When first your eye I eyed ….
Sweetie Belle sat in the first row of the Ponyville amphitheater studying her classmates as they rehearsed their play for Ponyville’s annual summer festival. Despite the lackluster reviews of her directorial debut, Sweetie’s knowledge of theater and her connections with Rarity meant that the class had enthusiastically endorsed her as the director for this endeavor. This time the writing wouldn’t be an issue, because the class had chosen to put on the classic story of Dusk Shine and Sunny Feather.
The play told the tale of two star crossed young lovers who risked everything for the chance to be together. Unlike most early romances this one appealed to the young ponies because for one, the heroine, Sunny, was not mere window dressing. She was a warrior princess from a tribe of Pegasi who personally led the raid on an earth pony castle when the evil queen, Maleficent, kidnapped her beloved. Despite the general consensus that Diamond Tiara would have made a great evil queen, the role went to Applebloom; who insisted that she was tired of always being in the background or on the set crew. So in exchange for building the set she got to play Maleficent, even if her accent made it a bit hard to take her menacing threats seriously.
Rumble was cast in the role of the hero, Dusk Shine. Dusk Shine was a kind but unwarrantedly cocky prince, who started the play as a bit of a braggart but became a gallant hero through the transformative powers of love by the end of the journey.
It was a classic story that was studied in both literature and drama schools throughout Equestria and the entire town was looking forward to seeing the young thespians perform it.
***
Sweetie Belle was in love, there could no longer be any doubt about it. Ever since she got back from the Crystal Empire all of her spare thoughts revolved around one orange coated, purple coifed pegasus. As with most crushes, at first she dismissed her feelings as a passing fancy, brought on by spending too much time with her friends; after all she had a crush on Applebloom for a week once, and during one very confusing day she thought she might love Diamond Tiara. But after a week without her feelings abating even in the slightest she was forced to admit that this crush wasn’t going away.
She could pinpoint, with alarming clarity, the exact moment she fell in love. It was at the Equestria Games, during the flag carrying ceremonies. As she watched Scootaloo carry the flag, happily buzzing forward on her scooter she was struck by just how beautiful Scootaloo was. It wasn’t the flashy, manufactured beauty of a runway model. Sweetie Belle had met more than a few models, both mares and stallions, and while they were pleasant to look at, Sweetie had always found them pleasant to look at in the way one might enjoy a painting; aesthetically pleasing but lacking any depth. Their features were all too uniform, too perfect, for Sweetie Belle to really find them attractive. Scootaloo’s beauty, on the other hoof, had character; the little tuft that curled up at the end of her velvet purple mane, the scar she bore from that time she tried to jump a hay bale that was just a little too big, and the way her smile was ever so crooked if you looked closely enough were what made her beautiful.
The other problem with models, according to Sweetie Belle, was that almost all had, at best, vapid personalities, and at worse, they were downright self absorbed. Scootaloo wasn’t like that; she was sweet. It could be hard to tell sometimes underneath her brash exterior, but once you got to know her it would be impossible to find a better friend. She was relentlessly optimistic and cheerful through their seemingly never-ending failures to find their cutie marks. Her smile lit up a room and Sweetie had always found it just a little harder to be upset when the orange pegasus was around.
She was perfect; of course like all perfect ponies, Scootaloo didn’t think so. If you had asked her to talk about herself the first thing she would mention is her small wings, which had so far left her unable to conquer gravity for more than a few seconds at a time. If Scootaloo could be said to have a flaw, which again she really couldn’t, it was that she spent too much time complaining about her wings. But whereas Scootaloo hated her wings Sweetie Belle found that she rather liked them. They weren’t so big as to be distracting, rather they served to accent the adorable curve of her flank and lean muscular tautness of the rest of her body.
Wanting to be sure that her feelings were genuine, Sweetie had conducted an informal poll of some of the couples in Ponyville she knew: Lyra and Bon Bon, her parents, Vinyl and Octavia, and the Cakes. Their reactions had all been a combination of two platitudes: “Oh how adorable” and “When it’s love you just know”.
Well she knew it was love, and that was a problem because she was pretty sure Scootaloo didn’t feel the same way. She had been studying her crush for a few weeks now, trying to divine her feelings and so far the results were not promising. Scootaloo didn’t get a little bounce in her step when Sweetie Belle walked into the clubhouse, she didn’t seem to be inventing excuses for them to spend time together, and she seemed perfectly content to go back home at the end of the days adventures.
And so Sweetie found herself in Rarity’s parlor room talking to her big sister.
“What should you do if you like somepony but they don’t like you back?”she had asked rather tentatively.
“What are you talking about dear? Who could possibly resist your charms? Is it Pipsqueak? Rumble? You don’t have some sort of Stockholm syndrome crush on Silver Spoon do you?
“No, it’s none of them…it…it doesn’t matter who it is, they like somepony else. At least I think they do. In any case they don’t like me ‘that way’.”
