Paranoia Ingredient

{----- [[[[[-In all Possible Desperation-]]]]]-----}

However, before we could just venture off into a randomly generated choice of direction, we needed to decide how to methodically-

"Gah! There's no time to think, Fluttershy!"

"Girls, we're going to Mount Skyward, come on!" Knowing those two, they would do anything to prove their loyalty to their parental figures, which explains why Scootaloo apparently went off to try and find Rainbow Dash (who just happened to be the living incarnation of Loyalty.)

I think that also explains why Sweetie Belle accidentally called me 'mom' when things were feeling pinkie keen.

And so, I led the girls (with truly no real sense of direction, other than the fact that the gargantuan mountain could be seen from an estimated thousand miles away to the west; it was true) in the direction of Mount Skyward: the place where I truly evolved...

Unfortunately for us, Princess Luna's Moon failed to shine in the midst of her night.

Come to think of it, that was when I realized that, upon the arrival of true night, her moon hasn't appeared for about a six night succession.

The Night just got darker and darker as time passed by. The time of daylight was far from over.

I started ahead of the girls, instructing them to follow my lead as I decided my sights on the mountain. The light from the billions of stars were the only source of what little illumination that was present.

"Let's hope the stars don't go away too and hurry it up!" I didn't mean to be too assertive, but this was serious, as the girls already knew.

Alas, they too were also extremely confused, considering everything that was definitely going on inside their little heads at the time.

"Do you think we should tell Fluttershy?" Apple Bloom whispered to Sweetie Belle.

Her sister responded almost immediately after the question was asked and processed, also keeping her voice to a minimum volume.  "Are you kidding Apple Bloom? If-"

Little did Sweetie Belle know that my hearing was unmatched in so many ways. I have a peculiar detection for her voice, since it has such a high level of octave.

Before Sweetie Belle could finish what she intended to finish however, Apple Bloom caught up to me, to avoid getting in trouble, I guess.

She would think she would be punished for being the 'last one'.

But why would I ever be mad at the girls for just a little chit-chat?

I mean, I know why they would think of such thoughts, but I was curious about their brief conversation nonetheless, yet I clearly had other things on my mind at the time.

But I also didn't want to invade their privacy, for even they, with such horrible foundations, were privileged with such a right.

Sweetie Belle soon ran back to me and Apple Bloom. "H-hey! Wait up, guys!" she cried, frantically glancing at an empty sky every few seconds and stumbling on the way.

The terrain that preceded us was of unbelievable proportions. We must have taken a different route up the mountain from the last time I was here. I couldn't see it, but I walked right into a huge mountain wall, it must have been.

This proves that the challenge here... it's going to be epic. With the inability to see, it adds to the fact that I'm unfamiliar with this route up the mountain.

There was no time to lose.

....................................................

Even after a four hour journey (I thought of it as that long of a trip, anyway), Luna's Moon still decided not to show itself.

On top of that, the darkness was ever growing in intensity.

I'll repeat myself here. There was no more time to lose.

..................................................

"We're...finally here..." I said as I wiped off my forehead, panting heavily. At the climax of the exhausting commute, I wanted to sprint to 'the finish', but couldn't.

Because the finish wasn't there; we still had a long way to go

Looking around with almost no sight, I couldn't forget this place. It was the first step I took to becoming somepony like Rainbow Dash.

With all hope in my heart, I put some of that hope into Rainbow Dash, and if we would come across her presence.

"Girls? You're still awake, right?" I asked sarcastically.

But there was no way they could be asleep, considering the fact that Scootaloo was missing in action.

"Heck yeah, Fluttershy!" the sisters simultaneously responded as they suddenly appeared, with confidence bursting in their quickly chosen words.

"Let's go kick some dragon butt!" added Apple Bloom vigorously.

That's something Scootaloo would say.

The mountain named Skyward produced a strange smell, that of which was (truly) indescribable. I really didn't have it at the tip of my tongue. Has it been like this? For how long? It wasn't important, anyway.

