ENDING TWO

~So in short, after all that's been said and done here, we find ourselves still lacking information on this topic. The mind itself is such a vast, expansive place where one can easily become lost. It should be noted that one's personal, physical existence is just as important, and can just as easily fall prey to the wiles of every day life.

Accidents can occur. Tragedies do happen. So while you are studying up on the mind, be mindful of the world around you as well.

-An excerpt from the Book of Fillysophical Studies, by: Dr. Rhindquarters

===D.W.===

It was still cold. Through the night, Scootaloo had made her way inside the sleeping bag, but the chill air somehow still crept inside of her very being. She just couldn't seem to get warm. Scoot tossed and turned for what felt like forever until at last she'd fallen asleep.

But even then, her dreams would not let her rest. They were dark, just as malicious as anything she'd come across in the alternate Ponyville. The ground beneath her hooves wouldn't cease shaking, and all around her, the monsters closed in. There was no escape. No way out of their clutches. For what seemed like eternity, the little Pegasus felt the searing pain of the boiling cutie marks against her flanks, could feel the agony of the caged ponies all around her crashing down like a torrential rain. Her underside was raked raw as all around, the bloated fillies left loose their wailing shrieks, her ears and head pounding with the sound. The Staircase Ponies and the wall shadows had come in for their turn too, slashing and rending as she choked on the thick smoke.

When she thought she could take no more, the Hydra reappeared, loosing a wall of fire upon all the creatures. Somehow, Scoot felt that too; as if her entire body was caught in the furnace of the very depths of hell itself. Slowly, the tormented creatures died away, leaving her to once again face down the beast of a monster. Only this time, she couldn't move.

Scoot's body was wracked with injuries, lacerations and burns...her heart and mind broken by the monsters around her. She could only watch in horror as the head bearing the bow came crashing down on her, her hindquarters snapped shut in its jaws. The pain was unlike anything up until that point. She cried out, unable to free herself as she was hoisted helplessly in the air. The other head with the unicorn horn brought itself to bear upon her, flames licking at the sides of its mouth. The monster seemed to grin in satisfaction as its mouth opened. A wall of teeth surrounded her vision as fire hotter than anything she'd ever felt before lie just beyond the tip of her nose.

And the teeth came crashing down.

===D.W.===

Scootaloo bolted awake. Her body was stiff and sore, and her little head ached to high heaven and back. But she was alive. It had been a dream.

It took a moment for her to realize where she was as she gathered her senses to form some kind of coherent picture of the place around her. The old, worn out floors, the soft...comfortable bed. The songs of various kinds of birds chirping in the trees nearby, and the soft thump of a rabbit's foot as the little creature twitched in his bed, sound asleep.

She was in Fluttershy's cottage.

A bit of light shone through the shuttered windows as the little pony made to get up, only to have herself thrown back down into the bed by an agonizing pain from her back. Removing the covers carefully, she found the lower half of her body wrapped in bandages and a partial cast...her legs shockingly without feeling. She poked at the hard mold on them...prodded them. Nothing.

A soft pink maned head poked through the door as Scootaloo left out a wail, realizing her situation in full. Fluttershy entered quietly, knowing that she'd done her best to get the little one to Ponyville General after Pinkie had found her...but there was little help to fix the damage that'd been done in the scooter wreck. All that she could do now was sit by and watch, feeling helpless as the little filly cried her soul out.

"Shhh shh..." She tried as she walked over, putting one arm around Scoot. "There there...it's going to be okay. Don't you worry now."

Scootaloo sniffed back her sorrow, trying to convince herself that this was still a dream. But the tender look on Fluttershy's face; a look that not even the best dream in the world could do justice to...told her the truth.

"What's gonna happen now?" She sobbed, doing her best to talk through the onslaught of misery.

"Well...since we couldn't find your parents, you'll be staying with me for a while." Fluttershy nodded, nuzzling her head softly.

"That's not what I meant. I'm not gonna be able to ride my scooter anymore, am I?"

Scootaloo felt her little heart breaking as Fluttershy's ears lowered, that guilt ridden look striking her delicate muzzle. That didn't make things any better. Why did she have to feel bad over it?

"I...I don't think so, Scootaloo." Was all she said in reply.

