//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Appleblooming // by TheMAM //------------------------------// The next day comes, albeit one quite unusual For the ponies of the town gather for a funeral Every pony of earth, horn, and wing Wearing mostly modest clothing To honor the passing of a young Pegasus One whom everypony will surely miss Scootaloo, an angel who couldn’t fly Whose passing causes the entire town to cry Mr. Waddle, the funeral pony, says “If you may, “Does anypony have any kind words to say?” Nopony had anything to say, nopony It was to be the quietest funeral in pony history Out of the blue, everypony is struck with awe while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle solemnly march down the aisle Sporting dresses of silk crafted by Rarity Both radiating auras of intense beauty Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle reach the podium And prepare to sing a requiem One Sweetie Belle composed just for this purpose The two sang with elegance gratuitous No One Like Scootaloo (Your endeavor and Thrill of adventure Granted us the time of our lives Your dreams really Did come true And we’ll keep on searching With the thought of you Dear filly Dry your eyes Sweetie She’s happy Let her go We hate to keep the Cutie Mark Crusaders ununited but we Can’t stay away, we can’t fight it so we’ll Never not remember that you don’t have to spread your wings to fly You could still soar high Always mind we’ll find no one like Scootaloo We wish nothing but the best for our cutie marks too We won’t forget you, we’ll say The Cutie Mark Crusaders prevail Sometimes the search gets fun And sometimes the search turns grey Sometimes the search gets fun And sometimes the search turns grey) The two fillies sing their little hearts out And everypony is touched by what they sing about After it ends, there are neither stomps nor cheers The audience merely breaks out in tears Most are crying, few felt strong Derpy is asking what went wrong Even the Mane 6 hold no tears back Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack Twilight and Rarity, have the desire To hide their tears behind their funeral attire However, the veils that hide their eyes Do not block out their audible cries And Rainbow Dash, let’s not forget She seems to be the one most upset After all, Scootaloo was her number one fan She makes no effort to hide the tears as they ran The two fillies witness all these sensations The song exceeded even their expectations Most eyes are on Sweetie Belle It isn’t really that hard to tell Such delicacy, such chemistry Backed up by a beautiful melody Apple Bloom says faintly, “You have the voice of an angel.” “Well… I guess it was ok.” Sweetie replies faintly as well But right after that thought comes to mind A small glow erupts from her behind The two fillies cannot believe what they see A microphone on a star is what the cutie mark be Sweetie Belle is shocked, mixed emotions are felt Her heart suddenly starts to melt She is glad she got her cutie mark that moment But why did it have to be at this very event? To think that she gains her cutie mark next to The coffin of her best friend Scootaloo She feels as though it is all some cruel jest That her happiest day is her saddest Goodbyes are exchanged, it is time to go Everypony leaves in utmost woe But the two fillies stay to say one more farewell Though they didn’t have much else to tell So they just sat there by the tombstone Where all they do is sob and moan And their final goodbye is somber but true “Goodbye Scootaloo, we’ll sure miss you.” They trot back home, feeling sour During this most unhappy hour And take note, during their all-time low That the Cutie Mark Crusaders are now a duo Sweetie Belle meets Apple Bloom the very next day At the family barn, right next to the hay Having no interest in their club house anymore To have fun is what they went there for No. No more fun, those days are over For now, they cry on each others’ shoulder They simply lie around weeping and sniffling And aside from that, decide not to do anything Why have fun when something is missing A Pegasus to bring thrill into everything A spirited gal to make you giggle Every time you’re down or in a pickle As time passes, they start to see No more purpose to the CMC To say that it was all just to get cutie marks isn’t the truth The whole point of it was so that they could enjoy their youth It was about having a good time, having fun Joyfully frolicking with your friends in the sun Playing games, seeing who would have won Being together till the day was done The two never realized that until now Getting over it, they don’t know how They then deem there no meaning in their meeting And so bid farewell until their next greeting Apple Bloom takes a walk through the market past stands Selling many products of various brands Foods and sweets as plenty as can be Nevertheless, Apple Bloom isn’t hungry She then notices a passing neighbor Of which, to her, is no stranger With no more rings around her neck Zecora passes by, looking like heck Her mane in ruins, as if trimmed by a barber With a lawnmower and a flamethrower Cuts on her body, leaking blood Contaminated and caked with mud So weak, she can barely walk Grateful she can even talk But with the view of Apple Bloom below her chin For the little filly, she cracks a small grin Suddenly, Zecora feels a small chill As she sees Apple Bloom standing perfectly still The filly is beaming an uncomfortable stare Immediately recognized as an angry glare Apple Bloom, with rage in her eyes Takes Zecora by surprise When she lets out a yell as sharp as a pin, “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!!” She charges at Zecora and begins an assault, “IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!!! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!” Zecora stands shocked with her mouth wide open As Apple Bloom throws hooves at her shin “Apple Bloom! Stop! Enough! Please! “You seem not at all at ease. “Desist young one, is there anything-“ “SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!” Apple Bloom screams, interrupting “We were at your house, but ya’ll weren’t there! “Where were you? Where? Where?! “We tried looking! We tried finding our way! “We were in danger with no safe place to stay! “We were alone! We were in danger! “Ya’ll could have been a game changer! “We just buried Scootaloo, “And she’s now dead! BECAUSE OF YOU! “Scootaloo’s dead!” wails Apple Bloom Her judgment is cloudy due to her gloom Nothing else is there to be said Zecora stands still with a very light head Zecora does not know how to react Having trouble comprehending the fact That the young filly Scootaloo had died Under normal circumstances she would have cried But she knows not to cry so willy-nilly Particularly when dealing with an enraged filly Especially after having gone through some hard stuff She is quickly fed up and yells, “Apple Bloom, ENOUGH!” She restrains Apple Bloom’s hooves with her own She then calms down and changes her tone “Apple Bloom, you must comprehend, “Please hear my tale to the very end” “I was in quite a pinch, and now I’m very tired “I do not have knowledge of what has transpired. “Please, let us go somewhere private. “Back at my domain, where it is quiet." Apple Bloom lets her hooves fall to the dirt To Zecora’s leg, she hadn’t caused much hurt Yet she refuses to communicate, stubborn in this case Until she takes a look around the marketplace Everypony is staring from every store Appalled at Apple Bloom’s behavior Everypony watching from around the bends Some are even of her classmate friends Including Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon She knew for sure they would laugh at her soon But they appear sad, mostly understanding They know better not to mock someone’s passing Apple Bloom had later confessed To having felt scared, humiliated, and embarrassed Without hesitation, she follows her Not wanting to linger a second longer They safely make it to Zecora’s den Whereupon Zecora immediately says then “Please my child, don’t hesitate “Tell me what happened up to this date” Apple Bloom sits as still as a statue Still blaming Zecora for what happened to Scootaloo Her mannerism is far from grand But Zecora does not reprimand Apple Bloom then catches sight of a collection of mirrors And upon seeing her reflection, her stubbornness withers Her expression turns to horror after what she sees The expression prior giving her the heebie-jeebies Seeing Zecora looking sorry for everything Apple Bloom apologizes for the way she is acting She approaches Zecora and gives her a hug And both let their tears cascade on the rug Apple Bloom finally calms down Having put aside her indecorous frown And over a bowl of oats and barley To Zecora she recounts her story