Pegasus Device

Chapter 1

I woke up from that terrifying nightmare that always haunted me, but I never knew what it meant. I was always the small filly they called Scootaloo in the terrifying nightmare. Everypony else was the same, so why was I different? Sure we looked the same, except she didn't have a hole in her left ear, and I had larger wings, but she is not me. I am Absentia, not Scootaloo...

"Hey, Tia!" Dash called from behind the door. "Your shift starts in two!"

"Yes, Dash!" I yell back.

I got up off the bed, thinking about my nightmare once again. It always stops right after Scootaloo says "I'll do anything...," and I have no idea why.

"Tia!" Dash called again. "Hurry up!"

I quickly throw on my bloodstained coat and rush out the door. I bump into Dash and she growls at me.

"Absentia!"

"Sorry, Miss Dash." I say, saluting, then gallop down the hall. I didn't look back, even when I passed WoodenToaster, who had tried to get my attention. I still remember him teaching me how to use the murderous Pegasus Device. Whatever he needed to tell me, it'll have to wait.

I made it to the device, just as the guards finished loading a small filly into the machine. She gasped in horror when she saw me. I showed no expression. We weren't aloud to in the Rainbow Factory, but there was something different about this filly.

"I know you!" she gasped. "You're in the stories my mom always told me!"

I tilted my head in confusion, hesitating to pull the lever. I was in stories? Impossible. Dash had told me I was born in the Factory.

"You must be thinking of somepony else kid." I say, then place my hood on the lever.

"Wait!" I stopped as I was about to pull the lever. "You're name is Scootaloo, right?"

Scootaloo. I thought. Scoots. Scootaloo. The small, orange pegasus in my dream. "What do you mean?"

"Scootaloo is one of the best ponies in the stories my mother told." she said.

"Absentia!" Dash called from the platform. "Do it!"

I held the lever, not sure what to do. This filly could tell me more about the orange disabled pegasus in my dreams. Dash was starting to fly down, a taser in her hoof. I let go of the lever and slammed my hoof on the emergency stop. Dash stopped, confused by all the sounds and flashing lights.

The filly dropped to the floor and ran to my side. I put my wing over her and led her away from the chaos. I heard hooves hit the ground as guards chased after us.

I flapped my wings and took off, picking up the filly. She yelped with delight in my arms. I rolled my eyes and continued to fly on. I dove around a corner and flew into an open closet and shut the door. The guards' hooves thumped past in a hurry. I smirked at their stupidity.

I turned back to the filly. "About that...'Scootaloo' pony..."

"She's my hero!" The filly burst out. "She was born with a disability of small wings. She made friends with an earth pony and a unicorn. She always looked up to Rainbow Dash, who eventually took her under her wing!"

"We're talking about the same Dash, right?" I asked. Rainbow Dash wasn't kind to fillies.

"Yeah!" The filly exclaimed. "Rainbow Dash had even told her about this place, but she failed her flight exam, so I'm guessing she came here. No pony knows what happened to her."

I had never known this much about Scootaloo before. I wanted to know more, but I would have to leave the factory.

Now you, the reader, decide if she should leave...or stay...