Chapters "You have beautiful eyes"
And like that she was thrown to the machine. Mechanical sounds assaulted her ears and her sight was covered by the color red. Then she couldn't hear or see anything even if she tried. Pain was all she was feeling on moments. Horrible, horrible pain. Then she felt liquid all around her. Then nothing at all. In fact it almost felt as if thee was nothing of her left. She couldn't feel the pain, nor the blood, nor her body, she didn't even feel tired anymore. She simply felt...nothing. Nothing physical at least. Her mind rushed with memories. Everything she'd done and achieved, every pony she knew and cared for, the different troubles she, Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom would get into to get their cutie marks, the day they finally discovered their talents at the same time, the day she finally learned to fly, the day she got accepted flight school....the day she failed the test and...Rainbow...
All she felt was sorrow. Rainbow Dash. The one she saw as a big sister. Had betrayed her like that. How could she be so cruel. How could she break her trust like that. But it seems non of that mattered right now. There was nothing she could do anymore. She failed to escape the factory. She failed to survive.
She had failed...
She felt some sort of rush go through her. Then some strange feeling. She didn't know how to describe it, nor could she understand it. All she could tell is that the feeling wasn't unpleasant. In fact it was almost calming. Was this afterlife? She had imagined of something big and majestic but this wasn't half bad considering what she just went through. She thought of Orion and Aurora. Would she see them again now? She wanted to be with Orion again and she also wanted a chance to get to know Aurora better. Maybe being dead can have its perks after all. She thought of her other friends. They will never get to see her again. Nor would she see them. She was pained by the thought of never getting the chance to say goodbye to them. At least just meet them one last time. Simply to see them. But it seems that wouldn't be possible now. They would think she was exiled somewhere. They'll probably even search for her. Not being aware she and many others were slaughter just to bathe Equestria in colorful rainbows. She wanted to cry but she couldn't do that. Not anymore.
She though of her again. The pony all in red with rose irises looking straight into her soul. That image was imprinted on her memory and no matter what she couldn't get it out. It was her fault. She took. Orion and Aurora from her. She took from her the chance to say one last goodbye. She took her life!
She betrayed her...
What looked like a bright colorful light in the end of a tunnel appeared in her vision. The first thing she has seen for what felt like ages.
'This is it ' she thought, trying her best to reach for the light and finally be in peace. She thought again about Rainbow. She will surely get away with killing her and the others. And she will get away with killing many others to come. The thought that she cold do nothing to stop her filled her with deep sorrow.
'Only one ' she thought as she reached for the light 'If i had only one chance to stop all that carnage then i- '
"Then I'm sure you'd make good use of your time" a voice suddenly spoke, taking her attention away from the light. She tried to look around but considering her situation that wasn't all that easy. Apart from the light everything else was a void.
"Who's there?" She said. Then she paused in surprise, confused as to how she could speak without a mouth. Did she have a mouth? She couldn't really look at herself.
"You're not as much speaking as you are thinking" the voice spoke again "You are in your extra-physical state right now. Here, we communicate through thoughts. Call it telepathy or whatever you want. At least you don't need a translator to get the message to someone that speaks a different language"
The voice sounded strange. Alien even. It was impossible to put a gender to it and it sounded somewhat echoey. The light in front of her started shifting. Something like a figure started forming from it
"And you don't have a mouth. You don't really have a specific form either. It may take just a little for you to get used and control it. But it's not a big problem"
The figure looked strange. It almost looked like a snake at first. Then like a spider. Then a deer. And there seemed to be a sort of red liquid light surrounding it. She couldn't exactly describe how it looked. Even Discord was easier to describe. But she could make out one eye in the middle of the figure. A rainbow colored iris and slit pupil.
"Quite a sight to see am i not" the figure said
"Who are you? And what are you?" Scootaloo asked. She didn't feel threatened by the apparition. It radiated a rather pleasant feeling in fact. But still, she didn't understand it enough to feel safe so she kept her distance. If that was even possible here. Wherever this was. "And is this the afterlife?"
What seemed to be a chuckle was heard from the entity
"Who i am is complicated" the entity replied "but you can refer to me as the Voice. What i am is even more so complicated. Angel, demon, spirit, alien, eldritch abomination, spawn of madness, thing from beyond the stars, god and many other silly terms that have been used to refer to me and those like me. But non of those really matter. And yes this is what mortals often describe as the after life. I'm sorry if it's not what you've expected but it is what it is"
"Wait. You mean you are God?" Scootaloo asked in awe. The Voice chuckled, clearly amused.
"You can say that. Yes."
