Not Alone.

          Over the next week, Scootaloo stayed hidden in the big willow tree. Only limping out once every few days to collect grass and dandelions to eat.

The wounds Scootaloo had were still very painful, the rips in her little wings where beginning to scab over and Scootaloo hoped that she would still be able to fly one day, although she was doubtful. Her hooves where feeling better, but her front left hoof was giving her a great deal of pain. The bone looked out of shape and her hoof was swollen, but she had no choice but to walk on it and by now she was used to the pain.

Scootaloo realised she had a scar just below her left eye in a zigzag shape. It didn't hurt as much as the rest of her scars and cuts and she thought to herself it looked rather cool. Like the lightning bolt under the cloud on Rainbow Dash's cutie mark.

Scootaloo had tried to wash her mane in a nearby stream, but the muddy brown water only succeeded in coating her mane in a disgusting layer of grimy pond mud. The water didn't help her to tend to her wounds either, it only spread the blood around her oily feathers. Making her look even worse than she felt. She had made a splint for her leg using a small stick and some vines, she had covered her other wounds in a similar fashion, using vines and leaves. Leaving only the scar under her eye showing.

After fifteen days staying hidden in the secret place, Scootaloo limped out of the hiding spot and looked around, she shuffled around on her bruised hooves. She went back into the tree and collected of her saddlebag.

“I’ll miss that place”

Scootaloo told herself as she began to walk through more trees and deeper into the forest.

As the filly walked, she pulled her scarf tighter around her neck. Soon it would be winter. A freezing autumn had already set in and the trees where beginning to lose their leaves, making them look grim and coating the ground in a carpet of dead leaves.

Scootaloo was lost in her own thoughts when suddenly a voice shocked her, making her stop dead in her tracks.

“You lost?!”

Asked a filly who was a little bigger than Scootaloo herself.

“No.”

Scootaloo carried on trotting a few paces, desperate to carry on with her journey.

“Now hold on just a cotton pickin' minute!”

The Filly jumped in front of her, grinning at Scootaloo. Scootaloo barely looked at her. Her eyes where looking through her, trying to plan a way to get past the little yellow earth pony.

During her time at the orphanage, Scootaloo had forgotten that good ponies really existed, older ponies where mostly cruel or had no idea how to handle fillies and colt's. The other young ponies where all nervous and weak, either that or they were mean to ones weaker than them.

So Scootaloo was desperate to get past the filly standing in front of her. She didn't want to end up in a fight and get her flank kicked.

She dodged past the other filly and began to run. She wasn't very fast, her injuries weren’t properly healed yet and she had had nothing properly to eat for the last 5 days. The other filly treated this as a game, and happily began to chase Scootaloo. Laughing and whooping with delight as she ran after her.

Soon Scootaloo had to stop. She closed her eyes and lay on the floor, waiting for whatever this other pony was going to do.

“How come you're cryin' we were only playin' a little game! Silly! Why folks will think you're a baby if you cry like that whenever you can't run fast enough in a game!”

Scootaloo got angry with this and jumped up.

“I'm not a baby! I can take care of myself!”

Scootaloo retorted angrily to the filly standing in front of her.

“Hehe!.... I used to say the exact same thing to my sister Apple Jack!...This one time, we where...”

Scootaloo jumped closer to the earth pony and covered her mouth with her hooves. The yellow pony looked shocked but listened to Scootaloo.

“Did you say Applejack?!... then you must be?... Applebloom......then... where am I!?”

Scootaloo spoke so quickly, the other filly blinked and tried to answer.

“You're in the Everfree Forest silly! I said Apple Jack, she's my sister.... how do you know my name?!”

Scootaloo stared at her friend in disbelief.

“It's me!”

She cried holding her hooves out and waving them around, as if this could help Applebloom to know her. The yellow filly stared at Scootaloo for a long time.

“....Scootaloo?”

Applebloom whispered uncertainly. Scootaloo nodded, tears rolling down her face, Applebloom began to cry and pulled Scootaloo into the tightest hug she had had in a long time. In the safe embrace of her old friend, Scootaloo fell asleep. Exhausted, hungry,confused and in pain,but now, with hope.

Applebloom let go of Scootaloo, and lay her gently onto the ground. Piling leaves under her head to make her feel more comfortable. Applebloom held back tears as she took in what had just happened.  She looked down at one of her best friends in all of Equestria and sat down by her side. Waiting for her to wake up, so she could take her home.

Scootaloo had changed a lot in appearance since Applebloom had last seen her. Height wise she was the same, but Scootaloo didn't look eleven years old, she was small and looked so much younger. Yet at the same time, years older. Her once beautifully coloured purple mane was greasy and covered in mud, making it muddy brown in colour. Her feathers were all ripped, some were missing  making patches of raw skin show through. Scootaloo was so skinny that you could count each one of her ribs and she was covered in so much dried blood her coat looked a horrifying reddish brown colour.

Applebloom glanced down at Scootaloo's flank, still no cutie mark. Applebloom looked down to her own blank flank and smiled a little. Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, all still cutie mark crusaders, back together.