Innocenceby pinkiemyster2ChaptersInnocenceGrowing Up (edited)ReparationsThunderstormInnocence"Do you really think this is a good idea?" "Trust me, it's foolproof!" "Ya but..." Sweetie Belle looked unassured towards the giant homemade ramp that would surely end up sending them to the hospital. "Do you really think it'll work?" "C'mon Sweetie! Our cutie marks could be in stunts!" Scootaloo was trying to convince Sweetie, without the help of Applebloom, who was home working on making zap apple jam with the rest of the Apple family. "I don't know..." Sweetie was now backing away from the scooter, "Don't you think we could get hurt?" Sometimes she thought she was the only one who worried about getting hurt. Applebloom and Scootaloo were always more concerned with getting their cutie marks rather than how they got them. They never seemed to think their ideas through, and always ignored Sweetie when she began to worry. "C'mon Sweetie, are you in it or not?" Scootaloo said noticeably growing impatient. Sweetie Belle shook her head, "I'm not going and I don't think you should either, it seems too dangerous," "Fine, if you're not going, then I am!" Scootaloo shoved off as her scooter began to roll down the ramp, with her on it. Sweetie watched in horror as one of her best friends began to barrel down the death trap at break-neck speeds. She swore that she was the only one with any common sense in this group. Scootaloo flew down the ramp, her cheeks were practically covering her ears. The wind against her face began to sting her eyes even as she squinted against it. She began to get speed wobbles as she was nearing the end of the ramp. She quickly righted her scooter as she flew from the end, wings buzzing in hope of gaining more speed. Sweetie Belle watched as a smile began to spread across her face. She stood on her hind legs and began to jump around, cheering at her friend's feat. When suddenly, a thought wiggled its way into both of their minds. 'What about the landing?' Sweetie's smile was quickly erased from her face, leaving a shocked and worried expression in its place. Scootaloo's eyes darted toward the ground. She realized she was far too high to be able to land without any kind of injury. Her wings weren't fully developed yet so they wouldn't aid much in her descent. Out of pure shock, she slowly released her grip from her scooter and began to fall towards the hard ground below. Her limbs flailing all around, looking for something, anything, to grab on to. Her wings flapping as hard as she could, trying desperately to keep her up, to no prevail. Suddenly, a flash flew by her. She noticed that it was all the colors of a rainbow. She then saw Rainbow Dash stop mid-flight and zoom towards the falling filly yelling, "Hang on squirt!" As she grew closer to Scootaloo, Rainbow thought to herself, 'Okay, I realize they want their cutie marks, but free falling?' She mare caught Scootaloo with time to spare. She then slowly brought the orange filly down to safety. "Um... thanks Rainbow Dash..." Scootaloo said trying desperately to not make eye contact. "What in Equestria were you trying to do, get yourself killed? Do you have any idea what could've happened if I wasn't here to save you?" She was incredibly angry with the young filly, partially because Scootaloo did some outrageous stunt and nearly died, but mostly for making her worry. Of course, she would never tell her that though. She always thought of Scootaloo as a sister, like the one she never had. Rainbow felt it was her responsibility to look after her, like it was her duty to keep her safe from harm. Scootaloo managed to get out a sorry before Rainbow erupted at her again. "You're sorry? Do you think that would've made a difference if you were in the hospital or worse? That was an incredibly dangerous thing to do Scootaloo! There's a difference between giving it your all and just plain being reckless!" "I know, I didn't mean to make you worry Rainbow Dash, I was just trying to get my cutie mark," Rainbow realized that she was scolding Scootaloo and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Look squirt, you can't just be doing anything you feel like and not expect to have any consequences. You have to realize that some things are okay to do and others," she gestured towards the ramp, "are just reckless and endangers more ponies than just yourself," "I understand Rainbow, I promise to try to be more careful next time," Not completely convinced of her understanding, Rainbow decided to let it go. "Okay, go back and play with Sweetie, and remember, no being reckless," She tussled Scootaloo's hair and gave her a smile which Scootaloo returned. She then proceeded to run pat Rainbow Dash to look for her scooter. 'Someday you'll learn Scootaloo,' Rainbow thought to herself as she flew back up to her cloud to resume her slumber. 'Someday...' "Applebloom!" Both of the fillies yelled in unision. Applebloom stepped outside for a brief moment to see that the other two crusaders were riding as fast as they could towards the farmhouse. "AH!" was all Applebloom managed to get out as the two ran straight into her. They collided and flew into the house, not even phasing Granny Smith as she slept peacefully in her chair. Applebloom got to her feet to see that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were now tangled around each other. "What was that for?" she demanded. "Sorry," Scootaloo said with an apologetic grin on her face, "we were just in a big hurry to come see you! Are you finished with the zap apple jam?" "I think so," she was still rubbing the back of her head as she glanced over to Granny Smith, who was now snoring. "Applejack and Big Mac finished pickin' what they could of the zap apples, we finished the last of 'em about half an hour ago. I've been cleanin' up the mess ever since," "Oh," Sweetie said looking towards the kitchen. "why don't we help you finish? Then we can all go to the club and talk," "But-" Sweetie elbowed Scootaloo in her stomach. "OW! Fine..." After the trio finished removing the pink polka dots from the walls, cleaned the many spilled drops of jam of the floor, and scrubbed the pots and pans clean, they were off towards the clubhouse. "So what was so important that ya' had ta' slam into me like that?" "Well, remember how we said that we should try to jump a ramp down that really big hill? To get stunt devil cutie marks?" Scootaloo said. "Yeah?" "Well," Scootaloo began looking down at the ground with an awkward smile on her face, "we tried it," "And?" Scootaloo remembered the events clearly in her mind. The talking, the flying down the ramp, trying to fly, failing. "We did'nt really think the landing through-" "WHAT? How can ya' forget the most important part of a stunt?" "Listen," Applebloom looked like she had more to say, but respectively kept her mouth shut. "I was flying through the air and realized our mistake-" "OUR mistake?" Now it was Sweetie's turn to jump in. "What do you mean our mistake? You were the one who-" "Will you just let me finish? You should know what happened too!" Sweetie looked shocked at the sudden outburst as she remembered that she had no idea what had happened either. "Anyway, I started to fall. I was sure that was gonna be it until," She took a deep breath and continued, "Rainbow Dash saved me. I thought she was just gonna drop me off on the ground and tell me to try harder like she always does, but she did'nt," Both of the other fillies looked at each other and then back to Scootaloo. Applebloom was trying to sound as compassionate as possible, "What happened?" Scootaloo was still looking at the ground, trying to recall the events that took place only a few hours earlier. "She started to yell at me, telling me that what I did was reckless and dangerous. That my actions had certain consequences and affected more ponies than just myself. She never acted like that before, I did'nt know how to respond to her, all I could do was apologize," "I think she was just worried about ya' was all," Applebloom said as she noticed that Scootaloo was finished. "Yeah," Sweetie agreed, "she just did'nt want you or anypony else to get hurt," "I know," Scootaloo said, "but I can't help feeling that there was more to it than just that," By this time the three had arrived at the clubhouse and were walking through the front door. "How do you feel when Applejack gets angry with you Applebloom?" Scootaloo looked towards Applebloom with curious eyes. "Well, ah know that it was wrong of me ta' do, even if it was somethin' that semed okay in tha' first place," "Yeah, but how did you feel about it afterwards?" "Ah knew that Applejack was only lookin' out for me. She wanted me ta' be safe and was only tryin' ta' protect me," Scootaloo nodded and looked towards Sweetie Belle, who was now sitting on the floor next to Applebloom. "What about you Sweetie? How do you feel when Rarity yells at you?" "I know that Rarity sometimes over reacts about some of the stuff I do, but most of the time I deserved the yelling she does. I know that she only wants the best for me, even if her way of showing it isn't the best," Scootaloo started to think, about her friend's answers and about how Rainbow acted towards her. 