//------------------------------//
// Chapter 23 - A Mind of Secrets 
// Story: A Heart of Change 
// by SilentBelle 
//------------------------------//


A Heart of Change – Chapter 23: A Mind of Secrets

By: SilentBelle 


A dull pain pulsed through Scootaloo's body in time with her breath, becoming ever more noticeable as the adrenaline left her. It wasn't a terrible pain, but rather something that she was sure she could put out of her mind if she tried hard enough. She'd had more painful injuries from practicing and overexerting herself in the past.

While drifting down the hallway, she probed her side gingerly with a forehoof, and bit back a wince. With a sharp nod to herself, she concluded that the rib was most likely bruised but thankfully not broken. Letting out a sigh of relief she flew down the hallway to catch up to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.

“This way!” Apple Bloom called back to them, not bothering to turn her head to make sure they were following her. She was leading the charge down the hallways of the palace, and thankfully seemed to have a better grasp than Scootaloo of where they were in the palace.

Right behind Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle was running just as fast and breathing pretty hard. Her hair was an explosive, knotted mess of singed strands. The magic burst had certainly left its mark on her. Although beyond scorching her mane a bit and leaving her a little short of breath, thankfully there didn't seem to be any other side effects.

Scootaloo was frankly surprised that Sweetie Belle could still run after what had happened. Every time Scootaloo blinked she could still see the faint residual outline left from that pillar of magic. “You sure you're good to keep running, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie let out an amused huff, which sounded like it was supposed to be a chuckle. She didn't look over her shoulder, nor did she slow her pace. “Of course, Scoots. Now's the time to act!”

“Just try not to overdo it. We can't sprint all the way out of the city and a hundred miles through the wilderness.” Scootaloo knew far too well how much a foolish, if well intentioned, sprint could detract from a ponies overall speed. She was also quite certain that Sweetie had no idea what it took to achieve an optimal pace.

Apple Bloom slowed to a trot, then finally to a stop. There was a spiral staircase to their right, and Apple Bloom nodded toward it. “Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, both of ya should head up there and get our supplies ready.”

“Woah, wait! And what are you going to do?” Sweetie asked, frowning at Apple Bloom.

“Ah'm gonna grab us some food from the kitchens real quick.” Apple Bloom looked back at Sweetie Belle. “Ah know you haven't eaten since ya got your body back. We've got a long journey ahead of us, and Ah'm not going to have any of us falling faint just ‘cause we didn't have supper.”

Apple Bloom then looked to Scootaloo and nodded with a small smile.

Scootaloo returned the nod. “I'll make sure Sweetie doesn't run off without you.”

“Hey!” Sweetie Belle shouted, but Apple Bloom ignored her and ran off down the hallway.

Sweetie let out a small growl and turned on Scootaloo. “What was that about?”

Scootaloo only shook her head and began flying up the staircase. “C'mon, Sweetie. Apple Bloom knows what she's doing.”

“Great, now you're both ignoring me!” Sweetie Belle huffed and ran up the stairs after Scootaloo. After a minute, her energetic sprint deteriorated into a slow canter, and finally to a walk. Her voice echoed up the last half circle of stairs “Ah, geez. Why are there so many stairs in this tower? Who built this thing?”

“I dunno, why not ask Apple Bloom when she gets back?” Scootaloo waited at the top of the stairs and opened the door.

Sweetie responded by rolling her eyes and moved through the door.

“Sweetie,” Scootaloo called after her and followed her into the room. The small library of a room certainly was what Scootaloo might have expected a court magician to have. All sorts of books, crystals and mirror could be seen no matter where she looked around the room. As she took a quick glance, Scootaloo was frankly surprised that there was only one painting of Sky Chaser hanging on the wall in a gilded frame, although the number of mirrors certainly had a way of projecting his image all about the room.

Near the door, Scootaloo spotted a heap of supplies. “Well, that certainly looks heavy,” Scootaloo remarked.

“What's Apple Bloom thinking? There's as much stuff here as my sister takes with her for a weekend of camping. How the hay are we supposed to carry all this?” Sweetie prodded a sleeping bag indignantly with a hoof. “And there's even a pot! That's got to weigh at least ten pounds.”

Scootaloo fidgeted with her wings uneasily, the movement reminding her of the dull throb at her side. She didn't look forward to wearing saddlebags, but she knew it would be silly to travel too lightly. “Apple Bloom knows more about hiking and camping than both of us put together. At the very least, I think we'll have all the supplies that we could want.”

“And then some.” Sweetie let out an annoyed sigh. “Lets pack this stuff up as quickly as we can.”

Scootaloo nodded and the two of them got to work. Scootaloo slowly and deliberately chose items one by one and fit them as snugly as she could into a saddlebag while Sweetie seemed intent to test the limits of how much she could cram into a bag with her magic.

“Sweetie,” Scootaloo said after a while.

Her friend paused and looked over to her. Her slitted eyes narrowed in a frown. “What?”

“I was just wondering. What happened back there in the courtyard?”

“That snake got away with the crystal heart, that's what! And now if we don't hurry up and track him down, he'll have the whole nation at his mercy.” Sweetie shoved a final item in her bag and struggled to fasten the clasps on the bag closed.

“No, I didn't mean that,” Scootaloo said, turning her eyes away from Sweetie. “Look, I'm sorry I let him get away. I could have chased him, I'm faster than he was, I could have easily caught up to the crystal heart and the shard of Discord. Maybe if I came in with enough speed I'd have broken the shield around the crystal heart...”

“Well, next time we'll just have to try harder,” Sweetie said dully.

“Maybe.” Scootaloo shook her head. “Sweetie, that's not what I'm wondering about though. Back there, you let off a huge spell. It was a giant lance of energy, like pure lightning that didn't fade away for half a minute, it was close enough that I could feel its heat even twenty feet away. I've never seen anything like that. What happened?”

Sweetie looked down at her hooves for a moment before responding. “There's something strange about my body. It's like I’m more attuned to magic than I’ve ever been before. Even now, I can feel my body drawing on the magic around me. Right now it's mainly the heat in the air. It replenishes my magic reserves faster than ever before. And back there, when that shielding spell struck me, my body reacted instinctively and started breaking down the shield spell right as it was about to bowl me over. My body took in the energy and stopped the spell in its tracks, but it was too much for me.”

Sweetie Belle sighed and rubbed her horn with a hoof. “There was as much magic, or maybe even more than Twilight has within her. It was burning and blinding... like trying to hold your breath for too long, or trying to stare at the sun. I didn't have time to think about it, my body expelled the magic as surely as you might gasp for breath after surfacing from a dive, or shield your eyes from the sun.”

Scootaloo looked at Sweetie's downcast eyes and considered her for a moment. “Does it still hurt?”

