Our Girl Scootaloo
Part 3 of 3
by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville
Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release
Chapter Three point Seventeen: A day at the Park
The news of the death had gone out the next morning and many news sites touted it proudly on their front pages. The general agreement among those who had seen the video was that this was a man who got what he deserved, and a lot of people started their day with a smile after reading of his untimely death.
At breakfast that morning Scootaloo proposed they take an afternoon trip to something she called an 'amusement park' to relax from the stress of the last few days, and after conceding Twilight the the morning to study the rest of them had agreed.
Initially, Pinkie of all ponies had objected, but after she accidentally sat down on a cucumber that had mysteriously found its way to her seat, she had suddenly become quiet and contrite, occasionally stealing a worried glance across the table at Twilight.
As the meal was breaking up, Agent Tyler stepped over and put a hand on Celestia's back above her wings. “You and I have something important to discuss. Please come with me.”
…
The trip to the hospital had been quiet. They rode the elevators up to the sixth floor and Celestia followed the Agent down the hall to an empty room of the ICU. Looking around the room, Celestia waited for an explanation, but when none was forthcoming she asked irritably. “Agent Tyler, I have come back here at your insistence and I have waited patiently. Please get to the point.”
“Very well.” She replied as she shut the door on the empty room. “This is the room where the man you knew as John had been recovering from a heart attack. Last night his heart suddenly gave out and he died as I'm sure you remember from the morning news.”
“Yes, I am well aware of the man and what he did. He will not be missed.” She replied hotly. “Now why are we here?”
“We are here so that I can start you on the path to establishing an embassy on earth and formalizing the contact between Earth and Equestria.”
Celestia shook her head derisively. “And what makes you think I would do that? Why would I want that kind of contact for my world?”
Agent Tyler sighed. “Because you will not be a world alone much longer. With your arrival, contact is inevitable, and you should begin at once to establish yourself as a sharp and cunning monarch. The kind of pony that humans can respect, and would be wise not to cross.”
Tyler crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall, ignoring Celestia's irritation. “Believe it or not I have your best interests at heart in this and you would do well to listen.”
Celestia was no fool and had negotiated her fair share of treaties and settlements over her thousand year reign. She respected Tyler's intelligence enough to know when something was up. Pushing her irritation aside, she asked. “Very well. I know you brought me here for a reason. Lets have that out before we continue.”
Agent Tyler smiled. “Good. John's bed was set up by the window last night. Why don't you take a look at the window ledge?”
Celestia walked over to the window but it didn't take long to make out the two fresh marks on the brick ledge that looked like someone had crushed the bricks in a vice. A quick glance at the five floor drop to the awning below told another tale as to how those marks got there.
“Now if you look down at the awning below the window, you can just make out a few white stains that didn't come from birds. Now if we were to test those, I'm sure we wouldn't find any trace of pony milk, and personally, I'm rather glad it's supposed to rain tonight. Saves a great deal of paperwork.”
The Agent now had Celestia's full attention. “Now something like kidnapping... well, that's not such a big deal if the mother and daughter forgive you, but there are more serious crimes that are not so easily dismissed.” Celestia gave a very slight nod, and Tyler continued. “Whether you believe it or not, I am trying to help you. As far as I know, you and I are among only three people who know of this. I intended to keep it that way, but nonetheless, it is high time you established your country's legal standing here on earth. Maybe got around to appointing an ambassador, someone with diplomatic immunity from prosecution?”
Celestia looked at her seriously, and for the first time that morning her lips twitched upwards in the beginnings of a smile. “Yes... You know, I believe you may be correct. Would I be right to guess there is someone just down the hall with a great deal of paperwork to fill out?”
Tyler nodded, and opened the door. “Right this way, Princess.”
...
Surprisingly, Pinkie Pie had actually required the most effort to convince. Twilight had stumbled across amusement parks in her net searching, and Fluttershy was just looking for a little time off to relax without really understanding where she was going, a view Scootaloo was happy to exploit for her own plans.