'That sounds alot like how Rainbow Dash acted towards me. She wasn't yelling at me just to be doing it, she was doing it because she wanted me to be safe and was looking our for me,' "Why don't we just get back to crusading?" Sweetie interrupted Scootaloo's thoughts as she noticed that Scootaloo was growing very depressed about the subject. "Yeah, let's try not ta' think about it," Applebloom said agreeing with Sweetie. "Yeah," Scootaloo began, "let's just get back to crusading..." Author's Note Just so you guys aren't confused during the second chapter, I was planning on doing a time lapse to where Scootaloo and the rest of the crusaders grow up some. They are now the equivilant to being teenagers in our world. I just wanted to mention this so that there is no confusion during the rest of the story. Growing Up (edited)"What now?" Sweetie asked. "Ah'm not sure," Applebloom began, "maybe Twilight needs help with somethin'. She still likes ta' do all them experiments." "Yeah, right," Scootaloo said rolling her eyes, "After that why don't we just go apply to the School for Gifted Unicorns?" "First off, we aren't foals anymore," Sweetie said, not catching the sarcasm in her voice. "and secondly, I'm the only unicorn out of the three of us." Although the three of them were growing into young fillies and already got their cutie marks a long time ago, they kept the club together the best they could. Scootaloo let out a loud groan. "That was sarcasm, Sweetie. I know we aren't foals anymore…" "Oh, well, what do we do now?" Sweetie liked to stay on topic. She didn't like to get too far off, which seemed to happen a lot between these three. "Why don't we go see if Rainbow Dash needs any help?" "Because that's what we do every day!" "Well, I don't see you coming up with ideas, Sweetie!" "Girls!" Applebloom decided it was time to jump in before things got too far out of hoof. "Fightin' ain't gonna solve anythin'!" "She's right," Sweetie said looking towards the ground. "Kiss-up," Scootaloo mumbled under her breath. "Now, we need ta' come up with somethin' ta' do. We can't just sit in our old clubhouse like we did when we were young." The clubhouse that once served as their base for their cutie mark crusading missions was now rotting away. Boards were beginning to fall off and the paint was beginning to peel. "Not to mention it's a safety hazard," Scootaloo added. "Now who is there ta' help?" Applebloom asked, motioning to their old chalkboard which now had the faces of six mares drawn on it. "Rarity still doesn't like it when I try to help her," Sweetie said, glaring at the crudely drawn Rarity. "What about Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo repeated, "She always lets us help." "Yeah, and we always go ta' help her. Let's try somepony else for a change," Applebloom suggested, marking off the pictures of Rarity and Rainbow Dash. "Fine." She folded her forelegs and started to pout. "Why don't we try to help Pinkie Pie? She's always tons of fun!" Sweetie said, smiling from ear to ear. "Yeah, what do ya' think Scootaloo? Wanna go help Pinkie?" Applebloom turned to the spot where Scootaloo had been sitting, only to find that she disappeared. Applebloom grumbled to herself, "Why can't she just stick with us? Does she really like Rainbow Dash that much?" "Should we go get her?" "Nah, let's just go help Pinkie. If she doesn't want ta' hang out with us, then I don't wanna hang out with her neither." Rainbow Dash was flying through the skies, kicking and moving clouds as she saw fit. She liked her work, because she got to do two of her favorite things: fly and do tricks. Suddenly, she was caught off guard by a flash of orange and purple, which tackled her right into a nearby cloud. "What the—" Rainbow managed before she looked up to see the orange filly sitting on top of her. "Hey, Rainbow Dash! I came to see if you wanted any help!" Scootaloo shouted excitedly. She liked to help Rainbow Dash. Ever since she was able to fly, she wanted to go up and help Rainbow. She liked having the practice along with being able to spend time with her role model. "Oh, hey Squirt." Even though Scootaloo was close to her size, the nickname just stuck. "Sure, why don't you get rid of that bunch of clouds over there?" She pointed over to an area that was full of clouds, Scootaloo's head followed. "All of them?" She turned back to Rainbow Dash who now had a smirk on her face. "Hey, you're the one who wanted to help - besides, you could use the practice," "Fine…" She started to fly towards the clouds and kicking at the ones closest to her. Rainbow sighed to herself and resumed her work. She started to fly towards a few clouds that needed to be moved for the upcoming rainstorm. As Applebloom opened the front door to Sugarcube Corner, she saw Pinkie Pie standing behind the counter, munching on a chocolate chip cookie. Actually, devouring would be a better word for it. The bell over the door rang and Pinkie was immediately standing right in front of the fillies. They looked to where she had been standing to see a pink cloud quickly dissipating. "Hey, girls!" Pinkie started, "What can I help you with? Do want some cupcakes? Cookies? Crape? Cupcakes? Oops, silly me, I already said that!" She then began to laugh uncontrollably. "Um, sorry to interrupt, Pinkie," Sweetie Belle began, "but we were here to see if we could help you with anything," "Oh, of course I can find something for the two of you to... Wait, where's Scootaloo?" "Well, she decided ta' help Rainbow Dash... again." Applebloom sighed. "Oh, well, don't you worry your little face about that!" Pinkie was still as... Pinkie, as she always was. "There's still plenty of stuff for you to do!" She rushed into the kitchen and popped her head back out the door. "Come on, silly-billies!" The two looked at each other and followed Pinkie into the kitchen. "Why don't you help me make some cupcakes? We could always use more cupcakes!" Pinkie said while gathering the many utensils and ingredients needed. "But we ain't no good at makin' cupcakes, remember?" Applebloom said with a raised eyebrow. "Of course I do, silly!" Pinkie said in her usual enthusiastic voice. "I was cleaning up batter for days." She mumbled that last part to herself. "But you're older now! Maybe you will be better!" Pinkie raised a cup of milk in her hoof. "So, let's get started!" About a hundred clouds later, Scootaloo managed to spend some time with Rainbow Dash. They finished up with the clouds earlier with Scootaloo's help. "So, squirt," Rainbow began, "how's school going?" "It's fine, I guess, still as boring as it always has been though." "Yeah, I never liked school either. Only eggheads like school." Scootaloo chuckled to herself, "Yeah, eggheads... Rainbow Dash? Can I ask you something?" Rainbow looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?" "How come you are still friends with Twilight even though you two are so different? You have almost nothing in common, so why are you still friends?" She looked almost like she was worried about something. "Well, we might not have much in common," she looked back at Scootaloo, "but I know that she'll always be there for me, no matter what. Being a friend is more than just liking the same music or liking the same sport; it's about being there for one another. And if you tell anypony that I was talking like that, you and I are gonna have a problem." Scootaloo chuckled, "No worries Rainbow Dash," her smile quickly faded however. "What is it Squirt?" "It's nothing." "Come on, you can tell me!" "Well," Scootaloo began, "I've been hanging out with Sweetie and Applebloom a lot. I actually thought about it the other day, and I discovered that I don't have anything in common with either of them. I like to fly and play sports, but they don't like to do anything like that! Sweetie only wants to sing and perform, and all Applebloom does is work." "Well, where are they now?" "I think they're at Sugarcube Corner." "Don't you think you should be hanging out with them then? Like I said, friendship isn't about doing the same things, or liking the same stuff. It's about being there for each other. They're always there for you, aren't they?" Scootaloo nodded. "Then shouldn't you always be there for them too? Maybe you should try to help them instead of doing only what you want." Scootaloo looked at her. "Maybe you're right, they're always there for me, and I just ditched them to get what I wanted. Thanks, Rainbow Dash." "No pro—" Suddenly, the orange filly flew right past her and towards Ponyville. Rainbow just sighed, "She's more excited about getting her wings than I was." She then lied back on the soft plushy cloud and relaxed. Scootaloo flew through the air as fast as her wings would allow, which was surprisingly fast. Her destination was clear: Sugarcube Corner, to talk to her friends. On the way she thought about how she was going to do it, how she would apologize to them. “I think this is going to be harder than I thought,” she thought to herself as she stopped at the front door of Sugarcube Corner. As she walked through the front door, she could hear yelling from the kitchen. "No, not that! The other thing! No!" She could hear what she knew had to be Pinkie Pie. She could also hear Sweetie Belle yelling, "Sorry, Pinkie! Do I need more flour?" Scootaloo sighed and walked through the kitchen door, nearly getting hit in the head by a glob of batter as she did so. She's looked around to see that there was batter and frosting all over the room. The walls, floor, and even the ceiling were covered in the ingredients. She turned to see the three ponies mixing a bowl full of batter. She walked over to where they were standing and tapped Applebloom on her flank. Applebloom jumped and turned around. She frowned when she saw it was Scootaloo. "Oh, hey Scootaloo..." "Hey, Applebloom," The other two stopped messing with the batter and turned to face Scootaloo and Applebloom. "Pinkie, do you mind if I talk to Applebloom and Sweetie alone?" Pinkie blinked, then smiled her normal, cheery smile. "Okie dokie lokie!" She then bounced away to the front of the bakery to tend to the customers. "Look, you guys," Scootaloo began, "I know I haven't been the best of friends lately," "More like ever," Applebloom mumbled under her breath. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for ditching you guys this morning. I was just thinking about myself and getting what I wanted. So again, I'm sorry." "Oh, don't worry about it, Scootaloo. We all make mistakes. I forgive you," Sweetie said before turning towards Applebloom, "Come on Applebloom, she said she was sorry," Applebloom's frown didn't change, "So? That still don't change the fact that ya' left us fer' Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo was shocked at this sudden outburst of the normally calm pony, "I know, I'm trying to apologize. I know that it was wrong," Applebloom was close to tears now. "Yeah, but it always seems like ya'd rather hang out with Rainbow Dash instead of us! We never get ta' hang out no more." "Maybe that's because you're always working at the farm!" Scootaloo barked, growing irritated. "I have ta' work! It's mah' job!" She began to walk to the door. "And besides, anytime ah'm not workin' ya'd rather be with Rainbow Dash instead of us!" She walked through the door, slamming it behind her. They then heard the bell over the front door as they figured out that she had left. Sweetie walked over to Scootaloo. "I think you should just let her cool down. You know we're her best friends in all of Equestria. The least you could do is hang out with her for once." She started towards the door but was stopped when Scootaloo started talking. "I know, don't worry. I'll make it up to her." Sweetie smiled at her and went out into the front of the bakery. "Somehow…" ReparationsScootaloo was walking up the path that lead to the Apples' farm house. She knew Applebloom would still be upset after what had happened. She was thinking to herself the entire way from her house, 'What do I do?' She actually knew what to do, she had to make it up to Applebloom. She had to let her know that she will always be there for her. The real question was how she would do that. First, she thought about getting the group together and helping somepony like they always did, but there lied the problem. They always did that, this had to be just the two of them doing something special. She then began to think about things they could do together. After thinking for just about the whole way there, she decided that she would let Applebloom decide what they could do. Not long after she made her plans, she was at the door of the farm house. She raised her hoof and hesitated. 