Chapter Eight: Hope
The sun broke over the horizon; the morning was surprisingly calm in a stark contrast to the dramatic chaos of the night only mere hours before. Apple Bloom sat in the corner of the clubhouse silently mulling over the whole twisted situation; she hadn’t slept properly, how could she after what she’d seen? Even when she’d fallen into an exhausted sleep a few hours earlier it was plagued with stress dreams about Sweetie Belle that forced her to wake with her heart hammering and a cold sweat soaking her fur.
She sighed and closed her eyes once more in a vain attempt to rest; as soon as her eyes closed the scene played out again, Sweetie cried out as she was assailed by her other half, Apple Bloom rushed to her friend only to be cast to the ground with a searing pain in her cheek before looking up once more to find her friend had collapsed.
Again, her eyes snapped open and a stream of tears ran down her cheeks soaking the bandage that now protected her wound; the stinging sensation brought back memories of the aftermath of the horror.
Apple Bloom sat in the doctor’s office with her cheek numbed ready to be operated on; as the doctor stitched the slash wound in her cheek she tried to look over at Fluttershy who was mumbling to herself in concern for both her and Sweetie Belle who was a few floors above them with Rarity in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. Her cheek ached with each dull stab of the needle and she started to think back to the moment they’d brought Sweetie to the hospital; she’d awoke screaming and kicking as she tried to fight off Silver once more, it broke Apple Bloom’s heart to watch the nurses strap her friend down and sedate her. She didn’t deserve this; she didn’t deserve punishing for seeking love, regardless of how she went about it.
She took another deep sigh and placed her hooves over her eyes as she lamented her inability to help her friend. Just as the sigh left her lips she heard the soft creak of hooves climbing the steps to the clubhouse. She didn’t care who it was; if it wasn’t Sweetie Belle it didn’t matter.
The door swung open and an orange and purple blur strolled into Apple Bloom’s periphery; she knew who it was that now stood in the door way, but her presence brought the filly no happiness or comfort, instead Scootaloo’s cheery smile only served to make her feel worse.
“Morning, Apple Bloom. Where’s Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked as she sauntered towards the table that Apple Bloom was sitting at.
The yellow filly continued to remain silent as Scootaloo began rambling on about getting cutie marks again oblivious to the events that took place last night; her happiness was almost irritating to the yellow filly and she could feel herself growing ever more agitated with the incessant ramblings that came from her orange friend. Her eyes continued to well with tears as they hid behind her hooves and she slipped back into the memories of the night before.
She wasn’t allowed to go visit Sweetie Belle when she was committed to the psychiatric ward despite how desperate her pleas became; she remembered just standing impotently in the corridor as Sweetie’s twitching, unconscious body was wheeled upstairs and out of sight. As soon as the nurses had disappeared with Rarity, Fluttershy moved closer and hugged the yellow filly tightly in an attempt to comfort her.
‘Apple Bloom… sweetie…’
‘Apple Bloom…’
“Apple Bloom! Hey are you alright?” With that her memories dissolved again and she snapped back to reality to find herself face to face with Scootaloo.
“W… What? What d’ya want?” Apple Bloom snapped as the tears erupted from her sore eyes.
“Where did you say Sweetie was? I need to talk to her about something important.” Scootaloo asked without noticing the tears that were now spilling from Apple Bloom’s eyes.
“She’s… she’s in the hospital… what d’ya wanna ask her?” Apple Bloom said and looked down to hide the tears that were flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks.
Scootaloo stopped for a moment in shock at the news. “Is she alright? It’s nothing serious right?”
Apple Bloom didn’t raise her head to look at the other filly; instead she just continued staring at the floor beneath her. She was always told to be honest by her sister, but she didn’t want break the promise to Sweetie Belle a second time.
“Nah… she’s just not feelin’ well is all…” Apple Bloom lied. “Now, what d’ya wanna ask her?”
“You promise you won’t tell anypony that I told you, right?” Scootaloo asked shyly, still oblivious to the horrible state that Apple Bloom was in.
