After being left alone with her thoughts, Scootaloo considers suicide.
Coverart By: Johnjoseco on dA
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Returning home after school one afternoon, a teenage Scootaloo sits alone and thinks about her life and her troubles, reflecting upon her disability and hopelessness to achieve her dreams and one day live up to her idol's standards. After much thought, her conclusion is that she cannot live her life any longer and would be better off dead.
She decides to write out her thoughts in her journal, entailing her upcoming suicide and how she plans to carry it out, hoping somepony will find it after she's gone and will know where to find the body. But what happens after one of her curious friends goes snooping around and reads the open page? Can her death be stopped in time?
The large wooden door slowly opened, light pouring inside to illuminate the dark and empty house, the sound of soft breathing now being the only noise to fill the room as a peach orange coated mare with a pinkish purple mane entered the house, a deep sigh escaping her lips. The mare, known as Scootaloo, tossed her bags down to floor with a low thump that went unnoticed. She didn't bother locking her door, only kicking it with her hind leg to a close as Ponyville was a rather safe and crimeless area. Either that, or the fact that she wasn't currently thinking about her safety, she was too deep in thought. Dragging herself up the stairs, she made her way to her bedroom, not once taking her eyes off the floor.
She was in complete silence until she tossed herself onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling with a hurt filled expression, eyes full of endless questioning and regret.
"What am I doing here?" She asked loudly, she could feel a pit begin to form in her chest as she spoke, her tone becoming quieter. "I shouldn't be here, I don't NEED to be here... nopony needs me." Her voice cracked upon those last words.
Tears forming slowly in her eyes, she clenched her teeth hard, shutting her eyes as to not cry. She was ashamed of herself, ashamed of her very existence, for that matter. She had been regretting her life for a while now, about two years into high school, to be exact. Well, as exact as she could be, lately she couldn't even remember the simplest things, such as the day or the basic names of her friends. Her life had just become one thought.
I'm useless, I shouldn't be here.. Everyday is the same. I'm accomplishing nothing..
This fact became a common thought for the young mare now. She had repeated this to herself everyday, even though she didn't want too. Every time she thought of this, it took a chunk of her will to live away, it brought her closer and closer to the edge of something terrible. She remembered the first time this horrible notion came to mind, it was after one of her Rainbow Dash Fanclub meetings were over, and everypony left the treehouse, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She had spent the rest of the day in that treehouse thinking about how inferior she was to her idol, clutching the hat she had made all the club members wear in her hooves.
She turned her head sideways, taking a look at the large Rainbow Dash poster taped to her wall, along side a Wonderbolts flyer. When she found out Rainbow Dash had wanted to become a Wonderbolt, it almost instantly became her goal as well. She dreamed of one day being part of the team of pegasi, flying along side Rainbow Dash and standing in the spotlight with her, ponies cheering her on and calling her name- being seen and remembered as an important pony.
Sadly, that dream was long gone, it had been shattered when she was diagnosed with a birth defect that rendered her flightless. At first, she believed she was just a late bloomer, and that she would be able to soon fly if she practiced hard enough. She carried this thought with her until her first year of high school, where this hope was beaten out of her, both verbally and psychically by her greatest bully- Diamond Tiara. She remembered the day perfectly, she was at recess playing soccer when the ball flew up into a tree, getting stuck. She had been playing with earth ponies on her team, and the opposing team told her to get the ball...
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You were the one who knocked the ball up into the tree in the first place, YOU go get it!
But I can't fl..
Scoots, stop joking around and get the ball, recess is gonna be over soon.
I'm not joking... I-
Oh, she's not joking, she really can't fly. Haven't you ever wondered why the blank flank hasn't earned her cutie mark yet?
Tiara, not now.. I can tell them myself-
Don't interrupt me, you don't have the status. You're a pegasus, flying is your thing! Maybe those small wings of yours just can't carry you, huh? You've never been able to fly, you can't even lift yourself up off the ground, and yet one of the fastest ponies in Equestria is your role model? Maybe you should get your head out of the clouds if you can't even reach them!
PBBT! A PEGASUS THAT CANT FLY?! SHE'S AN EARTH PONY THEN!