'What if she doesn't want to talk to me?' She quickly dismissed the thought and allowed her hoof to fall on the wooden frame of the screen door. Soon after, the door opened to reveal an orange earth-pony. Applejack smiled as soon as she saw that it was Scootaloo. "Hey there sugarcube! What can ah' help ya' with?" "Hey Applejack, is Applebloom home? I really wanted to do something with her today," Scootaloo noticed that Applejack's smile fell a little. "Well, she's been in her room most of the day. Ah' don't think she's in the mood for anythin' like that, but ah'll see if she's up for it," Applejack stepped aside to let the filly step inside. Scootaloo walked past Applejack and heard her close the door behind her. She moved towards the sofa near a wall on the far side of the room and took a seat. Applejack trotted up the stairs saying, "Ah'll be back in a second sugarcube, make yerself comfortable," So there she sat, looking around at the room she knew so well. She had been to Applebloom's home many times, considering how they used to play in a clubhouse not far from there. 'I hope Applebloom comes out,' Applebloom sat alone in her room, only leaving to eat and use the bathroom. After the events of the day before, she felt like she could stay in that room for the rest of her life. 'Why can't Scootaloo just hang out with us? We're her best friends, not Rainbow Dash,' There was a knock on her door, to which she barely moved. She considered for a moment acting like she was asleep and just sitting there in silence hoping that whoever it was would leave. She, against her judgment, said, "Come in," just loud enough to be heard. She heard the door open and, without moving an inch from her spot, heard her sister begin to talk. "Hey there Applebloom, ya' doin' alright?" She did nothing in response. "Well, Scootaloo is downstairs-" She was interrupted by a sharp, "Why is she here?" "Ah'm sure she just wants to apologize is all. Ya' kinda shoved her away yesterday from what ah' heard," "She deserved it," Applebloom replied and looked at the ground, her brow furrowed. "Maybe what she did was wrong, but ya' need ta' give her another chance," Applebloom felt a hoof on her shoulder, "Ya'll are still friends, and ya' need to at least try to forgive her. Even if yer' angry with her," Applebloom felt her face relax and she looked up at her sister. "Do ya' really think ah' should forgive her? She constantly ditches us-" She was interrupted by a hoof being placed on her lips. "Ah' know," Applejack removed her hoof from her lips, "Ah' also know that ya' should try ta' forgive her. Ya'll ain't gonna get anywhere fightin' all the time," Applebloom got to her hooves and began to walk towards the door. "Fine, ah'll give her another chance," Anger still apparent, she walked out the door and down the stairs. 'I hope they get along,' Applejack thought to herself as she walked out of the room, 'they used to be the best of friends,' Applebloom walked down the stairs, not looking up from the ground. She began to walk towards Scootaloo, who stood up and was looking at her. Applejack followed behind Applebloom. She walked into the kitchen to allow the two of then to talk. "So...," Scootaloo trailed off. Applebloom didn't move an inch. "Do you want to... do something?" Applebloom looked up at Scootaloo and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it right afterwards. "Ah' guess...," Scootaloo smiled weakly then added, "Well what do you want to do?" Applebloom looked back towards the ground and didn't say anything. She really didn't want to do anything, not with Scootaloo anyway. Scootaloo, who had no idea what to say, just looked at her friend. Moments passed, with not a single word being said, only the sound of them breathing. Scootaloo finally broke the silence, "Did you eat yet? You want to go get something?" Applebloom was still looking at the ground, not wanting to make any eye contact. "Fine...," Scootaloo began to walk towards the door, Applebloom following behind. Scootaloo opened the door for Applebloom, and closed it after they had left. They walked towards town, without a single word being said the entire time. When they finally reached the diner after what seemed like ages, they ordered their food, and sat there. Scootaloo tried to break the silence, "So, how have you been?" Applebloom shot her a look that could've killed her. For a split second she wished it would. "Look, Applebloom-" "Save it, ah' don't want ta' hear it. Ya' abandoned us Scootaloo, for Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo tried to reply but found herself speechless. "Ya' left Sweetie and me, ah' thought... how could... why?" Scootaloo looked down at the table, too ashamed to look up at her friend. "I don't know... I just wanted... I just... I'm sorry...," Scootaloo felt a tear roll down her face. "Ah' can't believe ya' would just leave yer' two best friends like that. We've always been there for ya', and do ya' return the favor? No! Ya' can't even bother ta' hang out with us for a day! Why do ya' want ta' be with Rainbow Dash anyway? What makes her better than us?" Scootaloo was fully crying now, her face soaked with her tears. "I DON'T KNOW! I just wanted to fly! I just... GAH!" She jumped out of her chair and took off straight into the sky. Applebloom didn't even look, she just growled and left. She wanted to be alone, never to see another pony again. Rainbow was flying through the sky, making sure all of the clouds were in order. She noticed one cloud that was out of line and flew over to move it back to where it belonged. As she got ready to move the cloud, she heard a noise, like crying. She looked around the cloud and found Scootaloo on top, her face buried into the cloud. "Hey squirt? What's the matter?" Scootaloo jumped a bit but quickly recovered, "Oh, hey Rainbow," Her face was soaked in tears, she had obviously been here for some time. "What's wrong?" Rainbow repeated. "It's nothing...," Rainbow flew beside the orange mare and wrapped her wing around Scootaloo. "It can't be nothing, tell me," Scootaloo sniffles and wiped her eyes with her hoof, "It's Applebloom, she thinks I left them yesterday, chose you over them. I've tried to apologize, I tried to make it up to her, she just won't listen," Rainbow thought a moment, she then turned back towards Scootaloo, "What did you do?" "I took her out to eat, but we started fighting and I ended up flying up here," Scootaloo's eyes started to water as she remembered the events at the diner. "Look," Rainbow said as she wiped the tears from Scootaloo's eyes, "I know why she's so upset about it, but you have to promise not to tell anypony else, alright?" Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow and nodded. Rainbow sighed and continued, "When Applebloom was younger, their dad, Applebuck, would always play with them. He would love them, and care for them, just like any great father would. Applebloom and he were... inseparable. They were always together, playing, eating, even sleeping together," Rainbow took a deep breath, "But one day, Applebuck never came back from the field. Turns out he left for some tramp from Fillydelphia. He left them Scootaloo, and never came back," Scootaloo was shocked, she couldn't say anything. All she did was look into the distance and think about what Applebloom thought about her leaving the way she did. "She really cares for you Scootaloo, you can't let her believe you're just gonna leave her like her dad did," Scootaloo nodded, wiping her face in an attempt to clean herself up, "I understand Rainbow Dash, don't worry, I'll make it up to her somehow," Rainbow nodded, "Good," Scootaloo flew off the cloud and towards Ponyville. 'Don't let her down Scootaloo, be there for her,' Author's Note I know this chapter took a while to get up, but it's hard to type all these stories on an iPod. I try to wait until I am able to get to a computer before I start writing, but if it takes too long I try to make do with the iPod. ThunderstormApplebloom sat in her room, not wanting to be disturbed. She hardly even noticed as Applejack opened the door and peered in, "Ya'll alright?" "Go away...," Applebloom muttered looking down at the floor. "It's alright Applebloom, ah'm sure things'll get better," Applejack walked into the room and sat down beside her younger sister. "No it won't, she'll just end up leavin' us, just like Dad did...," "Now don't ya' say somethin' like that, ah'm sure she'll come around," "No she won't, ah' don't wanna see her no more!" Applejack put her hoof around her sister's shoulder, "Don't say that Applebloom, ah' know ya' want ta' forgive her," "No, she don't deserve it. Ah' never wanna see her again...," "Applebloom..." Then there was a knock at the door. Applejack moved her hoof away and stood up, "Ah'll be back...," she left the room, leaving Applebloom alone. Scootaloo was up all night. She felt sick to her stomach about how she had made Applebloom feel. About what her father did... How she didn't want to make the same mistake that he had. She had also been thinking about many things, how she would properly apologize to Applebloom, how just seeing her like that made Scootaloo want to cry herself... And also about what would happen if Applebloom didn't forgive her. She tried, however, to push the thought from her mind as she flew quickly towards the farm. She soon arrived, drenched in the rain from the storm. She knew that there was a thunderstorm scheduled for that day, but she didn't care. She realized that all she cared about was finding Applebloom and fixing the rift that had been made in their friendship. She arrived at the