Different
Written By: Cameron
I didn't know I was different until someone punched me in the face and told me to go away.
The sun dipped down on the horizon. The moon was slowly rising to the sky. Very few clouds were out. Stars were already starting to twinkle. Night was only a couple minutes away. The clubhouse was getting darker with each passing second, but that didn't make the little filly go away.
Scootaloo sat in the middle of the floor, head buried in her hooves. She didn't like today. Today was not a good day. Every colt and filly at school knows it. The worst part is her friends know too. Each passing second made her want to disappear. It made her want to become a nopony.
"Hey Scootaloser!" Diamond Tiara called out, gaining Scootaloo's attention.
Scootaloo turned around from the swing set and looked at the pink menace. "What do you want, Diamond Tiara." She mocked the name.
"Oh nothing," she started, "I just wanted to know how being an orphan is handling you."
This caught Scootaloo off guard. Her eyes went wide in shock, but she quickly changed the look on her face to make her seem oblivious. "I don't know what you're talking about." She replied, too quickly.
"Oh. You know what I mean. Right, Silver Spoon?" Diamond looked over to her best friend who simply nodded. "See. Me and SS were, totally, hanging out and chatting to each other."
"Like yeah." Silver Spoon acknowledged.
"Then, we saw you being dragged along by one of the employees from the Sunny Side Orphanage." DT grinned, when she saw Scootaloo's face turn into complete horror.
"No."
"Uh-huh, that's right." Silver Spoon interjected. "That's when me and DT figured it out!" A crowd was starting to form around the trio. Confusion was plain on their faces, but they heard the word 'orphan' and had to find out who.
"Don't say it!" Scootaloo barked at them.
"You are an orphan!" The bullies said, in unison. "A blank flank orphan!" They giggled at each other.
There were gasps all around the three. Scootaloo turned around in all directions. All eyes were on her. All attention was towards her. She didn't like it. The crowd started to move in on her. They kept on asking questions like "you're an orphan" or "you have no parents?"
It was killing the young pegasus. What hurt her the most was hearing her name in such an weird way from her friends.
"Scootaloo?"
The filly turned around and saw Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle standing right in front of her. "Why didn't you tell us before?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Tears were starting to shed from Scootaloo's eyes. She closed them and charged right out of the crowd. Fleeting the scene as quickly as possible. She never dared to turn back. Not even when she heard her name again.
Luna's moon finally appeared, but the clubhouse was bright with several candles that surrounded the room. The night was visible from the windows, but the little filly was not afraid of the dark. She sighed. She knew that what she was going to do will probably change a whole lot for her.
Scootaloo grabbed a stool and sat on it. She had a box sitting right in front of her and a finished book that laid right next to it. Her wing were hurting, but she paid no attention to them. Everypony knows, now, she told herself. Mocking will come tomorrow, but I don't want to see tomorrow.
She opened up the box and pulled out a very thick and long rope. She stood on top of the stool and tied a knot around an open wooden base supporter. She made a hole big enough for her little head to go through and she tightened it around her little neck.
"If I did it just like the book says," Scootaloo said to herself, "It should work perfectly fine. She looked down at the ground and saw a book called 'how to tie one-hundred different knots.'
She then looked down next to the book and saw a pair of bloody scissors. She tried to spread her wings, but felt an intense amount of pain to them. Then, they went numb. Her vision was blurred from tears in her eyes. She took a deep breath and kicked the stool she was standing on.
She screwed up. The rope was supposed to snap her neck, but it's just chocking her. She started to flail her legs in an attempt to stand on something, but the stool was two inches too far for her reach. She tried to flap her wings, but they wouldn't move. Blood was dripping off of the tip of her wings.
She tried to breathe, but the rope didn't allow her to. Tears were flowing out of her eyes, but she smiled. She knew that she wouldn't hear the name calling. She would never hear the words "blank flank, flightless, nopony, worthless, bitch, motherless, abandoned, stupid, or orphan" ever again.
It was like a dream come true. It meant everything to her. When she dies and goes someplace better, she'll have parents who love her and adore her. She'll never be an orphan and she'll be able to fly freely. She'll never be different than anypony else ever again.
Darkness surrounded her vision and she slowly closed her eyes and released the breath that she was holding in the entire time. Blood was still dripping from her wings. Then two little fillies, who were looking for their friend, walked in the room and screamed.
They told me being different was a good thing, but sometimes I look at myself and say it was a lie.
Author's Note
Hope you enjoyed. Happy 99 followers, I guess. Cheers to the one follower who left when I just reached 100. Have a good day or night.
