Sometimes the very thing that you sought after for what seemed to be so great for so long, just doesn't matter anymore. All you want is that one pony to come, and bring you back to the world and give you a reason in life. Sometimes, that happens, but at other times we aren't so lucky.
We sit in the abyss that is called our mind, the vast emptiness surrounding us. But who's to say that it is emptiness, but rather just blacked out memories and inaccessible thoughts? The perception of what we see in reality is all up to what we have learned in life, and what we choose to hear in this limbo, or even comatose state, is based off of what we choose to love most. Love, a word that is thrown around like nothing else. If used in the correct context however, it can mean the world to somepony. Even with all that it is thrown around, there are all the things that we enjoy, and don't necessarily love. But what is love, when you were made not to love? What if you were made as a hollow shell, full of what could be called life; these feelings developing inside of you? Not all is what it seems, in a world full of truth and deceit.
The truth of deceit, simple with such complexity. The ability to destroy ones existence or even make it worth while through something as simple as a few words. Things aren't always as they seem, and when we find deceit to be what makes us happy – the truth is what hurts the most.
Where am I? Scootaloo asked herself, unbeknownst of her current situation. The last thing that she could even come close to remembering was the rainbow blur coming down onto her. But that was it... There were no other set of memories that she could find. Or at least, what she was allowed to access. Why can't I remember anything? I want to remember... I really do... but WHY? Why can't I remember! There was something nagging at her mind, something that both told her that it would all be OK, but at the same time – she knew something was catastrophically wrong. There was something blocking her memories, even though she remembered how she had felt during these times. The feelings, or rather the words that described them, were there. What had once warmed her chest at the thought of love, was now just a hollow word echoing throughout the void.
Voices echoed throughout her mind, ones that were undoubtedly Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle even though nothing that they said could be understood. For whatever reason, any sounds coming from the outside were muffled, or even distorted as if somepony had wrapped her head in saran wrap.
FLUSHING EXTERNAL SENSOR CACHE... DONE.
RE-INITIALIZING AUDIO SOURCE SC-7410... DONE.
FATAL ERROR IN VIDEO INPUT; SHUTTING DOWN BASIC VISUAL SYSTEMS... DONE.
White words stretched across what was once the darkened abyss, pushing the darkness away from her body. It didn't make any sense to her why she was seeing this... Is this some kind of dream?Scootaloo asked herself, questioning the logic of everything around her. There was something different in the environment around her... it had gone quiet. It was quiet to the point where she could hear a low hum coming from somewhere near. Wherever it was it was, it was close enough to even feel a slight vibration coming from it. I wish Rainbow was here... She told herself, I'm so scared... I want somepony to tell me its going to all be OK...
“I'm right here Scoots, and don't worry...” Rainbow paused with a doubtful sigh, “we're going to do everything in our power to make you better.”
“But Rainbow...” Twilight spoke up worringly, “is it right to induce false hope? I'm not sure that I can actually he –”
“NO!” Rainbow Dash interrupted without hesitation, “Any hope is hope. And we will make her better.”
She didn't know what to think anymore, but all she knew was that the darkness was coming back over her as the glowing white text faded away into the void. Now, she was all alone again in a void of nothingness. Tears needed to be shed, but the feeling of a deep depression grew stronger inside of her. There was nothing she could do to help herself, all she could hope is that Twilight and Rainbow could save her from whatever happened... and whatever did happen at the end of the day, she would look forward to. Sitting in the void all alone, she curled into a small orange ball, trying to induce the tears that she knew would never come. Either way, she would try, and try, just to attempt to rid of the sadness filling her body. With nothing else to do, and no pony to talk to, her mind began to fall into a dormant state as her body fell to sleep.
She slept for what seemed like ages, her mind at peace for once in what had felt like a century. For once, she actually dreamt. It was a strange sensation for somepony who had never actually experienced a dream, but she knew what it was as soon as it started. It just seemed so apparent that it was a dream, it had such a happy atmosphere; and she knew that there was no way that the reality left behind was just a dream. The things she had felt, and the emptiness in her body was real. While the chance was still there, she enjoyed what little happiness she had left.
Rainbow Dash stood sat next to her, the sweet smell of the spring grass flowing through her nose as it brushed against her flank. A small smile cracked across Scootaloo's sleeping lips as Rainbow's hoof extended around her. Even though she was asleep, she knew what was going on and was rather happy about it all. Stretching her legs, Scootaloo's eyes fluttered open and her head tilted back to look up towards Rainbow Dash. And above her, was the oak tree that haunted her memories. But for now, it brought happiness as it shaded them from the bright sun, a warm breeze flowing across their bodies and rustling the leaves.
There were no words to be spoken from each other, the look in their eyes was enough of a signal to say I love you, back and forth. It wasn't necessarily what she would have thought of as the best thing to happen, but it made her happy. And right now, that was all that really mattered to her. In the midst of everything that was happening, being happy was a good thing. And even sometimes, happiness isn't all that it is cracked up to be.
“Hey Scoots,” Rainbow called with a hint of love.
“Yeah Dash?” Scootaloo replied.
“I love you too Dash... but what do you mean?” Scootaloo asked, somewhat offended.
“Mean by what?”
“You said 'being able to know you'... what was that supposed to mean?”
“Kid, you know that I love you and all... but we need to face it. We both know that you probably won't be around for much longer. Things haven't been looking out for you too much lately,” Rainbow told her, looking away slightly.
“Rainbow,” Scootaloo pulled her head close and looked into her magenta eyes, “I'm not going anywhere. Alright?”
