//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 - Sleepless in Ponyville // Story: Stranger in the Forest // by TrixterCat //------------------------------// “AJ. V-vord?” Scruffy asked the apple farmer while holding a leaf in his hand. “That there is a leaf, Sugarcube. It’s…that word,” Applejack said and pointed at the parchment in front of Scruffy. She had to smile a bit. After Scruffy had heard Rainbow refer to Applejack as ‘AJ’, he also started using it, since it was something he could pronounce, along with Rainbow Dash’s moniker ‘RD’. Applejack let out a small sigh as she leaned back against an apple tree. She had agreed to help out with Scruffy’s language lessons when the others asked, but Celestia knows why anypony thought she would make a great teacher. She didn’t have any idea what she should be teaching him, or how for that matter, so she chose to teach him simple nature related words. Applejack opened her mouth to correct a mistake in the sentence that Scruffy was writing, but stopped when she heard somepony approaching. “Hey Applejack, hey big guy,” Rainbow’s raspy voice greeted them as she touched down next to them. “Hi there, Rainbow.” “RT. H-hellu.” “No, big guy. It’s RD, not RT!” “Mmh…R t-t-t…D…RD.” “There you go! You got it right.” Rainbow cheered and hoofbumped Scruffy. “What are you doing here Rainbow? I thought you had something important to do today,” Applejack asked as Rainbow sat down next to her. “I do. I need to go to Cloudsdale to fill in my application paper, but I decided to stop by here first.” “Application? For what?” “For the Wonderbolt Academy of course!” Rainbow exclaimed and sprang to her hooves excitedly. “The Wonderbolts have a training academy to find potential new recruits for the Wonderbolts! They only take applicants in once a year for a week-long boot camp, and I finally have a chance to apply!” Rainbow flitted back and forth in a manner that reminded Applejack of a hummingbird. “Geez Rainbow. I bet you are over the moon for all of this.” “Of course! This is a big deal for me, as Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts, is going to be at the academy. If I show them what I’m truly capable of during the boot camp, I’ll be a Wonderbolt in no time!” “V-v-vanter…plot?” Scruffy asked, clearly trying to think what the word meant. “What? No! What the hay is ‘waterplot’? It’s ‘Wonderbolt’, you doofus,” Rainbow said, slightly exasperated, which caused Applejack to chuckle to herself. “How quickly do they tell you if you got in?” Applejack asked. “Umm…you need to send your application during this week, next week they’ll have a test to make sure only the best make it to the academy, and they’ll have the boot camp week after that. Why do you ask?” “Well, me and Applebloom are going on a camping trip to Winsome Falls this weekend with the rest of the CMC and Rarity. I reckon you would have wanted to come too, and it’d be nice for Scootaloo. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle have me and Rarity there, but Scootaloo doesn’t have a big sister.” “Wait, what? Rarity? On a camping trip?” Rainbow smirked at the mere thought of it. “Don’t ask me how, but it seems Sweetie Belle managed to convince her to join us.” “Hah! That I want to see. I’m in!” “Great! We’ll head out on Friday, but we can work out the details later.” “Sure. I should get going anyway, I need to file that application.” “Best of luck with that, Rainbow.” “Thanks AJ, but with my skills, there’s no need for luck.” Rainbow waved goodbye to the two of them, and zoomed off towards Cloudsdale. Scruffy watched her fly away, before turning towards Applejack with a questioning look. He wrote down a sentence on the parchment, and showed it to her. What you talk? “Oh hayseeds…uh, well, there are these ponies called Wonderbolts…” ******************** On the next Friday afternoon, Applejack was waiting at the start of the hiking path that would lead to Winsome Falls for everypony else to show up. Well, except for Rainbow, who would meet them at their first stop. Applejack’s ears perked up when she heard soft laughter come from some way down the road. Applebloom and Scootaloo soon came trotting towards her. “Hey there. Where did you leave Rarity and Sweetie Belle?” Applejack asked the duo when they were close enough. “They were just about ready when we went to check. They should be right behind us,” Applebloom responded. “Okay then. Last minute check. You pack the bug spray?” “Yup. You got the canteens?” “Yep. Looks like we are all set then.” Just then, a huge shadow fell over the three ponies. Applejacks jaw fell as she looked at the enormous pile of luggage that Rarity had brought with her. “Hey!” She greeted them enthusiastically, as Sweetie Belle dragged the cart with her. “Gee Rarity, did you remember to pack?” Applejack asked her, with a hint of resignation in her voice. “Oh well let’s see who gets the last laugh when you are absolutely desperate to curl your lashes, and you realize you didn’t bring your eyelash curler,” Rarity responded happily. Applejack could only shake her head. “Well, I guess we are almost ready to go. We are just missing-…” “Trixie does not understand how you could mix up ‘water’ with ‘river’.” The group turned around to see Trixie and Scruffy making their way towards them. “Also, Trixie wishes to know who thought the word ‘aquatic’ was something you needed to know when you can’t even tell somepony else what time it is.” Trixie was scrutinizing several levitating parchments in front of her as they walked. No doubt they were full of ‘homework’ for Scruffy, Applejack thought. “Hi there.” Applejack’s greeting broke Trixie out of her rant, who flinched slightly when she noticed all the other ponies around her. “Oh…hello.” “Hellu,” Scruffy greeted them with a smile. He was wearing his camo clothes again, much to Rarity’s chagrin, and a large backpack. “Hello, darling,” Rarity