Three weeks later
Sweetie Belle sat in her room in her parents’ house looking blankly up at the ceiling. Her mind was completely blank as she had drained herself of emotions in the proceeding three weeks. To feel such consistent heavy emotions had left her completely empty. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt anything other than sorrow, but every now and again she would try.
She hadn't cried about Rarity's death for a week now. She didn't feel that she had any more tears to shed, nor would she for a long while. She suspected that all of the ponies who had known Rarity were feeling something similar. She didn't know how long it would be before any of them began to move on from what had happened. It was just so sudden for all of them. One day Rarity was hanging out with them without a single care in the world and the next they were watching her execution.
She had been kept out of school for the past three weeks as her parents didn't feel that interaction with other ponies was a good thing right now. You need some time to adjust her father had said. It wouldn't be the best environment for you right now, Sweetie Belle, her mother agreed. She didn't argue, but she missed Apple Bloom and Scootaloo very much.
Sweetie Belle was brought out of her melancholy contemplations by a loud knock on her door. She gave a tiny grunt to show that she was in the room and her parents opened the door. She didn't turn her head to acknowledge their presence and opted to continue staring at the ceiling.
Her parents watched her in silence for a brief moment before her father cleared his throat. "Sweetie Belle," he said gently, "your mother and I have decided that you should go back to school today. We want you to try to begin to...to get back to something resembling a normal life if at all possible."
"Is that the reason or do you want to take me to school so you can look in different places when you look for jobs?" asked Sweetie Belle. True to Twilight's assumptions, her parents had indeed been fired when their bosses had discovered that they were the parents of the deadliest serial killer in Equestrian history. It wasn't out of hatred for them but rather the cruel fact that nopony wanted to give any place that hired them their business and they certainly wouldn't want to buy products directly from the two of them.
"It's both really," admitted her father.
"Why?" she asked. "We have Rarity's money. We can live off of that for a long time."
"Actually... we don't," said her father.
For the first time since they had entered, Sweetie Belle looked over at her parents. "Why not?"
The two exchanged a brief glance before her father turned his attention back to her. "Well, before Rarity... died, she filled out her will. I know that she told you that she was leaving you everything and that is exactly what she did. However, the laws in our country are complicated when it comes to giving that much money to somepony your age. We can't access her money and neither can you until you turn fourteen."
"So it's just going to be in the bank for four years before I can have it?" said Sweetie Belle.
Her father nodded. "But we're getting a bit off topic here," he said. "We need you to get ready for school right now."
Sweetie Belle slumped back down on the bed and resumed staring at the ceiling. "They'll hate me. They'll all hate me."
"You can't know that unless you go," said her mother, trying her best to sound supportive.
"What if they try to hurt me?" asked Sweetie Belle. "What if... what if I try to fight back and..."
"That's not going to happen!" said Sweetie Belle's father sharply. "You won't get beaten up!"
"How do you know?"
"We talked to Cheerilee before we made our decision about this," said her mother. "She's going to be keeping a close eye on you to make sure that you don't get hurt."
"Okay, I guess that means that they'll just say mean things instead of hitting me," said Sweetie Belle blankly.
Sweetie Belle's parents exchanged another helpless glance. "You don't know that," said her mother.
"Yes I do," said Sweetie Belle. "I heard you two talking to each other about how ponies on the street treat you. A lot of ponies hate us a lot."
It was true. Life for Sweetie Belle and her remaining family members had gone even more downhill once Princess Celestia had made Rarity's deeds public knowledge. It was immediately the scandal of the century. A wielder of an Element of Harmony was secretly the deadliest serial killer in Equestrian history. It was still in the newspapers these days, often consisting of gossip and rumors as well as interviews with the family members of Rarity's victims. Sweetie Belle wasn't entirely sure what it all said, as she had largely ignored stuff like that.
Sweetie Belle's father looked sadly at her. "What do you want to do then?"
Sweetie Belle sighed sadly, sat up and got up off her bed. It was seven in the morning; class would be starting in an hour. The idea of not going today was admittedly tempting but... her father was right, she couldn't stay in bed and mope for the rest of her life. "I'll go," she said quietly.
