The Last Crusades

by Inkwell-Decembere

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure
Length: 3750

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are off on another adventure! But will they make it through this one?

When Scootaloo finds a hidden cave in the Everfree Forest, she decides to explore. Under normal circumstances she would've taken Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, but Sweetie was getting ready for a play and Applebloom had to help her family with the harvest.
But when Applebloom and Sweetie Belle notice that Scootaloo has disappeared, they investigate- and embark on an adventure that could end in two ways, destroy Ponyville, or save it.

-will be fixed-

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-11-26 17:33:08 UTC

Seeking Adventure

"Oh, come on wings! Fly!!" I groaned as my pitiful wings buzzed. "Come on come on come on!!!"

It didn't work. After four or five more tries, I gave up and got on my scooter to head home- if you could call the orphanage home.

As I zipped along the path, I waved to ponies heading home. It was late already, and I still had homework. My private flying lessons were taking me way to long. Somepony cried, "Scootaloo!" and I stopped.

It was Applebloom. "Where ya' headed?"

"Home," I answered, taking my helmet off.

"Can ya help me on mah homework on Saturday? Sweetie Belle is gonna try to come to the tree house so we can all finish our homework together, then maybe to some crusadin'!" Applebloom trotted over, her smile wide.

"That sounds like fun! I can try." I responded casually, fluffing my wings.

"All right, see ya Scootaloo! I better get home before Applejack worries. She says there's gonna be rain tonight, so hurry home!"

I laughed and waved as we parted ways and thunder made Applejack's prediction come true. Thank heavens for my helmet, it kept my mane dry at least. The rain began to fall hard, and I used my leg as well as my wings to go faster.  The orphanage came in sight, and I gave a tiny sigh of relief. I was always worried that by the time I got home from school and practice, I would go 'home' and find the shack in pieces. But it was still standing, and I hurried towards it.

Featherweight greeted me at the door and helped me put my scooter in the secret spot behind some bushes. My scooter was my pride and joy, I made it with my own hooves (and a little help from Featherweight's), and I didn't want it being stolen.

The storm raged around me, and I was almost blown away, if not for the white hoof of my friend grabbing mine and helping me into the door.

"My, you were out late." Said Sugar, the old mare who runs the orphanage, as she used her white magic to dry us off with towels.

"Sorry Miss Sugar, I lost track of the time." I said, hoping she wouldn't pry further.

"I was about to send Featherweight after you. You missed dinner- that shall be your punishment. Now, off to bed, both of you."

Featherweight grinned and gave me a playful shove as we headed up the rickety staircase to the room that me, Featherweight and 6 other ponies shared. The youngest didn't go to school yet, and the oldest had almost enough money saved up to get a home of his own.

"Hey Scootaloo!" squeaked the youngest. The pegasus was still in diapers, a young little filly with yellow hair and a blue coat, with bright gray eyes. I guess the little squirt looked up to me, and sometimes I felt bad for the bad example I set on occasion. She was the main reason I stayed out of trouble. Most of the time.

"Hey there Bluebell. Shouldn't you be in bed?" I gave her a noogie, smiling at her giggles.

"No! Sugar sayed I could stay up 'n wait for you!" The little blue filly said slyly.

"Well, I'm here now. You aughta get in bed now."

"Awwww!!" she pouted, but was already snuggling into her bed, her small body wrapped around a ratty teddy bear. I sighed with the happy memory of me giving that bear to her. I still couldn't believe I used to sleep with a stuffed animal. It was embarrassing. Almost.

"Can you tell us that story about the dragon again tonight Scootaloo?" Bluebell's voice knocked on the door of my thoughts, waking me.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Yeah, tell us about the purple dragon! That one's my favorite!"  The two other young foals were catching on, all sat up, requesting a story.

I blushed. "I'm not that good of a story teller you guys."

They all hopped out of bed and gathered round me, eyes wide.  "Please, please Scootaloo!"

