Chapters Drops of rain came down from the dark sky as the filly ran through the trees. She was not welcome at home, not anymore. She sped through puddles of water and mud, not caring about getting dirty. If anything, this was cleaning her.
The rain was coming down harder and she began looking for a small shelter, which was found as a sturdy branch on a large oak. She laid down on top of it and thought as the storm outside was getting louder and louder. She still got wet, as the leafs could not block all the water, but it was better than out in the open.
"I'm going to die out here." The pony said to herself, looking at her once orange coat, now covered in mud and foliage. "I'm going to die out here, and I'll have no one to blame but myself." She began to cry, but the rain dripping on her concealed all evidence of it.
"If only I had control! If only I hadn't lost it! Maybe I would still be home... with my friends." She looked up at the moon. On nights like this, Dash would let her sleep on the clouds with her, keeping her dry in her floating home. But... that was all over... not even Dash would forgive her of this.
She shook her head. "Snap out of it Scoots! There's no changing the past... I've got to look forward. What in the name of-" she stopped herself. She dare not swear to Celestia- She did not show kindness towards... her kind. "... What am I going to do."
Flashes of lightning and the roar of thunder blasted above her. "For one... I should find some shelter, these apple trees won't do well against lightning. Also, I'm a little too close to town... they could find me here."
Scootaloo hopped down from the tree, using her wings to soften the fall. But... her wings couldn't stop the mud from making her slip. She fell backwards and slammed her head into the tree. She faded away as the rain continued to pour onto her face.
"I told ya'll that comedy wasn't our talent!" Applebloom said in a "I told you so" kind of voice. The three Crusaders trotted down from the stage as rotten tomatoes were flung from the audience.
"Well, at least we got that out of the way... Now we can focus on other stuff, more cooler stuff!" Scootaloo said, leading the trio as they left the building.
"What else IS there to do?" asked Sweetie Bell. "We've done just about everything, even things that nopony would EVER have as a special talent." She thought back to the zip-lining incident and shivered at the pain from that fall.
The three looked around to find Silverspoon and Diamond Tiara standing next to a food stall in the market place that was across from the Improv-House. "What do YOU two want?" asked Scootaloo in a sarcastic voice.
"Well," said Diamond Tiara "We heard you three still don't have you're cutie marks, and we wanted to help."
Applebloom chuckled "That's a good one, ya'll wanting to 'help' us." Sweetie Bell chimed in-"Okay then, what's the catch? What prank are you trying to pull this time?"
Silverspoon and Diamond kept their sympathetic looks as they walked up to the three. "Paa-leeaase Sweetie Bell, we've changed since a year ago! We're no longer those 'bratty' types, we want to help."
Scootaloo turned away, followed by the rest of the Crusaders. "Help? We don't need your help. We don't need anyponies help! We're doing fine on our own!" She led the ponies down the side alley to avoid having to walk around the two rich ponies.
"Okay wait!" Yelled Diamond Tiara, walking a couple feet towards the three, "The truth is, our daddy's won't give us our allowances unless we prove to him that we're nice, and we thought what better way than to help 3 losers get their 'cutie'-marks."
Scootaloo gave a quick glance back "More the reason for us NOT to let you help!"
Diamond lost her temper and flared at the orange Pegasus "Now listen here you little gelder** ! You'll help us or we will end you!"
"Please, like we're afraid of you two." Scootaloo snorted towards the two.
"Oh, you will be. You forget what connections we have! We can ruin your pathetic excuses of lives! You think about that you worthless Chicken!"
Scootaloo tensed up, her cool attitude melted away. 'Chicken'.... She hated when somepony dared to call her that . "Call me that again... and see what happens..."
Diamond smirked, "Oh, what? You mean... Chicken?" Scootaloo now turned around, her eyes red with anger. "Oh look, the chicken's mad!" Diamond started chuckling.
"I'm... not... a chicken!" Scootaloo began walking towards the two fillies. Silverspoon began to get scared by the approaching pony, but Diamond did not slow her teasing. "What's the chicken going to do? Lay an egg!?"
