“N-no way… You can’t be here.”
Scootaloo stared at Rainbow Dash. Her wings were folded at her sides, and they didn’t seem to be injured. She looked absolutely fine. Like that battle last night hadn’t even happened. At the very least, she definitely shouldn’t be awake after that.
Rainbow tilted her head, frowning. “I know I’m not the first pony you’d expect to see in a library, but I do come here every now and again,” she said. “Besides, I’m mostly here to see what Twilight’s up to.”
She glanced over her shoulder, but Twilight was absorbed in her reading again and didn’t seem to notice her.
“I just… didn’t think…” Scootaloo could hardly get the words out.
Sweetie Belle scratched her head. “We kind of assumed…”
“Are you, um… feeling okay?” Scootaloo said.
Rainbow blinked. “I guess so. Why?”
It didn’t make any sense. All Scootaloo could think was that maybe, somehow, that hadn’t really been Rainbow Dash last night. It could just be another illusion, like everypony in Pinkie Pie’s dream.
But that couldn’t be it. There hadn’t been anypony else around who could’ve been having the dream, and they’d explored the jungle for two whole nights.
Scootaloo scratched her head. “Well, you know with all the stuff going on around town, and I didn’t see you at all yesterday…”
“I was in Cloudsdale,” Rainbow said. “We’re getting ready to set up winter, remember? There’s a lot to get done before then.”
“I guess so…”
Rainbow nodded towards the open book behind them. “So how are you liking it so far? What part are you at?”
“Oh… um… That’s right, the book,” Scootaloo said. “We sort of just started.”
“The Griffon’s Goblet is a good one,” Rainbow Dash said. “But they’re pretty much all good ones.”
“Hey there, Rainbow Dash!” Spike came over to join them, seeming a little bit eager to talk to somepony. “If you came to see Twilight, she’s busy right now. She’s still working on her research. No progress yet, though.”
“Twilight’s still trying to figure out what this whole sleeping thing that’s going around is, huh?” Rainbow Dash said, trotting over to the desk. She tried to take a peek at the book. Twilight still didn’t notice her.
“You’re sure you’ve been okay?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Not even a little tired, or anything? You got up on time yesterday?”
“Listen, you kids are getting worked up over nothing,” Rainbow said, turning back to them. “I know it seems like this thing is affecting everypony, but just because you don’t see me for a while doesn’t mean I’ve got it too.”
“Yeah.” Scootaloo gave a shrill, nervous laugh. “Guess we were jumping to conclusions, huh?”
Rainbow looked back at Twilight, waiting for her to notice them. “So what’re you doing, Twilight?”
“Huh?” Twilight picked her head up, and looked around in surprise. “Oh, it’s just you. I think Scootaloo was looking for you.”
“Yeah, I noticed her already.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “You’re totally out of it, Twilight.”
“They were just in here looking for the Daring Do series. You still have the first one, don’t you?” Twilight asked. “If you’re finished, I think they’d really like to read it.”
“Oh, right… About that…” Rainbow scratched her mane. “I kind of lent it to Fluttershy a few days ago. I have no idea if she’s finished yet.”
Scootaloo blinked. “You gave it to Fluttershy?” she blurted out, unable to keep the shock out of her voice.
“She said most of her animals were already starting to hibernate, and she didn’t have much to do, so I thought she should try it out. It would be something to pass the time.” Rainbow gave a shrug. “Besides, I’ve been trying to get somepony else hooked on the series for forever.”
“Did she, y’know… read it?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“She’s probably at least started. It was a few days ago,” Rainbow said.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a look.
“Well, we should probably get going now.” Scootaloo started to edge towards the door.
“Yeah, see you later, Rainbow Dash!” Sweetie Belle said. She nudged Scootaloo towards the exit, and they ran outside, closing the door with a slam behind them.
The moment they were out of the library, Scootaloo couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “So it was Fluttershy’s dream all along?”
“Are you sure?” Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “Why haven’t we seen her? We’ve been all over that dream for days. Rainbow Dash was the only pony in there.”
“But she was never afraid of anything. You were right. There was something wrong with her, because it never was her to begin with,” Scootaloo said. She sighed. “I should’ve been able to tell…”
They started walking away from the library. Sweetie Belle looked around at the other ponies on the street. “We haven’t seen Fluttershy in a few days, but I thought she was just at home. She doesn’t spend that much time in town. She could always just be taking care of her animals, like Rainbow Dash said.”
“This is the only lead we’ve got right now,” Scootaloo said. “If it’s not Rainbow Dash, it must be somepony.” She sighed. “I’ll ask Luna about it tonight. All we can do until then is wait.”
The day had seemed to drag on forever, but finally the sun had gone down and Scootaloo was trying her hardest to get to sleep. She buried herself in the covers, trying to keep the chilliness out, and squeezed her eyes shut. Finally she felt herself being transported, her surroundings changing…
The moment that Scootaloo appeared in the dream, Apple Bloom ran right up to her.
