The Scoota Finale

by thedarktome


Chapter 06 - Planning

Magenta's been in the hospital for a full week now, having plenty of time to get used to her predicament. As well as relearn some things about Equestria. So far, things were improving, albeit slowly. She had to relearn mostly everything that every foal would learn when they first go to school. With the exception of the alphabet, colors, and basic vocabulary.

"So what's Equestria again?" She asked Goldhoof that morning after she walked in to check her vitals and change her bandages. Magenta seethed through her mouth when the nurse removed the gauze and the gashes were exposed to the elements once more, throbbing in pain. It was going to be at least three to four months until they were all healed completely, the doctor told her. Magenta was facing away from her, her back turned to allow her access to the lacerations and gashes.

"Equestria is the land you live in," Nurse Goldhoof responded. She dipped her hoof in a small container and began applying some cream. "Your wounds are healing up nicely. Well, as best as they can anyway."

"So who's Celestia?"

"Celestia is one of the Princesses that rule over Equestria." She checked something off on the clipboard before she went back to applying some more cream. Magenta grimaced at the pressure before she asked another question.

"How many Princesses are there?"

Goldhoof glanced up while she thought. "Four. Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance."

"Why are there so many?"

Goldhoof sighed and shrugged. "To be honest, I have no idea. They all have different duties and responsibilities. Princess Twilight is the Princess of Friendship. She helps ponies who have lost their way to friendship and peace to get back on the right path. Princess Celestia is the main ruler, the Princess of the Sun and her teacher. She raises and lowers the sun that wakes you up in the morning that annoys you so much." Magenta laughed in agreement. "Her sister is Princess Luna. The Princess of the Night. She raises and lowers the moon. Bringing peaceful night to you and helps bring you out of nightmares shall you ever have one."

"Wait, she can go in my dreams?" Magenta asked in confusion.

"Yes. She's done it to me plenty of times; and to every foal on this floor, I'm sure." She applied some cream to her wing slits, careful with the stitching they had recently applied to all of the gashes.

"So she just walks into a dream?"

"Yes. She lets herself in."

"Isn't it more polite to knock first?" She asked again, making the nurse chuckle. "I mean, my dream could be very embarrassing, and she just walks in. That is very rude."

"Why don't you tell her that?"

"You tell her that." The two laughed a little before she moved onto the next slit.

"It looks like all of these gashes are going to scar, Magenta," she said sadly. The filly sighed and nodded her head.

"I know," she replied sadly. "I don't want ponies looking at me like I'm some freak. I already feel like one."

"You're not, sweet pea. And I wouldn't want that either. But you got to see the beauty in your lacerations." Magenta looked over her shoulder at her, giving her a look of skepticism. "Don't give me that, these wounds tell a story. They say....you survived. Whatever happened to you, you weren't supposed to survive it. In fact, you didn't until the ponies who picked you up from the beach resuscitated you."

"Resuscitated?"

"When they bring you back to life." She gently sat Magenta up and grabbed some gauze from the table behind her to wrap around her barrel and legs. "They restarted your heart. And you lived. Now you can enjoy the life of a foal. Sort of."

"Yeah, but....I can't remember anything before. Everything I knew is...gone."

"Then it is time to make new memories," Goldhoof suggested while wrapping the gauze around her. "Find friends and have fun before you turn into an adult. What do you want to do? What has interested you so far?"

"Singing. I...I enjoy singing."

Goldhoof grinned and announced, "Oh yeah! The doctor said he overheard you one time and that you sounded really good. He was impressed." Magenta's eyes widened. The doctor liked her voice?

"Are you sure the doctor said that?" She asked, looking at her skeptically. The nurse chuckled and nodded.

"Yes. Actually, I'm really interested in what you can do too. Care to sing for me sometime before you get released in the future? I really want to hear you." Magenta looked up in thought before she nodded happily. "Are you ready for breakfast?" She happily nodded again before the nurse pulled the table in front of her, stacked high with food. The filly gasped in surprise. "You're going to need your nutrients, okay? Eat slowly, I don't want you to choke."

Magenta's ear twitched at her concerned voice and gave her a reassuring smile. "I promise to eat slowly."

The nurse smiled before she leaned down and nuzzled her mane. "Okay, I'll be back to check up on you in an hour." She turned around and began to walk out the room before she stopped and looked back at her. "Would you like the door open?" Magenta nodded, interested on hearing the noises of a hospital early in the morning.

