us lie to get us out of trouble and didnt even bother to even think it was true when we did tell the truth!" I said. "I love Ryder but he CANT be that dumb!"

Sweetie chimed in again. "Rarity has actually. Diamond Tiara before she became Applebloom's girlfriend cut one of my favorite dresses with scissors and I didnt know until I got home and Rarity saw it when doing the laundry." She replied. "She blamed me for ruining my own clothes and when I told her what happened she didnt believe me saying 'school scissors arent that sharp enough to cut through fabric'. School scissors arent but when it comes to what Diamond brings to school, she can cut through just about anything!" She looked to me sighing. "So, what's the plan? We gonna sit here all night?"

I looked over to my sister-in-law as she set the alarm clock aside. "Nope. Setting an alarm for about four in the morning." She said. "Still early enough for us to run off and find Princess Luna's care package and not have Ryder or Big Mac catch us in the act. Since I had to leave my phone inside we're gonna have to go back to the house, go to the side of the house where Applebloom's room is and walk straight off from there."

Applebloom stretched a bit. "And you're sure of it?" I nodded as I got into my sleeping bag laying on my pillow.

"Eeyup! Checked it earlier. Hopefully its easy to find... We should get to sleep though... No use in staying awake longer than we should otherwise we wont have the energy to do this." I got an agreement from the other two as they climbed in their sleeping bags and just fell asleep.

As I slept I was brought into an empty dreamscape. I was sitting at a fire on a log in my pajamas and there were a few tents nearby. I remember it actually. It was when I was having all those nightmares from those scary stories Dash was telling with Rarity, Sweetie and AJ and Applebloom. I was having a VERY much needed nap after Luna helped me there. Speaking of Luna she came from the trees in sweat pants and a tank top only to sit next to me giving me a hug. "Things working out so far?" She asked. I nodded. "Good. I know when Ryder finds out he's going to freak out and get Big Mac on this trying to find you. I'm gonna ask that guards at the castle not notify Princess Twilight or Applejack as to not stress them both out and a stressed out pregnant mare isnt a happy one.... And we really really dont want anything to happen to your niece or nephew if anything..... Rarity is gonna be another story... Not sure if we're gonna have to keep her busy with something, maybe invite her to Canterlot, keep her occupied with a spa day? I just dont want Ryder calling her and just.... well... You know...."

"Well how are you gonna not have Ryder call Applejack or Twilight?" She hummed as she got up and used a finger to take a flame and draw in the sky with it, painting a little wonderbolts logo in the stars.

"Well.... I'll have to think of something for that. Its not going to be too difficult to keep Twilight occupied with something that doesnt require her phone but with Applejack.... Hm.... Cant do another spa day.... cant have guards take their phones without Twilight thinking there's an uprising going on...." She gave a huff. "Perhaps it may be best to tell Applejack what is happening... Convince her not to answer the phone to Ryder or her brother or even tell them what's going on."

"But how are we gonna have her promise not to tell them?" She gave the emblem a quick flick before it quickly turned into fireflies that just quickly flew away.

"You just leave that to me.... I think promise of a bit of a lumpsum of bits as well as an order for a few kegs of the cider your family makes she might keep tight lips... Especially when I show her what you saw." She came back over and held out a hand. "Do you trust me?" I gave her a nod and took her hand. She stood me up and sighed. "Close your eyes. This will only take but a moment." I gave a nod and closed my eyes before hearing everything change around us. I waited a moment hearing the wind whistling and the leaves rustling. "Oh uh.... Scootaloo... Keep your eyes shut for right now.... this is something you really dont need to see..." I glanced up in her direction without opening my eyes.

"Why?" I asked.

"Trust me. You do not need to be looking at this at your age...." Right... THAT stuff.... Its always the stuff Ryder has to cover my eyes for during a movie. Its not like I've already seen that kinda stuff in class when the lessons come around. "Just stay right here, keep your eyes closed and I'll call you over in a moment." I gave a nod and just kept my eyes closed as she released my hand and walked off. I heard a gasp and some talking, not much which I could make out. Heard my name once or twice in there but other than that not really much. "Alright Scootaloo, you can open your eyes now!" I heard Luna call out. I opened my eyes and saw Applejack making sure her clothes were on right. Cut off shorts and a tank top. Even had her mane down.

Applejack gave me a smile, trying to act all innocent. "Hey there Scoot. What's the Princess helping you with?" She asked. I hesitated to respond. Luna sighed and came back to my side.

