Breaking the Ice
“Welcome back, Scootaloo.”
There was a brief moment of confusion when she heard Luna’s voice, but Scootaloo quickly realized that she had fallen asleep. She was standing in the same forest as before, and the princess stood across the grove from her.
“It would appear that the nightmares still hold power over your friend,” Luna said. “I did not expect it to be easy to help her. It may take several nights before she is freed.”
“Uh, listen…” Scootaloo said, taking a step forward. “I don’t think I should be doing this. Last time when I went into Sweetie Belle’s dream, I just ended up ruining it. And then she didn’t show up to school today. Something went really wrong, and she didn’t wake up. I wouldn’t want to make things any worse than they already are.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “You’re certain that you were the cause of this?”
“What else could it be?” Scootaloo said. “Her dream seemed pretty good until I messed it up.”
“I warned you that these would be more dangerous than mere bad dreams,” Luna said. “There is little else that can be done for Sweetie Belle now. If you do not help her soon, it may be too late.”
“Too late?” Scootaloo stiffened. “W-what do you mean, ‘too late’?”
“You must stay calm. Do not let fear get the better of you,” Luna said. She knelt down next to Scootaloo. “Tell me what you have learned.”
Scootaloo tilted her head. “Huh? Well… She was dreaming that she was a princess. Of the Crystal Empire. It was all pretty boring girly stuff.” She noticed the look Luna was giving her. “I mean, uh, not that all princesses are boring and girly! But it wasn’t a nightmare. Not at first.”
“And what happened to change all of that?” Luna asked.
“Well, we were having a…” Scootaloo sighed. “A tea party. It was really boring, so I was asking to see more of the Empire. But Sweetie Belle didn’t want to go outside.” Scootaloo paused. “Was there something outside that she was afraid of? Was that what caused the earthquakes?”
“There may be more to a dream than what you see at first,” Luna said. “Over the years I have traveled through countless dreams. Not one has been like the last.”
“But what am I supposed to do?” Scootaloo said. “None of this is making any sense.”
“Whatever is causing these nightmares has identified what frightens her. It will use that to gain power over her,” Luna said. “Sweetie Belle will not easily admit what it is that she is afraid of, but you must discover what it is if she is to overcome it.”
“I don’t even know where to start with something like that…”
“You may find that you already know the answer. It may have been something she said to you, perhaps when you were awake?”
Scootaloo thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I can’t think of anything.”
“Regardless, she needs the help of her friends to escape this nightmare. She needs you, Scootaloo.”
Luna stood up and spread her wings. She took off and flew higher into the sky, past the tangled branches of the trees. Before Scootaloo even knew what was happening, the forest surrounding her melted away and the princess vanished from sight.
She saw the pale pink sky and the crystal tower rising up before her.
Something bumped into her.
She stumbled a bit, then looked up to see a stallion walking past. His coat sparkled in the light. A crystal pony? He turned to stare at her, tilting his head, before disappearing into the rest of the crowd.
That was odd.
Scootaloo looked around. She was back outside the tower, but instead of an open tundra, she was now on a busy street filled with crystal ponies. She’d never actually seen one before, but they had shimmering coats and manes just like she’d heard about, and elaborate hairstyles and outfits that would have put Canterlot to shame.
None of them even spoke, but their heads turned in Scootaloo’s direction. She could feel their eyes on her, watching her. Maybe it was because she was the only one here who wasn’t a crystal pony, or because she had wings and none of them did. Whatever it was, she had to get away. Somewhere they couldn’t see her. Something was just unpleasant about it, even though she couldn’t say why.
The important thing was that tower. Sweetie Belle was probably still in there, if she was the princess, and the important thing was to make sure she was okay.
Scootaloo ducked and weaved through the crystal ponies as they milled about the street aimlessly, keeping her eyes on the tower stretching up over the city. It was unmistakably the same one from the snowglobe in Sweetie Belle’s bedroom, just much bigger.
As she reached the base of the tower, she paused at the sight of two armored crystal ponies standing guard at the entrance. Their faces showed no emotion, not even any movement at all. After a moment of hesitation, Scootaloo trotted up between them to enter the tower.