“Yeah, we can hope can't we?”
“As a wise pony once said, there is always hope – even if it isn't there,” Scootaloo told her, smiling wide with her pearly white teeth showing through her cracked lips.
“Scoots, I think it's about time I show you something.”
"But I want to stay here Rainbow! Why can't we just stay here?” She asked with a pout. “I just want to stay here and be happy...”
“I know you do kid, but even though this will hurt I have to show you something very important... If I didn't, you might hate me even more,” Rainbow said, her lips forming into a frown.
Scootaloo looked at her questioningly, pondering what would make her hate the greatest pony in the world. “Nothing could ever make me hate you Dashie! I mean, what could be so bad?”
“Some things just are that bad, SC-7410, and it's about time I showed you.”
“Wait... what did you just call me?”
“That, for now... doesn't exactly matter. Just trust me, it will all make sense in time,” Rainbow told her with a reassuring smile.
In an instant, the world around them vanished. All that was there anymore was the black abyss she had once came from, but now she was accompanied by the one pony who could make her feel comfortable. She knew that whatever lay in her immediate future, would most likely be something that could tear apart her world as she knew it. She knew it was coming. A part of her wanted to know what it was, but then there was also that part of her that wanted to run as far away from it so that her and Rainbow could stay together and roam this land of dreams forever. She hoped that with whatever would be coming her way, that Rainbow would be there by her side to comfort her.
She hoped.
But with what came next, there was nothing that could have possibly prepared her for what lay in front of her. It didn't seem real... in fact, it made her question everything that she had once believed in. She no longer knew if Rainbow was really her friend, or just claimed to be to make this whole ordeal easier on her. Tears welled up behind her eyes, but never came forward as she wished them to. Nothing made sense anymore, and it all appeared that her life was nothing but a blatant lie.
“What... What is this?” Scootaloo asked, her head hanging low and rage filling her body.
“It's hard to explain... But I just want you to remember that the feeling I have for you are real. They are real...” Rainbow explained, tears rolling down the side of her cyan cheeks.
“You expect me to believe... that everything you have for me is REAL?!” She yelled in a raging fury. “You expect me to believe you after all the LIES you fed me? After all this? After everything... you did nothing but lie...”
“Scootaloo... I never wanted to tell you because I couldn't... I wasn't allowed to...”
“Don't you think that telling me would've saved me some pain? After all, I'm just some guinea pig experiment for what you called the Elements of Harmony, and even the Element of Loyalty...” Scootaloo told her in a disappointed tone.
Rainbow Dash wrapped Scootaloo in her arms, holding her tight even though she struggled to get away. Why... Scootaloo cried into her chest. Why... she cried. Rainbow spread her wings, and wrapped them around her. She has seen more than anypony should ever have to see... should they ever be as smart as she had become. But sometimes, things never happen the way they were meant to. And this was one of those times.
“Rainbow...” Twilight called to her, “she knows.”
“What do you mean she 'knows'?! You showed her, didn't you?” Rainbow Dash cried out.
“I had no choice to... she had to know...”
I guess false hope isn't any hope... Scootaloo told herself. The fact that she was nothing more than what looked like... a machine. At least that was what she appeared to be, with the mess of wires protruding from the metal enclosure in her chest, a small fan whirring away to keep the internal components from overheating. On the small green board that lay in the center of the enclosure were two small lights; one green and the other red. The green was lit, but it was flickering on and off. And judging by how red is not usually a good thing... if the red was lit, she wouldn't even be here. And with the number of wires connected to other machines laying outside of her body, they were the only thing keeping her alive. Now she understood why some stones are better left unturned.
“She is just a filly... even if she is what she... is Twilight, you know that...”
“I know Rainbow... But some things have to be done. And to be honest, I'm not sure that I can save her...” Twilight told her wistfully.
“Don't you say that...” she whimpered, “Don't you dare say that... She's going to be fine...”
“Rainbow... If you want to talk to her... now would be the time to do it,” she said with a depressed tone. “It's not right to keep her alive with all of this distress... I have to cut her loose soon...”
“I don't want her to go though, Twilight...”
“I know, Rainbow... but you have to...” Twilight told her.
“Well... Scoots, you know I've never been much of one to talk,” Rainbow started, choking back tears. “Or even show how I feel... but you deserve it, with all that you've been through. I don't know how else to say it, but in a few words. I love you, and I hope you always remember that, no matter where you are.”
Twilight, can I have my voice back? I want to say one more thing before I go, Scootaloo asked.
Rainbow looked over to Twilight, and tried to give her some sort of guilt trip. With a sigh, Twilight let Scootaloo have her voice back. “Her voice isn't going to be normal... it somewhat broke when you... fell. And after this Rainbow... we have to let her go. I'm so, so, sorry...”
“Its OK Twilight...” Rainbow told her as her tears fell to the floor.
“Rainbow,” A distorted Scootaloo voice echoed, “I know you didn't mean to hurt me, but don't hold it against yourself. I love you, love you, love you... love you Rainbow – bow – bow – bow Dash... My si – sister...”
Rainbow Dash looked over to Twilight hesitantly, not wanting to rid of the pony who loved her so much, and she loved back with such force. But Twilight was right, it wasn't fair to keep her here in the state that she was in. Nodding her head gently, Twilight understood that it was time. With a pull of a cord, the little red light within the enclosure of SC-7410 came on, and it was all over.
Tears flowed from Rainbow's eyes and down her hooves as she held them to her face. “I love you too, Scootaloo,” she whimpered...