Butterscotch was working her shift at Sugar cube Corner and had been filling orders for hours. Pink and white cupcake frosting splattered over the kitchen. Mandy, her loyal friend, was just wrapping up to go home.
"Are you sure you can take over my shift? If not I can find somepony else to do it." Mandy's deep blue eyes scanned my face for even a sliver of uncertainty.
"Of course I can handle it; you need to go home and be with your colt." She stood a bit taller than Mandy, and as she gazed down into her ocean eyes she knew that Mandy knew Butterscotch was right. Butterscotch went back to frosting the Cake's famous Discord Food Cake with chocolate icing and listened for the creaking of the door and the protest of the hinges as it closed.
The cake in front of her looked marvelous, and she was applying the last piece on top, the marzipan Discord statue. Butterscotch rifled through the bin of toppers and finally pulled out the last discord statue. Hooves trembling, she placed it perfectly on top of the Discord Food Cake and faced it towards the door.
"Sigh… Just one more order to go." She closed her auburn eyes and rested there for a moment, and then a moment longer. Soon, she had slumped over and fallen asleep on the floor, splaying her wings out.
Butterscotch was lying upon a bed of soft leaves, staring up at the forest canopy above. Her mind cleared away the grogginess she felt and Butterscotch pulled herself into a sitting position. Butterscotch was sitting in a grove upon a small patch of clovers. Silver trees surrounded her for miles; she was absolutely speechless.
A small stream was running by her and made the grass around it green and lush. Daylight was peaking in through the leaves far, far above and displayed specks of light on the forest floor. Spreading out her wings, Butterscotch started to fly upwards, and the higher she flew, the thicker the tree layers got.
The lights got brighter and she started to see blue sky above, the last layer of the canopy seemed to open up for her now. *WOOSH* She finally pressed her way through to the open air. The lights were blinding up above, and it seemed to engulf her.
Somepony was calling her name, "Butterscotch! Butterscotch!" as she turned around, she was just about to see her face.
"Mrs. Cake?" Mrs. Cake was shaking her awake. "Huh? What?"
"Oh good, you're awake. You fell asleep at work dear; you should go home and get some sleep." Mrs. Cake helped Butterscotch too her hooves and she started to walk out the door. She stopped and turned around, opening her mouth to say something but Mrs. Cake pushed her out of the shop.
"No buts dear, go home and get some sleep." She closed the door behind her and Butterscotch just stared at the door.
"Why did I fall asleep at work during Mandy's shift; she was counting on me!" She shook the frosting off of her pelt and trotted home with her head down.
It was late at night and the moon was climbing up into the sky. An owl hooted at her through the trees. Everything seemed sadder at night for Butterscotch, and the cold night air that was nipping at her flank didn't help. She shivered a bit as she walked and lifted her head to gaze again at the moon.
It looked so different without the mare in the moon, it had always seemed so magical to her as a filly. She used to watch it for hours trying to see it move, but it never had. Butterscotch pushed away the thoughts of her childhood and continued on towards home.
Butterscotch's hooves began to drag, leaving dirt on them and she closed the distance between the house and herself. Pale, whitewashed, walls seemed to comfort her as she reached the door of her house and she pulled the key from under her straw woven mat to unlock her door.
The inside of her house was sparsely furnished with a small kitchen and bathroom, but it still felt lived in to her. Butterscotch climbed the stairs to her bedroom and collapsed upon the bed. It had been a long day, and she had been groggy during the walk home.
She kicked her horseshoes off and didn't care how dirty she was, she crawled under the covers and closed her eyes, even if it was just for a minute.
"Scotch!" Somepony called. Things were blurry this time. A pony started to rush towards me. Butterscotch was up in the clouds again, above the trees, but her vision was blurred, she couldn't make out who this pony was.
"Butterscotch, thank goodness you're okay. You took a pretty bad fall." The colt was a beige blur, but there was something off about the wings. They looked very colorful for feathered wings.
"Who… Who are you?" Butterscotch squinted at him, trying to clear her vision.
"Hey, don't you remember me? It's Athens, your friend!" He said with a hint of concern.
"You must have hit your head, c'mon, let's get you home." Athens started to drag her along but I pulled back.
"Where are you taking me?" She asked him, starting to feel light headed.
"Hey, you don't look so good; we have to get you back before something bad happens." He started dragging her along again, but black spots began to dance along her vision. Butterscotch's wings gave out and she began to tumble, the winds whipped through her mane and she realized she was falling.
Butterscotch couldn't move anymore, but felt her weight was lifted. Athens had caught her and was carrying her as he flew as fast as his wings could beat.
"You're an angel…" she murmured as he held her tighter against his chest.
"Hey, don't leave me now Scotch, just hang on. We're almost home." He yelled over the whipping winds, but all that she could hear was muffled as Butterscotch lost sight of the world she was in and blacked out.