Crusaders Forever (Unedited)

by Brohgue

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Dark, Sad
Length: 9262

When Applebloom has an accident and goes in to a coma that she may never wake up from Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle have trouble believing that they may never see her again.

When Applebloom has an accident that puts her into a coma that she will never wake up from, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle have trouble dealing with their sudden loss.

Cover art made by: Frankier77.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-11-13 18:52:05 UTC

Chapter 1

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MANTICORE TAMERS, YAY!"

The three crusaders ran to Scootaloos scooter and hitched Sweetie's wagon to it. Sweetie and Applebloom got in the wagon and Scootaloo jumped on the scooter.

"You guys ready!?" Scootaloo said in an obviously excited voice.

"YEAH!" The other two said in unison.

"Okay, helmets on!"

"Uh, Scoots?"

"Yeah?" Said Scootaloo while turning to Applebloom.

"Ah forgot mah helmet at the farm." She said with a sheepish smile.

"Come on!" Said Scootaloo looking very annoyed.

"It's fine. Ah really don' need one."

"Are you sure? We might get in a accident," Said a concerned Sweetie Belle.

"Ahm sure! Scoots is way to good to git in an accident."

"Of course I am! Now let just go, I have to be home in a hour!"

"Okay fine but if something happens don't say I didn't warn you!"

Scootaloo's wings started to flap, propelling the scooter into high speeds. Soon she was speeding through Ponyville.

She loved the adrenaline of high speeds the wind blowing through her mane, the vibrations the handle bars made as she sped on the gravel road. But she realized something and came to a halt.

"Why did you stop?" The two said in unison.

"Where are we going to find a Manticore? Because I'm NOT going in to the Everfree."

They all drooped they're heads. "AWWWWWW!" They all said in unison.

"Lets just head back to the clubhouse." Said an annoyed Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo started to flap her wings once again propelling her at full speed again. She was speeding through Ponyville once again. Her wings were flapping so fast the scooter was nearly flying of the ground.

"SCOOTALOO! SLOW DOWN THERE ARE BUMPS UP AHE-." Sweetie was cut of as Scootaloo hit a speed bump making them fly through the air.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" They were all screaming as they hit the ground with a hard thud, knocking Scootaloo and Applebloom out cold.

Scootaloo was awoken by a familiar voice.

"Scootaloo!? SCOOTALOO!? WAKE UP!"

"Sweetie?" Scootaloo was still dizzy from the fall. To her surprise, Sweetie started to hug her.

"I thought I lost you!" She said with tears in her eyes.

"What? Why? I just fell off my scooter."

Sweetie pointed to her helmet which was cracked right in half. "That's why." She said still with tears in her eyes.

"Woah! Its lucky I was wearing it!" She said giving her friend a smile.

"Where's Applebloom?" Sweeties face dropped. She was so busy tending to Scootaloo that she had completely forgot about her friend.

Scootaloo's smirk quickly faded to a look of fear.

They both started shouting for Applebloom. But nopony shouted back.

Then Scootaloo went silent when she saw a familiar yellow coated filly lying motionless on the ground. She walked closer hoping her friend was unconscious or playing some sort of sick joke. Sweetie was not far behind her more scared then she has ever been.

"A- Appleblo-." Scootaloo stopped mid-sentence at what she saw. Applebloom coat was pale and their was a large gash starting at the base of her skull and continuing down to the top of her muzzle.

"APPLEBLOOM!" Scootaloo ran full speed towards her friend. Sweetie just stared at her motionless friend with her hoof covering her mouth and a stream of tears running down her cheeks.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" Scootaloo was now openly bawling while shaking her friend violently.

"APPLEBLOOM YOU HAVE NEVER GAVE UP IN YOUR LIFE NOW FIGHT! FIGHT IT!" Scootaloo stared at Sweetie who was crying harder then Scootaloo.

"GO GET HELP! Sweetie was still motionless staring at her friend. "GO! NOW!" At that Sweetie snapped back to reality and started to run towards Fluttershy's cottage as she was the closest pony to them that she considered a friend.

"Applebloom, p- please d- don't leave m- me." She was now quietly sobbing with her motionless friend in her arms.

Sweetie galloped towards Fluttershy's cottage leaving a trail of wet ground behind her from her tears. She arrived to the small house and started to pound on the door violently. Fluttershy opened her door a little frightened to who was their. Once she saw Sweetie. She greeted her with a smile and politely answered.

"Hello Sweetie Belle what can I help you with?" She noticed that the filly was crying and looked panicked.

"What's wrong Sweetie?"

"COMEHELPQUICKAPPLEBLOOMISHURTANDSHEISBLEEDINGANDWENEEDTOGETTOADOCTORNOW!"

"Oh, dear Sweetie please slow down I can't understand you."

"APPLEBLOOM IS HURT AND SHE MIGHT NOT WAKE UP!" Fluttershy faced turned from a look of sympathy to a look of fear.

Fluttershy quickly got a piece of paper, she scribbled something down on it and handed it to one of her birds. "Please take this to Rainbow Dash immediatly! If that's alright with you." The bird saluted and flew off. Fluttershy trotted to Sweetie.

"Sweetie please lead the way!"

Sweetie quickly bolted off. Fluttershy flew behind her as fast as she could even though that was barley enough to keep up with the filly.

"WAKE UP! FOR THE LOVE OF TARTARUS WAKE UP! Scootaloo was bawling louder then ever. She saw Fluttershy and Sweetie running towards her.

"Oh no this is bad this is very bad!" Fluttershy started to panic. She pulled a first aid kit out of her saddle bag and sat next to the yellow filly. She quickly banddaged up her wound and started to run to the center of town with the filly on her back where Rainbow Dash was waiting there for her.

"UGH! What could she possibly need that is so IMPORTANT to skip my practice!" Rainbow then saw Fluttershy galloping towards her.

"RAINBOW!" Fluttershy was yelling for her. Fluttershy never yelled so she knew something was very wrong, she also saw Scootaloo and Sweetie running along side her. She flew over to them at about half speed. As she got closer she saw Fluttershy carrying a small ball of yellow curled up against her. She figured one of her animals were hurt so she sped up.