* * * *
Sweetie Belle slowed her steps as her school came into view. She tried to mentally prepare for the horrors that were to come when the foals in the schoolyard saw her coming up the road. Right now they were at recess and they looked so happy. Sweetie Belle desperately wished that she could have even a small fraction of that happiness and innocence at that moment.
When she approached the school yard, a few fillies saw her coming through the gate. They immediately stopped playing and stared at her. Sweetie Belle glanced up at them but she largely ignored them otherwise. There were only two fillies that she wanted to see right now.
Little by little, the foals playing in the schoolyard saw Sweetie Belle among them, and they stopped what they were doing and just stared at her. Sweetie Belle heard some of them whispering amongst themselves but she didn't bother to listen in on them. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, she needed to find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.
She scanned the school yard and finally her eyes caught a flash of orange. She looked in that direction to see Scootaloo and Apple Bloom staring intently at her, just as the rest of them were. She took a deep breath and walked up to them. "Hi there Sweetie Belle," said Apple Bloom nervously.
"Hi Apple Bloom," replied Sweetie Belle. "Hi Scootaloo."
Scootaloo didn't return the greeting. She merely stared at Sweetie Belle with a look of pure contempt on her face. "Why are you here?" growled Scootaloo. "What gives you the nerve to think that you can just come up to me like nothing has happened?"
Sweetie Belle raised a hoof to take a step backwards, but took a deep breath to gain the courage to speak to her friend. "Scootaloo--"
"You know what your butcher of a sister did to me, right?" she snarled.
Sweetie Belle looked at the ground and nodded. "She..." Sweetie Belle couldn't find the strength to finish it.
"She killed my parents," spat Scootaloo. "She just came to my house and murdered them!"
Sweetie Belle looked back up at her friend with wide, helpless eyes. "But I didn't--"
Scootaloo cut her off with an angry wave of her hoof and continued her angry tirade. "Do you know what it's been like? Do you know what I've missed out on? Do you care at all that I had to grow up without parents who cared about me, who loved me more than anything, who would have been there to tuck me in at night or comfort me after a hard day? I SHOULD HAVE HAD THAT, BUT BECAUSE OF YOUR SISTER I HAD TO GROW UP IN AN ORPHANAGE!"
Sweetie Belle began shaking but no tears fell. "But I didn't have anything to do with that!" she whimpered.
Scootaloo kept staring angrily at Sweetie Belle, never moving her piercing gaze. She stood up and began walking towards the school entrance. "Don't ever come near me again."
Sweetie Belle ran up to Scootaloo and blocked her from going any farther. "Scootaloo! Please don't--"
All of a sudden Sweetie Belle was knocked back as an orange hoof connected with the side of her head. She fell to the ground, blood squirting from her muzzle. "I said don't come near me ever again!" Scootaloo yelled. Sweetie Belle raised her head just in time to see the orange filly run out of the school yard.
Sweetie Belle sat on the ground with the entire school watching her and blood pouring from her muzzle. She didn't know what to do right now. She had expected Scootaloo to be resentful on some level, but that... that was too much for her to bear. She began shaking on the ground, wishing that something would happen to make the pain of Scootaloo's rejection go away.
She looked up to see Apple Bloom looking down sadly at her. "I suppose you want to tell me that too," whimpered Sweetie Belle.
Apple Bloom looked down at her friend sadly and sat on her haunches before wrapping her forelegs around her in a comforting hug. "Ah would never do that, Sweetie Belle" said Apple Bloom. "Ah'll never blame you for what yer sister did."
Sweetie Belle leaned her head against her friend's shoulder. "You would if you were Scootaloo."
Apple Bloom sighed and put a hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder. "Maybe Ah would," she agreed. "But Ah don't wanna play the 'what if' game. Ah know that ya need me right now, so I'm gonna be here for ya. Scootaloo will come around too, just you wait."
"But what if she doesn't?" asked Sweetie Belle. "What if she hates me forever?"
"If Ah know Scootaloo, she won't," said Apple Bloom. "But it may take a long time for her ta figure out that you didn't have anythin' to do with her parents."
Sweetie Belle sadly nodded and stared at the ground. Apple Bloom looked up and realized that the entire school yard was watching them. "I don't recall this bein' a freak show!" she said growled. "Y'all just go away!"