“Halt!”
She froze, and stared up at the guard who had spoken. He glared down at her.
“Uh…” She cleared her throat. “It’s me! Scootaloo. I’m friends with Sweet—I mean, with the princess?”
The other guard spoke in a deep, no-nonsense voice. “Princess Sweetie Belle has given us very strict orders. Absolutely nopony is to enter the tower.”
Scootaloo frowned. “But—”
“If you continue to cause a disturbance, you will be thrown in the dungeon. Now begone!”
That was all that needed to be said. Scootaloo turned and galloped away as quickly as she could. Once she was a safe distance away, she slowed down and turned back towards the tower.
Why would Sweetie Belle order her guards to turn her away? For that matter, why did Sweetie Belle even have guards?
All she knew was that she wasn't getting in through the front door. Scootaloo headed back into the street away from the tower. She noticed a few crystal ponies sitting at a street café in total silence, but she saw one peeking over the top of a menu at her. She was still being watched.
This dream was completely different from last night. There hadn’t even been anypony other than herself and Sweetie Belle. Actually, things had started to fall apart as soon as she had mentioned the crystal ponies.
Tonight’s dream was a lot more like the real world. Last time, the emptiness had been a little creepy, even though it hadn't seemed to bother Sweetie Belle. Now that there was a whole city here, filled with ponies, Scootaloo should have been feeling more at ease. Something just wasn’t right, though.
The crystal ponies walked around her, keeping their distance. It was like there was a ring around her, and they wouldn’t enter it. But they were still watching. She couldn’t focus. How was she supposed to figure out how to help Sweetie Belle with all these ponies staring at her?
Scootaloo tried to shake the feeling. She tilted her head back to see the top of the spire. It was pretty high up. There was no way she was getting up there.
No. Wait.
This was a dream. Even if it was somepony else’s dream, things were still different here, right? The snow wasn’t cold, entire cities appeared out of nowhere. Sweetie Belle was a princess. Anything was possible. So…
Scootaloo stretched out her wings. “Just like at Junior Speedsters…” she muttered under her breath.
She started running, barely even looking ahead. Just like Rainbow Dash had showed her—galloping full speed, wings working frantically as she built up power. She closed her eyes, and felt her hooves leave the ground.
She almost didn’t want to look down, but she finally forced herself to crack her eyes open and take a peek. The street was far beneath her. She let out a gasp, and dipped down, nearly falling, but she pushed her wings harder and regained her momentum.
The air was crisp and clear. Perfect for flying. Scootaloo was in total control as she circled around the tower, and spotted the balcony below her.
She swooped in for a landing. Her hooves touched down on the floor, and she folded her wings at her sides. She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. That had felt great. But no time to dwell on it, she had work to do.
“Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo called as she ran inside. It was the same room as before. The tea table sat unoccupied in the center of the room. “Are you in here?”
“Who’s there? Leave me alone!” Sweetie Belle’s trembling voice echoed from somewhere in the tower.
“It’s just me. What’s going on?” Scootaloo said. She crossed the room slowly, staring up at the high ceiling. “And what’s with the guards? And… everything, really?”
Sweetie Belle appeared at the foot of the stairway, looking very small. The mock-regal air was gone. Her tiara sat crooked on her head, and the dress seemed too big for her. “Oh… Scootaloo. It’s just you.” She let out a sigh of relief.
Scootaloo ran up to her. “Listen, Sweetie Belle. There’s not much time to explain. You need to wake up. You’ve been asleep for over a day. Everypony’s really worried about you!”
“Huh? Wake… up?” Sweetie Belle said.
“Of course! You don’t actually think you’re princess of the Crystal Empire, right?” Scootaloo said.
“You’re right…” Sweetie Belle stared at the floor. “I’m not.”
“That’s good. Now we can get out of here, and—”
“What? We can’t go out there! Not when I’m dressed like this!” Sweetie Belle touched the frills of her dress. “Everypony’s going to see us! They’re all going to laugh at me! I… I just want to be left alone.”