"Well before we say about this there's been an issue.... Allow me to explain. Apparently your husband and brother thought Scootaloo and Applebloom had gone and broke a window and then lied about it to their faces when they never did it in the first place!" Applejack got a puzzled look on her face looking to Luna. "And something tells me I need to show, rather than just tell.... Let me recreate this memory through Scootaloo and Applebloom's eyes." She waved a hand and a chunk of trees just up and disappeared before the house appeared in their place, Ryder's car, the family truck and that one guys truck. There was a frozen cloud of dust with a rock stuck midair between the truck and the house. We walked out a bit and leaned against the house.... What was weird? We saw Applebloom and I just playing in the trees. Minor freakout but this is normal apparently. "As you can see Applejack, Scootaloo and Applebloom were playing in the trees just as a stallion drove away from the house and he wasnt slow about it." She snapped her fingers and things jumped forward a bit with Ryder yelling at us to get inside holding the rock in hand, the guy barely managed to get very far after it hit the window. "From what Scootaloo tells me, Ryder blames both of them even though they told the truth." Applejack looked back at me giving a sigh.

"Sweet Celestia.... And you tried tellin' him didnt ya?" I nodded. "....I'm gonna have to come home and rip him one.... Unless you already got something planned?"

I swallowed. "Um.... Just.... Dont be mad, dont be scared but.... We're planning to run away.... Scare Ryder and Big Mac." I said before hiding behind behidn Luna.

Applejack's expression turned a bit shocked but... less than what I expected. Luna huffed. "Since Sweetie Belle is coming with them, I'm taking Rarity and giving her a bit of a spa day in Canterlot and I'll even have my sister contacted, give her a room in the castle for the night just to keep her distracted." She said. "As for Ryder and Big MacIntosh, they're going to be made to endure this.... 'prank' so to speak.... With your compliance about this we ask neither you nor Twilight answer your phones for Ryder or Big Mac. If need be, turn your phones off, continue with your exercizes and I'll be sure to send for a keg or two of your family's cider."

Applejack gave a grin. "Got yourself a deal Princess." She said. She then looked to me. "And as for you.... You just get on doing what you're doing..... Just letting you know now I ran away a little younger than you. My daddy went and made me mad and cry, decided to go hide out in that treehouse o'yours..... Momma knew I was in there but daddy didnt and when she brought me back into the house, Daddy was cryin' his eyes out, worried about his little girl.... Just know you aint alone...." She looked back to Luna as I smiled a bit. "Why dont you go on and wake her? We got something to talk about, the topic being of that husband of mine...." Luna nodded and knelt down next to me giving me a hug.

"You be safe now Scootaloo. I'll be waiting where we said we'd meet." I gave a nod and she just tapped me on my nose and everything just faded away.

I woke up almost immediately hearing the alarm clock going off. I felt around for the lantern as I hear Applebloom grunt and hit the top of the clock shutting off that blasted ringing. I managed to find the lantern about a few feet away from me before I grabbed it and turned the light on. We were still tired but I think we were ready. I looked to Applebloom who was just coming out of her sleeping bag.... glad I didnt have to hit her to get her awake. Happens more than you think. "...We ready for this?" She asked just finishing a yawn. I gave a nod and went for the backpacks grabbing mine. Cutting this short because a quick morning routine was boring. Get dressed, go to the bathroom - dont ask- and make sure we have everything packed before we had to head off back to the house for our starting point. As we walked, me with the lantern in hand Applebloom sighed. "And you're REALLY sure we have to go from my side of the house to go north?"

I huffed as we got closer to the house. "Yes I'm sure. I'm 100 percent sure!" I snapped.

"And you can make sure again cant ya?" I sighed.

"Applebloom, my phone's inside the house, it needs to be in the house because Ryder doesnt trust us to not make prank phone calls or what ever and getting in the house would require me to wake our brothers. We dont wanna do that, otherwise this whole thing is just thrown in the garbage!"

Sweetie Belle yawned. "Yeah... Plus Rarity thinks those things listen to you...." She said. "Button has one, he was showing me something online and an ad for diapers came up.... Only because his mother was talking about a baby... or so he says...." I looked back at my friends shushing them as we got closer to the house. They nodded. We had to walk around a bit until we were at the north side of the house. Worst part about this was that not only were we near Applebloom's room, we were near Big Mac's room as well. Couldnt be too loud. When we got to that side of the house I pointed through the trees away from the house after determining which way we should go. I was almost holding my breath as we started walking away. After we got a few trees in Applebloom sighed. I glanced at her.

