Light autumn winds tugged gently at the few leaves remaining in the tree branches, periodically pulling a few free and dropping them to the ground in little whirlwinds of fall colors. Other than the sound of forest creatures shuffling in the leaves in preparation for the coming cold, the woods were relatively silent. A tree-house, built into the boughs of a massive, old apple tree, offered its own sounds to the orchestra nature was already playing. Boards creaked under the weight of the building itself; the sway of the wind pushing against its side causing a ripple of wooden groans and squeals of protest until the gusts died down. A peculiar rustling filled the air with each breeze, only to cease in turn when the winds pulled away. Unseen insect calls and wing beats filled the void when all other sounds died down, only to be drowned out again as the winds picked back up.
The steady crunching sound of leaves beneath hooves soon became the dominant sound as a pair of fillies walked side by side down an old, worn, leaf strewn trail. They glanced about in admiration of the beauty of fall, often exchanging smiles and nodding at some object of interest or another, sharing the artistic bounty of the season. They paused at the sight of deer deeper in the woods and whispered back and forth in hushed tones as they waited for the graceful animals to pass.
"Sweetie Belle, ah' never would 'ave believed ya if ah hadn'a seen it for muhself. Applejack always seem'ta like a walk in the woods this time of year…Ah think ah might 'ave to join her next year. Sis' is right, Tis a beauteh to see."
Sweetie nodded, her candy-pink and purple hair bobbing slightly.
"The woods can be like a silent song! Pinkie Pie showed me last year…only she described it as if it was edible. How can dead leaves be tasty? I mean, she's right that it looks amazing but…
I knew you would like it, though, Applebloom. I just wish you could have found Scootaloo. Ever since Rainbow Dash moved out of Ponyville she's been acting so weird; she didn't even want to try that sports contest last week for a shot at our cutie marks!"
Applebloom twirled on her friend, her expression changing from a smile to a hurt frown as she yelled in protest.
"Yah were gonna try for your cutie-marks without me? Ah thought we were always gonna do those things together, like. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are all three uv us!"
Sweetie frowned as the deer bolted away, heading deep into the woods. She followed them with her eyes as long as she could and eventually turned to face Applebloom, offering her friend a sour look for scaring the animals away with her outburst.
"You were sick with the 'Scootaloo'-pox!"
Her voice cracked into a higher pitch, forcing her to take a breath before continuing to avoid spending the argument sounding like a chipmunk.
"You remember when she first caught them we waited for three days before making more attempts at our cutie marks helping your sister buck apples and she understood why we didn't wait! Let's get to the tree-house; you've scared away all the animals."
Sweetie Belle didn't wait for a response and continued down the path, lashing out at piles of leaves with a fore hoof periodically in aggravation. She looked over her shoulder to see catch a glimpse of pale yellow and red to know Applebloom had followed.
The tree-house, the Cutie Mark Crusaders headquarters, was very noticeable through the leafless trees. It seemed so empty and barren without its own leaves, though the cheerful colors Applebloom had painted it with the year before helped give it a warm, safe feel, even with the skeletal fingers of the apple tree it rested on embracing it. She could only smile in memory of those first few months of their friendship, which made casting aside her silly grudge that much easier. As a grin played across her lips she turned to face her friend and share the smile.
"Race you there! Scootaloo's going to hate having missed out on this!"
Sweetie Belle took off down the path, sending a small flurry of leaves to her sides as she galloped ahead.
"Hey! That's not fair, Sweetie Belle! Ah'm still gonna beat you!"
Applebloom took off down the path after Sweetie Belle, matching her stride for stride and eventually overtaking her. She gave a joyous laugh as she galloped up the ramp of the tree-house and turned to see Sweetie had slowed to a walk and had shared in her laughter. She turned back around to the door, the wind dying down but still tousling her hair and… a folded piece of paper wedge into the door frame. Confused she pulled it out and pinned it to the door with a hoof until the wind settled.
It struck her as odd to still hear the buzzing noise of insects in what should have been absolute silence; between the absence of the wind and their yelling scaring away the animals the continued sound was confusing. She shook her head and pulled the folded paper open, on which a familiar writing style she immediately recognized as Scootaloo's scrawled three words that seemed to bleed misery.
"Dash left me…"
Confused she opened the door, allowing it to swing inwards. The insect noise exploded as a cacophony of flies poured out the door and every other available escape route. A horrendous smell of decay pummeled her senses; though with the shades drawn shut the tree house's interior was nearly pitch black. The little light the open door offered wasn't enough to see much more than the mess the insects had made on the floor.
Puzzled and terrified, Applebloom edged into the room and pulled back the window shades; an action she immediately came to regret. Revulsion and disgust battled her will to keep her stomachs contents as she scrambled for the door, only to lose the fight shortly before making it to the railing.
Applebloom looked down the ramp, shivering and on the verge of tears, to see Sweetie Belle looking up at her from the bottom with a horribly confused expression. She knew there wouldn't be any way she could manage to stop her friend at this point, physically, not with her own legs so wobbly she couldn't even sit up, but she knew she had to try.
"Ah… think you should go get yer sister, Sweetie Belle. Ah…"
She paused and choked back a sob before spitting out what remained of her last meal. She drew a deep breath, trying to hurry as Sweetie cautiously began coming up the ramp, her confusion and curiosity edging her forward to try and figure out what had revolted her friend so.
"Don't go in thar! Please Sweetie, go get Fluttershy, or Rarity or anypony. You don't want…"
She collapsed as her emotions overran her, forcing out the tears and pent up emotional horror she'd only contained until that moment. She hated herself for not being able to stop her friend, as she watched Sweetie Belle step in front of the doorway to look inside.
Before her, hanging by the neck from a rope and covered in maggots and what few flies remained, was the desiccated little corpse of their friend, Scootaloo.
