//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight: Hope for a Dream // Story: The Grownup Way // by Cold Spike //------------------------------// It no longer felt like a dream. No. It felt like a bizarre dream. Samantha watched Rarity prepare an outfit of some kind, busy humming to herself with her back faced toward her. “Uh, you’re just okay with me looking after your kid- fillies?” “Hmm?” Rarity turned back slightly, then quickly gathered her attention onto her thread and needle. “Well, I must admit I was reluctant to let you be in their club at all. You… shall we say, acted oddly at your party. However, Pinkie pointed out that anypony in a new place could act out of their element. We all wanted to give you a chance.” She chuckled. “After I saw that clubhouse of theirs looking more pristine than my own shop, I was shocked!” She pondered this and then shrugged. “Actually, all of us were even more shocked when those three went a single day without, erm, causing some destruction to something. They are dears… but some actual guidance can only further their education of this world.” “Yeah… the world.” She muttered, knowing full well that hanging out with her of all ponies would some how hinder their education of it. “But, you all hardly know me.” She pointed out. Rarity nodded, still paying more attention to her thread and needle. “True, oh and by the way, they are our sisters, not our children. I don’t see the harm in Twilight’s little idea. You may have not done an exemplary job in the task I had given you, but we all deserve a second chance.” She appreciated the chance regardless of what it entailed. However, she didn’t appreciate the situation. Samantha didn’t wish to cause conflict here, it would only hinder any progress she hoped to make with the ponies. If they turned against her, or she got in trouble then she could kiss any hope of going home good bye. Maybe. There was still the big possibility it was all a dream, though, hunger and thirst and a multitude of other signs pointed to this being not so true. “Right. So, what are you making for me? I know it’s a uniform…” She trailed off and grimaced inwardly at the fancy dresses that lined Rarity’s shop. “I just don’t know what type.” “Well, it’s not the exact same situation, but when I was a filly my mother made me join the--” “Filly Scouts?” Samantha guessed for her. She was starting to get used to the few pony puns she had heard from the others. Judging from the odd uniform, she figured it had something to do with the girl scouts. “Ah, so you know of them? Good. Essentially me and the others believe if the three had a leader, a “scout” leader, then their activities can be more focused. Oh, and certainly more regulated.” Somewhere in the pit of Samantha’s soul, she felt controlling the crusaders was not going to be an easy task. So far they seemed like relatively normal kids, but compared to humans she had no idea what kind of trouble a unicorn, pegasus and earth pony could get into. She felt that by asking Rarity for help with getting home, things could only get complicated, she may not want her around her sister at all. Twilight seemed so odd when I asked her about dreams. Defensive even. There has got to be some way home, I did it before… right? In the end, Samantha figured if she spent more time exploring then she may discover a way back. “Finished!” The entire outfit that Rarity had finished was not what astonished Samantha, it was because the thing was floating. She had still not gotten used to magic. “So… I see.” It looked no different than a regular scout uniform from back home, mint green plus white. Only it was adapted for her new equine form. There was a tiny brown skirt around the lower end portion, which she admitted looked cute to her. The whole thing seemed overly childish, though. That was one thing she noticed about Ponyville, the charm went so deep that she could swear children designed the place. Rarity frowned and gently lowered the outfit. “You don’t like it?” The mare’s eyes widened and she promptly shook her head. “No, no! It’s fine… I guess I’m just not used to everything being so… cute… looking all the time.” Rarity’s frown never wavered. “I don’t understand, hmm… just where are you from, dear? I’m not sure if any of us ever asked you.” She didn’t have long to think, not without seeming suspicious anyway. “Well, not from anywhere around here. Way more ponies live where I’m from, plus the roads are all paved.” Rarity nodded. “Somewhere like Manehattan?” She got a shy nod from Samantha. “Hmm, seems like rustic place for sure.” Did she say Mane? Not Man? Samantha shook her head and decided to drop it. Though this meant she was lying and that lie would come out in order to get help in the future. Soon the outfit swiftly floated back towards Samantha. “Alright, what say we try it on?” Samantha moaned slightly and before even bothering an attempt, she gave Rarity a smile. “Mind helping me in? I’m not really used to wearing--” “Ah, not used to clothes? No worries.” Samantha could only blink in confusion at that, but was thankful when Rarity used