Rainbow Dash flew high over Ponyville, desperate to find an orange speck that would lead her to Scootaloo. She had absolutely no idea what had just transpired between the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and thinking about it only led her to ask even more questions. All three of them seemed fine just a few minutes ago. What could have caused a fight like that? How did Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom come to hate each other? And how the heck did both of them treat Scootaloo like that? Despite all her questions, her mind was focused on one thing. Scootaloo was hurting and she needed somepony to help her.
Rainbow’s aerial search hadn’t yielded any results, made all the worse by the setting sun, so she lowered her altitude, hovering just over the Ponyville roofs to look for any nook or cranny Scootaloo might be hiding in. A few moments of searching later, Rainbow Dash noticed the pronounced sounds of a filly crying in a small alley. It was Scootaloo. No doubt about it. Taking a deep breath, she followed the sobs to its source and she found the orange filly hiding away from the world in the corner of the alley, her head buried in her hooves. Rainbow Dash landed gently behind Scootaloo and slowly approached her.
“Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash asked.
The voice startled the young filly. She turned around to face her, quickly wiping the tears away from her face. “Oh. Hey Rainbow Dash…” she smiled weakly.
Rainbow Dash sat next to her. “Are you ok? I mean, I saw what happened back there…”
“Oh that? That was nothing. I’m fine now!” Scootaloo tried to chuckle through sniffs.
“Are you sure? Because it looked like…”
“No really, I’m ok!” she insisted, trying desperately to stop the tears from falling again. “I mean, I… I was alone before. I could do it again. It’s cool, right?”
Without any warning, Scootaloo suddenly found herself being hugged tightly. Looking up, she noticed that Rainbow Dash was now fighting off tears of her own.
“You’re not alone, Scootaloo,” she told her.
Scootaloo struggled mightily to fight back the flood forming in her eyes. “Rainbow Dash?”
“If you want to cry, I promise I won’t tell anypony.” Rainbow whispered.
The brave face Scootaloo struggled to put on cracked open completely. She buried her head in Rainbow’s chest and sobbed. Sobbed for herself. Sobbed for her friends. Sobbed for everything that happened. Rainbow Dash kept a brave face as Scootaloo continued to weep, but she was unable to stop the tears from falling down her face.
“This is all my f-fault.” Scootaloo sobbed. “I could have stopped it! I could have told both of them to stop fighting! But I…I just stood there like a stupid idiot. Why? Why didn’t I stop this? Why am I so weak?”
“Listen to me, Scoots! You’re NOT weak. You’re NOT stupid, and you’re NOT alone! I know things are bad right now, but we can fix this.”
“But what if we can’t fix this? What if Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle never talk to me ever again?” Scootaloo asked. “I can’t choose between them, Dash! I just can’t! I love them both! They’re my f-friends!” Scootaloo’s tears returned as she buried her head in her hooves.
Rainbow Dash hugged the filly tighter. “It’s gonna be all right, Scootaloo. We’ll fix this somehow.” She tried to come up with something else to say to her, but was unable to come up with anything beyond those words. Instead, she continued to hold Scootaloo in her hooves in silence, allowing the filly to let out all her emotions. Rainbow herself had to periodically sniff away a few tears.
She wasn’t sure how long they were in that alley crying together, but after a while, Rainbow Dash became aware of a pair of high pitched voices calling out their names. Moments later, she heard one of those voices seemingly a few dozen yards away in the street.
“Minty! I found them!”
The two pegasi broke away from their embrace as Minty and Pinkie Pie finally caught up with them.
“Scootaloo? I don’t know what I said back there, but I’m sorry!” Minty said.
“We had no clue what happened. Honest!” Pinkie added.
Scootaloo sniffed, wiping away the tears away from her worn out eyes. “It’s ok. I understand. I… just can’t help being upset right now.”
“And I’m sorry I was a bit harsh back there to you, Minty,” Rainbow apologized.
