Drip, Drip, Drip. He winched at the constant dripping of the leaky pipe that woke him. He slowly opened his eyes, but the world was one big blur. The white room he was in hurt his eyes and when he looked at the blurry outline of the pipe or what he assumed was a pipe. He grumbled to himself before he fell back asleep. His body felt like it had undergone surgery which was weird since he didn't remember going to the hospital. However, he would ponder it later, right now all he wanted to do was sleep.
The colt was excited. So excited in fact he nearly choked on his breakfast when he wolfed it down. He quickly took a gulp of juice to force the food down. Today was going to be perfect. He had finally convinced his father to let him take his Royal Guard helmet to school for show and tell. He had been trying for several weeks, but his father turned him down every time. Finally, after begging, pleading, and bribing him (With all two bits he had). His father gave in and allowed him to take the helmet with him.
He wanted to get to school early in hopes to be first to present what he brought. His mother on the other hoof took her time in eating her toast. After he finished the last bit of food on his plate, he quickly took it over to the sink and washed it. He then raced to his room to collect his school supplies and saddle bags. When he returned, his mother was washing her plate. He walked past her and stood next to the door like a dog wanting to be let out. His mother laughed and shook her head. She lifted the helmet in her magic and followed him out the door.
On the way to schoolhouse he rehearsed what he was going to say when he stood in front of the class. He would start off by telling them his father was in the Royal Guard, then he'd tell them he stood on the front lines during the changeling attack on Canterlot, and finally he'd tell them the story his father told him about how his helmet acquired the rather large crack on the right side.
When they reached the school house and went inside. His mother set the helmet on the floor next to his desk before she walked over to Cheerilee to talk with her. He couldn't hear or care what his mother was talking about with Cheerilee. All he cared about was the helmet. He pleaded with Cheerilee in his mind that she would start off with show and tell and he'd be the first one up. He noticed his mother had finished talking with Cheerilee and said her goodbyes before leaving. He waved to her, but had one eye still fixated on the helmet.
After his mother left, the other students started to file into the classroom and take their seats. He hoped she'd start with show and tell, but to his disappointment she started right in on today's lesson. The lesson felt like it took an eternity. His right back hoof tapped on the floor as he anxiously waited for it to be over. As the lesson went on, he feared she had forgotten and all his planning would be for not. However, she finished her lesson and called up the first foal to present what they brought. He sighed when she called on a filly that brought a shirt her mother bought her when they went to Manehattan. The shirt was a bland pink shirt with green lettering that spelled Manehattan. He was disappointed he didn't go first and hoped he would be next. However, Cheerilee called on a colt that showed off his dragon skull he made out of paper mache. He groaned as the colt finished and Cheerilee called on another colt.
Finally, after eight others went he was finally called up. He reached down to pick up the helmet and as his hoof touched the metal. The right side of the room exploded. Sending debris, desks, and foals flying. He landed on his side, a loud riming in his ears made everything sound muffled. He heard muffled screams, muffled shouting, and muffled hooves hitting the floor running. He saw a small figure race past him as a much larger figure chased after it. He looked up to a blurry figure standing over him. He couldn't understand what the figure was saying, but he felt his body be picked up and suddenly stuffed into a sack. He felt the sack swing violently before it began to slam into something hard. He felt a sharp pain in his right side and yelped. Before long he felt drowsy and fell asleep.
Drip, drip, drip. Once again the leaky pipe woke him up. This time however, his vision started to clear up. He could clearly see the white padded room with the sliver steel door he was in. He found that the leaky pipe was actually a faucet next to a toilet. He felt the cold cement floor on his underbelly. When he went to stand up, there was a sharp pain that went across the middle of his back. He did all he could to not scream in pain. He looked around the room and noticed movement in the back right corner. It was hard to make out what was there because the light hanging from the ceiling did little to light the corners of the room. He started to get up and felt the pain shoot through his back, but it wasn't as bad as the first time. He gingerly walked over to the corner and saw the outlines of three foals. As he drew closer, he recognized the three.
"Apple Bloom? Is that you?" He asked.
Apple Bloom looked up, her eyes were bloodshot, swollen, and lines stained her cheeks under her eyes.
"Skyline?" Apple Bloom asked. Skyline was amazed she knew his name. The only time she could have heard it was when Cheerilee called on him during class. He didn't know her personally, but knew of her and her friends.
"What are you and your friends doing here?" Skyline asked.
"We're not sure. All we remember is an explosion. Then we woke up here. After a while some stallions threw you in here. We tried to wake you up, but you were out cold," Sweetie Belle explained.
Skyline nodded as she explained everything and noticed Scootaloo was quiet throughout the whole conversation. He had known Scootaloo was the most talkative of the three. Usually during show and tell, the three combined all three of their turns into one and explained how they tried to find their cutie marks. Scootaloo talked the most out of all three of them and he was stunned she hadn't said one word. Her head was buried in her arms and her body convulsed as she silently cried. He was going to ask if she was ok, but stopped dead in his tracks. There was a pit in his stomach and as he turned to Sweetie Belle. The pit only grew. He hadn't seen the horror in front of him because of how dark the room's corners were. However, as his eyes adjusted. He saw it clearly: Sweetie Belle's horn had been broken off and what was left was a jagged edge and where Scootaloo's wings should have been. There were stumps.