Alone

by Derpyx0

Chapter 7

"She's waking up, Dr. Whooves," a mysterious voice said. At least, that's what Sweetie Belle thought the voice said. To her, it sounded like, "Se's lasing cup, chister pooves." Sweetie blinked her eyes and groaned. When her vision finally cleared, she sat up. She looked around her, trying to figure out where she was. Behind and to both sides of her were concrete grey walls. In front of her were some metal bars of some sort, separating her from two ponies. After a minute or two, she finally realized where she was. At first she was confused. Why was she here? Why did Rarity allow her to- Then Sweetie remembered it all. Rarity had left so she went along with the rebel's plan. It went off without a hitch, and just as they were about to make their getaway, everything went black. Sweetie blinked, trying to figure out why she had fainted. Before she could begin thinking, however, a large brown stallion Sweetie recognized as Dr. Whooves cleared his throat.
"Sweetie Belle, what were you doing last night?" he asked, looking at her sternly.
"Um, I...uh.." Sweetie wasn't sure how to answer this. She didn't want to tell him, for that would be breaking the rebels' trust! But she didn't have a lie ready. Even if she had one, she probably wouldn't be able to pull it off. She was a terrible liar. In the past, Scootaloo had always been the one to lie to the adults when they got into trouble. Sweetie's memories of the day came flooding back to her. Her and Applebloom playing on the swings. The laughter that got cut short by a scream. The body. The sound of hooves coming closer, only to stop abruptly when they saw her and Scoots. Sweetie Belle realized something. If it hadn't been for Scootaloo and her determination, she wouldn't be here! I... I can't blame her! Sweetie thought, unable to bring herself to that conclusion. Sweetie tried to find somepony to blame, coming up short. Rainbow Dash? No. Scoot's parents? No. Scoots herself? No!
After trying out many names, Sweetie finally found the mare to blame. Me? Yes. Then she broke out crying. It was all her fault. Not the death, not the inability to save her best friend. None of the stuff she had blamed herself for. It was her fault she was in this position right now. She had told herself that nopony could help her because they didn't get it. She shunned away the world. The only time she opened up, was when she thought somepony was trying to help her without touching her wound. They said she would get better, that she would heal. And she believed them. She said that time could heal her wound. She was wrong. All the ponies who tried to touch the wound were trying to help her. They were trying to get rid of the wound. If she had just talked to them, she would have been better off. But no, her feelings and sorrow blinded her. She buried her feelings, instead of painfully getting rid of them. But now, I can get rid of them, she thought.
She could talk to ponies! She could let them heal her wound. Now though, because she let it stay there long, it was going to be very painful. Now, she had a story to tell. The tears that had formed on the rims of her eyes were starting to disappear. She sniffed. "Would you like to tell us what happened, Sweetie Belle?" the other pony asked. Sweetie nodded her head, then shook it vigorously. She wanted to wait until Rarity got there. Might as well heal the wound all at one time. "I have already called Rarity, Sweetie. She should be here any minute." The white mare smiled. Sweetie sniffled in reply, and rested her head on the back of the chair. It took Sweetie a little while to realize she wasn't in the cell anymore. She shrugged to herself. Anywhere was better than there. Suddenly, a white mare burst in the door.
"I came as fast as I could!" she yelled, spotting Sweetie and the two other ponies. "What, my dear, have you been wrongly accused of?" She threw a menacing glare at the doctor.
"Actually, Miss Rarity, she did co-"
"SILENCE! How DARE you accuse my little sister of breaking the law! She would never do that!" Rarity faltered, then looked at her sister with big eyes. "Right?" Sweetie looked at the ground with a guilty expression on her face.
"Um, I kinda did break the law..." Sweetie mumbled.
"WHAT?! What did you do? You, I mean.... my sister? Sweetie," Rarity put big emphasis on the word 'sweet', "Belle did something wrong?" Rarity was baffled. "I guess names don't really matter." Rarity looked deep in thought, then she shook her head. "Whatever did you do to end up in jail Sweetie?" Rarity asked. She had gotten over her shock, and was now acting very stern.