Sweetie shook her head. “Not really. For all the magic I used earlier, I still have a full well of it inside me. My body actually feels almost better than it has in years. Running is a lot easier now, even after what just happened I feel like I could go hiking for hours. Only my horn's a bit sore from the amount of magic that went through it, it's tingly, but it doesn't hurt. It gets this way from hours of overuse, or I suppose in this case, using too much magic at once.” Sweetie let out a small chuckle. “I haven't felt it like this in two years.”

“I was worried,” Scootaloo admitted. Her voice drew Sweetie Belle's gaze up from the floor.

Sweetie Belle gave her an irritated look. “You don't have to worry about me, Scoots. I can handle myself just fine! You should have just gone and chased after him. Maybe you could even have gotten the crystal heart back. All we needed to do was interrupt his spells a bit and the heart and Scoddri's shard would have fallen from his control.” Sweetie let out an annoyed sigh. “Geez, he's using remote magic, Scoots, which means that there's going to be delay in his reactions. It's a longer delay the further he is. If we kept the pressure on him, we would have stopped him for sure. But going back to see if I was okay just played right into his plan and he managed to get away. You should have followed through, darn it.”

I should have followed through? Even Sweetie's saying that now? Scootloo decided not to respond and got back to packing some of the supplies into her bag.

After a while, a knock sounded on the door, and both Sweetie and Scootaloo turned as one to the door. An amethyst crystal pony poked her head past the door. Scootaloo recognized the pony as Prism, the servant who had been looking after them since they had arrived in the palace.

“Oh, Lady Apple Bloom was right, you two are in Lord Sky Chaser's chambers.” Her voice had a slight waver to it, suggesting that she was mildly out of breath.

As Prism entered the room, Scootaloo took note of a large lidded platter which balanced on the crystal pony's backside. Scootaloo was impressed that the pony had managed to make it all the way up the spiral staircase without losing the load.

“So, Apple Bloom sent you here with food?” Sweetie Belle reasoned. “What in the hay is she doing now? We've got to leave as soon as possible.”

“Lady Apple Bloom said she had one last thing she needed to get before she'd head back here.” Prism walked over to a small table, and managed to swiftly offload the platter onto the table. She then looked to both Sweetie and Scootaloo apprehensively. “You're all going, then? Lady Apple Bloom said as much.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie replied. “And don't even think about trying to stop us.”

“Don't you think you're being a bit harsh?” Scootaloo asked, frowning at her friend. What's gotten into you, Sweetie?

“I wouldn't dare,” Prism said as bowed her head deep. “I'm grateful for what you three have done for the empire, and what you are setting out to do now. It has been an honour serving you.”

“Geez,” Sweetie muttered. “How much did Apple Bloom tell you about what we're doing?”

“Enough for her to understand that we are in a big rush,” Apple Bloom called from the open doorway. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. She had two saddlebags piled on her back. Scootaloo recognized the bags as belonging to both of her friends. “Ah had ta grab our stuff before we head out. Ah dunno 'bout you, but there're a few things that Ah want ta take with me.”

“But if you just blab about what we're doing to just any servant, Shining Armor could hear about it. He'd stop us and have us locked up in a room.” Sweetie gave Prism a measuring gaze. “I'm not going to let anypony lock me up.”

Apple Bloom gave Sweetie a reproachful glare. “If ya can't trust the ponies who do honest work, then ya might as well not trust anypony. Ah explained the situation to Prism and let her decide if she wanted ta help out or not. Oh, and thanks, by the way, Prism. You've helped out a whole lot. Ah hope I can find a way to repay ya in the future.”

“Oh, there's no need, my lady. It was no problem,” Prism said with a bow before heading to the door. “I wish you safe travels, and hope that there comes a time when I might serve you again.”

As Prism closed the door behind her, Apple Bloom sighed with a small smile resting on her lips. “Ah'm not a lady. But Ah suppose there's no sense arguin' about it now. Let's grab a bite and go.”


* * *


The food was quite palatable, delicious in fact. Sweetie hadn't realized just how hungry she had been, and she had nearly forgotten just how delicious fresh roasted vegetables could taste, especially the peppers.

For a moment, she had pondered how necessary it was for her to even eat the food, considering how her magic seemed to replenish at such a phenomenal rate. Perhaps, she'd thought, I could be like a diamond dog. They didn't seem to need to eat anything so long as they had a gem or two on their collars. However, it was only a second's pause before her stomach had protested in a rather audible fashion.

Once all three of the mares had scarfed down their meals and packed up the rest of their bags, they stood outside the door to Lord Sky Chaser's chambers.

Sweetie Belle took note that Apple Bloom had somehow managed to fasten two pairs of saddlebags across her backside, which looked entirely ridiculous to Sweetie's eyes, and she suspected that Scootaloo shared her assessment. But Apple Bloom had insisted that every single item she had on her was sure to save their lives in one way or another.

Scootaloo, on the other hoof, had packed her bag rather lightly, claiming that she'd sooner ditch all the supplies than be too weighed down to fly properly.

Sweetie reluctantly agreed to carry a bit more than she was entirely comfortable with, but she wanted to be prepared for whatever that snake was sure to throw at them. Out of her own saddlebags from Ponyville, she had only decided to bring along the hair clip that she had worked her attraction spell into, along with the tools that she'd used to work on the jewelry in the first place. She tucked the ornament into her hair, and happily left her books on jewel-crafting behind, as she didn't think there would be too much time for reading with the task ahead of them, nor did she suspect they would have all that great of a chance of coming back without receiving a fair amount of wear.

“Alright,” Sweetie said, giving her two friends a nod. “I'm ready to go. How about you girls?”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo affirmed before looking to Apple Bloom with a hint of apprehension. “Though, do you really think it will be so easy to get out of the city?”

“Ah do,” Apple Bloom said with a nod. “And if it's not, we'll just need to convince whoever's trying to stop us that we know what we're gettin' into, and that we aren't goin' to be stopped.”

“If you say so,” Scootaloo said and motioned to the door with a wing. “Lead the way. I could spend an hour walking around in this palace and still not find the front entrance.”

Apple Bloom took the lead, and Sweetie was quick to follow right behind her, while Scootaloo fell in a little further back.

Sweetie saw Apple Bloom's eyes flick between Scootaloo and then back to Sweetie as they descended the spiral staircase. “You two have a fight or somethin'?”

“It's nothing.” Sweetie shook her head. “I'm just glad that we're finally going to do something about this snake. I hate not being able to make a difference.” As she spoke the words, Sweetie felt a small flare of anger within her. Trapped. Pointless. Used by others.

That's not me! Those thoughts aren't mine! She tried to dispel the alien thoughts and emotions, but the most she could do was push them to the back of her mind, where she could feel them repeating and brooding in a pool of anger.

