Rain of Tears
The clouds were dark in the sky as they prepared rain down on ponyville. The pegasi had planned it all out. It would rain for most of the day, then end with some light wind. They warned everyone beforehand because this rain would be a lot thicker than normal. They needed it, right after all the earth ponies had planted their crops and they had missed the rain last week.
Everyone was either inside or preparing to lock up. Except for Scootaloo. She had told Rainbow Dash to go home, that she had to get something. Rainbow Dash left and Scootaloo hopped onto her scooter. She dashed off toward the Cutie Mark Crusader’s club house. She had been working on a picture for Rainbow Dash and wanted to show it to her. She wasn’t worried about getting caught in the rain. She was fast enough.
She grabbed the picture from the table where it lay, rolled it up and stuck it in her saddle bag. She smiled with glee as she thought of Rainbow Dash’s reaction to the picture. She hurried back outside and sped off back home.
The rain began to fall sooner than Scootaloo expected, but she wasn’t worried. She was nearby Apple Bloom’s house. If need be, she could find her way there.
The wind whipped her mane in her face, making it hard for her to see. She pressed on down the road, never veering from her course. She soon saw the sign that pointed the way to Ponyville, in-between a fork in the road. She took the left side and continued, now soaking wet and shivering. The wind didn’t help, speeding the rain into hitting her skin, which began to sting.
She saw some odd lumps through the sheets of rain and tried to perceive what it was. Before she got a good look at it, the ground gave way beneath her and she fell down. She hit a slope and continued rolling until she reached the bottom. She cried out in pain as she realized her right front leg and left wing were both broken. She tried to stand, but slipped in the mud and fell. She tried again and succeeded in standing up. With a quick look around, she found her saddlebag and checked to make sure the picture was still inside. It was just fine, not even wrinkled.
Scootaloo looked around her and saw she was in a forest. How did she get here? Did she take a wrong turn?
She tried to find her scooter, and she did, but it was broken into three pieces under a bush. Great. Now she’d have to walk out of here. With a broken leg.
She stayed close to the cliff, knowing she couldn’t climb it now, with all the mud. She tried to find an easier way up. The tree’s provided some protection from the rain, but she was still cold and getting colder. And muddy.
Then she heard a bark. She stopped and listened carefully, trying to perceive the direction of the bark. She heard it again, this time closer. She pressed her back to the wall, not knowing what it was. Then a small dog leaped out of a nearby bush.
“Winnona?” Scootaloo asked surprised.
The little dog barked loudly. Scootaloo heard another voice a bit farther off. “Winnona! Did you find ‘er?”
“Apple Jack?”
The dog continued barking, then stopped suddenly. He turned to a cluster of trees, ears down, hair standing on end. Scootaloo let out a sneeze, shivering from the cold, and the trees exploded as a timberwolf tore through them. Winnona leaped forward, latching onto its leg, but that didn’t slow it at all. Scootaloo screamed and ran as fast as she could in any direction. She turned and saw the timber wolf slam Winnona against a tree, stilling the brave dog.
Scootaloo tried to run faster, but with her broken leg, she only got so far before stumbling and coming to a stop in the slick mud. She turned, crying, not wanting to die. She couldn’t die. She tried to think of a way out, but there was none. She couldn’t run, she couldn’t fight, and she couldn’t hide. She began to panic.
The timberwolf smashed right through a nearby tree, nearly hitting Scootaloo with it. She jumped back but didn’t avoid all the branches. One of them smacked her back, causing her to sprawl down. She tried to get up, but the timberwolf latched onto her left back leg.
It picked her up and jerked her around. Scootaloo wanted to scream, but she couldn’t catch her breath as she was whipped back and forth. She thought her neck would snap at the speed it was moving.
She suddenly flew forward, landing on a log. She tried once more to get up, but felt a searing pain in her back leg. She looked back and cried out. Her leg was gone! Ripped off! She looked up to see the timberwolf scarf down her leg. It made Scootaloo sick, and she barfed all over the log.
When the beast finished its snack, it turned once more to Scootaloo. She knew this was it. She would die here, alone in the forest, cold, wet, and bleeding.
Before the beast could finish her off, a blur flew down from the sky, crashing into the timberwolf’s head. It rolled and came up, dashing back into its face, this time knocking its jaw off. The beast roared in pain as its face and then its body fell apart. Soon it was just a pile of rubble. The thing that attacked the timber wolf came closer and Scootaloo saw that familiar face.
With a weak voice, she forced out words through the pain in her body. “Ra.. rainbow D.. dash?”
The blue mare’s mouth dropped open as she saw the damage done to Scootaloo. The fear in her eyes was unmistakable, which made Scootaloo even more nervous. If Rainbow Dash was scared, it wasn’t good.
Apple jack burst through the trees, carrying Winnona, followed by Big Mac. “Did ya find ‘er?” she asked.
Without a word, Rainbow Dash picked up Scootaloo and flew as fast as she could to the hospital. The rain had was still as thick as ever, and Scootaloo felt its icy cold sting as it pelted her wounded leg. She wanted to cry, but she had no strength left. She tried to fight the blackness threatening to envelope her, but failed. She closed her eyes and fell into a sleep.
Rainbow Dash paced back and forth in the waiting room. She had met Scootaloo before the storm, and then left for her home, knowing Scootaloo would be there soon. She had waited for an hour, but when the filly was still missing, she flew to the CMC club house. She barely managed to track the filly’s scooter tracks, but when she saw them veer off from the way to Ponyville, she knew something was wrong.