Pinkie's response to her suggestion had been. “An amusement park? Why do I need to go to a special park for that? I can have fun anywhere.”
After some effort she had convinced them all to come, with Agent Tyler acting as a chaperone. The amusement park was not a huge one, but as the coasters and drop towers began to peak over the trees Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy all craned the necks to get a better view out the window.
“Oh my goodness, what is that big tower for?” Fluttershy worried aloud.
“Oh, that's a ride! They use that to-” Pinkie was cut off as Scootaloo put a hoof in her mouth.
“When we get there, why don't you and Twilight go exploring with Agent Tyler while I go show Fluttershy around, okay?”
“All right, I'm just looking forward to the physics! I found a web page devoted to calculating how fast the coasters will go based on their weight and height.”
Agent Tyler raised an eyebrow, but smiled as well. “Okay, I can help you with that if you like. You don't get to where I am without a few calculus classes. But I intend to enjoy this afternoon off, so you both had better be ready to ride.”
The car pulled in to a back road where they were met by a special park representative who led them around to a side gate.
“We're very glad to have you here with us today. As special park guests, I have line hopper passes for all of you, and a park map highlighting all the rides that are equipped to handle our special guests.”
As the spiel went on Fluttershy quietly whispered to Scootaloo. “What does she mean by 'special' guests?”
“Usually? Overweight. They retrofitted a lot of the rides with a couple of seats to handle humans who are too fat to fit on the normal rides. One of the guys on their board of directors is only alive today because of my genetic treatment so when they did the retrofit, they made sure I could ride too. That's also why we get in free.”
When the introductions were over, Tyler, Twilight and Pinkie set off in search of the 'Steam Spider' while Scootaloo chuckled to herself.
“Um... What's funny?”
Scootaloo snickered. “The Steam Spider is one of the older spinning rides that predates modern ergonomics and ride design and its a great way to make a newbie sick. Agent Tyler has an... interesting sense of humor.”
Fluttershy looked after them, unsure whether to call out a warning.
“Oh don't worry, they'll be fine.” She waved after them dismissively before turning her full attention to Fluttershy. “I want to take you on your first roller-coaster. Why don't we start with this one?”
The indicated coaster on the map was an marked 'steel, intermediate' and had a snake name. Fluttershy looked at the cartoon drawing on the map and smiled. “That looks nice. A quite ride on a train.”
The ride in question had an enclosed loading station, and Scootaloo led the way as she probed her guest for information. “So, Fluttershy, you used to be a model for a while right?”
She grimaced at the memory. “Oh yes, but I didn't like it. I was glad when Rarity got me out of that mess.”
“Well on this world, female models are usually frail and weak, the lightest of the lightweights. Would I be right to guess that you are a bit lighter than some of your friends?”
Fluttershy blushed. “Oh... Well maybe a little, but it's not polite to talk about it...”
“That's okay, I was just wondering if that was also why you have a fear of heights and flying? Much like a human model would fear any sport that involved lifting heavy things over her head and holding them there?”
“Well... I suppose I never thought about that... You think being... A little weak... as a flier is what made Photo Finish like me?”
“I've thought so for a while actually, that's why I wanted to take you here.”
They attracted a few stares as they made their way thought the weekday crowds, but by and large, people left them be, though Fluttershy still found herself blushing a bit at all the attention. When they arrived at the back entrance to the ride Scootaloo pulled Fluttershy into the tunnel before she could get a good look at the ride.
“Okay, Fluttershy, before we start I need you to understand one thing. What we are about to do may look or feel scary, but it is actually very safe.”
Fluttershy didn't like the sound of that at all.
“Scary?”
“Yes. These rides are built to very strict standards. You have to understand that you are totally and completely safe on these. They are supposed to look and feel scary, but they are actually safe.”
Fluttershy had begun to quiver a bit as she took a step back. “You're sure?”
Scootaloo thought a moment. “Are campfire stories scary? And are they really dangerous? This is the same way. They look and sound scary, but they are really harmless.”
Fluttershy seemed to mull that over. “Well, some of those stories can be scary, but you're right, they are just stories...”
