Amnesia: Scootalooby Random Duty GuardChaptersPrologue: Discord's games...Chapter 1: AwokenChapter 2: Outside the DoorsChapter 3: SaviorChapter 4: Macintosh's TalePrologue: Discord's games..."I'm glad to see you could join us. This time, it will be a trial of character. Wake up, little one. Wake up." Discord cackled as the image of a small orange pegasus filly sleeping in a dirty room appeared in the swirling purple vortex. The evil draconequus tilted back, assuming a thoughtful stance. "Hm..." Discord murmured, obviously in deep thought. Then, an evil grin slowly materialized on his face. "I'm sure Twilight and her petty friends would like to know where there poor scooter-riding friend has gone, right?" He cackled nightmarishly, and with a snap of his fingers, the dark altar disappeared, cutting the only light source in a massive void of darkness. ******************* " Apple Bloom! APPLE BLOOM! Ya need to calm down! Where did you last see her?!" Applejack shouted while trying to calm the panicking filly. "I-I-I saw her at the tree house y-y-yesterday, and I..." The filly broke down into sobs. Apple Bloom rested her delicate head in Applejack's bright orange fur, and continued to cry. The sound of a door opening caught Applejack's attention, causing Applejack to look up sullenly. She was greeted with the sight of her older brother, Big Macintosh. "Macintosh! Did they find the filly?" Big Mac hung his head and shook it sullenly. "Where in all of tarnation could that filly be?" Applejack asked while looking up to the ceiling, an obvious look of despair on her face. "They've been searching for three darn days!" Big Mac and Applejack turned as a certain rainbow-maned pegasus ran in at dangerous speeds. "Applejack!" Rainbow Dash cried, covered in sweat and a look of shock on her face. "I think you need to see this..." ********************* Even Twilight had never seen the solar princess herself so angry. She and the rest of the ponies were standing in the center of Ponyville, where something had just literally fallen from the sky. Princess Celestia had said it was one of Discord's altars. It was a round object, made out of mysterious black metallic substance. It was about the size of a pony, and it had a large opening on the top. The opening was surrounded by large dragon teeth that pointed inward, and the altar was about as high a a pony's neck. From the teeth, purple beams of light shot into a central point, creating a vortex of purple shades. Princess Celestia stood in front of the altar, glaring angrily at it. "How dare he send this into my realm!" she murmured angrily. Meanwhile, everypony in a few mile radius was ordered by the altar itself to come. Everypony, from the school foals to the Wonderbolts themselves was there watching the vortex with anticipation. The princess had said that when everypony had arrived, Discord would show them where the missing filly was, and what she was going through. Celestia had told them that Discord had put Scootaloo in one of his "games" and might die in it. Everypony was shocked and terrified at the fact that this poor filly might die. "My little ponies!" Celestia shouted in a desperate voice. The entire crowd of panicking ponies was silenced. "Discord is an evil, evil creature, and has demanded everypony's presence at this altar! I am sorry, but we must be here! An innocent life is at stake!" All of the sudden, the vortex began to change color, turning to a deep black. Then, the image of a sleeping Scootaloo appeared in it. Chapter 1: AwokenA trial of character... Scootaloo could feel the sheets of an old bed around her. She didn't feel like waking up. School again... She opened her eyes to see a roof made out of cracked and mossy stones. Wait a minute! Where am I? She bolted upright into a sitting position and frantically began looking around the room she was in. The walls were made of the same poorly kept cobblestones. To her right there was a large wooden door, complete with an antique handle. Scootaloo herself was lying on quite a large bed, but it was obvious it was very old and not well kept. Dust was floating in the room, indicating scarce use. To Scootaloo's left, there was a large wardrobe. Finally, Scootaloo's eyes shot to the front of the room. There was a desk with a small window above it. Rays of sunlight shined through the window, but... These rays of light had a colder feel. It was almost as if this light was being shown through a dark grey tarp, and it just felt evil. Scootaloo shakily got out of the bed. She could guess she was in a castle, but she had no idea why. She decided to go investigate the desk. Scootaloo nervously approached the desk. It was old and wooden, and it's chair was pushed out. Scootaloo looked to the door, and finally noticed the large red trail on the ground. She took a few steps back, her mouth agape in horror. A blood trail originated from the chair and led all the way to the door, and past it. Scootaloo's heart began to beat out of control. She looked down to the ground and squeezed her eyes shut. Calm down, calm down... she thought. Scootaloo summoned the bravery to go and look through the desk drawers. Scootaloo cautiously walked to the front of the desk, and saw a piece of paper on top. She snatched it and began to read. My dearest foal, Scootaloo, I write to you in a desperate time. I know you're probably confused, but I need you to listen to me. I'm an old friend of yours, a dragon by the name of Sir Spike. That is as much of an introduction I can give you, for my time is running out. I