I'll See You On the Dark Side of the Moon
Ponyville was quite a peaceful town, especially at night when nopony was around. The ponies, tired and exhausted from a hard day's work or a good day's fun, would retire to their houses for the night where they would fall into the world of dreams. Everypony rested peacefully on this particular night; all except for one pony who lived in her cottage outside of town. This is the story of that ponie's restless night and her lonesome suffering.
============
The cottage was a modest one, perhaps even more more so than Fluttershy's. It had but only two square windows; one in the front of the cabin, and one in the bedroom. A single bedroom was the resting place for the sole resident of this little cottage, herself a very young soul no older than nine.
This youthful pony was an orange pegasus filly by the name of Scootaloo who occupied this pleasant pile of wood and brick. For all her freedom to do whatever she may please, Scootaloo never stayed within her home often, especially during the day. Though she may never admit it, the flightless pegasus was a lonely being who always relied on her friends to make her life far more endurable than it was prior to the formation of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Not only were Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom excellent friends, but also cooperative compainions in the trio's quest for their marks in life. They tried many activities, ranging from singing to bungie jumping to writing articles for the local newspaper, but they never could find their true talents.
The orange filly couldn't help but feel like her call in life was staring at her right in the face, but she couldn't figure out what it was. So after every failed crusade, Scootaloo would ride her scooter back to her home which was located just outside of town. Like Fluttershy, Scootaloo's cabin was a seclusive and isolated place but unlike Fluttershy the little filly's home was stationed much deeper in the forest.
While such a settlement was closer in proximinity with nature than the yellow mare's home, but Scootaloo never had to worry about creatures from the Everfree breaking in and devouring her while she slept. The cabin was built long ago and was designed to be a connecting point between the rural town of Ponyville and the deep dark forest that neighbored it, so the design and location allowed it to be safe for travelers and lone settlers.
In fact the cabin was so old that, according to Ponyville records of all residential buildings, it dated almost as far back as the Classical era, but nopony knew who the current owner was This was many generations before even Granny Smith's birth, which brings into question how this humble settlement was built by a pony prior to Ponyville's foundation.
How Scootaloo inherited the cottage in the first place is left up to interpretation. Yet despite the homely cabin's acnient design the place is kept in rathergreat condition, mostly from the orange pegasi's strange willingness to clean her bedroom along with other areas, such as the kitchen and the bathroom. The windows are wiped to the point of spotlessness on a daily basis, just before bedtime.
"Mmmmmm," The filly hummed as she scrubbed and rid her bedroom window of dust. "Aaaand done!" The wet-and-dry technique worked its magic, however mundane, as well as Scootaloo always knew it would and with a satisfied grin, stashed away her tools in the bathroom cabinet.
The nightly ritual of drifting off into the dreamscape went off without a hitch; brushing of the teeth, aquiring hoofy pajamas, cracking open the bedroom window. Scootaloo's pajamas were of a light-brown with yellow dots scattered throughout the soft cotton fabric.
Perhaps it was one of the only possessions of the flightless filly's besides her other treasure, something that she would never ever let anypony know about. A largely sized black teddy bear. The teddy bear itself was about the same size of a newborn foal, though not nearly as heavy of course.
Scootaloo took the stuffed bear and hugged it with as much love and care as she could muster, an act that she would try to shun for being 'uncool' if she were in public. Aside from the stuffed animal's plushiness and mint condition, the little filly viewed it as being an artifact from days long gone, days that she wished she could have back.
"I miss ya both, you know that? I never really got to say thanks, but I really wish I did."
Scootaloo grabbed hold of the teddy bear and managed to hover just long enough to land on her little bed which, like the rest of the house, was kept in the best condition that was possible. An observer would note that the cabin and all its possessions, however few, were preserved to near-perfection.
Tucking herself under the covers that were, oddly enough, decorated with stars and planets and other wonders of the vastness of space, the orange filly hugged her teddy bear caringly and began to drift off into the sleeping world. The cracked window whistled a tune that was elegant and soothing to Scootaloo's ears. Visions of a certain cyan mare played out through the filly's mind so vividly that it seemed like every dive and barrel roll happened right in front of her.
She knew that her mentor wouldn't be able to teach her how to fly, but she was determined to make the rainbow maned pegasus proud even though she had to learn on her own. She hadn't made much progress on her flying tehnique in the past few months, but she was able to hover for a short amount of time, and that was a good start. A sad smile found its way onto Scootaloo's face as she sang softly, almost a whisper, in a surprisingly melodic voice.
"Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true . . ."
Her eyes weighed down on her and the sleepy little filly's voice trailed off as she found a comforting feeling of hope that she enjoys every second of. Taking advantage of her lone but very fluffy pillow, the filly curled up, still holding her prized stuffed bear, and rested on her side. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rainbow Dash. You're the best pony ever . . ."
