//------------------------------// // The Hospital // Story: Flying Was Never The Answer // by TheLunaRainbow //------------------------------// Scootaloo rubbed her back leg. The stitches itched like Tartarus. Nurses rushed passed her, all carrying a different array of items. Whenever she itched her leg, a nurse would shoot her a glance. She didn't want to be here. This is where Rainbow Dash was. I want to go back to the cottage. I hate it here. She didn't know where Fluttershy had gone. She wanted the Pegasus back. Whenever she was around, Scootaloo felt safe. Here was not safe. This is where her victim was. The one she had nearly killed. Scootaloo was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't see the small group of ponies walking towards her with solemn looks. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Twilight, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. As they approached, the mares plastered warm smiles across their faces but the two fillies just ran towards their friend, jumped onto the cushion and hugged her. Scootaloo didn't respond. "Hey Scootaloo! We were so worried! We thought you had been killed! You're ok though?" Sweetie Belle asked innocently. Scootaloo shrugged and looked down at the floor. Silence filled the room. "This place is real fancy, ain't it?" Apple Bloom said, breaking the awkward atmosphere. Nopony spoke. Looking up, Scootaloo locked eyes with Pinkie Pie. The mare glared at her, her eyes sunken and filled with emotion. She wasn't angry at Scootaloo but the filly didn't know that. Pinkie's mane was limp and dull, hanging over her right eye. She didn't resemble the happy pony that she was a few days ago. The real Pinkie had fallen into a deep abyss, unable to escape until all her friend's were together once more. She hates me. I bet she blames me for Rainb...the incident. She's right to hate me. I did do it. I pushed her. It's my fault. "Scootaloo? Are you going to say anything? We were all called here and they might let us see Rainbow Da-" Twilight started before she was thrown to the floor. On top of her stood Scootaloo, who was panting heavily. Shock registered across the alicorn's face before Scootaloo managed to choke out what she wanted to say. "No. No. I can't see her...no, I can't. Please no. I don't want to. YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" Her words were met with hooves pulling her off of Twilight and kind, purple eyes looking into hers. Bringing her into a hug, Twilight stroked her mane. This gesture was not returned as Scootaloo wriggled out of her grip and shrank away from the group. A crestfallen Twilight stood back up and glanced at her friends. Applejack slowly walked towards the trembling filly and sat down on the wooden floor so she was at eye-level with her. "Sugarcube, nopony here is gonna make you do anything you don't want to. Y'all understand?" she said gently. Scootaloo nodded and scuttled back onto the cushion. "So" Rarity began. "Where's Fluttershy?" Twilight looked around and spotted the reception desk, tucked into a corner by the door and began trotting towards it. Once she stood in front of the wooden desk, she saw the receptionist sitting, her face obscured by a magazine. "Excuse me but could I fin-" The receptionist moved the magazine, revealing the scared face of Poppy Seed. She rose from her seat and backed away from Twilight, muttering apologies. "Oh, Poppy Seed...erm....I was just...I just want to know where Fluttershy is, if that's alright?" Poppy Seed was alarmed and her forehead was damp with sweat. She was terrified of the mare standing opposite her, scared that if the front desk wasn't there, the princess would surely strike her down with some kind of spell. Poppy knew all this sounded irrational but only she had seen the pure hatred and anger in the alicorn's eyes the night before. "F-Fluttershy? She is in...she's in Room 2C. Second floor. Third d-door on the r-right" she squeaked before scampering off in the direction of the staff room. "That wasn't awkward at all" Twilight deadpanned, turning to share Fluttershy's whereabouts but stopping in her tracks when she came horn to horn with Rarity. "What in Equestria was that?!" Twilight tilted her head to the side, confused. "Excuse me?" "You heard me! Where's the apology that poor mare deserves from the way you treated her last night? Twilight, I know you aren't the best in social situations but don't tell me you've forgotten to show other ponies respect?" All the heated words Twilight had shared yesterday came flooding back and she looked down at the tiled floor, like a filly who'd just been caught misbehaving. "Honestly, Twilight! I thought becoming princess would sort out your manners slightly!" Rarity added, trotting back towards the others. Twilight waited a few seconds before following. As she came back, everypony's eyes turned towards hers, waiting for information. Clearing her throat, Twilight shared the news and everypony quickly got to their hooves, trotting towards the stairs. Except from one filly. She refused to leave her cushion, not wanting to move an inch. "C'mon, Scootaloo! Don't you want to see Fluttershy?" Sweetie Belle questioned. Scootaloo shook h head in reply. "Ah'm sure she's fine, Scootaloo. Besides, it's not like you did anythin' to her" Apple Bloom said, standing beside her fellow Crusaders. "That's where you're wrong, Apple Bloom. I was the one with the knife. I was the one that brought it down. I was the one that hurt her. Just like I hurt..." Scootaloo's voice trailed off and she looked down at her stitches. Applejack stood forwards and took Scootaloo's hoof, bringing her up into a standing position. "Sugarcube, you're frettin' 'bout nothin'. Fluttershy only received a little scratch and's only here 'cause they wanted to speak with her 'bout the...accident" Applejack tipped her hat slightly, trying to stop any tears from flowing in front of the fillies. It seemed to work and she adjusted it so it was back in it's usual position above her head. Scootaloo nodded, doubtful that anypony actually thought that all of this wasn't her fault. But, she decided against staying in the cold waiting room and followed her friends up the stairs. *** Fluttershy sat silently, staring out of the window at the clouds outside. They sat there, in the brilliant blue sky, white as snow but warm as blanket during winter. They seemed to calm, so peaceful. So content. So different to Fluttershy. She couldn't block out the two ponies sitting in chairs across from her, one stallion, one mare, both Pegasi. They had been asking questions for ages, about what had happened the night before. