> The Day Dash wasn't Loyal
>  by Bromad
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Sunny Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the third week straight of summer, the sun seemed twice as bright than it normally is.
"Celestia really needs to turn down the sun!" Scootaloo said to herself.
Looking off to the left, she could see the fringes of Sweet Apple Acres with Applebloom busy doing chores on the farm, trying to keep the orchards from drying up, and to the right in the direction of Rarity's boutique. Sweetie Bell didn't hesitate to take her sister's offer to go to Horseshoe Bay Beach for the day. In the shade, it was the only cool place in the park while she waited for Rainbow Dash to appear. 
Stretching her wings, they did nothing to keep herself cool when they were folded in. Pawing at one orange feather, time passed at an agonizing pace when she couldn't help but pull at it until the feather finally came loose with just a tiny pinch. Yawning, Scootaloo looked to the dried yellow grass, digging one hoof into the ground until she heard the familiar toll of the town clock chime once plus the the three follow up bells. "It's only 1:15? Well, at least she's might not be late this time..." 
Flopping to the ground in boredom, she rolled over and looked to the sky- not a single cloud to be seen. 
"Ahg!" She moaned, Is Rainbow ever going to show? 
Scootaloo watched a faint puff of a cloud raced across the sky at speeds that could only be matched by a certain cyan pegasus. Peering up with her hoof blocking the sun, Scootaloo could make out the six colored mane attached to Rainbow Dash. Rolling up and back onto her hooves. 
"Hey Rainbow! You're late!" she shouted playfully. The blue blur passed by without slowing down, in fact, Scootaloo could see Rainbow's wings beat even faster, flying beyond the park and out of her line of sight. 
"Oh... you're busy. I get that." Scootaloo said out loud. "A lot of ponies are..."
Scootaloo stared at the ground, silent for minutes, only speaking when she felt a tear drop make it to the tip of her nostril and fall to the grass which was eagerly sucked up by the dry ground. 
"It's not like I haven't been waiting an hour and fifteen minutes for you but I have. Still waiting on you. Again." 
No pony was around, no bugs, no birds, not even a summer breeze to help carry her words beyond a few feet.  
"It's no big deal, maybe next time, or tomorrow, or next week, or in a couple months. Whatever works for you." Scootaloo said, trying to conjure up the last shreds of hope about Rainbow Dash.
"I guess I'll go home..." Standing up, she tested her wings. Hovering a few inches off the ground, she feigned a smile at the buzzing motion they made compared to the steady relaxed wing beats a fully grown pegasi could maintain while flying. Settling back down with all four hooves beneath her, Scootaloo sighed. 
Reaching for her scooter, she recoiled when one hoof grabbed the metal bar that had been sitting in the sun for hours. "Ah," but even the short reminder of pain seemed half heart-felt. This time, she grabbed the plastic tips of the handlebars and started off towards home. Through the streets of town, all the ponies were lounging beneath any source of shade they could find, all while fanning themselves or silently coping with the heat by drinking iced lemonade.
The door to her home drew closer every moment, but seeing the familiar wooden door phased her. Leaning her scooter against the side of her house, she couldn't stop her hooves from moving around the corner and down the street. 
"She never makes it." Scootaloo thought. Never the word came again, cementing the fact into her mind. 
Six times, She wanted to scream, Make it seven times! 
The words "fair" and "unfair" bounced back and forth in Scootaloo's mind, making her head heavy in the burdening heat

Walking down the street, nopony even acknowledged her aside from a sideways glance that dismissed her the moment she walked out of their sight.
"At least tomorrow is going to be better." She heard one pony say, Oh, really? Like what could possibly make tomorrow better than this scorcher-all her friends were busy, her hero abandoned her, and she couldn't shake the feeling that everyone around her was depressed..." 
"It might rain," "Might' so, might not. They've been saying that for weeks." Somepony said, but now it was her turn to give the dismissive glance.
Great, another thing to get sad about. Nothing makes it harder to fly than doing it in the rain. Not like I could fly in the rain anyway.   
The town market was practically deserted aside from the ponies manning their stalls, Lily Bloom was frantically spraying water onto flower petals to keep them hydrated, but it was clearly apparent that the fight against the heat was a loosing battle as they slowly wilted. 

Sun bearing down, Scootaloo let her mind go blank, ignoring the heat, the sweat, and the slowly forming tears that lead from her eyes down her cheeks. The drops that fell to the ground were sucked in by the dry dirt as she kept moving out of town and along the roads leading in directions she vaguely knew where they went. East she said to herself, The sun is at my back. 

It hadn't even occurred to her that the ground beneath her hooves was cold and had faint bits of dew. Finally a thought that had taken hours to develop came forth, reminding her that it was time to return home. Looking to her surroundings, the sun was gone, the stars were out and the moon was already halfway into the sky. Scootaloo turned 180 degrees and saw the way she just came, it was nothing but forest and a rocky slope. She saw a faint outline of her own hoof print and jumped in that direction, but screamed when she botched the landing and rolled downhill. Coming to a crash with her back to the rocks, she gasped for air, swallowing it as fear and pain took hold of her. Her front right leg was scratched and cut, there was just a faint glisten of red blood that surfaced, but what bothered her the most was how much skin she scraped off. 
"Ow..." She said to herself. But, as much as she didn't want to cry, inflated disappointment and sorrow flooded into her body, amplifying the pain. Pushing herself up, she collapsed and weaped as both wings fell to her side. 	
I don't wanna stay out here! I want to go home! Can't I just... Her sobbing took control of her thoughts, shuddering and giving a hiccup to the despair she'd been blocking away behind a mental dam made of hope and white lies she's told herself for so long. Her eyes felt red, burning even. Scootaloo couldn't even bring herself to curse the name that made her feel this way, despite her mind bringing up the image of magenta eyes, a cyan coat, and rainbowmane.

The only thing that could, and did make her night even worse were the clouds that Rainbow Dash and all the other weather pegasi gathering for three weeks were finally ready for a long two day rain production that broke over Scootaloo's head with crashing thunder and bright lightning. 

Dragging herself beneath a tree with minimal protection from the rain, her back legs refused to stand up, so when she finally reached the trunk, she curled up, forced her wings to wrap around her frame, and silently cried with the passing of falling raindrops.
 
> 2. Rainy Evening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applebloom saw the endless torrent of rain from her window plink against the glass and roll down the pane. The drought had finally broken in a flash flood caused by the weather team responsible for Ponyville, and was planned to be followed up with straight days of rain, giving the landscape the water it desperately needed. It was the afternoon of the first day, but the grey clouds and undetectable sun made it difficult to tell what time it was unless you were staring at a clock.
Big Macintosh plodded around the side of the barn dressed up in a yellow windbreaker with a heavy load of burlap sandbags and a shovel in tow, tossing them all in a big pile at the doors with hardly any effort. 

"Another day and a half ah' this?" Applebloom asked herself, 

"Ah, don't worry yourself too much young missy! This storm is a drop in the bucket compared to the howler's we faced back in my day! It would rain for two months straight! Had to swim to school, had ta use a boat to pick apples in the lower fields. Crazy weather ponies didn't know what they were doin' back then. Heck, that's one of the ways I got so good at swimmin' too! No pony would've been able to tell the difference between me and a merpony if they hadn't a seen ma' legs." Granny Smith said, 

"So what did you do to pass the time?"  

"Well, let's see now... we would...oh! That reminds me, don't go swimmin' it's too cold out and you'll catch your cold without proper ice water training." 

"Huh? I thought you said you would swim all the time in the rain." 

"Course we did! But, like I said, the crazy weather ponies didn't know what they were doing back then, they boiled the water, had it nice and hot, but by the time it reached the ground, it was like swimmin' in a warm bath. Nowadays it's too cold. I woulda gone up there and told 'em how to make rain myself, except I was too busy enjoyin it."

Granny Smith laughed at her own joke, remembering a couple of other odd bits about her fillyhood.

Applebloom looked back to the window, Big Mac was finished placing sandbags around the doors and Applejack hollered in through the doors. "Hey Applebloom! Grab your coat! Ah need your help getting some stuff from town before the roads flood! Granny, man the fort till we get back!" 
Granny Smith responded with a "Will do!" and tossed Applebloom her coat and pushed her out the door. 

Outside, the ground was covered in an inch of water. Because of the Apple's prepping for the rain to finally come the already loosened earth sucked up plenty of water and turned it into slick deep mud. 
"Hey AJ, can I go check on the club house? I wanna make sure there aren't any leaks." 
"Go head sugarplum, just be careful not to fall, and meet us back along the road, Big Mac's taking it slow with the cart, and he doesn't want it to get bogged down on the way in or out of town." 
Applebloom bolted for the cutie mark crusader clubhouse, a bastion from boredom and things uninteresting. Scrambling up the ramp and through the door, she called out for her friends, and was met with the single drip of water plinking against the wooden floor. The small leak was nothing to fret over, she counted the time it took for one drop to fall, and then the second. It took nine seconds. "Well, it is only for two days, we can fix it after the rain stops."

Slow going on the road to Ponyville, Applejack had her hooves pressed firmly against the rear end of the cart and was putting as much effort into keeping the back wheels from sinking at all. 
"Need any help?" Applebloom asked, "Not now sweetie, on our way back maybe. Why don't you run ahead, go check on your friends? These rainy days are long and I don't want either of you catching sick by staying out longer than you need to be. Same goes for you too Mac, once we get this to town, I want you to find a place to keep warm for at least twenty minutes."

