Luna burst into Celestia's office, swinging her doors open and making Celestia herself jump up from her desk. Realizing who it was, she put a hoof over her chest. "Luna... Why must you always do that?" She sighed and took a seat back down.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle has sent a purple letter." Celestia looked up in alarm at her sister. A purple letter? A state of Emergency? She trained her eyes on the mentioned letter in her magical grip. Luna had a grave look on her face too, sending a bad feeling down her spine. "And you will never guess who it is for." Celestia took hold of the letter and levitated it over to her in earnest. She flipped it open and read the details.
"Oh no," she whispered. Those two fillies. The same two who lost their friend in Ponyville. "Get me Shining Armor. Right now!"
"You can do it yourself, there is a scroll right there." Luna pointed towards four empty scrolls on her desk, on the left side of Celestia.
"Oh... Right." She picked one up and quickly wrote the message. Then teleported it over to the Crystal Empire. Once it was on its way, she placed her face in her hooves and sighed. "I knew it was only a matter of time until it came to this," she whispered.
"Whatever do you mean?" Luna asked. She looked over her shoulder and used her magic to close the doors.
Celestia sat back up and crossed her hooves together. "When we were in Ponyville during Twilight's party, I noticed the one named Sweetie Belle, after hearing the news, go down slowly. Her eyes turned cold and uncaring. Her spark that made her happy when we first saw her was gone. She was slowly plunging into the darkness that is depression. I could see it. And I could hear it. When she spoke, her voice was hollow. There was no emotion in it. At that moment, when I met her gaze during the party, I thought, 'This child is not going to last long.' She was losing all sense of emotion. I knew it was only a matter of time before this was going to happen. They are both blaming themselves for this. Sweetie Belle especially. She was the first pony to meet Scootaloo, and her very first friend. Rarity told me that when we had a moment alone. Applebloom came in when Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo met her at a cutecenara. She knew her much longer than Apple Bloom, who was obviously angry at herself when we saw them during the burial. But Sweetie Belle might as well have been banging her head on a table. Now, the worst may happen if we don't find them in time."
Before Luna could comment, a scroll appeared back in front of Celestia in Purple. She picked it up and opened it quickly. "'Dear Princess Celestia. I have mobilized all the guards in every city in Equestria to be on high alert for two fillies. One with a yellow coat, red mane, and orange eyes. And one with a light gray coat, light purple and light rose mane and green eyes. Both having cutie marks of purple hued shields. I remember seeing them at the party. The guards will be on every street and corner in an hour in every city. Prince Consort and Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor.' I'm going to send a letter back to Twilight and send for a chariot to go pick them up to bring them here. It'll be much faster for transportation if they are spotted, considering that Canterlot is directly in the middle of Equestria and has direct access to every city." She quickly wrote down another letter and sent it to Twilight, hoping that she gets it in time. "GUARD!"
The door opened a second later and a royal guard strode inside, saluting and standing at attention in the middle of the room. "Send a chariot to Ponyville to pick up Princess Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the Element Bearers. Bring them back here as fast as you can."
"Yes, your highness." The guard turned around and quickly ran out the room, closing the door behind him before he ran down the hall, heading out to fulfill the request.
"I really hope we aren't too late," Luna whispered. Celestia nodded in agreement. Then stood up to grab everything she needed.
The water in the channel splashed about, sending a few drops of moisture onto the dry coats of the three ponies and griffon that were occupying a carved out log, using it as a boat to travel the dark. They were on a mission. A mission to save a friend. And a secret mission for one. One that she believed would get the guilt off her heart for the death of her friend. There was a voice in the back of Sweetie Belle's mind. Saying that it was all her fault. And she believed it.
A few minutes later while riding down the channel, Applebloom widened her eyes towards the front of the log boat thing. "We're at someplace," she whispered. Her voice roused the others, commencing movement and yawns. They were all leaning forward, sleeping on each other's backs. Gabby was on Babs' who was on Sweetie Belle's, who was on Applebloom's. Not to mention her hooves were wrapped around Apple Bloom's neck from behind.
Sweetie Belle groaned and fluttered her eyes open. They glanced around the area, spectating the gray concrete walls. She sat back and looked up at the lights above, glowing what seemed to be the end of the channel. Then looked forward and spotted the entrance, as well as what looked like a park beyond.