"Blech!" gauged Sweetie Belle. "Smells like that sulfuric acid stuff!

...Uh, Guess she solved that problem. Always nice to have a laugh every once in a while, right?

"Alright, girls..." It would make enough sense if Scootaloo came here. The three of us started to get a move on. "From here on out, this is a one-way trail heading up to the top of the mountain."

"Scootaloo could be anywhere!" Sweetie Belle said quite full of worry, though I obviously couldn't blame her, or her sister, who looked even more concerned for some reason. I looked at Apple Bloom, who was lagging behind a little.

"But it's so dark out here, we can't see a thing!" She yelled out before I could even fixate my vision on her own, though she didn't even look at me.

She just kept her head down, thinking, I could presume.

"Scootaloo, I'm sorry." She muttered to herself under her breath; she probably forgot the fact that I could hear well, sometimes almost too well.

Once she caught up, I kindly asked Apple Bloom if something was troubling her , while still keeping my eyes peeled for any possible trace(s) of an orange pony named Scootaloo.

"Is something wrong, Apple Bloom?" I repeated in a different variation. (I really need to figure out nicknames for those girls).

But the only response I received from her was an also easily comprehendible "Nah, everything's fine." She lowered her head again.

She had every right to feel the way she sounded: gloomy.

..................................................

Another hour or two passed, and still no sign of Scootaloo. I was having heavy doubts that we would even find her up at the altitude we had already reached (we were moving faster than we thought.)

I looked up at the moonless, starry night once more.

"The moon's still not out." said Apple Bloom. "We'll never find Scootaloo without any moonlight!" Despite the circumstances, she remained composed, as did Sweetie Belle, staying as faithful as she could be.

Suddenly, Sweetie Belle stopped as Apple Bloom continued in her set path, head still down; her sister's eyes were darting from side to side, still giving an attempt to find her other sister, however feebly minded and weak from the exhausting trip.

"Apple Bloom..." Sweetie Belle began to speak with less confidence than before. "We'll find Scootaloo, no matter what we have to do, what we need to go through to get her back."

Apple Bloom just stopped when she passed by Sweetie Belle. I decided to stop for a while and watch this beautiful moment.

Sweetie Belle's pupils grew, almost filling up her entire eyes.

"I promise... She's a Cutie Mark Crusader, meaning she's never gonna leave our side."

Apple Bloom turned around and faced Sweetie Belle. She raised her head, something I'm glad she finally did.

"Plus," continued Sweetie Belle. "She would never really leave us, all because of some misunderstanding."

"She's pretty much family, as are you."

Apple Bloom had her back turned to me now. It looked like she was...shuddering.

"She's stuck to us like glue." Sweetie Belle had to conclude, because Apple bloom burst out in joy.

"And as Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Sweetie Belle joined in the universal chant. "Everything bounces off us-" Apple Bloom's left leg and Sweetie Belle's right stretched straight out and gently made contact.

"-AND STICKS TO THE PAST!" They both chuckled a bit, and then Sweetie Belle gave Apple Bloom a reassuring hug.

"Everything'll be just fine!" She let her sister free, and Apple bloom simply thanked her.

"Thanks...Sweetie Belle..." She sniffled as a previous stream of tears draining from her eyes weakened.

I really didn't want to take my eyes of the girls, especially now that they're...growing up, but our mission still stands clear:

Find Scootaloo, and fast.

But...

"RRRAAAAAAWWWWRR!!!"  A monstrous exclamation of anger was brought about by a huge creature that suddenly came rushing down the nearest (leftmost) slope of the mountain. It was surrounded by a cloak of mist that seemed to thicken the longer I looked at it.

The girls wanted to stand and fight, oh, I can tell you that much. But, obviously they wouldn't even know how to go about this situation, more or less circumvent it.

Or would they?

