”A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.” ~ Leo Buscaglia
Written in the Stars
Saturday, May 17th - Dripping Cavern
Scootaloo snuggled herself into her sleeping bag, a happy smile on her face. She was situated closest to the entrance of the Dripping Cavern, a place she feared some years ago. This was all in Scootaloo’s past now, and with the fact that her own BBBFF was next to her, there was nothing to fear. Even then, however, curiosity still got the best of the little filly.
Her eyes looked to the midnight sky, the many stars gleaming in the natural darkness. What are stars made of? Scootaloo put her hooves behind her head, sighing as she began to think up the many oddities that could make up the tiny specs in the sky.
Her first idea was that the orbs were actually torches used by Pegasi to fly by night. Although it saddened her because of her inability to truly fly, it was quite understandable from the looking upon the whole society type of perspective. Even then, how were these torches able to suspend themselves in the night sky without falling to the ground below? With a wave of the thought, she moved onto her next proposition.
What if stars were just decorative lights that made the sky look more beautiful at night? Scootaloo thought this to be plausible because, in fact, the sky did look beautiful with all the tiny lights dotting the entire scene. She’d even heard Dusty say that the night sky was one of the most beautiful things a pony could ever lay eyes on. Scootaloo sighed, however. There had to be something more to the night then just decorative lights or torches that guided Pegasi at night.
She pushed the thought out of her head, rolling over onto her side to scoot up next to Dusty’s slumbering form. His warmth was what she needed right now, not the satisfaction of discovering what the stars really were. However, her mind would be changed at the instant of flapping wings coming from outside of the cave. Scootaloo turned over from Dusty’s back, her eyes widening at the sight of another favorite pony.
“Princess Luna!” She said with a hushed tone as she leaped up from her sleeping bag and broke into a full gallop to go and meet her. Luna was rather happy to see the filly, letting her cling onto her foreleg as her form of a hug. “What are you doing here, Princess?” Scootaloo asked, her head raising up to look at the much larger Alicorn with a questioning gaze.
“Thou have asked what the stars of made of, yes?” Princess Luna replied to the filly’s question with a raised eyebrow. Scootaloo only nodded, astounded that she actually heard her thoughts in the first place. “Well, Miss Scootaloo, thine will discover what the stars truly are tonight.”
The orange filly wasn’t sure how to react, but the smile that plagued her face as she jumped up and down foalishly was a tell-tale sign that she was excited. Finally, Scootaloo would get to see what the stars truly were. Hay, maybe she would've been right after all. “So, uh... How are we going to get there, Princess Luna?” Scootaloo fluttered her tiny wings, producing a repeating beat rather than hovering off the ground like she had hoped.
“We shall use a magic spell, young Scootaloo,” Luna chuckled, “Step closer and we shall be off.” The filly obeyed her order, stepping next to the Princess as her horn lit up in a wavy magical aura. It was different from the one that a normal unicorn would use. Instead of being a solid color, it was more mystic and shrouded with sparkles that danced along the length of her horn. Before Scootaloo could even ask what kind of magic she was using, the two were whisked off and brought back into existence at what seemed to be some considerable distance from the moon.
Scootaloo was taken aback by shock, not by how close they were to the giant in the sky, but the orbs that floated around where they stood. She looked up to Princess Luna with both a thrilled and confused look. “Are these actual stars, Princess?” She asked, gasping throughout her sentence.
“Indeed they are. But, they are more than just stars, my young subject.” Luna pointed to the moon, bringing Scootaloo’s full attention to it. “Touch thine moon and you will be able to relive your most cherished memory, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened at the mention touching the moon. “But Princess! Isn’t the moon impossible to reach?” She asked, showing full alarm in her voice. If she couldn’t fly, how did she expect her to touch the moon?
“Reach out with thine hoof, and believe, young Scootaloo.” Luna’s facial expression was one of brutal truth to the young filly. She was the subject of the Princess, and to not believe that she were telling the truth would be a disgrace to all the things that she had done for herself already. Scootaloo had only one choice, especially if she wanted to relive one of her most heartfelt memories of her life.
She dropped all doubt from her mind and reached out into the dark. To her amazement, she could feel the craters and bumps that dotted the moon’s surface, and before she knew it, the stars had started to glow brighter. Along with it came an ominous hum from the center of the orbs as they began to shift out of their resting places.
Scootaloo stepped back a few hooves, nearly hitting the Princess while in the act. Luna giggled and smiled softly, watching the stars dance before them in a seemingly graceful ballet of astronomical sorts. The filly could only gawk at the event unfolding before her.
