Scootaloo opened her eyes slowly, blinking the grogginess away, Hold on... Scootaloo thought as she glanced around, ..where am I? The room about her was dark and damp, a musky smell of iron filled her nostrils as she stood shakily, Scootaloo took a few steps before her hooves felt something splash beneath them, looking down, she pulled her wet hoof closer, bringing it into the only light she could find. It was dark red, and smelt strongly of iron, "Blood!!" Scootaloo gasped, stumbling backwards in horror, she began to hyperventilate, nervously glancing back and forth, the walls seemed to close in as she curled into a tight ball and cried out in fear.
It seemed like hours, yet was only a few minutes, before the door to her horrid cell opened. Two Pegasi stallions, both wearing dark black suits, walked in and pulled the trembling Scootaloo to her feet, "You will come with us." A Pegasus mare ordered, she was a pale pink color and her hair was sky blue. She too wore a black suit, but her helmet was off, hanging on her side, "Didn't you hear me you rat?! Get a move on!" the mare became angry and pushed Scootaloo down the hall, causing the confused filly to trip over her hooves.
The two guards yanked her back to her feet, Scootaloo began to tremble violently, her teeth chattering in fear. Who are these ponies? What do they want with me? How did I get here? Scootaloo dared not ask these questions, but they ran through her mind constantly. She was led down a dark hallway, dimly lit by tiny light bulbs, the mare opened a door ahead, it clanked loudly, as if it had never been oiled. The room ahead was filled by vats of color, each shade of the rainbow, hundreds of rows, Scootaloo began to understand, she was in a factory, the Rainbow Factory to be exact. But why was there blood in the cell? Why would there even be a cell? Something is terribly wrong with this place.. Scootaloo thought to herself.
Ahead of them, Scootaloo notice another Pegasus mare atop a ramp, she had her back turned to them, and was watching dials on the wall. In the dark, it was hard to tell who the mare was, though Scootaloo doubted she would recognize her. "Welcome to the Rainbow Factory, dear Scootaloo." The mare said.
"H-how did you know my name?" Scootaloo began to tremble again.
"Oh!" the mare gasped and turned around to face Scootaloo, acting insulted, "Why, don't you remember me?" the mare began to cackle madly, taking her helmet off, Scootaloo shrieked when she saw the rainbow mane fall from the helmet. "What's the matter dear Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash's crazed eyes glowed in the eerie dark.
"What's happening to me?!" Scootaloo cried, hiding under her tiny mane.
"Oh the questions again, you really are so dull.." Rainbow slowly walked across the ramp she stood on. "I'll make it simple, every now and then, we select a special pony to help make the rainbows. Need I say more?"
Scootaloo processed Rainbow's words, "So, you just want me to work?" she asked carefully.
Rainbow tapped her chin with a hoof, "If you put it that way..." Rainbow opened her wings and glided down to Scootaloo's level, she seemed to tower over the frightened filly. "..I'm sure you don't mind?"
Scootaloo nodded slowly, but then a thought crossed her mind as Rainbow began to lead her away, "Wait!" Rainbow turned back to her with an annoyed look on her face, "What about the blood in my cell?" Scootaloo asked.
Rainbow simply huffed, trotting down a corridor that seemed to have come out of nowhere. "H-hey I asked you a question!" Scootaloo squeaked as she was pushed along, the corridor led down another dark tunnel, just like the previous one. Scootaloo felt her heartbeat thumping loudly in her ears, her chest tightened until it felt like her stomach was twisting itself. Finally the corridor opened into a large chamber, one of the guards escorting Scootaloo pulled a lever, turning on the dim lights, Scootaloo let her eyes adjust to the sudden light. The first thing to meet her eyes made her scream in terror, there was a blood-splattered machine, it had four sockets placed in the shape of an X, beneath it was a boiling vat of acid, and above it lay small device that looked like a syringe with three needles, connected to the syringe was a clear tube that led to a small machine.
Scootaloo whimpered as the guards carried her to the machine, locking her hooves in the sockets of the machine, Scootaloo noticed that Rainbow Dash had an evil glint in her eyes, "W-what are you going to do to me?" Scootaloo stuttered.