Minty smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Rainbow.” She turned her attention to the crying filly. “Hey, Scootaloo? What do you say we get that ice cream cleaned up from your mane?”
“O-okay,” Scootaloo sniffed.
Rainbow Dash led Scootaloo over to Minty. “You two go ahead. Pinkie and I will catch up in a bit.”
With a tentative nod, Scootaloo went over to Minty and the two of them started back towards Sugarcube Corner, leaving Pinkie and Rainbow Dash behind. The cyan pegasus sighed in exhaustion and slumped to the ground, emotionally spent from the last few minutes.
“So what DID happen back there, Dashie?” Pinkie asked.
“I think you need to sit down for this one, Pinkie. We’ve got a really big problem.”
~~~~~
The trip from Sugarcube Corner to Carousel Boutique normally takes a few short minutes. This time, however, Rarity felt like this trip was taking several hours, thanks in large part to Sweetie Belle. Ever since the incident with Apple Bloom not too long ago, Sweetie Belle had gone on and on about the details of her upcoming Cute-cenera, completely dismissing the incident as if it never happened.
“You know, I was thinking that maybe we could move my Cute-cenera to Canterlot!” Sweetie Belle suggested. “We’re gonna need some extra room for everypony to come and celebrate!”
“We’re not celebrating anything, young lady!” Rarity frowned. “Do you have any idea how disappointed I am in you right now?”
“You’re mad at me? Apple Blank started it!”
“Stop calling her that! I don’t care who started what. Your attitude back there was simply unforgivable! Just wait until I talk about this to our parents.”
“What’s there to talk about? Apple Blank just got a little whiny back there. It’s not my fault I’m more mature than she is.”
“You’re four months younger than her and TEN months younger than Scootaloo!” Rarity pointed out.
Sweetie Belle scoffed. “In that case, why do I have my cutie mark and they don’t? Oh yeah, that’s right! Because they’re both crybabies!” She then scrunched her face, pretending to cry. “Boo hoo! We didn’t get our cutie mark so you have to hide yours!” she teased. She then crossed her hooves and frowned. “I can’t believe I wasted my time with those two losers.”
“Enough is enough, Sweetie Belle! How can you keep saying these things?”
“You said worse things about Applejack!” Sweetie Belle countered.
Rarity stammered for a second before she was able to continue. “D-d-don’t change the subject here. We’re talking about you right now. And as of right now, your Cute-cenera is cancelled.”
Sweetie Belle froze in shock. “But Rarity…”
“No ‘buts’, Sweetie Belle.”
Sweetie Belle tried to counter but she just fell silent at Rarity’s stern tone. “At least I can still look forward to the show,” she grumbled out loud.
Rarity overheard Sweetie Belle’s thoughts. “And furthurmore,” she added, “Until your attitude improves, I won’t allow you to be on the show.”
Sweetie Belle froze in shock. “WHAT?!?”
~~~~~
“You can’t kick me off the show!” Apple Bloom shouted in disbelief.
Standing across from the yellow filly were her family, Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith, all of whom were wrapping up reprimanding her for the stunt she pulled on Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo just a few hours ago.
“Ya think ya deserve to be on the show after what you did to your friends?” Applejack frowned.
“They’re NOT mah friends!!!” Apple Bloom screamed.
Granny Smith shook her head. “It don’t matter none! An Apple never treats anypony like that!”
“Nope!” Big Mac nodded.
“That’s not fair!” Apple Bloom protested. “Applejack wasn’t punished at all when she called Rarity…”
“This ain’t about me!” Applejack cut in. “Now first thing tomorrow, yer gonna go right back over to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and apologize for what you did. You do that and we might talk about a softer punishment.”
Any further protests Apple Bloom had in mind died on her tongue. It didn’t matter what she had to say, her family was still going to make her apologize against her will. The last thing she wanted to do was to talk to those two in any way. She could have cared less about them after their betrayals. She took matters into her own hooves with her former friends.
And now she felt she had to take matters into her own hooves with her family.