"You good Applebloom? Not getting cold feet are you?"

"I mean.... Kinda.... Just.... Kinda scared that Big Mac's gonna be punishin' us a bit more than when the window broke...." I turned the lantern up a bit getting more light around us.

"They are not gonna be more mad at us. If they do, Applejack and Princess Luna have our backs." I started looking around. "Now keep your eyes out and look for what Luna left us.... Lets hope she made it easy for us to find...."

Sweetie and Applebloom both nodded before each going a few trees out. We walked for what felt like forever until we found a cooler and something on top of it with a note attatched. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom grabbed the thing on top. It looked tightly wound but it didnt look like it was bound by anything. I set my lantern on the cooler and turned to read the note.

'Scootaloo,

Here is the stuff I promised. Cooler is enchanted, keeps things cold, works just like the coolers in Canterlot, except all you need to do is open it. As for the tent, just give it a smack to open, if dropped it will open but dont worry, it will close just as easy. There will be a spot for you to hit it and it closes right back up. Both are enchanted to withstand weather as well as be easy to carry. Stuff the tent somewhere to carry or something. Remember where I will be waiting.

Luna' I took off my backpack and stuffed the note inside as well as the tent. Only kept it sticking out somewhat to where it would still fit with everything else. We went and took the cooler by the handle and started wheeling it around.... Well... Until we heard a howl and Applebloom and I were still freaking out from when Ryder got hurt from the Timberwolves. We only know he got hurt because he told us but he didnt explain all the guard activity around town, trucks going left and right keeping everyone at Rarity's up. No joke, we were woken up every other hour by guard trucks rushing by. Only got maybe a few hours of sleep tops. But yeah we BOOKED IT. Didnt know where, didnt know for how long, almost started to think we were running around in circles for a bit before we calmed down and stopped to catch our breaths. When we stopped we all kinda just leaned up against a tree, the cooler a few feet away and my lantern held close... lucky me it was electric instead of oil based. I turned it off and held it close as we looked around. "D-Do you girls see anything?" I asked as we looked around.

Sweetie Belle gave a slight whine. "No.... Its just.... Too dark to see anything...." She said. "...I-Is there something I should be seeing?"

Applebloom swallowed a bit looking around the tree. "Green eyes, glowing uh... 'vein' thingys.... Aint wanting to come face to face with one of them damn things..." She said. I honestly was kinda surprised she swore but... at this point I think it was necessary.

"Think we're good?" I looked around and turned the lantern on. I gave a nod and we all sighed.

"Stupid wolves.... Applejack says them coyotes roam around here sometimes.... They aint hostile unless they're in a pack and if I remember right, they got somethin' to eat by the sound of that howl....." She huffed. "Now... which way we going? We even going the right way?"

I started looking around.... Wishing I had my phone. "Uh... Yeah... We need to go this way." I said, pointing straight ahead of us. And they just trusted that. Didnt question it before I walked right off in that direction, the cooler being dragged along as we went. We walked on and honestly I should've known something was wrong. We passed through the fence of the orchard and kept on walking through more trees. Terrain got a bit rocky but nothing we couldnt handle. After a bit we decided to stop and get a snack and a drink. Cooler had sports drinks and water, few sodas and even a section for snacks. Granola bars, fruit snacks even some chips and breakfast toaster pastries. I grabbed one of those and a sports drink while Sweetie and Applebloom grabbed something else. Think they both grabbed chips and a water.

After that we kept on walking. Trees got more dense. Mostly from above but the terrain got a bit rocky making it kinda hard to drag the cooler through. Applebloom and I had to carry it using the handles. Luna must've enchanted this because its lighter than what we found in it. Also it does refill itself like the Canterlot coolers. As we walked Sweetie belle sighed. She was carrying the lantern. Things were lightening up a bit but it was still dark enough to need the lantern. "Where are we? I thought we were going to see the Princess!" She said. "I feel like we should've been there by now!" I huffed as we went over a couple rocks.

"Do you know how long it takes to get there from Sweet Apple Acres by car? Good half an hour or so. Walking and our size compared to the adults? Hour, hour and a half most, its only been maybe about a half hour from when we woke up, maybe forty five minutes at LEAST. If you wanna take a break, tell us, let us figure out how much longer then we can rest. If you need to go to the bathroom we'll figure something out."

"Still there's something wrong.... I honestly dont think we're going the right way.... W-We should go back...."