"Um, well.... you better sit down, this one's a long one." All the adults in the room took a seat. "Um, it kinda started right after Scoot's death." Sweetie then launched into an hour long story. Describing everything down to the very last detail. The fear, the anger, her experiences. What everything boiled down to though, was her fear of being alone. Throughout the story, Rarity and the other mare were shocked, surprised, sad, and even angry. Dr. Whooves just looked interested the entire time. "And that's when I realized I was making the wound worse by hiding it. That's why I'm showing it to you now." Everypony sat in their seat in silence. Dr. Whooves was scribbling on a notepad. His assistant sat in her seat quietly in shock. Rarity looked confused, as if she was still processing it all. Embarrassed, Sweetie looked at her hooves, when suddenly, "Omph!" Sweetie grunted as the air was knocked out of her.
"Oh Sweetie! Why didn't you tell me any of this before! I could have helped you! Neither of us would be here right now! You would be at home, and I would be-" Rarity's voice caught. Everything was silent.
"I'm sorry Rarity. I didn't want to call you away from work! If I had remembered-"
"Shh, it's okay, Sweetie Belle. You are more important to me than any job opportunity. You are my little sister, and I will always love you, no matter what happens." Rarity looked up, noticing that there were other ponies around. "I, err... you know what? I don't care HOW cheesy it sounds! It's true! I love you, Sweetie Belle!" She looked lovingly down at her sister.
"Um, sis? Since you love me and everything, can you.... no, I can't ask you to do that! Never mind." Sweetie looked at the ground, but a hint of a smile flickered across her face.
"You can ask me anything, Sweetie Belle, anything." Luckily, the last time Sweetie had said that, they had gotten the uncomfortable question out of the way. Rarity was not about to be embarrassed.
"Uh, since you forgive me, can we go get ice cream?" Sweetie looked up hopefully at her sister. Rarity giggled. That wasn't what she thought her sister was going to ask!
"Of course we can."
"You're the best sister ever!"
"Aww, glad you think so. But where was that comment last week when I cleaned the dishes for you?"
"Umm, uh-" Sweetie was interrupted by Dr. Whooves.
"Sorry to break this up, but we do have a problem on our hands. This little mare here is charged with breaking and entering, and that is a serious offense. Ms. Rose has pressed charges, for this has happened before. We have never caught the ponies who keep doing this, but now, it seems that we know who it is." Sweetie cringed, realizing that she had revealed who had broken in with her. She jumped when the doctor suddenly said, "And there was such hope for him. I thought, I thought he could change." His eyes no longer looked glassy like they did when he looked off into space. "But, he didn't, and Ms. Rose is pressing charges. Sweetie and her friends broke a few things in her house, and they broke in, so-" he was cut off by Rarity.
"Can't I pay her, and they can do some community service or something?"
"Yes, but they also stole something. That decoration that you stole is a priceless family heirloom, and she is devastated by its' loss. Do you know where it is?" Sweetie Belle started feeling really guilty then.
"Um, I don't have it. Fireblaze took it from me," she mumbled.Dr. Whooves's assistant sighed.
"How are we ever going to get it, then? He will have likely hid it somewhere." she sighed.
"Uh, can't we just search his house? Surely you are allowed to do that," Rarity suggested.
"He lives at the orphanage, which we are allowed to search. Problem is, it's huge. It would take months, even a year to finish searching it." Dr. Whooves complained. "We'd never find it. And, and I'm not going to threaten the kid with jail. It didn't work last time, anyway." Both sisters were curious, but they didn't prod Dr. Whooves' past with Fireblaze. They could both tell it had been personal. The police office phone started ringing. "Excuse me." The doctor trotted up to the phone. "Mhm, yes. Community service. We will search. How much? Ok, I'll talk with them. Put you on speaker? Can't you just come do- Ok, ok. Speaker it is." He brought the phone over to the group and pushed the button. "She will speak to us all."
"Hello? Ok, I'm on speaker. Ms. Rarity, it has come to my attention that you are the legal guardian of this delinquent. Nothing will be able to replace my dear Nana's decoration, but she can pay for the damage." Sweetie sat expectantly, waiting for her sentence. "This summer, she will report to me 5 days a week. She will do whatever activity I please. Maybe she will mow the lawn, wash my dishes, or something else. She will do it without complaint. She also broke some things in my house. To pay for that-" Rarity cut her off.
"Ms. Rose? Shouldn't all the other delinquents be a part of this"" Rarity paused. "And the money?"
"Ms. Rarity, they have been taken care of. Their punishments have been taken care of. They have committed felony many times, and Sweetie has only once." Dr. Whooves explained.