Pff, even that retarded bitch Derpy can fly, what gives? I'll go get it, i'm not a poor excuse of a pegasus like her, I can actually fly.
How're you in high school and you can't fly? What CAN you do then? Besides fap off to the mare you'll never fuck, I mean.
She probably has a body pillow of the Skittles bitch that she kisses every night before she sleeps, your parents must really love you.
Parents? I've never even seen them pick her up from school before, she's probably an orphan, to be honest.
Damn, not even her parents wanted her.
STOP IT, LEAVE ME ALONE! I... I can fly, i'm just a late bloomer, you'll see! YOU'LL ALL SEE!
Aww, she's crying. What a fuckin' baby. GO RUN HOME TO YOUR NON-EXISTANT PARENTS, BITCH!
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Scootaloo only now noticed the hot tears drooling down her cheeks, the warm sensation being something she was used to. She cried everyday, in the bathrooms during lunch, when she got home from school, and even when she tried to sleep, her weekends were usually spent sitting alone and thinking, thinking about how worthless she was- a pegasus that couldn't fly. Ever since that horrific day, the kids in school would refer to her as The Parentless Pegasus, or Chicken Little. Her hatred for her classmates only grew, determined to prove them wrong. She went to the doctors later that same day, sitting in the white and blue room awaiting her doctors arrival, hope in her eyes.
That hope was soon smashed to bits as the doctor returned, pity in his tone as he spoke..
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I'm sorry to tell you this, but you won't be flying any time soon. You have Futile Feathers Syndrome, meaning your wings are defective and small, and therefore cannot produce the strength to lift you off the ground, nonetheless into the sky.
Wh-what..?! That can't be right.. please, please tell me theres a way to fix it!
Unfortunately, there is no known cure for this disability other than surgery. Considering you're a minor, your parents would have to sign a form of consent to allow this operation to undergo, which is, in fact, very dangerous, and may cost you your life, not to mention the amount of bits it would take.
Surgery? How much is it?
It would be about 4,500 bits in all, but your parents would have to sign, as you're too young to sign on your own.
4,500!? THATS INSANE! MY PARENTS WONT PAY THAT! THEY CANT EVEN PAY ATTENTION TO ME! THEY'RE NOT EVEN MY REAL PARENTS!
... Then I'm sorry, but there is nothing further we can do to help you until your parents sign and pay. I'm sorry.
THATS WHAT YOU ALL SAY! FUCK. YOU.
Ma'am, please control yourself, otherwise I will be forced to call security.
SECURITY?! I'M GONNA BE STUCK LIKE THIS FOREVER AND YOU WANNA CALL SECURITY?! I OUGHTA TEAR YOUR DICK OFF!
Is that a threat?
YOU- AGGHH! I CAN'T RIGHT NOW.
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That day she had bolted out of the hospital, knocking over sick patients and rushing out of the door, nearly knocking down one of the security guards themselves, as she speeded by, all she could hear was one of the nurses telling the guard to look out, shouting his name as he dodged. She remembered his name for some reason, Abass, weird name for a security guard at a hospital. A weird name in general. She sat up in her bed, looking down. She had denied the truth for so long when it was so obvious, and when she was told the truth about her disability, she lashed out, hurting others in the process.
Of course, her parents refused to sign the papers and pay the money, even though they had it. Scootaloo's parents didn't care for her, and she knew it. They were always out drinking and partying, she wondered why they had adopted her in the first place if they didn't want to care for her. She missed her real parents, but she knew she'd never see them again. With her father being convicted of a crime he didn't commit, he was locked up, later being shanked in prison by the fellow inmates that believed he did the crime, wanting to personally punish him for it. It didn't take long for her mother to slip into a deep depression, locking herself in her room for days, until Scootaloo had broken the door in after a few good slams and found her mothers body.
The mourning mare had hung herself, it seemed. Though the rope seemed to have given way, snapping after holding her dead body for so long, her mothers lifeless corpse laid on the floor, staring into nothing, her body stiff and cold. She could see the darkened marks on her face, indicating that her mother had died crying, probably over her lost husband. Scootaloo was put into adoption, but months later being taken in by a seemingly kind family. However, it was all just an act for the staff working at the center to believe, for as soon as she entered her new home, she was put to do chores, becoming a house maid for her new family. Whenever she refused to do work, her new parents would threaten to send her back to Foster Care, which was the last thing she wanted, even the kids at that place picked on her for her small wings.