“Well forgive me for being brusque dear, but have you asked them if they might have feelings for you?”
“No, but it doesn’t matter, I’m pretty sure I’m not their type.”
Rarity looked at her sister with a mix of sympathy and pain from her own experience with Trenderhoof. “Sweetie, if somepony doesn’t like you for who you are, that’s their loss. You are a smart, funny, very pretty, if I do say so, wonderful young mare, and anypony who doesn’t recognize that is quite simply a boorish idiot and not worth a second thought.”
“Yes they are,” Sweetie said softly.
Rarity wrapped her little sister in a hug and rested her head atop the soft pink and purple mane. “Oh Sweetie, you are far too young to deal with such terrible heartache. Trust me, one day you are going to make somepony very happy, but until then how about this? I have to go to Manehattan this weekend to meet with a supplier, how about you come with me and after my meeting we’ll go see a show? Would you like that?”
Sweetie nodded and nestled her face in the comforting softness of her big sister, and they had indeed taken a trip to Manehattan and saw a Bridleway production of “Colts and Dolls”. For a weekend, Sweetie Belle almost managed to forget about her unrequited love; but then she got back to Ponyville and began directing her own play.
***
Opening night was still a few weeks away but, in her role as director, Sweetie had decided to call for a dress rehearsal so that the actors could get used to their costumes and she could see what they looked like on stage and with movement so that afterwards, Rarity could make any necessary improvements. And though she would vehemently deny it if questioned, she enjoyed the chance to look at Scootaloo in a dress that somehow made her look even more graceful than usual.
“You guys are saying your lines like you’re ordering a sandwich. Dusk Shine is standing outside the castle calling out to Sunny after both her parents and his parents told him to let it go. It’s an important scene. Put some feeling into it!” Sweetie implored the ponies standing on the stage looking about as in love as a tree and a fish.
“Can’t we rehearse the fight scene?” Scootaloo asked impatiently. The only reason she had agreed to play the part of the heroine was that in between the sappy love speeches and elaborately choreographed ballroom dances, she got an awesome action sequence where she fought through a battlefield of warriors to rescue her beloved.
“Scootaloo’s right, love stories are boring,” Rumble chimed in.
“Love stories aren’t boring!” Sweetie Belle bounded up on stage and stood where Rumble had been standing just a moment ago. She looked at Scootaloo, standing in her dress on her elevated platform; unaware of the effect she or her character had on the ponies around them. “He loves her. He knows he shouldn’t, he knows all the reasons why it won’t work and he just doesn’t care. He knows he should forget about her and find somepony else who makes him happy but he can’t, he... just can’t. She’s the last thing he thinks about when she goes to bed and the first thing she thinks about in the morning. She makes him absolutely miserable because every second they are apart hurts. But the only thing that hurts worse is when they are together because she can’t tell her how she feels, and that hurts more than anything else possibly could. She knows… just knows… that nopony could possibly make her as happy as she will and that’s why she’s here, standing outside the gates of a castle, in the rain, because she’s willing to risk everything for just one chance to try and convince her that she can make her one tenth as happy as she feels when they are together.”
Sweetie snapped out of the trance she had been in only to realize she had been openly staring at Scootaloo for the entirety of her impromptu speech. In addition she noticed that not only was the theater silent, everypony was now staring at her, even the ones who were constructing the set. She cleared her throat, “Umm... take five, everypony…think about the scene,” she said before running out of the amphitheater, determined not to let anypony see the nascent tears forming in her eyes.
The nearest form of secluded shelter was the supply closet that held the extra chairs and banners for the amphitheater, so that’s where Sweetie ran to. Safely inside, away from the sight of anypony else, she began to cry. Of all the ways for Scootaloo to find out about her feelings, openly confessing them in front of everypony had been only a step above having Scootaloo learn about them from Diamond Tiara. But now her secret was out in the open for the whole world to mock.
Sweetie sat in the corner of the dusty equipment shed wishing that she knew a teleportation spell that could take her somewhere far away, but the most she could do was levitate a broom. So as it was, she began to resign herself to spending the rest of her life in the shed. Maybe she’d get her cutie mark in stacking chairs. She’d be that weird pony who lived in the shed, and fillies would tell ghost stories about her and how if you didn’t stack the chairs correctly she’d come for you in the middle of the night and turn you into a chair, because she would learn how to do that apparently.
Her musing was cut short by a gentle knock.
“Sweetie Belle?” came the familiar voice of the one pony she had fervently prayed somehow didn’t realize what she was saying.
One glance at Scootaloo, and those wide purple eyes, was all she needed to know that trying to feign ignorance was not going to work. Oh that speech back there? I was just talking about the characters. Why am I crying? It’s just allergies and I’m in this dusty shed because it’s really bright outside and I don’t want to damage my eyes.