“No.” Apple Bloom said defiantly.
“Beg pardon?” Applejack frowned.
“Ah said no!” Apple Bloom repeated. “Ah ain’t gonna apologize to that bucket of feathers or that prissy stick of…”
“APPLE BLOOM!!! Watch yer language!” Granny Smith shouted furiously.
“And Ah ain’t apologizing for mah words neither. Ah don’t care about them. Heck, Ah don’t even care about the show.” Apple Bloom turned back to her bed, not bothering to look her family in the eye anymore. She opened her crusading diary and started writing down some notes. “Ya know what? Ah don’t even care if Ah’m grounded, anyhow! Ah ain’t comin’ out until Ah get mah cutie mark!”
The elder Apples’ stern expressions turned to nervous anxiety. They hadn't expected Apple Bloom to react like that. Their planned punishment for the young pony was starting to backfire.
Granny Smith decided to speak up. “We’ll continue this conversation later. It’s almost dinner time. How ‘bout we all go down to the kitchen?”
“Send mah dinner to mah room. Ah’m busy.” Apple Bloom never raised her head from her notebook.
“Apple Bloom,” Applejack said, “Ya know we always eat at the table together when it’s dinnertime.”
“Ah said Ah’m busy,” Apple Bloom shot an icy glare at her family.
The three elder Apples lingered in the filly’s bedroom until they realize that they would no longer be able to reach through to her. One by one, they exited the room. First Granny Smith, then Big Mac. Finally Applejack, after one last worried glance at her little sister, also left the room, closing the door behind her. In the hallway, she took off hat hat and slumped against the wall.
“Well, that could have gone better.” Applejack sighed.
“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded.
“We’ve done what we can. It’s really up to Apple Bloom if she wants to be sorry or not,” Granny Smith pointed out.
Applejack began to fidget nervously with her hat. “But Ah never would have thought she would have acted that way to us, too.” She slumped down on the floor and sighed. “How do we snap her out of this?”
“There ain’t nothing we can do right now.” Granny Smith admitted. “We just have to give her some space right now and hope fer the best.”
Applejack nodded slowly. A tear rolled down her cheek. “Ah wish Ma and Pa were here. They’d know what to do.”
Big Mac gave her sister a hug, fighting back tears of his own. “Me too, Applejack. Me too.”
~~~~~
The Golden Oaks Library fell silent as the news of the Crusaders sunk in. Pinkie had gathered Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spike together to break the news of the fallout that had just occurred at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie and Fluttershy had caught Twilight and Spike in the middle of a chaotic library reorganization, so they all had to move up to Twilight’s messy bedroom before Pinkie could begin the story. Twilight and Spike were both dumbstruck while Fluttershy could only sob at the current circumstances.
“So… yeah,” Pinkie shrugged nervously. “I think it’s safe to say that we have a bit of a crisis on our hooves.”
“And to think that Hasbro has nothing to do with it this time.” Spike shook his head in disbelief.
Twilight gave the small dragon a quick, disapproving glare, before she addressed Pinkie with grave concern. “How’s everypony holding up, Pinkie?”
Pinkie shrugged. “I don’t know how Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle are doing, and I have no clue how Applejack and Rarity are dealing with them. But Scootaloo looks like she's in bad shape. Dashie is doing her best to cheer her up but I don’t know how that’s going either.”
“Poor Scootaloo.” Fluttershy sniffed. "I wish there was something we can do for her."
Twilight gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. We’ll do all we can to help her, and everypony else.”
“But what ARE we supposed to do?” Spike asked. “We can’t just snap Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle out of this, can we?”
Twilight sighed. “I wish it were that easy. I can’t even begin to work out a solution to this problem right now. I need more information.”
“Way ahead of you, Twilight,” Pinkie spoke up. “I told Dashie that I was going to plan an emergency meeting for us tomorrow if it’s ok with you.”
“It’s more than ok with me, Pinkie.” Fluttershy nodded.