"Yeah, you promised!"

"The one about the purple dragon!"

"All right, all right!" I laughed as all the little foals sat down expectantly. "But you have to get in your beds. And ask the bigger ponies if it's okay."

"Okay, okay!!" Daffodil squeaked, pushing past her twin brother and leaping towards the 3 other ponies. The eldest, Kindly, smiled encouragingly at me while the other two, Basil and Moon Quiver, shrugged their answer. All three of the foals zoomed back to me, trampling each other.

I laughed again. "Slow down, be careful!" I helped them gather their thin blankets and featherless pillows, then we sat down in the corner farthest from the window, where the world outside was howling.

"Once upon a time, in a small country town just like this one, there lived a family with three foals...."

Scooter, Rainboom, and Monster

I awoke with the foals pilled around me, all still snoozing. All of the older ponies were up already, because they had work... "And they didn't wake me up!!" I cried, zooming downstairs and grabbing a piece of toast of the counter.

"I was just coming up to get you darling, but--" Sugar saw I was late, and that I knew I was late. As usual, she just gave me a one hoofed hug and tossed me my backpack.

Then I was getting my scooter out (it was harder without Featherweight), and on my way to the red schoolhouse.

"Late again, Scootaloo?" Cherilee remarked as I tried to sneak into the classroom without being noticed.

"Yes ma'am, I'm sorry." I bowed my head and took out my books.

"Well, try to be on time tomorrow, you disrupt the lesson when you enter the room after 8."

"Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am." Applebloom and Sweetie Belle waved at me, then resumed taking notes. Blast, the quiz was coming up and I missed announcements! I'd have to copy what they wrote down.

Suddenly I heard a whisper behind me. "Late again? Gosh Scootapoo, when will you ever learn?" It was the class bully, Diamond Tiara.

I forced myself to keep my eyes ahead, and counted to ten. I'd been practicing with Sugar. 'Keep your temper,' she always said.

"Hey Scootapoo, pass this ta Diamond Tiara!" It was SilverSpoon and her ugly glasses.

"No, I'm not falling for that again." I said out of the corner of my mouth.

She laughed. "I'm serious! It's important!"

"No!"

"Just do it!"

I grabbed the piece of paper in my mouth, and spat it at the annoying pony behind me. She squealed when the spit hit her as hard as the paper did.

Cherilee's droning stopped and her voice was stern as she asked, "What was that, Diamond Tiara?"

"Scootap- I mean Scootaloo spat a note at me!"

I turned around in my seat giving her my dirtiest glare. "Silver Spoon told me to pass it to you, and I did."

Cherilee looked at the ceiling in annoyance. "No passing notes. How many times do I have to tell you? Now, no more disturbances, there's recess in 30 minutes. Then you can be wild."

Glumly, I listened to a small blue colt reciting a poem, then a white filly with glasses show us how to make apple pie for show and tell. After that was singing time, and only Sweetie Belle excelled at that.

Finally it was recess, and we all rushed outside to eat lunch. I went to get my scooter- but it was gone!

I heard a laugh behind me and scowled. "What did you do with it Diamond?"

Another laugh. "Nothing. And by the way, did you happen to see the note?"

I was surprised. "No, I didn't. I was to busy trying to spit it at your face."

"It was blank!" It was Silver Spoon who was laughing now. "Remind you of anypony?"

Then I laughed. "Yeah, it does. It reminds me of you two." when they looked confused, I carried on, turning to face them. "Your heads are about as empty of brain cells as that paper was of words. Now tell me where my scooter is!"

Silver Spoon grumbled but Diamond Tiara proudly waved into the tree above me. Ah. She knew I couldn't fly.

They both walked away chuckling, leaving me wishing there was some way to get my scooter back.

Thank Celestia for Rainbowdash. I know I bother her, but she heard me calling and got it down for me.

"Just be careful, squirt." she had said, then flown off just as the recess bell rang.

