"Scootaloo?"

The filly woke up with a salty taste in her mouth and she immediately opened her eyes. Crimson and yellow gave way to the metal surface of the ceiling above, and the voice from her dream fizzled away. She put a hoof to her cheeks, wiping away the salty water that streaked down her fur. It had been a few months since she had stopped waking up crying; no need to start again now.

Scootaloo turned her head right. She didn't even remember falling asleep, but there wasn't anything she could do about it now.

"Oh, hi, Scootaloo!" Mochi was standing in the hallway between the cells, a burly guard pony by her side. "Good to see you're awake!"

"Wh-what's going on? Where are you going?" Scootaloo asked. Her throat was scratchy and it was hard to talk, but she managed to get the words out all the same.

"Oh, I'm just going up to the dining hall for breakfast. You coming?"

Scootaloo blinked. "Totally! I'll just—"

"Apologies, miss, but we can't allow that." The guard adjusted the collar of his outfit. "I have express orders from the top that you're not to leave your cell unless summoned by Mr. Velvet or another authorised pony."

Scootaloo frowned. "Can I at least have some water?"

The guard nodded. "Somepony will be down in a few minutes with some food and water."

"What about something to do, like a journal or something."

"Once again, apologies, but you are not to be given anything from outside your cell besides food and water, as determined by upper management."

Scootaloo hung her head. "You guys are determined to make this really suck, aren't you?"

"I'm just following orders, miss. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to take this mare up to the dining hall."

"I'm sorry, Scootaloo!" Mochi said, waving. "Hopefully by next time you can come with!"

Scootaloo looked up, sighing. "Yeah, hopefully." She watched as Mochi and the guard disappeared past the edge of her cell, and could hear Mochi asking the guard why Scootaloo wasn't allowed to have anything. He gave a noncommital response and the sound of their voices faded as they grew further away, down that same metal hallway that Scootaloo had walked just hours before.

"Ugh... I can't even have a notebook? This is friggin' stupid..." Scootaloo stood up on her hind legs just so she could plop down back-first onto her cot.

"Stupid it might be, but you could at least shut up about it," Grey's gruff voice reverberated from the other side of the hall.

"What the buck is your problem?!" Scootaloo shouted, her tone a little angrier-sounding than she'd intended. He was just pushing her buttons at the wrong time.

"I dunno, but at least I'm not bitching 'bout mine for the whole world to hear." His voice was quiet, but his tone was biting.

Scootaloo closed her eyes. The stallion obviously wouldn't stop if she kept going, so she figured it was just best not to reply. All she could do, just like the whole rest of the day, night, or however long she'd been here, was stare at the wall. She looked at her reflection and sighed. Hopefully she could find a way out of there soon. If the ship had been madness-inducing with its cramped metal rooms, this was a hundred times worse.