"Yes, but the money! Surely they can all pitch in!"
"We will have them all earn that on their own. How much is it, Ms. Rose?"
"100 bits." Sweetie Belle gasped. Even with help from the rebels, how were they supposed to raise that much money?
"Alright, it seems that we have a deal. Sweetie will do all of that, in exchange for you not pressing charges."
"Deal."
"Good, now Sweetie and I must go. Goodbye!"
"Goodbye, Rarity," everypony answered. With that, Rarity trotted out the door.
"Well, Sweetie, how about that ice cream?" Rarity smirked.

"Mm! Thanks so much, Rarity! I LOVE chocolate ice cream!" Sweetie Belle smiled her chocolaty smile. Rarity stifled a giggle when she caught a look at her sister's chocolate covered face.
"Now, Sweetie, don't think that you got off without a hitch with me," Rarity scolded. "You're grounded for a month."
"Aww! Wait, I don't have anything to do! Yes, I get an excuse to stay inside!" Sweetie launched a hoof in the air.
"Uh, I mean, no TV for a month! No, two months!" Rarity said hastily.
"Alright, you got me the-" Suddenly Applejack burst into Sugarcube Corner looking frantic.
"Rarity, Sweetie Belle! Ah need y'all's help!" Applejack yelled. "Applebloom's," she paused, "'missin'!" Both sisters gasped.
'B- but where did she go?" Sweetie Belle stuttered.
"That's what ahm tryin' to tell y'all!" Applejack fumed. "She was in her room, then poof, she's gone!"
"Applejack, dear. Please try to calm down a bit!" Rarity pleaded.
"Calm down? CLAM DOWN?! My sister's missin' and y'all are tryin' to tell me to CALM DOWN?!?!?"
"Applejack, be quieter! You're starting to sound like Twilight when we told her that it was 'just a test'. What I meant was, we are never going to find your sister if we are worrying our day away! Now, lets go!" Rarity marched out of Sugarcube Corner after scooping up the last bit of ice cream in her mouth. Applejack nodded in reply, and then she charged out the door. Sweetie Belle hurried after them. When she caught up with her sister and Applejack, they were deep in conversation. "Are you sure she didn't leave any clue as to where she has gone?"
"I'm ah mighty sure, Rarity. Nothin' was there but her old cape that the threesome used to wear back in their crusadin' days." Upon hearing that, Sweetie Belle raced ahead of the two mares. She ran as fast as she could toward the barn.
'Sweetie Belle! Why are you running so-" But the rest of Rarity's words were drowned out by the wind that was making Sweetie's mane a mess. She had to get there. She had to see if Applebloom still had her cape. If she had it, it would be like they were connected again. Maybe, maybe she and Applebloom could get through this together! They did have something that linked them, after all. When she reached the barn, she threw open the door and ran across it toward Applebloom's room. Sweetie crossed the kitchen, the bathroom, and finally the living room where Granny Smith was sitting on a rocking chair.
When she saw the blur that was Sweetie Belle whoosh by, she called out, "Sweetie Belle? Ah haven't seen you in a while! Where are you goin'?" But Sweetie Belle didn't hear her. When Sweetie reached Applebloom's room, she threw open the door to find an untouched cape folded neatly on the apple-patterned bed. Sweetie trotted up to the cape and gingerly touched it. She touched as though she were making sure it was real. When she confirmed that, she picked up the cape and examined it. It surprised her to see a paper fall out of the folds of the cape. Sweetie set the cape back on the bed, and picked up the paper. It was written in Applebloom's hoofwriting. Sweetie Belle breathed in sharply. Then, she read the letter.

Sweetie Belle let out that breath she had been holding. So, she's gone? No! She can't be! Surely she is still alive! She is at The River! I have to go there! Sweetie thought. She remembered The River as the river that ran through the far side of the orchard. Suddenly, Granny Smith was at the door.
"Sweetie Belle? What are you doing here? And what are you-"
"I don't have time to explain, Granny Smith. Just please give this note to Applejack!" With that, Sweetie Belle raced out of Applebloom's room. She ran and she ran until she reached The River, fearing the worst. What if Applebloom was already dead? What if she ignored her? What if- Sweetie's rants were cut short when she saw Applebloom.
