Salvation

by Sandstorm Inkwell

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The day went by faster than I expected it to. Through the entire day, we played Pirate. It was fun, even if I did get a bit embarrassed when Rainbow saw me acting like such a foal. Now we were laying in the park, watching the sun go down and moon begin to go up.

“That was a fun day,” I breath, looking over at Pip. His eyes seemed focus on the sky but I saw him nod.

“It was. I've never had somepony play pirate with me that long before,” he replies as he finally looks at me, smiling, “Thanks.”

I smile back, “No. Thank you Pip. I needed that. You have no idea how frustrating the past couple days have been.”

I feel a hoof touch my shoulder. Following it, I see Pip smiling at me. Saying nothing, he somehow comforted me before removing his hoof and turning back to the darkening sky. Again, I could feel the pang of sadness in me when he removed his hoof.

“You think Luna will ever visit Ponyville again?” Pip asks, surprising me. I look at the night sky and sigh.

“I don't know. I hope she does,” I reply.

“Me too.”

Silence draws on between us as we examine the stars. I wonder if Tyler is looking at the stars too, I find myself thinking. I shake my head, No. No more sad thoughts.

“What's wrong?” I hear the colt next to me ask.

“Nothing,” I reply, looking at him with a smile. He smiles back before looking back at the sky. Again, silence draws on between us but I could care less. This was such a great day that just a little silence wouldn't hurt it. Not like it could. Even if it was silence, it was silence in the presence of my new... friend. Is that right? Argh! Stupid brain. Stop confusing yourself!

“We should probably head home,” I hear the colt next to me mutter.

“Yeah...” I reply. Neither of us move though. We just continue to stare at the stars. They were so vibrant tonight. So visible. After another long moment of silence, I hear Pip begin to move. Looking over, I see him beginning to get to his hooves. Sighing, I follow this action and stand up as well. When we were both standing we began to walk back to Ponyville, side-by-side.

“So Captain Pipsqueak,” I start, smiling at him, “what adventures are planned for tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” he asks, sounding surprised, “Good question, matey. We'll just have to see what maiden nature throws at us in the morrow. But don't worry yourself lass. I promise adventure and adventure we shall have!”

I chuckle at his antics, feeling elated that I had something to do tomorrow besides sit around and gripe. I wonder what Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are up to, though. I find myself thinking. I look at the pony walking next to me and smile, Probably not going adventuring.

Soon we were in town square. Stopping, I turned to Pip and wrapped him in a hug before he could say anything.

“Thanks for today,” I say, “I had a lot of fun.”

I hear muffled talking and look down to see that I had accidentally shoved Pip's face into my chest. Blushing, I release him and back away to see that he was also blushing.

“What was that?” I ask, rubbing my foreleg.

“I said: Me too,” he replies as he looks at the ground.

“Oh. Well... bye Pip.”

“See ya Scootaloo.”

“Pip?”

“Yeah?” he asks, turning his head around to look back at me.

“Just Scoots,” I state with a smile. I watch him blush, nod, and continue walking. Giggling, I turn and begin to walk to the Library. Reaching it, I pushed the door open to see Twilight sitting in the middle of the room.

“You're back kinda late,” she states, looking out a window at the night sky.

“Yeah,” I reply shyly, “we watched the stars for a little bit.”

I see Twilight give me a knowing smile as she nodded her head. She seemed to just notice the costume then,

“Play Pirate with Pip?” she asks.

I nod my head, “Yep. It was fun.”

“I'm sure. Do you want dinner?”

My stomach chose that time to pipe in with a growl. I smiled at Twilight and nodded, “Yes please.”

“Alright, let me make you a daisy sandwich real quick and then it's bedtime. Okay?”

“Okay.”

She stayed there for a second, looking like she was going to say something else. Finally, she stood and walked into the kitchen. With nothing to do, I found myself walking up the stairs to Twilight's room. Reaching the top, I looked around to see that there was now another bed. The new bed was smaller than Twilight's and had a orange and purple blanket. Set on the bedpost was none other than Tyler's hat. I noticed that something was carved into the headboard. Walking closer to the bed, I read the words.

“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.”

Before I could realize what I was doing, I stood on the bed, on hoof tracing the carved words. A sad smile came to my face as I read the words again and again.

“Scootaloo! It's time to eat!”

I let my hoof rest on the last five words for a couple seconds before jumping down and rushing to the stairs. Going down, I came into the kitchen just as Twilight readied herself to shout for me again.