Sweetie took a few deep breaths and hurried after Apple Bloom while Scootaloo gave her a worried look from behind. Moving seemed to blur the strange thoughts, and she focused her mind on planning what to do next. If the guards don't let us pass, I can use a blinding spell, though it would hit both Scoots and Bloom if they weren't prepared. She cast her eyes upward and considered her horn. I have more magic in this body. I wonder if I could teleport all three of us without a gemstone for the extra boost. The thought made her flinch. No! I'm never teleporting again. I'm never leaving my body again.

The trio made their way through the crystal halls, as Sweetie continued considering her arsenal of spells available. The halls they passed through were empty of most other ponies. A few crystal pony servants could be seen entering certain rooms with cleaning equipment, and at one point, a pair of stallions were each pulling small metal carts layered with silver platters, en route to whichever nobles had decided to stay cooped up in their rooms for supper.

As for guard ponies, they only passed a pair of them patrolling down the hallway. Sweetie did take note that both guards eyed the trio's bags, but they said nothing, and only gave an acknowledging nod as they passed.

“They're going to tell Shining Armor that we're leaving,” Sweetie whispered to Apple Bloom once they were out of earshot.

Apple Bloom let out an annoyed sigh. “No, they aren't. They're going ta tell their captain, Snowfall, once they finish their patrol. That's plenty of time for us. Quit worryin' so much Sweetie. We don't have anything ta hide, right?”

Sweetie Belle frowned at Apple Bloom. “I just don't want an army of guards at our backside trying to arrest us.” As she finished the sentence, a wave of anger and a flickering hiss of words spread through her mind. Captured. Prisoner. Forever.

Sweetie felt a weight building in her gut, and instinctively looked inward to the pool of magic within her body. It was a deep fountain of emerald and with the slightest nudge of her mind, she felt it instinctively slip into her grasp. With her horn glowing ever so slightly, Sweetie felt confidence fill her steps once again. I have my magic, and no pony will ever be able to take that from me.

“Ah don't think they have the resources ta send an army of guards our way,” Apple Bloom said as they exited to the front courtyard of the palace. “Our biggest hurdle is getting' past those gates.” Apple Bloom pointed ahead with one hoof to the Palace gates, where four guards stood diligently, one of them was already staring directly at Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “Just leave the talkin' ta me.”

“Halt,” one of the guardponies said. He was a cloudy roan colour of crystal and he gave the trio a sharp frown. “You are Shining Armor's royal guests,” as he spoke, the other three guards all turned to face them and each took a step or two closer.

“Yes, we are.” Apple Bloom nodded.

“And what brings you ladies out this evening? Palace guests should remain inside during a crisis such as this.”

“While we are guests,” Apple Bloom said, looking the roan pony directly in the eye, “we are here to help the Crystal Empire. Under royal orders, no less.”

“Royal orders?” The guard kept frowning at Apple Bloom. “What sort of 'orders'.”

“That's sensitive information,” Apple Bloom said evenly. “But Ah do have proof of our approval from the crown.” Apple Bloom reached toward her pack with a hoof and slid a piece of paper from one of its pockets.

The guard took letter from Apple Bloom and gave it a quick glance. He muttered parts of the letter as he read it. “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle... All working under the command of Prince Shining Armor to investigate incidents of grave importance... report findings directly to the council... And this seal? Lord Sky Chaser's?”

“The very same,” Apple Bloom affirmed. “The council is expecting us to return to them in a timely fashion, and we do not wish to disappoint.”

The guard pony gave the letter a few more cursory glances and then looked to his peers. “Well, it looks like the real deal. Only Lord Sky Chaser would seal a letter with golden wax.” He nodded to the other guards and they parted to either side of the gate. “I wish you well on your investigation, ladies, and do not hesitate to call upon the city guards should you need any assistance.”

“Thank you,” Apple Bloom said with a nod to each guard. “Keep up the good work, and Ah'm sure we'll get through this crisis.”

Apple Bloom then moved through the gateway with Scootaloo following close behind. Sweetie Belle blinked a couple times and then frowned at Apple Bloom before moving to catch up to her friends.

“Wow! That was amazing, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo said once they had gotten out of earshot of the guards. “You played them for foals.”

Apple Bloom shot Scootaloo a sidelong glance as a small scowl formed on her lips. “Ah did no such thing, Scootaloo. The guards ain't a bunch o' idiots, they're a bunch o' hardworkin' folk, and Ah told them honestly what we were doin'. Ah meant every word of it.”

“Hmm,” Sweetie hummed idly. “Reminds me of Scoddri. He always told me the truth.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “If that's what the truth sounds like, I'd hate to see your idea of a lie.”

“What do ya mean by that, Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked defensively.

“Well, you pretty much just lied to the guards. If you told them the real story, then you know as well as I that they wouldn't have let us pass. Neglecting parts of the truth is pretty much the same as lying.”

“It's not,” Apple Bloom shot back stubbornly as they marched into the city streets, though she didn't elaborate any further.

“Well, what's wrong with that?” Sweetie asked as she stole a glance at Scootaloo. “We all have things that we keep secret from others.” Sweetie could have sworn, Scootaloo nearly missed as step as the words were spoken.

“‘Lying always comes back to bite you in the rear,’” Apple Bloom said with a hint of regret in her voice. “Applejack used to tell me that often enough... But Ah'm not so ready to believe that it's always the case. Often, yeah. Sure, it happens a lot. But it's usually from a matter of not seeing the bigger picture. If Ah had told those guards every detail about what we were up to, then of course they'd have stopped us, not ta mention that it'd take a fair bit of time to explain it in full. Ah just made a calculation, Ah guess. It'll be better for both the guards and us if we omit some of the story.”

“Hey,” Sweetie said, casting Apple Bloom a small smile, “you don't have to convince me that you made the right choice.”

Scootaloo nodded in agreement.

Their agreement only seemed to flatten out Apple Bloom's indignant expression. “It's not you two that Ah need ta convince,” she muttered under her breath, although Sweetie heard her.

As they moved down the streets, numerous ponies and a handful of diamond dogs were carting supplies to and fro. Apple Bloom gave a worried look to the buildings around her, “That quake earlier, it looks like it did some damage to the buildings they were still working on. Ah hope nopony was hurt.”

“Well, we're gonna make sure that that snake won't be able to do this sort of thing ever again.” Sweetie Belle frowned as she observed the line of houses on the perimeter of the city which had collapsed, and the ponies who working tirelessly to fix them up. Sweetie Belle got the sense that many of the ponies were nearly at their breaking point, and were it not for the guards also assisting with the construction, despair would have likely settled in by now.

“Strange though,” Sweetie Belle remarked. “Despite how vicious that snake is, he certainly is taking care not to physically hurt the ponies with his ploys.”

“Ah've noticed that too.” Apple Bloom nodded. “And Ah can't help but guess at what he intends ta do.”

“Be a big jerk?” Scootaloo offered.

