Awakening
Scootaloo blinked.
Her bedroom was bright. It took her eyes a moment to adjust. The afternoon sun was pouring through the window, spreading across the Wonderbolts poster on her wall and a stack of books on the nightstand. It was the entire series of Daring Do novels, from the looks of it.
Those hadn’t been there earlier.
Lifting her head off the pillow, she rubbed her eyes and saw Rainbow Dash sitting there by her bedside.
As soon as Scootaloo had moved, Rainbow Dash hurriedly sat up straight, grabbed one of the books off the nightstand and flipped it open to a random spot, pressing her nose up against the pages. She glanced over the top of it, trying to act like she’d just now been interrupted.
“Oh. Uh, hey.” She gave Scootaloo a nod. “You’re up?”
Scootaloo stared at her. “Huh? Rainbow Dash? What are you doing in my room?”
“Oh, uh… I was just stopping by to check on you,” Rainbow Dash said, scratching her head. “I haven’t been here very long. It’s not like I stayed here the whole time. I mean, three days is a pretty long time to—“
“I’ve been asleep for three days?” Scootaloo sat up quickly, and winced. Her whole body felt stiff.
Rainbow nodded. “I knew you’d probably be okay. But, wow, you were out like a light. So I just stopped by for a while to check up on you.”
“Right…” Scootaloo nodded. She eyed the teetering pile of books by her bedside again, and let her head fall back on the pillow again.
Three days. That was a long time to spend trapped in a dream. It felt weird to be back in her own bedroom again. In her own hometown—not to mention her own century. Everything seemed so quiet and peaceful now. Was it really all over?
“And, uh, I heard Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle caught it, too. I think you all came down with it at the same time,” Rainbow said. “Twilight said this thing might be contagious.”
Scootaloo jumped up. “What about Twilight? Is she okay? What happened to her?”
“Whoa, settle down there, squirt,” Rainbow said, raising her front hooves. “She’s fine. Why wouldn’t she be? I’m still kinda worried about your friends, though.”
Scootaloo shook her head, and a faint smile came across her face. “Nah, they’ll be alright. I’ve got a feeling all of this is behind us.”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I sure hope so.”
Scootaloo moved her legs, trying to work up the strength and the motivation to get out of bed. “Were you really here the whole time I was asleep?”
“Well, you know. It was just…” Rainbow lowered her voice. “Well, it was scary. I know that since I’m your big sister I’m always supposed to have your back, but there was nothing anypony could do for you when you were like that. I hate feeling that helpless, you know?”
Scootaloo shook her head. “You weren’t, though,” she said. “I can’t really explain it, but I knew you were there.” She absently reached up to her neck, almost expecting to find the Element of Loyalty still hanging there.
Rainbow scratched her head. “Glad I could help. I guess,” she said. “You’re sure you’re feeling okay?”
Scootaloo rolled over, and pulled herself over to the edge of the bed. “I told you, I’m going to be just fi—“ She collapsed onto the floor. Wincing, she tried to get back up on her hooves, but her legs felt weak. She managed a smile. “See? Nothing to worry about.”
“I bet you’re starving. Let’s head out and grab something to eat,” Rainbow said. “Whatever you want. It’ll be on me.”
For the first time, Scootaloo noticed her stomach was growling. Food sounded wonderful right now.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said. “Let’s go.”
She followed Rainbow Dash out into the hall and down the stairs. The first-floor windows were frosted over so much she could barely see outside. Rainbow Dash pushed the front door open and held it open for her.
Scootaloo paused to stare outside. The ground was covered in a thick blanket of snow, unbroken except for a few scattered tracks crisscrossing down the street. Snow was heaped up against the sides of houses in piles even taller than she was.
Scootaloo took her first step out the door, and her hoof fell straight through several inches of snow. The cold shot up her leg. Shivering, she started trudging forward.
“Yeah, you really didn’t miss much around here,” Rainbow said, gliding along beside Scootaloo as she plodded through the snow. “Everypony was stuck inside anyway while we tried to get the blizzard under control.”
“It got that bad out here?” Scootaloo looked up at her. She could remember the biting arctic winds as the Princesses had battled King Sombra.
