What Comes Next

Sweetie Belle paced the hall. She had seen Apple Bloom get angry before, but never like this. Now all Sweetie and Scootaloo could do was wait to see if their friends were okay.

Scootaloo had picked out a book on sculpture from the art section. After all, that was the reason for their visit. She sat quietly reading it at a desk near the back of the library, oblivious to Sweetie Belle.

Rarity was certainly going to be furious when they returned. With nowhere else to meet, the boutique had become the temporary Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse, but with Apple Bloom picking fights, Rarity was sure to ground her or something.

Sweetie Belle heard the sound of a door closing upstairs. She quickly trotted to the main desk, where she saw Lyra descending the stairs. She waved, Lyra nodded, both smiled.

Lyra trotted around the main desk, sitting down on the short stool behind it. "Hey Sweetie Belle, Spike and Apple Bloom are gonna be fine, Twilight's taking care of them." Sweetie stared at the floor, the good news did not seem to cheer her up. "Is something on your mind?"

"Well, yeah, I kinda have a problem, and I think Rarity is mad at me." Sweetie Belle continued staring at the floor. "I'm kind of afraid to talk about it though."

"Is it something bad? If you have a problem you should probably tell your parents." Lyra stepped off of the stool, motioning for Sweetie to follow her, she trotted to a small circle of cushions in the youth section.

"I'm afraid to tell Mom and Dad. Rarity said it was wrong." The two sat down beside each other.

"Okay, I'll try to help if I can. I'm not great at giving advice though." Lyra said, more than a little confused.

"There is this pony in my class that I like, I gave them a card on hearts and hooves day and made them my special somepony. It's somepony I've had a crush on for a long time." Sweetie's stomach tightened, this was harder than she anticipated. "Rarity told me this morning that I'm not supposed to like, uh, that kind of pony."

"That's a really complicated subject Sweetie. Why ask me about it?"

"Well, you and Applejack are the only ponies I know that would know what I'm talking about."

Lyra's confusion only grew as she began to piece together what Sweetie Belle was saying. "I think I see where this is going. Is this pony another filly?"

"Mmhmm." Sweetie Belle mumbled as she slowly nodded her head. She was sure that Lyra was not going to judge her, but she closed her eyes, afraid of how she would respond.

"Well Sweetie, a lot of ponies think liking somepony of the same gender is wrong. If you really like this filly then you are going to have to deal with that." Lyra spoke slowly, unsure of how to continue.

"Rarity said that it's a phase. She said that I'm confused and I'll get over it." Sweetie opened her eyes. Lyra's voice was much softer than her sister's. She felt a bit more free to speak. "It doesn't feel like a phase. And I have liked her for a really long time."

"Well, Rarity has a point. For lots of fillies it is just a phase. But for others it isn't. My parents told me that I was going through a phase but I guess that phase never ended." Lyra chuckled. "It might be a phase or it might not. You are still young, you have plenty of time to figure out who you are. And when you do finally get it figured out then you can deal with things like what others think of you."

Sweetie Belle was quiet. For a long minute she stared at the wall, contemplating what Lyra had said.

A lot of fillies go through phases… You are too young to think about those things.

Rarity and Lyra had said nearly the same thing. Why did it sound so much more hopeful coming from Lyra?

"Lyra, if I'm really too young, then why does this seem so important?"

"Well, it IS important. But this is one of those important things that you can't be told. You just have to figure it out as you go." Lyra smiled, she now knew what to say. What the filly at her side was waiting to hear. "It's just like your cutie mark. Everypony has to figure it out for themselves."

"Okay, I think I understand now." Sweetie Belle looked up with a weak smile. "Thank you Lyra." She leaned into Lyra, a hug to thank her. "By the way, you left that book you were reading on the floor. You should probably go get it before Twilight notices. You know how she is about being organized."

Lyra stood, shaking the stiffness out of her legs she said, "Thanks, I'll go get it. I hope this little talk helped." With a small smile to the filly, she trotted off.

Sweetie Belle watched as Lyra disappeared into the next room. A few seconds later, returning to the counter, she laid the thick textbook out and continued reading.

Rolling over on the cushions, Sweetie Belle rested her head in the warmth of the pillow Lyra had been using. She closed her eyes and whispered, "If they are trying to make different points, why are they both telling me the same thing."