"Your really are so daft aren't you?" Rainbow sighed, "One would think you might understand by now, but of course, no pony knows how rainbows are actually made, I shall demonstrate." Rainbow pulled another lever, and the syringe lowered itself into position, it was pointed towards Scootaloo's tiny chest, directly in between her ribs. Scootaloo began to pant heavily, realizing what Rainbow was going to do.
"Please...don't.." Scootaloo cried, tears flowing freely from her eyes. Rainbow simply smirked, pressing a button which caused the syringe to slowly proceed towards her chest, Scootaloo shrunk back as far as she could, even flapping her wings vainly in protest. "No! Don't! Please Rainbow!" Scootaloo screamed as the syringe plunged towards her chest, but she soon realized she was looking at herself as it happened. What...? Scootaloo shook her head in confusion, she could see herself in the device, the sound of her own screams filled her ears, yet she was not screaming, Rainbow Dash's evil cackles subsided, and she seemed to be calling Scootaloo's name fervently.
"Scootaloo! Scoots!" Rainbow's voice called, Scootaloo opened her eyes groggily, looking around, she was back in her room. She glanced at Rainbow, whose expression was nothing but concern.
Scootaloo yelped and pushed herself away from Rainbow, "No! Get away!" she squealed, panting as she curled onto her bed, which was very cold, and wet.
"Scootaloo..what?" Rainbow leaned forward, reaching for Scootaloo, who violently flinched as her hooves gently stroked her mane, "What's wrong?" Rainbow recoiled, hurt vibrant in her eyes.
Scootaloo shook her head, glancing back at Rainbow for a moment, her panting stopped, It was only a dream? "But it seemed so real..." she relaxed when she realized the fact. "I had a nightmare."
"I can see that..was it about me? You were screaming my name." Rainbow scooped Scootaloo into her hooves, gently nuzzling her cheek with her snout.
"Yes..." Scootaloo snuggled into the comforting cyan fur.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Rainbow hugged her tighter.
Scootaloo thought for a moment, "No, it was just a dream." she sighed, But where did it come from? How could something so dark and evil come from my imagination? Surely Rainbow isn't part of something so, vile.....right? Scootaloo looked up into Rainbow's gentle magenta eyes, nothing but sympathy and care was conveyed in them. No, Scootaloo smiled, closing her eyes peacefully as she fell back asleep in Rainbow's arms.
Scootaloo awoke to a bright ray of sunshine, a strange contrast from last night. Although she knew Rainbow Dash would never be so evil, she couldn't help but shudder at the thought of seeing her again. Scootaloo slipped out of bed, walking silently to the bathroom so she wouldn't wake Rainbow. While she brushed her teeth, she found herself thinking about last night's dream, Where did that even come from? And... Scootaloo thought about the time when Princess Luna herself had saved her from a nightmare, ...where was she last night?
Perhaps I wasn't looking for her... she theorized, ..in my other nightmares, she was there, but I wasn't paying attention. Now Scootaloo tried to bring every image from her dream back, seeking the slightest indication Luna was there, but she didn't find anything, anything she could remember anyway. With a sigh, she rinsed out her mouth and carefully walked downstairs.
"Good morning squirt!" Rainbow grabbed Scootaloo -who jumped with fright- for a hug. "How'd you sleep last night?" Rainbow put the trembling filly down.
Scootaloo took a deep breath, calming her fluttering heart, "I slept ok...how about you?"
"I slept like a rock, but I'm still wondering about your dream Scoots. I would like to hear about it when you feel like it, it doesn't have to be today, but I do want to hear it." Rainbow set a bowl of sweet-smelling oats on the counter, sprinkling some cinnamon on them, just the way she knew Scootaloo liked. "I made you breakfast!" Rainbow nuzzled Scootaloo, who flinched slightly, but not noticeably, for Rainbow trotted past her towards the door.
"Thanks." Scootaloo examined the bowl suspiciously.
"No problem. I gotta go now Scoots, I hate to leave you but the weather team always needs their leader." Rainbow saluted Scootaloo with her wing before blasting off, leaving a faint trail of rainbows.
Scootaloo hid her eyes from the rainbow colors, just the sight of them made her want to gag. She took her bowl of oats and sat on the comfy cloud floor, scooping spoonful after spoonful into her mouth while her thoughts drifted back to the nightmare. The very inkling of telling Rainbow just how evil she was in her dream made Scootaloo shiver, how would Rainbow take that? Would she be upset? Or would she understand because it was "just a dream"?