Scootaloo was speechless. If what this thing was saying was true, and it didn't look to be lying, then she was literally talking to God at this moment. The only one she had come across that was remotely close to this was Celestia. Had she been able to, she would have fainted or have her legs shake uncontrollably. She didn't understand why she had to call it the Voice but she didn't think questioning god would be of use. Still, she needed some answers.
"So is this heaven then?" asking this seemed to make the Voice laugh, confusing Sciotaloo a little
"That's what they always ask" the Voice said "You tell me, is this your idea of heaven?"
"I don't know" Scootaloo replied, doing what could be considered as looking around at the void "I kinda imagined it a bit more...cloudy. And less empty. Gosh am i the only one here?"
"No dear" the Voice laughed "This isn't heaven."
"It's not?" Scootaloo asked confused "Makes sense i guess. So will you take me there?"
"No"
"You're... not?" Scootaloo asked with confusion. Then her confusion turned to fear. If she wasn't going to heaven then... where was she going " W-w-where will i go then?" she spoke with a hint of fear, causing the Voice to laugh.
"Oh be not afraid my child you're not going to hell either" It said with amusement "Here's the thing, child. You're not going anywhere actually. Sorry to disappoint but I'm not here to guide you through your existence beyond the material."
Scootaloo was even more confused. If it wasn't here to escort her to wherever she was supposed to go now that she was dead "Then why are you here?"
"Why, I'm here to offer you a deal of course" it said politely
"A deal?"
"Yes"
Scootaloo though for a moment. What deal could it be that this being wanted to offer her. Whatever it was. she was already dead so it couldn't really hurt.
"What's your deal?" she asked with curiosity.
"I want to give you what you asked just moments ago. A chance to go back. Live again. See the ones you love" the Voice chuckled rather sinisterly " Why not, take revenge"
Scootaloo went silent. If she heard that right, the Voice literally offered to sent her back. Not only was she conversing with God at this moment but it was also offering her a second chance in life. A second chance to breathe again, fly again, see her friends. It seems her prayer was heard.
"You'll send me back!?" she asked, almost too exited
"Yes" the Voice confirmed "But in return you'll have to do something for me. Favors for favors"
Once again, Scootaloo paused in confusion. She didn't know what she would have to do in return for being brought back to life and she wasn't sure what she could be of use to the literal god. But what's the worse that could happen. She was already dead. Still, she needed to know what she was getting into
"What do i need to do?" she asked
"Simple, actually. I dislike capitalist industry. And i also dislike social darwinism. So it shouldn't be much of a guess that i very much fucking hate industrial social darwinism!" it spoke in a much angrier and aggressive tone, seeming to yell before calming down "Excuse my language. What i mean is i hate the factory in which you died. It violates the very principles i hold and so I want it down. I could bring it down myself but I'm a bit busy for it and also it's kinda boring when you can fix stuff with the snap of your fingers. And that's where you come in. I want You, my dear Scootaloo, to become my agent on your world and bring down the rainbow factory for me, avange yourself and your fellow comrades and end it's disgusting legacy once and for all. And in return you shall be given another chance in life"
Scootaloo went silent. She thought about it. Not only does she get to go back, but she'll also get to end the factory and save many other lives from ending horribly just to create rainbows. Most importantly, she'll get to settle things with her...
"So," the Voice spoke again, breaking the silence "Do we have a deal then?"
"Why me?" she asked "Out of everyone else why me?"
"Because me dear, you not only died on the factory and have you loved ones die there. You also got a beef with the one in charge of it. You're personally invested to end the factory. And also you showed good survival instinct down there so that's another plus. So? Do you agree?"
Scootaloo thought about it. It all seemed a bit too good to be true but there simply was no reason to say no. It seems today wasn't all bad luck after all.
"I accept your deal" she spoke with determination.
The Voice chuckled. Its chuckles turned into laughter that came and became more manic with every second.
"Good! Very good!"
Scootaloo felt something. She wasn't sure what but she felt something all over her. She felt the same rush she felt earlier, just a lot more painful. Just as she had forgotten of the negative aspects of having a body she was given a very hard reminder of what physical pain was. All she could do was scream, not knowing if anyone could hear her. The amorphous being looking straight at her being the only thing in her vision before it too faded away and her vision was taken over by a series of colors before it all going black. She heard crunches and other strange sounds. She'd never experienced anything like this. She had no idea what was happening. All she knew was that it was extremely painful. For a moment Scootaloo wished to be back at the factory, that would have been more preferable than this. Then light came and blinded her, and she felt unable to blink it away. It all hurt so so much.
"I'll see you in the living world my child. Hahahahahahahaha"
Soon it all went away and faded to black...
