A soft, familiar voice woke Scootaloo from her slumber. She squinted against the soft flame glowing in a nearby lamp and looked outside. The little triangle of the world she could see through the tent flap was still as dark as it had been when she went to sleep.

“Rise and shine,” the voice said, drawing Scootaloo’s gaze. She expected to see Dash’s violet eyes looking down at her in the flickering lamplight, but instead she found a pair of green irises watching her. “We have a long journey ahead of us.”

“M-Miss Cheerilee?” Scootaloo blinked a couple times to clear her sleep-blurred vision. “But it’s still dark outside.”

“Never mind that now,” said the schoolteacher as she helped Scootaloo to her hooves. The orange filly looked around the tent and found that it was empty apart from her and Cheerilee. “Let’s get some food in your belly.”

“Where’s Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked as she followed her teacher outside. The other tents were in various stages of deconstruction. As soon as she and Cheerilee left, two earth ponies began taking down Scootaloo’s tent as well.

“She’s with the weather patrol,” Cheerilee answered as she led Scootaloo toward the fire at the center of camp, where Mrs. Cake was ladling breakfast into several crude wood bowls. “We’re not sure how these… conditions will affect the clouds.”

A small part of Scootaloo’s brain knew Cheerilee was hiding something, but she was too groggy and hungry to care. She sat down next to the fire and curled up as tightly as she could against the chilly night air. “Here you go,” said Mrs. Cake as she placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of her. “It’s not much, but it’s all we have for now, and it’s hot.”

Scootaloo took a mouthful of oatmeal and grimaced. She’d never imagined anything could taste so bland, much less something made by Mrs. Cake. She thought about asking for some sugar, but glance at the baker’s solemn, exhausted expression was enough to dissuade her. “It’s… great,” she said.

Mrs. Cake gave her a small smile. “You’re just saying that. What I wouldn’t give for a bit of cinnamon…”

“You should be grateful we have any food at all,” said a gruff stallion Scootaloo recognized from a construction project in Ponyville. “If it wasn’t for Twilight, we’d be starving right now.”

“I know that,” Mrs. Cake snapped.

“Now, now, there’s no reason to bicker,” said Mr. Cake as he approached with a bucket of water. “We’ve all had a long night.”

The construction pony snorted. “Well, it’s not ending any time soon.”

Scootaloo gulped down the last of her oatmeal. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Oh, I’ll tell you later,” Cheerilee said with a forced smile. “Come along, now. Let’s see what Twilight needs us to do."

Though practically tasteless, the oatmeal filled Scootaloo’s belly and rejuvenated her senses. As she followed Cheerilee through camp, she began taking note of the ponies around her. The construction pony and the town jeweler were still taking down her tent. A brown stallion with a palm tree on his flank was whispering something to a blue mare with two green bottles on hers. Twilight Sparkle stood nearby, using her magic to levitate tents and poles into an old wooden cart while Spike scribbled something on an unfurled scroll.

“This tent has a tear in the side,” Twilight was saying as Cheerilee and Scootaloo approached. “Probably from Emerald’s panic attack last night. We’ll need to patch it up before it gets worse.”

“Patch the hole in the tent,” Spike muttered. “Got it.” The dragon looked up from his list and into the darkness. “I sure hope she’s okay…”

“I told you, there’s nothing we can do right now,” Twilight said with a sigh.

“I know.”

“Excuse me,” Cheerilee said. “Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering how Scootaloo and I could help take down camp.”

Twilight looked at the teacher and then down at Scootaloo. “How strong a flier are you?” she asked.

Scootaloo bowed her head. “Not very strong.”

Twilight furrowed her brow and frowned. “You probably shouldn’t go on weather patrol, then. I just hope two pegasi will be enough until we reach Hoofington.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Cheerilee said. “Rainbow Dash is the best weather manager Ponyville’s seen in years. She’ll come through.”

“I know,” Twilight replied. “It’s Derpy I worry about.” Twilight sighed and looked around. “It looks like everything else is under control. Have you seen Golden Harvest or Lucky Clover?” Cheerilee shook her head. “All right. Why don’t you join the other watchponies until we’re ready to leave? I’m sure Coconut could use your help.”

