True Friendship Will Never Die
"Fine, then! If you want to leave, then so be it!" Apple Bloom shouted, as she faced Sweetie Belle, both with hurt expressions on their faces. Scootaloo merely watched the two of her best friends get in a fight that she never knew any of them would ever face.
"It's not MY fault that my parents are moving away, Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle retorted, now glaring at Apple Bloom, while her eyes were mere inches away from her friend's eyes.
"Can't you just live with your SISTER, though?!" Apple Bloom asked, as the tears continued relentlessly falling from her eyes.
Sweetie Belle shook her head, and replied, "I already asked, and they still said no! Can't you at least pull your head out of your flank for one second, and listen to me?!"
Apple Bloom's glare intensified, until she looked down, and said, "I hate you..."
At once, the three of them looked at each other, while Sweetie Belle's angry look turned to a deeply hurt one. Finally, after a moment of silence, she whispered, "Fine, then... I quit." With that, she galloped off, leaving her two best friends behind, while Scootaloo merely sat there silently.
Apple Bloom looked at her, and asked, "Well, at least there's still two Cutie Mark Crusaders, right?" Instead of getting a verbal response, however, Scootaloo merely sat up, and shoved Apple Bloom in the chest. "H-hey! HEY!" Then she glared at Scootaloo, and stated, "Oh, NOT YOU TOO!"
Before anything else could be said, Scootaloo hopped on her scooter, and took off, using her wings to aid in her speed. Apple Bloom watched her two friends depart from their own separate ways, until she was all that was left in the open field. Finally, with a heavy heart, she slowly trotted her way back to the clubhouse, where she would continue searching for her Cutie Mark without them.
Ten Years Later...
"And now, Fillies and Gentlecolts! We bring you, all the way from Manehatten itself, Sweetie Belle!" Mayor Mare shouted through the microphone, as a large crowd of ponies began dancing to the white-coated Unicorn Mare in the center of a large stage that sat outside of Ponyville. It was late at night, but it didn't stop the large crowd from seeing the top singer in all of Equestria perform in her fillyhood hometown.
Once her singing was done, she left the stage with the crowd cheering her name loudly. After sneaking from behind the stage, she looked towards the center of town, and smiled at the sight of the familiar store that she always enjoyed visiting as a filly. "I wonder how my sister's doing?" She asked herself, before trotting towards the Carousel Boutique.
The minute she stepped through the door, she was greeted by an all-too-familiar voice saying, "Be there in one minute, dear! I just need to make these finishing touches!"
While hiding her laughter, Sweetie replied in a casual manner, "Oh, take your time, sis! I'm in no rush!"
The very second she finished that sentence, she heard the sound of things falling from the room in the back. Most likely ponnequins and rolls of fabric that were being used for another outfit she made. Then, after a mere five seconds of the sounds being made, Rarity literally almost broke the door from the other room, as she galloped into the front room. The minute she saw her younger sister, however, she came to a complete stop, until her widely opened jaw formed into a smile. "S... Sweetie Belle?!" Rarity stuttered. Before Sweetie could reply, however, she soon found herself locked into a bear hug that she couldn't seem to find a way to escape from.
"It's... good to see... you... too, sis! Too... tight!" Sweetie managed to wheeze, before her sister realized the situation, and blushed deeply, before releasing her sister from her bear hug.
"Oh! I'm... sorry about that, Sweetie! H-HOW long has it been?!"
Sweetie chuckled lightly, then replied, "Oh, what? Maybe ten years, now! Felt like forever, though!" The two sisters chuckled, until the door to the boutique creaked open.
When they looked to see who it was that entered, Sweetie Belle's eyes widened once she saw just who it was that walked in. "S... Scootaloo?!"
The orange-coated pegasus mare with a pinkish purple mane stared wide-eyed at the celebrity. Then, after a long moment of silence, she stuttered, "S... Sweetie Belle?!"
Slowly, the two mares walked closer to each other, until tears began to fall from their eyes. The next thing they knew, they were both embraced in a long hug. "I... missed you, Scoots!" Sweetie weakly said.
"And I missed you too, Sweets." Scootaloo replied, causing Sweetie Belle to chuckle.
"Girls, I hope you don't mind, but aren't you forgetting somepony?" Rarity asked, causing the two mares to look her way.
Finally, as if on cue, a mare with a yellow coat, red mane, and carpenter's outfit walked down the stairs, and said in an all-too-familiar western accent, "Miss Rarity, Ah'm glad ta say that yer bedroom expansion is fixed up, an' yer all good to... to..." Suddenly, her eyes widened when she saw the two mares that stood in front of the entrance. The next thing she knew, the hammer that she was carrying fell from her mouth, and hit the floor, but she didn't seem fazed by it in the slightest.
She slowly walked towards the two mares, and stuttered, "S-Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? Is that... is that REALLY y'all?!" She asked.