Applebloom perked up, That's a perfect chance for me to go see Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell!. Applejack looked down at her sister, wearing a grin that stretched clear across her face. She couldn't help but smile at the sight as well.

Bolting through the streets of Ponyville, water was much more of a problem in town than it was out on the farm. On some streets, there was a solid foot of water which came up too her stomach and around her neck if she wasn't careful.

Swimming partially to Rarity's Boutique, Sweetie Bell was pressed firmly against the window, and waved eagerly when AppleBloom came into view. Once inside, the she pulled off one coat and shook the other before hugging her friend.  

"Are you surviving?" Applebloom asked, wringing out her coat onto the floor. 
"Me? How did you make it here? I thought we would've had to make a giant boat with all the animals on it if this rain didn't stop."
"Ah had to swim a little to get here, but, have you seen Scootaloo? I went by her house, lights were off,nopony home. I thought she mighta ducked down over here with you until the storm clears up." Sweetie Bell shook her head.
"Nope, I haven't seen her since we met up two days ago. And I was awfully tired last night after getting back from the beach." 
"Well, where is she?" 
"Maybe she's sleeping?" 
"Nah, I banged pretty loud on her door, bucked it to make sure she could hear. She ain't home." 
"She's probably out then, probably to get something to eat or something." 
"Well, maybe Pinkie's seen her, she always knows this kind of stuff."
"Hey Rarity! Me and Applebloom are going to go find Scootaloo! We're off to see Pinkie!" Sweetie Bell yelled.
The ivory unicorn came down the stairs and looked at the pool of water beneath the dripping filly which came clear across her showroom floor. 
"Out you go!" she said, contempt directed at the water which managed to reach the bottom stair.

Both Applebloom and Sweetie Bell were drenched through the fur and to the bone by the time they reached Sugar Cube corner, they couldn't even feel the ground until they finally rested on the cement stairs leading to door. Pulling on the black handle, they darted to  different sides as a long green diving board fell outwards and Pinkie walked out wearing an inner tube, floaties, goggles, and diving flippers. "Hi Pinkie!" the both said.
The pink mare was silent for the first time, intensely focusing as she reached the end of the diving board. Bouncing one, twice, and finally jumping out after the third time, she gracefully doing a double front flip with a half twist. She burst up out of the water to the applause of Applebloom and Sweetie Bell while they both treaded water. 
"Hiya girls!" she said, spitting out a stream of water. "What's up?" 
Applebloom and Sweetie Bell shivered, climbing out of the water and onto the diving board. "We-we're looking for S-s-s-cootaloo. S-s-s-seen her?" Sweetie Bell said between her chattering teeth. 
"Not since she walked by really mopey yesterday! I would've gone out and helped, but I was really busy and the ground was lava! I imagined that she was a vicious lava monster, trying to suck down innocent ponies into the burning pits of the Ponyville volcano."
"Do you know where she went? She's not at home." "Well, she was saying something about Rainbow Dash, and how she never showed up, and then she was crying. I called out to her, but she was really, really focused and I even put a muffin on her back, but she didn't even notice! How could you not notice a pony putting a muffin on your back? It was a vanilla frosting cupcake,with sprinkles! She especially didn't notice that it fell off, and I had to run back here and grab a new one. But when I looked for her, she  was nowhere to be found! It's like she disappeared!" 
Applebloom and Sweetie Bell stared at Pinkie in horror. 
"Again?"Sweetie Bell asked Applebloom
"Wasn't that like the fifth time or somethin'?" 
"Sixth, no, seventh." 
"Man, Scoots must be really upset." 
"Think anypony else has seen her?" 
"We could ask Rainbow, she might've seen Scootaloo later and apologized."
"I don't think you'll be able to ask her." Pinkie Pie said, performing the backstroke
"Why not?" Applebloom asked
"Cause she's super busy, not like I was, but I mean, super, really busy. And oh, look! There she goes!"
All three ponies looked up, they couldn't see her because of the cloud cover, but her agitation to the clouds made lightning burst from all around her, and the three earthbound ponies could see her silhouette.
"How do you know that's Rainbow Dash?" 
"Because what other pony would be flying through lightning?" Pinkie Pie responded cheerily.
"Good point, but how are we going to talk to her? We need to find out were Scootaloo went." Sweetie Bell said, watching Rainbow Dash leave a trail of erupting lightning clouds behind her. 
"I guess we'll have ask around, or wait it out." Applebloom said disheartened. 

"Applebloom? Applebloom!" Applejack yelled, The orange mare was treading through the water when she finally spotted the three of them on Sugar Cube Corner's porch. "There ya are! Come on! Storm ain't letting up, we gotta get these supplies back to the farm or be rained out!" 
"AJ! We can't find Scootaloo!" Applebloom said, jumping into the water towards her sister. 
Applejack grimaced, hearing the worry and fear in her sister's message. 
"What's this about yer friend?"
"Scootaloo's not home, Pinkie said she hasn't seen her since yesterday, and she said she was really sad because Rainbow Dash didn't show up again!" 
Applejack looked to the sky and scowled. 
"Rainbow Dash, I am gonna tear you a new one if you forgot about Scootaloo again." Looking back down at her sister, "How many times has it been, wasn't this the third? Fourth?"
"Seventh!" Everyone shouted.
Applejack froze, That featherbrained showoff. Applejack thought to herself, her expression turned to anger as she scanned the grey skies. 
"Where is that no-good, so called Element of Loyalty anyway? I am gonna make sure she never forgets that little filly ever again." Applebloom looked up, hearing the clouds belt out thunder as Rainbow Dash made another pass through the clouds. 
"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack yelled "Get yer frilly, blue hide down here right now so I can smack ya! You forgetful no-good cloud for brains! Why'd you have to forget about Sco-" 
A crack of lightning struck Rainbow Dash in place, they all watched as she plummeted from the grey clouds with her mane smoldering from the blast until she crashed into the flooded streets of Ponyville. 
"Rainbow!" Applejack yelled
She looked down at her shaking sister, "Applebloom, tell Big Mac I'm gonna be a while, then get home and get near a fire-your shivering like ah thought you would. Sweetie Bell, go home, I want both of you to not worry about you're friend. I'll make sure I find out what's up from Dash." 
Applebloom tried to protest but the mixture of Applejacks anger and fear for Rainbow Dash silenced her before she could even mutter "But-"

Sprinting through the streets kicked up plenty of water, soaking her already wet mane as raindrops pounded down from the skies as Applejack ran to her downed friend.
She was barely floating above the surface, No, nononononono! she silently screamed, fishing her out of the water. "Come on, Dash, wake up! Wake up! I know you've been through worse, come on! A little lightning ain't got nothing on ya!" 
Rainbow Dash's colorful mane was scorched black along the backside of her head and her aviator goggles were cracked and flooded. Pulling them off, Applejack couldn't tell if the fall was too much for her friend to take. "
Tears added to the mix water from the skies, the streets, and the droplets from their wet fur. Applejack placed a hoof on Rainbow's chest and cried out when she felt it rise just barely. Desperately looking around, no pony even had cast a glance out their window or peeked through their door when Rainbow crashed, 
"Help!" Applejacked sobbed, cradling Rainbow Dash in her hooves "Help! Anypony! I need some help!" 
> 3. Stormy Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	There was a steady beep of the heart rate monitor attached to Rainbow Dash, the source of the only noise in the sanitary room aside from the occasional sniff from Applejack, sitting beside the bed with her muzzle on the edge of the bed, but the nuisance was from being out in the rain so long more than anything else. Twilight sat idly by the window, watching the black storm clouds squeeze every drop of water onto the ground, lost in thought on ways to banish the depression and wake Rainbow Dash. Rarity fretted along side Fluttershy on the guest sofa as they watched the cyan pony's chest rise and fall with the heart monitor. 
Finally when the doctor made his rounds at 8. A.M. the next morning, the long silence that had taken them was broken. "Ms. Applejack? You were the one who brought Rainbow Dash in correct?" Applejack raised her head and faced the doctor, nodding silently. "She had one heck of a fall. Burns, fractured wing from impact, two broken ribs from impact, bruised shoulder bone, bruised ankle bones, she might have a concussion, but from what the report shows, her wings, right shoulder, and chest took the blunt of the crash." "But, she'll turn out all right?" 
The doctor smiled, and it was instantly infectious. "Of course, there will need to be a few months of physical therapy and taking it easy for a while, but she should make a full recovery. I am worried about her nerves though, electricity can be very cruel to some ponies, and forgiving for others. Has she ever been electrocuted before? Pegasi do show a tendency to be more resistant to electrical shocks." 

"I'm fine" she groaned. Everypony's head swung towards Rainbow Dash as she tried to force her eyes open "I'm fine." she said again, raising a hoof to rub her eyes. 
"Rainbow Dash! You're awake!" The doctor quietly shoved his way to Rainbow Dash's side and turned to everyone else, "If I could please ask you to leave, I'm going to perform a quick examination and then I'll be able to determine the best course of action. 