"What happened!?" Rainbow was now close enough to see that it was a filly curled up in her arms.

"Apple. Bloom. Got. In. An. Accident!" Said Fluttershy between heavy pants. "Take her to the hospital, she needs medical attention!"

Rainbow didn't hesitate to take the filly and quickly flew off with her in her arms.

"Please save her Rainbow." Said Scootaloo barley audible as a whisper.

Chapter 2

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were running faster then they ever have leaving a trail of tears in their haste. They NEEDED to get to the hospital. They were going so fast that Fluttershy couldn't even keep up while using her wings. They were approaching the hospital. A thousand scenarios raced through they're heads.

Is she hurt badly? Maybe shes okay? Maybe shes... dead?

They both charged for the doors to see Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity. The three noticed the two filly walk in. Rarity quickly trotted to Sweetie Belles side and hugged her. Sweetie returned the embrace while crying her sisters arms.

Rainbow Dash flew to Scootaloo and gave her a bone crushing hug. She felt it was her duty as the filly's idol, mentor and sister.

This made Scootaloo happy to see her sister helping her through this but she wanted to see a certain yellow filly.

"I- Is A- Applebloom o- okay? P- please t- tell me shes o- okay!" Scootaloo sobbed between words. She didn't try to hold back tears anymore she was openly bawling in to the coat of Rainbow Dash.

"Shes alive." Rainbow started to cry with the filly. Neither of them said a word they just sat in each others tight embrace.

Sweetie was screaming in to Raritys coat while crying twice as hard as Scootaloo. Rarity was gently stroking Sweeties mane.

"Shh shh its okay Sweetie she still alive." Rarity was trying to comfort the filly.

"For how long?" Rarity was taken back a bit by this.

"Not for a very long time." Rarity turned to Applejack who just sat there with blood shot eyes and tears staining he coat.

"Sweetie go see you're friend I need to talk to Applejack." Rarity walked u to Applejack and gave her a hug. Applejack reluctantly returned the hug.

Sweetie walked towards Scootaloo. When Rainbow saw her approaching she left the filly alone.

Sweetie lunged at Scootaloo trapping her in an Anaconda like squeeze. Scootaloo returned the gesture. She put her wing over Sweetie and let her cry in to her chest. She knew Sweetie was very sensitive so she needed to be strong and be there for her friend.

"Its okay its okay." Scootaloo tightened her embrace. "She'll be okay. Shes the strongest filly we know. She will fight it out."

Sweetie didn't answer she just kept sobbing in to Scootaloo's chest. Scootaloo lifted her chin up to look at her. She almost broke down when she saw those adorable pale green eyes. She stared right in to them tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Sweetie we will make it through this!" Scootaloo had a sympathetic look on her face that comforted Sweetie a bit. "I love you two more then anything. Its bad enough that we may never get to see her again but I don't want to see you sad. Please be strong for me, for Applebloom?"

Sweetie stared in to Scootaloo's beautiful violet eyes. She sat to Scootaloo's eye level and hugged her again. ut she didn't cry this time.

"I love you too, Scootaloo. No matter what." They both sat in each others tight embrace for what seemed like an eternity. Neither wanted it to end.

After about two hours Nurse Redheart came to the waiting room. "Associates of Applebloom Apple?" Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash had trotted to the nurse. Including Pinkie and Twilight who had just recently arrived.

"Is mah sister okay? Please tell me that she is!" Said Applejack in a panicked voice. The others also desperately wanted to know the answer. The nurse hung her head.

"Shes alive." Everybody but the two crusaders cheered.

"Then why do you look so sad?" Scootaloo said dreading the answer.

The nurse let out a long sigh. "Applebloom is in... how do I put this... a coma." The others stood in dead silence.

"Well, Is she going to wake up!?" Rainbow asked with a hint of frustration in her voice. Nurse Redheart shook her head.

"No, not likely Shes has suffered severe head trauma. If she ever does wake up she will be in a vegetative state and will never be able to move or talk ever again."

The two crusaders, Fluttershy and Applejack burst in to tears, Rarity fainted, Pinkies mane and tail deflated making them flat,

Twilight sat back down in the chair and waited for the news to set in and Rainbow Dash let out a few sobs before going to comfort Scootaloo.

"I'm sorry for you're loss. You are welcomed to visit her she is in room 204. The doctor should still be in there. He can tell you more about her condition. I must go now I have more patients to tend to."

They all rose to they're feet slowly and began to walk to Applebloom's room in silence.

They came to the room to see the doctor writing some notes down. He noticed them in the doorway.

"Please come in! I trust that the nurse has filled you in about her condition?" He said in a slightly depressed voice. They nodded and walked in. Applebloom had a bandage around her head covering the gash that was on he face and head.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did she get in such a horrible accident?" The doctor said in a curious voice.

They all turned to Sweetie and Scootaloo. They both had nervous looks on they're faces. "Well..." Scootaloo started Sweetie just looked at her friend.

"I crashed my scooter. Then she hit her head and-." Scootaloo stopped at realization that it was her. It was her who did this.

"ITS ALL MY FAULT! I'm so sorry!" She broke down and started to bawl. "I was going to fast and I crashed!" Scootaloo was  on the floor curled up in a ball.

Rainbow picked up Scootaloo off the ground and left the room. Once they were in the hallway Rainbow spoke up.

"Okay squirt, I want you to tell me from beginning to end. What happened?"

Scootaloo looked up at her sister and started to begin her story.

"Applebloom said I was too good on my scooter to ever crash so she said she didn't need a helmet, I told her if she wanted to go back and get it but she said it would be fine. I started to go too fast and I crashed then I blacked out. Sweetie woke me up. I cracked my helmet right in half!" She said in a more cheery voice. "But Applebloom wasn't so lucky."

She started to burst in to tears again. Rainbow hugged Scootaloo. "Its my fault Rainbow, I'm so sorry!"