Author's Note
And like that, Scootaloo's journey for revenge begins. What will she do? Will she be able to keep her regiven life? Will she be able to shut down the factory? If so how? Did she do right to take this deal? Who exactly is the voice and what does it want? Is it really god? Is it good news? How is Rainbow going to do in all of this? That and more on the next episode of Drago-no wait wrong one- Failed to die!
Rainbow Dash exited the shower, drying herself off with a towel. She took a shower before leaving the factory for the day but somehow she felt it wasn't enough. she threw the towel towards her bed as she stood in front of the mirror to fix her mane but stopped in the process. Instead she just froze there looking at her own eyes. Last thing Scootaloo told her was that her eyes were beautiful.
She shook her head. Why was she thinking back at the dying ramblings of a useless failure?! Scootaloo had what was coming to her. She deserved it. Otherwise she would have passed that test and all would have been fine. But she failed and as so she needed to be put away. All she was good for was to make colors. And to think Rainbow thought she had potential in her. Guess she was simply delusional. But what does she care. She was a nobody. She wasn't even her real sister. She was just a failure. Meanwhile this was her job. Her duty. She had to do this in order to keep Cloudsdale clean from failures and to keep the supply of rainbows up. This was certainly more important than some worthless filly who couldn't even pass a test.
But then why did it bother her?
Tears started to flow from her eyes. Her face contorted with rage and her breathing got heavy. Her gaze turned towards a picture of her and Scootaloo that was put on her mirror. She took it and ripped it to pieces. Then she started punching the mirror, breaking it into shards all while snarling like a wild animal. She started attacking any object she could find on her room and scream to the top of her lungs.
"WHY?!!" She yelled "WHY COULDN'T YOU PASS ONE STUPID TEST?!" she kicked her collection of Daring Do books and punched a whole through her closet door "YOU MADE ME DO IT!! YOU DID!! IT'S YOUR FAULT!! YOURS!!!"
After there were no more stuff for her to break she just stood there screaming at nothing as if she was possessed by a demon. Tears ran like waterfalls from her eyes but she wasn't sure if she was feeling sad or just extremely rageful. Years working on the factory had messed her up to the point she couldn't understand anymore. But she knew one thing. She was mad. Clearly, Scootaloo died because they hadn't done a proper job of cleansing failures out of Cloudsdale. Had they done it properly they'd be less failures like Scootaloo and maybe she wouldn't even had been one to begin with. Things needed to get rougher and stricter from now on. To make sure nopony else in the future experienced the same thing as she.
She took a pillow and buried her face in it, continuing to scream although it was more muffled right now thanks to the pillow. She kept screaming like that for a while until she finally collapsed and fell to the ground, letting her mind melt into unconsciousness.
hours later elsewhere
Scootaloo groaned. Her whole being felt sore. She felt warm sunlight on her face and could hear birds singing. She slowly opened her eyes to be met with light and as she started waking up she could tell she was in some sort of forest based on the trees around. The landscape felt familiar and then after a few minutes of confusion she realized she was in Winsome Falls. She had been here camping with Rainbow Dash and her friends years ago. What was she doing here?
Soon after her memory started coming back. The factory. Rainbow. She died. God. The Voice brought her back. She tried to get up but her legs felt weak and her head got dizzy so she feel back down.
'Careful now kid' the Voice was heard again 'I know you equines are usually ready to walk fresh out of the womb but trust me you don't want to stress your body too much after i literally put you back atom by atom.'
Scootaloo looked around for the source of the voice but found nothing.
'I'm not here physically you silly, I'm in your head. Careful when you're talking to me in public so others don't think you're too crazy' the Voice giggled
"In... my head?" Scootaloo asked, her confusion visible.
'Yeah. It's like when you were dead. I'm talking you you in your mind. Although I'm currently on a whole other planet.'
"Other planet?"
'Business meeting, nothing important. Now listen. I will be keeping in touch with you through our mental connection. Now here's the plan. To the factory you're thought as dead. It's better we keep it that way. Your enemy doesn't expect you when they don't know you're alive.'
"Wait. What do you mean by that?" Scootaloo borrowed her brow
'It means you must stay hidden. Nobody should know you're alive'
"What?! Well how am i supposed to tell others about the factory then? What about my friends?" she protested in response to what the Voice was suggesting.
'You think the factory wouldn't kill you on sight and then everyone you told about them once they found out? They have spies in places. They may be barbaric but they're not stupid.'
Scootaloo paused. She had no reply to that. It did make sense they would have spies. You can't just slaughter countless ponies and not make sure the secrecy is kept. And she didn't want to put her friends in danger. They were all she had now.