“Finally! I saw what happened to you and Rainbow Dash last night, but it was too late. And, I mean, you know better than anypony what happens when you get hurt in one of these dreams, so I was worried that—“
Scootaloo cut her off. “It wasn’t her.”
“Wait, what?” Apple Bloom cocked her head.
“This isn’t Rainbow Dash’s dream. She’s completely fine,” Scootaloo said. “I, uh… I think it’s Fluttershy’s.”
“No way, I mean… This is the craziest, most dangerous dream we’ve ever been to. That doesn’t seem like Fluttershy’s type at all.”
“But we just saw Rainbow Dash today. She said she let Fluttershy borrow the Daring Do book. She must’ve read it and now it’s giving her nightmares,” Scootaloo said. “It makes sense.”
“Not sure if I’d agree with you there…” Apple Bloom muttered.
“I have warned you that the world of dreams can be deceiving.” Scootaloo was surprised when Luna spoke up. She had been standing back, listening to them.
“Did you know about this?” Scootaloo looked up at the princess.
“I am afraid not,” Luna said. “The dreams are becoming ever more difficult to read. From your report, I was as certain as you were that Rainbow Dash had fallen victim this time. I certainly thought that you as her sister would recognize her dream.”
Scootaloo said nothing.
“But that still doesn’t explain where Fluttershy is,” Apple Bloom said.
“Lately these dreams have become even more of a reality for those trapped within. Their imaginations create an entire world that the dreamers themselves are not conscious of,” Luna said. “Fluttershy may have hidden herself away, while the illusions continue all around her.”
“I can definitely see Fluttershy doing that…” Scootaloo said.
“If Rainbow Dash truly is awake, as you say, then all I can tell you is this: somepony, whether or not it truly is Fluttershy, has been trapped alone inside this nightmare for several days now. We do not have any time to waste.”
“Right.” Scootaloo gave a nod.
Apple Bloom turned around, looking all over the clearing. “Where’s Sweetie Belle? Shouldn’t she be asleep by now?”
“Probably.”
“There may not be enough time,” Luna said. “I will send her after you if there is time, but you must—“
“I’m here!” Sweetie Belle had shimmered in a few feet away, and ran up to join the others. “What happened? What are we doing?”
“We’re going in there after Fluttershy,” Scootaloo said.
Sweetie Belle wrinkled her nose. “Really? We’re still going with that?”
“It’s all we’ve got.”
Luna’s horn began to shine.
Scootaloo felt the sweltering heat of the jungle settle over them once again. The chattering of animals and buzzing of insects surrounded them.
“You girls really think Fluttershy’s somewhere around here?” Apple Bloom glanced around. “We just spent so long followin’ Rainbow Dash around. Why would she even be here if Fluttershy’s the one dreamin’?”
“I don’t know.” Scootaloo shrugged. “Rainbow Dash gave her the book.”
“And pretty much everywhere in this dream is totally dangerous. You’d think Fluttershy’s dreams would be more, I dunno…” Apple Bloom searched for the word. “Cutesy.”
“I guess so,” Scootaloo said. “I’d expect her to avoid a dangerous place like this at all costs. Any ideas, Sweetie Belle?”
She glanced over and saw that Sweetie Belle was distracted by one of the giant butterflies flittering past, just like the ones they’d seen the first night here. She blinked. “It almost makes sense, doesn’t it? This dream’s been full of all kinds of animals.”
“Maybe that’s got something to do with where she is?” Scootaloo said.
“Yeah! Maybe she’s hiding somewhere out of the way, watchin’ all of these animals,” Apple Bloom said. “She’s probably avoidin’ all the dangerous stuff like she usually does.”
“Makes sense to me,” Scootaloo said. She looked around the clearing. “She could still be just about anywhere, though…”
“Well, maybe instead of going to all of those old ruins like we did before, let’s try getting as far away as possible,” Sweetie Belle said.
Scootaloo led the way through the overgrown vines and mossy trees. Once again, she had no idea where they were going. And the past two nights trying to follow Rainbow Dash around hadn’t accomplished anything at all. They really couldn’t afford to waste time.
“Fluttershy?” Sweetie Belle called out. “We’re here to help you!”
“Yeah, come on out, Fluttershy!” Apple Bloom shouted. “It’s just us!”
The buzzing of insects was as loud as ever, but there was no response. This jungle was just too big to find a single pony. And chances were Fluttershy didn’t want anypony to find her.
There was light shining through the trees up ahead. The trees were thinning out, and Scootaloo realized that she recognized this place. At least, she was pretty sure she did.
She leapt over an exposed root, her wings fluttering slightly, and stepped out of the thicket into the sunlight.
The view from here was familiar. This was the same cliff they had arrived at last night, and probably about the same spot, too. The view of the landscape seemed the same. The ridge of hills in the distance, a river cutting through the forest, the tents that had been pitched in the clearing…
“The base camp,” Scootaloo muttered. “Of course!”
“You think Fluttershy might be down there?” Apple Bloom said.
“Maybe.”
