"That's all for today, everypony! Class dismissed!" said Cheerilee, well...cheerily! The students began to put away their belongings and head for the exit, creating a slow funnel towards the door.
Near the back of the class, Apple Bloom poked Scootaloo with a hoof. "Hey, Scoot, are ya comin' by the clubhouse today?"
Scootaloo blinked a couple times as she put a book away in her desk, then turned to face her friends. "O' course I am. Why wouldn't I?"
"Well," began Sweetie Belle, putting a forehoof to her own mouth as she stood with a silly grin on her face. "We've been a little worried about you. After all, you have been coming to school every day lately."
Apple Bloom giggled. "And that's sooo not like you. Is somethin' goin' on?"
Rolling her eyes, Scoot exhaled a hefty sigh. She always had to deal with her other classmates teasing her for missing school, and the teacher ragging on her for her delinquency, too...now her friends were making fun of her for actually showing up? She simply shook her head. "Nah, nothin's goin' on. I guess I'm just more inspired to learn ever since we started searchin' for our Cutie Marks together."
Sweetie giggled softly, then nodded. Apple Bloom covered her mouth with a hoof, stifling her own laughter, and simply began to walk towards the front of the class. "See ya' t'morrah, Miss Cheerilee!" she said as she passed the teacher's desk, the orange pegasus and white unicorn in tow.
"Have a good evening," said the cheerful teacher pony, following the girls out the door and shutting it behind them when the classroom was empty.
Once outside the school, Scootaloo propped one foot on her scooter as she fastened her helmet. She grinned wickedly, looking back to her friends. "I'll race ya ta Headquarters!" Continuing to smirk, she shoved off with her free foot, starting down the road.
"Hey, that ain't fair!" Apple Bloom yelled after her fuchsia-haired friend. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle had an idea of her own, and quickly chased Scootaloo, making a flying leap and just barely being able to wrap her forehooves around Scoot's waist, using her grip to pull herself closer until she could stand on the back of the scooter, hooves still clinging to her pegasus friend. Scootaloo blushed deeply at the sudden very close contact, but didn't voice any complaint. As the two began to speed up, Apple Bloom yelled again, barely audible in the distance, "Thayut's cheatin', too!", and started to canter after them.
It wasn't long before Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had lost Apple Bloom in the distance, and Scoot kept on motoring towards Sweet Apple Acres, slowing down for nothing. The faster she went, the tighter Sweetie Belle squeezed her, and she indulged in the feelings this sensation brought. When they were within sight of the treehouse, however, she finally began to slow the scooter down, stopping with grace just a few steps away from the ladder. As she got off and began to unfasten her helmet, she turned to the unicorn filly and smirked. "Pretty clever thinkin', Sweetie Belle. No way I could outrun you if yer on the scooter!" But then her smirk faded, her mouth dropped, and her eyes widened, as Sweetie took her chance and ran up the ladder while Scoot was still undoing her helmet and parking her scooter.
"I win!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle triumphantly from the door of the clubhouse, grinning so widely her eyes shut.
Scootaloo bounded up the ladder and pounced on Sweetie Bell, chuckling. "You sure did! Like I said, very clever. But I won't letcha have two in a row!" And with that, she began tickling Sweetie Belle, who, already helpless on her back, began to squirm and giggle hard.
"Eek! Hee hee hee, ahhh!" she yelled, trying to tickle back but not able to focus much, her hooves mostly flailing. "O-okay, ahaha! I give...I give up!" She was laughing in earnest now, her forehooves dropping to the floor.
Unrelenting in her tickle-assault, Scootaloo smirked. "So I win this round, then? Say it! Tell me I win, or I'll keep tickling you till Apple Bloom gets here!"
"Aha...ha...eeee! Okay, okay! Y-you...you win...you win this round!" Sweetie Belle managed to say, and then the tickling stopped, and she lay there panting for a moment while a proud Scootaloo stood up, walking over to sit next to her purple-and-pink-haired unicorn friend. When she was able to speak again, Sweetie smiled and rolled her eyes. "Just like your idol, Rainbow Dash. You always have to have the last laugh, don't you?" She giggled to show she was just teasing.
"Yup! That's right, I try to be as much like Rainbow Dash as possible!" Scoot said with a grin. "An' that includes winning!" She leaned over Sweetie's face and stuck her tongue out.
And that was the moment a sweat-drenched, panting Apple Bloom made it up the ladder. Looking into the CMC Headquarters, she chuckled. "Oh, ah see now! So this's why y'all were in such a rush." She smirked and winked playfully.
Scootaloo blushed fiercely and quickly back up from Sweetie Belle, putting on her best innocent grin. "Oh, n-no no, Apple Bloom, see, we were just..."
As Scoot faltered for words, Sweetie Belle finished the sentence, "having a tickle-fight," not seeming phased in the least. "Scootaloo won, of course." Then she stuck her tongue out at the orange pegasus pony, who continued to grin, shrugging.
"Ah see," said Apple Bloom, narrowing her eyes at Scootaloo and continuing to smirk for a moment, then returning to a normal smile. "Weyull, we're all here...what should we do ta try 'n' find our Cutie Marks t'day?"
