A Do-Over

by Pip232

18: Why Do I Even Bother?

The night air was filled with the sound of crickets chirping as the Apple siblings walked across Sweet Apple Acres. Big Macintosh looked behind him, making sure Apple Bloom was still asleep.

“Hey, Applejack,” he softly told her, “take Apple Bloom and put her to bed. Ah’m gonna go check something.”

She moved over and gently scooted Apple Bloom onto her back. “You’re gonna go check the treehouse, ain’t ya?”

“Eyup.”

As Big Macintosh started walking off, Applejack went to the farmhouse. As soon as she opened the door she knew her rough night wasn’t over yet.

Idly rocking back and forth in her rocking chair and glaring at her from across the room was Granny Smith. Her forelegs were tightly crossed, and Applejack knew she was in for it now.

“Do you have any idea what time it is? Where in tarnation have you been?! Ah have been worried sick! First Ah go to check on y’all and find ya gone and one of the wagons wrecked, then Ah can’t find anypony around ‘ere! You better have a darn good explanation!”

Oh boy… This is gonna be tough. “Granny, there was an accident. That wagon broke loose and it-“ her voice momentarily failed her, still finding it hard to say aloud, “it crushed Scootaloo.”

Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped. “How did that happen? Is she alright?!”

Applejack shook her head, momentarily checking that Apple Bloom was still sleeping. “No, she’s not alright. Granny, Scootaloo’s gone.”

She was shocked. Cuts, scrapes, and the occasional bruise were to be expected from what they did, but honest work on their farm having killed somepony was a mournful prospect. “Put Apple Bloom to bed, then come back and tell me everything.”

“Got it.” She started going up the stairs, going slowly so as not to disturb Apple Bloom, or worse, have her fall off. Going into the filly’s room she gently tucked her into bed, giving her a kiss goodnight.

“Sweet dreams, sugarcube. Today’s been a rough day for everypony, and we’re not done yet, but we’ll get through it together.”

Making sure she was asleep, Applejack crept out of the room and closed the door behind her. Going downstairs, she heard the front door open, and when she got to the bottom she saw her older sibling coming in.

“It’s a good thing nopony took me up on that bet. Ah couldn’t find anything in the treehouse.” Big Macintosh told them.

“So Scootaloo wasn’t staying there... Well, where the hay was she sleeping, then?” Applejack asked

Granny Smith looked confused “Wait a minute, why in tarnation would that filly have been living in the treehouse?”

Applejack sat down, getting settled into the couch. “It’s a lot to tell all at once, Granny.”

---

Entering the boutique, Rarity checked to make sure Sweetie Belle was still behind her, though she could have just kept listening to the soft sobs coming from her.

Sweetie Belle dragged her hooves as she came through the door, her gaze squarely on the floor, and her curly mane obscuring her face.

Rarity knelt down and gently pushed her head back up. The look on the younger unicorn’s face told her all she needed to know as she wrapped her in a loving embrace. The hug was returned with greater force than Rarity had expected as her sister began to weep into her shoulder.

“Sweetie, I know it hurts. Today was a tragedy, but it gets easier, it just takes time.”

“I don’t want easier,” Sweetie’s voice took a pitch that seemed perfectly tuned to break Rarity’s heart. “I want my friend back! I didn’t think the last time I saw Scootaloo would be the last time I ever saw her.”

For a while, the only sound in the boutique was Sweetie’s crying until Rarity dared to break it, trying to change the subject to absolutely anything else. “I know it’s late, but do you want anything to eat? In all the commotion we didn’t get any dinner.”

“I’m not hungry… I think I’m just going to go to bed. I just want today to be over.”

Her answer was expected, but disappointing all the same. Rarity hated seeing her so upset, and knowing there was absolutely nothing she could do to make things better frustrated her. Rarity let go and took a step back, still keeping at eye-level with Sweetie Belle. Maybe there was one thing she could do.

“Would you like to stay with me tonight, Sweetie?” She gently asked. It was admittedly just sharing her bed with her sister, something they often did when she had a nightmare, but it was all she had to offer.

She was glad when she nodded. “Yeah, that sounds nice.” Her voice still held a great deal of sadness, but she sounded a tiny bit better than she had before.

Rarity smiled, glad to see any improvement in her mood. “Alright. Go brush your teeth and come in when you’re ready.”