"Scootaloo! This is no ones fault! If anything Applebloom should have got a helmet! I'm not going to let my little sister torture herself for something that isn't her fault!" Rainbows voice was demanding, "Scoots, I love you and I don't to see you like this. Do you understand me?" Scootaloo let out a small smile and hugged Rainbow. Her tears were staining the fur on Rainbows neck as she hugged her.

"Now lets go see Applebloom." Rainbow led Scootaloo in the room. The other elements said what they wanted to Applebloom while they were out of the room not knowing if Applebloom could hear them or not.

Sweetie Belle was crying over Applebloom as she was reminiscing old memories with her friend. "Remember Applebloom? We got grounded for a month!" Sweetie let a small smile creep on her face. She noticed Scootaloo in the doorway and trotted over sadly to her friend.

She hugged Scootaloo gently and whispered in to her ear. "Its not you're fault, Scoots."

"Ahem!" the doctor cleared his throat. They noticed him put down the paper. "My superior wishes to know if you would like to... pull the plug?" The doctor waited for the yelling but it never came.

"Well ah can't decide that myself. I just don't know what she would wan't." Rainbow walked up to Applejack. "Are you really considering this AJ? Shes your sister!" Applejack glared at Rainbow. "She will never be able to do anything ever again! Ah wouldn't want to do nothing but lie in bed for the rest of mah life! Ah want to see her playing with her friends.

Rainbow sat down defeated. Scootaloo and Sweetie hugged and shut their eyes tight. They knew that they would never go crusading with her again. never get their Cutie marks with her, never grow up with her, never hear her adorable accent again. Even though the machines said otherwise, they knew she was already gone.

Everybody sat in silence until Applejack broke the silence with two words. "Do it." They all shut they're eyes tight. The doctor unplugged a few machines. They all listened to the light beep of the heart monitor.

Beep     Beep     Beep     Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Chapter 3

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

The light buzz of the monitor stopped as the doctor had unplugged it. "I'm am sorry for your loss, but I must be going stay as long as you would like."

Applejack nodded sadly with tears in her eyes. The elements all hung their head silently.

The two crusaders were hugging each other silently crying, it soon turned to full out bawling as their embrace tightened. Soon Pinkie, Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity began to cry.

Sweetie was the first to speak as the two remaining crusaders trotted slowly to the hospital bed.

"A- Apple b- bloom, p- please d- don't l- leave u- us." She hugged the lifeless body of Applebloom as two hospital staff member walked in to the room, one of them were a large brown stallion with a blonde mane and the other was a mare with a blue coat and mane. They walked to the body and covered her body with a big plastic bag, they then put her body on a long cart with wheels, everypony in the room cried as the two wheeled Applebloom's body out of the room.

Applejack was slowly trotting back to Sweet Apple Acres. Once she arrived she was greeted by a nervous Big Macintosh.

"Sis!" Big Macintosh galloped to his sister. "Ah heard Applebloom got in an accident is she alright!?" Applejack just started to cry, Big Macintosh quickly wrapped his sister in a tight hug.

"Shh Shh, Its alright." Big Mac lifted his sister head towards him so he could look her in the eyes. "Now, is Applebloom alright?" Big Mac almost didn't want to know the way her sister was crying.

Applejack stared strait in to his big green eyes, it calmed her to see her brother. She hugged Big Macintosh and talked in to the fur on his neck.

"Applebloom ain't comin back." That's all Applejack could manage before she started to sob again.

Big Macintosh stared wide eyed at nothing in particular.

"Whad'ya mean she ain't comin back!?" Big Mac said with sounding panicked. Applejack just sobbed.

"Ah mean she ain't never comin back! She gone... forever." A tear rolled down Big macs face, followed by more until he was full out crying.

"First it was mom and dad, now Applebloom!?" Applejack was bawling harder then she had ever bawled in her life.

"Come on, Applejack." Big mac said still letting liquid pride fall from his eyes. "Ah think we should tell granny." They both walked to the farmhouse and told granny of the events, surprisingly she took it better then expected but she still cried with the remainder of her grandchildren.

Sweetie and Scootaloo were walking with their heads down still sniffling with tears running down their cheeks. Meanwhile Rarity and Rainbow Dash were having a quiet conversation as they followed the remaining crusaders from a distance.

"Rarity, I don't know what to do! Scootaloo hasn't been my sister for very long and I've never had too deal with something like this at this young of an age." Whispered Rainbow. "I want to be their for her! I don't like to see her like this. It breaks my heart."

Rarity looked at her friend sympathetically. "Rainbow you're her idol, she absolutely adores you! I'm sure she will be happy just to spend some time with you. Why don't you finally give her some of those flying lessons you always promised to her?"

"Rarity, shes to young to fly. I could barley could get off the ground at her age, can you believe that? ME! The fastest flyer in Equestria!"

Rarity sighed. "Rainbow look at the size of her wings! They are almost full grown, not to mention she is very athletic I'm sure she could be in the air in no time!"

Rainbow let out a smile. "Y'know what? You're right Rare, shes already the most awesome filly in Ponyville! If she learned how to fly she would be 20 percent cooler!"

Rarity let out a smile at her friends catchphrase. "Don't be to pushy during training she just went through something very tragic in her life." Rainbow gave a salute and trotted to her little sister.

"Hey Scoots, I need to talk to you about something!" Scootaloo slowly trotted to her sister.

"Why do you sound so excited?" Said Scootaloo still hanging her head low.

"I got some trivia for ya." Rainbow said while smirking.

"Sis not now, please?" Rainbows smirk died down a bit.

"Please, just one question!?" Asked Rainbow who was now looking at Scootaloo with puppy eyes." Scootaloo sighed and replied quietly.

"Fine."

"Yes! Okay at what age did I start my training for flight?"

"Nine."

"CORRECT! And how old are you?" Rainbow said smirking.

Scootaloo sighed. "Rainbow, what kind of question is that? I'm nine years ol-" Scootaloo stopped mid sentence. Her eyes widened at realization of what Rainbow was implying.

"OMIGOSH! Are you for real Rainbow!?" Scootaloo was now hopping in excitement.

