//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Dreams // Story: Memories: Another Time // by Wishes //------------------------------// Scootaloo grinned proudly at the sky. With the soft plush cloud under her hooves, she could feel the world bowing down to her, the cool breeze flying through her mane, and the melody of the birdsong in the distance. Beautiful. "Hey, Scoots." Turning, Scootaloo recognized the familiar cyan mare quickly. "Oh, hi Rainbow," Scootaloo answered, "What up?" Rainbow Dash was Scootaloo's friend since she was a filly; a role model to her, even before she earned her cutie mark. It seemed like just yesterday she'd been doing a couple of tricks and she had gotten it. She glanced at her flank, noticing how the pink butterfly seemed to be on fire. It meant that she was fast, on her wings and her scooter. She could remember in her fillyhood her small scooter she rode in; though every time she thought of that memory, there was something about it that made her feel empty. "The sky's up, for one," Rainbow Dash joked, "but anyway, why aren't you at the after-party? You did great out there, kid. You should be swimming in autographs by now." "Autographs?" "Yeah, sure. I remember when I just got invited to join the Wonderbolts. And...here I am, Captain! You're like me, squirt. Soon you'll take on my job." Scootaloo felt excited. Rainbow Dash was a great leader, as captain of the Wonderbolts, and autographs were one of the steps to becoming...like Rainbow Dash. But... "Oh, sorry Rainbow, but I don't think I can make it--" "Make it?" Rainbow interrupted teasingly, "Then what do you mean by standing on a cloud with nothing else to do, huh, squirt?" "I mean, I don't think I want to go." Scootaloo said, "I think I'll just stand on a cloud with nothing else to do." "Your loss," Rainbow Dash said simply, and flew away. Sure enough, as Scootaloo glanced back at her friend, there stood the large Cloudsdale Stadium. It was large, yes, filled with many lights. Nearby, Scootaloo knew, there were throwing their usual Wonderbolt After Party. Scootaloo didn't bother to learn where exactly the after party was being held, because she knew that she wasn't going to attend anyway. Not bothering to think about it anymore, she stood up on the cloud--the only reason she bothered to miss the always-terrific After Party. The skies were blue and perfect; some other clouds floated past her cloud peacefully. Cloudsdale wasn't usually like this, though; she was on the edge of Cloudsdale, actually. Cloudsdale was more South, and she hadn't bothered to actually stand on Cloudsdale's very own cloud-land. She had a special, more personal feeling when she stood, or laid, on a solitary cloud, and it didn't come when she stood on Cloudsdale's mushed-together entirely large cloud-piece. When nightfall came, Scootaloo began to feel sleepy; her hooves stretched out as she fell into a sleeping position on the plush cloud. Her eyelids drooping... "Hey, sleepyhead, you missed the after party," said a gentle, familiar voice, waking her up slightly. "Oh, hey, Spit," Scootaloo replied sleepily, glancing at the brilliant gold pegasus standing behind her. "It was cool," Spitfire went on, silently laughing at the nickname Scootaloo gave her, "Soarin' accidently tipped over the punch bowl while he was trying to impress Rainbow with a trick. It would've been funny if the punch didn't spill all over the DJ's controls." "Aren't they lovebirds," Scootaloo muttered pleasantly. "Everypony thinks that," Spitfire laughed warmly, "They claim they're not. But I've seen them together a million times and I guess having their hooves on each other isn't something normal friends do." Scootaloo laughed. "Anyway, do you want to come hang with us?" Spitfire asked, "Rainbow Dash wanted to relive her memories and throw a sleepover for all the Wonderbolts. Do you have anywhere else to go?" "No, I'd love to go--I'm pooped. Time to hit the hay...literally." ~~~ "To get to the other side! Get it?" Rainbow Dash laughed. There was a silence. "Rainbow Dash, how is that even funny?" Scootaloo asked. "Anyway," Rainbow Dash said, "I think everypony's tired by now. C'mon, bedtime, now!" The sleepover was held in Cloudsdale's suburban parts, in the Wonderbolt's chosen suite in Cloudsdale for staying through traveling to performances and everything. Scootaloo was excited and amazed by all the different parts of Equestria she got to visit and travel through; Rainbow Dash, however, was another story. She liked the traveling and all, but she preferred to laze around in the same place all day, or preform a few tricks than take a nap. She was the kind of pony who liked to have a personal life, rather than an outgoing, social one. But Wonderbolts were supposed to be like that--if they were very social, they didn't have much time to train, preform, and travel...and they'd probably miss their own friends back in someplace and it would become a mess. Rainbow Dash had told Scootaloo all the possibilities when she asked just when she began to be a Wonderbolt, though it seemed more like an excuse to be lazy. There were sleeping bags scattered across the room. This all reminded Rainbow Dash of her old friends