//------------------------------// // Courage // Story: Core Reactions // by T00DEEPBLUE192 //------------------------------// Courage The journey to Canterlot was rocky and bumpy. The dirt tracks were heavily grooved from the wheels of chariots and pulverized by heavy hooves, creating potholes in the road. The path was treacherous and uncomfortable, but at least it was quiet. The other ponies that regularly travel down there must be preoccupied with their own professions to not commute on a road normally filled with traffic. This proved to be quite a relief for Scootaloo. Not so much for being held up in traffic that would’ve slowed the journey to Canterlot down, but more so that they were at less of a risk at being seen by somepony who would recognize them. If they discovered the crusader’s intentions, it would quickly end their crusade prematurely and once AJ would find out that they had gone so far away, the crusade they had embarked on could well be the last one they would ever do. The other two fillies standing close behind Scootaloo as they stood on the scooter’s platform; they hadn’t brought the trailer with them as it was too difficult to carry. The crusaders took the time they had to reflect upon what they were to do in Canterlot. Especially Sweetie Belle, who was just as worried about Rarity coming back home as she was excited for the discovery of her talent. Sweetie Belle had a one-sided conversation with Applebloom who was in front of her. But the earth pony looked glum; she repeatedly turned her head back towards Ponyville, feeling guilt for leaving her sister and brother behind on the farm. “All of them unicorns, all of those things that they would be doing using their magic… I’m gonna try it all! I’ve got to!” As Sweetie Belle exclaimed, she dug her hooves into Applebloom’s sides, causing her to jump and to turn her head around to face the unicorn. “Think of what we could do there! Won’t it be awesome, Applebloom?” She turned away to face the scooter’s main heading and sighed to herself. “Well, lets just try an’ keep outta trouble. AJ can’t afford to go an’ rescue us if somethin’ goes wrong.” Scootaloo indulged in her need for speed at the front of the scooter as the others chatted. Her wings were beating hard, forcing the wind behind her to propel the scooter along the long stretch of straight track. She grit her teeth and gripped her hooves hard onto the handlebars as the walls of Canterlot were approaching. The tracks became busier with other colts pulling chariots and carts; along with the blur of cherry trees; shrubs and wildflowers they were once rushing past, becoming the cobblestones of buildings and settlements. The center of Canterlot was within sight for Scootaloo; as her eyes peeked under the visor of her helmet, the walls that made up the entrance to the city had invited them to come inside. As they passed through the gates, everything immediately felt so different compared to Ponyville; unicorns were rushing past one another without giving a single passing smile. Housing towered above the crusaders as they passed through the narrow alleyways that made up the Canterlot streets; it was a rather intimidating place for three mere fillies to be wondering around. As the trio made their way, there was a brief clearing between the walls of the surrounding buildings. The clearing revealed Celestia’s castle within the mountain ranges. It contrasted the gray of the peaks and the green of the hills with its shimmering white walls; inspiration flashed in Applebloom’s eyes as she caught a glimpse such majesty. But the daydreaming was cut short by Sweetie Belle’s stern shoving as the trio reached the outskirts of the central plaza; it was completely filled with an army of oncoming unicorns. All of them were complete strangers, but yet, crusaders marched on, even Applebloom, who knew now that there was no turning back from Canterlot now. “So how in Equestria are we gonna get our cutie marks here?” Sweetie Belle struggled to shout over the crowd. Scootaloo followed closely behind her. “Look around you! Surely there’s somepony here who can help us. We just need to look around the right place.” The weight of the scooter dragging behind Scootaloo made keeping up with Sweetie Belle tiresome, not to mention the occasional pony tripping up over the scooter as it scraped along the cobblestone path. But soon the trio were finally free from rushing commuters, as they had made it to the center of the square, for an opportunity to catch a breath. As Scootaloo made it to the inner circle with the others, she could be heard properly by everypony. “Sweetie Belle! You can learn some magic here if we find a sorcerer pony of some kind” Sweetie Belle smiled. “Yeah, that’s a great idea! We’ll do that first then. But what about you guys? How are you going to get yours?” Applebloom glanced at Celestia’s castle in the mountains before turning back to Sweetie Belle. “Don’t worry about that right now, we’ll deal with that later. I have an idea if all else fails. Lets look for this sorcerer pony for now! After travellin’ this far, ah want to see this crusade deliver the goods! Let’s have a look around.” Sweetie Belle cast a huge grin across her face. This could be it! This could be the day that her wish is granted! It lead her to wonder. “Why didn’t we think of Canterlot before?” The team pushed their way back into the