'To make sure you're not immediately noticed I've made some changes to you as well. Open that bag besides you'
"Wha-" Scootaloo looked to her left and saw a saddle bag that was rather big for her to carry. She reached out for it and in doing so she noticed her hoof was gray and froze from confusion.
'Open the bag.'
She decided to do as told and grabbed the bag. As she opened it she found some bread, water and other supplies inside including a mirror.
'Pick up the mirror.'
She did so and brought the mirror her face, only to gasp in shock. Her coat and mane had lost their color. Her orange coat was turned gray entirely and her mane too had lost its purple color and had turned grayish.
'Considering the situation in which you died i thought it'd be rather fitting' the Voice said with a chuckle 'This way people won't recognize you from afar'
Scootaloo would have yelled. But right now she didn't feel the will to do so. Considering what she went through, having turned gray was the least thing that could make her panic on this moment.
'You also will have a helper.'
"Wha-" this grabbed Scootaloo's attention away from her reflection "A helper? What do you mean?"
Hoof steps were heard from nearby. Scootaloo turned her head and saw a silhouette appear from between the trees and approaching towards her. At first she couldn't quite make it out but slowly the silhouette became much clearer. The pony had a pitch black coat with a wavy tail of the same color and a tall body, resembling that of princess Luna or Celestia with the exception it didn't have wings. However wings were not the only part it was lacking, because as it got close Scootaloo realized it didn't have a head. Her eyes got wide in terror as the headless pony approached. She recognized it. The Headless Horse. But she thought it didn't exist? She yelled in fear and started backing away.
'Fear not my dear, it means no harm.'
"I-it-it's" Scootaloo stammered " I-it's the headless horse!"
'Oh would you please stop yelling i told you it doesn't mean any harm' the Voice spoke in annoyance 'It's your helper'
"My... What?" she said in confusion
'Ugh do i have to spell everything out for you mortals? That there is your helper. It is going to be assisting you on your mission and also be your guardian and caretaker.'
"That thing is going to take care of me" Scootaloo spoke in a mix of shock and confusion.
'Hey it has feelings too, you know?'
The headless horse stoped right in front of Scootaloo, seeming to look at her.
"But i thought headless horse wasn't real" Scootaloo mentioned
'It wasn't' the Voice replied 'This is just a tulpa i created to take care of you given my physical absence.'
"You made it?" Scootaloo asked in awe
'Yes. It'll be looking after you. Don't let it's lack of eyes make you think it can't look after you.'
She spent a good minute just looking at the headless horse while it looked back. Or at least appeared to. It still scared her. But knowing it didn't mean any harm calmed her a bit.
'It'll do anything you tell it to do'
"Really?" This git Scootaloo interested "Can you find me a place to sit please?"
On que, the headless horse picked Scootaloo up and brought her to a nearby log. It put her down and helped her sit.
'See? Told you it wasn't that bad'
"Why headless horse?" Scootaloo asked, confused as to why specifically this creature was chosen to take care of her
'No particular reason, just thought it fitting. Also it'll scare off unwanted ponies should someone get too close your location.'
"That's cool!" Scootaloo said outloud "So what now"
'Now you and Lady No head stay in here and make a camp. That should do for now. I will inform you on when it's safe to start roaming back to civilization. Remember, you are dead. Don't let anyone discover you're alive. I'll have to go now. Wait for my call. Buy for now!" and then the Voice went silent.'
"Voice?" Scootaloo called but got no response. She looked at the headless horse. It just seemed to stand there. Then all of a sudden a chalkboard teleported in front off them and got engulfed by a black aura, seemingly coming from the headless horse who started writing something on it. Once done writing it showed it to Scootaloo.
'What do we do now?'
Scootaloo looked back at it. Seems like it was going to be her conversation friend as well. She smiled. She may not be able to talk to ger friends yet but at least she won't be lonely.
"Well we need to set a camp. Go find some fire wood while i catch up my strength"
Following her orders, the headless horse trotted away towards the trees. Scootaloo simply stayed there, thinking how things will go on from now on.
Author's Note
With the voice of god in her head and a headless horse by her side, Scootaloo sets on the mission to bring down the factory. Meanwhile Rainbow isn't doing all to well psychologically speaking.
I thought bringing the headless horse as Scootaloo's caretaker would be a nice contrast to the episode Sleepless in Ponyville where the headless horse was the monster and Rainbow was seen as Scootaloo's guardian while here roles are swapped with headless horse as the guardian and Rainbow Dash as the monster.
"You're weak!" Rainbow Dash spoke with rage and hatred.
