"Daddy? Daddy?!" A distant call roused Reuben. "Please, open your eyes Daddy!" Reuben cracked open his eyes to see Scootaloo peering down at him, despair dissolving in her eyes and being replaced with relief. "Oh, thank goodness! You're awake."
Reuben groaned as he staggered to his hooves and looked around. The castle looked much the same as it had before they were sealed, with the exception of the longer and thicker vines and creepers. The orb they had been sealed in now lay on the cold stone floor, split into two pieces to show a hollow interior.
"Reuben..." The voice sounded again. "Spirit of Harmony... hearken now..."
"Daddy?" Scootaloo said, puzzled. "Can you hear that voice?"
"Yes I can, darling," Reuben answered. "I thought it was just in my head."
"Reuben... listen to me now... travel... to Canterlot... speak with... Princess Celestia..."
"Are we going to Canterlot?! That's SOOOO cool!" Scootaloo bounced around her adopted father, seemingly none the worse for 500 years sealed inside a stone ball. "When are we leaving?"
Reuben stood on his hind legs and stretched before falling back onto all fours. "I think we should get settled in the nearest town before we go on any great adventures. I know a place near the border of the forest where we can rest up before leaving." Scootaloo nodded excitedly, and fluttered onto his back. Reuben looked over his shoulder, and gave the adorable pegasus filly a nuzzle before trotting into the castle courtyard, spreading his wings and taking to the skies.
Landing at the house he mentioned, Reuben was shocked at first to see the place almost in ruins, then remembered that he had been gone for 500 years.
"Is this it?" Scootaloo scoffed as she hopped off Reuben's back. "This place is falling apart!" A window shutter fell to the ground with a crash, as if to accentuate her complaint.
"No-pony has been here in centuries, Scootaloo," Reuben explained patiently. "It just needs a few repairs, and it'll be as good as new."
"I'll help too!" Scootaloo announced, perking up immediately. "Maybe I can get my Cutie Mark in construction and repairs!"
"Maybe you can, my dear," Reuben chuckled. "Maybe you can."
He walked into the house, returning a few minutes later with a red metal box full of tools and nails. "We'd best get started."
About 5 hours later...
"I'm tired!" Scootaloo gasped as she flopped down onto the grass next to the newly repaired front door. "And we've only finished the first floor!" How long will the rest take?"
"I wasn't expecting to finish the whole thing today," Reuben replied, sitting down next to her. "We've done enough to keep us comfortable for tonight."
"And I STILL haven't got my Cutie Mark!" Scootaloo said, looking forlornly back at her blank flank.
"Don't worry, darling. These things take time." Reuben glanced over his shoulder at the sun, alarmed to see that it was setting. "Wow, I hadn't realised that we'd been on the job for so long."
Scootaloo said nothing, instead giving a huge yawn and resting her head on her front hooves. Reuben smiled at the cute sight before him, and levitated the sleepy filly onto his back, and walked carefully inside. He rested her gently on the floor, and walked back outside, returning a moment later with a pile of moss and ferns. Reuben placed the moss on the wooden planks, and lined it with ferns until the assembly resembled a nest that wild cats sometimes built for sleeping in. He levitated Scootaloo onto the moss, and curled up around her, the sound of the filly's gentle snoring lulling him slowly to sleep.