//------------------------------// // Run, Scootaloo, Run (Fall Weather Friends) // Story: Scootaloo Dies a Bunch // by alexmagnet //------------------------------// “Oh, hey!” said Scootaloo suddenly. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who were walking slightly ahead of her, stopped, looked back at her, and raised their eyebrows. “Umm, yes?” said Sweetie Belle slowly. “Isn’t today that Running of the Leaves thing?” Scootaloo asked, her eyes wide with excitement. Apple Bloom nodded. “Yup, that’s today. Applejack said she was gonna outrun Rainbow Dash if her life depended on it. Something about preserving the family honor, or whatever.” “When I asked Rarity if she was going to run, she just laughed and laughed until I left,” said Sweetie Belle with a shrug. “Yeah, but who cares about that? You said Rainbow Dash was running, right?” Scootaloo looked expectantly at Apple Bloom. “That’s what Applejack told me,” said Apple Bloom. Scootaloo’s wings fluttered unconsciously as her face lit up. “Awesome! Why aren’t we going to go watch right now?” “Uhh… well, we are,” Sweetie Belle pointed out, indicating the haphazardly-placed sign that showed quite clearly they were headed towards the starting position for the competition. “Remember? We all agreed to go watch the race since Applejack was in it.” “I thought that was a joke…” Apple Bloom’s face scrunched up. “Why would that be a joke?” “Well, I mean,” said Scootaloo, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. “It’s Applejack. But since Rainbow Dash is gonna be there. Well, that changes everything.” Apple Bloom cocked her head to the side. “I still don’t see how—” “Nevermind that,” said Scootaloo, waving her hoof dismissively. “I’ve got an idea for how we can watch the race.” “Yeah, so do I,” said Sweetie Belle in sweet, yet sarcastic, tone. “All we have to do is go to the starting line.” “But then we’ll only see the beginning of the race, and that’s lame.” Scootaloo smirked confidently. She jabbed a hoof over her shoulder towards Whitetail Woods. “See that? They’re gonna pass through there at some point, right? So, I say we go find a place to hang out and wait for them to pass.” Apple Bloom shrugged. “I don’t think we’re supposed to, but forget the rules. They’re dumb anyway.” “That’s the spirit!” Scootaloo gave Apple Bloom a rough pat on the back. “Let’s go break some rules!” As Scootaloo and Apple Bloom jumped in the air, clapping their hooves together, Sweetie Belle just sighed and shook her head. “Simpletons.” “I still don’t get why we’re hiding, though.” Scootaloo groaned. “For the bajillionth time, Bloom, we’re hiding because we’re breaking the rules by being here, remember?” Leaning herself against the tree trunk that was hidden behind a bush they’d found a little while ago, Scootaloo took a moment to look around at the autumn leaves as they fell lazily to the ground. “Huh, I didn’t expect it to be so pretty out here,” she said. “Why not?” asked Sweetie Belle. She lay in a pile of leaves on her back, hooves outstretched as she watched clouds pass by. “It’s always like this during fall.” “I guess I just never really noticed…” Scootaloo trailed off, her gaze wandering around the woods. “Okay, but still though,” said Apple Bloom, her head poking through the bush as she watched for the racers coming down the path. “Why here? It’s kinda hard to see.” Scootaloo sighed. “Look, from here, we can watch them up close as they pass. It doesn’t get much more awesome than that. Just trust me, all right?” “What did you mean you never noticed?” asked Sweetie Belle, suddenly sitting up. Glancing over at her friend, Scootaloo shrugged. “I’ve never really had a reason to come up here before. None of my friends ever wanted to do this kind of stuff.” She chuckled. “I guess it’s kinda nice having friends like—” “Oh! Here they come!” Apple Bloom cried in her loudest whisper. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle quickly scrambled to join Apple Bloom at the bush. Peering through it, they saw dust being kicked up into the air as some racers came down the track. “I bet AJ’s gonna be in first place,” said Apple Bloom. “Nah, it’s totally gonna be Rainbow Dash. She’s way faster,” Scootaloo retorted. However, it was neither of them. The first few ponies that passed were neither Applejack, nor Rainbow Dash, and neither were the few after them. After waiting a bit longer, the group had passed, and a single pony could be seen making her way down the track. Scootaloo recognized her immediately. “There’s Rainbow!” she whispered loudly. “Wait… why’s she stopping?” “And where the heck’s Applejack?” asked Apple Bloom. “I don’t see her anywhere.” Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. “Uhh, looks like Rainbow Dash is about to cheat.” She pointed her hoof towards where Rainbow had taken a branch from a tree and bent it away from the track. “Here comes Applejack. She’s definitely about to cheat.” Before anyone else could say anything, Scootaloo burst from the bush and ran towards Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, wait!” she yelled. “Let me hit Applejack!” But, it was too late. By the time Scootaloo had reached Rainbow, she’d already released the branch, causing it to fling forward, smack Applejack in the face, and, simultaneously, hit Scootaloo who had tried to dive in front of the branch. Sweetie Belle winced. “Ouch. Looks like Scootaloo’s blasting off ag—Wait, no, she was just impaled. Nevermind.” “She’s gonna be okay, right?” asked Apple Bloom, a semi-worried look on her face. “Yeah, she’ll shake it off. Right, Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle called, now that Applejack and Rainbow Dash were gone. Scootaloo’s limp body, hung out like a hotdog over a campfire, did not respond. “She’ll be fine.”