Hoof Covers Bruise

by Arwhale

Best

Water hissed out of the bathroom faucet, the faint gurgling of the drainpipe echoing all around the walls of the empty room. A pair of dripping blue hooves lie in front of the basin, and scrunched up behind it lay a damp, wrinkly towel, pressed up against the wide mirror in front of Rainbow Dash’s face.

Using one hoof to keep her balance, she splashed more water onto her face, letting it wash over the streaks of red that ran from her eyes. She wiped the water away with the towel, scrubbing at the colored lines for several seconds before facing the mirror again, brushing her bangs aside.

The colored lines had all but disappeared from her face. All that remained were a few dotted bruises on her forehead and cheeks from her self-inflicted injuries, puffier than before now that they had been given time to swell, but those were impossible to scrub away. Rainbow turned the faucet off, dried her hooves and the surrounding counter, and set the towel down off to the side.

With the sink turned off, the bathroom became eerily silent, so subdued that she could hear the faint hum of the ceiling lights overhead. To Rainbow, it was like hearing the whine of a gnat in her ear, and in a state of heightened anxiety, she felt her heart beginning to beat harder in her chest. She took a few deep breaths, gritted her teeth, and blocked it all out.

Rainbow lost herself in a rhythm of deep breathing until the door to her left opened up. Rarity poked her head inside.

“Rainbow Dash?” she said, keeping her voice low. “Are you alright? You’ve been in here for a long time.”

Rainbow’s ear perked up, but she did not turn her head. She nodded.

“Yeah.” She wiped her face with a hoof, sending water droplets to the counter. Turning to Rarity, she asked, “Can you see anything?”

Rarity looked her over. After a few moments, she replied, “Yes… but you look much better than before, darling.”

Rainbow felt a small tinge of relief as she faced the mirror again. It did not last long, however. The bruises on her cheek and forehead were still noticeable, but the water had at least cleaned off the dirt and grime. She brushed her bangs over the brown spot on her forehead, pressing the hair down with a bit of water to prevent it from revealing the mark underneath. It felt as though a rock had been lodged in her throat, and it made it a challenge to breathe, but she willed the sensation away with grinding teeth.

She stepped toward the door.

“Okay. I’m ready.”

…

Cheerilee may as well have been floating, ambling aimlessly through the halls with her eyes forward, locked onto the floor. A passerby may have mistaken her for being in thought, but it was more like foreclosure.

She imagined facing the ponies in the waiting room. She imagined sitting back down, to see her other two students directly across from her. They would ask questions, undoubtedly. They were Scootaloo’s friends; they would want to know everything.

Or, perhaps it was even worse. They already knew. Rainbow Dash… she’d already gone back, hadn’t she? She must have told them by now. Every minute she spent away from the room was a confirmation of her own guilt, of her complacency…

Twenty minutes, and she was still wandering.

She couldn’t look them in the eyes and tell them Scootaloo was fine; give them only part of the truth. It went deeper than that. Her mind drifted to the letter she had written, still sealed and sitting on her desk. It drifted to the smoke, black columns erected on the horizon like prison bars. It drifted to the first time she had noticed a mottled, brownish spot on Scootaloo’s right hip…

She came to the junction once again. Turn right, walk a few steps, and enter the waiting room.

She kept walking.

But this time, she did not make it around the corner. Behind her, she heard hoofsteps. The click of a door shutting, too.

She turned around, and saw Rainbow Dash.

…

Rainbow wasn’t flying, but the air felt just as thin and cold. For her, it would have felt like home, but the sound of her hoofsteps echoing up and down the hallway like cannon blasts brought her back to reality.

She feared what she would see. But more than anything, she feared what she would hear.

She took each step as though she were walking an invisible tightrope. Sucking in a breath of sterile air, she closed her eyes a moment to contain her fear before letting back out in a long exhale. She breathed in again, performing the cycle in a timely rhythm with every slow step.

Whenever she opened her eyes, all she saw was the end of the hallway. And it was getting closer. The numbers on the doors to her right and left were hastily approaching the ones that would be on Scootaloo’s door. Her wings twitched at her sides, tingling with anxiety while her mind wandered elsewhere.

The clip-clopping of hoofsteps behind her caught her attention. When she turned around, she was surprised to see Cheerilee cantering down the hallway after her with urgency raising her brow.

…

“Rainbow Dash!” Cheerilee slowed down to a trot now that Rainbow had stopped. “Wait! I, I need you to… to…”

Heavy breathing kept her words at bay for a short moment. Rainbow blinked slowly, waiting for her to catch her breath. When Cheerilee had finally caught her breath, she closed the remaining distance between them with a reach of her hoof, setting it onto Rainbow’s shoulder. She stared at Rainbow intently, gripping her coat as if she were afraid the other mare was going to run off if she didn’t hold her in place.

“Rainbow Dash, I… when you see Scootaloo, can you… I mean, could you…”

She swallowed, her breath shaky as her eyes welled up. Her teeth clasped down onto her bottom lip to keep it from quivering. Unsure of what to think of her sudden intrusion, Rainbow stared blankly back at her.

“…I’m sorry. Tell her I’m sorry.” She gave Rainbow a telling, sad smile. “Tell her I’m sorry for not being there for her, that I’m sorry for not realizing, not understanding what was happening… Tell her that she’s a wonderful filly, and a wonderful student, and… that I’m so sorry.”

