In the Dark

".....That is the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse. Well, in a nutshell." finished Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle was just glad that they found Cocoa Cake faster this time around. "What do you say to some ice cream? It's on us."

All four of them briskly trotted down to Sugar Cube Corner. Once there, they all ordered their favorite ice cream. Sweetie Belle was last to choose. "I'll have rainbow sherbet," said Sweetie Belle.

"I'm terribly sorry, but we seem to be all out of that today, as it is very popular among fillies," began Mrs. Cake. "We do have Pineapple Paradise, a blend of pinapples and other wonderful ingredients."

Sweetie Belle hated pineapple. "No thanks." she grumbled. She shared some of Applebloom's Applelicious ice cream, but it wasn't the same. While the Cutie Mark Crusaders were eating their ice cream, they discussed what they were going to try to get their cutie marks in next.

"Well we could try...um...um...Well, what do you guys have?" inquired Scootaloo.

"I got nothing." claimed Cocoa Cake.

"Don't look at me, I don't have anything either," added Applebloom. "Sweetie Belle, you always have the best ideas for this kinda' stuff. What do ya' say we should do?"

Sweetie Belle had to think quickly. "Well, we could try interior decorating," announced Sweetie Belle. "My room isn't looking too great." Sweetie Belle kept in mind that her room would end up looking like a pile of junk after this, but it was worth it if it meant getting her cutie mark.

"What time should we meet there?" inquired Applebloom.

"How does three o'clock sound?" said Sweetie Belle.

"That sounds alright." concluded Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle waited for her friends to show up. She had even made cookies for them, which was a terrible idea, considering that it left the oven a molten mess of dough. She tried one, but spit it it out after one bite. Hours passed. Where are they? she thought. Finally, the doorbell rang. It wasn't any of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Instead it was..... Ms. Cheerilee?

"What are you doing here?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Listen, I need to speak to your mother. It's about your grades."

Ms. Cheerilee walked into the house, and sat down. "Listen, Sweetie, can you give me a moment to speak with Ms. Cheerilee?" said Sweetie Belle's mom, a slight frown on her face.

"Yea, sure," muttered Sweetie Belle. She pretended to walk up the stairs. She was interested in what Ms. Cheerilee had to say. Secretly, she hid behind the wall near the door. She could just barely hear what was being said.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but the school years coming to an end, and your child is failing this class," confessed Ms. Cheerilee. "Either Sweetie Belle has to repeat the class, or raise her grades up tremendously."

"What? Sweetie Belle never told me she was failing," replied Sweetie Belle's mother.

"Haven't you seen the report cards? Perhaps her papers?"

"I have to say, I've seen neither of those."

"Well, now you have." Mrs. Cheerilee threw down on the table all twenty eight of the weekly tests. Her mom was forced to sort through the pile of failures. "I dug them out of the trash. Looks like someone didn't want you to find their papers. Oh, yea, and here's the report cards." On them were nearly all F's. Sweetie Belle's mother's eyes were watering.

"I just never knew about all this," Sweetie Belle's mother sobbed. Sweetie Belle was nearly crying herself. How could Ms. Cheerilee do this to her? Now her mom knew the truth. That she was a failure. On top of that, none of her friends ever showed up.

"Okay, I should get going then. Please speak to Sweetie Belle about all this," concluded Ms. Cheerillee.

Moments after Ms. Cheerilee shut the door behind her. Sweetie Belle's mother cried. "Mom? What did Ms. Cheerilee say?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Oh, I think you know very well what she said. WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME!? Please, just tell me why."

"Listen..... Mom, I'm sorry okay? I just never wanted you to think I was a failure. There are a lot of people out there, who already think of me as a fail. It's only because I'm different. Now even my own mother knows deep down, that I'm a failure. I don't even have a cutie ma-" Totally ruining the moment, the phone rang.

"Let me get that," said her mother. "Hello? Oh, it's you Applebloom." There was a pause. "What?! that's terrible. I'll hand Sweetie Belle the phone now." Her mother placed the phone in her hand, still upset at Sweetie Belle.

"SCOOTALOO'S BEEN TERRIBLY HURT!!" wailed Applebloom

"What happened?"

With a softer voice this time, she said, "S---sh---she had a major crash coming over here. She's in the hospital. She broke her leg, and a wing too."

"So that's why you didn't come over?"

"Yea."

"I'm gonna' go visit her right now!" concluded Sweetie Belle.

"I'll see you there." said Applebloom, who then proceeded to hang the phone up.

That sucks. Sweetie Belle told herself. How many things could happen in one day? "Mom, I'm gonna go visit Scootaloo!" she hollered. She sprinted all the way to the hospital. This was no time to go slow.

Nearing the hospital, she could visibly see Scootaloo's orange shape through the window. Sweetie Belle could also see the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Inside the hospital, she found Applebloom and Cocoa Cake. They were whispering to each other. They paid no attention to Sweetie Belle at all. They were very busy with their conversation.

Sweetie Belle, not wanting to interrupt, waved desperately. "Oh! There you are!" Applebloom exclaimed.

"Actually, I was here five minutes ago," said Sweetie Belle.

"Well, Scootaloo wanted to see you," interupted Cocoa Cake. Cocoa Cake was very unkempt and looked frantic.

Sweetie Belle walked through corridor after corridor until she finally came across Scootaloo. She had her MP3 player on the nightstand, and her headphones were on her head. Upon seeing Sweetie Belle, she paused her music and removed the headphones.

"Finally, you come," Scootaloo said sarcastically. She giggled a little bit.

"How did you crash?" questioned Sweetie Belle.

"Fell over a stump. I totally ate it," Scootaloo was blushing, embarrassed.

After Scootaloo told the whole story, Sweetie Belle was forced to exit the room by a nurse watching over Scootaloo. "Goodbye!" Sweetie Belle waved. The door shut behind her. Applebloom and Cocoa Cake were still siting in the lobby. "So, how long before Scootaloo is better?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Probably two weeks," responed Cocoa Cake.

"Two weeks? That's a long time."

"I know, it's a long time huh?"

The three remaining Cutie Mark Crusaders walked out together, leaving behind a broken Scootaloo. Applebloom and Cocoa Cake were walking ahead of Sweetie Belle. "Wait for me!" she called out, but by then, they were out of earshot. She had no choice but to walk home alone.

"Mom, I'm back," said Sweetie Belle sadly.

"Now about your grades," said her mother. Oh come on! was all Sweetie Belle said to herself.