A cold wind blew in from the windows. Snow swirled throughout the room.
“I don’t get it. What’s the matter with you?” Scootaloo said. “I thought you were having fun being a princess before.”
“No. You don’t understand…” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Rarity doesn’t understand. Nopony understands!”
Another blast of wind shot through the room, and Scootaloo was thrown sideways. She grabbed onto the table at the last minute. It was just like last time. If this kept up, she was going to get thrown out and wake up again. And Sweetie Belle wouldn’t wake up at all.
“You’re right,” Scootaloo said. Her grip was loosening on the table, and the pull towards the window was getting stronger. “I don’t understand. But I came all the way here to help you, so just tell me what’s wrong!”
She fell to the floor. The room had stopped tilting. Shakily, she pulled herself back up onto all fours.
“You came here… to help me?” Sweetie Belle stared at her from across the chamber.
“Of course! I mean, what are friends for, right?” Scootaloo tried to smile, but it still felt like gravity could betray her again at any moment.
With a sigh, Sweetie Belle turned away. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you came all the way here. You’ve always been so much braver than me.”
Scootaloo blinked. “You really think that?” she said. “Uh, I mean… of course! Besides, I had to come out here and help you.”
Sweetie Belle wandered over to the window. “All those ponies out there think I’m their princess,” Sweetie Belle said, pointing a hoof out over the town. “They’re all waiting for me to go out, and… I dunno. Make a proclamation, or whatever it is princesses are supposed do.”
“So they just want you to go out and talk to them? Well, what’s the big deal?” Scootaloo said. “Last night—uh, last time I was here, I mean—it looked like you were having fun being princess.”
“That’s different! There’s all those ponies out there now!” Sweetie Belle trotted over to the window. “You wouldn’t get it, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t care if ponies are watching you. Like when you’re on your scooter, doing all those cool tricks. You don’t mind if ponies look at you, because you never mess up.” Sweetie Belle hung her head with a sigh. “But if I go out there in front of all those ponies, and try to talk to them, I would.”
“No, I, uh… I mess up all the time, really,” Scootaloo said. “And it stinks when it happens in front of other ponies. Especially Rainbow Dash…”
“That’s exactly why I can’t do it! If I ended up going out there and embarrassing myself, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“But you can’t focus on that. You don’t have to stop having fun just because other ponies are watching you,” Scootaloo said. “Besides, they all want to see you. That’s what they’re waiting for.”
Sweetie Belle bit her lip. “I… guess you have a point…”
“You have to come out of this eventually. Everypony’s worried about you. Rarity, your parents. Apple Bloom and me.”
“They are?”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Scootaloo said. Silently, she added because this is a dream anyway, but she couldn’t say that out loud. She was pretty sure she was making progress, even if she still had no clue what she was doing. “You’ll do just fine.”
Sweetie Belle shuffled out onto the balcony overlooking the streets. Immediately heads started turning, and everypony’s eyes were fixed on the small figure standing above them.
She bit her lip, and glanced back at Scootaloo. “I don’t think I should—”
“You can’t back out now,” Scootaloo said. She stood a few steps back, leaning against the archway. “Just don’t worry about it.”
“Uh…” Sweetie Belle stared out at the crowd. “Uh… My n-name is… Princess Sweetie Belle… and I’d like to say that I’m really happy to see all of you.” It didn’t sound convincing when her voice was shaking like that, but the crystal ponies showed no response.
It was totally obvious that she was making it up as she went along. Scootaloo watched the crowd, but they didn't seem to mind. In fact, they appeared to be completely absorbed.
Taking a deep breath, Sweetie Belle continued, her voice sounding a bit stronger now. “And as your princess, I promise to help spread happiness all throughout the Crystal Empire.” The crowd was cheering for her. Sweetie Belle glanced back at Scootaloo, smiling, before continuing. “It means so much to me to have your support, and I promise...”
Her voice seemed to echo, fading into silence, and the shimmering crystal walls melted away.
Scootaloo blinked in the morning sunlight. She was back home. Awake.
And no less confused than last time.
