Sometimes you have to make the hard decisions, your friends or yourself. I could hide and just hope they can make it out alive, without my help. To lay in wait to see if they come back for me. Or I could choose the brave choice, the right choice, and pull my sword ready to fight. To charge after them and fight for all of our lives. So which do I choose, to draw my sword and fight once more or lay in wait ready to meet our fate. Well, of course, I pick the stupider, better choice. I pull my sword and run into the shadows to help them.
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Right before the doors closed Scoots made us promise that we wouldn’t make her to carry us. If we didn’t she wouldn’t use her coy to open the box...so, of course, we had to promise. After that we reluctantly followed her into the snowy wasteland outside.
Winter hit us like a punch in the gut. The second the doors to the Crystal Empire closed we really did realize how cold it really was out there. Weighed down with element boxes, supplies, and full stomachs we knew this was going to be far from easy trip.
Starting up the mountain side we all simultaneously let out sighs, our breath white in front of our faces and our backs warming from the packs and effort to get up the mountain. Wind carrying snowy bullets blew around us in small circles waiting to see who will join the other small jewels of white on the ground. Even in the middle of the day the thick layer of cloud overhead kept it nice and chilly and dark.
Though it wasn’t like this went we arrived, Cadence said that we missed it by a sliver. That night it snowed mountains and it still hasn’t stopped. Strong winds and cold snow on our bare skin isn’t helping either but we’ll manage. Sweetie keeps complaining about frostbite, Scoots says we’re going to slow, and I just tell them to shut up and move their feet. They complain that its too hard.
Color. I wish for any other color. White, I was told when I was younger that it is the mere illusion of color. Black, I was told that black is what hides color, keeps the mysteries concealed in the shadows. So why can’t I find some other color? Even our eyes have lost their color. Turned grey just like our...hope. Is that too sappy? It's true, all we feel is grey and all we see is either white or black.
Scoots offers me a kind smile that I don’t return. I just look at her with fears knowing we probably wouldn't make it back to the school, home, unscathed. I let out another sigh and watch it fade into the greyness all around.
Looking to Sweetie, I see no strength only see broken little girl fighting for her life against a raging storm. She still smiles at me and squeezes my hand tighter, on my other side I see Scoots sigh a little before trudging forward with us in tow.
My eyelashes have tiny ice crystals growing on the tips, each time I blink I can feel them pinch and sting my cheeks. My toes probably fell out of my shoes and I'm surprised I still have hands for them to hold. I give my lips a little lick in an attempt to rid them of the hard feeling they hold, utterly useless. Not only does it not help but it makes them even more uncomfortable.
We reach the forest edge with not only a sigh of relief but a smile etching its way onto the corners of our mouths. We're basically over looking every factor but one, No Snowfall! Running into the even darker environment the freeze practically abandons us. With the assaulting snow and harsh winds gone we risk letting those smiles show as we start walking. The next thing to happen was far from our best guess,
"Where are you? Where did you go? Quit being a coward and show me where you are!" The next thing to follow the scratchy voice is a pained scream from behind us, a limping girl run by, and, as we turn to see what she was running from, ten guns men appear from the shadows smirking.
"Oh, little CC no need to run..." Then the lead guy leans his head to the side just as a loud smack comes from where the girl ran to. "Into a tree."
"Where did that come from?!" She yells rubbing her throbbing forehead.
"CC, CC come on back. No need to hurt yourself in a hopeless ranit of freedom." Another one mumbles.
"Shut up!" She yells standing up but not turning to us.
"We're behind you, sweetie." The first one mocks. She spins around but her bright, bright blue eyes never meet, really, anything.
"Shut. Up!" She yells stepping forward. "Argh! I can't do anything like this." She then stops her foot on the ground making everything vibrate before the dirt turns (sadly) into ice.
"Thank you." He whispers before locking eyes with me. "Who are you?" He spits.