"Sure am kiddo!" Scootaloo tackled Rainbow too the ground and hugged her as hard as she could.

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! OMIGOSH, THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE!" Scootaloo was giving Rainbow a bone crushing hug.

"I thought you said I was too young? Scootaloo said but her excitement was still visibly glued on her face.

"Oh, come on! Look at your wings! They were bigger then mine when I was you're age!" Said Rainbow while returning the same bone crushing hug Scootaloo just gave her. Scootaloo mumbled something in her ear.

"What was that?" Rainbow said still wearing the goofiest grin ever. Scootaloo slowly got up and looked Rainbow in the eyes. She was crying tears of joy.

"I love you! Your the best sister ever!" Scootaloo hugged her again with the strength of a full grown Anaconda. Best sister ever huh? I could get used to this. She thought to herself.

"I love you too, Scoots." Rainbow picked Scootaloo of the ground and gave her a gentle hug. They both turned to see Rarity and Sweetie who were watching the entire time. Rarity was crying tears of joy with a huge toothy grin and Sweetie was givng a "D'AW" kind of look.

"This is the best day ev-" Scootaloo stopped herself when she remembered Applebloom. She gave a small frown, but it quickly disappeared with a big toothy smile.

She bounced over too Sweetie much like Pinkie Pie does when she is happy. Before Scootaloo could go on a rant about how awesome Rainbow Dash was Sweetie gave her a big hug.

"I'm happy for you, Scootaloo." Sweetie pulled away and stared in to her eyes. "I'm glad you can move on so easily." Sweetie started to cry, She wasn't crying tears of sadness or joy she had mixed emotions. Sure she was happy for her friend but she couldn't understand how she could move on so easily.

Scootaloo saw that she was upset and gave her sensitive friend a gentle hug. "It's okay, We have to live our lives. We can't torture ourselves because she is gone, just remember the good times we had with her." Sweetie hugged her friend back with strength she didn't know she had. Scootaloo's neck was wet from Sweetie's tears. Sweetie pulled away reluctantly.

"You're right, I couldn't have a better friend." Sweetie was staring in to Scootaloo's large sympathetic violet eyes. She felt so safe when she was with her. "I love you, you're the best friend ever."

"I love you too, Sweetie." Scootaloo hugged her friend again before leaving with her sister.

"Bye Sweetie, I'll see you tomorrow okay?" Sweetie looked back at her friend before leaving with her sister.

"Bye, Scoots!"

Sweetie and Rarity arrived at the boutique, before Sweetie could go to her room Rarity called for her.

"Oh, Sweetie Belle!" Sweetie gave a depressed sigh.

"Okay." Sweetie walked back to her sister.

"Take a seat." Rarity pointed at the kitchen table. Sweetie trotted to the table still with her head low. Sweetie knew what Rarity wanted to talk about. "I have to be strong! Don't get sad just be happy for what you have. For Scootaloo, for Applebloom." She thought to herself.

Sweetie sat at the table with her head still hung low.

"Sweetie would you like something to drink, perhaps some tea?" Sweetie nodded. Rarity got a kettle from one of the cupboards and started filling it with water.

"Sweetie, are you feeling okay?"

I just lost one of my best friends do you think I'm bucking okay!? Sweetie thought to herself, she just gave a quick nod while glaring at Rarity. Rarity put the kettle on the stove and set a timer. She trotted to the table and sat beside Sweetie.

"Sweetie you know i'm always there for you, right?" Sweetie gave a nod then hung her head again.

"Sweetie, I know what you're going through is tough bu-" Sweetie cut her off.

"HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH!?" Rarity was taken back a bit by this but regained her composure.

"Sweetie, I just want to hel-" Sweetie cut her off again.

"I just lost one of my friends that I loved and cared more then anything!" Sweetie took a deep breath and glared at Rarity.

"YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE!" Sweetie was now letting tears flow freely, she saw the shocked expression on her sisters face and immediately regretted yelling at her sister. "I- I'm sorry I just want to be alone."

Rarity lunged forward and hugged Sweetie in a tight embrace. "Sweetie, I love you and I don't want to see you like this."

Rarity pulled back and to look in to her sisters eyes. It broke her heart to see tears falling from those beautiful pale green eyes.

Sweetie Belle was surprised to see tears in her sisters ocean blue eyes. "Sweetie, if you ever need to talk to somepony i'm always here."

Sweetie nodded. "You are right, I have no idea what you are going through." Sweetie looked in her sisters eyes again.

"But it always make you feel better if you talk to somepony." Sweetie looked down in shame for yelling at her sister. Rarity put a hoof to her chin and lifted her head and looked in her eyes once again.

"Sweetie, you are the greatest sister anypony could have, I am so happy you are with me." Sweetie looked at her in confusion.

"Did you ever stop to think how Applejack is doing? She was her sister." Sweetie thought about it. How was she doing? Shes probably taking just as bad if not worse.

"She was my sister too." Sweetie calmly replied. Rarity really didn't know how to respond to this.

"Sweetie, You loved Applebloom like a sister of course but the love between a big sister and little sister is different then what you and Applebloom had." Rarity did her best to explain the topic but it was hard.

"How so?" Sweeties sadness had almost completely died down and was now replaced with curiosity.

"Well, Applejack has known Applebloom from her beginning... to end and has raised her just as much as her grandmother has. When you are a big sister you are almost like another mother." Sweetie hugged her sister tight after those words.

"I'm glad I have you too, Rarity. I love you." Rarity let a tear of joy escape her eye.

Chapter 4

Scootaloo bent her knees ready to take flight. Rainbow had a coaches whistle in her mouth ready to blow.

"READY! GET SET! FLY!" Scootaloo took a running start as she leaped herself in to the air, she hovered above the ground for a few seconds before losing control. She went in to a nose dive and hit the ground hard.

"Squirt, you alright?" Scootaloo didn't hear her as she groggily sat up, her muzzle was bleeding from the impact of the dirt.

