Ponyville was covered in a soft layer of slow, each snowflake glimmering like diamonds as it fell from the sky. Ponies who were busy with their daily tasks outside enjoyed the winter air that smelled of pine and such. Decorations adorned the streets giving it a soft glow over the snowy ground. Of course, for the pegasi, they only enjoyed the slight flaky fall as they quietly flew around with their own daily tasks.

As predicted, however, one pony didn't pay too much attention during her speedy ride.

Rainbow Dash soared through the sky with a slight concerned look on her face. The soft winter atmosphere doubled as temptation for a quick seasonal nap. This naturally led to an old habit of falling asleep for a bit too long.

She knew she wasn’t exactly late but she still wanted to be on time for her sleepover with Scootaloo. Her aunts were out of town for reasons that Rainbow Dash forgot due to occasional forgetfulness. But she hasn’t forgotten a promise she made to Scootaloo that she would spend a sleepover at her place. The blue pegasus considered this a proper and early Hearth’s Warming Eve.

As she approached closer to her destination, Rainbow Dash’s near attempt at being late for being a big snoozer made her promise herself that she would make sure that Scootaloo gets the best sleepover she can possibly get, even if the filly wished for something not too drastic. She didn’t want her aunts upset over a bombed house like when Pinkie Pie had her-

“Ugh, I probably don’t want to think about what happened that time,” Rainbow Dash grumbled as she shook her head. “This sleepover should be fun. She’s not gonna do anything weird like talk about coltfriends and kissing and blushing and such. Bleh, I already heard enough of that from Rarity ever since Spike got his growth spurt and finally got the courage to start dating her.”

Landing near the doorstep, she straightened herself and shook the small amount of snow from her scarf before she knocked on the door. As she waited, she couldn't help but to smile. A proper time with her little sister and an uninterrupted nap afterwards when her sis passes out inevitably? How can she resist?

The door popped open and there stood an orange pegasus with a joyous grin.

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo cheered as she used her only weak flying strength to jump towards the mare to give her a tight hug around her neck.

“Heya kiddo!” Rainbow Dash chuckled, thankfully unhurt by Scootaloo’s tight gripping hug. “Hope I’m not too late.”

“You’re just in time! Come in! I made some hot chocolate since it looks freezing out there!”

Rainbow Dash wasted no time heading inside the well heated house, proud that the filly wasted no time with proper and comforting preparations. Even when it’s a casual sleepover, Rainbow Dash knew that Scootaloo cherished every moment with her adoptive sister. That alone gave Rainbow Dash more determination to at least not disappoint Scootaloo. Her nose immediately caught the scent of a familiar chocolatey smell with another accent of marshmallows as Scootaloo brought in two steaming mugs.

“Thanks Scoots.” Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed the mug and gave a big gulp from it. “You always made the hot chocolate at the right temperature.”

“I guess I’ve been hanging out with you enough to understand your likes and dislikes.” Scootaloo blushed as she sipped her drink.

“Oh trust me, squirt.” The pegasus winked at the filly. “There’s still more you need to know. Anyway, shall we head to your room?”

Despite not being in a rush, the two girls wasted no time heading to Scootaloo’s room. Rainbow Dash grinned as she saw the sleeping bags and small but promising amount of snacks, candy, and drinks present. The room was nicely warm and toasted as it was when Rainbow Dash arrived so that gave her more assurance that the sleeping part won’t be freezing cold. What surprised her the most was the TV set that Scootaloo was able to borrow from a friend. No doubt the main source of what they’ll be doing while they munch on popcorn and do sister stuff. Sister stuff that isn’t icky in Rainbow Dash’s case.

“So what’s on the entertainment list tonight?” Rainbow Dash asked as she clapped her hooves. “Daring Do movies?”

Scootaloo shook her head as she let out a small mischievous grin while suddenly pulling out a game system that looked like something Button Mash would normally have. “I wanted to do something different. So I asked the girls for any ideas and Sweetie Belle said that Button Mash had some extra games he was letting others borrow so I decided why not?”

“Video games? Haven’t played much since I was a kid but as long as it’s the kind where we work together, then I’m fine with that.”

“Nah, I wanted something more competitive. Even if you beat me, I’m still glad to spend time with my sis!”

“Hehe. thanks Scoots. So what game are we playing?”

The filly pulled out her backpack as she smiled at Rainbow Dash. “Button showed me a good amount from his collection and when browsing through it, I found one game that made me almost pass out because never in a million years I thought I would find it again.”