smiled back “Hi Mr. Scruffy,” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle greeted back, while Scootaloo looked around, searching. “Well, I guess we are all here now,” Applejack said. “We should get going so that we’ll reach our first stop before nightfall.” “But…what about Rainbow Dash? Isn’t Rainbow Dash coming?” Scootaloo said desperately. “Course she is Sugarcube. She’s going to meet us up at our first camp site.” “Oh…” The disappointment was clear in her voice, but Scootaloo perked up knowing that Rainbow would be on the trip. “All right y’all, let’s move ‘em out,” Applejack said, and started walking along the path towards Winsome Falls. The rest of the group followed after her, with Rarity and the CMC in the middle, and Scruffy and Trixie taking the rear. ******************** “Ugh.” “What’s wrong, Scootaloo?” Applebloom asked. They had been walking for about half an hour now. Rarity and Applejack were talking to themselves about something, while Scruffy and Trixie were lagging behind a bit. “Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash will be there, so you’ll see her soon enough.” “It’s not about that…” “Then...pant…what is it?” Sweetie Belle asked. She was breathing heavier than the others, having to drag Rarity’s cart with her as they continued their trek. Scruffy had tried to help, but considering how tall he was, it would have been a bit difficult to pull the low riding cart. “I just didn’t realize that they would be coming too,” Scootaloo said, looking behind her at Trixie and Scruffy. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom exchanged glances. “What’s wrong with having them with us? More the merrier, right?” Applebloom asked. “I guess so…” “If you are worried about…pant…Trixie, Rarity said that she’s been working on being nicer.” “Not her…him,” Scootaloo said with her ears down. “What? Scruffy? What’s wrong with him?” Applebloom asked, appalled. “He’s just…just so weird…I mean, he’s so tall! How does he even stay upright?” “Really?” Applebloom had one eyebrow raised. “You think it’s weird that he’s tall?” “I think that it’s…pant…silly how he wears those old clothes all the time. I don’t think I have ever seen him…pant…without at least some clothing on. If his clothes were fashionable…pant…he would be worse than my sister!” “Yeah, that too!” Scootaloo agreed. “Oh, quit being silly you two,” Applebloom rolled her eyes. “Scruffy is a nice old…umm…stallion…uhh…whatever he is.” “Maybe Scootaloo is just jealous that Rainbow’s been so preoccupied with him lately…” Sweetie Belle said with a teasing voice. “Hey! I’m not jealous!” Scootaloo pouted. “I bet that’s totally it!” Applebloom agreed, and giggled together with Sweetie Belle. “Hmph!” Scootaloo turned her head away. “Aww, don’t be mad Scootaloo. We were just teasing a bit,” Applebloom attempted to calm her friend. Sweetie refocused on pulling her sister’s cart before replying. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll get to spend time with Rainbow...pant…since Trixie is here.” “Why is she here, even?” Scootaloo asked. “My sister told me that Scruffy has been trying to learn our language. She and her friends have taken turns to teach him. My guess is that today’s Trixie’s turn to be the teacher,” Applebloom answered. “Why would they get Trixie to do it? Seems kind of strange to me,” Scootaloo said. “Maybe…pant…it’s her punishment for bullying the town?” Sweetie Belle offered. “Well let’s just hope she doesn’t get any crazy ideas during our camping trip.” ******************** After several hours of walking, the group finally made it to the first resting point on their trip. Rainbow was already waiting for them there, and she had spruced up the camp site by collecting rocks for a fire place, and logs for seating. “Finally. What took you guys so long?” she asked when she noticed them approaching. “Well, some of us didn’t pack as light as the others, so we were slowed down a bit,” Applejack said, and grimaced at the cart with all of Rarity’s luggage. “Was there any trouble on the way?” Rainbow asked, while looking accusingly towards where Trixie and Scruffy were entering the clearing. “Rainbow, darling, Trixie has already apologized for her actions. You don’t need to be so distrusting of her,” Rarity admonished. “That’s right Sugarcube. She’s not here to cause harm.” “Hrmh…fine,” Rainbow muttered. “Hey Rainbow!” Scootaloo said happily as she trotted up to Rainbow, but unfortunately, she didn’t look where she was going, and tripped over a loose rock, planting her face firmly in the ground. “Uhh…hey there Scootaloo…you okay there little buddy?” Rainbow asked as the young pegasus rubbed her banged up head. “Ehehe…n-never better.” Scootaloo pulled her hoof away, and it had a few drops of red on it. “Uh oh. I guess you got a small cut there. Here, let me take a look,” Rainbow offered. “I-it’s fine…just a small scrape, no big deal.” “Hold on dear, I have a band-aid here somewhere,” Rarity said and looked over her pile of luggage, pondering which bag to open first. “I-I don’t need a band-aid. It’s no big deal.” “What happened?” Trixie asked as she and Scruffy walked next to them. “Scootaloo tripped and got a small cut on her head,” Applejack explained. Scootaloo was sitting, and everypony could see a small red spot on the side of her head. Scruffy kneeled to take a closer look, which made Scootaloo squirm uncomfortably. “Trixie advises you to clean up the cut. You don’t want to get an infection.” “Luckily, we have a river next to us.” Applejack pointed out the stream just a dozen meters away from them. Scruffy looked up, and when he noticed what she was pointing at, picked up Scootaloo. “Hey! Put me down,” she squirmed. Scruffy lowered her down next to the river, and took off his backpack. He fumbled around for a bit, searching the different pockets, until he found a pack of tissues. He took one out, dipped it in the