Both Twilight and Spike were awake in the wee hours of the morning... well before Celestia was even due to bring out the sun. Everyone there had turned in fairly early early the night before and, as a result, they were all feeling pretty rested. All except for Rainbow Dash... who laid still in Library's guest bed, quietly snoring.

Even though dawn was well off, Twilight was already thinking about when to leave and who was going to be with her as she ate breakfast. She took a stroll afterwards as the sun rose, trying to clear her mind. She was walking for hours with no aim and lost track of time for once. The solitude felt vaugely familiar and surprisingly pleasant. By the time she got back it was a little after 8.

The Unicorn approached her sleeping Pegasus friend:

"Rainbow?"

Her eyes remained shut tight. She didn't even stir.

"Rainbow Dash?"

Twilight put a hoof to Rainbow's head. She didn't appear to have a fever anymore and looked okay... but was out cold all the same.

Spike stood by the purple Unicorn's side, clutching his tail... awaiting instructions:

"You sure you're okay with staying home today?" She asked him.

He nodded hesitantly while playing with his tail. Twilight turned up to the little dragon and gave him a hug.

"If she still looked bad and felt feverish I'd be here, too, but... don't hesitate to send me a note again if things go wrong."

"I won't."

After a quick shower Twilight left the library with a spring in her step. Spike stayed behind with Rainbow Dash, though he was downstairs doing his chores rather than upstairs looking after her. At this point she looked like Rainbow Dash usually did when asleep... neither Twilight nor her assistant were too terribly concerned.

Twilight first met up with Pinkie Pie, just as expected. Again, she had the bulging party pack.

"Scootaloo's been pretty badly hurt," Twilight said, eying the pink mare's bag. "I don't know if that's appropriate..."

"Hey, I can always try... can't I?"

The Unicorn did her best to fake a smile:

"I guess so, Pinkie..."

"Okee-dokie lokie!"

Twilight fought the urge to roll her eyes as they continued on their merry way.

By the entrance they saw Apple Jack, who had both AB and Babs with her. The farm pony was bent over talking to the fillies when she noticed their approach by the reflection on the door. Twilight waited paitently for Apple Jack to finish, passing a glance between herself and the two fillies. Twilight saw both little ponies looked dejected, Apple Bloom more so than Babs, but then she saw an unusual reason for it... a reason surprisingly difficult to look at. Babs had a cutie mark now, a very stunning cutie mark at that, pertaining to martial arts. Twilight knew that Babs had used her Eastern training to defend herself against Scootaloo... and could simply go from there.

"Hey Twilight!" Exclaimed Appple Bloom, trying to sound as happy as possible. "Are you here to see Scootaloo, too?"

"Oh, yeah." She turned to AJ. "Rainbow's passed out at the library. She might be by later."

"Figures," replied Apple Jack. "I was just gettin' them ready incase Scootaloo's in bad shape. Ah don't know what I'm gunna see, but Fluttershy was kind enough to at least stop by an' keep me in the loop."

"I'm sorry, AJ." Twilight said. "This has been quite the crisis."

"Ah reckon."

The five entered the hospital and went right up to the reception desk. Pinkie Pie entertained Babs and Apple Bloom with a few balloon animals while Twilight talked to the secretary, trying to find out what room Scootaloo was in. It took a few minutes, but soon enough they had the number and were on their way.

This was another instance where no pony spoke. Pinkie Pie had tried to tell a few jokes, but no pony laughed. AJ scowled after letting the first two slide:

"That ain't appropriate right now," she said sternly.

Pinkie's mane went a tiny bit straight after that. She was, afterall, just being Pinkie Pie... dealing with this crisis in the way that seemed best to her.

They approached the door with Twilight leading. Just outside, they could hear a respirator. Twilight turned to face the group:

"I don't think we should go in all at once," she said. "We don't want to overload Scootaloo."

"I'll go in with these two after you gals," said Apple Jack, putting a foreleg around Apple Bloom and Babs.

"Good plan." The purple mare turned to face her pink friend. "Ready?"

Pinkie saluted.

Once Twilight motioned towards the doorway both she and Pinkie stepped inside....

Twilight entered leading with Pinkie close behind. She was surprised by what she found, and she'd yet to even see Scootaloo:

Rarity was there... sitting aside the bed in a chair. She was dressed up in a somewhat wrinkled sporty ensemble, complete with hat and red-rimmed glasses. She looked up at Twilight and Pinkie, and... noticing that Pinkie had her hoof on a release for her bulging bag, she shook her head. Twilight glanced back and put a hoof on Pinkie's foreleg:

"Okay, Twilight," Pinkie said, sadly.

The two approached and finally got a look at Scootaloo:

She had an oxygen mask over her face and nearly her entire body was bandaged over. Two of her legs were shot outward in casts, suspended from pulleys on the ceiling. Her torso was wrapped tightly in gauze and bandages, her unwrapped parts were either scabbed over or bruised. Even though the filly little was badly hurt, she still looked like Scootaloo.

The tiny Pegasus looked over at Twilight and Pinkie Pie grinning ear-to-ear beneath the mask... instantly making the pink mare's mane regain its lost frizz.

Twilight looked behind herself at Apple Jack, who was still in the doorway looking unsure of what to do. She motioned her inside with the two fillies. Apple Jack slowly entered and the two little ponies saw their friend:

Apple Bloom took one look and fell completely mute. Babs looked as though she could cry, especially seeing how where she'd struck Scootaloo on the nose was bad enough to be bandaged along with the rest of her... however, she managed to hold it in.

"Don't ya have anything ya wanna say to your friend?" Apple Jack asked the two little fillies. "This is scary for her, too."

