This was never meant to happen
This was never meant to happen
I lay there utterly defeated he had beaten us there we had no chance now. Sweetie Belle lay to my left lying bruised and defeated I probably looked in about the same condition. Her horn if you could still even call it that lay in pieces scattered across the ground all that remained on her head was a jagged stub. Her eyes were shut a final gift given by some unseen god she was unconscious and wouldn’t have to see what happened to me.
Apple Bloom lay to my right she wasn’t so lucky as to be knocked unconscious she was awake and well aware of what was going to happen to me. Her legs lay twisted and turned in unnatural angles bones breaking out of the skin from her legs. You didn’t need a doctor to tell that she would never walk again. It must have been extremely painful but she seemed to not even notice it she stared at me tears were streaking down both sides of her face but they weren’t from the pain she knew just as well as I did what was about to happen and she was sad we both knew we would never see each other again or if we did it would be under terrible circumstances.
Then there he was standing directly above me claw on my chest he wore a look of someone who knew they had won someone who had gotten almost everything they wanted. He smirked his eyes gleamed with something akin to desire he had everything he wanted except for one thing me. My fate would not be the same as that of my friends, no for me he had something far more special planned. Discord leaned down his draconic eyes seemingly trying to drill holes in mine and asked me one question “Are you ready?” I screamed, I panicked I had to get out of there right now I fluttered my wings as fast as I could trying to escape his grasp. It was no use his gryphon like claws grabbed my hooves and pinned them to the ground. My eyes met his as he pulled his head in closer to mine whatever was going to happen now I knew would be the end of me. The last thing I did was scream.
My name is Scootaloo and I never meant for any of this to happen.
I guess I should start somewhere from the beginning. This is the story of how me and my friends set the god of chaos free.
All of this started one warm spring day in the apple orchards of Ponyville to be more specific all of this started in a treehouse that had been the starting place for many other chaotic adventures for me and my friends. But no matter how many adventures we had been on before no matter how much chaos and hardship we had been through before would ever prepare us for what was to be started that day no amount of preparation could prepare us for what we would unleash all of this started with one simple sentence from a certain alabaster unicorn
“I’m boooorred,” Moaned Sweetie Belle, “we’ve been in here for hours lets go and do something.”
“Then come up with something for us to do me an’ scoots have been trying to come up with something to do since we got here an’ you’ve just been sitting there.” Apple Bloom said
“Ok then cutie mark crusader anthropologists.” Apple Bloom deadpanned
“Sweetie we did that yesterday.”
“I know it was fun so I thought we could do it again.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea Apple Jack wasn’t very happy about us digging up Sweet Apple Acres.” I said.
“Hmmm then maybe cutie mark crusader pilots?”
“Sweetie belle where would we get a plane and how would we know how to fly it.”
“Yeah plus I won’t need to know how to fly a plane as soon as I learn how to fly.”
“Alright then how about cutie mark crusader spellcasters.” Now it was my turn to deadpan
“Sweetie in case you hadn’t noticed me and Apple bloom can’t use magic unless you know of someway to turn us into unicorns.”
“Alright fine then, do either of you have any ideas.”
“Ah’ got one we could be cutie mark crusader teachers”
“Didn’t Mrs. Cheerilee tell us to leave her out of all our crusading after the hearts and hooves incident” Sweetie said.
“Oh yeah that’s right well I got nothing. What about you scoots got any crusading ideas?”
“I do have one but I’m not sure if you guys will like it.”
“Well spit it out no use in thinking we won’t like it unless you tell us what your idea is” Apple Bloom said. Sweetie nodded in agreement.
“I was thinking we could be cutie mark crusader explorers.” Both sweetie and Apple Bloom suddenly looked at me with faces of renewed excitement.
“Well what did you have in mind of exploring there’s not too many places around ponyville to explore and we all know the town really well so what did you have in mind” Sweetie said.
“That was the part I was afraid you guys wouldn’t like I was thinking we could explore the everfree” Saying that earned me two stares
“Scoots are you insane, the everfree!”
“Apple Blooms right scoots what would give you the great idea to go exploring around the everfree.”
“Now hear me out we wouldn’t just waltz into the everfree. We would prepare for it and just think what better of a place to explore noponys ever mapped out the whole thing and its about the one thing we haven’t done before. If there was a place that the three of us would earn our cutie marks it would be in the everfree.” Apple Bloom looked a little bit more convinced but from the frown on Sweeties face I could tell she would need a little bit more convincing
“Just think about it there could be ancient ruins out there or some sort of amazing talking pony dragon creature out there and we would be the first ponies to see it because noponys been brave enough to go out into the everfree and find it!” now both of my friends looked equally excited
“Alright scoots I think you’ve sold us on it but.” Apple Bloom gestured out the window to the setting sun. “ah’ think its getting a bit late to head out into the everfree today”
“Oh oh I’ve got an idea.” Sweetie said bouncing up ad down “Tomorrows Saturday so we can tell our parents we’re spending the night at Apple Blooms and Apple bloom can say she’s spending the night at Rarity’s. then we can camp out in the everfree that night and be home by Sunday.”
“Alright then it’s a plan we’ll go home and pack up some saddle bags and meet back here tomorrow”
“Ok well I should be going my dad told me that I had to be home by sunset and by the looks of it I’m going to be late already.” The three of us chimed in unison “Cutie mark crusader explorers yay!” With that the three of us went our separate ways. I grabbed my scooter and went as fast as I could with a new sense of urgency to get home and start packing my saddlebag for our overnight stay in the everfree.
The next day
“Alright guys you ready to go” we each had our saddle bags strapped to our sides. Tents, sleeping bags, food and water everything that we would need for our extended stay in the everfree was filling our saddlebags to the brim. We were at the edge of the everfree ready to start our latest journey to get our cutie marks crusader capes on and worn proudly we were ready.
