~~~~~The White Tail Wood, two days after the Fall of Ponyville~~~~~

"Look, Look! It's Cherry's balloon! And a cart that's got Scratchy in it!"

Dinky's voice cried across the camp within the barriers of White Tail Wood, and she lept up and down upon the little viewing platform that they'd constructed to watch out for new ponies coming for sanctuary. Zecora's head came up from working on a thick potion over the campfire, and nodded meaningfully to Time Turner. She was busy. He'd have to handle the newcomers. He blew out his cheeks and nodded, trotting down the hillside path towards the forest road.

Zecora turned back to her stirring, a far more troubled look on her face now. Berry Punch came up beside her and wrapped a gentle hoof around Zecora's waist, squeezing with as much comfort as she could. "Nothin' we coulda done, Zeccy. You know it, I know it, and everypony here knows it." She said, her voice as stone-cold sober as Zecora had ever heard it before. They had plenty of alcohol with them but... Berry had been awful cagey about digging into it lately. Zecora could only nod silently, wishing she had the words to speak the sorrow in her heart.

A few minutes later though, that sorrow lifted a bit. A small horde of fillies and colts came pounding up the mountain trail, babbling in talk and laughing. There was sorrow in those voices, oh yes. But there was courage fit to shame the most doughty knight there too. Zecora looked up in astonishment. So many! She had not dared to hope so many of the town's foals would make it out safe and sound! Dinky and Pina dove into the crowd - hugs and greetings were exchanged between them. There were tears too, confessions of fear and despair... but their spirits yet lived.

More figures followed the children. Cheerilee sagged under the shoulder of Time Turner, her eyes red and cheeks darkened with tears - her breath caught with sobs and sadness as the stallion slowly led her off to one of the tents. Four pegasi followed, and the earth-pony Cherry Berry who flew her magical balloon. Zecora did not know the pegasi by name, but there was cheer in their hearts at living to fight yet another day. Soon they were joined by Ditzy, and the five of them began a conversation with one another in earnest. She smiled at that - Pegasi were always so much better than the other tribes at bouncing back from adversity.

Then came the sounds of a heavily laden cart, slowly dragged up the hill. Several stallions were straining and puffing, but they kept coming... soon, a mountain of musical gear and tons of other supplies and things looted from who knew where crested the trail and slowly dragged into the camp. Three hulking stallions pulled themselves from the hocks and slowly trotted off to the rear of the clearing where a small but swift stream carried water down through the mountains to drink heavily.

More ponies - unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi alike - clambered down from the wagon, and began to unload the many things they'd stowed onto the thing into the camp. They all wore various outfits and gear which marked them as being young ponies from the club scene, though only one amongst them was recognizable. A white coated unicorn that was slowly carried down from the top of the wagon by her compatriots, and deposited gently alongside the fire. Her strange spectacles hung over her horn, and her beautiful crimson eyes stared lifelessly into the fire, unmoving from the spot where she'd been sat.

Zecora looked meaningfully at Berry, who nodded and quickly moved over to the DJ - Sitting down and beginning to speak with her in a gentle, quiet voice. Zecora turned her attention back to her brew, hoping the potion here would work out to snuff... They were going to need its effects quite soon, or so it seemed.

~~~~~~

Cheerilee was wrapped up in a warm blanket, and her cheeks dried away with a soft cool cloth. Time Turner had asked if she'd needed anything, and in truth all she'd needed was space. So the gentle stallion had left her with naught but a snack of dandelions and lilies and a large jug of cool water. That was for the best, right now. There were perilous few ponies she'd want to talk to right then, and nearly all of them were not in any position to be doing so right then.

The tent flap gently moved to one side, and the school-teacher looked over to see the gentle violet gaze of Scootaloo. For a moment, Cheerilee half believed that somepony who looked exactly like scoots, but was not, had invaded her tent. The hooded red cloak, the steel disc shield and the sheathed dagger that poked over her shoulder, she looked like nothing more than some foal-soldier out of the history books. Then her mouth opened, and all doubt fled away. "Miss Cheerilee, are you okay?" Came that soft voice, those gentle eyes.

Scootaloo and her friends had often been a big pain in her rump, but more than any of her other students they'd possessed a fierce willingness to push, explore and learn new things about the world. Certainly, that got them into no small amount of trouble - but it had also expanded their minds and helped them learn things most other foals never would. They also happened to love her as a teacher, so dearly. She still had the six foot tall hearts-and-hooves poster they'd given to her all those years ago - even if her memories of that little event still made her want to bop them all on the head and send them to lifelong detention.

And now there she was, alone. Her friends gone - taken by that black thing, and all of Cheerilee's sorrows vanished like fog under the sun. "I'm.. I'm alright, Scootaloo." She said softly, wiping away the last of her tears with the cloth. "H-how about you? How are you holding up?" It was one of those inane questions all teachers knew how to ask, a gentle prodding and soft concern for the foals in her care. Scootaloo's life hadn't been easy long before this, and now after losing all of her friends?