“Oh. There you are. I'm guessing you saw your bed?” she asks as she motions to the table and the plate that sat atop it. Climbing into the chair, I nod before picking up the sandwich and biting into it.

“Do you... do you like it?” I hear Twilight ask, uncertainty in her voice. I take another bite out of the sandwich, chew, and swallow before getting of my chair and walking over to Twilight. Looking up at her, I see her worry. Smiling, I stand on my hindlegs and throw my arms around her.

“I love it. Thank you.”

I feel Twilight wrap one foreleg around me, “You're welcome.”

After about a minute, we separate. I walk back to the table and continue eating my sandwich.

“I better go check on Spike in the basement,” I hear Twilight say before she walked out. Finishing the sandwich, I move the plate into the sink before going back upstairs. Once up there, I strip off the costume, fold it, and put it under the bed. Climbing on the bed, I lay down above the covers, facing the words.

“For thou art with me,” I mutter, my hoof tracing the words as I said them. I feel the smile on my face as I lay my head down and close my eyes. Before sleep claimed me, I found myself seeing Tyler wave at me before giving me a thumbs up in his 'battle rattle'. A very sleepy chuckle escapes my lips before I fall asleep.

/--\

I opened my eyes to see a forest around me and one trail. I immediately recognized it as the world that I usually visited during lucid dreams. Seeing nothing else to do, I began to walk down the trail, seeing where it may lead me.

Not much time seemed to pass before I could see somepony in the distance. As I got closer, I saw that the pony was standing on two legs. As I got even closer, the shadows surrounding the being lifted.

“Dad!” I shout, galloping at Tyler as he smiles and crouches down to receive my hug. I bowl into him, knocking him onto his rear, my forelegs wrapped around him and my head buried into his chest. I realize that he's wearing his vest and thigh holster. Raising my head, I look at him questioningly.

“Hey Scoots,” he replies before noticing my look. I watch him look down at his gear and sigh, “I guess this stuff follows me. Even in the land of dreams.”

“I don't care,” I reply, burying my head back into his chest, “I want you back.”

“I will return home, Scoots. To you and Twilight. You can count on that. The Commander already has a plan in the making to clear out the Badlands,” he explains as he holds me tight. As I hug him, I see somepony moving behind the bushes beside the trail. Looking hard, I see the dark flowing mane of Luna as she watches us with a smile.

“I understand,” I respond, hugging him tighter.

“I'm glad you do. Since we both appear to be in control of this dream, what's been going on while I've been gone?” he asks. I think about his inference and about the presence of Luna. Did she allow this for us?

“Well,” I began, “I've been a total wreck.”

“What do you mean?”

“I got in a fight at school because-”

“You got in a fight?” he exclaims, pushing me back enough to look down at my face. His face was stern.

“They were calling you names!”

“That's still no reason to get in a fight. You need to not let those things bother you, Scoots. Let them talk.”

“But-”

“No buts,” he interrupts, “Let talking slide. Should they take negative actions though,” he smiles at me, “that's when you show them what you're made of. Got it?”

I chuckle and smile back at him, “Got it.”

“That's my girl,” he replies as he pulls me back against him, “Anything else?”

“Pipsqueak and me played Pirate all day today.”

“Pipsqueak? The small colt?”

I rolled my eyes, “That is why he's called 'Pipsqueak'.”

“Hmm...” I hear him hum.

“What?” I ask, snapping him out of whatever thought he was having.

“Nothing, just thinking about what we're going to talk about when I get back.”

“What's that?”

“Something not meant for the dream world, little one,” he replies with a smirk.

I frown at him but then notice that he's beginning to fade. He notices as well and frowns, “It seems it's time for me to wake up.”

“Do you have to?” I ask as he fades more.

“Sadly. Yes,” he responds with a nod. He tightens his hug around me and I feel him kiss my head. About a minute later, he was gone, leaving me hugging air. As I let my forelegs touch the stone trail, I watch as a single tear falls to the stones. Reaching up with a hoof, I feel my cheek and notice that they're wet.

“Crying. Again,” I state, frustrated. I look over at where I spied Luna to see that she was gone. So, instead, I looked up at the moon that hovered over the forest. Though it was bright as day, the moon was there instead of the sign. A sign of her power over dreams? I thought to myself.

“Thanks Luna,” I whisper to the moon as I notice my own body fading.