"Why should we?" asked a familiar snide voice in the crowd. "How does she even get the nerve to come here anyway?"
"Diamond Tiara, how could you say a thing like that!" yelled another familiar voice. Sweetie Belle glanced up to see a livid Cheerilee walking into the schoolyard towards Diamond Tiara.
Diamond Tiara took a step back. "But I'm right aren't I?" said Diamond Tiara. "Why does she think that she can just come back here and pretend like nothing had happened when her sister butchered half of Ponyville?"
Sweetie Belle's head snapped up and she glared at her tormentors. "She did not!"
"She might as well have," retorted Silver Spoon. "My daddy told me all about her little basement. Word on the street is that the royal guards who found it are taking time off to recover from what they saw."
"That is enough you two!" Cheerilee yelled. "One more word out of you and I swear that I'll ban you from recess for the rest of the school year!" Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon continued to glare at Sweetie Belle but they kept their mouths shut.
Cheerilee turned to the entire school yard. "Now I want everypony to listen to me right now! If I find out that any of you have been saying nasty things to or about Sweetie Belle because of what happened recently, I will give you the punishment that I just mentioned. Is that clear to everypony?"
The crowd murmured an agreement. "Good," said Cheerilee with a nod. "Now if everypony could go inside, it's time for class to start."
The crowd of foals muttered to themselves and each other but they filed into the classroom all the same. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom began walking in too, but they were quickly stopped by Cheerilee. "Can I talk to you for a moment Sweetie Belle?" she asked, kindness and sympathy filling her voice. Sweetie Belle nodded and the two walked over to her office in a back room of the school. When they were inside, Cheerilee sat down at her desk and pulled a chair up so Sweetie Belle could sit down too. The room was silent for a moment before Cheerilee spoke up. "Are you okay?"
Sweetie Belle shook her head. "No," she said bitterly. "I'm not okay. I haven't been okay since Rarity tucked me in and sang me to sleep right before they arrested her. I don't think that I'm ever gonna be okay ever again."
Cheerilee looked sadly at Sweetie Belle and took a deep breath before responding. "If you ever need anypony to talk to, think of my office as a safe place you can come. You don't need to go through this alone."
Sweetie Belle looked out the window towards the schoolyard where the foals were filing into the classroom. "You can't protect me though."
Cheerilee cocked her head. "Protect you from what?"
"Hate," said Sweetie Belle. "They hate me and they're afraid of me for something my sister did. They'll hate me for the rest of my life! Nopony can stop that!"
"You don't know that!" Cheerilee insisted.
Sweetie Belle's eyes snapped back to her teacher. "Well Miss Cheerilee, what do you think is gonna happen?"
Cheerilee opened her mouth to respond but no words of comfort came to her mind. She sighed sadly and closed her eyes. "I...I don't know, Sweetie Belle," she whispered. "I don't know what is going to happen to you going forward." Cheerilee's eyes opened and her expression shifted to a more determined one. "But I can promise you that as long as I am in charge of this school you will not endure any hatred while I am watching. You will have Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to help you through this too!"
At the mention of her pegasus friend a lump formed in the back of her throat and she turned her gaze to the floor. "No I won't," she whimpered.
Cheerilee cocked her head slightly. "What makes you say that?"
"Did you know that Rarity killed Scootaloo's parents?" asked Sweetie Belle.
Cheerilee's jaw dropped and she gasped quietly. "No I didn't," she said.
"I talked to Scootaloo today and she told me to never come near her again. She punched me in the face when I tried to talk to her and ran off."
"Oh Sweetie Belle," said Cheerilee softly.
Cheerilee stood up from her desk and walked over to Sweetie Belle to embrace her in a comforting hug. Sweetie Belle sniffled and leaned into her teacher's chest. "She blames me for what Rarity did when we were both little fillies!" said Sweetie Belle. "It isn't fair!"
Cheerilee shook her head and stroked Sweetie Belle's mane. "No, Sweetie Belle, I don't think she truly blames you. I think she's just hurting and is unjustly taking it out on you."
"She does hate me!" Sweetie Belle insisted. "You should have seen how mad at me she was this morning! She doesn't want to be around me anymore!"
