“You told Rainbow Dash… everythin’?” Apple Bloom stared at Scootaloo in shock.
They had gone to Scootaloo’s house after school, spending the afternoon hanging out in her room. It was still too cold out to hang out in the clubhouse. On the way there, Scootaloo had filled them in about everything that had happened in Rainbow Dash’s dream.
Or most of it, anyway.
“So Rainbow Dash knows about the nightmares now?” Sweetie Belle said. “Is that okay? I mean, is she allowed to know about that?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “It’s not that big a deal. Besides, I talked to her this morning after we woke up. I don’t think she remembers what actually happened.”
“You don’t think she does…” Apple Bloom muttered.
“And if she does remember, she’ll just think it was some crazy dream. I mean, think about how all of that would sound to her. She’d never believe it,” Scootaloo said, waving a hoof dismissively. “But I think I feel better after talking to her. She seemed really happy to hear about all the stuff I was able to do.”
Scootaloo looked out her window. The sky was a lot clearer today than it had been, even though it was still bitterly cold. Rainbow Dash had gone back to weather duty refreshed and ready to go. Whatever had happened in the dream, there was no doubt that it had ended up being a good thing.
“I’m just surprised that worked,” Apple Bloom said. “Usually if we try to tell ponies they’re dreamin’, they don’t believe us.”
“It just seemed like it was all I could do,” Scootaloo said with a shrug. “It wasn’t easy to get through to her otherwise.”
Sweetie Belle was tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Now, I didn’t quite get what happened the first time you told us… but Rainbow Dash was really just scared because of you?”
“Those flying lessons, uh, haven’t been going so well,” Scootaloo said. “Rainbow Dash was worried she was letting me down. I wanted to show her all the stuff I’ve been able to do to help Princess Luna. Just so she could see I’m not a total failure.” She let out a nervous laugh.
She didn’t want to tell Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle that she might not be able to fly. Ever. That part was still pretty hard to take. The thought that she’d never get to fly with Rainbow Dash, or join the weather team, or go to Cloudsdale, or anything... It was best not to dwell on it too long. There was nothing she could do about it anyway.
“I hope this whole dream thing is over soon, though,” Sweetie Belle said. “That storm was pretty scary. I felt bad leaving you alone in there.”
“It’s fine. I think that was something Rainbow Dash wanted to talk to me alone about,” Scootaloo said. She scratched her head. “But I was thinking... Maybe, after all of this is done and Luna’s figured out how to stop the nightmares… I guess I wouldn’t mind going into some more dreams. She could take me on as her full-time apprentice, or something.”
“You’re on your own,” Sweetie Belle said, rolling her eyes. “I miss getting a quiet night’s sleep.”
“D’you really think Luna would do that?” Apple Bloom said.
Scootaloo shrugged. “Well, maybe.”
“Well, I gotta say that I’m with Sweetie Belle on that one. I think I’m happier stayin’ in the real world for a while,” Apple Bloom said. “Let’s just take it easy for a while, alright?”
They spent the rest of the afternoon at Scootaloo’s house. In a few hours, the sun was already going down, painting the snow-covered rooftops of Ponyville in an orange glow. It was well past the middle of winter, but it seemed like the days were ending earlier and earlier.
Scootaloo watched the sunset, though it only lasted for a few moments before the moon began to rise in the sky, the stars shining out of the dark blue night sky.
She was lying there in the dark, trying to fall asleep. She rolled over on her side. It was an uncomfortable position, with her wing bent underneath her.
They were useless, though.
She couldn’t forget what Rainbow Dash had said in her dream. Scootaloo knew that hadn’t just been Rainbow’s nightmare getting the best of her. She really didn’t think Scootaloo would fly. And it was the truth, wasn’t it?
But, as long as she was still dreaming, it didn’t matter what was possible in the real world or not.
She turned over again, pulling the sheets up to her chin. Maybe Luna would come again tonight. Then she could ask her.
Rainbow Dash was a great sister and all, and there was a part of Scootaloo that still wanted to be just like her. But, over the past few months, she’d started thinking of Luna as kind of like another big sister, too…
She let out a sigh, and squeezed her eyes shut. Her mind seemed to go clear.
When Scootaloo found herself in the familiar forest clearing, it seemed different than usual. The shadows beyond the trees seemed even deeper than before. Luna was standing not very far away, but she seemed to blend in with the eerie blue light that filled the area.