Different Is Okay, Right?
DIFFERENT IS OKAY, RIGHT?
Applejack sat in the patient room with two exhausted fillies sleeping on her lap. She heard screaming hours ago and checked on the two younglin' to see if they were okay. But they weren't. They found their best friend dangling from the ceiling. Blood dripping from her wings and tears slipping past her eyelids. She was unconscious, when they found her. Run her to the hospital was the only thing she thought of.
Applejack raised her head, when she heard clip clop coming down the hallway. She looked at the direction the hoofsteps were coming from and saw a nurse approaching her.
"Excuse me, ma'am? Are you the one who brought the young filly here?" The nurse asked.
"That'd be me." Applejack replied.
The nurse cleared her throat. "I'm nurse Redheart. It's nice to-"
"Nurse," Applejack said, kindly, "What's her condition?"
Nurse Redheart looked down at the two fillies in her lap. They started to wake up and look at the nurse. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes, but she did not allow them to flow down her cheeks. She suppressed the tears and held them back. "I need you to come with me."
Applejack looked down at her little sister and Sweetie Belle. "Look now, Ah'll be right back, but I reckon that yer friend will be alright, okay?" Both fillies nodded, but it did not relieve the worry they had on their faces. "Good."
The two fillies jumped off of the farmpony's lap and watched the two mares walk down the hallway. They both looked at each other and then looked down at the floor.
The rooms started to look less like a hospital and more like an ice chamber. The further they went in, the more depressing it got. Then, they stumbled upon a wall that had multiple compartments with multiple shelved doors. Applejack started to fear the worst, when nurse Redheart opened it. Then, it all came down on her. There was the dead body of Scootaloo.
"But.....but how? Ah brought her here!" Applejack looked at the nurse. "How did she die? Ah brought her here! They were supposed to save....." She dropped to her knees and tears started to stream down her cheeks. "They were supposed to save her.....Ah was supposed to save her."
Nurse Redheart stepped towards Applejack and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Due to Scootaloo's clipped wings and the amount of blood that was lost, she passed away. We tried to stop the bleeding, but there were so many cuts on her wings. It was too late when she entered that ER room." Redheart lowered her head and a tear slipped past her eye. "I'm sorry, but she's gone."
Applejack looked up at Scootaloo's lifeless body. She slowly got up on all fours and started to walk out of the room.
"W-Where are you going?" Nurse Redheart asked.
"To tell the truth to her friends because Ah'm.....the element of honesty." Applejack cursed at the title she was given. There were many moments where she was proud of it, but when it's moments like this, she hated it.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Apple Bloom looked at her unicorn friend. "Of course she will. She's the toughest filly around. She'll be okay.....Ah hope." Apple Bloom murmured the last part. She didn't want her friend to know that she had doubts too.
*clip clop, clip clop*
Both fillies raised their heads in the direction that the noise was coming from. When they saw who it was, a spark of hope rose up in their chests and they both smiled briefly. But the smiles slowly faded. Applejack's facial expression did not encourage the smiles to continue, but instead, discourage them. Tears started to well up in Sweetie Belle's eyes. Apple Bloom stared at her sister the entire time.
Finally, Applejack stopped right in front of them. She took off her hat and placed it on the ground. She looked into Apple Bloom's eyes. Tears were sliding down her cheeks. "Ah'm sorry you two, but she's......she.....she didn't make it."
"What?" Apple Bloom said, in disbelief.
"She....she...she...?" Tears started to pour out of Sweetie Belle's eyes. "She's gone?"
"That can't be? Can it!?" Apple Bloom looked deep into her sister's eyes.
Applejack averted eye contact and looked down at the tile floor. A tear hit the ground with a little drip to it. "Ah'm sorry, little sis."
Apple Bloom started to back away from her big sister. "No." She mumbled. "No, no, no, she can't be....no." She turned tail and ran out of the hospital's automatic doors.
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack yelled at her, but she didn't listen. She kept on running.
It was pouring rain outside, but that didn't stop her. She continued to gallop through the rain. Tears were rising up in her eyes, but she held them back so she could see where she was going. Mud was flying into her coat and her ribbon was starting to slide out of her mane. Soon, the red ribbon flew off, but she continued to run.
About half an hour later, Apple Bloom arrived at the CMC clubhouse. It was too dark for her to see anything. So she used her hoof to guide her. She continued wandering around the room until she stumbled onto a lantern. She picked it up and turned it on. When she did this, she saw a dried up puddle of blood in the middle of the room and a toppled stool in the middle of it. Tears started to rise up again, but she suppressed them.