Scootaloo stared down at the camp. They had tried to find a way down before, and they’d searched a long time with no success… At least until Rainbow Dash led them in the opposite direction.
“You need to let me fly down there,” Scootaloo said.
Apple Bloom stared at her in shock. “What? No, I already told you. There’s no way we’re splitin’ up again. Not when it’s this dangerous.”
“We don’t have that much time to look for another way down. We’ve been here two nights already, and we’ve gotten nowhere. Just wait here and I’ll be back before you know it.”
“What if somethin’ tries to attack us again while we’re waitin’? We’ll all get lost again.”
“Just lay low and maybe you won’t attract any attention,” Scootaloo said. “If something does happen, then… I don’t know, I could do a quick flyover and try to find you again.”
“Scootaloo, you’ve really helped us out before, but… Well, you’ve just been showin’ off so much lately, and it ain’t been workin’ out too well. You’re startin’ to get reckless.” Apple Bloom turned around. “You’ve noticed it too, haven’t you, Sweetie Belle?”
Sweetie Belle stared at her, completely speechless for a moment. She hadn’t expected to get dragged into the argument. She tilted her head and thought a moment. “Um… Maybe she should go.”
“Wait, you serious?”
“She’s right. There might not be another way down,” Sweetie Belle said. “If Fluttershy’s down there, then she can fly back up with her. If not, we won’t lose that much time.”
None of them said anything for a moment. Scootaloo looked down at the campsite.
“I know I’ve been getting careless lately. It’s just that I thought Rainbow Dash was really here. That she’d get to see me doing all this cool stuff. Even if she probably wouldn’t remember it once she woke up...” Scootaloo let out a sigh. “I’m not doing this for me, though. Right now, we need to find Fluttershy and get her out of here.”
“You’d better come right back in case you don’t find anythin’,” Apple Bloom said. “Three minutes, tops.”
“Got it. I’ll be back in two,” Scootaloo said.
She took a running start and leapt over the edge of the cliff, letting the wind pick up under her wings. She glided down towards the base camp, flying between the trees as she descended into the jungle, and landed in the center of the canvas tents.
It was fairly quiet down here. A breeze blew through, rattling the branches overhead and rustling the sides of the tents.
There was a fire pit in the center of the clearing, but the ashes had gone cold. There was no telling how long it had been since it had been used.
“Hello? Anypony here?” Scootaloo called out.
She waited a moment, listening for a response. She thought she heard a tiny, almost inaudible noise somewhere, but she couldn’t be sure.
There were a few tents set up in a loose ring in the clearing. Scootaloo trotted up to one and pushed the flap aside, surveying the contents. A sleeping bag was in the corner, and a few crates had been set up in the corner as a makeshift desk. Some dusty books were piled up on top, and a lantern sat beside them. It looked like they hadn’t been touched in a while.
She shook her head, and stepped back outside. She tried again. “Uh… Fluttershy?”
Slowly, the flaps of another tent opened and Fluttershy poked her head out. “Scootaloo? But… What are you doing out here? We’re so far away from anything…”
Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you. You have to come with me.”
Fluttershy nearly retreated back into the tent. “No, that’s not necessary. I don’t think I should leave the camp. At least not until Rainbow Dash comes back.”
“You came here with Rainbow Dash?”
“You, um… haven’t seen her lately, have you? It’s been such a long time since she left.” Fluttershy stepped out into the light, though she still kept her wings held tight to her sides and her head bent down.
Scootaloo scratched her head. The others were probably wondering what she was doing right now. What happened to the camp—or to the dream version of Rainbow Dash—didn’t really matter.
“Look, you just need to come with me,” Scootaloo said. “We’re not going too far, just up there.” She pointed towards the top of the cliff.
Fluttershy shook her head. “Rainbow Dash wanted me to stay here and keep an eye on our supplies. Even though I’m not sure what to do if anypony tries to take them... But I still shouldn’t be going anywhere,” she said. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay, too? How did you get out here, anyways?”
“Look, Fluttershy, I don’t know how to say this…” Scootaloo sighed. After all this time, she knew better than to tell her it was all a dream. There wasn’t even time to come up with a good lie. “Why are you out here, anyway? I thought that Daring—I mean, Rainbow Dash worked alone.”
Fluttershy looked down. “I’m, um, not here to help with her exploration or anything. I just thought I could help with some of the wild animals out here, so I, um… decided to come along.” She backed away. “You should be careful out here. You’re still welcome to stay here until Rainbow Dash gets back, though.”
It was no use. Scootaloo had been here too long already. The others were probably waiting for her.
“Actually… I was with Rainbow Dash. She ran into some trouble back there.” Scootaloo glanced over her shoulder at the cliff. It was too far away to see the others. “You need to come with me. I’ll show you where she is.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “N-no… I wouldn’t be able to…”
Scootaloo let out a groan. She wasn’t quite sure what Fluttershy would be able to do to help, either. But then again, this whole place was her dream. “You’re afraid of something happening to her, aren’t you?”