The nurse walked and made her way towards wherever, leaving her to her breakfast. Once she was out of earshot, Magenta turned on her television, watching music videos while listening to the hustle and bustle of the hospital. She felt tranquility from the noises. So much so that she sighed in relief. A few minutes later, she carefully pushed the empty table away and relaxed back into the bed, closing her eyes. Unaware of the white head peeking into her room.

The completely white filly pegasus with a silver mane looked around for a moment before she walked in, intentionally breaking the rules. She checked out the room, noting that it was basic and bare. No drawings, pictures, or anything. Except the TV and Radio. Dresser and medical stuff.

There were some plastic steps on the side of the bed that led up to the top. Did this pony break their leg? She needed to get a closer look. She quietly walked up the steps and looked at the pony.....an orange filly with a bandage on her head. And her hooves. And all over her body.

She lifted a hoof and calmly poked her shoulder. "Excuse me," she said timidly, trying to rouse her. "Are you awake?"

Magenta's eyes cracked open and focused on the white pony, then widened. She glanced around for a moment before she painfully sat up. "Umm... Hello?" Magenta greeted.

"Hi! My name is Bright Snow!" She greeted enthusiastically in a high pitched voice, waving at her. "What's your name?"

"Uhhh... Magenta Streak."

"What are you in here for? I broke both my wings in a balcony accident." She gestured to her sides at the little white wings wrapped in a cast.

"I have amnesia and twenty eight cuts, lacerations, and gashes."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Bright Snow apologized, folding her ears on the side of her head. "I didn't know. Are you... In pain?"

"Every time I move," Magenta replied. "I'm a flightless Pegasus."

"A flightless Pegasus?" She asked in confusion. "What's that?"

"A Pegasus who doesn't have wings. I don't know what happened to mine. I had some before, but not anymore."

"What happened to you?"

Magenta shrugged. "I can't remember. I can't remember anything that happened before coming in here. I don't know my name, my birthday, the town I come from, my family or anything else basic. I...I just don't know. I think Magenta is my name. But there's no way to tell."

"Oh." Bright Snow deflated again, making Magenta's ear twitch.

"Do you want to be friends with me?" She asked her. The white Pegasus' ears lifted up again and her tail started swishing back and forth, along with a big bright smile.

"I'd love to!"


In the days that led up to that point, the Crusaders were getting ready to depart for awhile. More like forever. They had packed what they thought they would need and were now waiting the night before Magenta met Bright Snow for all the ponies in Ponyville to go light's out. Babs and Gabby were waiting for them outside of the forest. The day they came over, Babs was convinced that Scootaloo wasn't gone. So she indirectly convinced the two best friends to continue looking. Now, they were; and they weren't going to come back until they found her. If they ever do.

It was now four in the morning, seven days after Magenta was admitted to the hospital. Apple Bloom threw the sheets off of her and looked around her room, sighing at the serene and quiet atmosphere. She was going to miss this. Leaving home was always a hard thing to do.

Applebloom quietly slipped out of bed, planting her four hooves softly on the floor, careful not to make a sound. She looked around her dark room and quickly grabbed her saddlebags, sure not to jostle them too much. It could cause a lot of noise. She walked to her window and silently slid it open. Then grabbed a rope sitting underneath it that was connected to a bunch of nails, pinning it to the wall.

She checked behind her at the door before she threw it out, watching it fall to the ground and dangle. Once it hit the ground, she grabbed hold and began to move. "Cutie Mark Crusaders Rope Climbers," she recalled with a chuckle. Good times. She slipped through the frame and slid down silently until her hooves hit soft dirt. Once she looked around, she adjusted her saddlebags and began to walk off the farm.

It was a warm summer night. Complete with fireflies and crickets. But she had no time for enjoyment. She had a forest to get to. And a friend to find. Applebloom trotted briskly up the path, making her way off the property. She had to be careful and quiet. Because one? Winona. And two? Winona. She's inside the house sleeping most of the time in the living room. But if she hears a noise, she'll come out and start searching. And barking. And waking ponies up. Hopefully she didn't hear anything.

"Pssst.....Applebloom!" Someone whispered. She looked up and spotted Gabby waiting for her at the gate, waving a claw towards her. She briskly trotted over to meet her while she laid down, giving her access to her back. "It's about time. I've been waiting for an hour. Sweetie Belle and Babs are already waiting at the river."