“Good evening,” Luna said. “I suppose you have spoken to Rainbow Dash since last night. She is doing well, I presume?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Oh. Yeah, she is.”
Luna watched her, and raised an eyebrow. “There seems to be more on your mind.”
“I guess I was just wondering… How much would she remember about me being there?” Scootaloo said. “We really talked a lot, and I know I remember everything that happens when I’m in a dream, but I don’t know if she…”
“Ponies very rarely remember my visits in much detail,” Luna said. “But that does not mean I do not help them. Dreams represent a much deeper part of one’s self than the waking mind.”
“So… I’m guessing that means no.”
“It is difficult to say. The only way for you to know would be to ask her directly,” Luna said. “Of course, that’s your choice to make.”
Scootaloo had already considered that plenty of times. Explain how she ended up walking into Rainbow’s dreams. Just go through the whole story again, this time when Rainbow was awake.
“When you spoke to Rainbow Dash in her dream, you were exposed to her innermost thoughts, the ones she would normally keep hidden. If there was anything there that you were uncomfortable with—”
“No, of course not,” Scootaloo said quickly. “I… I guess I just need some more time to think about it. That’s all.”
Luna smiled, for just a moment. Then she looked away from Scootaloo, off beyond the trees. Into the empty blackness beyond the edges of the glade. Every time she did that, it was as if she was looking at something, but Scootaloo never saw anything but darkness.
“I sense that we are coming very close to the source of these nightmares. The very thing I have been searching every night for,” Luna said quietly, without looking at her.
“You mean you found it?” Scootaloo said, trotting up closer. It should have been good news, but she felt her heart sink. “So… you can end them now. Make sure everypony wakes up.”
“Perhaps,” Luna said. “Whatever it is that we face, it is still quite elusive. I cannot be certain if I have indeed located it, and I still do not know what will have to be done to defeat it. You shall need to be especially careful tonight.”
Scootaloo nodded enthusiastically. “Sure! You’re, uh… going to need my help to take it down, then?”
Luna paused, and stared off into the darkness for a moment. “I feel that I have already exposed you to more danger than I anticipated. Time and again you have proven yourself… But until I know the nature of our enemy, I would prefer you to keep your distance.”
“Oh…” Scootaloo frowned. “Well, if I see anything weird tonight, I’ll let you know.”
“I believe the best course of action if you encounter it would be to wake yourself up as quickly as possible,” Luna said. “I cannot stress this enough. All we know about our enemy is that it is adept at manipulating ponies’ subconscious fears while they sleep. As long as you are in the dream, you are in danger.”
“So I just need to wake myself up. Got it.”
It wasn’t that Scootaloo really wanted to fight some kind of monster head-on, but running away? That was even worse. The idea just made her feel powerless. Everything else they had faced, she had been able to take care of it herself.
“I am only saying this to keep you safe,” Luna said. “You have been an immense help, Scootaloo, but ultimately the duty of protecting Equestria is mine to bear. I would never want to lay that burden on somepony else.”
It wasn’t long before both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle appeared, one after the other, in the clearing.
Luna turned her head towards them. “Greetings,” she said. “I suggest you depart while we still have the night ahead of us. I was discussing some precautions with Scootaloo.”
“I don’t see how things could get much worse than that storm Rainbow Dash whipped up for us,” Apple Bloom said. “I’m just hopin’ we get to keep our hooves on the ground tonight.”
“Well, uh…” Scootaloo scratched her head. “Luna said we might be getting close to finding out what’s causing these nightmares.”
“Really?” Sweetie Belle’s ears perked up. “So that means it’s almost over?”
“Perhaps,” Luna said. “But this is no time to grow careless. I will tell you the same thing I said to Scootaloo: if you sense danger, you must wake yourselves up.”
Apple Bloom bit her lip, and exchanged a glance with Sweetie Belle. Neither of them said anything.
“You have all done very well so far. Know that, whatever may come, I still have the utmost confidence in each of you,” Luna said. Her horn began to glow with magic. “I wish you the best of luck.”
Light was shining down from high arched windows. Dust motes danced through the air.
They were standing in a cavernous room lined with bookshelves. They ran all the way to the ceiling, and a second-floor balcony lined the hall. The room seemed to be a long hallway, leading so far into the distance that Scootaloo couldn’t even see how far it went. It seemed to stretch on forever.
