Chapter 8
Scootaloo awoke as she always did just before dawn. Had to be up and out of the clubhouse before the Apple Family awoke for their morning chores, lest Applejack or Big Macintosh discover her living here.
Scootaloo quickly and tidied up the clubhouse, within a few moments, it looked as if it had been unoccupied for the entire night. Satisfied with this, Scootaloo walked down the ramp and took off dashing towards the entrance to the apple farm. She wasn’t even going to try going over the fence, she was too small to make it over, and her wings hadn’t finished growing yet.
Scootaloo neared the barn and stopped dead in her tracks. The barn door was open, which means somepony had opened it. Scootaloo panicked, was the Apple family already awake? She couldn’t afford to be seen by any of them. She quickly and quietly darted towards the side of the barn, pressing herself up against the side of it and tip-hoofing around to take a quick peek inside to make sure it was empty.
It wasn’t.
Scootaloo screamed as loud as she could at the sight before her and took off running.
Applejack was dangling from the barn’s rafters, swaying back and forth gently.
Scootaloo didn’t stop running until she passed the Ponyville public library; she banged on the door loudly.
Vinyl was quick to open the door, as she slept on the sofa in the main room; she was the closest to it.
“Scootaloo?” Vinyl asked. “What’s wrong?”
“I... I.... you have to see!” Scootaloo said frantically.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash had come down the stairs at this point. “Vinyl? Is something going on?” Twilight asked sleepily.
“I got it! Don’t worry! Just go back to bed you two!” Vinyl said, flashing a reassuring grin at the two mares behind her,
Vinyl followed Scootaloo out the door and galloped after her towards Sweet Apple Acres.
Vinyl’s mouth fell open upon seeing what Scootaloo had brought her hear for. Applejack’s body was suspended several metres off the ground... and it looked as if she’d been there a while. Vinyl looked at Scootaloo, who was shaking in fear of what she had seen. Vinyl frowned, why did it have to be Scootaloo? They were going to have to call the Canterlot Police Service, and they were going to want to talk to whoever found the body... and then Scootaloo would have to explain what she was doing out here. If the police talked to Scootaloo, they were going to find out that she was a runaway, and they were legally obligated to call Social Services.
If they did that, then Vinyl would likely not be allowed to see her de facto sister again. She couldn’t allow that, for both of their sakes.
“Scootaloo? Listen to me; this is very, very important. You were not here. You were never here. You didn’t find Applejack like this. I did. I like to go on early morning walks, as many ponies in town will attest to; I walked by, noticed something odd about the Apple family barn, and found the body... You were at home asleep in the warm bed provided for you by your loving family,” Vinyl said.
Scootaloo was beginning to understand what Vinyl meant.
“So you need to go hide somewhere for the next couple of hours, I’ll come find you when it’s safe to come out. Move quickly and quietly, and try not to be seen!” Vinyl said.
Scootaloo nodded, and galloped away from the farm.
Vinyl looked at the swinging earth pony and frowned, she hadn’t actually wanted harm to come to Applejack. Vinyl reached out with magic, taking Applejack’s body in hold and severing the rope holding her to the rafters, lying her down gently on the ground below. The least she could do was give the mare a little dignity.
And with that, Vinyl galloped away to get the police.
...
Applejack’s body lay still on the ground, it was quiet, still, and unassuming. The mare finally looked at peace with her death, and at peace she was, but it was not meant to be.
A faint noise could be heard from just outside the barn, and where Applejack alive to hear it, she would likely have jumped.
Docka-docka-docka- docka-docka.
The insidious cloud of grey smoke rolled into the barn, it had other ideas for Applejack.
It swarmed around her, enveloping her body fully, and after a few seconds. It retreated. Going out the door and leaving the mare’s body alone.
Applejack’s eyes opened and she sat up, gasping for air. “What in tarnation...?”
Applejack looked at her surroundings. She was in the barn... and then she remembered what she had been doing, she looked at the rafters, she had failed.
Applejack’s ears drooped in disappointment, but this was a farm, there were many tools that she could use here.
Applejack stood up and went over to the tool shed, taking out a pitch fork; she stabbed herself in the chest with it, pulling it out just as quickly as it went in.
Applejack smiled, she collapsed as she bled out onto the floor, this was sure to do it; the mare closed her eyes, and drifted off again.
...
Applejack’s eyes opened and she gasped for air, she was lying in her own blood, but the wounds that she’d made with the pitch fork had closed. Applejack was okay.
This was the exact opposite of what she wanted to be, this shouldn’t have been possible. Yet here she was, still alive and dandy. The sun had risen by this point, but Applejack wasn’t discouraged. She walked outside and began to climb up to the roof of the barn; she was standing at the highest point on the rooftop, looking down at the ground before her... it was a long way down.
Vinyl Scratch had returned with the police by this point, two detectives, and a dozen or so uniformed plods. Vinyl’s mouth fell wide open upon seeing Applejack standing at the top of her barn.
“We’ve got a jumper!” one of the detectives called out and approached towards the barn. “Hey! Let’s take it easy okay! You don’t need to jump!”
Applejack looked down at the detective. “Yeah Ah do!” she said, taking a step towards the edge.
“Whoa! Hey! Hold on a moment! Talk to me! Talk to me for a minute, help me understand why you need to, can you tell me your name?”
“Applejack.”
“Okay Applejack, I’m Detective Sergeant Lucky!” the stallion said, DS Lucky was a stallion with a blue coat, blue eyes, a spiky black mane, and a four leaf clover for a cutie mark. Lucky needed all the luck he could get. “How about you tell me what lead you to this?”
“Ah hurt mah sister!” Applejack said, tears beginning to flow from her face. “Ah tried to kill mahself twice so far! Didn’t work, third time’s tha charm!”
“Applejack! Listen to me, you don’t have to do this, how is your sister going to feel when she finds out you’re dead?” Lucky asked her.
“Ah hope she’ll be happy!” Applejack said. “Ah been a bad sister!”
“I don’t think you’re bad, obviously family is important to you. Your sister is going to need you! You can’t abandon her like this!” Lucky said.
Applejack thought about it. Applejack had been a bad sister, yes; she’d been a bad friend, yes. But she didn’t have to be any longer. Ponyville needed her and she needed to be there for her family and friends.
“All right! Ah’m gonna climb down now!” Applejack said, and then it hit her, as if a wind of clarity had breezed over the pony. Applejack didn’t know it, but she’d broken the Siblings Nightmare’s influence over her. Applejack climbed down from the roof of the barn and looked at Detective Sergeant Lucky, giving him a smile. “Ah’m sorry ya’ll had ta come out here for somethin’ as stupid as this.”
“Well what’s important is that you’re okay,” Lucky said.
Vinyl was still standing with her mouth open in shock. Applejack had been dead when she had last been here.
“Going to catch flies that way miss,” DS lucky said. “All right, let’s pack this up!”
Soon enough, the police had gone, leaving only Vinyl Scratch, still standing with her mouth open looking at Applejack in disbelief. Applejack looked back at her and shrugged.
“Ah don’t understand it either, ah should be dead, but ah’m not,” Applejack said. “Ah owe ya an apology though. Ah wasn’t polite to ya when ya came ta town. Let’s start over, Ah’m Applejack.”
Applejack extended a hoof, Vinyl Scratch was hesitant to take it at first, but decided it was better to make amends. Ponyville was going to need her in the time to come.
“Vinyl Scratch,” Vinyl said, accepting her shake.
“Pleased to meetcha,” Applejack said. “Now if ya’ll excuse me, Ah got a bunch o’ ponies Ah need ta apologise ta.”