a bit of magic to help guide her into the one piece combo clothing. It made her feel slightly warmer, almost hot, with all the fur over her body. “Fit well?” “Yeah, I think so.” She took a walk around her store a bit and noticed when moving the material could be felt through the fur. That gave her pause, but she considered the possibility of dreaming again and decided to drop yet another thing. She wasn’t sure if ignoring reality was healthy, but it worked for the time being. “Excellent! I didn’t have time to make the three their own, but do you mind giving these to them?” She levitated over a wooden box and inside were three neckerchiefs, matching her own outfits color and style. Samantha nodded and the box was loaded into a saddlebag that Rarity let her borrow. “So… do you have any tips? I said I’ve heard of them, I was never in them.” Rarity’s eyes widened for a moment. “I see. I hadn’t considered that. It’s not overly challenging.” Rarity pondered quietly for a moment before promptly responding quite loudly. “Idea~! Give me a second to find my old scouting booklet, that should put you on the right track.” Several moments later she found herself seated on a park bench, flipping through the booklet and dreading every moment of it. “Flower picking and eating? Hoofcare? Acting prim and proper? ...It’s like the book is getting more sexist as I read.” Somehow she didn’t think the ‘activities’ in the booklet would go over well with the three fillies. It at least had a neat way of introducing herself as their scout leader. “That shouldn’t be too difficult… what’s this?” At the end she found a few more complex things they could try. “Bird houses? Why not.” Samantha was staring at their clubhouse nervously. She could sense the three inside, obvious from the constant laughter and noise. “Here goes nothing.” She muttered and quickly climbed their ladder. “Scouts! Front and center!” Feeling awkward even saying it, she waited. The laughter quieted down and soon three pony faces all stuck themselves to the tiny window to peek outside. The door eventually peaked open. “Samantha?” She heard Scootaloos voice ask. “Yep, come on out you three!” “We told you things were fine, Sweetie. There’s no, er, Discords out here.” Sweetie watched Apple Bloom leave the safety of their clubhouse. Her frow was burrowed and the filly couldn’t quite figure out why things felt wrong in that moment. “But girls! What if he’s here! I know I heard him!” Sweetie immediately discovered she was now alone in their clubhouse and then quickly dashed outside to join the others. A few moments later the Crusaders were given a short explanation on what was going on, leaving them more confused than ever. “Yes, Scootaloo?” Samantha pointed to the pegasus who nodded in return. “So, are you like our teacher now?” “Sort of, only when we are you “scouting”,” she exclaimed with air quotes. “So, we’re crusadin’ and scoutin’?” As silly as her question sounded, Apple Bloom’s expression was quite serious. “Er, yes, your pa- sisters thought it would help you three crusade if you had better instructions… to do… so.” She was at least ninety percent sure what she said made little sense to them. All three looked at each other, then promptly nodded. “That makes sense!” “Our sisters are awesome!” Two of them mimicked a high fiving motion, causing Samantha to chucklesome. “Not as awesome as Rainbow--” “We know, Scootaloo. We know.” Her friends finished for her in an un-enthusiastic tone. The pegasus filly snorted, but couldn’t help blushing in response. Sweetie Belle’s hoof, which had been raised, lowered when called upon. “So, if Discord was after us, you could stop him or something, right?” No idea who that is. Must be some kind of ‘boogie man’ to her. She smiled. “I’m sure I could take him. Now, how about we gather the materials for our bird houses.” She motioned for the fillies to follow her, though, Sweetie Belle trailed behind and couldn’t shake the feeling they were being tracked. Their starting activity was to gather wood and while all three didn’t feel like it was the pinnacle of fun. The activity was welcome as it was different enough to not feel boring. Sweetie Belle took the opportunity to practice her levitation. She had almost gotten a small pile of wooden logs to push forward from the ground, when she heard a noise. It startled her and any magic from her horn fizzled out. She turned around and immediately noticed that she was alone, all she could see was a dirt path and the countless apple trees that littered the orchard. A wind blew through her mane, messing it up slightly. Things seemed quiet, when a moment ago she could have sworn her friends and Samantha were very near by. She shrugged, then turned around. “Tame me will you…” An ear shattering scream followed. “Scoots, did ya hear that?” Scootaloo swiveled her ears back and forth then shrugged. “Uh, I guess not?” Samantha came up to them, using her hooves to kick a few wood pieces closer and closer to their gathering pile. In the back of her mind she started to wonder just how safe it would be to even use a saw; she had