Project Ascensionby TheMythChaptersChapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 11Chapter 3Sorrow was the dominant emotion flowing through Rainbow Dash, as she stood in the library with a fountain of tears flowing out of her eyes. A part of her mind pleaded to her to chase after those two DFS ponies and take Scootaloo away from them, but another part urged her to be responsible and help the filly out in the legal way. Though now her thoughts where misty, as she could still hear the hateful words coming from Scootaloo, words that would forever leave a mark on Rainbow’s heart. She looked at the floor, faintly hearing Twilight talking to Spike. Pinkie had left, having been sent by the pegasus to gather Scootaloo’s things out of the cave so she could hold on to them. As she looked at the floorboards, she couldn’t help but think of one question. “Did I do the right thing?” As she spoke those words, she felt a hoof encircling her neck and saw Twilight next to her. She leaned her head against the unicorn’s shoulder, not caring if her image as a tough pony would be tarnished thanks to this. They were both uncertain as to what needed to be done, as they were also hurt by Scootaloo’s departure. Twilight held onto her for a few moments before clearing her throat, “Rainbow, we will get Scootaloo back. I promise you. Heck, I’ll bet by the time they get to Canterlot that Princess Celestia will have a royal chariot waiting to take her back here, with all the papers you need to sign.” She looked up to Twilight’s face with crestfallen eyes. “You really think so, Twilight?” Twilight nodded with a weak smile, “Yes we will, I had Spike send the letter to Princess Celestia not long ago. She will know what to do.” Rainbow looked to Twilight’s side and saw Spike standing next to his mother, as though he was in need of comfort and security too. Rainbow was surprised to see Spike’s eyes radiating terror, something that she was not accustomed to. She let go of Twilight and moved to where Spike was standing, “Spike? Why do you look so scared?” she asked the drake, lowering her head to meet his eyes. Spike was uncertain how to answer her question, a part of him was concerned for Scootaloo and the other part was beyond scared of those two ponies who took her away. He gulped slightly as his eyes wandered. “I got this bad feeling that those two aren’t what they seem. It’s like they didn’t even care about Scootaloo’s welfare, like they were zombies. And when they looked at me with those eyes, I felt so scared.” he answered her weakly, trembling slightly with his legs shaking. Twilight thought it best to hold him in her hooves until he calmed down, for it was a rare occurrence to see her boy petrified by anypony. Twilight sighed as she held onto Spike, “We just need to wait for Princess Celestia’s reply, only then will we know what to do exactly. Now I suggest we all just sit down and-” The doors of the library burst open and the door slammed hard against the wooden wall of the library, leaving an indentation. The ponies jumped slightly at this, Twilight and Rainbow held defensive positions until they saw who came in running. “Twilight! We got trouble!” It was Applejack, and she was looking rather frazzled. “What’s wrong? Are the cows stampeding again?” “No! Ah saw these two big stallions in these fancy suits takin’ Scootaloo away!” Much to the cowpony’s surprise, the others looked relieved, maybe even a little annoyed. “Relax, those were just two members of the Department of Foal Services. It turns out that Scootaloo was a runaway, they were taking her back to Canterlot...” “Twi, they stomped that poor filly in the stomach!” “...What?” Rainbow Dash asked flatly. Her eyes had widened, her coat seemingly turning grey. “She was hootin’ and hollarin’, so the pony carryin’ her dropped her down and stomped on her stomach as hard as he could! Then they tied her muzzle shut and tossed her in the back of their carriage! Ah think one of them said somethin’ ‘bout killin’ her!” “…What?” Rainbow Dash shouted. She flew up to the cowpony, gripping her shoulders. “Where was this?” “At the west side of town, near our orchards...” In a flash Rainbow Dash was out the door, not waiting for anypony else. “Rainbow, wait!” Twilight called, to no avail. “…These ponies said they were agents?” Applejack asked. Twilight nodded, her mind racing a thousand miles trying to figure out what to do. “They said Scootaloo ran away from a Canterlot orphanage two years ago, so Rainbow Dash brought her here. She was bucking and screaming at going back, but we thought she was just throwing a tantrum… go get the others, and get ready for an overnight trip. Spike, take a letter, we need to send the Princess some more information.” Rainbow Dash was famous for her speed and agility, but with each flap of her wings it felt as though time was purposely slowing down for her. Her inner voice started cursing herself for being fooled by two strangers and not believing the words of her number one fan. In reality, she had always viewed her number one fan as something more than a fan, even more than a friend. She reached her destination to find tracks leading to the exit of Ponyville, where she went to next. To her dismay, the tracks ceased, as though they were wiped away for any pursuers to not track. She started to hyperventilate, turning her head to every direction and flying to any random location. Rainbow could not find anything at all, and to make matters worse, it started raining, the very storm she had set up earlier today. She descended to the ground, and her breathing hastened as the raindrops continued falling down to the soil she was standing on. Rainbow clenched her teeth as more tears were building up in her eyes. She started sniffing as her eyes were closing and her head bending to the ground where she held herself. A myriad of memories flashed across her mind, all relating to Scootaloo, where it ended with Scootaloo pleading to Rainbow not to let them take her away. “Scootaloo!!!!!!!!!!!” As she yelled out her name in anguish, she started sobbing more as the rain mixed with her tears. She heard faint voices coming towards her, but she did not have the strength to look up to who was coming towards her. She felt herself being hoisted upwards by a pair of strong hooves, and briefly opened her eyes to see Applejack’s concerned face looking at her. Applejack proceeded to place Rainbow on her back and secure her there as she started walking. “Come along sugarcube, ya need to git outta the rain before ya git sick. Don’t worry, Rainbow, we’re gonna git Scootaloo back, no matter what.” Applejack assured her friend with determined words, words that had a tone of sincerity to them. Rainbow opened her eyes slightly to see the darkened skies releasing the torrent of rain from the clouds that were floating above her. More images of Scootaloo came to her, some of them were of a joyous pony and some were that of a depressed pony. As her eyelids were closing, she swore she could see Scootaloo smiling to her. “Scootaloo…” she whispered to herself before exhaustion took over her and sent her to the planes of dreams and nightmares. Twilight was always known as a mare of action and planning, but even with this she had no solid idea as to what to do next. She merely gave out orders that lay on the tip of her tongue as soon as she heard what the truth was. Though the reality was more complex for her to figure out, she had no idea who those ponies were, or even why Scootaloo was taken by them. Were they mass murderers looking for a target to slay? Were they foal-nappers looking for a ransom from them? Then a real shiver ran down her spine. Were they sexual offenders and wanted to take advantage of the poor filly? She honestly had no idea, and it was driving her insane. The only thing she could do right now was to come up with a plan on how to locate Scootaloo before any terrible fate could befall her. “Mom?” Twilight perked up, looking at Spike. “Yes, Spike?” “Princess Celestia sent a reply,” he explained handing him a scroll with Celestia’s seal on it. Not wasting a beat, Twilight levitated it up to her face. My most faithful student, I’m afraid I have terrible news to report on your situation. As you had sent your second letter, I had just finished looking into your claim. No orphanage in the area has a file on Scootaloo, or any filly that matches the photo you gave me. After your second letter, I looked up the two agents. I found files on them, in the criminal records. I have sent you profiles on them, which should be attached to this message. Tearing her eyes of the letter, Twilight looked at the profile for the pony who had identified himself as Blue. As it turned out, Blue was the only name the Royal Court knew him by as well. Her eyes ran down his list of offenses, and she felt sick. Kidnapping, assault, suspected homicide... the very thought she had turned a filly over to this stallion made her sick. I will send a few members of the Royal Guard to assist you in searching the area. Keep me informed of when you learn more. Sighing, Twilight looked back at her son. “Have the others been told yet?” “Pinkie came by with all of Scootaloo’s stuff, then ran off to tell Fluttershy and Rarity. Applejack and Rainbow Dash aren’t back yet, though. Rainbow Dash will probably tear Equestria apart before she’d be willing to come home. Well, I better get packed myself… and do some research. Maybe there’s a book on tracking…” Scootaloo had felt the carriage stop. The doors opened, and Black came in. Moments later she was hanging by his mouth again, being brought outside. She saw it. It looked like ruined stone building, like one of the several ruins found in the Everfree Forest, but it filled the little filly with fear. She wasn’t in the Forest, she knew that, but someplace farther away from Ponyville. She began crying heavily. She tried to struggle, but she was tired and sore. Her sobs came out muffled through the gag. She could barely see through her tears. She couldn’t tell if they were inside, or memorize the path Black carried her through. She didn’t notice as she was carried down a flight of steps, into the underground areas that made up most of the building. She did, however, see the cage they were bringing her to. She gave a muffled shriek, renewing her thrashing, but it was in vain. The cage opened, and she was stuck in. She felt heavy metal cuffs clamp around her hind legs. Her restraint belt was removed. It was little comfort, however, because two more cuffs were secured around her forelegs. Finally, a thick metal collar clicked around her neck. Chains from all her binds connected her to the cage. Scootaloo continued to struggle free from this prison she was forced in and yelled out with muffled screams in frustration to her fruitless efforts. “Ever the feisty one, aren’t you? Subject 10?” She felt herself freeze in fear as the cage’s door opened and she could see three figures walking up towards her, all of them looking at her with malicious glee. She immediately recognized the two earth ponies that took her away, Blue and Black. Blue was looking down upon her like she was a mere ant in his presence and Black had a wicked grin upon him like he was about to pounce Scootaloo like a cat. The third presence sent her into a petrification state, as she was beyond scared of this pony. A pegasus with a blood-red coat and blond mane, perfectly styled. A cutie mark of a scalpel decorated his flank. He wore an expression that was hard for the filly to describe. He was looking at her with a sort of pride, though not the kind a parent would give their foal. More like one would give a piece of art they had spent several hours perfecting. This was her jailer, the pony she had spent the last two years running from, Bloodwing. “She appears to be in fine condition,” he spoke to his two colleagues, as he encircled Scootaloo and inspected her body. “Though I see she has a bruise on her stomach.” Black lifted his head with his eyes closed, “Yeah, that was me, she was being bucking annoying and being a downright bitch so I just shut her up.” Bloodwing just stared at him blankly, “Blue, punch him,” he ordered him to do. “Yessir.” Black could not respond early enough, as a hoof collided with his muzzle and he was sent flying against the wall, rubbing his muzzle profoundly to ease the pain ebbing from it. “Buck that hurt! What was that for, sir?!” Bloodwing ignored his cry of surprise as he continued staring at Scootaloo, “You were ordered to bring her back alive, and a bruise to her stomach could have caused complications, you idiot.” Getting back on his feet, Black just glared at his superior with annoyance. Though as soon as Bloodwing’s eyes met his, Black bowed to him apologetically. “My deepest apologies, sir! It won’t happen again!” “Good.” Bloodwing moved towards Scootaloo and decided to remove his muzzle from her mouth to let her breath properly. He proceeded to stroke her cheeks as he let loose a small chuckle, “Welcome home.” Scootaloo just clenched her teeth in hatred, not having any word for this sick pony. “You shouldn’t feel so much hatred towards me, you should share some of that with the ponies who ‘befriended you’. Clear to me that they didn’t really care,” he told her as he smiled wickedly at the helpless filly. He brought a hoof down to her chin and made her look into his eyes. Looking into those pupils, dead of any benevolent emotion, made her sick. “You will bring me to the end of this, where perfection will be accomplished… my pretty.” Scootaloo shivered, causing Bloodwing to chuckle. “We have to look you over, my dear. Who knows what has happened since you left us.” The mad scientist went to a nearby table and picked up a syringe. Immediately strength went back into Scootaloo’s body and she began thrashing against her bonds. “Relax, my dear, it’s not your treatment… that comes later. You have a lot of treatments to catch up with. No, this is just a blood sample.” The pegasus wasn’t calmed. Needles frightened her. She thrashed harder. Blue and Black reached into the cage and held her in place. The collar was removed, causing Scootaloo to start crying. Then she felt it, the needle entered her neck, piercing her skin. She cried. There was little pain, but she still cried. The needle was removed, and the collar was replaced. She barely resisted. She fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. “Now, see, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Bloodwing cooed with a sliminess that took years of practice to get right. “Now, stay there like a good little filly while I run these tests. If you’re good, I’ll take the collar and shackles off… maybe.” Rainbow Dash woke back up as Applejack sat her down at Twilight’s table. A cup of hot tea was waiting for her. She reached for it with and drank the contents slowly, instantly warming her throat and chest with the tea. She felt sick to the stomach, not because any ailment or disease but of her actions she had performed earlier. More memories came back to her and she shook her head in disgust at what she had done, how she had not listened to Scootaloo. How she had betrayed the filly, the filly who had seen her as a hero, and now she was a villain in every way. Applejack looked upon her friend somberly as she was berating herself for what happened. She reached out a hoof to her friend and placed it gently on her shoulder, “Sugarcube, ya’ll need to stop kicking yerself like this. Ya couldn’t possibly know that Scootaloo was-” Rainbow smacked her hoof away from her and glared at Applejack with teary eyes, “No! It was my fault! I should have noticed something was wrong! I’ve never seen Scootaloo act like that ever! I should have done something… I should have…” she couldn’t say another word as she broke down crying. Applejack was shocked to see Rainbow in such a state, it was something that she could not picture her friend to do. Applejack reached out and held her friend in a firm hug, which Rainbow submitted to and cried in Applejack’s shoulders. Applejack patted her friend’s back as she was shaking from the cold and the tears that breached her eyes. “There, there, Rainbow, let it all out now… we will find her.” The door to the room opened slowly and Twilight slowly entered it with three more teacups levitating in front of her. She passed two of them to her friends as one stayed in front of her which she sipped slowly, as her mind was in deep thought. “Rainbow, did Scootaloo tell you anything about who those ponies were?” Drying her eyes a bit. “She… she told me they worked for a mad scientist… Bloodwing, I think. She said he was… he was trying to make an alicorn.” Applejack arched an eyebrow, while Twilight’s eyes opened wide. “Somepony is trying to make an alicorn?” “I know, it sounded like a bad comic book, so I didn’t believe her…” Rainbow Dash started crying again. Twilight sighed. “I’ve received a reply from the Princess, telling me who those ponies were…” “And?” Twilight’s face turned slightly grim before answering, “They are wanted criminals; crimes involving kidnapping, assault and possible murder,” as she finished the last word, she saw Rainbow’s eyes burning with fury and if she was a unicorn, she would have set herself on fire. “Now I’ve been working on a spell to locate them, so it should lead us to where those two have taken Scootaloo. But I suggest we-” “We’re going right now.” Twilight and Applejack looked at Rainbow with a mixed of confusion and worry. “Rainbow, it’s eleven at night, there’s no way we can go out and follow them right now. Besides, we need our rest and you need yours, too,” Twilight tried to reason with her friend, but it proved to be of no avail as Rainbow got off the table and tried to make her way to the exit of the library but was stopped as a lavender aura surrounded her and kept her from moving any further. “I’m sorry Rainbow, but I can’t let you leave this library until its morning.” Rainbow tried to move her limbs, but she couldn’t move any muscle at all. “Twilight, let me go! I need to find Scootaloo!” “Listen, there’s nothing we can do right now. The Royal Guards will be searching the area, and in the morning…” “No!” Rainbow Dash wailed. “Every minute we’re here, they could be hurting Scootaloo! We…” Twilight’s horn glowed. It was like flicking a switch, the pegasus immediately dropped limp. Carefully, Twilight levitated her onto Applejack’s back. “Put her in my guest bed. You better tie her down, I don’t want her flying off the moment she wakes up.” “What’re you gonna be doing?” “I’m going to write the Princess and tell her about this Bloodwing pony, see what we can find out before tomorrow. Be ready to be out all day tomorrow, we are going to find Scootaloo.” Scootaloo laid in her cage, her legs chafing from her binds. She almost wished she was back in the restraint belt, at least that was comfortable. She heard the doors open again, and she flinched. Bloodwing was back, with Black and Blue at his sides. “Good news, my dear, you’re as healthy as ever. So that means we can continue your treatments!” There was only a moment of silence before the chains rattled. Scootaloo scooted back to the end of the cage, hoping she could somehow pass through. The locks opened, and she was pulled back forward. The collar came off, and the tears started again. “Don’t worry, this will only hurt a little… but the rest, may be quite excruciating.” he said the last word with sick humour, as he pierced her skin with another syringe and injected her with a glowing purple liquid. She was squirming in fear as to what he was putting in her, but she could hardly move thanks to being held down by two other ponies. Once the syringe was removed from her skin, she felt immense pain all over her body, like her very blood was on fire. Her forehead felt like it was going to split in two, and her wings felt as if they were being stretched and pulled right off her body. The two earth ponies let her go and watched her squirm on the ground in severe agony. Black let out a gasp as he saw what was happening to her and Blue’s eyes slightly dilated at what he was seeing. “Sir, what exactly did you put in her?” Blue asked Bloodwing, who was merely smiling at the filly’s struggle. Bloodwing shrugged and grinned, “Let’s just say, nature takes too slow… so I just speeded things up with her. That’s all.” Scootaloo felt another surge of pain in her wings as though they were being ripped by a manticore. A stream of tears escaped her eyes as she could not do anything to quell the pain in anyway and starting shaking on the ground for what seemed like hours, but was in reality only a few minutes. Bloodwing snickered at this and held a triumphant smile on his face, “This is going better than expected. Soon we will be able to move onto stage three of the project, my good followers.” Black raised his eyes and had a nervous expression on his face as he absorbed the information, “Sir, are you meaning you will be-” “Yes.” “And then we will-” “Indeed.” Black’s nervous smile slowly turned into a wide grin of excitement as he let out a mighty laugh, cheering at his senior’s words. Blue was remaining stoic at these words and just stared on at the filly before him, before stomping his hoof to get Black and Bloodwing’s attention. “Sir, I think it is completed.” he stated to his superior, pointing his hoof to Scootaloo’s body who was still conscious and tear-stricken. Bloodwing moved forward and lifted her head with his hoof to inspect it thoroughly and then proceeded to inspect Scootaloo’s wings. He smiled even wider than before and looked back at Blue, “Get me a mirror, please.” “Yes Sir.” Once Blue returned with a mirror in his mouth, Bloodwing took it and placed it in front of Scootaloo’s face. “Look at what we did for you, my pretty~” Scootaloo looked into the mirror as best she could. Her tears were hard to see through, and she couldn’t notice any change right away. “It’s your wings. They’re just the right size for a pony your age. You’re a little more complete. And look what else!” She squinted, but it was hard to see. Then, she noticed it. It was a bump on her forehead, not very big but noticeable. “A horn! You’re growing a horn!” Bloodwing cheered. ”Your strength might have gone up too! The powers of all three races! Oh, you beautiful specimen, you!” He stroked her hair. She cringed at the contact. “…Just let me go,” she said. Her voice was raspy from the constant screaming and crying of the last few hours. “I’ll do no such thing. I created you, you’re my little pony. My wonderful creation. You belong to me. That’s why you’re all chained up, you need to learn your place, you naughty little filly.” “…I want to go home!” she cried. “I want Rainbow Dash!” “This is home,” he said bluntly. “And Rainbow Dash doesn't want you. She gave you back to me, remember? Now why don’t you get some rest? Once you've rested up, we need to test the newfound abilities!” The collar was reapplied, the sickening click of it locking ringing in Scootaloo’s ears. The cage was closed again, and the filly collapsed to the floor, crying again. Hoofsteps sounded as Bloodwing and his lackeys walked away, leaving the filly with her tears. “Rainbow Dash… please… help me!” Chapter 4Rainbow... please... help me!” Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot open at lightning speed as she heard the words in her head. She could have sworn that they were Scootaloo’s, and could only dread to think of what the poor filly was going through now. She felt her body being bound together by something, not by magic but rather by rope. She looked around the room and saw nopony around, thinking they were likely still asleep in their beds. She was fortunate to know how to break free from rope such as this, as this was not the first time that she was tied up. After a few minutes of struggling, she was free from the rope and got off the bed silently. She looked out the window and saw the sun slowly creep up from the horizon and heard the rooster’s call, signalling the start of a new day. Rainbow just wanted to fly to her house first, get her saddle bag with food and survival gear, then fly off to find Scootaloo but she heard the door open and saw her orange earth pony friend entering with a blank expression. “Mornin’, sugarcube. How ya feeling?” she asked Rainbow, knowing all too well what her friend’s answer was going to be Rainbow merely snorted at this, “Let’s see, Scootaloo got abducted by some creeps, we don’t know where to go look for her, I’ve been forced to sleep tied down by a rope... I feel absolutely bucking great,” she answered sarcastically to Applejack, who just frowned at this. Applejack just shook her head and walked over to her friend to hold onto her, “Rainbow, you gotta listen to me... it wasn’t yer fault.” “It was, Applejack.” “No, Rainbow.. it wasn’t yer fault.” Rainbow sniffed slightly and pushed her away, “D-don’t do this to me!” she stammered to Applejack, who smiled weakly. “It wasn’t yer fault.” “Don’t bucking do this to me, Applejack! Not you, of all ponies!” she warned her friend, hot tears cascading from her eyes. “Rainbow Dash, it wasn’t yer fault.” Rainbow was soon swept from her rage as she felt her friend pull her in once more. Her stubborn courage broke soon enough and she simply returned the hug, pressing herself into her dependable friend’s shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably and apologizing. Not to Applejack, but rather to the filly she failed in the end. Applejack just stood there as a pillar of support for her broken friend. In reality, she was scared of those two ponies and what they were going to do to Scootaloo. Though she knew one thing; she needed to be there for Rainbow Dash, the once strong pony now reduced to a wounded mare. “Come on, sugar, Twi’s waitin’ right downstairs with the others. We’re gonna find Scootaloo today, and she’ll be safe and sound with you by bedtime, Ah’m sure of it.” Scootaloo dimly noted when Blue and Black returned. The cage was opened, and the cuffs around her legs were undone. The chain connected to the collar was unhooked from the cage, and Black tugged on it. “Come on,” Blue ordered. “It’s testing time.” When the filly didn’t move right away, Black yanked the chain harder. Scootaloo was pulled out of the cage, gagging and hoofing at her throat. “Go.” Blue ordered coldly. Scootaloo’s legs obeyed, though her mind was screaming to try and run but she neither had the strength or will to do so. Black led her, occasionally tugging at her leash in an attempt to get her to hurry up. She was led into another room with what appeared to be a staircase that led to no particular location and a few large cubes. Bloodwing was there, smiling. “Hello, my dear. It’s about time we began. First, we’re going to test those wings of yours.” She was led to the foot of the stairs, where her collar was removed. “Climb up there.” Scootaloo peered up the long flight, afraid to move. After a pause, Bloodwing nodded to Black. Grinning sadistically, the earth pony picked up a switch laying on a nearby table and marched over to Scootaloo. With a mighty swing he brought it down on the child’s flank with an audible whip. “Aaah!” Scootaloo shouted, crying again but her tears were not heeded. “Up!” Sobbing, Scootaloo obeyed, slowly climbing up the flight of stairs. When she reached the top, she nervously peered over the edge, and was surprised to see some safety cushions resting on the bottom. “Recite the rules of flying I taught you before you left,” Bloodwing ordered. She remembered. She gave them both a glare as she stood on the top, with her wings ruffling slightly as she closed her eyes slowly and remembering the two facts on flying.. “Flap at rhythm, tilt to airflow.” Bloodwing nodded as he hummed, “Good... now do so for me, my pretty~” Scootaloo looked down on him with absolute disgust but reluctantly agreed. She jumped off the platform with her wings flapping, but she fell to the ground with a yelp escaping her mouth. As she landed on the cushions, she felt more pain on her back as she was given another strike by Black. The pain stung and she was pulled back on her hooves. “He said fly, not fall! Now get up there again!” Scootaloo’s lips quivered as her eyes were locked onto the platform as she made her way up to it again. This time, she jumped off the platform but kept her wings in position, gliding slowly downwards to the ground. Once she felt her hooves reach the floor, she felt a slight moment of joy at her first successful glide but that feeling was soon replaced by depression as her first glide was perverted by these sick ponies’ motives. Black marched towards her with the switch at ready, “He said fly and you just glide, you little-!” “Enough!” Black turned his head sharply and saw Bloodwing glare at him with murderous eyes, making Black freeze in position, fearing for his life. “She has made progress now, and thus she deserves a reward~,” he said as he walked past the confused earth pony, holding another syringe. Scootaloo tried to back away but she was soon pierced by the metal object, and felt the liquid entering her body. Instead of agony, she felt pain being soothed and her body began to relax with each passing second. “A pain killer. You must have been through so much~,” he cooed to Scootaloo, as he reached his hoof to her chin to raise her head. “Don’t you worry none for once this project is done... You will be a pure goddess~.” Scootaloo became petrified by his eyes, oddly red, like his fur. The eyes looked at her with a mixture of pleasure and murderous intent. She slowly closed her eyes and wished for Rainbow to come and save her. Bloodwing sighed as he left her side, ruffling his feathers slightly. “Now, back up the ladder, my dear, and we’ll try again. Black, if you will?” “Yessir,” Black answered his master as he grabbed the filly, pulling Scootaloo towards him. “You hear that? We’re gonna have so much fun~,” he sneered at her, as Scootaloo growled at the earth pony before her. Twilight’s library had never been so crowded this early in the morning, but every Bearer of an Element of Harmony was present, as well as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, wanting to know where their friend had gone. Each had saddlebags packed with the essentials, and in Rarity’s case, some not-so-essentials. “It’s the middle of summer, I doubt you’re going to need a cashmere scarf,” Twilight complained. “There’s no telling where those two brutes have taken the poor dear, and I want to be prepared.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fine, but if that load slows you down you better be ready to toss them on the side of the road.” “Are you crazy! These are top of the line!” “There’s a filly’s life at stake, you can afford to lose it.” “Well, I suppose... oh, good morning, Rainbow Dash.” Hearing this, Twilight immediately summoned a shield around herself, which was good, because seconds later a hoof bounced off of it. “You put me to sleep?” Rainbow Dash yelled angrily. “We lost a full night!” “A night we wouldn’t have been able to do anything on anyway. It was raining and dark, my spell can only work...” “We still could have done something, anything!” Most of the ponies immediately backed away, but Twilight held her ground. “Rainbow, please. I know you're anxious to get Scootaloo back, I’d feel the same if it were Spike being caught, but you need to think about this logically; if we had gone out last night, we would have been out in the rain and cold. My spell would have barely been effective, meaning we would have been running around accomplishing nothing. And on the off change that we caught up with Black and Blue, we wouldn’t have been in any shape to take them on, and we knew nothing about this Bloodwing... until now.” The cyan pegasus actually calmed down. “What do you mean?” Twilight lowered her shield. “I received a reply from the Princess.” My most faithful student, I do, in fact, recognize the name. Bloodwing used to work as an instructor in my School for Gifted Unicorns. You might have seen him a few times during your early days as my student. He was a brilliant pony, but he was quite unethical in his practices. When Spike hatched, he asked for a chance to examine him more intrusively, which I refused. Then, one day while you were in class, I caught him trying to take a few scales off of him. I fired him, but I never told you of the incident because I feared it would only worry you. That was the last I heard of him. I’ve never known Bloodwing to be particularly dangerous, but before Spike he also asked for permission in other experiments. He wanted to try and make life. I rejected it on moral principles alone, but he is no longer distressed by that, so it’s possible he succeeded. I will not try and stop you if you chase after him, though please keep a tracer spell on yourself at all times. I’ve also sent my permissions to the Royal Guard to give you free reign in your quest. Good luck, my most faithful student. Princess Celestia As Twilight looked up from the the scroll that she was reading, she saw Rainbow Dash’s face bearing the deepest fury she had ever seen her friend muster. Rainbow Dash snatched the scroll from Twilight, reading it herself before slamming it hard on the floor and stomping her hoof down with enough power to crack the wood. “If that mother-bucker does anything to Scootaloo he’s gonna wish he was Tartarus!” she yelled as she stared down at the tarnished letter. The ponies in the room were startled to see Rainbow Dash become so angry in an instant, but Twilight could sympathise with her in this matter. Had it been Spike instead of Scootaloo, she too would have done anything to get him back and destroy those who harmed her son. “Rainbow, he is not going to get away with this. I assure you,” she told her friend, who calmed down slightly as her frown was slowly disappearing from her face. Rarity decided to intervene. “Darling, we will get Scootaloo back and those ruffians will see justice for harming the poor filly,” she assured Rainbow Dash who let out a sigh to calm herself further. “Rarity’s right, sugarcube. Though ya musn’t jump the wagon and do somethin’ foalish now like what ya tried last night. We gonna do this together and we’re not gonna let those varmints get away with hurtin’ Scootaloo,” Applejack spoke as she joined Twilight and Rarity’s side. “Please don’t be mad at yourself, Rainbow, I’m sure that as soon we find Scootaloo and return her home, everything will be back to normal,” Fluttershy whispered softly to her friend, though her mind was in a tangle of fear of what those ponies did to Scootaloo. Pinkie popped up in front of Rainbow, causing her to jump backwards. “That’s right! Once Scootaloo is back, we’re gonna throw her the biggest party ever! ‘We’re sorry Scootaloo’... no wait! ‘Welcome Home Scootaloo!’ Or nonononono! How about...” As Pinkie continued babbling on with potential party name ideas, Rainbow could not help but let loose a small smile on her muzzle. She was fortunate to have friends like these in her life, friends she who knew would always have her back. She also knew that she needed to stop wallowing in guilt at what had happened and she was now determined to find Scootaloo, bring her home and set things right. Rainbow lunged herself to her five friend, as she held them all in a group hug. The five ponies shocked expressions turned to one of care as they held onto to Rainbow Dash. “You girls are the best.” Rainbow said. They were simple words but those words were all that were needed to express her gratitude. Rainbow and the others let go of each other and Twilight faced her friends, “Now, before we go girls, we need to do an inventory check on our equipment before we go. Once everypony is ready, we make for the exit and beyond.” “Ya got it, Twilight.” “Eep! Y-yes.” “Okie dokie lokie!” “Of course, Darling.” Twilight and the others turned their heads to Rainbow, “And you, Dash?” Twilight asked her innocently. A look of pure determination crawled onto Rainbow Dash’s face as she looked up, “One hundred and twenty percent Twilight! We’re gonna make them pay and get Scoots back!” she held her hoof high, which the others tapped together. Twilight walked back to her saddle bag and pulled out a check list, levitating each item she had in her saddlebag. As she was checking them, in the corner of her eye, she saw Spike packing his own bag. Her eyebrows arched in confusion and she lowered her quill and moved towards her son. “Spike?” she called out to him as he turned towards her. “What are you doing?” Spike looked at her with a smile, “Packing my bags... I’m gonna come with you, Mom.” he answered her, though she was a bit shocked to hear this. “Absolutely not!” she snapped at him. He recoiled slightly with a look of fear in his eyes. She regretted yelling at him and held him in her embrace. “Spike, you are my son. I don’t know what’s going to happen once we find Scootaloo, I don’t even know if we are going to be alright. I need you to stay here at the library until this is all over, here where you’re safe... understand?” she told Spike, who looked down at the ground sadly. “Yes, mom,” he answered Twilight, who proceeded to lay a gentle kiss on his forehead as she held onto him. “I love you, Spike.” Spike could not help but hug his mother in return as she nuzzled him affectionately, “I love you too, mom.” “What’s this?” Rarity said, levitating up a piece of parchment sitting on the top of Spike’s bag. Looking at the writing, she read out loud. “The brave knight charged forward at the vicious manticore, his sword raised high...” Spike snatched the paper away. “It’s...it’s just a little something I’m working on!” He was blushing. Twilight smiled. “You should really let others read what you’ve written, Spike, they’re very good.” Spike just wrung his tail awkwardly. “What about us?” Sweetie protested. “Scootaloo’s our friend!” Rarity shot the little fillies a look of pure anger. “No, I’m not letting that brute get another foal, especially my sister!” “That’s right,” Applejack nodded. “Ya two best stay right here.” “But-” both foals protested, but their older sister’s glares silenced them. Twilight nodded. “Good. Now then, I got a carriage to carry our things in. Applejack, you need to lead us back to the area where Blue and Black were last seen...” Spike watches as the older mares walked out the door before returning to his packing. “What’re you doing?” Apple Bloom asked. “Finishing packing.” “But Twilight just said you couldn’t come,” Sweetie reminded. Spike just gave a sly smile. “My mom worries too much sometimes, and she does stupid things when she does. So, whenever she worries, I just do the best thing. I don’t listen to her.” The two foals looked at each other. They looked back at the dragon with their own grins. “That’s a good idea.” Scootaloo was beginning to wonder if she died and went straight to some realm of agony and torture. For what seemed to be an eternity, she was learning how to fly. Every time she failed to perform to Bloodwing’s standards, she was whipped by Black, then injected with pain relievers by the mad scientist. When Bloodwing decided that she had learned enough, her collar was replaced and she was led to another room. Here, she was forced to buck several objects, starting with wooden boards that split in half and ending with metal that dented to their liking. Her legs felt like breaking with each buck she was forced to do, and even though she was able to leave a few dents her legs were swollen and showed signs of bruises. Still she never slowed, every hesitation meant another lash. By now red gashes were forming on her flank and back. And since it didn’t require her to maneuver as much as it did when flying, the collar wasn’t removed. “It seems that progress is ahead of schedule; her flight has improved by seventy percent at best, though of course since it is her first day having such marvelous wings there will be some bumps along the way, yes~,” Bloodwing muttered to himself as he was holding a notepad with his wings and walked towards the next room with Black and Scootaloo behind him. “Also her strength seems to have increased as the formula has introduced muscle growth to her legs, though not on par with an earth pony’s. Further testing is required, yes~.” Scootaloo was glaring at him with even more hatred than before. Though her glaring ceased when they entered the next room and she saw a podium which held a single glass of water. She was wondering what this was for, but she felt her throat becoming parched from not having anything to eat or drink in the time she was there. Bloodwing walked over to the glass. “Now, my precious... move this little glass towards you.” he instructed her, the order confused her. “With your magic ,silly. And if you get it right... you can have a drink of water~.” Scootaloo was dumbfounded, as she had never been able to perform magic. Though now she had a horn, which was forced upon her by these ponies. She looked at Bloodwing with a frightened gaze, “I... I don’t know how to use magic,” she pleaded, though she was whipped again by Black. “Now, now, Black... she just needs to learn that’s all,” he told him plainly as Black chuckled at the pony’s pain. “Now, my pretty, with magic, all you need to do is imagine you reaching out for the glass and dragging it towards you. Magic is just an extension of your limbs, but also the ability to perform great feats, yes~” he laughed with his mouth closed as he closed his eyes. “Now come along dear, we haven’t got all day now~”. As she looked at the glass before her, she remembered how Twilight would concentrate at a book and move it towards her. Concentration, that’s the one thing she needed most right now, so she looked at the glass intently. To her surprise it glowed in an orange aura, which made her happy for the moment. Though as soon as she smiled, the glass ricocheted across the room and smashed into tiny pieces. Black started moving toward her with the switch, but Bloodwing stopped him. The mad scientist produced another glass of water. Much to everypony’s surprise, he brought it to Scootaloo’s lips and let her drink. “There there, you did manage to lift it after all,” he said with a surprising amount of gentleness. Was it real or fake? She didn’t even know anymore. The water hurt her raw throat, but she gulped it down greedily. It was plain tap water, but it tasted so heavenly. Once the glass was empty, Bloodwing poured another and sat it on the podium. She wanted to beg for more, but fear of the switch kept her silent. “Now then, levitate again.” Sighing, Scootaloo focused with all her might. Her horn flickered a bit, sending out sparks. The cup started to shake, wobbling where it stood. Scootaloo was becoming rather tired from excessive use of magic, which she only used for the first time today. When the sparks ceased, she started sweat profoundly and breathing became slightly difficult for her. She could not explain it, but the feeling of using magic drained her stamina faster than running or flying would ever do. She closed her eyes slightly to relax and try again, but shot them open when she heard the stomping of hooves coming towards her. When she looked up, she felt a searing pain coming from her chest as Black decided to buck her right there. She flew across the room and collided with the wall with a thud, collapsing to the ground and coughing out blood spatters. “This filly is starting to piss me off!” Black growled at the helpless Scootaloo, though Bloodwing’s calm exterior turned to one of panic. “Oh no!” he yelled out to his subordinate, “You idiot! What did you do that for?!” Black turned towards Bloodwing, smiling smugly. “Teaching this foal a lesson, what else?” Scootaloo felt a sudden force of rage flowing throughout her whole body, as she shot opened her eyes and stood up from the ground glaring daggers at the startled earth pony. Bloodwing became frightened by her stance and turned towards Blue. “Blue! Restrain her before-” Before he could finish his words, there was a loud bang as the room was filled with an orange light. All three of the ponies were sent flying to the other side of the room where they were immediately unconscious as their bodies slammed against certain objects in the room they were standing. Scootaloo was burning with rage quite literally, recalling a time where Twilight burst into flames out of pure anger and frustration. The moment she calmed down, she blinked her eyes and looked across the room, confusion overriding her senses as she tried to understand what just happened. She saw the three ponies and carefully walked towards them, fearing they may jump at her any moment. She saw a key attached to Black and proceeded to rip it off his neck with great force and used it to remove her collar around her neck. When she got it off, she held it in her hoof and started to tear up slightly. She looked down on the fallen Black and clenched her teeth in disgust of this pony, and threw the collar against his head with all her might. Scootaloo saw the door and immediately ran, where she entered another room with a window. She used her wings to gain momentum and jumped out of the window, though before she reached it she was covered in a coat of magic energy. Smashing it and gaining a few cuts from the shards, she tumbled on the ground and immediately got up to view her surroundings. She could not see Ponyville anywhere, but she did see Canterlot in the distance. Scootaloo immediately galloped towards the city, hoping against all odds that Princess Celestia would help her out. Maybe even Rainbow Dash would be there, looking for her... Chapter 5Twilight’s horn lit up as she cast her spell. “Now that the rain has cleared up, this spell should work correctly,” she explained. “Those two agents left a few mane hairs behind, and that should help us track them down.” “And why wouldn’t it have worked last night?” Rainbow Dash asked demandingly, still unhappy towards the fact that the rescue was delayed. “Just watch,” Twilight assured. Her magic flowed into a few hairs she had placed into a plastic bag. The magic swirled around, and then a bright flash sounded. When it cleared, the bag had become a bright orb of light, floating above the six mares, shining brightly. After a moment, it began moving forward at a decent pace. “Follow it. If we lose it, I can’t cast the spell again,” Twilight said in a hurried tone. The ponies obeyed, with Applejack and Pinkie Pie pulling a carriage behind them. The orb wasn’t moving too quickly, but it still required them to keep up at a brisk pace. “All that water last night could have interfered with the spell. In fact, it’s best nothing touches the orb at all. This spell is delicate, a lot can go wrong with it.” “I still say we should have gone out looking last night!” Rainbow Dash shouted to Twilight as she was hovering before the company, who could not see the frown etched onto their cyan friend’s face. “Hey, Twi,” Applejack called. “You sure we’re gonna need a carriage for this?” “We don’t know what Bloodwing is going to do to...” Twilight trailed off and looked at the cyan pegasus, who looked as if she had been slapped. “We... we better have a way to carry her if she’s... really hurt.” Applejack just nodded. There was silence. Nopony felt like talking. “H... how far away do you think they are?” Pinkie asked at last. “No clue,” Twilight admitted. “Scootaloo would probably want to keep as far away from Bloodwing as possible, but he could have relocated in two years. Still, if it had been that far away I doubt that Blue and Black got far in the rain last night.” “Well when we find them, I’m gonna send them flying to the sun!” Rainbow crudely said, pounding her hooves together as the memories of the two ponies came back to her. “Ooh! Ooh! We can throw a ‘Welcome Home Party!’ and then we can throw a ‘Happy Adoption Party and...” “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Twilight said. “We still have a long way to go.” She looked towards where the orb was headed. “And it looks like we’re heading into the Everfree Forest...” Exhaustion was one the many factors influencing Scootaloo’s body, along with sheer will and desperation. She had no idea on how far she had travelled into the Everfree Forest, nor did she have a clue on how far away she was from Canterlot. All that mattered to her was to get there as fast as possible, regardless of her body pleading for rest or food. After what may have been an hour, her stomach let loose a carnivorous growl and memories of her last meal entered her fragile mind. “I guess I’ll just have to ignore it for now...” she thought to herself as she progressed further into the enigma that was the Everfree Forest. Though her stomach did continue to rumble even louder than it had before. She looked around the forest floor to see if there was anything worthy of scavenging, but failed to notice anything within her sight, which was slowly becoming nothing but mist and haze from the constant tiring fatigue. Her body began to long for some rest, some sleep to ready herself for the journey ahead. “No! I’m not gonna sleep! I won’t!” The more she persisted, the harsher the pain in her legs became. Strangely, her wings were not affected by the agony that was coursing through her body. She stared back at the feathery masses on her back, ruffling them softly, wondering to herself if she could use them to hasten her pace. She turned to look forward, and reared herself in position. She jumped and galloped around frantically, flapping her wings as hard as she could. Small torrents of air started to form beneath her. She could feel the gusts of wind hitting her face as she went along. She moved around like a young inexperienced pegasus filly would on it’s first flying lesson. She suddenly felt her body being lifted upwards, but her eyes were closed from the wind. By the time that she opened them, she was already soaring high in the sky, the ground lying far beneath her. She could see the forest’s trees and the muck on the ground, more importantly she saw Canterlot in the distance. Her instinct kicked in and she flew towards the city. But not for long. Just moments later she felt herself descending. She desperately flapped her wings around in a torrent of feathers, but the ground seemed to come towards her at an increasing speed. She winced as her already sore, aching legs landed on the ground roughly. Tears escaped her eyes as she fought the pain. No matter how unpleasant this was, it was paradise compared to what awaited if Bloodwing caught up to her. Moaning, she picked herself up and kept moving forward. As she moved forward, memories of her last encounter with Rainbow Dash filled her mind, memories that were as painful as her body was sore. “I don’t idolize you anymore, Rainbow Crash!” “You’re giving me to him! I can’t trust you! You won’t protect me!” “I don’t want to see you again! You gave me back to them!” “I hate you!” Scootaloo was speechless for a moment before she lifted her hoof to her eyes and noticed that she was crying tears of regret. Regret for saying those hateful words to her mentor, even if she did mess it up, she wanted to help Scootaloo out in the end. Scootaloo closed her eyes slowly before opening them up again and releasing a stream of tears. “I’m so sorry...” Rainbow Dash felt a sudden sting in her heart and she clutched her hooves to her chest, groaning slightly with the others taking notice. She felt a stream of tears flowing out of her eyes and wondered what this meant. “Dash?” Applejack asked. “Ya okay?” “I... I don’t know,” she sighed. Rarity put a foreleg around her. “We’ll get her back, darling, I’m sure.” Somehow, Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to be assured. Meanwhile, in the back of the carriage, Spike, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle sat in silence, not wanting the adults to hear them , the only light emanating from a dying candle, just enough to illuminate their faces. “How much longer do ya think we have to wait?” Apple Bloom asked. “You heard my mom, it could take all day,” Spike reminded them. “Aw shoot, we’re missin’ a full day of crusadin’ here.” “It wouldn’t have been the same without Scootaloo anyway,” Sweetie said sadly. There was another silence before Sweetie spoke. “Hey, Spike? What was that my sister read at the library?” Even in the darkness, Spike’s blush was clear. “It’s... nothing...” “It sure didn’t seem like nothing,” Sweetie said, grinning playfully. Spike played with his tail a bit, looking flustered. “It’s just... after that whole incident with Rainbow Dash reading Daring Do, I asked what the big deal was about those books, I said anyone could write one, and Mom told me to prove it. So I wrote a story, and my mom said it was pretty good for my first time, so I just kind of... kept writing.” “Writin’...” Apple Bloom brightened up. “That’d be a great cutie mark!” Spike and Sweetie quickly shushed her. “We don’t want the others to know we’re in here!” Spike reminded them. “Sorry!” Apple Bloom whispered in return, “Ah’m just real worried fer Scootaloo... Ah mean, why did them ponies take her away in the first place? Ah ask Applejack about it, but she won’t talk none.” Sweetie hung her head low, “I asked Rarity too, but she says we didn’t need to know.” Apple Bloom shook her in frustration, “Pony-feathers! She’s our friend, of course we need to know what them ponies want with her and what they gonna do with her.” Sweetie and Apple Bloom looked to Spike, who was looking upwards as he let out a sigh, “Well... from what I gathered, they wanna do some experiments on Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom was about to shout before Sweetie stuffed her hoof in her mouth, “What do you mean? Experiment?” Sweetie asked Spike, whose eyes showed deep concern. Black moaned as he regained consciousness. He sat up, his head feeling like it had been split in two. Groaning, he rose to his hooves. Immediately, there was a sharp sting at his back, sending him back down to the ground. A swift kick at his gut silenced him, if only because it knocked the air out of him. Blue was his assailant, holding a whip in his mouth and looking at him with the same neutral expression that he always had. Bloodwing, who was right behind him, his face etched with rage. “Do you realize what you’ve cost us?! Subject Ten is missing! again!” Black rubbed the back of his head in an attempt to soothe the pain. “How long have I been out?” “Nearly an hour!” Bloodwing yelled. “Well, a filly that small couldn’t have gotten far...” Black recieved another lash, eliciting a groan of agony from the stallion “Don’t you remember that Rainbow Dash was going to ask for custody of her?” Bloodwing reminded. “You told me so yourself! Those mares, one of whom is the Princess’s designate, are probably scouring Everfree now looking for her!” “W-we can get her back,” Black said nervously. “You best,” Bloodwing growled. “That subject is not expendable. You, however, are!” Black gulped. “Now then, Canterlot Castle can be seen from here. In all likelihood, she will head in that direction. At any rate, I say it’s time we moved our operations back to the home lab with how powerful Subject Ten has become. I’ll fly on ahead and tell the boys to get everything ready. You search the forest and bring the subject back.” By now noon had rolled in, and the Bearers of the Elements were having a harder and harder time to fight the allure of sleep. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, used to extraneous work, were still fine, but the others were beginning to slow the signs of fatigue. “Ah think we need to take a break fer at least twenty minutes,” Applejack suggested, but was met with a rebuttal from Rainbow. “We can’t stop now! We got a long way to go and-” “Ah don’t need no rest Rainbow, but the others do!” Applejack retorted to her friend as she pointed her hoof to the others, who were panting and sweating profoundly as their legs gave in to the pressure, causing them to fall on their stomachs. Rainbow let out a sigh and decided to rest up high in a tree, but she could not get her eyes to close. “My back!” Rarity yelled out as she rolled on her floor dramatizing her supposed anguish to the others. Her friends however, who had been pulling a heavy carriage through the unforgiving wasteland that is the Everfree Forest, didn’t seem to be bothered at all. Twilight simply face-hoofed and shook her head in disbelief, “Well maybe if you didn’t overpack your saddlebags, Rarity,” she told her friend, but just continued to groan as she lay on the ground. The lavender unicorn lit up her horn again, causing the orb to stop. “Still, maybe we should stop for lunch.” “What? Come on!” Rainbow Dash argued. Pinkie’s stomach made a loud growl and she smiled sheepishly, “How about we have some cupcakes, too! I packed some in the carriage!” she suggested to the others, who agreed with smiles. Twilight made her way to the carriage’s door, “Excellent idea, Pinkie Pie,” she said to her friend as she opened the door and looked inside for any sign of cupcakes. She saw a basket with cupcakes and lifted it up, but she swore she saw a flash of green and purple where the basket stood but as she looked down again, she saw nothing there. Twilight shrugged it off and closed the carriage’s door as she made her way back to the others. Inside the carriage; Spike, Sweetie and Apple Bloom came out from their hiding places and let out a long sigh. “That was too close for comfort,” Spike whispered as he slumped on his back against the chairs of the carriage. “Ya can say that again, partner!” Apple Bloom muttered to herself as she was looking at the door for any sign of moment. Sweetie tried to look out the window, but was pulled back by Spike and landed in his arms. Spike and Sweetie blushed slightly as they let go of each other, but Sweetie was still upset with Spike. “Why did you pull me like that, Spike?!” she whispered to him in agitation, but Spike’s arms were crossed and his foot was tapping. “You trying to get us caught, Sweetie?” he asked her sarcastically. “No. I just wanted to see where we are,” she defended herself weakly. Back outside, the adults ate their meal, along with hay sandwiches packed by Applejack. Rainbow Dash had already gulped down her portion within a minute and was currently flying back and forth above the camp, waiting for her comrades to finish. “Easy there, Dash,” Applejack warned. “Ya ain’t gonna be no help to Scootaloo if ya wear yerself out.” “I’ll be fine, when are you slowpokes going to be ready?” “Rainbow Dash, really!” Rarity scoffed, but she calmed herself. If it was Sweetie, she’d probably do the same. “It’s only ten minutes.” Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes. “Ten minutes in the Everfree. You know what’s running around in here.” “Um, most of the dangerous creatures in Everfree are nocturnal,” Fluttershy explained. “The only really dangerous one still awake during the day are...” And then, and piercing howl ripped through the air. Everypony’s eyes widened. “...timberwolves,” Fluttershy said timidly. A snarl confirmed what they feared. A timberwolf stepped out from the trees, growling at the mares. Two more came out on either side of it, looking equally vicious. “Of course, they hunt in packs,” Twilight moaned backing up. “It’s only three,” Applejack declared, “We can handle...” Four more crept out, coming forward. “...never mind.” As the carnivores came forward, Twilight’s horn lit up, as the others got in a fighting stance. “Get ready, girls. We’re in for a wild fight.” One timberwolf jumped towards Fluttershy, who was too scared to react and closed her eyes expecting great pain. Instead she heard a yelp from the wolf and saw Rainbow Dash hovering before her, in fighting position. “Stay back, Fluttershy. Let me handle them!” Two more wolves jumped on the ponies, but one was caught mid air by Twilight’s magic, thrown against a tree and the other was bucked hard by Applejack. As soon as they were dealt with, two other wolves thought it best to attack Pinkie, but she was smiling deviously, as she pulled out her party cannon and shot compressed confetti at the fanged monsters. The impact of it made them fly across the forest, landing at an unknown distance. The one wolf remaining did not back away nor attack the mares, instead it let out a mighty howl which echoed throughout the forest. When it ended, more growling was heard and many more wolves appeared before the group, encircling them as they huddled up in fear. Applejack’s expression was beyond worried as sweat was pouring from her forehead, “What do we do, y’all?!” Fluttershy let out a small yelp, “Panic?” Rainbow simply shook her head and rolled her eyes upwards, “That’s your answer for everything!” Rarity was sobbing madly as she clung onto Pinkie, “Plead for our lives to these creatures? Maybe they have some sense of reasoning.” Pinkie’s mane hung limply in front of her face in long pink streaks as she held onto Rarity in return with fear overriding her system, “I don’t think a party will be enough for them!” Twilight looked to each corner and saw no way out. She was starting to lose her breath as the wolves came closer with each step. Memories flashed before her eyes, many of them revolving around Scootaloo. The memories of her son Spike, made her shed tears of sorrow thinking this was the end. Suddenly, a jet of green flame encircled the Mane Six, surprising them in the process. The wolves let out a torrent of fearful howls and some yelped in anguish as they were set ablaze by the flames. The timberwolves retreated to whence they came and the fires died down when the last wolf left the scene. “Twilight?” Applejack asked her friend as she was confused to what just happened. Twilight shook her head in confusion, “Wasn’t me.” Rainbow scratched her head, “Then who the hay was it?” “Me.” They looked at the top of the wagon to see Spike standing triumphantly, but his bravado disappeared when Twilight shot him an angry stare. In a flash of magic the dragon was in front of her, shrinking from his mother. “Spike,” she said slowly, in a tone he had not heard her use since the Owlowiscious incident. “I told you to stay at home.” “I... I know,” he said guiltily. “I just wanted to help get Scootaloo back.” Twilight sighed. “Where’d you get all this stubbornness from?” “From you, Mom... from you.” After a pause, Twilight smiled, despite herself, giggling a bit. “Well, I’m torn. I really should be tanning your hide for disobeying me, but you did save our lives...” she approached Spike and held him close, nuzzling him affectionately as he hugged his mother in return. “Wait a minute,” Applejack said, realization hitting her. It hit Rarity as well. The two went to the back of the carriage and opened it, entering inside. Seconds later, the cowpony emerged dragging Apple Bloom by her tail, and Rarity holding Sweetie by the ear with magic, both fillies squirming in protest.. “Now you both hush,” Applejack scolded. “You’re in enough trouble.” Rarity sighed. “I’d recommend holding off on it. Now that they're here, what they have to go through may be punishment enough.” Applejack sighed. “Ah know...” she hugged her little sister close. “Why couldn’t you stay safe?” “Scootaloo’s our friend!” the filly yelled. “Ah ain’t gonna leave her behind!” The cowpony placed a hoof on her head. “You...” “Um, we should probably get going,” Fluttershy said nervously. “Timberwolves don’t like to give up on a meal.” “Good idea,” Twilight said. “Kids, get back in the carriage. We’ll discuss this later.” “Did you pack any pepper for the food, Applejack?” Fluttershy asked. The cowpony nodded. “We better get it out and spread it around. That will interfere with their sense of smell.” “Ya got it,” Applejack nodded. As they exited the area they were in, Applejack used the grounded peppers to leave behind a trail to confuse any would-be-pursuers. After a few minutes of walking, Twilight simply let out a sigh and a smile slowly crept to her face. Applejack looked curiously at this, “Somethin’ wrong, sugarcube?” Twilight simply shook her head as she smiled, “He’s just like me when I’m determined to do something,” she said to Applejack, as she walked onwards with the locator spell still active. “Spike?” Twilight nodded her head, but Applejack noticed a tear escaping her eye as it traveled to her smile, “He’s growing up so fast,” she said to herself as she fought the tears back. Applejack smiled softly and laid her hoof over her friend’s shoulder, “They all do, Twi, even ma sis... important thing is just to be there fer the little boy,” she told her friend with sage-like advice, which was accepted fondly as Twilight smiled contently to her friend. Although, Rainbow overheard this and she was starting to think of Scootaloo even more. She had always wondered what it was like for Twilight to just one day accept the fact that Spike wanted to be viewed as her son. She also wondered how much Twilight and Spike’s lives have changed since last month when they had their moment. Other thoughts that entered her mind were those of Scootaloo. She thought of what she would do for her once she got her back, throw her a party, take her to Cloudsdale, teach her to fly, spend time with her, adopt her... she shook her head violently when that last thought came into her mind. Adopt her... before yesterday, she had not really given it any thought, but now since she heard of Scootaloo’s orphan status, a part of her mind wanted to take her in as her own. The idea itself was beyond frightening for her, for she was scared of messing things up. Though she thought she would make her happy, to have her role model take her in. Another part of her felt like Scootaloo really was hers, she really did feel a bond with the little filly she could not explain. As more thoughts came into her head, a sudden sense of regret crept into her mind. She had failed Scootaloo, and not only did she cost her her home, but it may as well have costed her life thanks to her stupidity. Even if she tried to reason with herself on why she did it, she knew there was only one inescapable truth. She failed a helpless crying filly. A filly she has grown to love. “Rainbow?” The athletic pegasus looked up to see Twilight giving her a caring look, the kind of look that would always leave her feeling weak and mushy. She couldn’t stand that look. “Yes?” “Thinking about Scootaloo again?” Rainbow Dash simply lowered her head. “We’ll get her back,” Twilight assured her again. “I don’t doubt that,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m going to make Bloodwing eat his feathers for kidnapping her. But... what about afterward? I mean, you know I want to adopt her... what if I’m no good at being a parent?” Twilight just smiled. “You’re already worried about it. That’s a good sign.” “I know, but...” “Rainbow Dash, you will do fine,” Rarity said. “I’ve been meaning to ask,” Twilight said. “Yesterday, you recognized their ID cards, or at least, you thought you did. Why is that?” The athletic pegasus kicked the ground. “Well...” Suddenly, the tracking orb began blinking wildly, twitching and flailing. “Wh-what’s goin’ on?” Applejack asked. “Somethings interfering with the spell,” Twilight said, panicking. “A large surge of magic.” “Can you fix it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “No... but I don’t think I have to. If there’s something powerful enough to interfere with my magic, it’s probably Bloodwing’s lab. We better look around.” By now, Scootaloo was sure her legs were going to fall off. Her muscles ached and begged for rest, but she pressed forward. She had stopped a few times when she found some berry bushes. She had eaten as much as she could, careful to leave no trace of her passing. But she was no woodspony, and she knew it. She must have been leaving a trail of some kind, one that Bloodwing could follow. Thankfully by now she was out of the woods. She could see the mountain in the distance. She briefly pondered what to do. Canterlot was only accessible through train and flight, which were options she didn’t have. Sighing, she pushed herself forward. She needed to get there, whatever it took. The party came to a halt in front of a building having no earthly business in the forest. Rainbow wasted no time and flew towards the door, ramming it so hard it smashed into splinters. Though she groaned as some splinters were found on her hind hooves, causing stinging pain with each step she took. Twilight shook her head and concentrated her magic on Rainbow’s hooves, engulfing them in a lavender aura and the cuts and splinters began to fade away. Rainbow shaked her hind legs slightly, grinning at the healing spell her friend performed. “Heh, that’s cool,” she commented to herself, but Twilight just stared blankly at her. “Rainbow, I know you are desperate, but don’t do rash things like that. Think before you act and-” “I thought before I acted with Scootaloo and look what happened!” she snapped at Twilight, who took a step back as her eyes showed panic. Rainbow took notice , softening her stance towards Twilight, waving her hooves at her. “I’m sorry, it’s just... well...” Twilight sympathetically smiled and placed a hoof on her shoulder, “It’s okay, Rainbow...” she told her friend, who landed on her hooves before her. “Now let’s go inside and find Scootaloo!” “Already ahead of you!” Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard Spike’s voice, and saw him standing in the doorway next to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. She was about to say her part but failed when they entered the building, leaving the others behind with their jaws dropping slightly. Though three of them were beginning to fume at each of their respectable family member. “That little whippersnapper’s askin’ fer it!” Applejack snapped as she galloped into the building, leaving the others behind. Rarity followed after her, “Sweetie Belle! You know you’re not supposed to go into strange places without me!” Twilight was still furious at Spike, just running into danger like that. A part of her felt a sense of pride for her son, taking such initiative. She just shook her head and sighed as she turned to her other two friends, “Come along, girls, we got a little filly to find.” “Okie dokie!” Pinkie replied as she bounced towards the entrance with her infinite happy-go-lucky attitude. “Um, okay,” Fluttershy said nervously. Scootaloo reached the base of the mountain. She looked up, unsure of what to do next. Trying to go through the train tunnels would be suicide, there was no room for her to dodge an oncoming locomotive. She could wait until a train came by and try to hitch a ride... “There you are!” She tensed up, spinning around. Black and Blue had finally caught up with her, and were galloping up to her, a restraint belt ready. She began to panic. She couldn’t go back. She looked back up the mountain. Far above her laid a rocky ridge, her only means of escape. Please let this work, she prayed, spreading her wings and crouching down. She gave a great leap, flapping her wings to gain altitude. She just missed Blue jumping for her. She landed on the ledge, breathing heavily. She looked down to see to earth ponies glaring at her. “Get down here right now, you little bitch!” Black yelled. Scootaloo instead looked up at another ledge. With another leap she was higher up. “Now what do we do?” Black asked. “We can’t climb up after her, and even if we could grabbing her could cause her to fall.” “Stay here. If she falls, catch her. I’m going to go back to the nearest town and take the train to Canterlot. I can get the others and we can catch her there if she makes it, or send Red and Yellow to get her down if she doesn’t. You have the horn seal?” Black nodded, setting the restraint on the ground and pulling out a metallic device meant for Scootaloo’s horn. “Excellent. I’ll send a chariot for you.” And with that, Blue galloped off. “This must be the main lab,” Twilight said, looking around the room. “It doesn’t look like anything’s happened here.” Spike shrugged, “Well a mad scientist wouldn’t have his lab out in the open, he would most likely have it in a secret room... away from the public eye.” as he spoke those words, the others looked at him as though he had just made the discovery of the year. “What? It’s just common knowledge, thats all.” “Spike, where did you learn this from?” Twilight asked him as she started looking around the room for any clues. Spike chuckled as he helped his mother looking around the room, “Well I was raised by Princess Celestia’s most prized student who also loves to experiment with spells and potions.” he told her bluntly, failing to notice the sheepish blush and smile forming on her face. Rainbow groaned out loud as she was zooming around the room, looking for any signs of entry to another. “Come on! If Daring Do could find her kidnapped niece in the Risen City, then I should be able to find my daughter and-” she stopped abruptly as she placed a hoof on her mouth, thinking to herself if she really said that? She noticed the others looking at her curiously, and she just continued looking for any indications. Pinkie Pie bounced around the room, then suddenly stopped and did a hoof stand waving her hindlegs in the air, “Pinkie Sense is tingling!” The other saw this and waited for a response from her as she came back to her four hooves, “That way!” she pointed to a clean wall in the lab. The others walked towards the lab and began to inspect the wall thoroughly. Applejack stared at the wall blankly before she too let out a groan, “What in tarnation are we all looking at a wall fer anyway!?” Apple Bloom however walked up to the wall and saw a few cracks in the wall, where she placed her hoof and applied pressure. The part where she pushed began to move backwards and the sounds of mechanisms moving could be heard and the wall began to slide open, leaving a trail of dust in the air where the open space stood. Apple Bloom beamed at her sister’s astonished face, “That’s what we looking fer.” Applejack grabbed her sister and ruffled her mane before nuzzling her, “That’s ma little sister fer ya right there.” Apple Bloom giggled slightly as her sister ruffled her hair, feeling proud for that moment of helping the others out. Rainbow walked towards the opening, “Great job, Apple Bloom,” she told the little filly, who was now beginning to blush from every word of gratitude she got from the others. “Now let’s get down there! We got to find Scootaloo and fast.” They walked down the through the secret passage, and began to make a downwards trip to it’s location. Sweetie heard a faint whimper. She looked around a bit and saw where it came from. “Spike...are you okay?” “Huh?” he said, jumping a bit. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” She knew that he was lying. Twilight performed a illuminating spell that shined so brightly that it lit up the entire passageway. It seemed to calm Spike down immensely. The lavender unicorn looked at him with a knowing smile, which Spike returned appreciably. “Thanks, Mom,” he whispered to Twilight, who smiled at his words. Sweetie arched an eyebrow, but decided not to push the subject. “Why would this guy have a secret room in an already secret lab?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but wonder. “Security, probably,” Twilight muttered. “If somepony were to stumble across this place, he’d keep anything that could incriminate him in a secret place. Everything up there was probably just window dressing.” The group of ponies came out into a room that branched out into several other rooms. “Spread out and search. If you see anypony, backtrack and regroup.” The ponies obeyed, spreading out. Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Rainbow Dash entered one room to find Scootaloo’s cage, with the leg shackles still laying there. “Oh dear,” Rarity muttered, appalled by the thought a filly was kept in such conditions. Rainbow Dash was silent. Her eyes were fixed on the shackles that lay before her, and she noticed the blood that was on them. Her face contorted as her rage was building up with every second that past staring at this abomination that held her Scootaloo. Her hooves landed with great impact on the shackles, denting them with her hoof marks. Rainbow closed her eyes, before opening them up again with a stream of tears cascading from them. She let out a cry as she continued to stomp the shackles, breaking them in the process but her hooves had suffered as bruises began to form. She sniffed as more tears were flowing from her eyes, and she felt a hoof descend on her shoulder. She turned to see Rarity looking solemnly at her, as she shook her head. Rainbow closed her eyes and let out a sigh to calm herself down, if only for that moment. “Psst. Hey!” Spike’s whisper caught their ears. “Mom’s found something. Follow me!” The three mares followed, regrouping with the rest to enter a room that Twilight and Fluttershy had chosen. It looked like the office of a madpony, which was fitting since it was Bloodwing’s. There was only a desk and a bed for furniture, but the walls were decorated in old newspaper clippings and hastily scrawled notes. “Look,” Applejack said, pointing. Rainbow Dash gave a gasp. It was her. A photograph of her as a filly, looking like it wasn’t long after she earned her cutie mark. “What the?” the cyan mare shivered. The thought that somepony had been secretly monitoring her for that long... Twilight read the notes. “Sonic Rainboom speed estimated at mach three... record breaking... perfect for pegasus attributes. Project genetic material sponsor...” As she read these notes out loud, her eyes began to dilate in shock at the information written on the paper. Rainbow was becoming very disturbed at this, and Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder as she was becoming worried for her friend’s state of mind. Spike was curious at this but he was nudged by Apple Bloom. “What is it, Apple Bloom?” Apple Bloom pointed to a few jars behind Spike, “Look.” He saw this and approached the jars but gasped loudly, backing away from the jars. Twilight heard him and handed the notes to Applejack, who thought it best to not let Rainbow see the notes she was holding now. She made her way to a frightened Spike and held him close as she show his eyes displaying fear. “What is it, Spike?” Spike just pointed to the jars, and Twilight let out a gasp too, but she went up to the jars to get a closer look. Inside the jars were scales, dragon scales, more importantly pink dragon scales. She examined each jar before finding more notes beside them. She took the notes and saw a picture of Spike, when he just hatched out of his egg. What was more interesting, she saw a picture of herself when she just received her cutie mark. She read notes that were written about her there. “Magic rating reading up to nine thousand... breaking record by five thousand... remarkable response to the entrance exam... perfect for unicorn attributes. Project genetic material sponsor...” “He must have taken these back when he worked at the castle,” Spike muttered. “What’s he mean, ‘remarkable results’?” Applejack asked. “Don’t ev’ry unicorn at that school hatch a dragon?” “Not really,” Twilight explained. “Most are given a fake egg enchanted with a few protection spells. If they manage to hatch it, they get a stuffed toy dragon. But Princess Celestia sensed my strength and gave me a real egg to hatch.” “But why do they care about Spike when making an alicorn?” Pinkie asked. “Is Princess Celestia part dragon?” Twilight shrugged. “Maybe he still has a lot of my magic in him,” she guessed. “Didn’t you know that curiosity killed the cat? Or in this case the pony?” Twilight froze in place as she dropped the notes to the ground, whirling herself to the door’s entrance and seeing two pegasi standing there. The one who spoke was a mare who had a bright yellow coat and a darkish yellow short mane, her facial expression showing nothing but malice. The other pony, a stallion, had a bright red coat with spiky maroon mane who held only a grin on his face. Both of them were carry what looked like arsonist toolkits, indicating they were here to erase what was discovered or what could be discovered. The others came into a defensive position, as the younger three members stood behind their guardians. “Now this is a surprise, two out of three genetic materials coming here at the same time,” the red one spoke casually as the yellow one laughed hysterically. “You got that right! Wonder if they want that little princess back?” “Who are you?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “And where’s Scootaloo?” “You mean Subject Ten?” the red one asked innocently, with the yellow one laughing wickedly next to him. “I. Mean. Scootaloo!” the cyan mare said through gritted teeth. “Aw, how cute,” the yellow one mocked. “Listen up,” the red one stepped forward. “The name’s Red. Got it memorized?” “Yellow,” the other said bluntly. “Great,” Applejack muttered, rolling her eyes. “We’re goin’ up against a whole rainbow.” “Just us. Now I suggest you all move.” “Why?” Rainbow Dash challenged. “There’s six of us and just two of you. Easy advantage.” “...Now you see, that would be the case if you were facing ordinary pegasi from Cloudsdale,” Red said as he and Yellow lowered their arson equipment. “But there’s one thing different about the two of us.” They got into a fighting stance, spreading their wings. “And what’s that?” Rainbow Dash challenged. “...Bloodwing hasn’t worked on you.” In a flash Red’s wings were aflame, fire dancing on his feathers. Then, much to their shock, they came off his body, spinning in circles at his side, looking extremely menacing. Yellow’s feather’s, meanwhile, sparked to life. They flew off her wings, each crackling with electricity, as they pointed at the Bearers. Rainbow Dash gulped. “That’s a pretty good advantage...” Chapter 6Rainbow, in spite of the disadvantage they had, showed only bravery to the faces of the two pegasi who had somehow tapped into magic to give them elemental forms. She took a defensive position, with Twilight and Applejack standing by her side as Red’s flames were dancing around him. “Burn, Baby!” As he shouted out the words, Rainbow Dash and the others were encircled by a ring of flames, trapping them along with Red and Yellow. The fire touched the newspaper clippings and notes, burning them to ash. Spike, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle made their way behind Fluttershy, who only showed fear at the flames around them. “Com’ mere! I’ll make it all stop... ” Red called out to Rainbow standing before him. Rainbow decided to charge in, “You got a big mouth for somepony who's gonna be crippled for life!” She kicked him in the gut, and he went flying to the wall of flame. But instead of being scorched, the flames brushed off of him and he picked himself up, dusting his feathers mockingly to Rainbow. “You have got to be kidding me!” Yellow decided to make her move, and her feathers came out flying towards Twilight and Applejack, “Let’s see you dodge this!” she cried out to them as her flying feathers honed in on their targets. Twilight reacted by casting a shield spell encasing her and Rainbow in a lavender orb. “That’s useful... but that’s to be expected of Celestia’s little bitch!” Twilight released the shield and her horn started charging with magic, “You haven’t seen anything yet!” a beam of condensed magic shot out to Yellow, whereupon impact she let out a groan and fell to the ground. Though she immediately stood up again, dodging Applejack who thought it wise to try and buck her whilst she was down. Meanwhile, Red was facing Rainbow in what looked like a stalemate. His flames could not catch up to Rainbow as she was flying around him and fly-kicking him whenever she had a chance, but it seemed like the kicks themselves had no serious impact. Red looked behind him and saw Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie guarding the foals who accompanied them. He then saw Spike, and as Rainbow made another attack, he countered and sent her flying before she could stand up again. “Hey Yellow! Looks like they brought the doll with them!” Yellow turned to look at Red, confused at first but when Red pointed to Spike, she saw him and smirked at what she was seeing. Spike became even more afraid as the two looked at him with greed and wickedness. “Thinking what I’m thinking Red?” “Yep!” “Let’s take him in.” Red jumped into the wall of flame, surprising the company but Yellow kept her calm. With a sizzling sound resounding behind Spike, Red jumped out and grabbed the dragon in his hooves as he was hovering above the party with his bounty. Saying that this didn’t set well with Twilight was an understatement so big that not even Celestia could have seen bigger. Her eyes flashed an intense white as she levitated herself off the ground. When she spoke, it was in a booming voice that would have done Princess Luna proud. “Let. Go. Of. Him!!!” Before Red could obey, Twilight shot out a beam of pure magic which struck him in the barrel, sending him to the ground. Spike fell, landing safely on his mother’s back. Red recovered just in time to dodge another blast of magic, then another. The lavender unicorn kept coming, motivated by her child’s safety. Red shot his flames forward, but they bounced harmlessly off of Twilight’s shield. “Stand aside Spike.” she instructed her son, who immediately jumped off his mother’s back and ran towards Rarity and the others. Twilight’s fur began to sizzle and char as her rage built up and her whole body became a living inferno. Red was staring in awe at the unicorn’s magic, but that soon turned to horror when she fired a magical beam at him. He hastily dodged the beam, but when it struck the wall behind him, it exploded on impact nearly sending everypony save Twilight flying. “Screw this,” Yellow muttered, “we destroyed the notes, let’s go!” “Good idea,” Red said, jumping back through the flames and to the safety of the outside world. He parted a path for Yellow, who managed to follow through before the path closed, leaving the rest trapped. But only for a moment. Twilight’s sheer will activated her magic. With great effort, she manipulated the flames to step aside for them. Most of the rescue party ran out, stopping to catch their breaths. But not Rainbow Dash. She kept flying at top speeds, chasing after the two magical pegasi. After a few twist and turns, she was outside, just in time to see the two pegasi flying off. “Oh no you don’t!” she yelled, flying after them. She ended up tackling Yellow, wrapping her forelegs around her sides and locking her wings. The two began falling to the ground. “Tell me where Scootaloo is, or I’ll...” She never finished that threat. At that point, several volts of electricity ran through her. She let go out of surprise and pain, allowing Yellow to regain her altitude. Rainbow Dash, however, hit the ground stunned with her body going into spasms from the shock. Yellow swooped down to finish her off, but Red stopped her. “Forget it, we need to get as much distance between us and those other mares as possible.” Yellow snorted at this and yanked her hoof away, but looked down on the stunned Rainbow. “Consider yourself a lucky bitch! Try and follow us and you won’t be so lucky!” she sneered at her as she and Red made their way. Rainbow tried standing up, but her her hooves gave in and she fell to the ground yet again. “Buck!” Mountain climbing was not one of Scootaloo’s strong points, as she was struggling to not fall to where her pursuer were standing. Like a hanging piece of meat in a lion’s den, Scootaloo was desperately trying to make her way upwards to where Canterlot was and away from Black. “Come on down little lady, I won’t bite~” he yelled out to Scootaloo in a tone fitting to a wolf inviting himself to a sheep’s herd. Scootaloo just kept on climbing until she made it to a ledge, seeing that she was not so far away from the top. She rested on the ledge for a moment, till she opened her eyes and saw the whole forest before her. Scootaloo admitted to herself that this was a view to treasure, but under the current circumstances, she could not enjoy it properly. “Tell you what? If you come down now, we’ll let you see that Rainbow mare again... how’s that sound?” he reasoned to her, but he still got no answer as she was climbing further up. Scootaloo reached her hooves to another ledge as she made her way up and stopped momentarily. A smile crept on her face when she got up and stood on the ledge, looking down at Black, who was staring upwards at Scootaloo. “You promise I can see Rainbow?!” she yelled out to him, not caring if he promised or not. Thinking he struck gold, he smiled triumphantly for a moment. “I cross my heart, and hope to die~” he sang crudely to her. Scootaloo just stared before standing up, “Ok! Just give me a moment to jump and glide!” she backed away from the ledge, with Black rubbing his hooves in glee for his prize. As he looked, he smile immediately turned into a look of horror as a huge boulder came falling down from the sky. “Oh buck!” He made a dodge just in time, but where he stood was a miniature-sized crater with the boulder in the centre and Scootaloo jumped to the last ledge as she climbed closer to her goal. “Now get lost, you creep!” “You little bitch!” Black snarled. “Oh, when I get my hooves on you...if you thought I hurt you before...” Scootaloo just blew a raspberry and kept climbing. Rainbow Dash got to her hooves just in time to see Twilight and Fluttershy running up to her. “Are you okay?” the pegasus asked. “No,” the athletic mare snapped. “They got away!” “Yes... but we wanted that.” Rainbow just gaped. “What?” How can you say that?” “Because while you were fighting Yellow, she shedded some feathers and hair. We can follow her, and if she doesn’t think we’re following, she’ll lead us right to Bloodwing.” Rainbow Dash brightened up. In a split second, she threw her forelegs around her friend. “You’re a genius! Let’s get going!” “Not so fast,” Twilight said. “They’re flying now, we can’t all follow as easy. Spike’s sending a message to the Princess for a chariot for us.” “No! I’m sick of waiting! I’m going now!” “...I figured,” Twilight sighed. “I’ll cast the spell. Take Fluttershy with you, I can follow the tracer spell on you. Just be careful, and when you find Bloodwing, don’t engage him without us.” Rainbow grimaced, but nodded in agreement. “Fine. Think you can keep up, Fluttershy?” “If it will save Scootaloo,” she said with a determination she put on whenever she was standing up for her friends. Twilight finished her spell. “There,” she said proudly, admiring her work. “I programmed this to go faster, so you better hurry.” “You got it!” she saluted. Without another word, the two pegasi dashed off, Fluttershy barely keeping up with her more aggressive friend. Scootaloo finally reached the top of the mountain after much trial and error, which nearly cost her life. As she observed her surroundings, she took one last look from where she first started and was slightly baffled of the distance to where she was and to where the bottom stood. She jerked her head up quickly and turned back to the city of Canterlot, where she hoped against all hope to find any form of help. A part of her mind wished it was Rainbow Dash who would save her, but she had to face the reality that it was very unlikely to happen. As she walked to the city entrance, she noticed the guards were not present at their posts. This alerted her senses, for she knew that the guards would never leave their posts unless something catastrophic happened to the city or any part of Equestria. She carefully walked past the entrance and began to relax as she noticed the normally uptight rich ponies walking among the streets. They might be able to help her, but some of them might be working for Bloodwing, as far as she knew. Hope began to blossom in her as she further calmed her senses with her taking the first steps towards the castle, hoping the princesses would tend to her emergency. “Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?” “I don’t give a crap about your opinion, Red, let’s just get the bitch and teach her a lesson!” Scootaloo’s fur stood on end when she heard this voice, the same voice belonging to an earth pony that chased after her with his comrade. She slowly turned around and saw not only him and a red pegasus, but the other blue earth pony with a yellow pegasus mare. Black’s facial expression had anger written all over it, Blue just looked stoic as always, Red was looking somberly at Scootaloo oddly enough and Yellow’s mouth could not stop watering at the sight of Scootaloo. Yellow ruffled her feathers as she gulped in anticipation, “Is that little filly the one who will bring us closer?” she asked Blue as she leaned in rather lustfully against his frame, but he did not move an inch at this action. “Yes,” he answered her, not bothering to turn his head to his yellow companion who snorted and turned her head away mockingly closing her eyes for added effect. Red just closed his eyes as he shook his head, “Look kid... just come along with us, ok? Don’t wanna hurt you further here,” he tried to reason with Scootaloo, but she backed away and galloped towards the castle, ignoring the ponies she bumped into. Black nostrils flared as he started staggering, “That bitch is dead!” as he spoke these words, a hoof came flying to his head from behind and he groaned at the pain coursing through him. “Blue?! What the buck?!” Blue just glared at him, instantly silencing him in the process. “We need her alive and unharmed, is that clear!?” Scootaloo turned around and bolted, hoping to put as much distance as possible between her and the quartet of ponies sent after her. Seeing this, Yellow was off like a shot, flying after her target at top speed. This turned out to be to Scootaloo’s advantage. An alleyway wasn’t too far from where she began running. She darted inside while the elder mare flew past it, going too fast to stop. The filly made it to the fence at the end just as Red, Black, and Blue were coming around the corner. Black charged forward, looking ready to kill regardless of Blue’s instructions, but Scootaloo jumped up, flapping her wings to make it over her obstacle. Black ended up hitting the wooden planks. After a moment he violently banged against the barrier, shouting unprintable words. Scootaloo kept running as Red flew over the fence, calmly chasing after her. “Come on, kid, don’t make this harder than it has to be,” Red sighed. The filly ignored and kept running, but in her heart she knew it was a futile gesture. She was tired, having not slept and barely eaten all day. Every muscle begged for rest, which she knew she would have to give very soon. She darted into the street, pushing past the various elite ponies who only gave a few “Well, I never!” type responses to being pushed aside, most not even noticing her horn due to her going so fast. Red flew overhead, yelling apologies that her daughter was acting up. Scootaloo thought of begging for help, but memories of Ponyville flooded back to her. Blue and Black pulled the DFS scam, no doubt the others could as well. It was then that she saw her. Standing in front of an alleyway was Rainbow Dash. The elder mare looked frantic, as if she was looking for something. “Rainbow!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, running toward her. She dared look back for a moment, and was relieved to see she had lost Red. “Rainbow!” Rainbow Dash turned, and brightened when she saw who it was. “S... Scootaloo?” she stuttered as the younger filly jumped at her, throwing her forelegs around her neck. She hugged her back. “Oh kid, I’m so sorry! I never should have let those idiots take you!” “They’re after me! They’re...” “Okay, calm down, Rainbow Dash said. “No need to attract attention to ourselves. How many are there?” “Four. Two of them pegasi.” Rainbow Dash started to frown slightly, “Where are the other two, those two earth ponies that took you away?” she asked her calmly. Scootaloo looked behind her to see if they were there, and they were not. “They are also there, but quick, Rainbow! We have to tell the others about this now!” she told her as she let go of Rainbow, but Rainbow had one hoof attached to the shoulder. Rainbow just sighed before looking at Scootaloo, “There’s one little problem with that...” Scootaloo raised her eyebrow at Rainbow’s strange behaviour, “What’s that?” she asked her innocently. Rainbow closed her eyes and suddenly opened them as she looked maliciously at Scootaloo with an gleeful grin, “I’m not Rainbow Dash.” she told the filly, and slammed a hoof into her before she could make any movement of escape. As she fell the ground, her body went numb with spasms coursing through her veins and the imposter placed a bracelet on Scootaloo’s horn. The Rainbow Dash imposter suddenly groaned in pain as she shook her hoof to try and alleviate the pain from the bruise forming on it. “Ohhh! I told them they were sending in the wrong guy!” Just as the imposter spoke these words, the imposter’s body suddenly glowed and like water pouring from above and hitting an object in its way, the fur and mane started changing to show a white unicorn stallion with a golden brown mane. He looked down on his bounty with glee, using his magic to wrap another gag around the stunned filly’s muzzle just before lifting his head up to see four more ponies arriving at his location. “You!” Black yelled out to the white stallion, “White! How the buck were you able to catch her?!” he demanded to know from him, but White just shrugged and smiled coyly. “Good looks and charms always catches the ladies~” he said as he walked up to Yellow and placed his other hoof under her chin, which she just slapped away as she looked rather irritable by his actions. Yellow snorted as she saw Scootaloo still lying on the ground, “If that is true, then why don’t you have a marefriend yet?” she snidely asked him, as he just rolled his eyes and returned them to the fallen Scootaloo. Blue walked up to Scootaloo and hoisted her up his back, “Mission accomplished. Now we must rendezvous back the main base. White, stay at the guard post and disguise yourself as one of them. If you see anypony looking for this filly, lead them to a false destination.” White saluted at this command, “You got it,” he said as he trotted away, using his magic to form another perfect disguise. “Yellow, Black, Red... you follow me.” Scootaloo finally got her bearings together and tried to stand, but was pushed back down. She felt it, another restraint belt. She cried. She didn’t struggle. There was no point. She was caught again, and nopony was around to help her. The fabric was tightened, and she was hanging by Black’s mouth again. He was moving, following Blue carefully through the alleyways. She saw Yellow who was smiling in triumph, holding her head up high as though she had won a gold medal. The same could not be said about Red, who just walked behind Black and he looked rather miserable for whatever reason Scootaloo could not fathom at that time, nor did she care. Tears fell like rain from her eyes. They had her, and she knew she wouldn’t get lucky again. They’d suppress her magic somehow, or have failsafes for such an event as her blow out in the forest. A door opened, she realized. She was entering somewhere. This was it, Rainbow Dash would never find her now. Nopony would. All her exhaustion overcame her, her pain, her hopelessness. She blacked out. Chapter 7Speed was her nature, and this would be the determining factor for her whether she would fail or succeed. However, it was no test for herself or any challenge, this was to save a filly’s life. A filly she had grown to love yet had failed during her most desperate of times. Rainbow Dash swore she was flying at a speed where a double Sonic-Rainboom could be seen, but not fast enough for her. Worse was her friend Fluttershy, who was not an experienced flier like her cyan friend. “Come on, Fluttershy! You can’t slack off now!” she yelled to her friend, who was flapping her wings rather slowly as sweat was seeping through her pores. Fluttershy wiped the sweat off as she panted for air, “I know Rainbow, it’s just-” “Just nothing! Those ponies are gonna hurt Scootaloo even more if we don’t hurry it up! You want them to hurt Scootaloo any more!?” Something inside Fluttershy snapped, as her eyes became blank before showing outrage beyond any measure. She bit her lips as she started to growl, releasing a scream, “Those. Big. Dumb. Meanies!” she flew past Rainbow, who was stunned to see her friend fly as fast as she could on a tournament day. She shook her head as she watched her friend set a course for Canterlot and decided to do a Sonic-Rainboom to catch up with her buttercream friend. Waiting was by far the most agonizing torture known to ponykind when somepony’s life was in danger. So it was for Twilight and the others, as they waited for their carriage to arrive from Canterlot. They waited at the building’s entrance, not daring to venture off into the forest for fear of their lives. As Twilight sat on her haunches, Spike was sitting next to his mother as he was fiddling with his claws in silence. She looked at him and became worried for her son. “What’s wrong, Spike?” Spike jerked his head up as he heard his mother’s voice vibrating through the air. He looked up and saw her eyes filled with concern, knowing that lying would not make the situation any better. “Well, I’m just worried for what they’re gonna do to Scootaloo,” he told her, though she knew that this was only part of his worries as he looked away from his mother’s gaze. Twilight draped a leg over his neck and brought him in closer. “That’s not all, is it?” she asked him as he let out a sigh of defeat. “What was he doing with my scales and why was he comparing your magic, Mom? I know you are a powerful unicorn, but what was it that he meant by ‘genetic material’? I dunno what he wanted with me or you, but whatever he's doing now, it scares me... it’s like I’m a part of this somehow and-” Twilight decided to nuzzle him as she saw the tears forming in Spike’s eyes. “No matter what it is, we’ll stop them,” she assured him. “I won’t let them get to you.” “...I guess you want me to go back home when the guards get here, huh?” Twilight sadly shook her head. “That’s not such a good idea. Those ponies tried to get you. If I left you alone, they might be able to catch you. You’ll come to Canterlot, and you’ll stay in the castle. In. the. Castle. Understand?” Spike smiled at his mother’s warning. “Yeah,” he answered. He remained silent for a moment before he spoke. “What did you think Red meant when he called me ‘the doll’?” Twilight shrugged. “Maybe he was just talking about all the other eggs that had dolls in them.” “...I don’t like this,” he moaned, clutching his stomach. Twilight kissed his forehead. “It’ll be over soon, Spike, I promise.” Scootaloo awoke with a heavy metal collar around her neck. She was back in a cage, chained up again. A seal was on her horn, and an additional shackle was around her sides, pinning her wings down. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth, brat,” Black snarled. “And consider yourself lucky I wasn’t the one who caught you, because if I was...” “Enough,” Bloodwing said, nearing to the cage. “Well, Subject 10, you caused me quite a bit of trouble. I didn’t expect you to need this so quickly. Hold her down.” Black obeyed, holding the filly down. The collar came off. She didn’t cry, she had no more tears left. The needle pierced her neck. Instantly, she screamed again, nearly deafening the two ponies working on her. This felt worse than the treatment, worse than anything she had ever felt. It was like her insides were being ripped apart and rearranged. All she could feel or think about was pain! She begged for it to stop, though her pleas went unheeded. How long it lasted, she didn’t know, but when it did, it just... stopped. That was it. It was over. “That should eliminate any further problems. Now, time for your next treatment.” “No,” she moaned, but didn’t do much else. Struggle was pointless, escape impossible. She just whimpered as the needle came closer. She could feel the steel needle pierce through her skin and felt the pain of her usual treatment. She hardly said a word, even through the pain. By the time she had regained her bearings, the collar had been placed back around her neck. Black brought up a bowl with gruel and dropped it on the floor, kicking it toward her. “Eat,” he said bluntly. Scootaloo backed away. “Listen, you little bitch, you’re lucky you’re getting food at all. Now eat!” “...I’d rather starve,” she said weakly. Black growled as he looked up to Bloodwing, who handed him an apparatus that he took hold of. Blue held Scootaloo down while her partner pinched her nose. After a few seconds, she couldn’t hold her breath any longer and gasped for air. This allowed Black to shove the device in her, with Blue bolting it from behind her skull. Scootaloo’s eyes widened in horror as she realized what was going to happen. She started thrashing against her chains as best as she could, but Yellow joined Blue in holding her still. Yellow forced her head upwards, with her eyes facing the roof. Black then stood over her and poured all of the gruel into the opening. Blue pinched her muzzle to force her swallow the food. She wished desperately she could cry right then, she wished she still had tears to shed. It was such a violation, how it was forced into her, how disgusting the taste was, how she no longer had any control over anything. She felt water being forced in next, her hydration, not as disgusting but equally as horrible to experience. “Hey! Will you cut it out!” Scootaloo eyes darted to where the voice was coming from and saw a mildly disgusted Red looking at Black with hostile eyes. “She’s just a kid!” he told him as he marched forward and shoved Blue and Yellow off of her. He then did something she thought she never would have guessed anypony here would do, he took the apparatus from her mouth. She coughed as she took her first uninterrupted breaths of air. This did not rid her of the foul taste she had experienced, and she splattered her tongue for further results. Red did something else that surprised her, Black, and Bloodwing; he took a tissue and wiped the residue of gruel from her face. “What the buck are you up to, Red?!” Black yelled out to Red as he stomped forward, with Scootaloo’s eyes displaying fear. Red however matched his anger with a menacing glare that petrified Black, if only for a little. “This filly is the trump card to the project, and traumatizing her further will just make things more complicated,” he told Black. He spread his wings which started to sizzle, but stopped when he felt a hoof on his shoulder. “That’s enough, Red! You are out of line here! It’s true, we must not harm our dear Subject,” Bloodwing told Red as he lifted his hoof from his shoulder and looked at Scootaloo with lustful eyes, before giving Red a piercing stare. ”But your actions are treading between madness and treason. You do not want to step out of line again, do you? We don’t want ‘him’ to be harmed in anyway now, do we?” he asked him rhetorically, with Red shuffling in his place and nodding only once. “Good, now both of you, back to your stations!” he ordered the two ponies to leave. Black was the first to leave, growling at Scootaloo before exiting the room. Red walked past Scootaloo and turned to her as he looked at her with sorrow in his eyes, mouthing: “I’m sorry.” Rainbow Dash was angry beyond belief. After following it all the way to Canterlot, Twilight’s tracking spell had bounced off a wall in an alleyway and had simply disappeared. “What was that!?” the cyan mare threw up her forelegs in rage. “We came all the way here only to have it lead us to a wall!” “Um, Rainbow Dash...” “I mean, we flew for nearly an hour, and we’re no closer to finding her!” “Um, excuse me...” “I mean, I thought Twi knew what she was doi...” “Rainbow Dash!” The pegasus jumped and looked at her friend, a bit surprised. “Uh, what?” “Oh, sorry,” Fluttershy said, back to her usual self. “It’s just that, um, there was a secret entrance back at the lab. There might be one here.” Rainbow Dash blinked. “Uh... right. I knew that,” she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. “Well, let’s look for an opening.” “Shouldn’t we wait for the others?” Rainbow sighed as she closed her eyes and opened them to reveal her eyes becoming moist, “The longer we wait, Fluttershy, the more Scootaloo is gonna get hurt,” she explained to her, before turning to the wall and tapping it for any button that may open it. Fluttershy was shocked to see her friend so emotionally distraught. Even with Equestria being on the line, she had never seen Rainbow Dash shed any tears. She wondered when she last saw Rainbow Dash cry? For as long as they were friends, she had never seen her shed tears of this magnitude before. Not when she was bullied by the other pegasi at the academy, not when she was kicked out of the academy, not when she had her spirit broken on multiple occasions, not even when she broke her limbs in accidents... she never cried. Fluttershy’s worried expression turned to one of pure determination, as she walked up to the wall and started investigating it with her lifelong friend. After what seemed like a half an hour, Fluttershy noticed a glowing lamp attached the wall and wondered. She reached her hoof up and pulled on the lamp, revealing it to be lever of some sorts. Just as before at the lab, the wall started emitting sounds of mechanics working and gears turning before finally opening up to the two mares. When the dust settled in, Dash turned to Fluttershy and hugged her with all gratitude she could muster. “You’re the best, Shy!” she said to her shy friend as she let go of her, failing to notice the blush forming on Fluttershy’s face. Fluttershy quickly turned to face the wall, “Um, it’s not a problem...” she whispered to her cyan friend, before slowly trotting to the entrance of the opening. “I just hope we’re not too late.”, she said to Dash, who walked up beside her. Dash stomped her chest and ruffled her feathers, “All I know is, we gonna get her back...” she said to her friend, before her tone became threatening. “And if we see those four ponies or even Bloodwing, they’ll wish they were never born!” she said with a murderous tone before walking off into the unknown. Fluttershy was now slightly disturbed and frightened by her friend’s behaviour. Even with her assertion training thanks to Iron Will, she could not muster anything as frightening as what her friend just pulled off. The Stare could be even in terms of the fright it gave off, but the aftereffect of despair in the victims mind she could and would never pull off. She turned around to see the sun setting and looked around the area they were in, spotting a piece of paper and a ruined pencil in a garbage can. She took them both and drew a giant arrow and plastered it to the side of the lamp, should the opening close after she went in. “Fluttershy! Hurry it up!” Fluttershy jumped and yelled out an ‘eep’ before rushing into the darkness, with the opening closing and leaving no trace of entry, save for an arrow next to the lamp. An arrow that would hopefully be seen by their friends... By the time Shining Armor arrived with his platoon, everypony was getting antsy. Relief swept through Twilight as she nuzzled the captain of the guards. “I didn’t know you were coming, Shining,” she said happily. “Uncle Shiny!” Spike cheered, hugging his leg. “Hey, kiddo,” he smiled, rubbing his nephew’s head. “And of course I came down! I’m not letting my little sister go after some nutjob alone.” “So, I take it you read up on Bloodwing?” He nodded. “I remembered seeing him a few times when I was in basic training. He creeped me out. And after you went to live in the castle... he cornered me one day. He seemed friendly enough at first, but he started asking about your schedule, all about how powerful you were and... if I had access to Spike.” Twilight shivered. “Let’s get going to Canterlot, I’m sensing Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy there. I need to tell you something.” The ride was a quick one, but long enough for Twilight to explain what she saw in the lab. Shining Armor looked disturbed. “The way he talked about you... he was obsessed with you. I can’t imagine what he’s doing to that filly.” “Then we better hurry. I’m still sensing the two in town.” “Why the hay would Bloodwing have a lab right in the capital city?” Applejack asked. “It’s so near the Princess.” “Who knows? Maybe he figured hiding in plain sight would work, maybe there’s some resource he needs,” Shining Armor shrugged. Then he sighed. “First the Changelings slipped by me, now this. My record is not looking too good.” “Well, I just hope Rainbow Dash hasn’t done anything impulsive,” Rarity sighed. There was a beat. “...We better speed up,” Twilight said. Scootaloo’s vision was blurry and her breathing had become hoarse from all the screaming she could muster. Now she was lying on a hay bed with her hooves bound together by shackles and her newly formed horn had a metallic seal on it. She could not generate any more tears, as much as she wanted to express how hopeless the situation was for her. She thought time would fly faster if she tried to close her eyes to sleep, but that was also not an option as the cell’s door opened and closed with Red standing before her with a popsicle in one hoof and a water bottle in the other. He hovered towards her, and helped her upright from her awkward sleeping position. “Here you go, kid,” he whispered to her as he opened the water bottle and placed it gently to her mouth, which she hesitantly accepted. Feeling the ice-cold liquid enter her mouth and traveling down her throat, she bit on the bottle’s top and jerked her head upwards with the bottle still latched in her mouth. She gulped as many times as she could, but water overflowed from her mouth when the bottle emptied. When she was done, she released the bottle from her mouth as it fell to the ground with a thud and she sighed in relief. Scootaloo looked back at Red, who was smiling at her. Though the peculiar thing was that his smile was sincere, and had no sense of malice. Red took the popsicle and unwrapped it, revealing it to be pure white. “Eat it, before it melts.” he instructed her, which she did as she leaned in and took a lick of it. It was sweet like any ice cream was, but the aftertaste had a salty flavour to it. It was delicious. Scootaloo took a bite of it, with her teeth freezing from the sudden frost, but she didn’t care... she needed something sweet after that gruel experience. After she was done, Red took another tissue and wiped what had remained from the ice cream from Scootaloo’s mouth. “Why?” she asked him as he removed the tissue from her face. “I don’t get it... tell me, why are you doing this?” she asked Red, who just sighed as his ears drooped slightly. Red looked up to meet Scootaloo’s eyes, “Just because I do this job, doesn’t mean I like it. Besides, you been through enough for one day,” he said dismissively as he stood up and turned to face the door. “That’s not all there is, is it?” Red just stood there before turning back to Scootaloo, frowning slightly at the filly’s insight. “That easy to read, huh?” he asked her coyly. “What does Bloodwing have on you?” she asked him as he looked down on the floor, not making any sound. “If you escape and I come out of this alive, I’ll tell you,” he explained to her as he turned around again to walk away. Scootaloo, however, was still curious about one thing, “Is Red even your real name?” she asked him. The silence in the room was so intense, a pin could be heard falling. “No,” he finally said as his hoof rested on the cell’s door. “What is your real name?” Red stood there for a very long time before turning around and looking at the filly with an unamused face, which slowly turned into a smile. “My name is... Blaze... got it memorized?” he asked her as he tapped a hoof against his head. Scootaloo nodded before he finally left the cell. Just as he got away from the cell door, Blaze stood still in deep thought as he continued to frown in thought of what he just told the filly. Just a few hours ago, he did not even consider her a pony, merely just a test subject for his superior’s schemes. But hearing her cry, and seeing the look of despair on her face reminded him of something. Something he hoped to never see again. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy carefully flew through the dark hallways. Every slight creak or sound sent them flying up toward the ceiling. They couldn’t get caught now. They carefully kept moving until they saw him. Red was walking out of the room, closing the door behind him. He seemed... upset, actually. It was confusing, to say the least. As soon as he was gone, Rainbow Dash flew up to the door and tried to open it. It was locked, she realized too late, and it was steel, nothing that could be broken through. Still, there was a small hatch in the door, allowing Rainbow Dash to open the door and look inside. She brightened. “Scootaloo!” Shining Armour led his sister and her friends through the gates of Canterlot. “Don’t worry, we have the entire Royal Guard on standby. Do you still sense where Rainbow and Fluttershy are?” “...Vaguely,” Twilight admitted. “It seems it’s being blocked.” Rarity hit her head with a hoof. “Rainbow Dash probably did something to disrupt it. She’s always so reckless.” Shining Armor sighed, looking through the crowd. He frowned. “There should be guards here. What’s going...” he trailed off when he noticed a single guard running up to him. “Soldier, what’s going on?” “Sir, the posts needed to chase after a thief that ran by this entrance, nothing wrong.” Shining nodded. “What’s the status on finding Bloodwing?” “Still ongoing, Sir, we have our soldiers looking through the whole of Canterlot for the description of Bloodwing and his accomplices. So far nothing has been reported in, Sir!” the guard answered his captain, but Shining had an odd feeling something was wrong. Twilight decided to march up to her brother’s side, “Have you seen a little orange filly around here?” she asked the guard, who was looking at her in confusion. “I have not, ma’am,” the guard said dismissively, though Shining could have sworn he say a slight smirk on his face. “Private...” Shining began to speak in a rather hoarse tone. “Sir?” Shining looked down on the guard, “What is the code of the Private’s Vaults?” he asked the guard, who gulped slightly. “That Sir would be... 1025471,” he said as he closed his eyes and opened them again only to see Shining’s face up close to his. “Wrong answer.” The guard suddenly found himself a navy aura and he was lifted in the air, and another shockwave entered the aura causing the guard’s coat to simply melt off and revealing a shocked White in the aura. “How did you know I was a fake!?” White asked Shining, who just gave him a wry smile. “I didn’t, I just saw signs that were not guard-like at all... and I know my men quite well. They do not act that way,” Shining told him as Twilight was charging her own horn. “Where is your base?!” she asked him threatenly but White just chuckled at the mare before him. “You seem pretty lively,” he answered her casually, but a beam of magic flew to his gut and the aura around him disappeared, causing him to fall on his haunches and coughing slightly. “You pack a punch, lady.” “Tell us where Scootaloo is or you will be a cactus for life,” Twilight told him as her horn charged again. At that, White frowned. In a flash, he was back on his hooves. “Silence, tramp!” And then he shimmered. Water erupted in large streams around him as he grinned evilly. “You better pray you can swim!” Chapter 8Being hit by several square pounds of water wasn’t something anypony had been expecting that day, but nonetheless that’s what happened. Twilight and Shining Armor were the ones hit, and went sailing over the rest of their party in an impressive bound. Applejack was the first to react, rushing in, but a jet of water came up out of the ground beneath her, slamming into her stomach and sending her up into the air. “Kids, go to a safe distance,” Pinkie told the three youngest members of the rescue party. They nodded and ran for cover. White paid them no heed, he summoned several orbs of water over the remaining members of the group. Luckily, they all managed to dodge. Pinkie was the next to react, whipping out her party cannon and letting loose a blast. Out came not confetti, or glitter, but what appeared to be pink cake frosting. Another orb of water burst right through it, sending the sticky substance in all directions. Another blast saw ice cream emerge. Again it was deflected. A third ball of streamers did the same. “Okay, are you honestly expecting to hit me?” he said, annoyed. “No, but I am expecting to distract you.” This sentence registered in his brain a split-second too late, as a recovered Applejack hit him in the side with a powerful buck. Staggering sideways, he didn’t recover in time for a second strike. He went tumbling, but rolled right back onto his hooves. Applejack charged forward as White summoned a jet of water once more. She dodged to one side, only to be hit by another jet to the first’s side. White’s triumph was short lived as Twilight took the moment to return to battle. A blast of magic came forward, but more streams of water protected him from the unicorn’s attack. But only that unicorn. At that moment Rarity, forgotten because she stepped back at the beginning of the fight, marched in and lit up her horn. White summoned more streams in an attempt to block, but it failed because what Rarity cast wasn’t an offensive maneuver. A bright flash blinded White’s eyes. He yelled in surprise and pain, covering his eyes. This left him wide open for a right hook from the fashionista. Stumbling back, he suddenly hit something hard. He opened his eyes, adjusting to the light in time to see he was trapped in one of Shining Armor’s shields. “Let’s see you escape from that!” White smirked. “If you insist.” At that point, several pounds of water pressure erupted from him, hitting all sides of the shield. The pressure was too great, and the barrier collapsed like broken glass. White landed on his hooves, but Twilight decided to shoot a beam of magic at him. He was quick enough to dodge it, sending a stream of water to her. On impact she flew to the wall and yelped in pain as she fell to the floor. “No hard feelings,” White said to Twilight as he charged towards her, enveloped in water. Before he could reach Twilight, he felt something collide at his side and he was sent flying to the other side. Once he got his bearings right, he saw Applejack charging towards him and bucking him straight in the face. His hooves came up to his face and he started groaning as he was rolling on the floor in pain. “How’d ya like that, ya li’l varmint!?” White gave an honest answer: he slammed an orb full of water directly into the farmpony’s face. As Applejack stumbled back, he got to his hooves in time to dodge an attack from Rarity. He slammed a hoof against the fashionista’s face, sending her to the ground. Twilight was up next, tossing every offensive attack she could think of. White either dodged them all or blocked. Eventually he got another strike, sending Twilight to the ground. What he did next was especially cruel. He summoned a stream of water and sent it directly at Twilight. It forced itself down her throat, entering the wrong pipes and causing her to choke and sputter. “Stop!” Shining Armor yelled, running toward White with murderous intent. Just as he was about to tackle him to the ground, however, White jumped straight in the air. As he stumbled to a stop, Shining Armor realized too late what White’s true intent was. The evil unicorn knew full well he didn’t have the time to successfully drown Shining’s sister; he just needed one of them to charge in blindly. He looked up to see White summoning more water from his hooves. He pointed straight down at his foe. “Thirsty?” With that, Shining Armor was slammed in two directions, above and below, by a violent barrage of water. The captain of the guard felt his bones bend, and he felt his organs about to pop. Once it was over he fell to the ground, moaning in pain. “Aww, you’re still alive... well, you’ll stay down for the rest of the...” A blast from the party cannon stopped him. It didn’t strike, he managed to avoid it, but it annoyed him nonetheless. “Okay, you...” White began, before Pinkie fired again. White dodged, then summoned a jet of water from where Pinkie was standing. It engulfed the pink pony for a moment, putting her out of sight. When it cleared, Pinkie simply fired again. Just before the ball of confetti struck him, he realized Pinkie had somehow been quick enough to scoot herself and the cannon back. The party favors covered him as he stumbled across the ground. Shining Armor, who had been even more resilient than his opponent had given him credit for, took the initiative and jumped in the air, covering himself in an aura of magic. White saw him coming and rolled out of the way, with Shining hitting on the ground next to him. A violent shockwave erupted from the spot that Shining landed on, and a miniature crater was formed where he stood. White got back on his hooves and shot a few more streams of water to him, but Shining kept blocking them with his shield magic. “Think fast, boy!” White shouted out to him as another stream of magic hit him, but instead it curved and was heading straight to Twilight. Shining immediately shot the stream with his magic and he turned to White with livid eyes. Another aura of magic formed around him and he galloped towards White, who was shooting streams of water at Shining. It was no use, the water simply bounced off of Shining once it made contact with his aura as he sped up his gallop. He collided with White, and the magical aura exploded, sending both ponies flying in the opposite direction. “Shining!” Twilight gasped, and she quickly caught her brother with her magic and landed him safely next to her. “Oh my gosh!” Twilight panicked at the state her brother was in, with number of bruises forming on his body and his coat burned from the explosion. She immediately cast a spell on him that enveloped his body with a soothing aura and the wounds started healing, though very slowly as she was no nurse. “You gotta pay attention to your enemy first, nerd!” Twilight turned to the voice of White and a ball of water slammed against her frame, causing her to skid across the area. Luckily she cast a spell on her that acted as a temporary shield, though her concerns grew when she saw White make his way towards her. He summoned more balls of water and sent them towards her, but she was quick at her hooves in dodging them. Applejack saw her chance and decided to act. She ran up to a surprised White, and quickly slammed a hoof against his face, which caused him to stumbled slightly. Another hoof hit him again on the other side of his mouth, making him recoil from the strength of this earth pony. She reared herself up and bucked him hard on his muzzle, sending him flying and landing on the floor hard with his hooves massaging his face. She looked down upon him and let out a ‘hmph’ as her nostrils flared in disgust at the pony before him. As White was rolling on the ground in pain, the other decided to charge at him with full force. She got close enough to trample him before a ball of water hit her, sending her on her back. The sadistic unicorn smiled as he rose to his hooves. “You know, for a backwater hick, you’re pretty--” The sound of the party cannon firing stopped him, He spun out of the way of a ball of chocolate cake and flew towards Pinkie, jets of water erupting from the ground. He ended up right next to her. “Don’t you touch her!” Rarity yelled, dashing toward them. “You bru--” At that point, water erupted all around him, sending the two mares into the air. “Like it?” he mocked. Another shield formed around him. He saw Shining Armor, smirking heavily. “Cute trick, but haven’t you learned...” As it turns out, he had. Shining tightened the shield, squeezing White into a ball. Cursing, he summoned his water to break free. He was out in seconds, but it was all the distraction needed. Shining ran forward and smacked him with a hoof. He went tumbling back, only to be hit by Applejack. He fell into a blow from Twilight, who blasted him on the ground. “Oh, that’s it!” he snarled angrily. His body began to shimmer. Then, suddenly, water emerged from him. Water that took the shape of a unicorn stallion. It was White in body shape, but made entirely of liquid. Another came, then another, then another. They spread around the arena, dozens sliding around. “Let’s see you dance with these.” The water forms came charging at the group, who took up defensive positions. One form came up to Pinkie and she fired her cannon to it, but it absorbed the cake and was unharmed. “Hey! That’s not fair!” she yelled out as she shot more cakes at the form, but it was to no avail at all. Applejack just bucked the forms, only to have them regenerate and she started to become extremely tired. Rarity came to her rescue as she shot some beams at the forms, but they were ineffective due to regeneration. Shining and Twilight fought their way to their friends, as Pinkie came dashing to them too. Together they were encircled by the forms and White looking triumphantly at the back. “Shining, I got an idea!” Twilight said to her brother, who looked at her for a brief second before turning to the forms. “What is it?” “Form a shield around us when I say ‘now’, ok?” “You got it.” White had no idea what they were planning, but he just rolled his eyes. “Let’s just end this,” he said nonchalantly as the forms came in closer. “Now!” Shining activated his shield, but before it reached the ground, a trail of lightning escaped Twilight’s horn. It traveled at the speed of light to the forms and to White, who standing still buzzing for at least five seconds as he was being shocked with his other forms in the process. Once it was done, he collapsed to the floor, with his legs twitching and his coat burned slightly thanks to the electricity. The water forms dissipated and the water began to evaporate, leaving White behind. White groaned as he got up... only to fall back to the ground. He looked at his right hoof and saw it turning into liquid. Crying in shock, he looked all over himself as he began to leak, so to speak. “No way... I can’t... lose!” As he spoke these words, his body became water entirely and it evaporated in the air. The group looked on in confusion and horror at what just happened before them. “Did he just die?” Shining asked out of the blue as Twilight walked up closer to the site where White had been. She looked at the floor, and frowned slightly before looking up at her brother. “Seems that way, whatever magic he was doing, it came at a price,” she said to him as she walked back the others. Spike came running to her, and she caught him in a hug. “Mom! Are you ok!?” he asked his mother, as he looked up to her with moist eyes. Twilight just smiled warmly at this sight, and she blinked once before grinning at her son. “It will take more than one insane pony to take me down.” “Hate to break up the tender moment, but Scootaloo’s still out there,” Shining Armor pointed out. “And whatever was put into that unicorn was likely put into her.” The group tensed up. “What do you think we should do, Twilight?” Rarity asked. Twilight nodded. “We better all go to the palace. We can get patched up, and I can find something that can help me lock in on the tracer spell on Rainbow Dash.” “And we need to find out what that maniac did with my soldiers," Shining noted. "We better get moving. “Scoots!” Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash who sped from the door to her bed’s side. Scootaloo however looked away as she shied away from the presence of the cyan mare. Rainbow was confused by this gesture and prompted to place a hoof on her, but it was shook away as Scootaloo’s body moved further away. “Scoots? It’s me, Rainbow! I’m here now!” She hesitantly looked at Rainbow, and she could see the concern in her eyes. Rainbow’s expression turned from concern to horrified as she gasped at Scootaloo’s form, and Fluttershy looked away. Scootaloo wanted to shed tears, but all she could do was clench her teeth as her tear ducts were dried out. Suddenly, a pair of wings and forelegs encircled the weakened filly’s form. She felt herself shake, but it was not her moving. The tremors were coming from Rainbow Dash, as she sobbed into Scootaloo’s mane with her feathers forming a cocoon for the two of them. “I-I’m so sorry, Scoots!” she muttered as she raised her head and opened her eyes to reveal bloodshot eyes that could only display sorrow and guilt. Scootaloo looked into her eyes but Rainbow immediately shut them and buried her head in the filly’s mane as she sobbed further. She did not care of her image as a pony who never cried, nor did she care if she was to be called out for it later on. The moment she laid eyes upon Scootaloo was the moment she realized just how much she had failed her. What made it worse was that none of her friends blamed her for it, and something inside told her that Scootaloo would forever hate her. “W-what have they done to you?!” she whispered as her tears landed on top of the filly’s head. Scootaloo’s lips quivered as she felt the warm embrace of Rainbow Dash. It was as though it were an eternity since she felt caressed like this. She heard a yelp coming from the door and was held by another pair of wings as Fluttershy joined in hugging Scootaloo. Newfound tears were present in her eyes, and she lowered her head into Rainbow’s chest. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow, both of their eyes bloodshot from tears that have left their eyes, and they both looked down upon Scootaloo, who only tried to worm her way out after seeing the two mare’s pair of eyes stare at her. “Scoots?” Rainbow began to speak as she still held Scootaloo, but felt her moving and trying to force her way out. “What’s wrong Scoots? You don’t need to worry, I’m here now and-” “Y-you must think I’m a freak!” Rainbow and Fluttershy gasped as Scootaloo spoke these words. Rainbow shook her head in disbelief and Fluttershy placed her hooves over her mouth as it lay open. “Scoots, what are you talking about?!” Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow’s shocked face and only mastered a glare for a second, “You must think I’m a freak now because of this horn!” she shouted at her, though she coughed as her voice became hoarse from all the screaming she had done that day. Rainbow was not going to stand for it. Her shocked face turned into one of pure determination, and she drew in the filly closer to her. She felt a sudden chill from Scootaloo’s shackles as her frame was now pressed against hers, but she ignored it because of what the filly needed right now. “Scoots, I don’t know what they did to you... but I promise you we’ll fix this and you’ll be back in Ponyville... back home,” Rainbow Dash said softly to her, as she stroke the filly’s mane that had become dusty from Celestia-knows-what. “Right now, you need to tell me, where can I find the keys to your shackles?” she asked the filly as she looked down on Scootaloo. Scootaloo lowered her head slightly, “Well, that Black and Blue are always close to that Bloodwing jerk... so they may have the keys on them,” she explained to Rainbow as she was listening intently to Scootaloo’s words. “I’m not sure about the others, but there is a yellow pegasus who works here,” she explained further, but she saw the scowl on Rainbow’s face as she mentioned Yellow. “I don’t think Blaze has them cause-” Rainbow’s ears perked up at Scootaloo’s words, “Wait! Who’s Blaze?” she asked Scootaloo as she leaned towards the filly’s head. “T-the red one. He says that’s his real name... he was in here earlier...” Scootaloo answered Rainbow, who became slightly worried at this news. “Did he hurt you?” Rainbow Dash demanded as she placed her hooves on the filly’s shoulders. Scootaloo shook her head, “No, he gave me water... and ice cream...” Scootaloo replied, letting off a small smile at the sudden kindness he did. A silence followed after that. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow, who could only frown at the filly’s information. “Well... we still shouldn’t trust him. I’ll go find Bloodwing, and then we’ll get you out of here. Fluttershy, you stay here with her. I’ll be back.” And before Fluttershy could stop her, she flew off. Rainbow Dash turned and weaved through the hallways, staying toward the ceiling and as quiet as possible. She was determined to find the keys and get Scootaloo out of this forsaken place as fast as she could go with the Sonic Rainboom. Just as she turned around another corner, however, she was assaulted by a bolt of lightening that sent her to the floor. Twitching in pain, she looked up, just in time to see two more bolts coming at her. In a flash she flew back, dodging the two bolts. She wasn’t surprised to see who was responsible. Cantering towards her, was a familiar yellow pegasus mare with a malicious grin that emitted a murderous lust in its wake. “You!” Rainbow spat as she took a defensive position. Yellow was beginning to snicker softly which slowly became a hideous cackle as she flicked her head backwards. “Well, well, what do we have here?” she asked in a false cooing tone. Rainbow’s nostrils flared as she stomped her front hoof, ready to attack her opponent. “Where are Scootaloo’s keys?” Yellow just closed her eyes as she chuckled at the question thrown at her, “Aw now, why must you try and take her away? I’ve gotten kind of attached.” she sneered at Rainbow as she licked her lips. Rainbow glared with the utmost fury at Yellow as her temper was rising, “She’s my Scootaloo! Now gimme the keys or else!” Yellow grinned as she waved her hoof in front of her, “Tsk tsk tsk...don’t you remember? You kicked her out like a piece of trash. She’s our property now!” Yellow said as she looked upwards dreamily and smiling sickly. “The things we’ll do to her-” Rainbow threw a punch at Yellow, but she was too quick and dodge it effortlessly. Rainbow’s body began to shake uncontrollably as wrath took control. “Listen, you little skank!” Rainbow spat, “You’re not hurting her anymore! I’m not letting her stay here any longer... and I’ll take you down if you come in my way!” Yellow just closed her eyes as she shook her head with a devious smile,“Of course! You’re the hero, so you have to rescue her.” she said as she looked up to stare into Rainbow’s eyes. “Although...” Yellow charged forward and attempted to strike Rainbow with her hooves that were energized with lightning, but Rainbow backed away fast from her reach. A large blast of lightning suddenly shot from her body, travelling towards Rainbow fast. She barely had time as she rolled to the side to get out of its way. Yellow stared down at the alerted Rainbow as her wings furled and lightning shot out of them, hitting and cracking the walls around her, “...I’m the villain, so I will have to kill you right here and now!” Chapter 9As she sat with Scootaloo in the cold cell, Fluttershy did everything in her power to put the filly’s mind at ease. She held onto her and started humming a lullaby to Scootaloo, which had instantaneous results as she was able to calm herself down. Scootaloo furled her wings slightly as Fluttershy let go of her and she looked up to the caring pegasus’s face. “Fluttershy?” “Yes, Scootaloo?” Fluttershy replied to the weakened voice of Scootaloo as she lowered her head to hear the words properly. “D-do you think Rainbow will be okay?” she asked feebly as her throat was burning slightly. Fluttershy fidgeted slightly at this innocent question, for she honestly did not know. She knew however that she had to install hope into the filly, even if it was a slim chance. “Scootaloo, there’s one thing you must know of Rainbow Dash by now...” Scootaloo turned her head sideways, confused by the statement Fluttershy gave her. She thought she knew everything there was to know about Rainbow Dash, but even in situations like these, a pony learns more of another in surprising ways. “What's that?” Fluttershy smiled broadly at the filly, “She never gives up on those she loves.” Scootaloo stared in awe at the words spoken by the shy pegasus. The ones she loves... love... she loves me? Scootaloo wondered and the more she remembered her idol crying over her and comforting her, the more she was convinced that she indeed care for her. Regret however slowly started to creep in, as she also remembered the hateful words she spat out to her. Scootaloo looked down in shame as more memories flooded her mind. “Scootaloo? What’s wrong?” Scootaloo sniffed as she continued to look down, “I-I failed her... I said all those mean words to her... I thought she was just giving me up... but I-” “Scootaloo!” As soon as she heard her name being shouted at her in a scolding tone, her head flew upwards to see Fluttershy’s face looking down on her with a frown. “Scootaloo,” she said again in her kind demeanor, as she reached the filly and held her close with her wings covering the little body she was embracing. “You haven’t failed her at all. We failed you for not believing you when you needed us the most.” “But I-” Scootaloo tried to push herself away but was stopped as she saw Fluttershy give her a short version of the ‘The Stare’, which made her go numb as all will to escape the embrace of the cream pegasus left her. “No ‘buts’, young lady!” she said as she continued her stare, which slowly melted seeing the filly obliging to her. Fluttershy held her closer than ever before. “Now listen to me, Scootaloo. the moment when you were gone... I have never seen Rainbow Dash look so sad in my life, and the moment she realized you were telling us the truth, she was crying her lungs out because of what happened. I have never seen her cry so much in my life... but that alone showed me how much you mean to her... and how much you mean to all of us,” Fluttershy whispered to her as tears were slowly making her way down to her cheek, “And... I speak for everypony that is out there looking for you... I am so sorry.” Scootaloo was starting to tear up as she felt her head being wetted by Fluttershy’s tears. She tried to restrain her tears, but as she felt more tears land on her tiny head her body began to quake as she sobbed into Fluttershy’s chest. “When we get out of here, and we will, Rainbow Dash is going to sign the papers to adopt you. She’ll take care of you just like you deserve. You’ll have a family.” Fluttershy spoke softly to Scootaloo as she stroked her hair softly with her hoof. Scootaloo lifted her head to meet the caring blue tear stained eyes of Fluttershy, “...R...really?” “I know so,” the elder pegasi said, kissing her head. “Rainbow Dash will be back any minute.” Rainbow Dash hit the wall as another bolt struck her. She suddenly realized just how bad a situation she was in. In a cramped hallway like this, her wings had limited maneuverability, but Yellow had all the space she needed to fry her opponent. Still, the athletic pegasus was nothing if not persistent, and she flew up and over the other pegasus and down the hall. Yellow followed, laughing. “Oh, come on, Rainbow, what do you hope to accomplish? Even if you do get away from me, you’re going to alert at least one of my friends.” Rainbow slowed to a halt, moving only to dodge another lightning blast. “You’re right,” the cyan mare said, turning around. “I guess I’ll just have to kill you here.” Yellow chuckled as if her opponent had just told a semi-amusing joke. “Cute...” she muttered, the air crackling around her. “Well, let’s see what you...” She was cut off by Rainbow Dash slamming into her at high speeds, sending her into a brick wall. Dazed, she began rising to her hooves, only to be struck again. Rainbow kept striking her with her front hooves, moving at an impressive speed. Keep it up... move too fast for her to activate her... It didn’t take long for her hopes to be dashed as Yellow lit up, shocking her. She then threw a charged punch, knocking Rainbow Dash to the ground. “Now, why don’t we get to the heart of the problem?” she laughed, pressing her hoof on Rainbow Dash’s chest, lighting up her powers. The cyan mare screamed, twitching and moaning. As her vision was beginning to fade, she could hear the sick laughter of Yellow resounding in her ears, but her concerns lay with Scootaloo and Fluttershy. Though before she could even lift a hoof, she felt her face being punched hard by Yellow and she fell unconscious. “Light’s out, colors,” she sneered at the fallen Rainbow, lifting her hoof from her face and checking the corridors. Letting out a sigh, she began to move onwards before her head snapped as she heard a sharp yelp. She looked behind her and only saw the corridor leading to Scootaloo’s cell. “She must have brought her friends along... oh well,” she shrugged casually as she trotted past the fallen Rainbow. “More for me.” When she reached Scootaloo’s cell, she noticed it was open and she immediately took action as she entered the cell. She looked all around her and saw only the filly lying on her side facing her away. “Why the hay is your cell open, huh?!” she shouted at Scootaloo, who just turned slowly to her side and looked at her with a grumpy frown. “Will you be quiet? I’m trying to sleep!” “Sleep huh?” she marched forward to Scootaloo and pulled her head up by her mane. Scootaloo let out a yelp as she felt more pain originating from her head as she clenched her teeth hard from this experience. “You’ll get more than enough sleep when you’re dead,” she snarked at Scootaloo, who was winching from the pain. “Now tell me, who came into your cell, you little pussy?!” As Scootaloo opened her eyes, she saw Fluttershy tip-hoofing to the outside of the cell. “That red pegasus came in here earlier, go annoy him if you want!” “What? Red?” she asked Scootaloo who huffed and nodded. What the hay is he up to? As she let go of Scootaloo, she slowly turned around to face the door. “You wanna know a secret?” Yellow immediately perked up as Scootaloo said those words, and she turned back to give her her fullest attention. This was enough time needed for Fluttershy to escape, and Scootaloo let out a soft sigh, only audible for her ears. “Well, what’s the secret? Spit it out!” Scootaloo snickered as she grinned at Yellow’s face, “You’re a fat ugly cow, that’s what!” she told her as she spat in her eye with Yellow flinching slightly as she backed away from the bed. “Why you little-!” A clanging sound was heard from outside the cell, followed by yet another yelp. Yellow looked back at Scootaloo, staring daggers at the filly. “When this is over, so are you!” With that, Yellow flew out of the cell, making sure to close it. Glancing around, she muttered, “Where are you...” Fluttershy pressed herself against the ceiling, praying Yellow wouldn’t look up. She trembled, sweating heavily. “Come out, come out, wherever you are~” she purred in every direction, hoping to hear something. “Oh, real original!” Scootaloo mocked from her cell. “You shut your mouth, bitch, or I’m going to come in there and knock those damn teeth out!” Yellow barked at her as she gazed back to the cell. Fluttershy flew off as Yellow was distracted looking at the door. She got three feet before she got struck in the back by a bolt of lightning. Crying, she hit the ground as Yellow stood over her. “Well, well, looks like I’m two for tw...” At that point, she was hit in the side by a very angry Rainbow Dash. ”Fluttershy, run!” she yelled. The yellow pegasus didn’t need a second bidding. She flew off, trying desperately to remember the way out. Yellow screeched, punching wildly at Rainbow Dash. “You little bitch!” “Little?” Rainbow said mockingly, flying up. Still, her body wavered, she clearly wasn’t in any mood to continue. Yellow shiftly bucked her in the face, knocking her out and she fell to the ground, limping from the electricity coursing through the fallen pegasus’s body. Yellow smirked triumphantly and with a lightning speed, she was off to catch Fluttershy. The castle grounds were in anarchy with the arrival of a wounded Captain of the Guard, his younger sister and her companions. The guards were well known for keeping their stoic features in check, but even seeing their own captain hurt like he was, was enough to make them release a slight gasp of shock from the state of him. One of the guards came running towards Shining, hastily saluting his superior. “Sir! What in sweet Equestria happened?!” he asked his commanding officer, as Shining let out a groan and rubbed his rib cage soothingly. Shining sighed as he looked behind him to see his sister, who was also slightly hurt from the fight beforehand. He had to give her credit for coming out of a match like that with only a few scratches. He thought to himself if she were to join the guard one day, she would outrank her brother in a matter of months. “We’ve been attacked by a hostile just by the Southern Entrance. Lieutenant, I want you to take four squads and allocate them to each of the entrances of Canterlot. Nopony for the next twenty four hours is to set foot in or outside this city. Then, I want you to get together a fifth to accompany me and the Element Bearers to wherever this force is hiding.” “Sir!” With that, the lieutenant and four other squadrons of pegasi flew off to the posts they were just given by their superior. “Corporal!” Shining called out to another guard on standby, “Send word to the princesses we are dealing with ponies with unnatural magical abilities, enough power to rival the Elements and the Guard.” “Sir!” the corporal saluted as he shouted to his captain and ran off to the royal courtroom where Princess Celestia was located. Twilight, limping slightly from the pain she was experiencing, walked up to her brother and looked at him with worried eyes. “You think that will be enough to stop them?” she asked her brother, who turned at her with concerned eyes of his own. Shining shook his head, “I honestly don’t know, Twily, this isn’t like some changeling or diamond dog assault we withstood before. This is something way beyond even me,” he answered her truthfully as he could. “But what if-woah!” Twilight wobbled a bit in place as she was becoming slightly dizzy from the overuse of magic. Spike quickly ran towards her, holding her in place as she regain her sense of balance. She smiled demurely at her boy, who she nuzzled in gratitude. “Thank you, Spike.” Spike smiled at his mother and crossed his arms behind his head, “Anytime, Mom,” he answered her with a slightly smug smile which soon turned to a frown. “You still have that spell to locate Rainbow? Maybe she found Scootaloo already!” Twilight nodded as she looked down on her son, “I do, but we don’t want to move in until we get some back-up. White was powerful enough to take us all on, I can’t imagine what the others are like. And anyways, you’re not coming with us. You’re staying in the castle.” “But...” “In. The. Castle. I mean it.” Twilight ordered him with her commanding voice, and he was fidgeting his tail as he nodded and looked up shyly at his mother’s face which soon turned caring as she planted a kiss on his forehead. Applejack and Rarity in turn, told their younger sisters to go in with Spike too. “But sis what if-” Apple Bloom argued, but was immediately silent when her sister gave her glaring look. “None of tha’ now little lady! We’ll take it from ‘ere.” she said to Apple Bloom as she ruffled her hair to cheer her up. “Sweetie, do go with Apple Bloom and Spike too because-” “I know. Jeez!”, Sweetie just rolled her eyes as both she, Apple Bloom and Spike made their way into the castle. “I’ll have some guards watching him,” Shining commented. “You’re gonna watch Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle too, ain’t ya?” Applejack asked. “They can be a bit of a handful, but...” “Relax, we’ve got it.” a guard answered her gruffly as he trotted past a dejected looking Applejack, who just tilted her hat upwards as she glared at the guard. “Darling, I must ask: how do you intend we handle the rest? If they’re all as powerful as that brute...” “We’ll just have to get clever,” the purple unicorn nodded. “Red and Yellow attacked with Fire and Lightning, we need to find a way to turn those elements against them in our rematch. We need to assume that Black and Blue have powers as well, and there’s no telling what Bloodwing’s done to himself...” “...So, for fire, we use water, right?” Pinkie chimed in. “Oh! I’ll load my party cannon with water balloons!” “...No, I have a better idea for Red, and one for Yellow. We’ll need to think about what kind of powers the others have, but we can guess they’re elemental like the others...” “We have another problem,” Shining cut in, “we still don’t know where Bloodwing is, or if Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy got there.” “I can still sense Rainbow, so she must be okay. I’m sure the two are on their way back here right now.” “I want to go home!" Fluttershy cried, flying as fast as she could. She could see daylight, she was almost out! “Aw, come on, I just want to talk,” she could hear Yellow shouting from down the corridor. This only caused the nature loving pegasus to fly even faster. Finally, she was at the entrance. She barely noticed when she exited, only changing flight paths to fly straight into the air. Her legs hit the top of the adjacent building, causing her to stumble a bit, but she regained herself. She flew to the castle. She had a mission. Yellow just stopped at the entranceway, assessing the situation. “Oh, Luna damn it...” Yellow cursed her rotten luck, but she had to silence the mare before they could find out what their plans were. Steadying herself in position, she lifted her wings and lightning shot out from them, cracking the ground as the lightning struck it. She then flew to the castle grounds at lightning speed, determined to catch her prey. Fluttershy turned around to see the menacing presence of Yellow coming at her fast and she gasped as she flew faster towards the castle grounds. She did not dare turn her back in fear of being captured by the yellow streak of lightning that was approaching her fast. She willed all of her power into her wings and flew faster than she ever had done in her life, determined to make it to her friends alive. She looked down and saw her friends at the castle grounds and sighed in happiness as she dive bombed towards them. Though when she did, she could hear the crackling of lightning behind her and heard the taunting laughter of her chaser. “I got you now, little birdy!” Fluttershy ignored this and still flew done to the ground below her where her friends were at. She inhaled a sum of oxygen in her and let out a scream so loud, everypony in Canterlot turned to the source of the noise. Twilight’s head jerked up and saw Fluttershy coming towards them fast, “Fluttershy! Slow down!” Pinkie squinted her eyes for a clearer view, “Bad idea, Twilight. She’s got a bad pony chasing her!” Pinkie yelled as she pointed her hooves to Yellow right behind Fluttershy. Shining Armor, despite his injuries, ran up towards Twilight and conjured up a shield spell large enough for everypony in the ground to be enveloped by it. Twilight was shocked by her brother’s move, “Shining! What are you doing?! Fluttershy’s still!-” “Twily, trust me on this one, okay!” As he said those, Fluttershy was near contact with the shield and her face turned to terror just before she was about to crash into it. Shining, however, made a small opening for her and she flew right into the shield and with a mighty flap of her wings, she landed on the ground hard with the other mares rushing towards her. Yellow however, met the full force of the shield but with added electricity from her wings she cracked the shield and landed roughly on the ground, where a number of guards were encircling her like sharks to a blood source in the water. “You are under arrest by order of...” Shining didn’t get a chance to finish that statement, because at that moment a large surge of electricity surged, throwing the guards away. Standing, Yellow threw her hooves against the shield like a madpony, desperately trying to break it down. Shining strained, but the barrier didn’t waver. Finally she stopped and thought. She was spent for energy and not likely to win a direct confrontation. Probably best to cut her losses now. “I’ll be back,” she promised, taking to the sky. “Guards, follow her!” Shining commanded, dropping the shield, “Catch her, I don’t care...” At that point Twilight calmly shot a blast of magic straight at Yellow. Its aim was true, and the pegasus went rigid, falling to the ground. She didn’t move or jostle, she was as hard as a statue. “That will keep her petrified for now,” Twilight explained. There was silence for a moment. “Twilight, darling...” Rarity began, “why didn’t you use that on White?” “He was moving way too fast. Besides, it takes a lot of magic, and no telling what else could go wrong if I had missed. Do you have anything in the dungeon capable of holding her?” “We’ll find out,” Shining nodded. “Guards, take her away, I’ll be down to interrogate her shortly.” Bloodwing rubbed the top of his head with his hoof. “So the Element of Kindness got away, and Yellow just chased after her?” “That is the case, sir,” Blue said calmly. “Black locked up Loyalty, so we at least have her.” “Oh goodie,” Bloodwing said sarcastically, “we have one of them. They got one of us, now possibly two of us if Yellow isn’t careful.” “Should I send Red out after her?” Bloodwing was silent for a moment, as he tapped his hoof to his chin in thought. “...No. You go yourself. I’m starting to doubt Red’s loyalty to our project.” Blue nodded. “Very well, I’ll have her back soon.” “You best. Something tells me we’re going to have to step our plans up.” “It shall be done.” Blue answered as he bowed before Bloodwing and ran outside the building. Bloodwing turned his attention to Black, who was standing behind him with a triumphant smug look on his face. “Now then, where did you put Loyalty if I may ask Black?” he questioned Black, as he sauntered over to him. Black just shrugged as he closed his eyes, “I just placed her in with our other guest. Thinking he may be lonely and some company would cheer him up.” he answered Bloodwing, who smiled wickedly at his subordinate. “Good...” he said in a hush tone as he trotted away, “This could be useful to me in an experiment.” he told himself as he rubbed his hooves together in glee. “I think you deserve a reward~” he cooed at Black as he held a syringe in his hoof. Black’s smiled widened as he saw it, and like a little dog to a treat, he got exceptionally excited over it. “Is that what I think it is, sir!?” “Oh yes!” Bloodwing answered him as he approached Black, and with a swift movement from his hoof, he pierced the black pony with the syringe and injected him with whatever was inside it. Black started shaking in place with him crouching to the ground and yelling out in ecstasy. His forehead started to bleed out as a cone shaped bone shot out from it. Black was laughing like a madpony as he felt his back being ripped open with wings coming out of it. When it was finally over, Black stood there in a pool of blood as he was giving off an evil grin formed on his muzzle. “How do you feel?” Black turned to Bloodwing and snickered, “Like a royal on crack!” Meanwhile, Red was standing outside the room and heard everything transpire inside. He let out a sigh and reached for what appeared to be a key on his body. With a flick of his hoof, he held the key close to his chest. He let out a sigh as he looked down glumly to the floor before looking up with determined eyes. “Oh well, gotta do it before it’s too late.” he mused to himself as he trotted off to a corridor. With each step he took, it felt like the world was vibrating in favor against him. Like a petty house thief, he looked behind him all the time to make sure he was not being followed. Once he reached to a cell door, he opened it carefully, popping his head inside before his entire body followed afterwards. Author's Note I like this time to thank a few people for this story and past stories: Darth Link 22 (Being my writing partner and friend) Vozzlefox (For being my editor and my teacher in writing, without I would never have been able to write... ever and for being a very good friend) Amras Felagund (For helping edit this story and others that me and Darthlink 22 have been working on together... huge thanks to him) ezio dementay (For being a good friend, you inspire the uninspired like I was) Racko, Arby Works and Cold Spike (For being fellow Spike fans and awesome friends) And to you the reader and fans... I say this to you all... thank you Chapter 10Rainbow moaned as the world slowly came into focus. She saw... bricks. Bricks in the wall. She mentally cringed. She was in a cell, she knew it, at her mind instantly raced imagining everything somepony like Bloodwing could do to her. She felt something scratchy beneath her, and realized she was laying on hay. She felt a heavy weight on her neck, and two chains on her forelegs. She sighed, knowing better than to expect five star accommodations. “Um, Miss?” a small voice said. “Miss?” Her mind becoming more alert, she sat up. She looked around, and her gaze eventually met another pony’s. It was a colt, no older than Scootaloo at her estimation. He had a white coat that lacked a cutie mark, and a dirty blond mane. He was looking at his new cellmate carefully, as if unsure whether she was friendly. “Who are you?” Rainbow asked immediately. “And where am I?” “I’m Light Stream,” the colt answered. “And you’re at Bloodwing’s place in Canterlot.” Rainbow nodded. She checked herself over real quick. Other than the bruises Yellow had given her, she was still very much intact, so apparently Bloodwing hadn’t had time to operate on her. Her restraints kept her connected to the wall, apparently Bloodwing had no intention of letting her escape. Then a terrifying thought came to her. “Where’s Fluttershy!?” she asked in sudden panic. “I-I think I heard Black mumble something about a pony getting away,” he answered. Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, then we won’t be here long.” She looked back at the colt. “What are you doing here anyway? Are you another experiment?” Light shook his head. “Bloodwing keeps me in here to keep my brother working.” Rainbow Dash blinked. “You mean... your brother is one of the agents?” The colt nodded. “He’s called Red now. Please don’t hate him, he’s a good big brother, he just doesn’t want me getting hurt.” Rainbow’s brain was spiraling. Up until now the agents had been an interchangeable group of obstacles standing in the way of her rescuing Scootaloo. Hearing that one had a life outside of serving Bloodwing was a bit overwhelming. Rainbow Dash shook her head vigorously, “Ok, timeout! How did you and your bro end up with Bloodwing?” she asked him suspiciously, still a little wary of the new pony before her. Light sighed as his ears drooped, “I guess we weren’t born in the right place... we’re orphans. We ran away and did anything for food, mostly steal,” Light answered her hesitantly as he turned his head to the wall. “But we stole from the wrong pony and that cost us, Bloodwing took me as a bargaining chip and said if my brother worked for him for at least three years, he’d let us go.” Rainbow blinked and lowered her head to Light’s level, “When was this?” she asked him curiously. Light’s eyes became slightly moist, “Four years ago now,” he answered her, with his tone becoming sadder by the moment. For a split second, Rainbow was reminded of Scootaloo in her helpless state. This colt had to suffer for so long, and his brother had to do wrong things to keep him from harm’s way. “Why are you here, Miss?” he asked her as he raised his eyebrow in curiosity. Rainbow huffed slightly, “I’m here to get my daughter back from those creeps!” she answered him with a bravado she only displayed in seemingly hopeless situations. Light’s head turned slightly in confusion, “Um, Miss aren’t-” “Please, call me Rainbow Dash or just Rainbow,” Rainbow interrupted him with a smile on her face, not always being called ‘Miss’ by anypony in particular. “Miss Rainbow Dash,” Light corrected himself slightly, with Rainbow only rolling her eyes playfully at the colt’s everlasting politeness. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but aren’t you a little too young to be a mother?” Rainbow’s eyes widened as blood was rushing to her cheeks in that moment. “Um.. Light, how it goes... you see, Scootaloo isn’t my biological daughter but-” “Oh so you adopted her!” Light interrupted her with his answer. “Yeah you could say that.” Light smiled at the mare before him, “You must have a very kind heart to take in a pony as your daughter and get her back when she is kidnapped,” he said to Rainbow, who could not stop blushing at the colt’s words. “Did I say something wrong?” “No... it’s just...” she sighed. “The only reason Scootaloo’s in this mess is because of me. She told me everything that was going on, and I didn’t believe her. I let Black and Blue take her... nevermind. We’ll be free soon enough if Fluttershy got away.” Blue was carefully making his way across Canterlot, making sure not to be seen. It was unlikely the guards would know him on sight, but there was little reason to take chances, especially considering how far south things had gone since they had arrived in Canterlot. As he saw another platoon come, he ducked into an alley and waited for it to pass. “...Do they have any idea where she came from?” “No clue, though I hear Celestia had ponies doing research.” “Really? I’d have thought Sparkle would have figured things out by now.” “She’s going off to find the filly who was kidnapped. Refused to slow down for it.” “Hope nothin’ happens to her, she’s pretty cute.” “Better not let Captain Armor catch you saying that. The last pony that talked about what he wanted to do to her got KP for a year.” “Too bad, she’s one...” “Anyway, Captain Armor is going to interrogate her soon, thinks it’ll give them some idea on what to do when they storm...” They trotted away, and Blue’s hoof hit her head. It looked like a rescue mission was in order. Yellow was not having the best day. Being chained up and interrogated by the captain of the guards tended to do that to you. “How many agents are there? What are their powers?” “Well, my power is telling you to go buck your...” “Twilight?” Shining asked, turning to his sister. The lavender unicorn’s horn lit up, shooting a beam at their captive. Yellow felt light headed as the magic stopped. “It’s my wit dampening spell. It makes it impossible to concentrate. You’ll spill soon enough,” Twilight boasted. “Why did you want Spike?” Yellow started giggling uncontrollably at this question, “Celestia didn’t even tell you? Whoa, you really are her little lapdog. Did she get bored with you by any chance?” she asked her, though Twilight’s face reddened in anger at of this mare’s words. Shining trotted up to Yellow with glaring eyes that could petrify a hydra, “I suggest you answer the questions correctly,” he said to her in a hushed threatening whisper. Yellow just smiled playfully at him like a drunken mare, “You’ll just have me alone? I don’t wanna a bug-bucker like you!” she screamed as she rocked in the chair, but stopped as she shot her head upwards with her eyes wide open. “But your wife is more than welcome especially since her husband left her to rot all alone in those caves,” she answered him as she giggled further at Shining’s eyes that were now showing utmost fury. Shining’s hoof rose as he scowled at the mare before him, “Why you little-!” “Shining don’t!” Twilight yelled to him as her magic encased his hoof in place. “We need her to talk and she won’t if she is unconscious.” Yellow whistled at Twilight. “Wow you really are smart, aren’t you? Just a shame you don’t know what’s the deal with that made-up-dragon.” Twilight’s ears perked up at this, “What do you mean ‘made-up-dragon’?” she asked Yellow. “Oh come on!” Yellow exclaimed, “Are you really smart or just stupid in disguise?” she asked. “Look, remember that dragon hatching test you performed to get into that nice little school?” she asked her. “Of course I do! But Princess Celestia gave me a real egg to prove my magic,” Twilight answered her immediately. A snort leaked out of Yellow’s mouth that turned into hysterical laughter. Twilight frowned at the mare’s antics and her horn glowed slightly, “What’s so funny?” “You’re so gullible it’s unbelievable! You’ll believe anything that old hag says to you?! Wow! Do I have something to tell the others when I get out of here!” “Look, you, I want answers...” “And I’d like you to fall over dead. The difference between us is that I’m going to live long enough to get what I want.” Twilight’s horn lit up and struck Yellow again. The mare groaned as her world spun once more. “Where did Spike come from?” “...the whelp’s egg,” Yellow groaned, “was...” At that moment, Twilight was struck from behind by a blast of ice, knocking her into a wall and holding her in place. Panicking, Shining turned around, having just enough time to get a shield up before the beam hit him. “What the...” was Shining’s initial reaction. This was understandable, because the attack was coming from a member of the royal guard. It was even less understandable as the attacker was an earth pony. “Soldier, what are you...” At that point, his armor froze over, becoming brittle to the sudden drop in temperature. The image spell that the armor came with flickered out, revealing Blue, looking as stoic as ever. “...Agent Blue, I presume?” “You’ve heard of me? I'm flattered." “Don’t be, nothing I heard was good.” With another glow of his horn, a second shield formed around the agent, trapping him. “Two at once...” Blue muttered, a faint tinge of approval in his voice. “And your first shield doesn’t look any worse for the wear.” “Well, I didn’t get this cutie mark for nothing” Shining Armor said proudly. “Your buddy White was at least smart enough to keep moving, but you tried to stand still. Big mistake.” “Indeed,” Blue nodded. At that point, he let loose his powers. The previously transparent shield became opaque with frost and ice. “And you made it.” Shining didn’t have to ask why. The sheer amount of cold his magic was exposed to hurt. It was chilling beyond belief. He had never felt anything like it. It shouldn’t have been this bad. Finally, he couldn’t concentrate anymore. He dropped both shields, but shot forward, jumping slightly to the side to avoid the expected projectile of ice. Unfortunately, Blue was a tactician. He instead iced over the floor, seemingly by willing the ice into existence. With no traction, Shining slid right past him, slamming against a wall. He him letting out a groan as pain coursed through his body. He began to lose balance, and then he felt an even greater chill spreading over him. He saw that he was stuck against the wall in a block of ice, which he could not escape from no matter how much he tried. Before he could use his magic to thaw himself out, his horn froze over. When the ice encased his muzzle, Shining looked at Blue with absolute anger as he saw Blue walking up to him and had the look of satisfaction in his eyes, “That should hold you for a while. As for you...” he said as he turned to Twilight, who was filled with boiling rage at what she just saw. “You’re not getting away from here!” she yelled as she broke free of her icy restraints. She charged towards Blue, with her horn glowing dangerously. She shot a few beams at Blue, who simply dodged them as he looked on with boredom at the mare coming towards him. She came closer to him as he summoned more ice, attempting to both ice over the floors and coat himself in his element, almost like a suit of armor. Twilight wasn’t slowed, she leapt and levitated herself up, then charged her magic and shot him with her petrification spell. Her aim was true, it hit him on the chest and he was frozen in place. The mare grinned as she moved forward to Blue, who stood stock still in place. “That’s another agent we have for questioning,” she said as she turned to her brother, who strangely tried to shout at her with his pupils shrunk to the size of pins. Twilight was confused by this and decided to move closer to her brother. “I will leave you with nothing!” As soon as these words spoken, Twilight was hit with an ice ball that hit her hard against her frame and the ice started to spread across her body, as she looked down in terror at what was happening to her. Her horn was also not working, as she desperately tried to thaw herself out of this ice. She had never felt so cold in her life, and the ice continued to spread until it covered her whole body. Only her eyes and ears were left unfrozen as she could hear Yellow cackling, Twilight’s body refused to move. “So much for the Element of Magic, eh?” Blue simply trotted towards Yellow and stood in front of her chair with him generating a small ice pike. The ice impacted the locks of Yellow’s shackles, releasing her legs from their hold. When the final shackle fell to the floor, Yellow rubbed her legs with her hoof tenderly as she got up from her chair. “You’re lucky Bloodwing thinks you’re worth saving,” the earth pony muttered. “Aww, don’t be like that, Bluey,” she cooed, “rescuing me means we get to destroy...” They were cut off by a heavy blast of purple magic, which hit Blue in the back and sent him to the ground. Jumping high into the air, Yellow saw something amazing. Twilight had escaped, the ice melted around her hooves. She lit up her horn, firing another blast, but Yellow managed to dodge again. Blue looked at Twilight from the floor, showing an expression for the first time, one of utter shock. “H...how...” Twilight offered no answer, she simply fired once again.This time, the earth pony dodged. He turned to his partner, “Go.” Yellow shrugged. “If you insist,” she said as she flew out the door. “Stop!” Twilight yelled, turning to fire a blast at her. Blue took advantage of the distraction to use his power and launch an ice spear to Twilight. However, at that moment, Shining Armor broke free from his icy prison as he was motivated by both not letting his prisoner’s escape and by protecting his little sister. With a glow from his horn a shield formed around her, absorbing the attack. It pained the captain of the guard, but he held his ground. Blue looked enraged. “You got out... you...” He turned to fire at Shining. Twilight tried to take the opportunity, but as soon as the last attack was over Blue turned and fired at her. He kept going back and forth, attempting to break one of the two shields. “You can’t keep that up forever,” Shining told White as he keep his shield up. “I can keep these up longer than you can keep firing.” Blue suddenly stopped attacking and closed his eyes as he stood still. He started to breath slowly, with each breath frosting as though the atmosphere started freezing. Shining raised an eyebrow at what Blue was doing, but Twilight simply shot a beam at him with the opening he gave. When the beam was about to collide with Blue, it froze in the air and fell to the floor emitting a clink sound. Twilight looked on in fear at what just happened, “T-that’s impossible!” she shouted at Blue, who opened his eyes. His eyes were now glowing pure white and he let out a roar as ice started shooting out from his body to every space in the room. “BEGONE!” As lances of ice were being sent towards Twilight, she had to use every bit of her magic to block the oncoming ice. She was starting to get exhausted from her use of magic as her breathing became hoarse and her vision started to blur. Another piece of ice came towards her that she tried to block, but her magic would not work to stop it. As it came by a hair’s length away from her face, she could see the twisted smile forming on Blue’s face. “Now, you die.” The ice particle landed on the ground, immediately melting into water. “What?!” Blue shouted out as his ice attacks had no further effect on Twilight. Twilight’s fur began to sizzle slightly, until finally she burst into flames and became a living inferno. The flames were dancing off her, vaporizing all the ice around her and leaving scorch marks on the floor. Twilight looked up with nothing but absolute anger in her eyes to Blue, who only glared at her he sent more ice towards her. Twilight simply melted each one of them and shot more of her magic at Blue. Blue however was quick in dodging them and just continued attacking Twilight. She turned to him as he decided to slide behind her and attack from her rear. She vanished and he looked frantically around him, trying to located his target. He felt a nudged at his side and saw Twilight standing there, looking grimly at him. “Dodge this.” Before Blue could react, he was met with an intense heat coming from Twilight’s horn as it shot a beam of magic to him. He let out a sharp cry as he felt the intense heat of Twilight’s magic, it was the power of the sun itself. He flew backwards to the wall. He got up slowly and started huffing at the mare before him, who was no longer burning. “So even your magic is amplified by rage?” he remarked to Twilight, who slumped to the ground as her magic was near depletion. Blue started to walk towards her but stopped when his hoof shattered like ice itself. He looked down in horror as the rest of his body was turning to ice and started to break with even the slightest of movements he performed. Twilight and Shining looked at him with both wonder, disgust and fear at what was happening to his body. Blue tried to call out to them, but his head along with his body was now ice itself. It tilted and with it crashed to the floor, shattering to a million pieces. Twilight looked, carefully nudging the ice on the floor with her hoof. “Looks like he overextended his energy,” she noted. “Just like White, it was too much for him. That’s one less to worry about.” Shining nodded. “We need to catch up to Yellow. She’s our last lead in dealing with the rest of Bloodwing’s agents.” Much to Shining’s surprise, Twilight slumped to the floor. “You... you better go on without me. I’m tired, I used up too much energy. I’d be no good to you right now.” Shining nodded. “Don’t worry, I think my soldiers must have gotten her by now. She’s in a palace filled with guards and she’s not exactly a master of subtlety.” Shining Armor’s statement was half correct. Yellow was not a stealth expert, but that was because she didn’t need to be. At her highest speed, she went far too fast for any of the guards to catch up to her. An ever-growing squadron was chasing her down the halls, always just a step behind her. Yellow’s excellent banking was not helping, which let her turn corners tightly while leaving her pursuers tripping over themselves. “Come on, boys, you can do better than that.” “Stop this. Even if we can’t catch you, the Princesses are alerted to your presence, they will be here soon.” Yellow didn’t show it, but that made her nervous. Still, she couldn’t leave yet. She had to compensate her loss to be in Bloodwing’s good graces again, and she had the perfect idea. She turned another corner and picked up speed. Again, and again, she banked and turned until finally she came to the wing of the castle she had been looking for, the guest wing. She burst into the first room and found it empty. Not slowing down, she flew straight through the window, which, luckily for her, had been made out of safety glass and hadn’t cut her to ribbons. She banked around and flew into the room next to it. The guards who followed her out were lost for a moment, expecting to find her flying away. But Yellow knew it wouldn’t be for too much longer. They’d notice the second broken window soon, so she had to act fast. She flew back into the hallways, opening each door and looking inside. The first three she found empty, but in the fourth she found what she had been looking for. A small baby dragon was looking at her with wide terrified eyes, as were an earth pony and unicorn foal. Their playing cards they had been using had been forgotten upon hearing the ruckus in the hallway, and at this point it was clear their game would never be finished. “Perfect,” she said sultry as she approached the three youths, with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom standing behind Spike as he held his arms wide and acted as a shield for the filles. Smoke came out of his nose he glared at the threat before him, “What are you doing here?!” he demanded to know, as Yellow just came to a stop before him. Yellow chuckled wickedly as she saw the little whelp in defense before her, “I just let myself out, as my partner was dealing with the Element of Magic. Can’t say she will be looking pretty from now on, though,” she remarked as she looked on with pleasure at Spike’s growing anger. “If you’ve hurt my mom you’re gonna-” “Shut up!” In a flash she flew up to Spike and gave him a swift swipe with her hoof, hitting him in the side of the head and sending him to the floor. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell squealed in terror as they ran to hide under the bed, but she just rolled her eyes as she saw them, “Tell the others this: If they follow me, they’re dead,” she said blankly as she scooped up the stunned dragon and flew out the window just as the royal guards reached the room. When they arrived, they were met by the crying of two fillies by their feet. They were shouting at the same time with tears of fear rolling down their eyes and panic etched to their faces. The guards tried to calm them down as best as they could, but with no success at all. “What in tarnation is going on ‘ere?!” Applejack came pushing from behind the guards and Apple Bloom immediately ran to her. With Applejack instinctively scooping her up and tending to her frightened little sister. She was surprised by this, since Apple Bloom was always a difficult one to scare, even on NightMare Night. Rarity was right behind her, with Sweetie Belle whimper in her sister’s embrace as Rarity nuzzled her little sister to calm her down. Both Applejack and Rarity looked at each other with worried eyes and frowned slightly before they turned their attention to their little sisters. “What happened? Are you two alright?” Sweetie shivered for a moment before looking up at her older sister. “Y-Yellow was here.” “Oh goodness, are you okay? She didn’t hurt you, did she? I swear, if she did, I’ll...” “We’re fine,” Apple Bloom said. “But Spike ain’t. That Yellow took ‘em!” Both Rarity and Applejack tensed at this news. The guards exchanged worried murmurs. There was an uneasy shifting. Somepony was going to have to go tell the most powerful unicorn in existence that her son was just kidnapped. It was not going to be pleasant. Red triple-checked to make sure Bloodwing or Black weren’t still around. Then, he took the key and unlocked the cell door. Light and Rainbow Dash both looked at him with wide eyes. “Bro! You came! What’s going on?” “This has gone on long enough,” the pegasus said, walking over to his brother. He started to undo his bonds. “Bloodwing’s close to winning. Fortunately, everypony except him and Black are out. This will be our only chance to escape.” “Hold on,” Rainbow said. “After all that, you’re just turning around and running now? Where was this attitude before?” “Bloodwing had my bro captive. Luckily, he’s so near victory he’s gotten sloppy.”, he said as he unlocked his little brother’s final lock. Light then wrapped his forelegs around his brother’s neck in a hug. Red’s simply smiled as he patted his little brother’s back. After the hug, he moved over to Rainbow Dash and repeated the process. “We need to take this opportunity.” “We’re getting Scootaloo too,” Rainbow Dash said, as if she were stating a completely objective fact. “We might not have time...” “I’m not leaving without her,” Rainbow Dash snapped. “You two can go on if you want, but I’m not leaving without my daughter.” There was a moment of silence before Red sighed. “Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?” he asked himself before looking at Rainbow Dash, who looked sternly at him. “I guess I owe you that much...” “You owe me much more,” she said bluntly, “but rescuing Scoots will be a good start.” As Red undid the last bond, he nodded. “We better get going then, before the others realize something’s wrong.” Author's Note Like to give my gratitude to Loving Tolerance for pre reading this chapter :D Chapter 12Twilight stood outside the the palace with her brother and friends and with another pony by their side, who was now wearing a magical collar on his neck. “Twilight, is that really necessary?” Rainbow asked, looking down at the purple magic keeping Blaze in a collar. “I’m not taking any chances, especially with this stallion,” she whispered to her friend, but Blaze’s ears perked as he heard them. Blaze just shook his head and rolled his eyes, but he was smiling, too. He was happy to help them, now that his little brother was safe. His little brother came running up to him and held him on his leg, looking up with worried eyes. Blaze sighed and he patted Light’s head gently, “Don’t worry, Light, I’ll be fine with these ponies,” he reassured Light. Light looked at the others with caution, though when his eyes fell on Twilight, she could see a flash of anger in his eyes. Twilight could feel her stomach twist slightly when Light looked at her, feeling like she was the bad pony now and kidnapping the only family Light had. Twilight turned her head away and faced her brother. “We should go now before it’s too late.” Shining nodded and he placed his helmet on his head; his battle armor was now set. “Right.” Blaze then looked at Light with stern eyes, “Listen to me, now. Light, you stay with Scootaloo at all times. Got it memorized?” he asked, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “Yeah...” Blaze decided to hug his brother right then and there. “C’mon! I’ll be back before you know it!” he said as Light held onto him. He noticed the mares were looking at the pair with moist eyes; save Twilight, who could not look at them. He swore he saw a tear escaping her eye, though Blaze just shrugged it off and let go of Light, turning and moving towards Twilight and the others. As soon as they were away from the castle grounds, Twilight looked at Blaze, who was surprisingly calm, even with a magic collar on him. “I’m sorry,” she said to him. Blaze turned to her, slightly surprised at her words. “Sorry?” he asked her, thinking he misheard her words. “I’m sorry I had to do that in front of your little brother,” she said, slightly lowering her head in apology. “So long as he’s safe, I don’t really care what happens to me, hey?” This time it was Twilight’s turn to be surprised at his words, “Excuse me?” she asked in a harsh whisper. “You’re excused.” Twilight huffed at his answer, “I’m serious! Why would you consider your own life with so little regard?” “I do consider my life with some importance, but my little brother’s life is way more important to me than my own. I’m sure you feel the same way with your boy.” Twilight kicked the ground awkwardly. “Yeah, I do... but it seems strange, coming from a member of the group that kidnapped him.” “I was never really a member of that group more than I had to be,” the stallion pointed out. “At any rate, let’s keep going. There’s no telling what Bloodwing’s doing with Spike.” “Let me go!” Spike demanded as Black dragged him by his tail. He dug his claws into the ground, trying to get some sort of grip, but it proved futile. “Let me go, I have rights, I...” At that point, a swift hoof crashed on the dragon’s head, causing him to cry out in pain. “An appropriate response, Black,” Bloodwing commended. He turned back to Spike. “You have no right to be free. You’re a fake, a tool! Your purpose is to serve the one who uses you.” “W-what do you mean?” Spike said, feeling timid. “I mean, you are nothing but a construct of Twilight Sparkle’s magic. I wanted to study the phenomenon, but that fool Celestia was attached to you.” He snorted in derision. “Foolish creature. An immortal like her should know that love is a mere fleeting feeling.” “Th-that’s not true,” Spike defended weakly. “That’s how...” Another hoof silenced him. “Tools should not contradict their masters. Put him in.” Spike, his vision blurred from the blow, couldn’t see where he was being placed. He did hear the sound of a lock closing, though. When his vision finally cleared, he saw that he was in a glass orb, placed inside a giant machine. And he knew whatever the machine did, he knew that he was exactly where he did NOT want to be. “It’s a shame losing Subject 10, but what I extracted out of her fast-forwarded my research tenfold. Unfortunately, I need a good deal of power to push my plans forward before Celestia can shut me down... which is why I have you.” Spike gulped. “What do you mean?” Bloodwing just smiled at Spike and he turned his attention to Black. “If you would do the honours?” “With pleasure, sir.” Yellow jumped in between the two of them, “What about me?! Can I please do it, sir?” she pleaded to Bloodwing, shedding crocodile tears in an attempt to win him over. Bloodwing just sighed and facehoofed in annoyance at his subordinate, “Fine... Just do it, would you?” Spike saw Yellow skipping over to a lever on the opposite side of the room, and saw her rubbing her hooves in glee as she took hold of it and pulled it down dramatically. The machine started to power up, and all the lights began to glow. The glass orb Spike was in suddenly started filling up with a weird red liquid. It was sticky and smelled horrible. When the liquid rose to the level of his knees, he started to bang on the glass orb as hard as he could; but it was no use. No matter how hard he hit the orb, it would not crack. He then inhaled air, intending to blow fire at it, but he was submerged in the liquid before he could exhale. He could see Yellow smiling smugly at him, and when she flicked a switch on the wall, electricity flowed the orb, sending an excruciating pain through Spike’s body. He screamed as the pain quickly became too much for him. Through the dark spots appearing at the edge of his quickly blurring vision, he noticed another glass orb next to him filling up with a purple substance and starting to glow brightly. He noticed Bloodwing laughing like a mad pony as he caressed the orb gently, as though it were alive. “So close we are now! So close we are now to becoming gods!” Spike could tell that they were all laughing like it was their birthdays, and he could see Bloodwing walking up to him wearing a sadistic smile on his face. “Soon you will become part of greatness itself~” Scootaloo was eating well for the first time in days. A spread was placed out on the table before her friends and Light, full of food she had only dreamed of. Having lived off gruel, and living on what she could find in the streets before that, getting to eat good food was heavenly. She wasn’t the only one. It was clear that Light hadn’t been fed the best either, and was eating good food for the first time since becoming Bloodwing’s prisoner. He was giving little care to table manners, though nopony minded. Apple Bloom and Sweetie were absolutely happy to see their friend again, but were surprised by her added horn feature, as well as the presence of the colt that came in with her. A few minutes later, though, Scootaloo was finished eating, and was lost in deep thoughts of why they wanted Spike. “Ya alright there, Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked her friend, walking up and taking the seat next to her. Sighing, the orange pegasus poked her horn. “I have a horn growing out of my forehead and Spike’s trapped in that horrible place because of me. What do you think?” “It wasn’t your fault,” Light tried to assure her between bites of sugar bread. “Bloodwing would have done those horrible things no matter what.” Sweetie shifted a little. “Did Bloodwing ever do anything to you? You know, try and give you a horn or something?” The colt shook his head. “It was part of the deal Bloodwing had with my brother. He kept it that much, at least.” He sighed. “My brother’s really not bad, honest.” “I know... he treated me better than anypony else there...” Scootaloo said sadly. “Do you think the others are okay?” “Mah sister’s the strongest mare in Equestria, Twi’s the most powerful unicorn, and Rainbow Dash is the fastest pegasus. With Red an’ the others, they’ll handle Bloodwing no problem.” “His name’s Blaze,” Light corrected forcefully. “Right, sorry,” Apple Bloom apologized. “I still don’t get why the Princess isn’t handling this herself,” Light said, stuffing another cupcake into his mouth. “We told you, the Princess doesn’t like to get involved if it isn’t somepony like Discord,” Sweetie explained. “These guys are just mortal ponies. I heard her say something about needing the Elements to get experience. She’s still watching, and she said she’d come down if...” “It won’t happen,” the earth pony cut her off. “Mah sister can handle anythin’.” Scootaloo pawed at her food a bit before looking up resolutely. “...I’m going back.” The other foals looked at her incredulously. “What?” “I can’t let Rainbow Dash and Spike get hurt because of me. I’m going back.” Sweetie Belle looked at her friend as though she were insane. “But if you go back there, those ponies might catch and hurt you again!” she shouted to her friend, coming close with fearful eyes. Scootaloo looked down on the floor, avoiding the gaze from Sweetie’s eyes. “I know, but I have to do something,” she said. She looked up to face her friends, who looked at her with concern. “Look, I’ll be out real quick; I have to do this alone and-” “You’re not going alone.” Scootaloo turned to Light, who looked at her with a straight face as he walked up to her side. “I’m coming with you. I need to make sure my older brother is safe.” Scootaloo gave him a deadpan look and just shook her head. “I don’t think so. You’ll just slow things down.” Light glowered at Scootaloo and stomped his hoof, “Do you even know how to get back to that place?” he challenged. Only silence greeted him, and he smiled wryly. “I didn’t think so. Whether you like it or not, I’m coming with you, ok?” Scootaloo sighed and she facehoofed, but, unused to her new appendage, ended up hitting her horn instead, sending a small jolt of pain through her head. She let out a groan and began to rub it soothingly. “Ow! Fine... let’s just go already.” Suddenly, she was trapped in a hug from both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Both fillies looked up at her with doleful eyes as their lips quivered slightly. “Just be careful, ok?” “Yeah, don’t get caught again, ya hear?” Scootaloo smiled warmly at her friends’ words and she closed her eyes slowly, nodding with a muffled ‘yes’ coming from her lips. She slowly opened it and her eyes were slightly moist from the experience. “I’ll be right back.” she said softly as she wormed her way out of the hug and walked towards the window. Both Sweetie and Apple Bloom turned to Light and gave a stern look that turned to friendliness. “Keep her safe, ok?” Sweetie Belle told Light. “I will.” “It’s right down this alley,” Blaze noted, with Shining Armor and the Bearers of the Elements right behind him. “This is the place, alright,” Rainbow noted. “We pull this lamp here.” She did so, revealing the secret entrance. “We’d better expect a welcoming committee,” Shining Armor noted. “They’ve probably noticed they’re missing prisoners by now, so they’ll know we were back.” “Assuming they haven’t moved already,” Twilight said sadly. “I doubt it,” Blaze assured her. “There’s far too much important stuff here for him to move. Besides, I know all the hideouts, we’d find them again soon anyway.” “I just wish we had time to figure out what to do about Black,” Applejack noted as they begin to descend the steps. “You said we should go in knowing everything about our opponent, Twi.” “There’s no telling what Bloodwing is going to do with Spike’s energy,” Twilight pointed out. “There’s... there’s more than... one... life...” Blaze put a hoof on her shoulder. “He’ll be fine if we hurry,” he said. “Leave Black to me, I know how to deal with...” At that point, the halls brightened up. The ponies jumped, each looking around in surprise. “What’s going on?” Fluttershy whimpered. “It’s Bloodwing,” Blaze spat. “He’s practically inviting us in.” “So whatever he was planning, he’s finished with it,” Shining said. “There’s nothing for us to do but go in and try to take it out.” “The main lab is this way,” Blaze noted, leading the seven others down the hallways, through the twists and turns of the lab. They stopped at an entrance with two iron doors with no lock on the outside. Blaze looked at the door from each side frantically and slammed his hoof against it, to no effect. “This is not good,” he said out loud, with the others looking even more worried than before. Shining approached him and glared at him. “You worked here! You must know how to open these doors!” he shouted out to Blaze. Blaze looked flatly at Shining, then looked back at the door before him. “I did work here and that’s how I know. The only lock is on the inside. This is like a panic room for Bloodwing.” he told Shining. Still frantically thinking, he decided to fly up the door and look through the gaps. Applejack walked forward from the group. “So yer saying there’s no way of opening this here door?” she asked Blaze, leaning in to get a better look at the iron door before her. Blaze landed and shook his head in defeat, “Not unless we have explosives here, which I doubt anypony brought with-” “Move aside.” Blaze’s ears perked up and he turned to be greeted by a very angry-looking Twilight, whose horn was glowing brightly and dangerously. Remembering his first encounter with the mare, he quickly followed the others in standing back a respectable distance away from Twilight. Twilight concentrated her magic to the brink, and when her horn was glowing red, she released the magic within it. It shot with great velocity towards the door, which exploded on impact, creating a slight tremor from the force released from the magic. When the dust cleared, the pathway was open to them and three ponies stood on the opposite side. The three ponies looked surprised and horrified at the sight of Twilight Sparkle’s rage, which was only amplified when she saw the glass orb containing her son Spike. She noticed he was floating there lifelessly, and she turned to Bloodwing and marched towards him slowly. “So you’re Bloodwing, I presume?” she asked him in a rather relaxed tone, though her voice was so cold that her words sent shivers up the listeners’ spines. Bloodwing gulped and smiled delightfully at the mare before him, “Why yes, I am. Twilight Sparkle, here in my presence. I remember when you were a filly, seeing you achieve the one thing I was researching my whole life!” he joyfully shrieked at her, but he was met with only cold eyes. “You ascended! At the mere age of twelve, you did something that was thought to be impossible! You became a creator, though flawed in your creation,” he added as an aside as he walked towards the glass orb Spike was in. “This construct you created carries so much magic in it you can’t possibly imagine! Do you realize that with this, I can finally finish my research to elevate ponies to become alicorns! Or even create life itself and-” “Give. Me. Back. My. Son!” “Oh, come now,” the pegasus chastised. “Surely a mare of magic like yourself can see...” Twilight didn’t let him finish. She fired her strongest blast of magic straight at Bloodwing, hoping to end it right here and now. Sadly, Black was too fast. In a split second he was between his employer and his attacker, his newly acquired horn getting a workout as it summoned a shield around the two of them. The former earth pony buckled and strained, but he managed to block the attack successfully. “Now, see? Just like Celestia, you let those frivolous emotions get in the way of progress. Not that she matters anymore. Before long, she won’t be anything special.” “I think you’re forgetting something,” Shining Armor pointed out. “There’s eight of us versus three of you. It won’t be a problem.” “Au Contraire, Captain Armor,” the scientist tsked. “My soldiers have been upgraded in more ways than one. Show them.” Smiling with unrepentant sadism, Black lit up his horn. What came out was lightning that was pitch black, the surreal attack flying forward and causing the group to scatter. Twilight and Pinkie were the first to react. Going off of pure instinct and only thinking of her son that was trapped behind the obstacles, she threw out attack after attack, hoping to find a chink in the armor. No such luck; Black blocked each one with ease. Pinkie had her Party Cannon out and ready, but before she could fire, Applejack stopped her. “Stick to th’ plan, remember?” “Ohh, right,” the earth pony chuckled, moving her aim toward Yellow. Black, meanwhile, was caught off guard by Shining Armor barreling into him and tackling him to the ground. Black threw magic wildly, but the few attacks that connected were negated by Shining’s own defensive magic. Now free of her obstacle, Twilight ran toward Bloodwing, shrieking like a madpony at her hated enemy. “No, Twilight!” Blaze called. “Wait!” And then, suddenly, she couldn’t move. “Now see?” Bloodwing said sadly. “Look at what I’ve done just because you rushed in.” Twilight stood still in place, unable to move a single muscle at all. Only her eyes could move, and they looked around frantically. Suddenly, she felt her hind legs bend to a kneel and her legs buckle in place. She tried to move her head, but was unsuccessful in doing so. “Twily?!” Shining Armor shouted out to his sister, but he could not do anything for her at the moment since he was preoccupied with a hostile alicorn. Twilight saw Bloodwing walk slowly up to her, and he raised a hoof in the air slowly. Her body was pulled up into the air, levitating in place. No magic aura surrounded her, yet it felt she was being pulled by invisible strings, and the puppeteer was standing before her, smiling sadistically. “I assume you figured out what my ability is, right?” he asked her, but he was met with only a glare from Twilight. “My ability is to control blood, my blood and my enemies’ blood,” he said nonchalantly. As he moved his hoof through the air, Twilight’s body followed it. “Marvellous, isn’t it? So many years of research went into this, and with your help, I can finally achieve what I always wanted. Ascension, my dear child... ascension will bring me closer to knowing everything and performing anything that even those old hags couldn’t-” Rainbow kicked him hard in the face as she came flying in, sending Bloodwing flying and releasing Twilight from his grasp. Rainbow caught Twilight before she collided with the floor, and gently placed her on the ground. She then turned her attention to Bloodwing who was dusting himself off from the attack on him, “You talk way too much, even by my standards,” Rainbow growled as she moved to stand next to Twilight, crouched and ready to fight the threat before her. Bloodwing stood there, aggravation showing on his face as he frowned at the pegasus before him. The one side of his mouth was bleeding slightly, with a slight bruise quickly forming from the kick. He let out a grin and proceeded to lick the side of his cheek that had blood on it. “How disgusting!” Rarity shouted in horror as she rushed to her friends’ aid. Bloodwing began to chuckle slightly, before it turned to mad laughter. “Ah, yes. Rainbow Dash. Primary provider of the Subjects. Your role is done, little filly,” he said to her mockingly. Rainbow stood there in confusion as she raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean? What subjects? You mean Scootaloo?” “Subject Ten especially, yes. You were such a good genetic base for it, but she’s obsolete now. And quite frankly, so are you.” At that moment Yellow, tired of just watching, decided to act. She grabbed her rival from behind and began surging electricity through herself, intent on frying her opponent. But Rainbow Dash was ready this time. She brought her front knee down onto Yellow’s stomach, catching her off guard and knocking the wind out of her. Before Yellow had had a chance to recover, the cyan mare drove a hoof across her face. Yellow recovered quickly and flew up. Rainbow Dash followed her up, not letting her get away a second time. Fluttershy, though scared, followed as well. Seeing this, Yellow shot lightning out of both of her front hooves, hoping to shock them both. The pair dodged, and Rainbow Dash flew forward, striking Yellow from behind and sending her up, crashing into the ceiling. Gulping, Fluttershy looked to the ground. “Um, Blaze, could you give us a hoof... um, if you don’t mind...?” “I’ve got a score to settle,” the pegasus noted, lighting up his fire. He then shot a blaze directly at Bloodwing. The scientist moved, jumping into the air. Quickly calculating his trajectory, Twilight fired another magical blast. This one had a true aim; it struck Bloodwing in the chest, sending him back into the wall. With their hated enemy down, Twilight began running for the machine, while Blaze channeled all his might into flames aimed at the scientist. Twilight made it halfway to the machine before she was stopped again, her body moving against itself. She was forced to turn and light up her horn, which pointed straight at Blaze. Twilight couldn’t even call out and warn him as the shot fired. It hit Blaze, catching him completely off guard as he fell forward. Bloodwing got up, slightly hurt from the magic attack that came from Twilight. “You think that I’d allow my own creations to hurt me? I know how to summon magic shielding as well. I’m not as advanced as Shining Armor, but I get the job done.” Blaze just smirked at Bloodwing. “Well, you didn’t create me, now, did you? You just tampered with me and got me into a contract,” he said to Bloodwing, and in the blink of an eye he appeared before him. “Which is now null and void!” Before Bloodwing could react, Blaze took hold of Bloodwing and decided to use what knowledge he had on hoof-to-hoof combat on him. “Go, Twilight! I’ll keep him busy!” he shouted to Twilight as he continued to fight Bloodwing with all he had. Twilight ran up to the machine Spike was trapped in, and started using her magic on it. The machine started to glow in a purple aura but it suddenly shocked her and sent her skidding on the floor. “Magic repulsion?!” she asked herself out loud, and noticed Spike’s body being shocked more in the orb in he was in. Before she could react, she saw another orb containing a purple glowing substance and began to panic. She got up on the floor and frantically ran up the machine again. “You better pay attention to your enemies, bitch!” Twilight head shot up to the sound of Yellow, flying at her with lightning speed. Before she could reach the distraught Twilight, she was met by Rainbow Dash, who tackled her hard and they both crashed through a wooden door. Rarity and Applejack ran after them into the room, hoping to help Rainbow against the electric mayhem. “Which room do you think they would be holding Spike in, Light?” Scootaloo asked Light as they were walking through the corridors of Bloodwing’s lair. If it was not for Light being with her, she would not have known how to open the secret door to the lair, let alone find its location. Light shrugged at the question given to him, “If my memory is right, the center lab would be the best bet. That’s where he did all those freaky experiments. At least that what my bro said,” he told Scootaloo as he frowned slightly at the memory of seeing his older brother in pain after an experiment. Scootaloo bit her lower lip and placed a hoof on his shoulder, “Hey, I’m sure Blaze will be okay. You said he’s strong and-” Scootaloo suddenly yelped and grabbed hold of Light, hugging him and looking scared. Light was baffled for a second before blushing madly at Scootaloo’s action. He saw Scootaloo turning to him and as they both blinked twice, she let go of him fast and both tapped a hoof awkwardly on the floor. “What was that for?” he asked her innocently. Scootaloo turned to him, still flushing red on her face. “A spider touched me,” she said sheepishly. “You’re afraid of spiders?” he asked, somewhat amused. “You’re an alicorn.” “So? Spiders are still creepy and disgusting.” Light couldn’t help but smirk. “Relax, it’s gone,” he assured. “Come on, I think it’s down this way.” The two foals continued walking down the corridor, down the hallways, making turns at the colt’s instructions. Finally, they came to a metal door. “This looks like it,” Light noted. “Help me get it open.” The two foals pushed at the door. After a few moment, it came loose, slowly showing the room inside. Scootaloo let out a scream. It took Light a second to look inside and see why. The room held no Spike, but it was filled with tanks. Each of them was filled with a haunting green liquid. And submerged in this liquid was a pony. Every tank had a pony. All three types were present; unicorn, pegasus, and earth ponies in equal amount. However, none of these ponies were complete. Some were missing eyes and a jaw, others legs. One unicorn had a horn only partly grown, a pegasus only one wing. Some were still in a fetal stage, some had strange veins all over their faces, and some seemed perfectly normal. “What the?” Scootaloo uttered. “...Bloodwing’s failed experiments,” Light gulped. “Blaze told me about them.” “Wh... why keep them around?” Scootaloo asked, feeling sick. “To learn from his mistakes. That’s what Blaze told me.” He looked around the room a bit, trying to keep his stomach from ejecting its contents. “Look, there’s a desk, maybe there’s a map of the lab there.” The two foals rushed over to find a mess of papers littering the desk. Scootaloo began rummaging through them, but Light actually took the time to read through. One particular binding of notes has the title “Project Ascension” on it, and Light read the contents out loud since Scootaloo was not engrossed in reading it. “Experiment 1337: Failure to grow eyes and heart properly. Experiment 1338: Failure to sprout wings. Experiment 1339: Died three days after removal. Experiment 1340: Success! “After several months, an experiment has sustained life significantly. Only the tenth to do so; I will name this one Subject 10... Scootaloo? I think that’s you.” Scared, Scootaloo took the paper and read. “The donation from Rainbow Dash has led to the best results. Soon, I plan to add the unicorn components from one Twilight Sparkle, as well as the earth pony components from...” And then there was a crash. Two pegasi came tumbling in the room, each one having their hooves on each other’s throats. Once they stopped rolling, Rainbow Dash ended up on top, and used her advantage to repeatedly punch Yellow’s face in as she lay on the floor, each hit echoing in the room. Before she could slam her hoof down again, she was met with the hind legs of Yellow on her gut and kicked off hard into a glass tank. The glass shattered on contact, releasing the green substance and the experiment it held. The experiment fell on Rainbow, who looked at it with disgust and horror and hastily pushed it away. She then looked around her and saw the other tanks that were in the room. “What the buck is this place?!” As she zoomed her head across the room, she saw a desk on the one side. She was shocked to see two familiar ponies behind the desk. “Scootaloo! Light! What’re you two doing back here!?” she shouted out to them as she tried to rid herself of the green substance that seemed to stain her coat. Yellow looked curiously at the two foals and began to giggle uncontrollably. “Well, well... the little Subject Ten finally came back to her birthplace. Do you wanna meet your mommy?” she asked Scootaloo mockingly, and then pointed a hoof to Rainbow Dash. “Ta-da! Amazing how the one pony you idolized is the same pony who helped bring you into this world, hey? Life is just full of ironies and surprises.” Scootaloo started hyperventilating. More memories started to overflow her mind, memories long forgotten. Memories of her being in a tank, of her being released and of her learning to walk. Each memory had the face of Bloodwing and his sick smile and how she was referred to as Subject Ten. One memory showed how she escaped, how she used what speed she had in her legs to evade Bloodwing’s henchponies. Another memory found her at a town that had the sign “Ponyville” on it and how she saw a scooter for the first time in her life, thinking it was the most amazing contraption ever, with it having the brand “Scootaloo” on it. The most prominent memory was meeting Rainbow Dash for the first time in her life. “Say kid, what’s your name?” Rainbow asked the orange filly as she hovered about her. “S-scootaloo.” “Scootaloo? Like the scooters? That’s kinda cool...” “Cool?” Scootaloo asked her curiously as she looked at the rainbow maned mare before her in awe. Rainbow chuckled softly. “Yeah, you’re cool I’d say. Second only to me of course!” Scootaloo turned her head sideways. “You?” Rainbow hit her hoof on her chest proudly. “My name’s Rainbow Dash! The fastest and most awesome pegasus in all of Equestria! Soon to be the Greatest Wonderbolt of all time!” she said with pride as she flew higher, seeing Scootaloo look at her with wonder. Though when she took a closer look at Scootaloo, she noticed her ribs were showing. “Kid, you look very hungry,” she said as she lowered herself to the floor and scooped up the surprised filly and placed her onto her back. “Hold on tight, this is gonna be a fast ride!” she said to the filly as she zoomed away to the Sugarcube Corner, with Scootaloo holding her neck as she flew. Rainbow Dash wrestled Yellow to the ground, yelling at Scootaloo. “Get out of here!” she cried. “Get to safety!” Scootaloo didn’t respond, she was still in shock at the flood of memories. “Hurry, before...” Yellow began charging up, but by now Dash had learned to recognize this and quickly flew up, dodging the lightning blast. She then flew down hoof first, knocking her in the stomach. Yellow coughed, trying to catch the breath that had just been knocked out of her. “Get out!” Rainbow Dash yelled again. “Come on!” Light yelled, dragging Scootaloo toward the exit. Pinkie came down through the opening Dash and Yellow had made, pushing her party cannon in front of her. She pointed it toward the recovering pegasus. “That’s it,” Yellow growled, getting up slowly. “I am going to bucking kill...” And then Pinkie fired. What came out wasn’t a ball of confetti, or glitter, or even cake batter; but a strange, sticky substance that engulfed the crazed experiment. The material pinned her to the ground, much to her displeasure. “Huh? Wh-what the?” she said, vainly struggling against her bonds. “What is this?” “Rubber!” Pinkie cheered. “Twilight made it!” “What?” Yellow screamed. She tried to charge and fire her lightning, but the rubber kept the attacks in check. “You little...” But Pinkie never found out exactly what she was, as Yellow was promptly silenced by a quick hoof to the face from Rainbow Dash, which knocked her out cold. “That’s that!” Fluttershy entered the room and shrieked softly as she clamped her hoof on her mouth to the horrors that met her eyes. She spotted Rainbow and flew over to her quickly. “Rainbow! Are you ok?” she asked meekly, eyes flicking over the numerous injuries on her friend. Rainbow waved a hoof at her. “I’ll be fine, Shy, ok? You and Pinkie go back to Twilight and the others. I’m going to find Scootaloo and make sure she’s safe.” “Ooh! I’m going to go with you! We can...” “No,” the pegasus said quickly. “You need to go provide backup.” Fluttershy shook her head. “Twilight is strong, she can take care of things. She wouldn’t want us to leave those poor foals alone.” Rainbow paused, then sighed. “Fine...but as soon as they’re safe, we get back there.” Chapter 13Black was currently being dogpiled by Shining Armor, Applejack, and Rarity, who were trying to keep the sadist pinned. “Get off!” Black used his magic to push Shining, Applejack and Rarity off of him, lifting all three ponies off of him. As they hit the floor hard, Black’s magic ceased soon after. He stood up from the ground and dusted himself off, ruffling his new wings on his back. “Now that’s useful there.” Shining groaned as he got up, helping Rarity and Applejack to their hooves and looking back at Black. “I took care of your friend Blue back at the castle, I can take care of you also. Surrender now or else!” he shouted out to Black, as he charged his magic. Black grinned at the words spoken to him, “Typical from a Captain, always thinking you can win. Oh well, nice knowing ya,” he said to Shining, as he charged his horn too and jumped into the air. Black projectiles were being shot at the three ponies as they huddled together with Shining, who seemed to cast a shield just in time to stop the black projectiles from hurting them. “What do we do, y’all?” Applejack asked as she started to panic from the attack, something that a pony did not see everyday. Shining stood quiet with the shield held, “I got an idea but it’s a long shot,” he said to the mares as he poured all his concentration into his magic. “Anything will suffice!” Rarity shouted out as her eyes started watering as clutched herself to Shining for protection. “Applejack, do you have rope on you?” Shining asked her with his eyes on Black. Applejack pulled out the length of rope with her mouth, “Eeyup!” “Rarity, there should be a blue bottle in my bag where you’re standing. Take what’s in there and pour it all over the rope, ok?” “Right!” Rarity had her hoof in the bag and search its contents, before finding a bottle with glowing blue liquid in it. “Applejack, the rope now!” she ordered her friend to give her the rope, which she did. Rarity used her magic to open the bottle and pour the watery substance on the rope. The rope suddenly began to glow the same blue as what the substance did and Rarity handed it to Applejack. “Applejack, how fast are you on your hooves?” Shining asked her as his magic began to waver under the pressure Black’s projectiles. “Ah can outrun Angel Bunny!” “Who?” Shining asked her curiously, just as a crack was forming on his magical shield. “Nevermind!” Shining’s shield began to glow brightly, and a surge of magic propelled from it. The magic shaped itself into a giant spear, that flew straight for Black’s levitated self. The magic he was casting stood no chance against the colossus, that showed no sign of slowing down. The magical spear did not pierce Black, but instead went through as he covered himself with his hoof and new found power. However, he suddenly felt numbness take hold of his body, ceasing his wing movements. He fell to the ground, emitting the sounds of bones break from the collision. “Now, Applejack!” Shining ordered Applejack to do what he requested. Applejack took hold of the rope and ran as fast as she could to Black, who was starting to recover from his fall. Applejack clenched her teeth hard as she held the rope, doing a lasso as it travelled to a surprised Black. Once the rope was around him, she tugged at it hard, binding Black. Black tried to get out of the rope, but he realized his wings were not working, due to the fact of them being smashed thanks to the magical spear earlier. What startled him even more was his magic did not want to respond to his will. “What did you do to me?!” he demanded to Shining Armor, as he saw the stallion him with three of the mares. “Wait until I get this bucking rope of me you little p-” he was silenced by Applejack, as she bucked him hard in his face, with a few of his teeth coming out of his mouth as he fell unconscious. “What horrible language to use in front of a lady!” Rarity commented as she looked down on the fallen black as raised her head high fast releasing a ‘hmph!’ that was not noticed by the others. “Though is it safe to keep him like this?” she asked Applejack. Applejack just sighed as she dusted her stetson, “He been knocked out cold sugarcube, ain’t hurtin’ none of us now,” she said calmly as she placed her stetson back on. “Curious though Shining, what was in that bottle ya gave Rarity?” Shining picked up the bottle and showed it to them, the bottle read “Magic Be Gone” and the mares looked at him with confused eyes. “The princess often uses this for her pranks on unicorns, works fine on alicorns too, apparently.” he answered them bluntly as he stowed to bottle away. They weren’t out of the woods yet, as Shining saw his sister fighting against Bloodwing. “Let’s go!” A few feet away, Twilight and Blaze were handling their final obstacle, the mastermind behind the whole mess. Normally, Twilight would be approaching a situation like this logically, calculating the best plan of attack. But Spike was just beyond this pony, and seeing him suffer was causing her motherly instincts to override her more logical senses. Fortunately, this was balanced out by Blaze, who was keen on relieving years of hatred and aggression on his previous employer. And with him being immune to the mad doctor’s powers, he provided plenty of cover. “How annoying,” Bloodwing muttered as he blocked another blast of fire. “This is becoming too bothersome.” “So why don’t you just give it up?” Twilight snarled angrily. “You can’t keep blocking us forever!” “Hmm...” the pegasus rubbed his chin. “I suppose you’re right...” At that point, his wing reached out and picked up a scalpel. Twilight just about burst out laughing at such a weak weapon. And then the blade was lodged directly into his side. Blood flowed freely from the wound, far more freely than it should have. Twilight had to hold back the urge to vomit. Blaze widened his eyes. “No... he figured it out... I never thought he would...” “Now, now, Red,” Bloodwing shook his head, sounding genuinely disappointed, “you should know I always figure everything out.” He then mutilated his other side, allowing blood to flow. “Wh... what?” was all Twilight could manage. “Move, move, move!” Blaze yelled, moving to the side. A moment later, Twilight could see why. The blood flowing out of the mad pony suddenly lifted, like a gory whip, and lashed forward. Terrified, Twilight ducked just in time to avoid the weapon. It hit the wall, leaving a cut dripping in blood. “H... how?” “Oh, come now, Miss Sparkle,” Bloodwing said. “You of all ponies should know nothing is impossible with the right research.” The blood tendrils filed into points and shot at the pair. Blaze dodged, then tossed two fireballs at his opponent. It was blocked easily, serving only to amuse Bloodwing. Twilight brought up a shield that blocked the other attack, then pushed her shield forward. It was not a move that Bloodwing had predicted. He began to move, but was too slow, and only succeeded in getting knocked on his back. Twilight took advantage of this and charged forward. Which is why she was easy to catch in Bloodwing’s grip again. Bloodwing dragged Twilight over to him and levitated her up to face his muzzle, “I got you now, my pretty,” he said as he smiled deviously at Twilight as he licked his lips. Twilight glared at Bloodwing with hateful eyes, she began to remember everything that had happened. From Scootaloo to being abducted, to the discovery of the first lab, the encounter with White, her battle with Blue. The last memory that came to her was that of Spike being taken from her and brought to this Celestia-forsaken place to be killed all in the name of magic and science. She gritted her teeth as more rage began to flow in her. She closed her eyes and began to mumble words. Bloodwing looked at her with a grin, “What you trying to say, my dear?” The words came out clearer and her body began to glow slightly as an aura engulfed her. “You will pay for this!” she yelled out her body burned brightly, turning herself into a living pyro and opening her eyes to reveal nothing but white. “What in Tartarus?!” Twilight began to shout out as she fought Bloodwing’s hold, breaking free from the mad scientist’s bond and landing on the floor that as the flames bounced off from it. “Y-you broke away from my blood hold! Impossible! “Like you said,” she began to speak in whisper. “Nothing is impossible with the right research.” Bloodwing backed off and started to propel his blood towards her in the shape of small cannon balls. The blood did not reach her as it evaporated upon reaching the flames. For the first time Blaze had ever seen, Bloodwing looked terrified. He continued lashing out, hoping that at least one attack would connect, to at least distract his opponent, but it was all in vain. He tried to run, a futile effort. He felt himself encased in Twilight’s magic. Suddenly, he was picked up and slammed head first into a wall. He felt his forehead get hot and sticky. He was pulled back up and slammed into the ground. His wing gave a snap. Blaze, for all his hatred of the doctor, winced. Up he went again, and this time straight into the ceiling. For a few seconds, Twilight tossed him around like a rag doll, breaking his limbs and causing him to cry in pain and for mercy. But the mare wouldn’t have it. She wasn’t even aware. Until a hoof came down roughly on her shoulder. “Hey, Twi?” Blaze called. “I think you’re forgetting something...” Then reality crashed through Twilight’s rage. Spike was still in trouble. She dropped the pegasus, moaning and bleeding, and ran for the machine. She immediately took hold of the orb Spike was in and used her magic to shatter the glass. The red substance flooded the floor they were standing on and Spike flopped lifelessly in front of Twilight. He hardly resembled a dragon anymore. He looked like a large mess of unfocused unicorn magic, which for all intents and purposes was what he was now. The form shifted and cried, it still sounded vaguely like her son. She ran up to him and kneeled down to gather her son in her hooves, caring not that he was now painful to touch. Even as the magic stung her fur, she tightened her grip. “Spike! Wake up, Spike! Spike!” she shouted to Spike, but no answer came from him. She started tearing and sobbed into his shoulders, cradling him. “Listen, you need to focus! Try and pull yourself together! Spike? Spike! Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike!” “...and if you ever do something so stupid again, you are going to drill, drill, drill for days, you got it?” To Light, the lecture was just a typical mother whining, but to Scootaloo, Pinkie, and Fluttershy it was downright surreal. Seeing the brash and immature pegasus act like a worried mother was a level of strangeness that even Discord would be hard pressed to top. “...Well?” Scootaloo jumped. “Yes, Rainbow Dash,” she said, actually feeling guilty, but at the same time happy. She had always wondered what it would feel like to have a parent that cared, and here it was. “Ok, now I want you and Light to stay close to Fluttershy and Pinkie, ok?” she ordered the two foals as both nodded their heads slowly. “I need to take care of Bloodwing before he does something to Twilight and Spike and-” she stopped abruptly as she saw Scootaloo tearing in front of her. Rainbow rubbed her hoof behind her head as she came closer to Scootaloo body, “Hey kid, I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. Just that I was-” Scootaloo jumped at a surprised Rainbow and held onto her as she was sobbing into her shoulders. Her crying was muffled as her tiny head was deep in the shoulders of Rainbow. She held tighter the cyan mare’s body as she released all the tears she could. Rainbow looked at Fluttershy and Pinkie with concern as she held onto Scootaloo’s small frame firmly, yet gently. “... not real...” Rainbow’s ears perked as she heard Scootaloo’s words from her shoulder. She leaned her head closer to the filly’s to hear her properly. “What’s wrong Scootaloo?” “I’m not real...” she answered Rainbow Dash as she slowly lifted her head to reveal her red crying eyes. “What?” Rainbow asked her as she tilted her head in confusion to the filly’s statement. “I’m not real! I just a freak! I am not a real pony!” she yelled out to Rainbow as she cried out more. “I’m just some lab test gone wrong... I’m not even supposed to exist!” Rainbow decided to tighten her hold on Scootaloo and drape her wings over the filly’s shaking frame. “Kid... what happened to you? You knew you were made by Bloodwing back in Ponyville...” “No... I... I always thought... I always thought I was born once... Bloodwing just did something to me so I couldn’t remember...” Tears began to well up. “I’m... I’m not real...” There was a silence. Then, Rainbow Dash carefully kissed the child on the top of the head. “Could you feel that?” Scootaloo looked at the elder mare, confused. “Y... yes...” “And I can feel you. I can have a conversation with you. I’ve spent time with you since you came to Ponyville. Don’t tell me I imagined all that...” “You didn’t...” “That’s because you’re real. You exist. Who cares if you were born or came out of a tube?” “But...” “No, no more of that. I’m not going to raise anypony who just dumps on themselves, especially for something so trivial. You’re a cool kid, that’s why I like you, and I’m not going to let you keep this up. Promise?” “I...” Scootaloo trailed off. Rainbow Dash sighed. “Listen, kid... we can talk more about this once we’re out of here. But right now, Bloodwing and his goon could still be fighting, and we can’t afford to wait on that. I promise... tonight, we’ll talk more about what’s bothering you. Until then, I need you to be strong. For me, okay?” Scootaloo nodded. “Okay...” “Good, now stay with Pinkie and Fluttershy. I’m going to go up and...” And then Rainbow Dash was struck. Yellow had managed to pull one hoof out of the rubber gunk and had used it to get a clean hit on the cyan pegasus. Seeing this, Pinkie jumped and lunged for her party cannon, but Yellow anticipated this. “Not this time,” she sneered, striking the earth pony in the chest. At this point, she had gotten both her hooves free. “When I get out, I’m going to...” Rainbow lunged at her, but she fired, again and again. Rainbow dodged, but in the close quarters Yellow inevitably hit her. Unfortunately, she also hit some of the equipment too. Several of the tanks were destroyed, with the experiments mutilated. When Yellow’s reckless firing shot on the tanks, a whistling sound emitting from it, releasing a gas that soon filled the room. Pinkie sniffed the gas carefully as she closed her eyes to concentrate, which shot open fast and she turned to Rainbow and Fluttershy. “We gotta get out of here now!” she panicked and took hold of Light, galloping out of the lab fast. Fluttershy followed suit with Rainbow flying out fast holding Scootaloo close to her. Yellow growled at the fleeing ponies, “Come back here you!” she shouted out as she shot another lightning bolt at them. This would be the final mistake of her existence, as the lightning lit up the gas in the room. An explosion followed with Yellow caught in the blast radius, and everything that was in the lab was reduced to ash thanks to the flames. The shockwave of the blast hit the three mares, as all three of them flew across the hall, with Pinkie holding onto Light and Rainbow doing the same for Scootaloo. When the hallway was silent, the group lifted themselves from the ground and looked back to what was the lab. All three were at a loss of breath, save for the two foals who looked at each other before looking up to their elders. “You think she’s gone?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow as she let go the cyan mare and stood on her four hooves again. Rainbow dusted herself off and ruffled her feathers as she looked at Scootaloo, “She won’t be bothering us anymore,” she said to Scootaloo as she looked back to the others. “Everypony ok there?” she asked the others as they got to their hooves. “I-I’m okay,” Fluttershy answered Rainbow softly, though she felt her hoof was slightly a sore from the experienced, she did not want to worry her friend any further. “We’re okay here!” Pinkie merrily answered Rainbow as she helped up Light, “Are you ok though Lighty?” she asked the white pegasus. Light was flushed slightly, “Lighty?” he asked her and saw her nodding fast at him. “I’m ok, thanks Miss,” he answered her and he turned to Rainbow, “What about your other friend though? Miss Sparkle?” Almost on queue, a tremor shook the ponies as they looked to where the disturbance was coming from and all of them looked terrified at what might have caused it. Twilight kept calling Spike’s name, despite how futile it seemed. The dragon simply wouldn’t respond. “...Twi...” Shining Armor began. “Let’s get out of here. We can take Spike to a hospital or to the Princess and see if she can do anything for him.” Hiccuping, she nodded. She placed Spike onto her back and began to sprint for the outside. “Meanwhile, I can call a team to arrest this piece of... what the?” Bloodwing wasn’t there anymore. “What? How... he must have had every bone in his body broken!” “Look, he left us a trail,” Applejack pointed out. Indeed, Bloodwing had left a bright red streak on his floor as he had crawled away. Shining had simply missed it in his surprise. “Well, he’s not getting away from me,” the Captain said sternly. He began following the trail, with Applejack, Rarity, and Blaze following right behind him. “Oh, I do hope this comes to an end soon,” Rarity moaned, careful not to actually step in the blood. “Relax, this fella was givin’ a real beat down. What could he do...” “No!” Blaze’s cry made the other’s jump, but it was justified. Bloodwing, indeed battered, was just behind his machine, standing on a strange platform. It stood under a metal top that connected to the machine that had held Spike earlier. A glass orb was beginning to close around him. “No!” Blaze flew toward the container. He was too late, it snapped shut, causing the pegasus to smash against the glass. Desperately, he pounded against it. “Help me break this, before...” And then Bloodwing turned it on. From the top, Spike’s energy shot down and into the mad doctor, causing him to cry in pain. he twisted and contorted, but through the pain came laughter. Laughter that just got bigger as the changes happened. His bones reset, healing in a clip. His wings grew longer and more elegant. His legs longer, thicker. A unicorn horn grew out of his head. His mane turned into fire, dancing. And he grew, bigger, and bigger. “Everypony get out!” Blaze told the others as he saw the metamorphosis taking place, but before anypony could react, the glass orb shattered. Bloodwing rose from the shattered glass and opened his eyes slowing, showing only red. He then observed himself thoroughly and began to chuckle softly. The chuckle turned into maniacal laughter as he was literally prancing around on the spot in merriment of what had happened to him. “I did it! I finally ascended!” he exclaimed as he opened his wings wide and hovered himself from the ground and looked down upon the crowd of bewildered ponies. His gaze fell upon Black, who woke up in rope binding and looked confused for a brief moment before looking up to him. “You’ve done it boss, you’ve done it!” Bloodwing just waved his hoof and he smiled smugly, “Indeed so, my little Black,” Black jumped around to get closer to the group as their gaze was only upon Bloodwing, “Alright! Now get me out of this thing!” Bloodwing’s merriment turned grim as he looked down on Black, “I think not.” “What?” Bloodwing closed his eyes as he flew higher, “You’ve done me a great service my boy, but you’re usefulness has come to an end,” he raised his hoof, lifting Black from the ground and bringing him closer to him. “Goodbye,” he brought his hoof higher as Black rose higher too. “Why you little rat-bucke-” Black’s words stopped abruptly and the others below him gasped at what was happening to him. “In the name of all things sacred!” It looked like the life was being sucked out of the sadistic alicorn. He shriveled up, his skin wrinkling and his frame becoming thinner. A wisp of energy left him and flew into Bloodwing, causing him to moan in pleasure. Finally, it ceased, and Black was tossed onto the ground, lifeless. “Well, that was fun,” Bloodwing smiled, licking his lips. “Now let’s see what this form can really do!” And then, he summoned all the energy he could into one deafening explosion. Author's Note Edited by Amras Felagund and Vozzlefox, my teacher... check out his story Lately guys :D Chapter 14Twilight was racing through the streets at a speed that could rival that of a Wonderbolt. The life of her son Spike was slipping, thanks to a psychotic scientist. As she galloped through the streets of Canterlot, she was met with the gathering of pony crowds who were out enjoying their early evening recreation. “Out of my way!” she yelled at the crowd as she used her magic to push them aside forcefully. She bit her lips as she ran faster than she ever had in her life, with Spike being held onto her with her magic. She reached the castle gates, slowing down her pace as she tried to catch her breath. The gatekeepers, who did not immediately recognize her, raised their wings, sharp and fierce like the spears they had on standby. The guard on her right cleared his throat as he began to speak in a gruff voice, “Halt! Visitors are not permitted at this time, Miss-” “Just open the gate before I make you!” Twilight threatened the guards as she began to charge her horn. The other guard glared at her warily, “Miss, threatening the guard is a severe crime. One punishable by-” “Twilight Sparkle!” The guards turned sharply behind them as they located the source of the pony calling out to them, and their breath hitched slightly as they looked up and saw who was approaching them fast. Princess Luna came gliding to the front gate when she immediately saw her sister’s pupil running drastically to the palace from her telescope. “Stand down guards! This here is Lady Twilight Sparkle! A personal friend of my sister and I!” she used her famous Canterlot voice to let the words sink into the guards and others around her. Once the guards made way for Twilight, Luna approached her and looked with concern to the unicorn’s watery eyes. “My dear friend, what has transpired?” she asked softly to Twilight, failing to notice Spike on Twilight’s back. Twilight sniffed as she began to sob, “Please! I need you and Princess Celestia to save my baby!” she said in a hollowed voice as he pointed to her back, where the dragon was lying lifelessly. Luna was shocked by this and placed a hoof on her mouth with her iris’ were dilating to the size of plates. “Oh my goodness! What happened to the poor boy?!” she asked Twilight, putting a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder to help ease her shaking form. “B... Bloodwing,” Twilight choked out. “He tried to...” she tried to finish but was overcome by sadness. She bowed her low as more tears were escaping from her eyes, until she felt a gentle hoof on her shoulder and looked up to see Luna giving her a reassuring soft smile before she turned to the guards. “Guards, escort Twilight Sparkle to the hospital wing with all haste!” Luna ordered sternly, seeing her guards give her a sharp salute as they walked to Twilight’s side. She lifted Twilight’s head up with her hoof under the unicorn’s chin. “Worry not Twilight, we will...” An explosion rocked Canterlot. The princess looked up sharply and narrowed her eyes as though they were binoculars. She let out a soft gasp that soon turned to a scowl, “Inform my sister of this at once!” she ordered the guards again, and saw both of them galloping towards the palace with Twilight in tow. Luna spreaded her wings and took to the skies. Bloodwing flew high, up over the city of Canterlot, surveying the area. “Looks good... we’ll have to get rid of most of the shopping center, no need for such frivolities, but I could make a good capital city...” “Bloodwing!” he turned to face the two princesses flying towards him at top-speeds. Both princesses’ faces showed short of livid, especially Luna’s who viewed the pony before them with nothing but contempt. “Ah, Celestia, good to see you again,” he greeted cordially. “Bloodwing,” she answered in a tone that suggested seeing somepony for the first time in awhile. “You’ve changed, I see.” “Indeed I have,” the scientist agreed. “It took over a decade, but it would have taken half the time if you hadn’t decided to be difficult.” “You’re a sick pony,” Luna spat. “We know your crimes well. You’ve done horrible things, all in the name of your foolish experiments.” “Foolish? Hardly. I’m gifting ponies with immortality, those that deserve it at least. What have you done in that area?” “Nothing... because I am not cruel enough to curse anypony with immortality. It’s...” “Oh, save it,” Bloodwing sneered. “An excuse you keep using to keep your power all to yourself. I refuse to believe it.” “It matters not,” Luna said bluntly. “We will defeat you either way.” She didn’t wait for an answer. She fired immediately. “Everypony ok back there?!” Shining Armor shouted out the others as his shield was being expanded and used to plow the debris away from them. Once the shield was down, the air had a layer of lingering dust floating in it and the lab was in ruins. Blaze shook his head, clearing the dizziness that was building up. “We’re all good,” he replied, as he looked up to the skies to see Bloodwing, “But we better deal with him before more ponies get involved,” he said sternly as he looked out of to the starry skies that was now visible thanks to Bloodwing destroying the lab. Applejack looked at him Blaze, “Blaze, I think ya’ll need to tell us what is going on ‘ere,” she told him as she looked him deep in the eyes as to see the whole truth and nothing but the truth. “What Bloodwing just did was-” “Anypony here?!” Rainbow Dash flew into the now demolished room and looked around her before she saw the four ponies in a clearing up ahead. She flew to them fast and landed before Shining, “What in Tartarus happened here, Shining?! And where’s Twilight!?” she asked him loudly as she was looking around her to view more of the destruction before her. “Bloodwing happened,” Shining answered her deadpanned with a serious expression that soon molded into one of sorrow, “And Twilight left... cause of Spike... he...” “What!? What happened to Spike!?” Before Shining could answer her, four more ponies came rushing to them. They turned to the new group and were surprised at who was accompanying Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Applejack looked down on the orange filly before her, “Scootaloo? What in tarnation are ya doin’ ‘ere!?” she questioned her with a stern tone as Scootaloo backed away slowly, with Rainbow coming in-between her and Applejack. “Give her a break, will you!” she told her friend as she was glaring at the farm pony before softening her expression. “I’ll explain what happened later.” “Light!?” Blaze came rushing to his little brother as he was both shocked and angry to see him at the one place he did want him to return to. “I thought I told you to stay with Scootaloo!” “Well, technically...” “Don’t give me that!” the older pegasus snapped. “After all these years you were finally safe, and you went right back into what I saved you from!” “I...” Light stuttered. He was beginning to cry. Blaze took a deep breath. “Look... we have bigger things to worry about right now.” He turned his attention back on the other adults. “We need to go after Bloodwing.” “Are you mad?” Rarity exclaimed. “He’s an alicorn now...” “Who doesn’t know how to use his abilities yet,” Blaze pointed out, “and I want to keep it that way. We need to take him down now.” “I agree,” Rainbow Dash chimed in. “As long as he’s still out there, Canterlot is going to be in trouble.” Shining Armor nodded. “We’re never going to have better odds. Alright then, You, Blaze, and Fluttershy fly off after him. The rest of us will get back to the palace. We’ll get the Elements of Harmony, they can help.” “Um, maybe I better stay with the f...” Fluttershy began nervously before Rainbow Dash pulled her toward the ceiling. “We need all the extra eyes to find him, he might be a million miles away by...” A large flash of light lit up the sky. “Lands sake! We better hurry!” Applejack told the others as more flashes of light were showing. Shining Armor decided to create a shortcut. His horn glowed sharply before it fired his magic to the wall, blowing it up and creating a new passage for them. The building around them was starting to quake, with the roof giving in. “Come on! Move! Move!” he order the ponies as they made a quick escape from the building that was now destroyed for good. The ponies stopped for a brief moment to catch their breath, “Here I thought I was reckless,” Blaze noted loudly. “You’re one crazy jackass!” Shining rolled his eyes to this statement, “Spend a week with Twilight and you will know what crazy is,” he said to Blaze, noticing the mares giving him a cold eye. “A-Anyway, we need to get the castle and deal with Bloodwing,” he said to the others as they made their way to where the battle was commencing. Luna and Celestia encircled Bloodwing in the air, never taking their eyes off of him. He merely smiled at their actions and decided that his eyes were on Celestia’s. Luna took the chance, and fired at him with her magic. He looked behind him and flew quickly out of it’s path, retorting with a shot of his blood magic at her. The magic however hit a shield Luna emitted and she fired once again at the mad pony. Celestia took this chance to use a bit of magic of her own, sending torrents of magic to Bloodwing. She tried to lure him away but without avail, as he merely dodged the magic and responded using his own against her. She was however, also used her magic to form a protective layer around her. Oddly she felt weak and started sweating from the magic she was using. She looked at her sister Luna, who was also showing visible signs of fatigue and barely able to muster enough magic to repel the villain before them. “How does it feel to be outclassed you old hags?!” Bloodwing mockingly asked the princesses, seeing as he now had an advantage. Celestia only prayed that Shining Armor was still alive and able to put a shield up. Bloodwing shot at Luna for another attack. Expecting an energy beam, the Princess of the Night put up a shield. However, it couldn’t defend her from what came next. The mad doctor stopped just inches from her, and that seemed that. He seemingly did nothing at all. And yet, Luna suddenly felt cold. Like the life was draining out of her. Not since the NightMare touched her had her soul felt so dark. And then it was over. The feeling left, replaced by severe dizziness. Bloodwing struck her with a hoof, testing his new earth pony strength. She flew toward the ground. Celestia eyes widened seeing her sister fall, and glowered at Bloodwing, firing more energy beams at Bloodwing, which unfortunately missed. She flew in closer to her target, wanting to end this once and for all. Once she was close enough, she used her horn to cast the finishing spell. However, Celestia felt the same cold feeling her sister had. And just as before, it was over quickly, allowing Bloodwing a chance to hit her with an energy blast. Bloodwing chuckled as Celestia spun out. “This is what Equestria has to offer? The ponies will welcome me as a...” And then he was hit from underneath by a Sonic Rainboom. He flew backwards having the air knocked out of him, but it was the surprise that crippled him more effectively. Soon he regained his bearings, and flipped himself over. Rainbow Dash, surprised by the sudden movement, made the mistake of slowing down. She was instantly in Bloodwing’s magical grip. “Don’t you ever know when to give up?” he asked her blankly as she drew her closer to him. Rainbow just smirked at the stallion, “Not on your life I don’t,” she answered him as she spat at him, hitting his eye and seeing him flinch slightly, though not releasing the grip from her. Bloodwing wiped the saliva from his eyes and glared at Rainbow, seeing her snicker in place. He snickered himself, silencing the mare before her. “Let’s see how much you have left in you, shall we?” He proceeded in coming closer to her, but Rainbow zoomed away from him until she came back fast and slammed both her hind legs against his chest, knocking the air out of him, just long enough for Dash to fly further away. “You little wench!” he growled at her, seeing her prepare to do another Sonic Rainboom on him. However, Bloodwing saw through this and prepared his magic, firing a beam of intense magic at Rainbow. The magic was only able to hit her wing though, but it was enough to send her falling to the ground at a speed that would be fatal to any pegasus. As Rainbow was falling, she closed her eyes as the ground came nearer to her. But the wind that was hitting her face from the fall stopped, and so did she. She then felt herself floating upwards and feared for the worst. She hesitantly opened her eyes, but she was met with the smiling face of her friend Fluttershy. Fluttershy let go of her, seeing how Dash was able to gain momentum again. “A-are you alright?” she asked her shyly. Rainbow smiled broadly at Fluttershy, “Thanks to you I am. One more second, and I would have been a pancake thanks to that mad clown,” she told Fluttershy, looking back at Bloodwing who seemed to not notice the two of them below as he was advancing to the castle. Blaze came flying from behind and just stopped behind the mares who turned to face him, “You two ok?” “Oh yes, but I’m worried for the princesses. What if they-” Fluttershy’s words were interrupted as she heard the sound of magic exploding and saw the Princesses using their magic against Bloodwing, magic intended only for the foulest of enemies. Celestia moved in to lock horns with him, but stopped when she realized that would likely give Bloodwing an opening to use his mysterious spell, opting instead to keep her distance and fire another attack. As he dodged, Luna flew towards the three pegasi. “You three, is Shining Armor still active?” “He is, he’s on his way to the Palace to get the Elements of...” “No!” Luna said suddenly, “the Elements are not a generic weapon. They only nullify dark and chaos magic. Bloodwing is using neither.” “Then... what do we do?” “Return to the palace, and tell Shining Armor to put up his shield around all of Canterlot.” “But...” Rainbow Dash stammered, “you’ll be trapped outside with...” “Better than he be allowed to harm innocents. Fear not, we have battled Discord at full power, this foal will be trivial.” “But,” Rainbow Dash began, only for Blaze to pull at her foreleg. “You heard her, let’s go!” Sighing, Rainbow Dash obeyed, flying off with her two comrades in tow. Luna turned to rejoin the battle just in time for Bloodwing to hit her with his mysterious spell again. Nearly oblivious to the battle in the skies, Twilight cried at her son’s bedside. She held his one claw in her hoof firmly, feeling it becoming colder by the second. Her lips quivered as she looked down on her boy’s body. “Please, Spike!” she begged, as if her previous beginnings had always failed to work because she simply wasn’t desperate enough, “You must fight it! Don’t leave me! Please!” “I’m sorry, Lady Sparkle,” a doctor noted, a clipboard levitating in front of him, “but he’s lost too much energy to sustain himself.” Twilight just shook her head in denial as more tears were flowing freely from her eyes, “No! There has to be something you can do!” she exclaimed to the doctor as she clinged onto his jacket. The doctor sighed as he placed a hood on her shoulder, “Miss Sparkle, you must understand we-” The doors of the room slammed open as Shining Armor came rushing though carrying a box of some sorts with him. He spotted his sister with the doctor and galloped towards her, with the box following him as it was coated in his magic. “Twilly, we got a problem! Bloodwing’s on his way and-” “Bloodwing!?” Twilight immediately went to her brother’s side as the words were spoken, her sadness turned into fury by the pony who did this to her son and to others. “Where is he!?” she asked her brother as the anger was building up in her. Shining stared at his sister, “Twilly, could you not look at me like that,” he asked her politely, seeing his sister calming down to see a face that belonged only to the very depressed. “He’s fighting the princesses right now, but I think he may be more trouble than what he anticipated.” “What do you mean?” Shining continued as he lowered the case to his sister, “I saw him suck the magic out of his subordinate and getting stronger from that. I’m not sure if the princesses can defeat him alone, but I do believe that-” Twilight’s eyes shimmered for a moment as she connected the dots in her mind, “I got it!” she said to her brother as she took the case and opened them to reveal the Elements of Harmony in them. She placed her tiara, which was the Element of Magic, on her head and turned around to face Spike’s body. Her eyes glistened in tears just by seeing her boy like this, but she had to be strong for what was coming next. She placed a hoof on his cheek, ignoring the burning feeling that was building up from the contact. “Mommy will be right back Spike, ok? Just be strong for me please,” she asked him kindly, not expecting an answer and turning back to Shining, “Let’s go!” “Right!” Both ponies exited the room and made their way outside to the clearing, seeing Rainbow Dash approaching them with Blaze and Fluttershy. “Shining! Princess Luna said you outta put up your shield over the city!” Rainbow told him as they landed before the unicorns. “I’m on it!” Shining answered as he concentrated his magic, shooting a beam of magic that soon shot up skywards. The tip of the beam then spread to form a shield that reached all over the city of Canterlot. When the shield was up, Shining’s horn stopped glowing and he was slightly dizzy from the excess use of magic. By the time he had recovered, Twilight and her friends were already several feet away, with only Blaze left behind. “Where are they going?” Blaze shrugged. “Twilight said she had a plan. She also said we needed to stay behind. If she fails...” he drifted off, not wanting to even think about that possibility. “Anyway, where’s Light?” “He’s in the Palace, safe and sound. Well, not exactly. We better put in evacuation procedures. You need to fly up to the Princesses and warn them about Bloodwing’s power, I’m not sure that they are even aware of it.” Blaze paused. “If he absorbs all of the Princesses’ energy... we’re doomed.” Celestia remembered the last time she was this tired. Their battle with Discord, several millennia earlier, had been taxing. That wasn’t surprising, given that he was the embodiment of chaos, but Bloodwing was just a normal pony. The sisters were stunned at the pony before them, seeing as he held his own against them. Celestia decided to fly in closer to Bloodwing, reading her magic. Just as she was ready, she felt drained and her magic was cut off. She flew backwards and shot magic at him several times along with her sister, but all the spells were evaded almost too easily. Luna, being somewhat more devious in her tactics, managed to clip Bloodwing. The scientist yelled and tried to stay afloat on his damaged wing, allowing the Princess of the Night to strike him in the chest. He went flying to the ground. “That was our most powerful attack, and it won’t keep him down for long. How is he so strong, so skilled?” “And why are we so weak?” Celestia moaned. “I had forgotten what physical exhaustion was like.” Bloodwing got up from the ground, coughing as he regained his breath. He looked up in the sky to the princesses before flying upwards to them. “Let me show you what death feels like!” he yelled as he came flying towards the princesses, as they send a barrage of magic to his direction only for him to dodge all of the attacks. “You’re mine Celes-!” A streak of flame came crashing into him, as he flew backwards from the force that hit him. He let out a cry of agony as his body was slightly burned from the attack. When Bloodwing looked to the princesses, he saw Blaze floating in front of them. What surprised him for a moment was the glare in Blaze’s eyes. “Princesses, with all due respect, I need you to return to the castle at once,” he told Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as he looked behind his shoulder to meet their eyes. “Who are you?” Luna asked him curiously as she looked at the stallion’s eyes, eyes that showed no fear for what he was facing against. Blaze just smirked at the question given to him, “My name’s Blaze, Blaze Stream. Got it memorized?” he asked her as he pointed a hoof to his head. Princess Celestia looked at him impassively first, before her eyes blinked to show compassion to the stallion who was literally offering himself to a beast for them to escape. “You have our greatest gratitude Blaze, good luck,” she told him as she and Luna made their way back to the palace. Bloodwing laughed at what was happening before them, “You really think you can defeat me, Red?” he asked him mockingly as he smiled smugly to the red pegasus before him. Blaze snorted and looked back at Bloodwing with burning eyes, “Nah, but I can beat you up enough for the girls to finish you off... you pissed off the wrong ponies today, including me,” he told Bloodwing as his wings were now blazing in the night skies. “Ha! Let’s see you fight against me Red you bucking failure of a-” Blaze came tackling towards Bloodwing as they both were using their hooves to inflict damage on the other, “The name’s Blaze and I’ll brand it onto your corpse!” he shouted out as he covered himself in flames, with each punch he performed creating an explosion in the skies where they were fighting. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both landed by the castle’s grounds just as the fight between Blaze and Bloodwing became dangerous. The Princesses heard the sounds of explosions behind them and they turned to see the fiery pegasus give his all against the tyrannical madpony. “Tia, we have to help him!” Luna urged her sister as she turned to face her with pleading eyes. “I know, Lulu!” Celestia responded to her sister as her eyes were showing worry for the stallion defending the city now. “We need-” “Princess!” Celestia’s ears perked and she turned sharply to face Twilight Sparkle and her friends, who have donned the Elements of Harmony. “Princess, what’s going on?!” she asked her mentor as she saw both princesses looking exhausted. “The one known as Blaze relieved us of our battle,” Luna answered, looking to the sky. “Who is he? And what was Bloodwing doing to us?” “That pegasus was one of Bloodwing’s old slaves... Celestia can fill you in later,” Twilight explained hastily. “As for what happened, he can suck the energy out of ponies,” Twilight explained. “You two must be feeling weak...” Celestia watched the battle again. “How are we going to stop this?” “I have an idea,” Twilight said. Celestia finally noticed the Elements of Harmony. “Twilight, no, that won’t work...” Twilight held up a hoof. “I’m aware, Princess. Please, let me try this.” Celestia wanted to forbid her from doing so... but she knew better. “Very well, my most faithful student. Go on, and good luck.” She looked back in the sky... and her eyes widened again. “What the?” The others looked up as well. “What the buck!” Rainbow Dash screamed in terror. Scootaloo was flying directly toward Bloodwing. Bloodwing had caught Blaze by now. “I’m kind of glad you survived this long, Red. I was hoping to get the energy out of all of you.” His horn glowed. And then Scootaloo hit him from beneath, her horn puncturing his stomach. Bloodwing snarled in pain and surprise, releasing his hold on Blaze. Scootaloo pulled her horn out, then began bombarding the doctor with every attack she could throw. He was pushed back, still more out of surprise than any real damage. Bloodwing decided to grab hold of Scootaloo, using his magic to keep her in place. “Why little tramp! How dare you attack your creator!” he shouted out at her as he brought her closer to him and sucked her energy out. Just as she was starting to lose consciousness, Bloodwing punched her hard on her muzzle before grabbing her again. “Now go ahead and rot,” he dropped her from his grip and saw her plummeting to the ground below. “Kid!” Blaze shouted out to her, just as he was about to come to her rescue. He was stopped however by Bloodwing, who used his magic to try and grab Blaze but wasn’t able to hold him in place. Blaze looked up to see Bloodwing charging at him. “Always mind your surroundings!” Bloodwing shouted at Blaze as they continued the fight, though Bloodwing noticed the attention of Blaze was dwindling as Scootaloo was falling to her death. “Scootaloo!” Rainbow yelled out to her just as she was about to fly to her, but she was beaten by a little white streak that reached the falling filly. Rainbow’s eyes widened in surprised when she saw Light carrying Scootaloo in a bridal style and floating downwards to the others before them. Scootaloo’s eyes opened up and she saw Light looking down on her with relieved eyes. She then noticed the position she was in and her face was becoming redder by the moment. “Are you ok, Scootaloo?” he asked her as she was back on her hooves, but the pain in her head still throbbed endless as she flinched. She rubbed her head gently and felt a bloody spot on her head that strangely clotted itself rather fast by anypony’s standards. “I-I’m fine, it’s just-” “Scootaloo!” Scootaloo and Light turned to see Rainbow Dash coming before them, and she was not pleased. “What in the name of Equestria were you thinking charging in like that?!” she asked Scootaloo crudely as both foals were looking down on the ground guiltily. “I just... I just wanted to help Blaze is all. I was just so angry with Bloodwing I didn’t know what I was-” she said as she was sniffing a few tears that were building up, but felt a gently hoof on her head. She looked up to see Rainbow look at her with a tender smile. “You have done enough for now, let us take care of the rest. Ok?” she asked Scootaloo and saw both foals nod at her. At that moment, the limp form of Blaze crashed into Rainbow Dash, sending both pegasi crashing to the ground. Looking in terror, the two foals gave a terrified squeak as Bloodwing flew up to him. “Red’s dead,” he said simply, in a cold voice. Light needed no further incentive to flee, but he never got the chance. As soon as he turned around, a blast of magic hit his back, sending him spiraling. As he fell, Bloodwing grabbed him, but just long enough to pull Scootaloo from his grasp. No longer having any use for the foal, he dropped him, concentrating solely on his creation. “Well, Subject Ten, you have something that belongs to me... and since there aren’t any more powerful ponies around...” Scootaloo screamed in terror as she was being drawn nearer to him. And then a Sonic Rainboom hit Bloodwing, right in his damaged gut. Screaming in pain, he dropped Scootaloo, who was caught by a Royal Guard. “Pardon me, miss, I have instructions from Lady Rainbow Dash to escort you home.” “But... Light...” “My comrade got him. Now come on...” A few feet away, Dash broke off from Bloodwing, allowing the alicorn to recover. Arrogantly, the cyan pegasus turned and wiggled her rump at him. “All that experimentation and you still can’t avoid a Sonic Rainboom?” “Watch it...” he began, but he noticed something different about his opponent: the Element of Loyalty was draped around her neck. Rainbow Dash noticed the gaze, and tapped the jewelry for emphasis. “You like it? One of the most powerful artifacts in Equestria, and it’s mine, not yours!” “Hm,” Bloodwing smirked. “Not for long.” He lunged at her. But she was already off, shouting taunts. Bloodwing followed, confident. “Are you sure ‘bout this, Twi?” Applejack asked. “...Not entirely,” she admitted, balancing her Element of Magic on her head. “But what if you’re wrong about this?” “Then... I’ll probably go down in history as the idiot who let Bloodwing win...” She noticed Rainbow Dash coming. “There they are. Everypony, Elements ready!” The other four Bearers got in position as their friend flew down to them, Bloodwing right behind her. “It’s show time!” Rainbow yelled out to her friends, and her necklace began to glow brightly along with the others. Rainbow and the other girls were soon lifted from the ground, as their elements were glowing in synchronization. Each element started shooting magic randomly at Bloodwing, though all of them narrowly missed him. The mares’ eyes glowed white as all of them grinned, and a beam of pure magic shot from all the elements at once. The beam had the similarities of a rainbow, that shined after the end of a raging storm. The beam flew in an arc to Bloodwing, and hit him with its full impact. Bloodwing however just stood there and became all giddily, “So much power!” he said as he stood and reached out his hooves in the air as though he was begging for more of the magic. “Twi, it ain’t working! We need to-” “Trust me on this one!” Twilight replied hastily to Applejack, as she concentrated on Bloodwing, seeing him act so arrogant with what he was facing. “Bloodwing, you wanted power! Well, you got it!” she yelled out as the magic intensified. Bloodwing’s eyes suddenly popped open as he realized what was happening. He tried to step to the side, but Twilight, seeing this, used her magic to hold him where he was. If he was thinking clearly, he might have easily broken out, but panic was not a healthy emotion. Bloodwing yelled in pain as he stared in horror at his body, that started to crack. With each crack showing on his body, magic seeped out of him uncontrollably. “What?!” he shouted out as he looked at his hooves that started to disintegrate, with the magic in him acting as an out of controlled flame inside a furnace. “No... no! This is not how it was suppose to be!” he said in a panicked tone, with every inch of his body slowly disappearing. “This is not what was supposed to happen!” he yelled out as all the magic in him burst out, followed shortly by his body being reduced to ash. Streaks of magic flew in all different directions. The Elements stopped, and the threat known as Bloodwing was finally dealt with. Rainbow just stared blankly at the spot where Bloodwing was before his demise, “How did you know it would work, Twilight?” Twilight just shrugged as she took her tiara off her head, “I noticed how he was sucking all magic out of the Princesses, then I remembered how Blue exploded when he used too much energy. I realized Bloodwing’s magic must be flawed, so I figured if he absorbed too much, he couldn’t contain it.” Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight and nodded in agreement, “Oooooh, like when you blow too much air into a balloon, it goes pop!” she said as she made a ‘pop’ sounded with her mouth. Twilight just shook her head with a half-smile, “Yes Pinkie, just like that,” she said to the pink pony as the all took of their respective elements. “And now that the energy he stole has nowhere to go, it should return to the proper ponies.” Inside Canterlot Castle, two large streaks of energy flew back into the bodies of Princess Celestia and Luna. Another flew into Blaze, being carried in by two Royal Guards. The seemingly dead pegasus sat up. Another flew into the infirmary and into the still formless body of Spike. It had no noticeable changes. And the final flew into the ruins of Bloodwing’s lab. Black crawled out of the wreckage. He might have lost, but he still lived, and he was still an alicorn. He’d slip away, he’d recover, and he’d return to... At that point, he found several Royal Guards surrounding him. “By order of the Royal Family, you are under arrest. Come quietly or we’re authorized to use lethal force.” Black groaned, planting his face on the ground. Today was not his day. Rainbow smiled triumphantly as she flew above the others, “We showed them! Didn't we, girls-” she couldn't finish as she was tackled in the air by an orange alicorn filly. “You did it!” she squealed happily! Rainbow Dash just hugged her back. “Yes... we did it. Bloodwing’s gone, for good this time. He won’t hurt you again.” “Hey, Twilight!” Applejack suddenly called. Rainbow Dash looked up to see that her friend was sprinting back to the castle. “Where y’all goin’?” It was Rarity that answered, once realization hit her. “Spike!” With that, the whole group forgot about celebration. There might not be a happy ending for some. Chapter 15Twilight galloped as fast as she could to the hospital wing of the palace. Even though Bloodwing was gone, and the magic stolen from others was returned to them, there was still the critical condition of her son Spike that worried her to no end. As she reached the doors, she marched right through them and found the doctors overlooking the still formless Spike with panicked expressions on their faces. “Ms. Sparkle, we-” “What’s going on here?!” she demanded to know from the doctors. One of them shook his head with eyes closed shut before reaching out a hoof to her that enclosed her in a hug. “I’m sorry Ms. Sparkle, your son didn’t make it,” he said with bitterness in his voice. He was not accustomed to telling parents of their own child’s untimely demise. Another doctor took a blanket and covered the baby dragon’s face with it, as a sign of final rest. Twilight’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as she pushed her way through the doctors until she reached the still body of Spike and held him close to her. He was no longer painful to the touch. “Spike! You must concentrate! Remember your form! Your dragon form! Please don’t leave me! Spike!” she begged to her son as she gently shook him in her embrace, feeling only an icy coldness. The doors of the theater opened again, with all of Twilight’s friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Blaze and Light, and the Princesses all entering to find Twilight crying over Spike’s body. The grouped gasped in shock, that soon turned to morbid sadness. “Ms. Sparkle, please we-” “No! Spike! Remember your form! Spike!” Twilight shouted as she sobbed continuously. She begged for an answer but was only met with a dead silence. Her lips quivered as she could only hold onto his body and release a torrent of tears from her eyes, burying her head in her son’s shoulder. All the ponies in the room were shedding silent tears for the mourning mother before them, though the one who was shedding the most tears out of the whole group was Celestia herself. She removed her crown from her head as a sign of respect and her tears were forming a pool as they fell to the ground. She walked up slowly to Twilight, encasing her wing over her student. “I am so sorry, Twilight... I’m so sorry...” she whispered softly to her student’s ears as she saw the body of Spike lying limp in the unicorn’s hold. Twilight rose her head slowly, looking down on her son’s body. “Spike... I love you so much...” she said softly to him, closing her eyes and kissing his forehead for what would be last time ever for her. She returned to crying into his shoulders as her son was now gone. “Mom?” Spike felt nothing but an endless shiver of cold running through him. All he saw was darkness around him, darkness that showed no end in sight. He tried to lift up his arms, but found that he couldn’t. He looked down on himself, only seeing nothing but the same darkness. He tried running to what he thought was the other side, but made no progress at all. The only thing that met him was the same chill that would not go away. The last time he felt this kind of cold was when the others played a prank on him, having him nearly drown in the river. He remembered waking up to the call of his mother, who he saw was crying endless tears of joy, regret and sorrow. He remembered the warmth he felt from her when she would not let go of her embrace from his tiny body, seeing Spike shiver uncontrollably. Spike also saw the other ponies without the mirth they had earlier for finishing the Wrap Up in time. Spike was trying his best to remember warm feelings he has had before being in this state. There were many memories, but the most prominent one was when he confessed to Twilight, marking that the day he would forever call her ‘Mom’. She was already his mother, but saying the word to her was proof of that recognition. This had given him a joy he sought for so long, and what made it even more worthwhile was the jubilation he gave his mother by loving her as her son. But now, in this cold space, he was alone. “So this... is what death is like?” he asked himself somberly, thinking only of his mother who was now out of his grasp. He closed his eyes again, at least what he thought were his eyes, trying his best to rid himself of the sorrow that was filling him. “Spike! You must concentrate! Remember your form! Your dragon form! Please don’t leave me! Spike!” Twilight’s voice rang, alerting Spike to look around again. Her voice echoed in the dark space, and he tried to call out to her, but no voice emitted from him. He decided to venture in every direction to find the source of the voice, but it grew fainter by the minute. He then felt a force pulling him away from the voice, he turned but saw nothing. This reminded him of the nightmare he had, calling out to Twilight who was not helping him one bit. Spike felt himself slipping away, further into the abyss, feeling his very soul becoming one with the darkness. “Ms Sparkle, please we-” “No! Spike! Remember your form! Spike!” The words were faint, but still there. He thought of what his form was, the form of the baby dragon he was before. He thought hard on his form, feeling a sense of warm coming from him. The darkness however would not cease, dragging him further. He tried, but nothing was working for him. He then remembered his life as though it flashed before him, and thought this was the end for good... “No!” With new vigor, he focused harder on the warmth in him and felt a heartbeat. “Is this my heart?” he asked himself in his mind, and focused harder on it. The beat was becoming louder until it echoed across the darkness. The darkness seemed to crumble around him, being replaced by a shining light. When the last darkness was snuffed out of the space, the light shined so brightly it replaced the chill in him with a warm sensation. Spike found himself a plane of endless white, feeling at calmer than he did a few moments ago. “Mom!?” he called out for his mother, in the endless space ahead of him. “Spike?” he heard the voice and made his way closer to it, hoping he would find out where the exit was to this place. “I feel so weird...”, he told himself as he tried to move but he could not see his body one bit. “Spike... concentrate... pull.... together...” He then heard the same voice again, this time from above. With new determination, he reached out to the voice. He was however finding difficulty reaching for the top, as it was blinding his vision as he came closer to the light. “I’m trying to but it’s so hard...” he spoke to no one in particular but he had a feeling his mother heard him, wherever she could be. “... you're doing it...” he heard again, only this time clearer as he zoomed to the source of the voice. The voice of Twilight Sparkle, his mother. Twilight’s wails nearly deafened the other ponies, though none of them asked her to silence. Her worst fears were realized. Her son was dead, stolen from her. It wasn’t fair. There was still so much she wanted to do! See him grow up, meet a nice girl... “mOm?” Her eyes shot open. It was Spike’s voice though heavily distorted. What shocked her more was Spike’s body was glowing brightly, nearly blinding her. “...Spike?” she dared. The form seemed to be twitching. The other ponies were gaping. Could it be? “I fEeL wEiRd...” “Spike, listen! You need to concentrate!” she yelled, holding him close to her. His form burned her again, but she paid little mind to the pain in her chest. “Pull yourself together! Please!” “I’m TrYiNg... It’S hArD...” he said again in his distorted voice, as he was glowing brighter and twitching more in Twilight’s embrace. “Come on... come on, you’re doing it,” she encouraged, keeping him in her embrace. She felt him solidify and the light was receding from him. She dared not open her eyes nor let him go. She felt his chest moving up and down against hers. She beamed and tears of joy were cascading from her closed eyes. She gently rubbed his back, feeling very soft fur. Her eyes shot open in surprised and her hoof stopped its movement. She rubbed the forehoof again and felt fur again. “Fur?” she thought to herself, feeling no scales. She pulled away and looked at him... and nearly dropped him. She stared in awe at what happened to Spike. He was now covered in purplish fur, the same color as his scales. In place of quills, he now had a mane with spiky hairstyle, coloured in green that had highlights of gold streaking through it with his tail being the same colour and hair now. Where his arms were, only legs greeted her. His claws were now replaced with hooves. The once-slitted eyes were now rounded, though the irises were still the same green. There were no fangs projecting from his mouth and he now had a muzzle instead of a nose. From his forehead, a horn was visible to everypony looking at him. Spike was no longer a baby dragon, but rather a unicorn colt. Spike blinked twice before looking at his mother’s eyes that were showing astonishment. He then turned to the others who were shocked and surprised into silence. He turned back Twilight and looked up into her eyes again, “Mom?” he asked softly, feeling slightly weird around his body. Once Spike spoke, Twilight smiled broadly and held him tightly. “Spike!” she yelled out to him as she peppered Spike with kisses all over his face. “My boy! My gorgeous boy!” she said softly to him as she nuzzled him, smiling broadly with more tears flowing freely from her eyes. Once Spike was free from his mother’s hold, all of Twilight’s friends made their way to the bedside. Each of them all having watery eyes and smiles plastered on their faces. The Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped onto the bed and grabbed hold of Spike in a tight group hug, with all the fillies cheering for him. “Ya’ll gave us a fright there, Spike!” Apple Bloom told him as she gave him a soft noogie before returning to the group hug. Scootaloo patted his back, smiling happily. “Glad to have you back, Spike!” she told him with the few words she could say, feeling slightly guilty for what Spike had to go through earlier. Scootaloo immediately shook it off as she went back to the group hug her friends were giving Spike. “Oh, Spike! Never do that again!” Sweetie Belle told him as her lips were shaking and a few droplets of tears formed from her eyes. She nuzzled his cheek as they held onto him in a tighter grip. “E-Easy! Easy!” Spike managed to say as he was at a loss of breath, with him being immediately released from the hug and his breathing becoming steady again. He felt weird though, as if he changed in more ways than one. He felt a hoof on his shoulder and turned to see Twilight smiling softly at him. As though by impulse, he reached her and held onto her, with her doing the same. As the others gave their well wishes to Spike, Celestia and Luna walked up to the Twilight and her child. Celestia smiled softly to Spike as she craned her neck down to both Twilight and Spike’s level, nuzzling each one of them in turn looking deeply in Spike’s eyes. “I’m so happy you are still with us, Spike,” she whispered to Spike as she lifted her head upwards. Spike in turn smiled at the princess’ words, “Thank you princess, but I feel so weird though... like...” he said. Not once had he looked at his body. Luna stepped forward with a tiny mirror being held by her magic. “Take a look at yourself and you will see, little colt,” Luna told him with a knowing smile of her own as she gave it to Spike. Spike was confused but still complied, taking the mirror and looking into it. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at his face, that had no scales or quills on his head. He dropped the mirror on the bed and turned his head sharply in every corner to view his changed body. “I-I’m a pony?!” he asked in amazement turning to Twilight, “Mom? What’s going on?” Twilight just shook her head as she shrugged in confusion, “I don’t know how it happened, but maybe it could be...” Celestia intervened. “I think we all need to rest first. Twilight, since we all had a very long day,” she said to Twilight with her motherly tone, seeing the fatigue in everypony’s eyes. Twilight Sparkle stood up from the bed and used her magic to place Spike on top of her back, seeing as he would still need a little time to become accustomed to the changes. “I think so too,” she replied to her mentor and looked back at the others who were also tired from today’s experiences. Once the Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped off the bed, they were also placed onto their respectable guardians’ backs. Scootaloo was a bit surprised at being placed on Rainbow’s back, but she immediately closed her eyes as the warmth from the cyan mare was welcoming to her senses. “Is this what it feels like... to have a mother?” she asked herself, as she was slowing drifted into sleep. Rainbow turned her neck and saw the little filly sound asleep, seeing the smile on Scootaloo’s face. Rainbow smiled in return before turning her head to the other side of the room, where Blaze and Light were standing. “Um... Princess Celestia, Princess Luna... what about them?” she asked both sisters as she pointed to Blaze and his little brother. “Blaze will have to stand trial,” Celestia said firmly. “For tonight, however, they will be treated with the utmost care.” She turned to her guards. “Take them to a guest room, get nurses to tend to any injuries. Bring them food, and anything else they need. But Blaze is still under arrest, so do not allow him to leave. As soon as he’s treated, bind his wings, and place guards outside his room.” Celestia walked up to Blaze, with Light standing in between them. She saw Light staring at her as though she would do something to his older brother, but she gave a motherly smile to the little pegasus, and that seemed to ease the tension. “For saving my life, my sister’s and my faithful subjects’, I thank you with all my heart, Blaze.” Blaze stood there in awe at the words the princess spoke to him, and just smirked at Celestia. “Don’t mention it, princess,” he said as he turned to his brother and lifted him to his back, walking next to the guards and looking at each of them. “Let’s go.” The guards nodded, then motioned for the two pegasi to follow them. As soon as they had arrived in the room, Rainbow Dash ran a bath of warm water and gently placed Scootaloo inside it, waking the exhausted filly. She felt the warm water and gentle hooves as she was bathed, like a pure wave of bliss after days of suffering. Once it was over, she was toweled off and was gently placed on the large bed. Then Rainbow Dash went to take her own shower. Scootaloo prodded her horn for the hundredth time since laying down. It felt... odd. It was something she hated, a mark Bloodwing had given her. She felt sick just thinking that such an awful pony had changed her forever. Rainbow Dash came out, nice and clean, and laid in bed next to her. She pulled the little filly close, draping a foreleg, then a hoof around her and pulling her close. “You feeling alright, squirt?” she asked Scootaloo as she held onto her small body gently. Scootaloo shivered at the touch. She was warm. She scooted in closer. “...Do you think Princess Celestia could turn me back into a pegasus?” That stunned Rainbow. “I... I don’t know... maybe. Don’t you like being an alicorn?” “No!” she yelled causing her to jump. “I’m a pegasus! Not an alicorn! I’m a pony! You can’t just change me! I’m real! I’m real! I’m...” Rainbow Dash grabbed her and squeezed her tighter in her hug. Rainbow nuzzled the little filly affectionately, hoping it would bring about peace in her. She felt Scootaloo hug back, and crying. They stayed like that for a few minutes, with Rainbow waiting for Scootaloo to calm down. Rainbow Dash kissed her on top of her head. “I know you’re real, squirt,” she said. “If you really want to, I’ll get Celestia to look at you tomorrow.” “T-thank you,” she said quietly. “And I’ll get someone for you to talk to about all this. I’m sure we can get the same doctor who helped me after Discord...” she assured her further and stroked her mane gently. Scootaloo just looked away as a trail of tears still remained near her eyes, “No, it’s okay, Dash. I’m fine...” Rainbow just gave a stern look that silenced Scootaloo immediately. “Kid, nopony goes through what you did and is just ‘fine’. I’m hiring somepony to talk to you, and that’s final,” she said with an authoritative voice. “O-okay,” she stammered again, nuzzling closer. There was another moment of silence before she spoke again. “Rainbow?” “Yeah?” “...Are you really going to adopt me?” Rainbow Dash grinned playfully, “I don’t need to, squirt. At least, I don’t think I do.” Scootaloo pulled away and looked at her, scared. “W-wha...” “You know where Bloodwing got most of you from? Me... which I guess I should have expected. You’re way too awesome to have just anypony’s DNA,” she said, rubbing Scootaloo’s head affectionately. “You’re already my kid, and if anypony tries to tell me otherwise... well, they’ll end up worse than Bloodwing or any of his cronies did.” Scootaloo blinked, still frozen in shock. “I... are you sure?” “Do I look like a li... argh!” Scootaloo tackled the older pegasus and threw her forelegs around her, crying openly into her. “I... I... I love you, Mommy!” she spoke as she was sobbing freely in the embrace of Rainbow Dash, feeling as though a wish had finally been granted to her. Rainbow Dash hugged her back. “I love you, too,” she said softly, crying as well, “and I’m sorry I didn’t believe you back when this whole mess started.” she told her as she nuzzled Scootaloo, overjoyed that the nightmare was finally over. She let Scootaloo cry some more. Then, she reached over and turned out the light, as both her and Scootaloo were in the bed. Holding her child close, she decided to fold her wing over Scootaloo encasing her in a feathery cocoon and pulled the sheets over both of them as they both drifted off to sleep. Twilight Sparkle was now in her old quarters of the palace, lying in her bed with her son by her side. She dared not let go of him, as her foreleg was wrapped around the body of Spike which was now a colt’s. She could hear his breathing as he slept against her chest, just like he did when he asked her to be his mother. Twilight just smiled softly at the irony of it all, he never had to have permission from her at all it seemed. She was his mother all the way, she brought him into this world, raised him and loved him. Most importantly, he loved her back. She was still amazed at what happened and had no idea how it came to be. None of the books she has ever read had an explanation for this occurrence, and certainly for this kind of magic. Though it wasn’t as if she minded. She could do nothing but smile demurely at the miracle of what happened, having her son back alive by her side. She shivered slightly as a sense of dread coursed through her body. What would she tell him about his true origins, how would he handle it. Would he hate her from now on? Twilight then remembered Celestia’s words earlier about his heart, how she gave birth to it via magic and how it was his own unique heart, not just a copy or a fake one. A tear rolled down from her eye and down her cheek. She kissed his cheek softly, feeling him snuggling closer into her chest. “I love you, my beautiful boy,” she whispered to him, as she too was soon succumbed by sleep’s embrace. The door of her room slowly opened, until Celestia walked in quietly to the bedside of her student and Spike. She looked down on the both of them and could not help but give a soft smile as her eyes became moist from the experiences both Twilight and Spike had to go through recently. She blinked her eyes and her horn began to glow dimly, as she lowered it to the sleeping bodies of Twilight and Spike. Once she touched Spike’s horn, her eyes became white as she was now venturing in the mind of the little colt. She opened her eyes again to see nothing but endless white. She looked around her until she found her target. She walked up towards a heart-shaped object that was glowing brightly in a purplish aura, and it was emitting a warmth that was soon felt all over Celestia’s body as she was getting closer to it. She used her horn and observed the object, with multiple images flashing before her eyes. She then pulled away, looking at it in awe before smiling broadly at what she just saw. “So that’s what happened,” she said to herself as she flew off into the distance. Celestia opened her eyes and raised her head as she was back in the room where Twilight and Spike were sleeping. She gave a motherly smile to both her student and the colt who were both still sound asleep. She brought down her muzzle to both of their foreheads, giving each one a tender kiss before lifting her head and turning away from them and exiting through the door. She walked down the hallways, turning until she had reached the throne room. Luna was seated, going through a few papers. “Ah, sister. The one known as Black has been subdued. In the morning, it would be for the best if we change him back.” Celestia nodded. “Tomorrow... we might have to do it to Scootaloo too. In the meantime, I believe I have solved the mystery of Spike’s transformation.” Luna looked up. “You entered his heart, didn't you?” “Indeed I have,” she nodded. “It seems, unconsciously or not, Spike has always wanted to be a pony. I remember, clearly, the very day, when he first realized he was different. I had been giving Twilight a lesson when Spike crawled up to her and pressed his claw against her hoof. Twilight cooed at him, ‘I have a hoof and you have a claw!’ And then, Spike started bawling,” Celestia recalled from the past where Luna was not a part of. Celestia sighed before she continued, “Twilight didn’t understand, but I did. He wanted to be the same as Twilight, though she loved him dearly already. Even as he accepted it, he still longed to change who he was on the outside. When Twilight called to him to remember his form, he turned into what he always pictured himself as being: a pony. More specifically, a unicorn foal, to be like his mother.” Luna looked at Celestia with confusion as she raised her eyebrow, “But sister, surely his will alone could not have brought about such change,” she said as she was playing devil’s advocate. Celestia closed her eyes which she slowly opened again, “I said this before to Twilight, his heart was always that of a pony’s. Hence why he was able to adapt to pony society and why he carries little if not none of the dragon traits like the others do. A part of Twilight resides in him, just as a part of Twilight Velvet lives in Twilight Sparkle. Spike, from the day he was born, always had the heart of a pony. With the nurturing of love he received from ponies such as Twilight and myself, his heart was able to further developed into that of a pony’s. Though now he has the body of a pony, one he desired unconsciously for so long.” Luna pondered this information for a while, tapping her hoof to her chin, “An interesting hypothesis... but what does this mean for him? Has he lost a dragon’s life span?” “I’m unsure... time will tell, I presume. I will have tests run on him tomorrow. In the meantime, I’d like to see what was salvaged from Bloodwing’s lab. Perhaps his studies will yield a silver lining in all this.” The sun’s ray was now beaming through the windows of the palace, signalling the start of a new day. The beams shined on the the face of Blaze Stream, who opened them lazily and blocked them with his one bandaged hoof. He got up from the soft bed and looked around him to see his little brother still fast asleep in in the corner of the room. He stretched his body, but felt something covering his wings and turned to see a restraining cloth covering them and sealed with magic. He let out a sigh and he looked back to his brother, smiling at him. “This beats the streets or any lab anyday,” he said to himself as he walked up to his brother and gently nudged at him. “Hey Light, time to wake up,” he said softly, seeing his brother groan and opening his eyes to reveal a sky-blue-coloured iris. “Hey Bro, where are we?” he asked Blaze as he lifted himself from the bed hesitantly as it was so soft, barely remembering falling asleep in it. Blaze just looked from left to right before turning to his brother, “Well by the looks of things, we are currently in one of the palace’s top guest rooms, meaning you're free from that crummy cell,” he grinned at his bro’s shocked face. Light suddenly smiled broadly and tackled his bro, hugging him and both were laughing hysterically. Blaze however decided to hold his brother down and giving him a playful noogie. “S-Stop that! That tickles!” Light pleaded in a fit of giggles as Blaze continued on. “What’s the magic word?” “Uncle?” “Guess again!” “Uranus?” Light said jokingly as he Blaze would not let go. “Now you’re just asking for it!” Blaze retorted as he continued to ruffle his brother’s head furiously, both laughing at the merriment they were both in. The doors of their room suddenly opened, with Princess Celestia, Twilight and two of her guards walking in. When she stopped before the brothers, she looked in surprise at the two lying on the floor playing. Both Blaze and Light felt awkward and looked at each other with blank faces before letting go and standing up from the ground, chuckling slightly before looking at the princess before them. “Um... good morning?” Blaze said casually to Celestia as he waved an innocent hoof at her. Celestia giggled slightly at seeing this. “Good morning, you two.” Twilight just stared at Blaze curiously, raising her eyebrows slightly at the playful nature of the pegasus before her. Blaze looked at Twilight for a second before smiling brightly, waving his hoof casually at her, “Yo! How’s the little guy doing?” “Spike?” Twilight asked. “He’s fine... doctors are examining him now. He’s having trouble doing anything now... he can hardly walk more than a few steps on four legs.” “I asked her to accompany me,” Celestia explained. “It’s time for your hearing.” Blaze blinked. “Already?” “I wish to end this as soon as possible. Please follow us and we’ll have this whole thing over with.” Blaze nodded, looking resigned. Light looked worried, but didn’t say anything as two guards flanked his brother and lead him out of the room. “Follow us, little one,” Celestia asked gently before turning toward the door herself. With a gulp, Light followed. “Now, concentrate, son... concentrate...” Spike obeyed the command, looking at his hoof intently. After a bit of straining, the hoof began to shimmer a bit. “That’s it, that’s it...” Finally, after a bit, Spike’s hoof began to grow points... claws... And then Spike gave into exhaustion, allowing his appendage to lose the digits it grew. “Amazing,” the doctor said, writing his findings down. “You seem to have your dragon form down in there somewhere. With a little practice, perhaps you can return to it.” “So... I can be both?” the young colt asked. “There’s no proof you can’t be more,” another doctor said excitedly. “Maybe you can shapeshift into anything... there’s never been a creature like you!” Spike dimmed a bit. “What do you mean?” “Something made of pure unicorn magic... oh, you’re one of a kind! There’s so much for us to explore... this might mean a paper in every medical journal in Equestria...” Spike tuned him out. There’s never been a creature like you... He sighed. Having learned this morning that he was just a doll made out of simple fabric then brought to life thanks to his mother was bad enough, but now to called simply a ‘creature’ made him feel pessimistic beyond belief. He looked to his hooves again, raising them to his horn. It felt weird now that he an extra appendage on his head, one that he could do so much with. Just like his mother. Spike raised his eyes to a cup that was standing on a table at the far end of the room, a cup that had water in it. He did not bother asking the doctor for it, seeing as he was too preoccupied yammering a storm of ‘find of the century’. Spike remembered how his mother had always talked about magic can be used as a hand. So he envisioned bringing the cup towards him. Looking intently at it, a faint purple aura engulfed it. His eyes widened slightly by this, making him focus harder. When the aura brightened, he could feel the cup as though it was in his grasps. He then imagined it being pulled towards him, slowly. It hovered towards the colt and Spike could hear the doctor’s blabbering stop abruptly seeing this. When the cup made its way to Spike’s lips, he tilted it, emptying the cup in one go. The doctor simply clapped his hooves, “Remarkable! You can also perform basic unicorn magic! Note to self: This creature not only is composed of pure unicorn magic, but is able to exercise unicorn magic too...” he said to himself, failing to Spike’s glimmering eyes that were becoming watery. “What this creature is-” “He is a pony and he is my son.” Both the doctor and Spike turned to the voice that came from the door of the room, with Twilight Sparkle standing in the doorway. “And I would appreciate it if you did not refer to Spike like that,” she said to the doctor coldly as she trotted towards them and reached for her son, wiping the build up of tears in his eyes. “What say we go get some breakfast, hey, Spike?” she asked him in her soft warm voice, that seemed to ease the stress building up in him. “Um, ok,” he replied as he stood up from the bed and stood on his four hooves, making his way outside. Though wobbling a bit, he adapted fast to his new way of movement. Once he was out of the room, he turned around and looked to his mother, who was still in the room. “Just wait outside a moment, Spike, I need to have a word to the doctor for a sec,” Twilight told him as she waved at him and closed the door. Spike grimaced at what would happen to the doctor right now, seeing as he is one of the few who saw Twilight Sparkle become absolutely furious and live to tell the tale. He sighed and made his way to a chair, exercising his magic on a stack of books, hoping to find something interesting to pass the time. Once she closed the door, her warm smile turned grim as she turned towards the doctor and looked at him with cold eyes. “We need to talk...” “And so,” Luna read the decree, “based on testimony, it is the decision of this court that your punishment will be served under house arrest, in a location to be decided on a later date. You will be permitted to leave only for work, and to care for your little brother. This will remain in force until such time as your overseer sees that you are fit to re-enter society.” With that, the alicorn banged her gavel, leading to some murmurs around the room. Blaze looked relieved, while Light, sitting in the crowd, exhaled a breath of relief. The nightmare of being a captive of Bloodwing was over, and there seemed to be little in the way of future trouble. “Are you sure, little one?” Celestia asked. Scootaloo nodded. “I don’t want to keep what Bloodwing gave me,” she sighed. She looked to her side, where Rainbow Dash was sitting. “I just want to be a pegasus like my mom,” she said, seeing Rainbow smile proudly at her. “I can change you back,” Celestia assured, “but I think you must know. I can take away somepony’s alicorn status, giving it is something else entirely. If I were to do so, you might not be able to turn back. So I’ll ask one final time, my little pony: do you wish to lose your strength and horn?” “Yes,” Scootaloo said without hesitation. “...Very well,” she sighed. “Come here, little one.” Scootaloo shuffled, and looked at her mother. When she gave the nod to go on, she stepped toward the Princess, looking nervous. “Will it hurt?” “Not in the slightest,” assured Celestia as she lit up her horn. She lowered herself to Scootaloo’s level and connected her horn with the filly’s. Once the horn’s touched each other, Scootaloo’s eyes shot open revealing white where her pupils once were. Her body shimmered in a pinkish aura, and her horn began to disappear from existence. She started shrinking by only a little, until the horn was truly gone. Once she stopped glowing, she blinked twice and placed her one hoof to her forehead. It felt smooth, as though the horn was never there. She felt a burst of happiness take her over and squeed as she jumped in the air, floating mid air thanks to her wings that could hold her now. “Well looks like I’m gonna have competition now for being the top Wonderbolt,” Rainbow remarked as Scootaloo floated to her mother’s hooves and she was hugged firmly by the cyan pegasus who nuzzled her affectionately. Both she and Scootaloo looked up to Celestia and saw her smile dearly at the two. “Thank you for helping her out, princess,” Rainbow told Celestia as she let go of Scootaloo once they landed on the ground. Princess Celestia just shook her head with a warm smile, “Oh my dear Rainbow, it is I who should be thanking you for saving Equestria multiple times. Your endless loyalty to me and my sister is one to which we have hardly seen, and for that I thank you. If there is anymore I could do for you, please do not be afraid to ask,” she said to Rainbow Dash, feeling there had to be more she could do for the pegasus and her daughter. “Hey, if something comes to mind, I’ll let you know ok?” Dash replied, and a rumble escaped her stomach. “Now that I think about it, breakfast still on?” she asked embarrassingly to the Princess, seeing her and Scootaloo giggling. “Why yes it is, follow me please.” Scootaloo suddenly walked in front of Celestia, “Princess, wait. There is something I wish to ask you, a little favour if I may,” she said shyly, not being accustomed to asking royalty. Celestia lowered her head to the filly’s, “Of course you may Scootaloo, what is it?” she asked kindly to Scootaloo, and leaned her ear to the filly’s mouth. As Scootaloo whispered her request, Celestia’s smile grew wider by the minute until Scootaloo backed away and Celestia lifted her head up. “I believe that can be done,” she said with a playful wink to the filly. “Now let’s go and have ourselves some breakfast, shall we?” Rainbow scratched her head in confusion, and walked up to Scootaloo, “What did you ask her exactly?” she asked the filly curiously. Scootaloo just giggled, “It’s a secret,” she told Rainbow playfully and walked onwards to the dining hall. “Will find out sooner or later, I suppose.” she told herself as she walked alongside Scootaloo, her daughter. Spike and Twilight were both walking down the hallway towards the dining hall, seeing as they both had not eaten anything in awhile. Twilight and Spike walked side by side together, seeing as Spike would lose balance at some points and his mother would always be there to catch him when he fell. Twilight caught Spike again and balanced him to his hooves, though she noticed the frown on his face. “Hey Spike, I know this is going to take some time but you must know that-” “It’s not that...” he whispered as he turned away from Twilight, hiding the build up of mortification that was etching on his face. “Spike?” “It’s just... you heard what that doctor said to me! I’m...” he was crying. “I’m not a dragon, I’m not a pony... I...” Twilight stopped and scooped him up in her forelegs, letting him cry a bit. Then she spoke. “I bucked that doctor several different ways for not watching what he said,” She kissed his muzzle. “It doesn’t matter what you are Spike. You turning into a pony hasn’t made me love you any more or less. Your change hasn’t made you better or worse. Whatever shape you take, you’re still Spike, a sweet boy, a good friend... and a wonderful son.” Spike nuzzled his mother a bit. Her words increased his tears though they weren’t falling for the same reasons as before. “Now come on, let’s get you some breakfast. We can talk about some changes while we eat.” “Ch-changes?” Spike asked nervously. “Oh, nothing bad,” Twilight assured. “You’ll be getting magic lessons from me until you get the basics down. And now that you’re a pony, you need to watch what you eat. You can’t just down anything anymore.” Spike shifted. “No gemstones?” “Afraid not... but ice cream’s still on the menu. And I know you like the Canterlot chef’s recipe...” “Pancakes?” Spike asked eagerly, with his stomach growling at that very moment. Twilight smiled tenderly at her son, “Of course that, but you have to eat healthy foods, too, you know,” she said with a wink. Spike just shrugged, “Ok,” he then wobbled again and let out a yelp as he was falling, but felt his body’s movement stop. He then saw Twilight holding him in place, thanks to her magic. “Thanks, Mom.” “Always here for you, Spike, always...” As they were near the dining hall’s entrance, Spike turned to Twilight and looked into her eyes with glassy eyes, “Mom...” Twilight was a bit taken back, fearing he may cry again, “What is it, Spike?” she asked him. Spike stood on his hind legs, and wrapped his forelegs around her neck. He then planted a kiss on her cheek before resting his head on her shoulder. “Thank you again for everything, I love you,” he told her. Twilight just stood there, sniffing before she scooped him up again and nuzzled him furiously as she was sobbing joyfully. “I love you too, my Spike!” Chapter 16The morning sun rose from the clouds over the horizon signaling a new day, the crying of a rooster could be heard from a mile away. The streams of light danced on the clouds’ surface, where many pegasi resided. A groaning Scootaloo opened her eyes lazily as she raised her body from the soft bed she was sleeping in, rubbing her eyes of the dust that gathered there during sleep. As she yawned, she looked around the room again and was still amazed by where she was now. She was in a home in the clouds, in her own room made of clouds and on a cloud bed that was so soft like marshmallows anytime she would lie upon she was threatened with drowsiness. Though the one thing that made this new home of hers so wonderful was that it was also the home of Rainbow Dash, her mother. Just as Scootaloo was thinking of her, the door of her room opened up and the head of her idol and mother popped in before the rest of Rainbow’s body followed. Rainbow walked up to her daughter’s bed, smiling softly with half-opened eyes. “Morning sleepyhead, ready for an awesome day with me?” she asked the little filly as she nuzzled her gently. Scootaloo floated in the air and beamed at Rainbow excitedly, “You betcha! So wanna learn all your awesome moves!” she told Rainbow as she zoomed around her. Rainbow just chuckled as she shook her head, “Hold your jets there,” she said as she reached for Scootaloo and scooped her in a hug, “Remember what I told you about the stunts I do, hey?” she reminded her daughter. Scootaloo looked down with her eyes as she stuck out her lower lips, “I know, ‘Never try these stunts until you have mastered the basics’...” she quoted Rainbow’s advice. Rainbow then ruffled her hair playfully, “Now’s not the time to be all grumpy, now the time to be happy,” she said she ruffled the hair more, eliciting a few giggles from the filly. “Let’s go and get some breakfast hay; I’m making,” she said as she let go of Scootaloo. Scootaloo just raised her eyebrow, “You cook?” she asked “Yes.” Scootaloo looked dubiously at Rainbow for a second before shrugging, “Ok, what you making, mom?” she asked playfully, but stopped when she said Rainbow’s eyes becoming slightly misty. “Something wrong?” Rainbow perked up and shook her head, “No-Nothing-Everything is awesome!” she said hastily, and then kissed Scootaloo’s forehead. “C’mon, let’s go.” Scootaloo’s face elevated in happiness as she flew down to the kitchen, where Tank was already waiting for the two of them. “Morning, Tank,” she smiled, patting the tortoise on the head. He reached over and gave her little mistress a playful lick in return. She then sat at the table while her mother began cooking up her breakfast. “Are you really going to take me flying? Teach me everything you know?” “Are you doubting me?” the older pegasus said playfully, looking up from her cooking. “You’ll be the second best flyer in Equestria... after me, of course.” The grin on her face was obvious. “Ha! I’ll be the best one day!” “Well, if anyone can, it’s you,” she nodded. “And that’s not all we’re doing. We have something very important to attend.” “What’s that?” Rainbow Dash just gave her a grin. “You’ll see,” she laughed. “Can’t you tell me now?” “Can’t you tell me what you asked Celestia?” “...Fine,” the filly muttered, crossing her forearms in a huff. She brightened when her mother placed her meal in front of her, eggy in the basket. “Eat up, kiddo, we have a long day ahead of us.” Once breakfast was done, Rainbow and Scootaloo got ready for the rest of the day and headed outside. Rainbow made sure Tank had everything with him until their return at the end of the day, and she flew up to her daughter who was waiting. “So, you ready for some flying lessons, squirt?” she asked Scootaloo Scootaloo smiled widely at Rainbow, “You have no idea!” she exclaimed as she hovered in front of Rainbow. Rainbow cleared her throat and got Scootaloo’s attention, “Alright, first of all... let’s do some laps, shall we?” she instructed Scootaloo as she floated to her daughter’s side. “Alrighty, how many?” “Since you new to this, try ten today, ok?” Rainbow told her Scootaloo breathed in and out slowly, building up energy. “Where to and back?” she asked “Hmmmm...” Rainbow tapped her chin and looked around her, and spotted a big cloud just ahead of her. “Around that big one, and remember... ten times.” “Right!” Rainbow smirked and floated ahead of Scootaloo, raising her one hoof, “On your mark...” she said, and saw Scootaloo’s body tensing up to the moment. “Get set...” Scootaloo was ruffling her feathers in the air. “Go!” Scootaloo zoomed as fast as she could and raced around the cloud. Her eyes began to water, seeing as she was not accustomed to the wind pressing against her eyes. She lost track of how many times she went around the cloud after her fifth time, and in a moment of pure adrenaline she pushed her wing beats even faster to increase her speed. Her vision became a blur thanks to the tears of the wind pressure to her eyes, and she was starting to lose her breath. Suddenly, she felt two hooves grab her torso and she looked to her bottom to see Rainbow, smiling proudly at her. “Did I do ok?” she asked her mother sheepishly as her wings slowly stopped flapping and she landed in Rainbow’s embrace. “Fifteen laps is a new record, even for me when I started.” Scootaloo’s eyes nearly popped out of her tiny skull, and she let out a cheer as she flew around her mother. “Wow! That’s so awesome!” she shouted as she reclined on a cloud looking at the sky above. Rainbow joined her and sat next to her, “Well, you should know that training gets more intense after this hey,” she told Scootaloo as she rolled back to see the clouds above. Scootaloo just giggled at this, “I know that,” she told Rainbow and then scooted up closer to her Rainbow, nuzzling her neck. “But I also know that I have the most awesome mom ever to train me.” Rainbow’s eyes started to tear up, and she folded her wing to wrap it around Scootaloo’s body. “and I have the most awesome daughter ever who’s also my number one fan.” Scootaloo smiled. A few moments later, she was asleep, her exhaustion having gotten to her. Chuckling, her mother gave her a kiss on the forehead. “And you’ve learned another lesson, kid. Champions work hard, and they nap hard.” “Alright, everypony,” Twilight called, levitating her checklist in front of her, “we have a lot to do to get ready for the party. Pinkie, are you getting Sugarcube Corner decorated?” “You got it,” the earth pony saluted happily. “Applejack, we need a buffet full of treats. Rainbow Dash says apple pie is Scootaloo’s favorite.” “You got it.” “Rarity, I need you to prepare some drinks.” “Of course, dearie.” “And Fluttershy... I’m afraid I’m sticking you with the worst assignment of all.” The yellow pegasus gulped. “Wh-what?” “You need to watch the foals while we’re busy getting the party ready,” she noted, gesturing over to where Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were standing, along with Spike and Light, now wearing their official Cutie Mark Crusader capes, though the filly symbol was changed to a colt symbol for both of them. Pound and Pumpkin were sitting to their side, currently pulling on Angel’s ears and tail, despite the poor critter’s protests. “We’re gonna have extra fun,” Apple Bloom beamed. “We got an idea to try for our rock climbin’ cutie marks!” Fluttershy gulped. It was going to be a long day. “Wow! That’s awesome!” Scootaloo was sitting on a hill looking up at the sky above her, cheering for the stunts Rainbow Dash performed for her. “Now watch this!” Rainbow shouted out as she flew higher and higher, when suddenly she flew downwards at incredible speeds. ‘C’mon, please... just for today,’ she thought to herself, as she pushed herself to go faster. As she flew faster she could feel the air around her stretch, before a large booming sound echoed across the field. She flew faster and a streak of rainbow was left in the air behind her, as she performed her signature stunt: The Sonic Rainboom. ‘Not yet!’ She then flew upwards even faster and did a few loops and turns, flying up and down when she needed to. She then flew to the ground were Scootaloo was and landed right next to her. “What do you think?” she asked her daughter. Scootaloo was in awe, as he mouth hung open. In the air floated words, drawn with the rainbow as though it were ink to paper. Scootaloo mouth slowly formed into a smile, as her eyes became moist from the feeling that was coursing through her as she read the words: To My Daughter Scootaloo “Hey, squirt?” Scootaloo turned to Rainbow and she immediately jumped right into her forelegs, with both of them laughing at the moment. As Scootaloo was caught in Rainbow’s embrace, both pegasi rolled down the hill. As they reached the bottom, Rainbow decided to tickle Scootaloo as ‘revenge’ for being pounced like that. Scootaloo squirmed and bucked, but it only caused her mother to tickle harder. “I’m gonna get you!” she said as she brought down her mouth onto her stomach and blew, causing a particularly high pitched squeal to come from the child. “Who’s the greatest pegasus in Equestria?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Ha ha! You are!” “Wrong,” she laughed, blowing another raspberry on her stomach. “Aah! Then who?” She stopped and hugged her tightly. “You are.” Scootaloo hugged her mother back... and then started tickling her again. “Ah!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Oh, you want to play it that way, huh?” she said, pushing her back on her back and tickling her again. Both she and her daughter laughed at the happy moment they were experiencing, with nothing in the world that could ruin this day for them. “Well that was fun, wasn’t it?” Rainbow asked Scootaloo as the tickling ceased. Scootaloo giggled, “Sure was. Hey! I didn’t know you could write words with the Sonic Rainboom?!” Rainbow just shrugged, “Neither did I, I just thought I try it out... for my little girl,” she added with a wink. Scootaloo beamed widely, until her stomach rumbled. She then giggled nervously, as she rubbed her one hoof at the back of her head. Rainbow smirked, “You hungry, eh?” she asked Scootaloo, who nodded her head. “I got something just for that, be back in a flash!” she added as she zoomed off to fetch whatever it was. Sugarcube Corner was a bustle of activity, with ponies around hanging up banners, streamers, and balloons. As Twilight checked the next item off, Blaze walked up to her, a magical collar still around his neck. “Hey, Twi? You’re sure the Princess is okay with this? I’m still technically under arrest...” “Don’t worry, I double-checked with the Princess... through the mail,” she groaned irritably. Spike becoming a pony cost her one feature she sorely missed. “I’m more worried about what the foals are going to do to Fluttershy than about you. I’ll bet she’s already strung out.” “More tea, Miss Fluttershy?” Sweetie asked happily as she poured her herbal liquid into her foalsitter’s cup. This tea party was only fun for the two of them. Light, Spike, and Apple Bloom all sat with deadpan expression while Pumpkin and Pound were seeing how much of Angel’s ears they could get into their mouths. “I’ve sat through thousands of my mom’s lectures...” Spike began, but the Stare from Fluttershy silenced him once more. Light leaned in on Spike’s ear, “I’d rather be here than be the rabbit over there,” he whispered to Spike as both were chuckling at Angel’s misfortune but were silenced yet again. Angel broke free and swatted at Pound. Pound responded by bringing his hoof down on the rabbit, knocking him to the ground. As Angel recovered, Pumpkin put her hoof in the rabbit’s mouth. Scootaloo was now enjoying her hay sandwich Dash made for her, that was packed in a picnic basket she brought down from her house. Once she was done with her meal, she took one of the firmly ripe apples that were packed in also and took a generous bite from it. Scootaloo savoured the taste of it, seeing as it was her favourite fruit. “You like apples?” Rainbow commented as she saw her daughter’s appreciation. “Like nothing... try love ‘em!” she said once she swallowed the pieces she had in her mouth, before consuming the rest of it. “Kinda fortunate that we live near an apple orchard, and one of the best I’d say.” “What do you mean ‘one of the best’? Try ‘the best’.” Rainbow laughed as she boasted for Applejack’s orchard. Rainbow looked at Scootaloo, and saw the a look of sadness crawling on Scootaloo’s face. “Hey squirt? What’s wrong?” Scootaloo turned to Rainbow, still looking crestfallen. “Can I tell you a secret?” she asked her mother, who nodded and leaned her closer to her daughter’s. “Back before all this, when I was staying alone... I was short on food, save for when I went to sleep overs... and I got so hungry at times, that I... I...” Rainbow held onto her, “You can tell me, squirt.” she assured her as she held onto Scootaloo’s small frame. “I stole apples from the trees at night, like five at most every night... I didn’t want to but I-” She could not finish her sentence as she was close to sobbing and Rainbow started to stroke her hair gently. “It wasn’t your fault, Scoots, and I’m sure Applejack won’t hate you for it,” she said softly. Scootaloo raised her head up to look into her mother’s eyes, “You really think so?” she asked Rainbow “Kid, I’m willing to bet if the Apples knew you were living alone, they’d have tried to adopt you first. Of course, they would have had to fight me for you,” she added affectionately, rubbing her mane. “Tell you what? Why don’t we tell her together, ok?” she asked Scootaloo as she smiled down on the filly. “O-Ok.” “Good, now enough of the sad stuff, this is suppose to be a happy day!” Angel gaped in the mirror, nearly sobbing at the new color job he had been given. Watercolor paint covered him, an accomplishment seeing as how Fluttershy had no watercolor in the house. Luckily, Fluttershy had rescued him from the twins before they could move on to anything more serious. “Okay, kids, it’s time we got back to Scootaloo’s birthday party.” “Finally,” Spike muttered, careful not to say it out loud. “You’ve all been such fun... I can’t wait to have foals of my own.” Angel fell to the ground, curled into a ball, and sobbed. “I’ll bet you’ll be a great mom, Fluttershy,” Apple Bloom said. “Ooh, maybe we can find you a nice stallion and...” “Oh, no, no, no,” Fluttershy said quickly, knowing all too well the trio’s Hearts and Hooves Day antics. The thought of waking up in a ditch with some random stallion... or worse, some random mare... didn’t appeal to her. “Why don’t we just move onto the party?” “Alright, the balloons are hung,” Blaze mumbled. As Twilight scanned her checklist for his next assignment, he spoke. “By the way... has the Princess told you where I’ll be working?” Twilight shook her head. “That’s been kept secret. The only thing I know is that I’ll be serving as your supervisor. Princess Celestia will... Derpy, watch where you’re carrying that... Princess Celestia will tell me when she arrives tonight.” At this, Blaze paled a little. “She’s actually coming? Here?” Twilight nodded. “Why? Are you afraid of her?” “No, but... I didn’t think she’d come all the way out here for a filly’s birthday party.” She giggled. “Then you don’t know the Princess. Now, I think Pinkie needs help decorating the cupcakes. Why don’t you help her next?” With the sun setting on the horizon, Rainbow and Scootaloo made their way through Ponyville. Scootaloo looked around, as she could not see anypony in sight. ‘Why does this feel so familiar?’ she asked herself as she was in a moment of thought, only to shrug it off and walk up to her mother’s side. “You know where everypony is?” Rainbow just shook her head with closed eyes, “Nah, no idea,” she said dismissively as she she cantered onwards. “You know something, don’t you?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow “We’re here,” Rainbow said, ignoring her daughter’s protests of withheld knowledge. They stood in front of the Sugarcube Corner, though it was quiet... too quiet. Rainbow opened the door and gestured for Scootaloo to go in first. “Thanks.” Once they were both inside, the door slammed closed behind them and both of them were in complete darkness, until... “SURPRISE!!!” Scootaloo nearly jumped in the air as the words boomed in the room with the lights flicked on. Surrounding her were nearly all of Ponyville, ranging from acquaintances to close friends. Balloons of all colours were scattered around the room, adorned with party streamers and confetti littering the floor. A large banner hanged above the room, with the words written brightly in orange and purple: HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY SCOOTALOO Scootaloo smiled widely as she saw all this, simply moved by all the effort it must have took the others to set this up for her. She then saw her friends Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom rush towards her and give her a tight hug as they wished her a happy birthday. “Congratulations Scoots!” Both of them exclaimed in unison as they let go of their friends and each gave a present to her. Before she could say anything, Spike trotted next up to her and gave her a birthday present also, “Happy Birthday Scootaloo,” he said with a smile of his own. Scootaloo bumped her hoof with his before facing the three of her friends with a build up of joyous tears. “Thank you, all of you... really this is-” “Happy Birthday!” Scootaloo turned around to see Light standing behind her, with his hooves outstretched for to give his own gift to her. He placed it on the stack of presents and smiled with his eyes closed, but felt himself being brought into a tight hug. He opened his eyes to see Scootaloo hugging him firmly, with his only reaction returning the hug. Scootaloo opened her eyes though and quickly let go of Light, blushing profoundly at what she just did. She then saw her friends suppressing a laugh with their hooves to their mouths. Scootaloo pursed her lips as blood continue to rush to her cheeks. “A-anyway! Let’s go and get some cake, shall we?” she hastily suggested, making her way to the table. Light just stared for a few seconds at Scootaloo, “Did I do something wrong?” he asked Apple Bloom in whisper. Apple Bloom started giggling, closing her eyes to control the humour of it all. “Nah, she’s just being herself is all,” she said dismissively “Oh... ok,” Light responded to the answer, deciding not to pursue the matter any further. He joined his newfound friends at the table where a giant cake was held. It was rather large, nearly three layers, Pinkie had clearly had some fun with it. The sides were decorated with the text “Happy Birthday Scootaloo”, and ten candles were placed on its top. The candles were lit, all at once thanks to a spell from Twilight, as the crowd gathered around. “Okay, everypony, one, two, three...” A chorus of “Happy Birthday” rang out among the ponies, sounding reasonably well. Afterward, Scootaloo flew up and blew out the flames, to everypony’s pleasure. “Alright, Scootaloo, you get first piece,” Twilight smiled. “Which one would you like?” “The piece with the H on it,” she answered happily. Twilight nodded and cut the cake. To Scootaloo’s great happiness, it was chocolate. She was handed her piece, then the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, before finally the adults began getting their share. As the five foals sat around their own table and began eating, Scootaloo was the one who spoke. “So... Light...” she said, in between mouthfuls of cake, “do you know what your brother’s going to be doing?” The young pegasus just shook his head. “Uh-uh. Celestia just told him he’d get his assignment soon.” “It can’t be too bad,” Spike muttered, trying to levitate a fork up to his mouth. After he lost his grip and it clattered on the plate, he sighed and bit into his share the same as his friends. “Don’t feel bad, Spike,” Sweetie said sympathetically, “I haven’t been able to get my magic to work either. It’s no big deal.” “Easy for you to say,” Spike muttered, “You’ve never had hands before.” He sighed, looking at his forehooves. “I miss having hands...” “Okay, you’re starting to sound like Lyra,” Scootaloo arched an eyebrow. “Am not!” Spike retorted back, rolling his eyes and taking another generous bite out of his slice. “Well, look at it this way, you’re able to use magic now,” Light commented to Spike as he took a bite out of his cake too. “And your mom is like the most powerful unicorn ever.” Spike just smirked at this, “Guess you're right...” he said as he finished his cake and tried to use his magic to cut him another slice, though the knife shook a bit in his hold. Just as it stopped shaking, it shot into the roof fast, becoming stuck in place. Spike just laughed inwardly as the others looked at him. “Heh, sorry,” he and the others snorted slightly before laughing off the misfortune. On the other side of the room, Twilight approached Rainbow as she was speaking to Applejack with a mug of cider in her hoof. “It seems you’ve given Scootaloo quite a day...” she said as she reached her friends. Rainbow turned to Twilight and grinned, “Well yeah, since it’s my girl’s birthday I had to go all out. I even wrote words with a Sonic Rainboom today and-” “Really!?” Twilight interrupted as her curiosity peaked high from the information she was given. “Hay yeh!” she replied as she punched her hoof to her chest proudly, though her expression softened slightly as she looked at the foals having a blast at their tables. “I guess I know how you felt a few months ago with Spike, hey Twilight?” she asked her friend who was also looking at the foals. Twilight nodded her head as she looked at the foals too, with her eyelids half-open. “Absolutely,” she said, as her gaze fell onto a fuschia earth pony. Twilight’s eyes opened slightly as determination crawled onto her face. “Excuse me, I just need to do something,” she said she went to Cheerilee’s side. “Sorry, Cheerilee?” Cheerilee turned happily to Twilight, as she was enjoying her cake slice given to her by Big Macintosh. “Hello there Twilight, how may I help you?” she asked innocently. “I just wanted to ask a little favour...” Rainbow and Applejack looked at Twilight and Cheerilee talking, though the words were not heard from them. Applejack turned her attention to Blaze, who was sitting on chair the wrong way as he observed the party before him. Applejack saw a smile on his face, and saw him taking a few swings of cider too. “Enjoying yerself there, pardner?” she asked the red pegasus as she walked up to him, with Rainbow next to her. “Yo! Nah all is good now, thanks,” Blaze answered as he finished his cider and placed the mug on a nearby table before returning to his seat, still sitting the wrong way. “You know, for a pony that’s under arrest, you seem pretty calm about the whole thing,” Rainbow Dash noted. Blaze was silent for a moment, then shrugged. “After all that time with Bloodwing, regular jail would have been heaven,” he admitted. Both mares thought better than to press him for details. “Besides, as long as Light’s okay, I really don’t care about me, I can take it.” “Aww, that’s sweet,” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash looked less impressed, though approval still showed on her face, in spite of herself. “Anyway, house arrest isn’t that bad,” Blaze noted, taking a sip of his cider. “And the Princesses didn’t gentle me like they did to Black...” Rainbow Dash nodded. “I remember when Discord took Rarity and Twilight’s horns. They said it was horrible... like it was for my wings,” she admitted, touching them to assure herself they were there. “I can’t imagine it would be easy to lose your abilities.” He nodded. “I was amazed Scoots wanted to give hers up... guess she just didn’t have ‘em long enough.” He took another gulp of his drink. He stared into his cup. “I really missed having good food like this.” “Bloodwing didn’t feed ya?” Applejack asked. “Not the best,” he muttered. “I got a few treats now and then, but we were kind of on a budget. Stealing food could have attracted attention, and most money went to research...” “That reminds me, how the hay did Bloodwing get money fer everythin’?” “Money saved up, the occasional robbery, a few aliases...” he listed. Then he frowned and looked at Rainbow Dash. “Black and Blue told me that as soon as you saw their fake IDs, you thought they were real. Why is that?” Rainbow got quiet and looked down. Blaze and Applejack looked at each other. “Hey, you don’t want to tell me, it’s okay...” “I was an orphan too,” she admitted sadly. Both of her listeners perked up. “Well... not really. My dad and I... we had a big fight... I ran away, never went back. Ended up in an orphanage until I was eighteen.” “That why you wanted to adopt Scoots so fast?” Applejack asked. The mare nodded. “The first time I saw her, I saw a part of myself in her... only now do I know that she did carry a part of myself in her, her being my daughter after all...” Rainbow was silent for a few moments. She lowered her head and looked to the ground sullenly, and felt a hoof on her back patting her. “It’s alright, sugarcube, the important thing is that Scoots’s safe with ya now,” Applejack told her with a pleasant smile, trying to liven her friend’s mood. Rainbow pulled herself together and grinned at the two ponies, “Yeah! And nothing’s gonna take my girl away from me again,” she told the others proudly, and then she decided to go for another mug of cider on the table. Twilight walked over to Applejack and Blaze, after her talk with Cheerilee. She carried with her a plate of cake using magic and a fork as well, effortlessly eating the cake with small bites from the tiny fork. “Is everything ok here?” she asked Applejack, as she saw Rainbow’s moment of weakness from afar. “All’s well Twi, though Rainbow might have somethin’ to tell ye when she’s ready,” Applejack remarked to her friend, as she saw Rainbow talking with a few other ponies who she recognized were from the Wonderbolt Academy. “Oh... I see,” Twilight responded, and took another bite of her cake. Blaze looked impressed with Twilight’s usage of magic, “To use magic as easy as that, I’m impressed,” he said to her as he looked on. Twilight’s face became flushed for a second, “W-well, it’s really not that difficult if you must know!” she retorted with a sudden increase of volume, which lowered as she gasped softly. “I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me there.” Blaze just chuckled, “It’s cool...” His gaze fell on the group of foals, specifically Spike who was struggling using his magic. “I guess you’re gonna have to teach your boy how to use his properly.” Twilight shook her head a bit. “The poor thing’s been trying to use magic ever since he transformed... it’s so frustrating for him not having any hands...” “I can imagine,” he muttered, taking another sip. “Did you double-check Light’s application?” The unicorn nodded. “Cheerilee signed him up for classes at the start of the semester. It’s in about three weeks.” She was silent for a moment. “That’s one of the few things you can leave your house for, by the way.” He held up a hoof dismissively. “Yeah, I know, anything involving my job or Light. Trust me, I’m not going to screw this up...” He looked over at Light, who was chatting with Scootaloo. “Who knows, maybe he’ll get his cutie mark soon too...” Applejack sighed, pulling her hat over her eyes. “With him and Spike becoming crusaders... I don’t think Ponyville’s gonna stay in one piece very long...” Blaze was just about to ask what that meant when Scootaloo came walking up to Applejack, wearing a slightly depressed look on her face. Applejack was slightly surprised by this, “Now why is the birthday gal all sad?” she asked her curiosity. Scootaloo gulped slightly, “Applejack, please don’t be mad at me... but before this all happened... I...” “Speak up, sugarcube.” “I took a few of your apples each night, ‘cause I was hungry and had no food!” she blurted out and then lowered her head and shutting her eyes tight, fearing for retribution for theft of the farmpony's apples. What she got however was a simple pat on the head. “Ain’t nothing to be sorry about, Scoots, ya were starving and ya needed some food. Heck if we knew, we’d have made you a part of the Apple Family by now,” Applejack told her, smiling at Scootaloo’s happy face returning. “That’s what Mom told me!” “Heh, no surprise,” Applejack said, just as the front door to Sugarcube Corner came open. Two members of the Royal Guard entered, stepping to either side to salute the new arrivals. Princess Celestia came in first, ducking in to fit an entranceway not meant for her. Luna followed from behind, fitting in easier. As the ponies bowed to their new arrivals, Twilight beamed at Celestia before running up to her and nuzzling her neck. “Princess! I’m so glad you made it,” she told her mentor as she looked up to the towering figure. Celestia smiled gently at her student, nuzzling her head before raising hers. “It’s wonderful to see you again, Twilight,” she told her faithful student with a mother’s tone. Luna approached Twilight, and she was greeted in the same manner as Celestia was greeted. “Verily, tis good to see you again, Twilight,” she told her friend as she hugged her. As Twilight let go Luna, Celestia turned her attention to Blaze, who was bowing in respect to the princesses before her. “Please rise for us, Blaze Stream,” she said to him in an authoritative voice. As Blaze rose from his bow, his eyes met that of the princess and he dared not look away from her gaze. “I have come to give you news on the matter of your work place during your ‘arrest’,” she said happily to him, though a hint of glee could be seen in the princess’s smile. Blaze’s eyebrow rose slightly, “And where will I be working your highness?” he asked her curiously, seeing the mirth in not only Celestia but in Luna too. He dared to look at Twilight for a moment, who seemed rather confused at the princesses’. Celestia turned to her sister, “I believe Luna should tell you.” she replied and stepped back for the princess of the night. “Thank you, dear sister,” she told Celestia, before her eyes fell on Blaze. “Blaze Stream, as for your terms of incarceration, you are required to work in a designated workplace for the remainder of your sentence. We the Princesses of Equestria have deemed you to work as...” Luna paused for the moment, seeing the anxiety of everypony in the room who was listening in on the terms of sentence. “The assistant of Twilight Sparkle.” For what seemed to be a few minutes, a deafening silence was met from everypony in the room. Blaze and Twilight’s jaws were ajar as only one word escaped from their mouths simultaneously. “What?!” Luna, whose own voice had rendered her immune to the outburst, calmly went into an explanation. “You’ll be shorthooved now that your son is a pony. More specifically, you’ll be without someone to transport messages. My sister should be able to teach him to duplicate the same spell quite easily. As well, this position will allow you to more accurately judge his progress.” Twilight sighed. “I guess that makes sense.” “I’m glad you approve, Twilight,” Celestia said happily. She then turned her attention to Blaze. “Come here, and I’ll show you how to send messages.” Blaze started walking, even as his mouth questioned. “Is the spell hard?” “Not really. Spike learned it when he was five. I’m sure I can teach a full grown pony it in a matter of minutes,” she then leaned her head towards Blaze’s ear, whispering a few words only she and Blaze could hear. She then pulled away and saw the nervous smile on the pegasus’ face. "Hey, wait!" Spike protested, trotting to the front. “What about me? I’m Mom’s assistant!” “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Twilight assured. “With everything that’s going to happen in the next few months, you’re not really going to have a lot of time to be an assistant anyway.” The former dragon blinked. “Huh? What do you mean?” “I’ll tell you when we get home,” Twilight assured. “For now, we have a party to enjoy.” “But-” he started but Twilight just smiled knowingly at him, and he sighed in defeat. “Ok.” When the clock showed midnight, the party properly ended. When the last guests left the Sugarcube Corner, Twilight and her friends stood outside with Blaze next to Twilight. Each of the ponies, save for Fluttershy and Pinkie, held a foal on their back. The foals were fast asleep on their respectable guardian’s back. Twilight turned her head to Spike, sighing with a smile. “Well, it sure has been a great party, wouldn’t you say?” she remarked as she turned to the others who nodded in agreement. Applejack looked behind to see Applebloom snoring lightly, “Guess when a pony gets as tuckered out as this, it’s proof that there was lotsa fun.” Blaze laughed softly, “Well, glad to see Light finally having a bit of joy in his life,” he said as he also looked back at the white colt’s sleeping form, that was smiling as though he was dreaming. He then looked at the mares before him, “Thank you,” he said to them with a grateful smile. “You’re most welcome,” Twilight told Blaze with a gentle smile. “So, you will start work with me in three days time,” she told him in a stern voice. Blaze just smirked, “You got it.” Rarity decided to step forward to Blaze, though she moved slowly in fear of having Sweetie Belle fall of her back. “I should warn you, Twilight tends to overwork herself to the brink,” she whispered softly, with a mild fear of Twilight’s retaliation looming in her head. “Heh, well then I’ll just get paid for overtime.” Rainbow coughed slightly, gaining the attention of the others. “I hate to end this so soon, but I need to get back to get Scootaloo in bed and make sure Tank’s ok. If you don’t mind?” Twilight smiled sheepishly, with her cheeks becoming slightly pink. “O-of course Rainbow,” she then yawned softly out of instinct, “Everypony, I think it’s time to go home now.” “Darn right, Ah’ll see ya’ll tomorrow again. Gotta get ready for Apple Cider Season.” Applejack said, “Ya getting the first mug, Rainbow,” she added in with a wink. “Really!” she perked up. “Because... you know... if you’re teasing me about that...” “Relax, I mean it,” Applejack assured. “We all better just get some sleep.” “Aah!” Scootaloo yelled, rising from her bed. Her breath came in heavy pants. Her heart raced to keep up. Her ears were ringing with terrifying noises. She threw her covers off herself and jumped out of bed, her hooves racing across the clouded floor. In a flash, she was out of her room, and soon after she was right in front of her mother’s door. Carefully, she pushed the door open and peered inside. Rainbow Dash was sound asleep, Tank at the foot of her bed, tucked in his shell. “Mom?” she whispered. “Uh...” the older mare moaned, opening her eyes. “Wha... what’s wrong, squirt?” “I... I had a nightmare...” she admitted, feeling her face heat. “About Bloodwing?” she asked, already knowing the answer. “Alright, come here, pipsqueak,” she said lifting a wing. Scootaloo shot into the opening, nuzzling up next to her mother. The wing wrapped tightly around her, keeping her warm. She felt her mother’s mouth right up next to her ear. “He’s gone, Scootaloo... gone for good. He’s not going to get you... nopony will ever get you, ever again. I’m here to protect you. I promise.” she assured Scootaloo and kissed her forehead affectionately and nuzzled Scootaloo’s tiny head against hers. Scootaloo felt her eyes water as she nuzzled up against her mother. Bloodwing was gone forever, along with the nightmare with it. She had a mother. She had a warm bed and good food. She lifted her head to face Rainbow’s, and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, mom.” she said, as she was drifting off to peaceful slumber. Rainbow stared for a few moments at her daughter, not noticing the waterfall that was released from her eyes. She sniffed slightly, but the tears would not stop. She formed a wide smile as she brought her muzzle to her forehead, kissing it softly. “I love you too, my Scootaloo.” she whispered to her daughter, before she too fell asleep. A lone pony walked towards the entrance of the town, wearing a tarnished cloak covering the pony's head and stopped in front of the sign ‘Welcome to Ponyville’. The night was dead silent, with none of the citizens realizing the arrival of an outsider. The pony looked up to the sign, lifting the cloak to reveal tears cascading from the pony’s crestfallen eyes. “Finally...” the pony mumbled, before collapsing to the ground, emitting a thud sound from impact. The pony’s eyes slowly closed as unconsciousness took over. Author's Note Well this is the end of Project Ascenion, for all the loyal followers, thank you for reading it :) But the tale is far from over... ;) I want to thank all the following: Darth Link 22: Co-Author of Longing and Project Ascenion Vozzlefox and Amras Felagund: Editors of this story ezio dementay , TheCloudTop , Cold Spike , The Conflicted Writer: Pre-Readers to this story And to you, the fellow reader... thank you so much for favouring this story and seeing it through to the end... I hope the sequel will entertain you all in the weeks to come Chapter 1“Scootaloo... Ah think this is a bad idea,” “I have to agree with Apple Bloom on this. This is just too scary!” “Aw don’t be scaredy cats now, you two! This is our calling... Cutie Mark Crusader Bungee Jumpers!” Three little fillies were balancing on top of a branch at their Clubhouse. Each one had a helmet on and rope tied to their waists that acted as a substitute for a bungee coil. The orange pegasus named Scootaloo was grinning in glee at the new stunt they were going to perform, but her friends were another story. The little white unicorn named Sweetie Belle, in reality, was terrified of heights. So to even stand a few meters from the ground was draining all her willpower. Apple Bloom, the little yellow earth pony, was relatively calm but still exercised caution by fastening her rope and adjusting her helmet to not fall off. Scootaloo peered down the the edge of the branch and let out a huff, “On my mark! Three! Two! One! Go!”. As the final word escaped from her mouth, all three fillies jumped and yelp out at the speed they were falling. It was over in nearly three seconds, with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom dangling from the rope and becoming dizzy with every motion the rope performed. Scootaloo was another story, as her rope came to its end, it snapped and she fell to the ground landing on her belly with a thud. “Ow....”, was all she could utter and stood up groaning at the pain from the fall. She buzzed her wings, only able to lift herself up from the ground for a few seconds before giving way and landing on her fours. Once Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom got to the bottom, Apple Bloom checked her flank in anticipation, but her face became crestfallen to see her flank remaining blank. “Well, that’s a bust!” Apple Bloom groaned and fell backward on her back, with the helmet cushioning her head. Scootaloo also dejectedly sighed and sat next to her earth pony friend, “Guess that wasn’t our calling.” Sweetie Belle noticed her friends becoming slightly depressed and spoke up, “Well, maybe we can figure out some other things to do before next week, hey?” Apple Bloom’s face lit up like a torch, “Oh that’s right! It’s Scootaloo’s birthday!” cheered in excitement, though Scootaloo still had a somber look on her face. “Hey Scootaloo, what’s wrong? Ain’t ya happy it’s your birthday?” Scootaloo stood up and examined her wings, giving them a few flaps and trying to lift herself up, but failed once again at this. She let out a sigh with her eyes closed and turned to her friends, “Apple Bloom, how old will I be turning next week?” she asked her friend rhetorically. “Ten, why?” Scootaloo sighed and shook her head, “Ten and I can’t even fly yet, and I have no cutie mark. That’s why!” she raised her voice slightly to her friend, though she immediately backed down after seeing the shocked looks on their faces. “Sorry.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle trotted to her side, hugging her. “Scootaloo, it don’t matter if ya can’t fly yet or don’t have a cutie mark yet. We all don’t have ours yet, but when we do, it will be like Rainbow Dash says ‘Awesome!’,” Apple Bloom encouraged Scootaloo, who let out a chuckle at Apple Bloom’s impersonation of her idol. Sweetie Belle nodded in approval, “That’s right. You are Scootaloo, the pegasus who will be faster than Rainbow Dash and-” “A useless orphan chicken!” The three friends stood still and turned their heads to see a sneering pink earth pony with a diamond tiara on her head standing next to a silver greyish earth pony with glasses. Though the silver pony stood still there with her eyes moving in nervousness, her pink friend had an evil grin on her face as she laughed at the three friends who were staring daggers at her. “Can’t believe you’re turning ten next week, amazing you got so far for a blank flank!” she jeered, laughed like she had just told the most amusing joke ever, with her friend joining in reluctantly. “Oh great, it’s the Snob Duo. What y’all doing here!? This is Apple property!” Apple Bloom took a menacing step towards the duo, with Silver Spoon backing away slightly. But Diamond Tiara was another story, as she just stood there with a grin and let out a chuckle. “Well well well, looks like a dumb-blank-flank is trying to tell me what to do in Ponyville, that belongs to my family and thus belongs to me,” she said with a tone of finality in her voice. Sweetie came to her friend’s aid, glaring at the pompous filly who stood before them as though she was a demon demanding to be worshiped. “You don’t own the town! You can’t just come here and insult us! Don’t you have anything better to do?” she asked Diamond Tiara, who was starting to laugh cruelly. “This is priceless! Now a magic-less unicorn is trying to stand up against me? What are the odds of that?!” She laughed more as Sweetie Belle had tears forming in her eyes, with Apple Bloom holding her friend to comfort her. “Guess your daddy doesn’t give you much love, does he?” Diamond Tiara’s laughter stopped abruptly when these words were spoken, and glared at Scootaloo who was marching towards her with a triumphant smile to see the bully being silenced. “What you say, huh!?” “I said, your daddy doesn’t give you much attention or love ‘cause his only love is money. I bet that tiara you have on your head is a fake!” Scootaloo pointed to her head, with Diamond Tiara’s anger growing and Silver Spoon gasping at her friend’s emotional state. “At least I have a daddy and mommy! I don’t think I’ve ever even seen your parents!” she snarled at Scootaloo. The pegasus’s eyes went wide at this, small tears pricked her eyes. Diamond Tiara took notice and smirked at this newly discovered weak spot. “Yeah, that’s right! I bet you don’t even have parents, do you? No pony would ever want you as their daughter because you're just a flightless chicken!” “I... I am not,” Scootaloo stuttered, but this only added more fuel to the bully’s tirade. “I bet you live out on the streets, that’s why you stink like dung all the time!”. Scootaloo’s mouth hung open and her tears flowed freely while Diamond Tiara laughed at the critical strike. “Why don’t you get lost? If your own parents don’t want you, what makes you think we do?” This was the breaking point, Scootaloo turned around and galloped as fast as she could away from the others. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom called out for her whilst Diamond Tiara stomped her hooves in joy with Silver Spoon looking nervously at her friend, “And stay out, you homeless chick-” A tremor shook the fillies, as something large fell from the sky, landing right behind Diamond Tiara. Her glee was replaced by fear, as he pupils shrank with every breath she felt on her back. She turned her head slowly to look behind her, to see a sight that would forever haunt her. A cyan pegasus with a rainbow-coloured mane stood behind her, glaring with murderous eyes at the Earth pony before her. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes before she did something she regretted. “You know, I was just flying along, enjoying a nice peaceful flight, and I could have sworn I overheard you bullying my number one fan.” She said the words with a politeness that was very much transparently fake. She leaned in closer to the spoiled filly, with a look on her face similar to a dog about to strike. “You wouldn’t really want to do that, would you?” Diamond Tiara gulped at this and stepped back. “M-my daddy is the richest pony in town. You better not hurt me!” “Aw, how cute. Playing connections. Let me try: my best friend is Princess Celestia’s personal student. I’m pretty sure she could clear any matters up. Would you like to find out just what I can get away with? I’ve never really tried it, and I’m kind of curious.” By this point, the pink filly was hyperventilating. She shook her head rapidly with her eyes tearing up, “Then do me a favour... get lost!!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon yelled in panic and ran towards Ponyville with their tails between their legs, with Rainbow Dash standing as firm and rigid as a member of the Royal Guard. “You better not mess with Scoots and her friends again, you hear me? I mean it!” she yelled at them, then turned her attention elsewhere. She lifted herself up, scanning the area for Scootaloo, wondering where the little filly ran off to. “We’re here,” the first pony said, as he and his partner trotted into town. They stood firmly and professionally, which actually attracted a few stares, but they paid them no heed. They were both earth ponies, one a dark blue, the other a pure black, both wearing sunglasses. They wore their manes shortly and evenly cut, just another aspect of them that told the town they were professional. The blue pony bore a cutie mark of a magnifying glass, the black one, a single white hoofprint. The black pony looked around the town square. “I can see why somepony would hide here. Small, quiet, it looks pretty unimportant.” “It looks unimportant, yes,” Blue nodded. “But the farmland here provides some valuable crops to Canterlot, so there is some government scrutiny.” “Maybe that’s why she picked it,” Black suggested. “Easy access to food?” “Must be, if she’s even here. I’m sick of dead ends, and we really have to watch ourselves here.” “I know, I know,” Black mumbled, waving a hoof. “Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Bearers live here. Those are hooves we don’t want to be stepping on.” “Agreed. Let’s split up and get a lay of the land. If she is here, we best know the area a bit.” Rainbow Dash searched for nearly twenty minutes before finding her number one fan sitting under a tree. Her hooves covered her eyes, hoping they would stop the tears. Gently, she glided down to her, silently landing by her side. “Hey there, squirt,” she said gently, reaching a hoof out to her. Scootaloo jumped at the voice appearing out of nowhere. She began backing away, but stopped and sighed when she saw who it was. “R-Rainbow Dash. You scar... surprised me.” Rainbow Dash smirked at the quick correction, and only grinned wider at seeing her trying to wipe her eyes. “I was just... thinking... about...” “Scoots... I saw those two fillies picking on you,” the elder mare sighed. “Don’t worry, I got rid of them. They know better than to mess with you now.” A blush came onto the orange pony’s face. “Oh, um...” Rainbow gave another sympathetic smile, understanding her embarrassment at her idol seeing her crying. “Kid... are you really... I mean, do you have parents?” “Yes,” Scootaloo said with a quickness that made her mentor suspicious. “I mean, they’re just... never around.” “Always working, huh?” the cyan pony nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, that’s why I can’t fly yet,” she kicked the ground with her front left hoof. “They never have time to teach me.” “What do they do?” “They work for a delivery company. They’re always away on long trips.” Rainbow Dash listened for any hesitations in that story. Hearing none, her suspicion diminished. “Well, then, how would you like it if I taught you a few things?” Scootaloo just gaped at her. Then her eyes widened like it was Hearth’s Warming Morning. “Really? Learning to fly? From you? The most super awesome incredible amazing pony in Equestria?” “You forgot ‘fantastic’,” the elder mare boasted. “And that’s what I said, wasn’t it?” “Cool! Can we start now? Can we?” “Whoa, cool your jets,” Rainbow Dash waved her hooves. “I’ve got weather patrol in ten minutes, so not today. But we’ll start soon. How’s that?” Scootaloo ears drooped as she lowered her head dejectedly, “Oh ok. Well, see you later, Rainbow,” she bid her idol farewell, though Rainbow stared off at the running filly with concern before flying off to weather duty. Once she was gone, a black earth pony came from behind a tree and looked into the distance to where Scootaloo ran off to. He laughed triumphantly, before putting his sunglasses back on to hide his eyes. “Gotcha.” Ponyville was a town where many extraordinary events happened, with extraordinary ponies or other creatures being apart of it. Though today, the citizens of Ponyville were beginning to get awfully suspicious of two earth ponies who entered the town no less than an hour ago. One of them, a dark blue pony, was walking through the town with an emotionless face and his sunglasses covering his eyes. He didn’t speak to anypony, but kept surveying the street layout, as if he were sketching a blueprint of the city in his mind.. The citizens simply looked at him and moved on, not knowing how to handle such an enigma. As he was nearing the Sugarcube Corner, his ears perked up as he heard his partner calling to him. “Blue!” the voice of a black stallion, who was running towards him called. “Black, report.” the dark blue stallion told his partner as he stood in front of him. “I found her.” the black stallion said, with the dark blue stallion removing his sunglasses to reveal his eyes nearing popping out. “Are you certain!?” he hissed to his partner, who merely nodded. “Positive, she’s in this town, let’s get her.” The dark blue stallion placed his sunglasses back on, shaking his head. “Not so fast. We can’t risk anypony chasing after her. We don’t know if another family has taken her in or if she has connections in this town. We need to keep playing this by the book.” Blue began trotting to City Hall. “We go and talk to the mayor as planned. If all goes well, that child will be brought home by tonight.” Blue ran ahead and his partner Black following him. With the doors of Sugarcube Corner opening, a pink earth pony looked at those two running to the exit of Ponyville as though they carried the plague. “My Pinkie Sense is tingling, something bad is going to happen.” she said as her tail began to shrink and puff out again. “I must find Rainbow quick!” she told herself as she zoomed towards the other side of Ponyville. Mayor Mare was currently performing her least favorite task as an elected official: paperwork. Sighing, she scrawled her signature on a permit to allow another traveling performer to put on a show in town square, and then another approving the new waterway system Princess Celestia had seen fit to install in the city. She couldn’t help but grin. Getting funding from the Princess was pretty easy now that the comfort and happiness of her personal student was at stake. “Excuse me, Ms. Mayor?” The aged mare looked up to see two ponies she didn’t recognize. She sat her quill down. “Gentlecolts, I don’t believe I’ve seen you in town before.” “Indeed, ma’am,” Blue said, his mouth going into his pocket. He pulled out a wallet and flopped down on the desk. It was an ID card with his picture on it, topped with the letters DFS. “We’re with the Department of Foal Services.” “We believe a runaway foal has hidden in your town,” Black finished. “Oh my,” she said, bringing a hoof to her mouth. “Are you sure?” In response, Black fished a photo out of his pocket. It was of Scootaloo, looking as if she was displeased with having her photo taken. “Yes, I recognize her. I’ve seen this filly around town several times.” “Where is she living?” Blue asked. “I can’t tell you off the top of my head,” Mare apologized. “May we take a look at the city records then?” “Of course. They’re located at the city library.” Both of the agents arched an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard of a city keeping records there.” Mayor Mare actually blushed. “Well, I tend to be a little scatterbrained when it comes to paperwork. The town librarian, on the other hoof, is well known for keeping everything in order. She tends to handle most of those things.” “Fair enough. Where is this library?” “A few blocks from here. If you wait, her assistant is due by in a few minutes to pick some things. He’d be happy to escort you.” “Very well,” Blue said. Black arched an eyebrow, but nodded his head. Clearing the skies of all the clouds in Ponyville was the easiest job for Rainbow Dash, since it only took her ten seconds to do so. Her colleagues were impressed by her skills and they always tried to keep up with her pace, but they were nowhere close to her level yet. Once she was done with her part of the work, she always assisted the others in finishing theirs sooner. By the next hour, the work had been done and they called it a day. Rainbow decided to enjoy the rest of the afternoon in a manner she knew best, napping on a soft cloud and dreaming. “Rainbow Dash!!!” Rainbow shot up from the cloud at lightning speeds and looked around to see who was calling her. She spotted Pinkie bouncing on the clouds coming towards her and she began to question logic at that moment, because earth ponies are not suppose to be able to walk on clouds unless somepony performed a spell to do so. “I’m so glad to have found you! We got trouble!” Rainbow just rolled her eyes and shook her head, face-hoofing it and sighed, “Pinkie, what’s it now? Did the Cake Twins blow up an oven? Did Gummy swallow your cupcake? Did Twilight blow a gasket?” Pinkie just laughed at this, “No, silly! That was last week,” she replied before her eyes starting glaring, “There are spies in Ponyville!” It was Rainbow’s turn to starting laughing, as she held her stomach and rolled on the cloud. “Spies, hey? That’s a good one!” she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes and saw Pinkie staring at her with no mirth in her eyes. Rainbow gulped at this and stood up slowly, “You serious?!” “As serious as Twilight is about friendship reports.” Rainbow lifted herself up from the cloud and flew towards Pinkie, “Ok, let’s go get Twilight. She must know of this.” “Okie-dokie-lokie!” she said as they both made their way towards Ponyville. Though once they left, Scootaloo came out from the bushes she was hiding. She looked pale and frightened beyond belief. She started breathing loudly and looked down on the ground, where a tear puddle formed. “No... I can’t go back... I won’t!” Chapter 2“Why did we wait for this dragon to escort us?” Black mumbled to his partner as Spike led them up to the library. “If we act accommodating, there’s less of a chance they’ll put up a fight to keep her. We’ve finally cornered the foal, we don’t want to botch this up.” The other agent nodded in agreement as Spike pushed open the door with one claw, careful not to tip the stack of scrolls in his other arm. “Mom? We have some ponies here who want to talk to you.” “Tell them to come in here, Spike,” Twilight called from the other room, “I’m kind of in the middle of something.” The two agents looked at each other with some amusement that a dragon considered a pony its mother, but hid it when he turned to face them. “Sorry, my mom can get caught up in her work. Just gone on in.” With mumbled “Thank yous” the two ponies did so. They found Twilight surrounded by books, all floating around her in a half circle. She was constantly checking the pages while scribbling notes on a piece of parchment sitting on her desk. She only glanced up at them briefly. “Hello there. Sorry about my manners, I’m a bit anxious to finish this report.” “It’s not a problem, Miss Sparkle,” Blue assured. “We’re here from the Department of Foal Services. We understand that you keep the town records here?” At this, Twilight actually took a closer look at them. “You need the mayor’s permission to...” At this, Black produced a scroll with the mayor’s signature. Twilight took it and skimmed it through, before nodding. “It looks legitimate. What do you need to look up?” “We came here looking for a runaway filly,” Blue explained as Black pulled out her photograph for her to see. Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. All her books fell to the ground, but she paid them no mind. “It can’t be... Scootaloo?” “You know her?” Black asked, sounding concerned. “Well, yes. Spike spends time with her sometimes, and my friends’ sisters are her friends,” she explained. “Where is she living?” Twilight shook her head, “That I don’t know, much more than that, I’m afraid. Sometimes they come in here for school work or come to play with my boy but other than that I don’t see them much.” Blue looked down on Spike, who was becoming more nervous by the second and fled to his mother’s side. “A bit unusual wouldn’t you say?” Twilight blinked her eyes, “I beg your pardon?” Blue looked into the mare’s eyes, “It’s rather unusual for a mare to have a dragon whelp as her son. Especially a mare of your status.” Twilight simply smiled and reached out her hoof to hold Spike near her, “Well being the Princess’s student has led me to many interesting and wonderful things. My boy here is by far the most wonderful thing I have discovered.” she answered to them, with Spike looking up at her in awe at her words. Black and Blue just stood there, showing no emotion to her words. “We’ll take your word for it. On a more urgent matter, do you know of anypony who might lead us to Scootaloo?” Twilight tapped her hoof to her chin, “Well there is one pony I know, but I-” “HI TWILIGHT!” All the ponies jumped slightly and gasp at the sudden call that came from the door. Blue and Black immediately turned to the source only to be greeted by a hyperactive pink earth pony and a very energetic cyan pegasus. Pinkie Pie bounced past the two stoic earth ponies with Rainbow right behind her and hugged her unicorn friend. “How you been? Did anything today? Did you do something with your boy? How’s Spike by the way? How are your studies going? Do you need a party? Huh? Huh? Huh-” “PINKIE!” Twilight shouted at her friend, with a deafening silence surrounding the room. “Pinkie, everything is ok. Spike is good as well,” she told assured her hyperactive friend, who had stopped bouncing all over the library. “Now. is there any reason you came here to visit me, other than trying to throw a party?” Pinkie opened her mouth to speak but Rainbow pushed her out of the way, “Twilight, Pinkie says there’s spies roaming Ponyville.” she said bluntly to her unicorn friend, who withheld a giggle with her hoof to the mouth. “Uh, Rainbow Dash, there aren’t any spies. Pinkie was probably talking about these two,” Twilight said, motioning to Black and Blue, who were looking a little nonplussed at the interruption. “Oh, heh, heh,” the cyan pegasus blushed, suddenly feeling awkward. “Ooh, ooh, are you spying for Celestia? The changelings? Dis...” Pinkie was cut off by Twilight magically sealing her mouth shut. “Pinkie, that’s enough.” “Wait, you’re Rainbow Dash?” Black asked. “The winner of the Young Flyers Competition last year?” Hearing praise, the pegasus puffed out her chest. “The one and only. Are you a fan?” “I have a relative who keeps an eye on the best flyers in Equestria. He tends to go on about you.” “Well, he has good taste,” the mare answered smugly. “Anyway,” Blue said through gritted teeth, “Could you be on your way? We were just asking Miss Sparkle about...” “Actually, Rainbow Dash was the mare I was talking about. She knows about Scootaloo.” At this, the pegasus’ ears perked up. She looked at the two agents with concern. “What do you want with Scootaloo?” “Ma’am, we’re with the Department of Foal Services,” Black explained. “The one you call Scootaloo ran off from an orphanage nearly two years ago.” Hearing this caused the three mares and Spike’s mouths to drop open. Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead with one hoof. “I don’t believe it. She lied to me,” she said softly. Black arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” “Well, one of the school bullies accused her of being homeless just this morning. She told me it wasn’t true, though.” “Well, she is. She ran off because she refused to follow the rules of where she was kept. She was a little troublemaker,” Blue said, a tinge of regret in his voice. “Aw, that poor filly,” Pinkie said. Black cleared his throat with a light cough. “It is imperative that we find her and return her to the orphanage before she gets into serious trouble,” he told the other ponies in the room, with Rainbow frowning a bit at this. “Where exactly is the orphanage?” she asked Black, who just blinked at her without changing his expression at all. “Back in Canterlot, Miss,” he answered her dismissively, though Rainbow’s expression became crestfallen as this news. “But-but-but she has friends here in Ponyville! Can’t she just get a transfer to here instead?!” she asked the two ponies, though their expressions did not change in the slightest. “Regulations for a transfer takes months to process, even for special cases like her,” Blue explained to Rainbow, though with the word ‘special’, Black smirked slightly but was not noticed as Rainbow began to breath heavily and blinked extensively. “W-what about adoption? I could adopt the little filly and she could-” “Miss Dash,” Blue explained to her, “That can only be done with the consensus of the Department of Foal Welfare and you have to go through countless interviews to gain special status as a legal guardian, not to mention you must also be of legal age to adopt a foal and be responsible for the foal’s welfare.” Rainbow was becoming livid at these two always finding a way to keep Scootaloo away from her friends. Meanwhile, Twilight’s mind was going through some extensive thinking as both Blue and Black spoke to Rainbow about laws of adoption. Spike just remained silent as he leaned in closer to his mother, with him becoming more afraid of these two ponies. Rainbow Dash huffed and crossed her hooves as she hovered in front of them, “So no matter what I suggest, there’s no way to keep Scootaloo here in Ponyville at all?!” Blue shook his head with his eyes closed, “You are twisting our words, we told you that legal actions need to be taken before proper adoption can be done. She will first have to return to Canterlot before we can arrange proper guardians for her and-” “What exactly you mean ‘proper guardians’?!” Rainbow asked them as she flew dangerously close to Blue’s face, though he never flinched at all to her interrogating stare. “Quite simply, we are talking about responsible ponies who have experience with raising foals and are not a hazard to the foal’s welfare.” Black told her nonchalantly, though this only fueled Rainbow’s growing anger at these two for telling her indirectly she was not a responsible mare. Rainbow was still for a few seconds before something popped inside her head, “Can I see your identification cards?” “Right here,” Blue informed before his muzzle dipped into his pocket. A few seconds later he fished out an ID card and showed it to her. Seeing this, the pegasus’s wings drooped. “That’s real, alright,” she sighed. Twilight and Pinkie looked at each other. “Rainbow Dash, how do you know...” “Look,” the pegasus cut her friend off, “Scootaloo will probably listen to me. The kid practically idolizes me. Why don’t you just let me go get her and bring her to you?” The two agents looked at each other. “Well... if you think it will work...” Blue said slowly. “We believe you should know, the filly was known to exaggerate things about how bad the orphanage was. If she tells you anything, I’d advise just blocking it out.” “Alright,” Rainbow Dash answered half heartedly. “Give me about an hour. I can find her by then.” It took only twenty minutes for Rainbow Dash to find her number one fan. She was in a cave just to the north of where she had found her crying earlier that morning. Luckily, she had caught sight of the little filly entering the cave, looking nervous. Flying to the cave entrance, she saw what looked to be a lived-in area. A sleeping bag with a stuffed animal beside it, and a slab which had a few berries and apples on it, as well as a cookie that she must have gotten as a gift from Sugarcube Corner. A canteen was next to them, presumably filled with water. Another slab held a school notebook and some pencils, obviously used as a desk of some kind. Scootaloo herself was currently setting several berries into a bindle sack, looking scared. “Scoots?” The orange filly jumped nearly three feet in the air before turning. “R-Rainbow Dash?” “Kid... do you live here?” “No,” Scootaloo said immediately, looking even more frightened than she before. “Really? Because there’s two stallions at Twilight’s library who say differently.” Scootaloo’s fur became pale and her eyes shrank at the mention of those two ponies, “No... I won’t return... I won’t. I can’t!” she jumped out and tried to make it to the exit of the cave, but was stopped as Rainbow held onto her with all her might as Scootaloo screamed and squirmed in her forelegs. Rainbow was shocked to see her number one fan look so frightened or drastic in the years she has known her. The sight of Scootaloo at the moment was making her eyes moist as she was reliving a few childhood memories. “Listen Scoots, I know the orphanage is not a great place, but I will talk to Celestia about all this, okay?” she tried to calm the little filly down, which worked if only for a few moments. “I’ll talk to her to get you back at Ponyville and be-” “They’re not from the orphanage, Rainbow.” “What?” Rainbow asked Scootaloo, who looked up at Rainbow with bloodshot eyes. “What do you mean, they’re not from the orphanage? I saw their Identification cards myself and they look legit to me and-” “They’re fakes! They’re gonna take me back ‘there’,” she said the last word with venom dripping from her muzzle, as absolute terror was somehow related to that word. Rainbow remembered what those two ponies said and simply shook her head, “Look, I don’t know what you playing at, but you need to go back.” Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow in disbelief, and glared at her with her moist eyes. “So, you’re gonna believe those two liars instead of your number one fan?!” Rainbow backed her head away slightly at these words as she was still holding onto Scootaloo, but then frowned upon the little filly. “Well you lied to me now, so that doesn’t exactly help you, does it?” she told her as she continued looking down on the little filly with disappointment. Scootaloo felt like her heart had been ripped apart, her role model and inspiration was siding with the two ponies who would return her to the place she escaped from. She realized that her words would fall on deaf ears even if she told Rainbow the truth. She glared at the rainbow mare, shaking slightly in anger as she lowered her head and mumbled something. Rainbow raised her eyebrow and lowered her head, “What’s that you said?” she asked Scootaloo innocently. Scootaloo mumbled again, though a bit louder as she shook more in Rainbow’s forelegs. “Scootaloo, what are you sayi-” “I hate you!” “...You don’t mean that,” Rainbow Dash said. “Yes, I do! You want to send me back... there!” “I’m telling you, I’m sure an orphanage...” “It’s not an orphanage!” she yelled. Rainbow Dash sighed. “Alright, I’ll bite. Where are they going to take you, if not to an orphanage?” Scootaloo was quiet for a moment. “...This might sound crazy, but you have to believe me.” “I’m listening,” the elder mare said. Scootaloo kicked at the ground a bit before continuing. “Those two aren’t with the DFS. They work for a guy called Doctor Bloodwing.” “Doctor Bloodwing?” Rainbow Dash asked, arching an eyebrow. “Yes,” the younger filly said, annoyed. “He’s a scientist, and he’s... well, he’s crazy. He wants... he wants to make an alicorn.” At this, the cyan pegasus’s eyes actually widened. “What?” “I told you, he’s crazy. He kidnapped a lot of ponies and experimented on them. He’s trying to recreate an earth pony’s strength, a pegasus’s wings, a unicorn horn and put it all into one pony!” “Uh-huh. And he kidnapped you?” “He had to have! I... I don’t remember anything from before. I just woke up one day in that cage he put me in. I finally escaped two years ago, and I’m not going back!” There was silence for a few moments. “...See, this is why you need some adult supervision. You read way too many comic books.” With that, Rainbow Dash grabbed Scootaloo and began pulling her towards the outside. “What? No... let me go!” “Kid, you honestly expected me to believe all that? I’m not an egghead like Twilight is, but I’m not an idiot.” Scootaloo was crushed. She had just told Rainbow her darkest secret but even now, the rainbow mare scoffed it off as mere foal’s imagination. She glared at Rainbow with all the anger she could muster. “I don’t idolize you anymore, Rainbow Crash!” she yelled at the pegasus and spat on her face. Rainbow flinched at this, trying to remove the phlegm from her eyes with her hooves. At that moment, Scootaloo bucked Rainbow hard with her hind legs and made a run for it. Though she felt bad at injuring Rainbow Dash slightly, she had no choice but to try and get as far away as possible. She thought she was a safe distance away, but horror struck her when she felt hooves reaching for her. She turned to see a very angry-looking Rainbow Dash behind her and tried to increase her running speed, but she was no match for the rainbow pegasus’s flying speed. She was soon lifted from the ground, with Scootaloo flailing in the air as she was held in Rainbow Dash’s forelegs and flying towards Ponyville, albeit slower than expected. “No! Let me go! please!” Rainbow Dash sighed sadly, “Listen Scoots, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I promise you that-” “I don’t wanna go back to that place! Please, Rainbow, let me go! Just please don’t let them take me there!” Scootaloo pleaded with Rainbow, whose eyes became moist as she was in moral turmoil at the sight of her number one fan. One part of her mind told her this was wrong and to let Scootaloo go, whilst the other part told her that she was fooling her and she needed to return for her safety. “Squirt, I know the orphanage is not a fun place, but know that I will visit you and I will get you back to Ponyville faster than you can say Sonic Rainboom,” she told the little filly who was squirming in her forelegs. Scootaloo sniffed as tears fell from her eyes, “Just kill me already please.” Rainbow Dash abruptly stopped at these words and looked at Scootaloo with horrified eyes. “What did you just say?!” “I said just kill me!” she repeated those dreadful words to Rainbow, who just stared in absolute shock at the little filly. “They are gonna do worse things to me, I just know it! If you really care for me, let me go or just kill me here... I don’t want to head back to that place!” Rainbow was staring at Scootaloo like as if she spoke the most insane words ever. This filly, just turning ten years old, was pleading for euthanasia from Rainbow Dash. Rainbow could not help but release a dam of tears as she was held Scoots close to her, her image of bravado cast away in the process. “I don’t know what happened to you back there to make you think that way, but know that I will come back for you Scoots... I promise you.” Scootaloo remained silent until one word was spoken from her, “Liar.” “...What?” “You’re giving me to him! I can’t trust you! You won’t protect me!” “Scoots... please...” “No! Let me go!” Sighing, Rainbow Dash kept flying forward. Twilight’s library was nearly in sight. “Look, it won’t be so bad, and you’ll be back here in Ponyville before you know it. I know the Princess, remember? She can help me cut through any red tape those agents can try and...” “They’re not agents!” Scootaloo screamed. She then gave a gasp of horror when she saw the two agents. Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie were still there, looking awkward. “No, no, no!” Black held what appeared to be a straitjacket with a handle on its back. “What on earth is that?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “Restraint belt for unruly foals,” Blue said coldly. “That... seems a bit abrasive,” she said slowly. “With all due respect, Miss Dash, not all ponies are gifted with flight or levitation like you or Miss Sparkle. We must make do, and the child brought this on herself.” Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight, who nodded at her friend. “I double checked, it’s a legitimate piece of equipment, at least for earth pony agents.” Rainbow looked back at the agents. Blue softened a bit. “It’ll just be until we get her to our carriage. Strap her in.” It was no contest. Scootaloo bucked and shouted, but Black and Blue restrained her with such efficiency that Spike found himself hiding behind Twilight. Scootaloo now hung at Black’s mouth, still bucking and screaming. “We thank you for your cooperation Miss Sparkle, and your help, Miss Dash.” “Yeah, well, don’t get attached to her,” the pegasus warned. “I’ll get her back sooner or later.” “I don’t want to see you again! You gave me back to them!” “You best be quiet now, little one. You’re in plenty of trouble as it is,” Blue gently chastised. He then turned to Rainbow Dash. “Well, we look forward to seeing you again. Come on, Black.” As he said those words, Blue trotted outside followed by Black who was holding a squirming Scootaloo in the restraint. As the door closed, Rainbow could not help but cry with her hooves to her face, trying to stop the flow of tears that were escaping her eyes. Twilight came over and held onto her, patting her head and stroking her hair to calm her down, though it didn’t work very well. “Don’t worry Rainbow, I’ll write to Princess Celestia now and get her counsel to get Scootaloo back. I promise,” she assured Rainbow, whose head was buried in Twilight shoulders as she gave a nod. Spike, who was quiet the whole time, came with scroll and quill and started writing as Twilight spoke her letter out. One thought was in his mind those this whole time, “I got a bad feeling about this...” Just outside Ponyville, a lone grayish carriage was parked outside near the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. Blue and Black walked towards it, with Scootaloo screaming and flailing in the air as she was bounded by the jacket. “Let me go, you creeps!” Blue and Black ignored her screams as they approached the carriage, “Finally, mission accomplished, after two years.” Blue commented to Black who nodded his head as he held Scootaloo in the jacket. “When I get loose you’re gonna-” With a swift hoof colliding into her gut, her eyes rolled over as she coughed a little blood out before falling unconscious. Blue shook his head to his partner. “You didn't have to do that,” he told him as he gagged Scootaloo with cloth tied around her muzzle and chucked her inside the carriage, locking the door in the process. “She was bucking annoying. Any more of her blasted voice and I might just have to kill her,” Black told Blue, who frowned at his partner now. “Our orders are to bring her back alive!” Black sneered at Blue, “Nopony said she had to be bruise-free.” he snickered sickly at this as they hooked the carriage to their frames and made their way away from Ponyville. As they left, an orange earth pony came from behind an apple tree with petrified eyes at what just happened. She gulped and shook her head vigorously, readjusting her stetson hat. “Ah gotta tell the others about this!” She galloped towards the library, hoping Twilight was present, as Applejack had just witnessed an act of foalnapping. Chapter 11Twilight Sparkle was terrified beyond belief. Her son, Spike, was now in the clutches of that rotten mare and her sick superior. She sat on her haunches as she looked down on the floor, where a small pond of tears was forming as it was being released from her eyes like a waterfall of cascading running water. Cadance, at the request of her husband, held onto Twilight and stroked her mane, trying to calm the poor mare down. The guards, who informed Twilight of what had occurred, looked at her with sorrow and pity in their eyes. Shining, who had been healed thanks to the medics of the infirmary, approached his sister and placed a hoof under her chin, raising it up to meet her eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot, thanks to the excess of crying she had done. Shining remembering only a few occasions in life where she was broken like this. He bit his lower lip as he cursed himself, recalling that one of those moments was his fault, making her cry on his wedding day by siding with an imposter. He blinked slowly and brought his foreleg over her neck, holding her in place as she sobbed into his shoulder. “Twily, we’ll get him back. I promise we’ll get Spike back,” he chanted to her multiple times, hoping against all hope that it was working, if only for a second. Cadance decided to join in the hug and used her magic to speed up Twilight’s healing, hoping with the pain eradicated she would feel a little better. “Twilight, Shining and his guards will get Spike back. We’re also gonna get Scootaloo and Rainbow back. I promise you!” she exclaimed softly as she nuzzled her little sister-in-law affectionately. She had always loved Twilight like a little sister since her days as her foalsitter, and she could not bear seeing her in this state. Twilight sniffed as she gave a nod in her brother’s shoulder, with Shining patting her head softly and looking down sadly at his little sister. Just as he let go of her, the doors of the infirmary burst open, with Twilight’s friends running in to comfort their friend. Even though Pinkie’s mane was still fluffy, there was no smile on her face as she held her friend close to her in a tight hug, with the others quickly joining in. “Oh my gosh, Twilight! Those meanies took Spike with them! Oooh! If I was there, I’d have assaulted that Yellow with my cannon so much that-” Applejack placed a hoof over her mouth, achieving immediate silence in the room. “We get the idea, Pinkie,” she said solemnly, with her eyes looking down at their distressed friend. As more and more comforting words entered her ears, Twilight’s crying started to cease, and the blur in her eyes was beginning to clear up too. She gazed at the puddle of tears underneath her, she could see a helpless Spike being dragged away by a laughing Yellow. She blinked rapidly and clenched her teeth as she began to scowl. “They’ll pay for this...” she whispered softly, as she gently pushed her friends away and got onto her hooves. A newfound source of energy was at her disposal as she raised her head slowly, with fire in her eyes and rage etched onto her face. “Twilight, don’t worry,” Shining said, “we’ll get him back...” “I’ll get him back,” Twilight said angrily. “Scootaloo and Rainbow too. They’re going to pay.” “Twilight,” Cadance said quickly, “You really should stay here and rest...” “No!” she exploded, with her mane and tail bursting out in flames. Everypony flinched and took a step back as they saw the most powerful unicorn in Equestria enraged. The fire on her body quickly calmed, but the fire in her eyes did not. “I’ll get them, and I’ll make sure nothing happens to my son!” she said as she made her way to the door. Before she could open it, though, she felt a firm hoof on her shoulder which belonged to Applejack. She turned to see her friend looking at her with green eyes that displayed concern. “Twilight, Ah understand ya need to find yer boy. But slow yer hooves fer a minute, and think this through. Ya don’t have to do it alone. We’re here fer ya, Twilight.” she said as she gently pulled Twilight away from the door and held her in a secured hug. Applejack could understand what Twilight had to be feeling at that moment, as she was thinking of what she would have done if somepony had foal-napped Apple Bloom and did horrible things to her. She thought that Twilight felt even worse than she could feel, because Spike was Twilight’s son. She frowned slightly when she let go of Twilight, as a thought crossed her mind. “Why the hay did they even want Spike, anyway?” Applejack wondered out loud. “They almost got ‘em back at the other lab, too.” Faced with this question, Twilight’s natural inquisitive nature began to override her terror and anger, but not completely. “I’ve been wondering that as well. They took scales from him for their projects instead of anything from me. Yellow sounded like she was about to tell us something before Blue busted in.” “And didn’t those two call him a doll back at the lab?” Pinkie said. “What’s that about?” “I don’t know,” Twilight admitted. “But I think it’s time I sat down and had a talk with Celestia...” she said calmly as she exited through the door, with her friends, brother and foalsitter following suit. Rainbow Dash walked cautiously through the seemingly endless darkened corridor, barely being able to see her new companions in the dim candlelight. Every single hoof step echoed through the halls of the place, sending chills down their spines. The further they treated, the more she started to feel like she was being watched... like she was walking straight into a trap, which was an understandable feeling. Little Light clenched himself on his older brother’s leg as they traveled on into the pitch-black beyond. Rainbow could see the sheer fear in his eyes, even though he tried to hide it. The corridors looked as if they hadn’t been inhabitat in years; webs hung from the ceiling and the walls of the place had turned to a dull shade of grey. No windows. That was the first thing she noticed. Not a single one.. it made her feel so trapped even though she could still vaguely hear the rain assaulting the ancient cobblestone walls of the laboratory. “You know, since you were already caged, there was little point in me letting you out,” Blaze noted. “You can relax.” Blaze whispered, his murmurs echoing off into the dark. “I’m not letting my guard down,” the mare snapped. “Not until we’re all back at the palace.” Light shifted. “Is Blaze gonna get in trouble?” he asked. “He’s not a bad pony...” “Kid...” Rainbow Dash said tensely, before she caught herself. “...I don’t know. But Princess Celestia is a kind ruler. She’ll probably let your brother off lightly if he keeps helping me.” “I have no intention of fighting Celestia as long as Light is safe,” the stallion said bluntly. “Celestia can lock me up and throw away the key for all I care.” “But they won’t, will they?” Light asked, panicked at the thought of losing his brother. Blaze just placed a hoof down on his little brother’s head and ruffled up his hair. When the hoof was removed, Light looked up at his brother’s face and saw a genuine smile. “I’ll be fine, Light,” he said softly to him as he leaned his head down to eye level with his brother. “You can always trust me, got it memorized?” he said as he smiled, with Light nodding his head but without a smile. Blaze felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Rainbow Dash looking sternly down at him, “What?” he asked bluntly, with her pointing to a cell door. “Would you do the honours?” she asked as she stood at one side to give him room to move. Blaze walked up to the door, reaching for the key and pushing it in the lock. He turned the key and the cell door unlocked. With a quick glance to either side to ensure he wasn’t being watched, he opened the door. When the cell door was open, Rainbow flew in quickly and scooped up Scootaloo in a bone-crushing hug and nuzzling her. Scootaloo was confused at first, but when she realized that her attacker was actually Rainbow holding her, she returned the hug with as much strength as she could muster. She looked up at Rainbow, who looked back at her with caring eyes and stroked her head gently. “Are you ok?” she asked Scootaloo, who nodded to give her answer. She then looked behind Rainbow to see Blaze and a new colt at his side. Blaze walked up to Scootaloo and began the process of unlocking her from her shackles, “Blaze? What’s going on?” she asked as she looked to Rainbow and back at Blaze, who simply waved a hoof at her as he grinned. Blaze just snorted as he undid the final lock on Scootaloo. “It’s a very long story, Scootaloo, one I’m sure you’ll tell all your friends when you’re out of here,” he remarked as he saw the Scootaloo’s eyes shine with a glimmer of hope in them. “Does that mean...?” Rainbow nodded. Scootaloo smiled widely at this. She felt the shackles fall from her legs and noticed the bruising forming. “Don’t worry, Scoots, we’ll have that looked at when we’re back at the palace,” Rainbow answered her, as she saw the Scootaloo wincing slightly as she rubbed her hooves against her legs to get rid of the itch that came from wearing them. She then felt an itch forming at the base of the wounds, and instinctively raised a hoof to scratch them. “I don’t think you should try and scratch that,” Light told Scootaloo, who looked back at him curiously from the distance. “Who are you?” the filly asked. Blaze cut his little brother off before he could answer. “We can save the introductions for when we get out of here. Black and Bloodwing probably already know we’re gone. Let’s get moving.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Good idea,” she said, lowering herself. “Come on, kiddo, on my back.” Scootaloo did as she was told, finding a comfortable spot on the mare’s back. Light did the same to Blaze, knowing what was going to happen. “Let’s go,” Blaze said, and with that the two older pegasi lifted themselves in the air and flew off. The pair navigated the hallways with precision, going as fast as they could without making it difficult for their passenger to keep a hold on. Finally, they found the exit. As soon as they were outside, the flew into the sky, heading towards the palace. Meanwhile, running in the streets below to avoid detection, Yellow returned to the base carrying an unconscious Spike. Celestia was not having the best of days. It was bad enough that a wanted criminal had broken into the palace and had freed another criminal (all on the watch of the Captain of the guard, no less) and then kidnapped the son of her favoured student. But now, of all times, Twilight had burst into her chambers, demanding to know something that Celestia had hoped she would not ask for another few years. The truth about her son. She sighed heavily at the seven expectant faces staring at her, awaiting an answer. “I’m afraid Yellow wasn’t lying, my most faithful student,” she said sadly. “I have been keeping something from you; but it’s been to protect you, not harm you.” Twilight cocked her head, confused. “Protect me? From what?” “From yourself,” the alicorn said simply. “And from those who would exploit you.” “I... I don’t understand.” Celestia was silent for a moment. “Do you know what was different about your test, as opposed to the others I have given?” “Yes, you used a real egg instead of a fake one.” Celestia shook her head in grimace, ”No Twilight... the truth is that there was no difference.” A stunned silence hung in the air. “W... what?” “Twilight... that egg wasn’t real. It was a doll egg, just like everypony gets when they perform the test.” Celestia answered her student, who was stunned by this fact and every other pony in the room was confused at this also. “Ah don’t understand...” Applejack said as she shook her head slightly, “That don’t make any sense at all.” Celestia stood up and walked up to her student, standing before her with Twilight looking up at the princess. “Haven’t you noticed how Spike is different from other dragons? How he lacked wings and had such an unusual scale color? How he seemed to take living among ponies so well? How he never seemed to have any of a dragon’s documented natural instincts?” Twilight was silent. She had indeed wondered all those things. “You didn’t hatch Spike; you gave life to him. He didn’t start life as an egg; he started it as stitches, fabric, and fluff. But on that day, your great burst of magic gave you what you wanted most at that very moment, and pulled life where there was none before. It was then that I realized the truth,” she paused for a moment, closing her eyes and letting out her breath slowly. “You were born with a magic so powerful that only one in a million unicorns have. Starswirl the Bearded also had such a strong magic, just like you, Twilight, and other ponies before him. Before my sister and I took the roles of raising the sun and moon, unicorns had this duty, as I am sure you remember,” she said as she was recalling to the Hearth’s Warming Eve tale. “When I saw your magic becoming unstable, performing spells that even adult ponies have difficulty performing, I took it upon myself to teach you how to control your powers that rested in you. What shocked me even more was the fact that instead of receiving a doll for graduating, a live baby dragon was there. A pure, innocent baby dragon that was brought into this world by you, my most faithful student,” she said as she nuzzled her student affectionately, seeing the stress in her student’s eyes. Twilight’s lips quivered at the touch of Celestia’s head brushing up against hers, “But... but that means Spike’s-” “So that means Spike really is Twilight’s son?” Everypony’s head turned to Pinkie, as she smiled slightly at the news she had just heard from the princess. “‘Cause if that story is true, that means that Twilight really did give birth to Spike. But that also means that Twilight is the youngest mommy ever!” she remarked to herself out loud, but noticed the others looking at her blankly. “What? I’m just saying that Spike is really Twilight’s boy.” Rarity just shook her head, “I think it’s a little bit more complicated than that, Pinkie,” she said, still trying to digest this information from the princess. “Princess, I think you know it was impossible for Twilight to just will a doll to life, and you should tell us the truth, please,” Shining told the princess, but he was met with a slight cold look from Twilight. Realizing his wording, he looked away in shame. “I’m sorry.” “Magic is a peculiar thing,” Celestia noted. “It’s connected through the heart of every living being. The heart is formed through the nurturing of feelings, feelings such as friendship and love. That’s what allowed Spike to be born. A part of Twilight’s heart and soul resides in him. Magic gave him shape and breath, and out he came. He looked like a dragon, but had the heart of a pony. Some may say he is merely a construct of magic, but the moment I laid my eyes on him, I saw the genuine signs of life flowing in him. He is as real as you are, Twilight.” Twilight started blinking uncontrollable, processing this revelation that was given to her by her teacher, “So... me adopting him... it was unnecessary?” Twilight uttered, her body was shaking slightly at the implications. Celestia shook her head as she draped a wing comfortingly over Twilight, “I never submitted those papers, Twilight. You’ve been on record as Spike’s mother from the day he was born. Didn’t you find it odd that I let you raise a child at such a young age?” “You told me it was to teach me responsibility...” Twilight said, her voice trailing off as she looked up at Celestia’s face, whose face softened as a small smile formed with her eyelids half-closed. “And it was. However, it was also because he was your flesh and blood, your responsibility,” she said as she let go of her student. Twilight just stood there in silence at all of this new information. She then looked up to Celestia with determination brimming in her eyes. “If you’ll excuse me, Princess. I need to get my son back from those sick ponies,” she said firmly. Celestia smiled gently at her as she nodded her head. “Shining,” she called to him as he approached her slowly, “Go with Twilight to find Spike,” she ordered, to which Shining Armor responded with a sharp salute. “I will, Your Majesty,” he said to her. “But Princess, what about Rainbow and Scootaloo?” he asked. His answer was merely a small smile, which confused the ponies present until Celestia glanced over at the balcony, “I believe that problem solved itself,” she said plainly, as two ponies came flying fast into the throne room. Both ponies landed roughly at the opposite side of the room, each of them carrying a foal on their back. “Rainbow!” As soon as she heard her name, she turned to the others, who came running to greet their friend. Just before they could grab her in a group hug, she raised her hoof to stop them and pointed to Scootaloo on her back. “Don’t wanna hurt her now, do we?” The ponies in the room stayed silent as they saw Scootaloo, with a horn on her head and slightly bigger wings. Fluttershy immediately flew to her and checked on her legs as she held her gently in place. “Oh dear! We need to get this bandaged up,” she said, continuing to check Scootaloo for more injuries. The other ponies came to her and huddled over her as they barraged her with questions. “Y’all alright there, sugarcube? We were so worried!” “What did those ruffians do to you, you poor thing!?” “Did those meanies hurt you bad? Wait until they they taste my cannon!” Twilight, however, was staring at the other pony that came with Rainbow with narrowed eyes. Blaze was standing there, with his brother on his back, in a room he thought he would never see in his life. The feeling of awe was soon turned to outright awkwardness when Twilight looked at him with contempt in her eyes. “Um,” he began, gently setting his brother down next to him. “Hi!” he said, waving a hoof at her. “You!” Twilight spat as she realized who he was. Everypony’s attention turned to Blaze, who was trying to remain calm in this definitely unfriendly situation. He knew he was going to pay for his actions, helping with the kidnapping and experimentation on a filly they cared about. He just sighed as he realized he was in trouble no matter what he said or did now, so he decided to at least have one more bit of fun. “Miss me?” he asked casually. Blaze was very fortunate that Celestia was more powerful than Twilight, because the lavender unicorn leapt at him with pure rage in her eyes. Luckily, her mentor held her in midair with her magic, leaving the unicorn thrashing in the air with rage. “You took Spike!” she shouted out to Blaze, “You took my son you little...” Blaze looked at her in confusion, “Who? The do-” he began, but Rainbow shot him a quick glare that quickly caused him to rethink his words. “Um, the dragon?” he corrected himself, not wanting to have another fight with this unicorn again. “Where is he!?” Twilight demanded, still suspended in the air but still flailing angrily. Blaze shook his head vigorously. “I don’t know... I’d assume back at Bloodwing’s lab. As soon as we got Scootaloo, we left.” he said. Celestia dropped her magic and released Twilight, and she began to march up to him. Light stood in front of her, but this did not stop her one bit. At that point, Scootaloo decided to stand in front of Blaze and intervene. “Please, Twilight, he helped us escape...” This seemed to mollify the unicorn a bit, though she still looked ready and willing to harm him at the first opportunity. “Well... why would Bloodwing want Spike?” Blaze shifted. “Well, I don’t know if the princess told you, but he...” “Was created by me, I know,” Twilight snapped. “Oh. Well, he’s made up of your magic... and you're the most powerful unicorn alive today... that could be useful if he could...” Twilight froze. Her eyes went wide as she came to the obvious conclusion. “If he could break... him... down...” Spike groaned as his eyes opened. All he saw was a blurry face that slowly came into focus, one with a malicious smile. He gasped and tried backing away from the foul presence, but he couldn’t budge one bit. He started breathing frantically in panic, his eyes desperately scanning the room. He noticed Yellow behind Bloodwing, who was wearing a triumphant grin as her eyes looked down on the frail form of Spike before her. “Well, well,” Bloodwing grinned as he stood up and went to Yellow, patting her on her head as though she was a dog who did her master proud. “It’s a shame we lost Subject Ten to the senile goats, but it looks like I just got myself a brand new doll to tinker with!~” he cooed to Yellow. Suddenly, he sharply turned his head to Spike, looking down on him with crazed eyes for a moment before looking up and twisting his head, as though pointing it to another room. Spike then felt his body being lifted up by magic, and looked behind him to see that Black was carrying him. He starting flailing in the air, trying to free himself from the criminal’s hold on him. “Let me go, you! I have my rights, you-” Suddenly, Spike felt immense pain as Black dropped him to the floor and drove his hoof into the top of his scaly head. Spike let out cry of agony from the pain, and he could feel the blood seeping through his injury. He felt himself lifted again, his vision now blurred from the tears he was shedding. “Dolls have no rights,” Black told him with a deadpan expression as he followed Bloodwing and Yellow into the next room, with Spike right behind him in a cloud of magic. Spike lips quivered as he shed more tears from the attack on his head. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, dreading what they had in store for him. “Mom... help me.” Author's Note Re-Edited by Vozzlefox, my teacher... check out his story Lately guys :D
Chapter 3Sorrow was the dominant emotion flowing through Rainbow Dash, as she stood in the library with a fountain of tears flowing out of her eyes. A part of her mind pleaded to her to chase after those two DFS ponies and take Scootaloo away from them, but another part urged her to be responsible and help the filly out in the legal way. Though now her thoughts where misty, as she could still hear the hateful words coming from Scootaloo, words that would forever leave a mark on Rainbow’s heart. She looked at the floor, faintly hearing Twilight talking to Spike. Pinkie had left, having been sent by the pegasus to gather Scootaloo’s things out of the cave so she could hold on to them. As she looked at the floorboards, she couldn’t help but think of one question. “Did I do the right thing?” As she spoke those words, she felt a hoof encircling her neck and saw Twilight next to her. She leaned her head against the unicorn’s shoulder, not caring if her image as a tough pony would be tarnished thanks to this. They were both uncertain as to what needed to be done, as they were also hurt by Scootaloo’s departure. Twilight held onto her for a few moments before clearing her throat, “Rainbow, we will get Scootaloo back. I promise you. Heck, I’ll bet by the time they get to Canterlot that Princess Celestia will have a royal chariot waiting to take her back here, with all the papers you need to sign.” She looked up to Twilight’s face with crestfallen eyes. “You really think so, Twilight?” Twilight nodded with a weak smile, “Yes we will, I had Spike send the letter to Princess Celestia not long ago. She will know what to do.” Rainbow looked to Twilight’s side and saw Spike standing next to his mother, as though he was in need of comfort and security too. Rainbow was surprised to see Spike’s eyes radiating terror, something that she was not accustomed to. She let go of Twilight and moved to where Spike was standing, “Spike? Why do you look so scared?” she asked the drake, lowering her head to meet his eyes. Spike was uncertain how to answer her question, a part of him was concerned for Scootaloo and the other part was beyond scared of those two ponies who took her away. He gulped slightly as his eyes wandered. “I got this bad feeling that those two aren’t what they seem. It’s like they didn’t even care about Scootaloo’s welfare, like they were zombies. And when they looked at me with those eyes, I felt so scared.” he answered her weakly, trembling slightly with his legs shaking. Twilight thought it best to hold him in her hooves until he calmed down, for it was a rare occurrence to see her boy petrified by anypony. Twilight sighed as she held onto Spike, “We just need to wait for Princess Celestia’s reply, only then will we know what to do exactly. Now I suggest we all just sit down and-” The doors of the library burst open and the door slammed hard against the wooden wall of the library, leaving an indentation. The ponies jumped slightly at this, Twilight and Rainbow held defensive positions until they saw who came in running. “Twilight! We got trouble!” It was Applejack, and she was looking rather frazzled. “What’s wrong? Are the cows stampeding again?” “No! Ah saw these two big stallions in these fancy suits takin’ Scootaloo away!” Much to the cowpony’s surprise, the others looked relieved, maybe even a little annoyed. “Relax, those were just two members of the Department of Foal Services. It turns out that Scootaloo was a runaway, they were taking her back to Canterlot...” “Twi, they stomped that poor filly in the stomach!” “...What?” Rainbow Dash asked flatly. Her eyes had widened, her coat seemingly turning grey. “She was hootin’ and hollarin’, so the pony carryin’ her dropped her down and stomped on her stomach as hard as he could! Then they tied her muzzle shut and tossed her in the back of their carriage! Ah think one of them said somethin’ ‘bout killin’ her!” “…What?” Rainbow Dash shouted. She flew up to the cowpony, gripping her shoulders. “Where was this?” “At the west side of town, near our orchards...” In a flash Rainbow Dash was out the door, not waiting for anypony else. “Rainbow, wait!” Twilight called, to no avail. “…These ponies said they were agents?” Applejack asked. Twilight nodded, her mind racing a thousand miles trying to figure out what to do. “They said Scootaloo ran away from a Canterlot orphanage two years ago, so Rainbow Dash brought her here. She was bucking and screaming at going back, but we thought she was just throwing a tantrum… go get the others, and get ready for an overnight trip. Spike, take a letter, we need to send the Princess some more information.” Rainbow Dash was famous for her speed and agility, but with each flap of her wings it felt as though time was purposely slowing down for her. Her inner voice started cursing herself for being fooled by two strangers and not believing the words of her number one fan. In reality, she had always viewed her number one fan as something more than a fan, even more than a friend. She reached her destination to find tracks leading to the exit of Ponyville, where she went to next. To her dismay, the tracks ceased, as though they were wiped away for any pursuers to not track. She started to hyperventilate, turning her head to every direction and flying to any random location. Rainbow could not find anything at all, and to make matters worse, it started raining, the very storm she had set up earlier today. She descended to the ground, and her breathing hastened as the raindrops continued falling down to the soil she was standing on. Rainbow clenched her teeth as more tears were building up in her eyes. She started sniffing as her eyes were closing and her head bending to the ground where she held herself. A myriad of memories flashed across her mind, all relating to Scootaloo, where it ended with Scootaloo pleading to Rainbow not to let them take her away. “Scootaloo!!!!!!!!!!!” As she yelled out her name in anguish, she started sobbing more as the rain mixed with her tears. She heard faint voices coming towards her, but she did not have the strength to look up to who was coming towards her. She felt herself being hoisted upwards by a pair of strong hooves, and briefly opened her eyes to see Applejack’s concerned face looking at her. Applejack proceeded to place Rainbow on her back and secure her there as she started walking. “Come along sugarcube, ya need to git outta the rain before ya git sick. Don’t worry, Rainbow, we’re gonna git Scootaloo back, no matter what.” Applejack assured her friend with determined words, words that had a tone of sincerity to them. Rainbow opened her eyes slightly to see the darkened skies releasing the torrent of rain from the clouds that were floating above her. More images of Scootaloo came to her, some of them were of a joyous pony and some were that of a depressed pony. As her eyelids were closing, she swore she could see Scootaloo smiling to her. “Scootaloo…” she whispered to herself before exhaustion took over her and sent her to the planes of dreams and nightmares. Twilight was always known as a mare of action and planning, but even with this she had no solid idea as to what to do next. She merely gave out orders that lay on the tip of her tongue as soon as she heard what the truth was. Though the reality was more complex for her to figure out, she had no idea who those ponies were, or even why Scootaloo was taken by them. Were they mass murderers looking for a target to slay? Were they foal-nappers looking for a ransom from them? Then a real shiver ran down her spine. Were they sexual offenders and wanted to take advantage of the poor filly? She honestly had no idea, and it was driving her insane. The only thing she could do right now was to come up with a plan on how to locate Scootaloo before any terrible fate could befall her. “Mom?” Twilight perked up, looking at Spike. “Yes, Spike?” “Princess Celestia sent a reply,” he explained handing him a scroll with Celestia’s seal on it. Not wasting a beat, Twilight levitated it up to her face. My most faithful student, I’m afraid I have terrible news to report on your situation. As you had sent your second letter, I had just finished looking into your claim. No orphanage in the area has a file on Scootaloo, or any filly that matches the photo you gave me. After your second letter, I looked up the two agents. I found files on them, in the criminal records. I have sent you profiles on them, which should be attached to this message. Tearing her eyes of the letter, Twilight looked at the profile for the pony who had identified himself as Blue. As it turned out, Blue was the only name the Royal Court knew him by as well. Her eyes ran down his list of offenses, and she felt sick. Kidnapping, assault, suspected homicide... the very thought she had turned a filly over to this stallion made her sick. I will send a few members of the Royal Guard to assist you in searching the area. Keep me informed of when you learn more. Sighing, Twilight looked back at her son. “Have the others been told yet?” “Pinkie came by with all of Scootaloo’s stuff, then ran off to tell Fluttershy and Rarity. Applejack and Rainbow Dash aren’t back yet, though. Rainbow Dash will probably tear Equestria apart before she’d be willing to come home. Well, I better get packed myself… and do some research. Maybe there’s a book on tracking…” Scootaloo had felt the carriage stop. The doors opened, and Black came in. Moments later she was hanging by his mouth again, being brought outside. She saw it. It looked like ruined stone building, like one of the several ruins found in the Everfree Forest, but it filled the little filly with fear. She wasn’t in the Forest, she knew that, but someplace farther away from Ponyville. She began crying heavily. She tried to struggle, but she was tired and sore. Her sobs came out muffled through the gag. She could barely see through her tears. She couldn’t tell if they were inside, or memorize the path Black carried her through. She didn’t notice as she was carried down a flight of steps, into the underground areas that made up most of the building. She did, however, see the cage they were bringing her to. She gave a muffled shriek, renewing her thrashing, but it was in vain. The cage opened, and she was stuck in. She felt heavy metal cuffs clamp around her hind legs. Her restraint belt was removed. It was little comfort, however, because two more cuffs were secured around her forelegs. Finally, a thick metal collar clicked around her neck. Chains from all her binds connected her to the cage. Scootaloo continued to struggle free from this prison she was forced in and yelled out with muffled screams in frustration to her fruitless efforts. “Ever the feisty one, aren’t you? Subject 10?” She felt herself freeze in fear as the cage’s door opened and she could see three figures walking up towards her, all of them looking at her with malicious glee. She immediately recognized the two earth ponies that took her away, Blue and Black. Blue was looking down upon her like she was a mere ant in his presence and Black had a wicked grin upon him like he was about to pounce Scootaloo like a cat. The third presence sent her into a petrification state, as she was beyond scared of this pony. A pegasus with a blood-red coat and blond mane, perfectly styled. A cutie mark of a scalpel decorated his flank. He wore an expression that was hard for the filly to describe. He was looking at her with a sort of pride, though not the kind a parent would give their foal. More like one would give a piece of art they had spent several hours perfecting. This was her jailer, the pony she had spent the last two years running from, Bloodwing. “She appears to be in fine condition,” he spoke to his two colleagues, as he encircled Scootaloo and inspected her body. “Though I see she has a bruise on her stomach.” Black lifted his head with his eyes closed, “Yeah, that was me, she was being bucking annoying and being a downright bitch so I just shut her up.” Bloodwing just stared at him blankly, “Blue, punch him,” he ordered him to do. “Yessir.” Black could not respond early enough, as a hoof collided with his muzzle and he was sent flying against the wall, rubbing his muzzle profoundly to ease the pain ebbing from it. “Buck that hurt! What was that for, sir?!” Bloodwing ignored his cry of surprise as he continued staring at Scootaloo, “You were ordered to bring her back alive, and a bruise to her stomach could have caused complications, you idiot.” Getting back on his feet, Black just glared at his superior with annoyance. Though as soon as Bloodwing’s eyes met his, Black bowed to him apologetically. “My deepest apologies, sir! It won’t happen again!” “Good.” Bloodwing moved towards Scootaloo and decided to remove his muzzle from her mouth to let her breath properly. He proceeded to stroke her cheeks as he let loose a small chuckle, “Welcome home.” Scootaloo just clenched her teeth in hatred, not having any word for this sick pony. “You shouldn’t feel so much hatred towards me, you should share some of that with the ponies who ‘befriended you’. Clear to me that they didn’t really care,” he told her as he smiled wickedly at the helpless filly. He brought a hoof down to her chin and made her look into his eyes. Looking into those pupils, dead of any benevolent emotion, made her sick. “You will bring me to the end of this, where perfection will be accomplished… my pretty.” Scootaloo shivered, causing Bloodwing to chuckle. “We have to look you over, my dear. Who knows what has happened since you left us.” The mad scientist went to a nearby table and picked up a syringe. Immediately strength went back into Scootaloo’s body and she began thrashing against her bonds. “Relax, my dear, it’s not your treatment… that comes later. You have a lot of treatments to catch up with. No, this is just a blood sample.” The pegasus wasn’t calmed. Needles frightened her. She thrashed harder. Blue and Black reached into the cage and held her in place. The collar was removed, causing Scootaloo to start crying. Then she felt it, the needle entered her neck, piercing her skin. She cried. There was little pain, but she still cried. The needle was removed, and the collar was replaced. She barely resisted. She fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. “Now, see, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Bloodwing cooed with a sliminess that took years of practice to get right. “Now, stay there like a good little filly while I run these tests. If you’re good, I’ll take the collar and shackles off… maybe.” Rainbow Dash woke back up as Applejack sat her down at Twilight’s table. A cup of hot tea was waiting for her. She reached for it with and drank the contents slowly, instantly warming her throat and chest with the tea. She felt sick to the stomach, not because any ailment or disease but of her actions she had performed earlier. More memories came back to her and she shook her head in disgust at what she had done, how she had not listened to Scootaloo. How she had betrayed the filly, the filly who had seen her as a hero, and now she was a villain in every way. Applejack looked upon her friend somberly as she was berating herself for what happened. She reached out a hoof to her friend and placed it gently on her shoulder, “Sugarcube, ya’ll need to stop kicking yerself like this. Ya couldn’t possibly know that Scootaloo was-” Rainbow smacked her hoof away from her and glared at Applejack with teary eyes, “No! It was my fault! I should have noticed something was wrong! I’ve never seen Scootaloo act like that ever! I should have done something… I should have…” she couldn’t say another word as she broke down crying. Applejack was shocked to see Rainbow in such a state, it was something that she could not picture her friend to do. Applejack reached out and held her friend in a firm hug, which Rainbow submitted to and cried in Applejack’s shoulders. Applejack patted her friend’s back as she was shaking from the cold and the tears that breached her eyes. “There, there, Rainbow, let it all out now… we will find her.” The door to the room opened slowly and Twilight slowly entered it with three more teacups levitating in front of her. She passed two of them to her friends as one stayed in front of her which she sipped slowly, as her mind was in deep thought. “Rainbow, did Scootaloo tell you anything about who those ponies were?” Drying her eyes a bit. “She… she told me they worked for a mad scientist… Bloodwing, I think. She said he was… he was trying to make an alicorn.” Applejack arched an eyebrow, while Twilight’s eyes opened wide. “Somepony is trying to make an alicorn?” “I know, it sounded like a bad comic book, so I didn’t believe her…” Rainbow Dash started crying again. Twilight sighed. “I’ve received a reply from the Princess, telling me who those ponies were…” “And?” Twilight’s face turned slightly grim before answering, “They are wanted criminals; crimes involving kidnapping, assault and possible murder,” as she finished the last word, she saw Rainbow’s eyes burning with fury and if she was a unicorn, she would have set herself on fire. “Now I’ve been working on a spell to locate them, so it should lead us to where those two have taken Scootaloo. But I suggest we-” “We’re going right now.” Twilight and Applejack looked at Rainbow with a mixed of confusion and worry. “Rainbow, it’s eleven at night, there’s no way we can go out and follow them right now. Besides, we need our rest and you need yours, too,” Twilight tried to reason with her friend, but it proved to be of no avail as Rainbow got off the table and tried to make her way to the exit of the library but was stopped as a lavender aura surrounded her and kept her from moving any further. “I’m sorry Rainbow, but I can’t let you leave this library until its morning.” Rainbow tried to move her limbs, but she couldn’t move any muscle at all. “Twilight, let me go! I need to find Scootaloo!” “Listen, there’s nothing we can do right now. The Royal Guards will be searching the area, and in the morning…” “No!” Rainbow Dash wailed. “Every minute we’re here, they could be hurting Scootaloo! We…” Twilight’s horn glowed. It was like flicking a switch, the pegasus immediately dropped limp. Carefully, Twilight levitated her onto Applejack’s back. “Put her in my guest bed. You better tie her down, I don’t want her flying off the moment she wakes up.” “What’re you gonna be doing?” “I’m going to write the Princess and tell her about this Bloodwing pony, see what we can find out before tomorrow. Be ready to be out all day tomorrow, we are going to find Scootaloo.” Scootaloo laid in her cage, her legs chafing from her binds. She almost wished she was back in the restraint belt, at least that was comfortable. She heard the doors open again, and she flinched. Bloodwing was back, with Black and Blue at his sides. “Good news, my dear, you’re as healthy as ever. So that means we can continue your treatments!” There was only a moment of silence before the chains rattled. Scootaloo scooted back to the end of the cage, hoping she could somehow pass through. The locks opened, and she was pulled back forward. The collar came off, and the tears started again. “Don’t worry, this will only hurt a little… but the rest, may be quite excruciating.” he said the last word with sick humour, as he pierced her skin with another syringe and injected her with a glowing purple liquid. She was squirming in fear as to what he was putting in her, but she could hardly move thanks to being held down by two other ponies. Once the syringe was removed from her skin, she felt immense pain all over her body, like her very blood was on fire. Her forehead felt like it was going to split in two, and her wings felt as if they were being stretched and pulled right off her body. The two earth ponies let her go and watched her squirm on the ground in severe agony. Black let out a gasp as he saw what was happening to her and Blue’s eyes slightly dilated at what he was seeing. “Sir, what exactly did you put in her?” Blue asked Bloodwing, who was merely smiling at the filly’s struggle. Bloodwing shrugged and grinned, “Let’s just say, nature takes too slow… so I just speeded things up with her. That’s all.” Scootaloo felt another surge of pain in her wings as though they were being ripped by a manticore. A stream of tears escaped her eyes as she could not do anything to quell the pain in anyway and starting shaking on the ground for what seemed like hours, but was in reality only a few minutes. Bloodwing snickered at this and held a triumphant smile on his face, “This is going better than expected. Soon we will be able to move onto stage three of the project, my good followers.” Black raised his eyes and had a nervous expression on his face as he absorbed the information, “Sir, are you meaning you will be-” “Yes.” “And then we will-” “Indeed.” Black’s nervous smile slowly turned into a wide grin of excitement as he let out a mighty laugh, cheering at his senior’s words. Blue was remaining stoic at these words and just stared on at the filly before him, before stomping his hoof to get Black and Bloodwing’s attention. “Sir, I think it is completed.” he stated to his superior, pointing his hoof to Scootaloo’s body who was still conscious and tear-stricken. Bloodwing moved forward and lifted her head with his hoof to inspect it thoroughly and then proceeded to inspect Scootaloo’s wings. He smiled even wider than before and looked back at Blue, “Get me a mirror, please.” “Yes Sir.” Once Blue returned with a mirror in his mouth, Bloodwing took it and placed it in front of Scootaloo’s face. “Look at what we did for you, my pretty~” Scootaloo looked into the mirror as best she could. Her tears were hard to see through, and she couldn’t notice any change right away. “It’s your wings. They’re just the right size for a pony your age. You’re a little more complete. And look what else!” She squinted, but it was hard to see. Then, she noticed it. It was a bump on her forehead, not very big but noticeable. “A horn! You’re growing a horn!” Bloodwing cheered. ”Your strength might have gone up too! The powers of all three races! Oh, you beautiful specimen, you!” He stroked her hair. She cringed at the contact. “…Just let me go,” she said. Her voice was raspy from the constant screaming and crying of the last few hours. “I’ll do no such thing. I created you, you’re my little pony. My wonderful creation. You belong to me. That’s why you’re all chained up, you need to learn your place, you naughty little filly.” “…I want to go home!” she cried. “I want Rainbow Dash!” “This is home,” he said bluntly. “And Rainbow Dash doesn't want you. She gave you back to me, remember? Now why don’t you get some rest? Once you've rested up, we need to test the newfound abilities!” The collar was reapplied, the sickening click of it locking ringing in Scootaloo’s ears. The cage was closed again, and the filly collapsed to the floor, crying again. Hoofsteps sounded as Bloodwing and his lackeys walked away, leaving the filly with her tears. “Rainbow Dash… please… help me!”
