Chapter 28; The Truth Will Out
Star Shine asked Rainbow Dash if they could hurry up because he wanted to talk to Scootaloo’s friends before school started. They picked up the pace and arrived with time to spare. It was the earliest Scootaloo had been to school since she had been living with Rainbow Dash. When she was alone, she saw no reason to hang around the clubhouse for longer, and would leave early in the morning so nopony found her there. When she was with Rainbow Dash, Rainbow was just so fast she didn’t really care much about when she left, as long as she made it in time. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine landed on the playground and Scootaloo hopped down onto the ground.
“Hey Scoots.” called a voice from across the playground. It was Apple Bloom and she had Sweetie Belle in tow.
“Glad you could make it.” Sweetie Belle added as she ran up and gave Scootaloo a hug.
“I told you, I wouldn’t miss it.” Scootaloo said, squeezing back. She released the hug and took a step back, motioning up at Star Shine. “Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, meet Star Shine, my flight instructor. Star Shine, meet Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, my friends and the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” Scootaloo said, motioning between the ponies as she introduced them to eachother. Part of Scootaloo wanted to pretend what happened in the newspaper hadn’t happened, and part of her remembered that Star Shine said he would do the talking for her.
“It’s nice to meet you girls” Star Shine said, leaning down to get a good look at them. “Tell me, what do you think of Scoots here?” he asked, wrapping a foreleg around Scootaloo and pulling her close to him. Scootaloo looked a little nervous, wondering where he was going with this.
“She’s awesome on her scooter!” Apple Bloom said excitedly, motioning with her hooves how Scootaloo would zip around on her scooter.
“Yeah and she always comes up with great ideas on how we can get our Cutie Marks.” Sweetie Belle added, nodding her approval of Scootaloo. Scootaloo smiled at their praise and looked away in mild embarrassment.
“So you really like her then?” he asked. Both girls smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Rainbow Dash watched the entire display curiously. She too was interested in where Star Shine was going with all of this. “So you wouldn’t want to hurt her right?” This time both girls shook their heads, looking confused.
“Shine, where are you going with this?” Rainbow Dash asked. Her patience was running out and she was tired of Star Shine dancing around the subject.
“I just want to know why they’d bully her so much if they like her.” Star Shine replied, looking back at Rainbow Dash. He never thought before he spoke when he was asked a question and always gave very direct answers.
“Bully her?” Apple Bloom asked, surprised at the notion they would ever bully her. Sweetie Belle looked equally as confused and Scootaloo tensed up. She was suddenly very worried about where this was going. Rainbow Dash scrutinised him but Star Shine kept his eyes on the fillies in front of him. It was too late to back out now. He had begun digging this grave for himself and now he had to lie in it.
“You call her a chicken don’t you? I think that counts.” Star Shine said. He knew he was going to regret this.
“What?!” the four ponies around him chorused. The fillies looked surprised. Rainbow Dash looked angry.
“We tease her a little maybe, but we don’t bully her.” Sweetie Belle said. She was keen to fix the misunderstanding.
“Do you know what that did to her?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo started panicking as the only outcome available made itself known to her.
“Don’t Shine. Don’t. Please don’t. Don’t tell them. Please. I don’t know how you know but please don’t tell them.” Scootaloo said quickly, pleading with Star Shine. He looked down at Scootaloo and his heart wrenched when he saw the look in her eyes. He sighed, knowing that he would never be able to go through with his plan now.
“I’m sorry Scootaloo, I wo-” Star Shine began before Scootaloo fidgeted out of his grasp and jumped on Rainbow Dash’s back. Rainbow Dash looked back at Scootaloo and wondered what was happening. She hadn’t worked out for herself what Star Shine was planning to do. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were just as confused and hoped somepony would clear things up for them.
“Stop him Rainbow. Please stop him.” Scootaloo begged Rainbow Dash. She was panicking and after he had said sorry she came to the conclusion he planned to go ahead and tell Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom that she had jumped into the gorge. She still didn’t know how he knew but if he knew they called her a chicken, he had to know something. Something she didn’t want her friends to know.
