The Crusade For Love

Chapters

chapter one: The note
Chapter two: Resolve
Chapter Three: Double life
Chapter Four: Nightmares
Chapter Five: The Night
Chapter Six: Silver
Chapter Seven: Breaking The Promise
Chapter Eight: Hope

chapter one: The note

Ponyville was pleasantly calm for a change; the foals of the town’s school were all sat in their classrooms as time ticked away until they were allowed to go home, Cheerilee turned to face her class talking and reading from her text book as she did so. Scootaloo sighed and looked over at Applebloom who was doodling in her note book, feeling a tap on her shoulder she turned her head slightly and noticed a piece of paper in the corner of her eye.
“what?” she whispered as she tried to take the note secretly, but she was quickly interrupted as Cheerilee took the folded paper and made her stand up as the rest of the class giggled at her.

“Would you mind reading this out for the rest of the class?” The dark pink mare said, her tone was less than amused.

“Errr…” Scootaloo hesitated.

“Well, I’m waiting Scootaloo.” Cheerilee was getting more annoyed with each second the orange filly wasted in reading this note.

Finally she stopped trying to avoid reading it and opened the paper, after glancing at the words in front of her she blushed and tried to make up a new note in her mind. It was too late, before she had a decent lie her teacher had taken the note and began reading it out loud.

“Scootaloo, I want us to be more than friends, I long to kiss your… Oh my.” The older mare blushed and stopped before she read out the rest and more importantly who had written the note. She coughed and looked at the young and right now rather embarrassed filly before balling up the note and throwing it in her bin. “Well… that’s erm… enough of that foolishness, class get back to reading from your text books.” She said a little embarrassed now her self.
***

The two hours that followed the note incident were absolute torture for Scootaloo as she could hear the whispers and quiet laughs of the other students, but worst of all is she had no closure. There were no more notes passed and she had no idea which of her classmates had sent the love letter; could it have been Featherweight? He was a Pegasus too so it made sense in some ways, but they weren’t really friends. Then there was snips or snails if either of them had sent it she wouldn’t be able to live it down. She allowed her mind to drift away for a minute; what if it was Pip? She wondered; they’d spent a lot of time together because his home was close to the orphanage where she lived.
“Arggg…” she groaned in frustration, this was getting her nowhere; there were too many colts in her class and she barely knew any of them enough to be called friends. Eventually she gave up and put her head on her desk facing out of the window. Finally the bell rang and the foals were allowed to go home, but Scootaloo didn’t notice and kept staring out of the window until she felt another tap on her shoulder.

“Aintcha comin’ scoots?” the unrefined speech could have only have come from one filly she knew, not lifting her head Scootaloo turned to face her friend. The yellow filly was stood next her other friend a white unicorn with a pink and purple mane.

“Hey Applebloom, hey Sweetie Belle; what’s up?” the orange filly was less than enthusiastic after the day she’d had, but that wasn’t their fault she though and so she sat up to talk to them.

“We were going to see if we can get our cutie marks in sword fighting like mister Broadsword, do you want to come?” Sweetie said, there was something a little off in her voice but Scootaloo ignored it, after all Sweetie Belle had been away for a few days with the flu so she might not have recovered yet.

“Nah… I’m just gonna head to the club house and read the new Daring Doo comic. I don’t feel like doing any crusading today.” With that Scootaloo grabbed her saddle bags and wandered out of the classroom as her fellow crusaders headed the other way to Trixie’s trailer.

***

Paper clattered on the wooden floor of the club house and the filly’s flank soon followed with a slump. “It’s no good.” She couldn’t concentrate at all there were too many questions she wanted to answer, like who sent the note? Who does she know well enough for that sort of confession? How many hooves had the note passed through before she got it? And more importantly why her?
She pondered the last of these questions for a few minutes; why her indeed? If they wanted looks then why not Sweetie Belle? If they were after an outgoing tomboy why didn’t they choose Apple Bloom? Maybe they just had a thing for pegasi, but even then why not Erroria she was half Pegasus and unicorn.
“Why me?” she sighed in frustration and fell on her back to face the old ceiling of the clubhouse. “Why me?”

“You ok? Am I interrupting?” a sweet voice asked as it drew closer to the doorway.

Scootaloo turned to see a pink and purple mane as it rose above the edge of the tree house’s floor; the mane was quickly followed by a white coat and red cape of her fellow crusader who was carrying a broken wooden sword with them.

“Oh hey Sweetie, where’s Apple Bloom?” she quizzed as she noticed the absence of the yellow filly.

“She’s being told off for playing with swords, so I decided to see how you were doing after today’s ‘incident’. Still, I bet you’re happy that somepony likes you in that way.” Sweetie tried to make light of the situation, but Scootaloo wasn’t impressed or even happy she just wanted to clear her mind and Sweetie Belle bringing it up didn’t help.

“urggh…” Scootaloo just groaned and slammed her head against the floor in annoyance. “If only I could’ve seen who wrote the note, it wouldn’t bother me so much.”

Sweetie just shrugged and decided to lie next to her friend. “annnd what would you tell them if you did know?” Sweetie asked looking at the ceiling along with her friend.

“It depends on who the pony is… I mean if it’s Pip then I’d let him down easy, he seems like the easily hurt type. If it was…”

“What if it was me?” sweetie interjected and let her eyes drift over to the orange filly.

“hah... ha... hahahaha! That’s a good one, you’re a filly. Fillies can’t love other fillies, no… it needs to be a colt…” she stopped when she heard sniffles coming from the filly next to her. “Hey what’s wrong? Is your hay fever actin…”
Her eyes drifted over to the white unicorn who was trying and failing to hold back a few tears.

“It… it’s no… nothing I gotta go.” The well groomed white filly said through each sob as she quickly retreated down the steps from the club house.

Scootaloo lay watching the stairs as her friend scurried away. “What was that about?”
***

Little wet droplets ran down white fur as Sweetie Belle hurried to her sister’s home at Carousal Boutique; she knew her older sister wasn’t home because she was taking Fluttershy out to a fancy meal, but she needed somewhere to compose herself and the Boutique was as good as anywhere.
Finally after arriving at her sister’s house she let herself in using the spare key that was always kept under the third plant pot to the right of the door way. The smell of perfume was strong and heady as she entered the living area on the second floor; it normally bothered her but not today, not after her rejection. The scene played over several times as she made her way to the room that Rarity kept just for her; the memory stung worse than anything she’d ever felt before, it wasn’t a straight rejection which made it worse. ‘fillies can’t love other fillies…’ that hurt more than any name her bullies could call her, it hurt worse than any bee sting or splinter she’d ever felt before and it wouldn’t go away.

Sweetie lay face down on her bed and sobbed silently into the pillows, she knew she was being foolish and that Scootaloo was still her friend, but knowing that she would never be more than that was too much to bear and if it hurt now then what would it be like if she ever got a colt-friend? The thought of watching the orange filly with some other pony made her heart ache and sink to the pit of her stomach.
“What if she gets a colt-friend and doesn’t have time for me anymore?” This thought hurt even worse; she could feel herself getting depressed and decided to try and sleep the sadness away.
***

“Why’d she run off?” Scootaloo wondered aloud as she trotted to her friend’s house. “Maybe her hay fever is really bad today? Come to think of it her cheeks were really red earlier.”

The journey was rather long with out her scooter, but after trying to be Cutie Mark Crusaders: Drag Racers last week; it still wasn’t in working condition. Still, at least she got to see the scenic route she thought. Over head the weather patrol was clearing several errant clouds that had floated over Ponyville and Celestia was moving the sun down to make way for Luna’s night; it really wasn’t an unpleasant night for such a walk and so Scootaloo decided to take her time in going to check on her friend.
***

It had taken the best part of an hour to reach Sweetie Belle’s home, it was a large cottage with a creeping vine climbing the far left wall and an immaculately cared for garden that Sweetie’s father had taken great pride in since his early retirement. Scootaloo stepped closer to the front door and knocked, seconds passed then finally it creaked open and the filly was greeted by a white stallion with a distinctive moustache who was wearing a brightly coloured Haywaiian shirt.

“Oh hey there Scootaloo, what brings you here so late?” asked the stallion who was affectionately nicknamed Magnum; although Scootaloo was too young to get the joke she still called him by it.

“Hi I came to see Sweetie Belle, her hay fever seemed really bad earlier and I just wanted to make sure she was alright.” Scootaloo stated, although she was still plagued by the question of who liked her, the concern for her friend had completely over shadowed it for the time being.

“Sorry, but she hasn’t come home yet maybe she’s at the Apple’s place or at Rarity’s shop, still, I hope she gets home soon. Her dinner’s almost ready.” Magnum explained.

Scootaloo turned and began trotting away as Sweetie’s father closed the door. After a few steps she stopped and tried to remember the directions to the boutique, deciding that that’s the only place her friend could be considering that she’d just come from Sweet Apple Acres and Sweetie certainly wasn’t there. Eventually the orange filly remembered the directions and set off down the road to town centre.
***

Sweetie had finally calmed herself down, sitting up in her bed she stared out of her window and down onto the streets below. The lamp outside the shop was broken leaving the area in almost pitch darkness so that even if there was something interesting to see out there Sweetie had no way of actually seeing it.
She sighed and thought to herself ‘Of course scoots likes colts, why wouldn’t she? I wish I was a boy…’ suddenly an idea struck her, why couldn’t she be a colt? She was a unicorn and Twilight had a whole library full of books that could tell her how to do just that. Without a second to lose she leapt out of her bed and headed out to the Oaktree Library as fast as her legs could carry her.

Author's Note

hi guys, erm... not sure what to say about this.
so yeah if you like it let me know what you think. also if you enjoyed what i have so far then like, follow and comment.

see you next time.

Chapter two: Resolve

Oaktree library was shrouded in the thick veil of night with only the small flicker of a candle to break through the darkness and light Sweetie’s way. As the white filly drew closer to the library she heard a commotion coming from inside, from the sounds of it Sweetie guessed that Spike was refusing to take a bath… again. Still, the filly was on a mission and no amount of distractions could stop her.
As she reached the door she took a deep breath and thought to her self. ‘Am I really ready to do this?’ the filly closed her eyes and thought of her orange friend, her purple mane and her beautiful little wings, even the way her face looked when she was embarrassed it was like a dream forever out of reach until now. A sudden pain flashed through her heart as she remembered what Scootaloo had said earlier ‘Fillies can’t love other fillies’ that was it, the final push she needed to steel her resolve. If she couldn’t be Scootaloo’s filly-friend then she would become her colt-friend instead.

Sweetie knocked on the door to the library and waited; nothing. Again she knocked on the door, louder this time, still nothing. Sweetie was getting impatient and knocked again this time it was accompanied by shouting. “Twilight! Can I come in?!”

This time the door flew open and a purple dragon with green spikes barged past the unicorn filly into the darkness pursued by a lavender unicorn mare that also ran straight past her. After Twilight and Spike ran away into the darkness Sweetie took her chance and snuck in. She was in luck; it seemed that Spike had recently re-alphabetized the book shelves making it very easy to find what she was looking for.

“Let’s see… aha! Transformation spells for beginners or maybe Morph spells for novices.” She thought aloud and finally decided to take both just to be safe; time was running short, she could hear Twilight returning and so taking the books Sweetie stole away into the night.
***

Scootaloo finally reached the Carousal Boutique, but by the time she got there Rarity and Fluttershy had gotten home.
“Maybe she’s already gone to sleep?” Scootaloo wondered as she approached the front door to the shop, but before she could raise her hoof to knock a noise came from behind. It was the sound of hoof steps; Scootaloo turned to see a small white filly emerging from the darkness. It was Sweetie Belle and she was carrying something, a book? Scootaloo thought, but that didn’t matter right now she was just glad her friend was looking better.

“Hey Sweetie! What’re you doing out at this time?” she asked while waving her hoof to her friend.

Sweetie’s heart stopped, but it was only for a moment when she saw the object of her desire waiting outside of her sister’s store at this late hour; it was like a dream come true. She slowed to a stop and tried to hide the books that she’d ‘borrowed’ from Twilight’s home before Scootaloo had chance to see them.

“Oh… Hey why are you out so late?” she asked trying to hide her red cheeks, of course in the darkness she didn’t need to, still she tried out of habit.

“I just came to check up on you, your hay fever looked like it was really bad earlier.”

‘Hay fever?’ Sweetie thought for a moment then it dawned on her, Scootaloo must have meant when she ran off crying. “Yeah it’s cleared up a bit, thanks for checking up on me…”

“That’s great, what’s with the books?” Scootaloo asked pointing at the books that the white unicorn had placed behind her.

“Oh these? ... ermmm…” Sweetie tried to think of a lie, but there was nothing in her mind but the overbearing urge to kiss the filly in front of her. Her lips pursed and she leaned closer…

“Oh! I get it!” the orange Pegasus interrupted.

“You… you do?” Sweetie asked, both worried and excited at the same time that her heart’s desire might be fulfilled.

“These books must have spells for relieving hay fever, right?”
Sweetie blinked at the statement then chuckled slightly. “Yep, that’s it; Twilight figured they would help as summer sets in. Anyway Scoots I’ve got to get to bed it is a school night after all.” With that she picked up the books and retreated into the shop. She watched Scootaloo through the letter box for a few moments before heaving a sigh in relief that her plan wasn’t foiled before it had begun; all she had to do now was put it to the test and so she made a B-line for her bedroom to practise the spell.
***

When the school bell rang Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were already in the classroom looking for the note that Cheerilee had thrown in the trash yesterday.

“Have you found it yet?”

“Keep ya feathers on Scoots, Ah’m looking as best Ah can.”

“Where’s Sweetie Belle? She’s great at finding stuff like this.”

“Ah went by her house this morning but she wasn’t there.”

“That’s cause she was sleeping at her sister’s place last night, I think it was cause Rarity keeps the place so clean that it helps with her hay fever.”

“Ya mean that’s still buggin her?”

“Yeah, but she said she was going to try a spell to clear it up for good… Aghhh where is that note?!!”