I wasn't in the mood to face everypony again, and Sweetie Belle was a star student, I could copy whatever homework I missed off of her. I jumped on my scooter and zoomed away, towards the place where I practice flying. It wasn't easy to get to, but it was quiet and private. Of course it was private- no one dared to venture into the Everfree Forest besides me, and occasionally Rainbowdash and her friends.

I skidded to a stop, standing before a wall of thorns. I pushed my scooter in first, then followed, keeping my wings pressed against my side. The last thing I wanted was to get stickers in them.

The hedge opened up a little bit, and I let some air out of my chest, then squirmed the rest of the way out. Brushing leaves off me, I put my scooter to the side, and raised both wings. "Well, here goes nothing," I muttered.

Suddenly an explosion rocked the forest, I saw rainbow beams of light shooting off in every direction. Now that they were disturbed, whatever monsters where in the forest awoke. The roars echoed and I backed up quickly, then struggled to get out from under the hedge.

More roars, some close, some far. I had never been in the forest when some huge explosion had woken up every creature that could kill me.

My scooter! I turned around, scratching my coat and getting thorns lodged in my hair, but I didn't pay attention. I burst out of the hedge and grabbed my scooter. Whipping around, eyes wide with fear, I threw my mode of transportation over the hedge, and began to make my way through the bottom again. Once on the other side, I felt safe, but I couldn't find my scooter. I thought the throw had been powerful enough to make it go all the way over, but just then I spotted it.

It was stuck on the top, and I heard beasts just settling down behind the prickles.

I bit my lip, but I really needed that scooter, and so I climbed a tree near it, and began to walk along one of the limbs towards it.

"Strong hedge," I whispered. "I can barely lift that scooter, it's heavier than I am..." My eyes sparkled with an idea. "Maybe... maybe it can hold me!"

I put one hoof down, testing the brambles. Then two, then three. Finally I let go of the branch, and tumbled into the hedge, falling through briars and thorns that ripped open my side and legs.

I fell with a thunk to the ground on the other side, gasping, eyes burning. Why did it always have to be me?

Needless to say, the hedge didn't hold me up.

I tried to get up, but I couldn't, I was scared. Something moved in the now silent forest. I'm sure I had made a racket with that fall. I saw shadows in the trees, and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead even though the sun shown the time was only about noon.

"H-hello?" I whimpered. I could've cursed myself- why did I do that? Now they'll surely come and get me.

The huge shadow moved again, and I cowered against the hedge, to frightened to move.

"P-please d-don't hurt m-me." I whispered, my eyes darting to and fro.

Two eyes blinked open, two red, angry eyes, and I screamed, then leaped into the air, dodging trees and more bushes. I didn't think about the fact that I was heading deeper into enemy territory.

'Well, this got intense really fast,' I thought absentmindedly as I ran like a demon. I could hear something's feet pounding into the ground behind me, or was that just my heart?

Two clawed hands grabbed me off the ground, and I decided, it wasn't my heart.

If only I could fly! If only I could spread my wings and soar! If only... If only I was as cool as Rainbowdash.

Forests Are Dark, Even If the Sun Shines

"So, you haven't seen Scootaloo," I said, wracking my brain of where the orange pegasus would be.

"No, ah thot you knew!" Applebloom sighed.

"No, I don't. Why would I ask you where she was if I knew where she was??"

"Ah, quit yer sqealin', yer as bad as a pig." Applebloom sniffed. "We gotta find her Sweetie Belle! Featherweight said he last saw her git on her scooter and zoom off! Where would she go?"

One look and I knew we both knew- her flying spot! "Why didn't we think of it before?" I cursed as we ran over to the thorny hedge.

"Hey, wut's that up thar?" Applebloom slid to a halt, pointing with her hoof to something that was sticking out of the hedge.

"It's definitely not a thorn," I stared at it, then realization dawned. "It's her scooter! It's Scootaloo's scooter!"