“Nopony is ever a big jerk just for the sake of being a big jerk,” Apple Bloom chided.

“Tell that to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon,” Scootaloo muttered.

“They had their reasons,” Apple Bloom said sourly.

Scootaloo's wings shot out fiercely, causing the pegasus to suppress a wince, but she looked right into Apple Bloom's eyes unflinchingly. “If you're suggesting that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had good reasons to—”

“Ah'm not saying that at all!” Apple Bloom protested. “Ah know that what they did to ya was despicable, and there's no justification that could ever make their actions good. We all hate what they did. Ah'm just sayin' that even they had their reasons, as trite and amoral as they were.”

Scootaloo brought her wings back tight to her side and looked past the cityscape to the distant horizon. “Well, sometimes ponies are just jerks for no reason. Sometimes they are just evil.”

Sweetie Belle remembered the day which she was sure must be bitterly resurfacing inside Scootaloo's mind: The day Diamond Tiara had pushed Scootaloo too far. The broken nose that spoiled filly had gotten wasn't nearly enough, not when Sweetie Belle remembered how broken Scootaloo had seemed in comparison.

She remembered being in the clubhouse the afternoon after the incident and seeing Scootaloo, the filly who had finally found her cutie mark, reduced to an inconsolable, quivering wreck before her. Shouldn't a pony who was willing to do that to another pony be forced to feel the same pain? To break themselves in the same way? And yet Diamond Tiara had walked away from the incident simply with a broken nose and her dignity intact, and worst of all, she had been smiling because she knew she had won.

The world's unfair, Sweetie told herself and paused to look down at the golden necklace around her neck.Scoddri laughed at the world's unfairness, as though it were some cruel joke. And Red... She considered the necklace, Red Timber's gift to her. 

He trapped me! Used me! The alien anger filtered into her mind once again.

Sweetie Belle shook her head to shut out the thoughts, then looked up to notice Apple Bloom biting back what she could only imagine was a rebuttal to Scootaloo's bitter assertion.

“In any case,” Sweetie Belle said, giving the nearby construction ponies a cursory glance to reassure herself that Shining Armor and his guard captain were nowhere nearby. “Let's hightail it out of here and put an end to this jerk's plans, whatever they may be.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom nodded. “But we're not going to hightail it. We're going to exit down the northern thoroughfare. After all, it's not like we're fugitives or anything.”

It kind of feels like we are, Sweetie Belle had to admit to herself as they circled along the perimeter roadway toward the northern junction, where a pair or crystal pony guards kept watch over the ponies entering and leaving the city.


* * *


Apple Bloom looked back over her shoulder and caught the last glimpse of the crystal spire at the center of the palace as it disappeared behind the crest of a rolling hill. They had been walking at a steady pace north of the city for a whole hour.

“Took long enough to get away from there.” Sweetie breathed a sigh of relief. “At least now we won't have to worry about guards running after us.”

“Well, once they find out that we're gone, they're going to send some guards after us anyway, right?” Scootaloo asked.

“Ah wouldn't be so sure,” Apple Bloom admitted. “They don't have the resources ta spare on searching for us. We're not particularly important in the grand scheme of things. Just three mares who are traveling of their own volition.”

“Hey, we're plenty important,” Sweetie said with a huff. “We may not be our sisters, but we are going to stop that snake of a pony. And even if we're not that important, Bloom, Scootaloo is. She’s Luna's new pupil after all. Maybe they will come after us.”

“Luna...” Scootaloo muttered worriedly.

“Yeah.” Apple Bloom sympathized with Scootaloo. “Up and leavin' the princess without tellin' her might leave her a bit angry. Maybe we shouldn't have--”

“No.” Scootaloo shook her head. “We're going to stop this snake, I'll explain it to the princess. She'll probably be waiting for me when I go to sleep anyways.”

“I never really thought about it before, but that sounds kind of creepy, now that I think about it,” Sweetie said. “Having the princess just jump into whomever's dream, whenever she wants.”

Scootaloo let out a chuckle. “It's not that random, Sweetie. Luna only visits those who either want to see her or need to see her.”

“Need to see her?” Sweetie asked doubtfully.

“Yeah. Some ponies need to see her.”

“But it's just dreams, right?” Apple Bloom added, curious as to the princess' methods of operations. “The stuff you dream isn't real.”

“Well, it's not real, no,” Scootaloo admitted. “But sometimes it's not entirely unreal either.”

“Oh?” Apple Bloom asked. “You mean like with the mind magic that Azure had done to him?”

Scootaloo spread her wings uncomfortably, then took to the air as she considered the question. “Well there's that too, but even with just regular dreams, sometimes they take the form of something very real for the pony dreaming it.”

“Like a schoolyard crush?” Sweetie asked slyly.

Apple Bloom chuckled while Scootaloo brought a hoof to her forhead and let out an annoyed sigh. “Yeah,” the pegasus said, “but a crush isn't likely to be causing huge problems for the pony in question. I'm talking more about fears, recurring nightmares and such. They can cripple a pony if they don't find an outlet for them, or some way to acknowledge the fears and overcome them.”

“Huh. Ah suppose that makes some sense.” Apple Bloom nodded to herself, though a thought occurred to her and she frowned at Scootaloo. “So how did ya end up becomin' the Princess' newest student anyways? If ya don't mind me askin' o' course.”

“It's a long story,” Scootaloo said uncomfortably.

“Well, we've got a long time to spend,” Apple Bloom said. “Why not spend it talkin' 'bout stories?”

Scootaloo looked down at her two friends, frowning for a moment before finally sighing. “Alright. I'll tell you both what happened.”

“Ooh, I love stories,” Sweetie Belle said cheerfully from behind the two of them.

“Well, it's not really a happy story, so don't get your hopes up.” Scootaloo shot forward and then turned in the air to face the two of them, flying backward in pace with the other two's walking. 

“It all started before I got my cutie mark just after we formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I started having nightmares. I would dream that I was walking along in Ponyville at nighttime, with only the moon for light. Now remember, for the dreamer, the dreams always seem real. And as I walked, I'd start to wonder where you two were.

“'Where are my friends?' I'd ask. But only the blowing of tree limbs or dead leaves ever replied. And then I'd see the house my parents left me in the distance. No lights were on. It was an empty place with nopony inside. As I moved toward it, a cloud would suddenly move in front of the moon and darkness would overtake everything.

“I called out your names, hoping you'd answer, but there was no response. I'd wander in that darkness forever, just calling out every name I knew, hoping beyond hope that somepony would answer. But nopony ever would.

“Then eventually I'd wake up in my parents' old house house, in my bed, completely alone. When I woke up, I called out your names, and nopony came, just like in my dream. Of course you wouldn't, I live alone. I couldn't tell what was worse as I shivered in my bed. Was it the dream? Or was it the world I was waking up to?”