Finally the two ran out of time and had to sit at there desks prompting yet another annoyed grunt from the orange filly as she slammed her head against her desktop. The other foals filtered into the classroom followed quickly by their dark pink coated teacher who smiled and greeted her students.

“Good morning class.” She said in an almost song like tone as she scanned the faces of her students suddenly stopping when she noticed that Sweetie’s desk was empty. “Girls?” She turned to face Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “Where’s Sweetie Belle today?”

“Well ya see we don’t know, Scoots thinks that she might be out with hay fever though.” The yellow filly answered.

“Oh dear I do hope she’ll be alright, oh well we’ll just have to continue the lesson without her.” Cheerilee continued and turned to face her chalkboard.
***

The rest of the Cheerilee’s class was boring and uneventful; finally the lunch bell rang and the students were dismissed for their break. Scootaloo stepped out of the school doors and began walking towards the jungle gym.

“Hey Scoot why’re ya out here all alone?” Apple Bloom quizzed as she caught up with her orange friend.

“I’ve got some stuff to think about, I just want to be alone for a little while if that’s alright.” Scootaloo stated and continued walking to the jungle gym, eventually taking a seat on the sand beneath the barred structure. ‘Who could’ve sent that note?’ The questions from yesterday returned and began to plague her again.
The orange filly became so lost in thought that she’d completely failed to notice the handsome earth pony colt that stood waiting for her behind a nearby tree, until now. He was a few inches taller than she was with a pink and purple mane and a solid white coat; he had a familiar air about him that was hard to place almost like she’d met him before, finally she found her eyes drawn to his flank. It was bare. Whoever this colt was a blank flank just like her; she felt herself blush slightly as he walked towards her.

“Hey there, I’m Silver Bell what’s your name?” Sweetie had disguised herself rather poorly due to her low level magic, but it seemed to have fooled Scootaloo so it wasn’t all bad.

“I’m Scoot… Scootaloo…” She stammered as the handsome earth pony shook her hoof.

‘It’s working.’ Sweetie thought as the memories of last night ran through her head. The first few attempts didn’t work all that well because her magic wasn’t strong enough, however after several failed attempts and charred sections of her coat she’d gotten good enough to cast a slightly weaker spell that was more like a costume that only lasted long enough for a few hours. Now all she had to do was make the orange filly love her back.

“Do you want to eat together? I made too much for just myself.” The ‘colt’ asked as he sat next to Scootaloo.

“Erm… sure.” The Pegasus filly found herself quickly put at ease and even charmed by the white colt that was opening his saddle bag to get his lunch.

The lunch Silver had brought with him was indeed too much for one foal and as Scootaloo only had coupons for food that wasn’t very tasty she accepted the rather generous portion Silver gave her. It was full of her favourite foods, from apple bread with raspberry jam to deep fried, honey coated carrot fritters. It was almost like the colt had made this dinner especially for her, but she knew that was impossible after all they’d only just met.

Sweetie’s heart melted with each smile that Scootaloo gave as she enjoyed the meal that she’d prepared; it was like a dream, to see the filly she loved delighting in the food she’d been learning to make just for her for several months. She smiled as she slipped into fantasies of living with the orange filly and cooking for her everyday; finally she’d say ‘Sweetie these oat pancakes are almost as sweet as you.’ Then they’d inch closer until finally their lips would touch and… her fantasy was interrupted when Scootaloo waved a hoof in front of her face.

“Hey you ok?” She asked, her mouth still full of food.

“Yeah… yeah why?” Sweetie answered in her best male voice.

“You looked like you were zoning out, you know like you were lost in thought.” The orange Pegasus filly explained as she took another bite of the sweet carrot fritters.

“I… I was just thinking…” Sweetie looked at her friend’s face for an explanation. ‘I was thinking how cute you look with crumbs around your mouth.’ She thought. “You have a few crumbs on your cheek.” She gestured, but each time Scootaloo brushed her cheek she would miss the crumbs entirely which prompted several laughs from her companion.

“Look, I’m starting to feel kinda stupid can you get it for me?” Scootaloo asked.

Silver’s face turned red. “What?”

“Pleaaasee?” Scootaloo asked again.

‘Dang she’s so cute.’ Sweetie thought and moved closer to brush the crumbs away, but as the she did Scootaloo giggled and she panicked blushing a bright red as she did so.

“Sorry, I’m kinda ticklish.” Scootaloo said with a grin, suddenly the bell rang for the end of lunch leaving the pair startled.
“I guess we gotta go to class now, aren’t you coming?” the orange filly asked only to be met by Silver shaking his head.

“I’m in a different class on the other side of the school, but erm… can we do this again tomorrow?” The white colt asked, his question was quickly met with a smile and a quick nod before the filly ran into class.

Silver waited for a few moments until Scootaloo had gone back inside before he deactivated the spell, once again returning to the original filly that was hiding beneath its shroud.

“I did it!!!” Sweetie yelled before running home to practice the spell in hopes it would last longer.

Author's Note

Charter two is done!!
chapter three wont be out for a while as i have alot of over time at my job and i just can't get to write much.

that said, what do you think so far?
i know rule 63 isn't everyone's cup of tea and to be honest it isn't really mine either, but i felt i needed to explore other types of character and let's face it love or desire can drive some people to do some crazy stuff.

lastly there will be a front cover soon i just haven't drawn one yet.

if you have any comments please tell me, anything useful will help me improve as a writer.
see you next update.
JPTrixie-Fan

Chapter Three: Double life

School had finished and the foals were once again free to go about their business, Scootaloo’s face was still slightly red from her encounter during lunch time. She’d tried for the last three lessons to conceal her burning cheeks; naturally she failed, but she did manage to lie her way out of the inquisition by saying that she’d caught a summer cold although her yellow friend saw through the act and she was determined to get some answers. Of course Scootaloo knew her friend would be more curious than all the others in her class combined and so she tried to leave the classroom before anypony else could, at the moment the bell rang she was off in a blur of orange and purple as she fled the school.
The only problem with her escape plan was that there were only so many places in Ponyville that she could hide and unfortunately Apple Bloom had beaten her to every one.

“Alrite! Out with it Scoots.” The yellow filly commanded after finally tracking Scootaloo down and trapping her in the club house.

“Out with what?” said Scootaloo in an attempt to play dumb.

“You an’ Ah both know that flu story of yer’s is a big bag of horseapples, now Ah want ya ta tell me the truth; Why was ya face so red?” Apple Bloom teased as she stepped closer to her.

“Fine, you got me.” Scootaloo began. “I met a really cute colt at lunch, he was so sweet and nice, he even gave me lunch. Oh and guess what? He likes all the same food I do! It’s like we were meant to be!” The orange filly confessed and sat next to the table where the crusaders planned their next attempt for cutie marks.

“Sounds like ya got yaself a little crush ta me, so what’s this prince charmin’s name?” Apple Bloom said fetching out the stash of sodas and candies the crusaders had hidden for emergency snacking.

“He said his name was Silver Bell and he goes to our school.” Scootaloo said inbetween taking bites out of her chocolate bar.

“No way, ya hafta introduce me and Sweetie to him sometime.”

“Don’t worry, of course I’ll show him to you guys.”

The two fillies continued chatting like old mares as they scoffed down the sweets they’d stashed.
***

At the same time across town at Rarity’s boutique Sweetie was telling her favourite stuffed bear all about the day she had; she knew it couldn’t reply, but she was just so happy that she had to tell somepony or she’d burst. Of course there wasn’t anypony she could tell, how could anyone understand how she felt for her friend?

It was those feelings that pushed her so far and it would be those feelings that would ultimately allow her to finally tell Scootaloo how much she loved her, but before she could win her over Sweetie knew that she had to perfect the spell so that it would hide her voice properly as well.

“Ok, one more time!” She said fixing the large mirror she’d ‘borrowed’ from Rarity’s workshop to the wall. Sweetie concentrated on the transformation, she had to visualise each facet of her appearance from her mane to her hooves and as she focused on her voice an eldritch glow enveloped her horn spreading down to her throat. The magic became an ethereal collar that wrapped and clamped down on her neck changing her voice from the sweet higher pitch that she had always known to a deeper more masculine tone that felt alien to the filly.

“Oh Celestia, is this me?” she quizzed as she finally finished the spell and stared at the suddenly unfamiliar reflection staring back at her.
“I’m a colt, I’m a colt, I’m a colt, I’m a colt, I’m a colt!” Sweetie exclaimed in happiness as she skipped in a circle, suddenly she stopped as a thought dawned on her. She couldn’t be sick forever and eventually Scootaloo would want her friends to meet silver, what would she do then?
“I can’t be in two places at once…”
***

Sweetie had transformed back to her normal self in time for Fluttershy to cook dinner for the three of them; vegetable mousaka with roasted carrots, turnips and hey fries on the side. It was an impressive meal, but sweetie had lost her appetite after realising that her plan was doomed to failure and so she sat playing with her meal as the two elder mares ate.

“What’s the matter Sweetie?” Fluttershy asked, noticing that she hadn’t eaten a single bite.

“It’s nothing, I’m just not very hungry.” Sweetie answered as she looked at the yellow mare and put down her fork.

“Oh my, are you still not feeling well? Maybe I should stay home and take care of you.” She offered. Fluttershy had recently moved in with Rarity after they’d started dating, but it still felt a little strange for her to call it home.

“Sweetie would you like me to call my client and reschedule.” Rarity asked as she took a sip of her wine.

“No, it’s alright I just need some rest.” Sweetie lied. “I’m heading to bed, thanks for dinner.”
Sweetie got up and headed towards her room. Again she looked at the mirror and imagined her male counterpart staring back at her, how would she keep up this charade? Eventually her double life would catch up to her and when that happened how would Scootaloo react? She groaned in frustration as she stared at her reflection then finally she turned away to climb into bed.

‘At least I can eat with her tomorrow…’ She thought as she closed her eyes and hugged her teddy pretending it was the filly she loved.
***

Rain thrashed down as school started, but the orange filly didn’t mind; she was too busy thinking about lunch time and her ‘date’ with the handsome colt she’d met yesterday. Her orange cheeks became red thinking of him, the way his eyes seemed so familiar and comforting almost like she’d met him before. Finally Cheerilee entered the classroom and shook her head to dry off before starting class.

“Alright fillies and colts its time for maths…” The dark pink mare began and looked at the faces of her students. “Oh no, is Sweetie still not well?” She asked the yellow filly at the front of the class.

“Ah dunno Miss Cheerilee we ain’t seen hide nor hair of her.” Apple Bloom answered then looked at Sweetie’s empty desk. “Ah s’pose we could see how she’s doin’ after school, right Scoots?”

Scootaloo wasn’t paying attention, her mind was far too focused on her lunch date that she only half heartedly responded to the question. “Huh?... Oh erm sure.”

“Thank you girls and while you’re there could you take her the homework too?” Cheerilee asked.

“Sure Ah guess.” Apple Bloom replied looking at their teacher who’d just placed the worksheet in front of her.

Another boring lesson ticked by slowly creeping towards lunch time; Scootaloo couldn’t wait, she was so excited that each second that passed felt like ten minutes. Finally the longest five minutes of her life ticked by until the lunch bell rang to dismiss the foals, but just as it rung Cheerilee stopped her class much to the orange filly’s Frustration.

“Oh come on!” She blurted out as her teacher began telling the class about the next lesson, until they were finally allowed to leave and Scootaloo ran out of the classroom faster than a bullet.
***

The rain had stopped and Scootaloo waited patiently under the jungle gym like she did before and as promised there, behind the same tree was Silver who was carrying a large boxed lunch with him.
Silver sat next to Scootaloo and the two began talking, silver took a sip from his plum juice; Scootaloo became entranced by the white colt’s lips as they wrapped around the straw imagining her own lips in place of the straw. She shook her head to dispel the redness on her cheeks, but she couldn’t, she was fascinated by Silver; everything about him seemed familiar and kind as if they had known each other for years, but they had only just met… Her chain of thought was broken when Silver spoke, reminding the filly of just how close they were together. “Do you like the food Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo responded with a shy flush of her cheeks and a look of embarrassment “Y-yes it’s delicious, who taught you to make it? Your parents?”
Seeing this opportunity to create a common bond between the two, Silver decided to lie, its not like Scootaloo would find out she was lying and Silver did have no parents, she justified. “Actually no I’m an orphan; I was taken in by a family that lives just outside of Ponyville, on the outskirts.”

“No way!” the orange filly interrupted to the surprise of the other foal.

“W… What?!” Silver replied in shock.

“You’re an orphan? So am i! That’s amazing.” Scootaloo stated as she leant forward on her front legs to get closer to the white colt.

“Whoooa!” Suddenly the orange filly slipped on the fresh mud beneath her and landed atop the white colt, their lips accidently met causing the pair to blush furiously. It took several agonisingly long seconds for their muzzles to part and even after they did the two said nothing, both feeling somewhat embarrassed by the whole incident. Finally the bell rang for the end of lunch and Scootaloo began to get up, but she felt a hoof pull on her tail.
Turning her head she saw that Silver was blushing and looked like he had something he needed to get off of his chest, but he couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact with her.

Silver took a deep breath then looked up at Scootaloo. “C… can we do that again?”

Scootaloo didn’t make another sound; the request from the handsome young colt had rendered her completely speechless and made her cheeks turn red. ‘What should I do?’ she thought as Silver drew closer.

Sweetie’s mind had gone completely blank and her body moved of its own accord, she could feel herself inching closer to the other filly. Nothing else mattered to her now, like a wolf on the hunt she could see nothing but the delicate orange lips she desired so strongly. Sweetie’s breathing became heavy as she moved in on her prey, but as she reached her mark she felt nothing. There were no tender lips, only empty air.
Scootaloo had chickened out at the last moment and taken a step backwards leaving the white colt embarrassed as he sat puzzled, his lips still pursed from the kiss that never came to be.

“I’m sorry Silver, but I… I’m just not ready.” The orange filly blurted out as she ran back into the school.

