Dreams Do Come True: Always Been At Your Side

By

Sparknanator & Southpawfighter614

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“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PONY SCOUTS YAY!!”

Three very excited fillies and an equally as excited colt screamed as they barged into their troop leader’s bedroom, rousing him from a very lovely dream involving coffee and donuts. Shadowfoot awoke with a jolt, nearly smashing his head off of the low ceiling of the bedroom he shared with his wife, Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight, whom was already awake, laughed at her husband’s misfortune. He had established the “pony scouts” as a form of education to the younger ponies in town, to teach them how to deal with emergency situations and help them develop character and work ethic. What he wasn’t counting on was very little interest in the program, except for the four who had just woken him.

“Kids, please…” Shadow begged them. It was too early for anything besides coffee, much less yelling at the top of your lungs.

“But Shadow; early to bed, early to rise, remember? “ The colt pestered him, remembering their very first lesson as pony scouts. “A good young pony goes to bed early, and wakes up early, to face the day ahead.” Shooting Star quoted studiously.

“Not married, middle aged, new parent ponies.” Shadow grumbled. As much as he loved his family, he loved his sleep even more.

“I disagree, Love.” Twilight giggled. “It wouldn’t kill you to get up with Dusk and Dream once in a while.” Shadow grumbled under his pillow, and although it wasn’t audible, it was probably bad.
+++

“Yeah Shadow! We don’t have time to sleep. We have cutie marks to earn!” Star’s girlfriend, Sweetie Belle, chimed in. The two other fillies nodded vigorously in agreement.

“ Urghh…fine…Twi, please tell me there’s coffee ready?” Shadow hoped. While he had been living in Ponyville for almost three years, he still retained some of his “human” habits. Specifically, drinking boatloads of coffee for no reason.

“Always, dear. I figured I should know you well enough by now to know your habits.”

“And that’s why I love you.” Shadow sat up slowly, kissing his wife gently. Applebloom and Scootaloo faked gagging noises, while Star and Sweetie smiled.

“Alright kids, you succeeded in ruining my amazing dream. Go gather your uniforms and bags. Ready in 30 or you stay behind, understood?

“Yes, Troop Master Shadow!” The children saluted, and then burst into giggles. It was the inside joke among the pony scouts and their leader, that they were a paramilitary clan of child assassins.

“Briefing in 35, kids. Give me some time to wake up and eat.” Shadow laughed, sending the kids on their way.
+++
In the spacious kitchen of their new home, Shadow sipped at a cup of coffee, munching on some apple chunks he had found from their last fruit trip. His twins, still in diapers, were taking turns throwing food at each other, while Twilight busied herself cleaning, mane all askew.

Shadow enjoyed these quiet moments most of all. He heard the telltale click of claw on tile, he heard Spike coming into the kitchen, still half asleep. While twice Star’s size, spike still had the same child-like behavior.

“Morning, Spike.” Twilight and Shadow said in unison. They were answered with an elongated yawn and wave, Spike’s typical greeting. In no way was it dismissive or abusive. He was just a slow type for waking up.Plopping down next the Shadow, Spike made haste in demolishing two bagels and a handful of cereal, before heading towards the door to go meet with Pip and Feathers, for a day of hunting fossils in the creek.

“Hey Spike?” Shadow tried grabbing the young dragon’s attention before he took off. “Yeah Shadow? Spike turned, facing the crimson pony.

“You want to join me and the kids over the weekend? We’re going on a camping trip just outside of town for the pony scouts.”

“But its pony scouts, Shadow.” Spike replied, hesitant. He wasn’t invited to the first meeting, so he’d assumed shadow didn’t want him there.

“As the one and only executive, aka Troop Leader, of the pony scouts, I make the rules, and the exceptions. You want to come or not?” Shadow asked him once again.

“I had plans with Featherweight and Pipsqueak this morning. They’d be mad if I ditched them.”

“Drag them along. It couldn’t hurt. And if they won’t come, you can always come back to town. It’s close enough to ponyville. I wouldn’t take a bunch of kids into the Everfree or the mountains.”

“Do I need to wear the silly uniform?”

“I’m sure Rarity can throw something together for you. It’s not mandatory, but if you like it, you can keep it, in case you want to join us again.”

“Rarity….” Spike drifted off into a stupor, and Shadow knew he had him.

“Let me tell the others. When are you leaving?”

“About 35 minutes.”

“See you then.” With that, Spike darted off giddily.

+++
“Spike, huh?” Twilight asked her sometimes strange husband.

“I didn’t know if he would like it, so I didn’t ask him to join us. He’s a Dragon. Can’t force him to do something he doesn’t want to.”

“It appears you were wrong.”

“So I was. I better get myself ready.” With that, he kissed his wife slowly, leaving her to get his own bags and uniform ready.