Her voice receded into a whisper. The two of them maintained eye contact, but while the expression on Rainbow’s face barely changed, she gave the other mare a slow nod.

“Alright,” she replied. “Sure, n-no… no problem. I’ll tell her.”

Cheerilee’s hoof fell away from her shoulder, and she took a step back. She swept her foreleg across her snout with a sniffle, but managed to smile through the pained expression on her face.

“Okay. Thank you.” Without warning, she stretched forward and hugged Rainbow Dash around her withers. “Thank you so much.”

She let go. Rainbow appeared a bit surprised by the sudden hug, but she gave the teacher a smile. It was a forced, thin smile, something which Cheerilee noticed, but she did not draw any attention to it.

With an awkward wave, Cheerilee silently bid Rainbow Dash farewell, and the two of them parted ways. After swallowing what felt like a ball of lead, Cheerilee took another deep breath and started down the hall.

Only this time, instead of the meandering, ambling gait she had used before, there was a sense of purpose and direction to her steps. Eyes were fixed forward, widened and with eyebrows raised. Blood bubbled up to the surface of her skin, flushing her face a determined red.

She turned the corner to the waiting room, and walked inside.

…

Like every other one in the hospital, the door was a warm shade of tannish yellow. The color was inviting, friendly, and betrayed none of the horrors that surely awaited Rainbow Dash on the other side.

She pressed down the hairs on her coat that were standing up straight, rubbing some warmth in her legs to prevent the goosebumps from spreading. The number on the door was the right one; she’d checked it several times already.

She listened in through the door with one ear pressed against the wood, trying to hear what was going on inside. Unfortunately, she couldn’t pick up anything. Dipping her head in between her front legs, she spoke to herself under her breath.

“You gotta do it,” she chided herself in a harsh whisper. “You have to see her, she has to see you, s-so just… go.”

Spurred on by her own last word of encouragement, her head shot up, and with no more hesitation, she tapped her hoof three times against the door.

Waiting for someone to acknowledge her from the other side made her hooves feel like they were sinking into the floor. She ignored the sensation, choosing instead to stare up at the door and listen as closely as she could. The sound of hoofsteps on the other side made the veins in her neck throb, and she struggled to keep her breathing composed.

The brass knob clicked, turned, and the door cracked open. Rainbow Dash stared at the sliver of space until another pony’s head peered through the crack. Her mane was a pale red, and she sported a nurse’s cap with a red cross sewn onto the middle of it. Rainbow Dash gave her a nervous smile, leaning her head in so that the two of their snouts were almost touching.

“Hi, can I…” She spoke in a low voice. After all, if the answer to her question was a no, she did not want to disturb the pony likely sleeping inside. “… you know, come in? Is she doing okay?”

Rainbow watched the nurse’s face brighten at seeing her. To her relief, but also dread, she was given a nod. The nurse took a step back, pulling the door with her, but not before placing her hoof over her lips.

“Yes, you can… and yes, she is alright,” she assured. “Just asleep. I’ll wake her now, but for the meantime, just stay quiet.”

Rainbow took the warning seriously. After nodding her head, she walked inside on the tips of her hooves, grimacing with concentration. When she was at last inside, she looked up from the floor.

For a few moments, she forgot how to breathe.

Scootaloo was motionless, save for the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Her eyes… or rather, her eye, was closed in sleep, while the swollen mass of flesh encircling her other eye gave it no choice but to stay shut. The tip of her snout had been bent cruelly to the left, visible even through the thick pad of gauze that had been wrapped around it, and red-stained pads affixed with medical tape adorned her coat all around. Bruises that dwarfed the ones Rainbow had seen on her only days prior mottled every surface of the girl’s body that she could see above the sheets. But worst of all, Rainbow Dash could see Scoot’s foreleg locked in a sling, hanging limply over her belly and set in a heavy cast.

She looked like a casualty of war. Rainbow Dash covered her mouth and sucked in a sharp breath through her nose, vision blurring the longer she stared.

The nurse crept up alongside the bed. Rainbow aggressively swept away the tears forming in her eyes, steadying her nerves as the nurse leaned her head over Scootaloo’s limp form.

“Hello? Scootaloo?” she whispered. There was no response from the bed. The nurse raised her voice, but just slightly. “Scootaloo?”

Another long pause. Rainbow Dash craned her neck, staring at Scootaloo’s eyes and waiting anxiously for them to open. Her hooves scraped against the tile. When she finally saw Scootaloo’s eyelids flicker, her jaw clamped down like a vice. The nurse took notice as well.

“There’s somepony here to see you, Scootaloo,” she cooed. Scootaloo’s head moved on the pillow, rolling a little to the side. Her mouth opened to let a breath out in a deep exhale, and her eyes flickered again. The nurse smiled. “Rainbow Dash.”

Scootaloo’s good eye flew open. Rainbow’s Dash almost flinched.

The two pegasi stared at one another. Silently. Both expressions were blank, unmoving, and unwavering. Unspoken words swelled up in Rainbow’s throat, but they stayed lodged there like a balloon trying to float through a tube that was too small.

After considerable effort, all that managed to escape was a muted, “H-Hey.”

There was no reply from Scootaloo. Thankfully, the nurse broke the tense silence.

“Hello, Scootaloo.” She took a step back so that she was no longer leaning over the bed. “I am sorry if I startled you. How are you feeling?”