The boat log thing came out, revealing that it was indeed a park. A luscious green park with trees, water, and flowers. It was empty right now though. "Good, no witnesses," she muttered, catching Apple Bloom's attention.
She looked over her shoulder and asked, "Wha'?"
"Nothing."
She was pretty sure she heard No Witnesses. But Apple Bloom decided to let it rest for now. She faced forward and coalesced, "Okay, well let's get out an' start the search. Gabby, do you smell anything?"
Gabby lifted her beak and sniffed. Loud and hard. "There is something," she answered. "Iron. Possibly more blood."
"Okay, well we need to find it to begin the search." The boat log thing beached on a spot in the grass and paused, allowing them out. Apple Bloom jumped out first. Once they were, Gabby pushed it back into the channel, keeping it out of view. Afterwards, she started sniffing some more and followed her beak, leading her towards a different area not far from them. After a few more seconds, she stopped at a patch of grass and looked down.
"She was right here, it's unmistakable." She pointed at a spot on the grass, attracting the attention of the others. The group walked over and looked down. The grass was stained with dark brown. A lot of it.
"Look here," Babs called from behind. They turned her way and directed their sights towards where she was, on the beach made of sand. There was some more, but it looked like that's where it originated from. It was completely brown. "She came through that channel, an' she beached right here. So she either dragged herself, or she was pulled up there."
"So there's only one place to look if somepony saw her," Applebloom said.
"The hospital," they all agreed.
Babs walked up to their position and stated, "There's three in Manehattan. One on the East end, West end, and North end."
"Where's the closest one?" Sweetie Belle asked while looking into her saddlebags to make sure she had everything. She looked in between her medical supplies and spotted the ruby that was glowing red. She sighed a little then took it out with her hoof and put it in her hair, keeping it secure and out of sight. She didn't need the others seeing this.
"We're on the East end. It's over there." Babs pointed to the left, where there was an entrance.
Apple Bloom adjusted her things and urged, "Well let's get going." Then began to lead the team up the grassy mound for the gates they could see. One thing they noticed while they moved though was troubling. It was silent. Too silent.
"Why is the park so empty?" Gabby asked. She looked around then down to the foals. "I noticed that there aren't even any birds around."
"Maybe it's closed?" Sweetie suggested.
"No, that can't be it," Babs responded, looking around. It was way too eerie. "It's a regular day, it can't be closed." She ran into Apple Bloom's flank, who had stopped and pointed ahead to falling on her rear.
"I think ah' know why," she whispered. There were a group of Royal Guards looking over a scroll where the exit was. A very familiar scroll. "A purple scroll."
Sweetie poked her head in and whispered, "What's a purple scroll?"
"It means there's a dangerous pony on the loose, we gotta get out of sight. Do you know the nearest exit, Babs? That AIN'Tdirectly in front of us and guarded by... Guards?"
Babs looked around for a second. Then pointed towards the area back where they came from. "There's one over there, but ah'm sure there's a whole bunch of guards there too. Probably at every exit of this place. The Royal Guard takes it serious when there could be a pony out and about that's really dangerous."
"So what do we do?" Apple Bloom asked. "They won't just let us pass, they might be lookin' for us. I find it really strange that the second we run away the guard is out and about passin' Purple Scrolls."
"There's only one thing we can do," Sweetie Belle muttered, catching their attention. "We split up and meet at the hospital. If I'm correct, they're looking for us. Apple Bloom and I. Gabby's parents don't really have a say so in her life anymore, and Babs' parents probably let her have a whole week with the Apples. So they don't really know what's going on, or know you're involved. Same with Twilight and the others. They're just looking for me and Applebloom. So Gabby? You take Babs and fly to the nearest hospital, we're too heavy to be on your back."
"What? Ah'm not going to leave you guys," Babs refused. "We stick together like a puzzle."
"But in order to finish a puzzle, you have to take it apart first. We're already missing one piece and you girls are the only ones who can go out there and find her now. If we get caught, you do too and we'll have to start all over, which will be much harder. So, please. Just go. Go and find Scootaloo for us. My journey stops here, just go."