water, and started cleaning the cut. Scootaloo complained first, but stopped fussing after a while. Stupid band-aid. Somepony as tough as Rainbow wouldn’t need a band-aid for something so small, she mentally complained. While Scruffy was taking care of Scootaloo, the rest of the group were putting away their saddlebags, and taking out their tents. Applejack had brought an extra tent with her, since Rainbow didn’t own one. Applejack and Applebloom had been out camping before, so it took no time at all for them to set up the two tents. “Looks like you’ll be sharing a tent with me, huh,” Rainbow said to Scootaloo and gently bumped her. She was now sporting a band-aid over the cut, which she grumpily rubbed. “Heh, if that’s okay with you.” “Sure. As long as you don’t snore.” “Wait,” Trixie said as she lifted her head from her saddlebag. “We are sharing tents?” she asked with mild trepidation. “Uh, yes,” Applejack said. “We don’t have enough tents for everypony to have their own. Besides, that would take too much space.” PSSSSHOOOOOOMMMMM Everypony’s jaws dropped as they watched the giant, almost castle like tent fill with air and emerge from the ground. Even Scruffy’s eyebrows seemed like they were in danger of detaching and flying off if they climbed any higher. “You’ve got to be kidding me…” Rainbow said. “Sweetie Belle, do be a dear and see if you can find some fresh flowers for my bedside vase,” Rarity said and offered a vase to Sweetie Belle. “Trixie think’s that is quite impressive…wait, uh…who does Trixie share a tent with?” “Well that’s easy! You…uhh…you…who does she share a tent with?” Rainbow asked confused. “Hmm…well me and Applebloom take one, Rarity and Sweetie Belle have their…whatever that thing is, and you share my other tent with Scootaloo. So…that leaves…” Applejack and Rainbow both turned towards Scruffy. He had just taken out his own tent, which he had brought with him, and was in the process of setting up. Scruffy’s tent was old and worn, much like its owner, but otherwise similar to Applejack’s. He still had a look of disbelief on his face as he kept glancing over at Rarity’s enormous lodgings, before focusing on his own, much simpler, tent. “WHAT? With him?” Trixie asked in horror. “I uhh…ehehe…there might have been a slight miscalculation…” Applejack said, embarrassed. “Trixie can’t share a tent with…with him!” “Worry not darling,” Rarity said as she walked out of her tent. “There’s enough room for you in my tent, if you want.” “Trixie would be grateful for that,” Trixie sighed in relief. “Well, anyway. Scootaloo, could you get us some wood so that we can get a fire going?” Rainbow asked. “Of course. Applebloom, want to come with me?” “Sure.” ******************** As the evening started to turn towards the night, the group gathered around the fireplace that Rainbow had prepared earlier. Applejack was using a bow drill to get the fire going. Scruffy had with him a bag of marshmallows, which he was putting on sticks and handing over to the ponies. “Okay, everypony get comfortable, cuz I’m about to tell you the best story you ever heard!” Rainbow said while floating above the camp site. “Trixie highly doubts that, but go on,” Trixie said dismissively. Rainbow frowned at her. “Is it about the time when Rarity had wings, and then they got ruined, and then you saved her from plummeting to her doom?” Scootaloo asked excitedly. Rarity blushed and looked away awkwardly. “Oookay, maybe it’s the second-best story you’ve ever heard.” “You had wings?” Trixie asked, surprised. “Erm…yes. Twilight found a spell that can give anypony temporary wings. I uhh…got a bit carried away with them.” Rarity adjusted her mane, embarrassed by the memory. “Anyway!” Rainbow interrupted. “This is going to be the scariest story you ever heard. You like scary stories, right?” Rainbow asked the three fillies, who all let out a small gasp and nodded. “It all happened on a night, just like this one…” ******************** “And then, the olden pony asked: ‘Who’s got my rusty horseshoe?’” Rainbow stated, her story nearing its end. “Not me!” Sweetie Belle said fearfully, and the three fillies clung to each other. Unfortunately for them, none of them had noticed Trixie getting up from her seat, and sneaking behind them. Rainbow had frowned at first, but after realizing what she was going to do, said nothing. “You do!” Trixie announced from behind them with a booming, croaky voice. All three fillies screamed in surprise and fear, with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle hopping up from their seats and sprinting away. Scootaloo managed to stay put long enough to turn around, and when she saw Trixie was behind her, let out a sigh of relief. Trixie and Rainbow were both laughing, and neither were deterred by the frown Scruffy was giving them. Both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had sprinted right on to his lap, as he had been the closest, and were desperately hugging each other. Scruffy was patting their heads in an effort to calm them down. “Eheh…g-good story…” Scootaloo said, trying to appear nonchalant,” but it didn’t s-scare me at all…” “Then why did you scream?” Trixie asked with a smile. “Y-y-you just surprised me…didn’t s-see you sneak behind us.” “Knew you wouldn’t be scared,” Rainbow said and ruffled Scootaloo’s mane. “Except when she was,” Trixie said to herself, quietly enough that nopony heard her, but Rainbow frowned at her nonetheless. “Don’t worry,” Rarity said to Sweetie Belle while brushing away a strand of mane from her face. “Rarity is here to keep you safe and sound.” “Think it’s about time for me to hit the straw,” Applejack said while yawning. Soon the others were yawning too, and most were heading to their tents. “T-that sure was funny, wasn’t it? How they were all afraid of the olden pony. But not me,” Scootaloo said with short bouts of nervous laughter to Rainbow Dash after the others went to their tents. The only other one who hadn’t gone to their tent yet was Scruffy, who was gently stoking the fire. “That’s because you are tough, just like when I was your age,” Rainbow said and encouragingly bumped Scootaloo’s shoulder. She was about to pick up the water bucket and put out the fire, but Scruffy stopped her. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to bed?” she asked. Scruffy scratched his beard as he processed Rainbow’s words, before pointing at himself, then the fire. “Well, suit yourself. I’m hitting the sack. Come in whenever you feel like it,” Rainbow said the last bit to Scootaloo, and went inside their tent. Scootaloo watched Rainbow’s colorful tail disappear in to the tent, and turned towards Scruffy. He kept stoking the fire, but when he noticed that Scootaloo was staring at him, turned towards her and gave her a small smile. “Ah…uh, hi,” Scootaloo said awkwardly, before turning her gaze away. As the minutes passed in silence, Scootaloo fidgeted on her seat. She didn’t want to admit it, but the story Rainbow had told was making her feel nervous. Every twig snapping in the distance, every rustle from the leaves, and every crackle from the fire was making her flinch and pivot her ears. “All kood?” Scruffy asked. “Wah! What?” Scootaloo turned around in panic. “All kood?” He repeated and pointed at her. “Oh, it was just you…uh…yes, all’s um…good,” she said unconvincingly. Scruffy looked at her worriedly, but didn’t know what to say. They both turned their heads towards the path they came from when they heard a wolf howl in the distance. “Wellit’stimeformetogotobedgoodnight!” Scootaloo’s voice was high pitched as she quickly ran in to the tent and dived in to her sleeping bag. Scruffy stared at the tent for a few moments, before turning back towards the fire, and continued stoking it. ******************** Luna flew through the dream realm, searching and pondering. She had been doing that a lot lately, aimlessly wandering, deep in her thoughts, as if she was searching for something, but had forgotten what it was. Ever since seeing that creature’s dream... She shook her head and tried to get back on the track of seeing to it that ponies’ dreams were peaceful, but soon she was lost in thought again. “Hum humm hummm, hmhmhmm hmm hmmm,” she hummed to herself, not really knowing what the song was. Luna’s restless drifting was brought to a halt, when she sensed somepony having a nightmare. With a mighty flap from her wings, she soared over the dark landscape, and arrived to the one in trouble. “A young one…I wonder why these ponies are in the middle of nowhere?” she mumbled to herself as she entered the dream. Luna found herself in the middle of a forest, possibly the one the filly was currently residing. It had been transformed by the dream to a more wicked reflection of itself, with long shadows and menacing looking trees. Even the sun that was in the sky seemed to only increase the shadows in the landscape, instead of banishing them. Thump Thump Thump Luna’s ears perked up as she heard stomping coming from somewhere behind her. It sounded like it was far away, but still echoed around her. “Who’s got my rusty horseshoe?” came a voice from the thicket. “Ah,” Luna said to herself. She had heard that phrase before. Many, many times. “Reassuring to know that old tales are still in fashion.” “Aaaahhh!” Came another, much younger voice. Luna spread her wings and used them to give her speed for a mighty leap. She glided gracefully over the trees and landed far enough that the dreamer didn’t see her. The olden mare was slowly stomping after her, and paid no heed to Luna who watched her go. Luna spread her wings again, and with another leap, made it ahead of the filly, hidden behind some bushes. The filly in question was running away with all her might, occasionally turning to look at the form of the olden pony behind her. The filly entered a small clearing, and slowed down to catch her breath. Luna observed the filly, taking in the dreamscape around her, looking for small clues in the dream to figure out what had caused the filly to have a nightmare. Many ponies, especially those who knew nothing about dream magic, often thought that Luna’s job as the guardian of dreams, was to enter a pony’s dream and blast whatever horrors she found with a bit of magic. That was, of course, not the case, as most nightmares usually had a reason behind them. An underlying fear, a traumatic experience, regret over a choice; there were many different reasons, and unless Luna could figure it out, she couldn't truly banish the nightmare. She is afraid, but of what? Luna mused to herself. Luna watched the filly backup towards what she thought was a tree, but it morphed in to something else while she wasn’t looking. To Luna’s surprise, the new creature looked a nightmarish version of Scruffy. The entire being was covered in darkness, and it seemed to be incredibly tall. Its hands were the size of carts as it loomed over the filly. She bumped in to him, and turned around. Her eyes opened wide as she craned her neck to look up. The nightmare version of Scruffy leaned forward towards the filly. “AAAAHHHHHH!” she screamed and sprinted away, only to smack right in to the olden pony. “Who’s got my rusty horseshoe?” she asked the filly again, who only screamed harder and ran away in a different direction. Whatever she’s afraid of, she doesn’t want to admit it. To Luna, the filly’s fear felt more like a desire to deny the scary apparitions, rather than being just afraid of them. She followed after her, wanting to see where she would go next. As the filly was sprinting, she happened to look towards her, and Luna decided to make herself visible to her. Unfortunately, either the filly was too scared, or didn’t see her properly, as she kept running away from her regardless. Soon they approached a camp site, and the