It was finally clear to Scootaloo- she would never be Rainbow Dash, or anything close to her. Sweetiebelle and Applebloom already received their cutiemarks, and had been long since waiting for their violet haired friend to get hers. The flightless mare believed she would never achieve her cutiemark without her wings, it had to be related to flight like most other pegasi.
"I'll never be able to fly, I won't ever soar with Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts. Nopony will remember me bye, I don't matter. I'm just wasting oxygen. I shouldn't be here. I was doomed from the start. Nopony needs me." The disheartened pegasus repeated these words to herself in a deadpanned voice, accepting her damaged life and unfair fate.
"There's only one thing left to do then.."
She got off of her bed, making her way to her desk and sitting infront of a large book that was titled Scootaloo's Diary: KEEP OUT! She grabbed the book and opened it, flipping to a new page and beginning to write. She rested her head on the desk as she wrote, sighing once again, but not in sadness, it was a relaxed sigh- she was ready to leave this place..
There was a pause for a couple seconds. No answer.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
The mare knocked harder the second time. So hard, in fact, that she had opened the door herself, unintentionally. Pushing the door open further, the pale yellow earthpony wandered inside her friends seemingly vacant home. She knew better than to enter a home uninvited, but she figured she would get a pass, as this was her once close friend Scootaloo's place.
"Scoots? Ya there?" The red rosed maned mare asked loudly, her expression turning to one of both worry and curiosity as she was given no response.
The quiet atmosphere was unfamiliar to her, and for a moment she had to do a double take on whether or not this was Scootaloo- the enthusiastic and wild mares- home. She rubbed her head in confusion, guessing that she had to be upstairs sleeping or something. She slowly made her way to Scootaloo's room, opening the door and taking a moment to remember all of the old details she had long forgotten. As much as she hated to admit it, her and Scootaloo stopped talking after they got into high school- after she got her cutiemark. It had been quite a while since she visited her home, and when they got separated into different schools, Scootaloo became more distant.
"Scootaloo? Anypony in here?" She asked again, her efforts becoming more and more dull. "Guess she's not home.. again."
Before high school, Scootaloo would always go out and "hang out" with other ponies. Ponies Apple Bloom didn't know, ponies Apple Jack warned her to stay away from. "They're a bad influence, and they'll lead ya'll down the wrong path!" Thats what her big sister always told her, and she WAS the Element Of Honesty, she couldn't be wrong. Apple Bloom had tried to confront Scoots about those ponies, realizing what negative effects they had on her behavior. The pegasus began to cut classes and skip school, cuss more and get violent faster, she even caught Scootaloo in the bathroom about inject herself with what she had guessed where drugs. Luckily, she stopped her from doing that.
Sadly, Scootaloo didn't listen to her friend, which was also part of what separated their friendship. Even Sweetiebelle became cold with Scootaloo, judging her and repeating what her older sister, Rarity, would say. She tried to stop them from arguing, she really did...
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Scootaloo, you skipped school. Again.
Yeah, I did. Your point?
When are you going to get serious about your education? Your grades are getting lower.
And?
And you're going to get put into a bad high school if you don't stop!
Mind your own business, Belle. Nopony asked you.
Nopony asked you to start hanging out with disgusting lowlife drug addicts, and yet you still did.
Girls, thats enough, We're supposed to be friends, ya'll gotta stop arguing so-
EXCUSE ME?! You wanna say that again, you prissy bitch?
Alright. Low life drug addicts, are you happy? Sweet Celestia, you're becoming such a delinquent.
Sweetiebelle-
Oh, its ALWAYS you white coated rich fucks that start shit like this-
SCOOTALOO!
STAY OUT OF IT, YOU USELESS MUD PONY!
Mud... pony..?
Look at what those troublemakers did to you, you've become an ignorant racist!