The examination was quick, just like the doctor said, but not fast enough as they walked back in ten minutes later and gathered around her side. "So what happened?" Applejack asked first, 
Rainbow eased herself in to a more sitting position, wincing at the pain in her ribs and wings. "Trying to disperse the storm, it was too much. We collected too much cloud and we had to cloud break before it got out of hand, but by the time we started, it was too late." 
"And right up to the lightning?" 
"I was trying to cut the size of the clouds in half by going right down the middle, but like I said, we collected way too much cloud for this storm." Rainbow looked at the window, raindrops still pounding down "How long has it been raining?" 
"This is the dawn of the second day." Twilight said. 
"And it's at this level of intensity still? It'll take days for this to rain itself out." 
The ponies nodded, Fluttershy was able to quip in a bit of information about the pegasi weather team, "After you fell, the other pegasi realized it was too dangerous and started clearing it by working the outside and are going to make their way towards the center." 
Rainbow laid back, "They'll take forever."
"Rainbow?" Applejack asked "We may not have forever, just before the storm, weren't you suppose to meet with Scootaloo?" 
Rainbow's eyes widened for a moment but then settled back down. "Yeah, we were suppose to meet at the park, but I was still working and couldn't get out of it." 
"So you mean to say that you made an apppointment with Scootaloo on a day you were working?" 
"Yeah, cause usually I'm done with work and long gone by the time I was suppose to meet her, but they had me flying all over Equestria for any spare rain cloud I could find. 
"So why didn't you take the day off?" Applejack pressed, "Why didn't you take any of the seven times ya were suppose to?" 
"She's just a fan, and I can't spent all my time with just one fan who really likes me." Applejack was tempted to smack her, raising her hoof, but stopped herself  because of the bandages Rainbow wore. 
"Scootaloo may be a fan of yours, but she ain't just a fan! She's your friend! She's Applebloom's friend, Sweetie Bell's friend, and that made her my friend, and Rarity's friend, Fluttershy's friend, and Twilight's friend. So why in the blazes is she not yours? Is she not cool enough for ya? Not fast enough? Well, maybe if you spent more than ten minutes not thinking about yourself and devoted two seconds to helping her because she asked for it, and you promised that you'd be there for her, you'd realize how much of a great amazing filly she really is!" 
Applejack was panting, letting loose a torrent of anger that finally receded to a controllable level. Before any of her friends could say anything, she quickly apologized "I'm sorry Dash, but you gotta know that Scootaloo really looks up to you, if she wasn't your friend, then she really wants to be." 
The other ponies were contemplating what to say that hadn't already been said by the brutally honest Applejack. 
"So where is she anyway?" 
They all looked down, darkness coming over their faces. "We don't know, we were hoping you knew. Pinkie was the last to see her but she said that you might've gone back to check on her after you were finished flying around."
"So that means no one has seen her for two days. I hope she's alright." Fluttershy quipped, 
"I was up in the air for three days! I didn't get any sleep. I remember flying over Scootaloo, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't even if I wanted to, but if I broke my concentration, I would've collapsed." Rainbow Dash said defensively.
"None of that matters now, what matters is that we need to find out what happened to Scootaloo, after you left her again for the seventh time, Rainbow Dash." Twilight said finally. "I've been going over what I know about tracing spells in my head and a scrying spell came to mind. I should be able to see what she sees, but I need a catalyst-something important to her." 
"Uh-Twi'? She left her scooter. I found it while pokin around Scootaloo's house, it fell over and was in the mud. Applebloom must'a missed it." 
That news was a surprising to Twilight as it was to everypony else. 
"She left her scooter? But she never goes anywhere without it! Let alone leave it outside to be cluttered up by the mud." Rarity said. 
"I know! I can always hear that thing comin a mile away! If she left it, she musta been real upset with a certain pony." 
Rainbow Dash frowned, Her scorched mane hanging in front of her face as she felt worse for what might have happened to Scootaloo. 
"Applejack, where's the scooter? I'm going to find out where she is, and maybe out what direction she's went off in. She might of just..." Twilight trailed off, realizing she didn't know anything else about Scootaloo's daily routine except for that she was always with Applebloom and Sweetie Bell. 
"...I'll have Pinkie ask Cheerilee if she's seen any sign of her, or maybe a few of her classmates might know." Twilight said picking up again.
"And, regardless of the weather, I'll start asking around town to see if anyone has seen her, some pony must have seen her wander off."  Rarity said. 
"I'd like to join to, if that's all right." Fluttershy said, 
"And I'll get Applebloom to take me to all of her haunts, everywhere those fillies been is someplace Scootaloo may be." 
"I'm going." Rainbow Dash said, throwing off the covers. 
"Oh no, you are getting bedrest until you can at least walk. Once we find her, then you will go to her and tell you her sorry, repeatedly, and make it up to her by giving her a whole week of time to her- because she doesn't deserve anything less." Twilight said.
Her stubbornness was still driving her, forcing her to crawl out of bed and wheeze. "I'm going to try." 
"As much as I know you want to help find Scootaloo, you really need to stay in the hospital Rainbow Dash. 
Twilight agreed, already enveloping her friend with a glow of magic and setting her back down on the bed. The five able bodied ponies started making their way for the door. 
"Get some rest Rainbow." Fluttershy said, the last pony to leave the room with only the racing heart monitor as company.
> 4. Cool Morning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	With the rain clouds finally vacant from the sky, Scootaloo unfurled her wings and watched the remaining droplets of water drip down from the tree branches above her, and into the small divot she dug into the ground. It was brimming with fresh water, which she eagerly sipped from to abate the hunger in her stomach. She felt the bed of moss and her fur, both of them were wet but she only sighed with relief on finding a place to rest that was even more relaxing than a cloud. The sun breached the trees and shined down onto the droplets, creating a field of intense morning light if she looked at it from the right angle. 
The two days of stiffness that over took her was finally broken as she ruffled out her wings, drying them in the cool morning air while her joints popped as she stretched each leg, her neck, and her back. For the first time in the past three days, she felt calm. Her head wasn't pulsating with sorrow, anger, and the thoughts passed through without over thinking the small stuff. It was as if a clamp on her mind was finally being loosened.
The sensation made the forest seem surreal. The barks on the tree seemed much more vivid and detailed, for the time she spent staring at them while it rained, they were a brown blur. Now she could see the breaks in between the crevices that gave the trunks it protective shell. The ground was wet but firm because nopony had ever trodden this way. Birds calling from the tree tops echoed, singing because they were happy that the rain had finally passed and they were free to fly.
That last thought made Scootaloo look to the ground as it lingered for a moment longer than things that passed through her head. When she reached the edge of one hill, she saw the entire slope that lead down through ferns, trees, and fallen branches that were ripped off during the storm. 
"How far did I go?" She asked, trying to find the easiest path down. A stream from the excess water still flowing downhill gave some hint to the path Scootaloo should take, and her stomach leaped at the sight of huckleberry bushes growing along the edges. 
Devouring all the berries on the first bush, she ate them by the mouth full until she caught herself reaching for the branches of the second. 
No. Somepony, somewhere had told her that eating to many wild berries could be bad for you."But they're so good! And Sweet! Besides, I only think that wild huckleberries are bad if you eat too many." Instinct fought for control in this uphill battle of needs versus obscure knowledge, but the tide turned when she felt her stomach drop, saliva pour into her mouth and her sense of smell recoil at everything around her. The sweet berry scent lingering on her hooves, lips, and bushes were overpowering, making her head spin, "Uh...oh..." She said, wheeling around towards the stream. 
She leaned down towards the water, feeling the bile push up from her stomach and to her throat. She shuddered at the taste once it reached the back of her tongue.
Moving upstream a few steps, she plunged her head into the water and rinsed out her mouth as the aftertaste settled in. In a wave of symptoms, Scootaloo felt hot under her skin, but cold to the touch. Pouring the mountain stream water over her head and back of the neck, she sighed, looking back at the huckleberry bushes with a scowl. 
She quickly wiped her mouth and looked down the hill where the stream lead, and then checked it against the sun, the stream lead southeast. "It's gotta go somewhere, right?"

