A Broken Bond
Chapter 2
An MLP:FiM Fanfic by Rated PonyStar
Edited by Midnight Shadow
Disclaimer: I do not own MLP: FIM. Those belong to Hasbro and Hub.
***
Never in her short life had Apple Bloom felt more like trash than she did now. Not only had she betrayed the trust of one of her best friends, but she destroyed something that was extremely important to her. All she wanted to do was ride the scooter and in the end, not only did it get destroyed, she might have also destroyed her friendship with Scootaloo.
Yesterday’s events still played in her head over and over again; from her crash landing, to Scootaloo’s yelling, to Sweetie Belle looking at her with eyes of disappointment.
She’d messed up, big time.
Last night, she hadn’t got any sleep and spent most of the time crying. Her family noticed her sad behavior and questioned it, but she hadn’t told them anything. As she walked through town, she tried to figure out what she could do to correct what had happened between her and Scootaloo.
Fixing the scooter seemed like the most obvious one, but it was seriously damaged and Apple Bloom had no idea how to fix a scooter. She wasn’t going to try going blind on this one, unlike other previous attempts to fix things, not with what was at stake.
Her thoughts were interrupted with a loud rumbling noise from her stomach. She saw an outdoor salad café nearby and decided get a bite. Walking up to the counter, she waited for service only to be surprised when she saw Scootaloo’s mother come forward.
“Apple Bloom?” she said upon seeing the filly, “Is that you?”
“Um...hi there. Ah’ll just be going.” Apple Bloom said, turning away.
“Wait! I need to talk to you.” Scootaloo’s mother before she yelled to the back, “I’m taking a break!”
“Alright, just be back in thirty, Olive Garden! You know this place falls apart without you.”
Olive Garden quickly walked over to Apple Bloom, “Thank goodness I found you. It’s Scootaloo. Ever since yesterday, she’s been up in her room crying. I’ve tried to talk to her, but she's keeps her door locked and she won’t say anything. She won't even come down to eat. Apple Bloom, what’s going on?”
Apple Bloom felt her guilt deepen upon hearing about Scootaloo. She started to trickle tears from her eyes, “It’s mah fault…it’s all mah fault…”
Although surprised, Olive quickly nuzzled the crying filly, “Hey, it’s okay. Why don’t we talk about it?”
She led Apple Bloom to a bench where the two of them sat.
“Tell me what happened?” she asked.
Apple Bloom told her about the scooter, how she crashed it, how Scootaloo hated her and how she felt guilty for what happened. After hearing the story, a sad yet understanding look appeared on Olive’s face as she muttered, “I should have known…”
“Ah’m really sorry about everythin’.” Apple Bloom apologized again, “Ah didn’t think she would be so angry. Ah mean it was just a scooter, right?”
Olive looked at Apple Bloom with surprise, “You mean…you don’t know? She never told you?”
“Told what?”
Olive Garden sighed as she looked up into the sky, her eyes filled with sorrow, “Did my daughter ever tell you what happened to her father? My husband, Storm Ride?”
Apple Bloom shook her head; Scootaloo never said anything about her dad. Apple Bloom assumed that he worked away from home, but something was telling her that it wasn’t going to be the case.
“That scooter…was the last gift my daughter ever got from her father before…before we lost him.” Olive said with great difficulty.
Apple Bloom’s eyes widen.
“It was three years ago…”
***
“Happy Birthday, Scootaloo!” both parents shouted across the table. A much younger Scootaloo looked around her with delight. There were streamers, balloons, and a huge chocolate cake in front of her.
“Go on, make a wish!” her father, Storm Ride, said with a smile.
Taking a deep breath, she blew all the candles out as her parents clapped their hooves. “So what did I get?! Where are my presents!?” Scootaloo asked eagerly.
“Hold on, kiddo. First, let your mom give you hers while I go get mine.” Storm Ride said as he walked away. Olive Garden took her gift from underneath the table and handed it to Scootaloo. Taking it with anticipation, she ripped the wrapping apart until she gasped.
“The new issue of Captain Starhooves and the Space Pegasus team?!” Scootaloo shouted as she held the comic in her hands, “This is awesome! I’ve been waiting all month to get this!”
The two hugged as Storm Ride came back, wheeling something in. Upon seeing it, Scootaloo dropped the comic as her mind went blank.
“Tah dah! Your very own scooter!” Storm Ride said showing it off. Scootaloo rushed forward with her face filled with excitement as she carefully felt it with her hooves.
“Wow!” Scootaloo said, but looked confused, “But dad. I’m a pegasus. Why would I need a scooter if I’m going to fly someday?”