"Yer right! Let's go get it!"

Applebloom squirmed through the hedge and I climbed the tree, noticing something odd about the way it was stuck. "Hey, Applebloom, you notice anything weird?"

"Yes," her voice shook, and suddenly I was worried.

"What is it??" I asked, climbing out over to the hole in the brambles.

"A.. a blood covered orange feather."

"What?!" I almost fell off. "Oh my gosh.. Okay wait, I'm pushing the scooter down and then I'll be right there."

It was easy to shove the wooden scooter down, I only needed one hoof, and once I had climbed back down the tree and gone through the hedge, there was a pale Applebloom staring at some feathers and drops of blood.

"Maybe she just pricked herself on the hedge while getting through?" I swallowed and desperately hoped I was right.

We called for her for what seemed like forever. "Scootaloo!! Scoot, Scootaloo!!" But there never was an answer, except once a huge shadow moved behind the trees. Sighing, we decided that she had gone back home, and that she would be at school tomorrow covered in band-aids because she had gotten thorns stuck in her coat.

But we knew something had happened. Because when we went to see if Scootaloo had gone back to the orphanage during the time we were searching, she wasn't there. We tracked down Rainbowdash and asked her too. No one knew where she went.

"I last saw her when I got her scooter out of a tree," the blue pegasus apologized. "I thought she went home after that. I'll keep an eye out for her."

Heads bowed and feet shuffling, we said our goodbye's as the sun went down, then headed home.

No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't think up a way to excuse Scootaloo from school the next morning.  I said we could pretend she was sick, but Applebloom reminded me that Scootaloo herself had used that lie a few days ago so she could go swimming.  That had been my last idea, and now we walked down the dirt road to the little red schoolhouse, dismayed.

"Hey Sweetie Belle! Hi Applebloom, what're you two up too?" said a tired voice from behind us.

"Nothin' Scootaloo, just tryin' ta think up ways to git yah outta trouble." Applebloom mumbled.

I blinked, then gasped, turning around and pouncing on the orange pegasus.  "Scootaloo! What the- how did you- we thought you were--"

She laughed and blocked my mouth with her hoof, and it was then that I realized she was covered in stained bandages and looked as though she hadn't slept all night.

"What happened ta yah?!" Applebloom voiced my question just as the bell rang ahead of us.

Scootaloo looked at the red building ahead and sighed wearily.  "I'll tell you guys later.  Let's just get school over with."

"So you see, class.  The weather ponies bring the rain, the earth ponies bring the crops, and the unicorns..." Cheerilee drawled on, entertaining only the nerd in the back of the classroom.  Even I thought it was drop dead boring to hear how Equestria's seasons worked.   I guess I was too excited to hear Scootaloo's story.   Finally the recess bell donged, and we were let out for thirty minutes.

"Hey Scootapoo," I heard a prissy voice titter.  "Why are you dressed up? Nightmare Night isn't until October you ninny."

More laughter, and Applebloom and I raced out the door and around the school.  There was Diamond Tiara and her faithful partner Silver Spoon, and there was poor Scootaloo, half asleep and obviously in pain.  Her bandages did remind me of a mummy-mare, but we hadn't meant any harm when we had said it that morning.  These two fillies did.

"I know that," Scootaloo mumbled.  I had never seen her bow down to bullies like that before, and I was shocked.  Scootaloo, letting bullies get the best of her??

"You leave her alone!" I screamed, running to my friend's aid with Applebloom right behind me.  We both glared at the snotty bullies, and they looked back with equal aggravation.

"Oh look, it's the mummy-mare's friends." Silver Spoon grinned.  "Watch out Diamond Tiara, they might want revenge."

Diamond Tiara laughed cruelly.  "There's no need for that, we were just leaving."

Applebloom and I glared at the two fillies until they went back inside.

"Thanks guys." Scootaloo said shakily. "I guess I'm just not feeling myself yet."