Apple Bloom didn't respond while she climbed on her back. Once situated, Gabby rose back up and took off into the air, sending out a gust of wind. Applebloom looked down at the moonlit town of Ponyville. It actually looked pretty cool at night. Too bad she won't be seeing it again anytime soon. Gabby tilted left and began gliding over the nearby Everfree Forest. Wow, it even looked creepy while in the air. Enough to send shivers down her spine.

"Can you swim, Gabby?" Applebloom asked. Gabby's ear twitch.

"Yep. I learned how to swim when I was five after being thrown in a lake." Applebloom cocked her head to the side while Gabby began to descend, and eventually land next to Babs Seed and Sweetie Belle, who trotted over to greet them.

"I watered the seeds at the memorial before we left," Sweetie Belle informed her. Applebloom gasped. She totally forgot about that!

She breathed a sigh of relief before she walked over, pulled Sweetie into a hug, and nuzzled her cheek, making Sweetie gasp and blush seemingly unnoticeably. "Thanks, Sweetie," she whispered with a smile.

"Y-you're welcome, Applebloom." The two broke apart and looked around. Babs Seed rolled her eyes, having caught Sweetie Belle's blush and smile.

"Alright," Applebloom said catching their attention. "How exactly are we going to get through that filter?" She pointed to the blades currently in motion down the river.

"With this." Babs walked over to a bush nearby and grabbed something. Then effortlessly dragged out a dense metal pipe, leaving a groove in the dirt. Thick enough to clog. "Got this from nearby. Don't know what it was for though."

"That'll work," Sweetie Belle commented.

"I agree," Applebloom added. "Now how do we get over there?"

"We have something!" Gabby commented before turning around and walking into the forest. "We were working on this the first day we came here after you two went home. We call it..." She dragged back a hollow log that was cut in half. "A boat log thing."

"Perfect! Now let's go save Scoots! And we need a new name for that!" Applebloom cheered. Gabby positioned it by the water, allowing the three ponies to get in and situated.

"Prepare yourselves, we're going in," Gabby told them. She pushed it forward suddenly, sending it into the water. The ponies yelped from the suddenness, not to mention the water that was getting on them, before they realized it was floating towards the filter. Gabby jumped in the water and guided it forward, slow and steady. After awhile, Sweetie Belle had to ask in worry.

"Do you really think Scoots got caught in this?" She asked timidly, pointing at the rapidly spinning blades.

"I.... don't know," Applebloom responded once they got closer. "Celestia said one of her wings got caught on one of the blades. There's only one way to tell."

"And we're about to go in now," Babs Seed announced as they neared the blades. The sound of the motor drowned out their normal voices, forcing Babs Seed to yell. "This is a one time thing, Applebloom! We have to get it just right so we can get the boat log thing through!"

"We really need a new name!" Applebloom yelled back. The three grabbed the pipe when Gabby stopped the boat a few millimeters away from the blades.

"When I say thrust, thrust forward!" Apple Bloom ordered. The two nodded before they focused on the blades. A few seconds later, "THRUST!" The three threw it forward, sending it into the blades where it caught between the two fans, clogging it with a loud clang. It also left a big enough space for all four of them and their means of transportation.

"Alright, it's clogged! Push us in, Gabby! Quickly!" She did just that, sending them in along with herself before it could possibly break. Once securely in, Gabby hopped into the boat log thing.

"Okay, second problem," the Griffon whispered, catching their attention. "Lights."

Applebloom reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a waterproof flashlight. "I got these from Pinkie months ago," she told them. She took out three more and passed it to everyone behind her. They all took one and fiddled with it, eventually turning it on before the moonlight could die out and plunge them into darkness.

Apple Bloom shone hers straight forward, seeing nothing but water and darkness. "Well....no turning back now," she said. "We're in for a ride ladies. Prepare yourselves." The only sound after that was the constant sound of the water that was splashing against the walls and their boat.

Four Hours Later

"This is soooo boring," Gabby complained, cutting off her light. "So much for 'preparing ourselves'. We had nothing to prepare for. Except to sleep. Like Babs." The three looked towards the third girl, who was leaning on Sweetie Belle's back sawing logs.

Applebloom chuckled and shook her head. Then shone the flashlight forward again to get a good eye. "Remember why we are doing this. Floating through the dark tunnels filled with water."

"Yeah, for Scootaloo. I know. I'm just saying we could've.....wait a second." the two glanced over their shoulders at the suspicious eyed Griffon. She raised her beak and sniffed loudly "Do you smell that?"

