Chapters Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo made their way through the park alongside its calmly flowing river. Sweetie happily bouncing around with a picnic basket in her mouth, while Scoots followed close behind, looking bemused at the young unicorn’s antics. With Apple Bloom home sick, the two fillies had been at a loss for what to do that morning, but when they saw what a beautiful day it was shaping up to be, they had packed a lunch and headed out to the park for a picnic.
They headed toward a small cluster of trees at the park’s edge - not 150 yards from the Everfree Forest - that provided privacy and shade. The two had been going there together for years, long before they had met AB. With the distractions that crusading offered, the two hadn’t had an opportunity to go for a long time, but the spot still held a fond feeling of nostalgia for both of them.
The two had actually met as young foals messing about on the playground. When they hit it off, Rarity and Scootaloo’s foster mother arranged a play-date, and the two had been best of friends since. They had their first picnic there under the tree, and soon after and it became a bit of a tradition. For a while, they would have a picnic every weekend. Then Apple Bloom had come along, and while the two girls in no way resented the way the group had changed since AB’s inclusion, it was rather nice to revisit something from a simpler time. From before cutie marks or bullying, before life had gotten so much more complex.
In the past few months, they had both realized that their expansive, try-everything tactics for cutie mark acquisition made little sense. They had changed approaches, and decided to stick to things that they already showed promise in. Sweetie Belle was focusing on her magic and her singing and had recently enrolled in lessons, while Scootaloo was spending a lot of time on her scooter and practicing her flying with Rainbow Dash.
“-and the Rarity says she’s gonna take me into Canterlot this weekend to see Neigh Miserables . Oh, I’m so excited!” Sweetie exclaimed with an impressive voice crack.
Scootaloo looked down, hiding her face in shadows in an attempt to obscure her growing blush. It’s just not fair the Sweetie gets to be so adorable! she thought to herself. “Thats awesome, Sweetie. RD is planning on getting tickets for a Wonderbolts Derby too. I’m pretty psyched for that.”
“Oh wow Scoots, that is awesome!”
“I know! Rainbow even says she’s gonna let me do some betting.” Sweetie gave her a look. “What? Fleetfoot always wins. Rainbow says so.”
“If you say so,” Sweetie responded doubtfully. “Anyways, we’re here.” The spot really was peaceful. The green leaves filtered out most of the sunlight leaving only soft green rays of light that gave the place a calm and otherworldly feel. The quiet rustling of the leaves harmonized perfectly with the slow murmur of the creek and the ground below their feet filled their noses with a thick, earthy musk. She dropped the picnic basket at the base of a huge, ancient tree, and set about clearing a space for the two to sit down. Using her forelegs to dig down at ground level, she was unabashedly exposing her rump to Scootaloo, a sight that the pegasus was trying her very hardest to avoid looking at. Since when do I think about Sweetie that way? Since when is it so hard to spend time with one of my best friends?
“All set!” Sweetie opened up the basket and began pulling out all of the food that they had brought with them. This included some delicious zap-apple jam sandwiches along with some cool Sweet Apple Acres cider. And of course for dessert they had packed some famous Sugarcube Corner cupcakes. No picnic was complete without some cupcakes.
“This looks great.” Scoots said, digging in as soon as the food left the basket. Workouts with Rainbow were hard work, and lately she had been in a perpetual state of hunger. Sweetie sat down next to her and took small, dainty bites in stark contrast to the ferocity with which her friend was devouring her food.
Sweetie couldn’t help but think it was just a little bit cute, the pint-sized pegasus devouring her meal with the enthusiasm of ten full-grown stallion. Ugh, stop it , she mentally berated herself. She wasn’t sure when her emotions toward her oldest friend had changed, but she wanted them back the way they were. Having a crush made things so… complicated. Is that what this is then? A crush? , she asked herself mentally. I guess so. I just think of her in an entirely new light, and I have been feeling differently about her for a few months now. Even things that are just as simple as eating sandwich. If it was another pony doing it - even AB - I wouldn’t give it a second glance. But when it’s Scoots, it becomes the most interesting thing and I could just watch for hours. It just makes me feel… happy. I feel happy and light like I could just float away and I just want to sing! I want nothing more than to spend hours and hours just talking to her. Should I tell her? But what if she doesn’t feel the same way? But what if she does? Either way, doesn’t she have a right to know? It is my secret, but if she is uncomfortable with the way I’m thinking about her, she does have a right to know. I need to tell her. It’s gonna be hard but I have to do it. Maybe not today, but I’ll have to eventually.
She realized she was blushing a deep crimson and was glad for the distraction that eating provided. Hopefully Scootaloo hadn’t noticed. Sweetie really intended to tell Scoots about her feelings, she just needed more time to sort out what she was going to say. Saying something like that was big, it could change their friendship forever, so she wanted to deliberate to make sure she did it right. She lifted the sandwich in her magic using her newly refined levitation skills and returned to taking small, elegant bites.