“When I was your age, my family moved from Cloudsdale to Ponyville. It was kind of odd, being the new kid, and my wings weren’t strong enough to fly yet. So my parents got me a scooter and I was able to use my wings to go really fast by flapping them as fast as possible. It was amazing and I had so much fun with my friends.. I want you to experience the same feelings I had so that when you start school, you and your new friends can play around with it and have a great time.”
Scootaloo then got on the scooter, but almost fell off, “Whoa. Will you teach me, daddy?”
Storm Ride nuzzled his daughter and said, “Of course, Scoot. I promise to teach you tomorrow. Now let’s have some of that cake!”
“Yay!” the filly shouted as the family gathered around the table.
***
“Are you sure you can’t do this without me? I promised my daughter…” Storm Ride said to Firefly, a female pegasus with a turquoise coat, pink mane, and two yellow lightning bolts as her cutie mark. She had shown up on their front door pleading for his help.
“You’re the best when it comes to dealing with storms and this one is coming from the Everfree Forest, meaning it’s going to be a big one.” Firefly said with absolute worry.
“What about that new mare? Rainbow Dash? I hear she’s really good.” Storm Ride said.
“Out visiting family in Cloudsdale. Don’t know when she’ll be back.”
Storm Ride looked worried, “How much damage is estimated if the storm reaches Ponyville?”
“Estimates are that many of the houses will be damaged, trees will be ripped, and if some ponies aren’t careful there might be casualties.”
Storm Ride nearly cursed. This was supposed to be his day off, but of course, something had to go wrong.
“Daddy! I’m ready!” Scootaloo came out with a helmet on her head, her smile stretching all over her face.
“Scoot…” Her father looked at her and then at a pleading Firefly. Sighing with regret, he walked over to Scootaloo and said, “Scoot, I’m sorry. We’re going to have to cancel the lessons today.”
“Huh? Why?”
With a sad smile, Storm Ride answered, “Daddy’s got to go to work for an emergency. A big nasty storm is coming from the Everfree Forest and if I don’t stop it, then ponies might get hurt.”
Scootaloo shivered at the mentioning of the forest. She heard terrible things about that place like if you went in you might as well buy the farm right then and there.
“Will, you teach me when you come back?” Scootaloo asked with pleading eyes. Storm Ride smiled and nuzzled his daughter, “Of course I will. Just tell your mother I might be late for dinner, okay?”
“Okay! Now go kick that storm in the rear!” Scootaloo ordered.
“Yes, ma’am!” Storm Ride shouted before heading out with Firefly. Scootaloo ran out and watched her father fly off as she shouted, “See you soon, daddy!”
“You too, kiddo!”
***
Scootaloo waited all night for her father to come home, but he didn’t come back. Not even when her mother made his favorite salad for dinner.
She sat in the living room with her scooter next to her, waiting for her dad. She didn’t care if they couldn’t try out the scooter because of the night time. She just wanted her dad to come back. It was almost her bed time and she was getting really sleepy when she heard the doorbell ring and jumped up in excitement.
Her dad was home!
Rushing over to the door she opened it and, to her disappointment, it was only a damp Firefly with grief in her eyes.
“Where’s daddy?” asked Scootaloo, but this only made Firefly shed a few tears.
“Is…is your mother home?” Firefly asked.
“Firefly? What’s wrong?” Olive Garden asked as she came to the door from the hall.
“Oh, Olive…I...” Firefly started, but Olive felt a sense of dread up her back as she told her daughter to head upstairs to her room.
“But mommy…”
“Please, Scootaloo…this is adult talk.” her mother said with a serious voice, but there was a slight feeling of fear in it.
Scootaloo nodded and went upstairs, but stopped at the top to listen closely.
“….what happened?”
“The storm…it was too strong…we all tried to stop it, but it was as if we were taking on a raging dragon. We couldn’t break it up, so we tried to move it away from Ponyville. It worked, but…near the end…there was a lightning bolt and…Storm Ride…it hit him…”
Scootaloo’s eyes widen.
“…he fell...”
Now they were beginning to tear up.
“… by the time we saw…he…he’s…”
“NO!!!”
Scootaloo rushed down, to their surprise, and screamed at Firefly, “HE’S NOT DEAD! HE PROMISED HE WOULD COME! HE’S NOT DEAD!!”
“Scootaloo!” Olive shouted trying to control her daughter.
“He’s not dead! Daddy’s not…he’s not…” Scootaloo just cried. Her mother held her as tight as a terrible truth came to her.
Her dad was never coming home.