THOSE "TROUBLEMAKERS" UNDERSTAND ME! THEY KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE A BLANK FLANK, TO BE LEFT BEHIND BY YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS AND FAMILY! DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT THEM LIKE THAT!
THOSE TROUBLEMAKERS CONVINCED YOU TO TRY AND USE DRUGS!
Ah.. ah'm not a mud pony.. Scootaloo, ya don't mean that.. right?
ATLEAST THEY SUPPORT ME WHEN I'M FEELING LIKE SHIT! YOU'VE BEEN TOO BUSY HELPING RARITY MAKE DRESSES AND GOING TO CANTERLOT TO MEET WITH FAMOUS CUNTS WHILE IM STILL STRUGGLING TO GET MY CUTIEMARK!
Girls..? Please stop fightin'...
AND YOU TOO! YOU'RE ALWAYS ON THAT OLD ASS FARM TRYING TO BUCK TREES INSTEAD OF HELPING ME OUT WHEN I NEED YOU!
A-ah can't help it, ah've gotta help Big Mac on the farm since AJ's goin on trips to help the Elements of Harmony, and Granny Smith is.. is...
Stop picking on her, Scootaloo.
She's what? Dead? Atleast you HAVE family, all mine are dead or don't want anything to do with me. I thought you'd understand that, but you don't. You're both just selfish, those ponies are my REAL friends, not you punks.
Scootaloo, no.. ah didn't mean it, please.. come back...
Don't listen to her, Apple Bloom. She's gonna go down a bad road, just like Rarity said. Lets go, i'll walk you home.
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Remembering this tragic moment, Apple Bloom looked around the room even more, trying to relive the old happy moments of the past with her now rebellious friend by staring at her old Wonderbolts flyers, even the Rainbow Dash poster she had. Gee, how Rainbow Dash would react now if she knew Scootaloo's actions. She wondered if checking up on her would do any good, if it would change her, if she'd ever see her old friend again. Thinking about it made her eyes water-
"OUCH! WHAT IN TARNATION-?!" Applebloom snapped out of her thought, looking down to see that she had knocked herself into a desk. She noticed a large book that was open to a page somewhere in the middle of the entire journal.
It was dated with todays date.
Do ah wanna look at this? Its an invasion of privacy..
But it could tell me where she is!
But its not an honest or morally okay thing to do.
A little peak wouldn't hurt though, right?
With a quick look around to make sure nopony was in the room, the pastel sun colored mare sat down and began to read the contents of the page.. yea, just a peak won't hurt.
Dear Diary (Or anypony unfortunate enough to read this),
Today is the day. The day where I decide that enough is enough. I don't need to be here anymore, nopony will miss me. But.. thats not a bad thing, now theres nothing holding me back anymore from doing this. I'm useless. It seems Celestia doesn't have a purpose for me, my worth went away when my parents died and I was adopted. I thought I could get away from this all, my new parents abuse and neglect, all the bullying about my flight, being a blank flank.. But I can't. I can't because I'm not strong enough, i'm alone. My two greatest friends in the world, the ones I've known since I was a filly, they're gone. I chased them away for some ponies who didn't care about me. All they wanted was my money, and of course I was dumb enough to buy drugs from them and get in trouble for them.
I used to think I would learn how to fly like the other pegasi, that I would train hard and join the Wonderbolts one day and be with her. Her... my idol, my everything, my other mother figure, my hero. I thought i'd be able to be as great as her, Rainbow Dash. That fillies and colts everywhere would look up to me, just as I look up to her. To hear her say the words, "I'm so proud of you, Scoots," as we shot across the sky in glory and fame. But no.. that'll never happen, I was fated to fail the second I came out wrong. I can't even look at myself in the mirror without looking at my wings, one of the things that has caused me so much heartache. Sometimes, I wanted to cut them off, what would be the difference? I can't use them anyways, they're just dead weight that disappoints everypony, that aid in my bullying and self loathing.
I can't do this anymore, I don't WANT to do this anymore, i'm better off dead. Applebloom and Sweetiebelle won't have to worry about helping me get my cutiemark, they'll get to live their lives to their full potential without me weighing them down. Rainbow Dash won't have to feel bad about me being so helpless, she deserves a better #1 fan. My new parents won't have to put up with me anymore, they already told me they would kick me out when I become an adult, anyway..