Chapter 4Rainbow... please... help me!” Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot open at lightning speed as she heard the words in her head. She could have sworn that they were Scootaloo’s, and could only dread to think of what the poor filly was going through now. She felt her body being bound together by something, not by magic but rather by rope. She looked around the room and saw nopony around, thinking they were likely still asleep in their beds. She was fortunate to know how to break free from rope such as this, as this was not the first time that she was tied up. After a few minutes of struggling, she was free from the rope and got off the bed silently. She looked out the window and saw the sun slowly creep up from the horizon and heard the rooster’s call, signalling the start of a new day. Rainbow just wanted to fly to her house first, get her saddle bag with food and survival gear, then fly off to find Scootaloo but she heard the door open and saw her orange earth pony friend entering with a blank expression. “Mornin’, sugarcube. How ya feeling?” she asked Rainbow, knowing all too well what her friend’s answer was going to be Rainbow merely snorted at this, “Let’s see, Scootaloo got abducted by some creeps, we don’t know where to go look for her, I’ve been forced to sleep tied down by a rope... I feel absolutely bucking great,” she answered sarcastically to Applejack, who just frowned at this. Applejack just shook her head and walked over to her friend to hold onto her, “Rainbow, you gotta listen to me... it wasn’t yer fault.” “It was, Applejack.” “No, Rainbow.. it wasn’t yer fault.” Rainbow sniffed slightly and pushed her away, “D-don’t do this to me!” she stammered to Applejack, who smiled weakly. “It wasn’t yer fault.” “Don’t bucking do this to me, Applejack! Not you, of all ponies!” she warned her friend, hot tears cascading from her eyes. “Rainbow Dash, it wasn’t yer fault.” Rainbow was soon swept from her rage as she felt her friend pull her in once more. Her stubborn courage broke soon enough and she simply returned the hug, pressing herself into her dependable friend’s shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably and apologizing. Not to Applejack, but rather to the filly she failed in the end. Applejack just stood there as a pillar of support for her broken friend. In reality, she was scared of those two ponies and what they were going to do to Scootaloo. Though she knew one thing; she needed to be there for Rainbow Dash, the once strong pony now reduced to a wounded mare. “Come on, sugar, Twi’s waitin’ right downstairs with the others. We’re gonna find Scootaloo today, and she’ll be safe and sound with you by bedtime, Ah’m sure of it.” Scootaloo dimly noted when Blue and Black returned. The cage was opened, and the cuffs around her legs were undone. The chain connected to the collar was unhooked from the cage, and Black tugged on it. “Come on,” Blue ordered. “It’s testing time.” When the filly didn’t move right away, Black yanked the chain harder. Scootaloo was pulled out of the cage, gagging and hoofing at her throat. “Go.” Blue ordered coldly. Scootaloo’s legs obeyed, though her mind was screaming to try and run but she neither had the strength or will to do so. Black led her, occasionally tugging at her leash in an attempt to get her to hurry up. She was led into another room with what appeared to be a staircase that led to no particular location and a few large cubes. Bloodwing was there, smiling. “Hello, my dear. It’s about time we began. First, we’re going to test those wings of yours.” She was led to the foot of the stairs, where her collar was removed. “Climb up there.” Scootaloo peered up the long flight, afraid to move. After a pause, Bloodwing nodded to Black. Grinning sadistically, the earth pony picked up a switch laying on a nearby table and marched over to Scootaloo. With a mighty swing he brought it down on the child’s flank with an audible whip. “Aaah!” Scootaloo shouted, crying again but her tears were not heeded. “Up!” Sobbing, Scootaloo obeyed, slowly climbing up the flight of stairs. When she reached the top, she nervously peered over the edge, and was surprised to see some safety cushions resting on the bottom. “Recite the rules of flying I taught you before you left,” Bloodwing ordered. She remembered. She gave them both a glare as she stood on the top, with her wings ruffling slightly as she closed her eyes slowly and remembering the two facts on flying.. “Flap at rhythm, tilt to airflow.” Bloodwing nodded as he hummed, “Good... now do so for me, my pretty~” Scootaloo looked down on him with absolute disgust but reluctantly agreed. She jumped off the platform with her wings flapping, but she fell to the ground with a yelp escaping her mouth. As she landed on the cushions, she felt more pain on her back as she was given another strike by Black. The pain stung and she was pulled back on her hooves. “He said fly, not fall! Now get up there again!” Scootaloo’s lips quivered as her eyes were locked onto the platform as she made her way up to it again. This time, she jumped off the platform but kept her wings in position, gliding slowly downwards to the ground. Once she felt her hooves reach the floor, she felt a slight moment of joy at her first successful glide but that feeling was soon replaced by depression as her first glide was perverted by these sick ponies’ motives. Black marched towards her with the switch at ready, “He said fly and you just glide, you little-!” “Enough!” Black turned his head sharply and saw Bloodwing glare at him with murderous eyes, making Black freeze in position, fearing for his life. “She has made progress now, and thus she deserves a reward~,” he said as he walked past the confused earth pony, holding another syringe. Scootaloo tried to back away but she was soon pierced by the metal object, and felt the liquid entering her body. Instead of agony, she felt pain being soothed and her body began to relax with each passing second. “A pain killer. You must have been through so much~,” he cooed to Scootaloo, as he reached his hoof to her chin to raise her head. “Don’t you worry none for once this project is done... You will be a pure goddess~.” Scootaloo became petrified by his eyes, oddly red, like his fur. The eyes looked at her with a mixture of pleasure and murderous intent. She slowly closed her eyes and wished for Rainbow to come and save her. Bloodwing sighed as he left her side, ruffling his feathers slightly. “Now, back up the ladder, my dear, and we’ll try again. Black, if you will?” “Yessir,” Black answered his master as he grabbed the filly, pulling Scootaloo towards him. “You hear that? We’re gonna have so much fun~,” he sneered at her, as Scootaloo growled at the earth pony before her. Twilight’s library had never been so crowded this early in the morning, but every Bearer of an Element of Harmony was present, as well as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, wanting to know where their friend had gone. Each had saddlebags packed with the essentials, and in Rarity’s case, some not-so-essentials. “It’s the middle of summer, I doubt you’re going to need a cashmere scarf,” Twilight complained. “There’s no telling where those two brutes have taken the poor dear, and I want to be prepared.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fine, but if that load slows you down you better be ready to toss them on the side of the road.” “Are you crazy! These are top of the line!” “There’s a filly’s life at stake, you can afford to lose it.” “Well, I suppose... oh, good morning, Rainbow Dash.” Hearing this, Twilight immediately summoned a shield around herself, which was good, because seconds later a hoof bounced off of it. “You put me to sleep?” Rainbow Dash yelled angrily. “We lost a full night!” “A night we wouldn’t have been able to do anything on anyway. It was raining and dark, my spell can only work...” “We still could have done something, anything!” Most of the ponies immediately backed away, but Twilight held her ground. “Rainbow, please. I know you're anxious to get Scootaloo back, I’d feel the same if it were Spike being caught, but you need to think about this logically; if we had gone out last night, we would have been out in the rain and cold. My spell would have barely been effective, meaning we would have been running around accomplishing nothing. And on the off change that we caught up with Black and Blue, we wouldn’t have been in any shape to take them on, and we knew nothing about this Bloodwing... until now.” The cyan pegasus actually calmed down. “What do you mean?” Twilight lowered her shield. “I received a reply from the Princess.” My most faithful student, I do, in fact, recognize the name. Bloodwing used to work as an instructor in my School for Gifted Unicorns. You might have seen him a few times during your early days as my student. He was a brilliant pony, but he was quite unethical in his practices. When Spike hatched, he asked for a chance to examine him more intrusively, which I refused. Then, one day while you were in class, I caught him trying to take a few scales off of him. I fired him, but I never told you of the incident because I feared it would only worry you. That was the last I heard of him. I’ve never known Bloodwing to be particularly dangerous, but before Spike he also asked for permission in other experiments. He wanted to try and make life. I rejected it on moral principles alone, but he is no longer distressed by that, so it’s possible he succeeded. I will not try and stop you if you chase after him, though please keep a tracer spell on yourself at all times. I’ve also sent my permissions to the Royal Guard to give you free reign in your quest. Good luck, my most faithful student. Princess Celestia As Twilight looked up from the the scroll that she was reading, she saw Rainbow Dash’s face bearing the deepest fury she had ever seen her friend muster. Rainbow Dash snatched the scroll from Twilight, reading it herself before slamming it hard on the floor and stomping her hoof down with enough power to crack the wood. “If that mother-bucker does anything to Scootaloo he’s gonna wish he was Tartarus!” she yelled as she stared down at the tarnished letter. The ponies in the room were startled to see Rainbow Dash become so angry in an instant, but Twilight could sympathise with her in this matter. Had it been Spike instead of Scootaloo, she too would have done anything to get him back and destroy those who harmed her son. “Rainbow, he is not going to get away with this. I assure you,” she told her friend, who calmed down slightly as her frown was slowly disappearing from her face. Rarity decided to intervene. “Darling, we will get Scootaloo back and those ruffians will see justice for harming the poor filly,” she assured Rainbow Dash who let out a sigh to calm herself further. “Rarity’s right, sugarcube. Though ya musn’t jump the wagon and do somethin’ foalish now like what ya tried last night. We gonna do this together and we’re not gonna let those varmints get away with hurtin’ Scootaloo,” Applejack spoke as she joined Twilight and Rarity’s side. “Please don’t be mad at yourself, Rainbow, I’m sure that as soon we find Scootaloo and return her home, everything will be back to normal,” Fluttershy whispered softly to her friend, though her mind was in a tangle of fear of what those ponies did to Scootaloo. Pinkie popped up in front of Rainbow, causing her to jump backwards. “That’s right! Once Scootaloo is back, we’re gonna throw her the biggest party ever! ‘We’re sorry Scootaloo’... no wait! ‘Welcome Home Scootaloo!’ Or nonononono! How about...” As Pinkie continued babbling on with potential party name ideas, Rainbow could not help but let loose a small smile on her muzzle. She was fortunate to have friends like these in her life, friends she who knew would always have her back. She also knew that she needed to stop wallowing in guilt at what had happened and she was now determined to find Scootaloo, bring her home and set things right. Rainbow lunged herself to her five friend, as she held them all in a group hug. The five ponies shocked expressions turned to one of care as they held onto to Rainbow Dash. “You girls are the best.” Rainbow said. They were simple words but those words were all that were needed to express her gratitude. Rainbow and the others let go of each other and Twilight faced her friends, “Now, before we go girls, we need to do an inventory check on our equipment before we go. Once everypony is ready, we make for the exit and beyond.” “Ya got it, Twilight.” “Eep! Y-yes.” “Okie dokie lokie!” “Of course, Darling.” Twilight and the others turned their heads to Rainbow, “And you, Dash?” Twilight asked her innocently. A look of pure determination crawled onto Rainbow Dash’s face as she looked up, “One hundred and twenty percent Twilight! We’re gonna make them pay and get Scoots back!” she held her hoof high, which the others tapped together. Twilight walked back to her saddle bag and pulled out a check list, levitating each item she had in her saddlebag. As she was checking them, in the corner of her eye, she saw Spike packing his own bag. Her eyebrows arched in confusion and she lowered her quill and moved towards her son. “Spike?” she called out to him as he turned towards her. “What are you doing?” Spike looked at her with a smile, “Packing my bags... I’m gonna come with you, Mom.” he answered her, though she was a bit shocked to hear this. “Absolutely not!” she snapped at him. He recoiled slightly with a look of fear in his eyes. She regretted yelling at him and held him in her embrace. “Spike, you are my son. I don’t know what’s going to happen once we find Scootaloo, I don’t even know if we are going to be alright. I need you to stay here at the library until this is all over, here where you’re safe... understand?” she told Spike, who looked down at the ground sadly. “Yes, mom,” he answered Twilight, who proceeded to lay a gentle kiss on his forehead as she held onto him. “I love you, Spike.” Spike could not help but hug his mother in return as she nuzzled him affectionately, “I love you too, mom.” “What’s this?” Rarity said, levitating up a piece of parchment sitting on the top of Spike’s bag. Looking at the writing, she read out loud. “The brave knight charged forward at the vicious manticore, his sword raised high...” Spike snatched the paper away. “It’s...it’s just a little something I’m working on!” He was blushing. Twilight smiled. “You should really let others read what you’ve written, Spike, they’re very good.” Spike just wrung his tail awkwardly. “What about us?” Sweetie protested. “Scootaloo’s our friend!” Rarity shot the little fillies a look of pure anger. “No, I’m not letting that brute get another foal, especially my sister!” “That’s right,” Applejack nodded. “Ya two best stay right here.” “But-” both foals protested, but their older sister’s glares silenced them. Twilight nodded. “Good. Now then, I got a carriage to carry our things in. Applejack, you need to lead us back to the area where Blue and Black were last seen...” Spike watches as the older mares walked out the door before returning to his packing. “What’re you doing?” Apple Bloom asked. “Finishing packing.” “But Twilight just said you couldn’t come,” Sweetie reminded. Spike just gave a sly smile. “My mom worries too much sometimes, and she does stupid things when she does. So, whenever she worries, I just do the best thing. I don’t listen to her.” The two foals looked at each other. They looked back at the dragon with their own grins. “That’s a good idea.” Scootaloo was beginning to wonder if she died and went straight to some realm of agony and torture. For what seemed to be an eternity, she was learning how to fly. Every time she failed to perform to Bloodwing’s standards, she was whipped by Black, then injected with pain relievers by the mad scientist. When Bloodwing decided that she had learned enough, her collar was replaced and she was led to another room. Here, she was forced to buck several objects, starting with wooden boards that split in half and ending with metal that dented to their liking. Her legs felt like breaking with each buck she was forced to do, and even though she was able to leave a few dents her legs were swollen and showed signs of bruises. Still she never slowed, every hesitation meant another lash. By now red gashes were forming on her flank and back. And since it didn’t require her to maneuver as much as it did when flying, the collar wasn’t removed. “It seems that progress is ahead of schedule; her flight has improved by seventy percent at best, though of course since it is her first day having such marvelous wings there will be some bumps along the way, yes~,” Bloodwing muttered to himself as he was holding a notepad with his wings and walked towards the next room with Black and Scootaloo behind him. “Also her strength seems to have increased as the formula has introduced muscle growth to her legs, though not on par with an earth pony’s. Further testing is required, yes~.” Scootaloo was glaring at him with even more hatred than before. Though her glaring ceased when they entered the next room and she saw a podium which held a single glass of water. She was wondering what this was for, but she felt her throat becoming parched from not having anything to eat or drink in the time she was there. Bloodwing walked over to the glass. “Now, my precious... move this little glass towards you.” he instructed her, the order confused her. “With your magic ,silly. And if you get it right... you can have a drink of water~.” Scootaloo was dumbfounded, as she had never been able to perform magic. Though now she had a horn, which was forced upon her by these ponies. She looked at Bloodwing with a frightened gaze, “I... I don’t know how to use magic,” she pleaded, though she was whipped again by Black. “Now, now, Black... she just needs to learn that’s all,” he told him plainly as Black chuckled at the pony’s pain. “Now, my pretty, with magic, all you need to do is imagine you reaching out for the glass and dragging it towards you. Magic is just an extension of your limbs, but also the ability to perform great feats, yes~” he laughed with his mouth closed as he closed his eyes. “Now come along dear, we haven’t got all day now~”. As she looked at the glass before her, she remembered how Twilight would concentrate at a book and move it towards her. Concentration, that’s the one thing she needed most right now, so she looked at the glass intently. To her surprise it glowed in an orange aura, which made her happy for the moment. Though as soon as she smiled, the glass ricocheted across the room and smashed into tiny pieces. Black started moving toward her with the switch, but Bloodwing stopped him. The mad scientist produced another glass of water. Much to everypony’s surprise, he brought it to Scootaloo’s lips and let her drink. “There there, you did manage to lift it after all,” he said with a surprising amount of gentleness. Was it real or fake? She didn’t even know anymore. The water hurt her raw throat, but she gulped it down greedily. It was plain tap water, but it tasted so heavenly. Once the glass was empty, Bloodwing poured another and sat it on the podium. She wanted to beg for more, but fear of the switch kept her silent. “Now then, levitate again.” Sighing, Scootaloo focused with all her might. Her horn flickered a bit, sending out sparks. The cup started to shake, wobbling where it stood. Scootaloo was becoming rather tired from excessive use of magic, which she only used for the first time today. When the sparks ceased, she started sweat profoundly and breathing became slightly difficult for her. She could not explain it, but the feeling of using magic drained her stamina faster than running or flying would ever do. She closed her eyes slightly to relax and try again, but shot them open when she heard the stomping of hooves coming towards her. When she looked up, she felt a searing pain coming from her chest as Black decided to buck her right there. She flew across the room and collided with the wall with a thud, collapsing to the ground and coughing out blood spatters. “This filly is starting to piss me off!” Black growled at the helpless Scootaloo, though Bloodwing’s calm exterior turned to one of panic. “Oh no!” he yelled out to his subordinate, “You idiot! What did you do that for?!” Black turned towards Bloodwing, smiling smugly. “Teaching this foal a lesson, what else?” Scootaloo felt a sudden force of rage flowing throughout her whole body, as she shot opened her eyes and stood up from the ground glaring daggers at the startled earth pony. Bloodwing became frightened by her stance and turned towards Blue. “Blue! Restrain her before-” Before he could finish his words, there was a loud bang as the room was filled with an orange light. All three of the ponies were sent flying to the other side of the room where they were immediately unconscious as their bodies slammed against certain objects in the room they were standing. Scootaloo was burning with rage quite literally, recalling a time where Twilight burst into flames out of pure anger and frustration. The moment she calmed down, she blinked her eyes and looked across the room, confusion overriding her senses as she tried to understand what just happened. She saw the three ponies and carefully walked towards them, fearing they may jump at her any moment. She saw a key attached to Black and proceeded to rip it off his neck with great force and used it to remove her collar around her neck. When she got it off, she held it in her hoof and started to tear up slightly. She looked down on the fallen Black and clenched her teeth in disgust of this pony, and threw the collar against his head with all her might. Scootaloo saw the door and immediately ran, where she entered another room with a window. She used her wings to gain momentum and jumped out of the window, though before she reached it she was covered in a coat of magic energy. Smashing it and gaining a few cuts from the shards, she tumbled on the ground and immediately got up to view her surroundings. She could not see Ponyville anywhere, but she did see Canterlot in the distance. Scootaloo immediately galloped towards the city, hoping against all odds that Princess Celestia would help her out. Maybe even Rainbow Dash would be there, looking for her...
Chapter 5Twilight’s horn lit up as she cast her spell. “Now that the rain has cleared up, this spell should work correctly,” she explained. “Those two agents left a few mane hairs behind, and that should help us track them down.” “And why wouldn’t it have worked last night?” Rainbow Dash asked demandingly, still unhappy towards the fact that the rescue was delayed. “Just watch,” Twilight assured. Her magic flowed into a few hairs she had placed into a plastic bag. The magic swirled around, and then a bright flash sounded. When it cleared, the bag had become a bright orb of light, floating above the six mares, shining brightly. After a moment, it began moving forward at a decent pace. “Follow it. If we lose it, I can’t cast the spell again,” Twilight said in a hurried tone. The ponies obeyed, with Applejack and Pinkie Pie pulling a carriage behind them. The orb wasn’t moving too quickly, but it still required them to keep up at a brisk pace. “All that water last night could have interfered with the spell. In fact, it’s best nothing touches the orb at all. This spell is delicate, a lot can go wrong with it.” “I still say we should have gone out looking last night!” Rainbow Dash shouted to Twilight as she was hovering before the company, who could not see the frown etched onto their cyan friend’s face. “Hey, Twi,” Applejack called. “You sure we’re gonna need a carriage for this?” “We don’t know what Bloodwing is going to do to...” Twilight trailed off and looked at the cyan pegasus, who looked as if she had been slapped. “We... we better have a way to carry her if she’s... really hurt.” Applejack just nodded. There was silence. Nopony felt like talking. “H... how far away do you think they are?” Pinkie asked at last. “No clue,” Twilight admitted. “Scootaloo would probably want to keep as far away from Bloodwing as possible, but he could have relocated in two years. Still, if it had been that far away I doubt that Blue and Black got far in the rain last night.” “Well when we find them, I’m gonna send them flying to the sun!” Rainbow crudely said, pounding her hooves together as the memories of the two ponies came back to her. “Ooh! Ooh! We can throw a ‘Welcome Home Party!’ and then we can throw a ‘Happy Adoption Party and...” “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Twilight said. “We still have a long way to go.” She looked towards where the orb was headed. “And it looks like we’re heading into the Everfree Forest...” Exhaustion was one the many factors influencing Scootaloo’s body, along with sheer will and desperation. She had no idea on how far she had travelled into the Everfree Forest, nor did she have a clue on how far away she was from Canterlot. All that mattered to her was to get there as fast as possible, regardless of her body pleading for rest or food. After what may have been an hour, her stomach let loose a carnivorous growl and memories of her last meal entered her fragile mind. “I guess I’ll just have to ignore it for now...” she thought to herself as she progressed further into the enigma that was the Everfree Forest. Though her stomach did continue to rumble even louder than it had before. She looked around the forest floor to see if there was anything worthy of scavenging, but failed to notice anything within her sight, which was slowly becoming nothing but mist and haze from the constant tiring fatigue. Her body began to long for some rest, some sleep to ready herself for the journey ahead. “No! I’m not gonna sleep! I won’t!” The more she persisted, the harsher the pain in her legs became. Strangely, her wings were not affected by the agony that was coursing through her body. She stared back at the feathery masses on her back, ruffling them softly, wondering to herself if she could use them to hasten her pace. She turned to look forward, and reared herself in position. She jumped and galloped around frantically, flapping her wings as hard as she could. Small torrents of air started to form beneath her. She could feel the gusts of wind hitting her face as she went along. She moved around like a young inexperienced pegasus filly would on it’s first flying lesson. She suddenly felt her body being lifted upwards, but her eyes were closed from the wind. By the time that she opened them, she was already soaring high in the sky, the ground lying far beneath her. She could see the forest’s trees and the muck on the ground, more importantly she saw Canterlot in the distance. Her instinct kicked in and she flew towards the city. But not for long. Just moments later she felt herself descending. She desperately flapped her wings around in a torrent of feathers, but the ground seemed to come towards her at an increasing speed. She winced as her already sore, aching legs landed on the ground roughly. Tears escaped her eyes as she fought the pain. No matter how unpleasant this was, it was paradise compared to what awaited if Bloodwing caught up to her. Moaning, she picked herself up and kept moving forward. As she moved forward, memories of her last encounter with Rainbow Dash filled her mind, memories that were as painful as her body was sore. “I don’t idolize you anymore, Rainbow Crash!” “You’re giving me to him! I can’t trust you! You won’t protect me!” “I don’t want to see you again! You gave me back to them!” “I hate you!” Scootaloo was speechless for a moment before she lifted her hoof to her eyes and noticed that she was crying tears of regret. Regret for saying those hateful words to her mentor, even if she did mess it up, she wanted to help Scootaloo out in the end. Scootaloo closed her eyes slowly before opening them up again and releasing a stream of tears. “I’m so sorry...” Rainbow Dash felt a sudden sting in her heart and she clutched her hooves to her chest, groaning slightly with the others taking notice. She felt a stream of tears flowing out of her eyes and wondered what this meant. “Dash?” Applejack asked. “Ya okay?” “I... I don’t know,” she sighed. Rarity put a foreleg around her. “We’ll get her back, darling, I’m sure.” Somehow, Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to be assured. Meanwhile, in the back of the carriage, Spike, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle sat in silence, not wanting the adults to hear them , the only light emanating from a dying candle, just enough to illuminate their faces. “How much longer do ya think we have to wait?” Apple Bloom asked. “You heard my mom, it could take all day,” Spike reminded them. “Aw shoot, we’re missin’ a full day of crusadin’ here.” “It wouldn’t have been the same without Scootaloo anyway,” Sweetie said sadly. There was another silence before Sweetie spoke. “Hey, Spike? What was that my sister read at the library?” Even in the darkness, Spike’s blush was clear. “It’s... nothing...” “It sure didn’t seem like nothing,” Sweetie said, grinning playfully. Spike played with his tail a bit, looking flustered. “It’s just... after that whole incident with Rainbow Dash reading Daring Do, I asked what the big deal was about those books, I said anyone could write one, and Mom told me to prove it. So I wrote a story, and my mom said it was pretty good for my first time, so I just kind of... kept writing.” “Writin’...” Apple Bloom brightened up. “That’d be a great cutie mark!” Spike and Sweetie quickly shushed her. “We don’t want the others to know we’re in here!” Spike reminded them. “Sorry!” Apple Bloom whispered in return, “Ah’m just real worried fer Scootaloo... Ah mean, why did them ponies take her away in the first place? Ah ask Applejack about it, but she won’t talk none.” Sweetie hung her head low, “I asked Rarity too, but she says we didn’t need to know.” Apple Bloom shook her in frustration, “Pony-feathers! She’s our friend, of course we need to know what them ponies want with her and what they gonna do with her.” Sweetie and Apple Bloom looked to Spike, who was looking upwards as he let out a sigh, “Well... from what I gathered, they wanna do some experiments on Scootaloo.” Apple Bloom was about to shout before Sweetie stuffed her hoof in her mouth, “What do you mean? Experiment?” Sweetie asked Spike, whose eyes showed deep concern. Black moaned as he regained consciousness. He sat up, his head feeling like it had been split in two. Groaning, he rose to his hooves. Immediately, there was a sharp sting at his back, sending him back down to the ground. A swift kick at his gut silenced him, if only because it knocked the air out of him. Blue was his assailant, holding a whip in his mouth and looking at him with the same neutral expression that he always had. Bloodwing, who was right behind him, his face etched with rage. “Do you realize what you’ve cost us?! Subject Ten is missing! again!” Black rubbed the back of his head in an attempt to soothe the pain. “How long have I been out?” “Nearly an hour!” Bloodwing yelled. “Well, a filly that small couldn’t have gotten far...” Black recieved another lash, eliciting a groan of agony from the stallion “Don’t you remember that Rainbow Dash was going to ask for custody of her?” Bloodwing reminded. “You told me so yourself! Those mares, one of whom is the Princess’s designate, are probably scouring Everfree now looking for her!” “W-we can get her back,” Black said nervously. “You best,” Bloodwing growled. “That subject is not expendable. You, however, are!” Black gulped. “Now then, Canterlot Castle can be seen from here. In all likelihood, she will head in that direction. At any rate, I say it’s time we moved our operations back to the home lab with how powerful Subject Ten has become. I’ll fly on ahead and tell the boys to get everything ready. You search the forest and bring the subject back.” By now noon had rolled in, and the Bearers of the Elements were having a harder and harder time to fight the allure of sleep. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, used to extraneous work, were still fine, but the others were beginning to slow the signs of fatigue. “Ah think we need to take a break fer at least twenty minutes,” Applejack suggested, but was met with a rebuttal from Rainbow. “We can’t stop now! We got a long way to go and-” “Ah don’t need no rest Rainbow, but the others do!” Applejack retorted to her friend as she pointed her hoof to the others, who were panting and sweating profoundly as their legs gave in to the pressure, causing them to fall on their stomachs. Rainbow let out a sigh and decided to rest up high in a tree, but she could not get her eyes to close. “My back!” Rarity yelled out as she rolled on her floor dramatizing her supposed anguish to the others. Her friends however, who had been pulling a heavy carriage through the unforgiving wasteland that is the Everfree Forest, didn’t seem to be bothered at all. Twilight simply face-hoofed and shook her head in disbelief, “Well maybe if you didn’t overpack your saddlebags, Rarity,” she told her friend, but just continued to groan as she lay on the ground. The lavender unicorn lit up her horn again, causing the orb to stop. “Still, maybe we should stop for lunch.” “What? Come on!” Rainbow Dash argued. Pinkie’s stomach made a loud growl and she smiled sheepishly, “How about we have some cupcakes, too! I packed some in the carriage!” she suggested to the others, who agreed with smiles. Twilight made her way to the carriage’s door, “Excellent idea, Pinkie Pie,” she said to her friend as she opened the door and looked inside for any sign of cupcakes. She saw a basket with cupcakes and lifted it up, but she swore she saw a flash of green and purple where the basket stood but as she looked down again, she saw nothing there. Twilight shrugged it off and closed the carriage’s door as she made her way back to the others. Inside the carriage; Spike, Sweetie and Apple Bloom came out from their hiding places and let out a long sigh. “That was too close for comfort,” Spike whispered as he slumped on his back against the chairs of the carriage. “Ya can say that again, partner!” Apple Bloom muttered to herself as she was looking at the door for any sign of moment. Sweetie tried to look out the window, but was pulled back by Spike and landed in his arms. Spike and Sweetie blushed slightly as they let go of each other, but Sweetie was still upset with Spike. “Why did you pull me like that, Spike?!” she whispered to him in agitation, but Spike’s arms were crossed and his foot was tapping. “You trying to get us caught, Sweetie?” he asked her sarcastically. “No. I just wanted to see where we are,” she defended herself weakly. Back outside, the adults ate their meal, along with hay sandwiches packed by Applejack. Rainbow Dash had already gulped down her portion within a minute and was currently flying back and forth above the camp, waiting for her comrades to finish. “Easy there, Dash,” Applejack warned. “Ya ain’t gonna be no help to Scootaloo if ya wear yerself out.” “I’ll be fine, when are you slowpokes going to be ready?” “Rainbow Dash, really!” Rarity scoffed, but she calmed herself. If it was Sweetie, she’d probably do the same. “It’s only ten minutes.” Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes. “Ten minutes in the Everfree. You know what’s running around in here.” “Um, most of the dangerous creatures in Everfree are nocturnal,” Fluttershy explained. “The only really dangerous one still awake during the day are...” And then, and piercing howl ripped through the air. Everypony’s eyes widened. “...timberwolves,” Fluttershy said timidly. A snarl confirmed what they feared. A timberwolf stepped out from the trees, growling at the mares. Two more came out on either side of it, looking equally vicious. “Of course, they hunt in packs,” Twilight moaned backing up. “It’s only three,” Applejack declared, “We can handle...” Four more crept out, coming forward. “...never mind.” As the carnivores came forward, Twilight’s horn lit up, as the others got in a fighting stance. “Get ready, girls. We’re in for a wild fight.” One timberwolf jumped towards Fluttershy, who was too scared to react and closed her eyes expecting great pain. Instead she heard a yelp from the wolf and saw Rainbow Dash hovering before her, in fighting position. “Stay back, Fluttershy. Let me handle them!” Two more wolves jumped on the ponies, but one was caught mid air by Twilight’s magic, thrown against a tree and the other was bucked hard by Applejack. As soon as they were dealt with, two other wolves thought it best to attack Pinkie, but she was smiling deviously, as she pulled out her party cannon and shot compressed confetti at the fanged monsters. The impact of it made them fly across the forest, landing at an unknown distance. The one wolf remaining did not back away nor attack the mares, instead it let out a mighty howl which echoed throughout the forest. When it ended, more growling was heard and many more wolves appeared before the group, encircling them as they huddled up in fear. Applejack’s expression was beyond worried as sweat was pouring from her forehead, “What do we do, y’all?!” Fluttershy let out a small yelp, “Panic?” Rainbow simply shook her head and rolled her eyes upwards, “That’s your answer for everything!” Rarity was sobbing madly as she clung onto Pinkie, “Plead for our lives to these creatures? Maybe they have some sense of reasoning.” Pinkie’s mane hung limply in front of her face in long pink streaks as she held onto Rarity in return with fear overriding her system, “I don’t think a party will be enough for them!” Twilight looked to each corner and saw no way out. She was starting to lose her breath as the wolves came closer with each step. Memories flashed before her eyes, many of them revolving around Scootaloo. The memories of her son Spike, made her shed tears of sorrow thinking this was the end. Suddenly, a jet of green flame encircled the Mane Six, surprising them in the process. The wolves let out a torrent of fearful howls and some yelped in anguish as they were set ablaze by the flames. The timberwolves retreated to whence they came and the fires died down when the last wolf left the scene. “Twilight?” Applejack asked her friend as she was confused to what just happened. Twilight shook her head in confusion, “Wasn’t me.” Rainbow scratched her head, “Then who the hay was it?” “Me.” They looked at the top of the wagon to see Spike standing triumphantly, but his bravado disappeared when Twilight shot him an angry stare. In a flash of magic the dragon was in front of her, shrinking from his mother. “Spike,” she said slowly, in a tone he had not heard her use since the Owlowiscious incident. “I told you to stay at home.” “I... I know,” he said guiltily. “I just wanted to help get Scootaloo back.” Twilight sighed. “Where’d you get all this stubbornness from?” “From you, Mom... from you.” After a pause, Twilight smiled, despite herself, giggling a bit. “Well, I’m torn. I really should be tanning your hide for disobeying me, but you did save our lives...” she approached Spike and held him close, nuzzling him affectionately as he hugged his mother in return. “Wait a minute,” Applejack said, realization hitting her. It hit Rarity as well. The two went to the back of the carriage and opened it, entering inside. Seconds later, the cowpony emerged dragging Apple Bloom by her tail, and Rarity holding Sweetie by the ear with magic, both fillies squirming in protest.. “Now you both hush,” Applejack scolded. “You’re in enough trouble.” Rarity sighed. “I’d recommend holding off on it. Now that they're here, what they have to go through may be punishment enough.” Applejack sighed. “Ah know...” she hugged her little sister close. “Why couldn’t you stay safe?” “Scootaloo’s our friend!” the filly yelled. “Ah ain’t gonna leave her behind!” The cowpony placed a hoof on her head. “You...” “Um, we should probably get going,” Fluttershy said nervously. “Timberwolves don’t like to give up on a meal.” “Good idea,” Twilight said. “Kids, get back in the carriage. We’ll discuss this later.” “Did you pack any pepper for the food, Applejack?” Fluttershy asked. The cowpony nodded. “We better get it out and spread it around. That will interfere with their sense of smell.” “Ya got it,” Applejack nodded. As they exited the area they were in, Applejack used the grounded peppers to leave behind a trail to confuse any would-be-pursuers. After a few minutes of walking, Twilight simply let out a sigh and a smile slowly crept to her face. Applejack looked curiously at this, “Somethin’ wrong, sugarcube?” Twilight simply shook her head as she smiled, “He’s just like me when I’m determined to do something,” she said to Applejack, as she walked onwards with the locator spell still active. “Spike?” Twilight nodded her head, but Applejack noticed a tear escaping her eye as it traveled to her smile, “He’s growing up so fast,” she said to herself as she fought the tears back. Applejack smiled softly and laid her hoof over her friend’s shoulder, “They all do, Twi, even ma sis... important thing is just to be there fer the little boy,” she told her friend with sage-like advice, which was accepted fondly as Twilight smiled contently to her friend. Although, Rainbow overheard this and she was starting to think of Scootaloo even more. She had always wondered what it was like for Twilight to just one day accept the fact that Spike wanted to be viewed as her son. She also wondered how much Twilight and Spike’s lives have changed since last month when they had their moment. Other thoughts that entered her mind were those of Scootaloo. She thought of what she would do for her once she got her back, throw her a party, take her to Cloudsdale, teach her to fly, spend time with her, adopt her... she shook her head violently when that last thought came into her mind. Adopt her... before yesterday, she had not really given it any thought, but now since she heard of Scootaloo’s orphan status, a part of her mind wanted to take her in as her own. The idea itself was beyond frightening for her, for she was scared of messing things up. Though she thought she would make her happy, to have her role model take her in. Another part of her felt like Scootaloo really was hers, she really did feel a bond with the little filly she could not explain. As more thoughts came into her head, a sudden sense of regret crept into her mind. She had failed Scootaloo, and not only did she cost her her home, but it may as well have costed her life thanks to her stupidity. Even if she tried to reason with herself on why she did it, she knew there was only one inescapable truth. She failed a helpless crying filly. A filly she has grown to love. “Rainbow?” The athletic pegasus looked up to see Twilight giving her a caring look, the kind of look that would always leave her feeling weak and mushy. She couldn’t stand that look. “Yes?” “Thinking about Scootaloo again?” Rainbow Dash simply lowered her head. “We’ll get her back,” Twilight assured her again. “I don’t doubt that,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m going to make Bloodwing eat his feathers for kidnapping her. But... what about afterward? I mean, you know I want to adopt her... what if I’m no good at being a parent?” Twilight just smiled. “You’re already worried about it. That’s a good sign.” “I know, but...” “Rainbow Dash, you will do fine,” Rarity said. “I’ve been meaning to ask,” Twilight said. “Yesterday, you recognized their ID cards, or at least, you thought you did. Why is that?” The athletic pegasus kicked the ground. “Well...” Suddenly, the tracking orb began blinking wildly, twitching and flailing. “Wh-what’s goin’ on?” Applejack asked. “Somethings interfering with the spell,” Twilight said, panicking. “A large surge of magic.” “Can you fix it?” Rainbow Dash asked. “No... but I don’t think I have to. If there’s something powerful enough to interfere with my magic, it’s probably Bloodwing’s lab. We better look around.” By now, Scootaloo was sure her legs were going to fall off. Her muscles ached and begged for rest, but she pressed forward. She had stopped a few times when she found some berry bushes. She had eaten as much as she could, careful to leave no trace of her passing. But she was no woodspony, and she knew it. She must have been leaving a trail of some kind, one that Bloodwing could follow. Thankfully by now she was out of the woods. She could see the mountain in the distance. She briefly pondered what to do. Canterlot was only accessible through train and flight, which were options she didn’t have. Sighing, she pushed herself forward. She needed to get there, whatever it took. The party came to a halt in front of a building having no earthly business in the forest. Rainbow wasted no time and flew towards the door, ramming it so hard it smashed into splinters. Though she groaned as some splinters were found on her hind hooves, causing stinging pain with each step she took. Twilight shook her head and concentrated her magic on Rainbow’s hooves, engulfing them in a lavender aura and the cuts and splinters began to fade away. Rainbow shaked her hind legs slightly, grinning at the healing spell her friend performed. “Heh, that’s cool,” she commented to herself, but Twilight just stared blankly at her. “Rainbow, I know you are desperate, but don’t do rash things like that. Think before you act and-” “I thought before I acted with Scootaloo and look what happened!” she snapped at Twilight, who took a step back as her eyes showed panic. Rainbow took notice , softening her stance towards Twilight, waving her hooves at her. “I’m sorry, it’s just... well...” Twilight sympathetically smiled and placed a hoof on her shoulder, “It’s okay, Rainbow...” she told her friend, who landed on her hooves before her. “Now let’s go inside and find Scootaloo!” “Already ahead of you!” Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard Spike’s voice, and saw him standing in the doorway next to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. She was about to say her part but failed when they entered the building, leaving the others behind with their jaws dropping slightly. Though three of them were beginning to fume at each of their respectable family member. “That little whippersnapper’s askin’ fer it!” Applejack snapped as she galloped into the building, leaving the others behind. Rarity followed after her, “Sweetie Belle! You know you’re not supposed to go into strange places without me!” Twilight was still furious at Spike, just running into danger like that. A part of her felt a sense of pride for her son, taking such initiative. She just shook her head and sighed as she turned to her other two friends, “Come along, girls, we got a little filly to find.” “Okie dokie!” Pinkie replied as she bounced towards the entrance with her infinite happy-go-lucky attitude. “Um, okay,” Fluttershy said nervously. Scootaloo reached the base of the mountain. She looked up, unsure of what to do next. Trying to go through the train tunnels would be suicide, there was no room for her to dodge an oncoming locomotive. She could wait until a train came by and try to hitch a ride... “There you are!” She tensed up, spinning around. Black and Blue had finally caught up with her, and were galloping up to her, a restraint belt ready. She began to panic. She couldn’t go back. She looked back up the mountain. Far above her laid a rocky ridge, her only means of escape. Please let this work, she prayed, spreading her wings and crouching down. She gave a great leap, flapping her wings to gain altitude. She just missed Blue jumping for her. She landed on the ledge, breathing heavily. She looked down to see to earth ponies glaring at her. “Get down here right now, you little bitch!” Black yelled. Scootaloo instead looked up at another ledge. With another leap she was higher up. “Now what do we do?” Black asked. “We can’t climb up after her, and even if we could grabbing her could cause her to fall.” “Stay here. If she falls, catch her. I’m going to go back to the nearest town and take the train to Canterlot. I can get the others and we can catch her there if she makes it, or send Red and Yellow to get her down if she doesn’t. You have the horn seal?” Black nodded, setting the restraint on the ground and pulling out a metallic device meant for Scootaloo’s horn. “Excellent. I’ll send a chariot for you.” And with that, Blue galloped off. “This must be the main lab,” Twilight said, looking around the room. “It doesn’t look like anything’s happened here.” Spike shrugged, “Well a mad scientist wouldn’t have his lab out in the open, he would most likely have it in a secret room... away from the public eye.” as he spoke those words, the others looked at him as though he had just made the discovery of the year. “What? It’s just common knowledge, thats all.” “Spike, where did you learn this from?” Twilight asked him as she started looking around the room for any clues. Spike chuckled as he helped his mother looking around the room, “Well I was raised by Princess Celestia’s most prized student who also loves to experiment with spells and potions.” he told her bluntly, failing to notice the sheepish blush and smile forming on her face. Rainbow groaned out loud as she was zooming around the room, looking for any signs of entry to another. “Come on! If Daring Do could find her kidnapped niece in the Risen City, then I should be able to find my daughter and-” she stopped abruptly as she placed a hoof on her mouth, thinking to herself if she really said that? She noticed the others looking at her curiously, and she just continued looking for any indications. Pinkie Pie bounced around the room, then suddenly stopped and did a hoof stand waving her hindlegs in the air, “Pinkie Sense is tingling!” The other saw this and waited for a response from her as she came back to her four hooves, “That way!” she pointed to a clean wall in the lab. The others walked towards the lab and began to inspect the wall thoroughly. Applejack stared at the wall blankly before she too let out a groan, “What in tarnation are we all looking at a wall fer anyway!?” Apple Bloom however walked up to the wall and saw a few cracks in the wall, where she placed her hoof and applied pressure. The part where she pushed began to move backwards and the sounds of mechanisms moving could be heard and the wall began to slide open, leaving a trail of dust in the air where the open space stood. Apple Bloom beamed at her sister’s astonished face, “That’s what we looking fer.” Applejack grabbed her sister and ruffled her mane before nuzzling her, “That’s ma little sister fer ya right there.” Apple Bloom giggled slightly as her sister ruffled her hair, feeling proud for that moment of helping the others out. Rainbow walked towards the opening, “Great job, Apple Bloom,” she told the little filly, who was now beginning to blush from every word of gratitude she got from the others. “Now let’s get down there! We got to find Scootaloo and fast.” They walked down the through the secret passage, and began to make a downwards trip to it’s location. Sweetie heard a faint whimper. She looked around a bit and saw where it came from. “Spike...are you okay?” “Huh?” he said, jumping a bit. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” She knew that he was lying. Twilight performed a illuminating spell that shined so brightly that it lit up the entire passageway. It seemed to calm Spike down immensely. The lavender unicorn looked at him with a knowing smile, which Spike returned appreciably. “Thanks, Mom,” he whispered to Twilight, who smiled at his words. Sweetie arched an eyebrow, but decided not to push the subject. “Why would this guy have a secret room in an already secret lab?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but wonder. “Security, probably,” Twilight muttered. “If somepony were to stumble across this place, he’d keep anything that could incriminate him in a secret place. Everything up there was probably just window dressing.” The group of ponies came out into a room that branched out into several other rooms. “Spread out and search. If you see anypony, backtrack and regroup.” The ponies obeyed, spreading out. Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Rainbow Dash entered one room to find Scootaloo’s cage, with the leg shackles still laying there. “Oh dear,” Rarity muttered, appalled by the thought a filly was kept in such conditions. Rainbow Dash was silent. Her eyes were fixed on the shackles that lay before her, and she noticed the blood that was on them. Her face contorted as her rage was building up with every second that past staring at this abomination that held her Scootaloo. Her hooves landed with great impact on the shackles, denting them with her hoof marks. Rainbow closed her eyes, before opening them up again with a stream of tears cascading from them. She let out a cry as she continued to stomp the shackles, breaking them in the process but her hooves had suffered as bruises began to form. She sniffed as more tears were flowing from her eyes, and she felt a hoof descend on her shoulder. She turned to see Rarity looking solemnly at her, as she shook her head. Rainbow closed her eyes and let out a sigh to calm herself down, if only for that moment. “Psst. Hey!” Spike’s whisper caught their ears. “Mom’s found something. Follow me!” The three mares followed, regrouping with the rest to enter a room that Twilight and Fluttershy had chosen. It looked like the office of a madpony, which was fitting since it was Bloodwing’s. There was only a desk and a bed for furniture, but the walls were decorated in old newspaper clippings and hastily scrawled notes. “Look,” Applejack said, pointing. Rainbow Dash gave a gasp. It was her. A photograph of her as a filly, looking like it wasn’t long after she earned her cutie mark. “What the?” the cyan mare shivered. The thought that somepony had been secretly monitoring her for that long... Twilight read the notes. “Sonic Rainboom speed estimated at mach three... record breaking... perfect for pegasus attributes. Project genetic material sponsor...” As she read these notes out loud, her eyes began to dilate in shock at the information written on the paper. Rainbow was becoming very disturbed at this, and Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder as she was becoming worried for her friend’s state of mind. Spike was curious at this but he was nudged by Apple Bloom. “What is it, Apple Bloom?” Apple Bloom pointed to a few jars behind Spike, “Look.” He saw this and approached the jars but gasped loudly, backing away from the jars. Twilight heard him and handed the notes to Applejack, who thought it best to not let Rainbow see the notes she was holding now. She made her way to a frightened Spike and held him close as she show his eyes displaying fear. “What is it, Spike?” Spike just pointed to the jars, and Twilight let out a gasp too, but she went up to the jars to get a closer look. Inside the jars were scales, dragon scales, more importantly pink dragon scales. She examined each jar before finding more notes beside them. She took the notes and saw a picture of Spike, when he just hatched out of his egg. What was more interesting, she saw a picture of herself when she just received her cutie mark. She read notes that were written about her there. “Magic rating reading up to nine thousand... breaking record by five thousand... remarkable response to the entrance exam... perfect for unicorn attributes. Project genetic material sponsor...” “He must have taken these back when he worked at the castle,” Spike muttered. “What’s he mean, ‘remarkable results’?” Applejack asked. “Don’t ev’ry unicorn at that school hatch a dragon?” “Not really,” Twilight explained. “Most are given a fake egg enchanted with a few protection spells. If they manage to hatch it, they get a stuffed toy dragon. But Princess Celestia sensed my strength and gave me a real egg to hatch.” “But why do they care about Spike when making an alicorn?” Pinkie asked. “Is Princess Celestia part dragon?” Twilight shrugged. “Maybe he still has a lot of my magic in him,” she guessed. “Didn’t you know that curiosity killed the cat? Or in this case the pony?” Twilight froze in place as she dropped the notes to the ground, whirling herself to the door’s entrance and seeing two pegasi standing there. The one who spoke was a mare who had a bright yellow coat and a darkish yellow short mane, her facial expression showing nothing but malice. The other pony, a stallion, had a bright red coat with spiky maroon mane who held only a grin on his face. Both of them were carry what looked like arsonist toolkits, indicating they were here to erase what was discovered or what could be discovered. The others came into a defensive position, as the younger three members stood behind their guardians. “Now this is a surprise, two out of three genetic materials coming here at the same time,” the red one spoke casually as the yellow one laughed hysterically. “You got that right! Wonder if they want that little princess back?” “Who are you?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “And where’s Scootaloo?” “You mean Subject Ten?” the red one asked innocently, with the yellow one laughing wickedly next to him. “I. Mean. Scootaloo!” the cyan mare said through gritted teeth. “Aw, how cute,” the yellow one mocked. “Listen up,” the red one stepped forward. “The name’s Red. Got it memorized?” “Yellow,” the other said bluntly. “Great,” Applejack muttered, rolling her eyes. “We’re goin’ up against a whole rainbow.” “Just us. Now I suggest you all move.” “Why?” Rainbow Dash challenged. “There’s six of us and just two of you. Easy advantage.” “...Now you see, that would be the case if you were facing ordinary pegasi from Cloudsdale,” Red said as he and Yellow lowered their arson equipment. “But there’s one thing different about the two of us.” They got into a fighting stance, spreading their wings. “And what’s that?” Rainbow Dash challenged. “...Bloodwing hasn’t worked on you.” In a flash Red’s wings were aflame, fire dancing on his feathers. Then, much to their shock, they came off his body, spinning in circles at his side, looking extremely menacing. Yellow’s feather’s, meanwhile, sparked to life. They flew off her wings, each crackling with electricity, as they pointed at the Bearers. Rainbow Dash gulped. “That’s a pretty good advantage...”
Chapter 6Rainbow, in spite of the disadvantage they had, showed only bravery to the faces of the two pegasi who had somehow tapped into magic to give them elemental forms. She took a defensive position, with Twilight and Applejack standing by her side as Red’s flames were dancing around him. “Burn, Baby!” As he shouted out the words, Rainbow Dash and the others were encircled by a ring of flames, trapping them along with Red and Yellow. The fire touched the newspaper clippings and notes, burning them to ash. Spike, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle made their way behind Fluttershy, who only showed fear at the flames around them. “Com’ mere! I’ll make it all stop... ” Red called out to Rainbow standing before him. Rainbow decided to charge in, “You got a big mouth for somepony who's gonna be crippled for life!” She kicked him in the gut, and he went flying to the wall of flame. But instead of being scorched, the flames brushed off of him and he picked himself up, dusting his feathers mockingly to Rainbow. “You have got to be kidding me!” Yellow decided to make her move, and her feathers came out flying towards Twilight and Applejack, “Let’s see you dodge this!” she cried out to them as her flying feathers honed in on their targets. Twilight reacted by casting a shield spell encasing her and Rainbow in a lavender orb. “That’s useful... but that’s to be expected of Celestia’s little bitch!” Twilight released the shield and her horn started charging with magic, “You haven’t seen anything yet!” a beam of condensed magic shot out to Yellow, whereupon impact she let out a groan and fell to the ground. Though she immediately stood up again, dodging Applejack who thought it wise to try and buck her whilst she was down. Meanwhile, Red was facing Rainbow in what looked like a stalemate. His flames could not catch up to Rainbow as she was flying around him and fly-kicking him whenever she had a chance, but it seemed like the kicks themselves had no serious impact. Red looked behind him and saw Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie guarding the foals who accompanied them. He then saw Spike, and as Rainbow made another attack, he countered and sent her flying before she could stand up again. “Hey Yellow! Looks like they brought the doll with them!” Yellow turned to look at Red, confused at first but when Red pointed to Spike, she saw him and smirked at what she was seeing. Spike became even more afraid as the two looked at him with greed and wickedness. “Thinking what I’m thinking Red?” “Yep!” “Let’s take him in.” Red jumped into the wall of flame, surprising the company but Yellow kept her calm. With a sizzling sound resounding behind Spike, Red jumped out and grabbed the dragon in his hooves as he was hovering above the party with his bounty. Saying that this didn’t set well with Twilight was an understatement so big that not even Celestia could have seen bigger. Her eyes flashed an intense white as she levitated herself off the ground. When she spoke, it was in a booming voice that would have done Princess Luna proud. “Let. Go. Of. Him!!!” Before Red could obey, Twilight shot out a beam of pure magic which struck him in the barrel, sending him to the ground. Spike fell, landing safely on his mother’s back. Red recovered just in time to dodge another blast of magic, then another. The lavender unicorn kept coming, motivated by her child’s safety. Red shot his flames forward, but they bounced harmlessly off of Twilight’s shield. “Stand aside Spike.” she instructed her son, who immediately jumped off his mother’s back and ran towards Rarity and the others. Twilight’s fur began to sizzle and char as her rage built up and her whole body became a living inferno. Red was staring in awe at the unicorn’s magic, but that soon turned to horror when she fired a magical beam at him. He hastily dodged the beam, but when it struck the wall behind him, it exploded on impact nearly sending everypony save Twilight flying. “Screw this,” Yellow muttered, “we destroyed the notes, let’s go!” “Good idea,” Red said, jumping back through the flames and to the safety of the outside world. He parted a path for Yellow, who managed to follow through before the path closed, leaving the rest trapped. But only for a moment. Twilight’s sheer will activated her magic. With great effort, she manipulated the flames to step aside for them. Most of the rescue party ran out, stopping to catch their breaths. But not Rainbow Dash. She kept flying at top speeds, chasing after the two magical pegasi. After a few twist and turns, she was outside, just in time to see the two pegasi flying off. “Oh no you don’t!” she yelled, flying after them. She ended up tackling Yellow, wrapping her forelegs around her sides and locking her wings. The two began falling to the ground. “Tell me where Scootaloo is, or I’ll...” She never finished that threat. At that point, several volts of electricity ran through her. She let go out of surprise and pain, allowing Yellow to regain her altitude. Rainbow Dash, however, hit the ground stunned with her body going into spasms from the shock. Yellow swooped down to finish her off, but Red stopped her. “Forget it, we need to get as much distance between us and those other mares as possible.” Yellow snorted at this and yanked her hoof away, but looked down on the stunned Rainbow. “Consider yourself a lucky bitch! Try and follow us and you won’t be so lucky!” she sneered at her as she and Red made their way. Rainbow tried standing up, but her her hooves gave in and she fell to the ground yet again. “Buck!” Mountain climbing was not one of Scootaloo’s strong points, as she was struggling to not fall to where her pursuer were standing. Like a hanging piece of meat in a lion’s den, Scootaloo was desperately trying to make her way upwards to where Canterlot was and away from Black. “Come on down little lady, I won’t bite~” he yelled out to Scootaloo in a tone fitting to a wolf inviting himself to a sheep’s herd. Scootaloo just kept on climbing until she made it to a ledge, seeing that she was not so far away from the top. She rested on the ledge for a moment, till she opened her eyes and saw the whole forest before her. Scootaloo admitted to herself that this was a view to treasure, but under the current circumstances, she could not enjoy it properly. “Tell you what? If you come down now, we’ll let you see that Rainbow mare again... how’s that sound?” he reasoned to her, but he still got no answer as she was climbing further up. Scootaloo reached her hooves to another ledge as she made her way up and stopped momentarily. A smile crept on her face when she got up and stood on the ledge, looking down at Black, who was staring upwards at Scootaloo. “You promise I can see Rainbow?!” she yelled out to him, not caring if he promised or not. Thinking he struck gold, he smiled triumphantly for a moment. “I cross my heart, and hope to die~” he sang crudely to her. Scootaloo just stared before standing up, “Ok! Just give me a moment to jump and glide!” she backed away from the ledge, with Black rubbing his hooves in glee for his prize. As he looked, he smile immediately turned into a look of horror as a huge boulder came falling down from the sky. “Oh buck!” He made a dodge just in time, but where he stood was a miniature-sized crater with the boulder in the centre and Scootaloo jumped to the last ledge as she climbed closer to her goal. “Now get lost, you creep!” “You little bitch!” Black snarled. “Oh, when I get my hooves on you...if you thought I hurt you before...” Scootaloo just blew a raspberry and kept climbing. Rainbow Dash got to her hooves just in time to see Twilight and Fluttershy running up to her. “Are you okay?” the pegasus asked. “No,” the athletic mare snapped. “They got away!” “Yes... but we wanted that.” Rainbow just gaped. “What?” How can you say that?” “Because while you were fighting Yellow, she shedded some feathers and hair. We can follow her, and if she doesn’t think we’re following, she’ll lead us right to Bloodwing.” Rainbow Dash brightened up. In a split second, she threw her forelegs around her friend. “You’re a genius! Let’s get going!” “Not so fast,” Twilight said. “They’re flying now, we can’t all follow as easy. Spike’s sending a message to the Princess for a chariot for us.” “No! I’m sick of waiting! I’m going now!” “...I figured,” Twilight sighed. “I’ll cast the spell. Take Fluttershy with you, I can follow the tracer spell on you. Just be careful, and when you find Bloodwing, don’t engage him without us.” Rainbow grimaced, but nodded in agreement. “Fine. Think you can keep up, Fluttershy?” “If it will save Scootaloo,” she said with a determination she put on whenever she was standing up for her friends. Twilight finished her spell. “There,” she said proudly, admiring her work. “I programmed this to go faster, so you better hurry.” “You got it!” she saluted. Without another word, the two pegasi dashed off, Fluttershy barely keeping up with her more aggressive friend. Scootaloo finally reached the top of the mountain after much trial and error, which nearly cost her life. As she observed her surroundings, she took one last look from where she first started and was slightly baffled of the distance to where she was and to where the bottom stood. She jerked her head up quickly and turned back to the city of Canterlot, where she hoped against all hope to find any form of help. A part of her mind wished it was Rainbow Dash who would save her, but she had to face the reality that it was very unlikely to happen. As she walked to the city entrance, she noticed the guards were not present at their posts. This alerted her senses, for she knew that the guards would never leave their posts unless something catastrophic happened to the city or any part of Equestria. She carefully walked past the entrance and began to relax as she noticed the normally uptight rich ponies walking among the streets. They might be able to help her, but some of them might be working for Bloodwing, as far as she knew. Hope began to blossom in her as she further calmed her senses with her taking the first steps towards the castle, hoping the princesses would tend to her emergency. “Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?” “I don’t give a crap about your opinion, Red, let’s just get the bitch and teach her a lesson!” Scootaloo’s fur stood on end when she heard this voice, the same voice belonging to an earth pony that chased after her with his comrade. She slowly turned around and saw not only him and a red pegasus, but the other blue earth pony with a yellow pegasus mare. Black’s facial expression had anger written all over it, Blue just looked stoic as always, Red was looking somberly at Scootaloo oddly enough and Yellow’s mouth could not stop watering at the sight of Scootaloo. Yellow ruffled her feathers as she gulped in anticipation, “Is that little filly the one who will bring us closer?” she asked Blue as she leaned in rather lustfully against his frame, but he did not move an inch at this action. “Yes,” he answered her, not bothering to turn his head to his yellow companion who snorted and turned her head away mockingly closing her eyes for added effect. Red just closed his eyes as he shook his head, “Look kid... just come along with us, ok? Don’t wanna hurt you further here,” he tried to reason with Scootaloo, but she backed away and galloped towards the castle, ignoring the ponies she bumped into. Black nostrils flared as he started staggering, “That bitch is dead!” as he spoke these words, a hoof came flying to his head from behind and he groaned at the pain coursing through him. “Blue?! What the buck?!” Blue just glared at him, instantly silencing him in the process. “We need her alive and unharmed, is that clear!?” Scootaloo turned around and bolted, hoping to put as much distance as possible between her and the quartet of ponies sent after her. Seeing this, Yellow was off like a shot, flying after her target at top speed. This turned out to be to Scootaloo’s advantage. An alleyway wasn’t too far from where she began running. She darted inside while the elder mare flew past it, going too fast to stop. The filly made it to the fence at the end just as Red, Black, and Blue were coming around the corner. Black charged forward, looking ready to kill regardless of Blue’s instructions, but Scootaloo jumped up, flapping her wings to make it over her obstacle. Black ended up hitting the wooden planks. After a moment he violently banged against the barrier, shouting unprintable words. Scootaloo kept running as Red flew over the fence, calmly chasing after her. “Come on, kid, don’t make this harder than it has to be,” Red sighed. The filly ignored and kept running, but in her heart she knew it was a futile gesture. She was tired, having not slept and barely eaten all day. Every muscle begged for rest, which she knew she would have to give very soon. She darted into the street, pushing past the various elite ponies who only gave a few “Well, I never!” type responses to being pushed aside, most not even noticing her horn due to her going so fast. Red flew overhead, yelling apologies that her daughter was acting up. Scootaloo thought of begging for help, but memories of Ponyville flooded back to her. Blue and Black pulled the DFS scam, no doubt the others could as well. It was then that she saw her. Standing in front of an alleyway was Rainbow Dash. The elder mare looked frantic, as if she was looking for something. “Rainbow!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, running toward her. She dared look back for a moment, and was relieved to see she had lost Red. “Rainbow!” Rainbow Dash turned, and brightened when she saw who it was. “S... Scootaloo?” she stuttered as the younger filly jumped at her, throwing her forelegs around her neck. She hugged her back. “Oh kid, I’m so sorry! I never should have let those idiots take you!” “They’re after me! They’re...” “Okay, calm down, Rainbow Dash said. “No need to attract attention to ourselves. How many are there?” “Four. Two of them pegasi.” Rainbow Dash started to frown slightly, “Where are the other two, those two earth ponies that took you away?” she asked her calmly. Scootaloo looked behind her to see if they were there, and they were not. “They are also there, but quick, Rainbow! We have to tell the others about this now!” she told her as she let go of Rainbow, but Rainbow had one hoof attached to the shoulder. Rainbow just sighed before looking at Scootaloo, “There’s one little problem with that...” Scootaloo raised her eyebrow at Rainbow’s strange behaviour, “What’s that?” she asked her innocently. Rainbow closed her eyes and suddenly opened them as she looked maliciously at Scootaloo with an gleeful grin, “I’m not Rainbow Dash.” she told the filly, and slammed a hoof into her before she could make any movement of escape. As she fell the ground, her body went numb with spasms coursing through her veins and the imposter placed a bracelet on Scootaloo’s horn. The Rainbow Dash imposter suddenly groaned in pain as she shook her hoof to try and alleviate the pain from the bruise forming on it. “Ohhh! I told them they were sending in the wrong guy!” Just as the imposter spoke these words, the imposter’s body suddenly glowed and like water pouring from above and hitting an object in its way, the fur and mane started changing to show a white unicorn stallion with a golden brown mane. He looked down on his bounty with glee, using his magic to wrap another gag around the stunned filly’s muzzle just before lifting his head up to see four more ponies arriving at his location. “You!” Black yelled out to the white stallion, “White! How the buck were you able to catch her?!” he demanded to know from him, but White just shrugged and smiled coyly. “Good looks and charms always catches the ladies~” he said as he walked up to Yellow and placed his other hoof under her chin, which she just slapped away as she looked rather irritable by his actions. Yellow snorted as she saw Scootaloo still lying on the ground, “If that is true, then why don’t you have a marefriend yet?” she snidely asked him, as he just rolled his eyes and returned them to the fallen Scootaloo. Blue walked up to Scootaloo and hoisted her up his back, “Mission accomplished. Now we must rendezvous back the main base. White, stay at the guard post and disguise yourself as one of them. If you see anypony looking for this filly, lead them to a false destination.” White saluted at this command, “You got it,” he said as he trotted away, using his magic to form another perfect disguise. “Yellow, Black, Red... you follow me.” Scootaloo finally got her bearings together and tried to stand, but was pushed back down. She felt it, another restraint belt. She cried. She didn’t struggle. There was no point. She was caught again, and nopony was around to help her. The fabric was tightened, and she was hanging by Black’s mouth again. He was moving, following Blue carefully through the alleyways. She saw Yellow who was smiling in triumph, holding her head up high as though she had won a gold medal. The same could not be said about Red, who just walked behind Black and he looked rather miserable for whatever reason Scootaloo could not fathom at that time, nor did she care. Tears fell like rain from her eyes. They had her, and she knew she wouldn’t get lucky again. They’d suppress her magic somehow, or have failsafes for such an event as her blow out in the forest. A door opened, she realized. She was entering somewhere. This was it, Rainbow Dash would never find her now. Nopony would. All her exhaustion overcame her, her pain, her hopelessness. She blacked out.