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember anything apart from screaming, tears, darkness and Rainbow's contorted body, lying in the dirt. A chill ran down her spine as she realised how much the hole Rainbow had been lying in resembled a grave. "Miss Shy, please, tell us something about what you witnessed last night" the mare prodded. If she was tired of asking the same question over and over again, she sure did a good job of hiding it. The stallion had been silent the entire discussion, if you could call it that, only making a sound when scribbling down notes onto his clipboard. "I'm really sorry, but I can't remember anything" she whispered, feeling guilty of wasting the mare and stallion's time. "Surely there's something. Anything at all. Even the tiniest scrap of information will help us figure out what exactly happened last night. Fluttershy picked at a piece of foam that was poking out from the fabric of her chair. The stallion seemed irritated by this so she stopped and resumed staring out of the window. She didn't want to tell them anything. They'd just be frustrated with the lack of information. What Fluttershy could remember seemed useless to anypony but she just couldn't remember anything about the accident. The memories of the night before were just of the rescue and bringing Scootaloo back to her cottage. She was about to once again tell the mare that she couldn't remember a thing when the door burst open and her friends rushed in, smothering her in a huge hug. She smiled broadly and hugged them back, but her smile faltered when she saw Scootaloo creep in, flanked by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, who shot her worried looks. Fluttershy pulled herself from the embrace and trotted towards Scootaloo, who visibly flinched when she came near. "Hey. How's your leg doing? I was really worried that you had seriously hurt yourself!" "It's fine...nothing I don't deserve" Please not this again thought Fluttershy. "Scootaloo, please. Stop attacking yourself! Please..." the Pegasus pleaded. Scootaloo shifted uncomfortably and stared at the carpet, not meeting Fluttershy's eye. The mare, who had been silent during the entrance of the other ponies stood up and tapped Twilight on the shoulder. "Excuse me, Princess, but we were in the middle of something before you interrupted" she said, not a hint of anger in her voice. Twilight smiled awkwardly and took a step back, gesturing towards the door, her wings springing up in embarrassment. "Oh, I'm really sorry about that, the receptionist told us that we could...well, she told us that we could see Fluttershy and I didn't realise that you were busy, don't worry we'll leave-" Rarity stepped forward and pushed Twilight back with her hoof. Gosh, that pony and social situations! "What my friend Twilight here is trying to say is that the lovely receptionist," Rarity said, turning to glare at Twilight, who had suddenly found a deep interest in Applejack's hat "only told us that Fluttershy was in this room, not providing us with any information about what was happening in here at this moment in time. Do not blame the poor dear, she was simply in awe of the princess" Now, Twilight had a book in front of her. Rarity sighed, pulling it from Twilight's magical grasp and pointing at the cover. "Twilight, I didn't know you were interested in this kind of stuff" she teased. Everypony turned to look at the title. 'Eyes and Muffins-An Adventure' "Derpy told me that it's quite a good read" Twilight spoke up but quickly quietened again as Rarity flipped through the pages and began to read some of the text aloud. "My mum told me that muffins were good and I thought that I could bake some and I did and they were amazing and I sold them at my school's fair with my friend, as you know him, Dr Hooves. He thought that they was amazing and we made loads of bits but then a mean kid stole them and I cried but then Hooves punched them straight in the jaw and that was pretty funny because they had teased me about my eyes before" "What a catch!" Rarity replied, sarcasm dripping from her lips. Twilight pouted and sent the book back to her library. The mare's expression stayed neutral but she let out a small sigh. "You can stay if you remain silent. You could provide us with any information about the incident, as Miss Shy here seems to be suffering from a form of memory loss, caused by the shock of Miss Dash's accident and the trouble earlier" The stallion motioned towards a small cluster of chairs at the back of the room. They all trotted towards the chairs and sat down without a sound. Sweetie Belle had to guide Scootaloo from her seat. The mare turned back to Fluttershy, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't like the way that the mare looked at her. "Miss Shy, are you completely sure you don't know anything about the accident?" "Yes! How many times?! I'm so sorry, I can't remember. All...all I can see in my mind is...Rainbow's...my best f-friends body...lying on the ground...b-b-broken" Fluttershy collapsed into a heap and began to sob, holding herself tight. The two ponies remained stoic but Fluttershy's friends all reacted with a mixture of emotions. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gasped, Twilight looked around frantically, Rarity eyes softened and Applejack ran forward to comfort the meek Pegasus. Pinkie Pie didn't move. The only display of emotion was a single tear sliding down her cheek. Scootaloo began to hyperventilate. She didn't want to think about it, she didn't want these ponies troubling Fluttershy, she didn't want her friends to treat her like some kind of mental patient, she didn't want to wait around for news on Rainbow's health. She didn't want any of this to happen. So, she stepped forward. "It's me you need to be talking to, not her. I can remember everything perfectly. And I know what happened to..." Her voice cracked. "I did it. I p-pushed her off the c-cloud. It was me"