(Scootaloo)
It's been a week since Rainbow died, and Fluttershy had informed everypony of her death. I stand with the rest of Rainbow's grieving friends as we watch her coffin lower into a freshly dug grave. If she had been living in Cloudsdale still, as were her plans, she would have been sent toward the Griffon kingdom on a cloud. From there, the Griffons would have buried her in the most proper way possible. Unfortunately, she could never find a good enough home there.
I only got to say goodbye before she died, when she was on the way to her murder. Tears make my vision blurry, and I look at Fluttershy, who's completely broken down in sobs again. Her mane looks like it hasn't been tended to since Rainbow died. When I see her like this, I wonder if she actually did murder Rainbow.
These days I find it hard to keep going, even if it is what Rainbow would want, it's as if just walking is a hard task. With my hero gone, I guess my will and need to press on have vanished.
Fluttershy has offered to let me live with her, but until I know whether or not she murdered Rainbow I'm not going to accept her offer. I've been staying in Rainbow's house, now mine until the bills stack up and I have to move out. when that happens, I should know the truth from Fluttershy. If I don't, I guess I'll stay with Sweetie Belle.
I look at Sweetie Belle, who is trying to console a sobbing Rarity, who is too concerned with her depression to notice the dirt she's surrounded by. I don't blame her though; it's everything I have not to cry right now, in front of all these ponies. I know I'm expected to be weak and helpless, to be on my knees crying my eyes out, and to feel like I was in the wake of devastation, but my emotion left me after I discovered Rainbow's death.
I look over to the Everfree Forest, where Rainbow faced her grim fate, and watch as the wind blows against the trees, making the leaves dance in place. It's a shame that all of Rainbow's friends, coworkers, and even fans, have to come and cry over her on an otherwise perfect day.
They had the Summer Sun Festival postponed, since none of the Wonderbolts wanted to do their performance without being able to take in the news, and have time to pay their respects.
I always hated the thought of having to talk to somebody's grave. Knowing they can't respond, much less hear you, and feeling that you could have done something to prevent their short life. It's as if Celestia knew she could make everypony immortal, but wants us all to feel the pain she's felt after watching her friends face their own mortality.
Everpony finishes their speeches, and I can't help but stay as the Grave Keepers bury Rainbow's multiple colored coffin. I want to be the first person out of anypony to talk to Rainbow's grave. I want to know why people do it, and whether or not it can affect anything. I doubt it does, but it's worth a shot.
When the Grave Keepers trot away after covering the hole where Rainbow's corpse lies, I hesitantly trot to it and sit down.
"Hey, Mom." I say, after my parents disowned me for being, as they say, 'a fligthless ornament and a disgrace to all Pegasi', Rainbow had been my mom throughout most of my teen life. "I know you probably can't hear me, but I guess this is what the old people do when they visit their dead spouses, so why not give it a try.
I guess I could start with your death. I need some way to know that you weren't murdered. Should I ask Fluttershy, and risk her lying to me? Or should I try to find out myself and maybe endlessly pursue false leads that might get me nowhere? I don't know where to go, or who to turn to."
I pound my hoof into the dirt, tears swelling into my eyes as I begin to cry. My breaths come out shaky and fast, I would hate it if anypony came by and saw me. None of them would understand, since none of them had a family member die. The only pony I can think of who would understand is Celestia. She had to deal with the pain of multiple loved ones dying. I couldn't imagine the pain caused from that.
"Until next week I guess I'll have a bit of trouble with survival, given I'm surviving off nothing, but I'll see you next week." With this, I trot away to see the 'In Memoriam' performance that Spitfire and Soarin are doing to remember Rainbow Dash.
I close the door to my house, until the taxpayers come to take it away, and trot to my bed, where Tank lays still. He's been dormant most of the time since Fluttershy came and told us that Rainbow died, not that I needed a reminder. Some days I wish that I didn't have to look at anypony, and this is one of those days.
A knock at the door brings me to attention, and I turn around to trot over to the door. I open it, and Pinkie Pie is standing at the door, though her hair is straight instead of it's normal poofy style, she slowly comes in, her head down as she tries to hide her tears. She makes her way to my bed, and lays down on top of it next to Tank.
"Twilight told me I should try to console you," She says, her voice sounding small and dreary compared to her usual self. "Y'know, element of Laughter and what not. Some days I don't think she understands that we can still feel the opposite of what our elements are supposed to create."
I nod in agreement, remembering how it was when Discord had turned them all into their opposite elements.
"You don't have to do anything to help me if you don't have to." I say, really hoping she doesn't start crying. I don't exactly know how to deal with things like that. "Her death was just really sudden, and none of us are too sure how to accept, or even deal, with it. If she had just become sick, we all would have had time to just say goodbye, or to hug her and keep her happy within her last days of life. Why does Celestia not just make everypony immortal, so we don't have to deal with the pain of mortality?" I stomp my hoof, startling Pinkie a bit, before she looks at me quizzically, as if questioning what I just said.