“I could hardly even fly at all,” Rainbow said. “It seemed like some freak storm that blew down from up north before anypony could stop it. It’s been totally weird. I even heard the weather teams down in Appleloosa even had to deal with it. This morning was the first time it cleared up in the past few days. I hope that was the last of it.”
“I’ve got a feeling that it was.”
“You’ve got a lot of feelings about stuff today, don’t you?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
“Guess so.”
Scootaloo looked around. Was this what it felt like to save Equestria? Everything looked pretty much the same. Nopony even knew what she’d been through. Scootaloo didn’t even feel very tired, but then again, she had spent the past three days in bed.
It was hard to believe it was all over now. Scootaloo wondered when she would ever get to see Luna again.
“It still seems like there’s a lot you’re dealing with that I don’t really know anything about,” Rainbow said. “You sure you’re okay? Do you want to, y’know, talk about it?”
Scootaloo looked down. Part of her really wanted to say something, but where could she even start to explain it all? Nopony would even believe her anyway. It would all sound like some crazy dream. Because it was.
The distant tolling of the Ponyville clock tower told her it was about noon, but the streets were strangely empty for this time of day. It seemed like most ponies were content to stay indoors even after the blizzard ended.
She watched Rainbow Dash, flying along beside her at a lazy pace. It was just the two of them out here, but she had no idea what to talk about.
They passed by the café, the outdoor tables still covered in a melting layer of snow. The front door opened, and Twilight wandered out, followed closely behind by Spike. She had her face buried in an open scroll as she trotted, but she noticed the two of them out of the corner of her eye.
“Scootaloo?” Twilight ran up to them. “You’re awake? Thank goodness! It’s been… let’s see…”
“Three days,” Rainbow said, the snow crunching under her hooves as she landed.
“Right!” Twilight nodded. She turned back to Scootaloo. “You and your friends had just about the worst case I’ve seen yet. Wait, do you know about them yet? Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are probably still—“
“They’ll be fine. You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Scootaloo said. “But, uh, what about you, Twilight? Are you feeling okay?”
Twilight sighed. “Honestly? I don’t even know. I think I might’ve actually caught this thing myself a few days ago.”
Spike rolled his eyes. “And I still think you overslept because you’ve been working yourself too hard. You’re overreacting, Twilight.”
“There’s no way to know that for sure! I always keep a strict sleep schedule. We can’t rule anything out.” Twilight ruffled her feathers. “But I’m still glad to see you’re okay, Scootaloo. I suppose maybe some things are just out of my hooves.”
“Exactly!” Spike grinned.
“Besides, looks like I’m going to need to put together a team schedule for this year’s Winter Wrap-Up pretty soon,” Twilight said, looking around the street. “Spike, let’s pick up some more parchment and quills on the way back.”
Spike’s smile faded, and he sullenly trailed along behind Twilight as they left.
Rainbow Dash watched Twilight and Spike as they walked away. Then she flapped her wings and lifted up into the air again, and Scootaloo followed alongside as she continued down the street in the other direction.
“So, anyways, I’ve been wondering,” Rainbow said. “What’s next for the ponies formerly known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”
“Well, we’re still going to be the Cutie Mark Crusaders. For a little while, at least,” Scootaloo replied.
“Why? What’s left to do?” Rainbow said. “Y’know, I’ve been holding off on asking for a while now, but I thought you’d be dying to tell me how you finally got your cutie mark.”
“My… huh?” It took a moment for the words to register. Scootaloo glanced back at her flank.
She couldn’t believe she’d been walking around all this time without noticing it, but there was definitely something there. She spun around, trying to get a better look at it.
It looked like a violet crescent moon, with three tiny stars surrounding it. How long had it been there?
“I mean, I doubt it just appeared in your sleep,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. “So what’s the story? I didn’t think you had much of a knack for astronomy, or whatever that’s called. Don’t suppose Twilight was giving you private lessons behind my back or anything.”
“Um… No. Nothing like that.” Scootaloo tried to play it cool, but it was hard to take her eyes off it. For the past few days, cutie marks had been the last thing on her mind, but now she could barely hide her excitement.