"Sweetie—"
"Go, Gabby," she interrupted, pointing to the sky. She had light tears coming down her face. "Just take Babs and go. We'll meet again some day, just go." Gabby pulled in her lips before she nodded. Babs climbed up on her back and the two took off into the air, leaving the two crusaders with the guards.
"Sweetie?" Sweetie Belle turned around and met Applebloom's worried eyes with a cold expression. "Earlier... You said, 'My journey stops here.' What did you mean by that?"
"We're about to charge, are you ready?" She asked, ignoring her question. She still had tears going down her face, giving Applebloom a bad feeling.
"Y-Yeah, but Sweetie... Are you alright? Ah'm a little worried about you."
"I'll never be alright until Scootaloo is found and alive. Now let's go." Sweetie turned around and charged, shocking Apple Bloom before she ran after her. The guards were still talking before something white slammed into all of them. Making them yelp and fall to the ground. Sweetie Belle quickly got off of them and ran out onto the sidewalk, Applebloom hot on her tail.
"What the buck was that?!" She yelled after her. "We're tryin' to be incognito!"
"If you have a better idea, I'm all ears!" Sweetie responded desperately as they entered an alley. They slowed down and hid behind a dumpster as a squad of Royal Guards ran past. The same ones Sweetie knocked down. "Yeah, they're definitely looking for us."
"And now they know we're here," Applebloom sighed, pulling at her long hair that was covering her right eye.
Sweetie Belle turned around and pouted sadly, this time crying a lot more than usual. "I-I'm sorry, Applebloom. I...I-I'm just really desperate. What if... W-what if Scootaloo isn't alive? What if they just... F-found her body?"
"Sweetie Belle, we have to have hope, okay?" Apple Bloom asked. She placed her hooves on either side of her face. Then looked Sweetie Belle in her eyes and saw fear. She was scared. REALLY scared. "Everything's goin' to be alright. Trust me, okay? It's all going to be okay."
Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and nodded her head with her eyes closed. "Good. Now we have to find that hospital. Babs said that it's that way." She pointed a hoof towards the left, out of an alleyway. "We have to get there. Are you with me, Sweetie?"
Sweetie's face scrunched up before she sighed and nodded. The two began to walk quietly, making their way to the end of the alleyway. Applebloom poked her head out and immediately brought it back in when two Royal Guards and an officer walked by. Once they were past, she looked out again. The place was flooded with them. "There's so many," she whispered. "Alright, Sweetie, we're gonna... Sweetie?" She whipped around and gasped. She was nowhere in sight. "Sweetie? Where'd you go?"
She walked back down the alley and started looking around. Where could she have gone? There's nowhere else to go but out! And that's probably where she went. Royal Guards suddenly ran past the entrance to the alley, yelling "Stop" and "Don't move". Apple Bloom knew exactly where they were headed. Sweetie had been fully spotted.
While fillies were running amok in Manehattan, everyone was on their way to Canterlot to see what was going on. When they landed down in the front of the castle, the Princesses were already waiting for them. Once they touched down, Cookie Crumbles, Sweetie Belle's mother asked, "Princess Celestia! Do you know where my daughter is?"
"Manehattan," she responded. Then hopped into the chariot with Luna. "She's the only one who's been spotted so far, but there's no doubt Apple Bloom is there too. And it seems she's getting desperate. I was just informed she attacked a few of our guards and ran."
"Oh no," Rarity whimpered. Hondo pulled her into a hug, trying to comfort and quell her fears. The chariot took back off again, headed towards Manehattan at high speeds and leaving the ground behind. Rainbow Dash was sitting right next to her, holding her hoof. She was still not looking so good, her coat still a sickly pale cyan and eyes lifeless. But she said she would be there for her friends if things got tough. Like they were now.
~✶~
Sweetie Belle rounded another corner, gasped, and slid to a stop. Another squad of Royal Guards were running towards her, trying to use their magic to grab her. But it wasn't working. She turned and kept running forward. "I can't do this anymore, I can't do this anymore," she seethed through her teeth. Tears were pouring down her face at this point and she couldn't stop the thoughts that plagued her mind. "Scootaloo, I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry! I didn't mean to kill you, I swear it!"