In a way, she ended up asking the question for Rainbow Dash. It was something that both relieved and frustrated her at the same time; Dash needed to talk to her, but her tongue felt like it had been taped to the back of her throat.

Scootaloo glanced over to the gently smiling nurse, and her eye momentarily fell shut. She cocked her head slowly to the side, a shrug without the shoulders.

“I’m…” She coughed to clear her throat. “…alright.”

Her hoof… the one that wasn’t hanging in a sling… reached up to her face. Before it could touch the swollen mass around her eye, the nurse reached forward and blocked her, softly pressing the hoof down onto the blanket.

“Now, now, try not to touch it, sweetheart,” she advised as gingerly as she could. “Is it hurting a lot, still?”

There was a small pause, as if Scootaloo were pondering the question. But again, her head slowly cocked to the side.

“Noo…it’s fine. Just… uncomfortable.”

Strain was evident in her voice. The nurse took another step back, heading towards the door.

“Alright, dear.” She gave Rainbow Dash a smile. “Now, would you like me to leave for a bit while you two talk?”

The question was harmless enough, but it made Rainbow’s stomach lurch. No more time to stall or put it off. She nonetheless gulped down the bile that was burning her throat and nodded her head.

“Sure. That’s fine.” She smiled back. Then, she looked over to Scootaloo. She didn’t look back. Her eyes were aimed at the blanket.

“Alright.” She opened the door, and leaving it open, she left the two of them there. “I will be back soon. Are you alright, Scootaloo?”

A concerned frown accompanied the question. Scootaloo didn’t look up from the bed, sniffling through the gauze on her nose.

“Mm hmm.” She met the nurse’s gaze. “I’m fine.”

Her tone was neutral. It was enough to convince the nurse, however. With one more smile of farewell, she left the room, leaving the door open a crack.

Not a word was said for quite some time. Rainbow’s tail swished from side to side over the floor, the only sound left in the room as the clipclop of hoofsteps receded down the hall.

When it came to Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash was used to the bright-eyed looks. She was used to the way her surrogate sister’s wings would flutter excitedly at her side whenever the two of them were together, as well as how her hooves would seem to float over the ground with euphoria whenever the two of them would walk side by side.

Of course, Scootaloo would always try to hide it. After all, it wasn’t exactly cool to lose control. It was…weak. And if there was one thing that Rainbow Dash wasn’t, it was weak. And so, she had to hide it, however she could.

But now, lying there on the bed with her eyes aimed at the floor, Rainbow Dash knew that Scootaloo was hiding something very different. A different weakness.

Pain.

Rainbow Dash swallowed her fear. Then, she spoke. “Hey, Scoots.”

The words seemed to echo off of the walls in the small space between them. It was as if speaking only made the peal of silence worse. But then, finally, Scootaloo replied back, her voice hardly audible even in the stale air.

“Hey,” she responded. Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up in momentary relief, but they soon folded back on her head. The one-word reply was more of an acknowledgement that she existed than it was an actual greeting.

Frantically, her brain searched for what to say. Her eyes darted back and forth, imagining up scenarios of how Scootaloo would respond to each option she thought up, but every time she thought of something, doubt would shoot it down before it could leave her mouth. The terrible, awkward silence dragged on and on, and each second that passed made Rainbow’s heart sink further into her gut.

Which is why it came as such as surprise when she heard Scootaloo’s voice again.

“Do you… where’s Spike? Do you know?”

In that instant, all of the thoughts that had been swimming around in her head felt like they had been flushed away. The question almost didn’t register to Rainbow, who blinked from surprise.

At last, Scootaloo was looking at her. Her good eye was opened wide, and her lips were pursed tightly together. Rainbow nodded dumbly, breathing through her open mouth.

“Uhh… yeah. He’s fine. Twilight went to go see him a little while ago…”

“Is he alright?” Scootaloo asked, this time more directly. She bit down on her lip to keep it from quivering, something which Rainbow Dash noticed. Again, Rainbow affirmed her with a nod.

“Yeah, Scoot. He’s fine. Banged up and all, but okay.” She smiled. Scootaloo’s face didn’t match hers. “Twilight went to see him a little while ago… Nurse said something about him breaking a rib, but he’s gonna be fine.”

Rainbow saw Scootaloo’s eyes brighten up as she relayed the good news. But as soon as relief appeared to wash over her, the light began to fade from her features, and her ears and shoulders sagged. She averted her eyes, and it looked as if she wanted to sink into the mattress and hide herself from view entirely. Rainbow Dash bit her lip.

Neither of them made a sound. Rainbow could hear her own pulse pounding in her ears as she took a step closer to the bed.

“You… okay?” The words felt ridiculous coming out of her mouth. Seeing Scootaloo laying there in her current state made the question almost rhetorical, but she asked it anyway. But, to her surprise, she saw Scootaloo nod her head.

“Yeah.” Judging from the way her eyes glistened, the exact opposite was probably true. “F—Fine.”

Understandably, the answer was not convincing. Her stammer told Rainbow all she needed to know. Putting a hoof on the bed, she scooted herself a little closer so that there were only a few paces between them.

For hours, she had mentally prepared what she was about to say. But now that she was here, the words she’d agonized over suddenly seemed woefully inadequate. Her tongue felt like a wad of damp cotton, but as the silent seconds stretched on, her heart only thumped harder. She forced her lips to move, and to her great surprise, sound came out.