Twilight nodded in agreement. “You don’t have to ask me twice. Just let us know what time you want to meet so I can get the library ready.”
“Actually, Twilight?” Pinkie nervously cut in. “Would you mind if we had the meeting at Sugarcube Corner instead? I was gonna bring it up later, but the library is getting really cramped.”
Twilight took a good look at her bedroom. Books were sitting in piles on the floor, boxes of science equipment were beginning to block the staircase downstairs, and sheets upon sheets of official princess documents were spread all over the room. All of this paled in comparison to the main foyer downstairs. There were so many books downstairs it all had to be organized on the floor, taking up so much room that Twilight couldn’t do any work at all.
“I should have known that I would need more space after I became a princess,” Twilight sighed.
“I keep telling you we need a bigger place,” Spike insisted.
“I think it would be hard to renovate a tree,” Twilight chuckled. “Besides, there’s nothing really wrong with the library. It’s fine.”
Spike groaned. “Twilight, not only do we have to store all the books, AND your new royal collection, but we ALSO have all the equipment and props from the show taking up all the space in the basement! I love the library too, but let’s face it, Twilight. Something’s gotta change.”
Twilight took a good look around the cramped library. Spike did have a point about the need for a bigger place, but she had become so emotionally attached to her Ponyville home that the very idea of changing it made her feel uneasy.
The young princess sighed. “We’re getting off track. We’ll talk about the library later. Right now, I think we’ve got bigger issues to deal with. At any rate, I’m fine with meeting at Sugarcube Corner.”
Pinkie smiled. “Perfect. We’ll meet tomorrow at about noon. I’ll make sure the others know, too.”
“I just hope we can fix this,” Fluttershy said. "I can't imagine what everypony is going through right now."
*****
Scootaloo sat on her bed, holding her cape in her hooves. She had lost track of how long she had been there. A few hours? A few days? It was all running together in a haze for the young pegasus. But time didn’t matter anyways. Barely anything mattered anymore.
Her friends were gone, and she was alone.
Scootaloo clutched the cape with all her might, holding back tears. She thought back to the moment that ignited this problem. “We wanted to get our cutie marks so badly. We waited our whole lives for it. And it actually did happen. So… why did everything fall apart?”
Scootaloo remained still as she heard the door open. She didn’t look over to see who it was because she already knew the answer. It was Rainbow Dash. It had to be. She was becoming a regular visitor to her room ever since this whole crisis began. She also knew that Rainbow Dash would also be wearing that same worried expression she had ever since she found her crying in that alley.
“How are you doing, Scoots?” Rainbow Dash asked softly.
“I was just thinking,” Scootaloo replied.
“Thinking about what?”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Everything. Me. The Crusaders. The future…”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. She couldn’t stand to see Scootaloo this sad anymore. She had to do something to get her to smile again. “You know, I was on my way to visit Fluttershy,” she smiled. “I was wondering if you wanted to come too. We could even pick out a new pet if you want.”
Scootaloo shook her head. “I’d rather just stay here.”
“Scootaloo, you haven’t been outside for days now! You have to come outside eventually.”
“If I go outside, Apple Bloom or Sweetie Bell might see me and get even angrier,” Scootaloo explained. “If I stay here, then maybe they’ll have a chance to get back together.”
Feeling a lump in her throat forming, Rainbow Dash slowly approaches the bed. “Scootaloo…”
“The best way I can help everyone is if I disappear completely.” Scootaloo then chuckled bitterly. “Heh, story of my life, huh?”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t find any more words to comfort Scootaloo. All she could do is embrace her while trying to keep her own tears in check. She couldn’t take seeing Scootaloo like this anymore. She wanted her to smile again. She just didn’t know how to do it.
*****
Apple Bloom slowly picked herself off the Sweet Apple Acres dirt, her teeth gritting to help fight off the pain from the fresh scrape on her leg. She had convinced herself that she could get her skateboarding cutie mark through hard work alone. Several dozen skateboard tumbles, however, was starting to make her reconsider that thought. Nevertheless, she wasn’t ready to give up. She would never give up. And nothing or nopony would get in her way. That much was certain.