Scootaloo couldn’t help but be intrigued by the manner in which the unicorn was now eating her sandwich. It just looked so classy. Heh. I bet she learned that from Rarity , she thought. Wow, though. She really does look cute, especially with her cheeks all red like that. I wonder what she’s thinking about... Hey, snap out of it, brain! I really shouldn’t be thinking about her like this. She’s one of my best friends for Celestia’s sake! Still, these past few months I just haven’t been able to get her out of my head. She’s beautiful and upbeat and kind and I’ve known her for so long, it feels like we should be more than friends. So yep, that’s it... I have feelings for Sweetie Belle. I just… I can’t fight it. Whenever I’m with her I feel better. I forget how much trouble I have flying, or how bad I did on my last math test, or even the fact that I STILL don’t have my cutie mark. When I’m with her I just feel happy; and it doesn’t matter if I fail at everything. There’s no way I could ever tell her, though. She could never feel the same way about me, and I’d just be hurting our friendship. I really don’t want that to happen, my friends are pretty much the most important thing in my life these days. Besides, she probably doesn’t even think that way about other fillies at all, she seems like the type that would go for colts. It’ll be hard, but this is something I just have to live without, I’m better off not risking it.
Scootaloo looked up from her finished sandwich and saw that Sweetie Belle was looking at her. She looked back down, trying and avoid an awkward silence but that only made things more awkward. Scootaloo could feel Sweetie’s eyes in the top of her head as she tried frantically to think of something to say that would release the tangible tension in the air.
“Sooo… that was a really tasty sandwich, huh?” She said tentatively. Sweetie, glad for the distraction, nodded enthusiastically.
“Oh yeah, really good. Umm… and we still have umm… cupcakes! Yeah! Pinkie said this batch was especially delicious.”
“Oh great. Haha…” Scootaloo reached down on the platter, grabbed a cupcake, and stuffed it in her mouth so she could avoid embarrassing herself by saying more stupid things. It really was quite good. This picnic had gone from fun and relaxing to awkward and stressful in nearly no time at all. She chewed the cupcake while carefully trying to pick a sentence that might move the conversation into less awkward territory. “How’s your singing going?”
The unicorn’s eyes lit up as she was reminded of her passion. “It’s going perfectly!” She said excitedly. “My teacher has just given me a whole bunch of new songs to work on and I just love all of them. I really feel like I’m improving.”
“That’s really good to hear, Sweetie. Do you think… do you think you could maybe sing one of them for me?”
Sweetie Belle visibly tightened up. “I don’t know… none of them are really ready for a performance yet…”
“Oh come on, this isn’t a performance. No one else is watching. You’re just singing for your… friend.”
“I don’t know, Scootaloo.”
“ Pleeeeaase?” Scootaloo turned on her best puppy dog eyes. They were nowhere near as good as Sweetie’s, but still hard to resist.
“Alright fine. But if it’s not as good as you’re expecting, I warned you.”
“Your voice is amazing, It’s gonna be great.” Scootaloo said reassuringly.
“If you say so…” Sweetie cleared her throat and started singing a slow simple melody, her voice startlingly rich and mature. Scootaloo could only watch in awe as the unicorn shyly began her song. It was one of the most beautiful things the pegasus had ever heard.
Lunchtime at Ponyville Elementary School was a hectic time. There were colts playing hoofball, and fillies playing hopscotch on crudely drawn chalk courts. As Sweetie Belle walked over to her regular spot beneath a tree with the other Crusaders, she briefly considered joining both groups, knowing that it would be better than facing the torture of explaining her appearance to her friends. Well, I can’t hide forever. If I avoid them now, I’ll just end up answering their questions later. Hesitantly, she sat down down in her normal spot next to Scootaloo, and busied herself with taking her lunch out of her saddlebags.
After leaving the boutique that morning she had felt beautiful, the makeup on her face on her face had made her eyes pop, and even though she was late to school, she had been walking along happily. But now, the makeup felt like an uncomfortable mask, and her shiny, straight hair felt as if it was weighing her down. I guess I really failed to impress Scoots, she thought. She looked just as weirded out as everyone else. In hindsight, she realized that it might have been good to wait for Rarity’s help before leaving the house. Her older sister certainly had more experience with beautification than she did.
“So, Sweetie, what’s up with your new look?” Scootaloo asked her.
“Umm… well… I just wanted to try something different.” She blushed. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life.
“Did your big sister help you?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Oh no, I did this myself.”
“Hmm, well that sure explains a lot.” Apple Bloom looked back at the clock hanging over the schoolhouse door. “Well shoot, Ah’ve gotta go. Ah told Miss Cheerilee Ah’d come in during lunch so she could help me with mah algebra.”