I need to find some way to talk with Luna... Scootaloo thought as she rinsed her bowl clean and dried it, "And I know just the pony who could help me!" Scootaloo smiled, dashing outside and putting on her helmet.
Scootaloo knocked on the door, anxious for somepony to answer, "Coming!" called a familiar voice, a magenta aura surrounded the handle as the door opened. "Oh, hello Scootaloo! What can I do for you?" Twilight asked, motioning for Scootaloo to come inside.
"I need somepony to talk to." Scootaloo felt her heart rate rising again as she settled herself onto the nearest chair.
"You can't talk to Rainbow Dash? I thought you and her were like sisters." Twilight levitated a few cushions over and lay down on them.
"Sometimes it's just better to tell somepony you don't know so well." Scootaloo blushed.
Twilight shrugged, "Ok, what is it you need to tell me?"
Scootaloo took a deep breathe before explaining her horrid dream, watching Twilight's concerned expression grow as she did. "And then I woke up, in Rainbow's hooves, I got scared so I pushed her away, I guess I didn't really understand it was a dream right away.
I told her I didn't want to talk about it, and that it was just a dream, but...I was lying, it isn't just a dream to me. Rainbow terrifies me now, and I can't bring myself to tell her. She was just so...evil...in the dream, I guess what scares me the most is the possibility of this dream becoming true." Scootaloo realized she was shaking as she finished telling the story.
Twilight furrowed her eyebrows as she stood, "Well...I must say that is the most horrible nightmare I could possibly imagine. But where on earth did you get the idea that rainbows are made from ponies? I know for a fact that isn't true, I've been to the Rainbow Factory myself, special tour courtesy of Princess Celestia." Twilight walked towards Scootaloo, "The reason for Rainbow Dash's appearance in your dream, and her significance, I can't explain..."
Scootaloo sighed in disappointment, "Well, I mainly came here to ask about Princess Luna, she never appeared in my dream, and she did before when I was having nightmares about ghost stories. Maybe you could....help me...talk to her?" Scootaloo asked shyly, letting her mane cover her eyes.
Twilight smiled gently, "Yes, I'll help you. But for now, you're late for school." She whispered in Scootaloo's ear.
"Oh no!" Scootaloo sprang to her feet and galloped out the door, "Thanks Twilight!" she called back as she mounted her scooter.
Huffing and puffing, Scootaloo burst into the classroom, surprising all the students and Miss Cheerilee. "Scootaloo, you're late." Cheerilee walked over to Scootaloo and escorted her to her chair.
"I'm sorry...I had some trouble getting to school today, bad night's sleep." Scootaloo sat in her chair, eagerly grabbing her pencil and solving equations on the page Cheerilee had marked.
"I'll let it go this time." Cheerilee gave Scootaloo a warning look.
"It won't happen again." Scootaloo smiled, Cheerilee nodded and walked away, I wonder what Rainbow Dash is doing now? Scootaloo let her mind wander as she solved an equation, Perhaps she is...No! Don't think like that! Remember, it's just a dream. Scootaloo shook her head in frustration as she tried to rid herself of the thought.
Suddenly the bell rang, nearly making Scootaloo jump out of her skin, "Recess!" Cheerilee called, ushering the fillies outside. Scootaloo hurried to follow them, Horseapples! Scootaloo thought as she trotted to the playground, I forgot my lunch!
"Scootaloo!" Applebloom called her over, Sweetie Belle was siting next to her, waving at Scootaloo, who bounced over.
"Hi guys." Scootaloo sat down next to them, "Can I have a sandwich? I forgot my lunch." she hungrily eyed Applebloom's extra daisy sandwich.
"Sure, Ah always have extra." Applebloom smiled as she handed Scootaloo the sandwich, Scootaloo bit into the sandwich immediately, she hadn't realized how hungry she was, but then, talking about her nightmare did spoil her appetite.
"Wow! If Rarity saw me eat like that she'd be appalled." Sweetie Belle laughed at Scootaloo, who had mayonnaise on her face and crumbs all over her fur.
"I guess I was really hungry." Scootaloo giggled, "I'm going to go swing, want to join me?" She asked as she stood, walking a little ways towards the swing-set.