She had been at it for several hours, and now Luna’s night was starting to take over the sky. Applejack was heading in after a hard day of bucking, which was made even harder with her mind on her little sister and not the trees. She noticed Apple Bloom in the same spot she saw her at the beginning of the day, picking herself up from another failed attempt at getting her cutie mark. The cowpony sighed. Ever since the incident with Sweetie Belle a few weeks, the yellow filly had been putting herself through the depths of Tartarus itself to get her cutie mark.
“Hey AB, it’s getting late.” Applejack called out. “You could try again first thing tomorrow if ya want.”
Apple Bloom yawned, but got right back on the skateboard. “Ah ain’t sleepy,” she insisted.
“Don’t lie, Apple Bloom. You’ve been at this all day. Ya gotta give it a rest!”
“Resting is for babies. Ah’m a big pony! Ah can handle it.”
“Apple Bloom, if ya keep doing this, yer gonna…”
“Ah’ll be fine. Applejack,” Apple Bloom said forcefully. “It’s gonna take a lot more than sleep to keep me from getting mah cutie mark!”
Applejack slowly approached her little sister. “You know, how’s about Ah help you out with this? We can work together and…”
Before Applejack could finish, Apple Bloom turned away from her. “Ah don’t need help from nopony. Now if you’ll excuse me, yer wasting mah time.”
Applejack looked on helplessly as Apple Bloom ignored her presence completely. A sense of fear grew in her mind. If things didn't get any better, there was a very good chance she could lose her little sister for good.
*****
Rarity’s migraine had gotten worse since she and Sweetie Belle had left Carousel Boutique en route to their parent’s house. Ever since the incident, Sweetie Belle hadn’t spent a lot of time outside this month thanks to her punishment. So Sweetie Belle was taking full advantage of this trip to the market to showcase her skills, much to Rarity’s chagrin.
“I feel charming,
Oh, so charming,
It's alarming how charming I feel!
And so pretty,
That I hardly can believe I'm real.”
Sweetie Belle sang. She also began a semi-elaborate dance to go along with her performance
Rarity rubbed her temples. She noticed all the ponies on the street giving her and her sister a strange look. Some were giggling. Some were shaking their heads.
“Sweetie Belle, would you mind singing something else? Ponies are starting to stare.” Rarity said to her sister.
“I want them to look!” Sweetie Belle insisted. “I have to let the world know how great a singer I am. It IS my special talent after all.”
“But do you really have to do so that loudly?”
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t have to if SOMEPONY didn’t cancel my Cute-cenera.”
Rarity decided it was useless to continue arguing with her little sister. The two continued down the road, with Sweetie Belle singing loudly along the way. As she continued, the small unicorn began to dance and twirl around without looking in front of her. Some ponies had to duck out of the way to avoid a collision.
“Sweetie Belle, watch where you’re going!” Rarity called out.
The warning came too late. In mid twirl, Sweetie Belle brushed up against another pony, causing her to lose her balance. She wound up tumbling into a puddle of mud on the street.
A small voice belonging to the young filly who caused the tumble called out to her. “Oh no! Sweetie Belle! I’m sorry!”
Sweetie Belle looked up to see Rarity rush to her aide alongside the young filly who caused the accident. It was her classmate, Ruby Pinch.
The two helped Sweetie Belle up from the puddle. As they did, the young unicorn noticed that her coat was now mostly covered in dirt and mud. Sweetie Belle gasped at the sight of the grime sliding down her flank and over her precious cutie mark.
“Are you ok, Sweetie Belle?” Ruby Pinch asked.
“Am I ok? Am I OK?!?” Sweetie Belle replied incredulously. She angrily got into Ruby's face. “Do you even know what you almost did back there? You could have ruined my cutie mark! Why don’t you watch where you’re going, you idiot?”