filly jumped in to the only tent there. Luna walked closer, and could hear her talking to somepony. “Rainbow Da-“ the filly began, but another voice interrupted her. “You do!” a voice that belonged to the olden pony shouted. Luna felt the dream collapse as the dreamer finally woke up, and was soon ejected from the dream. “Hmmm…” Luna hummed to herself. This problem required some thought, but luckily for her, she had all night to think. ******************** “Aaah!” Scootaloo gasped as she woke from her nightmare. Sweat dripped from her brow as she frantically looked around for the olden pony. When she noticed Rainbow sleeping and snoring next to her, she realized that she had been dreaming. She hugged her blanket tightly, still feeling unnerved. Tears threatened to fall as she rocked back and forth, until she heard the gentle crackling of a fire. “Huh?” Scootaloo got up from her bed, and opened the tent. There, still sitting on the same spot, was Scruffy. He heard the zipper open, and turned around. He tiredly looked at Scootaloo, before turning back towards the fire. Scootaloo hesitated for a moment, but walked out of the tent, and sat on a different log around the campfire. Minutes passed without either of them doing anything other than staring at the fire. Scootaloo flinched a few times when she heard something in the distance, but didn’t turn to look. Tap tap Scootaloo turned to Scruffy. He was tapping the seat next to him with his hand. She looked at him, and a bit reluctantly, changed seats next to him. Silence fell over them again. Scruffy threw a few more sticks in to the fire, the last they had. Scootaloo idly kicked her hindlegs back and forth, not knowing what to say, or if she should try to go back to sleep, regardless of how scared she was. After a while, Scruffy stood up and walked to his tent. He rummaged around for a while, before returning with parchment and a pen. He sat down next to Scootaloo again, wrote a few words on the paper, then gave it to Scootaloo. You no sleep good? Scootaloo looked up at the tired eyes of Scruffy, who gave her a small smile. She shifted her eyes back towards the ground and her ears went down “No…” she shook her head. Talk? Scootaloo rubbed her forelegs together. She didn’t know if she wanted to talk about it. Because then she would be admitting that she was scared, and Scruffy might tell Rainbow. “I’m…I’m fine.” Scruffy seemed a bit disappointed by her answer, but didn’t press the matter. He gently stroked Scootaloo’s mane. “Hey, stop that!” Scootaloo said, annoyed. “Seems like you can’t sleep either,” another voice said, which made both of them flinch in surprise. Trixie walked out of Rarity’s tent, yawning widely. “Oh…we didn’t wake you up, did we?” Scootaloo asked. “No…Trixie couldn’t really sleep. Trixie is used to being alone on her travels,” Trixie said while running her hoof through her mane. Scruffy patted the other side of the log he and Scootaloo were sitting on. Trixie’s only response was a deadpan look. “Oh…doesn’t that get lonely?” Scootaloo asked. Trixie blinked a few times, caught off guard by the question. “…Sometimes. But Trixie thinks you are too young to understand such things.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “You’ll understand when you are older,” Trixie said, which caused Scootaloo to pout to herself. Trixie sat down on the other side of the fire pit, and looked up to the sky. “Looks like Princess Luna has gone all out tonight.” Scruffy and Scootaloo both turned to look. “Woah…the stars are really pretty,” Scootaloo said in awe, while Scruffy smiled happily. The sky was clear of clouds, and the three of them could see the countless stars blanketing the sky, twinkling happily. “Trixie has always liked the stars,” Trixie mused to herself. “Trixie has spent many hours stargazing, and even memorized the constellations.” “Const-…what are those?” Scootaloo asked. The word sounded familiar, but she didn’t remember what it was. “The constellations are patterns in the stars that some old pony, or maybe Princess Luna herself, came up with. It is like cloud watching, seeing shapes and images using your imagination.” Scootaloo turned to look at her wings, which she experimentally flapped. She turned her gaze back towards the night sky and the stars, trying to find these patterns Trixie was talking about. “Would you like Trixie to show you?” “What?” “You heard what Trixie said. Would you like Trixie to show you the constellations, since it doesn’t look like any of us are getting much sleep tonight.” “I…uhh…” Scootaloo hesitated. On one hoof, she didn’t want to go back to the tent and to sleep. She was feeling too nervous to sleep. On the other hoof, what Trixie was proposing sounded really lame, and not something somepony cool as Rainbow Dash would do. As Scootaloo wrestled with her choice, Scruffy asked Trixie what they were talking about, and Trixie summarized it on the parchment. “Trixie will go do some stargazing up on that hill,” Trixie said and pointed at the small mound about a hundred meters away. “If you want to come too, you are allowed to,” she said and started to walk away. Scruffy looked at Scootaloo, who was still indecisive about the whole idea. He gently bumped her with his leg, and when she turned to look, nodded towards Trixie. Scootaloo turned her head towards the ground and kicked it. Since Scootaloo didn’t say anything, he followed after Trixie. “Uurrgh! Hey, wait for me!” Scootaloo said and galloped after them when it became apparent that she would otherwise be alone in the darkness. Even the camp fire had died out, with only small embers left. The group didn’t return from their stargazing until many hours later. ******************** As the night turned to morning, and the sun rose above the horizon, the camp site was teeming with a group of energetic ponies. At least, if you didn’t count Scruffy, Trixie, and Scootaloo, who were all huddled around the small camp fire. All of them had gotten little to no sleep, and were eagerly awaiting getting a cup of coffee (or tea, in Scootaloo’s case). “Aaahhh!” Rainbow sighed as she stretched her back and limbs. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I slept like a filly.” Trixie glared at Rainbow with her slightly bloodshot eyes, and pondered if anypony would notice if she punched her. “Yeah…” Scootaloo mumbled. “Totally rested up, heh…” “Glad to hear that,” Applejack said as she joined the three around the campfire. She had several apples with her for breakfast. “We’ll have a long way to go today.” “Trixie can barely contain her excitement,” Trixie yawned. ******************** After everyone had finished their breakfast and the tents were dismantled and packed, it was time for the group to get moving. Applejack, Applebloom and Rainbow were in the front, while Sweetie Belle and Rarity were on the rear this time. Most of the trip was spent in silence, with the only talking coming from the front. Scootaloo eventually started to nod off as she walked, and Trixie had to prevent her from walking face first in to a tree, and getting another small injury. Trixie agreed to carry her on her back, when it became clear that Scootaloo couldn’t stay awake. She silently grumbled to herself about it all the way until they stopped for lunch. “Y’all just rest while I get the fire going,” Applejack said when she noticed the state some of the group was in. Trixie didn’t need to be told twice, and almost immediately dozed off with Scootaloo. Scruffy also took the opportunity to rest his eyes, but not before taking a small bottle from his backpack, and swallowing a pill from it. “Darlings, are you alright?” Rarity asked the sleeping forms of Scootaloo and Trixie. Both jerked awake, rubbing their eyes and yawning. “Yes, Trixie is alright, if slightly tired,” Trixie replied a bit snappily. “Darling, your eyes! They are completely bloodshot. Did you not manage to sleep last night?” Rarity gasped in horror, while fetching a bag from the cart. “Trixie admits she had trouble sleeping,” Trixie said with a yawn. “And I suppose you weren’t the only one,” Rarity gave a poignant look to Scootaloo and Scruffy. “N-nope, totally rested up and raring to go!” Scootaloo said unconvincingly as she squinted her eyes from the bright light. “Uhhuh,” Rarity hummed as she started to apply a bit of makeup on Trixie. “Agh! Trixie demands you stop that.” “Hush, darling. A lady needs to look enchanting at all times, not like she just rose from the grave with a bad case of bed mane,” Rarity reprimanded Trixie and continued her work. “Besides, this will bring out your elegance.” Trixie was too tired to bother stopping Rarity, and submitted herself to the treatment. ******************** With lunch done, and a small rest after the meal, the group continued on. Applejack and Rainbow were up front again, discussing something vehemently. Applebloom had pulled back and was talking together with the other members of the CMC, as Scootaloo was now awake again. Trixie, looking more invigorated than she felt, was talking to Scruffy, asking him simple questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers, helping him to get used to the pony language. The group kept walking all day, stopping only for short moments of rest and a quick dinner, except for once or twice when they found something interesting to look at. During those times, Scruffy took out his device to take pictures of the landscape, which immediately piqued the interest of the CMC. He showed them how it could take pictures and record sounds. For the rest of the day, the ponies talked about Scruffy’s device, trying to ask him questions about it with varying degrees of success, and wondering if he had any other strange devices. Eventually, a little after the sunset, with darkness encroaching, the group arrived at their second camp site. “No need for tents tonight y’all,” Applejack said as they gathered around. “We’ll just take shelter in that cave.” “All right! A deep, dark cave, hah! Perfect for the story I’ve got for tonight. All we need is a camp fire, and we’re good to go,” Rainbow said while floating next to Scootaloo. “Ah…o-of course…I’ll be right back, with lots of firewood f-from the deep, dark, not scary at all forest…” Scootaloo said with a wavering voice and smiled unconvincingly at Rainbow. “Thanks,” Rainbow said and flew back to where the rest were unpacking their belongings. Scootaloo gulped audibly as she turned towards the forest. She could hear rustling and creaking coming from the forest, and she could swear she saw something moving in the shadows. “Okay…I can do this,” Scootaloo said as she tried to encourage herself. She took a few steps towards a pile of twigs she saw, before noticing what looked like eyes peering at her, and backed away instead. As she backed away, she bumped in to something, and yelped in surprise. “What are you doing?” Trixie asked with one eyebrow raised. “O-oh, Trixie! D-didn’t see you there.” “Yes, Trixie figured. Well, let’s hurry up then.” “Huh?” “The firewood. Let’s go and get the firewood. Trixie doesn’t have all night to stand here.” “What? I-I-I can do it myself,” Scootaloo protested. Trixie rolled her eyes. “Then why are you shaking like a leaf?” Scootaloo blinked in surprise, and when she looked down at her legs, they were indeed shaking slightly. “Because it’s chilly?” she tried desperately. Trixie frowned with one eyebrow raised. “…Okay fine! I thought I saw something move in the shadows…it made me feel nervous…” Scootaloo’s ears went down as she looked away. Trixie sighed. “There’s nothing to worry about. We are not in the Everfree forest, which Trixie is immensely grateful for. It’s unlikely that there would be anything dangerous here. You probably saw an owl or something. Now hurry up, Trixie is tired, and wishes to