“Hey… hey, Scoot?” she said. Scootaloo’s gaze remained locked onto the far wall, but her ears were perked up and listening. Rainbow’s hoof pressed harder into the blanket, and she closed her eyes. “I gotta… I’m…”

But then, just as she was about to speak, she froze. This time, however, it was not out of fear. Her eyes widened with realization, and she turned to face Scootaloo again. The words streamed out of her slowly, but steadily.

“Before I came here… Mrs. Cheerilee stopped me. We talked, and…”

She craned her neck forward. Scootaloo’s head, which had been hanging low before, now shot up so that her neck was parallel with the wall behind her. Rainbow Dash continued.

“…she says she’s sorry. She says that you’re a wonderful student, a-and… and that she’s sorry that she wasn’t there for you before. That she never understood…” Rainbow paused here, swallowing hard. “…what was going on.”

The air around their heads felt like it had been charged with electricity. Rainbow’s hair prickled, and goosebumps formed on her legs as a chill traveled up her spine. Scootaloo’s good eye widened to twice its size, and she gave a quiet gasp. With a jolt, she turned her head away again, but she had not been able to hide the fear in her expression before it had been noticed.

Rainbow Dash felt a stabbing pain in her chest. She pursed her lips tightly together and blinked away the water in her eyes, and then, went on.

“And she’s not the only one.” A bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face. Her voice was becoming increasingly unstable with each new word. “She’s not the only one who wasn’t there for you. Scoots… I’m so, so sorry. Not just for yesterday, for the flight lesson, b-but… but for everything. Every time I blew you off, every t… all the times you wanted to hang out, and I s-said no… I…”

She had to stop to get her breathing under control. Scootaloo sat motionless, but even from a distance, Rainbow could see her jaw trembling. The rest of her was hidden from view.

“…When we were at the falls, and I told you I’d take you under my wing… I didn’t keep my word. I should have been there for you, but… I wasn’t. I haven’t. And I’m sorry, Scoot. I’m so, so sorry.”

Once the final apology was said, Rainbow Dash fell silent. Anxiety brought her blood to a boil, and she felt her heartbeat quicken to a flying pace. Now that everything had been laid out on the table, there was nothing left to do but wait.

And wait she did. The silence was almost tangible, floating around their heads like a dense, soupy fog. It made the air heavy and hard to breathe. A nervous fire stirred in Dash’s mind, and to combat the flames, she began to say more.

“…And I know I… I get it if it isn’t enough for me to just say what I’m saying now. Just saying that I’m sorry… I know I have to show it. And I want to, Scoots. I made you a deal, a promise, and I’m gonna…”

“No.”

Rainbow’s speech came to a screeching halt. She exhaled out through her open mouth.

Scootaloo’s solitary word only just beginning to register in her brain. When it did, the anxious flames within her turned to an inferno. Rainbow watched Scootaloo shake her head. But perhaps worst of all, she could see the sad ghost of a smile playing on her lips. A hopeless, defeated smile.

“No, you… you don’t have to worry about me. You don’t have to waste your time,” said Scootaloo. Tremors shook her words, but she choked them back with a hard swallow. “Just… it’s not worth it. You got better things to do.”

With the last sentence, her voice dropped until it was barely above a whisper. She glanced up at Rainbow Dash, but then, her head fell back onto the pillow with a sigh.

Rainbow lungs felt like the air had been sucked right out of them. She blinked once, staring at Scootaloo.

The other filly lay there with the most forlorn expression she had ever seen. Not only battered, bruised, and bloodied, but utterly defeated. Her good eye was dimmed gray, eyeing the broken foreleg hanging in the sling below. She seemed to be waiting, as if just expecting Rainbow Dash to pack up and leave right then and there.

But that wasn’t something Rainbow was about to do. Feeling the surface of her skin go cold, Rainbow took a step forward, shaking her head.

“No, no, Squirt. You’re my sister. I’m not wasting my time…”

“Yeah, you are.” The interruption came suddenly. “And you aren’t my sister, you’re… not. And all I’d do is just slow you down. You’re… better off without me. Everypony is.”

The matter-of-fact manner in which Scootaloo said it made the hairs stand up on Rainbow’s mane. Once again, Rainbow was quick to refute her, but she could no longer mask the fear in her own voice.

“That’s not true, Scoot…”

“Yes it is,” she insisted. The sound of scraping from her clenched teeth could be heard in the still air. “You… y-you don’t get it. Okay? You don’t understand…”

“What?” Rainbow kept herself calm as she asked, but it was difficult to hide her nervousness. “What don’t I get, sis?”

“Just… I dunno, just…” Scootaloo gave a frustrated puff of air through pursed lips. “I…”

Rainbow was tempted to interrupt, but she refrained, choosing to let Scootaloo gather her thoughts instead. The situation was already tense enough, and she didn’t want to escalate it if she could help it.

“…All I do is hurt ponies. Make things worse. Mess things up…”

Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrows with bewilderment and concern, cocking her head to the side. “What are you talking about, Scoot?”

Attempts to keep her voice from shaking were met with failure. Each thing Scootaloo admitted took to the wind right out of her, and for the first time, it seemed like her worst fears were coming true.

“I…” Scootaloo licked her cracked lips. After some hesitation, she barely managed to whisper, “… Just… never mind. Never m—”

“Squirt,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, sounding as gentle as she could. She took a deep breath. “Please, tell me. You can tell me, I don’t care what it is.”