fear it will not be long before she ends my life. Hopefully the name "Twilight Sparkle" still instills hate in you? If not, then you will not understand the horrors you will face. You must go through the seven trials. You must save seven ponies. six of them being friends of yours, while the last one being an alicorn. I can hear Twilight's hoofsteps coming down the hall. Remember, they can all be saved. Scootaloo saw the rest of the page covered in blood. Twilight? But she's a hero! Why would she kill Spike?! Scootaloo took a step back from the desk. She needed time to think. Twilight Sparkle is insane, Scootaloo guessed. She killed Spike... That was hard to bear for Scootaloo, even though she didn't know the amusing dragon very well. Scootaloo put those thoughts out of her head and began searching the desk. She opened the top drawer, but found it empty. The second drawer had multiple tinderboxes inside, but Scootaloo didn't know where to store them. She thought for a moment, then proceeded to the wardrobe. She opened it cautiously, and took a peek inside. There were a few clothing items for colts. Scootaloo completely disregarded these, and searched the other corner of the wardrobe. To her delight, she found a faded gray pack that had straps to fit around a ponies shoulders. She took it gratefully, and put it on. Fits perfect, she thought as she tried the pack on. Scootaloo trotted back over to the desk and put the tinderboxes in the pouch. She then opened the third drawer, to find multiple containers full of lantern oil. Scootaloo shrugged, thinking she might as well take them. She stuffed them into her pouch. Scootaloo sighed shakily. She was still shaken by the sight of the blood trail, and she just wanted to go home. Scootaloo didn't want to cry, but she felt the tears coming already. She sat down on the hard stone floor, and began to cry. She cried and cried and cried, as the sound of teardrops falling and Scootaloo's slight sobbing could be heard. Where am I?! Chapter 2: Outside the Doors"Aw, falling apart so soon, are you?" Scootaloo jerked upwards, and saw a strange beast standing in front of her. Her eyes widened. That beast was a draconequus. The one and only Discord himself. "W-w-who are you?!" Scootaloo shouted between sobs. Discord's everlasting grin widened. "Oh, just an old friend of Celestia!" Scootaloo's sobs dwindled to a sniffle. "Your... Your not her friend! Your that evil...Thing... that stands in the garden!" Discord flinched and his face morphed into one of annoyance. "Well, this is my world, filly! And what I want to happen here, happens!" Discord turned around, and walked straight through the door without inflicting any damage. Scootaloo stood up on all fours, and then proceeded to cautiously open the door. She peeked through the crack. She saw a long, dark hallway leading to another door similar to the one she was standing behind. She opened the door the rest of the way and walked through. She walked halfway through the hallway, when a humungous wave of nausea hit her. Scootaloo fell on her side, breathing hard, and tried to get up but to no avail. What's going on?! She thought in panic. She could feel the cold stones on her side. Thats when she heard it. It sounded ghostly, like the voice was echoing before it spoke. The first one, a stallions voice said; This is not a question of loyalty, Leeroy. It's about these ponies that are kept here. I need to know what they're doing to them! They are preparing a test, an older stallion's voice said, The foal must be prepared. This isn't right, Leeroy! It shouldn't be a foal! The younger one said. That's the way it has to be, Doctor. The unknown talking stopped. Scootaloo shook her head, and was happy to find she could stand up. Where they talking about me? She wondered. Then what test are they talking about? It must be those trials Spike wrote about! Scootaloo slowly continued walking to the door. She swung it open, too deep in thought to care about being silent. She looked up to the room in front of her. It was quite expansive, and Scootaloo realized there were prison cells on every wall. In the center, there was about a 10 cubic foot space of grated floor, with a trapdoor in the middle. And a few feet in front of the grate was a ladder, only it wasn't pulled down. How do I get that ladder down here? Scootaloo wondered. She decided search some of the cells for an answer. She trotted to the first cell on her right. The door was ajar, so Scootaloo took great care to be silent. She didn't know if Discord had traps or monsters in this world, but she was careful nevertheless. She poked her head around the corner and scanned the room. It was dirty and dusty, like every other part of the castle. There was a small cot turned on it's side, and a small table with a broken chair. Scootaloo tip-hoofed over to the table and gasped in shock. There was a note that had bloody hoofprints on either side of it, and the words Forgive me scrawled in blood above it. Scootaloo hesitantly picked up the note and began to read. Dear Twilight Sparkle, I know you and Bernard have a relationship, but he's hurting you. You say you like it, but... I believe different. Just remember. If you ever need help, talk to me. My love will always be truer. Love, Altos "How sweet." Scootaloo muttered sarcastically under her breath. Seeing nothing that could help her, Scootaloo walked out of the cell, and walked to the next cell on the right. Surprisingly, there wasn't even a cot in this one. There was no furniture whatsoever, and the only