//------------------------------// // A Filly's Choice // Story: Earning Freedom // by Daxisle //------------------------------// A Filly's Choice Applebloom and Scootaloo sat through another boring lecture by Cheerilee. The Applefilly looked over to see Sweetie with a bored expression, sitting a few desks away from her typical seat. She was still angry, despite the fact Applebloom had tried to convince her that she wasn't trying to break up their friendship. What was she supposed to say though? Scootaloo had sworn her to silence, as did her granny and older brother. Apparently they were going to handle whatever was going on with the filly when she was ready to talk about it, which wasn't any time in the foreseable future as far as the yellow earth foal was concerned. All she wanted was for all of this to go away and for things to go back to the way they were. It had been weeks since the girls had a cutie marks crusaders scheme. Applebloom didn't know what to do with herself, though. She'd thought briefly about confronting Scootaloo's parents herself, but realized she had no clue where the filly lived. Anytime they'd ever gotten together, it was always at Sweetie's or her house. Maybe Cheerilee would know. She was the teacher, the authority, she had to have Scootaloo's address hidden around the somewhere. She sighed and waited for the day to be over. Today's lesson was over advanced basic mathematics: Long division. She knew how to devide long hoof, and could think of a million problems more challenging than the one on the board. Math was always pretty easy for her, just like her brother, but math wouldn't help her figure out how to fix her broken friendships. Sweetie Bell hated her and Scootaloo was still mistrustful after leading Annabelle to her little hiding space in Whitetale Wood. School finally let out and Applebloom dejectedly began packing up her things, still thinking about what she could do to help. "Applebloom, a moment, please." Cheerilee called. Scootaloo stopped and gave the apple filly a glare and a firm shake of the head before walking out the door. The filly had to resist groaning. Great, now Scootaloo was going to think she was ratting her out. "Relax, you're not in trouble, I just noticed you seemed distracted in class for the last few days." Cheerilee said in concern. "Wanna talk about it?" "No' really somethin' Ah'm allowed to talk about." Applebloom replied, rubbing her forleg with a hoof nervously. She didn't want to lie, but she also didn't want to be pressured into answering either. The school teacher pried just a little bit more but settled to respect her privacy, at least in that regard. "I'm asking because I'm worried about you. You, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo used to be best friends, now you all barely talk to each other." "Yea..." "Is there anything I can do to help?" The plum pony asked hopefully. "Not unless ya can tell me where Scootaloo lives." Applebloom gasped and covered her mouth over letting the words slip. Cheerilee nodded in understanding though. "So this is all about Scootaloo, then?" Applebloom scrambled her mind for any kind of explination that wouldn't arouse more suspicion, but couldn't find anything to cover her enormous blunder. "Please don' tell her Ah said nothin'." She eventually settled to beg, that cat was out of the bag, but at least she could appeal for silence. "Scoots is already mad at me as it is, n' Sweetie Bell too. Ah don't want nopony mad that Ah didn't keep mah mouth shut!" "Applebloom, it's okay." Cheerilee cooed, trying to placate the foal. "I wont say anything to either of them, but if there's a really big problem, I need to know about it. It's obvious your distraught about your friendship, and so are they. Your grades have always been the greatest, but all three of your overall grades have begun to slip, Applebloom. If this keeps up, I'll have no choice but to have a Parent teacher Conference with you girls and your guardians. Do you understand?" The farm filly sighed. "Yes Ms. Cheerilee." The plum colored pony nodded, her eyes catching the window. "Thank you, you can go. Send Scootaloo in on your way out, please." Applebloom froze at the implication before groaning again and walking over to the door and opening it. To the pit in her stomach's confirmation, her orange friend was, infact, standing outside the door. "Well, what did she want?" Scootaloo asked as soon as the door closed. She was nervous and irritated. "Wanted tah tell me mah grades were slippin'." Applebloom scowled. "N' she also wants tah talk tah you." "What do you mean she wants to talk to me?! What did you tell her!" The pegasus shot back. "Far as Ah know, yer grades 'er slippin' too." Scootaloo sighed in relief for a moment, but only for a moment before the realization hit in. "Oh, great." She began making way for the door, but a yellow leg obstructed her path. "Scoots, Ah know yer upset 'bout yer parents, but things can't keep goin' like this. Ya need tah open up n' let us help ya." "I don't need your help." Scootaloo hissed, trying to push passed but lacking the strength to out muscle and earth pony. "Let go of me, Applebloom." "Consarnit Scoots, will ya listen to me jest this once! Sweetie Bell's