"Applebloom! Come here! Stop this now! You'll cause us all pain!" Sweetie Belle screeched. At the word 'pain', Applebloom turned to face her. Applebloom's yellow muzzle was tear stained.
"Sweetie Belle, ah have to do this! If ah don't, Scoots will never forgive me!" Applebloom protested.
Sweetie looked deeply into her friends eyes and said "Applebloom, trust me. It wasn't your fault! Please, if you go, you'll cause us all pain. We can work through this together. We can heal together. Y- We won't be alone." Applebloom's tears started to dry up. She looked up at Sweetie Belle, seeming unconvinced.
"But Sweetie, ah caused Scoots pain! All ah deserve is pain myself. Please let me do this!" Sweetie Belle kept a firm grip on her friend's shoulder.
"No," Sweetie replied flatly. "You will cause too much pain here. You will not go. Not while I'm standing here right now." Applebloom only blinked in response. She went on to say how this was better for her, but Sweetie cut her off. She explained the pain it would cause her family, her friends, everypony. By the end of her speech, Applebloom looked thoroughly convinced that the harm she would cause in this world would be even worse than the pain she caused Scootaloo.
"But Scoo-"
"SHUT UP, APPLEBLOOM! You don't realize how that will make everypo- ME feel! Scootaloo is dead and gone! I am not. If you leave, I will never forgive you. I will never be happy, and it will be all your fault." Inside, Sweetie Belle felt the guiltiest she had ever been, but this was the only way. Reasoning and explaining didn't work, so Sweetie did the only other thing she could think of; tricking Applebloom into feeling guilty. Sweetie turned away from her friend. Applebloom's eyes filled with tears.
"I- I don't want to make any of you unhappy! But if I don't do this, I will be-" Suddenly, Applebloom was wrapped in a bear hug. "Oomph!"
"Applebloom! Ah am so glad you're okay! Never do somethin' like this again!" Applejack raved. Her eyes also filled with tears. "Ah am just so glad you aren't gone." Applejack looked lovingly into her sister's eyes. Applebloom looked shamefully away."Y'all- y'all didn't hurt yourself, right?" Applebloom nodded sadly.
"But she was close too. She still wants to! She thinks she deserves it!" Sweetie Belle cried.
"Y'all don't deserve it, sugarcube! It wasn't your fault! It was an accident!" Applejack tried to explain to her sister. After that, everypony trotted away. Applejack with her hoof around her sister, and Rarity with her hoof around hers.
"Sweetie, I am so proud of you! Y- you actually convinced her that what she was trying to do was wrong." Rarity gushed. Sweetie felt proud. She had saved the life of her friend! Well, one friend at least.
No, I won't think like that. I don't want to end up like Applebloom, Sweetie Belle thought. Rarity removed her hoof from her sister's shoulder. She opened the door for her sister.
"I'm going to make a snack for us. I'll call you down when it's ready." Sweetie was already making her way up the stairs. She just nodded and stumbled up the stairs. She couldn't get over the fact that her only living friend had just tried to kill herself. Sweetie buried her head in her hooves. Soon, her heavy eyes overtook her and she fell asleep.

"I'm going to make a snack for us. I'll call you down when it's ready." Sweetie was already making her way up the stairs. Rarity started to make some of Sweetie Belle's favorite food, daisy sandwiches. Rarity started humming the tune to her new song for the Ponytones, written by her. "Mhm dun da mhm, ya!"

By the end of her song, Rarity had finished making two sandwiches, two cookies, two milks, and two bowls of watermelon. "Sweetie! Snack time!" More like lunch time! I guess I got a little carried away. After 5 minutes, her sister still hadn't come down. Rarity sighed and trotted up the stairs. "Sweetie? You in here?" She opened her sister's door to find Sweetie Belle sacked out on her bed. "Aww!" Rarity put a hoof over her heart. She was so tired! And she looked so peaceful! Rarity sighed. I guess I can store her food in the fridge. I wouldn't want to wake her up.
When Rarity got downstairs, she used her magic to put Sweetie's food in the fridge. Mine as well eat mine, Rarity thought. By the time she finished her milk, Sweetie had trudged downstairs.
"I'm hungry," she moaned. Rarity motioned toward the fridge and Sweetie Belle walked over to it. She pulled out her sandwich, milk, and bowl of watermelon. Sweetie saw her sister finish off her cookie.
"Hey, where's mine?" she whined. Rarity giggled.