“I’m sorry. But there’s nothing Rainbow Dash could need from me,” Fluttershy said quietly. “That’s the way it’s always been.”
“You’ve looked up to Rainbow Dash even longer than I have,” Scootaloo said. “She was your big sister first.”
“Well, um…” Fluttershy looked down. “Back in flight school, I didn’t really have many friends… I was the worst flier in the whole class. But Rainbow Dash still stuck up for me, even though she was the best. I… don’t really know why she did that.”
After all of those failed flying lessons, Scootaloo had often asked herself the same thing. She was still the only pegasus in her class who couldn’t fly, but she was the one Rainbow Dash hung out with…
Just like how Luna had chosen her to come here. Somehow, they saw something in Scootaloo.
“Rainbow Dash really does need you,” Scootaloo said. “She needs both of us.” She took another nervous look back at the top of the cliff. “Come on. Let’s get going.”
“You, um, said... it’s up there?” Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide as she stared up at it.
“Well, that’s part of the way. It’s a bit past that.”
Fluttershy made a tiny squeak and made a dash back towards the tent, but Scootaloo shot forward to block her path. She tried to push Fluttershy back, but she was surprisingly strong. “You need to do this! Think about Rainbow Dash!”
“But… I…” Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut, then let out a sigh. She gave a resigned nod. “Wh-where was she, then?”
Scootaloo took off into the air, weaving her way back up through the tangled branches of the trees until she broke through the forest ceiling. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Fluttershy was still behind her, and saw the other pegasus dragging herself up, her wings flapping slowly.
The mid-day sun was directly above them, the heat bearing down on them as they rose above the treetops. It was ideal flying weather, in Scootaloo’s opinion, but Fluttershy seemed terrified.
They touched down at the top of the plateau, where Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom sat waiting for them.
“You found her?” Sweetie Belle hopped up and dashed over to them. “Great! Now what do we do?”
Fluttershy looked at the two of them. “I still don’t understand. What are you girls doing out here? It’s far too dangerous for any of you…”
“We’re going back out there to find Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said.
“Wait, but just a few minutes ago you said…” Apple Bloom put a hoof to her forehead. “This makes no sense.”
“Just trust me on this one,” Scootaloo said. “Fluttershy’s just really scared that something could have happened to her, you know?”
Sweetie Belle blinked. “Oh, yeah! I get it.”
“Come on. I think Rainbow Dash was over this way.” Scootaloo tried to retrace the path they’d taken last night, but everything looked the same.
“We’re going now? Into that huge, dark, scary forest where just about anything could be hiding out?” Fluttershy said. “You know, maybe we should wait a little while? I think it’s getting late.”
“It’s not—“ Scootaloo noticed the orange glow settling over the trees. The sun was sinking down below the horizon, and the jungle was quickly falling into total blackness. “Dark.”
“Well, that’s sure never happened before,” Apple Bloom said. “Now what’re we s’posed to do?”
“I’ve got this one!” A few green sparks fell from the tip of Sweetie Belle’s horn, and then they were surrounded by a pool of light. Beyond the flickering circle, everything else was just barely visible.
“B-but…” Fluttershy stammered. “That can’t possibly be enough light, not to head into…”
“We don’t have any time to waste. Not if we want to save Rainbow Dash, right?” Scootaloo said, trying to give an encouraging smile. “Everypony just stick close. I should still be able to find the way. I think.”
The light from Sweetie Belle’s horn flickered slightly. She gritted her teeth, and it shone just a little bit brighter. For the most part, though, they were totally blind.
Scootaloo led the way slowly into the jungle, keeping her eyes down so that she didn’t trip over any fallen logs or into any more pits. This had been hard enough before it had suddenly turned into nighttime. She could have sworn it was noon just minutes ago.
Apple Bloom trotted up closer to her. “So we’ve gotta help Rainbow Dash in order to help Fluttershy. That’s it, right?”
Scootaloo nodded. “I think I’ve got it figured out. Fluttershy just feels like she’s holding Rainbow back. If she helps us do this, then she’ll wake up... Probably.”
“And just how is Fluttershy supposed to help us defeat Ahui-what’s-his-name if you and Rainbow couldn’t?”
“I’m… still working on that part.”
The four of them stuck close together, but Scootaloo was leading the way. She tried to make sense of the path. Towards the trees, or towards… other trees.
“Are you sure we should be going this way? Away from the camp?” Fluttershy looked back the way they had come. “It doesn’t seem safe to go any farther without a map…”
“You don’t have a map, do you?” Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow.
“Um, I don’t think so. But we could always go back and check!”
“We don’t have time for that,” Scootaloo said. “Besides, I’m pretty sure this is the right way. I recognize that, um… tree. The one over there.” She pointed one out at random. She had no idea if they’d been this way before, but she couldn’t let Fluttershy turn around. It was hard enough to get her away from camp the first time.
“You’re sure?” Fluttershy said, her voice quivering.
“I’m sure.”
“What are we gonna do? We really don’t have any idea where we’re going,” Sweetie Belle whispered.