farmhouse. Drenched and completely out of breath, she knocked on the door. Not long afterwards, she saw it open and a slightly shocked Applejack standing on the other side of the doorway. "What are ya' doin' out there in tha' storm Scootaloo? Get inside where it's safe and warm," She gestured for Scootaloo to enter the house, to which she followed. "Sorry Applejack. I just really needed to talk to Applebloom," "Well, she ain't really in tha' mood ta' talk to nopony," "Please Applejack?" Scootaloo was looking at Applejack with a pair of puppy dog eyes. Applejack sighed, "Fine, ah'll see if she'll come down here for a few minutes, but it ain't no promise alright?" Scootaloo weakly smiled at her and helped herself to a seat on the couch as Applejack walked up the stairs towards Applebloom's room. After a moment or two of silence, Scootaloo could hear some shouting. She couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but she had a pretty good guess of what it was about. After a few more seconds of shouting, Applebloom walked down the stairs with her brow furrowed. Scootaloo stood up as she felt her heart skip a beat, she was truly scared that what she had planned wouldn't work. Applejack followed after her younger sister, glaring at her as she did so. They reached the bottom of the staircase and Applebloom walked towards Scootaloo, not taking her eyes off the ground for a second. Applejack left the room saying, "Now y'all go ahead and talk it out, ah'll be in tha' kitchen if ya' need anythin'," Scootaloo and Applebloom just sat there, each one not knowing what to say to the other. Actually, Scootaloo didn't know how to start and Applebloom had absolutely nothing to say to her. Scootaloo tried to clear the knot that had formed in her throat, to little success, "Applebloom, I know that what I did was wrong and I shouldn't have left you like-" "Don't even bother Scootaloo, ah don't wanna hear it," Scootaloo closed her mouth, but quickly began talking again, "Applebloom, I know about your father, and what he did. I also know how close you two were," Applebloom let her brow relax a little as she looked up towards Scootaloo, "How did ya' know that?" Scootaloo shook her head, "It doesn't matter, what does matter is that I know how that must make you feel, how hurt you must have been when he left," "Ya' don't know nothin'! Ya' don't know how it feels ta' go through life without either of yer' parents! Ya' don't know how much hurts ta' lose somepony so close ta' ya'!" Scootaloo could see the tears beginning to well up in her friend's eyes. "You're wrong Applebloom, I do know how you feel," She closed her eyes shut and squeezed then tight as she attempted to tell her the truth, "I... I'm an... orphan..." Applebloom's face went blank, she didn't know how to react or what to say. It quickly went back to anger as she said, "That don't mean nothin'..." Scootaloo opened her eyes in shock, she looked directly at Applebloom, who was trying to look away from Scootaloo. "Wha... How can you say that?" Her eyes now beginning to swell with tears as well. "It... doesn't matter to you? I grew up without either of my parents! I don't have any siblings and if I do, I don't know who they are or where I can find them! You had the chance to know how it is to feel the warmth and security of having a parent, I had nopony to even act like a parental figure for me!" Scootaloo was completely crying now, she didn't even bother trying to stop the tears. "Ya' got no idea! None at all 'bout how ah felt when ah lost my dad! The crushed feeling ya' get when ya' realize that..." She began to calm a little as she was crying now, "ya' ain't gonna get him back... ever," She quickly looked back at Scootaloo, the anger again returning. "That never happened ta' ya', now did it?" Scootaloo was now just as angry as Applebloom was, "My parents left me before I was born! You had a chance to love him before he left! I have no idea what any of that feels like!" "Just shut up! Ah can't believe ah was ever friends with such a SELFISH PONY! JUST LEAVE!" "No, I'm not leaving Applebloom!" Applebloom was now furious, "JUST GET OUT! Don't ya' get it? Our friendship is OVER! Ah'm tired of dealin' with ya' Scootaloo! We ain't friends no more!" Scootaloo was visibly hurt by her words. Applebloom just continued to stare at her former friend. After a few seconds, Scootaloo simply said, "I'm sorry," and dashed out the door and into the storm, heading anywhere away from there. Rainbow Dash soared through the storm, searching for any sign of the lost filly. "Scootaloo!" She continued to call. "Where are you?" After a few minutes of searching, she saw Scootaloo flying aimlessly through the sky. With a grimace, Rainbow took off towards her. After reaching her, Rainbow said, "Scootaloo! What are you doing out here? It's dangerous!" Scootaloo turned towards her, "Leave me alone...," Rainbow jumped a little, the filly had never even attempted to talk to her like that before. "Squirt, I know that it hurts, but right now you have to get out of this storm! It's too dangerous!" "I said go away," "Not until you come down and-" Scootaloo shoved her away. Rainbow's mouth dropped a little, something awful must've have to make the normally cheery filly shove her idol. "Scootaloo... Listen to me," "No! You're just gonna tell me to apologize! Well I tried! She doesn't want to be my friend any more!" Scootaloo was now angry, Rainbow could see her crying even through the heavy rainfall. "Look, you just need to calm down Scootaloo," "No! Applebloom doesn't want to be my friend! I... I just...," Scootaloo turned away. "I just want her to know I'm sorry...," Rainbow sighed, "Scootaloo," she flew back over to the filly. "Just come down, it's not safe to be up here. We can talk about this when we get inside," Scootaloo sniffled, "... I just want to be alone...," "I won't leave you, Scootaloo," "Fine...," Scootaloo turned and dashed away, flying as fast as her wings could take her. Rainbow just sighed, "Scootaloo! Come back!" She then took off after the distraught filly. Rainbow flew right after Scootaloo, she knew it wouldn't take long to catch up with her. She was mostly worried that one of them would get hurt, she was more concerned, however, for Scootaloo. "Scootaloo! Just stop! Come down from here!" Without turning back, Scootaloo yelled, "No!" Rainbow, who began to squint at the combination of rain and wind, now flew closer and closer to her. She didn't want to hurt Scootaloo, so Rainbow decided that she would just get close enough to her to grab onto one of the filly's hind legs to slow her down. Rainbow Dash was only a few feet away from catching Scootaloo, she reached out her leg to try to grab one of her legs. Only a few more inches when... Crack. "AUGH!" Scootaloo turned and it felt like the breath was ripped from her lungs. She saw Rainbow Dash falling, not diving, but falling. She stopped dead in her tracks and flew straight towards the falling mare. "Rainbow Dash!" She was close enough to see Rainbow's eyes open. Her face was expressionless. Scootaloo flew as fast as her wings would carry her, she slowly and slowly grew closer to Rainbow Dash. Her wings were burning, but she paid them no mind. All she thought about was saving Rainbow. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she realized, 'This is my fault,' Scootaloo reached out for Rainbow, she flapped her wings as hard as she could, and wrapped her hoof around that of her idol's. She tried to pull on Rainbow's leg, attempting to slow their descent. She hardly slowed them at all. "Rainbow! I... can't carry... you!" Rainbow Dash, her face still blank, pulled Scootaloo towards her. Scootaloo was shocked at this, especially as she felt Rainbow's legs wrap around her as she gripped the filly in a hug. "It's ok Squirt," she pulled away from the hug and looked straight into Scootaloo's eyes. "you still caught me...," She pushed Scootaloo away from her as they neared the ground. Scootaloo was so shocked that she actually began to flap her wings again. "Rainbow Dash!" She flew as fast as she could towards Rainbow, but it wasn't fast enough. She saw as Rainbow hit the ground with a thud. Scootaloo hardly slow as she neared the ground, "RAINBOW DASH!" She slowed just enough to keep herself from getting any serious injuries as she hit the ground. Scratched and bruised, Scootaloo slowly walked towards the cyan mare. "Rainbow?" No response. "Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo got over Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, wake up! Please... Wake up...," Scootaloo began to cry again, this time, however, she buried her face in Rainbow's fur. "Please...," She continued to cry, she didn't move, she just stayed there in the middle of the storm. After a few minutes, she looked up at Rainbow Dash's face. It was... expressionless. She noticed something out of the corner of her teary eyes. She turned her head to look at Rainbow's right wing. She saw that it was singed, then she realized that lightning had struck her. She felt more tears well up in her eyes. Returning her gaze to Rainbow's face she said, "Th-this is... all... my f-fault...," She buried her face back into Rainbow's chest and wrapped her front legs around her. "I w-wasn't... fast enough... I wasn't... s-strong enough...," She cried for what seemed like hours. The storm raged on, soaking her in rain, but she didn't care... Days later, a funeral was held for Rainbow Dash. Everypony was there. Scootaloo recognized most of the ponies, but some of them she had never seen. She saw Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be the saddest one there... She also saw Applebloom, who she hadn't seen since they got into their last argument. After the ponies gave their goodbyes to Rainbow, Scootaloo walked slowly up to her casket and gazed at her. Her eyes immediately filled with tears as she turned and ran. She wasn't looking where she was going and ran into Applebloom. "Oh, hi... Scootaloo...," "Uh, hey... Applebloom...," "Um, ah'm sorry Scootaloo, ah shouldn't have acted tha' way ah did," Applebloom tried to look away from Scootaloo. "No, I'm sorry, I should've been more sensitive to how you feel," Applebloom barely managed a smile. Scootaloo tried to do the same. "So... friends?" Applebloom reached out her hoof. Scootaloo sadly chuckled, "Rainbow wouldn't have had it any other way," she then reached her hoof out and bumped her friend's. Scootaloo began to tear up again as she remembered Rainbow's last words. "It's ok Squirt, you still caught me...,"
