She's probably becoming a Wonderbolt right now... Scootaloo thought. Dash hadn't visited her at all yesterday, and she didn't expect her to today. Isn't this what I wanted? she thought further, recalling how she tried to tell Dash to follow her dreams. Still, the broken little filly couldn't help but feel abandoned.
She had scared her friends away with her little outburst yesterday. She didn't mean to, she just didn't want to accept the fact that she'd be confined to a bed for possibly the rest of her life.
Dr. Stable and nurse Red Heart trotted into the room and took Scootaloo by surprise.
"How are you feeling today?" the doctor asked simply.
Scootaloo didn't even try to answer. She hated Dr. Stable, albeit she didn't know why.
"Your X-Rays came back, if you'd like to hear about them." he continued, taking the flimsy film squares from the nurse and approaching the bed.
Scootaloo slowly began turning her head towards him.
"Now, this one is from when you first came in. Notice how far apart the bones are." he said, holding the skeletal image up. "And this one was taken yesterday." he added, switching to a picture showing a cluster of white spots.
"Now, although it does appear that you body is reconstructing itself, that doesn't mean it will do so perfectly. There is a surgery that can be done to correct the potential problem, but it costs quite a bit of money and..." the doctor trailed off, realizing what he was about to say.
Scootaloo closed her eyes and thought.
-
"Hey Spitfire! I'm not too late, am I?" Rainbow called out as she landed a few feet in front of her role model.
"Not at all, Dash! C'mere, I wanna talk to you about something first." Spitfire replied
Rainbow Dash cautiously trotted towards her soon-to-be captain and waited for her to continue.
"Word gets around fast kid; faster than you. How's Scootaloo been doing? You have been visiting her, right?" Spitfire asked, a hint of accusation slipping out.
"I've been trying to, but then there's this whole cadet thing. I was planning on it after I've become your cadet to share the good news with her." Dashie explained. Spitfire just shook her head slowly.
"Dash, listen to me. You're one of the fastest fliers in all of Equestria; the only pegasus in a long time known to have pulled off a sonic rainboom, and you're also one of the Elements of Harmony! Don't get me wrong, everypony would love to see you on the team." Spitfire explained. "But you can't have a hoof in both worlds...Being a Wonderbolt is nothing like being a regular pegasus pony. Everything will change. I'm sorry to leave you with this ultimatum, but you can either become a cadet now, or miss out and stay with your friend. You can't do both.".
Rainbow Dash just stared at her role model, a look of betrayal played out across the blue mare's snout. She shook her head in disbelief and flew off, leaving the yellow coated pegasus to give a sad sigh.
-
"Hey Derpy!" a small country voice called out from below the gray pegasus. Derpy Hooves pricked her ears and looked around, her reverse-crossed eyes making it difficult to see things.
"Derpy, down here!" the voice called again.
"Oh hi, Apple Bloom!" Derpy replied, waving a hoof enthusiastically and loosing her grip on the tree. As she popped her head out of the bush she had fallen into, Apple Bloom let out a stifled giggle.
"Oh Derpy, you're funny and you don't even trah!" Apple Bloom said light heartedly, taking a few steps towards the dazed pegasus.
"You're friends with Rainbow Dash, raight?" the little filly asked.
Derpy nodded happily, then stopped, remembering the incident yesterday. "Well...It's kinda complicated..." she admitted.
"Ah know how ya feel. Scootaloo's bein' ahwfahlly hard tah get along with recently." Apple Bloom said. "Why do ya think that is?"
Derpy put her hoof to her chin and looked up.
"I read somewhere that this unicorn pony wrote something about the five stages of grief. So far, Rainbow Dash has followed it to the letter." she finally said.
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on ah minute; you READ?" Apple Bloom squeaked.
Derpy just glared.
"Ah...Ah meant no disrespect, it's just...How can ya with your ahs like that?" Apple Bloom wondered nervously.
Derpy continued to glare.
-
"Can you try again?" Scootaloo whispered.
"All we can do is send out another letter; I'm sorry." Nurse Red Heart explained.
"Can you get one of her friends to find her at least?" the little filly begged.
Nurse Red Heart shook her head sympathetically.
"We don't have the time nor staff to do that. She'll come when she comes." the white mare said as she trotted out of the room.
Scootaloo began to cry.