“Ah… Ah promise…” Apple Bloom was unsure about agreeing to the promise; it was a phrase that had caused a lot of trouble over the last few days and she really, really didn’t want anymore.
“Ok… so I found this note hidden in one of the drawers last night.” Scootaloo began as she pulled the crumpled paper from her saddle bag and placed it on the table.
“It said something about being Silver and that she loves me, but I don’t know what to do with it. I mean fillies can’t date fillies and even if they could, I don’t know how I feel about her and I don’t want our friendship to get weird… I was just going to let her down easy, you know?”
Apple Bloom didn’t know why, but the way Scootaloo was talking filled her with anger; without a second to think she leapt across the table and struck Scootaloo hard across the face causing her to fall backwards and rub her cheek as she reeled in shock.
Tears rolled down from Apple Bloom’s glaring, angry and sore green eyes as she stood over the now scared orange filly; she took several deep breaths and tried to understand why she just attacked one of her closest friends. After yet another deep breath she gathered some understanding of her feelings, now she knew why Scootaloo angered her so much; it was the way she was going to throw away Sweetie Belle’s feelings like they were nothing even after all that she’d done for her. Apple Bloom knew that she couldn’t possibly have known what Sweetie had been through, but still everything else she’d done should count for something.
Scootaloo’s eyes welled with tears from the pain that radiated from her cheek. “Apple… Apple Bloom… why?”
“Shut up!” Apple Bloom yelled as tears became streams and she struck Scootaloo again, this time however the blow lacked any power and ended with the yellow filly collapsing on her hind legs in a sobbing mess. “Just shut up!! Ya’ll don’t deserve her…”
“I… I don’t understand…” Scootaloo said as she backed away from the hysterical filly.
“She loves ya Scoots… she loves ya so much that she… that she…” Apple Bloom sobbed and closed her eyes in shame. “She drove herself crazy!!”
“What?” Scootaloo’s eyes went wide in shock at this sudden revelation. “What do you mean?”
Another sob wrenched from Apple bloom’s lips and she rubbed the aching wound on her cheek. “Last night… she… she… almost killed herself… that’s why she’s in the hospital.”
“But… you said it wasn’t serious…” Scootaloo said in disbelief as she drew closer to the other crusader.
“Ah lied! I didn’t wanna tell ya ‘cause she made me promise… but Ah can’t hold it anymore…..” Apple Bloom took a deep breath and looked at the orange filly. “Ah can’t save her no matter how much Ah wish Ah could… Right now… she needs the filly she loves; she needs you Scoots.”
Apple Bloom punched the floor and gritted her teeth as she struggled to deal with the memories of last night. Each scene played out like a horror movie that she couldn’t forget; she felt so powerless and weak, worse still was the realisation that no matter how bad she felt she knew that Sweetie was going through something so unimaginably more horrible.
Despite the way Apple Bloom had just acted Scootaloo still felt the urge to wrap her foreleg around the yellow filly and pull her close; at first Apple Bloom tried to push her away, but quickly her resistance faded and she found herself taking a small comfort in the warmth of her friend’s embrace.
“Please… save her Scoots…” Apple Bloom begged as she buried her muzzle in the soft orange fur.
“Apple Bloom… you…” Scootaloo hugged the other filly tighter letting her tears soak her fur as the realisation dawned on her and suddenly everything made sense. “…You love her… don’t you?”
Apple Bloom nodded lightly and gently broke away from Scootaloo’s embrace. “Uh huh…”
Finally, she wiped the last few errant tears from her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. “Scoots… Ah’m sorry… for hittin’ ya and for everythin’ Ah said…”
Before Scootaloo could say anything in response, the scene was interrupted by Apple Bloom’s older sister who yelled up through the clubhouse’s window. “Hey Apple Bloom, Rarity’s here; she says that Sweetie’s picked up a little and their lettin’ folks visit her now; she wanted to know if ya’ll wanted to go?”
Without another word the two fillies climbed down the stairs and followed Applejack back to the main farmhouse…
***
The two fillies remained silent as they followed Rarity to the hospital; Scootaloo trailed at the back of the group quietly rerunning everything that Apple Bloom had said in the clubhouse.