Diamond didn't notice the signs in front of her, she continued to speak with more sarcasm and arrogance. She closed her eyes,turned her head and placed her hoof and her cheek. "Ohhhhh heeeeelllp Silverspoon, I'm about to be attacked by a ferocious chi-" She turned and opened her eyes, only to be met with two hind hooves. She was sent flying into the alley wall, and blood spilt on the floor.Diamond wasn't moving... and her... she wasn't breathing!
Scootaloo was now calming down from her rage, and realized what she had just done. She turned to her friends, who were now cowering behind a trash-can. Her stomach clinched and her breath began to convulse. She looked back at Silverspoon, who was about to turn and scream. She had to. She couldn't get in trouble!
She saw her foot move, and immediately stopped its motion. She kicked her head; again... and again... and again. Her orange coat and purple mane were being stained by the splattering blood
She felt a hoof on her shoulder. IT WAS DIAMOND TIARA! SHE MUST HAVE GOTTEN BACK UP! Scootaloo whipped around and extended her legs, making contact on the filly's chest. After the kick, she ran up to the filly on the floor. "I told you I'M NOT A CHICKEN!""NOO! APPLEBLOOM!" Scootaloo looked up and saw Sweetie Bell crying hysterically, staring at the two fillies. Scootaloo looked back down."No.... NO!" She jumped up and tears began to fall from her face. The pony below her was her yellow, red maned friend. Panicked, Scootaloo ran down the alleyway, away from the main street. She ran past Sweetie, who then ran to comfort the bleeding filly.
Scootaloo re-opened her eyes to see that it was still raining, and the night had seemed to have gotten darker. She looked around her and saw brown blurs standing above her. She felt the fallen rain flow under her. It was... sticking. She the back of her head with her hoof, and looked at it. It was red.
"So, this is how I'm going huh? Not from a high-speed collision, a giant fall, or even some great war? But falling onto a tree?" Tears began to swell in her eyes, worsening her all ready blurry vision. "Well, I deserve it!" She yelled as loud as she could. It wouldn't matter if she was found now. Heck, if she was found, maybe she'd get buried.
"No..." She thought to herself. "I don't deserve crap!" Her eyes began to get heavy, and she couldn't feel the rain falling on her, but she could still hear it pounding on the ground around her.
A few thoughts raced through her mind. What would Dash think of her? What happened to Apple Bloom? What happened to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon? Would anypony forgive her?
Scootaloo's mind went over what happened hundreds of times... What had she done wrong? What could she have done differently? What could have stopped this from happening?
Then, she began to remember her life; her days in the orphanage, her friends and school, the day she first flew, and the hundreds of attempts at getting a cutie-mark, both fun and painful. But most importantly, she remembered when Dash promised to watch over her. Dash had loved her like a sister, and now Scootaloo had made her ashamed.
Her eyes began to shut. She didn't stop herself... she accepted the consequences of her actions. Her body went numb, and her senses dulled. All that was left was the patting of the rain she heard at her ears, and the darkness she saw. No light... just darkness... just nothing..."Quick! I found her!"
She was content in that final moment.
**From "gelding", which means a castrated Stallion - It implies that the mare 'destroys/ruins' lives
The rain was getting harder outside, and the drops on the window were speeding down the glass. One could barely see the buildings outside, the stars hadn't come out yet this early during the night, and the crescent moon still on the horizon minimized the light in the town to only what the streetlamps provided.
The filly tried to sit up, but a pain in her ribs stopped her. Since she couldn't get up, she looked around the room she was currently in. Her neck was stiff, so her view was limited, but she saw enough.She laid on a white bed, in a white room divided by a curtain in the middle. To her left was a window, and to her right were two chairs occupied by sleeping ponies. Each one had dried tears on their faces, and their manes were disheveled. One, in her hoof, held a red apple, that was now a faint brown; she either had been keeping it with her for long, or it wasn't fresh when she got it. Applebloom hoped for the latter. The other pony was a white filly, barely small enough to curl up in the chair. Snuggled up to her face was a crudely-made picture frame, which held a photo of her and her 2 closest friends.
"A..Applejack? Sweetie? What are ya'll doin' here? And for that matter, what am I doin' here?"
The orange mare blinked her eyes open, and took a second to hear what her sister had said, but when she realized her eyes opened wide and she flew to the bed.