Applebloom looked back at Sweetie. "Come on we're already commited to this Sweetie Belle!" She snapped. "Dont be a-"

I cleared my throat. "I swear to Celestia if you say 'dont be a Scootaloo' I'm telling Luna you arent welcome inside the Summer Home with me and Sweetie." I said.

"I wasnt gonna say that and like hell she'd even listen to ya about that!"

Sweetie whined a bit. "Girls please dont yell at each other! Its making me more scared...." She said. Applebloom sighed.

"Need to stop bein' at each others throats... Specially over stupid shit like that.... Either you wait until something is said or just keep your mouth shut!"

I looked to my sister in law. "Since when did you become leader in all of this?" I asked.

"I'm leader in all of this because I'm the one who's always tryin' to think of what we could try for our cutie marks to be!"

"Well we all know leadership isnt your cutie mark...."

Sweetie whined more.... Actually sounded like she was close to crying. "Guys! Stop! Please...." She said. I sighed.

"Sorry Sweetie..." I looked to Applebloom. "Apologize and let me take over! My idea going to the Summer Home anyways....." Applebloom kinda groaned a bit.

It took a moment but she sighed as well. "Sorry Sweetie Belle...." She said. "Just a bit scared myself... Never think we'd be out on our own this early in life...."

"Technically we arent. This is just to show our siblings we're good to take care of ourselves AND get them to believe us when we say something! Hopefully this wakes em up to make em realize they did something wrong...."

"Yeah... and not a heart attack.... Want our family to be alive and not in a hospital..."

"Yeah... you got a point but if I know my big brother, he's probably trying to keep his cool, running around the orchard calling for us... Probably waking Big Mac up in the process and maybe making him wet his pants."

Both Sweetie and Applebloom giggled along with me thinking of our brothers having accidents because we werent in the treehouse. That's when Sweetie sighed. "Well... Speaking of bathroom breaks... can we stop for one? My drink went right through me...." She said. Applebloom and I rolled our eyes before we found a place to stop and go. I didnt really have to go so I just sat with the cooler and the backpacks looking around at stuff. Though as I sat there I did realize we went the wrong way entirely... Though I had to think which way we could at least try to go just to try to get back on track. The way we put the cooler was the way we were going in the first place and going backwards didnt sound at all good especially if Applebloom was gonna be uppity about it. Not to mention I dont wanna have Sweetie start crying thinking we're lost.... Or even Rarity to know we got lost.... I grabbed another sports drink because Applebloom needed a bit more time.... Yeah.... Dinner and her dont last long after she wakes up to be safe to say. Just glad we were away from her and with the wind going away from us. Wasnt much of wind. Just a slight breeze from behind. Rustled the leaves above. Heard the chirping of the birds as well which was actually nice. Honestly better than hearing Ryder or Big Mac messing with dishes downstairs from the night before or even Big Mac snoring when he fell asleep on the couch. Happens more than you think... All because he likes to stay up and watch TV or play video games when he's got a day off next day. I looked to Sweetie Belle.

"You gonna be okay?" I asked.

Sweetie looked to me and sighed grabbing her bags again. "I think so...." She said. "Just nervous about this.... I've never been away from my home without an adult watching over me whether it be my sister or your brothers.... even Applejack or one of our sisters other friends... Kinda scared.... what are we gonna do if one of us gets hurt?"

"If we're careful and keep our eyes out we shouldnt get hurt. We do have a first aid kit that Luna gave us... Wouldnt do much other than cover scratches but.... Should still keep an eye out and be careful." Sweetie nodded. Moments later Applebloom came back hiking up her pants making sure they were good. We looked to her. "Feel better?"

My sister nodded. "Eeyup...." She said with a sigh. "Aint gonna lie, almost feels like our brothers were gonna come and start yellin' at me for doing that.... Just lucky Zecora taught me about some of them plants that aint gonna cause a rash or nothing....." She looked to me as I drank a bit more of my drink. "So miss 'I know where the heck we're going' which way now? Cuz I know everfree when I see it...." Fuck. Caught with my pants down. Not literally but.... figuratively.

"Well..." I started getting up from my spot on the cooler. "We're gonna go.... uh...." I looked around. Didnt wanna go back the way we came or even go the way we were going and I'm pretty sure we took a few turns back there that got us a bit more lost than anything. I ended up pointing towards the way they went to uh... go.... "That way! But uh.... We're gonna wanna go around a bit... Think you know why." Applebloom blushed a bit.