---
Fluttershy was on the verge of crying when she heard from a robin that a young orange filly with purple hair was spotted in the forested foothills of the mountains, thirty miles east of Ponyville. Tears forced their way out when the bird told her that Scootaloo was spotted in this area before the storm.
Twilight laid out a map in front of the seven ponies gathered and pulled highlighters from her bag. "This is where Fluttershy's animal friends saw Scootaloo last." She said, drawing a large circle in yellow around the lowlands. "The area is a  
"How in the hay does a little filly walk thirty miles in a couple a hours?" Applejack asked,
"Well, assuming she started walking around one in the afternoon at a pace of four miles per hour, and didn't stop until it was dark, which came pretty late- it was around 9:00. That's thirty two miles right there, then account for fatigue, slope incline, emotional state, and then the sudden realization that she's lost, which would've lead her to run around, going in circles until she finally settled down.  
This was before the storm, in the evening, since then I've scried her and been able to see what she sees. The good news is that she's been keeping to a small area. She found a bed of moss, some cover, and has been sleeping most of the time. But now that the skies are clear, this morning she was moving west, meaning she knows what direction Ponyville is in- or we can only hope. Now that we know the area she's in here's the search pattern we're going to stick to. Pinkie, I want you putting up trail markers every two hundred feet once we start out, Fluttershy will be in constant communication with the animals to find Scootaloo. Applejack, Applebloom, Rarity and Sweetie Bell, you'll be on ground control. Your job will be to go on foot and walk east. The main thing to remember through is to stick with your sister, we don't want to be losing either of you two while looking for your friend." The two fillies nodded, while Pinkie saluted to her assignment.
"I'll be heading the farthest out, trying to find where she was or any sign that she went through an area, and then follow it west. I'm going to scry her one last time before we head out to get a bead on what direction she's heading. Any objections?"
The ponies shook their heads, allowing Twilight to quickly cast the spell. It was only a moment after a bolt shot out that Twilight dry-heaved and shook her head to clear the haze. 
"What's wrong deary? Did the spell not work? Is Scootaloo alright?" Rarity asked, 
"It did, but she got sick, too many wild berries." 
"I though one a us told you three that if ya went out and had to survive in the forest, to not eat only berries- you need to balance it out or else it'll make ya sick." 
"Rainbow Dash taught us that." Applebloom said, "I think it was a month ago or so when she said that." the yellow filly's response shattered the expressions of the five grown up mares. They had quietly forgotten some of the good things she had done for the cutie mark crusaders, and instead were so caught up with focusing on what she hadn't don. Each of Rainbow Dash's friends looked to each other, eyes briefly making contact before breaking away. 

> 5. Cloudy Skies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Does everypony have food, water, and a map?" Twilight asked, the supplies were doubled for if they found Scootaloo.
"When we find Scootaloo." Twilight corrected herself, trying to stay positive. 
They all nodded, excluding the twelve birds perched on Fluttershy's back. "The search area today is fifteen square miles, we take it slow, we search thoroughly, and then we find Scootaloo."
Applebloom and Sweetie Bell jarred their heads in every direction, searching for a faint clue to Scootaloo's location. Their minds were already looking behind every tree and under every stump.
"Can we start?" Sweetie Bell asked, looking up to her sister.
"Just a moment," Rarity said.
"Remember stay within eye sight you two, don't go off where Rarity or me can't see ya."
Applebloom was the first to yell "SCOOTALOO!" Followed by Sweetie Bell, "SCOOTALOO!" 
Their sisters shushed them, "You're gonna lose your voice before we go a mile, the forests do tricky things to swallow up noise." Applejack said, "You can holler loud as you want, but not much will get through the trees. An echo can only go so far before being broken up til it sounds like a whisper." 
Applejack turned to Fluttershy, "Are you ready?" 
"Most definitely, these birds were very generous in offering to help search for Scootaloo, They even offered to ask other woodland creatures to help or ask if they've seen her." 
"Glad to hear it. All right girls, we all know who we're looking for, Fluttershy, do they know what Scootaloo looks like?" 
She nodded "A small Orange pegasi filly, purple hair." She said, reminding the twelve birds perched on her back. 
"Then this is where we split up, we know that somewhere in these trees is our friend. We will find her, let's go." Twilight said, with a hopeful glace back towards her friends, she took to the sky, venturing farther in to find traces of Scootaloo.

"Where are ya Scootaloo?" Applejack yelled, pursing her lips, she let out a high shrill whistle that made Applebloom wince at the noise. 
"She musta heard that." Applebloom said optimistically,
"We'll know soon enough lil' sis'." Applejack said, glancing over towards her sister. "We're lucky she didn't fly off, or else who knows where she coulda ended up."
"Why didn't she come to us?" Applebloom asked. 
Applejack frowned at the answer she came up with but it was the truth from experience, "When you get down, you get depressed. And when you're depressed, you don't see anything right. Nothin' makes sense, nothin' goes your way, and it takes a lot to snap yerself out of it. Scootaloo probably walked by plenty of ponies that first day and didn't even realize it. The time out here may be scaring the daylights out of her, but it snapped her out of it. She's had time to think, and hopefully we find her before she's had too much time to think. Otherwise, it'll make her angry."
Applebloom shifted her head, "Huh?"
"When you have time to think, there's a fine line between reasoning and overthinking. She's probably mad at Rainbow Dash, which I'm still a little ruffled myself just thinkin' about it, and is gonna tear her to pieces-even more so than we did. And even if Scootaloo never wants to see her face again, she sure needs to hear what Rainbow Dash has ta say."

Applebloom and Applejack trotted along side together for a few minutes in silence, but Applejack's frown stayed firmly attached. 
"Once we get back, I gotta apologize to her, she didn't deserve all of that. Cause, right now Rainbow is in that room feeling cast out and..." Her head dropped, "Alone."

---

"How do we know we're searching the right area?" Sweetie Bell asked, 
"That's the point of a search grid, Sweetie, if nothing turns up then we move onto the next area, while the girls do so in their regions until we find Scootaloo." Rarity replied,
"But what if, while we're searching one part of the grid, and she walks on the far side of the other that we haven't even searched yet, or already searched, and then we miss her!" Rarity heard the anxiety rise in her sister's voice,
"Trail markers, Sweetie. Pinkie has been zipping around the forest pointing which way for Scootaloo to follow, should she see them." 
"But what if she doesn't know what the trail markers are? What if she doesn't know which way to go when she sees them?" 
"Sweetie, you need to stop focusing on the what ifs and calm down, it wont get you anywhere but into a worrisome mess. Now please, how about you spread out that way a bit so we can expand, hmmm?" 
Sweetie Bell broke left, biting her lip as she tried to focus on finding Scootaloo. 

"But it's been almost four days!" Sweetie Bell pleaded.

That made Rarity break her strideas she soaked in the hopelessness Sweetie Bell voice held. The thought did cross her mind multiple times that day, but she never let the reality of those words sink in until Sweetie Bell herself said it. Even before breaking apart, she quietly agreed with Twilight that discussing out loud the amount of time Scootaloo had been missing was a subject to avoid.
Four days. A touch more accuracy puts it around three and a half. 
"Sweetie Bell, you can not think like that..." Her voice quivering, she sucked in a deep breath and shouted Scootaloo's name.
"Scootaloo?" Sweetie Bell shouted,
Rarity cringed as her heart sank, the way her sister uttered that single word made her look away.
Sweetie Bell sounded like she was calling out to a friend that passed away in front of her eyes. Rarity fought back tears, but the emotions welling around her sister grabbed hold of her. Her pace quickened then broke into a dead sprint, Rarity quickly shouted for her to slow down, but Sweetie Bell only shouted Scootaloo's name over and over again, growing more frantic with each cry.
Running to her sister, she wrapped her hooves around her neck as she cried into her shoulder. 
"We should of invited her. We should've known Rainbow wouldn't be able to make it and that Scootaloo wouldn't get her lesson. I should've checked on her the moment we got back, then we would've known that she wasn't there and could of started that night."
"Sweetie Bell," Rarity said, shushing her sister. "You can't go beating yourself up for all the things we should have, could of, or would of done in hindsight." 
Bringing herself eye level with Sweetie Bell, "Yes, we could of done all those things, and we should have invited her along, but what matters is what we are doing right now for her. We are looking for her, it may not make any difference that we did so, but Scootaloo will remember that we are trying to be there for her now. We are looking for her now. Sweetie Bell, we will find her."

---

Rainbow Dash inhaled and silently moaned on the exhale. "Pinkie."
Pinkie Pie looked left and right, underneath her hooves, off to the side of a tree, and finishing with a double take over each shoulder.  
"Pinkie!" The pink pony looked up at the cloud floating just a few feet above her. 
"Rainbow Dash? How did you get that cloud? Shouldn't you be in the hospital? I thought one of your wings were broken. Did it get better? Are you all healed? How did you get here?" 
"I came here on my good wing, and I came to look."
"Well look no further! Actually, you may need to look a lot further because we haven't found Scootaloo yet." 
"I know, but I need you to tell me where Twilight thinks Scootaloo was. I kinda followed you here and heard most of what Twilight said about figuring out Scootaloo's path. I can track her, I just need to find out where she was, and which way she went and I'll find her before sunset." 
"Well, I have a map on the route I'm suppose to take, and where Twilight went off in, but I think she would send you back in a heart beat if she found out that you weren't at the hospital. Twilight would probably put her hoof down and say 'What in the hay are ya' doin here Rainbow Dash'-" 
"That sounds like Applejack." 
"I know, Twilight and Applejack's responses are really similar. And then you would say 'I wanna help find Scootaloo' and then she would be all like "I'm going to teleport you back!" and then poof! You'd be back in your hospital bed." 
"I don't think she can teleport someone that far, Pinkie." 
"Element of Magic." Pinkie playfully said, reminding Rainbow Dash.
"Well I'm the element of Loyalty, and no matter what, I'm going to see this one through for sure! I don't care if she does see me, I'm finding Scootaloo. In fact, I want her to see me!"
"Good to here! Twilight went that a'way." 
"Thanks Pinkie," 
"You're welcome, welcome, welcome Rainbow Dash! Oh, and by the way, Fluttershy has almost all the wildlife searching for her, and they even probably know you're here! Which means that Fluttershy knows, which means she'll tell Twilight!" 
"What?! All the wildlife?" 
"Almost! A lot of birds though, look! That one is tweeting what we just said to another!
Rainbow moaned, looking at the two birds that darted from their branch. "So she'll know along time before I can even get close to her."
"Well it's not like Twilight know's how to speak bird." Pinkie said, rolling her eyes at Rainbow missing out on the obvious logic. "Actually, I can speak bird, as I am currently fluent in turkey, pigeon, eagle, raven, robin, rooster, bluebird, dove, swan, chicken,  woodpecker, and hawk. BUUUUT.... I don't really know what I'm saying." Pinkie cawed at Rainbow, "See? I have no idea what I just said." 
"You mean like bird calls?"
"I would never! Bird calls are rudimentary, so random! With speaking bird, it's much more fluent and sing-songy sounding!"
Rainbow's mind urged her to refocus on finding Scootaloo, but a part of her wanted to know what Pinkie's explanation would be if she asked "Wouldn't it still be random if you started shouting out in bird speak, but didn't know what you were saying?"