Scootaloo stood hanging in chains. In both her sides hung the colorless and blood covered corpses of Orion and Aurora. She screamed, her screams and cries in synchrony with the cogs and mechanical sounds that surrounded the whole place. Rainbow Dash flew in front of her with a cruel look on her face. Her laughter filled with sadism and evil. Her coat covered in blood as a fountain of rainbow colors flowed behind her.
"You're a failure!" she yelled.
Scootaloo was shocked, both figuratively and literally as a wave of electricity went through her body and causing her to scream so much her bloody voice cords must have been torn apart by now.
The pain was unbearable. She could almost feel her flesh burning. Then Rainbow Dash brought up some strange device, a sort of large syringe connected to a pipe. She smiled sadistically ash she brought the sharp object towards Scootaloo's chest and punctured it. She pushed it deeper to the point Scootaloo could feel it against her heart. Soon she fel her colors being sucked out as they flew in liquid state through the transparent pipe. All the while Rainbow laughed maniacally at Scootaloo, just before she pressed hard and used the metallic tool to pierce her heart.
"You live as a failure, you die as a failure!"
Scootaloo screamed. She jumped up on her sleeping bag, sweating and breathing heavily. Tears ran freely from her eyes. It seemed to be still dark around. Great. It wasn't even the first night still and she had already seen two nightmares in a row. The future of her sleeping schedule didn't look promising at all.
"Ugh fuck you!" she cried out loud "First my friends. Then my life. And now my sleep? What else do you wanna take from me Rainbow?!"
The headless horse quickly trotted towards her, checking if she was alright. Scootaloo decided that if the two will be living together from now on the she should give it a name and also refer to it as she since it seemed to possess a mare's body. Given she didn't have a name they had to come up with one. After talking (or in the case of the headless horse, writing) for a bit they both decided to use the name Rhia.
Rhia put a hoof on Scootaloo's back and started rubbing. Her magic brought forth her chalkboard and she started writing. She turned the board that now wrote 'Another dream?' To which Scootaloo replied with a nod, still crying a bit.
It still felt weird to see the headless pony as a protective figure. All her life she had only seen it as a sort of boogie mare. But so far Rhia seemed to be actually nice. Well, as nice as a pony with no head could be. Still it felt weird to see her in this way. But she felt glad to have someone looking after her in this times.
She gave a sigh and wiped away her tears. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself down a bit and turned to look at her strange companion.
"Thanks Rhia" she said with a weak smile "I'm fine it was just another dream"
The headless mare wrote again on her chalkboard.
'Do you wish i stay with you tonight?'
Scootaloo smiled.
"It's alright I'll be fine you don't need to worry"
Rhia wasn't having it though. She just sat down on her flanks next to the filly like a guard dog and looking down at her. Scootaloo sighed. At least it wasn't that bad to have someone watch over you to make sure you sleep well. Even if that someone was literally the headless horse watching you sleep.... She may need some time to get used to this.
Still she appreciated the attention. She laid herself back and closed her eyes. It was still late and she needed rest. After all, she had to prepare for whatever came next.
Next day
Twilight stood with the rest ofher friends below Rainbows cloud house. They were just informed that Scootaloo had failed on her flight tests and had been banished. A Cloudsdale tradition Twilight was well aware of but never quite understood, nor really approved. Something about banishing foals from their homes and sending them to some unknown place because they failed some test seemed sort of barbaric to her. But either way, the young alicorn couldn't do much to intervene. Cloudsdale functioned a lot like it's own sort of nation that just happened to be in Equestrian territory, with its own laws and norms.
Yesterday Rainbow Dash showed up in quite a bad mood. She locked herself in her house and hasn't come out ever since. At first they were all confused as to what was wrong but then they heard about Scootaloo and it all made sense. She was essentially an adopted sister to Rainbow Dash. Losing her forever to who knows where must have affected her very badly. Up until now she hadn't come out and hadn't answered the door. So they chose to wait and let her come out at her own time.
"I hope she's fine" Fluttershy muttered nervously
"Ah don't know sugarcube" Applejack replied "Losing somepony like that can be real tough" she thought if that were to happen to Applebloom. She'd probably get depressed too.
Rarity, A Starlight and Pinkie simply looked with sad faces towards Rainbow's house. Both just stood silent hoping to see her come out.
Based on what Fluttershy had told them, nopony really knew where those who failed the test were sent. She herself had been lucky to have left Cloudsdale before it came her turn to test her flying skills. Twilight thought she could use her status as an alicorn princess to discover something but when she went there this morning to ask the response was... less than positive.
Then to their great rejoice the door opened. Rainbow Dash came out and to say she looked bad would be an understatement. Her eyes had turned red, so she must have been crying. Her mane was disheveled and she had an almost expressionless look on her face. Had Rarity not known ang better she would have jumped to help fix her friend's appearance. But she held back. This wasn't the moment for that.
