One Life to Love

Part Two: Battles of Ponyville

Chapter 14: The First Dawn.

She should be dead, that much she was certain of.  She should be gone from the world in a flash. Yet, there she was, with her hooves planted on the floor. Though maybe this was the afterlife and she was standing on some awesome afterlife soil or something like that. She opened her eyes to check, only to see the two ponies from before now joined by a small cloaked figure she couldn't recognize. She was definitely alive, that much she was sure of now.

"You know, I'm used to you Dark Hand creeps being low and cowardly like this, but seriously," the figure cloaked in red spoke as he pulled back his hood to reveal the purple scales and green spikes of a dragon," you have reached a new low in stupidity with this one." The dragon pointed his claws at the two ponies and smirked sharply, obviously trying to offend them.

His boast worked quite well as the larger pony, who had dark brown fur and silver eyes, stomped a massive hoof upon the ground and yelled in protest. "Who are you calling stupid?" The pony's voice was like rough and deep, and his movements and gestures seemed wild as he began an attempt to set upon the small dragon. His smaller partner held him back, his grotesque K-law  was covered in mold and the rest of his pale white body was in a very deteriorated state, but even in such a sickly form, he seemed to perfectly menacing.

"Don't toy with us you fool, it's gonna take more than just a simple baby dragon to beat us."

The Dragon just smiled as he grabbed his red cloak and threw it off. Suddenly, his eyes had become a deep and menacing red, and his scales had turned pure white. From his back, two bright white wings took form as his grin widened. The two dark ponies could only stare in shock.

"Well then, since you're so high and mighty, let's rock." The small dragon spoke with an air of perfect confidence.

***

Hidden deep in orchards of the Sweet Apple Acres, there stood a small clearing marked by a large treehouse. To the little foals of Ponyville, this was known as the base of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a group founded by Apple Bloom and her friends dedicated to the search for finding that hidden talent that was special for everypony.

Luna's moon hung solemnly over the clearing tonight though, as the founders of the crusaders, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, sat together in the silence, contemplating what could be there last moments together.

"Ah guess there's just no getting by it," Apple Bloom started," Ah'm leaving in the morning and there ain't no pony can stop me." Scootaloo and Sweetie gasped in response. Apple Bloom simply pointed her head at the floor solemnly.

"Why so sudden AB?" Sweetie asked. "I mean, you promised you'd stick around and watch the next set of crusaders, who's gonna do that now."

"Ah'm gonna see Miss Cheerilee before Ah leave, and make sure she watches over them, promise."

"But why?" Scootaloo asked quietly, a tinge of venom in her voice, she'd been as silent as she could the whole time, taking to pointing her head toward the floor, knowing already that one of her friends would be leaving, and now Apple Bloom.

"Scoots?!" Sweetie Belle stated quizically, looking at her friend, whose face was still pointed away from the others, in general shock.

"Why, why do you both have to leave me like this?!" The orange pegasus responded, lifting her head to reveal a mass of tears swelling from her eyes. "It's bad enough Sweets has to leave because of some stupid record deal, but now you're leaving, what am I supposed to do."

"Ah have to leave," Applebloom responded," don't you see, not only with all the family issues I've had, but, out of all three of us, Ah still haven't found mah Cutie Mark." The yellow earth pony turned her flank towards the other two in order to punctuate the statement. "Ah'm not meant for Ponyville Scoot's, that's just how life is."

"Well then life sucks!" The orange pegasus screamed, flying out of the tree house in tears.

"Scoots!" Sweetie Belle called out, as Scootaloo flew off, holding out a hoof as if to stop her. Then placing it on the ground and crying openly.

"You really like Scoot's don't ya?" Apple Bloom inquired, her friend just nodded through sobs, unable to speak."Then go after her, as much as she'd want to, she won't go far. I've seen the way she looks at you, and I know that you and me leaving together's gonna hurt her, but not because I mean anything to her." The earth pony smiled at her friend, who turned her head and smiled back as she sniffed loudly.

"Thank you AB, keep in touch."

"You bet Ah will, now go, before she really does take off."

***

Apple Bloom was right about Scootaloo, she didn't go very far. She just couldn't bear to have shown any weakness in these last moments the three of them would have together; or at least, she couldn't bear to have shown Sweetie any weakness, something she took from Rainbow Dash more than anything.

So she found herself in another clearing, no too far from the crusader base, trying to let her tears out alone and compose herself before she really did say goodbye, when Sweetie Belle approached her.

"Hey Scoots." The unicorn announced, as she entered the clearing and took her place beside her friend. "You OK?"

"What do you think, I'm freaking terrible," the orange pegasus responded, hiding her head in her hoofs. "You guys are gonna be gone, and I"m gonna be here alone."

"That's not what's really bothering you is it?" Sweetie Belle asked, and the orange pegasus started to cry even more in response. The unicorn wrapped her hooves around her friend and waited to talk again.

"Scootaloo, you like me, like, as more than just a friend don't you?" Sweetie felt her friend nod into her shoulder and took it as a yes.

"Then why haven't you said anything, you didn't have hold back your feelings."

"Yeah right." The pegasus responded, lifting her head from the unicorn's body with fresh tears in her eyes and staring her friend down.

"The moment I realized how much I liked you was the day you found your cutie mark. When you sang for everyone i n our classroom,  I remember my world stopping and thinking that Celestia herself couldn't be any more perfect, and I was gonna tell you, I honestly was. But then you got your record deal and I didn't want to ruin your future with my feelings."

"What made you think that you'd ruin my life."

"Come on, you're gonna be off in Canterlot, shmoozing it up with the big shots, and I'm gonna be who knows where. There's gonna be other ponies who want you to be with them, and I'd just drag you down, keeping you from having fun."

"If you think that then you're surely mistaken." The unicorn scoffed, planting a kiss on the pegasus' lips."I've seen those, 'big shots,' before, and there nothing like you. I would be honored to have you as my marefriend Scoots."

"But you and Canterlo-"

"FOR LUNA'S SAKE JUST KISS THE MARE." Apple Bloom's voice could be heared through the clearing, shocking the others into turning towards the edge of the clearing to see her smiling figure. The first glimmering lights of dawn shown throughout the clearing, meaning, Apple Bloom would be leaving, and so, soon, would Sweetie Belle. however, in that moment, Scootaloo could care less as she took the unicorn she loved so much into her hooves and kissed her passionately in the light of the first dawn of there new life.

Their future looked bright in the dawn. If only the same could be said for some of the other denizens of Ponyville.