back in Ponyville before she got invited to be in the Wonderbolts--Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. It seemed to remind her of their old sleepovers... There was something about two of the names--Applejack and Rarity. Something unsettling, urging her to figure it out but it seemed like she had forgotten. Did she Apple-buck with Applejack? Make a dress with Rarity? It seemed impossible to her, but it might have been true. Glancing around the Suite room, there were a few lamps lit allowing her to look around. All of the Wonderbolts--Soarin', Spitfire, Blaze, Firestreak, Fleetfoot, High Winds, Lightning Streak, Misty, Rapidfire, Silver Lining, Wave Chill, Storm Chant, and of course--Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash--were there in their own personal sleeping bags. They all wore their own personal comfy PJ's that resembled their Wonderbolt costumes. Scootaloo wore a silk dark blue one. "I don't feel so tired," Firestreak explained, his fiery mane looking even more fiery than before, "I just drank a couple of grape sodas, and I think I'm hyper from the caffeine." "That's not healthy, Firestreak," Misty smiled slyly. Misty and Firestreak had a good lasting friendship, and they just decided to take it to the next level. Just like Soarin' and Rainbow Dash. "Um..." Rainbow said, speechless. "Hey, uh, Rainbow, before we go to sleep could we play some game?" Soarin' suggested. "Truth or Dare? Please?" Storm Chant pleaded. Storm Chant was young, but older than Scootaloo. He was just recruited, but Scootaloo was still the youngest Wonderbolt there was. "Truth or Dare sounds entertaining, Rainbow," Spitfire agreed. "Let's play, then." Everypony sat in a circle to begin the game. Rainbow Dash was starting. "Okay. I'll go first." She put a bottle on its side and spun it around. When the bottle stopped spinning, it pointed to Misty. "This isn't spin-the-bottle, you know, Rainbow," Misty said, waving her light yellow hoof at the bottle, "It isn't how you play Truth or Dare." "It's my way," Rainbow Dash said coolly, "Spin the bottle. Whoever it lands on, the person who went before gets to ask truth or dare to somepony. Whoever doesn't answer to a truth or doesn't do a dare is a chicken!" There was something to the chicken word. She was thrust into a short memory--without any pictures, just a voice. "Scoot-Scootaloo!" the voice shouted, that seemed to come from a young filly with a slight cowpony accent, "Scoot-Scootaloo!" The voice seemed familiar, but she just couldn't seem to put her hoof on it. Probably another little mistake she had forgotten about her past. "Scootaloo! Earth to Scootaloo!" Shaking herself out of her memories, she awoke. "Huh?" she wondered aloud, dizzily. "Truth or Dare?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Um..." Scootaloo hesitated. She loved dares, because they were so fun. But whenever she played Truth or Dare she always chose dare, and she also liked trying new things. What would truth be like? "Truth." Rainbow smiled. "Okay..." she said, "What was the most embarrassing moment of your life?" "Embarrassing? Um...well...there was one time where I was trying to do something and I got all muddy with pigs and all. And there was another time I tried to do something and I got cards flying in my face and I had to stay home and heal all of my paper cuts...and there was another time when I tried singing and I made a fool of myself..." "Crusading for your cutie marks, huh? I remember those times!" Rainbow Dash said, "We are the Cutie Mark crusaders..." "We are the who?" "Ah, never mind. Okay, spin the bottle!" "Um....oh, yeah. Okay." Scootaloo spun the bottle. It landed on Misty. "Me?" Misty said, pointing her hoof at herself, "Me?" "Yeah, you," Scootaloo laughed, forgetting about her answer, "Truth or Dare?" "Of course I choose Dare," Misty giggled. Scootaloo smiled slyly. "I dare you to kiss any pony in this room." Misty blushed. "Truth..." she began to say. "Chicken!" she interrupted. "Chicken, chicken, chicken! Bwak, bwak, bwak!" Misty rolled her eyes. "Okay, I guess," she said. Misty wasn't very talkative, she was usually silent and listened. All goody-goody, but performed some mean tricks. She scooted next to Firestreak. Their eyes met and they both smiled. Then it all happened. Misty scooted back to her spot. "That wasn't very bad," Misty replied dreamily to Scootaloo, "That wasn't very bad at all." "Okay, Misty," laughed Scootaloo, "Spin the bottle." Misty smiled, and the bottle spun. ~~~ "Goodnight! Lights out, everypony!" Rainbow Dash said. Spitfire was the first to fly into her sleeping bag. "What, no ghost stories?" "It's 2:00 in the morning, I think we can tell ghost stories tomorrow." "You think but you don't know!" Scootaloo replied. They all laughed. Rainbow Dash rolled her scarlet-colored eyes and blew out the candlesticks without warning. "G'night," Scootaloo said. "Good night," answered some other pegasi. The day was done. The glowing full moon brightened up the night. It was dark, but forever peaceful. Scootaloo comfortably slipped more into her sleeping bag, and whispered silent prayers for tomorrow. ~~~ "Hey, Scootaloo, how's it all going?" A familiar