The pain in her shoulder burned. Her odd canter normally drew queer looks, but injured as she was, she knew her running was what was drawing the stares and laughs. Normally she was self-conscious of it, of the laughter and the looks. But right now, she did not care. It took her far longer than she’d wanted to get to the hospital. She cursed her broken wing; had she been able to fly, she was certain she could have out-flown even Rainbow Dash.

She burst through the doors of the ER and limped to the counter. Tenderheart, the nurse whom had woken her two days earlier, was at the triage desk.

“Ms Doo,” she frowned, looking at the dishevelled-and-obviously-not-resting pony approaching her desk. “I did not expect to see you back so soon.”

“Dinky,” she panted.

“Is something the matter with your daughter?” Nurse Tenderheart sat up in alarm.

Ditzy furrowed her brow, trying to slow her heart and her breathing.

“Scarf,” she got out, still panting, but beginning to slow.

“Scarf?” Nurse Tenderheart asked, now thoroughly confused.

“My. Daughter's scarf! Yellow and. Brown. Little muffin.” Each word came out in a heavy pant.

Nurse Tenderheart waited for Ditzy to calm down. Thankfully it had been a slow day, and there were no patients needing to be triaged at that moment.

“Now calm down dear, let yourself relax. When you have your breath back, tell me what you need and I will help.” She got up, filled a small cup with water, and passed it to Ditzy.

Ditzy started to calm, as much as she could, with the now searing pain in her shoulder. When her breathing was under control she was able to describe the scarf, and that it should have been with her when she came in. The nurse sadly replied that there was no such scarf when she was brought in, she was on triage that day when Big Mac had brought her in.

Ditzy gave in to her tears. She’d lost it. The precious gift her daughter had saved so hard for her. She broke down in the ER, paying no mind to anypony around her.

“I'm stupid,” she wailed. “Everypony is right, I'm stupid and useless.”

Nurse Tenderheart called another nurse to the desk, and led Ditzy into the lounge. She brought a small cup of tea over and offered it to Ditzy.

“Now, you shouldn’t blame yourself, accidents happen,” she tried hard to sooth the sobbing grey mare. “And who knows, it might still turn up. I will keep an eye out for it, just in case.” She offered the last words meekly, there was little chance the scarf would wind up there.

“I just don’t know what went wrong,” the grey mare sobbed. “I try so hard. I try so very hard for her.”

“Why don’t you ask the stallion who brought you in? Mr MacIntosh, wasn’t it? Maybe he has seen it?” The nurse nudged Ditzy’s neck. “It’s at least worth a try, isn’t it?”

When Ditzy had calmed down, Nurse Tenderheart returned to her duties. Ditzy left the hospital, her shoulder now very tender, and made her way back to the markets.

“Ah dunno what happened, Big Mac,” she overheard Applejack as she approached the stall. “She jus’ up and shot out like a fruitbat outta Tartarus! Oh-”

Big Mac and Applejack turned to see the miserable looking mare coming towards them. They could see her eyes were puffy and red; the telltale signs of someone who’d been crying.

“Y’all right there Sugarcube?” Applejack came and put a hoof around Ditzy’s neck. “We were mighty worried when yah done bolted on us. Me ‘n the girls have been lookin for yah.”

A small sniffle came from under her mane, as Ditzy dipped her head forward. “Sorry.”

“No need to be sorry,” Applejack let her out of the hug, “but if summits happened, talk to us. We’re yer friends.”

Friends? Ditzy stopped. Really? These two barely knew her. Why would they be friends?

Of course, they had rushed her to the hospital. But anypony would have done that. They’d looked after Dinky for her, and that was very generous of them. Applejack had even invited her out to lunch, before Ditzy had so rudely left.

“Friends?” Ditzy asked weakly.

“Well of’course we’re yer friends, yah silly filly!”

“Eeyup,” Big Mac added, nodding.

“I lost something, I think, in the crash,” Ditzy turned to Big Mac. “When you found me, was I? Ummm, was I wearing a scarf?”