One star, brighter and larger than the others now hovering in a circle around them, began a slow descent down from the formation toward Scootaloo. Still, the filly’s hung open as the star finally rested in front of her, it’s aura nearly blinding. A hoof on top of her head brought her back from the stasis-like trance.
“Now thine can touch the star, and relive a most wonderful memory,” Princess Luna said with a nod. Scootaloo was skeptical about it, though. What if she couldn’t come out of the memory? Would she be stuck there forever? The Princess could only encourage her still. “Is thou afraid to enter?” Luna asked, a truly concerned expression on her muzzle.
“Princess...” Scootaloo started off, her voice nearly a whisper, “What if I’m not able to come back? What will happen?” The filly sported a terribly frightened look.
“Scootaloo, if that is to happen... Thou shall come for you.” Luna affirmed her pledge with a hard nod, her smile returning to the star that suspended itself before them. “Go, my young subject. Do not be afraid.”
An unsure Scootaloo could only trust in the words of her Princess and turned back to face the star once more. Its ominous hum was very discouraging, but the way it hovered up and down slowly was somewhat soothing to the filly. Without a second thought, she slowly reached her hoof out to touch the star. When she made the connection, her vision went black. Her last thought was the fear of never being able to come back and be at the side of her big brother again...
* * *
Scootaloo’s eyes opened slowly, her vision still a blur to her as she shook her head and tried to regain focus. A dull sound of repeated banging was heard as she looked around her fuzzy surroundings. As she came to, the banging noise became more sharp and ear-cracking. Coupled with the sound of heavy raindrops, Scootaloo was more confused than anything as to where or what memory she was in. Then, a loud crack echoed throughout the dreamscape, followed by a roll of thunder high above.
Scootaloo felt something wet on her foreleg and moved herself to clean the liquid from her coat. But when she came eye to eye with a lifeless body, her first reaction was to scream. It was then that it hit her. She wasn’t in some rainy day memory. She was in Fillydelphia, at the height of the Lunar Cult’s Six Day War.
Scootaloo became frantic, knowing that the body before he was none other than her father’s. She continued to scream with each breath, wanting out of the memory now. The more she screamed, however, the more she started to break down into a sobbing mess. Luna said that this was going to be the memory that she cherished most, not her worst nightmare. And the more she cried for help, the more she realized that Luna had lied to her.
She... Lied to me...
Scootaloo couldn’t believe it. Her own Princess. Her own savior. She had lied straight to her face. All she could was cry, wait until the memory was completely over and that hopefully she’d be back at Dusty’s side in the cave. Her wails became more prevalent as the time passed. The rain grew heavier with each passing second, matching the size of the tears that came out of the filly’s own eyes. But deep in her sobbing fit, she heard something scurry behind her. Was it Luna? Did she actually come to get her out of this horrid nightmare? The sight behind her was one that she was not even expecting to occur.
“Hey kid, you okay?” A brown coated stallion said as he looked into her eyes. His hoof was clutching some sort of rifle, and he was breathing hard. Scootaloo couldn’t help but continue to cry, feeling truly betrayed by her favorite Princess. She didn’t want to answer some stallion who was probably only going to leave her there, after all.
An irritable gruff emitted from behind the stallion’s teeth as Scootaloo continued to cry to herself. She couldn't even begin to piece together the betrayal, let alone deal with having to relive this memory out of all the other ones she had made in Ponyville.
Ponyville...
Scootaloo’s crying tapered down a bit as she tried to recollect how she’d even gotten there in the first place. Then, in her brief moment of clearance, a foreleg scooped her up and she came face to face with the stallion from moments before.
“Kid, listen to me, okay?” Scootaloo’s eyes still dribbled out tears, but the feeling she had from before had turned into rage. Heck, he was the one that probably killed her father. Out of blind hate, Scootaloo began to thrash and buck, making connections wherever she could against the stallion’s chest and foreleg. He wasn’t going to help her, he was just going to try and turn her into one of them, a Lunar follower.
“Let. Me. Go!” Scootaloo screamed out as she tried to wring herself from his hold. She wouldn’t have any luck on her side, though, as he kept a steady hold on her. She stopped, giving up the plight to fight back. She was too small to do anything, after all.