“Go away...just leave me alone,” she croaked, her voice broken and ragged. She didn’t really want Scootaloo to go away, she wanted Scootaloo to wrap her forelegs around her and tell her everything was going to be okay. But since she was pretty sure that wasn’t going to happen, she’d rather have Scootaloo leave then be forced to deal with what came next; at least that way she could hold on to the last dying ember of hope she had.
Then Scootaloo did the worst thing she could possibly do: she hugged her without saying a word. The orange pegasus gingerly walked over to her friend, wrapped her forelegs around her and rested her head on Sweetie’s shoulder.
Sweetie Belle wanted to push her friend away. Some small part of her didn’t want to allow her friend the satisfaction of comforting her - if she had to be miserable then the least Scootaloo could do was be a tiny bit miserable too! But she didn’t, and much to that small part of her’s chagrin, the sensation of Scootaloo resting her head on her shoulder felt nice. For a brief instant, she allowed herself to imagine that her fillyfriend was gently snuggling her as they settled in for a quiet movie night, and in that fleeting moment she felt the soothing balm of relief from her anguish. Of course, reality couldn’t let her enjoy her delusions and as quickly as she felt better, her world came crashing down sending her back to her dusty shed with her unrequited love staring her in the face. “Why are you hugging me?” she squeaked out, still fighting the stream of hot tears running down her cheeks.
“Because you’re sad, and it’s my fault. I don’t want you to be sad.”
Sweetie Belle laughed, an involuntarily sharp bark of a laugh. It wasn’t because what Scootaloo said was funny; it was because even in the worst moment of her life, Scootaloo was too darn perfect. It seemed as though the universe wanted to add one last punch line to the cruel joke it was playing. I’m the one who messed everything up and Scootaloo blames herself. Why can’t she be selfish just this once, then it’d be easier to hate her. “It’s not your fault,” she said, furiously trying to wipe the tears from her eyes. “It’s me and my stupid feelings. Can we just forget I ever said anything and go back to being friends?”
“I don’t think it works that way.” Scootaloo said sadly, breaking the hug. The unspoken truth that things would never be the same, for better or worse, hung in the air like an oppressive fog.
“Why can’t it work that way? I promise I’ll never bring it up ever again. Just give me a day to get over all this, and then we can go back to the way things were.”
A brief look of anger flashed across Scootaloo’s face. “You mean when you were miserable? You’re not that good of an actor, Sweetie. Bloom and I could tell something’s been bothering you since we got back from the Crystal Empire and it hurt that you wouldn’t tell us. We’re a trio, we shouldn’t have secrets from each other.”
The only response Sweetie could muster was a soft “oh.” She was so sure that she had done a masterful job hiding her feelings that learning that she had hurt her friends, in addition to her own pain already, just added another layer onto her growing pile of self loathing. The two fillies sat in the shed awkwardly staring at the ground for a few seconds until Scootaloo broke the uncomfortable silence.
“So I was thinking about the scene like you said. Y’know how when Sunny doesn't hear Dusk the first time he calls out to her so he yells louder?” Sweetie Belle nodded. “I was thinking that maybe she did hear him, but she was just scared.”
“Why would she be scared?” It was easier for both ponies to pretend that they were talking about the play.
“Because she knows why he’s there, she isn’t stupid. There’s this totally awesome pony who likes her and she doesn’t want to end up hurting him, and she doesn’t want to get hurt either.”
“But he would never hurt her! He’d do anything to make her happy!”
“Nopony ever plans to hurt somepony, but it happens anyway. And then she’d be left without her best friend, whether either of them meant for it to happen or not.”
Sweetie Belle sat on her haunches unsure how to respond, so she was grateful when Scootaloo spoke first. “Nopony’s ever liked me before.”
“That’s not true, Scoots, everypony likes you.”
“What about Diamond Tiara?” A small smile crept across her face and the friends shared a brief giggle. Predictably, their respite was short-lived. “You know what I mean, Sweetie. Rumble thinks I’m fun to hang out with, and Button Mash and I sometimes play videogames together, but nopony’s ever told me that they like like me before.”
“Well that’s stupid. You’re great. You’re kind and generous, you’re lots of fun at parties, you’re a great dancer, and you’re totally fearless! Which is cool. And you look amazing without even trying! I mean, I’ve seen you when you wake up and all it takes is like two seconds of tousling your mane and you’re good to go. There’s no downside to you, Scoots.”
Scootaloo blushed and pawed at the ground. “That’s nice of you to say,” she said softly.
“Umm... do you think- you could ever- like me?” Sweetie was careful to phrase her question in the broadest terms possible, decreasing the chance for rejection, but also sharpening the sting if Scootaloo said no.
“I already do like you.”
Sweetie Belle glared at her friend as harshly as the circumstances would allow, which granted wasn’t very much. “You know what I mean.”
“I..I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about a filly that way before. Umm…I can’t promise that I’ll necessarily ever feel the same way about you, but I’m willing to give it a try. I mean, when an awesome pony likes you it seems like it’d be pretty stupid to say no, right?”