"But you didn't know what Rarity was doing!" Cheerilee pointed out. "How could you have known?" Sweetie Belle paused for a brief moment. She had known, and she almost wanted to say so. Instead she merely remained silent. Cheerilee sighed and released Sweetie Belle from the hug and stood up. "I have to get class started for the day. If you want to just go home, you are free to leave."
Sweetie Belle nodded but she stood up and followed Cheerilee back into the classroom.
* * * *
Class was just like Sweetie Belle remembered it. Cheerilee stood at the front of the class and lectured to the foals about different subjects at different times. It was very much routine for Sweetie Belle, something she had hoped would be a comfort as it was an imitation of happier times. However, she really wasn't paying much attention to anything that Cheerilee said. She merely stared at the wall behind her teacher, waiting for class to be over so she could go home for the day and shut herself in her room once more. Apple Bloom had noticed her demeanor and had promised to copy her notes for Sweetie Belle so she wouldn't miss out on anything important.
"...swelling her lips to twice their normal size." Cheerilee shut her notebook and glanced up at the clock. "Okay class, that's probably a good place to stop for right now. We'll break for recess and be back here in thirty minutes. See you then!"
The foals all stood up from their desks and eagerly filed out of the room, hoping to get outside for a brief window of sweet, sweet freedom from the boring lectures of their teacher. However, Sweetie Belle merely walked to a corner of the school yard and sat down, staring at a small section of the woods that was nearby. Apple Bloom walked up to her and sat down next to her. "Is there anythin' Ah can do to help you?" she asked. Sweetie Belle shook her head. "What can Ah do?"
Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I dunno," she mumbled.
"Should I talk to Scootaloo for ya?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Speaking of which, where is Scoots anyway?" questioned a familiar voice. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked up to see Rainbow Dash perched on a fence post a few feet in front of them.
"She ran away," said Apple Bloom.
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and jumped down next to the two fillies. "Why?" she asked.
"Because she never wants to be near me again," said Sweetie Belle.
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened and she took a step backwards. "What?! Why not?!"
Sweetie Belle absentmindedly began poking at a few blades of grass, never looking up at the blue pegasus. "Guess," she said bitterly.
Rainbow Dash walked over to Sweetie Belle and sat on her haunches next to her, putting a comforting hoof on her head. . "She blames you for what Rarity did, doesn't she?"
Sweetie Belle nodded. "She told me to never come near her ever again and she punched me in the face when I tried to stop her to talk to her."
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes sadly. "Aww, Scootaloo..."
"Can ya go talk to her for us?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Of course I can!" said Rainbow Dash, getting up and spreading her wings. "I'll get on that right away!"
"Thanks Rainbow Dash," said Apple Bloom.
"Anytime kid," said Rainbow Dash before leaping into the air and flying off.
Apple Bloom took Rainbow Dash's spot next to her friend. "See, Rainbow Dash is gonna go and talk some sense into Scootaloo for us. It'll be okay."
Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to respond but she was once again cut off by the nasty voice of her spoiled tormentor behind them. "Well, if it isn't the mini psycho here with her hick buddy," Diamond Tiara snarked. "Are you planning the best way to follow in your sister's hoofteps Sweetie Belle?"
The two turned around to see Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara behind them. Apple Bloom stood up in front of Sweetie Belle and glared at the duo. "Go away right now!" she yelled.
Diamond Tiara's evil smirk widened. "Or what?"
"I'll tell Miss Cheerilee on you!"
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon simultaneously giggled. "Gonna be the rat?" mocked Silver Spoon.
"Now look girls, I know that we kind of hate each other, but pickin' on her for this is too mean! Just leave her alone!" growled Apple Bloom.
"Hey Sweetie Belle, is it true that your sister murdered Scootaloo's parents?" Diamond Tiara called out.
"Isn't that just tragic?" said Silver Spoon mockingly.
Somehow the piercing words of the cruel ponies awoke a fire inside of Sweetie Belle. She slowly stood up and moved beside Apple Bloom, glaring daggers at Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. "Shut up," she growled, an impressive amount of venom behind her words.
