//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Appleblooming // by TheMAM //------------------------------// The tale starts on a bright and hopeful day With everypony smiling in every way Ponyville, a town enriched with friendship With a cutie mark found on every hip Three fillies however, sit around with nothing to do Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo They are the only ones of their class without a talent So they had joined forces to get right at it They’ve tried countless times to find their true calling From washing laundry to playing bowling From breaking mirrors to ripping paper And doing homework, though they chose to do it later From reading stories, to baking cake From butchering, to swimming a lake From swinging ropes, to catching a mouse Heck, they even did unmentionable things in their club house Time went by, yet nothing was gained They sunk into despair, feeling embarrassed and ashamed Pitiful in the eyes of their peers, they hung their heads low They never expected the process to be so slow Now, throwing their hopes away under a shady tree Delusions of grandeur, lost by the three No thoughts of joy, no thoughts of glee They bid farewell to dreams they would never see The thought of the team losing hope fills Scootaloo with rage She suddenly springs up, ready to re-engage Her words shatter the mood, like a hammer to glass “Stop moping about, and get off your ass!” “Hey!” says Yankee Doodle Donkey “Oops,” says Scootaloo, “sorry.” “Scootaloo,” begins Sweetie, “Don’t be so feisty. “You need to choose your words more nicely” “No time for words, we need to take action.” Scootaloo asserts with serious reaction “Let’s get dangerous and do something new. “Do tasks that other ponies would never dare do” “Squishing big bugs? Walking a dark path? “Giving Rarity’s Opal a bath?” Spouts Apple Bloom and Sweetie in a word race Prompting Scootaloo to apply her hoof to her face “No!” shouts Scoots, “Enough hullabaloo. “I mean feats that only tales proclaim true! “From slaying evil dragons to finding hidden treasure. “Feats that only the bravest can endeavor.” “Treasure hunters! That’s what we should be!” Declare Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, while smiling in glee “Such legends like these, Zecora is sure to know. “She can give us some advice and tell us where to go.” Scootaloo likes the suggestion. She likes it a lot. “With our cute faces, she will be brought. “When we succeed, we’ll be more famous than ever. “With our heads up high, we will never say never.” “A feat like this would leave Ponyville shaking. “What are we waiting for? Our cutie marks are waiting!” And now begins their adventure of discovery A surely most exhilarating journey Our heroes take off with minds full of wonder They cannot contain their excitement any longer Galloping in the meadows, right past the trees And Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy busy with birds and bees They arrive at Zecora’s with their hooves a tad sore They walk up to the residence and knock on the door Mere minutes after, their impatience proves the better They barge into the house without invitation or letter They call out again, yet no sight of the potions master Zecora isn’t home to give them their answer Day turns to night, and nothing is achieved Zecora didn’t come so they decide to leave They are trotting home sadly with mild disappointment But they agreed to come back tomorrow for another appointment Yet on their way home, they hear a strange sound Something in the bushes with the bark of a hound Our heroes grow tense and are stricken with shock They are paralyzed to the point where they can’t even talk With one leap forward, causing the trio to retreat A timberwolf appears, eager for pony meat Eyes glowing, giving piercing stares Claws sharper than a feral bear’s And strength as great as Big Mac’s might Making overall a most frightening sight The three fillies flee while screaming in terror Longer and longer! Louder and louder! It is to no avail! Oh, what dismay! The nearest pony is miles away! Fortunately, lady luck decides to be lenient They find a wagon and scooter, how convenient… To which Scootaloo recognizes the transportation as her own Lost when Twilight accidentally zapped it into the unknown The three fillies clamber on before the wolves attack Not wanting to become their midnight snack Thereafter Scootaloo makes sure to accelerate And they barely miss a dreadful fate At least that’s what they think at the time For when everything seems all well and fine The wooden abomination suddenly catches up This time with brothers, sisters, and even his pup Scootaloo tries to lose them, but is not fast enough The trail they took starts to get rough Losing the sight of the path needed to get home They try to escape elsewhere, and randomly roam The girls race through the forest, but the wolves are quick They zip across a bridge, but it didn’t do the trick They jump a river, only to give the wolves a rinse They rocket up the mountains, then events start to commence Scootaloo is swift despite facing many difficulties And the wolves cannot match her Scooter abilities Sharp rocks and high cliffs are no match for her skills While the wolves fail to climb, and are lost in the hills A large rock dislodges and falls down the hill And the timberwolves lose all their will To carry on their rabid chase Fleeing the boulder at a rapid pace Scootaloo stands at the peak victorious Acknowledging her accomplishment, impressive and glorious “You sure are an amazing scooterist!” Apple Bloom remarks from the side “Yeah… I guess I am!” huffs Scootaloo, chest swelling with pride Then something catches her attention during her cheer A flash of light by the side of her rear What is it? Could it be... A scooter cutie mark! Finally! “My cutie mark! My cutie mark!” Scoots exclaims to the girls Her excitement keeps her running in whirls The girls cheering without a trace of bereavement Dance in the ecstasy of Scootaloo’s stellar achievement Our heroes hug while ever so happy But Scootaloo finds the moment to be a bit sappy “Alright, break it up.” says Scootaloo with a modest tone “Let’s celebrate when we get home.” So down the hill, the three fillies quickly descend Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are happy for their friend They feel as though they could kill Just to tell everypony in Ponyville With their high altitude they spot home at last So Scootaloo gets excited and rides extra fast She speeds like Rainbow Dash down the steep hill The three fillies are overjoyed… until… As she grew more fervent, Scootaloo forgot What Miss Cheerilee told her class to do not: “Remember class, always be witty. “Never travel down a steep hill too quickly.” To everypony’s surprise, Scootaloo’s scooter trips And they are catapulted into the air, in which they do flips They fly to a cliff, right off the edge Sweetie Belle is barely able to grab a ledge Apple Bloom grabs Sweetie Belle, and is grabbed by Scootaloo And now the trio is hanging on for dear life without a clue How to get back up, so they scream and they fuss: “Help! Help! Somepony help us!” With tears in their eyes and hearts full of dread They know that soon they will be dead At that moment, Scootaloo suddenly has a resolution “Wait, guys! I have the solution.” “Sweets, can you climb up with two ponies instead of three?” “Um… I guess so” Sweetie Belle utters with uncertainty Scootaloo responds “Then I’ll let go and fly away. “I’ll then get help, and I won’t delay.” “No Scootaloo! You can’t fly!” Cries Apple Bloom, knowing Scootaloo would die Ignoring her friend, Scoots lets go of Apple Bloom’s tail She flaps her wings. Now does she fail? Yes, she does. Scootaloo begins her plummet She isn’t capable of flight just yet Young Scootaloo falls to the ground far below And for miles is heard “SCOOTALOO! NOOOOOO!” The night turns to day, but instead of sun there is rain Cutie Mark Crusader Scootaloo did not die in vain She obtained her cutie mark, but at the ultimate cost. Was it worth her own life being lost? Hours of weeping, tons of regret “It’s all our fault.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle bet In desperation and confusion, they think of what to say To everypony in town about what had transpired that day They put aside thoughts of the future, and gather their might They know Scootaloo would want them to do what is right They decide to end their disastrous quest that day And bring Scootaloo back to Ponyville to stay They descend the mountain to find Scootaloo quite dead She lay squished in a pool of muddy red They take her to the wagon and set her down And the trio makes their way back to town