+++

As promised, the pony scouts plus one were ready, and assembled in the living room of the ranch-style home. As Shadow ran a discerning eye and hoof through the contents of the assembled bags, he nodded with approval. He had taught them well. Even a simple camping trip could turn disastrous in a moment, and as such, it never hurt to be ready for almost anything. After leaving directions to their campsite in the capable hooves of Twilight, the group set off, eager to see what the day held.

After a brief 30 minute hike into the deepest parts of Equestria National Park, the group set up a camp, which didn’t turn out half bad. Four tents were set up in a semicircle, with a fire pit equidistant from all of them, to keep warm, but not light tents on fire. A hastily erected table was off to the side, with various snacks, meals, and drinks set out, or in a cooler.

While the kids chatted excitedly amongst themselves, Shadow went about his personal checklist, debating on what to teach them first. Fire would have to wait until almost nightfall, so he decided to teach them how to fish instead. From there, he could teach them how to make a fire and cook on it safely. But it was time for a swim in between fishing and cooking.

“Kids, over here please!” Shadow shouted, beckoning their attention. After he had successfully corralled them, he led them down to the creek, and ask them to find some good, strong, fallen branches. After they reported back with their findings, he showed them how to know, hook, and bait their lines.

“Shadow, do I really have to touch the worms?” Sweetie Belle whined, the resemblance uncanny to her sister.

“On your own, yes, but I can make an exception. I’m not gonna force you to.” With a deft movement, Shadow speared the wriggling critter, leaving it alive. Sweetie promptly gagged at the sight, and Shadow laughed. Maybe it wasn’t her strength, but he gave her credit for trying. He informed her of false bait that could also be used, and this lightened her attitude towards fishing considerably.

“How do I knot such tiny wire, Shadow?” Spike asked him.

“It’s simple. You don’t have to work in such a small area. Make it as big as you want, just be sure to tighten it up after.”

“Yeah, Spike, like threading a needle.” Sweetie Belle piped up. With that, realization dawned on him, and within seconds he was done.

“Impressive, Spike. You’ll make a fine fisherman one day.” Shadow encouraged him. As much as Spike could probably spear fish with his claws when they grew bigger, it was all for the sake of learning.Hearing a frustrated huff behind him, Shadow looked to see certain young colt who somehow managed to knot the wire around his hoof.

“Star, what on Equestria did you do?” Shadow asked, amused.

“I wasn’t paying attention and now I can’t get it off!” Star grunted.

“Just cut it with your magic, or the little knife I gave each of you. Don’t worry about wasting line. I have plenty.”

“SHADOW! LOOK AT MY STICK!” Shouted an excited Applebloom. Sure enough, the end was dipping up and down, indicating a fish had taken hold.

“Good job, Bloom!” Shouted Scootaloo.

“Pull on it, quickly! You’ll set the hook.” Doing so, she had successfully caught her first fish, with Scoots, Sweetie, Spike, and Star following shortly after.

“Good job kids. Do any of you want to take your fish back to camp and eat it?” Shadow asked them.
In unison, they all answered no, and so Shadow taught them the art of catch and release. While he did not have fish to cook, he had plenty of other food back at camp to teach them to cook with.
++++
After returning to camp, the group gathered near the fire, while Shadow showed them how to build and maintain it, and collect firewood. After the fire lesson was over, they all settled in to their sleeping bags, telling ghost stories, and Shadow sharing some stories from his time on earth, albeit ponyfied.

After storytime had been exhausted, the campers retreated to their tents. Sensing something amiss, Shadow checked Sweetie’s tent, to find Sweetie amiss, her sleeping bag flat and open. He then heard giggling from Star’s tent and immediately knew what was amiss.

“Star, Sweetie, out here now.” Shadows directed them, firmly, but quiet enough to not rouse the other campers.

“Now, which one of you would care to tell me why you were both in Star’s tent, giggling?”

Ashamed looks upon both their faces, Star spoke up, for it was his idea.“I’m sorry Shadow. Sweetie was scared when it started getting darker, So I told her to come stay in my tent. No funny business. Promise.”

“Is this the truth, Sweetie?” Shadow turned to Sweetie, and she shrunk back a little bit. “You’re not in trouble, and I’m not mad, I just want to know if it’s the truth.”

“Yes it is Shadow. I didn’t want to get kicked out of the scouts for being a scaredy-pony. I’m sorry.” She whimpered.

“I don’t mind if you’re scared, Sweetie.” Shadow walked up to and sat next to the pair. “But I can’t have you sneaking off like that. You had me scared for a minute.” Shadow sighed. “A scout is first and foremost, an honest pony, which you both have demonstrated completely. Good Job. But next time, ask me before doing something like that."