"None o' yer business, that's who!" I glare back pulling a terrified Sweetie behind me.
"A fighter, eh? Well, that just makes this double the fun!" His laugh almost matches Celadons, he almost. His gun clicks, the clicks echo as the others do the same.
"Run..." I hear whispered into my ear. "Run. Run. Run!" She yells before taking off doing exactly that.
The three of us exchange looks before high tailing after her, guns pointed on our backs. "Three.” he smirks. “Two.” the others raise their guns.” One..." I can feel their smirks boarding into the back of my head. "Fire!"
Bang!!!
"Sweetie!!" I scream as the bullet tears through her leg.
"NO!!!" Scoots yells before charging forward to save our downed friend. Twisting around mid step, she runs faster than I thought was possible even for her. Her hands glow as lightning swords form in each. Spinning her fast moving foot connects with the face of the dude standing over Sweetie with gunpoint to her skull. And I...I...
Stand here.
I turn to see the girl, CC, standing staring wide eyed at the scene. I run over to her a give her a hug knowing I'm about to regret my next decision. "Get this to the bad coy school..." I whisper to her before running back to my friends knowing one thing as I pull my sword, this can only end badly.
"I will...good luck Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Rainbow Queen!" Then she's gone.
"Rainbow Queen?" Scoots scream stopping dead in her tracks, 'CC' is long gone by then though. "B-B-B-B-" she can't finish whatever it is she was going to say due to the fact the a bullet zips through her gut.
"Scoots!" I scream letting (no matter how sappy this sounds) my pure fear and love for her take over. My whole body moves with unremarkable strength, slicing bullets mid flight and breaking bones with my dulled blade. In a matter of one minute all ten are down in the dirt defeated and I'm at Scootaloo's side.
"Hang in there." I whisper to her pulling her head into my lap and look down at her.
"I know what you were thinking. I couldn't agree more." She smiles at me as I put pressure on her bleeding wound.
"A-Ah'm so-o sorry. Ah love ya, Scootaloo..." I whisper as a tear falls onto her cheek from my salty eyes.
"Shhh, it's okay. At least, if I do die, I'll have you by my side. I love you too, Bloom." She smiles back before pulling me down for a kiss. Friendship may be magic, but love is purely magical!
"I won't let you die..." I murmur closing my eyes and kissing her for the final time...
Everything disappeared. I have kissed her before and I felt what I felt, pure happiness, but this was different. Everything faded away and went white...or did it go black? I can't even tell! I can feel my hands getting wetter with gushing blood, I can feel Scoots breaths become faster and faster with each passing second, always in time with mine, but I can still feel her smile.
"Not just yet." I finish when I pull away. I look into her empty, unblinking eyes. She seems to glow, no matter how unrealistically dead she seems she looks so alive. Her hair glows a bright, bright purple. Her body a similar orange. But her eyes glow the brightest, circling and spin, the glow coming from her eyes is the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen.
"I'm not ready just yet either..." I look to Sweetie, she heard it too.
Winds pick up, dead leaves zip through the air like bullet, and Scoots wings go straight out to her sides. "B-but she's d-da-dead!!!" I cry out as she starts flouting up.
"Not. Quite!" Echos through my head and the surrounding forest. The winds pick up the outside cold and snow, that mixing with the leaves is literal hell. She stands up on the air ever glowing brightly, so brightly it becomes blinding. We can't see anything but bright purple, orange, and swirling rainbow.
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"Bloom do ya remember when yall were real' lil' and ya asked 'bout why we never sent cha ta school?" Applejack asks patting the bed side. I nod and sit next to her knowing what is probably about to come next.
"How? You. Me. Her. Bullet. Blood!" I scream holding up my dripping fingers and waving them in her face.
"Yeah, you and Mac said it was because there were bad people out there. Y'all didn't want meh goin' off on mah own, ya loved meh to much." I answer smiling up at her.