Big Mac shook his head. Ditzy slumped, crestfallen.

“Yah mean Dinky’s scarf,” Applejack asked, things finally dawning on her. “The one she made for yer birthday?”

“What will I tell her?” Ditzy nodded her head, sitting dejected.

“Well don’t you worry your lil’ head about it! Big Mac and I will find it!” she turned to Big Mac, “Right, big brother?”

Confused, Big Mac nodded his head, still unsure of what was going on.

“Now why don’t you head on home, Ditzy? Big Mac and Ah’re done for the day. Ah’ll get Big Mac to stop us on the way home, and we’ll find that scarf for yah.”

Ditzy continued to sniffle, but smiled hopefully, as Applejack helped her into her saddlebags.

“Ah dare say that daughter of yours’ll be home by now, likely tired from a day of playing with the fillies.”

Ditzy smiled and waved as she walked off, leaving the two siblings to talk.

“What just happened, sis?”

Applejack frowned. She brought a hoof to her chin, thinking.

“Ah jus volunteered us fer a job,” Applejack muttered. “Finding a scarf. An orange and brown scarf. Probably somewhere in the leaves near where she crashed.”

Big Mac looked down at his sister still deep in thought.

“Horseapples!” she cursed.

Big Mac stopped pulling the cart when they arrived.

“It was somewhere around here,” he intoned.

“Whelp, lets git lookin!”

Applejack had explained on the walk what had happened, or near as what she could tell had happened. Big Mac had seen Ditzy’s house, and could guess at how much Dinky’s gift had meant to Ditzy. He’d seen first hand how little they had, and understood at once what Dinky had given up. He thought back to his foalhood, and what he would spend his allowance on. Candies, pies, cakes. A new comic book. Even when things weren’t going well on the farm, he’d never thought to give up his allowance to help buy a new plow, or a tin of paint for the barn, or anything.

Of course Ditzy would be distraught that she had lost something so precious. They spent the late afternoon combing the ground, but to no avail.

“Don’t stay out too late, Big Mac.”

Applejack sighed, then went on ahead.

He should have long since given up hope finding it, but stubbornly he pressed on. Celestia’s sun was beginning to move below the horizon, and soon Luna’s moon would rise. The air was starting to get a slight chill to it.

He kept looking. He worked the ground like he’d worked the fields. Slowly up the field, then slowly back. Tracing the ground, moving carefully through the leaves. Channels of bare soil could be seen through the leaves now. He’d traced the same large area between the trees multiple times now. But still, he’d not given up.

He continued looking, even as his breath hung misty in the air. The last rays of sunlight had disappeared, the autumn colours lost to the monochromatic hues of night.

He finally gave up when Applejack came back. She put a blanket over his back and ordered him to come home.

“Why can’t Ah find it, AJ?” Big Mac asked. “Good things are supposed to happen to good ponies.”

Applejack put a hoof on the back of his neck. “Ah dunno, Mac, Ah really don’t know.”

“They care so much for each other,” he huffed. “It’s just not fair.”

Applejack pulled her brother into a big hug. She felt him go limp against her. She pushed him back and looked him in the eyes. They were red. They held the same sadness she’d seen in Ditzy’s only hours earlier.

“Now, what’s got you so tied up in this?” Applejack asked, worry for her brother spreading.

“Did we show our parents how much they meant to us,” he asked, “when–when they were still around?”

Applejack looked up to the sky.

“Were we th’ perfect foals? Nah, Ah don’t think so,” she answered, honestly. “But we loved ‘em, and they loved us. Ah’m sure they still do, wherever they are.”

“Ah just–Ah just wanted to, find it for them,” he sighed. “That loyalty, to each other. They should have it better, AJ. They don’t got much, but they are still so good to each other.”

“Let’s go home, Big Mac. Ah’ll get the cart for yah.” Next Chapter: Chapter 6 Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 4 Minutes