Sweetie sat stroking her lip and reflecting on what had just happened as she watched her first kiss flee back into the school. Finally she decided to rise to her hooves and return to her sister’s home not wanting to get caught by her other classmates for fear they might see through the now failing disguise.
***

“That was amazing…” Sweetie thought aloud; she had taken a much longer, more isolated route to the boutique to avoid being spotted and so it didn’t matter if she spoke as nopony would hear it.
“I wish I could stay a colt forever.” Again she spoke to herself, it wasn’t like there was anypony around so it didn’t matter. As she wandered she let her mind drift freely into the wonderful fantasies that she intended to make real.

First she imagined where that kiss may lead, would Scootaloo be braver next time?
“Oh sweet Celestia there’s going to be a next time!” The white filly squeaked with joy and practiced kissing the air, again letting herself imagine every scene she would share with her friend.

Another fantasy flashed into her head; curling up next to her as they sat doing their homework, Sweetie would get stuck on a question and of course Scootaloo would show her how to answer it. Their eyes would meet and soon so to would their lips. Sweetie squealed in happiness once again and decided that she had better get to work if she wanted her thoughts to become reality.

Sweetie hopped happily through the fresh puddles enjoying large splashes she created each time she landed. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of herself in one of the puddles and stopped; the reflection was not her own but Silver’s. After shaking her head she looked back and she was met with her own face looking back, sharing the same confused expression that she bore.

“That was weird…” the white filly thought as she increased her pace.
***

Night had finally fallen and as promised the other crusaders had dropped by to deliver her homework although Sweetie cut their visit short saying that she had to get some rest due to the hay fever; of course it was a lie. Recently she had gotten more adept at telling lies and they flowed from her lips as naturally as water from a spring. In truth she hated having to lie to her friends; more specifically she hated lying to Scootaloo, but it had to be done if they were to be together.

With the face of her desire fresh in her mind Sweetie hugged her pillow and pretended it was the orange filly, she ran her hoof through the imaginary mane and kissed the soft cushion several times; finally getting carried away with her fantasy she began to roll around on her bed with the pillow before falling off in her over enthusiasm.

“Owww…” she moaned as she climbed back up onto her bed.

“Maybe I got a little carried away, I guess I’d better practise.” She joked to herself before she slid the large book from beneath her pillow and leafed through the pages to find the spell she needed. She began the spell, but as the glow engulfed her body she wondered how she was going to be both Sweetie and Silver. Finally the magic that surrounded her dissipated leaving her in the colt’s body that almost like a second life for her now. Sweetie stared at the mirror for a long time as she contemplated how to tackle her double life.

“What do I do?”
***

The next day Sweetie wandered into Cheerilee’s classroom long before the rest of her classmates, her mind was beset by the problem of her alternate persona and how she would keep up the charade in the days to come. Finally the class rolled in and the other crusaders sat next to their friend. Apple bloom was the first to talk offering a simple “Howdy” to her white friend. Scootaloo was a lot more cheerful than the other two crusaders due the events of yesterday’s lunchtime, however she hadn’t told anyone about the accidental kiss and so to the rest of the world it looked like she was just more energetic.

When Cheerilee entered the room the lessons began and very soon it was lunchtime again; the orange Pegasus filly turned to her friends with a smile that was almost unnerving and asked them to come with her to eat at the jungle gym. Immediately Sweetie’s ears perked up at the mention of the meeting place and she tried to think of an excuse as to why she couldn’t join them, but there was nothing. She’d grown used to lying, but she couldn’t think of a single thing and she was running out of time.

The crusaders sat at the jungle gym expectantly waiting for the mysterious colt that Scootaloo had been meeting each day, but after ten minutes he didn’t show.

“I errr… guess he’s running late.” Scootaloo said as she gulped back her nervousness hoping that that was really the case.

The three fillies waited under the metal frame for over thirty minutes and there was no sign of Silver; of course there never could be and Sweetie knew that as long as she waited with them Silver wouldn’t ever show.

Sweetie stood up and turned from the other fillies. “I erm… I’ve got to go to the bathroom.” She lied.

“Just hang on a few minutes… he’ll show up. I know he will.” Scootaloo pleaded and Sweetie obeyed, not having a lot of choice in the matter.

Finally the bell rang to end lunch and Scootaloo slowly stood up, a look of pure disappointment crossed her face and it hurt Sweetie to know that she was the cause. ‘If only I could have slipped away.’ She thought as she walked over to her orange friend.

“I guess he must be out sick today…” Scootaloo said her voice was calm but carried with it a sad undertone. Sweetie looked upon her friend; she knew that she’d been let down by almost everyone she’d ever met and now she’d been hurt by Silver too.
‘It’s not too late to fix this…’ Sweetie thought as she accompanied the other crusaders to the classroom.
***

School had finally finished for the day and the foals were all heading home save for the Cutie Mark Crusaders who had all ventured to their clubhouse at Sweet Apple Acres, but instead of their usual antics the three sat talking about Scootaloo’s mystery colt.

“Don’t worry Scoots Ah’m sure he was just sick today is all, Ah reckon we’ll see him tomorrow.” Apple Bloom stated.

“Yeah I’m sure that he MUST have had a really good reason for not being their today. Like, maybe he couldn’t get away from his friends.” Sweetie said in defence of her alter ego; she was trying desperately to justify his absence, but she knew all too well that as long as she was there He could never appear.

“You guys are right, I’m just being silly.” Scootaloo joked, but a niggling worry lingered at the back of her mind. ‘What if it’s because I ran away?’ The orange filly fretted for a few silent moments then finally she gave voice to her secret to gain the other’s opinions.
“Guys there’s something I need to tell you… yesterday, we were eating and somehow i slipped….” She began.

“Then what? C’mon out with it Scoots!” Apple Bloom interjected.

Sweetie looked on in awe as she realised that Scootaloo was going to reveal the fact that they kissed, she turned a slight red as her friend continued.
“Ok, I slipped and somehow we ended up kissing.” The orange filly’s confession made all three blush slightly, still she continued to voice her thoughts. “Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t a full make out session. It… it only lasted for a few seconds, but afterwards he asked me to do it again…”

“Annnnd?” Sweetie asked leaning in over their small table. She knew the outcome; she was there after all, but she’d found herself becoming enthralled in Scootaloo’s story.

“Well… I panicked and ran away saying I wasn’t ready. Do you guys think he’s mad at me for not kissing him again?” Scootaloo asked; her concern now out in the open.

“Nah, he cain’t be mad for that an’ if he is then he aint worth ya time.” Apple Bloom said in her usual blunt manner.
In truth she knew nothing about love except what her family told her and even then it wasn’t very clear; just ‘it’s the most wonderful feelin’ ever lil sis’ Or ‘Eeyup’. So Apple Bloom always found herself in the dark when other ponies needed advice, but as always she did her best and this time was no different.

“Of course he’s not mad!!” Sweetie blurted out and stood up, slamming her hooves on the table as she did. “I… erm… I mean I don’t think he’s not mad, you said you weren’t ready and I’m sure he respects that.” Now Sweetie had a question she needed answered and Scootaloo was the only one she could ask.
“Was he a good kisser?”

Scootaloo’s orange cheeks were now a bright crimson and a small grin stretched across her face, but she did her best to answer. “I don’t really know; it was only a few seconds, but it did feel good.”

‘It felt good’ At that moment Sweetie wanted to sing louder than ever before, but she decided to just smile at her friend in her elation; she still had to solve the problem of how to be in two places at once, but right now Scootaloo was smiling and that was what mattered to the white filly. The rest of the day was uneventful save for the trio planning their next crusade which they decided to scrap after realising that demolition was too dangerous and therefore out of the question.
***

That night Sweetie lay in her bed looking at the fashion mirror she’d ‘borrowed’ from her sister and thought about the last few days; it was like a wonderful dream. Her plans were coming to fruition; Scootaloo was falling in love with her… ok, so it was her alter ego, but it was still her at heart.

She looked up at the ceiling; memories of the lunchtimes she shared with the orange filly floated around her mind causing her to sigh in happiness. Again she thought of wiping the crumbs from Scootaloo’s cheeks and blushed; then she remembered their kiss and how much she longed for more. Then she remembered Scootaloo’s disappointment when she didn’t show; it cut her like a dagger.

She turned back to the mirror and stared for several moments at the silhouetted reflection, but it didn’t look at all like her. It almost looked like Silver; no, it was Silver. Her reflection was that of her alter ego and it seemed like he was speaking to her. Sweetie shook her head and returned her gaze to the mirror; Silver had disappeared and her own silhouette stared back at her.

Sweetie sat up and looked at her reflection again; she was sure that she saw Silver. She was certain, but the reflection that looked back at her now was normal. She looked down at her lap and put a hoof against he forehead.
“What’s going on?” she said rhetorically as she thought about what she’d seen, then it struck her; she’d seen his reflection the other day in the puddle and both times she wasn’t in her disguise. After a few moments of thought she lay back down and tried to sleep figuring that she was so tired that she was imagining things; finally closing her eyes Sweetie fell into slumber.

Author's Note

howdy all, sorry it took so long but it's finally here.
so what do you think so far?
please like, comment and favourite.

see you next chapter
JPTrixie-Fan

Chapter Four: Nightmares

Sweetie tossed and turned in her bed, her legs bucking and thrashing as she slept; finally she stopped kicking and awoke screaming. The scream echoed through the Carousal Boutique waking Rarity and Fluttershy who slept in the room at the end of the hall. The pair rushed into the filly’s room as fast as they could to respond to her blood curdling scream; first Rarity and then Fluttershy. Both were garbed in silk pyjamas that the fashionista mare had created for them, but in the commotion they had became wrinkled and now hung in a disordered mess that barely classed as being worn.

“Are you alright Sweetie?” Fluttershy asked as she entered and sat on the edge of the white filly’s bed.

“Sweetie Belle what’s the matter?” Said Rarity who had turned on the light and was trying in vain to straighten her outfit.

“I… I had a scary dream…” Sweetie began, tears welling in her eyes as she spoke.

Fluttershy leant closer and hugged the shaking filly gently stroking her tangled mane as she did. Sweetie drew closer until her muzzle was buried deep in the fur of the yellow mare, her tears leaving trails as they fell and hit her sheets.

“What was it about?” Rarity asked sitting down next to Fluttershy.

The scene played out in front of Sweetie’s eyes like a movie. She was walking with Scootaloo, they were talking and smiling. It seemed like life was finally perfect; that’s when it happened… as the fillies walked Scootaloo began to move faster until she was walking many yards away from the white filly; at that moment Scootaloo was joined by a white colt with a pink and purple mane. It was Silver and he was taking Scootaloo away from her; Sweetie tried to catch up, but no matter how fast she ran she couldn’t catch up. Finally they became silhouettes and Sweetie cried out for her orange friend; still they ignored her and Sweetie fell to the floor, her head hung and Sweetie began to cry.

“She doesn’t love YOU…” she heard as Silver turned to face her, a grin stretched across his face then he and Scootaloo disappeared into the distance leaving Sweetie crying out for her orange friend.

Sweetie looked at both of the mares and then the mirror; she knew she couldn’t tell them the truth. They couldn’t, wouldn’t understand.

“I dreamt there was a monster…”

Fluttershy and Rarity both hugged her tight. “Don’t worry monsters won’t come to Ponyville because I’ll give them the stare.” The yellow mare reassured her and smiled softly.

“Will you be ok Sweetie?” Rarity asked as both she and Fluttershy stood up and headed for the door.

Sweetie nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, I’ll be ok. It was just a dream…”

The mares exited the room and turned off the light as they left. “Good night Sweetie.” They said before the door closed.

After the door clicked shut Sweetie looked at her reflection and climbed out of bed; stepping closer to the large mirror she watched her silhouette for any change, but it remained the same. Finally she turned it to face the wall and returned to her bed in an attempt to recapture her sleep. Of course Sweetie found it impossible to close her eyes for each time she did she saw her alter ego’s face staring back at her.

***

The next day at school Sweetie sat at her desk; her eyes were bloodshot and sore as she didn’t manage to get to sleep. The nightmare had made such a task impossible.
Sweetie thought about the dream, surely that’s all it was, she thought; Silver was her and she wouldn’t do that to herself. After a few moments she decided that it must have been due to the scary movie she’d watched a few days earlier and that it was only because she doubted her ability to be both herself and Silver.

“That must be it.” She said in attempt to convince herself it was true.

Again her classmates strolled in followed by their teacher and the lessons began. Cheerilee looked over the faces of her students; stopping when she finally reached Sweetie Belle.

“Sweetie are you okay? Your eyes are really red.” The older mare asked in concern.

“Oh this? I didn’t get a lot of sleep that’s all, I’ll be fine.” Sweetie answered as she rubbed her sore eyes.

“If you say so, but let me know if you’re having any problems alright?” Cheerilee said then turned to her chalkboard to officially get the lesson started.

***

Again lunchtime rolled around and the foals escaped their classroom, but Sweetie didn’t hear the bell that signalled the start of their lunch hour due to the fact that she’d fallen asleep only minutes before it rang. Both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had tried to rouse the sleeping filly, but to no avail; ultimately they gave up and went to lunch at the jungle gym without her.

Scootaloo sat in the sand beneath the large metal frame; the rain from the days before had returned and Apple Bloom had gone inside, but the orange filly refused to leave that spot in hopes that her mysterious coltfriend would show. Scootaloo hung her head; she knew he wasn’t coming, but she so desperately wanted to believe that somepony cared about her that she sat there motionless for fifty five minutes before the bell rang to end the agonizingly lonely hour.

The bell echoed through the empty classroom waking Sweetie just in time to see her classmates filtering back into the room; her eyes grew wide when she saw the sopping wet orange filly enter and sit sombrely at her desk. Her heart sank at the sight of her broken hearted friend and she knew that she’d messed up; Sweetie hated herself at that moment.

“Why couldn’t I have stayed up a few minutes longer?” she thought, her conscience crucifying her with each drop of rain that fell from Scootaloo’s purple mane. “Why wasn’t I there for her?!”