Sweetie Belle gave the faintest of smiles before she started heading up the stairs, and Rarity felt a sense of relief as she started following her. Rarity went into her bedroom, getting herself ready for bed.

---

“This is a load of horseapples!” Rainbow Dash angrily declared as she exited the hospital. Twilight followed right behind her with Spike riding on her back. She had been waiting to shout that since they’d been advised to leave, but getting it out didn’t make her feel any better.

“I’m sorry, but, well-“ Twilight paused, trying to think of how to finish that sentence. There was no good way to finish it, and nothing she said could make the situation better.

“Scootaloo is gone, we have no idea where she is, and we’re trusting Doctor Apathy in there to look for clues.”

“Her body is gone, Dash.” Twilight corrected. “As for Palliate, his bedside manner may be lacking, but if Luna trusts him, I think we should, too. We’ll find out who took her.”

“Or maybe she’s alive!” Dash shot back. “She could be out there somewhere!”

Twilight felt her frustration growing, a harsh tone creeping into her voice. “Dash, I saw her, lying on a metal table, covered with a sheet, and not breathing.”

“Oh come on! We’ve seen weirder things happen! We can’t be certain unless we find her!”

She was about to argue with her, but stopped and sighed. “You’re right, but we’ll have a better chance of finding her when it’s daylight and we’re well-rested.” She saw her friend’s crestfallen expression and felt sympathy for her.

“Look, we won’t get anywhere if we’re looking while we’re tired and it’s the middle of the night. We should get a good night’s sleep so we’ll be up to the task tomorrow. We’ll also have better luck asking for help then.”

“Ugh, I hate waiting.”

“I know, believe me, I know. For now, let’s both go home, get some sleep, find out what Palliate finds in the morning, and go from there.”

Rainbow Dash spread her wings, and with a strong flap, she began to rise off the ground.

“Come over bright and early, we’ll gather our friends and get started. I’ll see you then.” Twilight tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it was weak and she knew it. She was grateful when Rainbow Dash flew off, letting her face relax.

She flinched when Spike poked her, turning back to him. He looked nervous, but curious at the same time. “Do you really think she could be alive?”

Twilight thoughtfully looked back to the sky, watching Rainbow Dash fly away from them. “She was right, we have seen stranger things before, but it’s highly unlikely Scootaloo is still alive.”

She watched Rainbow Dash speeding towards Canterlot and very soon a ring of rainbow color exploded through the sky with a thundering boom.

Twilight sighed, putting a hoof to her face. “Why do I even bother?”

“She’s going straight towards Canterlot.”

“No, she’s going straight for Luna. I don’t think she’s going to appreciate Rainbow Dash showing up unannounced.” Twilight noted.

“Should we do something?” Spike asked.

“I don’t think we could stop her if we tried. We should let Celestia know she’s coming. Spike, take a letter.” he pulled out a quill and paper, and she began. “Dear Princess Celestia, Rainbow Dash is on her way and is going to demand to talk with Princess Luna. I write to you to let you know she’s coming.”

Spike finished writing and rolled it up, but he looked skeptical. “Celestia is probably asleep, Twilight, I’m not sure if she’ll be awake to read this.”

Twilight thought for a moment, then lit up her horn. “Shield your eyes, Spike.” When he did she squinted and cast a spell on the paper so it glowed brightly. “There, send that.”

“Nevermind, no way she’ll sleep through this!” Spike shut his eyes and breathed out a plume of fire to send the letter on its way, relieved that the bright glow was gone.

After a moment, Twilight’s eyes suddenly widened. “Hey Spike, you still have that envelope from earlier?”

“Gotcha covered.” He held it up, showing it to her. “How come?”

“Because,” She focused and teleported then both to the throne room of her castle, gently taking the envelope with her magic and spreading the contents all over the map. “we didn’t get to examine this well earlier, and I’m sure giving this a quick once-over before bed wouldn’t hurt.”

She levitated one of the photos up for a closer look and she felt her throat constrict. Her earlier statement was immediately proven wrong. “Oh sweet Celestia!” She exclaimed, her magic slamming the photo face down as she felt sick to her stomach.

“What? I didn’t see it.” Spike hopped down off her back and on to one of the thrones, looking at the blank backside of the picture.