There was a slight pause before she answered. "Y-Yeah I'm great lets just go again." Scootaloo was stuttering as she saw more then one Rainbow Dash trotting towards her. Scootaloo held her head with a hoof as a massive headache started setting in.

Rainbow was saying something but she could only make out bits of what she was saying, she felt as if her ears were full of water. Scootaloo shook her head trying to remove the dizziness, but it only made her headache hurt more.

"Scoots, I think that's enough for the day I think we should get home." Scootaloo didn't answer. Rainbow picked up Scootaloo and held her in her hooves before taking off

"I'll check you for injuries when we get home." Rainbow was worried for her sister, she knew that she would get in accidents but on the first day of flight training?

Rainbow was flying above the town taking in all the sights, she saw Derpy with her head stuck in one of the mailboxes, Twilight reading a book on one of the park benches and Fluttershy leading a line of ducks through the streets.

Rainbow was nearing her cloud home with the half asleep orange filly in her hooves. After a few more seconds of flying she landed on the soft surface of the cloud. She put the filly on her back and trotted in to her home. She kept trotting in to her living room and slowly placed the filly on the fluffy white couch.

She went to the kitchen and filled a glass of water by squeezing one of the smaller bits of cloud and went back to the living room.

"Drink some water." Scootaloo gladly accepted the glass of water as she was slowly regaining her senses.

"Scoots, how does your head feel?" Said Rainbow as cleaned her muzzle free of blood and felt around it for breaks.

"I have a bad headache." Said Scootaloo sounding nauseous and tired. "How bad?" Asked Rainbow who was now staring in to her eyes.

"Real bad." Scootaloo was now clutching her head with both hooves hoping it would ease the pain.

"Are you dizzy?" Rainbow was rubbing her mane to try and soothe her.

"A little, I guess." Rainbow put her hoof about a foot away from Scootaloo's face.

"Okay, I'm going to move my hoof around and I want you to follow it with your eyes." Scootaloo was confused.

"Why?"

"I'm testing for concussions." Rainbow told her sympathetically. Rainbow started to move her hoof around circles, Scootaloo started to follow her hoof with her eyes.

For a second or two both of Scootaloo's eyes followed the cyan hoof, but then her left eye started to trail off in another direction.

"Okay, Scoots we need to get you to the doctor." Rainbow saw Scootaloo give her a funny look.

"Rainbow daths i'm finth!" Scootaloo started slurring her words.

"No, you're not." Rainbow stared blankly at Scootaloo. "Come on, were going."

Scootaloo shook her head violently, she regretted doing that. Her head felt like it exploded.

"AHHHHH! OWOWOWOW! IT HURTS!" Scootaloo screamed before vomiting on the cloud floor.

Rainbow was scared. "Maybe this is worse then I thought." She thought aloud. "Hold on I'll get a doctor, STAY here, Scoots! Just rest you're head I'll be back soon." Rainbow left the filly on the couch not wanting to make it worse by dragging her to the hospital, she quickly grabbed a bowl and placed it near Scootaloo.

"If you have to puke again do it in this." At that Rainbow quickly flew out of the living room through the kitchen and out the door.

Rainbow had returned to the house with a light brown mane and coat pegasi doctor who was now doing tests on Scootaloo for head trauma. Rainbow was now getting impatient and was tapping her hoof on the floor.

"Well? How bad is it?" Rainbow asked hiding her annoyance.

The doctor turned while writing something on his notebook. "Well, she does have a concussion that's for sure. In my experience she most likely has a first or second degree case." The doctor was starting to pack his equipment up.

"She should get lots of rest and avoid any physical activity until she shows signs of recovery." The doctor pulled a bottle pills from his saddlebag and handed them to Rainbow.

"Give her these with every meal and it should prevent headaches. If she does not show any signs of recovery in about a week I would recommend you bring her to the hospital for further examination." The doctor started for the door.

"Thanks, Doc!" As the doctor left Rainbow trotted over to Scootaloo.

Scootaloo let out a frown. "Does this mean we cant go flying for a while?"

Rainbow let out a gulp to how Scootaloo would react. "Sorry, kid." Scootaloo felt as if her heart had been shattered to a million pieces. Rainbow gave her a hug, she quickly returned the embrace and started to sob.

Rainbow felt the tears soaking in to her neck. "Lets get you to bed, kiddo." She scooped Scootaloo off the ground and flew up too the filly's bedroom. She opened the door and trotted in, Rainbow placed Scootaloo on the bed and kissed her forehead.

"I'll go out and get something for dinner, what do you want?" Rainbow asked trying to put on a smile.

Scootaloo didn't answer, she still had trouble taking everything in. Rainbow sighed and left the room.

Scootaloo just started to cry. Not stopping until she cried herself to sleep.

Scootaloo was walking down the streets of Ponyville nearing the Carousel Boutique. She knocked on the door, Sweetie Belle answered.

"Hey, Sweetie I was wonderi-" Sweetie then cut her off.

"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! WE AREN'T FRIENDS ANYMORE!" Sweetie voice echoed through the town. Scootaloo was surprised how deep her voice sounded.

"What do you mean?" Scootaloo said a little hurt.

"YOU KILLED APPEBLOOM! THE WORLD WOULD BE BETTER WITHOUT YOU!" Scootaloo was now crying. A bright light started to form behind Scootaloo. She turned instinctively to find nothing.

"Hey look you got your cutie mark!" Scootaloo looked at her flank to see a bloody knife as her cutie mark.

"It suits you, all you are is a good for nothing murderer!" Sweetie started to laugh.

Scootaloo began to cry harder. "Yeah, cry you worthless piece of sh-"

"AHHHH!" Scootaloo woke up screaming, she started to sob loudly.

"N-no N-no, I-it w-was a accident! S-sweetie i-is m-my friend." Scootaloo only started to cry harder. "S-she wouldn't abandon m-me!" Scootaloo could hear whispers all around her, they were repeating the words Sweetie was saying in her dream. Worthless, Murderer... Applebloom.