relentless crowd of unicorns one last time. It was an equally tough slog, but the crusaders grasped their hooves together tightly, to prevent being separated as they hurried to keep up with Sweetie Belle. She lead the pack as she charged through the streets as the excitement welled up inside her; she believed she had finally fulfilled her ultimate wish. The stalls that they all rushed past sold general goods, things such as apples, flowers and the occasional article of clothing. The unicorns of Canterlot appropriately liked the style of magic robes and hats, but Sweetie Belle merely turned her head up as she smiled. Learning from Rarity, she recognized taste when she saw it. The glitter and stars that covered each robe were far too ostentatious for any working class pony; Applejack doing bucking in a dress like that? Sweetie Belle giggled. But as they raced through the streets, with Scootaloo chasing after the other too on her scooter, the laughter slowly grew silent. As time wore on, searching for somepony who could help in each and every narrow alleyway within their sight, it seemed like their call wouldn’t be answered. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom dwelled on leaving their homes; Applebloom’s guilt for leaving Ponyville grew more and more for leaving Applejack behind on the farm with every alley they galloped through. Sweetie Belle wondered if Rarity would ever be back home again, but hopefully not before she would back first. Even after traveling all the way to Canterlot to have their wishes granted, their hope faded with every passing moment. The crusaders soldiered on; they didn’t come to Canterlot to come back with nothing. Hungry, thirsty and exhausted, they walked down yet another unlikely alleyway, but what set this one apart was that a peculiar blue tent had been erected on the side of the street; the fabric was littered randomly with stars and swirl patterns. The crusaders staggered to the entrance, out of breath from running. Sweetie Belle pointed out the fluorescent lettering on the banner that hung above the entrance. “’Great and Powerful Trixie- The Fortune Teller’s Tent’… hey, I know that mare.” She scorned at the sign as she remembered that day in Ponyville... “Some admirable pony she was. I’m not learning how to snake-charm a rope from somepony who’s a showoff.” “Who dares talk about the Great and Powerful Trixie behind her back!? Don’t you foals think I’m not listening?” The muffled shouting had come from inside the blue tent. Startled, Sweetie Belle blushed from embarrassment and guilt, swiftly turning her head back and forth between Applebloom and Scootaloo as if questioning what todo. But without a word spoken between the three of them, she nervously entered the blue tent to apologize to who shouted at her. Scootaloo rested the scooter on the wall of the street, as she decided to enter the tent with Sweetie Belle; with Applebloom also following. The inside of the tent was mostly bare, with nothing much more than a table and two cushioned chairs, as light with a blue-ish hue illuminated the room. On the center of the table was a large crystal ball resting on a small pillow, with a violet mist being seen through the ball. The air was warm and damp, but somewhat comfortable. At the end of the table, sitting at one of the chairs, Trixie sat enraged from such words being heard behind her back’ she growled angrily at the crusaders as she spoke. “Just who do you think you’re dealing with here, some common little foal that allows such petty insults to be thrown at her? I am the great and powerful Trixie! Now get out of here before I banish you to your rightful place in the Everfree Forest!” Her hat is lifted off her head with her magic to reveal her horn glowing angrily. It didn’t seem as though she was bluffing; she took great pride in her abilities of magic, so much so that she was willing to abuse it for her own cause. Sweetie Belle stepped forward. “Trixie, it was I. I said those things and I’m so sorry for upsetting you. I can understand that you’re angry, but please hear us out. We know that you need to be confident for your acts to be awesome and I’m sure that you’re not the arrogant pony I thought you were. You’re a great and powerful magician and I truly believe that you can help us!” Trixie immediately stopped her magic and her hat fell back onto her head; Sweetie Belle was good with her words when it counted the most, even when the words she uses are what got her in trouble in the first place. The magician sneered to herself, her ego restored in its full. She maintained her composure despite almost losing it moments before. “Yes, well, it is I, Trixie’s duty here, to show off her great power to help other ponies, so you are forgiven, young foal. So what brings you here? What do you want?” Her arrogance and force of character was enough to get under anypony’s skin. But Applebloom stepped forward and stood by her friend’s intentions. “We’re tryin’ to earn our cutie marks. Is there any way you can do any magic to help us? Can you teach Sweetie Belle here any magic to get our marks somehow?” The unicorn laughed and pointed accusingly. “That’s ridiculous! Nopony is capable of doing that! Earning your cutie mark is something you get when you’re great and powerful just like myself. You don’t get a cutie mark by cheating or cutting corners. As you’re all weak, do you