"What happened?" I asked, rounding on her. "You acted all...well, not like you."

Applebloom shook her head, her red mane wiping her neck. "Yeah, ya didn't even stan' up ta them!"

"I don't know.  I'm just..sleepy."  The orange pegasus yawned, then blinked, her eyes opening excitedly.  "I forgot, I was going to tell you two about what happened yesterday!"

Applebloom and I leaned forward, eager to hear the story.

"I was in my flying spot and a bunch of crazy stuff happened- there was this monster, and it was huge, it tried to eat me! It chased me way deep in the forest, and.." As Scootaloo wove a crazy story that was only half believeable, I heard the bell ring.  She ignored it, and so did we.   Well, up until Featherweight came out to get us.

"I'll finish later," Scootaloo hissed into my ear, and then we were inside already and facing the prospect of having to spend the entire afternoon not knowing how Scootaloo escaped until tonight.

Apples, Thread and other Random Items

"But Applejack, I tol' Scootaloo an' Sweetie Belle I'd be at the Clubhouse before them!" I whined to my older sister.

"No but's Applebloom- ya gotta git yer jobs done before ya go play." Applejack said around a basket handle.  She and my older brother were moving a bunch of apples into the cellar so we could make some cider for the Cakes baby-shower that was being held in a few days.

"But ah did do mah jobs!" I groaned.  "Those darn pigs jist made a mess of that barn again!"

"Well ya gotta pick it all up again!" My brother, Big MacIntosh said in his own quiet way.  I grumbled all the way back to the barn.  I guess Scootaloo's story would have to wait till tomorrow.

"But Rarity--" I began.

"No but's! I must get this dress done for a very important client from Canterlot- you have to clean up the front room! She'll be here in the morning to pick it up and I'm not even half way done! Besides, it's your mess!"  Rarity's purple curls bounced to and fro as she ran around the room, her magic swirling around needles, threads and cloth.

"But I already cleaned up that room, twice!!" I screamed.  Opal gave a nasty grin, that cat had always hated me.

"I don't have time for your whining- go do it now!"

"It was Opal!"

"Now Sweetie Belle!"

I screamed, "Fine!" then slammed the door, causing her mirror hanging from the wall to fall to the floor and crash.  I ran into the front room and struggled to use my magic, but no pretty glow appeared around my horn, which just made me even more angry.  I had to pick it up all by hoof!

"Stupid cat!" I yelled over and over. "Stupid, stupid cat!"

I guess Scootaloo's story would have to wait until tomorrow.

No one showed up, and I had been waiting at the club house for an hour already.  Finally I wrote the story out, than my plan.  I could barely wait to see their faces as they joined me in my adventure, it was going to be so much fun!

I finished writing, then rolled up the scroll and placed it on the empty table where they were sure to see it.  I knew if I left now I could probably map out where that cave was.  But if I waited for Sweetie Belle and Applebloom it'd be to dark.

So off I went.  My scooter still hadn't been rescued, so I had to walk.  Once inside the forest, my uneasiness began.  The scratches on my coat seemed to burn with apprehension.  I started talking to myself.

"Oh, scared of the dark now, eh Scootaloo? Get a grip!" I mumbled. "You've been in the forest plenty of times!"

I tried to reassure myself, but it just wasn't working.  "Now you're a scared-y pony! Grow up! Since when does the forest frighten you?!"

A small voice in the back of my mind answered my question quietly. 'Since you were attacked by that monster and left to die. That's since when.'

My eye twitched, but I had saddlebags full of necessities to calm me down.  I pulled out a cupcake and ate it whole, but that didn't give me courage, only a stomach-ache.

"Hm," I said, attempting to take my mind of the ever darkening shadows. "It seems I went left here..or, was that right? No, it was straight. Better continue onward!"

A growl echoed from behind me, and I felt fear grabbing my heart in its icy grip.

"Uh, haha..nice to s-see you again..?"