The guilty thoughts plagued her throughout the rest of Cheerilee’s class, she couldn’t dispel them nor could she soften the pain that now swallowed her heart. Each moment she spent watching the rain soaked orange filly cut her like a knife and what hurt more was that she was powerless to fix the problem; she would just have to bear the pain until later when she could try to cheer Scootaloo up.

Time ticked away, every second stood still torturing Sweetie’s already guilty conscience and it was at that moment she heard something she never wanted to hear again. Soft sobs escaped the orange filly’s lips and Sweetie’s heart broke into a thousand pieces. It was her fault; she was responsible for her friend’s tears and she hated herself for it. “I’m such an idiot…” she thought and tried to stop herself from crying as well, but to no avail and soon her eyes had welled up too.

“Sweetie? Scootaloo? What’s the matter girls?” Cheerilee asked, stopping the lesson mid flow to check on her crying students.

“My… hay fever’s back…” Sweetie lied in between sobs. “Can I… can… I… please be… excused?”
Cheerilee nodded and let Sweetie leave the room before turning back to the orange filly.

“Are you alright Scootaloo?” She asked in concern as she noticed that her fur and mane were soaking wet.

“Yeah…” Scootaloo managed. “I’ll be ok…” she sobbed lightly with each word, of course Cheerilee didn’t believe her and dismissed her for the rest of the day.

***

Sweetie never returned to class. How could she, knowing that Scootaloo’s tears waited behind the classroom door was too much to bear and so she fled beck to Rarity’s home. Rarity always arrived home long after Sweetie did so it never raised any suspicion if she played hooky; not that she would have under normal circumstance, but ever since she created Silver she’d found herself taking more and more time off.

Again the white unicorn filly sat imagining her perfect life with Scootaloo and sighed realising that now it may never happen; she thought long and hard about a way to fix her relationship with the orange filly, but it was no use. No matter how hard she thought Sweetie couldn’t repair the damage she’d inadvertently done. She let out a sigh in frustration and fell back into bed; her eyes were sore and no matter how much she tried she couldn’t keep them closed. How could she sleep? There were far too many things on her mind for that, no she just had to stay awake until she could figure out a way to make things right.

“I’m sorry…” Sweetie said aloud and stared into space.
***

Meanwhile, across town in an old park Scootaloo sat on a decrepit swing; it was rusty and several links in the chain that held it up were unsafe, but the filly didn’t care after all nopony else did.

“Why didn’t he show?” she asked as she stared at her reflection in a puddle. “Maybe he didn’t like me after all…”

A lone tear fell from the orange filly’s eyes causing the puddle to ripple as it broke the surface; Scootaloo watched the water calm and thought about the last time a colt had acted like he cared for her. It was a few years ago; Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had put one of the more naïve colts up to pretending he was interested in her so that they could have him abandon her in Ponyville graveyard at night. If it hadn’t been for Bright Ideas: the curiosity shop owner visiting a deceased relative she’d have been locked in until morning and, although she never admitted it she was both terrified and heartbroken. Her thoughts then drifted to Silver and the way he suddenly took a shine to her.

“What if it was just another of Tiara’s tricks?” she wondered as she stared at her reflection in the puddle at her hooves.

There was a light rustle of leaves as hooves gently brushed them aside; a meek voice carried on the wind, it was soft in tone but heavily laboured. Scootaloo turned to see Silver heaving and out of breath; he looked horribly fatigued and ill, in truth he looked like he was as bad as Sweetie Belle was earlier, perhaps even worse, she thought as he stumbled towards her.

The orange filly rushed to help the young colt up, forgetting her sadness and anger as she did. “Sweet Celestia, are you alright?!” she asked finding it surprisingly easy to support his weight.

“I’m sorry… I’ve been ill for the last two days, but… but… I just had to see you…” he stammered between gasps.

“How did you even find me?” She asked in her concern, but still secretly overjoyed that he’d put himself through so much just for her.

“I… I…” the world became fuzzy and finally Silver collapsed with a hard thud.
***

“You just don’t learn… do you?” a sour male voice echoed as Sweetie regained consciousness.

A blurred world flickered open and Sweetie awoke to the sight of a white unicorn stallion sitting in the room with her. She was startled at first, but as her vision sharpened she noticed the tell tale hat and light bulb cutie mark of the curiosity shop owner; his name was Bright Ideas and she’d met him on a previous crusade with her friends so she knew she could relax around him.

“Are you ok my friend?” he asked out of genuine concern “You were badly fatigued, but you should be ok if you get some more rest.”

“Where’s Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked; thankfully her voice was still deep and masculine meaning that her spell was still active. That one fact mattered more to her than her own health at this very moment because if anypony were to discover her secret then they would try to stop her from making her friend happy and that was out of the question.

“I sent her home and now that you’re awake I suggest you do the same.” He stated whilst looking for his signature hat. “If you tell me where you live I’ll walk you home.” He smiled as he donned his favourite black trilby and gestured to the door.

“The Carou…” Sweetie cut herself off before she could finish; if she’d have said her sister’s shop then her secret would have gotten out for certain. “It’s ok I feel strong enough to make it home alone…” she stated and rose to her hooves.

“Wait…” the stallion said as Sweetie passed him. It was then she felt her heart sink in fear ‘does he know my secret?’ she thought as she turned to face him.

“Scootaloo was really worried about you; don’t over do it again. Ok?” he said and began cleaning a rare glass sculpture, Sweetie took that as a signal that she could leave and made her way home as fast as her legs could carry her.

Bright Ideas sighed and looked at an empty space on his dusty old bookshelf then looked at the colt running into the distance. He knew what was going on; he could see through the guise as clearly as glass, after all he was using a similar spell him self.
“I knew I shouldn’t have sold that book to Twilight…” he said to himself wondering if he should have taken the chance to stop her.
***

Yet again the Carousal Boutique was deserted and draped in shadow. Sweetie drew close to the back door of the shop to find it locked with a note pinned to it, frustrated Sweetie snatched the note and began reading.

The note read:
“Sweetie
Fluttershy and I are going to Las Pegasus for the week meaning that you’ll have to sleep at home for a while. I know it’s sudden, but sometimes being spontaneous is fun and Fluttershy’s never been before so I simply had to take her. You understand right?

I know that you enjoy staying over and Celestia knows that we love having you, but we just can’t leave you alone in our house for a whole week. I mean what if you hurt yourself? Or worse what if you hurt my clothes?!

Anyway would you be a dear and tell mum and dad I said hello. See you in a week.

Rarity

XOXO

P.S. Fluttershy says not to worry about Opal and Angel, she left them with Applejack. ”

Sweetie’s expression dropped and her eyes became wide in her realisation that she had left her spell book inside and worse, she couldn’t get to it for a whole week. Of course she remembered the basic spell, that wasn’t the issue; her true concern was that she couldn’t perfect the spell further. Then it struck her.

‘What if they discover it before I can get back?’

It was a very real possibility as Fluttershy liked cleaning every room top to bottom and with her being away for a week she’d almost certainly want to have a spring clean. Up until now Sweetie had guarded her secret by taking the book to school in her bag, but with it lying around under her bed it was guaranteed to be found; her thoughts drifted back to the time Rarity had found her Gabby Gums column in the Foal’s Free Press and she shuddered in fear.

“If that got out so quickly, then what would happen if…” she stopped for a second then looked around for the plant pots her sister hid the spare key under; she almost exploded in joy when she found the one she was looking for.

“Third from the right, like alwa…” she thought aloud as she lifted the pot expectantly, but to her dismay there was no key. It seemed that to assure that Sweetie wouldn’t sneak in and ‘Borrow’ her fashion materials, Rarity had taken the spare key with her.

“Oh ponyfeathers!! What do I do?” Sweetie was out of ideas and decided that for now she should try to get some sleep. She took a few deep breaths to calm her self before running off towards her parent’s home.
***

Her heart raced while thinking about the events of the day; Scootaloo sat in her room at the orphanage and thought about Silver’s appearance earlier. He looked stressed and in pain, it was almost as if seeing her was the only thing that mattered to him. She blushed at the idea of another pony caring about her enough to put themselves through such suffering made her so happy that she couldn’t stop smiling. She had to tell her fellow crusaders and she had to tell them now or she’d burst from excitement.

After the orphanage owner had finished making sure the foals were all in bed, Scootaloo snuck out of the nearest window and fled deep into the night.
***

Sweetie had gotten home a few minutes before ten o’clock; she arrived to find her home shrouded in darkness and her parents already asleep, but that didn’t bother her as she had a spare key in case of emergency. After entering her room and lying on her bed she tried to close her eyes, but to no avail. Each time she attempted sleep it eluded her. She simply couldn’t sleep with out her favourite stuffed toy which she’d ‘customised’ a little to look like her friend.

She sighed as she stared up at her ceiling; she’d spent so much time at Rarity’s that her own room felt weird to her. Finally she curled up in her blanket and tried desperately to close her eyes and sleep, still nothing. Sweetie rolled over and stared at the small mirror on her vanity table.

“At least I’m not seeing things anymore…” Sweetie whispered to herself and stared back at her silhouette again.
***

Despite the late hour Apple Bloom was still awake doing her home work, having spent her time after school bucking apples with her older brother and sister even though they told her she didn’t need to. Her eyelids were heavy and sore, but she persevered with her maths problems nonetheless.

“Alrite, if a train left Fillydelphia carrying thirty six ponies and at Canterlot sixteen got on then… ” she thought aloud as she tried desperately to keep her eyes open, suddenly she heard a sharp tap on her window.

“Huh?!” The yellow filly looked around in surprise and then returned to her work. Again, she heard a tap on her window however this time she decided to look out of her window.
Outside was almost pitch black save for a small beam of silver moonlight that lined the tops of the trees in the orchards that surrounded her house; as her eyes adjusted to the low light outside her window she noticed the silhouette of a small pony, no it was a Pegasus.

“Apple Bloom!” Their voice was familiar; feminine, but tom boyish in tone. Again the mysterious pony called out. “Apple Bloom I need to talk.”

Of course she recognised the voice, how could she not? “Hey there Scoots, what ya’ll doin’ out this late?” She asked whilst wiping the sleep from her eyes.

“It’s about Silver.” Her friend replied.

“Cain’t it wait till mornin’? Ah’m really tired.” Apple Bloom asked putting her books away.

“Please? The Carousal Boutique was deserted otherwise I would’ve woken Sweetie instead.” Scootaloo pleaded.

Her plea was met with a sigh as Apple Bloom looked at the orange filly. “What’s up?”

“I’ll explain at the clubhouse.” Scootaloo continued not wanting to keep shouting in case she woke the rest of the apple family.

The two met up in Apple Bloom’s front garden and headed towards the clubhouse as the night drew on.
***

Sweetie looked at the clock next to her bed. “Midnight…” she sighed and sat up; she’d been trying to sleep for two hours now and still she couldn’t drift off. In her boredom she thought about her dream last night; it hurt to imagine Scootaloo going off with anypony other than her. Suddenly it clicked, she figured out why she had the dream.

“What if she likes Silver more than me?” it was a strange thought to have, surely it wouldn’t matter after they’d fallen in love; Sweetie could reveal herself and Scootaloo would be surprised, but ultimately happy.
Her thoughts were cut short and the same masculine whisper echoed through her mind that had done for the last few days, however this time it was clearer. “Stop lying to yourself…”

“Who’s there?” Sweetie panicked.

“She doesn’t love YOU…” the whisper came again.

“Quiet!” She yelled in her panic, but her parents didn’t stir as Fluttershy and Rarity had. No, instead Sweetie was left alone.

“She will never love YOU…” it continued. Sweetie pressed her hooves against her ears to block it out and she broke down in tears.

Finally, after several scary moments the voice abated and Sweetie wondered what in Equestria was going on. She climbed out of bed and left her room to get some respite from her fatigued mind. After heading downstairs Sweetie left her home and wandered into the darkness.

“Where can I go?” she quizzed aloud, her hoof steps echoing through the empty streets as she wandered to the only other place she felt comfy: the club house.

Author's Note

Chapter four is up and ready, let me know what you think

also Bright Ideas is my friend's OC, he's a fairly astute character who has a perminent magical camoflage that changes his colours depending on who he's with. for more info on him ask RandomJamesH.

last thing i won't be uploading the next chapter for a while as i'm back to work full time till my next holiday.

thank you for reading so far and as always see you next time.
JPTrixie-Fan.

Chapter Five: The Night

Apple Bloom sat sipping an energy drink that she’d stored in the clubhouse to keep herself awake as Scootaloo settled into her seat. She was still hazy and barely able to keep her eyes open, but the caffeine in the drink was helping a lot.

“So what’s up Scoots?” She asked bluntly; she didn’t mean to sound annoyed, but she was so tired that everything she said came off as sharp and irritated.

“Silver came to me earlier to apologise, but he looked exhausted like he’d been up all night.” the excited orange filly began.

“Sounds like he really wanted ta see you Scoots…” Apple Bloom’s eyelids fluttered slowly before they snapped back open.

“That’s just what he said before he collapsed.” Scootaloo said as she took a sip of Apple Bloom’s drink.

“Wait, he what?!” Apple Bloom exclaimed in surprise.

“Don’t worry; Mister Bright Ideas was walking by and helped him. He said he’d be ok in a few days.” Scootaloo continued. “But I really hope he gets well soon…”

Their conversation was cut short by the clack of hooves against the wooden steps that led up to the clubhouse’s front door. As the steps drew closer the two fillies fell silent and looked at the door; it took several seconds for the door to open revealing a shaking, sleep deprived Sweetie Belle.

“Oh… hey guys what are you doing here?” Sweetie asked surprised to find her friends sat in the only place she thought she could be alone.

“Scoots was just tellin’ meh all ‘bout her new colt friend. Ain’t that right Scoots?” Apple Bloom nudged her orange friend causing her to blush lightly.
“Go on Scoots, tell Sweetie what happen’d with ya prince charmin’.” She continued and invited Sweetie in, offering her a soda as she did.