really expect yourselves to get cutie marks at such a tender age? Hah! You’re all wasting your time asking me, so get out of here; I have other personal matters to attend to.” A smoke bomb was set off inside the tent as she finished her offensive speech. As the smoke rose, she was nowhere to be seen; she had sneaked out the back of the tent as the fog lingered. The warm air inside the tent became acrid in scent from the chemicals of the bomb; making the three young ponies choke, they had no other option but to leave, Trixie had enough of their presence. As they left the tent to take in the fresh air, Sweetie Belle despite this, looked on at the situation, still believing there was hope. “Come on, girls. We still have time to earn our cutie marks, Trixie probably couldn’t get out marks to appear permanently if she tried.” But despite her forward thinking, Scootaloo’s belief in her withered, she commanded her outlook with pessimism. “But what’s the point? There’s nothing for us left here; we have looked all over this town and Trixie was the only hope we had to get any results. We’re not finding our cutie marks today; let’s face it. C’mon, Let’s just go home and figure this out some other time.” She climbed on board the scooter, expecting everypony else to embark. “Hang on a second…” Applebloom called out towards Scootaloo. “I know this sounds crazy, but maybe we should head up there.” The little yellow filly pointed a nervous hoof towards the hills, with the great castle overhanging in the mountainside. Even though the sight of the Celestia’s castle sparked her idea, she still wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked understandingly perplexed; surely she wasn’t talking about going up there was she? “…Ah know, stupid suggestion. But they’re some powerful ponies in that place. Trixie doesn’t have the power, but Celestia sure will. Ah just saw the castle when we got to this town an’… ah just thought it’d be cool if we went there, y’ know?” Scootaloo thought to herself about it and oddly, gave a smug smile. “You’re right, that would be pretty cool. I guess I could do with a bit of danger right about now; how could I be following Dash’s footsteps if I didn’t live a little? Haha! After all, we’re all here for a reason. And the only way ponies get their cutie marks is to go against the odds, take risks, face fears, do the impossible! Darn, why didn’t I think of this? I’m in!” Sweetie Belle’s voice came in from behind Scootaloo, she giggled as she stood there. “You two have completely lost your minds… But then it is a pretty awesome idea; I’d do anything to get a cutie mark. Let’s face it, Scoot is right. If we’re gonna find ourselves, we gotta be brave and go for any chance we have. Let’s storm this castle!” “Cutie Mark Crusaders: HOORAY!!” The three ponies cheered merrily, they were all a bit scared; they didn’t know what could happen if they did put a foot wrong, but they learned from experience that the unknown could be holding a blessing for them. The three fillies drew the attention of passers-by from the cheering, they didn’t know if they should be confused or to be somehow happy for them. As Scootaloo donned her blue bicycle helmet and the other two squeezed aboard the scooter; it wasn’t comfortable squeezing three fillies onto a standard-sized skateboard, but the crusaders knew it would’ve been impossible to walk around Canterlot with a trailer dragging behind them. Scootaloo was almost thankful of her forward planning. The fillies followed the winding mountainside path towards the castle, the road was conveniently placed to be within sight from the town as it was the main road that royal figures and the guests for the Grand Galloping Gala would all take. The crusaders turned to wonder at the mountain peaks that loomed over the road. They were jagged and high, their peaks being obscured by cloud cover; the mountains seemed to be almost warning them to turn back. But the crusaders kept following the path that was magically carved out of the rock. The crusaders couldn’t believe what they were about to do- to meet the great Princess Celestia and accomplish their mission and fulfill their pony rite of passage, defying the peril it could bring. But they where determined to get their what they desired, and storming Celestia’s castle seemed to be the most exhilarating way to do it. The late afternoon loomed. The shadows from the sun were being cast upon the mountains, making the warnings from the mountains seem ever the greater, but with the destination nearing, the crusader’s excitement grew. Getting their cutie marks could be as easy as asking Princess Celestia kindly for a lend of her power; understandably, that was something to get excited about. The views were spectacular, being high up with the clouds meant that the crusaders could see everything from Canterlot’s bustling city square, all the way to the morbid summit of Midnight Castle, many miles away on its small its own island to the west. In short, vision was limited to the curvature of the planet itself and each view unfolded its own story. Scootaloo sneered as the mountains finally gave up their secret of Celestia’s home. Within the gray of the earthy peaks, lay beautiful foliage and wildflowers, filling the air with a mild, sweet scent as they passed by. But before the crusaders had time to stop, they had made it to the final short pathway, where