"Alright!" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle jumped up and followed her, Scootaloo started swinging, giggling with her friends as they tried to see who could swing the highest.
After about ten minutes of swinging, the school bell rang again, "Ok back inside!" Cheerilee called, counting students as they filed into the schoolhouse. Scootaloo got off the swing and trotted towards the schoolhouse, promptly tripping over a rock and tumbling to the ground.
"Woah! Scootaloo are you ok?" Sweetie Belle helped her stand.
"Yeah I'm...." Scootaloo noticed some blood on her hoof, the sight caused her stomach to seize, a wave of dizziness washing over her, the familiar smell of iron in her nose, and the wetness of the blood, only this time it was warm and throbbing. She stumbled forward, then back again, blacking out.
"..then she just went all pale and fell down!" Sweetie Belle's voice said.
"Hey! Ah think she's wakin' up." Applebloom said, Scootaloo opened her eyes, seeing Applebloom in her face immediately, Rainbow Dash and Nurse Redheart in the background.
Scootaloo eyed the room, her heart rate quickening as she laid eyes on Rainbow Dash, "What happened?" She asked groggily, blinking rapidly to keep her eyes focused, the back of her head throbbed, and she had a bandage on her right hoof, a small amount of blood was visible on the top of the bandage.
"You fell down and hit your head sweetheart." said Nurse Redheart, "Nothing too serious, but I'd keep away from vigorous activity for a few days."
"Thank you Nurse." Rainbow walked over to Scootaloo and gently patted her on the head, Scootaloo tried to keep from flinching, Rainbow's touch made her uneasy.
"Where are we?" Scootaloo asked.
"The school clinic." Applebloom replied.
"That was weird Scootaloo, I've never seen you faint, remember last year? When I got stitches? You watched the doctor do it and you didn't get sick at all." Sweetie Belle sat on a chair, playing with her hooves as she talked.
"Girls, can I talk to Scootaloo alone for a moment?" Rainbow asked, motioning for the fillies to leave, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom nodded, trotting outside. Rainbow sighed, "Scootaloo, did this happen because of your dream?"
Scootaloo avoided eye-contact with Rainbow, although her eyes were gentle, they were the scariest part of Scootaloo's dream, and she didn't want to relive that fear.
"I'll take that as a yes." Rainbow pulled up a chair, "You seem to be avoiding me, I take it you don't want to talk about your dream yet do you?"
Scootaloo shook her head slowly, quickly glancing at Rainbow then back at her twiddling hooves. Rainbow was quiet after that, a long, uncomfortable silence filled the air, Scootaloo jumped as Rainbow chuckled slightly, reminding her of the dream and all the mad cackling she had heard. "I remember last time you had nightmares, and you didn't tell me because you thought I was never scared, but I get scared Scoots. Especially in times like this, when you won't talk to me." Scootaloo cast a worried glance at Rainbow, who was gazing down at the floor, her eyes glossed by tears.
Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak, but closed it, sighing, "You said the dream was about me...what was I doing in the dream?" Rainbow asked, her ears perked towards Scootaloo, hoping for an answer.
Scootaloo began to cry herself, "I don't wanna talk about it today, ask me tomorrow." she pulled the small blanket over her shoulder and curled up, facing the wall opposite of Rainbow. She heard Rainbow's sigh of defeat, and her hoof steps as she left the room.
"I'll be back in an hour to take you home Scoots." Rainbow said as she left, Scootaloo could hear the sadness in her voice, and let her tears flow freely, sobbing into the pillow until she fell asleep.
Scootaloo was walking at night, the crescent moon barely lighting the ground, Why am I all alone? she thought as she walked, looking about her for any sign of ponies.
"You are not alone Scootaloo." A strong voice said behind her.
"Princess Luna!" Scootaloo spun around to face the alicorn, who nodded gently. "Where were you last night? Why didn't you save me from my nightmare like you did last time?" Scootaloo was slightly agitated.
"Peace, dear filly, it is not always possible to aid every pony's dreams at night. Last night was the new moon, when my sister's sunlight does not illuminate our moon, therefore the moon is not visible. It is then that our power is weakest, and many ponies have nightmares, but none like thee Scootaloo." Luna slowly led Scootaloo to a beach, which seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"What do you mean 'none like mine'?" Scootaloo asked, watching Luna lay down on the cool sand, beckoning for Scootaloo to lay beside her.