“Shine, what’s going on? What are you going to do?” Rainbow Dash asked. She wanted to know what was happening and why Scootaloo was so afraid.
“I was going to tell them about the note Scootaloo left but I changed my mind.” Star Shine replied simply and honestly. He had planned to force the conversation on Scootaloo but spending time with her had shown him that maybe there was another way to go about it. He wanted Scootaloo to confront her friends and learn the truth but he had been able to do that for her. If they didn’t like her then he wanted her to get it out the way and move on with her life. Now he knew her friends liked her and so did Scootaloo. There was no need to mention the note any more. Except he just had.
“You idiot! You just told them now!” Rainbow Dash shouted as Scootaloo started shaking in fear. It was out there now and there was nothing anypony could do to stop it. The situation Star Shine had chosen to avoid in the end was unravelling before him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to upset Scootaloo. I lo-” Star Shine started before Rainbow Dash cut him off.
“I don’t care what you have to say!” Rainbow Dash shouted, stomping a hoof into the ground in anger. “Just go already. Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage?” Star Shine turned around and lowered his head in sadness before giving a great gust of his wings and taking off into the air. Scootaloo watched him leave, having looked up when it almost sounded like he was going to say he loved her. She was sure she saw a tear fall from his face before he took off.
“She was doing so well too...” Rainbow Dash said sadly in reference to the progress Scootaloo had managed to make. Even if she wasn’t flying she was beating her depression and seemed happier. She felt even worse because she attributed part of that happiness to Star Shine.
“What was that all about? What’s this about a note?” Apple Bloom asked.
“And what we did to her?” Sweetie Belle added.
“It’s nothing girls. Don’t worry about it.” Rainbow Dash replied with a shaky smile. She wanted to try and change the subject. She felt something move on her back as Scootaloo crawled along it and leaned her head around Rainbow Dash’s neck.
“It’s okay Rainbow.” she said, sighing. “There’s no point in trying to hide it anymore is there? I’m not gonna be able to run away this time.” she said, looking up at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash sighed and lowered herself to the ground. She patted the grass in front of her to signal to Scootaloo she should hop down. Scootaloo got the message and hopped onto the ground. Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo and held her close.
“If you say so. I’ll be right here, like I always will be.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo managed to smile and then looked at her friends.
“There’s something I never told you. Well, really, there’s a lot of things I never told you. I’ve lied to you a lot and I am so so so sorry about that.” Scootaloo began. She decided she might as well get the whole truth out and let her friends know everything. A part of her was worried about it ending up somewhere it shouldn’t but she wanted to believe her friends did like her and didn’t realise what they had done to her. She felt they needed to know. Things had gotten so much better for her when Rainbow Dash knew and she thought maybe things would be better with the Crusaders if they knew too. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom came up close to her.
“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Lied about what?” Apple Bloom added. They were both very confused by the recent events.
“First of all, I guess, I lied about where I was that week. I wasn’t on holiday with my parents. I was just living with Rainbow Dash. To be..to be totally honest...”Scootaloo said, gathering her courage. Rainbow Dash tightened her grip on Scootaloo to comfort her.
“I’m here Scoots. You can do it. You’re not alone anymore.” Rainbow Dash encouraged her. Scootaloo took a deep breath.
“To be totally honest...I don’t have any parents. Before I moved in with Rainbow Dash I didn’t even have a home.” Scootaloo admitted. Her friends walked up to her and nuzzled her.
“Where were you living?” Apple Bloom asked. She didn’t have parents herself and knew it wasn’t an easy subject to talk about so she chose to avoid that particular part of the sentence.
“At first I lived wherever I could. But then I met you guys.” Scootaloo said. She was starting to shake and considered stopping but having Rainbow Dash so close was helping her stay strong.
“What’s so special about us?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“We built that clubhouse.” Scootaloo said. It took a second or so for the message to get through to her friends. They let out a collective gasp as they both realised what she meant.
“You mean...” Apple Bloom began. Scootaloo nodded.
“Yeah, I’ve been sleeping in the clubhouse. It wasn’t bad really. It got a little cold but it was better than where I was sleeping before.” Scootaloo explained. Her friends squeezed against her tighter and she felt tears start to fall. Something occurred to Sweetie Belle.