“Well he came to see me earlier; he must have searched all over Ponyville because he looked really worn out…” Scootaloo stopped and thought for a brief moment. “Actually he looked like he hadn’t slept in a while; in fact he looked a lot like you do now.” Scootaloo stated as she looked at Sweetie’s tired face.

Sweetie couldn’t deny it, she looked awful; if Rarity had seen her at that moment she would certainly have thrown a fit or worse, she might even have rushed her off to the spa for emergency relaxation treatment. Suddenly an orange hoof waved in front of her face and she found herself muzzle to muzzle with Scootaloo.

“Hey Sweetie, Equestria to Sweetie Belle. Are you still in there?” Scootaloo joked as she crashed Sweetie’s train of thought.

“Huh?.. Eh?” Sweetie shook her head and snapped back into reality, it was then she noticed that she was mere inches away from Scootaloo’s lips and she blushed lightly.

Sweetie could feel the orange filly’s every breath as it gently brushed her fur; it made her little heart race and her cheeks became a furious red. She turned away and rubbed her cheeks in a vain attempt to hide her red face.
“Sorry I kinda zoned out there what were you saying?” she asked trying to distract the others from her asking about her blush.

“… I was saying…” she thought for a moment. “Oh yeah, I was saying that he looked like he had gone through a lot to find me. Oh oh oh! He also said ‘I just had to see you’.” She mimicked in her best male voice.

“Sounds like he really likes ya Scoots.” Apple Bloom teased.

“So do you think you’re falling for him?” Sweetie asked from behind her soda can; she was using it as method of hiding her red face, although it didn’t cover much if anything.

Scootaloo took a few seconds to think and Sweetie’s heart began beating like a drum. ‘What if she does love him?’ the thought seemed to hurt, but she didn’t know why; surely if Scootaloo loved Silver then she should be happy, right? Then why did the thought of her loving him hurt so much Sweetie wondered.

“I don’t know…” Scootaloo answered and Sweetie’s heart nearly stopped.

“What?” the white filly asked nervously, still secretly fearing both possible answers at this moment.

“I don’t know how I feel, but I do think that he’s probably the greatest colt I’ve ever met.” Scootaloo blushed as the confession fell from her lips, but little did she know how much it hurt Sweetie.

Sweetie stared down at the table in front of her then back at the filly she loved; she wanted so badly to tell her the truth, but was too afraid of what she might think and so she suffered the pain alone.
It was at that moment Apple Bloom spoke up with a question that had been bugging her since Sweetie’s arrival.

“So why’d ya come out here at this time o’ night Sweetie?” she asked and Sweetie’s eyes grew wide with surprise and she looked around as if trying to search the walls for a suitable excuse.

“I… Err… couldn’t sleep so I… I… I thought I’d come up with ideas to get our cutie marks.” Sweetie stammered as she answered and secretly wished her farm filly friend would take the excuse at face value.

Her wish was granted as Scootaloo chirped in with her own remark about how she’d snuck into the clubhouse once or twice to write down an idea for a crusade so she wouldn’t forget it or lose the paper. Sweetie wiped the imaginary sweat from her brow and looked back at the orange filly she desired so badly; she seemed so happy when she spoke about Silver.
‘What’s wrong with me?’ Sweetie thought as each word the orange filly said seemed to cut her to the bone; still she bore the heartache for Scootaloo’s sake.

“So how’re we going to get our cutie marks tonight?” Sweetie joked in an attempt to lighten her mood; before she knew it the pain was subsiding and she was back to normal, or as close to normal as she could be.

The fillies continued talking and joking for a few more hours before Apple Bloom decided she was too tired to keep going, and so she left the other crusaders to their own devices while she headed back to her cosy bed. With Apple Bloom gone it wasn’t long before the conversation died down; Scootaloo’s eyelids became heavy and soon she was fighting to stay awake, but it was a futile effort as she quickly found herself lying on the floor with her eyes slowly closing.
Sweetie inched closer to the other filly and gently lifted her head letting it rest on her lap like a pillow.

“You sure this is ok?...” Scootaloo sighed, her voice now barely a whisper as it trailed off and she fell asleep.

Sweetie waited for a few moments making sure that Scootaloo was completely asleep before she finally answered and then it was a whisper so soft that it was barely audible.
“Of course it is… I’d do anything for you…” she smiled and gently ran her hoof through Scootaloo’s purple mane. She knew this moment couldn’t last forever, but still she wished it would. After several minutes of quietly caressing her orange friend’s mane Sweetie shifted her gaze from where her hoof lay and drifted down to the soft lips that she cherished. They were so close, but still so out of reach and that knowledge alone tormented the white filly worse than any prank the bullies at school could pull.

She sighed and resumed stroking her friend’s mane; then an idea struck her. If she was careful and very, very gentle she might be able steal a kiss without waking Scootaloo; it wasn’t like she would ever know, right?

Sweetie leant closer, her breathing slowed and each inch made her heart pound harder; it made every second seem like an eternity. Their muzzles came closer and closer until the tiniest, most minute gap separated their lips.

“Hmmm?” Scootaloo moaned lightly as she stirred; Sweetie was so startled that she jumped straight out of her fur, throwing her head back and hitting it against the wall as she did.

Sweetie sat completely still and watched her friend as she returned to her slumber.
“Phew…” She sighed before relaxing again.

‘That was too close…’ she thought. ‘I’m not trying that again…’ but no matter how much she tried to stop herself from trying again she couldn’t and quickly found herself inching closer to her sleeping friend’s lips once more.

The second assault on Scootaloo’s lips was more successful and Sweetie managed to plant a small kiss before retreating to her original position with crimson cheeks.
“Oh Celestia, I can’t believe I did it…” Sweetie whispered to herself and stroked her lips with her hoof.

Sweetie sat cradling her friend; her cheeks were still a brilliant red as she stared at the lips she had just claimed and she wondered if she could get away with it again, only this time she would make it a slightly longer kiss. She leant closer once again; her lips found their mark easier this time around and she lingered on the sweet sensation of the orange filly’s muzzle pressed against her own. Suddenly she felt Scootaloo returning the kiss.

‘Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!! She’s kissing me back!’ Sweetie thought and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the feel of her friend’s kiss.

“Mmm…” Scootaloo moaned lightly as she stirred once again causing Sweetie to break the kiss for fear of waking her. “…Sil… Silver…..” The orange filly said as she slept.

“Silver…?” Sweetie quizzed quietly. She felt strangely hurt as name of her alter ego slipped from her beloved’s lips; the fact she was dreaming of Silver made Sweetie feel oddly jealous, even… Angry?

Sweetie gently wiggled out from beneath the other filly and carefully laid her head on a makeshift pillow the she’d made from her crusader cape; Sweetie then picked up another one of their capes, using it as a blanket for her friend and gently tucking her in. Finally leaving a soft kiss on Scootaloo’s forehead, Sweetie left the clubhouse and headed back home.
***

Sweetie inched open the door of her parent’s home being careful to avoid making any noise that could disturb her mother and father; she snuck into the kitchen, sneaking a peek at the clock as she did. To her surprise it was almost six in the morning; she’d spent all night watching Scootaloo sleep.
The memory of her friend’s sleeping face made her blush lightly and put a hoof on her cheeks to conceal the redness; suddenly, she remembered the sensation of the kiss she shared with her friend and became a bright red.

Sweetie shook her head to clear her mind and began sneaking upstairs to her room. As she quietly climbed the stairs she thought about the voice she’d been imagining; it seemed like the voice only came when she was really tired.

‘That must be it.’ She reasoned as she ascended the staircase; again she thought about the voice and tried to convince herself that it was just due to the stress of her constant magic use. Finally, she reached her room and looked at her smaller mirror on her desk; it was still her reflection. Sweetie smiled lightly in relief and turned to her bed. As she lay staring at the darkened ceiling she sighed; the thought of Scootaloo loving Silver more than her still stung and no matter how much she tried to avoid thinking about it, the concern still lingered in the back of her mind. She placed both hooves on her face and took a deep breath.

‘At least she loves a version of me…’ she took a small solace in that thought, but it was only a minor comfort at best. At that moment Sweetie thought about abandoning the spell, but as soon as she’d considered it she remembered the orange filly’s crying face and dismissed the idea; she never wanted to make her cry ever again. Finally, she groaned and turned to face the wall in an attempt to sleep; her eyelids became heavy and she slowly drifted into sleep.

Author's Note

Whoo Hoo Chapter Five is up.
Right guys and gals let me know what you think so far and as always upvote, comment and favourite.

I hope to see you all next chapter, take care all.
JPTrixie-Fan

Chapter Six: Silver

Sweetie Belle stood outside the orphanage waiting for her orange friend to come out. Scootaloo had asked her to come over because she had something important to tell her and of course Sweetie didn’t mind, after all she would do anything for the orange filly.
Finally, Scootaloo came running out from the large and rather rundown building with a smile stretched across her face as she approached Sweetie.

“Hey Sweetie Belle thanks for waiting, I didn’t keep you long did I?” Scootaloo asked through her smile.

“No problem, I’ve only just got here.” Sweetie lied; in truth she had been there for quite a while, but she couldn’t bring herself to be annoyed about it. “So, what did you want to tell me?” she continued.

“Silver asked me to be his filly-friend, can you believe it?” Scootaloo said happily, not noticing the sudden look of shock and horror on her friend’s face.

‘What?! How? Silver can’t have…’ Sweetie thought as she stared at the orange filly. At that moment a white colt strolled out of the door and stood next to Scootaloo. Sweetie stared at the colt in disbelief and took a step back.
“No…”

Silver turned to Scootaloo and started walking her away from the white filly; Sweetie tried to pursue them, but she couldn’t move almost like she was frozen in shock. After several steps he turned around and approached Sweetie. “Don’t take what’s not yours…” He began, placing a hoof on Sweetie’s lips; she wanted to resist, she wanted so fiercely to push him back, but she was powerless. “… Her heart belongs to me and so do her lips. I’ll let you off this once, but next time you will be punished!” He finished and pushed Sweetie back so hard that she fell on her backside with a loud, painful thud.
Suddenly and without warning her world turned black and she was left sitting alone in the darkness as Silver’s voice echoed around her; in desperation she called out for Scootaloo…
***

“SCOOTALOO!!!” Sweetie Belle screamed so hard that her lungs struggled to draw breath and she woke herself from the blackness of her dreams with her heart hammering out of her chest.

As she woke from her nightmare a lone tear rolled down from her eye; she sat up and looked at the mirror, nothing. There was nothing but her own reflection staring back at her blankly. She leant forward and placed her hooves on her face; for the last few days her dreams had been so vivid that she could have mistook them for reality, so much so that she could feel the bruise where Silver had pushed her and she’d even called out for the orange filly as she awoke. At first she’d blamed the stress of maintaining the magical field that allowed Silver to exist, but after thinking about it for a while she’d begun to attribute them to her fear that Scootaloo may like her alternate persona more than the real version.

In truth she loved being Silver because it meant she could be true to her feelings and better yet it meant that Scootaloo would love her in return, but last night had shaken her resolve; again the white filly stood before her vanity mirror and began her spell. After a few seconds cocooned in the eldritch light the spell was complete and she once again stood face to face with her alter ego; the disguise felt comfortable despite the fears that accompanied it, but ultimately those fears were easy to dismiss by simply reminding herself that no matter what she was still Silver and she would do anything for Scootaloo.

Sweetie stared at her reflection for a few moments more before she finally decided to check the time, Ten o’clock; she still had an hour or so before she had to meet the others at the clubhouse for crusader business and so she used this time to plan her next encounter with Scootaloo.
***

Apple Bloom stared at the ceiling of her room. She wasn’t thinking about anything in particular, she didn’t have the energy to; not after how late she’d stayed up last night. Eventually she decided to roll out of her bed just as her older sister knocked on her door.

“Hey AB get up ya friends’ll be here soon!” Applejack shouted in an attempt to wake her sister up.

“Yeah, yeah Ah’m up, what’s for breakfast?” The red maned filly asked as she looked for her favourite bow, just then she stopped as she came across a photo that she and the other crusaders had taken a few months ago; they had just attempted acting in the community theatre, of course it was an utter disaster, but they still had a lot of fun and even got their picture in the Ponyville Press. She stared at the photo for several moments before bringing it closer and kissing it; she didn’t know why she felt the way she did, but she knew that she couldn’t resist kissing the filly in the photo.

“AB! Ah said get up!” Applejack clearly hadn’t heard her younger sister reply and burst into her room just as her lips left the glass of the picture frame. “… Apple Bloom? What are ya doing?” The orange mare asked almost afraid to hear the answer.

“Sis… Ah… Ah’m…” Apple Bloom struggled for an answer, but she eventually sighed and came clean to her older sister confessing that she had feelings for one of her friends; Applejack stood speechless for a few moments as she tried to process what she’d just heard from the yellow filly, it was like finding out that gravity didn’t exist.

“AB…” The older pony began “Ah… Ain’t got a clue what to say, but if ya want mah advice just tell her how ya feel; ya never know, she might feel the same way and if she don’t Ah’m sure she’ll still be ya friend.” Applejack’s words held small comfort to the filly who was now sitting on the edge of her bed and staring at the photo with a sombre expression.

“Sis, ya won’t tell anypony will ya?” Apple Bloom asked looking worried.

AJ chuckled nervously. “O’course Ah won’t… now how ‘bout comin’ down fer breakfast?” she asked and turned to head out of her sister’s room.

“Okay…” the yellow filly sighed and followed her older sister.
***

Light hoof steps brushed the dead leaves and grass as sweetie walked through the Apple family’s orchard, the ground was still wet with dew from the night before and Sweetie found herself slipping on errant wet leaves that littered the ground; she didn’t care much though, in fact she found it amusing to see how far she could slide. As she slid once more she giggled, she was in a good mood despite the unnerving hallucinations and the pain of last night’s dream; she’d convinced herself that it was all caused by stress and fatigue, nothing more.

Finally, the white filly reached the clubhouse where Apple Bloom was waiting for her with a slightly uneasy expression.
“Hey Apple Bloom where’s Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked as she drew closer.