***
After the funeral, everypony that attended headed to the reception where ponies, mostly pegasi, dressed in black stood around talking about Storm Ride and how he was going to be missed. Olive, also dressed in black, tried her best to be social, but the impact of her being a widow and having to raise a child alone was still fresh in her mind.
“Olive...” said a male brown coated pegasus. He had a bright yellow mane and an outline of an eagle as his cutie mark, “I am so sorry. Storm was a good pony and a good friend.”
They hugged as Olive said, “Thank you, Flyren. He always said you were a good boss to work for.”
“Listen, if there is anything you or Scootaloo need. Just ask and the weather patrol will help. You guys are a part of our family no matter what and we always look after our own.”
Olive nodded, “By the way, have you seen my daughter?”
“Last I saw her; she was outside in the back. Don’t know why though.” Flyren said before Olive walked away and went to her backdoor where she saw her daughter. She was trying to keep still on the scooter while pushing it in order to move.
A determined Scootaloo started to flap her wings and she moved a bit, but soon fell down.
Scootaloo shouted in frustration as she got up and tried again.
Olive just watched.
***
“She never stopped practicing. Every day I would see her work on her scooter and get better and better at it. Now do you see why she loves it so much? It was the last thing her father ever gave her. To her, it’s the last piece of him she has left to remember him by before we lost him.” Olive said, finishing her story.
Apple Bloom was shocked, “But…why didn’t she ever say this? If she just told me…”
“I think she doesn’t want to remember the sorrow that comes with mentioning it. We haven’t spoken about her father since his death. A part of me wanted to help her since then, but I was afraid of opening those wounds that she held in her heart.” Olive said, “As well as those in mine.”
“Now ah’ve opened them and she hates me.” Apple Bloom said, feeling like dirt.
“She doesn’t hate you and neither do I. Even though what you did was wrong I can see that you feel sorry about it.” Olive said as she got up and said, “I’ll talk to her, I promise. Thank you for telling me all this Apple Bloom.”
Apple Bloom didn’t say anything as she watched Scootaloo’s mother walk away. Upon hearing the whole story now, it all made sense why Scootaloo didn’t want anypony to ride that scooter. If her father or mother gave her that scooter then she would have been the same.
She felt remorseful for Scootaloo and understood, in a sense, what she was going through. Her mother died giving birth to her and her father died before that from an illness. She never knew either of them when they were alive or when they died, but the pain of knowing that you’ll never see your parents in your life still hurt her sometimes.
“Ah got to make this right again…somehow…” Apple Bloom said as she walked the route home was.
Along the way, however, she noticed a workshop she had never seen before and her eyes widen.
The store had a huge sign that said: GRAND OPENING WEEK: Mr. Fix-it’s Fixings! Fixes everything to their original form!
A feeling of hope started to boil in Apple Bloom’s chest as entered the shop and saw dozens of broken objects ranging from stoves to plates all lined up on shelves on one side of the shop while the other side had things that looked brand new. Near the counter, a male purple coated unicorn with a black mane and a hammer and nail cutie mark was looking at a broken old rusty tea kettle with his monocle.
He closed his eyes as his horn started to glow along with the tea kettle. Apple Bloom then gasped as she saw the cracks and rust of the tea kettle started to disappear while the paint slowly looked cleaner and fresher. Within minutes, the once old and rusty tea kettle transformed into one that looked like it was fresh from the factory.
“Another one bites the dust.” the unicorn said as he levitated it onto a shelf before noticing Apple Bloom, “Ah, hello there little filly. Welcome to Ponyville’s newest and, soon to be, biggest workshop! Mr. Fix-it’s Fixings! I’m Mr. Fix-it and anything that is broken I can fix back to its original self.”
“Ya’ll mean ya’ll can take broken things and fix it just like that?” an eager Apple Bloom asked.
Mr. Fix-it laughed, “My dear, I do more than that. Any unicorn can learn a simple repairing spell, but what I do is more advanced. A repairing spell just fix’s any object up, but that’s just like putting things together with tape. Some things like rust, decay, and extreme amounts of damage can’t be fixed with the repairing spell. Instead, I use a restoration spell to bring the object back to its original form. Back to when it was first made like with the tea kettle you just saw moments ago.”
“Can ya’ll use that fancy spell to fix a scooter!” Apple Bloom immediately asked.
“A scooter? Sure, just how damaged is it?”
“Wait a minute, Ah’ll be back!”
Apple Bloom ran all the way home to get the pieces of the scooter she kept after yesterday. Taking them in a bag she arrived back at Mr. Fix-it’s in ten minutes and dumped the pieces on his counter.