“Oh. If you want me to, I can help you, too,” Sweetie Belle offered. After all, she was one of the best in the class when it came to math. Her test scores were only rivaled by Twist and Silver Spoon.
“That sounds great, Sweetie. Ah could really use all the help Ah can get.”
“Hey what about me?” Scootaloo asked. “I could totally help you get your math grades up!”
“Heh, no offense, Scoots,” Apple Bloom laughed, “but Sweetie’s grades are just a mite higher.”
“Whatever.” Scootaloo tried to look upset, but she couldn’t help bursting into laughter, and soon all three Crusaders had been infected with a case of the giggles.
“Alright, Ah’ve really got to go now, or else Ah’m gonna be late.” Apple Bloom reluctantly got up and walked back over to the schoolhouse. She disappeared inside, closing the door behind her.
Sweetie watched her go, a feeling of dread rising from the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to spend time alone with Scootaloo, in fact, there wasn’t much she wanted more than to hang out with the object of her affections. She just felt scared. She had already messed up once by trying her hoof at fashion, and was afraid of making another mistake that would only hurt her cause. Alright, you can do this. Start with a little bit of casual conversation.
“So Scoots, how was flying with Dash yesterday?” Phew. That’s a good one. She looked over at Scootaloo and saw that her question had made the other filly uncomfortable. That’s odd. Usually she loves the chance to talk about her time with Rainbow.
“Oh, it was great, we’re finally working on getting me off the ground. Yesterday we worked on gliding.” Scootaloo cringed. “I didn’t do so well though.”
“I’m sure you’ll start doing better. Nopony’s ever perfect on their first try.”
“Thanks Sweetie. I’m just kind of tired of not flying, y’know? Everypony else in our class was flying months ago, and I still can’t even glide.”
“It’s okay. Remember what Rainbow Dash said last year? It doesn’t matter whether you can fly, you’re still the awesomest filly around. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll get it, you just need to put some more time in is all.” Sweetie Belle wasn’t sure if she really believed that. Scootaloo’s wings were very underdeveloped for a pony of her age, and they didn’t show any signs of development. It looked like flying was just never going to be possible for Scoots. Sweetie had to side with Rainbow on this one though, whether or not Scootaloo would ever fly couldn’t change the way she felt, and besides, Scootaloo had certainly inherited the pegasi’s adventurous nature regardless of her flying ability.
“Thanks. I am pretty awesome, aren’t I?” Scootaloo looked much happier after Sweetie’s words of encouragement. “Hey, you know how you offered to help AB with math? Well, I was thinking that maybe you could do the same for me? My math grades might be better than Apple Bloom’s, but they could definitely improve.”
“Of course I could help you!” Sweetie inwardly rejoiced. “What time works for you? I’m free today, Rarity has a big order to fill. You’ll just have to let me stop back by the Boutique to fix… well…” She gestured towards her face and hair.
“Yeah, today works for me. You can just stop by the foster house after you clean yourself up.”
“OK. I should be over at around 5 o’clock.”
A bell chimed and the two frowned as they realized the lunch period was over.
“Come back in, my little ponies! Lunch is over, it’s time to learn.” Cheerilee stood next to the door, gesturing for all the students to come back to the schoolhouse.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sighed, and walked side by side back up towards the school.
Scootaloo never brushed her mane. In fact, it was a point of pride for her that her mane was as unkempt as possible, but there she was sitting in front of the mirror in her bathroom with a brush in her hoof, slowly running it through her mane.
Why am I even doing this? I thought I was trying to get over Sweetie, yet here I am, waiting for her to show up. I’m brushing my mane for pony’s sake! She’s never going to feel the same way about me, so why did I even invite her?
In truth, Scootaloo’s math grades really weren’t that bad. Definitely not bad enough to warrant hiring Sweetie Belle to tutor her, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself from suggesting it. The prospect of time alone with the white unicorn had been so tantalizing, and Sweetie had been being so nice about her flying situation, that she just made up the first thing that came to mind so that they could spend the afternoon together.
With a start, she realized that it was five til five, and Sweetie would be there any minute. She ran out of the bathroom and hastily attempted to clean up the mess in her room. All of her possessions were in piles on the floor, so she hastily began to stuff them into her closet. Sweetie’s room never looks like this, she thought. She keeps all of her stuff super organized all the time.
Once she was satisfied with the condition of her room, she pulled out her homework and laid it out on her desk in preparation for Sweetie’s arrival. A knock came at her door.
“Come in!” Scootaloo said excitedly.
“Oh, hey, Scootaloo. Your mom said I could find you up here.” Sweetie walked into the room, took off her saddlebags, and pulled out her homework.
“She’s not my mom,” Scootaloo said. She knew that Sweetie hadn’t meant anything by it, but she was rather offended when people called any of her foster-mothers her mom. Yes, they cared about her and the other children, but there were so many to deal with, and she was moved around so often, that she often felt like she never formed a deep maternal bond with any of them.