Innocence"Do you really think this is a good idea?" "Trust me, it's foolproof!" "Ya but..." Sweetie Belle looked unassured towards the giant homemade ramp that would surely end up sending them to the hospital. "Do you really think it'll work?" "C'mon Sweetie! Our cutie marks could be in stunts!" Scootaloo was trying to convince Sweetie, without the help of Applebloom, who was home working on making zap apple jam with the rest of the Apple family. "I don't know..." Sweetie was now backing away from the scooter, "Don't you think we could get hurt?" Sometimes she thought she was the only one who worried about getting hurt. Applebloom and Scootaloo were always more concerned with getting their cutie marks rather than how they got them. They never seemed to think their ideas through, and always ignored Sweetie when she began to worry. "C'mon Sweetie, are you in it or not?" Scootaloo said noticeably growing impatient. Sweetie Belle shook her head, "I'm not going and I don't think you should either, it seems too dangerous," "Fine, if you're not going, then I am!" Scootaloo shoved off as her scooter began to roll down the ramp, with her on it. Sweetie watched in horror as one of her best friends began to barrel down the death trap at break-neck speeds. She swore that she was the only one with any common sense in this group. Scootaloo flew down the ramp, her cheeks were practically covering her ears. The wind against her face began to sting her eyes even as she squinted against it. She began to get speed wobbles as she was nearing the end of the ramp. She quickly righted her scooter as she flew from the end, wings buzzing in hope of gaining more speed. Sweetie Belle watched as a smile began to spread across her face. She stood on her hind legs and began to jump around, cheering at her friend's feat. When suddenly, a thought wiggled its way into both of their minds. 'What about the landing?' Sweetie's smile was quickly erased from her face, leaving a shocked and worried expression in its place. Scootaloo's eyes darted toward the ground. She realized she was far too high to be able to land without any kind of injury. Her wings weren't fully developed yet so they wouldn't aid much in her descent. Out of pure shock, she slowly released her grip from her scooter and began to fall towards the hard ground below. Her limbs flailing all around, looking for something, anything, to grab on to. Her wings flapping as hard as she could, trying desperately to keep her up, to no prevail. Suddenly, a flash flew by her. She noticed that it was all the colors of a rainbow. She then saw Rainbow Dash stop mid-flight and zoom towards the falling filly yelling, "Hang on squirt!" As she grew closer to Scootaloo, Rainbow thought to herself, 'Okay, I realize they want their cutie marks, but free falling?' She mare caught Scootaloo with time to spare. She then slowly brought the orange filly down to safety. "Um... thanks Rainbow Dash..." Scootaloo said trying desperately to not make eye contact. "What in Equestria were you trying to do, get yourself killed? Do you have any idea what could've happened if I wasn't here to save you?" She was incredibly angry with the young filly, partially because Scootaloo did some outrageous stunt and nearly died, but mostly for making her worry. Of course, she would never tell her that though. She always thought of Scootaloo as a sister, like the one she never had. Rainbow felt it was her responsibility to look after her, like it was her duty to keep her safe from harm. Scootaloo managed to get out a sorry before Rainbow erupted at her again. "You're sorry? Do you think that would've made a difference if you were in the hospital or worse? That was an incredibly dangerous thing to do Scootaloo! There's a difference between giving it your all and just plain being reckless!" "I know, I didn't mean to make you worry Rainbow Dash, I was just trying to get my cutie mark," Rainbow realized that she was scolding Scootaloo and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Look squirt, you can't just be doing anything you feel like and not expect to have any consequences. You have to realize that some things are okay to do and others," she gestured towards the ramp, "are just reckless and endangers more ponies than just yourself," "I understand Rainbow, I promise to try to be more careful next time," Not completely convinced of her understanding, Rainbow decided to let it go. "Okay, go back and play with Sweetie, and remember, no being reckless," She tussled Scootaloo's hair and gave her a smile which Scootaloo returned. She then proceeded to run pat Rainbow Dash to look for her scooter. 'Someday you'll learn Scootaloo,' Rainbow thought to herself as she flew back up to her cloud to resume her slumber. 'Someday...' "Applebloom!" Both of the fillies yelled in unision. Applebloom stepped outside for a brief moment to see that the other two crusaders were riding as fast as they could towards the farmhouse. "AH!" was all Applebloom managed to get out as the two ran straight into her. They collided and flew into the house, not even phasing Granny Smith as she slept peacefully in her chair. Applebloom got to her feet to see that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were now tangled around each other. "What was that for?" she demanded. "Sorry," Scootaloo said with an apologetic grin on her face, "we were just in a big hurry to come see you! Are you finished with the zap apple jam?" "I think so," she was still rubbing the back of her head as she glanced over to Granny Smith, who was now snoring. "Applejack and Big Mac finished pickin' what they could of the zap apples, we finished the last of 'em about half an hour ago. I've been cleanin' up the mess ever since," "Oh," Sweetie said looking towards the kitchen. "why don't we help you finish? Then we can all go to the club and talk," "But-" Sweetie elbowed Scootaloo in her stomach. "OW! Fine..." After the trio finished removing the pink polka dots from the walls, cleaned the many spilled drops of jam of the floor, and scrubbed the pots and pans clean, they were off towards the clubhouse. "So what was so important that ya' had ta' slam into me like that?" "Well, remember how we said that we should try to jump a ramp down that really big hill? To get stunt devil cutie marks?" Scootaloo said. "Yeah?" "Well," Scootaloo began looking down at the ground with an awkward smile on her face, "we tried it," "And?" Scootaloo remembered the events clearly in her mind. The talking, the flying down the ramp, trying to fly, failing. "We did'nt really think the landing through-" "WHAT? How can ya' forget the most important part of a stunt?" "Listen," Applebloom looked like she had more to say, but respectively kept her mouth shut. "I was flying through the air and realized our mistake-" "OUR mistake?" Now it was Sweetie's turn to jump in. "What do you mean our mistake? You were the one who-" "Will you just let me finish? You should know what happened too!" Sweetie looked shocked at the sudden outburst as she remembered that she had no idea what had happened either. "Anyway, I started to fall. I was sure that was gonna be it until," She took a deep breath and continued, "Rainbow Dash saved me. I thought she was just gonna drop me off on the ground and tell me to try harder like she always does, but she did'nt," Both of the other fillies looked at each other and then back to Scootaloo. Applebloom was trying to sound as compassionate as possible, "What happened?" Scootaloo was still looking at the ground, trying to recall the events that took place only a few hours earlier. "She started to yell at me, telling me that what I did was reckless and dangerous. That my actions had certain consequences and affected more ponies than just myself. She never acted like that before, I did'nt know how to respond to her, all I could do was apologize," "I think she was just worried about ya' was all," Applebloom said as she noticed that Scootaloo was finished. "Yeah," Sweetie agreed, "she just did'nt want you or anypony else to get hurt," "I know," Scootaloo said, "but I can't help feeling that there was more to it than just that," By this time the three had arrived at the clubhouse and were walking through the front door. "How do you feel when Applejack gets angry with you Applebloom?" Scootaloo looked towards Applebloom with curious eyes. "Well, ah know that it was wrong of me ta' do, even if it was somethin' that semed okay in tha' first place," "Yeah, but how did you feel about it afterwards?" "Ah knew that Applejack was only lookin' out for me. She wanted me ta' be safe and was only tryin' ta' protect me," Scootaloo nodded and looked towards Sweetie Belle, who was now sitting on the floor next to Applebloom. "What about you Sweetie? How do you feel when Rarity yells at you?" "I know that Rarity sometimes over reacts about some of the stuff I do, but most of the time I deserved the yelling she does. I know that she only wants the best for me, even if her way of showing it isn't the best," Scootaloo started to think, about her friend's answers and about how Rainbow acted towards her. 'That sounds alot like how Rainbow Dash acted towards me. She wasn't yelling at me just to be doing it, she was doing it because she wanted me to be safe and was looking our for me,' "Why don't we just get back to crusading?" Sweetie interrupted Scootaloo's thoughts as she noticed that Scootaloo was growing very depressed about the subject. "Yeah, let's try not ta' think about it," Applebloom said agreeing with Sweetie. "Yeah," Scootaloo began, "let's just get back to crusading..." Author's Note Just so you guys aren't confused during the second chapter, I was planning on doing a time lapse to where Scootaloo and the rest of the crusaders grow up some. They are now the equivilant to being teenagers in our world. I just wanted to mention this so that there is no confusion during the rest of the story.