Cheerilee nodded. “Come with me, Scootaloo.” The filly followed her teacher toward the stallion and mare talking nearby. “Excuse me. Twilight asked us to help you with the watch.”

The stallion looked down at Scootaloo and raised an eyebrow. “You sure the filly’s up for this?”

“Do we have a choice?”

The stallion shot Scootaloo another glace before he spoke. “Bottlecap and I will take this side,” he said, pointing to one side of the cart. “You and the filly take the other. Ginger Gold and Mr. Breezy are stationed over there.” He pointed at two ponies standing at the opposite side of camp. “Raise the alarm if you see anything unusual. If you see Lucky Clover and Golden Harvest, be sure to let Twilight know.”

“Will do.” Cheerilee began walking in the direction the stallion had indicated, and Scootaloo had to half-trot to keep up.

“Why are we moving now?” Scootaloo asked. “Couldn’t we wait ‘till morning?”

“I’m afraid there isn’t going to be a morning,” Cheerilee replied as she sat down. The purple dome the filly had noticed before shimmered just a few feet away.

“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked, taking a seat beside her.

Cheerilee closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. “You remember what happened at the Summer Sun Celebration, right?”

Scootaloo nodded. “The Mare in the Moon showed up and said she’d cover Equestria in eternal night.”

“That’s why there will be no morning,” Cheerilee said. “I don’t know how, but she’s used her magic to make sure the sun never rises again.”

“But what about Princess Celestia?” Scootaloo asked. “She’s been raising the sun every day even after the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“I don’t know,” Cheerilee replied. “All I know is that Princess Celestia can no longer overcome Nightmare Moon’s power. Until we can find a way to do that, Equestria will remain in darkness.”

“Can’t Twilight use her magic to help Princess Celestia raise the sun?” Scootaloo suggested. “Or maybe Rainbow Dash can do a sonic rainboom and startle Nightmare Moon just long enough for—”

“It isn’t that simple,” Cheerilee interrupted. Her mouth hung open, as though she meant to say more, but then it closed, and her gaze turned to the darkness beyond the barrier.

Scootaloo turned her gaze to the world beyond as well The light from the campfire illuminated a narrow stretch of ground outside the dome. Beyond that, everything was black. “Miss Cheerilee,” she said, “where’s Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle?”

Cheerilee’s mouth hung open for a moment, and then she closed her eyes and bowed her head. “I don’t know.”

Scootaloo frowned. “But Apple Bloom was right there next to me.”

“I’m sorry, Scootaloo,” Cheerilee said as she turned away from the filly. “Twilight found you, not me. I’m afraid I don’t know what’s happened to anypony outside this camp.”

A tap on the dome brought Scootaloo’s questioning to an end. Four ponies stood outside—a gray-coated stallion, a yellow-coated mare, a gray cross-eyed pegasus, and an impatient-looking Rainbow Dash. “I’ll go tell Twilight,” Scootaloo said quickly.

“It’s okay, I see them.” Scootaloo turned to see Twilight standing behind her, horn aglow. A moment later, the purple dome vanished, and the four ponies walked into camp. “Did you find anything?” Twilight asked.

“A few wild oats and carrots,” the yellow mare answered with a nod toward her bulging saddle bags. “It won’t get us to Hoofington, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Good work, you two,” Twilight said. “Take them to Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Breakfast is waiting.” The yellow mare and the stallion nodded and walked toward the campfire, and Twilight turned her attention to the two pegasi. “How’s the weather, Rainbow Dash?”

“The temperature’s dropping fast,” the cyan pegasus answered. “It’ll probably start snowing before we reach Hoofington. Derpy and I can keep most of the clouds out of our path for now, but it’ll be more difficult the colder it gets.”

“I was afraid of that,” Twilight muttered. “Thanks for the report. Get yourselves some food before we set out.”

“No problem,” Rainbow Dash replied as she walked past the unicorn, pausing in front of Scootaloo. “You comin’?”

“Oh, um, I already ate,” Scootaloo replied.

“All right. I’ll see you later then.” Without another word, Dash turned and walked toward the fire.