"Which way is Twilight, again?" She finally asked.
"Thataway!" Pinkie held up an arrow sign flashing with lightspointing to the east. 
"Thanks." 
Rainbow Dash flapped her good wing and pushed the cloud bed higher, poking her head down through to scan the ground below. Pinkie finished tying a trail marker ribbon into a bow around a tree.  Farther off she heard the shout of Scootaloo's name being called, it sounded like Sweetie Bell.

---
"You know all I wanted was some tips on flying! Just some tips! I didn't even need the whole lesson. 'Hey Scootaloo, you need to flap harder. Or you're flapping too hard! Maybe you need to lengthen the amount of time between each wing beat. Hey Scootaloo, try this. It might work better for you. Hey, Scootaloo! Scootaloo! I don't care if you're waiting for me or not, you aren't flying awesomely enough for me!'" She said with her best-loathsome- Rainbow Dash impression 
Scootaloo stamped her hooves down in the mud, splashing water into her coat. 
"You can't fly, you can't do this, you can't do that, you've already tried this.' Well, how about this?" Scootaloo took a running leap and coasted forward ten feet. 
"It's like all of a sudden, you wake up, and forget how to fly! How can a pegasi not remember how to fly? I've got wings for Celestia's sake! I just need a bit more speed!" 
Scootaloo charged forward, pushing off with her hooves and fluttering for fifteen feet downhill before coming to a stop. "All right, made it. One more time!" 
The last leap left Scootaloo breathless as she took off from the ground and panicked as the stream went over rocks to a ten foot drop in front of a cave. She screamed as her wings snapped to her side, falling straight to rocks and water. Her legs hit the ground, followed by her head. Scootaloo came up crying as the splash from the small waterfall sprayed droplets through the air. Exhaustion swept over her as pain bored deep into her mind. 
Scootaloo wanted to blame somepony, anypony, for the mixed feelings of anger and pain, abandonment and resentfulness, but all she could do is cry at her own failed attempt to fly. 
"I'm tired of being alone." she said, regaining her breath. Shaking off the excess water, she glanced at the stream, the sun now directly overhead, and the cave behind her. 
Resetting her pace, she ignored the grip of her stomach, the bruises and cuts, and the excited chirp of two birds circling her head.
"Yeah! I'm a bad flyer! No need to laugh about it!" She yelled. 
One bird broke away while the other perched on a branch no more than ten feet from her. 
"So what makes you so special?" The bird turned its head to Scootaloo, "How do you do it? You flap your wings, I flap my wings, you take off, I don't. Why not?"
The bird chirped a response, but anguish got the best of Scootaloo's senses. "I don't speak bird!" She yelled, passing it. "A load of help you are!" She channeled the rising anger into moving faster. The bird was still squawking as she moved further away, but Scootaloo was dead set on finding a way out before something else pushed her over the edge. 

----

The bed of moss still had the indentation of where Scootaloo slept, the divot of water she had dug was stagnant and clear. Twilight eyed the two orange feathers clinging to the ground and plucked the dirtier one up with her magic. 
She opened her mouth to say something but all the words trailed out as she gaped at the feather.
Twilight looked at the hoof prints in the ground, some were days old, but the ones that were pressed into the ground from this morning made Twilight sigh. 

"This is my fault." 
Twilight turned to see Rainbow Dash on her cloud, their eyes locked and refused to break apart. Instead of the verbal lashing Rainbow expected about disregarding her health and safety, Twilight responded with two words that cut deep.

"It is." Twilight said flatly, but that didn't stop her from changing the subject to Rainbow's relief "How did you find me?" she asked,
"I saw you flying around, you've been up in the air for two hours."
"You came to look?"
"Yes."
"She left here early this morning, heading off that way."
Rainbow looked at the path of filly-sized hoof prints leading through the trees and nodded.
"I'll find her." 
"She's following a stream."
"I'll find that,"
"It's at least mile from here."
"I flew all the way out here on a cloud with one good wing, I can make it."
"Lead the way." 
As Rainbow Dash wheeled her cloud around, the sound of Twilight's voice made her wince. 
"Rainbow,"
"I know you're sorry, but I'm not the one you should apologize to." Rainbow Dash gulped, looking over her shoulder to Twilight, "And I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I couldn't overcome my own ego to see that you were struggling to be there for everyone." Twilight walked closer to Rainbow's cloud, "For you to fly all the way here on this, broken bones and all, it shows how much you deeply cared and wanted to make this up to Scootaloo."
Twilight's wings unfolded, pushing herself off the ground, she rose up to cloud, gently pushing it forward with the help of her 
Rainbow smiled for a moment, but clenched her teeth at the next thought that came up.
"This wont be enough..." She stopped herself from saying "will it?" because she already knew the answer long before they even started this conversation "...and I can't teach her until my wing heals." 
Twilight sensed what Rainbow was hinting at.
"Rainbow, she might jump at the sight of seeing you, she might scream and yell, but finding her is a start."
"At least it's something." 

> 6. Cold Dusk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Fluttershy's eyes locked on the finch weaving through trees towards her. She saw the wings beating at a rapid pace, the excited look in its eyes, and the smile which easily spread back to her before the finch could even land- they found Scootaloo. 

The forest was suddenly alive as the news came in and went out like waves crashing onto shore and then receding. The joy was spreading from the birds, to the ponies, to the squirrels, rabbits, raccoon, mosquitoes, rats, flies, and bees. Fluttershy was at the center, delegating tasks to the reinvigorated volunteers to find and direct her friends back towards where Scootaloo was last seen. 
Twilight and Rainbow Dash were both surprised to see Fluttershy standing with Applebloom as they descended without the guidance of Fluttershy's friends. 
"Where's Applejack?" Twilight asked, touching down in front of the cave, Rainbow Dash remained on her cloud as Applebloom cast two quick glances at her.
"She took off down stream like a rocket once Fluttershy told her this is the last place those birds saw Scootaloo!" Applebloom reported. 
"Are Pinkie, Rarity and Sweetie Bell on their way?" 
"They'll be a while, at least half an hour if they walk but since this is good news, I think they won't be any longer than fifteen to twenty minutes. I'm not sure how far Pinkie is out though, I was told that they had a hard time convincing her to follow them. I think she offended one of the birds unknowingly. I'll have to talk to her about that, and maybe give her another lesson if she properly wants to use her bird calls."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at the conversation they had earlier about the same subject. "Applebloom and Applejack happened to be the closest while on my way here."  Fluttershy said, her own excitement for getting closer to Scootaloo was clearly visible as she hadn't touched down from the ground since before Twilight and Rainbow Dash arrived. 
"Then this is a great time to reorganize ourselves. Fluttershy, how long ago did the birds spot Scootaloo in this location?"
"About an hour ago, I was a very long way away from here." 
"And Applejack took off how long ago?"
"Right before you arrived." 
"Well, Scootaloo probably has a good three to six miles on us. I doubt Applejack can catch up to her in the next hour, but this is all great news. We're closing in, the search grid is shrinking and with hope that Scootaloo sticks with this stream, we'll find her by tonight. Once Pinkie, Rarity, and Sweetie show up, we'll allow them a quick rest before moving downstream. Fluttershy, you'll need to tell your animal friends that you're moving again, I know that it's never a good idea to have your base of operations constantly changing places, but you and Rainbow Dash should start moving downstream. I'll wait for Pinkie, Sweetie, and Rarity and clue them in on the new information. Applebloom, I want you to wait here and regain some of your strength. It's been a long morning, and we're going to go all night if we have to, I don't want you to start lagging behind if this carries on longer than we expect.
Twilight reached for her trail map stuffed into her saddlebag. "And... according to this map..." Twilight voice dropped off as she studied the routes. "Scootaloo might actually find a trail herself. If that's the case..." Biting her lip, some trails circled back around, others went deeper into the mountains while the three that Scootaloo could potentially come across lead to a lake, a campground, and then one-depending if there were clearly marked signs, lead the way back to Ponyville.
"There are alot of options. Hopefully Scootaloo will find traces of civilization and follow it to a town, maybe she'll find somepony hiking, either way, her chances of getting rescued are going up."

---
Scootaloo's head swung back and forth across the stream, it was becoming harder to focus on any one thing in front of her as the hunger in her stomach reminded her that it was going on four days without much sustenance. 
"Gotta eat something." This time, she would lay off the huckleberries. "Almost home, then I can eat." The empty promise almost fooled her emptier stomach, but it took her mind off of fatigue long enough to see the five planks of wood extending over the stream.