warm herself next to a fire,” Trixie said and, without waiting for a response, walked further in to the forest to find some dry wood. Scootaloo looked around herself, still certain that she could see something, but galloped after Trixie anyway. Scruffy, who was helping Applejack prepare their dinner, noticed the two of them enter the forest. A small smile made its way to his face as he focused back to the task at hand...or hoof, as it might be. ******************** Luna stared deeply in to the star that represented Scruffy, and lightly ran her hoof across the shimmering orb. She wanted to go in. She wanted to go in and talk to the creature that kept pestering her thoughts day after day, night after night. Today had been a good day in that sense. She had been quite busy, and hadn’t had the time to think about the mysterious creature, but as soon as she sensed him enter the dream realm, he started to occupy her thoughts again. Her reverie was broken though, when she sensed a nightmare in the same vicinity as Scruffy. Ah, I suspected as much. It was the same filly who had had a nightmare last night. Luna had sensed her enter the dream realm several times during the day, but each time it was for only a moment. The filly, or Scootaloo as her name was, hadn’t gone back to sleep until very late last night, so she must have been exhausted all day. “Worry not. Tonight, I shall make sure your nightmares are banished,” Luna said to the shimmering star that was pulsing with darkness and entered the filly’s dream. Luna touched down to the same forest as last night, looking equally demonic. However, she also noticed that some parts were less scary looking. Bright, calming colors with no shadows or sharp shapes. To Luna, it indicated that the filly was less afraid than last night, but the fear still clung to her. Luna pivoted her ears and listened. She could hear a pony galloping in the distance, but with the sound echoing around the forest, she couldn’t pinpoint the location. She focused her magic, and cast a spell on the moon that allowed her to survey the dream from a better vantage point. Instantly she noticed where her charge was, and that the headless horse was the manifestation of her fears tonight. “Aaaaaaa!” the filly screamed as the creature got closer to her, and covered her eyes with her hooves. “A warm welcome to you, Scootaloo,” Luna said as she charged a spell, which she used to make the monstrosity disappear. Luna propelled herself upwards with her wings, and gently hopped over the landscape to land next to Scootaloo. “Princess Luna?” Scootaloo asked in confusion. “I thought you were the headless horse.” With the filly’s fear momentarily curbed by Luna’s magic, she instantly calmed down. “You were mistaken, but I hope not disappointed,” Luna said and smiled. “You are so, so much better than the headless horse! But what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Canterlot?” Scootaloo brought a hoof to her chin. “I am the Princess of the night! Thus, it is my duty to come in to your dreams.” “Oh yeah! Wait! This is just a dream?” The filly asked and looked around perplexed. “But it feels so real.” She reached out with her hoof, which caused ripples to appear in the air. She’s moving in her sleep, she probably won’t stay asleep for much longer, Luna thought. “I assure you, that you are asleep. But when you wake, the thing that frightens you most, will still exist.” Luna knew that the filly wasn’t just scared of the old stories and the fiendish characters in them. She had seen this kind of nightmare thousands of times before, and the subtle hints the dream was giving her made for a rather clear case, like how the filly seemed to be more scared of the manifestation of her fear catching her, and not so much of what it would do to her. Even the manifestations only seemed intent to chase her, Luna could feel no malice from them. “Uhh…the headless horse?” Scootaloo asked. “Hmm. Is the headless horse really what frightens you the most?” “M-mm…” Scootaloo’s gaze turned down in defeat. Princess Luna knew, there was no point in hiding it anymore. “I’m afraid Rainbow Dash will find out I’m not as tough as she thinks I am…” she said sadly. “Everypony has fears, Scootaloo. Everypony must face them in their own way. But they must be faced, or the nightmares will continue,” Luna warned the filly. The filly looked unsure, and another burst of bright ripples appeared as she leaned back. The filly was waking up, so Luna spread her wings to depart the dream. “Face your fears!” she said one more time, before exiting the dream. Immediately after that, the dreamer woke up, and the star disappeared from the dream realm. “Face your fears…” Luna said, turning her head towards where Scruffy’s dream star was gently floating. ******************** “What were you doing out here in the middle of the night?” Rainbow asked Scootaloo, slight anger in her voice. The two of them were in the middle of the forest, dripping wet, as Rainbow had just saved Scootaloo from a waterfall. After Scootaloo woke up, she had been spooked by what she thought was the wicked whinny of the headless horse (while in actuality, it was Rainbow’s loud snoring), and had taken her scooter and gone off in to the forest, not really sure if she was still dreaming or not. Unfortunately, as she was riding her scooter, the darkness caused her to miss a rock on her path, and she fell over in to a ravine with a river at the bottom. Luckily for her, Rainbow had noticed her departure, and had saved her just in time before she plummeted down the waterfall at the end of the river. Now that they were safely on dry land again, Scootaloo felt ashamed. Running off in to the forest at night had been a terrible idea, even if she had been scared, and no amount of explaining could save her, without also revealing that she was a scaredy-cat. She tried to bite back tears that were threatening