angry at both of us 'cause Ah can't talk to her without ya comin' up n' why Ah can't tell her nothin'. Mah family's doin' everythin' they can fer you, n' were all terrified that one mornin' were gonna wake up n' yer not gonna be there." As per usual, Scootaloo simple remained quiet, letting the farm pony say her piece with no reply. After a few seconds of silence, she finally asked: "Are you done?" "NO!" She almost yelled. "Ah'm tired of bein' kept in the dark and knowin' nothin' 'bout what's wrong! It's drivin' me plum crazy knowin' there's something wrong n' Ah can't do anythin' tah help." Tears began welling in Appleblooms eyes as she looked at her friend, conveying just how helpless she felt and how much she cared. Scootaloo's angry mask began to crack, her lower lip quivering and her body shaking. The filly's breathing began to quicken and she took several deep breaths to steel her nerves before asking if the filly wanted her to leave. Applebloom finally lost her cool and swatted the filly on the nose. "NO AH DON'T WANT YA TO LEAVE YA FEATHERBRAIN IDJUT!" She screamed directly into Scootaloo's shocked expression. "Ah want ya tah tell me somethin', anything! Ah want ya ta talk ta me!" The door to the school burst open. "What's going on out here?" Cheerilee demanded, looking down at the panting foals. Applebloom and Scootaloo held each other's glare, making the brief moment of silence tense enough to feel like a full hour. The former an exacerbated mess of anger and desperation, the latter a mask seething calm. "Nothing." Scootaloo finally said through her teeth. "We were just talking is all. Right?" Applebloom was half tempted to swat her friend over the nose a second time. Scootaloo was just playing her off again, she bore her soul and true feelings, almost to the point of tears to her, and she was just going to act like the two were talking? Ok, fine. Scoots could have it her way. "Yea, just talkin'." She agreed before turning around and begining to walk home. Cheerilee called out for her to come back, but that was the last thing she planned on doing. All she wanted now was to run home and hide under her bed for the next few days... Macintosh looked over the list of things to do and sighed. He knew a lot went into a wedding but all of this? Look at this! The catering itself was almost inhumane! The supplies and services of an official marriage minister weren't too bad, but the decorations and coordination were going to be a nightmare on his pocketbook, even with the excess bits from the tax break. And that didn't even cover all the labor that would go into preparing the grounds itself for both the wedding and the tent city for both families, plus cleaning out the pig pen to get rid of the ungodly smell. Suddenly, teaching Winona to use a doggy little box seemed like an idea he wished he'd indulged when Applebloom had come up with it a year ago. 'I know your grandma and sister okayed some of the wedding details and that you're really excited about it, but shouldn't you be more focused on the funeral before this?' Again with his mind the dragging down of his good mood. 'Quicker you get it done...' The apple pony pushed the list away and grabbed another sheet of paper, he began writing down everything he could think of for the pyre. It was customary to burn a personal item of the pony being laid to rest, so, that would need to be found. Sending out the word of the funeral was another. Aside from he and Spike, he wasn't sure who else would want to come. Well, Uppity of course, he was known at work, so maybe they'd like to come? Alright, what else? Hmm, getting the tree from the Everfree of course. Which would mean another bit of labor in building the fire pit, a task he wasn't going to be able to do alone, so he'd probably ask Spike to help out. If everything worked out, the funeral could be set up within the next two to three days. Mac felt a little bad about wanting to get it over and done with, his friend did deserve to be remembered... but there was just other things going on. He jotted down a few more things as they came to him, but funerals just didn't require as much planning and effort as weddings did, the symbolism of life and death wasn't lost on him, and he chuckled mirthlessly at the coincidence. Heard the front door open and the soft pitter patter of hooves running up the stairs far faster than they should have been, ending with a door slaming hard enough to make the entire house shake slightly. Applebloom knew better than to run in the house and slam the door, which meant she was upset. And when a sibling was upset, it was the Apple way to offer comfort. The stallion found his way to her room in short order, passing by a worried Granny Smith on his way up, and knocked gently on the door. No response, he knocked again and called out to his sister. "Go away." She groaned from within. It was rare Applebloom ever acted in defiance or rejection to her family, so whatever happened must have been terrible if she was locking herself away. Taking a minute to think his options over, Mac decided that he'd not honor the request and knocked again. "Go away!" Applebloom repeated much more loudly. The knock wasn't for an invite, but a warning that he'd be