Scootaloo woke up to find herself alone within the small bed she had been sleeping in. She looked around the room for any signs of Cocoa, but he wasn’t there. She did however notice the sound of clinking glasses and hooves trotting along wooden floorboards.

Scootaloo got up and walked into the kitchen, where she found Cocoa hard at work on a breakfast that would have put the royal chefs to shame. There was everything that Scootaloo could ever imagine. Pancakes, eggs, toast, hay bacon, fruit and even chocolate milk. Scootaloo was amazed, and her stomach growled loudly. She was hungry, and she was going to eat this colts food.

"Good morning" Cocoa said with a smile. "I hope you're hungry, because I seem to have made too much food."

Scootaloo didn't respond, as she was already busy eating. She ate and ate and ate. She didn't know why, but she couldn't help herself. Maybe it was the events that had transpired over the last few days, or maybe it was the act that she had performed with Cocoa, or maybe she was just really hungry. Whatever the reason, Scootaloo ate a lot. She didn't even realize that she was eating a lot, until Cocoa Fire sat down beside her. By that point, she had nearly eaten half of what the colt had prepared.

"Wow, you were really hungry." Cocoa stated in amazement. Scootaloo could only smile, her mouth too full of delicious pancakes for her to speak.

Eventually, her hunger subsided, leaving the two ponies in a state of semi-consciousness. Neither could speak, nor did they want to. They just wanted to relax. They were both rather content.

Scootaloo moved over to lie on her back, allowing her wings to stretch out. She then turned to Cocoa with a smile.

"Wanna rub my wings?" She asked, causing Cocoa to blush slightly.

"Y-you sure?" He stuttered nervously.

"Yeah, of course I'm sure. I mean, after last night, how could I not be?"

Cocoa blushed a deeper shade of crimson, but nodded his head in acceptance.

"Just be careful, ok? They're still really sensitive."

"Don't worry Scootaloo, I will be."

With that said, Cocoa placed his hooves on her wing joints, and began to rub them slowly.

"Mm, that feels nice." Scootaloo said, a look of contentment plastered upon her face. "Just like that."

She then rolled over, so that she was no longer on her back, but on her side, with her head resting on Cocoa's chest. He continued to rub her wings, causing her to moan softly, and her eyes to close in a state of absolute bliss. This continued on for the better part of an hour, until Cocoa's hooves were aching, and his back was sore from sitting in an uncomfortable position. Yet, he wasn't about to complain.

"Ok, I'm done." Scootaloo said, once she noticed Cocoa's pain. "You can stop now."

"Are you sure?" Cocoa asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. We should probably get up soon though, cause we have a lot to do today. I mean, I need to go home and make sure Rainbow Dash isn't too worried. I did kinda leave her without saying anything."

"I'm sure she won't be worried. I think she'd understand, given the circumstances." Cocoa said.

“Nah, she’s the loyal type. I’m sure she’s been looking for me all night.”

"Oh, right. So, what do you wanna do?"

"Well, I should probably go and tell her I'm okay. I mean, I can't really just go back to her like nothing happened. I feel really bad about the whole situation. I don't want her thinking that I hate her or anything."

"Okay, well I'll come with you." Cocoa said.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Scootaloo said with a frown. "This is something I have to do alone. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You sure you'll be alright?" Cocoa asked, a little worried that he may not see the filly again.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Scootaloo said, getting up from her comfortable position on the floor. She then gave Cocoa a quick hug, which caused him to smile. "Thanks, for everything."

With that said, she left the cabin, and began her long walk back home. It took her longer than she expected, and it was well past noon by the time she got there. She was trotting through Ponyville, and eventually found Rainbow Dash... lying on the ground... crying her eyes out, with Apple Bloom standing over her, also crying.

"Rainbow, please try ta' calm down." Apple Bloom said, trying to comfort her friend.

"I'm sorry Apple Bloom. I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm a horrible friend."

"No, you're not. You're the best friend anypony could ever ask for."

"I'm a horrible friend! I can't even take care of myself! I'm nothing but a pathetic loser who doesn't deserve anypony's love! Element of loyalty? Bah, no bucking chance of that now!" Rainbow Dash said, breaking down into sobs again.

"Dashie..."

"Please, leave me alone. I just want to be alone..."

Scootaloo couldn't help but to feel guilty as she watched her friend break down. She knew that Rainbow Dash was a strong pony, but she also knew that she was still a pony. And everypony has their breaking point.

So, Scootaloo walked up to her friend and hugged her. She hugged her as tightly as she could, or at least, she wanted to. She truly did, but she couldn't quite get the courage to do anything. Her idol was on the ground, crying her eyes out, all because of her. Because she was selfish and ran away.

"Rainbow Dash, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run away like that. I was being stupid and immature, and I'm sorry." Scootaloo said.

"Please forgive me." Rainbow Dash replied. "I'm sorry I wasn't a better friend. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

"It's okay. I forgive you."

Rainbow Dash didn’t react. She just kept crying. It was almost as if she didn’t even know she was there. Like she couldn’t see her…

"Dashie, please. It's not your fault. It's okay. I forgive you." Scootaloo said again, a bit louder this time. Still no response. She was starting to get worried.

She turned to Apple Bloom, who was standing nearby, and asked her what was wrong.

"Apple Bloom, what's wrong with her?"