thing in the room was a dirt heap in one corner. That's strange, Scootaloo thought. She simply shrugged and proceeded to walk out the cell door, but stopped suddenly. Hoofsteps! Scootaloo shut the door very quietly and backed up into the corner, breathing hard. Her heart was beating so fast, she was sure whatever was out there could hear it. The hoofsteps neared the door, and a demonic voice called out; "Twilight? Is that you?" The voice sounded similar to the strange occurance on the hallway, like it echoed before it spoke. Scootaloo was panicking. What if it opens the door?! She was breathing hard now. All of the sudden, a large bang resounded through the cell as whatever it was slammed into the door. A second bang. A third bang, but the door was thankfully built to withstand great force. The monster let out a frustrated and sickening groan, before the hoofsteps faded away. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief, and buried her head in her forelegs. She fell asleep before she realized what happened. Chapter 3: SaviorScootaloo eyes fluttered open to the sight of the same dusky cell. Her body was sore all over, and she felt like all of her legs had gone to sleep and not woken up with her. Ugh. Where am I...? Scootaloo thought lazily. Then, the memories hit her like a runaway Equestrian Express train. Oh no! Is that thing still out there?! Scootaloo silently stood up(with some difficulty) and tip-hoofed to the barred door, and took a peek through the bars. The previous room was empty, like nothing had ever been there. The only sign something was there was the fact that the bars on the door were bent under the sheer force of the monster's attacks. Scootaloo shuddered as she tried not to imagine what the monster looked like. She cautiously opened the door into the central room. After letting out a sigh of relief, she walked toward the large grating. Does this trapdoor lead somewhere? Scootaloo wondered. She walked over to the trapdoor, while making sure there were no monsters in the room. The filly pulled on the circular handle on the trapdoor, but the trapdoor was quite obviously stuck. Scootaloo let out an exasperated sigh and continued to walk to the other side of this central room. The first cell on the right was her destination. Scootaloo walked up to the barred door and gazed inside. It was very strange. An inky blackness filled the cell so she couldn't see anything inside. Weird. Maybe I should-? Scootaloo's thoughts were cut short as she fell to the ground again. Her ears heard the same type of ghostly pre-echoing voices similar to the voices in the hallway, but they were obviously from different ponies. What the hay?! What in all o' tarnation are you doing? Get offa' me! What's gotten into ya? A gruff stallion's voice shouted. Scootaloo jolted as she recognized it as Apple Bloom's elder brother, Big Macintosh. I'm awfully sorry, Macintosh, but your needed for a little something Celestia told me to do. A mare's voice said. The mare had a slight tinge of insanity in her voice. What is she doing with Big Mac?!, Scootaloo thought W-w-what does Princess Celestia need from me?! Ahm just an ol' farmhoof! Big Macintosh's voice was getting more and more panicked. It requires your cooperation, and willingness to DIE! The mare cackled evilly after saying this, while Big Mac whimpered audibly. W-...? No. No! NO! Big Mac's voice screamed until the memory faded away. Scootaloo's nausea faded, but she still didn't feel like standing up. Scootaloo swore her jaw had dropped to the floor during this memory. Why?! Why Big Mac? The filly shook her head, trying to clear it. I have to find him! I can't let him down! Scootaloo rose with a newfound strength. She would soon discover that Big Macintosh wasn't far away. In fact, Scootaloo looked to her right and saw that the darkness in the cell had disappeared. It had been replaced with candlelight and a sobbing, red stallion. Scootaloo jumped up and stood on two legs, leaning on the cell door. Inside was a sad sight. The walls of the cell were lined with tables that held about ten candles on each of them, as well as some random objects. The most notable part of the small room was the rectangular, elevated stone platform in the middle. On this stone platform, the large red stallion known as Big Macintosh lay sobbing lightly. He was blindfolded with what appeared to be a potato-sack-like material. Each one of his hooves were chained down to the platform, and looked like they had been chained down for a day or so. Big Macintosh himself was not in good condition. He was awfully thin, and not to mention remarkably filthy. There were small indentations were tears had begun to form lines down his face. Scootaloo grimaced as she saw countless bruises and an alarming amount of blood on his sides. Big Macintosh was whispering something to himself, but Scootaloo was unable to hear what the stallion was saying. To Scootaloo's horror, there was a large mechanism poised over the Apple family's valued farmhoof. A large drill like object was positioned in a way that if the mechanism was somehow activated, it would drill it's way straight through the unlucky stallion's chest. It was fearsome, having a cone shaped end with a serrated rim going in a spiral pattern around it. Scootaloo looked around frantically. Is it on a timer? Oh no, I'd better ask Big Mac some questions! Her eyes shot back to Big Macintosh. "Macintosh?" Scootaloo said softly. "W-w-what? Twilight, please, no more of this! Have mercy!" The red stallion shouted, obviously