Chapter 7Speed was her nature, and this would be the determining factor for her whether she would fail or succeed. However, it was no test for herself or any challenge, this was to save a filly’s life. A filly she had grown to love yet had failed during her most desperate of times. Rainbow Dash swore she was flying at a speed where a double Sonic-Rainboom could be seen, but not fast enough for her. Worse was her friend Fluttershy, who was not an experienced flier like her cyan friend. “Come on, Fluttershy! You can’t slack off now!” she yelled to her friend, who was flapping her wings rather slowly as sweat was seeping through her pores. Fluttershy wiped the sweat off as she panted for air, “I know Rainbow, it’s just-” “Just nothing! Those ponies are gonna hurt Scootaloo even more if we don’t hurry it up! You want them to hurt Scootaloo any more!?” Something inside Fluttershy snapped, as her eyes became blank before showing outrage beyond any measure. She bit her lips as she started to growl, releasing a scream, “Those. Big. Dumb. Meanies!” she flew past Rainbow, who was stunned to see her friend fly as fast as she could on a tournament day. She shook her head as she watched her friend set a course for Canterlot and decided to do a Sonic-Rainboom to catch up with her buttercream friend. Waiting was by far the most agonizing torture known to ponykind when somepony’s life was in danger. So it was for Twilight and the others, as they waited for their carriage to arrive from Canterlot. They waited at the building’s entrance, not daring to venture off into the forest for fear of their lives. As Twilight sat on her haunches, Spike was sitting next to his mother as he was fiddling with his claws in silence. She looked at him and became worried for her son. “What’s wrong, Spike?” Spike jerked his head up as he heard his mother’s voice vibrating through the air. He looked up and saw her eyes filled with concern, knowing that lying would not make the situation any better. “Well, I’m just worried for what they’re gonna do to Scootaloo,” he told her, though she knew that this was only part of his worries as he looked away from his mother’s gaze. Twilight draped a leg over his neck and brought him in closer. “That’s not all, is it?” she asked him as he let out a sigh of defeat. “What was he doing with my scales and why was he comparing your magic, Mom? I know you are a powerful unicorn, but what was it that he meant by ‘genetic material’? I dunno what he wanted with me or you, but whatever he's doing now, it scares me... it’s like I’m a part of this somehow and-” Twilight decided to nuzzle him as she saw the tears forming in Spike’s eyes. “No matter what it is, we’ll stop them,” she assured him. “I won’t let them get to you.” “...I guess you want me to go back home when the guards get here, huh?” Twilight sadly shook her head. “That’s not such a good idea. Those ponies tried to get you. If I left you alone, they might be able to catch you. You’ll come to Canterlot, and you’ll stay in the castle. In. the. Castle. Understand?” Spike smiled at his mother’s warning. “Yeah,” he answered. He remained silent for a moment before he spoke. “What did you think Red meant when he called me ‘the doll’?” Twilight shrugged. “Maybe he was just talking about all the other eggs that had dolls in them.” “...I don’t like this,” he moaned, clutching his stomach. Twilight kissed his forehead. “It’ll be over soon, Spike, I promise.” Scootaloo awoke with a heavy metal collar around her neck. She was back in a cage, chained up again. A seal was on her horn, and an additional shackle was around her sides, pinning her wings down. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth, brat,” Black snarled. “And consider yourself lucky I wasn’t the one who caught you, because if I was...” “Enough,” Bloodwing said, nearing to the cage. “Well, Subject 10, you caused me quite a bit of trouble. I didn’t expect you to need this so quickly. Hold her down.” Black obeyed, holding the filly down. The collar came off. She didn’t cry, she had no more tears left. The needle pierced her neck. Instantly, she screamed again, nearly deafening the two ponies working on her. This felt worse than the treatment, worse than anything she had ever felt. It was like her insides were being ripped apart and rearranged. All she could feel or think about was pain! She begged for it to stop, though her pleas went unheeded. How long it lasted, she didn’t know, but when it did, it just... stopped. That was it. It was over. “That should eliminate any further problems. Now, time for your next treatment.” “No,” she moaned, but didn’t do much else. Struggle was pointless, escape impossible. She just whimpered as the needle came closer. She could feel the steel needle pierce through her skin and felt the pain of her usual treatment. She hardly said a word, even through the pain. By the time she had regained her bearings, the collar had been placed back around her neck. Black brought up a bowl with gruel and dropped it on the floor, kicking it toward her. “Eat,” he said bluntly. Scootaloo backed away. “Listen, you little bitch, you’re lucky you’re getting food at all. Now eat!” “...I’d rather starve,” she said weakly. Black growled as he looked up to Bloodwing, who handed him an apparatus that he took hold of. Blue held Scootaloo down while her partner pinched her nose. After a few seconds, she couldn’t hold her breath any longer and gasped for air. This allowed Black to shove the device in her, with Blue bolting it from behind her skull. Scootaloo’s eyes widened in horror as she realized what was going to happen. She started thrashing against her chains as best as she could, but Yellow joined Blue in holding her still. Yellow forced her head upwards, with her eyes facing the roof. Black then stood over her and poured all of the gruel into the opening. Blue pinched her muzzle to force her swallow the food. She wished desperately she could cry right then, she wished she still had tears to shed. It was such a violation, how it was forced into her, how disgusting the taste was, how she no longer had any control over anything. She felt water being forced in next, her hydration, not as disgusting but equally as horrible to experience. “Hey! Will you cut it out!” Scootaloo eyes darted to where the voice was coming from and saw a mildly disgusted Red looking at Black with hostile eyes. “She’s just a kid!” he told him as he marched forward and shoved Blue and Yellow off of her. He then did something she thought she never would have guessed anypony here would do, he took the apparatus from her mouth. She coughed as she took her first uninterrupted breaths of air. This did not rid her of the foul taste she had experienced, and she splattered her tongue for further results. Red did something else that surprised her, Black, and Bloodwing; he took a tissue and wiped the residue of gruel from her face. “What the buck are you up to, Red?!” Black yelled out to Red as he stomped forward, with Scootaloo’s eyes displaying fear. Red however matched his anger with a menacing glare that petrified Black, if only for a little. “This filly is the trump card to the project, and traumatizing her further will just make things more complicated,” he told Black. He spread his wings which started to sizzle, but stopped when he felt a hoof on his shoulder. “That’s enough, Red! You are out of line here! It’s true, we must not harm our dear Subject,” Bloodwing told Red as he lifted his hoof from his shoulder and looked at Scootaloo with lustful eyes, before giving Red a piercing stare. ”But your actions are treading between madness and treason. You do not want to step out of line again, do you? We don’t want ‘him’ to be harmed in anyway now, do we?” he asked him rhetorically, with Red shuffling in his place and nodding only once. “Good, now both of you, back to your stations!” he ordered the two ponies to leave. Black was the first to leave, growling at Scootaloo before exiting the room. Red walked past Scootaloo and turned to her as he looked at her with sorrow in his eyes, mouthing: “I’m sorry.” Rainbow Dash was angry beyond belief. After following it all the way to Canterlot, Twilight’s tracking spell had bounced off a wall in an alleyway and had simply disappeared. “What was that!?” the cyan mare threw up her forelegs in rage. “We came all the way here only to have it lead us to a wall!” “Um, Rainbow Dash...” “I mean, we flew for nearly an hour, and we’re no closer to finding her!” “Um, excuse me...” “I mean, I thought Twi knew what she was doi...” “Rainbow Dash!” The pegasus jumped and looked at her friend, a bit surprised. “Uh, what?” “Oh, sorry,” Fluttershy said, back to her usual self. “It’s just that, um, there was a secret entrance back at the lab. There might be one here.” Rainbow Dash blinked. “Uh... right. I knew that,” she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. “Well, let’s look for an opening.” “Shouldn’t we wait for the others?” Rainbow sighed as she closed her eyes and opened them to reveal her eyes becoming moist, “The longer we wait, Fluttershy, the more Scootaloo is gonna get hurt,” she explained to her, before turning to the wall and tapping it for any button that may open it. Fluttershy was shocked to see her friend so emotionally distraught. Even with Equestria being on the line, she had never seen Rainbow Dash shed any tears. She wondered when she last saw Rainbow Dash cry? For as long as they were friends, she had never seen her shed tears of this magnitude before. Not when she was bullied by the other pegasi at the academy, not when she was kicked out of the academy, not when she had her spirit broken on multiple occasions, not even when she broke her limbs in accidents... she never cried. Fluttershy’s worried expression turned to one of pure determination, as she walked up to the wall and started investigating it with her lifelong friend. After what seemed like a half an hour, Fluttershy noticed a glowing lamp attached the wall and wondered. She reached her hoof up and pulled on the lamp, revealing it to be lever of some sorts. Just as before at the lab, the wall started emitting sounds of mechanics working and gears turning before finally opening up to the two mares. When the dust settled in, Dash turned to Fluttershy and hugged her with all gratitude she could muster. “You’re the best, Shy!” she said to her shy friend as she let go of her, failing to notice the blush forming on Fluttershy’s face. Fluttershy quickly turned to face the wall, “Um, it’s not a problem...” she whispered to her cyan friend, before slowly trotting to the entrance of the opening. “I just hope we’re not too late.”, she said to Dash, who walked up beside her. Dash stomped her chest and ruffled her feathers, “All I know is, we gonna get her back...” she said to her friend, before her tone became threatening. “And if we see those four ponies or even Bloodwing, they’ll wish they were never born!” she said with a murderous tone before walking off into the unknown. Fluttershy was now slightly disturbed and frightened by her friend’s behaviour. Even with her assertion training thanks to Iron Will, she could not muster anything as frightening as what her friend just pulled off. The Stare could be even in terms of the fright it gave off, but the aftereffect of despair in the victims mind she could and would never pull off. She turned around to see the sun setting and looked around the area they were in, spotting a piece of paper and a ruined pencil in a garbage can. She took them both and drew a giant arrow and plastered it to the side of the lamp, should the opening close after she went in. “Fluttershy! Hurry it up!” Fluttershy jumped and yelled out an ‘eep’ before rushing into the darkness, with the opening closing and leaving no trace of entry, save for an arrow next to the lamp. An arrow that would hopefully be seen by their friends... By the time Shining Armor arrived with his platoon, everypony was getting antsy. Relief swept through Twilight as she nuzzled the captain of the guards. “I didn’t know you were coming, Shining,” she said happily. “Uncle Shiny!” Spike cheered, hugging his leg. “Hey, kiddo,” he smiled, rubbing his nephew’s head. “And of course I came down! I’m not letting my little sister go after some nutjob alone.” “So, I take it you read up on Bloodwing?” He nodded. “I remembered seeing him a few times when I was in basic training. He creeped me out. And after you went to live in the castle... he cornered me one day. He seemed friendly enough at first, but he started asking about your schedule, all about how powerful you were and... if I had access to Spike.” Twilight shivered. “Let’s get going to Canterlot, I’m sensing Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy there. I need to tell you something.” The ride was a quick one, but long enough for Twilight to explain what she saw in the lab. Shining Armor looked disturbed. “The way he talked about you... he was obsessed with you. I can’t imagine what he’s doing to that filly.” “Then we better hurry. I’m still sensing the two in town.” “Why the hay would Bloodwing have a lab right in the capital city?” Applejack asked. “It’s so near the Princess.” “Who knows? Maybe he figured hiding in plain sight would work, maybe there’s some resource he needs,” Shining Armor shrugged. Then he sighed. “First the Changelings slipped by me, now this. My record is not looking too good.” “Well, I just hope Rainbow Dash hasn’t done anything impulsive,” Rarity sighed. There was a beat. “...We better speed up,” Twilight said. Scootaloo’s vision was blurry and her breathing had become hoarse from all the screaming she could muster. Now she was lying on a hay bed with her hooves bound together by shackles and her newly formed horn had a metallic seal on it. She could not generate any more tears, as much as she wanted to express how hopeless the situation was for her. She thought time would fly faster if she tried to close her eyes to sleep, but that was also not an option as the cell’s door opened and closed with Red standing before her with a popsicle in one hoof and a water bottle in the other. He hovered towards her, and helped her upright from her awkward sleeping position. “Here you go, kid,” he whispered to her as he opened the water bottle and placed it gently to her mouth, which she hesitantly accepted. Feeling the ice-cold liquid enter her mouth and traveling down her throat, she bit on the bottle’s top and jerked her head upwards with the bottle still latched in her mouth. She gulped as many times as she could, but water overflowed from her mouth when the bottle emptied. When she was done, she released the bottle from her mouth as it fell to the ground with a thud and she sighed in relief. Scootaloo looked back at Red, who was smiling at her. Though the peculiar thing was that his smile was sincere, and had no sense of malice. Red took the popsicle and unwrapped it, revealing it to be pure white. “Eat it, before it melts.” he instructed her, which she did as she leaned in and took a lick of it. It was sweet like any ice cream was, but the aftertaste had a salty flavour to it. It was delicious. Scootaloo took a bite of it, with her teeth freezing from the sudden frost, but she didn’t care... she needed something sweet after that gruel experience. After she was done, Red took another tissue and wiped what had remained from the ice cream from Scootaloo’s mouth. “Why?” she asked him as he removed the tissue from her face. “I don’t get it... tell me, why are you doing this?” she asked Red, who just sighed as his ears drooped slightly. Red looked up to meet Scootaloo’s eyes, “Just because I do this job, doesn’t mean I like it. Besides, you been through enough for one day,” he said dismissively as he stood up and turned to face the door. “That’s not all there is, is it?” Red just stood there before turning back to Scootaloo, frowning slightly at the filly’s insight. “That easy to read, huh?” he asked her coyly. “What does Bloodwing have on you?” she asked him as he looked down on the floor, not making any sound. “If you escape and I come out of this alive, I’ll tell you,” he explained to her as he turned around again to walk away. Scootaloo, however, was still curious about one thing, “Is Red even your real name?” she asked him. The silence in the room was so intense, a pin could be heard falling. “No,” he finally said as his hoof rested on the cell’s door. “What is your real name?” Red stood there for a very long time before turning around and looking at the filly with an unamused face, which slowly turned into a smile. “My name is... Blaze... got it memorized?” he asked her as he tapped a hoof against his head. Scootaloo nodded before he finally left the cell. Just as he got away from the cell door, Blaze stood still in deep thought as he continued to frown in thought of what he just told the filly. Just a few hours ago, he did not even consider her a pony, merely just a test subject for his superior’s schemes. But hearing her cry, and seeing the look of despair on her face reminded him of something. Something he hoped to never see again. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy carefully flew through the dark hallways. Every slight creak or sound sent them flying up toward the ceiling. They couldn’t get caught now. They carefully kept moving until they saw him. Red was walking out of the room, closing the door behind him. He seemed... upset, actually. It was confusing, to say the least. As soon as he was gone, Rainbow Dash flew up to the door and tried to open it. It was locked, she realized too late, and it was steel, nothing that could be broken through. Still, there was a small hatch in the door, allowing Rainbow Dash to open the door and look inside. She brightened. “Scootaloo!” Shining Armour led his sister and her friends through the gates of Canterlot. “Don’t worry, we have the entire Royal Guard on standby. Do you still sense where Rainbow and Fluttershy are?” “...Vaguely,” Twilight admitted. “It seems it’s being blocked.” Rarity hit her head with a hoof. “Rainbow Dash probably did something to disrupt it. She’s always so reckless.” Shining Armor sighed, looking through the crowd. He frowned. “There should be guards here. What’s going...” he trailed off when he noticed a single guard running up to him. “Soldier, what’s going on?” “Sir, the posts needed to chase after a thief that ran by this entrance, nothing wrong.” Shining nodded. “What’s the status on finding Bloodwing?” “Still ongoing, Sir, we have our soldiers looking through the whole of Canterlot for the description of Bloodwing and his accomplices. So far nothing has been reported in, Sir!” the guard answered his captain, but Shining had an odd feeling something was wrong. Twilight decided to march up to her brother’s side, “Have you seen a little orange filly around here?” she asked the guard, who was looking at her in confusion. “I have not, ma’am,” the guard said dismissively, though Shining could have sworn he say a slight smirk on his face. “Private...” Shining began to speak in a rather hoarse tone. “Sir?” Shining looked down on the guard, “What is the code of the Private’s Vaults?” he asked the guard, who gulped slightly. “That Sir would be... 1025471,” he said as he closed his eyes and opened them again only to see Shining’s face up close to his. “Wrong answer.” The guard suddenly found himself a navy aura and he was lifted in the air, and another shockwave entered the aura causing the guard’s coat to simply melt off and revealing a shocked White in the aura. “How did you know I was a fake!?” White asked Shining, who just gave him a wry smile. “I didn’t, I just saw signs that were not guard-like at all... and I know my men quite well. They do not act that way,” Shining told him as Twilight was charging her own horn. “Where is your base?!” she asked him threatenly but White just chuckled at the mare before him. “You seem pretty lively,” he answered her casually, but a beam of magic flew to his gut and the aura around him disappeared, causing him to fall on his haunches and coughing slightly. “You pack a punch, lady.” “Tell us where Scootaloo is or you will be a cactus for life,” Twilight told him as her horn charged again. At that, White frowned. In a flash, he was back on his hooves. “Silence, tramp!” And then he shimmered. Water erupted in large streams around him as he grinned evilly. “You better pray you can swim!”
Chapter 8Being hit by several square pounds of water wasn’t something anypony had been expecting that day, but nonetheless that’s what happened. Twilight and Shining Armor were the ones hit, and went sailing over the rest of their party in an impressive bound. Applejack was the first to react, rushing in, but a jet of water came up out of the ground beneath her, slamming into her stomach and sending her up into the air. “Kids, go to a safe distance,” Pinkie told the three youngest members of the rescue party. They nodded and ran for cover. White paid them no heed, he summoned several orbs of water over the remaining members of the group. Luckily, they all managed to dodge. Pinkie was the next to react, whipping out her party cannon and letting loose a blast. Out came not confetti, or glitter, but what appeared to be pink cake frosting. Another orb of water burst right through it, sending the sticky substance in all directions. Another blast saw ice cream emerge. Again it was deflected. A third ball of streamers did the same. “Okay, are you honestly expecting to hit me?” he said, annoyed. “No, but I am expecting to distract you.” This sentence registered in his brain a split-second too late, as a recovered Applejack hit him in the side with a powerful buck. Staggering sideways, he didn’t recover in time for a second strike. He went tumbling, but rolled right back onto his hooves. Applejack charged forward as White summoned a jet of water once more. She dodged to one side, only to be hit by another jet to the first’s side. White’s triumph was short lived as Twilight took the moment to return to battle. A blast of magic came forward, but more streams of water protected him from the unicorn’s attack. But only that unicorn. At that moment Rarity, forgotten because she stepped back at the beginning of the fight, marched in and lit up her horn. White summoned more streams in an attempt to block, but it failed because what Rarity cast wasn’t an offensive maneuver. A bright flash blinded White’s eyes. He yelled in surprise and pain, covering his eyes. This left him wide open for a right hook from the fashionista. Stumbling back, he suddenly hit something hard. He opened his eyes, adjusting to the light in time to see he was trapped in one of Shining Armor’s shields. “Let’s see you escape from that!” White smirked. “If you insist.” At that point, several pounds of water pressure erupted from him, hitting all sides of the shield. The pressure was too great, and the barrier collapsed like broken glass. White landed on his hooves, but Twilight decided to shoot a beam of magic at him. He was quick enough to dodge it, sending a stream of water to her. On impact she flew to the wall and yelped in pain as she fell to the floor. “No hard feelings,” White said to Twilight as he charged towards her, enveloped in water. Before he could reach Twilight, he felt something collide at his side and he was sent flying to the other side. Once he got his bearings right, he saw Applejack charging towards him and bucking him straight in the face. His hooves came up to his face and he started groaning as he was rolling on the floor in pain. “How’d ya like that, ya li’l varmint!?” White gave an honest answer: he slammed an orb full of water directly into the farmpony’s face. As Applejack stumbled back, he got to his hooves in time to dodge an attack from Rarity. He slammed a hoof against the fashionista’s face, sending her to the ground. Twilight was up next, tossing every offensive attack she could think of. White either dodged them all or blocked. Eventually he got another strike, sending Twilight to the ground. What he did next was especially cruel. He summoned a stream of water and sent it directly at Twilight. It forced itself down her throat, entering the wrong pipes and causing her to choke and sputter. “Stop!” Shining Armor yelled, running toward White with murderous intent. Just as he was about to tackle him to the ground, however, White jumped straight in the air. As he stumbled to a stop, Shining Armor realized too late what White’s true intent was. The evil unicorn knew full well he didn’t have the time to successfully drown Shining’s sister; he just needed one of them to charge in blindly. He looked up to see White summoning more water from his hooves. He pointed straight down at his foe. “Thirsty?” With that, Shining Armor was slammed in two directions, above and below, by a violent barrage of water. The captain of the guard felt his bones bend, and he felt his organs about to pop. Once it was over he fell to the ground, moaning in pain. “Aww, you’re still alive... well, you’ll stay down for the rest of the...” A blast from the party cannon stopped him. It didn’t strike, he managed to avoid it, but it annoyed him nonetheless. “Okay, you...” White began, before Pinkie fired again. White dodged, then summoned a jet of water from where Pinkie was standing. It engulfed the pink pony for a moment, putting her out of sight. When it cleared, Pinkie simply fired again. Just before the ball of confetti struck him, he realized Pinkie had somehow been quick enough to scoot herself and the cannon back. The party favors covered him as he stumbled across the ground. Shining Armor, who had been even more resilient than his opponent had given him credit for, took the initiative and jumped in the air, covering himself in an aura of magic. White saw him coming and rolled out of the way, with Shining hitting on the ground next to him. A violent shockwave erupted from the spot that Shining landed on, and a miniature crater was formed where he stood. White got back on his hooves and shot a few more streams of water to him, but Shining kept blocking them with his shield magic. “Think fast, boy!” White shouted out to him as another stream of magic hit him, but instead it curved and was heading straight to Twilight. Shining immediately shot the stream with his magic and he turned to White with livid eyes. Another aura of magic formed around him and he galloped towards White, who was shooting streams of water at Shining. It was no use, the water simply bounced off of Shining once it made contact with his aura as he sped up his gallop. He collided with White, and the magical aura exploded, sending both ponies flying in the opposite direction. “Shining!” Twilight gasped, and she quickly caught her brother with her magic and landed him safely next to her. “Oh my gosh!” Twilight panicked at the state her brother was in, with number of bruises forming on his body and his coat burned from the explosion. She immediately cast a spell on him that enveloped his body with a soothing aura and the wounds started healing, though very slowly as she was no nurse. “You gotta pay attention to your enemy first, nerd!” Twilight turned to the voice of White and a ball of water slammed against her frame, causing her to skid across the area. Luckily she cast a spell on her that acted as a temporary shield, though her concerns grew when she saw White make his way towards her. He summoned more balls of water and sent them towards her, but she was quick at her hooves in dodging them. Applejack saw her chance and decided to act. She ran up to a surprised White, and quickly slammed a hoof against his face, which caused him to stumbled slightly. Another hoof hit him again on the other side of his mouth, making him recoil from the strength of this earth pony. She reared herself up and bucked him hard on his muzzle, sending him flying and landing on the floor hard with his hooves massaging his face. She looked down upon him and let out a ‘hmph’ as her nostrils flared in disgust at the pony before him. As White was rolling on the ground in pain, the other decided to charge at him with full force. She got close enough to trample him before a ball of water hit her, sending her on her back. The sadistic unicorn smiled as he rose to his hooves. “You know, for a backwater hick, you’re pretty--” The sound of the party cannon firing stopped him, He spun out of the way of a ball of chocolate cake and flew towards Pinkie, jets of water erupting from the ground. He ended up right next to her. “Don’t you touch her!” Rarity yelled, dashing toward them. “You bru--” At that point, water erupted all around him, sending the two mares into the air. “Like it?” he mocked. Another shield formed around him. He saw Shining Armor, smirking heavily. “Cute trick, but haven’t you learned...” As it turns out, he had. Shining tightened the shield, squeezing White into a ball. Cursing, he summoned his water to break free. He was out in seconds, but it was all the distraction needed. Shining ran forward and smacked him with a hoof. He went tumbling back, only to be hit by Applejack. He fell into a blow from Twilight, who blasted him on the ground. “Oh, that’s it!” he snarled angrily. His body began to shimmer. Then, suddenly, water emerged from him. Water that took the shape of a unicorn stallion. It was White in body shape, but made entirely of liquid. Another came, then another, then another. They spread around the arena, dozens sliding around. “Let’s see you dance with these.” The water forms came charging at the group, who took up defensive positions. One form came up to Pinkie and she fired her cannon to it, but it absorbed the cake and was unharmed. “Hey! That’s not fair!” she yelled out as she shot more cakes at the form, but it was to no avail at all. Applejack just bucked the forms, only to have them regenerate and she started to become extremely tired. Rarity came to her rescue as she shot some beams at the forms, but they were ineffective due to regeneration. Shining and Twilight fought their way to their friends, as Pinkie came dashing to them too. Together they were encircled by the forms and White looking triumphantly at the back. “Shining, I got an idea!” Twilight said to her brother, who looked at her for a brief second before turning to the forms. “What is it?” “Form a shield around us when I say ‘now’, ok?” “You got it.” White had no idea what they were planning, but he just rolled his eyes. “Let’s just end this,” he said nonchalantly as the forms came in closer. “Now!” Shining activated his shield, but before it reached the ground, a trail of lightning escaped Twilight’s horn. It traveled at the speed of light to the forms and to White, who standing still buzzing for at least five seconds as he was being shocked with his other forms in the process. Once it was done, he collapsed to the floor, with his legs twitching and his coat burned slightly thanks to the electricity. The water forms dissipated and the water began to evaporate, leaving White behind. White groaned as he got up... only to fall back to the ground. He looked at his right hoof and saw it turning into liquid. Crying in shock, he looked all over himself as he began to leak, so to speak. “No way... I can’t... lose!” As he spoke these words, his body became water entirely and it evaporated in the air. The group looked on in confusion and horror at what just happened before them. “Did he just die?” Shining asked out of the blue as Twilight walked up closer to the site where White had been. She looked at the floor, and frowned slightly before looking up at her brother. “Seems that way, whatever magic he was doing, it came at a price,” she said to him as she walked back the others. Spike came running to her, and she caught him in a hug. “Mom! Are you ok!?” he asked his mother, as he looked up to her with moist eyes. Twilight just smiled warmly at this sight, and she blinked once before grinning at her son. “It will take more than one insane pony to take me down.” “Hate to break up the tender moment, but Scootaloo’s still out there,” Shining Armor pointed out. “And whatever was put into that unicorn was likely put into her.” The group tensed up. “What do you think we should do, Twilight?” Rarity asked. Twilight nodded. “We better all go to the palace. We can get patched up, and I can find something that can help me lock in on the tracer spell on Rainbow Dash.” “And we need to find out what that maniac did with my soldiers," Shining noted. "We better get moving. “Scoots!” Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash who sped from the door to her bed’s side. Scootaloo however looked away as she shied away from the presence of the cyan mare. Rainbow was confused by this gesture and prompted to place a hoof on her, but it was shook away as Scootaloo’s body moved further away. “Scoots? It’s me, Rainbow! I’m here now!” She hesitantly looked at Rainbow, and she could see the concern in her eyes. Rainbow’s expression turned from concern to horrified as she gasped at Scootaloo’s form, and Fluttershy looked away. Scootaloo wanted to shed tears, but all she could do was clench her teeth as her tear ducts were dried out. Suddenly, a pair of wings and forelegs encircled the weakened filly’s form. She felt herself shake, but it was not her moving. The tremors were coming from Rainbow Dash, as she sobbed into Scootaloo’s mane with her feathers forming a cocoon for the two of them. “I-I’m so sorry, Scoots!” she muttered as she raised her head and opened her eyes to reveal bloodshot eyes that could only display sorrow and guilt. Scootaloo looked into her eyes but Rainbow immediately shut them and buried her head in the filly’s mane as she sobbed further. She did not care of her image as a pony who never cried, nor did she care if she was to be called out for it later on. The moment she laid eyes upon Scootaloo was the moment she realized just how much she had failed her. What made it worse was that none of her friends blamed her for it, and something inside told her that Scootaloo would forever hate her. “W-what have they done to you?!” she whispered as her tears landed on top of the filly’s head. Scootaloo’s lips quivered as she felt the warm embrace of Rainbow Dash. It was as though it were an eternity since she felt caressed like this. She heard a yelp coming from the door and was held by another pair of wings as Fluttershy joined in hugging Scootaloo. Newfound tears were present in her eyes, and she lowered her head into Rainbow’s chest. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow, both of their eyes bloodshot from tears that have left their eyes, and they both looked down upon Scootaloo, who only tried to worm her way out after seeing the two mare’s pair of eyes stare at her. “Scoots?” Rainbow began to speak as she still held Scootaloo, but felt her moving and trying to force her way out. “What’s wrong Scoots? You don’t need to worry, I’m here now and-” “Y-you must think I’m a freak!” Rainbow and Fluttershy gasped as Scootaloo spoke these words. Rainbow shook her head in disbelief and Fluttershy placed her hooves over her mouth as it lay open. “Scoots, what are you talking about?!” Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow’s shocked face and only mastered a glare for a second, “You must think I’m a freak now because of this horn!” she shouted at her, though she coughed as her voice became hoarse from all the screaming she had done that day. Rainbow was not going to stand for it. Her shocked face turned into one of pure determination, and she drew in the filly closer to her. She felt a sudden chill from Scootaloo’s shackles as her frame was now pressed against hers, but she ignored it because of what the filly needed right now. “Scoots, I don’t know what they did to you... but I promise you we’ll fix this and you’ll be back in Ponyville... back home,” Rainbow Dash said softly to her, as she stroke the filly’s mane that had become dusty from Celestia-knows-what. “Right now, you need to tell me, where can I find the keys to your shackles?” she asked the filly as she looked down on Scootaloo. Scootaloo lowered her head slightly, “Well, that Black and Blue are always close to that Bloodwing jerk... so they may have the keys on them,” she explained to Rainbow as she was listening intently to Scootaloo’s words. “I’m not sure about the others, but there is a yellow pegasus who works here,” she explained further, but she saw the scowl on Rainbow’s face as she mentioned Yellow. “I don’t think Blaze has them cause-” Rainbow’s ears perked up at Scootaloo’s words, “Wait! Who’s Blaze?” she asked Scootaloo as she leaned towards the filly’s head. “T-the red one. He says that’s his real name... he was in here earlier...” Scootaloo answered Rainbow, who became slightly worried at this news. “Did he hurt you?” Rainbow Dash demanded as she placed her hooves on the filly’s shoulders. Scootaloo shook her head, “No, he gave me water... and ice cream...” Scootaloo replied, letting off a small smile at the sudden kindness he did. A silence followed after that. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow, who could only frown at the filly’s information. “Well... we still shouldn’t trust him. I’ll go find Bloodwing, and then we’ll get you out of here. Fluttershy, you stay here with her. I’ll be back.” And before Fluttershy could stop her, she flew off. Rainbow Dash turned and weaved through the hallways, staying toward the ceiling and as quiet as possible. She was determined to find the keys and get Scootaloo out of this forsaken place as fast as she could go with the Sonic Rainboom. Just as she turned around another corner, however, she was assaulted by a bolt of lightening that sent her to the floor. Twitching in pain, she looked up, just in time to see two more bolts coming at her. In a flash she flew back, dodging the two bolts. She wasn’t surprised to see who was responsible. Cantering towards her, was a familiar yellow pegasus mare with a malicious grin that emitted a murderous lust in its wake. “You!” Rainbow spat as she took a defensive position. Yellow was beginning to snicker softly which slowly became a hideous cackle as she flicked her head backwards. “Well, well, what do we have here?” she asked in a false cooing tone. Rainbow’s nostrils flared as she stomped her front hoof, ready to attack her opponent. “Where are Scootaloo’s keys?” Yellow just closed her eyes as she chuckled at the question thrown at her, “Aw now, why must you try and take her away? I’ve gotten kind of attached.” she sneered at Rainbow as she licked her lips. Rainbow glared with the utmost fury at Yellow as her temper was rising, “She’s my Scootaloo! Now gimme the keys or else!” Yellow grinned as she waved her hoof in front of her, “Tsk tsk tsk...don’t you remember? You kicked her out like a piece of trash. She’s our property now!” Yellow said as she looked upwards dreamily and smiling sickly. “The things we’ll do to her-” Rainbow threw a punch at Yellow, but she was too quick and dodge it effortlessly. Rainbow’s body began to shake uncontrollably as wrath took control. “Listen, you little skank!” Rainbow spat, “You’re not hurting her anymore! I’m not letting her stay here any longer... and I’ll take you down if you come in my way!” Yellow just closed her eyes as she shook her head with a devious smile,“Of course! You’re the hero, so you have to rescue her.” she said as she looked up to stare into Rainbow’s eyes. “Although...” Yellow charged forward and attempted to strike Rainbow with her hooves that were energized with lightning, but Rainbow backed away fast from her reach. A large blast of lightning suddenly shot from her body, travelling towards Rainbow fast. She barely had time as she rolled to the side to get out of its way. Yellow stared down at the alerted Rainbow as her wings furled and lightning shot out of them, hitting and cracking the walls around her, “...I’m the villain, so I will have to kill you right here and now!”
Chapter 9As she sat with Scootaloo in the cold cell, Fluttershy did everything in her power to put the filly’s mind at ease. She held onto her and started humming a lullaby to Scootaloo, which had instantaneous results as she was able to calm herself down. Scootaloo furled her wings slightly as Fluttershy let go of her and she looked up to the caring pegasus’s face. “Fluttershy?” “Yes, Scootaloo?” Fluttershy replied to the weakened voice of Scootaloo as she lowered her head to hear the words properly. “D-do you think Rainbow will be okay?” she asked feebly as her throat was burning slightly. Fluttershy fidgeted slightly at this innocent question, for she honestly did not know. She knew however that she had to install hope into the filly, even if it was a slim chance. “Scootaloo, there’s one thing you must know of Rainbow Dash by now...” Scootaloo turned her head sideways, confused by the statement Fluttershy gave her. She thought she knew everything there was to know about Rainbow Dash, but even in situations like these, a pony learns more of another in surprising ways. “What's that?” Fluttershy smiled broadly at the filly, “She never gives up on those she loves.” Scootaloo stared in awe at the words spoken by the shy pegasus. The ones she loves... love... she loves me? Scootaloo wondered and the more she remembered her idol crying over her and comforting her, the more she was convinced that she indeed care for her. Regret however slowly started to creep in, as she also remembered the hateful words she spat out to her. Scootaloo looked down in shame as more memories flooded her mind. “Scootaloo? What’s wrong?” Scootaloo sniffed as she continued to look down, “I-I failed her... I said all those mean words to her... I thought she was just giving me up... but I-” “Scootaloo!” As soon as she heard her name being shouted at her in a scolding tone, her head flew upwards to see Fluttershy’s face looking down on her with a frown. “Scootaloo,” she said again in her kind demeanor, as she reached the filly and held her close with her wings covering the little body she was embracing. “You haven’t failed her at all. We failed you for not believing you when you needed us the most.” “But I-” Scootaloo tried to push herself away but was stopped as she saw Fluttershy give her a short version of the ‘The Stare’, which made her go numb as all will to escape the embrace of the cream pegasus left her. “No ‘buts’, young lady!” she said as she continued her stare, which slowly melted seeing the filly obliging to her. Fluttershy held her closer than ever before. “Now listen to me, Scootaloo. the moment when you were gone... I have never seen Rainbow Dash look so sad in my life, and the moment she realized you were telling us the truth, she was crying her lungs out because of what happened. I have never seen her cry so much in my life... but that alone showed me how much you mean to her... and how much you mean to all of us,” Fluttershy whispered to her as tears were slowly making her way down to her cheek, “And... I speak for everypony that is out there looking for you... I am so sorry.” Scootaloo was starting to tear up as she felt her head being wetted by Fluttershy’s tears. She tried to restrain her tears, but as she felt more tears land on her tiny head her body began to quake as she sobbed into Fluttershy’s chest. “When we get out of here, and we will, Rainbow Dash is going to sign the papers to adopt you. She’ll take care of you just like you deserve. You’ll have a family.” Fluttershy spoke softly to Scootaloo as she stroked her hair softly with her hoof. Scootaloo lifted her head to meet the caring blue tear stained eyes of Fluttershy, “...R...really?” “I know so,” the elder pegasi said, kissing her head. “Rainbow Dash will be back any minute.” Rainbow Dash hit the wall as another bolt struck her. She suddenly realized just how bad a situation she was in. In a cramped hallway like this, her wings had limited maneuverability, but Yellow had all the space she needed to fry her opponent. Still, the athletic pegasus was nothing if not persistent, and she flew up and over the other pegasus and down the hall. Yellow followed, laughing. “Oh, come on, Rainbow, what do you hope to accomplish? Even if you do get away from me, you’re going to alert at least one of my friends.” Rainbow slowed to a halt, moving only to dodge another lightning blast. “You’re right,” the cyan mare said, turning around. “I guess I’ll just have to kill you here.” Yellow chuckled as if her opponent had just told a semi-amusing joke. “Cute...” she muttered, the air crackling around her. “Well, let’s see what you...” She was cut off by Rainbow Dash slamming into her at high speeds, sending her into a brick wall. Dazed, she began rising to her hooves, only to be struck again. Rainbow kept striking her with her front hooves, moving at an impressive speed. Keep it up... move too fast for her to activate her... It didn’t take long for her hopes to be dashed as Yellow lit up, shocking her. She then threw a charged punch, knocking Rainbow Dash to the ground. “Now, why don’t we get to the heart of the problem?” she laughed, pressing her hoof on Rainbow Dash’s chest, lighting up her powers. The cyan mare screamed, twitching and moaning. As her vision was beginning to fade, she could hear the sick laughter of Yellow resounding in her ears, but her concerns lay with Scootaloo and Fluttershy. Though before she could even lift a hoof, she felt her face being punched hard by Yellow and she fell unconscious. “Light’s out, colors,” she sneered at the fallen Rainbow, lifting her hoof from her face and checking the corridors. Letting out a sigh, she began to move onwards before her head snapped as she heard a sharp yelp. She looked behind her and only saw the corridor leading to Scootaloo’s cell. “She must have brought her friends along... oh well,” she shrugged casually as she trotted past the fallen Rainbow. “More for me.” When she reached Scootaloo’s cell, she noticed it was open and she immediately took action as she entered the cell. She looked all around her and saw only the filly lying on her side facing her away. “Why the hay is your cell open, huh?!” she shouted at Scootaloo, who just turned slowly to her side and looked at her with a grumpy frown. “Will you be quiet? I’m trying to sleep!” “Sleep huh?” she marched forward to Scootaloo and pulled her head up by her mane. Scootaloo let out a yelp as she felt more pain originating from her head as she clenched her teeth hard from this experience. “You’ll get more than enough sleep when you’re dead,” she snarked at Scootaloo, who was winching from the pain. “Now tell me, who came into your cell, you little pussy?!” As Scootaloo opened her eyes, she saw Fluttershy tip-hoofing to the outside of the cell. “That red pegasus came in here earlier, go annoy him if you want!” “What? Red?” she asked Scootaloo who huffed and nodded. What the hay is he up to? As she let go of Scootaloo, she slowly turned around to face the door. “You wanna know a secret?” Yellow immediately perked up as Scootaloo said those words, and she turned back to give her her fullest attention. This was enough time needed for Fluttershy to escape, and Scootaloo let out a soft sigh, only audible for her ears. “Well, what’s the secret? Spit it out!” Scootaloo snickered as she grinned at Yellow’s face, “You’re a fat ugly cow, that’s what!” she told her as she spat in her eye with Yellow flinching slightly as she backed away from the bed. “Why you little-!” A clanging sound was heard from outside the cell, followed by yet another yelp. Yellow looked back at Scootaloo, staring daggers at the filly. “When this is over, so are you!” With that, Yellow flew out of the cell, making sure to close it. Glancing around, she muttered, “Where are you...” Fluttershy pressed herself against the ceiling, praying Yellow wouldn’t look up. She trembled, sweating heavily. “Come out, come out, wherever you are~” she purred in every direction, hoping to hear something. “Oh, real original!” Scootaloo mocked from her cell. “You shut your mouth, bitch, or I’m going to come in there and knock those damn teeth out!” Yellow barked at her as she gazed back to the cell. Fluttershy flew off as Yellow was distracted looking at the door. She got three feet before she got struck in the back by a bolt of lightning. Crying, she hit the ground as Yellow stood over her. “Well, well, looks like I’m two for tw...” At that point, she was hit in the side by a very angry Rainbow Dash. ”Fluttershy, run!” she yelled. The yellow pegasus didn’t need a second bidding. She flew off, trying desperately to remember the way out. Yellow screeched, punching wildly at Rainbow Dash. “You little bitch!” “Little?” Rainbow said mockingly, flying up. Still, her body wavered, she clearly wasn’t in any mood to continue. Yellow shiftly bucked her in the face, knocking her out and she fell to the ground, limping from the electricity coursing through the fallen pegasus’s body. Yellow smirked triumphantly and with a lightning speed, she was off to catch Fluttershy. The castle grounds were in anarchy with the arrival of a wounded Captain of the Guard, his younger sister and her companions. The guards were well known for keeping their stoic features in check, but even seeing their own captain hurt like he was, was enough to make them release a slight gasp of shock from the state of him. One of the guards came running towards Shining, hastily saluting his superior. “Sir! What in sweet Equestria happened?!” he asked his commanding officer, as Shining let out a groan and rubbed his rib cage soothingly. Shining sighed as he looked behind him to see his sister, who was also slightly hurt from the fight beforehand. He had to give her credit for coming out of a match like that with only a few scratches. He thought to himself if she were to join the guard one day, she would outrank her brother in a matter of months. “We’ve been attacked by a hostile just by the Southern Entrance. Lieutenant, I want you to take four squads and allocate them to each of the entrances of Canterlot. Nopony for the next twenty four hours is to set foot in or outside this city. Then, I want you to get together a fifth to accompany me and the Element Bearers to wherever this force is hiding.” “Sir!” With that, the lieutenant and four other squadrons of pegasi flew off to the posts they were just given by their superior. “Corporal!” Shining called out to another guard on standby, “Send word to the princesses we are dealing with ponies with unnatural magical abilities, enough power to rival the Elements and the Guard.” “Sir!” the corporal saluted as he shouted to his captain and ran off to the royal courtroom where Princess Celestia was located. Twilight, limping slightly from the pain she was experiencing, walked up to her brother and looked at him with worried eyes. “You think that will be enough to stop them?” she asked her brother, who turned at her with concerned eyes of his own. Shining shook his head, “I honestly don’t know, Twily, this isn’t like some changeling or diamond dog assault we withstood before. This is something way beyond even me,” he answered her truthfully as he could. “But what if-woah!” Twilight wobbled a bit in place as she was becoming slightly dizzy from the overuse of magic. Spike quickly ran towards her, holding her in place as she regain her sense of balance. She smiled demurely at her boy, who she nuzzled in gratitude. “Thank you, Spike.” Spike smiled at his mother and crossed his arms behind his head, “Anytime, Mom,” he answered her with a slightly smug smile which soon turned to a frown. “You still have that spell to locate Rainbow? Maybe she found Scootaloo already!” Twilight nodded as she looked down on her son, “I do, but we don’t want to move in until we get some back-up. White was powerful enough to take us all on, I can’t imagine what the others are like. And anyways, you’re not coming with us. You’re staying in the castle.” “But...” “In. The. Castle. I mean it.” Twilight ordered him with her commanding voice, and he was fidgeting his tail as he nodded and looked up shyly at his mother’s face which soon turned caring as she planted a kiss on his forehead. Applejack and Rarity in turn, told their younger sisters to go in with Spike too. “But sis what if-” Apple Bloom argued, but was immediately silent when her sister gave her glaring look. “None of tha’ now little lady! We’ll take it from ‘ere.” she said to Apple Bloom as she ruffled her hair to cheer her up. “Sweetie, do go with Apple Bloom and Spike too because-” “I know. Jeez!”, Sweetie just rolled her eyes as both she, Apple Bloom and Spike made their way into the castle. “I’ll have some guards watching him,” Shining commented. “You’re gonna watch Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle too, ain’t ya?” Applejack asked. “They can be a bit of a handful, but...” “Relax, we’ve got it.” a guard answered her gruffly as he trotted past a dejected looking Applejack, who just tilted her hat upwards as she glared at the guard. “Darling, I must ask: how do you intend we handle the rest? If they’re all as powerful as that brute...” “We’ll just have to get clever,” the purple unicorn nodded. “Red and Yellow attacked with Fire and Lightning, we need to find a way to turn those elements against them in our rematch. We need to assume that Black and Blue have powers as well, and there’s no telling what Bloodwing’s done to himself...” “...So, for fire, we use water, right?” Pinkie chimed in. “Oh! I’ll load my party cannon with water balloons!” “...No, I have a better idea for Red, and one for Yellow. We’ll need to think about what kind of powers the others have, but we can guess they’re elemental like the others...” “We have another problem,” Shining cut in, “we still don’t know where Bloodwing is, or if Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy got there.” “I can still sense Rainbow, so she must be okay. I’m sure the two are on their way back here right now.” “I want to go home!" Fluttershy cried, flying as fast as she could. She could see daylight, she was almost out! “Aw, come on, I just want to talk,” she could hear Yellow shouting from down the corridor. This only caused the nature loving pegasus to fly even faster. Finally, she was at the entrance. She barely noticed when she exited, only changing flight paths to fly straight into the air. Her legs hit the top of the adjacent building, causing her to stumble a bit, but she regained herself. She flew to the castle. She had a mission. Yellow just stopped at the entranceway, assessing the situation. “Oh, Luna damn it...” Yellow cursed her rotten luck, but she had to silence the mare before they could find out what their plans were. Steadying herself in position, she lifted her wings and lightning shot out from them, cracking the ground as the lightning struck it. She then flew to the castle grounds at lightning speed, determined to catch her prey. Fluttershy turned around to see the menacing presence of Yellow coming at her fast and she gasped as she flew faster towards the castle grounds. She did not dare turn her back in fear of being captured by the yellow streak of lightning that was approaching her fast. She willed all of her power into her wings and flew faster than she ever had done in her life, determined to make it to her friends alive. She looked down and saw her friends at the castle grounds and sighed in happiness as she dive bombed towards them. Though when she did, she could hear the crackling of lightning behind her and heard the taunting laughter of her chaser. “I got you now, little birdy!” Fluttershy ignored this and still flew done to the ground below her where her friends were at. She inhaled a sum of oxygen in her and let out a scream so loud, everypony in Canterlot turned to the source of the noise. Twilight’s head jerked up and saw Fluttershy coming towards them fast, “Fluttershy! Slow down!” Pinkie squinted her eyes for a clearer view, “Bad idea, Twilight. She’s got a bad pony chasing her!” Pinkie yelled as she pointed her hooves to Yellow right behind Fluttershy. Shining Armor, despite his injuries, ran up towards Twilight and conjured up a shield spell large enough for everypony in the ground to be enveloped by it. Twilight was shocked by her brother’s move, “Shining! What are you doing?! Fluttershy’s still!-” “Twily, trust me on this one, okay!” As he said those, Fluttershy was near contact with the shield and her face turned to terror just before she was about to crash into it. Shining, however, made a small opening for her and she flew right into the shield and with a mighty flap of her wings, she landed on the ground hard with the other mares rushing towards her. Yellow however, met the full force of the shield but with added electricity from her wings she cracked the shield and landed roughly on the ground, where a number of guards were encircling her like sharks to a blood source in the water. “You are under arrest by order of...” Shining didn’t get a chance to finish that statement, because at that moment a large surge of electricity surged, throwing the guards away. Standing, Yellow threw her hooves against the shield like a madpony, desperately trying to break it down. Shining strained, but the barrier didn’t waver. Finally she stopped and thought. She was spent for energy and not likely to win a direct confrontation. Probably best to cut her losses now. “I’ll be back,” she promised, taking to the sky. “Guards, follow her!” Shining commanded, dropping the shield, “Catch her, I don’t care...” At that point Twilight calmly shot a blast of magic straight at Yellow. Its aim was true, and the pegasus went rigid, falling to the ground. She didn’t move or jostle, she was as hard as a statue. “That will keep her petrified for now,” Twilight explained. There was silence for a moment. “Twilight, darling...” Rarity began, “why didn’t you use that on White?” “He was moving way too fast. Besides, it takes a lot of magic, and no telling what else could go wrong if I had missed. Do you have anything in the dungeon capable of holding her?” “We’ll find out,” Shining nodded. “Guards, take her away, I’ll be down to interrogate her shortly.” Bloodwing rubbed the top of his head with his hoof. “So the Element of Kindness got away, and Yellow just chased after her?” “That is the case, sir,” Blue said calmly. “Black locked up Loyalty, so we at least have her.” “Oh goodie,” Bloodwing said sarcastically, “we have one of them. They got one of us, now possibly two of us if Yellow isn’t careful.” “Should I send Red out after her?” Bloodwing was silent for a moment, as he tapped his hoof to his chin in thought. “...No. You go yourself. I’m starting to doubt Red’s loyalty to our project.” Blue nodded. “Very well, I’ll have her back soon.” “You best. Something tells me we’re going to have to step our plans up.” “It shall be done.” Blue answered as he bowed before Bloodwing and ran outside the building. Bloodwing turned his attention to Black, who was standing behind him with a triumphant smug look on his face. “Now then, where did you put Loyalty if I may ask Black?” he questioned Black, as he sauntered over to him. Black just shrugged as he closed his eyes, “I just placed her in with our other guest. Thinking he may be lonely and some company would cheer him up.” he answered Bloodwing, who smiled wickedly at his subordinate. “Good...” he said in a hush tone as he trotted away, “This could be useful to me in an experiment.” he told himself as he rubbed his hooves together in glee. “I think you deserve a reward~” he cooed at Black as he held a syringe in his hoof. Black’s smiled widened as he saw it, and like a little dog to a treat, he got exceptionally excited over it. “Is that what I think it is, sir!?” “Oh yes!” Bloodwing answered him as he approached Black, and with a swift movement from his hoof, he pierced the black pony with the syringe and injected him with whatever was inside it. Black started shaking in place with him crouching to the ground and yelling out in ecstasy. His forehead started to bleed out as a cone shaped bone shot out from it. Black was laughing like a madpony as he felt his back being ripped open with wings coming out of it. When it was finally over, Black stood there in a pool of blood as he was giving off an evil grin formed on his muzzle. “How do you feel?” Black turned to Bloodwing and snickered, “Like a royal on crack!” Meanwhile, Red was standing outside the room and heard everything transpire inside. He let out a sigh and reached for what appeared to be a key on his body. With a flick of his hoof, he held the key close to his chest. He let out a sigh as he looked down glumly to the floor before looking up with determined eyes. “Oh well, gotta do it before it’s too late.” he mused to himself as he trotted off to a corridor. With each step he took, it felt like the world was vibrating in favor against him. Like a petty house thief, he looked behind him all the time to make sure he was not being followed. Once he reached to a cell door, he opened it carefully, popping his head inside before his entire body followed afterwards. Author's Note I like this time to thank a few people for this story and past stories: Darth Link 22 (Being my writing partner and friend) Vozzlefox (For being my editor and my teacher in writing, without I would never have been able to write... ever and for being a very good friend) Amras Felagund (For helping edit this story and others that me and Darthlink 22 have been working on together... huge thanks to him) ezio dementay (For being a good friend, you inspire the uninspired like I was) Racko, Arby Works and Cold Spike (For being fellow Spike fans and awesome friends) And to you the reader and fans... I say this to you all... thank you
Chapter 10Rainbow moaned as the world slowly came into focus. She saw... bricks. Bricks in the wall. She mentally cringed. She was in a cell, she knew it, at her mind instantly raced imagining everything somepony like Bloodwing could do to her. She felt something scratchy beneath her, and realized she was laying on hay. She felt a heavy weight on her neck, and two chains on her forelegs. She sighed, knowing better than to expect five star accommodations. “Um, Miss?” a small voice said. “Miss?” Her mind becoming more alert, she sat up. She looked around, and her gaze eventually met another pony’s. It was a colt, no older than Scootaloo at her estimation. He had a white coat that lacked a cutie mark, and a dirty blond mane. He was looking at his new cellmate carefully, as if unsure whether she was friendly. “Who are you?” Rainbow asked immediately. “And where am I?” “I’m Light Stream,” the colt answered. “And you’re at Bloodwing’s place in Canterlot.” Rainbow nodded. She checked herself over real quick. Other than the bruises Yellow had given her, she was still very much intact, so apparently Bloodwing hadn’t had time to operate on her. Her restraints kept her connected to the wall, apparently Bloodwing had no intention of letting her escape. Then a terrifying thought came to her. “Where’s Fluttershy!?” she asked in sudden panic. “I-I think I heard Black mumble something about a pony getting away,” he answered. Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, then we won’t be here long.” She looked back at the colt. “What are you doing here anyway? Are you another experiment?” Light shook his head. “Bloodwing keeps me in here to keep my brother working.” Rainbow Dash blinked. “You mean... your brother is one of the agents?” The colt nodded. “He’s called Red now. Please don’t hate him, he’s a good big brother, he just doesn’t want me getting hurt.” Rainbow’s brain was spiraling. Up until now the agents had been an interchangeable group of obstacles standing in the way of her rescuing Scootaloo. Hearing that one had a life outside of serving Bloodwing was a bit overwhelming. Rainbow Dash shook her head vigorously, “Ok, timeout! How did you and your bro end up with Bloodwing?” she asked him suspiciously, still a little wary of the new pony before her. Light sighed as his ears drooped, “I guess we weren’t born in the right place... we’re orphans. We ran away and did anything for food, mostly steal,” Light answered her hesitantly as he turned his head to the wall. “But we stole from the wrong pony and that cost us, Bloodwing took me as a bargaining chip and said if my brother worked for him for at least three years, he’d let us go.” Rainbow blinked and lowered her head to Light’s level, “When was this?” she asked him curiously. Light’s eyes became slightly moist, “Four years ago now,” he answered her, with his tone becoming sadder by the moment. For a split second, Rainbow was reminded of Scootaloo in her helpless state. This colt had to suffer for so long, and his brother had to do wrong things to keep him from harm’s way. “Why are you here, Miss?” he asked her as he raised his eyebrow in curiosity. Rainbow huffed slightly, “I’m here to get my daughter back from those creeps!” she answered him with a bravado she only displayed in seemingly hopeless situations. Light’s head turned slightly in confusion, “Um, Miss aren’t-” “Please, call me Rainbow Dash or just Rainbow,” Rainbow interrupted him with a smile on her face, not always being called ‘Miss’ by anypony in particular. “Miss Rainbow Dash,” Light corrected himself slightly, with Rainbow only rolling her eyes playfully at the colt’s everlasting politeness. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but aren’t you a little too young to be a mother?” Rainbow’s eyes widened as blood was rushing to her cheeks in that moment. “Um.. Light, how it goes... you see, Scootaloo isn’t my biological daughter but-” “Oh so you adopted her!” Light interrupted her with his answer. “Yeah you could say that.” Light smiled at the mare before him, “You must have a very kind heart to take in a pony as your daughter and get her back when she is kidnapped,” he said to Rainbow, who could not stop blushing at the colt’s words. “Did I say something wrong?” “No... it’s just...” she sighed. “The only reason Scootaloo’s in this mess is because of me. She told me everything that was going on, and I didn’t believe her. I let Black and Blue take her... nevermind. We’ll be free soon enough if Fluttershy got away.” Blue was carefully making his way across Canterlot, making sure not to be seen. It was unlikely the guards would know him on sight, but there was little reason to take chances, especially considering how far south things had gone since they had arrived in Canterlot. As he saw another platoon come, he ducked into an alley and waited for it to pass. “...Do they have any idea where she came from?” “No clue, though I hear Celestia had ponies doing research.” “Really? I’d have thought Sparkle would have figured things out by now.” “She’s going off to find the filly who was kidnapped. Refused to slow down for it.” “Hope nothin’ happens to her, she’s pretty cute.” “Better not let Captain Armor catch you saying that. The last pony that talked about what he wanted to do to her got KP for a year.” “Too bad, she’s one...” “Anyway, Captain Armor is going to interrogate her soon, thinks it’ll give them some idea on what to do when they storm...” They trotted away, and Blue’s hoof hit her head. It looked like a rescue mission was in order. Yellow was not having the best day. Being chained up and interrogated by the captain of the guards tended to do that to you. “How many agents are there? What are their powers?” “Well, my power is telling you to go buck your...” “Twilight?” Shining asked, turning to his sister. The lavender unicorn’s horn lit up, shooting a beam at their captive. Yellow felt light headed as the magic stopped. “It’s my wit dampening spell. It makes it impossible to concentrate. You’ll spill soon enough,” Twilight boasted. “Why did you want Spike?” Yellow started giggling uncontrollably at this question, “Celestia didn’t even tell you? Whoa, you really are her little lapdog. Did she get bored with you by any chance?” she asked her, though Twilight’s face reddened in anger at of this mare’s words. Shining trotted up to Yellow with glaring eyes that could petrify a hydra, “I suggest you answer the questions correctly,” he said to her in a hushed threatening whisper. Yellow just smiled playfully at him like a drunken mare, “You’ll just have me alone? I don’t wanna a bug-bucker like you!” she screamed as she rocked in the chair, but stopped as she shot her head upwards with her eyes wide open. “But your wife is more than welcome especially since her husband left her to rot all alone in those caves,” she answered him as she giggled further at Shining’s eyes that were now showing utmost fury. Shining’s hoof rose as he scowled at the mare before him, “Why you little-!” “Shining don’t!” Twilight yelled to him as her magic encased his hoof in place. “We need her to talk and she won’t if she is unconscious.” Yellow whistled at Twilight. “Wow you really are smart, aren’t you? Just a shame you don’t know what’s the deal with that made-up-dragon.” Twilight’s ears perked up at this, “What do you mean ‘made-up-dragon’?” she asked Yellow. “Oh come on!” Yellow exclaimed, “Are you really smart or just stupid in disguise?” she asked. “Look, remember that dragon hatching test you performed to get into that nice little school?” she asked her. “Of course I do! But Princess Celestia gave me a real egg to prove my magic,” Twilight answered her immediately. A snort leaked out of Yellow’s mouth that turned into hysterical laughter. Twilight frowned at the mare’s antics and her horn glowed slightly, “What’s so funny?” “You’re so gullible it’s unbelievable! You’ll believe anything that old hag says to you?! Wow! Do I have something to tell the others when I get out of here!” “Look, you, I want answers...” “And I’d like you to fall over dead. The difference between us is that I’m going to live long enough to get what I want.” Twilight’s horn lit up and struck Yellow again. The mare groaned as her world spun once more. “Where did Spike come from?” “...the whelp’s egg,” Yellow groaned, “was...” At that moment, Twilight was struck from behind by a blast of ice, knocking her into a wall and holding her in place. Panicking, Shining turned around, having just enough time to get a shield up before the beam hit him. “What the...” was Shining’s initial reaction. This was understandable, because the attack was coming from a member of the royal guard. It was even less understandable as the attacker was an earth pony. “Soldier, what are you...” At that point, his armor froze over, becoming brittle to the sudden drop in temperature. The image spell that the armor came with flickered out, revealing Blue, looking as stoic as ever. “...Agent Blue, I presume?” “You’ve heard of me? I'm flattered." “Don’t be, nothing I heard was good.” With another glow of his horn, a second shield formed around the agent, trapping him. “Two at once...” Blue muttered, a faint tinge of approval in his voice. “And your first shield doesn’t look any worse for the wear.” “Well, I didn’t get this cutie mark for nothing” Shining Armor said proudly. “Your buddy White was at least smart enough to keep moving, but you tried to stand still. Big mistake.” “Indeed,” Blue nodded. At that point, he let loose his powers. The previously transparent shield became opaque with frost and ice. “And you made it.” Shining didn’t have to ask why. The sheer amount of cold his magic was exposed to hurt. It was chilling beyond belief. He had never felt anything like it. It shouldn’t have been this bad. Finally, he couldn’t concentrate anymore. He dropped both shields, but shot forward, jumping slightly to the side to avoid the expected projectile of ice. Unfortunately, Blue was a tactician. He instead iced over the floor, seemingly by willing the ice into existence. With no traction, Shining slid right past him, slamming against a wall. He him letting out a groan as pain coursed through his body. He began to lose balance, and then he felt an even greater chill spreading over him. He saw that he was stuck against the wall in a block of ice, which he could not escape from no matter how much he tried. Before he could use his magic to thaw himself out, his horn froze over. When the ice encased his muzzle, Shining looked at Blue with absolute anger as he saw Blue walking up to him and had the look of satisfaction in his eyes, “That should hold you for a while. As for you...” he said as he turned to Twilight, who was filled with boiling rage at what she just saw. “You’re not getting away from here!” she yelled as she broke free of her icy restraints. She charged towards Blue, with her horn glowing dangerously. She shot a few beams at Blue, who simply dodged them as he looked on with boredom at the mare coming towards him. She came closer to him as he summoned more ice, attempting to both ice over the floors and coat himself in his element, almost like a suit of armor. Twilight wasn’t slowed, she leapt and levitated herself up, then charged her magic and shot him with her petrification spell. Her aim was true, it hit him on the chest and he was frozen in place. The mare grinned as she moved forward to Blue, who stood stock still in place. “That’s another agent we have for questioning,” she said as she turned to her brother, who strangely tried to shout at her with his pupils shrunk to the size of pins. Twilight was confused by this and decided to move closer to her brother. “I will leave you with nothing!” As soon as these words spoken, Twilight was hit with an ice ball that hit her hard against her frame and the ice started to spread across her body, as she looked down in terror at what was happening to her. Her horn was also not working, as she desperately tried to thaw herself out of this ice. She had never felt so cold in her life, and the ice continued to spread until it covered her whole body. Only her eyes and ears were left unfrozen as she could hear Yellow cackling, Twilight’s body refused to move. “So much for the Element of Magic, eh?” Blue simply trotted towards Yellow and stood in front of her chair with him generating a small ice pike. The ice impacted the locks of Yellow’s shackles, releasing her legs from their hold. When the final shackle fell to the floor, Yellow rubbed her legs with her hoof tenderly as she got up from her chair. “You’re lucky Bloodwing thinks you’re worth saving,” the earth pony muttered. “Aww, don’t be like that, Bluey,” she cooed, “rescuing me means we get to destroy...” They were cut off by a heavy blast of purple magic, which hit Blue in the back and sent him to the ground. Jumping high into the air, Yellow saw something amazing. Twilight had escaped, the ice melted around her hooves. She lit up her horn, firing another blast, but Yellow managed to dodge again. Blue looked at Twilight from the floor, showing an expression for the first time, one of utter shock. “H...how...” Twilight offered no answer, she simply fired once again.This time, the earth pony dodged. He turned to his partner, “Go.” Yellow shrugged. “If you insist,” she said as she flew out the door. “Stop!” Twilight yelled, turning to fire a blast at her. Blue took advantage of the distraction to use his power and launch an ice spear to Twilight. However, at that moment, Shining Armor broke free from his icy prison as he was motivated by both not letting his prisoner’s escape and by protecting his little sister. With a glow from his horn a shield formed around her, absorbing the attack. It pained the captain of the guard, but he held his ground. Blue looked enraged. “You got out... you...” He turned to fire at Shining. Twilight tried to take the opportunity, but as soon as the last attack was over Blue turned and fired at her. He kept going back and forth, attempting to break one of the two shields. “You can’t keep that up forever,” Shining told White as he keep his shield up. “I can keep these up longer than you can keep firing.” Blue suddenly stopped attacking and closed his eyes as he stood still. He started to breath slowly, with each breath frosting as though the atmosphere started freezing. Shining raised an eyebrow at what Blue was doing, but Twilight simply shot a beam at him with the opening he gave. When the beam was about to collide with Blue, it froze in the air and fell to the floor emitting a clink sound. Twilight looked on in fear at what just happened, “T-that’s impossible!” she shouted at Blue, who opened his eyes. His eyes were now glowing pure white and he let out a roar as ice started shooting out from his body to every space in the room. “BEGONE!” As lances of ice were being sent towards Twilight, she had to use every bit of her magic to block the oncoming ice. She was starting to get exhausted from her use of magic as her breathing became hoarse and her vision started to blur. Another piece of ice came towards her that she tried to block, but her magic would not work to stop it. As it came by a hair’s length away from her face, she could see the twisted smile forming on Blue’s face. “Now, you die.” The ice particle landed on the ground, immediately melting into water. “What?!” Blue shouted out as his ice attacks had no further effect on Twilight. Twilight’s fur began to sizzle slightly, until finally she burst into flames and became a living inferno. The flames were dancing off her, vaporizing all the ice around her and leaving scorch marks on the floor. Twilight looked up with nothing but absolute anger in her eyes to Blue, who only glared at her he sent more ice towards her. Twilight simply melted each one of them and shot more of her magic at Blue. Blue however was quick in dodging them and just continued attacking Twilight. She turned to him as he decided to slide behind her and attack from her rear. She vanished and he looked frantically around him, trying to located his target. He felt a nudged at his side and saw Twilight standing there, looking grimly at him. “Dodge this.” Before Blue could react, he was met with an intense heat coming from Twilight’s horn as it shot a beam of magic to him. He let out a sharp cry as he felt the intense heat of Twilight’s magic, it was the power of the sun itself. He flew backwards to the wall. He got up slowly and started huffing at the mare before him, who was no longer burning. “So even your magic is amplified by rage?” he remarked to Twilight, who slumped to the ground as her magic was near depletion. Blue started to walk towards her but stopped when his hoof shattered like ice itself. He looked down in horror as the rest of his body was turning to ice and started to break with even the slightest of movements he performed. Twilight and Shining looked at him with both wonder, disgust and fear at what was happening to his body. Blue tried to call out to them, but his head along with his body was now ice itself. It tilted and with it crashed to the floor, shattering to a million pieces. Twilight looked, carefully nudging the ice on the floor with her hoof. “Looks like he overextended his energy,” she noted. “Just like White, it was too much for him. That’s one less to worry about.” Shining nodded. “We need to catch up to Yellow. She’s our last lead in dealing with the rest of Bloodwing’s agents.” Much to Shining’s surprise, Twilight slumped to the floor. “You... you better go on without me. I’m tired, I used up too much energy. I’d be no good to you right now.” Shining nodded. “Don’t worry, I think my soldiers must have gotten her by now. She’s in a palace filled with guards and she’s not exactly a master of subtlety.” Shining Armor’s statement was half correct. Yellow was not a stealth expert, but that was because she didn’t need to be. At her highest speed, she went far too fast for any of the guards to catch up to her. An ever-growing squadron was chasing her down the halls, always just a step behind her. Yellow’s excellent banking was not helping, which let her turn corners tightly while leaving her pursuers tripping over themselves. “Come on, boys, you can do better than that.” “Stop this. Even if we can’t catch you, the Princesses are alerted to your presence, they will be here soon.” Yellow didn’t show it, but that made her nervous. Still, she couldn’t leave yet. She had to compensate her loss to be in Bloodwing’s good graces again, and she had the perfect idea. She turned another corner and picked up speed. Again, and again, she banked and turned until finally she came to the wing of the castle she had been looking for, the guest wing. She burst into the first room and found it empty. Not slowing down, she flew straight through the window, which, luckily for her, had been made out of safety glass and hadn’t cut her to ribbons. She banked around and flew into the room next to it. The guards who followed her out were lost for a moment, expecting to find her flying away. But Yellow knew it wouldn’t be for too much longer. They’d notice the second broken window soon, so she had to act fast. She flew back into the hallways, opening each door and looking inside. The first three she found empty, but in the fourth she found what she had been looking for. A small baby dragon was looking at her with wide terrified eyes, as were an earth pony and unicorn foal. Their playing cards they had been using had been forgotten upon hearing the ruckus in the hallway, and at this point it was clear their game would never be finished. “Perfect,” she said sultry as she approached the three youths, with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom standing behind Spike as he held his arms wide and acted as a shield for the filles. Smoke came out of his nose he glared at the threat before him, “What are you doing here?!” he demanded to know, as Yellow just came to a stop before him. Yellow chuckled wickedly as she saw the little whelp in defense before her, “I just let myself out, as my partner was dealing with the Element of Magic. Can’t say she will be looking pretty from now on, though,” she remarked as she looked on with pleasure at Spike’s growing anger. “If you’ve hurt my mom you’re gonna-” “Shut up!” In a flash she flew up to Spike and gave him a swift swipe with her hoof, hitting him in the side of the head and sending him to the floor. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell squealed in terror as they ran to hide under the bed, but she just rolled her eyes as she saw them, “Tell the others this: If they follow me, they’re dead,” she said blankly as she scooped up the stunned dragon and flew out the window just as the royal guards reached the room. When they arrived, they were met by the crying of two fillies by their feet. They were shouting at the same time with tears of fear rolling down their eyes and panic etched to their faces. The guards tried to calm them down as best as they could, but with no success at all. “What in tarnation is going on ‘ere?!” Applejack came pushing from behind the guards and Apple Bloom immediately ran to her. With Applejack instinctively scooping her up and tending to her frightened little sister. She was surprised by this, since Apple Bloom was always a difficult one to scare, even on NightMare Night. Rarity was right behind her, with Sweetie Belle whimper in her sister’s embrace as Rarity nuzzled her little sister to calm her down. Both Applejack and Rarity looked at each other with worried eyes and frowned slightly before they turned their attention to their little sisters. “What happened? Are you two alright?” Sweetie shivered for a moment before looking up at her older sister. “Y-Yellow was here.” “Oh goodness, are you okay? She didn’t hurt you, did she? I swear, if she did, I’ll...” “We’re fine,” Apple Bloom said. “But Spike ain’t. That Yellow took ‘em!” Both Rarity and Applejack tensed at this news. The guards exchanged worried murmurs. There was an uneasy shifting. Somepony was going to have to go tell the most powerful unicorn in existence that her son was just kidnapped. It was not going to be pleasant. Red triple-checked to make sure Bloodwing or Black weren’t still around. Then, he took the key and unlocked the cell door. Light and Rainbow Dash both looked at him with wide eyes. “Bro! You came! What’s going on?” “This has gone on long enough,” the pegasus said, walking over to his brother. He started to undo his bonds. “Bloodwing’s close to winning. Fortunately, everypony except him and Black are out. This will be our only chance to escape.” “Hold on,” Rainbow said. “After all that, you’re just turning around and running now? Where was this attitude before?” “Bloodwing had my bro captive. Luckily, he’s so near victory he’s gotten sloppy.”, he said as he unlocked his little brother’s final lock. Light then wrapped his forelegs around his brother’s neck in a hug. Red’s simply smiled as he patted his little brother’s back. After the hug, he moved over to Rainbow Dash and repeated the process. “We need to take this opportunity.” “We’re getting Scootaloo too,” Rainbow Dash said, as if she were stating a completely objective fact. “We might not have time...” “I’m not leaving without her,” Rainbow Dash snapped. “You two can go on if you want, but I’m not leaving without my daughter.” There was a moment of silence before Red sighed. “Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?” he asked himself before looking at Rainbow Dash, who looked sternly at him. “I guess I owe you that much...” “You owe me much more,” she said bluntly, “but rescuing Scoots will be a good start.” As Red undid the last bond, he nodded. “We better get going then, before the others realize something’s wrong.” Author's Note Like to give my gratitude to Loving Tolerance for pre reading this chapter :D
Chapter 12Twilight stood outside the the palace with her brother and friends and with another pony by their side, who was now wearing a magical collar on his neck. “Twilight, is that really necessary?” Rainbow asked, looking down at the purple magic keeping Blaze in a collar. “I’m not taking any chances, especially with this stallion,” she whispered to her friend, but Blaze’s ears perked as he heard them. Blaze just shook his head and rolled his eyes, but he was smiling, too. He was happy to help them, now that his little brother was safe. His little brother came running up to him and held him on his leg, looking up with worried eyes. Blaze sighed and he patted Light’s head gently, “Don’t worry, Light, I’ll be fine with these ponies,” he reassured Light. Light looked at the others with caution, though when his eyes fell on Twilight, she could see a flash of anger in his eyes. Twilight could feel her stomach twist slightly when Light looked at her, feeling like she was the bad pony now and kidnapping the only family Light had. Twilight turned her head away and faced her brother. “We should go now before it’s too late.” Shining nodded and he placed his helmet on his head; his battle armor was now set. “Right.” Blaze then looked at Light with stern eyes, “Listen to me, now. Light, you stay with Scootaloo at all times. Got it memorized?” he asked, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “Yeah...” Blaze decided to hug his brother right then and there. “C’mon! I’ll be back before you know it!” he said as Light held onto him. He noticed the mares were looking at the pair with moist eyes; save Twilight, who could not look at them. He swore he saw a tear escaping her eye, though Blaze just shrugged it off and let go of Light, turning and moving towards Twilight and the others. As soon as they were away from the castle grounds, Twilight looked at Blaze, who was surprisingly calm, even with a magic collar on him. “I’m sorry,” she said to him. Blaze turned to her, slightly surprised at her words. “Sorry?” he asked her, thinking he misheard her words. “I’m sorry I had to do that in front of your little brother,” she said, slightly lowering her head in apology. “So long as he’s safe, I don’t really care what happens to me, hey?” This time it was Twilight’s turn to be surprised at his words, “Excuse me?” she asked in a harsh whisper. “You’re excused.” Twilight huffed at his answer, “I’m serious! Why would you consider your own life with so little regard?” “I do consider my life with some importance, but my little brother’s life is way more important to me than my own. I’m sure you feel the same way with your boy.” Twilight kicked the ground awkwardly. “Yeah, I do... but it seems strange, coming from a member of the group that kidnapped him.” “I was never really a member of that group more than I had to be,” the stallion pointed out. “At any rate, let’s keep going. There’s no telling what Bloodwing’s doing with Spike.” “Let me go!” Spike demanded as Black dragged him by his tail. He dug his claws into the ground, trying to get some sort of grip, but it proved futile. “Let me go, I have rights, I...” At that point, a swift hoof crashed on the dragon’s head, causing him to cry out in pain. “An appropriate response, Black,” Bloodwing commended. He turned back to Spike. “You have no right to be free. You’re a fake, a tool! Your purpose is to serve the one who uses you.” “W-what do you mean?” Spike said, feeling timid. “I mean, you are nothing but a construct of Twilight Sparkle’s magic. I wanted to study the phenomenon, but that fool Celestia was attached to you.” He snorted in derision. “Foolish creature. An immortal like her should know that love is a mere fleeting feeling.” “Th-that’s not true,” Spike defended weakly. “That’s how...” Another hoof silenced him. “Tools should not contradict their masters. Put him in.” Spike, his vision blurred from the blow, couldn’t see where he was being placed. He did hear the sound of a lock closing, though. When his vision finally cleared, he saw that he was in a glass orb, placed inside a giant machine. And he knew whatever the machine did, he knew that he was exactly where he did NOT want to be. “It’s a shame losing Subject 10, but what I extracted out of her fast-forwarded my research tenfold. Unfortunately, I need a good deal of power to push my plans forward before Celestia can shut me down... which is why I have you.” Spike gulped. “What do you mean?” Bloodwing just smiled at Spike and he turned his attention to Black. “If you would do the honours?” “With pleasure, sir.” Yellow jumped in between the two of them, “What about me?! Can I please do it, sir?” she pleaded to Bloodwing, shedding crocodile tears in an attempt to win him over. Bloodwing just sighed and facehoofed in annoyance at his subordinate, “Fine... Just do it, would you?” Spike saw Yellow skipping over to a lever on the opposite side of the room, and saw her rubbing her hooves in glee as she took hold of it and pulled it down dramatically. The machine started to power up, and all the lights began to glow. The glass orb Spike was in suddenly started filling up with a weird red liquid. It was sticky and smelled horrible. When the liquid rose to the level of his knees, he started to bang on the glass orb as hard as he could; but it was no use. No matter how hard he hit the orb, it would not crack. He then inhaled air, intending to blow fire at it, but he was submerged in the liquid before he could exhale. He could see Yellow smiling smugly at him, and when she flicked a switch on the wall, electricity flowed the orb, sending an excruciating pain through Spike’s body. He screamed as the pain quickly became too much for him. Through the dark spots appearing at the edge of his quickly blurring vision, he noticed another glass orb next to him filling up with a purple substance and starting to glow brightly. He noticed Bloodwing laughing like a mad pony as he caressed the orb gently, as though it were alive. “So close we are now! So close we are now to becoming gods!” Spike could tell that they were all laughing like it was their birthdays, and he could see Bloodwing walking up to him wearing a sadistic smile on his face. “Soon you will become part of greatness itself~” Scootaloo was eating well for the first time in days. A spread was placed out on the table before her friends and Light, full of food she had only dreamed of. Having lived off gruel, and living on what she could find in the streets before that, getting to eat good food was heavenly. She wasn’t the only one. It was clear that Light hadn’t been fed the best either, and was eating good food for the first time since becoming Bloodwing’s prisoner. He was giving little care to table manners, though nopony minded. Apple Bloom and Sweetie were absolutely happy to see their friend again, but were surprised by her added horn feature, as well as the presence of the colt that came in with her. A few minutes later, though, Scootaloo was finished eating, and was lost in deep thoughts of why they wanted Spike. “Ya alright there, Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked her friend, walking up and taking the seat next to her. Sighing, the orange pegasus poked her horn. “I have a horn growing out of my forehead and Spike’s trapped in that horrible place because of me. What do you think?” “It wasn’t your fault,” Light tried to assure her between bites of sugar bread. “Bloodwing would have done those horrible things no matter what.” Sweetie shifted a little. “Did Bloodwing ever do anything to you? You know, try and give you a horn or something?” The colt shook his head. “It was part of the deal Bloodwing had with my brother. He kept it that much, at least.” He sighed. “My brother’s really not bad, honest.” “I know... he treated me better than anypony else there...” Scootaloo said sadly. “Do you think the others are okay?” “Mah sister’s the strongest mare in Equestria, Twi’s the most powerful unicorn, and Rainbow Dash is the fastest pegasus. With Red an’ the others, they’ll handle Bloodwing no problem.” “His name’s Blaze,” Light corrected forcefully. “Right, sorry,” Apple Bloom apologized. “I still don’t get why the Princess isn’t handling this herself,” Light said, stuffing another cupcake into his mouth. “We told you, the Princess doesn’t like to get involved if it isn’t somepony like Discord,” Sweetie explained. “These guys are just mortal ponies. I heard her say something about needing the Elements to get experience. She’s still watching, and she said she’d come down if...” “It won’t happen,” the earth pony cut her off. “Mah sister can handle anythin’.” Scootaloo pawed at her food a bit before looking up resolutely. “...I’m going back.” The other foals looked at her incredulously. “What?” “I can’t let Rainbow Dash and Spike get hurt because of me. I’m going back.” Sweetie Belle looked at her friend as though she were insane. “But if you go back there, those ponies might catch and hurt you again!” she shouted to her friend, coming close with fearful eyes. Scootaloo looked down on the floor, avoiding the gaze from Sweetie’s eyes. “I know, but I have to do something,” she said. She looked up to face her friends, who looked at her with concern. “Look, I’ll be out real quick; I have to do this alone and-” “You’re not going alone.” Scootaloo turned to Light, who looked at her with a straight face as he walked up to her side. “I’m coming with you. I need to make sure my older brother is safe.” Scootaloo gave him a deadpan look and just shook her head. “I don’t think so. You’ll just slow things down.” Light glowered at Scootaloo and stomped his hoof, “Do you even know how to get back to that place?” he challenged. Only silence greeted him, and he smiled wryly. “I didn’t think so. Whether you like it or not, I’m coming with you, ok?” Scootaloo sighed and she facehoofed, but, unused to her new appendage, ended up hitting her horn instead, sending a small jolt of pain through her head. She let out a groan and began to rub it soothingly. “Ow! Fine... let’s just go already.” Suddenly, she was trapped in a hug from both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Both fillies looked up at her with doleful eyes as their lips quivered slightly. “Just be careful, ok?” “Yeah, don’t get caught again, ya hear?” Scootaloo smiled warmly at her friends’ words and she closed her eyes slowly, nodding with a muffled ‘yes’ coming from her lips. She slowly opened it and her eyes were slightly moist from the experience. “I’ll be right back.” she said softly as she wormed her way out of the hug and walked towards the window. Both Sweetie and Apple Bloom turned to Light and gave a stern look that turned to friendliness. “Keep her safe, ok?” Sweetie Belle told Light. “I will.” “It’s right down this alley,” Blaze noted, with Shining Armor and the Bearers of the Elements right behind him. “This is the place, alright,” Rainbow noted. “We pull this lamp here.” She did so, revealing the secret entrance. “We’d better expect a welcoming committee,” Shining Armor noted. “They’ve probably noticed they’re missing prisoners by now, so they’ll know we were back.” “Assuming they haven’t moved already,” Twilight said sadly. “I doubt it,” Blaze assured her. “There’s far too much important stuff here for him to move. Besides, I know all the hideouts, we’d find them again soon anyway.” “I just wish we had time to figure out what to do about Black,” Applejack noted as they begin to descend the steps. “You said we should go in knowing everything about our opponent, Twi.” “There’s no telling what Bloodwing is going to do with Spike’s energy,” Twilight pointed out. “There’s... there’s more than... one... life...” Blaze put a hoof on her shoulder. “He’ll be fine if we hurry,” he said. “Leave Black to me, I know how to deal with...” At that point, the halls brightened up. The ponies jumped, each looking around in surprise. “What’s going on?” Fluttershy whimpered. “It’s Bloodwing,” Blaze spat. “He’s practically inviting us in.” “So whatever he was planning, he’s finished with it,” Shining said. “There’s nothing for us to do but go in and try to take it out.” “The main lab is this way,” Blaze noted, leading the seven others down the hallways, through the twists and turns of the lab. They stopped at an entrance with two iron doors with no lock on the outside. Blaze looked at the door from each side frantically and slammed his hoof against it, to no effect. “This is not good,” he said out loud, with the others looking even more worried than before. Shining approached him and glared at him. “You worked here! You must know how to open these doors!” he shouted out to Blaze. Blaze looked flatly at Shining, then looked back at the door before him. “I did work here and that’s how I know. The only lock is on the inside. This is like a panic room for Bloodwing.” he told Shining. Still frantically thinking, he decided to fly up the door and look through the gaps. Applejack walked forward from the group. “So yer saying there’s no way of opening this here door?” she asked Blaze, leaning in to get a better look at the iron door before her. Blaze landed and shook his head in defeat, “Not unless we have explosives here, which I doubt anypony brought with-” “Move aside.” Blaze’s ears perked up and he turned to be greeted by a very angry-looking Twilight, whose horn was glowing brightly and dangerously. Remembering his first encounter with the mare, he quickly followed the others in standing back a respectable distance away from Twilight. Twilight concentrated her magic to the brink, and when her horn was glowing red, she released the magic within it. It shot with great velocity towards the door, which exploded on impact, creating a slight tremor from the force released from the magic. When the dust cleared, the pathway was open to them and three ponies stood on the opposite side. The three ponies looked surprised and horrified at the sight of Twilight Sparkle’s rage, which was only amplified when she saw the glass orb containing her son Spike. She noticed he was floating there lifelessly, and she turned to Bloodwing and marched towards him slowly. “So you’re Bloodwing, I presume?” she asked him in a rather relaxed tone, though her voice was so cold that her words sent shivers up the listeners’ spines. Bloodwing gulped and smiled delightfully at the mare before him, “Why yes, I am. Twilight Sparkle, here in my presence. I remember when you were a filly, seeing you achieve the one thing I was researching my whole life!” he joyfully shrieked at her, but he was met with only cold eyes. “You ascended! At the mere age of twelve, you did something that was thought to be impossible! You became a creator, though flawed in your creation,” he added as an aside as he walked towards the glass orb Spike was in. “This construct you created carries so much magic in it you can’t possibly imagine! Do you realize that with this, I can finally finish my research to elevate ponies to become alicorns! Or even create life itself and-” “Give. Me. Back. My. Son!” “Oh, come now,” the pegasus chastised. “Surely a mare of magic like yourself can see...” Twilight didn’t let him finish. She fired her strongest blast of magic straight at Bloodwing, hoping to end it right here and now. Sadly, Black was too fast. In a split second he was between his employer and his attacker, his newly acquired horn getting a workout as it summoned a shield around the two of them. The former earth pony buckled and strained, but he managed to block the attack successfully. “Now, see? Just like Celestia, you let those frivolous emotions get in the way of progress. Not that she matters anymore. Before long, she won’t be anything special.” “I think you’re forgetting something,” Shining Armor pointed out. “There’s eight of us versus three of you. It won’t be a problem.” “Au Contraire, Captain Armor,” the scientist tsked. “My soldiers have been upgraded in more ways than one. Show them.” Smiling with unrepentant sadism, Black lit up his horn. What came out was lightning that was pitch black, the surreal attack flying forward and causing the group to scatter. Twilight and Pinkie were the first to react. Going off of pure instinct and only thinking of her son that was trapped behind the obstacles, she threw out attack after attack, hoping to find a chink in the armor. No such luck; Black blocked each one with ease. Pinkie had her Party Cannon out and ready, but before she could fire, Applejack stopped her. “Stick to th’ plan, remember?” “Ohh, right,” the earth pony chuckled, moving her aim toward Yellow. Black, meanwhile, was caught off guard by Shining Armor barreling into him and tackling him to the ground. Black threw magic wildly, but the few attacks that connected were negated by Shining’s own defensive magic. Now free of her obstacle, Twilight ran toward Bloodwing, shrieking like a madpony at her hated enemy. “No, Twilight!” Blaze called. “Wait!” And then, suddenly, she couldn’t move. “Now see?” Bloodwing said sadly. “Look at what I’ve done just because you rushed in.” Twilight stood still in place, unable to move a single muscle at all. Only her eyes could move, and they looked around frantically. Suddenly, she felt her hind legs bend to a kneel and her legs buckle in place. She tried to move her head, but was unsuccessful in doing so. “Twily?!” Shining Armor shouted out to his sister, but he could not do anything for her at the moment since he was preoccupied with a hostile alicorn. Twilight saw Bloodwing walk slowly up to her, and he raised a hoof in the air slowly. Her body was pulled up into the air, levitating in place. No magic aura surrounded her, yet it felt she was being pulled by invisible strings, and the puppeteer was standing before her, smiling sadistically. “I assume you figured out what my ability is, right?” he asked her, but he was met with only a glare from Twilight. “My ability is to control blood, my blood and my enemies’ blood,” he said nonchalantly. As he moved his hoof through the air, Twilight’s body followed it. “Marvellous, isn’t it? So many years of research went into this, and with your help, I can finally achieve what I always wanted. Ascension, my dear child... ascension will bring me closer to knowing everything and performing anything that even those old hags couldn’t-” Rainbow kicked him hard in the face as she came flying in, sending Bloodwing flying and releasing Twilight from his grasp. Rainbow caught Twilight before she collided with the floor, and gently placed her on the ground. She then turned her attention to Bloodwing who was dusting himself off from the attack on him, “You talk way too much, even by my standards,” Rainbow growled as she moved to stand next to Twilight, crouched and ready to fight the threat before her. Bloodwing stood there, aggravation showing on his face as he frowned at the pegasus before him. The one side of his mouth was bleeding slightly, with a slight bruise quickly forming from the kick. He let out a grin and proceeded to lick the side of his cheek that had blood on it. “How disgusting!” Rarity shouted in horror as she rushed to her friends’ aid. Bloodwing began to chuckle slightly, before it turned to mad laughter. “Ah, yes. Rainbow Dash. Primary provider of the Subjects. Your role is done, little filly,” he said to her mockingly. Rainbow stood there in confusion as she raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean? What subjects? You mean Scootaloo?” “Subject Ten especially, yes. You were such a good genetic base for it, but she’s obsolete now. And quite frankly, so are you.” At that moment Yellow, tired of just watching, decided to act. She grabbed her rival from behind and began surging electricity through herself, intent on frying her opponent. But Rainbow Dash was ready this time. She brought her front knee down onto Yellow’s stomach, catching her off guard and knocking the wind out of her. Before Yellow had had a chance to recover, the cyan mare drove a hoof across her face. Yellow recovered quickly and flew up. Rainbow Dash followed her up, not letting her get away a second time. Fluttershy, though scared, followed as well. Seeing this, Yellow shot lightning out of both of her front hooves, hoping to shock them both. The pair dodged, and Rainbow Dash flew forward, striking Yellow from behind and sending her up, crashing into the ceiling. Gulping, Fluttershy looked to the ground. “Um, Blaze, could you give us a hoof... um, if you don’t mind...?” “I’ve got a score to settle,” the pegasus noted, lighting up his fire. He then shot a blaze directly at Bloodwing. The scientist moved, jumping into the air. Quickly calculating his trajectory, Twilight fired another magical blast. This one had a true aim; it struck Bloodwing in the chest, sending him back into the wall. With their hated enemy down, Twilight began running for the machine, while Blaze channeled all his might into flames aimed at the scientist. Twilight made it halfway to the machine before she was stopped again, her body moving against itself. She was forced to turn and light up her horn, which pointed straight at Blaze. Twilight couldn’t even call out and warn him as the shot fired. It hit Blaze, catching him completely off guard as he fell forward. Bloodwing got up, slightly hurt from the magic attack that came from Twilight. “You think that I’d allow my own creations to hurt me? I know how to summon magic shielding as well. I’m not as advanced as Shining Armor, but I get the job done.” Blaze just smirked at Bloodwing. “Well, you didn’t create me, now, did you? You just tampered with me and got me into a contract,” he said to Bloodwing, and in the blink of an eye he appeared before him. “Which is now null and void!” Before Bloodwing could react, Blaze took hold of Bloodwing and decided to use what knowledge he had on hoof-to-hoof combat on him. “Go, Twilight! I’ll keep him busy!” he shouted to Twilight as he continued to fight Bloodwing with all he had. Twilight ran up to the machine Spike was trapped in, and started using her magic on it. The machine started to glow in a purple aura but it suddenly shocked her and sent her skidding on the floor. “Magic repulsion?!” she asked herself out loud, and noticed Spike’s body being shocked more in the orb in he was in. Before she could react, she saw another orb containing a purple glowing substance and began to panic. She got up on the floor and frantically ran up the machine again. “You better pay attention to your enemies, bitch!” Twilight head shot up to the sound of Yellow, flying at her with lightning speed. Before she could reach the distraught Twilight, she was met by Rainbow Dash, who tackled her hard and they both crashed through a wooden door. Rarity and Applejack ran after them into the room, hoping to help Rainbow against the electric mayhem. “Which room do you think they would be holding Spike in, Light?” Scootaloo asked Light as they were walking through the corridors of Bloodwing’s lair. If it was not for Light being with her, she would not have known how to open the secret door to the lair, let alone find its location. Light shrugged at the question given to him, “If my memory is right, the center lab would be the best bet. That’s where he did all those freaky experiments. At least that what my bro said,” he told Scootaloo as he frowned slightly at the memory of seeing his older brother in pain after an experiment. Scootaloo bit her lower lip and placed a hoof on his shoulder, “Hey, I’m sure Blaze will be okay. You said he’s strong and-” Scootaloo suddenly yelped and grabbed hold of Light, hugging him and looking scared. Light was baffled for a second before blushing madly at Scootaloo’s action. He saw Scootaloo turning to him and as they both blinked twice, she let go of him fast and both tapped a hoof awkwardly on the floor. “What was that for?” he asked her innocently. Scootaloo turned to him, still flushing red on her face. “A spider touched me,” she said sheepishly. “You’re afraid of spiders?” he asked, somewhat amused. “You’re an alicorn.” “So? Spiders are still creepy and disgusting.” Light couldn’t help but smirk. “Relax, it’s gone,” he assured. “Come on, I think it’s down this way.” The two foals continued walking down the corridor, down the hallways, making turns at the colt’s instructions. Finally, they came to a metal door. “This looks like it,” Light noted. “Help me get it open.” The two foals pushed at the door. After a few moment, it came loose, slowly showing the room inside. Scootaloo let out a scream. It took Light a second to look inside and see why. The room held no Spike, but it was filled with tanks. Each of them was filled with a haunting green liquid. And submerged in this liquid was a pony. Every tank had a pony. All three types were present; unicorn, pegasus, and earth ponies in equal amount. However, none of these ponies were complete. Some were missing eyes and a jaw, others legs. One unicorn had a horn only partly grown, a pegasus only one wing. Some were still in a fetal stage, some had strange veins all over their faces, and some seemed perfectly normal. “What the?” Scootaloo uttered. “...Bloodwing’s failed experiments,” Light gulped. “Blaze told me about them.” “Wh... why keep them around?” Scootaloo asked, feeling sick. “To learn from his mistakes. That’s what Blaze told me.” He looked around the room a bit, trying to keep his stomach from ejecting its contents. “Look, there’s a desk, maybe there’s a map of the lab there.” The two foals rushed over to find a mess of papers littering the desk. Scootaloo began rummaging through them, but Light actually took the time to read through. One particular binding of notes has the title “Project Ascension” on it, and Light read the contents out loud since Scootaloo was not engrossed in reading it. “Experiment 1337: Failure to grow eyes and heart properly. Experiment 1338: Failure to sprout wings. Experiment 1339: Died three days after removal. Experiment 1340: Success! “After several months, an experiment has sustained life significantly. Only the tenth to do so; I will name this one Subject 10... Scootaloo? I think that’s you.” Scared, Scootaloo took the paper and read. “The donation from Rainbow Dash has led to the best results. Soon, I plan to add the unicorn components from one Twilight Sparkle, as well as the earth pony components from...” And then there was a crash. Two pegasi came tumbling in the room, each one having their hooves on each other’s throats. Once they stopped rolling, Rainbow Dash ended up on top, and used her advantage to repeatedly punch Yellow’s face in as she lay on the floor, each hit echoing in the room. Before she could slam her hoof down again, she was met with the hind legs of Yellow on her gut and kicked off hard into a glass tank. The glass shattered on contact, releasing the green substance and the experiment it held. The experiment fell on Rainbow, who looked at it with disgust and horror and hastily pushed it away. She then looked around her and saw the other tanks that were in the room. “What the buck is this place?!” As she zoomed her head across the room, she saw a desk on the one side. She was shocked to see two familiar ponies behind the desk. “Scootaloo! Light! What’re you two doing back here!?” she shouted out to them as she tried to rid herself of the green substance that seemed to stain her coat. Yellow looked curiously at the two foals and began to giggle uncontrollably. “Well, well... the little Subject Ten finally came back to her birthplace. Do you wanna meet your mommy?” she asked Scootaloo mockingly, and then pointed a hoof to Rainbow Dash. “Ta-da! Amazing how the one pony you idolized is the same pony who helped bring you into this world, hey? Life is just full of ironies and surprises.” Scootaloo started hyperventilating. More memories started to overflow her mind, memories long forgotten. Memories of her being in a tank, of her being released and of her learning to walk. Each memory had the face of Bloodwing and his sick smile and how she was referred to as Subject Ten. One memory showed how she escaped, how she used what speed she had in her legs to evade Bloodwing’s henchponies. Another memory found her at a town that had the sign “Ponyville” on it and how she saw a scooter for the first time in her life, thinking it was the most amazing contraption ever, with it having the brand “Scootaloo” on it. The most prominent memory was meeting Rainbow Dash for the first time in her life. “Say kid, what’s your name?” Rainbow asked the orange filly as she hovered about her. “S-scootaloo.” “Scootaloo? Like the scooters? That’s kinda cool...” “Cool?” Scootaloo asked her curiously as she looked at the rainbow maned mare before her in awe. Rainbow chuckled softly. “Yeah, you’re cool I’d say. Second only to me of course!” Scootaloo turned her head sideways. “You?” Rainbow hit her hoof on her chest proudly. “My name’s Rainbow Dash! The fastest and most awesome pegasus in all of Equestria! Soon to be the Greatest Wonderbolt of all time!” she said with pride as she flew higher, seeing Scootaloo look at her with wonder. Though when she took a closer look at Scootaloo, she noticed her ribs were showing. “Kid, you look very hungry,” she said as she lowered herself to the floor and scooped up the surprised filly and placed her onto her back. “Hold on tight, this is gonna be a fast ride!” she said to the filly as she zoomed away to the Sugarcube Corner, with Scootaloo holding her neck as she flew. Rainbow Dash wrestled Yellow to the ground, yelling at Scootaloo. “Get out of here!” she cried. “Get to safety!” Scootaloo didn’t respond, she was still in shock at the flood of memories. “Hurry, before...” Yellow began charging up, but by now Dash had learned to recognize this and quickly flew up, dodging the lightning blast. She then flew down hoof first, knocking her in the stomach. Yellow coughed, trying to catch the breath that had just been knocked out of her. “Get out!” Rainbow Dash yelled again. “Come on!” Light yelled, dragging Scootaloo toward the exit. Pinkie came down through the opening Dash and Yellow had made, pushing her party cannon in front of her. She pointed it toward the recovering pegasus. “That’s it,” Yellow growled, getting up slowly. “I am going to bucking kill...” And then Pinkie fired. What came out wasn’t a ball of confetti, or glitter, or even cake batter; but a strange, sticky substance that engulfed the crazed experiment. The material pinned her to the ground, much to her displeasure. “Huh? Wh-what the?” she said, vainly struggling against her bonds. “What is this?” “Rubber!” Pinkie cheered. “Twilight made it!” “What?” Yellow screamed. She tried to charge and fire her lightning, but the rubber kept the attacks in check. “You little...” But Pinkie never found out exactly what she was, as Yellow was promptly silenced by a quick hoof to the face from Rainbow Dash, which knocked her out cold. “That’s that!” Fluttershy entered the room and shrieked softly as she clamped her hoof on her mouth to the horrors that met her eyes. She spotted Rainbow and flew over to her quickly. “Rainbow! Are you ok?” she asked meekly, eyes flicking over the numerous injuries on her friend. Rainbow waved a hoof at her. “I’ll be fine, Shy, ok? You and Pinkie go back to Twilight and the others. I’m going to find Scootaloo and make sure she’s safe.” “Ooh! I’m going to go with you! We can...” “No,” the pegasus said quickly. “You need to go provide backup.” Fluttershy shook her head. “Twilight is strong, she can take care of things. She wouldn’t want us to leave those poor foals alone.” Rainbow paused, then sighed. “Fine...but as soon as they’re safe, we get back there.”