“Really?” was the only reaction Sweetie could come up with as her emotions fought with her brain, creating a swirling mess of feelings that Sweetie wasn’t quite equipped to handle.
Scootaloo nodded, but then bit her lip. “Umm if it doesn’t work out-and I want it to-I really do, can we still be friends?” The orange pegasus looked down at the ground for a second before continuing. “You’re my best friend and I don’t want to think what my life would be like without you in it.”
The emotions of the last few minutes, combined with her previous emotional distress, left Sweetie Belle unable to respond other than to smile and nod quickly as she tried to fight the mix of happy tears and emotional exhaustion. A second later, she found herself wrapped in another perfectly warm Scootaloo hug. Only this time, she didn’t have to pretend that it was anything other than what it was.
Sweetie Belle had left the equipment shed feeling much better than she had when she went in. Scootaloo had learned how she felt and hadn’t immediately rejected her. Furthermore, the orange pegasus agreed to go on an actual date; not dinner with a friend, not cutie mark crusaders restaurant eaters (yay), an actual two-ponies-spending-time-together-to-see-if-a-relationship-might-blossom-possible-good-night- kiss-date. So while Sweetie was no longer worried about how to mend a broken heart; her thoughts were now consumed with where exactly they should go on their foray into a new relationship. Other than agreeing that said date should take place, they hadn’t set any of the details; though there seemed to be an unspoken understanding that Sweetie Belle, as the one who initiated the date, would be responsible for planning it.
Without any better options presenting themselves, Sweetie found herself again in Rarity’s parlor room asking for advice.
“Um... So I kinda have a date on Saturday,” she said almost as though she was embarrassed, which she didn’t understand. She was ecstatic, thrilled, maybe a little nervous, but definitely not embarrassed. Nevertheless, Sweetie Belle found herself tentative when speaking to her big sister.
Rarity, however, had no feelings even approaching embarrassed or tentative. Upon hearing the news, she let out an ear shattering squeal of delight. “Ooh How exciting! So who’s the lucky colt who gets to try and sweep you off your hooves?”
“It’s a filly, and I think I’m the one who has to do the sweeping,” Sweetie said, glancing downward.
Rarity’s excitement vanished as an apologetic look replaced her previous expression. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Sweetie. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. Naturally, whomever you choose to date is fine with me as long as they make you happy.” Apology delivered, her smile reappeared, “So who’s the lucky filly?”
“It’s kind of… Scootaloo.”
Rarity let out another high pitched squeal, “Ooh you two make such an adorable couple. You simply must let me design a pair of matching dresses for the two of you. With her shade of persimmon and your ivory coat, the possible color combinations are simply divine!”
“Umm... yeah, so do you think you could get me reservations at Le Tuffe D’or?”
Rarity arched an eyebrow,“Wow Sweetie, you clearly don’t play around. Le Tuffe D’or on a first date? Quite audacious if I do say so myself.”
“I know it’s fancy but I think I have enough bits saved up, it’s just... I want to our first date to be special.”
“I see…” Rarity nodded thoughtfully,” And you think taking Scootaloo to the most lavish restaurant in all of Ponyville is what’s going to make your date special?”
“I don’t know. But I only have one chance to make her like me,” Sweetie said, the aching apprehension coming through her tone despite her best efforts to hide it.
Rarity adopted a firm gentleness for her reply. “Sweetie dear, she already likes you. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have said ‘yes’ when you asked her out.”
“But what if she only said ‘yes’ to be nice? I wasn’t exactly subtle when I told her how I felt.”
“Well, you know Scootaloo better than I do. Do you think she would string you along?”
“No,” Sweetie Belle admitted. “But I really want this to go well.”
“I know you do, dear. Do you want to know the secret to a memorable evening?” Rarity asked with a twinkle in her eyes. Sweetie Belle nodded enthusiastically. “Take her someplace you like,” Rarity said plainly.
“But shouldn’t I try to make it memorable or at least special?”
“Darling, I’ve had stallions take me to fancy restaurants all over Equestria, trying to impress me with reservations at Le Tuffe D’or or Alinea. They were nice in an obvious way, I suppose, but do you know the best date I’ve ever been on?”
“The Grand Galloping Gala with Blue Blood?” Sweetie guessed, unable to immediately recall any other dates that Rarity had been on.
“That boorish cad!? Perish the thought! No, Sweetie Belle, the best date I ever went on was when I was in Manehattan and a wonderfully charming stallion named Starburst, took me to a little hole- in-the-wall noodle house on the upper east side. Do you know why I enjoyed that date so much?” Sweetie shook her head. “Because he wasn’t trying to show off or take me someplace he thought I would like after knowing me for all of a few hours. He took me someplace that he enjoyed and he was excited about sharing it, and that made me comfortable because I didn’t have to pretend to be impressed by the fancy tables and overpriced food, as if I couldn’t get a table at Olive on my own, thank you very much,” Rarity finished with a satisfied hmph.