Rainbow slowly flew down towards them. Up close she didn't look any better. In fact she looked even worse. Attentive as she was Twilight noticed there was some hidden anger in her eyes. Angry at who or what that was up for anyone's guess. She also couldn't help but notice some patches on her. Had she gotten herself hurt somehow? It looked like small injuries, but one's you would get from a fight. Who could have she gotten into a fight with?
"Hey girls" she spoke monotonously. Her voice sounded hoarse.
"Rainbow are you alright" Fluttershy was the first to go and give her friend a hug "We heard about Scootaloo. You must be feeling really bad about it"
Rainbow's eye twitched at the mention of Scootaloo's name. But she held herself. She couldn't do or say anything that would raise suspicions. She closed her eyes and hugged Fluttershy back. Soon enough the rest of her friends joined in a group hug. Rainbow just stood quiet and let them all embrace her. Even if Pinkie's embrace was a bit too life threatening tight. After what seemed like a minute the group broke the hug and give Rainbow a chance to breathe.
"You wanna talk about it darling?" Rarity said, trying to comfort her friend. Rainbow stayed silent for a bit.
"I'd rather not" she replied. Twilight couldn't help but notice she had a bit of rage in her tone. Given her physical condition, she probably got into a fight with someone when she learned about Scootaloo being sent away.
"Did they at least let you see her?" Applejack asked. Everyone gave her a look meanwhile Rainbow just look down with an empty expression.
"Um i believe they send them away right after they fail" Fluttershy stated meekly.
At that they all turned their attention back at Rainbow who just kept her eyes down. Not only did she lose her adopted sister forever but she may not have even had a chance to say goodbye. An idea which they all thought cruel.
Rainbow took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she looked up at all of her friends.
"I appreciate the concern you guys. But can we like not talk about it. I just don't feel like it"
Everyone nodded in understanding and chose to take Rainbow to the spa in hopes to cheer her up a bit.
During the way there Rainbow found herself looking at Fluttershy more than one time. She remembered from years ago when she pushed her to move to Ponyville before taking her test. She never explained why. Fluttershy didn't really care about being sent away. She knew she would never pass and she didn't have any real friends other than Rainbow Dash in Cloudsdale. She never knew what she survived that day when she agreed to move out.
She could have done the same for Scootaloo. If her hopes on her passing haven't been so high that is. Damn foal got her hopes high for nothing. Then she started to think. If she hadn't told Fluttershy to leave would she have killed her as well? What a silly question. Of course she would. It was her duty. Even if it was her friend...
"Aww don't be so sad Dashie" Pinkie broke her line of thought and put a leg around her "I'm sure Scootaloo is happy where she is. She wouldn't want you to be all gloomy about it."
Rainbow looked at her for a few seconds then before putting on a smile.
"Thanks Pinks. I guess you're right." No she's not. Rainbow had seen the faces of many who were brought in to the factory and she knew for a fact they didn't die happy. So why should she believe they were happy afterwards if they even went anywhere. And who cares if Scootaloo wanted her to be happy or not.
"If i may ask Rainbow" Twilight spoke suddenly "What has happened to you? You look like you fought with someone"
It was true, her appearance was pretty bad. She could say she went in a wrestling match and they could believe her. Damn weaklings put a tough resistance that night. It had been a long time since they've ever fought back so they were caught unprepared but good thing none of them managed to escape.
"It's nothing really" she replied
"Nothing?!" Rarity said dramatically as she rushed to fix her mane "Darling you look in need of a massage"
"Good thing we're at the spa then ah guess" Applejack said, pointing out they had arrived at their destination.
"But seriously Rainbow what happened" Twilight insisted
"No need to worry Twilight it's fine i just had a little fight is all"
Twilight was unsatisfied but understood that Rainbow wasn't going to give out anything so she didn't press any further. They all entered inside and went for Rainbow's usual treatment. The cyan marr still looked dead inside but at least this should help bring her mood up.
'Well ' Rainbow thought to herself 'After all that rustle a massage does sound nice '
The sound of birds chirping and the light hitting her eyes were enough to wake her up. Scootaloo fluttered her eyes open, the blue sky above being the first thing she saw. She yawned and turned to her left, finding Rhia standing there. She got up slowly and looked at her curiously.
"You stayed there all night?"
Rhia scribbled on her chalkboard again.
'I don't need sleep'
Well that was oddly efficient. Scootaloo slowly rose to her feet. She felt a bit more energetic than what she felt yesterday. She looked up. It looked to be near noon so she must have slept in. No surprise with all those nightmares.