"Where's Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom? I wanna see my friends."

Fluttershy nodded, turning towards the door.

"You just relax now, I'll go find them, okay? I'll be right back."

And with that, the mare was gone, leaving Scootaloo alone to her thoughts.

Everything was a mess. She'd survived that horrid, nightmare filled Ponyville, only to come back to this. Paralyzed at the hips. She poked her limp, plaster bound legs again, still unable to feel the small appendages. She felt her sadness suddenly flare into rage.

That stupid black Pegasus. If only he hadn't been standing there. If only she'd never have met him, none of this would've happened. She would've seen that rock. She wouldn't have crashed. She wouldn't have had to endure that horrible place. And...she wouldn't be lying here, feeling so helpless. If she ever got her hooves on that goof...she'd...

Scootaloo picked up the nearest thing she could grab and tossed it across the room. Fortunately for Angel, whom happened to be in the direct line of fire, it had only been a pillow. He scoffed indignantly for having been woken from his midday nap, hopping away haughtily towards the door. Scootaloo's eyes followed him all the way out the door, feeling the sadness set in again.

She couldn't walk. She couldn't run. There'd be no more scooter riding.

Worst of all...

No more crusading.

Scoot felt her heart drop even deeper into her gut as that notion settled in. The tears came flowing back as she fell backwards on top of the remaining pillow.

"Fluttershy, are you here?"

Scoot sat straight up again.

"Oh no..." She mouthed.

"Hey? Is anypony home?"

Rainbow Dash.

'I can't let her see me like this!' Scoot quickly fell to her side and covered herself up, doing her best to look like the missing pillow on the bed as the sound of wing beats carried up the stairs.

"Kiddo? You still here?"

Scoot froze, tucked away under the soft blankets as the door opened. She could hear the cyan pony in the room now, probably searching for Fluttershy or the little filly.

"Fluttershy? Scootaloo? Anyone?"

Wait...Rainbow knew that she was here?

"AHA! Found ya!"

Scootaloo yiped as the covers were ripped off of her, the little pony exposed.

Rainbow Dash looked down, a goofy smile perched on her lips.

"Whatcha doin under there, squirt?"

She couldn't answer her. How could she say she'd been hiding from her hero? Scootaloo just stared up at Rainbow, unable to do anything but lie there half curled up, a few tears still glistening in her fur.

"Hey now...it's not that bad." Rainbow chuckled, wiping one of the wet spots away as she sat down. "Your wings ain't broken, are they?"

Scoot blinked at that, furling and unfurling her wings. No...they were intact. Which meant...

She slowly sat up, looking Rainbow in the eyes.

"Once you learn how to use em, you'll be back to your old tricks. Well...mostly." The older pony gave a light smile, brushing Scootaloo's mane. "So ya can't walk, I know all about it already. But ya know what that means?"

"What's that?" She sniffed.

"Just means that when you DO learn how to fly...you'll be even more awesome. Apparently, according to Twilight anyway...when something happens to a pony and they lose something important, like a leg or an ear or somethin, everything else gets stronger to compensate for it. I think." Rainbow shrugged, a hoof to her chin in thought. "At least, that's what she said."

As Scootaloo sat there listening to Rainbow awkwardly trying to explain, she felt a little glimmer of hope light back up inside. That hope began to burn brighter as Rainbow got up, motioning to her backside.

"Climb on. Your front legs ain't broken, are they?" She chuckled. "We'll just have to find somethin to tie ya down with. That cast they put on ya should be strong enough to handle that. So, whadda ya say? Wanna go for a ride? We can find Fluttershy, and then take you over to Rarity's."

Scoot nodded, doing her best to maneuver herself towards Rainbow. The older pony went about removing the bedsheet from beneath the comforter, wrapping it around her underside before Scoot climbed aboard. The two of them tied it together just tight enough to keep the younger pony from falling off, but not tight enough to hurt her anymore than she was.

"Man, Fluttershy's gonna flip when she sees this...but she can't keep ya cooped up in here forever. You all set?" Rainbow asked, looking over her shoulder. Scoot nodded, and together, they took off out of the Pegasi doors on the upper balcony of the house, gliding easily through the skies of Ponyville.

Scootaloo couldn't believe it. She was finally flying with Rainbow Dash.