“If it was such a great date, how come you two aren’t still together?”
“He lived in Manehattan and I wasn’t ready to leave Ponyville. And truthfully, I’m not sure it would have worked out anyways, but that is beside the point,” Rarity said, dismissively waving a hoof in the air. “The point is that it was a lovely date, and it was special even though it wasn’t at an expensive restaurant or posh museum gala.”
“But I want Scootaloo to have a good time,” Sweetie protested.
“Of course you do, dear. Do you really think Scootaloo would enjoy dinner at Le Tuffe D’or?”
The thought of Scootaloo using her salad plate as a frisbee as the other patrons looked on in horror ran through Sweetie Belle’s head. It was an amusing image, and Scootaloo’s carefree attitude was one of the reasons Sweetie Belle was attracted to her in the first place, but Sweetie was forced to concede that maybe taking Scootaloo to Le Tuffe D’or wasn’t the most well thought out plan.
Her grand idea dashed, she began to ruminate on an alternative course of action. “Hmmm... so I don’t need to spend a lot of bits to make our date special? I could cook dinner for Scootaloo, that’d be special right?”
“NO! Umm..I just mean making somepony dinner is really more of a third date activity.”
“Well then, where should I take her?” Sweetie Belle asked, growing desperate to find a date that wasn’t doomed from it’s inception.
“If she was the one picking the restaurant, where would you want her to take you?”
“Umm… Well, I really like seaweed, and there’s that new restaurant that opened over by the amphitheater. It’s not fancy or anything but it looks kinda neat. I guess if she was the one planning everything, I’d like her to take me there and then maybe see a show. I don’t know what’s playing this weekend though. I don’t even know if Scootaloo eats seaweed - I’m not sure I’ve seen her eat anything from the ocean, period!”
“Seaweed and a show sounds like a wonderful evening, Sweetie Belle. And for a future date, if you want, I’m sure I can finagle you a reservation at Le Tuffe D’or.
“Thanks, sis,” Sweetie Belle said as she breathed a momentary sigh of relief.
“Of course, Sweetie. Now we simply must pick out the perfect dress for you to wear, I’m thinking,,, something elegant but flirty. Not too showy but still fabulous...”
***
Sweetie Belle spent the better part of Saturday pacing circles in her room. When that became tiring, she took to lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling until the nervous energy demanded that she do something, and then it was back to pacing. When that became too monotonous, she spent time studying the dress she and Rarity had finally settled on after a seemingly endless parade of options. It was a simple ruffled black dress, lightly adorned with a few silver sequins to make it shimmer ever so slightly. It used to belong to Rarity, but it had always been one of Sweetie’s favorites, and Rarity was more than happy to tailor it to Sweetie’s size. Even though Rarity had a penchant for being overdramatic, and she didn’t always appreciate Sweetie’s attempts at helping, Sweetie had to admit that sometimes having your sister be the Element of Generosity had its advantages. And as the pièce de résistance, Rarity had agreed to lend Sweetie the matching clutch, complete with gold chain, making it the perfect ensemble for dinner and a show.
When they had first picked it out, Sweetie had been overjoyed, but now studying the dress as it hung on her door handle, she wasn’t so sure. What if it was too fancy? What if Scootaloo went out and bought a totally new dress? Wouldn’t it be bad form if she went out wearing what was essentially a hand-me-down? What if Scootaloo hated it and refused to go anywhere until she changed? What if Scootaloo took one look at the dress and it made her realize that the whole relationship was doomed, leaving her and her horrible dress all alone for the rest of her life?
But Scootaloo probably expected her to wear something, and right now, it seemed that the dress hanging on her door was her best option. Though the day dragged on slowly, eventually it became time for Sweetie Belle to start actually getting ready. They had agreed that Scootaloo should pick her up at the Carousel Boutique mainly because it was closer to town square than either of their houses. But what if Scootaloo had only said so because she didn’t want to introduce her date to her parents? Well that was silly; Scootaloo’s parents had met Sweetie Belle dozens of times already, and they adored her. But what if Scootaloo didn’t want Sweetie Belle to come to her house so that she didn’t have to actually go on the date? What if her plan was to stand Sweetie Belle up, leaving her alone and crying in the Boutique?
A calm voice cut through her panicked monologue. It’s Scootaloo, she wouldn’t hurt your feelings like that. Even if the romantic relationship doesn’t work out, she’d still want to be friends. The reminder that Scootaloo was many things, but a bad friend was not one of them allowed Sweetie to finish getting ready without any further hysterics.
Until the clock hit 7:01.
Well that’s it, we said 7 and now it’s past 7. She’s definitely not coming, hope you like being alo-
A knock at the door interrupted Sweetie’s downward spiral. She opened it to see Scootaloo wearing a simple yellow sundress and carrying a blue purse over her shoulder.