She did some stretches and tested if her wings were functional yet. To her great joy she could still fly. Rhia meanwhile went and prepared her something to eat.
'Enjoying yourself i see' The Voice had come back. Scootaloo stopend and went back to the ground.
"Voice?" she asked
'Who else?' it chuckled in response 'I brought you a gift'
A strange sealed glass container manifested itself in front of Scootaloo. Inside it seemed to contain a sort of two colored liquid that seemed to be orange and purple. It didn't take long for Scootaloo to figure out what it was.
"This-"
'The colors they harvested from you, yes'
She stared at it for a while, unsure of how to feel. This is what she died for. A part of her having been torn away. A question came to her mind about how the voice got this but then remembered it was god and it probably wasn't hard for it to get this. She reached out and took the container in one hoof, bringing it up to her. It didn't look like much so this must only be a small amount of the color they made out of her. Still, it was around the same amount as a medium bottle of cider.
"Why?" she finally asked
'I thought you'd like to have a relic of your past life. And also a reminder. This is why they killed you. Just colors.'
One thing was for sure. Scootaloo would never look at rainbows in the sky the same way again.
'Either way' the Voice interrupted her train of thought 'I gave your guardian directions to your next location where you will set off a temporary base. So get ready for travel'
"Her name is Rhia by the way" Scootaloo stated, emphasizing that her headless companion was more than just a nameless drone.
'Fine whatever you say' the Voice replied uncaringlly 'You'll be leaving soon after this meal'
As if on que, Rhia came up with some marshmallows and a sliced apple and brought it up to Scootaloo. Seeing only food for her, Scootaloo figured Rhia didn't need food herself given she didn't even have a mouth.It would be cruel if one needed food but lacked a month. Also very unproductive.
'Eat and then get ready for you two to start moving. I need to go again now. Wait for my further instructions. Anyway i got to go again. See you at the spot!" and like that the Voice gave way to silence.
"Voice?" Scootaloo called to no reply. She groaned in mild frustration. The fact she was told to wait until further notice and it just went away like that to come back who knows when was starting to annoy her a bit. Still, if gods tell you to do something it's most likely because they know something you don't so she just went with that. As much as she'd love to have a hoof to face conversation with a certain cyan pegasus.
She turned towards Rhia who was just standing there. A curious thought came to her mind right then and there.
"Can you also hear it?"
Rhia moved her neck in a way it seemed like a nod yes. 'Guess that answers it ' Scootaloo thought to herself. At least she wasn't the only one who could hear it. That made her feel less crazy. She went on to eat her food bit her eyes stayed fixed on the glass container. Was this really all she died for? She looked up towards the sky and conveniently enough there was a rainbow there just now. She wondered who else died for that to be in the sky. Were her colors there? Where Orion and Aurora there? Were everyone else there...
The filly teared up and broke into crying. She felt hoofs around her body as Rhia took her into a comforting hug. She just kept crying, sobbing into the mare's chest. She didn't know why exactly she was crying. It was either anger or grief. Or maybe even a mix of the two. Whatever it was she just thought to let it all out.
It could have been Orion. It could have been Aurora. It could have been anyone. Why was she the one who got to be brought back? She didn't deserve it. So why.
She just kept on crying and sobbing as Rhia kept rubbing her back and holding her in an attempt to relax the sad filly. This kept on going for a while until Scootaloo finally started to calm down. She whipped away dome tears sniffled.
"Thanks Rhia" she finally said smiling at the headless mare before they both got up "We beed to get going now."
Rhia gave another nod and went on to prepare. Scootaloo meanwhile continued to finish her food. She will need the energy.
Author's Note
A thank you to shadow wolf1573 for helping me find a name for the headless horse.
I hope me trying to make Rainbow Dash more sympathizable doesn't ruin it for you i just like it to think she feels guilty on the inside but she suppresses that and tries to move on even though it hurts her.
Anyway stay tuned for more. Just to give you a treat another mlp creepypasta will be appearing in this story. Guess who
"Here?" Scootaloo looked confused at the ruined house before her. It was a small wooden cabin grown old with time. Nopony lived here. And no pony would want to live here. Cracks in the walls and windows, trees and wilderness uncontrollably grown around the house, vines surrounding wvery part of it and she could swear there were at least a dozen spiders living here. "Why here?"
'Because nobody lives here and nobody comes here. Minus some occasional bats and insects. So this is the perfect hiding spot for now.' The voice replied casually.
"Voice, I don't know about you but i cannot live in that!" Scootaloo fumed. She didn't care if it was god she was talking to, the voice was getting on her nerves a bit.
'What's wrong? You're scared? Need i remind you you're technically the ghost here. You're the one they should be scared off. Now quit whining and get inside. We'll stay here till you finish your training then I'll have you move else where.'