Scoots softly crossed the tent, and nuzzled her cheek up against the offered hoof of Cheerilee. Her voice was quiet, and her eyes were hard. "I'll be okay, Miss Cheerilee." She smiled - but it wasn't a terribly happy smile. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay. If you need to talk to somepony, come and ask me, Okay?"

Cheerilee nodded faintly, and watched the once young pegasus leave her tent in silence. She's no foal any longer, Cheery. She's something else now. Something different. It was a heartbreaking thought, to see the once so vivacious young pegasus become something else... but maybe there was no choice.

Maybe this was the Scootaloo they all needed now.

~~~~~~~~

As Scootaloo left the tent, silence had fallen over the camp. Her eyes quickly caught the only real source of movement - a familiar white doe, standing over a weeping earth pony... Ms. Cake. Scootaloo found her hooves carrying her over to that place, where the pale and still form of Carrot Cake lay upon the ground. Many of the foals from her school stood nearby, their heads bowed and tears streaming down cheeks in sadness. There was peace upon the bakers face - no sign of horror or fear. Just peace.

Scootaloo continued to move in closer, the wracking sobs of Cup Cake the only noise in the clearing where the body had been laid down upon the ground. The white doe looked up at her with those unerring, still green eyes that spoke of emotions and sadness beyond the understanding of mere mortals. "What Happened?" Scootaloo asked quietly, slowly coming to the side of Cup, the weight of her shield and dagger even greater than it had ever been before.

The Doe spoke softly, in gentle clear tones. "He was cornered by one of the dark servants. Faced with the knowledge that what he knew might endanger the ones he loved, he chose to sacrifice his life to buy them safety." Her eyes turned to the dead earth pony at her hooves. "He fell a hero, as true and sure as any who has come before him."

Within Scootaloo's heart, a spark born from sorrow at the loss of her friends... became a flame fed by her anger at the power which had caused this senseless, needless death. She did not know why she moved then, why her hoof came up to slowly brush away the streaming tears of Ms. Cake. Ms. Cake looked up at her in shock and astonishment at that touch, as though she didn't know quite what to make of it. "I'm sorry, Miss Cake." Scootaloo whispered softly. "But I promise you, we'll get the bastards that did this to him. We'll make every last one of them pay for it." Scootaloo's voice seethed with anger, with an unquenchable fire that only grew every moment she looked upon those tears that streamed down this wonderful mare's face.

"It would be wiser, you know..." Said the Doe in a soft but carrying voice, as though the only two creatures that stood in that clearing then were Scootaloo and her. "To run. I can provide you and yours with sanctuary against the darkness. We can hide you away where their power cannot reach you." Her words were gentle, and full of reasonable logic. "This enemy you would seek to fight is far too great for you alone to stop, young one." it reminded her quietly but... something about the way she'd said it just fueled the fire in Scootaloo's soul.

But Scootaloo was in no mood for reason or logic. Scootaloo's hoof moved and slammed the disc of steel that served as her shield in front of her, the sound of the metal hitting the ground clanged like a bell as it struck a stone buried in the dirt. Every eye of everypony in the camp was upon her then. Even the birds in the trees stopped calling, as though the world itself held its breath.

"No."

Said Scootaloo, her voice intense as the rays of the sun. "I'm not going to run from this." She said, as clearly and loudly as she could, her voice carrying to every corner of the camp all around her. Remember Sweetie Belle. The words echoed at her from that steel in her grip. "I'm not going to hide from it." She said in a clarion clear voice, slowly rising in volume and intensity.

Scootaloo turned slowly around, her hoof firmly taking up the shield and brandishing the crude symbol of her crusade upon it for all to see. "Maybe I can't fight it alone!" She proclaimed, her hoofsteps taking her over to the cart that still sat heavy with audio equipment. Every eye followed her, as though they could not look away. "But I'm not alone, am I?" She yelled, mounting the wagon with a single wing-fluttering jump and turning to face the ponies below her now. She thrust out her free hoof at them, pointing in accusation. "Because I don't think any of you want to run either." Remember Applebloom. the words upon the rear of her shield reminded her, steeling her soul with purpose.

Scootaloo's voice began to rise - her spirit and volume raising with every word she spoke to the small crowd of ponies below her now. "We've faced dangers in Ponyville before. We've faced Nightmare Moon. We've faced Discord. We've faced hydras, and manticores, and dragons, and ghosts and demons and every freaky thing that ever crawled its way out of the Everfree forest!" Even as she spoke, she could imagine new words on that shield. Remember Octavia. she thought, looking down upon the defeated shoulders of Vinyl Scratch as she sat by the campfire.

Scootaloo's words began to take on a spirit - some indefinable thing that nopony there could understand... but nopony had to. It was something you didn't need to understand. Only feel. "We've faced everything this world could throw at a pony, and in case any of you haven't noticed - we're STILL. BUCKING. HERE!" Every word there was punctuated with the smack of her shield against the side of the speaker she stood upon, leaving little dents there. "That thing... whatever it was, whatever it's called, however powerful it bucking is - I don't care. I couldn't possibly care less about those things. All I care about is that it's got my friends. It’s got the ponies I care about more than anything else in the world." Her words thundered across the camp, full of a fire and spirit that bid fair to match that of Celestia herself. Remember Carrot Cake. a voice whispered into her soul, as she looked down into the tear-stained eyes of Miss Cake.