panicked. Scootaloo shushed him. "Shh, Shh! It's not Twilight! It's Scootaloo!" Big Macintosh laid himself back down on the platform. "Thank Cele- Luna." Big Mac corrected himself. "Celestia is the one who did this to me..." Scootaloo reeled back. Celestia? Why would she do this?! Scootaloo sat back on her haunches, trying to compensate for the wave of surprise and dread that had hit her. "What happened, Big Mac?" Chapter 4: Macintosh's TaleWell, little missy, nopony ever thought that a filly would be the one to save me, But I guess I have you to thank for saving my sorry flank. I... I'm sorry. I should put it down a notch. What happened, ya ask? Well, it's a long story, Scootaloo, so settle down. I have to ask ya why you're here. What's that? Ya don't know? Your one of Apple Bloom's friends, aren't ya? Scootaloo? I figured. Either way, you need to know what happened, I figure. It was a pretty day in Ponyville. But even so, My lil' sis' was acting quite strangely, like she was worried about something. I would ask her about it, but she woud never tell me. Always saying, "Don't you worry big brother, I'm fine!" But I knew was something was wrong with Applejack. One mornin', I saw Applejack leaving real early. She didn't have the apple cart, so she wasn't preparing for business. Plus, it was Saturday. I followed her out. By this point in time, she barely talked to anypony, not even the Apples. I was real worried about her. I followed her until she reached Twilight's house. Strange, I had thought, I ain't seen Applejack waking up this early! Heck, Twilight won't even be up! I hid in a patch of bush and waited for my sister to make a move. That's when her friends, the Element bearers or whatnot, showed up. Everypony was there; Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and that pink pony who talks real fast. I was surprised when Twilight's door opened to reveal Twilight herself, but... Different. She looked like she hadn't slept very well, and her eyes... They were bloodshot and had a tinge of something I could only call insanity in them. She wore a sort of grin that seemed plastered on her face, and if I were alone with her? It would've scared the apples outta me, I tell ya! "Umm... Twi, are you...Alright?" My sister asked. "Well, of course I am!" She said with a bit too much excitement, if you know what I mean. "We're going to visit the old Royal Sister's castle! Isn't this so fantastic? I'll be able to do tons of research on necr-" Twilight stopped, "Magic!" She said slowly, still managing to keep that damned grin of hers. I don't think this is the normal Twilight, I thought to myself. I was starting to see why Applejack was so worried. I shoulda known that was barely anything compared to the things she would do. She's a bit insane! I thought to myself. I decided it was time to make my presence known. "Heya, everypony," I said a bit quietly, after crawling out of the bush. All the ponies whipped around and saw me standing there, looking like a fool. "Macintosh?! Were you spying in on us?" Applejack scolded me. "Eeyup... Maybe..." I said and hung my head in shame. "I'm sorry, sis, but I needed to know what was bothering ya!" I said rising my head. Applejack flinched, and trotted over to me, practically draggin' me outta earshot. "Big Mac, Ah..." She paused, grimacing. "Ahm worried about her..." Applejack pointed a hoof to Twilight Sparkle. I nodded slowly. "She's acting mighty strange, sis..." Applejack cut me off. "I know! She says she's gonna bring us to Celestia's real old palace, and... It's creeping me out, brother!" Applejack almost shouted. There where tears in her eyes. I gave my sis a comforting hug. "No need to fret, sis... She's probably just real giddy..." But even I was unsure of myself. The princess arrived with a whole lotta guards. She turned to me. "Oh my, an unexpected guest? Well, no issue! I'm sure we can make arrangements for another guest!" Applejack and me looked to each other, and shrugged. That was easy. To make a long story short, we went on the princess's carriage and took a long ride to this old, old castle out in the middle of the Everfree forest. When we arrived, the place was wrecked. Everything was broken, and looked like it hadn't been used in a few thousand years. I didn't have the slightest idea what they needed here, Twilight and Celestia, but something was wrong with the two. Something was wrong with this batch o' apples, and I could feel it. I think everypony could feel it. It was my third day here when it happened. It was real early in the morning, and I was woken to the sound of knocking, no, banging on my door. When I opened it up it was that darned mare, Twilight. She still had that damned grin of hers, and it had seemed to widen as I saw her. "Hi Big Mac!" She said, "I'm really sorry to wake you, but I need to show you something really important!" I eyed her suspiciously. "Uhmmm... Okay?" I awkwardly confirmed. She led me to this room we're in right now. That's when she turned to me and and knocked me straight to the floor by kicking out my leg with hers. Before I could tell what was happening, she was on top of me. Her grin practically encompassed her whole face as she stared down at me. "Hey, what are you doing?! Get off of me!" I shouted. Twilight began to drag me and said, "Sorry, Macintosh, but you're needed for a little something Celestia told me-" Big Macintosh is interrupted as Scootaloo indicates she already knows what she said. Macintosh decides not to question it. Well, after that, I was knocked out cold and woke up here. I've been here for a day I think. Now, missy, what's your story?
