A soft breeze whistled in the wind and through a prismatic mane.  Rainbow Dash sighed in content as she laid on her back on the field below her cloud home, patiently waiting for Scootaloo to return from her house.  A smile arose as she thought about the orange filly.  Just last week was when she saved Scootaloo from falling off a waterfall during their camping trip in the middle of the night.  Moments after that event, Scootaloo confessed how she had always wanted Dash to take her under her wing and teach her everything she knows.  

In the past, Dash never payed much attention to Scootaloo, nor the other fillies.  She didn't dislike them, or purposely try to avoid them, it's just that she never really found a reason, nor any time, to actually talk to them and get to know them.  She would, at times, intervene on their little 'Rainbow Dash Fanclub' from time to time and have a laugh out of it.  Sometimes she might even show her stunts off to the fillies to just make their day a little better.

Dash never knew that Scootaloo would be this interesting though.  She had observed her from afar on her scooter, and, to her surprise, she was quite skilled in it.  Dash found it amusing to watch as the young pegasus showed off her moves to Ponyville almost daily, just like the cyan pegasus herself.  Having Scootaloo around more often brought joy to Dash.  Scootaloo is cool filly, and all in all, Dash does not regret becoming Scootaloo's 'big sister'.

Another thought came to mind.  Scootaloo had said that she wanted to learn under Dash's wing; to be an apprentice.  Dash smiled at that idea.  An heir to her name, so to say.  One who can be just as awesome as herself and carry on her legacy.  Once, of course, Scootaloo's wings grow out a little more to the point where she can sustain herself in flight.

It was when the sound of buzzing assaulted her eardrums did Dash open her eyes.  From her point of view, the sky was down, and the grass was up.  From above, a silhouette closed in on her location.  The closer it came, the louder the buzzing grew.  It was moments when Dash realized that it was the orange filly herself riding on her scooter at a high speed.

Scootaloo did not slow down as she approached Dash.  As the buzzing of miniature wings propelling a scooter grew louder and faster, so did Dash's curiosity.  Once Scootaloo was only a few yards away, she gripped the handlebars and shifted her weight skywards, propelling herself in the air as well as her scooter.  

Once airborne, Scootaloo kicker her back legs upward while still gripping the handlebars.  What proceeded next stunned Dash from the sheer amount of awesomeness.  The airborne orange filly spun herself and her scooter three hundred and sixty degrees three times and front flipping twice before she landed graciously on the soft grass back on her scooter.  Using the last bit of momentum she had, Scootaloo swerved left to drift her scooter along the grass, turning her back towards Dash and streaking the dirt with the scooter's wheels.

Dash blinked, both from surprise and amazement.  She sat upright on the grass, taking note of the cocky grin Scootaloo held as she took off her helmet.  Dash stood up on all fours and trotted to Scootaloo's position, making sure to ruffle up her mane as she complimented her.  "Nice moves out there.  You had me worried for a second."

For a third time today, the darkness consumed her.  All around Dash was nothing but gray.  Creeping, eerie shadows encircled the two pegasi, severing them from the rest of the world.  As the darkness rose from nothing, appearing in the blink of an eye to unleash its wrath upon those who are deserving, or those it wishes to corrupt, nothing but dread befell upon Dash.

This darkness was different.  There was usually a soul-shattering pain that laced her body, but this time there was none.  It was only Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, floating in an endless void of gray.  The darkness seeped through the air, as if it was some sort of liquid dripping through a thin wall.  The tendrils of shadow lashed out violently, leaving a trail of darkness behind.  

Paranoia, fear, and hatred.  These were the the emotions that coaxed the void like a heavy fog.  Dash could feel her fear manifest into an orb of pure darkness.  The orb trembled slightly, and on its surface images depicting horrors beyond imagination were shown.  Dash wanted to look away, but her eyes were locked on the apparitions.  Once the orb was finished torturing Dash, it floating towards Scootaloo, where it dissipated behind the filly.

"Did you see them, Dash?"

With all the inner willpower she had, Dash was able to respond.  "W-what's going on?  W-where are w-w-we?  W-why is this h-happening to me?"  The fear laced in her voice made her sound like a she was on death row, hanging by the gallows, awaiting Scootaloo to pull the lever.

"Oh?  You mean you don't know?"  Scootaloo responded without turning around.  "I'm honestly not surprised, you do tend to run away from your problems and forget about them entirely."