“What other choice do we have?” Scootaloo said. “Fluttershy’s got to face her fears. She can’t do that if we let her go back to camp. We’d never get her back away from it.”
Sweetie Belle’s light was still just barely bright enough to surround all of them, but not much farther. There were a few times when Scootaloo thought she might have seen eyes glinting in the shadows around them—Ahuizotl’s minions, watching them, but nothing happened.
Scootaloo shook herself. No reason getting afraid of everything. Not when Fluttershy was already afraid of everything.
“Um… We haven’t really found anything out here…” Fluttershy mumbled.
Scootaloo turned around to look at her. “It’s not much farther. We were out here with Rainbow Dash before, and she told us the temple was this way. I know we’ll run into it any minute.”
“Rainbow Dash said that?” Fluttershy said. She hung her head down, and tucked in her wings. “Well… She does know her way around better than me…”
“We’ll just keep going, and we should be there…”
Scootaloo turned and found herself nearly face-to-face with a crumbling stone wall. She hadn’t moved a single step, and yet there was no way it had been there just a moment ago.
“Wait, did that just…” Sweetie Belle stared at it in disbelief, still straining to keep her horn lit up.
“I think she’s changin’ the dream based on what we tell her,” Apple Bloom whispered. “You told her it would be here, and here it is.”
“That’s just… kind of sudden,” Scootaloo said. She took a deep breath, and composed herself. “But we’re here now. We need to get inside.”
“In there?” Fluttershy shrank back.
“That’s where Ahuizotl is hiding out,” Scootaloo said. “Let’s go!”
She broke into a gallop and dashed ahead, but then paused. Something didn’t feel right. She turned around. Fluttershy hadn’t moved an inch. Her hooves were firmly planted in the ground.
“Fluttershy, are you coming or not?”
“I-I just didn’t think it would be so… big, and so frightening... A-are you sure we have to go in there? By ourselves? Maybe we should call for help.”
“There’s no one else around for hundreds of miles. We have to do this. Rainbow Dash is depending on us,” Scootaloo said. “She’s depending on you.”
“Uh, yeah,” Apple Bloom said. She scratched her head. “We were here earlier, but we weren’t about to go in there without, a, um… grown-up.”
Fluttershy said nothing, but simply let out a feeble whimper and followed behind them, keeping her head down.
Scootaloo led the way through the exterior walls surrounding the fortress. The trees had thinned out, and the shapes of the walls and the pyramid were faintly visible in the moonlight. She stared up at the high walls, overgrown with moss, and she could almost swear they were stretching even taller above them… It was probably just her imagination.
“This is the same place as before, right?” Sweetie Belle said. “I mean, we already know that this jungle just has old ruins all over the place. It kinda looks different.”
“Nah, I’m sure this is it,” Apple Bloom replied. “It’s gotta be.”
Scootaloo barely paid them any attention. She was completely focused, making sure no hidden traps were waiting for them. At the same time, she had to keep an eye on Fluttershy.
Before long, the steps of the pyramid stood before them. The moon was shining over the peak, casting pale light over them. The light from Sweetie Belle’s horn flickered out, and she let out a sigh of relief.
“I… really don’t know if I should be…” Fluttershy’s eyes darted around, trying to find a way out.
“It’s not much farther, Fluttershy,” Scootaloo said. “Rainbow Dash needs you.”
Fluttershy tried to back away, but Sweetie Belle ran over to stop her. “You can’t turn back now,” she said, pushing Fluttershy towards the stairs.
“N-No… Rainbow Dash is probably fine. M-Maybe you could go up there and, um… check on her?” Fluttershy said. Her hooves were sliding across the ground, pushing the dirt up as she tried in vain to stand her ground.
“Not without you,” Scootaloo said. “You’re her best friend, remember? I’m sure she’s counting on you to be there. She brought you along on this expedition for a reason.”
Fluttershy shook her head vigorously. “I’m fairly certain this wasn’t it…”
Scootaloo put her front hooves on the stairs, and turned back to Fluttershy. “Come on. One step at a time?”
Fluttershy didn’t say anything. She moved slowly to take the first step.
“We’d better hurry up,” Sweetie Belle said, trying to flash a friendly smile. “It’s a pretty long way to the top. Can’t keep Rainbow Dash waiting!”
“It does look like a long way…” Fluttershy bit her lip, and hesitantly began the climb.
Scootaloo stuck close to her side, while Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom brought up the rear. She could tell what they were actually doing was trying to block Fluttershy’s way down if she suddenly panicked and tried to escape.
“I just don’t see how our sisters got her to go along with all those dangerous adventures they’ve gone on,” Apple Bloom said under her breath. “This is ridiculous.”
It didn’t look like Fluttershy heard her. She was fixated on the top of the pyramid, her eyes huge. Each step seemed to take a huge amount of effort for her, but she kept going.
It was hard to see the top, but chances were Ahuizotl was still up there, gloating over his victory. There was no telling what might have happened to Rainbow Dash—or the dream version of her, at least.