The outburst caught both Rarity and Ruby Pinch by surprise, even more so for the young filly who was not prepared to see Sweetie Belle lash out.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle,” Ruby apologized through growing tears.
Sweetie Belle growled at the apology. She turned her back to her classmate, not wanting to have anything to do with her.
Rarity was forced to speak up in order to make her sister do the right thing. “Now Sweetie Belle, Ruby just apologized. What do you say?”
Groaning loudly, Sweetie Belle tuned around to face Ruby Pinch. She gave her classmate a menacing scowl. Ruby Pinch was frightened a bit, but was still able to flash a nervous smile as a token of her forgiveness. Sweetie Belle took one look at Ruby, and then looked down at the puddle she had just fallen into. A small smirk suddenly appeared on her face.
With no warning, Sweetie Belle shoved Ruby Pinch to the ground and into the puddle. Rarity watched is stunned disbelief as her sister pushed her classmate to the ground.
“Apology accepted.” Sweetie Belle then turned her back and walked back home on her own, her big sister still too shocked to process what she had just seen.
Ruby Pinch was too stunned to initially react to what had just happened. However, as she sat on the ground covered in mud, tears started to well up in her eyes. A few short moments later, she got back up and ran back to house crying loudly.
Rarity could only watch as Ruby Pinch cried her way back home. She then looked back the way where Sweetie Belle left. Then she looked again to Ruby Pinch. Then one more time to Sweetie Belle. Several questions ran through her head at once, but she would have to wait for any answers. Snapping out of her shock, Rarity ran to catch up with her sister. She made a note to visit Berry Punch later to explain to her what happened to Ruby, even if she had no idea herself.
~~~~~
Thanks to the storage problem at the Golden Oaks Library, the old storage barn at Sweet Apple Acres had become the temporary location for the stars of “Friendship is Magic” to plan the show. There was a lot of planning involved to make the upcoming fourth season better than ever, so these rehearsal sessions were important to make sure everypony was on the same page.
Unfortunately, everypony’s minds had been preoccupied with the Cutie Mark Crusaders that, even now in the critical late stages of planning the fourth season, things were progressing very slowly. There wasn’t even a solid plan for the fourth season finale yet. Thankfully, the premiere was ready to go, as well as ideas for some other one shot episodes throughout the season. One such episode was the one everypony found themselves rehearsing on this particular day. It was based on Spike’s favorite comic book heroes (Pinkie wanted to make it up to the baby dragon for his role in Lyra’s Equestria Girls movie, so she let Spike create an episode on his own). These episodes were sufficiently planned to the point where filming could begin later that month. They could wait to figure out how season four would end later.
It was the first time Twilight, Pinkie and everypony had tried on their Power Pony costumes. It was something everypony was joking about the moment Spike proposed the episode. While the costumes turned out to be as silly as everypony expected, there had been a severe lack of joy in the air during rehearsals. This was especially true for three of the Power Ponies who, no matter how they tried, just couldn’t get their minds off three particular fillies. Despite everything, rehearsals continued on as the six ponies and Spike acted out the scene after their first encounter with the evil Mane-iac.
“Spike, where is The Mane-iac building her doomsday device?” Twilight asked as if they were stuck in the middle of Maretropolis.
Spike fully got into his part. “Her top-secret headquarters! But you better get there quick. That glowing orb she just stole is what she’s gonna use to power it up!”
Everypony’s attention turned to Applejack for her to ask Spike to lead the way. However, the cowpony’s attention had slipped and she was currently looking out the window for signs of a yellow filly in the orchards.
“Applejack! Your line?” Pinkie asked.
“Huh? Oh!” Applejack quickly realized she had spaced out. She stammered a bit before she cleared her throat. “Um… Come on out Mane-iac, or the Power Ponies are coming in!” she shouted.
“That’s…. Rainbow’s line,” Fluttershy nervously pointed out.