“Well? Come on, I want to hear all about it!”
“Oh… Right.” Scootaloo paused. There was no point in beating around the bush anymore. “It’s… going to sound pretty weird, but I guess I already told you once before.”
The stars twinkled faintly in the night sky overhead, but Ponyville was bright and lively tonight.
Somewhere in the distance, a band was playing a festive tune, the notes drifting along on the wind through the streets from the town square. Strings of lights and decorations crisscrossed the street overhead. Fillies and colts ran from door to door, all of them decked out in costumes of every kind, dragging along sacks of candy held in their mouths.
Scootaloo walked past them alone, the only one not dressed up, but nopony seemed to take any notice.
She stood back and watched the ponies bobbing for apples or launching pumpkins from a catapault. A wagon rolled along past her, carrying a few ponies on a hayride. After a few moments, she turned away and continued walking alone.
A dark shadow passed overhead. Scootaloo looked up at the night sky, and saw Princess Luna swoop down to land next to her. Her hooves touched down on the ground noiselessly.
“Good evening, Scootaloo,” she said, folding her wings at her sides.
“Hey, Luna,” Scootaloo said, smiling.
Luna looked around at all the festivities. “You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“Well, what can I say? Nightmare Night is one of my favorite nights of the year,” Scootaloo said. “Too bad it doesn’t actually come for another few months.”
Luna watched a group of fillies run by, all dressed in different costumes. “You’re showing impressive control over your dream. Quite a commendable attention to detail.”
“Thanks,” Scootaloo said, with a nervous grin. “I was kind of hoping you’d show up. That’s why I did all this.”
Luna smiled. “A wonderful display, though there was no need for all that. I have been meaning to speak with you, Scootaloo.” Her expression turned serious. “Surely you have questions about what you witnessed.”
“Oh. Yeah... Did you know what was going to happen to Twilight?” Scootaloo asked. “That’s why you followed us into her dream, isn’t it?”
“Ever since the first nightmares began, I thought it all seemed familiar. This was not long after the return of the Crystal Empire,” Luna said. “Everything about the dreams seemed to be the work of the unicorn king who once ruled over that land, but I was unable to confirm my suspicions until he made what was to be his final move.”
“All those nightmares that happened. And you, um… turning into Nightmare Moon… all those years ago,” Scootaloo said. “That was all because of King Sombra?”
Luna nodded. “It appeared that he had been defeated when the Crystal Empire returned this time, but just as before, he had sowed his seeds of fear in an attempt to regain power… He thrives on the fears of ponies, and the nightmares were how he harvested that energy. He had hoped to use Twilight Sparkle, the newest and most inexperienced princess of Equestria, to make his full return. I did not allow him to have her.”
“You put yourself in danger, though.”
“I had suspected there may be that risk,” Luna said solemnly. “I was willing to sacrifice everything if it came to that, but I knew that if there was somepony who could bring me back from the edge this time…”
“That’s why you needed us,” Scootaloo said.
“Precisely.”
The two of them continued down the street. The costumed ponies dashing up and down the streets swerved around them, but never spared a glance in their direction. The music grew louder as they came closer to the town square. It was a perfect night, all the best parts taken from all the past Nightmare Nights that Scootaloo could remember. It was nice to have such a peaceful dream for once.
“It’s really all over now, isn’t it?” Scootaloo said.
Luna tilted her head, frowning. “This would be the third time we assumed he was defeated for good. There is no sign of him now, but I will have to remain vigilant.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Oh, and I nearly forgot! Thanks for the cutie mark,” she said, looking back at it. The crescent moon on her flank almost matched Luna’s own. “I never thought I’d get one that looked this cool.”
“You know that I cannot give you a cutie mark. You earned that yourself,” Luna said with a smile.
Scootaloo scratched her head. “And, um… I did end up telling Rainbow Dash how I really got it.”
“And what did she have to say?”
“I was kind of surprised. It was way easier to convince her all this really happened than I thought it was going to be,” Scootaloo said. “She said she thought it was really amazing what I’m capable of. But… I guess the important thing is that I know what I’m capable of now.”