“Wow! Scootaloo, you look really nice.”
Nice? She looks radiant, gorgeous, lovely and you go with nice. What’s the point of all that reading if you use words like nice to describe your date.
Scootaloo smiled and blushed just a little bit. “Thanks. I normally wouldn’t wear something like this, but Mom said ponies should look nice on a date. You look great too,” she said with her trademark carefree cheer.
It was a short walk to the restaurant. Saltwater was a humble establishment, sparsely decorated with some plants and the occasional ancient Chineighese-style paintings. Sweetie assumed that the paintings were reproductions rather than priceless artifacts, but what Saltwater lacked in opulence, it made up for with a quiet, understated elegance. The furnishings were all a dyed black wood that created a sharp contrast against the white walls and bright green plants.
“Two please,” Sweetie Belle said confidently as she walked up to the host, a light blue colt. “And can we sit on the patio?” she asked, making sure to use her most mature voice.
“But of course. Right this way, ladies.”
Sweetie would have pulled out Scootaloo’s chair for her but the host seated both of them, robbing her of the opportunity to be chivalrous. After a quick promise to send a waiter over to take their order, Sweetie Belle found herself staring across the table at her date.
Unsure of exactly how to proceed, Sweetie Belle opened her menu, eager for the distraction and potential conversation starter. Inside, she was delighted to find a wide assortment of aquatic plants prepared in an equally varied array of traditional Chineighese cooking methods. Her joy was tempered when she noticed Scootaloo was peering at the menu the way one might look at tools in a dentist’s office.
“What is this stuff?” The orange pegasus asked with equal parts curiosity and apprehension.
“It’s ocean plants. They can be kind of salty, so they usually serve them with ginger. I really like sea grass, but most ponies usually get kelp if it’s their first time,” Sweetie said, trying her best to be helpful.
Despite Sweetie’s endorsement, Scootaloo still looked skeptical. “I guess you’d better order for me, huh?”
“I can totally do that,” she said closing her own menu, secretly pleased that already their meal was very date like.
“So, what do you think Apple Bloom is doing right now?” Scootaloo asked, now that she was relieved of the burden of making sense of the list of unfamiliar dining options.
“Well, she went with the Apple family to Appleloosa to help with the apple harvest so I’m guessing it’s probably something involving apples.”
Both fillies fell into a round of giggling that was interrupted by their waiter. “Are you ladies ready to order?”
Sweetie re-adopted her mature voice. “Yes, sir. I’ll have the seagrass with red algae and my-Scootaloo will have the grilled kelp with sunflowers.”
“Excellent choices. They’ll be out shortly.”
“So I have some great ideas for our next crusade,” Scootaloo said as the waiter walked away.
Sweetie Belle shook her head. “No, no crusading talk. I want this to be an actual date.”
“Well, what do ponies talk about on dates?”
“I think they try to get to know each other. So... umm…. what do you like to do in your spare time?” Sweetie asked with her best “I’m interested in what you have to say” smile.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes ever so slightly. “Well I like to ride my scooter, and I’m in this really cool club with my friends where we try different things to get our cutie marks, but I guess you already knew about that because you’re in it too!”
“Oh, right. Umm… tell me about your family?” Sweetie Belle said, still grasping for an acceptable, non crusading topic.
“Sweetie, you’ve met my family. You saw them a few days ago.” Scootaloo waved an orange hoof in front of Sweetie’s face. “Hello? It’s me - Scootaloo! I’m still the same pony you hang out with all the time.”
Sweetie did her best not to appear crestfallen. “Sorry, I just want this to go well. What should we talk about then?”
Scootaloo rested a hoof on her chin, as she did whenever she was thinking particularly hard about something. Her lips pursed together in the adorable way that they often did when the pegasus was thinking particularly hard, and Sweetie Belle would have been perfectly happy to spend the entire date studying Scootaloo’s face. Suddenly, the adorable face lit up, the pursed lips changing into a wide smile. “I’ve got it, we can play the cutie mark game!” Sweetie Belle just looked at her enthusiastic dining companion with marked skepticism. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. Did you notice our waiter’s cutie mark?”
“Yeah it was a star of some kind; I didn’t get that close of a look.”
“Okay and…” Scootaloo said, prodding her date.
Sweetie let out an audible sigh. “Maybe he’s a really good waiter and always wins employee of the month?” she finished.
“Nah, he hasn’t come by to refill our water once. I think he’s an actor and he’s just waiting tables til he gets his big break.”
Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but mirror Scootaloo’s infectious smile. “Okay, what about that mare over there, the one in the funny hat with a rose. I’ll bet she’s good at gardening,”
“That’s not a rose, it’s a paint splotch. She’s an artist.”
The two fillies enjoyably giggled through roughly half of the other diners before their food arrived.