Growing Up (edited)"What now?" Sweetie asked. "Ah'm not sure," Applebloom began, "maybe Twilight needs help with somethin'. She still likes ta' do all them experiments." "Yeah, right," Scootaloo said rolling her eyes, "After that why don't we just go apply to the School for Gifted Unicorns?" "First off, we aren't foals anymore," Sweetie said, not catching the sarcasm in her voice. "and secondly, I'm the only unicorn out of the three of us." Although the three of them were growing into young fillies and already got their cutie marks a long time ago, they kept the club together the best they could. Scootaloo let out a loud groan. "That was sarcasm, Sweetie. I know we aren't foals anymore…" "Oh, well, what do we do now?" Sweetie liked to stay on topic. She didn't like to get too far off, which seemed to happen a lot between these three. "Why don't we go see if Rainbow Dash needs any help?" "Because that's what we do every day!" "Well, I don't see you coming up with ideas, Sweetie!" "Girls!" Applebloom decided it was time to jump in before things got too far out of hoof. "Fightin' ain't gonna solve anythin'!" "She's right," Sweetie said looking towards the ground. "Kiss-up," Scootaloo mumbled under her breath. "Now, we need ta' come up with somethin' ta' do. We can't just sit in our old clubhouse like we did when we were young." The clubhouse that once served as their base for their cutie mark crusading missions was now rotting away. Boards were beginning to fall off and the paint was beginning to peel. "Not to mention it's a safety hazard," Scootaloo added. "Now who is there ta' help?" Applebloom asked, motioning to their old chalkboard which now had the faces of six mares drawn on it. "Rarity still doesn't like it when I try to help her," Sweetie said, glaring at the crudely drawn Rarity. "What about Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo repeated, "She always lets us help." "Yeah, and we always go ta' help her. Let's try somepony else for a change," Applebloom suggested, marking off the pictures of Rarity and Rainbow Dash. "Fine." She folded her forelegs and started to pout. "Why don't we try to help Pinkie Pie? She's always tons of fun!" Sweetie said, smiling from ear to ear. "Yeah, what do ya' think Scootaloo? Wanna go help Pinkie?" Applebloom turned to the spot where Scootaloo had been sitting, only to find that she disappeared. Applebloom grumbled to herself, "Why can't she just stick with us? Does she really like Rainbow Dash that much?" "Should we go get her?" "Nah, let's just go help Pinkie. If she doesn't want ta' hang out with us, then I don't wanna hang out with her neither." Rainbow Dash was flying through the skies, kicking and moving clouds as she saw fit. She liked her work, because she got to do two of her favorite things: fly and do tricks. Suddenly, she was caught off guard by a flash of orange and purple, which tackled her right into a nearby cloud. "What the—" Rainbow managed before she looked up to see the orange filly sitting on top of her. "Hey, Rainbow Dash! I came to see if you wanted any help!" Scootaloo shouted excitedly. She liked to help Rainbow Dash. Ever since she was able to fly, she wanted to go up and help Rainbow. She liked having the practice along with being able to spend time with her role model. "Oh, hey Squirt." Even though Scootaloo was close to her size, the nickname just stuck. "Sure, why don't you get rid of that bunch of clouds over there?" She pointed over to an area that was full of clouds, Scootaloo's head followed. "All of them?" She turned back to Rainbow Dash who now had a smirk on her face. "Hey, you're the one who wanted to help - besides, you could use the practice," "Fine…" She started to fly towards the clouds and kicking at the ones closest to her. Rainbow sighed to herself and resumed her work. She started to fly towards a few clouds that needed to be moved for the upcoming rainstorm. As Applebloom opened the front door to Sugarcube Corner, she saw Pinkie Pie standing behind the counter, munching on a chocolate chip cookie. Actually, devouring would be a better word for it. The bell over the door rang and Pinkie was immediately standing right in front of the fillies. They looked to where she had been standing to see a pink cloud quickly dissipating. "Hey, girls!" Pinkie started, "What can I help you with? Do want some cupcakes? Cookies? Crape? Cupcakes? Oops, silly me, I already said that!" She then began to laugh uncontrollably. "Um, sorry to interrupt, Pinkie," Sweetie Belle began, "but we were here to see if we could help you with anything," "Oh, of course I can find something for the two of you to... Wait, where's Scootaloo?" "Well, she decided ta' help Rainbow Dash... again." Applebloom sighed. "Oh, well, don't you worry your little face about that!" Pinkie was still as... Pinkie, as she always was. "There's still plenty of stuff for you to do!" She rushed into the kitchen and popped her head back out the door. "Come on, silly-billies!" The two looked at each other and followed Pinkie into the kitchen. "Why don't you help me make some cupcakes? We could always use more cupcakes!" Pinkie said while gathering the many utensils and ingredients needed. "But we ain't no good at makin' cupcakes, remember?" Applebloom said with a raised eyebrow. "Of course I do, silly!" Pinkie said in her usual enthusiastic voice. "I was cleaning up batter for days." She mumbled that last part to herself. "But you're older now! Maybe you will be better!" Pinkie raised a cup of milk in her hoof. "So, let's get started!" About a hundred clouds later, Scootaloo managed to spend some time with Rainbow Dash. They finished up with the clouds earlier with Scootaloo's help. "So, squirt," Rainbow began, "how's school going?" "It's fine, I guess, still as boring as it always has been though." "Yeah, I never liked school either. Only eggheads like school." Scootaloo chuckled to herself, "Yeah, eggheads... Rainbow Dash? Can I ask you something?" Rainbow looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?" "How come you are still friends with Twilight even though you two are so different? You have almost nothing in common, so why are you still friends?" She looked almost like she was worried about something. "Well, we might not have much in common," she looked back at Scootaloo, "but I know that she'll always be there for me, no matter what. Being a friend is more than just liking the same music or liking the same sport; it's about being there for one another. And if you tell anypony that I was talking like that, you and I are gonna have a problem." Scootaloo chuckled, "No worries Rainbow Dash," her smile quickly faded however. "What is it Squirt?" "It's nothing." "Come on, you can tell me!" "Well," Scootaloo began, "I've been hanging out with Sweetie and Applebloom a lot. I actually thought about it the other day, and I discovered that I don't have anything in common with either of them. I like to fly and play sports, but they don't like to do anything like that! Sweetie only wants to sing and perform, and all Applebloom does is work." "Well, where are they now?" "I think they're at Sugarcube Corner." "Don't you think you should be hanging out with them then? Like I said, friendship isn't about doing the same things, or liking the same stuff. It's about being there for each other. They're always there for you, aren't they?" Scootaloo nodded. "Then shouldn't you always be there for them too? Maybe you should try to help them instead of doing only what you want." Scootaloo looked at her. "Maybe you're right, they're always there for me, and I just ditched them to get what I wanted. Thanks, Rainbow Dash." "No pro—" Suddenly, the orange filly flew right past her and towards Ponyville. Rainbow just sighed, "She's more excited about getting her wings than I was." She then lied back on the soft plushy cloud and relaxed. Scootaloo flew through the air as fast as her wings would allow, which was surprisingly fast. Her destination was clear: Sugarcube Corner, to talk to her friends. On the way she thought about how she was going to do it, how she would apologize to them. “I think this is going to be harder than I thought,” she thought to herself as she stopped at the front door of Sugarcube Corner. As she walked through the front door, she could hear yelling from the kitchen. "No, not that! The other thing! No!" She could hear what she knew had to be Pinkie Pie. She could also hear Sweetie Belle yelling, "Sorry, Pinkie! Do I need more flour?" Scootaloo sighed and walked through the kitchen door, nearly getting hit in the head by a glob of batter as she did so. She's looked around to see that there was batter and frosting all over the room. The walls, floor, and even the ceiling were covered in the ingredients. She turned to see the three ponies mixing a bowl full of batter. She walked over to where they were standing and tapped Applebloom on her flank. Applebloom jumped and turned around. She frowned when she saw it was Scootaloo. "Oh, hey Scootaloo..." "Hey, Applebloom," The other two stopped messing with the batter and turned to face Scootaloo and Applebloom. "Pinkie, do you mind if I talk to Applebloom and Sweetie alone?" Pinkie blinked, then smiled her normal, cheery smile. "Okie dokie lokie!" She then bounced away to the front of the bakery to tend to the customers. "Look, you guys," Scootaloo began, "I know I haven't been the best of friends lately," "More like ever," Applebloom mumbled under her breath. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for ditching you guys this morning. I was just thinking about myself and getting what I wanted. So again, I'm sorry." "Oh, don't worry about it, Scootaloo. We all make mistakes. I forgive you," Sweetie said before turning towards Applebloom, "Come on Applebloom, she said she was sorry," Applebloom's frown didn't change, "So? That still don't change the fact that ya' left us fer' Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo was shocked at this sudden outburst of the normally calm pony, "I know, I'm trying to apologize. I know that it was wrong," Applebloom was close to tears now. "Yeah, but it always seems like ya'd rather hang out with Rainbow Dash instead of us! We never get ta' hang out no more." "Maybe that's because you're always working at the farm!" Scootaloo barked, growing irritated. "I have ta' work! It's mah' job!" She began to walk to the door. "And besides, anytime ah'm not workin' ya'd rather be with Rainbow Dash instead of us!" She walked through the door, slamming it behind her. They then heard the bell over the front door as they figured out that she had left. Sweetie walked over to Scootaloo. "I think you should just let her cool down. You know we're her best friends in all of Equestria. The least you could do is hang out with her for once." She started towards the door but was stopped when Scootaloo started talking. "I know, don't worry. I'll make it up to her." Sweetie smiled at her and went out into the front of the bakery. "Somehow…"