But.. i'll get to be with my real mom and dad again, I know they're waiting for me. Some nights I can hear their whispers, or maybe i'm dreaming. I miss them so much.. I remember when I was a filly, my dad would always call me a rascal and chase me around the house for hours, he could never catch me. Then, mom would fly out of the kitchen with cookies and ask who was hungry, and everytime dad would try and steal a cookie from my plate, I always caught him. I can't wait to see them again after so much time.
If you want to find my body, i'll be in the Everfree Forest at the bottom of a cliff near the Castle of the Two Sisters.
Your Screwup, Scootaloo
"Oh, no.." Applebloom muttered.
"Oh... no.." She said again.
"OH NO! AH GOTTA FIND HER!" She yelled, tossing the diary into her sattle bag and rushing out of the house, straight into the Everfree Forest. She ran so fast, faster than she ever thought she could. This new adrenaline pumping through her completely blew away all fear of the forest and its dangers, only one thought was circling her mind at this point...
There was no stopping, no end to this noise as Applebloom raced through the Everfree Forest, crushing leaves under her as she called Scootlaoo's name so loud that her throat began to ache. That didn't stop her from calling her friends name out, however. So deep into the forest, Applebloom had about a millions thoughts racing through her mind at this point, all of them about Scootaloo.
Will ah be fast enough?
Was this my fault?
Could ah have stopped this?
Should ah have payed more attention to her?
I miss her so much..
It had begun to rain down hard, Applebloom's mane falling flat and getting tangled up, her bow chipping off as she got it caught in a tree branch while sliding under it. She looked like a mess, her hair was in her eyes, but that didn't stop her, nothing could at this moment. All she wanted was to see Scootaloo again, to hug her and tell her how wrong she was, that she WAS worth something, that she wouldn't ever be considered dead weight, that she was important.
With hope and determination in her eyes, Applebloom could see the Castle of the Two Sisters come into view, charging forward even harder. Her legs were so worn out, her chest felt like it was on fire, every breath she took burned her lungs, her eyes felt dry and began to water due to this, but she kept on going, despite her pain. She wondered if she was to blame, if maybe she could have prevented this if she had just talked to Scootaloo more and tried to understand her side of things.
It had only dawned upon her now, the full consequences of her actions if she had failed to catch her friend in time. Without Scootaloo, their trio would be no more, what would Rainbow Dash say? She would be heart broken, even though Rainbow Dash seemed distant with Scootaloo, she knew that Rainbow had cared for the orange pegasus a lot and even looked at her like a little sister. She would be heart broken if Scootaloo killed herself!
"Ah've gotta make it, I CAN MAKE IT!" She repeated to herself, teeth clenched hard as she powered through her discomfort.
~POV Switch~
Breath in, breath out...
"Its gonna be okay now, i'll be better after this. It has to be done." A light orange mare whispered to herself, it was Scootaloo.
Her heart felt as if it would beat out of her chest at any moment now.. everything seemed to be so still, so calm.. and yet it felt like it was going so fast. She realized that these would be her final moments. She would dive off of this cliff side, she would land hard into the ground, she would probably feel each and every one of her bones snap at once... and then she would be gone. Dead. Finished. She was scared that it would hurt, but it was too late to back out of it now.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped closer to the edge of the cliff, looking down. Since it was dark, there wasn't much to see but a seemingly endless void of black. She could feel the cold call of death grasping out at her. She knew she was ready now. Closing her eyes softly, she thought one last time about this all. Her throat felt like it was being scratched out from holding back tears.
"Goodbye..." She whispered, taking one last step forward that sent her falling off the cliff and into the darkness.
She could feel the wind swarming past her as she fell. Stretching her front hooves forward and opening out her wings, she imagined herself in Cloudsdale. She was flying side-by-side with Rainbow Dash, the wind flowing through both of their manes as they sped past the finish line of the race, ponies in a nearby crowd cheering and screaming her name. Rainbow had stopped flying, now watching in amazement as Scootaloo flew faster and faster, so fast in fact that she had... preformed the Sonic Rainboom!