“She’s back at mah house, said she needed the bathroom or somethin’. Sweetie… Ah gotta ask ya somethin’…” The farm filly began as she stood staring at her unicorn friend.

“Sure, what’s up?” the white filly smiled and straightened her mane.

“Ah wanted ta ask…”

“I’m baaack!” Scootaloo interrupted the yellow filly and ran towards the clubhouse. “What were two talking about?”

Apple Bloom blushed lightly and turned from the other two taking a moment to compose herself before facing them once more. “It’s… It’s nothin’, Let’s get started already!” Apple Bloom said hastily and the three quickly headed inside the clubhouse to begin planning their next exploits.

After roughly an hour of hectic planning and debates the trio decided that their next crusade was cave exploring, they were only going to explore an old cave that the Apples used as a temporary barn when the other was destroyed by an accidental fire; after the barn was rebuilt the cave was emptied and now it sits abandoned on the west fields, but according to Apple Bloom’s description it was deep enough that there could be any number of untold treasures hidden within.

It was settled, they would become Cutie Mark Crusaders Cave Explorers; if they were honest with each other none of them really wanted to go into a deep, dark cave that could have anything lurking in its depths. However it was that same lack of honesty that left them heading towards the west fields and towards the cave.
***

Blackness, Blackness and more Blackness greeted the Crusaders as they delved deeper into the tunnels within the cave; their only light was a small torch that Sweetie had brought with her from the clubhouse, the sound of hoof steps echoed so loud that none of the Crusaders noticed when they became separated.

Sweetie suddenly noticed the eerie quietness that filled the tunnel. “Girls, I think we should go back…” she turned, but found no pony around. “Girls?!” She panicked and tried to back track, only serving to get herself lost deeper down another tunnel that led deeper into the blackness.

“Scoots? Can ya see anythin’?” Apple Bloom asked as she searched the caverns, but there was no reply; only her own echo returned to answer her. “Darnit! Where the hay are they?” with both Sweetie and Scootaloo separated from her the country filly found herself following whatever sound she could make out in the echoing, pitch darkness.

Of course Scootaloo was in the same predicament as her fellow Crusaders, but she was coping a lot worse due to her fear of being alone in the darkness, and the strange echoes coming from all around her were doing her wavering courage absolutely no favours; she finally took the only option available to her and started following what sounded like voices in the cave’s depths in hope of finding her friends.
***

After several minutes of aimless searching in the darkness Sweetie found her way to a widened cavern full of mirror-like stones with a small opening in the ceiling where just enough light could peer through to reflect off the stones and illuminate the cave.

The musty smell of moss and mould filled the cavern; it wasn’t a welcoming scent, but nonetheless Sweetie ventured deeper into the darkness in search of an exit. But there was nothing. Sweetie sat next to one of the larger stones and thought about her next move; eventually her thoughts drifted to her friends and finally to her feelings for Scootaloo, more specifically the feelings of jealousy. It was a strange feeling to be jealous of herself; to know how much somepony loved her, but only when she wasn’t herself.

‘Maybe you should just become me forever…’ the voice returned causing the filly to worry; up until now she’d thought it was down to tiredness or magical fatigue, but she was well rested and she hadn’t transformed into her alternate persona in several hours so there was no rational excuse for why it had come back.

‘I said become me forever….’ It screeched causing her to panic and fall against one of the many stones.

“GO AWAY!” Sweetie cried in desperation as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “SHUT UP!”

Her screams echoed through every tunnel attracting the attention of the other crusaders.

***

Apple Bloom was the first crusader to reach the glowing cave, her hooves were sore from walking and her eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the light that was now emanating from the cave where Sweetie Belle was hiding. As she approached the opening of the tunnel, the voices became louder until she could finally make out what Sweetie was saying.

“Get away from meeee!” the terrified filly screamed and swung her hoof at a non-existent aggressor.

Again Silver’s voice flooded into Sweetie’s mind. ‘Just give up! It’s not like you really love her anyway, she’d be better off with me!’

“No…. I do love her; she means the world to me!!” Sweetie sobbed and curled into a ball.

“Who’s she talkin’ to?” Apple Bloom whispered as she ducked behind one of the larger stones, her cheeks were covered in a light blush despite her concern for her friend. “She loves somepony?” she thought aloud in a hushed tone and moved closer.

“Go away Silver; please!” Sweetie screamed desperately.

Finally, Apple Bloom realised what was going on; there never was any Silver, it was her all along. Regardless of the reason or cause Apple Bloom couldn’t bear to see her friend in pain any longer and she immediately ran to her friend’s aid; within seconds she was at Sweetie’s side, but her friend didn’t seem to recognise her.

“Leave me alone please!!” Sweetie cried and swung her hoof at the imaginary antagonist.

“Sweetie Belle it’s me… Apple Bloom…Silver’s gone……” The yellow filly said in an attempt to reassure her terrified friend.

Sweetie broke down in tears as Apple Bloom drew closer to her; she recoiled at first, but she quickly ran out of room and tried to hide herself behind one of her front legs. Apple Bloom’s eyes filled with tears as she tried to hug her friend only to feel her shivering in fear in her grasp.

“shh… shh… it’s alright, Ah’m not gonna hurt ya…” Apple Bloom softly reassured her friend as she stroked her mane.

Sweetie Belle sobbed lightly as Apple Bloom caressed her mane, after a few moments Silver’s voice faded away and Sweetie slowly became more lucid. Her eyes widened until they returned to their normal size and finally as she regained awareness, Sweetie Belle wrapped her forelegs around Apple Bloom and clasped her so tightly that it almost squeezed the air from her lungs. Of course Apple Bloom didn’t mind, she was just happy that her friend was alright.

“Let’s get ya outta here… ok?” Apple Bloom said sadly as she helped Sweetie up.

“You…. You won’t tell anypony will you?” Sweetie asked shakily as she got to her hooves; tears streamed down her cheeks leaving wet trails as they fell from her sore eyes.

Apple Bloom’s heart broke as Sweetie’s eyes stared into her own; she knew now that even if she confessed her love for her friend that it would be rejected because Sweetie had already given her heart to another and the worse part was that she may never know the price Sweetie paid to win her affection. Again Sweetie’s sad eyes looked into Apple Bloom’s and she begged her not to tell anyone what had happened; with a heavy heart the country filly sighed and reluctantly agreed.

Author's Note

howdy guys ands girls here's chapter six for your enjoyment, i know it took a while and i'm sorry for that, but i hope it you like it anyway.

you know the drill, i want feed back etc. so i'll see you next chapter.

Chapter Seven: Breaking The Promise

Several hours had passed since the incident at the cave and the Crusaders were glad to have found their way out of it. Scootaloo was the first out being lucky enough to get lost nearer the opening of the cave; she waited for over an hour for her friends to navigate the labyrinthine darkness of the cave with her hooves fidgeting frantically in panic the entire time.

It took quite a while for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to find the correct rout to the surface, but finally after what felt like eternity their eyes were stabbed by the harsh light of day; as soon as they’d emerged Sweetie Belle ran to the panicked orange filly and hugged her in relief. Of course Scootaloo didn’t know the real reason that Sweetie was so happy to see her, she was just happy to see her friends were alright.

***

After they’d returned to their clubhouse the Crusaders sat talking about their next scheme to get their cutie marks, or rather Scootaloo was talking; the others were still dwelling on the events in the cave. Apple Bloom remained silent while the orange filly rambled on; in truth she was far too distracted by what she’d witnessed earlier, Sweetie Belle terrified and crying in the darkness while she begged for whatever twisted visions plagued her to cease.

Sweetie Belle was also silent as the orange filly talked away unaware of the sombre atmosphere that hung over her friends. She hadn’t stopped shaking since she’d left the cave and her eyes were still sore from the tears that once filled them; almost as if to cut Apple Bloom deeper it seemed that Sweetie Belle had started to feel better around Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom sighed and started to slowly inch her way out of the clubhouse door. “Why am Ah such a fool…” With that thought still stabbing at her heart she took one last look at the white filly and stepped outside.

The wind blew through her red mane as she stood on the clubhouse’s balcony; her chest hurt and her eyes began to well with tears. Apple Bloom couldn’t stop thinking about Sweetie Belle or rather she couldn’t stop thinking about Sweetie’s feelings for Scootaloo and how much she was prepared to pay in her crusade for the orange filly’s affection; once again her chest tightened at the thought and she let out a soft sob.

“Darnit, Sweetie… why couldn’t… why couldn’t it have been me…”

***

The night was bitterly chilled as Sweetie Belle made her way home by the glow of the street lamps, the wind howled through the trees and cut her shaking body to the bone causing her to shudder and wrap her forelegs around herself in an attempt to warm her freezing flesh. As Sweetie stroked her fur for warmth she thought back to the incident at the cave and how thankful she was that Scootaloo wasn’t there to witness it. Suddenly, the wind stopped and the streets fell into a deafly silence that swallowed all sound so as not to be disturbed by a single crushed leaf or scuff of hoof.

‘…Just give up…’ Silver’s voice came flooding into Sweetie’s mind like a malevolent whisper stretching her already horribly strained psyche to near it’s breaking point.

“Please….” Sweetie sobbed. “Just… let me be…”

‘…Just give up…Give her to me….’ The voice was unrelenting in its torment of the terrified filly.

Sweetie didn’t cry out again, instead she ran to the nearest building she recognised: Rarity’s boutique…

***

Sweetie knew no one was home, she knew that she had no key, but she also knew that this was where the spell book was. That cursed spell book that she’d stolen from Twilight’s library was how she’d started all this and she figured that it must also have an end to it as well.

Sweetie’s hoof crashed against the front door again and again until it was sore from the pain, but she didn’t care, she needed to get inside even if it meant breaking in through Rarity’s expensive window.

‘Break in through the window?’ She thought as her hoof slammed against the door; it was dangerous and she’d get in so much trouble, but it would be worth the cuts and bruises to get rid of Silver for good, right?

‘I’m sure Rarity will forgive me…’ she convinced herself as her hoof yet again crashed down on the heavy wooden door.

After several moments of bashing at the door fruitlessly it was decided and Sweetie ran to the side window. Taking a deep breath she lifted her already sore hoof and slammed it against the glass; amazingly it didn’t break, but that didn’t deter her and she slammed against it harder and harder until it finally shattered with a loud crash. The window was a specially made one piece glass pane for Rarity’s shop and so when it broke it splintered into thousands of tiny razor sharp shards that came down in a glittering rain that cut and scratched Sweetie Belle deeply, but her psyche was so frayed that she didn’t care anymore.

As Sweetie climbed in through the shattered window she felt every shard of glass embedded in her body, but the most noticeable wounds were on her right leg where she punched through the window; they were deep and the glass pieces were big so big that they left long trails of blood as they entered her flesh.

“Ugh….” She winced as her right hoof touched the floor.

‘Give up!!!’ Silver screamed as Sweetie limped to the staircase. ‘I’ll never allow you to reach that book…’

Suddenly, Sweetie collapsed to the ground, but it didn’t feel like she was tripped. No, it felt like she’d been pushed; again she scrambled to her hooves only to be pushed to the ground once more. Sweetie looked around as she struggled to get up and her eyes went wide in horror as she caught sight of Rarity’s largest mirror or rather what was dragging itself free of the mirror.

Impossibly it was Silver… Silver had crawled free of the mirror and was now making his way towards the weakened Sweetie Belle as she limped desperately towards the stairs.

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!!” She screamed in panic as he drew ever closer to her.

***

The cold night wind blew through the orchards of the farm causing the trees to rustle loudly with each movement; under normal circumstances this noise would keep anyone awake, but not the Apple family they were more than used to this by now.

Apple Bloom however couldn’t sleep, but for a very different reason; every time she closed her eyes she saw Sweetie’s crying face as she swatted at an invisible aggressor.

“She was so distraught and helpless when she was in that cave, how could Ah let her go home alone after that?” Apple Bloom said with a sigh, she knew she had to make sure Sweetie Belle was alright and she couldn’t sleep until she was sure she was safe.

Apple Bloom slipped out of her bed and headed downstairs, being careful to avoid every obstacle so as not to wake her family as she slipped out into the night.

***

Long after the other two had left the clubhouse Scootaloo snuck back to think about a few things she had on her mind; most of the things on her mind were just ways to get cutie marks, but there were a couple of other, more important things too. Those last thoughts were mostly about Silver; she hadn’t heard from him in a few days and she was starting to get anxious as to how he felt about her. She sat at the table in the clubhouse and slumped down placing her head on the table.

“….” She sighed and closed her eyes. “Maybe he’s just been busy?”

Again Scootaloo sighed and sat up; she knew she had to get her mind off of Silver or she’d go crazy, but what to do? She thought about several games she could play, but they all needed an opponent; finally, she opened the drawer in front of her and started searching for something, anything to distract her. The drawer was filled with sweets, a few loose pens and a curiously crumpled piece of paper that looked like it had been torn from a journal; normally she would have just ignored it and looked in another drawer, but for some unknown reason she was fixated on it.

‘it won’t hurt if I take a look’ Scootaloo thought as she picked out the crumpled note and gently pulled it open being careful to avoid tearing it as she did; a lot of the words scrawled on the paper had been rubbed away and were poorly written, but the few sentences that were left looked like they were all in Sweetie Belle’s writing.

‘I can’t believe how well this is going…. Scootaloo… doesn’t know I’m Silver…. I feel bad that I can’t… love her…’

These were the only clear words; the others were so horribly rubbed out that they’d torn the page slightly as they were erased.

“Wait…. What does she mean?!” Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she’d just read; Sweetie was Silver all along? She was in love with her? If that was true she’d have to let her down easy; she was her friend after all and it’s not like fillies can date other fillies. She took a deep breath and slumped to the table with her head resting on her front hooves.

“She’s probably already asleep I’ll go visit her tomorrow and clear all this up…” she sighed and continued looking at the note as if trying to read the gaps for the missing words.

