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// Who Knows [Sad] 
// Story: Another Speedwriting Anthology 
// by Decaf 
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"It's a good opportunity," said Apple Bloom. "I should take it. I'd be stupid not to take it. So it's the right thing to do."

"If you already made up your mind, then why are you asking me?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Because I want you to talk me out of it."

"Why?"

"I don't know! You should be the one telling me why."

Sweetie Belle scrunched her face. A beam of sunlight shone through the only window in the room,, giving the whole place a dreamlike quality.

"Well?" asked Apple Bloom.

"I'll let you know if I think of anything."

"Oh, come on! The first reason should be obvious. You'll miss me if I'm gone."

"Well, duh. That's a given. We'll all miss you. But I'm sure you already thought of that, right?"

Apple Bloom nodded.

"Then I need to think of something better."

"Why don't you tell me that it's the wrong thing to do?"

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "I can't say that. How could I know for sure? You'll be leaving behind your friends and family, obviously, but there are other things in life that are important. I mean, when it comes down to it, you need to decide between your social life and your career."

"And the right answer to that question should be my social life! A career is good and all, but I don't want all important things to pass me by just because I'm chasing a job I want."

"What are the important things?"

"Life, you know?"

Sweetie Belle furrowed her brow. "Not really?"

"Like… perfect evenings on the farm, surrounded by friends and family, all enjoying each other's company. We all want the moment to last forever, but we're looking forward to tomorrow, because today was so great. I'll miss that. If I leave, I won't have it for a long time."

"It doesn't sound like you need me to convince you."

"But it's such a good opportunity! I might never again have a chance to actually be a professional dancer. I never even thought it could ever happen to me. I don't quite feel lite it's real, that I can go away for a few years and spend the rest of my life doing my favorite thing."

Apple Bloom waited anxiously for Sweetie Belle to say something, but she took her time. She leaned back in her chair, and a beam of light shone on her cutie mark. The three of them had had those marks for longer than they'd lacked them, but Apple Bloom still felt a little jolt every time she noticed them on herself or her friends.

Finally, Sweetie Belle spoke.

"I don't think it's right for me to give you my thoughts."

"Why not?"

"Because I think the same way as you. I want you to stay, even though you should go."

Apple Bloom leaned forward.

"That's why I'm talking to you! You can convince me! Please, tell me I should stay."

Sweetie Belle let out a deep sigh.

"I have the strangest sense of deja vu. I've been here before. I've had this conversation before. But not with you."

She hesitated before continuing.

"Scootaloo talked to me before she left."

"Really?" asked Apple Bloom. It had been long enough now that it didn't hurt, but there was still some scar tissue around that memory. She prodded it, and found it numb.

"Scootaloo came here, to me, and sat where you are now. She asked me the same question. 'Should I follow my dreams, or should I stand by my friends.' I gave her an answer then, and it was the greatest regret of my life. If I could take it back, I would. I refuse to make the same mistake again."

Apple Bloom remembered the last night the three of them spent together in Ponyville. It had been a great time. They went back to all the old haunts of their youth. The clubhouse had stayed standing, though the three of them could barely fit in there anymore. In that moment, all squished together, Scootaloo had started to laugh out of nowhere. It was infectious, and the three of them giggled together like they were fillies again.

Much later, as they all lay on a hill watching the sun come up, Scootaloo had broken the silence as the sun painted the scenery.

"Will we ever get a chance to do this again?"

Neither Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle answered. They just stared at the horizon lighting up the town. Amazing how something as simple as light could make such a profound difference.

Apple Bloom sent letters to Scootaloo regularly, but hadn't actually seen her since that morning. She'd never brought it up to Sweetie Belle. Something about the look on her face gave her the feeling that her friend found the moment more melancholy than she did.

If the two of them were going to talk about it, now was probably the last chance they would have.

"Scootaloo didn't want to go either," said Sweetie Belle. "I thought it was strange. It had  been her life's dream, after all, and she'd tried so hard. But when the acceptance letter came, it made her emotions a mess. She'd been a nervous wreck for the week, barely showing her face in town."

Now that Apple Bloom thought about it, she hadn't seen much of Scootaloo during that time.

"So she came to me, the night before she had to make the commitment, and asked for my advice. I told her to stay. I gave her some reasons for why, but I never told her that the main one was because I would miss her if she left. I clung onto her, and begged her not to go."

And then she did, thought Apple Bloom.

"It seems so obvious, now," continued Sweetie Belle. "Scootaloo had already made up her mind. Of course she would go. She wouldn't have tried so hard just to give it all up when her dreams were finally within reach. All I accomplished with my advice was making the goodbye harder than it should have been."

Sweetie Belle looked her directly in the eyes.

"So, Apple Bloom, I refuse to make the same mistake twice. It's only natural that you will leave. I wish you the best, as I should have told Scootaloo."

Apple Bloom didn't know what to say. Now that she gave it a second thought, she had already made up her mind. What she really wanted to hear from Sweetie Belle was affirmation. And she had given her exactly what she wanted.

Never in her life had she been so disappointed with it.

Sweetie Belle was the only one who could give her a good reason to stay, and she wouldn't. So she would leave.

But where would that leave Sweetie Belle? Rarity barely ever visited, with how busy she was. Aside from a few exceptions, everyone they knew from their hometown had moved on.

It was just a place to her, now. Apple Bloom's family had been so supportive of her that it frustrated her. She knew they loved her, and wanted what was best for her, but the way they were so eager for her to move out rubbed her the wrong way.

Apple Bloom looked away from her eyes.

"We'll have a proper sendoff. Like last time. What's something you've always wanted to do? This is our last chance."

Sweetie Belle thought for a moment.

"Tell me what I should do."

"About what?" asked Apple Bloom.

"About everything. Anything. I don't know."

"Well… uh… only one pony can tell you the right thing to do, and that's yourself," said Apple Bloom. "Just have faith you know what you want."

"But what if I don't know what I want? What if I'm still here in a decade and haven't figured out what my purpose is?"

"We have a purpose. We help others find their cutie marks. You were great at teaching. Why don't you--"

"I'm not going back there," said Sweetie Belle. "I made up my mind."

"You never told me why you quit," said Apple Bloom.

"And I never will."

The words hung in the air like a puff of smoke.

"If I could tell you all the answers, I would," said Apple Bloom. "I want you to be happy, to know what to do with your life. But I can't. You're the only one who knows what's right for you. Trust yourself. Please."

Sweetie Belle let out a long sigh.

"You have your answer. You should leave. It's the right thing to do. If you stayed I would never forgive you."

Apple Bloom smiled.

"You remember the sunrise, the one we saw with Scootaloo?"

She nodded.

"You remember what she said?"

Sweetie Belle nodded again.

"I plan to answer her question. I'm going to see her again, when I leave. It's on the way, and I have the time. If you want, you could come with me. It would be nice for the three of us to all be there."

"I'd like that," said Sweetie Belle.

"And who knows, you might even find an answer."

Sweetie Belle gave the window a ponderous look.

"Who knows."