“So how did you end up with Rainbow Dash?” Sweetie Belle asked. It was one of the questions that Scootaloo had been dreading the most.
“Just before I disappeared for a week I did something really really stupid. I...I...I can’t.” she said, burying herself into Rainbow Dash’s sides.
“What did she do?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking up at Rainbow Dash.
“Is it okay for me to tell them for you?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo. She felt her sides move as Scootaloo nodded. “Do you want to come back home with me after this?” Scootaloo nodded again. “Then I’ll take you home once we’re done.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo nodded one last time before becoming completely unresponsive. She didn’t want to be alert or even remember what was about to happen. Rainbow Dash turned to address Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. “This isn’t even going to be easy for me to say girls.” Rainbow Dash told them. She sighed and continued speaking a few seconds later. She decided to just say it and get it over with. “She jumped into Ghastly Gorge.” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom gasped in shock and gave Scootaloo the tightest hug they possibly could.
“Why would you do that?” Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo still didn’t respond. She was just staring ahead of her, barely even blinking. Her mind had totally shut down on her.
“She wanted to fly. From the sounds of the note she left, she thought that if she could fly, then everything would be better. Not being able to fly was the thing that upset her the most and she thought that if she couldn’t fly, she could at least be...free of the pain.” Rainbow Dash explained. Tears formed on Scootaloo’s face but they were quickly taken by Rainbow Dash’s coat.
“Note? You mean the one that Star Shine guy said about?” Sweetie Belle asked. “He said we did something to Scootaloo. What did he mean?” she added.
“Is it okay for me to tell them?” Rainbow Dash asked Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were really beginning to panic at this point. Scootaloo came back to reality long enough to nod before closing her eyes and trying to shut out the real world harder than ever.
“This is going to be even harder to say girls. How much Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon teased her was in there as a reason she jumped, and so was...so was how much you guys tease her, called her a chicken, and how uninterested you are in her life. You’ve never once asked her about her life and she took it as a sign you didn’t care about her.” Rainbow Dash explained, deciding that once again she should just say things as bluntly and simply as possible.
“Oh...” Apple Bloom said.
“Sweet Celestia.” Sweetie Belle finished for her. They both began talking so quickly that neither Scootaloo nor Rainbow Dash could make out what they were saying. Rainbow Dash shushed them and motioned for them to speak one at a time. She pointed a hoof at Apple Bloom who started talking.
“Ah’m so sorry Scoots. Ah had no idea and you know we love you. Or at least, Ah thought ye did. I was only teasin’ when Ah called you a chicken and Ah didn’t mean to upset you or nothin’” she said, cuddling up to Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash then pointed a hoof at Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah, we didn’t realise how much you were hurting. If we had known we would have asked. I’m sorry too Scoots, and I do love you. We thought things were fine for you because you never said anything. To be honest we did talk about you sometimes. We always decided it would be best though to not say anything. We didn’t want to upset you and thought if something was wrong, you’d just tell us.” Sweetie Belle said, also cuddling up. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were crying but Scootaloo was still dead to the world.
“She’s going to be okay now though.” Rainbow Dash assured her friends, wrapping all three of them in her forelegs. “She has me, and she has you guys. I knew you wouldn’t hurt her but when you get as sad as she was, these kinda thoughts happen.”
“What’s going to happen with that Star Shine guy?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I thought you were friends or something?”
“We were friends. I can’t believe he did this. I know he didn’t want things to go this way but still...I’ll go see if I can find him after I take Scoots home. Tell Cheerilee she was sick or something for me.” Rainbow Dash said. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle released Scootaloo, nodded, and took a few steps back.
“I want to see him too.” Scootaloo said suddenly, surprising everypony. She had been so quiet but now she sounded almost determined. Her mind had been a mess and she needed time to work everything out. Try as she might she couldn’t take herself away from the world and she had heard everything that was said. She had processed what her friends had told her in the time she had been silent. When it was just her and Rainbow Dash anger had taken hold and she had refused to see the truth. In this situation she quietly accepted what her friends said. Her emotions had simply cut out and it allowed her to find faith in her friends. She might not have any answers about the Gabby Gums incident, but she knew how her friends felt and they knew how she felt. They knew the basics at least and they were under the impression things were either better now or on the mend. That was good enough. She also had more pressing things to attend to. She wiped her eyes before looking up at Rainbow Dash. “Don’t take me straight home. I want to see him too.” Scootaloo said again.