He looked at each piece carefully, “Well, this is quite a damaged piece of work. What did you do? Slam this thing upon a sea of rocks?”
“Well…”
Mr. Fix-it shook his head, “Doesn’t matter. A repair spell won’t work on this thing, far too damaged. Luckily, I can fix it…”
“YES!” shouted Apple Bloom.
“…for a price.”
“Huh?”
“You didn’t think I did all this for free, did you?” asked Mr. Fix-it, “I run a business and I won’t lie, the prices for my services are high.”
Apple Bloom gave a defeated look.
“But I suppose I could lower my price to two hundred bits.” Mr. Fix-it said.
“Two hundred!? That’s a lot!” shouted Apple Bloom.
“Sorry, my little pony. That’s the way things go. Don’t worry; I’m sure you’ll find the money.” Mr. Fix-it said as he handed her the scooter, “Now I think its best you be on your way, I hope to see you soon.”
Apple Bloom put the scooter in the bag and walked away, wondering how she was going to get two hundred bits.
She had thirty bits saved in her piggy bank and she got an allowance of five bits every Wednesday and Sunday for doing chores. It would be a long time before she got to two hundred with only that as her source of income.
“Ah’ve got to ask for more work! That way they’ll give me more money!” Apple Bloom reasoned as she made her way home.
***
“Put her steady right there, Big Macintosh. Don’t let any of them apples fall out the cart.” Applejack ordered as she directed her brother where to put the apple cart. Big Macintosh slowly backed up near the entrance to the cellar before lowering the carriage gently.
“Phew, nice work out there big brother. Let’s see if we can get all these apples in before dinner.” Applejack said before hearing her name being called from a distance. Turning around she saw Apple Bloom running as fast as her hooves could take her. She soon arrived in front of her sister while catching her breath.
“Apple Bloom, where’s the fire girl?” Applejack asked, “Ya’ll look like ya’ll came running from a marathon.”
After calming down, Apple Bloom quickly asked, “Applejack! Ah want to have double…no triple amount of chores!”
Needless to say, both of her older siblings looked shocked and stared at each other in confusion.
“Uh, Apple Bloom? Don’t ya’ll always complain about having to do the chores even though ya’ll only got a few?” asked Applejack.
“Yes, but if ah do more would ya’ll give me more money for my allowance? Ah’ll do whatever is needed! Paint the barn, give Granny Smith her sponge bath, feed the pigs, buck apples, ah’ll even clean the outhouse!” Apple Bloom begged.
Suspicious of this, Applejack then asked, “Now what’s all this about, Apple Bloom? Why is getting money so important now?”
Apple Bloom was reluctant to answer, but Applejack was giving her a glare that told her it was best not to lie.
“Ah…ah accidently broke Scootaloo’s scooter…” she replied and proceeded to tell her siblings the truth. They weren’t happy about it when she finished.
“Ya’ll stole from one of your best friends and broke it!? How could you Apple Bloom!? Didn’t we teach ya’ll better!?” Applejack shouted with fury. Even Big Macintosh was shaking his head with both anger and disappointment.
“Don’t ya’ll think ah feel bad!? Don’t ya’ll think ah keep hearing Scootaloo telling me how much she hates me in my head!? Don’t ya’ll think ah feel so guilty learning that her father gave that scooter to her and died before she could learn to ride it from him!? Don’t ya’ll think ah’ve been regretting and wishing ah didn’t do it every minute? Ah want to fix all this, big sis! Ah want to make it up!”
Apple Bloom looked down at the ground in shame as Applejack slowly calmed down and sighed, “Ah’m really disappointed in ya’ll Apple Bloom…but ah understand that ya’ll feel sorry.”
She hugged her sister as Apple Bloom just whispered, “Ah just want to make things right...”
“Ah know. Listen, Ah’ll give ya’ll some extra chores and ah will increase your allowance, but ya’ll get paid only at the end of every week from now until ya’ll get that scooter fixed from this Fix-it fellow. Ya hear?” Applejack said as Apple Bloom smiled and nodded.
“Good. Now get on going to the outhouse, it needs cleaning.” Applejack said as she sympathetically watched her sister head to the direction of the outhouse.
As she made her way to her new chore, Apple Bloom started to count in her head the amount of time and money it would take to fix the scooter with her new chore schedule. In the end, she knew that even with the increase in her allowance it wouldn’t be for weeks till she got to two hundred. She needed to find another way to make more money.
Even if it meant working till her body broke down, she would find a way to fix the mistake she made.
No matter what.