Sweetie was about to dig in when she noticed Scootaloo poking at the plate in front of her with her hoof. “You hate it, don’t you?”
Scootaloo forced a smile.“I wouldn’t say I hate it, it’s just not what I normally eat.”
“Umm... I’m sure you can order you something else if you don’t like it?” Sweetie squeaked, trying to salvage the situation.
“No, it’s okay,” Scootaloo took a small bite and chewed slowly. “It tastes kinda like daisies” she said with another obviously forced smile.
They pair ate the rest of the meal, comfortably making small talk with Sweetie Belle clearly enjoying the cuisine more than Scootaloo did. Maybe the company makes up for it? Sweetie thought desperately.
The fillies decided to pass on dessert and in short order the waiter brought the check. “So how much is my half of the bill? You didn’t order me the most expensive thing on the menu, did you?” Scootaloo asked turning her head in the direction of her purse.
“Don’t be silly! It’s a date, so I should pay. You can pay for the next one.” Sweetie Belle found her cheeks turning bright red as she realized that she had assumed there would be a second date.
If Scootaloo was put off by her presumption, she certainly didn’t show it. “Okay. Thanks Sweetie!” she said with a grin that Sweetie Belle hoped was borne out of gratitude and not masked annoyance.
Sweetie left the restaurant with a smile. So far her date with Scootaloo wasn’t going quite as well as she wanted, but it hadn’t been a total disaster, and besides, she was on a date with Scootaloo! The amphitheatre wasn’t far, but as they approached Sweetie couldn’t help but notice that it was quieter than it should be. They were a little early, but only by a few minutes. There should have been ponies excitedly milling about outside, but instead, the only ponies she saw were walking away from the amphitheater with disappointed looks on their faces. As they got closer, the reason for the malaise became apparent:
Due to an outbreak of Feather Flu among the cast, tonight’s performance has been canceled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope you’ll come see us next weekend.
Sweetie Belle again tried to hide the disappointment on her face and again failed. Her perfect date was now in danger of going completely off the rails. It was too early to go home, but they had already eaten, so it’s not like they could go to a different restaurant. They hadn’t had dessert yet, so maybe a milkshake at Sugar Cube Corner? But Sweetie wasn’t really ready for dessert, and they went to Sugar Cube Corner all the time. There would be nothing memorable about going there; and if their date wasn’t memorable would Scootaloo want a second one?
Scootaloo interrupted Sweetie’s inner monologue before she could get to the part where they broke up never to speak to each other again. “It’s still a nice night out, want to go for a walk in the park?” Scootaloo said with her carefree grin. “That’s a thing ponies do on dates, right?”
The mere presence of Scootaloo’s smile brightened Sweetie Belle’s mood considerably, and the two ponies began a slow trot to the park.
The crisp spring air was pleasantly cool, not so cold as to be uncomfortable, yet not so warm as to be stifling. There was only a small crescent of a moon, and what little light it gave off was obscured by the clouds, but thanks to the lanterns hung in the park, the two fillies were still able to see clearly. The park was emptier than usual, but that only served to make the walk more enjoyable as far as Sweetie was concerned. The young fillies walked through the park, silently enjoying each other’s company, save for a few snippets of light conversation, until Sweetie Belle felt a few small droplets of rain splash against her forehead.
“Is it supposed to rain tonight?”
“I dunno,” Scootaloo responded with a shrug.
Regardless of whether or not the rain was scheduled watering by Ponyville’s weather pegasi or a rogue raincloud, the two fillies soon found themselves drenched as the heavens opened up in a furious downpour. Instinctively, the pair began sprinting for the nearest tree.
Unfortunately for them, the nearest tree happened to rest on top of a hill, and so as Sweetie ran up the hill desperately seeking shelter, the rapidly deteriorating condition of the ground conspired with her general misfortune for the evening to cause her to trip over her own forelegs. She was very ungracefully sent tumbling back down the hill and crashing right into Scootaloo. The two fillies quickly became a mess of an orange, yellow, black, purple and mud ball as they rolled toward the bottom of the hill, coming to a stop in the middle of a growing mud puddle in one of the shallow recesses of the park grounds.
The two, now very muddy, ponies took shelter under one of the park’s gazebos. The gazebo was a little further away than the nearest tree, but it was also not on top of any hills.
“Oh my, your dress! I’m so, so sorry Scoots! Um, maybe Rarity knows a good dry cleaner?” Sweetie gasped as she saw the condition of both her date and her attire.
Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders and wiggled out of her dress. She shook her head, sending flecks of dirt flying as the dress fell to the ground, getting muddier than it already was. “That’s better,” she said with a satisfied sigh. Gingerly, she picked up the dress with her teeth and tossed it over her shoulder. “What’s wrong, Sweetie?” the pegasus asked, noticing a distinctly troubled look had now etched itself on her (filly?) friends face.