She flew past Apple Jack’s house and caught them in the middle of trying to secure some branches so they wouldn’t hit the barn. Rainbow Dash had convinced them to help her look for Scootaloo, and they tracked her into the Everfree forest. When Winnona dashed ahead, barking, Rainbow Dash followed. After a minute, she flew above the trees, trying to find her.
The rain pelted her skin and soaked her to the core, but she had to find the filly. She saw trees breaking and falling down, and she got really worried. She followed the broken trees until she heard a yelp. She dropped below the canopy to find Winnona lying on the ground. Apple Jack burst through the bushes and stopped besides Winnona. Rainbow Dash shot back into the sky. She heard a small cry through the rain and looked down to see a small orange blob. Next to it was a big, hulking form.
Rainbow Dash had dropped as fast as she could, slamming into the beast, then jumped up again, finishing it off. After finding Scootaloo and seeing her missing leg, she didn’t waste a second getting her to the hospital. The filly had fallen asleep on the way there, and for a second, Rainbow Dash thought she had died.
Now here she was waiting. The doctors had taken her to the emergency room about an hour ago. The doors to the hospital opened and Applejack stepped in, soaking wet. “Is she okay?”
Rainbow Dash looked away. “I don’t know.”
The doctor came down the hall. From the look on his face, he didn’t bring good news. “I’m sorry. She’s lost too much blood.”
“Then I’ll give her some. I got plenty to spare.” Rainbow Dash stepped forward, nearly pushing past the doctor.
The doctor stopped her. “It’s not just that. The timberwolf that attacked her was a special breed know as oakwolves. They carry a poison in their bite that can kill within hours.”
“Then give her some medicine!” Rainbow Dash was in a panic now.
“There is no medicine.”
A tear fell from Rainbow Dash’s eye. No. This can’t be it. She had to do something. There had to be something she could do. The doctor laid a hoof on her shoulder. “You have a few minutes before she passes away. You should go see her.”
Rainbow entered Scootaloo’s room. She tried to smile, fighting back tears. “Hey kiddo.”
Scootaloo smiled at her, her voice weak and raspy. “Hey Rainbow Dash.” She coughed once. “I’m sorry I was out there. I should have followed you home.”
“Shh.” Rainbow Dash stroked the filly’s mane. “Don’t be sorry.”
“I just…” she coughed hard. “I just wanted to get you something.”
Rainbow was fighting with all she had to not cry. She had to be strong, for Scootaloo. “You’re going to be fine.”
Scootaloo tried to laugh, but it came out as a raspy choke. “You don’t have to lie. I know what’s going on. And you know what? I’m not scared.”
Rainbow Dash grabbed her hoof. “Scootaloo…”
“Wanna see what I got you?”
Rainbow Dash said nothing, just nodded tears welling in her eyes.
Scootaloo reached over the side of her bed and into her saddle bag. She pulled out a roll of paper and tried to give it to Rainbow Dash, but it slipped from her grip and fell onto the bed. Rainbow Dash picked it up and unrolled it. The tears flowed. She couldn’t hold it. She looked back to Scootaloo, but she was gone.
Rainbow Dashed dropped the picture. “NO!” She grabbed Scootaloo’s hoof. “NO!” She laid her head on the filly’s cold, wet body and cried. She couldn’t stop it. She didn’t want to stop it. Apple Jack entered the room and laid a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, holding her close, comforting her in her sorrow.
Not many ponies knew Scootaloo. Those who did all pitched in to help with the funeral, but it was still small. Each one took turns saying something about her. Fluttershy, surprisingly, knew a lot more about Scootaloo than they all thought. Twilight, then Rarity and Pinkie Pie all said something nice about her. Apple Jack finished what she was saying and let Apple Bloom step up.
The little filly, tears welling in her eyes, tried the best she could. “She was a great friend. She was the most ambitious of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, always finding new things to try out. She... she never gave up on things, always trying again and again until she got it right. Even though we… we teased her about being a chicken…” She stopped and waited until her tears abated. “We never meant it. She was brave, like anyone else was.”
She couldn’t continue and stepped down, letting Rainbow Dash step up. She tried to find words, but none came to mind. She only stared at the coffin holding her dear, adopted sister. Finally she worked up two words. “Goodbye kid.”
She stepped down and flew off as fast as she could to hide her tears from everyone else, and to hide her pain. She stormed into her house, locked her doors, fell on her bed, and let another wave of tears, pain and sorrow wash over her.
She pulled out the picture Scootaloo had given her and stared at it. The last thing she would ever have from that little filly. She held it close and didn’t let go. She would never let go of her.
It was now ten years since Rainbow had met Scootaloo on that one camping trip. Eight since she had adopted her as a sister. Five since the day she passed away. Rainbow Dash had never quiet gotten over Scootaloo’s death. She acted normal, she talked normal, she thought normal, but at night, when she was alone, she would stare at the picture given to her by Scootaloo, and a tear would fall for each good memory she could remember.
She had a hole in heart now that she had made for Scootaloo, and that couldn’t be filled anymore. It pained her, yet she had to move on. She caressed the picture that hung up on her wall. She stared deeply into it, then gave it a kiss and got in bed.
She gave it one last look before shutting off the lights. A blue pegasus and an orange one, both in the sky, with the words ‘Best Sister’ written above them and a big heart beneath them. They were both embracing each other, sharing a bond nothing could break.
Not even death.