Well...sort of.

But it was such a feeling. It was happiness, it was intensity...feeling the wind running through her mane like never before...it was bliss. There was no abyss beneath her this time. No crazy dragon monster out to kill her. Scoot left her wings open, enjoying the breeze that fell across them.

Rainbow did her best to make the ride as smooth as possible. There'd be no shenanigans today as she carried her cargo, spotting a familiar yellow and pink ball of fluff over by Carousel Boutique.

"Hang on, we're coming down." She yelled back. Scoot nodded, holding tight as her pilot brought them down for a decently smooth landing outside of the store.

"Oh my Goodness, What are you Thinking?"

That probably would've sounded a lot more menacing if it had been coming from anyone else. However, Fluttershy wasn't known for her volume.

"The poor kid's been trapped in bed for what, three weeks already? I just thought it was time for her to get out and enjoy some fresh air is all." Rainbow returned.

Three weeks? Had it been that long?

"No, No, No! She needs to go back...how did you two even manage to pull this off?" Okay...there was some edge to that last rebuttal.

"Fluttershy...is anypony here?" Scootaloo asked from her perch.

"Hello? Who's out there?" Rarity's voice echoed out from inside the building. "And why are you arguing in front of my store? So uncivilized...can't you...Oh!"

The white unicorn came to the door, peering out to see the three ponies there.

"My word, what ever is going on here? Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo should be in bed, not gallivanting around!" She glared, obviously upset with the decision.

"Scootaloo's here?! Where?!"

Sweetie Belle came racing out the door, almost bowling her sister over. Her little head swiveled this way and that until finally she found her friend resting on Rainbow Dash's back.

"Scoot! You're okay!" She cried happily, her smile immediately turning into a questioning frown. "What are you doing up there? And where's your Scooter?"

Fluttershy gasped, bolting over to Rarity.

"You mean you didn't tell her yet?" The yellow pony glanced between Rarity and her little sister.

"Whatever for? I didn't want to worry Sweetie Belle over something that wasn't 100% certain...You think that's bad though..." Rarity spoke quietly, just barely audible as she pointed to Sweetie Belle.

Scoot saw Fluttershy's eyes open wide as she quickly put herself between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

"Well, that's enough excitement for one day, I think. Rainbow Dash...come back to my house with me so I can get Scootaloo here back to bed. She needs her rest."

"But why? We just got here, can't she hang out with her friend for a bit?"

"Yeah Fluttershy...can't I talk to Sweetie Belle?"

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash froze that second.

They'd gone and done it.

Even Rarity cringed with a bit of a gasp.

Fluttershy Stared down Rainbow Dash intently, one eye practically bulging out of its socket. It was all Rainbow could do not to crumble under that gaze as she backed away slowly.

"Now." She repeated. Without so much as a reply, Rainbow Dash gently took off, Scootaloo cowering in fear of the yellow mare. Fluttershy took off too, nosing Rainbow back towards her home, Scootaloo tucked tightly against Rainbow's frame. As the three of them left, Rarity and Sweetie Belle stood there, watching on.

"Never thought she'd go That far...to use the Stare on Dash...oh dear that's just not like her." Rarity sighed. "That doesn't bode well. But perhaps its for the better." She nodded quickly. "Come Sweetie Belle, let's get back inside."

Sweetie Belle's ears drooped as she turned around.

"Aww...but I didn't even get to tell her that me and Apple Bloom found our Cutie Marks while she was asleep..." She looked over her shoulder, a bit of a guilty smile upon seeing the simple design on her flank. "I guess I'll just go over later...would that be okay?"

Author's Note

Ending: Bad
Ending Achievement: 2/4

Requirements:
Complete Story Mode on any difficulty on consecutive playthrough.
Do Not Attempt to contact Sweetie Belle through the Mirror in Alternate Ponyville Basement.
Do not take Sweetie Belle's Crusader Cape.

Unlocks: (On Consecutive Playthrough)
Mini-Game - Scoot's New Wheels
Alternate Costume - Wheelchair Scoot (Found in Grannie Smith's Room in Alternate Ponyville)
Chain Crop - A riding crop with three chain links on the end. Found in Sweet Apple Acres Barn in Alternate Ponyville.