Beyond Infinity

"And that's all you remember?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "I remember feeling like I was floating. I think that's when I was in outer space. It was really strange...but not as scary as you might think. Kinda peaceful I guess. Then I slowly began feeling like I was being pulled into...something. After a while, I could feel my body again, and then I woke up here."

"How long were you here before I got here?" I asked.

Scootaloo gave a forlorn sort of shrug. "I don't know. It wasn't very long though. I just remember hearing strange voices and being scared, so I just stayed where I was and hoped it was all just a bad dream."

I gave her a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, I know how that goes."

There was an awkward pause.

"So what happens now?" asked Scootaloo. "Do you have any ideas as to why or how I'm here?"

I shook my head. "None that make sense." Before she could ask, I said "We should probably get some sleep though. It's getting kinda late, and you're just a kid."

"Hey!" she exclaimed, but I quickly shushed her.

"You know what I mean." I said quickly. "I'm tired out as well. Believe me, I had just as long a day as you, in a streak of long days." I then gave her a quick synopsis of how things had been going for me lately, starting from the animal hospital and ending as I walked into my room. I left out the language though; she is just a filly after all. Some of the things I had to explain, such as certain things people were buying ("So you're saying people buy plants that are rolled up in paper, then light them on fire...and then breathe in the smoke?" asked Scootaloo at one point), and what a speeding ticket is ("you sound like Rainbow Dash!").

At the end of it, she put her hoof on my shoulder, which surprised me. "I'm sorry you haven't had a good day Mister. And I'm sorry about your dog. And now you've got me to worry about. Sorry to make things harder for you."

I was surprised for a moment, but quickly gave her a warm smile. "Hey now, don't think of yourself as a burden. I don't mind the company. Maybe this could be good for both of us."

Scootaloo gave me a surprised look. "How could this be good for both of us?"

"From what it sounds like, you needed a break from your usual routine as much as I did." I said. "But trust me on this. I think this will work out just fine. But for right now we should get some sleep."

Scootaloo interjected, "Yeah, I wanted to ask you. Where am I going to sleep? I don't see a spare bed around here."

"Shit, she's right," I thought. "You can sleep in here, on my bed. I'll just go sleep in the next room over." I said.

"Ummm, ok." Scootaloo said. There was something in her voice I couldn't quite place. Then it clicked.

"Actually, I have a better idea. Let's go downstairs. There are some couches down there that are fairly comfy, we can each take one." I said.

"Ok!" she replied with a bit more enthusiasm. I sighed. At least I had made the right call there. I grabbed a pillow and my blanket and made my way downstairs. We made it downstairs without making too much noise.

"I'll take this bigger couch. You can have the smaller one. Here, I'll get you a blanket." I said. I went over to the hall closet and grabbed an orange and blue blanket. It wasn't her shade of orange but it would do; I doubt she would be all that concerned with my taste in fashionable blankets. I walked back over to where the couches were and laid the blanket over her.

"Thanks Mister." She said sleepily.

I gave her a grin. "Please, call me Dave. Mister makes me feel old."

She gave me a grin back. "Well if I'm young, you're definitely old!"

I laughed at that. "You have a point there, Scoot." I gave a huge yawn, then said, "Alrighty then, goodnight Scootaloo. Sweet dreams."

She sleepily replied, "Goodnight to you too mister...I mean, Dave."

I gave her a small grin. She rolled over and presumably fell asleep. I set up my pillow, pulled my blanket over top of me, and proceeded to stare at the ceiling for the next two hours. "This whole situation is insane! Just a few days ago, life was completely normal. Now, I lost my dog, I lost my job, and I got a speeding ticket to boot. But after all of that, of all the things that would jump into my life, it's Scootaloo! She's supposed to be a fictional TV character! How the hell is this possible? And why me? Why would Scootaloo appear in my life the way she did? I thought Twilight was supposed to be the most powerful Unicorn in all of Equestria; she isn't one to make mistakes like that. Am I insane? I'm talking to myself about fictional cartoon characters at 1 in the morning for goodness sake!" I continued on this train of thought for a while. None of this was making any sense to me and it wasn't getting any easier the longer I thought about it. Eventually however, my brain had had enough rambling, and I succumbed to the sweet release of sleep.

*************

The CMC walked along the edge of Sweet Apple Acres. It was getting dark, but they didn't mind. "Hey, let's check out this path!" said Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo felt apprehensive, but then Apple Bloom said, "Ok!" so she followed her friends into the woods. The trio walked along silently in the dusk. They saw a few small critters here and there, but nothing scary. Scootaloo looked around in wonder. They had never been in this part of the Everfree Forest before. There was a strange feeling to the woods that Scootaloo couldn't describe.

"Are you guys feeling as weird about this as I am?" she turned to ask her friends. But as she turned, she saw that she was all alone. All alone in the sudden darkness. She suddenly felt very scared. There was a noise behind her. She turned quickly...but saw nothing. "Who's there?" she called out, sounding much braver than she actually felt.

She heard another noise; this time a voice. "We're watching you..."

"Who...who are you?" Scootaloo yelled. The voice did not respond. At this point, Scootaloo wasn't sure what to think. On one hand, she was alone in a dark, creepy forest. On the other, the voice didn't sound threatening at all. Instinct told her to walk in the direction she thought she heard the voice. Again, she heard the call: "We're watching you..." Scootaloo began to run now. There was a light up ahead. Instinctively, she ran towards it. She did not know what was driving her towards the light. She was conscious of a few facts: She was all alone save for the voice. She had nothing and no one to help her. She had lost her way. But she knew that she had to see who, or what, was watching. She knew that nothing would keep her from reaching the light.

She was running full speed now. The light was getting brighter. She turned, ducked under some branches, jumped over some logs, and was now within walking distance. She began to walk closer and closer...

Scootaloo awoke with a start. She was breathing hard, as if she had actually been running through the Everfree Forest. The memory of her dream was still fresh within her mind. She looked around. There was a thin strip of moonlight illuminating part of the room. She looked over and saw a strange creature lying still. "Who or what is that? Was that the voice of my dream?" she thought, before the memories of the previous day began flooding back. The therapy...school...Ms. Cheerilee...Diamond Tiara...Spike...Twilight's Spell...

She shuddered involuntarily. "Now what?" she thought to herself. She had no idea where she was, how she got there, and she was staying in the home of a strange creature. He seemed nice, but Scootaloo still wasn't sure. He looked fairly strong, but Scootaloo felt confident in her speed if it came down to it. Still, she didn't want to think about what might occur if the man turned out to be an enemy. She was more alone than ever in this world, and she had no idea what lay outside of this house. What if all the creatures here were as tall as him? What if none of them were friendly?

Scootaloo got up off her couch and walked over to the window. She looked outside, not really expecting to see anything, but just wanting to get a glimpse of what was in store for her. Her eyes came to rest upon the moon. "I wonder if it's the same moon that Luna takes care of." she thought. This actually made her feel even more alone, so she silently walked back to her bed. She laid down and spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling, quietly waiting for sleep to take control.