Chapter 13Black was currently being dogpiled by Shining Armor, Applejack, and Rarity, who were trying to keep the sadist pinned. “Get off!” Black used his magic to push Shining, Applejack and Rarity off of him, lifting all three ponies off of him. As they hit the floor hard, Black’s magic ceased soon after. He stood up from the ground and dusted himself off, ruffling his new wings on his back. “Now that’s useful there.” Shining groaned as he got up, helping Rarity and Applejack to their hooves and looking back at Black. “I took care of your friend Blue back at the castle, I can take care of you also. Surrender now or else!” he shouted out to Black, as he charged his magic. Black grinned at the words spoken to him, “Typical from a Captain, always thinking you can win. Oh well, nice knowing ya,” he said to Shining, as he charged his horn too and jumped into the air. Black projectiles were being shot at the three ponies as they huddled together with Shining, who seemed to cast a shield just in time to stop the black projectiles from hurting them. “What do we do, y’all?” Applejack asked as she started to panic from the attack, something that a pony did not see everyday. Shining stood quiet with the shield held, “I got an idea but it’s a long shot,” he said to the mares as he poured all his concentration into his magic. “Anything will suffice!” Rarity shouted out as her eyes started watering as clutched herself to Shining for protection. “Applejack, do you have rope on you?” Shining asked her with his eyes on Black. Applejack pulled out the length of rope with her mouth, “Eeyup!” “Rarity, there should be a blue bottle in my bag where you’re standing. Take what’s in there and pour it all over the rope, ok?” “Right!” Rarity had her hoof in the bag and search its contents, before finding a bottle with glowing blue liquid in it. “Applejack, the rope now!” she ordered her friend to give her the rope, which she did. Rarity used her magic to open the bottle and pour the watery substance on the rope. The rope suddenly began to glow the same blue as what the substance did and Rarity handed it to Applejack. “Applejack, how fast are you on your hooves?” Shining asked her as his magic began to waver under the pressure Black’s projectiles. “Ah can outrun Angel Bunny!” “Who?” Shining asked her curiously, just as a crack was forming on his magical shield. “Nevermind!” Shining’s shield began to glow brightly, and a surge of magic propelled from it. The magic shaped itself into a giant spear, that flew straight for Black’s levitated self. The magic he was casting stood no chance against the colossus, that showed no sign of slowing down. The magical spear did not pierce Black, but instead went through as he covered himself with his hoof and new found power. However, he suddenly felt numbness take hold of his body, ceasing his wing movements. He fell to the ground, emitting the sounds of bones break from the collision. “Now, Applejack!” Shining ordered Applejack to do what he requested. Applejack took hold of the rope and ran as fast as she could to Black, who was starting to recover from his fall. Applejack clenched her teeth hard as she held the rope, doing a lasso as it travelled to a surprised Black. Once the rope was around him, she tugged at it hard, binding Black. Black tried to get out of the rope, but he realized his wings were not working, due to the fact of them being smashed thanks to the magical spear earlier. What startled him even more was his magic did not want to respond to his will. “What did you do to me?!” he demanded to Shining Armor, as he saw the stallion him with three of the mares. “Wait until I get this bucking rope of me you little p-” he was silenced by Applejack, as she bucked him hard in his face, with a few of his teeth coming out of his mouth as he fell unconscious. “What horrible language to use in front of a lady!” Rarity commented as she looked down on the fallen black as raised her head high fast releasing a ‘hmph!’ that was not noticed by the others. “Though is it safe to keep him like this?” she asked Applejack. Applejack just sighed as she dusted her stetson, “He been knocked out cold sugarcube, ain’t hurtin’ none of us now,” she said calmly as she placed her stetson back on. “Curious though Shining, what was in that bottle ya gave Rarity?” Shining picked up the bottle and showed it to them, the bottle read “Magic Be Gone” and the mares looked at him with confused eyes. “The princess often uses this for her pranks on unicorns, works fine on alicorns too, apparently.” he answered them bluntly as he stowed to bottle away. They weren’t out of the woods yet, as Shining saw his sister fighting against Bloodwing. “Let’s go!” A few feet away, Twilight and Blaze were handling their final obstacle, the mastermind behind the whole mess. Normally, Twilight would be approaching a situation like this logically, calculating the best plan of attack. But Spike was just beyond this pony, and seeing him suffer was causing her motherly instincts to override her more logical senses. Fortunately, this was balanced out by Blaze, who was keen on relieving years of hatred and aggression on his previous employer. And with him being immune to the mad doctor’s powers, he provided plenty of cover. “How annoying,” Bloodwing muttered as he blocked another blast of fire. “This is becoming too bothersome.” “So why don’t you just give it up?” Twilight snarled angrily. “You can’t keep blocking us forever!” “Hmm...” the pegasus rubbed his chin. “I suppose you’re right...” At that point, his wing reached out and picked up a scalpel. Twilight just about burst out laughing at such a weak weapon. And then the blade was lodged directly into his side. Blood flowed freely from the wound, far more freely than it should have. Twilight had to hold back the urge to vomit. Blaze widened his eyes. “No... he figured it out... I never thought he would...” “Now, now, Red,” Bloodwing shook his head, sounding genuinely disappointed, “you should know I always figure everything out.” He then mutilated his other side, allowing blood to flow. “Wh... what?” was all Twilight could manage. “Move, move, move!” Blaze yelled, moving to the side. A moment later, Twilight could see why. The blood flowing out of the mad pony suddenly lifted, like a gory whip, and lashed forward. Terrified, Twilight ducked just in time to avoid the weapon. It hit the wall, leaving a cut dripping in blood. “H... how?” “Oh, come now, Miss Sparkle,” Bloodwing said. “You of all ponies should know nothing is impossible with the right research.” The blood tendrils filed into points and shot at the pair. Blaze dodged, then tossed two fireballs at his opponent. It was blocked easily, serving only to amuse Bloodwing. Twilight brought up a shield that blocked the other attack, then pushed her shield forward. It was not a move that Bloodwing had predicted. He began to move, but was too slow, and only succeeded in getting knocked on his back. Twilight took advantage of this and charged forward. Which is why she was easy to catch in Bloodwing’s grip again. Bloodwing dragged Twilight over to him and levitated her up to face his muzzle, “I got you now, my pretty,” he said as he smiled deviously at Twilight as he licked his lips. Twilight glared at Bloodwing with hateful eyes, she began to remember everything that had happened. From Scootaloo to being abducted, to the discovery of the first lab, the encounter with White, her battle with Blue. The last memory that came to her was that of Spike being taken from her and brought to this Celestia-forsaken place to be killed all in the name of magic and science. She gritted her teeth as more rage began to flow in her. She closed her eyes and began to mumble words. Bloodwing looked at her with a grin, “What you trying to say, my dear?” The words came out clearer and her body began to glow slightly as an aura engulfed her. “You will pay for this!” she yelled out her body burned brightly, turning herself into a living pyro and opening her eyes to reveal nothing but white. “What in Tartarus?!” Twilight began to shout out as she fought Bloodwing’s hold, breaking free from the mad scientist’s bond and landing on the floor that as the flames bounced off from it. “Y-you broke away from my blood hold! Impossible! “Like you said,” she began to speak in whisper. “Nothing is impossible with the right research.” Bloodwing backed off and started to propel his blood towards her in the shape of small cannon balls. The blood did not reach her as it evaporated upon reaching the flames. For the first time Blaze had ever seen, Bloodwing looked terrified. He continued lashing out, hoping that at least one attack would connect, to at least distract his opponent, but it was all in vain. He tried to run, a futile effort. He felt himself encased in Twilight’s magic. Suddenly, he was picked up and slammed head first into a wall. He felt his forehead get hot and sticky. He was pulled back up and slammed into the ground. His wing gave a snap. Blaze, for all his hatred of the doctor, winced. Up he went again, and this time straight into the ceiling. For a few seconds, Twilight tossed him around like a rag doll, breaking his limbs and causing him to cry in pain and for mercy. But the mare wouldn’t have it. She wasn’t even aware. Until a hoof came down roughly on her shoulder. “Hey, Twi?” Blaze called. “I think you’re forgetting something...” Then reality crashed through Twilight’s rage. Spike was still in trouble. She dropped the pegasus, moaning and bleeding, and ran for the machine. She immediately took hold of the orb Spike was in and used her magic to shatter the glass. The red substance flooded the floor they were standing on and Spike flopped lifelessly in front of Twilight. He hardly resembled a dragon anymore. He looked like a large mess of unfocused unicorn magic, which for all intents and purposes was what he was now. The form shifted and cried, it still sounded vaguely like her son. She ran up to him and kneeled down to gather her son in her hooves, caring not that he was now painful to touch. Even as the magic stung her fur, she tightened her grip. “Spike! Wake up, Spike! Spike!” she shouted to Spike, but no answer came from him. She started tearing and sobbed into his shoulders, cradling him. “Listen, you need to focus! Try and pull yourself together! Spike? Spike! Spiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike!” “...and if you ever do something so stupid again, you are going to drill, drill, drill for days, you got it?” To Light, the lecture was just a typical mother whining, but to Scootaloo, Pinkie, and Fluttershy it was downright surreal. Seeing the brash and immature pegasus act like a worried mother was a level of strangeness that even Discord would be hard pressed to top. “...Well?” Scootaloo jumped. “Yes, Rainbow Dash,” she said, actually feeling guilty, but at the same time happy. She had always wondered what it would feel like to have a parent that cared, and here it was. “Ok, now I want you and Light to stay close to Fluttershy and Pinkie, ok?” she ordered the two foals as both nodded their heads slowly. “I need to take care of Bloodwing before he does something to Twilight and Spike and-” she stopped abruptly as she saw Scootaloo tearing in front of her. Rainbow rubbed her hoof behind her head as she came closer to Scootaloo body, “Hey kid, I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. Just that I was-” Scootaloo jumped at a surprised Rainbow and held onto her as she was sobbing into her shoulders. Her crying was muffled as her tiny head was deep in the shoulders of Rainbow. She held tighter the cyan mare’s body as she released all the tears she could. Rainbow looked at Fluttershy and Pinkie with concern as she held onto Scootaloo’s small frame firmly, yet gently. “... not real...” Rainbow’s ears perked as she heard Scootaloo’s words from her shoulder. She leaned her head closer to the filly’s to hear her properly. “What’s wrong Scootaloo?” “I’m not real...” she answered Rainbow Dash as she slowly lifted her head to reveal her red crying eyes. “What?” Rainbow asked her as she tilted her head in confusion to the filly’s statement. “I’m not real! I just a freak! I am not a real pony!” she yelled out to Rainbow as she cried out more. “I’m just some lab test gone wrong... I’m not even supposed to exist!” Rainbow decided to tighten her hold on Scootaloo and drape her wings over the filly’s shaking frame. “Kid... what happened to you? You knew you were made by Bloodwing back in Ponyville...” “No... I... I always thought... I always thought I was born once... Bloodwing just did something to me so I couldn’t remember...” Tears began to well up. “I’m... I’m not real...” There was a silence. Then, Rainbow Dash carefully kissed the child on the top of the head. “Could you feel that?” Scootaloo looked at the elder mare, confused. “Y... yes...” “And I can feel you. I can have a conversation with you. I’ve spent time with you since you came to Ponyville. Don’t tell me I imagined all that...” “You didn’t...” “That’s because you’re real. You exist. Who cares if you were born or came out of a tube?” “But...” “No, no more of that. I’m not going to raise anypony who just dumps on themselves, especially for something so trivial. You’re a cool kid, that’s why I like you, and I’m not going to let you keep this up. Promise?” “I...” Scootaloo trailed off. Rainbow Dash sighed. “Listen, kid... we can talk more about this once we’re out of here. But right now, Bloodwing and his goon could still be fighting, and we can’t afford to wait on that. I promise... tonight, we’ll talk more about what’s bothering you. Until then, I need you to be strong. For me, okay?” Scootaloo nodded. “Okay...” “Good, now stay with Pinkie and Fluttershy. I’m going to go up and...” And then Rainbow Dash was struck. Yellow had managed to pull one hoof out of the rubber gunk and had used it to get a clean hit on the cyan pegasus. Seeing this, Pinkie jumped and lunged for her party cannon, but Yellow anticipated this. “Not this time,” she sneered, striking the earth pony in the chest. At this point, she had gotten both her hooves free. “When I get out, I’m going to...” Rainbow lunged at her, but she fired, again and again. Rainbow dodged, but in the close quarters Yellow inevitably hit her. Unfortunately, she also hit some of the equipment too. Several of the tanks were destroyed, with the experiments mutilated. When Yellow’s reckless firing shot on the tanks, a whistling sound emitting from it, releasing a gas that soon filled the room. Pinkie sniffed the gas carefully as she closed her eyes to concentrate, which shot open fast and she turned to Rainbow and Fluttershy. “We gotta get out of here now!” she panicked and took hold of Light, galloping out of the lab fast. Fluttershy followed suit with Rainbow flying out fast holding Scootaloo close to her. Yellow growled at the fleeing ponies, “Come back here you!” she shouted out as she shot another lightning bolt at them. This would be the final mistake of her existence, as the lightning lit up the gas in the room. An explosion followed with Yellow caught in the blast radius, and everything that was in the lab was reduced to ash thanks to the flames. The shockwave of the blast hit the three mares, as all three of them flew across the hall, with Pinkie holding onto Light and Rainbow doing the same for Scootaloo. When the hallway was silent, the group lifted themselves from the ground and looked back to what was the lab. All three were at a loss of breath, save for the two foals who looked at each other before looking up to their elders. “You think she’s gone?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow as she let go the cyan mare and stood on her four hooves again. Rainbow dusted herself off and ruffled her feathers as she looked at Scootaloo, “She won’t be bothering us anymore,” she said to Scootaloo as she looked back to the others. “Everypony ok there?” she asked the others as they got to their hooves. “I-I’m okay,” Fluttershy answered Rainbow softly, though she felt her hoof was slightly a sore from the experienced, she did not want to worry her friend any further. “We’re okay here!” Pinkie merrily answered Rainbow as she helped up Light, “Are you ok though Lighty?” she asked the white pegasus. Light was flushed slightly, “Lighty?” he asked her and saw her nodding fast at him. “I’m ok, thanks Miss,” he answered her and he turned to Rainbow, “What about your other friend though? Miss Sparkle?” Almost on queue, a tremor shook the ponies as they looked to where the disturbance was coming from and all of them looked terrified at what might have caused it. Twilight kept calling Spike’s name, despite how futile it seemed. The dragon simply wouldn’t respond. “...Twi...” Shining Armor began. “Let’s get out of here. We can take Spike to a hospital or to the Princess and see if she can do anything for him.” Hiccuping, she nodded. She placed Spike onto her back and began to sprint for the outside. “Meanwhile, I can call a team to arrest this piece of... what the?” Bloodwing wasn’t there anymore. “What? How... he must have had every bone in his body broken!” “Look, he left us a trail,” Applejack pointed out. Indeed, Bloodwing had left a bright red streak on his floor as he had crawled away. Shining had simply missed it in his surprise. “Well, he’s not getting away from me,” the Captain said sternly. He began following the trail, with Applejack, Rarity, and Blaze following right behind him. “Oh, I do hope this comes to an end soon,” Rarity moaned, careful not to actually step in the blood. “Relax, this fella was givin’ a real beat down. What could he do...” “No!” Blaze’s cry made the other’s jump, but it was justified. Bloodwing, indeed battered, was just behind his machine, standing on a strange platform. It stood under a metal top that connected to the machine that had held Spike earlier. A glass orb was beginning to close around him. “No!” Blaze flew toward the container. He was too late, it snapped shut, causing the pegasus to smash against the glass. Desperately, he pounded against it. “Help me break this, before...” And then Bloodwing turned it on. From the top, Spike’s energy shot down and into the mad doctor, causing him to cry in pain. he twisted and contorted, but through the pain came laughter. Laughter that just got bigger as the changes happened. His bones reset, healing in a clip. His wings grew longer and more elegant. His legs longer, thicker. A unicorn horn grew out of his head. His mane turned into fire, dancing. And he grew, bigger, and bigger. “Everypony get out!” Blaze told the others as he saw the metamorphosis taking place, but before anypony could react, the glass orb shattered. Bloodwing rose from the shattered glass and opened his eyes slowing, showing only red. He then observed himself thoroughly and began to chuckle softly. The chuckle turned into maniacal laughter as he was literally prancing around on the spot in merriment of what had happened to him. “I did it! I finally ascended!” he exclaimed as he opened his wings wide and hovered himself from the ground and looked down upon the crowd of bewildered ponies. His gaze fell upon Black, who woke up in rope binding and looked confused for a brief moment before looking up to him. “You’ve done it boss, you’ve done it!” Bloodwing just waved his hoof and he smiled smugly, “Indeed so, my little Black,” Black jumped around to get closer to the group as their gaze was only upon Bloodwing, “Alright! Now get me out of this thing!” Bloodwing’s merriment turned grim as he looked down on Black, “I think not.” “What?” Bloodwing closed his eyes as he flew higher, “You’ve done me a great service my boy, but you’re usefulness has come to an end,” he raised his hoof, lifting Black from the ground and bringing him closer to him. “Goodbye,” he brought his hoof higher as Black rose higher too. “Why you little rat-bucke-” Black’s words stopped abruptly and the others below him gasped at what was happening to him. “In the name of all things sacred!” It looked like the life was being sucked out of the sadistic alicorn. He shriveled up, his skin wrinkling and his frame becoming thinner. A wisp of energy left him and flew into Bloodwing, causing him to moan in pleasure. Finally, it ceased, and Black was tossed onto the ground, lifeless. “Well, that was fun,” Bloodwing smiled, licking his lips. “Now let’s see what this form can really do!” And then, he summoned all the energy he could into one deafening explosion. Author's Note Edited by Amras Felagund and Vozzlefox, my teacher... check out his story Lately guys :D
Chapter 14Twilight was racing through the streets at a speed that could rival that of a Wonderbolt. The life of her son Spike was slipping, thanks to a psychotic scientist. As she galloped through the streets of Canterlot, she was met with the gathering of pony crowds who were out enjoying their early evening recreation. “Out of my way!” she yelled at the crowd as she used her magic to push them aside forcefully. She bit her lips as she ran faster than she ever had in her life, with Spike being held onto her with her magic. She reached the castle gates, slowing down her pace as she tried to catch her breath. The gatekeepers, who did not immediately recognize her, raised their wings, sharp and fierce like the spears they had on standby. The guard on her right cleared his throat as he began to speak in a gruff voice, “Halt! Visitors are not permitted at this time, Miss-” “Just open the gate before I make you!” Twilight threatened the guards as she began to charge her horn. The other guard glared at her warily, “Miss, threatening the guard is a severe crime. One punishable by-” “Twilight Sparkle!” The guards turned sharply behind them as they located the source of the pony calling out to them, and their breath hitched slightly as they looked up and saw who was approaching them fast. Princess Luna came gliding to the front gate when she immediately saw her sister’s pupil running drastically to the palace from her telescope. “Stand down guards! This here is Lady Twilight Sparkle! A personal friend of my sister and I!” she used her famous Canterlot voice to let the words sink into the guards and others around her. Once the guards made way for Twilight, Luna approached her and looked with concern to the unicorn’s watery eyes. “My dear friend, what has transpired?” she asked softly to Twilight, failing to notice Spike on Twilight’s back. Twilight sniffed as she began to sob, “Please! I need you and Princess Celestia to save my baby!” she said in a hollowed voice as he pointed to her back, where the dragon was lying lifelessly. Luna was shocked by this and placed a hoof on her mouth with her iris’ were dilating to the size of plates. “Oh my goodness! What happened to the poor boy?!” she asked Twilight, putting a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder to help ease her shaking form. “B... Bloodwing,” Twilight choked out. “He tried to...” she tried to finish but was overcome by sadness. She bowed her low as more tears were escaping from her eyes, until she felt a gentle hoof on her shoulder and looked up to see Luna giving her a reassuring soft smile before she turned to the guards. “Guards, escort Twilight Sparkle to the hospital wing with all haste!” Luna ordered sternly, seeing her guards give her a sharp salute as they walked to Twilight’s side. She lifted Twilight’s head up with her hoof under the unicorn’s chin. “Worry not Twilight, we will...” An explosion rocked Canterlot. The princess looked up sharply and narrowed her eyes as though they were binoculars. She let out a soft gasp that soon turned to a scowl, “Inform my sister of this at once!” she ordered the guards again, and saw both of them galloping towards the palace with Twilight in tow. Luna spreaded her wings and took to the skies. Bloodwing flew high, up over the city of Canterlot, surveying the area. “Looks good... we’ll have to get rid of most of the shopping center, no need for such frivolities, but I could make a good capital city...” “Bloodwing!” he turned to face the two princesses flying towards him at top-speeds. Both princesses’ faces showed short of livid, especially Luna’s who viewed the pony before them with nothing but contempt. “Ah, Celestia, good to see you again,” he greeted cordially. “Bloodwing,” she answered in a tone that suggested seeing somepony for the first time in awhile. “You’ve changed, I see.” “Indeed I have,” the scientist agreed. “It took over a decade, but it would have taken half the time if you hadn’t decided to be difficult.” “You’re a sick pony,” Luna spat. “We know your crimes well. You’ve done horrible things, all in the name of your foolish experiments.” “Foolish? Hardly. I’m gifting ponies with immortality, those that deserve it at least. What have you done in that area?” “Nothing... because I am not cruel enough to curse anypony with immortality. It’s...” “Oh, save it,” Bloodwing sneered. “An excuse you keep using to keep your power all to yourself. I refuse to believe it.” “It matters not,” Luna said bluntly. “We will defeat you either way.” She didn’t wait for an answer. She fired immediately. “Everypony ok back there?!” Shining Armor shouted out the others as his shield was being expanded and used to plow the debris away from them. Once the shield was down, the air had a layer of lingering dust floating in it and the lab was in ruins. Blaze shook his head, clearing the dizziness that was building up. “We’re all good,” he replied, as he looked up to the skies to see Bloodwing, “But we better deal with him before more ponies get involved,” he said sternly as he looked out of to the starry skies that was now visible thanks to Bloodwing destroying the lab. Applejack looked at him Blaze, “Blaze, I think ya’ll need to tell us what is going on ‘ere,” she told him as she looked him deep in the eyes as to see the whole truth and nothing but the truth. “What Bloodwing just did was-” “Anypony here?!” Rainbow Dash flew into the now demolished room and looked around her before she saw the four ponies in a clearing up ahead. She flew to them fast and landed before Shining, “What in Tartarus happened here, Shining?! And where’s Twilight!?” she asked him loudly as she was looking around her to view more of the destruction before her. “Bloodwing happened,” Shining answered her deadpanned with a serious expression that soon molded into one of sorrow, “And Twilight left... cause of Spike... he...” “What!? What happened to Spike!?” Before Shining could answer her, four more ponies came rushing to them. They turned to the new group and were surprised at who was accompanying Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Applejack looked down on the orange filly before her, “Scootaloo? What in tarnation are ya doin’ ‘ere!?” she questioned her with a stern tone as Scootaloo backed away slowly, with Rainbow coming in-between her and Applejack. “Give her a break, will you!” she told her friend as she was glaring at the farm pony before softening her expression. “I’ll explain what happened later.” “Light!?” Blaze came rushing to his little brother as he was both shocked and angry to see him at the one place he did want him to return to. “I thought I told you to stay with Scootaloo!” “Well, technically...” “Don’t give me that!” the older pegasus snapped. “After all these years you were finally safe, and you went right back into what I saved you from!” “I...” Light stuttered. He was beginning to cry. Blaze took a deep breath. “Look... we have bigger things to worry about right now.” He turned his attention back on the other adults. “We need to go after Bloodwing.” “Are you mad?” Rarity exclaimed. “He’s an alicorn now...” “Who doesn’t know how to use his abilities yet,” Blaze pointed out, “and I want to keep it that way. We need to take him down now.” “I agree,” Rainbow Dash chimed in. “As long as he’s still out there, Canterlot is going to be in trouble.” Shining Armor nodded. “We’re never going to have better odds. Alright then, You, Blaze, and Fluttershy fly off after him. The rest of us will get back to the palace. We’ll get the Elements of Harmony, they can help.” “Um, maybe I better stay with the f...” Fluttershy began nervously before Rainbow Dash pulled her toward the ceiling. “We need all the extra eyes to find him, he might be a million miles away by...” A large flash of light lit up the sky. “Lands sake! We better hurry!” Applejack told the others as more flashes of light were showing. Shining Armor decided to create a shortcut. His horn glowed sharply before it fired his magic to the wall, blowing it up and creating a new passage for them. The building around them was starting to quake, with the roof giving in. “Come on! Move! Move!” he order the ponies as they made a quick escape from the building that was now destroyed for good. The ponies stopped for a brief moment to catch their breath, “Here I thought I was reckless,” Blaze noted loudly. “You’re one crazy jackass!” Shining rolled his eyes to this statement, “Spend a week with Twilight and you will know what crazy is,” he said to Blaze, noticing the mares giving him a cold eye. “A-Anyway, we need to get the castle and deal with Bloodwing,” he said to the others as they made their way to where the battle was commencing. Luna and Celestia encircled Bloodwing in the air, never taking their eyes off of him. He merely smiled at their actions and decided that his eyes were on Celestia’s. Luna took the chance, and fired at him with her magic. He looked behind him and flew quickly out of it’s path, retorting with a shot of his blood magic at her. The magic however hit a shield Luna emitted and she fired once again at the mad pony. Celestia took this chance to use a bit of magic of her own, sending torrents of magic to Bloodwing. She tried to lure him away but without avail, as he merely dodged the magic and responded using his own against her. She was however, also used her magic to form a protective layer around her. Oddly she felt weak and started sweating from the magic she was using. She looked at her sister Luna, who was also showing visible signs of fatigue and barely able to muster enough magic to repel the villain before them. “How does it feel to be outclassed you old hags?!” Bloodwing mockingly asked the princesses, seeing as he now had an advantage. Celestia only prayed that Shining Armor was still alive and able to put a shield up. Bloodwing shot at Luna for another attack. Expecting an energy beam, the Princess of the Night put up a shield. However, it couldn’t defend her from what came next. The mad doctor stopped just inches from her, and that seemed that. He seemingly did nothing at all. And yet, Luna suddenly felt cold. Like the life was draining out of her. Not since the NightMare touched her had her soul felt so dark. And then it was over. The feeling left, replaced by severe dizziness. Bloodwing struck her with a hoof, testing his new earth pony strength. She flew toward the ground. Celestia eyes widened seeing her sister fall, and glowered at Bloodwing, firing more energy beams at Bloodwing, which unfortunately missed. She flew in closer to her target, wanting to end this once and for all. Once she was close enough, she used her horn to cast the finishing spell. However, Celestia felt the same cold feeling her sister had. And just as before, it was over quickly, allowing Bloodwing a chance to hit her with an energy blast. Bloodwing chuckled as Celestia spun out. “This is what Equestria has to offer? The ponies will welcome me as a...” And then he was hit from underneath by a Sonic Rainboom. He flew backwards having the air knocked out of him, but it was the surprise that crippled him more effectively. Soon he regained his bearings, and flipped himself over. Rainbow Dash, surprised by the sudden movement, made the mistake of slowing down. She was instantly in Bloodwing’s magical grip. “Don’t you ever know when to give up?” he asked her blankly as she drew her closer to him. Rainbow just smirked at the stallion, “Not on your life I don’t,” she answered him as she spat at him, hitting his eye and seeing him flinch slightly, though not releasing the grip from her. Bloodwing wiped the saliva from his eyes and glared at Rainbow, seeing her snicker in place. He snickered himself, silencing the mare before her. “Let’s see how much you have left in you, shall we?” He proceeded in coming closer to her, but Rainbow zoomed away from him until she came back fast and slammed both her hind legs against his chest, knocking the air out of him, just long enough for Dash to fly further away. “You little wench!” he growled at her, seeing her prepare to do another Sonic Rainboom on him. However, Bloodwing saw through this and prepared his magic, firing a beam of intense magic at Rainbow. The magic was only able to hit her wing though, but it was enough to send her falling to the ground at a speed that would be fatal to any pegasus. As Rainbow was falling, she closed her eyes as the ground came nearer to her. But the wind that was hitting her face from the fall stopped, and so did she. She then felt herself floating upwards and feared for the worst. She hesitantly opened her eyes, but she was met with the smiling face of her friend Fluttershy. Fluttershy let go of her, seeing how Dash was able to gain momentum again. “A-are you alright?” she asked her shyly. Rainbow smiled broadly at Fluttershy, “Thanks to you I am. One more second, and I would have been a pancake thanks to that mad clown,” she told Fluttershy, looking back at Bloodwing who seemed to not notice the two of them below as he was advancing to the castle. Blaze came flying from behind and just stopped behind the mares who turned to face him, “You two ok?” “Oh yes, but I’m worried for the princesses. What if they-” Fluttershy’s words were interrupted as she heard the sound of magic exploding and saw the Princesses using their magic against Bloodwing, magic intended only for the foulest of enemies. Celestia moved in to lock horns with him, but stopped when she realized that would likely give Bloodwing an opening to use his mysterious spell, opting instead to keep her distance and fire another attack. As he dodged, Luna flew towards the three pegasi. “You three, is Shining Armor still active?” “He is, he’s on his way to the Palace to get the Elements of...” “No!” Luna said suddenly, “the Elements are not a generic weapon. They only nullify dark and chaos magic. Bloodwing is using neither.” “Then... what do we do?” “Return to the palace, and tell Shining Armor to put up his shield around all of Canterlot.” “But...” Rainbow Dash stammered, “you’ll be trapped outside with...” “Better than he be allowed to harm innocents. Fear not, we have battled Discord at full power, this foal will be trivial.” “But,” Rainbow Dash began, only for Blaze to pull at her foreleg. “You heard her, let’s go!” Sighing, Rainbow Dash obeyed, flying off with her two comrades in tow. Luna turned to rejoin the battle just in time for Bloodwing to hit her with his mysterious spell again. Nearly oblivious to the battle in the skies, Twilight cried at her son’s bedside. She held his one claw in her hoof firmly, feeling it becoming colder by the second. Her lips quivered as she looked down on her boy’s body. “Please, Spike!” she begged, as if her previous beginnings had always failed to work because she simply wasn’t desperate enough, “You must fight it! Don’t leave me! Please!” “I’m sorry, Lady Sparkle,” a doctor noted, a clipboard levitating in front of him, “but he’s lost too much energy to sustain himself.” Twilight just shook her head in denial as more tears were flowing freely from her eyes, “No! There has to be something you can do!” she exclaimed to the doctor as she clinged onto his jacket. The doctor sighed as he placed a hood on her shoulder, “Miss Sparkle, you must understand we-” The doors of the room slammed open as Shining Armor came rushing though carrying a box of some sorts with him. He spotted his sister with the doctor and galloped towards her, with the box following him as it was coated in his magic. “Twilly, we got a problem! Bloodwing’s on his way and-” “Bloodwing!?” Twilight immediately went to her brother’s side as the words were spoken, her sadness turned into fury by the pony who did this to her son and to others. “Where is he!?” she asked her brother as the anger was building up in her. Shining stared at his sister, “Twilly, could you not look at me like that,” he asked her politely, seeing his sister calming down to see a face that belonged only to the very depressed. “He’s fighting the princesses right now, but I think he may be more trouble than what he anticipated.” “What do you mean?” Shining continued as he lowered the case to his sister, “I saw him suck the magic out of his subordinate and getting stronger from that. I’m not sure if the princesses can defeat him alone, but I do believe that-” Twilight’s eyes shimmered for a moment as she connected the dots in her mind, “I got it!” she said to her brother as she took the case and opened them to reveal the Elements of Harmony in them. She placed her tiara, which was the Element of Magic, on her head and turned around to face Spike’s body. Her eyes glistened in tears just by seeing her boy like this, but she had to be strong for what was coming next. She placed a hoof on his cheek, ignoring the burning feeling that was building up from the contact. “Mommy will be right back Spike, ok? Just be strong for me please,” she asked him kindly, not expecting an answer and turning back to Shining, “Let’s go!” “Right!” Both ponies exited the room and made their way outside to the clearing, seeing Rainbow Dash approaching them with Blaze and Fluttershy. “Shining! Princess Luna said you outta put up your shield over the city!” Rainbow told him as they landed before the unicorns. “I’m on it!” Shining answered as he concentrated his magic, shooting a beam of magic that soon shot up skywards. The tip of the beam then spread to form a shield that reached all over the city of Canterlot. When the shield was up, Shining’s horn stopped glowing and he was slightly dizzy from the excess use of magic. By the time he had recovered, Twilight and her friends were already several feet away, with only Blaze left behind. “Where are they going?” Blaze shrugged. “Twilight said she had a plan. She also said we needed to stay behind. If she fails...” he drifted off, not wanting to even think about that possibility. “Anyway, where’s Light?” “He’s in the Palace, safe and sound. Well, not exactly. We better put in evacuation procedures. You need to fly up to the Princesses and warn them about Bloodwing’s power, I’m not sure that they are even aware of it.” Blaze paused. “If he absorbs all of the Princesses’ energy... we’re doomed.” Celestia remembered the last time she was this tired. Their battle with Discord, several millennia earlier, had been taxing. That wasn’t surprising, given that he was the embodiment of chaos, but Bloodwing was just a normal pony. The sisters were stunned at the pony before them, seeing as he held his own against them. Celestia decided to fly in closer to Bloodwing, reading her magic. Just as she was ready, she felt drained and her magic was cut off. She flew backwards and shot magic at him several times along with her sister, but all the spells were evaded almost too easily. Luna, being somewhat more devious in her tactics, managed to clip Bloodwing. The scientist yelled and tried to stay afloat on his damaged wing, allowing the Princess of the Night to strike him in the chest. He went flying to the ground. “That was our most powerful attack, and it won’t keep him down for long. How is he so strong, so skilled?” “And why are we so weak?” Celestia moaned. “I had forgotten what physical exhaustion was like.” Bloodwing got up from the ground, coughing as he regained his breath. He looked up in the sky to the princesses before flying upwards to them. “Let me show you what death feels like!” he yelled as he came flying towards the princesses, as they send a barrage of magic to his direction only for him to dodge all of the attacks. “You’re mine Celes-!” A streak of flame came crashing into him, as he flew backwards from the force that hit him. He let out a cry of agony as his body was slightly burned from the attack. When Bloodwing looked to the princesses, he saw Blaze floating in front of them. What surprised him for a moment was the glare in Blaze’s eyes. “Princesses, with all due respect, I need you to return to the castle at once,” he told Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as he looked behind his shoulder to meet their eyes. “Who are you?” Luna asked him curiously as she looked at the stallion’s eyes, eyes that showed no fear for what he was facing against. Blaze just smirked at the question given to him, “My name’s Blaze, Blaze Stream. Got it memorized?” he asked her as he pointed a hoof to his head. Princess Celestia looked at him impassively first, before her eyes blinked to show compassion to the stallion who was literally offering himself to a beast for them to escape. “You have our greatest gratitude Blaze, good luck,” she told him as she and Luna made their way back to the palace. Bloodwing laughed at what was happening before them, “You really think you can defeat me, Red?” he asked him mockingly as he smiled smugly to the red pegasus before him. Blaze snorted and looked back at Bloodwing with burning eyes, “Nah, but I can beat you up enough for the girls to finish you off... you pissed off the wrong ponies today, including me,” he told Bloodwing as his wings were now blazing in the night skies. “Ha! Let’s see you fight against me Red you bucking failure of a-” Blaze came tackling towards Bloodwing as they both were using their hooves to inflict damage on the other, “The name’s Blaze and I’ll brand it onto your corpse!” he shouted out as he covered himself in flames, with each punch he performed creating an explosion in the skies where they were fighting. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both landed by the castle’s grounds just as the fight between Blaze and Bloodwing became dangerous. The Princesses heard the sounds of explosions behind them and they turned to see the fiery pegasus give his all against the tyrannical madpony. “Tia, we have to help him!” Luna urged her sister as she turned to face her with pleading eyes. “I know, Lulu!” Celestia responded to her sister as her eyes were showing worry for the stallion defending the city now. “We need-” “Princess!” Celestia’s ears perked and she turned sharply to face Twilight Sparkle and her friends, who have donned the Elements of Harmony. “Princess, what’s going on?!” she asked her mentor as she saw both princesses looking exhausted. “The one known as Blaze relieved us of our battle,” Luna answered, looking to the sky. “Who is he? And what was Bloodwing doing to us?” “That pegasus was one of Bloodwing’s old slaves... Celestia can fill you in later,” Twilight explained hastily. “As for what happened, he can suck the energy out of ponies,” Twilight explained. “You two must be feeling weak...” Celestia watched the battle again. “How are we going to stop this?” “I have an idea,” Twilight said. Celestia finally noticed the Elements of Harmony. “Twilight, no, that won’t work...” Twilight held up a hoof. “I’m aware, Princess. Please, let me try this.” Celestia wanted to forbid her from doing so... but she knew better. “Very well, my most faithful student. Go on, and good luck.” She looked back in the sky... and her eyes widened again. “What the?” The others looked up as well. “What the buck!” Rainbow Dash screamed in terror. Scootaloo was flying directly toward Bloodwing. Bloodwing had caught Blaze by now. “I’m kind of glad you survived this long, Red. I was hoping to get the energy out of all of you.” His horn glowed. And then Scootaloo hit him from beneath, her horn puncturing his stomach. Bloodwing snarled in pain and surprise, releasing his hold on Blaze. Scootaloo pulled her horn out, then began bombarding the doctor with every attack she could throw. He was pushed back, still more out of surprise than any real damage. Bloodwing decided to grab hold of Scootaloo, using his magic to keep her in place. “Why little tramp! How dare you attack your creator!” he shouted out at her as he brought her closer to him and sucked her energy out. Just as she was starting to lose consciousness, Bloodwing punched her hard on her muzzle before grabbing her again. “Now go ahead and rot,” he dropped her from his grip and saw her plummeting to the ground below. “Kid!” Blaze shouted out to her, just as he was about to come to her rescue. He was stopped however by Bloodwing, who used his magic to try and grab Blaze but wasn’t able to hold him in place. Blaze looked up to see Bloodwing charging at him. “Always mind your surroundings!” Bloodwing shouted at Blaze as they continued the fight, though Bloodwing noticed the attention of Blaze was dwindling as Scootaloo was falling to her death. “Scootaloo!” Rainbow yelled out to her just as she was about to fly to her, but she was beaten by a little white streak that reached the falling filly. Rainbow’s eyes widened in surprised when she saw Light carrying Scootaloo in a bridal style and floating downwards to the others before them. Scootaloo’s eyes opened up and she saw Light looking down on her with relieved eyes. She then noticed the position she was in and her face was becoming redder by the moment. “Are you ok, Scootaloo?” he asked her as she was back on her hooves, but the pain in her head still throbbed endless as she flinched. She rubbed her head gently and felt a bloody spot on her head that strangely clotted itself rather fast by anypony’s standards. “I-I’m fine, it’s just-” “Scootaloo!” Scootaloo and Light turned to see Rainbow Dash coming before them, and she was not pleased. “What in the name of Equestria were you thinking charging in like that?!” she asked Scootaloo crudely as both foals were looking down on the ground guiltily. “I just... I just wanted to help Blaze is all. I was just so angry with Bloodwing I didn’t know what I was-” she said as she was sniffing a few tears that were building up, but felt a gently hoof on her head. She looked up to see Rainbow look at her with a tender smile. “You have done enough for now, let us take care of the rest. Ok?” she asked Scootaloo and saw both foals nod at her. At that moment, the limp form of Blaze crashed into Rainbow Dash, sending both pegasi crashing to the ground. Looking in terror, the two foals gave a terrified squeak as Bloodwing flew up to him. “Red’s dead,” he said simply, in a cold voice. Light needed no further incentive to flee, but he never got the chance. As soon as he turned around, a blast of magic hit his back, sending him spiraling. As he fell, Bloodwing grabbed him, but just long enough to pull Scootaloo from his grasp. No longer having any use for the foal, he dropped him, concentrating solely on his creation. “Well, Subject Ten, you have something that belongs to me... and since there aren’t any more powerful ponies around...” Scootaloo screamed in terror as she was being drawn nearer to him. And then a Sonic Rainboom hit Bloodwing, right in his damaged gut. Screaming in pain, he dropped Scootaloo, who was caught by a Royal Guard. “Pardon me, miss, I have instructions from Lady Rainbow Dash to escort you home.” “But... Light...” “My comrade got him. Now come on...” A few feet away, Dash broke off from Bloodwing, allowing the alicorn to recover. Arrogantly, the cyan pegasus turned and wiggled her rump at him. “All that experimentation and you still can’t avoid a Sonic Rainboom?” “Watch it...” he began, but he noticed something different about his opponent: the Element of Loyalty was draped around her neck. Rainbow Dash noticed the gaze, and tapped the jewelry for emphasis. “You like it? One of the most powerful artifacts in Equestria, and it’s mine, not yours!” “Hm,” Bloodwing smirked. “Not for long.” He lunged at her. But she was already off, shouting taunts. Bloodwing followed, confident. “Are you sure ‘bout this, Twi?” Applejack asked. “...Not entirely,” she admitted, balancing her Element of Magic on her head. “But what if you’re wrong about this?” “Then... I’ll probably go down in history as the idiot who let Bloodwing win...” She noticed Rainbow Dash coming. “There they are. Everypony, Elements ready!” The other four Bearers got in position as their friend flew down to them, Bloodwing right behind her. “It’s show time!” Rainbow yelled out to her friends, and her necklace began to glow brightly along with the others. Rainbow and the other girls were soon lifted from the ground, as their elements were glowing in synchronization. Each element started shooting magic randomly at Bloodwing, though all of them narrowly missed him. The mares’ eyes glowed white as all of them grinned, and a beam of pure magic shot from all the elements at once. The beam had the similarities of a rainbow, that shined after the end of a raging storm. The beam flew in an arc to Bloodwing, and hit him with its full impact. Bloodwing however just stood there and became all giddily, “So much power!” he said as he stood and reached out his hooves in the air as though he was begging for more of the magic. “Twi, it ain’t working! We need to-” “Trust me on this one!” Twilight replied hastily to Applejack, as she concentrated on Bloodwing, seeing him act so arrogant with what he was facing. “Bloodwing, you wanted power! Well, you got it!” she yelled out as the magic intensified. Bloodwing’s eyes suddenly popped open as he realized what was happening. He tried to step to the side, but Twilight, seeing this, used her magic to hold him where he was. If he was thinking clearly, he might have easily broken out, but panic was not a healthy emotion. Bloodwing yelled in pain as he stared in horror at his body, that started to crack. With each crack showing on his body, magic seeped out of him uncontrollably. “What?!” he shouted out as he looked at his hooves that started to disintegrate, with the magic in him acting as an out of controlled flame inside a furnace. “No... no! This is not how it was suppose to be!” he said in a panicked tone, with every inch of his body slowly disappearing. “This is not what was supposed to happen!” he yelled out as all the magic in him burst out, followed shortly by his body being reduced to ash. Streaks of magic flew in all different directions. The Elements stopped, and the threat known as Bloodwing was finally dealt with. Rainbow just stared blankly at the spot where Bloodwing was before his demise, “How did you know it would work, Twilight?” Twilight just shrugged as she took her tiara off her head, “I noticed how he was sucking all magic out of the Princesses, then I remembered how Blue exploded when he used too much energy. I realized Bloodwing’s magic must be flawed, so I figured if he absorbed too much, he couldn’t contain it.” Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight and nodded in agreement, “Oooooh, like when you blow too much air into a balloon, it goes pop!” she said as she made a ‘pop’ sounded with her mouth. Twilight just shook her head with a half-smile, “Yes Pinkie, just like that,” she said to the pink pony as the all took of their respective elements. “And now that the energy he stole has nowhere to go, it should return to the proper ponies.” Inside Canterlot Castle, two large streaks of energy flew back into the bodies of Princess Celestia and Luna. Another flew into Blaze, being carried in by two Royal Guards. The seemingly dead pegasus sat up. Another flew into the infirmary and into the still formless body of Spike. It had no noticeable changes. And the final flew into the ruins of Bloodwing’s lab. Black crawled out of the wreckage. He might have lost, but he still lived, and he was still an alicorn. He’d slip away, he’d recover, and he’d return to... At that point, he found several Royal Guards surrounding him. “By order of the Royal Family, you are under arrest. Come quietly or we’re authorized to use lethal force.” Black groaned, planting his face on the ground. Today was not his day. Rainbow smiled triumphantly as she flew above the others, “We showed them! Didn't we, girls-” she couldn't finish as she was tackled in the air by an orange alicorn filly. “You did it!” she squealed happily! Rainbow Dash just hugged her back. “Yes... we did it. Bloodwing’s gone, for good this time. He won’t hurt you again.” “Hey, Twilight!” Applejack suddenly called. Rainbow Dash looked up to see that her friend was sprinting back to the castle. “Where y’all goin’?” It was Rarity that answered, once realization hit her. “Spike!” With that, the whole group forgot about celebration. There might not be a happy ending for some.
Chapter 15Twilight galloped as fast as she could to the hospital wing of the palace. Even though Bloodwing was gone, and the magic stolen from others was returned to them, there was still the critical condition of her son Spike that worried her to no end. As she reached the doors, she marched right through them and found the doctors overlooking the still formless Spike with panicked expressions on their faces. “Ms. Sparkle, we-” “What’s going on here?!” she demanded to know from the doctors. One of them shook his head with eyes closed shut before reaching out a hoof to her that enclosed her in a hug. “I’m sorry Ms. Sparkle, your son didn’t make it,” he said with bitterness in his voice. He was not accustomed to telling parents of their own child’s untimely demise. Another doctor took a blanket and covered the baby dragon’s face with it, as a sign of final rest. Twilight’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as she pushed her way through the doctors until she reached the still body of Spike and held him close to her. He was no longer painful to the touch. “Spike! You must concentrate! Remember your form! Your dragon form! Please don’t leave me! Spike!” she begged to her son as she gently shook him in her embrace, feeling only an icy coldness. The doors of the theater opened again, with all of Twilight’s friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Blaze and Light, and the Princesses all entering to find Twilight crying over Spike’s body. The grouped gasped in shock, that soon turned to morbid sadness. “Ms. Sparkle, please we-” “No! Spike! Remember your form! Spike!” Twilight shouted as she sobbed continuously. She begged for an answer but was only met with a dead silence. Her lips quivered as she could only hold onto his body and release a torrent of tears from her eyes, burying her head in her son’s shoulder. All the ponies in the room were shedding silent tears for the mourning mother before them, though the one who was shedding the most tears out of the whole group was Celestia herself. She removed her crown from her head as a sign of respect and her tears were forming a pool as they fell to the ground. She walked up slowly to Twilight, encasing her wing over her student. “I am so sorry, Twilight... I’m so sorry...” she whispered softly to her student’s ears as she saw the body of Spike lying limp in the unicorn’s hold. Twilight rose her head slowly, looking down on her son’s body. “Spike... I love you so much...” she said softly to him, closing her eyes and kissing his forehead for what would be last time ever for her. She returned to crying into his shoulders as her son was now gone. “Mom?” Spike felt nothing but an endless shiver of cold running through him. All he saw was darkness around him, darkness that showed no end in sight. He tried to lift up his arms, but found that he couldn’t. He looked down on himself, only seeing nothing but the same darkness. He tried running to what he thought was the other side, but made no progress at all. The only thing that met him was the same chill that would not go away. The last time he felt this kind of cold was when the others played a prank on him, having him nearly drown in the river. He remembered waking up to the call of his mother, who he saw was crying endless tears of joy, regret and sorrow. He remembered the warmth he felt from her when she would not let go of her embrace from his tiny body, seeing Spike shiver uncontrollably. Spike also saw the other ponies without the mirth they had earlier for finishing the Wrap Up in time. Spike was trying his best to remember warm feelings he has had before being in this state. There were many memories, but the most prominent one was when he confessed to Twilight, marking that the day he would forever call her ‘Mom’. She was already his mother, but saying the word to her was proof of that recognition. This had given him a joy he sought for so long, and what made it even more worthwhile was the jubilation he gave his mother by loving her as her son. But now, in this cold space, he was alone. “So this... is what death is like?” he asked himself somberly, thinking only of his mother who was now out of his grasp. He closed his eyes again, at least what he thought were his eyes, trying his best to rid himself of the sorrow that was filling him. “Spike! You must concentrate! Remember your form! Your dragon form! Please don’t leave me! Spike!” Twilight’s voice rang, alerting Spike to look around again. Her voice echoed in the dark space, and he tried to call out to her, but no voice emitted from him. He decided to venture in every direction to find the source of the voice, but it grew fainter by the minute. He then felt a force pulling him away from the voice, he turned but saw nothing. This reminded him of the nightmare he had, calling out to Twilight who was not helping him one bit. Spike felt himself slipping away, further into the abyss, feeling his very soul becoming one with the darkness. “Ms Sparkle, please we-” “No! Spike! Remember your form! Spike!” The words were faint, but still there. He thought of what his form was, the form of the baby dragon he was before. He thought hard on his form, feeling a sense of warm coming from him. The darkness however would not cease, dragging him further. He tried, but nothing was working for him. He then remembered his life as though it flashed before him, and thought this was the end for good... “No!” With new vigor, he focused harder on the warmth in him and felt a heartbeat. “Is this my heart?” he asked himself in his mind, and focused harder on it. The beat was becoming louder until it echoed across the darkness. The darkness seemed to crumble around him, being replaced by a shining light. When the last darkness was snuffed out of the space, the light shined so brightly it replaced the chill in him with a warm sensation. Spike found himself a plane of endless white, feeling at calmer than he did a few moments ago. “Mom!?” he called out for his mother, in the endless space ahead of him. “Spike?” he heard the voice and made his way closer to it, hoping he would find out where the exit was to this place. “I feel so weird...”, he told himself as he tried to move but he could not see his body one bit. “Spike... concentrate... pull.... together...” He then heard the same voice again, this time from above. With new determination, he reached out to the voice. He was however finding difficulty reaching for the top, as it was blinding his vision as he came closer to the light. “I’m trying to but it’s so hard...” he spoke to no one in particular but he had a feeling his mother heard him, wherever she could be. “... you're doing it...” he heard again, only this time clearer as he zoomed to the source of the voice. The voice of Twilight Sparkle, his mother. Twilight’s wails nearly deafened the other ponies, though none of them asked her to silence. Her worst fears were realized. Her son was dead, stolen from her. It wasn’t fair. There was still so much she wanted to do! See him grow up, meet a nice girl... “mOm?” Her eyes shot open. It was Spike’s voice though heavily distorted. What shocked her more was Spike’s body was glowing brightly, nearly blinding her. “...Spike?” she dared. The form seemed to be twitching. The other ponies were gaping. Could it be? “I fEeL wEiRd...” “Spike, listen! You need to concentrate!” she yelled, holding him close to her. His form burned her again, but she paid little mind to the pain in her chest. “Pull yourself together! Please!” “I’m TrYiNg... It’S hArD...” he said again in his distorted voice, as he was glowing brighter and twitching more in Twilight’s embrace. “Come on... come on, you’re doing it,” she encouraged, keeping him in her embrace. She felt him solidify and the light was receding from him. She dared not open her eyes nor let him go. She felt his chest moving up and down against hers. She beamed and tears of joy were cascading from her closed eyes. She gently rubbed his back, feeling very soft fur. Her eyes shot open in surprised and her hoof stopped its movement. She rubbed the forehoof again and felt fur again. “Fur?” she thought to herself, feeling no scales. She pulled away and looked at him... and nearly dropped him. She stared in awe at what happened to Spike. He was now covered in purplish fur, the same color as his scales. In place of quills, he now had a mane with spiky hairstyle, coloured in green that had highlights of gold streaking through it with his tail being the same colour and hair now. Where his arms were, only legs greeted her. His claws were now replaced with hooves. The once-slitted eyes were now rounded, though the irises were still the same green. There were no fangs projecting from his mouth and he now had a muzzle instead of a nose. From his forehead, a horn was visible to everypony looking at him. Spike was no longer a baby dragon, but rather a unicorn colt. Spike blinked twice before looking at his mother’s eyes that were showing astonishment. He then turned to the others who were shocked and surprised into silence. He turned back Twilight and looked up into her eyes again, “Mom?” he asked softly, feeling slightly weird around his body. Once Spike spoke, Twilight smiled broadly and held him tightly. “Spike!” she yelled out to him as she peppered Spike with kisses all over his face. “My boy! My gorgeous boy!” she said softly to him as she nuzzled him, smiling broadly with more tears flowing freely from her eyes. Once Spike was free from his mother’s hold, all of Twilight’s friends made their way to the bedside. Each of them all having watery eyes and smiles plastered on their faces. The Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped onto the bed and grabbed hold of Spike in a tight group hug, with all the fillies cheering for him. “Ya’ll gave us a fright there, Spike!” Apple Bloom told him as she gave him a soft noogie before returning to the group hug. Scootaloo patted his back, smiling happily. “Glad to have you back, Spike!” she told him with the few words she could say, feeling slightly guilty for what Spike had to go through earlier. Scootaloo immediately shook it off as she went back to the group hug her friends were giving Spike. “Oh, Spike! Never do that again!” Sweetie Belle told him as her lips were shaking and a few droplets of tears formed from her eyes. She nuzzled his cheek as they held onto him in a tighter grip. “E-Easy! Easy!” Spike managed to say as he was at a loss of breath, with him being immediately released from the hug and his breathing becoming steady again. He felt weird though, as if he changed in more ways than one. He felt a hoof on his shoulder and turned to see Twilight smiling softly at him. As though by impulse, he reached her and held onto her, with her doing the same. As the others gave their well wishes to Spike, Celestia and Luna walked up to the Twilight and her child. Celestia smiled softly to Spike as she craned her neck down to both Twilight and Spike’s level, nuzzling each one of them in turn looking deeply in Spike’s eyes. “I’m so happy you are still with us, Spike,” she whispered to Spike as she lifted her head upwards. Spike in turn smiled at the princess’ words, “Thank you princess, but I feel so weird though... like...” he said. Not once had he looked at his body. Luna stepped forward with a tiny mirror being held by her magic. “Take a look at yourself and you will see, little colt,” Luna told him with a knowing smile of her own as she gave it to Spike. Spike was confused but still complied, taking the mirror and looking into it. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at his face, that had no scales or quills on his head. He dropped the mirror on the bed and turned his head sharply in every corner to view his changed body. “I-I’m a pony?!” he asked in amazement turning to Twilight, “Mom? What’s going on?” Twilight just shook her head as she shrugged in confusion, “I don’t know how it happened, but maybe it could be...” Celestia intervened. “I think we all need to rest first. Twilight, since we all had a very long day,” she said to Twilight with her motherly tone, seeing the fatigue in everypony’s eyes. Twilight Sparkle stood up from the bed and used her magic to place Spike on top of her back, seeing as he would still need a little time to become accustomed to the changes. “I think so too,” she replied to her mentor and looked back at the others who were also tired from today’s experiences. Once the Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped off the bed, they were also placed onto their respectable guardians’ backs. Scootaloo was a bit surprised at being placed on Rainbow’s back, but she immediately closed her eyes as the warmth from the cyan mare was welcoming to her senses. “Is this what it feels like... to have a mother?” she asked herself, as she was slowing drifted into sleep. Rainbow turned her neck and saw the little filly sound asleep, seeing the smile on Scootaloo’s face. Rainbow smiled in return before turning her head to the other side of the room, where Blaze and Light were standing. “Um... Princess Celestia, Princess Luna... what about them?” she asked both sisters as she pointed to Blaze and his little brother. “Blaze will have to stand trial,” Celestia said firmly. “For tonight, however, they will be treated with the utmost care.” She turned to her guards. “Take them to a guest room, get nurses to tend to any injuries. Bring them food, and anything else they need. But Blaze is still under arrest, so do not allow him to leave. As soon as he’s treated, bind his wings, and place guards outside his room.” Celestia walked up to Blaze, with Light standing in between them. She saw Light staring at her as though she would do something to his older brother, but she gave a motherly smile to the little pegasus, and that seemed to ease the tension. “For saving my life, my sister’s and my faithful subjects’, I thank you with all my heart, Blaze.” Blaze stood there in awe at the words the princess spoke to him, and just smirked at Celestia. “Don’t mention it, princess,” he said as he turned to his brother and lifted him to his back, walking next to the guards and looking at each of them. “Let’s go.” The guards nodded, then motioned for the two pegasi to follow them. As soon as they had arrived in the room, Rainbow Dash ran a bath of warm water and gently placed Scootaloo inside it, waking the exhausted filly. She felt the warm water and gentle hooves as she was bathed, like a pure wave of bliss after days of suffering. Once it was over, she was toweled off and was gently placed on the large bed. Then Rainbow Dash went to take her own shower. Scootaloo prodded her horn for the hundredth time since laying down. It felt... odd. It was something she hated, a mark Bloodwing had given her. She felt sick just thinking that such an awful pony had changed her forever. Rainbow Dash came out, nice and clean, and laid in bed next to her. She pulled the little filly close, draping a foreleg, then a hoof around her and pulling her close. “You feeling alright, squirt?” she asked Scootaloo as she held onto her small body gently. Scootaloo shivered at the touch. She was warm. She scooted in closer. “...Do you think Princess Celestia could turn me back into a pegasus?” That stunned Rainbow. “I... I don’t know... maybe. Don’t you like being an alicorn?” “No!” she yelled causing her to jump. “I’m a pegasus! Not an alicorn! I’m a pony! You can’t just change me! I’m real! I’m real! I’m...” Rainbow Dash grabbed her and squeezed her tighter in her hug. Rainbow nuzzled the little filly affectionately, hoping it would bring about peace in her. She felt Scootaloo hug back, and crying. They stayed like that for a few minutes, with Rainbow waiting for Scootaloo to calm down. Rainbow Dash kissed her on top of her head. “I know you’re real, squirt,” she said. “If you really want to, I’ll get Celestia to look at you tomorrow.” “T-thank you,” she said quietly. “And I’ll get someone for you to talk to about all this. I’m sure we can get the same doctor who helped me after Discord...” she assured her further and stroked her mane gently. Scootaloo just looked away as a trail of tears still remained near her eyes, “No, it’s okay, Dash. I’m fine...” Rainbow just gave a stern look that silenced Scootaloo immediately. “Kid, nopony goes through what you did and is just ‘fine’. I’m hiring somepony to talk to you, and that’s final,” she said with an authoritative voice. “O-okay,” she stammered again, nuzzling closer. There was another moment of silence before she spoke again. “Rainbow?” “Yeah?” “...Are you really going to adopt me?” Rainbow Dash grinned playfully, “I don’t need to, squirt. At least, I don’t think I do.” Scootaloo pulled away and looked at her, scared. “W-wha...” “You know where Bloodwing got most of you from? Me... which I guess I should have expected. You’re way too awesome to have just anypony’s DNA,” she said, rubbing Scootaloo’s head affectionately. “You’re already my kid, and if anypony tries to tell me otherwise... well, they’ll end up worse than Bloodwing or any of his cronies did.” Scootaloo blinked, still frozen in shock. “I... are you sure?” “Do I look like a li... argh!” Scootaloo tackled the older pegasus and threw her forelegs around her, crying openly into her. “I... I... I love you, Mommy!” she spoke as she was sobbing freely in the embrace of Rainbow Dash, feeling as though a wish had finally been granted to her. Rainbow Dash hugged her back. “I love you, too,” she said softly, crying as well, “and I’m sorry I didn’t believe you back when this whole mess started.” she told her as she nuzzled Scootaloo, overjoyed that the nightmare was finally over. She let Scootaloo cry some more. Then, she reached over and turned out the light, as both her and Scootaloo were in the bed. Holding her child close, she decided to fold her wing over Scootaloo encasing her in a feathery cocoon and pulled the sheets over both of them as they both drifted off to sleep. Twilight Sparkle was now in her old quarters of the palace, lying in her bed with her son by her side. She dared not let go of him, as her foreleg was wrapped around the body of Spike which was now a colt’s. She could hear his breathing as he slept against her chest, just like he did when he asked her to be his mother. Twilight just smiled softly at the irony of it all, he never had to have permission from her at all it seemed. She was his mother all the way, she brought him into this world, raised him and loved him. Most importantly, he loved her back. She was still amazed at what happened and had no idea how it came to be. None of the books she has ever read had an explanation for this occurrence, and certainly for this kind of magic. Though it wasn’t as if she minded. She could do nothing but smile demurely at the miracle of what happened, having her son back alive by her side. She shivered slightly as a sense of dread coursed through her body. What would she tell him about his true origins, how would he handle it. Would he hate her from now on? Twilight then remembered Celestia’s words earlier about his heart, how she gave birth to it via magic and how it was his own unique heart, not just a copy or a fake one. A tear rolled down from her eye and down her cheek. She kissed his cheek softly, feeling him snuggling closer into her chest. “I love you, my beautiful boy,” she whispered to him, as she too was soon succumbed by sleep’s embrace. The door of her room slowly opened, until Celestia walked in quietly to the bedside of her student and Spike. She looked down on the both of them and could not help but give a soft smile as her eyes became moist from the experiences both Twilight and Spike had to go through recently. She blinked her eyes and her horn began to glow dimly, as she lowered it to the sleeping bodies of Twilight and Spike. Once she touched Spike’s horn, her eyes became white as she was now venturing in the mind of the little colt. She opened her eyes again to see nothing but endless white. She looked around her until she found her target. She walked up towards a heart-shaped object that was glowing brightly in a purplish aura, and it was emitting a warmth that was soon felt all over Celestia’s body as she was getting closer to it. She used her horn and observed the object, with multiple images flashing before her eyes. She then pulled away, looking at it in awe before smiling broadly at what she just saw. “So that’s what happened,” she said to herself as she flew off into the distance. Celestia opened her eyes and raised her head as she was back in the room where Twilight and Spike were sleeping. She gave a motherly smile to both her student and the colt who were both still sound asleep. She brought down her muzzle to both of their foreheads, giving each one a tender kiss before lifting her head and turning away from them and exiting through the door. She walked down the hallways, turning until she had reached the throne room. Luna was seated, going through a few papers. “Ah, sister. The one known as Black has been subdued. In the morning, it would be for the best if we change him back.” Celestia nodded. “Tomorrow... we might have to do it to Scootaloo too. In the meantime, I believe I have solved the mystery of Spike’s transformation.” Luna looked up. “You entered his heart, didn't you?” “Indeed I have,” she nodded. “It seems, unconsciously or not, Spike has always wanted to be a pony. I remember, clearly, the very day, when he first realized he was different. I had been giving Twilight a lesson when Spike crawled up to her and pressed his claw against her hoof. Twilight cooed at him, ‘I have a hoof and you have a claw!’ And then, Spike started bawling,” Celestia recalled from the past where Luna was not a part of. Celestia sighed before she continued, “Twilight didn’t understand, but I did. He wanted to be the same as Twilight, though she loved him dearly already. Even as he accepted it, he still longed to change who he was on the outside. When Twilight called to him to remember his form, he turned into what he always pictured himself as being: a pony. More specifically, a unicorn foal, to be like his mother.” Luna looked at Celestia with confusion as she raised her eyebrow, “But sister, surely his will alone could not have brought about such change,” she said as she was playing devil’s advocate. Celestia closed her eyes which she slowly opened again, “I said this before to Twilight, his heart was always that of a pony’s. Hence why he was able to adapt to pony society and why he carries little if not none of the dragon traits like the others do. A part of Twilight resides in him, just as a part of Twilight Velvet lives in Twilight Sparkle. Spike, from the day he was born, always had the heart of a pony. With the nurturing of love he received from ponies such as Twilight and myself, his heart was able to further developed into that of a pony’s. Though now he has the body of a pony, one he desired unconsciously for so long.” Luna pondered this information for a while, tapping her hoof to her chin, “An interesting hypothesis... but what does this mean for him? Has he lost a dragon’s life span?” “I’m unsure... time will tell, I presume. I will have tests run on him tomorrow. In the meantime, I’d like to see what was salvaged from Bloodwing’s lab. Perhaps his studies will yield a silver lining in all this.” The sun’s ray was now beaming through the windows of the palace, signalling the start of a new day. The beams shined on the the face of Blaze Stream, who opened them lazily and blocked them with his one bandaged hoof. He got up from the soft bed and looked around him to see his little brother still fast asleep in in the corner of the room. He stretched his body, but felt something covering his wings and turned to see a restraining cloth covering them and sealed with magic. He let out a sigh and he looked back to his brother, smiling at him. “This beats the streets or any lab anyday,” he said to himself as he walked up to his brother and gently nudged at him. “Hey Light, time to wake up,” he said softly, seeing his brother groan and opening his eyes to reveal a sky-blue-coloured iris. “Hey Bro, where are we?” he asked Blaze as he lifted himself from the bed hesitantly as it was so soft, barely remembering falling asleep in it. Blaze just looked from left to right before turning to his brother, “Well by the looks of things, we are currently in one of the palace’s top guest rooms, meaning you're free from that crummy cell,” he grinned at his bro’s shocked face. Light suddenly smiled broadly and tackled his bro, hugging him and both were laughing hysterically. Blaze however decided to hold his brother down and giving him a playful noogie. “S-Stop that! That tickles!” Light pleaded in a fit of giggles as Blaze continued on. “What’s the magic word?” “Uncle?” “Guess again!” “Uranus?” Light said jokingly as he Blaze would not let go. “Now you’re just asking for it!” Blaze retorted as he continued to ruffle his brother’s head furiously, both laughing at the merriment they were both in. The doors of their room suddenly opened, with Princess Celestia, Twilight and two of her guards walking in. When she stopped before the brothers, she looked in surprise at the two lying on the floor playing. Both Blaze and Light felt awkward and looked at each other with blank faces before letting go and standing up from the ground, chuckling slightly before looking at the princess before them. “Um... good morning?” Blaze said casually to Celestia as he waved an innocent hoof at her. Celestia giggled slightly at seeing this. “Good morning, you two.” Twilight just stared at Blaze curiously, raising her eyebrows slightly at the playful nature of the pegasus before her. Blaze looked at Twilight for a second before smiling brightly, waving his hoof casually at her, “Yo! How’s the little guy doing?” “Spike?” Twilight asked. “He’s fine... doctors are examining him now. He’s having trouble doing anything now... he can hardly walk more than a few steps on four legs.” “I asked her to accompany me,” Celestia explained. “It’s time for your hearing.” Blaze blinked. “Already?” “I wish to end this as soon as possible. Please follow us and we’ll have this whole thing over with.” Blaze nodded, looking resigned. Light looked worried, but didn’t say anything as two guards flanked his brother and lead him out of the room. “Follow us, little one,” Celestia asked gently before turning toward the door herself. With a gulp, Light followed. “Now, concentrate, son... concentrate...” Spike obeyed the command, looking at his hoof intently. After a bit of straining, the hoof began to shimmer a bit. “That’s it, that’s it...” Finally, after a bit, Spike’s hoof began to grow points... claws... And then Spike gave into exhaustion, allowing his appendage to lose the digits it grew. “Amazing,” the doctor said, writing his findings down. “You seem to have your dragon form down in there somewhere. With a little practice, perhaps you can return to it.” “So... I can be both?” the young colt asked. “There’s no proof you can’t be more,” another doctor said excitedly. “Maybe you can shapeshift into anything... there’s never been a creature like you!” Spike dimmed a bit. “What do you mean?” “Something made of pure unicorn magic... oh, you’re one of a kind! There’s so much for us to explore... this might mean a paper in every medical journal in Equestria...” Spike tuned him out. There’s never been a creature like you... He sighed. Having learned this morning that he was just a doll made out of simple fabric then brought to life thanks to his mother was bad enough, but now to called simply a ‘creature’ made him feel pessimistic beyond belief. He looked to his hooves again, raising them to his horn. It felt weird now that he an extra appendage on his head, one that he could do so much with. Just like his mother. Spike raised his eyes to a cup that was standing on a table at the far end of the room, a cup that had water in it. He did not bother asking the doctor for it, seeing as he was too preoccupied yammering a storm of ‘find of the century’. Spike remembered how his mother had always talked about magic can be used as a hand. So he envisioned bringing the cup towards him. Looking intently at it, a faint purple aura engulfed it. His eyes widened slightly by this, making him focus harder. When the aura brightened, he could feel the cup as though it was in his grasps. He then imagined it being pulled towards him, slowly. It hovered towards the colt and Spike could hear the doctor’s blabbering stop abruptly seeing this. When the cup made its way to Spike’s lips, he tilted it, emptying the cup in one go. The doctor simply clapped his hooves, “Remarkable! You can also perform basic unicorn magic! Note to self: This creature not only is composed of pure unicorn magic, but is able to exercise unicorn magic too...” he said to himself, failing to Spike’s glimmering eyes that were becoming watery. “What this creature is-” “He is a pony and he is my son.” Both the doctor and Spike turned to the voice that came from the door of the room, with Twilight Sparkle standing in the doorway. “And I would appreciate it if you did not refer to Spike like that,” she said to the doctor coldly as she trotted towards them and reached for her son, wiping the build up of tears in his eyes. “What say we go get some breakfast, hey, Spike?” she asked him in her soft warm voice, that seemed to ease the stress building up in him. “Um, ok,” he replied as he stood up from the bed and stood on his four hooves, making his way outside. Though wobbling a bit, he adapted fast to his new way of movement. Once he was out of the room, he turned around and looked to his mother, who was still in the room. “Just wait outside a moment, Spike, I need to have a word to the doctor for a sec,” Twilight told him as she waved at him and closed the door. Spike grimaced at what would happen to the doctor right now, seeing as he is one of the few who saw Twilight Sparkle become absolutely furious and live to tell the tale. He sighed and made his way to a chair, exercising his magic on a stack of books, hoping to find something interesting to pass the time. Once she closed the door, her warm smile turned grim as she turned towards the doctor and looked at him with cold eyes. “We need to talk...” “And so,” Luna read the decree, “based on testimony, it is the decision of this court that your punishment will be served under house arrest, in a location to be decided on a later date. You will be permitted to leave only for work, and to care for your little brother. This will remain in force until such time as your overseer sees that you are fit to re-enter society.” With that, the alicorn banged her gavel, leading to some murmurs around the room. Blaze looked relieved, while Light, sitting in the crowd, exhaled a breath of relief. The nightmare of being a captive of Bloodwing was over, and there seemed to be little in the way of future trouble. “Are you sure, little one?” Celestia asked. Scootaloo nodded. “I don’t want to keep what Bloodwing gave me,” she sighed. She looked to her side, where Rainbow Dash was sitting. “I just want to be a pegasus like my mom,” she said, seeing Rainbow smile proudly at her. “I can change you back,” Celestia assured, “but I think you must know. I can take away somepony’s alicorn status, giving it is something else entirely. If I were to do so, you might not be able to turn back. So I’ll ask one final time, my little pony: do you wish to lose your strength and horn?” “Yes,” Scootaloo said without hesitation. “...Very well,” she sighed. “Come here, little one.” Scootaloo shuffled, and looked at her mother. When she gave the nod to go on, she stepped toward the Princess, looking nervous. “Will it hurt?” “Not in the slightest,” assured Celestia as she lit up her horn. She lowered herself to Scootaloo’s level and connected her horn with the filly’s. Once the horn’s touched each other, Scootaloo’s eyes shot open revealing white where her pupils once were. Her body shimmered in a pinkish aura, and her horn began to disappear from existence. She started shrinking by only a little, until the horn was truly gone. Once she stopped glowing, she blinked twice and placed her one hoof to her forehead. It felt smooth, as though the horn was never there. She felt a burst of happiness take her over and squeed as she jumped in the air, floating mid air thanks to her wings that could hold her now. “Well looks like I’m gonna have competition now for being the top Wonderbolt,” Rainbow remarked as Scootaloo floated to her mother’s hooves and she was hugged firmly by the cyan pegasus who nuzzled her affectionately. Both she and Scootaloo looked up to Celestia and saw her smile dearly at the two. “Thank you for helping her out, princess,” Rainbow told Celestia as she let go of Scootaloo once they landed on the ground. Princess Celestia just shook her head with a warm smile, “Oh my dear Rainbow, it is I who should be thanking you for saving Equestria multiple times. Your endless loyalty to me and my sister is one to which we have hardly seen, and for that I thank you. If there is anymore I could do for you, please do not be afraid to ask,” she said to Rainbow Dash, feeling there had to be more she could do for the pegasus and her daughter. “Hey, if something comes to mind, I’ll let you know ok?” Dash replied, and a rumble escaped her stomach. “Now that I think about it, breakfast still on?” she asked embarrassingly to the Princess, seeing her and Scootaloo giggling. “Why yes it is, follow me please.” Scootaloo suddenly walked in front of Celestia, “Princess, wait. There is something I wish to ask you, a little favour if I may,” she said shyly, not being accustomed to asking royalty. Celestia lowered her head to the filly’s, “Of course you may Scootaloo, what is it?” she asked kindly to Scootaloo, and leaned her ear to the filly’s mouth. As Scootaloo whispered her request, Celestia’s smile grew wider by the minute until Scootaloo backed away and Celestia lifted her head up. “I believe that can be done,” she said with a playful wink to the filly. “Now let’s go and have ourselves some breakfast, shall we?” Rainbow scratched her head in confusion, and walked up to Scootaloo, “What did you ask her exactly?” she asked the filly curiously. Scootaloo just giggled, “It’s a secret,” she told Rainbow playfully and walked onwards to the dining hall. “Will find out sooner or later, I suppose.” she told herself as she walked alongside Scootaloo, her daughter. Spike and Twilight were both walking down the hallway towards the dining hall, seeing as they both had not eaten anything in awhile. Twilight and Spike walked side by side together, seeing as Spike would lose balance at some points and his mother would always be there to catch him when he fell. Twilight caught Spike again and balanced him to his hooves, though she noticed the frown on his face. “Hey Spike, I know this is going to take some time but you must know that-” “It’s not that...” he whispered as he turned away from Twilight, hiding the build up of mortification that was etching on his face. “Spike?” “It’s just... you heard what that doctor said to me! I’m...” he was crying. “I’m not a dragon, I’m not a pony... I...” Twilight stopped and scooped him up in her forelegs, letting him cry a bit. Then she spoke. “I bucked that doctor several different ways for not watching what he said,” She kissed his muzzle. “It doesn’t matter what you are Spike. You turning into a pony hasn’t made me love you any more or less. Your change hasn’t made you better or worse. Whatever shape you take, you’re still Spike, a sweet boy, a good friend... and a wonderful son.” Spike nuzzled his mother a bit. Her words increased his tears though they weren’t falling for the same reasons as before. “Now come on, let’s get you some breakfast. We can talk about some changes while we eat.” “Ch-changes?” Spike asked nervously. “Oh, nothing bad,” Twilight assured. “You’ll be getting magic lessons from me until you get the basics down. And now that you’re a pony, you need to watch what you eat. You can’t just down anything anymore.” Spike shifted. “No gemstones?” “Afraid not... but ice cream’s still on the menu. And I know you like the Canterlot chef’s recipe...” “Pancakes?” Spike asked eagerly, with his stomach growling at that very moment. Twilight smiled tenderly at her son, “Of course that, but you have to eat healthy foods, too, you know,” she said with a wink. Spike just shrugged, “Ok,” he then wobbled again and let out a yelp as he was falling, but felt his body’s movement stop. He then saw Twilight holding him in place, thanks to her magic. “Thanks, Mom.” “Always here for you, Spike, always...” As they were near the dining hall’s entrance, Spike turned to Twilight and looked into her eyes with glassy eyes, “Mom...” Twilight was a bit taken back, fearing he may cry again, “What is it, Spike?” she asked him. Spike stood on his hind legs, and wrapped his forelegs around her neck. He then planted a kiss on her cheek before resting his head on her shoulder. “Thank you again for everything, I love you,” he told her. Twilight just stood there, sniffing before she scooped him up again and nuzzled him furiously as she was sobbing joyfully. “I love you too, my Spike!”