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both shrugged, watching Apple Bloom intently. "It's yer clubhouse," said Scoot, "and you came up with the name, so technically, yer the leader. 'Sides, I don't have any ideas at th' moment..."
Apple Bloom pondered for a moment, slowly developing a wicked grin. "Weyull then, since yer such a fan of studyin' now, Scoot, howzabout we head over ta Twilight's and do a research project?"
Scootaloo grimaced, forcing back a groan that wanted to push through her throat. Usually, she would have taken the lead at this point, pushing the CMC in a more action-oriented direction, but today, Apple Bloom's teasing got the better of her. "Alright, sure, jus' make sure there's some lab work involved so we can blow stuff up."
Apple Bloom blinked a couple of times, staring. Then she shrugged. "Sure thing! Can do," she said, turning and heading out the door.
Having been watching the whole time quietly, Sweetie Belle looked up to Scootaloo and tilted her head. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong, Scoot? I don't mean any offense, but, this doesn't seem like your kind of thing."
"I'm sure," said Scootaloo, nodding resolutely. Though inside, she was very unsure. Is this the reason I've been coming to school so often? Just to see...and interact with...
Sweetie Belle smiled sweetly and nodded. "Okay then!" The pink-and-purple-haired unicorn began to exit the treehouse, soon followed by the fuchsia-haired pegasus pony.
Several hours, many explosions, and zero Cutie Marks later, the three friends walked out the front door of Twilight's library, giggling too each other even as they continued to cough up smoke. "Weyull, ah guess chemistry isn't our special talent," said Apple Bloom with a chuckle.
"No, I'd suppose not," replied Sweetie Belle, smiling gently.
"I hafta admit it was fun ta give it a go, though!" Scoot said, grinning at her friends.
Then Apple Bloom's eyes widened, and she brought her forehooves to her face nervously. "Ohmygarsh, it's gettin' late! I'd better hurry back ta the farm, or ah'll miss dinner! It was a blast, you guys; see ya t'morrah!" The yellow earth pony smiled and offered a wave, then took off towards Sweet Apple Acres at a solid canter.
Sweetie Belle blinked, then looked herself over. "Oh no!" she gasped. "My house is closer, but if Rarity sees me this dirty, she'll throw a fit!"
Scootaloo chuckled lightly, then started walking down a town road. "Yeah, I sometimes forget what a neat-freak your sister is. C'mon, I'll walk ya to the spa, I'm headed in that direction anyway, and it's on yer way home, right? Why not stop in and ask for a quick bath? I'm sure they won't mind helpin' a pretty lil' unicorn look her best."
Sweetie Belle blushed at the praise, turning to follow Scootaloo. "R-Really? You think so?"
Grinning widely to hide the feeling of being flustered, Scoot responded, "O' course!" She wasn't sure whether Sweetie was asking if she honestly thought the spa ponies would help out, or if Scoot thought she was pretty.
"Yay! You're such a great friend, Scoot," said Sweetie Belle, smiling so widely her eyes shut and leaning in to hug Scootaloo, who barely managed to stop walking in time not to trip them both.
Uncharacteristically, Scoot actually stopped fully, and hugged back. "You, too, Sweetie Belle."
After that, they continued on their way to the spa rather uneventfully. When they stopped, Sweetie gave Scoot another quick hug. "Thanks again! See you at school tomorrow, Scootaloo!" Then she dashed into the spa.
Scoot sighed softly to herself, continuing on alone. Yeah, that's definitely why I've been going to school everyday. But how am I gonna tell her how I feel? What if she doesn't like me the same way? The pegasus filly's face curved into a frown as she walked, trying to sort things out in her mind. That's when the idea struck her, causing her to perk up noticeably and even flap her wings a bit. Of course! I'll go ask Rainbow Dash what to do! Oh, but it's getting late...she's probably snoozing already... Well, I can always get up early before school tomorrow. If anyone knows how to handle a situation like this, it's gotta be Rainbow Dash! She nodded to herself affirmatively and continued home humming happily, completely forgetting she had left her scooter at the CMC Headquarters.
"Hey! Hey, Rainbow Dash, wake up!" Scoot's voice came from the ground below Rainbow Dash's cloud-house. She didn't want to be rude and just fly herself up there.
"Mnph...urgh." Dash rolled over, whining a bit. "Go 'way. Shift doesn't start fer 'nother hour."
Scootaloo frowned, then jumped with all her might, beating her little wings as fast as she could, until she reached the cloud-house, where she landed, panting a little. It wasn't that her wings were weak; she just hadn't practiced flying all that much, given her scooter took less energy to propel. "Rainbow Dash! It's me, Scootaloo. I have a problem and I need yer help!"
Rainbow Dash rolled over again, slowly lifting her head with a groan and bed-mane. "Alright, alright, I'm up. C'mon up here, Scoot."The blue weather pony did tend to be grouchy at being woken up, but she was kinder than she liked to let on, and she couldn't just leave Scoot hanging.