“Are you sure?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo looked a bit better but Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure how good an idea it was. Scootaloo nodded and jumped up onto Rainbow Dash’s back.
“I wonder where he went.” Sweetie Belle said.
“He’s still an old friend of mine. I know there’s only one place he goes when he’s upset and wants to be alone.” Rainbow Dash said, hovering in the air.
“Where’s that?” Apple Bloom asked her.
“The library.” Rainbow Dash said before setting off in the direction of the Golden Oaks Library.
“I hope Scoots is going to be okay.” Sweetie Belle said, watching Rainbow Dash soar through the air.
“Me too. Me too.” Apple Bloom replied, a little quieter the second time. She leaned against her friend for a moment before the school bell rang, signalling the start of the school day.
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this chapter was good so stop worrying your a good writer
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I still have to go about editing the other chapters too though. Thankfully this incident was quite self contained so it shouldn't require too much editing. I generally don't worry too much about my writing anymore but this was such a massive shift and I'm not feeling too good lately.
Thanks
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Enjoy it! Or...don't...but please do
once again good job, hopefully you can decide not to ship star shine and dash. there have been oc ponies that i have enjoyed dash being shipped with but this guy is just pure annoying know it all
The heavy hits hard
manly years have been shed.
Good I'm glad you decided on a rewrite for it just being a slip of the tongue about the note. This was definitely a sad chapter but in order to grow you have to face your fears so it was inevitable this would happen.
Good job
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He's learning though. He's only really dealt with kids most of his life and isn't much of a social creature. But thanks for the compliment 
He is a bit of a know it all yeah
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I kinda wish I'd kept the original chapter as some kinda "outtake" but it's now lost to the annals of Google Docs 
They aren't manly tears though, they're liquid pride. Totally different thing 
Thank you
2746182 lol
fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/048/8/2/liquid_pride_by_gray__day-d5v8x8f.png
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pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw8936-That_is_beautiful.jpg
Hope you feel better Dasponi, also as always MOAR!
I know how it can be when you have trouble sleeping. I really hope things get better for you.
I also know how it feels to second guess yourself. This chapter really expressed a lot. Star Shine's heart was in the right place, but he really should have talked to Rainbow Dash about Scootaloo telling her best friends about her current situation. I suspect the meeting between Twilight and Star Shine will be interesting...or are we going to see Scootaloo back in school first?
DAMN IT STAR SHINE AND DAMN IT RAINBOW FOR RUSHING STAR SHINE GOD DAMN IT NO GOD WHY. Awesome chapter
I LOVED IT I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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) turned out much better.
The meeting is coming up next, but Scootaloo will be back in school soon enough and then will of course face off with Diamond Tiara. I'm glad you liked this. I think it, and the next chapter (that I managed to write
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If it helps the next chapter is nearly 4000 words long because I'd feel bad splitting it into two
I love this chapter, it made my cry, not liquid bride, full blown cry. stop worrying about your writing mate, you wouldn't have have got this far if it was bad. but so far getting better and better have a mustache
I think you give yourself too little credit for your writing, or at least you did when you wrote this. I'm quite enjoying this story so far. It's true that this story isn't super exciting, but it's a slice of life fic. SoL fics don't have to be amazing roller coaster rides. It's perfectly fine to have a SoL that captures the trials and tribulations of everyday life, and I think that's what you capture beautifully here. Scootaloo is a normal little filly with her own struggles, both interior and exterior. This story manages to pull the reader along as we watch Scootaloo deal with her personal struggles with the help of her idol and her flight trainer. I think every reader manages to identify with Scoots at least a little bit.
I thank you for not making light of the subject of depression my Dad has it and was hospitalized because of it. Its nice to read a story that talks about depression without down-playing it or making it seem like something you have to sweep under the rug, which is done all to often.