up ahead, the brilliant white walls that inspired Applebloom to come here were approaching front of them. Now the main gate of Canterlot castle and the crusader’s destiny, had finally met together in the same place and at the same time. A guardspony was defending the gate as to be expected. Scootaloo stopped the scooter and the crusaders stepped off it in the most respectful manner they could towards the guard, who remained standing perfectly still. No reaction had come from the guard, even when three mysterious fillies had just taken the perilous path. He stood silently, waiting for the crusaders to make their move towards the royal walls. As the three of them advanced, something didn’t feel right. It was strange how an establishment that housed such royalty and power seemed to be defended by one lone guard; either it was their tea break, or there could be some trickery in play. Applebloom may be young and ambitious, but she wasn’t naive. She wanted to turn back, but Sweetie Belle turned her head to the earth pony, smiling weakly in the hope to encourage her, but she was just as scared. Scootaloo walked proudly and respectfully towards the guard, who had been scrutinizing the three filly’s every movement. He firmly stood his ground, looking straight ahead with a frown on his face; his golden armour gleaming in the waning sun. He waited for one of the ponies to cross a line in the dirt, in which he was instructed to practice his standard procedure. Scootaloo who was out in front was the first to step on the line. “Halt! Not another move!” The guard sternly shouted, breaking the intense silence, his voice echoing over the mountain range. Scootaloo jumped, the pressure on the trio was accelerating. The guard pony looked down upon them with angered eyes. Applebloom gulped and bravely stepped forward and tried to speak to the guard. “Ummmm… Good afternoon good sir, we were just wonderin’ to see if there was anypony around who knows how to earn a cutie mark.” The guard remained still and silent, without showing any of his confusion. He thought to himself: “Why would they come here to ask for such a thing? Did Celestia ask for them to come here, three fillies and no escort for them? This seems fishy. One step closer and they’re out of here.” Applebloom stammered as she talked, but if she wasn’t going to talk to the guard, who would? Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle practically hid behind her in fear. “Is there a chance you could ah, you know… give us a hint to where we could ah… find somepony… who…who could help?” There was no response. The guard merely stared at the yellow filly; but even he was unsure what to do. “Ah, hello? Sir? Is there anypony there? We just need some help...” Applebloom took another step forward. It was one step too far for the guard. “HALT!” The guards horn quickly began to glow angrily, with bright sparks jumping from it as Applebloom stepped beyond the line. The guard didn’t like doing this to anypony who could be innocent, but it was his orders. Nothing got past the line without punishment. The crusaders froze in fear; the guards power was enormous. Nothing could be done to stop him; fleeing would only make him release his power. The magic created an angry buzz as it grew stronger, the sparking beconing brighter and more frequent. “Please, stop!” Applebloom asked for forgiveness, even though what she had done eluded her. But the her request simply gave the guard more time to build up his power; begging would not get them out of this. Applebloom winced towards the others; fear had reduced her to a bystander of her own doom. But then having quickly accepted her fate, she calmly approached her friends from behind her to embrace them, getting a precious crumb of comfort that she wasn’t alone in all of this. As the guard was about to unleash the mysterious power along with whatever it would bring, Applebloom wished for her return home to never crusade again. Maybe, just maybe, things will turn out good in the end. But than a sharp, piercing scream cut through the tension like a knife, causing everything that was happening to immediately cease. It was a feminine scream; a cry for help, but then soon after, a loud crash- the shattering of stained glass seemed to have come from the other side of the castle walls. The guardspony immediately relinquished his energies and turned around to peek through the castle gates. He swiftly darted his head around left and right, wondering where the alarming sounds could have come from. Beyond the castle walls, the guardspony caught a glimpse of two passing shadows running away from the corner of his eye. He opened the royal gates, ready to run, but then he faced the crusaders and gave stern commands with a gruff and flustered tone. “Celestia will not tolerate any disobedience from any of you! You will all stay exactly where you are! Understand?” He chased after the shadows, leaving the crusaders with the opportunity to simply walk through the gates and inside the castle grounds. As the crusaders proceeded through hallowed walls, the mayhem that ensued inside the castle quickly became apparent. One of the beautiful stained glass windows to the right of the castle had been shattered, hoofprints had been stamped into the turf leaving the window, that headed in the direction of the elusive shadows. The screaming, the struggle, breaching