She imagined the loud boom of the stunt, the ponies cheering her name even louder than before. She looked back, and she could see Applebloom and Sweetiebelle jumping up and down with excitement, she could see her mother and father crying tears of joy as they watched their daughter do something great.. and then, just when she thought it couldn't get any better, she saw Rainbow Dash, her idol, her hero, fly up in front of her, a proud smirk on her face as she said the words she'd always wanted to hear her star to say..
"I'm so proud of you, Scoots! You've come so far.."
Thats all she wanted to hear, thats all she had ever wanted, for somepony to be proud of her, to care about her- to make her feel "worth it."
Opening her eyes again, she looked down at the ground that would soon be crashing into her. It didn't scare her anymore, she accepted her fate. For now, she just wanted to enjoy the sensation of the cool wind underneath her forever defective wings. She knew nothing could save her now, even if she wanted to stop her death, she couldn't fly out or call for help. This was the end. Scootaloo smiled, hot tears pouring from her eyes that soon streamed away from her as she glided down to her death faster. She only wished that she wouldn't die alone..
"SCOOTALOO!" The scream of a familiar pony shook her from her thoughts, causing her to look back. She only saw the silhouette of what seemed to be a large bow on a mare that looked down on her now. The mare was screaming her name, seeming to know her.
"A-Applebloo-" Scootaloo couldn't finish her sentence, for her body now slamming into the cold hard ground neck first interrupting her. All at once, Scootaloo felt the sudden crack and snap of her neck both dislocating and breaking, her orbital almost instantly getting crushed. That was the last thing she heard before her eyes became cloudy... and her world went dark.
Scootaloo's eyes opened as she heard the sound... it was faint, but loud enough that it took her out of her deep sleep. Her eyes burned when the light hit them, she brought up a hoof to shield her eyes -or at least tried- but her hoof was stuck in something hard. Was it a cast? That made the beeping even more familiar. She was in a soft bed, but it didn't feel like hers...
She was in the hospital...
Now she remembered it all. She was supposed to be dead. This wasn't making any sense, the fall, her bones snapping and dislocating under her, Applebloom calling out to her. Applebloom! How did she get there? Had she seen her letter? Was it an illusion? What was happening?! None of this was adding up, clearly she was alive, but how?! She wished somepony was there to give her answers. Just then, she heard multiple voices at the door, all very familiar.
"Celestia, thank you so much for coming. I... hadn't expected you to respond to our letter on such short notice." She heard Twlight's voice.
"I understand this situation is of upmost urgency to Rainbow Dash. However, please understand that this spell is not permanent-"
"Nurse, can I go in now?! I have to see her!" Rainbow Dash butt in almost demandingly.
"Now hold on there, Rainbow, the gal might not be all well, I say we give 'er a while longer to rest up." That was definitely Applejack.
"You may see her now, but please.. be careful. She's in a very fragile state." Nurse Redheart spoke quietly and calmly.
Before Scootaloo could even process and break down the words, her room door burst open and a flash of rainbow light sped towards her.
"GHAH!" She yelped, feeling herself be tugged into a tight embrace. This hurt a lot more than it should've, she felt as if her entire body would shatter if she wasn't released soon.
"SCOOTS! IM SO GLAD YOU'RE OKAY, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" A plethora of questions were hurdled her way, so many that Rainbow Dash's speech became slurred. Scootaloo had no time to respond.
"RAINBOW DASH GET OFF OF HER!" Twilight yelled worriedly as Applejack soon began to pry her off by bitting her tail and yanking her back. Finally being able to breath again, Scootaloo realized all of the Mane 6, along with Princess Celestia herself, were in the room with her. She almost couldn't believe her eyes, and would've thought to pinch herself if it weren't for the emense amount of pain she was already in.
She could tell the emotions were running high in the room. Pinkie Pie's hair had flattened as she stared at Scootaloo with multiple signs of sadness, relief, confusion, but mostly worry in her eyes. Fluttershy was sitting on the side of the bed next to her, holding her hoof in hers as she gently stroked it, not speaking once. Rarity's mascara had run down her cheeks, making it obvious that she had been crying. Applejack had her hat in her hooves, looking down at the floor in comeplete silence. Twilight was talking with Celestia in whispers in the corner of the room, her face going from concern to dread. Out of them all, Rainbow Dash had the most emotion in her tone and eyes.