Each sentence hung on her mind like a lead weight; did Sweetie Belle really drive herself insane because of her and what she’d said all those days ago when she tried to confess the first time? She took a deep breath and let the memories of the last two weeks flood into her mind; it was so surreal to think that every wonderful, romantic moment with Silver was really with Sweetie Belle.
That thought made her stop for a second; those feelings she had for Silver were really for her best friend, did it really matter that much if she was a filly? Love is still love, right?
Apple Bloom was first to notice that the orange filly had stopped. “Scoots… what’s up…?”
“Girls? Please hurry, we don’t want to miss visiting hours…” Rarity stated as she turned to face the fillies that had stopped several meters behind her.
“Erm… Scoots? Ya’ll Alright?” The yellow filly asked as she placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.
Tears began rolling down from Scootaloo’s eyes as she finally realised her true feelings for her friend. “…I… I love her…”
Upon hearing those words leave the orange filly’s lips Apple Bloom felt her heart ache and tense up, but it didn’t hurt as much as it did when she learnt that Sweetie loved Scootaloo; in a way it was a relief because now at least Sweetie Belle could be happy.
Apple Bloom couldn’t summon any words to offer the other filly; instead she just smiled meekly before coaxing her forward towards the hospital once more.
***
The corridors of Ponyville hospital was abuzz with doctors, nurses and patients as they rushed back and forth with their business; Rarity was first to approach the receptionist’s desk followed quickly by the two fillies who were looking worn out from the walk.
After speaking with the receptionist the three were led upstairs to the psychiatric ward of the hospital where Sweetie Belle was sectioned in a small white room on her own. The room itself was an exact copy of the other rooms that made up this ward; sterile white walls with a single large, toughened glass window and simple wooden door that locked from the outside to separate it from the rest of the hospital. It was certainly no place for a foal, but it was the only place that they could be sure Sweetie couldn’t hurt herself; to be absolutely sure she couldn’t cause herself anymore harm her front legs were strapped to the bed by thick leather straps and she was sedated by powerful drugs that kept her drowsy.
Apple Bloom’s eyes welled up as she saw Sweetie through the one way glass; Silver had taken everything from her and as a last act of cruelty he took her from her friends. The yellow filly felt her chest hurt again as Sweetie sat up; her bandages were still covered in fresh blood from her wounds and her eyes were a dull empty green like a cloudy glass of apple juice instead of the sparkling emeralds they used to be.
The room where Sweetie sat wasn’t sound proofed from the inside and over the low din of the machines around her they could hear her humming a lonely gentle tune as a lone tear ran from her empty eyes.
The nurse who’d led the trio to Sweetie’s room sighed as she looked through the window at the filly. “All she’s done all day is hum that tune… it’s so sad, I wish I could help her.”
As she unlocked the door the nurse turned to face the filly’s visitors. “Due to the size of the room she can’t have more than two visitors at once; if one of you wouldn’t mind waiting while the others visit first it will make it easier.”
Rarity stepped forward “I’ll go in first… Apple Bloom would you like to come in with me?” she asked as she looked down at the yellow farm filly.
“Um… Could Ah go in with Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked, her tired eyes looking into the mare’s almost pleading.
Rarity caught on quickly and nodded to the filly. “Of course dear… I won’t take too long then.” She smiled and followed the nurse into Sweetie’s room.
After the door closed the two crusaders sat outside the room looking in at Sweetie Belle who was sitting and staring at her sister almost as if she didn’t know her at all; Apple Bloom sighed deeply and let her thoughts drift to the memories that still plagued her.
Every image caused her chest to hurt and her eyes to well with tears; just as she was about to lift her hooves to hide her tears she felt another hoof gently wrap around hers reassuringly, it was warm and comforting… perhaps even loving?
“Scoots…”
“It’ll be ok…” Scootaloo said as she hugged her friend.
After several moments they broke the hug and Scootaloo looked over at the two sisters in the next room; it looked like Rarity was almost ready to leave and so the fillies stood up and waited by the door.