"Aint my fault my body does what it does."

Sweetie grabbed her bag and Appleblooms handing hers to her. "Yeah but what you put in it is." She said. Applebloom blushed a bit grabbing her pack before we went back on our little journey. We went around our little area by going straight from where we were at and going right after a while. We walked on for a while, swapped turns holding the ends of the cooler. First it was me and Sweetie, then it was Sweetie Swapping with Applebloom, then it was Sweetie with me, so on and so forth. We had to change course a few times because Applebloom was really getting pissy. Though while we were walking it started to rain a bit. Didnt think there was any rain but then again.... Everfree has its own weather which is weird... usually Dash is the one who sets it up. We had to stop, put jackets on and such. just to keep our stuff dry, same with us but it wasnt that bad of rain... at first.... As time went on it started raining harder forcing us to find shelter. We didnt want ANYTHING to do with caves after the Timber Wolf incident at the house... not to mention I SWEAR I saw some blood in the dirt while we were messing around.... Big Mac swore up and down it was some Winona vomit.... Poor girl.... Hope she's doing alright with our brothers. Anyways we went in and out of the path we were going whether it was to avoid plants, possible animal areas and such... thankfully the only thing we've seen is birds... Cockatrice hasnt been seen since.... Well... Since around when Twilight came to town thank Celestia.

Soon we came to some ruins. Even found a door we could push open and squeeze our way in, everything with us as well. We turned the lantern on and lit everything up as we started moving through the ruins. I huffed. "Finally... somewhere dry.... Warm? Eh... but hopefully the tent helps....."

Applebloom huffed as she wheeled the cooler towards a wall. I set the lantern down on top of it and took my pack off and grabbed the tent. I left my bag by the cooler going to a more open area. "Honestly shoulda asked Luna for a damn compass...." Applebloom said as I tossed the tent in front of me and then backed up quickly. The tent landed and almost instantly it inflated without a sound almost. Tent was pretty big honestly. Zipper was somewhere on this thing but didnt see where from our position.

"Look, we'll be just fine. We can ride out this storm, then head out tomorrow morning if possible." Applebloom took off her pack tossing it with mine and taking off her jacket as well.

"I dont wanna be stayin' here all night! Place is creepy and who knows what could be lurkin' in here....." I gave a sigh as I unzipped the flap on the tent and poked my head inside holding the lantern up. Definitely warmer in here than out there. I came back out and looked to Applebloom.

"Well too bad! Because we are NOT walking out there in the rain. Dont wanna get sick like last time do we?" Explanation time. Applebloom and I walked with Sweetie Belle back to her place, we didnt have umbrellas, she did yet it was only big enough for her, our clothes got soaked, we never changed out of them and the next day we wake up both with the sniffles, me having an ear infection and both of us staying home from school that day. Ran a fever and everything... lucky it was the weekend.

Sweetie Belle sighed as we all went back over towards the cooler. "Lets face it.... I think we're lost...." She said.

"We arent lost Sweetie!" I said. "We're just gonna keep going tomorrow morning and knowing Luna, she's gonna see where we are, we're gonna tell her we're gonna be there tomorrow. For tonight we relax, keep out of the rain and just chill. Just breathe, grab your sleeping bag and set it up inside the tent and just relax. I need to uh... go so I'm gonna be taking the lantern." Sweetie swallowed and nodded grabbing our bags before bringing them into the tent while I went off. Though... as I went further from the tent, slowly I started breaking down, my chest feeling a bit tight, breathing becoming a bit fast. I went over towards a door. It was big... Think about Celestia big. I grabbed the handle. It was just a metal circle thankfully not covered in spider webs.... place seemed untouched by spiders. Even had to use both hands to pull it open. When I had it opened enough I went inside and just looked around. It was a library. Most of the shelves were empty. The books and scrolls that remained looked like they would fall apart at the slightest touch... some looking to already have. I found a stone desk that looked stable. Didnt see any cracks. Just flew up a bit, sat down on it and just hugged my knees. Broke down even, scared that I actually did get us lost... Scared we werent gonna get back. I sat there and cried for a bit. Did find a spot to go but other than that I just stayed in the room just staring at my lantern, tears in my eyes. "....Why did I think this was a good idea....? I got us lost.... the girls arent gonna trust me if I dont find a way out of here..... W-We could die out here if we dont get back home... or at least to The Summer Home.... it... it just.... I want my big brother....."