“I’m here to help you, not hurt you.” The stallion said, his two front hooves holding her off of the ground. Scootaloo looked up at his face once more, the look of his expression one that she thought was familiar. “My name’s Dusty. I’m here to get you out, alright?”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she continued to dribble out tears. It was Dusty! Her BBBFF! Her friend! It was her Dusty! Scootaloo couldn’t believe it, and the tears began to flow freely again, not out of hate, but out of love and relief that she had someone who had been with her nearly her entire life as of yet right there, holding her up in the fog of war. When she tried to speak, the only thing that came out was sobs and wails of joy. She desperately wanted to yell out his name, to let him know that it was her!
“Look at me, kid. You come with, okay?” Dusty said with clearance in his voice. Even among the crackle of gunfire and rain, his voice was the only thing that she wanted to hear. Still, even when she tried to tell him yes, the end result was another sob of joy. “I’ll... I’ll take you to get ice cream after I get you out, huh? How does that sound?”
Scootaloo nodded, her smile and happiness hidden behind the mask of tears, warfare and past actions. Dusty smiled at her for the first time, tucking her close to his chest. Scootaloo had never felt so safe in the hold of somepony, and now that she knew it was Dusty, she finally realized why this was her most cherished memory. Her hooves clutched to his jacket as she cried against him. “What’s your name, kid?”
“Sc-Scootaloo!” The filly managed to choke out between her sobs. She was surprised that she could manage that much, but the emotion she felt could only make for a more prouder achievement. The stallion chuckled and patted her back, trying to calm her down from the sobbing mess she was.
“Scootaloo, huh? Got any family?” Dusty asked as she clutched as tight as she could to him. Scootaloo only had her father, but he was gone now, moved by the forces of war to a place where his soul could rest.
“N-No.” She sobbed against him. Scootaloo wouldn’t have any family for the rest of her life, all because of a stupid cult. As she thought about it, more tears started to crawl out of her ducks and onto the already-wet fabric of Dusty’s uniform. His hoof moved her chin to make her look up at him.
“I’ll be your family, okay? We’ll be brother and sister.” He nodded, a faint smile growing on his face. Scootaloo saw him look up and scan the area forward of them before looking back down at her. “We’ll do everything together. Whatever you want to do. Just trust me, alright?”
Scootaloo nodded quickly against him, wanting the memory to not end there. At that moment, when he said he would be her family, Scootaloo had never felt such a connection with someone other than her father. And for it to be Dusty to say that made her feel even better on the inside.
As she felt Dusty move, her eyes began to close. Scootaloo could finally put her trust back in Luna, for if this memory were to be her worst nightmare, she wouldn’t be with Dusty living in Ponyville. And for the first time, she wasn’t scared of the darkness that took over her vision. Having Dusty there was all she needed to feel as safe as she did on that rainy day in Fillydelphia...
* * *
Scootaloo felt a weight on her side as she tried to wiggle her way out of something that was holding her. She didn’t want to open her eyes, hoping that she could possibly get a second memory in before she would have to leave the dreaming realm. But as her wringing went on, she began to regain feeling in her limbs and she could feel some sort of heat radiating against her coat. Her eyes shot open, her vision being met by brown fur. Dusty?
As she lifted her head up, she felt the wetness of tears roll down her cheek and into the space between herself and the stallion who was her family. Scootaloo’s eyes met Dusty’s own, which held a hint of worry within them.
“You okay, Scoots?” He asked, using a hoof to wipe away a tear from her right eye. “You were crying in your sleep. What happened?”
Scootaloo could only throw herself against Dusty, never happier to have seen a familiar face. “I had a dream we were back in Fillydelphia, and I thought Luna lied to me about it being the best memory I ever had, and then you came along and said you’d be my family, and then-.”
Dusty’s hoof planted itself over her mouth, silencing her from her crescendo of happiness and joy in the cavernous installation. He chuckled quietly, nodding back to two sleeping forms that were nearby.
“Oh. Sorry...” Scootaloo rubbed the back of her head with his own hoof, “I probably looked silly when I was crying, huh?” Dusty smiled and pulled the filly into a brotherly hug.
“You don’t have to worry, lil’ Sis. I’ll always be here for you, cry or smile.” He nuzzled the top of her head, Scootaloo returning the gesture with a joyful shake of her head. “Did you learn anything special?”
“That stars are actually the memories of everypony’s past!” Scootaloo beamed with excitement. Dusty didn’t know how to respond to her finding, but just accepted it and hugged her closer to him.
“You’re a crazy filly, ya know that?” The stallion chuckled as he got comfortable in his sleeping bag once more.
“Did you know that you’re the best brother in all of Equestria?” Scootaloo retorted playfully. The two sighed and settled into each other. No one in all of the land could replace one another, and they both intended it to be that way, forever and always.