to fall, when she heard Princess Luna’s voice, and saw her silhouette on the moon. It is time for you to face your real fears, Scootaloo. Scootaloo blinked as Luna’s voice drifted from the moon. She turned her gaze to Rainbow, who was looking slightly annoyed, and waiting for her answer. She took a deep breath, and prepared herself. “I’m so, so sorry Rainbow Dash! I just wanted you to hang out with me and see how cool I was so you’d take me under your wing, and teach me everything you know and become like my big sister.” Rainbow looked slightly surprised by the sudden outburst, but waited patiently. “But then you started telling those spooky stories, and I got scared! I thought I heard the headless horse, so I ran out here by myself and…” Scootaloo rambled. She sobbed a few times, and took off her helmet. “…well…I guess you know the rest…” she sobbed a few more times, and wiped her muzzle with her foreleg. “Hey,” Rainbow said and sat next to her, while extending her wing protectively over Scootaloo. “I’m going to tell you something...but, if you ever tell anypony else, I’m going to deny it.” As Rainbow said that, she looked around, just to make sure there was nopony else around. “First time I heard those stories, I was scared too,” she finally admitted. “Y-you were?” Scootaloo asked, her voice quivering slightly. “Sure,” Rainbow said, and briefly smiled as she remembered how she had acted similarly to Scootaloo. “I mean, I got over it, because I realized pretty quick that if there was such thing as a headless horse, I could totally take it on,” she said and smiled confidently. Scootaloo smiled, feeling a bit sad that she had allowed fear to control her like that. It was comforting to know, that even somepony as awesome as Rainbow Dash could be scared of stories, and that you could get over the fear. “So, you’re looking for somepony to take you under their wing, huh?” “Mmhm.” “Yeah, I might be up for something like that,” Rainbow said and pulled Scootaloo slightly closer. “Really?” Scootaloo asked hopefully. “As long as you don’t go falling in to anymore rivers in the middle of the night,” Rainbow said with a bit of a teasing smile. “Heh, it’s a deal,” Scootaloo agreed, and they both hugged. “Also, remember not to tell anypony what I told you. Don’t want any rumors to spread,” Rainbow said good naturedly and winked. “I promise.” “Don’t…tell…anypony…” Both Scootaloo and Rainbow yelped as they heard another voice next to them. They turned around to see Trixie sitting next to them, imitating that she was writing something. “What? You?” Rainbow asked in horror. “That…Rainbow…Is…Afraid…” “Wait! No, I’m not! You got it all wrong!” Rainbow desperately pleaded and jumped at Trixie, who nimbly dodged away. “Of…Scary…Stories…There we go! All memorized,” Trixie said happily, while Rainbow looked absolutely mortified. “Hey…Trixie. What are you doing here?” Scootaloo asked. “Good night to you, Scootaloo,” Trixie replied with an all too pleased, singsong voice. “Well, since you asked, Trixie woke up in the middle of the night to use the little fillies room, and just so happened to see you and Rainbow burst out of the cave. Naturally, Trixie was curious where the two of you would be going in the middle of the night, so Trixie followed you.” “I uhh…see,” Scootaloo said, not really sure what else to do in this situation. Rainbow looked like her world was ending. “Trixie…” she asked in a pleading voice. “Yeeeeees?” “Please…don’t tell anypony.” “Tell anypony what?” “What I just said!” “And what did you say?” Trixie teased. “Urgh!” “Come on Trixie, cut it out,” Scootaloo scolded. Trixie held her smile for a few seconds, before rolling her eyes. “Calm down, Trixie is not interested in telling your ‘dark’ secret to anypony. Trixie doesn’t even understand why it’s such a big deal for you.” “Are you crazy? It would totally ruin my image!” Rainbow argued. “Right...” Trixie deadpanned. “Anyway, if you two are done with your venture in to the night, Trixie suggests we head back,” she said and yawned loudly. The three of them turned around and headed back to the cave, to get a good night’s sleep. ******************** Early next day, the group finally made it to the Winsome Falls. Sweetie Belle had called for a race to the gazebo that was at the end of the path. Most of them had soon started sprinting, leaving Scruffy and Trixie watching them go. Scruffy had been half tempted to pick up Trixie and run after them, once he understood what was going on, but concluded that it would have ended terribly. “How pretty,” Trixie commented as she and Scruffy watched the waterfalls on the other side of the lake. The colors of the rainbow were reflecting off the rushing water, making the Winsome Falls a wall of color. “It really does look like actual liquid rainbows.” Scruffy nodded, not really sure what Trixie had said, and fished out his device. He started taking pictures of the falls. “Trixie has to admit, it’s been nice to have somepony else along for the journey,” Trixie idly commented as they both sat down. Scruffy took off his boots and socks, and rested his feet in the water. “Trixie usually travels alone, going from place to place. Trixie loves the freedom it provides, yet…all of Trixie’s friends stay in one place. Trixie only sees them when she returns from her travels,” she kicked a pebble in to the water, “and you seem like someone who knows the pain of being alone.” They sat there a long while, watching the ripples spread out in to the lake. Scruffy raised his hand and gently ruffled Trixie’s mane. “Would you stop that?” she said with faux irritation. “Hey, what are you two sitting there for? Come join us here!” Applejack hollered from the gazebo, their friendly competition long finished. “Hum, Trixie thinks we are being called,” Trixie said as Scruffy rose to his feet. “Shall we go then?” she asked Scruffy, who smiled and nodded in return.