Beyond Infinity

"Do you have any threes?"

"No, go fish." said Scootaloo.

I grudgingly picked up a card. Luna had been gone for about an hour now, and I could tell Scootaloo was getting bored. For my part, I just tried to relax and hope that the Princess would be able to come back and explain what was going on. I could only guess Scootaloo was thinking the same thing, but she was just a filly. I can barely sit still and not do anything for that long, let alone someone like Scoot. So I suggested a game of cards.

"Dave, do you have any sevens?"

"Are you serious?! I just picked that up, how did you even do that?" I grumbled. Scootaloo let out a giggle as I handed over the card.

"You know Scoot, there's something I've been meaning to ask you." I said.

"What's up, Dave?"

"How are you able to hold the cards with your hooves? I mean, I have fingers, but how exactly are you doing it?" I asked.

Scootaloo opened her mouth to answer when a faint blue light began to appear. "What's that?"

"I'm not sure," I said hesitantly. "It might be Luna, that looks like her shade of blue. I wonder what she'll have to say?"

We both waited anxiously for her arrival. Fortunately, the process only took about a moment or so. It was a strange sight to see. Where before there had been nothing, we slowly began to see hazy outlines of Luna's mane. Eventually, her horn appeared, and then her body slowly began to take form. Finally, her cutie mark appeared on each flank, and the image was complete. I had to remind myself that this was just her image; it looked incredibly realistic. I also had to remind myself that the extent of Luna's powers was really quite unknown. Bronies had far exaggerated her powers to that of a God, but there's no proof to say she really wasn't that strong; she had been alive for at least a thousand years.

Needless to say, I was a little intimidated.

"Princess Luna! You're back!" exclaimed Scootaloo.

"So how did things go?" I asked cautiously.

Luna sighed. "Unfortunately I don't have anything definite to tell either of you. Each theory that Celestia and I have come up with is more unlikely than the last. This situation is highly unusual and defies conventional logic."

I let out a sigh, although I wasn't sure if it was out of relief or out of disappointment. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Well..." began Scootaloo. "It's not everyday you get the chance to explore a new place, let alone a new world. Plus, I wouldn't mind the time to stay away from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."

Luna's lips turned up in a slight smile. "While I understand why you would feel that way, I imagine your friends would begin to miss you if you wished to stay for too long. You do want to go home, right Scootaloo?" I had to admit I was pretty curious to see how she'd answer this.

"Of course!" said Scootaloo. "But...I like it here. Sure things haven't gone that well, but it's not so bad." She walked over to me. "Dave listened to me. He took the time to hear what I had to say, and he barely knew me. Well, I guess he knew about me, but he didn't KNOW me, if that makes sense." Luna and I nodded. "Only Ms. Cheerilee, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle would do that for me. I don't have anyone else. But I trusted him enough to try. I love my friends but I know if it comes down to it, Dave will look out for me. Won't you Dave?" She looked up at me and I saw a pair of eyes that was both nervous and hopeful.

"Of course I will." I replied without hesitation. I reached down and ruffled her hair playfully, and she gave me a small smile.

Luna gave me a look. "You were rather quick to answer there. Are you merely telling Scootaloo and I what you believe we want to hear?"

I shook my head. "Not in the slightest. I'm not saying that I can provide the best of accommodations, but it is in my nature to help those in need. Besides, as we mentioned earlier, I know who Scootaloo is, and at the very least I'd say we have a decent friendship going here. I'm not someone to turn away a friend."

Luna nodded, satisfied with my answer. "Scootaloo, you certainly seem to be in decent spirits. These arrangements seem to be alright so I will return to Equestria and inform the others. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Ms. Cheerilee all send their love and wish for me to inform you that they miss you and hope for your quick return. Dave, I shall trust you to take good care of her." The aura around Luna's image suddenly pulsed a dark, unfriendly blue, but it happened so quickly that I wasn't sure if I had imagined it or not. "I will know if you do not. I do not want to know about another incident like the one in the woods." I opened my mouth to reply but was quickly stopped by a raised hoof from Luna. "I am aware that it was not intentional but that does not make the fault any less relevant. But do not worry. Show kindness and compassion, and Scootaloo's remaining time here will be an enjoyable one for the both of you." She turned away and her image began to fade. "I'll be in touch," she finished with a warm smile. A moment later, her image was gone.

We both watched as her image faded. After a moment, Scootaloo turned to me. "So what should we do next?"