She left it at that. Scootaloo shook her head ever so slightly, in a way that suggested she was trying to hold something back. Tears, or perhaps even anger. “I don’t want to.”

Rainbow’s frown deepened. The brokenness evident in her surrogate sister’s expression, clear to see even underneath all her bruises, felt like a punch to the stomach. Nonetheless, she took the risk and pried harder. It was all she could do at this point; the only other option was to give up.

And to Rainbow Dash, that wasn’t even an option.

“I know you don’t want to, Scoot. I know that…” She subtly swept a hoof over her eyes. “…that you probably don’t want to tell me, of all ponies. But please, Scoot… I’m scared. I don’t know why you’re saying what you’re saying, and…”

Rainbow trailed off, the words tumbling out until they fell flat onto the tile. At first, her pleas appeared to have no effect on Scootaloo, who stared at a generic painting hanging on the opposite wall. She seemed intent on not making eye contact with Rainbow, but whether it was from fear, anger, or some combination of the two, remained unclear.

Another minute slipped by without a word. Alone with her own thoughts, it seemed like a lifetime for Rainbow’s brain to anxiously search for something new to say. Something to break through the barrier of hurt and heartbreak…

Her eyes lit up with a new idea. And then, immediately afterwards, she winced as second thoughts tried to bury it under the floor. But before her self-doubt could finish the job, her lips began to move as if they had a mind of their own, and the words that came out like an arrow from a bow.

“Scoots…I know it wasn’t a scooter accident.”

The moment the sentence escaped, Rainbow’s entire body froze. It was too late, now. No turning back.

Even from her unclear vantage point, she could hear the sharp breath of air that Scootaloo sucked into her lungs. The tips of her ears stand up as rigid as knives, and Rainbow Dash could see the wrinkles forming in the blanket as her hoof gripped the edge of it like a steel clamp.

An icy chill descended upon them both. Scootaloo kept her head low, hiding the swollen side of her face in a feeble effort to mask her injuries. But the one thing that stood out to Rainbow more than anything else, the one thing that made her heart rise into her throat, was the quivering in the girl’s jaw.

What she said next made Rainbow’s’s heart stop.

“Just… go away.”

Even though she couldn’t see Scootaloo’s face, she could hear sobbing, despite all of her best attempts to hold them at bay. A tear dropped onto the blanket.

Seeing the tear fall, it became clear to Rainbow that she had said the wrong thing. Stepping forward, she closed the distance between them, trying desperately to think of something to say to Scoot as the filly began to lose everything that remained her composure.

“I’m so sorry, sis. I’m so sorry… I didn’t want…”

“Didn’t you hear me?” The volume of her cry shocked Rainbow into silence. “Just go, okay?”

Scootaloo was growing louder and louder by the second. Betrayal tinted every word, and Rainbow knew she deserved it all. She felt tears forming up in her own eyes, and her words came out in an even more desperate stream.

“I’m so sorry I never understood before. I’m so sorry. I know that—”

“No, you don’t.” Scootaloo cut her off angrily. “You don’t know anything. You… you never cared. You never…”

She choked, expelling a series of sharp breaths before falling silent once more. Before they had a chance to drip down, her free hoof went up to scrub the tears out of her eyes.

Rainbow Dash sat motionless on the floor, gazing straight ahead while the sting of Scoot’s words began to sink in. Her hoof fiddled with the end of her tail, letting the frayed hairs wrap around it while she tried to keep her breathing under control.

You never cared.

The words reverberated around the room like an echo chamber. Rainbow wanted, more than anything, to refute it. To tell Scootaloo that she was wrong. That she had cared. But as much as she wanted to say it, the accusation weighed too heavy on her shoulders for her to shrug it off.

Of course she’d cared. But she hadn’t cared enough. And to Scootaloo, not enough may as well have been not at all.

Rainbow Dash looked away.

“Scoot… I know that what I did… what I didn’t do… I know it hurt. I can’t even imagine how bad it must’ve felt. And… I want to be able to know what to say. How to convince you that I did care, that I… but, I’m starting to see that that isn’t gonna matter.”

The statement drew an eyebrow from Scootaloo. But still, she said nothing. It was clear she was hearing what Rainbow Dash was saying, but her face maintained its façade of neutrality.

“It doesn’t matter what I say. All that really matters is what I do. And while I can still honestly say that I care about you, Scoot… and I really, really do… I understand that isn’t enough. It never was.”

Rainbow leaned forward. It was enough to get Scootaloo to look away from the wall, but only for a moment. Her mouth stayed shut.

“I want to start over. I want to be the sister you wanted me to be… that you needed me to be. That you need me to be. I want to be that, Scoot. I want to be that for you.”

Rainbow Dash sucked in a sharp breath of air as soon as the words left her mouth. Her lips continued to move, almost as if she wanted to keep talking, but something deep within told herself to stop. To wait, and listen.

Everything she could say had already been said. Every word of it had been sincere; all she could do now was hope that Scootaloo could be convinced of it, too.

For what was not the first time that night, the silence was so overbearing that it made the very act of breathing seem like some sort of irreverent disturbance to the peace. Rainbow felt the stale hospital air coat the inside of her lungs like wet tissue paper with each breath, and her heart, to try and compensate for the lack of oxygen, began to thump so erratically that she could feel it in her throat.