"STOP LEAVE ME ALONE!" The voices just got louder, they sounded like they were getting closer and closer to her by the second until the voices were almost yelling. Scootaloo started to sob harder.

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Yelled Scootaloo before letting out a high pitched scream. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Scootaloo, I'm home!" Rainbow called to her sister. Scootaloo answered with a loud yell of fear.

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Rainbow gulped. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rainbow dropped the bag of takeout and and started bolting to the upstairs area.

Whoever is in their is going to the the biggest flank kicking of their life! she thought to herself before ripping the door open.

No pony was in the room except a sobbing Scootaloo. Rainbow quickly trotted to her side and pulled her in to a hug.

"Shh, shh its okay." She said calmly while tightening her embrace.

"NO! ITS NOT!" Scootaloo wailed. Rainbow pulled back to look in her eyes. "What's wrong? You can only get my help if you let me know what's going on." Scootaloo let go of Rainbow and curled in to a ball while sobbing a bit more quietly.

"They wont leave me alone." Scootaloo simply said, Rainbow was now confused.

"Who wont leave you alone?" Rainbow started to stroke her mane.

"THEM! the voices, the whispers!" Scootaloo quietly replied, she was now staring at nothing in particular with her eyes open wide. Scootaloo was now rocking back in fourth while mumbling "They can't hurt me." over and over to herself.

Chapter 5

"Why cant I sleep!?" Sweetie said frustratingly, she turned to her alarm clock it read 2:34 am. Sweetie let out a depressed sigh, she sat up in her bed for a few minutes before stepping off the side and headed out her room and down the stairs to the kitchen of the boutique. She dragged a chair from the table to the counter and stood on it, she opened the cupboard and pulled out a glass not much bigger than a shot glass.

She trotted to the sink and started filling the glass with water before taking a swig and gulping down the water in a second. She let out long depressing sigh again. She started to think about what she was going to with Scootaloo tomorrow. Her mood changed to one of joy.

Maybe, we can go sailing!? Or or maybe we can go see Applebl-. Her train of thought was cut off as she remembered.

"Applebloom..." She would have started sobbing uncontrollably if it weren't for every bit of willpower she had left. She just stared sadly at the floor while letting a few sniffles come out., she let tears fall from her face before slowly trotting up the stairs. She trotted to her room and hazily got back in to her covers, She started to silently sob.

"Why..." She was now talking to herself. "Why us!? We didn't do anything wrong!" She started to cry harder.

"I loved her... WE loved her!" Sweetie was now talking in an increasingly loud voice. She wasn't sad anymore, all of her sad feeling were replaced with anger.

"Applebloom was the sweetest, most honest and loyal pony I knew! She didn't deserve to leave!" She punched her side table, but she regretted it when she heard hoofsteps coming towards her room. Her door swung open and a angry Rarity was standing in the doorway.

"Sweetie Belle! Do you have any idea what time it is!?" Rarity had bags under her eyes and was panting slightly out of frustration. Sweetie stared sadly at her sister.

"Sorry Rarity, I-I just had a nightmare." She lied, she didn't like lying to her sister but she wanted to be alone right now. She didn't want Rarity bothering her more than she was now.

"Well, keep it down!" Rarity's face changed from anger to sympathy. "Is it anything you would like to talk about?" Sweetie's face dropped to one of fear and slight annoyance as she replied.

"Nononono!" Sweetie realized how loud she was talking and calmed down. "I mean, I am fine Rarity! Good night!" She desperately replied.

"Okay, goodnight Sweetie." As Rarity walked out of the room Sweetie let out a small "Whew!" before closing her eyes. She wanted to think about Scootaloo instead of Applebloom.  Applebloom is gone! I just need to be happy that Scootaloo survived too. She erased all memories of Applebloom from her mind temporarily and started to think of Scootaloo before they met Applebloom.

"Yeah cry you worthless blank flank!" Diamond Tiara growled, Sweetie was battered and bruised from the beating she just took from Diamond and Silver Spoon.

"Does it feel embarrassing to be the only one without a Cutie mark in the grade!?" Diamond started to laugh at Silver Spoon's comment. Silver joined in on the laughter ,

"Just leave me alone!" Sweetie started to cry harder. "I didn't do anything to you!" Diamond and Silver were both wearing insane looking grins.

"Oh yes you did!" Diamond sneered and gave Sweetie another kick. "We don't appreciate you walking around with that ugly flank on MY playground!" Sweetie lunged out and punched Diamond in the stomach. Diamond growled angrily.

"You are going to pay for that!" Diamond jumped on Sweetie with her hoof in the air. Diamond tried bring it down but something was holding it back, she turned to see a orange hoof stopping her hoof from coming down on Sweetie.

"Hey! Get out of here, loser!" She turned to look at her obstacle in the eyes, she saw two large violet eye's staring at her with a furious look. Diamond looked at Sweetie then back to the orange Pegasus. Diamond was about to say something but another orange hoof came at lightning speed right in to her nose. Diamond screamed in pain as blood flew from her nose.

The mysterious Pegasus stared at Silver who was helping her sobbing friend to her feet. "Get out of here you snobs! Before you get hurt!" The two filly's galloped away as the Pegasus walked to Sweetie. Sweetie was still crying, she used the last of her strength to stare the orange filly in the eyes, they looked full worry and sympathy.

"Are you alright?" Sweetie nodded with tears still falling from her face while letting a few sniffles out. "UGH! Those damn snobs, they need to learn to shut the hay up!" Sweetie smiled and hugged her soon to be friend.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" The Pegasus was surprised at first but returned the embrace. "Okay, okay that's enough, I don't really like all that lovey dovey stuff." The Pegasus smiled.

"Sorry." Sweetie replied with an awkward smile on her face. The Pegasus winked as her smile grew wider.

"Don't sweat it!" Scootaloo stood up to stretch her legs, while revealing her flank to her. Sweetie gasped as her smile grew. "You don't have you're cutie mark either!?" The Pegasus just smiled and winked at her before replying.

"Yup!" She winked again. "I have a feeling we'll be good friends." Sweetie smile grew even wider almost looking a bit creepy.