At first, I didn't hear her question. I was focused on what Luna had said, and it scared me. But I shook it off. I knew I could take care of Scoot. I turned and said "Um, I'm not really sure. It's getting a little late. Are you at all tired? You can't be totally back to 100% after the events of the past few days."

"What do you mean? I'm not tired!" she said, unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn.

"Not tired, eh?" I said with a grin.

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Maybe just a LITTLE tired," she said sheepishly.

"Let's call it a night. A decent night's sleep should get you back to 100%, and we can make plans tomorrow. Personally, I'm in no rush." I said.

"Sounds good to me!" said Scootaloo cheerily.

Suddenly, I heard a noise coming from outside.

"What was that?" asked Scootaloo.

"I'm not sure, hang on." I said, listening. "Wait...uh oh..." I thought. "It's my family. Sounds like they're back from whatever they were doing."

"Are they nice?" asked Scootaloo nervously.

"Usually." I said dryly. "Lately they've been angry with me. Remember when you first got here?"

"Um, sort of. Didn't you argue with your mom?" she said.

"Yeah. She's not happy that I lost my job." I said with a sigh. "Neither is my dad, but he's always busy so he hasn't really gotten on my case about it. So he'll probably want to talk to me about it as well." I paused for a moment and thought about how this could go. On one hand, if they noticed Scootaloo, it would take much of the attention off me, at least for a moment. I dismissed this idea as selfish. Alternatively, I could just hang out until Scoot fell asleep, and then I could handle things my own way. But that wouldn't work either; she needed rest and I knew this conversation would be a loud one. So that left me with one option. "I'm going to go talk to them now. Hopefully it'll be quick, and we can both get some rest." Without waiting for a response, I walked out of my room and slowly closed the door behind me before I could change my mind.

**********

"I'm going to go talk to them now. Hopefully it'll be quick, and we can both get some rest." Before Scootaloo could respond, Dave quickly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. A moment later, she heard the sound of footsteps on stairs, and a faint "Hey guys, how's it going?"

Scootaloo sighed and laid back on the pillows. Truth be told, she wasn't doing as good as she could have been. But at the same time, things weren't as bad as they could be. "I guess I should be happy that Dave has been nice to me. He could just have easily hurt me or thrown me out." she thought aloud.

She noticed that the night sky had appeared outside. "How long have I been awake?" she said. "I have no idea what's going on anymore. It feels like I've only been awake for a little while, and I remember it being sunny when Dave first came in here."

"I SAID I'M FINE." roared Dave from downstairs. Scootaloo shuddered. Dave certainly had a powerful voice and she was glad that he wasn't out to hurt her; he made for an intimidating presence as it was, and Scootaloo certainly didn't want to push the wrong buttons with someone like that. The voices continued to echo upstairs but Scootaloo couldn't make out what was being said.

"This stinks." Scootaloo sighed. She slowly walked over to the window and looked out upon the early night sky. Like the other night, the moon was unusually bright. This made her feel a little better. It made her feel as if Luna was still close by, watching over her. It made her miss everyone back home.

She shook her head. "I can't think like that! I'm a cutie mark crusader! If Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were here, they'd tell me to find a way to get my cutie mark in this new place! There's bound to be something new I haven't tried before in here!" she said to herself with determination. "I wonder if Dave has anything in his room I can try..." She looked around. There wasn't much in the room; the bed took up a lot of space. But then her eyes fell on his guitar, which was still plugged in. She walked over to it. It was longer than she was and she doubted she would be able to hold it easily. And yet...there was something tempting about it. Dave had played it and she had calmed down and relaxed quite easily. He didn't look like he was putting much effort into it. It didn't look like it was very heavy. How hard could it be?

**********

"Look, I'm fine, so stop worrying about me." I said tersely. This argument had already gone on long enough; all I wanted to do was get back upstairs, chat with Scoot about what to do next, and sleep.

"You're clearly not fine or this wouldn't have been an issue in the first place." my Mom said with equally restrained patience. "This has gone on long enough. First thing tomorrow morning, you are going..."

Suddenly, there was a crash that came from my room. I thought I heard my guitar buzz faintly but I couldn't be sure. I also heard a couple of faint footsteps and a small voice faintly say "Oh crap!"

"What was that noise?" said my dad slowly.

"Is someone upstairs in your room?" asked my mom.

"Uh, no. I must have just put my guitar too close to the edge of my bed or something." I said quickly. Inside I was fuming, but I had maintain my composure or else this would get bad.

"Are you lying to us?" said my dad.