“Oh. Sorry.” Sweetie pulled up a second chair next to desk and grabbed a pencil out of her bag.
“It’s fine,” Scootaloo shrugged. “She’s nice and all, but I don’t feel like I know her well enough to really call her that.”
Sweetie Belle nodded. “I understand. So, what is it that you wanted to work on today?”
“Well, I guess we can work on adding fractions. I’ve been having some trouble with that,” Scootaloo said. That’ll give her something to talk about for a while.
“I’d love to!” Sweetie was instantly excited at the prospect, and let out a cute little voice crack to show it. It’s really cute how much she loves math, Scoots thought, blushing slightly. Well, I guess it is her favorite subject.
“-did you catch that?” Sweetie was gesturing towards her paper where she had written out a few lines. “Aren’t you gonna take notes?”
Aw, shoot! I already know this stuff pretty well, I don’t have to take notes. “Um, yeah. Of course!”
“Excellent!”
The two spent the next hour carefully reviewing the lessons Miss Cheerilee had taught them, and then doing the homework together. Even though she probably would have been able to do it on her own, Scootaloo couldn’t deny that Sweetie had been helpful.
“Well, that’s just about it,” Sweetie got up and began to put her materials back into her saddlebag. “I guess I’ll head home now.”
“I’ll walk you home!” Scootaloo said. That was a good way for her to spend more time with Sweetie.
“Alright, as long as it’s not too much trouble.”
“Of course it isn’t! Let’s go, I want to be back here in time for dinner.” Scootaloo walked out the door and down her stairs followed closely by Sweetie Belle. The sky was a brilliant orange as the two fillies walked out the door and into a gorgeous sunset.
“Wow! It’s beautiful out here.” Sweetie’s eyes were glued to the heavens as she looked around in wonderment.
“The sky looks awesome!”
The two fillies fell into a comfortable silence as they walked slowly through the streets of Ponyville, neither really wanting to say goodbye. Finally, the inevitable happened, and the two arrived at the door to Carousel Boutique.
“Well, I guess this is goodbye.” Sweetie approached the door.
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Scootaloo turned away and started walking back towards her house, but before she got too far, she was interrupted.
“Oh, and Scootaloo? Next time you want to hang out with me, you don’t need to make something up about tutoring, okay?” She disappeared into the shop, and the door shut behind her.
In the Still of the Night
Diamond Tiara stood on her balcony, overlooking Ponyville as the sunset turned the sky a brilliant orange. From her clear vantage point, she could see almost everything that went on in the town below. She saw Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie walking a little closer to each other than any friends had a right to. She saw the Cakes share a kiss when they thought no one was looking. From here, she could see the lives of Ponyville’s citizens when they thought nopony was looking.
It was where she came whenever she had thinking to do.
Ever since that Saturday in the park two days ago, Sweetie Belle had been occupying her thoughts more than she would care to admit. That stupid blank flank, with her adorable poofy mane and voice cracks. All of a sudden, Diamond wasn’t thinking about her in annoyance or detestation. Now, the thought of her was enough to make Diamond’s cheeks flame.
The thing that stuck out most in her mind was the way that blank flank could sing. The high, clear voice ringing out like a bell was forever imprinted in her mind from the moment she saw Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sharing a picnic together.
Scootaloo. That insufferable orange filly. Seeing her and Sweetie Belle together in the park, or talking together at lunch made the pink filly irrationally upset, and she was having trouble figuring out why.
Another question that rang through her head was what had happened to Sweetie’s appearance earlier that day? It had been rather big change to see the filly who was usually so cute dressed up like her older sister, and definitely not in a good way. What had prompted the sudden makeover?
More than anything else, Diamond Tiara was confused. These feelings were something she had never experienced before, she had no doubt that she was thinking about Sweetie Belle romantically, which was a prospect that made her incredibly uncomfortable. No matter how uncomfortable she felt though, Diamond knew she was going to win Sweetie Belle. After all, she wanted the cute little unicorn, and she always got what she wanted.
In her short life, romance wasn’t something she had thought about often, and the few times she had, she had always assumed she would find some rich colt - probably a prince - and settle down in Manehattan or Canterlot. It had never occurred to her that she would fall for the sister of a small-town seamstress, or that she’d fall for a mare at all.
Sweetie Belle didn’t have class, she didn’t have good manners, or a lot of money, so Diamond couldn’t figure out just what had made her change her mind. She had hated Blanky Belle, or at least she had acted like it for the past two years, and all of a sudden she could picture the two of them sitting down to dinner together in a fancy restaurant.
What was it about Sweetie that made her so alluring? She was a nice, pretty, funny, intelligent, and slightly ditzy little unicorn. The only one of those things that Diamond herself valued was beauty, but she knew tons of beautiful ponies. Silver Spoon and several of the other fillies in her class were quite attractive, and that wasn’t even mentioning the stallions.