“You don’t want to, Spike.” Twilight grimaced. “It was a picture of Scootaloo in the hospital after she was rescued from the fire. Immediately after she was rescued.”

“Oh…” Spike cringed, now grateful he hadn’t seen anything.

“I think it would be best if nopony else saw that photo.” Twilight gathered everything else up, sealing it back in the envelope. “On second thought, I’ve decided we’ll look through this in the morning. We won’t be good help to Dash if what we see might keep us up all night.”

As if on cue, Spike put a claw over his mouth and let out a long, drawn-out yawn. “Yeah, you’ve got a point there.”

Twilight smiled, wrapping a wing around him and gently guiding him towards the hall. “Then let's go to bed, what do you say?”

---

Granny Smith sunk back in her seat, processing everything her granddaughter had just finished telling her. “That story’s sadder than a rocking chair that’s lost its swing, Applejack.”

“Yeah…” She put her head in her hooves, groaning. “Ah don’t know what to do. Apple Bloom’s gonna be traumatized for life, Scootaloo lost hers, there’s no way to fix this.” She leaned against the armrest of the couch, supporting her head with a hoof. “Dying all alone without a family, Ah can’t think of a worse way to go.”

She felt a comforting hoof on her shoulder and looked up to see her brother’s reassuring smile. When she heard her grandmother chuckling, she glared at her. “What could you possibly be laughing at?”

“A family doesn’t just have to be by blood, Applejack. Why, take Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, we all know they and Scootaloo think of one another as sisters.” Granny Smith smiled, her words filled with a tone of confidence. “Heck, she was around us so much she may as well have been an Apple.”

Applejack’s spirits began to lift, the feeling of despondency she was feeling greatly lessening. “You got a point, Granny. You shoulda seen how much her wings buzzed with excitement the morning after Rainbow Dash agreed to be her big sister. Ah thought she was gonna take off flying then and there.”

Granny smiled back. “That’s exactly what Ah mean. It ain’t blood or forms that make a family, it’s the love they share with each other. The poor dear had a family, what she needed was a home.”

“Eyup.”

A peaceful silence hung in the air for a few seconds before Applejack spoke again. “So where do we go from here? Ah mean, what happens next?”

Granny Smith stood up from her rocking chair, the wood creaking with her movements before she got to her hooves. “We do what any grieving family does: we lay her to rest, we mourn her, and we keep her memory alive. It’s a process we’ll all have to go through, so will Rainbow Dash, and Sweetie Belle, too.”

“It ain’t simple and we both know it. It’s gonna be especially hard on Apple Bloom.” Applejack told her.

“Ah know it ain’t easy, Applejack,” Granny told her, looking away and rubbing her eye. Her voice was much more somber. “Nopony knows better than me how difficult it is to bury a loved one, but it’s something we’re gonna have to do, and that’s how we’ll get through it.”

She felt Big Mac squeeze her shoulder, looking up to him. He offered her a reassuring smile, but he put a large hoof over his mouth to stifle a loud yawn.

“Sounds like y’all had a day longer than a country mile.”

“Yeah, we did.” Applejack stood up from the couch, rubbing her eyes. “Ah’m gonna go hit the hay. Ah’ll see y’all in the morning.”

After making her way upstairs, Applejack carefully cracked open Apple Bloom’s door and looked inside. A feeling of relief washed over her as she saw her still sleeping peacefully.

“Goodnight, sugarcube. Ah’ll see you in the morning.” With that, she gently closed the door before going to her bed for the night.

---

Rainbow Dash flew towards Canterlot, her speed increasing and the wind rushing past her faster and faster until she broke forward in a Sonic Rainboom. I’ll never get tired of that.

As she sped towards Canterlot, her eyes locked squarely on the castle. Alright, Luna, I’m going to get to the bottom of this and the first step to that is getting some answers out of you!

Comments

[F]

Good job, as always. Looking forward to the next one.

[Zoshe]

NEXT!!!

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

[tsaukpaetra]

With heavy hearts everypony goes to sleep. Well, almost everypony.
Question is, what little hope can be raised when the news is disseminated?
It has been said that home is where the heart is. Let us hope Scoots' heart is strong enough to return them both home I..
Keep going! ;)

[Clearnote]

I need to know what happens next, I'm so intrigued!!!

[Teraunce]

10580402
Good words. I hope so too.