Prologue: Discord's games..."I'm glad to see you could join us. This time, it will be a trial of character. Wake up, little one. Wake up." Discord cackled as the image of a small orange pegasus filly sleeping in a dirty room appeared in the swirling purple vortex. The evil draconequus tilted back, assuming a thoughtful stance. "Hm..." Discord murmured, obviously in deep thought. Then, an evil grin slowly materialized on his face. "I'm sure Twilight and her petty friends would like to know where there poor scooter-riding friend has gone, right?" He cackled nightmarishly, and with a snap of his fingers, the dark altar disappeared, cutting the only light source in a massive void of darkness. ******************* " Apple Bloom! APPLE BLOOM! Ya need to calm down! Where did you last see her?!" Applejack shouted while trying to calm the panicking filly. "I-I-I saw her at the tree house y-y-yesterday, and I..." The filly broke down into sobs. Apple Bloom rested her delicate head in Applejack's bright orange fur, and continued to cry. The sound of a door opening caught Applejack's attention, causing Applejack to look up sullenly. She was greeted with the sight of her older brother, Big Macintosh. "Macintosh! Did they find the filly?" Big Mac hung his head and shook it sullenly. "Where in all of tarnation could that filly be?" Applejack asked while looking up to the ceiling, an obvious look of despair on her face. "They've been searching for three darn days!" Big Mac and Applejack turned as a certain rainbow-maned pegasus ran in at dangerous speeds. "Applejack!" Rainbow Dash cried, covered in sweat and a look of shock on her face. "I think you need to see this..." ********************* Even Twilight had never seen the solar princess herself so angry. She and the rest of the ponies were standing in the center of Ponyville, where something had just literally fallen from the sky. Princess Celestia had said it was one of Discord's altars. It was a round object, made out of mysterious black metallic substance. It was about the size of a pony, and it had a large opening on the top. The opening was surrounded by large dragon teeth that pointed inward, and the altar was about as high a a pony's neck. From the teeth, purple beams of light shot into a central point, creating a vortex of purple shades. Princess Celestia stood in front of the altar, glaring angrily at it. "How dare he send this into my realm!" she murmured angrily. Meanwhile, everypony in a few mile radius was ordered by the altar itself to come. Everypony, from the school foals to the Wonderbolts themselves was there watching the vortex with anticipation. The princess had said that when everypony had arrived, Discord would show them where the missing filly was, and what she was going through. Celestia had told them that Discord had put Scootaloo in one of his "games" and might die in it. Everypony was shocked and terrified at the fact that this poor filly might die. "My little ponies!" Celestia shouted in a desperate voice. The entire crowd of panicking ponies was silenced. "Discord is an evil, evil creature, and has demanded everypony's presence at this altar! I am sorry, but we must be here! An innocent life is at stake!" All of the sudden, the vortex began to change color, turning to a deep black. Then, the image of a sleeping Scootaloo appeared in it.
Chapter 1: AwokenA trial of character... Scootaloo could feel the sheets of an old bed around her. She didn't feel like waking up. School again... She opened her eyes to see a roof made out of cracked and mossy stones. Wait a minute! Where am I? She bolted upright into a sitting position and frantically began looking around the room she was in. The walls were made of the same poorly kept cobblestones. To her right there was a large wooden door, complete with an antique handle. Scootaloo herself was lying on quite a large bed, but it was obvious it was very old and not well kept. Dust was floating in the room, indicating scarce use. To Scootaloo's left, there was a large wardrobe. Finally, Scootaloo's eyes shot to the front of the room. There was a desk with a small window above it. Rays of sunlight shined through the window, but... These rays of light had a colder feel. It was almost as if this light was being shown through a dark grey tarp, and it just felt evil. Scootaloo shakily got out of the bed. She could guess she was in a castle, but she had no idea why. She decided to go investigate the desk. Scootaloo nervously approached the desk. It was old and wooden, and it's chair was pushed out. Scootaloo looked to the door, and finally noticed the large red trail on the ground. She took a few steps back, her mouth agape in horror. A blood trail originated from the chair and led all the way to the door, and past it. Scootaloo's heart began to beat out of control. She looked down to the ground and squeezed her eyes shut. Calm down, calm down... she thought. Scootaloo summoned the bravery to go and look through the desk drawers. Scootaloo cautiously walked to the front of the desk, and saw a piece of paper on top. She snatched it and began to read. My dearest foal, Scootaloo, I write to you in a desperate time. I know you're probably confused, but I need you to listen to me. I'm an old friend of yours, a dragon by the name of Sir Spike. That is as much of an introduction I can give you, for my time is running out. I fear it will not be long before she ends my life. Hopefully the name "Twilight