With a weak smile, Sweetie Belle nodded her head, and replied, "Yes, Apple Bloom... it's us!"
Finally, the tears began to break from Apple Bloom's eyes, as she ran up to the two, and nearly squeezed the life out of their lungs in one of the tightest hugs they've ever received.
"Sweetie Belle! Ah'm sorry! Ah'm sorry fer what ah told ya!" Apple Bloom shouted, before releasing her friends from her tight grip.
After gasping for breath, Sweetie Belle smiled at her friend, and replied, "It's alright, Apples! I've gotten over it long ago! Besides, we were just fillies, and didn't know what we were talking about!"
Apple Bloom nodded her head, and asked, "So... how's life been fer the two o' ya?"
Sweetie Belle smiled, and replied, "Well, I'm sure you already noticed that I've become Equestria's Number One Singer!"
Scootaloo smiled slyly, and said, "And I've been deemed the best Scooter Racer in history!"
Apple Bloom's eyes widened at her friends' statements. "No way! Ah'm a might impressed!"
Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom confusedly, and asked, "So what's YOUR talent?"
Sweetie Belle smirked, and asked, "Does it have anything to do with apples, by any chance?"
Apple Bloom grinned slyly, and replied, "Actually, would ya believe me if ah said 'no'?" This caused the other two mares to stare wide-eyed at her. "Ah'm one o' the best Construction Workers out there! Ah even get calls from Princess Twilight herself when she needs somepony to build her somethin', be it house, or expansion! Ah've even built a two-story house in a single day, with workin' electricity, an' all that!"
The two mares stared wide-eyed at her, until Scootaloo said, "That's... so... AWESOME!" Then she cleared her throat, and asked, "H-hey! Maybe we can talk more over at Sugarcube Corner! My treat!"
Apple Bloom retorted, "Nah, Ah'll be the one ta buy us the treats!"
Raising her hoof, Sweetie Belle said, "Actually, since I'm the celebrity, perhaps I should be the one to buy you both drinks!"
The three continued to argue on their way out of the door, while Rarity smiled at them, and sighed. "Just like old times, it would seem!"
Sixty Years Later...
"And that was, by far, the GREATEST day of my life! I can still remember it like it was yesterday!" An elderly-looking Sweetie Belle said, while standing in front of two tomb stones, one with an engraved apple on it, and the other a scooter. They were placed on a large hill, not too far from five larger tomb stones in the distance, each with the cutie marks of Equestria's greatest heroes to ever live... the Elements of Harmony.
"I know you both are probably enjoying the best sweets that Pinkie Pie has ever made up there... and I'm looking forward to sitting on that table with the two of you!" Her tears were hidden in the rain that poured on the ground.
"Kinda funny how we never grew too old for our favorite milkshakes!"
Then she smirked. "You know... our Grandchildren are wearing our old capes, right? They even took over the clubhouse, and made it new again!" She smiled. "You'd be proud of your grandchild, Apple Bloom... I'm sure you're watching over them, too!"
She gently patted the soil in front of the apple-engraved stone. Then she turned to the other one, and smiled. "And your grandchild can fly, Scootaloo! She's destined to be the next Wonderbolt Captain, I bet! Just like your old hero, Rainbow Dash!"
Then she yawned. "I'm certain that when we meet, we can... we can..." Finally, she burst into tears, as she couldn't take any more of the pain. "WHY?! WHY DID THE TWO OF YOU HAVE TO GO?!" She continued crying loudly, as her voice echoed through the heavy rain that continued to pour down over her.
The next thing she knew, she felt a pair of wings embrace her. Looking up, she saw Princess Twilight Sparkle standing over her, with tears in her eyes, as well. "It's alright, Sweetie Belle... look over there!" She pointed at a distant hill, which caused Sweetie Belle to look towards the direction. Then, from the distance, she spotted two familiar mares trotting towards her, calling her name. With a smile, she slowly stood up, and began trotting towards her two friends, not looking back at the lone mare who rested on top of the two tombstones in front of her.
With a tear in her eye, Twilight Sparkle levitated the body towards the center of the two Tomb Stones. Then, while it lowered into the grass, another Tomb Stone began to rise from it, in the shape of a bell, with music notes that moved through it. From her sides, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood, with their heads bowed, and their eyes closed, as they mourned for the losses of their subjects.
"You have done well, Twilight... I know it is painful for you to bear this duty... but it is a small price we have all paid, upon our ascension."
With a smile, Twilight looked at her former mentor, and nodded her head. "I know, Celestia... but at least they all learned a valuable lesson in the end..."
"And what is that, Twilight?" Celestia asked, while following Twilight's gaze, which now rested on the five Tomb Stones that rested in the distance.
"We may get older over the years... but Friendship... Friendship will never die..." As she said that, she smiled at the spirits of her five closest friends, who stood right there next to her, each with smiles on their faces.
The End