"APPLEBLOOM! YOU'RE AWAKE! Quick, sweetie! Wake up! Applebloom's okay!!"
She was about ready to jump onto her and hug her, before remembering the bandages around her stomach and chest. However Sweetie Bell, just waking up with a yawn, didn't quite remember those stitches, and jumped right ontop of her friend, tears running down from her eyes, just as AppleJack. Applebloom smiled, but her pain got the best of her, and let out a groan. Sweetie, realizing this, quickly jumped off her, but kept her face as close to Applebloom's as she could.
"Thank Celestia you're okay, you had us worryin' sick!"
Applebloom, remembering the decaying Apple AJ had, asked a question that she was afraid of, but had to know.
"AJ, how... how long 'ave I been out?"
Applejack kept her compassionate face when she was asked, which was relief enough for Applebloom. "A few hours," She was now petting Applebloom's head to help her relax, "They had 'ta give you some painkillers, so you were sleepin' for awhile." Her face grew a little more tense, and her smile lowered a bit, not much, but enough for her sister to notice and grow a little tense as well. "You were in a lot of pain, the doctors said, but the painkillers helped that after they gave 'em to ya."
Then, her composure fell apart. She turned her head, and closed her eyes to hide her feelings from Applebloom. Tears began to drop onto the floor; her hooves could not hold them, and neither could she. "We were so worried about you!" Her voice became raspy as she choked on her own grief. She could barely speak anymore.
Applebloom was crying now too: she couldn't hold it back, not with both her sister and one of her closest friends falling apart beside her.
Wait... ONE of her closest friends. Where was Scootaloo?
She struggled to remember what happened before, before she was in a hospital. "Let's try that new comedy club, I bet you that our cutie marks have to do with comedy! And if not, check it off the list!" ... "I don't know Sweetie, I'm not to funny... and no offense, neither are ya'll." ... "C'mon Applebloom, we gotta try it! Sweetie, lead the way!"
"I... I just have a question." She spoke up, unsure if the two were capable at explaining anything in this condition. Then again, it was better than what she knew.
"Make that two...One bein'.... how'd I get this here" She pointed to the large bandages surrounding her body. "Also... where's Scoots?"
Applejack tried her best not to show it, but her anger was felt through her voice. "Why don't ya'll ask Sweetie Bell, I'm sure she could answer both your questions, with the same buckin' answer."
Confused by this, Applebloom looked to Sweetie bell, who was now crying into her hooves, not with joy, but this time with anguish. She could tell that there wasn't going to be anything said for a while, so she began to think. to herself. What happened? Think! What happened at the Comedy Club?
She sat there in the bed, staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. A doctor or nurse walked in every now and then, but they didn't ask questions, they just pressed a couple buttons and trotted back out: there was obviously more important stuff going on in the hospital.
She snapped out of her trance, and looked back at AJ sitting in the chair beside her in the hospital room. Sweetie Bell had gone home; she used up all her tears, not to mention she hadn't slept much since the incident. Besides, Rarity was probably worried sick about her.
"Yea, I'm here. Just spaced out or somethin' there."
"Heh, don't be doin' that now. Them broken ribs are enough, I don't need you comin' home a zombie."
Applebloom looked away from her sister and stared out the window. The rain had gotten heavier and the first flashes of lightning filled the sky, followed by deep roars of thunder. The moon was at it's peak in the night-sky, and shined some extra light on the now flooded roads. She looked down at the bed.
I hope Scootaloo is okay...
Sweetie Bell was soaked by the time she got home under the moon-light; both from the rain, and her own tears. She slammed the door shut, as she did, some water dropped onto the floor. Tonight had been terrible. She couldn't take anymore of it, she just wanted to go to bed. She trotted past a mirror and looked at herself. Rarity would have a fit if she saw me like this... then again, she is probably already freaking out... me being out this late and all.
Sweetie Bell walked towards the kitchen and saw Rarity asleep on the table, wearing her 'panic' outfit, which was simply a night-gown she wore in bed whenever she was sick, or 'scared sick'. Sweetie went forward to wake her sister up, preparing for a pummeling of questions with all kinds of emotions, due to Rarity's very common mood swings.
Scootaloo... what have you gotten yourself into?
Noon the next day.