"What did you do?!" Sweetie sheiks pulling herself up with exasperated hands.
"That's was a complete lie." She says flatly. "Some of it really. It was because we didn't want cha makin' no friends actually. Mac lost all his memory when he was young and thought it was because of a coy accident with a friend. Even though that wasn't true, he didn't want cha to suffer the same thing he did."
"Ya can't go around cheatin' death!" I scream at her falling to my knees at her feet eyes still blurry from the bright lights.
"What 'bout you?" I ask her looking out the big hole in the wall and over to the fiery horizon.
"Exactly!" Sweetie agrees before letting her jaw drop and snapping her fingers. "Ha!"
"Were ya there when Ah told mah story 'bout mah friend named Redheart?"
"What!" Me and Scoots yell at her in unison.
"Yeah..." I whisper just remembering what she said made me sniffle a little.
"It all makes sense now." She mutters loudly obviously lost in thought.
"Ah knew that one day dad would have had his fun with me and needed a new target, you. Ah didn't want cha ta git connected to someone like Ah had and suffer the same." She whispers wiping her eye at the memory.
"No it doesn't." Scoots says under her breath.
"Why are yall tellin' meh this?" I scream at her thinking about my new friends, her new friends, and what is to come to all of us, wishing it wasn't true. That he wouldn't do the same stupid thing to me too. Right?
"Whatever!" I yell brushing Sweetie off as she goes into deep thought. Turning to Scoots, with my normal vision back, I can barely talk. My mouth opens and closes once or ten times, my eyes are wide as saucers, and I can't peel my gaze away from her.
"Y'all are gonna live and love and be happy. You and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, together forever. You're gonna survive this, yet gonna be proud ta be part o' this, and yer gonna pass on yer story. Our story. Yer gonna tell everyone ya meet 'bout Rainbow and meh, yer gonna tell 'em 'bout dad and the Princess. Yer gonna protect each other from the mean people out there..." I could tell she thought a lot about this. Tears rolled from her eyes but she still smiled. "Yer gonna remember and ya sure as hell ain't gonna forget anytime soon."
"What? What is it?" Scoots asks not really looking at me but whatever Sweetie is doing.
"Applejack? What are ya sayin'?" I ask her as tears of my own roll from my eyes. She smiles down at me and opens her mouth one last time,
"Y-you ha-ave a streak-k!" I stammer out still looking, or rather staring, at her.
"Ah can't explain it, sugarcube. Ah just know that y'all...one of us...is gonna make it out of there with enough sanity to pass on the story. Ah'm puttin' mah hopes up it'll be you three." She says with a wary smile. "Trust meh. Ah ain't lyin' none!"
"Streak?" Scoots repeats raising an eyebrow.
"Sis' ya never lie." I whisper to her. "But cha haven't told meh the truth yet."
"Steak?" Sweetie says pulled from her thoughts.
"W-what do ya mean by that, Bloom?" She asks her eyes flicking.
"..."
"Ah mean that Ah want the truth!" I yell at her my fear slipping through my mask.
"Streak...right," she says blushing.
"Yall want the truth?!" She screams tears spilling down her face. "Yes dad killed some of those kids that came in, not all of them though. That was someone else's job! Mine! He turned me into a blood thirsty, insane, family issue, depressed little girl! Ah can't control it none either, it's like mah own spilt personality. We didn't send you to school because Ah didn't want no one comin' over to be at risk!"
"Gonna explain what yer mumblin' 'bout over there?" I ask her with a small smirk turning away from Scoots to look at Miss Blushing Her Face On Fire over there...if that makes any sense.
"Thank ya kindly..." I hiss at her. She should always tell the truth and she knows it! "Now tell meh, just how do ya activate it?"
"We need to find that girl 'CC'" she yells taking a step forward before hesitating on the next one, "either of you know where she went?"
Her eyes go wide as saucers. Her head falls and she slumps back in defeat, "all ya gotta do is...is"