“Scoots,” Sweetie Belle said sadly.

Scootaloo merely shook her head. “If it had just happened once, I'd have laughed off my insecurities. Afterall, it's not like I was really alone. I had you two to hang out with at school and even afterward most days. But the nightmare kept repeating itself. Each night it was the same, and I remembered each detail. I was aware of how long I'd wander in the darkness each time. It wore me down, and each night I was afraid to go to sleep. And once I was asleep, I was afraid to wake up. I’d wake up frightened, until eventually I couldn't take it. In my dream I shouted every single name I knew at the top of my lungs, and eventually I said Luna's name.

“When I spoke her name, she answered me. She shattered the darkness and took me to a moonlit cloud. There, she comforted me and talked to me, and told me that I would never truly be alone again. I had you two, and all I had to do was call on her name in any dream, and she'd come running.

“I had asked her if the dream was real, and she told me that dreams are merely reflections of the mind, reflections of real fears and hopes and everything in between. 'So then how do I get rid of the bad dreams?' I’d asked.

“'Face your fears, Scootaloo,' is what she'd said.

“So I thought for a while and figured out that what I really feared is that you two would one day leave me behind...”

“Oh,” Sweetie said gently. “So then that's why you came to us back then and made us promise that we'd always be together.”

Apple Bloom remembered that event. Sweetie had been first to promise with an enthusiastic and overly naïve, 'We'll be together forever. All three of us.' While Apple Bloom had offered a grin and added, 'At least until we all get our cutie marks.'

Scootaloo nodded as she hovered in the air. “Yeah, hearing that from you two, really helped, and it stopped the nightmare for the most part. I wasn't having it every night anymore, but soon I discovered something else. It wasn't just that one fear I'd have to face, but anytime I had a fear, it would turn into a nightmare, so vivid and memorable.

“My fear of heights, Diamond Tiara, my parents...” Scootaloo shook her head. “It got bad enough that I had to call on Princess Luna again, and she answered just as she had said she would. It was then that she told me that she had originally thought that I had only been struggling with one deep-seated fear, but now she was certain that was not the case. She told me that I was a Lucid Dreamer—that I experienced dreams very realistically, and that I needed to learn how to properly control my dreams, lest they cause ruin in my real life.

“So she taught me how dreams worked, how to control them, and how to navigate them properly. And that's how she became my teacher.” Scootaloo settled to the ground and began walking with her back toward her friends.

“Wow,” Apple Bloom said in wonderment. “Ah never knew that.” The story astonished Apple Bloom. She had known that Scootaloo did generally keep most of her negative feelings bottled up, but she had never imagined that Scootaloo had been struggling with so many problems for so long. She doesn't have a real family to confide in. Just Sweetie, Rainbow Dash and me, Ah suppose. But even then, we've never really had a good heart-ta-heart.

“Well, I've never told anypony else about it,” Scootaloo admitted.

“Why not?” Sweetie asked sounding disappointed. “I wish I had known. Maybe I could have helped out sooner. I could have looked up a tome on dream magic. I'm sure Twilight had a book or two relating to that subject.”

“I didn't tell you because it's been bothering me for a long time. It was my problem to face and overcome. Even thinking of talking about it made me nervous, afraid, and embarrassed. Why was I the only one with these problems? Why was I so different from you two? I didn't want to worry you two, to pull you two away from your focusing on your cutie marks once you'd found out what they were.” Scootaloo paused for a moment before admitting, “And I thought that even talking about it might cause a gap to form between us. And that's the last thing I wanted to have happen. ”

“Of course we'd worry,” Sweetie said. “But you know that neither of us would have abandoned you. Not then, not now, not ever. We're the truest friends there are.”

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. “We'll always have your back Scootaloo, just like ya always have ours. It's a promise.” Apple Bloom stopped walking and raised a forehoof to Scootaloo.

“Oh,” Sweetie said excitedly. “Just like old times.” She raised a hoof of her own over top of Apple Bloom's. “C'mon, Scoots.”

“It's Scootaloo!” Scootaloo corrected her and let out a huff. She then turned to face her friends.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders, friends forever,” Apple Bloom said with a smile.

“Friends forever,” Scootaloo agreed and put her hoof atop theirs.

With their promise freshly made, Scootaloo was the first to bound away. She leaped into the air and said, “I'm going flying, I'll be back in a bit.”

“She just doesn't know how to show that she's happy,” Sweetie said with a grin as they watched her fly up into the evening sky.”

“Ah suppose she's always had trouble expressin’ herself,” Apple Bloom admitted and watched as Scootaloo shot through the sky as an orange and purple blur before disappearing amongst the distant clouds. “But Ah think we can both agree that she's always happiest when she's flying.”


* * *


Scootaloo descended to the hillside clearing that Apple Bloom had chosen as their campsite, just after the sun finished setting. Apple Bloom was near the ring of campfire stones, poking at some burning pine logs with a stick. Sweetie Belle, however was just exiting their green tent.

The sight of her was still enough to shock Scootaloo. Those two fangs were unsettling, and the slit eyes set her uneasy. It wasn't so bad when she was around her for a while. All it took was to hear her voice to recognize that Sweetie Belle was still the Sweetie Belle she knew.

“Oh, I see you've come to join us now that we've finished setting up,” Sweetie said jovially, as she spoke, Sweetie used her magic to unfasten Scootaloo's saddlebags and deposit them inside their tent.

Scootaloo ran a hoof through her hair in embarrassment. “I guess I got carried away with watching the sunset.” She looked around at the camp. “Well, at least you have magic to set this stuff up, it probably makes things a lot easier. You remember what it's like to set up the old-fashioned way?”

Sweetie laughed. “Yeah, it tastes like wood, rope, and dirt. I'll take magic any day of the week.”

“It still tastes like wood, rope, and dirt,” Apple Bloom called out from the fireside. She had set a large pot over the circle of stones and, judging by the smell, she was cooking oats mixed with a fruit of some sort. “Let's get something ta eat, then call it a night.”

“Sweet! Apple Bloom, you're always great at making food.” Sweetie said as she grabbed three nearby ceramic bowls with her magic while she took a spot around the fire. “You should have a cooking cutie mark instead of a bunch of gears. I swear, you're even better than Applejack.”

Apple Bloom looked to her cutie mark for a moment before filling the three bowls, each with two large ladle-fulls of oatmeal. Once done, she sat down and grabbed the bowl hovering before her. “Once you know how to cook, it's pretty simple. It's just a matter of following instructions. Not that different from making furniture or raising a barn. Just lay out the plans and stick to 'em.” Apple Bloom said. “My cutie mark is fine the way it is.”

“There's no way cooking is that easy,” Sweetie protested. “Last time I tried to cook a marshmallow, I turned it green.”