***

Despite how late it was Apple Bloom still found her self knocking on Sweetie Belle’s front door in hopes of speaking with her friend; she knocked over and over in desperation until finally the door was answered by a large white stallion with a brown moustache.

“Oh hey there, you’re Sweetie’s friend right? What brings you out here so late?” he said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“Ah’m sorry to bug ya’ll at this time o’ night but can I talk to Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom asked politely as she looked at the stallion.

“Sure I guess…” he said before turning to face the staircase.

“Sweetie! Sweetie!!” There was no answer… He turned to face the yellow filly again. “Sorry, I’ll go get her…” and with that he ascended the stairs to Sweetie Belle’s room.

A few seconds passed in silence, but then Apple Bloom heard Sweetie’s father yell in panic. “She’s not in her bed!!”

Suddenly, Apple Bloom felt a twinge of fear flash through her and before Sweetie’s father could run back down to tell her, she was gone.

“Where could she be?” Apple Bloom thought aloud as she galloped to the only other place she could think of: Rarity’s boutique.

***

“Stop! Go away!!” Sweetie screamed as she limped up the stairs towards her room with Silver in close pursuit.

She could feel his hoof scratching her hind leg with each step until suddenly, she tripped or rather she was pulled down on the stairs as Silver tried to stop her from getting to her room. The glass in her right leg dug into the carpeted steps causing her wounds to worsen and cover the carpet in large trails of blood as she desperately struggled to free herself from Silver’s grip.

‘I’m not going to let you have her!!’ Silver yelled and dragged her further down the stairs as the glass shards in her fur continued to dig into her skin.

Sweetie cried as Silver struck her with several hard punches, but despite the pain she was in she still managed to summon enough strength to push him away.

Sweetie struggled back to her hooves and inched her way up the steps again; her right leg burned in agony as her weight shifted with each step, she knew she had to endure the pain for if she didn’t she would die at Silver’s hoof. Her victory was short lived however as Silver once again caught up with her and tore her back down the stairs causing her to fall awkwardly; luckily she landed on the soft carpet that lined the floor that led from the hallway to the living room.

***

Apple Bloom was tired; her chest hurt with every breath she drew, her legs were sore and felt like lead weights as she galloped through the pitch black streets that led to the Carousal Boutique, but no matter how fatigued she was she pressed on because she knew that Sweetie needed help.

She slowed to a walk as she drew closer to the fashion shop; the outside was shrouded in the pitch darkness of Luna’s night, it looked peaceful as if no one was in. Apple Bloom sighed and turned around to walk away. “Ah guess she ain’t here after all…”

Just then, a loud smash echoed from inside the darkened boutique and Apple Bloom began running back towards the noise without a moment’s hesitation. As she stepped closer she felt the shards of glass on the floor crunch beneath her hooves; the sounds of a desperate struggle grew louder with each step she took until finally, Apple Bloom found herself staring into the boutique as a lone white figure slammed against a nearby bookcase.

“Arrrgh…” Sweetie cried in pain as Silver slammed her against the surrounding bookcases and ornaments in an attempt to slow her assent to her bedroom.

Silver had gotten a lot more aggressive in his desperation to stop his counterpart, going so far as pulling Sweetie’s hair out in large tangled clumps before throwing her into Rarity’s tall mirror; the mirror shattered into hundreds of sharp pieces and the frame collapsed as Sweetie was hurled through it.

Apple Bloom had climbed through the shattered window as quickly as she could to help her friend up off the glass covered ground before she could hurt herself again; in truth she knew why Sweetie threw herself into the mirror, it was because of him. Apple Bloom had seen it before in the cave mere hours ago; Sweetie’s expression, her pain and self harm all caused by her alternate persona and now he was attacking her again. The worst part of all was that she didn’t know how to help her friend, how could she save her from herself?

Sweetie cried as Apple Bloom approached; no longer seeing her as her friend, but rather as a tangible avatar of Silver slowly stalking forward menacingly. She struggled to draw breath as she recoiled from Silver’s terrifying silhouette; her body ached and stung from the many wounds that were now staining her formerly white coat.

“Pl…Please…. Stop…” Her body shuddered with each painful gasp as she dragged herself closer to the stair case once more.

“Sweetie… it’s… me Apple Bloom…” The yellow filly began, her voice quivering with sadness as she watched the filly she loved put herself through agony in an attempt to flee upstairs.

Apple Bloom didn’t understand, she couldn’t understand; she watched impotently as Sweetie struggled to stand once again.

Sweetie struggled with every step, but she wasn’t going to let Silver stop her from reaching that book; her leg was raw with agony and her vision had become blurred by the tears that now flooded from her eyes. She was almost at the top, every step making her wince in pain as she shifted her weight; finally she reached the last step, her heart raced with adrenaline as she picked up the pace and drew closer to her room.

It was almost over, dear Celestia it was almost over…

Just then, her eyes went wide and she froze in terror. There, in the doorway to her room she could see it; Silver was dragging himself free of the large fashion mirror in desperation just as he’d done before.

Silver snarled with bestial aggression as he scrambled towards the terrified filly; whatever threats he was yelling were lost beneath the primal growls as he lunged towards Sweetie like a rabid beast about to tear its helpless prey asunder.

Apple Bloom raced up the stairs after her friend only to find her yet again being thrown into nearby ornaments by an unseen aggressor; she rushed to Sweetie’s aide, but she was kicked away as Sweetie struggled to free herself from the imaginary grip of her persona. Again Sweetie flailed in desperation in an attempt to swat away Silver; she felt the blow hit something.

Her blow did hit something, but it wasn’t Silver; no, in realty it was Apple Bloom who’d yet again tried to help Sweetie despite the way she recoiled from her. As Sweetie’s hoof connected with Apple Bloom’s muzzle the glass embedded in her leg slashed through the yellow filly’s cheek and she fell backwards crying in pain.

“Sweet… Sweetie… Snap outta it please…” Apple Bloom begged and rose to her hooves once more.

Sweetie stumbled a few steps further towards her bedroom before collapsing just short; she was hyperventilating and bleeding from scores of wounds all over her small, shaking body, but for now at least she wasn’t causing herself anymore harm.

Apple Bloom rushed to her friend’s side and pulled her close; she was trembling as Apple Bloom cradled her, her normally well groomed pink and purple mane was now a tangled, sullied mess of blood and glass shards. A few tears fell from Apple Bloom’s sore green eyes that were now bloodshot from tiredness; she heaved a sigh and ran her hoof gently along Sweetie’s fur being careful not to disturb any of the glass that was embedded in her skin. It was almost too unreal; how could this happen to somepony?

Again Apple Bloom sighed and rubbed her tired eyes; now the adrenaline had started to fade she could feel the deep cut on her cheek again. The cut stung, but not as badly as the pain in her heart; the pain of knowing that no matter what she did she couldn’t save her friend from the monster inside her mind.

Apple Bloom knew Sweetie couldn’t hear her, but she felt that she had to tell her that she was going to break her promise. “Sweetie… Ah know ya made me promise not to tell anypony, but… but… Ah gotta tell somepony, Ah can’t watch ya kill yaself…” she took a deep breath and leant down to place a kiss on Sweetie’s forehead. “So… Ah’ll trade ya a secret for a secret; Sweetie Belle… Ah… Ah love ya…”

Just as the confession fell from her lips Apple Bloom heard a scream from outside and the lights of the boutique flickered to life; the sudden brightness stung Apple Bloom’s already sore eyes and she winced in pain as the voices from outside drew closer.

“What in Equestria happened here!?” Rarity yelled in surprise as she stepped into her beloved boutique that looked as if it had been struck by a tornado.

Fluttershy trailed meekly behind her trying to avoid the glass that was scattered throughout the ransacked boutique; then, among the sounds of crunching glass and Rarity’s melodramatics she noticed blood stains heading up the staircase and a faint sob coming from the floor above.

“Who… Who’s there?” She quizzed trying to sound as brave as she could; she was met with another soft sob as she drew closer to the steps.

Rarity rushed past Fluttershy holding her frying pan aloft with her magic as a primitive weapon; she galloped up the stairs ready to deliver punishment on whatever ruffian had decided to vandalise her beautiful shop, but instead of a vandal she was met with a scene of horror.

Apple bloom looked up at the white mare with tears streaming down from her eyes as she cradled her badly injured friend. “Please… Help her…” with that Apple Bloom finally leant back against the wall and drifted into a deep sleep…

Author's Note

Woo Hoo! Chapter seven's finally done. i know it's taken a rediculous amount of time to finish, but i totally think it's been worth it.
the next chapter will be up after christmas as i'll have far too much work to do over the holidays so i wont have time to type it up.

anyway... tell me what you think, i'm really looking forward to hearing what you all think.

Chapter Eight: Hope

The sun broke over the horizon; the morning was surprisingly calm in a stark contrast to the dramatic chaos of the night only mere hours before. Apple Bloom sat in the corner of the clubhouse silently mulling over the whole twisted situation; she hadn’t slept properly, how could she after what she’d seen? Even when she’d fallen into an exhausted sleep a few hours earlier it was plagued with stress dreams about Sweetie Belle that forced her to wake with her heart hammering and a cold sweat soaking her fur.
She sighed and closed her eyes once more in a vain attempt to rest; as soon as her eyes closed the scene played out again, Sweetie cried out as she was assailed by her other half, Apple Bloom rushed to her friend only to be cast to the ground with a searing pain in her cheek before looking up once more to find her friend had collapsed.

Again, her eyes snapped open and a stream of tears ran down her cheeks soaking the bandage that now protected her wound; the stinging sensation brought back memories of the aftermath of the horror.
Apple Bloom sat in the doctor’s office with her cheek numbed ready to be operated on; as the doctor stitched the slash wound in her cheek she tried to look over at Fluttershy who was mumbling to herself in concern for both her and Sweetie Belle who was a few floors above them with Rarity in the psychiatric ward of the hospital. Her cheek ached with each dull stab of the needle and she started to think back to the moment they’d brought Sweetie to the hospital; she’d awoke screaming and kicking as she tried to fight off Silver once more, it broke Apple Bloom’s heart to watch the nurses strap her friend down and sedate her. She didn’t deserve this; she didn’t deserve punishing for seeking love, regardless of how she went about it.

She took another deep sigh and placed her hooves over her eyes as she lamented her inability to help her friend. Just as the sigh left her lips she heard the soft creak of hooves climbing the steps to the clubhouse. She didn’t care who it was; if it wasn’t Sweetie Belle it didn’t matter.

The door swung open and an orange and purple blur strolled into Apple Bloom’s periphery; she knew who it was that now stood in the door way, but her presence brought the filly no happiness or comfort, instead Scootaloo’s cheery smile only served to make her feel worse.

“Morning, Apple Bloom. Where’s Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked as she sauntered towards the table that Apple Bloom was sitting at.

The yellow filly continued to remain silent as Scootaloo began rambling on about getting cutie marks again oblivious to the events that took place last night; her happiness was almost irritating to the yellow filly and she could feel herself growing ever more agitated with the incessant ramblings that came from her orange friend. Her eyes continued to well with tears as they hid behind her hooves and she slipped back into the memories of the night before.

She wasn’t allowed to go visit Sweetie Belle when she was committed to the psychiatric ward despite how desperate her pleas became; she remembered just standing impotently in the corridor as Sweetie’s twitching, unconscious body was wheeled upstairs and out of sight. As soon as the nurses had disappeared with Rarity, Fluttershy moved closer and hugged the yellow filly tightly in an attempt to comfort her.

‘Apple Bloom… sweetie…’

‘Apple Bloom…’

“Apple Bloom! Hey are you alright?” With that her memories dissolved again and she snapped back to reality to find herself face to face with Scootaloo.

“W… What? What d’ya want?” Apple Bloom snapped as the tears erupted from her sore eyes.

“Where did you say Sweetie was? I need to talk to her about something important.” Scootaloo asked without noticing the tears that were now spilling from Apple Bloom’s eyes.

“She’s… she’s in the hospital… what d’ya wanna ask her?” Apple Bloom said and looked down to hide the tears that were flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks.

Scootaloo stopped for a moment in shock at the news. “Is she alright? It’s nothing serious right?”

Apple Bloom didn’t raise her head to look at the other filly; instead she just continued staring at the floor beneath her. She was always told to be honest by her sister, but she didn’t want break the promise to Sweetie Belle a second time.
“Nah… she’s just not feelin’ well is all…” Apple Bloom lied. “Now, what d’ya wanna ask her?”

“You promise you won’t tell anypony that I told you, right?” Scootaloo asked shyly, still oblivious to the horrible state that Apple Bloom was in.

“Ah… Ah promise…” Apple Bloom was unsure about agreeing to the promise; it was a phrase that had caused a lot of trouble over the last few days and she really, really didn’t want anymore.

“Ok… so I found this note hidden in one of the drawers last night.” Scootaloo began as she pulled the crumpled paper from her saddle bag and placed it on the table.
“It said something about being Silver and that she loves me, but I don’t know what to do with it. I mean fillies can’t date fillies and even if they could, I don’t know how I feel about her and I don’t want our friendship to get weird… I was just going to let her down easy, you know?”

Apple Bloom didn’t know why, but the way Scootaloo was talking filled her with anger; without a second to think she leapt across the table and struck Scootaloo hard across the face causing her to fall backwards and rub her cheek as she reeled in shock.

Tears rolled down from Apple Bloom’s glaring, angry and sore green eyes as she stood over the now scared orange filly; she took several deep breaths and tried to understand why she just attacked one of her closest friends. After yet another deep breath she gathered some understanding of her feelings, now she knew why Scootaloo angered her so much; it was the way she was going to throw away Sweetie Belle’s feelings like they were nothing even after all that she’d done for her. Apple Bloom knew that she couldn’t possibly have known what Sweetie had been through, but still everything else she’d done should count for something.

Scootaloo’s eyes welled with tears from the pain that radiated from her cheek. “Apple… Apple Bloom… why?”