Smiling triumphantly, Scootaloo happily jumped from cloud to cloud until she was next to Rainbow Dash. "Thanks so much, Rainbow Dash! You're already the coolest pony in Ponyville, but I think you're even 20% cooler for taking the time to talk to me!"
Rainbow couldn't help but chuckle a little, reaching out to ruffle Scoot's hair, then patting her bed of clouds with a forehoof. "Have a seat an' tell Dashie what's up."
The orange pegasus pony hopped up onto the cloud-bed and plopped her rear down unceremoniously, her hind legs extending beyond her front ones as she sat in a rather adorable position. "Weeell... Y'see, there's this girl I like. But I dunno how she feels about me. And I wanna tell her, but I don't wanna ruin our friendship, yanno?"
Blinking a few times, Rainbow Dash blushed and grinned nervously, wondering if Scoot was talking about her. "Um...yeah, that's happened to me. So who's the lucky filly?"
"Really? I was a lil' worried that since everypony likes you, you might never have had that problem!" Scoot giggled a bit and stuck her tongue out at Rainbow Dash, then blushed heavily, looking down and whispering, "Um, it's Sweetie Belle."
Dash sighed in relief hearing it wasn't her. Celestia knows, I've got enough to keep up with, considering both Pinkie and Fluttershy... Which might help explain why she was always so tired. Then she chuckled a bit and shrugged. "Well, Fluttershy's not exactly an easy read, yanno. Making things work with her took a lot of effort. But, about your problem...Sweetie Belle's exactly what she sounds like, a sweet lil' filly. I doubt she'd like ya any less as a friend just by knowin' yer crushin' on her. I'd say, just be up front with 'er and tell 'er how ya feel. Who knows, ya might get a girlfriend out of it!"
"Ya think so?" Scootaloo looked up at the older blue filly with a seriousness she rarely showed, as well as admiration. "Well, if you think I should, then I will." She nodded firmly, smiled, and hugged the rainbow-haired pegasus pony. "Rainbow Dash...you're my hero." She placed a quick kiss on Dash's cheek, then let go and jumped down one cloud level. "Thanks for the advice!" Scoot now sported a determined grin.
Rainbow Dash let Scootaloo hug her with her own hooves outstretched, then winked to the smaller orange filly as she leapt down. "Lots o' luck to ya. Go get 'er, girl." Dash smiled genuinely and winked. Scoot nodded, then leapt off the cloud-house, flying quite a distance on her way down. Dash rolled over and went back to sleep, and Scootaloo headed off to Sweet Apple Acres to retrieve her scooter.
That evening at the CMC clubhouse, the three friends were working quietly together on an arts and crafts project. Scootaloo had once again surprised the others by acquiescing to a Cutie Mark quest that wasn't adventurous or action-packed.
Apple Bloom had gone for more supplies, leaving Sweetie and Scoot alone in the treehouse. Scoot saw her opportunity and took it. "So, um, Sweetie Belle...I kinda...wanted to tell ya somethin'."
Sweetie Belle stopped painting the cutout she was working on and looked up, smiling. "Sure, Scootaloo. What is it? You can tell me anything."
"Eheh," Scootaloo chuckled nervously, setting down her own clay sculpture and placing a hoof behind her head, smiling and blushing. Dash said to be as straightforward as possible... "Well...I like you." There, I said it. She felt her heart begin to pound fast within her chest, her muscles tightening with adrenaline as she awaited the response.
"I like you too, silly-filly! We're all friends here!" replied a still-smiling Sweetie Belle, placing a hoof on Scoot's shoulder, obviously misunderstanding.
Scootaloo sighed heavily, frowning a little as she turned her head away. This isn't as easy as Dash said it'd be... Her heart still racing, Scoot turned back to face Sweetie and continued, "No. I mean I like you." She leaned in and planted a kiss on Sweetie's lips.
Sweetie blinked and went wide-eyed with surprise, but she didn't resist the kiss -- in fact, after a moment, her other front hoof came to Scoot's shoulder, and she kissed back. Then she withdrew in embarrassment, her face red as a cherry. She quickly turned away from Scootaloo, who furrowed her brows and bit her lip. "Th-that was too much, wasn't it. I-I'm sorry, Sweetie, I..."
Shaking her head lightly, the white unicorn replied, "No, it's okay, Scoot. I just need a little time to think, okay?" She turned back to look at Scootaloo earnestly.
"Okay, I unnerstand," said Scoot shakily, feeling her heart sink in her chest like a stone as she stared blankly at the floor.
"Th-thanks, Scoot." Sweetie Belle kissed her friend's cheek, then stood and headed for the door. "I'm...gonna go home a little early today." And with that proclamation, she went out the door and down the ladder.
Moments later, Apple Bloom climbed up into the treehouse. Once she had set down the supplies she carried, she looked over to Scootaloo, blinking. "Sweetie said she was leavin' fer t'day...what happened while ah was gone?"
Scootaloo shook her head. "I don't wanna talk about it." She grabbed the clay she had been molding at went at with renewed vigor, perhaps even over-focus.
Apple Bloom could sense the tension between her two closest friends, but she didn't press the issue. She knew they would have to work it out on their own.