Sparkle" still instills hate in you? If not, then you will not understand the horrors you will face. You must go through the seven trials. You must save seven ponies. six of them being friends of yours, while the last one being an alicorn. I can hear Twilight's hoofsteps coming down the hall. Remember, they can all be saved. Scootaloo saw the rest of the page covered in blood. Twilight? But she's a hero! Why would she kill Spike?! Scootaloo took a step back from the desk. She needed time to think. Twilight Sparkle is insane, Scootaloo guessed. She killed Spike... That was hard to bear for Scootaloo, even though she didn't know the amusing dragon very well. Scootaloo put those thoughts out of her head and began searching the desk. She opened the top drawer, but found it empty. The second drawer had multiple tinderboxes inside, but Scootaloo didn't know where to store them. She thought for a moment, then proceeded to the wardrobe. She opened it cautiously, and took a peek inside. There were a few clothing items for colts. Scootaloo completely disregarded these, and searched the other corner of the wardrobe. To her delight, she found a faded gray pack that had straps to fit around a ponies shoulders. She took it gratefully, and put it on. Fits perfect, she thought as she tried the pack on. Scootaloo trotted back over to the desk and put the tinderboxes in the pouch. She then opened the third drawer, to find multiple containers full of lantern oil. Scootaloo shrugged, thinking she might as well take them. She stuffed them into her pouch. Scootaloo sighed shakily. She was still shaken by the sight of the blood trail, and she just wanted to go home. Scootaloo didn't want to cry, but she felt the tears coming already. She sat down on the hard stone floor, and began to cry. She cried and cried and cried, as the sound of teardrops falling and Scootaloo's slight sobbing could be heard. Where am I?!
Chapter 2: Outside the Doors"Aw, falling apart so soon, are you?" Scootaloo jerked upwards, and saw a strange beast standing in front of her. Her eyes widened. That beast was a draconequus. The one and only Discord himself. "W-w-who are you?!" Scootaloo shouted between sobs. Discord's everlasting grin widened. "Oh, just an old friend of Celestia!" Scootaloo's sobs dwindled to a sniffle. "Your... Your not her friend! Your that evil...Thing... that stands in the garden!" Discord flinched and his face morphed into one of annoyance. "Well, this is my world, filly! And what I want to happen here, happens!" Discord turned around, and walked straight through the door without inflicting any damage. Scootaloo stood up on all fours, and then proceeded to cautiously open the door. She peeked through the crack. She saw a long, dark hallway leading to another door similar to the one she was standing behind. She opened the door the rest of the way and walked through. She walked halfway through the hallway, when a humungous wave of nausea hit her. Scootaloo fell on her side, breathing hard, and tried to get up but to no avail. What's going on?! She thought in panic. She could feel the cold stones on her side. Thats when she heard it. It sounded ghostly, like the voice was echoing before it spoke. The first one, a stallions voice said; This is not a question of loyalty, Leeroy. It's about these ponies that are kept here. I need to know what they're doing to them! They are preparing a test, an older stallion's voice said, The foal must be prepared. This isn't right, Leeroy! It shouldn't be a foal! The younger one said. That's the way it has to be, Doctor. The unknown talking stopped. Scootaloo shook her head, and was happy to find she could stand up. Where they talking about me? She wondered. Then what test are they talking about? It must be those trials Spike wrote about! Scootaloo slowly continued walking to the door. She swung it open, too deep in thought to care about being silent. She looked up to the room in front of her. It was quite expansive, and Scootaloo realized there were prison cells on every wall. In the center, there was about a 10 cubic foot space of grated floor, with a trapdoor in the middle. And a few feet in front of the grate was a ladder, only it wasn't pulled down. How do I get that ladder down here? Scootaloo wondered. She decided search some of the cells for an answer. She trotted to the first cell on her right. The door was ajar, so Scootaloo took great care to be silent. She didn't know if Discord had traps or monsters in this world, but she was careful nevertheless. She poked her head around the corner and scanned the room. It was dirty and dusty, like every other part of the castle. There was a small cot turned on it's side, and a small table with a broken chair. Scootaloo tip-hoofed over to the table and gasped in shock. There was a note that had bloody hoofprints on either side of it, and the words Forgive me scrawled in blood above it. Scootaloo hesitantly picked up the note and began to read. Dear Twilight Sparkle, I know you and Bernard have a relationship, but he's hurting you. You say you like it, but... I believe different. Just remember. If you ever need help, talk to me. My love will always be truer. Love, Altos "How sweet." Scootaloo muttered sarcastically under her breath. Seeing nothing that could help her, Scootaloo walked out of the cell, and walked to the next cell on the right. Surprisingly, there wasn't even a cot in this one. There was no furniture whatsoever, and the only thing in the room was a dirt heap in one corner. That's strange, Scootaloo thought. She simply shrugged and proceeded to walk out the cell door, but stopped suddenly. Hoofsteps! Scootaloo shut the door very quietly and backed up into the corner, breathing hard. Her heart was beating so fast, she was sure whatever was out there could hear it. The hoofsteps neared the door, and a demonic voice called out; "Twilight? Is that you?" The voice sounded similar to the strange occurance on the hallway, like it echoed before it spoke. Scootaloo was panicking. What if it opens the door?! She was breathing hard now. All of the sudden, a large bang resounded through the cell as whatever it was slammed into the door. A second bang. A third bang, but the door was thankfully built to withstand great force. The monster let out a frustrated and sickening groan, before the hoofsteps faded away. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief, and buried her head in her forelegs. She fell asleep before she realized what happened.
Chapter 3: SaviorScootaloo eyes fluttered open to the sight of the same dusky cell. Her body was sore all over, and she felt like all of her legs had gone to sleep and not woken up with her. Ugh. Where am I...? Scootaloo thought lazily. Then, the memories hit her like a runaway Equestrian Express train. Oh no! Is that thing still out there?! Scootaloo silently stood up(with some difficulty) and tip-hoofed to the barred door, and took a peek through the bars. The previous room was empty, like nothing had ever been there. The only sign something was there was the fact that the bars on the door were bent under the sheer force of the monster's attacks. Scootaloo shuddered as she tried not to imagine what the monster looked like. She cautiously opened the door into the central room. After letting out a sigh of relief, she walked toward the large grating. Does this trapdoor lead somewhere? Scootaloo wondered. She walked over to the trapdoor, while making sure there were no monsters in the room. The filly pulled on the circular handle on the trapdoor, but the trapdoor was quite obviously stuck. Scootaloo let out an exasperated sigh and continued to walk to the other side of this central room. The first cell on the right was her destination. Scootaloo walked up to the barred door and gazed inside. It was very strange. An inky blackness filled the cell so she couldn't see anything inside. Weird. Maybe I should-? Scootaloo's thoughts were cut short as she fell to the ground again. Her ears heard the same type of ghostly pre-echoing voices similar to the voices in the hallway, but they were obviously from different ponies. What the hay?! What in all o' tarnation are you doing? Get offa' me! What's gotten into ya? A gruff stallion's voice shouted. Scootaloo jolted as she recognized it as Apple Bloom's elder brother, Big Macintosh. I'm awfully sorry, Macintosh, but your needed for a little something Celestia told me to do. A mare's voice said. The mare had a slight tinge of insanity in her voice. What is she doing with Big Mac?!, Scootaloo thought W-w-what does Princess Celestia need from me?! Ahm just an ol' farmhoof! Big Macintosh's voice was getting more and more panicked. It requires your cooperation, and willingness to DIE! The mare cackled evilly after saying this, while Big Mac whimpered audibly. W-...? No. No! NO! Big Mac's voice screamed until the memory faded away. Scootaloo's nausea faded, but she still didn't feel like standing up. Scootaloo swore her jaw had dropped to the floor during this memory. Why?! Why Big Mac? The filly shook her head, trying to clear it. I have to find him! I can't let him down! Scootaloo rose with a newfound strength. She would soon discover that Big Macintosh wasn't far away. In fact, Scootaloo looked to her right and saw that the darkness in the cell had disappeared. It had been replaced with candlelight and a sobbing, red stallion. Scootaloo jumped up and stood on two legs, leaning on the cell door. Inside was a sad sight. The walls of the cell were lined with tables that held about ten candles on each of them, as well as some random objects. The most notable part of the small room was the rectangular, elevated stone platform in the middle. On this stone platform, the large red stallion known as Big Macintosh lay sobbing lightly. He was blindfolded with what appeared to be a potato-sack-like material. Each one of his hooves were chained down to the platform, and looked like they had been chained down for a day or so. Big Macintosh himself was not in good condition. He was awfully thin, and not to mention remarkably filthy. There were small indentations were tears had begun to form lines down his face. Scootaloo grimaced as she saw countless bruises and an alarming amount of blood on his sides. Big Macintosh was whispering something to himself, but Scootaloo was unable to hear what the stallion was saying. To Scootaloo's horror, there was a large mechanism poised over the Apple family's valued farmhoof. A large drill like object was positioned in a way that if the mechanism was somehow activated, it would drill it's way straight through the unlucky stallion's chest. It was fearsome, having a cone shaped end with a serrated rim going in a spiral pattern around it. Scootaloo looked around frantically. Is it on a timer? Oh no, I'd better ask Big Mac some questions! Her eyes shot back to Big Macintosh. "Macintosh?" Scootaloo said softly. "W-w-what? Twilight, please, no more of this! Have mercy!" The red stallion shouted, obviously panicked. Scootaloo shushed him. "Shh, Shh! It's not Twilight! It's Scootaloo!" Big Macintosh laid himself back down on the platform. "Thank Cele- Luna." Big Mac corrected himself. "Celestia is the one who did this to me..." Scootaloo reeled back. Celestia? Why would she do this?! Scootaloo sat back on her haunches, trying to compensate for the wave of surprise and dread that had hit her. "What happened, Big Mac?"