the castle walls with such ease, it made the adrenaline in Scootaloo begin to surge in excitement, As Applebloom and Sweetie Belle wondered at what had just happened, Scootaloo, relishing on the thrill, made herself a swift predicament. “I bet it’s a thief that’s done this and I’m going to bring them to justice! That’ll show Trixie that we’re not weak! That’ll show the guards we’re good. Princess Celestia is going to be so pleased, she’ll have to give us our cutie marks! Lets go after them!” Sweetie Belle couldn’t believe what she was saying “Are you crazy?? We’re lucky that we’re here at all! We came here to meet the princess! Put your ego to one side and do what we came here to do, Scoot!” “I am doing what we came here to do Sweetie Belle-to get our cutie marks. So I can prove to myself that I have something to be proud of, that I can do anything I want. Caching this thief would be something I can be happy for, that we can all be happy for! Face your fears, go for any chance we have. Now c’mon, they’re getting away!” “But Scoot, wait!” Scootaloo had already began to follow the prints, which had led her around the corner of the tower that stood on the outskirts of the castle. The other crusaders were reluctantly followed in fear of being caught by another guard. Around the corner was a garden filled with a wide variety of beautiful, sweet-smelling plants cut into the garden. As the hoofprints lead onto pavement, the tracks had disappeared. It was anypony’s guess where this thief could have gone to. As Scootaloo ran, she began to hear the same sound as before, that feminine voice that was screaming just moments earlier. But also in the distance was another murmuring voice, which sounded like distant shouting; it was male, but it had a Canterlot accent. Scootaloo decided to after the shouting; it could have been a guard, or it could have been coming from the other shadow that ran, they risked their lives to get to the castle, there seemed to be no point in not continuing. The guards were nowhere to be seen, presumably the guard that stood at the gate must have taken a wrong turn; hopefully that was the case As Scootaloo ran to the other end of the royal garden, passing doorways, flowerbeds and glass windows, the shouting was becoming louder and clearer, as the young filly was about to turn around the corner of the castle, she stopped; as the argument in the distance became comprehensible. The female voice caught Scootaloo as odd, it sounded familiar… “Darling, please! I’m so sorry! I…I got ahead of myself. Please I’ll do anything if you let me go! I just wanted you to take me back…” As Scootaloo listened, Sweetie Belle had quickly caught up, just as Scootaloo turned around to hear where the approaching sound of clopping hooves was coming from, they had both collided with each other. Scootaloo had been taken completely by surprise, she had fallen over; but the shouting continued from around the corner, luckily it didn’t seem like Scootaloo had blown their cover. Applebloom approached the pegasus, who was still getting up, in a daze from bumping into Sweetie Belle. “Scoot, if you wanna catch this pony, y’ need to be more careful.” “What? It was her fault! She knocked me over!” “Girls... look…” Sweetie Belle peeked around the corner of the castle, the shadowy figures were now out in the open, at what looked like the edge of a balcony. The figures both had brilliant white coats, one with a blonde mane and a suit that was dirty and torn up; but the other pony... Blue eyes, a violet mane and tail, jewels for a cutie mark… Sweetie Belle’s jaw fell open. “How?? What in Equestria is she doing here?? Why??” Sweetie Belle was as dumbstruck as she was relieved to have found her. She leaped out from hiding and called out for her sister. “Rarity!!” The white stallion ignored it, but the call of her name distracted Rarity. As the crusaders caught sight of her, the state she was in became apparent. Her mane and tail were ravaged; beads of sweat were running down her face and she was covered in scrapes and cuts. As Rarity glanced towards the far corner of the castle, seeing the small filly standing there with the other crusaders also beginning to reveal themselves. She slowly turned her head in awe with her eyes wide open and her mouth agape. “What?? Her?? Them?? How did they… what is she… “ Her voice trailed off in bewilderment, until she snapped, finally realizing the gravity of the situation. Her sister and her friends were in great danger. “Girls, get out her here, right now, this instant!” “But Rarity…” “I don’t care how you all got here and I don’t have time to explain why I’m here either. Just get out of here right now and I’ll have time to explain everything later.” “You’re not going anywhere! You were that stupid mule at that stupid Gala weren’t you? And now you’ve raided my living quarters and destroyed my room. Do you really think that you’re getting away with this?” The other white stallion had made himself apparent. It was Prince Blueblood, his condition reflected his anger; his suit was ripped and his coat was covered in dirt. He bared his teeth and scowled, slowly walking closer towards Rarity as he snarled. Rarity backed away from him, but unbeknown to her was that she walking towards the edge of the castle’s main balcony. At the edge of the balcony was the grand gorge, where the castle was being held in