“Shut up!” Apple Bloom yelled as tears became streams and she struck Scootaloo again, this time however the blow lacked any power and ended with the yellow filly collapsing on her hind legs in a sobbing mess. “Just shut up!! Ya’ll don’t deserve her…”

“I… I don’t understand…” Scootaloo said as she backed away from the hysterical filly.

“She loves ya Scoots… she loves ya so much that she… that she…” Apple Bloom sobbed and closed her eyes in shame. “She drove herself crazy!!”

“What?” Scootaloo’s eyes went wide in shock at this sudden revelation. “What do you mean?”

Another sob wrenched from Apple bloom’s lips and she rubbed the aching wound on her cheek. “Last night… she… she… almost killed herself… that’s why she’s in the hospital.”

“But… you said it wasn’t serious…” Scootaloo said in disbelief as she drew closer to the other crusader.

“Ah lied! I didn’t wanna tell ya ‘cause she made me promise… but Ah can’t hold it anymore…..” Apple Bloom took a deep breath and looked at the orange filly. “Ah can’t save her no matter how much Ah wish Ah could… Right now… she needs the filly she loves; she needs you Scoots.”

Apple Bloom punched the floor and gritted her teeth as she struggled to deal with the memories of last night. Each scene played out like a horror movie that she couldn’t forget; she felt so powerless and weak, worse still was the realisation that no matter how bad she felt she knew that Sweetie was going through something so unimaginably more horrible.

Despite the way Apple Bloom had just acted Scootaloo still felt the urge to wrap her foreleg around the yellow filly and pull her close; at first Apple Bloom tried to push her away, but quickly her resistance faded and she found herself taking a small comfort in the warmth of her friend’s embrace.

“Please… save her Scoots…” Apple Bloom begged as she buried her muzzle in the soft orange fur.

“Apple Bloom… you…” Scootaloo hugged the other filly tighter letting her tears soak her fur as the realisation dawned on her and suddenly everything made sense. “…You love her… don’t you?”

Apple Bloom nodded lightly and gently broke away from Scootaloo’s embrace. “Uh huh…”
Finally, she wiped the last few errant tears from her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. “Scoots… Ah’m sorry… for hittin’ ya and for everythin’ Ah said…”

Before Scootaloo could say anything in response, the scene was interrupted by Apple Bloom’s older sister who yelled up through the clubhouse’s window. “Hey Apple Bloom, Rarity’s here; she says that Sweetie’s picked up a little and their lettin’ folks visit her now; she wanted to know if ya’ll wanted to go?”

Without another word the two fillies climbed down the stairs and followed Applejack back to the main farmhouse…

***

The two fillies remained silent as they followed Rarity to the hospital; Scootaloo trailed at the back of the group quietly rerunning everything that Apple Bloom had said in the clubhouse.
Each sentence hung on her mind like a lead weight; did Sweetie Belle really drive herself insane because of her and what she’d said all those days ago when she tried to confess the first time? She took a deep breath and let the memories of the last two weeks flood into her mind; it was so surreal to think that every wonderful, romantic moment with Silver was really with Sweetie Belle.
That thought made her stop for a second; those feelings she had for Silver were really for her best friend, did it really matter that much if she was a filly? Love is still love, right?

Apple Bloom was first to notice that the orange filly had stopped. “Scoots… what’s up…?”

“Girls? Please hurry, we don’t want to miss visiting hours…” Rarity stated as she turned to face the fillies that had stopped several meters behind her.

“Erm… Scoots? Ya’ll Alright?” The yellow filly asked as she placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

Tears began rolling down from Scootaloo’s eyes as she finally realised her true feelings for her friend. “…I… I love her…”

Upon hearing those words leave the orange filly’s lips Apple Bloom felt her heart ache and tense up, but it didn’t hurt as much as it did when she learnt that Sweetie loved Scootaloo; in a way it was a relief because now at least Sweetie Belle could be happy.
Apple Bloom couldn’t summon any words to offer the other filly; instead she just smiled meekly before coaxing her forward towards the hospital once more.
***

The corridors of Ponyville hospital was abuzz with doctors, nurses and patients as they rushed back and forth with their business; Rarity was first to approach the receptionist’s desk followed quickly by the two fillies who were looking worn out from the walk.

After speaking with the receptionist the three were led upstairs to the psychiatric ward of the hospital where Sweetie Belle was sectioned in a small white room on her own. The room itself was an exact copy of the other rooms that made up this ward; sterile white walls with a single large, toughened glass window and simple wooden door that locked from the outside to separate it from the rest of the hospital. It was certainly no place for a foal, but it was the only place that they could be sure Sweetie couldn’t hurt herself; to be absolutely sure she couldn’t cause herself anymore harm her front legs were strapped to the bed by thick leather straps and she was sedated by powerful drugs that kept her drowsy.

Apple Bloom’s eyes welled up as she saw Sweetie through the one way glass; Silver had taken everything from her and as a last act of cruelty he took her from her friends. The yellow filly felt her chest hurt again as Sweetie sat up; her bandages were still covered in fresh blood from her wounds and her eyes were a dull empty green like a cloudy glass of apple juice instead of the sparkling emeralds they used to be.

The room where Sweetie sat wasn’t sound proofed from the inside and over the low din of the machines around her they could hear her humming a lonely gentle tune as a lone tear ran from her empty eyes.

The nurse who’d led the trio to Sweetie’s room sighed as she looked through the window at the filly. “All she’s done all day is hum that tune… it’s so sad, I wish I could help her.”
As she unlocked the door the nurse turned to face the filly’s visitors. “Due to the size of the room she can’t have more than two visitors at once; if one of you wouldn’t mind waiting while the others visit first it will make it easier.”

Rarity stepped forward “I’ll go in first… Apple Bloom would you like to come in with me?” she asked as she looked down at the yellow farm filly.

“Um… Could Ah go in with Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked, her tired eyes looking into the mare’s almost pleading.

Rarity caught on quickly and nodded to the filly. “Of course dear… I won’t take too long then.” She smiled and followed the nurse into Sweetie’s room.

After the door closed the two crusaders sat outside the room looking in at Sweetie Belle who was sitting and staring at her sister almost as if she didn’t know her at all; Apple Bloom sighed deeply and let her thoughts drift to the memories that still plagued her.
Every image caused her chest to hurt and her eyes to well with tears; just as she was about to lift her hooves to hide her tears she felt another hoof gently wrap around hers reassuringly, it was warm and comforting… perhaps even loving?

“Scoots…”

“It’ll be ok…” Scootaloo said as she hugged her friend.

After several moments they broke the hug and Scootaloo looked over at the two sisters in the next room; it looked like Rarity was almost ready to leave and so the fillies stood up and waited by the door.
As soon as Rarity stepped out of Sweetie Belle’s room she smiled sadly. “Girls, I’m going to step into the café for a little while; come and get me when you’re ready to go.” With that Rarity headed back down the corridors towards the staircase.

Both crusaders took a deep breath and opened the door; as they walked into the crisp white room they were immediately hit by the smell of sterilisers and the over bearing hum of machines as they monitored the unicorn filly’s vitals.
Sweetie was barely awake as they approached her; she looked remarkably peaceful and serene despite the turmoil that must be going on in her head. Her breathing was shallow and her eyes were almost closed letting only the smallest glimpse of emerald green peer through the gap; she turned towards the other crusaders as they drew closer, as her eyes fell on Scootaloo they opened slightly and a weak smile began to stretch across her lips.

“Scoot… Scootaloo…” Sweetie began with a soft almost raspy voice; the screaming and shouting from the night before had made her throat very sore, but that didn’t matter to her right now.

“Shhh… It’s okay… Sweetie Belle...” Scootaloo began as she took a gentle hold of Sweetie Belle’s restrained hoof being extra careful to avoid the bandages that covered most of her body. “I know how you feel and… I feel the same…”

Sweetie smiled slightly as she heard those words; she tried to lift her hoof to hug her friend, but frowned as she realised she couldn’t lift it more than a few inches because of the straps.
Apple Bloom stood silently watching her friends from the back of the room, with every loving smile and gentle word she felt her heart ache like it had been pierced by a thousand shards of glass; finally, she sighed and turned towards the door.

‘It’s better this way…’ She thought and quietly let herself out into the hallway.

As she started to walk away she took one last look at the filly she loved so much; she tried to convince herself that this is how it should be and that as long as Sweetie Belle was happy it didn’t matter how much it hurt her. Her eyes closed in an attempt to hide her sadness and she forced a smile before slowly walking towards the staircase…
***

Scootaloo hugged the white filly and smiled before planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. “I’ll visit again every day until you’re better, so please get well soon…”
She turned slightly to look for Apple Bloom. “Apple Bloom?... Apple Bloom?!” She asked as she searched for the missing filly.

Despite the drugs that kept her drowsy Sweetie knew that her friend was missing and found her hazy vision searching desperately for any sign of her; finally, she noticed a slight yellow blur disappear down the corridor. She struggled against her restraints as she tried to give chase, but it was futile, she was too weak to break free and the straps were rubbing against her wounds causing her more pain with each movement. “Apple… Bloom….” She cried out as tears formed in the corners of her cloudy green eyes.

Scootaloo couldn’t bear to watch her friend hurt herself in the struggle; she quickly undid the straps and disconnected the several drips and wires that monitored Sweetie’s health before helping Sweetie out of her bed, using her own body to support her friend’s weight. Without another wasted second the pair of fillies followed Apple Bloom as she disappeared down the stairs.
***

Apple Bloom stopped and rested against the railing that clung to the staircase wall; was this the right thing to do? She quizzed as she took another glance back up the stairs. Her heart began to ache again as she thought about how happy they looked together, surely this was how it should be and who was she to get in the way of her friend’s happiness; so why did she feel so bad? Finally, she let out a sigh and began walking back down the stairs.

Suddenly, she heard the soft clatter of hooves as they approached the top of the staircase.

“Apple Bloom…” a soft, raspy voice cried as the sound of hoof steps died away.

She knew that voice well, it was Sweetie Belle’s and she sounded desperate; Apple Bloom stopped dead and turned to see the filly being supported by Scootaloo. Her sore eyes welled with tears once more as she tried to avoid showing how hurt she was; her heart ached with sadness, but she knew she had to feign a smile despite the pain.

“Wh… What’s up?” the yellow filly asked through a weak smile.

Sweetie used what little strength she had left to free herself from Scootaloo’s support and stand on her own hooves; still drowsy, she shakily trotted towards the steps in front of her. She winced with each step as she put weight on her aching legs, but still she pressed on. As soon as she started to walk down the steps she felt her weakened knee buckle beneath her weight and before Scootaloo could react she’d fallen.
Within a heartbeat Apple Bloom threw herself forward to catch Sweetie, barely making it in time to stop her getting hurt.

“Wh… Why’re ya outta bed?” Apple Bloom asked as she pulled the trembling unicorn closer and held her tight. “Ya’ll coulda gotten hurt… dummy…”

“Don’t… go…” Sweetie sobbed softly.

“What d’ya mean? I was only…”

“Please… don’t… go…” Sweetie begged as she cut off Apple Bloom’s excuse and weakly hugged her friend.

With that Apple Bloom broke down into tears and kissed her friend on the cheek. “Ah…Ah ain’t goin’ anywhere… Ah promise…”

“Why… did… you… go?” Sweetie asked as her cloudy green eyes stared into the red ringed emeralds that were now flowing with tears.

“Ah… ah was goin’… ” She tried to lie, but she found herself unable to with Sweetie’s soft sad gaze looking at her expectantly; finally she took a deep breath and closed her eyes before telling her the truth. “Ah… love ya Sweetie… and Ah couldn’t bear to watch ya bein’ all lovey with Scoots…”

Sweetie never got to hear this confession, the drugs that kept her drowsy had finally taken effect and she’d fallen asleep soon after Apple Bloom closed her eyes; Apple bloom smiled at the irony as she cradled her friend and stroked her mane.
Within a few seconds the nurse that had escorted them to the room appeared in response to the alarms from the machines that said they’d been disconnected; she was out of breath and clearly very angry with the two conscious crusaders as she carried Sweetie Belle back to her room.

After being scolded by both Rarity and the nurse that helped Sweetie Belle the crusaders were taken back to Sweet Apple Acres to wait for the next visiting hours.
***

‘Sweeeeeeeetie!’ Silver yelled as he chased Sweetie through the boutique.

Sweetie Belle tried to escape, but the door was locked; her heart raced as her violent persona stalked closer clutching a shard of broken mirror between his teeth.

“Leave me alone!!” she cried.

‘You’ll never be loved! No pony would ever want a selfish, crazy filly like you!’ he snarled as he dragged the glass along the wall.

Suddenly, the door behind him swung open and a white light dispelled his form; in the light stood two silhouettes she knew very well. They were her friends, the fillies she loved so much and they’d come to save her.

Sweetie struggled to her hooves and approached them, but as she went to hug them they too dissipated and she was left alone in the darkness… no Apple Bloom… no Scootaloo… only the echoing words of Silver to keep her company.

‘You’ll never be loved…’

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open as tears flowed down her cheeks and she awoke to find herself back in her room in Rarity’s boutique; the familiar scent of expensive perfumes filled her nose and a caring warmth embraced her. It was at that moment she felt two pairs of hooves wrapped around her and she realised who it was that lay beside her. It had been several weeks since she was discharged from the hospital and she’d had nightmares every night, but every night she’d awoke to find her friends were always there for her; she was so happy that she started sobbing uncontrollably causing her companions to stir from their slumber.

“Mnnn…Sweetie? Is it another nightmare?” Apple Bloom said softly as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.

“Sweetie what’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked as she stroked Sweetie’s mane.

Sweetie shook her head and tried to wipe away her tears. “I dreamt you’d left me…”

In unison Scootaloo and Apple Bloom held the filly tighter and kissed her gently. “We’ll always be here… We love you…”

Author's Note

It's finally finished YAY!
Firstly, I like to say a big thank you to all those who stuck around this long and I really hope you enjoyed the ride.
You all deserve a brohoof /) and I hope you all return for my next story.

And always I'll apprieciate feedback.

See you all next time.