“Exactly. Now you may not be the best flier, but humans, they can't fly at all. We're going to go sit down in the special seats in the middle of the train and the shoulder harness is going to come down and hold us in so that no mater what happens we can't possibly fall out. Then the train is going to go up a hill and 'fly' through a bunch of turns and loops, a lot like what Rainbow does.”
Her eyes widened and she squeaked out. “Loops?!”
“Yes Fluttershy, loops. Just remember, you're safe, the danger is only campfire story danger. I want you to do this with me because you've never had the chance to really enjoy flying. Every time you take wing, you know you're weaker then everyone else, and you know what happens if your wings give out. That has to be scary.”
She shivered and nodded. “I don't like to admit it, but... yes...” She hung her head in shame.
“Hey, don't give me that look.” Scootaloo admonished with a smile as she put a hand under her chin. “This is going to be fun. Just this once you get to fly like the best, and you don't have to be afraid. Will you join me... Please?”
Fluttershy seemed conflicted, and Scootaloo stepped closer and wrapped an arm around her. “Come on Fluttershy, I invited the others because they would enjoy this but you're the real reason we're here. Will you please give it a try?”
At length she got the nod she had been waiting for, and without a backward glance she took Fluttershy's hoof and drug her up the stairs to the station. The team on the platform had watched the entire exchange though the monitor cameras, and as Fluttershy emerged onto the platform the attendant called out over the PA. “All right Fluttershy! You go girlfriend!”
She blushed fiercely as several of the ride-ops started applauding and shouting encouragement, and those waiting in line began to join in. As the next train arrived and emptied out two ride-ops helped the ponies into the larger seats in the middle of the train and pulled the shoulder harness down and snugly into place. The rest of the train quickly filled, and Fluttershy was too preoccupied with all the attention to really take in her surroundings.
“And we will see you all back here in two minutes! Have a great ride!”
The train slid forward, engaged the lift chain, and soon their car tilted back as they began ascending the lift hill. With the station behind them, Fluttershy took a moment to examine her seat.
“I... I can't get out!”
“Easy there, calm down. You can get out at the station. Humans can't fly remember? They built it this way so you can't fall out. You're safe here. Campfire scary remember?”
Fluttershy nodded and actually did settle down. Until she looked forward that is.
“That's a really tall hill...” She swallowed visibly. “A really really tall hill!” She looked to the side at the ground receding below them and shivered. “What... What happens when we get to the other side of the hill?”
Scootaloo smiled and took Fluttershy's hoof in her hand as the first car crested the top of the hill. “We fly like Rainbow Dash. Here we gooo!”
Fluttershy's eyes practically bugged out of her head as the near vertical drop opened up before them.
…
As the train pulled into the station, Fluttershy looked a bit dazed as she stared off into space.
“All right everypony! Did you enjoy your ride?!” Cheers erupted as the girl on the PA continued to whip up the crowd. “How about you Fluttershy?'
Scootaloo looked at her with concern, not quite sure how she had taken this.
Fluttershy slowly seemed to come out it, and with a visible blush, she looked at the nearest ride-op and asked in a voice that was almost a whisper. “Um... Can... Can I ride again please?”
The ride-op repeated her question out loud with obvious glee, and the whole station erupted in applause and cheers.
“All right Fluttershy! Lets load this train and give the pony what she wants!”
On the next three runs Fluttershy woke up more and more, and by her fourth ride she was screaming with glee and waving her hooves with the best of them. As the train slid into the station for the fourth time, Scootaloo suggested they give some others a chance to ride as well and her guest reluctantly agreed. They let the rest of the crowd go first, then walked down the exit stairwell together as Scootaloo asked. “Well? How did if feel to fly like a pro and really enjoy it?”
Fluttershy blushed as she replied. “It was very nice... but...”
Scootaloo watched her carefully and waited for her to finish.
“Do all the roller coasters feel like... that?”