Scootaloo chuckled, as she remembered the event, as well as shortly afterward being covered in the sticky remains of a whole bag of suddenly green marshmallows. It had taken them the rest of the night to clean up Scootaloo's kitchen.

“If you followed the instructions properly—” Apple Bloom said but was cut off.

“Why not just learn by trying it out and seeing what works? That's what I do with magic.”

“Geez.” Apple Bloom sighed as she dug into her meal. “Ah'm not even goin' ta try and argue that one with ya, since Ah already know how it goes.”

“I'm glad to see you've finally learned,” Sweetie said as she finished off her bowl of oats. She sighed and looked to the stars glimmering above them. “I'm going to bed. Might as well get some sleep, since we're going to set out at first light.”

“Good idea,” Apple Bloom said. “Scootaloo and I will handle the dishes."

“Bleh,” Scootaloo said, looking at the large metal pot. “Do we have enough water?”

Apple Bloom finished off the final spoonful of her bowl. “Ah got some earlier, since we're not far from the river.”

“Well, good night you two. Have fun.” Sweetie Belle lit her horn and cheerfully skipped her way over to the tent.

Scootaloo frowned after her and finished off the last two spoons of her oatmeal in silence as Apple Bloom put a kettle of water over the fire.

“Say, Bloom,” Scootaloo called out tentatively once the kettle started to boil. Apple Bloom looked to her and quirked an eyebrow. “Do you get the feeling that Sweetie’s trying too hard, or...” Scootaloo wracked her mind for the proper way to say it. “Sweetie's changed, you know? Don't you think that's got to have been hard on her? How can she still be smiling like that?”

Apple Bloom fished the kettle off of the fire with a pair of tongs, and poured the water into a bin already half-filled with cool water and some soap. Once she set the kettle down, she nabbed all their dirty dishes, tossed them into the wash bin. She then affixed a scrub pad to her hoof and began working away at the dishes.

“Yeah, Ah can't imagine it's been anything but hard on her. Ah wouldn't have any idea what ta think if mah body suddenly changed like that. What would mah sister and brother think? What would you two think? How can Ah get them ta treat me the same as they always did before? Those are all the first questions that would have popped into mah mind. And Ah'm sure Sweetie's thought of them as well.”

Scootaloo cast a worried gaze over to their tent. “Yeah, but she hasn't talked about it at all. She's just pretending that the changes haven't happened. She's forcing a fake smile, but it hurts to see her like that.”

“Wouldn't you do the same?” Apple Bloom asked. “It's not something she wanted."

“Yeah, but she's just running away from the problem, not facing it,” Scootaloo argued. “Shouldn't we ask her about it?”

“If she wants ta talk about it, Ah'm all ears. But Ah know better than ta pry.”

“Well, then. What do you think of it? Her eyes and her fangs?”

Apple Bloom sighed as she finished scrubbing off the bowls. “Ah don't rightly know what ta make of it all. Ah don't have enough knowledge of magic ta really know what's actually happened to her. Ah think it's strange, and Ah want ta know why it happened. But beyond that...”

“It scares me,” Scootaloo admitted and began drying the washed dishes with a rag. “When I asked her about it, she claimed that the change wasn't that important, and finding a way to fix it isn't worth our time. She said we should just focus on finding this snake pony. But every time I look at her now, it scares me a bit. It reminds me of that snake that we're after. Not only that, but sometimes it looks like she almost goes into a bit of trance or something, like she isn't really seeing the world around her anymore. Is she going to be okay? If she isn't, can we help her somehow?”

“Ah wish Ah could say that time will sort it all out, but Ah can't say that honestly. Ah'll try talking to her tomorrow during breakfast, before we head out. Ah know you two have always been closer to each other than ta me, and she's lucky ta have somepony so worried about her. Don't worry, we'll get ta the bottom of this.”

The two of them finished cleaning, drying and putting the rest of the dishes away, the act being punctuated by a mighty yawn from Apple Bloom. She then placed a comforting hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder. “In any case, there's not too much we can do about it right now. Ah think Ah'll get a bit o' shut eye for now. Put out the fire 'fore ya head in, alright?”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said quietly as she turned to the flickering flames of the fire. How can I help her?

Eventually she heard her two friend's soft snores emanating from their tent. Before her, the fire began to die, shedding it's soft orange glow barely past the ring of stones. It reminded her of the passive light of the moon; there were no stray flames to cause a flicker to the soft light, just the heat of spent wood, reaching outward to hold the world in a gentle embrace.

That was when an idea came into her mind. She looked over to the tent. But do I dare? She wondered for a moment, then looked up the half-full moon above, a wisp of cloud granting it a hazy countenance. She gave herself a curt nod. I'll do it, and I'll suffer the consequences, whatever they may be. I'm tired of not acting, of not making a difference. If I have a chance, I'll damn well try my best to help her.

With a fluid motion, she dumped the bin of water of the remains of the fire. With a sharp hiss and some popping, the embers were extinguished. The moon remained, leaving her just enough light to make out the silhouette of the tent.

Scootaloo stepped over to the tent as quietly as she could, nodding to herself as she heard both her friends still slumbering, but something was off. Sweetie's snores weren't just wisps of breath, but Scootaloo could hear some words barely audible, they shot the faintest shimmer of poisonous green across her sight. She nosed her way past the tent flap and inside. Once there, she allowed her eyes to adjust until she picked out the barest silhouette of Sweetie's sleeping form, and brought her head close to Sweetie's and listened intently.

“I... am... Sweetie... Belle...” Each word was punctuated with a sharp breath which sounded like a wince to Scootaloo. “I... am...” Sweetie fell silent, save for her tremulous breaths.

“Luna, watch over me,” Scootaloo said quietly as she reached within herself for the familiar sense of energy behind her eyes. Fixing her gaze directly on Sweetie Belle, she forced the energy forward, and felt it latch onto the sleeping unicorn. With a familiar falling sensation, her vision shot forward into the shadowed form of her friend.

A silence and darkness surrounded her.



Pale grays, purples and pinks.
And a chill fills the air as she thinks.
'I will help without compromise,
However I can. I promise.'
She pushes through the formless shadowed shapes
Forging a path, until the silence breaks
To her determination.



Scootaloo stepped out of the nothingness and felt her hooves brush against soft grass. She looked about and was quick to spot the crusaders' clubhouse, shadowed under the veil of twilight. Ponyville, of course. Alright, Sweetie, where are you?

Closing her eyes, she coaxed the energy from within her, out into the dreamscape. Sweetie Belle. She willed the energy to find her friend. She felt a stream of it rush out of her, but unlike when she was searching for Azure, in the crystal pony's dream, her energy suddenly split into three threads. There shouldn't be three threads if it's just chasing after Sweetie. That doesn't make sense. Scootaloo opened her eyes and saw the three threads of purple energy flowing from her, quite visible. One of the threads was heading directly into the clubhouse.