What was it about Sweetie Belle that made her different from all of those ponies?
Diamond shook her head. She had come out to the balcony to try and clear her head, and in the process she had only confused herself more.
She cast her gaze back over the town and saw two small ponies walking side-by-side towards the east side of town. Two little ponies, one white and one orange.
Oh no. It can’t be. But it could be, because right there on the street below her, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were walking together. She looked closely, neither one of them was talking, but they didn’t look uncomfortable either.
As Diamond watched, Scootaloo turned towards Sweetie and gave her a silent smile. The unicorn smiled sweetly in return, and Diamond could feel a deep rage burning in the pit of her stomach. Scootaloo. That no-good cripple pegasus was walking alone beneath a beautiful sunset with Diamond Tiara’s crush? Who did she think she was?
The two of them continued down the street, thankfully unaware that they were being carefully watched, and proceeded to turn the corner. Even though they were out of sight, Diamond couldn’t get the image out of her head. That poor, ill-mannered pegasus was hanging out with her Sweetie Belle? Not that Sweetie was hers, but she certainly wouldn’t be if Scootaloo got her first.
Diamond fumed silently. I have to do something about this. The more she thought about it though, the more problematic winning Sweetie Belle became.
The biggest problem was that Sweetie Belle hated her.
Well, hated probably wasn’t the right word. Diamond doubted that the kind filly had the capacity to truly hate anyone, but regardless of what you called it, Diamond’s constant bullying of the crusaders meant that Sweetie definitely didn’t consider her a friend. As far as Sweetie Belle knew, all that Diamond was capable of was cruelness, she had never seen the rich filly’s nicer side.
She had to show Sweetie Belle that she could be a kind, caring pony. Not that these were traits she usually associated herself with, but that’s what it was going to take.
I could… compliment her looks? Walk her home after school? Invite her to my house? Give her money? No, all of these are bad. I need to talk to someone who knows what being nice is all about. Hmmm, the nicest fillies I know are probably the Crusaders, those worthless blank flanks. I obviously can’t talk to Sweetie Belle about this, and I can’t talk to Scootaloo, she’s the competition here.
That just leaves… Apple Bloom.
Apple Bloom snored quietly as she slept soundly in bed, her belly full of apple pie, her head full of sweet dreams.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She twitched, and one eye cracked open. What was that?
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She was fully awake now, and actively trying to figure out the source of the mysterious tapping noise. Her ears perked up. It sounded like it was coming from her window.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Apple Bloom rolled over and stuffed her head into her pillow. Is it a tree branch or somethin’? Ah’m so tired. Maybe if Ah ignore it, it’ll just stop.
Tap. Tap Tap.
It didn’t stop. Apple Bloom cringed and prepared herself for the cold outside of her warm bed as she lifted her blanket off. She got up, walked over to the window, and looked outside.
There’s no way. She rubbed her eyes, sure she was seeing things. Yet when she looked again, nothing had changed. What in Equestria is Diamond Tiara doing outside of my window in the middle of the night?
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Diamond Tiara stood below her window throwing pebbles at her window in what appeared to be an attempt to get her attention. Oh Celestia, please tell me this is a dream. Diamond seemed to be mouthing something at her. Apple Bloom looked closely. She could vaguely make out Diamond’s lips spelling out ‘come outside’.
Apple Bloom looked at the clock on her bedside. It read 1:24 AM. There was not a single thing in the world that she wanted more than to return to the warmth and security of her bed.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
She frowned, it wasn’t likely that she would get any sleep with that incessant tapping on her window. Besides, she might have been just a little curious as to what Diamond Tiara was doing outside her window at this ridiculous time of night.
She turned towards her door, and proceeded to leave her room, walk down the stairs, and through the kitchen to the door. Tiptoeing carefully to avoid waking her family, she left her house and stepped onto the creaky slats of her wooden porch.
“There you are, Apple Bloom, I was wondering when you’d come out,” Diamond Tiara approached her from the shadows. “Keeping a pony waiting like that is impolite, you know.”
Apple Bloom groaned. “What are you doing outside of my house in the middle of the night? Ah was trying to sleep!”
“Look, blank flank, I’ll be brief. I really need your help with something.”
“You need mah help?” Apple Bloom looked at her incredulously.
“That’s what I just said. Try to keep up, Apple Bloom.”
Apple Bloom yawned. “Alright look. Ah’ll try and help you if I can just go back to bed. What is it you need?”
“Ummm, well….” Diamond Tiara looked down and pawed the ground with her hoof. Apple Bloom couldn’t be sure in the dark, but it almost looked like she was blushing. What is going on with her?
“Come on now, spit it out.”