Sweetie Belle looked around. “This has got to be Twilight’s dream,” she said.
Apple Bloom nodded. “Well, duh. Who else would dream about so many books?”
Whatever this place was, it was impossibly huge. Probably even bigger than the Canterlot archives or the Manehattan public library. A spiral staircase led up to the balcony, another level of books. Corridors branched out into the distance, into pitch-black shadows.
Scootaloo squinted up at the windows, the only source of light. It was hard to tell if it was daytime outside or if that was only moonlight.
They were alone, as far as she could tell. Their voices echoed throughout the room, but no other sounds could be heard.
She turned her attention to the bookshelves. They were jammed full of huge old books, all different shapes, sizes and colors. There seemed to be no sense of organization to it all, and none of the bindings had any writing on them.
Scootaloo pulled one of the heavy books off the shelf, and it landed on the floor with a thud, sending up a cloud of dust. She opened it to a random spot in the middle, handling the brittle yellow pages with care.
It was almost impossible to read in the dim light, but she could just barely make out an image, and some lines of tiny print. She leaned in closer until her nose was almost against the page.
Sweetie Belle trotted over to her side and stared down at the illustration on the page. “Hey, that looks like the castle in the Crystal Empire!”
“Yeah, it is,” Scootaloo muttered. She turned the pages. They were all covered in writing. It seemed to be a history of the Crystal Empire. She looked up at the thousands of other books surrounding them. “So do you think all of these books actually say things in them? They’re not just for show?”
She spotted another large volume sticking out of the shelf, and pulled it down as well. It fell open, and as Scootaloo skimmed the text it seemed to be the same topic as the first. That made sense. Library books were usually grouped by subject.
She turned the page to find a map of Equestria, with the Crystal Empire drawn at the top. The castle appeared oversized, towering over everything else in Equestria. Not even Canterlot was marked.
Apple Bloom stared up at the towering shelves. There must be thousands—no, closer to millions—of books in here. “Well, Twilight is pretty smart. If anypony could dream up a whole library of books, she could.”
“There’s probably more books here than in all of Equestria,” Sweetie Belle said.
Scootaloo’s eyes wandered across all the shelves, then she shook her head and looked back down at the books on the floor in front of her. She turned back to the illustration of the castle in the first book. It was unmistakably the one from the Crystal Empire. The same one from Sweetie Belle’s dream.
“Let’s just start looking for Twilight, alright? We know she has to be in here somewhere,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Yeah.” Scootaloo nodded. She looked down at the book, but decided to leave it where it was.
The three of them started down the hallway further into the depths of the library. They passed by archways leading down other paths, into narrower and darker hallways, also with overflowing shelves of books. Scootaloo peeked down each one, but there was no telling where they would lead.
The floorboards creaked under their hooves as they moved, and kicked up dust into the air.
Sweetie Belle sneezed. “Ugh, why does this place have to be so old?”
“Twilight does tend to like musty old books,” Apple Bloom said. “’Specially when she has to deal with Discord comin’ back after about a thousand years, and Luna comin’ back after about a thousand years, and…”
“Yeah, I get it,” Sweetie Belle muttered. “Come to think of it, that sort of stuff happens a lot lately.”
They came across an ornate metal staircase, spiraling up to the second level balcony. The railing was intricately detailed, but it seemed rather old and rickety.
Scootaloo turned around towards the others. “Let’s head up here. Maybe we’ll be able to have a better view.”
“If you say so,” Sweetie Belle said, biting her lip as she inspected the stairs.
Scootaloo put her hoof on the first step, and could almost swear she felt it shaking. But it seemed to hold up as she led the others up.
The second level was a lot like the first—endless bookshelves as far as the eye could see. But it was a bit brighter up here, since the windows were right above their heads. The light that shone through was dull, and outside was a void of pure white. It suddenly occurred to Scootaloo that there wasn’t a single door in this building, either to the outside or to other rooms.
Apple Bloom started walking along the shelves, further into the library. “To be honest, I kinda expected us to be visitin’ Twilight’s dreams sooner or later. Seems like there’s been a lot on her mind ever since this whole thing with the nightmares started. She hasn’t been herself.”