I just covered my face and cried more. I knew I screwed up. Badly. This felt like the time I was trying to help my mommy make cookies a few weeks before Ryder came home. I was supposed to add eggs to the batter, forgot to add them and the cookies didnt even come close to anything resembling a cookie. I felt so bad I just stayed in my room and cried for a while until mommy came in with some store bought cookies and gave them to me. Told me I at least tried with it.... But here? I didnt really see a silver lining to this. Well... Not until I heard another door in the room open. Scared the HECK out of me. I had to get up from where I was and go find a spot under the desk with my lantern turned off. I just sat there scared waiting for whatever or whoever to just leave... same with hoping if they do leave they didnt find the others.... But no. I saw light from a flashlight waving back and forth on the walls in front of me before hearing a huff. "Damn... Nothing here either..." A mare said. "....Destroyed or in bad shape.... Even some of the tapestry isnt salvagable.... doubt the Princesses would even let me take them... even with what they know.... Wouldnt hurt in asking though...." I heard footsteps and they got closer and closer. Then I heard something on top of the desk I was under before seeing boots, dirty and scuffed with the light from their flashlight illuminating them. "Lets see what I got.... Candelabras, some old cutlery, few lost jewels I can return to the Princess... possibly for a finders fee.... No no dont extort the Princess for old family heirlooms.... she'd be grateful yes but.... No no you dont need to ask for money.... Cant find anything more yet since its raining and I definitely need a place to start setting up camp..... Doubt I can make a campfire without damaging something of historical value so.... raw canned fruit it is.... Let me just..." I heard her start packing things up. But... she didnt pack everything up just right. She moved something into her bag and one of the pieces of silverware fell, scared me even more than what happened next. I just closed my eyes shut and hid my face ready for what ever happened. I heard her bend down and notice me... She hummed and gasped. "Well hello there.... What are you doing in here little filly?" I whimpered.

"D-Dont hurt me...." I whined. Glad I found a spot to go.... otherwise pants would be soaked.

"I'm not gonna.... wait a tick.... I.... Arent you The Generals little sister?" I opened my eyes a bit. The light burned my eyes a bit even with tears still in my eyes. "Here... Let me just...." The mysterious mare turned her flashlight off and grabbed my lantern turning it on holding it up. A lot easier on the eyes and I could see her face. It was A.K. Yearling! Well... that's what I'm gonna call her... Dont know how much I should trust you.... Anyways I crawled out and hugged her scared. Just let out a few sobs. She just shushed me and held me close, her clothes a bit damp but nothing I cared about. "...Aw its okay.... Sorry I scared you...."

"...I.... I wanna go home...." I replied through my tears. She sighed picking up the piece of silverware and set it up on the table along with my lantern before sitting me up next to her pack.

"Dont you worry... I'll get you home as soon as this rain lets up... Might need to wait until tomorrow but I'll get you home... but for now... why dont you let me know what in the blazes you're doing out here alone?"

"N-Not alone...." I sniffled. "...My friends.... they're in the next room but.... w-w-we ran away.... M-My big brother didnt listen to us.... when we were trying to tell the t-truth to him about a broken window...."

"Ah... I see.... Story of a runaway filly, being forced to run away because she felt her caretaker wasnt listening to her... classic story, most of which have happy endings.... I bet your brother is freaking out that you're missing, probably has the whole town on alert! Where were you going to run off to? Everfree is no place for someone as young as yourselves... Do you know what creatures run around in this wretched forest?"

"....W-We were sup-supposed to meet Princess Luna... Sh-she was trying to help us...."

"And something tells me you went the complete opposite direction.... Am I right?" I nodded. "Alright.... I'll help you get back home.... Why dont we go and collect your things and we go back to where my set up is. Its safe, its near a bathroom and if we can find something to use we could build a fire and dry off. Place is big and not a lot can burn unless we find something to start a fire with."

"....O-Okay...."

"Good. Now lets go get your friends. Longer they're in the dark, probably the more scared they'll be... wouldnt doubt they're scared enough already." I gave a nod and grabbed my lantern before hopping of the desk. I stood nearby as she packed things away. Her pack was nice. Like something my brother would have. It was filled with all sorts of stuff the Princess's used to own, a few tubes of some stuff, a medicine pocket and a machete in a sheathe. From there we went back to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle who were scared actually. I apologized to them both, even Applebloom said she'd take half the blame for this. Miss Yearling also told us who she really was which was cool but told us we needed to keep our mouths shut tight otherwise something bad could happen to her... dont know what but we agreed.... From there we packed up our things and went over to where Yearling was staying. She even told us if we were scared we could cuddle up with her which I took a bit of advantage on.