Scootaloo was tempted to fly the rest of the way up right now instead of climbing all these stairs, but she couldn’t leave everypony else behind. Besides, there was a good chance Fluttershy wouldn’t follow her.
“Feels… like we’ve… been climbing… forever…” Sweetie Belle panted.
“It can’t be that far,” Scootaloo said. “We’ve only got a few more…” Her voice trailed off as she stared at the top. They were only about halfway there, but they had been climbing these steps for at least five minutes.
“It wasn’t anywhere near this long last night,” Apple Bloom said. “I know that for a fact.”
“Of course…” Scootaloo muttered. “She’s too afraid to reach the top. As long as Fluttershy doesn’t want to get up there, she’s going to put everything she can in our way.”
“She can do that?” Sweetie Belle said, frowning.
“It’s a dream, remember? She probably doesn’t even know she’s doing it.”
Scootaloo glanced back at Fluttershy, still climbing the stairs at a snail’s pace with her head down, looking only at the very next step and not daring to look any farther ahead.
“Fluttershy, we have to hurry,” Scootaloo said.
“I know that. I am hurrying.” Fluttershy didn’t look up and continued moving at the same pace.
“If it was you up there, Rainbow Dash would be there to help you in a heartbeat,” Scootaloo said. “You can do the same for her.”
“That’s her,” Fluttershy said, shaking her head. “I’m not like that…”
Sweetie Belle moved over to Fluttershy’s side. “Hey, remember that time we had the sleepover?” she said. “You went into the Everfree Forest to help us. You saved us from that cockatrice. We didn’t even realize how cool you could be.”
“B-But that was so terrifying, too…”
“Of course, but you were more afraid of something happening to us, weren’t you?” Scootaloo said.
“I… I suppose…”
Fluttershy started to walk again. She turned her head, forcing herself to look towards the peak. Slowly, she started to gain some speed as she climbed. The top of the pyramid was getting closer.
It wasn’t much longer before they were approaching the top of the steps, and the archway into the throne room was before them. The sight of it cause Fluttershy to stop again. Once she saw the three fillies heading in, she let out a resigned sigh and crept along after them.
The throne room looked just as Scootaloo remembered it from last time, except this time it was lit by flickering torchlight in the dark. Rainbow Dash wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but Ahuizotl was seated on his throne, admiring the Sapphire Stone held in his tail. He noticed the four of them enter.
“What’s this? It seems Rainbow Dash’s little friends have come back.” He let out a shrill cackle, and stepped down. “It’s too late. The Stone belongs to me now, and there is nothing you can do about it.”
Fluttershy was frozen to the spot, not even blinking.
Scootaloo noticed her, and nudged her shoulder. “Come on, Fluttershy, we need to do something.”
“It was foolish of you to return here. Rainbow Dash will soon be no more, and I shall rule the world!” Ahuizotl roared, and leapt forward into a sprint, headed directly towards them.
Fluttershy still wouldn’t respond. Apple Bloom nudged her, but she didn’t move. Ahuizotl was still charging towards them, baring his fangs.
There was a flash of light, and Scootaloo suddenly found herself on the other side of the room.
Sweetie Belle was next to her, rubbing her horn. “I wasn’t sure if that would work… You okay, Fluttershy?” She glanced around. “That was supposed to get all of us!”
Scootaloo saw Ahuizotl charging across the room to the point where they had been standing. Apple Bloom and Fluttershy were still there. Ahuizotl briefly slowed down, then let out a growl and continued towards the two ponies still before him.
“Teleporting’s a lot harder than Twilight makes it look…” Sweetie Belle grumbled.
Apple Bloom was trying to figure out where they had gone. She caught sight of Scootaloo, but Ahuizotl was nearly on top of the two of them. She tackled Fluttershy out of the way just before his claw swiped at them.
Scootaloo flapped her wings, and hovered in the air. “Just try to distract him. Don’t worry about me.”
She zoomed across the throne room, diving right in front of Ahuizotl’s face. He took a moment to react to her, momentarily forgetting about Fluttershy and Apple Bloom. He snapped at Scootaloo, but she had already flown just out of his reach.
“You cannot evade me forever!” Ahuizotl shouted.
Behind him, she saw Apple Bloom still shaking Fluttershy, trying to get her to do something. Scootaloo frowned, then focused herself. She dove towards the statue held in Ahuizotl’s tail, but he whipped it out of the way before she could grab it.
As he spun around towards her, Sweetie Belle teleported behind him. “Over here!” she shouted.
He turned back towards her, and Scootaloo tried for the statue again. It was no use. His tail was constantly moving, and if she got too close he’d swat her out of the air.
Scootaloo turned back towards Fluttershy, and flew over to get her attention. She was breathing heavily, and Apple Bloom was still struggling to get her to move, but she seemed slightly more aware of her surroundings.
“Y’know, I could really use your help with her,” Apple Bloom muttered.
“Fluttershy, you need to snap out of it, or else we’re all in danger,” Scootaloo said. “There has to be something you can do.”