"I asked her that once," She replies after a long silence, "after one of those dreams I have about making really weird cupcakes made out of meat, and she told me that the only way to make an Alicorn is to have enough magic talent and power to give a magically gifted Unicorn wings. Twilight used the Alicorn spell once, but ended up giving Rarity Butterfly wings. Though Twilight didn't know it was an Alicorn spell at the time."
So that's why Celestia didn't just make them all Alicorns I think to myself, until something crosses my mind.
"What about a horn growing spell?" I ask her, if a wing growing spell like that exists, why not a horn growing spell?
Pinkie just sighs and looks at me. Until she says, "Listen, I don't know about that. If you need any more information on these things, talk to Twilight. She'll know much more about this than possibly even Celestia."
Pinkie then gets up, and walks out of the door. She gets into the Hot air Balloon, and lets out some of the flame inside, making the balloon descend. I go up to the front door and watch until the Balloon has disappears under the cloud floors of the front yard, then i close the door and lay upon my bed.
Tank moves to my side, and lays down. He rests his bead on my left Foreleg, and licks my cheek. I remember when I would sometimes mistake her for Winona, since I slept in the barn before Rainbow took me under her wing (punpunpun).
I think over what Pinkie said about a horn spell, and the unknown answer corrupts my mind until I can't think about anything else. I hate curiosity, because it will nag at you until you either need to know, or you have to ask the question out loud to somepony.
I open the door to the Library and step inside. I look around for the paper that tells people where the books are, but Twilight makes her way over to me before I can find it.
"Hey Scootaloo," She says, her voice is scratchy, and her eyes are red from crying. "Did you want to get the new Daring Do book? It seems to have gone missing, so I can't lend it to anypony until I find it."
"No," I reply, trying to sound normal, but instead my voice comes out small. I cough and then speak more clearly, "I'm wondering if there are any spells that could give a Pegasus a horn like the Wing Spell that allowed you to become an Alicorn."
Twilight thinks about this for a minute before saying, "No, I don't have any of those." She then puts a hoof to her chin and begins mumbling, "If anypony does, it'd be either in the old castle or Starswirl's Library in Canterlot. Or maybe that's whats in the chest; that would be an interesting thing to find."
I stop listening when she moves to the topic of that chest. I've always been cautious when it came to that thing, because it could be something bad, as if just a nosy pony would be all it takes to send the world into what could be an eternal war. She's found five of the keys, and it really scares me what would happen when she finds the sixth.
I guess it wouldn't be too bad, if I didn't have this anxiety about the undiscovered. Hopefully I can get over it some day.
"Hey Scootaloo," Twilight says, addressing me again, "you should probably just check the Library in the old castle inside the Everfree. That's going to be your best chance."
I nod my head, and go skip to, and out, the door, determined to get to the castle and see if Celestia does have the power to turn a Pegasus into an Alicorn.
The echoing of my hooves as they hit the cold concrete floors makes me stop, expecting something to be behind me until I realize the sounds are coming from me, I always hated this old castle. It always seemed like a scene from a horror film.
I find the Library, and look around for a sign that shows where the magic section would be. I find the aisle, and begin skimming through the books on the middle shelf, where the more popular books are usually stored.
After a few minutes of searching, I don't see a book on Alicorn creation, but as I reach the end of the aisle, I see a book that looks interesting. The faded black leather on the spine, along with the cobwebs, show that it's been here for a while, and might even be the book I'm looking for.
I grab the book and turn it so I can read the front cover, which shows that it isn't what I wanted, but might be of some use. The words in all white against the black cover read, 'Necromancy and how to use it'. My eyes widen as the thought of being able to bring Rainbow back fill my head, I need to bring this back to Twilight so she can bring her back.
I open the book to the Table of Contents to see if it has what I'm hoping for, and it does. I decide to read the book myself and see how intricate the spell is, and if Twilight could even use it. The book says,
The Necromancy spell can only be used by an Alicorn. However, no matter what royal standing you may have, it will always be illegal, as instructed by Starswirl the bearded. Even if one were to use borderline Necromancy, which would mean trying to but failing, they may still be charged with Exile from the location of their residence.
I know Twilight would want to do this, even if it meant exile for her, She wouldn't want to have to mourn Rainbow dash for the rest of her life. I look down to the book and notice small text at the corner. Knowing the kind of crap that usually goes into small text, I read it.
Note: Necromancy of somepony with great amounts of power, such as another Alicorn or a bearer of the Elements of Harmony, will only be successful if done on the day one month after their death.
I move my head up, wondering why this limitation exists, and think up a plan to get Twilight to use this spell I have, essentially, about three more weeks to convince her that using Necromancy to bring Rainbow back to life is a good idea, despite the consequences. Of course, she's going to think it over in her head until she came to a decision, but that shouldn't take more than a week if she agrees with me.
I grab the book in my mouth and begin running back to Twilight's house, hoping she'll agree with me and that we can bring back the closest thing to a good mother I ever had.