Beyond Infinity

"Bye mom, I'm going to out for a little bit."

I waited a couple seconds before hearing the reply, "Where are you going?"

I guess trying to be vague wouldn't work today. "Not really sure yet. I guess I might go explore that forest in the back yard. I have nothing better to do right now." I immediately regretted the last line but at this point it was out there so there was no going back. I quickly added, "Anyway, I'll see you later." I heard a faint sigh in the background, and then the rapid-fire sound of my mom tapping away at her keyboard. I sighed as well, then shut the door to the basement. Scootaloo was finishing up her last piece of bacon, and glanced up as I walked in the room.

"Hey! Are you ready to go?" she asked.

I nodded. "I couldn't find you a scooter though. Sorry about that. Walking's ok though right?"

"Of course it is!" she said. "Let's go exploring!" I opened the door and she burst outside. Admittedly, it was a beautiful day outside. There were hardly any clouds in the sky, the sun was shining, and there was a faint breeze. For a November day in the North, this felt amazing. It's almost like a day right out of a fictional story, to give you an idea.

Wait...

"It's so beautiful here, Dave!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "I just feel great!"

I gave her a smile. I hoped her energy and enthusiasm would rub off onto me soon; I didn't want my negative energy ruining hers. I couldn't help it though. I just had far too much on my mind. But who knows? Maybe this walk would be good for me.

Scootaloo jumped in front of me to interrupt my thoughts. "So, Mr. Dave, can I ask you a question?"

"I think you just did, but sure, what else did you want to ask?" I said casually.

"Well...for starters, what's this place called?" she said.

I was confused. "What...like this area of land?"

She shook her head. "No no no, like what's your town called? Mine's Ponyville. I know, kinda lame, but I love it there! So what's your town called?"

"Oh! Well that's easy, this town is called..."

I was cut off by a loud noise coming from across the field, followed by a flock of birds. We both glanced over at the source of the noise, looked at each other and shrugged. We continued walking as before. "I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

Scootaloo frowned. "I'm not really sure. I do have more questions, if that's ok with you."

I nodded. "Of course! Ask away."

Scootaloo thought for a moment. "Well, I was just wondering why you had that Dashie toy in your room?"

"Uh oh." I thought. "Well..."

"And why were you and your mom fighting earlier?" she said, cutting me off. "And why are you so tall? I thought only Celestia and Luna could be that tall. Wait, if you know who Rainbow Dash is, do you even know who I'm talking about? And why..."

I held up my hands to try and slow her down. She went on for another couple of seconds before realizing it, but then stopped. She didn't look angry; it was more just confusion with maybe a little bit of curiosity. She was just a kid, after all. She really wanted to know all about this. She actually wanted to learn more about me and this strange world she had been unfairly thrust into. I admired her attitude in this regard.

So I decided I'd be honest with her. She deserved that much. Plus, you know, she's adorable and definitely best pony. Not that I'm biased or anything.

"Alright Scoot. I'll answer your questions. Where to begin? Well for starters, I'm actually not that tall for a human. I guess you could say I'm average but most of my friends are taller than I am." I began.

Scootaloo's eyes opened wide. "Really? You're all giants then? That's so cool! I wish I was a giant!"

I laughed. "Trust me it's not all that great. I'm sure people make jokes about both Luna and Celestia for their height when they think no one is listening."

Scootaloo thought about that for a moment. "Why would someone make fun of the Princesses? And wait, how do you even know who Luna and Celestia are?"

She was persistent, I give her that much. I gave her a slight shrug and said, "I'm not really sure. Sometimes it's funny to make jokes about people like that, even if they're someone like the Princesses. I'm not sure how to explain it, to be honest."

"Could you try?" interrupted Scootaloo.

I paused and thought about it for a moment. "Honestly Scoot, I don't think I could. Some people are just fun to poke fun at. Take me for example. You don't know me all that well yet, but most of my friends like making fun of me."

"Oh." Scootaloo paused. "Do they do it to be mean or are you ok with it?"

I shrugged. "Honestly, sometimes it really does bother me. But for the most part, I know who my friends are and who's just being mean. I'm sure you probably know what I mean."

Scootaloo turned away. "Yeah. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pick on me sometimes but I know they're just teasing. Diamond Tiara is such a bully though! She always makes fun of me for being a blank flank and for not being able to fly! It's so frustrating! Why can't she pick on someone else?" I opened my mouth to respond but the small orange filly began to rant; "It's just not fair! They get everything they want for nothing but I have to work so hard just to try and be normal! I have to go to stupid physical therapy because my stupid wings won't grow properly, and me and the girls go crusading every chance we get, but we're still not as good as them! Why? It's not fair!"

She screamed the last line, and I saw tears begin to form in her eyes. I felt so bad for the poor filly. I wasn't sure what I could do, as I was the one who had sort of brought this whole thing up. So I did what anyone would do.

I gave her a hug.

I heard her give a small gasp, and she gave a small sniff. "Dave, what..."

It was my turn to interrupt her. "Scoot, I'm sorry. I really am. I know exactly how you feel about that."

She sniffed and began to cry a little more. "Do you? Do you really Dave? I know you said you get picked on but at least you have people to turn to! Me and the girls only have each other and sometimes that isn't enough! Sometimes I want something else. Is that so much to ask?"

I held her tighter. I wasn't sure where this affection was coming from; I've never really been the hugging type. But something about this whole situation was just clicking. "You're right. It's not that much to ask. And for now, while you're here, I'll be that something else. Sorry I wasn't very warm when you got here. I'll do better to be a better host for you as long as you're stuck here. Whatever you want, I got your back."

Scootaloo sniffed. "Why would you do that for me? What makes me so special?"