"RRRAAWWRRRRR!!" The beast came closer and closer at an alarming rate, as if it was ticked off by something...or someone.

"Girls!" I ordered. "RUN!" They didn't hesitate at all.

I was able to see what they headed for; A rock to hide behind (oh, how clever of them). I shook my head. I knew they didn't want to leave me; as I said before, I knew them too well.

Hell, I don't truly know what to do when something's hell bent on ramming into anything in its path, but I would do my best to try and stop the...whatever it was.

On that thought, I tried to make out what the creature was with what little time I was given, and succeeded.

It was an Ursaminor; I recognized its size. It couldn't be an Ursamajor because it was about the same size of the Ursaminor that Twilight Sparkle had driven out of Ponyville.

And besides... I've seen an Ursamajor.

What I was trying to concentrate on, was the fact that it was an animal, and I was highly known for my special abilities with animals. (Element of Kindness).

The beast was no less than five feet away from me, but I wasn't fully prepared. A feeling of extreme adrenaline ran through my veins.

I've felt like this before...

And I wasn't talking about the feeling I got the last time I was up here with my whole circle of friends...

But even if I wanted to try and communicate with the Ursaminor, it would have killed me by the time I looked it back in the face. I didn't even know if an Ursaminor would bother to listen to me, being the huge beast that it was!

"Girls!" I called out in all desperation I could possibly muster. "GET OUT OF HERE!!"

.......................................

"Oh, would you please stop being so dramatic?!"

I had my head flinched to my right so the girls couldn't see the helplessness in my face:

But that's when something happened. Something I didn't, and couldn't believe.

Using the corner of my able eye, I saw that...

I saw that...the Ursaminor...dissipated before my very eye, along with the dispelling veil of mist! But I still carried a feeling of extreme cautiousness.

This was clearly the element of a dream, a fantasy, even: when life gives you a second chance.

"I should have died." I mean, not that I want to die, but still... that's the way life works, though I could be a hypocrite while saying that.

"That was...a close one."

When all of an abrupt second-

"That's right!" How did I recognize the voice so easily? (Sarcasm intended).

"Tremble before the Great, and Powerful Trixie!!

"Oh! Its Trixie?" I thought internally. "I thought this was something serious. Then I have nothing to be afraid of!

What was she doing up here anyway?

"Trixie! So this was all a trick?!"

"Y-You scared the living daylights out of me!" I started to laugh in the end.

To take her personal pleasure away; I rose to my hooves and just looked at her as she did me. I was expecting her to gloat even more about herself. Her eyes matched her face, and I realized this when she stared into my eyes within the first five seconds.

She was in danger, as was Scootaloo. Her eyes were full of fury and indignation, it seemed, but she managed to hold it all in.

She still wore the same cape and hat, which were a bit tattered.

Okay, maybe not a bit. The pieces of clothing were completely torn apart. All that seemed to be holding the stitching together were mere inches. Her clothes her saturated with filth, more simply named 'dirt'.

God, I'm starting to sound like Rarity; Style over Substance.

The unicorn herself wasn't in too good of shape, either. Her face was also covered in dirt, in addition to a nice amount of blood and a few cuts on top of all of that.

What remained of her hat was little enough so that her horn was slightly visible, only a little bit. It looked...shorter than most ponies that were gifted with magical horns, but that observation could have been solely from the obscurity of the hat.

All four of her legs were severely cut and scraped up, but nothing that looked too much to hold someone back. (But then again, I'm not her, which is obviously a good thing).

She threw me looks as if she were an upper-class, a snob who thought she was the talk of the whole world. True, this is what she was famous for, but I knew how most upper-class ponies would start up a conversation after looking a troubled pony in the eye for a few seconds.

"Hey...I know you..." She paused and took a second or two to catch her breath, for whatever reason.

Oh yeah! Did I mention she's so damn arrogant?

I really didn't have time for this... "So?" she asked. "How was that? My Ursaminor façade!" She just wouldn't stop! She would have killed me!

