//------------------------------// // Familiar Faces // Story: Moonlight // by JasonTheHuman //------------------------------// It was a sunny morning as Scootaloo walked to school, probably one of the few they had left before winter set in. Rainbow Dash had been busy lately preparing for the change in seasons. Town Square was still just waking up. A few ponies passed through, on their way to work or maybe an early stop for breakfast at the café. Scootaloo recognized all of them, even if she didn’t know their names—in a small town like Ponyville, you saw the same ponies every day. Rarity was trotting at a brisk pace through the square, humming to herself. “Oh, good morning, Scootaloo! On your way to school?” “Sure am!” Scootaloo said. “What are you doing up so early?” “I was going out to meet Fluttershy for our weekly spa treatment,” Rarity said. “Speaking of which, I should get going before I’m late. Have a wonderful day!” Scootaloo picked up the pace as she continued through town. It was still pretty early, but she didn’t want to be late either. As she walked past Sugarcube Corner, she noticed Mr. Cake turning the sign in the window from “Closed” to “Open.” She gave him a quick nod, and he waved back. She cut across an alleyway, one of the many shortcuts she took on a regular basis, and in a few minutes she was in front of the school. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were already waiting outside. They were standing around by the base of the flagpole and chatting. Apple Bloom noticed Scootaloo as she came over. “Oh, hey, Scootaloo!” “What’s up?” Scootaloo said. “We were just talking about what we’d do after school today,” Sweetie Belle said. “I heard there was going to be a chess tournament in the park this afternoon. Do you think you or Apple Bloom would be good at that? You could try to get your cutie marks in chess playing!” “It might be worth a shot!” Apple Bloom said. “Uh, no thanks,” Scootaloo said, shaking her head. “Doesn’t sound very interesting to me. There’s probably something a bit more, you know, fast-paced to try, isn’t there?” Apple Bloom tapped her chin. “Come to think of it, I don’t actually know how to play that game…” Scootaloo looked at her. “By the way, Apple Bloom, what did Applejack say about you going to Manehattan?” “Huh?” Apple Bloom cocked her head, frowning. “Well, you know. You said you were going to visit Babs, see the city, all that stuff,” Scootaloo said. “You still want to do that, don’t you?” Apple Bloom paused. She seemed to be really thinking about it. “I… don’t think so…” “Where’d you get that idea, Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle said. “I don’t remember her saying anything about that.” “Come on, I know you remember,” Scootaloo said. “Apple Bloom sounded pretty serious when she told us. Remember?” Scootaloo could still remember how the ground shook as the city built itself up and collapsed around them. That dream wouldn’t be easy to forget. But Sweetie Belle simply blinked in confusion. “Nah, what would I wanna go to the big city for? Applejack and Big McIntosh need my help out on the farm,” Apple Bloom said. She shrugged, as if that was all that had to be said on the matter. “Anyways, if we’re not doin’ the chess thing, then what kinda crusadin’ are we gonna do today?” “That isn’t…” Scootaloo’s voice trailed off. Something didn’t feel right. She looked at Sweetie Belle. “Come on, you have to remember what happened to Apple Bloom during cider season.” “Uh…” Sweetie Belle frowned, and scratched her head. “Didn’t Applejack say she got sick?” “Yeah, I was,” Apple Bloom said. “I’m feelin’ right as rain now, though.” Scootaloo shook her head. “No, that’s not what I’m talking about.” There was no way that they had both forgotten. Scootaloo hesitated, then looked at Sweetie Belle. “You just have to remember… what happened in the dream, don’t you?” “What dream? I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.” The look in Sweetie Belle’s eyes said that she was serious. Scootaloo was stunned into silence. All of the trouble they’d gone through in Manehattan, and now none of it seemed to matter. “Hey, guys, what’s up?” Scootaloo’s ears perked up at the sound of her own voice, and wheels skidding to a halt in the dirt. Her heart nearly stopped. It wasn’t possible. Slowly, she turned around, and saw herself standing there, taking off her helmet as she hopped off her scooter. “Oh, hey, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle grinned at the new arrival. “We were just talking to you. Do you have any idea what all this stuff about ‘dreams’ you were talking about was?” She gestured at Scootaloo. The other Scootaloo shook her head. “Sounds pretty crazy to me.” Finally, Scootaloo was able to get just one word out. “What?” “There she is!” It was Sweetie Belle’s voice, but it came from behind her. Scootaloo turned around and saw another Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom running over. “Wait, is that… us?” the new Apple Bloom said, stopping a short distance away. “And there’s two of her…” Scootaloo was starting to get a headache. Were they changelings, like at the