Standing in rows at the ceremony, everypony in ponyville gathered, just as they did for every funeral they had. Ponies showing sorrow for the families that had just lost the most they could lose, and yet, a little bit of wanting to simply go home and enjoy the Sunday they had just lost. A death was a death, there was no arguing that, however; of all the ponies in ponyville, the younger ones couldn't help but think Good riddance to that brat .
In the front row stood the 3 ponies most heartbroken by the event. By the casket stood a gray stallion who, despite trying his best to keep his composure, felt streams of tears running down his face. The other stallion standing next to him saw this, and couldn't help but speak up.
"Come now Deep Pockets, this is no late night outing nor Gala event. This your daughters funeral, and if you refuse to show emotions now, you might as well throw them away."
The father walked forward and looked upon the ponies of ponyville; his brother and friend, Filthy Rich, stood next to him, along with a bandaged filly in a wheel-chair. Everypony else stood staring, not a tear in their eyes. He was ready now. It was time to bury the casket.
Staring out the window, Rainbow Dash watched as they lowered it into the hole. Leaning her head on her hoof, her gaze moved from the ceremony to the clouds around her floating home. She might have been the only pony not at the funeral, but she was still as depressed as the rest of them. Well, not the only pony. She glanced back at the sleeping orange filly on her bed, still covered with tears from the night before.
That filly got herself in too much trouble this time. Filthy Rich and Deep Pockets want her LYNCHED! Along with that, Applejack is refusing to talk to me. What... am I going to do with you?
She smirked as the little filly kicked and turned in her sleep. Dash couldn't help but smile at her.
For now... I have to keep an eye on you and keep you out of anymore trouble.
"...applebloom..."
Author's Note
Talk about a delay to a chapter coming out. It's been a while, huh?ech Hopefully
Regret
Boredom.
That was the bane that plagued her existence. Sure, for a few years she felt regret; Heart-aching, soul-crushing, cry-inducing regret. Even now, a pang struck her chest when looking back. But Scootaloo quickly learnt that there was no changing the past, so no point in wallowing in it and self-pity alike. Well, no changing the past without some sort of crazy time spell anyway, but that was unicorn stuff. She took a quick glance at her wings, sprawled out over a cloud bed.
Nope. Not a unicorn.
A quick pat of the forehead brought a similar thought.
Not a princess either.
For the first few months, a court case had taken up most of her free time. It sucked, but had to be done. After all, she did kind of kill somepony. Well, not only kind of. The Equestrian legal system, as kind as it was to first time offenders, couldn’t exactly let the filly off scot-free. It took a lot of pleading, but her lawyer had managed to snag her magical house arrest until she was 18. The house in question being Dash’s old cloud home in Cloudsdale. The magical enchantment placed on her made sure she never missed her curfew, and especially never flew away from the city. That, in turn, made sure she never had any fun for the following years.
Maybe it was a little despicable to not be cursed with a permanent pain of regret or to not be crying herself asleep to reoccurring nightmares for her mistake. She admitted to herself it was a tad cold-blooded of her, but there wasn’t any point in hurting herself for the rest of her life. Even if the consequences of her actions were abhorrent, she regarded that event as a foal-hood mistake. One that couldn’t ever be fixed and was possibly the worst mistake a pony could make, yeah, but one nonetheless.
But where was was she? Oh yes, boredom.
Her current life could be described in five words. School, Fly a little, Sleep. With an early curfew and magic anchoring her to a little half mile sphere, any possible idea to take up her free time was soon described as impossible, or at the very least improbable. Any chance of social life was out the window, and any chance of a part time job was lost the minute her possible employer found out about the whole magical house arrest thing. No, they couldn’t deny her a job based on that fact, but by some ‘crazy’ happenstance any others applying to the job seemed to have a much better chance at getting it. The few things that broke up the monotony were Dash’s visits, her monthly heavensend. Once a month, for a week or so, Dash would figure out some reason to do some work in the weather factory. As the one in charge of Ponyville’s weather, it wasn’t too hard.