Applebloom and Sweetie sniffed the air, trying to smell whatever while Gabby woke up Babs.

"I don't smell anything," Applebloom responded.

"Neither do I," Sweetie Belle agreed. A groan behind the two caught their attention, as well as a shuffle and a bunch of red hair.

"Hey, what's happenin'?" Babs asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

"Gabby smells something," Sweetie relayed.

"It's old iron," Gabby said.

"Yeah, we're in a pipe," Apple Bloom said blandly. "Remember?"

"I know, but the iron this channel is made out of isn't as rich as this. The iron I'm smelling.... it's too out of place. And it's.....everywhere. Burning my nostrils."

The three ponies shared a look before picking up their flashlights and looking around, gasping at what they found. Blood.

It was smeared on the walls, and there was some in the water. It wasn't too much, but it was still much that was noticeable. And it wasn't decaying. "Was this.....," Babs muttered before something in the water caught her eyes. She reached into the water and pulled out three orange feathers. "It was."

"Buck," Apple Bloom sighed. "This is just getting worse and worse."

"At least we know we're on the right track," Sweetie Belle soothed sadly. "Good job, Gabby. Your nose comes in handy."

"You mean my beak, and you're welcome," she responded with a chuckle.

"Okay....now we have to discuss what to do if we do find her," Apple Bloom inquired, coming out of her shock. "We can't just bring her back. I'm positive she's hurt bad."

"We know, but.....what then?" Babs asked.

"I don't know," she responded while keeping her eyes forward. "We'll just have to talk to her first. If she's alive. And Babs?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. When we were told she got caught in the filter, me and Sweetie lost hope. All hope. But when you said you were going to go look for her, we realized that Scoots would not have wanted that; Wanted us to give up so easily. It wouldn't have been us. So, thank you."

"You're welcome, Applebloom."

"Hey, I just thought of something," Sweetie said suddenly, catching everyone's attention. "How will everyone react once they realize we're gone?"

"They'll freak out," Gabby answered.

"Yeah, I know but to what limit? Will they just freak out? Or will they freak out, tell Celestia, the guard, the police, and print out flyers, passing them out to everypony?"

All their eyes snapped open before Apple Bloom sighed. "I forgot about that," she said. "Well in that case, we'll have to stick to the shadows and investigate when we can. Probably have to split up too, to cover more ground."

The group continued on in silence for the rest of the ride. Thinking about Apple Bloom's words. That town was gonna freak out when the sun rose. A lot.


"Applebloom! Come down for breakfast!" Applejack yelled as she set her sister's spot at the table. It was around nine in the morning now, and Apple Bloom hadn't gotten up yet. This was definitely going to be a long month. Applejack grabbed some cereal and poured it into the bowl then went to grab some juice from the fridge. Once she retrieved it, she walked back to the table, her eyes on her grandmother and brother before she glanced to the doorway. Why hasn't Apple Bloom come down yet?

She poured the juice in the cup and set it on the table before she turned around to go check on her sister. In the last few days she's come down for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Albeit reluctantly. But now she wasn't. Something wasn't right. She bounded up the stairs and knocked on her door. "Applebloom. Come on an' eat," she said before putting her ear to the door. She didn't hear anything. She put her hoof on the handle and tried to turn it. But it wouldn't budge. "Applebloom, unlock the door." Nothing.

She jiggled the handle, trying to wake her sister. "Applebloom?.........Applebloom, you okay in there?" Big Mac and Granny Smith looked up towards the stairs at the commotion. She continued to jostle the door before she started knocking on it loudly. "Applebloom, open up right now!"

There was no movement. "Applebloom if you don't open this door in five seconds, I'm gonna buck it open! One.......two......three......four......five!" She turned around and lifted her rear hooves before she bucked at the door, trying to get it open. Big Mac got up from his seat to see what was going on when she bucked it again and again before it finally broke and swung open, revealing....nothing. Except a window with a rope dangling from it.

"Ah, buck me, she's gone!"

"What?" Big Mac asked, a little concerned. The two walked into the empty room, hoping to find her. Big Mac checked the closet and Applejack checked underneath the bed.

"She must've...ran away or somethin'!" Applejack assumed, crossing over to the rope in the open window. The two peeked out and looked at the rope that dangled a few centimeters from the ground.