The truthful answer was that she was my favorite character on the show. I wasn't quite ready to let her in on that little secret just yet, but I made a promise to myself that I would. Just not yet. So instead, I replied with, "Because I'm a nice guy, and up until now you've been nothing but positive about this whole situation. I don't blame you for being upset with all of that, and yet you haven't said anything about being stuck here. I like that. Plus, you remind me of me when I was about your age. So happy and so full of energy."

She sniffed again, and as I looked she was starting to smile a little. "Really?"

I gave her a smile back. "Of course. You may not realize it, but you are awesome and you are special." I let go of her at that point, and I could see that some of her previous energy and life had returned to her.

She gave me a grin. "Thanks Dave. Sorry for freaking out like that. Let's go exploring!"

I returned the grin. "Let's go! I wonder what that noise was that we heard earlier. We've got all the time in the world, let's check it out." We continued onward into the woods.

***********

Scootaloo looked around in wonder. While the Everfree Forest was dark and scary, even on the brightest days, this forest seemed bright and inviting. There was a lush green canopy above her that reached incredibly high, far beyond her reach without wings. Even the ground beneath her seemed softer, not harsh and rough like the Everfree. She was enthusiastic, but also curious and a little bit nervous. This was a brand new world for her to explore, but something had happened earlier to scare those birds into the sky. On top of that, she was a little embarrassed about her little meltdown earlier, so while Dave seemed very understanding of that, she still felt bad about letting him see her in such a state.

"So Scoot," said Dave, interrupting her thoughts. "How are you liking this world so far?"

Scootaloo gave him a grin. "It's so...so...colorful! It's just so alive! The trees are super tall and green, there are animals that Fluttershy would love, it's just amazing! Is it like this everywhere? I mean, I know there aren't forests everywhere and stuff, but does it always feel like this?"

Dave appeared thoughtful for a moment. "I think it depends. Some people, like me, love being outside and everything about it, but there are other people who want nothing to do with the outside world."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "Are you serious? But it's like so beautiful out here! And so pretty! Why wouldn't you want to come outside and see the world around you?"

He replied, "Remember the television from earlier? Some people will spend all day just sitting in there watching them. Others will work on similar machines called Computers. For those people, life is just a little easier that way. Watch yourself on that tree, it's a big jump."

Scootaloo looked and saw the tree a few feet ahead of her. Even on its side, it was still a little taller as she was, so she took a couple of steps back before taking a running leap over it. To her surprise, she cleared the entire tree and didn't even need to flare her wings out for a few extra inches of glide. She skidded to a stop and looked up to Dave and grinned. "Did you see that Dave, did you?"

"That was awesome, Scootaloo!" he said with a big grin. He looked around, picked up a stick, and drew a line in the ground. "Betcha can't do it again from back here."

Scootaloo raised her eye brows. "Oh, is that a challenge I hear?"

Dave gave her a mischievous smile, but said nothing.

"I'll show him!" thought Scootaloo. She backed up once again, took a running start, and jumped from right where Dave had marked the dirt. She cleared the tree with even more room to spare than the previous time. "Ha! Told you I could do it!" Scootaloo exclaimed. She looked around, and realized Dave wasn't there. She looked around again, confused. "Huh? Where'd he go?"

"Tag! You're it!" shouted Dave from behind her, tapping her on the wing while he did so. He leaped over the tree and ran away, looking back with that same childish grin.

Scootaloo was surprised for a moment, but quickly realized what was going on, and she began to chase after him, laughing with glee. "He seems so silly, but in a good way." she thought. She chased after him as hard as she could, and the two laughed and laughed as the game went on.

And for a moment, their troubles seemed nonexistent.

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

The blue alicorn sipped on her tea and stared out the window of her room. Luna wasn't usually awake during the morning hours, but lately she had been struggling to sleep properly. Either she would oversleep and irritate her sister by raising the moon off-schedule, or she would just be unable to fall asleep after her duties were done. Today it was of little concern; she had the castle of Canterlot to herself; Celestia had flown to Ponyville the previous day on "official business."

"Why she didn't ask me to join her, I will never know." thought Luna to herself. She sighed. Luna called her servent, and had her send a message to Octavia to have her appear in this wing of the castle at her earliest convenience. Besides the soothing tone of her Cello, Octavia had proven more than once to be intelligent beyond her musical prowess. Her presence would be most welcome. Luna thought about that for a moment, then turned and walked to her balcony. While it was true that her night was beginning to gain in popularity in terms of overall appearance, she just could not deny that Celestia knew how to make the day look beautiful. Whether Celestia herself had shaped the landscape for that purpose, or if it was just coincidence, the sun shone at just the proper angle to accent each feature of the landscape. The mountains. The trees. The distant ocean. A nearby lake.

And yet, Luna could not shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

Luna took another sip of her tea, and then heard a knock at the door. "Come in." she said. "That was awfully fast." she thought, expecting Octavia.

But instead, it was the servant pony again. "Your highness, I have an urgent message for you."

Luna took another long sip of her tea. Without turning around, she asked, "Pray tell, who sent this letter?"

The servant pony checked. "Um, it looks like it was sent by your sister, your highness."

Luna stopped drinking mid-sip. Her eyes widened, and for a moment her face was filled with glee. "She needs me!" "Thank you. Your princess decrees that you may take the rest of the morning off."

It was the servant pony's turn to be surprised. "T-t-thank you Your Luna. I mean, Princess Highness. I mean..."

Luna turned and gave her a warm smile. "Your princess understands, and I appreciate your gratitude. Please, enjoy yourself." The servant pony hesitated, but gave Luna a smile in return and left the room. Luna turned her attention to the letter. Using her magic, she opened the page and began to read.