Night In The Neverfree

“Brrr.” Scootaloo couldn’t stop her delicate frame from shivering, hooves were like jelly from the long hike deep into the darkness of The Everfree.

Teeth chattered as she could see Lyra skip and bounce excitedly ahead, a sing-song melody escaping her muzzle loudly filling the silence around them. Scootaloo felt sick to her stomach right now, her mind wondering if the shadow pony was still amongst them.

Yet at this moment in her life, it would not be the worst thing she was frightened of. The mare began a swift canter, her hooves picking up speed as it forced the filly into a sudden gallop.

“Please, come back!” Scootaloo yelled into the empty void.

“I’m scared.” The filly folded her ears downward in shame, her eyes watched the floor in fear of the unknown.

“Nothing to be scared of honey.” Her Aunt Holiday spoke up as she sat in a dark corner, her frame hidden behind a cloak of shadows.

“Things just happen. We must pull ahead.” Aunt Lofty gave a reassuring smile, features blocked by a haze yet her voice was so gentle.

“But what if?” Scootaloo held back tears.

“Nothing bad will ever happen, I won’t allow it! You don’t need to live in fear!” Holiday spoke up as she trotted out of the shadows, her body shimmered as if basking in Celestia's warm sun.

“Holi."

“Scootaloo, you are perfectly normal! I swear you're nothing less than wonderful.” Holiday stood beside the child, eyes gazing down upon her with a sense of tenderness.

“I’m afraid…”

“We’ll never judge you.” Her aunt leaned in for a hug, whispering those words she yearned to hear.

“Please, don’t run away from me!” Scootaloo felt her small body collapse into the cold damp dirt.

Her violet hues gazed forward to the emptiness ahead of her, the tone of Lyra completely gone.

The dark would creep up on the child, she could only curl into a small ball for protection. Those bleak ate-filled eyes were watching her, the pony of the abyss never understanding its prey, only wanting to tear apart the light.

Perhaps she deserved the hunt to end, to be outed by the monster and swallowed by the fear that gripped her heart so tight. She could hear its hoof steps come ever closer, hiding her muzzle behind small hooves. She tensed her body and winced in place, ready for the end at long last.

Hooves came to a complete stop, standing high above her wickedly. Breathing so shallow and dark, ready to lunge forward and drag the child to her own personal Tartarus. A firm hoof that offered no mercy stroked through her mane, a touch that only held lies and hidden hate.

“Why are you scared?” Lyra spoke up, her dull-colored eyes watching her shiver upon the damp grass.

“I’m not afraid, only tired.”

“Tsk. You only have one lie, any more than that is breaking the rules.”

“Where are we going?” Scootaloo spoke in a muffled tone, her tiny face buried into her hooves hidden away from the world.

“We are here to run from the monsters, can you hear them?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you stop?”

“I deserve to be found.”

“To be found now is to be lost.”

“I know.”

“Would you rather just run?”

“It’s too dark.” Scootaloo began to sob.

“It is quite bleak.”

“...”

“Share with me friend, why do you seek the end?”

“I’ve seen love, destroyed by hate.”

“This love you share?”

“I don’t want this fate.”

“The monsters are here.”Lyra could only sigh as she galloped ahead into the abyss, hidden away from the world once more.

“...”

“Run, the dark can only last till dawn!” Lyra’s voice wafted across the air, faint and quickly fading.

“Run? Face the dark, face it until it is gone.” Scootaloo lifted her face to nothingness, gritting her teeth as she lunged into the twisted woods.

Running with no fear in her eyes, breathing wildly, and hooves on fire. Facing head on the monster that gave chase, giving it no chance to attack as soon all would fade away. A pale blue light suddenly burst into view, a large opening in the middle of this nightmare was filled with beauty so bright.

The child slid to a stop in complete awe, Lyra gasping for breath near an old rotting tree. Scootaloo let her gaze rise, the trees were spread out neatly in this one place. The sky was not hidden but shone for all to see, stars lit the sky elegantly as the moon was at its brightest.

Her eyes soaked in the majesty that was before her, soul gaining peace. Such a light deep within the abyss, where nothing beautiful could survive. Gave her hope that even in the worst places, beauty could still form and flourish.

Nopony was beyond the light, we might find ourselves lost yet never forgotten. Lyra slowly pushed towards the child, the silence building once more between them. The night was more than half over now, the mare lifted her gaze to the sky as well with a look of confusion.

“What are you looking at buddy?” Lyra searched for anything of interest above, seeing only a dull and bleak sky full of emptiness.

“The light.”

“You see a light?”

“Don’t you? The stars are dancing and the moon is glowing.” Scootaloo could not help but giggle softly, eyes full of enchantment.

“Ah.” Lyra simply watched the skyline, all beauty gone from the world.

“Lyra.”

“Hmmm?” Lyra gave a soft silent huff in reply, her heart shattered as the light was lost to her.

“Thank you for showing me this.”

“You’re welcome.” The mare held back the sorrow, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

The time had come, she could no longer see the light.

She had to finish what she began, the night was ready to end.

Placing a soft hoof onto the child's shoulder, they watched the sky for a few more moments. The monsters that haunted them both faded out of the world, some coming into light while others sink into the abyss.

“Time to go home.”

“Why?”

“I have something to show you.”

“What?”

“My secret.”