"And I'm not gonna let it get away with that." Scootaloo said softly, gently. "I'm not gonna let it get away with wrecking my town, and hurting my friends, and trying to take away the only good things I've ever had in my world!" She turned resolutely to the white doe with her head, holding it high and proudly in the midday sun. "So I'm gonna stay right bucking here, and FIGHT it. I'll fight it with every bit of strength and hope I've got. I'm gonna get my friends back, no matter what it takes! And then I'm gonna send that fucking thing back to wherever it came from!"

Scootaloo's hoof grabbed the dagger and she clenched it hard in her hoof, brandishing it in the air above her head like something out of an action comic. Maybe it was silly, but it felt right. "Now. WHO'S BUCKING WITH ME?" Her voice thundered out across the camp, echoing off the mountainside and the trees surrounding her. It sent no few of the smaller ponies tumbling to their flanks, staring up at her in awe as the shining silver dagger glowed like a flaming sword in the sunlight.

For a moment, all was still... and then a little grey filly slowly walked out of the crowd of children. Her bright blue bejeweled glasses winking in the light. "I'll fight with you, Scootaloo." said Silver Spoon, her voice quiet and calm. "Those d-d-dreadful things h-hurt Tia and her family." She said, her voice slowly gaining power, even as it stuttered. "They took my only f-friend away from me... and I'm g-gonna do something about it!" She said, practically screaming her head off by the end.

More shocked ponies stared at her, and though no one saw it then - the white doe smiled gently. Vinyl Scratch stood up slowly from where she sat by the fireside, the defeat and anguish slowly leaving her bent form, as she reached up and pulled her shades back down over her eyes. "I'll fight." She said, in a grief roughened voice. "Those shadow things didn't seem to like my wubs very much. Maybe we can find a way to use that." She ventured, her voice rising up as that unspoken something began to build inside of her...

A flame in the heart of a single filly was growing... spreading into to the hearts and minds of those who stood around her. "We can help you show those punks what us pegasi are capable of!" Yelled out Thunderlane, his eyes glittering bright. "There ain't no better pony in all of Equestria when it comes to lightning than me!"

More flames flickered. "I know how to make things that really drop the phat booms!" Proclaimed one of the raver ponies, standing up from his group of friends. "I'm Fire Cracker, and Jazzy Beats over there knows a thing or two about how to build snare traps!" He pointed to a raver mare, who blushed brightly. "She used to use em to catch stallions!" He jeered and a raucous laugh was conjured out of her fellow clubbers.

"We know how ta' handle a rough fight or two - with weapons or without!" Said one of the massive bouncer stallions with a fierce grin, his companions joining in. "And I know Snowflake over there can kick serious amounts of flank. Ain't that right big guy?" He catcalled across to the muscly white pegasus.

Who promptly gave a toothy grin, his eyes intense and wide. "YEAAAH!" he proclaimed, slamming his hoof on the ground. "We'll give you the muscle you need, Kid!" He growled out, his pecs rippling in response. "You just point us in the right direction, and we'll SHOW EM WHOSE BOSS!"

A flame became a fire, slowly growing ever increasingly hot and bright - More of the foals began to speak up, those with cutie marks declaiming how their talents could help. Those without promising to do whatever they could. Zecora merely smiled up at Scootaloo - no words were needed for her to know that Zecora had more than her fair share of talents to bring to the table.

Within a small mountain clearing, a fire began to grow in the hearts of a few ponies that had lost everything but one another. Scootaloo's cheeks were flushed as cheers began to rise up from those around her. Grins split faces once only filled with sorrow and defeat. A single orange pegasus filly stood above them, her eyes wide and her heart warm. They would stand with her. They would fight with her. And together... she thought softly. There isn't anything we can't do. The white doe looked up at Scootaloo with a curious smile, and winked at her cheekily. Scootaloo couldn't help it. She grinned right back at her, and nodded in acknowledgement of what she'd done. Looks like she'll be a big help to us. Scoots thought with a smile.

And then another thought came to her, a thought that sent a rush of warmth through her heart. She raised her sword again and it flashed in the light - her voice a thunderous roar. "We are the Cutie Mark Crusade!" She proclaimed, challenging the world around her. That shadow thing is never gonna know what hit it. She thought, with a flame in her heart fit to fill the world.

For where there had been but one Crusader,

Now there were many.

(End of Book Two)

To Be Concluded....

In....

The Twilight War.

Author's Notes:

And thus ends The Twilight Fall.

Authors notes to be published tomorrow, along with officially labeling the story as "Complete"

Thank you, ALL of you, for the incredible viewership you have provided, and all of the support and comments you've given me.

It's been a wild ride.

And it's not over yet.