"Sweetie Belle, charmed i'm sure!" Sweetie said imitating her sister while holding out her hoof. The Pegasus let out a giggle before shaking her new friends hoof.

"Hey, mind if I call you Sweetie?" Scootaloo said still smiling. "Of course! My sister calls me that all the time!" Sweetie laughed as the Pegasus let out a giggle.

"Okay Sweetie, I'm -"

"SCOOTALOO!" Ms. Cherrilee yelled angrily. "Oh horse feathers!" Scootaloo looked behind her to see Ms. Cherrilee trotting towards her. Diamond and Silver Spoon were following her with smug grins on they're faces.

Scootaloo looked at Sweetie again. "Just call me Scoots, I'll see you after school!" Scootaloo turned around and joined the other three while sticking her tongue out at the two filly's.

Sweetie smiled.

"Ah, good ol' Scoots!" She let out a giggle at the dream she just had.

"I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you." With that she soon drifted to sleep.

Chapter 6

Scootaloo kept rocking back and forth. She was still mumbling to herself as the whispers started to die away. Rainbow watched in fear, she did not know what was happening. She tightened her embrace on the filly while stroking her mane.

"Shh shh, Scootaloo what happened?" Rainbow was wishing that nothing to major had happened. Before Scootaloo could answer her, Rainbow picked Scootaloo up in her hooves and whispered in her ear. "C'mon let get you downstairs." The whispers had completely died away and Scootaloo replied quickly.

"N-no i'm fine." Scootaloo had pushed Rainbow away even though she desperately wanted to embrace her sister. "I just had a bad dream." Scootaloo rose from her bed quickly and put her hoof in the air trying to look heroic. When she did her headache just returned and she quickly fell back down. Through her pain she still managed to look up at Rainbow and smile nervously. Rainbow stared at her sister. She replied cautiously.

"If you need to talk i'm right here." Rainbow bent down so she could be eye level with the filly. Scootaloo looked at her sister's eyes before replying.

"I'm fine, honest!" She quickly shifted in her bed and closed her eyes. "G'night! See you in the morning!" Scootaloo did not want to look weak in front of her mentor. She wanted to be alone and she was determined to be alone. Rainbow looked at her sister. She was confused, she stared for a few more seconds before replying.

"It's seven o'clock." She sounded bored. "I bought you take-out."

Scootaloo gulped before answering. "Err, I-i'm not hungry." She paused before finishing the rest of her excuse. "I'm really tired and stressed about the last few days, soooooo... i-i'm just gonna go to sleep." Rainbow saw right through her excuse but shrugged it off. "Just a nightmare" She thought.

"Scoots, I know when you're lying." Rainbow paused before finishing. "Everypony has nightmares, just crawl in bed with me if you have another, okay?." Rainbow stroked her back one last time before leaning in and kissing her on the forehead.

"Good night, I love you." Rainbow stood up and started to leave the room. Before Scootaloo could say I love you too, She heard a loud deep voice echo in her mind.

"She doesn't love you..." The voice sounded thirty times deeper then Big Macintosh's voice. Scootaloo cowered in fear. She didn't reply to the deep voice, she just curled in to a ball and started to rock back and forth again. The monster-like voice chuckled evilly before speaking again.

"Are you afraid? Are you guilty you killed the only pony who cared about a meaningless waste of space like you?" The voice chuckled louder. Scootaloo let out a terrified squeak before answering.

"W-what d-do y-you want?" She said between sobs. The chuckles stopped, there was a long silence. After a couple minutes the chuckling started up again even louder. Scootaloo's heart started to race. The voice stopped chuckling and replied with four simple words.

"Life for a life." Scootaloo laid in her bed, both terrified and confused. She started to sweat, her headache started to get worse. She started to hyperventilate taking short fast breaths. She was now shaking as she curled in to a ball. Then... the whispers returned, louder than ever. She was now using every bit of willpower she had to stop her from screaming. They were all chanting four words "Life for a life". She started to feel hazy and sick, her heart slowed down as her vision began to fade. Scootaloo let out a small squeak before passing out.

Sweetie awoke to the humming of birds coming from the peaceful town of Ponyville. She stared out her window and saw a group of multiple colored birds all singing from just outside her window. She let out a yawn and sat up in her bed. She stepped off her bed and trotted over to a small sized accessories kit. She picked it up with her mouth and trotted towards the bathroom. She opened the door to the bathroom and trotted inside. She stepped in front of the mirror and looked at herself. Her mane and tail were frizzy, she had bags under her eyes and overall looked really bad. She sighed and placed the kit on the counter and trotted over to the shower, she opened the glass door and leaned her head in to the shower and twisted the lever.

A high pitched *Pppttthhhbb* came from the pipes, then water started to spray from the shower head and on to the bottom of the shower. She opened the glass door and stepped in. The warm water started to flatten all the hair and fur on her body. The water felt good on her skin, she grabbed the shampoo and body wash and poured a good amount of both on each hoof.

She rubbed her right hoof on her scalp and her left over her body. She caressed her body and mane for a minute then began to rinse the remaining bubbles on her coat and mane. Sweetie turned the lever the opposite way, the water stopped spraying out of the head and started to drip. She opened the glass door and stepped out. She grabbed a towel from the towel rack and started to rub it over her body. After her body went from wet to slightly damp, she placed it back on the rack.

She trotted back to the kit and pulled some items from it. A hairbrush, an iron curler and some eye roll-on. She grabbed the roll-on and applied it to the purple bags under her eyes. After that she grabbed the hair brush and brushed her mane for several minutes, she then grabbed the curler and began to work on her mane. After a few minutes, she had the beautiful curls in her mane once again. She smiled and trotted to the stairs. Before she placed her hoof on the first step a pleasant aroma entered her nose. She took a deep breath through her nose, the smell of eggs and hash browns entered her nose. Sweetie smiled and started to trot down the stairs.

Good, Rarity is making breakfast. She thought aloud, a big smile plastered across her face. Sweetie got to the end of the staircase and happily walked in to the kitchen, Rarity stood over the stove, adding spices and herbs to the breakfast food. Sweetie trotted to the table and sat on one of the chairs by the table.