But she didn't...

A few moments later (after hearing about Trixie's 'accomplishment in Fillydelphia', really hard to believe), Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle came to my side once again.

"Fluttershy!"

They also grabbed Trixie's attention. She disregarded me after she learned my name. "So your name is Fluttershy...I definitely remember you.

So...that's a good thing?"

"Now girls!" Trixie continued, beginning to address them.

"We know you!" interrupted Apple Bloom. "You're that big talker Trixie!" Neither side of the conversation seemed too thrilled about the encounter.

"Uhm...Trixie?" Once again, she was easily unsure of whom to listen to, so I guess I was the next pony to talk. But it really was important. "I know you probably haven't been paying much attention to the mountain, but have you seen a little orange pony with a purple mane wandering around here?"

She looked troubled (aside from everything that was physically wrong with her), but nevertheless, she proudly responded. "You mean little Scootaloo, don't you?" I looked her in her slightly poisoned violet and nodded with high hopes.

"And since I know her name, then that's a definite yes. She's perfectly fine."

Sweetie Belle exclaimed through the stomping of her hooves, while Apple Bloom's jaw lowered as she smiled. "You've seen her?!"

"Where is she?"

"Please tell us where she is!" The girls were so ecstatic, asking Trixie all those questions, though no one could blame them for feeling as such. "She's a Cu-" Apple Bloom stopped herself. "Our sister!"

Ironically enough, now Trixie's presence was needed, when she was (to put it bluntly) of no use before. She stood before Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, with them mauling her with the same request over and over, no matter how many variations of the same question they presented to her. She gave me a peculiar look; I really wanted to believe that she knew where Scootaloo was at.

She sighed, quite happily, actually. "Hm, I guess you three need 'The Great, and Powerful Trixie' to assist you in your quest." Though she smiled while saying all of that, she kept her gaze (mostly) at the ground, in between Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. There wasn't much happiness or glee in her voice, however.

She was, in fact, in danger, and that gave the certain feeling of insecurity. For both me, and the three females.

"Very well," said Trixie. "I was intending to leave this horrid place anyway."

Trixie must have let her past troubles go. "What do you mean?" We're leaving?" What was Trixie talking about now? The mountain was left still majorly unsearched!

"I mean, I'm going to get us out of here, but of course!"

"But how?"

"Yeah, how?" inquired Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle at once.

"Well, if I remember correctly, then Fluttershy, your friend, Twilight Sparkle is a unicorn too, no?"

"Yes, so you're going to teleport us all, aren't you?" I answered.

"They don't call me 'The Great and Powerful Trixie for nothing, you know. You're exactly right, Fluttershy!" She gave me the first actual smile I've seen her meaningfully give.

And she knows where Scootaloo is? Wow... I think I just might have gained a new respect for Trixie!

"However, this may be the last time I can ever use my magic again, so everyone." Trixie paused and looked lovingly at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

"Everyone try your best to stick together, okay?"

I wasn't quite sure what she meant; I've never asked Twilight to take me somewhere using this method when we were living together in Ponyville. But I agreed nonetheless, walking up to her side, giving the girls a hint that Trixie was a changed unicorn.

They heard the stories.

"We got it." Apple bloom exerted.

Sweetie Belle looked at us all before saying "We're all ready." The two young girls crossed their adjacent hooves, hoping that all would go well.

"Everyone, get close to me, QUICK!" Trixie and I were now encompassed in a tangible barrier that, if I was right, was slowly becoming solid.

"Girls! GIRLS, GET OVER HERE!" I felt really bad for yelling at them, but they probably wouldn't have heard me otherwise.

The barrier was about to live up to its name any second now. Luckilly, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle eventually obeyed my command. Sweetie Belle held tight to my left rear leg, while Apple Bloom grabbed a hold of Trixie's left front leg. She didn't seem to mind at all.

"We're going...to the!" She couldn't finish her sentence; every trace of volume was eliminated.