Shrugging with her wings, Scootaloo decided to follow the thread to the clubhouse. She walked up the well-maintained staircase and pulled open the door. As she had come to expect, behind the doorway was a thick darkness. 

Doorways. Luna had always emphasized that doorways held great power within dreams. As minds often separated individual emotions and their associated objects, doorways were the connectors between such things. The sharp transitions between individual fears, loves and hates. Scootaloo let out a weary sigh. Alright Sweetie, let's see where you're going to lead me.

Scootaloo stepped through the inky darkness and was immediately greeted by a mid-noon sun, bright blue sky, lush green grass, and a hedge garden. Glancing about, Scootaloo noted the various statues of the Canterlot Sculpture Gardens. Then that must mean... With a frown, she moved forward and turned a corner, looking for the statue that she knew would be there.

The purple mote of energy flowed directly from her and past where Discord's statue should have been. In its place stood a stone statue of Sweetie Belle, the same size as she was when she was a filly with naught but a blank flank.

“Sweetie?” Scootaloo called out as she approached the statue.

The statue didn't respond.

At the statue's base, Scootaloo noticed a bronze weathered placard. It read: 'Sweetie Belle: Scion of Chaos'. Scootaloo frowned at it and examined Sweetie Belle more closely. There were tears in her eyes, as stony as the rest of her body, and her mouth was opened in mid-scream.

“That's how I saw her last,” a male's voice said sadly from behind Scootaloo. “It broke my heart to see her like that.”

She turned to see one of her tendrils of violet energy land upon an elderly, brown-coated unicorn with a white mane, red eyes and goatee looking back at her. Scootaloo was surprised to see the pony had motes of darkness spread over him like a spiderweb, or rather it was as if his skin had cracked with fissures to nothingness. He was lounging against another statue in the garden: Starswirl the Bearded.

“You knew Sweetie Belle? Who are you?” Scootaloo demanded, wondering if this piece of Sweetie's dream was dangerous.

“Her friend. Or at least that's what she called me.” The unicorn jumped down from the pedestal he was lounging on, and moved over to Sweetie's statue. Once at the base, he reached up a hoof and tapped the stone statue. “Of course, what sort of friend does this to the other?” He let out a dry laugh. “And now all I can do is sit and watch as she struggles within the stone.”

“But she's not in stone,” Scootaloo said. “Sweetie's alive and in the flesh.”

“Her flesh? I think not... She's forever gone. Her body is naught but memory, a thing to be seen in dreams. This statue is her memory. It will fade in time, change over time, fall to pieces over time, as all things must.”

Scootaloo frowned. “So her body's really gone then? For good?”

“For foolishness,” the old pony remarked with a laugh. “Her foolishness and mine. She lives, but has she really been saved if this is the price she must pay?” He shook his head.

Scootaloo glared at the pony. The fractures in his body revealed gaps to nothingness within him, the sight was unsettling to the pegasus. His cutie mark was completely swallowed by the darkness as well. “You... Who are you really?”

“Just a broken collection of memories of myself. The one who betrayed her, the one who hurt her, and the one who saved her. I have given her everything within my being, and yet it wasn't enough. All I had hoped for was a beginning or an end, yet I couldn’t reach either. Nothing is worse than a world which doesn’t change.”

The pieces clicked together in Scootaloo's mind. “You're... Discord?!”

“I was. Some time ago.” The pony sighed. “But the facade I wore is no longer mine. I am now undone.”

“What did you do to Sweetie Belle? What happened to her body?”

The old pony looked Scootaloo in the eyes for a moment. “You care for her. More so than I ever did, and perhaps that is why regret is all that remains.” The old unicorn let out a dry chuckle. “And yet I am now freer than ever before. The stone no longer weighs me down, the burden is no longer mine to bear.”

“Answer me, damn it!” Scootaloo scowled at 'Discord' and pressed her will upon him. “What did you do to Sweetie Belle?”

He smiled as he was pushed backward and slammed into the sturdy branches of the nearby hedge. “And that's how we find our answers, as always: we force others into submission.” He barked out a wheezy laugh. “I saved her. She was going to die, and instead of leaving her to her fate, I chose to intervene. I destroyed her body so that her body would not die in that instant.” The unicorn turned his head and his horn flared with a red magic.

A picture appeared in the air before Scootaloo, it showed the maw of a dragon crashing down upon Sweetie Belle, then in the next moment, she disappeared.

“You replaced her with the other Sweetie back then?”

“The other girl was a source of overflowing energy passing near our world, quite opportune. So I directed it to me and used the magic to save the girl from that overgrown lizard.” The old unicorn let out a bedraggled sigh. “So yes, I cause her to lose her body.” He nodded to the statue. “I wonder... would you turn a friend to stone if it would save their life?” He laughed bitterly.

Scootaloo winced and removed her will from him, causing the pony to slouch down to the ground. “Look, I'm sorry I forced you to answer, that was wrong of me. But thank you for answering.”

“It's no less than I deserve,” 'Discord' said.

“But I'm curious,” Scootaloo said looking at Sweetie's stone form. “Why did her body change the way it has? Shouldn't she have gotten her original body back?”

“Her body is an expression of her magic now. It's who she is—all she is—a thing of hidden crimes that she did not commit. She's inherited my burdens, all of them. But she has not the disposition to make them her own, to change them to suit her. Because of this, the source of her magic revolts against her, and if she does not change, she shall break.”

“Break?” Scootaloo regarded the old unicorn with worry. Can I trust his words? What reason would he have to lie? He’s Discord, Discord’s never needed a reason to lie. “Why's her magic revolting?”

“It's simply the nature of the magic inside her, the nature of an Element.” Scoddri said sadly. “Magic that is not your own—magic that rebukes you out of spite, fear, and anger—one has to face it with the determination to do anything, or it will break them. And the girl cannot do it. She’s too kind to do it.”

“Element? Like an Element of Harmony?”

“Yes. A principality of magic. The stones that are left behind are a physical embodiment of magic itself, each with their own wills and desires buried within them. They are nearly living things themselves. Only the strongest of magical creatures or plants could ever become Elements, a fact which I had discovered through the years of mastering the craft of magic myself.” Scoddri paused to look to the blue sky for a moment. “I had finally gotten my hooves on an element, through no small amount of sacrifice, but it would not respond to me, it had refused to acknowledge me. But I merely saw that as a challenge, harnessing its power was the next stepping-stone on the path to my destiny.”

“Where did the element come from?” Scootaloo asked uncomfortably.