Luna simply nodded.
“That’s what you were trying to tell me from the beginning, isn’t it?” Scootaloo said.
“Know that I am not speaking lightly when I say that I am in your debt,” Luna said. “As is all of Equestria. I could have chosen anypony for this task, but I chose you, Scootaloo. And, when the time came, you performed excellently.”
“Thanks.” Scootaloo stared down at her hooves.
Luna stopped to watch the band playing onstage at the town square. “I am still just beginning to understand how Equestria has changed in my absence,” she said. “It’s a very different world than the one I once knew. And much larger, as well. There are hundreds of dreams every night, and dozens of nightmares.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “Are you saying…”
“I suppose I hardly need to ask, but you would be interested in continuing your lessons as my student, correct?”
Scootaloo grinned. “Of course!”
“I’m certain there is much for you to teach me, as well. It will take time for me to understand everything about this new world, but it can be done,” Luna said.
She turned her head to look up at the sky. There was not a single cloud blocking their view of the stars, and a full moon was shining.
Luna spread her wings wide. “The night is only just beginning, Scootaloo. Shall we be off?”
Scootaloo’s own tiny wings began to buzz excitedly. “You bet!”
As Luna gracefully flew off into the night sky, Scootaloo followed her with a running start, feeling the wind catch her wings and carry her up. The night air was clear, crisp, and perfect for flying. Together they rose up, into the starlit sky, until Ponyville was almost too far away below them to see.
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She flew!! And she got her cutie mark, too!!
Well now, that was one heck of an ending, though this chapter felt like it could have been juuust a little longer.
Good work, Jason.
One hell of a ride. Thanks!
please continue with scoots as a student i would love to seethis continue.
Bootimus ending there.
Does it end here? It'd be fine if it did.
And then Scootaloo became an urban legend, first told by the ones she visits in dreams.
Ya know, maybe.
A satisfying, yet open ending. That's three for three, Jason!
A worthy ending to a wonderful story! I hope a sequel appears eventually. :)
In the sequel, they must battle Freddy...uhm... *mentally flails for a proper equine equivalent* Clydesdale?
I got nuthin.
Do you remember in the very very beginning of this, when I commented "Oh I know how this is going to end." (You probably don't, with all the comments you get) well turns out I was right!
Great story! It was a fun ride. I hope for a sequel, but if I don't get one, I'd be perfectly fine. 
Can't wait to see more stories!
Bravo.
Now make a slice of life sequel about life as Luna's student!
Hooray!! Wonderful ending!
Total shocker about the cutie mark
It sounds so cool! Great job on the story, and I hope to hear more about Luna and Scootaloo's adventures! Until then,
Misty Berry
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Freddy Glueger,
I can't be the only person who thinks this story makes a great "Part 1" to a multipart series, right? Dreamwalker Scootaloo stories would be great!
A nice and satisfying ending.
Great job, Jason.
Excellent story. Is it too much to hope for a sequel?
Jason, this was GREAT!!!
!
Thanks for writing this, and can I borrow your Scootaloo for my head canon? She's brilliant
It's been like a dream, reading a story from you again. I hope that there are many more in the future. The near future!
Hundreds of dreams and dozens of nightmares? I'd expect those sorts of numbers from a population of a thousand or so, not of an entire nation.
Very nice! Thanks for writing. I enjoyed it a lot!
Truly wonderful, Thank you for writing this!
And so it finally ends, yet I feel there is much you can still do with this world that you've created. Are you planning any sequels in the future? I could see a whole new arc of story development springing forth from Scoots' cutie mark alone...
4596155
YES.
I loved this story! Thanks for the ride, it was awesome!
Bravo
*epic slow clap*
Bravo
I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
/ 
... 
I should really work on my rating system
And why do Luna and Scoots make such a good pair (NOT in a r34 way)?
... don't actually know what else to write except for how I really liked this story.
Have five blushing twilights out of .... three Trollestias ?
Excellently done and very enjoyable.
Extra-special bonus points for being one of what... only four? stories I've ever found that use Sombra as an antagonist and a few more for doing it subtly.