Scootaloo then proceeded to dig through her backpack as Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes playfully. Probably some flying game or something if she’s that excited for this game. Scootaloo fished out a game box and happily presented the cover art of spooky looking karts colliding with a vampire teenage pony with cart wheels for legs. Scootaloo’s eyes were closed in excitement, not letting her see Rainbow Dash’s pale and horrified face.

“O-oh. I’ve heard of that game…”

“CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?” Scootaloo nearly squealed as she jumped up and down before looking at the description on the back. “Tween Medals! That cool Nightmare Night kart racing game where you play as high school monsters who are trying to win the championship to snag the spookiest boyfriend ever!”

Rainbow Dash quickly noticed how her face turned cold so she shook her head a bit before attempting to look calm as Scootaloo grinned.

“I know it sounds too girlish but I loved this game when I first played it and you don’t know how excited I am that Button Mash let me borrow this game for our sleepover!”

Rainbow Dash let out a gulp but was still when Scootaloo quickly noticed it, causing her smile to slightly diminish.

“Something wrong?”

“I’m fine!” Rainbow Dash nearly screamed before she calmed herself down. “It’s just that, well…”

Scootaloo’s smile was completely gone and that alone was worse than reuniting with a childhood fear that haunted Rainbow Dash.

“Well… I'm surprised we're not playing the game right now!” The mare exclaimed with a forced excited smile.

Scootaloo, thankfully oblivious at the moment, regained her smile as she immediately hugged Rainbow Dash.

“I knew you’d understand!” She exclaimed. “Don’t worry, it’s a fun game even with that cheesy artstyle the game has. If I remember correctly, most of the scenes look like some cheap Saturday cartoons with half the budget gone. It’s hilarious!”

Scootaloo let go of the hug and eventually started to prepare the game system and TV, letting Rainbow Dash sit there silently as she contemplated her current situation.

“I'm sure it's not as bad as when I played it as a kid.” Rainbow Dash quietly mumbled to herself. “Remember what they say, do it for her. Where did I hear that from? Uh, well anyway, I’m gonna give her the best sleepover time even if it kills me!”

***

Three hours have passed of pure kart racing mayhem and countless scenes that match Scootaloo’s art style description. Scootaloo was nearly shaking and sweating from the fun video game action that she experienced. Rainbow Dash was also nearly shaking and sweating… for the wrong reasons. Seeing the scenes and how they resembled some creepy cartoon reminded her of how that creeped her out as a kid. The clowns and grim reapers and dolls only accelerated her uneasiness. Plus, while the game was fun, she was still focused on the romance stuff the game tried to pass off. Scootaloo found it funny. Rainbow Dash found it unsettling. After so long of pure fun and pure dread, it was almost late and Scootaloo understood that it was time to hit the hay.

“Wasn't that awesome!?” Scootaloo nearly screamed as she jumped up and down. “It brings back so many memories having to blow up mummy karts and race inside ghost caverns and see all those haunted rooftops!”

“Y-yeah.” Rainbow Dash said with a nervous grin before she disguised it with a fake yawn. “But man, it’s late. Your aunts are probably gonna kill me for letting you stay up this late.”

“I know you won’t tell.” Scootaloo winked. “Consider it a sisterhood secret.”

Scootaloo still enjoying the sister time gave Rainbow Dash some reassurance to at least smile back genuinely.

“I really had a good time, sis. Thanks again for joining me!”

Rainbow Dash nuzzled the filly’s head as she gave another warm smile. “Thank YOU as well. I’ve had a fun time.”

With the TV off and the leftovers of the gaming event swiped away, it took them not too long to finally get inside their sleeping bags. Scoootaloo’s body was tired from the gaming so she wasted no time snoozing off. Rainbow Dash smiled weakly at this sight, weak from the gaming as well.

Well, she hoped she was weak from the exciting action… Not the other stuff.

Rainbow Dash stared up at the ceiling, trying her best not to think about the “other stuff.” She tried to think of getting some sleep and not the scenes of teenage monsters gossiping with each other. Or that creepy red teddy bear that preacher zombie carried around. Or that skeleton girl who was tricked into eating ponies. Or that ghost lady who wanted to marry a stallion so badly. Or that living doll who had a crush on that clown so she-

The blue pegasus’s fears were jump started again and she found herself with wide eyes and no strength to actually fall back asleep.