Diamond Tiara scoffed. "Or what? You gonna follow in your sister's hoofsteps and drag us down into some basement to cut us up?"
"SHUT UP!" Sweetie Belle screeched.
Diamond Tiara returned Sweetie Belle's glare and took a menacing step forward. "Face it Sweetie Belle, your sister was the most evil pony in the history of Equestria. I'm glad that she's dead, and if you had any sense in you, you would be too!"
That did it. With a snarl of rage that would have frightened Celestia herself, Sweetie Belle tackled Diamond Tiara to the ground and began repeatedly punching her in the head as hard as she could. Each blow to Diamond Tiara's head felt... marvelous. "I'm gonna rip you apart piece by piece!" screeched Sweetie Belle. "You're gonna wish that your mother had never had you by the time that I'm through tearing your soul apart!"
Diamond Tiara was screaming in pain as Sweetie Belle's hooves collided with her head and any attempts the filly made to block Sweetie Belle's assault was made futile by the sheer rage that Sweetie Belle had for her tormentor. Silver Spoon had long since run to go get Cheerilee, screaming that a murder was happening in the schoolyard.
Apple Bloom rushed over to Sweetie Belle and began trying to pull her off of Diamond Tiara. In her rage, Sweetie Belle pushed Apple Bloom away, shoving her into a fence and knocking the wind out of her. She turned back to Diamond Tiara and was pleased to see that her face was almost an unrecognizable mess. As a final insult, she grabbed Diamond Tiara's tiara and snapped it in half before throwing the pieces as far as she could. She pulled her hoof back to continue her barrage of blows, uncaring about the fact that Diamond Tiara was looking up at Sweetie Belle with fear in her eyes, whimpering pathetically.
Before Sweetie Belle could continue, an authoritative voice rang through the schoolyard. "SWEETIE BELLE GET OFF OF HER AT ONCE!" yelled Cheerilee. Sweetie Belle looked up to see their teacher walking towards Sweetie Belle with a sobbing Silver Spoon walking behind her.
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened and all at once her blood lust faded away. She got off of Diamond Tiara, who promptly stood up and rushed over to Cheerilee and wrapped her forelegs around one of Cheerilee's legs and began sobbing hysterically.
"Oh no." Sweetie Belle whispered. She looked over to Apple Bloom who was still trying to catch her breath.
"Sweetie Belle," said Cheerilee crossly. "Would you mind explaining this to me?"
Sweetie Belle's legs gave out and she collapsed onto her haunches. "I...I'm a monster," said Sweetie Belle quietly.
Diamond Tiara turned her head to glare at Sweetie Belle. "N-N-N-no d-duh!" she spat.
"Diamond Tiara that's enough," said Cheerilee. Diamond Tiara leaned her head against Cheerilee's leg and cried into it.
"Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle I need you to look at me." Sweetie Belle forced herself to look up at Cheerilee and meet her gaze. "What happened?"
Sweetie Belle's lower jaw quivered but she forced back the tears. "She said that my sister was evil and that she was glad that she was dead and that if I had any sense then I would be glad that she's dead too.."
Cheerilee gasped and looked down at Diamond Tiara in shock. She pulled her foreleg out of Diamond Tiara's grasp and gave her a look of disgust. "Is that true?"
"No Miss Cheerilee, it isn't true!" wailed Diamond Tiara.
"Yes it is!" said Apple Bloom, who had regained her breath and was walking over to join the conversation. "Why else would she attack her?"
"Because she's a psycho, just like her sister!" said Diamond Tiara.
"Diamond Tiara that is enough!" yelled Cheerilee. She looked around at the four frightened fillies and took a deep breath. "I want all four of you to come with me to my office so we can get this straightened out. Now.
The four fillies merely nodded, not daring to disobey, and followed Cheerilee to her office. When they were inside, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon sat down on the two chairs in front of Cheerilee's desk while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood beside them. Cheerilee took her place behind her desk and looked at the four fillies before taking a deep breath. "Now what happened?"
"She attacked me!" wailed Diamond Tiara, pointing an accusatory hoof at Sweetie Belle.
"Why did she attack you?" asked Cheerilee.
"I told you, it's because she's a psychotic nutcase like her sister! She told me that she was going to rip me apart piece by piece!"
