//------------------------------// // 33. Blame // Story: SweetieMash Minecraft Adventures : Return of the Nightmare. // by CristalGalaxy //------------------------------// Scootaloo bumped into a few ponies as she galloped through the village. They were all going in the opposite direction, screaming in fear. She recognised a few and felt a little bit of relief spread over her as she knew they’d hopefully soon be safer. “Scoots!” yelled Applebloom, almost bumping into her. “We’re gonna get nowhere if we blindly run through the village like this. I’ve already lost Sweetie Belle and have no idea if Button and Diamond Tiara are following. We know the village better. Just focus on covering small areas at a time, and don’t take risks!” Scootaloo nodded while Applebloom left, and proceeded to run into the closest house. “Sweetie Belle?” she cried, covering her muzzle with her hoof. There was no answer, and Scootaloo ran back out, trying to ignore the burning family picture she had spotted inside. She went on for long minutes like that, inspecting every house she saw and entering, until she spotted a little filly who was just staring at a house with mild curiosity. Her small bat wings were slowly flapping up and down. “Uh… Uh…” Scootaloo uttered, trying to remember her name. “Silver Shadow! Please sweetie, get away from there!” A small wall of flames was increasing around the filly, so Scootaloo couldn’t get to her. “Silver! Please! Just fly up!” No answer. “Come on!” Scootaloo’s voice was shaking. “I know you’ve done this plenty of times with momma! Remember?” Silver stayed where she was but a few words came out of her mouth. “Look at that tree!” she exclaimed, pointing at the burning house a hoofstep away. “I wanna climb it! Will you accompany me, Scoots57?” Scootaloo froze. That was her Minecraft username. Which meant the filly was paralysed because of a game bug. This wasn’t her own doing! “N- No! I don’t want you to climb the… tree… You have to fly up and come towards me okay?” the orange pegasus said in a shaky voice, trying to hover up as high as possible without any success. Silver looked back and with one last innocent smile, nodded, before the house came crashing down on her. Scootaloo’s scream died down in her raspy throat when the shards of wood plunged into her body and the fire came flaring up to her. “Sweetie Belle! For heaven's sake, Sweetie Belle!” Rarity shouted as Sweetie Belle brought a plate of mostly burnt vegetables to her. “Have you smoked the whole house up? It’s going to stain my new Autumn collection!” Her sister scrunched up her muzzle in disgust. “Not to mention the smell…” Sweetie sheepishly looked at her distraught sister : “Sorry Rarity! But honestly, I just wanted to help you out… You’ve been working like crazy all week and drank only tea. You’ve always told me not eating is a health hazard!” Rarity glanced at Sweetie Belle and sighed. She opened the windows and sat down on her bed, patting the area next to her. “Listen Sweetie. I’m not always going to be around to protect you. You need to learn how to fend for yourself…” “Okay Rarity…” Sweetie Belle pouted, looking distraught. “I’m really sorry…” Rarity still smiled. “Ahh I forgive you! I just love you so much!” Sweetie Belle gave her a big hug, burying her head in her fur. “I love you too…” “Sweetie Belle! Wake up!” The voice snapped her out of her trance. “R… Rarity? Is that you?” Sweetie mumbled, her mouth feeling dry and numb. “Oh my Celestia she’s awake. Oh my Celestia… Thank ya so much…” The hooves holding her were warm and furry. “Button…?” The voice hesitated. “Nah sweetie. I’m Applebloom. Come on now, we need to get out of here and regroup… Can ya walk?” Sweetie Belle groaned as she was lifted up. Her wobbly legs barely sustained her weight and she had trouble focusing her eyes on objects. “W- Water…” “Ah! Sure thing sugarcube, Scootaloo must have some so we need to go find her, all right?” Applebloom started proceeding forward, helping Sweetie Belle stay balanced. They continued like that for what seemed like ages. After a little while, Sweetie could manage on her own and they were going much faster. Though Applebloom’s anxiety was growing. “I hope Scoots and Diamond are doing okay. Maybe we shouldn’t have split up?” she thought out loud. Sweetie’s guilt came back and hit her. “S… Sorry…” she murmured, her tongue feeling too dry to properly move. “Why are you apologizing, Sweetie Belle?” Applebloom suddenly asked, staring at her intensely even though they were still stuck inside the village and the best course of action would be looking out for debris. “Because… All my fault… Camera… You’re here now…” Sweetie managed to cough out. “For Celestia’s sake Sweetie Belle!” Applebloom let her go and turned around to properly face her. “You need to learn how to grow up! Stop blamin’ yourself all the time. Do you even realize how much your moral is going down every time you think ‘ah I’m not good enough!’ or ‘ugh, we’re all going to die because of me!’ Placing the fault on yourself will only pull ya down. And right now, we need you up Sweetie. We all need you to show us how to get out of this Celestia-darned game, and get our revenge on GameSpark! Do ya hear me?” Sweetie Belle felt the tears flow down her cheeks before she could even comprehend how much that speech had impacted her. She started to sob, wailing loudly, ears down and staring at Applebloom’s determined face. How could she have been so selfish? All this time she had spent wallowing on her own problems, her friends had to struggle in an unfamiliar world, suddenly surrounded by horrible monsters and creatures beyond their nightmares. Sweetie hadn’t been there for them at the right moments, instead foolishly believing that Button would be able to solve all of their problems. “I’m… sorry…” Sweetie found the strength to lift her head up high. “And that’s the last time I’ll apologize on this matter.” She started to move her hind legs, trying to stand up. “You’re right. All I was doing was pitying myself instead of helping you.” Sweetie gritted her teeth as she finally stood up. “But I assure you, it won’t happen again. Thank you Applebloom.” Applebloom gently smiled and nudged her. “Alright then. But first, let’s get to safety. I’m seriously startin’ to worry about the others.” A few hoofsteps later, upon turning at the corner of a house, they spotted the dark plain ahead. Monsters of all sorts were roaming about, some of them Sweetie had never seen before! Though she wasn’t scared anymore. She had this purpose, this strong will to live.