"Come lie down, we will explain." Luna draped a warm wing over Scootaloo's back as she lay down, "Some dreams serve a purpose, little one, and thou hast not come to understand what thy dream means. Nightmares come in many forms, but the most disturbing are about those thou loves. Rainbow Dash seemed evil in thy dream, but is she thus in reality?" Luna asked, patiently waiting for Scootaloo to think about it.
"No." Scootaloo gazed into Luna's soft blue eyes as she said so.
"Then why dost thou fear her in the real world? If she is not evil? Thou began to fear her out of respect, this is natural, but the subconscious can do many things, and thou may not have realized it, but thou began to lose sight of Rainbow's good heart. Thou sees her as a powerful, intimidating figure, and now, thou even sees her as dangerous. We know, this may not make sense, but it is the way young ponies think, if thou asked Sweetie Belle what she thinks of her father, what would she say?" Luna waited for Scootaloo to answer.
"She said he is nice, but he is sometimes scary? But what does that have to do with it?" Scootaloo asked.
"Family becomes frightening to young hearts, we should know, we rebelled against out sister because we feared her. But the fear is not irrational, it is brought upon us for a reason, our reason for fearing her came from our fear of insignificance. What dost thou fear, Scootaloo? What about Rainbow makes thou afraid? This is the reason for thou's dream, do remember, dear Scootaloo, the subconscious is a terrifying place all in itself, fears from the real world, even if thou does not know they exist, emerge there. And do not worry about the rainbow factory, that is purely of thou's own imagination."
"Where you in my dream last night?" Scootaloo asked.
Luna blinked, "Yes, we were in thou's dream, dost thou not remember? When the figure of Rainbow Dash pulled the lever, did thou not see us in the shadows?"
Scootaloo thought for a moment, then gasped, "Yes! You were there! But why didn't you talk to me?"
"It was not our place to interfere, we only hoped thou would take comfort in our presence." Luna stood, taking to the sky as she talked. "This is a fear thou must vanquish, for it will build upon thou's character. Now we must go, Rainbow has come to take thou home. Do not fear her, tell her of thou's dream...even if it takes thee days to muster the courage." Luna flew to the moon, disappearing as all the images blurred away.
"Scootaloo? It's time to come home, I got your favorite for dinner." Rainbow's voice entered Scootaloo's ears, and for the first time that day, she did not shy away from her touch. Somehow, Luna's words had brought peace upon her heart.
"Ok." Scootaloo smiled at Rainbow genuinely as she climbed onto her back.
Scootaloo was full, sitting on the fluffy cloud couch with Rainbow, "Rainbow? I'm ready to tell you about my dream."
Rainbow smiled, "Ok. I'm listening."
Scootaloo took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, and began explaining her nightmare to Rainbow, who held a straight face up until she was mentioned, and her face fell into a surprised frown. This didn't deter Scootaloo, who continued on, not daring to stop for fear she would not be able to start again. Rainbow's face was unreadable after Scootaloo finished, "That's....a terrible dream...." Rainbow quivered as she talked, not exactly sure of herself.
"That's why I was so scared of you." Scootaloo said quietly, "Are you mad at me?"
Rainbow blinked, "Why would I be mad at you? I can't blame you for what your mind does while you are asleep now can I? That's not very sportsmanlike." Rainbow smiled briefly as she talked, letting her frown return afterwards, "But...I do have to ask, do you really think I would do that?"
Scootaloo smiled again, "No, I don't anymore, and I'm sorry I ever did." she said as she jumped into Rainbow's hooves, I think I know now what Luna was saying, Scootaloo thought as Rainbow hugged her tightly, My dream may have been uncalled for, and dreadful, but it helped me get over my fears and see Rainbow for who she really is. She is not the rough-and-tough pony I thought she was, she is not perfect, and she's not my idol, she's my sister, and I won't ever fear her again.
"The sun is still up, want to practice flying?" Rainbow stroked Scootaloo's mane.
"You bet! Race you!" Scootaloo jumped from the couch and dashed outside, tailed closely by Rainbow.
The End