“Dagnabit!" Applejack cursed. "Ah’m sorry. Ah don't know why Ah did that.”
“It’s Ok, AJ,” Pinkie replied. “Let’s back up a bit and try again, all right?”
Applejack nodded, and began to get back into character. “So let me get this straight. We’ve been sucked into some sort of… comic book world?”
“Technically, it’s called Maretropolis,” Spike acted out, “And if we want to get back to Ponyville, I think we have to stop the Mane-iac from using her doomsday device to destroy it!”
“No biggie! I was already awesome. And…” Rainbow Dash’s confidence melted away suddenly, making her unable to finish the line.
“Are you ok, Rainbow?”
Rainbow Dash hesitated. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine.” She tried the line again. “I was already awesome. And now we’ve all got superpowers….” She trailed off as she found herself unable to recapture her usual bravado.
There was an awkward silence in the air for a few seconds before Spike decided to go on with the scene. “Almost all of us have superpowers,” he acted.
Rarity lifted Spike’s cape with her hoof. “But you must have them too, Spikey-boo. Your character is wearing a cutie mark.”
Spike blinked in confusion. “My cutie mark?” He checked his sides just to make sure.
Twilight winced a bit as she turned to Rarity. “I think you meant to say ‘cape’, not ‘cutie mark’.”
Rarity gasped. “Oh dear. I sincerely apologize! I didn’t even know I said…”
“It’s ok, Rarity. We understand.” Pinkie sighed. This rehearsal session was going nowhere. She thought that working on the show a bit would help lift everypony’s spirits. Looking at her friends, however, Pinkie understood that they weren’t in any shape to work on the show. Resigned to that fact, she started to get out of her costume. “Maybe doing rehearsals today was a bad idea, after all. How about we just call it a day?”
“Thanks, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said as she and the others changed out of their costumes. “I just can’t my mind on the show right now. I should be with Scootaloo right now. She needs me!”
“How is she holding up, Rainbow? Is she any better?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow frowned sadly. “No, she isn’t. She doesn’t use her scooter anymore. Heck, she barely goes outside for that matter, and she doesn’t want to talk to anypony else other than me. No matter what I tell her, she still blames herself for everything that’s happened.” Rainbow Dash crumbled to the floor in a depressed heap. “Some big sister I turned out to be, huh?”
“Don’t say that, Rainbow," Fluttershy smiled. "You’ve been an awesome sister.”
Twilight nodded in agreement. “Besides, you’ve gone above and beyond for Scootaloo. That’s all anypony could ask for.”
“I’m gonna guess that things aren’t getting better with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, are they?” Spike asked.
Applejack and Rarity shook their heads.
“Mah family’s tried punishing her. We’ve tried not punishing her. We just can’t get through to Apple Bloom anymore. She shut us out!” Applejack explained.
“And Sweetie Belle’s ego is starting to get out of control,” Rarity added. “And now that school’s about to start up again, I don’t know if it’s safe to send her.”
“Well Ah know for a fact Apple Bloom is going next week, no matter what she says. She knows how we feel about her missing school,” Applejack said, finally putting her hat back on.
“But if both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are there too,” Fluttershy wondered, “What’s gonna happen to Scootaloo if they start fighting again?”
“It’s a really bad idea to have ponies missing school on purpose, though. I really think Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle should go,” Twilight replied.
“Perhaps you’re right,” Rarity admitted.
“We have to at least let Ms. Cheerilee know what’s going on.” Spike added.
“Great point, Spike.” Twilight levitated a notebook and began to write down some notes. “I’ll make sure to have a talk with Cheerilee later today, just to make sure she’s ready to handle any problems.”
Fluttershy slowly stepped forward. “And I can talk with the school foals if they have any questions.”
“I really need to meet up with Lyra about that Equestria Girls sequel she’s been working on, but if you girls need some extra help, I’ll do whatever I can too,” Pinkie offered.