Though well-meaning as always, Twilight shot AJ a disapproving look.

"Uh... hey Scootaloo," said Babs, taking a step closer while blowing the lock of mane out of her eyes. "How ya doin'?"

Again, Scootaloo smiled:

"I'm happy to see you," she weakly replied.

Apple Bloom's eyes immediately lit up:

"Scootaloo! You can talk?"

"Yeah," replied the little filly. "It hurts a little bit, but I'm alright."

She looked hard at Babs and, raising her unencumbered foreleg like Sweetie Belle had, pointed out the obvious:

"You got your Cutie Mark, Babs. It looks really cool."

Babs lowered her eyes and felt nearly devastated as Scootaloo had when Sweetie Belle had pointed out her Cutie Mark. She covered it with her tail and she hid her feelings well. Apple Jack reassuringly put a foreleg around her as she swallowed:

"Yeah, well... it really ain't all that impressive. I'm more happy you're doin' so well!"

"I don't remember anything," replied the little filly. "Rainbow Dash was right. She said I'd go to sleep and everything would be okay..."

"She'll be happy to hear that," said Twilight, smiling down at Scootaloo.

Scootaloo smiled back. She really didn't remember a thing.

The ponies visited with their injured little friend for over an hour. Rarity sat in the corner and said nothing... Twilight caught her glancing her way every now and again, but it seemed she was mostly there for the sake of seeing how Scootaloo was doing. Eventually, the posh mare in the wrinkly grab got up and left without a word. Even though Scootaloo was capable of having a conversation with both Babs and Apple Bloom, her voice began to get hoarse after a while... and Twilight knew soon enough she would probably be eating lunch.

"I think it's a good idea we let Scootaloo get her rest," Twilight said. "What do you think AJ?"

"I'm with you, Twi," replied the farm pony. "We're gonna leave in about five minutes... wrap it up, fillies."

There were several awws coming out of the two fillies... even Scootaloo looked disappointed, but it was true... without them there to stimulate her she probably would have fallen asleep from her body being so tired. They visited for a while more, though.

In the end the two groups left the hospital. Twilight and Pinkie went one way, Apple Jack and the fillies another.

Apple Jack's walk home was full of questions. Questions about Scootaloo, questions about Sweetie Belle. Questions about how one filly survived a really bad injury and the other had died from something that didn't look all that bad. Apple Jack could answer very few questions satisfactorily, but she tried:

"It has to do with how Sweetie Belle got hit," she said, thinking about what Twilight had told her months before.

"Ah don't understand." Said Apple Bloom. "She looked a lot better than Scootaloo!"

Apple Jack sighed:

"Well, Apple Bloom... this ain't gunna bring her back, but if it'll help you to know Sweetie Belle ex-sometihng'd... I don't remember the exact word. She ex-... dagnabbit! I can't remember that dag-blasted fancy word for the life of me, but I can say Twilight says she bled to death... which ain't too bad when you think about it."

"What? That's a terrible thing to say, Apple Jack!"

"Now hear me out first... I was told she woulda drown in her own blood, 'cause both her lungs got punctured by her ribs... so I'd imagine that was might more merciful." AJ shook her head regretfully. "If she had survived all that her spine was severed, meaning her back legs woulda never worked again. She'd have been in a wheel chair all her life."

"That's awful," said Babs, looking down at the ground.

"Yeah, it is... Scootaloo was badly hurt, too, but other than her legs and stomach it mostly happened to her skin and muscles. She'll probably be okay in a few months, maybe a bit stiff and she'll have scars... but she'll walk and you three will be able to have fun again like you used to. Sweetie Belle's gone now and we can't do nothing about that, but Scootaloo's gunna survive."

"I'm kinda happy and sad at the same time..." Said Apple Bloom.

Babs put a foreleg around the little Earth Pony:

"You know, that seems pretty natural, cuz!"

Apple Jack smiled hearing this. Apple Bloom and Babs started talking on the way home, and soon enough the two fillies were laughing. It was nice to see them benefiting like this from talking to each other. Apple Jack stood back and let 'em talk... choosing to take the long way home.

The long way home amounted to them passing where Scootaloo had gone over the edge of the cliff... something AJ forgot to account for, but still pointed it out. Apple Bloom and Babs saw the rocks and slush she'd landed in, from the height she'd fallen. The blood on the rocks was long washed away, but there was still a brown patch on the tree where she'd hit... the only bit of blood left.

"She survived that?" Apple Bloom asked, rhetorically.

"Ee-yup." Apple Jack replied.

Babs noticed a glint alongside the tree... half buried in the mud she saw Scootaloo's scooter.

"Should I leave it?" She asked AJ.

Apple Jack paused for a moment:

"I say take it."

Together, Apple Bloom and Babs pulled the scooter out of the mud. They wiped it off and found it still to be in pretty good shape. The only part of it actually broken was the front wheel -- literally crushed into a narrow oval.

"What should we do with it?"

Apple Jack thought back to all the ideas tossed out by her friends when Scootaloo was distraught over Sweetie Belle... then it hit her:

"Why not fix it up for her?"

Both fillies faces lit up:

"You mean it? After all that you're just gunna give it right back to her?"

"Well, yeah," replied Apple Jack, thinking hard to make sure she was doing the right thing. "Ah mean, it was kinda a freak accident. Fix it up and when she gets out, give it back to her. If you dun wanna fix it up, I will."

Babs turned to Apple Bloom:

"Ah think with the right tools we can probably fix this."

Apple Bloom lifted up her side of the Scooter and, together, she and Babs carried it to the house while AJ watched to make sure they were being safe. She'd given them both something to to work towards, now... rather than away from. She found it actually did feel pretty good to do that, like Twilight had said.