She ran forward and jumped over a fence, diving into another park and hiding in the trees and bushes. She really hoped the others... No. No, it wouldn't matter anyway. Scoots was gone. That little voice in the back of her mind was right. Scootaloo was gone and she wasn't coming back. At that moment, Sweetie Belle lost all the hope. Her heart shattered.
She cried silent tears for her friend which eventually turned into sobbing. She couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't live with the guilt that she had gotten her friend inadvertently killed. How in Equestria could Apple Bloom deal with it?
"I can't do this... I can't do this," she whimpered. Then looked around for any movement. In the clear, she took the rock out from inside her hair and gazed at it. She rubbed a hoof along it's pulsing surface. It was pulsing faster by this point, having absorbed all the magic that those guards kept trying to use on her. And keep trying to use on her. Too bad it wouldn't work. She put it back in her hair and looked through the treeline. There were still some guards out, but they weren't looking her way. So she looked around one more time just to make sure, crawled through the treeline unnoticed, then ran when she had the chance. This continued for a while, ducking into alleys and more back to the North. She ran up and down streets, ducking into alleyways to hide herself amongst the shadows, and completely missing the golden chariot up above.
"SWEETIE BELLE!!" She glanced up and gasped at the chariot that stopped right above her. Looks like her sister was going to try and save the day. She shed some more tears before she darted into another alley. She needed to get somewhere. Her last point in life. If she was going to do this it needed to be done now.
"What is she doing?" Twilight asked as they all jumped out and tried to take chase.
Right at that moment, very coincidental, Applebloom came out of a connected alley and started looking around. "Sweetie Belle, where are you?!" She called, reaching a few ears nearby.
"There you are, ya' vermin!" Apple Bloom whipped her head over to her left and yelped at the feeling of being pulled into a tight hug. "Don'tcha ever go runnin' off like that again, ya' hear me?!!" Applejack cried, burying her face into her little sister's hair. Applebloom sighed and rolled her eyes before she tried to push her away. "When we get home, we're gonna have a very deep talk. Everypony here is goin' to talk to you two."
"Have you seen Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked, completely ignoring what she was saying. "She's been actin' really weird."
"Well, we did," Twilight quickly answered, scanning Apple Bloom for any bruises or anything. "She just ran through here. Now we're waiting for another report on her location."
Sweetie Belle was in fact nearby. Right in Manehattan Park, which had been abandoned by the Royal Guard after she slammed into them and knocked them to the ground, initially starting the hunt. She looked around, seeing herself totally alone before she sobbed some more and walked towards the bridge.
"They don't understand," she seethed through her teeth. She stopped at the apex of the bridge. She dropped her saddlebags on the ground before observing her surroundings again. The area clear, she pulled out a rope from inside with her magic, as well as levitated a large rock from the bottom of the river below up to her.
She brought it close to her before she took the gem from in her hair and put it on the base of her neck. Then took one end of the rope and tied it around the rock securely before she took the other end and wrapped it around her neck, locking the gem between it and her. She then tugged it tightly, nearly choking herself.
"Kid, stop!!" She glanced over to her right at a squad of Royal Guards come over before she finished tying it. Once it was knotted she quickly levitated the rock out away from her, over the water, and turned to the guards, tears still streaming down her face.
"Don't come any closer!" They all slid to a stop, seeing the situation they were in. "Or I'll let this rock drop! And I'm going down with it! I mean it!"
"Kid, come down. You don't want to go that route!" One of them pleaded, holding a hoof out to her.
"Shut up! I might as well, seeing that I caused my friend, my very first and best friend to DIE! I might as well join her!" A clamor of hooves behind her caught her attention, causing her ear to twitch and swivel.
"SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity screamed. She turned around towards her parents, Rarity, the elements, and... Applebloom. All looking at her in horror. "Please get down! Please!"
Sweetie shook her head and yelled, "No, leave me alone! Let me go!"
Twilight stared at the scene, assessing the situation before spotting the gem. She gasped, recognizing it immediately. Red as ruby. But it wasn't a ruby.
"It's a magic absorber," she muttered. She turned to everyone with her and said, "We can't bring her down with magic."
Rarity yelled, "What?! Why not?!"
"Once our magic gets in the field of her, that rock around her neck absorbs it. It won't even reach her. The only one here who can use magic is its wielder." She cleared her throat and called to the victim here. "Sweetie Belle, why do you want to... Do that?"