“I just, I wantyoutoteachmehowtobenice!”
“Come again?”
Diamond Tiara refused to look at her, instead focusing all of her attention on the gravel beneath her feet. “I want you to teach me how to be nice.”
“Really?” Apple Bloom couldn’t believe it. She pinched herself herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. It was just so unexpected. The filly who had tormented her for almost her entire life was outside her house asking for tips on how to be nice.
“Yes, really. Now teach me already!” Diamond Tiara grabbed her by the hoof and dragged her towards a big couch on the front porch. She reached into her bag and pulled out a pencil and paper. “I brought these to take notes.”
Apple Bloom gave up. There was really no way to fight somepony as willful as Diamond Tiara. If she wanted lessons on niceness at half past one in the morning, then she was gonna get them. “Notes? What exactly did you want me to teach you?”
“You know, just how to be a nice pony. How to make ponies like me.” Diamond reached up and pulled the chain above her head to turn on the overhead light, then opened up her notebook to a blank page and wrote her name in the top right corner.
“No offense, Diamond, but when have you ever cared what other ponies thought of you?”
Now that the light was on, Apple Bloom could definitely see a blush light up Diamond Tiara’s cheeks. “What are you talking about, blank flank? I always care what others think, a sophisticated filly must have great manners.”
“That’s never seemed to stop you before,” Apple Bloom whispered under her breath.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. So, what exactly was it that you wanted to learn about being nice?”
“I guess… everything.”
“Everything?” Apple Bloom deadpanned.
“Yep. I think I’ll need everything you can teach me. Is that gonna be a problem, blank flank?”
“It will be if you keep calling me blank flank.”
“Fine, Apple Bloom. Is that gonna be a problem?”
Apple Bloom knew there was no way she could get out of this. “Nope. Let’s get on with it.”
This is gonna be a long night.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were enjoying their usual walk through the park. The pair often spent their Saturdays strolling along the park’s gently curving pathway. It was peaceful there, foals played, ponies enjoyed picnics, and everyone was fully concentrated on their own little activities. That was the most refreshing part. After all, being the daughters of two of the richest ponies in Ponyville and the two most popular fillies in school got them a lot of attention. Diamond wouldn’t trade it for the world, but sometimes it was nice to not be constantly noticed.
The both held milkshakes from Sugarcube Corner in their hooves as they gossiped quietly.
“Oh my gosh, Di, did you hear about Sapphire Shores? She just got engaged to Hoity Toity!”
“I know,” Diamond responded. “I thought he was a colt-cuddler for the longest time. Maybe he really is. Who knows, he might just be doing this so his designs will get more publicity.”
“Wow DT, I really think you might be on to something here. That totally makes sense.”
“I know it does.” She replied, she was about to go on, but stopped. “Do you hear that?
“Hear what?”
“That! Listen carefully!” the two ponies stretched their ears. In the distance, a beautiful high soprano voice cut through the other sounds of the park. Even over the gurgling of the stream, and the laughing of the foals, they could hear the clear voice, ringing through the air like a bell.
“Who is that singing?” Silver asked.
“I don’t know, but we should totally go see. I bet we know them anyway, we know all the talented ponies around here.”
The two headed across a large grass field towards a cluster of trees that seemed to be the source of the music. All around them, wildflowers of every color were in bloom. Wow, it really is a beautiful day out , Diamond thought to herself.
They were close enough that Diamond Tiara could just make out what was happening beneath the trees. It looked like two ponies were sitting out for a picnic. One was singing, and the other was sitting watching with her mouth hanging open. She craned her eyes.
No way. It was those two blank flanks. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle was singing. No way.
That no-talent blank flank was singing and it actually sounded really good. She crept forward, crouching, grateful for the tall grass that obscured her from their view.
“Di! What are you doing? They’ll see you!” Silver Spoon was standing about twenty yards behind her frantically gesturing at her to come back.
Diamond Tiara turned and shushed her friend and glared at her. She turned back towards the picnic and watched Sweetie Belle. She was fidgeting her hooves while she sang, looking anywhere but at Scootaloo. Her face downcast, her cheeks lightly reddened. She was adorable. Adorable? She reprimanded herself. No-talent Blanky Belle could never be adorable .
And yet, she couldn’t help but lightly blush herself as she turned and silently crawled back towards her friend.
Every Sunday, Scootaloo woke with the sunrise. She had to, it was the only time that Rainbow Dash had agreed to help her with flight lessons. As she groggily rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she tried to roll off her back, but found herself stopped by a stiff, extended wing. A slightly embarrassing reminder of the dream she’d had last night.
She headed down into the kitchen and poured herself a bowl of cereal. Usually her foster mom would get up and make a big breakfast for all the foster kids, but this was too early even for her, so Scoots was left to fend for herself. After a few minutes, she was on her scooter, and heading for Ponyville Park.
