Scootaloo was very confused. She had gone to sleep at her Aunt Luna's house with her cousins and there friends. When she had woken up, she found herself alone wearing some strange outfit. She had deduced that she wasn't in Canterlot, and she reasoned that her sister and her cousins had to be looking for her. She had planned to stay where she had found herself when she had awoken, but a woman with a loud voice and a stern manner had ordered her out of bed. Everyone kept calling the woman "Sergeant Major," so Scootaloo decided to listen to the woman, if only until she found Sunset, or Sunset found her.
That had been her plan anyway, but her stomach had disagreed, luckily Scootaloo caught the smell of her newest favorite food, pancakes! She had fallen in love with pancakes after Celestia had taken her in. Scootaloo's growling stomach won, and she followed her nose to the cafeteria. Not wasting any time, Scootaloo got in line and got some pineapple pancakes and chicken tenders from a woman that reminded her of Apple Bloom's Granny Smith.
She had just finished stuffing the last bite of pancake into her mouth when she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"Scootaloo," the voice said, "there you are. We've been looking everywhere for you."
Scootaloo turned to see both her sister and Rainbow Dash standing behind her. Both of them were wearing the same outfit that she was, but instead of the three stripes on the sleeves, Sunset had a pair of metal bars on her collar points, Rainbow, instead, had a brass "X" pinned to her collar points.
"Shorriesh," Scootaloo said around her mouthful of pancake.
"All that matters is that we found you kid," Rainbow said.
"Keep your seat," Sunset said as her stomach growled, "we might as well get something to eat while we're here."
"Excuse me, Commander," a woman with three stripes like Scootaloo said to them, "this is the enlisted mess, Officer's Country is on the other side of the compound. I don't mind if you want to eat here, but both the Sergeant Major and General Ravenwing would lose their shit if you are here. Plus it sends the wrong message to the enlisted personnel."
"So we can't get some pancakes," Rainbow asked.
"You could probably get away with it Sub-Leiutenant," the woman said before nodding at Sunset, "but not the Commander."
"Ok," Sunset said, not sure of what to say, "thanks."
"Don't mention it," the woman said as she walked off to deal with some other problem.
"Do either of you know where we are," Scootaloo asked once the three of them left the mess hall, "we're in one of Aunt Luna's books!
"Yes we are," Sunset said, "wait, how did you know that?"
"I started reading them during detention," Scootaloo replied, "last thing I remember is reading one before falling asleep last night."
"Let me guess," Rainbow said looking at Sunset, "we're trapped in a dream."
"That's my guess," Sunset said worriedly, "but whose dream?"
Rainbow pinched Scootaloo.
"OUCH,' Scootaloo cried, "what did you do that for?"
"It's isn't supposed to hurt if you're dreaming," Rainbow explained.
"It might if magic is involved," Sunset said, "let's go find the girls. Hopefully they will have figured out a way home by now."
It didn't take them long to find the girls. Aria was able to lead them to a secluded spot so that they could compare notes.
"Ok so right now," Sunset said, "Aria, Rainbow, and Scootaloo are our experts on this universe."
Sunset paused to allow her words to sink in.
"Rainbow thinks," she continued, "and I agree, that we are trapped in a dream."
"It has ta be Equestrian magic," Applejack said.
"I can think of half a dozen spells that could make ones dreams real," Adagio said.
"So can I," Sunset agreed, "but I don't know of any that allows you to share that dream."
"Is this dream magic," Aria asked, "or is it nightmare magic?"
"Even scarier thought," Adagio said. Her sister's comment had sent a shiver down her spine.
"What is nightmare magic," Fluttershy asked softly, trying to hide behind her hair and Rainbow Dash.
"A sick and twisted form of dream magic," Sunset said, "only one pony ever mastered it's dark arts, and for that she was banished."
"Great, and now she is in our world wrecking all kinds of havoc," Rainbow said, "seriously, next time you go to Equestria tell them to stop using our world as their garbage dump."
"I'll be sure to tell them," Sunset said as she rolled her eyes, "but unless our world is Equestria's moon, this isn't Nightmare Moon."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Rainbow said, "Isn't Nightmare Moon a character in these books."
"Yes," Aria said, "but I doubt that my mom has been in contact with a Noctismancer that has been banished to Equestria's moon."
"No one on our side of the portal even knew that it existed until the Fall Formal," Fluttershy said.
"Unfortunately I have no way of asking the Princess if Nightmare Moon's magic could be leaking through the portal," Sunset said.
"You still have the journal," Rarity asked.
"Yeah," Sunset replied, "I just can't bring myself to part with it."
"It's good to hold on to things from the past," Applejack said, "let's you know where you have been and it can show you where you are going."
"I don't mind being all philosophical and crap," Adagio said, "but how does this help us get home?"
"We'll find the answers," Sunset sighed, "dreams all have to end sometime."
"Let's go grab Sonata and Pinkie," Rarity said, "maybe their brand of crazy can find a way out of here."
"Now that is a scary thought," Rainbow said with a laugh, "how many confetti cannons do you think that Pinkie had hidden around here by now?"
Eight girls shuddered at that thought.
"Great, we are in a confined area, surrounded by the vacuum of space, AND WE'RE TRAPPED HERE WITH PINKIE PIE," Adagio nearly screamed, "we're doomed."