“Well that was an average enough metal one; sit down cars with bucket seats, full shoulder harness, the usual. They also make coasters out of wood, and those usually have simpler cars with just a lap bar. They don't do loops and they're usually smaller and rougher, but some people like them better.”
“Oh. I just wondered... That seat made me feel...” She trailed off and blushed bright red.
“Oh... OH!” Scootaloo blushed too. “Yes, um... Some roller coasters have been known to have that effect.”
Looking for a change of subject she pulled out the map and selected a moderate wooden coaster that wasn't far off. “Why don't we try this one? Then you can decide for yourself which you like better, steel or wooden roller coasters.”
Fluttershy followed behind as Scootaloo led the way to the coaster and up the exit ramp to the platform. Word of their arrival was already starting to spread among the ride-operators, and they were once again greeted by name to the cheers of the modest weekday crowd. The were soon seated in the special modified car at the center of the train as the train slid out of the station and around a curve to the lift hill.
Fluttershy pulled at the simple lap bar holding them onto the bench seat. “Um... how do we-?”
Scootaloo smiled and put a hand on her shoulder again. “It's to keep the humans who can't fly from falling out, remember? They'll unlock it when we get back to the station.”
Fluttershy blushed a bit as the chain engaged with a solid 'CLACK' and began pulling the cars up the lift hill. They could both feel every bump and imperfection in the track as the train rolled steadily upward and Fluttershy's blush was joined by a look of fear as they crested the top of the lift hill.
“Here we go!”
The ride was very different from the last coaster, and Fluttershy found herself being violently jarred and pounded against the side of the car on her left and Scootaloo on her right. The turns and hills wiped by at a frightening speed, and the pass through the darkened tunnel nearly deafened her as she squealed and clutched the handles, but soon enough the train slid to a stop. Scootaloo could see the next train loading up ahead of them, and when she looked back she saw Fluttershy close her eyes and make a funny face as her whole body twitched visibly.
Scootaloo smiled. “Want to go again?”
Fluttershy took a deep shuddering breath and finally opened her eyes to give a meek little nod.
Five runs later, Fluttershy felt the beginnings of a headache and allowed Scootaloo to lead her off the ride on her suddenly unsteady legs.
"So, wooden or steel?"
The flustered pegasus leaned against the railing to steady herself as she blushed absolutely scarlet. "Uh... I like the wooden ones best... they're... nice."
Scootaloo just smiled and shook her head.
“Feel like having lunch?”
“Um... I guess so... What sort of food do they have?”
“Ever hear of 'Potato Patch Fries'?” Fluttershy shook her head. “You'll like them. They put an entire potato through the potato shunker, deep fry it and serve it up. Come on, I'm buying.”
The smell coming from the stand was mouth watering, and soon enough they were at the front of the line. Scootaloo took her's with cheese and ketchup, but when the cashier asked Fluttershy if she wanted cheese she shuddered and shook her head.
After they had eaten a couple of helpings each, Fluttershy did consed that the fries were 'nice'.
…
Across the park, Agent Tyler was leading the two seasick ponies through the game stalls in an attempt to calm their stomachs. They spent a solid half hour in the arcade before Pinkie found the balloon pop stall.
“Hey, what kind of game is this?” She asked the bored looking barker who was manning the booth.
“Eh, it's the classic balloon game. You give me three bucks, I give you five darts. For every balloon you pop you get a stuffed toy.”
Pinkie quickly surveyed the racks of stuffed animals and her eyes lit up as she spied an entire shelf devoted to ponies.
“Oh! Oh! I want the pink Pinkie Pie!”
“You got three bucks?”
Pinkie stood on her back hooves and made a show of pulling the linings out of her empty pockets in the pants she wasn't wearing. The barker blinked at odd gesture, evidently unable to see the pocket linings and shrugged.
“No money, no play.”
Seeing Pinkies sad expression, Twilight stalked over and placed three dollars on the counter. “Five darts please.”
The barker snorted. “Another one of you? Fine, have at it sweetie.”
Twilight grimaced as she picked up the darts and with a surge of magic hurled them at the targets where they drove through the balloons and deep into the plywood backing with a resounding 'THUNK!'.