As soon as Rarity stepped out of Sweetie Belle’s room she smiled sadly. “Girls, I’m going to step into the café for a little while; come and get me when you’re ready to go.” With that Rarity headed back down the corridors towards the staircase.
Both crusaders took a deep breath and opened the door; as they walked into the crisp white room they were immediately hit by the smell of sterilisers and the over bearing hum of machines as they monitored the unicorn filly’s vitals.
Sweetie was barely awake as they approached her; she looked remarkably peaceful and serene despite the turmoil that must be going on in her head. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes were almost closed letting only the smallest glimpse of emerald green peer through the gap; she turned towards the other crusaders as they drew closer, as her eyes fell on Scootaloo they opened slightly and a weak smile began to stretch across her lips.
“Scoot… Scootaloo…” Sweetie began with a soft almost raspy voice; the screaming and shouting from the night before had made her throat very sore, but that didn’t matter to her right now.
“Shhh… It’s okay… Sweetie Belle...” Scootaloo began as she took a gentle hold of Sweetie Belle’s restrained hoof being extra careful to avoid the bandages that covered most of her body. “I know how you feel and… I feel the same…”
Sweetie smiled slightly as she heard those words; she tried to lift her hoof to hug her friend, but frowned as she realised she couldn’t lift it more than a few inches because of the straps.
Apple Bloom stood silently watching her friends from the back of the room, with every loving smile and gentle word she felt her heart ache like it had been pierced by a thousand shards of glass; finally, she sighed and turned towards the door.
‘It’s better this way…’ She thought and quietly let herself out into the hallway.
As she started to walk away she took one last look at the filly she loved so much; she tried to convince herself that this is how it should be and that as long as Sweetie Belle was happy it didn’t matter how much it hurt her. Her eyes closed in an attempt to hide her sadness and she forced a smile before slowly walking towards the staircase…
***
Scootaloo hugged the white filly and smiled before planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. “I’ll visit again every day until you’re better, so please get well soon…”
She turned slightly to look for Apple Bloom. “Apple Bloom?... Apple Bloom?!” She asked as she searched for the missing filly.
Despite the drugs that kept her drowsy Sweetie knew that her friend was missing and found her hazy vision searching desperately for any sign of her; finally, she noticed a slight yellow blur disappear down the corridor. She struggled against her restraints as she tried to give chase, but it was futile, she was too weak to break free and the straps were rubbing against her wounds causing her more pain with each movement. “Apple… Bloom….” She cried out as tears formed in the corners of her cloudy green eyes.
Scootaloo couldn’t bear to watch her friend hurt herself in the struggle; she quickly undid the straps and disconnected the several drips and wires that monitored Sweetie’s health before helping Sweetie out of her bed, using her own body to support her friend’s weight. Without another wasted second the pair of fillies followed Apple Bloom as she disappeared down the stairs.
***
Apple Bloom stopped and rested against the railing that clung to the staircase wall; was this the right thing to do? She quizzed as she took another glance back up the stairs. Her heart began to ache again as she thought about how happy they looked together, surely this was how it should be and who was she to get in the way of her friend’s happiness; so why did she feel so bad? Finally, she let out a sigh and began walking back down the stairs.
Suddenly, she heard the soft clatter of hooves as they approached the top of the staircase.
“Apple Bloom…” a soft, raspy voice cried as the sound of hoof steps died away.
She knew that voice well, it was Sweetie Belle’s and she sounded desperate; Apple Bloom stopped dead and turned to see the filly being supported by Scootaloo. Her sore eyes welled with tears once more as she tried to avoid showing how hurt she was; her heart ached with sadness, but she knew she had to feign a smile despite the pain.
“Wh… What’s up?” the yellow filly asked through a weak smile.
Sweetie used what little strength she had left to free herself from Scootaloo’s support and stand on her own hooves; still drowsy, she shakily trotted towards the steps in front of her. She winced with each step as she put weight on her aching legs, but still she pressed on. As soon as she started to walk down the steps she felt her weakened knee buckle beneath her weight and before Scootaloo could react she’d fallen.