coming in anyway. He poked his head in felt his heart break at the sight. On her bed, his sister was crying and sniffling, her hooves covering her eyes and her usually perky ribbon deflated around her head. She looked up at him, sniffled and turned away. He approached and sat on the bed, placing a comforting hoof onto her side. Mac wasn't too good with words for comfort, so he let his action speak for him. Her body tightened around herself, making her into a pathetic yellow, red and pink ball of misery. His touch only spurring her to cry even harder. After a few moments of her continued now uncontrolled crying, Mac sighed and readied himself to leave. It hurt to hear her like this, and as much as he wanted to be there, he was too close to tears himself just by being near her. His hoof lifted and the filly immediately turned and grabbed it, clutching it to her chest for all he was worth. It was a strange thing, how the comfort of a filly worked. How they latched onto their elder for reassurance but gave just as much affirmation as they received. Her openness warmed Mac's heart and he pulled her close, giving her a few moments before asking her why she was so upset. He wasn't shocked to find the cause was her pegasus friend, the two had a fight about something, something big enough to drive his sister to tears. Mac felt a little resentment for that, he knew Scoots had problems, but there was no reason for her to hurt Applebloom like this. Through it all, he caught bits and peices of the story, she'd smacked Scootaloo across the snoot and something about Scootaloo not caring. It didn't make sense to him, but it didn't need to right now. He just needed to be there make sure his sister felt better. Another knock came from the door and both turned to find a very guilty looking orange pegasus filly standing there. Mac tried to keep the scowl off of his face, but he couldn't help it. Those who hurt his family earned his scorn. "I'll be leaving now." She said quietly. "I... I didn't know I was causing you this much trouble and pain. Just let me grab my stuff and I'll go." She slipped into the room, her head ducked and tale between her legs. Mac felt like he should stop her, that he should say something, but he didn't. Not out of a conscious decision, just... the words wouldn't filter through his mouth without some kind of condemnation that would only serve to push the pegasus out the door faster. "Scoots..." "No Applebloom, I need to leave. Look at yourself, if I'd known this was what I was putting you through, I'd have never come here at all." The filly said with absolution, begining to roll up her sleeping bag. "You guys have been nothing but nice to me, and I... I can't keep making you cry and hurting you like this." "N' ya don't think leaving now n' her havin' no idea where you are or how yer doin'll make her feel better?" Macintosh growled. Scootaloo froze just as the sleeping bag was wrapped up, facing away from both of the Apples, her body began quivering with emotions again, but she steeled her nerves with a few calming breaths. Though, when she spoke, the emotion was still very much evident. "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused, but it'll be a lot better if I just go." "Go where? Scootaloo? Where are ya gonna go? Back to the woods? Livin' with the bugs n' the animals!" Applebloom called. Again, the pegasus froze, repeating the ritual of her body begining to tremble and breathing to regain her composure. "I'll be fine, I survived out there for months on my own." "That doesn't mean ya should!" The farm filly counted, leaping down from the bed and pushing forward to her friend. "Yea? Well that's the only option I've got." "No! It ain't!" "Yes, Appblebloom, it is." Her anger bubbling to climax, Applebloom grabbed her friend and tackled her to the ground. "No. It. Ain't! Where ya should be is with yer family! LIVIN' IN A CUMFY HOUSE!" "WELL I CAN'T DO THAT!" "WHY!?" "BECAUSE MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!" Silence, absolute silence overtook the entire house from the admission. The only thing Mac could hear was the sound of the two fillies below him, panting heavily as the truth begun to sink in. "Dead?" Applebloom whispered. "Dead." Scootaloo affirmed, her chest heaving with barely contained emotion. Appleblooms face melted from shock to sadness as she looked down at her friend. "Why didn' ya-" "Don't." Scootaloo, covered her eyes with a foreleg and rolled over. "Don't look at me like that." The farm filly backed up, giving Scootaloo some space, her breathing exercises didn't help this time, and the young filly began to sob. "Look at you li-" "Like that! Like some kind of weak and helpless foal!" She shouted, getting to her hooves. "I hate that look, that's the same look the doctors gave me when they told me what happened. Pity, I don't want your pity, alright. That's why I didn't tell you." "Ya didn't tell yer friends yer parents had died... because of yer tom foolin' pride?!" Applebloom asked, completely flabbergasted. Scootaloo sniffed through her nose, her desperation redoubling with indignity before going into a tirade about how her pride was all she had left. How the survivors of her family on both sides wanted