Rainbow Dash glanced at a nearby alarm clock and saw that despite it being late, she was still a long way from the usual morning time. She lightly tossed and turned to try to get some sleep via a proper comforting position. Unfortunately, the thoughts and memories of kart action still clouded her mind and she found herself frowning while glancing at a clock. She closed her eyes and tried to think about Daring Do. Trying to reenact events from her favorite books and even double thinking the bad moments that she often tried to forget. It was only a temporary solution as other unwanted thoughts crossed over. She wanted to sleep with the lights on but that thought caused her to turn to Scootaloo. She saw the filly still laying in her sleeping bag, turning away from Rainbow Dash. Turning on the lights to interrupt her sleep was out of the question for the blue pegasus.

She quietly got out of her sleeping bag while staring at the filly. Rainbow Dash didn’t want to wake up Scootaloo on the trip to the bathroom. She was already considering just sleeping with the lights on in hopes that she can pass it off as accidentally snoozing off while doing her business there. Rainbow Dash was near the doorway but stopped to stand there feeling bad. She wanted to have a good sleepover but already she had a bad time trying to sleep. She was hoping to find some way to get a good sleep so that she doesn’t appear out of shape when morning comes.

A soft yawn was heard and Rainbow Dash almost froze before she immediately turned to see a slightly groggy Scootaloo staring up at her.

“Rainbow?” She mumbled as she rubbed her eyes. “Something wrong?”

“Oh, uh.” The nervous pegasus uttered as she let out a soft smile. “Just wanted to use the restroom. I know where it is, thank you. You should get some sleep. You look pretty tired.”

Scootaloo blinked her tired eyes a bit before raising an eyebrow. “Wait, how come you don’t look tired?”

Rainbow Dash mentally shook as she tried her best to play it cool. “Uh, it’s an adult thing. You understand.”

“No I don’t. You’re always tired from the constant napping and the hot chocolate you drank should normally tire you out like it usually does.”

Rainbow Dash grew more uneasy and the uneasiness multiplied as she saw Scootaloo slowly get out of her sleeping bag with her visible tiredness slowly disappearing and turning into a curious demeanor.

“G-get back to your sleeping bag, squirt.” Rainbow Dash said as she slowly backed off. “You need your sleep. You were pretty exhausted from playing games.”

“Yeah, I was.” Scootaloo admitted with crossed hooves. “I did sleep for a bit but I got so excited from the gaming that I ended up waking up a bit. I got a look at my clock and I just had about half an hour of sleep.”

The dark environment disguised Rainbow Dash’s light red face as she recalled that her fears kept her from sleeping for a few hours. She was hoping that Scootaloo didn’t put two and two together as the filly continued on.

“I turned and saw that you were still awake. I was wondering why until I saw that you were completely scared.”

“O-o-oh.” Rainbow Dash stuttered as she bit her lips. “Well, you see-”

“Don’t lie to me, Rainbow.” Scootaloo firmly interrupted as she pointed a forehoof at her idol. “I’m still a kid but you were acting as scared as I was whenever I had a nightmare and I know when somepony is gonna weasel out of admitting it.”

“I know I shouldn’t be spying but you were really spooked out and couldn’t sleep. I saw when you weren’t looking, tossing and turning and just staring up at the ceiling.”

Rainbow Dash felt herself too frozen to respond but warmed up a bit glumly when she saw Scootaloo’s accusing look turn a bit sad.

“We both consider ourselves like sisters at this point. Like Apple Bloom with Applejack and Sweetie Belle with Rarity. I just don’t like seeing you like this. You’re always awesome and epic so I get hurt whenever I see you not like yourself. I just want to help. I know I can’t do much but I can’t stand around doing nothing.”

She sniffed a bit, causing Rainbow Dash’s prior fears to morph into instant guilt.

“What’s really wrong, sis?”

Rainbow Dash still had some strength to not cry but she did feel even worse than she did while playing that game. She was a bit hesitant to explain but Scootaloo’s sad face was just too much to deny. She let out a defeated sigh as her ears drooped down. She hoped she won’t give off a cheesy speech or anything, but Scootaloo’s words of encouragement thankfully quelled that so she decided to call uncle.

“It’s that game, Scoots.”

Scootaloo’s sad face still remained though her eyes did blink up a bit in surprise.