"A bridge. A bridge!" she yelled, running full gallop. Feeling the hoof made structure sent a chill down her spine-she was getting so close. 
"I can follow this out of here! Just need to stick to the trail and I should plop out somewhere. Maybe there are some signs!"  Her next choice made her wince. "Left or right... Right!" tearing down the trail, she could even see faint hoof prints of other ponies who had come along this way.
"As long as I stick to this, somepony will find me... They'll find me." Scootaloo said, "And then I'll get to go homrr- oh no." Her ears flattened against her skull as she skidded to a stop in the middle of the trail.
How many times had this played out before? Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and herself get into trouble, need help, somepony steps in, the crisis is averted, and then they get scolded despite the best of explanations. 
Her heart rattled in her chest, knowing exactly what was coming, she could practically hear the words in her head. The lessons were always so similar. 
"Do you have any idea what you did? We were worried sick about you! You can't go wandering off like that without telling somepony! You know what you did was wrong, so why did you do it?" She was expected to cry, grovel for forgiveness, and then be sorry for disappearing for a few days. 
"Well you know what!? That's not how it's going to happen!" She yelled, her voice bounced around a few times but was quickly swallowed up by the silent forest. 
"They'll feel all high and mighty for finding me, then... ARGH! It'll happen all over again! The looks, they always look down when they say it. She should've known better. It makes me want to scream!" It was the repercussion lectures that always made Scootaloo roll her eyes. It wouldn't be the first time she's heard them, but this is the first time she committed herself to standing her ground and throw it back in their faces if she heard a single syllable devoted to making her feel sorry. 
"I just gotta get home without them seeing me. If they do, then the first thing they'll do is run up to her, clear their throat, and say one of those stupid lectures word for word!"  
Gritting her teeth, she wrestled the anger back in and focused on the trail ahead. Her hunger could wait, fatigue was on the back of her mind. looked down the trail and ran. "I'm close."
---
"Are you sure I can't go right now? I really, really, really want to get things ready for a party that has a "Scootaloo's Safe!" theme to it, and I don't think she'll want it to be thrown way out here where she was already lost. I know I can set up a party really quick with my party cannon, but I can't fire it unless she's there and hasn't seen it yet! I also can't throw the party if she's way ahead of us and we're way back here waiting for Rarity and Sweetie Bell." Pinkie Pie explained for the fourth time.
"And I wanna catch up with ma sister, it's been a while since she took off." Applebloom said.
"We know that Pinkie. Applebloom, as much as I know you want to meet up with your sister for an update, it's important that you've had this breather-"
"Did you find Scootaloo?" Sweetie Bell coughed, taking a sip of water. She was happy to see Twilight waiting for them as the birds guided Rarity and herself towards the cave. 
"She was seen passing here a while ago. What happened to your voice?" Twilight asked, noticing the strained, painful expression on Sweetie Bell's face. 
"Oh, it's been a very rough morning and afternoon for her, we were carried away by shouting and Sweetie lost her voice." Rarity said, she looked to her sister wearing red eyes and tear stained cheeks. 
"I think you need to sit down and rest for a moment." Twilight said, the young filly collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion along with a small bit of relief that they were close to finding Scootaloo. Rarity hesitantly wrapped a hoof around her sister, silently consoling her. 
"Scootaloo was seen heading downstream about an hour and a half ago now. Applejack took charge and tried to catch up, no word on anything if she's seen Scootaloo or not, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are right behind her. After you two get a quick breather, we'll start heading that way too." 
"My goodness, Rainbow Dash is out here? Exerting herself to prove a point?" Twilight nodded in response.
"She really wants to make it up to Scootaloo anyway she can. I guess she figured that by helping us search would be the best place to start."
"I must say it's quite admirable, but I truly don't believe she should be pushing herself in such a condition." 
"I was going to say exactly that when I first saw her, but that's not what she needed to hear since she came all this way."
"CAN WE GO?" Pinkie Pie shouted, taking a pose at the top lip of the cave, she leaped down and gracefully landed inches away from Twilight's nose. Leaning in, she was shaking with anticipation. 
Taking two steps back, Twilight looked downstream. "Oh, right. Rarity, is Sweetie Bell...?" 
"Out like a light."
"I'll carry her." Twilight offered, "Rarity, Pinkie, Applebloom, go ahead and see if you can catch up to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, they can't be any farther than two miles. I'll be right along with Sweetie Bell."
Pinkie sucked in a deep breath, squeaked out "Let's go," to Applebloom, and they both started sprinting downstream, much to the annoyance of Rarity as she cried out for the pink mare and yellow filly to slow down. 
Carefully wrapping Sweetie Bell with her lavender magic, Twilight lifted the filly onto her back and nestled Sweetie's forelegs over her withers and body between her wings. Comfortable that she wouldn't fall off, Twilight followed the shouts of one white unicorn and the exasperated taunting of "You can't catch me!"

"Twilight?" 
She looked over her right shoulder, "Why are you carrying me?"
Twilight smiled, "You were tired and I could tell that you haven't been sleeping well." 
"How...do you know that?" 
"I've been the victim of not sleeping many times, staying awake for days, obsessing over something-or someone- and by the look of it, I'd say it's been about..two days since you actually got more than a few minutes of sleep?" 
"I kinda passed out sometime around three this morning...then again around six for about an hour." 
"I know the feeling, worrying so much that you never really fall asleep and end up passing out from exhaustion. Scootaloo wandering off really put a wrench in your thought process, didn't it?" 
"Yeah, I was really worried last night, getting everything else ready. And then this morning, it felt like nopony was moving fast enough to help find Scootaloo."
"The quiet train ride and walk here certainly didn't help." Twilight said, going along with Sweetie Bell's thoughts. 
"That was the absolute worst possible thing." Sweetie Bell joked, trying to emulate her sister. That was just the reaction Twilight was hoping for as she felt Sweetie Bell lose some of her rigid form. 
"Hold on tight alright? I'm going to pick up the pace a bit."
Sweetie Bell hugged Twilight's shoulders as her wings spread out to lift the both of them up off of the ground and over the tree tops.
---
Lurching forward, she looked at the moss covered wooden post with two signs pinned to it. The faded white inlay of paint was still visible as Scootaloo felt a rush of blood warm her entire body. The breath was caught in her lungs, swallowing didn't help push the feeling of dry mouth out either. "Pass Lake, 2.7 miles," pointing off to the right, and then the sign that nearly made her cry read "Ponyville, 8.2 miles." pointing to the left.
Scootaloo's wings pushed themselves out, they seemed weightless as energy surged back into her fatigued limbs. 
"Three hours at the latest. I can get back..." Scootaloo looked at the sun, already falling far into the west. "Tonight."  
Running along the trail, trees didn't seem as similar, knowing that every step was progress towards a bed, food, and a familiar setting.  It was hard not to slow down after time dragged on, "Come on, I need to keep moving!" kicking herself, Scootaloo tried to coax out a steady jog, but couldn't keep enough energy to keep herself from panting. She ruffled out her wings, looking at the trail ahead of her. Switchbacks dominated the rest of the path down hill. "Okay, okay, okayokayokayokay... just a short little hop, not like last time." 
Jumping, she immediately regretted the strain as she fell most of the way, but landed at the turnpike of the next switchback with only a small jolt to her legs. Heaving in air, she ran a hoof over her wings and brushed off caked on dirt as she readied herself to try again.
"Second verse, same as the first." she said, taking a few steps back for a running start. This time, the extra effort wasn't noticed until she felt her hooves touch down with too much momentum. Skidding to a stop on her three foot runway, she tensed as she teetered on the edge of the steep trail. 
"Not so fast this time, and you!" She said to her wings that latched themselves to her side when she landed, "Don't stop flapping until I say so!" prying them open again with will power, Scootaloo pushed her luck the third time, and then a fourth, a fifth, and finally coming to a defeated stop at the sixth. Shivering, a darkness crept over the forest made her realize that sunset came and went with the trees behind her looming much, much higher than before. Scootaloo coughed and spat, licking her lips as her mind cried out for water, and her stomach cried out for food. Focusing on the trail once more, she forced herself into a fast walk when she finally saw the trees open up. 
The sensation of forest dirt and mud is very different from a dirt road, a dirt trail through the forest isn't as trodden, has plenty of water damage with rocks breaking through, and is always at an uneven level. But, as Scootaloo stepped out onto the dirt road, she blinked twice at the night sky above her. "I know this road... it's..." she looked at the trail signs to her back, East-Ten miles to Canterlot, West-5.8 miles to Ponyville. She allowed tears to rush down her cheeks and onto the ground as she walked along the ground towards home. Scootaloo couldn't run anymore, she couldn't even muster the strength to flap her wings or carry on with a brisk trot, only cry as sign after sign told her she was getting closer. 
Five miles to Ponyville. 
Four Miles to Ponyville.
At the three mile mark she was crying out as it sat there in the distance, lights still burning in a few windows, streetlights giving off a faint glow, even a few chimneys pumped out a steady stream of smoke up into the night sky.  Her voice shook as she tried to force herself to smile. "It's ALL smooth sailing from here!"  
A voice at the back of her mind screamed at her to say it again with more conviction.
"It's all smooth sailing from here!"
Again, more control.
"It's all smooth sailing from here!"
Her mind screamed at her, but she shut the noise out with her sobbing. "No! NO, no, no, no, no!" 
She pushed herself on, head pointed at the ground until she saw familiar trees with familiar apples growing on them, leaning over the white fence and into the road. Her hooves trembled as she tried to jump and flutter for the closest one. She crashed back into the dirt road and wimpered, trying again for a second time when she realized she couldn't even flap her wings from the amount of strain she put them through today. 
"Applebloom?" she moaned. She stumbled towards the gate that lead up towards her friend's house. Every step until then felt like nothing compared to the agony of walking the distance from the 'Sweet Apple Acre's' entrance gate to the front door. 
The lights were out, but she knocked and knocked until she finally heard the stairs creak under a stallion's weight, and the door swing open. 
She was plainly visible in the moonlight- worn out from nearly five days of exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, dirt and scratches-a few which stained her coat red-, and patches of missing feathers. Her eyes were red and puffy, but as she looked up at Big Mac, it only took two seconds for him to reach down and carry her inside. 
He set her down on the couch, running to the kitchen and returning with water and leftovers as he disappeared  upstairs for a minute before a second set of hooves could be heard coming down the stairs with him with a lantern in tow. Scootaloo heard the small gasp from behind her, but her attention was on the glass of water which she couldn't bring herself to drink at first.
Reaching for it after the elderly pony sat next to her, silently watching, she grasped the cup and swallowed every drop as a hoof came over her shoulder. 
"Go get her some more water." The red stallion set down another cup with thinly sliced apples in the water, giving it a slightly sweet flavor. "Hungry?" Scootaloo nodded, staring at the plate "Do you feel like eating?" she shook her head, but nibbled on the apple slices from her drink. "Tired?" Scootaloo nodded, "Let's get you to bed then. Mac?" 
He swept Scootaloo up in his forelegs again and carried her upstairs, laying her down in Applebloom's bed. She mouthed "Thank you," so quietly that it came out as a whisper, despite her desire for Big Mac to hear it. He looked down, smiled and nodded, setting her glass down on the bed stand as he withdrew from the room. 
"G'nite." he said.