“I think she’s been getting frustrated,” Scootaloo said. “Usually she’s the one who finds a solution to some huge problem in one of her books, but this time she couldn’t.”
“So she thinks if she comes to some old library like this, she’ll find out what to do?” Sweetie Belle said.
The balcony branched off into a bridge, spanning across to the other side of the room. Scootaloo trotted over to the center. She leaned over the railing, staring off into the vast and empty room. From here, she could see several pathways leading off from the main hall, branching off into who knows where.
She hadn’t noticed it at first, probably because she made a point of not spending much time around books, but there wasn’t a single sign or any marker designating sections or topics. The books came in all shapes and sizes, but they were all unmarked, and there was no way to tell one shelf from another.
“Or maybe…” Scootaloo stared off into the far reaches of the library. “She’s been feeling lost in all her research. No matter how many books she reads, it doesn’t bring her any closer to an answer. It all goes nowhere. Kind of like this place.”
“So what you’re saying is that we’re stuck in a maze leads nowhere,” Sweetie Belle said, frowning. “Great.”
“If we get lost, we can always wake up and try again,” Scootaloo said. “This place doesn’t seem too dangerous.”
She turned away from the railing and crossed back towards the other end of the room. The others followed alongside her, sticking close.
They kept walking for what seemed like ages. The library really did seem to go on forever. The balcony came to an end, and the stairs led back down to the main level. Sometimes they would come to a corner, but the turn would lead to another endless corridor. Had they been going in a circle, or did the hall just snake off into other directions? Scootaloo realized she couldn’t remember.
It was getting darker. There definitely weren’t as many windows in this part of the library compared to where they had entered. And there still weren’t any doors leading outside the maze.
They came to a fork in the path. The hallway ahead of them split off into two directions.
“Let’s head to the left,” Apple Bloom said.
“Did you see something?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well, no. But it doesn’t seem quite as dark that way,” Apple Bloom said, with a nervous smile.
It was true. No matter which way they went, the corridors would end up in total darkness, but if they went left they would have a little bit of light before that happened.
Scootaloo took one last look over her shoulder. The path behind them looked a lot like the path ahead. It was hard to tell if it made much of a difference which way they went. She shook her head and started down the new hallway.
She craned her neck up to see the windows near the ceiling. It was true—there were fewer of them as they went on, the spaces between them were getting just slightly wider the farther in they went. Soon it would be too dark to see anything.
There was a flicker of green light, then it grew steadier. Sweetie Belle’s horn had lit up with magic.
“I think we’re gonna need it,” she said.
They continued further into the dark. It was hard to see very far past the light, but it looked like the maze continued even further. The bookshelves on either side of them seemed to gradually become narrower, until the three of them could barely stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the width of the hall.
“We’ve been walking for hours. This place isn’t even possible,” Sweetie Belle muttered.
“Did you forget it’s a dream?” Scootaloo said. She squinted ahead, trying to make something out. Anything in the distance, some kind of landmark or something different. It was pitch black.
“Maybe we should head back. I mean, why would Twilight even come all the way back here where it’s so dark?” Sweetie Belle said.
Scootaloo stopped in her tracks. It was still impossible to see anything up ahead. She let out a sigh, then turned around to the others. “Maybe you’re right. We should just…”
Her voice trailed off, and her mouth dropped open in shock.
Apple Bloom tilted her head, then turned around to see what she was looking at.
The light from Sweetie Belle’s horn didn’t reach very far around them, but directly behind them was another bookshelf. The path they had come from was suddenly a dead end. The hallway had transformed, soundlessly, just inches behind their tails.
They were all frozen in place, but then Apple Bloom walked over and tapped on the spines of the books. She pulled a few of them off the shelf and felt back. “Seems solid,” she muttered. “We’re definitely not goin’ back the way we came.”
Sweetie Belle’s magic flickered a moment as she examined the wall. “Uh… Sh-should we… maybe try to wake up now?”
Luna’s words echoed in Scootaloo’s ears, but she shook her head. “I don’t think so. We need to keep going farther. I mean, it’s just some old books, right? Nothing to be afraid of.”
“Yet,” Sweetie Belle said under her breath, but she ran to keep up with the other two as they headed farther into the dark.
It was hard to say just how long they had been down here. It could have been hours. Usually morning would have come by now, but maybe this place was playing tricks on them with time, too. Who knew?