But today wasn’t a part of one of those weeks. Instead she lay there, body in a position one would assume to be uncomfortable, staring at the cloud ceiling from her cloud bed. Sometimes she would look at the cloud walls, or maybe even the cloud floor. If she were in the mood, she might look out her cloud window at the cloud city. Even her mind was cloudy; a routine that included ‘sulk about at home’ for a good portion of the day didn’t lend itself to a creative environment in which to think. That lack of ideas ended the way it usually did; thinking about the future.
Scootaloo shivered.
She didn't really have a plan for after she turned eighteen; with only a year left, it was slowly falling off her list of "Important things to ignore ". Plainly, step one would be to get out of the tartarus that would have then plagued her for five years; as cool as a city of pegasi and clouds was, being a prison tends to worsen ones notion of a place. Step three was to get a job and try to live normally. Maybe join a local weather team in some small town where no one has ever heard of her. Step two; therein lies the problem. She knew it had to involve ponyville somehow. After all there were probably ponies that had expectations of her to make some sort of return, though triumphant likely wasn't an adjective they'd use to describe them. What could she do anyway? There weren't many options currently perceivable to her, and those that were were already on her mental list of things to do.
-Heartfelt, emotional reunion with the old crusaders.
-Some sort of emotional apology to Filthy Rich
-Some sort of emotional apology speech to the town
-Have some of Applejack's cider
That last one wasn't really necessary, but it made the list a third larger.
Scootaloo could've sat there all night pondering the possibilities of her one day catharsises. Catharsi? Catharsen.
But she decided against continuing her late night prospection. After all, while it was slowly falling off it, it was still on her list of "Important things to ignore ".
With a smirk at her ever procrastinating self, Scootaloo's eyes shut as she fell into a dream of elsewhere. Hopefully an elsewhere with a fraction of cloud.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looking at the sky from her Cloudsdale home, the filly finished remembering her past. She stopped thinking about her friends for a moment, and starting thinking about what needed to be done.
Sitting on a cloud, she thought of the past. Her eyes closed, she imagined the events that changed her life. She let a small tear run down her cheek before opening her eyes to the orange horizon of a rising sun.I have no choice
Scootaloo leaned over the cloud flooring before sliding off into a free-fall. She felt the wind blow her mane back as she flew past cloud layer after cloud layer. Finally, she spotted the ground below. She closed her eyes and counted.Three... Two... One...
She extended her winds and arched her back, curving her trajectory upwards until she was parallel with the ground. Feeling gravity pulling at her stomach and not her head, she opened her eyes to the passing landscape. It had been five years since her last free-fall like that, and five years since she first opened her wings from it. Five years since she changed her mind, and two years since her perspective changed...Five whole years...
She flew from Cloudsdale slowly; her wings seldom flapped as she eased herself into a glide. Down below, fields and forests passed her by as she headed for Ponyville. She had dreaded this day since Dash brought her to Cloudsdale, but now that it had come... she felt... hopeful. Hopeful that her friends would forgive her... and hopeful that she wouldn't be hung by the richest ponies in town. Her stomach fluttered as her mind fought.What if they don't forgive me? You'll never know if you don't go. What if they want to hurt me? Then just fly away. And what if... if i can't forgive myself...
The question stuck with her as acres of trees speckled with red dots came into view. She didn't look down at them, she simply acknowledged them; somepony might see her, and give some sort of reaction. But, she needed everyponies reactions together... not apart.
The tree shook, and the apples fell perfectly into the two baskets placed around it. It always amazed her how it happened, maybe it was simply Apple Family skills... or some form of 'earth-pony magic'; after all, all ponies had some magic, her apple cutie mark was evidence of it. Maybe it was her special talent expressing itself. Who knew.
Applebloom trotted over to the next tree, and bucked it. The tree shook, and once again the apples fell perfectly into the two baskets placed around it. Somehow, everyday, at almost every tree, she asked herself the same question; Each time staring at the baskets for 20 seconds, her Heart-shaped apple cutie-mark for 10 seconds, and then moving on. The farm was always slow in between cider-season & the Zap-Apple Harvest, and finding something to do became more difficult with each passing week as the funnest things she could think of would be disproved by... personal experience. However, Applebloom figured out a wonderful way to spend time today as some inspiration flew over head.