“What’s wrong? You didn’t like the restaurant, our play was canceled and now your dress is ruined and we’re covered in mud! This is the worst date ever!” Sweetie Belle said, ignoring the shoddy condition of her own dress.
Much to Sweetie’s surprise, instead of commiserating with her, Scootaloo started giggling, which very quickly progressed into outright laughter. “If this is the worst date ever then dating is awesome!” Scootaloo managed to gasp out between bouts of laughter.
Scootaloo’s laughter couldn’t help but to ease Sweetie’s anguish. It wasn’t quite enough for her recognize the humor in their clearly awful situation, but it did set her mind a little more at ease. “I suppose it is pretty funny. I tried to plan a totally romantic date and it blew up in my face,” Sweetie guessed.
Seeing the distress on Sweetie’s face was enough motivation for Scootaloo to get her laughter under control. After one last bark of a “Ha”, a much more sympathetic look settled on Scootaloo’s face. “Seaweed isn’t my new favorite food, but I got to try something new. And we can always see a play some other night, but in the meantime. I got to spend time with of my favorite ponies.”
“But your dress-”
“Is just a dress, it can be washed. This night’s been awesome!”
Before she could react Sweetie found herself wrapped up in a hug, and seconds later she was pleasantly surprised to feel the soft caress of Scootaloo’s muzzle as it gently grazed across her cheek. Sweetie sighed and allowed herself to enjoy the sensation, not caring one tiny bit that her cheek was getting muddier before responding. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
“You looked like you needed that,” Scootaloo said, comforting her.
“I did. You’re not just pretending to have fun because you don’t want to hurt my feelings, are you?”
“Of course not! Well, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I was being totally serious when I said that this date’s been awesome.”
“I’m glad you had fun,” Sweetie said weakly, still having trouble accepting the idea that her date was anything shy of a total disaster.
“You bet I did. But our date isn’t over yet - aren’t you supposed to walk me home?”
Sweetie Belle leapt at her one last chance to have something go well. “Yes! I should totally do that.”
The two mud covered fillies began to head towards Scootaloo’s house. Shortly after they set out, Sweetie Belle was momentarily surprised by the feeling of Scootaloo tentatively intertwining their tails. It was a perfectly innocent gesture. Parents would wrap their tails into those of their foals to keep them from wandering off, but it was also something ponies only did with those they were close with. It was casual physical contact given intimacy by the intent behind it. Sweetie smiled at Scootaloo, who responded by blushing, and the pair walked to Scootaloo’s house in comfortable silence, tails tangled together in a perfect mess.
A short walk later, they arrived at Scootaloo’s front door, her parents having thoughtfully left the porch light on, and even more considerately, decided to wait for their daughter upstairs, away from any windows.
Sweetie Belle could feel her face heat up as a lump formed in her throat. She chuckled nervously, trying to mask her feelings but only highlighting them further. “Well, here we are.”
Much to her surprise, Scootaloo’s face had also turned a shade of orangish red. “Yep. This is where I live. Glad to see my parents didn’t move out while I was gone, heh.”
Sweetie Belle took a deep breath, “I had a really great time even though everything went wrong and I want to go on another date.” She gasped out in a single breath, and braced herself for the inevitable crushing rejection.
Instead of saying anything, Scootaloo responded by pawing at the ground, absent mindedly scratching her right foreleg with her left. She leaned in and gave Sweetie Belle a kiss on the cheek, longer than a peck, but not so long that Sweetie Belle had time to register what was happening. “I’d like that,” she said softly, her tone lacking any of it’s usual brash quality that Sweetie found so endearing.
“Wow... Really?” was the only reply Sweetie could come up with.
Scootaloo nodded with a smile. “Night, Sweetie,” Scootaloo said before turning around and closing the door behind her.
Sweetie happily trotted home, and if she wasn’t flying, it was only because she wasn’t a pegasus.
Author's Note
Wait I thought this story was complete, how is it that you added a chapter to it?
Good question disembodied voice. I wrote this chapter as a sequel, but during the phase between draft and publication I realized (okay my editor pointed out) that it didn't really work so well as a sequel as much as it was a direct continuation of the previous story, thus its a new chapter.
It still says complete, will there be a third chapter? or a sequel to this?
You ask a lot of questions, disembodied voice. The answer is I don't know. I could see a couple of avenues for a sequel, but I also like where it is. So... I guess it depends. If you really want more of my look into the dynamics of Scootabelle as they exist in this universe you can let me know in the comments, I am a sucker for people asking me to do things.
Some other notes. Olive and Allena are both real restaurants, they are quite fancy. The hole in the wall noodle shop Rarity mentions is meant to be Naruto Ramen (90th and 3rd in NYC). It's not necessarily a great date place but they make amazing ramen, so if you're ever in NYC go check them out. Plus it's only like $10 .
Huge thanks to my editors, particularly HMXTaylorLee, who helped me get this from "okay so they go on a date" to the story you just read. Most authors love feedback.