Apple Bloom didn't reply. She just kept staring at Rainbow Dash, a look of sorrow on her face. It was as if she didn't hear her either...

Scootaloo was confused. She didn't understand what was going on. Why weren't they responding to her? Did they not believe her? Did they think she was lying?

"Please, I'm telling the truth! I'm not lying! I'm sorry I ran away like that, but I was scared and confused! I didn't know what else to do!"

Still no reply. Scootaloo was starting to panic now. She didn't know what was wrong, and she was starting to feel very alone. She began to cry.

"Please, I don't want to be alone! Please, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

“They can’t hear you, Scoots.” Said Cocoa, suddenly standing beside her. She hadn’t even noticed his approach.

“W-what? Why can’t they hear me?” Asked Scootaloo. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she couldn’t stop shaking. She was terrified. “Why can’t they see me? Am I invisible or something?”

“No, Scoots. You’re not invisible.” Cocoa replied, a sad smile on his face. “You’re… well, you’re dead.”

“I… I’m what?” Scootaloo asked, unsure if she had heard him correctly. She must have heard him wrong. There's no way that she could be dead. She was still alive! She was still standing right here, in front of him.

“You’re dead, Scootaloo.” Cocoa replied, his voice soft and comforting. “We both are.”

“But… but I can’t be dead. I’m still here. I’m still alive!” Scootaloo exclaimed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I can’t be dead!”

“I’m sorry, Scoots. But it’s true. We’re both dead.” Cocoa said, his eyes full of sadness. “Remember the swamp you fell into? You're still there. At least, your body is. You never made it out. You let go of the vine, Scootaloo.

She was silent. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to react. She was dead? Why? Why her? The swamp? But she made it out. She grabbed the vine, and pulled herself to safety... didn't she? She knew she did, but then again...

She didn't have time to ponder these questions. She was too busy crying. She couldn't believe it. She was dead. She was really, truly dead. And so was Cocoa. And her parents...

She was never going to be able to apologize to Rainbow Dash for running away like that. She was never going to be able to tell her how much she loved her. She was never going to be able to tell her parents how much she loved them, or how much she missed them. She was never going to be able to tell any of them how much they meant to her.

She collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. She didn't want to die. She wanted to live. She wanted to grow up. She wanted to see the world. She wanted to fall in love, and have a family of her own. She wanted to do so many things. But now she was dead, and she couldn't do any of those things. She couldn't do anything. All she could do was cry, and cry, and cry…

“Come with me, Scoots.” Cocoa said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “There’s nothing more that we can do here.”

Scootaloo didn’t say anything. She just kept crying.

“Scootaloo, please. It’s time for us to go.”

Still no response. Scootaloo was inconsolable. She couldn't stop crying. She didn't want to. She wanted to stay here and cry forever. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to go anywhere. She just wanted to stay here, in this moment, and cry until the end of time.

“Scootaloo…” Cocoa said, his voice soft and gentle. “Please, listen to me. We need to go. There’s nothing left for us here. It’s time for us to move on.”

“No!” Scootaloo shouted, her voice muffled by her sobs. “I’m not leaving! I can't leave! I caused so much bucking pain. I hurt every pony I loved. I'm... I'm staying here."

“Scootaloo, we can’t stay here. We’re dead. We need to move on.”

"Buck that! Buck everything! All of this! You... wait, but we made love, didn't we? So nothing was real? I bucked a ghost?”

“Scootaloo… please… You have to trust me. I know this is hard, but we can’t stay here. We have to go.”

“No!” Scootaloo yelled, her voice rising in pitch. “I trusted you! I thought we were soulmates! You and I... I thought we would start a family. All of that was just one giant lie, huh?!"

"Oh Scootaloo... it wasn't a lie. None of it was. I do love you. We are soulmates. I know you know this just as well as I do. What we experienced together? It was real. It was true love, Scoots. I love you, so please… You have to come with me. I promise, everything will be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

Scootaloo continued to cry, but her sobs began to quieten. She was still crying, but she was beginning to calm down.

“That’s it, Scootaloo.” Cocoa said, stroking her mane. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I’m here. I’m here for you. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

Scootaloo slowly got to her hooves, wiping her eyes with her front legs. She looked up at Cocoa, who was smiling down at her. How could she be so stupid? Even if he was dead. Even if we were both dead. What happened was real. It felt real, and that's what matters. She loves him, and he loves her, even if their love can never be material. It's spiritual. It's true.

“Are you ready to go?” He asked.

Scootaloo hesitated for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded.

“Okay, let’s go.” Cocoa said, leading her towards the door. “We need to find the others. They’re waiting for us.”

Scootaloo didn’t say anything. She just followed him, her head hung low. She was sad, but she was also scared. She was scared of what was going to happen next. She was scared of where she was going. She was scared of what she was going to see. She was scared of what was going to happen to her.

But she trusted Cocoa. She knew that he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. She knew that he would protect her. She knew that he loved her, and that he would do anything for her. And that was enough to keep her going. That was enough to make her feel safe.

She didn’t know where they were going, or what they were going to find when they got there. But she was willing to find out. She was willing to face whatever lay ahead, as long as she had Cocoa by her side.

I guess that's just life for ya, huh? So strong, so beautiful, so fragile, so weak. Life is everything. Cherish it, or you may regret the pony you've become, and the pony you will never be.

Author's Note

I miss you mom. I miss you dad.