The song of love.

Chapter 11. An eventful afternoon.

Soft Heart couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him.

A mare who seemed exactly like Rarity stood in his doorstep. If he didn't knew that the real rarity was behind him, he would have believed it. However, he couldn't.

"... R-Rarity?" Soft asked while turning his head to see to Rarity and Rarity's clone.

The mare in front of him just looked down.

"Don't you really recognize me, mister Soft?"

Mister Soft. Only one pony called him like that. Even worse, only one filly.

"... Sweetie... b-b-belle?"

Soft's sight became blank. His world started to crumble beneath his hooves, as he felt himself falling to the ground. However, the hit couldn't be felt when he landed, because he was out.

Three hours later.

Soft Heart awoke in his couch. He felt a soft mane touching his side. Turning his eyes toward it, he saw a purple mane.

"Oh, miss Rarity. I had the strangest dream in my life."

"Really?"

Rarity answered to him, for his surprise from the other side of the couch. He turned around to see an adult version of Sweetie Belle, laying her head on Soft's side.

"... WHAT THE HAY!"

Sweetie Belle suddenly awoke and turned toward him.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Soft was amused that she was getting directly to him when he was the one who would be taking care of her. He watched at her closely.

"... don't tell me you haven't seen yourself." Soft asked to the adult Sweetie Belle.

"Oh, my older me? Do you like it?" She asked while posing in the same way her sister sometimes did.

Soft Heart's cheeks would go red if his fur weren't yellow. Seeing Sweetie Belle in her adult body was something... beautiful, if not amusing.

"Earth to Soft. Earth to Soft. Answer Soft." He thought to himself.

"... Umm... Sweetie Belle..."

"Yes?"

"... how did you got to grow up so fast?"

"... well... it started since this morning..."

A few hours earlier.

Sweetie Belle could only watch as her special pony flew through the door, while her dad was looking at him with an angry look. Once Soft landed abruptly a few feet from the door, her father shouted at him.

"Don't ever dare to face me again!" He said angrily while crashing the door closed.

He turned to see at her surprised daughter, who just stood in front of him. She was looking at him with a sad face.

"Don't be like that! He wanted to... do something to you!" Her father said to her.

"But... but..." Sweetie Belle said while trying to hold her crying.

"Don't be like that, Sweetie Belle! Go to your room!"

Sweetie Belle did as her father commanded her, turning around and heading to her bedroom while she let go a few tears. Her father only watched with an adamant expression while his daughter got out of the room with a few tears on her face.

When her mother and Rarity heard a sudden crash on the upper floor, they went trotting to the living. Sweetie's father was in there, seeing through the window, where a pair of fillies were talking with Soft.

"Dear, what did you do?" Sweetie's Mother asked him.

"I took out a menace for my daughter's innocence."

"Innocence? She's only five! And this Soft Heart seems like a good colt."

"That's how it starts! They all seem good and kind! And just after that, they leave the mare behind! I won't allow my little daughter for something like that to happen to her!"

The two ponies in the room looked at each other before the stallion got away of the window and sat down in a nearby couch.

"He's gone."

"Of course he's gone! You literally kicked him out!" The mother yelled at him.

Rarity, feeling a fight come at hoof, got out of the room.

"I need to do a deliver to a very important client! See you later!" Rarity said while rushing to a package she brought.

Once Rarity got out, the two parents stood in an uneasy silence.

"Why are you so uneasy, darlin'?"

The father just looked at her before answering her.

"... I'm concerned that she may do something stupid. I don't want her to be like... me... "

"Like you? In which way?"

"... I made many mistakes in my foalhood."

"Me, too."

None of them laughed at the situation. They tried to remember the many mistakes they committed while they were young ponies.

They stood like that for a long time, until the father spoke.

"... He seemed like a good fellow..."

"Then... why did you kicked him out?"

"... I was afraid... afraid of my daughter to commit a mistake... But i didn't saw how HE was..."

"... In which way?"

"... In the way that he looks like a good fellow... good enough for my little Sweetie."

"...Then... what's the problem?"

"... The age. He's at least twenty years older! I wouldn't have too much problem if he were younger or if she was older."

Suddenly, they heard a door shutting.

"...What was that?"

"I don't know... maybe it's Rarity. But before of that, i think you should talk with Sweetie Belle, first."

"... Yeah... I really should."

They went upstairs. Heading toward Sweetie's room. Before entering, they knocked the door.

"Sweetie Belle! Are you in there? I want to talk with you and... ask you for your forgiveness."

They waited a few moments, waiting for Sweetie's answer. However, they didn't received any answer. In fact, they didn't noticed any kind of noise in the room.

"Sweetie Belle! You in there?"