"Hiya, Rarity!" Sweetie exclaimed happily. Rarity turned to see her sister sitting by the table eagerly waiting the homemade breakfast. Rarity let out a sincere smile before replying.

"Hello Sweetie, did you have a good sleep?" Sweetie nodded and spoke again. "I had trouble getting to sleep at first but I got there!" Sweetie didn't lose any of the enthusiasm in her voice. Rarity's smile faltered, she turned to Sweetie with concern obviously on her face.

"Is it anything you would like to talk about?" Sweetie's smile faded slightly, after a few seconds of silence her wide smile found its way back on to her face as she shook her head.

"Nnope!" She exclaimed sounding like Big Macintosh with a high pitched voice. Rarity was a little unnerved, she did just lose her best friend, why was she so happy? Rarity shrugged it off and turned around to check how the food was doing, seeing that the food was finished she smiled and levitated a few plates off of the counter, she then evenly split the servings of food on the plates and trotted over to the table. Rarity placed one of the plates in front to Sweetie and one in front of an empty seat, that she soon sat in.

"Thanks Rarity!" Sweetie quickly dug in to the food. Rarity smiled and returned the gesture. "Your welcome, Sweetie." Sweetie nodded and quickly returned to her food. Rarity sat down and attempted to start a conversation.

"So, are you excited to go back to school, I know its not for another week or two but still?" Rarity levitated her fork and began to eat, while Sweetie paused to swallow her food. Sweetie gulped down the food in her mouth and started to speak.

"I guess, I just don't want everypony to feel sorry for me." Sweetie said, with a little less enthusiasm as before. Rarity nodded and swallowed her food before speaking.

"Sweetie, if you want I can ask Cherilee to talk to the class about bothering you." Rarity said quietly, the concern returning in her voice. Sweetie smiled and shook her head.

"You don't gotta do that, what doesn't kill you make you stronger, right?" Sweetie smiled wearily.

"You don't have to go back if you don't want to, you know that, right?" Rarity and Sweetie both placed their silverware down in the midst of the conversation. The happy expressions they once wore were replaced, Rarity with concern and Sweetie with a blank stare.

"No..." Sweetie paused before continuing. "No, I want to see my friends again, besides its still the break and I can recover, enough, before I go back." Sweetie's smile returned, she stepped from her chair before she could leave a hoof landed on her shoulder, she turned to see Rarity. Sweetie was going to reply but was cut off when Rarity brought her in to a tight hug.  Sweetie's eyebrows furrowed out of confusion, but returned the hug regardless. Sweetie's eyes widened when she felt the fur by her neck start to get wet.

"I-i'm sorry Sweetie, i'm just worried about you." Rarity's grip tightened as she started to sob in to Sweetie's shoulder. Sweetie felt her eyes start to water as she hugged her sister tighter.

"Thanks, I-I think I am going to see Scoots now." Sweetie wiped her eyes and slowly walked out of the kitchen. Rarity didn't try holding back tears, she let them flow freely. She couldn't cope with how hard this must be for Sweetie, she didn't show it, but call it "Sisterly Instincts".

Rarity let a deep sigh escape her lips as the tears started to cease.

Scootaloo awoke from a dreamless sleep, she was glad the nightmares hadn't returned. She sat up in her cloud bed, a little to quickly. Her smile disappeared as the headache returned. Scootaloo brought her hooves to the temples of her skull. She let out a frustrated grunt and laid her head back down on the pillow. Scootaloo rolled around for a minute trying to ease the pain, but to no avail. Now she knew how Rainbow felt after "Mares Night".

"UGH! This sucks!" Scootaloo pushed her hooves on her head in a vice grip-like position as she continued her to moan at the pain. "Why, WHY does this have to happen to me!? I finally get flying lessons, now i'm basically on house arrest!" Scootaloo buried her face in her pillow and yelled as loud as she could, the pillow muffling her screams. They were more out of frustration than pain.

Scootaloo turned to the clock. 12:36. Scootaloo let out a smile, Sweetie will be here soon. She let a giggle escape her lips. The pain was still there, she just tolerated it for the time being. The door opened revealing Rainbow Dash on the other side.

"Look who's up! If you slept much longer I might have thought something was wrong. Rainbow smiled smugly and trotted to Scootaloo's bedside. Scootaloo smiled back and replied in a mocking tone.

"Oh Dash, don't be a hypocrite you sleep most of the day outside on the clouds." Dash looked a tad confused, but she was still smiling. "How do you know what a hypocrite means?" Scootaloo smiled smugly. "Twilight told me." Rainbow giggled and lowered herself eye level with Scootaloo.

"How ya feelin' kiddo?" Rainbow's smile went from joy to one of sympathy. Scootaloo's smiled faltered slightly as she rubbed the back of her head.

"You got any of those pain pills? My head hurts, still." Rainbow smiled and flew too the bathroom to collect the pills.

                                                                Two weeks later...

                                                                            ***

"Scootaloo, are you sure you want to go back to school? I mean its only been two weeks, you sure you don't need more time?" Scootaloo was packing several accessories in to her saddle bag, pens, pencils, books, etc. Everything mandatory for most schools. Scootaloo sighed and turned to Rainbow, She had a sad expression, but still managed to force a smile.

"How am I supposed to get better without help from my friends?" Scootaloo said, emotionless. She didn't care about much at the moment, she just felt, sad... and confused. Sad for obvious reasons, and confused... because of the voices, they had disappeared after the last time, she only had four words on her mind, Life for a life. What did it mean? Whatever, at least the voices were gone.

"Scoots, I know this is hard for you, and I don't think you want to deal with those bullies at school." Rainbow replied softly. Scootaloo looked at Rainbow with a "really?" type of look.

"Come on, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon cant be that bad!" Scootaloo said, with a small hint of frustration. She thought to her self for a minute, the four words she had in her head earlier had disappeared completely from her head, for a moment, and replaced with another two.

Can they?