Chapter 4: Macintosh's TaleWell, little missy, nopony ever thought that a filly would be the one to save me, But I guess I have you to thank for saving my sorry flank. I... I'm sorry. I should put it down a notch. What happened, ya ask? Well, it's a long story, Scootaloo, so settle down. I have to ask ya why you're here. What's that? Ya don't know? Your one of Apple Bloom's friends, aren't ya? Scootaloo? I figured. Either way, you need to know what happened, I figure. It was a pretty day in Ponyville. But even so, My lil' sis' was acting quite strangely, like she was worried about something. I would ask her about it, but she woud never tell me. Always saying, "Don't you worry big brother, I'm fine!" But I knew was something was wrong with Applejack. One mornin', I saw Applejack leaving real early. She didn't have the apple cart, so she wasn't preparing for business. Plus, it was Saturday. I followed her out. By this point in time, she barely talked to anypony, not even the Apples. I was real worried about her. I followed her until she reached Twilight's house. Strange, I had thought, I ain't seen Applejack waking up this early! Heck, Twilight won't even be up! I hid in a patch of bush and waited for my sister to make a move. That's when her friends, the Element bearers or whatnot, showed up. Everypony was there; Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and that pink pony who talks real fast. I was surprised when Twilight's door opened to reveal Twilight herself, but... Different. She looked like she hadn't slept very well, and her eyes... They were bloodshot and had a tinge of something I could only call insanity in them. She wore a sort of grin that seemed plastered on her face, and if I were alone with her? It would've scared the apples outta me, I tell ya! "Umm... Twi, are you...Alright?" My sister asked. "Well, of course I am!" She said with a bit too much excitement, if you know what I mean. "We're going to visit the old Royal Sister's castle! Isn't this so fantastic? I'll be able to do tons of research on necr-" Twilight stopped, "Magic!" She said slowly, still managing to keep that damned grin of hers. I don't think this is the normal Twilight, I thought to myself. I was starting to see why Applejack was so worried. I shoulda known that was barely anything compared to the things she would do. She's a bit insane! I thought to myself. I decided it was time to make my presence known. "Heya, everypony," I said a bit quietly, after crawling out of the bush. All the ponies whipped around and saw me standing there, looking like a fool. "Macintosh?! Were you spying in on us?" Applejack scolded me. "Eeyup... Maybe..." I said and hung my head in shame. "I'm sorry, sis, but I needed to know what was bothering ya!" I said rising my head. Applejack flinched, and trotted over to me, practically draggin' me outta earshot. "Big Mac, Ah..." She paused, grimacing. "Ahm worried about her..." Applejack pointed a hoof to Twilight Sparkle. I nodded slowly. "She's acting mighty strange, sis..." Applejack cut me off. "I know! She says she's gonna bring us to Celestia's real old palace, and... It's creeping me out, brother!" Applejack almost shouted. There where tears in her eyes. I gave my sis a comforting hug. "No need to fret, sis... She's probably just real giddy..." But even I was unsure of myself. The princess arrived with a whole lotta guards. She turned to me. "Oh my, an unexpected guest? Well, no issue! I'm sure we can make arrangements for another guest!" Applejack and me looked to each other, and shrugged. That was easy. To make a long story short, we went on the princess's carriage and took a long ride to this old, old castle out in the middle of the Everfree forest. When we arrived, the place was wrecked. Everything was broken, and looked like it hadn't been used in a few thousand years. I didn't have the slightest idea what they needed here, Twilight and Celestia, but something was wrong with the two. Something was wrong with this batch o' apples, and I could feel it. I think everypony could feel it. It was my third day here when it happened. It was real early in the morning, and I was woken to the sound of knocking, no, banging on my door. When I opened it up it was that darned mare, Twilight. She still had that damned grin of hers, and it had seemed to widen as I saw her. "Hi Big Mac!" She said, "I'm really sorry to wake you, but I need to show you something really important!" I eyed her suspiciously. "Uhmmm... Okay?" I awkwardly confirmed. She led me to this room we're in right now. That's when she turned to me and and knocked me straight to the floor by kicking out my leg with hers. Before I could tell what was happening, she was on top of me. Her grin practically encompassed her whole face as she stared down at me. "Hey, what are you doing?! Get off of me!" I shouted. Twilight began to drag me and said, "Sorry, Macintosh, but you're needed for a little something Celestia told me-" Big Macintosh is interrupted as Scootaloo indicates she already knows what she said. Macintosh decides not to question it. Well, after that, I was knocked out cold and woke up here. I've been here for a day I think. Now, missy, what's your story?
