I stand down the road from Fluttershy's house, staring directly at the orange sunset.
"Okay, what now? That surely could have went better", I say to no one in particular while trying to keep myself from crying. I had rejected ponies in the past, but I would have never expected that being rejected hurt this much. I wish I hadn't fallen for her; I would have been spared much grief. She had let me inside, there had been some small talk, and then I had told her how I felt.
I cried the rest of the way home. I no longer cared about how other ponies saw me.
--Day Two--
I had injured our fragile friendship, and there was nothing I could do to change that right now. She wasn't actively unkind towards me, she clearly wasn't nearly as comfortable as before. I would normally ask Fluttershy for her advice in a situation like this, except as my emotions for her had caused the problem at had, there was nothing I could do. I wonder who else I could go to, who else would listen to me talk about my problems. Twilight would listen, but likely would not have any advice. Pinkie would never tell anyone what I told her, but her perennially upbeat attitude could get on my nerves. Applejack would definitely have honest advice, but I didn't want to go all the way to Sweet Apple Acres. Finally, Rainbow Dash's idea of good advice would be definitely differ from mine. I settled on going to see Pinkie. At least I could get something to eat there.
--Sugarcube Corner--
Pinkie was easy to locate; she was behind the counter.
"Pinkie, can we talk, preferably in private?"
"Sure!" Pinkie smiled at me and led me to her room so we could talk.
"Pinkie, I confessed my love to Fluttershy yesterday. She rejected me and now I don't think she wants to even be my friend", I confess, almost in tears.
"Well, this is quite the pickle! I think Fluttershy still wants to be your friend, however, things will likely be awkward for a while, and may never return to the way they were."
"Pinkie, do you have any experience with this kind of situation?" I am genuinely curious, I know very little about her life prior to fairly recently.
"Yes." Pinkie's normally upbeat demeanor vanishes briefly.
"Well, thanks for your help, Pinkie!"
I leave without making a sound. I head back towards my house and am hit by a speeding orange blur, which I identify as Scootaloo.
"Have you seen Sweetie Belle lately?" Her expression is full of worry.
"I last saw her this morning. She was asleep."
"That's interesting. I haven't been able to find her or Apple Bloom anywhere. Nopony has had a good idea of where they are either! I've checked almost everywhere in Ponyville, and even some places that aren't in Ponyville, like Zecora's house!"
"Scootaloo, dear, have you thought that maybe, they don't want to be found right now?" I'm not entirely sure what made me think that might be the case, but it seemed plausible. It just seemed a little strange that both of them would disappear at the same time...it just seems suspicious.
"Hmm... Why would that be the case?"
I don't have a satisfactory response to that.
Scootaloo sees that and leaves, likely to continue her search. As she leaves, I take one last glance at her and notice that over the past year, the "Cutie Mark Crusaders" as they call themselves, have really matured quite a lot. It feels like just yesterday that Sweetie Belle was born sometimes, yet other times it feels like forever. I, having nothing better to do, decide to follow Scootaloo. She's made me curious, I must admit. I'm sure it's just something simple like Scootaloo forgetting to check Sugarcube Corner, but it will be a good distraction at least. I quitely sneak around, attempting not to be noticed.
"I know you've been following me, Rarity. You're not nearly as stealthy as you think." Rather surprised to have been noticed, I stumble backwards into Fluttershy.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, Fluttershy. "
"Uhh, there's no need to apologize---it was my fault." Fluttershy runs off, clearly embarrassed.
I turn my attention back to Scootaloo. We've been searching for nearly an hour and no sign of them.
"There! I see them!" Enthusiastically, Scootaloo starts pointing at them. I notice that her wings are fluttering a little, which is kind of cute.
I am aware that I've went full circle, returning to Sugarcube Corner.
They're having a conversation, but I'm too far away to tell what they're saying. I approach slowly, behind Scootaloo. I overhear a small amount of conversation.
"You promise you won't tell anyone?" you hear your sister say.
"Of course not! That you---" Apple Bloom is cut off by Sweetie Belle putting her hoof over Apple Bloom's mouth.
"She's right there!"
Scootaloo heads over to them with a smile on her face, oblivious to the fact that they were keeping a secret from her. "What's up? I couldn't find you two anywhere in Ponyville!"
Sweetie Belle thinks for a second before saying anything. "We were planning stuff for your birthday!"
This is probably a lie, as it's still fairly far from Scootaloo's birthday, or at least I think so.
Scootaloo seems to accept this and the three of them depart. I head the other way, towards my house.
I find that the road to my house is currently being blocked by Rainbow Dash.
"What brings you here? You don't normally come visit me", I say, more than a little confused.
"Did something happen to Fluttershy yesterday? She seems a little...off. I figured that if anypony would know, it would be you", she says.
"Yesterday, I confessed my love to Fluttershy. She didn't reciprocate."
"Okay." Rainbow Dash's expression changes slightly. "Well, see you around." She flies off, leaving me alone. I head inside to go rest. Tonight, Sweetie Belle and her friends are supposed to stay at my house. I'll need all the rest I can get.
Sweetie Belle arrives with her friends earlier than I had expected. The three of them quickly start to head upstairs. I stop Sweetie Belle and lead her into the kitchen to talk.
"What was that about?" She's clearly agitated.
"What were you talking about with Apple Bloom earlier? I doubt that it was actually about Scootaloo's birthday", I say a bit more forcefully than intended.
"You're right...Can I trust you?"
I hesitate slightly before responding.
"Yes, you can trust me. I didn't tell anyone about the time you set my kitchen on fire."
I see Scootaloo standing in the doorway, but I don't pay her any attention.
"Okay, I'll tell you." Sweetie Belle looks distinctly uncomfortable with this. " I have a crush on Scootaloo! I didn't want her to know and I wanted Apple Bloom's advice!"
She looks much better now that she's said that.
Scootaloo rushes out of the room, clearly surprised. Sweetie Belle runs after her.
What have I done?! Have I ruined their friendship?
I am a fool for not figuring it out.
I am about to leave the Cutie Mark Crusaders to resolve this on their own, when Apple Bloom comes down the stairs. She seems quite sad about something.
I decide to go talk to her.
"Apple Bloom, dear, why are you so down?"
"Now, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo won't have any time for me." I am caught off guard by her statement.
"Now dear, what do you mean?"
"Ah mean that the two of them have totally fallen for each other!"
"What?!" This was not what I expected. They really have grown up, I realize. I try to calm down before speaking again. "Apple Bloom, you can still be friends. Just because the two of them feel that way about each other, it doesn't mean that there's no place for you anymore. You three still call yourselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, don't you? As long as you three all want to be friends, you will."
Apple Bloom appears to have been cheered up a little bit.
"Okay, fine. But I'll stay down here for now. Ah don't want to interrupt anything."
I offered to make her a cup of tea. She agreed.
For a while, we sat there sipping our tea. Eventually, Sweetie Belle came down to get her.
"Let's all try something together! You can decide!" Grabbing her friend, Sweetie Belle ran upstairs again.
I'm rather glad that this worked out well.
Well, at least I think this worked out well.