Rainbow Dash was waiting there with a whistle around her neck and a baseball cap on her head.
“You’re late, Squirt.” She ruffled Scootaloo’s mane fondly.
“What are you talking about? I’m right on time.”
“Well, you’re on time for regular ponies, but when does a Wonderbolt arrive?”
“Ten minutes early.” She knew she had some kind of punishment in store.
“That’s right!” Rainbow blew the whistle with all her force, “Fifty wingups. Go!”
Scootaloo dropped to the ground. The cold mud was probably staining her feathers, but if this was what it took to train with Rainbow Dash, the filly was up to it.
“Alright, get up!” Scootaloo picked herself up from the ground, she was already sweating. “Today we’re gonna be working on gliding.”
Scootaloo beamed, “Wow! Do you really think I’m ready, Dash?”
“Of course.” Rainbow ruffled her mane again. “This has been a long time coming, and today we’re finally gonna get you off the ground.”
Rainbow had Scootaloo climb up to a low-hanging branch, jump off it, and try to glide as far as she could. She fell once.
“Get back up there, Scoots. Nopony ever gets it on their first try.”
So she did, and she fell. Again. It kept happening all morning. She would take off from the branch, and everything would feel good at first. The wind in her mane and under her tail, she was free. But then an unexpected breeze would knock her off course and she would plummet, or she’d forget to tilt her wings and crash into a tree.
When their usual two hours were up, Scootaloo lay in a bruised heap in the grass next to Dash.
“That’s OK, Squirt, you were definitely improving by the end.” She tried her best to comfort the fallen filly. “We’ll be right back at it next week. You’ll get it for sure.”
“Thanks, Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo got up from the ground, wincing, and leaned in to give her teacher a hug.
“Hey no problem.” A bell rang eight times in town. “Shoot, I got a weather shift in half an hour and I still haven’t eaten.” Rainbow turned towards town and started to take off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. “See you around, kid.”
“Wait, Dash!” Scootaloo remembered another topic that she had been hoping to approach Rainbow about. “There’s one more thing I wanted to talk to you about.”
The older pegasus turned around. “What is it?”
Scootaloo swallowed. This was probably gonna end up being very awkward. “Ummm… Rainbow, have you ever had a special somepony?”
Dash looked perplexed for a second, then a knowing look came to her eye. “Sure, I’ve had a few. Why, is there anypony you’ve got your eye on?”
“Well, yeah. There’s somepony I’m thinking about.”
Rainbow smiled devilishly , and Scoots knew that she was gonna face merciless teasing for this. “Well, spit it out! Who’s the lucky pony?”
“Ummm…,” Scootaloo, looked down, trying to avoid her idol’s gaze, “It’s Sweetie Belle.”
“Awww, that’s totally cute!” Dash caught herself, “I mean awesome! Super awesome.”
“Thanks, Rainbow.”
“So, what are you gonna do to win her over?” Rainbow Dashed walked over to a park bench, sat down, and gestured for Scootaloo to come sit next to her.
Scoots jumped up onto the bench, and Rainbow ruffled her mane for the third time that morning. “Well, that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not sure I’m gonna do anything about it. I mean, what if she doesn’t feel the same way?”
“Of course she does! With a filly as awesome as you, she’d be crazy not to.”
“Stop it, Dash, I’m being serious! If she doesn’t feel the same way, couldn’t that like ruin our friendship?”
The prismatic pegasus suddenly looked very serious. “It’ll destroy your friendship if you don’t tell her. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to see somepony every day and call them your friend when you secretly want so much more? You’ll never be able to spend time with her again.”
“Huh, I guess you’re right.” Scootaloo rubbed her chin in thought. “So what should I do?”
“I don’t know, Squirt.” Rainbow moved in to ruffle her mane again, but Scoots stopped her with a hoof. “It’s not my decision to make, it’s yours.” She jumped off the bench and took off into the air. “Besides,” she called back, “I gotta go catch breakfast with Pinkie.”
Scootaloo was left alone on the bench, thinking to herself. Hmmm. If I tell her, I could screw up our friendship, and if I don’t tell her, I could screw up our friendship. The best option would be if I could somehow stop feeling this way about her.
To Sweetie Belle, the clubhouse was a second home. In fact, she often came here by herself when she needed to sort out her thoughts. And her thoughts had certainly been a mess lately.
A day had passed since her picnic with Scootaloo, and her little orange friend had hardly left her mind since. She had tried singing to distract herself, but every romance ballad was suddenly about Scoots. She had tried helping Rarity with her work, but every piece of orange fabric she grabbed transformed into the beautiful, smiling pegasus filly before her eyes.
Within a day, her silly foalhood crush had grown into an all-consuming infatuation. Even here in the clubhouse, she couldn’t look around without being reminded of Scootaloo. The role call sheet with a crudely drawn picture of Scootaloo’s head, the crumpled up paper in the corner that was Scootaloo’s overly long Cutie Mark Crusader oath, this place was Scootaloo’s home just as much as it was hers.