Scootaloo leaned her scooter on the fence outside the school, trying to remember what Luna had told her. It still made no sense. Sweetie Belle had seemed happy when Scootaloo left her, but only because she’d gone even deeper into her whole princess fantasy. Was that a good thing, or was it bad? Of course, there would be no way to know, until—
“Hey, Scootaloo.”
Her ears perked up. She was pretty sure she was awake right now, but she had to make sure. She turned around, and saw Sweetie Belle trotting over to her.
“Sweetie Belle! You’re alright!” Scootaloo couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice.
“Uh, yeah,” Sweetie Belle said. She gave a weak smile. “Is it seriously Wednesday? Mom and Dad said I was asleep for all of yesterday. I guess everypony was pretty worried.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Scootaloo said, grinning. “I’m just glad you’re okay now.”
“I don’t feel like I was sick…” Sweetie Belle gave a shrug. “I guess I felt pretty tired yester—I mean, two days ago. But that’s it.”
Scootaloo frowned. “Do you… remember anything?” she asked. “I, uh… I came to visit you.”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “Oh, yeah! Dad said you and Apple Bloom came over yesterday.” She paused. “What was the homework you dropped off?”
“No, I didn’t mean…” Scootaloo didn’t know what to say. The conversations she’d had with Sweetie Belle in her dreams had felt as real as the one they were having now, but now Sweetie Belle didn’t show any sign of recognition. How could she just forget something like that? “Never mind the homework. It was nothing.”
“If you say so,” Sweetie Belle said. She shrugged. “Come on. We’d better get inside before we’re late.”
Before Scootaloo could say anything else, Sweetie Belle turned around and trotted through the door. It was like nothing had even happened.
Scootaloo watched as Sweetie took her seat and got out her books and pencils, then slouched forward waiting for class to start. She didn’t seem any different than she did on a normal day.
It was good that Sweetie Belle was awake, but Scootaloo couldn’t help but feel like her effort was wasted. Half the fun of being a hero was getting congratulated. Was it so wrong to want just a simple “thank you”?
At least Sweetie Belle would never tell anypony about the tea party.
The school bell rang, disrupting her thoughts. Cheerilee stood up from her desk and trotted over to the chalkboard to take attendance. Each of the students raised their hoof as their name was called. Sweetie Belle sat at her desk, fidgeting with a pencil.
“Looks like everypony is present and accounted for. We’re halfway through the week already, so I thought I’d give you all a quick reminder about this weekend's talent show,” Cheerilee said. “Remember, the performance is being held here on Saturday night! Now, if you’ll all get out your books and turn to—”
Sweetie Belle sat up straight, and her front hoof shot into the air. ”Uh, Miss Cheerilee? Is… Is it too late to sign up?”
“Oh, Sweetie Belle, did you have an act prepared for the talent show? I suppose I could fit you in. Are you sure you’ll be ready in just a few days, though?”
“I… think so…”
“Good!” Cheerilee smiled. “And should I put Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s names down, as well?”
Apple Bloom exchanged a questioning glance with Scootaloo, but Sweetie Belle simply shook her head. “No. It’s… just me, this time.”
“That’s fine. I’m sure everypony is looking forward to seeing your performance.”
Sweetie Belle settled back into her seat with a sigh, though Scootaloo couldn't tell if it was relief or anxiety.
Scootaloo joined Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on one of the picnic tables outside for lunch. The two of them had already started eating.
“I just don’t get it. A few days ago the talent show was the absolute last thing ya wanted to do, but now you’re all over it,” Apple Bloom said. She squinted. “You sure you’re feelin’ okay?”
“Well, uh… I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle said, taking a bite of her sandwich. The former Princess of the Crystal Empire spoke with her mouth full. “I just thought it might be fun, I guess.”
“Well, now you’ve got even less time to get ready. What’re ya doin’ for the show, anyhow?”
“Uh… I don’t know yet,” Sweetie Belle said. Her eyes darted towards the door to the schoolhouse. “Maybe I should go in and tell Miss Cheerilee I changed my mind. I don’t know what I was—”
“No!” Scootaloo yelled. Her friends turned to stare at her, and she slowly shrank back down. “I mean, uh… You just need to make sure you get enough practice. You’ve still got a few days to get ready. Can’t waste a single moment, you know.”