Cheerilee turned to look at Sweetie Belle. "Is that true?" she asked. Sweetie Belle paused for a moment before she nodded. "Why did you say that to her?"
"I... I was just so angry," she said. "It was like I couldn't help myself! I'm sorry for what I said, Diamond Tiara!"
"Apology not accepted, freak!" spat Diamond Tiara who had taken a box of tissues off of Cheerilee's desk and was doing her best to wipe the blood off of her face.
"Diamond Tiara I will not allow you to speak that way to one of my students!" said Cheerilee crossly. "Now, why don't you tell me why she attacked you like that?"
"I don't know!" Diamond Tiara wailed.
Cheerilee's expression hardened. "Okay then, let me say this out loud, just to make sure that I have all of the facts straight. Correct the story when I get something wrong. You and Silver Spoon were at recess, minding your own business when Sweetie Belle suddenly dragged you to the corner of the school yard, where mere moments before she had been sitting quietly, and began beating you up?"
"Well--"
"Because the only way that you could have gotten over there was if she dragged you over there herself! She had no reason to go anywhere near you and you had no reason to go near her! So who came up to who first?" Diamond Tiara sat in silence, knowing she was caught in her lie. Cheerilee nodded grimly. "Well, I can imagine that you really did say that to Sweetie Belle. What in Equestria possessed you to do that?"
"Because her sister was evil," mumbled Diamond Tiara.
"Why is that Sweetie Belle's fault?" she asked. "Why do you feel the need to exacerbate the insane amount of grief she is going through when you don't even know all of the facts?" Diamond Tiara sat in silence and Cheerilee shook her head. "Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, both of you are banned from recess for the rest of the year. I am also suspending you for a week."
"But Miss Cheerilee--"
Cheerilee held up a hoof to stem the pleading. "I suggest the two of you go home before you do something else you'll regret later!" said Cheerilee sharply. The two fillies stood up and left the office without another word. Cheerilee looked towards Sweetie Belle with a sad look in her eyes. "I'm sorry Sweetie Belle, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to give you the same punishment."
Sweetie Belle's ears drooped and she dejectedly turned her gaze to the floor. "I know," she mumbled. "I just got so mad when she said those things about Rarity."
"Sweetie Belle, you have to understand that the whole town has been deeply affected by this," said Cheerilee. "For some ponies that comes out in very nasty ways.
"I do understand," said Sweetie Belle, looking back up at her teacher. "But why did she have to say that?"
"Because she's a cruel, spoiled, selfish, narcissistic brat that has probably never been punished for anything she has ever done in her life, and as such she didn't expect consequences for saying those things either," said Cheerilee bluntly.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom's jaws dropped, something that triggered a vaguely amused smile on Cheerilee's face. "What? I'm not an idiot. She's a nasty little filly who frankly deserved what she got."
"But you said violence was never the answer!" said Sweetie Belle.
Cheerilee's small smile faded. "And that is still true. It was the wrong thing to do and I wish you hadn't done it. I wish that you had simply come and told me what happened."
Sweetie Belle returned her gaze to the floor. "I wish that I could take it back."
"I know you do," said Cheerilee. "And I want you to understand that you are not a monster! You are simply trying your best to deal with an event that almost no one in the history of Equestria has ever had to deal with at a very young age. I don't expect you to be perfect right now."
"Are you sad Miss Cheerilee?"
Cheerilee's eyes trailed to the floor and her ears flattened against her head. "I am very sad, Sweetie Belle," she replied. "I was her first friend in school and she was one of mine as well. To know what happened only a few months after we met and why was... well it was tough, to say the least." Cheerilee shook her head and cleared her throat. "Well, I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle, but I need you to go home right now. Apple Bloom, you can go back to recess."
The fillies nodded and walked out the office door.
* * * *
Scootaloo sat under a tree not far from the Crusaders' clubhouse, idly fiddling with one of the wheels of her scooter. She knew that Applejack wouldn't be bucking these apple trees for a while so she knew that she would be undisturbed. She looked at the sky above her and remembered the events just a few hours prior.