She had no doubt that Scootaloo didn't feel the same way about her. After all, Scoots was a pony of action. She was always the one that had suggested the crazy, dangerous ideas for crusading like skydiving, or mountain climbing. Sweetie was much more subdued, suggesting safer things like knitting, or reading. Ugh. Of course she doesn't like me, there's no way I could ever keep up with her.
She felt tears come to her eyes, and all she wanted to do was curl up on the floor of the empty clubhouse, and have a good cry.
No , Sweetie thought. I can't just give up and start bawling my eyes out. I can't give up hope without trying. It hurts that I fantasize about her no matter where I go, because they’re just that: fantasies. If I really want to stop torturing myself, if I really want her to be mine, then I’m going to have to make her mine.
She looked back towards town, in the direction of Carousel Boutique. And I know just how to start .
Sweetie Belle was never late to class. The unicorn prided herself on her perfect record all year long. No tardies. No absences. Scootaloo stared over at the empty desk next to her. So why isn’t she here?
“Hey, Apple Bloom,” she asked, “got any idea where Sweetie is?"
Apple Bloom coughed, she was just getting over a rather bad case of the flu. “Ah can’t say Ah have, but it is strange that she’s not here. Ah thought she’d never be late for a day of school in her life.”
"It is strange. Where could she be?"
Cheerilee walked to the front of the classroom as the final bell rang. “Good morning, my little ponies!” She always seemed a little too enthusiastic for how early in the morning it was. “Today we’re going to learn about bits, and how they’re used. A whole lesson about Equestrian economy, doesn’t that sound exciting, class?”
The class groaned in response.
Scootaloo glanced at Sweetie’s seat. It was still empty. Maybe she’s sick? Yeah, its probably the same thing that AB had. I wonder who she got it from, she seemed fine on Saturday . Her heart fluttered as she remembered their intimate little picnic. I’ve gotta forget about this thing with Sweetie , she told herself. Even though Rainbow seems to think I’ve got a chance, I'm too high-energy for someone like her. She’s probably got her eye on someone way cuter than me, like Alula, or maybe Featherweight. If I keep thinking about her, it’ll hurt our friendship, and if I try to act on my feeling, it could mess us up too. The best way out of this mess is for me to find somepony else to like, somepony who might feel the same way about me.
“-and that’s how bits are made. Did you all catch that, class?” Cheerilee looked around and sighed. Snips and Snails were lying in puddles of drool on their desks, Diamond Tiara was giggling and passing notes to Silver Spoon, and Apple Bloom was fully absorbed in her sketching. In fact, no one in the class seemed to really be paying attention to Cheerilee’s lecture. If she were here, Sweetie Belle would totally be on top of this. Probably taking notes and everything , Scootaloo mused. She’s the only pony in this class that actually seems to care about what we’re learning.
The front door of the classroom swung open. "Oh my gosh! Miss Cheerilee, I'm so sorry that I'm late. I was just really busy this morning."
"Sweetie Belle? Is that you?" Cheerilee cocked her head as she stared confusedly at the door.
Scootaloo spun in her seat to look at the classroom's newest arrival. It was definitely Sweetie, but she looked nothing like the filly that Scoots knew and loved.
Her mane had been straightened so much that it's adorable poof was entirely gone. It hung limp around her head like sopping a pink and purple dish towel. She had also used makeup. Or at least, she had attempted to use makeup. Her eyes were darkened, and her cheeks were heavily blushed. It even seemed that she had borrowed some of Rarity's false eyelashes, they looked very trashy on a filly of her age.
"Umm, Sweetie? What happened to you?” Scootaloo asked.
“Why are you guys all acting so weird?” Sweetie Belle was getting defensive. “I’m allowed to put a little extra effort into my appearance every once in a while.”
“Sweetie, you’re late. Sit down.” Cheerilee commanded. “Class has already started and we’re in the middle of a very important lesson about about the Equestrian economy.” Every eye was on Sweetie as she silently walked towards her seat. A few ponies giggled quietly.
“You know,” Diamond Tiara quipped, “putting a little extra effort into your appearance is supposed to make a pony look better, not worse.”
Scootaloo was angered by Diamond’s words, but secretly, she couldn’t help but agree. She didn’t like the way Sweetie looked all done up like that. Why would Sweetie do that? What could possibly make this so important that she was willing to sacrifice her perfect attendance for it?
She looked over at Sweetie Belle’s desk, and saw that the unicorn was behaving like her normal, everyday self, humming to herself as she took careful notes of everything Cheerilee wrote on the board. She may have been acting the same, but Scoots new that something was up, and Sweetie was gonna have her fair share of questions to answer when lunch came around.