"Scootaloo... why did you do it? You could've talked to me, you know I'm always here for you. Please.." The multicolored pegasus' eyes were filled with tears beginning to rise as she sat next to her number one fan. She was clenching her teeth hard as she stared right into her eyes, she had never seen Dash this broken. It was clear she was taking this the hardest.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow..! I just.. I.." She had no words. She leaned in forward, Dash soon getting the notion and pulling her into a much more gentle hug than before.
"Don't ever do that again, I thought I'd lost you forever... I was so scared.." Rainbow's voice was cracking as she made no attempt to put on a brave face. "You're like a sister, a little me, don't take that away from me.. I don't wanna lose you.." Her eyes were shut tightly as she spoke, holding herself back from squeezing the filly into the hug even more. She was so glad she was safe.
Scootaloo heard Fluttershy's soft weeping from her right, she had be quietly listening in and sobbing as she nuzzled her hoof. "You know we love you, Scootaloo." The pale yellow mare spoke softly, hiccuping inbetween her words.
A few more words were exchanged before the mood lightened up again. Rainbow and Scootaloo were talking like normal, catching up on the newest news on the Wonder Bolts and Rainbow Dash bragging about how she always knew she could get in. Pinkie Pie seemed to also be cheery again, her mane had puffed back up and she was standing beside Fluttershy cracking jokes. Rarity and Applejack just sat beside eachother and laughed at Pinkie Pies antics.
It was then that Scootaloo spoke up, "Hey, Twlight, you haven't said much since you got here.. are you alright?" She asked, turning her head over to the corner of the room to face the Element of Magic and her ruler, Celestia. All of the others smiled and agreed with her, Celestia went silent and closed her eyes.
"Is.. is something wrong?" She asked, sitting up quickly.
"Don't tire yourself out there, Scootaloo. You need ta save yer strength." Applejack cut in.
"Ah, please. Scoots'll be up on her hooves in no time, she's just like me! And once she's good again, I'll take her under my wing." Rainbow Dash exclaimed proudly, a smug smirk on her face.
"About that..." Celestia's voice was hushed, yet loud enough that everypony heard it and looked directly at her.
"What?" They all asked in union.
Twilight sighed, knowing she would have to explain.
"Twilight, why're you looking all beat up?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
The purple bookworm stood up slowly, trotting over to the bed and not looking up once as she did so.
"I.. You can't.." Her voice instantly began to break, her bangs covering her eyes as she stared straight down. Everypony had eyes on her, all sharing looks of confusion and anticipation. Celestia soon also stood up, towering over everypony in the room. Her face was serious, and all ponies in the room knew she bared bad news.
"Scootaloo, you are probably wondering why you're still speaking and breathing after such a horrendous attempt on your life," She started, Scootaloo nodded. "I have cast a spell on you that would prolong your life and heal your wounds so that you may live.." She paused, "Temporarily."
"What does that mean, Princess?" Rainbow Dash quickly asked, which came out as more of a demand of an answer.
"It means that.. this spell will not last long, and once it wears off.. Scootaloo will be with us... no longer." She said grimly.
The room became still, all was silent. They all stared at Celestia, searching for any sign of an alternative solution, anything that would fix this. When there was none, Rainbow Dash spoke up again.
"That can't be true! There's nothing else that can help her at all?!" Her voice rose as panic settled in.
"Unfortunately, no. I wish there was more I could do, but-"
"You're not even going to TRY to help her?! You're just gonna let her die, just like that?!" She yelled, no longer caring who heard her.
"Please, you must understand that my magic is limited, and even if it weren't, it is not my place to-"
"Not your place to what?! SHES GOING TO DIE! BECAUSE YOU WONT HELP HER! YOU'RE THE PRINCESS, ITS YOUR JOB TO HELP YOUR SUBJECTS!" She was screaming now, her eyes filled with fury and sadness. Tears were streaming down her face.