"She must've left during the night!" Big Mac exclaimed. "Come on, maybe she's still in Ponyville!" The two quickly ran down the stairs and out of the house, leaving Granny Smith bewildered. That was the first time Big Mac spoke normal words in such a long time.

In another part of Ponyville, a certain fashionista was creating breakfast after beautifying herself and putting on her light blue eyeliner. Rarity decided that Sweetie Belle would like a day out with her sister to get her mind off of what happened almost two weeks ago. She had to get at least a little better. School was going to resume on monday, which is three days away. She had to be distracted from that for her own well being as well.

Rarity set a bowl of fruit cocktail at Sweetie Belle's personal spot of the kitchen table and called for her. "Sweetie Belle! Come down for breakfast, darling!" She waited and listened in complete silence, trying to hear Sweetie Belle's grunts and mutters of "too much happiness" in the house that's she's been saying lately. But she didn't hear anything.

Rarity raised an eyebrow and tried again. "Sweetie Belle! Breakfast!" She waited again for another minute. But her bed didn't even squeak. And that could usually be heard from the kitchen. She hummed in worry before she trotted up the stairs.

Rarity stopped at the door and tried to twist the handle, finding it locked. "Sweetie Belle, unlock the door please," She asked cheerfully. Then waited, but once again was met with silence. Wait a second...Sweetie never locked her door while she lived there. Something was wrong. Rarity quickly turned around and trotted into her room and looked in one of her dressers, pulling out a jewelry box that was anything but and grabbed a spare key with her magic.

Then turned back around and briskly trotted back to Sweetie Belle's room, sticking the key in the slot and twisting it. She pushed down the handle and opened the door, gasping at the find. Sweetie wasn't there. Neither were her photos that were sitting on the dresser. But her window was wide open. "No no no, Sweetie Belle!" She ran over to the window and looked out of it, hoping to see her little sister. The only thing she saw were a few ponies out and about, going to do what they had to do.

Rarity whimpered in worry before she turned around and froze. There was a letter on one of her dressers addressed to her. She quickly trotted over, grabbed it in her magic, and unfolded it, reading what was written out loud. "'Hello, Rarity. It's Sweetie Belle. I know you're reading this and are probably wondering where I am, so I'll make this quick. We have one more thing to do to end all of this. So Applebloom and I are going on our last and final crusade. We might not ever come back, and you may not ever see us again. I just can't live with myself knowing that we caused Scootaloo to not be with us anymore. Just thought I'd let you know. And let you go. Don't try looking for me, it's futile. Love you forever. Your little sister, Sweetie Belle.'"

Rarity dropped the letter in horror before she turned around and ran down the stairs, literally ripping the door off the hinges and darting out into the street at a speed Rainbow Dash would be in awe of. "SWEETIE BELLE!!! SWEETIE BELLE, WHERE ARE YOU!!!!??" She looked left and right, hoping to spot a light gray unicorn with a pale rose and mulberry colored mane. "SWEETIE BELLE!...SWEETIE BELLE, THIS IS NOT A JOKE COME OUT THIS INSTANT!!!"

"Rarity!" She turned around and looked towards Applejack who had a worried look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Sweetie Belle is missing!" She yelled, scaring Applejack and Big Mac. "I found this letter and I'm not liking this at all!" She handed Applejack the letter, allowing the two family members to read it. Applejack's eyes widened before she looked up in horror.

"We have to find 'em!"

"I KNOW! WE NEED TO SEE TWILIGHT, COME ON!!" The three started to run towards the castle, leaving the other ponies outside wondering what was going on.

In the Castle of Friendship, Twilight was pacing back and forth in the map room trying to find a way to send a letter to Princess Celestia about Rainbow Dash without sounding too worried. Starlight and Spike were standing to the side watching her mutter. "Twilight? Just send the letter," Starlight said blandly.

"I can't just 'send a letter', Starlight!" She exclaimed, her eyes going wide. "I have to be smart with this. This is Rainbow Dash and I need ideas to present in order to send this letter without sounding....silly!"

"Twilight, you caring for a pony does not make you sound silly," she responded. Then stood and started pushing her teacher towards a seat. "Go on, have a seat."

"Thank you, Starlight!" Spike groaned from his seat. The unicorn looked at him in confusion as Twilight sat back down beside him. "You have no idea how aggravating it is to see the Princess freaking out—OOWW!"

Twilight retracted her hoof from the top of Spike's head before she looked back at Starlight in worry. "Starlight! I need ideas! Not chairs to sit in!"