"I ate it so you wouldn't get fat." Sweetie pouted, but a smile flickered across her face.
"Oh, I'm the one getting fat! Says the mare who ate all the gumdrops on Friday!"
"I was just craving something, and that's what I found! If I give you your cookie, can we never speak of that again?" Rarity asked her sister.
"Alright, where's the cookie?"
"In the very back of the fridge."
"I should have guessed," Sweetie grumbled. She pulled out her cookie and stuffed it into her mouth. "Fawnks, Wawity!" she exclaimed with her mouth full.
"Sweetie Melody Belle! Manners please!" Rarity scolded. Sweetie rolled her eyes.
"I'm going upstairs to finish my book," she said.
"Alright, but no electronics! Remember your punishment!" Rarity warned. Sweetie rolled her eyes once more.
Yeah yeah, whatever.

"Button! I can't believe you did that! Seriously, how devious can you get!" Sweetie giggled. She loved talking to her boyfriend, Button Mash. He was always so funny! "Seriously, Button, is she ever going to-" Sweetie's conversation was cut off by Rarity.
"Sweetie Belle! Applebloom's here!"
"Gotta go, Button. Yeah, see you tomorrow. Bye! Love you too." Sweetie hung up her phone and trotted downstairs. "Applebloom! You finally got back from Manehatten! How was it? Oh, more importantly, how were you without counseling for a week?" It had been three months since Applebloom's suicide attempt, and she had counseling twice a week.
"The trip was awesome, and since ah did so well, ah only have to have counseling once a week now!" Applebloom exclaimed. Both mares shrieked. "So, how's it goin' with Button?" Sweetie Belle blushed. Applebloom didn't have a boyfriend, so she was constantly obsessing over her best friend's boyfriend instead.
"It went great! We went to Sugarcube Corner for lunch, and I got a daisy sandwich. We basically just talked and stuff, then the date ended. Time totally flew by!" she gushed. Applebloom nodded, taking it all in.
"OMG! Okay, so ah have to leave in ah bit, chores and stuff, so lets get to talkin'!" Applebloom ushered Sweetie Belle up the stairs. "Hurry up! Ah gotta know what happened to Silver Spoon!"
"Oh, you won't believe it! So Snails-" With that, the two disappeared up the stairs. After some hardcore gossip and a snack, Applebloom left the boutique. "Bye Applebloom! See you tomorrow!" Sweetie called.
Applebloom replied with, "See ya!" Sweetie shut the door with her magic. She quickly set the place mats, plates, and cups out. After that, she whipped up some Yummy Pony Mac 'n' Cheese, salad, and lemonade. She called Rarity over and sighed when Rarity replied with 'one minute.' More like 20 minutes. Sweetie Belle thought. Rarity was working on a new line for Photo Finish, and she was hoping it was going to be the next big thing. After about 10 minutes, Rarity came out of her workroom, looking disheveled. Her mane was pointing in all different directions, and she had bags under her eyes.
"Sweetie Belle! Close the blinds! I can't have ANYPONY see me like this!" Rarity snapped. Sweetie Belle quickly raced over to the windows, knocking over a chair in the process. Rarity rolled her eyes and set the chair upright. Finally, when all the blinds were closed, Sweetie sat down with her sister to dinner. She scooped the Yummy Pony Mac 'n' Cheese in her mouth, then the salad. Finally, she gulped down her lemonade. After washing her dishes, she looked at Rarity. Sweetie chuckled. Rarity was still eating her salad, leaving her Yummy Pony Mac 'n' Cheese untouched.
"I'm going upstairs Rarity," Sweetie Belle said.
"Alright," Rarity replied with a nod, "but don't make a lot of noise. I still have some work, and I need to concentrate." Sweetie nodded in acknowledgement, then trotted upstairs to her room. When she got there, she started to pick up her phone, but then dropped it. She noticed the paper and pens on her counter that was meant for her math homework. Sweetie snorted in disgust. She hated math, it was her worst subject. Then, she had an idea. She remembered back when she was still getting over Scootaloo's death, she used to write letters to Scoots. When they were done, she would leave them at her grave, hoping she cold read them from heaven. It was a silly idea to Sweetie Belle. She knew that Scootaloo was gone, and she couldn't read her letters. But, it would get her out of math homework for a bit. Another thought nagged Sweetie Belle. When she finally realized the thought, she knew she was going to write a letter.
