A Sweet Little Secret

“All I’m saying is, Applejack was overreacting,” Scootaloo whined, as she and Apple Bloom trotted away from Sweet Apple Acres. “There was no way we could’ve gotten hurt on that wheel barrel!” She moped about, too disappointed to see Apple Bloom shake her head.

“I don’t blame her for worryin’ for our safety, but I also don’t blame her for bein’ angry,” Apple Bloom replied. “‘Specially after what the Fire Wheeler 5000 did to the old shed…”

Scootaloo pouted. “But Rainbow Dash thought it was cool! Didja see her face when we hopped that hill?” Her eyes lit up in excitement. “Besides, I wired that thing pretty well. The main problem was the filly behind the wheel."

Apple Bloom ignored the heaviness of her friend’s gaze and rolled her eyes. “Don’t start on this again. We’ve done enough hot wirin’ and manuverin’ at the farm. How come we never get to destroy your property?” She pointed an accusing hoof at Scootaloo.

“Alright, alright,” Scootaloo groaned. “Hey, maybe next time we’ll do it at Sweetie Belle’s place.” She stopped walking, lifting her head in thought. “Come to think of it, where was she today?”

“She had an appointment,” Apple Bloom explained, walking passed her friend. “That’s what she told me when Ah asked her to come over. Hey, wanna head over to her place? She should be back by now.”

Scootaloo caught up to the farm filly, nodding. “Yeah, why not. Maybe then we can persuade her to convert her backyard into an arctic fire pit!”

“But if it’s arctic, how is there gonna be fire?” Apple Bloom inquired.

“Ugh, I’ll explain later,” Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes as if the answer was obvious. “Come on, we’re here already.”

The two stopped before Sweetie Belle’s house. It had been a while since they’d visited there, on account of Sweetie Belle spending so much time with Rarity at the Boutique recently. Apple Bloom stepped up to the door, tapping it a twice. She was only partially surprised when Sweetie’s mom, Pearl, answered the door.

“Well, good afternoon, girls!” Pearl hummed, high pitched and joyously. “Are you little adventurers here for little Sweetie Belle?”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Apple Bloom said, slightly blushing. “Is she home?”

Sweetie’s mom displayed an overly dismayed look on her face; she was talking to children, after all. “I’m sorry girls, but she’s still at the office with her father. She should be back within the next half hour or so.”

Apple Bloom slumped her head a bit. “Oh, that’s fine. We can come back another time,” she said, beginning to turn around.

Noticing the fillies’ saddened expressions, Pearl quickly said, “You know what, why don’t you girls come on in? You can wait in her room until she comes back.”

“Totally, that’d be awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed, before Apple Bloom could politely decline.

“Right this way,” Pearl said, allowing the fillies to enter the house. Apple Bloom shot a confused look at Scootaloo, who innocently mouthed, “What?”

Having been to Sweetie Belle’s house before, the two Crusaders easily found their way to their friend’s room. It was just how they remembered - a petite nightstand standing next to a swirly pink and purple bed that matched Sweetie Belle’s mane. A few dolls and stuffed ponies covered the fuzzy carpet in the center of the room.

“Sweetie Belle’s room sure is nice ‘n’ neat. Pretty, too,” Apple Bloom complimented.

Scootaloo gagged. “Give me a break, it’s way too girly!” Her eyes scanned the cutesy little posters that adorned the walls. “Bleh, Colt Wisley is so lame.”

“At least her room ain’t covered in Rainbow Dash fan products,” Apple Bloom countered with a smirk. “Don’tcha think ya might have an obsession?”

“‘Course not, Rainbow Dash is totally awesome,” Scootaloo said, feeling quite proud to be her fan. “Anyway, how long do you think we’ll have to wait?”

Apple Bloom glanced at the small clock on the nightstand. “Not too long, I’m guessin’. Her ma said she’d be home pretty soon.”

“Not soon enough,” Scootaloo complained, sprawling her tiny legs all over the floor. “I’m so booooored!”

“We’ve been here for two minutes…” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. As her eyes began to wander, they suddenly set on a strange object protruding from under Sweetie’s pillow. “Hey, what’s that?”

“What?” Scoot asked, sitting up. She followed her friend’s gaze to the pillow, and lifted it up. “It’s a book,” she said.

“Looks like a diary,” Apple Bloom commented, noticing the doodled hearts and fluffy stickers. “We’d better put it back.” But when she faced Scootaloo, there was a devious grin on the Pegasus' face. “No… No, no, no. We’re not readin’ Sweetie Belle’s diary!”

The expression on Scootaloo’s face faded as an offended look took over. “I didn’t say that!” she defended.

Apple Bloom was unamused. “Oh really? Then put it back.”

“Pffft, no prob.” Scootaloo glanced at the book in her hooves, then back at Apple Bloom. She repeated these actions for a good half minute before begging, “Come ooooon, how often does this chance come along? Sweetie’s always around us, think of all the cool things that could happen!”

“What could possibly happen from readin’ her diary?” Apple Bloom questioned.

“Well, maybe she writes about what she likes and stuff! Yeah, and we could, uh, get that stuff for her!” Scootaloo pleaded, but Apple Bloom was not pleased. “Okay, okay. But what if she’s, like, sad about something? You know how quiet she is. We could help her out with it. I mean, what kind of friends would we be if we weren’t there for her?”

“Put. It. Back.” Apple Bloom commanded, her mind having been made up. “Now.”

Scootaloo sighed. “Oh, alright.” She tucked the lavender book into the pillow sheet. When she looked back at Apple Bloom, she noticed a distraught expression on the farm filly’s face. “You okay?”

“Eh, yeah… I’m fine, it’s just…” She twitched her legs awkwardly. “Ya remember those juice boxes we had earlier… It may have been a bad idea to drink that third one…”

“Whatever, you know where the bathroom is,” Scootaloo said, pointing her hoof to the door.

Apple Bloom shook her head. “T’ain’t nothin’, Ah can hold it.” She stood up straight, her legs threatening to buckle. Her lips quavered as beads of sweat began to roll down her face. Scootaloo noted how red her friend’s face had gotten, and Apple Bloom looked as if she were about to burst. “Alright, I’ll be right back!”

The tense little filly fled the room, leaving a puzzled Scootaloo to herself. “Great. Now I’m really bored.” Suddenly, a certain poofy book caught the corner of her eye. A mischievous smile crossed her face. “Well… Maybe just a little peek…”