Luna's moon shone brightly in the sky as the ponies marched drowsily along the stoney path with Rainbow Dash standing strong at the front of the pack. She was determined to catch up to her prey as soon as possible. Scootaloo trailed in the back, watching her idol with concern as well as a touch of guilt. She could feel her scorn over disobeying her direct orders.
"Twilight." the young filly whispered. "Can I tell you something?"
"What is it, Scootaloo?" Twilight responded.
"Well, I know what happened was kinda my fault, but I'm a little scared. I've never seen Rainbow Dash so mad before."
"I'm sure she didn't mean it." the violet alicorn said trying to comfort her, though she didn't entirely believe it herself.
"I don't know." Spike commented. "She looked pretty angry to me."
Twilight shot him a glare, indicating that he wasn't helping. "Sorry." he said sheepishly. Twilight turned her attention back to Scootaloo.
"I'm sure she's just a little stressed out about this whole mission. Don't worry. She still cares about you and she always will."
"Yeah. You're right." she said reassured before letting out a yawn. "Thanks, Twilight."
Pinkie Pie let out a great big yawn of her own. "Oh boy! When did it get so late? I'm getting super sleepy." she exclaimed in a fashion that didn't quite match her statement.
"We should really stop somewhere and get some shut-eye." the country pony agreed.
"Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "We can't stop while Zoom Blade is still out there somewhere. We gotta keep moving."
"Rainbow Dash, we've been walking all afternoon." Twilight retorted. "We're all exhausted."
"And I need my beauty sleep." Rarity complained. "I can feel the bags forming under my eyes."
Rainbow Dash gave a sigh and submitted. She really didn't want to waste any time, but her friends weren't giving her much of a choice. "Alright." She looked around until she spotted a nice big cave for them to sleep in. "There. We'll sleep in that cave for tonight. But we have to leave first thing in the morning."
The others all followed their bossy friend into the cave, where they each designated their own sleeping area. Rarity unpacked gigantic fancy tent, which just barely kept from touching the ceiling. Applejack was a little annoyed, but Pinkie marveled at it.
"Whoa! Is that a tent or a portable castle? Either way it's super cool and super pretty." she exclaimed.
"Thank you, Pinkie. It's got all the finest comforts." the white unicorn stated.
Spike snuggled into a sleeping bag with Twilight while Scootaloo went to lie down next to Rainbow Dash. "Hey Rainbow Dash." she greeted. "Mind if I share a spot here?"
"Sorry kid, but it's been a long and difficult day and I just need my space."
"Oh. Okay." Rainbow Dash was obviously still upset about the saddlebag incident, so Scootaloo decided to just pull up a rock and lay her head down on it all alone.
However, since she was facing away from the wall and she was so distracted, she didn't notice the big black rat with yellow slit eyes and a long scaly tail that crawled out of the hole where that rock had been. It snuck up right behind her, baring its four sharp fangs and got ready to bite her right on the neck.
"Look out!" Fluttershy shouted, pulling the young filly out of the way just in time. The rat ended up biting the ground, where its fangs got stuck.
"What is it, Fluttershy?" Scootaloo asked as the large rodent yanked its teeth out of the ground.
"It's a viper rat. The only rodent with a venomous bite." the yellow pegasus said in a panic. "You must've disturbed its nest."
"Its nest?" Applejack asked worriedly. Just then, dozens and dozens of rats started crawling out of the hole and filling up the entire cave.
"Viper rats can have colonies of up to a hundred." Fluttershy informed them. "And they're especially known for their aggression." Pretty soon, the ponies were entirely surrounded by a swarm of angry viper rats.
"What do we do now?" Pinkie asked.
"Run for your liiiiives!" Rarity screamed as she bolted for the exit, jumping over the rats all the way there. The others followed soon after with Twilight flying Spike out on her back. Scootaloo, having been left behind, called to Rainbow Dash for help, who quickly turned around, snatched her up and flew her safely out of the cave.
Just when they all thought they were safe, the rats all piled out of the cave themselves and encircled the group of ponies, making them trapped yet again.
"Now what?" questioned Applejack. Rainbow Dash thought for a moment, then she spotted a large boulder sitting on a ledge on the side of the mountain. She got an idea that, with proper timing and precision, might just work. Just then, the rats started to attack and everypony started fighting them off as best they could.
"Guys. I've got an idea." Rainbow Dash announced. "You guys try to corral all these rats back into the cave and then, Applejack, you and I will push that boulder up there down and we'll trap them inside their own cave. Got it?"
"Got it!" They all exclaimed in unison.
"Good. Now come on, AJ."
"Right behind ya." The country pony kicked a rat away and followed RD up to the ledge where the boulder was perched. The two strongest ponies of the group got ready to push as the others down below did everything they could to force the rats back into the cave with little progress.