She walked around the room until she stumbled upon a note. She settled the lantern down next to it and started to read it.
Dear friends and whatever family I have left,
If you are reading this, then I am gone. I finally did it. I'm sorry that I had to leave you guys so early, but I just couldn't bare it anymore. The name calling, the thoughts about my parents abandoning me, the orphanage, DT and SS, and, most especially, being talent-less. No cutiemark means no talent, right? Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm gone and that's that. I love you all so much and I thank you all for the kindness you have given me. I'll miss you greatly, but I'm sure not as much as you will of me. I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me, in time. I love you all, please, remember this.
Love, Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom backed away from the note. "That can't be. No." She tripped over a loose floorboard and fell down on her haunches. Tears started to rise in her eyes and she allowed them to flow freely. "Scootaloo." She began to sob loudly. Mourning the loss of her friend.
Out of nowhere, Apple Bloom felt a hoof touch her shoulder. She looked to her left hoping it was Scootaloo, but saw nothing. She looked down at the ground and saw the dry puddle of blood and the toppled stool.
ONE WEEK LATER
Apple Bloom sat in the clubhouse, by herself. She stared at the stool in the corner. The same one that was used by Scootaloo about a week ago. She stared at it, thinking of Scootaloo sitting on it and laughing. A small smile formed on her face, but quickly faded. She started to imagine her friend's lifeless body dangling right next to it and the stool toppled over. Her lip started quivering, but she snapped back into reality, when she felt a hoof touch her shoulder. She looked to her left and saw Sweetie Belle in a black gown. She looked down at herself and saw a black gown as well.
"You okay?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"No." Apple Bloom replied. "Ah can't stop thinking about her."
Sweetie Belle looked down at the wooden floor. "Me too."
Apple Bloom looked back at Sweetie Belle. "Do you ever see her?" Sweetie Belle slowly nodded. "Me too." She placed her hoof on her friend's shoulder. "You think we'll ever see her again?"
Sweetie Belle looked up into Apple Bloom's eyes. A tear slipped past her left eye. "I do, yes. With all my heart, yes, I do."
"How can you be fer sure?"
Sweetie Belle slowly shook her head. "I don't know, but I can feel it. Every time I think about her, I think I'll see her again and we'd be off crusading around town. Like normally."
"Ah....Ah guess Ah can see that. Actually, I can definitely see that." A small smile appeared on Apple Bloom's face. This caused a small smile on Sweetie Belle's too.
There was a knock at the door of the clubhouse and Applejack was standing in the doorway with Rarity by her side. "Apple Bloom, let's go."
"Come, Sweetie Belle. Let's.....Let's attend to your....your friend's....funeral." Rarity pulled a handkerchief up to her eyes to wipe at them. She wasn't wearing any eye make-up today. There was no need because they were gonna get ruined anyway. She never thought that she'd be saying those words while Sweetie Belle was at a young age. Then again, most ponies don't think about every possibility that could happen.
Both fillies nodded and approached the doorway. Sweetie Belle and Rarity walked down the ramp and waited for their friends. Applejack walked down the ramp and looked back up to see her sister looking back at the clubhouse. "Come on, Sugarcube. The funeral is gonna start soon."
Apple Bloom looked into the clubhouse and saw Scootaloo smiling broadly with her cutiemark crusader robe on. She puffed her chest in pride and had a broad smile on. "Alright crusaders," she said, "today we are here because we are different than everypony at our school." She looked at an imaginary Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with their robes on. "We don't have our cutiemarks, but we will find them together. Because we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders! And being different is who we are! No matter what other ponies think!" She smiled broadly at the other two crusaders.
Apple Bloom looked down at her sister and walked down the ramp to join everypony else. When they started their walk, Apple Bloom thought about what Sweetie Belle said and she finally came to a conclusion. Yeah, I can see us all together again. We'll be happy and go crusading. Like normally.
THE END
Written By: Cameron
Looking at the bright side, being different made me who I am today. Shameful or not, I am who I am. No matter how I feel about myself. I may have changed my actions, but I can never change my memories or how my heart feels about 'em either. So being different may bring others to hate me, but in the end, it's me who says that I can be different. No matter what I am.
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed. Please feel free to leave your opinion on it. Don't be too rough, I don't think I've ever mentioned this before, but I let my emotions guide me for what I'm writing. So ridiculing this story is like ridiculing me. Please be gentle and kind. Thank you and have a good day or night.