Truthfully, Sweetie was feeling kind of alone. She had lots of other friends, of course, but none of them would ever measure up to Scootaloo. She sat in her desk and began writing.

Sweetie Belle proudly examined her work. Aside from some mistakes, it looked, and sounded, really good! I'm sure Scoots will, no would love it, Sweetie thought. She ran downstairs into her sister's workroom. "Rarity, I'm going out!" she yelled.
"Fine, but be home by six!" Rarity yelled in reply.
"I will! This will only take a few minutes!" Sweetie Belle yelled in reassurance.
"Wait, what is it that you-" Rarity was cut off by a slammed door. Outside, Sweetie Belle galloped to the graveyard. She wanted to get there before dark. It was pretty creepy in there with all the headstones and graves. When she got there, she made her way to the newest grave. The grave read; 'Scootaloo 1999-2013 A great friend, flyer, daughter, and sister. She will always be missed.' Sweetie let a few tears fall before she placed the paper on her friends grave. She then realized that another paper was already there, held down by a rock. She also realized that the wind was blowing. She went to find a small, heavy rock to hold down her paper. All the while, she wondered who wrote that paper, and what was on it. She knew better than to invade somepony's privacy like that though. When she finally found a suitable rock, she placed it and her paper on the grave. She took one last look at her friend's grave, and trotted away, all the while muttering, "You were the best friend ever, Scoots. I- I'm sad that you had to go so quickly! I- I'm gonna miss you forever and ever. I-" Rustle rustle, rustle rustle. Something was in the bushes behind her! Sweetie broke into a run, trying to get away from the noise. Although it was not dark, the graveyard still creeped her out. When she got home, she flopped on her bed, out of breath. She panted and panted, until she finally got up to do her math homework.

The mysterious mare watched as the rainbow-maned pony cried. She didn't like spying on ponies like this, but she had to. She tried to be as quiet as possible when she pushed her yellow mane out of her eye. The bush rustled a bit, but it was windy, so the movement could be passed off as the bush being blown by the wind. After a while, the rainbow-maned pony trotted away from the small grave. Her muzzle was tear stained, and it made the mare in the bushes sad to see somepony so depressed. Luckily, she was leaving. The mare was about to get out of the bush, but then another pony trotted up. She had a pink and purple mane and no cutie mark. The mare sighed and ducked back into her hiding place. She was going to be late because of these visitors! But she couldn't bother them, for that would be disrespectful to them, and the dead. Luckily, the purple and pink pony only stayed for a while. She found a rock and placed a paper under it. Another one? Hmm, I don't know if I can hold all of these! the mare fretted. She poked her saddle bag, momentarily forgetting that she was hiding. The bushes she was hiding in rustled. The filly froze and looked at the bush. The mare held her breath, hoping that the other pony wouldn't check the bush. Luckily, she just ran away. When she was out of sight, the yellow-maned mare released the breath she was holding and stepped out of the bush. She trotted over to a weathered grave and tucked the flowers on it into her saddlebag. She did the same for 12 other graves. Finally, she approached the final grave. She carefully tucked the two letters on it into her bag. She was tempted to read them, "But I don't want to invade the privacy of," she stopped talking out loud to read the gravestone, "Scootaloo." She pulled the flaps of her saddlebag closed and zoomed off toward the sky.
As she got higher and higher, she accelerated, zooming through the remainder of the sky and space. After she zoomed through space, she finally reached heaven. When she got there, she trotted over to the mailboxes. "Hmm, Berry Punch, check. Flam, check. Sweet Tart, check." It went on like this until she reached the last Ponyville box. "Scootaloo, check." The mare slammed the mailbox shut and reported to the Head Mail Angel's office. When she got there, she knocked on the door.
"Come in," a sweet voice said. She opened the door to find her boss, Angelfeather, sitting at her desk. "Ah, Goldenwing! I trust that all went well?"
"Yup! Scootaloo got letters, again," Goldenwing replied with a toss of her yellow mane. Realizing it was coming undone, she quickly redid it in her signature ponytail.