“I understand how you two feel about each other, but I’m your guardian first and foremost. If something bad had happened and one of you were lost, I would have very little options at my disposal to help you. Back to bed campers. Daylight comes early.” With that, Shadow left the two, laying himself down in front of the embers of the fire. Looking at them one last time before he fell asleep, he smiled. As much as they had messed up by doing what they did, at least they were looking out for each other, which was a lesson he wouldn’t have to teach now.
+++

The next morning dawned bright and warm, and the smell of eggs and toast filled the campground. It was breakfast time, and the excited group was pondering the day ahead. Today they were going to learn how to identify edible plants and berries. Most ponies had an innate sense of what was good and wasn’t, but they still made mistakes sometimes, ending up sick for a day or two at a time. Shadow aimed to prevent that.

“Kids, today, as you know, we’re going to learn about edible plants and berries found commonly around here. You never know what a camping trip may bring. You may run out of food, you may get lost, or both. But with careful planning and a good knowledge base, this won’t happen.

“But how do you plan for an emergency, if you don’t know what’s gonna happen?” Applebloom asked.

“You can’t plan, but you can prepare for, or even prevent such things. Even if you never go camping again, you’ll have learned something useful, at least.” With that, Shadow pulled some books from his saddlebags.

“Now kids, for starters, you each get one of these books. This is a complete guide to local herbs, plants, and berries for our region. I want you to bring me back five different plants from this book. You may work in pairs or on your own. Meet me back here in twenty minutes, even if you don’t have them all. Got it?”

“Yes sir!” They shouted, splitting off in different directions. While they were off gathering things, Shadow kept a close eye on them, while busying himself about camp, picking up garbage, gathering more firewood, or making sure the tents were clean and sealed. The children had all come back within the allotted time, and still met their quota for gathering.

“Good Job, kids!” Shadow said excitedly. “Now, I’m gonna show you guys how to cook with these, in the event you grow your own or have other things to go with them. Get your mess kits and fill the bowls with fresh water. Then go pick something out of the food bins you’d like to see me cook with them.”

After this had been done, and the meals cooked, they all sat down for lunch, chatting excitedly. While Shadow couldn’t listen to all conversation at once, he got the idea that they were enjoying themselves. He remembered, back on earth, that while he wasn’t an actual scout, he greatly enjoyed being outdoors, and took lessons from one of his other friends, on the days he wasn’t spending time with Damian. This is where his knowledge came from, since equestria, biologically, wasn’t all that different from earth, aside from the fact that ponies were the dominant species, and not humans.

“Shadow, what else can you teach us?” Scootaloo asked her scoutmaster.

‘Well, Scoot, what do you want to learn?” he asked her. He wasn’t sure if she had any real family, but she seemed to be taken care of, though this didn’t stop him from watching out for her occasionally.

“I wanna trap bears and cougars, like in the Daring-Do books!” She screeched happily.

“Whoa there, kiddo. I don’t think that is something appropriate to teach children. I can, however, show you how to look for signs of animals, so you can avoid them, and in turn, avoid dangerous situations. Does that seem fair?”

“I guess…” Scootaloo pouted, but nonetheless was excited to learn. So therefore, the afternoon was spent finding and sketching animal tracks, until eventually night descended upon the park, and the campers settled into their sleeping bags, sleeping outside this time. If Shadow could do it, why couldn’t they?
+++

The next morning, once again warm and dry, led to the final lessons of the weekend. These being packing up, cleaning up, and shipping out, while leaving the site cleaner than when you found it. Shadow taught the kids to always respect the environment and everything in it. He saw what happened to earth over a matter of a couple hundred years, and didn’t want to see that happen to the seemingly utopian Equestria. Even though he would be long gone in a couple hundred years, he hoped to instill a sense of pride and duty to your environment to this generation, so that they may pass it on the the next, and the next, and so on.

It was just about noon when the scouts were on their way out of the park and back home, talking excitedly about the weekend. Shadow heard the topic of going again come up constantly, and put it on his list of “possibilities” if the scouts stuck around long enough.

The campers were greeted at ponyville’s front entrance by Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity. Hugs, laughs, and stories were shared on the trip to ponyville town square, where they split ways. Shadow and Twilight, with Spike and Star following closely behind; Rarity and Sweetie went towards Carousel Boutique; and Scootaloo and Applebloom left with Applejack.
All in all, the weekend couldn’t have gone any better, aside from Sweetie and Star’s slip up, which stayed between them and Shadow. Spike also thoroughly enjoyed himself and wanted to tell the rest of his friends about it. With a satisfied smile, Shadow retreated to the marital suite, longing for a bed of fluff instead of rocks and dirt. Twilight soon joined him, and he recounted every moment of the trip to his beloved, while the babies slept soundly in their respective cribs.

Author's Note

This is hinting to a DDCT Side story I will make when the cover art is done