Within a heartbeat Apple Bloom threw herself forward to catch Sweetie, barely making it in time to stop her getting hurt.
“Wh… Why’re ya outta bed?” Apple Bloom asked as she pulled the trembling unicorn closer and held her tight. “Ya’ll coulda gotten hurt… dummy…”
“Don’t… go…” Sweetie sobbed softly.
“What d’ya mean? I was only…”
“Please… don’t… go…” Sweetie begged as she cut off Apple Bloom’s excuse and weakly hugged her friend.
With that Apple Bloom broke down into tears and kissed her friend on the cheek. “Ah…Ah ain’t goin’ anywhere… Ah promise…”
“Why… did… you… go?” Sweetie asked as her cloudy green eyes stared into the red ringed emeralds that were now flowing with tears.
“Ah… ah was goin’… ” She tried to lie, but she found herself unable to with Sweetie’s soft sad gaze looking at her expectantly; finally she took a deep breath and closed her eyes before telling her the truth. “Ah… love ya Sweetie… and Ah couldn’t bear to watch ya bein’ all lovey with Scoots…”
Sweetie never got to hear this confession, the drugs that kept her drowsy had finally taken effect and she’d fallen asleep soon after Apple Bloom closed her eyes; Apple bloom smiled at the irony as she cradled her friend and stroked her mane.
Within a few seconds the nurse that had escorted them to the room appeared in response to the alarms from the machines that said they’d been disconnected; she was out of breath and clearly very angry with the two conscious crusaders as she carried Sweetie Belle back to her room.
After being scolded by both Rarity and the nurse that helped Sweetie Belle the crusaders were taken back to Sweet Apple Acres to wait for the next visiting hours.
***
‘Sweeeeeeeetie!’ Silver yelled as he chased Sweetie through the boutique.
Sweetie Belle tried to escape, but the door was locked; her heart raced as her violent persona stalked closer clutching a shard of broken mirror between his teeth.
“Leave me alone!!” she cried.
‘You’ll never be loved! No pony would ever want a selfish, crazy filly like you!’ he snarled as he dragged the glass along the wall.
Suddenly, the door behind him swung open and a white light dispelled his form; in the light stood two silhouettes she knew very well. They were her friends, the fillies she loved so much and they’d come to save her.
Sweetie struggled to her hooves and approached them, but as she went to hug them they too dissipated and she was left alone in the darkness… no Apple Bloom… no Scootaloo… only the echoing words of Silver to keep her company.
‘You’ll never be loved…’
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open as tears flowed down her cheeks and she awoke to find herself back in her room in Rarity’s boutique; the familiar scent of expensive perfumes filled her nose and a caring warmth embraced her. It was at that moment she felt two pairs of hooves wrapped around her and she realised who it was that lay beside her. It had been several weeks since she was discharged from the hospital and she’d had nightmares every night, but every night she’d awoke to find her friends were always there for her; she was so happy that she started sobbing uncontrollably causing her companions to stir from their slumber.
“Mnnn…Sweetie? Is it another nightmare?” Apple Bloom said softly as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.
“Sweetie what’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked as she stroked Sweetie’s mane.
Sweetie shook her head and tried to wipe away her tears. “I dreamt you’d left me…”
In unison Scootaloo and Apple Bloom held the filly tighter and kissed her gently. “We’ll always be here… We love you…”
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I kind of wished that the book sub-plot would have gone somewhere and that their love was explored to a greater extent as opposed to just its results, but other than that I liked it.
4195760 tbh there was a lot of cut story because i felt it would start to drag otherwise.
The book was intended to act as a spark for her downward spiral and was going to be found later by the others, but the reverse spell was going to be missing.
Anyway; im glad you liked it other than that and i'll be revisiting the cmc for another story in the far future, so i'll take your advice to heart.
This was good. The writing needs work, particularly in the dialogue which sounds a bit lifeless at times; there were also a few story elements that I felt didn't need to be there, like Apple Bloom's sudden romantic interest and the copious gore at the end. But those aside, this was a great concept executed with plenty of atmosphere and emotion, and it kept me interested to the end.