As I slept I was dragged into a dreamscape. I was in a classroom of all places. The door opened and I heard a sigh. I looked and saw Princess Luna coming in and hugging me tight. "Scootaloo you're supposed to scare Ryder! Not me!" She said taking me over to the teachers desk and sitting on it with me in her lap. "What happened? Where are you? Do I need to send rescue?"

I sighed leaning onto her. "No need for rescue Princess.... Already got someone helping us." I said. "Dont worry, its someone trustworthy. We found her in your old castle. I thought we were going the right way I swear!" She sighed.

"Next time you wanna prove to your brother you were right about something, call me, I'll set him straight and show him what happened. Right now from what I know from Twilight is telling me Ryder is freaking out, same with Big Mac but to a lesser extent and he's keeping an eye on him. Rarity, thankfully is nonethewiser to what had happened and is passed out at Canterlot Castle after a meal and a relaxing day at the spa."

"What about Applejack? Is she okay?"

"Yes. She's fine. Twilight may have heard word but she is keeping EVERYTHING from her. No need to stress out an expecting mother. Your brother on the otherhand actually is freaking out so bad he cant sleep for obvious reasons so I cant really connect your minds.... at least not for long anyways before he wakes up. I'll have to show him when he's stable enough to stay asleep. Also... I'd ask you who your friend is and why they are in our old castle.... but I think I have a feeling who it is...."

"She's awesome! She even agrees that Ryder did wrong. She's even helping us get out of Everfree." Luna hugged me tight.

"Good... We owe her for your safety.... What ever she wants is what she gets."

"I can think of a few things she would want that she talked about in the castle.... Probably would be able to ask her when we come back." Luna smiled and set me down.

"I think I will.... And I'll be sure to meet you wherever you go and that I'll have your brothers with me.... Even give them something to keep their mouths shut about this adventure to Rarity. Might even have something to do with Sweetie Belle as well to try to tell her to be quiet when I talk with her. For now I'm going to let you wake up. Remember no matter what, I have your side in this." I nodded and watched as her horn glowed before she disappeared.

When I woke up it wasnt to an alarm clock. Just a natural wake up. Didnt even find Miss Yearling anywhere near us in the tent. Her sleeping bag was still here but she wasnt. Didnt bother changing out of my Pajamas before leaving the tent only to see Miss Yearling at the fire building it up again. She looked to me as I stretched and yawned. "There we are!" She said. "You slept well Scootaloo.... Thought I'd've had to deal with a crying filly or two because they miss their family."

I gave a sigh sitting next to the fire. Warm. "Yeah... Least nopony had an accident...." I said blushing. "....Happens more than you think when one of us is scared...." Miss Yearling huffed.

"Know that feeling all too well sadly. There are times where I could be trying to climb a cliff, the rocks break off and next thing you know I'm leaving a ponymade waterfall.... Happened while I sleep sometimes too... nightmares about something that happened and I just get thrown into a river or something..... But in all seriousness Scootaloo.... When we go back to Ponyville, do you want me to stay in the room with you and your friends when you explain why you did what you did? Your brother from what i've seen can be a little bit of a hothead at times but he's got a soft spot for things, my books especially. Pretty sure with me in the room he might try to yell until I shut him up... Gives you a chance to speak your mind."

"Might be the best.... I know he's gonna try to yell at us, ask us what we were thinking and go on a rant about us getting kidnapped or killed... But hey we survived Everfree didnt we? Should at least prove something to him."

"Well you did get lucky.... if I hadnt found you and you continued on your little adventure who knows what could've happened. Its frightening out here Scootaloo. Spiders, wildcats, wolves and everything out there.... Trust me when I say I had to fight off a bunch of Timberwolves with a torch and a machete.... Have you ever seen those things?" I gave a nod and leaned on her.

"Yeah... my big brother was attacked by one..."

"I think I remember that night.... Castle put on lockdown because there was one loose in town... Your brother was doing alright though. He's tough... Not immortal but tough..." She huffed and got up. "Here. Why dont you go wake your friends and get dressed? We should head out soon. Sooner we get on the road, sooner we get you three safe."