ReparationsScootaloo was walking up the path that lead to the Apples' farm house. She knew Applebloom would still be upset after what had happened. She was thinking to herself the entire way from her house, 'What do I do?' She actually knew what to do, she had to make it up to Applebloom. She had to let her know that she will always be there for her. The real question was how she would do that. First, she thought about getting the group together and helping somepony like they always did, but there lied the problem. They always did that, this had to be just the two of them doing something special. She then began to think about things they could do together. After thinking for just about the whole way there, she decided that she would let Applebloom decide what they could do. Not long after she made her plans, she was at the door of the farm house. She raised her hoof and hesitated. 'What if she doesn't want to talk to me?' She quickly dismissed the thought and allowed her hoof to fall on the wooden frame of the screen door. Soon after, the door opened to reveal an orange earth-pony. Applejack smiled as soon as she saw that it was Scootaloo. "Hey there sugarcube! What can ah' help ya' with?" "Hey Applejack, is Applebloom home? I really wanted to do something with her today," Scootaloo noticed that Applejack's smile fell a little. "Well, she's been in her room most of the day. Ah' don't think she's in the mood for anythin' like that, but ah'll see if she's up for it," Applejack stepped aside to let the filly step inside. Scootaloo walked past Applejack and heard her close the door behind her. She moved towards the sofa near a wall on the far side of the room and took a seat. Applejack trotted up the stairs saying, "Ah'll be back in a second sugarcube, make yerself comfortable," So there she sat, looking around at the room she knew so well. She had been to Applebloom's home many times, considering how they used to play in a clubhouse not far from there. 'I hope Applebloom comes out,' Applebloom sat alone in her room, only leaving to eat and use the bathroom. After the events of the day before, she felt like she could stay in that room for the rest of her life. 'Why can't Scootaloo just hang out with us? We're her best friends, not Rainbow Dash,' There was a knock on her door, to which she barely moved. She considered for a moment acting like she was asleep and just sitting there in silence hoping that whoever it was would leave. She, against her judgment, said, "Come in," just loud enough to be heard. She heard the door open and, without moving an inch from her spot, heard her sister begin to talk. "Hey there Applebloom, ya' doin' alright?" She did nothing in response. "Well, Scootaloo is downstairs-" She was interrupted by a sharp, "Why is she here?" "Ah'm sure she just wants to apologize is all. Ya' kinda shoved her away yesterday from what ah' heard," "She deserved it," Applebloom replied and looked at the ground, her brow furrowed. "Maybe what she did was wrong, but ya' need ta' give her another chance," Applebloom felt a hoof on her shoulder, "Ya'll are still friends, and ya' need to at least try to forgive her. Even if yer' angry with her," Applebloom felt her face relax and she looked up at her sister. "Do ya' really think ah' should forgive her? She constantly ditches us-" She was interrupted by a hoof being placed on her lips. "Ah' know," Applejack removed her hoof from her lips, "Ah' also know that ya' should try ta' forgive her. Ya'll ain't gonna get anywhere fightin' all the time," Applebloom got to her hooves and began to walk towards the door. "Fine, ah'll give her another chance," Anger still apparent, she walked out the door and down the stairs. 'I hope they get along,' Applejack thought to herself as she walked out of the room, 'they used to be the best of friends,' Applebloom walked down the stairs, not looking up from the ground. She began to walk towards Scootaloo, who stood up and was looking at her. Applejack followed behind Applebloom. She walked into the kitchen to allow the two of then to talk. "So...," Scootaloo trailed off. Applebloom didn't move an inch. "Do you want to... do something?" Applebloom looked up at Scootaloo and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it right afterwards. "Ah' guess...," Scootaloo smiled weakly then added, "Well what do you want to do?" Applebloom looked back towards the ground and didn't say anything. She really didn't want to do anything, not with Scootaloo anyway. Scootaloo, who had no idea what to say, just looked at her friend. Moments passed, with not a single word being said, only the sound of them breathing. Scootaloo finally broke the silence, "Did you eat yet? You want to go get something?" Applebloom was still looking at the ground, not wanting to make any eye contact. "Fine...," Scootaloo began to walk towards the door, Applebloom following behind. Scootaloo opened the door for Applebloom, and closed it after they had left. They walked towards town, without a single word being said the entire time. When they finally reached the diner after what seemed like ages, they ordered their food, and sat there. Scootaloo tried to break the silence, "So, how have you been?" Applebloom shot her a look that could've killed her. For a split second she wished it would. "Look, Applebloom-" "Save it, ah' don't want ta' hear it. Ya' abandoned us Scootaloo, for Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo tried to reply but found herself speechless. "Ya' left Sweetie and me, ah' thought... how could... why?" Scootaloo looked down at the table, too ashamed to look up at her friend. "I don't know... I just wanted... I just... I'm sorry...," Scootaloo felt a tear roll down her face. "Ah' can't believe ya' would just leave yer' two best friends like that. We've always been there for ya', and do ya' return the favor? No! Ya' can't even bother ta' hang out with us for a day! Why do ya' want ta' be with Rainbow Dash anyway? What makes her better than us?" Scootaloo was fully crying now, her face soaked with her tears. "I DON'T KNOW! I just wanted to fly! I just... GAH!" She jumped out of her chair and took off straight into the sky. Applebloom didn't even look, she just growled and left. She wanted to be alone, never to see another pony again. Rainbow was flying through the sky, making sure all of the clouds were in order. She noticed one cloud that was out of line and flew over to move it back to where it belonged. As she got ready to move the cloud, she heard a noise, like crying. She looked around the cloud and found Scootaloo on top, her face buried into the cloud. "Hey squirt? What's the matter?" Scootaloo jumped a bit but quickly recovered, "Oh, hey Rainbow," Her face was soaked in tears, she had obviously been here for some time. "What's wrong?" Rainbow repeated. "It's nothing...," Rainbow flew beside the orange mare and wrapped her wing around Scootaloo. "It can't be nothing, tell me," Scootaloo sniffles and wiped her eyes with her hoof, "It's Applebloom, she thinks I left them yesterday, chose you over them. I've tried to apologize, I tried to make it up to her, she just won't listen," Rainbow thought a moment, she then turned back towards Scootaloo, "What did you do?" "I took her out to eat, but we started fighting and I ended up flying up here," Scootaloo's eyes started to water as she remembered the events at the diner. "Look," Rainbow said as she wiped the tears from Scootaloo's eyes, "I know why she's so upset about it, but you have to promise not to tell anypony else, alright?" Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow and nodded. Rainbow sighed and continued, "When Applebloom was younger, their dad, Applebuck, would always play with them. He would love them, and care for them, just like any great father would. Applebloom and he were... inseparable. They were always together, playing, eating, even sleeping together," Rainbow took a deep breath, "But one day, Applebuck never came back from the field. Turns out he left for some tramp from Fillydelphia. He left them Scootaloo, and never came back," Scootaloo was shocked, she couldn't say anything. All she did was look into the distance and think about what Applebloom thought about her leaving the way she did. "She really cares for you Scootaloo, you can't let her believe you're just gonna leave her like her dad did," Scootaloo nodded, wiping her face in an attempt to clean herself up, "I understand Rainbow Dash, don't worry, I'll make it up to her somehow," Rainbow nodded, "Good," Scootaloo flew off the cloud and towards Ponyville. 'Don't let her down Scootaloo, be there for her,' Author's Note I know this chapter took a while to get up, but it's hard to type all these stories on an iPod. I try to wait until I am able to get to a computer before I start writing, but if it takes too long I try to make do with the iPod.
ThunderstormApplebloom sat in her room, not wanting to be disturbed. She hardly even noticed as Applejack opened the door and peered in, "Ya'll alright?" "Go away...," Applebloom muttered looking down at the floor. "It's alright Applebloom, ah'm sure things'll get better," Applejack walked into the room and sat down beside her younger sister. "No it won't, she'll just end up leavin' us, just like Dad did...," "Now don't ya' say somethin' like that, ah'm sure she'll come around," "No she won't, ah' don't wanna see her no more!" Applejack put her hoof around her sister's shoulder, "Don't say that Applebloom, ah' know ya' want ta' forgive her," "No, she don't deserve it. Ah' never wanna see her again...," "Applebloom..." Then there was a knock at the door. Applejack moved her hoof away and stood up, "Ah'll be back...," she left the room, leaving Applebloom alone. Scootaloo was up all night. She felt sick to her stomach about how she had made Applebloom feel. About what her father did... How she didn't want to make the same mistake that he had. She had also been thinking about many things, how she would properly apologize to Applebloom, how just seeing her like that made Scootaloo want to cry herself... And also about what would happen if Applebloom didn't forgive her. She tried, however, to push the thought from her mind as she flew quickly towards the farm. She soon arrived, drenched in the rain from the storm. She knew that there was a thunderstorm scheduled for that day, but she didn't care. She realized that all she cared about was finding Applebloom and fixing the rift that had been made in their friendship. She arrived at the farmhouse. Drenched and completely out of