Scootaloo sighed. The hairs on Rainbow’s head and back stood up like needles.

What was said next echoed around the room.

“I… don’t.”

Two words. Two words was all it took to rip Rainbow Dash’s heart right out of her chest.

It felt as if a ball of cotton had been lodged in her throat, and all she could do was sit and stare with her mouth agape. Scootaloo’s head fell, and she looked away again. Her jaw quivered.

Rainbow knew the answer to her own question, but she asked it anyway out of some misplaced hope that she had misunderstood.

“You… don’t what, sis?”

It wasn’t long before she regretted even asking. Scootaloo breathed shallowly in and out, and with a trembling bottom lip, she repeated herself.

“I don’t. I already told you, I-I don’t want you to… You’re not my sister, y-you never were… I don’t want you, I don’t need you, I… I don’t need anypony. And nopony needs me. Nopony… nopony needs some broken, blank-flank pegasus who can’t even fly, okay? So just… just go already.”

A stifled, choking sob escaped from her throat. But to Rainbow, it did nothing to take away from the resoluteness in which she had said it.

The floor beneath her hooves felt like it was buckling underneath her. She shook her head slowly, trying to deny what she had just heard, but it was a futile effort.

“Scoot... I-I…”

She stammered incoherently, digging deep within to find something to say, but she failed with each try. Blinking rapidly, she tried to dry her eyes, tried to put on a mask of strength, but it was impossible.

Scootaloo again. Her voice started firm, but finished with a whisper.

“Go away. Damn it, go away...”

Scootaloo bared her teeth like a wounded dog, raising her voice into the blanket that covered her body. She clutched the white fabric close to her chest and sank further into the mattress.

The demand to leave echoed around the inside of Dash’s skull. Blinking didn’t stop the colors from blending together in her eyes. Nor did it stop the tears that fell onto the tile. Rainbow sputtered once, eyes darting back and forth between the door and her front hooves.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She looked up at Scootaloo; her gaze was not met.

Then, with knees quaking, she stood up. One last glance over to her former adoptive sister; Scootaloo turned her head even further away. Rainbow faced the door, stepping away from the bed. Her feathers dragged over the tile from her drooping wings.

With her head lowered in despair, her hoof reached out to the doorknob. The touch of the cold metal chilled her blood.

But then… she stopped herself.

Before she could turn the knob, before she could leave the room… something held her back. Her shaking hoof fell away with a soft clop onto the floor.

Both eyes stared straight ahead at the numbers on the door while she stood completely still, frozen in thought. Inside the recesses of her mind, the gears began to turn.

“And now, you’re just going to leave her, too? Is that what you’re saying?”

With each time her friend Rarity’s accusatory voice repeated the question, Rainbow’s jaw clamped down a little bit tighter. The sting of conviction had not lessened; instead, it had become an ultimatum.

“No.”

Rainbow lifted her head, and she dared to look back over to the hospital bed. Suddenly, Scootaloo found that she was once again facing the older pegasus. Only this time, she didn’t immediately look away. Dash shook her head.

“No, Squirt. I’m not leaving.” She boldly stepped forward, passing the foot of the bed. “I’m not leaving you all alone. Not again.”

She could barely believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. Scootaloo furrowed her brow, and she shrank back slightly, sinking into the pillow behind her head. Confusion set into her expression, but as Rainbow stepped forward, it morphed into a mixture of fear and anger. It was impossible not to notice.

But there was something else that she saw; the reflection of the overhead lights danced in Scootaloo’s unswollen eye, unshed tears that were threatening to cascade downward.

“Go away…” The desperation was plainly evident when she spoke. No longer loud, but something that could almost be called a whisper. “Why won’t you just go?”

Rainbow flinched. But rather than move back, she stood her ground.

“Because I know you’re hurting, Scoot. And I know I’m not better off without you. I know that…”

“You’re just saying that!” Scootaloo was not letting up. Her hoof slapped the blanket with a dull thump. “You don’t know, Rainbow…”

It was the first time the filly had said her name since she’d arrived. Dash’s eyelids raised, and her pulse quickened.

“I know enough, Scoot.” Rainbow was hesitant to continue forward, but she did so one small step at a time. “I know you’re a great kid. I know that you’re a great kid who didn’t deserve to get hurt… not by me, not by your dad… not by anypony.”

Even the mention of the word ‘dad’ made Scootaloo cringe. She tried to hide herself with the blanket, covering her wounded foreleg. Rainbow Dash walked until she was only a few hooflengths away from the head of the bed.

“I don’t know why he hurt you, Scoot. But whatever it is, you didn’t deserve it. You hear me? You didn’t deserve any of it…”

“Whatever.” Scootaloo wiped her nose on the sheets.

“You didn’t, Scoot. I don’t care what he, or anypony told you. You didn’t,” she insisted, shaking her head. “You’re such a great kid…”

Scootaloo’s brow wrinkled, and the corners of her mouth curled downward in a distressed frown. Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrows.

“What is it, Sc—”

“No I’m not.” The declaration hung in the air like a noose in between their heads. Rainbow Dash’s pupils dilated, and her perturbed frown deepened.

Scootaloo lifted her injured arm in the sling so that she was hugging it close to her neck. The bandages on her nose and forehead moved as she scrunched up her face, disgust written plainly on her features. Chills traveled up and down Rainbow’s spine, and she could feel clammy sweat beginning to pool beneath her hooves.