"What the hell would I have to gain from lying?" I spat out angrily. "No, no one else is up there. I was playing guitar, you came home, I decided to come down and ask about the day."

"Then you should take better care of your things." my mom said with a tone of finality.

That did it. I snapped.

"I don't need this right now! You guys criticize me for everything! Every single damn thing! I don't fucking need this right now! First thing I'm doing tomorrow is getting the fuck out of town because I can't put up with this shit anymore. I need a break from reality and I'm taking it. Don't interrupt me!" I yelled; I had seen my mom start to respond. "No! Enough! I'm done! I'm done being told how I fuck up every single little thing! I get it! I'm a screw up! Just leave me alone!" Before waiting to hear a response I stormed off towards my room to confront Scootaloo about my guitar. It was going to take a great deal of patience for me not to lose my cool, and unfortunately patience was running in very short supply for me these days.

**********

"Oh crap!"

The guitar fell to the floor with a crash. Immediately Scootaloo jumped behind the far side of the bed and hid. She could hear the voices downstairs falter.

"What was that noise?" she heard a voice say slowly.

She couldn't hear what else was being said. Scootaloo felt her breath began to slow to a point where she couldn't even tell she was actually breathing. She felt so dumb. Why did she have to try and pick it up? Why couldn't she just wait? Now Dave was probably going to yell at her and make her feel even worse. There was no way he would let this go. He would throw her back into the woods and leave her. Maybe Luna wouldn't even be able to find her. "I'm so dumb," she silently said to herself, beginning to cry.

Suddenly, Dave's voice echoed upstairs, breaking the silence.

"I don't need this right now! You guys criticize me for everything! Every single damn thing! I don't fucking need this right now! First thing I'm doing tomorrow is getting the fuck out of town because I can't put up with this shit anymore. I need a break from reality and I'm taking it. Don't interrupt me! No! Enough! I'm done! I'm done being told how I fuck up every single little thing! I get it! I'm a screw up! Just leave me alone!" After that, she heard loud, heavy footsteps, and then she heard those footsteps coming up the stairs towards her. "This is it." she thought bitterly.

The door opened, and Scootaloo heard Dave's footsteps coming slowly towards her. "Scootaloo." he said in a low voice. "I know you're behind the bed. Come on out."

Involuntarily, Scootaloo stiffened. "How did you know?" she whispered.

"There aren't very many hiding places in my room, and I know you couldn't fit under the bed unless you were very, very careful." Dave said simply. "Now come on out."

"No! You're just going to yell at me! And tell me how much you hate me for dropping your guitar and that you're leaving me out in the woods to die and how you wish I'd never came!" she said in a frantic voice.

"I'm not doing any of those things. Just come on out." he said in that same low, tired voice.

Scootaloo took a deep breath, and slowly inched out from behind the bed. "I'm sorry." she mumbled.

Dave sighed. "It's fine. Nothing that can't be fixed. But why would you try to play it? You knew it made a loud noise! And you knew I was downstairs with my parents! And you knew I didn't want you to be heard!" While his emotions were clearly rising, he kept his voice at barely more than a whisper.

"I'm sorry!" she began, but was quickly silenced by a gesture from Dave. She gave him a confused look.

"You're fine, keep going, but just keep it down, that's the whole point!" he whispered with an agitated expression.

"Who cares?" burst out Scootaloo. "I just wanted to try something new and you're treating me like I did something terrible! I just want to go home. Since I can't, I wanted to experience the new place. You haven't really helped me with either!"

Dave opened his mouth to respond but stopped. Scootaloo wasn't afraid anymore. She was angry. Angry at Dave for treating her like a baby filly. Angry at herself for dropping the guitar in the first place. Angry at Twilight for putting her in this situation.

"You're right," said Dave softly. "I shouldn't be scolding you. You were trying to apologize. I shouldn't have done that. I should be doing more to make you happy as opposed to just making sure you were somewhat comfortable. This is a strange situation for you, and you need a friend, not a parent."

"What do you mean?" asked Scootaloo suspiciously.

"Do you trust me?"

"What?

"I said, do you trust me?"

Scootaloo paused for a moment. She considered saying no just to be mean, but in the end, she realized that she could trust him. At least for now. Luna trusted him, and that was good enough for her. "Yes. I think so." she said.

Dave gave her a weak smile. "That's good. Here's the plan. I'm going to take you downstairs so you can sleep quietly without worrying about my family bothering you. Tomorrow, we'll take an adventure."