"Say it, Sparkles! Say why do I want to kill myself!" She yelled at her. They all grimaced and flinched. "Just like how we killed Scootaloo! It was our fault! IT WAS OUR FAULT!"
"But do you think doing this is going to solve anything?" Rarity asked, trying to appease her.
"Yes, it frees me of this guilt!" She cried, before she used her magic to tighten the rope around her neck, digging into her windpipe. She coughed and nearly stumbled, making them all try to rush her.
"Stay back!" They trotted back. All scared for her. Scared that she was going to drop that rock and snap her neck before she even reached the water. "Stay back or it's all over," she repeated.
"Sweetie Belle, please don't do this," Rarity whimpered. "I love you, we all love you."
"Listen to your sister! Please!" Her mother cried.
Her voice barely above a whisper with red eyes, Sweetie replied, "It doesn't matter." She was choking herself, Twilight could see her head slowly turning blue. This was horrible. "I loved Scootaloo... And I ended up getting her killed."
"Sweetie Belle," Applebloom said, catching her attention. "I-I love you as much as I love Scootaloo. I have feelings for you Sweetie Belle. And I know you do too. I want to give you happiness that you never thought was possible. But I need you to come down. We both know Scootaloo wouldn't want us to try and kill ourselves off because of her."
Sweetie Belle almost blacked out, nearly stumbling off the edge before she regained her balance. "So.." she swayed a little before she shook her head. "It...I-It doesn't matter! Scootaloo's gone... And it's all our fault. We both know it is. Why wouldn't Scoots want us with her?"
"Because Scootaloo was a Cutie Mark Crusader." They all looked towards the back at Rainbow Dash who was walking forward. They parted out of the way of the sickly looking pegasus as she approached. She closed her eyes and sighed before opening them again, stopping in front of the group. "Kid I know how you feel. I was there. I saw her bump around, get tossed into mud, and then into a crate of cucumbers. And all I did was laugh. The pony she looked up to most in life, the one she called her idol laughed at her. 'Rolling around on the platform and banging my hoof' laughing at her.
"There is not one second of every day that I wish I could take it back. And what you did in Ponyville, what the both of you did, when you made that memorial I knew then I could never take it back. And that she was gone. All because we laughed. She ran away, fell in the river and was gone in a flash...on the same day and in the same hour. And we were too busy laughing to notice."
She started to walk towards her very slowly, still maintaining eye contact. Sweetie Belle was losing consciousness and the rope around her neck was leaving a nasty and deep groove, she could feel it. It might even be permanent. "I was alone in my house for a whole week, contemplating on what to do. Whether to put myself in your current position or to move on and do what I can to make her happy. And let me tell you, it was a very hard choice. There were several routes I was thinking on taking. Cutting off my wings, doing what you're doing, starve myself, tie my wings around myself and fall down to the ground from Cloudsdale. They were all very appealing, believe it or not." Everyone behind her had a tear leaking from their eye, not to mention the ever so casual sniffle.
"But then I thought... 'Would Scootaloo want me to do that? To kill myself?' That's not the Scootaloo we know. The Scootaloo we know probably would've yelled at us, ignored us for maybe a week, and demand an apology right after, which we would gladly give to her. Even buy a cake if she asked us too. A big fat one that Pinkie Pie would put so many Chocolate Chips on. But to kill ourselves, no. That's not her, Sweetie Belle. We both know that. It took me awhile, but I realized that... That there is nothing I could do to bring her back. Only live on and not make the same mistake twice. So please, please come down from that ledge so we can both learn from our mistakes together."
Rainbow reached out with a hoof towards her, gesturing for her to take it.
Sweetie Belle wheezed and looked at the hoof. Then up at Rainbow Dash in the eyes with her own bloodshot ones, obviously contemplating her decision. Everyone else was watching intently, biting a hoof and holding a hoof up to their mouths. "I don't want to go through this alone," Sweetie Belle whispered hoarsely.
"You won't have to," Rainbow whispered back. "You have friends, you have family, and you have a whole town that looks out for you. You're never really alone, Sweetie Belle. Even Applebloom said she'll stick by you. She loves you. And I know you love her. Come to us, Sweetie Belle."