though unrecognizable earth pony walked up. She had a childish, slight accent, and a generally filly voice. She looked young, matching her voice. Her coat color was a pale, light grayish olive. Her mane was a floppy-like brilliant amaranth, which resembled her old filly mane only it was flatter and had more curved, softer edges. Her eyes were like a bright orange sunset, to be specific a brilliant gamboge. Her voice made her seem related to...Applejack? What was going on? Did she wake up already? "Hey Scoots, been a long time since I seen you here!" Another voice, a little more mature and girly, came from another filly pony. Her coat was light gray, her mane a mix of grayish mulberry and pale, light grayish rose. Her eyes were earthy, like sap green. She seemed to be a unicorn. According to her voice, she also seemed to be a good singer. Scootaloo couldn't really tell from an immediate meet, just it seemed like she knew her before. Maybe in another life. Seeing all that...would she be a sister of Twilight? No, Twilight Sparkle didn't seem to have any sisters. Rarity? Most likely. Scootaloo tried to speak, but could not. Suddenly, the scene changed. She was in some kind of grayish but seemingly suburban place...Ponyville? It was by some kind of schoolhouse. All she really remembered from childhood was her playing with a shy, oddly thin pegasus...Featherweight! Yes...she used to have a crush on him, but she stopped playing with him after a while...but why? It was nighttime. The moon shined just like it did when she fell asleep. There was a bunch of applause...applause? She walked to the back of the school building...there was a stage set up, and a bunch of ponies watching it. Nopony seemed to notice her, Scootaloo saw, so she must have been invisible. She walked into the audience to blend in, and suddenly the show began to start. First, there were the recognizable Snips and Snails, two ridiculously amusing unicorns, doing a simple, entertaining magic trick. Next up were two cute, enjoyable ponies on roller skates reciting a dramatic but wonderful poem. After most of the shows were done, the last one came. The lights turned off for a moment, and three faces appeared. Three that were most recognizable. It was the two ponies she saw before and...her? As a filly? It couldn't have been! She didn't even know those ponies! The three ponies wore hilarious makeup, and the pony who seemed to be her as a filly was the main singer--singing terribly. Humorous.Suddenly, she remembered something like that. When she sung and made a fool of herself...by thinking her talent was being funny and all. It just wasn't it, though. But why did it leave out those two ponies? Now, she did not even recognize them. What was happening? The scene changed again. The next scene showed her and the other two fillies swimming, climbing, playing cards...everything they did seemed to end in failure. Sure, she remembered it...but it all left out those two ponies in all her memories of it. Suddenly, the scene changed for one last time. She saw herself as a young teenager. The skies were blue and the sun showed the bright light of day. She was in a park-like place, but it seemed empty except for them. It was remembered, but of course, it all left out the two ponies. The two ponies were pretty now, especially the unicorn. They were talking, but she couldn't hear whatever they said. Suddenly, after a few flips, the filly that resembled Scootaloo went down on a cloud. She smiled with glee. The earth pony said a couple of things, then let the young Scootaloo go back to whatever she was doing. But these words were special, Scootaloo knew, because they were the only ones Scootaloo could actually hear. "Do the butterfly." The Butterfly was a hard trick. She knew when she was young she'd been practicing for months, to be specific a year and three months. She remembered this memory. But all of it seemed close to... Her eyes widened as she saw herself preform the butterfly. Up, up, up, then right, left, down...spin... Finally a firework-like butterfly appeared in the blue skies. It was a beautiful sight. Scootaloo didn't even know how she could even do it with that combination, but she didn't know how unicorn magic worked either. It had something to do with spinning around the sun at the perfect timing... Suddenly, a pretty butterfly appeared on her flank. The butterfly mark that helped her be recruited by Spitfire. The butterfly that made everything happen. It was done. Scootaloo blinked. Everything was clearer now, literally. Flying quickly out of her sleeping bag with full energy, she flew to Rainbow Dash's sleeping bag. It was easy, because the moon brightened up the empty night. Scootaloo shook Rainbow Dash gently. "Uh...huh...Pinkie Pie, no more pranks...I'm tired...I'm..." She waved her hoof way. Scootaloo shook Rainbow Dash a little harder. "Pinkie..." Rainbow Dash said, and one of her eyes opening, "Pie?" "Scootaloo, what are you doing at this time? It's five in the morning! You'll be tired!" Scootaloo sighed. Rainbow was always like this. "Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo asked, interrupting Rainbow's complaints, "Do you still know where Twilight lives?"