“Thank you very much.” She said politely as the barker stared in surprise at the embedded darts. “I'd like that one right there if you-”
“Hey hey hey! You can't do that!”
“Do what?”
His face was turning red as he growled at the purple pony. “Whatever the hell that was! You want to win the prizes, ya got a use your hands!”
With a sigh Twilight plunked down another three dollars, but the barker just ignored her as he tried and failed to remove the darts from the board.
A few minutes later Agent Tyler wandered over to see the two ponies watching the man swearing as he attempted to yank the last dart out of the wooden backing with a pair of pliers.
“Is something the matter here?” She asked evenly.
“No.” Pinkie answered. “The man just says Twilight isn't allowed to use her magic.”
“There!” He finished as the last dart came loose. “Here's your five darts. And this time, ya better use your hands like normal.”
Twilight took the first dart in one hoof and he seemed to look at her and shrug before waving her on.
The first dart missed the balloons altogether.
The next three darts hit balloons, but just bounced off and failed to pop them.
As she stood there holding her last dart in her hoof Agent Tyler stepped closer and whispered in her ear. “Throw it in an arc so it hits the balloon as it falls.”
Twilight thought about it and did her best to do as instructed.
The balloon burst and Twilight gave a not entirely ladylike yell of joy. “All right! I mean... Um, yes. I'd like that one please.” She finished sheepishly indicating the little orange stuffed pony with the blue mane.
“Ya ya. Here you go.” He replied in irritation.
Twilight took the single stuffed pony and admired it for a moment. The sound of money hitting the counter with the thud of a fist made her look up.
“My turn now.”
Agent Tyler's expression betrayed just a hint of anger as she took the twenty darts in hand.
And proceeded to pop twelve balloon using only five of them.
Both ponies and the barker stared in shock as she indicated the items on the pony shelf. “Start with that one.” She said indicating Pinkie's favorite “and work your way left. Oh, and duck.”
With that she proceeded to clear the board of most remaining balloons, a small mountain of stuffed fuzzy toys building up beside her. “Pinkie? Would you be so kind as to find some children who would enjoy these toys?”
Pinkie's smile threatened to split her head as she grabbed a hoof load of toys and ran off to find more children. Twilight leaned in to ask conspiratorially “How did you get to be so good at this?”
The Agent showed just a hint of a smile as she plunked down another twenty one dollars and laid waste to the new balloons almost as fast as they were replaced, the mound of toys continuing to grow.
“Well, all agent's receive training with a variety of weapons, and if one such skill turns out to be particularly useful in bars...”
The balloon genocide continued until the Agent had emptied the booth completely of stuffed toys. The barker had taken one look at the badge on her belt and decided he would rather explain this loss to his superiors than deal with her.
As the three of them walked away from the mound of toys surrounded by a crowd of adorable children, no one seemed to notice Tyler tuck two Scootaloos for the twins and four Rainbow dashes into her bag...
Fluttershy is getting away with murder without any kind of consequences, whatsoever. You know, because love, tolerance and friendship is magic.
so how is the dead man family feeling about his passing how people going around saying he got what he deserved and his name being forever tarnished and mock all thanks to one pony? do they feel hurt and wronged in ways? i bet the guy was good person just not good good perfect by pony tolerance it sad.
I am...disappointed with Fluttershy. Deeply disappointed. Even more so characters are eager to dismiss one death as something nobody is going to care about. I really had hoped for Celestial to at least express something in regards to tolerance... The lesson here screams "it's okay to get rid of those who have an opinion that does not match yours".
Wondering if this issue is done or if will come back to bite.