"Oh, that little filly is popular! Sad that she had to go so soon," Angelfeather sighed. "Well, I'll call the ponies to the mail room." She cleared her throat and pulled a microphone up to her mouth. "All Ponyville ponies please come to the mail room, your mail has arrived." Soon, 13 ponies came trotting in the room. Each pony opened their mailbox. Scootaloo trotted up to hers and opened it. She pulled out both letters and read them. First she read Sweetie Belle's letter. She was happy that Sweetie was sending her letters now since she had stopped doing it a while ago. It was nice to hear about all the things that were happening at home. Then she read Rainbow Dash's letter. It also told her of what was happening, but from a mare's perspective.
She also talked about some different things, such as Twilight going into the mirror, Tank getting an upgraded propeller, and "Whoa!" Scootaloo shouted when she read the last part. Rainbow had gotten accepted into the Wonderbolts! When she finished her dance, Scootaloo realized that all the ponies in the mail room were looking at her. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, turning back to her letter. She wished she could see Rainbow's first show. Her yearly trip to Earth was coming up! Maybe, just maybe. Scoots finished reading the letter. When she was done, she tucked it under her wing, along with Sweetie's and trotted to the Scheduling Office. When she got there, she ran up to the pony at the front desk. "Hi! I'm Scootaloo and I'd like to schedule my yearly trip to Earth!" she shouted excitedly. The office mare looked at her, obviously annoyed.
"Please wait in the waiting room until God is finished with his meeting. He will see you momentarily," the mare droned. When she was done, she looked back at her computer and resumed typing. Scootaloo sat on one of the chairs in the waiting room. To pass the time, she pulled out Sweetie's letter again. She read it and reread it, until she had it memorized. Scootaloo wanted to reply to the letter, but she couldn't. But, I can go to her in a dream! Scootaloo thought. For the next 30 minutes, she made plans to visit Sweetie Belle in her dreams. Finally, she was called into God's office. When she opened the door, He smiled at her.
"Ah, Scootaloo! A delight to have you here! Now, I know that you want to schedule your trip to Earth. What day were you thinking?" He asked.
"Well, uh, I kinda wanted to see Rainbow Dash's first show. And, uh, that would be May 22." she stuttered. She didn't think talking to Him would be this hard!
"Alright, May 22. Let me see... alright! I have you scheduled to see the show in 4 days!" God announced cheerfully.
"Thanks!" Scoots replied as she rushed out the door. God laughed in reply.

That night after dinner, Scootaloo got ready to visit Sweetie Belle in her dreams. She had been watching her friends since her death, and she was glad that Sweetie didn't feel alone anymore. However, Scoots knew that Sweetie Belle was missing her a lot. She hopped into bed, holding the picture of Sweetie Belle. She shut her eyes, muttering a quick prayer, and fell asleep. When she 'woke up', she saw Sweetie in a clearing. "Sweetie Belle!" she shouted, waving her hoof like mad. "Sweetie Belle!" Sweetie snapped her head around and looked at Scootaloo.
"Scoots! D- did you get my letter? I know it was kinda stupid since, since you're dead and all..." She facehoofed and grunted. "You're dead. This is a dream. Y- you didn't come back." Scootaloo was impressed. She knew very little of ponies, let alone a mortal pony, being able to separate her dreams from reality.
"Well, uh, I guess I'm not real, if you say so. I just wanted to say, it's totally okay to miss me, but don't feel depressed like you have been. Please. Oh, and keep sending those letters." Scootaloo added. "I've gotta go. Get a good nights sleep, Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo started to walk off, but Sweetie caught up with her. She looked like she wanted to say a million words, but Sweetie just threw her hooves around her friend's neck. Scootaloo hugged her back, disappearing slowly. "Goodbye, Sweetie Belle. Take care!" she said before completely disappearing.

Sweetie woke up, feeling oddly content. She was surprised how real the dream felt, yet she didn't feel weird about it. She couldn't exactly place her feelings, but Sweetie felt one thing for sure. She felt as if a big weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She sighed contentedly, and stretched out on her bed. She thought, and concluded that she would write a letter to Scootaloo every week. Once she had decided that, she pulled up her covers once more, and shut her eyes. But sleep wouldn't come. As much as she rested, Sweetie Belle couldn't go to sleep. Eventually she pulled herself out of bed. She looked around her room for something to do, but she found nothing. Ipod? No, it's dead. Books? No, read them all. Clothes? No, it was no fun going through her outfits without Applebloom. Finally, her eyes fell on her desk. Pen and paper? Yes, there's plenty of that. Sweetie trotted to her desk and sat down. She picked up a pen and started writing.