wedding? Why were they here now? The new Sweetie Belle stood back, looking from one Scootaloo to the other. “Which one is she? I can’t tell them apart.” “Pretty sure Luna didn’t mention anything about there bein’ more than one of her…” Apple Bloom muttered. The mention of Luna’s name was all Scootaloo needed to hear. She ran over to the two of them. She gave a quick look back at the three Crusaders standing by the flagpole, apparently undisturbed by the newcomers. “You’re… the real ones, right?” Scootaloo said, looking from one to the other. “What’s going on? Who were they?” “We’re in another dream,” Sweetie Belle said. She started leading them down the path into town, away from the school, until the other Crusaders were out of sight. “Luna was there again, but she said you might’ve not fallen asleep yet. She said we should look for you once we got in.” Scootaloo placed a hoof to her forehead. She could dimly remember going to bed last night, and everything faded out after that. At some point she’d ended up in the town square, but how she had gotten there was a total blank. How had she not realized that at the time? “And you were the one who insisted we all go to bed at the same time.” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “We’ve been looking all over town for you.” “It’s been a while. I didn’t know when Luna would call us back,” Scootaloo said. “And Apple Bloom came too this time?” “Luna said the three of us work good together,” Sweetie Belle said. “I tried to explain everything to Apple Bloom while we looked around.” Apple Bloom scratched her head. “So, uh, have you guys been doin’ this whole dream thing for long?” “Scootaloo’s been doing it longer than I have,” Sweetie Belle replied. “She’s been to my dream and yours before.” “This one’s different, though,” Scootaloo said. They crossed a bridge and walked into the town square. “We’re in Ponyville right now...” “What’s so weird about that?” Apple Bloom said. “It’s the same as always.” “Exactly,” Scootaloo said. She looked around as they walked through town. Every pony that passed them was somepony she recognized. And there was the joke shop. The jester-hat roof was unmistakable, and the spa was right next to it. Just like the real one. “The other dreams weren’t this detailed.” “Neither of us have ever actually been to the Crystal Empire or Manehattan before,” Sweetie Belle pointed out. “We’re in Ponyville every day, though.” Scootaloo tilted her head. “Maybe that has something to do with it…” “This place isn’t so bad, though,” Sweetie Belle said. “Manehattan was all dark. I didn’t like it there.” “But they’re supposed to be nightmares,” Scootaloo said. “This almost seems too normal. The other dreams all had something wrong with them.” “And runnin’ into extra copies of ourselves isn’t somethin’ wrong?” Apple Bloom said. “Everypony in Ponyville is here. So it would make sense that there’s also dream versions of us, too, wouldn’t it?” Sweetie Belle said. “And the real us are the ones who aren’t supposed to be here.” Apple Bloom sighed. “You lost me there. What are we s’posed to be doin’ here, anyways?” “I guess it’s the same as always,” Scootaloo said. “Find out who’s having the dream, and find a way to get them out of it. I don’t think Luna would send us here unless something was really wrong.” She led the other two through town, even though she had no idea where they were supposed to go. She constantly had to remind herself that this was a dream, no different from the others she’d been thrown into. But, for all appearances, she was just walking around town on a perfectly average day. The ponies in the other dreams had all looked the same. They had wandered around the place aimlessly, like they had nowhere to go. But as they passed by clusters of ponies, they could pick up on conversations. These ponies had their own schedules and plans. There was Junebug, carrying some baskets of flowers on her back. Spike hurried past them, probably running some errand for Twilight. And Applejack… Applejack took one look at the fillies, and her jaw dropped in surprise. She marched over and stopped right in front of them. “Now just what in the hay are you three doin’ out here?” She looked down at them with a stern look on her face. Apple Bloom blinked at her. “Uh, nothin’, sis, we were just, uh…” “You know you’re s’posed to be in school today, aren’t ya?” Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what y’all are plannin’, but you’d better get to class before you’re in real trouble.” “But, uh,” Apple Bloom stammered. “This isn’t…” She couldn’t find the words, and glanced back at the others for help. “There’s no ‘buts’ about it, missy.” Sweetie Belle leaned over to Scootaloo. “But aren’t the other us already in school right now?” she whispered. A thought occurred to Scootaloo. She went over and put a hoof on Apple Bloom’s shoulder. “We should go back to the schoolhouse.” Apple Bloom stared at her. “But I thought you said we should look around town.” Applejack nodded. “She’s right, Apple Bloom. And I’m goin’ with y’all to make sure you don’t cut out along the way.” They trailed behind Applejack as she led them back the way they came, and Apple Bloom whispered to Scootaloo. “So what’s the plan?” “Luna said these nightmares only happen to foals. So it’s probably somepony our age, right?” “So they’d be at school...” Apple Bloom said, nodding. “No wonder Sweetie Belle said you were good at this.” “But we’re already at school,” Sweetie Belle said. “I mean, not us… but the other ones.” Scootaloo nodded. “Maybe we can use that.” Applejack dropped them off at the front of the school. “Now, you three head on in there, and explain to Cheerilee what y’all were up to. And I don’t wanna catch you three cuttin’ school again, y’hear?” The three of them nodded silently in unison. “Good.” Applejack watched as they climbed the front steps. They stopped on the front porch of the schoolhouse. Scootaloo raised her hoof to push the schoolhouse door open, then held back. She turned to the others. “Remember. Nothing we do matters, except finding out who’s having this dream. We can’t get in trouble.” Apple Bloom frowned. “Applejack sure seemed mad at us…” “It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t really her,” Scootaloo said. “She’s part of the dream. We just need to focus on the mission, okay?” “How are we supposed to know who it is?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I… I’m still figuring that part of the plan out,” Scootaloo admitted. “Maybe they’ll know if they see two of us at a time. I don’t think the dream ponies care. The other versions of you two didn’t seem bothered by it. Anyways, you guys ready?” “I guess,” Apple Bloom said, biting her lip. Scootaloo burst through the door of the schoolhouse. Every head turned at once, staring at her in blank confusion. “Class has already started, Scootaloo!” Cheerilee said. She eyed the other fillies standing next to her. “The three of you are very late. I’m going to have to mark you…” She checked her attendance sheet, then looked up at the other Scootaloo already sitting at her desk. “But I suppose I only have one of each of you on the attendance sheet…” Ignoring her, Scootaloo walked on in and studied the faces of her classmates. Everypony was here, they all looked the same as they always did. “Scootaloo, what are you doing?” the dream-Sweetie Belle asked. “And... what am I doing?” Moving between the rows of desks, Sweetie Belle stopped in front of Diamond Tiara. She waved her hoof in front of her eyes. “What are you doing?” Diamond Tiara snapped. “You can’t just barge into class like that. Miss Cheerilee, aren’t you going to do something about them?” “Girls, I’m going to have to ask you to stop whatever it is you’re doing,” Cheerilee said. Scootaloo did her best to ignore her, fighting the instinct to give in to the strict tone of voice. Ordinarily that would have meant detention. Cheerilee was a great teacher until she got mad. Sweetie Belle took another look at Diamond Tiara, then shook her head. “No good,” she said, and moved on to the next student. Apple Bloom had stopped in front of Twist. “Now, you know there’s only one of me, right?” Twist wiped her glasses clean, then looked at the Apple Bloom sitting a few desks over. She turned back around and stared at the one standing right in front of her. “Why’d only one of you come to thchool this morning?” With a sigh, Apple Bloom shook her head and moved on, not even bothering to answer. The Scootaloo sitting in her desk leaned over to the Apple Bloom next to her. “Hey, do you think we’ll get our cutie marks faster now that there’s two of us? What happens if one of them gets theirs first, though?” “Well, I bet we could get our cutie mark doin’ the same thing they did, if that happened.” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Was that really what they sounded like? The real Apple Bloom stopped in the middle of the row. “It’s no good, girls. I can’t tell if any of ‘em are actin’ different from the rest.” “Yeah,” Sweetie Belle said. “Maybe they aren’t here.” Scootaloo looked around the classroom. There seemed to be perfect attendance, plus three extra. “You could be right. Let’s get out of here. On to plan B.” They had gone back into town, keeping an eye out for Applejack, but they hadn’t run into her again. “Everything here is based on memory,” Scootaloo said, pacing back and forth. “And it’s all based on what the pony having this dream knows about. That’s why the dream versions of us didn’t know about Apple Bloom going to Manehattan. You’ve only told us and Applejack about that.” “I think I get what you’re sayin’,” Apple Bloom said. “That really doesn’t narrow it down much, does it?” Sweetie Belle watched a few ponies walking into the door of Quills and Sofas. “Everything’s exactly where it’s supposed to be. I don’t even think I know Ponyville that well. That would be like… drawing a whole map, just out of your head.” “Come to think of it, we haven’t seen anythin’ that doesn’t fit, have we?” Apple Bloom said. “No, we haven’t,” Scootaloo said. “Everything’s fine.” She remembered that first trip to the Crystal Empire—or, at least, Sweetie Belle’s version of it. Everything had seemed fine there, too, until she had said the wrong thing. For all she knew, this Ponyville might be one misplaced comment away from erupting into total chaos. But what was it? “How far do you think we could make it out of town?” Apple Bloom said suddenly. “Like, if we just took off down the road and left. What’d happen?” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “I really don’t think we should do that.” “She’s got a point. Just how far does this place go?” Scootaloo said. “We can’t just leave town,” Sweetie Belle said. “I still think that the pony dreaming this whole thing must be somepony who lives here.” “Maybe we need a better view…” Scootaloo muttered. Her pacing had worn a rut into the dirt road, but then she stopped in her tracks. “You guys wait here. I’m going to do a flyover.” “Huh?” Apple Bloom stared at her. “Maybe I can get a better look at everything if I’m up higher. It’s worth a shot, right?” “Good idea. We’ll meet you back here,” Sweetie Belle said. “Now hold on,” Apple Bloom said. “What are you talkin’ about?” Scootaloo flapped her wings a few times to warm up, then shot up into the air, leaving Apple Bloom staring up in utter shock below her. Takeoffs were getting easier. At least, in the dreams they were. She flew up higher until she was far above the thatched roofs of the village, nearly higher than even the peak of the town hall. She zoomed from one end of the town to the other through the open air. The clouds drifted lazily around her, and she surveyed the sights. There didn’t seem to be an end to the dream world. It stretched off in all directions. She could see Canterlot Castle in the distance, and opposite that was the Everfree Forest. The view was breathtaking, real or not. Scootaloo briefly considered just flying off in one direction, seeing how far she could go. Just to try. “Whoa, kid? What are you doing all the way up here?” She looked back to see Rainbow Dash flying up behind her. “Oh, uh… Hey…” Rainbow’s mouth hung open in surprise. “I guess all our practice paid off, huh? You’re a natural at this! You should’ve told me when you got the hang of it.” “Um…” Scootaloo slowed down to hover in midair. She bit her lip. This Rainbow Dash wasn’t real... was she? “I was just looking around for you so you could watch this new trick I’ve been working on, but this is even better! Think you’re ready to try out some moves yourself?” Rainbow gave a devious grin. “I was actually just trying to…” Scootaloo wasn’t even sure if she should try explaining herself. Rainbow was probably just like Cheerilee, or the other Crusaders, or any of the ponies in this place. Just part of somepony else’s imagination. She turned again and stared down at Ponyville, far below them. Up here, she knew that she was dreaming. And this view was part of the dream too, wasn’t it? Only a pegasus would have seen the town from this angle. Rainbow Dash was always flying circles around the sky, every single day… “Trying to do what?” Rainbow asked, frowning. Just supposing that this was Rainbow’s dream, she couldn’t just ask her straight out. That never worked. There had to be some other way to find out if this was really Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo looked down at a patch of green and yellow leaves covering a distant hillside. She pointed it out. “That’s Winsome Falls, isn’t it?” Rainbow followed where her hoof was directed. “Over there? It sure is!” “That’s where we had the camping trip. I was just thinking about what you said when you agreed to be my sister,” Scootaloo said. “I do have a way with words sometimes, don’t I?” “Yeah. I bet if it wasn’t for you, I’d still be having nightmares,” Scootaloo said. “But you told me about how you’ve never been afraid of anything. And so I’m not afraid, either.” “Sure did!” Rainbow Dash gave Scootaloo a light punch on the shoulder. “Who’s afraid of some old scary stories, anyway? I know I’m not.” “And you never have been.” Scootaloo frowned. “Of course not!” Rainbow said. “So, is that it, or is there more? Are you ready to get working on those tricks, or what?” Scootaloo looked into Rainbow Dash’s eyes. It looked just like her. And yet… She remembered what had really happened that night. Something that Rainbow had really never told anypony else about. Nopony but Scootaloo, at least. “You’re not Rainbow Dash.” “Huh? Kid, what are you—“ Scootaloo dove downward, past the cloud layer, spiraling towards the ground and swooping up as she neared the rooftops. She scanned the streets, then spotted her friends waiting below. She swooped down and came in for a landing. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom turned around and stared at her. She folded her wings at her sides. “Wait, you are the right ones, aren’t you?” “It’s the real us,” Sweetie Belle said. “What took you so long, anyway?” “Nothing,” Scootaloo said, with a shrug. “Just wanted to take a good look, that’s all.” “We got tired of waitin’, so we took another look around,” Apple Bloom said. “And, uh… You’d better come look at what we found.” Scootaloo followed them out to Sweet Apple Acres. They started down a path through the orchard, and she instantly recognized where they were going. They’d taken this path hundreds of times before. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were silent most of the way there. The clubhouse came into view, perched in the same old tree as always. Scootaloo stared up at it. Then she realized what was the matter. “Wait, if this is here…” “Not many ponies have actually come to the clubhouse,” Apple Bloom said. “But just look at it. I’d recognize it anywhere.” It was all recreated in perfect detail—the gnarled branches of the old tree, the shutters hanging off at crooked angles. For what must have been the twentieth time, Scootaloo had to remind herself that she was asleep. “Did you…” Scootaloo hesitated. “Did you try going inside?” Apple Bloom nodded. She led the way up the steps to the door. Sweetie Belle hung back, not going any closer. The clubhouse looked exactly as Scootaloo had expected. All the familiarity was actually starting to get a little creepy, to be honest. The furniture had been pushed around, but Scootaloo couldn’t exactly recall just how they had left it last time. The same posters were nailed to the walls. As she slowly moved forward, she stepped on a loose board, and it let out a groan. She took a step back instinctively. “Wait a sec…” Apple Bloom said. She trotted over and knelt down next to it, inspecting the board carefully. “I was gonna get around to fixin’ this. It’s only been like that for a couple of weeks, at most.” “You mean the real one has.” “Maybe I’m not rememberin’ the right one. Maybe it was over a little bit. It can’t be the exact same board as the real clubhouse, is it?” Scootaloo didn’t want to answer that. “Let’s head outside. I don’t think we’ll find anything else in there.” Sweetie Belle was waiting at the edge of the clearing, leaning against a tree. She watched them as they left the clubhouse. “But it’s not really a secret clubhouse, right?” she said. “I’m sure tons of ponies know that it’s here.” “Probably, but how many of them have been inside?” Apple Bloom said. “Well, uh…” Scootaloo groaned. “We’ve been here for hours and it’s just getting more confusing. What are we missing here?” “I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle said. “And… I’m starting to get a little scared. Maybe this is a nightmare.” “I’ve been wonderin’ about somethin’,” Apple Bloom said. “If this is a dream, then we should wake up sometime, right?” It had been a long time. The sun was low enough that Scootaloo would estimate it was mid-afternoon in the dream world. It seemed to be growing brighter. “I’d say it should be any min—” Scootaloo blinked a few times in the early morning light. She pulled herself up, and swept the blanket aside as she got out of bed. Her scooter was waiting outside the front door, as it always was. Just like any other day, her wings buzzed as she sped down the street to school, but this time she felt oddly detached from everything. Ponyville now looked the same as it had for the past few hours, as she’d explored it with her friends. The possibility that she might end up at school again, talking to versions of her friends who weren’t really her friends, was digging at the back of her mind. The moment she arrived in front of the school, she searched for them, but they hadn’t gotten there yet. She set her scooter down and waited under the flagpole, fidgeting. A few minutes passed, several students ran up and headed inside, and then Apple Bloom finally showed up. “Hey!” Scootaloo ran over to her. “So, uh, I guess we’re out of the dream now. This is the real Ponyville. I’m pretty sure.” Apple Bloom stared at her blankly, and for a moment Scootaloo got a sickening feeling of déjà vu in the pit of her stomach. Then, Apple Bloom let out a sigh. “So you and Sweetie Belle really do this all the time? I don’t know how you manage.” “It’s not usually like that,” Scootaloo said. “But now that we’re awake, we can probably find out who was having the dream.” “So it’s like Luna was sayin’, then? That time that Sweetie Belle was sick, and then when I was…” “Yeah. This is what’s really going on,” Scootaloo said. “Luna said that we’re the only ponies who know about this. Whatever it is, we’re the ones she chose to stop it.” Apple Bloom nodded quietly, and watched their classmates heading up the path to the school. “Hey, girls,” Sweetie Belle said. She approached them slowly, her ears drooping. “Are we…” “We’re awake. At least, I’m pretty sure we are,” Scootaloo said. Sweetie Belle laughed nervously. “I was just checking. Let’s get inside.” The three of them filed into the classroom and took their seats. Scootaloo leaned against the desk, staring out the window at the familiar view of Ponyville. The same view she ended up watching for several hours every day. If she closed her eyes, she’d probably be able to remember every detail. Cheerilee read off attendance. As she said each name, Scootaloo was glancing around the classroom. It didn’t look like anypony was missing. Maybe she was just forgetting somepony... “The day’s off to a great start!” Cheerilee said. “Everypony is present and accounted for. Now, let’s move on to the first lesson.” Scootaloo couldn’t tell if that was good news or not.