//------------------------------//
// We're Not Friends 
// Story: Cutie Mark 
// by Betty-tea-dead 
//------------------------------//

Scootaloo makes sure to wake up extra early the next day. She splashes water on her face from a washbin she had in the corner of the club house, and did her best to comb out all her knots with a old chewed up comb she had. It was rarely used but she wanted to look good and presentable.

Even if it was just Applebloom.

"Today will be a good day. It will be a great day," she says to her reflection in the dirty window. The small, filly sized club house was too tiny for a grown mare to live in. Things got cluttered easily, dirty and broken and over time Scootaloo learned to stop caring. It wasn't a fun place for she and her friends to play in anyways, not anymore. This was her home. Broken floorboards and all.

But maybe if she manages to get some steady bits, maybe... maybe if somehow the impossible happens and she finally figures out what she's supposed to be doing with her life, she can pull herself together. She laughs nervously at her reflects, squeezing out a bit of toothpaste in her mouth. She didn't have a toothbrush, and made due with stick with a bit of cloth tied at the end of it. She's not sure why she so adamant on making herself look so clean today, when she's going to do manual labor on the Apple farm.

Maybe it was for Applebloom. To prove something to her. Something to herself too.

Who knows.

Finishing up, she crept over some busted planks carefully and some stacks of newspaper, and makes her way out the door and down the rickety rotten steps. One of these days, if she's not careful, she'll break her neck on a misstep. But rather than ponder on what she could do to fix the problem, she leapt to the grassy ground below and started her dash for the farm. It wasn't far- this little club house was technically on the edge of Apple property. It was out of either kindness or pure forgetfulness that she was allowed to live here all these years. Either way- they never brought it up so neither did she.

Applebloom was already waiting for her at the gate of the main grove. "Took ya long enough. Come on, got the perfect thing for you." No good morning or how do you do. Already the young mare was turned and trotting in some direction through the trees. 

"Bucking apples?" Scootaloo asked, keeping pace. "...also hello to you too."

"Scoots, you're late. I'm an Apple gosh darn it- if the suns up, thats half the day wasted!" Bloom huffs, trotting faster. "I could of started without you, but I waited."

Scootaloo felt her tiny wings sag a little. "Sorry. I guess it would of helped to ask what time-"

"Said dawn, didn't I?."

"...Sorry. ..What are we doing again?" She hopes changing the subject will help. Applebloom was never a morning person, no matter how much Applejack conditioned her to be. She knew she'd have to do her best to not antagonize her old friend further- after all she needed this chance to prove herself. She needed to move forward, with or without a cutie mark.

Bloom sighed as she kicked a little runt apple that must of fallen from a tree prematurely. "It's our old barn. It's just to gosh darn old. Sis already sent a letter to Rainbow Dash to come and destroy it so it's on me to find anything salvageable in there and move it out. Thing is, there's a lot of stuff."

"Just on you? What about Applejack?"

Bloom shrugs a little. "Not 'ere actually. She's off deliver'n pies to the next town. Won't be back till late."

'So it's us two on this entire farm?' The realization was almost startling to her. The farm used to be the busiest place in all of Ponyville and now the family seemed strangely stretched thin. Thats when Scootaloo also realized- it might not be so thin for very long. Unlike Sweetie Belle, whose been fiercely guarded by her sister when she grew into a young adult from all the hungry eyed colts, Applebloom was encouraged to go out and find herself a mate.

Not that Bloom ever had any intrest for a while. Too focused on her work- just like her sister. It was amusing how'd they try and pressure each other into finding their some special pony, but when it came right down to it, the dating scene was just too strange and awkward for the both of them. 

So chances are someone else in the Apple Family will end up inheriting the farm. Maybe Braeburns kids. Celestia knows that he has too many of them to keep track of...

"We're here!"

Applebloom sped up her trot and bounded to the entrance of a old rickety barn. It had been once, a beautiful barn with bright red painted walls ad fresh hay pouring from the loft. But time and weather had taken its toll. Boards had become warped and soft to the touch and the stench of mold and rust was heavy in the air.

Scootaloo carefully stepped into the decrypted place,  finding herself stepping even lighter here than she would in the old club house. "Gosh...  This place looks pretty banged up."

"What's funny is that this barn isn't even that old. We just never had the time to properly care for it," Applebloom said with a somewhat sad tone. "I think we raised this one when I was a lil' filly- heck maybe back before I got my cutie mark." She jumps on to the decayed seat of a old tractor, and pats her hoof on the wheel. "But there's still lots of good stuff in here. Stuff I can fix, maybe resell, get some extra bits out of... And in the next family reunion, we'll have a whole new barn raising! Out with the old, in with the new."

Scootaloo starts pushing a crate one way to see behind it, causing a cloud of dust to float up. "That could be fun. Maybe we'll see Bab's again."

"Well, I'll see her again," Applebloom says sheepishly . "Sis wants to keep it... a little smaller this year. Just family. But I'll tell her you said hi, okay?''

The young pegasus frowns, and slumps somewhat over the crate. Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.  She just didn't want her there. There would be stares, whispers, and Applebloom would have to explain away why on earth is there a young adult prancing about without a cutie mark. "What. Think I'd be a bad influence on the 'young'ns'?"

Bloom doesn't answer, and instead jumps down from the tractor pretending to not of heard. "Lets get to work now Scoots. We'll just start from here to there..."