Scootaloo continued.

“If… If I, we hadn’t forced Sweetie Belle to play kickball, me and Apple Bloom, w-we… she wouldn’t have broken the window, a-a-and she wouldn’t have got in trouble and ran away, a-and… she wouldn’t have gotten bit, and… she almost died almost died cuz of me.”

She wiped her nose, wincing with discomfort as she pressed in on the broken cartilage. Rainbow grimaced, holding up a hoof.

“Scoot, no. That wasn’t your f…”

“Spike’s in the hospital right now because of me, too.” Eerily, the more she spoke, the more stable Scootaloo sounded. The more confident in her assertions she became. “If I’d just…”

“No, Scoot.” Rainbow Dash asserted herself, cutting Scootaloo off immediately. She as unable to stop her voice from cracking. “No. Spike got hurt because he cared about you. He got hurt because he thought you were worth saving…”

“And he was wrong,” Scootaloo said. She buried her chin into her chest. “He should have just left me there…”

A small crack in her voice was unmistakable. Watching as Scootaloo’s countenance continued to fade, Rainbow was at a loss for what to say. She stared with her mouth agape, blinking slowly.

Gone was the perk and the spirit, the energetic optimism. Looking at Scootaloo’s face, there was none of it left. Bruises, cuts, and bandages may have marred her, but despair had dimmed her features to a murky black.

And now, she was wishing she was dead.

Scootaloo wasn’t done.

“And… my mom would still be here, too. If she... if she hadn't had me, she wouldn’t have gotten so s-sick, a-and weak, and…”

She halted, and said no more. Frozen in place like a statue, she stared down, looking through the bed with a stare so intense that it could have burned a hole through the sheets.

The hum of the ventilation overhead was not enough to drown out the pounding of Rainbow’s pulse in her own ears. She dipped her head down and closed her eyes.

There it was. The final, terrible thread. The mystery now revealed.

A shudder came from the blankets. Rainbow looked up; despite Scootaloo’s best efforts to hide herself, Rainbow could see the tears falling down. Quakes and sobs wracked her huddled frame.

In that moment, something took a hold of Rainbow Dash. Something which made her step forward, toward the bed.

“So… she got sick?” The question left her mouth with a good deal of hesitation. The situation was fragile enough as it was, and no matter how she could have asked what was on her mind, she couldn’t help but feel insensitive anyway. "After you..."

As she expected, the inquiry was met with a distant stare at the blankets. No reply, not even a nod of her head. To Dash, it was a yes.

The air around their heads seemed to be charged with electricity. Rainbow inhaled deeply. Then, she spoke only loud enough to be heard over Scootaloo's barely contained cries.

It was the first and only thing that came to her mind to say.

"Scoot... You're a great kid."

She took another, small step toward the bed. The sobs only got louder, and Scootaloo retreated further into her shell. She shook her head fiercely.

Rainbow Dash took it as a reply. She shook her head right back.

"Yes, you are. All this stuff, all of it... none of it happened because of you. You don't have to blame yourself. I don't know what he told you or what he said..."

"Sh-sh-shut up..." Rainbow could barely hear her say. The covers of the bed shivered with her.

Another step. She was right next to the bed, now.

"...But you're a great kid, Scoot."

"I said, shut up..." Scootaloo managed to say. "Shut up..."

"You're a great friend, too. Sweetie Belle knows it... she's hurting a lot, but you and Apple Bloom help her so much..."

"Stop..."

"And Miss Cheerilee, too. She knows how bright you are..."

"S-Stop..." Scootaloo's voice lowered dangerously, speaking from between clenched teeth. "Stop..."

Rainbow was almost right beside her, now. Scootaloo shrank away, rearing her head back, but Dash closed the distance all the same.

"...And I do, too. I know you're a great kid, Squirt," she said. "You're the best kid I've ever met…"

Scootaloo was quiet. Not even a breath escaped her. But even though her head faced away, her good eye was nonetheless aimed in the direction of the elder pegasus.

The message was clear to Rainbow, and not a word had to be said: Stay away.

Rainbow Dash could have heeded the warning. She could have left it at that and hoped that what she had said would make sense to Scootaloo. She could have considered it all she could do and left the room with a simple goodbye.

But as it always did, stubbornness had a tight grip on her, and she would be damned to back down now. And while Scoot’s glare only hardened, Rainbow Dash could only see the desperate need hidden behind it; the intense desire for something she didn’t feel she deserved.

With great hesitation, Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof. Like a cautious filly about to touch a strange dog, she reached out…

The reaction was immediate. Scootaloo whipped her head around with a start, eyes locked onto Rainbow’s offered hoof like it were a venomous snake.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, sis. I’m not gonna hurt you…”

“No!” As Rainbow’s hoof grew closer, Scootaloo raised up her uninjured foreleg and shuffled back away. She held it up as a shield. “Go away!”

Her eyes bulged wide as Rainbow ignored her. She swatted at the incoming hoof roughly and batted it off to the side. Rainbow recoiled her foreleg like she had burned it on a stovetop, and Scootaloo took it as an opportunity to sit herself up, propping her body up against the headboard.

Dash took a deep breath. Then, she tried again, only she was less cautious this time. “Please, Scoot…”

“Get away!” Scootaloo lashed out viciously, smacking Rainbow’s fetlock again. The shout made Rainbow wince. “Leave me alone!”