suspense. “You destroyed my palace. You ruined my reputation and now you’ve made me into a beast! For that, you shall fall!” Rarity looked in horror, quivering and shaking in fear. She had reached the very edge of the balcony, instinctively grabbing hold of the wooden handrails, unaware of the sheer drop that was looming behind her. Right below her at the bottom of the drop was a rocky desert of a landscape, with nothing more than a small lake to the wayside. As Rarity continued to back up, but not getting any further away from the prince, Applebloom looked on alarmingly, as the old wooden handrail Rarity rested on had begun to buckle under the stress,. Yet Rarity didn’t stop, unaware at what she was doing, shaking in fear at the enraged prince. She closed her eyes and turned her head away as the prince readied a charge, the balcony beginning to splinter from the strain. Applebloom couldn’t take the scene anymore. Why she was there, why Rarity was in this mess, why Blueblood was out of control, the fact that Applejack and her friends cared about her, for a moment, it no longer mattered. Applebloom was ready to take a stand to this tyrant prince and to save her friend’s sister, whatever the cost. She charged with all her strength, leaving her friends behind to witness the scene as it unfolded. Within the same moment, Blueblood had turned from blue to red in determination to banish Rarity from the great castle. He charged like a wild animal, careering towards Rarity with accelerating speed. Defenseless, shaking and frozen in fear, Rarity shielded her face, preparing to embrace the impact. In a period of time that felt like eternity, Blueblood and Rarity had connected, the force of the impact causing the railing to shatter. She fell through the railing, down into the immense maw of the cliff. It was now too late. Applebloom made it to the edge with Blueblood by her side, but she didn’t stop; a tear streaked down her face as she dived through the gap in the railings with all her strength and bravely fell after Rarity. She had lost all of her worries and cares now. If it was to be her day to die, so be it, nothing could be done about it now. Sweetie Belle would need to take care of herself if anything happened. But Applebloom was prepared to sacrifice everything to not see that come to pass. She just loved her friend too much; she would never allow anything that was within her power to stop her from being happy; even when it seemed utterly foolish. As Applebloom and Rarity fell for what seemed like a lifetime, not a sound was heard from anypony, no screaming, no calling, nothing. Although it couldn’t be heard, Applebloom’s heart was exploding inside her chest as she took in the sheer drop. Rarity was rapidly accelerating towards her from below and before Applebloom could react, they collided hard. But the adrenaline made them not suffer from any pain; instead they embraced in their weightlessness, to assimilate their last moments together as the ground beneath them rapidly drew closer, quickly sealing their fate. But then Applebloom glanced other way to the lake’s deep blue, looking at the cooling shades of the deep water. As frightening as their situation was, the water helped Applebloom to be calm, it was a picturesque thing to look to just before the end. But when Applebloom looked the other away was when she realized that Rarity and herself were actually over the water. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle merely stood at the balcony, shell-shocked. Not a word was spoken or a sound made albeit for the sound of Blueblood’s clopping hooves as he slowly left the scene. Seeing her big sister and one of her best friends both fall to their deaths was beyond any sight or sound Sweetie Belle could see or hear. She slowly turned to Scootaloo, tucking her head underneath Scootaloo’s wing, and tears began to fill her eyes; the pegasus felt the very same pain and hysteria. She let Sweetie Belle cry into her wing, as her heart was left abandoned in darkness. As she cried, she pictured her and Sweetie Belle, back at the tree house, still together like they were during that fateful morning, enjoying life, feeling excited, hearing laughter, feeling good; a pleasant time. But back in the real world, there was none of that to speak of for miles around; the world was empty, only crushing tears and profound loneliness filled the void. Breaking the silence was a loud, distant splash of water. For a moment in time, nothing else had happened. But as they heard the splashing again, Sweetie Belle lifted her head out of Scootaloo’s warmth and walked slowly to the wooden railings, Scootaloo followed, keeping close to her if she needed any comfort. At the bottom of the gorge was the lake, near the edge of the water seemed were ripples in the water that slowly grew to fill the entire area of the lake itself, and in the center of the ripples, Applebloom and Rarity had finally surfaced. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other in disbelief, they may just had made the jump. From that small, infinitely precious grain of hope, Sweetie Belle and Scoot smiled. For what it was worth, they held each other, beginning to laugh as the realization of their friend’s survival meant they could share another moment together in the tree house and Rarity may carry on to be the best sister that Sweetie Belle could have wished for.