They work in almost complete silence. A few times there was a word here and there but nothing more than 'Could you move that over...' 'Where does this go?' and 'Lift it that way'

All the while, Scootaloo couldn't help but feel her body tense over. Whatever used to be between she and Applebloom... it just didn't seem to be there anymore. There was a distance now, and it wasn't going to be closed any time soon. If not, ever. Still a job was a job right? And she had no reason to ditch the first paying job she had just because she couldn't reconnect with her childhood friend.

After hours of hard work and getting her hooves dirty and sore, they move onto the final item. Applebloom thought it'd be best to move the largest item out, last. The wheels were deflated and torn, the metal rusted and caked with dust and smelled like mold. But the young Earth pony insisted that it could be scrapped for parts.

Being an Earth pony, Applebloom had the back of the massive machine, using every bit of her body to push it forward. Scootaloo held on tightly to the front bumper, beating her little wings as she tried to pull it forward and guide it to the exit. 

"It's- agh-! Really heavy!" Scootaloo  shouted as she grinded her foot against the floorboard. Despite their combined efforts, the blasted thing didn't seem to budge at all. But it was giving off a chorus of ugly creaks and groans, causing for both the mares ears to press back on their heads to spare their hearing.

"Just a little more! It'd take too long to take it appart!" Applebloom called out, sweat dripping from her forehead. This was the final stretch and she was absolutely spent. Equestria be damned if she was going to waste another hour in this smelly rotten barn. Beginning to feel frustrated, she changes positions and kicks the back end of the tractor as hard as she could. The metal of where she slammed her hooves caved inwards as the force pushes the thing forward suddenly.

Without any warning, Scootaloo found herself nearly run over when the tractor suddenly lurched forward a foot at her, causing her to fall. "Hey!" She exclaimed angrily, as she tried to pick herself up from the ground. "Watch it will you?!"

"Just step back, I'm gonna try that again!"

Scootaloo tried to do as she said, but to her horror, her tail was wedged under the wheel in a way that she couldn't possibly move from the position she was in. Which was right in the path of the tractor. "W-Wait a m-"

Applebloom didn't seem to hear her and kicked the behemoth again. It lurched again, this time, falling apart in rusted jagged pieces. She blinked in surprise when she heard something like screaming over the sounds of twisting metal and splintering floorboards echoing the old barn. "Scootaloo?!" Worry actually seeped into her tone as she ran around the damage to find the blank flank. Sure she may not be as close to her as she used to but that didn't mean she wanted her to get hurt.

Scootaloo was wedged under front half of the tractor, narrowly voiding getting crushed by the engine. Her wings were pinned tightly her her body, seeming unbroken but the delicate appendages definity got a bit cut up from the jagged bits of steel. "I-It really hurts!" She moaned out, tried to claw her way out.

"You dodo! I told you to get out of the way!" She snapped at her, but still moving quickly to grip her hooves to pull her out from the wreckage. With her strength, she managed to yank the mare out. But in the process, Scootaloo suddenly lets out a blood curdling scream- and it didn't take long for Applebloom to figure out why.

In pulling Scootaloo out in such a rush, her flank had ran under some sharp bit from the wreckage, Whatever had cut into her, cut deeply and ow her entire left leg was coated in dark sticky blood. Horror sinks into the orange mares face as she realized what had become of her flank. Gingerly she tries to touch it but it was throbbing so painfully that just the thought of touching it made her flinch. "O-Oh sweet Celestia... I'm hurt Bloom, I'm hurt real bad..."

Applebloom doesn't move. Her eyes transfixed on the scarred flank.

"Bloom?"

Snapping out of it, she moves over to her side and helps her up. And she laughed. "Well Scoots... looks like you finally got your cutie mark huh?"

Scootaloo freezes. What did her old friend say? She does a double take on her gash, just to be sure. No, of course there wouldn't be a real cutie mark. Her expression turns to stone as she shoves the red headed mare away, wobbling on her legs. "What did you say...?"

"Scoot, chill. It's a joke," Applebloom scoffed. "Lets just get ya to the house and get that patched up- OOF!"

In a sudden burst of hot angry rage, Scootaloo snapped and shoves Applebloom with every bit of her strength. Her face streaked with tears and wings outstretched and quivering. Never in her life had she been more furious. "How dare you, how DARE you say that! she screamed. Adrenaline pumping, the pain in her leg seemed to be completely forgotten about as she advanced on the dazed pony. Never in a million years had she expected Scootaloo to react to any situation with such physical fury.

"Gosh darn it you- stop!" Bloom cries out wildly as she's thrown roughly against a support beam. She glares hatefully at Scootaloo, who for now appeared satisfied with that outburst. "Just what in the hay is wrong with yo-"

Neither of them expected it. For the support beam to be so old, so rotten from the core to just snap from the mere weight of a pony being thrown into it. A beam from above cracked loudly and fell from above,  crushing the young earth pony below. It happened so quickly that Scootaloo couldn't even process what was happening as it was happening.

"...Bloom?" she calls out in a raspy whisper as the dust settled. She crept forward, slowly, carefully as if the slightest movement would somehow make things worse. The beam had fallen on top of Applebloom, crushing her ribs. Her eyes were wide and dull as blood started to drip from her gaping mouth. "...Bloom?

No movement.

Not even a sound.