"Training?" Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion. A chuckle echoed in her head.
'I forgot to mention did i?' the Voice giggled 'I gave you some powers. Which you will need to fulfill your mission.'
"Powers?" Scootaloo asked confused "What powers?"
'More on that later. Now let's settle in.'
Despite the old look the house wasn't half bad. At least they now had a roof over their heads... head... for Rhia it would me more accurate to say neck. They had taken to sitting around a table and Rhia was preparing some peanut butter sandwiches for Scootaloo. The later was lost in thoughts, more questions than answers floating around.
'So here's the deal' the Voice spoke as Rhia gave Scootaloo a sandwich 'Given that you'll be my agent in your world i saw it fit that i grant you some powers. To help you along the way. You see when i brought you back i added a couple of changes, aside from the lack of colors. Now you have some extra abilities in you. Currently they're not activated. I'll gradually activate them one by one as you train so you can learn them easily.'
"What powers are we talking about?" Scootaloo took a bite out of her sandwich. The idea of getting strange new powers from god itself seemed kinda exiting and cool even from her point of view. And she knew cool things when she saw them. At least she used to think that. She also saw a certain pony as cool once upon a time. Now. Now she didn't even know what cool was anymore.
'Well for starters you can go invisible at will. That can help you camouflage and avoid detection in various situations. You can also phase through solid objects like walls and stuff. Helpful with moving around and also to avoid direct attacks. The third ability let's call it shadow walk. You'll be able to use shadows to teleport around. As long as you're under some shadow you'll be able to teleport to any shadow covered area in a radius of five miles. Gives an obvious advantage during night time. Are we clear so far?'
"Yeah, invisible, phase through and shadow thing" Scootaloo said as she swallowed her sandwich. This did seem cool. Being able to go invisible, walk through walls and teleport through shadows, she felt like in a superhero comic.
'Good. Now there's the last ability you have. One particularly for you' Voice chuckled 'You can steal the colors of a pony, killing them in the process'
Silence dominated. Scootaloo just stood there, as if frozen in place. Had it beed dark enough one could easily mistake her for a statue. Did she hear that correctly?
"You're fucking with me, right?" she slowly asked.
'Oh i wish' Voice chuckled 'But no I'm serious. I gave you that power. You can use it by simply touching a pony and will for their lifeforce and colors to come to you. Then you can use their colors on your body when and however you desire. Figured it'd be quite fitting ti how you died and how you get to kill them back in the same way. The rest of your abilities are more to give the ghost aesthetic. This one? This one is the special one.'
"Are you crazy?!" Scootaloo hit her hooves one the table out of anger
'Yes. Maybe a tiny bit. But what if I'm crazy somw of the best folks i know are crazy' it laughed.
"You expect me to do to others what was done to me?!"
'Yes. But not just any others. Specifically the pegasi of the rainbow factory. But for all i care you could kill all of cloudsdale, I don't give a fuck. Besides what is bugging you? I thought you wanted revenge. Don't you want to do to them what they did to you? To your friends? Don't you want the last thing they think about as their colors and life are drained away to be the fact that they did the same to countless other and now they're being done the same?'
Scootaloo paused a bit. She thought about it. It would be fitting. And fair. And strangely enough, poetic. Not that she knew much of poetry. They did it to her. Why shouldn't she do it to them. She raised her hoofs and looked at them. They were practically her weapon now. She could..... do things with them. Take lives. Take colors. She looked over her body. She was still grey. No. She wasn't gray. She was... an empty canvas, waiting to be painted on.
She started giggling. Giggles turned to chuckles. Chuckles turned to laughter. Laughter became more manic with each passing second. Her eyes went wide and pupils dilated. Her laughters were sounding more and more like screams.
"You know" She finally started talking "One thing I've liked about Rainbow Dash is her colors. Her sky blue coat. Her spectral mane so full of different colors. And her eyes." she paused laughing "Her beautiful, rose color eyes. I want her. Her colors. I want them for myself!"
'Well well' Voice sounded impressed 'I'm glad to see you ready for action but i didn't expect you to be giving in to it so easily.'
"Voice" Scootaloo spoke with determination "I've lost my friends. My life. My love. My colors. My identity. I'm literally dead. As you sais I'm just a ghost. I have nothing left to lose. If this is what i must do to give those monsters what they deserve then so be it! So stop wasting time and teach me how to use this powers already!"
'Hahahahahaha. Good! Very good! I love your spirit child. I was wise to choose you. Now then. Let's get started!'
Author's Note
So yeah Scoots has some powers now. And she's mad. Best combo ever.