Dash's heart rate increased, her hooves trembled, her throat turned dry as she whispered her next words.  "W-what do you mean?"

Scootaloo did turn around this time.  Her eyes will filled with a mixture of burning rage and sorrow in their purest form.  Her voice strained as she yelled, the darkness around her emanating through her body.  "Do you really take me for a naive fool!  You know exactly what I'm talking about.  You know what you've done in the past.  You're despicable, you know that?  Nothing but a worthless, hollow, merciless pony.  How do you live with yourself?  How do you sleep at night?  Don't your past sins come back to haunt you?  You call yourself loyal.  Hell, you're the representation of loyalty itself!  Yet you've abandoned your biggest responsibility in your life.

"How could you?"

Dash was speechless.  Her heart and soul were pierced by Scootaloo's words.  She felt pain, unimaginable mental pain.  The dark sphere that portrayed the horrors from the deepest corners of Tartarus returned, forcing Dash to absorb every last image.  She wanted to scream, to yell in agony, to beg for the pain to stop, but there was no one to listen.

"Do you see it now, Dash?  The horrors that your mistakes have made!  Wake up and smell the coffee, Dash!  It's right there in front of you!  Wake up and realize what you've done!  Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

Dash yelped and jerked upright.  She frantically looked around, her paranoia gripping her like the previous darkness.  The field she was previously in that surrounded her in darkness and despair returned to its lush and vibrant scene.  The birds chirped and the sun shined, spreading its gracious warmth and purity over the land.  Dash lifted a hoof to her heart, trying to calm her wheezing.  After a few seconds she collected herself and stood upright.

"Dash are you ok?"  A voice said from behind.

A rainbow mane whipped around; a small orange pegasus coming into her line of sight.  I fell asleep?  It was all a dream? Dash thought, Those other...visions...were they all dreams too?  Dash shook her head, it's not important.  Just forget all about it.  Dash turned to address Scootaloo with a smile on her face.  "Yeah, just a bit of a weird dream is all."

"What was it about?  You looked all scared, and you were shaking."

Dash searched her mind for an excuse.  She noticed that Scootaloo had her scooter with her, and thought back to her dream when she did that trick over her.  "Oh just uh, I dreamed that you...hit me with your scooter and broke my wing, hehe."

Scootaloo scoffed and waved her hoof; she bought it.  "Please, I've never crashed into another pony before...Except that one time with Apple Bloom when we did 'Cutie Mark Crusaders Scooter Derbiest.'"  She unconsciously rubbed her shoulder.

Rainbow shuddered.  That day would scar her forever.  "So whatdya folks say?"  She asked.

"I can stay the night!"  Scootaloo replied enthusiastically.

"Awesome."  Dash then proceeded to look left and right, as if making sure there was no one else around.  "You got the stuff?"  She asked in a whisper.

Scootaloo grinned and shook the saddlebag on her back.  "Oh I got the stuff."

Dash peeked inside the bag.  She did another double take of the perimeter, and once she knew they were in the clear, she took the plastic bag out and held it to the light.  There, white rocks varying in size and shape glittered in the sunlight.  Rainbow Dash chuckled sinisterly as ideas flooded her mind.  "How'dya get em?"  She asked.

Scootaloo smirked.  "Oh I know a mare who knows a mare, y'know."

"Oh I know."  Dash then put the plastic bag of sugary rock candies bag in Scootaloo's saddlebags.  "Tell Bon Bon I said 'thanks'."

"So what are you gonna do with them?"  Scootaloo asked.

Dash snickered menacingly.  "Oh I got plans.  Ones that involves strings, some glue, precision, a trampoline, and one Pinkimus Dianamus Pieacus."  Dash rubbed her hooves together in a typical scheming manner.

"What about the others?"  Scootaloo asked.

Dash shrugged.  "I'll think of something.  I've got a plan for Applejack and Rarity, but I bet something will come to me when I get to Twilight."

"And Fluttershy?"

Dash shook her head.  "We've all mutually agreed that Fluttershy is off-limits for pranking.  Even something small like a hoof buzzer will hurt her."

Scootaloo lowered her head.  "Sorry."

"Eh, don't worry about it.  Alright, let's get going."  Dash began to walk towards Ponyville with Scootaloo closely in tow.