She stood in front of the mirror, eying every last inch of herself. The curves and colors of her new dress were found to be acceptable for her next performance, and even for a nice outing with friends. The violet and cerulean beautifully brought out her curled fuchsia and lavender mane. Sweetie Belle couldn't help but smile at her sisters work. Granted, she could be a drama queen, but she could make quite a beautiful dress. Taking a look at her side, Sweetie noticed how the patterns and curves of the dress made her Minim-note cutie-mark almost glow despite its black color.How in Celestia's name does she do that?
A cool breeze shot in from the window, sending a chill down her spine. Sweetie Belle faced it and enveloped the window in a lavender glow. However, right as she was about to close it, she noticed an orange & purple blur in the distance. She thought she saw.... a ghost...?
Without any clouds in the sky, and the sun shining brightly overhead, the day seemed perfect. In her cloud home, Rainbow Dash flipped through the most recent Daring Do book mindlessly. Having finished all of the Daring Do collection last week, and completing the weather work for the day, she was bored. However, as she peered outside to find the time, a smirk grew on her face. Celestia's sun had reached its zenith;about time .
When she took flight from Dash’s home, Scootaloo had a plan in mind. The night before she had thought out a big speech that would probably inspire somepony to confront their own mistakes. She had time to practice it, but that would’ve made it seem dry and unemotional; after all, the plan was look the right kind of emotional. For the months leading up to today Scootaloo was sure she would be calm and collected, as a cool pegasus like herself always was. All she had to do was to genuinely apologize, after that it’d be out of her hooves. She was never anxious about their reactions, however, because as she saw it there were two ways it could play out. She would either be forgiven (an act that would precede a gross amount of hugging and crying), or she would get a punch to the face.
That being said, Scootaloo was a little baffled when she found herself on the ground with two full grown ponies crying on top of her, and a dull pain on the right side of her face.
Note to self: Apple Bloom hits hard.
Due to the development, Scootaloo’s game plan fell apart. Any attempt at articulating a sentence of apology died in her throat.
It hurt.
Her lips quivered, her jaw hung open both from the shock and her failed efforts to speak. Whatever view she had through the ponies above her was soon blurred. Of course, she wasn’t crying. Cool pegasi like her don’t do that.
But hypothetically, if she were, it would feel…
Right.
She was tired. Her head had been clouded since the day she left Ponyville and she never knew why. She simply accepted it. She thought that she would just have to deal with it. But here, lying in a pile with her old friends, that cloudiness started to clear. The dullness of her thoughts slowly faded as emotions she had pushed away came flowing all at once.
A tear or two dropped ran down her cheek before she wiped it with her wing, wincing from the bruise that was probably forming. They probably fell from the ponies on top of her. After all, Scootaloo didn’t cry.
Shaking herself from her introspection, she glanced at the mares on top of her. They were nearly full grown, much like herself. Their manes were longer too. Sweetie Belles’ more than likely styled by her sister; it had a few more curls than she remembered. Apple Blooms, on the other hoof, was braided and lay on her side. Scootaloo hadn’t been very keen on dealing with mane styling, so she kept hers rather short; it didn’t go much past the bottoms of her ears.
Glancing that their flanks, Scootaloo couldn’t help but notice the new colors that sat on their coats. Something she hadn’t focused on while going through the monotonous, clouded days in Cloudsdale. They had their cutie marks, while her flank was still blank.
Maybe I’m not fully grown, she conceded to herself.
A short mane.
A still blank flank.
A ~~smaller~~ more aerodynamic body made for flying didn’t hinder the allusion her mind was making.
Leaning up for the first time since she was tackled, Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs and wings around her two friends. She buried her face into the closest chest of her friends. She had missed them. She had missed her days of growing up with them.
But maybe she could still grow up with them… not at the same time, but with them by her side. She had maturing to be done; walking with a clouded mind stunted her emotional growth.
Her voice was scratchy and hurt at her attempts of vocalizing, but she forced the words out anyway.
“I’m sorry.”
I’m just a big foal, she thought.
Her friends grips tightened on her, their sniffling and whimpers becoming more frequent. She looked up to see Apple Bloom's red-eyed face.
"Just don't go leaving us again... Ya hear?"
She felt the tears roll down her face as sobs began to be choked out.
She was crying.
But that was okay.
Foals who made mistakes are allowed to cry.
Author's Note
It's over.