just gotten the hang of picking stuff up with her hooves. No confidence there. She looked up to two confused filly faces. “What’s up?” “Uh, Apple Bloom heard something. Hmm, how come you never carry stuff in your mouth anyway?” She blinked in confusion, surely the non unicorns had better ways of picking items up? She was about to test it out, when all three of them heard Sweetie Belle’s voice. They quickly discovered which direction it came from and darted after it, with Samantha in the lead. Dozens of ideas came to mind, after all the orchard was right next to a foreboding looking forest. Anything could of happened! She sped up and rounded a corner, following the path and where she hoped Sweetie Belle was. What she saw made her almost turn right around and head for the hills. A large beast taller than any living creature she had seen thus far, was towering over Sweetie Belle. The filly in question appeared to be floating in mid air, surrounded by a giant soap bubble. The creature was more concerning, not only was he laughing like a wild man, but he appeared to be a mixture of a dragon and many other things that should never mix. “Hey!” Samantha called out and pointed her hoof menacingly at the creature. The dragon like ‘thing’ paused in its laugher and looked down; Sweetie Belle turned around as well. Before anything could be said the creature seemed to smile upon the sight of Samantha. “What do we have here… that’s weird.” He went to shuffle for something behind his ear, then turned back to Sweetie Belle. “I’m the king of weird, I should know.” Eventually his claw appendage came back in front, clutching a pair of eyeglasses. He donned them and promptly began to inspect the mare. “Hmm, I see, yes…” “What do you see?” Sweetie asked, much to Samantha’s surprise. Discord continued to ponder to himself in a trance-like state. It was bizarre to watch the being inspect her. Eventually Sweetie Belle broke out of the bubble, hopped down gently and joined the mare’s side. “So, uh, care to explain what this is about?” If there was ever a moment that made her doubt this was reality, it was a giant dragon inspecting her and mumbling to itself. Sweetie Belle nodded. “I ran into Discord and he spooked me, so I ran a ton and nearly fell off that cliff over there.” She pointed and sure enough on the edge of the orchard the land sort of ended as it was raised above a lake. “That would have hurt, but Discord sort of saved me in this bubble thingy. I mean I would have been fine, but it was nice of him.. even if he was the one that scared me.” “Okay, so that’s Discord?” Sweetie Belle responded by looking back at Discord, then nodded. “Alright, why is he looking at me like that?” “I dunno.” Sweetie turned around again and cleared her throat. “Hey, Discord, what ya doin’ with Samantha?” “There’s something just… off about her. Give a moment, I’ll figure it out.” Sweetie smiled and nodded, looking up she noticed Samantha was practically growling in anger. Off about...me?! Her eyes twitched and she was doing her best not to flip out, the stress of her whole situation was starting to get to her. “I’ll figure it out, maybe it’s just her weird shaped head or something,” he quipped casually. Somewhere deep inside Samantha she felt the world turn a tad colder. Yes, she was grateful to find this world once again, a place nearly long forgotten. She was grateful to see Twilight again, even if she acted more odd than she remembered. It was like finding a long lost friend, in a long lost home, even if the memories of that home were scattered at best. However, something snapped. “Hey! You overgrown lizard! Watch who you’re insulting!” Discord chuckled and flew higher. “Oh certainly I’ll watch that. Mhm.” Sweetie Belle giggled at the two, but quickly quieted down when they noticed. “Uh, sorry.” Samantha sighed. “You, you’re just not fair… of all the things…” She half muttered to herself. Discord seemed even more amused, while Sweetie Belle looked quite quizzical. Neither being fully understood the weight of Samantha’s words. The mare took a seat and sighed. If this was a dream I would have known at this point, woken up from shock. Now what? “Samantha, what’s wrong?” “Sweetie Belle, I don’t think you can help. I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is.” Sweetie Belle didn’t like the answer, which was why the mare apologised before any response could be given. Sweetie didn’t bother to respond; Samantha seemed like an adult who wanted to be left alone. “Ah…. that’s it. Weird indeed,” Discord said solemnly. Samantha looked up at him, all anger of his casual insults forgotten. “What?” she bothered to ask. “Oh, look, it’s your little friends. I’ll just be getting out of your mane now, or should it be hair?” Samantha tilted her head. “Whatever, I’ll be seeing you soon!” He pulled on an imaginary beard that literally appeared from nowhere, and his entire body was sucked inside of it in a manner of seconds. Samantha held the sigh and turned around, ignoring Sweetie’s inevitable question. “Alright, girls, let’s go work on some bird houses…” She walked past Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, not bothering to give them a glance. All three Crusaders shared a look, then Sweetie Belle tilted her head up and motioned for her friends to follow. “Are ya sad?” Sweetie asked Samantha. “No, well, sort of. It’s not--” “Maybe you just need a milkshake,” Scootaloo suggested, then her wings buzzed in excitement. “Always cheers me up!” “I don’t think--” She was interrupted yet again by Sweetie Belle. “I don’t know, Scoots. Maybe… she should just talk about it.” Tell a bunch of kids I’m from a different world. Yeah, that will end well. She decided on a compromise. “Well, I’ve been trying to come up with a way home. It’s… very far from here.” “How’d you end up here?” “Good question. I couldn’t really tell you, I just know it was some kind of magic.” Her cryptic reply didn’t dissuade them. “What kind of magic?!” Apple Bloom’s excitable question was quickly overshadowed by two others. “Did a freaky unicorn send you here?” “Was it Discord?!” “I…” Samantha trailed off. She began to ponder the strange creature's power, and how un-dream like he felt. He seemed to know his way around magic. He also seemed to find me strange. Or was that familiarity in his eyes? She thought about it for a few more moments, then realized that Discord did seem to recognize her. “Girls, how do you all know Discord?” “Well... we don’t really. He usually hangs out with Fluttershy ah lot, she “reformed” him,” Sweetie Belle replied. “Reformed? Uh, okay…” To Samantha, Equestria was more than just plain bizarre. It was how the place had forced her to think outside the box; to work for answers and just plain work in general. It was a foreign feeling, not just the physical changes, but almost everything. Even if they seemed far more human in their mannerisms. It was also, she decided, quite annoying. Been away from home for hours and I’m already sick of here. “Could you two maybe take me to Fluttershy’s?” her question was met with confused glances. “But what about the birdhouses?” “Yeah, oh! Is that a scout mission thingy? To see Fluttershy?” Scootaloo’s response made Samantha glad that children’s imagination could spiral out of control at the drop of a hat. “Yes. We need to… gather that wood we’ve collected and bring it to her. She… can help us make birdhouses!” In the entirety of Equestria, it was Twilight she remembered the most. Meaning memories of Twilight’s friends were extremely vague, but in that single moment she realized that Fluttershy worked with animals. She remembered the night she slept near there well enough to know this. If I can’t find anything out about this Discord there, least I’ll have done my ‘job’. She felt calling what she was doing a ‘job’ was stretching things. I wonder if I’m getting paid, well, other than shelter and food. Thankfully the three fillies offered to carry the wood for Samantha. It was quite easy to command them. Kids...awesome. She chuckled inwardly and slowly followed the three out of the orchard “Hey, Samantha, does the scout book say anything about animal cutie marks or… cutie marks?” Why is her name Scootaloo? She shook her head. “Erm, I don’t think so. The book is just meant to guide you. To set you on the right path, I guess.” “Really? Cause I don’t think we’re on the right path at all,” Sweetie Belle said, looking around. “Huh?” Samantha realized they were in the same spot in which she had appeared in Equestria. They were back in the middle of town. “Sweetie Belle, we were supposed to be going to Fluttershy’s!” Scootaloo whined. The little unicorn filly blushed and shrugged. “Well, sorry. I thought it was this way…” Scootaloo face hoofed, a gesture Samantha noticed seemed to be universal, then sighed. “C’mon, it’s this way.” The other two went to follow her, but Samantha paused. It’s the tree… Through all of her fuzzy memories, a single solitary tree felt the strongest. As if having an out of body experience, she began to slowly walk toward the tree. THat’s gotta be the way back, I’m just glad it’s in town. I’d feel bad leaving behind a bunch of kids in a dangerous place. Goodbye Equestria. She felt a pang of guilt leaving the place, but she knew she belonged at home. She reached out to touch the base of the tree, when a voice made her pause. “Samantha! What ya doing-- woah!” Samantha jerked her head back and found Sweetie Belle had been running after her, only to trp and slide forward causing them both to jerk forward. They both saw white. Her dizziness wore off quicker than the last time. She looked around and sighed in relief. She was back in the theatre. Would Jessica still be here waiting for her? She hoped so, she checked her pockets and found her phone and things were right where she left them. Things were back to normal. “Ugh… what happened… wha?” Samantha’s blood ran cold upon hearing the voice. Shakingly she turned around to find a woman of her age hunched over a broken and ripped pony poster. Even though the voice sounded less squeaky, she couldn’t deny the similarities. “S-Sweetie Belle?” Quickly the head of the lady jerked up then she promptly screamed.