“Chaos. Luck. The Endless Summer Breeze. The Laughing Mirage,” the old unicorn spoke the titles nonchalantly. “At least those were some of the names he was known by. I never got to ask him what he called himself, something in the dragon tongue, I suspect. An ancient emerald dragon he was, a large brute if you ever saw his true form. Over a millennium of magic stored within his body. He was a trickster, and a shape-changer, using his magic to hide in plain sight and doing as he pleased. Though he was perhaps a little too trusting at times. He moved wherever the wind blew him, as was his nature: Change.”

“So then, what did you do with his Element?”

“I bound it to myself, of course. The magic nearly overwhelmed me. But it was a risk I was willing to take. It would either destroy me, or I would control it, a gambit worthy of the destiny I had envisioned. And once I had bound the Element to me, the power I could command was more than I had imagined.” A slow smile came to the old unicorn's lips, his eyes glazed in nostalgia.

Scootaloo cleared her throat. “So the half-heart you left Sweetie, it was an element.”

“The same element I had bound to myself all those years ago. I offered it to her.” The old pony nodded to the statue of Sweetie Belle. “If she had taken it, I'd have finally been consumed by the magic and been set free, or if she had given it back to me, I'd have resealed its magic within myself once again, freeing me from the spell of the other Elements. The same gambit which I had been willing to make once before.”

Scootaloo shrugged uncomfortably. “But neither of those happened.”

“No. Twilight Sparkle intervened. She stopped me from completing the rebinding, and it left me shattered within the element.” He gestured to his fissured body and laughed bitterly.

“You know... Scoddri... Sweetie still cares about you,” Scootaloo said uneasily. “I always thought she was taking things a bit too far by always talking about you so fondly... I still do. But I'm certain she's forgiven you for what you’ve done.”

“Scoddri...” The old pony smiled sadly. “But she doesn't know yet, just how I have truly changed her—wrecked her—and when she finds out, there can be no place for me in her heart. Only resentment and a desire to change again.”

For a time neither pony spoke as they looked at the statue of the young Sweetie Belle.

Eventually Scootaloo noticed she still had two other strings of energy flowing from her. “Say, Scoddri, I have another question for you.”

“Your questions are as plentiful as hers ever were.”

“When I searched for Sweetie in this dream, I saw three threads directing me to her instead of just one, and one lead to you instead.”

Scoddri laughed softly. “Three threads for the three sleeping inside. She is no longer just the Sweetie you knew, but regretfully much more. It would be best if you learned to accept that sooner rather than later. Go and find out for yourself.” Scoddri raised a hoof to point toward an entrance into the hedge maze. A black sheet of nothingness stood between the towering walls of greenery, and Scootaloo noticed a thread of her energy lead that way.

“Alright,” Scootaloo said. “Maybe Sweetie was right about you...”

“I assure you, she wasn't.” Scoddri walked over to an empty pedestal. “She's naïve, and far too trusting, but perhaps therein lies her strength.” He leaped onto the stone pedestal and with a flash he became a stone statue of himself with large crevasses and cracks spider-webbing across his surface.

Scootaloo moved over to the statue and read the placard beneath it. 'Scoddri: Always a Fool'. 

“Self-pity won't get you anywhere,” Scootaloo muttered and turned from the statue, heading straight to the hedge entrance.


* * *


Apple Bloom awoke to the sound of an electrical buzz. In surprise she opened her eyes to see a tendril of violet energy, flashing like lightning. She saw Scootaloo standing over Sweetie Belle, her eyes wide open, looking directly at Sweetie's face. Two lances of purple energy were shooting out from Scootaloo's eyes and drawn to Sweetie's horn as though it were a lightning rod.

“What in tarnation is going on here?” Apple Bloom looked between her two friends and could only begin to guess at what was happening. Should Ah move 'em apart?


* * *


The darkness transformed instantly to reveal what looked to be a cavern, portions of it lit up in the distance with a fiery light which Scootaloo could only assume came from open pools of magma. That’s strange… I doubt Sweetie’s ever been to a place like this. Most ponies never dreamed of places they weren’t familiar with, or if they did, there were usually telltale signs of the pony in question marking the dreamscape. This cavern, however seemed to hold no correlation to her friend whatsoever. 

Scootaloo scrunched her wings up instinctively as she felt the weight of the mountain all around her and the heavy heat of a volcano press down on her. The glowing violet band of energy directed her toward a tunnel, through which a golden-green light emanated.

As she moved through the tunnel, it turned sharply and gave way to a large chamber lined with sconces which bore torches of golden-green flames. At the far end, Scootaloo saw a creature wrapped in chains. Emerald, large, and curled up over a pile of golden treasure.

Its green eyes smouldered as she walked towards it. Scootaloo noted that one mote of her violet energy was pointing directly at the dragon across the cave. “Hello!” she shouted across the cave.

The dragon blinked once then raised his head, then with a roar of primordial rage, it shot a torrent of golden emerald flame all the way across the chamber. Scootaloo only had a moment to deny the flames' existence.

As she pushed her will against the flames, knowing that they weren't real, it felt as though she slammed against a wall, and the fires stopped in place, but didn't disappear. With a scowl, she pictured the cave without the flames and forced her will upon it. After a second, she was left panting, but the flames dissipated into nothingness.

“Begone!” A rumbling voice shook the entire cavern. “Dream-child, you know not the powers you face. You are but a buzzing fly to me. Leave, or I shall destroy you, utterly and completely.”

“Please,” called out Scootaloo, “tell me! How do you know Sweetie Belle?”

“Sweetie Belle?!” The dragon snarled, tufts of smoke pouring from his nostrils “I will devour her! Right after I have destroyed you!”

Frantic, Scootaloo looked to the chains around the dragon's neck and sent her will at them, hoping to tighten them and choke the monster's neck before it could release its breath. But as soon as her will touched upon the chains, it met resistance similar as if she had just flown face-first into a mountain side. Whatever held the chains was a will far stronger than her own.

The dragon let loose another gout of flame before Scootaloo could collect herself. In desperation she tried to deny the fire, but she felt it flow around her, burning her, stinging her. It's a dream, it's not real! This pain isn't real! But the thoughts weren't enough. She could feel the flames closing in on her. Luna, it burns!


* * *


Scootaloo opened her eyes to find herself falling backward inside the tent and Apple Bloom tackling her to the ground, just as a flash of emerald flame erupted from Sweetie's horn.

“Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom shouted. “Sorry Ah pulled ya out of there, but it was getting' too dangerous! The tent nearly caught on fire!”

“No,” Scootaloo said breathlessly. “You saved my flank. I was about to be roasted alive in there.”

“What happened?” Apple Bloom asked, glancing over to Sweetie Belle.

The unicorn's magic had ceased, however she was now moaning lightly, “I... am... Sweetie Belle...”

“I... don't know. But something's seriously messed up with Sweetie.” Scootaloo slammed a hoof against the ground in frustration. “There's something really dangerous inside her. Even worse than that snake's mind magic. And I don’t know what we can do to save her.”


* * *

End of Chapter 23