Shattered Dreams

“You’re me?” Scootaloo repeated curiously, though she didn’t believe what the lonely mare was telling her, she was curious as to how the stranger’s mind worked. She wanted to know how this psycho  responded to things. “So I should call you Scootaloo?”

“Yes.” The crippled “Scootaloo” replied almost automatically.

It may seem weird, but Scootaloo didn’t care that there was a creepy stalker in her room. The thought of fear didn’t even cross her mind. In fact, she felt like laughing. This was the perfect horror movie setting. A creepy mare coming into a young kid’s room all crippled and spooky looking, telling them that their some kind of clone. Hilarious.

“Scootaloo!” The broken pegasus barked suddenly, shocking the laughing filly into a state of stillness. “This is serious! Do you see my wings? Do you see them? This is what you’re going to look like! This is your destiny!”

There was silence. Scootaloo looked up into the glassy eyes of the orange pegasus in front of her. Gulping, she forced her gaze to run across each twisted, broken feather. They were bent in so many directions it just looked like a nest of fluff, and she had to hold back a sickly gag as she spotted small white stubs of bone protruding from the mass.

“I don’t believe you!” Scootaloo shrieked, now taking the matter deadly serious. “I’m going to be the best flyer! Even Rainbowdash will look up to me! That’s my dream! You can’t take that away from me!” Determination flared in the young equines purple eyes, and she crossed her hooves stubbornly in front of her when her ghostly reflection didn’t respond. “No one can take away my life.”

“No matter how true that sounds, fate has made it’s decision. I have only come to say one thing. There is hope, and you will be happy. Just follow the right path.”

“The right path?” Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. “You mean, like the streets in Ponyville? I guess if I took the wrong one I wouldn’t get to school, but what does that have to do with anything?”

Rolling her eyes, the tattered Scootaloo tapped her hoof to the wood paneled floor. “Just do what you think is right Scootaloo. And don’t shove away the things that you love.”

“The thing’s I love . . .” Scootaloo parroted, looking down at her covers. Her eyelids began to shudder, and she felt sleepy again. Looking up at her older self, she smiled. “I won’t let that happen to my wings . . .”

“Of course you won’t . . .” The spirit replied. It was the last thing Scootaloo heard before her shaking eyes closed, and her mind went blank.

“What in the hay are you wearing Scootaloo?” Applebloom squeaked as her pegasus friend marched confidently into the schoolyard. Though she wore a grin and held her head high, Applebloom doubted that anypony could feel proud wearing a safety tube tightly around their stomach.

Scootaloo leapt up and down with excitement. “You’ll never believe what happened last night!” she chirped restlessly. “Where’s Sweetiebelle? She needs to hear this!”

“Sweetiebelle went inside for choir already.” Applebloom said in confusion, but she was beginning to get bouncy as well. What was so amazing that Scootaloo had to share it with her right away? Had she found out how they could get their cutiemarks?

“What?” Scootaloo muttered irritably. Tapping her hoof on the bouncing rubber around her waste, the pegasus reminded herself that Sweetiebelle had joined the kids choir a few days ago. “Alright, then how about we meet at the clubhouse after class?”

“Scoot, that’s fine and dandy, but are ya’ll gonna wear that in class?”

Looking down at the safety tube and smiled, “Yep!”

As Scootaloo tested the strength of her shield, Applebloom tightened and adjusted her bow. Excitement rolled off both of the fillies as they impatiently waited for the school bell’s hum so they could get the day over with and get to the clubhouse.

Light filtered through the dusty window of the clubhouse. Slightly cold breezes wafted through the wood and the crusaders bit their lips as it sunk into their short fur.

“A-Aliright Scootaloo, I hope this is important, cause it’s darn cold!” Applebloom chittered through her clacking teeth. Sweetiebelle played with her mane briefly before nodding in stiff agreement.

“You’ll never believe me, but some creepy mare snuck into my house last night, watched me sleep, and told me that she was my clone!” Scootaloo bursted out in excitement, practically bouncing on her hind hooves.

Sweetiebelle immediately dropped her hair and puckered her mouth in disbelief, an aura of uncertainty pulsed from her green eyes. Applebloom was in the same mitt.

“Scootaloo, I really think that your lust for adrenaline is getting to your head a bit. This whole story sounds wacko.” Sweetiebelle admitted after a minute of silence. “Not that it isn’t exciting! It just seems . . . too supernatural.”

“Ah agree with Sweetiebelle . . . Ah mean, a ghost pony watchin yah sleep? That’s kinda creepy Scoot.”

The two crusaders lowered their heads worriedly as Scootaloo’s cheeks bulged and blushed bright tinges of red.

“I’m telling the truth! Her wings were all droopy and twisted! She was glowing like a christmas tree, and . . . and she had no eyes! She was as tall as a mountain, and she moaned when she walked, like a zombie from The Galloping Dead!” She had exaggerated, she knew it. But the experience was fresh in her mind, and she wasn’t going to sit around while her friends thought she was loco in the cocoa!

“Stop lying Scoots! Ah know you’re one for adventure and mystery, but this is getting out of hoof! We know that there wasn’t a scary ghost pony in your room last night so stop making stuff up!” Applebloom moaned in annoyance. “Look Scoot if this is all yah wanted to tell us ah think ahm gonna go back to the farm.”

“Please don’t go! There’s more!” Pleaded Scootaloo as Applebloom turned to leave. Sweetiebelle looked up with natural curiosity while Appleblom rolled her eyes. “She told me that I was going to end up like her . . . That my wings would to be crippled . . . And that my dreams won’t come true . . .” When she finished her eyes were watering at the seriousness that had finally sunk in. That mare had not been lying, she had been telling the truth.

“Scoots, you’re telling the truth aren’t yah . . .” Whispered Applebloom in shock. Dread had crawled up Sweetiebelle’s face and she stared at the wall where the safety tube rested against the smooth wood.

“That’s why you wore that around your wings isn’t it Scootaloo?” The unicorn asked.

“Yeah . . .” Scootaloo looked away, hiding her face so her friends didn’t see the tears that were threatening to sneak out of her eyes. Cold stillness crept over her and she clapped her hoof against the ground, only for the satisfaction of the smallest distraction. “Listen . . .” She choked out. “You can go now, okay? I . . I’m cool, really.” Another chilly breeze howled outside and Scootaloo tensed her muscles. It was unnaturally cold . . .

“Scootaloo . . .” Sweetiebelle said softly. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to your wings.”

Looking over her shoulder, Scootaloo gave her unicorn friend a fragile smile. The young curly maned filly was holding up a hoof, waiting for Scootaloo to except her promise. And she did. Scootaloo walked to Sweetiebelle and grabbed her friend’s hoof.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders Protection Program!”