What a ride. What I really loved about the story are the twists because just when you thought you were in one mare's nightmare...it turns out to be another. Great story.
Is there a sequel in the works?
Such a wonderful story, very well put together and exciting! I loved it, thank you very much!
Thank you for this wonderful adventure!
This is the best story I ever read, it would be cool if you planned a sequel, but anyway
Great story!
So Scootaloo is now able to fly, has her cutie mark, and is Luna's new student.
I can totally see the two of them traveling into dreams and bucking nightmares in the face!!
When I saw the label "Completed" I cried out.
Then I started reading and kept crying out at how awesome this ending is. Seriously, the thing that can put be off is a bad ending. And THIS. WAS. PERFECT.
i.imgur.com/7u8aHMx.gif
Now write a sequel
i.imgur.com/cLkx9bj.png
Fantastic, any chance of a sequel?
Lovely story. Bravo.
A question, though. A lot of people are saying how happy they are that Scootaloo can fly now. But I'm pretty sure she can still only do that in dreams; is that right?
Is this the ending? And if it is....is there going to be a sequel? Cuz if not...
You know what's funny? As nice as it would be for this to continue into more stories, I think I'd be okay with it just ending here. It told all it needed to tell, and ends in a satisfying conclusion. Very good job. Very good job indeed.
10/10, would replace the Daring Do series with a continuation of this.
COMING SOON
THE SEQUEL TO SCOOTALOO AND THE MYSTERIOUS SLEEP
SCOOTALOO AND THE ______________
iambrony.steeph.tp-radio.de/mlp/gif/132840295472.gif
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Dude. That would be epic. This crossover needs to happen.
Did Scoots really fly outside of her dream? I didn't catch it....
PLEASE TELL ME SHE DID AND WHERE IN THIS CHAPTER. It would be the perfect capstone to all this!
Definitely had a good time reading this! Scoots as dream adventurer is pretty baller.
I only really had two complaints with the whole thing: I kinda felt like Scootaloo didn't talk like a little kid a lot of the time. That may just be me, of course, but AB and Sweetie seemed in character, so not totally sure. My other one is that the ending just kinda feels...abrupt. I dunno, I guess it was just me hoping for more chapters, but it just kinda feels like the story just ends.
But beyond me being a picky person, I really did have fun with this story and I kinda wanna see some Luna and Scootaloo sequel!
Nearly a year to following your story: it was worth every minute of it
. Thanks again for a wonderful story, and I hope to see/read again from you. And a nice Cutie Mark for our protagonist 
.
4599916 Then in the next sequel they have to battle the Matrix.
Thanks once again for such a delightful story.
I'm glad with how this ended. It was quite a little journey and it had a nice happy ending. Although if this does get a continuation, it'd be nice to see Luna take Scoots on as an official student rather than as one she keeps hidden from everypony.
I was about to say "WHERE'S SCOOT'S CUTIE MARK?!
" and then I see Dash point it out and then I'm like "FINALLY
"
Great story, and good to see that Scoots stays as Luna's student. Twi's got competition.
I know it's been asked a lot, but is there a sequel in mind at all?
I'm pretty sure the only place Scootaloo flies in this chapter is in her dream at the end.
One of the best fics on this whole site. Fics that explore dreams are always a great way to get directly at the core of characters, but this was just as much about Scootaloo finding truths of herself as it was about her finding truths about the dreamers she was saving. And no dream was too obvious or written in a way that made it break the #Adventure tag on this story. I was excited every time I saw a new chapter of this appear, and now I'm absolutely going to be rooting for a sequel (especially after that ending), with the full confidence that you'd do just as great at a story about Scootaloo getting back into bucking nightmares. A+ work.
Very well done.
Dude. Duuude.
Dude.
Awesome.
An amazing ending to a wonderfully crafted story. The writing was great, characters perfect, and the execution overall was top notch. You have outdone yourself here. I loved Anthropology, and this story is proof that you can keep churning these things out.
And since everyone is saying it, I will had my voice to the chorus. I would be interested in a sequel.
I really wish there was an option to fave a story again when I finish it. <3
4626643 I'm crazy with VICTORY!!!