“He’s the one Rainbow Dash told me about!” Fluttershy squeaked, pointing a shaking hoof at Ahuizotl. “There’s no way we can possibly beat him. Let’s just get out of here!”
“We’re not doin’ that, Fluttershy. Not until Rainbow Dash is safe,” Apple Bloom said, casting a sideways glance at Scootaloo. She didn’t look entirely confident.
“Uh, right,” Scootaloo said.
“B-But Rainbow Dash isn’t even here! I don’t see her!” Fluttershy said.
“We’ll find Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said. “She has to be around here somewhere. But right now, you’ve got to do something about him!”
“But… What can I do?”
Sweetie Belle appeared again, teleporting right next to them, but she could barely stand. She collapsed to the floor, trying to catch her breath, the glow around her horn flickering out.
“You fools could not escape me forever,” Ahuizotl said in a low voice. He advanced slowly towards them. “Now, prepare to meet your doom!”
As he spoke, dark shapes appeared at the entrances, blocking off any way out of the throne room. As they crept into the light of the torches, Scootaloo could see that they were jaguars, tigers, huge cats of all types, their eyes glowing.
“Well, it was worth a shot,” Apple Bloom said. “Any chance we could just wake up right about now?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “Come on, Fluttershy. You can do this. You’re the only one who can.”
Fluttershy picked herself up, and moved forward. She was staring at the animals creeping towards them, her eyes wide.
Glancing up briefly, Sweetie Belle let out a gasp. “Is she going to…”
Taking a step forward, standing between the fillies and the animals, Fluttershy planted her hooves and stared at the cats directly in the eyes.
Instantly, they froze.
“I can’t believe you,” Fluttershy said through gritted teeth. “Wild creatures like yourselves taking orders from some big meanie like that! What do you all have to say for yourselves?”
One of the jaguars took a sheepish step back, its eyes wide. The others also left their crouched stances.
“What are you idiots doing?” Ahuizotl shouted. “Get them!”
“You all have much better things to be doing than picking on defenseless little fillies, don’t you?” Fluttershy said. “What do you all have to say for yourselves?”
The animals backed away from Fluttershy, and looked to one another. They suddenly seemed like totally harmless kittens.
“Don’t listen to her! Stop them!”
They turned around to face Ahuizotl as he yelled the orders. One of them bared its teeth, and prepared to sprint. Suddenly the entire pack shot forward towards him.
With a yelp, Ahuizotl bolted for the exit. The animals chased him outside, their snarls dying away as they vanished into the night.
Everything had gone quiet.
Apple Bloom stared at them. “Guess you were right,” she said.
Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Fluttershy. I knew you’d come through.”
Fluttershy was breathing heavily, her nostrils flaring. Sweetie Belle got up and walked forward to put a hoof on her shoulder, and she instantly calmed down, looking around as if she had no clue what had happened.
“It’s… over?” Fluttershy said.
“Not quite,” Scootaloo said. “Not until we find Rainbow Dash.”
“Right!” With an energy they hadn’t seen before, Fluttershy headed out of the throne room.
They followed her outside, taking in the view of the jungle from the roof of the pyramid. The walls of the fortress surrounded them, and beyond them was an endless forest disappearing into the darkness of night. Maybe it went on forever.
“I don’t get it,” Apple Bloom said. “Shouldn’t Rainbow Dash be here?”
Fluttershy was silent. Her ears perked up, and suddenly her eyes widened. She pointed towards one of the towers surrounding the fortress. “Did you hear that? Over there!”
She flew towards the only window that was lit up, and now it was Scootaloo trying to keep up with her. They perched on the edge of the wall and looked inside.
A thin rope, slowly stretching and fraying to just a few thin fibers, hung from the ceiling. Rainbow Dash was completely bound, her wings stuck close to her body, hanging from the end of it. Below her, was a thirty-foot drop onto a floor covered in rusted metal spikes. She was busy trying to wriggle her way out of it, but glanced up at them as they flew in.
“Fluttershy? And Scootaloo? What are you guys doing here?”
Fluttershy didn’t need any encouragement this time. She flew over to Rainbow Dash right away and began untying the ropes. Scootaloo followed behind.
“You know, I was just about to break out myself,” Rainbow Dash said. She shifted around, loosening the ropes and getting her wings free. “You didn’t have to come all the way out here. Besides, Ahuizotl’s still—“
“Taken care of,” Scootaloo said. She put her front hooves out along with Fluttershy to keep Rainbow Dash from falling.
“What?” The last of the ropes fell away, and Rainbow lifted herself up with her own wingpower. “You don’t mean that you…”
“Nope.” Scootaloo shook her head. “Fluttershy took care of him. We owe it all to her.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far…” Fluttershy said, hanging her head. She noticed the spike pit below them, and let out a shriek. “But can we get out of here now?”