Princess Celestia had stopped responding for the moment. Twilight was bitting her tongue, teeth clenched so hard that they could've shattered. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were balling their eyes out, Rarity had fainted, and Applejack had turned away, clutching her hat tightly as she held herself back from yelling at Rainbow Dash and Celestia.
".... I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do." The goddess of the sun said finally. And that was all she said.
Scootaloo had just sat there. All the crying and screaming was washed away by her thoughts. She was the only one in that entire world with a voice now. To her, she was the only one making any noise. Everything else was just a blur of nothingness. Just like she would be soon. Amoungst the cacophony, only one thought remained...
I'm going to die. I'm going to die, and I don't want to.
This whole time she had spent her final days thinking about how much she hated her life, how much she desperately wanted death- that she needed it. And now, she had gotten her wish. She was going to die in this hospital bed, she wasn't going to die alone like she thought she would. She wanted to take it all back, the jumping off of that cliff, the diary entry, all those days she spent alone by herself instead of going out and talking to others.
All of it, wasted. She had let her depression consume not only her emotions, but her social life and her actual life. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do to stop it, she had caused this. She didn't reach out to her friends when she should've, and now.. not only was she going to pay for it, but Rainbow Dash as well. This was hurting everypony in the room, and she knew that even the princess herself was hurting at this point, knowing that she was powerless to help a child who needed her more than ever.
She rose back to the surface now. She could hear all the crying, the sobbing, the hiccups, the yelling.. the pain. She saw all her friends crying. Soon, she started to sob as well, knowing this was truly the end for her.
"You can't, no... Scootaloo..." Rainbow Dash couldn't even speak properly at this point, her words were now just pathetic attempts at one coherent sentence.
"The spell will not last long now.. it is best that we say what we have to now before it is too late." The white Alicorn said somberly, eyes closed.
Within minutes, the ponies had said their goodbyes. All mentioned how much they appreciated her and how much they'd miss her. Applejack had to drag Rarity and Pinkie Pie out of the room soon after, due to Rarity still being unconscious and Pinkie refusing to let go of Scootaloo. Fluttershy and Twilight were the last to leave with the Princess. Twilight uttered her final goodbye.
"I'm sorry we couldn't do more. I enjoyed teaching you so much, we will never forget you." Twilight kept a strong voice until she left the room, a hoof around Fluttershy to support the broken down animal caretaker.
Now, it was just Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash in the room. The group agreed to let her say her final goodbye and be with her for her last moments.
"Scootaloo, no.." She choked, her lips trembling as she felt her heart sink.
"Rainbow Dash, don't cry..." The young pegasus tried to console her idol, her voice faint as she was losing strength.
"It's not fair!" She balled her eyes out, clutching the bed sheets tightly.
Scootaloo wrapped her hoof in Rainbow's, her eyes half open.
"You know, I always looked up to you. Even though I knew I wouldn't be able to fly like you ever, I always wanted to dream.."
"Don't talk like that!" She cried, "You can.. you just haven't learned to yet.."
"You never give up, Dash. That's another thing I always liked about you.. please don't be sad.. I'll never leave your side. You've taught me so much, I'm sorry I have to go out like this.." Her voice got even more thin as the machines beeping got slower and slower.
"Don't be sorry, I wasn't there for you when you needed me, it's my fault!"
"Don't forget about me, Dashie..." Her eyes closed as the machine stopped beeping.
"No, no, no... Scootaloo?" She whispered, tugging her hoof slightly. No response.
"S-Scootaloo? Scootaloo!" She nugged her arm a little harder, the orange filly was limp.
"SCOOTALOO, PLEASE! WAKE UP!" She yelled, shaking her lifeless body with force as her throat began to burn.
"PLEASE DONT LEAVE ME! SCOOTALOO!" She was screaming into her chest, banging her hoof against the bed. This was the worst pain imaginable, even worse than all those times she'd landed herself in the hospital due to flight injuries. If she had been there sooner, if she had checked up on her more.. she could've prevented this.
She couldn't believe it. Scootaloo was dead, she was gone forever. Her favorite little filly, who she had loved dearly.. she was gone. Forever. In that moment, Rainbow Dash just rested her head on Scootaloo's chest and sobbed endlessly, crying and praying for her to come back, to not leave her like this.