Rainbow Dash shifted nervously. “I don’t know. I can’t help feeling that sending Scootaloo to school would just make things worse.”
Spike shrugged. "Things are kinda getting worse already."
“I'm willing to give this a try,” Rarity said. “It's better than just standing pat like this.”
With her friends all in with the idea, Rainbow Dash smiled. "Well if you guys insist, I'm on board too. I just hope we an end this."
“Yeah. Me too.” Applejack nodded. She took another look at the orchards. “Ah really need to get back to work. We’re starting to fall behind on the farm again.”
"All right, AJ. See you later," Twilight smiled.
Applejack waved her goodbyes to her friends. Rarity watched the cowpony make her way back through the grove of trees. Before she knew it, Rarity found herself galloping to catch up with her.
“Applejack!” Rarity called out. “Wait!”
Applejack turned around. “Rarity? You need something?”
“Well… I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind if I accompanied you.”
“Of course Ah don’t mind. Although Ah don’t think you’d be up to bucking all them trees today.”
Rarity chuckled. “Oh dear, heavens no! I just thought you’d like some company.”
“Well thanks, sugarcube.”
An awkward silence hung over the two for a few moments before Applejack spoke again. “So… How are ya holdin’ up? Ah heard what happened the other day with Sweetie Belle.”
Rarity was caught by surprise. “You heard about that?”
Applejack nodded. “Berry Punch told me everything at the market yesterday.”
“I’d… rather not talk about it right now.”
“It’s all right. Ah understand.”
“How about you, dear? Are you all right?”
“Ah think that answer’s pretty obvious. Ah’ve been a mess worrying about Apple Bloom. Heck, Ah would have forgot about rehearsals today if Big Mac didn’t reminded me.”
Silence fell on the two ponies as they walked down the path. Several times, both ponies tried saying something to the other, but no words were spoken. They knew what each other was going through as fellow big sisters. However, they couldn’t even find words to comfort themselves at the moment, never mind comforting their best friend.
Eventually, curiosity got the better of Rarity. She took a deep breath and asked. “Hey Applejack? Can I ask you a question? Back when we first met, what did you think of me?”
Applejack stopped walking.
Rarity gulped, hoping she didn’t strike a nerve by bringing up a painful memory. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. I was just curious”
Applejack sighed. “It’s ok, Ah understand.” The cowpony took a few moments to carefully choose her words. “If you honestly wanna know, back then Ah thought you were a selfish, stuck-up Canterlot reject.”
Rarity felt hurt. “Oh. I see…”
“But that was back then though. Ah don’t think that anymore.” Applejack clarified. “Ah bet your first impression of me wasn’t all that better, huh?”
“I thought you made most diamond dogs look like the Manehattan elite,” Rarity admitted, trying her best to say it as nicely as possible.
“Well, gee. Thanks for sharing,” Applejack replied, feeling more than a little annoyed.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that I though very little of you at first. I didn’t mean to…”
Applejack gave Rarity a friendly pat on the back. “It’s ok, Rarity. Ah understand.”
“But still, I was just wondering…” Rarity stopped herself from saying any more.
“You were wondering what?” Applejack asked.
Rarity shook her head. “Nothing. It’s not important.” She started to make her way back down the path as fast as she could.
“You were wondering if you’re the reason Sweetie Belle is acting up this way. Weren’t ya, Rarity?” Applejack called out.
Rarity was stunned frozen at Applejack’s question. She turned back to the cowpony. Her eyes were starting to water. “How… How did you…”
Applejack let out a heavy sigh. She slowly took her hat off her head. “Ah was wondering the exact same thing about mahself and Apple Bloom.”
The two big sisters remained silent. Neither one knew how long they sat there, but eventually Rarity stood back up.
“I have to go home now. It’s my turn to supervise Sweetie Belle.” She began to gallop away from the farm.
“Hey Rarity?”
The unicorn turned back to the cowpony.
“Good luck,” Applejack smiled, putting her hat back on.
“You too,” Rarity smiled back.