Chapter 16The morning sun rose from the clouds over the horizon signaling a new day, the crying of a rooster could be heard from a mile away. The streams of light danced on the clouds’ surface, where many pegasi resided. A groaning Scootaloo opened her eyes lazily as she raised her body from the soft bed she was sleeping in, rubbing her eyes of the dust that gathered there during sleep. As she yawned, she looked around the room again and was still amazed by where she was now. She was in a home in the clouds, in her own room made of clouds and on a cloud bed that was so soft like marshmallows anytime she would lie upon she was threatened with drowsiness. Though the one thing that made this new home of hers so wonderful was that it was also the home of Rainbow Dash, her mother. Just as Scootaloo was thinking of her, the door of her room opened up and the head of her idol and mother popped in before the rest of Rainbow’s body followed. Rainbow walked up to her daughter’s bed, smiling softly with half-opened eyes. “Morning sleepyhead, ready for an awesome day with me?” she asked the little filly as she nuzzled her gently. Scootaloo floated in the air and beamed at Rainbow excitedly, “You betcha! So wanna learn all your awesome moves!” she told Rainbow as she zoomed around her. Rainbow just chuckled as she shook her head, “Hold your jets there,” she said as she reached for Scootaloo and scooped her in a hug, “Remember what I told you about the stunts I do, hey?” she reminded her daughter. Scootaloo looked down with her eyes as she stuck out her lower lips, “I know, ‘Never try these stunts until you have mastered the basics’...” she quoted Rainbow’s advice. Rainbow then ruffled her hair playfully, “Now’s not the time to be all grumpy, now the time to be happy,” she said she ruffled the hair more, eliciting a few giggles from the filly. “Let’s go and get some breakfast hay; I’m making,” she said as she let go of Scootaloo. Scootaloo just raised her eyebrow, “You cook?” she asked “Yes.” Scootaloo looked dubiously at Rainbow for a second before shrugging, “Ok, what you making, mom?” she asked playfully, but stopped when she said Rainbow’s eyes becoming slightly misty. “Something wrong?” Rainbow perked up and shook her head, “No-Nothing-Everything is awesome!” she said hastily, and then kissed Scootaloo’s forehead. “C’mon, let’s go.” Scootaloo’s face elevated in happiness as she flew down to the kitchen, where Tank was already waiting for the two of them. “Morning, Tank,” she smiled, patting the tortoise on the head. He reached over and gave her little mistress a playful lick in return. She then sat at the table while her mother began cooking up her breakfast. “Are you really going to take me flying? Teach me everything you know?” “Are you doubting me?” the older pegasus said playfully, looking up from her cooking. “You’ll be the second best flyer in Equestria... after me, of course.” The grin on her face was obvious. “Ha! I’ll be the best one day!” “Well, if anyone can, it’s you,” she nodded. “And that’s not all we’re doing. We have something very important to attend.” “What’s that?” Rainbow Dash just gave her a grin. “You’ll see,” she laughed. “Can’t you tell me now?” “Can’t you tell me what you asked Celestia?” “...Fine,” the filly muttered, crossing her forearms in a huff. She brightened when her mother placed her meal in front of her, eggy in the basket. “Eat up, kiddo, we have a long day ahead of us.” Once breakfast was done, Rainbow and Scootaloo got ready for the rest of the day and headed outside. Rainbow made sure Tank had everything with him until their return at the end of the day, and she flew up to her daughter who was waiting. “So, you ready for some flying lessons, squirt?” she asked Scootaloo Scootaloo smiled widely at Rainbow, “You have no idea!” she exclaimed as she hovered in front of Rainbow. Rainbow cleared her throat and got Scootaloo’s attention, “Alright, first of all... let’s do some laps, shall we?” she instructed Scootaloo as she floated to her daughter’s side. “Alrighty, how many?” “Since you new to this, try ten today, ok?” Rainbow told her Scootaloo breathed in and out slowly, building up energy. “Where to and back?” she asked “Hmmmm...” Rainbow tapped her chin and looked around her, and spotted a big cloud just ahead of her. “Around that big one, and remember... ten times.” “Right!” Rainbow smirked and floated ahead of Scootaloo, raising her one hoof, “On your mark...” she said, and saw Scootaloo’s body tensing up to the moment. “Get set...” Scootaloo was ruffling her feathers in the air. “Go!” Scootaloo zoomed as fast as she could and raced around the cloud. Her eyes began to water, seeing as she was not accustomed to the wind pressing against her eyes. She lost track of how many times she went around the cloud after her fifth time, and in a moment of pure adrenaline she pushed her wing beats even faster to increase her speed. Her vision became a blur thanks to the tears of the wind pressure to her eyes, and she was starting to lose her breath. Suddenly, she felt two hooves grab her torso and she looked to her bottom to see Rainbow, smiling proudly at her. “Did I do ok?” she asked her mother sheepishly as her wings slowly stopped flapping and she landed in Rainbow’s embrace. “Fifteen laps is a new record, even for me when I started.” Scootaloo’s eyes nearly popped out of her tiny skull, and she let out a cheer as she flew around her mother. “Wow! That’s so awesome!” she shouted as she reclined on a cloud looking at the sky above. Rainbow joined her and sat next to her, “Well, you should know that training gets more intense after this hey,” she told Scootaloo as she rolled back to see the clouds above. Scootaloo just giggled at this, “I know that,” she told Rainbow and then scooted up closer to her Rainbow, nuzzling her neck. “But I also know that I have the most awesome mom ever to train me.” Rainbow’s eyes started to tear up, and she folded her wing to wrap it around Scootaloo’s body. “and I have the most awesome daughter ever who’s also my number one fan.” Scootaloo smiled. A few moments later, she was asleep, her exhaustion having gotten to her. Chuckling, her mother gave her a kiss on the forehead. “And you’ve learned another lesson, kid. Champions work hard, and they nap hard.” “Alright, everypony,” Twilight called, levitating her checklist in front of her, “we have a lot to do to get ready for the party. Pinkie, are you getting Sugarcube Corner decorated?” “You got it,” the earth pony saluted happily. “Applejack, we need a buffet full of treats. Rainbow Dash says apple pie is Scootaloo’s favorite.” “You got it.” “Rarity, I need you to prepare some drinks.” “Of course, dearie.” “And Fluttershy... I’m afraid I’m sticking you with the worst assignment of all.” The yellow pegasus gulped. “Wh-what?” “You need to watch the foals while we’re busy getting the party ready,” she noted, gesturing over to where Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were standing, along with Spike and Light, now wearing their official Cutie Mark Crusader capes, though the filly symbol was changed to a colt symbol for both of them. Pound and Pumpkin were sitting to their side, currently pulling on Angel’s ears and tail, despite the poor critter’s protests. “We’re gonna have extra fun,” Apple Bloom beamed. “We got an idea to try for our rock climbin’ cutie marks!” Fluttershy gulped. It was going to be a long day. “Wow! That’s awesome!” Scootaloo was sitting on a hill looking up at the sky above her, cheering for the stunts Rainbow Dash performed for her. “Now watch this!” Rainbow shouted out as she flew higher and higher, when suddenly she flew downwards at incredible speeds. ‘C’mon, please... just for today,’ she thought to herself, as she pushed herself to go faster. As she flew faster she could feel the air around her stretch, before a large booming sound echoed across the field. She flew faster and a streak of rainbow was left in the air behind her, as she performed her signature stunt: The Sonic Rainboom. ‘Not yet!’ She then flew upwards even faster and did a few loops and turns, flying up and down when she needed to. She then flew to the ground were Scootaloo was and landed right next to her. “What do you think?” she asked her daughter. Scootaloo was in awe, as he mouth hung open. In the air floated words, drawn with the rainbow as though it were ink to paper. Scootaloo mouth slowly formed into a smile, as her eyes became moist from the feeling that was coursing through her as she read the words: To My Daughter Scootaloo “Hey, squirt?” Scootaloo turned to Rainbow and she immediately jumped right into her forelegs, with both of them laughing at the moment. As Scootaloo was caught in Rainbow’s embrace, both pegasi rolled down the hill. As they reached the bottom, Rainbow decided to tickle Scootaloo as ‘revenge’ for being pounced like that. Scootaloo squirmed and bucked, but it only caused her mother to tickle harder. “I’m gonna get you!” she said as she brought down her mouth onto her stomach and blew, causing a particularly high pitched squeal to come from the child. “Who’s the greatest pegasus in Equestria?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Ha ha! You are!” “Wrong,” she laughed, blowing another raspberry on her stomach. “Aah! Then who?” She stopped and hugged her tightly. “You are.” Scootaloo hugged her mother back... and then started tickling her again. “Ah!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Oh, you want to play it that way, huh?” she said, pushing her back on her back and tickling her again. Both she and her daughter laughed at the happy moment they were experiencing, with nothing in the world that could ruin this day for them. “Well that was fun, wasn’t it?” Rainbow asked Scootaloo as the tickling ceased. Scootaloo giggled, “Sure was. Hey! I didn’t know you could write words with the Sonic Rainboom?!” Rainbow just shrugged, “Neither did I, I just thought I try it out... for my little girl,” she added with a wink. Scootaloo beamed widely, until her stomach rumbled. She then giggled nervously, as she rubbed her one hoof at the back of her head. Rainbow smirked, “You hungry, eh?” she asked Scootaloo, who nodded her head. “I got something just for that, be back in a flash!” she added as she zoomed off to fetch whatever it was. Sugarcube Corner was a bustle of activity, with ponies around hanging up banners, streamers, and balloons. As Twilight checked the next item off, Blaze walked up to her, a magical collar still around his neck. “Hey, Twi? You’re sure the Princess is okay with this? I’m still technically under arrest...” “Don’t worry, I double-checked with the Princess... through the mail,” she groaned irritably. Spike becoming a pony cost her one feature she sorely missed. “I’m more worried about what the foals are going to do to Fluttershy than about you. I’ll bet she’s already strung out.” “More tea, Miss Fluttershy?” Sweetie asked happily as she poured her herbal liquid into her foalsitter’s cup. This tea party was only fun for the two of them. Light, Spike, and Apple Bloom all sat with deadpan expression while Pumpkin and Pound were seeing how much of Angel’s ears they could get into their mouths. “I’ve sat through thousands of my mom’s lectures...” Spike began, but the Stare from Fluttershy silenced him once more. Light leaned in on Spike’s ear, “I’d rather be here than be the rabbit over there,” he whispered to Spike as both were chuckling at Angel’s misfortune but were silenced yet again. Angel broke free and swatted at Pound. Pound responded by bringing his hoof down on the rabbit, knocking him to the ground. As Angel recovered, Pumpkin put her hoof in the rabbit’s mouth. Scootaloo was now enjoying her hay sandwich Dash made for her, that was packed in a picnic basket she brought down from her house. Once she was done with her meal, she took one of the firmly ripe apples that were packed in also and took a generous bite from it. Scootaloo savoured the taste of it, seeing as it was her favourite fruit. “You like apples?” Rainbow commented as she saw her daughter’s appreciation. “Like nothing... try love ‘em!” she said once she swallowed the pieces she had in her mouth, before consuming the rest of it. “Kinda fortunate that we live near an apple orchard, and one of the best I’d say.” “What do you mean ‘one of the best’? Try ‘the best’.” Rainbow laughed as she boasted for Applejack’s orchard. Rainbow looked at Scootaloo, and saw the a look of sadness crawling on Scootaloo’s face. “Hey squirt? What’s wrong?” Scootaloo turned to Rainbow, still looking crestfallen. “Can I tell you a secret?” she asked her mother, who nodded and leaned her closer to her daughter’s. “Back before all this, when I was staying alone... I was short on food, save for when I went to sleep overs... and I got so hungry at times, that I... I...” Rainbow held onto her, “You can tell me, squirt.” she assured her as she held onto Scootaloo’s small frame. “I stole apples from the trees at night, like five at most every night... I didn’t want to but I-” She could not finish her sentence as she was close to sobbing and Rainbow started to stroke her hair gently. “It wasn’t your fault, Scoots, and I’m sure Applejack won’t hate you for it,” she said softly. Scootaloo raised her head up to look into her mother’s eyes, “You really think so?” she asked Rainbow “Kid, I’m willing to bet if the Apples knew you were living alone, they’d have tried to adopt you first. Of course, they would have had to fight me for you,” she added affectionately, rubbing her mane. “Tell you what? Why don’t we tell her together, ok?” she asked Scootaloo as she smiled down on the filly. “O-Ok.” “Good, now enough of the sad stuff, this is suppose to be a happy day!” Angel gaped in the mirror, nearly sobbing at the new color job he had been given. Watercolor paint covered him, an accomplishment seeing as how Fluttershy had no watercolor in the house. Luckily, Fluttershy had rescued him from the twins before they could move on to anything more serious. “Okay, kids, it’s time we got back to Scootaloo’s birthday party.” “Finally,” Spike muttered, careful not to say it out loud. “You’ve all been such fun... I can’t wait to have foals of my own.” Angel fell to the ground, curled into a ball, and sobbed. “I’ll bet you’ll be a great mom, Fluttershy,” Apple Bloom said. “Ooh, maybe we can find you a nice stallion and...” “Oh, no, no, no,” Fluttershy said quickly, knowing all too well the trio’s Hearts and Hooves Day antics. The thought of waking up in a ditch with some random stallion... or worse, some random mare... didn’t appeal to her. “Why don’t we just move onto the party?” “Alright, the balloons are hung,” Blaze mumbled. As Twilight scanned her checklist for his next assignment, he spoke. “By the way... has the Princess told you where I’ll be working?” Twilight shook her head. “That’s been kept secret. The only thing I know is that I’ll be serving as your supervisor. Princess Celestia will... Derpy, watch where you’re carrying that... Princess Celestia will tell me when she arrives tonight.” At this, Blaze paled a little. “She’s actually coming? Here?” Twilight nodded. “Why? Are you afraid of her?” “No, but... I didn’t think she’d come all the way out here for a filly’s birthday party.” She giggled. “Then you don’t know the Princess. Now, I think Pinkie needs help decorating the cupcakes. Why don’t you help her next?” With the sun setting on the horizon, Rainbow and Scootaloo made their way through Ponyville. Scootaloo looked around, as she could not see anypony in sight. ‘Why does this feel so familiar?’ she asked herself as she was in a moment of thought, only to shrug it off and walk up to her mother’s side. “You know where everypony is?” Rainbow just shook her head with closed eyes, “Nah, no idea,” she said dismissively as she she cantered onwards. “You know something, don’t you?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow “We’re here,” Rainbow said, ignoring her daughter’s protests of withheld knowledge. They stood in front of the Sugarcube Corner, though it was quiet... too quiet. Rainbow opened the door and gestured for Scootaloo to go in first. “Thanks.” Once they were both inside, the door slammed closed behind them and both of them were in complete darkness, until... “SURPRISE!!!” Scootaloo nearly jumped in the air as the words boomed in the room with the lights flicked on. Surrounding her were nearly all of Ponyville, ranging from acquaintances to close friends. Balloons of all colours were scattered around the room, adorned with party streamers and confetti littering the floor. A large banner hanged above the room, with the words written brightly in orange and purple: HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY SCOOTALOO Scootaloo smiled widely as she saw all this, simply moved by all the effort it must have took the others to set this up for her. She then saw her friends Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom rush towards her and give her a tight hug as they wished her a happy birthday. “Congratulations Scoots!” Both of them exclaimed in unison as they let go of their friends and each gave a present to her. Before she could say anything, Spike trotted next up to her and gave her a birthday present also, “Happy Birthday Scootaloo,” he said with a smile of his own. Scootaloo bumped her hoof with his before facing the three of her friends with a build up of joyous tears. “Thank you, all of you... really this is-” “Happy Birthday!” Scootaloo turned around to see Light standing behind her, with his hooves outstretched for to give his own gift to her. He placed it on the stack of presents and smiled with his eyes closed, but felt himself being brought into a tight hug. He opened his eyes to see Scootaloo hugging him firmly, with his only reaction returning the hug. Scootaloo opened her eyes though and quickly let go of Light, blushing profoundly at what she just did. She then saw her friends suppressing a laugh with their hooves to their mouths. Scootaloo pursed her lips as blood continue to rush to her cheeks. “A-anyway! Let’s go and get some cake, shall we?” she hastily suggested, making her way to the table. Light just stared for a few seconds at Scootaloo, “Did I do something wrong?” he asked Apple Bloom in whisper. Apple Bloom started giggling, closing her eyes to control the humour of it all. “Nah, she’s just being herself is all,” she said dismissively “Oh... ok,” Light responded to the answer, deciding not to pursue the matter any further. He joined his newfound friends at the table where a giant cake was held. It was rather large, nearly three layers, Pinkie had clearly had some fun with it. The sides were decorated with the text “Happy Birthday Scootaloo”, and ten candles were placed on its top. The candles were lit, all at once thanks to a spell from Twilight, as the crowd gathered around. “Okay, everypony, one, two, three...” A chorus of “Happy Birthday” rang out among the ponies, sounding reasonably well. Afterward, Scootaloo flew up and blew out the flames, to everypony’s pleasure. “Alright, Scootaloo, you get first piece,” Twilight smiled. “Which one would you like?” “The piece with the H on it,” she answered happily. Twilight nodded and cut the cake. To Scootaloo’s great happiness, it was chocolate. She was handed her piece, then the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, before finally the adults began getting their share. As the five foals sat around their own table and began eating, Scootaloo was the one who spoke. “So... Light...” she said, in between mouthfuls of cake, “do you know what your brother’s going to be doing?” The young pegasus just shook his head. “Uh-uh. Celestia just told him he’d get his assignment soon.” “It can’t be too bad,” Spike muttered, trying to levitate a fork up to his mouth. After he lost his grip and it clattered on the plate, he sighed and bit into his share the same as his friends. “Don’t feel bad, Spike,” Sweetie said sympathetically, “I haven’t been able to get my magic to work either. It’s no big deal.” “Easy for you to say,” Spike muttered, “You’ve never had hands before.” He sighed, looking at his forehooves. “I miss having hands...” “Okay, you’re starting to sound like Lyra,” Scootaloo arched an eyebrow. “Am not!” Spike retorted back, rolling his eyes and taking another generous bite out of his slice. “Well, look at it this way, you’re able to use magic now,” Light commented to Spike as he took a bite out of his cake too. “And your mom is like the most powerful unicorn ever.” Spike just smirked at this, “Guess you're right...” he said as he finished his cake and tried to use his magic to cut him another slice, though the knife shook a bit in his hold. Just as it stopped shaking, it shot into the roof fast, becoming stuck in place. Spike just laughed inwardly as the others looked at him. “Heh, sorry,” he and the others snorted slightly before laughing off the misfortune. On the other side of the room, Twilight approached Rainbow as she was speaking to Applejack with a mug of cider in her hoof. “It seems you’ve given Scootaloo quite a day...” she said as she reached her friends. Rainbow turned to Twilight and grinned, “Well yeah, since it’s my girl’s birthday I had to go all out. I even wrote words with a Sonic Rainboom today and-” “Really!?” Twilight interrupted as her curiosity peaked high from the information she was given. “Hay yeh!” she replied as she punched her hoof to her chest proudly, though her expression softened slightly as she looked at the foals having a blast at their tables. “I guess I know how you felt a few months ago with Spike, hey Twilight?” she asked her friend who was also looking at the foals. Twilight nodded her head as she looked at the foals too, with her eyelids half-open. “Absolutely,” she said, as her gaze fell onto a fuschia earth pony. Twilight’s eyes opened slightly as determination crawled onto her face. “Excuse me, I just need to do something,” she said she went to Cheerilee’s side. “Sorry, Cheerilee?” Cheerilee turned happily to Twilight, as she was enjoying her cake slice given to her by Big Macintosh. “Hello there Twilight, how may I help you?” she asked innocently. “I just wanted to ask a little favour...” Rainbow and Applejack looked at Twilight and Cheerilee talking, though the words were not heard from them. Applejack turned her attention to Blaze, who was sitting on chair the wrong way as he observed the party before him. Applejack saw a smile on his face, and saw him taking a few swings of cider too. “Enjoying yerself there, pardner?” she asked the red pegasus as she walked up to him, with Rainbow next to her. “Yo! Nah all is good now, thanks,” Blaze answered as he finished his cider and placed the mug on a nearby table before returning to his seat, still sitting the wrong way. “You know, for a pony that’s under arrest, you seem pretty calm about the whole thing,” Rainbow Dash noted. Blaze was silent for a moment, then shrugged. “After all that time with Bloodwing, regular jail would have been heaven,” he admitted. Both mares thought better than to press him for details. “Besides, as long as Light’s okay, I really don’t care about me, I can take it.” “Aww, that’s sweet,” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash looked less impressed, though approval still showed on her face, in spite of herself. “Anyway, house arrest isn’t that bad,” Blaze noted, taking a sip of his cider. “And the Princesses didn’t gentle me like they did to Black...” Rainbow Dash nodded. “I remember when Discord took Rarity and Twilight’s horns. They said it was horrible... like it was for my wings,” she admitted, touching them to assure herself they were there. “I can’t imagine it would be easy to lose your abilities.” He nodded. “I was amazed Scoots wanted to give hers up... guess she just didn’t have ‘em long enough.” He took another gulp of his drink. He stared into his cup. “I really missed having good food like this.” “Bloodwing didn’t feed ya?” Applejack asked. “Not the best,” he muttered. “I got a few treats now and then, but we were kind of on a budget. Stealing food could have attracted attention, and most money went to research...” “That reminds me, how the hay did Bloodwing get money fer everythin’?” “Money saved up, the occasional robbery, a few aliases...” he listed. Then he frowned and looked at Rainbow Dash. “Black and Blue told me that as soon as you saw their fake IDs, you thought they were real. Why is that?” Rainbow got quiet and looked down. Blaze and Applejack looked at each other. “Hey, you don’t want to tell me, it’s okay...” “I was an orphan too,” she admitted sadly. Both of her listeners perked up. “Well... not really. My dad and I... we had a big fight... I ran away, never went back. Ended up in an orphanage until I was eighteen.” “That why you wanted to adopt Scoots so fast?” Applejack asked. The mare nodded. “The first time I saw her, I saw a part of myself in her... only now do I know that she did carry a part of myself in her, her being my daughter after all...” Rainbow was silent for a few moments. She lowered her head and looked to the ground sullenly, and felt a hoof on her back patting her. “It’s alright, sugarcube, the important thing is that Scoots’s safe with ya now,” Applejack told her with a pleasant smile, trying to liven her friend’s mood. Rainbow pulled herself together and grinned at the two ponies, “Yeah! And nothing’s gonna take my girl away from me again,” she told the others proudly, and then she decided to go for another mug of cider on the table. Twilight walked over to Applejack and Blaze, after her talk with Cheerilee. She carried with her a plate of cake using magic and a fork as well, effortlessly eating the cake with small bites from the tiny fork. “Is everything ok here?” she asked Applejack, as she saw Rainbow’s moment of weakness from afar. “All’s well Twi, though Rainbow might have somethin’ to tell ye when she’s ready,” Applejack remarked to her friend, as she saw Rainbow talking with a few other ponies who she recognized were from the Wonderbolt Academy. “Oh... I see,” Twilight responded, and took another bite of her cake. Blaze looked impressed with Twilight’s usage of magic, “To use magic as easy as that, I’m impressed,” he said to her as he looked on. Twilight’s face became flushed for a second, “W-well, it’s really not that difficult if you must know!” she retorted with a sudden increase of volume, which lowered as she gasped softly. “I’m sorry! I don’t know what came over me there.” Blaze just chuckled, “It’s cool...” His gaze fell on the group of foals, specifically Spike who was struggling using his magic. “I guess you’re gonna have to teach your boy how to use his properly.” Twilight shook her head a bit. “The poor thing’s been trying to use magic ever since he transformed... it’s so frustrating for him not having any hands...” “I can imagine,” he muttered, taking another sip. “Did you double-check Light’s application?” The unicorn nodded. “Cheerilee signed him up for classes at the start of the semester. It’s in about three weeks.” She was silent for a moment. “That’s one of the few things you can leave your house for, by the way.” He held up a hoof dismissively. “Yeah, I know, anything involving my job or Light. Trust me, I’m not going to screw this up...” He looked over at Light, who was chatting with Scootaloo. “Who knows, maybe he’ll get his cutie mark soon too...” Applejack sighed, pulling her hat over her eyes. “With him and Spike becoming crusaders... I don’t think Ponyville’s gonna stay in one piece very long...” Blaze was just about to ask what that meant when Scootaloo came walking up to Applejack, wearing a slightly depressed look on her face. Applejack was slightly surprised by this, “Now why is the birthday gal all sad?” she asked her curiosity. Scootaloo gulped slightly, “Applejack, please don’t be mad at me... but before this all happened... I...” “Speak up, sugarcube.” “I took a few of your apples each night, ‘cause I was hungry and had no food!” she blurted out and then lowered her head and shutting her eyes tight, fearing for retribution for theft of the farmpony's apples. What she got however was a simple pat on the head. “Ain’t nothing to be sorry about, Scoots, ya were starving and ya needed some food. Heck if we knew, we’d have made you a part of the Apple Family by now,” Applejack told her, smiling at Scootaloo’s happy face returning. “That’s what Mom told me!” “Heh, no surprise,” Applejack said, just as the front door to Sugarcube Corner came open. Two members of the Royal Guard entered, stepping to either side to salute the new arrivals. Princess Celestia came in first, ducking in to fit an entranceway not meant for her. Luna followed from behind, fitting in easier. As the ponies bowed to their new arrivals, Twilight beamed at Celestia before running up to her and nuzzling her neck. “Princess! I’m so glad you made it,” she told her mentor as she looked up to the towering figure. Celestia smiled gently at her student, nuzzling her head before raising hers. “It’s wonderful to see you again, Twilight,” she told her faithful student with a mother’s tone. Luna approached Twilight, and she was greeted in the same manner as Celestia was greeted. “Verily, tis good to see you again, Twilight,” she told her friend as she hugged her. As Twilight let go Luna, Celestia turned her attention to Blaze, who was bowing in respect to the princesses before her. “Please rise for us, Blaze Stream,” she said to him in an authoritative voice. As Blaze rose from his bow, his eyes met that of the princess and he dared not look away from her gaze. “I have come to give you news on the matter of your work place during your ‘arrest’,” she said happily to him, though a hint of glee could be seen in the princess’s smile. Blaze’s eyebrow rose slightly, “And where will I be working your highness?” he asked her curiously, seeing the mirth in not only Celestia but in Luna too. He dared to look at Twilight for a moment, who seemed rather confused at the princesses’. Celestia turned to her sister, “I believe Luna should tell you.” she replied and stepped back for the princess of the night. “Thank you, dear sister,” she told Celestia, before her eyes fell on Blaze. “Blaze Stream, as for your terms of incarceration, you are required to work in a designated workplace for the remainder of your sentence. We the Princesses of Equestria have deemed you to work as...” Luna paused for the moment, seeing the anxiety of everypony in the room who was listening in on the terms of sentence. “The assistant of Twilight Sparkle.” For what seemed to be a few minutes, a deafening silence was met from everypony in the room. Blaze and Twilight’s jaws were ajar as only one word escaped from their mouths simultaneously. “What?!” Luna, whose own voice had rendered her immune to the outburst, calmly went into an explanation. “You’ll be shorthooved now that your son is a pony. More specifically, you’ll be without someone to transport messages. My sister should be able to teach him to duplicate the same spell quite easily. As well, this position will allow you to more accurately judge his progress.” Twilight sighed. “I guess that makes sense.” “I’m glad you approve, Twilight,” Celestia said happily. She then turned her attention to Blaze. “Come here, and I’ll show you how to send messages.” Blaze started walking, even as his mouth questioned. “Is the spell hard?” “Not really. Spike learned it when he was five. I’m sure I can teach a full grown pony it in a matter of minutes,” she then leaned her head towards Blaze’s ear, whispering a few words only she and Blaze could hear. She then pulled away and saw the nervous smile on the pegasus’ face. "Hey, wait!" Spike protested, trotting to the front. “What about me? I’m Mom’s assistant!” “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Twilight assured. “With everything that’s going to happen in the next few months, you’re not really going to have a lot of time to be an assistant anyway.” The former dragon blinked. “Huh? What do you mean?” “I’ll tell you when we get home,” Twilight assured. “For now, we have a party to enjoy.” “But-” he started but Twilight just smiled knowingly at him, and he sighed in defeat. “Ok.” When the clock showed midnight, the party properly ended. When the last guests left the Sugarcube Corner, Twilight and her friends stood outside with Blaze next to Twilight. Each of the ponies, save for Fluttershy and Pinkie, held a foal on their back. The foals were fast asleep on their respectable guardian’s back. Twilight turned her head to Spike, sighing with a smile. “Well, it sure has been a great party, wouldn’t you say?” she remarked as she turned to the others who nodded in agreement. Applejack looked behind to see Applebloom snoring lightly, “Guess when a pony gets as tuckered out as this, it’s proof that there was lotsa fun.” Blaze laughed softly, “Well, glad to see Light finally having a bit of joy in his life,” he said as he also looked back at the white colt’s sleeping form, that was smiling as though he was dreaming. He then looked at the mares before him, “Thank you,” he said to them with a grateful smile. “You’re most welcome,” Twilight told Blaze with a gentle smile. “So, you will start work with me in three days time,” she told him in a stern voice. Blaze just smirked, “You got it.” Rarity decided to step forward to Blaze, though she moved slowly in fear of having Sweetie Belle fall of her back. “I should warn you, Twilight tends to overwork herself to the brink,” she whispered softly, with a mild fear of Twilight’s retaliation looming in her head. “Heh, well then I’ll just get paid for overtime.” Rainbow coughed slightly, gaining the attention of the others. “I hate to end this so soon, but I need to get back to get Scootaloo in bed and make sure Tank’s ok. If you don’t mind?” Twilight smiled sheepishly, with her cheeks becoming slightly pink. “O-of course Rainbow,” she then yawned softly out of instinct, “Everypony, I think it’s time to go home now.” “Darn right, Ah’ll see ya’ll tomorrow again. Gotta get ready for Apple Cider Season.” Applejack said, “Ya getting the first mug, Rainbow,” she added in with a wink. “Really!” she perked up. “Because... you know... if you’re teasing me about that...” “Relax, I mean it,” Applejack assured. “We all better just get some sleep.” “Aah!” Scootaloo yelled, rising from her bed. Her breath came in heavy pants. Her heart raced to keep up. Her ears were ringing with terrifying noises. She threw her covers off herself and jumped out of bed, her hooves racing across the clouded floor. In a flash, she was out of her room, and soon after she was right in front of her mother’s door. Carefully, she pushed the door open and peered inside. Rainbow Dash was sound asleep, Tank at the foot of her bed, tucked in his shell. “Mom?” she whispered. “Uh...” the older mare moaned, opening her eyes. “Wha... what’s wrong, squirt?” “I... I had a nightmare...” she admitted, feeling her face heat. “About Bloodwing?” she asked, already knowing the answer. “Alright, come here, pipsqueak,” she said lifting a wing. Scootaloo shot into the opening, nuzzling up next to her mother. The wing wrapped tightly around her, keeping her warm. She felt her mother’s mouth right up next to her ear. “He’s gone, Scootaloo... gone for good. He’s not going to get you... nopony will ever get you, ever again. I’m here to protect you. I promise.” she assured Scootaloo and kissed her forehead affectionately and nuzzled Scootaloo’s tiny head against hers. Scootaloo felt her eyes water as she nuzzled up against her mother. Bloodwing was gone forever, along with the nightmare with it. She had a mother. She had a warm bed and good food. She lifted her head to face Rainbow’s, and kissed her on the cheek. “I love you, mom.” she said, as she was drifting off to peaceful slumber. Rainbow stared for a few moments at her daughter, not noticing the waterfall that was released from her eyes. She sniffed slightly, but the tears would not stop. She formed a wide smile as she brought her muzzle to her forehead, kissing it softly. “I love you too, my Scootaloo.” she whispered to her daughter, before she too fell asleep. A lone pony walked towards the entrance of the town, wearing a tarnished cloak covering the pony's head and stopped in front of the sign ‘Welcome to Ponyville’. The night was dead silent, with none of the citizens realizing the arrival of an outsider. The pony looked up to the sign, lifting the cloak to reveal tears cascading from the pony’s crestfallen eyes. “Finally...” the pony mumbled, before collapsing to the ground, emitting a thud sound from impact. The pony’s eyes slowly closed as unconsciousness took over. Author's Note Well this is the end of Project Ascenion, for all the loyal followers, thank you for reading it :) But the tale is far from over... ;) I want to thank all the following: Darth Link 22: Co-Author of Longing and Project Ascenion Vozzlefox and Amras Felagund: Editors of this story ezio dementay , TheCloudTop , Cold Spike , The Conflicted Writer: Pre-Readers to this story And to you, the fellow reader... thank you so much for favouring this story and seeing it through to the end... I hope the sequel will entertain you all in the weeks to come
Chapter 1“Scootaloo... Ah think this is a bad idea,” “I have to agree with Apple Bloom on this. This is just too scary!” “Aw don’t be scaredy cats now, you two! This is our calling... Cutie Mark Crusader Bungee Jumpers!” Three little fillies were balancing on top of a branch at their Clubhouse. Each one had a helmet on and rope tied to their waists that acted as a substitute for a bungee coil. The orange pegasus named Scootaloo was grinning in glee at the new stunt they were going to perform, but her friends were another story. The little white unicorn named Sweetie Belle, in reality, was terrified of heights. So to even stand a few meters from the ground was draining all her willpower. Apple Bloom, the little yellow earth pony, was relatively calm but still exercised caution by fastening her rope and adjusting her helmet to not fall off. Scootaloo peered down the the edge of the branch and let out a huff, “On my mark! Three! Two! One! Go!”. As the final word escaped from her mouth, all three fillies jumped and yelp out at the speed they were falling. It was over in nearly three seconds, with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom dangling from the rope and becoming dizzy with every motion the rope performed. Scootaloo was another story, as her rope came to its end, it snapped and she fell to the ground landing on her belly with a thud. “Ow....”, was all she could utter and stood up groaning at the pain from the fall. She buzzed her wings, only able to lift herself up from the ground for a few seconds before giving way and landing on her fours. Once Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom got to the bottom, Apple Bloom checked her flank in anticipation, but her face became crestfallen to see her flank remaining blank. “Well, that’s a bust!” Apple Bloom groaned and fell backward on her back, with the helmet cushioning her head. Scootaloo also dejectedly sighed and sat next to her earth pony friend, “Guess that wasn’t our calling.” Sweetie Belle noticed her friends becoming slightly depressed and spoke up, “Well, maybe we can figure out some other things to do before next week, hey?” Apple Bloom’s face lit up like a torch, “Oh that’s right! It’s Scootaloo’s birthday!” cheered in excitement, though Scootaloo still had a somber look on her face. “Hey Scootaloo, what’s wrong? Ain’t ya happy it’s your birthday?” Scootaloo stood up and examined her wings, giving them a few flaps and trying to lift herself up, but failed once again at this. She let out a sigh with her eyes closed and turned to her friends, “Apple Bloom, how old will I be turning next week?” she asked her friend rhetorically. “Ten, why?” Scootaloo sighed and shook her head, “Ten and I can’t even fly yet, and I have no cutie mark. That’s why!” she raised her voice slightly to her friend, though she immediately backed down after seeing the shocked looks on their faces. “Sorry.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle trotted to her side, hugging her. “Scootaloo, it don’t matter if ya can’t fly yet or don’t have a cutie mark yet. We all don’t have ours yet, but when we do, it will be like Rainbow Dash says ‘Awesome!’,” Apple Bloom encouraged Scootaloo, who let out a chuckle at Apple Bloom’s impersonation of her idol. Sweetie Belle nodded in approval, “That’s right. You are Scootaloo, the pegasus who will be faster than Rainbow Dash and-” “A useless orphan chicken!” The three friends stood still and turned their heads to see a sneering pink earth pony with a diamond tiara on her head standing next to a silver greyish earth pony with glasses. Though the silver pony stood still there with her eyes moving in nervousness, her pink friend had an evil grin on her face as she laughed at the three friends who were staring daggers at her. “Can’t believe you’re turning ten next week, amazing you got so far for a blank flank!” she jeered, laughed like she had just told the most amusing joke ever, with her friend joining in reluctantly. “Oh great, it’s the Snob Duo. What y’all doing here!? This is Apple property!” Apple Bloom took a menacing step towards the duo, with Silver Spoon backing away slightly. But Diamond Tiara was another story, as she just stood there with a grin and let out a chuckle. “Well well well, looks like a dumb-blank-flank is trying to tell me what to do in Ponyville, that belongs to my family and thus belongs to me,” she said with a tone of finality in her voice. Sweetie came to her friend’s aid, glaring at the pompous filly who stood before them as though she was a demon demanding to be worshiped. “You don’t own the town! You can’t just come here and insult us! Don’t you have anything better to do?” she asked Diamond Tiara, who was starting to laugh cruelly. “This is priceless! Now a magic-less unicorn is trying to stand up against me? What are the odds of that?!” She laughed more as Sweetie Belle had tears forming in her eyes, with Apple Bloom holding her friend to comfort her. “Guess your daddy doesn’t give you much love, does he?” Diamond Tiara’s laughter stopped abruptly when these words were spoken, and glared at Scootaloo who was marching towards her with a triumphant smile to see the bully being silenced. “What you say, huh!?” “I said, your daddy doesn’t give you much attention or love ‘cause his only love is money. I bet that tiara you have on your head is a fake!” Scootaloo pointed to her head, with Diamond Tiara’s anger growing and Silver Spoon gasping at her friend’s emotional state. “At least I have a daddy and mommy! I don’t think I’ve ever even seen your parents!” she snarled at Scootaloo. The pegasus’s eyes went wide at this, small tears pricked her eyes. Diamond Tiara took notice and smirked at this newly discovered weak spot. “Yeah, that’s right! I bet you don’t even have parents, do you? No pony would ever want you as their daughter because you're just a flightless chicken!” “I... I am not,” Scootaloo stuttered, but this only added more fuel to the bully’s tirade. “I bet you live out on the streets, that’s why you stink like dung all the time!”. Scootaloo’s mouth hung open and her tears flowed freely while Diamond Tiara laughed at the critical strike. “Why don’t you get lost? If your own parents don’t want you, what makes you think we do?” This was the breaking point, Scootaloo turned around and galloped as fast as she could away from the others. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom called out for her whilst Diamond Tiara stomped her hooves in joy with Silver Spoon looking nervously at her friend, “And stay out, you homeless chick-” A tremor shook the fillies, as something large fell from the sky, landing right behind Diamond Tiara. Her glee was replaced by fear, as he pupils shrank with every breath she felt on her back. She turned her head slowly to look behind her, to see a sight that would forever haunt her. A cyan pegasus with a rainbow-coloured mane stood behind her, glaring with murderous eyes at the Earth pony before her. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes before she did something she regretted. “You know, I was just flying along, enjoying a nice peaceful flight, and I could have sworn I overheard you bullying my number one fan.” She said the words with a politeness that was very much transparently fake. She leaned in closer to the spoiled filly, with a look on her face similar to a dog about to strike. “You wouldn’t really want to do that, would you?” Diamond Tiara gulped at this and stepped back. “M-my daddy is the richest pony in town. You better not hurt me!” “Aw, how cute. Playing connections. Let me try: my best friend is Princess Celestia’s personal student. I’m pretty sure she could clear any matters up. Would you like to find out just what I can get away with? I’ve never really tried it, and I’m kind of curious.” By this point, the pink filly was hyperventilating. She shook her head rapidly with her eyes tearing up, “Then do me a favour... get lost!!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon yelled in panic and ran towards Ponyville with their tails between their legs, with Rainbow Dash standing as firm and rigid as a member of the Royal Guard. “You better not mess with Scoots and her friends again, you hear me? I mean it!” she yelled at them, then turned her attention elsewhere. She lifted herself up, scanning the area for Scootaloo, wondering where the little filly ran off to. “We’re here,” the first pony said, as he and his partner trotted into town. They stood firmly and professionally, which actually attracted a few stares, but they paid them no heed. They were both earth ponies, one a dark blue, the other a pure black, both wearing sunglasses. They wore their manes shortly and evenly cut, just another aspect of them that told the town they were professional. The blue pony bore a cutie mark of a magnifying glass, the black one, a single white hoofprint. The black pony looked around the town square. “I can see why somepony would hide here. Small, quiet, it looks pretty unimportant.” “It looks unimportant, yes,” Blue nodded. “But the farmland here provides some valuable crops to Canterlot, so there is some government scrutiny.” “Maybe that’s why she picked it,” Black suggested. “Easy access to food?” “Must be, if she’s even here. I’m sick of dead ends, and we really have to watch ourselves here.” “I know, I know,” Black mumbled, waving a hoof. “Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Bearers live here. Those are hooves we don’t want to be stepping on.” “Agreed. Let’s split up and get a lay of the land. If she is here, we best know the area a bit.” Rainbow Dash searched for nearly twenty minutes before finding her number one fan sitting under a tree. Her hooves covered her eyes, hoping they would stop the tears. Gently, she glided down to her, silently landing by her side. “Hey there, squirt,” she said gently, reaching a hoof out to her. Scootaloo jumped at the voice appearing out of nowhere. She began backing away, but stopped and sighed when she saw who it was. “R-Rainbow Dash. You scar... surprised me.” Rainbow Dash smirked at the quick correction, and only grinned wider at seeing her trying to wipe her eyes. “I was just... thinking... about...” “Scoots... I saw those two fillies picking on you,” the elder mare sighed. “Don’t worry, I got rid of them. They know better than to mess with you now.” A blush came onto the orange pony’s face. “Oh, um...” Rainbow gave another sympathetic smile, understanding her embarrassment at her idol seeing her crying. “Kid... are you really... I mean, do you have parents?” “Yes,” Scootaloo said with a quickness that made her mentor suspicious. “I mean, they’re just... never around.” “Always working, huh?” the cyan pony nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, that’s why I can’t fly yet,” she kicked the ground with her front left hoof. “They never have time to teach me.” “What do they do?” “They work for a delivery company. They’re always away on long trips.” Rainbow Dash listened for any hesitations in that story. Hearing none, her suspicion diminished. “Well, then, how would you like it if I taught you a few things?” Scootaloo just gaped at her. Then her eyes widened like it was Hearth’s Warming Morning. “Really? Learning to fly? From you? The most super awesome incredible amazing pony in Equestria?” “You forgot ‘fantastic’,” the elder mare boasted. “And that’s what I said, wasn’t it?” “Cool! Can we start now? Can we?” “Whoa, cool your jets,” Rainbow Dash waved her hooves. “I’ve got weather patrol in ten minutes, so not today. But we’ll start soon. How’s that?” Scootaloo ears drooped as she lowered her head dejectedly, “Oh ok. Well, see you later, Rainbow,” she bid her idol farewell, though Rainbow stared off at the running filly with concern before flying off to weather duty. Once she was gone, a black earth pony came from behind a tree and looked into the distance to where Scootaloo ran off to. He laughed triumphantly, before putting his sunglasses back on to hide his eyes. “Gotcha.” Ponyville was a town where many extraordinary events happened, with extraordinary ponies or other creatures being apart of it. Though today, the citizens of Ponyville were beginning to get awfully suspicious of two earth ponies who entered the town no less than an hour ago. One of them, a dark blue pony, was walking through the town with an emotionless face and his sunglasses covering his eyes. He didn’t speak to anypony, but kept surveying the street layout, as if he were sketching a blueprint of the city in his mind.. The citizens simply looked at him and moved on, not knowing how to handle such an enigma. As he was nearing the Sugarcube Corner, his ears perked up as he heard his partner calling to him. “Blue!” the voice of a black stallion, who was running towards him called. “Black, report.” the dark blue stallion told his partner as he stood in front of him. “I found her.” the black stallion said, with the dark blue stallion removing his sunglasses to reveal his eyes nearing popping out. “Are you certain!?” he hissed to his partner, who merely nodded. “Positive, she’s in this town, let’s get her.” The dark blue stallion placed his sunglasses back on, shaking his head. “Not so fast. We can’t risk anypony chasing after her. We don’t know if another family has taken her in or if she has connections in this town. We need to keep playing this by the book.” Blue began trotting to City Hall. “We go and talk to the mayor as planned. If all goes well, that child will be brought home by tonight.” Blue ran ahead and his partner Black following him. With the doors of Sugarcube Corner opening, a pink earth pony looked at those two running to the exit of Ponyville as though they carried the plague. “My Pinkie Sense is tingling, something bad is going to happen.” she said as her tail began to shrink and puff out again. “I must find Rainbow quick!” she told herself as she zoomed towards the other side of Ponyville. Mayor Mare was currently performing her least favorite task as an elected official: paperwork. Sighing, she scrawled her signature on a permit to allow another traveling performer to put on a show in town square, and then another approving the new waterway system Princess Celestia had seen fit to install in the city. She couldn’t help but grin. Getting funding from the Princess was pretty easy now that the comfort and happiness of her personal student was at stake. “Excuse me, Ms. Mayor?” The aged mare looked up to see two ponies she didn’t recognize. She sat her quill down. “Gentlecolts, I don’t believe I’ve seen you in town before.” “Indeed, ma’am,” Blue said, his mouth going into his pocket. He pulled out a wallet and flopped down on the desk. It was an ID card with his picture on it, topped with the letters DFS. “We’re with the Department of Foal Services.” “We believe a runaway foal has hidden in your town,” Black finished. “Oh my,” she said, bringing a hoof to her mouth. “Are you sure?” In response, Black fished a photo out of his pocket. It was of Scootaloo, looking as if she was displeased with having her photo taken. “Yes, I recognize her. I’ve seen this filly around town several times.” “Where is she living?” Blue asked. “I can’t tell you off the top of my head,” Mare apologized. “May we take a look at the city records then?” “Of course. They’re located at the city library.” Both of the agents arched an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard of a city keeping records there.” Mayor Mare actually blushed. “Well, I tend to be a little scatterbrained when it comes to paperwork. The town librarian, on the other hoof, is well known for keeping everything in order. She tends to handle most of those things.” “Fair enough. Where is this library?” “A few blocks from here. If you wait, her assistant is due by in a few minutes to pick some things. He’d be happy to escort you.” “Very well,” Blue said. Black arched an eyebrow, but nodded his head. Clearing the skies of all the clouds in Ponyville was the easiest job for Rainbow Dash, since it only took her ten seconds to do so. Her colleagues were impressed by her skills and they always tried to keep up with her pace, but they were nowhere close to her level yet. Once she was done with her part of the work, she always assisted the others in finishing theirs sooner. By the next hour, the work had been done and they called it a day. Rainbow decided to enjoy the rest of the afternoon in a manner she knew best, napping on a soft cloud and dreaming. “Rainbow Dash!!!” Rainbow shot up from the cloud at lightning speeds and looked around to see who was calling her. She spotted Pinkie bouncing on the clouds coming towards her and she began to question logic at that moment, because earth ponies are not suppose to be able to walk on clouds unless somepony performed a spell to do so. “I’m so glad to have found you! We got trouble!” Rainbow just rolled her eyes and shook her head, face-hoofing it and sighed, “Pinkie, what’s it now? Did the Cake Twins blow up an oven? Did Gummy swallow your cupcake? Did Twilight blow a gasket?” Pinkie just laughed at this, “No, silly! That was last week,” she replied before her eyes starting glaring, “There are spies in Ponyville!” It was Rainbow’s turn to starting laughing, as she held her stomach and rolled on the cloud. “Spies, hey? That’s a good one!” she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes and saw Pinkie staring at her with no mirth in her eyes. Rainbow gulped at this and stood up slowly, “You serious?!” “As serious as Twilight is about friendship reports.” Rainbow lifted herself up from the cloud and flew towards Pinkie, “Ok, let’s go get Twilight. She must know of this.” “Okie-dokie-lokie!” she said as they both made their way towards Ponyville. Though once they left, Scootaloo came out from the bushes she was hiding. She looked pale and frightened beyond belief. She started breathing loudly and looked down on the ground, where a tear puddle formed. “No... I can’t go back... I won’t!”
Chapter 2“Why did we wait for this dragon to escort us?” Black mumbled to his partner as Spike led them up to the library. “If we act accommodating, there’s less of a chance they’ll put up a fight to keep her. We’ve finally cornered the foal, we don’t want to botch this up.” The other agent nodded in agreement as Spike pushed open the door with one claw, careful not to tip the stack of scrolls in his other arm. “Mom? We have some ponies here who want to talk to you.” “Tell them to come in here, Spike,” Twilight called from the other room, “I’m kind of in the middle of something.” The two agents looked at each other with some amusement that a dragon considered a pony its mother, but hid it when he turned to face them. “Sorry, my mom can get caught up in her work. Just gone on in.” With mumbled “Thank yous” the two ponies did so. They found Twilight surrounded by books, all floating around her in a half circle. She was constantly checking the pages while scribbling notes on a piece of parchment sitting on her desk. She only glanced up at them briefly. “Hello there. Sorry about my manners, I’m a bit anxious to finish this report.” “It’s not a problem, Miss Sparkle,” Blue assured. “We’re here from the Department of Foal Services. We understand that you keep the town records here?” At this, Twilight actually took a closer look at them. “You need the mayor’s permission to...” At this, Black produced a scroll with the mayor’s signature. Twilight took it and skimmed it through, before nodding. “It looks legitimate. What do you need to look up?” “We came here looking for a runaway filly,” Blue explained as Black pulled out her photograph for her to see. Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. All her books fell to the ground, but she paid them no mind. “It can’t be... Scootaloo?” “You know her?” Black asked, sounding concerned. “Well, yes. Spike spends time with her sometimes, and my friends’ sisters are her friends,” she explained. “Where is she living?” Twilight shook her head, “That I don’t know, much more than that, I’m afraid. Sometimes they come in here for school work or come to play with my boy but other than that I don’t see them much.” Blue looked down on Spike, who was becoming more nervous by the second and fled to his mother’s side. “A bit unusual wouldn’t you say?” Twilight blinked her eyes, “I beg your pardon?” Blue looked into the mare’s eyes, “It’s rather unusual for a mare to have a dragon whelp as her son. Especially a mare of your status.” Twilight simply smiled and reached out her hoof to hold Spike near her, “Well being the Princess’s student has led me to many interesting and wonderful things. My boy here is by far the most wonderful thing I have discovered.” she answered to them, with Spike looking up at her in awe at her words. Black and Blue just stood there, showing no emotion to her words. “We’ll take your word for it. On a more urgent matter, do you know of anypony who might lead us to Scootaloo?” Twilight tapped her hoof to her chin, “Well there is one pony I know, but I-” “HI TWILIGHT!” All the ponies jumped slightly and gasp at the sudden call that came from the door. Blue and Black immediately turned to the source only to be greeted by a hyperactive pink earth pony and a very energetic cyan pegasus. Pinkie Pie bounced past the two stoic earth ponies with Rainbow right behind her and hugged her unicorn friend. “How you been? Did anything today? Did you do something with your boy? How’s Spike by the way? How are your studies going? Do you need a party? Huh? Huh? Huh-” “PINKIE!” Twilight shouted at her friend, with a deafening silence surrounding the room. “Pinkie, everything is ok. Spike is good as well,” she told assured her hyperactive friend, who had stopped bouncing all over the library. “Now. is there any reason you came here to visit me, other than trying to throw a party?” Pinkie opened her mouth to speak but Rainbow pushed her out of the way, “Twilight, Pinkie says there’s spies roaming Ponyville.” she said bluntly to her unicorn friend, who withheld a giggle with her hoof to the mouth. “Uh, Rainbow Dash, there aren’t any spies. Pinkie was probably talking about these two,” Twilight said, motioning to Black and Blue, who were looking a little nonplussed at the interruption. “Oh, heh, heh,” the cyan pegasus blushed, suddenly feeling awkward. “Ooh, ooh, are you spying for Celestia? The changelings? Dis...” Pinkie was cut off by Twilight magically sealing her mouth shut. “Pinkie, that’s enough.” “Wait, you’re Rainbow Dash?” Black asked. “The winner of the Young Flyers Competition last year?” Hearing praise, the pegasus puffed out her chest. “The one and only. Are you a fan?” “I have a relative who keeps an eye on the best flyers in Equestria. He tends to go on about you.” “Well, he has good taste,” the mare answered smugly. “Anyway,” Blue said through gritted teeth, “Could you be on your way? We were just asking Miss Sparkle about...” “Actually, Rainbow Dash was the mare I was talking about. She knows about Scootaloo.” At this, the pegasus’ ears perked up. She looked at the two agents with concern. “What do you want with Scootaloo?” “Ma’am, we’re with the Department of Foal Services,” Black explained. “The one you call Scootaloo ran off from an orphanage nearly two years ago.” Hearing this caused the three mares and Spike’s mouths to drop open. Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead with one hoof. “I don’t believe it. She lied to me,” she said softly. Black arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” “Well, one of the school bullies accused her of being homeless just this morning. She told me it wasn’t true, though.” “Well, she is. She ran off because she refused to follow the rules of where she was kept. She was a little troublemaker,” Blue said, a tinge of regret in his voice. “Aw, that poor filly,” Pinkie said. Black cleared his throat with a light cough. “It is imperative that we find her and return her to the orphanage before she gets into serious trouble,” he told the other ponies in the room, with Rainbow frowning a bit at this. “Where exactly is the orphanage?” she asked Black, who just blinked at her without changing his expression at all. “Back in Canterlot, Miss,” he answered her dismissively, though Rainbow’s expression became crestfallen as this news. “But-but-but she has friends here in Ponyville! Can’t she just get a transfer to here instead?!” she asked the two ponies, though their expressions did not change in the slightest. “Regulations for a transfer takes months to process, even for special cases like her,” Blue explained to Rainbow, though with the word ‘special’, Black smirked slightly but was not noticed as Rainbow began to breath heavily and blinked extensively. “W-what about adoption? I could adopt the little filly and she could-” “Miss Dash,” Blue explained to her, “That can only be done with the consensus of the Department of Foal Welfare and you have to go through countless interviews to gain special status as a legal guardian, not to mention you must also be of legal age to adopt a foal and be responsible for the foal’s welfare.” Rainbow was becoming livid at these two always finding a way to keep Scootaloo away from her friends. Meanwhile, Twilight’s mind was going through some extensive thinking as both Blue and Black spoke to Rainbow about laws of adoption. Spike just remained silent as he leaned in closer to his mother, with him becoming more afraid of these two ponies. Rainbow Dash huffed and crossed her hooves as she hovered in front of them, “So no matter what I suggest, there’s no way to keep Scootaloo here in Ponyville at all?!” Blue shook his head with his eyes closed, “You are twisting our words, we told you that legal actions need to be taken before proper adoption can be done. She will first have to return to Canterlot before we can arrange proper guardians for her and-” “What exactly you mean ‘proper guardians’?!” Rainbow asked them as she flew dangerously close to Blue’s face, though he never flinched at all to her interrogating stare. “Quite simply, we are talking about responsible ponies who have experience with raising foals and are not a hazard to the foal’s welfare.” Black told her nonchalantly, though this only fueled Rainbow’s growing anger at these two for telling her indirectly she was not a responsible mare. Rainbow was still for a few seconds before something popped inside her head, “Can I see your identification cards?” “Right here,” Blue informed before his muzzle dipped into his pocket. A few seconds later he fished out an ID card and showed it to her. Seeing this, the pegasus’s wings drooped. “That’s real, alright,” she sighed. Twilight and Pinkie looked at each other. “Rainbow Dash, how do you know...” “Look,” the pegasus cut her friend off, “Scootaloo will probably listen to me. The kid practically idolizes me. Why don’t you just let me go get her and bring her to you?” The two agents looked at each other. “Well... if you think it will work...” Blue said slowly. “We believe you should know, the filly was known to exaggerate things about how bad the orphanage was. If she tells you anything, I’d advise just blocking it out.” “Alright,” Rainbow Dash answered half heartedly. “Give me about an hour. I can find her by then.” It took only twenty minutes for Rainbow Dash to find her number one fan. She was in a cave just to the north of where she had found her crying earlier that morning. Luckily, she had caught sight of the little filly entering the cave, looking nervous. Flying to the cave entrance, she saw what looked to be a lived-in area. A sleeping bag with a stuffed animal beside it, and a slab which had a few berries and apples on it, as well as a cookie that she must have gotten as a gift from Sugarcube Corner. A canteen was next to them, presumably filled with water. Another slab held a school notebook and some pencils, obviously used as a desk of some kind. Scootaloo herself was currently setting several berries into a bindle sack, looking scared. “Scoots?” The orange filly jumped nearly three feet in the air before turning. “R-Rainbow Dash?” “Kid... do you live here?” “No,” Scootaloo said immediately, looking even more frightened than she before. “Really? Because there’s two stallions at Twilight’s library who say differently.” Scootaloo’s fur became pale and her eyes shrank at the mention of those two ponies, “No... I won’t return... I won’t. I can’t!” she jumped out and tried to make it to the exit of the cave, but was stopped as Rainbow held onto her with all her might as Scootaloo screamed and squirmed in her forelegs. Rainbow was shocked to see her number one fan look so frightened or drastic in the years she has known her. The sight of Scootaloo at the moment was making her eyes moist as she was reliving a few childhood memories. “Listen Scoots, I know the orphanage is not a great place, but I will talk to Celestia about all this, okay?” she tried to calm the little filly down, which worked if only for a few moments. “I’ll talk to her to get you back at Ponyville and be-” “They’re not from the orphanage, Rainbow.” “What?” Rainbow asked Scootaloo, who looked up at Rainbow with bloodshot eyes. “What do you mean, they’re not from the orphanage? I saw their Identification cards myself and they look legit to me and-” “They’re fakes! They’re gonna take me back ‘there’,” she said the last word with venom dripping from her muzzle, as absolute terror was somehow related to that word. Rainbow remembered what those two ponies said and simply shook her head, “Look, I don’t know what you playing at, but you need to go back.” Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow in disbelief, and glared at her with her moist eyes. “So, you’re gonna believe those two liars instead of your number one fan?!” Rainbow backed her head away slightly at these words as she was still holding onto Scootaloo, but then frowned upon the little filly. “Well you lied to me now, so that doesn’t exactly help you, does it?” she told her as she continued looking down on the little filly with disappointment. Scootaloo felt like her heart had been ripped apart, her role model and inspiration was siding with the two ponies who would return her to the place she escaped from. She realized that her words would fall on deaf ears even if she told Rainbow the truth. She glared at the rainbow mare, shaking slightly in anger as she lowered her head and mumbled something. Rainbow raised her eyebrow and lowered her head, “What’s that you said?” she asked Scootaloo innocently. Scootaloo mumbled again, though a bit louder as she shook more in Rainbow’s forelegs. “Scootaloo, what are you sayi-” “I hate you!” “...You don’t mean that,” Rainbow Dash said. “Yes, I do! You want to send me back... there!” “I’m telling you, I’m sure an orphanage...” “It’s not an orphanage!” she yelled. Rainbow Dash sighed. “Alright, I’ll bite. Where are they going to take you, if not to an orphanage?” Scootaloo was quiet for a moment. “...This might sound crazy, but you have to believe me.” “I’m listening,” the elder mare said. Scootaloo kicked at the ground a bit before continuing. “Those two aren’t with the DFS. They work for a guy called Doctor Bloodwing.” “Doctor Bloodwing?” Rainbow Dash asked, arching an eyebrow. “Yes,” the younger filly said, annoyed. “He’s a scientist, and he’s... well, he’s crazy. He wants... he wants to make an alicorn.” At this, the cyan pegasus’s eyes actually widened. “What?” “I told you, he’s crazy. He kidnapped a lot of ponies and experimented on them. He’s trying to recreate an earth pony’s strength, a pegasus’s wings, a unicorn horn and put it all into one pony!” “Uh-huh. And he kidnapped you?” “He had to have! I... I don’t remember anything from before. I just woke up one day in that cage he put me in. I finally escaped two years ago, and I’m not going back!” There was silence for a few moments. “...See, this is why you need some adult supervision. You read way too many comic books.” With that, Rainbow Dash grabbed Scootaloo and began pulling her towards the outside. “What? No... let me go!” “Kid, you honestly expected me to believe all that? I’m not an egghead like Twilight is, but I’m not an idiot.” Scootaloo was crushed. She had just told Rainbow her darkest secret but even now, the rainbow mare scoffed it off as mere foal’s imagination. She glared at Rainbow with all the anger she could muster. “I don’t idolize you anymore, Rainbow Crash!” she yelled at the pegasus and spat on her face. Rainbow flinched at this, trying to remove the phlegm from her eyes with her hooves. At that moment, Scootaloo bucked Rainbow hard with her hind legs and made a run for it. Though she felt bad at injuring Rainbow Dash slightly, she had no choice but to try and get as far away as possible. She thought she was a safe distance away, but horror struck her when she felt hooves reaching for her. She turned to see a very angry-looking Rainbow Dash behind her and tried to increase her running speed, but she was no match for the rainbow pegasus’s flying speed. She was soon lifted from the ground, with Scootaloo flailing in the air as she was held in Rainbow Dash’s forelegs and flying towards Ponyville, albeit slower than expected. “No! Let me go! please!” Rainbow Dash sighed sadly, “Listen Scoots, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I promise you that-” “I don’t wanna go back to that place! Please, Rainbow, let me go! Just please don’t let them take me there!” Scootaloo pleaded with Rainbow, whose eyes became moist as she was in moral turmoil at the sight of her number one fan. One part of her mind told her this was wrong and to let Scootaloo go, whilst the other part told her that she was fooling her and she needed to return for her safety. “Squirt, I know the orphanage is not a fun place, but know that I will visit you and I will get you back to Ponyville faster than you can say Sonic Rainboom,” she told the little filly who was squirming in her forelegs. Scootaloo sniffed as tears fell from her eyes, “Just kill me already please.” Rainbow Dash abruptly stopped at these words and looked at Scootaloo with horrified eyes. “What did you just say?!” “I said just kill me!” she repeated those dreadful words to Rainbow, who just stared in absolute shock at the little filly. “They are gonna do worse things to me, I just know it! If you really care for me, let me go or just kill me here... I don’t want to head back to that place!” Rainbow was staring at Scootaloo like as if she spoke the most insane words ever. This filly, just turning ten years old, was pleading for euthanasia from Rainbow Dash. Rainbow could not help but release a dam of tears as she was held Scoots close to her, her image of bravado cast away in the process. “I don’t know what happened to you back there to make you think that way, but know that I will come back for you Scoots... I promise you.” Scootaloo remained silent until one word was spoken from her, “Liar.” “...What?” “You’re giving me to him! I can’t trust you! You won’t protect me!” “Scoots... please...” “No! Let me go!” Sighing, Rainbow Dash kept flying forward. Twilight’s library was nearly in sight. “Look, it won’t be so bad, and you’ll be back here in Ponyville before you know it. I know the Princess, remember? She can help me cut through any red tape those agents can try and...” “They’re not agents!” Scootaloo screamed. She then gave a gasp of horror when she saw the two agents. Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie were still there, looking awkward. “No, no, no!” Black held what appeared to be a straitjacket with a handle on its back. “What on earth is that?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “Restraint belt for unruly foals,” Blue said coldly. “That... seems a bit abrasive,” she said slowly. “With all due respect, Miss Dash, not all ponies are gifted with flight or levitation like you or Miss Sparkle. We must make do, and the child brought this on herself.” Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight, who nodded at her friend. “I double checked, it’s a legitimate piece of equipment, at least for earth pony agents.” Rainbow looked back at the agents. Blue softened a bit. “It’ll just be until we get her to our carriage. Strap her in.” It was no contest. Scootaloo bucked and shouted, but Black and Blue restrained her with such efficiency that Spike found himself hiding behind Twilight. Scootaloo now hung at Black’s mouth, still bucking and screaming. “We thank you for your cooperation Miss Sparkle, and your help, Miss Dash.” “Yeah, well, don’t get attached to her,” the pegasus warned. “I’ll get her back sooner or later.” “I don’t want to see you again! You gave me back to them!” “You best be quiet now, little one. You’re in plenty of trouble as it is,” Blue gently chastised. He then turned to Rainbow Dash. “Well, we look forward to seeing you again. Come on, Black.” As he said those words, Blue trotted outside followed by Black who was holding a squirming Scootaloo in the restraint. As the door closed, Rainbow could not help but cry with her hooves to her face, trying to stop the flow of tears that were escaping her eyes. Twilight came over and held onto her, patting her head and stroking her hair to calm her down, though it didn’t work very well. “Don’t worry Rainbow, I’ll write to Princess Celestia now and get her counsel to get Scootaloo back. I promise,” she assured Rainbow, whose head was buried in Twilight shoulders as she gave a nod. Spike, who was quiet the whole time, came with scroll and quill and started writing as Twilight spoke her letter out. One thought was in his mind those this whole time, “I got a bad feeling about this...” Just outside Ponyville, a lone grayish carriage was parked outside near the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. Blue and Black walked towards it, with Scootaloo screaming and flailing in the air as she was bounded by the jacket. “Let me go, you creeps!” Blue and Black ignored her screams as they approached the carriage, “Finally, mission accomplished, after two years.” Blue commented to Black who nodded his head as he held Scootaloo in the jacket. “When I get loose you’re gonna-” With a swift hoof colliding into her gut, her eyes rolled over as she coughed a little blood out before falling unconscious. Blue shook his head to his partner. “You didn't have to do that,” he told him as he gagged Scootaloo with cloth tied around her muzzle and chucked her inside the carriage, locking the door in the process. “She was bucking annoying. Any more of her blasted voice and I might just have to kill her,” Black told Blue, who frowned at his partner now. “Our orders are to bring her back alive!” Black sneered at Blue, “Nopony said she had to be bruise-free.” he snickered sickly at this as they hooked the carriage to their frames and made their way away from Ponyville. As they left, an orange earth pony came from behind an apple tree with petrified eyes at what just happened. She gulped and shook her head vigorously, readjusting her stetson hat. “Ah gotta tell the others about this!” She galloped towards the library, hoping Twilight was present, as Applejack had just witnessed an act of foalnapping.
Chapter 11Twilight Sparkle was terrified beyond belief. Her son, Spike, was now in the clutches of that rotten mare and her sick superior. She sat on her haunches as she looked down on the floor, where a small pond of tears was forming as it was being released from her eyes like a waterfall of cascading running water. Cadance, at the request of her husband, held onto Twilight and stroked her mane, trying to calm the poor mare down. The guards, who informed Twilight of what had occurred, looked at her with sorrow and pity in their eyes. Shining, who had been healed thanks to the medics of the infirmary, approached his sister and placed a hoof under her chin, raising it up to meet her eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot, thanks to the excess of crying she had done. Shining remembering only a few occasions in life where she was broken like this. He bit his lower lip as he cursed himself, recalling that one of those moments was his fault, making her cry on his wedding day by siding with an imposter. He blinked slowly and brought his foreleg over her neck, holding her in place as she sobbed into his shoulder. “Twily, we’ll get him back. I promise we’ll get Spike back,” he chanted to her multiple times, hoping against all hope that it was working, if only for a second. Cadance decided to join in the hug and used her magic to speed up Twilight’s healing, hoping with the pain eradicated she would feel a little better. “Twilight, Shining and his guards will get Spike back. We’re also gonna get Scootaloo and Rainbow back. I promise you!” she exclaimed softly as she nuzzled her little sister-in-law affectionately. She had always loved Twilight like a little sister since her days as her foalsitter, and she could not bear seeing her in this state. Twilight sniffed as she gave a nod in her brother’s shoulder, with Shining patting her head softly and looking down sadly at his little sister. Just as he let go of her, the doors of the infirmary burst open, with Twilight’s friends running in to comfort their friend. Even though Pinkie’s mane was still fluffy, there was no smile on her face as she held her friend close to her in a tight hug, with the others quickly joining in. “Oh my gosh, Twilight! Those meanies took Spike with them! Oooh! If I was there, I’d have assaulted that Yellow with my cannon so much that-” Applejack placed a hoof over her mouth, achieving immediate silence in the room. “We get the idea, Pinkie,” she said solemnly, with her eyes looking down at their distressed friend. As more and more comforting words entered her ears, Twilight’s crying started to cease, and the blur in her eyes was beginning to clear up too. She gazed at the puddle of tears underneath her, she could see a helpless Spike being dragged away by a laughing Yellow. She blinked rapidly and clenched her teeth as she began to scowl. “They’ll pay for this...” she whispered softly, as she gently pushed her friends away and got onto her hooves. A newfound source of energy was at her disposal as she raised her head slowly, with fire in her eyes and rage etched onto her face. “Twilight, don’t worry,” Shining said, “we’ll get him back...” “I’ll get him back,” Twilight said angrily. “Scootaloo and Rainbow too. They’re going to pay.” “Twilight,” Cadance said quickly, “You really should stay here and rest...” “No!” she exploded, with her mane and tail bursting out in flames. Everypony flinched and took a step back as they saw the most powerful unicorn in Equestria enraged. The fire on her body quickly calmed, but the fire in her eyes did not. “I’ll get them, and I’ll make sure nothing happens to my son!” she said as she made her way to the door. Before she could open it, though, she felt a firm hoof on her shoulder which belonged to Applejack. She turned to see her friend looking at her with green eyes that displayed concern. “Twilight, Ah understand ya need to find yer boy. But slow yer hooves fer a minute, and think this through. Ya don’t have to do it alone. We’re here fer ya, Twilight.” she said as she gently pulled Twilight away from the door and held her in a secured hug. Applejack could understand what Twilight had to be feeling at that moment, as she was thinking of what she would have done if somepony had foal-napped Apple Bloom and did horrible things to her. She thought that Twilight felt even worse than she could feel, because Spike was Twilight’s son. She frowned slightly when she let go of Twilight, as a thought crossed her mind. “Why the hay did they even want Spike, anyway?” Applejack wondered out loud. “They almost got ‘em back at the other lab, too.” Faced with this question, Twilight’s natural inquisitive nature began to override her terror and anger, but not completely. “I’ve been wondering that as well. They took scales from him for their projects instead of anything from me. Yellow sounded like she was about to tell us something before Blue busted in.” “And didn’t those two call him a doll back at the lab?” Pinkie said. “What’s that about?” “I don’t know,” Twilight admitted. “But I think it’s time I sat down and had a talk with Celestia...” she said calmly as she exited through the door, with her friends, brother and foalsitter following suit. Rainbow Dash walked cautiously through the seemingly endless darkened corridor, barely being able to see her new companions in the dim candlelight. Every single hoof step echoed through the halls of the place, sending chills down their spines. The further they treated, the more she started to feel like she was being watched... like she was walking straight into a trap, which was an understandable feeling. Little Light clenched himself on his older brother’s leg as they traveled on into the pitch-black beyond. Rainbow could see the sheer fear in his eyes, even though he tried to hide it. The corridors looked as if they hadn’t been inhabitat in years; webs hung from the ceiling and the walls of the place had turned to a dull shade of grey. No windows. That was the first thing she noticed. Not a single one.. it made her feel so trapped even though she could still vaguely hear the rain assaulting the ancient cobblestone walls of the laboratory. “You know, since you were already caged, there was little point in me letting you out,” Blaze noted. “You can relax.” Blaze whispered, his murmurs echoing off into the dark. “I’m not letting my guard down,” the mare snapped. “Not until we’re all back at the palace.” Light shifted. “Is Blaze gonna get in trouble?” he asked. “He’s not a bad pony...” “Kid...” Rainbow Dash said tensely, before she caught herself. “...I don’t know. But Princess Celestia is a kind ruler. She’ll probably let your brother off lightly if he keeps helping me.” “I have no intention of fighting Celestia as long as Light is safe,” the stallion said bluntly. “Celestia can lock me up and throw away the key for all I care.” “But they won’t, will they?” Light asked, panicked at the thought of losing his brother. Blaze just placed a hoof down on his little brother’s head and ruffled up his hair. When the hoof was removed, Light looked up at his brother’s face and saw a genuine smile. “I’ll be fine, Light,” he said softly to him as he leaned his head down to eye level with his brother. “You can always trust me, got it memorized?” he said as he smiled, with Light nodding his head but without a smile. Blaze felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Rainbow Dash looking sternly down at him, “What?” he asked bluntly, with her pointing to a cell door. “Would you do the honours?” she asked as she stood at one side to give him room to move. Blaze walked up to the door, reaching for the key and pushing it in the lock. He turned the key and the cell door unlocked. With a quick glance to either side to ensure he wasn’t being watched, he opened the door. When the cell door was open, Rainbow flew in quickly and scooped up Scootaloo in a bone-crushing hug and nuzzling her. Scootaloo was confused at first, but when she realized that her attacker was actually Rainbow holding her, she returned the hug with as much strength as she could muster. She looked up at Rainbow, who looked back at her with caring eyes and stroked her head gently. “Are you ok?” she asked Scootaloo, who nodded to give her answer. She then looked behind Rainbow to see Blaze and a new colt at his side. Blaze walked up to Scootaloo and began the process of unlocking her from her shackles, “Blaze? What’s going on?” she asked as she looked to Rainbow and back at Blaze, who simply waved a hoof at her as he grinned. Blaze just snorted as he undid the final lock on Scootaloo. “It’s a very long story, Scootaloo, one I’m sure you’ll tell all your friends when you’re out of here,” he remarked as he saw the Scootaloo’s eyes shine with a glimmer of hope in them. “Does that mean...?” Rainbow nodded. Scootaloo smiled widely at this. She felt the shackles fall from her legs and noticed the bruising forming. “Don’t worry, Scoots, we’ll have that looked at when we’re back at the palace,” Rainbow answered her, as she saw the Scootaloo wincing slightly as she rubbed her hooves against her legs to get rid of the itch that came from wearing them. She then felt an itch forming at the base of the wounds, and instinctively raised a hoof to scratch them. “I don’t think you should try and scratch that,” Light told Scootaloo, who looked back at him curiously from the distance. “Who are you?” the filly asked. Blaze cut his little brother off before he could answer. “We can save the introductions for when we get out of here. Black and Bloodwing probably already know we’re gone. Let’s get moving.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Good idea,” she said, lowering herself. “Come on, kiddo, on my back.” Scootaloo did as she was told, finding a comfortable spot on the mare’s back. Light did the same to Blaze, knowing what was going to happen. “Let’s go,” Blaze said, and with that the two older pegasi lifted themselves in the air and flew off. The pair navigated the hallways with precision, going as fast as they could without making it difficult for their passenger to keep a hold on. Finally, they found the exit. As soon as they were outside, the flew into the sky, heading towards the palace. Meanwhile, running in the streets below to avoid detection, Yellow returned to the base carrying an unconscious Spike. Celestia was not having the best of days. It was bad enough that a wanted criminal had broken into the palace and had freed another criminal (all on the watch of the Captain of the guard, no less) and then kidnapped the son of her favoured student. But now, of all times, Twilight had burst into her chambers, demanding to know something that Celestia had hoped she would not ask for another few years. The truth about her son. She sighed heavily at the seven expectant faces staring at her, awaiting an answer. “I’m afraid Yellow wasn’t lying, my most faithful student,” she said sadly. “I have been keeping something from you; but it’s been to protect you, not harm you.” Twilight cocked her head, confused. “Protect me? From what?” “From yourself,” the alicorn said simply. “And from those who would exploit you.” “I... I don’t understand.” Celestia was silent for a moment. “Do you know what was different about your test, as opposed to the others I have given?” “Yes, you used a real egg instead of a fake one.” Celestia shook her head in grimace, ”No Twilight... the truth is that there was no difference.” A stunned silence hung in the air. “W... what?” “Twilight... that egg wasn’t real. It was a doll egg, just like everypony gets when they perform the test.” Celestia answered her student, who was stunned by this fact and every other pony in the room was confused at this also. “Ah don’t understand...” Applejack said as she shook her head slightly, “That don’t make any sense at all.” Celestia stood up and walked up to her student, standing before her with Twilight looking up at the princess. “Haven’t you noticed how Spike is different from other dragons? How he lacked wings and had such an unusual scale color? How he seemed to take living among ponies so well? How he never seemed to have any of a dragon’s documented natural instincts?” Twilight was silent. She had indeed wondered all those things. “You didn’t hatch Spike; you gave life to him. He didn’t start life as an egg; he started it as stitches, fabric, and fluff. But on that day, your great burst of magic gave you what you wanted most at that very moment, and pulled life where there was none before. It was then that I realized the truth,” she paused for a moment, closing her eyes and letting out her breath slowly. “You were born with a magic so powerful that only one in a million unicorns have. Starswirl the Bearded also had such a strong magic, just like you, Twilight, and other ponies before him. Before my sister and I took the roles of raising the sun and moon, unicorns had this duty, as I am sure you remember,” she said as she was recalling to the Hearth’s Warming Eve tale. “When I saw your magic becoming unstable, performing spells that even adult ponies have difficulty performing, I took it upon myself to teach you how to control your powers that rested in you. What shocked me even more was the fact that instead of receiving a doll for graduating, a live baby dragon was there. A pure, innocent baby dragon that was brought into this world by you, my most faithful student,” she said as she nuzzled her student affectionately, seeing the stress in her student’s eyes. Twilight’s lips quivered at the touch of Celestia’s head brushing up against hers, “But... but that means Spike’s-” “So that means Spike really is Twilight’s son?” Everypony’s head turned to Pinkie, as she smiled slightly at the news she had just heard from the princess. “‘Cause if that story is true, that means that Twilight really did give birth to Spike. But that also means that Twilight is the youngest mommy ever!” she remarked to herself out loud, but noticed the others looking at her blankly. “What? I’m just saying that Spike is really Twilight’s boy.” Rarity just shook her head, “I think it’s a little bit more complicated than that, Pinkie,” she said, still trying to digest this information from the princess. “Princess, I think you know it was impossible for Twilight to just will a doll to life, and you should tell us the truth, please,” Shining told the princess, but he was met with a slight cold look from Twilight. Realizing his wording, he looked away in shame. “I’m sorry.” “Magic is a peculiar thing,” Celestia noted. “It’s connected through the heart of every living being. The heart is formed through the nurturing of feelings, feelings such as friendship and love. That’s what allowed Spike to be born. A part of Twilight’s heart and soul resides in him. Magic gave him shape and breath, and out he came. He looked like a dragon, but had the heart of a pony. Some may say he is merely a construct of magic, but the moment I laid my eyes on him, I saw the genuine signs of life flowing in him. He is as real as you are, Twilight.” Twilight started blinking uncontrollable, processing this revelation that was given to her by her teacher, “So... me adopting him... it was unnecessary?” Twilight uttered, her body was shaking slightly at the implications. Celestia shook her head as she draped a wing comfortingly over Twilight, “I never submitted those papers, Twilight. You’ve been on record as Spike’s mother from the day he was born. Didn’t you find it odd that I let you raise a child at such a young age?” “You told me it was to teach me responsibility...” Twilight said, her voice trailing off as she looked up at Celestia’s face, whose face softened as a small smile formed with her eyelids half-closed. “And it was. However, it was also because he was your flesh and blood, your responsibility,” she said as she let go of her student. Twilight just stood there in silence at all of this new information. She then looked up to Celestia with determination brimming in her eyes. “If you’ll excuse me, Princess. I need to get my son back from those sick ponies,” she said firmly. Celestia smiled gently at her as she nodded her head. “Shining,” she called to him as he approached her slowly, “Go with Twilight to find Spike,” she ordered, to which Shining Armor responded with a sharp salute. “I will, Your Majesty,” he said to her. “But Princess, what about Rainbow and Scootaloo?” he asked. His answer was merely a small smile, which confused the ponies present until Celestia glanced over at the balcony, “I believe that problem solved itself,” she said plainly, as two ponies came flying fast into the throne room. Both ponies landed roughly at the opposite side of the room, each of them carrying a foal on their back. “Rainbow!” As soon as she heard her name, she turned to the others, who came running to greet their friend. Just before they could grab her in a group hug, she raised her hoof to stop them and pointed to Scootaloo on her back. “Don’t wanna hurt her now, do we?” The ponies in the room stayed silent as they saw Scootaloo, with a horn on her head and slightly bigger wings. Fluttershy immediately flew to her and checked on her legs as she held her gently in place. “Oh dear! We need to get this bandaged up,” she said, continuing to check Scootaloo for more injuries. The other ponies came to her and huddled over her as they barraged her with questions. “Y’all alright there, sugarcube? We were so worried!” “What did those ruffians do to you, you poor thing!?” “Did those meanies hurt you bad? Wait until they they taste my cannon!” Twilight, however, was staring at the other pony that came with Rainbow with narrowed eyes. Blaze was standing there, with his brother on his back, in a room he thought he would never see in his life. The feeling of awe was soon turned to outright awkwardness when Twilight looked at him with contempt in her eyes. “Um,” he began, gently setting his brother down next to him. “Hi!” he said, waving a hoof at her. “You!” Twilight spat as she realized who he was. Everypony’s attention turned to Blaze, who was trying to remain calm in this definitely unfriendly situation. He knew he was going to pay for his actions, helping with the kidnapping and experimentation on a filly they cared about. He just sighed as he realized he was in trouble no matter what he said or did now, so he decided to at least have one more bit of fun. “Miss me?” he asked casually. Blaze was very fortunate that Celestia was more powerful than Twilight, because the lavender unicorn leapt at him with pure rage in her eyes. Luckily, her mentor held her in midair with her magic, leaving the unicorn thrashing in the air with rage. “You took Spike!” she shouted out to Blaze, “You took my son you little...” Blaze looked at her in confusion, “Who? The do-” he began, but Rainbow shot him a quick glare that quickly caused him to rethink his words. “Um, the dragon?” he corrected himself, not wanting to have another fight with this unicorn again. “Where is he!?” Twilight demanded, still suspended in the air but still flailing angrily. Blaze shook his head vigorously. “I don’t know... I’d assume back at Bloodwing’s lab. As soon as we got Scootaloo, we left.” he said. Celestia dropped her magic and released Twilight, and she began to march up to him. Light stood in front of her, but this did not stop her one bit. At that point, Scootaloo decided to stand in front of Blaze and intervene. “Please, Twilight, he helped us escape...” This seemed to mollify the unicorn a bit, though she still looked ready and willing to harm him at the first opportunity. “Well... why would Bloodwing want Spike?” Blaze shifted. “Well, I don’t know if the princess told you, but he...” “Was created by me, I know,” Twilight snapped. “Oh. Well, he’s made up of your magic... and you're the most powerful unicorn alive today... that could be useful if he could...” Twilight froze. Her eyes went wide as she came to the obvious conclusion. “If he could break... him... down...” Spike groaned as his eyes opened. All he saw was a blurry face that slowly came into focus, one with a malicious smile. He gasped and tried backing away from the foul presence, but he couldn’t budge one bit. He started breathing frantically in panic, his eyes desperately scanning the room. He noticed Yellow behind Bloodwing, who was wearing a triumphant grin as her eyes looked down on the frail form of Spike before her. “Well, well,” Bloodwing grinned as he stood up and went to Yellow, patting her on her head as though she was a dog who did her master proud. “It’s a shame we lost Subject Ten to the senile goats, but it looks like I just got myself a brand new doll to tinker with!~” he cooed to Yellow. Suddenly, he sharply turned his head to Spike, looking down on him with crazed eyes for a moment before looking up and twisting his head, as though pointing it to another room. Spike then felt his body being lifted up by magic, and looked behind him to see that Black was carrying him. He starting flailing in the air, trying to free himself from the criminal’s hold on him. “Let me go, you! I have my rights, you-” Suddenly, Spike felt immense pain as Black dropped him to the floor and drove his hoof into the top of his scaly head. Spike let out cry of agony from the pain, and he could feel the blood seeping through his injury. He felt himself lifted again, his vision now blurred from the tears he was shedding. “Dolls have no rights,” Black told him with a deadpan expression as he followed Bloodwing and Yellow into the next room, with Spike right behind him in a cloud of magic. Spike lips quivered as he shed more tears from the attack on his head. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, dreading what they had in store for him. “Mom... help me.” Author's Note Re-Edited by Vozzlefox, my teacher... check out his story Lately guys :D