“I know it looks cheesy… but I dunno. As a filly, those cartoons and the designs of those monsters… I can’t explain but it just looks disturbing to me. I’ve seen scarier designs from movies today but something about an old game with those designs just happens to push the wrong buttons for me. The game is fun, I’m not going to lie about it. But the artwork and how the game looks and those cartoons, I just get the willies about it and it’s been keeping me up all night.”

Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth a bit, feeling like she opened up too much. Scootaloo was paying attention to every word and her sad look turned into a mildly disappointed look.

“Why didn’t you tell me then?” Scootaloo softly asked as she pawed the floor. “Was it because you thought I would think less of you?”

“Yeah…”

Scootaloo sighed before zipping towards her sister and giving her a very tight hug. “I guess I kinda understand.” She said as Rainbow Dash blinked a bit from the sudden embrace. “We’ve been sisters for a while so I understand you have the tendency to let your pride get in the way.”

“No need to put me down like that, squirt.” Rainbow Dash, feeling some uneasiness fading, smiled as she returned the hug.

“No need to stay silent about how you feel about the game.” Scootaloo mumbled. “I didn’t forget our little camping moment with that Olden Pony.”

“Oh right, that. Yeah, I have the tendency to forget my own lessons.”

“Like how you and Pinkie didn’t want to prank Fluttershy when that griffon came around but later on with those rainbow cookies.”

“Shut up, kid.” Rainbow Dash grumbled with a red face which led to Scootaloo giggling.

“Regardless of what you’re scared of, you’re still the bestest sister I’ve ever heard.” Scootaloo let go of the hug before biting her lips. “Well you’re the only sister but you get the idea.”

A light bulb appeared over Scootaloo’s head as she let out a bright smile at the blue pegasus. “Oh oh! You know what helps me get over thinking about scary stuff while I’m trying to sleep?”

Scootaloo darted to one of her drawers as she stuck her head inside one. “I learned about this a few months ago and it’s helped me from time to time.”

She eventually popped out of the drawer with a small red device that has a small cable connected to it sporting two black pods. Rainbow Dash wasted no time recognizing what it was.

“Oh, one of those audio players. Never knew you had that.”

Scootaloo smiled sheepishly. “I try not to have them out since I’m always on my scooter and the last time I was using that while scooting around… Well the townspeople prefer that I don’t listen to it while scooting.”

“That may have explained what all that commotion was while I was at Wonderbolt practice.” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself as she used a wing to scratch her chin in thought.

“Anyway,” Scootaloo coughed before handing the player to Rainbow Dash, “Whenever I get scared in my sleep, I pick out a song playlist to listen to while I sleep. The music helps clear my head of anything bad! It works most of the time so I know it’s going to work for you.”

Rainbow Dash smiled warmly before giving her sister a hug. “Thanks Scoots. I really appreciate it. You’re even more awesome than me.”

Scootaloo blushed as she tightly hugged back Rainbow Dash. “I guess I got it from you then…”

A small yawn escaped from Rainbow Dash, leading the two sisters to smile a bit knowing that this moment helped out Dash’s problem. Eventually they headed back to their sleeping bags and, after wishing a good night, returned back to their sleep. Rainbow Dash used the player and smiled as the music that she heard was something she occasionally liked to hear. She smiled warmly at the orange filly, happy to know that her sister knows her too well. With another soft yawn escaping her mouth, she dozed off to sleep while the music continued to lullaby her.

Scootaloo once again smiled brightly before a soft yawn escaped from her mouth as well. She soon reaped the award of satisfaction with a soft pleasant sleep of her own. Happy to help out her sister like she did during that campout fiasco.

The room was filled with quietness and warm heat as the two sisters peacefully slept for the night.

Author's Note

My prompt was:
I'd like the fanfic to involve something sweet and heartwarming between Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo as "adopted" sisters.

I've read enough to get the general idea of how to tackle that. Dash isn't my favorite pony but I've found the Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo sister stories to be wholesome. So when it came to figuring out a story idea, I wanted to try something interesting and reflect it on a childhood fear of a certain video game. Gamers should know what game I'm talking about based on the descriptions in the story. BTW, please keep in mind that the game still kinda unsettles me so please don't post images/videos about that here, :)

Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed, including you SteelTheWarrior. I haven't been writing at all due to work killing my story motiviation. Heck I was almost not planning on entering Jinglemas. But some bullying and such caused me to write again for old time's sake.

Merry Christmas, mates. Here's to a good (or at least tolerable) 2025.