*creak*
Scootaloo's eyes widened and her pupils shrinked as she heard a crack of the wooden floor. It was like a sharp pain that stabbed her ears, and the loudness of the disturbing sound made Scootaloo's heart skip a beat. She knew that she was the only living sould in this household, so how could the the floor be creaking? The fily sat upright and stared at the front door of the cabin which, considering how small the cottage is, wasn't far away from her.
There was nothing there. There wasn't anything moving throughout the whole house. Just to be sure though, Scootaloo couldn't help but wonder if somepony, or something, snuck into her home. "I-Is there anypony there? You c-can come out now, I heard you . . . please come out."
*creak*
"Seriously guys, this isn't funny!" The orange pegasus started to think that maybe Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle found out where she lived and decided to pull a little prank on her. It seemed unlikely, but it's better than a floor that creaked by itself. Scootaloo held her teddy bear with a death grip and was starting to worry if something was seriously wrong with the house. "The prank is over, guys! I think I get the point!"
*creak creak*
"Stop that!"
Despite all her protests, the floor continued to project a sharp knife of piercing sounds throughout the cabin, and Scootaloo was now legitimately scared if something supernatural was going on. The creaks dragged on as they got more frequent and also started to distort into nasty snarls and growls, similar to the barks of a rabid beast.
"Wha-?"
*creEEEEEEEEE-*
Scootaloo dropped the teddy bear and covered her ears to block out the unbelievable volume and distortion of the assaults that were raised in sharpness to the point of screaming; screaming that mimicked that of a dying pony. "Make it stop make it stop make it stop!"
Yet no matter how much the filly pleaded with the unknown force, the screams wouldn't stop. They just went on consistantly as if trying to cause the young filly to go deaf from such torture. Not only were the shreaks similar ear splitting but were also horrifying in their authenticity.
*blurp blurp blurp*
"Huh?" Scootaloo looked around to find the source of a strange bubbling noise that somehow managed to separate itself from the constant screaming, which had died down a bit. She noticed that the walls of the cabin were oozing red liquid profusely, as if bleeding. The red liquid poured out of the walls rapidly, splashing on the floor which had been dry and clean for who-knows-how-long.
The scattered stars on the filly's blanket started to moved around on their own, bouncing off of each other and spinning faster and faster until Scootaloo had to avert her eyes from the rapid dancing of colors. She felt like she was about to puke from just the dizzying display on her covers alone, and the massive amounts of 'blood' coming from the walls didn't help at all.
The terrified pegasus wasn't sure if this was all real, but either way, she wanted it to stop immediately. 'Blood' rand down the walls and started to flood the cabin, surrounding Scootaloo's bed. She didn't know what was going on, but wanted to get as far away from this as possible. Fast. So the flightless filly looked over to the cracked window and tried to reach for the frame when something caught her eye.
Black smoke, no, it was more solid than smoke, made its way through the small crack in the window and drifted toward Scootaloo. The 'smoke' solidified into a cloud of blackness and spread throughout over Scootaloo's head. She looked up in horror and realized that a pair of fiery eyes formed on the cloud's 'face'.
It seemed as if the cloud of darkness and flames carried a menacing presence, a presence that made the little filly's skin crawl and shock being sent up her spine. Now with red flaming eyes glaring at her, the ominous cloud formed a mouth that was very similar to that of a serpent's until finally the face solidified into that of a vicious snake's.
The black serpent, with its red unblinking eyes and protruding fangs, had only but one message to deliver to the filly before it. Flicking its forked tongue as if smelling its prey from a short distance, the demonic snake projected a voice that was covered in malice and carried a roar that made a manticore look like a harmless animal by comparison.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Maniacal laughter, combined with the 'blood' and the distorted creaking, left Scootaloo in a dazed state somewhere between frightened for her life and extremely confused. She wanted somepony to stop all this madness, to save the poor little pegasus from this nightmare. Was it a nightmare, though, or perhaps something else that plagued Scootaloo's home?
"Mommy!"
Tears fell from the filly's face as she shut her eyes closed and curled up into a fetal position in despair. The fiery snake was alive and crept towards Scootaloo from above, ready to pounce on its prey. With one last effort to drive the madness away, Scootaloo screamed at the top of her lungs with all her remaining willpower.
"Mommy!!!"
*. . .*
All at once, everything from the ooze to the creacks stopped at once. Even the whistling that came from the crack in the window ceased to exist, and everything seemed to either disappear without a trace or instantly convert back to its normal form. The snake evaporated instantly and Scootaloo's blanket design changed back into displaying a stable universe.
There was a deathly silence in the cabin, except for a little filly sobbing violently. "I w-want my m-mommy back! I w-want-" Scootaloo buried her head in her pillow and continued to sob into it, hoping for somepony to comfort her and tell her that everything was alright.
But alas, loneliness was once again taking over the secluded cottage in the woods, and nightime ruled over the land as it did every day. Despite the bloodcurdling cries for help that echoed throughout the forest, nopony seemed to hear it and went on in their own peaceful rests.
For Scootaloo, sleep did not come easily that night.
FIN
