Falling Down

When Golden woke up, it was nightfall. He realized he had slept all day. Walking over to his clock, he registered the time as one in the morning. "I've got to stop doing this when mom and dad leave..." He muttered audibly to the air. He had a habit of napping so long that he'd go right through the day. And last night's dream didn't help.

He made his way downstairs and back to the kitchen, opening the cupboard that had Sycamore's cat dish. He opened a bag of Krispy Kat Kibble and poured it in, calling to the feline. "Syc!" Gate yelled. "Dinner time!" Even though it was too late to be dinner, yet too early to be breakfast.

An indignant mew arose from the dusy grey cat. It was a moment later that Golden realized Sycamore was there the whole time, simply leaning up against the fridge. Golden muttered something similar to an apology and left the cat to his food.

"There has to be something I can do..." He muttered, looking around the room. He knew this phrase had two meanings. Not only was he looking for something to pass the time, he was trying to find a way to avoid his fate. Running wouldn't do anything, especially if they can go into his dreams. Maybe he could fight them off, but he wasn't the strongest pony. He was about to think of something else when he heard the fluttering of wings. He looked over to the window and saw a small orange pegasus with a purple-magenta mane. She seemed to be talking to somepony else on the ground, somepony too short to look into the window, but she was staring straight at him.

"It's him. This is Liberty's brother." Came her muffled voice. After a second, another muffled voice came, this one too quiet to hear. The pegasus nodded, then tapped the window gently. Golden walked up cautiously, surprised these foals were up so early. "Hey." The other pegasus said. "You're Golden Gate, right? We need some help from you."

Golden Gate reluctantly let them in, finding it wasn't just two, but three foals. A pale yellow earth pony with a rose mane, donned with a pink bow, introduced herself as Applebloom. A white unicorn with a pink and purple bi-colored mane said she was Sweetie Belle. The other pegasus said she was called Scootaloo.

"Why are you up at this time?" Golden asked, looking at all three of them slowly. "Surely you must have parents who are worrying about you?" The three looked at one another, as if trying to decide on an alibi, but they didn't say anything about authority figures when they returned their attention to Golden.

"We came here to discuss the dream your sister had. You see, she didn't tell just you. She told us as well." Applebloom answered, the lilt of a country accent filling her otherwise soft voice. "We didn't believe it at first, but we noticed a few other foals around town had the same look of fear she did. We're here because..." She turned her attention to the other two, still speaking. "...We know somebody else who is Marked again."

Golden remained silent. There were other ponies nearby that had the same dream as him. They were going to die the same way he was. He continued thinking about this, while Sweetie Belled continued for Applebloom.

"We know three, to be exact. An earth pony, a unicorn, and a flutterpony." To this, Golden lifted his head. He had never heard of the last type of pony before. Pegasi, he knew, flew in the skies and helped with weather. Earth ponies controlled the main source of Equestria's produce. Unicorns often contributed to things like jewelry and other fancy things. What did a flutterpony do? He voiced this question to them, particularly confused.

"Flutterponies are an old kind of pony. They've only recently been starting to come back." Sweetie Belle explained. "Like an alicorn, they can use magic, but it's strictly wind based, as they have no horns. They fly around like pegasi do too, so some are helping with the weather. You'll have to see one to fully understand."

Golden nodded slowly at this, digesting the information. He then realized that Scootaloo had been silent the whole time. She simply stared into space, her mind in another world. It was only until he said her name did she snap into attention. "Sorry." She muttered, head lowering.

"I think Scootaloo is an outlet, Applebloom. We've been brave with this, but she doesn't know how it feels." Sweetie Belle said. It was after a moment of silence Golden finally asked the question.

"Who are they? The ones that have been Marked?"

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom donned somber looks. They glanced at Scootaloo, who was staring into space again, and spoke in unison. "Our sisters."