> 7. Quiet Dawn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The sunlight's presence in Applebloom's room shone across the bed and against the far wall opposite of the window. Scootaloo allowed herself to take in all of the senses before opening her eyes. She noted the grip of hooves around her stomach and neck, along with two sets of lungs breathing in and pushing out small puffs of air. They were nearly silent, but the tone of each exhale were from her friends.
Breaking the crust of one eye open, Sweetie Bell and Applebloom were both in a close embrace around their returned friend. Their hearts thumped along side hers, explaining the heat radiating through the blankets. As the other eye opened, she looked up at the ceiling, refusing to allow any thought to enter her mind to break the silence. The task itself was easy, she had already spent the last five days thinking, but now as she concentrated on a single groove in the ceiling, everything was blank. Scootaloo was grateful for the silence, it was something she missed dearly since the raging storm of emotions and thoughts prevented her from finding peace. Anger and bitterness was still there standing off to one side of her minds like misplaced opinions, but the security of being close to her friends, loved, wanted, missed, and rested dampened those feelings until she felt like there wasn't any reason to bring them up. Doubt, however, reminded her that the moment she stepped out that door, they were going to talk about what happened. She rolled her eyes, cursing doubt and allowed it to drift away.
"I couldn't care less." she thought, allowing the calm state of mind to return. Scootaloo tried wrapping her friends closer, ignoring the heat and feeling her mind wake up. 
"This is one of those moments that I want to last a long time." 

Closing her eyes, her mind felt drifted to the edges of the room and beyond the door, listening to the ticking of a clock somewhere within the house, and to the voices downstairs. Yawning, the soreness she felt throughout her body was mildly comforting, like sitting down after a long run. It wasn't until she finally wanted to know what the voices downstairs were talking about did she finally considered herself awake. By then, the sunlight crept across the floor and over the bed. 
Bringing her hooves on top of the covers, her two friends stirred but remained asleep. Exhaling, she nudged each of them gently, spending minutes to carefully awaken Applebloom and Sweetie Bell without too much disturbance. They both woke up to the sight of their friend hugging them with a silencing embrace as they shared in the moments of a long awaited reunion. Sweetie Bell was the first to attempt at making a noise, but the words caught in her throat as they sat upright. When they broke apart, they were still holding each others hooves. 

"I missed you." 
"And we missed you." Sweetie Bell said. 
"I'm to looking forward to the next few hours." 
"Why not?" Applebloom asked,
"I...I don't know. I just don't want to hear what they fell like they need to say."
"Ya know you should, it's really important to get this off yer chest and out there."
"I know, it's just that...I don't want to hear it. I want it to be quiet, like it is right now." 
"Well, it wont last forever." Sweetie Bell advised
Scootaloo looked down at the bed, with both of her closest friends wearing her down with the best advice, it was hard for her wall of emotions to stay upright. 
"Where were you last night?" she innocently asked.
They both beamed at the question, Applebloom jumping in before Sweetie Bell could talk.
"We spent all of yesterday lookin for you! Applejack rallied everyone, Fluttershy had a fleet of birds and forest animals out looking for you, but you kept on moving! Pinkie was running around, tying trail markers to trees and everything in case you saw any of 'em while Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were helping to search for you too! It musta been after sundown when Twilight cast a spell and saw that you were on the road to Ponyville. That's when we high tailed it outta the forest and tried catching up with you! We didn't get back until way early this morning."
Sweetie Bell saw her chance to finally get a word in edgewise and took it.
"We went straight from the forest to your house, hoping that you would be there, but... then it went crazy for about an hour. We all thought that maybe you went to somepony else's house, so there was a lot of running around. Everyone ran back to their homes, and then Applejack-" "And me came up and saw Big Mac waitin' on the steps outside in the middle of the night, and we knew you were here!" Applebloom cut in, offering a first hand account. "Applejack ran up stairs, peeked in, ran back to town, told everyone, and then they all came back here." 
"So everyone came to check on me?"
"Yep!" Applebloom said, throwing her hooves around Scootaloo for another hug, Sweetie Bell joined in, trying to rival Applebloom in the display of affection by hugging all of them tighter.
Scootaloo relaxed in her friends embrace, something that she hadn't been able to do until now.Throwing off the sheet and blankets completely, she crawled out of bed. 
"So do you think they're downstairs?" 
"Maybe, we won't know until we get down there and find out." Sweetie Bell said, following Scootaloo towards the door. 
Pulling the door open, Scootaloo took the first few steps down the hallway, listening for voices coming from downstairs. A pony's hooves could be heard coming up the stairs, the wood creaking with each step, 
"Scootaloo?" Applejack's face appeared around the corner, she instinctively flinched at the sound of her name being called. Applejack smiled, but noticed her reaction. Coming to her side and holding her at arms length, she dropped her head to be eye level with the orange pegasus. 
"I'm glad so glad your safe."
Scootaloo's mind raced at how to take in Applejack's words.
"Thank you for looking for me." 
"Oh, don't worry about it sugar cube, we were plum worried about what happened to ya. Listen, how about ya go get showered up, and we'll talk after you've had some food, huh? Granny and me are pullin' out all the stops today."
"Mm-hm." Scootaloo said, nodding. Mentally she was derailed, her mind already downstairs and facing whatever was suppose to come, but now with Applejack's offer, Scootaloo had to reel her thoughts back in and focus on herself. It was only when pausing for a moment to look in the bathroom mirror did she realize how dirty she was. Her reflection looked disgusted, and her worn expression was resentful. Pulling herself away, the promise of a shower taking away that facet of her life made her eager for warm flowing water.

Twenty short minutes was nowhere near long enough to wash away five days of conflicting emotions and physical strain. Scootaloo would've stayed in for hours if the water hadn't started to turn cold. She toweled off and wiped away droplets from the mirror, this time she was able to withstand what the reflection offered and be happy about it.  
A chill ran down her spine and through her wing tips as she cantered downstairs, there were more voices than she had hoped to face this afternoon. Flitting her wings, she barely made a sound coming down the steps to the ground floor, it was only when the words "Here she comes," did Scootaloo freeze. Her wings were half way up and they refused to move an inch, to her right the front door was only steps away, while to her left was the kitchen where filled stools and chairs would be waiting or her to make an appearance. She caught her hoof an inch off the floor, trying to take a step towards the door, then forcing herself to walk towards the scent of food and sounds of voices. 
A pang of hunger overrode fear and anxiety, Scootaloo ambled into the kitchen where the sight of nine cramped ponies cheerfully greeted her. She scanned each of their faces, making a mental note that Rainbow Dash was not one of them.
"Scootaloo!" They all said, Pinkie Pie was the first to jump up and give her a bone crushing bear hug. 
"Pinkie! Let the girl eat first!" Applejack balked, 
"But I'm so happy to see her! It's been four days, eighteen hours, thirty two minutes since I last saw her! She needs a Pinkie Hug!" the pink mare quietly added "trademark." as she let Scootaloo escape her grasp. 
A chair was already pulled out with a loaded plate of food and water waiting for her, it was then when she felt the weight of the situation around her. Everything hung on her every word, expression, and reaction, even the way she said the words would make this into a terrible morning. She briefly scanned everypony's faces again as she took a seat, they were trying to make her happy. 
I don't want to upset them any more than they don't want to upset me. What do I say? I haven't said a single word! Do I just stay silent and let the adults talk? Do I pour my heart out onto them... Scootaloo focused on taking the first mouthful of food, shuddering as the thought of opening up again pained her. 
No, I need to say this, yank this band-aid off and get right to the source.