3405235
The impression I get is that the socio-political content and theming of the story is in line not with reality at all, but with the age of the characters. Sixteen-year-old girls are not the most ideologically balanced creatures on their best day, and many suburban American youth don't really meet people with wildly different backgrounds, views or values until they are out of their parents' homes and either working or in college. (Not ALL young Americans have this experience, but many do.) Teenage political views tend to come in two flavors: apathy and utter obnoxiousness, and regardless of whether a given teenager is an Ayn Rand-quoting anarcho-libertarian, a leftist-progressive with a poster of Elizabeth Warren in her locker or a genuine fiscal conservative who goes to great pains to dress like Margaret Thatcher for her high school's Model UN, a Teenager With Views is a teenager who drives her parents right up the wall with that blend of well-meaning enthusiasm and hopeless naivety which is so infuriating in a demographic that by definition thinks it knows everything.
The teenage girls are shown as liberals to leftist-progressives simply because, I think, when Cozy was in his Obnoxious Teenager phase, he was a liberal, with liberal parents and liberal neighbors, and who didn't meet a conservative who wasn't either a Young Earth Creationist inexplicably allowed to teach high school Biology or a classmate with arguments he could defeat easily. It's very easy for a smart teenager with Obnoxious Political Opinions to think they're right simply because they've never met anyone from the opposing viewpoint who can beat them in an argument or even hold their own in a debate, especially when they live in an area where socioeconomic divisions are also political ones. (Some areas, for example, have rich to upper-middle-class liberals and lower-middle-class to poor conservatives and others have exactly the opposite. Only in certain very diverse areas are politics and relative levels of affluency not highly correlated to the point where one might legitimately never meet a peer with opposing views.) And then the Obnoxiously Political Teenager hits college, realizes that the world is not so simple as they thought, that the other side has intelligent adherents and worthy opponents too, and it is only then that he or she begins to develop anything like a realistic and balanced worldview.
It seems to me that what Cozy is going for is a socio-political context appropriate not to the world in which the story is set, but to the social and political consciousness of the point-of-view characters. Everything is really black-and-white, good vs. evil, 'I'm right because I read more books than the other kids and beat a teacher in an argument one time,' when you're sixteen or so. By one's late twenties/early thirties, nothing is ever quite so simple, and I think the story reflects that. It's especially telling that politics are nearly absent from the chapters where the POV character is an adult, such as Scootaloo's dads.
Presumably, part 2 of 3 is going to be the part that shows how Scootaloo and her friends GOT from 'progressivist teenage-girl protestors who see their views as quite reasonable to share with absolutely everyone over lemonade,' to 'well-rounded and balanced adults with friends from multiple backgrounds with various views and values.' That, and given that he seems to have written the character you seem to like least as a human-world analogue who varies between Pinkie Pie and Sweetie Belle. It's not unreasonable to assume that the Apple Bloom and Fluttershy analogue is going to be someone Scootaloo meets in part 2 of 3 and someone whose politics and values are much closer to your own.
And as for how I can make these 'guesses,' well...I know when Cozy Mark IV met the first fiscally conservative, Christian person who could beat him in an argument at least half the time, and it was in college, so presumably Scootaloo will be finding hers there as well. (Somebody told him 'write what you know.' Soon as I find out who it was...) I don't believe she'll handle it exactly how he did, though. The fanfic is rated 'Teen,' for mercy's sake.
3413150 You. I like you.
3420460 I do believe I like him as well. Self-developed opinions are VERY hard to come across these days....
And author, no offense, great story, but Fluttershy deserves to be prosecuted for murder.
Justified or not, random people can't just decide to execute someone.
Also, I have a suspicion that Agent Tyler and her friends are aliens.
"The barker had taken one look at the badge on her belt and decided he would rather explain this loss to his superiors then deal with her."
Just a friendly reminder:
"Then" is used to indicate a position in time, such as: "we went to the store, and then we went home" or, "Life was good, back then." It can also be used as a soft synonym for "Therefore" as an indication of consequence.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/then?s=t
"Than" is used to indicate a comparison, frequently as indicating preference between alternatives: "I like apples better than oranges," or, "I would rather do this, than that."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/than
In the given example, it seems what you were saying was that the man would explain the loss first, and then, after he had done that, confront the agent. Whereas I think your intent was to say that he would prefer to explain the loss to his bosses, instead of confronting the agent.