breath, she knocked on the door. Not long afterwards, she saw it open and a slightly shocked Applejack standing on the other side of the doorway. "What are ya' doin' out there in tha' storm Scootaloo? Get inside where it's safe and warm," She gestured for Scootaloo to enter the house, to which she followed. "Sorry Applejack. I just really needed to talk to Applebloom," "Well, she ain't really in tha' mood ta' talk to nopony," "Please Applejack?" Scootaloo was looking at Applejack with a pair of puppy dog eyes. Applejack sighed, "Fine, ah'll see if she'll come down here for a few minutes, but it ain't no promise alright?" Scootaloo weakly smiled at her and helped herself to a seat on the couch as Applejack walked up the stairs towards Applebloom's room. After a moment or two of silence, Scootaloo could hear some shouting. She couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but she had a pretty good guess of what it was about. After a few more seconds of shouting, Applebloom walked down the stairs with her brow furrowed. Scootaloo stood up as she felt her heart skip a beat, she was truly scared that what she had planned wouldn't work. Applejack followed after her younger sister, glaring at her as she did so. They reached the bottom of the staircase and Applebloom walked towards Scootaloo, not taking her eyes off the ground for a second. Applejack left the room saying, "Now y'all go ahead and talk it out, ah'll be in tha' kitchen if ya' need anythin'," Scootaloo and Applebloom just sat there, each one not knowing what to say to the other. Actually, Scootaloo didn't know how to start and Applebloom had absolutely nothing to say to her. Scootaloo tried to clear the knot that had formed in her throat, to little success, "Applebloom, I know that what I did was wrong and I shouldn't have left you like-" "Don't even bother Scootaloo, ah don't wanna hear it," Scootaloo closed her mouth, but quickly began talking again, "Applebloom, I know about your father, and what he did. I also know how close you two were," Applebloom let her brow relax a little as she looked up towards Scootaloo, "How did ya' know that?" Scootaloo shook her head, "It doesn't matter, what does matter is that I know how that must make you feel, how hurt you must have been when he left," "Ya' don't know nothin'! Ya' don't know how it feels ta' go through life without either of yer' parents! Ya' don't know how much hurts ta' lose somepony so close ta' ya'!" Scootaloo could see the tears beginning to well up in her friend's eyes. "You're wrong Applebloom, I do know how you feel," She closed her eyes shut and squeezed then tight as she attempted to tell her the truth, "I... I'm an... orphan..." Applebloom's face went blank, she didn't know how to react or what to say. It quickly went back to anger as she said, "That don't mean nothin'..." Scootaloo opened her eyes in shock, she looked directly at Applebloom, who was trying to look away from Scootaloo. "Wha... How can you say that?" Her eyes now beginning to swell with tears as well. "It... doesn't matter to you? I grew up without either of my parents! I don't have any siblings and if I do, I don't know who they are or where I can find them! You had the chance to know how it is to feel the warmth and security of having a parent, I had nopony to even act like a parental figure for me!" Scootaloo was completely crying now, she didn't even bother trying to stop the tears. "Ya' got no idea! None at all 'bout how ah felt when ah lost my dad! The crushed feeling ya' get when ya' realize that..." She began to calm a little as she was crying now, "ya' ain't gonna get him back... ever," She quickly looked back at Scootaloo, the anger again returning. "That never happened ta' ya', now did it?" Scootaloo was now just as angry as Applebloom was, "My parents left me before I was born! You had a chance to love him before he left! I have no idea what any of that feels like!" "Just shut up! Ah can't believe ah was ever friends with such a SELFISH PONY! JUST LEAVE!" "No, I'm not leaving Applebloom!" Applebloom was now furious, "JUST GET OUT! Don't ya' get it? Our friendship is OVER! Ah'm tired of dealin' with ya' Scootaloo! We ain't friends no more!" Scootaloo was visibly hurt by her words. Applebloom just continued to stare at her former friend. After a few seconds, Scootaloo simply said, "I'm sorry," and dashed out the door and into the storm, heading anywhere away from there. Rainbow Dash soared through the storm, searching for any sign of the lost filly. "Scootaloo!" She continued to call. "Where are you?" After a few minutes of searching, she saw Scootaloo flying aimlessly through the sky. With a grimace, Rainbow took off towards her. After reaching her, Rainbow said, "Scootaloo! What are you doing out here? It's dangerous!" Scootaloo turned towards her, "Leave me alone...," Rainbow jumped a little, the filly had never even attempted to talk to her like that before. "Squirt, I know that it hurts, but right now you have to get out of this storm! It's too dangerous!" "I said go away," "Not until you come down and-" Scootaloo shoved her away. Rainbow's mouth dropped a little, something awful must've have to make the normally cheery filly shove her idol. "Scootaloo... Listen to me," "No! You're just gonna tell me to apologize! Well I tried! She doesn't want to be my friend any more!" Scootaloo was now angry, Rainbow could see her crying even through the heavy rainfall. "Look, you just need to calm down Scootaloo," "No! Applebloom doesn't want to be my friend! I... I just...," Scootaloo turned away. "I just want her to know I'm sorry...," Rainbow sighed, "Scootaloo," she flew back over to the filly. "Just come down, it's not safe to be up here. We can talk about this when we get inside," Scootaloo sniffled, "... I just want to be alone...," "I won't leave you, Scootaloo," "Fine...," Scootaloo turned and dashed away, flying as fast as her wings could take her. Rainbow just sighed, "Scootaloo! Come back!" She then took off after the distraught filly. Rainbow flew right after Scootaloo, she knew it wouldn't take long to catch up with her. She was mostly worried that one of them would get hurt, she was more concerned, however, for Scootaloo. "Scootaloo! Just stop! Come down from here!" Without turning back, Scootaloo yelled, "No!" Rainbow, who began to squint at the combination of rain and wind, now flew closer and closer to her. She didn't want to hurt Scootaloo, so Rainbow decided that she would just get close enough to her to grab onto one of the filly's hind legs to slow her down. Rainbow Dash was only a few feet away from catching Scootaloo, she reached out her leg to try to grab one of her legs. Only a few more inches when... Crack. "AUGH!" Scootaloo turned and it felt like the breath was ripped from her lungs. She saw Rainbow Dash falling, not diving, but falling. She stopped dead in her tracks and flew straight towards the falling mare. "Rainbow Dash!" She was close enough to see Rainbow's eyes open. Her face was expressionless. Scootaloo flew as fast as her wings would carry her, she slowly and slowly grew closer to Rainbow Dash. Her wings were burning, but she paid them no mind. All she thought about was saving Rainbow. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she realized, 'This is my fault,' Scootaloo reached out for Rainbow, she flapped her wings as hard as she could, and wrapped her hoof around that of her idol's. She tried to pull on Rainbow's leg, attempting to slow their descent. She hardly slowed them at all. "Rainbow! I... can't carry... you!" Rainbow Dash, her face still blank, pulled Scootaloo towards her. Scootaloo was shocked at this, especially as she felt Rainbow's legs wrap around her as she gripped the filly in a hug. "It's ok Squirt," she pulled away from the hug and looked straight into Scootaloo's eyes. "you still caught me...," She pushed Scootaloo away from her as they neared the ground. Scootaloo was so shocked that she actually began to flap her wings again. "Rainbow Dash!" She flew as fast as she could towards Rainbow, but it wasn't fast enough. She saw as Rainbow hit the ground with a thud. Scootaloo hardly slow as she neared the ground, "RAINBOW DASH!" She slowed just enough to keep herself from getting any serious injuries as she hit the ground. Scratched and bruised, Scootaloo slowly walked towards the cyan mare. "Rainbow?" No response. "Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo got over Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, wake up! Please... Wake up...," Scootaloo began to cry again, this time, however, she buried her face in Rainbow's fur. "Please...," She continued to cry, she didn't move, she just stayed there in the middle of the storm. After a few minutes, she looked up at Rainbow Dash's face. It was... expressionless. She noticed something out of the corner of her teary eyes. She turned her head to look at Rainbow's right wing. She saw that it was singed, then she realized that lightning had struck her. She felt more tears well up in her eyes. Returning her gaze to Rainbow's face she said, "Th-this is... all... my f-fault...," She buried her face back into Rainbow's chest and wrapped her front legs around her. "I w-wasn't... fast enough... I wasn't... s-strong enough...," She cried for what seemed like hours. The storm raged on, soaking her in rain, but she didn't care... Days later, a funeral was held for Rainbow Dash. Everypony was there. Scootaloo recognized most of the ponies, but some of them she had never seen. She saw Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be the saddest one there... She also saw Applebloom, who she hadn't seen since they got into their last argument. After the ponies gave their goodbyes to Rainbow, Scootaloo walked slowly up to her casket and gazed at her. Her eyes immediately filled with tears as she turned and ran. She wasn't looking where she was going and ran into Applebloom. "Oh, hi... Scootaloo...," "Uh, hey... Applebloom...," "Um, ah'm sorry Scootaloo, ah shouldn't have acted tha' way ah did," Applebloom tried to look away from Scootaloo. "No, I'm sorry, I should've been more sensitive to how you feel," Applebloom barely managed a smile. Scootaloo tried to do the same. "So... friends?" Applebloom reached out her hoof. Scootaloo sadly chuckled, "Rainbow wouldn't have had it any other way," she then reached her hoof out and bumped her friend's. Scootaloo began to tear up again as she remembered Rainbow's last words. "It's ok Squirt, you still caught me...,"