“Yep I’m all set what about you sweetie.”
“One sec let me make sure that I’m not forgetting anything” she rummaged through her saddle bags. “Food, water, hairbrush, sleeping bag yep I got everything lets go”
“Alright then lets get going” I said as we took our first few steps into the everfree the forest was amazing we were only at the edge of it yet the trees here were bigger than the ones back in Ponyville. There was a certain chill in the air that wasn’t too uncommon at the start of spring but only served to add to the atmosphere. The three of us were doing something nopony had done before we were going into the everfree a place supposedly filled with ruins magic and all sorts of things that were totally amazing. It was exciting tense and terrifying all at the same time.
We walked in silence for a while the forest around us quickly changed from exciting and hopeful to something frightening and fearful. The trees around us changed no longer were there gaps in between the leaves that let light through the trees had grown much larger than that they were now easily twice as tall then any building in Ponyville and the leaves were so thick that they immersed us in a state of constant twilight. We could hardly see further than a few yards in front of our faces. The noises around us were no longer the happy calls of birds but they occasional snapping of a twig or rustle of a bush. The forest had gotten much thicker too there was no longer room to walk side by side through the forest we had to walk single file and duck and dodge branches and thorns. One of the branches caught a snag on my cape and tore a corner clear off. The forest was unsettling to say the least and I could tell that it was starting to get too Sweetie and Apple bloom. We made our way into a clearing.
“let’s stop here and eat lunch” I said I looked back and saw Apple Bloom but no Sweetie “Apple Bloom where’s sweetie.”
“what are ya’ talking about she’s right behind me” she said turning around her eyes went wide “She was just right behind me”
“Sweetie Belle” I yelled
“Scoots keep your voice down we don’t know what’s out here and I don’t really want to find out.”
“Do you have a better idea, Sweetie Belle!!”
“No but what’s the use of sweetie belle finding us if half the animals in the forest do too.” Our argument didn’t have a chance to go any further because it was interrupted by a loud roar and a high piercing scream. We ran as fast as we could trying to catch up to sweetie belle and whatever the thing that was chasing her was. We ran and we ran as fast as we could trying to catch our friend and whatever was chasing her for what seemed like hours but looking back on it was only a couple of minutes. we burst into another clearing but this one was different there seemed to be the remains of a town here long ago forgotten and left to the forest. I might have stopped to look around if it weren’t for the thing that I now identified as a manticore from some random biology lesson in Cheerilees classroom chasing my friend. We ran through the ruins and came to what I assume used to be the town center where there was an odd looking statue in the middle of the open space
Sweetie Belle ran up to the statue and collapsed from exhaustion the manticore who was following her ran forward and suddenly noticed the statue she was lying under froze mid run me and Apple Bloom ran past it straight to Sweetie Belle than the mantiore did the strangest thing it turned around and left
“A-a-am I dead” Sweetie said in a raspy tone barely even loud enough to hear
“No sweetie you’re not dead we’re all alive. We’re all going to be okay that manticore left us alone.”
“Scoots this was a bad idea we should have never come into the forest.” She said her voice barely more than a whisper
“She’s right scoots this was a bad idea we should have never come into the forest.”
“Well I think we have bigger problems right now than deciding if this was a good or a bad idea we’re lost and we need to find our way back to ponyville. I’m gonna take a look around these ruins you stay here and make sure sweetie belles ok.” All I got from Apple Bloom was a Stare in return.
I walked around the town center there were the remains of buildings surrounding the statue in the center which laid in the center of a stone circle that was inlaid in the ground. There were inscriptions all over the stone but the writing on it was faded and seemed to be in another language. The statue upon closer inspection was not of a pony but some creature I had never seen before it looked part pony part dragon and part gryphon it was one of the strangest things I had ever seen Apple bloom was laying it taking a nap next to sweetie belle who was curled up into one of the sleeping bags she wasn’t asleep though surprisingly.
“Hey sweetie you okay?” I asked
“Yeah I’m okay a little scratched up from running through the forest but nothing too serious. I just can’t get to sleep.”
“Why can’t you sleep what’s wrong?”
“It’s the strangest thing I’m getting some magical interference from somewhere and its making my horn feel all funny.”
“That’s weird can you tell where its coming from”
“yeah.” She said scrunching up her eyes her horn started glowing a faint emerald light “its coming from that.” She said facing the statue.
“Can you tell why it’s doing that.”
“No but I get the feeling that it was alive at one point”
“Well try using some magic on it”
“Alright I’ll try” Sweetie’s horn started glowing a faint emerald she walked forward touching it to the statue which then started to glow an emerald green that faded. “It’s no use” The ground beneath us started to shake
“Sweetie stop”
“I’m not the one doing that” Apple Bloom woke up
“Scoots what’s going on”
“I got sweetie to use her magic on the statue and I don’t know what’s going on.” Cracks started to form all along the statue and the letters in the circular stone started to glow an emerald green. A cackle that seemed to emanate from everywhere started and the statue burst open the form that was once inside now free from his prison with two quick flaps of his wings he was next to sweetie belle she hardly had time to scream before one of its claws shattered her horn into a million pieces while the other one connected with the side of her head knocking her to the ground.
Before either me or Apple Bloom could even react he was behind apple bloom both claws around her legs with a sickening crunching noise he bent her legs up to her sides she screamed out in pain. I ran over to try and help but was brushed aside by a claw and knocked onto my back. I heard another crunch and a scream from Apple Bloom then there was a sound like the rushing of wind and a clawed foot was suddenly on my chest from there the god of chaos took his time enjoying me look at my friends demise already knowing what was going to happen to me as his claws slowly started to reach for my wings the only thing I could do was scream