The three of them flew out the opening in the ceiling. Outside, the sun was starting to rise, casting light over the top of the pyramid. They’d been in the dream for a while now—Scootaloo was willing to bet that it was nearly sunrise in the real world too. She led the way back to the pyramid, and the three pegasi touched down on the roof.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom came running up to them. The Sapphire Stone was floating at Sweetie Belle’s side, surrounded in a pale green aura of magic.
“We’ve got the statue!” Apple Bloom said. “Uh, you still need it, right?”
The statue fell to the floor as Sweetie Belle’s magic flickered out. She stared at it. “I still don’t know why this thing’s so important.”
Rainbow Dash straightened her hat, then reached down to take the statue. “Safe and sound,” she said with a sigh. “If you hadn’t showed up when you did, I don’t know what would’ve happened to it.”
“What? N-no, I didn’t…” Fluttershy stammered. “You should really be thanking Scootaloo and her friends.”
“No, she’s right,” Scootaloo said. “We never could’ve done it without you.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said. “You may not be the toughest pony around, but you always come through when I need you.”
Fluttershy didn’t say anything, but a smile began to spread across her face.
“Well, we’d better take the statue before anything else crazy happens,” Rainbow said. “Up and at ‘em, Fluttershy, we’ve got a lot of flying ahead of us.” She turned to the fillies. “What about you kids? I still don’t know why you’re out here in the first place. Need a lift back?”
“Nah, we’ll be fine,” Scootaloo said.
“Well, guess we’ll be seeing you girls back in Ponyville,” Rainbow said. She flapped her wings and rose up into the air. “Come on, Fluttershy!”
The two of them flew off into the distance, Fluttershy struggling to keep up with Rainbow's speed. Scootaloo watched them for a while until they were too small to be seen.
“Guess that’s it, then,” Apple Bloom said. “I probably won’t be seeing you girls for another few days.”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “Have fun in Manehattan. We’ll be waiting for you.”
“Sure will!”
It might have been the haze from the sun, bringing the overwhelming heat back to the jungle, but Scootaloo thought it looked like the other two fillies were starting to shimmer.
Before long, they had vanished completely.
Scootaloo blinked her eyes, opening them slowly, and shivered at the sudden drop of temperature. She glanced at the window, the panes covered with a thin layer of frost.
Another dream over. It was strange to wake up feeling a little exhausted, but she was relieved at the same time.
She headed downstairs and trotted out the front door, feeling the wind bite at her. A few snowflakes were falling—the first snow of the winter. Maybe she should have bundled up before heading outside.
As she headed through town, she caught sight of Sweetie Belle down the street. They noticed each other at about the same time.
“So… that was it?” Sweetie Belle said.
“Think so,” Scootaloo replied. “We saved Rainbow Dash, so we should have saved Fluttershy too.”
“Then that means we get a few days off!” Sweetie Belle said. “And hopefully the next dream won’t try to kill us so much.”
They continued down the street together, chatting for a while, until they came to the center of town. Sugarcube Corner was still fairly quiet at this time in the morning. They headed inside and went up to the counter. They ordered some hot chocolates and took a seat by the window.
“I didn’t think they’d start the snowfall this early,” Scootaloo said. “Almost makes you miss the jungle, huh?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Sweetie Belle said, taking a sip of her drink. She put a hoof to her forehead and made a face. “I had a headache when I woke up this morning. I’ve heard Rarity say that happens if she strains her magic… Do you think that’s what happened?”
“Could be. You were really doing a lot last night.”
“I think Apple Bloom was right. You kind of were showing off, those other nights, but you were also doing a lot more than either of us were to actually get the work done. I wanted to help out too.”
The bell at the front door rang, and they turned to see Rainbow Dash enter, followed close behind by Fluttershy. It was almost odd, since it hadn’t been long since they had all woken up, and now Fluttershy was here with the real Rainbow Dash already.
“You know Twilight’s been getting all worked up about this, right?” Rainbow was saying. “If I hadn’t come over yesterday, nopony would’ve even known what happened!”
“I feel fine, though,” Fluttershy said quietly. “Maybe I was just tired. I’ve been so busy with the animals lately.”
“Fine? It was three days,” Rainbow said. “Come on, let’s get you something…” She noticed Scootaloo watching her. “Oh, hey, squirt!”
“Hey, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said. “Uh… so what happened to Fluttershy?”
“It’s the weirdest thing. I went to check on her yesterday and I found her asleep. It’s probably that thing Twilight’s been studying… And you two were asking about it yesterday, too.”
“Really?” Sweetie Belle said. “That’s… strange, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Scootaloo nodded. “Strange.”
“I really don’t feel sick, though,” Fluttershy said. “I appreciate your concern, Rainbow Dash, but I’m fine.”
“You’ve been saying that all morning, but I’m still going to keep an eye on you,” Rainbow said. “Anyways, turns out she finished that Daring Do book already, so were you still interested?”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other.
“Uh… yeah, that sounds great!” Scootaloo said, forcing a grin.
“Great! Nothing like a good Daring Do adventure when you’re cooped up inside, huh?”
“You’ve got that right,” Scootaloo said.