Sweetie Belle grinned. “Yeah. I guess I’m going straight home after school today. I’ll figure something out.”
Sweetie Belle hardly spent any time with the others for the next few days. She always hurried home, saying she had to keep practicing and getting ready for the show. At least she seemed to be enjoying herself.
The best part was that Luna hadn’t shown up at all since last time. Scootaloo had been sleeping better than she ever had in her life. No more late-night adventures. At least for now.
Scootaloo stared up at the full moon, shining down on the audience watching the talent show. She stood with Apple Bloom in the middle of the darkened crowd, watching their classmates putting on skits, dancing, attempting magic shows. All of the acts seemed to blur together. For some reason, Scootaloo was actually feeling a little restless, and the air seemed stuffy and warm. Sweetie Belle was the one going on stage, probably the next act after this one, but Scootaloo was the one feeling nervous.
As the last group took a bow and walked offstage, Cheerilee appeared again to announce the final act.
“And, finally, we have a special musical performance from Sweetie Belle!” she said. The crowd of ponies stomped their hooves for applause.
The stage dimmed, and a single spotlight shone down on the center. Sweetie Belle crept into the spotlight without a sound. She stared out into the audience, mouth agape, blinking in the bright light.
Nothing happened.
Scootaloo frowned. “No, she can’t back out now…”
Sweetie Belle stood completely motionless, but then her eyes met with Scootaloo’s. She smiled, cleared her throat, and began to sing.
“They all say that you'll get your mark… When the time is really right…” Sweetie Belle’s voice shook on the first few notes, but then grew stronger as she continued.
“She’s singin’ that one?” Apple Bloom whispered.
It was surprising to hear the same song that they had performed in the first talent show, but now it may as well have been a completely different tune. It wasn’t nearly as loud, and most of the words had been changed—Scootaloo could tell that most of her own contributions to the song had been replaced, but it was for the better.
Sweetie Belle was leaving the crowd speechless, but it was for the right reasons this time. She managed to finish the entire performance without her voice cracking once. Her eyes closed, and she let her voice carry the rest of the song.
As she finished the final notes, she slowly opened her eyes.
There was a pause, but then the crowd stomped their hooves in a thunderous round of applause. Sweetie Belle stood there, dumbfounded, then gave a quick bow and scampered offstage as quickly as she could.
The curtains drew closed, and Cheerilee reappeared to call the winners back for their prizes.
“Well, that went way better than last year,” Apple Bloom said. “I wonder how she pulled that off.”
“No idea...” Scootaloo muttered.
“And the award for best performance goes to… Sweetie Belle!” Cheerilee said. She presented Sweetie with a large gold medal. “Congratulations!”
Sweetie Belle lowered her head to fit the ribbon over her neck. “I… I…” Her mouth hung open, but then she broke out into a huge smile. “Thank you!”
As the performers headed backstage and the curtains closed, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom pushed their way through the crowd to meet up with Sweetie Belle at the backstage area.
“She really put that together all in just a few days?” Apple Bloom said. “And all by herself, too...”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yep. All by herself...”
“Guys! You’ve gotta see this!”
Scootaloo glanced over to see Sweetie Belle running towards them at full speed. Her medal bounced around on her neck, but as she got closer, Scootaloo realized that the award wasn’t what had her so excited.
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YAY she got a cutiemark
She got her cutie mark.
I wonder... Will Scootaloo be responsible for them?
And I'm gonna guess she gets hers as well.
~Skeeter The Lurker
One Cutie-Mark down, two to go.
Oh, this chapter is almost too cute. I love it.
And I feel like that 'thing' is probably a cutie mark, but I get another feeling that we're just being led on. Not sure which feeling to trust.
I'm sure it's a cutie mark.
I'm a big fan of the idea that the talents of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were identified in the talent show, just used by the wrong pony.