They had to have taken a wrong turn. This place was a maze, after all. Whether or not it was really morning, it was probably a good idea to wake up and try again tomorrow night. In the meantime, they could come up with a plan, so that they didn’t get stuck wandering lost in the dark for hours.
“Wait a sec,” Apple Bloom said suddenly, her voice breaking the unnatural silence. “What’s up there?”
There was a flickering point of light far down the aisle of shelves, shining faintly in the darkness. The first new sight they had seen in who knew how long. Scootaloo glanced over her shoulder. There was a solid wall of books right beyond the reach of Sweetie Belle’s light. Following them, closing off the exit.
She edged along the shelf, feeling her way ahead. Dust swept off the tops of the old volumes as the three of them made their way past. Sweetie Belle sneezed.
The light was getting closer. There was a shape hunched over it. Definitely a pony, that much was clear. Whoever it was didn’t seem to react to the three sets of hoofsteps approaching.
Scootaloo touched the shelf with one hoof, running her hoof along the mismatched old books crammed tight into the shelves. Her pace slowed down as she watched the figure.
She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the purple wings folded at the pony’s sides.
“Twilight?” Scootaloo said, nearly breathless with relief. “There you are.”
It should have been obvious. Twilight always worked late into the night. The pitch blackness probably didn’t even bother her. She seemed completely fixated on the book sitting open on the desk in front of her anyway.
“Hey, Twilight!” Sweetie Belle said, trotting up to her side. She peeked over the edge of the book. “What’re you up to? What are you reading about?”
Twilight still didn’t look up.
“Uh, hey…” Scootaloo edged closer to her. She tried to act cheerful, but something about this was seriously starting to creep her out. “Twilight, you’ve got some time to talk, right? We came all the way in here to see you.”
Apple Bloom was looking around. The candle cast a tiny ring of light around them, barely enough to see the desk it was sitting on. Everything around them was endless black. “Anyway, Twilight, we’re probably gonna need some help findin’ our way out.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah! So, uh… Could you tell us what’s going on here, at least?”
Twilight said nothing for a moment, then her horn glowed. The book in front of her slammed closed, sending up a cloud of dust. The three of them jumped.
“You know… I’ve always known what’s going on.”
Scootaloo frowned. “Uh… What do you mean?”
Twilight didn’t look up. She stared at the blank cover of the massive book in front of her. “I wasted all that time going over every book in the library, but it was obvious.”
“What do you mean, you knew what was going on?” Scootaloo said. She glanced over at the book, but the cover was blank. Or too old and faded to make out. “How did you find out?”
Twilight looked down. “All this time everypony in town was suffering from these nightmares and I never did a thing to help them. Some princess of Equestria I turned out to be.”
“That’s… not exactly true, right? You would’ve done something to help them,” Sweetie Belle said. “You just couldn’t.”
“You’re right. I couldn’t.” Twilight lifted her head, and stared directly at Scootaloo. “Because that was all your job, wasn’t it?”
“Uh… what do you mean?”
“Luna’s been sending you on these nightly errands for some time now,” Twilight said. “Nopony in town has even noticed you three wandering around through their darkest nightmares. Isn’t it odd that nopony’s noticed it for so long?”
Nightmares. Twilight hadn’t just said that everypony was asleep, Scootaloo realized. She had called them nightmares the first time.
“And while you’ve been busy with that, Luna’s been trying to find out what’s really been causing the nightmares, but she hasn’t gotten any closer to finding out what that is, has she?”
“I believe I have found it now.”
Scootaloo whirled around to see Luna stepping out of the shadows behind them. Her mane cast a blue aura all around her, filling the darkness of the hall. Her eyes were locked onto Twilight.
“Luna? What’re you doing here?” Scootaloo said.
“It’s become too dangerous for the three of you,” Luna said, still not taking her eyes off Twilight. “You must leave now. I shall finish this.”
“Wait, what?” Scootaloo stared at her.
Twilight glared at Luna. Her eyes narrowed, and it was hard to tell, but they seemed to be glowing an unnatural shade of green. “It’s too late now. Even for you.”
Luna said nothing. A spark of blue appeared at the end of her horn, slowly expanding, lighting up the area around them.
Scootaloo blinked. “What are you—”
There was a flash of light, and they were gone.