How in Equestria did Sweetie Belle have the nerve to come near her after what her sister did to her parents? Why did she think that they could still be friends after that!? Did she really understand what it meant for Scootaloo to be an orphan, wondering each day when your next meal would be or where you were going to find a place to sleep? Well Scootaloo did have to experience that and it was all Rarity's fault!
She continued looking up at the sky, wishing desperately that she could fly away from all of this. Maybe she would have better luck in Cloudsdale around Rainbow Dash. Maybe she could get a job at the weather factory or something where she could be away from Sweetie Belle forever!
At that moment, a familiar streak of Rainbow came flying across the sky. Scootaloo actually managed a small smile as her idol spotted her and flew down next to her. "Hey Squirt, how are you doing?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Absolutely terrible," said Scootaloo dryly. "How are you doing?"
Rainbow shook her head and held up a hoof. "I'm not here for small talk," she said. "I'm here to ask you why you abandoned Sweetie Belle."
Scootaloo's expression hardened into a glare. "Because her sister murdered my parents!"
"How is that her fault?" retorted Rainbow Dash. "Why are you punishing her for something that she had nothing to do with?"
Scootaloo aggressively stood up and flared her wings out. "Because every time I look at her I see that butcher she called a sister!"
Rainbow Dash flinched a bit at the term but recovered quickly. "But she didn't do anything wrong!" she pointed out.
"I don't care," said Scootaloo bitterly. "I still feel betrayed. I mean, don't you?"
Rainbow Dash cocked her head. "What do you mean?"
"Don't you feel betrayed because the pony that you thought that you knew really well, that you saw as part of your family, turned out to be a serial killer?" asked Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash looked sadly at the ground before walking over to sit next to the filly. "Scootaloo, I feel more betrayed than you can possibly imagine. Sweetie Belle is like a sister to you, but in the end, you know full well that she didn't do anything. Well, Rarity was like a sister to me and she did do something. She...she killed one of my best friends in the world and hung her pelt on the wall like some sort of sick trophy!" Scootaloo's eyes widened and to her surprise, Rainbow Dash began crying. "Even if we did have a falling out, she was still one of my best friends. There were a lot of times in my life that I wouldn't have gotten through if it wasn't for the support that Gilda gave me, and with one fell swoop Rarity snuffed her life out."
Scootaloo tentatively reached out a hoof and touched her idol's foreleg. "Do you hate her?"
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Part of me wants to hate her, but another part of me just wants to remember the Rarity that I knew and loved like family. I'm not sure which side is winning to be honest."
"But you're the Element of Loyalty!" said Scootaloo.
"And that's the only reason that there's a battle in the first place," Rainbow Dash explained. "If loyalty wasn't a trait that I valued so much then I would have no problems hating her for the rest of my life." Rainbow Dash had to take a deep breath before continuing. "But I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to talk about you and Sweetie Belle."
Scootaloo looked away from Rainbow Dash and back to the ground. "Why?" she said blankly.
"Because she needs you!" said Rainbow. "Whatever you are feeling right now, she's feeling it too. She had to watch her sister die in front of her because she was a serial killer. I don't know a single pony that would handle that without serious help from her best buddies in the whole world."
"But her sister killed my parents!"
Rainbow Dash put a comforting hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder. "The key word there being 'sister', Scootaloo. It isn't fair to Sweetie Belle if you punish her for something her sister did that she had no control over, especially when she needs you the most!"
"I don't know how I can even look at her," whimpered Scootaloo.
"Scoots, I'm not saying that the scars are gonna heal right away," said Rainbow Dash. "I know that the scars from all of this will take years to heal for all of us, you especially. Me and the others lost a friend, you lost the two ponies who were supposed to help you through these stages of your life."
Scootaloo's eyes trailed to the ground and she leaned her head against Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "But it isn't Sweetie Belle's fault."
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Exactly," she said. "She needs you, and frankly, you need her right now too. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are going to all need the help of each other if you are going to make it through this."
Scootaloo nodded before her bottom lip began to quiver. Rainbow Dash pulled her into a hug and Scootaloo began softly crying. Rainbow stroked the mane of her number one fan and did her best to calm her down. "Shhh," she soothed. "It's gonna be okay Scootaloo. I don't know when or how, but I promise you that it'll be okay."