Structure on this still seems a bit overly mysterious to me. And I would've liked to see a bit more from Luna's perspective. But overall I'm quite interested in seeing where this goes. Thanks very much for sharing.
Well this is sort of like Persona 4 +Inception = I was sort of right.
Yay, Sweetie Belle got her cutie mark!
GAH F****ING CLIFF HANGERS
Probably her cutie mark though.
Most likely.
Yay!
The scene transitions are kind of awkwardly placed, and it takes me a paragraph or two sometimes to realize when a dream ended or other setting change just happened, but otherwise, it reads pretty smoothly. I'm still not sure where the whole thing is going, but I'm definitely curious to find out how everything ties together, and enjoying the story so far.
But it can't be her cutie mark... that'd be too obvious for a cliffhanger, right?
Okay, let's be real. It probably isn't her cutie mark, but that's obviously what we're supposed to think it is.
I'm onto your shit, Jason.
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw8357-mlp_cliffhanger.jpg
This story is nice! When I first read the summary for it, I assumed it'll just be about Scootaloo helping random ponies out with their nightmares. But it's not true! She helped her friend Sweetie Belle, and now she (most likely) has a cutie mark due to facing her fears. Her being the princess of the Crystal Kingdom and talking in front of the large crowd of crystal ponies was her getting over her fear of singing in front of her friends and family. I like how this all ties together!
This is the second story update I've read today where (I'm assuming) Sweetie gets her cutie mark. Well done best crusader.
The results from my CMDU (Cutie-Mark Detection Unit) are inconclusive...need more data to present an accurate analysis. *hint-hint*
Yay! A cutiemark!!
Uh... right?
3116243 Sweetie Belle joyously hugs her friends, "You just GOTTA see this awesome tumor I have growing from my abdomen!"
Scoots and AB shifted their eyes to each other's for a moment before addressing the doomed filly. "Uhm, Sweetie..." Scoots murmured. "Tumors are bad, mmm-kay?"
Sweetie died and Luna realized the evil dream creature was giving ponies cancer.
omg yay cutie mark! :D
i like this series so far, it has a lot of potential!
Great Story, love it, you've earned yourself an avid reader.
I seem to be the only one who wonders what will happen when only one of them is left. Cutie Mark Crusader. :(
Amazing stuff. Great plot, captivating storytelling, the author is really cut out for the Adventure tag. I feel compelled to read every one of his stories now.
3119638
I get the feeling sweetie belle recently watched frozen.
Totally was not expecting the cutie mark bit... which just adds a whole new level to this!
I am definitely reading more of this :D
Damn, that's awesome. But hey, Scootaloo did get her reward as the valiant hero. She was basically the reason Sweetie got her cutie mark. That's a hell of a reward.
But this should be interesting. I like how it is so far, but while going through other canon characters' dreams would be fun, there has to be more to it than that. I hope to find it.
Adn Sweetie gets her Cutie Mark,
Okay, see the whole, help them because you are their friend and better able to get them to open up and deal with their issues. That's a decent reason to recruit Scoots. Why couldn't Luna have said that from the start? Or, given her a more thorough briefing on dreams, and what to expect and all that? And while sweet, and touching, and perfectly in keeping with what we know of Sweetie, her getting over it and Scoots snapping her out.. still felt a bit rushed.. ehh maybe it's just me and I've been reading so many slower paced stories that it just seems off to me.
But really nice, better explanation for Luna recruits Scoots, the dream was a really nice look into Sweetie's psyche, and looking froward to more of them from other ponies, as well as what is behind all this.
Well I'm still annoyed at the lack of a plausible reason why Princess Luna can't (or won't )deal with this problem. I mean, she up and says that Sweetie Belle won't wake up again and she STILL won't step in at that point!? What the heck!?
But on another note, I thoroughly love your characterization of Luna. Her dialogue gives off an air of enigmatism, and I also appreciate that she's not speaking in "Ye Olden Tounge." It was done primarily as a gag, and I've never liked it.
And while I thought that Sweetie's nightmares being linked to her stage fright was an interesting notion, I don't understand what--if anything--that it has to do with the snow globe in her room.