"This isn't working." Twilight shouted. "We need to try something else!"
"Wait! I know!" Pinkie reached into her bag and pulled out creamy, delicious-looking cupcake. Almost instantly, the rats all stopped what they were doing and stared at the tempting pastry. Pinkie threw it into the cave with great finesse, causing every single rat to charge in after it.
Once they were all inside, the silly pink pony signaled Dash and AJ. "Now!" Dash queued as she and the strong cowpony pushed the boulder with all their might, sending it tumbling down until it finally landed in front of the cave, sealing off the entrance and trapping the viper rats inside. The ponies all cheered in victory.
"How did you know that would work?" Spike asked Pinkie.
"There's not a pony or beast alive that can resist one of Mrs. Cake's delicious homemade cupcakes." Pinkie answered matter-of-factly.
"Well that's great and all," Applejack stated. "'cept now we gotta find a new place to sleep."
"Yeah." Rainbow said accusingly, looking at Scootaloo out of the corner of her eye. "There's that." This only made Scootaloo feel worse as she hung her head in guilt and everypony walked on to find a new sleeping ground.
----
It was several minutes before the tired gang finally found a nice clear, smooth spot to lie down and get some rest.
"Can't... take... another... step." Rarity gasped. "Must... stop!" She collapsed right on the ground from exhaustion. All the others walked over to their own soft spots and just lied down, too tired to unpack. Spike flopped down face first on the ground and fell right to sleep, snoring loudly.
Rainbow Dash lied down and closed her eyes as Scootaloo walked up to her carefully, hoping to apologize.
"Rainbow Dash. I... I'm really sorry about..."
"Don't." the tired pegasus raised a hoof and interrupted her. "Just... let me get some sleep." She stuck a pair of earplugs in her ears. Scootaloo was deeply hurt as she walked away and turned a corner, lying down in a spot away from the others. Tears began to form in her purple eyes as she feared she had totally lost the respect of her hero after working so hard to acquire it.
"Wow. That was harsh." Scootaloo heard a voice that seemed to come from nowhere, until she looked up and saw none other than Zoom Blade herself coming in for a landing.
"What?" she questioned nervously.
"The way she just shunned you like that." Zoom Blade responded.
The young pegasus was surprised and a little afraid. She crawled up against the wall defensively. "You stay away from me!" she demanded, trying to be tough.
"Relax, kid." Zoom Blade said calmly. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna talk."
"Go away!" Scootaloo snapped. "I'm not talking to you."
"Fine. Don't talk. Just listen to me." The spiky-haired mare kept her distance, trying to respect the kid's wishes.
"What do you want?" Scootaloo asked reluctantly.
"I just wanted to say that I think it's really unfair the way Rainbow Dash has been treating you lately. So you made a mistake. Big whoop. Who hasn't, right?"
"What do you care?!" Scootaloo shouted before covering her mouth. She peaked around the corner to make sure she hadn't woken anyone up. Fortunately everyone was still fast asleep, so she turned her attention back to Zoom Blade.
"I care because I like you, kid." Zoom Blade continued. "You've got spunk, but it looks like Rainbow Dash just can't see that anymore."
"That's not true." the filly exclaimed in defense. "She can see it and she does still care about me."
"Oh please. She never even wanted you to come along on this mission. You're just a burden to her. All she cares about now is getting to be a Wonderbolt."
Scootaloo thought for a moment, looking back at RD who was still sleeping like a foal. She didn't want to admit it, but maybe Zoom Blade was right. "What's your point?" she asked.
"My point is that I think you should come train with me." Zoom Blade flew up into the sky and did a few impressive aerial flips. "Let me take you under my wing and I'll show things Rainbow Dash would never dream of teaching you."
"What?" Scootaloo could hardly believe her ears. "But I..."
"Look." Zoom Blade cut her off in mid-sentence. "Honestly, Rainbow Dash would never have gotten you very far anyway and quite frankly, she probably wouldn't even wanna teach you anymore. But train with me and in a few years, you'll be able to fly all the way to the stars."
The two of them glanced up at the stars twinkling brightly in the night sky. The filly pondered the adult flier's offer for a moment. Was what she was saying true? Did Rainbow Dash really just not care anymore? Could she really forsake her own hero for somepony who was potentially even more skilled and could teach her so much more?
"I don't know." she said unsurely.
"You'll get an official Wingstrikers uniform." Zoom Blade offered in a sing-song tone. She pulled out a small Wingstrikers uniform that was just the right size for a young filly. With one final glance back at the sleeping Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo's mind was made up.
"Deal."
She extended her hoof out to seal the bargain, which Zoom Blade immediately shook. "You won't regret it." she remarked with a sinister look in her eyes. The deal had been made and there was no turning back now.