absolutely nothing to do with her, or her with them. She'd spent most of all of her time trying to be awesome and gain respect, ponies didn't respect ponies they looked down upon and the certainly wouldn't think she was awesome if they felt sorry for her. The name 'Rainbow Dash' came up a bit, but Mac was too shocked to hear any more. This was all because of a filly's silly notion of pride and independence. Her living alone in the woods, thinning out, suffering the winter alone, it was all because she didn't want others to look down on her. It was almost unreal to him. "... -so you tell me, do I look awesome now that you know my parents are dead? Or do you just pity me?" Scootaloo finsihed her rant, doing everything she could to keep the tears from flowing. Applebloom took a moment to think before shaking her head. "Ah'm sorry ya lost yer parents, but Ah think yer bein' an idjiot fer tryin' ta run away from ponies who just wanna help." "Help? I don't need your help and I don't need your pity." She snarled, finishing rolling up her sleeping bag and slipping its strap over her chest. "I'm outta here." "No your not!" Appelbloom cried, standing in her friend's path. "Yer not leavin' her 'til we finish talkin'." Scootaloo tried to push passed but again, her way was bared by the earth ponies superior strength. "Yer stayin' right her 'til ya come to yer darn senses!" Scootaloo gave her a glare and mentioned how she could just as easily sneak out while everypony was a sleep, and make her escape then, or just as easily not come back from school. They'd miss her attendence if she was kept at the house against her will, and Applebloom couldn't keep tabs on her all the time. To which, Applebloom countered by saying they'd just go to her camp ground and bring her right back to the farm. "Yea? Well maybe I wont go to Whitetale again, there are hundreds of cities and towns in Equestria I could live in. I don't have to stay in Ponyville." Applebloom's eyes shot wide, she wouldn't leave Ponyville for real, would she? She might, she'd already lived out in the wilderness for a few months, so it wasn't really that much of a strech for her to leave the small town altogether. Scootaloo humphed and walked by the applefilly, making way for the bitter cold outside. "Y'all think it'll be easy as all that?" Macintosh intoned, finally finding something to say. The pegasus stopped and stared back at him expectantly. "Ah've seen ya workin' fer Carrot Top a couple o' times n' gettin' paid in carrots. Guess that was yer primary food, am Ah righ'?" Scootaloo's eyes narrowed and she looked away. Mac stood from his place and circled around until he was in between the door and the foal he was about to scold. He leaned down to eye level with her. "Ah've been out there, Scootaloo. Ah've lived out in tha' wilderness. The real wilderness. Out there, there ain't no clean water ta drink, no stands ta work at fer food er bits. There ain't nothin' out there but nature, n' nature don't take no pity on nopony." "There was a couple o' times Ah was afraid me 'n Spike would starve ta death, even aftah we'd spent a good month or so out there. Seachin' fer food, not knowin what was poisonous er not, seeing animals with venom enough ta kill ya in half an hour. If ya think Whitetale wood is anything campared ta the true wilds o' Equetria, yer in for a mighty nasty surprise." He gently placed his hoof unto Scootaloo's chin and turned her to look at him. "The only reason Ah ain't dead is cause there was a pony who knew how to survive travilin' with me. He's gone nao cause his foolish pride kept him from seekin' help when he needed it. Ah let him down when he needed me, n' Ah'll live with that th' rest o' mah life." He turned her face to look at Applebloom. "Mah sister's doin' everythin' she can to stop ya from makin' some pretty dumb decisions fer yeself. If'n ya leave now and do get hurt or, Celestia forbid, killed, she'll blame herself the rest o' her life too. If'n ya aren't wantin' to hurt her, you've gotta funny way goin' about it." Mac lowed his hoof and stepped out of the doorway. "If you wanna leave, Ah wont stop ya. Before you make that kinda decision though, Ah'd suggest givin' it some consideration. Righ' now, ya gotta roof ovah yer head, food in yer belly, an a bug free, warm and protected place to sleep. Go back outside, n' ya may not have to deal with a little pity from us, but you'll also be losin' everythin' Ah've just mentioned. Think about that." He gently closed the door, leaving two fillies alone. He wouldn't show it, and he suspected Applebloom would probably tell her later on, but he could empathize with her. The entire family could. He'd lost his parents back when Applejack was around her age. She tried to act tough and strong too, pretending that their passing didn't hurt like the dickons, but Mac knew better. His world was shattered, he stopped believing in alot of things when that happened, questioning why life was so cruel as to take ponies he loved and needed so dearly. Applebloom was much younger, she could only remember bits and pieces of ma and pa, but AJ and he remembered them both much more clearly. He knew that those who put on the bravest face were the ones who hurt the most...