"I was sad."
She silenced the whole room, but quickly spoke after she saw words forming on everypony's lips. "Angry, lonely, bitter, resentful, jealous, scared, but after a while, it all just sorta got jumbled together and I couldn't focus on anything. One moment I was happy because I saw a bush of huckleberries, the next I just want to scream because I didn't know how to fly and was taking it out on myself and Rainbow Dash. When I was waiting for the storm to pass, I couldn't understand anything, nothing made sense, even the reason as to why I was out there lost meaning after three days." 
Scootaloo took another few bites of food, forming the next few thoughts in her mind. "I felt that the only reason I cried was because I had been strong for too long and couldn't do that anymore." 
Big Mac, who was leaning against the kitchen counter nearly dropped his plate at the filly's meaningful words, Applejack, Granny Smith, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rarity stared at Scootaloo in shock while Sweetie Bell, Pinkie Pie, and Applebloom looked at their friend in worry.
Applejack was the first to recover, looking to everyone for reassurance before talking. "Scootaloo, what you did wasn't too far off from what we've done when we fell like we've been put through the wringer. We all get down, we all get sad, we all over think things that jus' seem to not make a lick of sense until we finally get back around ponies who care about ya. But, what happened to you, that was too much. You didn't deserve to be out there that long, it's not good for a pony. Usually when a pony gets down, they're with good company and it passes in about a day or so. You, Ah am so sorry that ya had to face that kind of depression alone."
Scootaloo could feel tears working their way from her ducts to the edge of her eyes, but something about Applejack's response phased her, This isn't what I thought would happen. Her heart beat slightly faster as she tried to control it by inhaling deeply. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell moved closer, standing right by her side as they saw her eyes glisten with what would soon to be flowing tears.
"Scootaloo," Rarity said, "You've always been right there next to my sister and Applebloom, depending on each other as you formulated plans to find your cutie marks. Even before this-" Rarity bit her cheek trying not to say the word "fiasco" and carried on without the sentence enhancer. "-You've handled situations where things may have not turned out all right, but we truly still love all three of you in the end. Going as far as you did into the wilderness, and returning with only a few bumps and scrapes on the outside makes us worry all the more for what bumps and scrapes you've had to deal with on the inside." 
Rarity forced herself again to not over explain things, her natural elegance for carrying a conversation would've added on minutes more of what could've turned into a counterproductive apology. 
Fluttershy found her opportunity to speak, it came as soft as a whisper at first, but due to the silent nature of the room, it was easily heard. "While we were out searching for you, my animal friends discovered that you crashed, and were talking to yourself. Oh, I'm so sorry, they didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you were quite frustrated and one of them tried to make sure you were all right."

"I actually hated the thought of any of you finding me." Scootaloo said to a few worried faces. "...Hated the thought of you finding me out there desperate for a way out, a way home. For you to find me sad, crying, in a wreck, in pieces, angry at the world. I didn't want you to find me because I was sad, but because I thought that all of this would've been different. I thought that if you found me, everyone was going to treat me like a filly for disappearing and talk down to me because I would've had to be grateful towards you...and I didn't want to drag myself through that... I was being selfish. That was one of things that made me want to scream while I was out there."
Feeling the obligation, Twilight spoke next. “You had every right to feel what you did while you were out there. It’s not always the easiest thing to admit, but you can’t blame yourself for what went on inside your mind. I too have fought selfishness and anger, denial and paranoia at times, but any bad experience can be dealt with your friends.” 
Sweetie Bell and Applebloom took it as a verbal queue to lean in closer to give Scootaloo a hug. Her shoulders relaxed as she wrapped her forelegs around them as well and failed to hold off the welling tear drops.
“This was a hard life lesson to learn, and the way you did it was probably the most difficult path anypony could’ve ever taken. I know it may sound patronizing and a hard message to swallow, but we want you to forget the sorrow and allow yourself to fall back into being a filly again.” Twilight said empathetically, nearly begging for Scootaloo to not take the last five days to heart. 

Scootaloo nodded, feeling slightly relieved, but she felt that this experience wouldn’t be so easy to forget. 
"We want you to be happy!" Pinkie Pie said, easily wearing a smile, "Because, we don't want you to go the next few years being all bitter and junk! It's not good to think that reality is much harsher than it really is, when you're young! Besides, being a carefree filly is great, I remember loads of stuff that even though it kinda made me sad. I always tried looking towards things that made me laugh and be happy!"

“Now Sugar, there’s one pony here who really wants to say somethin’ to ya. She’s sittin’ right outside that door.” Applejack said, pointing to the kitchen screen door that was propped open with a rock. Scootaloo peered out, seeing Rainbow Dash’s namesake mane and cyan fur with her back to them. Scootaloo saw the bandages around her left wing, along with the small tuft of cloud she was leaning on. It was absolutely still in the late morning sunlight, the air, Rainbow’s hair, the trees, Scootaloo. The only thing that wasn’t still were each pony biting their lips in anticipation of Scootaloo’s response, and Scootaloo’s racing heart. 

“It’s yer decision if you want to hear what she wants ta say.” 
Scootaloo swallowed,  her mind dredging up everything she wanted to let go of. Pressure built up in her head again as half her mind thought of ways to get back at Rainbow, while the other tried desperately to find a solution and relieve the pressure.
“I want her to hear what I have to say first, but don’t turn around.” Scootaloo said, the Pegasus sat upright, but kept her head pointed out towards the orchards and barn.
“While I was out there, I learned I don’t like to hate. It makes my head hurt, makes me sad, it makes me angry, I get frustrated at myself and everything around me!” Scootaloo said, her voice changing to match the tone of each emotion.
“But I hated the fact that every time you whizzed by overhead, you saw me, and didn’t come down!” Scootaloo pleaded, “I’ve dealt with the promises of ‘Next time’ and having my hopes built up and torn down by your schedule. That’s one thing I’ve learned from you, make others work around your schedule.” 
Rainbow Dash flinched at the harsh comment, “What else have I learned from you- there’s only so much a single pony can do in one day without being stretched too thin.” 
“Then…” Scootaloo’s voice trembled, “Fend for yourself if you’re not friends with the amazing Rainbow Dash.” 
The blow made Rainbow wince as Scootaloo stood up from her chair, directing her voice straight towards the screen door. 
“Ego doesn’t make you a better friend… Neither does how well you can perform a certain skill.” She spat, Scootaloo walked past the eighteen gazing eyes to the door. 
“I’ve been at your beck and call since the day I first met you, trying to impress you. Your gratitude was only shown by a few “good job’s” and tried to do what every pony has told me over and over again; actions speak louder than words. The only action I’ve seen is the one where you fly off and let me see the underside of your wings.”
Rainbow Dash clenched her eyes shut, shaking in fear of a filly who brandished the truth.
“…And finally!” she yelled, using one hoof to push the door open. Rainbow jerked forward, biting her lip to stop from crying. Applejack was hesitant to interrupt Scootaloo’s rant, knowing if she didn’t say what was on her mind now, it would only build up. Everypony shared similar looks of concern.
Scootaloo’s voice was unimpeded by the strain of the spring trying to keep the door shut. Standing directly behind Rainbow Dash, everypony waited for Scootaloo to let Rainbow know of her last digression against the orange Pegasus. 

“I learned that when you don't act like any of those things… you’re my hero.”
Rainbow twisted her head to look over her left shoulder, eyes still afraid to open and look down at Scootaloo.
The orange Pegasus reached out, wrapping her hooves around Rainbow Dash’s stomach, nestling between her wings and admitting to her mentor, “I’m sorry.”
Rainbow could feel the tears rolling down Scootaloo’s face and into her backside, chills ran down her spine with every drop that touched her fur.
“I’m selfish,” Scootaloo said, keeping a firm grip. 
“No… no you’re not. You could never be selfish.” Rainbow said, reaching around with her right hoof to grab Scootaloo’s left shoulder.   
“Yes I am. I’m selfish because, I didn’t want you to see me cry.”
Everypony inside gathered at the doorframe, watching as Rainbow Dash turned around completely to hug Scootaloo.
“Ow-that… hurt.” Rainbow thought, taking Scootaloo up in her forelegs and holding her close, they sat there as the both drained themselves of tears onto each other and the ground. 
It was after three long minutes of silence that a sniffle finally broke the two of them apart. Rainbow turned her head away from the rest of them so only Scootaloo could see her mouth the words “Thank you.”
“Little missy, you went and did the hardest thing anypony could ever do. I don’t think I coulda done that without goin' a few months without even lookin' at somepony who did that to me, let alone forgive 'em. You not only did the right thing, you did what most ponies couldn't.” Applejack said, wiping her own eyes. Scootaloo nodded, unable to act out in any other way aside from looking back at her friends and smiling with wet streaks leading down her face. 
Finally back on four legs and free from Rainbow’s embrace, Scootaloo extended a hoof to Rainbow. She exchanged the favor by extending her good wing over Scootaloo, wrapping her in tighter so the two of them could be closer together as they walked back inside.