Vision blurring once again, the thought of giving up entered Dash’s brain. But no sooner had it entered that she drove the idea out of her mind. Breathing in through quivering lips, Rainbow pushed forward one more time.

“I love you, little sis.” Her hoof managed to break through the girl’s resistance and rested onto Scootaloo’s shoulder. “Please…”

“Leave. Me. ALONE!”

The flash of movement was too fast for her to react. With a quick wind up, Scootaloo swung her hoof directly at Rainbow’s snout.

Stars exploded in Dash’s vision as the hoof knocked her nose crooked. With an involuntary cry, Rainbow reared her head back, hooves shooting up to her snout.

When she pulled them away, they were covered in red. Mouth agape from pain and shock, she looked up to the bed.

Scootaloo sat motionless. Beside her head, her hoof was raised in the air. It shook like a leaf. Her jaw lay slack.

Blood dribbled from Rainbow’s nose in rivulets. Scootaloo could not look away; her eyes darted between her hoof and her handiwork, and with each cycle, her breathing became faster.

“I… Rainbow, I-I…” Her pupils were so wide that the irises were invisible. Rainbow Dash stared back wordlessly. “I-I’m… I didn’t, I’m s-s-sor…”

Rainbow Dash lurched toward her. With a terrified squeak, Scootaloo cringed and covered her head, shutting her eyes tight.

But then, something wrapped itself around her shoulder. Something soft, and warm. And even through her closed eyes, it felt somehow familiar…

Rainbow’s subdued voice sounded from right beside her ear.

“You’re a great kid, Scoot.” The thing around her shoulder pulled her gently forward, sliding her over the mattress, while something else cradled around the back of her head and slipped through her messy mane.

With a flutter, Scootaloo’s eyelids slid open, to find her world enveloped in cyan blue.

Rainbow Dash did not have to squeeze hard. Her wing held Scootaloo like a protective net while her left hoof ran through her hair. Tears mingled with the sticky blood on her face.

“I love you, little sis.”

First, there was silence. Absolute quiet. Scootaloo was frozen in her grasp, and every muscle in her body felt like a rock.

Then, she felt the tension melt away. It was followed by a strangled, raspy sob, and then another. And another. Her breaths felt hot against Rainbow’s chest.

“You hear me, Scoot? I love you. I love you…” Her hoof rubbed up and down the back of Scootaloo’s head. “You’re a great kid…”

The sobs turned into weeps. Scootaloo collapsed completely in her grasp, and she slumped forward. Rainbow hugged her in closer, feeling herself choking on the air. The weeps became a fit of cries, high-pitched wails that curled the hairs on the back of Dash’s neck.

That was when Rainbow Dash felt Scootaloo’s foreleg hug her back. It clasped around her back like a metal vice, squeezing so tightly that it hurt.

“Don’t go!” Scootaloo wept. She sank further into Rainbow’s hold. “Don’t leave, don’t leave, don’t leave…”

“I won’t, Squirt. I won’t,” Rainbow quickly answered her. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? I promise…”

The peal of Scootaloo’s wails reached a crescendo. Rainbow Dash rocked her back and forth, feeling the runoff from Scootaloo’s eyes and nose matting her fur.

“I’m sorry, I-I’m sor—”

“No, no, It’s okay, Squirt,” said Rainbow. Her voice began to break. “I know you’re hurting. It’s okay, I’m not mad… oh, Scoot!”

Her own cries joined Scootaloo’s on the bed.

Comments

[Zyrian]

I really don't feel like crying at work...you're making it hard not to.

[Hillbe]

Powerful feels!

[DarthWill3]

Well, at least Dashie didn't tell Scoot that her old man died. Probably would've made things worse. No more than a punch should break the tension.

So far, this has got to be the most powerful reconciliation chapter you've ever written, my friend. Well done.

[Star Brush]

My heart just exploded into a million pieces.

[Gravityguardian29]

That was intense! Been waiting for awhile for you to update
loved the major feels invoked here. At first i thought since Rarity assured Rainbow that scoots would still love her, that it would completely go the other way and we may have a sad breaking off of Scoots and Dash's relationship. Glad to see i was wrong! Going to read the next chapter,
great job keep up the good work!

[Winter_Solstice]

Rainbow Dash lurched toward her. With a terrified squeak, Scootaloo cringed and covered her head, shutting her eyes tight.

That broke my heart.

[ZombieBrony22]

You wanna know something? I'm glad Spike killed that guy, but he should've survived just so Rainbow and Cheerliee can give him hell.

[MistsofDawn]

Oh my gosh. OmigoshOmigoshOmigoshOmigosh!!!!!!!!!
THAT. WAS........
So sad!
WHY???? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE ME-THE ONE GIRL THAT WILL NOT CRY DURING A SAD MOMENT..........CRY????!!!! WHYYYY???????
Ugh! I love and hate you at the same time Arwhale! WHYWHYWHYWHYWHYYYY! * sobs *

[Jinzou]

Rainbow Dash lurched toward her. With a terrified squeak, Scootaloo cringed and covered her head, shutting her eyes tight.

If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of my heart tearing into pieces.

[Swedish_xir]

[kluck]

Well now.....

[FoalLanguage]

[Teraunce]

The cut onion pile now has more than 9000 onions in it.