5655720 im glad you enjoyed it; i know in retrospect that there's still a lot of flaws with my writing, but as they say practice makes perfect. as i've said many times before, there were lots of stuff i wanted to do more with but due to my work life and my fear that the story would start to drag, i simply didnt expand or do anything with most of the ideas. either way im glad you took the time to read it and that you enjoyed the ride.
5655720 im glad you enjoyed it; i know in retrospect that there's still a lot of flaws with my writing, but as they say practice makes perfect. as i've said many times before, there were lots of stuff i wanted to do more with but due to my work life and my fear that the story would start to drag, i simply didnt expand or do anything with most of the ideas. either way im glad you took the time to read it and that you enjoyed the ride.
I absolutely love this story. I've read it twice and both times I felt my heart break. I love it. Good job
5663768 thank you for such high praise. im so glad you liked my story and it means alot to me that you enjoyed it. if it isnt too much to ask may i ask you what you liked most about it.
5667138 Well you see that's kind of hard. i have many things that i love in the book. I'll list them if its all the same. I loved the Thought process and development of the characters. I really liked that one quote of appleblooms in the end , “She loves ya Scoots… she loves ya so much that she… that she…” Apple Bloom sobbed and closed her eyes in shame. “She drove herself crazy!!” That type just shows how powerful of an emotion sweetie had for scootaloo. i liked the flarity ship too. though the one true thing that stands out in the story is the antagonist of the story. That, i believe was one of the most well thought out characters in the story.
5667558 thanks for your input, i had a lot of trial and error with silver, so i always felt he was sort of off; im glad to see i was wrong. still, thanks for responding; i love seeing what people liked in my stories so i know which direction is the right one :)
5668813 I just wish there was a sequal
5669142 i wish i could write like it a second time
5669909 how do you mean?
5670402 simply, alot of my other stories have flopped or been so poor that they recieve a lot of bad comments and dislikes. so if i did well with this, i wouldn't like to ruin it with a poor sequal.
5670932 I guess thats true anyways its such a good story and is just amazing.
5671068 still, thank you very much and if i ever attempt a sequal i'll try and do it justice; however i have done other stories, if you wanna check them out, you might find another one you like as much. :)
man o man i need to take a shit
6176045 erm... okay?
6176045 erm... okay?thanks for the favourite as well :)
6181131
I like shipping while i drop a duce...
6181336
Wow. Not many story makes me read them but this one is awesome
This was a real good story to read, thank you very much.
Just to make sure, let me get this straight: now Sweetie accepted Both Applebloom's and Scootaloo's love? A bit awkward but sweet at the same time
6702258 thanks for the high praise; to answer your question, its more that they both wanted to be with her while she recovered, yeah it is awkward but when i wrote it i felt as they were always together it would be worse to split them up; it would be too sad to imagine apple bloom having to watch as her love was unrequited after all she'd done to help.
6702706
Don't misunderstand me, I love happy ending, and yours is more Than a good example for that.
I don't know why, but most of the people on this site like to write depressing or half-happy (one suffers) ending. Only thing I can think of is, that they somehow want to reflect their own issues (theory, NOT confirmed) through writing.
Still, I appreciate your ending, it cheered me up at the end :)
Congratulations, and best wishes!
P.s.: I almost forgot! So in the end were they able to 'get rid of' Silver, and Just the nightmares left after him? Sorry I couldn't make it out well :D
And Apple Bloom has Orange eyes :)
6703980 thanks; see i usually like depressing stories as i'm more comfortable writing them, but without a nice ending it wouldn't be my little pony. as for eye colour, i'm colour blind so i have to rely on what my friends say, if they're wrong i'm wrong. finally, it's supposed to be implied that he's still lurking there in her mind but everyday he gets weaker as she heals to the point where he's just a nightmare. still i'm glad you enjoyed the piece; if even one person likes it then it really makes it worth while.
6704092
I guess we learn something every day :D
6704097 we do :)
6702258
Why was me in dis?