They opened the door, only to reveal an empty room and a note in the bed.

Left to play with my friends.

Sweetie Belle

Both of them looked at each other, trying to guess where she could have gone.

"You want to WHAT?" Applebloom asked.

"Yes, i wanna grow up and be older." Sweetie said on her typical cheery tone.

Her two friends looked at each other. They've just heard the craziest idea coming from Sweetie Belle.

"... Why would you want to grow up?" Scootaloo asked to her while seeing her with suspicion.

"Because my dad says that he wouldn't have many problems either if mister Soft was younger or if i were older."

The other two fillies looked at her with a "seriously?" look in their faces.

"And... maybe... we can get our cutie marks from that!"

That was the only thing she needed for catching up her friend's attention.

"Do you really think so? But... how?" Applebloom asked to her.

"Well... If we grow up, then our cutie marks might appear magically. I haven't seen anypony who is an adult and has no cutie marks."

"... Right!" Said Applebloom while nodding.

"So, how are going to get older?"

"... I think Twilight might have an answer."

"Yeah, maybe. Let's go!"

"Wait! What do we do with this?" Scootaloo asked pointing toward a pink fluid in a jar.

"What is that?"

"It's the love potion that we made."

"Why is that stuff still in here?"

"'Cause we haven't been in here since yesterday we made it."

"Yeah, we haven't had the chance to clean up this place."

"... well... you can throw it out." Sweetie Belle assured to Applebloom.

"Yeah. But hurry! I can't wait to see my older me!" Scootaloo said while running outside.

Sweetie Belle, as well, got out of the tree house running, leaving Applebloom in there to throw out the love potion.

However, the urge was too much for her. (Also, the jar was too heavy) Therefore, she leave it in there and went running to the outside, while the love potion stood in there.

When Applebloom exited the room crashing the door, a few things in a shelf crumbled from the impact of the door. They swung in the shelf until unavoidable, some of these things fell to the ground... or in the jar...

The fluid in the jar went from the typical purple color to an unusual yellow, very resembling to a lemonade.

A few hours later.

It took only a few herbs which they asked to Zecora and another jar to mix them up, and the growing potion was ready. The resultant of the mix was a fluid with a texture and a color that couldn't be described clearly for any of them.

The three fillies stood in there, watching at the fluid while gathering all their strength to even look at it without throwing out their breakfast.

"Soo... who's the first one?" Applebloom said while turning her head to look at her friends.

"... You know, girls... now that I see it, i'm not sure if this is a good idea." Scootaloo said while watching at the jar.

"... I-I... I don't..." Sweetie Belle wasn't sure what to say.

"... And... what about if we tasted it... together?" Applebloom said while picking up three glasses from her kitchen.

"... I don't know... maybe?" Scootaloo asked while growing even more worried.

Applebloom filled up the three glasses and gave one to each of her friends.

"Alright, girls... at the count of three." Applebloom ordered to her partners.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded while having the glass in her hooves.

"... THREE!"

As Applebloom nearly shouted, they all drank it to the last drop of mud-like fluid. It was only a matter of seconds before the potion made its effect on the fillies body... but not as they thought.

It required all their might for them not to throw it out. After a few minutes of agonizing struggle for their stomachs to get used to the potion, they all sighed in relief.

"... Uff... good thing the worst part already passed." Scootaloo sighed.

"Yeah... i was starting to believe that we would cause a mess." Applebloom assured.

"Umm... girls?" Sweetie Belle asked while wearing a face of fear.

"What's up, Sweetie Belle?"

"Do you feel that, too?"

"What?"

"Wait..."

Suddenly, the three fillies fell to the ground while holding their stomachs in a extreme feeling of pain.

"OOWW... WHAT IS THIS?"

"I DON'T KNOW, BUT IT HURTS!"

"WHAT THE HAY IS HAPPENING?"

As fast as the pain came, it was gone. The three fillies opened their eyes. However, as they were on the ground, they didn't noted anything unusual. From the pain, they found themselves turned from each other.

"You note something different?" Applebloom asked while surprising at her own voice.

Applebloom's voice suddenly heard like if AppleJack were the one who was talking.

"Wait... MY VOICE! WHAT THE HAY IS HAPPEN-?"

Applebloom nearly shouted, being interrupted while turning around to see at her friends.

Present.

"And that's the how i became an adult." Sweetie Belle finished her tale, while seeing both, Soft and Rarity in a full attention to her.

Soft was the first one in speak.

"Alright, that answers it. However, i have another question." Soft said while heading to the door.

"What is it?"

Soft opened his door while thinking in something.

"What happened to your friends after that?"

"LOOK OUT!!"

Soft question was answered when he turned to see an orange blur coming toward him.

"... Oh, rats."