I gave a nod and got up. We had to go from the old castle ruins to Zecora's hut to be picked up by a guard. Lucky Zecora knows Miss Yearling too. Even told us she taught her to make a few antidotes to poisons and what not. Same with Joke if she's not available. When we got picked up we all had to crowd into the back where Miss Yearling had to change into her dress and glasses. Here we were told not to tell ANYONE who she was. Not Diamond, not even anyone who paid us. We had gone from Everfree to the Castle. Wasnt where we wanted to go but it was better than straight back home. We were brought from the trucks by guards straight to Applejack and the Princess. Twilight saw us at the top of the elevator and just hugged us scared, thankful that we were safe but she even knew where we were coming from because Luna called her and Applejack told her what I told her. Still worried but she was glad we were safe. We were still brought into a room where we stayed with Applejack and Miss Yearling waiting on Princess Luna and Ryder to get here. We were just sat on a bed the whole time, mostly quiet other than Applejack and Twilight speaking to us, asking us or Miss Yearling questions. Anyways Luna got here first. We knew because we heard guards outside talking about her. Though we didnt see until she came in with Ryder and Big Mac. Both of them were looking tired, Ryder was in his pajamas wearing a diaper and everything. Both of them ran to us and hugged us while Luna blocked the door with a slight smile on her face. Ryder sighed backing away, prying Big Mac with him. "You girls scared the living SHIT out of me and Big Mac...." He said. "I wake up and go to get you girls for breakfast yet when I go into the treehouse I dont see ANYTHING or ANYONE!"

Big Mac huffed trying to keep Ryder upright as he fell off balance a bit. "Boy barely slept all night because of you three!" He said. "The hell did you even do that for anyways?"

Luna sighed. "I believe I can answer that gentlemen." She said. "You see, you two blamed Scootaloo and Applebloom for something they never did and when they told you the truth, you didnt believe them." She started to pace. "I've seen it second hand from your sisters minds. They wanted to get back at you with something that wasnt going to be destroying anything, ignoring you or anything in such manner. Instead they went for a route which in turn is supposed to make you realize you messed up."

Then Applejack gave a smile. "And maybe before you go and spout off, you two really need to let me know of things while I'm away." She added. "Broken window or house fire, I need to know what's going on. I'm gonna ask who started it, who ended it, what happened in between. And Ryder.... you know what happens you try lying straight to my face...."

Then Da- I mean Miss Yearling chuckled. "But it very well could have gone worse." She said. "I found these three in Everfree. They were safe, a little damp from the rain but we managed to get out. Scootaloo told me about things and a few of us in here know how bullheaded you can be General. If you say someone did something, you really dont see the evidence someone else did that same thing."

Twilight gave a bit of a laugh as well as Luna and Applejack. "Yeah... I can definitely agree there." She said giving a sigh. "General, as for now I expect you to apologize to your sisters, same with Big Mac and Vice-Versa. Understood?"

I could see Ryder struggling to stay awake even standing up. I got up and went up to him. Guess Big Mac thought I was gonna hug him but what I was really there to do was slap him. Oh and it wasnt light either. Woke him right up and made him hold his cheek with both hands. "That's for not believing us when we were telling the truth but I forgive you." I said. "And... I'm sorry we ran away..." He didnt say anything. Just grabbed a hold of me and started crying. Dont blame him. Applebloom just went up to Big Mac hugging him too forgiving him without a word.

Applejack sighed and came over to us prying me out of Ryder's arms. "Here.... Lets get you into bed there sugarcube... look like you need a nap." She said. My brother didnt do anything to fight it. He knew he needed a nap. She looked to Big Mac as well. "You too big brother. Get a move on now y'hear?" He gave a nod, kissed Applebloom on the forehead before letting her go and all three leaving us with Miss Yearling and the Princesses.

Miss Yearling sighed. "So.... Anyone up for some lunch on me?" She said. We all agreed to it. Even took Spike and Applejack. Not gonna lie I did have a bit of a nightmare that night. Forgot what it was about but it made me have to go to sleep in the bed with my brother which he welcomed since he was so scared. Best thing about this experience was that Luna let us keep that cooler and the tent. Even Miss Yearling said she would invite us and Ryder for a camping trip sometime. Also I guess Luna told Big Mac and Ryder not to say anything to Rarity. Even did the same with Sweetie Belle so she wouldnt get in any trouble or have Rarity yell at Ryder or Big Mac for even letting this happen in the first place. Still got a bit of an earfull from Ryder and Miss Yearling about what is hiding in Everfree but that was only because of the camping trips. Anyways I think I'm done for now. That was definitely an adventure and a half.