"Then Princess Celestia will give you some ideas. My teacher is just like her teacher. So I'm sure she knows more about this than you do, I bet. All you have to do is ask her." Starlight grabbed an inkwell, quill, and scroll, and levitated it to her. "Just write it out, I promise it won't hurt anypony."

A loud bang sounded off in the hall, causing the three in the room to look towards the doorway in attentiveness. "TWILIGHT!!!" Rarity yelled.

"Rarity? What has her so worked up?" Spike asked. Starlight shrugged before the unicorn in question ran into the room with Applejack and Big Mac right behind her. And she looked bad. Her makeup was running everywhere. Down her face and into her mouth, making Starlight grimace. That had to taste horrible.

"Rarity! What's wrong?" Twilight asked in worry.

"THIS is what's wrong!" She shoved the paper in Twilight's face, letting her grab it in her magic and read it for herself.

"'Hello, Rarity. It's Sweetie Belle. I know you're reading this and are probably wondering where I am, so I'll make this quick. We have one more thing to do to end all of this. So Apple Bloom and I are going on our last and final crusade. We might not ever come back, and you may not ever see us again. I just can't live with myself knowing that we caused Scootaloo to not be with us anymore. Just thought I'd let you know. And let you go. Don't try looking for me, it's futile. Love you forever. Your little sister, Sweetie Belle.' Spike, get me a purple scroll. This is an emergency. They obviously ran away and we have no idea where. And it sounds like Sweetie Belle could be doing something dangerous and life threatening."

Spike instantly ran out of the room, confusing Starlight Glimmer. "What's the purple scroll?" She asked carefully.

"In Equestria, there is an alert system that the Princesses set up years ago in case of a national or local emergency. They used it during the time when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon over one thousand years ago, and has used it ever since for serious situations. The colors vary depending on how serious it is. A foal that is missing is the yellow scroll. A red scroll is a life and death situation that could affect all of Equestria, or town, or city. A blue scroll is a missing pony. And a purple scroll is a missing pony on the loose that could be a danger to themselves or others. I used a yellow scroll when we discovered that Scootaloo was the pony that went missing on April thirteenth. And now we're about to use the purple scroll for her friends."

Spike instantly ran back in with a deep purple scroll in his claw, headed towards the map to grab a quill and scroll. "Names?" He asked, unrolling the scroll.

"Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom," Twilight asked. He wrote that down before he faced Applejack and Rarity.

"We need some photos."

"HERE!" Rarity teleported two photographs of the three cutie mark crusaders onto the table in front of him, letting him take it and attach it on the scroll.

"Description?"

"Apple Bloom has a yellow coat, an Appleloosan accent, and a red mane with orange eyes," Applejack told him.

"Sweetie Belle has a light gray coat with a light purple and rose mane, and green eyes," Rarity informed him.

"Okay, let me see the letter." Twilight handed him the notebook paper, allowing him to read and copy down what it says before he handed it back to Rarity. He then signed his name and passed it to Twilight, who signed her own. Once finished, she passed it back to Spike, allowing him to roll it up carefully, blow his flames on it, and send it away in a purple glow.

"Now all we can do now is wait," Twilight informed them before she faced the two, who were clearly anxious. Rarity wouldn't stop moving, and Applejack kept biting her lips. "Did you have any idea about any of this?"

"No!" Rarity exclaimed. "If I had, I would've done all that I could to make her feel better! They must've left some time during the night! I never thought Sweetie Belle would fall this far!"

"Neither did I!" Applejack agreed, shaking her head. "This is horrible ya' hear me? I never thought Apple Bloom would go this low!"

"We have to go find them, we have no time for the Royal Guard!" Starlight yelled.

"Yeah, but where?" Twilight asked. "Like you said Rarity, they left sometime during the night. They could be anywhere in Equestria right now. We'd be searching blindly. All we can do right now is wait and hope for the best. Console their families and friends and try to cheer them up in this time."


Back in the channel, the four remaining crusaders were quiet, only making noises whenever someone shuffled to get comfortable. The log they were riding on was still going strong. Not slowing down for a moment. Sweetie Belle glanced down at the saddlebags in front of her, staring at the pulsing red item in between the health supplies in one of the bags. Sweetie sighed unnoticeably. She was barely holding on. She remembered Applebloom asking why they gave up so easily. And she responded with, "We're just depressed." But this was more than depression. If they aren't able to find Scootaloo, or if push comes to shove... She'd join her.